#you didn't watch Andor which was REALLY GOOD

[eachlittlebird]

I really enjoyed that episode of The Mandalorian, which I’m sure means there’s something terribly wrong with me.

[someinstant]

So I turned my ankle taking out my trash this evening and it's swelling up beautifully-- I did a number on that ankle back in college and it regularly betrays me because of the Dumb Things I did without seeking medical attention when I was twenty-- so I've decided to prop it up on the couch and ice the hell out of it and watch the special features on my ANDOR Blu-Ray.

Here's a short list of Cool Things I've learned:

Diego says that it was important to show Cassian being nice to B2EMO in the first bit of episode one, because you needed to see Cassian show care and kindness for someone-- because he's not a particularly awesome guy at the beginning.

The set designer for the Andor house on Ferix made macrame door curtains out of metal scrap and bolts because they wanted a 1970s feel with an industrial twist. Also, the set designer pronounces "macrame" with the accent on the second syllable, and I've never heard it that way before? British folks, is that standard on your fair isle? Because hereabouts it's MAC-rah-may, or maybe mac-rah-MAY if you're fancy. But it sure as hell isn't mah-CRAHM-eh.

Just so many gorgeous shots of Ferix, man. And all the costumes and details-- it looks SO GOOD, even when it's clearly just a set and not the finished version. The actors all clearly adored working in the physical space.

During the Aldhani arc, the Aldhani rebel cell actors worked extensively together with the director to train, rehearse, and develop chemistry-- and they deliberately didn't bring Diego Luna in until they were ready to shoot for real. So the Aldhani squad had this rapport and inside jokes and relationships, and THEN they dropped Luna in so he would feel properly like an outsider.

And they did the SAME THING on the Narkina 5 arc. All the prisoners rehearsed together well before they brought in Luna, so he wouldn't have the same understanding of the space or tools or way the actors related to each other. Love it. Really smart decision, and it paid off.

The visual reference for what the Eye would look like when you were flying through it was a close-up of a human iris, and actually-- yeah. They did that really, really well.

They made the prison on Narkina 5 the same shape as the planetary shield generator on Scarif, and I have no idea how I didn't notice that before.

Stellan Skarsgard was clearly DELIGHTED by Luthen's big speech in "Nobody's Listening." He talks about how when he read it, he was like, "Absolutely, this is the dilemma, isn't it? How far can you go in the name of change?," followed immediately by, "Now, how in the world do I SAY that?!"

The musicians in "Rix Road" are really playing on set-- they did ADR over top for sound quality but in order to give the actors the right feel, the musicians are really playing and the instruments all are fully functional. The musicians are a mix of studio musicians who are on the final recording and some talented amateurs who also work as background actors, so you get the imperfect, community-band style tuning, which is what they wanted.

And there's a bunch of other cool stuff, but my ankle is throbbing, so I'm going to go take a painkiller and go to bed I think.

[gffa]

Hi :)

I'm a pretty new SW fan, not because I didn't like the movies/hadn't seen them but because I grew up thinking it was extremely nerdy and would often feel awkward trying to bring up anything related to SW.

Fortunately I've finally reached and met awesome people who love SW just like I did but I feel like I lost A LOT of important stuff and there's so much content to the saga that it's extremely overwhelming for me to even think about diving into the whole SW universe and catch up.

I've been following you for a bit and your posts are just extremely interesting to me but again, sometimes I'm a little confused about certain things and so I wanted to ask you if you had any recommendations about where to start catching up (besides the movies which I will be binge watching soon hehe)

Hi! Welcome to Star Wars fandom, I hope you're having a good time! And around here we embrace being as nerdy as possible--I mean, fandom is such a mainstream thing these days, but I still like to embrace being a nerd about things because it leads to a lot more happiness, to just be silly and having a good time with the thing that tickles our brains.

But, yes, it is pretty overwhelming when you're first arriving, I still remember when I first came back to SW several years ago, having really only watched the movies as a kid, and there was All This Stuff and it seemed impossible to ever reach the deep end of the pool, and that was before the last seven years of books, games, movies, comics, etc. came out! I will hopefully set your mind at ease with this, though: The vast, vast majority of content that Star Wars puts out isn't anything I would consider "essential". It's wonderful, fantastic stuff! But a lot of us have just been around so long that we're combing through the finer details of supplementary material, rather than those being absolute Must-Read/Watch To Get A Feel For Star Wars.

My recommendations for How To Get A Feel For Star Wars is basically, start with the animated series and the live action series, they're the second layer of foundation in the Star Wars building, all the comics and novels and such will be built on them, and in this order: - The movies, this is the foundation on which everything else will be built. - The Clone Wars, season 1-6 are part of George Lucas' story and they're pretty essential (at least in this corner of SW fandom) to understanding wtf anyone is talking about or even watching many of the live action series. (Season 7 is fine and should be watched! It's just not part of Lucas' Star Wars.) - Star Wars: Rebels, starts off light-hearted but really is one of the best developed shows and does a lot of connective work between the prequels and the original trilogy. - The Mandalorian, set 9 years after Return of the Jedi, this show just massively blew up and while each season is slightly less well-done than the previous one (imo), it's well worth watching for wtf fandom is talking about half of the time. (The Book of Boba Fett is somewhat optional in this corner of fandom, but imo worth the watch. Generally, it should go Mando s1-2 --> TBOBF --> Mando s3.) - Obi-Wan Kenobi, because this corner of fandom lost our goddamned minds about it and still haven't gotten them back. - Andor, which is a really great show and, as long as you've watched Rogue One first, you'll follow along just fine. Does some solid connecting the dots between the prequels and the originals, but not as much as Rebels did. - Jedi: Fallen Order, you can look up a "movie" version on YouTube for the story of this game, which is a really good plot, has some great new characters, has some genuinely effective cameos, and will be referenced fairly often in other materials/in fandom.

If you're not feeling overwhelmed by All The Star Wars You've Consumed, I would personally suggest going for the comics next, over any of the novels. The novels are great! But the vast majority of them are self-contained and meant to be supplementary material even more than the comics, which get to tell bigger, more connected stories. I always suggest starting with: - Star Wars 2015 by Jason Aaron + Darth Vader 2015 by Kieron Gillen, both of which are really, solidly fantastic stories about the timeframe just after A New Hope, like there are so many absolutely banger lines that came out of these comics. I won't spoil them, just know that I think these were legitimately good comics, not just legitimately good Star Wars comics. (The first six issues of each series are meant to be read concurrently, but after that, you can just pick one and read in that specific title.) - Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 2017 by Charles Soule, which is set in the immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith. If Gillen's Vader keeps the mystique of the originals Unknowable Darth Vader, then Soule's Vader is more about the absolute BATSHIT DRAMA that is blending Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. This series is BANANAPANTS in the absolute best way. - Obi-Wan & Anakin 2015 by Charles Soule, which is a five-issue mini-series set between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones and is both stunningly beautiful art and a solidly good plot that survives fairly serious analysis of. It's got some great worldbuilding details, but even more I like it for the look at why a young Anakin chooses to stay with the Jedi Order.

