BINGE-WATCHES

[resnullius_bells]

I'm still sick, so I spent the entire day lazing around and watching films and tv.

First, I watched Parasite, if only to know at least one of the Oscar nominated films LOL. I’m definitely rooting for it to win the main awards. I got the feeling that the subtitles failed to properly convey the original film (and I was right, according to this), but even then the film more than holds up. Now I want to look into the rest of Bong Joon Ho’s filmography; as a mater of personal preference I enjoyed Snowpiercer more, though I think Parasite is better. It's one of those films you see more and more layers the more you think of it.

I finally watched Terminator: Dark Fate too.

-Sarah’s entrance is the hottest scene in the entire history of film. Do not argue with me about this. She was perfect in this film; I spent the entire thing worrying about her but she made it through the end, yay! (yes, the entire film would’ve been ruined for me otherwise).

-I think removing John Connor from the equation is always a good choice (I don’t dislike him, but c’mon. The story shouldn’t be about him! And if he’s around it inevitably goes that way). And though the twist about Dani being the new savior was predictable, I appreciate the update.

- I’m very pleased with the Spanish in the film, for once; the only time something sounded bad enough for me to pay attention was the first time the Terminator spoke after arriving on the present, and it actually made sense –its phrases were grammatically correct but stilted, and you even see it improve and adapt as the film goes on.

-This film, BTW, marks the first time since… Jennifer’s Body, I think? That I’ve shipped the popular F/F pairing. You have no idea how weird that is xD. I often ship “wrong”; not even like the loser in a love triangle (at least they usually get some focus) or stuff like that, but like. Something odd and out there. If it’s in a fandom were other people multiship enough I’m good, but otherwise I’m often alone in my little canoe LOL. So finding myself with Dani/Grace (Drace?) as a new OTP was nice! They have a really interesting dynamic and the physicality was amazing.

-Finally, I loved Carl too. Robots that grow feelings and seek surrogate families? Yes please. And the scene where he explains why he’s actually the perfect husband and father for Alicia and Mateo is hilarious (“our relationship isn’t physical, but I helped with diapers without a fuss and I’m a great listener. And funny!” I love you, Carl). Or the one where he explains to Dani how his clients failed to understand curtains xDD

And I binge-watched The Witcher, since everyone I know keeps talking about it. First, I'll say that I wish the Game of Thrones comparisons stopped, ESPECIALLY the Daenerys-Yennefer comparisons; I just don't see it. They’re both fantasy sagas. They both rely on one or two similar “period” markers and fantasy conventions. They’re not particularly alike. I’m saying this as someone who still likes GOT, btw, and who enjoyed this show quite a lot too.

-My absolute favorites are Yennefer and Tissaia. Together and separate. Yennefer’s anger feels so real and tangible, I admire the hell out of Tissaia (the moment where she said "we must risk not only our lives but our pride" my heart grew three sizes), and their relationship is fascinating from beginning to end. I love messed up mentorships and femslash, so I fully expected to like them, but damn. And I love the rest of the mages too, including the evil ones. They’re the most interesting part of the show; among other things, I like that they’re the exception to the show’s thesis of “powerful creatures are the marginalized ones”, which is a trope I feel ambivalent towards, if I’m honest (I do like that Yennefer’s elven heritage is the cause of her physical problems, instead of something that made her “inhumanly” beautiful).

-Here I returned to my “always the wrong ship” tradition: other than Yennaia, my favorite ship was Geralt/Renfri LMAO. What can I say, I loved Renfri in the pilot, and I like how affected by her Geralt is even decades later.

-Not that I dislike Geralt/Yennefer. I tend to think lead couples are “alright”, in various degrees, and rarely get to OTP/NOTP stages (or, probably more accurately: if I dislike the major ship I’m less likely to stick with a long show). But yeah, I liked them. They had good moments and their evolution as the story goes could be interesting.

-Another great character was queen Calanthe. She’s an absolute tyrant and I love her. My warrior queen, with practical armor and realistic blood splatters. I can’t decide if I’m more attracted to her or to Tissaia. Hmm.

-I liked Geralt himself more than I expected. He just has very hashtag relatable moments (like deciding his solution for insomnia would be asking a potentially dangerous djinn for a wish LOL).

-Jaskier might be one of the most annoying comic relief characters I’ve encountered in years. At least he’s not overused.

-Ciri is there. I can’t say I care much about her, at least not yet. Her storyline felt all over the place. I look forward to seeing her and Yennefer interact; I think I’ll like that.

-I follow a book reader on tumblr and I feel I’m spoiled for the biggest developments and plot twists in the saga LMAO. It doesn’t ruin anything for me, on the contrary. Now I’m actively rooting for the show to go own, if only to enjoy the drama xDD

 

Comments

[undeadrobins]

I came out of the cinema after watching Dark Fate shipping Dani/Grace so damn hard!

[resnullius_bells]

It's a really, really good ship ^^

[lee_bella]

I like Renfri a lot. I wish she has stuck around as one of the main characters instead.

[resnullius_bells]

Ditto. I get that at that point there was little else Geralt could do to stop her, and I think it's a good way to set up the story and the characters' pathos (Geralt, Stregobor... I think it's a wound that Geralt carries and informs his every action, and something he'll come to regret even more that he probably already does, if Stregobor keeps fucking shit up LOL), but I wish she could come back, somehow.

[charlottenewtons]

I really liked Dark Fate, especially Dani/Grace. I agree with you about John. I find him more of a plot device than a character.

Pretty much agree with most of your Witcher opinions. It would have been nice to get more of Renfri.

[resnullius_bells]

Agree. I think the only time I saw him as a character in his own right is in TSCC, where he was more developed; but as much as I liked that show, I often resented him because I felt the show put more focus on him than on Sarah, and that's a big drawback for me LOL.

I know she won't come back but I'm here for all the Renfri flashbacks/hallucinations. Or the little details like how Geralt keeps her sword or puts her brooch on his own </3

[charlottenewtons]

TSCC was one of those shows that I wanted to watch when it was airing but never got around to it. Sarah has always felt like the true 'centre' of the franchise for me and things went downhill when she got removed from it.

[resnullius_bells]

I loved Sarah herself in TSCC, and I loved some of the characters it added (Jesse and Riley, most of all), but sometimes it was closer to be a show about John than a show about Sarah, and I wasn't about that life. And despite loving the show at the end of the day, I rarely recommend it because the cliffhanger was particularly egregious, IMO.

I still refuse to watch Terminators 3 or 4 because they have NO Sarah. And I watched the remake attempt with Emilia Clarke (under duress!), and though I'd say it had a few good moments, it was more about Kyle than about Sarah and that's unforgivable xD