New Music This Month

The Healing Component - Mick Jenkins 

Third album dropped by rapper Mick Jenkins, The Healing Component is probably the most soul-heavy, cinematic, lyrical rap I have heard, at least this year. I feel like Jenkins really poured himself in this album. The songs came off as something personal. America is going through some shit, especially when Jenkins was composing and writing this album; Black Lives Matter, Trump and whatnot. Jenkins is showing his reaction to everything in his music, in the beauty of the way he writes. In accordance, Jenkins brings the element of god and Jesus in his songs. They're not centred around god but he does incorporate him here and there. He is trying to show us, his listeners, the only way to advance and move forward is through the healing component, love. The love of god, loving ourselves, loving others, loving where you come from... etc.

"Spread love/ fuck a dollar" , Prosperity (feat. Themind) - Mick Jenkins.

He stresses in some of his songs how money and politics are blinding us from seeing what is good in the world, from seeing how love could heal the evil nature of a man who is obsessed with money. He even incorporates the differences of social classes and how the lower classes eat the shit most of the time.
Mick Jenkins' aesthetic is kind of soft and gentle rap contrasting with the heavy-hearted wording of his songs. He doesn't choose to make his works with a loud, cheesy beat but rather easy on the ears. I feel like that's what makes him unique. He did it with The Water[s], he did it again with The Healing Component.
The cover of the album is so beautiful and I'm sure you'd agree it goes with the whole theme. The choice of colours, the intricacy all goes without saying, reflects the work in his songs. I find it very eye-catching, personally, since I am interested in music that is philosophical and gets you thinking. Sure, I enjoy a good beat every now and then, but usually, I would rather listen. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way, which is why I think this album will appeal to you.
Even if you don't enjoy rap, you might like this album, very much recommended.


A Seat at the Table - Solange Knowles 

This. Woman. 
Wow, wow, wow...

I did not know what to expect from her new album. I confess I haven't listened to her previous album True, so I went into this completely blind. Nevertheless, I was so taken aback with this piece of art.
Solange is a blast from the past and a glimpse of the future, she is way ahead of today's music, at the same time, this is what soul and R&B was. You can take it as neo-soul or neo-R&B, if there's such a thing. The style is quite slow for my liking, but there's just something about it. It's so fresh, so artistic, so heartfelt, her music just has so much depth and meaning to it. Damn, Solange.
People keep comparing the Knowles sisters, but you have to understand they are on two different lanes, musically.
The album focuses on the topic of strong black voices. She stresses how both black men and woman have always struggled and are still struggling in this white man's world. This album is just so personal. There are tales being told in her lyrics, in her poetry.
I had to research this because it just moved me, but the track "Where Do We Go", is the story about how her father and coworker got trapped in the mine they were working in as it collapsed and the company refused to offer any form of help. Luckily, most of her father's family worked at the mine so they all went out together and dug them out. Now the comapny of course was furious at the disobeying of the rules and fired them all, not long before they gave some of them they're jobs back. This, however, created a tear in the family of those who refused and those who accepted. After knowing this story, I listen to the track differently; it feels just so much deeper and necessary.
This album is just purely remarkable.
After telling the tragic tales of indurance and patience, Solange moves on to telling us listeners that she will continue on her journey and move forward, but she is allowing us to embark and join her. She also warns against letting others determine your self-worth.
I had to include this quote of Solange's talking about the album:
“The album ends with Master P saying that we are the chosen ones. That shouldn’t make anyone feel uncomfortable because, for us, as a people to literally go through the journey that we have, endured what we have, and to be where we are right now, we have had to be chosen in a sense. I think that there’s a thread of regality that I wanted to constantly project through the horns, through the sonics of the record, or through the visuals because we are typically not projected as such. But we have always been just that. And a huge part of the record is just honoring and giving a tribute to my parents.”
Listen to this masterpiece.

