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shapinglightS and I have hardly seen each other this last week. I went away on Tuesday and came home on Thursday evening. He went away on Wednesday and isn't due back till tonight.
I don't get the house to myself much and it's been quite nice (though a bit creepy at night). I've listened to some classical music, which for various reasons I hardly ever get to do, and I've binge-watched quite a lot of telly - something I also hardly ever get to do and actually don't like doing that much (because you get through the good stuff too quickly). I've re-watched the entirety of Lucifer season 3 so far. It hangs together much better than I thought it would and there isn't - IMO - a bad episode in there.
I've also watched Godless on Netflix.
Spoilers for that behind cut.
My mum was a big fan of westerns, and I've watched a lot of them over the years. Plus, I'd read an interview with Michelle Dockery about the series and was curious to see her play a character so different to Lady Mary from Downton Abbey. So I binged it over three nights. My feelings are mixed ultimately. There was a lot of stuff I liked in it. The cast was superb, as was the cinematography. The landscapes are just stunning. I also very much like the diversity of the casting, and that it was so female-centric.
That said, I don't think it lived up to its promise in some ways. Jeff Daniels was terrific as Frank Griffin so I suppose I understand why he had so many scenes, but I could have done with fewer, actually, showing how monstrous and evil he and his gang were, and I especially did not like the way they disposed of the entire town of Blackdom so easily. Also, it got ever so slightly farcical in the end how long it took the gang to arrive in La Belle.
Instead of so many scenes featuring the gang and their depredations (not that graphic for the most part, thankfully), I would have liked the series to delve more into Alice Fletcher's past and her marriage to Truckee's father, and for there to be more scenes of the other La Belle women, some of whom got pretty short shrift, IMO.
That said, the climactic gun battle between the gang and the women of La Belle is just so well done that I've now watched it three times and will probably watch it again. It's just incredibly satisfying to see a bunch of murderous rapists taken down that way - even if the whole thing is a hymn to the gun as an equalizer, and even if the gang's behaviour -milling about in plain sight so that Mary-Agnes and Alice up on the roof can just pick them off one by one - is...kind of silly.
I also thought the whole thing about the old Shoshone man with the dog who was following Sheriff McNue around, but was apparently a ghost (?) was a bit of a weird mislead. I expected that to lead somewhere and it didn't at all. Unless I missed something?
Anyone else watched this? What did you think?
Next up, Spike Lee's TV series of She's Gotta Have It. Shan't be binge-watching, though.
ETA: Should have said, Tantoo Cardinal as Alice's acerbic mother-in-law Iyovi is just wonderful.
I don't get the house to myself much and it's been quite nice (though a bit creepy at night). I've listened to some classical music, which for various reasons I hardly ever get to do, and I've binge-watched quite a lot of telly - something I also hardly ever get to do and actually don't like doing that much (because you get through the good stuff too quickly). I've re-watched the entirety of Lucifer season 3 so far. It hangs together much better than I thought it would and there isn't - IMO - a bad episode in there.
I've also watched Godless on Netflix.
Spoilers for that behind cut.
My mum was a big fan of westerns, and I've watched a lot of them over the years. Plus, I'd read an interview with Michelle Dockery about the series and was curious to see her play a character so different to Lady Mary from Downton Abbey. So I binged it over three nights. My feelings are mixed ultimately. There was a lot of stuff I liked in it. The cast was superb, as was the cinematography. The landscapes are just stunning. I also very much like the diversity of the casting, and that it was so female-centric.
That said, I don't think it lived up to its promise in some ways. Jeff Daniels was terrific as Frank Griffin so I suppose I understand why he had so many scenes, but I could have done with fewer, actually, showing how monstrous and evil he and his gang were, and I especially did not like the way they disposed of the entire town of Blackdom so easily. Also, it got ever so slightly farcical in the end how long it took the gang to arrive in La Belle.
Instead of so many scenes featuring the gang and their depredations (not that graphic for the most part, thankfully), I would have liked the series to delve more into Alice Fletcher's past and her marriage to Truckee's father, and for there to be more scenes of the other La Belle women, some of whom got pretty short shrift, IMO.
That said, the climactic gun battle between the gang and the women of La Belle is just so well done that I've now watched it three times and will probably watch it again. It's just incredibly satisfying to see a bunch of murderous rapists taken down that way - even if the whole thing is a hymn to the gun as an equalizer, and even if the gang's behaviour -milling about in plain sight so that Mary-Agnes and Alice up on the roof can just pick them off one by one - is...kind of silly.
