Bethany D

🎥 film: Love Affair (1939) - I didn't realize that "An Affair to Remember" (1957) was a remake of this earlier film by the same director (Leo McCarey), but this earlier version is absolutely lovely. I'll follow this up with the remake and then "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) for a triple feature.

🎥 film: Bad Boys (1995) - I guess it's a Bruckheimer/Bay classic, but it's 2 hours of people yelling at each other and sexist wife jokes (plus general sexism/objectification). There are 1 or 2 jokes that actually land and a handful of nostalgic cheese, but it is Not Good.

🎥 rewatch: Big (1988) - a fave from when I was a kid, and always a good comfort film; ❤️ and r.i.p. to Penny Marshall. if you can look past the mild pedophilic undertones of Josh's relationship with Susan (reverse Twilight vibes?), it's still an absolute classic.

🎥 film: Nomads (1986) - this was a wild mashup of music video, fever dream, and John Carpenter homage with plenty of WTF moments and an "I'll let it slide by a thin margin" near miss of cultural appropriation/anthropological racism. Was I entertained? Yes.

🎥 film: Cuckoo (2024): i'm not sure i totally understood the logic of the "monster" here, but it was creepy, exciting, and well made. 100% enjoyed watching it, do recommend.

🎥 film: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019): I want to live inside this movie. every single frame is like a painting in itself. maybe slow for some, but i just couldn't stop staring at it. fantastic & should not have waited so long to watch it.

🎥 film: Arcadian (2024) - it had potential, but the shaky camera was obnoxious, several plot elements never pay off, there's no logic to the world, monsters, or ending, and it doesn't earn its emotional beats. the first few appearances of the monsters were cool maybe? v. confused by the 👍 reviews.

🎥 film watch: Lisa Frankenstein (2024) - a romcom for the girls who want to fuck a dead boy, it's Edward Scissorhands + Heathers with somehow even worse fashion (complimentary). would watch again. loved everything but the cg blood and the awkward musical interlude.

📺 mini-series watch: A Murder at the End of the World (2023) - this was so fantastic and well done; a high-tech whodunnit that's also emotionally deep and satisfying. if you liked Brit Marling's prematurely canceled The OA, you'll love this project of hers too. more like this, plz.

apparently i'm on a mission to create a museum of outdated analog technology. today i received my vintage Panasonic audio cassette recorder, which will sit beside my Pentax 35mm film camera (same as the one i had in undergrad) and my Atari 2600... what next?

🛸❤️ fanfic rec: "Grey Canyon" by @dreamingofscully.bsky.social which seems to have disappeared from Ao3?? Sorry if you're hiding it for a reason, but it was really good!! Was in the mood for a western AU, glad I downloaded it before it went away 🥰

🎥 film watch: Collateral (2004) - missed this one when it came out, but it's a totally decent and satisfying action movie, if a teensy bit predictable. feels like a "watch it with your dad" kind of flick.

📖 book read: Incidents Around the House (2024) by Josh Malerman - very spooky, i actually put it down at bedtime and that hasn't happened in a LONG time; the sense of claustrophobia and inability to escape reminded me if It Follows in the best way

🎥 film rewatch: JFK (1991) - still an excellent movie that feels much faster than its 3+ hour run time. talked about it with students who noted that it's no longer surprising or controversial to think the government is lying, murdering and interfering with politics here & abroad 🙃

🎥 film watch: The Burbs (1989) - They really don't make movies like the quirky adult comedies of the 1980s anymore. Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, & Corey Feldman in a movie about deranged, hyperfixated neighbors. I want more like this. Movies for grownups don't have to take themselves so seriously.

🎥 film watch: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024): suffers from some annoying "marvelization" and a bit of trying-too-hard meta jokes, but there were still plenty of good funnies. actually cried laughing at the introduction of dogpool-- 5 stars for that dog's tongue.

🎥 film watch: Longlegs (2024): if Silence of the Lambs and The Amityville Horror had a baby that took LSD, it would be this movie. I'm gonna need to watch it at least 5 more times. #horror #movies

I made a thing. Use it well.

🎥 film rewatch: A Quiet Place (2018)--loved this movie when it came out for the monster factor and the "birth during the apocalypse" scene, but rewatching now (esp. in light of the "tradwife" phenomenon), there's something deeply conservative about it. fun monsters tho!

🎥 film rewatch: Donnie Darko (2001)--still a weird and wonderful mindfuck with one of the best soundtracks of all time

Right before Obi-Wan sacrifices himself to safeguard the Skywalkers and ensure the Rebellion's survival, he sees Luke standing next to Leia and smiles to himself faintly, thinking to himself "oh fuck I never got a chance to say anything, they're totally going to bang aren't they" and then he dies

DEVASTATING: this woman turned on The Lord of the Rings movie to play in the background while she cleans the house but is now glued to the TV and narrating the prologue alongside Cate Blanchett

film watch: The Exorcism (2024)--I expected not to like this but it was actually a fantastic homage to the original Exorcist (1973) in a way that's meta, but not obnoxiously so. #horror

film rewatch: V for Vendetta (2005) because... well, obviously.

film rewatch: Pecker (1998) the movie that taught me what teabagging was when i was a child 😌