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Jan. 17th, 2021 01:54 pmWhoo, have a bit to catch up on here, so I'll spare everyone the real misses (do not be lured into watching The Good Liar just because it stars Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, the end).
• A number of friends have been trying to wheedle me into watching Schitt's Creek, but my mother won by fairly unbeatable advantage of physical proximity. We worked through the better part of five seasons during my stay, and then I wrapped up the remainder once I was home again. As delightful and warm-hearted a comedy as promised, with many laugh-out-loud moments and also a few tears. I'm not sure I could stand any of these people in person, but I very much enjoyed watching them grow and triumph.
• I put the Clone Wars on hold to segue into Star Wars: Rebels, mostly for the change of pace that comes with following a smaller, more dedicated cast of characters. It lacks some of TCW's spicier frontline brutality, but won me over quickly with the foster family set-up of the crew of the Ghost. Unfortunately I know one very key thing that happens in season four and I am getting close and I am NOT looking forward to it 8(
• Idly started Infinity Train this Friday, and finished the series on Saturday. Wow. Creator talk says it may not be picked up for further seasons / 'books' as publishers are getting antsy about it being too dark for its nominal younger audience, and if that is the case I will be deeply disappointed because this is one of the best cartoons I've seen in years. Inventive and heartfelt, with natural dialogue supported by stellar voice-acting and plots that handwave surprisingly little given the setting is an eldritch genius loci. Loved the characters, loved the stories, loved the conclusions. That said, absolutely would have had me up at night screaming as a kid so they may have a point.
• The steady march through the Expanse novels continues (just started book 5, Nemesis Games!), and as promised it has rapidly improved as it goes. I still feel like I've read better character writers - after a point you can see similar tropes starting to appear, and there are some stereotypes that never quite get off the page - but combined with the strong worldbuilding and a genuinely interesting overarching plot it's going on the favourite sci-fi list. Definitely looking forward to hunting down the TV show at some point.
• I really wish I liked Soul more than I did. It was very pretty? The deuteragonist partnership with Soul 22 just didn't seem to have the same sparkle that the best Pixar movies manage, however, and Joe's storyline felt weakened as a result.
• If you're looking for a quick but fun puzzle game, The Last Door offers an atmospheric gothic Victorian horror experience in eight short episodes. The sound design deserves serious credit, backed up by a gorgeous soundtrack, elevating the simple pixel animation into something that gave me genuine palpitations.
• After many years, and despite several setbacks including the part where his house burnt down, Ben Fleuter has wrapped up his webcomic Sword Interval. I was a fan of the comic that preceded this one, 'Parallel Dementia', and it's been fascinating seeing familiar faces and concepts gently reshaped and replaced into a tighter setting and plot - a tangible showing of Fleuter's development as a writer and artist. Overall a good romp through pre-apocalyptic urban fantasy, with plenty of action scenes and enjoyable characters.
• A number of friends have been trying to wheedle me into watching Schitt's Creek, but my mother won by fairly unbeatable advantage of physical proximity. We worked through the better part of five seasons during my stay, and then I wrapped up the remainder once I was home again. As delightful and warm-hearted a comedy as promised, with many laugh-out-loud moments and also a few tears. I'm not sure I could stand any of these people in person, but I very much enjoyed watching them grow and triumph.
• I put the Clone Wars on hold to segue into Star Wars: Rebels, mostly for the change of pace that comes with following a smaller, more dedicated cast of characters. It lacks some of TCW's spicier frontline brutality, but won me over quickly with the foster family set-up of the crew of the Ghost. Unfortunately I know one very key thing that happens in season four and I am getting close and I am NOT looking forward to it 8(
• Idly started Infinity Train this Friday, and finished the series on Saturday. Wow. Creator talk says it may not be picked up for further seasons / 'books' as publishers are getting antsy about it being too dark for its nominal younger audience, and if that is the case I will be deeply disappointed because this is one of the best cartoons I've seen in years. Inventive and heartfelt, with natural dialogue supported by stellar voice-acting and plots that handwave surprisingly little given the setting is an eldritch genius loci. Loved the characters, loved the stories, loved the conclusions. That said, absolutely would have had me up at night screaming as a kid so they may have a point.
• The steady march through the Expanse novels continues (just started book 5, Nemesis Games!), and as promised it has rapidly improved as it goes. I still feel like I've read better character writers - after a point you can see similar tropes starting to appear, and there are some stereotypes that never quite get off the page - but combined with the strong worldbuilding and a genuinely interesting overarching plot it's going on the favourite sci-fi list. Definitely looking forward to hunting down the TV show at some point.
• I really wish I liked Soul more than I did. It was very pretty? The deuteragonist partnership with Soul 22 just didn't seem to have the same sparkle that the best Pixar movies manage, however, and Joe's storyline felt weakened as a result.
• If you're looking for a quick but fun puzzle game, The Last Door offers an atmospheric gothic Victorian horror experience in eight short episodes. The sound design deserves serious credit, backed up by a gorgeous soundtrack, elevating the simple pixel animation into something that gave me genuine palpitations.
• After many years, and despite several setbacks including the part where his house burnt down, Ben Fleuter has wrapped up his webcomic Sword Interval. I was a fan of the comic that preceded this one, 'Parallel Dementia', and it's been fascinating seeing familiar faces and concepts gently reshaped and replaced into a tighter setting and plot - a tangible showing of Fleuter's development as a writer and artist. Overall a good romp through pre-apocalyptic urban fantasy, with plenty of action scenes and enjoyable characters.
