the digest: 05

(an extremely overdue) november 2024: totally wicked

Bonjour and sorry I have been absent this month. Mostly sorry to myself cause girl I need to commit a little better. Also I apologise for the tardiness with this post. May have driven into a pothole and had my mother’s car towed and been stuck in her hometown for a little bit… oops.

Editing from December cause I still haven’t posted this: yikes sorry I did try to get this done before I left for my California holiday but alas…

(too long for email)

Film.

Geek Charming (dir. Jeffrey Hornaday, 2011) - Film geek Josh ropes popular girl Dylan into being the star of his documentary, because she wants to win ‘Blossom Queen’ and he wants to win a film festival. But duh, they fall for each other!

Okay so obviously this was terrible (but borderline camp) but I do wish I watched this as a kid. I would have loved it. Josh’s doco was utter shit though. ⭑

Interview with the Vampire (dir. Neil Jordan, 1994) - A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter. (Letterboxd)

A decent film, but one where you can tell without even reading the book, that the book was so much better. Kirsten Dunst will always be that girl, like she ate this up completely. Tom Cruise was mad hot as Lestat and yeah it hurts me to say that. ⭑⭑⭑.5

Death Proof (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2007) - Two separate sets of women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans. (IMDB)

I now officially have a favourite Tarantino movie! I mean, Django Unchained and Kill Bill Vol 1 were kinda tied, but this is actually madly underrated. It is extremely fun and also gruesome with an extremely satisfying ending and I loved it. Shout out to my friend that continually insisted that I watch this because I probably would have put it off for ages otherwise. Girls are awesome. But Quentin bro those feet shots are actually out of hand. ⭑⭑⭑⭑.5

12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet, 1957) - The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict. (IMDB)

Genuinely what the fuck. The filmbros could not have been more correct about something. I have never seen a film that made me feel this way. I genuinely believe this is pure perfection. Zero flaws. No notes. Life is changed. I’m stupid for not watching this sooner. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Cruel Intentions (dir. Roger Kumble, 1999) - Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster’s daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kathryn. But if he loses, Kathryn will claim his most prized possession. (Letterboxd)

This was great dumb 90s fun. We all know by now that I adore Sarah Michelle Gellar wholeheartedly. And Ryan Phillippe would definitely be able to manipulate me. This was absolutely whack and I’m surprised it ever got made and I’m surprised it served quite hard. Super iconic soundtrack. The ending is so stupid I genuinely laughed out loud. ⭑⭑⭑.5

The Starling Girl (dir. Laurel Parmet, 2023) - 17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church. (Letterboxd)

This has been on my watchlist since before it came out, but did I see an edit of Lewis Pullman in this film to Crush by Ethel Cain on my for you page then immediately scour the internet to find this film? Well, yes! This actually made me deeply angry and sad, that girls go through things like this, and feel this shit. I feel so lucky to live the life I live and be raised the way I was. Eliza Scanlen is actually amazing. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Wicked (dir. Jon M. Chu, 2024) - Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads. (IMDB) - watched 3 times…

I first saw the stage production of Wicked in 2014, when I was all of 7 years old. My mum and I bought the soundtrack on CD and listened on repeat. I saw the production again this year and it was just as excellent, so I was very much nervous for this film. But it captures everything lovable about the musical and transforms it into a lovely film adaptation. Everyone was perfect for their roles! Some songs however, were irreplaceable - no shade to Ari’s ‘Popular’ but the og will forever be that girl. Anyways, cried like a baby, saw it 3 times, yadayadayada. But I did still give it 4 stars just because some of it was slightly corny and a littttttlleeeee MCU vibes - such as Madame Morrible walking in slow-mo. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

REWATCH - Blades of Glory (dir. Will Speck & Josh Gordon, 2007) - When a much-publicized ice-skating scandal strips them of their gold medals, two world-class athletes skirt their way back onto the ice via a loophole that allows them to compete together as a pairs team. (Letterboxd)