I also thought the whole thing about the old Shoshone man with the dog who was following Sheriff McNue around, but was apparently a ghost (?) was a bit of a weird mislead. I expected that to lead somewhere and it didn't at all. Unless I missed something?
Anyone else watched this? What did you think?
Next up, Spike Lee's TV series of She's Gotta Have It. Shan't be binge-watching, though.
ETA: Should have said, Tantoo Cardinal as Alice's acerbic mother-in-law Iyovi is just wonderful.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-26 02:42 pm (UTC)I finished the last episode of Star Trek Continues and was disappointed. The original Star Trek was a five year mission but had only four seasons. This show presents itself as the fifth season but doesn't end the way the original fifth season would have. Their final episode bridges the gap between the original series and the first of the movies where Spock is on Vulcan and Kirk is an admiral. To do that, they wrote a tragedy which doesn't keep to the feeling of the original series. So I can see why they did that, but it wasn't what I was expecting.
I also finished Richard III which is the final play in the two The Hollow Crown series (3 plays each). Those were amazing! I definitely want to watch that whole series again at some point. Oh, but Richard III totally turned into a 'the Tudors are our legitimate rulers; the Tudors are so our legitimate rulers' kind of a thing. It wasn't bad but I didn't expect that.
And then I started rewatching Carmilla because the movie is out and I plan to watch it over Christmas when roommate is gone for weeks. I like the series but maybe I've seen it too often and too recently? I wasn't enthusiastic about it.
Kat and I last night watched Skinwalker, an adaptation of one of those Tony Hillerman books that were popular decades back. She wasn't that interested in continuing that series so we switched to The Crown, a BBC series about their queen's life. That is brilliant. I'm adoring the subtle dialogue.
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Date: 2017-11-26 04:12 pm (UTC)Yeah, I think I'm at that stage now. ;)
When you say Star Trek Continues, do you mean Star Trek Discovery? If not and it's something different, this is the first time I've ever heard of it.
Oh, but Richard III totally turned into a 'the Tudors are our legitimate rulers; the Tudors are so our legitimate rulers' kind of a thing. It wasn't bad but I didn't expect that.
Well, the Tudors did expend a lot of energy legitimising their rather tenuous claim to the throne, and part of that was making Richard III into a complete monster who deserved to be overthrown by the heroic Henry VII. That's the narrative that Shakespeare would have grown up with. Quite probably he believed every word of it, and even if not, he was writing during the reign of Henry's granddaughter Elizabeth I, so presenting a different POV would have been artistic suicide. Possibly even treason. ;)
so we switched to The Crown, a BBC series about their queen's life. That is brilliant.
It is really good. I agree. Season 2 will be available in just over a week.
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Date: 2017-11-26 07:38 pm (UTC)I figured Shakespeare went with that whole "Yay Tudors!" theme because Elizabeth was queen.
Oooh, awesome to hear there's more of The Crown to look forward to.
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Date: 2017-11-28 10:15 am (UTC)Ah, okay. I was completely unaware of it.
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Date: 2017-11-28 12:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-26 09:02 pm (UTC)Also curious about Continues, is that a fan film series?
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Date: 2017-11-26 10:07 pm (UTC)Yes, it is a fan film series. I'm not sure how many episodes but you can click through the link I provided earlier.
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Date: 2017-11-28 10:17 am (UTC)No, indeed. They were all horrible.
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Date: 2017-11-26 02:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-26 04:14 pm (UTC)I've never seen the film, actually, and maybe I won't. I know Spike Lee has apologised for the rape scene in it. Says if he could go back and change anything he would remove that scene because he views things very differently now. But I may just spare myself that and stick to the series.
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Date: 2017-11-26 09:07 pm (UTC)Mike always likes having the apartment to himself, probably because I'm less often the one away than he is. But this year he had it to himself three times as I've been traveling without him. I'll be on my own for a few days before Christmas though -- the biggest change for me is that I don't really cook and I eat when I want ;)
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Date: 2017-11-28 10:19 am (UTC)Same here. I can't be bothered to cook just for myself.
I do recommend Godless if you ever do have the time. I think on the whole it's worth watching. I also seriously doubt it's the last time I've watched that gunfight. ;)
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Date: 2017-11-27 12:53 am (UTC)But regarding Michelle Dockery? If you really want to see her play a character entirely different than Lady Mary, check out Good Behavior. She plays an ex-con thief and drug addict, trying to get custody of her son -- who falls for an Argentinian hitman.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-28 10:20 am (UTC)