#but when the setting is so far beyond our normal - typical of fantasy and sci fi - then you absolutely NEED to go outside and touch grass

[constantvariations]

Remembering how someone once brushed off the criticism of v5 being mostly in a single room by saying "most sitcoms take place in a single room!" as if Remnant isn't an entirely new world with unique landscapes and cultures that should be explored

[markoberposts]

More Fun Movies Seen

     Well, I did yesterday as I’d forecast within my prior posts.  I went out and saw another large group of movies all at once...this time FOUR of them one after the other all at the same theater...this occurring once again at Tempe Marketplace as I’d done the day before as well.  In fact, I’ve just set what I’m sure are 2 separate new records for myself thanks to all of the great new Summer movies that have come out all at once.  As I’d talked about yesterday, I had just seen on Thursday all of the 3 movies: Child’s Play, Annabelle Comes Home, and The Secret Life of Pets 2.  And then on Friday--yesterday--I followed this up by further seeing the 4 movies: Men in Black: International, Anna, Toy Story 4, and then lastly, The Dead Don't Die.  So seeing yesterday’s 4 movies both sets a record for me for the most theater movies seen all in the same day as well as the most--as in 7--theater movies seen all within a short time period...that of a 2 day period.  So I think that the movie-makers have been making up for last year, being that I don’t recall there having really been very many movies at the start of Summer that had attracted my attention in 2018.  But wow...this was a lot of movies for having seen all at the same visit, with my having scheduled them intentionally so that I’d have about a half an hour between each movie if for no other reason but to go outside the theater and get warmed up again!  And I say that with this even being in Phoenix and with it having been 110 degrees at the time!  Yes indeed, they keep our theaters cool by comparison, especially when you are wearing shorts and a thin T-shirt.

     Anyway, to start with, the movie Men in Black: International was a very fun and cool movie, with both of the lead actors of course being great within it and with my particularly enjoying watching Tessa Thompson, even with my not having become a fan of hers before this movie.  And of course all of the cool aliens really make it interesting and fun to watch...it being right up there with Star Wars in this regard and probably even much more elaborately designed within these movies compared to Star Wars or most other Sci-Fi movies.  Anyway, the story was exciting and fun, and the special effects were as great as ever.

     And next I saw the movie Anna.  And although it was a bit different than I’d expected, it was nevertheless interesting and fairly exciting.  I admit that what had attracted me to it the most was the previews where it had showed her literally destroying guys around her with hardly lifting a finger, being such a precise and skilled fighter.  I hadn’t read about it in advance, however, so I was surprised by it being a story about growing up in Russia and working for the KGB.  But that was still by itself somewhat interesting, although I admittedly enjoyed the action scenes quite a lot more.  I was, however, sympathizing with her all along, hoping that she would eventually find freedom.  And even though I’ve always been strongly against killing any life forms (and no I’m not a Democrat...I’m actually an Independent simply because I don’t align with ANY political parties...not even whatever being an ‘Independent’ represents simply beyond being literally independent from all party ideals, my feeling repulsed by ALL political parties), I nevertheless find it odd that I’m able to--for movies such as this--feel completely okay watching her slaughter people left and right, perhaps simply because they’re supposedly the bad guys...or at least they’re agents who align themselves more with loyalties to bad people rather than to upholding what’s good and right on a moral level.  And of course I also really enjoyed the movie because the actress is simply beautiful.  In fact, I had to look her up after the movie for this very reason, finding that she is actually a true Russian actress, and that this film was a French film, even with it also focused on the American C.I.A.  And when I looked her up in Wikipedia and then in IMDb, I was at least happy to see her smiling and happy most of the time, being that she did a great job of appearing so depressed and sad most of the time in the movie, with the couple of sex scenes not really detracting much from this overall dark mood.  But in the end, it actually finished rather nicely.  So I’d say that it was a pretty good movie overall.

     And then I saw the movie Toy Story 4, which I really found to be very pleasant and entertaining, with it actually being just as much a love story as it was a movie about helping “Forky” to get back to its little human female creator kid who was really missing it quite a bit.  And aside from the movie also being a love story involving Bo Peep and Woody, it was also the tiniest bit about it kind of resembling the Transformer movies, at least as far as how a human might be able to cause their toys to “come to life” as happens within the Toy Story movies.  But this movie was really fun and exciting, and the dummies in it were really rather scary.  In fact, I’d always wondered exactly why the ventriloquists had designed dummies to look like that...with their always looking so spooky-like!  We never find out within this movie...but it does work well to make it rather scary.  And I love all of the carnival scenes, being that they reminded me of another recent animation movie that I’d seen of a similar nature called Wonder Park, which I’d enjoyed because of the fantasy aspect of finding a hidden giant place such as Disneyland tucked away in some remote hidden forest.  Anyway, this movie, Toy Story 4, was great and exciting and fun and was well worth seeing.

