Media update
I feel like I should think about Sherlock more, but a) I'm just not as invested as I used to be, even though I am still enjoying it and b) my brain is insisting that I deal with unfinished business first, which means writing about stuff I've seen so far this month. I'll keep it brief, since it's mostly for my own benefit anyway *g*
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
This is one I almost didn't see, since I'm not a big Harry Potter fan, and we kept putting it off for various reasons - too early, too late, too lazy, too crowded. But at the last possible moment we did go, and so glad I did, loved it! Way more than any of the Harry Potter movies, actually, although the shared universe of course contributes massively to both. I think I just prefer things with grown-ups doing stuff, and I also like Eddie Redmayne, so that helped. But I hadn't counted on so many aspects being delightful, not least of all the fantastic beasts in question - each of them incredibly interesting in its own way. It was visually spectacular in general, and while that's never enough to 'carry' a movie for me, in conjunction with the appealing characters and solidly entertaining story, I was pretty blown away. Even the costumes - I'm not a clothes person, I rarely notice clothes, but OMG the dresses. I loved, like, everything Queenie wore throughout. Lastly, the whole Graves/Credence subplot was so wonderfully gothic and dare I say it, kind of kinky *g*. Would probably not watch again, but would heartily recommend.
La La Land
I know, I know, critically acclaimed, bringing back old-fashioned musicals, destined to win all the awards, yada yada. Yeah, it was pretty and all, but left me completely cold. Like, I've walked out of exactly two movies in my life, and this was the second one, so I guess it was memorable in that respect. Usually I hang in there, because I enjoy the cinema experience, and I usually find something worth staying for, even if it's just "to find out what happens" but I couldn't seem to find anything or anyone to care about enough to hold onto. I do like J K Simmons, but he was only there for about two seconds.
The story concerns an aspiring starlet Mia (Emma Stone), who goes to Hollywood to Realise Her Dreams, and there meets jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who hopes to one day open his own jazz club. There's a scene in the first hour or so where Mia is at a fancy restaurant with her current beau (a high-flying corporate type) and another couple, and the men are discussing global business prospects, and the other woman is gamely smiling and laughing along, and Mia is sitting there with a haunted, desperate look on her face. A few minutes later she makes some hurried excuses and flees, practically (or possibly literally - I can't remember) dancing her way down the street towards a date with Sebastian. She's freeeeee! I felt that scene. In fact, I related to that scene so much I couldn't help thinking how much happier I would be anywhere else but trapped in a theatre watching a film I couldn't care less about. I whispered to my mum that she should stay and I'd meet her afterwards, but as it turns out she wanted to leave too *g*
If you're the type of person who likes ye olde school Hollywood "tributes" like Hail, Caesar, or "romance", or "quality cinema", or are a fan of either of the leads, you should totally go. I... just. No. No. The highlight of the whole experience was seeing the trailer for Hidden Figures. I am so there *g*
Bowie in Berlin
Also saw a Bowie tribute show at the Enmore celebrating his Berlin period (1977-1979). The band were excellent, but the vocalists were generally... pretty bad. Like, Bowie wasn't generally noted for being a "good singer" in the traditional sense, but I genuinely love the sound of his voice, and the performance aspect, and that proved to be sorely missing here. Luckily, that period was fairly light on vocals anyway. Given the average age of the audience, I felt like I was attending a classical music concert, which in a sense, it was *g*.The most memorable highlight for me was watching the guy playing the theremin - I'd never seen one played live before, and he was amazing. It was also fascinating to see and hear how the instrument itself contributed to the distinctive sound of some of the songs of that period (notably, "Heroes").
Moana
It's Disney, so you pretty much know what you're going to get. Plucky Moana, daughter of the island's chief (accompanied by comic relief in the form of a clueless chicken), sets out on a quest to find demi-god Maui and force him to help her save her island. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote some of the songs, which was a minor draw as well. Enjoyed it very much without finding it particularly notable - it hit all the right beats at all the right times, was beautiful to look at, and was amusing and heartwarming by turns. I also appreciated hearing the familiar Kiwi accents of Temuera Morrison and Jermaine Clement, which came as a pleasant surprise. And Auli'i Cravalho (Moana), who is apparently an unknown, is vocally stunning (in her purity and quality of tone, not in that showy diva way). I feel like I'm selling it short, but that's probably because it wasn't something that inspired incredible joy or loathing, more a kind of consistent mellow satisfaction, which is still a rare and valuable quality in a movie. Highly recommended.
Rogue One
Also not particularly a Star Wars fan, but went along for the ride, and came away pleased.
splix totally ruined Mads Mikkelsen's appearance for me (just kidding *g*) with her assertion that he only had one expression. It's a lie, anyway. He has at least two. Possibly two and a half, even. LOL. And if any Sherlock fan resisted mentally telling "Anderson" he was lowering the IQ of the whole galaxy, then they have better thought control than I do. Anyway, I was dubious at the beginning, but the characters, the teamwork and the cranky droid won me over by the end, and I liked that the ending was much darker than the conventional action movie ending (canon probably has something to do with this, but I really don't know what restrictions there were on that part of the story, if any). The very last scene, which came as a complete surprise, hurt my heart just a little bit, Star Wars fan or no. But it was the perfect ending.
