2024 film diary ⤴

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Director: Emerald Fennell
Writer: Emerald Fennell
Stars: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnhan

this story is a trap. you know it's a trap, but then you don't. you forget. or you fail to realize who is setting the trap for whom. and the end is inevitable, except it's not, it can't be, but it is. you feel the horror and the victory of it.

well. you know I'd watch Carey Mulligan in anything, and she always delivers.

Saltburn (2023)

Director: Emerald Fennell
Writer: Emerald Fennell
Stars: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi

candy movie. maybe one of those sweet, hard candies with a sour centre.

I do love rich people throwing parties. I anticipated more thrills, more horror, but this is not a roller-coaster. this is erosion. this is rot. this is a hollowing out. and maybe the fruit was always rotten inside, but nevertheless, all that remains in the end is its shiny skin.

Nicholas Barber wrote that "if you see it as a lurid pulp fantasy rather than a penetrating satire, then Saltburn is deliriously enjoyable," which sums up almost precisely how I felt.

Paris Blues (1961)

Director: Martin Ritt
Writers: Jack Sher, Irene Kamp, Walter Bernstein, based upon a novel by Harold Flender
Stars: Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Diahann Carroll, Joanne Woodward

I enjoyed this film very much and I am frustrated by how it wastes its potential. some of this is down to studio meddling (can't have an interracial romanance, no sir) and some is the responsibility of the screenwriters, but ah well. it nevertheless looks and sounds gorgeous. the dialogue is frequently sharp, clever, and suprising. it's good; more people should see it.

(but!! imagine the version where Paul Newman and Diahann Carroll are paired up and tell me you don't feel sad we were robbed of that.)

Good Grief (2023)

Director: Dan Levy
Writer: Dan Levy
Stars: Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel

not what I thought this would be! a smart and surprising script, quite tender. another example of me seeking out stories about grief...

Crashing (2016 TV series)

TV night with E

Creator: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Stars: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jonathan Bailey

put interesting and varied characters in strange and increasingly convoluted situations!

What's Up Doc (1972)

movie night with E

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Writers: Buck Henry, David Newman, Robert Benton, story by Peter Bogdanovich
Stars: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn

a screwball comedy, remember them? wonderfully funny.

The Fly (1986)

movie night with E

Director: David Cronenberg
Writers: Charles Edward Pogue, David Cronenberg, from the story by George Langelaan
Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis

SO GOOD. I LOVE IT MORE EVERY TIME I SEE IT. DEEPLY LAYERED AND MEANINGFUL. HORRIFYING. BE AFRAID!

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

movie night with G

Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: Nora Ephron
Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby

had to show him my favourite movie.

it remains my favourite movie.

North & South (2004 TV miniseries)

Director: Brian Percival
Writers: Sandy Welch, novel by Elizabeth Gaskell
Stars: Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage

I swoon, I sigh.

“Look back. Look back at me.”

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

movie night with E

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writers: Hayao Miyazaki, novel by Diana Wynne Jones
Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura

I'm fond of the English dub, but E and I watched with subtitles. wonderful film.

Mean Girls (2024)

movie night with book club

Director: Samantha Jayne, Arturo Perez Jr.
Writer: Tina Fey
Stars: Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp

hot mess. hot!! but a mess. whenever Reneé, Auliʻi, or Jaquel are singing, the film is good. Reneé delivering the definitive version of "World Burn." retains most of the stage musical's problems, including poor pacing and character development. I...do not think they did Angourie any favours here. sorry, girl.

um. this is bad. but a fun bad. we're lucky to have it.

Camelot (1982)

movie night with G

Director: Marty Callner
Writer: Alan Jay Lerner
Stars: Richard Harris, Meg Bussert, Richard Muenz

gotta show him why I love this musical and yes I did cry at the end.

