Reading Roundup: The Hanging Tree + Doctor Strange and Ghostbusters

[hamsterwoman]

I have two weeks of life stuff to catch up on at this point, but meanwhile, I really want to talk about non-RL stuff, books and movies and things.

So we went to see Doctor Strange last weekend. B found the movie too bloody (the hospital parts) and too strange weird for his taste, but O and I really liked it. And I'm very glad we saw it a) in

Comments

[ellipsisms]

Ghostbusters gave me a lot of lesbian feelings about Kate McKinnon. c:

[hamsterwoman]

Judging by the AO3 fic filters, you are very much not alone! ;) (She was definitely my favorite of the four leads :D)

[qwentoozla]

I thought Benedict was perfect for this role too!

I hope the sequel fills in a lot of what was going on between him walking away and the after-credits scene, because the latter did not follow, like, AT ALL from anything we'd seen of him before.

I thought it was super abrupt too, but it turns out that he's actually Dr. Strange's traditional nemesis from the comics, so I guess any fan of his comics would have expected that. I hope the sequel fills out more of his motivation too though, because it still seems like a really quick change of attitude. But I think he has the potential to be a really awesome Marvel villain with complex motivations, so I'm cautiously looking forward to it!

I think I liked Christine disproportionately to her screentime too! She really wasn't in it that much, but I liked how she didn't take too much shit from him and her reaction to him showing up again at the ER. She was actually pretty important as, like, a contrast/connection to his old life.

[hamsterwoman]

I didn't know anything about Strange as a character before watching the movie, so had no pre-existing opinion on BC's casting, but now that I know what the role is like (and it looks like the movie got the character right, from reading the reviews of flisters who are fans of the Doctor Strange comics), I definitely agree he was perfect, and glad the director/et al kept after him/waited for him.

I just learned the other day that Mordo is a villain/Strange's nemesis in the comics (I guess that explains the ominious-sounding name, haha). But, yeah, while I could see him turning against the Ancient One/the institution is foreshadowed, and that part I could see. How he got from the sense of betrayal that the Ancient One was using ~the dark side to killing/draining other sorcerers.... not so much. But I do hope the sequel makes it plausible.

but I liked how she didn't take too much shit from him and her reaction to him showing up again at the ER. She was actually pretty important as, like, a contrast/connection to his old life.Agreed!

[meathiel]

I've had to skip half of this post as I've only read about 60% of Hanging Tree so far. (Had to finish another book first as well!)

Unfortunately a lot of the banter in Doctor Strange gets lost in translation - like the one you mentioned. I didn't even hear before that people opposed to Cumberbatch being cast for the film ... I quite like him, though, esp. in Sherlock - but I wouldn't say he's that goodlooking either.

[hamsterwoman]

Hope you're enjoying THT!

Unfortunately a lot of the banter in Doctor Strange gets lost in translation

Aww, that's too bad! It was really a rather funny movie, so I hope you're able to see it, or at least the relevant scenes, in English at some point to enjoy the script.

I like Cumberbatch in general (and in Sherlock, of course), and I think the anti-BC thing was mostly because people were annoyed that he seemed to be in every big movie. Which it kind of did, but he was really perfect for THIS role, so I have no complaints. (I think maybe part of it was also that, since he was in everything, lots of projects were wrapped around/delayed by his schedule?)

[_profiterole_]

was sorry to see in the after-credits scene that he's apparently going to be a bad guy now :(
Same! I vaguely remember that, when he was cast, people said he was cast as a villain, but I had completely forgotten about that since he didn't seem like a villain at all in the trailers and in the movie itself (except that, in hindsight, the Ancient One was hinting at the possibility a little bit).

There are several scenes where Holtz flirts with Erin, but I agree that Erin/Abby made more sense story-wise.

Elegy sounds interesting. I hope it'll be good.

[hamsterwoman]

I haven't gotten far enough into Elegy to comment on overall quality, but so far it's definitely readable, in a high-fantasy sort of way, and the author's description does sound relevant to your interests.

I'd read nothing about Doctor Strange beforehand, since I knew there was a pretty good chance we would see it close to when it opened, so I didn't know to expect Mordo was going to be a villain. I do think him turning against the Ancient One/the institution is foreshadowed, and that part I could see. How he got from the sense of betrayal that the Ancient One was using ~the dark side to killing/draining other sorcerers.... not so much. But I do hope the sequel makes it plausible.

but I agree that Erin/Abby made more sense story-wise

Yeah, that would be the one with emotional payoff, given their past and Erin 'coming back' from academia to that.

[_profiterole_]

I'll wait for your next book post, there's definitely no hurry as my to-read list is probably worth 2 years of my life at that point. HEEELP!

[hamsterwoman]

Heh, I know the feeling :P

[aome]

I'm skipping the spoilers for both Dr Strange and Hanging Tree, but glad to hear you enjoyed the movie. Will and I will need to run off and see that at some point.

I'm jealous that you got a copy of Hanging Tree already.

[hamsterwoman]

I could, uh, set you up with a copy of The Hanging Tree, if you want. (Annoyingly, the official US release misses Christmas gift season by a whole month, with all the pushouts. I was totally counting on giving it to you originally for your birthday and later for Christmas. :P)

And I hope you guys get to see Doctor Strange soon. It was a very fun film!

[aome]

How much hassle would it be to get the book? I have British acquaintances of my own I might be able to ask, if need be.