JULY/AUGUST REVIEWS

What I've Been Reading

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

This was great and really got me sucked in. Set in the near but distant future AF's are a part of an ever changing world. AF or Artificial Friends are bought for teenagers, to look after them, and befriend them. But is there something more sinister at play. Klara is bought for a single mum and her daughter, Josie. But the daughter is unwell, and her older sister has passed. Why is Josie sick, what is happening and other than being her friend, how can Klara help. Klara is a very intelligent AF and a great mimic. While Klara is devising a plan to 'save' Josie, she is unaware of another plan that involves herself. The story is told from the perspective of Klara, and Ishiguro nails the language and syntax of the AF. This was a compelling, page turner with much to think about.

Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

This is a beautiful book, a novella really, roughly 100 pages. It commences with a mother and daughter on holiday in Japan, starting with Tokyo. It is such a lovely meditative book. They visit museums and galleries, eat at lovely cafes. You feel like you are tracing their every step in your head. As the story progresses, the daughter begins to look back at her childhood, and consequent life and loves. Her relationship with her sister and her mother. These are little side trips from the main trip, and again you transport yourself through the imagery.

Au writes so beautifully, 100 pages was nowhere near enough. The pace is slow, but it is utterly worth it. It slows your brain, calms you soul, and makes you feel so very lovely. It also cemented my urge to visit Tokyo and especially Kyoto. She was the inaugural winner of the novel prize, and has been up for many other awards including the Miles Franklin.

The Lovers by Yumna Kassab

The Lovers was an interesting read. Everything happens but nothing happens. It about Amir and Jamila who meet and fall in love in a city neither of them are from. The book seems to be set in the middle east, but it never says so nor does it need to. The writing is poetic and full of analogies and myths, based on this forming relationship, that we have been told from the beginning will not last. Early on we are told her shampoo costs more than he earns in a week. Both of them are broken and yet the attraction is there. This is more about love than their love, more a fable with philosophical leanings. I fell under its enchantment, and the beauty of her words. It was short listed for the Miles Franklin awards.

Girl in a pink dress by Kylie Needham

Frances lives in a remote town and gets an invitation to her former lover's art show. This takes her back to the time she was with him. Also an artist, they were not destined to bloom together. Fierce and strong. This is a great story about being a female artist struggling to make herself known when her partner is very famous and quite possibly a lesser artist than her. Kylie is a screenwriter (Offspring, Rush, Secrets and Lies), and is married to Ben Quilty and this is her first novel. I really enjoyed this, and you cannot help but wonder how much she gleamed from Quilty.

The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams

I really want to love Pip's books, but I just do not. I like them, but I don't love them. Much like her previous book, The Bookbinder of Jericho sells itself as something else, a female character in the book/literature industry, surrounded by men, and wanting more. But what you get is a love story (my least favourite genre, mostly as it is rarely done well) set against WW1, and the impact of war. Which is a very fine story. Just not the story I wanted or was expecting. Loads of people seem to love it, so you know, for me, the usual.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Another disappointment, after loving Rodham and a few books of short stories, Curtis was becoming one of my go to authors. After reading this, I think I may had misjudged her. What I do love about her writing is it is (usually) edgy with feministic sensibilities. And Romantic Comedy has some of that, but just not enough. It is about a female writer on a comedy show very similar to Saturday Night Live (ok EXACTLY like SNL) who falls in love with the weekly guest star who happens to be a huge and gorgeous rock star. So it flips the gender, which she does do so well, of the geeky dude going out with the supermodel, eg Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek. 

The book is divided into thirds, the first part revolves around a week (or so) at the comedy show the female character writes for. This I found awful and boring, and yet it was the best third. If you have read Live from New York: the complete, uncensored history which came out in the early 2000s, you can see she pretty much gleaned everything from that book, and to be fair she does mention it in her notes in the end. The middle third is the pair falling in love over emails during COVID. I have many issues with this, I have yet to see COVID successfully outlined in fiction, and I hate letters (emails are no different) in books, I find it lazy writing. The last third is will they or won't they. There is a LOT of dialogue in the book too, of which I am not a fan. So it had way too many elements I dislike within for me to ever love it. I didn't hate it, I was just disappointed.

No Bull by Vika and Linda Bull

I love Vika and Linda Bull, I have called them National Treasures for some decades now. This is their story as told by both of them. Sometimes they cover the same ground, but from a different perspective. I also listened to it on talking book, and they both read their own sections. Truly wonderful.