Love's Labour's Lost (2000)

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: Kenneth Branagh, play by William Shakespeare
Stars: Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone

speechless. no words. what? wHAt? WHAT?? making a film means making a series of decisions. almost every single choice here is a strong, wrong choice. I'm baffled.

the single best moment is the approximately 90 seconds when Adrian Lester is singing/dancing to "I've Got a Crush on You." it's like, for a fleeing moment, I glimpsed a truly romantic musical comedy. and then this film went back to doing whatever it's doing. don't get me wrong, there are other fun moments (anytime Nathan Lane is on screen), the stage-y set design is charming, and Branagh is doing his typically Shakespearean acting (Branagh in Shakespeare is like the Kuleshov effect; if the production is good or great, he's great, if it's bad, he's bad), but...hmm.

in the end, I'm happy it takes a big swing. it's the opposite kind of hot mess from Mean Girls (see above), which makes a lot of good choices but ultimately ends up lackluster and mediocre—this film transcends mediocrity by virtue of its sheer chaoticness, never quite reaching either "good" or "so bad it's good" but some secret third thing.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Deborah Moggach, novel by Jane Austen
Stars: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen

I think I like the story of P&P, but maybe I don't like the novel. because I've enjoyed the adaptations that stray further from the book (this, and my first exposure, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) and I've never been able to finish the book. hmm.

this is a wonderful film.

Poor Things (2023)

movie night with N

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Writers: Tony McNamara, novel by Alasdair Gray
Stars: Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo

I'm a little terrified to say anything about this one, but I liked it. certainly it is ripe for interpretation. and visually stunning! if nothing else, can we agree that more films should be so daring and fantastical in their visuals?

The Witch: A New-England Folktale (2015)

movie night with E

Director: Robert Eggers
Writer: Robert Eggers
Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson

file under: not my thing but very well done.

The Oranges (2011)

Director: Julian Farino
Writers: Ian Helfer, Jay Reiss
Stars: Hugh Laurie, Leighton Meester

you should know this upfront: I was scrolling, looking for something to watch, when I stumbled upon this vaguely familiar title and saw it had an IMDB score of 5.8/10, which made it an instant yes from me. I was in that kind of mood, you know? and honestly, I had a blast.

yes, this is a blasphemous waste of a superb cast (you've got Catherine Keener, Allison Janney, and Oliver Platt and this is what you give them??). but it manages to deliver something unexpected, funny, with glints of honest feeling. Even mediocre movies have their target audience, and in this case, it's me: I'm the target.

anyway, things worked out for Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, so...

Hansard (2019)

national theatre at home

Directors: Simon Godwin, Robin Lough
Writer: Simon Woods
Stars: Alex Jennings, Lindsay Duncan

Lindsay Duncan is another one of those actors who I would watch in anything. I think she is outstanding.

I love a two-hander, I love banter on stage, and in those aspects, Hansard handily delivers. it's a sparring match between husband and wife, conservative and liberal, in which the political becomes, right at the end, incredibly personal.

listen. it's no Yerma, but nevertheless—a pretty satisfying night at the theatre.

Leaving (2012 TV miniseries)

Director: Gaby Dellal
Writer: Tony Marchant
Stars: Helen McCrory, Callum Turner

Helen McCrory? say no more. it's almost great.

Newsies (1992)

movie night with E

Director: Kenny Ortega
Writer: Bob Tzudiker, Noni White
Stars: Christian Bale, David Moscow

while the Broadway adaptation is terribly popular, it will always be tiny, blond Christian Bale for me. and Bill Pullman! and Ann-Margaret! and the adorable Max Casella!

it's the Kenny Ortega effect. plus Alan Menken. the film makes me gotta get up and dance. more! movie! musicals! like! this!

A Star is Born (1976)

Director: Frank Pierson
Writer: John Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion, Frank Pierson, based on a story by William Wellman and Robert Carson
Stars: Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson

do I think this is the weakest Star of the bunch? I do. and yet here I am, watching it again. Kris Kristofferson has a twinkle and magnetism. Barbra is Barbra, like it or not (I like it). when it works, it really works. when it doesn't, well...

the story behind this production is fabulously chaotic, though. which makes this a fascinating artifact, if nothing else.

