shallowness

As referred to here, I saw Thunderbolts* in the cinema. What I did not say was that a filling came out of my tooth while I was watching the trailers. Yes, I was eating a sweet at the time.

On streaming (on Prime): My Zoe. This came up in the science fiction section, so when it looked like a domestic drama (separated parents sharing custody of their daughter, Zoe, who then have to face something awful), I knew there would be more going on. There is, and I don’t want to spoil it. I’ll just say it’s intense, but judiciously handled (though I could quibble about some of the use of flashforwards and flashbacks.) The acting is seriously good from writer-director Julie Delpy, Richard Armitage, Daniel Bruhl, Gemma Arterton, Lindsay Duncan, and the kid is naturalistic. It’s dated 2021, so may not have had a UK cinema release.

She Said (on All4) is in the lineage of Spotlight (and yes, All The President’s Men), but, as the title suggests, from a female perspective. I thought the formal choices they made to foreground the survivors’ words, to show details of corridors or rooms, but nothing more, and not to show Weinstein’s face were effective, as was giving us enough details of the reporters’ personal lives to be invested in them and their investment. I don’t have strong feelings about the blending of some women playing themselves and others being represented by others. The wrongdoing revealed is horrifying and angering (and I was reminded at the top of Twohey and others reporting about Trump in this context and through the film of how NDAs are still a thing.)

I also rewatched Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning part 1 on the small screen. The action is still brilliant, but ( spoilers? )

This was in prep for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (am amused that they dropped the ‘Dead Reckoning Part 2’. Am also not convinced that it will be the final final instalment if someone offers Cruise another couple of mad stunts he thinks he could pull off.) The action remains worth seeing in the cinema: ( Spoilers? ) The connective tissue is weaker. There was less of the Entity, it was more about what humans would do now that we were living in the Entity’s world, and although Hunt’s plan was clear, it didn’t really stand up to too much thinking about it.

( Spoilers )

I rewatched Black Widow in prep, and as Yelena and Alexei are funny and entertaining in it (and I followed who and what Taskmaster was better in this rewatch), it was probably worth it. ( Brief review. )

About fifteen people in my showing, with less than half leaving early, but the rest of us stayed until the post-credits scene. Among the trailers, Mission Impossible (which has been getting lots of free promo in the British news this week), Superman (i, did not realise that was coming out this summer, ii, unenthused about Krypto, iii, pretty leads, iv, willing to trust James Gunn up to a point) and Fantastic 4: First Steps (skipped the second iteration of F4. Going retro is going to make for comparisons with The Incredibles...but, fine, make the Silver Surfer female.) Am more enthused about Superman than Fantastic 4.

As for Thunderbolts*, overall, yes, it's an entertaining iteration of the scrappy team of powered people having done bad things learning to work together and maybe do good. It has the sense to know that Florence Pugh is the star, making Yelena Belova (who has the least powers) its heart and leader. Some of it is stuff we’ve seen before, deliberately so in some ways, but it’s better and more cohesive than Suicide Squad (backhand compliment though that is.) It has a nice line in being self-deprecating before the audience can be, and is consistently amusing, if not laugh out loud funny, while dealing with damaged, grieving people and continuing the touching relationship of a grown-up child assassin and her embarrassing adoptive dad hankering after glory days that never were first seen in Black Widow.

( tl;dr, spoilers, references to Trump )

Years and years ago, when I started a post containing links to all the fanfiction posted here, I dated it somewhere in the far future. That day is now today. I've had to tick the sticky box (because that was beyond me way back when in the early days of getting Dreamwidth) so that it remains the first thing you see.

To the movies!

On streaming: Free Color popped up, made in 2019, but I’d never heard of it before. It’s a sparse thriller that becomes a family drama set in the middle of climate breakdown, and its main character has superpowers. ( Read more... )

At the cinema: Mr. Burton, and I really enjoyed it. I only knew scattered facts about Richard Burton’s life (only finding out how he came to have his surname thanks to promo for this film) and haven’t seen much of his work. ( Read more... )

Fanfiction recs in the following fandoms: Community, Firefly, Into the Woods, Jane Eyre and Little Women.

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Mainly short fic recs in the following fandoms: The Artist, The Dark Knight Rises, It Happened One Night, The Lake House and Original fic.

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Ficlets: one Mansfield Park, one Wicked Part 1 and one original fiction. Anything over 100 words will also be posted at AO3 and, where suitable, ff.net.

One more time. Mansfield Park, Henry Crawford/Fanny Price, futurefic. Written for the threesenstenceficathon prompt 'Any, any, What if your eyes looked up and met mine'. 102 words.

( Read more... )

I see you. Wicked Part 1. Elphaba. Written for the threesentenceficathon prompt 'frogs'. 112 words.

( Read more... )

Stuff and Nonsense. Original fic. Original characters. Written for the threesentenceficathon prompt ‘Any, Any, Stuff and nonsense.’ 90 words.

( Read more... )

I was saddened to learn yesterday of Michelle Trachtenberg’s passing at only 39. I hadn’t watched Gossip Girl, so she’s always been frozen as Dawn, the youngest Scoobie, in my mind. And now, if the Buffy reboot ever gets off the ground, she won't be able to be a part of it in any capacity. But obviously for the people who knew and loved her, the loss is greatest.

The AO3 meme, as seen at musesfool

1. Most Hits: Comprehension Mansfield Park - Jane Austen, Henry Crafword/Fanny Price. His marriage and his sister's wedding help Henry to see more. 9,685 hits. Still absolutely the fic that I've written that's had the most impact.

2. Second Most Kudos: Extreme Action Sky High (2005), Warren Peace/Layla Williams. Fake-out make-out. (Layla’s idea.) 591 kudos. The film is 20 years old! Must rewatch this year.

3. Third Most Comments: As above. 22 comments.

4. Fourth Most Bookmarks:
When we were strangers (or five ways Layla and Warren never met) Sky High (2005), Warren Peace/Layla Williams. Five ways Layla and Warren never met. 42 bookmarks.

5. Fifth Most Words: Be Careful…Always Dark Angel, Max Guevara/Alec McDowell. Two phrases. Two speakers. Different universes. 3.577 words (for me, that’s unthinkable these days.)

6. Fic With Fewest Words:
distance in your eyes Dark Angel, Logan Cale/Max Guevara, 51 words (it’s poetry!)

Aaand that reminds me that I still have fic that I need to repost here and at AO3, and before that I should probably post my three-sentence fills, none of which are over 3,500 words.

Posting twice in a day, because this is time sensitive.

There were two big cinema releases in the UK this weekend (sorry Heart Eyes): Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the fourth Bridget Jones film vs. Captain America: Brave New World. I have thoughts about this! I’ve got history with both properties, if you will, but I was on the comic everywoman’s side over MCU’s latest offering ( Read more... )

As for the film itself, ( Read more... )

I'm going to carry on with this.

I returned to the cinema to see Wicked part 1, and it’s the first time I’ve gone to see a film for the second time in the cinema since 2019. It absolutely stood up to the rewatch, ( Read more... )

I had a fair idea of what to expect from We Live In Time – it’s a British-set romantic drama told in a non-linear fashion featuring two strong lead performances, though I have to admit I was just a little disappointed. ( Read more... )

The Rings of Power - 2.8 Shadow and Flame

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