crankyoldman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
crankyoldman) wrote2011-09-02 01:40 pm
crankyoldman) wrote2011-09-02 01:40 pm
Media Consumptions!
Because I want to talk about something happy.
Charmed
I'm kind of in love with this show and I don't care how cheesy it is. And strangely enough, some of the storylines are REALLY RELATABLE for me. And this is a very heteronormative show! I think I'm somewhere in Season 5. Paige is my favorite sister (used to be Prue but well....). But Piper and Phoebe are cool too. And as the series has progressed they've become less tropes and more actual characters, which has been fun!
I'm not ashamed. It's cheesy as hell at times, but that's kind of what I like in my SUPERNATURAL THINGS ARE HAPPENING shows a lot of the times. Plus, you've got three main females. Who fight evil. Evil which is often hilarious (ok, so Dwight Shrute played a WARLOCK in an episode and it was FANTASTIC AND HILARIOUS). And plotlines that are kind of full of lady issues. Sometimes done well, sometimes crazy... Piper's wedding was one I liked, because it seemed like the message was "it's just a wedding, good god calm down". And also the one with Phoebe learning that her husband's been giving her an Evil Making Potion, and being pissed not that he's been doing it, that he did it without asking. Consent being placed as an important thing in a tv show? Uh, I'm down with that.
Also, the lampshading that goes on just makes me smile a lot.
It's also reminding me that I haven't seen Buffy still (I KNOW OK? I DIDN'T WATCH A LOT OF TV DURING THE YEARS IT WAS ON). Xena is also being recced to me by Netflix, and I will watch it too, prolly, because it is shenanigans and LESBIANS.
Samurai Champloo
I have been meaning to watch this series forever, so hooray again Netflix Instant. I'm just over halfway through, and I think Fuu is actually my favorite. The boys are great, but she's really fantastic. And adorable. The art style is awesome and I've had the soundtrack for a while (my sister gave it to me) and I think it's pretty clever. I think journey-style animes are some of my favorite ones now.
The Sacred Blacksmith
Really cute! INCREDIBLY GAY. I'm sorry, I know you were trying to sell me on the main guy and girl, but the girl and the "sword" were totally together. Focused entirely on the characters and their motivations and the demons and worldbuilding were secondary, which is how I like it, to be honest. XD
Following
Well this little early Christopher Nolan film was kind of like a gut punch. I liked it. I'm a huge fan of movies that don't tell things in sequence to reveal what's going on, and the twists were fun. I even liked the minimalist camera work.
Trainspotting
Another good movie to show someone in order to NEVER DO HEROIN OK? This is why I never experimented beyond weed, kids. Anyway, it was a lot better than I thought it would be (I am not a huge fan of frenetic testosterone fests usually) and I can see where a lot of later movies pulled stuff from it. I also appreciate they had subtitles for areas where the Scottish accents were INCREDIBLY untelligible. And Ewan McGreggor was such a SKINNY LITTLE THING in this.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Once I got over Agent Smith in drag (no really THAT IS THE SAME GUY), I really liked this. And it again shows me that most of the best gay/trans movies are not made in the US (which is sad, but very very true). I only cringed about the one guy's wife though (Asian mail order bride stereotype... no thanx). And I can't think of many other Australian-based movies I've seen.
Bonnie and Clyde
Like a lot of older movies, this dragged a bit. There were a couple sections of the movie I just didn't get why they were there. Maybe I'm impatient or something. I think this is because a lot of movies were still emulating theater when this came out. But the sections that didn't drag were fun, and Bonnie and Clyde were so ridiculously stylish. Also, the ending was so abrupt considering all the draggy sections.
High Art
I am mostly :/ about this movie. I watched it because it had the actress that played Allison in The Breakfast Club and also there was gay. But it was full of depressing artist stereotypes (these kids were hipsters before there were hipsters let's just say) and had a very unsatisfying conclusion. And I felt bad for the boyfriend, which is not a good sign in a movie that is about someone leaving a straight relationship for a gay one.
Best part of this movie was the German actress girlfriend. If the movie had actually been about her, I probably would have enjoyed it more. She was a beautiful mess.
The Stranger
Have I talked about this? Maybe just to one of my interns. Anyway, Orson Welles is full of awesome in this, as a former Nazi hiding out in a small town in the US. And not an apologist one, either. It was beautifully shot and the storyline was interesting despite some predictabiliy (you know the guy is most definitely going to get caught, he's a NAZI). It's an interesting pseudo-noir.
