Blog

πŸ‘„ Click on stuff to see the stuff πŸ‘†

This is a blog entry.

This is a blog entry.

This is a blog entry.

This is a blog entry.

This is a blog entry.

This is a blog entry.

This is a blog entry.

6/25/25

Been kind of distractible, so I haven't been able to focus on reading or even movie watching lately. I mean, I've done a bit. I was watching a lot of Columbo for a while, just putting it on whenever I was doing dishes or whatever. Love that dude ... But I watched like four seasons in a row so to break it up I started watching Perry Mason. Kind of the same type of show I guess, except the characterization of the protagonist is radically different.

Feeling kind of miserable about life, but what else is new. I'm just taking it day by day, what else can I do. There are good things. Like bugs. Regularly been seeing the thousands of fireflies at the wetlands park nearby. Saw a very fancy millipede. Oh, and I saw a robberfly! My dream bug ... it even landed on my shoulder.

6/18/25

I just gotta put this sucker up online, but I'm so anxious about it ... I'm so neurotic I can't post my totally anonymous website that almost nobody will even look at anyway. I'm just rewriting the tiny amount of content that I have and adding random features.

6/8/25

I'll wake up in a new life, down by the seaside ...

             β–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–„
           β–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–„β–„     β–€β–ˆβ–„
     β–„β–ˆβ–„ β–„β–ˆβ–€ β–“β–“β–“β–€β–ˆ β–„β–ˆβ–„  β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–ˆ
    β–ˆβ–€ β–€β–ˆβ–€  β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–€β–ˆβ–€ β–€β–ˆ       β–“β–“β–“β–“   β–€β–ˆβ–ˆ
    β–ˆβ–„β–’β–’β–’   β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–’β–’β–’β–„β–ˆ    β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“   β–€β–ˆβ–ˆ
     β–€β–€β–ˆβ–ˆ/  β–“β–“β–“β–“ \β–ˆβ–ˆβ–€β–€    β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“    β–€β–ˆ
     β–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆQ β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“ Qβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–„   β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“     β–€β–ˆ
     β–ˆβ–ˆβ–€β–ˆ    β–“β–“   β–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–ˆ   β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“       β–ˆβ–“
        β–€β–ˆ       β–ˆβ–€        β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“        β–ˆβ–ˆβ–“
         β–ˆ gβ–‘β–‘β–‘g β–ˆ       β–“   β–“β–“β–“β–“      β–“   β–ˆ β–ˆ
         β–€β–ˆβ–„β–‘β–‘β–‘β–„β–ˆβ–€     β–“β–“β–“β–“          β–“β–“β–“β–“ β–ˆβ–€ β–€β–ˆβ–„
           β–€β–€β–€β–€β–ˆβ–ˆ     β–“β–“β–“           β–“β–“β–“β–“  β–ˆ  β–€β–ˆ
                β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–ˆ  β–“  β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„    β–“β–“ β–ˆβ–€
                 β–ˆβ–“β–“β–ˆβ–„    β–ˆ  β–€β–ˆβ–ˆβ–‘β–‘β–ˆβ–„β–„  β–“ β–ˆ
                 β–ˆβ–“β–“β–“β–ˆ   β–ˆβ–€    β–€β–ˆβ–‘β–‘β–‘β–‘β–ˆ   β–ˆ
                 β–ˆβ–“β–“β–ˆβ–ˆ  β–ˆβ–€      β–€β–ˆβ–‘β–ˆβ–‘β–ˆ  β–ˆβ–€
                 β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–€        β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–€


               β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ     β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ
              β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–ˆ   β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–ˆ				β˜…	
              β–ˆβ–’β–ˆ β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆβ–’β–ˆ		β˜…		
     ( HI!)> β–ˆβ–’ β–€ β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’ β–€ β–’β–ˆ			β˜…
             β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆ			Heard the 
    β–„β–’β–ˆβ–’β–ˆβ–’β–„  β–ˆβ–“β–“β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–“β–“β–ˆ			first frogs
    β–ˆβ–’β–“β–’β–“β–’β–ˆ  β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–ˆ			of the year!
    β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆβ–„β–„β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆβ–„					β˜…
     β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–’β–ˆ			β˜…
     β–€β–€β–€β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–€β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–€β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆ		β˜…			β˜…
          β–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–ˆβ–’β–„β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–„β–’β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–ˆ
               β–ˆβ–€β–„β–€β–„β–€β–„β–€β–„β–€β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆ			β˜…
              β–ˆβ–ˆβ–€β–„β–€β–„β–€β–„β–€β–„β–€β–ˆβ–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆ
               β–ˆβ–€β–„β–€β–„β–“β–„β–€β–„β–€β–ˆβ–“β–’β–’β–’β–ˆ
              β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆβ–€β–€β–€
             β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆβ–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–’β–ˆ
             β–ˆβ–’β–“β–’β–“β–’β–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–’β–“β–’β–“β–’β–ˆ
              β–ˆβ–’β–ˆβ–’β–ˆ   β–ˆβ–’β–ˆβ–’β–ˆ

This is a film entry.

