mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2022-04-08 08:20 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2022-04-08 08:20 pm
What I've read/played/watched/listened to lately:
And another weekly media roundup:
What I've Been Reading:
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
I like some of the things it's doing, but kind of wanted more of different things? That's more of a problem with me as a reader than it as a book. It's already fairly long, but more depth to the character's feelings and arcs and connections would have been nice, imo. The external stuff - the devil/old god of the forest and the undead monsters within the forest are really cool aesthetically! I like that stuff, too. And it's not fair to say that there's NO interior stuff going on - we certainly do get some of that, with fears of corruption, feelings of betrayal with the bargain revealed for what it is, the worry the mains have for each other and the town. But I want *more* of that, and with more intensity, especially when the blurb talks about the love these characters have for each other... I feel *told* that more than *shown* that.
I still want to see how the last bit turns out!
It has sort of touched on one of the things I was hoping it would with Arthur, but hasn't really committed to it either? There's a big theme and recurring motif in the book about "in between." Spells work by binding "life, death, and the blessing in between". The forest itself is held in between life and death. There are elements of things being between truths and lies, with the story of the bargain being altered to be more palatable to the town. Arthur's gender-weirdness (raised as a girl, overcompensating with performative hyper-masculinity + the comfort and ease that he feels after the time in the forest, now secure in being and doing what he wants, not to prove anything to others) fits in well with this theme. Mairwen has thought as much, specifically noting that he has experience with spaces that fall in between two sides. But the book hasn't really committed to that idea, not completely. Though there are a few pages left - it could surprise me!
What I've Been Watching:
There wasn't anything super exciting in theaters this week, so we didn't go see anything. But we did last week and I forgot to include it!
So from last week: X:
This one was... fairly intense, both in terms of blood and violence and sexual content.
Set in the 1970s, a group of friends/acquaintances decide to rent out a cabin in a remote area to make a pornographic movie, in the hopes of it being their big break. The director and one of the girls starring are a couple, two of the other stars are a couple, and they've hired a cameraman who brings along his shy, initially unapproving girlfriend.
They rent the place and start filming... but the elderly couple they rented the property from discover what they're doing. Things Get Bad from there, and the group members are murdered one by one.
For a slasher it did one thing I really appreciated: it made me care about the group, so I actually DIDN'T want any of them to die, ha. They still do. Let me emphasize, do not truly hope everyone makes it out okay, because this is a slasher and they do die. Also, they aren't all great people all the time, but they're decent characters, and their interactions are mostly pretty fun.
One thing that led to mixed feelings for me initially: a fairly significant part of the horror is the fact that the old couple, specifically the woman, Pearl, wants sex. It's portrayed as very uncomfortable as she tries to get sexual attention from her husband, and then starts spying on the group. (They also tie her want for sex and her want to murder together, with her husband referring to both as "things he tries to give her", and the fact she's killing these people apparently in part motivated by jealousy.) This could super easily go the direction of emphasizing a sense of disgust regarding an old person fucking. And while it does go that route somewhat, it seems VERY much more about that being kind of a challenge to the audience - you, as the audience, are glad to watch these pretty 20-30 somethings having sex and making porn... why does this, by contrast, disgust you?
The reason it comes down on that side, imo, is a choice in casting. (One I was unaware of when I went into it, so sorry if it's a spoiler:) The main protagonist/final girl is played by the same actress who played the old woman. While it was clear to me that Pearl was played by a younger actress in makeup, I did not realize it was the same actress as the lead, even as the film's plot and the characters draw parallels between the two of them specifically. So that emphasizes the idea of the horror-as-challenge: not just you liked watching pretty young people having sex, but you were watching this same actress, and likely enjoying that. Now that the same woman looks like this, you don't? Interesting.
Two deeply mediocre Lifetime thrillers this week:
The Surrogacy Trap
Facing infertility, couple Christie and Mitch seek out a surrogate. They find a woman named Mallory who initially seems absolutely perfect. But as the pregnancy continues, Mallory grows oddly manipulative, attempting to seduce Mitch, and claiming the baby as her own.
Extremely generic Lifetime thriller fare. Not very good.
The Nightmare Nanny
Apparently not to be confused with Nanny Nightmare, which is maybe a different Lifetime movie. New parents Annie and Ben decide to hire a nanny for their daughter Jenny, so that Annie can return to work. They find "Julie", who seems like a great fit. As time goes on, and she seems to be taking over the parental role in Jenny's life, Annie grows suspicious of "Julie". And then Jenny goes missing.
Also pretty generic and not that great.
Oculus
A favorite! This is a horror movie I genuinely really enjoy and find creepy.
More than a decade after his parents were killed, Tim Russell is discharged from a psychiatric hospital, declared ready to live an independent and normal life. He reunites with his older sister, Kaylie, who is going to try and help him adjust.
Kaylie has gotten access to a particular mirror, referred to as the Lasser Glass, which she believes was responsible for their parents' deaths - it has been present at numerous tragic deaths, variously ruled murders and bizarre suicides. She has an elaborate setup of monitoring equipment, intending to prove the mirror's supernatural influence, and therefore truly exonerate her brother from any wrongdoing in their parents' deaths.
The idea of something that can impact your own perception to the degree the mirror does (making them believe they are outside the house when they are not, attack people because they look like something else, physically harm yourself while thinking you're doing something benign...) is truly creepy. Also, I think mirrors are creepy - blame watching Poltergeist when I was way too young.
What I've Been Playing:
Still nothing. I just still feel like I have no time. :(
What I've Been Listening To:
Still no podcasts. Have been listening to the Transistor and Hades soundtracks while writing.