It starts with a brief overview of their parents, their lovely Mum from Tonga and their beautiful Dad, an Aussie. Their Tongan heritage is so very important to them and it was lovely to hear, especially about a 3 month stay in Tonga when they were young. They always sang but never thought about it as a career, and Vika was working for a cafe in Melbourne that was owned by a couple who were in Bachelors from Prague (I bloody loved them back in the day), and soon enough Vika, followed by Linda, were singing for them and then formed their own band.

They got their break when Pete 'Lucky' Luscombe, drummer for Joe Camilleri, suggested them as back up singers for his band, The Black Sorrows. There is so much behind the scenes of Aussie Rock in this book, I thought my head would explode. I love this kind of stuff. It follows the ups and downs of their career, there was a good decade they were not getting much work. It is a ripper of a read, cannot recommend it enough!

Did I ever tell you this? a memoir by Sam Neill

This is pure joy, with lovely chapters full of interesting and humourous stories. Sam is a great raconteur, and has so many stories to tell. This is not a linear autobiography, but he delves in and out of his life, here and there. And it works!

Loads of stories of growing up, family, friends, his vineyard. And many stories of behind the scenes of movie making. The actors and actresses he worked with, the writers, directors, musicians. He tells the truth and calls out - in the most polite way - difficult people he has worked with, which I found most refreshing.

The one thread throughout his stories is the cancer that grabbed him late in life. You can see this force was keeping him writing and moving forward. I think a person can see their worth through the friends they have, and by the sounds of this book, Sam's worth is immense, the long list of people he is very friendly with is impressive and fascinating. This is an easy read, a fun read, and you get a little bit of Hollywood gossip!

Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage. by Rob Delaney

I have had this book for over a decade when I saw it in an airport bookstore. I had been following Ron on Twitter (in its and his Twitter heyday) and thought he was hilarious. The book was worth the wait, lol, it was great. Each chapter starts with a few pages of his Twitter work. It is about his younger years where he was a barely functioning alcoholic. It is dark in subject matter at times, but still very funny.  Rob is well known as an actor now, but this is before that time. Many teen and early adult escapades are told with truth and humour. I guess this is niche, but if you love Rob, you will definitely love this. I did.

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney

This is Rob's second book and wow, it is truly remarkable. It was what got me to finally read his first book, prior to this one. Rob survived his younger years, is sober and getting into acting and writing, specifically the brilliant series, Catastrophe with Sharon Horgan. He met his wife and they had three gorgeous young boys. When Henry, his youngest son was around 12 months, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. His life changed forever, and this is the story. 

It is the most beautifully written book, upsetting for sure, but also very uplifting and so full of love and life you feel like your heart will explode. And it IS Rob Delaney, so there is actually a lot of humour within. Henry passes at 2 1/2 and it tells pretty much everything. Again, I guess this is not for everyone, but really not reading this, you really are missing out on one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read.

Everything and Nothing: a memoir by Heather Mitchell

Heather Mitchell is Australian acting royalty and this is her memoir and it is outstanding. Wonderful stories about her life and childhood and her mother who was quite sick a lot of the time. She has many wonderful stories about her career, the ups and downs, on stage and on the big and little screen. She has stories about behind the scenes and wonderful people she has worked with. And she also details her cancer battles. This is a superb read and full of life.

Martin Scorsese: a journey by Mary Pat Kelly

Mary Pat Kelly is an uber Martin Scorsese fan from the early days when she asked for reels of his early films to be sent to her monastry to be viewed. IN time she met Marty and they became firm friends with much in common. This is a great book as she has access to all the key players in his life, including his parents who were very involved in his early days. It is one of those interview style books where she lets the actors, behind the scenes, friends, family, and Scorsese talk but she adds in his history and other behind the scenes information she has found out. This makes it a really detailed and personal book, one of the best I have read about him. It only takes you up to Cape Fear, so I hope she is working on a part 2.

I Am Not Fine, Thanks by Wil Anderson

This is a book of short essays/memoir style stories from Wil's life during the pandemic. Oh no, not another of these, well this is funny and Wil also moved to a small town just near Byron Bay before the pandemic. Byron Bay was the heart (or heartless) of the anti-vaxers so there was much to see and talk about. I enjoyed this book, but had seen a recent stand-up of his on the tele and this book pretty much plays out his stand-up. Either way, it was still a good read and a great laugh!