This is a film entry.

This is a film entry.

This is a film entry.

This is a film entry.

The Duellists [1977]

Guys, why are you fighting when you can just make out.

This is perhaps the ultimate "guys fighting for no reason" movie, although there are endless such films so who knows.

Jenny's Wedding [2015]

Someone on Letterboxd wrote that it was the straightest lesbian movie they've watched ... yeah, it does feel like that. Jenny want a normal, traditional wedding but she's gay and not out to her family. Her family dynamic is pretty off from the start. Everyone seems to gossip about each other. Jenny decides to come out to her parents, who encourage her to stay closeted for the sake of their social lives. She does so, but it causes her relationship with her parents to become superficial. They drift apart. Things escalate after Jenny decides to be open about her relationship publically, introducing her partner to someone at a funeral. For some reason this causes her dad to pull her aside and ask her which one of them is the man in bed. Yeah. Mind you we're still at a funeral. Jenny shouts out that her dad is asking who wears the strap. He's mad, stuff happens, the parents feel lonely so they try to stop being homophobic for the wedding.

There's some other stuff. Jenny's sister is jealous of the relationship she has with their mother and also is in an unhappy marriage. It could have been interesting but it didn't feel fully integrated. It is, at times, flirting with being a rom com except there isn't much that's actually funny and not horrible. Jenny and her fiancee Kitty are completely sidelined in favor of focusing on their parents, so it's not romantic either.

As I've mentioned with other movies before, I don't necessarily mind if the story centers around some homophobes if it adequately explores why they have this flaw and don't try to remove culpability for the harm it inflicts. Unfortunately, I wasn't satisfied by how this film tried to do that. Mom seems to only be concerned about her social standing. Dad ... well, he has disturbing fixations on his daughter's sex life, apparently, and feels hurt that she would be mad at him for that? Uhh? I don't think one half-assed apology at the wedding will repair this relationship.

By far the worst thing is the emphasis on how Jenny "lied" for "so long." Her whole family brings this up constantly and its the main conflict of the first half of the movie. Jenny herself seems to agree. Its absurd that coming out would be framed that way. Its absurd that this isn't countered in the movie. Why doesn't Jenny's fiancee say, honey no, its fine not to have come out to your insane, prying, bigoted family before now? Ugh.

Conan the Barbarian [1981]

What can I say. It looks cool. It is adapting pulp fiction so it is very pulpy. It succeeds at what it does.

Who Am I Now [2021]

So. This is obviously a small budget picture. I think the leads were fairly promising. But it fell apart pretty fast, unfortunately. Basically, two women realize they are attracted to one another, one (Alex) wants commitment and wants to be open about their relationship, the other (Erin) is noncommittal and closeted. Fine, but the intensity is way, way, too high. Alex is yelling at Erin for not figuring out her orientation fast enough. She has sex with men, so it kind of feels like she might be bisexual, but the script leaves no room for even the thought of that. Alex, certainly, has no reason to assume that Erin is exclusively homosexual after one encounter ...

Alex is also extremely jealous and punches one of their mutual friends for a one night stand he has with Erin. Mind you, they aren't dating. Insanely, this is all forgiven, and he concedes that Alex must be more in love than he is with Erin. Alex even outs Erin to their friend group and this is all framed as necessary or even for her own good.

By the end of the movie Alex moves on (to her tutor) and her feeling for Erin seem to go from 100 to 0. Now she says she only wanted Erin to come out for her own sake, not so they could be together. Ok. It kind of felt like we were bullying this woman into dating us and then when she didn't instantly commit we dropped her like an old toy.

You Can Live Forever [2022]

Continuing my impromptu Tubi lesbian film series. I'm logging Who Am I Now and Jenny's Wedding at the same time as You Can Live Forever so I can't help but compare them, along with the last two lesbian movies I watched. Live Forever is easily the best of them.

The story focuses on a gay teen, Jaime, sent to live with her aunt and uncle in a small town in Quebec. Jamie's father died, evidently, and her mother sent her off to her relatives. Her aunt and uncle are Jehovah's Witnesses and bring her to services with them. When she's there, she meets Marike, and the two become close, spending time distributing pamphlets and attending bible study (despite Jamie's apprehensions).

