Watched 8 March 2020
I’m glad women can use violence for good too, but this movie is… kinda basic? It’s as if they couldn’t get approval for “girl power” without putting in some bad tropes and clichés to balance it out. Yes, representation matters, but it depresses me that this is what we’re settling for as progress. Excusing it as an escapist piece of pulpy action would be fine, but I don’t think it’s very good at that, either.
Watched 28 February 2020
Put Awkwafina in every movie
I guess this is worth posting. If not for navel gazing, when even twete? #MyTwitterAnniversary
Watched 10 February 2020
Silly me, I thought this was going to be a film about famous automotive designer Carroll Shelby designing and building a car from scratch. Nope, at some point Matt Damon just pulls a tarp and there it is — the car got designed and assembled off-screen and just needs some tweaks under the hood. The design differences that give Ford an edge over Ferrari are never quite explored except for “ours is faster” and “Italians are arrogant.” I guess dramatizing the design process doesn’t quite fit into the standard cookie-cutter biopic formula.
Watched 7 February 2020
This story has a point to make and the film certainly gets to it. The nonlinear editing wasn’t hard to keep up with, but it feels like an attempt at injecting more nuance and challenge into a script that didn’t have much of either. There are several effective emotional moments, but as a whole it just didn’t reach me on a very profound level. It might simply not be for me, or I might have ruined it by watching Uncut Gems right before.
Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh were brilliant. I know Emma Watson is like that in real life too, but on camera her acting always looks a bit over the top. And I can’t say I cared for Laura Dern’s performance as the saint-level impossibly emotionally stable mother. And boy was casting Bob Odenkirk a mistake — I couldn’t control my laughter when he showed up, and all attempts at seriousness just failed whenever he was on screen.
Despite all the faults I saw in it, I still very much enjoyed my time with the film. It’s refreshing to see a drama where everyone is just so nice every now and then.
Watched 7 February 2020
The world feels a little different after watching Uncut Gems, and I don’t know that I can pay a bigger compliment to a work of art.
Watched 13 October 2019 – 7 February 2020
A perfect conclusion to the most wholesome show I’ve ever seen. Life sure is a wave.
Watched 16 January 2020
The most boring Black Mirror episode yet. Did you know people look at their phones a lot?
Watched 11 January 2020
This movie is so ugly i WANTED to cry blood
Watched 8–9 January 2020
How can this show be both the funniest and saddest thing I’ve seen in a long time? How can it be so potent, accomplishing so much with just a few short episodes? Now that I’ve tasted the emotional high of Fleabag, I’m afraid I might never again allow a show to waste my time with padded out writing. I absolutely loved the first season, but I had to put myself back together after this one.
Watched 20–23 December 2019
“They shouldn’t have just locked him up.”
“He pencil fucked a hamster.”
“Yeah, but he’s obviously not happy. Happy people wouldn’t do things like that.”
“Fair point.”
“And anyway, that’s the very reason why they put rubbers on the end of pencils.”
“What, to fuck hamsters?”
“No, because people make mistakes.”
Despite my incredibly high expectations, I was still blown away by this show in ways I don’t even quite understand. Exceptional in every way.
Watched 26 December 2019
People aren’t normal.
Watched 25 December 2019
So much plot, so little courage. It’s already fading away in my brain.
Played 20 December 2019 on Nintendo Switch
I wish I had been able to play this back in 2017, as it might have felt fresher. In a post-Breath of the Wild world I sometimes find it hard to appreciate linear experiences without wondering how much better they could be if they just let go of my hand. This game triggered that feeling a lot.
Comparing it to Gone Home, a lot has evolved, but this game still feels stuck in the same uncanny valley: it’s not a true interactive experience as much as it is a museum exhibit. While that can be super interesting, video games seem capable of so much more. And now that Return of the Obra Dinn exists, we know that the valley can be crossed. I’m hoping that future “walking simulators” keep going in that direction.
Watched 19 December 2019
As entertaining as they come. Will the numerous present day references date this film quickly? Well I sure hope so, because I can’t wait to watch it again as an even more charming old time classic.
Watched 15 December 2019
It’s grotesque and unrelenting, careless with death and violence to a shocking degree. While the premise is idiotic, even immoral, the writing shows enough self awareness to let you know that it doesn’t care. The action is at once vivid and artificial, grandiose yet somehow shot to feel claustrophobic. The whole thing clashes with itself, with good taste, with common sense; a bunch of absurd juxtapositions and contradictions firing at your eyeballs at extremely rapid pace. Watching it was both exhilarating and distressing, and judging by my headache, just too much for my feeble brain. I love it and I hate it. It is, without a doubt, an incredibly accomplished work of art.
