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Reviews: Saw, Read, Heard, Played
Oct. 30th, 2012 07:00 pmI've been meaning to write about some things I've seen/read/heard/whatever for a while, and like a well-oiled machine of stupidity, I forgot to list the things I wanted until too long has gone by and am unsure if I've covered everything, so let's go by ear here...
Saw:
The fall shows have started again, and they've survived their first season well (except one, which I'll get to).
Once Upon a Time began with Michael Raymond-James rocking out to Lou Reed so as to get the True Blood fans reeled in, and then washed in a load of new characters! Rumple and Belle finally get kissy-kissy, but (spoiler) she keeps breaking up with him over and over. Look, girl, this is Robert Fucking Carlyle, okay? Sheesh! Some of my feelings on characters change, and some remain the same - like my growing like for Jennifer Morrison and her mostly believable ability to take in all the crazy shit going on around her all at once; and my continued disdain for Henry, whose latest superpower seems to have switched from getting away with skipping school all the time to turning on/off his sort-of love for the woman who fucking raised him at the drop of a hat. One thing in particular, though? Captain Hook (we should all know by now how much I've studied this subject). In the S2 Teaser released at Comic Con, they show Captain Hook breaking into Gold's antique shop to retrieve his hook, which he attaches to the right/correct hand. This pleased me! Nobody gets this right! But when he finally appears in the show, not only is he NOT named James M. Hook, but he has the left/wrong hand cut off! Other than that, though, I actually do like this rendition of him. The name thing's weird though. I just think of it as a sort of pass-me-down title here, like the Dread Pirate Roberts from Princess Bride. Really, though, Killian Jones?? Everyone else seems to have kept their classic names.
American Horror Story, which I've yet to catch up on, is very pretty, in a grungy way (you all should also know how much I'm into grungy, rusty, old-time asylum stuff). The recycled cast is nice, because it reminds me that this is the same show as last year. From the first episode, I thought it would just be a real-life-things horror story (since old-time asylums, and the procedures within, are very scary to begin with), with a crazed murderer, sick bastards, and electroshock therapy, but then they throw in a demonic possession (yeah, I know they also had an alien abduction, but *YAWN* It was so dull, I forget it happened until they keep flashing back). Charles doesn't seem to be taking to the show to well, but I will keep my hopes up.
I don't know if I should even bother touching on the Walking Dead. I will not succumb to Stockholm Syndrome over this show any longer (though I LOVED the silence/action of the first episode- peeled a guy's face right off!!!). I haven't seen the latest episode yet, but I heard it's dull as hell. Back to the old regime from last season, I see. But if all goes according to plan (er... comic book), I won't have to keep my hate on for (SPOILER!!!)Lori much longer. I do like the concept of the big house, though. Couldn't keep Carl in the house, so we brought him to prison. Woo.
Well, that's about it for shows. Movies?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower was really good! Not like instant classic good, but really good anyway. I went to see this with Charles and my little sister. She and I were obsessed with this book since it came out - The book made our entire adolescent lives infinitely better. It's one of my (actually, our) most-read books on the shelf, and has always been one of my favourite gifts to give someone who I think needs to read it (and haven't been wrong since). And it hasn't lost itself in the 13 years it took to have a movie made of it. My sister and I shared little whispers throughout the film, about the actors being great/terrible for the role, which parts were cut, and which blah blah blah. The one scene they got totally wrong, yet was still really beautiful anyway, was The Tunnel Song scene, where, in the book, the three of them are riding in the pickup (it's Sam's truck in the book, but Patricks's in the film) with Charlie in the middle, and they're on their way to a party, and the song comes on the radio. No one's ever heard it, and (being the days before the internet got wildly popular) is just about impossible to find. They all sit really quiet, driving along, listening to this song, and at the end, Charlie says "I feel infinite." And they both look at him like he just said the greatest thing in the world, because the song was that good. And the name of the song was never revealed, because it's something the readers must experience for themselves. In the film, it was David Bowie's song Heroes. They should have hired someone to make a song to play here.
Later that week, my sister and I went to the Little to see V/H/S with a special Skype Q&A with the producer. The movie is 5 or so scary stories, and I pretty much liked them all. Didn't love any of them, if memory serves, but they weren't that bad. Actually, the last one, with the haunted house, was a little too cheesy. Really glad the shakey camera (on VHS cam-corders) didn't make me sick, but SHOCK, people actually knew how to keep a hand-held mostly still :D
(isn't this lame- I can't think of any other films I've watched in the past month, BUT, just added to the TO WATCH list is Alien and the Riddick Trilogy! as well as Pretear, an anime I got hooked on while at a friend's hosue)
Read:
Comic books! (here's where my wrist gets sore, so the reviews are going to be quick and dirty)
On my current Pull List, I've got Courtney Crumrin, which just started a new story arc, so I'll be getting to reviewing that at a later date; Fairest (same thing - new story arc), and Glory (also the same thing).
