Below are my review for the week of January 21st-27th. This week I was able to listen to an album, watch a movie, and finish a book!
Album: Good Company (2014) by The Dead South
My Thoughts:
About a month ago, my mom recommended I watch the following music video for The Dead South’s “In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company.”
My dad compared their dance moves to The Beatles in the music video for “Your Mother Should Know.” It’s a fun video, and it gives you a taste of this band’s sound.
This is might sound completely unrelated, but do you know “Two Dots,” the mobile game? Am I crazy for thinking that the rhythm/bass in “In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company” sounds similar to the music from this game? This song in particular:
Anyway, I’ve been a fan of folk music for some time now, but before listening to Good Company, I wasn’t super familiar with bluegrass music. I was surprised to hear that the band is actually from Canada. With a name like The Dead South, I could have sworn this band was from the southern US state. In any case, Good Company is the ensemble’s debut album. I enjoyed listening to it, and I’ll probably listen to more of the band’s music throughout the year. I’d like to learn more about bluegrass music, so if you have other bands or artists that you like, please do share in the comments!
My Rating:
Favorite Songs:
Book: Finding Me: A Memoir (2022) by Viola Davis
Summary:
Finding Me is Viola Davis’s candid memoir detailing her journey from a childhood marked by poverty and struggle in South Carolina to becoming an acclaimed actress and advocate for diversity in Hollywood. Davis reflects on her early years, grappling with feelings of invisibility and self-doubt due to her impoverished upbringing and the racial disparities she faced. She shares intimate stories of her struggles with identity, self-esteem, and the challenges of navigating a predominantly white industry. Through perseverance, talent, and a commitment to authenticity, Davis finds her voice and purpose, ultimately becoming a trailblazer in Hollywood and an inspiration to many. The memoir delves into themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the importance of representation in media.
Summary written by ChatGPT when prompted “Summarize the memoir by Viola Davis ‘Finding Me’”
My Thoughts:
Jack Edwards, one of my favorite book reviewers on YouTube, made a video last summer where he rated some of the most popular celebrity memoirs. I recommend you watch the whole video if you’re thinking of checking out any of the memoirs that he reviews in the video, but spoiler alert, in the end he rated Finding Me by Viola Davis as his #1 celebrity memoir.
I read most books as audiobooks, mostly because it’s convenient for me. When it comes to Finding Me, I do recommend reading it specifically in the audiobook format because Davis reads it herself. After all, it’s what helped her win a Grammy for “Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording” and become the 18th EGOT winner (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).
Davis’ voice and storytelling are captivating. I had a lump in my throat throughout most of the book. Davis overcame so much to get to where she is today, including poverty, domestic violence, health issues, and racism/colorism. She acknowledges that it took a lot of work for her to heal and find herself. I love the way she highlights the people in her life that helped her along the way.
Davis embodies resilience. Not only did she face many hardships in her childhood, but she chose a career that requires a lot of grit. Of course, luck plays a big part in finally finding success as an actor, but Davis’ determination throughout decades of working as an actor helped her to finally find success in her career. Davis shares that even after earning an acting degree from Juilliard and getting an agent, it was not enough to guarantee success.
Again, I admire Davis’ resilience. I can only imagine how disheartening it must be to be an actor and to face constant rejections. I recently had to overcome a disappointment in my professional career (I was passed over for a promotion for the second year in a row) and so reading Davis’ story helps me remember that things sometimes take time. We just have to trust that it will happen someday, and to keep working to improve ourselves and doing the things we love.
My Rating:
Movie: May December (2023) Directed by Todd Haynes and Screenplay by Samy Burch
Summary – From Wikipedia:
May December is a 2023 American drama film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik. Loosely inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, it stars Natalie Portman as an actress who travels to meet and study the life of the controversial woman (Julianne Moore) she is set to play in a film—a woman infamous for the 23-year-long relationship with her husband (Charles Melton) which began when he was 13 years old (Wikimedia Foundation, 2024).
My Thoughts:
Lately I’m trying to watch recent talked-about, kind of controversial, movies and Oscar contenders. I was especially curious about May December after it was announced that it was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of “Musical or Comedy Motion Picture.” It’s hard to understand how a movie with such a salacious subject matter could be considered a comedy. I watched a video essay by YouTube creator, Broey Deschanel, in which she explains why this movie might be considered a comedy.
Deschanel’s video is great, but honestly, even after watching this movie, I still don’t totally get it. I guess there are some pretty ridiculous moments, especially when they’re paired with a melodramatic score. For example, there’s the “hot dogs” scene at the beginning of the movie where Gracie laments, “I don’t think we have enough hot dogs” as dramatic music plays in the background.
I’m not totally sure how to feel about this movie. At least for me, I felt uneasy the whole time I was watching it. Actually, I had to watch in two sittings. If this is in fact a comedy, then I guess you need to have a dark sense of humor. Maybe I need to watch more Todd Haynes films to understand his vision. What I am sure about is that Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore do a great job of playing very unlikeable women. I was also impressed by Charles Melton’s performance. He was the heart of this movie, and you really do feel for him. Like many others, I’m surprised that he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for this performance.
My Rating:
References:
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Jan 27 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Wikimedia Foundation. (2024b, January 27). May December. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_December
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