Because He's Jeff Goldblum: the movies, the memes, and meaning of Hollywood's most enigmatic actor by Travis M. Andrews

This was a fun biography about Jeff Goldblum. Rather than being a straight biography, the author has a little fun with the enigma that is Goldblum. They talk about him as a personality, his music, the memes and Internet excitement, after Jurassic Park and now. It doesn't go much into his personal life, more his movies and career. This was a lot of fun and just made me smile. I love Jeff, so thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Dear Love edited by Samuel Johnson

This is another cute and touching compilation from the Love Your Sister Cancer Charity that is run by Samuel Johnson. They pop these books out every year or so, and this one is about love and written by minor celebrities and real people. Love comes in many forms, so it is not all personal love, some are funny, some are sincere, some are sad.  Some are written by each person in a couple and are quite clever or funny. It is a lovely book and raises money for my charity of choice!

Embracing your Limitations: how to accept your inner loser and win at life by Lawrence Mooney

What a laugh this was, a self-help book about how crap self-help books are. Lawrence, a comedian who I quite like, has a theory that if we just stick with who we are, our limitations, things will go ok, it is when we try to better ourselves that things go to shit. His EYL theory, is hilarious and not always ideal. To be honest I can see where he is coming from, the self-help industry is just that, an industry designed to keep you in their hold, never quite satisfying your urge and always looking for the next big thing to 'help' you with whatever you think is wrong with you...quite possibly nothing! Some things made me think, no way, but others made me laugh. I listened to this on talking book which made it funnier, as he cracked himself up on more than one occasion, obviously forgetting what he had written and amusing himself. I don't think this is for everyone, but I sure got a laugh out of it!

Help Yourself by Curtis Sittenfeld

This was a little book with 3 short stories in it. I enjoy her short stories, they are usually a little political and a little feminist, with interesting takes on subject matter we all know. A short but great read.

What I've Been Watching

Funny Woman

I thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation of Nick Hornby's book. I didn't realise it was an adaptation until I started watching it, thinking I have seen this before but confused knowing I had not seen it. And then his name came up on screen and I was ahhh! It was a good book and made into a great series. Gemma Arterton, brilliantly plays Barbara Parker, a saucy blonde from Blackpoole who wants more from her life. She sees Lucille Ball on the TV and wants to be her. So she heads to London, it is the swinging 60s, and tries to get a break as an actress. She starts doing bit parts and Carry On movies, but gets her big break on a comedy sitcom/series.  Things do not go according to plan, and we follow her ups and downs, the people she meets, her family back home, and her new comedy family she works with. Rupert Everett is almost unrecognisable as her agent, Brian, and Arsher Ali is superb as the head writer on the sitcom. It is funny and dramatic, a great story about feminism, and set amongst real life happenings of the time adds a great realistic dimension. And then there is the fashion and the music! I cannot wait for S2!

Ted Lasso S3

I really enjoyed S1, S2 settled a little and there was a melancholy within that actually worked. I know a lot of people didn't like S2 as much as S2 and whilst I enjoyed S1 more, S2 was really good, a few messy episodes, but in all really good. S3 was hit and miss, there were some real clunkers, too many new storylines and a few characters that did not fly. But when they got it right, it shone and took you back to S1. It ended as you would expect, which is lovely but also a little tiring. But overall it was a joyous show that mostly made me smile, and it this crazy post-Covid era I'll take all the joy I can get. What I loved most about the writing, was the clever pop-culture in-jokes, the music, the references. I bloody love that kind of thing. Also Roy Kent, best written character on tele! And Hannah Waddington, stunning - I cannot wait to see what she does next! Surely, something musical!?

Cunk on Earth

Why did it take us so long to watch this, I have no idea how to review it except it is hilarious. Cunk played by Diane Morgan, who has been in just about everything, is a deadpan and ill-informed interviewer/presenting, presenting a show on the history of earth. She interviews real life experts on all this scientific and historic with ill-informed questions and thoughts. Some a left mouths open, some try to inform her, and some get the joke and do their best to get through it.
All I can say, is if you want a real laugh out loud laugh, go and watch it now!

Arnold

I am a big fan of Big Arnie, I like a lot of his films, but not everything, and I like what a go getter he is and how passionate he is about life and our world. And whilst he is obviously right wing, there is a heart and intellect and decency about him, that you cannot help but love. This 3 part doco was superb, and open and honest, it deals with some of his biggest mistakes but also some of his biggest milestones. HIs tough upbringing, his passion to make it to the top of body building, then film, then politics...and he did. Totally worth a look.

The Last Movie Stars

I didn't think I could love Ethan Hawke anymore than I did and then I watched this 6 part documentary on Paul Newman he directed and I bow down to him. It is a masterpiece. He was approached by one of Paul's daughters to do it, and he wasn't sure he had it in him. She left Paul's archives with him, boxes and boxes of transcriptions of taped interviews he did when he was alive. He had been working on a documentary of sorts but got annoyed with it all, and burnt most of the tapes! Luckily they had been transcribed. Once Hawke started reading he knew he had a uniquq narrative and worked out how to pull it off. 

