a few scattered thoughts about a few scattered things
I liked Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist at lot more than I expected to, given that I had such mixed feelings about the book, which I found highly enjoyable, yet incredibly annoying. In some ways it reminded me of Romeo and Juliet, where good casting and acting can make the characters infinitely more endearing (and, correspondingly, less overwhelmingly irritating -- reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet tends to make me want to kick everyone's ass, the whole, excruciating time... though I do have a soft spot for Mercutio). I like Michael Cera just generally, and he brought a sort of deep, bumbling sweetness to Nick. Kat Dennings made a fabulous Norah -- she was convincingly sardonic and snappy and intelligent-seeming, but it was kind of a relief to not actually hear all of her hipper-than-thou thought processes the way you get them in the book. Tris was the kind of girl I hate and wow, did that come through. Tris was cutesy and "sexy" in that "I need all the attention ever" way (stabbity stabbity stabbity), while Norah was striking and gorgeous (her lips! her hair), a contrast that also came through perfectly. I enjoyed all the side characters, too -- Ari Graynor as Norah's drunk party-girl best friend was tons of fun, and I adored Nick's two bandmates and their beefy friend. I liked the Asian guitarist (Thom, played by Aaron Yoo) a lot, and there was a John Cho cameo. ♥
On the other hand, it made me homesick for NYC, and I've never even lived there. How is that even possible? Seriously, it made me wish I had chosen Columbia for the MA, either hated it or loved it, and then fallen in love with New York and stayed there forever. Or at least for a few years. Or, hell, that I'd stayed in publishing and moved to New York or something. Maybe I just wish I hadn't decided to do this, move to this place that, while not actually horrible (it has some good points, I fully acknowledge that), is kind of... without. NYC is pretty much the definition of not without.
Meanwhile, I have whipped through season 1 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and really, really adored it. If anyone has any fic recs or knows of any, please point me at them! I am pretty much head over heels for Brian Austin Green's character, Derek. Hot, tattooed, a little fucked up, morally grey on the side of righteous violence, hints of sweet, squishy, passionate core... yeah, it would be difficult to design a character any more up my alley. Lena Headey does a fabulous job as Sarah Connor, especially when you consider the shoes she's stepping into, Summer Glau makes for an astonishingly good, fascinating robot (it was a pleasure to see her doing ballet), and the choice of Thomas Dekker as John Connor was truly inspired. I liked him a lot on Heroes and was sad when he faded from view, but hell, if this is what he's doing instead (and given, well, the "development" of Heroes), I can only rejoice. Basically, I'm totally frustrated that the first season was only 9 episodes long and practically salivating at the at the mouth for season 2 to exist in dvd box set form. In the meantime, perhaps I'll pick up BSG again. The mini-series completely blew me away, but I've been getting extremely mixed reviews regarding the rest of the series. I might wait until it's over to decide.
Not like there's not plenty of other stuff to watch instead. Hustle (UK), NCIS, Eureka, House, How I Met Your Mother... Leverage and Merlin, eventually, as well as more seasons of stuff currently running/very recently finished like Burn Notice and Psych and Bones and Chuck, and the last of the late, great Pushing Daisies.
So much media, so little time!
On the other hand, it made me homesick for NYC, and I've never even lived there. How is that even possible? Seriously, it made me wish I had chosen Columbia for the MA, either hated it or loved it, and then fallen in love with New York and stayed there forever. Or at least for a few years. Or, hell, that I'd stayed in publishing and moved to New York or something. Maybe I just wish I hadn't decided to do this, move to this place that, while not actually horrible (it has some good points, I fully acknowledge that), is kind of... without. NYC is pretty much the definition of not without.
Meanwhile, I have whipped through season 1 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and really, really adored it. If anyone has any fic recs or knows of any, please point me at them! I am pretty much head over heels for Brian Austin Green's character, Derek. Hot, tattooed, a little fucked up, morally grey on the side of righteous violence, hints of sweet, squishy, passionate core... yeah, it would be difficult to design a character any more up my alley. Lena Headey does a fabulous job as Sarah Connor, especially when you consider the shoes she's stepping into, Summer Glau makes for an astonishingly good, fascinating robot (it was a pleasure to see her doing ballet), and the choice of Thomas Dekker as John Connor was truly inspired. I liked him a lot on Heroes and was sad when he faded from view, but hell, if this is what he's doing instead (and given, well, the "development" of Heroes), I can only rejoice. Basically, I'm totally frustrated that the first season was only 9 episodes long and practically salivating at the at the mouth for season 2 to exist in dvd box set form. In the meantime, perhaps I'll pick up BSG again. The mini-series completely blew me away, but I've been getting extremely mixed reviews regarding the rest of the series. I might wait until it's over to decide.
Not like there's not plenty of other stuff to watch instead. Hustle (UK), NCIS, Eureka, House, How I Met Your Mother... Leverage and Merlin, eventually, as well as more seasons of stuff currently running/very recently finished like Burn Notice and Psych and Bones and Chuck, and the last of the late, great Pushing Daisies.
So much media, so little time!