rose_griffes: screencap of Wonder Woman (2017 film) using her bracelets (wonder woman bracelets)
rose_griffes ([personal profile] rose_griffes) wrote2022-08-17 06:51 pm
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Murder Times Two!

Books! The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley would probably be classified as "chick-lit" - which is to say, there's a romance but there's other stuff. But the romance is a key piece to the tale, which is why the denouement of the romance failing for me meant that the book itself... kinda failed, too. Still enjoyable for the most part, but I wish that element had been handled differently.

Perhaps if Kearsley had stayed with the part of the story set in the 1700s, rather than flitting back and forth from then to now. The characters and storyline in the past were stronger than in the present.

Didn't finish Anne Lee Huber's This Side of Murder. The beginning had so many descriptions of the luxury items that the first two characters wore and drove that I was eventually forced out of the narrative. If you've read it: does that part improve? Should I try again?

TV: I had planned to subscribe to Apple TV+ for a month, but when I read that Only Murders in the Building was already airing season two on Hulu, I chose that instead. First episode of season 2: enjoyable! If a bit... superfluous in feeling. But since the show's main reason for existing seems to be giving Steve Martin and Martin Short an opportunity to act together (with bonus Selena Gomez), I'm just going to enjoy the ride.

I also watched episodes 1 and 2 of Abbott Elementary, a sitcom done mockumentary style. I don't have much patience for most shows set in American public school classrooms, but I'm charmed by this one so far. Perhaps it's the age difference (it's an elementary classroom and I deal with teenagers) that makes this more palatable. And it's easier to be forgiving of a sitcom's missteps than a drama's. But they've also avoided some of the most egregious errors of other shows and films set in public schools. So we'll see.

Got any recs for Hulu? I have just under four weeks left to watch... whatever else.
ioplokon: Dade from the movie Hackers points at a screen (dade point)

Hulu recs!

[personal profile] ioplokon 2022-08-18 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
For comedy: Please Like Me & Everything's Gonna Be Okay. Gay Australian comedies with genuinely cathartic takes on mental health issues.

For drama: Black Sails, if you haven't already seen it. The first season is rough but genuinely one of the most interesting shows out there. Atlanta is also really excellent & worth checking out.

Elementary is probably too long to watch in 4 weeks, but it's worth checking out at least a little.

They also have a pretty good film selection iirc. I think I saw Histlers, Beach Rats, & Portrait de la jeune fille en feu on there. Looks like they also have Fire Island, which is a fun, gay Jane Austen reboot... oh and looks like they got Ammonite, which I haven't seen and apparently it's maybe not very good but it's one that's been on my list for a while. and also Babyteeth which idk, I've seen some screenshots of & it looks interesting.

and finally, if you like sports, I think they have all the 30 for 30s. even if you don't, they're all pretty great. a particular favorite of mine is the one about John Spano trying to buy the NY Islanders.
aurumcalendula: gold, blue, orange, and purple shapes on a black background (Default)

Re: Hulu recs!

[personal profile] aurumcalendula 2022-08-18 02:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I definitey second Elementary! (iirc season 1 has a non-cliffhangery finale)
yourlibrarian: Jack Rackham is astonished (OTH-RackhamAstonished - tinny)

Re: Hulu recs!

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2022-08-18 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Seconding Black Sails. I saw that elsewhere and didn't realize it was available there but really worth seeing.
aurumcalendula: gold, blue, orange, and purple shapes on a black background (Default)

[personal profile] aurumcalendula 2022-08-18 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
re: Hulu, I really enjoyed Prey (2022) and The Princess was a pretty entertaing action movie!
yourlibrarian: Spike and Dru See What's On TV (BUF-SeeWhatsOnTV-stolenglimpse)

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2022-08-18 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I tend to delete stuff off my list once watched and thus have a hard time remembering what I've seen. But I did a search of my journal and here are some things I recommended:

Mrs. America
The Split
The Great
The Man Who Invented Christmas
The Rewrite
Documentary on The Dana Carvey Show (forget what it was called)
yourlibrarian: Tony Goal Fingers (AVEN-TonyFootballFingers-megascopes)

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2022-08-30 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah it was a pretty fascinating story of the need to balance artistic freedom with some guidelines!
fleurviolette: (art)

[personal profile] fleurviolette 2022-08-18 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I highly recommend watching Belle: The Dragon and the Freckled Princess. It’s a Japanese animated film, just added to HBO Max.

For Hulu, I’ve watched What We Do in the Shadows, which is still pretty funny.
tinny: Something Else holding up its colorful drawing - "be different" (Default)

[personal profile] tinny 2022-08-21 11:45 am (UTC)(link)
since the show's main reason for existing seems to be giving Steve Martin and Martin Short an opportunity to act together (with bonus Selena Gomez), I'm just going to enjoy the ride.

That does sound worth watching. I've only seen an icon of it so far. :D