Precis on other stuff I have read and watched
The Runaways: sub_divided has a proper review of it here, which I'm linking because I agree and am lazy XD (also my comments are in the thread). Will add that I thought Sandy West was played winningly in the movie - she had a presence, if not a backstory, and a couple of sexy/hilarious scenes with Joan. Lita Ford basically existed in the script to throw strops. XD;; If either of them had gotten a narrative arc it would've been messier than either Joan's or Cherie's, sure, but the weakness of the movie is the non-messiness of the second act - Cherie's bottoming out is predictable, Joan's artistic apotheosis is too internalized to make for good cinema. Also, c'mon, it showed Joan making herself a Sex Pistols t-shirt but 1) said nothing about punk in as many words and 2) didn't dramatize the epic anecdote wherein Sid Vicious hits on Joan and Sandy throws him over the side of a boat.
There was a good online review somewhere that said Kristin Stewart's performance obscures her celebrity while Dakota Fanning's foregrounds it - IOW KS Brandos it up massively so all you see is the teenaged-Joan-Jett character, whereas DF eventually goes into a parody of herself as the washed-up druggie Hollywood child star in ten years. o_o
Speaking of the teenaged Joan Jett: I'm kind of inarticulate to define how great this character is, actually. XD Like... I don't think she (and her relationship style) exist as an archetype of her gender in narrative fiction, at all, maybe not even in lesbian fiction. I think she exists in slash, even there not usually as a woman. Actually, re: the script there's an essay to be written on the way the parlance and descriptors of male sexual response are wholesale appropriated by both Kim Fowley and the girls themselves to talk about themselves - Sandy whining "my dick's not even hard" in the shower. The blurry line between playacting a role and being the role.
Naomi Novik, Victory of Eagles: damn, Laurence angsts. XD; I mean he was always one for noble suffering but this book was like the full Basch fon Ronsenburg. I read it quickly and my memories of the last half are iffy (falling asleep - due to tiredness, not because the book was boring). Brought it to Philly intending a re-read but obviously that didn't happen.
The Viewfinder x Koi Suru crossover short: as kindly provided by two_if_by_sea. I've always liked the Koi Suru series best - it's touchingly well-adjusted, if that makes sense. The crossover divides the consciousness as in this worldview Takaba is a sort of cheerful, competent, worldly, ever-so-slightly mysterious sempai/oniisan. Who is too pretty for his own good, even still.
Doctor Who S5E02: my comment to naanima, expanded upon, because I'm lazy:
Definitely not about the romance! After having watched the second ep I feel much better about the whole thing as am grasping the contours of the characters now XD (it's hard to accuse Davies' writing of economy but he is very good at giving one a 3D sense of character quickly). I.e. Amy as Wendy Darling is not so much about the Doctor-as-a-person as what the "Raggedy Doctor" character represents in the story of her life, by which I mean this is her story in the same way S01-02 were Rose's story. Whereby Moff's HET AGENDA serves him badly because object-of-gaze in the last episode was cueing viewers the other way around... In much the same way the Doctor briefly bonded with Lady Kristina over the thrill of thievery he can bond with Amy over being Rubbish At Weddings Esp. One's Own (tm). Meanwhile Amy looks at Doctor-as-a-person and sees KINDLY OLD SPACE WHALE lolol.**
Which still leaves Manic Pixie Dream Girl and wedding-as-obligatory-rite-of-passage-into-adulthood, but the former is tolerable if you assume subtext that the Doctor merely = the male version thereof, and the latter is... well, symbolically resonant. At least. Basically I suspect Amy's Tale is meant to be a classic Bildungsroman in a way Rose's Tale wasn't; and (though I doubt they'd do this) it'd be something if the wedding were tomorrow morning always - shades of A Christmas Carol?
** This was so good but Moffat had to go and hammer it in. I'm starting to think dude's specific writing weakness is that he just likes to repeat stuff over. XD; It's puzzling otherwise! All in all I don't think this was objectively a better episode than the last, I just liked it better because I felt like I grokked the characters more.
The Five Doctors: I can't let this one go by without commenting on this outfit, which would have given Chloe Sevigny pause:
What were you thinking, Sarah Jane. :|
As with all truly epic fug you can see the germ of a good idea there, is the worst thing - structured skirt suit with a ruffly shirt, calf-high boots, purse, fine. But none of it seems to fit properly, the detachable peter pan collar is an abomination, the gloves are seasonally inappropriate, and the raincoat is just... orz Sarah Jane loses it, actually, which is just as well because if ever an item of clothing deserves to moulder in the Death Zone it's that one.
Actually this serial is full of epic outfits, starting with the Austin Powers-esque reaction shot to Patrick Troughton in furred regalia. The NuWho producers missed a golden opportunity to troll the nation by not releasing fake pictures of the Eleventh Doctor wearing that dead alien bear pelt and calling it his official costume. Then there's the Master's Count Chocola cape, and Tegan's Agent Scully Badge For Running In High Heels. This was particularly great because she had an opportunity to go back to the TARDIS and change out of those bitchin' coral pumps, fully aware at this point that the day would involve Running(tm), but doesn't. Then when you see the Master talking the Cybermen around (completely phoning it in to boot), it cuts back to Susan not even having realized she should be running yet, and Tegan ALREADY HALFWAY DOWN THE HILL, like bitch don't just stand there you don't have time to smoke a bowl! Press A!
