Good morning, Readers!
This weekend was the first of the long weekends we get here over the warmer months in Canada. I spent that time wisely.. by watching a screen a great deal. I have thoughts about a few of the things I watched.
First, I finally saw Avengers: Endgame. It was... good? It was fine. I enjoyed it. I might have shed a couple of tears near the end there. It wasn't exquisite. It didn't blow me away. It was good, enjoyable, touching in places, even. It was a wholly adequate end to the MCU as it was built, and a solid foundation upon which to continue the MCU without a couple of key characters. It's not without its problems however, most of which are double-edged swords.
Of note, Thor. The fact that his PTSD and subsequent weight gain were played for laughs is problematic to say the least. That said, that he was still worthy of Mjölnir and could still fight like hell, a hero at any size, made me happy. Like I said, a double-edged sword. It wasn't the only issue I had with the film, of course, but all in all, it was a good film. Also, I liked Cap's ending. After everything, he deserved it.
I also watched the entirety of Netflix's animation Castlevania, based on the video game of the same name. It's wonderfully gory, with some excellent moments of dark humour that gave me a good chuckle. The first season yields no ground on its depiction of the medieval church as a negative force. Some people might be offended, it occurred to me, but I found it a great addition to the tension. The second season focussed on the drama within Dracula's court. I enjoyed the flashbacks, highlighting humanity's own terribleness. Also, there's a special place in my heart for the idiot that was Godbrand, who had some of the funniest lines.
All in all, it was a great show, though I feel like each season could have used more time to explore the characters. This is especially true of the second season, where I wished for a more thorough exploration of the antagonistic relationship between the two male leads. Still, it was a good show and I'm looking forward to the promised season three.
Lastly, Game of Thrones ended this week. I watched it. I am entirely ambivalent about it. I'm glad Sansa, Arya and Tyrion made it out alive. I knew Jon would end up doing what he did, but there was not enough time to explore the internal life of his character and his struggle, leaving his actions feeling hollow and, well, boring. Also, so the dragon understands symbolism now? Why wasn't Jon incinerated? So many questions about it. I'm also pissed that Brienne of Tarth did nothing but finish Jaimey's entry in the book of knights at the end. She should have been entering herself, Ser Brienne of Tarth. For fuck's sake. She is a knight, and one who achieved an incredible amount. But no, let's celebrate the child-murdering incest boy. Christ, it pissed me off.
I also want to point out that Bran Stark is a goddamned monster. Either he knew what would happen, or he manipulated it so it would happen. He knew, or manipulated, Dany into going mad and slaughtering all those people. He did nothing to stop it or, worse, made it happen. The first is horrid. The second is utterly unforgivable. Look, I get what they were going for in the series, but they left themselves short-handed in the last season, without the time to explore the characters' interiority and so all of the actions felt empty and hollow and did not service the characters or the fans. That said, I'm not one of the entitled fools who believes I have any say in the story. I might be ultimately disappointed with it, but it's not my story to tell, and so it's not my place to lay demands at the feet of those whose story it is. And neither it is yours. So put away your petitions, you entitled brats.
Right, that's all I have to comment on today. I'm off to try and inch closer to my manuscript's conclusion.
Ciao!
First, I finally saw Avengers: Endgame. It was... good? It was fine. I enjoyed it. I might have shed a couple of tears near the end there. It wasn't exquisite. It didn't blow me away. It was good, enjoyable, touching in places, even. It was a wholly adequate end to the MCU as it was built, and a solid foundation upon which to continue the MCU without a couple of key characters. It's not without its problems however, most of which are double-edged swords.
Of note, Thor. The fact that his PTSD and subsequent weight gain were played for laughs is problematic to say the least. That said, that he was still worthy of Mjölnir and could still fight like hell, a hero at any size, made me happy. Like I said, a double-edged sword. It wasn't the only issue I had with the film, of course, but all in all, it was a good film. Also, I liked Cap's ending. After everything, he deserved it.
I also watched the entirety of Netflix's animation Castlevania, based on the video game of the same name. It's wonderfully gory, with some excellent moments of dark humour that gave me a good chuckle. The first season yields no ground on its depiction of the medieval church as a negative force. Some people might be offended, it occurred to me, but I found it a great addition to the tension. The second season focussed on the drama within Dracula's court. I enjoyed the flashbacks, highlighting humanity's own terribleness. Also, there's a special place in my heart for the idiot that was Godbrand, who had some of the funniest lines.
All in all, it was a great show, though I feel like each season could have used more time to explore the characters. This is especially true of the second season, where I wished for a more thorough exploration of the antagonistic relationship between the two male leads. Still, it was a good show and I'm looking forward to the promised season three.
Lastly, Game of Thrones ended this week. I watched it. I am entirely ambivalent about it. I'm glad Sansa, Arya and Tyrion made it out alive. I knew Jon would end up doing what he did, but there was not enough time to explore the internal life of his character and his struggle, leaving his actions feeling hollow and, well, boring. Also, so the dragon understands symbolism now? Why wasn't Jon incinerated? So many questions about it. I'm also pissed that Brienne of Tarth did nothing but finish Jaimey's entry in the book of knights at the end. She should have been entering herself, Ser Brienne of Tarth. For fuck's sake. She is a knight, and one who achieved an incredible amount. But no, let's celebrate the child-murdering incest boy. Christ, it pissed me off.
I also want to point out that Bran Stark is a goddamned monster. Either he knew what would happen, or he manipulated it so it would happen. He knew, or manipulated, Dany into going mad and slaughtering all those people. He did nothing to stop it or, worse, made it happen. The first is horrid. The second is utterly unforgivable. Look, I get what they were going for in the series, but they left themselves short-handed in the last season, without the time to explore the characters' interiority and so all of the actions felt empty and hollow and did not service the characters or the fans. That said, I'm not one of the entitled fools who believes I have any say in the story. I might be ultimately disappointed with it, but it's not my story to tell, and so it's not my place to lay demands at the feet of those whose story it is. And neither it is yours. So put away your petitions, you entitled brats.
Right, that's all I have to comment on today. I'm off to try and inch closer to my manuscript's conclusion.
Ciao!
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