We're werewolves, not swearwolves!
It's already the third week of January, but happy new year, etc. *g*. I don't really make resolutions, but I did think it might be nice to spend more time writing ANYTHING, and a journal entry is better than nothing. Surely once every couple of weeks isn't too much to ask...
Just got back from a holiday in New Zealand, which was as picturesque as you'd imagine and more so. Will probably put all that in a separate post. But the sense of space and endless lakes and mountains was amazing - there aren't many places in the world I've visited that feel as though people have barely touched them.
A couple of leftover movies from last year:
The Killing of a Sacred Deer - this was written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who also wrote and directed The Lobster. There's something about his off-kilter worldview I find irresistible, which is the main reason I saw this. At heart, it's a revenge tale about a surgeon, Steven (Colin Farrell) who has everything - successful career, beautiful wife (Nicole Kidman) and family, and an enigmatic teenage boy Martin (Barry Keoghan) whose late father was operated on by Steven under questionable circumstances. It has all of the odd, inexplicable quirks of The Lobster, meaning that if you tend to nitpick, "but how did...", there will be no satisfactory answers. However, I love his style so much that I can actually go with it for once *g*
One thing I noticed here that escaped me in The Lobster (but was present in hindsight) is that he has his actors speak in this stylised, almost monotonic way, at which Colin Farrell is particularly accomplished, but they all did this, even the children. The writing also did remind me somewhat of theatre, something about the measured pacing of it, the rhythms. One unexpected benefit was that I enjoyed Nicole Kidman in this much more than I usually do - I'd never realised the way she talked was one of the things I disliked about her acting, but having her speech reshaped in this way made her much more palatable. The net effect is that the movie is this bizarre, surrealistic thing, while the actors all sound extraordinarily matter-of-fact about everything. I don't know, the movie definitely risks the charge of being arty and pretentious, but it's totally the kind of arty and pretentious that works for me.
Call Me By Your Name - oh dear. I did originally feel this was not at all my kind of thing, despite the m/m romance, but it's received such hype and enthusiasm I thought I should reconsider. Yeah, I should probably trust my instincts in future *g*. I will spare you all by putting themeaner more honest version under the cut.
Oh, god, I can't even with this movie. By the end, I was just desperately, desperately waiting for Oliver to leave and for the movie to be over. It was like The Lord of the Rings - The Movie That Would Not End. It really felt like a hostage situation. First, time was up and Oliver was getting on the bus - yay! But wait ... Elio is going with him! Nooo. Okay, they've had their little holiday, now Oliver is getting on the train. Bye, Oliver! Elio is sad and calls his mum to take him home (okay, that was the one moment I did find moving). But now we're done, right? No! Elio needs to talk with his ex-girlfriend and have a heart-to-heart with his (apparently closeted) dad. But surely that's the end, right? No again! We have to wait until one last letter from Oliver, and watch Elio cry a single endless tear over the flickering flames forever and ever, amen. I went to see this with M, who happens to be gay, and has been dragged along to many dubious shows and movies. By the end, we were both in silent paroxysms of laughter. You know where you know intellectually that what is being shown on the screen is Deeply Moving, and so you cannot make a sound, but at the same time can't stop laughing? It's more difficult than you might imagine - I was literally struggling to breathe for a few seconds because I had to calm down enough to draw breath without giggling out loud.
One scene stands out - when Oliver and Elio go on their little holiday together, they inexplicably happen across a man and two women in a car blaring music down an alley. It's night-time. Oliver goes off to dance with one of the girls, while Elio watches. Why? Because. The man stands stoically beside the car, while the other woman, dressed all in black, sits in the front seat silently smoking and looking incredibly fed up with everything. Bitchface to the power of ten. Afterwards, M and I agreed that she was definitely the character with whom we empathised the most. Also that we hadn't laughed so hard in a movie in years *g*
M thought it was "unrealistic" that Elio hadn't bothered experimenting with boys his own age but throws himself at this stranger, which I can't speak to, but okay. I personally got a very "women = second best" vibe, heightened by the father's speech I think. I did manage to entertain myself in the middle section by visualising Oliver as a reluctant Mycroft and Elio as Sherlock, but my heart wasn't in it.