This is so dumb and I kinda love it. I came home from one of my many Wicked viewings and my mum had this on tv. I sat and watched the whole thing although I had already seen it a couple of years ago back when I was obsessed with Will Arnett (don’t ask). ⭑⭑⭑

REWATCH - La La Land (dir. Damien Chazelle, 2016) - When Sebastian, a pianist, and Mia, an actress, follow their passion and achieve success in their respective fields, they find themselves torn between their love for each other and their careers. (IMDB)

One of my favourite movies ever that my step-dad hadn’t seen yet so my mum and I made him watch it. I don’t need to say much more. I’m going here in 2 days. AHHH!!!!!! ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

REWATCH - The Wizard of Oz (dir. Victor Fleming, 1939) - Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them. (Letterboxd)

So fun and nostalgic. God I loved this movie as a kid. Obvi Wicked provoked a rewatch. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Earth Girls Are Easy (dir. Julien Temple, 1988) - A Southern California girl befriends three furry aliens after their spaceship lands in her swimming pool. (IMDB)

This was so incredibly fun. In fact, I will use the word ‘camp’. This will not be for everyone because like yeah, it’s kinda bad and all over the place, but also it is amazing and fabulous… Jeff Goldblum is the love of my life - duh - and Geena Davis is so great here too. I love how this is a musical, but it kind of forgets that like halfway through and there’s only like 3 songs. Like that is wonderful. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Fly (dir. David Cronenberg, 1986) - A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong. (IMDB)

Another Geena and Jeff. Is it obvious that Wicked reminded me of my childhood (and continuing) crush on Mr Goldblum? This movie is pretty fucking gross. That’s kinda it. ⭑⭑⭑.5

The Merry Gentlemen (dir. Peter Sullivan, 2024) - To save her parents’ small-town nightclub, a Broadway dancer stages an all-male, Christmas-themed revue — and meets a guy with all the right moves. (Letterboxd)

My lesbian friends picked to watch this whilst we were on holiday. Sheer horror. Chad is decent enough looking but not nearly enough to even make this remotely watchable. They’re shit at stripping anyways. 1/2 a star.

Television.

The Inbetweeners (season 1) - Pretty funny. Binged a lot of this. Reminded me a lot of a guy at my old work I used to have a crush on who quoted this all the time. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Other than that, I rewatched seasons 1 & 2 of Buffy.

Books.

Sarahland - Sam Cohen

I ordered this somewhat spontaneously after reading a review that said that there were many Buffy references that the reviewer did not understand - and that sold me. Good short story collection, pretty out there, but fun and also meaningful. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Music.

Magdalena Bay

My top ten artists:

1. The 1975

2. Caroline Polachek

3. Magdalena Bay

4. Ethel Cain

5. Lana Del Rey

6. Charli XCX

7. Billy Idol

8. Ariana Grande

9. The Cure

10. Blondie

My top fifteen songs:

1. Image - Magdalena Bay

2. Superlove - Charli XCX

3. That’s My Floor - Magdalena Bay

4. Death and Romance - Magdalena Bay

5. Rebel Yell - Billy Idol

6. Killshot - Magdalena Bay

7. So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek

8. Billions - Caroline Polachek

9. Smoke - Caroline Polachek

10. Crush - Ethel Cain

11. party 4 u - Charli xcx

12. Pretty In Possible - Caroline Polachek

13. Cry For Me - Magdalena Bay

14. What Is This Feeling - Wicked movie cast

15. Crash - Charli XCX

I would love to go see Magdalena Bay but none of my friends wanna come :(

Moments.

I finished all my final exams, and celebrated by getting my seconds pierced (freedom from school rules).

I also celebrated on schoolies up in Byron Bay - although not really schoolies because me and my friends stayed in a lovely place outside of Byron and relaxed. But went into town a couple nights ;)

That’s really all :) Happy new year everybody, my December digest will be on its way shortly :)

Love,

Isla