(no subject)

[sideways]

• Mum has been wanting me to watch Saving Mr Banks for a while now, and during my stay I finally got around to fulfilling her wish. I can see why she likes it so much: on a superficial level it's a very heartwarming story, I'm always a fan of Australians getting to be on screen, and, yes, I cried at least once. I wish I could leave it at that. Unfortunately, an inch below the surface lies the fact it's not just a fluffy fictional narrative - it's a just shy of outright propagandist portrayal of a very real woman who was badgered by Disney (the man) for 20 years for rights to a movie adaptation, fought fiercely for creative control of her story, and ultimately lost. In that context it was difficult to watch Disney (the machine) spin out a tale in which her collaboration with the company was a healing, cathartic experience. See how Walt and the gang tease out and sympathise with her traumas; see her overcome her bitter, shrewish nature to literally link arms in peaceful understanding with the mouse! Never mind that none of this actually happened, and they saved this movie for when she was too dead to protest it. I don't know. There's something... almost cruel about them choosing to tell this story in this way. To not only rewrite her work, but her life. (My father, at the end, declared, "Have to watch Mary Poppins again!" Yeah. That would be the point.)

• We also all watched Hamilton together, which I had more genuine fun with. As a testament to the start of the United States as an independent nation, it was a bit melancholy given current events; as a passionate love letter to some old dead guy, the shilling was occasionally so gratuitous that by the end I also wanted to shoot Hamilton. But as absolutely stunning wordsmithery belted out by a killer cast to a range of brain-monopolising tunes? Entirely worth one's time. "Wait For It" was probably my favourite.

• Mortal Engines is a book that shook me as a child, so I've been casting dark looks at the film production ever since they first made it clear they would be taking a character described as having facial scarring so significant she looks like "a portrait that has been furiously crossed out" and giving her a light slash instead - a decision earnestly and without any hint of self-awareness justified as it just being too distracting and unrealistic for someone so grossly deformed to take the lead role and have a love interest. Yikes to the power of ten, lads, and a spit in the face of a young girl who had never before had it so baldly suggested that you could be both ugly and important. It kept me away from the cinema - but enough wistful curiosity remained that I couldn't quite resist the Netflix appearance. As expected, the unwillingness to commit to Hester's appearance extended to an unwillingness to commit to the story's darkest elements, and as such the movie pretty much missed the entire point of the book from start to finish. Yet despite the gross injustice done to the story, I still kind of enjoyed myself? I credit this wholesale to the architecture and the costuming because my god. It was gorgeous. The people who worked on that side of things at least brought one element of the books to life, and they deserve all the praise.

• A series of sad flops on the literature front. Tried reading The Scar by China Mieville for the third time, and failed for I think the last. He's a hard one, alas; awesome ideas and wicked writing, and I loved The City & the City, but works like The Scar are so slow and dense I feel no drive to continue with it. 100 pages in I still couldn't tell you what the plot was, you know? I then took another stab at The Traitor Baru Cormorant, also got frustrated again, and stomped off to read the short story instead... which I liked quite a lot! That in and of itself kind of summarises my struggles with the novel; it just felt like a lot of waffle to me.

• The final literary failure: I successfully started rereading one of my trashy military fiction series. Why can't I have TASTE.

• I was put onto Sundered by quietmoon and have been having an absolute blast. This is my first "metroidvania" style game and it took me a while to get the hang of exactly what that meant, but I'm currently two bosses down and madly in love with the art design. I never knew hand-drawn games were a thing! The story itself is also highly compelling: a woman trapped in a labyrinth of nightmares, aided (however willingly is up to you) by a creature that calls itself the Shining Trapezohedron... The only downside is I have to give myself frequent breaks lest I injure my hand with my frantic button-mashing.

• Kentucky Route Zero released its final chapter some time ago, so I'm slowly working my way through to it. It's a very ploddy game in some ways - and barely a 'game' in others - but still beautiful.

Comments

[alaterdate]

I got a big laugh out of you saying you also wanted to shoot Hamilton by the end of the play. I felt the same way. *Pointing to a portrait of Hamilton* I've had enough of this dude.

I didn't know of the changes in Mortal Engines. "...her scar does need to be disfiguring enough that she thinks she’s ugly—" It's not event that bad in the movie wow.

[sideways]

I know it's a bit rich to watch an biographical musical and wish they'd sing a little less about the title character but... honestly >>

It's not! She's not ugly! She's blemished at best, which made it all the more cringeworthy every time someone in the movie reacted as though her appearance was particularly shocking or unsightful. There just isn't any way to put a positive spin on the choice - they simply couldn't conceive of a non-standard female protagonist.

[wheatear]

Hmm, yeah I remember seeing the Mortal Engines trailer and thinking, no, not gonna watch it. Is it worth it?

[sideways]

I'd say it's better than the Artemis Fowl adaptation, but that's still not saying much. If you're a fan of the books, it's worth at least treating yourself to the first few minutes when London chases down a city? Just to get to go oooh. Beyond that... eh, the worth is highly variable. I sincerely enjoyed getting to take a tour through the scenery, and things like Shrike's design and the airships were done well. The rest was clustered on a scale of "whatever" to "bad".

[wheatear]

Yeah, the Artemis Fowl adaptation is a low bar, haha. Thanks for the info, I might check it out at some point.

[silverflight8]

Disney gonna disney but man, it's so tiring. I'm still mad that antitrust is so bad in the US. I am sorry FTC/DOJ, your arguments about pricing are BULLSHIT and there are other considerations, like the fact that soon there will be 1 media empire and 1 online seller and and and

[sideways]

Forever shaking a fist at the nearest person who tries to tell me the free market is the best and fairest way of deciding who gets to eat who in the pit of economics 8)

[silverflight8]

I mean, my objects ARE in line with wanting a free market (with lots of competition). I know what monopoly (and oligopoly) pricing & selection are like and I don't want it! Kindly step up to your mission, govt agencies, and do antitrust!

but agreed. Pure competitive market is also not a good way to run a society either.