This topic is now going to be a rip-off of Bizzle's.

[Random]

I watched Coco on a plane this year and completely failed to hold it together.

[Youef]

That's actually really funny because I also watched Coco on a plane this year, and I also completely failed to hold it together.

[ganonfloyd]

I saw Hereditary in a theater and the last few scenes made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack lmao

[Youef]

Spoilers
Charlie's death and the scenes shortly after were so hard to watch. Like, I can't even imagine being in the position her brother was in. I don't know ifI'd be able to live with myself after that.

Also, Toni Collette was phenomenal in that movie. Her response to the scene mentioned above sent shivers down my spine. And she channeled some major Shelley Duvall vibes throughout the movie. I think I was more unnerved by her facial expressions than I was by the demons.

I thought Hereditary overall was just okay, but I have to give credit where it's due. It did a lot of things right.

[ganonfloyd]

I personally really loved it, I think its my second favorite movie of the year. The only thing I didn't like was the old lady at the end going "don't worry audience if you didn't 100% understand here's the ending and what's happening" which took me out of things, but up until that point I was losing my mind. Only The VVitch was a better modern horror in a theater experience for me.

[ganonfloyd]

I watched Coco on a plane this year and completely failed to hold it together.

That's actually really funny because I also watched Coco on a plane this year, and I also completely failed to hold it together.

jesus i can't imagine watching that on a plane, i watched it at home and was losing it

[Youef]

Holy shit. Episode 6 of Dororo is fucking with me.

[Random]

hella heavy

[Youef]

cool 5 month update

Started Succession on HBO and everyone is a terrible person, but I like it. It's like if Arrested Development was a dramedy.

[Youef]

Done with school, no work to do. Been keeping myself largely quarantined at home, so I've been reading some books. I felt like giving some very brief thoughts on books I've read since the end of 2019 here on Blogger's (Dead) Paradise:

Dune - I've been slowly getting through this book for months. For some reason, I don't have much of a desire to read it, but I want to finish it because it's Dune. About 2/3 of the way through. To be honest, I don't really like any of the characters with few exceptions, and I think that's holding me back. The worldbuilding, however, is incredible. Even if I don't like this book by the time I finish it, I will certainly respect it and what it's done for science fiction. Frank Herbert is incredibly talented.

Gardens of the Moon (Malazan #1) - This book was interesting, and I have a lot of thoughts on the series overall. This is the first book of the Malazan series, and to be honest it took me forever to get through. It was confusing, and I felt totally displaced being thrown in this book's world. I later discovered that Steven Erikson originally structured this book's plot as a screenplay, so that explains the quality. It wasn't the best, but I eventually finished it and enjoyed it.

Deadhouse Gates (Malazan #2) - Holy shit this book is so much better than the first. Erikson wrote this ten years after he wrote GotM, and the jump in quality of writing shows. He also wrote it as a book, so I think the book's plot structure was much more seamless and organic. It's like it was written by an entirely different author. This book has a healthy mix of political intrigue, great characters, and fantastic worldbuilding. I still think about certain key scenes throughout the day despite having finished this book about 2 weeks ago. I honestly can't wait to start book 3.

The Three Body Problem - This book was so fucking good. The characters at times seemed a little dry, but I actually did empathize with them (one key character in particular). It's such an interesting setting, and I'm amazed at how Cixin Liu manipulated scientific concepts into such an imaginative set of rules. Books 2 and 3 are supposedly even more compelling, so that's promising. I ordered book 2 off of Amazon as soon as I finished this one. I would also love to read more fantasy and science fiction novels from non-white authors, like N.K. Jemisin, Evan Winter. It will be interesting to have their different perspectives and takes on the genre.

Americanah - This was a fun book. It took awhile, since it's like almost 600 pages, but I really enjoyed it. The author clearly wanted Ifemelu to be the main character, but I think it would've been more interesting if she focused equally on Obinze and Ifemelu. It would've been cool to have these these two leave Nigeria, go to America and the UK, and come back to each other to see how their new homes changed them. That's technically what happened, but most of the focus was on Ifemelu. Which is fine, I think this is just a personal, subjective preference.

Normal People - This book made me sad to be a millennial, but I thought it was quite evocative nonetheless. It's about two characters who are immensely drawn to each other and try to pry themselves apart, but find themselves inevitably drawn back. Their behavior is toxic, and by the end of the book I think they start to fall for the same mistakes they made throughout the book. But it's a good, realistic story. Hulu is making a TV show, so that'll be fun to watch.

Pachinko - I was really disappointed with this book. It had a very promising start, the plot seemed to move seamlessly and organically, but then the author started to skip a few years every chapter. I ended up not caring about any of the characters because she only gave us tiny glimpses into their lives, and those glimpses weren't enough for me to actually feel much. It's hard to write a family epic like this, but I've read some books that tell the stories of multiple generations much more seamlessly. I felt like this book's structure was very disjointed.

Also sidenote, I started the fan-translated novel of Shinsekai Yori. The anime was fantastic, and the book is largely the same with more detail in certain areas. Also started Jurassic Park. I have a few misgivings on Michael Crichton and his portrayal of scientists, but his stories like Jurassic Park and Westworld are still really fun to read, so whatever.

[ganonfloyd]

Jurassic Park the book is so wild man. Like, compared to the movie, its really mean spirited and harsh. I like both takes but Spielberg definitely had the right idea to change what he did. Ending alone is like genius compared to the book.

[Youef]

Would you say you have a preference for one or the other?

[ganonfloyd]

The movie by a longshot. The book is good too, but the movie works better on a lot of ways.

[Youef]

Kind of random but I watched an episode of Goblin Slayer last night just out of sheer curiosity of its reputation and jesus christ fuck that shit

I can't make an argument for post-Golden Age Berserk, but at least the sexual violence in Berserk has plot relevance and serves character development. The first episode of Goblin Slayer just obscene. People argue that it serves the purpose of vilifying the goblins, but...I'm pretty sure there are other ways of achieving the same effect without resorting to literal gangrape 15 minutes into episode 1? This honestly has been my main critique of Berserk, where I feel the sexual violence does become gratuitous. I mean, contrast Wyald, the horse, and the trolls with Casca, Griffith, and Guts' sexual trauma in the Golden Age. The latter actually drives the plot forth in some meaningful way while depicting the world the world of Berserk as especially brutal. I think the context is kind of just absent in the former, and I can't imagine Goblin Slayer will ever move beyond the former group in its depiction of sexual violence.

I don't know, maybe I'm also just more sensitive to that sort of thing now. Definitely will not continue with this show, especially since it apparently devolves into some generic fantasy D&D adventure with the occasional rape scene sprinkled in here and there. It just sounds like a ridiculous contrast without any meaning.

However, I also watched Vinland Saga which ruled and now I am dedicated to reading the manga. Also started Planetes.

[ganonfloyd]

hell yeah I love Planetes, I have the big two volume edition from Dark Horse and am way overdue for a re-read

the only description of goblin slayer i've ever seen was "what if berserk was bad" and that makes me laugh