What I've Been Reading:
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
I like some of the things it's doing, but kind of wanted more of different things? That's more of a problem with me as a reader than it as a book. It's already fairly long, but more depth to the character's feelings and arcs and connections would have been nice, imo. The external stuff - the devil/old god of the forest and the undead monsters within the forest are really cool aesthetically! I like that stuff, too. And it's not fair to say that there's NO interior stuff going on - we certainly do get some of that, with fears of corruption, feelings of betrayal with the bargain revealed for what it is, the worry the mains have for each other and the town. But I want *more* of that, and with more intensity, especially when the blurb talks about the love these characters have for each other... I feel *told* that more than *shown* that.
I still want to see how the last bit turns out!
It has sort of touched on one of the things I was hoping it would with Arthur, but hasn't really committed to it either? There's a big theme and recurring motif in the book about "in between." Spells work by binding "life, death, and the blessing in between". The forest itself is held in between life and death. There are elements of things being between truths and lies, with the story of the bargain being altered to be more palatable to the town. Arthur's gender-weirdness (raised as a girl, overcompensating with performative hyper-masculinity + the comfort and ease that he feels after the time in the forest, now secure in being and doing what he wants, not to prove anything to others) fits in well with this theme. Mairwen has thought as much, specifically noting that he has experience with spaces that fall in between two sides. But the book hasn't really committed to that idea, not completely. Though there are a few pages left - it could surprise me!
What I've Been Watching:
There wasn't anything super exciting in theaters this week, so we didn't go see anything. But we did last week and I forgot to include it!
So from last week: X:
This one was... fairly intense, both in terms of blood and violence and sexual content.
Set in the 1970s, a group of friends/acquaintances decide to rent out a cabin in a remote area to make a pornographic movie, in the hopes of it being their big break. The director and one of the girls starring are a couple, two of the other stars are a couple, and they've hired a cameraman who brings along his shy, initially unapproving girlfriend.
They rent the place and start filming... but the elderly couple they rented the property from discover what they're doing. Things Get Bad from there, and the group members are murdered one by one.
For a slasher it did one thing I really appreciated: it made me care about the group, so I actually DIDN'T want any of them to die, ha. They still do. Let me emphasize, do not truly hope everyone makes it out okay, because this is a slasher and they do die. Also, they aren't all great people all the time, but they're decent characters, and their interactions are mostly pretty fun.
One thing that led to mixed feelings for me initially: a fairly significant part of the horror is the fact that the old couple, specifically the woman, Pearl, wants sex. It's portrayed as very uncomfortable as she tries to get sexual attention from her husband, and then starts spying on the group. (They also tie her want for sex and her want to murder together, with her husband referring to both as "things he tries to give her", and the fact she's killing these people apparently in part motivated by jealousy.) This could super easily go the direction of emphasizing a sense of disgust regarding an old person fucking. And while it does go that route somewhat, it seems VERY much more about that being kind of a challenge to the audience - you, as the audience, are glad to watch these pretty 20-30 somethings having sex and making porn... why does this, by contrast, disgust you?
The reason it comes down on that side, imo, is a choice in casting. (One I was unaware of when I went into it, so sorry if it's a spoiler:) The main protagonist/final girl is played by the same actress who played the old woman. While it was clear to me that Pearl was played by a younger actress in makeup, I did not realize it was the same actress as the lead, even as the film's plot and the characters draw parallels between the two of them specifically. So that emphasizes the idea of the horror-as-challenge: not just you liked watching pretty young people having sex, but you were watching this same actress, and likely enjoying that. Now that the same woman looks like this, you don't? Interesting.
Two deeply mediocre Lifetime thrillers this week:
The Surrogacy Trap
Facing infertility, couple Christie and Mitch seek out a surrogate. They find a woman named Mallory who initially seems absolutely perfect. But as the pregnancy continues, Mallory grows oddly manipulative, attempting to seduce Mitch, and claiming the baby as her own.
Extremely generic Lifetime thriller fare. Not very good.
The Nightmare Nanny
Apparently not to be confused with Nanny Nightmare, which is maybe a different Lifetime movie. New parents Annie and Ben decide to hire a nanny for their daughter Jenny, so that Annie can return to work. They find "Julie", who seems like a great fit. As time goes on, and she seems to be taking over the parental role in Jenny's life, Annie grows suspicious of "Julie". And then Jenny goes missing.
Also pretty generic and not that great.
Oculus
A favorite! This is a horror movie I genuinely really enjoy and find creepy.
More than a decade after his parents were killed, Tim Russell is discharged from a psychiatric hospital, declared ready to live an independent and normal life. He reunites with his older sister, Kaylie, who is going to try and help him adjust.
Kaylie has gotten access to a particular mirror, referred to as the Lasser Glass, which she believes was responsible for their parents' deaths - it has been present at numerous tragic deaths, variously ruled murders and bizarre suicides. She has an elaborate setup of monitoring equipment, intending to prove the mirror's supernatural influence, and therefore truly exonerate her brother from any wrongdoing in their parents' deaths.
The idea of something that can impact your own perception to the degree the mirror does (making them believe they are outside the house when they are not, attack people because they look like something else, physically harm yourself while thinking you're doing something benign...) is truly creepy. Also, I think mirrors are creepy - blame watching Poltergeist when I was way too young.
What I've Been Playing:
Still nothing. I just still feel like I have no time. :(
What I've Been Listening To:
Still no podcasts. Have been listening to the Transistor and Hades soundtracks while writing.