media round-up
Apr. 2nd, 2023 03:28 pm• Despite the strong start, the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us and I regretfully parted ways once it became clear to me the show was heading determinedly down a pathway I can only describe as "The Grand Woobification of Joel Miller (plus some softening of the setting overall)". A shame, because I truly think the actors could have done justice to a more faithful script and it would have been nice to have a way of experiencing the story without committing to a full replay. But them's the breaks.
• I watched the first two episodes of Colin From Accounts at my parents, and finally got around to following up with the rest. Surprisingly charming, especially for an Australian sitcom! (I would not call it a national strength.) The cringe humour teetered on the brink of being too much sometimes, but ultimately I enjoyed the tale of two disasters brought together when one's impulsive nipple flash causes the other to accidentally hit a dog, leaving them reluctant co-owners of a new high-needs mutt.
• Severance was a recommendation from both![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
seven and weirderwest, and when I realised I had a 3 month trial subscription of Apple TV waiting in the wings I decided to jump into it! Whoo. Difficult to say much about this one without spoiling anything, but I can say I'm very interested in where season 2 goes. I just hope they do have a clearly planned direction in mind.
• From Severance I moved onto another on my watchlist: Prehistoric Planet proved to be amusing enough and I was impressed with how well it mimicked the familiar formulas. Yet it highlighted for me just what I find so compelling about animal documentaries through the absence of those elements; I was always conscious these little stories were being crafted vs captured (though I know a lot of editing goes in regardless), and that I was watching the approximation of creatures long lost to this world vs something that is a living part of mine. The end result? I also burned through Planet Earth II for the first time in quite a while. An eternal classic, if increasingly bittersweet.
• My final Apple TV delving so far, Wolfwalkers, was delightful! Stunningly fluid animation and though the plot had some predictable beats here and there it also pulled a few fun little twists. I really loved the relationship that developed between the main characters.
• I've been trying to play Control through myself and, to my bewilderment, discovering I'm much better at it without an audience? However, I am starting to tread into the last arcs of the story and subsequently find myself tested against the kind of challenging enemies that have me shouting swear words a little too loud for politeness' sake. The Former can eat my entire ass.
• The long-awaited Lackadaisy animated short film - or pilot? - has been released, and it brings the expected high quality character designs and manic energy that has cemented this series as a web favourite across the almost literal decades. At the same time it's rather re-ignited my long-boiling exasperation at how much time seems to end up devoted to expanding the legacy of a story that hasn't actually ended, and in fact still doesn't appear to have even reached the midpoint of its main narrative. Is the animated short fun? Sure. Does it introduce anything new to the story? No! And I know, I know - creators are not my bitch. I still concluded long ago I wasn't willing to throw dollars at an endless succession of side projects for a product that ultimately has not been delivered. (It was neat to see Freckle and Mordecai finally go at it for a couple of seconds though.)
• I watched the first two episodes of Colin From Accounts at my parents, and finally got around to following up with the rest. Surprisingly charming, especially for an Australian sitcom! (I would not call it a national strength.) The cringe humour teetered on the brink of being too much sometimes, but ultimately I enjoyed the tale of two disasters brought together when one's impulsive nipple flash causes the other to accidentally hit a dog, leaving them reluctant co-owners of a new high-needs mutt.
• Severance was a recommendation from both
seven and weirderwest, and when I realised I had a 3 month trial subscription of Apple TV waiting in the wings I decided to jump into it! Whoo. Difficult to say much about this one without spoiling anything, but I can say I'm very interested in where season 2 goes. I just hope they do have a clearly planned direction in mind.• From Severance I moved onto another on my watchlist: Prehistoric Planet proved to be amusing enough and I was impressed with how well it mimicked the familiar formulas. Yet it highlighted for me just what I find so compelling about animal documentaries through the absence of those elements; I was always conscious these little stories were being crafted vs captured (though I know a lot of editing goes in regardless), and that I was watching the approximation of creatures long lost to this world vs something that is a living part of mine. The end result? I also burned through Planet Earth II for the first time in quite a while. An eternal classic, if increasingly bittersweet.
• My final Apple TV delving so far, Wolfwalkers, was delightful! Stunningly fluid animation and though the plot had some predictable beats here and there it also pulled a few fun little twists. I really loved the relationship that developed between the main characters.
• I've been trying to play Control through myself and, to my bewilderment, discovering I'm much better at it without an audience? However, I am starting to tread into the last arcs of the story and subsequently find myself tested against the kind of challenging enemies that have me shouting swear words a little too loud for politeness' sake. The Former can eat my entire ass.
• The long-awaited Lackadaisy animated short film - or pilot? - has been released, and it brings the expected high quality character designs and manic energy that has cemented this series as a web favourite across the almost literal decades. At the same time it's rather re-ignited my long-boiling exasperation at how much time seems to end up devoted to expanding the legacy of a story that hasn't actually ended, and in fact still doesn't appear to have even reached the midpoint of its main narrative. Is the animated short fun? Sure. Does it introduce anything new to the story? No! And I know, I know - creators are not my bitch. I still concluded long ago I wasn't willing to throw dollars at an endless succession of side projects for a product that ultimately has not been delivered. (It was neat to see Freckle and Mordecai finally go at it for a couple of seconds though.)
