Words Words Words

Watched two movies this past weekend, paired specifically because they both focus on a gay main character but are definitely not Issue Stories. I've had both I Love You Phillip Morris and Christopher and His Kind on my To Watch list for a while, and decided a double feature was in order. charloween helpfully pointed out that they're structurally similar and both based on true stories.

This is by no means a review; it's more a somewhat un-garbled collection of my thoughts.

Aaaaaaand posting now as our power has been flickering ominously. Hey there snow in October, how are you? (If you don't hear from me for a few days, I've probably turned into a slush monster.)

I Love You Phillip Morris: ( silly, abrasive, and frustrating )

Christopher and His Kind: ( pretty, subtle, and unexpectedly uplifting )

Time to stop writing things and make sure my electrical devices are charged. I don't expect the power to go out for more than a minute or two, but the ice covered leaves are apparently felling branches and trees all around and I'd rather have a full and charged Nook.

I was going to say something about how I've spread out my watching a bit more than this posting schedule implies but I realize that's no longer accurate. I had yesterday night and today off, and they may well be my last days off for who knows how long. Shutting out the world via Smallville was EXACTLY what I needed!

2x16 "Fever"( A minor quibble, and some knitting. )

I've been reliably informed that the next pair of eps are pretty tasty, so I'm setting down the knitting now.

2x17 "Rosetta"( Casting FTW! )

2x18 Visitor ( I forget, sometimes, how cruel teens can be. )

2x19 "Precipice"( In which we meet an Icky Sheriff and Clark fails at feminism. )

2x20 "Witness" ( The episode about abandonment and also broken fluorescent lights. )

2x21 "Accelerate" ( Meh, until the last 5 minutes )

2x22 "Calling (Part 1)" ( In which our entire narrative is clearly a set up for the next ep, and both Clark and Lana fail at friendship. )

2x23 "Exodus (Part 2)"( In which Things Happen and Clark angsts. )

On to season 3! I'm planning to watch the first ep tonight (it's only 11:30 and I don't have to be at work until 10 tomorrow!) and WHO KNOWS when I'll get to the rest of s3. We've got a week of shows left (close and strike on Saturday, either day off or shop work on Sunday, and start tech for the new show on Monday. WHEEE!) and tech traditionally EATS MY BRAIN.

Smallville
2x2 "Heat" ( In which the writers introduce some new plots, UNLIKE THE SEASON PREMIER. )

2x3 "Duplicity" ( In which I have little to say, but that's not bad. )

2x4 "Red" ( In which I squirm a whole lot. )

2x5 "Nocturn" ( In which my supernatural creature identifier fails. )

2x6 "Redux" ( CANADIAN ACTOR BINGO! )

2x7 "Lineage" ( In which there is blackmail, crazy people, and the stirrings of some arc-style narrative development. )

2x8 "Ryan" ( In which the writers do not fail me. )

2x9 "Dichotic" ( In which there is some fail, writers. )

2x10 "Skinwalker" ( In which... meh. )

2x11 "Visage" ( In which there is MAJOR Queer fail but also Whitney. And I have many Things to say. )

1x14 "Nicodemus"
( Well, I got my wish for Lana being a stronger person. Except... not. )

1x15 "Stray"
( AKA WINNER OF THE BEST LINE EVER AWARD. )

1x17 "Reaper"
( AKA Daddy issues galore! )

Awwww, Lex. Your Daddy issues. *fond smile*

1x18 "Drone"
( Oh god bees. )

1x19 "Crush"
( That started out as fun and ended with an emotional facesmash! )

1x20 "Obscura"
( Oh screw it. I'll watch another. )

Briefly, finale predictions:

- Lex is going to discover something more tangible that maaaaybe links Clark to the crash site and/or Octagon of Doom.
- Prom/spring dance/whatever will happen. Chloe's dress will, indeed, be pink. Shit (other than dancing/making out) will go down. Lana's will be either teal or scarlet.
- Mommy and/or Daddy Kent will lecture Clark about being careful with his powers so people don't find out.
- Clark and Lana will either dance together or make mopey eyes at each other from across the dance floor.
- That stupid investigator Lex had (has?) under his thumb will reveal Secrets and then get dead.
- At least one more person will see and start to understand Clark's powers.

So let's do this!
1x21 "Tempest"
( An entire season in juuuust over a week. I dunno whether to be proud or shamefaced. )

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! CLIFFHANGER OF AAAAUUGH!!!
Even knowing that I can haul out s2 RIGHT NOW I'm still all jittery!
Also, WIN for extending the storm noises over the credits.

And yeah. Those finale predictions are... not so accurate. Though in fairness, I was assuming we'd tie up AT LEAST ONE PLOT LINE IN THE SEASON FINALE. Apparently not.

3 more eps down

Ep 9, "Rogue"
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Clark: *looks at battle armor with an s-shaped snake on the front*
Lex: You know, it belonged to Alexander the Great.
Clark: I can't exactly see myself going into battle with that on my chest.