24K Magic - Bruno Mars

Okay. Here it is, a new Bruno Mars piece.
The album contains 9 tracks, all embezzled with a funky, classic feel to them.
Bruno can do no wrong. I freaking love him. I always have, ever since Hooligans. His voice is just so unique and sexy, and the album contains techniques of a modernised 70's disco. Even so, he still instills 80's and 90's music styles into this album. Just a great, utter throwback.
Bruno's music is fun to listen to, fun to dance to with a great beat to them. He does also include slower songs that are more sentimental.
The thing is, and I know this might come off as ridiculous, it sounds more like a summery kind of album. I don't even know if that makes sense. I enjoyed listening to the songs but they'd be more appreciated if it was dropped in the warmer weather. Silly? It does sound so, I don't know.
I have heard people comparing "24K Magic" to "Uptown Funk", lots saying they are quite similar. Seriously, as brilliant as the song "Uptown Funk" is, when are people going to realise it's not really Bruno Mars' song? I don't really see it's similarity.
The second half of the album is really slow, and I actually got a bit bored since that is not what I typically enjoy. I feel like the song "Straight Up & Down" was just thrown in there for the sake of it, it just feels like it's awkwardly filling a gap.
All in all, the album is enjoyable but I feel like it could be forgettable for me.

Day Breaks - Norah Jones

Norah Jones returns with a sixth album. Jones has one of the silkiest, softest voices out there. Her tunes are flourished in jazzy, folk and blues tones. It's such a midnight kind of album.
At the beginning, the tracks start strong. Lyrically and musically, the first half are brilliant; they have strong, poignant messages. She talks about injustice and peace, and in "Flipside", there's a clear message about rioting, gun violence and racism. It has a very clear socio-political undertone.
Moving on to the rest of the album, it gets slower and sappier. I enjoyed it but I felt my eyes dropping, in a good way. She just has such a calming voice, so smooth and unique. She could have the very trendy, very "in", ASMR kind of calming vocals. Yet, her voice is still quite powerful.
I'm not one for music videos but the one for "Carry On" is just so sweet.
What I really love about Jones is that she is a needle in the haystack of the music industry. She doesn't feel the need to fit in and create music like every other shit track that is popular right now. She sticks to her guns, I find that quite brave.
If you are into jazzy rhythms and tones, this could be the perfect album for you! Give it a listen!

There have been loads of new music dropping these past couple of months but this is what I got round to listening to, let me know what you have been enjoying and what you'd recommend! xx

October Movies Review

The English Patient

This was my first time watching the English Patient. What a masterpiece. I absolutely loved it! As soon as I was done, the movie immediately went to my top ten list.
The story is based on the novel The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. A classic love affair during the war time. A badly burnt pilot is found and cared for in the Sahara desert amidst a plane crash, and transferred to move with an Italian troop. As they are travelling, his nurse, Hana, finds an abandoned monastery where she decides to care for him. Hana believes everyone around her will always get hurt, and she knows for a fact her patient is a dying man. Through flashbacks, the story of the patient is revealed. His name is Count Laszlo de Almasy, roaving the desert in attempt to map the African landscape. His expedition group is joined by an English couple of explorers who spend most of their time in the Egyptian heat, exploring the tombs and artefacts. Almasy starts to develop an interest for the wife, Katherine Clifton, and usually asks about her. After her husband has to return to England for a short time, Almasy and Katherine have an affair. Katherine later ends the affair but not long enough, Geoffrey, her husband, finds out. Almasy was near one of the caves they discover packing up, when Geoffrey attempts a murder-suicide, killing himself and injuring Katherine. Almasy carries her to the cave, leaves her with provisions and leaves to seek help.
During this time, Hana learns to heal her own pain while fending for a dying man.
I know this is an older movie but I'll stop there in case someone has not watched it. If you haven't, watch it tonight! It is very well written and performed. Absolutely brilliant.


