#and the plot premise is that some of the fae are bored and decide they should go play with some humans! give THEM enrichment too!

[moeblob]

Look, I just think it's VERY funny and on brand that I thought of an entire premise of colorful characters for half the cast and immediately drew the only one void of color.

[spacecravat]

book ask 24 👀?

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

I think this year might be the most books I've DNFed possibly ever haha

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo: Stopped after 5 minutes upon realizing it's a Great Gatsby adaptation which I have not read

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan: Obnoxious. Premise is a woman in fantasy not-Victorian England desperately wants to be a scientist studying dragons but everyone's like "boo you're an upper class woman stop thinking." Felt just very…Feminism Wins Against Victorian Patriarchy which is not really a tone I enjoy. Also felt like it was sliding into colonialism, which may or may not have been combated later on, but I don't care enough to find out. And I did not care for the framing device of it being written as a memoir from the main character as an old woman.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman: I kept hearing about the show so I figured I'd give the book a shot, but it opened with the main character being a 17-year-old boy being weird about girls so I got out of there fast. Might be good later! IDK! But I don't care enough.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh: I liked the author's last couple releases, which were fun gay little fae novellas. But now she's pivoted to scifi epic and decided to go with the premise that the main character is a warrior forced into the Must Have Babies role of her post-apocalyptic community. And I assume the plot is going to be how she gets out of that, but I do not care to read about societies with forced pregnancy/motherhood roles in general.

The Sugared Game by K.J. Charles: Boring m/m historical. Was stuck at 42% for ages and finally gave up and declared it a lost cause. Just can't be bothered.

Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper: I don't trust white British authors writing Native American stories so I stopped as soon as I realized that's what it was lol

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura: Stopped when I realized it was about middle schoolers.

Sleeping Beauty by Judith Ivory: I enjoyed this author's other books way back in 2012-2013 but this one was about a white English man who made his fortune in Africa so I simply choose not to observe.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett: A particular brand of insufferable that is female turn of the century English academic who goes to exotic foreign lands (Scandinavia in this case) to explore. This one might be tolerable if you can put up with the premise -- it seems to have good reviews -- but I gave up pretty fast.

[lostgirlrewatch]

1x09 - Fae Day

Written by: Jeremy Boxen

Directed by: Steve DiMarco

Original Air Date: November 14, 2010

I’m back, bitches.

There’s like 130 people who follow this blog now, which is crazy. I don’t know why you followed, whether it’s to reblog gifsets, to read/skim the episode blog posts, or because of gay girls. But thank you. I took a long break because real life is a bitch. And also because Lost Girl episode 1x09 sucks.

My plan is to be back permanently and post on a more consistent basis. My goal is to post one episode commentary every Sunday around 5PM EST, give or take a few hours.

As I write this, I am sitting here drinking very strong coffee and eating an underwhelming Walmart blueberry muffin, having just watched 1x09.

Wow, that episode was boring. In fact, I had completely forgotten about it.

The premise is that Bo is upset by the events at the end of last episode—Vex getting away without providing any information on her mom, Lu Ann supposedly being executed—and wants to “take a break” from the Fae, which she does by going to the Dal with Kenzi for a drink, where a ton of Fae are partying. (Okay.)

It’s a holiday called La Showshang--

--(no, I am not looking up how it is actually spelled) where Light and Dark Fae call a truce and are allowed to fuck each other. And also they can’t fight. Then a banshee screams and predicts that someone at the party will die, and Bo decides to help out.

Does it sound stupid yet?

No? Okay, then how about this? While Bo and Dyson are off investigating, Kenzi stays behind and randomly develops a crush on this milquetoast motherfucker with no personality.

So it turns out this guy, Sean, is the one who is predicted to die. Some drama ensues between him and his estranged brother, that is really, truly, very interesting, I assure you, it is super interesting. (It’s not.) Spoilers: the dad did it. Sean dies at the end anyway.

Now that we’ve got the plot out of the way, let’s at least talk about how this episode contributes to the overall arc. Or does it?

Last episode, Trick secretly saved Lu Ann from execution so that he could find out more information about Bo’s birth mom. He hasn’t told anyone that he did this, except Dyson (when asked). Dyson, understandably, is a bit peeved that they are still keeping Bo in the dark about “all this.” 

