Film, Music and Media - Recommended by JGB

Well, I wouldn’t be lying if I said this was a very moving story. I literally cried my way throughout the entire 2 hours. The acting is fantastic (Chalamet got the nomination, but I think Carrell was deserving here too), the story compelling and all of the feels really make you think. Or at least that’s how I experienced it.  I guess this hits close to home for me. I was an addict. I am an addict. At the time of writing, I’m 6 month sober and that’s huge for me. When I was growing up I wasn’t using to fill the void yet, but the cause of my addictions was brewing within me. I’ve always wondered ‘if I had a better support system, could I have avoided the years of suffering?’ I never felt I could turn to my parents - on one side because they would point fingers and place blame and on the other because I didn’t want to be a burden or cause concern. 

Watching the parents and support systems in this movie really got me thinking... I may very well have pushed my parents away, even if they were there for me. The whole time I watched his family making efforts I found myself thinking ‘there’s nothing you can do, this is his battle. All you can do is let him know he is loved and give him the space to address his issues on his own... the hard way’. That’s how I got through my shit. The hard way. With lots of space and armed with the knowledge that I am loved.

I have always been intrigued by the notion of ‘celebrity’. This movie reminded me which type of #celebrity I love most - the hardworking, talented as fuck type. 

So many things can (and have) been said about #LadyGaga. Her OTT #personalbranding has attracted trolls from all parts of the webisphere. In this doc though, we get to see every day Stephanie for who she is and for whom she essentially always has been. 

She cares a lot about what she does. She realizes she achieved her success through courage, hope and working hard. She knows what she now has is powerful. She gives a shit about the people who depend on her. She physically suffers so she can give it all she’s got. She breaks down, just like any overworked, sleep deprived goal chaser.

All this and she’s still only just becoming the woman she intends to be! I can relate to this. I have big aspirations and when I heard her talk about ‘growing up and becoming a woman in business’, I found myself furiously jotting down notes. 

Think about this... You can always bring the past with you. As in, you relive it over and over again in your mind. You think about it, you ruminate, perhaps you brood. You remember smells, places, sounds. Triggers. You feel anger, resentment, maybe even pain. But you can never go back in time. So what if you never went back to those places in your mind? You gotta leave yourself behind. 

At some point I think you really do have to leave your old self behind and make room for your new self. Like Stephanie, I wasn’t ready to be myself for a long time. I didn’t feel like I was good enough. I didn’t feel like I deserved it. 

But I’m worth something. And I have to leave the past behind to become the courageous, hardworking business woman that I am becoming. 

Another Oscar contender, I knew Lion had the potential to hit the heart chords pretty strong. And that it did. Abandonment is theme that strikes close to home for me, and this film had no trouble getting to me. I immensely enjoyed the scene where they bring him home for the first time, where he discovers he has a home and a family, and they discover they have a son. I’ve always considered adoption and this scene reminded me of this possibility. 

I always seem to forget how much I love musicals. I went into this screening completely blindly. I try not to let hype get my too excited about something. But from the very first scene, I found myself perked up in my seat, staring longingly at the screen, moved by every calculated, perfectly composed dance sequence, captivated by each accentuated tinge of colour. I’m a sucker for a love story, my heart swells at the sight of song and dance. 

I saw Bright Lights, the Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher HBO documentary at TIFF, with Catie. It moved us both to pieces. How odd to watch life documentation of this mother-daughter duo throughout the years of their closely shared lives - so full of energy, so full of admiration for one another - only to realize the footage truly is a memory of things passed. Of people passed. Beautiful, kind, kitschy, tacky, tormented souls, full of talent, living every day supporting one another with laughter and love.