Shutter

October is Halloween month and I very well did watch a fair share of horror and thriller movies. Quite a lot actually, but I'm only going to mention those that were new to me.
This movie opens with our protagonists' wedding, Ben and Jane. Ben is a photographer and turns their honeymoon into a working opportunity in Japan. As they are driving up a mountain at night, Jane hits a woman who appears out of thin air. They stop the car to check on her, but just as she appeared, she disappears. Ben convinces Jane it was nothing and they continue driving. Jane still feels uneasy the coming days as she feels she can see the woman everywhere, as it she were haunting her. Ben then starts seeing her ghostly silhouette in the photos he snaps as he's developing them.
The ghost of the girl becomes stronger the longer they are staying in Japan. She starts attacking in the late night hours or in the bright daylight. The movie has a fair few jumpscares that catch you off guard, but it isn't that terribly scary.
It does take a very unexpected twist in the last twenty minutes or so. It is kind of a plot twist, not particularly mind blowing. Still an enjoyable movie though!




Train to Busan

OH.MY.GOD. This movie.... This has to be one the best movies I've seen this year! It is so so so good! I was seeing this movie being talked about EVERYWHERE. It is only my second Korean movie, but instant love!
A zombie outbreak suddenly occurs in South Korea. A little girl, Soo-an, lives with her father and grandmother after her parents divorce. Her dad, Seok-woo, is constantly working and is barely at home, that he forgets her birthday and buys her a gift she already has. All Soo-an wants is her family back together again. She begs him to go see her mother with her. Seok-woo agrees to take the train to see her mother. They're packed up and ready to go. We are shown the different passages on the train, from the elderly to a group of teenagers, to businessmen and families on the train. As they are leaving, a homeless man suddenly jumps into the train with so much fear in his face, as well as a girl who seems to have injured her knee. Nope, she was bitten. Soo-an also gets a glimpse of someone thrown on the floor and attacked by a zombie outside her window as the train moves.
The bitten women is on the floor as one of the stewards tries to attend to her and is bitten as a result. It becomes a chain reaction thing. The passengers on the train try to survive as the cities around them are falling apart and are inflicted, as well as the train. The train engineer receives news that Busan is still open to the train and they are trying to keep things under control. That's where they head, with a lot more struggle along the way.
It is just so so incredibly amazing! The actors, the storyline, the cinematography is out of this world. A must must watch to anyone who is reading this right now. Even if zombies aren't really your thing, I'm not really that crazy about them myself, but just watch it. This is a true personification of how a parent would sacrifice anything for their child.


Me Before You

There is a brief summary of the Me Before you book in my previous post so I won't repeat myself. I really wanted to watch the movie, because umm hello? Emilia Clarke? Yes. She is so good in the film.
I wanted to watch this after I read the book as per usual. It was quite good! They did stick to the book mostly, but they did leave out a big portion (I won't spoil which bit though). It didn't ruin the movie or the storyline, I actually thought it was mentioned like in the spur of the moment in the book, like it was a random thought Moyes had. The producers said they didn't want the movie to become about Lou and how she moves on from the incident (that's all I'll say) but rather, they wanted the movie to center around ceasing life and taking advantage of every opportunity you get since it is typically short, and the fact that you can't predict what life will throw at you, good or bad.
Quite cliche, yes, but very well performed and filmed. As I mentioned in my reading wrap up, it is unconventional, so it's like rephrasing the cliche in a somewhat original way.
All in all, loved it, cried a bit, would recommend!



