Tumblr, movie uncertainty, icons, and Topkapi
So, I got myself a Tumblr. I don't know if I'm going to use it for anything, but I'm following the DWJ blog, I might as well follow a few more. If you want to be followed, drop me a note.
***
I considered going to the movies today, but then I didn't. I just sat staring on the website going, "Okay, there's Iron Sky, and The Avengers, and maybe Dark Shadows, and any one of those could be good, but what if they're not?"
I know, I know, I should have watched The Avengers already, but I'm in that place where I want to have seen it, but I'm not that keen to actually see it. You know, like reading War and Peace, or vacuum cleaning. (The latter of which I actually did do today, yay!) I've only seen two of the preceding movies, both of which I liked okay but am not fannish about, I haven't read the comics, I have issues with Joss Whedon, and I tend to think of action scenes as filler between the fun stuff. So taken altogether, I haven't as of yet any proof that it's a film suited to me. I just feel so awkward not having seen it.
***
Meanwhile, I've seen a bunch of other stuff, though I'm still behind on any current television. Well, apart from Britain's Got Talent, which I quickly mainlined in the past couple of weeks. As usual, there were way too many singers in the final, but at least the dog beat them all this time. Yay! (I'm sorry, I will never ever root for anyone who chooses to sing "The Prayer". I'm one of maybe five people in the world who was full-on fannish for Quest for Camelot, and I still think that song has been done to death.)
I'm not sure which my favourite act was, but Lucky's a strong contender just for providing me with icons:
You gotta love a girl who's not only iconable herself but makes the judges iconable too. :-)
I tried to get a good icon of the final pose for Strictly Wheels, but it just didn't look good in 100x100. I also tried making the "ow" icon from an actual film clip, but that looked like crap. Does anyone know a really good gif converter?
***
Also, movies, of which I've seen a few, but will stick to Topkapi in order not to make this post too long, and also because I liked it so much.
I can't honestly say if it's a good film or not. In truth, I found it a bit slow at first, but the characters charmed my socks off to the extent that I can't think critically about anything else. At first, making comparisons in my mind, I thought, "It's a bit like a non-hilarious Fish Called Wanda," but that seemed a bit unkind, seeing how much I liked Topkapi. It's just not hilarious. I'm not entirely sure I'd even call it a comedy.
Then I realized that no, despite certain similarities with AFCW, what this film is really like is Leverage, although of course these guys are all still technically on the side of bad. (Except they're so darn cute you can't help rooting for them! And since this is a film, they don't overstay their welcome like the Leverage gang started doing after a few seasons.)
I can even do a character-by-character breakdown: Walter is Nate, Elizabeth is Sophie (complete with that not being her name), Cedric is Hardison, Hans is Eliot, and Giulio is Parker. Poor Arthur Simpson doesn't fit, but then, he doesn't fit into the gang either. Of course, tvtropes would argue that it's just because they're both essentially five-man/five-bad bands. (And indeed the editors have identical trouble filling the Dark Chick seat for this film, which Giulio doesn't really fit - even gender aside - any more than Parker fits regular good-girl Chick. Ironically, Parker could probably fly a Dark Chick pretty well.)
It very much made me want fic. Not necessarily crossover fic, just fic. Though GOD, a crossover would be awesome! But it's been almost 50 years, even if any character was still alive they'd be too old for crime - well, maybe not Walter, since he mostly did the planning. I found a fic on Ao3 called The Topkapi Affair, but that seemed to be just inspired by this film, not an actual crossover. Maybe I'll read it some day, but right now I want these people. The ending leaves lots of possibilities! I'll have it on my Yuletide shortlist for now, but it's a long time until signups and FFF will come between (which, btw, remind me to talk about Some Guy Who Kills People now that it's out on DVD), so I don't trust that I'll still remember this little darling come November.
Possibly I should just write something myself, but in addition to not needing more story ideas, I also can't plot a caper fic to save my life. Even a game of chess with me only ends in boredom and no pieces left on the board.
And yes, I know, there's a book. I'm going to pick it up from the library the next time I go. But come on, that's just not a substitute. I want this version of the story. As I understand it, Elizabeth isn't even in the book, which would make it a total sausage fest, not to mention a lot less fun. I know some viewers have complained that she's too old and plain for the role ("creepy old hag" was one charming imdb commenter's phrasing), but those people can go hang. If I'd been aware of her when I made my "Can't Keep a Good Woman Down" video, she would definitely have been on it.
