29 January - 4 February
Viewing
Turner and Hooch. Which was surprisingly fun. Also a good section of the movie has Tom Hanks slithering around in extremely abbreviated underwear. I approved. Also while I watched the movie Higgs watched me. And I have some great photos.
Nobel. This I enjoyed, though it could have been much better.
Party Down. Now why haven't I seen this before. Never mind. It is delightful now. Lizzy Caplan forever.
Reading
Nothing of note. Need to do better next week.
Showing posts with label tv. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tv. Show all posts
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Week 3
January 16-22
Viewing
1. The Godfather II
Thank you Netflix.
2. The Godfather III
I didn't think Sofia Coppola was terrible. Does that mean I have bad taste? Also the pasta scene was far too sexy for an encounter between first cousins, but I guess that was the point. I may or may not have watched that more than once.
3. Spotlight
Well worth the watch. Also topical.
4. Alias Grace
I watched this and realised how little of the tv I usually watch has women narrating themselves, and narrating almost without end. I loved it. Also I enjoy an unreliable narrator very much, when there isn't Inception-style dickery.
Also contrast this murder-mystery with the sexism of at least half the European stuff on Netflix. It is possible to write a sexy murder mystery while talking reasonably about women and their bodies. I suppose Atwood would be the object lesson in this.
And the menacing quilt-making was lovely. I nearly took out my long-abandoned embroidery project.
Some Canadian tv shows are so incredibly boring. And others, maybe it's only the period ones, like this one, and Anne with an E, are delightful.
5. Aiyyaa
I'm surprised this got made but it was delightful. How nice to see a woman get exactly what she wants.
Reading
1. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness- Arundhati Roy
I need to be able to speak more Urdu. This was lovely. I suspect many people found the sections on Kashmir to be too long drawn out, but I thought it was perfect. Also there is always a cement kangaroo dustbin in a Roy book.
Viewing
1. The Godfather II
Thank you Netflix.
2. The Godfather III
I didn't think Sofia Coppola was terrible. Does that mean I have bad taste? Also the pasta scene was far too sexy for an encounter between first cousins, but I guess that was the point. I may or may not have watched that more than once.
3. Spotlight
Well worth the watch. Also topical.
4. Alias Grace
I watched this and realised how little of the tv I usually watch has women narrating themselves, and narrating almost without end. I loved it. Also I enjoy an unreliable narrator very much, when there isn't Inception-style dickery.
Also contrast this murder-mystery with the sexism of at least half the European stuff on Netflix. It is possible to write a sexy murder mystery while talking reasonably about women and their bodies. I suppose Atwood would be the object lesson in this.
And the menacing quilt-making was lovely. I nearly took out my long-abandoned embroidery project.
Some Canadian tv shows are so incredibly boring. And others, maybe it's only the period ones, like this one, and Anne with an E, are delightful.
5. Aiyyaa
I'm surprised this got made but it was delightful. How nice to see a woman get exactly what she wants.
Reading
1. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness- Arundhati Roy
I need to be able to speak more Urdu. This was lovely. I suspect many people found the sections on Kashmir to be too long drawn out, but I thought it was perfect. Also there is always a cement kangaroo dustbin in a Roy book.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Week 2
Jan 8-15
Viewing
1. La Trêve- The Break.
This had promise for a while but women are hysterical in the end. This is not a spoiler. It is a feature of a lot of French-language viewing.
2. The Dark (Minimal spoilers below- nothing that you won't cover by episode 3)
Admittedly I only sat through the whole season because of the music, and because I was playing bridge while doing so. I cannot say I enjoyed this much. It was like Stranger Things but without any joy, or historical context- no interest in the post-war context of 1953, or Germany of the 80's. Also women don't get to go through the wormhole and try to fix things- the boys get the adventure, and agency. Women get angry and hit people out of turn, lie and sabotage things, or withdraw emotionally, by and large, I imagine this is because the men in town are dicks, and about half of them have this massive time-traveling secret which they aren't sharing.
3. Strictly Ballroom
Goofy Australian fun. Interesting for Spaniards to be the impoverished immigrants. I guess that was the 90's.
4. The Godfather
Went to see this on the big screen, and was happy I did. Had not watched it in one go from beginning to end before. Had forgotten the horrible domestic violence, plate-breaking scene. Also spent the whole movie thinking 'that Dustin Hoffman looks a bit odd'.