An American Crime

On another note, An American Crime is one of the cringiest film I've seen in a while. It's no new by any means but I hadn't seen it before.
The film is a true story which revolves around two sisters, Sylvia and Jennie, who's parents travel around the country working with the carnival. The parents usually leave them with relatives so they can go to school for the year. This time the father leaves them with a devoreced mother, Gertrude, who he just met, and already is juggling six children of her own.
Gertrude is struggling financially and is under a lot of stress, we learn early on that she prostitutes herself and her youngest is a result of it.
At the beginning, the sisters got along with the daughters they moved in with. Sylvia bonds with the eldest, Paula, and they became quite close. Paula goes behind her mother's back to see a married man who she calls her boyfriend; however, he has no interest in her. Paula gets herself into trouble but Gertrude lets out her frustration on Sylvia, forcing her to do horrible things to herself. The girls try to contact their parents, but they were betrayed by the kids who told the mother.
Eventually, Gertrude locks her in the basement and performs all kinds of torture to her. She even lets the neighbourhood kids join in, kids that Sylvia went to school with. In the end, she dies from starvation and infections from her wounds.
The movie can be quite gory to some who might be sensitive or squeamish. I still cannot believe this was something that actually happened. The fact the kids willingly joined in is just baffling to me. The way they laughed, they way she begged... just disgusting.
Lastly, I think Ellen Page playing Sylvia did a really good job, as she always does.


Bad Moms

This was such a fun movie! Finally a comedy that actually made me laugh. I loved this so much!
Amy is a mother of two who married young to a great husband. She is always rushing around, either working or doing things for others. She feels so exhausted from everything til one day she is fed up. She befriends two other moms who encourage her to live for herself a little bit more, especially after she caught her husband wanking off with another girl online. They dress her up and push her to go out. On the other scale of things, the moms at school are having a PTA election. Gwendolyn, the perfect image of a mom and has a clique of perfect moms of her own, typically wins every year. Amy decides to go up against her. She throws a huge party inviting all the moms who let loose and go wild. This editing of this part of the movie was so epic.

Lights Out

Last but not least, the last movie I will be speaking of is Lights Out. I saw the trailer months back and could not wait for the release, I was sold.
Late-night worker is closing up to leave for home when he notices a silhouette in the dark. He immediately notices the creature goes no where near the light, so he attempts to run for sanctuary in his well lit office. Not for two long. We learn of his family; he has a step daughter, Rebecca, a son, Martin, and the wife who suffers from depression and is on medication. Martin starts to notice the heaviness of darkness in his own home. He even thinks he sees a shadow lurking about. He moves in with his sister but the shadow still follows him there. Rebecca also notes the shadow in her flat and tries to come closer to her. As they are haunted by this girl figure, Rebecca learns more about her mother and her illness. She also learns about a girl her mother was best friends with at the institute she lived at when she was a young girl. Turns out the girl haunting them is one of the patients named Diana. Diana is jealous she doesn't have the mother all to herself. She was not about to have that and would do anything to get her back.
Great movie. I absolutely enjoyed it. It has a fair number of jump scares and I was proper scared for days. I slept with the lights on for a few nights!

October Reading Wrap-Up

ME BEFORE YOU

Yes, I finally read this book. Everyone and their mother has already read Me Before You--actually my mum read it too, before I did even! I had this book on my shelves for ages and finally got round to it.
Jojo Moyes's Me Before You, follows the story of quirky Louisa Clark, who lives at home with her mum, dad, sister Trina (or Katrina) and her son Thomas, and her grandad who is in a wheelchair and sits quietly in front of the TV most of his time. Her relationship with beau of seven years, Patrick, is turning dry and unexciting. With the family struggling financially, Lou's salary was keeping them afloat; however, her boss decides to close the café. This is why she felt forced to take a job as a caretaker for a quadriplegic, Will Traynor, whose mother promised Lou a steady fat paycheck for six months, even though she had no idea what she was doing.
This was a fresh kind of read; it is a very unconventional love story with an unexpected ending. I have to admit though, I did sort of expect the ending. It isn't cheesy but it is predictable. Enjoyable, nonetheless.
I gave this 3 out of 5 stars!

