Flowers! Baby animals! Thunderstorms! It's finally springtime! Here are some of the things that I got up to in April.
MOVIES
LOGAN LUCKY
I ended up watching Logan Lucky during one of those "I don't know what to watch - is there anything new on streaming?" evenings and really enjoyed it. It's a fun heist movie with quality slapstick, visual gags, and deadpan humor. There is a particular scene where a bunch of inmates discuss the Game of Thrones books that had me gasping for breath because I was laughing so hard.
A QUIET PLACE
While I have a few criticisms - I found a few parts to be a bit hokey and unsuccessful - A Quiet Place earns a spot on the list for how effectively it made use of the main gimmick: lack of sound. The smartly executed sound design and editing do a great deal to elevate this film and build up the tension. I enjoy it when films try something new and I did't feel like I had seen this story a hundred times before.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
*Don't worry - I'll keep this spoiler free* Connecting 10 years worth of films into one story is a seriously hard task and sure, Infinity War is a bit overstuffed with some underdeveloped plot lines, but somehow the film manages to make time for lots of good character moments and growth in between all of the big set-piece fights, explosions, and shenanigans. I think the decision to go the direction they did (with that ending) was really smart. It feels like a big comic-book cliffhanger and a fitting epic finale to cap (Cap?) off such a large collection of films and characters.
BOOKS
I'm a big fan of historical romance trilogies/series that stick with the same main characters; I like when a relationship is given time to grow and change over the course of several books (see also: Abroad, Arden St. Ives, and A Charm of Magpies). The Happily Ever After is far more effective when you've spent so much time with the characters and this is one of the main elements that makes the Enlightenment series stand out for me. By the end of the third book I was I *very* invested in David and Murdo's love story and the HEA they had to work very hard to achieve. The first book didn't seem quite as strong as the following installments, but I would definitely recommend this trilogy if gay historical romances are your cup of tea.
(Steps up onto soapbox) *ahem* I have some things to say about The Terror. My opinion varied wildly while I was reading it, but overall I really liked this behemoth of a book. The Terror is a fictional monster story wrapped around the real-life Franklin expedition, a doomed naval voyage which set out in 1845 to find the fabled North West Passage.
This positive review does come with a few caveats. First off, in the author's attempt to realistically depict a group of 19th century colonialist British sailors, he does include a lot of racism and misogyny. While I understand why this was included (these aspects would definitely have been present at that time, with these people) and some of it is addressed as characters change throughout the story, every time one of the sailors spewed a racial slur or called a woman a whore I just wanted the monster to show up and eat them all.
The author's fascination with breasts also caused a lot of eye rolling. Literally EVERY time a female character was mentioned, the author took time to describe her breasts (were they heaving? were they covered in sweat? what was their exact size and shape?) Seriously. This happened EVERY TIME. It reminded me of the recent "describe yourself like a male author would" meme that was going around twitter. While at first this breast obsession pissed me off, it happened so often and so reliably that eventually I just started to laugh.
And finally, there are parts of The Terror that delve into Inuit folklore, characters, and history and tread that fine line of "this feels a bit like cultural appropriation..."
But with all that being said, the bulk of this book is a really engrossing story of monsters, adventure, and survival in a beautifully envisioned environment that managed to keep me hooked the whole way through.
GAMES
A WAY OUT
A Way Out is a co-op game in which you play as two prisoners who plan and execute a jail break and then go on a road trip of revenge and redemption. Most of A Way Out is great and does some really clever and innovative things with cooperative, two-person gameplay. Unfortunately, the last 15 minutes of the game change so drastically in tone and narrative that I wanted to throw my controller and turn off the game. I think it's still worth playing despite that, but just be warned that the end goes off the god damn rails.
MUSIC
DIRTY COMPUTER (Janelle Monae)
Janelle Monae is amazing and her new album SO GOOD. 😍 It's rebellious, cheeky, and feminist AF. Plus, the visual album that goes with it is equally awesome and full of glorious color and imagery. I have been listening to/watching Dirty Computer non-stop for the past week and i'm sure it's going to influence some art pieces.
LOVE YOURSELF 承 'HER' (BTS)
A friend of mine recently introduced me to the infectiously good album Love Yourself 承 'Her' by BTS. I am a total K-Pop newbie and I don't speak a word of Korean but I sure give it my best shot when I'm singing along with these songs in the car. BTS makes really fun boy-band pop music that I immediately want to dance to and of course, all of the band members are incredibly cute.
A friend of mine recently introduced me to the infectiously good album Love Yourself 承 'Her' by BTS. I am a total K-Pop newbie and I don't speak a word of Korean but I sure give it my best shot when I'm singing along with these songs in the car. BTS makes really fun boy-band pop music that I immediately want to dance to and of course, all of the band members are incredibly cute.
ART THINGS
My art inspiration seems to work a lot like the ocean right before a tsunami - before the waves come flooding in there is that period of time where all of the water recedes far from shore. With two big shows coming up in August and October, all of my motivation and ideas seem to have receded in preparation for the upcoming months of intense art time. I've been trying to combat this a bit by finishing up the final batch of Nerd Love collages, but I constantly find myself sitting at my desk staring into the distance and unable to make progress anything. I've been starting to feel a bit more motivated this week and finally tackled the bearded Nerd Love gents that I had been putting off forever, so I think I'm definitely climbing out of the frustrating art trench. Now I just need to convince my brain to focus on these two 2018 shows instead of obsessing over all of the ideas I have for a solo show in 2019.
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