Isolation seems to afflict everyone. Jamie is left alone by her mother after what we must assume is a traumatic event. She travels alone to a town where she knows no one her age and struggles to speak the language. She even drops her walkman in the river, severing a comforting connection to normalcy. She is further isolated by the Jehovah's Witnesses, who subtly police each other's behavior. Eating cake on her birthday results in Jamie's contact with Marike being restricted to supervised events. Jamie and Marike, now becoming romantically involved, are forced to hide affectionate gestures in plain sight and steal moments they have in private. Eventually, Jamie's uncle witnesses [pun] her kissing Marike, and informs Marike's father, who informs the congregation the next meeting that Marike is getting engaged. Marike reveals that it was her idea, and that she believes she and Jamie can be together after death. Jamie decides to return home. Years later, she returns to find Marike with a young child, still harboring feelings for Jamie.

This film goes for realism and it nails it. These people feel like they exist. As often is the case, this fundamentalist community doesn't need to scream and shout to manipulate its members into conforming to social expectations. Members simply watch each other, and knowing you're being watched changes your behavior. Just buying a slice of cake can land you in trouble and get you shunned. A single kiss results in social consequence severe enough that Marike thinks an engagement is the solution.

It doesn't hurt that this film looks great. It has a warm, nostalgic feeling to it ... the beginning riding the train, the warm incandescent light at night, the plushness of beds and sofas Jamie flops into ... its inviting. But it seems to make the alienation feel worse.

If you have any interest in queer films about religion, this is definitely worth checking out.

Back to the Future: Part III [1990]

I don't have nostalgia goggles for these movies. I don't have nostalgia for the nostalgia in these movies. Uh, that is to say, I don't really look with uncritical fondness on the 1950s, or classic westerns, or the actual 1880s. Or the 1980s. And I didn't grow up watching these, so I mostly feel indifference. That said, I liked this one the best of the three. The writing felt tighter, and it benefits from the payoff the second movie sets up.

The Truth About Jane [2000]

So, kind of underwhelming and frustrating at times. Basically, Jane is a lesbian and her parents aren't supportive. The mom particularly struggles to cope. She throws a fit, in fact. She threatens to send Jane to boarding school. She threatens to get a lesbian teacher fired. She doesn't really apologize for that. But she does go to PFLAG meetings and learns how to say lesbian out loud without crying. Amazing!

I actually don't mind stories that choose to focus on the phobic parents if there's good reason. Either you have to show some kind of insight into the character, or actually give them a more meaningful arc. But maybe this is too big an ask for a 2000 Lifetime movie.

Claire of the Moon [1992]

This was incredibly not good ... kind of interesting just as an artifact. Some extremely pretentious, terfy, gender essentialist type dialogue between the characters. But I guess that's the 90s for you. The characters are ostensibly there for a writing retreat but seemingly do no writing. Mostly they seem to gaze forlornly at stuff or bicker with each other.

The Heroic Trio [1993]

PLEASE! Watch this movie! Oh my god! These women are so fucking cool. Women enjoyers rejoice. Babies are kidnapped. Three superpowered badasses are drawn into the case despite conflicting motivations. Martial combat. Skeletons. People are beheaded. Its so silly, but in the best way.

Robin Hood [1973]

My partner wanted to rewatch this, and admittedly I was naysaying a bit. Its better than I remember. It's pretty fun and its nice to look at.

Safety Last [1923]

Frightening. Both the death-defying stunt climb and the customer service.

Jodorowsky's Dune [2013]

So Jodorowsky is certainly an influential director and this interview is interesting and the topic is compelling. A lot of high profile creatives were assembled to do a bunch of concept work for a movie that would have been hypothetically cool to look at. That is interesting ... but I think this doc should have taken a bit more critical position. Jodorowsky says stuff that is pretty questionable. The whole venture was clearly mismanaged and unrealistic. It might be better that it was never made, because the myth-making around this Dune concept is probably more interesting than what could have been produced. Although I'm sure Emperor Salvador DalΓ­ would have been worth the $100,000 per minute.

Madmax 2 [1981]

So cool ... terrifying to imagine shooting this movie, though. Maybe I need to check out some behind the scenes stuff.

Troy [2004]

Not too good. Scenes that stick out in my memory: Achillies' goofy playfighting with his cousin Patroclus at the start, the giant flaming balls, any shot of Priam reacting O_O (Peter O_O'Toole).

