(i decided to cram it all together. mostly because, like many of you, i am a flawed creature with expectations that even i can crush myself with. there's a lot here... so i'll be brief. sorta. i might actually only be brief briefly, but brevity is the soul of wit, and, well... i didn't really think through how i was gonna fit that quote in, i just wanted to say it because i'd said "brief" so much already...)
okay:
TELEVISION:
Parks and Recreation
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| [no context] |
This series revived my interest in spending any time watching television "series-es"... After completely burning out on the Office and not even being able to bring myself to finish it (not only did the last few seasons suck but they also sucked everything i used to think was funny out of the previous seasons, so now i don't even like those...........), I was nearly convinced that something that'd originally started off as an Office-like show would only make me wanna throw up. And... well, it did. It wasn't until the latter half of season 2 that the show had really started to pick up, and there began my downward spiral—I bagged the entire series in about 3 weeks. I believe it's one of the finest funny shows that graced television of all time, and so should you! Actually funny jokes, actually good characters, and actually interesting plot-lines makes this Actually The Best TV.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
This show was reallllll fun, while it lasted. And it didn't last too long, I finished it in a couple days. But most of my thoughts outside of the humor (it was p funny) can be summed up in
this excellent Washington Post article by Alissa Wilkinson on the damaging fear of the End.
(True Detective Season 2)
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| uh, 404? page not found? please leave??? |
Oh, you actually want to read something about this? This... uh, "show"? Okay. Okay, I'll say something. No, please, this is what you want.
This show reminded me why people like Donald Trump can successfully run for president, why cancer exists, and why sometimes, when you fart, a little poop comes out. It's because this world is broken. And because of this broken world we have to deal with this existing. I know it's not easy, but the best thing we can do, as a culture, is to forget that this ever happened.
Sense8
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| her dog was my fave |
I really like the premise for this show! But, and I wanna be brief because it's been a while since I've seen the show and can't remember numbers correctly, I was disappointed with how it presented its various sexual relationships. I was fine with the characters, and the relationships were cool, but my major beef was with how explicit they were with certain sexual relationships as opposed to others... it's confusing. If you'd like to know more about my thoughts or whatever you can send me a message, as I fear a mere brief-blanket review on the whole thing here would only stir up trouble. Basically this: I felt like one couple's relationship seemed to consist mostly of eyecandy instead of actually portraying a balanced, healthy relationship.
Daredevil
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| between this and Oldboy (2003, (the Korean one), i realized i love hallway fight scenes |
I don't like superhero shows, movies, comics, action figures, etc. It's just not my jam. I'm usually frustrated with the lack of attention to interesting characters, plots, dialogue, etc. But. But!!! Daredevil was great. The action was at a minimum, and when it happened it was necessary and thrilling—two things that fighting usually isn't in poorly structured narratives. I got, like, amped when he'd fight. It was Cool. I Loved it. Things I didn't love: basically Foggy and That Girl who hung around with them??? Completely useless characters. Completely. I Hate them.
Anyway, watch Daredevil, IMO.
Jessica Jones
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| same, tbh |
I think this one is my more favorite of the two—even LESS action than Daredevil (omggggg) and even BETTER dialogue (omggggg!!!!!!!1). It doesn't help that it plays heavily on detective narrative, which is like, one, of the best, kinds, of a story, there is, so. I was hopelessly interested in it. Similar to the issue I had with Sense8, though, I wasn't really interested or convinced by the overstated sexual relationship that Jessica had with [A Character]. Portraying a female as a "strong female lead" does not necessarily mean basically giving them the sexual charisma and libido of an ox. A woman who leads in a sexual relationship is fine and cool, but the way it looked almost felt like they were going for a "look, I can do anything a MAN can do, and that's what makes me a strong female character!!" Thankfully that was the only instance that I caught a whiff of that, as Jessica continued to grow into a more convincing lead, but... yeah whatever those are wayy too many words already.
Okay, Now,:
ANIMATION:
Paprika
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| squad goals |
AKA: baby's first Satoshi Kon film. As a big fan of Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA, Domu), I had a strong feeling that I'd really enjoy Kon. But, I, uh, wasn't expecting to like his works even more-so. Taking that same darky-cybery-punky-feely feel that Otomo had, he was able to successfully synthesize it with more of a bright pop-art, almost Murakami "superflat"-esque, style. It's hard to explain. But it's definitely worth watching. A movie about the "science" of dreaming.. should seem interesting to anyone with a creative mind.
Welcome to the Space Show
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| maybe just watch this is you like anthropomorphic dogs?? (just don't tell me) |
Yeah, definitely very much "superflat". Much more light-hearted than Paprika, it reminded me incredibly of Summer Wars. A fantastic universe filled to the brim with unbelievable sights and creatures. Perfect movie to entertain kids, absolutely mesmerizing for everyone else.
When Marnie Was There
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| ghibli forest scene: ✓ |
A laid back film about conquering anxiety that seems made for my generation. Not my favorite Ghibli, but I Sure As Hell Cried. A great feature-length animation for Ghibli to book-end its involvement with film (at least, for the time being..).
Princess Kaguya
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| who doesn't love a pig |
I felt like my eyes were going to fall out of my head because of all the water pushing out from behind them. Watch it. Now.
I only watched, like, two worth mentioning. So here they are:
ANIME (series):
Future Boy Conan
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| check out baby asbel! i mean.. pazu... i mean!! prince ashitaka?? |
One of the first projects that Hayao Miyazaki took on in the animation world, Future Boy Conan was incredible. It was definitely different from what I'm used to (much faster, flashier anime), but it still had that primordial promise of what would become Miyazaki's wholesome innocence, inhabiting all his creations. More or less, it would go on to inspire countless other projects he would work on, as well as (unconfirmed but totally noticeable to anyone who played it and knew better) the Legend of Zelda Wind Waker. It's basically Wind Waker to the T. Wind Waker is basically just fan fic. That's all it is, and I'm fine with that.
One Punch Man
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| ok |
One of the funniest anime series I've ever watched. Playing off the tropes of action anime and littered with homages to a host of other genres, One Punch Man is a delightful alternative to Actually Watching Anything Else. If you, like me, have waded through the vast amount of anime that exists out there, you'll know for sure that about 90% of it is absolute garbage (just like with most mediums). One Punch Man is like a sweet reward for those of us who've been burned by all manner of Bad Anime, an incredible satire, and is thus enjoyed best by us, the lowly and spurned. But, even if you haven't, you can still enjoy the spry character of Saitama as he navigates through a Definitely Anime World, bringing attention to all the ridiculous things we've maybe become callous to in our beleaguered wanderings, looking for the next Cowboy Bebop, or, whatever.
I hereby crown it my favorite animation of the year, btw. Hopefully next year you can read about my thoughts on the (apparently incredible) manga (and WEBCOMIC!!) it's all based on.
Anyway... see you tomorrow, manga fans ~ ~
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