What exactly is “all this,” you ask? I can’t remember if it’s been revealed in the show prior to now, but Dyson name drops an “Aife” who is on her way to town, so I think it’s safe to say that both Trick and Dyson are aware of who Bo’s birth mother is, and are deliberately keeping it from her. Ah, yes. The most important thing in her life, the thing that haunts her day in and day out, the thing that Dyson literally saw her go apeshit on Vex about and then break down crying about afterwards. They just casually know it, and aren’t telling her. Bo also thinks that Lu Ann is dead, so that’s doubly cruel. Dyson is just as guilty for keeping Bo in the dark as Trick is, but at least he has the decency to be upset about it and insist that they stop doing it.

Trust. What a wonderful, elusive thing. Hm.

Dyson and Trick are cowards and failures.

Trick is like Dollar Tree Giles. Just as much of an asshole, but with less of a personality, and less interesting and likable. Rupert Giles being an asshole works because by the time we realize what a fucking dick he is, we have grown to know him well and care about him, and his assholery is the casual, patronizing, well-meaning kind that makes him extra realistic. It hits hard. I mean, sure, I hate Giles, but I also love Giles for the character he is. Trick is just…I feel like they tried to make him the Giles of Lost Girl, and it falls flat because we have no reason to give a shit about him. He just comes across as a grumpy, neurotic old fuck who is extremely cruel to Bo (someone who is *spoilers* rather close to him) for seemingly no reason.

Dyson: How long are we gonna not tell Bo about this?

Trick: For as long as we can.

Great. Nice talking to you, Trick.

Dyson also calls Trick the “Blood King” in this scene, so now we know he is apparently really important.

Kenzi has another run-in with death in this episode. If you vaguely followed the trajectory of this season so far, have you noticed that Kenzi seems to have an interaction with “death,” as a concept, in every other episode? It sure feels that way.

I like that Kenzi’s reaction to finding out Sean is going to die is, “You know what? Fuck no. If you are going to die, you are going to die without regrets.” In her own wise words (or those of Ludacris), regret is fo suckas. Bitch. 

Kenzi’s reaction to death is always rebellion, or at the very least, she is super into the idea of living life to the fullest while you still can. She gives me trauma vibes of, “Death is always around the corner, so I’m always seeking thrills and always trying to live without regrets.”

Sean dies at the end, right in her arms.

Girl, you knew him for one day.

But it’s still awful. Kenzi has seen too much death already, and she deserves better. Unfortunately, this show is not kind to her. If you’ve seen the next few seasons, you know that this one-off situation is only the first in an ongoing trend—Kenzi’s absurdly horrendous luck with regards to her love life.

Kenzi should be, physically at least, the weakest character. She is the youngest by far. But she always takes the hardest hits.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND August 30, 2019  - Labor Day Blahs

I was trying to decide whether to do one of these this week, because it’s Labor Day weekend, and this is likely to be a particularly short column because I HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING! In fact, I’m not even doing my regular Box Office Preview column over at The Beat, because there just doesn’t seem to be much point to it. There used to be a time when studios would release movies over the four-day holiday weekend but not so much anymore, and this is a particularly weak Labor Day with no new movies opening in 1,000 theaters or more. No, it’s more about reexpanding movies already in theaters like Spider-Man: Far from Home in order to try to make more money before the summer is over.  But if this is boring, you can also read my 2019 Summer Box Office wrap-up over at The Beat.

The only new “wide” release is BH Tilt’s latest release DON’T LET GO, a thriller directed by Jacob Estes (Rings) and starring David Oyelowo and Storm Reid from A Wrinkle in Time, and it’s not even opening in 1,000 theaters. It might not even get into the top 10.  Apparently, BH Tilt is now going as “OTL Releasing” but I don’t think this movie has as much buzz as Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade, released by Blumhouse’s distribution branch in June 2018 to make $4.7 million opening weekend and $14.4 million total domestic. I don’t see Don’t Let Goopening that big as its plot is far vaguer, and I think if this make more than $4 million over the four-day holiday, it would be considered a coup since it’s only playing in less than 1,000 theaters. Who knows? I might even go see it on a lark.

Interestingly, there are two foreign language films from other countries (because as hard as it might be to believe, they speak other languages in other countries!) getting moderate releases this weekend: Sujeeth’s Bollywood action-thriller SAAHO (Yash Raj Films) and from Mexico, Ariel Winograd’s Spanish language TOD@S CAEN released by Lionsgate’s LatinX division Pantelion Films. I will be the first to admit that I’m not the best person to gauge interest in either movie because they’re not my communities, so I rarely see much marketing for these films.

Opening on Thursday, Saaho actually looks pretty cool, and if I can find three hours of time over Labor Day, I might actually check it out. It’s being released in three languages versions: Hindi, Telugu and Tamil, all with English subtitles, and that seems very groundbreaking, and it will also be in IMAX theaters. This could be another hit for Yash Raj ala the “Dhoom” series—Dhoom 3 opened with $3.4 million in 239 theaters in 2013 -- and possibly the studio’s widest release since 2018’s Thugs of Hindostan.

