the shallow
Manila, 21 October—This has been a full weekend, spent well with loved ones and family. The week has been batshit, so the past couple of days were spent trying to tune out politics and work.
How did yours go? :)
Film reco
A Star is Born (2018) [SPOILERS]
We wanted to see if the hype about this movie was real, and it was. Critics have said that this is an easy Oscar nomination for Gaga, who shone all the way through the roughly two-hour film about a rising star (Gaga) and a falling alcoholic country singer (Cooper). Heartbreaking and gorgeous, Gaga is so good in this I forgot she was Gaga in the first place. I got so lost in her portrayal of Ally, whose journey to stardom is both boosted and weighed down by her alcoholic partner Jack. Bradley Cooper is charming and arresting here, if a bit unintelligible (he should have come with subtitles). When I first heard Shallow I didn't think it was particularly special, but MY GOD the way it comes alive in the movie had me teary-eyed. It was great. As a friend put it, "It moved my cold dead heart." Well, if I'll Never Love Again doesn't, I don't know what to say to you.
Series reco
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
[ONGOING/NO SPOILERS PLEASE!]
Speaking of hype—I'm the last person you'd sell a horror movie to, much less a horror series, but here I am, almost halfway through Netflix's "The Haunting of Hill House," which is based off a Shirley Jackson novel of the same name. We're at episode 4 so far, and by virtue of having my eyes closed for more than half the time, I only understand about 27% of what I've seen so far haha. FULL DISCLOSURE this was sold to me as, The Lesbian Stays Alive In This One, so they better not betray me. Speaking of lesbian: Ugh, we're thoroughly loving Theodora Crain's Angelina Jolie x Gal Gadot facial structure here, so maybe I'll try to keep watching until the end of the season. Come yell when you're done.