Bingewatching I've done in my free time
Mar. 1st, 2019 06:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gffaღ - I watched The Umbrella Academy and I really enjoyed it a lot, enough to marathon it pretty quickly. It's a fascinating look at a group of really fucked up people who don't realize just how much they're hurting each other, because they're so wrapped up in their own pain, how their childhood abuse and the deliberate ways they were harmed continues to affect them, but now they have to stop blaming their dad and start owning their own behavior, it was wrenching, but also really rewarding an experience.
I've talked about this a bit on tumblr, where I think the show both succeeds and doesn't quite succeed, is in that the plot itself is pretty routine, it takes a backseat to the Hargreeves' family drama. I think this is absolutely what the story should be about! But, at the same time, it does make things terribly predictable, in a way that would be difficult to get around, because the apocalypse mystery never really gets much attention beyond being set dressing. I had no problem with any particular scene and I thought the number of episodes was just right to give everyone's reactions time to breathe/for me to really feel them, yet something still feels not quite clicked into place.
That said, it has charm and charisma in absolute spades, I couldn't put the show down, the performances are all fantastic, I had intense affection for the entire cast, and I really, really want a second season, because I think they could go some really fascinating places. I can see why it's gotten all the buzz it's been getting!
ღ - In contrast, I don't think I've seen much buzz for Russian Doll, but maybe I'm just out of the loop on these things. I checked it out after seeing a brief comment cross my dash + I like Natasha Lyonne + the premise sounded interesting! In contrast to TUA, if this one doesn't get a second season (though, there is a lot of room for it), I would be satisfied because the structure of the story absolutely nailed what it needed to do.
I started the show wanting answers about the time loop mystery, why and how it was happening, but the end of the show had me caring very little about that, because it wasn't really a story about the metaphysics of it all, but instead a story about people and connections to each other. It was a story about what these people needed for themselves and in their connections to someone else and where the characters ended up was incredibly satisfying for that.
I liken it to TUA a lot, because they both have stories with central figures about damaged people who have to own up to how much they're hurting people around them, that whatever damage their parents inflicted on them was real, but now they have to deal with their own shit, especially complicated and messy female characters (THERE ARE NEVER ENOUGH), and tell stories that really scratch that itch of exploring how difficult a path that is, but it's ultimately very rewarding.
BUT ALSO it's just really fun, there's some great aesthetics and great dialogue (pretty much everything that comes out of Nadia's mouth is G O L D) and is great for when you're hungry for something with some punch, but you won't lose your will to live over.
ღ - More podcasts! I've been bad and I'm listening to Sword and Scale again, because it's like a trainwreck and I can't look away! It's the same thing with why I still listen to Hollywood Babble-On, which is really pretty terrible with the sexism and crassness, but ease of familiarity and the occasional genuine IRL LOL they wring out of me, is a hard momentum to overcome.
I have one episode left of Gone Fishing, which is a 8 part (and they're only about half hour length) podcast about a woman jailed for killing someone that there's a strong suspicion she very clearly did not and the complicated web of why they can't really just let her go. I'm not usually into Australian podcasts--much as I love the accent, it distracts during true crime podcasts for me--but this one hooked me hard and it's a great look into the case, totally recommended.
ღ - I watched Fyre (the Netflix one, I've only just started Fyre Fraud, the Hulu one) and I knew the basic outline, of course, but watching the trainwreck happen over the course of a couple of hours was fascinating. I do think that they kind of went soft on the whole thing, especially considering the HUGE REVEALS that happen in the last 20-30 minutes that basically just get brushed over (I understand why, they're trying to build a sense of betrayal, like you think this guy is just incompetent, then WHAM you find out what's really going on, but I don't think they hammered it home enough at the end and should have had a better balance for it), but they certainly captured the feeling of being unable to look away from the whole thing and you get why so many people got sucked into this thing. Very much recommended!
ღ - Most of what time I spend on-line lately has been making Battlefront II gifs because Anakin finally came to the game and he's sooooo beautiful. I'm only sad that you can't mod this game like Skyrim, where I could grab adult mods and make my characters bang. (You have no idea how tempted I am to make Star Wars lookalikes, but that's a lot of work and the world doesn't really lend itself that well to a Star Wars crossover. OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE.)
Other than that, I've been catching up on comics and trying to clear a little backlog before Queen's Shadow comes out. SO CURIOUS ABOUT IT. I wonder why we didn't get an excerpt from it, though?
