listening to: 左手指月

reflecting on: the trials of gabriel fernandez

Heartbreaking and haunting. I can't remember who said it, but while I had the privilege to press pause on my discomfort ... Gabriel didn’t. A defenceless child suffering incomprehensible abuse. I don’t want to ever forget his story.

Gabriel, you're a beautiful and loving boy. Thank you for challenging me to never be silent or hesitant when it comes to injustice. I pray that you're resting in peace.

reflecting on: train to busan

Like gangster movies, my experience with zombie movies is extremely limited. I asked it there, and I'll ask it here: are all zombie movies like this? I really need to start giving writers and producers more credit - I don't know why I've imagined these movies to just be 1 to 2 hours of being chased, killed, repeat ...

The action scenes are mediocre, and so is the whole self-serving protagonist turned compassionate citizen thing. For me, what made Train to Busan special were the peripheral stories and characters *spoiler alert*:

• The sacrifices of the dad-to-be and the homeless man

• The immediate hopelessness of the baseball player and granny

• The movie ending without the protagonist. I can't recall seeing a movie end this way - absent of all of the heroes that secured the characters' survival and safety

reflecting on: the irishman

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are household names but I haven't seen their movies before. I know, I know. Gangster movies never really appealed to me (nothing outside of lighthearted Pixar and Disney movies usually do) but this was truly captivating - all 3+ hours of it.

For my first gangster movie I was surprised that it was not overly violent. I mean, sure, there were multiple shootings but they were cold and quick. I don't remember a scene lingering on a death for too long. Are all gangster movies like this?

For me this is a very personal story about Frank - his friendship, his loyalty, and moral conflicts (or maybe lack thereof?). Frank says and shares very little. I don't understand what his motivations were and it makes his story all the more fascinating. Yeah, maybe it started off financially motivated but never did he come off hungry for money, power, or notoriety. He didn't appear jealous or envious. But neither was he scared or at any point desperate to escape the mafia circle. His lack of emotion really shrouds his character in mystery, and by the end of the movie I don't feel like I know him at all. There's some regret on how he neglected family relationships and finally some fear, but I'm not sure that he wouldn't do it all again.