March Recap
Apr. 5th, 2024 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sleepypapercrownsLet’s just say I survived my move so that’s my one win this month! I wish I could’ve read more books but alas, I had limited brain cell capacity.
The Tea Dragon Society by K. O’Neill (2017, graphic novel/fantasy)
While these books came highly recommended and have a very cute concept (I mean dragons that produce tea leaves?!) they didn’t impress me as much as I wanted. With about 70 pages it was simply too short to have a satisfying storyline and therefore felt kind of superficial even though its effort in diversity is admirable.
Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner (2023, queer/sports romance)
Hm. I wish I could leave it at that but I want to at least try and explain my qualms. I have been thinking about representation and how there’s no way to objectively deem something “good” or “bad” representation. There will always be people who feel seen and others who have a strongly opposing opinion. To me, our two main characters felt like cardboard cutouts of what neurotypical people think people with adhd or autism are like. Sure, for some people that stereotype will fit exactly and I don’t want to take this away from them but to me this was another lacking example. This book had awkward half baked neurodivergent rep and also a lot of smut without any feelings. Instead we’ve got three misunderstandings in a trenchcoat, an injury that the character believes is just because she’s getting old (she’s twenty-six) and no real plot. Even the soccer was inconsequential for the most part! Very frustrating. The biggest crime was that it was available through my library on libby and yet on the day I wanted to read it there was a technical error so I ended up buying the ebook.
Princess Mononoke (1997, fantasy/animated)
A lot of people agree that this is the best Ghibli movie ever and ooooh boy, I don’t get it. I already forgot what it was about! It’s obviously beautifully animated and whimsical but nothing stuck with me. I think I might have to watch it again to see if I missed something.
Bullet Train (2022, action/comedy)
You know what, sometimes you need an inconsequential action movie that gets needlessly bloody and gruesome and has nothing whatsoever going for it otherwise. I had a good time but it’s definitely not something that I need to watch again. Still, it kept me entertained and interested because it’s quick and snappy.
Dune - Part One (2021, sci-fi/adventure)
Ok and if I tell you that I watched this movie because of a bit? Well, my friend told me he was going to watch Dune 2 with a group of five people two days later and I thought it would be the funniest thing ever if there’s just a whole row of people belonging together. And it was in the deluxe cinema that has reclining seats! I mean who could’ve said no to that. So that also left me with having to watch Dune 1 and here we are. My biggest gripe with this movie is that it is basically 2.5 hours of exposition. It’s like the first 100 pages of a fantasy book where you are bombarded with worldbuilding, characters and information and then it finally gets going. The thing is that the part where it gets going is where this movie ends. And that is sooo unsatisfying! It’s definitely a beautiful movie in all of the film making aspects. The soundtrack, the camera angles, the vfx are all stunning. But the storytelling was too much on the same “height” of excitement for the whole movie, by which I mean it was never boring but also there was no climax and no building up to something? A mid experience.
Dune - Part Two (2024, sci-fi/adventure)
Dune 2 on the other hand was an assault of plot points. There was no pause to breathe for the majority of the movie but that also made it really immersive. It was a nostalgic cinema experience in the sense that it absolutely blasted me so incredibly out of existence that it was hard to pull myself back afterwards. Another thing I enjoy greatly in any kind of movie and tv shows are facial close ups. I just love watching people’s facial expressions! There was a scene where Zendaya goes from incredibly relieved and happy to very angry and that was just so satisfying to watch. I mean who can resist watching beautiful people be good at their job, really.
All in all, I don’t think I would recommend anyone to start this series of movies but now that I am in it, I definitely need the next movie. As far as I understand the original context (without having read the book), we are definitely not at the point of the story where the message is clear and I think in this day and age we definitely do not need more stories about religious fanaticism and hero worship. (A day after writing this it was announced that they’re already working on Dune: Messiah, yay!)
K asked whether I have already written about Timothée Chalamet and obviously I have not, so here goes nothing: somehow these two movies started a brief but intense obsession with this sad little victorian child man?! I really don’t know where it came from but I have already said it’s hard to look away from beautiful people on such a big screen, so there I was a day after the movie with Timothée Chalamet as my number one interest suggested by my Youtube recommendations. Thanks for that call out Youtube. I will leave it at that but I have definitely added some other Timothée movies to my watchlist…
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (2023, documentary)
I want to be them when I am old! It’s a short documentary following a couple of days in the life of two grandmas living together. It is filmed by their grandson which gives it an extra special feeling. They’re extremely funny and charming but also don’t shy away from showing the sad parts about growing old and losing most of your friends.
Bottoms (2023, comedy/crime)
With the amount of camp hetero romance movies, we definitely also need Bottoms. Does that make it good? Not particularly. But I still had a good time. Again, more gruesome than strictly needed but being a teenage girl is pretty gruesome if we’re being honest. This was the first movie in my effort to watch more diverse media, so if you have more recommendations, it would be appreciated!
How to Train Your Dragon 1&2 (2010/2014, fantasy/animated)
These are K’s favourite movies so of course we had to watch them when they visited!! I have obviously seen the first one but none of the others and let me tell you: this was the most delightful time I had with a movie in a long time. The animations and especially the lighting are already stunning in the first one and then the second one is just overwhelmingly beautiful. Toothless is definitely my favourite animated creature. The emotions, the disability representation and the messages of these films are really for all ages and man, I am so excited to watch the last one soon!
Two favourites from this month!