     And finally, I then saw as my last movie for the night the movie, The Dead Don’t Die, which was a very, very slow-paced but nevertheless campy type of amusing movie about the end of the world zombie apocalypse.  It has a lot of appealing parts to it, although it certainly didn’t follow the typical Hollywood type format of a small group of people--especially the heroes--surviving in the end.  Nope!  We all die in the end...and that is that!  LOL.  It really was a bit sad in this respect, however, because I really wanted the always-attractive Selena Gomez--normally known for her songs--to actually survive in the end.  But SORRY!  She’s a goner just like everyone else is...except perhaps the man in the woods...oh, and the alien-lady, who was VERY interesting to watch because of her always looking...well...kind of like an alien!  But she was really great in this movie with her abilities to strike zombies down with her sword!  Too bad she couldn’t rescue them all in the end.  But perhaps some of the funniest and oddest things were the tendencies of Adam Driver--the bad guy in the latest Star Wars movies who KILLS his father Han Solo (DARN HIM!)--to step outside of character and talk about the script of the very movie itself.  And this is part of what makes it so funny, being that from the beginning, Bill Murray asks him about what’s going on and Adam Driver always responds that he has a feeling that things will end badly.  Eventually, in fact, Bill Murray finally asks him why he always acts like he knows that it’s going to end badly, and that’s when Adam reveals that it’s because he’d read the script!  In response, Bill Murray finally then admits that he’d read the script as well, of course, but that he hadn’t read that it would end badly.  Anyway, there are plenty of other fun jokes within it as well, with the key to the humor being of course the deadpan reactions by most people, especially Bill Murray and Adam Driver, to all of the various events that happen around them, even as they work to both figure out things and at least attempt to see if there’s anyway to help people out.  But of course there isn’t in the end, because when the Moon develops a purple edge to it, and the Earth changes its rotation, then we are all DOOMED for sure!  So we’d best take a lesson from this movie, with that lesson apparently being for us to simply give up!  I mean, if there ever really is a zombie apocalypse to come of this nature, then there wouldn’t seem too awfully much that we could do about it.  But who knows, perhaps a small group of survivors might be able to board one of the rockets from either Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos and somehow make it outside the scope of influence of such a badly-resurrecting type of force!  Or then again, perhaps instead someday a resurrection might occur where the people aren’t really zombies, but actually become once again like normal people, although perhaps with bodies that no longer age nor feel pain.  Wouldn’t that be great?!  One can always hope...   :)

[hanahinatahana]

Currently Watching

Seriously long and some spoilers so...

General and I: Kinda stalled out on this one. I don’t know why, but I keep watching something else instead, probably because I read something about Bai Jei and Ping Ting being separated for a large chunk of time, which I knew going in, but I’m not really in the mood anymore for the angst. Not dropping this one though, but I need some time. Plus, 3310 is more interesting. Knowing myself, it’ll probably take me the rest of the year to finish this.

3 Lives 3 Worlds 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms: As everyone said, this has a slow introduction, but now that the characters are established, the story has picked up and I’m really enjoying the immortal politics.

Buang Hong: After watching episodes of Kluen Cheewit with all the excessive drama, BH can pale in comparison. I love Kim and the match up between her and James is cute, but no where near as powerful as Mark/Yaya. I feel like channel 3 did this show a disservice by putting it on after KC. But the story is still good and I will persist :)

Tunnel: Okay, Choi Jin Hyuk is hunky, but I don’t really like this show. After the drama shifts to the present, I just don’t like how easily he’s moving around in this foreign reality but beyond that I do not like or think it is necessary to see the romance between the partner and the professor. I like that the partner has a connection to the past, but I don’t really like either of these characters. As I said before, I usually have a great experience with OCN and I don’t want to give up on this show, but right now I need to put it on hold. I was in the mood for a good crime/ suspense show so much that I started TWO new shows to fulfill the need.

Signal: Show number 1 that I started because of Tunnel. I already finished this one. Actually binged it last weekend instead of watching Tunnel and BH lol. Very emotional. Very well written and acted. I was a bit disappointed by the last 20 minutes because I had been wishing for a reunion from the first or second episode, but didn’t get one. Otherwise, I highly recommend it to anyone that like crime, sci/fi, and sentimental dramas because this one is hella good.

Medical Examiner Qin:  Show number 2 I started because of Tunnel. This one hit me in the first few episodes with a gruesome murder but has since tapered off into mysteries that are less gory and more interesting and complex. On episode 10 already, and the friendship has started to blossom between the three main characters as they are called to crime scenes and solve cases together. I like the dynamics of the group, and even though the synopsis talks about Dr. Qin being a bit grumpy, which he can be, the character isn’t needlessly bullheaded. The doctor can recognize and respect the skills of the people around him and it goes to making the series enjoyable.

Chronicles of Shannara: Love fantasy and the lead is cute. So far I’m liking the magic aspect, the costumes and set design but the acting could be better. Not too many complaints, I’m only on episode 4 and with US commercial television, I usually give shows a 10 episode limit before I decide to watch or drop. Cable shows, my limit is 3 episodes. I’m up to seeing where this one will take me.

