Animal Farm

Maybe I would have liked this better if I'd read it in my formative years like everyone else I know. It's certainly a classic for a reason, and its implications haven't lost their weight, though a good amount of the allusions to communism don't hold up as much in modern times. I get where everyone who loves it is coming from? I have just read one too many "communism is bad!" tracts. Not that I disagree! But I can only agree for so long before I become one of those damned sheep.

3/5

Sexing the Cherry

I was excited by this, as I'd love Winterson's previous outing, however, there were serious issues in this narrative. The first, and most irritating, was the use of two point-of-views, a choice that would not bother me had Winterson differentiated the voices used. As it is, however, it is impossible to immerse yourself in a story when every time the point of view alters, you spend several pages trying to decide who is speaking.

3/5

Oranges are not the Only Fruit

For its tiny size, Oranges packs a lot of delight. Winterson's cutting humour about her life, her masterful inclusion of fairy-tale like fragments, and her sheer ability make this one of the biggest pleasures I've read all year.

5/5

The Eye in the Door

The only reason I kept reading in a series that generally didn’t impress me was that I was hoping against hope that Barker would suck it up and let Rivers and Sassoon kiss. They didn’t. Instead Sassoon, possibly one of the only interesting aspects of this series, is neglected for Billy Prior, who is not a particularly gripping character. So I think I am just going to have to stop here, since it’s not worth reading the third if I don’t get my kiss. They want to kiss! Why are you holding me in suspense for no reason, Barker, why?!

2.5/5

Naked

Lord I dislike this film. We begin with sexual assault in an alley-way, and discover, within minutes, that the one committing this act is, hey, our protagonist! And we’re supposed to sympathize with him! Save it. I found almost every single character inhabiting this film intolerable, and while much of that was purposeful, I believe I was supposed to find small grains of empathy, or at least tolerance, for them. Well, I didn’t.

1/5

Orlando

I wasn’t expecting to like this; it’s an extremely political film, to the point of bordering on manifesto, and centres on a supremely obnoxious character. And yet, I did like it. I really did. Reality and film blends, person and character blends, and it’s such an intelligent, but delightful romp, that I really couldn’t help enjoying it.

3/5

Death at a Funeral

If this was a Hollywood film, it would be awful. The script is certainly not the strong point. What is, is the British sensibility that permeates the film. There are some very strong performances, Alan Tudyk's springing to mind, but really, at its heart, this is just a slightly dark, very British comedy.

3/5

As You Like It

I'm rarely enamoured with Shakespeare's comedies, and As You Like It is no exception. It retreads concepts Shakespeare has examined in other plays (Twelth Night as a more enjoyable example), and with the exception of the famous speech on the phases of man, offers nothing Shakespeare hasn't done, and better.

I was reading this for a queer literature course, but the concepts in relationship to queerness have been tread and retread, and it appears the only reason we read this text in particular was in order to offer a familiar author in a queer context (which his sonnets would have achieved, and in a munch more interesting way).

2.5/5

9 Songs

While 9 Songs works more as a work of eroticism than say, Salo, as a film, it consistently falls short. The few mentions of a world outside of the relationship of the leads, specifically, the sexual relationship, is rarely mentioned, and when it is, it feels out of place, added for no discernable reason. There is supposed to be some relevance that one lead studies Antarctic ice; if there is, it is out of my grip. Such analogous moments only make the film appear pretentious, not fleshed out.

The nine songs the film is named for have no bearing on the events. If the songs connected thematically, there would be a reason for their appearance, but instead it is concert footage for, again, no discernable reason. If this film had shucked its pretensions and merely existed as an erotic work, it would certainly more easily succeed, as the material is far more erotic than the standard porn film. However, as an actual film in general, it falls very much short of the mark.

2/5