Flashing Palely in the Margins
Media Diet: July and August 2025
A quick look at the movies, television shows, music, and books that have captured my attention over the past month.
Perfect Days
A quiet, contemplative film that not only reminds me to relish the small moments that bring me joy in my life, but to also notice when I’m moving too quickly to enjoy the beauty in the mundanity. Also, I’m very impressed by the public toilet infrastructure in Japan.
The Brutalist
I’ll admit that I thought this movie would be too long to hold my attention, but I was rapt through the whole thing. The first half is much stronger than the second, but the whole film holds together strongly with a compelling plot, gorgeous cinematography, and the excellent performances.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars, Season 10
Even though we knew who was going to win from the first moment she appeared on the screen, the new format of the competition kept the show interesting enough despite its inevitability. There were some weak moments (the semi-finals after the brackets were done were anti-climactic) but overall this was an enjoyable season with a fun batch of queens and nice change to the format.
Demon Copperhead
I originally thought I’d write a whole post on this book because so many of the themes are so poignant—the opioid crisis is pervasive and the foster care system is broken everywhere—but I ended up not writing it because there was too much to say and I couldn’t wrap my head around it all. So this mini-review will have to do: this book is a tour de force. I haven’t read David Copperfield in ages so I can’t make the immediate comparison, but you don’t need the precedent to see that this is a captivating and all-engrossing story written in deft prose. It’s a long novel, but you’re going to not want to put it down; the subject matter is heavy, but the writing carries you through it with a beautiful softness. What a magnificent work of art this is.
Murderbot
A show I didn’t plan to like and didn’t expect to be in my wheelhouse, but was grandly entertaining. The production design was impressive — you can tell they spent a lot of money on it — and the story was engaging enough to keep me intrigued week to week. Definitely makes me want to read the books it was based on.
Sinners
I don’t need to tell you that this movie is special. It’s a genre film that doesn’t feel like one at first but then takes the best of the horror genre and makes it sing. It features incredible performances, and amazing music, and that one musical scene (you know which one) that will have film school students talking and studying years from now. Granted, the movie was a lot stronger in the first half (I would watch a whole movie about the adventures of the Smokestack twins), but it held together cohesively and made me want to watch it again instantly. Most likely going to be among my favorite movies of the year.
Remarkably Bright Creatures
That octopuses are smart comes as no surprise to anyone; what this novel does is remind us that their intelligence is couched in emotion, sentimentality, and love. Of course, this book is about much more than an octopus: it is about loss and grief and learning to let go, only to find joy in the newness once we have. It’s an entrancing story — albeit somewhat predictable — written beautifully. Like the octopus, the novel is awash in emotion and sentimentality; I’ll admit I teared up towards the end. Even when we know where the story goes, the journey it takes us on is compelling, and reminds us that it isn’t intelligence that allows us (and octopuses) to live a full life, but connection and community.
Smoke
One of the rare shows that is better in the middle than at the start and end. The first two episodes take some time to warm up, and the last two are tonally discordant. This show works best as a police procedural, and when it shines it really does (John Leguizamo is a delight), but the ending especially falls apart. Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine is the standout actor here and deserves many accolades.
A few albums I’ve really been enjoying recently:
- Wet Leg, moisturizer: This album might be even better than the first, with songs like “davina mccall” and “pokémon” being so intensely captivating that you realize that Wet Leg is more than the irreverent indie pop you thought they were. There is depth and nuance to this songwriting, and a beautiful resonance to the music. This is how you do a sophomore album.
- Haim, I quit: “Relationships” is an excellent single, and one I listen to often, but this whole album is full of fun songs that are ostensibly about letting go but imbued with a sense of looking forward to what’s to come. What the album lacks in true depth it makes up for in fun and breeziness, making it a perfect album for the late summer.
- Clipse, Let God Sort Em Out: I’m not going to hide my excitement: I’ve been wanting a new Clipse album for over a decade, and boy did they deliver. Pusha T and Malice prove that they are among the best in the business (especially now) with intricate and infectious rhymes and lyrics that cut deep and dazzle at the same time. The production is good, but clearly not Pharrell’s best work, which is too bad because Pusha and Malice are firing on all cylinders and deserve the best beats out there. Love this album, love the return of Clipse, love going back to the kind of hip hop I want.