Dearest Gentle Reader,

Here are the movies and musicals I watched last month in November! Each will come with a short review that comes in this format:

• Quick review
• Literary references
• What I liked & learned
• What I disliked (if any)

This is a speed review, but I may choose to delve deeper in the future.

Movies

• Frankenstein (2025), Guillermo del Toro
• Wicked: For Good (2025), John M. Chu
• Nosferatu (2024), Robert Eggers
• Dead Poets Society (1989), Peter Weir
• Ten Things I Hate About You (1999), Gil Junger

Musicals

• Shrek the Musical by Newport World Resorts
• The Tragedy of Othello by Everyman Presents

Frankenstein (2025), Guillermo del Toro

• Quick review
  • Lush cinematography, beautiful sets and costumes, and an innovative work that still honors Mary Shelley’s original text.
• Literary references
  • Fantastic references to iconic works like “Ozymandias,” Greek myths and apt analogies like Prometheus expertly woven into the dialogue,
  • When the creature was studying “Paradise Lost” and devouring the books of poetry, I felt such nostalgia for my early days of English class in high school.

• What I liked & learned
  • The costumes are gorgeous, creative, and feature historically accurate silhouettes! (c/o Karolina Zebrowska)
  • The scary angel that appears as both a statue and a nightmare
  • The Gothic and dark academia atmosphere
  • I’m a sucker for a ball and romcom sequence, so Elizabeth Lavenza’s scenes were my favorite.
• What I disliked
  • Quite heavy-handed with the dialogue in the latter part. “You are the monster…”
  • Changed some of Mary Shelley’s themes, such as turning Victor’s hubris and pain into paternal trauma instead of entitlement and playing God. In the novel, he has a loving family, loving fiancee, and has everything right but still does wrong.

Wicked: For Good (2025), John M. Chu

• Quick review
  • A satisfying and emotionally resonant conclusion to the spectacle-filled part one. It was truly about growing up, and looking back wistfully and nostalgically on the past. The callbacks to the first film were used perfectly, and the cinematography shone. The lack of dance numbers and “musical vibes” was okay with me because I already watched the musical and was prepared for it!
• Literary references
  • The Wizard of Oz
• What I liked & learned
  • “The Girl in the Bubble” was quietly devastating, in this essay I will… (pending future blog post!)
  • Glinda putting on a cape and escaping to Kiamo Ko, being the secret horse rider in the opening scene of Wicked Part One!? Movie magic.
  • The catfight scene was hilarious and everyone in the theatre went “Ohhhhh!!!”
• What I disliked
  • Nothing. As a “Wicked” fan since its musical days, I am so grateful we have it! No notes.
    • Ok fine, I didn’t get why Fiyero and Elphaba just left the wizard in the cage. If they used him as a hostage, none of the other horrible things like Nessa and Fiyero dying would have happened.
    • The “Thank Goodness” dress in the original trailer was removed!
    • Michelle Yeoh’s acting whenever she says “IT’S THE WITCH SHE’S GONNA KILL US ALL” – took me right out of the movie every time.

“The Tragedy of Othello” by Everyman Presents

• Quick review
  • The cast gave powerful performances, and Iago’s villainy and scheming was dialed up. This is Iago’s play, like how “Wicked: For Good” is Glinda’s play!
  • The biggest difference in this production is the removal of references to Othello’s race (i.e. calling him the Moor), making it solely focused on the romance aspect – it’s a choice I don’t understand but respect.
• Literary references
  • Othello
• What I liked & learned
  • Rachel Coates’ performance was layered, effortlessly natural, and she floated between making the text sound relevant yet elevated and Shakespearean. I have no clue how but she did that!

• What I disliked
  • There was a distracting amount of dead air where the players were standing around doing absolutely nothing, or just staring at each other. Big no-no for my theatre teacher
  • One of the waiting areas has players waiting before their scenes hyping themselves up before their scene, which was a little distracting. (I understand the need to self-hype before a scene though)

Dead Poets Society (1989), Peter Weir

• Pending! I have so many feelings about this movie😭

• Quick review
• Literary references
• What I liked & learned
• What I disliked

Ten Things I Hate About You (1999), Gil Junger

• Pending! Such a feel good and nostalgic film :”)

• Quick review
• Literary references
• What I liked & learned
• What I disliked

“Shrek the Musical” by Newport World Resorts

• A hilarious fantasy-filled romp with powerhouse vocalists and great moments! Costumes were phenomenal and on the level of an international production!

• Quick review
• Literary references
• What I liked & learned
• What I disliked

Books I started this month!

Just a few sentences each 🙂

The Sea Wolf

Blood Over Brighthaven

The Myth of Sisyphus