Movie review: The Killing of a Sacred Deer

It seems that I haven't had many non-review things to write about recently. I haven't discovered any new-to-me particularly interesting actors or whatnot. Anyways, let's get to it.

I watched this movie shortly after watching another one (The Skin I Live In) that maybe is sort of vaguely similar, but not particularly so.

What I did not know prior to watching this was that it was based off a Greek myth, which does give some insight to the plot. Overall, it was a measured, methodical movie and also sort of... placid. I would categorize it as a drama although some things I've read describe it as horror and/or psychological thriller. It seemed too calm and didn't really have enough intense action in it to really make me think of it as a thriller. There was suspense and conflict in it, but it was all delivered in a very measured, subdued way, almost. 

While it wasn't bad, it also wasn't spectacular or anything and I don't see myself rewatching it of my own accord. Overall I consider it to have been mediocre; it just didn't strike me as that brilliant. If someone else wanted to watch it and I were present, I wouldn't necessarily refuse, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to subject myself to watching this movie again. 

The ending was somewhat unsatisfying but not horrifically unsatisfying. I just don't really have a ton to say about this movie, really. I preferred The Skin I Live in, a Spanish-language movie. I sort of intended to do a full review of that one, perhaps in Spanish.  

Postsecret review 22

 Another one, here it is on this Halloween evening. It seems that quite a few were worthwhile to comment on this time! [Actually, I'm going to finish this later, once a new batch of secrets probably will have been posted.]

"I'm sorry. My lies ruined us

I hope you're ok and happy

I'm not"

This one is rather too vague to know what it's about, but I guess kind of I like the angsty regret conveyed in it? 

"My office gave me this 'random' card during appreciation week. I'm not sure if it's a pat on the back or a slap in the face." The card says "There's no need to be so hard on yourself, you're managing as best as you can." over an illustration of a cute tiger and the secret is written over that. 

This one I like because it's somewhat less generic.  

"When I am really stressed at work, I book a conference room and watch blackhead extraction videos on the big screen. (I'm a C-suite exec and it's time well spent, calms me)."

I... don't quite know what to say about this one. But I guess it makes me wonder about the potentially bizarre habits of other fancy businesspeople? 

"When another woman steals your man the best revenge is to let her keep him!" (over a wedding photo)

This one has some backstory about the author and the person the secret was about, who apparently read and liked said secret without knowing it was about her! It makes me wonder about other situations where the subjects of secrets happened to read secrets that were about them, whether they realized it somehow or not. I guess it's also making me wonder how common it is for spouses to be stolen by others... 

"At the beginning of a relationship, I plan for the end of it." 

Seems a bit fatalistic and also a bit vague, since... how can you know how, when or even if a given relationship will end? I feel like the specific circumstances around how/when it ends (which would be unknowable, most likely, at the beginning of a relationship, unless the writer had specific ideas at that time about how they planned to end it, like "I will break up with this person over the phone in exactly six months from now.") could really impact any theoretical plans one might have for the end. Someone dying unexpectedly would have a different impact than if they or the writer cheated and that caused the end of the relationship. Or maybe they would just happen to gradually drift apart? Lots of different possibilities here. So many ways relationships can go wrong!

"My children hate me because I divorced and remarried but I often wonder if they would still think their father was a hero if they knew what he did to me when I was pregnant. ..with them" (over an image of a pregnant woman, seemingly on a poster about abuse/violence against women and children with some facts: 40% of women abused during pregnancy reported that the abuse began when they became pregnant and 21% of women abused by their partners were assaulted during their pregnancy)

This one is somewhat dark. I wonder what the father did to make the children think he was a hero, even though he abused the mother and they aren't aware of that? 

"I had a dream that you woke up from a coma, you were never really gone. I've cried every night since"

The concept of comas fascinates me for some reason. In a way, I feel like being in a coma could be restful for the person in it. But to the people who know the comatose person, it might not be such a restful experience for them as they might be worried about the comatose person. 

"I think I have a moustache fetish..." (over an illustration of a man's face with a mustache drawn on it) 

I don't. I can't really imagine what it would be like to have a mustache fetish. I think clean-shaven faces look much better.   

"My dad told me which drugs will give me the best high." It must be different to have parents who do/have done drugs and therefore can advise on this matter!! 

"My sister attempted suicide. I am angry because I feel that she took that freedom away from me."

Another relatively dark secret although I don't really see how one sibling attempting suicide necessarily takes that (freedom?) away from the other sibling. 

"It wasn't an erection. I purposely stuck a cardboard tube in the front of my pants, I still act embarrassed like it was one." All I have to say about this one is: but why. 

"hey DICK I threw the ring you gave me off here" (with an arrow pointing to the edge of the Grand Canyon; on a postcard depicting the Grand Canyon)

I wonder how expensive the ring was, and if anyone ever found it in the bottom of the Grand Canyon??

