All Forms of Art

I first started watching this show about a year before the big finale. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we? The beginning of the show is slow, the first couple of episodes seem comprised of but a few random scenes, strewn together, that you can’t fully understand, but that’s what makes you curious enough to keep on watching, trying to understand what was going on. You will probably start to feel empathy with that small group of people and the beautiful and amazing way they are all connected almost wishing you could do that yourself. In the blink of an eye, you’ll be in love with all of them and their different personalities. The way they help each other is just so beautiful, each one using the particular talents life gave them in order to survive. Each one of them having their specific and very different problems and yet, they are most always available to help each other out. If only the real world could be like that… About this huge final episode, there...

Sierra Burgess is a loser is a teen-comedy drama movie, a Netflix original, which, when I first saw the trailer, seemed to me like it would be a lovely movie about transformation and self-esteem, where some characters would learn to look beyond appearances… It would be kind of a cliche, but that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. When you start watching the film, Sierra seems very confident, even when she is mistreated by her colleagues, but it’s obviously a mask she is putting on. And, in less than 10 minutes, the whole idea of a lovely story turns out to be a huge mistake. Let me explain. This movie is NOT romantic, it’s all about lies and lack of respect. She betrays this one boy’s trust, she lied to, kissed him without his permission (while he actually thought he was kissing someone else)… I’m sorry, but if it were the boy doing it, every woman who calls themselves a feminist would be standing up and calling it a movie condoning this type of sexual assault! It was...

After finishing watching this show it’s hard to talk about it and its pros and cons without giving away any spoilers. So, let’s start with the plot: three students from a poor neighborhood receive a scholarship to the best private high school in the country, where the sons and daughters of the Spanish elite study.  The clash between these two different realities is inevitable, and, as you might imagine, many problems and questions arise with it. The resident students didn’t like the newcomers, and in turn, the new students mistrust their colleagues. Tension raises and everything seems to collapse. While watching the show, I couldn’t avoid noticing how sarcastic it might seem, as you realize, that besides the cultural shock, they weren’t that different after all. And I believe that’s the real point in this story. The show focuses on some big questions and stereotypes, demystifying some of them, which is very good, almost educational. It addresses issues such a...

This is the first book in a series of four (the second of which is already sitting on my bedside table) from an author who kept her identity in secret for many years. I had no idea of that, or even any clue or hint of the story when I started reading it. The book was a birthday gift from a person who seemed to really love it. Since I know she likes good literature, I started reading with confidence and let me tell you: I was not disappointed! The story is about 2 really different friends, living in a poor neighborhood near Naples. They grow up dealing with poverty, lack of education and money, violence surrounding them and, as any other person, they have their own egos to deal with. Throughout the book, we’ll see them deal with so many forces that unite them and forces that tear them apart. The atmosphere around them shows a reality that I only heard about in my mother’s or grandmother’s stories, but I think that actually helped to develop some affinity with the charac...

This show was a great surprise for me, a quite positive one at that. The way they show and present autism, and a person in the spectrum with their own struggles, but also with every bit of normal teenage problems just like everyone else, was for me, a big step in moving forward towards creating a more tolerant society and more informed people when it comes to autism. The whole story has a good structure, the way that this family, especially the mother has her life resolve around her son’s problem is quite realistic. However, this is not just a show about disabilities. It’s a show about a family who happens to have a person on the spectrum in it. And most importantly, it shows us a realistic yet optimistic point of view, full of hope for many families out there. By watching this show, you can have a closer idea of what a person on the spectrum might feel and think, and how you can deal with certain situations as well as interact with them, without making them, or ...

I watched this movie very recently. I hadn’t read the book, but I tend to trust Netflix, it has some pretty good originals, plus the trailer seemed cute and the story very sweet. Recently, most of teenage movies and shows are about their cruelty and how badly they can actually hurt each other, this one, however, is a beautiful, romantic movie, about feeling in love and I had a good time watching it. While you watch the movie you might feel a little emotional. It has a good script, focused on feelings and emotions and it leads you to empathize with the characters and feel completely absorbed by their reality. Love is probably the main word that comes to your mind after you watch it, but not only romantic love, the relationships inside Lara Jean’s family are very interesting and particularly intense. I’m very curious to read the book, but according to what I read about it, the movie didn’t disappoint the fans of said book which is an accomplishment worthy of note. ...

