rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2023-07-31 06:14 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2023-07-31 06:14 pm
a July post
Rushing to make a post before July is finally over. Summary: I was traveling quite a bit during June (Europe!) and July (the US). I fully intend to annoy everyone with lots of photos. But that will be another day.
Stuff I have watched! And read! Let’s start with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
First: the movie is A LOT. I don’t get sensory overload easily, but I was in a daze after watching. So maybe don’t watch right before, I dunno, some big party, if that’s something that could bother you as well.
Second: this film is the first in a two-part story. So the ending is, well, not. An ending, that is. I figure it’s useful information; expecting the story to have a complete arc would be frustrating.
I really enjoyed this. If I had to grade the film, I’d say A minus: it was a bit too long.
I saw the Barbie portion of Barbenheimmer with a sister-in-law, two nieces, and a nephew. It was liked or loved by all!
I wanna watch it again! The middle was a bit saggy for me, though obviously not so much that it became unenjoyable. The “real world” was a bit too unreal, particularly the bits with the Mattel executives. But it was relentlessly fun and an excellent homage to both the iconic doll and several classic movies.
My extremely conservative s-i-l loved it and cried at Gloria’s speech.
(Not sure if/when I'll watch Oppenheimer. Possibly this weekend?)
For US Independence day, Housemate A and I watched The Muppet Movie (the original from 1979). We had enormous and scary thunderstorms the night that our city was supposed to do a fireworks display, so this was an adequate substitute. The film is very patriotic: a roadtrip across America (even if they do accidentally veer into Canada at some point, according to some song lyrics), a classic American dream realized (making it big in Hollywood!) and Fozzie Bear even sings a patriotic song.
Anyway: still a delight! A must-watch for any Muppet fans.
TV: I didn’t watch anything noteworthy. In fact, I don’t think I watched anything at all.
BOOKS: I read all of the remaining available books by Rachel Aaron: all five books in the Heartstrikers series (it starts with Nice Dragons Finish Last), plus the first book in a planned duo (DFZ Changeling), and I’ve pre-ordered the next one. Safe to say that I’m a fan. A magical near-future with dragons: it’s very much my jam.
Chelsea Abdullah’s The Stardust Thief was excellent and I’m looking forward to reading the next one. Apparently she has a trilogy planned. Jinns, evil princes, good princes, a merchant of magic, and a lot of classical fairy-tale / mythology references make for a fun blend. FYI, book two doesn’t have a release date yet.
Stuff I have watched! And read! Let’s start with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
two things you should know that I don’t consider spoilery, but I’ll be overly cautious
First: the movie is A LOT. I don’t get sensory overload easily, but I was in a daze after watching. So maybe don’t watch right before, I dunno, some big party, if that’s something that could bother you as well.
Second: this film is the first in a two-part story. So the ending is, well, not. An ending, that is. I figure it’s useful information; expecting the story to have a complete arc would be frustrating.
I really enjoyed this. If I had to grade the film, I’d say A minus: it was a bit too long.
I saw the Barbie portion of Barbenheimmer with a sister-in-law, two nieces, and a nephew. It was liked or loved by all!
positive opinion with a mild spoiler or two
I wanna watch it again! The middle was a bit saggy for me, though obviously not so much that it became unenjoyable. The “real world” was a bit too unreal, particularly the bits with the Mattel executives. But it was relentlessly fun and an excellent homage to both the iconic doll and several classic movies.
My extremely conservative s-i-l loved it and cried at Gloria’s speech.
(Not sure if/when I'll watch Oppenheimer. Possibly this weekend?)
For US Independence day, Housemate A and I watched The Muppet Movie (the original from 1979). We had enormous and scary thunderstorms the night that our city was supposed to do a fireworks display, so this was an adequate substitute. The film is very patriotic: a roadtrip across America (even if they do accidentally veer into Canada at some point, according to some song lyrics), a classic American dream realized (making it big in Hollywood!) and Fozzie Bear even sings a patriotic song.
Anyway: still a delight! A must-watch for any Muppet fans.
TV: I didn’t watch anything noteworthy. In fact, I don’t think I watched anything at all.
BOOKS: I read all of the remaining available books by Rachel Aaron: all five books in the Heartstrikers series (it starts with Nice Dragons Finish Last), plus the first book in a planned duo (DFZ Changeling), and I’ve pre-ordered the next one. Safe to say that I’m a fan. A magical near-future with dragons: it’s very much my jam.
Chelsea Abdullah’s The Stardust Thief was excellent and I’m looking forward to reading the next one. Apparently she has a trilogy planned. Jinns, evil princes, good princes, a merchant of magic, and a lot of classical fairy-tale / mythology references make for a fun blend. FYI, book two doesn’t have a release date yet.