The one book I will recommend--for a list aimed at getting you caught up on what fandom is referencing--is the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, that book is quoted constantly, and I'm not sure any other SW book has ever been as good as it is.

I feel like this is the best set of reading to get you familiarized with the source material that tends to come up the most! There's lots more that's really good, but once you get through the above, you can let me know what era or characters you're most interested in or if you have a specific question about something and want to see where it comes from!

But there's one thing to address and you're kinda going to have to figure out how to approach it on your own. 😂 There is a ton of stuff in SW fandom that's ostensibly from a book or a comic, but the version in fandom often comes from those who never actually read the books/haven't read them in a long time or are just picking them up from other fic and meta.

For example, the AgriCorps or Melida/Daan get referenced in fic and in posts all the time, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend reading the Jedi Apprentice series (I mean, I'm not your mom, feel free if you want to!) and often times how they're used in fic is not how they were used in the source material. Or the clones speaking Mando'a comes from the Legends books by Karen Traviss and she is a whole big can of ugly worms (both what she wrote and her IRL politics), as well as much of what she wrote was overwritten/discarded when The Clone Wars came out, but fandom likes the idea and so they put that into their fics (as they should, if they like it!). The idea of Mace using the lightsaber form of Vaapad is from Legends sources (the best source probably being the Shatterpoint novel by Matthew Stover, I'd guess?), same for his ability to see "shatterpoints" in the Force, which aren't part of Lucas' continuity or Disney's continuity, but fandom enjoys using them to flesh out Mace's character. This will get you started and, if you're looking for something more specific, feel free to ask, I enjoy these kinds of question--and don't feel you have to stick with any of the above if they're not fun for you. This is meant to be enjoyable, it's meant to have a good time, there's no wrong way to consume Star Wars media! <3

[twwings]

Big Festivids Recs Post!

Last weekend was the big Festivids GoLive, which meant the release into the wild of 160 brand new small fandom vids (aka fanvids, edits, etc.) Right now the collection's anonymous, but tomorrow is vidder reveals, so I wanted to write up a recs post for some of my absolute favourites from this year's collection. If you know Yuletide, well, Festivids is like Yuletide, celebrating small/weird/underappreciated fandoms! It's an exchange fest, so people ask for the small fandom vids of their heart and, then, receive one.

Honestly the collection this year is SO high quality, you should really go and browse the works yourself in their entirety; there are so many vids that I absolutely loved that I didn't put on this recs list, because I was trying not to get carried away (and also trying to get it done). But just to get you started, here are a smattering of my favourites. I tried to represent a bunch of vid genres and source types here, but ultimately it's just my taste.

RECS RECS RECS!

Andor: Level Up

AHHHH this is a vid about Andor and fascism and collective action and One Way Out and it's so gorgeously done. Perfect song choice, perfect vid, makes me cry and I will rewatch it many times.

Andor: be ready and be brave

Focusing on Ferrix, its history, its people, and its revolution. Absolute chills. Also I'm SO happy whenever I get to watch a vid to a Mountain Goats song.

Mosquita y Mari: como siempre soñé

Such a sweet, soft, slow romance vid. I ACHED for these two. Like reading a 300k slowburn but in three and a half minutes.

Dropout TV: Nothing in my Head

The Dropout TV vid of my DREAAAAAMS! (largely Game Changer but with lots of stuff in there!)

Taskmaster UK: Blood in the Cut

UHHHH. IT'S AMAZING??? It's hot and raw and kinky and hardcore. the vidder has the delicate, precise touch of a bloody scalpel. Yes, this is a vid for Taskmaster, the UK show where comedians do silly tasks. Because yeah, it's that show, but it's also this show.

Slash/Back: Uja

This vidder KNOWS how to vid horror. The way this vid cuts the most terrible images to make them barely-there, more horrifying for being rough slaps against my consciousness . . . yikes. Amazing vidding, super cool and scary, while also maintaining the uplifting, kickass, hopeful tone you want from a collective-action horror movie.

Janelle Monae: I Like That

Glorious, joyful, sexy celebration of being a free-ass motherfucker.

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Hard Times

Boimler vid about how he's essentially a redshirt who is just slightly too sweet to actually die. Absolutely adorable and hilarious.

Woman King: Upside Down

Absolute BANGER of a vid, great cuts, great movement, great character arc and great Dahomey women being amazing.

Romeo + Juliet: Magnetic

We all agree Harold Perrineau is the best Mercutio, SO, with that in mind, here is a flawless celebration of the best Mercutio.

Knives Out/Glass Onion: 'Til You Hit a Nerve

Brilliant comparison vid putting Marta from the first film together with Helen and Andi from the second one, drawing out the similarities and dissimilarities in a visual feast and with a badass powerwalk. Nothing not to love!

David Cronenberg's Films: body

This one is phenomenal. It takes David Cronenberg's entire filmography and condenses it into a vid about all the sexualized body horror. It is deeply horny and deeply disturbing and deeply fascinated by every single finger going into a hole in a body that shouldn't be there. It's soft and tentative and it's very graphic and violent, all at once.

The Wheel of Time: Velodrome

Tower politics and circularity and being bound to one another in every good way and every bad way; what a beautiful vid. I love how this is about a place, and about how that place draws these people together over and over in their shared experience and love and trauma.

The Midnight Sky: The Laughing Heart

Absolutely gorgeous vid of the film to a spoken word + music rendition of Charles Bukowski's "The Laughing Heart" (there is a light somewhere). I have not seen this film but I found this vid deeply moving.

Moby Dick: Queequeg and I

There are four (FOUR!!!) Moby Dick vids at Festivids this year, and they are all amazing combinations of a huge smorgasboard of sources, I heartily recommend them all, but I'll specifically rec two. This one is Queequeg and Ishmael to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and it is the sweetest queerest thing ever. Queequeg and Ishmael get a happy ending shhhhh they do shhhhh yes this is how it happened they came out of the water they're fine

Moby Dick: a vulture feeds upon the heart forever

This vid is a fucking masterpiece. It is a huge archival multisource Moby Dick vid that weaves all these incredibly different visual together to make a coherent, tragic narrative. And like. The BOOK is not a coherent narrative! This is such gorgeous and amazing fanwork. Don't miss out on it.

Women's 100m Sprinting: Didn't Come to Play

This is GORGEOUS, I don't know anything about sprinting but I know I love these beautiful joyful powerful women running really fast and hugging each other and being amazing. The editing on this is so tight; the vid never stops for a second. Like a sprint?!?!?!

The Golem and the Jinni: סיפור הגולם

This is another book vid, but since this book doesn't have any adaptations, it's using entirely archival source and probably some documentaries and films to construct the story - or, really, construct the vibe of the book, construct the metaphors of the book, and the result is beautiful and powerful and meditative. It's about survival, and making life.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Hope on Fire

This is another umbrella vid, where the vidder is taking a bunch of different productions of the play and mashing them together. This vid focuses on Judas and Jesus/Judas, and it all feels so inevitable and tragic and real and cruel. I really loved it.

Jordan Peele's Films: Goodbye, Honey, You Call That Gone

This is such a wonderful mashup of Jordan Peele's three films, exploring all the parallels and differences and just the rich tapestry of his imagery.

猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin: Put It On Me

I don't know this source but this was just so gorgeously put together; there's a focus on art and art objects, on hands moving and creating, that's just mesmerizing.

[thedirtiwalkoniswet]

I finished the Obi Wan series and wow it is... not good.

I just watched the bad batch (actually solo inbetween but that was so bad I won't mention it further) and this show surprised me with how good it was. When these characters were introduced in season 7 of clone wars I was sure I wouldn't like the show, because they annoyed the hell out of me. But then I actually got to watching the show and it was good all the way through.

So Obi Wan was a whiplash. I have a lot of thoughts.

It's bad. It's so bad. For one, it looks cheap. The main reason I think is the lighting, half the time it is so painfully obvious it was filmed in a studio, and it takes any emergence that you could've had. They also could've color graded a little, it is boring to look at. Additionally is everything so stale, nothing in the background moves, there is 0 wind essentially in the show. The budget also definetly didn't went into make up and costume design, but that is so obvious it's barely worth noting and not the worst part.

The worst part, by far, is the dialog however. The actors are great, I know they are great, but they still struggle so hard to make the dialog sound normal and they can barely do that, because it is so, so bad. They just string random sentences together that don't make sense as a whole anymore. The actors can't react properly to the dialog, because in real life you'd look at them with the most confused face, like what the hell are you talking about bro. It is a shame that great actors are wasted on terrible dialog, that could have easily been better.

Additionally is the camera work quite odd. It can be decent occasionally, I think the scene were "Leia" gets dressed was nicely done and so are some other scenes. But then you get the scenes like when Reva was climbing on these buildings, which had terrible camerawork. Don't get me wrong, there is charm in the camera not being completely stiff, but they're just shaking it around whenever a fight scene comes up or any scene that isn't completely peaceful. It is jarring and makes the show look like a fan project, and not even a good one.

The action scenes also feel slow somehow. I know I can't compare it to a cartoon, obviously not. But I can compare it to action scenes from the prequels or Andor. In Obi Wan, it very much feels like the characters are holding back, when they clearly shouldn't be. Everyone is running and moving so slowly, it only makes me frustrated to see. I fear it might be because the actors weren't given enough time to rehearse or not enough care was put into choreographing/ editing. Even the fight between Vader and Obi Wan at the end was meh, and that was for most the best part. Yeah, it's cool he can use the force again, yeah it's sad that he has to accept that Anakin is not there anymore and Vader is all that's left. But... what else? This was what the entire show led up to and it could have been better. At least the location was extremely cool.

Tragically I'm still not done. Because another issue is that it is simply not a good experience. I'm not saying it has to be a happy one, but even tragic stories can make you engaged and riled up. It was a very bold desiscion to completely change Obi Wan, considering that in episode 3 and 4, he is extremely similar. So they had to change him just to bring him back to who we knew. Usually I LOVE angst, I think it is so interesting to see characters who you love go through hard times and evolve and change. But somehow it didn't work with him at all. I blame it mostly on the writing being so in your face, so bland and without nuance. Star wars was never known for good dialog, but usually that was George Lucas' fault and he wasn't really involved in the writing as far as I know.

There are good ideas sprinkled in. But it mostly felt like somebody said "you know what would be cool to see?" and then they wrote the plot around it to make it happen. (Like that pick up driver or whatever the space version would be)

Maybe I have so much to say because it is a huge shame. It could've been good, it could have been great. And yet it is genuinely terrible, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. To me this is some of the worst star wars media I have seen out of what I watched so far. Only Solo being worse (I fucking hate that movie). BUT I do think it's salvagable. They could make a fantastic season 2, it is very easily possible if they only put more effort in the writing and maybe fire Chung Chung-Hoon.

If you like it I am super happy for you, I know I ripped it apart, but please don't let me ruin something you like, despite all of this. My uncle loved this show and I can't talk to him about the show because I am not blinded by nostalgia bait. You can tangle any familiar character in front of him and he will most likely like it. (He liked Boba Fett and I haven't seen anyone liking it yet, but I haven't watched this one either so I don't have an opinion yet)

[reylo]

The Acolyte... I saw the pictures and was like ' Eh' Star Wars for me was tainted after TROS. I really didn't feel like watching anything . Even Andor ( which I love Rogue One btw). So when I found out that this new show was like Reylo. My initial thought was " Well shit. Here we go again." And not in the good way. But here I am now watching it and enjoying it and planning to watch Andor as well. I really hope Disney/Lucasfilms don't burn another thing to the ground based on opinions. TROS did a number on my love for Star Wars and it was sad. What convinced me was actually your blog that said the show was good. So I decided to take a look. And so far I don't regret it.

I was on the same boat as you, Anon. After tros I gave up with sw. It burned me baaaaaad. I wasn't going to watch The Acolyte, but that one scene in episode 5 with the reylo vibes got me intrigued. Then episode 6 happened and I was SHOOKETH!

I'm still wary - once bitten, twice shy, you know - but the interviews from the writers and cast have been so positive about the ship! One of the writers is even a reylo shipper! It's so refreshing and such a delightful contrast to how we reylos got treated. I know sometimes we got positive stuff from writers/cast, but other times we were just thrown to the wolves 😭 This time though its just been validation after validation! I think we might be in good hands. We just need a season 2!!

I'm so glad you decided to watch it!! Have you seen episode 6 yet 👀

If you're into oshamir, I will say most of the fandoms on twitter or hidden in discords- if you need a link, let me know!

[notasapleasure]

I had this draft for the 8 shows to get to know me meme that no one tagged me in, but then @batri-jopa tagged me for this other meme, so I'm doiing them as a mash-up.

10 comfort shows -

- that tell you more than you wanted to know about me. reasons below the cut, but the tl;dr is:

The Terror

Garrow's Law

Ripper Street

The X Files

Utopia

Interview with the Vampire

(BBC) Ghosts

Futurama

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Detectorists

Honourable mentions: Andor (will probably make the list once season 2 is out, but my trust of Disney Star Wars is *so* thin, I can't commit until then, no matter how excellent season 1 is); The Great (it's so good. The script is still one of the most astonishing works of art I have ever encountered. But comfort TV? hell no.); see also, Bojack Horseman (objectively great. Not comfort TV); Grease Monkeys (I've got to get hold of season 2, but I'm really fond of its coarseness, wish-fulfilment and sureallism).

Tagging 10 people if they wanna join in, but others feel free to say I tagged you! @stripedroseandsketchpads, @notfromcold, @notabuddhist, @donnaimmaculata, @erinaceina, @boogerwookiesugarcookie, @elwenyere, @kheldara, @bellaroles, @jimtheviking

List 10 comfort shows and then tag 10 people

The Terror: Like Ripper Street below, I feel this show deep in my bones and think I must be actually insane when I try to explain to people what I like about it (watching it literally made my husband's depression worse so I'm not allowed to talk about it. Jk. Sort of. About the last bit anyway). The sheer ridiculousness of that era of exploration has been a firm fave for years and I love how the show weaves horror and hubris together, how it's not a straightforward 'natives get vengeance on colonisers' story, but the colonisers ruin it for everyone, poison life for Silna, too (all without any threat of sexual violence towards her CAN YOU BELIEVE IT). I love all the attempts to impose 'civilisation' on the life the men try to live as they come to realise how doomed they are, how key the trappings of their life become - objects as tethers and talismans. I love how utterly futile it all is. How much they all care, and the audience cares despite that. Self-destruction and salvation all jumbled up together. Two full crews go into the ice and die. The end. They do everything they can not to die and it happens anyway, it's the ultimate 'the love was there and it didn't change anything'. And no one learns anything. Perfect TV.