I can actually do a quicker review on this one show: sorry, I didn’t like it. But let’s slow down and try to think about it for a moment. The show itself has a simple premise. A bullied fat teenage girl gets beautiful and wants revenge, so she starts to participate in beauty pageants with the help of her lawyer who is also a coach from this sort of event and a very… let’s say confused, man. Sorry, but this is just not for me, yet I gave it a try anyway. It’s a Netflix show and they’re usually pretty good, so… Am actually a little sad that it turned out to be disappointing.  It’s supposed to be a comedy, but it’s empty. The characters are supposed to be deeper than they really are, they have their own background story with some possibly interesting facts, but they’re just… flat. Generally, the comedy genre should make you laugh, right? Insatiable doesn’t. It’s actually quite boring at some points turning into absolute nonsense during others. Full of prejudic...

A book about parenting, sort of… When you become a parent, it’s inevitable, you’ll probably read about it. You’ll say you don’t care about these books and you’ll be filled with fear that you’re somehow doing something wrong. The way I interpreted it at least, this one basically tells you to “Get over it!” Its title might seem odd, but it’s actually a pretty interesting theory about two ways of being a parent and taking care of your children. The gardener is that person who cares and provides the best they can for their flowers and lets them flourish. They do the best they can, but there are a lot of different factors interfering with their garden. They know they can’t control everything and do not expect a precise result or outcome at the end of their task. The carpenter is the new parenting model, that most parents try to assume when taking care of their children and Gopnik compares it to a carpenter who picks the material and shapes it exactly the way they want...

I decided to loosely translate this book’s title by myself because it’s an interesting novel from the Portuguese author João Ricardo Pedro and it hadn’t already been translated into English. It definitely should be though. Much of our Portuguese literature is marked by the oppressive government, so-called “New State” and this is one more of such books. The difference is that it isn’t about that time period, rather about the following decades and how the political police and the lack of development the dictatorship gave to Portuguese people influenced the next generations to come. The book is about a family, telling us stories of 3 different generations, all of them somehow marked by the dictatorship and the colonial war. The ones who lived it as an adult, those who lived it as a child and the ones who just heard stories about it. All of them had their lives shaped by this reality. So, we have Chronicles about a typical Portuguese family, a first generation living i...

After all the scandal surrounding the first season of the show, we’re offered an introduction where the actors talk about the issues the show might raise and advise the viewers about the fact that the show might not be adequate for them as well as cover how they should ask for help if any of these issues have crossed their mind. I liked that part, but then the story begins to unfold and I felt like the production team was just getting rid of any eventual future consequences that might land at their feet… Shockingly, in this season, Hanna Baker became a heroine, no matter how many times other characters would say that suicide was never a valid way out of any problems, the whole story is about the girl whose death was what it took to get everyone to step forward with their own troubles. She had to die for others to begin addressing violence, to stop and think about the consequences of their actions and that, in my humble opinion, is the wrong image or message to pass along t...

Paul Auster, the author of innumerable literary works of fiction and non-fiction, winner of multiple awards, presents us in this book with a highly unusual novel. A story within a story. When I first started reading this ‘Book of Illusions’ , I was not sure of what I would find within. I picked it randomly out of many in my parents-in-law’s library and gave it a try. It was interesting, well written, but didn’t seem like the kind of book that’d keep me in a chair for hours on end. The first pages tell us such a sad story, that it almost makes us feel bad just for knowing about it. “It’s not fair” might be the first thing that comes into your mind. But then, that really sad and destroyed man starts to react in his own weird way and at some point, you’ll be so interested as he is, in his new obsession. You’ll follow his story, as well as the story of the man he wants to meet, with the same eagerness and, somewhere along the way you’ll look at the clock and realize ...

An Australian show about maternity and just like that stage of life itself is often hilarious, dramatic and chaotic. We follow the day by day of a recent mom and all her problems with her new life. The doubts, the fears and the constant state of exhaustion. As a mother of a young child, I particularly enjoyed this show because I identify with all of that. Dealing with the baby is actually easy, but dealing with the rest of our life while taking care of the baby, is the actual hard part. I think the show is really well done and if you have children you’ll most likely immediately empathize with Audrey and the other women in her parenting group. If you’re not, you’ll probably laugh regardless, as it is a very hilarious time in people’s lives (especially for those who can sleep). Unfortunately, the show only has 7 episodes, but I find myself already anxiously awaiting this great show’s second season. 😊

I had mixed feelings about this show. It’s a good one, can’t really deny that, but, for me, it’s also a bit too slow. The first few episodes were somehow boring and I merely didn’t stop watching because I was too curious about who the killer was. I think the production team focuses mainly on giving the show a huge psychological intensity. I wouldn’t say that was a complete failure, but it did lack something. I’m a psychologist, I love criminal psychology and even I found myself bored at some points. They focused mostly on the occult side of the mind, showing the alienist far outside practical reality. Maybe it was like that in the XIX century, but it makes the show too slow, which might tire you.  After a couple episodes, I finally started to feel emerged in the XIX century atmosphere. As the events unfolded, and the empathy with some of the characters grew, I could finally start feeling as a part of the investigation group, turning the show way more interesting as...

