August Wrap Up

Hey Guys!

Sorry this post is SO late, I have been embarrassingly lazy the past two weeks and I just couldn’t get around to getting everything organized for my Wrap Up, haha! However…. August was a REALLY amazing Reading/TV/Movie/Concert month for me, and I can’t wait to tell you guys all about my recent favs <3

So without further stalling.. here we go!

So as always, lets get RIGHT into it…

TV SHOWS

I have a pretty dedicated obsession with Netflix/Hulu/Amazon.. really any type of TV Streaming Service.. I will watch pretty much anything, and most of my choices are great.. some are not so great.. some are downright awful.. but for this month’s Wrap Up, I’ll let you guys know about a few really amazing TV Shows I discovered this past month.

1.) “The Missing”

10/10

I am always on the hunt for a new Binge-Worthy TV show, and recently I was catching up with a friend.. and I was doing my usual “Have You Watched Anything GREAT On Netflix Lately?” thing.. and my friend said I absolutely HAD to check out the TV Show “The Missing”. She knows how much I love a good Mystery/Crime show, and this is seriously right up my alley. It’s a British/French show, that is 99% in English, with the odd sub-title. It is the story of a Husband and Wife and their young son.. who take a vacation through France.. and their son vanishes. The show then explores what happened to the son/ where he might have gone.. and it’s SO fucking riveting you guys. An absolutely incredible show! I loved every single second of this. Highly recommend.

2.) “Atypical”

9/10

This show is a New Release, Netflix Original Drama, about an 18 year old kid named Sam, who is on the Autism Spectrum. This show is about his life, his family, and his adventures trying to find love/his first girlfriend. This show is seriously incredible! I have loved the actor who plays Sam for a long time, ever since seeing him in the movie “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”. He is so outstanding playing Sam, and this show is equal parts heartfelt, and funny at the same time. I loved this so much, I really hope there is a Season 2.

3.) “The Murder of Laci Peterson”

10/10

First off, this Documentary Style/Investigative Style Show… Is NOT for the faint of heart. This is a very real, and very disturbing real-life account of an infamous Murder/Crime Case. Laci Peterson was murdered almost 15 years ago, and A&E recently released a limited Documentary Series, all about her murder/the investigation/the trial etc. It focuses heavily on what happened to Laci, and on her Husbands possible involvement.

I have always been very interested in true crime, and this is a case I vaguely remember being all over the news about 15 years ago. I’m only on Episode 3 but I can tell you it’s an incredible series, very well done, and with some fascinating interviews. Overall a heartbreaking and sickening crime.. however I think this show really respects the family/the memory of Laci, and this is a very important Documentary. I can’t wait to see next week’s episode.

4.) “Outlander”

10/10

I couldn’t resist mentioning this show quickly as well. I’m sure I’ve mentioned my creepy obsession with “Outlander”, or more specifically with Jamie Fraser. This show is honestly basically porn for women, but it also has a very rich and well done Historical factor as well. I promise, my boyfriend loves it too! I mean he doesn’t LOVE all the romance shit, but he definitely appreciates the Scottish history/battle scenes. Season 3 started this week, and I’m head over heels in love all over again. Jamie.Fucking.Fraser. That’s all I really need to say, isn’t it?

MOVIES

1.) “Dunkirk”

10/10

Okay so I am a HUGE Christopher Nolan fan… and every single one of his movies is probably one of my all-time favorite movies. “Inception” still being at the top of this list…. that is until I saw THIS masterpiece. Wow. Just Wow.

I don’t watch a ton of War movies, and the ones I have seen I’ve found to be incredible/yet also very emotionally upsetting sometimes. This movie.. while dealing with some very horrific situations, was one of the most BEAUTIFULLY shot pieces of Art I’ve ever seen. Every. Single. Scene of this film was so stunning, that it could be a print on an Art Gallery wall. I must have leaned over towards my boyfriend 100 times throughout this movie, and said ” OHMYGOD can you believe this shot? Look how amazing that LIGHTING is! Look at that symmetry! OMG ITS AMAZING”. I was probably so annoying, but as a photographer I couldn’t deny the outstanding artistry that went into this film .

One thing I was a bit nervous about, was the acting skills of none other than Harry Styles (former boy band sensation, from One Direction). Obviously the first second he came onto the screen, I had a little smirk over it (and also a little excited thrill, because like most girls my age I’m also in love with him).. but quite honestly about thirty seconds into him being on screen I completely forgot that he was “Harry Styles”. He became one of the terrified young soldiers, and he was so utterly believable and real.. he totally blew me away.