I have recently read the first trade paperback of a comic book called Saga, which I received for my birthday from my friend Tiffani, who highly recommends it. I must admit, I didn't think I'd much care for it, reading about half-way through. There are some long-winded parts where it's just talk-talk-talk and no real story commences, but the action is neat! I've become hooked, and will be adding it to my pull list so I don't miss the next (I do need more to pull).
Finally got a (slightly defected) copy of Wet Moon 6 by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mooncalfe Ross Campbell, (with a little green spot on the cover from the press) and it is great! And I'm not just saying that because I got to dress Myrtle for her show and got an in-comic shout-out (both of which can be seen on page 109)!! It's great, because it is a somber episode (yea, I say episodes when I talk about comics), where (MAJOR SPOILER) my favourite character Trilby is found stabbed and left for dead in the swamp, but SHE SURVIVED!!! We get to see how all the characters handle her being in a coma during a time of change for them all. Cleo loses her hair (and it grows back white), Marten becomes a shut-in, and Myrtle is an even more fuckier fuck-fuck!!!! Can't wait for 7!!
Currently reading The Night Circus a novel by Erin Mortensomething (or something like that).
Also read the final Bizenghast GN (bysadwonderland, and the GN Vietnamerica, by GB Tran, who I had the immeasurable pleasure of meeting last year at my school's art gallery. But I won't be reviewing them, because I read them a few months ago, and they aren't too clear in my mind.
Heard:
Got a shit-tonne of music recently. Here's what I've got to review so far.
Weep - Alate: I really like this album because it reminds me of a gothy Polaris. It's more crisp than their previous stuff (more crisp, but still not totally crisp), and the songs are more distinct, I think. This is a really good album to listen to while working on stuff. It's my favourite of all their albums so far!
Emilie Autumn - Fight Like a Girl: This is a work of art!!! She did all the gruntwork of this album, the mastering, the mixing, all the producing! It's kind of a story album, too. Very theatrical, with a major stage flair! The lyrics are fun, hokey, serious, and lovely all mixed in one! The music reminds me a lot of Malice Mizer (Klaha era)! And I can't get enough of it :D
The Cog Is Dead: Obviously steampunk, with a good set of stories, but some songs just don't seem to fit, like the third song in (right after the big single that won me over Blood, Sweat, and Tears) called Loverboy which is a hokey, upbeat banjo/uke love song thing. They have a couple of weird unfit songs with a Casio pop beat, which is okay, the songs aren't bad, but then it goes straight downhill on track 12, which is a ridiculous Reggae love song called I Want Only You, complete with a "ya-mon" voiceover that all-together leaves a horrid taste in my mouth just by hearing it. Without these weird additions, this album would be a really nice story.
Voltaire - BiTrektual: [insert extremely shining review here].
No really, it's an amazing album! The concept is all Star Wars / Star Trek, with a couple of songs about both (like the title track, as well as Expendable, about Troopers/Redshirts)! He even has guest singers from various Star Trek shows! He threw on the live album dialogues, and even re-recorded his acoustic mini-album Banned on Vulcan with a full band, which was a great experience for me, because it was like hearing entirely new songs! On top of that, one of those original songs, The USS Makes Shit Up, involves a bonus verse in the live version, and on THIS album, there's a couple new lyrics, and YET ANOTHER BONUS VERSE to cover the Star Trek movie!! To throw things a bit off-course, he has one song NOT about the Stars: It's Bigger On The Inside, about (guess what!) Doctor Who! I've listened to this album SO MUCH. I think the one I've heard more than the others is Docking Bay 94, which is a Star Wars song, but Voltaire says it's an allegory to his running away from home at age 17 (the same time I did, too). I really love the flow of the song, even though I've... never... seen Star Wars 8(
Other music I've acquired recently are by Elemental, Miss Derringer, Evelyn Evelyn, Dionysos, the Lo soundtrack, and This Way to the Egress, but I've heard them all a long time ago, so I'm not going to review them.
Played:
Alice: The Madness Returns: Wow. This game was so much fun! I'm sad to admit, I never got used to the controls enough to complete the first game, but it wasn't entirely necessary to beat the first to understand this one. The story of her repressed memories are far darker than they were in the first, delving into child abuse, misplaced guilt, and murder. The soundtrack was more subtle, but the gameplay was easier, and the story was more full, with a real ending. I spent one weekend playing this game, and ended up with severe gamer's thumb. Soon I'll be ready for a second go.
