In my review of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, I criticised the 2022 Disney version. I haven’t actually watched it. I felt bad enough about it that I actually did this week. I’d originally been planning to watch Everything Everywhere All at Once. I guess that can wait for another week. Instead, I’ll watch Tom Hanks talking to a CGI wooden boy. Even though I know there’s no way that it’ll be as good as del Toro’s version. How could it be?
The Netflix film debate is a weird thing. Not only is it ridiculous that certain people seem to be gatekeeping cinema but it refuses to accept that the way people consume media has changed. Why should it matter whether people watch films on a massive screen with a bunch of strangers or at home with their loved ones? Yes, I agree that going to the cinema is a joy but I’m also well aware that I haven’t really been to the cinema much since Covid. We also have to question why, if streaming services are ruining the film industry, so many famous directors are releasing films on it? Martin Scorsese, Bong Joon-ho and now Guillermo del Toro are just a few of the great filmmakers who are now Netflix official. If films should only be watched at a cinema then why are they so willing to take their money?
I liked history. It was one of my favourite subjects at school even if it wasn’t my best. History is pretty big so my understanding of it is fairly limited. Especially when it comes to Irish history. This is just my way of saying that I don’t know whether Martin McDonagh’s film is actually a good metaphor for the Irish Civil War or not. It certainly seemed like a fun way of explaining it and was definitely interesting.
One of the first books that I read this year was Julia and the Whale by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. It has been sitting on my shelf for a while but in the pre-Christmas madness, I hadn’t managed to get to it. It remains one of my top books of 2022, so I knew I had to fit Leila and the Blue Fox into my reading list as well. How could it not be as good as the previous one? I managed to finish it just before the end of November. I knew that I wouldn’t finish my current read in time, so decided to fit this one in instead. It was a quick read last weekend and a great way to end my month’s reading.
Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to read a copy of this book before it was published. Not only was I really honoured to get the chance to do it but I was excited to read it. The premise just sounded so good. I’d also read Dominic J. Anton’s poetry collection Intuition before, so I was excited to read his prose. The book was released in October and I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the finished work. I couldn’t wait to get back in and read the final edition. So, I started reading it as soon as possible.
When is it possible to say for sure that an author is one of your favourites? How many of their books do you need to have read before you can make that claim? Even after reading His Bloody Project, I was sure that Graeme Macrae Burnet would be in a position to earn that title. Then I read Case Study and it only confirmed how much I enjoy his writing. In order to get the full experience, I also bought copies of his other works but, as usual, it took me a while to get around to them. When I found the audiobook version of this book in my library’s catalogue, it seemed like it was the right time to do so. So, I listened to it during work with the hope that I could finally bestow the all-important title on the Scottish author.
After I finished Redhead by the Side of the Road the other week, I listened to a second Anne Tyler book. How did I pick it? It was available as an audiobook on my library app and it was shorter than A Spool of Blue Thread. I think that’s a pretty good way to pick a book. I’ll get around to A Spool of Blue Thread eventually but it’s just too long to finish in one workday. If I have to stretch a book over a few days then I lose the momentum. It’s much easier all around if I just finish one over the course of a day.
After I read French Braid earlier this year, I decided that I’d try and read more Anne Tyler books. She’s an author that I haven’t read enough of and it’s time to change that. So, when I discovered a few of her books on my library app, I decided to borrow them. Again, I’ve been listening to audiobooks at work and she’s a great writer for that. Her stories are detailed but don’t require a lot of effort to keep track of the plot. You just get to enjoy gorgeous writing as you perform menial tasks. What could be better?
Wes Anderson isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. I know this. He can be a little too quirky and whimsical for many people. I have friends who can’t stand him. I do think he sort of shot himself in the foot a little by making The Grand Budapest Hotel so funny and accessible. It gave more people the Anderson bug but they don’t get the same feeling from his other films. Personally, I enjoy his work. It’s like a little aesthetic escape from reality. His films are an antidote to the doom and gloom that we regularly see around us. I get excited every time a new film is announced. If it hadn’t been for the pandemic, I would have raced to see The French Dispatch at the cinema as soon as it came out. As it stands, I’m still avoiding public spaces as much as possible without totally ruining my life. Meaning I had to wait for this to come to Disney+. Better late than never.
I’ve had this book on my shelf for ages. I was so excited to get it because it sounded like such a fantastic story and it looked beautiful. I was hoping to read it last year but I didn’t get a chance. That’s what happens when you set yourself a stupid reading challenge that restricts your choices. I’ve been making slow progress with my current read, so I decided to spend some time yesterday getting through this one. I hoped it would be a change from the heartbreaking Dear Edward. Well, it didn’t quite turn out like that.
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 