Metal Gear Solid
Fucking stuck on Vulcan Raven's boss fight. Like most boss fights in this game, I will struggle with it a few times and then finally get it. I have tried multiple methods for this (Nakita Missile, Whateveritsnameis Rocket Launcher I Used on Liquid, strategic mines and C4) and looked at a couple guides (no one person uses the same method). I just know for sure that I don't have the reflexes for the Nakita method. I think I'll eventually get it, but yeah. I miss Sniper Wolf's boss fights, those were the BEST and most aligned to my videogaming skillz.
I'll get through this, because dammit I really want to see how this game ends.
Breath of Fire 3
Stuck on a timed thing with driving a boat which has stupid controls. RPGs: you are not meant to be reflex games, why do you put in mandatory minigames with shit that involves reflexes?! I won't get bored, I assure you, if you just stuck to the main fighting mechanics and had a couple clever story minigames which didn't involve reflexes I don't have. This just ends up pissing me off. Otherwise, I am very much enjoying your story and can't wait to go punch God.
(JRPGs: I think it's funny how we always end up having to punch god)
Back to the Future: The Game
Have Doc back! Am frustrated because I think the RAM on my computer has officially become insufficient for the games I want to play, as this game sometimes just craaawls. And this isn't a particularly graphics intense game either! Anyway, stalled due to computer is super lame. I'm also pretty sure I can't afford a new comp right now (it's also stalling with shit at work). Guh.
Work clearly needs to buy me a new computer.
Plants vs Zombies
This is thankfully on my phone. Or not thankfully. Anyway, they had an update a while ago where I suddenly have a ton of minigames and this Zen Garden thing and yeah. Been playing that a lot because I am either stuck on other games or my computer is not liking running them.
The moral of this story is I need to get better hand/eye coordination already. Or play a puzzle-based game to clean my palate before getting back to the other ones. It's sad how much I like videogames and how many of them are so not aimed at my play style. :< Am I just a bad gamer in that I don't actually get a lot of pride out of hitting just the right button sequence fast enough?
Charmed
I'm kind of in love with this show and I don't care how cheesy it is. And strangely enough, some of the storylines are REALLY RELATABLE for me. And this is a very heteronormative show! I think I'm somewhere in Season 5. Paige is my favorite sister (used to be Prue but well....). But Piper and Phoebe are cool too. And as the series has progressed they've become less tropes and more actual characters, which has been fun!
I'm not ashamed. It's cheesy as hell at times, but that's kind of what I like in my SUPERNATURAL THINGS ARE HAPPENING shows a lot of the times. Plus, you've got three main females. Who fight evil. Evil which is often hilarious (ok, so Dwight Shrute played a WARLOCK in an episode and it was FANTASTIC AND HILARIOUS). And plotlines that are kind of full of lady issues. Sometimes done well, sometimes crazy... Piper's wedding was one I liked, because it seemed like the message was "it's just a wedding, good god calm down". And also the one with Phoebe learning that her husband's been giving her an Evil Making Potion, and being pissed not that he's been doing it, that he did it without asking. Consent being placed as an important thing in a tv show? Uh, I'm down with that.
Also, the lampshading that goes on just makes me smile a lot.
It's also reminding me that I haven't seen Buffy still (I KNOW OK? I DIDN'T WATCH A LOT OF TV DURING THE YEARS IT WAS ON). Xena is also being recced to me by Netflix, and I will watch it too, prolly, because it is shenanigans and LESBIANS.
Samurai Champloo
I have been meaning to watch this series forever, so hooray again Netflix Instant. I'm just over halfway through, and I think Fuu is actually my favorite. The boys are great, but she's really fantastic. And adorable. The art style is awesome and I've had the soundtrack for a while (my sister gave it to me) and I think it's pretty clever. I think journey-style animes are some of my favorite ones now.
The Sacred Blacksmith
Really cute! INCREDIBLY GAY. I'm sorry, I know you were trying to sell me on the main guy and girl, but the girl and the "sword" were totally together. Focused entirely on the characters and their motivations and the demons and worldbuilding were secondary, which is how I like it, to be honest. XD
Following
Well this little early Christopher Nolan film was kind of like a gut punch. I liked it. I'm a huge fan of movies that don't tell things in sequence to reveal what's going on, and the twists were fun. I even liked the minimalist camera work.
