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Guys, I have reached that stage of disorganized blogging where not only do I stop stressing about not having anything resembling a schedule, but I also say fuck it! and write a random post about random, non-romance stuff, just because.
Should you worry about this? Well, if you weren't worried that one time I announced a new feature and never came through with it*, then you shouldn't worry now.
*****
John Green and The Fault in Our Stars have taken over the Internet. The promoted tweet announcing the book/movie as “the greatest romance story of the decade” (The Notebook would like a word with that tweet) invaded my timeline five times. Five! And then there is the media obsession with painting Green as the savior of YA literature ignoring all the women who came before him, but that’s a rant for another day. I don’t have anything against Green, but all the attention and media portrayal is exhausting, so I'm giving it even more attention with some links that I found funny and interesting:
Author Elizabeth Scott discovers the John Green Formula. The Fault In Our Stars’ Deleted Scenes. As usual, The Toast is being clever and hilarious.
The Interior Monologue of an Unrepentant Cynical Bitch Going to See 'The Fault in Our Stars'. Pajiba is a blog I used to love that has been pissing me off lately, but this article is priceless, especially because it paints the main male character under a very negative light, which makes me wonder why I haven’t seen similar criticism. It could be that the reviewer was exaggerating, of course, but maybe Stephenie Meyer and Edward hoarded all the attention, and now the rest of the problematic YA love interests are running rampant and using their unchecked possessive assholery to wreak havoc without us noticing.
And the unrelated bonus link: How Tolkien Characters Would Introduce Themselves in a Matriarchal Society
A movie review, because why not?!
Basically, the movie is Groundhog Day with aliens and the people in clunky armors who fight them. The main character is Tom Cruise, but Emily Blunt is in it a lot and she’s kind of a reluctant mentor, so she’s neither a damsel in distress nor a love interest. Cruise, who in real life is off-putting in a creepy, intense way, has a very charismatic screen presence, and his character is an asshole with a strong arc (for a non-stop action movie), so I found him very enjoyable. And the whole movie is pure fun, not just because of the great action, but also because it has lots of comedy. The logic behind some aspects of the plot relies on magic alien science, so there’s not much logic to be found, but even that is straightforward and uncomplicated, and I was happy to go along with it.
I loved it.
ETA: I forgot to say that, in case anyone is curious, the movie is based on this book by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
Currently Reading (or Listening To):
The plot is very simple: Mark is an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and presumed dead by his team and NASA. Most of the book is told in log entries in which Mark tells us about his day trying to use science to MacGyver his way into and out of simple and not-so-simple problems that should keep him alive until the next mission comes. It sounds monotonous and broody, but it’s not, in part because Mark is charming and funny and makes everything really entertaining.
I haven’t finished it yet, but I can’t wait.
*****
* That post is actually coming. It’s been on my mind for over a year, and I have a (mostly blank) Word document saved and all. Just wait for it!
** That review is actually coming. It’s been on my mind for over a month, and I have a (mostly blank) Word document saved and all. Just wait for it!
I just finished The Fault in Our Stars Yesterday. I finally read it because of all the hubub the movie is causing. I've had it about a year now and always hesitated because it dealt with death and cancer and terminal illness and it just kind of felt too close to home. But anyways, it did not live up to the hype for me. Frankly I don't see what everyone is so in love with about. It was an okay story, but not as great as people have touted it to be.
ReplyDeleteJade! Long time no see ;-)
DeleteI thought the book was too manipulative and too obvious in its manipulation. And JG already had a huge fan base not just from his previous books but also from his internet videos, so I'm sure that helped increase the amount of hype. I'm waiting for it to die down a bit before I watch the movie.
I have The Martian in my TBL too but Written in My Own Heart's Blood is next up because: Jamie Fraser. (You can stop gagging now).
ReplyDeleteI don't normally like Tom Cruise (ever since he dumped our Nicole, I've held a grudge) but I've heard good things about this movie so we'll probably see it.
I have NO interest in seeing or reading The Fault in Our Stars. I could just cut onions for a day and get the same result. Ugh. No thank you.
NOO! Blogger ate my looong comment!!! Gah!
ReplyDeleteIt's went something like this:
1. The Martian is awesome, so put it on top of the pile.
2. I'm so out of touch with the Outlander stuff, that I didn't even know what MOHB was or that there was a new book out. I've heard more about the TV show.
3. I like TC's movies, even though his previous one was pure crap, but EoT is fabulous and worth watching at the theater.
4. I do want to watch TFiOS, but I'll wait until it's on DVD.
I would so rather have seen the movie about how the Emily Blunt character became the great heroine of the war than a redux of her story with a male lead where she gets reduced to sidekick.
ReplyDeleteAt least she wasn't a damsel in distress or a woman in the refrigerator! Baby steps, Isobel. But I agree; *that* movie would have been AMAZING. I could also picture the same movie, but with Emily Blunt in the TC role and Angelina Jolie in the EB role (or Michelle Rodriguez! GAH!!). I hope that now that so many heroine-centric movies have been successful we'll see more action movies with women as protagonists. I hope big action stars make a comeback and that they are all women. At least someone make a Wonder Woman movie, please!
DeleteAnd by "so many heroine-centric movies" I mean Maleficent and Frozen, but still. That's two more successful movies than what the Hollywood old dudes expected.
DeleteSold! on The Martian. It sounds like exactly the sort if audiobook that works wonderfully for me.
ReplyDelete