halfcactus

Nimona (2023)
Streaming on: Netflix

This adaptation changed a lot of things in the graphic novel, so it feels fresh, and somewhat more simplistic, but no less personal and meaningful. I enjoyed the medieval fantasy setting and the music!

The movie definitely benefited from having its plot be more streamlined and straightforward. The adult characters had their moral complexities sanded down and felt like completely different characters, but I didn't mind as much since it gave Nimona and the LGBT messaging more room to reach out to the audience. The flashback of Nimona's backstory in the second half was absolutely beautiful and touching and truly pulled the whole movie together.

I found some of the social commentary dialogue somewhat formulaic and heavyhanded, but it said what it wanted to say and I think it's the kind of children's movie I'd have loved to grow up with!

(And on a more superficial note: I felt so seen by the music in this movie, which reminds me of 2010s Tumblr/8tracks fandom + workout mixes. I actually stopped the movie halfway to listen to the full Gold Guns Girls 5 times in a row, as God intended.)


Barbie (2023)
This was a fun blockbuster but mostly this movie made me sorely feel how much I wasn't the target audience for this. ^^; I don't necessarily mean this as a bad thing, because it was designed to reach out to as many people as possible for good reasons. But the more that jokes and references felt like they were calibrated for maximum relatability, the less I could connect--so this movie didn't mean much to me emotionally. But I still loved both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling's performance in this, and all the song/dance numbers, and the set + costume design, and the way people felt so intimately connected to the Barbie lore. It was definitely a movie worth watching in the theater, especially with the energy of an audience who dressed up for it.


Oh No! Here Comes Trouble (2023)
Streaming on: iQiyi

Taiwanese supernatural drama about a young man from a family of calligraphers who learns to use his family's craft as well as his own heart to give peace to the living, the dead, and himself.

This is one of the better dramas I've seen in a while, with a male protagonist I actually love! The main character is Pu Yiyong, nineteen years old and going through a journey of grief, and characterized through his relationships and interactions. The case-writing and procedural aspects are quite weak, but the supernatural mysteries and elements and the overarching emotional arc are so, so, so well done. As the show goes on, you see more of Pu Yiyong's personality and a brand of kindness that is so specific to him and his emotional space.

This is also one of my favorite portrayals of a mother-son relationship and the empty spaces in their lives in which the mother herself was a deviant in her prime. She pulls their family together with good humored affection.

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Recently:

Subbed (because I was unusually productive):

Young Blood 2 "Return with Ignited Dreams" special: a collaboration with for_zhouyutong; this video involves the cast talking about their characters. Hosted on Dailymotion because MGTV Youtube cruelly blocked all! our! hard! work! orz

Zhang Xincheng: "Guess what Young Blood 2 scene I drew"

Zhang Xincheng + "Flower" by Jisoo (livestream clip) (I, for one, am proud of him for even just knowing who sang it lol)

Zhang Xincheng: Taking an MBTI test as Yuan Zhongxin (Young Blood 2): interesting commentary at the end about Yuan Zhongxin being an extroverted introvert

A little preoccupied recently because dramateaque was pretty interested in all the MBTI talk, including the one in a recent livestream. I'm so glad I've accepted my slowness and stopped trying to keep with everything, but at the same time my output rate has become kind of... unhinged again. (I normally average very short 1 video a week, which is also unhinged but in a more normal way lol.)