Quill & Slate: June 2018

Ocean's 8 💃 Film Review

Written by Thelonia

My main takeaway from Ocean's 8 is that I will literally watch women do anything in a movie and have a blast, and also that John Mulaney must rue the day he made that "women could never pull off an Ocean's 11 type heist" joke from 2012, at least if his twitter mentions from the past few weeks are anything to go by.

No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.

In the 66th episode of No Improvement, we watch and discuss the 10th episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale ("The Last Ceremony"), season 2. Listen to us discuss season 1 or the All in Good Storytime podcast discuss the book at these links!

Next week, we will be watching and talking about the eleventh episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, season 2.

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Won't You Be My Neighbor? 😭 Film Review

Written by Thelonia

In a time when it feels like literally everything is falling apart in flames, sometimes you need to watch something that will make you believe in goodness again. This year started off real strong in that category with cinematic masterpiece Paddington 2, but Paddington has now been joined by Won't You Be My Neighbor?, the recently released Mr. Rogers Documentary, in the "movies that made me hopeful and also cry a whole, whole lot" category for 2018.

Written by Thelonia

Neko Case's new album makes me want to quit my job, move away from the city, find a nice lush Northeastern forest, sit on a rock, look at a mountain, and die. In that order. Hell-On, which builds on Case's previous albums' sound, she leans into her more mournful side, even with the livelier of songs being about destruction of self, reflections on the past, and celebration of creation & womanhood. In other words, get your annotation pens & highlighters out, we're going on a journey.

All in Good Storytime is an interactive, bookish, book club podcast hosted by Alanna, Katya, and Tia. To join the club, make sure you're following us on Twitter to get updates on what book we're reading and to what chapter we are reading through (or what anime we're watching and what episode we are watching through), and listen to the podcast here or on iTunes (see link below) to join in on the discussion. And don't forget to read along!

In the 41st episode of All in Good Storytime, we finish reading Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. In chapters 7-10, we finally live through the plane crash in which Billy is the sole survivor, see Valencia die of carbon monoxide poisoning, meet Kilgore Trout, return to Tralfamadore with Montana, and are given a solid explanation for all the time traveling and aliens.

We contrast the parallel scenes between Billy and Valencia and then Billy and Montana where he is pressed to discuss his time at war. We view this as another aspect of wishful thinking present in his time on Tralfamadore where he is able to be emotionally vulnerable. We discuss how horrifyingly disgusting it is that the captured American soldiers were sharing spoons in their quest to steal syrup from the Nazis. We question whether Kilgore Trout is really just Kurt Vonnegut making cameos in all of his novels in the style of Stan Lee. Finally, we unpack the notion that the aliens and time traveling were all a result of Billy's fractured psyche following the final insult of the optometrist plane crash.

In two weeks, we will be watching the first five episodes and episode eight (the order in which the episodes were intended) of Revolutionary Girl Utena.

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No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 65

In the 65th episode of No Improvement, we watch and discuss the ninth episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale ("Smart Power"), season 2. Listen to us discuss season 1 or the All in Good Storytime podcast discuss the book at these links!

Next week, we will be watching and talking about the tenth episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, season 2.

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Hereditary 😱 Film Review

Written by Thelonia

Hereditary was perhaps my most anticipated movie of 2018, and while it didn't scare me in the way I think most people expect, it has haunted me ever since I've seen it.

Written by Thelonia

Soft when happy and poppy when heartbroken, Coeur de Pirate's new album, en cas de tempête, ce jardin sera fermé. continues the Quebecois artist's musical trajectory without deviating too far from her usual sound.

In the 64th episode of No Improvement, we watch and discuss the eighth episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale ("Women's Work"), season 2. Listen to us discuss season 1 or the All in Good Storytime podcast discuss the book at these links!

Next week, we will be watching and talking about the ninth episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, season 2.

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All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 40

In the 40th episode of All in Good Storytime, we read chapters 4-6 of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. In these chapters, we meet Kurt Vonnegut as a fellow soldier, travel through space with the Tralfamadorians, see Roland Weary enlist Paul Lazzaro to avenge him on his deathbed, analyze free will at length, and learn precisely how Billy will die by Paul Lazzaro's hand in the future.

We discuss our interpretations of what free will and destiny mean in this novel, especially as it relates to fate and fatalism. We further question whether Billy is simply making up his exploits with the Tralfamadorians as a form of wish-fulfillment or as a way to cope with his trauma from the war We finally theorize that Billy has been dead this whole time. We contrast the English and American soldiers and their different approaches to war. Lastly, we criticize Billy's marriage to Valencia which appears to be based solely on a desire for money and connections.

In one week, we will be reading chapter 7 through the end of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

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Picnic at Hanging Rock 🤔 TV Show Review

Written by Thelonia

Picnic at Hanging Rock was on one of the first films I think I ever saw that truly bewildered me. The 1975 Peter Weir directed film took the plot from the 1967 book by Joan Lindsay and transformed it into a visually stunning and strange film which has no answers for any of the many questions the viewer has.

The 2018 Amazon Prime Miniseries re-imagining however, has a lot of answers to questions you may not even have wanted to have answered in the first place.

In the 63rd episode of No Improvement, we watch and discuss the seventh episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale ("After"), season 2. Listen to us discuss season 1 or the All in Good Storytime podcast discuss the book at these links!

Next week, we will be watching and talking about the eighth episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, season 2.

Ocean's 8 💃 Film Review

Written by Thelonia

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 66

Subscribe on iTunes!

Won't You Be My Neighbor? 😭 Film Review

Written by Thelonia

Hell-On by Neko Case 🔥 Album Review

Written by Thelonia

All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 41

Subscribe on iTunes!

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 65

Subscribe on iTunes!

Hereditary 😱 Film Review

Written by Thelonia

en cas de tempête, ce jardin sera fermé. by Coeur de Pirate 💕 Album Review

Written by Thelonia

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 64

Subscribe on iTunes!

All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 40

Subscribe on iTunes!

Picnic at Hanging Rock 🤔 TV Show Review

Written by Thelonia

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 63

Subscribe on iTunes!