The few things I liked about this movie - um, it was pretty, I guess? In a completely bland and uninspiring way. Elio's girlfriend and mother were both vibrant and attractive. I found Elio's relationship with Marzia far more convincing than his with Oliver, which kind of defeats the emotional drive of the movie. I felt no spark whatsoever between Oliver and Elio, and am baffled by the reviews that talk about their longing and chemistry. Elio's dad reminded me of Robin Williams Lite, which was insanely distracting. I do not find Arnie Hammer or Timothee Chalamet remotely attractive, which probably didn't help. I did genuinely enjoy all the little period details - the clothes, the accessories - and as I said earlier, the scene where Elio calls his mother. The rest was just indifference. I wasn't bored as such, but I wasn't engaged either - well, at least not until I gave up on it entirely and started waiting for it to be over with. Mostly, I was just there. This is the kind of arty and pretentious that I loathe with every fibre of my being. If this is the pinnacle of gay romance movies, I am disappoint. God's Own Country and Moonlight were both better than this, and I didn't like them overmuch either.
Pitch Perfect 3 - first movie of 2018. Loved it and had a thoroughly good time. Pretty people, much lovely and completely gratuitous singing, great choreography, ridiculous plot, Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. John Lithgow doing an appalling Australian accent. Girl power, friends sticking together, a touch of melancholy to cut through the sweetness, but otherwise all the joys of silliness and fun. It exceeded expectations in that it was far better than it strictly needed to be for me to enjoy it. Also, Rebel Wilson should do action movies - she is totally convincing *g*
Have finally entered the 21st century by signing up to a streaming service (Stan). Watched What We Do in the Shadows, Taika Waititi's vampire sharehouse mockumentary, which was delightful. I refused to see it when it came out because I had had it up to here with vampires, but apparently, like versions of Sherlock Holmes, there's always room for one more. Loved the prissy werewolves as well. OMG. Also partway through Electric Dreams (the Philip K Dick short story adaptations, not the 80s computer-girl romance). Have found them to be big on budget, but not particularly well written (imo, obviously). Always great to see Steve Buscemi and Anna Paquin, though. Also started watching The Thick of It (British political comedy featuring Peter Capaldi) which is wincingly funny.
The mention of Capaldi reminds me that I also watched Twice Upon a Time (the Doctor Who Christmas special) pretty much just to see Mark Gatiss. I enjoyed it in a vaguely nostalgic way - I haven't watched Doctor Who on a regular basis since Tom Baker. I do like Capaldi in general much better than Tennant or Smith though.
What have y'all been watching/reading?
Just got back from a holiday in New Zealand, which was as picturesque as you'd imagine and more so. Will probably put all that in a separate post. But the sense of space and endless lakes and mountains was amazing - there aren't many places in the world I've visited that feel as though people have barely touched them.
A couple of leftover movies from last year:
The Killing of a Sacred Deer - this was written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who also wrote and directed The Lobster. There's something about his off-kilter worldview I find irresistible, which is the main reason I saw this. At heart, it's a revenge tale about a surgeon, Steven (Colin Farrell) who has everything - successful career, beautiful wife (Nicole Kidman) and family, and an enigmatic teenage boy Martin (Barry Keoghan) whose late father was operated on by Steven under questionable circumstances. It has all of the odd, inexplicable quirks of The Lobster, meaning that if you tend to nitpick, "but how did...", there will be no satisfactory answers. However, I love his style so much that I can actually go with it for once *g*
One thing I noticed here that escaped me in The Lobster (but was present in hindsight) is that he has his actors speak in this stylised, almost monotonic way, at which Colin Farrell is particularly accomplished, but they all did this, even the children. The writing also did remind me somewhat of theatre, something about the measured pacing of it, the rhythms. One unexpected benefit was that I enjoyed Nicole Kidman in this much more than I usually do - I'd never realised the way she talked was one of the things I disliked about her acting, but having her speech reshaped in this way made her much more palatable. The net effect is that the movie is this bizarre, surrealistic thing, while the actors all sound extraordinarily matter-of-fact about everything. I don't know, the movie definitely risks the charge of being arty and pretentious, but it's totally the kind of arty and pretentious that works for me.
