Monthly Recap: July 2020

I don't know about you but July has been so good to me it's going to be my favourite month of this pretty shitty year. Unless one of the upcoming months outdo July.

The great news is that the two months of eating like there's no tomorrow, gaining tons of weight hence body image issues and breakdowns on a daily basis served their purpose as I got my period back on the 20th after more than 4 years. I was so happy that morning I cried. A lot. Not to mention that I've finally healed my relationship with food.

Goal-wise, I didn't really doodle, nor studied Germany, nor seen places, but in my defence, I'm doing extra hours on a daily basis so  I'm not really in the right state of mind to study, draw when my hand gets stuck to the paper because of sweat, or drive with this heat since I'm tired all the time and all I want to do on Mondays is sleep. Not to mention how frustrating and draining is to deal with people, especially those who are not sure whether my being bi is "cool or not". As if I'm some sort of freak for liking more than a genre — I like most music genres and yet people don't seem to be freaked out by that at all—, or some subject to be studied — because the questions people ask are unreal. 

Anyways, assholes aside, let's take about stuff I read and watched last month. Reading-wise, I sucked as I only finished Defending Jacob — I liked the series a bit more but that probably has to do with Chris Evans playing a DILF —, read yet another dreadful James Bond novel — I think it was From Russia with Love —, started Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire which I ditched for James Joyce's Ulysses as I was out of my mind bored reading that romance. Thankfully, Ulysses is anything but boring. It's not easy to read and I often have to google (archaic) words and Latin phrases, but it's very compelling so far. 

As for the series, I finally started Killing Eve — I need to watch season 3 still — and it's such a brilliant show. It is so engaging, and the performances are terrific. Also, I have such a huge crush on Villanelle now. I know she's a psycho and all but, I don't know, I love the character so much. I'm almost done with Rick and Morty, which makes me very sad because the series is so funny, and I'm doing progress with Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Arrested Development.

Because of all the series I watched and the sleeping I do, I didn't watch a lot of movies in July. Okay, that's not really true. Turns out I watched 14. Anyway, here they are. 

LA 92 (2017)

Plot: Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, filmmakers examine that tumultuous period through rarely seen archival footage.

I’ve been meaning to watch this documentary for a while and now that I finally got around to it I urge everyone who hasn’t seen it to watch it. It is both informative — I was born in 1994 in Italy so I’m not really familiar with this part of history — and emotional and difficult to watch. It angered me and made me sick to watch this and see that it’s almost been 30 years and America hasn’t changed a bit when it comes to black lives. Rating: 3,5

Me, Myself and Her [Io e lei] (2015)

Plot: Marina (Sabrina Ferilli) and Federica (Margherita Buy) have been together for five years now, they share the same apartment, bed, face cream, they laugh, they fight, but even so sometimes they are not sure if they're a couple or not.

I've been wanting to see this film since I saw the trailer at the movies back in 2015 but I missed it and I had to wait for Netflix to add it to watch it. Unfortunately, it was a huge letdown. The story isn't particularly engaging, Federica is such an unlikeable character — I did feel like she was supposed to be like that — and it doesn't really add anything new to the LGBT genre. If anything, it's a bit offensive as it labels itself as an LGBT film but at it's just so bland and shallow and it's basically a shame for the genre. Rating: 2

The Perfection (2018)

Plot: A promising violoncellist, teenage Charlotte Willmore (Molly Grace) is forced to quit her career to take care of her mother. Years later, when her mother dies, Charlotte (Allison Williams) travels to Shanghai to meet her former academy's new prodigy, Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Logan Browning). The two hit it off immediately and, after spending the night together, they go travel together by bus. But soon strange things begin to happen to Lizzie. 

I actually wanted to write a full review for this but then didn’t because work drains me so much. Anyway, it is such great horror. The story is engaging from start to finish and features some surprising twists. The direction is great as there's tension and suspense throughout the entire film, and the acting is great — Browning's performance blew me away and I'm really interested in seeing more of her work now. I still can’t believe this is a Netflix original. Rating: 4

Becoming (2020)

Plot: Former first lady Michelle Obama provides an insight into her life during her 2019 book tour. 

I read Michele Obama’s biography last year and I adored it. It provides such an insight into her person and her life. All the stuff she's had to deal as a black woman, from being told she wasn’t good enough for a certain college for being mocked for every single thing she did as First Lady. And it’s probably because I was familiar with the story that I wasn’t fully engaged with this documentary. There are some very beautiful and touching moments though, and if you haven’t read the book I still highly recommend this. Rating: 3

What Women Want (2000)

Plot: Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson) is a chauvinistic advertising man who thinks he's a gift to women. After a little accident, he gains the ability to hear what women are thinking and, after unsuccessfully trying to get rid of the curse, he uses his "new" power to take even more advantage of women. 

