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Movie/TV Recs: (Mostly) Emotionally Harmless Edition
Thursday, March 31st, 2011 09:12 amIn Movies:
Never Let Me Go: During the last thirty or so minutes of this film, I was in tears or near tears the whole time. R., who had woken up from a nap, looked at me in alarm every time I cried, and I had a little dialogue with him that went like this:
Me: *sob*
R: (alarm)
Me: No, no, honey, Mommy's not really sad, it's just a sad story.
Movie: (Something sad happens)
Me: *sob, weep*
R: (Further alarm)
Me: No, sweetheart, it's just a story. I'll be fine when it's over.
Movie: (Further woe)
Me: *more of the same*
R: *more of the same*
Movie: *more of the same*
This is not to say this is a bad movie, and it was one that I definitely appreciated on artistic and literary levels. It was just hard to take, especially since the plot faithfully followed the book, and I knew exactly (*exactly*!) what was coming. And it is a pleasure to see a reading experience so completely and thoroughly recreated. What was added made sense for the plot and the world that the story was trying to build, and what had been taken away was appropriate to making a strong film. The acting was magnificently, quietly good. Carey Mulligan has this 1% otherworldliness about her that made her perfect as the main character, the witness to and participant in the bad things that were happening. If anything, the effect the movie had on me is a testament to the effect the book had on me when I read it a few years ago.
So, yeah, it's not easy or "fun fun fun" but it's some excellent movie making, and I'm glad I saw it.
On TV:
Eureka: This show and my reaction to it reminded me of Arthur Dent's consternation over the entry on Earth in The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "What do you mean, 'mostly harmless'?!" I initially turned this on because it seemed entertaining, not loud or overly violent, and was something I could have on in the background while I was feeding R. and not feel guilty about. And then I got sucked in. Would I go out of my way to watch this when it airs on SyFy? No. But I am pleased to watch on Netflix, and I was disappointed when I ran out of episodes. The two central love triangles aren't particularly interesting to me, but there are enough side characters that I care about that I'm willing to overlook the boring "who should he/she end up with" blah-blah. My only quibble with this show comes from the writing, particularly in regards to characters who are supposed to be smart (genius level, apparently) but say and do consistently stupid things. I also feel sorry for the main character getting saddled with a lot of expository dialogue simply because he's supposed to be "dumber" than the other characters. But there's a lighthearted energy about the whole enterprise, and I'm able to ignore the occasionally overly contrived dialogue. Plus, kudos to the writers for being gutsy enough not to go with the easy answers in several important plot twists, as well as kill off a major character in the middle of a season (instead of waiting for sweeps week.)
Sanctuary: I adore this show very, very much, because the writers aren't afraid to pile on the cheese, all of the cast is HOT HOT HOT, and there's some interesting mythology at the heart of most episodes. I was trying to summarize the plot on the phone yesterday for a friend of mine and I realized how crazy it sounded. Suffice it to say that if you enjoy supernatural stories with a modern setting, Amanda Tapping (who is fab, BTW), a random appearance by Tatsuya Ishii (!!!), Nikola Tesla (as a vampire, it's complicated, see previous note about how preposterous the plot is), monster stories, urban myths, or a HOT HOT HOT cast, this is the show for you.
Transgeneration: More seriously, this documentary about four college students attempt to sort out their transgender identities and lives is sobering, touching, enlightening, and funny all at the same time. One of them is at Smith College. I am curious to see how my alma mater will handle this kind of issue.
Now I find myself without a show to watch on Netflix instant streaming. I tried to watch "NewsRadio" the other day (I like Phil Hartman and Dave Foley) but couldn't get around the highly obnoxious laugh track and quit after the first half. "The Office" and its ilk have spoiled me in terms of not having laughter cues pointed out in very obvious ways! And there are only so many Dr. Who/Torchwood reruns I can watch. I'm definitely open to suggestions here.
Never Let Me Go: During the last thirty or so minutes of this film, I was in tears or near tears the whole time. R., who had woken up from a nap, looked at me in alarm every time I cried, and I had a little dialogue with him that went like this:
Me: *sob*
R: (alarm)
Me: No, no, honey, Mommy's not really sad, it's just a sad story.
Movie: (Something sad happens)
Me: *sob, weep*
R: (Further alarm)
Me: No, sweetheart, it's just a story. I'll be fine when it's over.
Movie: (Further woe)
Me: *more of the same*
R: *more of the same*
Movie: *more of the same*
This is not to say this is a bad movie, and it was one that I definitely appreciated on artistic and literary levels. It was just hard to take, especially since the plot faithfully followed the book, and I knew exactly (*exactly*!) what was coming. And it is a pleasure to see a reading experience so completely and thoroughly recreated. What was added made sense for the plot and the world that the story was trying to build, and what had been taken away was appropriate to making a strong film. The acting was magnificently, quietly good. Carey Mulligan has this 1% otherworldliness about her that made her perfect as the main character, the witness to and participant in the bad things that were happening. If anything, the effect the movie had on me is a testament to the effect the book had on me when I read it a few years ago.
So, yeah, it's not easy or "fun fun fun" but it's some excellent movie making, and I'm glad I saw it.
On TV:
Eureka: This show and my reaction to it reminded me of Arthur Dent's consternation over the entry on Earth in The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "What do you mean, 'mostly harmless'?!" I initially turned this on because it seemed entertaining, not loud or overly violent, and was something I could have on in the background while I was feeding R. and not feel guilty about. And then I got sucked in. Would I go out of my way to watch this when it airs on SyFy? No. But I am pleased to watch on Netflix, and I was disappointed when I ran out of episodes. The two central love triangles aren't particularly interesting to me, but there are enough side characters that I care about that I'm willing to overlook the boring "who should he/she end up with" blah-blah. My only quibble with this show comes from the writing, particularly in regards to characters who are supposed to be smart (genius level, apparently) but say and do consistently stupid things. I also feel sorry for the main character getting saddled with a lot of expository dialogue simply because he's supposed to be "dumber" than the other characters. But there's a lighthearted energy about the whole enterprise, and I'm able to ignore the occasionally overly contrived dialogue. Plus, kudos to the writers for being gutsy enough not to go with the easy answers in several important plot twists, as well as kill off a major character in the middle of a season (instead of waiting for sweeps week.)
Sanctuary: I adore this show very, very much, because the writers aren't afraid to pile on the cheese, all of the cast is HOT HOT HOT, and there's some interesting mythology at the heart of most episodes. I was trying to summarize the plot on the phone yesterday for a friend of mine and I realized how crazy it sounded. Suffice it to say that if you enjoy supernatural stories with a modern setting, Amanda Tapping (who is fab, BTW), a random appearance by Tatsuya Ishii (!!!), Nikola Tesla (as a vampire, it's complicated, see previous note about how preposterous the plot is), monster stories, urban myths, or a HOT HOT HOT cast, this is the show for you.
Transgeneration: More seriously, this documentary about four college students attempt to sort out their transgender identities and lives is sobering, touching, enlightening, and funny all at the same time. One of them is at Smith College. I am curious to see how my alma mater will handle this kind of issue.
Now I find myself without a show to watch on Netflix instant streaming. I tried to watch "NewsRadio" the other day (I like Phil Hartman and Dave Foley) but couldn't get around the highly obnoxious laugh track and quit after the first half. "The Office" and its ilk have spoiled me in terms of not having laughter cues pointed out in very obvious ways! And there are only so many Dr. Who/Torchwood reruns I can watch. I'm definitely open to suggestions here.