Garrow's Law: Sometimes I do want my historical drama to be wish fulfillment actually, and this is the actual og fave. No, most of the cases weren't actually Garrow's, yes, it's a fluffy liberal take on things that played out in a more complex way, but the cast is so good, and Garrow is such a likeable guy, but then you see his flaws emerge in such a gentle way through the four series, and it really does case-of-the-week with characterisation so well, and it's got that amazing British TV character actor cast where there's always someone in the background you know, and the building romance between Garrow and Sarah, and the real repercussions of it for her are handled so sensitively, augh the culmination of the series with their own personal legal cases is so good.

Ripper Street: in my head this show was so much more than the sum of its parts. Season 1 was on the surface a fun BBC historical romp. Season 2 I had to watch through gritted teeth because Susan's situation quicked me out too much, among other reasons. Season 3 leaned into the more sinister side of the protagonist and came through as something weirder and darker, a vein which ran through Seasons 4 and 5, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I live for my alternative reading of the migration stories and nightmarish flipsides of people that we get running through the background of seasons [3/]4/5, but uh. the show's tumblr fandom is not a place for me. Reid is actually monstrous, and I like him despite/because of that. Oh man, I have so many feelings about this show, and I'd love to do a rewatch and blog about all my crazy theories but I'd probably have to go into witness protection afterwards. But rest assured, it isn't a show about the Ripper, and it's all the better for that. It does class and trauma so well, it also captures all the optimistic curiosity and the utter hypocrisy and hubris of the Victorian era so well.

The X Files: I mean, it's a formative influence, innit. Seasons 1 and 3 are the best, a lot of the 'classic' favourites are episodes I actually really disliked, even though the early seasons are the best a lot of my favourite episodes are from later...the beauty of TXF is that there's so much of it you can hold contradictory opinions about what makes it good, though, and my theory is that it's at its best when it's early and still being allowed to take its course, where even the mytharc hasn't tied itself in knots yet so every episode is of a higher standard, and then later, when the actors have wrested control of their characters from CC enough to play them like they want, but the good episodes are really just MotW ones because the mytharc has vanished up it's own fundament and I've lost track of whose turn it is to have a near-death season arc. Not technically the TV series, but still, Fight the Future is just so much of its time, watching it is like having a warm bubble bath in childhood nostalgia. Even the later series have things to recommend them - I always enjoy Doggett much more than I'm expecting to, and it's about bloody time Scully got a decent female friend in the form of Reyes...I haven't watched seasons 10 onwards though, I don't feel I'm missing much. Five fave episodes: 1.13 Beyond the Sea, 3.4 Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, 5.4 Detour, 7.17 all things, 6.19 The Unnatural.

Utopia: Tragically incomplete at 2 seasons, but what a pair of seasons they are. Brutal and uncompromising, horrible and compelling, but also frequently hilarious and full of the warmest, most fascinating characters who are all on a journey to Getting Much Worse. It's not something I've been able to watch since the pandemic *weak laugh* but I know when I do go back to it it will remain painfully prescient and uncomfortable. The longing for a 'balancing' and a righting of a historic wrong that drives it, and the desperate failures between people who are really just searching for love and don't know how to give/receive it...ugh so good.

Interview with the Vampire: Just rewatched season 1 and I'm just. No notes, five stars. The way Louis think he's a narrator in control, the way Daniel knows such a thing isn't possible, the way Louis does let himself get drawn on things, the way Armand sees the danger in this but it's not in his control any longer. Memory is a monster. The Odyssey of recollection. Fucking won my heart with those lines alone.

(BBC) Ghosts: Ok, I will say that I think the last season was actually a bit weak. They were in a hurry to finish, and they got away with wringing the feels from the important bits (The Captain's death was perfect and I will say this over and over again), but it felt like it was in a rush to come up with scenarios that would force admissions like The Captain's, whereas the show is at its best meandering around in a buffonish way that suddenly results in a Big Oof moment. Robin's arc in season 4 was a great example of this, as was Mary's. But basically it's still simply perfect comfort TV: silly but not malicious, unfair but kind to its characters. I'm going to miss them all so much, but I'm also going to rewatch so much.

Futurama: bit basic maybe, but I have watched it so often and I can watch any episode (ok, except for Jurassic Bark) again and again and again. I don't think I've binged any TV show so often with so many different people. Not sure how I feel about the immanent revival, but this has always been my favourite Matt Groening product, so fingers crossed.

Avatar: the Last Airbender: without getting into like...fandom discourse, man, this is a really perfect show. No need to say 'ooh it gets good after--!', it's just good from the beginning. A really well fleshed-out world, great characters who grow through the series, enough self awareness that the 'clip-show' episode Ember Island Players actually builds on the characterisation and addresses ambiguities in its own plots. A show that sticks to its principles and doesn't fudge the ending and also consistently looks gorgeous.

Detectorists: I had to put it on because no other show has literally made me fall off my chair laughing. Are the main characters useless? Yes. Is it often perplexing that the women in their lives spend any time with them? Yes. But that's forgiveable, because it's ultimately so kind to its beleagured characters and things work out despite their stupid decisions. Also it just captures rural English eccentricity so well. They're all such freaks (affectionate).

[frasier-crane-style]

So I watched this.

-The opening image is in space, with Anthony Hopkins narrating about the Mother World*, and a wormhole opens that cannot be described as anything other than a Space Pussy. Uhh, Cinema.

*(an unwieldy title for a group of bad guys, so eventually the script starts calling them "the Realm" instead, though no one bothered to go back and have them stop talking about "the domain of the Mother World" and such)

-They also try on referring to the villains as "The King's Gaze," the name of the ship they crew, and of course, it is great fun to see working actors talking very seriously about how much they fear the King's Gays.

-As in any Seven Samurai riff, the good guys are humble farmers, which in Zach Snyder Land means they are both pacifistic Luddite believers AND burly Vikings who love to fuck.

Ladies and gentlemen, a Quaker!

-They're also all white, making Sofia Boutella the only minority and also the violent outsider with a haunted past who keeps talking about how she doesn't belong and everything she touches dies and all that. It's a mite awkward. But she's also the only one who isn't DTF in the Fuck Farm, so who knows?

-The, uhh, Mother Worlders* show up and prove an eclectic blend of Peaky Binders haircuts, Soviet Russia fashion sense, working-class British accents, and, uhh, Día de Muertos parade?

Not since Cobra have so many random villain traits fallen under the same tent. You're left asking if it's political commentary or if Snyder just has something against the Angry Video Game Nerd.

