december - january media log

Happy New Year + Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!

What I consumed in the last two months:
( TV: Rock It, Mom; The Heart of Genius; Wednesday; Salt Fat Acid Heat; 两不疑 No Doubt in Us )

( movies: Spider-Man No Way Home; Glass Onion; Cherry Magic movie )

Misc

Mula sa Buwan (From the Moon):

Localized Filipino musical adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. I'm not familiar with the original play, and because the setting was adapted to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in WW2 (which is still pretty recent), I was too stressed to truly enjoy this. /o\ Still, it was beautifully staged, and I was really surprised and delighted to discover that the play was entirely in verse (which is, IME, unusual)! This was a limited two-weekend run where they didn't have any understudies, so there was also a lot of pandemic tension going on backstage; you could FEEL the palpable joy when the play opens with characters rejoicing about how the theater was theirs tonight, and the gratitude of the actors during the curtain call.

Kotaro Lives Alone: recced by aartichapati; dropped because my Netflix subscription expired, but it's a quiet slice-of-life anime that was perfect as a background watch because I could look away without missing anything.

Disco Elysium: The game’s overall feel (like the lack of warmth in the city—Martinaise just felt so cold all the time) was v depressing and anxiety-inducing for me, but I think my anxiety has also been pretty rough on me lately. I do think it was written beautifully, for me to get so emotionally invested in the characters that I met, and for Harry’s personal storylines to hit me so hard. It handles a lot of dark and sensitive themes really well too, neither shying away nor reveling in them. (And I am absolutely pleased with the storylines I decided to put my energy to——the cryptids and perception boost, as well as the entire Church storyline, and the tie.) Overall, 10/10 experience and storytelling, but in many ways, this game is not for me.

On literary translation: "Hosts and Guests" by Robin Myers: Interesting read. NGL, I'm not sure if there will ever be a language that truly feels like home to me. I wander through the houses I grew up in like a ghost lol