Yet to play: Batman Arkham Asylum & Arkham City, and Bioshock 1 & 2.
And I think that's it for my reviews.
Saw:
The fall shows have started again, and they've survived their first season well (except one, which I'll get to).
Once Upon a Time began with Michael Raymond-James rocking out to Lou Reed so as to get the True Blood fans reeled in, and then washed in a load of new characters! Rumple and Belle finally get kissy-kissy, but (spoiler) she keeps breaking up with him over and over. Look, girl, this is Robert Fucking Carlyle, okay? Sheesh! Some of my feelings on characters change, and some remain the same - like my growing like for Jennifer Morrison and her mostly believable ability to take in all the crazy shit going on around her all at once; and my continued disdain for Henry, whose latest superpower seems to have switched from getting away with skipping school all the time to turning on/off his sort-of love for the woman who fucking raised him at the drop of a hat. One thing in particular, though? Captain Hook (we should all know by now how much I've studied this subject). In the S2 Teaser released at Comic Con, they show Captain Hook breaking into Gold's antique shop to retrieve his hook, which he attaches to the right/correct hand. This pleased me! Nobody gets this right! But when he finally appears in the show, not only is he NOT named James M. Hook, but he has the left/wrong hand cut off! Other than that, though, I actually do like this rendition of him. The name thing's weird though. I just think of it as a sort of pass-me-down title here, like the Dread Pirate Roberts from Princess Bride. Really, though, Killian Jones?? Everyone else seems to have kept their classic names.
American Horror Story, which I've yet to catch up on, is very pretty, in a grungy way (you all should also know how much I'm into grungy, rusty, old-time asylum stuff). The recycled cast is nice, because it reminds me that this is the same show as last year. From the first episode, I thought it would just be a real-life-things horror story (since old-time asylums, and the procedures within, are very scary to begin with), with a crazed murderer, sick bastards, and electroshock therapy, but then they throw in a demonic possession (yeah, I know they also had an alien abduction, but *YAWN* It was so dull, I forget it happened until they keep flashing back). Charles doesn't seem to be taking to the show to well, but I will keep my hopes up.
I don't know if I should even bother touching on the Walking Dead. I will not succumb to Stockholm Syndrome over this show any longer (though I LOVED the silence/action of the first episode- peeled a guy's face right off!!!). I haven't seen the latest episode yet, but I heard it's dull as hell. Back to the old regime from last season, I see. But if all goes according to plan (er... comic book), I won't have to keep my hate on for (SPOILER!!!)
Well, that's about it for shows. Movies?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower was really good! Not like instant classic good, but really good anyway. I went to see this with Charles and my little sister. She and I were obsessed with this book since it came out - The book made our entire adolescent lives infinitely better. It's one of my (actually, our) most-read books on the shelf, and has always been one of my favourite gifts to give someone who I think needs to read it (and haven't been wrong since). And it hasn't lost itself in the 13 years it took to have a movie made of it. My sister and I shared little whispers throughout the film, about the actors being great/terrible for the role, which parts were cut, and which blah blah blah. The one scene they got totally wrong, yet was still really beautiful anyway, was The Tunnel Song scene, where, in the book, the three of them are riding in the pickup (it's Sam's truck in the book, but Patricks's in the film) with Charlie in the middle, and they're on their way to a party, and the song comes on the radio. No one's ever heard it, and (being the days before the internet got wildly popular) is just about impossible to find. They all sit really quiet, driving along, listening to this song, and at the end, Charlie says "I feel infinite." And they both look at him like he just said the greatest thing in the world, because the song was that good. And the name of the song was never revealed, because it's something the readers must experience for themselves. In the film, it was David Bowie's song Heroes. They should have hired someone to make a song to play here.
Later that week, my sister and I went to the Little to see V/H/S with a special Skype Q&A with the producer. The movie is 5 or so scary stories, and I pretty much liked them all. Didn't love any of them, if memory serves, but they weren't that bad. Actually, the last one, with the haunted house, was a little too cheesy. Really glad the shakey camera (on VHS cam-corders) didn't make me sick, but SHOCK, people actually knew how to keep a hand-held mostly still :D
(isn't this lame- I can't think of any other films I've watched in the past month, BUT, just added to the TO WATCH list is Alien and the Riddick Trilogy! as well as Pretear, an anime I got hooked on while at a friend's hosue)
Read:
Comic books! (here's where my wrist gets sore, so the reviews are going to be quick and dirty)
On my current Pull List, I've got Courtney Crumrin, which just started a new story arc, so I'll be getting to reviewing that at a later date; Fairest (same thing - new story arc), and Glory (also the same thing).
