the digest: 04
october 2024: exam season bitch
Hello again. Happy November. My consumption of all things media is certainly not at an all time high right now, as unfortunately, it is final exams season. But hey! I’m no longer a high school student! Yipee! Anyways, here is my October for you :)
Film.
REWATCH - Help! (dir. Richard Lester, 1965): Sir Ringo Starr finds himself the human sacrifice target of a cult, and his fellow members of The Beatles must try to protect him from it (IMDB).
Such fun. Such nostalgia. I’d die for this stupid shit. 4 and half stars. I’m a Beatles slut.
The Other Zoey (dir. Sara Zandieh, 2023): (this will contain spoilers) When this came out last year, I actually heard quite a few people enjoyed it. Those people must be very blinded with love for Drew Starkey. This film revolves around TESSAAAAUGH from After, playing an EXTREMELY similar character. In fact, I could have mistaken the opening scene from this film with a scene from After (unfortunately yes, I’ve seen it). She doesn’t believe in love like other silly girls, she is a scientist! Well, computer nerd/scientist/programmer/maths whiz. She seems to be just good at all the ‘nerd’ things. Anyway she sees this guy she’s kinda into but doesn’t get to talk to him, then Drew Starkey ends up getting - very lightly may I add - hit by a car. He opens his eyes, sees her and thinks he’s his girlfriend who is also called Zoey. And this psychotic bitch just plays into it. Because the guy she saw turns out to be Drew’s cousin. So she literally goes on a ski trip with his whole family pretending to be his girlfriend. Honestly this should result in jail time. Identity theft, fraud, all round FREAKISM! Obviously the real girlfriend shows up and everyone is like what the fuck….. freako. And she gets taunted and has to wear sunglasses around campus. Duh. I’d talk shit about her. Freak. Anyway she’s sad cause she found out through one day of playing chess and various other games with Drew that she does actually like him, and not his nerd cousin. They end up together, cause “she’s the Zoey he wants to be with”. WHY? WHY DREW WHY?
His nice face was the only saving grace. Damn I’m poetic. Half a star.
REWATCH - The Shop Around the Corner (dir. Ernst Lubitsch, 1940): GOD I LOVE THIS FILM! A romantic comedy about two shop workers who hate each other, but have been each other’s anonymous pen pal for months, and unknowingly have fallen for each other through their letters.
We were making pizza when my friend complained to me “I want to love classic Hollywood rom-coms… but the guys are always just too old and ugly for the girl!” I completely understood. What interest really would the beautiful Audrey Hepburn have in an aging Fred Astaire? “Fret not!” I didn’t say exactly, but I did tell her we had two options to watch that night. We flipped a bag of chips. Front side up - The Shop Around the Corner, bottom side - The Philadelphia Story, (I knew she would take to James Stewart). Of course - front side up - she loved it, because what’s not to love here? The banter, the tension, the fast paced talking, the knowing, the longing! I love everything about it. 5 stars bitch.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (dir. Pedro Almodóvar, 1988): A television actress encounters a variety of eccentric characters after embarking on a journey to discover why her lover abruptly left her (IMDB).
I did manage to tick off one film that’s been on my watchlist for numerous years, and I’m so glad it was this one! I love watching a film and gasping at the pure genius of like 90% of these shots. The mise en scene and alllll those vibrant colours particularly sold me. I will forever be thinking about Candela’s coffee pot earrings and Lucía’s eyeliner eyelashes. 4 stars.
Television
Honestly I’ve just been rewatching Gilmore Girls with my mum. Half way through season 2, and yes, Jess Mariano will always be that guy. So what he was problematic when him and Rory were actually together? Isn’t bringing her food, talking about books, and being generally hot enough? I’d say season 2 is my favourite. Dean isn’t quite yet too annoying, Jess is problematic in an endearing way, Rory is just Rory, Luke and Lorelai great chemistry, Emily and Richard straight up being King and Queen. 5 stars as always for this show.
Books.