"the person who taught me 'your only as sick as your secrets' has been lying to me my whole life but I know why and understand" (beneath an old photo of a young-ish/not particularly old man and a boy standing next to a car with the side doors open -- the photo appears to be maybe from the 1980s?)

The photo accompanying this one kind of intrigues me, and the secret leaves to the imagination what the subject was lying about. Mysterious! 

"For the first time, my life has promise and direction

I forgive anyone and everyone in the past who has hurt me, even myself.

I bless these experiences and let them go. 

They are no longer a part of my reality

I'm including my rapist too"

This one is kind of pleasantly uplifting/hopeful.

"I am so ashamed of myself I punish myself I escape in alcohol" (over an image of a martini with a fake eyeball in red liquid, a cigar and a few other glasses for alcoholic beverages. The secret is written in those little arrow-shaped post-it notes to mark pages, a word or two on each.)

This one isn't particularly unique or anything, but I liked the image of the fake eyeball in the drink... 

"My TV shows have become my salvation" (inside the screen of a simple drawing of an old-fashioned TV set) 

It makes me wonder which TV shows the writer is referring to, and what circumstances they've found themselves in that mean TV shows are their salvation... seems like a rather grim and also shallow, in a way, existence. 

"My sister admitted trying to kill me twice, after she tried to kill herself this year" (written in neat all-caps handwriting) An alarming situation. This murderous/suicidal sister doesn't sound very stable!

"I bought this pack so that I can mail my secrets in 

Because I can't take this SHIT ANYMORE!!!" (on the label of a pack of index cards)

Yet no actual secret of substance. Tsk tsk. 

"I'm jealous of teen moms" (over a photo of what evidently are two teen moms with large pregnant bellies)

I am not jealous of them and I really do wonder why the secret writer here is. What aspect of that situation do they find appealing? Maybe they just really want children and sooner rather than later? 

"I fantasize about putting a hit on the man who raped me. All it would take is a phone call to do it. He has no idea whose daughter he hurt."

It makes me wonder whose daughter it is! Imagine being able to call a hitman on a whim!

Movie review: The Half of It

This one had intrigued me a bit and today I got around to watching it. It was decent/I liked it, but it wasn't spectacular. A particular scene at the end (the climax of the plot, I suppose) seemed a bit contrived.

The premise is that a high-school student ghostwrites love letters for a football player to a girl that they both like. The letter-ghostwriting intrigued me, though as a whole I think I prefer the movie "Her," even though the letter-ghostwriting has a smaller role in the plot there. 

I think I generally prefer movies that are either a bit more intense and/or profound in some way. Ones with a bit more depth somehow. This one was... relatively light, all things considered. Which is reasonable, it's just not necessarily my thing. 

I'm not generally too keen on movies set during high school/portraying high school students (or at least where the fact that they're in high school is a prominent aspect of the plot), so that also may have been a slight factor in my thoughts here. 

It could've been interesting if the movie developed the character of Ellie's father a bit more; I think there was a bit of a missed opportunity there. 

Oddly I don't have a ton more to say here. I think overall I'd say this movie was just a bit above mediocre, but I just wasn't particularly thrilled with it. Regardless, if the premise interests you, I think it's worth a watch.  

Movie review: An Education

Well, I finally watched this one! What a concept! It certainly has been quite some time since I initially wanted to watch it. It's back on Netflix this month and I've got loads of free time, so I figured why not. It has Peter Sarsgaard in it, which is why I decided to watch it. 

It takes place in the 1960s in Britain and is about a 16-year-old girl's love affair with an older man. In general, the movie wasn't bad, though I think it could've had a bit more depth to it -- as it stands, it seemed a bit superficial. It just didn't quite have the amount of substance that it theoretically could've had -- I was curious to know more specifically about the man's motivations for having the affair; the movie really left that unspecified. 

I actually don't really have a ton to say about it; it was... decent, though not particularly remarkable. Peter Sarsgaard seemed to be able to do a pretty passable British accent, though that's just from my American perspective. 

Watch this movie if you're for some reason interested in it, but don't expect a ton of depth. I suppose that's okay though; not every movie will necessarily be particularly deep or thought-provoking or that sort of thing. I guess I just sort of like my movies with a bit more of an edge to them, and/or a bit more substance to them. This one didn't quite hit the mark on that front. Maybe that was the point though; maybe we're meant to come away from it thinking the relationship portrayed in the movie was ultimately/inherently superficial... 

Postsecret review 21

For the month of August...

"The boy I love told me that he murdered someone. It doesn't bother me at all." (there's an illustration of some sort of Aztec human sacrifice ritual or something, cut and pasted)

Oh, how fascinating to think about! I really wonder more about the context of this one -- who got murdered, what the circumstances and motivation for it was, all that... I wonder how I might react if I met someone and then eventually they told me that they'd murdered someone... 

"If you betray me again, I will tell your family, your friends, your boss, and the IRS EVERYTHING."

