September Worthwhile Stuff

📚 Books
The Idea of You, Robinne Lee: I read this book last month, but I haven't really stopped thinking about it since, so it deserves a shout-out here. The book is about a mother who has a relationship with – and falls in love with – a member of her daughter's favorite boy band. There is lots of jetsetting and fancy hotels, but the book also showcases the drawbacks to being a pop star. However, it is the devastating (yet frustratingly realistic) ending of the book that has made it stick with me so long. This book is much deeper than any pop star romance book should be, but more power to Robinne Lee for writing it!


🎶 Music
"Twirl", Jinbo feat. Swings & Kid Milli: This is pretty much a Tuxedo song, but with some Korean lyrics. It has all the funk and smoothness that I love about Tuxedo, but it's pumped up with a perfect amount of hip-hop swagger.

"Fire in the Sky", Anderson .Paak: This song is co-written by Bruno Mars, so even though it's only credited to .Paak, it's pretty much a Silk Sonic song. The laid-back groove and sexy lyrics that are quickly becoming Silk Sonic's signature make this song as sweet as a summer evening breeze.

"Rollercoaster", Love Regenerator, Solardo & Calvin Harris: This is simply a fun song, mashing up a Disco classic with House vibes. It makes me smile as soon as I hear that first vocal. However, these credits are doing my head in, since Calvin Harris is Love Regenerator, soooo.... not sure that really makes sense to list him twice, but algorithms, I guess?

"My Universe", Coldplay x BTS: The first time I listened to this song, I was disappointed by the English lyrics for the verses, which are a bit too simplistic (RM deserves better than "They said that we can't be together / Because we come from different sides" awkwardly shoehorned in between Korean lyrics and the chorus). However, that chorus is a damn catchy earworm (you win again, Chris Martin) and the instrumental outro is a lot of fun. Could have done without the robotic bloops in the background throughout though.


🎬 Film
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: This is a rare character-driven Marvel movie that wows with expertly choreographed fight scenes rather than giant set-pieces, making it fun and engaging in a more relatable way. It sort of reminds me of the first  Captain America movie that felt like a throwback to Indiana Jones. It may seem like a stretch to link Shang-Chi to Indiana Jones, but two thing these movies have in common is an everyman hero and a knack for combining action with dry humor. That humor largely comes courtesy of Awkwafina, who steals pretty much every scene she's in, as usual. Simu Liu is also great in that everyman role, convincingly playing a normal guy drawn in to a world he didn't know existed. Then there's Tony Leung being the screen legend that he is and making the villain a sympathetic character, and Michelle Yeoh, who is both wonderful and apparently obligated to appear in any American film with an Asian cast. As a bonus, it it entirely possible to enjoy Shang-Chi without having an encyclopedic knowledge of the MCU.

Blue Bayou: While his movie could be improved with a bit of tighter editing, it is still a very powerful film that I can't recommend highly enough. Blue Bayou draws attention to a horrible quirk of US law that allows adoptees from other countries to be deported if someone didn't file their paperwork properly at the time of adoption. Basically children who had no agency of their own and grew up as Americans can have their adult lives upended for a mistake other adults made when they were a child. So editing issues aside, this film will leave you not only angry at the government, but also crying your eyes out thanks to a heart-wrenching final scene and a child actor who should just get all the awards now. In fact, all the performances are excellent, ensuring that the film is filled with many emotionally raw, moving, and completely human moments.