Happy post-Oscars day!
I had a lovely time hosting a party with a few friends. My fiancee and I cooked a full menu and we had a few special cocktails.
I was mostly unsurprised by the wins last night, it was a very expected Oscars show, with Emma Stone’s win for Poor Things the only technical upset.
That being said, I had a very busy week and didn’t get much in, though I did finish two long-lasting. Which continues to look busy for the next month, so this month’s movie club is postponed and we will pick up the Agnès Varda month in April.
Let’s get to the recap!
FILM
Highlight: Tampopo | 1985 | Jūzō Itami ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
A pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside fast food stop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the “art of noodle soup making”.
SCAM Girls Movie Club has become SCAM Girls Dinner Club this month with my fiancee programming a month of food-centric movies and a killer menu catered to each film. The opening choice was a wonderful story, with a surprising amount of eroticism. Food is love and it is one of the first forms of love we receive from our mothers. That is a big point of this “ramen Western.” I found the central performances in Tampopo to be quite lovely. (Keep an eye out for a young Ken Watanabe!) Some moments felt almost Lynchian in their nonsensical nature, looking at you woman in the grocery store at night mashing all the food. I loved it, and the light story and made-with-love aesthetic of the filmmaking added to my enjoyment.
TV
In Progress
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Season 1, Episodes 11-15
Shōgun, Season 1, Episodes 2-3
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024), Season 1, Episodes 2-3
Books
Highlight: Dune | Frank Herbert ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What a novel. The first two-thirds is some of the best sci-fi writing I’ve had the pleasure to read. The last third…was a little more rough. It made me appreciate the choices made in Dune: Part II. I think the point Herbert was trying to make about colonialism and white saviors can totally be missed, which appears to be why he even wrote the second novel. I think because I was aware of the intention, I saw it more, but I don’t think it was the most deftly told lesson. I also really disliked how the women characters were handled right at the end. It felt oddly sexist in a story that I felt mostly avoided that. I am interested in reading the next one, and will probably do so within the next year. Overall, though, I’m impressed with the world and mythology, so I enjoyed my time in Arrakis.
In Progress
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter | Brandon Sanderson — 29%
The Big Read
Jane Austen | Charlotte Brontë - Just started
The Weathered Tome Society
American Gods | Neil Gaiman — 82%
Games
Completed: Diablo IV | PS5 | Blizzard Entertainment
Finally, the campaign has been completed. And all I have to say is…meh. The designs were cool, and the time spent playing with friends was fun, but the game left me with a sigh. It’s just boring mostly, the gameplay is simple to the point of dullness and the story was a bit confusing.
Video Games
Persona 4 Golden | PS Vita | Atlus
YouTube
A podcast I was listening to this week talked about this weird history figure and I watched a few videos on him. All hail Corporal Jackie!
That’s it for this week. Let me know what you’ve been taking in!
Thanks for reading. Til next time!
— Colton