So this is a regular documentary, with clips, and interviews and such from all sorts of sources, and the films themselves of course. And it is Ethan talking to camera and to friends about how he pulled this together. Finally he pulls in a who's who of Hollywood to read the transcripts, which were interwound into the story. George Clooney playing Paul, Laura Linney playing Joanne Woodward and on and on and on. 

The series is not just about Paul, but also Joanne, and what a phenomenal woman and actress she was and about their long standing (and not perfect) relationship.

We both loved this series, realising we had many Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward films to see. There is some amazing archival footage, including loads of home film, and the scripts come to life with the actors taking on the parts. One of the best film documentaries I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot!

History of the Sitcom

This US doco series was a lot of fun. Going right back to the 50s and mostly looking at US shows. It grouped them into families, work etc and had a LOT of the players talking about the show they worked on or the effect a particular show had on them. If you love television, you will love this.

100 Years of Warner Bros

Great 3 part doco on Warner Bros film, going right back to the brothers Warner themselves and the set up of their company. Again a lot of big players are on deck to talk about their own experiences and to talk about classic cinema. I was in my element with the earlier parts of the story, most of which I knew of course, but I cannot get enough classic movie info.

Inside Sydney Airport 

This great new series about the behind the scenes of Sydney Airport is narrated by Brooke Satchwell. It shows the comings and goings of staff and the public in this large private city. I love airport and found it endlessly fascinating. Also quite the thriller, with bombs, explosions, smugglers, guns and so forth being sorted out. You get to know some of the characters working there also, especially George. The superstar boss of the main terminal, George, was my favourite. A very funny guy but super professional. If anything weird or bad happened, he would say it gave him the "hippy hippy shakes"and that cracked me up.

Smartless: on the road

Smartless is one of my favourite podcasts, with friends Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett, each bringing a guest the other two are not aware of. Usually someone well known and comedic. It is always a laugh and you get to see another side of these guests. The boys took the show on the road and filmed it, but the episodes are not the actual live podcasts, although you will see snippets of them, it is more the guys larking around, planning behind the scenes and it is very funny and fascinating. Lots of really amazing guest stars including David Letterman, Will Ferrell, and Matt Damon amongst many others. You also get to meet Tracey, Sean's sister, who features regularly on the podcast.

Shatner in Space

Oh my, this was amazing, a shortish doco about Shatner's foray into space at the age of 90!!!!! Captain Kirk in space is so bloody amazing, as a Star Trek and Shatner fan I was beside myself when I heard. When you really think about it the enormity of it, your mind is really blown. It covers the initial stage, some training, and Shatner talking about the whole experience himself. There are some great scenes where he tells his daughters and they are understandably upset but also used to their Dad doing his thing. There was a lot of relief when he landed safely. You will see footage inside the rocket while they are in space and footage of earth and space itself. I was very emotional watching this, it was a really excellent doco. And I didn't think I could love the International Treasure that is William Shatner anymore, but I did! A remarkable man!!

Judy Blume Forever

I cannot begin to say how much I loved this documentary. Like everyone, I read as much Judy Blume as I could get my hands on in my tweens (tweens wasn't even a term back then!) and early teens. She really nailed the inner turmoil and thoughts of me and I guess many others at the time. 

This documentary is about her life and her legacy. Judy is just exactly what you would imagine, open and honest, a friend, lovely and kind. A beautiful smiley face and very accessible. It goes through her career with footage throughout that is just glorious and also interviews with her now looking back on these moments. It interviews big and small names about her impact on them at that seminal age.

The biggest part of the documentary was the feedback, thousands of letters and then emails that were sent to Judy over the years, held in a huge archive. The correspondence held the inner most thoughts and dramas and personal information of thes mostly young girls. Judy took these very seriously and wrote back with very good and kind advice to everyone. She even met some of them. You can see how much this meant to those that took the time to write to her. There were interviews with them about this and it was very emotional stuff.

It also looks at Judy's personal life and what she is doing now, the later being most glorious. This was such a great documentary, I think I blubbered (IYKYK) through the whole thing, not because it was sad, it was not, but because it brought back so many memories and really touched my soul.