Sounds like something out of a show like Ozark (which I never finished watching...) or that sort of thing. The intrigue and money laundering and all that!

"Fuck that! I'm not paying my ambulance fees!" (over the outside of an envelope which appears to be a medical/ambulance bill; postage is from Canada and the envelope says "The Scarborough Hospital")

Well, this is sort of a clever/unique way of avoiding paying ambulance fees. I wonder if it worked?

"I lost my respect for the U.S.M.C. when they tried to coax my fiance to re-enlist through BRIBERY, BLACKMAIL, & THREATS." 

This one is unique; I wonder if this is a common practice? And I wonder what exactly the bribery, blackmail and threats entailed. And I guess it sort of relates to my wonders about what motivates people to join the military in general, in the first place. 

Postsecret review 20

Another one, finally. Here goes.

"Sometimes I think about all of the money I'd have if my parents died." Materialistic much?

[over a postcard photo that says "Philadelphia]
"We grew up together. He's a cop now. He told about how he let a woman suffer an overdose without stepping in to help her. 'That's not a life worth saving,' he said. Even his mom was horrified. He wasn't always like this."
In light of recent events, I assume. I think the narrative of this secret is interesting.

[over a photo of an average-sized woman who is nude] "I think my dad loves me less because I'm getting fatter"
In general, I'd say this is a shallow thing to love a family member less for. There are at least some legitimate reasons to love one's family members less for, but this... doesn't quite seem like one of them. Though I suppose it depends on how fatter exactly the person is getting -- up into the My 600-lb Life territory, it seems a bit more understandable...

"None of my skills are worth anything
I'll work until I die"
It makes me wonder what this person's skills are that apparently aren't worth anything. And/or if they have ever tried or wanted to learn new skills that would be worth something if their current ones aren't.

[in lovely cursive handwriting over a photo of a woman wearing a dress with duct tape over her chest and hands covering her face/mouth]
"I think I fell in love with you... because you were always so gentle when you took the duct tape off. Thank you. for everything."
I think this secret is really interesting partly because of the handwriting, but the content of the secret as well. It's so idiosyncratic. And sort of sweet in a way. I do wonder about the duct tape though -- I assume some sort of BDSM thing? Or is there some other/different context?

"Hallmark is like CRACK for me." I can relate to this one, sort of. At least when I find cards that suit my preferences. All those overly-sappy cards can get lost.

"I still blame you for letting my cat out the day she was killed." Without more context, I suppose I can understand still blaming/resenting someone for this. 

"I recognized your handwriting on a Sunday secret and wanted to say... it'll all be OK. I swear."
This sort of thing is interesting to me; I wonder about how many people out there have read a secret and definitively recognized the handwriting and/or were able to realize the secret was about them based on details/content of the secret and/or the postcard design (some include photos, that sort of thing). I don't think I'd necessarily be able to recognize a secret just based on the handwriting; I'm familiar with the handwriting of some of the people I know, but it's very possible that other people out there have similar handwriting. I can't recall if I've ever noticed handwriting on a secret that looked particularly similar to handwriting I know. If the handwriting and content of a secret both seemed to fit (and if a postmark were visible, if that fit as well) a person I knew, then I could be at least sort of sure, but perhaps still not completely.

Postsecret review 19

And another one.
The current week's secrets are Mother's Day themed.
I don't quite feel like getting to reviewing them right now, but maybe I will later in the week.

Last week's secrets (belated!)
"My biggest fear of becoming a lawyer is becoming a REPUBLICAN"
This is an interesting thought; it complements the subsequent secret about the public radio employee's political beliefs.

"I've been out of the closet for years, but I have to keep my boyfriend a secret because he's a BYU student." (secret is in the Postsecret logo font and BYU is shown on a hoodie, sort of like a collage)
Secrets regarding Mormonism are always interesting.

"I'll be graduating from college soon... without having even been kissed. I feel inhuman."
This is sort of a superficial thing to obsess over and feel inhuman about, in the grand scheme of things. It's not really that big of a deal. Or at least it shouldn't be.

"Sometimes when you came over to our house we pretended we weren't home. Now you are gone and I miss you."
I thought this was an interesting and somewhat unique secret; it makes me wonder what the relationship was between the secret writer and the person the secret is about.

"My public radio job tells me not to admit I'm a dedicated LIBERAL"
I wonder which station the secret writer works for.

"My WEIGHT LOSS secret is Heroin!" (with cartoon faces and speech bubbles drawn around. The speech bubbles say "you look so good!" "God, you're sexy," "Wow! How much weight have you lost?" "What's your secret?")
This is an interesting one. As you know, the concept of drug addiction is sort of morbidly fascinating to me. I wonder how many people have resorted to heroin specifically for the purpose of trying to lose weight.

"I hope I die before I have to worry about retirement"
Morbid, but somewhat understandable, in a way. Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse...