Finished reading: Babel by R. F Kuang 📚

Thoroughly enjoyable. Some good twists along the way. Got a little pedestrian in the final third though which has tempered my enthusiasm a little.

A Real Pain, 2024 - ★★★★★

I’ve been thinking about what to write about this for a week. And I’ve ended up with this… it’s got just the right amount of everything. I feared before going in it could be overly sentimental, but the script and performances are just spot on.

It’s a lean film with nothing more than it needs. Not trying to give us answers but more questions to ponder.

The Florida Project, 2017 - ★★★★

This took me by surprise a little. Felt very reminiscent of British social realist films like Fish Tank and The Selfish Giant. 

Seen lots of reviews talking about seeing things from Moonee’s perspective, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like it was Bobby’s eyes I was looking through.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, 2024 - ★★★★

These days if you can hold my attention for a full 2.5 hours you’re likely to get 4 stars. And if you give me a main character who is someone competent and excessively resentful on top of that, it’s a lock in.

The bookend to my day yesterday, walking home via the Quayside. Spot Venus 🪐

Newcastle Quayside at night. Millennium Bridge lit in purple reflected in the river. Venus shining brightly in the clear sky.

Mad sky this morning on my commute

Sunrise over Newcastle’s Grey Street. Blue sky with strip of pinky-orange clouds.