Uffish Thought

Doing a quick SXSW wrapup post because I hate to leave things unfinished (ironic, given the state of my WIP folder):

The Secret of Me: excellent but enraging documentary about intersex genital reassignment surgeries. It's wisely centered on the personal story of Jim Ambrose, but does a great job exploring the history of the practice, most importantly Dr. John Money's abusive and unethical twin studies that started the whole mess. Compassionate, well-made, and timely.

Outerlands: narrative film about Cass (they/them) who's struggling to get by in SF (and also with their alcohol problem), and ends up caring for their co-worker/one-night-stand's daughter - supposedly for a weekend, but then she doesn't get back in touch.... Great performances by Asia Kate Dillon as the lead and Ridley Asha Bateman as the girl, and there's a lot of lovely character moments (the lesbian bank lady and her arc were fantastic), but the movie had that messy feel of a first time writer-director. (for example, they kept repeating these weird sequences of SF street shots with Catholic choral music playing over them that didn't fit in artistically in any way I could figure out? and I am trained in this) Solid, deeply queer, dealing with trauma and addiction in atypical ways, but not something I'd whole-heartedly recommend.

The Ballad of Wallis Island: narrative about musician exes who get conned into coming to play a gig on a remote island for a billionaire (he won the lottery twice) superfan. Sweet, but kinda meh. I did appreciate they didn't fall into the usual trap of 'bitter exes reunite' tropes, especially with the ending, and the quiet portrayal of grief was good, but it didn't really hit for me.

The last day I tried to go see 'Good Boy' - a haunted house horror movie with the twist that it's told from the POV of the family dog - but alas, so did a bunch of other people so I didn't get in. For SXSW, only getting shut out of one movie is actually unprecedented for me, so that was okay! I just left for my RenFaire camping trip earlier.

I also took some time to read The Tomb of Dragons, the newest Goblin Emperor series book about Thara.( spoilers )

Ahhh, a full day of screenings where I got into everything I wanted, and they were all great! Also, multiple Star Wars actors, which was a fun coincidence.

Forge
I adored this one! Two Chinese-American siblings in Miami get caught up in a forgery ring, as the FBI catch on and begin to close in. Fantastic script, amazing cast (including Kelly Marie Tran as the FBI art crimes agent), sleekly made and tightly paced. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it worked. I really appreciated they let all the characters be messy and human: they all had motivations and depth, for better or worse.

(spoilers)

I loved that they let Coco, the painting forger and younger sister, be ruthless at the end and attack Emily (the FBI agent) and get away. That was exactly the person she was all along, and I'm glad they didn't make the girl soft all of a sudden. Instead it was her "too nice" brother who let misplaced sentiment and trust get the better of him.

Arrest the Midwife
A timely subject and a compelling documentary about the dire need for midwifery in the United States, focused around several New York State midwives who are being prosecuted for practicing illegally. Very strong and compassionate in its intimate portrayal of the women involved, especially impressive in the participation they got from the isolated Mennonite community, but ultimately I felt like it was hampered by its own pro bias? It seemed clear they hadn't really sought out more voices to interview - even from the NYC community who were working on changing the legislation with them, and definitely no one from a dissenting POV (except a very token interview with the prosecutor on one case).

Also, it assumed a familiarity with the issue and skimmed over giving information about the broader problem: frequently interviewees would discuss maternal mortality rates and midwifery success rates and maternal care deserts and such without the film establishing basic facts first. It made it feel like they were preaching to the choir, assuming their audience was already informed and in their side. Given the short run time, I wonder if they ran out of funding or rushed to release for some reason. Still enjoyable and informative, and very good at the character portrait aspect, but could have been stronger and more balanced.


We Bury the Dead
Atmospheric, thoughtful zombie movie starring Daisy Ridley as Ava, whose husband is in Tasmania when an experimental military bomb goes off, blowing up Hobart and emitting an EMP pulse that causes the rest of the island to go brain dead. Ava signs up for the burial crews in a desperate attempt to find her husband, because there are rumors that some of the bodies are waking up.... (You see where this is going.)