I've talked about this a bit on tumblr, where I think the show both succeeds and doesn't quite succeed, is in that the plot itself is pretty routine, it takes a backseat to the Hargreeves' family drama. I think this is absolutely what the story should be about! But, at the same time, it does make things terribly predictable, in a way that would be difficult to get around, because the apocalypse mystery never really gets much attention beyond being set dressing. I had no problem with any particular scene and I thought the number of episodes was just right to give everyone's reactions time to breathe/for me to really feel them, yet something still feels not quite clicked into place.
That said, it has charm and charisma in absolute spades, I couldn't put the show down, the performances are all fantastic, I had intense affection for the entire cast, and I really, really want a second season, because I think they could go some really fascinating places. I can see why it's gotten all the buzz it's been getting!
ღ - In contrast, I don't think I've seen much buzz for Russian Doll, but maybe I'm just out of the loop on these things. I checked it out after seeing a brief comment cross my dash + I like Natasha Lyonne + the premise sounded interesting! In contrast to TUA, if this one doesn't get a second season (though, there is a lot of room for it), I would be satisfied because the structure of the story absolutely nailed what it needed to do.
I started the show wanting answers about the time loop mystery, why and how it was happening, but the end of the show had me caring very little about that, because it wasn't really a story about the metaphysics of it all, but instead a story about people and connections to each other. It was a story about what these people needed for themselves and in their connections to someone else and where the characters ended up was incredibly satisfying for that.
I liken it to TUA a lot, because they both have stories with central figures about damaged people who have to own up to how much they're hurting people around them, that whatever damage their parents inflicted on them was real, but now they have to deal with their own shit, especially complicated and messy female characters (THERE ARE NEVER ENOUGH), and tell stories that really scratch that itch of exploring how difficult a path that is, but it's ultimately very rewarding.
BUT ALSO it's just really fun, there's some great aesthetics and great dialogue (pretty much everything that comes out of Nadia's mouth is G O L D) and is great for when you're hungry for something with some punch, but you won't lose your will to live over.
ღ - More podcasts! I've been bad and I'm listening to Sword and Scale again, because it's like a trainwreck and I can't look away! It's the same thing with why I still listen to Hollywood Babble-On, which is really pretty terrible with the sexism and crassness, but ease of familiarity and the occasional genuine IRL LOL they wring out of me, is a hard momentum to overcome.
I have one episode left of Gone Fishing, which is a 8 part (and they're only about half hour length) podcast about a woman jailed for killing someone that there's a strong suspicion she very clearly did not and the complicated web of why they can't really just let her go. I'm not usually into Australian podcasts--much as I love the accent, it distracts during true crime podcasts for me--but this one hooked me hard and it's a great look into the case, totally recommended.
ღ - I watched Fyre (the Netflix one, I've only just started Fyre Fraud, the Hulu one) and I knew the basic outline, of course, but watching the trainwreck happen over the course of a couple of hours was fascinating. I do think that they kind of went soft on the whole thing, especially considering the HUGE REVEALS that happen in the last 20-30 minutes that basically just get brushed over (I understand why, they're trying to build a sense of betrayal, like you think this guy is just incompetent, then WHAM you find out what's really going on, but I don't think they hammered it home enough at the end and should have had a better balance for it), but they certainly captured the feeling of being unable to look away from the whole thing and you get why so many people got sucked into this thing. Very much recommended!
ღ - Most of what time I spend on-line lately has been making Battlefront II gifs because Anakin finally came to the game and he's sooooo beautiful. I'm only sad that you can't mod this game like Skyrim, where I could grab adult mods and make my characters bang. (You have no idea how tempted I am to make Star Wars lookalikes, but that's a lot of work and the world doesn't really lend itself that well to a Star Wars crossover. OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE.)
Other than that, I've been catching up on comics and trying to clear a little backlog before Queen's Shadow comes out. SO CURIOUS ABOUT IT. I wonder why we didn't get an excerpt from it, though?
no subject
Date: 2019-03-01 02:09 pm (UTC)I hope there is a second season so much. 💜 I agree with your thoughts on the apocalypse side of things. The cast were all so good though, even better than I expected. As someone who loves the comics they did a great job bringing it to the screen.
I saw Russian Doll get mentioned on twitter before The Umbrella Academy came out and, after checking the series length, figured I could fit it in before it started. I’d seen the trailer and figured it looked intruiging but it was so good. It was just so amazing and Natasha just nailed it! I’d never seen her in anything before but she was just wonderful
Yay for podcasts! I ended up starting listening to one a few days back, King Falls which has been pretty cool so far.