I realized after watching this, how little I knew about Dunkirk, and how moving and powerful of a story it really is. One of the most visually spectacular things I’ve seen in years as well.

Go see this. Trust me!

2.) “The Big Sick”

9/10

When I first heard about this movie, I was in love already. I am am HUGE fan of Judd Apatow, of Kumail Nanjiani, and of Zoe Kazan. I’m not sure who I like the most out of the three of them, but it’s safe to say I love them all somewhat equally.

This movie is the (real life story) of how Kumail Nanjiani met his “real life” wife Emily. This is the story of their relationship, his stand-up career, and the struggles he faces being from a very traditional Pakistani family who want him to marry a woman of their choosing/ an arranged marriage. Clearly their plan isn’t Kumail’s plan, and he falls in love with a woman they don’t approve of. That sounds like the major plot, but it’s only secondary.. because the character of Emily becomes very sick, and this movie is the story of what happens next. Ray Romano makes a cameo as Emily’s father, and he’s so hilarious.. I just love him. This movie was funny, sad, and overall a really good watch.

Above are a few cheesy little photos of me and my other half <3

3.) “It Comes at Night”

10/10

You guys…… This movie was horrifying. Brilliant and completely psychologically fucked, but amazing.

I heard a lot of Buzz about this movie following the Sundance Film Festival this year. People were saying it was “The Most Terrifying Film of 2017”, so I was immediately intrigued. They were right, because I am still traumatized by this movie.

This is the story of a post-apocalyptic world, where is seems a deadly “plague-like” virus has taken hold of the world. Think like a “Walking Dead” situation, without the actual presence of any zombies. What is so brilliant about this movie is that you aren’t provided with any concrete details.. you are just kind of thrown into this story.. where you get the very real sense that something is wrong/bad/awful out there.. and that this family better stay the FUCK inside.

The opening scene is sickeningly awful. Just terrifying. Not in a gory way, but in a very real hard-hitting psychological way. To see what this world has come to, and what this family has to do to survive, will completely shake you.

The brilliance of this movie lies not in the jump scares, and monsters… but rather in the suspicion/fear/ and paranoia of this new world. It’s the way people treat each other.. thinking everyone is out to steal from them/kill them/ use them for something. Not being able to trust anyone or anything, while constantly looking over your shoulder trying to avoid getting “sick”.

I won’t say anymore about this, but just trust me. This is one of the greatest most simplistically chilling horror movies to date. Don’t miss this one.

Honorable Mentions For August

Concerts/Shows

So this past month, I saw a few great concerts/comedy shows, that I felt were worth mentioning.

1.) “Nathan For You”

Live/Screening

The Vogue Theatre

10/10

Nathan Fielder, is a Vancouver local.. and he stars/created… the very popular Comedy Central show “Nathan for You”. It’s hard to explain or capture the incredibly awkward humor of this show. Basically Nathan created a show where he “goes in and helps struggling businesses with sales”, kind of like Undercover Boss or something. The catch is that he is kind of playing a joke on these poor people, and he is basically using every interview/every suggestion to make these peoples lives THE MOST AWKWARD THING EVER.

I don’t really even know how to express how funny this show is. It’s one of the only shows I have ever laughed out loud while watching alone. His facial expressions, weird little sayings.. just everything works in such a bizarre and odd way.

His live show, was a screening of the new Season.. and the Vogue Theater in Vancouver was sold out. The screening was great, but the funniest part of the show was when he brought up people from the audience. He asked them questions, and basically made them so incredibly uncomfortable and awkward.. it was just SO cringe worthy to watch (in the best way). My stomach actually hurt after. All I could think was “thank FUCKING GOD I didn’t volunteer to go on stage” (although I’m so thankful to those who did). Wonderful show.

2.) “Beck”

10/10

I’m not a fan of Beck, just because I’ve never really been exposed to his music. I have REALLY lame musical taste, as you guys probably know.. and during the late 1990’s/early 2000’s I was deep into a Britney Spears/N’Sync situation… I do remember one of my friends, had a very cool older sister who was into Beck.. So I knew who he was.

Anyway, my Boyfriend is 7 years older than me, and he’s all about Beck. He took me on a little Date Night, as we went for Dinner and to see Beck. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but he completely blew me away. Beck is an amazing artist, and he has such a lively presence on stage… it was almost magical. He sings SO well live too, just amazing. Loved every minute of this show. Thanks for taking me Ryan!

And Now….. The BOOKS I Read This August!

1.) “Fever Dream”

By: Samanta Schweblin

10/10

This book is a very short story, and I finished it within a few hours. While it may be short.. it packed a seriously creepy and “never-going-to-be-able-to-shake-this” type of punch. Wow.