Throw in Sherlock, and it's been a busy couple of weeks :)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
This is one I almost didn't see, since I'm not a big Harry Potter fan, and we kept putting it off for various reasons - too early, too late, too lazy, too crowded. But at the last possible moment we did go, and so glad I did, loved it! Way more than any of the Harry Potter movies, actually, although the shared universe of course contributes massively to both. I think I just prefer things with grown-ups doing stuff, and I also like Eddie Redmayne, so that helped. But I hadn't counted on so many aspects being delightful, not least of all the fantastic beasts in question - each of them incredibly interesting in its own way. It was visually spectacular in general, and while that's never enough to 'carry' a movie for me, in conjunction with the appealing characters and solidly entertaining story, I was pretty blown away. Even the costumes - I'm not a clothes person, I rarely notice clothes, but OMG the dresses. I loved, like, everything Queenie wore throughout. Lastly, the whole Graves/Credence subplot was so wonderfully gothic and dare I say it, kind of kinky *g*. Would probably not watch again, but would heartily recommend.
La La Land
I know, I know, critically acclaimed, bringing back old-fashioned musicals, destined to win all the awards, yada yada. Yeah, it was pretty and all, but left me completely cold. Like, I've walked out of exactly two movies in my life, and this was the second one, so I guess it was memorable in that respect. Usually I hang in there, because I enjoy the cinema experience, and I usually find something worth staying for, even if it's just "to find out what happens" but I couldn't seem to find anything or anyone to care about enough to hold onto. I do like J K Simmons, but he was only there for about two seconds.
The story concerns an aspiring starlet Mia (Emma Stone), who goes to Hollywood to Realise Her Dreams, and there meets jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who hopes to one day open his own jazz club. There's a scene in the first hour or so where Mia is at a fancy restaurant with her current beau (a high-flying corporate type) and another couple, and the men are discussing global business prospects, and the other woman is gamely smiling and laughing along, and Mia is sitting there with a haunted, desperate look on her face. A few minutes later she makes some hurried excuses and flees, practically (or possibly literally - I can't remember) dancing her way down the street towards a date with Sebastian. She's freeeeee! I felt that scene. In fact, I related to that scene so much I couldn't help thinking how much happier I would be anywhere else but trapped in a theatre watching a film I couldn't care less about. I whispered to my mum that she should stay and I'd meet her afterwards, but as it turns out she wanted to leave too *g*
If you're the type of person who likes ye olde school Hollywood "tributes" like Hail, Caesar, or "romance", or "quality cinema", or are a fan of either of the leads, you should totally go. I... just. No. No. The highlight of the whole experience was seeing the trailer for Hidden Figures. I am so there *g*
Bowie in Berlin
Also saw a Bowie tribute show at the Enmore celebrating his Berlin period (1977-1979). The band were excellent, but the vocalists were generally... pretty bad. Like, Bowie wasn't generally noted for being a "good singer" in the traditional sense, but I genuinely love the sound of his voice, and the performance aspect, and that proved to be sorely missing here. Luckily, that period was fairly light on vocals anyway. Given the average age of the audience, I felt like I was attending a classical music concert, which in a sense, it was *g*.The most memorable highlight for me was watching the guy playing the theremin - I'd never seen one played live before, and he was amazing. It was also fascinating to see and hear how the instrument itself contributed to the distinctive sound of some of the songs of that period (notably, "Heroes").
Moana
It's Disney, so you pretty much know what you're going to get. Plucky Moana, daughter of the island's chief (accompanied by comic relief in the form of a clueless chicken), sets out on a quest to find demi-god Maui and force him to help her save her island. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote some of the songs, which was a minor draw as well. Enjoyed it very much without finding it particularly notable - it hit all the right beats at all the right times, was beautiful to look at, and was amusing and heartwarming by turns. I also appreciated hearing the familiar Kiwi accents of Temuera Morrison and Jermaine Clement, which came as a pleasant surprise. And Auli'i Cravalho (Moana), who is apparently an unknown, is vocally stunning (in her purity and quality of tone, not in that showy diva way). I feel like I'm selling it short, but that's probably because it wasn't something that inspired incredible joy or loathing, more a kind of consistent mellow satisfaction, which is still a rare and valuable quality in a movie. Highly recommended.
Rogue One
Also not particularly a Star Wars fan, but went along for the ride, and came away pleased.
splix totally ruined Mads Mikkelsen's appearance for me (just kidding *g*) with her assertion that he only had one expression. It's a lie, anyway. He has at least two. Possibly two and a half, even. LOL. And if any Sherlock fan resisted mentally telling "Anderson" he was lowering the IQ of the whole galaxy, then they have better thought control than I do. Anyway, I was dubious at the beginning, but the characters, the teamwork and the cranky droid won me over by the end, and I liked that the ending was much darker than the conventional action movie ending (canon probably has something to do with this, but I really don't know what restrictions there were on that part of the story, if any). The very last scene, which came as a complete surprise, hurt my heart just a little bit, Star Wars fan or no. But it was the perfect ending.
Throw in Sherlock, and it's been a busy couple of weeks :)