chrryblssmninja

( TV episodes watched from January through March, with some comments )

JANUARY - MARCH MEDIA RECAP

Fringe, Being Human UK, and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries ended.
Shows I started and continued to watch: Utopia, Les revenants, In the Flesh.
I also plan on watching all the rest of Peter Gunn on Hulu in the future.

The only movie I saw from 2013 was Something Necessary, a pretty good Kenyan movie that MUBI streamed for free on the day of the Kenyan elections..
Movies I gave the highest ratings to on this year's movies-watched list:
The Saragossa Manuscript (now I want to watch more stories within stories movies), Chungking Express (finally watched it!), Fists in the Pocket (I pugni in tasca), and the entire trilogy experience of The Human Condition (Ningen no joken)
Favorite viewing surprises: Paranorman, La main du diable, A Matter of Taste (Une affaire de goût), Miss Minoes
ok not really a surprise since I'm a fan of Johnnie To's work already yet the choreography of lighting and movement in Throw Down deserves a mention
Faces added to my to-watch list:
Hideko Takamine, Rachel Mwanza, Pierce Gagnon
Funniest moments:
the dinner scene in Vulgaria
the proposed graveyard scene from Seven Psychopaths
when the titular character gets a gun in The Gingerdead Man

Favorite books read so far this year:
Historia universal de la infamia, Jorge Luis Borges
A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness
Works that I can imagine as a good (or better) film or TV adaptation:
Esi Edugyan's Half-Blood Blues. Jazz musicians of African descent stuck in Berlin and occupied Paris in WWII. At least it wouldn't shift more focus towards the white characters like what I saw of Dancing on the Edge.
Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (Tiger! Tiger!), in a way that would get the epic sci-fi look and themes right, treat the problematic aspects as problematic, and not gloss over the character flaws and twisted relationships.
Dashiell Hammett's The Glass Key, in a modern (though not modern day-set) adaptation that would include the book's meditative aspects, without being slow for the sake of self-importance.
John Ajvide Lindqvist's Little Star. Probably best as a miniseries.
Favorite short stories read:
"Four Rajeshes" and "Bibhutibhushan Mallik's Final Storyboard", by Rajesh Parameswaran
"Nights Can Turn Cool in Viborra", by Charles Portis

The only new music I've played on repeat so far: various selections from Cristobal Tapia de Veer's soundtrack for Utopia.

( TV episodes watched from July through September, with some non-spoiler reactions )


whoa I did not watch as much TV as I used to

R.I.P. to our fallen soldiers on Memorial Day.





I wrote a more-or-less non-spoilery review comparing the fourth seasons of Fringe and Being Human UK.


Also, "Blackwater" thoughts? I liked it. One thing that people on tumblr haven't mentioned yet is the mix of emotions during a certain green scene. That stuff may look cool, but it's scary in effect and connotations.

My grandma's funeral Mass was Saturday. It was a good service, as funerals go.

Last week was a good week in TV. Sherlock's fall, Southland's return, Fringe and (excepting certain issues) My Little Pony.

I'm still putting together a guide of upcoming entertainment for the year, but one of the movies I have a good feeling about was just picked up by a distributor at Sundance: Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Finally, I recently watched Captain America, and I can't stop thinking about how surprisingly sad it is. ( spoilers )

TV roundup!

for the week of October 9 - 15

EXCELLENT
The Fades 1.4
It surprised me that I needed hours to emotionally recover from an episode of a show that started so recently with such an awkward pilot. This episode grounded the relationships within the show and introduced an understandable but truly terrifying villain. One or two moments seemed predictable or dragged out, but the episode found a fine balance between (or more accurately, blend of) action and emotional scenes.

PRETTY GOOD
Boardwalk Empire 2.3, "A Dangerous Maid"
Not perfect, but good showcase for many of the distinctive characters of the series.

Downton Abbey 2.4
The beginning seemed iffy, with not much quality covering the melodramatic backbone of the show, but it delivered by the end. The editing was slightly off, but the cinematography displayed a graceful fascination with reflections. I don't think I ship Sybil/Branson any more, unless something is remedied in the remainder of this series.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 2.3, “Lesson Zero”
It was fun seeing Twilight Sparkle grow maniacal in her desperation.