-Snyder also tries to do a Good King/Evil Usurper bit with the Mother World, but makes it explicit that during the Good King's reign they were also an expansionist colonial empire just killing the shit out of things. As ever with da Snyd, it's unclear if this is meant to be subversive or just poorly thought out.

-I know there's no hiding that one is doing a Seven Samurai riff, but the MacGuffin is still... grain. The humble villagers aren't mining vibranium or anything, the evil Empire just really wants grain and these villagers are going to give it to them or else. You'd think a post-warp civilization wouldn't need to lean on subsistence farmers for snacks, but there you are.

-The appeal of this, if any, is to do R-rated Star Wars, but for some reason Netflix wanted a PG-13 version of the R-rated Star Wars, so we get something that's... maybe a little wilder than Andor? They redo the cantina confrontation between Obi-Wan and Cornelius Evazan, but here Evazan explicitly wants to rape 'Luke Skywalker' so, uhh, yay?

-Apparently the idea is to do a director's cut later on that'll be three or four hours; it's pretty obvious that stuff's been cut. The narrative spends a lot of time talking about how they're going to find a really cool guy fighting in gladiatorial combat at an arena. The heroes go to the arena, stand next to the arena, talk for a bit, and then leave. No gladiatorial combat is had.

Snyder, you're killing me, man. I thought the whole two-part business was so that we could have a whole movie to get to know these characters, but it basically goes Character Introduction > Standing Around In Crowd Scenes. Unless you're about to die, of course, in which case you get a sizable monologue to put in your acting reel before you leave.

-Oddly, they introduce quite a few characters who seem like they're going to be a part of the Magnificent Space Seven--guy trying to court Sofia Boutella, a turncoat Stormtrooper, a pacifistic robot--only to forget about them. I guess they'll show up in Part 2, but it seems unfulfilling to have this movie be a prolonged "Getting The Band Together" montage with some of the heroes not even getting to be in on the bonding. Which isn't much bonding to begin with, it's just Sofia Boutella sloooowly revealing her backstory and not even getting to the obvious punchline by the closing credits (you killed the princess, didn't ya? This universe might not have Force powers, but you don't need 'em to see that coming).

[theloneliestshipper]

What is truly wild to me is that Andor is the most unspoiled Star Wars property since Disney bought Star Wars. I heard absolutely nothing about this show for months. I saw no gifs, no plot spoilers, no gushing about new characters, no spaced-out posts on Twitter.

People kept telling me it was really good but they never said anything *about* it.

And now that I've watched it, it is really really good. This is the kind of show you finish and will still be thinking about a week later. But I think it's maybe important to maybe say why it's so good.

So here's my Spoiler-Free list of why Andor is special:

The first two episodes feel slow and rambling but 90% of what you see will come back into the show as significant character or plot background. The motherfucking storytelling in this show.

The music. Do you like strings? I like strings. Do you like rough and discordant music that heightens tension? Mmm. Me too.

Go ahead and enjoy the petty Imperial workplace drama. This show never lets you forget who the baddies are and they do it without sweeping capes or monologues.

Instead of CGI cameos you'll see character actors absolutely tearing up minor roles without wackiness or fanfare.

Extremely deft handling of oppression tactics like unjust imprisonment and militarized law enforcement. Any scene where ordinary characters bump up against the Empire the danger is real.

There are plenty of references and canon deep cuts, but it's never played as a big reveal that you're required to tweet immediately. It's just part of the story.

And yet I think anyone could watch this show and enjoy it. Zero prior knowledge is required.

There is also a serious investment into creating new cultures that feel authentic and not just a collection of pilfered rituals from various real life cultures.

This show has a few mundane and devastating moments that will rip out your heartstrings and play discordant melodies on them. You won't see them coming. They will hurt.

Mon Mothma. Her arc plays out like a Jane Austen movie with dialogue that is simultaneously eviscerating and exquisitely polite. A+, no notes.

Speaking of character choices, Cassian maintains a solid support system of friends and family throughout and anything bad that happens to them is treated as a circumstance. The narrative point-blank refuses to lay the blame on Cassian or treat it as angst fodder for his story and I find that refreshing!

Cards on the table: I didn't like Rogue One that much. I found the character arcs unsatisfying and awkwardly shoehorned in to the plot, which felt chopped up and hastily rearranged. This show is weirdly changing my opinion of a movie I haven't watched since the original theater release. The motherfucking storytelling in this show.

[missyourflight]

some stuff i read and watched in september:

my brilliant friend (s1-3): had a bit of ferrante fever and rinsed through this, i think it's v well done as an adaptation -- it's been so long since i read the first couple of books that the casting of the lads made them feel much more vivid than i remembered, also i Need to go to florence

foundation (s2): honestly entertainment peaked with deranged space emperor clone lee pace spitting blood in ben daniels' face and snarling i fucking love it, hope to see it back in 2-3 years probably!

the gold: finally got around to this bc they were talking about it on the watch lol, very cool the way it sort of sprawls out from the original heist and just keeps going, classic dcoop sketchiness, still mulling over casting jack lowden as lymond bc what other blonde scottish actors even are there

starstruck (s3): ROSE MATAFEO FOREVER etc. this season pretty much an anti-romcom which i'm on board with, the friendship stuff fucked me up, not to get into but phew re: being single in your thirties while all your friends are having kids etc

passages: really liked this but somehow didn't love it quite as much as i expected to, franz ben adele perfect, whishaw really come full circle since basically playing the franz role in cock at the royal court lol, beautiful knitwear outfits homewares

the best years of our lives: like 3 hours long but doesn't feel it, quietly devastatingly empathetic story of returning ww2 veterans, i need to watch the five come back series on netflix bc william wyler is so so good

a haunting in venice: i would also like to go to venice, kenbran's having fun at least my dutch angle king, i hope they keep letting him make these forever although i also rewatched tenet and nothing here tops the part where he jogs slowly backwards through time

the broken hearts gallery: the best of a bunch of recent-ish romances i watched, geraldine viswanathan is a Star

michael clayton: somehow hadn't seen this before but very satisfying like corporate thriller, tom wilkinson and tilda are great, i want to rewatch andor now

elena ferrante, the story of the lost child: finally finished the neapolitan novels, fuck me up elena. can't think of a comparable series of like adult novels that go this hard for me, maybe st aubyn? yowl

colin walsh, kala: this ripped actually, loved like the irish specificity of the voices

james frankie thomas, idlewild: literally took critical damage every time i had to read the word HoYay but this was great and painful about like being a horrible little queer teenager and codependent friendships and livejournal and annotated fanfiction etc

marilynne robinson, gilead: ow i loved this, i think it's a real skill to make like goodness compelling, looking forward to being devastated by the rest of the series etc

sylvia townsend warner, lolly willowes: 🧙‍♀️🍂🌝

katie kitamura, intimacies: more things should be set at the courts in the hague tbh! made me think about translation a lot and also black earth rising

cat sebastian, we could be so good: sometimes you just want to read a gay romance about being in love with your best friend innit

operation mincemeat: omg i actually went to the theatre, this was silly and very much The British Hamilton but i loved it and i cried and i ordered drinks to my seat, 5 stars etc

the effect: i didn't see the original billie piper staging but i love lucy prebble and i loved this cast, literally paapa essiedu can do anything, kobna holdbrook smith reminded me that i should carry on with the rivers of london audibooks, one in a long list of signs that i should probably talk to someone about my mental health lol

