Space, Fish, Steampunk
Jul. 31st, 2016 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearStar Trek: Beyond
I was really looking forward to seeing this, and it largely delivered. There were lots of fun and also poignant character moments, and it certainly lightened the tone from the previous two. I found the sections between the character stuff (particularly the action sequences) a bit tedious, though, and I thought the villain was weak and mostly uninteresting. I loved the Spock/Bones dynamic, and I liked the interaction between Scotty and Jayla a lot, too. The reveal about Sulu's family was lovely and understated, and the relationship stuff with Spock/Uhura was very well done, if a little underserved. Intermittently highly entertaining, overall!
Finding Dory
I rewatched Finding Nemo on Thursday night, before going to see Finding Dory on Friday morning, and I loved the original film all over again. The new one had a lot to recommend it (all the stuff set in the past was both adorable and heartbreaking, and there were quite a few good moments which were clever, funny or sad), and my choosing of a 10am showing was not, as I feared, a tactical error, as all the kids watching were very well behaved. A bit like Star Trek, though, I wasn't fully engaged the whole way through, there were sections that dragged, and some of it just didn't really work for me. I felt like there was too much interaction between the sea creatures and people, which made their antics harder to believe in. There were some great cameos for characters from the first film (I love Mr Ray!), but I didn't think the newly introduced characters (Hank the octopus, and the two whales) were particularly compelling. Again, intermittently highly entertaining, though!
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
This book is billed as "steampunk Harry Potter" and I can see why, though I think it deserves to stand on its own merits. It tells the story of Sophronia Angelica Temminick, a young girl who is inducted into a finishing school that teaches espionage alongside etiquette. In a world of airship pirates (called flywaymen), vampires and werewolves, the ensuing adventures of Sophronia and her various and varied friends involve a great deal of silliness, but in the best possible way. I love how the girls are just as concerned with the state of their hemlines and deportment as whether or not they can successfully conceal knives in their reticules. Awesome stuff, and I very much look forward to reading more in this series.
I was really looking forward to seeing this, and it largely delivered. There were lots of fun and also poignant character moments, and it certainly lightened the tone from the previous two. I found the sections between the character stuff (particularly the action sequences) a bit tedious, though, and I thought the villain was weak and mostly uninteresting. I loved the Spock/Bones dynamic, and I liked the interaction between Scotty and Jayla a lot, too. The reveal about Sulu's family was lovely and understated, and the relationship stuff with Spock/Uhura was very well done, if a little underserved. Intermittently highly entertaining, overall!
Finding Dory
I rewatched Finding Nemo on Thursday night, before going to see Finding Dory on Friday morning, and I loved the original film all over again. The new one had a lot to recommend it (all the stuff set in the past was both adorable and heartbreaking, and there were quite a few good moments which were clever, funny or sad), and my choosing of a 10am showing was not, as I feared, a tactical error, as all the kids watching were very well behaved. A bit like Star Trek, though, I wasn't fully engaged the whole way through, there were sections that dragged, and some of it just didn't really work for me. I felt like there was too much interaction between the sea creatures and people, which made their antics harder to believe in. There were some great cameos for characters from the first film (I love Mr Ray!), but I didn't think the newly introduced characters (Hank the octopus, and the two whales) were particularly compelling. Again, intermittently highly entertaining, though!
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
This book is billed as "steampunk Harry Potter" and I can see why, though I think it deserves to stand on its own merits. It tells the story of Sophronia Angelica Temminick, a young girl who is inducted into a finishing school that teaches espionage alongside etiquette. In a world of airship pirates (called flywaymen), vampires and werewolves, the ensuing adventures of Sophronia and her various and varied friends involve a great deal of silliness, but in the best possible way. I love how the girls are just as concerned with the state of their hemlines and deportment as whether or not they can successfully conceal knives in their reticules. Awesome stuff, and I very much look forward to reading more in this series.