The author of this book Samanta Schweblin is from Buenos Aires and this was recently translated into English by Megan McDowell.

I don’t even know how to accurately describe the atmosphere of this book. From the first sentence it grabs you, and it’s incredibly terrifying, tense and you are filled with dread. The story is about a woman who is laying dying in a clinic, and she is visited at her bedside by a child. This child, is the son of a woman she barely knows, who is renting a vacation home near hers. He is quite possibly evil, and you soon find out the HORRIFYING story of how she got to her deathbed…

I can’t even capture the slow creeping dread that this book makes you feel. You know something is VERY wrong from the beginning, and you just don’t even want to flip the page. It’s so hard to describe, but I can promise you I will never EVER forget this little story.

It’s a ghost story on steroids. Ugh.. Just so messed up. If you have read this please contact me, we need to TALK ABOUT THAT ENDING.

(Chapters/Indigo Plot Summary)

(“Genius.” —Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker
“Samanta Schweblin’s electric story reads like a Fever Dream.” —Vanity Fair
Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize!

Experience the blazing, surreal sensation of a fever dream…

A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He’s not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family.

Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale. One of the freshest new voices to come out of the Spanish language and translated into English for the first time, Samanta Schweblin creates an aura of strange psychological menace and otherworldly reality in this absorbing, unsettling, taut novel.)

2.) “Final Girls”

By: Riley Sager

10/10

Okay when STEPHEN KING says “The first great Thriller of 2017 is here”, YOU FUCKING BUY IT! I mean right?!

Ohhhhh this book!!!! I have heard a ton of hype on the BookTube Community about this book, because it was one of “Book of the Month’s” chosen books. It has such a original and amazingly campy plots, that I knew I would love it.

Think of every 1980’s Horror Film you have ever loved. In all of those movies there is always a “Slasher Killer” who hunts down every boy and girl in the cabin/house/sorority or whatever setting… until you are left with the “Final Girl”. Everyone knows about the idea of the “Final Girl”. This book explores the idea and the story…. of one of those girls, in real life.

Quincy is the only survivor of an awful massacre, that took the lives of all of her friends, while at a cabin in the woods. The media runs with this narrative, as they would.. and she ends up being an unwilling part of the media-created list of “Final Girls”, which include her and two other well-known-final-girls, who they themselves survived horrible massacres. One was a Sorority house killing, and the other was the victim of a TERRIFYING killer called the “SACK MAN”. I mean if you weren’t already creeped out… SACK MAN will do the job for ya.

Basically, one of the three “Final Girls” is found dead, from what seems to be a suicide.. but then the real mystery begins. Quincy then meets the other surviving “Final Girl” and the two of them try to piece together the mystery.

It’s SO GOOD.

I loved this so much. Mark my words, this will 100% become a movie. I bet my life on it!

(Chapters/Indigo Plot Summary)

(THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

“The first great thriller of 2017 is here: Final Girls, by Riley Sager. If you liked Gone Girl, you’ll like this.”—Stephen King

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.)

3.) “Hunting Houses”

By: Fanny Britt

8/10

This book was a bit of a random choice, and I’m really glad I picked it up. The plot is sort of described as a woman who is happily married, who runs into an ex-boyfriend.. and the moral dilemma of “should she risk everything she has to sleep with him” begins.

I was attracted to the juicy little plot, and I was in the mood for something kind of trashy after the past two TERRIFYING reads… but I was actually very very surprised with this one. This book is not at all the trashy affair I assumed it would be.. it’s much more of an internal voice.. going through her insecurities, hopes, fears.. There was something so incredibly REAL and human about her story and her experience.

The writing in this book was so unexpectedly STUNNING. I underlined so many passages, that I basically ruined the entire book. Her observations about life, about marriage and relationships.. and just how she viewed the world.. were so spot on and gripping. I really loved this, and it was not at ALL what I was expecting.

(Chapters/Indigo Plot Summary)

(Tessa is a thirty-seven-year-old real estate agent living in Montreal. She adores her husband and three young sons, but she’s deeply unhappy and questioning the set of choices that have led to her present life.

After a surprising run-in with Francis, her ex-boyfriend and first love, Tessa arranges to see him. During the three days before their meeting, she goes about her daily life – there’s swimming lessons, science projects, and dirty dishes. As the day of her meeting with Francis draws closer she has to decide if she is willing to disrupt her stable, loving family life for an uncertain future with him.

With startling clarity and emotional force, Fanny Britt gives us a complex portrait of a woman and a marriage from the inside out.)