Yay for Anakin coming! I need to use him in the actual game and expect it’ll be hard at first (as everyone will want him like with Obi-Wan). Hehe adult mods would be... interesting >:D
I read a few comics recently, the age of republic special (and Jango and Dooku) And now I’m reading Canto Bight fore Queen’s Shadow, which I am so hyped for (but it’s not gonna be sent till the end of the month booo)
no subject
Date: 2019-03-01 03:16 pm (UTC)The cast really was spectacular, I cannot believe how good that kid playing Five was, especially!
The amazing thing about Natasha Lyonne is that she plays a somewhat similar character on Orange is the New Black, yet they're COMPLETELY different and she really did an amazing job making me forget all about her OITNB character!
How's Canto Bight going for you? It took me awhile to find what I liked about that book, but it had an uphill battle with almost no familiar characters! Not enough time with them to become invested (like I have with Join the Resistance and the Aftermath and the Adventures in Wild Space books) and Canto Bight was not my favorite part of TLJ. XD
no subject
Date: 2019-03-01 03:52 pm (UTC)Yeah me too! They said he was the hardest part to cast but they certainly found the right one.
Oh awesome! I’ve never watched that before.
Well it’s going pretty well. I will admit I kept my visual dictionary to hand to look some people up. I’m almost finished the second story which is intruiging so far but I agree,the characters are unfamiliar and Canto isn’t the best place. But I’ve always loved the Star Wars anthology books (my first memory of reading one was one of them)
Resistance hasn’t started here so I’m so annoyed too!
Have you seen the galaxy’s edge stuff?
no subject
Date: 2019-03-01 06:20 pm (UTC)And I'm glad that TUA has been officially renewed for a second season! I cannot WAIT to see what happens next/how they deal with everything that happened! And maybe get more info on Sir Reginald, if he's an alien like in the comics or from the future or what!
Canto Bight was one I thought really benefited from listening to it, rather than reading it (but, then, I have less time to read these days, so I have to prioritize a lot) and I did wind up liking the sense of that the whole planet was less as presented on the surface and more that a lot of those people were REALLY full of themselves, that it's less "the planet of dreams" and more "holy crap, those people think WAY too highly of their gaudy planet, especially because so many of them have a sunk cost fallacy thing going on, I LOVE IT".
I've seen some of the Galaxy's Edge stuff coming out! It looks very, very cool! It's a little hard for me to get excited about, theme parks aren't really my thing, but I'll probably get more caught up in it once we start getting stories that are set on Batuu in comic/novel form that I can properly consume, rather than just looking at pictures on-line for now.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-01 06:36 pm (UTC)Me too! I need more! I’ll likely rewatch it again soon too
I’ve not read much lately, though that’s down to the winter darkness. But yeah exactly! It’s meant to be this gaudy place but really it’s just..l awful
It does look amazing! I’d love to go there but it would likely take me forever to afford it (unless I have a lottery win!)
no subject
Date: 2019-03-02 02:46 am (UTC)When I reframed Canto Bight as Space Las Vegas and the attitude that comes with that, that they think everyone wants to come to this place, that everyone would give up everything they have for it, that it's the only place in the galaxy where the biggest, glitziest dreams come true, and that it's meant to come off as obnoxious? That's when the book got me a lot more! Because that place is AWFUL and I DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE.
The park looks absolutely incredible, but all I can think of his HOT WEATHER and LONG LINES and SO MANY PEOPLE and uuughhh no thank you. XD
no subject
Date: 2019-03-02 10:41 am (UTC)Yes! That’s exactly what it is! I mean after seeing it in the film I didn’t wanna go, but the book makes me wanna stay far away even more!
Yeah exactly! I’m sure I’d be useless because of those reasons as well
no subject
Date: 2019-03-02 02:59 pm (UTC)I think it's worth watching just for the pretty background art, though, and it really does get better and better as it goes along and has some of the most incredible worldbuilding I've ever seen.
Just that it takes quite awhile for it to get good.
Honestly, though, Adventure Time is the same way. So many current cartoons start out so well, that it's hard to remember that stuff like SU and AT had to really sort of trailblaze the whole "epic cartoon" thing, in some ways!
no subject
Date: 2019-03-02 03:20 pm (UTC)Yeah that’s very true! I need to watch more Adventure Time. They put one of the game on Xbox games with gold so I’m gonna have a go on it at some point