A big scandal and years and years of scheming taken down. Meanwhile, many people suffer while the bad guys try to hang onto their secrets and dreamy lives. This could be the synopsis of this show, but in the end, I think it’d suffice to say this is a showcase about the underlying mechanism of corruption. We all know it exists, in all places, all around the world, but watching it like this is both surprising and disgusting. The show is about money, cold hard dollars. Millions of them, actually. Dirty money that involves the government and the top companies in the country, but that is, unfortunately normal. It might not make sense for everyone, but what messed with me the most was the example they gave of the “small corruption”. It seems like nothing out of the ordinary in the beginning… but it’s everything, everywhere. The corruption is the basis, it’s a way of life.  The story has a great basis in reality, as most of us well know, and it’s good. There’s nothi...

When I first started watching this show, there wasn’t as much of a buzz surrounding it yet, so I was reluctant. It was a Spanish show, of which I knew nothing, but… I decided to give it a try. And, I can tell you: I didn’t regret my decision whatsoever. It now sits on the throne as the most watched non-English show on Netflix and that honestly doesn’t come as a surprise to me. It’s a great show, with a good story and very engaging from the start. Netflix divided it into two seasons, so when I finished the first one I had to wait a while for the second season to pop up… It, however, did not disappoint. The characters are deep and they manage to involve you in such a profound way, forcing you to empathize with their situation, that at some points, you’re not sure of who the bad guys are, in all of this, anymore. I think that was part of the point the show tries to make, and, if so, was tremendously well done! You find yourself out of breath with some scenes, enrage...

My husband's birthday's cake was the face of his beloved friend Ninja!  A new experience in my cake decorating abilities. ;) What do you think of it?

I waited a long time to talk about this show because I felt that it wasn’t easy to summarize all of my thoughts on it in a couple of paragraphs. However, today is the day, though I might end up writing about it again in the future since I’m one season behind. Plenty of things might change. I started watching this show with my husband who is a fan of the comics on which it was based. The first season was interesting enough to get me to start watching the second one. Six episodes weren’t enough to make me know exactly what I thought of it, but it was more of a general feeling of “Oh, I quite enjoyed this, let’s watch a bit more”. The years passed and we had season after season. Somewhere along the way, my husband stopped watching it but I just couldn’t. I always wanted one more episode, one more season. It was so much more than just the mere Humanity vs. Zombies. Actually, with time, zombies become some sort of weird decor in the backyard. The show is about people,...

This Easter, the cake was simple, yet delicious! 

This is one of those shows that everyone watched at least an episode of while they were zapping on their TV. I’m one of those people who didn’t immediately get into it, only having watched a couple episodes from the first seasons but never exactly having watched the whole show. When I found it on Netflix , I decided to give it a try. The show is obviously good, but at some point, I was tired of it and stopped watching for a while (8 seasons in a row is just too much). When I started it back up, I was able to follow through and finish it, however, I didn’t have the same level of interest as before… The puzzles are the best part of the show, of that I have no doubt. But I felt that it does lack something. In the beginning, I felt like we should get to know the team better, as actual people, their personal life, their tastes, their problems, their motivations, and doubts, but then… I didn’t like it when that actually started to happen. I can’t explain why, if it was...

First of all, I must put this out there: I’m probably not that impartial towards this movie. Second: I loved it. It’s not perfect, but I do kind of love it regardless. I remember Jurassic Park , I watched it when I was a kid, my first time in a theater with my cousins on what was a really nice day, one that stuck with some of my fondest memories. That’s maybe one of the reasons I like it so much… Watching this one, now as an adult, with my husband, was a strange way of recalling that day and it was pretty good. The movie will make you laugh, jump and roll your eyes at different points. It’s not exactly mysterious, you know from the very beginning that, eventually, all hell will break loose, and at some points, you can even imagine how or why. But surprisingly, this didn’t seem to take the interest out of the story. These movies, with so much need for CGI, and such impossibilities, can always leave you thinking “would this somehow be possible?”, yet, in this case, I...

