rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2023-09-17 05:42 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2023-09-17 05:42 pm
I missed August. So on to September!
I still haven’t watched much television lately - the only streaming service I’m currently using is Amazon Prime, and instead of television, I’ve been on a bit of a binge for 90s-2000s action movies, preferably with espionage. We’ve rewatched:
Currently on my “I should watch this show” mental list: Carnival Row, season two (on Prime). Season three of The Witcher (Netflix). Ahsoka (Disney+), though I may choose to finish Rebels first.
What I’ll probably actually watch next: The Bourne Ultimatum. 3 Days of the Condor. Something else with spies and action from 10-50 years ago.
Books! Seanan McGuire did a swerve and swerve back with Sleep No More, the 17th (seventeenth!!!) book in her Toby Daye series. Still highly enjoyable, though I think I liked the novella at the end even more.
I thought I had read all of Rachel Aaron’s solo novels, but then I found a ⅔ complete trilogy that starts with The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow and continues with The Battle of Medicine Rocks. Instead of the future *with magic* we now have the past (American western) *with magic*. And it’s good! Not without flaws, but I recommend it. Hoping for book three sooner rather than later. (No title or release date yet.)
T. Kingfisher continues to impress. Nettle & Bone doesn’t fit into her other story-verses; it’s something of a fairy tale, but grittier and longer.
Kate Clayborn’s contemporary romance Love Lettering won me over with fonts.
Heroine Complex is a contemporary superhero-action-romance, and solid without being transcendent. I’m willing to try more by Sarah Kuhn in the future.
- The Fugitive, which is still pretty awesome. Prime Harrison Ford (he didn’t kill his wife!), plus Tommy Lee Jones is warmly compelling. While there’s an element that didn’t age well for me, and the conspiracy at the heart of the film is odd, the acting, cinematography, and music more than make up for it.
- The Bourne Identity. So, writer/director/producer Tony Gilroy doesn’t like Star Wars, but worked on Rogue One and was the main force behind the prequel-prequel show, Andor. Well, decades before that, he created a script for this Robert Ludlum novel, part of a series of books about former spy-assassin Jason Bourne… yet he didn’t like the novel. Interesting choices, Gilroy. At any rate, the writing in this film still works for me, but as with The Fugitive, a lot depends on the visuals (actors, cinematography, fight and chase choreographers) and the soundscape (John Powell’s soundtrack, the other sound effect artists).
- The Bourne Supremacy, in which Gilroy doesn’t even pretend to adapt the second novel of the same name. Frustrating character death early in the movie, but I still liked the film well enough. Matt Damon is fine in the leading role, but they could have gone for someone with a less American-looking face. Ah, well.
- Not a rewatch: Patriot Games features more Harrison Ford, who was too old for this role, but *handwaves*. Also, Sean Bean played the STUPIDEST IRA TERRORIST EVAH. Hee. It was not a great plot, though entertaining enough.
- I also watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves for the first time. It was cracky fun. Doesn’t fit the themes of the other movies on this list, but OHMYGOODNESS, REGE-JEAN PAGE IS STILL THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MAN IN THE WORLD.
Mrs. PottsAngela Lansbury didn’t get enough screentime in the 1980 film The Mirror Crack’d, but given that a still-luminous Elizabeth Taylor was onscreen instead, it was fine. I remembered the plot - including the why and how for the murder - from the novel, so this was strictly for the fun of seeing Taylor and other actors of her generation shine onscreen.- I tried two spy/crime related television shows from Canada, Three Pines and Absentia. Both were Not Great. Oof. Oh, and the first episode of Prime’s Hanna just didn’t click for me. Maybe too violent? I don’t recall now - it’s been a few weeks since I made the attempt.
Currently on my “I should watch this show” mental list: Carnival Row, season two (on Prime). Season three of The Witcher (Netflix). Ahsoka (Disney+), though I may choose to finish Rebels first.
What I’ll probably actually watch next: The Bourne Ultimatum. 3 Days of the Condor. Something else with spies and action from 10-50 years ago.
Books! Seanan McGuire did a swerve and swerve back with Sleep No More, the 17th (seventeenth!!!) book in her Toby Daye series. Still highly enjoyable, though I think I liked the novella at the end even more.