Check out the Hindi trailer below:

(Oddly, Saaho was supposed to be released on India’s Independence Day August 15, but then was pushed back to American Labor Day. Bollywood films tend to get day and date releases nationwide to avoid piracy.)

Tod@s Caen (pronounced “todos caen” – don’t yell at me! It wasn’t my idea!) stars Omar Chapparo, the hot Mexican star from Pantelion’s hits No manches Frida and its sequel plus How to Be a Latin Lover. No manches Frida grossed about $11.5 million after its $4.6 million opening over Labor Day in 2016 while the sequel opened slightly bigger this past March but grossed less. Latin Lover was a huge crossover success for Chapparo and Pantelion, grossing $32.1 million.  This is likely to be more in the former category and opening in 365 theaters, it probably can make around $3 million or more.

STREAMING AND CABLE

There aren’t many movies I can recommend, but at least I can recommend the new Netflix series THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE AGE OF RESISTANCE, which is a prequel to the 1982 Jim Henson movie that was made quite lovingly using the same puppeteering techniques as well as some of the same designers from the original movie. Plus the series has an absolutely brilliant voice cast that includes Taron Egerton, Helena Bonham-Carter, Anya Taylor-Joy, Alicia Vikander, Sigourney Weaver, Natalie Dormer, Lena Headey, Jason Isaacs, Theo James, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Simon Pegg and many, many more. As someone who wasn’t really a fan of the original movie, I found myself quite wrapped up in this series, having watched the first five episodes so far, and I think fans and non-fans alike will dig it.

You can read my interview with the writers over at The Beat.

(Netflix is also releasing a movie called Falling In Love, starring Christina Millan and Adam Demos... but that title... I just can’t!

Amazon Prime will begin streaming its own fantasy series, the very different Carnival Row, starring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, on Friday. It’s a steampunk noir crime series in which Bloom is an inspector trying to solve some Jack the Ripper style murders of the city’s fae and puck population, fantastical creatures who act as the city’s slave labor. I didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as it just doesn’t feel like my kind of thing even though I do love Victorian era stuff usually. I think it just hasn’t found its footing in the couple episodes I’ve seen. I also interviewed a few of the actors which will be on The Beat later today.

LIMITED RELEASES

Okay, I definitely lied as I’ve also seen Kim Farrant’s ANGEL OF MINE (Lionsgate), an amazing psychological drama starring Noomi Rapace as a woman whose daughter died but whom thinks that her neighbor’s daughter is actually her own. Also starring Yvonne Strahovski, Luke Evans and Richard Roxburgh, this mostly Australian film is actually a little like the recent After the Weddingin terms of the strangeness of its premise but it’s handled more like a thriller and Rapace gives another stirring performance. It will be in select cities starting Friday, and I recommend checking it out, especially if, like me, you’re a long-time fan of Ms. Rapace.

Never got around to seeing Gavin Hood’s new movie OFFICIAL SECRETS (IFC Films), because I’m such a fan of Keira Knightley, and in this one she plays Katharine Gun, a British intelligence specialist handling classified information in the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003. She receives a shocking memo from the NSA seeking help in collecting information on UN Security Council members to blackmail them into supporting an invasion of Iraq.

Hannah Pearl Utt’s BEFORE YOU KNOW IT (1091) stars the co-writer/director as stage manager Rachel Gurner who lives in her childhood apartment with her sister Jackie (Jen Tullock), father Mel (Mandy Patinkin) and preteen niece Dodge (Oon Yaffe) above the theater they own and operate. After a tragedy, the two sisters find out their mother, long thought dead (Judith Light) is still alive working on soap operas and they need to come to terms with that. The movie also stars Mike Colter and Alec Baldwin and it opens in select cities.

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst also has a new movie as director, a thriller called THE FANATIC (Quiver Distribution), starring Devon Sawa from Final Destination and John Travolta. Travolta plays movie fan Moose who is obsessed with his favorite action hero Hunter Dunbar, played by Sawa. With the help of his paparazzi photographer friend Leah (Ana Golja), Moose tries to find Moose as his interactions with the celebrity become more dangerous as Moose becomes more obsessed.

Liam Hemsworth from “The Hunger Games” stars in Malik Bader’s Killerman (Blue Fox Studios) as a New York money launderer who wants to find answers after waking up with no memory and with millions in cash and drugs, as he’s chased by a team of dirty cops. The movie also stars Emory Cohen, Diane Guerrero (“Orange is the New Black”) and Suraj Sharma from Life of Pi, and it’s getting a small theatrical release in select cities.

