House of the Dragon is back baby! Team Black all the way!
This week was a little busy for me, I’m amid theatre season auditions, which is fun but does take a lot of brainpower and time. I’m grateful for all the opportunities and the time to just relax at home with my fianceé.
This week I’m hoping to have a little more downtime to relax a little more.
FILM
Highlight: In the Mood for Love | Wong Kar-Wai | 2000 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In an effort to not put another Lord of the Rings as the highlight I went with one of my other favorites I watched this week. This is my second time seeing this movie and damn is it good. It’s a quietly devasting romance story, with gorgeous visuals and superb performances. Wong Kar-Wai has a dreamy style to his directing and it adds so much to his movies — this was a parodied style in Everything Everywhere All at Once. This is a movie that’s hard to capture just how good it is in words because so much of it comes from the visuals. It’s a movie I feel I can return to again and again and find more to appreciate each time.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 2003 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I could write more about how much I love this trilogy or you could read about it here: Cinema of Sorcery #8
Spider-Man: No Way Home | 2021 | ⭐½
This rewatch was in service of Agree to Disagree and it’s even worse than I remembered. We just recorded the episode, so get ready for that to drop on the 23rd.
The Celluloid Closet | 1995 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a very beautiful and moving documentary about queer history in cinema. There’s a ton of info packed in and so many movies that I need to go back and revisit and so many more that I just to see in the first place.
Dr. No | 1962 | ⭐⭐⭐½
I’ll be doing a very casual and slow watch of the James Bond films. I’ve seen a good chunk of them before, so most will be a rewatch. It’s really astounding to me just how solid this first entry was. They knew what they had and laid down a solid foundation for everything that was to come.
Kingdom of Heaven | 2005 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Friend of the Substack, Stanley Swindling, got this for me as a gift because I’m a Ridley Scott pilled fool. This movie is so wonky, but man I love it. The visuals are just gorgeous. My least favorite part is Orlando Bloom’s pretty blah performance.
SCAM Girls Movie Club
Summer 💅 Camp 💅
Dick | 1999 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What a fun movie! It’s a reimagining of Watergate with two silly teenage girls being the true identity of Deepthroat. It’s goofy and light, with nothing more to say other than an outrageous “What if..?” The leads are played by Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams very early in their careers. It’s just a lot of fun, and perfect for summer.
TV
Highlight: The 77th Annual Tony Awards
I had a few people over to watch this year’s Tony Awards. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve tried watching this and I had a lovely time. The ceremony itself was fine, Ariana DeBose felt a little off, but I still enjoyed it all! I mostly just love having an excuse to have people over.
In Progress
House of the Dragon, Season 2, Ep. 1
Summer Baking Championship, Season 2, Ep. 5
Books
In Progress
Fire & Blood | George R.R. Martin — 79%
The Big Read
Jane Eyre | Charlotte Brontë — 55%
The Weathered Tome Society
The Rithmatist | Brandon Sanderson — 80%
Games
In Progress
Persona 4 Golden | PS Vita | Atlus
No Rest for the Wicked | PC - Early Access | Moon Studios
Hollow Knight | PS5 | Team Cherry
Animal Well | PS5 | Billy Basso
YouTube
God, I’m such a sucker for film essays on YouTube. I can easily get sucked in for hours. This was a wonderfully made video from Vox on the history of a personal favorite movie technology of mine - Technicolor.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!
Til next time!
— Colton