Call Me By Your Name - oh dear. I did originally feel this was not at all my kind of thing, despite the m/m romance, but it's received such hype and enthusiasm I thought I should reconsider. Yeah, I should probably trust my instincts in future *g*. I will spare you all by putting the
Oh, god, I can't even with this movie. By the end, I was just desperately, desperately waiting for Oliver to leave and for the movie to be over. It was like The Lord of the Rings - The Movie That Would Not End. It really felt like a hostage situation. First, time was up and Oliver was getting on the bus - yay! But wait ... Elio is going with him! Nooo. Okay, they've had their little holiday, now Oliver is getting on the train. Bye, Oliver! Elio is sad and calls his mum to take him home (okay, that was the one moment I did find moving). But now we're done, right? No! Elio needs to talk with his ex-girlfriend and have a heart-to-heart with his (apparently closeted) dad. But surely that's the end, right? No again! We have to wait until one last letter from Oliver, and watch Elio cry a single endless tear over the flickering flames forever and ever, amen. I went to see this with M, who happens to be gay, and has been dragged along to many dubious shows and movies. By the end, we were both in silent paroxysms of laughter. You know where you know intellectually that what is being shown on the screen is Deeply Moving, and so you cannot make a sound, but at the same time can't stop laughing? It's more difficult than you might imagine - I was literally struggling to breathe for a few seconds because I had to calm down enough to draw breath without giggling out loud.
One scene stands out - when Oliver and Elio go on their little holiday together, they inexplicably happen across a man and two women in a car blaring music down an alley. It's night-time. Oliver goes off to dance with one of the girls, while Elio watches. Why? Because. The man stands stoically beside the car, while the other woman, dressed all in black, sits in the front seat silently smoking and looking incredibly fed up with everything. Bitchface to the power of ten. Afterwards, M and I agreed that she was definitely the character with whom we empathised the most. Also that we hadn't laughed so hard in a movie in years *g*
M thought it was "unrealistic" that Elio hadn't bothered experimenting with boys his own age but throws himself at this stranger, which I can't speak to, but okay. I personally got a very "women = second best" vibe, heightened by the father's speech I think. I did manage to entertain myself in the middle section by visualising Oliver as a reluctant Mycroft and Elio as Sherlock, but my heart wasn't in it.
The few things I liked about this movie - um, it was pretty, I guess? In a completely bland and uninspiring way. Elio's girlfriend and mother were both vibrant and attractive. I found Elio's relationship with Marzia far more convincing than his with Oliver, which kind of defeats the emotional drive of the movie. I felt no spark whatsoever between Oliver and Elio, and am baffled by the reviews that talk about their longing and chemistry. Elio's dad reminded me of Robin Williams Lite, which was insanely distracting. I do not find Arnie Hammer or Timothee Chalamet remotely attractive, which probably didn't help. I did genuinely enjoy all the little period details - the clothes, the accessories - and as I said earlier, the scene where Elio calls his mother. The rest was just indifference. I wasn't bored as such, but I wasn't engaged either - well, at least not until I gave up on it entirely and started waiting for it to be over with. Mostly, I was just there. This is the kind of arty and pretentious that I loathe with every fibre of my being. If this is the pinnacle of gay romance movies, I am disappoint. God's Own Country and Moonlight were both better than this, and I didn't like them overmuch either.
Pitch Perfect 3 - first movie of 2018. Loved it and had a thoroughly good time. Pretty people, much lovely and completely gratuitous singing, great choreography, ridiculous plot, Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. John Lithgow doing an appalling Australian accent. Girl power, friends sticking together, a touch of melancholy to cut through the sweetness, but otherwise all the joys of silliness and fun. It exceeded expectations in that it was far better than it strictly needed to be for me to enjoy it. Also, Rebel Wilson should do action movies - she is totally convincing *g*
Have finally entered the 21st century by signing up to a streaming service (Stan). Watched What We Do in the Shadows, Taika Waititi's vampire sharehouse mockumentary, which was delightful. I refused to see it when it came out because I had had it up to here with vampires, but apparently, like versions of Sherlock Holmes, there's always room for one more. Loved the prissy werewolves as well. OMG. Also partway through Electric Dreams (the Philip K Dick short story adaptations, not the 80s computer-girl romance). Have found them to be big on budget, but not particularly well written (imo, obviously). Always great to see Steve Buscemi and Anna Paquin, though. Also started watching The Thick of It (British political comedy featuring Peter Capaldi) which is wincingly funny.
The mention of Capaldi reminds me that I also watched Twice Upon a Time (the Doctor Who Christmas special) pretty much just to see Mark Gatiss. I enjoyed it in a vaguely nostalgic way - I haven't watched Doctor Who on a regular basis since Tom Baker. I do like Capaldi in general much better than Tennant or Smith though.
What have y'all been watching/reading?