That makes two nods to the Superman s, yeah? The first when Clark unwillingly plays scarecrow, and now this. (Tangent: that shot of him strung up with the necklace around his neck is FANTASTIC.)

Also, do we ever get to see Lex being properly honest? I mean, I'm loving him do everything but tell the truth, but I'd like to see him tell the truth about his feeeeeellings

That's all I have to say. Dirty cop plotlines don't rock my world, and this one made me uncomfortable (not because it's particularly bad so much as I didn't enjoy it).

Ep 10, "Shimmer"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
LEX JUST GRABBED CLARK FOR SHELTER AND ALSO FOR GROPAGE WHEN THE DOOR BLEW OPEN. OMG. There was no "I'm protecting him" or "he's in the way." That was FULL ON "Hold me!"

I spent much of that scene wondering why Lex was wearing a heavily startched white shirt. It wasn't bad, just didn't have the softness or flair of anything else he's worn. And then they walked into a room with a blacklight. THAT'S why he was wearing that shirt!

I don't love Lana Lang, but she's grown on the me last few eps. I'm keeping my mind open.

Lana: That's the thing about Clark Kent. He's not always there when you want him, but he's always there when you need him.
Alina: LIKE THE TARDIS. DAWWWWWWW.

Aaand here's Lex being honest! Thanks, show, for answering my requests.

Question: do we know the story of Mommy Luthor's death? Other than that she died when Lex was young, had surgery of some sort, was on heart medication, and was sick for a while. I feel like I might have missed a salient conversation.

Smallville: Our sunsets are painted on. As are our moonscapes.

Heeeey, more Lex getting beat up! Aaaaand more honesty! This time fear, but it's genuine, unplanned (for the given actor's value of "unplanned) emotion! And Clark swans in to save Lex again. This ep, with bonus saving of Lex's not-girlfriend from drowning! MAJOR points to Lex for the "that kind of love would get me arrested; she's a little young for me" line.

Ep 11, "Hug"

I've been reliably informed (thanks serrico!) that this ep is especially good, so I think it's time for a proper liveblog. ETA: Nevermind. I'm a doof and can't read episode titles. Thought this was "Hourglass" when it's actually "Hug." Have liveblogged anyway.

( Cutting for braindrool, but not spoilers since this aired A DECADE AGO )
Clark: It's still strange to think he and Rickman were once best friends. Think we'll ever end up like that?
Alina: OH GOD THE FORSHADOWING.
Lex: Trust me, Clark. Our friendship is gonna be the stuff of legend.
Alina: *DIES*

5 Thoughts about Smallville, Season 1 eps 1-4

Not behind a cut because we're 10 season in. I feel confident that I'm the only person left who might be concerned about nitty gritty spoilers.

1. Michael Rosenbaum, you're playing a character who hits all my I-don't-enjoy-watching-you buttons. WHY DO I LIKE YOU SO MUCH? From what I've seen so far, Lex isn't the kind of bad guy I'm drawn to (Logan on Veronica Mars notwithstanding). And yet, like Logan, you're interesting, engaging, and have me wanting more of you. (Though I'm confused about your lack of hair, 'cause Baby Lex in the Cornfield was apparently shaved by the meteors. Not a burn on his body, but no hair on his head? No sense. No sense at all.) Also, how old is Lex? Is he out of high school already, or just Above Schooling, thanks to Daddy's money? I got the sense he was pretty much the same age as Clark, but I'm not entirely sure.

2. Ahahah dated soundtrack is dated. I'm looking forward to seeing the show age (as I do with anything than spans many years of filming). I'm also interested to see where the show goes around season 5, as I'm guessing we've got a year of high school per season? Given how time seems to be passing in the first few eps, at least. ETA: Nevermind. Looked at Wikipedia to check the original air date and inadvertently read about the change of direction in season 5. BAH unexpected spoilers.

3. Kryptonite. Can I just state for the record how much I adore the first few presentations of the Kryptonite and Clark's reactions to it? From Chloe's "Statistical fact: Clark can't get within 5 feet of Lana" to ALL the other ridiculous and wonderful moments surrounding that stupid necklace. I love that the show is being thoroughly unsubtle about Clark's reaction to the Kryptonite (because if there's one thing the general public knows about the Superman mythos, it's kryptonite) and I LOVE that TPTB have allowed Clark to figure out why he's super weak RIGHT AWAY. No angsting, no aimless wondering, no looking past the obvious. Which brings me to:

4. Smart characters who talk about things! I don't love lie-based plots, so the fact that Clark has MULTIPLE honest and frank discussions with his parents about his powers in the first few eps makes me a happy girl. I don't need everyone to know everything all the time, but when the narrative is driven by a set of lies, I get annoyed. But that's not happening here! Clark has people with whom he can be honest (admittedly, he talks to different people about different things, but that's as it should be).

