Weekly Round Up #4

What a week... Onyx Storm was released and I read it in three days so that took up most of my week. But I still have a couple other things to mention.

Movies

• Sing Sing (2023)

  This movie is so happy-sad. It captures so much of the human range of emotion in so little time. Colman Domingo is fantastic as always and Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin steals every scene he's in with rawness and honesty. I really respected that the movie wasn't about why the men came to be incarcerated; it didn't matter. It was about how they still deserved to feel joy and express themselves through theatre. And it was surprisingly funny. 4.5/5 stars

TV

• Black Sails

  They killed off another character I really liked so I'm not pleased. I understand that it was done to drive Jack Rackham's character development but I'm still not happy about it. Teach went out like a badass and he got the last laugh, but still. I wish they wouldn't have killed two of my favorite pirates in order to give the other characters motivation to retake Nassau. Also: I hate Woodes Rogers. He's cruel and calculated and despicable. I know we needed a good villain but I think the writers did a much better job making the pirates relatable and making you want to root for them in spite of their bad qualities. I want Rogers to suffer.

  
  

• Veep

  Always a good laugh. Talk about comedic timing. Although it's kind of sad that all the political issues Selina was dealing with while starting her presidential campaign are still major issues today. Sometimes it feels like no progress has been made. But at least Veep makes me laugh about it.

  
  

• Southern Charm

  Watching grown men be petty is my favorite past time.

Books

• Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

  Onto Part II. I just want Ivan and Peter to make up.

  
  

• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

  What to say about this book... So much to love. Yarros really does dialogue well. Her character bonds and dynamics feel so natural. Personally, and this is a me thing, I hate when writers use pop culture buzz words in fantasy novels. I don't want Violet describing Xaden as toxic or his smile becoming a "core memory". It's just not for me. There were some really great moments in this book, and I like I said, Rebecca knows how to make you care about the characters. But I was hoping for a little bit more plot. It felt like the book was overlong considering how little actually happened. It feels like we ended in not so dissimilar a place from where we started and I was hoping for more action as the war ramped up and Violet searched for a cure. Obviously I will continue to read this series, but this book did not have the same stakes and intensity as the first two for me. 3.5/5 stars

Music

• Camp Willowbrook Playlist

  I've been feeling the winter blues this week and trying to cheer myself up with my summer camp playlist, linked above.