- in the morning by merryofsoul (itzy, yeji/ryujin )
- border crossings by LadyAscalon (skz, minho/jisung )
Books
The Tea Dragon Society by K. O’Neill (2017, graphic novel/fantasy)
While these books came highly recommended and have a very cute concept (I mean dragons that produce tea leaves?!) they didn’t impress me as much as I wanted. With about 70 pages it was simply too short to have a satisfying storyline and therefore felt kind of superficial even though its effort in diversity is admirable.
Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner (2023, queer/sports romance)
Hm. I wish I could leave it at that but I want to at least try and explain my qualms. I have been thinking about representation and how there’s no way to objectively deem something “good” or “bad” representation. There will always be people who feel seen and others who have a strongly opposing opinion. To me, our two main characters felt like cardboard cutouts of what neurotypical people think people with adhd or autism are like. Sure, for some people that stereotype will fit exactly and I don’t want to take this away from them but to me this was another lacking example. This book had awkward half baked neurodivergent rep and also a lot of smut without any feelings. Instead we’ve got three misunderstandings in a trenchcoat, an injury that the character believes is just because she’s getting old (she’s twenty-six) and no real plot. Even the soccer was inconsequential for the most part! Very frustrating. The biggest crime was that it was available through my library on libby and yet on the day I wanted to read it there was a technical error so I ended up buying the ebook.
Movies
Princess Mononoke (1997, fantasy/animated)
A lot of people agree that this is the best Ghibli movie ever and ooooh boy, I don’t get it. I already forgot what it was about! It’s obviously beautifully animated and whimsical but nothing stuck with me. I think I might have to watch it again to see if I missed something.
Bullet Train (2022, action/comedy)
You know what, sometimes you need an inconsequential action movie that gets needlessly bloody and gruesome and has nothing whatsoever going for it otherwise. I had a good time but it’s definitely not something that I need to watch again. Still, it kept me entertained and interested because it’s quick and snappy.
Dune - Part One (2021, sci-fi/adventure)
Ok and if I tell you that I watched this movie because of a bit? Well, my friend told me he was going to watch Dune 2 with a group of five people two days later and I thought it would be the funniest thing ever if there’s just a whole row of people belonging together. And it was in the deluxe cinema that has reclining seats! I mean who could’ve said no to that. So that also left me with having to watch Dune 1 and here we are. My biggest gripe with this movie is that it is basically 2.5 hours of exposition. It’s like the first 100 pages of a fantasy book where you are bombarded with worldbuilding, characters and information and then it finally gets going. The thing is that the part where it gets going is where this movie ends. And that is sooo unsatisfying! It’s definitely a beautiful movie in all of the film making aspects. The soundtrack, the camera angles, the vfx are all stunning. But the storytelling was too much on the same “height” of excitement for the whole movie, by which I mean it was never boring but also there was no climax and no building up to something? A mid experience.
Dune - Part Two (2024, sci-fi/adventure)
Dune 2 on the other hand was an assault of plot points. There was no pause to breathe for the majority of the movie but that also made it really immersive. It was a nostalgic cinema experience in the sense that it absolutely blasted me so incredibly out of existence that it was hard to pull myself back afterwards. Another thing I enjoy greatly in any kind of movie and tv shows are facial close ups. I just love watching people’s facial expressions! There was a scene where Zendaya goes from incredibly relieved and happy to very angry and that was just so satisfying to watch. I mean who can resist watching beautiful people be good at their job, really.
All in all, I don’t think I would recommend anyone to start this series of movies but now that I am in it, I definitely need the next movie. As far as I understand the original context (without having read the book), we are definitely not at the point of the story where the message is clear and I think in this day and age we definitely do not need more stories about religious fanaticism and hero worship. (A day after writing this it was announced that they’re already working on Dune: Messiah, yay!)
K asked whether I have already written about Timothée Chalamet and obviously I have not, so here goes nothing: somehow these two movies started a brief but intense obsession with this sad little victorian child man?! I really don’t know where it came from but I have already said it’s hard to look away from beautiful people on such a big screen, so there I was a day after the movie with Timothée Chalamet as my number one interest suggested by my Youtube recommendations. Thanks for that call out Youtube. I will leave it at that but I have definitely added some other Timothée movies to my watchlist…
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (2023, documentary)
I want to be them when I am old! It’s a short documentary following a couple of days in the life of two grandmas living together. It is filmed by their grandson which gives it an extra special feeling. They’re extremely funny and charming but also don’t shy away from showing the sad parts about growing old and losing most of your friends.
Bottoms (2023, comedy/crime)
With the amount of camp hetero romance movies, we definitely also need Bottoms. Does that make it good? Not particularly. But I still had a good time. Again, more gruesome than strictly needed but being a teenage girl is pretty gruesome if we’re being honest. This was the first movie in my effort to watch more diverse media, so if you have more recommendations, it would be appreciated!
How to Train Your Dragon 1&2 (2010/2014, fantasy/animated)
These are K’s favourite movies so of course we had to watch them when they visited!! I have obviously seen the first one but none of the others and let me tell you: this was the most delightful time I had with a movie in a long time. The animations and especially the lighting are already stunning in the first one and then the second one is just overwhelmingly beautiful. Toothless is definitely my favourite animated creature. The emotions, the disability representation and the messages of these films are really for all ages and man, I am so excited to watch the last one soon!
Fic
Two favourites from this month!
- in the morning by merryofsoul (itzy, yeji/ryujin )
- border crossings by LadyAscalon (skz, minho/jisung )
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Date: 2024-04-05 12:54 pm (UTC)