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Update... stuff?
So, like, June and the first week of July were super busy? At this point, it's a blanket apology if I haven't answered email or otherwise faffled off.
1) Had a couple of barbecues. Did a bit of Jazz Fest, missed a Rufus Wainwright concert, caught Gianmaria Testa on a whim (still able to partially understand Italian while drunk). Next up: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, some more Afropop shows, Faudel. Since I already saw Khaled, that leaves Rachid Taha for the hat trick. Also, possibly Frank Ocean?
2) Baby's first LARP. Interplanetary diplomatic crisis sort of setting. I did a Star Trek: TOS hairstyle. Lots of paranoia, but managed to avoid being blown up by terrorists! Several extra D&D sessions in general, as one of our players is leaving for Ottawa for a few months (and thus, in fact, game night is being held at my apartment).
3) Books read, in order finished:
Bret Easton Ellis, Less Than Zero: I feel safe in predicting that the movie was significantly toned down from the book. Though IIRC Ellis said in The Paris Review that he wanted a sequel to star the same actors, which makes me wonder if RDJ's character survives his teens. XD;;
Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, Avengers: The Children's Crusade: for the amount of money these things cost, they had better contain spectacular art and gay makeouts. And Magneto. If you look at my very limited Marvel shelf, it's basically all Magneto and/or the Scarlet Witch and/or Iron Man and/or Deadpool. AND FROG THOR. Meanwhile, dudes should probably balls up and get Heinberg to write a TV pilot.
Kathy Reichs, Monday Mourning: Tempe Brennan novels are great/hilarious because they're scrupulously accurate, except for the fact that Montrealers would have no reason to explain their own city to each other in expository dialogue. The serial killer in this one lives a five minute drive from my place!
Lois McMaster Bujold, Cryoburn: welp, that was an extended meditation on mortality! Also, there is no actual way I've been reading these books for more than ten years, except Diplomatic Immunity came out in '02 and I remember dragging my feet on that one, convinced that A Civil Campaign was the natural end of the series. I think I'm now older than Miles was then, which would be horrifying if I didn't like him better in his thirties... Now Bujold will marry Ivan off, I suppose, and that'll be the end from which there is no moving on. Like Bertie Wooster tying the knot.
4) Movies seen at the theatre:
Snow White and the Huntsman: visually stunning, intermittently charismatic acting, terrible dialogue. No one can decide whether Kristin Stewart is cosplaying Taiki or Larsa Solidor. Somehow, Charlize Theron is evil because she's a victim of patriarchy.
Prometheus: visually stunning, intermittently charismatic acting (mostly by Fassbot), painful plot. By 15 minutes in I was on the side of the creepy robot with the Lawrence of Arabia fixation; at least he was fit to represent Earth as an intelligent lifeform. Somehow, Charlize Theron is evil because she's career-oriented and makes sensible decisions.
Brave: visually stunning, and, uh... really liked this! Now that I've seen it, a lot of the criticisms seem to fall beside the point. There are so many films/books/whatever where daddy issues are someone's entire backstory, you know? It's nice to have a story that's just about mommy issues, and that unapologetically expects universal grokkability in the same way. (For value of mommy issues != Mom was a domineering bitch, and so the son became a serial killer.)
5) Movies watched at home: I wanted to get through the Alien quadrilogy before seeing Prometheus, but that didn't quite happen. I'll probably write up the lot on Tumblr at some point?
Push: stars Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning in somebody's elaborate Weiss Kreuz AU, as directed by Paul McGuigan, so all of Hong Kong looks like the inside of 221B Baker Street. Verdict: visually stunning, intermittently charismatic acting (mostly by Dakota), 93% previously seen in either Schwarzfic fanon or Sherlock. CONFUSING.
Doctor Horrible: found this very sad from basically minute one, possibly because the presentation fell squarely in a geek mockumentary sub-genre that asks the audience to sympathize with school shooters or horror movie slashers. On the other hand, it also fell in the genre of Sondheim-inflected narrative indiepop about sensitive introvert losers. Zero Day and Belle and Sebastian -- a Venn diagram intersection that was bound to happen?
1) Had a couple of barbecues. Did a bit of Jazz Fest, missed a Rufus Wainwright concert, caught Gianmaria Testa on a whim (still able to partially understand Italian while drunk). Next up: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, some more Afropop shows, Faudel. Since I already saw Khaled, that leaves Rachid Taha for the hat trick. Also, possibly Frank Ocean?
2) Baby's first LARP. Interplanetary diplomatic crisis sort of setting. I did a Star Trek: TOS hairstyle. Lots of paranoia, but managed to avoid being blown up by terrorists! Several extra D&D sessions in general, as one of our players is leaving for Ottawa for a few months (and thus, in fact, game night is being held at my apartment).