Fringe 4.4, “Subject 9”
Good dramatic episode that returned to the core of the show. Also great to see how the Cortexiphan kids plotline panned out in this new universe. However, the direction of this episode made the numerous "pause, sit down, and talk" scenes too evident. It didn't find a truly engaging pace, despite the commendable work done with the mytharc.

Community 3.4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”
I was just about to drop the show when I was stuck with the TV and decided to giveit one last chance. Seemed like another gimmick episode, but thankfully returned to bringing out character qualities instead of escalating antics. I think the bar episode of last season was better at doing something similar character-wise, but this episode has an emotional high in its favor.

EH
An Idiot Abroad 2.4, "Whale Watching"
Solid but not hilarious. Ricky drew out that prostate exam thing too many times.

It's Always Sunny in Philadephia - 7.5 - "Frank's Brother"
Not bad, but didn't bring out many laughs. Nice to see Lance Reddick, though. I think this was written just to give the main cast (sans DeVito) a break.

- - -

If I'm able to dress up for Halloween this year, I thought of some costume choices that fit one of my current fandoms:



Rarity would be the easiest - if I could fnd a long enough purple wig to curl. Then I can wear my long white skirt with a white shirt, with maybe a scarf or some other pink accent. Perhaps I'll customize a headband with her diamond cutie marks.

If I can't find a suitably long purple wig, though, I could mix short wigs for Sweetie Belle and still wear a white outift. Or just put a giant pink bow on a pink wig for Apple Bloom. I have a mint dress, but I don't think it's close enough to her color. I had a closer green dress, but I'm not sure if it's still in storage or was given to charity. I'm not sure if I have other clothes to match her color.

I also thought of dressing up as Applejack, but I didn't feel like dealing with all of the "what a nice cowgirl costume" comments. Even if nobody understands the others, at least there's less chance of being confused for something else.

TV ROUNDUP

week of September 25 - October 1

loose ranking.

SOLID EPISODE
Downton Abbey 2.2
Showed various aspects and changes for all the characters and storylines. Also, Mary got her sharp tongue back!
An Idiot Abroad 2.2
“There’s no rules here. It’s Russia.”
Lost a little momentum by the end, but provided plenty of big laughs.
Fringe 4.2
Dialogue too plain, but story itself was great.

GOOD, WITH RESERVATIONS
The Fades 1.2
Promising blend of supernatural apocalypse with high school dramedy. Doesn't quite gel in all parts but I like the actors and characters. A few lines are great, but more often they strafe close to brilliance but don't hit the target. The main ship is cute and Daniel Kaluuya's character is my favorite - although his geek references are sometimes drawn from too shallow a pool.
Where is Natalie Dormer's character?
Boardwalk Empire 2.1
“Pardon me, dear, I need to wash up. Public spaces.”
Nice character sketches and starts right on the action, but much of the new main plot is based on a ridiculous event involving the Ku Klux Klan wielding machine guns. Things like Al Capone vs. the Third Person and random wrestling were just weird.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 7.3
Stronger and more consistently hilarious episode, though the energy fizzled by the end. It's always fun when the gang wants to put on a show.

OKAY
Doctor Who 6.13
This sixth series was odd. I like that it had some great details, and brought many new fans to the show, but it felt too muddled to me and lacked the cohesion and energy of Series 5. ( other thoughts on the episode )

BORDERLINE
Community 3.2
Only funny things were slips and side-gags: straw in soda, Earth-2, Switzerland and Georgia. I'm losing interest in the characters, and yet again Britta is punished (although at least this time it was more about her pride than last episode, where she was just trying to help Abed). It could be interesting to see more Britta-Chang vibes - though not an actual ship, no.

ETA:

( list of all episodes watched between July 1 - October 1 )

I couldn't help it, and watched the leaked episode 7 of Game of Thrones. Even though I've read the books, seeing it happen is still exciting to me. I think the series really picked up in pace from episode 5 on.


I've also finally caught up on Fringe.
( thoughts )


I've also been on a mad dubstep kick lately. Rec me stuff.
In Downtown Davis, there's a place where, on Thursday nights, a bunch of random firedancers come out and perform to some dubstep and slow electro.