Right from the start, the film was so empathetic, really capturing Ava's grief, and her compassion and curiosity about the dead (Daisy's enormous sad brown eyes didn't hurt, that lady really knows how to use them.) Her partner Clay's completely opposite attitude made a fun contrast, played wonderfully and occasionally funny by Brenton Thwaites. And I think even though in very classic genre fashion,

(spoilers)

the movie predictably had a 'humans are the monsters' interlude, Ava's intimate, mirrored understanding of Riley's desperation and grief

kept it from being the same old story.

(spoilers)

(but also she's willing and able to kill him dead when necessary, which is important. Can't have too much empathy in a zombie movie or you get your face bitten off.)

Also it was just a damn pretty and well-made film. The moody opening, the big vistas of the roadtrip part, a memorably shot zombie chase through a wrecked bus, subtle but solid effects to portray the enormity of the disaster even while keeping it focused on the human aspect.

My one quibble is again that the ending was a bit abrupt. It should have been set up better, or let breathe a bit. But I was satisfied coming out and had a great ride.


Spreadsheet Champions
Earnest, nerdy documentary about a worldwide Excel spreadsheet competition. Exactly what I expected, nothing groundbreaking, but incredibly charming and I even learned some things about the history of spreadsheets! The 6 competitors they followed were the best part: very diverse and colorful and sympathetic. Mason, the teenaged US competitor, was especially hilarious and showed up for the Q&A, so that was a delight.

So I finally saw the Back to the Future trilogy (I know, I know -- all thanks go to the Paramount for showing them as a marathon today), which was delightful and funny and clearly the master of recycling in-jokes in a way that all subsequent franchises have failed to replicate.

But also about halfway through the first movie I just went, Wow, John Sheppard suddenly makes so much more sense. Because *really*.

I have now seen this movie three times in the space of a week. (I didn't have to pay for the second one at least? :D? Ugh, Marvel, just take out a lien on my paycheck, alright? Ya'll already own my soul.)

( slightly more coherent thoughts this time around )

STILL have not seen SHIELD (LINDSEY I'M LOOKING AT YOU), but I'm liking this whole ( wild speculation, minor Cap 2 spoilers )

*shrugs* I am probably already jossed on both of these, but no one tell me yet!

Today was a really good day.

I woke up to a long AO3 kudos notification, which told me that a specific someone left kudos on over half the stories I've written. Sometimes, kudos can be frustrating because writers like words and therefore comments, but I love when someone clearly liked a story enough to go read everything I've ever done.

Then I went to work. Thursday is one of my short shifts, so I only had two clients, but the first was a favorite client who was, in fact, the first person to ever request me as a therapist when I started, and I love working on her. The second was new, but she was great. Most people I see are like brick walls of chronic tension, which is an interesting challenge but you do sometimes feel like you've been repeatedly ramming yourself into a wall at the end of the day. But this lady just...melted like butter. It's rare, and very satisfying. Plus, she wanted foot work, which I am awesome at thanks to practicing on inmyriadbits.

(I did somehow managed to make it all the way out to the car after my shift still wearing my lotion holster. Sexy.)

After that, I wandered over to see Life of Pi in 3D before it left theaters, but I was early, so I sat in the parking lot for half an hour and wrote Finch/Reese porn. Yup. (almost done with the Louis Pasteur PWP! whoo!)

I don't want to get into the details of Life of Pi in this post, but it was an utterly gorgeous movie. More than that, it was the kind of rare piece of storytelling where I stopped thinking about anything else and just watched the movie. Usually, my brain is playing the song currently stuck in my head and thinking about fannish things or critiquing the film from an academic standpoint or being annoyed at the gender politics or a million other things. But today, I was just sitting in a room with a good story and a sense of wonder, and came out feeling very peaceful. That's some damn good filmmaking.