This is one of those shows that might make you laugh until your belly hurts. Although it’s not particularly amazing or with an incredibly deep story, it’s just lots of fun. I started watching it after a long day spent in the mall trying to buy some stuff for my baby. Since I hate to go shopping and hate places with loads of people, I came home wanting to just lie in bed and sleep for hours, but of course, that’s impossible with a little one always craving for attention. So, in order to relax, my husband convinced me to watch this show and we don’t stop until we finished it. There aren’t many words to explain it, per se. It’s fun, in a way which kind of makes you forget about your day and you’ll end up laughing a lot. There are some nasty scenes, but I can tell you, you won’t think twice about it because you’ll be laughing too much to realize how disgusting they are. They built a story with some logic, not good, not bad, but that’s definitely not what keeps you...

Supernatural was the first American show that I actually following and watched throughout. I discovered it one fateful night, amidst some zapping on Portuguese TV, on a channel that usually didn’t have anything interesting. I stopped for 10 seconds and I just couldn’t change the channel. Then, every week I stood in front of that TV for a whole new episode of monsters, mystery and plenty of weird stuff until the very last episode of the first season. I hated it! I remember it being mentioned as  the last episode  on the top right corner of the screen and I thought it would be the very last one, ever, and Dean was dead! The years went by and there was always a new season. Some were great, some good, and others not so much, including some “What the hell is this?” moments. I think, somewhere along the way the producers went too far, and nowadays I don’t watch the show anymore. I’m tired of it, I feel like it lacks more depth and makes...

After watching 3 seasons (and some episodes from the 4th one) of this show I’m not entirely sure what I can say about it. It’s a very good show, with very good actors (despite some recent developments) and an amazing plot… but I just can’t watch it anymore. It’s really good, so good that it genuinely gives you some violent instincts. I needed to stop watching it since I couldn’t handle it anymore. The characters are so evil and hypocritical that they quickly become disgusting, but it’s not a mad kind of evil that you could say is pure fiction. It’s something different, more genuine. The calculated evil and sociopathy that is fully credible. The incredible realism that you can spot here is both the best and the worst thing in the whole show. Maybe someday I’ll try to watch it again, but not right now. Sometimes, I started watching an episode and I stopped it in 10 minutes, otherwise, I would break the screen. Some episodes I was only able to watch in 5 or 6 attemp...

A zombie movie! Yes, I love zombie movies even when they’re terrible. This one had a good premise, it was much about the humans and their own kind of evil, rather than the zombies. They were just the excuse the humans need (or don’t) to make stupid mistakes and do bad deeds. I must admit the movie wasn’t good, but it could’ve been. Well, at least a little bit better. I mean, we have a post-apocalyptic world with a zombie infestation, where everything is rebuilt and everyone is trying to find a way to live and achieve normality again and go back to their daily lives. It’s new, usually in this sort of stories things don’t come back to what they were, but here, I think they mean to show us that what truly happens is that mankind never learns. So instead of finishing off all zombie, they decided to make a beautiful place to go on vacation. The special attraction? Zombie killing! What could possibly go wrong, right? Well, beyond that, we have a protagonist with some traum...

This is one those shows where we go “This is weird”. Not a bad kind of weird though!  It shows us a highly technological future with some disturbing tech and applications. Some of them are clearly an upgrade to things we already have, others are new, but we can spot where the author got their inspiration to think that stuff up. However, this show isn’t just about technology, it’s much deeper than that. What you’ll see on the screen is the technology being used in service of the darkest side of humanity. Sometimes, it looks like a good thing, with plenty of potential, but somewhere along the way, it will be transformed. Something you’ll learn is that there’s always a way of using it for the worst. The show can be seen as a warning sign, some kind of prediction of what may happen to us in the future. I didn’t see it that way. What I saw, was a purposely exaggerated image of what we’re already doing to ourselves. I choose the word exaggerated on purpose becau...

A silly comedy that I’d totally recommend you watch. In this movie, scouts are, once again, heroes!  Meanwhile, you’ll be laughing, pretty hard at that. The kids are somewhat fun and the whole story is just there for you to laugh (even if you’re in a bad mood, you’ll at least crack a smile, trust me) and well, maybe learn a thing or two. I definitely had a lot of fun and a really good time watching this movie, so I think that if you are unsure about it, just give it a try. You won’t regret it.