MURDER AT THE VICARAGE

After reading Agatha Christie's A Pocket Full of Rye a few months back, I decided I wanted to read the whole Miss Marple series. I just fell in love. I seriously read the whole thing in one day! I was never so gripped from a book as I have with that one. And so, I read Murder at the Vicarage. This novel follows the story of a vicar in the small village of St Mary Mead. One of the residents of the village, called Colonel Lucius Protheroe, is probably the most hated amongst all. Even the vicar is heard muttering someone could get away with killing him. Ooh. Then what happens? He IS murdered! In the vicar's study no less! Dun dun DUN! The clues throughout the story vary to include almost all the characters as guilty; once you think you've figured out who it is, the next chapter rolls around and throws at you even more clues where another might be guilty. A couple of characters actually do confess to committing the crime and one is jailed for a short term. Clement the vicar is called upon his neighbour, Miss Marple, who tells him she might have the idea that there are seven suspects, including the vicar himself. The vicar explores the clues left behind and tries to decipher, alongside the detective, who is guilty of the crime.
I really enjoyed reading Murder at the Vicarage and I'm aiming to read one book of the series a month. I find Agatha Christie's novels quite fantastic.

HOUSE OF LEAVES

Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves is probably one the most unique books I've read to date. I've never read such a book that intimidates you as you read it. It is told by three different perspectives, where two are actually footnotes who have read the previous person's notes. So it's like B read A's notes, and then C read A's and B's.
I read House of Leaves as a part of Sophie's read along on her channel.
It begins with the character Johnny Truant being awoken in the early hours of the morning by his friend, Lude, to explore a dead man's unusual flat. Johnny is looking for a new place to live and Lude thought his newly deceased neighbour's place could be up for grabs. While exploring the place, Johnny finds a scattered book of collected notes. He learns later that the old man, Zampano, who was blind was working on a project of academically analysing a documentary called "The Navidson Record". Johnny reads the book and says he never really found any record of the film, deeming it
nonexistent. Although Johnny does come across as a non reliable narrator at times.
The documentary is about a family that moves from the busy city of New York into a quiet suburban house in Virginia. Navidson is a self-acclaimed photographer who shot a photo that put his name out there, of a starving African girl who was dying on her way to the food camp and a vulture was patiently behind her awaiting her death. Much like the infamous photo of Kevin Carter's.

As the family settles in, a strange door suddenly appears in the middle of the living room where at first it was just cupboard-sized. Navidson asks a good friend of his, Reston, who is an architect to help him measure the outside and inside of the house. Of course, the measurements don't add up.
The cupboard hollows up more and more till it is a labyrinth cave. Navidson is hit with the exploring bug. He calls up some folks who explore for a hobby and a job, Holloway, Wax and Jed. The Maze consumes the three explores and Navidson has to go in and find them.
Throughout the novel, each character is affected by the hollowness and blackness of the labyrinth in a different way. They become either more aggressive or angsty or confused... . Johnny, on the other hand, is losing his mind slowly but surely.
The format of the this book is quite unconventional. With some pages full and packed with text and others blank. Some had single sentences going lower with every turn of the page, others had sentences upside down, or paragraphs to the side... . It was a fun way to read the book as it fit sometimes the characters' placement at the time.
However, what I didn't really enjoy about House of Leaves was that it's like reading a text book for a class. It is filled with references to studies and interviews that don't exist. I felt like I was reading a uni article for a class. That wasn't fun. I even found myself skipping some of them and focusing more on what Johnny had to say. I also found the book a tad bit slow which lead to it getting a bit boring, in my opinion. When I finished, I was just like PHEW, it is finally over! I finished it just to finish it that's all.
I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.

                                      DISGRACE

Coatzee's Disgrace won him the Man Booker prize sometime in the early 2000's. Honestly, I do not know how, it was so boring.
The story follows a bored university professor, David Lurie, who spends his Thursdays with Suraya, a prostitute who he becomes obsessed with and stalks after she ends things with him. He feels like he needs to fill his Thursdays with a replacement. Scanning the campus, his eyes come across Melanie, a theatre major in the romantics course he teaches. He invites her to his place, the next day they end up sleeping with each other. Things start to fall apart from then on. He loses his job as Melanie's parents file a sexual harassment complaint to the university, who then in turn try to keep quiet about it and not include legislation. He moves in with his daughter, Lucy, in the countryside. Things yet again fall apart as after a while of staying with her and working at her farm and volunteering in the clinic. Trauma strikes and Lurie is sat helpless watching it all happen.
The idea behind this book is exquisite; however, I personally felt the execution of it is poor. The language and style are very dry.
I gave this a 1 star.