So I went home and watched the sunset, which was gorgeous, and Lindsey made me tea because she magically got home 30 seconds after me, and she gave our neighbor a poster she'd found that she thought was for his lost cat, and then we cracked up laughing at a jogger with a flashing Rudolph-the-Reindeer butt light on our way to the grocery store, and then she answered an important and tragically belated email while I made salad, and then we watched Elementary (from a few weeks ago) and then I gave her a massage.

It was a good day.

Dear Chicago people on my flist:
Do you know anyone who's looking for a roommate in the Chicago area circa January and would be okay with a dog + a cat? A good fannish friend of mine is relocating from California and is looking for a place.

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*sigh* My computer harddrive is creeping gently towards that good night again, alas. Checkdisk has been working up til now, but I've had to repair the system files a few times to get it to start up this week, and today the screen started getting streaky. Also, I can't use sleep mode because it inevitably crashes, and the poor thing gets very hot when I leave it on. Fortunately, we got a cold front in today, so a warm laptop is more comfortable for my legs. :)

However, *I* am feeling less creaky, yay. I learned a stretching technique in my deep tissue class that's relieving the problem with my left levator scapula. I doubt anyone wants to read my feelings about PNF and CRAC stretching (much less PIR and RI), but I am excite, ya'll.

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I went to see Skyfall with inmyriadbits before she had to work it, and I have Opinions. ( Mostly negative. )

For Father's Day, I made my dad rhubarb pie (success! except for scorching the top slightly when reheating it, and maybe a tad too much salt in the pastry) and we went to see MIB 3 (MIB III? no).

The movie was basically a showcase for Josh Brolin doing an eerie Tommy Lee Jones impression, Will Smith making terrible-yet-endearing jokes, and some serious fridge logic, but since it was fun and kinda stupid and Kay and Jay were super married, inmyriadbits and I inevitably left wanting fic. ( spoilers )

And now to bed! Pie kept me up until the wee hours, and I be virtuously tired.

So the Fred & Ginger fest continues, with considerably less success this round....

( Carefree )

( The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle )

In conclusion, my mom and I decided that "Fred and Ginger" would be a good name for a cocktail. Like, ginger...something and champagne.

I neglected to do this last month, but in the wake of Delicious's fail!reboot, it seemed time to do some old-fashioned recs.

I often feel like everyone has read everything before me,but as I pointed out to a friend the other day: *I* love reading what others have to say about good stories, even if I've already read them. So hopefully you'll enjoy these!

Best long: Freeport (Gundam Wing)
Confession: I have never seen Gundam Wing. I scanned one primer and googled some images before reading this epic, and I could have even skipped that step, because this story is practically original scifi. AWESOME original scifi. The premise: several years after an interplanetary civil war, two men reluctantly team up to [fight crime] track down a threat to the fragile peace. The setting: a battered former-prison space station full of criminals and outcasts. The characters: two former teenage terrorists who spent most of the war struggling to do the right thing, and being hated and feared by both sides. Wufei is a stiff-necked martial arts expert and former scholar whose entire clan blew themselves up rather than surrender during the war; he now works as a specialized law enforcer and believes in Justice, though he lives thoroughly in shades of grey. Duo is an ex-street rat/thief with survivor's guilt who is cheerful, anti-authority, cocky...and oh yeah, nicknamed the God of Death. They have Major Issues, and are extremely competent.

Loved the casefile, loved the complex worldbuilding, loved the action and the investigation writing; loved the romance and the slow build of character arcs and revealed history and shared ground. The story is very accessible to a newbie, since only 2 of the 5 canon leads appear in 95% of the story and the characters don't know a lot about each other's past, despite having a powerful connection from the war. As in a lot of good scifi, the anarchic society of Freeport is a touch implausible, but Maldoror grounds it in humanity and everyday details that make it work. This fucker is LONG, too, and was polished up from the original version several years later. Take a long Saturday afternoon, and enjoy the read.

Best short: The Sincerest Form of Flattery (multifandom)
Clever five-things fic that points out the influence of Sherlock Holmes on modern procedurals by pairing quotes from the books with scenes from Due South, Numb3rs, House, Psych, and Castle. Fabulously true character voices, investigative shenanigans, and an inspired cameo of pineapples in the Psych bit, all suffused with fondness for the original canon and the inimitable Watson & Holmes.