[loveoaths]

new mandalorian episode thoughts:

finally, cameos i care about! (outside of andor)

wish jack black and lizzo had fucked on screen for 30 minutes though

din saying "handy" made me laugh. his dialogue has always been dumb as hell but handy really got to me this week

shoutout to the old man sleeper cell agent for a political party that hasn't existed in 40 years. gotta love his tenacity!

love that a dude can release murder nanobot droids and his punishment is to hang his head real low and do a slow walk of shame off to private exile on a moon somewhere! like unironically i do love that because fuck prison, but also watching him mope off like a kid who got told he gets no dessert tonight was stupid as hell. A+ all around

it's becoming more and more annoying to me that grogu didn't get to stay with luke, because he serves zero function in the narrative right now. this season would feel more balanced if the story was split into three: din helping bo retake mandalore; luke training grogu; and moff gideon's schemes spreading corruption and and dissent throughout the new republic. as a triad, din's absence from his own scenes would feel less jarring because we would be balancing two other stories, grogu and luke's characters would be expanded on and become plot relevant again as grogu's powers advanced, and more seeds of intrigue about gideon's plans could be spread without dropping 30 minutes of pershing bullshit into a single episode, which i am still flabbergasted about

this really really should be bo katan's own show (i get why that isn't possible etc etc) and sometimes it annoys me that it isn't, because while a good creative team could have made this show a two-fisted hand-off from din to bo that didn't feel jarring, this creative team is not that. so it still feels off to me personally to tune in knowing i will see din for all of 5 minutes in an episode

however i am enjoying bo katan's story. i just wish din wasn't relegated to audience surrogate / question asker so bo can exposit / be cool. because even the action shots / din action moves are reduced and bo katan takes the spotlight for fights even when it would fit din's character just as much to make certain moves / take a fight highlight, but also because this series is now about setting her up as a redeemed action heroine figure, it makes sense why they are shifting focus in everything to her. still feels not right though. i hope they at least find smoother transitions into her focus scenes because right now it's just. not the best. and imo people would respond to her better if her narrative was seen more as assisted by/woven into din's, rather than her suddenly taking his place in the narrative, which is what i suspect the anti-bo fans are actually upset over. trick people into thinking they want the same thing as you do, and they will. but the season's structure so far has done the opposite of that, which is bothering people, which is bothering me because i have to see those people complain about her all over my dash

fix the season for me and me alone favreauni. thank u.

[catharsis-in-a-bottle]

so i ummmmmm really liked andor. like, a lot. holy shit. i need to make a list of Things I Enjoyed

FINALLY, A STAR WARS SHOW WITH GOOD FUCKING DIALOGUE. THE WORDS FEEL LIKE WORDS REAL PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY SAY. CONGRATULATIONS.

ON THAT NOTE: a star wars show that DOESN'T try to cover up bad writing with cgi and nostalgia grabs!!!!! the writing is quite good and they didn't throw in fight scenes just for shits and giggles, they all had meaning!!! huzzah!!!

(like. i am floored that i have enjoyed a disney show. what can i say. i have been disappointed in the past because of their incessant desire to Churn Out Content which results in underpaid workers and Loads Of Hot Shit. i am slandering up in this house tonight)

alright let's talk about the SOUNDTRACK. upon my first listen of the main theme, i was like, huh, kind of boring... by my fifth listen i was like, This Theme Is Going To Kill Me, and So Is The Rest Of The Whole Damn Soundtrack. orchestral swells AND weird and fucked up electronic sounds!!!! they were not afraid of a little out-of-tune synth wobbling, and that i can RESPECT!!!!! also not to music theory on main but IV to VI chords in a minor key, which is in the theme, is just a fucking beautiful progression and i will always love it in any context except for pop music. OKAY MOVING ON

this is the first star wars media i've encountered that i felt had something actually substantial to say about imperialism. like a lot of the other shows and the movies themselves have felt idealistic about rebellion against fascism, and then andor walks in and is like, hey, you know how we fight imperialism? Armed Revolt!! you know what enables fascism! a lot of nuanced factors that we're going to delve into with some Rich Character Development!! and obviously the rebellion in all other star wars media is like, openly an armed revolt, but this show puts that into greater context w/ police brutality, prison systems, and colonization, which makes the politics not more obvious per se, but more impactful and in greater dialogue with its audience. in my opinion. okay moving on again:

let's talk about some characters baby!!! cassian andor was bound to join my blorbo library from the moment i began this show. i absolutely fucking love his development from passive victim of empire to "kill me, or take me in [to your violent rebellion]", AND i love his haircut, AND emotionally repressed characters will forever remain fixtures of my heart. he's so!!!!! you know!!!!! i swear to god the writers did SO well on this one

i am not going to pretend that i remembered most of the character's names. my family did not watch this with subtitles and my auditory processing is quirky and elusive. so anyway i really liked [insert name of Guy Behind Major Acts Of Rebellion - you know, stellan skarsgård] because of his take no shit, give all the fucks attitude, and gravelly voice, and stellan in general as an actor (i am totally not biased because of the chernobyl miniseries). GREAT fucking complicated character.

i did find the writing of vel and cinta so fucking hilarious though. like if you google "vel and cinta", there are questions about if they are a romantic pairing. i appreciate the effort here, and i appreciate the glimpse of an actual nuanced lesbian dynamic in a mainstream company, but star wars is still very wimpy about gay people on the surface. we still have the beneath the surface homoeroticism though so we're good

mon mothma and tay [insert last name] only straight people i can get behind

THE FUCKING PRISON. EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PRISON ARC. first of all: what a fucking physical and psychological horror show. i mean, my god, electrified floors, no escape, nobody ever leaves. all the rest of the horror comes directly from real life, of course - prison slave labor, unfair sentences, shit living conditions.... i don't know the name of andy serkis's character so i will just call him andy serkis. what an EXCELLENT turnaround! from complacent hopelessness to violent hopelessness, and we know which one is more useful!!! FUCK YEAH!!! ALSO: "ONE WAY OUT" OHHH MY GOD!!!! JUST WOW!!!!! and "i can't swim"........ at least he got to see the sunlight... god this is a side comment but i think it's a crime to have to be stuck somewhere where you can't see the fucking sun this INCLUDES places of work UM ANYWAY

i am Tired so i will now sculpt my concluding remarks: i am pleasantly surprised!! i am delighted, even!!! i have gained another character to rotate in my head!!! that is all good night/day/insert time here

[charmwasjess]

ask and you shall receive! :)

may i ask what are your opinions on the original trilogy? on luke and leia? and do you watch the disney star wars shows like the mandalorian?

YAY!! I'll survive this day of rain and meetings somehow. Thank you!!