5. And because this post is lacking in shallow thoughts: WHOA PRETTY. Even knowing the actors are far older than their characters, I feel a leeeeeetle bit skeezy pointing out how pretty they are. But WHOA PRETTY. I expect that component of the show only to improve from here (to only improve? That's a split infinitive but it sounds better. English is hard).

I've been debating between watching Smallville or Stargate: Universe and I've seen enough of SG:U to know that the stuff they're doing with sex and body swaping is making me WAY uncomfortable. So. Smallville it is and though they'll both give me Michael Shanks eventually, I'm guessing it's a meatier role on Smallville--yays!

I've just returned from seeing Thor and midnight with a handful of theatre peeps (and, ya know, lots of audience that I didn't know).

First and foremost, I had NO IDEA what I was getting into. I know the comics a little and the mythology moderately. I hadn't even seen a preview because I live in a box called theatre. People said "Hey, let's see the midnight showing!" and I decided that'd be fun.

Short version of the flailing: Did you enjoy Iron Man? Do you like mythology and/or Marvel? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, do yourself a favor and see Thor. If you're looking for the Great Film of Our Generation, this is probably not your cup of tea.

( I wield the hammer of... spoilers? )

Drove an hour an a half to see two hours of theatre today. There's a quirky, utterly adorable little theatre that's on the NTLive roster not horribly far away, so today I got to see Danny Boyle's Frankenstein.

SO MANY FEELINGS, NOT ENOUGH WORDS.

I made a list of things to think about when I was capable of doing more than flailing my hands around, but after an hour and a half car ride home and a leisurely family dinner, I STILL haven't managed to come down yet. You can't see me as I type, but I keep stopping to flail.

I don't have much attachment to the Frankenstein myth and even less to Shelly's book, so narrative changes didn't faze me at all. Though I do want to reread the book now.

All star cast, all star production team. The set/lights/costumes/makeup/FX/sound designs were all fantastic. Clear, purposeful, non-distracting, and lovely. Not a show about design, but a show VERY well supported by its design. Also, I would like to wear Frankenstein's first coat. THOSE SLEEVES WERE BEAUTIFUL.

HOLY CRAP PHYSICALITY! I swear, Benedict Cumberbatch controls every single tendon in his body. The first twenty minutes of the show, especially, awed me. The show's definitely at risk of alienating the audience (and theatre gods help you if you don't know the Frankenstein story!) for that first chunk, but it worked SO WELL.

Aaaand there was definitely a point towards the end of the show that the Monster (Cumberbatch) was in breeches and an open jacket. My fangirl brain hijacked the rest of me and I COULDN'T STOP STARING AT THE ABS. WTF, self? I'm not a abs gal, AND the scene was engaging. Attack of shallow me!

Seeing live theatre that wasn't live! Was totally fine and unbothered by the "this is recorded" fact until curtain call, when my need to show my appreciation to cast and crew was at war with the "across the pond and only seeing this via some very lovely cameras" thing. Academic brain noted that there were a few beats that got considerably larger laughs from the UK audience; likewise, others clicked with the US audience. Lost a couple lines because we laughed when the UK audience didn't (so there was no laughter pause from the actors).

Other thinky things about US vs UK theatre, with regards to little fixes. Noticed a few small things (namely, a bald cap that just wanted to be freeeeeeeeee!) that, in the US, would have had techies flying around backstage in an attempt to fix with whatever means necessary. Less so in the UK?

There were a few interview clips before the show started; in one Johnny Lee Miller talked about finding his Monster in his Frankenstein. Was mildly disappointed that we had it spelled out pre-show, as I'd like to have discovered that for myself. He had some vocal quirks early on that I think would have clued me in. But I didn't get to make that discovery, sadly.

Definitely some changes from the previews; notably, FAR less nudity than I expected. Wondering if it was a change made in previews or a change made for this show (which would make me sadfaced). Looking forward to comparing notes with charloween.

It's HOURS later and I'm still SO FLAILY.

I say it often when I see a show that rocks me, but THAT is what theatre is supposed to do. Alas, I have now used up the few words I had remaining. AM RELIANT ON CAPSLOCK TO EXPRESS MYSELF.

Home now from seeing Inception and I have two things to say.

1. Dear Christopher Nolan: we clearly appreciate the same things when it comes to the male form. Please see: Cillian Murphy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. MUCH LOVE, Me.

2. Is actually many things, in the form of mental barf and as such, includes an excessive use of parentheses and ( spoilers in a big way )

Other people who saw Inception an wrote about it. Where are you? I know I saw posts about it over the last week or so, but now I can't find them!

The end of the season totally snuck up on me. I suppose it helps that I skipped episodes here and there. Now that I've finished one, I'll put out the same call for help:

Which episodes of season two are going to scare me snotless? Which (if any) should I skip?


( 1x19 )

( 1x21 )

( 1x22 )

Am resisting the urge to start season two tonight, as I really should get some sleep. This weekend! This weekend will be for baking and reading and watching lots of things. *nods*