She Said (2022, dir. Maria Schrader) - review by Rookie-Critic
She Said was a very well done, if not at times clinical, re-telling of one of the most important moments in modern equal rights history. Following the story of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's groundbreaking article on the atrocities of ex-Miramax head Harvey Weinstein, She Said follows in the footsteps of films like All the President's Men and The Post (the latter of which I will admit I have not seen) as a movie showing the challenges of getting the truth out there no matter the cost, and I found it to be incredibly well done. Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan (to no one's surprise) are absolutely dynamite as the leading duo, each bringing a unique perspective on the story at hand. This wasn't just a story for them, it was personal, as it probably is to every woman on the face of the planet that's ever had a male superior in the workplace.
The movie hits when it needs to, is reserved when it should be, and allows its central duo to breathe and have a life of their own outside of just being the vehicles for truth in this story. It works so well because of this fact; it was so important to portray Kantor and Twohey not just as journalists, but as humans themselves, as women themselves, women who understand the weight of what they were on the brink of uncovering, and what it could mean not only for the film industry, but for the way women are treated in the workplace at large. As the film points out several times, this goes so much deeper than the film industry and is not just about Weinstein, but about the system protecting the abusers and not the abused. Shoutouts also have to go to Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, and Angela Yeoh, who played Laura Madden, Zelda Perkins, and Rowena Chu, who are just a few of the women who suffered at the hands of Harvey Weinstein. Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher also deserve praise for their performances as Rebecca Corbett and Dean Baquet, the assistant editor and executive editor at the New York Times who oversaw the production of the Weinstein piece.
If I had one criticism of the film, it's that, for all of its very effective pathos and ethos, the film tends to be quite cold when it comes to the journalistic side of things. Portraying the profession itself as something that is harshly non-emotive, which I can definitely see the argument that it needs to be, and ultimately that's not quite what the focus of the film is on, so it feels like a nitpick. Even with that one small complaint, She Said surprised me in being better than expected and making me feel something other than anger, which I of course still felt a lot of.
Score: 9/10
Currently available to rent or purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and to pre-order on DVD & Blu-ray through Universal Studios.
3 notes
·
View notes
I kicked off my birthday month by rereading Pacts and Predicaments after recommending it on a particular subreddit and it had been a minute since I'd revisited one of my favorite kinky couples. Several books I'd been waiting for came out in March, so it was a great reading month. Favorites this month were Black AF History, The Fractured Dark, James, The Other Side of Disappearing, and There's Always This Year. I own Pacts and Predicaments and Black AF History, which I listened to on Libby. I also listened to There's Always This Year on Libby because I love when Hanif narrates his own books. Everything else was from either Hoopla or Libby.
Pacts and Predicaments - Jo Henny Wolf
The One in My Heart - Sherry Thomas
The Night Eaters, Book 2: Her Little Reapers - Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda* **
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #1, #2, #3 - Patrick Horvath
Meegan (Loose Ends #3) - Rebekah Weatherspoon**
The Sitcom Star (Chu's Restaurant #1) - Jackie Lau* **
Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America - Michael Harriot* **
The Reluctant Hearththrob (Chu's Restaurant #2) - Jackie Lau* **
The Fractured Dark (The Devoured Worlds #2) - Megan E. O'Keefe
Wandering Stars - Tommy Orange* **
The Ones Who Got Away (The Ones Who Got Away #1) - Roni Loren
Sweetest Scoundrel (Maiden Lane #9) - Elizabeth Hoyt
James - Percival Everett* **
Chef's Kiss (Chef's Kiss #1) - TJ Alexander
Chef's Choice (Chef's Kiss #2) - TJ Alexander
The Other Side of Disappearing - Kate Clayborn
Sunflowers - Keezy Young
There's Always This Year - Hanif Abdurraqib* **
* = author(s) of color
** = main character(s) of color
4 notes
·
View notes
Episode 184 - Horror
This episode we’re discussing the fiction genre of Horror! We talk about fear, control, Goosebumps, bad dogs, horror-comedy, creepypasta, the apocalypse, lizard romance, and more!
You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.