HABIBI DAESHI

I wanted to get into reading Arabian novels and my friend recommended this one among others. I had this sitting on my desktop for months before I finally came around to reading it. Yes, it is only published as an e-book. The way my friend spoke about it really sold it to me. After reading it, this has to be the most ridiculous book I have ever read.
It's from the point of view of an Egyptian woman, Laila, newly wed to the love of her life. Everything seems to go fine till one day he decides to divorce her, out of the blue. So she ends up in a rut for the next few years, when her father decides enough is enough and wants to marry her to her cousin without her consent. Apparently all the men around her are dropping at her feet and she's refusing because she's got her ex in mind! Her best friend, Suha, stopped talking to her because her husband admitted to her that he loves Laila. Then her boss expresses his feelings to her. A colleague of hers, Samira, heard about her misfortune with men and suggests to her to join Isis as a translator in Syria. She meets up with her and is handed a phone number for when she decides to agree. Of course she does, she can't handle being married to a guy she knows near nothing about. The scheduling is done, she leaves for Syria, and is sent to live with a husband and wife and their bodyguard on Isis ground. Of course she notes how the guard, Omar, is so muscular and caring. Yes, they do eventually fall in love. Yes, he does try and make her leave because he knows the grand scheme of taking her hostage because her father is a millionaire and will pay the price. They manage to escape to Yemen thanks to Omar's connections, and marry in secrecy. But later are found hiding there. So he sends her to Mecca where she stays at a hotel and tells her to wait at the gates of the hotel everyday at sunset to meet him at his arrival. Somehow her ex husband finds her there! He knew the Sheikh of the mosque in Mecca whom she was having dinner with the day of.
Omar does finally meet up with her after being held captive and tortured for two years. Good news! Laila's pregnant! After not seeing her husband for TWO YEARS! WTF!!!
This book was just ridiculous. The style of writing was that of a child's, it was so utterly stupid! Literally, every line I read i was just like "oh my goood" for how dumb it is. I actually skipped a lot of pages to reach the end. Just, no.
ZERO STARS

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

Finally, the last book I read this month was Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Our protagonist is a teenager named Jacob whose grandfather has always told him tales of children that were peculiar. Whilst of a young age Jacob's Grandfather tells him stories of a mystical place on a Welsh Island where fantastical and magical things happen. He describes the people and the amazing things they can do, even backing his stories with pictures. Obviously being at a young age Jacob believes all of these stories and even the more horrifying tales of the 'monsters' that hunted these children - beastly ghouls with sharp talons and eels protruding from their mouths. This was enough to keep Jacob awake at night. Ransom Riggs' interest in photography and writing had him collect photographs from many different sources and used them to base his novel around.
 As he got older, Jacob deemed these tales as only that, fairytales. He forgets about the mysterious island. One day, his grandfather calls him panicking at work, asking for the key to his gun cupboard. Jacob and his father just think the old man is losing his mind. Still, Jacob is worried and runs home to finds him in the woods behind his home dying from his wounds. Wounds that look like some beastly animal attacked him. That is when Jacob sees the creature--the monster his grandfather was always warning him about, with it's three tentacles looming out of its face. Before his death, his grandfather leaves him some cryptic last words which leads Jacob on a sometimes frightening but mostly action filled and heroic adventure. 
Jacob is traumatised after his discovery and has to see a psychiatrist. He becomes obsessively interested in his grandfather's past so he travels with his father to the mysterious island. He discovers a whole new world of peculiar happenings. 
I enjoyed reading this novels as it is fast-paced and equally suspenseful. The photographs added an interesting layer to the story. I am very intrigued to read the next books! 
I gave this 3 out of 5!