And then Susan twists an ankle.
There was a good online review somewhere that said Kristin Stewart's performance obscures her celebrity while Dakota Fanning's foregrounds it - IOW KS Brandos it up massively so all you see is the teenaged-Joan-Jett character, whereas DF eventually goes into a parody of herself as the washed-up druggie Hollywood child star in ten years. o_o
Speaking of the teenaged Joan Jett: I'm kind of inarticulate to define how great this character is, actually. XD Like... I don't think she (and her relationship style) exist as an archetype of her gender in narrative fiction, at all, maybe not even in lesbian fiction. I think she exists in slash, even there not usually as a woman. Actually, re: the script there's an essay to be written on the way the parlance and descriptors of male sexual response are wholesale appropriated by both Kim Fowley and the girls themselves to talk about themselves - Sandy whining "my dick's not even hard" in the shower. The blurry line between playacting a role and being the role.
Naomi Novik, Victory of Eagles: damn, Laurence angsts. XD; I mean he was always one for noble suffering but this book was like the full Basch fon Ronsenburg. I read it quickly and my memories of the last half are iffy (falling asleep - due to tiredness, not because the book was boring). Brought it to Philly intending a re-read but obviously that didn't happen.
The Viewfinder x Koi Suru crossover short: as kindly provided by two_if_by_sea. I've always liked the Koi Suru series best - it's touchingly well-adjusted, if that makes sense. The crossover divides the consciousness as in this worldview Takaba is a sort of cheerful, competent, worldly, ever-so-slightly mysterious sempai/oniisan. Who is too pretty for his own good, even still.
Doctor Who S5E02: my comment to naanima, expanded upon, because I'm lazy:
Definitely not about the romance! After having watched the second ep I feel much better about the whole thing as am grasping the contours of the characters now XD (it's hard to accuse Davies' writing of economy but he is very good at giving one a 3D sense of character quickly). I.e. Amy as Wendy Darling is not so much about the Doctor-as-a-person as what the "Raggedy Doctor" character represents in the story of her life, by which I mean this is her story in the same way S01-02 were Rose's story. Whereby Moff's HET AGENDA serves him badly because object-of-gaze in the last episode was cueing viewers the other way around... In much the same way the Doctor briefly bonded with Lady Kristina over the thrill of thievery he can bond with Amy over being Rubbish At Weddings Esp. One's Own (tm). Meanwhile Amy looks at Doctor-as-a-person and sees KINDLY OLD SPACE WHALE lolol.**
Which still leaves Manic Pixie Dream Girl and wedding-as-obligatory-rite-of-passage-into-adulthood, but the former is tolerable if you assume subtext that the Doctor merely = the male version thereof, and the latter is... well, symbolically resonant. At least. Basically I suspect Amy's Tale is meant to be a classic Bildungsroman in a way Rose's Tale wasn't; and (though I doubt they'd do this) it'd be something if the wedding were tomorrow morning always - shades of A Christmas Carol?
** This was so good but Moffat had to go and hammer it in. I'm starting to think dude's specific writing weakness is that he just likes to repeat stuff over. XD; It's puzzling otherwise! All in all I don't think this was objectively a better episode than the last, I just liked it better because I felt like I grokked the characters more.
The Five Doctors: I can't let this one go by without commenting on this outfit, which would have given Chloe Sevigny pause:
What were you thinking, Sarah Jane. :|
As with all truly epic fug you can see the germ of a good idea there, is the worst thing - structured skirt suit with a ruffly shirt, calf-high boots, purse, fine. But none of it seems to fit properly, the detachable peter pan collar is an abomination, the gloves are seasonally inappropriate, and the raincoat is just... orz Sarah Jane loses it, actually, which is just as well because if ever an item of clothing deserves to moulder in the Death Zone it's that one.
Actually this serial is full of epic outfits, starting with the Austin Powers-esque reaction shot to Patrick Troughton in furred regalia. The NuWho producers missed a golden opportunity to troll the nation by not releasing fake pictures of the Eleventh Doctor wearing that dead alien bear pelt and calling it his official costume. Then there's the Master's Count Chocola cape, and Tegan's Agent Scully Badge For Running In High Heels. This was particularly great because she had an opportunity to go back to the TARDIS and change out of those bitchin' coral pumps, fully aware at this point that the day would involve Running(tm), but doesn't. Then when you see the Master talking the Cybermen around (completely phoning it in to boot), it cuts back to Susan not even having realized she should be running yet, and Tegan ALREADY HALFWAY DOWN THE HILL, like bitch don't just stand there you don't have time to smoke a bowl! Press A!
And then Susan twists an ankle.