I thought I had read all of Rachel Aaron’s solo novels, but then I found a ⅔ complete trilogy that starts with The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow and continues with The Battle of Medicine Rocks. Instead of the future *with magic* we now have the past (American western) *with magic*. And it’s good! Not without flaws, but I recommend it. Hoping for book three sooner rather than later. (No title or release date yet.)
T. Kingfisher continues to impress. Nettle & Bone doesn’t fit into her other story-verses; it’s something of a fairy tale, but grittier and longer.
Kate Clayborn’s contemporary romance Love Lettering won me over with fonts.
Heroine Complex is a contemporary superhero-action-romance, and solid without being transcendent. I’m willing to try more by Sarah Kuhn in the future.
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2. The whole time I was reading the D&D script, I was like "please let this be the script they filmed because it is HILARIOUS", and then it was! I love it so much.
3. I, uh, would recommend finishing Rebels if you're already watching it and plan to watch Ahsoka.
4. I hope you like the Witcher! I enjoyed it immensely, but I'm not in it for Geralt, so...
4a. Did you know Joey Batey has, like an IRL singing thing? Battle Cries would have been 100% of my personality had it come out during lj's heyday.
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Edited to add: 3 - I started Rebels and made it through season one. So it makes sense to me to continue watching it before Ahsoka once I re-subscribe to D+
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I loved D&D Honor Among Thieves as well - and am not a D&D gamer.
Weird about Tony Gilroy - I didn't know he hated Bourne and Star Wars, although it explains a lot. I read all the Bourne books and had to kind of handwave the fact that he completely drops the plot of the books and ignores basically everything in them. Kind of does something similar with Rogue One and Andor, although weirdly I loved both and in some respects better than other Star Wars shows/films.
Ah, I've discovered T Kingfisher - haven't read Nettle & Bone, (although I own it), I've made it through two of her horror novels (which were excellent and quite terrifying) and have Nettle & Bone, House of Good Bones, and the one based on the Fall of the House of Usher in my queue.
I've flirted with Heroine Complex, now there's Villian's Assistant out, but both seem a bit too cute for my current mood.
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Gilroy is an interesting case - chosen to write for two major franchises but not liking their product?! I guess they viewed him as a solid enough writer to take the gamble. And it worked for both Star Wars and the Bourne books, so... *shrug*
I like both of Kingfisher's horror novels that I've read - I think you've read the same two as me. And her Paladin books are fun fantasy adventure/romance romps with actual character arcs.
Heroine Complex is definitely on the twee side of superhero action/romance. So yeah, quite possibly too cute for you. It was almost too cute for me, and I have a reasonably high tolerance for that.
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Wheel of Time - I struggled through. It's either filmed entirely at night or not with enough light - I found it hard to see what was going on. Also, there were too many characters and the plot was all over the place. I don't know if I'll go back to it. It apparently jumps completely away from the books in the 2nd season - in a puzzling manner that annoyed a lot of the book lovers. (I've not read them, so wouldn't know).
The Citadel works - if you like spy conspiracy thrillers. It has a great twist though. I rather loved the twist, which kind of fascinated me, and worked. But it is a dark (thematically speaking) film.
They may have wanted someone to do something different with both franchises that no one else had done. Sometimes getting someone who doesn't love the franchise - works well as a fresh pair of eyes.
Fans of a franchise often fall into all the traps fanfic writers fall into - get into fanservice and spend far too much time with pre-established characters and tropes. A Non-Fan may explore the verse and its themes better.
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Wheel of Time: I have no knowledge of the books, other than they exist. But I wasn't really enjoying the characters, so I think it's just a no-go for me.
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Feel more or less the same for Wheel of Time. I can't remember the plot at all and I know that I saw it. The characters also didn't stick with me or move me at all. And I didn't read the books. I only know they exist - because I have relatives that where into them, also they were insanely popular but not interesting to me.
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Interesting choices, Gilroy.
I have so many thoughts that I will not pollute the internet with about Gilroy's behavior, but...yeah. He also wrote the script for The Bourne Legacy which I enjoyed but which is also very action-oriented and dialogue-light.
The D&D movie was what movies are meant to be! It was fun and charming and stuck the landing.
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