Let her show you both why she's awesome, and why you should see this film, with the introduction:
And with that, I finally finish this post. :-)
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/576693.html and has
comments there.
***
I considered going to the movies today, but then I didn't. I just sat staring on the website going, "Okay, there's Iron Sky, and The Avengers, and maybe Dark Shadows, and any one of those could be good, but what if they're not?"
I know, I know, I should have watched The Avengers already, but I'm in that place where I want to have seen it, but I'm not that keen to actually see it. You know, like reading War and Peace, or vacuum cleaning. (The latter of which I actually did do today, yay!) I've only seen two of the preceding movies, both of which I liked okay but am not fannish about, I haven't read the comics, I have issues with Joss Whedon, and I tend to think of action scenes as filler between the fun stuff. So taken altogether, I haven't as of yet any proof that it's a film suited to me. I just feel so awkward not having seen it.
***
Meanwhile, I've seen a bunch of other stuff, though I'm still behind on any current television. Well, apart from Britain's Got Talent, which I quickly mainlined in the past couple of weeks. As usual, there were way too many singers in the final, but at least the dog beat them all this time. Yay! (I'm sorry, I will never ever root for anyone who chooses to sing "The Prayer". I'm one of maybe five people in the world who was full-on fannish for Quest for Camelot, and I still think that song has been done to death.)
I'm not sure which my favourite act was, but Lucky's a strong contender just for providing me with icons:
You gotta love a girl who's not only iconable herself but makes the judges iconable too. :-)
I tried to get a good icon of the final pose for Strictly Wheels, but it just didn't look good in 100x100. I also tried making the "ow" icon from an actual film clip, but that looked like crap. Does anyone know a really good gif converter?
***
Also, movies, of which I've seen a few, but will stick to Topkapi in order not to make this post too long, and also because I liked it so much.
I can't honestly say if it's a good film or not. In truth, I found it a bit slow at first, but the characters charmed my socks off to the extent that I can't think critically about anything else. At first, making comparisons in my mind, I thought, "It's a bit like a non-hilarious Fish Called Wanda," but that seemed a bit unkind, seeing how much I liked Topkapi. It's just not hilarious. I'm not entirely sure I'd even call it a comedy.
Then I realized that no, despite certain similarities with AFCW, what this film is really like is Leverage, although of course these guys are all still technically on the side of bad. (Except they're so darn cute you can't help rooting for them! And since this is a film, they don't overstay their welcome like the Leverage gang started doing after a few seasons.)
I can even do a character-by-character breakdown: Walter is Nate, Elizabeth is Sophie (complete with that not being her name), Cedric is Hardison, Hans is Eliot, and Giulio is Parker. Poor Arthur Simpson doesn't fit, but then, he doesn't fit into the gang either. Of course, tvtropes would argue that it's just because they're both essentially five-man/five-bad bands. (And indeed the editors have identical trouble filling the Dark Chick seat for this film, which Giulio doesn't really fit - even gender aside - any more than Parker fits regular good-girl Chick. Ironically, Parker could probably fly a Dark Chick pretty well.)
It very much made me want fic. Not necessarily crossover fic, just fic. Though GOD, a crossover would be awesome! But it's been almost 50 years, even if any character was still alive they'd be too old for crime - well, maybe not Walter, since he mostly did the planning. I found a fic on Ao3 called The Topkapi Affair, but that seemed to be just inspired by this film, not an actual crossover. Maybe I'll read it some day, but right now I want these people. The ending leaves lots of possibilities! I'll have it on my Yuletide shortlist for now, but it's a long time until signups and FFF will come between (which, btw, remind me to talk about Some Guy Who Kills People now that it's out on DVD), so I don't trust that I'll still remember this little darling come November.
Possibly I should just write something myself, but in addition to not needing more story ideas, I also can't plot a caper fic to save my life. Even a game of chess with me only ends in boredom and no pieces left on the board.
And yes, I know, there's a book. I'm going to pick it up from the library the next time I go. But come on, that's just not a substitute. I want this version of the story. As I understand it, Elizabeth isn't even in the book, which would make it a total sausage fest, not to mention a lot less fun. I know some viewers have complained that she's too old and plain for the role ("creepy old hag" was one charming imdb commenter's phrasing), but those people can go hang. If I'd been aware of her when I made my "Can't Keep a Good Woman Down" video, she would definitely have been on it.
Let her show you both why she's awesome, and why you should see this film, with the introduction:
Click to viewAnd with that, I finally finish this post. :-)
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/576693.html and has
comments there.