So I had to return my copy to the library weeks ago and wasn’t able to get it back in time, so I might be a little fuzzy on details. Overall, I found that there were a lot of good moments in the collection, and a few that bugged me. Three things really stood out for me. First, I loved the interpretation of Ghostbusters, and the how she drew attention to the gender relationships. What was particularly noticeable to me was how she focused on […]
Checks the Boxes, But Has A Big Issue
Best for: People who enjoy pop culture analysis that is serious but not too serious. In a nutshell: Film critic explores some of the top movies of the 1980s, focusing on what made them good and why we don’t see them anymore. Line that sticks with me: “Nineties teen makeover scenes are all about stamping out a teenage girl’s awkwardness and unique personality, whereas the girls in the eighties teen movies celebrate those two qualities.” (p76) Why I chose it: Book club! Review: First, thank […]
Discussion Topics: Life Moves Pretty Fast
Our Discussion Post is live – join us now to discuss Life Moves Pretty Fast. We’re quickly approaching our second Book Club of the year: Non-fiction. Life Moves Pretty Fast by Hadley Freeman won the vote, and we are just over a week to go time. Our group chat about Eighties Movies and this book will get going around 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday June 14 both here and in our Facebook group, the Book Chat. Book Club is open to anyone and everyone, and with […]
… but don’t stop too long there, Ferris
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did; I’m a sucker for pop culture writing. That said, it falls prey to two pitfalls I thoroughly dislike – nostalgia bias and the sense that the writer was looking for an excuse to write about her favorite movies rather than that she had anything novel to say about them. I knew what I was getting into to a certain extent with the first point; you don’t write a book on what 80s movies can […]
A Cannonball and a Book Club Review
Life Moves Pretty Fast has been on my TBR since TheShitWizard read it back in January and, while I didn’t vote for it, was excited to see it as the CBR Book Club selection. “These movies, which were largely seen as junk when they came out, were deeply formative, and everyone I know in my generation feels exactly the same way. They provided the lifelong template for my perceptions of funniness (Eddie Murphy), coolness (Bill Murray), and sexiness (Kathleen Turner). Having been born in 1988 I am […]
NiceGuy Ducky, she defends NiceGuyDucky ARGH
This was not my first choice for the book club; in fact, it wasn’t my second or third choice either. I think I would have preferred any other of the book club choices to this one, however I was overruled and democracy blahblahblah. I honestly went into it with an open mind, I may not have looked forward to reading it, but hey, I was willing to give it a chance. I like 80s movies, maybe not to the extent that Freeman does but I […]