In this episode
Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards
Things We Read (or tried to…)
Straight by Chuck Tingle
Mister Magic by Kiersten White, narrated by Rebecca Lowman
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea
The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffis
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Leech by Hiron Ennes
The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen edited by Ellen Datlow
House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit: Fazbear Frights #1 by Scott Cawthon and Elley Cooper
Sadako at the End of the World by Koma Natsumi
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Omnibus, Book 3 by Eiji Otsuka and Yamazaki Housui
Things We Read (but didn’t talk about in this episode)
Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki! by Kanako Inuki
Résumé With Monsters by William Browning Spencer
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Carmilla: The First Vampire by Amy Chu and Soo Lee
Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw
A Song for the Quiet by Cassandra Khaw
The Helios Syndrome by Vivian Shaw
Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum
Other Media (& Authors) We Mentioned
Captain Britain And MI13, Volume 3: Vampire State by Paul Cornell, Leonard Kirk, and Mike Collins
Stephen King
Misery
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Cujo
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Alien: Isolation (Wikipedia)
Dead Space (2008 video game) (Wikipedia)
R.L. Stine
Goosebumps
Fear Street
Junji Ito
The Enigma of Amigara Fault - “T-this is my hole! It was made for me!”
Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
Emily Carroll
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
Smart Podcast Trashy Books: 579. Punk Rock Writing with Chuck Tingle
Candle Cove by Kris Straub
Candle Cove (Wikipedia)
SCP Foundation
SCP-087
The SCP Foundation: Declassified (YouTube)
The Ring (2002 film) (Wikipedia)
We talked more about the novel The Ring in Episode 078 - Supernatural Thrillers
Crapshots Ep608 - The Old Ones (YouTube)
Links, Articles, Etc.
Episode 176: Fantasy
Episode 123: Psychological Horror
Does the Dog Die?
Matthew’s spooky phone case is a variant of this one
Matthew did a “31 Spooky Manga” challenge a few years ago and read a different spooky manga every day in October.
The Midnight Library: Episode 001 - Halloween Poetry
Sound Effects
Big Thunder And Distant Thunder Rain Birds by morvei01
Dramatic Organ, A by InspectorJ
bats1 by sofie
Pigeons (St Stephens Green, Dublin) by iainmccurdy
31 Recent Horror Books by BIPOC Authors
Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.
This list features horror fiction by BIPOC authors published within the last 3 years.
Jackal by Erin E. Adams
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro
The Spite House by Johnny Compton
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez, translated by Megan McDowell
Piñata by Leopoldo Gout
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Morena-Garcia
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele
Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn
Manmade Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea
Chlorine by Jade Song
Midnight Storm Moonless Sky: Indigenous Horror Stories by Alex Soop
There's No Way I'd Die First by Lisa Springer
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality: Stories by Lindsay Wong
White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
Give us feedback!
Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!
Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!
Join us again on Tuesday, November 7th when we’ll be discussing the non-fiction genre of Crafts and Crafting!
Then on Tuesday, December 5th we’ll be talking about the genre of Suspense Fiction!
6 notes
·
View notes
safe zone groups
please see the list below for the randomized groups of muns who will be trapped in the safe zones during the storm!
remember, while these are safe (no structural damage), the power will still be out while the storm rages on outside. everyone will be trapped in these places with no way of contacting anyone else until the next morning when the storm finally clears.
for your threads, please be sure to use the accompanied tags for all your replies so everyone can keep track of who's where!
All-Nighter Diner #aurorabay.diner
rory keaton (kaylen)
liam burke (aj)
axel mathias (sadie)
celeste zhao (dani)
chey johnson (angie)
dean redding (jewels)
cristian valdes (amanda)
ramsey rivera (rach)
avery montgomery (shera)
bennie simpson (dell)
Aurora Bay College #aurorabay.college
angel rojas (zero)
will meyers (em)
daphne danvers (allie)
kaede yamada (rach)
adriana del rosario (lilac)
vivian whitehall (amanda)
astrid hansley (lital)
harley hua (elle)
stevie mack (fish)
Golden Hour Lounge #aurorabay.lounge
vanessa gable (dell)
wren harlow (dani)
valentine meiers (kim)
bobbi jenkins (bex)
eric kang (odessa)
riley anthony (kris)
sloane danvers (indi)
dallas jones (stark)
gavin carrigan (rach)
Tidal Wave Music Shop #aurorabay.music
lexie miller (lital)
cherry koch (em)
emira dursun (megan)
ophelia chu (devin)
zandria diaz (elle)
andrew kane (peach)
daisy danvers (tay)
lily magalhaes (amanda)
zehra ozdemir (lilac)
Aurora Bay Vet Clinic #aurorabay.vet
connor rose (angie)
elmas yaren (peach)
lilah-kate millington (allie)
nelson quinn (rach)
xavier matthews (stark)
layla boyajian (odessa)
dawson young (sadie)
cami reese (kim)
diego martinez (lital)
8 notes
·
View notes