Trainspotting
Another good movie to show someone in order to NEVER DO HEROIN OK? This is why I never experimented beyond weed, kids. Anyway, it was a lot better than I thought it would be (I am not a huge fan of frenetic testosterone fests usually) and I can see where a lot of later movies pulled stuff from it. I also appreciate they had subtitles for areas where the Scottish accents were INCREDIBLY untelligible. And Ewan McGreggor was such a SKINNY LITTLE THING in this.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Once I got over Agent Smith in drag (no really THAT IS THE SAME GUY), I really liked this. And it again shows me that most of the best gay/trans movies are not made in the US (which is sad, but very very true). I only cringed about the one guy's wife though (Asian mail order bride stereotype... no thanx). And I can't think of many other Australian-based movies I've seen.
Bonnie and Clyde
Like a lot of older movies, this dragged a bit. There were a couple sections of the movie I just didn't get why they were there. Maybe I'm impatient or something. I think this is because a lot of movies were still emulating theater when this came out. But the sections that didn't drag were fun, and Bonnie and Clyde were so ridiculously stylish. Also, the ending was so abrupt considering all the draggy sections.
High Art
I am mostly :/ about this movie. I watched it because it had the actress that played Allison in The Breakfast Club and also there was gay. But it was full of depressing artist stereotypes (these kids were hipsters before there were hipsters let's just say) and had a very unsatisfying conclusion. And I felt bad for the boyfriend, which is not a good sign in a movie that is about someone leaving a straight relationship for a gay one.
Best part of this movie was the German actress girlfriend. If the movie had actually been about her, I probably would have enjoyed it more. She was a beautiful mess.
The Stranger
Have I talked about this? Maybe just to one of my interns. Anyway, Orson Welles is full of awesome in this, as a former Nazi hiding out in a small town in the US. And not an apologist one, either. It was beautifully shot and the storyline was interesting despite some predictabiliy (you know the guy is most definitely going to get caught, he's a NAZI). It's an interesting pseudo-noir.
Metal Gear Solid
Fucking stuck on Vulcan Raven's boss fight. Like most boss fights in this game, I will struggle with it a few times and then finally get it. I have tried multiple methods for this (Nakita Missile, Whateveritsnameis Rocket Launcher I Used on Liquid, strategic mines and C4) and looked at a couple guides (no one person uses the same method). I just know for sure that I don't have the reflexes for the Nakita method. I think I'll eventually get it, but yeah. I miss Sniper Wolf's boss fights, those were the BEST and most aligned to my videogaming skillz.
I'll get through this, because dammit I really want to see how this game ends.
Breath of Fire 3
Stuck on a timed thing with driving a boat which has stupid controls. RPGs: you are not meant to be reflex games, why do you put in mandatory minigames with shit that involves reflexes?! I won't get bored, I assure you, if you just stuck to the main fighting mechanics and had a couple clever story minigames which didn't involve reflexes I don't have. This just ends up pissing me off. Otherwise, I am very much enjoying your story and can't wait to go punch God.
(JRPGs: I think it's funny how we always end up having to punch god)
Back to the Future: The Game
Have Doc back! Am frustrated because I think the RAM on my computer has officially become insufficient for the games I want to play, as this game sometimes just craaawls. And this isn't a particularly graphics intense game either! Anyway, stalled due to computer is super lame. I'm also pretty sure I can't afford a new comp right now (it's also stalling with shit at work). Guh.
Work clearly needs to buy me a new computer.
Plants vs Zombies
This is thankfully on my phone. Or not thankfully. Anyway, they had an update a while ago where I suddenly have a ton of minigames and this Zen Garden thing and yeah. Been playing that a lot because I am either stuck on other games or my computer is not liking running them.
The moral of this story is I need to get better hand/eye coordination already. Or play a puzzle-based game to clean my palate before getting back to the other ones. It's sad how much I like videogames and how many of them are so not aimed at my play style. :< Am I just a bad gamer in that I don't actually get a lot of pride out of hitting just the right button sequence fast enough?
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Yeah, I kinda have issues with Charmed. XD;
Also: don't feel bad about the gaming thing. Everyone has a different playstyle, and hand-eye coordination is one of those skills that if you don't really develop it at a young age it can be much harder to do when you're older. I was practically born with an Atari 2600 joystick in my hand so twitchy games are just as fun to me as slower paced strategic ones, but it's all good as long as you're having fun.
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Though I think I just gave up--is any of season 6 good?
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And as for the hand-eye coordination; oh yeah do I ever know that it's something that I have to work at more. The games I played as a kid and even the sports I did were based on strategy and endurance (I ran Track & Field from elementary school through high school and played early computer games). I just have to bitch about it occasionally. XD
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Gawd, Trainspotting is the most depressing thing ever. 8| But worth a watch. And I would like to enter it as evidence that "skinny jeans" on guys are nothing new. They're just hipsters instead of junkies now! ... Right?