5. Salsa shine videos- too many to count.
Viewing
1. La Trêve- The Break.
This had promise for a while but women are hysterical in the end. This is not a spoiler. It is a feature of a lot of French-language viewing.
2. The Dark (Minimal spoilers below- nothing that you won't cover by episode 3)
Admittedly I only sat through the whole season because of the music, and because I was playing bridge while doing so. I cannot say I enjoyed this much. It was like Stranger Things but without any joy, or historical context- no interest in the post-war context of 1953, or Germany of the 80's. Also women don't get to go through the wormhole and try to fix things- the boys get the adventure, and agency. Women get angry and hit people out of turn, lie and sabotage things, or withdraw emotionally, by and large, I imagine this is because the men in town are dicks, and about half of them have this massive time-traveling secret which they aren't sharing.
3. Strictly Ballroom
Goofy Australian fun. Interesting for Spaniards to be the impoverished immigrants. I guess that was the 90's.
4. The Godfather
Went to see this on the big screen, and was happy I did. Had not watched it in one go from beginning to end before. Had forgotten the horrible domestic violence, plate-breaking scene. Also spent the whole movie thinking 'that Dustin Hoffman looks a bit odd'.
5. Salsa shine videos- too many to count.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Week 1
Week 1
Jan 1-7
Viewing
1. La Mante (predictable but acceptable)
2. Some episodes of Dr WHO season 10 (Not terrible)
3. High Road to China (Sexist, racist, shouty garbage but there are planes and Tom Selleck in a leather jacket)
4. Glacé (also predictable, less acceptable)
Reading
1. Association of Small Bombs
I would read Karan Mahajan's next book. The book made me miss Delhi.
Jan 1-7
Viewing
1. La Mante (predictable but acceptable)
2. Some episodes of Dr WHO season 10 (Not terrible)
3. High Road to China (Sexist, racist, shouty garbage but there are planes and Tom Selleck in a leather jacket)
4. Glacé (also predictable, less acceptable)
Reading
1. Association of Small Bombs
I would read Karan Mahajan's next book. The book made me miss Delhi.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Top of the Lake- Season 2: A Few Thoughts
I just watched the second season of Top of the Lake and loved it.
One review I found online said that Jane Campion's 'signposting of feminist issues' was 'heavy-handed'. I found it to be no such thing. If one tv series is able to centre the bodies of women and their experiences it's but a drop in the ocean of paeans to the resilience and wonder of the male form.
Things I did find to be true about Top of the Lake.
1. Elizabeth Moss is spectacular. And her chemistry with Gwendolyn Christie is off the charts. Christie's character was written with a great deal of care. I suppose it must ever be a subject of discussion how large her body is, and this show dealt with that extremely well.
2. On the subject of motherhood- in a show with several mothers talking about motherhood, and grappling with it, it is the fathers that do a stellar job, and keep the house together. Pyke seemed something of a fantasy to me. Look I didn't even look up the actor's name, because this character is a unicorn. We all want him. Or someone like him. The coroner, too, to a lesser degree: the safe dad figure, who offers comfort and snacks. In this show it is the men who always bring the food.
3. Puss. For anyone who has been with an older man, this relationship is the thing your mother agonized about. The lure of an older individual who wields authority is something I imagine many of us have felt, and Campion takes it to its brutal ugly extreme in the relationship between Mary and Puss.
4. This show has some great action scenes. There's one in the middle, with Moss fighting, where I found myself roaring alongside her. It is a violent show, but most of the physical violence remains off screen.
5. Talking about race and inequality appears to be the reserve of the villains, or the misguided on the show. I'm still thinking this through. The obviously horrendous power dynamic between S. Asian women, and their white male and female Australian exploiters wasn't picked apart with as much care as the relationships between parents and children, and male and female sexual partners. In a show with a lot of carefully treated women the brown women were still ciphers for white desire. Given that Campion was able to do so very much more with her women than most, it would have been nice to see her do as well by the brown folk in her writing as well.
One review I found online said that Jane Campion's 'signposting of feminist issues' was 'heavy-handed'. I found it to be no such thing. If one tv series is able to centre the bodies of women and their experiences it's but a drop in the ocean of paeans to the resilience and wonder of the male form.
Things I did find to be true about Top of the Lake.
1. Elizabeth Moss is spectacular. And her chemistry with Gwendolyn Christie is off the charts. Christie's character was written with a great deal of care. I suppose it must ever be a subject of discussion how large her body is, and this show dealt with that extremely well.
