June Favourites 🩵

I just know y'all were waiting for my favourites of my birthday month. Don't worry, I've got you. I've got you with some classics and some underrated gems.

Watches:

The Haunting of Hill House (2018 miniseries)

Whoah, I bet you weren't expecting me to put a TV show here! I rewatched this early in the month with my sister and it still holds up as one of the best TV watching experiences ever, still the most introspective examination of familial trauma and the way an individual experiencing the same thing processes it differently to someone else. It not only functions as a great horror series full of many jumpscares and spooky ghosts, but also as a METAPHOR for the ghosts that we live with every day, our past and how we often fail to acknowledge it. I also rewatched Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass series this month and whilst I think that one maybe is a little more heavy handed in its approach to past trauma, Hill House is the perfect blend of unhinged, theatrical horror trope-iness and intelligent discussions of how much your family has messed you up.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Yeah I don't think I need to say much about this. One of the most deranged explorations of the ramifications of war, what it does to a person and their perception of the world they live. Forty five years later, it remains as shocking as I'm sure it was when it was released initially. Reminded me of The Wizard of Oz for some reason, just a very awful version of that kind of journey. There is a lot of visual and auditory juxtaposition in this as well which feels very nuanced, especially for the time it came out.

Postcards from the Edge (1990)

I'd never heard of this movie until my Film Club picked it once a couple of years ago and I never got around to seeing it. But, I finally did and it was amazing. Based on Carrie's Fisher's semi-autobiographical novel about her relationship with her mother Debbie Reynolds, the film version is as loveable as you would expect a Carrie Fisher novel to be. Meryl Streep and Shirley MacClaine are really great as the mother-daughter duo. It shows you another side of Hollywood and actually makes you empathise with nepo babies! It is truly a lovely little movie (with some singing from Meryl for all you Mamma Mia! stans).

Two Hands (1999)

Yeah, I don't need to tell you about this one because I talk about it every day of my life. Just read this.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Sorry, all I can think of now when I read this title is Taylor Swift screaming 'WHO'S AFRAID OF LITTLE OLD MEEEE? Well you should be😏' and maybe Elizabeth Taylor would really be feeling that line in her role as Martha starring opposite her husband at the time, Richard Burton. A lot of old Hollywood lore in this movie. This film is unwavering in its uncomfortableness, I saw it described as a hostage situation, in which an old couple host a dinner party with a younger couple: it is like looking into a mirror of the future (or the worst possible future). It's a tough watch, but it's a good one.

Listens:

(making this quick)

Tori Amos - Strange Little Girls

Tori Amos covers songs by men, and she slays all of them. Fave: I Don't Like Mondays

Pearl Jam - Backspacer

I'm sorry, it's Pearl Jam again. I just like this album a lot, ok? For a 2009 rock album, it is full of some absolute classics. Fave: Amongst the Waves or The Fixer (RIP Amongst the Waves on Spotify, come back to meeee)

Coldplay - Prospekt's March EP

Did you know that I happen to believe Coldplay make better EPs than they do albums? Because yah, they do. This has always been a favourite of mine. Fave: Prospekt's March / Poppyfields

Temple of the Dog

Eddie Vedder appears AGAIN (but only, like, once). This one is more testament to the absolute insane abilities of Chris Cornell. A lot of grunge lore in this album right here. Fave: Say Hello 2 Heaven

Charli XCX - Brat

All the girls are talking about Brat. And I get it, it's very fun and very green. Fave: Girl, so confusing (but also shoutout to the remix with Lorde which isn't on the album but is truly amazing)