I'm tremendously sentimental about the OT. As a strange, stifled child, it was the first "grown up" movie I was allowed to watch at my cool uncle's house - certainly my first exposure to magic or fantasy media. So I have a lot of emotion and nostalgia tied up in it; it stamped itself onto my soft little brain and heart. Leia was always especially important to me: I had genuinely never seen a female character act like her in my sheltered religious upbringing. She was fierce, FUNNY?!, strong, soft, and hot?! (My tiny bisexual heart beating twice as fast at the Slave Leia outfit. And then she fucking chokes the slug out with a chain?!) I didn't even know women could be all those things at once. It was freeing. That makes me somewhat limited on critical analysis because I loved it with childlike fervor and that has persisted. I loved Han; I still laugh sycophantically at all his lines. I thought Luke was a little whiny, but I wanted him to win! I am still terrified of Vader.

And really, TPM came out very soon after my first exposure to the OT, but something always made the PT feel like it was "mine," (to break, to play with, to rewrite, to wiggle around) whereas the OT was this complete magical story I shouldn't edit. Which is why I still write Dooku stuff, but not Leia fics, even though she's My Girl. I am.... picking and choosing Disney+ series stuff. I'm psyched (terrified) for Acolyte. I love Kenobi with all my heart; it was a love letter to the prequel idiot in me. Mando kind of whiffed for me, but I'm still watching/keeping up with it; I'm actually not quite sure why I didn't connect with it because it seems to be generally accepted as good TV. (Possible theory: I think fundamentally Jedi stories are my favorite stories in Star Wars, which has plenty of room for many other stories than just Jedi ones, but I still have my favorite.) Andor ruined me in a fantastic way. I didn't watch Ahsoka, but I did skip around and watch the Hayden scenes because I'm only human. I also really want to see the Wolf girl kiss the other one.

So yeah, they're not all my cup of tea, but I do really like some of it!

Thank you again - this was so so fun!

[coruscantiscribbler]

Both Sides Now

I have always thought that Star Wars had an identity crises: they claimed to be targeting a youngish crowd, but they lassoed adults in droves. When they specifically cater to children, the adults go on a rampage. When they finally gift us adults with our first really mature program, Andor, a particularly vocal cross-section was up in arms because they were bored by lack of visual stimulation. It seems that the franchise cannot win.

But Andor did win, and win big it did.

My guest @coruscantiscribbler wrote an essay, There Is Nothing Slow Or Boring About Andor illustrating just this point: Star Wars can produce top notch quality content. While not the rollicking good time delivered by, A New Hope or the angst-laden (but guaranteed to be resolved) Empire Strikes Back, nonetheless, it carves out a genre all to its self.

Scribbs! welcome back to the Asker’s Studio™️, my most frequent and favored guest. You make a lot of concrete points about what Andor is and is not, and what many folks unfortunately missed as they watched. The main point that you make is that both Syril & Andor go through profound changes (to the point of exchanging roles) In Andor, you make this observation:

Cassian had only the desire to get through the next day with enough money for a drink and a boink. But by the time of Rogue One Andor knows not only who he is, but what he is fighting for, and he has gone to serving a higher purpose.

When I read this passage, a distinct arc in the series came to mind: the time in which Andor spends in prison. While others may have felt that Andor was introduced to cooperation in the first arc - when he worked with the rebels to steal the credits - I feel that the real test came when he had to devise an escape plan that required the help of others. I believe that it was the first time Andor really had to break from his self-serving isolation and truly work as a team.

Am I alone in thinking that the prison arc was transformative to Andor, or was this part of your evolutionary observation of Andor? I ask this because most people who did not like the show that of this arc as particularly slow.

For Syril, we can see that the further he gets from the structured environment (that he is initially working under), the more he is stretched beyond his capacity. Eventually, when it all caves, we see the signs of a psychotic break. As we move towards the end of the season, there is a possibility that in saving Diedre, Syril might be redeemed. He might once again have purpose - one that lines up perfectly with his singular obsession with Andor.

Are we are going to find both men firmly ensconced in organizations that ultimately take advantage of both of their skill sets, so that when they next meet, each will have the power of many behind them?

Are we to be pulling the lens back and observing the two entities - Rebels and Imperials - fighting it out, or will we continue to focus more on character-driven development? What would you like to see?

I was moved by the show, but strangely, as a sometimes fic writer, I was not inspired to write anything regarding the content. I began to wonder if my impetus to write was mostly due to frustration by what was lacking, therefore, I set out to improve it with fic. With Andor, everything was as it should be, thus, I had no improvement, no fic.

Have you given any thought to this concept of fic inspired by Andor?

Finally, I wish for you to go where you want with this discussion. My questions seem shallow to me after reading your essay, yet, I wish to delve deeper into the topic of Andor, so please feel free to go in any direction you desire!

Thank you so much for taking the time for this thoughtful and insightful ask. I didn't address the prison episodes because it seemed that many of the people who had given up on Andor cited those first couple of episodes as the reason for their disinterest.

What struck about the prison sequence was how it shone a light on how Cassian Andor is not really a leader. He stays in the background and the shadows and he inspires and pushes others to find their courage and to start to believe and ultimately their voice. He does it with Kino. He does it with Jen in Rogue One. It is Jen who makes the passionate speech to the Rebel council, not Andor. It is Kino who inspires the prisoners to push forward despite the blasters in the hands of the Imperial guards.

This is one of the major reasons I selected Andor as the rebel who recruited Kallus, because that is Cassian's gift and his power. Also based on what I had seen in Andor I realized that the Rebellion would have informants among the joy houses and the bars to tell them when an Imperial was getting shaky.

My prediction is that Syril will become an ISB agent as a reward for helping Dedra so that he has more agency to go after Cassian because this does seem to be a duel between these two young men. It is Dedra and Luthen who will be foils for each other. There has been some confusion over who Axis actually is -- it's not Andor, it's Luthen and that's who Dedra is focused on. Cassian is just a tool to reach the true rebel leader.

I think in season two we will start to see the broader Rebellion taking shape, but great story telling isn't about the spectacle, the massive battle. It's the little falling pebbles ie the characters and their choices, that make for true drama not the avalanche itself. I think is often lost on studios and producers especially in feature films. I don't need twenty minutes of a special effects battle, I need the quiet moments where the real choices are made.

I haven't been inspired to write about Luthen or Dedra or Mon Mothma except as they impinge on the fic I'm writing, but I have been inspired to use the fully fleshed out world that Gilroy presented as regards Coruscant and I've tried to bring that sense of a fully realized world to life. I got really, really tired of dusty planets with marketplaces that looked like something out of the 12th century. I wanted to see not only the glitter of Coruscant, but also the Minneapolis of the Star Wars universe.

There is a reason people are quiet in the face of fascism and it's not just fear, it's also about comfort. "Well, I know the government arrested my neighbor but he was (fill in the blank of whatever scapegoat) and I'm not that person, and I have my job and my kids and my spouse to consider, and if you just comply and follow the law you'l be fine, and things are better than the chaos of the Clone Wars", and so the justifications continue.

[cupidsbower]

Festivids 2023 reeeecs

What a great year it's been for festivids. There are some stonkingly good vids!

Here is the Masterlist. As always, my recs below are just those I liked most, but there are a lot of other fab vids that are worth a watch as well.

