This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.
For some, summer is the time for sun, surf, and sand. I personally detest all of the above and think that all beaches are essentially massive litter-boxes for the dregs of society to congregate at, but I digress.
My summer was spent partially catching up on credits, partially working, partially absorbing all the latest in film and TV. For those in the know about popular culture, summer can be a drought for all things artistic and amazing. Summer is when they release all of those Avengman Wars movies or whatever because block-busters are usually the only thing to pull people away from their vacations and into the theatres.
Summer 2018 has been a gift to me, and all those obsessed with Amy Adams, Ryan Murphy projects, and fabulous film adaptions of beloved romantic novels.
In case you were busy catching a wave or building a sandcastle or whatever it is that normal, warm-hearted people do with their time, here’s what you missed and what you should catch up on as the impending winter and cooler temps encroach:
Movies
- First Reformed: This thought-provoking film starring my new hero Ethan Hawke is not what I would normally think of as a summer film, but here we are. It revolves around Hawke’s character, a minister at a historical church in upstate New York with a dwindling parish size and his relationship with a pregnant woman and her radical, climate change obsessed husband. If Hawke does not get an Oscar nomination for this I will riot in the streets! The Academy will rue the day more than when I found out they were adding a “popular film” category, whatever that even means. Side note: I was the youngest person in the theatre when I saw this, and nothing ever makes me feel cooler than that.
- Hereditary: Ms. Toni Collette has had enough! 2 hours of Toni Collette being insane and pacing around her house in a variety of cream and beige linens: sign me up! And Ann Dowd being suspicious! This film truly has it all. It is genuinely the scariest movie I have ever seen, but wow, is it affecting and well done. Watch with someone during the daytime.
- Ocean’s 8: I wanted this movie to be better than it was, but it was still enjoyable. It could have been better, and that’s what upsets me. Anne Hathaway steals the move (pun intended) and Cate Blanchett and her outfits in this movie made me feel more alive than I have felt in months.
- Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!: Sue me. I had lots of fun at this and I won’t apologize for feeling joy. Lily James is fantastic and Christine Baranski utters the phrase “Be still my beating vagina,” while gazing upon surprise summer snack Andy Garcia. What is not to enjoy!
- Book Club: Speaking of Andy Garcia… this was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at the movies. I went with my mom and one of my grandmother’s friends and my mom and I, with our ages combined, were the youngest ones in the theatre. These women (and a few men) were living for this movie and I was right along with them. We need about 8,000 more movies like this one.
- Tully: Charlize Theron, the unproblematic Scarlett Johansson, stars as a mom who has had enough! Much like Toni Colette in Hereditary,but with less bird decapitations and creepy miniature recreations. She ends up hiring a nanny named Tully, and things happen! There is a twist at the end that is fantastic, so don’t read up too much on this one.
- Eigth Grade: A24 continues their now time-honored tradition of cranking out touching, and relatable coming-of-age movies. In Bo Burnham’s directorial debut we follow Kayla, an 8th-grader in her last couple weeks of middle school. It is as much a horror movie as it is lovely, with so many pure cringe moments, but it is heart-warming and wonderful and I adored it.
- Christopher Robin: Oh, okay. The fact that Disney dared to follow up the masterpiece that is Paddington 2 with this is offensive. That being said it was actually quite cute and Ewan McGregor is still a snack.
- Crazy Rich Asians: I loved this book, and the movie exceeded expectations. What pure joy! The fashion! Henry Golding! Constance Wu being a movie star! Michelle Yeoh being absolutely terrifying! Truly a perfect romantic comedy.
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: Everyone is talking about this, so me recommending it feels like overkill, but still. It is lovely and we are all obsessed with Peter Kavinsky. 2018 has been terrible, but at least we have him.
- BlackkKlansman: A Spike Lee Joint about the true story of Ronald Stallworth, a black police officer who ended up infiltrating his local KKK chapter. I am not the person to put any kind of review or other thoughts about this out there, besides see it. The very end of this movie is utterly destroying and, to me, a call-to-action.
- Sorry to Bother You: This was probably my favorite movie of the summer, and not just because the director liked my tweet praising it. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, who I am becoming insanely obsessed with since seeing him first in Get Out, as Cassius “Cash” Green as a down-on-his-luck telemarketer who ends up rocketing to the upper echelon of the company by utilizing his “white voice.” The whole movie is a deeper commentary on race, unionization, labor laws, etc. Armie Hammer is also in it, which, sign me up anytime.
Television:
- Pose: Ryan Murphy is at it again with this drama about the drag ball scene in 1980’s New York. The majority of the cast are people of color, and more specifically transgender women of color. Just seeing the amount of diversity in a cast, that feels so genuine and not tokenized is really a feat. It is quite sad that it is seen that way, but it is just proof of how much further we have to go for diversity in all projects. The show was fabulous in so many ways, Billy Porter being a huge stand-out. It faltered a bit when it focused on the suburban, white characters (Kate Mara and Evan Peters), but was overall really great. The ball scenes especially were glorious TV.
- Dark Tourist: A surprise delight my boyfriend found on Netflix, it follows a gangly Australian dude who goes around the world and does strange tourist things. He heads everywhere from Dallas to see the circus that has been created around the assassination of President Kennedy to WWII battle recreations in England to tons of toxic sites around Asia and beyond.
- Patrick Melrose: This Starz limited series stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character who is a struggling heroin addict with a troubled past. It sounds rough, and the first episode is, along with several scenes from subsequent episodes, but it is really a study on upper class British culture and the deep emotional suppression and horror that can come out of that. The art direction is glorious and Cumberbatch and the whole cast are marvelous.
- Succession: I slept on this one at the start, but then binged it once all of the episodes are out, and oh my god, I really love it. I really didn’t know that I wanted to watch rich, entitled people be awful to everyone, but this show is nuanced and filled with incredible twists and performances that the initial plot description can be looked over. It follows a family who owns a big media conglomerate and the backstabbing and machinations that occur when the patriarch has a stroke and appears unable to keep his position as head of company. Three closing thoughts: I will forever be an Alan Ruck stan and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen him try to relate his life to the life of a black ballet dancer from Harlem. Also, cousin Greg is a sweet, sweet angel and I would die for him! Lastly, Nicky Britell snapped with that opening credit composition!
- Sharp Objects: Shoot, I wasn’t gonna cry here. Amy Adams is… the mother I never had. She is… the sister everybody would want. She is the friend that everybody deserves. I don’t know a better person. I don’t know a better person! Seriously, this show is perfect and glorious. I will always be in the corner for a Gillian Flynn project, but involve Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson, Jean-Marc Vallée and Chris Messina (the truefourth Hollywood Chris) and I am even more on-board. The sound editing, the soundtrack, the visuals, the meticulous details that went into creating this show… Jean-Marc did that! Please watch this and don’t let people trick you into thinking its like Big Little Lies; they are nothing alike at all, and this is one thousand times more thoughtful and artistic and (whispers) better. Teens roller-skating will haunt your nightmares forever!
- And here’s more Sharp Objects gifs of Patricia Clarkson being awful and fabulous just because.
That’s all the time I have, as even I have more TV to catch up on. Lock yourself in your apartment and watch all the things I’ve suggested so it doesn’t feel like I’ve wasted my time.
Happy watching! xx
Images obtained from:
https://media.giphy.com/media/1xVftDv1U6jaTHZyOf/giphy.gif, https://med…