Being Mary Tyler Moore

I do love Mary Tyler Moore and this was a great doco about her and her life. It showed what a trail blazer she was but also that Mary Tyler Moore was far from Mary Richards. Mary Richards, the character, was sunny and sassy and always up, Mary Tyler Moore, could be that person, but she had a darker, closed side, especially when it came to interviews. This was what led Robert Redford into casting her as the main character in Ordinary People, and extraordinary performance if you are a fan of Mary Richards, but maybe not so much if you knew Mary Tyler Moore. Her love life was a bit hit and miss until she met her third husband and she was quite unwell with auto immune issues towards the end of her life. This included loads of archive footage and clips and interviews with those who knew her or worked with her or admired her. Also a lot of Mary being honest about herself and her life towards the end of her life.

Death on the Nile

Another Agatha Christie biggie from Kenneth Branagh. Highly stylised and full of big stars. When I was in my early teens I hit my Agatha Chrisie stage and devoured her books, loved them. So of course this was a favourite, and I knew the plot, but it didn't matter. Probably style over substance, but it was lovely to watch.

Lightyear

I was really disappointed in this. This could have been so great but it is so far away from the Toy Story franchise, it doesn't feel like the right fit.

Lightyear is about the 'real life' Buzz Lightyear, a space man, who the Buzz Lightyear toy in Toy Story was based on. I am not entirely sure the timelines on both movies align, but I guess that is not so important?

The character (and presumably man) Buzz was nothing like the Buzz in Toy Story, again, not so important? Some of the other characters were more interesting and easily funnier than Buzz. 

I struggled with this, it just didn't have that buzz, lol!

Stockholm

This was great, Ethan Hawke stars as a bank robber from a real life heist held in Stockholm in the 60s. The heist/robbery goes wrong and they hold some people hostage. A young married bank teller becomes infatuated with Hawke's character and this is where the term Stockholm Syndrome comes from. No more spoilers, but this is an intense, but also rather amusing film. I really enjoyed this

The Humans

This was a great and interesting indie movie, based on a short play, with a wonderful cast. A young couple have moved into an old NY apartment, and their family join them for a Thanksgiving. Richard Jenkins and June Squibb are the parents, the couple are Beanie Feldstein and Steven Yeun are the couple and Amy Schumer the sister. There is tension in the air, with issues and problems being revealed as the night moves on. The apartment is near Ground Zero and the father has some PTSD related to 9/11 and that also adds tension. This was a great drama about families and the secrets they keep from each other.

Blueback

A lovely film based on a Tim Winton book about a mother and daughter living in WA and very environment conscious. Both are at one with sea. The daughter grows up to be a marine biologist and is called home when her Mum has a stroke. Mia Wasikowska plays the daughter as an adult and Radha Mitchell is the Mum. Also stars Eric Bana. Loads of beautiful WA waterside, and plenty of underwater beauty. This is a great movie for the family. It is called Blueback after the name of a huge Groper fish the daughter befriends as a child.

Empire of Light

This movie was good, but it could have been great. Sam Mendes directed and starring Olivia Coleman and Colin Firth, set in the early 1980s around an ageing old cinema and the staff that work there. The cinema is stunning and faces the seaside. Coleman has mental health issues and has been reluctantly having an affair with the boss, Firth. When a young African man joins the team, they forge a lovely bond which develops into a little more. This is at the time where there were race riots and when something happens to him, it sets Coleman's character into a spiral. Coleman is magnificent in this, when is she not!? As is Michael Ward, the young man. But the story is a little melodramatic and the supporting cast, including Firth, were left with nothing much to do. No real back stories, including Coleman, so you are unsure of what is behind the story. Visually this is also stunning, but in all not the amazing film it should have been.

Triangle of Sadness

What a cracker of a film! Set in three parts and totally expected. The film commences in the modelling industry, and we are introduced to a vapid couple. They have issues regarding rank and money, but they are beautiful, lol!

They have won a holiday on a luxury yacht due to the female being an 'influencer' and this is the second section. The yacht has many multi-millionaires on it and it becomes an upstairs/downstairs story. The captain is missing, refusing to come out of his cabin, and there is a storm coming. Something is up, and the storm hits and it is the most bizarre and funny and awful thing!

The third and last part would be spoilers, but it is the most fascinating movie, nominated for an academy award this year. It is definitely not for everyone, but I quite enjoyed it!

What I've Been Listening To

1980s

We are still making our way through the 80s compilations albums with Sunday breakfast or brunch. Such fun. 

The Specials

Got some cool ska albums, and particularly loving listening to The Specials.

Prince

Early Prince, when he was naughty and funky, ok, he was always naughty and funky, but moreso in his early stuff! So very cool, and the soundtrack of my teens!

The Imperfects podcast

Really loving this podcast hosted by 3 bloks about mental health. They get specialists in to talk to and Australian Celebs to talk about their mental health. It is heartfelt and funny, considerate and intelligent, I really love this!