3) Books read, in order finished:
Bret Easton Ellis, Less Than Zero: I feel safe in predicting that the movie was significantly toned down from the book. Though IIRC Ellis said in The Paris Review that he wanted a sequel to star the same actors, which makes me wonder if RDJ's character survives his teens. XD;;
Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, Avengers: The Children's Crusade: for the amount of money these things cost, they had better contain spectacular art and gay makeouts. And Magneto. If you look at my very limited Marvel shelf, it's basically all Magneto and/or the Scarlet Witch and/or Iron Man and/or Deadpool. AND FROG THOR. Meanwhile, dudes should probably balls up and get Heinberg to write a TV pilot.
Kathy Reichs, Monday Mourning: Tempe Brennan novels are great/hilarious because they're scrupulously accurate, except for the fact that Montrealers would have no reason to explain their own city to each other in expository dialogue. The serial killer in this one lives a five minute drive from my place!
Lois McMaster Bujold, Cryoburn: welp, that was an extended meditation on mortality! Also, there is no actual way I've been reading these books for more than ten years, except Diplomatic Immunity came out in '02 and I remember dragging my feet on that one, convinced that A Civil Campaign was the natural end of the series. I think I'm now older than Miles was then, which would be horrifying if I didn't like him better in his thirties... Now Bujold will marry Ivan off, I suppose, and that'll be the end from which there is no moving on. Like Bertie Wooster tying the knot.
4) Movies seen at the theatre:
Snow White and the Huntsman: visually stunning, intermittently charismatic acting, terrible dialogue. No one can decide whether Kristin Stewart is cosplaying Taiki or Larsa Solidor. Somehow, Charlize Theron is evil because she's a victim of patriarchy.
Prometheus: visually stunning, intermittently charismatic acting (mostly by Fassbot), painful plot. By 15 minutes in I was on the side of the creepy robot with the Lawrence of Arabia fixation; at least he was fit to represent Earth as an intelligent lifeform. Somehow, Charlize Theron is evil because she's career-oriented and makes sensible decisions.
Brave: visually stunning, and, uh... really liked this! Now that I've seen it, a lot of the criticisms seem to fall beside the point. There are so many films/books/whatever where daddy issues are someone's entire backstory, you know? It's nice to have a story that's just about mommy issues, and that unapologetically expects universal grokkability in the same way. (For value of mommy issues != Mom was a domineering bitch, and so the son became a serial killer.)
5) Movies watched at home: I wanted to get through the Alien quadrilogy before seeing Prometheus, but that didn't quite happen. I'll probably write up the lot on Tumblr at some point?
Push: stars Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning in somebody's elaborate Weiss Kreuz AU, as directed by Paul McGuigan, so all of Hong Kong looks like the inside of 221B Baker Street. Verdict: visually stunning, intermittently charismatic acting (mostly by Dakota), 93% previously seen in either Schwarzfic fanon or Sherlock. CONFUSING.
Doctor Horrible: found this very sad from basically minute one, possibly because the presentation fell squarely in a geek mockumentary sub-genre that asks the audience to sympathize with school shooters or horror movie slashers. On the other hand, it also fell in the genre of Sondheim-inflected narrative indiepop about sensitive introvert losers. Zero Day and Belle and Sebastian -- a Venn diagram intersection that was bound to happen?
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ACCURATE.
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♥ Hope the rest of the summer will be less busy for you, so you can enjoy more sunshine~?
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Oh. God. OH. GOD. Once seen cannot be unseen! *CLAWS AT EYES* The memories! CHRIS EVANS == HIDAKA KEN, Y/N??? DAKOTA FANNING == FUJIMIYA AYA???
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But at least no one threw a sword at a helicopter?
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oh my god, I cannot fucking unsee
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- PAHAHA will probably watch Push at some point (for Chris Evans), but should I expect it to be good? :)) I have zero memory of Weiss Kreuz except for the fact that their cover is a flower shop and Aya has a sister.
- Have seen the Alien 1, and I'm not sure I want to watch the next three movies - but I heard the tone and everything are different in each movie? Idk idk. (But apparently the dude who plays Brett in Alien 1 cameos in the Avengers movie as some sort of inside joke/reference. Cute! XD)
- I loved Dr Horrible because... Neil Patrick Harris, I guess. They're making a sequel?
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Alien 1 is a tidy little horror flick about a giant space insect with great form factor, though I suspect the "director's cut" is more boring than the original theatrical release. Alien 2 is James Cameron through and through: nobody can pace a 100% commercial masterpiece like that guy. You root for the heroine and boo the baddies. I haven't seen Alien 3 but the consensus among ppl I talk to is "it's not actually a bad movie, I don't know why ppl bitch about it so much!" I have also been promised Winona Ryder at some point.
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