Green Dot - Madeleine Gray
Reading again! Yes I nourish my brain xxx
Green Dot follows Hera, a 20 something queer woman living in Sydney, who enters an affair with an older married coworker, Arthur, that she and everyone else knows is doomed to fail.
I reaaaaaallly wanted to love this. I liked it. I first picked it up in a bookstore after hearing it was like ‘Aussie Fleabag’, and flipped to a page where I read a line that made me go ‘Haha, me.’ I enjoyed Hera’s voice at first, it’s funny, honest. But God by the end I was sick and tired of this woman’s shit!!!! Leave this man!!! I didn’t want to hear it anymore.
3-3.5, I’m not quite decided. 3.25 I guess.
Bliss Montage - Ling Ma
In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home. (Goodreads)
I do love a short story collection, but not going to lie, this one made me feel kinda dumb. The endings were very open to interpretation, which frustrated me because I was taken through these bizarre stories not to get much satisfaction at the end. Which is perhaps fine, if you’re smarter than me lol.
I gave this 2.5 stars (which is not a BAD rating, it’s halfway okay!), just because I was fairly dissatisfied.
Music.
My top ten artists:
Caroline Polachek
Charli XCX
The 1975
Lana Del Rey
Blood Orange
Ethel Cain
The Beatles
Sky Ferreira
FKA twigs
beabadoobee
My top fifteen songs:
Bunny Is A Rider - Caroline Polachek
Hit Me Where It Hurts - Caroline Polachek
So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek
Everything is romantic (remix) - Charli XCX & Caroline Polachek
Welcome To My Island - Caroline Polachek
Spring Is Coming With A Strawberry In The Mouth - Caroline Polachek
Diet Pepsi - Addison Rae
Talk talk (remix) - Charli XCX & Troye Sivan
1999 - Charli XCX & Troye Sivan
Pang - Caroline Polachek
Eusexua - FKA twigs
Perfect Stranger - FKA twigs
Stay Away - Charli XCX
Pretty In Possible - Caroline Polachek
Black Roses - Charli XCX
Stupid me is back. Okay so I’ve loved So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings and the Welcome To My Island remix for ages - so why am I just NOW properly listening to Caroline Polachek. Because she has changed my life. I have Caroline Polachek on repeat 24/7. All I want to listen to is Caroline Polachek. THIS IS POP!!!!!
There’s also been so many great releases this month, new Faye Webster, new FKA twigs, Brat remixes, new Addison Rae (though I’m not 100% sold on Aquamarine…), new Ethel Cain, new Inhaler. Like I’m fed.
Moments.
Big month.
I saw Olivia Rodrigo with a few of my friends, which was really fun. I’m not the hugest fan of Olivia (aka I like the fun songs and don’t really listen to the slow ones) but she was really great live, and it was very special watching little girls experience their first concert. Felt like a real happy emotional girl atmosphere. I heard sniffles and sobs during the sad songs, which just made me appreciate the music all over again.
More huge, I graduated from high school. Never again will I have to listen to my history teacher! There were about 40,000 ceremony things, one of which we all cried at, and one of which we all were buzzed on champagne at. I liked the champagne one a lot. I wore a Paloma Wool dress which was actually a dream come true LIKE PALOMA WOOL EEEEEEE! Danced to an atrocious DJ that played a Grease megamix straight after the Nutbush, then went into YMCA. Like sorry that’s just foul. But he did play 360 so….
Since graduating I have started my exams and my period of intense studying. Except… I’ve been playing the Sims 4 a lot. 2 exams down, 3 to go. I have my second maths tomorrow actually! But hey, I need to get my monthly digest out. I feel like English and multi-choice maths went quite well, so I’m feeling pretty good!
ALSO, I got a Laneway festival ticket!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never been so excited. Clairo, Charli XCX and beabadoobee headlining is just insane. I could die. All of these artists I’ve loved for years and I can’t even believe I’ll be seeing them the same day.
That’s really it. I hope you all had a good October (you all being 23 subscribers, hey thank you!)
Love,
Isla