2. On the subject of motherhood- in a show with several mothers talking about motherhood, and grappling with it, it is the fathers that do a stellar job, and keep the house together. Pyke seemed something of a fantasy to me. Look I didn't even look up the actor's name, because this character is a unicorn. We all want him. Or someone like him. The coroner, too, to a lesser degree: the safe dad figure, who offers comfort and snacks. In this show it is the men who always bring the food.
3. Puss. For anyone who has been with an older man, this relationship is the thing your mother agonized about. The lure of an older individual who wields authority is something I imagine many of us have felt, and Campion takes it to its brutal ugly extreme in the relationship between Mary and Puss.
4. This show has some great action scenes. There's one in the middle, with Moss fighting, where I found myself roaring alongside her. It is a violent show, but most of the physical violence remains off screen.
5. Talking about race and inequality appears to be the reserve of the villains, or the misguided on the show. I'm still thinking this through. The obviously horrendous power dynamic between S. Asian women, and their white male and female Australian exploiters wasn't picked apart with as much care as the relationships between parents and children, and male and female sexual partners. In a show with a lot of carefully treated women the brown women were still ciphers for white desire. Given that Campion was able to do so very much more with her women than most, it would have been nice to see her do as well by the brown folk in her writing as well.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
turning this blog into a shrine
since i havent had a thought except for 'hugh laurie' i my head for the last week, i have decided to stop fighting the obsession and just go with the flow.
so i am going to inform all of you esteemed readers that this blog will now function as a shrine to the man. if i must suffer alternating pangs of lust and lovelorn-ness then i must document this return to fangirldom.
today i downloaded a bbc miniseries just because he was in it. i don't even like criminal-thriller type things from the 90's. euw.
i have also watched every single interview with hugh laurie on youtube.
i am now listening to his protest song. which i am enjoying so much i shall leave you another song instead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYhsbQ6VxqA
despite the fact that he's singing with an american accent, despite the fact that he is not from the deep south and singing the blues, i like the album. but this might be because my brain has been evacuated and hugh laurie shaped bubbles of love are occupying it instead.
so i am going to inform all of you esteemed readers that this blog will now function as a shrine to the man. if i must suffer alternating pangs of lust and lovelorn-ness then i must document this return to fangirldom.
today i downloaded a bbc miniseries just because he was in it. i don't even like criminal-thriller type things from the 90's. euw.
i have also watched every single interview with hugh laurie on youtube.
i am now listening to his protest song. which i am enjoying so much i shall leave you another song instead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYhsbQ6VxqA
despite the fact that he's singing with an american accent, despite the fact that he is not from the deep south and singing the blues, i like the album. but this might be because my brain has been evacuated and hugh laurie shaped bubbles of love are occupying it instead.
Monday, February 6, 2012
hugh laurie love
over the last 3 days i have watched every single episode of house. always appreciative of the talents and physical perfection of hugh laurie, i find i am now verging on obsession.
this is how i felt at 15 when patrick rafter was my tennis god. slightly loopy. and full of deep sighs and an almost physical longing.
it does not help that house is a horribly addictive character, with issues that he is unable to resolve. i don't need to see him in every boy i have ever dated- too much fun, horribly unreliable, and addicted to something.
following on the hugh laurie bender i've been on i downloaded and attempted to watch the girl from rio. disaster. there are some things even i cannot do for love. like sit through that movie.
they should make an app that has people's voices in them, an app where you can convert a pdf file into a sound one- and have hugh laurie or alan rickman read your essays out to you. i know i would get a lot more work on food security done if it was hugh laurie's voice telling me about pds take-off. wouldn't that be wonderful in your i pod.
this is how i felt at 15 when patrick rafter was my tennis god. slightly loopy. and full of deep sighs and an almost physical longing.
it does not help that house is a horribly addictive character, with issues that he is unable to resolve. i don't need to see him in every boy i have ever dated- too much fun, horribly unreliable, and addicted to something.
following on the hugh laurie bender i've been on i downloaded and attempted to watch the girl from rio. disaster. there are some things even i cannot do for love. like sit through that movie.
they should make an app that has people's voices in them, an app where you can convert a pdf file into a sound one- and have hugh laurie or alan rickman read your essays out to you. i know i would get a lot more work on food security done if it was hugh laurie's voice telling me about pds take-off. wouldn't that be wonderful in your i pod.
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