Now playing at New York’s Film Forum is Marjoline Boonstra’s doc The Miracle of the Little Prince (Film Movement) which looks at the sustained global popularity of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince in the eight decades since it was first published.

Opening in IMAX theaters Thursday and then nationwide Sept 6 is the Chinese animated film Ne Zha (WELL Go) about a young boy with superpowers who must decide between good and evil.

There’s a couple other things but I’m so behind for the weekend that I’m done.

REPERTORY

A few rep things to mention before we get to the regular theaters. The Wachowski’s original The Matrix will be celebrating its 20thanniversary with a rerelease across the nation in Dolby theaters, so I’ll be seeing that Thursday night. The Alamo in Brooklyn is also screening a special 70mm print of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and that’s where I’ll be on Saturday.

METROGRAPH (NYC):

On Friday, the Metrograph will begin screening a 35mm print of Eric Roehmer’s 1986 film Le Rayon Vert, but there lots of series continiung through the weekend including the “Shaw Sisters” series which is fairly interesting so far. Angie Chen’s Maybe It’s Love (1984) plays again on Thursday evening –that’s a weird one—and Ann Hui’s Starry Is the Night (1988) will play tomorrow and Sunday and a few others. If you want to see a weird and really bad but very funny horror film, you have to check out Angela Mak’s The Siamese Twins on Saturday night, plus there’s a few more I haven’t seen. The Metrograph has also expanded its “Godard/Karina Late Nights” series so that you can see Alphaville (1965) and Pierrot Le Fou (1965), both beloved classics, through the weekend, as well as this weekend’s offering to the series, 1962’s Vivre Sa Vie. This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph  is Leo Carax’sHoly Motors (2012) and Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue but you can also see the late Japanese filmmaker’s excellent Paprika (2006) through the weekend, as well. This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matinees  is another Ray Harryhausen classic, 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

The New Bev ends its month of mostly showing Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood before returning to repertory fare next week, but its Weds. matinee is the 1953 Western comedy Calamity Jane, this weekend’s KIDDEE MATINE is Disney’s The Ugly Dachsund (1966) starring Dean Jones, and then on Monday, you have two chances to see Michael Mann’s 1995 crime-thriller Heat, although you’ll have to see it at 9:30AM cause the usual 2pm matinee is sold out.

AERO  (LA):

Thursday begins a “Sellers and Southern Double Feature” series (?) of Dr. Strangelove (1964) with The Magic Christian (1969), Friday is a double feature of 1999’s Office Space with Kevin Smith’s Clerks(1994) and then on Saturday is a Mad Max TRIPLE Feature of the first three movies: Mad Max (1979), The Road Warrior (1982) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Sunday is a special screening of Thom Anderson’s 2003 film Los Angeles Plays Itself, and Monday begins Aero’s “Heptember Matinees” series as in Katherine Hepburn, and it kicks off with 1940’s The Philadelphia Story.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Marty and Jay’s Double Features runs through next Thursday and there are one or two of these double features every day with a mix of classics and esoteric and rare stuff. You can click on the link to see all that’s playing.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

“Make My Day: American Movies in the Age of Reagan” continues up at Lincoln Center through Tuesday with highlights like Robocop, David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, Scorsese’s The King of Comedy and The Last Temptation of Christ, Conan the Barbarian, First Blood and more.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

This week’s Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is the original, classic King Kong, while Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Office Space (1999) and Russ Meyers’ Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is Aliens, Suspiria and Eraserhead, just in case you missed any of those the dozen other times they’ve been shown.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Saturday’s “Beyond the Canon” offering is a double feature of Haifaa Al-Mansour’s Wadja from 2012 and Wim Wender’s 1974 film Alice in the Cities. BAM is also showing the second part of its “Programmers Notebook: On Memory”  with offerings like Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, Christopher Nolan’s Memento, Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (of course) and more!

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

“See It Big! 70mm” will screen Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One on Friday and Saturday evenigs but ALSO, they’re showing one of my favorite comedies It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) in 70mm on Saturday afternoon.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

Tonight and Sunday, the Roxy is showing the 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits. On Saturday, the theater is showing Agnes Varda’s 1965 film Le Bonheur.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

This week’s Friday night midnight film is Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

This weekend, the Egyptianin L.A. is taken over by the Cinecon Classic Film Festivaland you can find out what that consists at the official site.

Next week, New Line releases It: Chapter Two, which I probably will have seen by the time you read this but probably will still be under embargo.