Constellations (2021)

national theatre at home

Director: Michael Longhurst
Writer: Nick Payne
Stars: Peter Capaldi and Zoë Wanamaker / Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O'Dowd

stop me if you've heard this one before: "A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbeque." No?

in the multiverse, anything is possible. four different casts to choose from, each exploring the infinite possibilities of one relationship. I watched two of the four pairings. humour and heartbreak, awkwardness and uncertainty. there's a lot packed into 70 minutes. I liked it, particularly Anna and Chris.

who knows, maybe I'll watch it twice more.

Shopgirl (2005)

Director: Anand Tucker
Writer: Steve Martin (based on his novel of the same name)
Stars: Claire Danes, Steve Martin, Jason Schwartzman

what a strange little movie! it's a example of what happens when you make a movie about "real" people—that is, it attempts to weave a tale out of mundane circumstance and does so with elegance and a good handful of second-hand embarrassment. delicate as rice paper.

Palm Springs (2020)

Director: Max Barbakow
Writers: Andy Siara (story + screenplay), Max Barbakow (story)
Stars: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti

it took exactly one thing to sell me on this movie: Cristin Milioti.

yep, it's another time loop story (is it just me, or are we loving those in the 2010s/2020s?), and I'm into it! funny, sweet, strange. if you liked this, please go watch Cristin in Made For Love.

Yerma (2017)

Directors: Simon Stone, Tony Grech-Smith
Writers: Simon Stone (adaptation), Federico García Lorca (original play)
Stars: Billie Piper, Brendan Cowell

yeah, I watched Yerma again. what of it?? I could no longer resist.

The Dark Crystal (1982)

movie night with E

Directors: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
Writers: David Odell, story by Jim Henson
Stars: Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz

hell to the yeah. I was fully committed to watching this for cultural competency but delighted to find that I almost immediately loved it. set in a gorgeous, immersive world, the simple story struck an emotional chord and held my attention throughout. it's a shame Jen isn't more expressive, given just how alive the Mystics and Skeksis feel. but I love a confused hero.

Gypsy: Live from the Savoy Theatre (2015)

Director: Lonny Price
Writers: Arthur Laurents, based on the Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee
Stars: Imelda Staunton, Lara Pulver, Gemma Sutton, Peter Davison

knew about this one from its reputation: music by Styne, lyrics by Sondheim, performance-of-a-career by Imelda Staunton. it also features an appearance by the Doctor himself, Peter Davison, who I was not expecting! a spectacular, thrilling show that captivates you from start to finish. why did it take me so long to finally watch this??

The King and I (2018)

Directors: Bartlett Sher (stage), Gary Halvorson (broadcast)
Writers: Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Margaret Landon's Anna and the King of Siam
Stars: Kelli O'Hara, Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles

in a ★★★½ star Letterboxd review, Madison says, "WHY are revivals of shows that are terrible to asian people have such good casts/versions of songs i'm TIREDDDDD and 2/3 of examples have kelli o' hara as well!! is a puzzlement" and honestly I think that sums it up. gorgeous, sumptuous production of a show that will never escape the story's roots in imperialism. both Kelli and Ken are excellent here, but the shoutout must go to Ruthie Ann Miles—scene-stealer and simply phenomenal.

R&H were masters of the craft, and there is a lot to be learned from The King and I. but not Thailand's history. definitely learn that somewhere else.

Turtles All the Way Down (2024)

Director: Hannah Marks
Writers: Elizabeth Berger, Isaac Aptaker, based on the novel by John Green
Stars: Isabela Merced, Cree, Felix Mallard

good to know this film is just as devastating as the book was. a hard watch for us anxious girlies.