I’m not sure why this ended on my list but as soon as Netflix added it I check it out. It’s a very stupid film and the storyline makes me so angry, but it wasn’t as terrible as I thought it’d be. Some of the jokes are effective, and Mel Gibson isn’t completely annoying. Although I hated how he used Darcy's ideas as his own — Darcy (Helen Hunt) is the woman who got the promotion he wanted. Rating: 2,5

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

Plot: Lars (Will Farrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) have been dreaming to participate to Eurovision since they were kids, but, as they are from a small Islandic town, they are only ridiculed by the townfolks. When the boat hosting the best Islandic singers catches on fire killing all people on board, Lars and Sigrit are given the opportunity to represent their country and prove everyone that any dream is worth having. 

Despite this being a Netflix original and starring Ferrell, I had very high expectations because everyone on Twitter seemed to love the movie. And I absolutely adored it. While I'm still not a fan of Ferrell, McAdams and Dan Stevens are terrific in their comedic roles, the film is throughout engaging, funny and a little touching towards the end. And the songs are so damn catchy! Rating: 4

Elizabethtown (2005)

Plot: Right when he's about to kill himself, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) receives a phone call from his sister (Judy Greer) informing him that his father just passed away in his hometown of Elizabethtown. As the oldest offspring, he's asked to deal with the funeral and his father's family. On his way there, he meets flight attendant Claire Colburn (Kristen Dunst) who changes his perspective on life. 

This one has been on my life probably for 10 years. I don't even know why I wanted to watch it in the first place and why I was expecting it to be good. And I came pretty close to hate it. I wasn't engaged at all. I don't care about the story, I didn't care about the characters. I just wanted it to be over. Rating: 2

Disclosure (2020)

Plot: It provides an in-depth look at Hollywood's depiction of transgender people and its impact on transgender people. 

I was really looking forward to seeing this documentary (another Netflix original) and, unlike Becoming, this is the real deal. It is such a terrific, thought-provoking one. I knew trans people are often used for laughs in films and series and it's disgusting, but I had no idea how much of a negative impact these portrayals could have on trans people. And I had no idea some weren't that big fans of Paris Is Burning. You should really check this out if you haven't seen it. Rating: 4,5

Palm Springs (2020) - Review

Boyz n the Hood (1991) - Review

She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Plot: It follows Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns), a young African American woman in Brooklyn, and her simultaneous sexual relationships with three different men. 

When Da 5 Bloods came out I realised that I haven't seen most of Spike Lee's filmography and watched this one because it's the only one Netflix has. And the storyline really intrigued me which was a huge plus. Unfortunately, the film was a huge letdown. While I appreciated the feminist view of sex, the film itself was boring and unengaging. I only sat through the entire film because it was only 84 minutes long. Rating: 2

Nobody Knows I'm Here [Nadie sabe que estoy aquí] (2020)

Plot: Memo (Jorge Garcia) lives on a remote Chilean sheep farm, hiding a beautiful singing voice from the outside world. Everything changes when he meets Marta (Millaray Lobos) who records him singing and published the video on the internet.  

Netflix's first Chilean original film, this was a bit of a disappointment. While the portrait of Memo and his life is quite interesting, the first half is too slow and eventually, I wasn't invested. Garcia gives a beautiful performance though. Rating: 2

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Plot: A psychologically troubled novelty supplier (Adam Sandler) is nudged towards a romance with an English woman (Emily Watson), all the while being extorted by a phone-sex line run by a crooked mattress salesman (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and purchasing stunning amounts of pudding.

Since Uncut Gems came out, I've been hearing nothing but how great Sandler's performance is this film was. And how good the film itself was. So I finally decided to check it out. And voilà, a film I perhaps hated more than Uncut Gems. Maybe it's the heat or my crazy sleep pattern, but the film didn't make any sense whatsoever. I just sat through 95 minutes of garbage. Shitty photography. A far fetched and unengaging story with one of the worst romances ever. But people weren't completely wrong, Sandler's performance is great. But it's not worth watching for the performance alone, especially if you are not a Sandler fan. Rating: 1,5

The First Wives Club (1996)

Plot: Elise (Goldie Hawn), Brenda (Bette Midler) and Annie (Diane Keaton) reunite after nearly three decades when their college friend commits suicide. Upon realising they all were dumped by their unfaithful husbands who replaced them with much younger women, they seek revenge on the husbands. 

I was excepting a light comedy and that's exactly what I got. It wasn't always entirely engaging but overall it was quite entertaining, the leading trio has chemistry, and there's a nice Timothy Olyphant cameo. Rating: 2,5

Mickey Blue Eyes (1999)

Plot: An English auctioneer (Hugh Grant) proposes to his teacher girlfriend (Jeanne Tripplehorn) only to learn that she is the daughter of a Mafia kingpin. Things get seriously bad when a godfather (Burt Young) decides to launder his no-talent son's gory paintings through the art-house and gets the FBI into the picture. 

Sometimes I do the mistake of watching stuff Netflix suggests me. This was one of those mistakes. This is such a cheesy film, and the story which isn't that good to begin with goes downhill near the end. But at least the jokes are decent and Grant is quite a likeable lead. Rating: 2,5