I made six vids this year. A bit astonishing really. I think three of them are really obviously by me, but the rest maybe not so much. Anyway, if you can guess, the guessing post is here: Guess the Vidder.

Two fantastic vids were gifted to me:

Fireflies - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) - Gen

I watched this movie on a whim one day, and it was sweet and genuine and funny and I loved it way more than I thought I would. This vid captures that perfectly. It's a delight.

Been Caught Stealing - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) - Gen

This has everything you could want from a D&D vid: it's action-packed, funny, and captures the chaotic energy of the movie really well.

Highly Recommended

And Do It Again - 开端 | Reset (TV 2022) - Teen

Fantastic time-loop vid, which ramps up the tension in the most delightful way.

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Christine (1983) - Teen

Christine is the perfect girlfriend. Such a creepy-great premise.

I'm That Queer - Janelle Monáe Music Videos - Teen

Spectacular, surreal, gorgeously edited.

Les Fleurs - Gake no Ue no Ponyo | Ponyo - Gen

This is so lush and dramatic, and sweeps you along in the best way.

a vulture feeds upon that heart forever - Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Mature

All the Moby Dick vids are great - who knew it would be the power fandom of the fest? But while they are all worth a watch, this one is my fave. The soundtrack is lush, and the visuals are over the top, and full of drama. The sources are mixed so beautifully.

Here it Goes Again - Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Teen

This is also a spectacular multi-source feast for the eyes.

Everything I Do - Cocaine Bear (2023) - Teen

LOL. This is just exactly what it sounds like, edited to absolute perfection. The joke couldn't be better executed.

Do What I Do - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) - Teen

Wonderful character study of Holga.

Tusk - The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - Mature

Clarice is showcased to her best here, and it's gripping.

magnetic - Romeo+Juliet (1996) - Teen

Mercutio vid and it's so much fun!

Recommended

Hard Times - Star Trek: Lower Decks (Cartoon) - Teen

Flirting & Fighting - 新龍門客棧 | Dragon Inn (1992) - Teen

The Only Way to See - Amaury Guichon - Fandom - Gen

Nothing in My Head - Dropout TV RPF - Gen

Feel Better - Silo (TV) - Teen

The Eye of the Tiger - RRR (2022) - Teen

satisfaction - The Quick and the Dead (1995) - Teen

Disaster Party - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) - Gen

How to make a perfect Hanukkah movie… - Hallmark Movies - Gen

Uja - Slash/Back (2022) - Teen

Didn't Come to Play - Women's sprinting - Gen

The Shape of You - The Pirate (1948) - Gen

The Adventures of Priscilla, Dancing Queen of the Desert - The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994) - Teen

#teamwhale - Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Gen

Queequeg and I - Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Teen

Boys Keep Swinging - As You Like It - Shakespeare - Gen

Dream Girl Evil - Last Night in Soho (2021) - Explicit

Cat Apostle, Conqueror of Asthma, Chosen One Of The Light - 开端 | Reset (TV 2022) - Gen

Andor: Come Forth Now - Andor (TV) - Gen

Bad Reputation - For All Mankind (TV 2019) - Gen

put on a show - The Wheel of Time (TV) - Teen

Upside Down - The Woman King (2022) - Teen

Always On My Mind - Strange Way Of Life (Short Film 2023) - Teen

Trust+Fall - Romeo+Juliet (1996) - Teen

[roseofblogging]

Rose's Media of 2023 Round-up

Well, now this is truly going to be a Rose Rambles post

I am truly awful about remembering what I watched/read. Maybe I'll be better about that in 2024. Maybe not!

Noting that these are not necessarily all things that released in 2023 (but many are); they're just what I discovered at the time.

Favorite book: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa I bought this book in May 2022 from the Powell's bookstore in Portland while I was there on vacation. I'm very slow getting around to books due to my TBR being so long (and I go through it slowly because my day job is book editing). I was motivated to read it when some Splatoon friends started a Discord book club, and this was our first pick. It's dreamlike and strange. Some might find the vagueness on the rules of what's going on unsatisfying, but I didn't go into the book trying to figure out exactly how their world worked. It's much more about the experience and quiet horror of forgetting things and people. I had just gotten a diagnosis for ADHD shortly before starting this novel and was already in a headspace of reconciling just how poor my memory can be (slightly different, as ADHD most impacts working memory, but still). Definitely recommended, but go in knowing that it's slow and thoughtful rather than heavily plotted. Runner-up: Lore Olympus

Favorite live-action movie: Tár This is a tough one. I really, really enjoyed both Barbie and Oppenheimer, but I have critiques of both. However, Tár (which came out in 2022) just really floored me with how intense it was and how anxious it made me (in a good way!). Runner-up: Talk to Me

Favorite live-action show: The Fall of the House of Usher Not one of Mike Flanagan's best, but still very good! I don't think I can say anything about it that others haven't said already, but it's beautiful, haunting, tragic, and very well-acted. Runner-up: Andor season 1

Favorite TV anime: Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Suletta Sundays were THE BEST! I really wish this had some tweaks, maybe a part 2 fleshing out some other things (as a lot of worldbuilding started to feel rushed), but I was a big fan of all the references to Shakespeare's The Tempest and Revolutionary Girl Utena, and even sooome similarities to Evangelion (some, not many). Guel became my favorite character for much of the show, but I also love Suletta not only for being our first female Gundam protagonist, not only for being our first queer woman of color Gundam protagonist, but because I really enjoy stories about replicas/clones of redheaded characters. (This is funny because I'm replaying Tales of the Abyss right now.) 2023 wasn't one of the strongest years for anime, though. As much as I loved Witch from Mercury, it's got some weak points. Nothing really hit the same high point of the end of the first part. Runner-up: PLUTO

Favorite animated movie: The Boy and the Heron This is not my favorite Miyazaki movie by far, but it is one of the ones to feel like a very targeted attack on my post-college life! It's weird, the pacing is a little wonky, but I love its ideas and themes so, so much. I still need to see this in the English dub (I've heard wonderful things), but the original Japanese cast is fantastic. This is a very sad movie that does not seek to manipulate a viewer's heart. You know how a lot of movies know how to cue tears with swells of music? I'm not even knocking that for being manipulative--I like it! But I was so impressed with how deeply The Boy and the Heron (aka "How Do You Live?" as the English translation of the Japanese title goes) affected me without any tricks--just heartfelt moments that might have meant nothing to others. (The bread scene made me choke back tears in the theater.) This movie is about grief, but it's also about creative legacies. It's hard to watch this and not think about how there's really no one to follow in Hayao Miyazaki's footsteps at Studio Ghibli. His potential predecessors have either died or seemed uninterested (in the case of his son, who seems content not to pick up the mantle). Runner-up: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (reeeeally only because of its cliffhanger ending... It doesn't feel like a finished story.) Honorable mention: Suzume (I gotta at least mention it, because it's my favorite piece of media about dead places).

Favorite video game that is NOT SPLATOON: Tears of the Kingdom I actually had a very fun time piecing together story beats and exploring, but I still stand by it not being one of the stronger Zelda games imo. I know some people still have not played, so I'm being vague on purpose, but I actually greatly enjoyed Zelda's presence in this game compared to Breath of the Wild.