I have recently read the first trade paperback of a comic book called Saga, which I received for my birthday from my friend Tiffani, who highly recommends it. I must admit, I didn't think I'd much care for it, reading about half-way through. There are some long-winded parts where it's just talk-talk-talk and no real story commences, but the action is neat! I've become hooked, and will be adding it to my pull list so I don't miss the next (I do need more to pull).
Finally got a (slightly defected) copy of Wet Moon 6 by
mooncalfe Ross Campbell, (with a little green spot on the cover from the press) and it is great! And I'm not just saying that because I got to dress Myrtle for her show and got an in-comic shout-out (both of which can be seen on page 109)!! It's great, because it is a somber episode (yea, I say episodes when I talk about comics), where (MAJOR SPOILER) my favourite character Trilby is found stabbed and left for dead in the swamp, but SHE SURVIVED!!! We get to see how all the characters handle her being in a coma during a time of change for them all. Cleo loses her hair (and it grows back white), Marten becomes a shut-in, and Myrtle is an even more fuckier fuck-fuck!!!! Can't wait for 7!!Currently reading The Night Circus a novel by Erin Mortensomething (or something like that).
Also read the final Bizenghast GN (by
sadwonderland, and the GN Vietnamerica, by GB Tran, who I had the immeasurable pleasure of meeting last year at my school's art gallery. But I won't be reviewing them, because I read them a few months ago, and they aren't too clear in my mind.Heard:
Got a shit-tonne of music recently. Here's what I've got to review so far.
Weep - Alate: I really like this album because it reminds me of a gothy Polaris. It's more crisp than their previous stuff (more crisp, but still not totally crisp), and the songs are more distinct, I think. This is a really good album to listen to while working on stuff. It's my favourite of all their albums so far!
Emilie Autumn - Fight Like a Girl: This is a work of art!!! She did all the gruntwork of this album, the mastering, the mixing, all the producing! It's kind of a story album, too. Very theatrical, with a major stage flair! The lyrics are fun, hokey, serious, and lovely all mixed in one! The music reminds me a lot of Malice Mizer (Klaha era)! And I can't get enough of it :D
The Cog Is Dead: Obviously steampunk, with a good set of stories, but some songs just don't seem to fit, like the third song in (right after the big single that won me over Blood, Sweat, and Tears) called Loverboy which is a hokey, upbeat banjo/uke love song thing. They have a couple of weird unfit songs with a Casio pop beat, which is okay, the songs aren't bad, but then it goes straight downhill on track 12, which is a ridiculous Reggae love song called I Want Only You, complete with a "ya-mon" voiceover that all-together leaves a horrid taste in my mouth just by hearing it. Without these weird additions, this album would be a really nice story.
Voltaire - BiTrektual: [insert extremely shining review here].
No really, it's an amazing album! The concept is all Star Wars / Star Trek, with a couple of songs about both (like the title track, as well as Expendable, about Troopers/Redshirts)! He even has guest singers from various Star Trek shows! He threw on the live album dialogues, and even re-recorded his acoustic mini-album Banned on Vulcan with a full band, which was a great experience for me, because it was like hearing entirely new songs! On top of that, one of those original songs, The USS Makes Shit Up, involves a bonus verse in the live version, and on THIS album, there's a couple new lyrics, and YET ANOTHER BONUS VERSE to cover the Star Trek movie!! To throw things a bit off-course, he has one song NOT about the Stars: It's Bigger On The Inside, about (guess what!) Doctor Who! I've listened to this album SO MUCH. I think the one I've heard more than the others is Docking Bay 94, which is a Star Wars song, but Voltaire says it's an allegory to his running away from home at age 17 (the same time I did, too). I really love the flow of the song, even though I've... never... seen Star Wars 8(
Other music I've acquired recently are by Elemental, Miss Derringer, Evelyn Evelyn, Dionysos, the Lo soundtrack, and This Way to the Egress, but I've heard them all a long time ago, so I'm not going to review them.
Played:
Alice: The Madness Returns: Wow. This game was so much fun! I'm sad to admit, I never got used to the controls enough to complete the first game, but it wasn't entirely necessary to beat the first to understand this one. The story of her repressed memories are far darker than they were in the first, delving into child abuse, misplaced guilt, and murder. The soundtrack was more subtle, but the gameplay was easier, and the story was more full, with a real ending. I spent one weekend playing this game, and ended up with severe gamer's thumb. Soon I'll be ready for a second go.
Yet to play: Batman Arkham Asylum & Arkham City, and Bioshock 1 & 2.
And I think that's it for my reviews.
