February Foreign Films: Honeyland

February 9, 2020 Emily

Happy Academy Awards Day everyone!

As you’re preparing your at-home ballots and making your predictions, you might be trying to shove in some last minute movies so that you’re more informed for the awards show tonight. Honeyland was my last minute pre-Oscars foreign film pick, as it was nominated in two categories: Best Foreign Language Film and Best Documentary Feature.

Obviously, I think Best Foreign Language Film should go to Parasite, and very little can be done to change my mind about that. But is this movie the Best Documentary Feature of 2019? I had to find out.

The Official #BSG Guide to the 2020 Oscars

February 7, 2020 Kelli

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Ah, it’s that time of year again. Time for me to become irrationally angry at a group of old white people voting for awards that don’t actually mean anything. I can remember the exact moment last year, finishing up my Oscars post, that I decided to delete my lengthy rant about how Green Book would probably win and replace it with the far more hopeful prediction of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma. “It’s very possible,” I wrote at the time, “that the members of the Academy became aware of all of this criticism [re: Green Book] before voting, and not wanting to come out of this year looking like fools, have opted to cast their votes elsewhere.”

We now know that the fool… was me.

A year has passed, and although I am older and wiser, the pool of nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards does not display much growth. The nominations continue to be #sowhite, with not a single person of color nominated in the supporting actor or actress categories, and women have yet again been boxed out of the race for best Directing. Are we surprised? No! Are we angry? Yes! Will I be soap-boxing more throughout this post? Read on to find out!!!

CBS's Evil is Deviously Fun

February 5, 2020 Mary

In the fall, when TV shows premiere en masse, I reviewed some of the new offerings, including CBS’s Evil, a show that still--as I said then--confuses me. However, that confusion isn’t a bad thing. I believe the show deserves another check-in, now that the first season has ended.

February Foreign Films: Pain and Glory

February 2, 2020 Emily

Clearly, I love challenging myself to a good film series.

In the fall, it was 10 Weeks of Spooktober. Then I did 12 Days of Christmas Movies throughout the month of December. Now, I’m back just in time for the tail end of awards season with a new series called February Foreign Films. And with the way February is going, it’s going to be Five February Foreign Films. That’s a lot of F’s.

This is exactly what it sounds like. I will be watching and reviewing buzzy foreign films in the month of February. They must, however, be completely new to me. So, sorry, no Parasite, which I already named my #1 thing of 2019. And no Atlantics, although that is a really good movie, and it’s available on Netflix… so you should watch it right away.

So with all of that out of the way, let’s get into our very first February Foreign Film: Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain & Glory, starring Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, who is nominated for an Oscar for this role.

The Bachelor S24E4: The Internet Knows Everything

January 30, 2020 Kelli & Emily

It’s time for more drama! More gossip! More lies! And, yes, more pilot puns. Your Bachelor recap starts in 3…2…1…

Emily: We awake at the Bachelor mansion and it’s a new day, and we’re all ready to put the drama behind us. Deandra continues to be the most beautiful girl in the house. Yes, I said what I said. Don’t @ me. Anyway, she’s over the drama, and she’s ready to get to know Peter. Clearly Peter has terrible taste in women because he’s been ignoring all the cool (hot) girls.

Kelli: I agree about Deandra. I only wish I knew literally one single thing about her, but unfortunately Peter would rather focus on women who are either deeply boring (Madison) or deeply annoying and terrible (see: the rest of this episode).

Stories Move in Circles: A Conversation with Author Kim Taylor Blakemore

January 29, 2020 Kelli

The Companion, the latest historical crime novel from Kim Taylor Blakemore, follows Lucy Blunt, a woman in 1855 New Hampshire who is set to hang for a double murder she claims she didn’t commit. As Lucy reflects on the events leading up to her imprisonment, she tests the limits of our trust in her retelling, and the mystery that unfolds is as intoxicating as it is dreadful.

I had the immense pleasure of speaking with author Kim Taylor Blakemore about her interest in historical fiction, her writing process, and how she eventually found her way to The Companion. Plus: Kim’s thoughts on the future of Gothic fiction, an extensive lesbian romance reading list, and, of course, pet talk.

(Some spoilers for The Companion to follow.)

Valley Ghouls: Bodies, Representation, and Humor

January 28, 2020 Mary

Kate Leth has long been one of my favorite comics creators; she’s contributed to titles like Bravest Warriors and Adventure Time, and I know her best from her work on Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat!, where she helped revive a classic hero with a body positive, super-diverse flair. Leth has also worked on TV shows like Craig of the Creek and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. Most importantly (to me!), Leth has been creating the comic strip Valley Ghouls for over 150 installments.

BSG #37: The Lesbians Next Door / Elevation & Interview w/Kelly Watt

January 27, 2020 The Squad

38355410._UY2171_SS2171_.jpg — BSG #37: The Lesbians Next Door / *Elevation* & Interview w/Kelly Watt

The #BookSquad returns to Castle Rock for a short, uplifting novella by Stephen King. We dig into *Elevation* to discuss small town politics, tolerance, body issues, and what the heck is going on with our protagonist’s strange weight loss. Plus, we interview Kelly Watt, author of the novel *Mad Dog*. Join us for an extra book in our next #othersode on February 10 as we talk about *The Remaking* by Clay McLeod Chapman. Then join us on February 24 for our next official #bookpisode on *The Need* by Helen Philips. Send listener feedback to **thesquad@booksquadgoals.com** and don’t forget to subscribe on Apple podcasts!

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

YA Book Club: There's Something About Sweetie

January 26, 2020 Mary & Emily

Emily:Okay. So There's Something About Sweetie was my pick for the YA Book Club because I have read and loved Sandhya Menon's books in the past. I especially love When Dimple Met Rishi, and I knew that There's Something About Sweetie was a "sort of" "sequel" to Dimple/Rishi, and that it featured a fat protagonist, so I was ALL IN, and I knew Mary would be too.

Mary: And I was!

The Bachelor S24E3: Do you, like, work? At all?

January 23, 2020 Kelli & Emily

Kelli: Hi! I’m not Susan, but I’m the next best thing, maybe. I’ll be here with Emily for the next two weeks as Susan prepares to walk down the aisle (as they’d probably say on this show). Emily, why don’t you start us off?

Emily: I am SO confused about where we are in time and in the episode because we keep starting in the middle of everything. I feel like the editing so far this season is especially bad, and we can talk more about that later, but just note that’s probably going to be a theme of this season: me talking about how bad the editing is. Anyway, here we are. Everyone’s talking about bullying and the definition of bullying. It’s almost philosophical, but it’s not.

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