I almost had a fit of but-I-beta'd--this ethics and recced A Week in the Life (Avengers, Coulson fic), but no. This was my favorite.

Best re-read: Crown of the Summer Court (Merlin)
I think I reread this at least once a year, and I still love it endlessly. Elves in Camelot! With that hilarious-yet-epic tone that is my favorite thing about Merlin! Happy ending that warps canon in lovely ways! Scorchingly hot sex! This story really does have everything.

Best crossover: Captain America's Art Crawl Adventure (Captain America/Middleman)
*keels over laughing* Best. Wake-up call. Ever. Lindsey literally came in and woke me up to read this, and I didn't even mind! The image of Wendy Watson and Steve Rogers fighting a glue monster at Art Crawl is the most genius idea. For added hilarity, the Middleman is totes a Cap fanboy, and the tone/POV is perfect. Art Crawl! \o!

Best gen kink-meme fill: Floor 37 (Suits)
Mike's last three days of indentured servitude to Louis (and whoever Louis farms him out to) are spent in the service of an elderly lawyer named Jack. You'll probably guess Jack's identity in about 3 seconds, but he's a charming OC, and the story does a lovely job opening up the world of the show and looking at mentoring. I really wish this was an episode.

Best slash kink-meme fill: Boden's Mate (XMFC/Inception)
Epic XMFC/Inception AU of Epic Awesomeness! If you have not read this yet, for the love of god WHY? The story has intrigue and clever, intense dreamsharing action sequences and pining and awesome universe-shifting of the characters and a sequel! (Possibly more than one someday!) I had this thing stalker-pinned and *still* couldn't stop myself from clicking over to the thread at least once a day in hopes of an update.

Best TV: Fringe
THIS SHOW. I wish I had something coherent to say about catching up (13 eps in 3 days! \o/), but I'm stuck on OLIVIA OMG and YAY.

Most ridiculous: Resident Evil
Lindsey and I have decided to start having "let's get drunk and marathon shitty movies!" nights every once in awhile. The Fast & the Furious series went down more smooothly with a case of Corona; we were going to drink Bloody Marys for Alice, but did not have any vodka. Alas. For such a DEEPLY ridic franchise, there are shocking numbers of awesome ladies - at least two in each movie, passing the Bechdel test and kicking ass and generally being the best survivors. They are wearing skin tight outfits most of the time, but, uh, my principles were muted by the booze.

Most fail: Delicious
And the fannish diaspora continues, as everyone runs to find an alternate bookmarking site that won't betray them. *sigh* I have started adding bookmarks again out of sheer perversity, which of course is harder than it used to be to find/remember tags, and I feel very alone because no one else I keep track of is doing so, but it works. I'm curious about Pinboard (that Pinboard/Fandom fic made my week), but I don't really have the money/time to explore.

And of course, I posted Open Secret, Simon/Alys UST fluff written for philomytha's birthday. ♥

SO, inmyriadbits was watching X-Men when I got home. I sat down to watch Hugh Jackman in a cage fight, and ended up watching the whole movie. Y'know, as you do. (Damn, that boy is pretty.)

Then she made me a drink and we watched X2. (what? I'm easy!)

And then this conversation happened:

brainwashed!CYCLOPS: *shoots laser beams at Jean*
JEAN: *makes shield and breaks the dam. And her leg.*
SCOTT: *wakes up and dashes over* Jean, are you okay?
JEAN: I thought I'd lost you!
TWINS: *keel over laughing*

This may seem odd! But let me illustrate with a conversation from The Eagle:

ESCA: *appears to betray the dude who owns him as a slave*
MARCUS: *feels betrayed* I will kill you!
ESCA: *waits until bad guys are asleep*
ESCA: So, you wanted this golden eagle thing, right? This is our only chance, while they're asleep.
MARCUS: I thought I'd lost you....

I REST MY CASE.