I wish I knew a bit more about the source material. Considering how ambitious adapting the Illiad is, maybe this is an okay attempt (because that sounds impossible). I mean, it's pretty bad but it is tolerable to watch. I sat though it all. For what that's worth.

Star Trek: Generations [1994]

Watched with writers' commentary. The opposite of the Nemesis director's commentary. They had interesting observations, remembered their rationale behind writing things as they did, reflected on what they would have done differently.

Star Trek: Nemesis [2002]

Watched this with director's commentary. Abysmal. He didn't seem to have much to say about his movie, other than he didn't know anything about Star Trek. He seemed totally disinterested. Was apparently starstruck by Patrick Stewart and could barely remember the rest of the cast.

Cowboys [2020]

I'm basically 1000% hostile toward parents that are transphobic toward their own kids, so I think its a major achievement that this movie got me to empathize with the mom. There are hardly any movies about trans kids so I'm not sure if my expectations are low or not, but I was satisfied by how the situation is framed. I think this would not be alienating to a parent that is 'on the fence' (*blech*) about supporting their trans kid, and it might sway them to change their mind or at least normalize the idea. Media about this topic is desperately needed (or it is, at least, the only movie I've personally seen on this topic), so I welcome it and hope there will be more eventually ...

Die Another Day [2002]

An ice palace? A space solar weapon? They're sword fighting? He's surfing. Diamond encrusted bad guy? Hovercrafts. Scorpions. This movie really lays it on thick. Good I say! Lay it on me!

Tempest [1960]

I don't feel like I understand the Tempest after watching this. I don't have much context. Ariel was gender, though ...

Forbidden Planet [1956]

This was a rewatch but it has been a long time since I first saw it. For some reason I was convinced the daughter character was conjured from Dr Morbius's mind just like the monster. Apparently my partner expected this too. I guess I was imagining more of a Twilight Zone episode.

The visuals are a lot of fun.

The Thing from Another World [1951]

I was surprised by how fun it was. The fire stunts were honestly terrifying to watch. Apparently it had one of the first movies to have a full body fire stunt like that.

The numerous characters were all kind of blending together for me, besides the journalist and the main scientist, and nobody was as worked up as I would be if a vampire plant alien was on a killing spree.

Every decision they made was a bit embarrassing … they accidentally blew up the ufo with thermite (whoops), they brought The Thing, frozen in an ice cube, inside (don’t worry they broke a window so the room would be cold) and then left an electric blanket on it, melting it (whoops). The main scientist collects the Thing’s seed () and use up all their plasma to feed the sprouts (because Dr. Mad Scientist is obsessed ). At least the giant bug zapper they built to kill the Thing worked.

Watched this as part of a rewatch of the series. Its a wonderful bridge to Steven Universe Future while still functioning ably as a stand-alone story. All the songs are great, integrated well and hit emotionally (as always). The gem reset element is a clever way of reintroducing background information about the cast while also showing the audience how much these characters have changed since coming to Earth.

Spinel leaves a big impression considering she is (almost) a one off character. I guess her story crystalizes (pun) a theme already present - abandonment. Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz has already been characterized as someone who likes novelty, who plays with people like toys before moving on to something new. Throughout the series, the Crystal Gems have been struggling with her decision to leave them by becoming/creating Steven. So it makes perfect sense to introduce this character that was created to be a toy for Pink, who was then literally abandoned to total isolation. Spinel gives voice to a feeling of betrayal that all the gems seem to have had but were reticent to express.

And, of course, her design is just a ton of fun. The rubber hose style combined with a jester, I mean c'mon. A cute default mode with a heart cut gem and heart shaped pigtails! And depressed clown mode with the running mascara lines. Iconic.

Anyway, I like this series a lot so of course I like the movie. I know some people don't like Spinel's resolution, going with the Diamonds. I think it just makes sense; they have something to offer each other and they both have something in common (being left behind by Pink). Perhaps this is an imperfect or imbalanced relationship dynamic, but the show has never shied from imperfect relationships. Growing and changing despite of or in result of imperfect conditions is basically the whole show. But besides that, I also can't imagine Spinel having a happy or healthy time on Earth surrounded by people Pink preferred over her.

I could go on forever; maybe I'll come back to this :P

This is exactly what I'm looking for out of horror. Developing characters! Paralleling the supernatural horrors with the mundane horrors of the real world.

Happy to see trebuchets and whatever. But. Not particularly fun to look at most of the time. Not particularly engaging. Only thing I really enjoyed was Robert Pattinson's campy performance.

This is a film entry.

This is a film entry.

This is a film entry.

This is a film entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.

This is a book entry.