Week Eighteen of 2023
Are You There God? It's Me, Palpatine.
Real Life:
Now - Check out my poem Gloria on Dark Winter Lit
May 18th-20th - The Alice Gerstenberg Festival - I’m producing and directing for this free play festival at Berger Park. All shows at 7PM. Free but you must make a reservation HERE. Tickets are going fast!
May 27th-28th, June 3rd-4th - Ghostlight Theatre’s Make/Believe Festival - I’m directing a very cute short play for this fun outdoor theater festival
PLAYS I’VE SEEN
Over the weekend, I saw both London Road and Is God Is. I honestly have a lot of thoughts here and I wonder if I’ll write something bigger somewhere else. But I highly recommend both. Very intense in very different ways.
WHAT I'VE BEEN READING
ALL THIS COULD BE DIFFERENT by Sarah Thankam Matthews - I wish I had more time to read! Still making my way through this.
WHAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING
139) ALL ABOUT EVE~ (1950) - Always an incredible experience. Thelma Ritter 4ever and 4always. I love this movie so darn much. It's biting and funny and bitchy with the performances teetering on the edge but never quite found over the top. Bette Davis really is at the height of her powers here. George Sanders pronounces the word "Schubert" in a way that always delights me. Anne Baxter is such a delicious weirdo here. Good job, Mank! Ya really did it, Mank!
☆☆☆☆
Source: DVD Collection
If you like this movie as much as I do, you can listen to me talk about it on an old episode of Movie! the Musical - a podcast about movies that get turned into musicals. A very fun time!
140) BLOW OUT~ (1981) - I was in the mood for this one, not sure why. A great Philadelphia movie first of all. This is maybe John Travolta's best performance? Definitely not an actor I love, but this performance is just great. So many incredible sequences, covered in De Palma's style. The ending is gutting. That whole last half hour is probably my favorite De Palma, except for the trailer for Snake Eyes, what a picture. John Lithgow, such a freak here!!
☆☆☆.75
Source: Chicago Public Library
141) WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR (2021) - I didn't really like it! I much more enjoyed talking about the movie and what it could've been, but the act of watching it and the film itself are just...not for me.
☆☆
Source: HBO Max
142) ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME MARGARET.* (2023) - Somebody on the socials described this movie as "a marvel, " like it's very existence is a wonder. And I agree! I'm so grateful for this lovely film. It just gave me such a sense of the sublime. Benny Safdie Rachel McAdams hot! Some great performances, especially by the kids. I never read the book when I was a kid, I was told it was inappropriate and sexual, when really it's about periods and questioning religion. Can't wait to watch it again.
☆☆☆☆
Source: Regal Theatres
143) RENFIELD* (2023) - Dumb as hell! I had a fine time, but it's not as fun a it should be. Some off casting, some overcomplications, but I think Hoult and Cage are just having so much great fun. It's gross and squishy and crunchy and overall it's fine.
☆☆☆.25
Source: Regal Theater
144) RETURN OF THE JEDI*~ (1983) I can't remember the last time I saw this on the big screen. It might've been the special edition era. So seeing it at the Music Box with an absolutely LIT crowd was such an incredible experience. My face hurt from smiling. Every character introduction got applause, from Jabba to Wicket. This is such a fun, kind of silly ending to the trilogy, with plenty of very emotional moments too. Han Solo is at peak himbo here and it's amazing. Lando flying the Falcon, Yoda's final(ish) moments, and Threepio floating in a chair, just love it. Fuck you, Palpatine!!!!
☆☆☆☆
Source: Music Box Theater
PS: Please watch my all-time favorite documentary about the guys inside of Jabba the Hutt, a truly incredible piece of work -
144) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 3* (2023) - Babe, it's fine! I was never super into this franchise (although I do love Vol. 2), and I've been so burnt out on Marvel lately, so I went in with zero expectations. And, it was fine! Pretty good in fact. A great villain performance and an incredible conclusion to Rocket's narrative. Animal lovers, beware! Mantis and Nebula MVPs.
☆☆☆.25
Source: Regal Theater
145) SHRILL: SEASONS 1-3~ (2019-2021) - So damn good. I really really REALLY loved this show when it was on and I was so sad to see it go. There is a storyline in season 3 that is so infuriatingly relatable it makes me want to throw up and rewatch the series again. Egregiously gone before its time, I love all the weird, bitchy people that populate this world. And I love Aidy Bryant holding it down as Annie - sweet, vulnerable, messy, sometimes an asshole. Fran 4ever.
☆☆☆☆
Source: Hulu
It’s spring! It’s really spring! At least it is at this very moment.