“Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World” may have the best OST of any film I’ll watch this year.

Guy Maddin’s “Rumours” (co-directed with Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson) is such a weird, weird film, and a political satire.

#Rumours

My favourite non-fiction books of 2024:

3. Australian Studies: “The Privileged Few” by Clive Hamilton and Myra Hamilton

My favourite non-fiction books of 2024:

2. Politics: “Our Wound is Not So Recent” by Alain Badiou; “The Architecture of Modern Empire: Conversations with David Barsamian” by Arundhati Roy

#booksky

My favourite non-fiction books of 2024

1. Gender: “Amateur” by Thomas Page McBee; “BoyMom” by Ruth Whippman

My favourite memoir of 2024: “Poor” by Katriona O'Sullivan

#booksky #memoir

3. “The Promise of Access: Technology, Inequality, and the Political Economy of Hope”, by Daniel Greene

4. “Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns”, by Clayton Aldern and Gregg Colburn

My favourite sociology books of 2024:

1. “Burnt by Democracy: Youth, Inequality, and the Erosion of Civic Life”, by Jacqueline Kennelly

2. “Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism”, by Brooke Harrington

#booksky

The highlight of the film for me is its exploration of her obsession with being loved as a product of stardom. She falls in love with show business and its promise of being loved. #TheSubstance

(5) Regarding the psychological analysis of Elizabeth, I think if the script had established that she experienced psychological issues before trying the substance, her obsession with stardom would have made more sense.

(3) When Sue and Elizabeth appeared in the same frame, it broke the logic of the story. (4) Elizabeth seems to live in a fancy penthouse, yet has a seemly working-class neighbor, which feels inconsistent.

(3) When Sue and Elizabeth appeared in the same frame, it broke the logic of the story. (4) Elizabeth seems to live in a fancy penthouse, yet has a seemly working-class neighbor, which feels inconsistent.

(2) Elizabeth's financial situation is unclear. It bewilders me that she chose to return to show business and willingly be exploited after getting the younger body. A reasonable explanation might be that Elizabeth was in a bad financial situation, but the script never reveals these details.

(1) Elizabeth's character seems intentionally portrayed as obtuse - it doesn't make sense that she had zero realization that she and Sue are the same person.

I watched "The Substance," and while I understand it's a cult film, I still think the blood and violence are overdone, taking away space for contemplation.

I also noticed several logical flaws in the script:

#TheSubstance

new book mark for Christmas read 😚 #booksky