SKAM 4: I caught on late to the series, but I finished season 3 a little more than a month before season 4 started, and I’m so glad I learned about this show. I love the lowkey vibe of the friendships, settings, and costumes. Minus the drinking, it reminds me of my actual high school experience. I have been waiting for more information about a lot of the characters, but Sana in particular so I’m happy that she’s getting a chance to shine this season. Also, kinda pissed about Noora and Willem. We spent all that time watching them waffle and fight for their relationship, only to have it fall apart in season 3 with no seeming hope of its revival in season 4?? Really? *le sigh* Don’t get me started...

Make It Right 2: It just premiered and our favorite couples are back. From the trailers there’s trouble ahead for Fuse/Tee and Book/Frame. More than anything, I like how honest these romances are about the feelings within the pair. One of the reasons I didn’t enjoy the second season of Lovesick is because there was just way too much show and not enough process between the mains. MIR is more sexual, which is cute but not necessary, but LS was just missing in progress. Phun/Noh, 16 episodes into the second season, weren’t any closer to being together or even truly comfortable about their feelings than they were at the end of the first season. The trailers showed third parties being introduced so I hope we’ll see some pining, but also so honesty from the couples.

Mystery Queen: Tried the first episode. I love Kang Hee but I think I will sit this one out. I’m all crimed out at the moment lol besides I wanted to get some k romance back in my line up.

Suspicious Partner: The first few weeks were good. When it comes to rom-coms I have to honestly say that I don’t normally read the synopses thoroughly. Most times I gloss over them more interested in who is starring and what the poster quality looks like. That being said, I was surprised as sh!t when a murderer appeared and our girl is suspected of the crime. This threw me off for a bit, as well as the time jump from the ending of the trial to the point where they meet again. The fact that she “stalks” him for that time period is odd. The fact that the ex that cheated was a childhood friend as well as the lawyer that was the other man in the cheating scene. This drama, definitely isn’t the typical rom-com even if it still manages to hit the mark on some of the feels and moments that we all expect to see.  I think that the two best friends should just get together, since that would at least mean that they didn’t break their long time trust with Ji Wook for a one night stand.Gearing up for episodes 13 -16 J

Ruler Master of the Mask: Now, I wasn’t sure how I would like the new half hour episode format, but at least for this show, I’m really digging it. I get some really good scenes quickly and don’t feel guilty for moving on to something else. Seung Ho, So Hyun and L are doing the damn thing in this show! We need to do a slow clap for L’s acting improvement since his last role. Boy has obviously been putting in work. The other two are just as magnificent as always. Things boiled over last week, with the death of the king and royal concubine, and after MANY tissues and some chap stick to heal my bruised lip that I bit to hold back the tears, I’m ready for another round. One thing though. The grand-daughter of the pyungsoohwe leader, Hwa Gun, is the same actress from Let’s Eat, and although I liked her there, she is giving me so many creepy vibes in this one. I like that she saw someone that she liked (he was a handsome guy and ya know, he said her life) and decided to get to know him better. I like that she didn’t seem to find the need to lie about it to her family, even though it wasn’t a popular idea. What I don’t like, is the feeling of uneasiness that I get from her. I feel like, the moment she realizes that Lee Seon doesn’t/won’t love her, she will turn into his worst enemy. Lee Seon has liked Ga Eun from the beginning and she knows that, but I’m just nervous about what will happen if they are able to really be together.

Princess Hours Thai: Skipped all other Thai adaptations (for now, I intend to watch them), because they were stories that I really enjoyed and had clear memories about. But, Goong has kind of faded from my memory. I remember liking it but I don’t really have any recollection of events anymore. This lakorn is cute and if I’m not mistaken, there is actually less angst between this couple. Kaning is a bubbly artist and Inn is a repressed prince that is actually in love with another woman. Now that the other woman, Minnie, and the scheming ex queen and ex crown prince back in town, I’m expecting the struggles and fights to increase. But for the first 6 episodes there were mostly moments of sexual tension, great scenery, and or Inn being mean to Kaning only to get wrapped up in her cuteness and their attraction to each other.

Seven Day Queen: I will watch the first few episodes, but as time crept closer to the premiere of this show, I think I’ve psyched myself out . I don’t like anyone in the cast except PMY and the concept makes it look as though she’s going to be sad and moping for the majority of the series. I’m going to watch, but my finger will probably hover above the keyboard in order to make a quick exit if I just can’t deal.

Fight My Way: Probably going to pass on this one. If the reviews are really good once it ends, I may think about watching it, but I’m not excited about the pairing.

My Sassy Girl: Only two  episodes out and already there are so many mixed reviews. Another show that I will watch with the esc button on the ready. I may have more luck with this one though, for the simple reason that I like Joo Won and Yeon Seo.

Fighter of the Destiny: Very slow going although like all the cdramas I’m currently watching, I have no intention of catching up or even trying to speed my way through the episodes. I like the story and visuals so far, but Luhan’s acting is a bit lacking and to be perfectly honest, he’s just so damn pretty and baby-faced that I’m having a hard time getting into the story as much as I wish I could.