Movies
Youth in Oregon (2016) is as much a story about family dysfunction as it is about the patriarch (Langella) character's desire to kill himself [in Oregon, because it's legal there]. While the story has interesting ideas, I personally felt like the cinematography and directing especially got too distracting for me to really take in the film. Blatantly overemphasized cinematography got me irritated with heavy use of shallow focus coupled with the occasional use for Wes Anderson profiles or artsy instrumental scenes. The acting generally also felt overdone, with only a few (most notably Lucas) adding enough depth to their characters to not seem kinda off. It felt like it was aiming for the Oscars, and it really seemed to suffer from it as a result. Watchable, but passable. 5/10.
Books
I picked up "The Circle" by Dave Eggers partly because I'd eyed it last year, and partly because it'll be a movie this April. It's considered a dystopian book although I think it's weaker than other stories in that genre. While I appreciated the perspective, I wasn't as sold on the characters/writing. Still could be worth a read if you like that kinda story. 3/5.
Music
I've been listening to Jimmy Eat World's most recent album, "Integrity Blues" a fair amount since its release. While there have been other albums that've come out that I've liked more (like the most recent albums by The XX, The Weeknd and Thundercat) it's a solid album that although not as glitzy I'm still coming back to over 6 months later (it came out in October 2016). It's free to stream on Amazon Prime or Google Music, with subscription. 3/5