galadhir | (no subject)

Working my way through Disney+ or actually working my way through Marvel and Star Wars, because if D+ had never absorbed those franchises, I would never have a lot of use for Disney itself.

Anyway, have now watched

Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series - was okay but nothing special. Watched the whole series mainly to finally see Qui-Gon come back as a Force ghost. And Oh Boy, they really did make me watch the whole series for it, as it happened about three seconds from the end. Solidly entertaining, but never going to set the world alight. It was nice to see Ewan McGregor back though.
Thor, Blood and Thunder. I followed the Thor comics back in the 1980s and Journey Into Mystery (the Loki comics) in the early 2020s, and was a big fan of the first Thor movie (wrote a lot of Loki fic), but I didn't like this. Thor came across as a big self-absorbed jerk, and I personally don't really find Taika Waititi's humour very funny. So yeah, it was very colourful but would not watch again.
Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness - honestly kind of boring, but then I don't really care about the Scarlet Witch, or the snap or any of that post Avengers stuff. Again, very colourful and pretty, but did not engage my emotions.
Ant Man - I really expected not to like this one, but surprisingly I enjoyed it a lot. The hero actually was likeable and his band of quirky sidekicks were lovable. I liked Hope very much and was glad that she will get her own suit in the next one. And the ants were like being continually in the middle of a herd of puppies. Will now go and watch Ant Man and the Wasp.
Wakanda Forever - I watched this first in the cinema, but it was nice to be able to see it again. It benefits from being on the big screen but it's still a fantastic movie even without that extra element of grandeur.

I'm enjoying catching up on all the Marvel movies I missed when I stopped going to see them at the cinema. I'm not really enjoying the Star Wars content all that much because it all feels very cookie-cutter and unimaginative, which is a great shame for a franchise that began by blowing the competition out of the water with its vision.

Any recommendations for what else I should watch while I still have my month's free subscription?

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Andor. I haven't been able to see it yet but ALL my friends (even the not-so-fannish ones) say it is way better than any of the other Star Wars shows. Like, WAY WAY better.

I've heard that too :) I'll try it, but I'm not really looking forward to it. For me the appeal of Star Wars was the Star part - the aliens and the spaceships and the idea of lots of different cultures interacting - whereas the franchise has leaned more into the Wars part. I'm not a big fan of that part of the blend. Unlike everyone else, I didn't really enjoy Rogue One (I could see that it was good, but - again, war movie - it didn't do a lot for me.) So I know I should watch Andor, but I'm not sure I really want to.

I get ya.

I couldn't enjoy Rogue One, because it was clear they'd have to kill off the main characters, since they did not appear in any of the later movies. It filled a hole in the timeline, and set up a lot of other stuff, but it wasn't a fun space opera. The original Star Wars was a romp.

Yes exactly! And one of the things that made SW stand out at the time when it was made was that it was a very straightforward, optimistic feel-good movie in the middle of an era of gritty ironic films. And now all the SW properties are gritty and depressing and I feel like we really need another dose of fresh adventure and childlike wonder.

I enjoyed parts of Thor: Love & Thunder, but overall was a bit meh about it. I liked Ragnarök more. That had a lot of Waititi’s humour as well but I thought it fit better there because of the crazier setting. I wished they’d done more with Christian Bale because I found him compelling as the villain. I’ve read that some of his scenes were cut and it seems like a loss.

Still haven’t seen Dr. Strange&TMCoM. XD Need to get around to it…
But yeah, I didn’t know anything about Ant-Man and therefore didn’t expect much from it. But it was funny, the characters likeable, and for once it did not have the huge “The world is doomed” stakes. Nicely self-contained. I enjoyed the second one as well, especially some of the humour (like, the motormouth recaps XD).

Rec: Fire Island! XD I loved that one. Also, yeah, Red, but you know that already.
I’m also slowly catching up on stuff on D+. I’ve got this month and perhaps, if I’m slow, I’ll keep it another month.

Yes, Ragnarok was a lot better, although I think I prefer the more Shakesperian tone of the Kenneth Branagh ones. The first Thor in particular managed to be both fun and painfully emotional at the same time.

I don't remember Christian Bale's character. Who was that?

Oh yes, I haven't got round to seeing Red yet, but I'll put Fire Island on the watch list. What is that about?

Yes, the first Thor had a good mix of both world's, basically.
Haha, Bale was the villain! I didn't recognise him at all at first.

Fire Island is a modern day, very gay Pride & Prejudice retelling. I've written a review here.

Castle. I'm at season 6 now and still enjoing it.

Thriller writer Richard Castle teams up with NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett to solve murders.

Both great characters and both well played to their different strengths.

There are a couple of 'Firefly jokes tucked in here and there, as Castle is played by Nathan Fillion.

Great relationship between the two leads which develops over many seasons from UST to happy sex.

Castles mother and teenage daughter (He was a single dad for almost all her life, after his first divorce) are both fabulous characters, as are Beckett's team of Ryan and Esposito.

The funniest episode of all is the one set at an SF convention :)

That does sound like something I would watch - particularly the episode set at a convention. I once started writing a murder mystery set at a SF convention and then gave up half way through, so I would like to see how it could be done :) Thank you!