Monday Media Musings - 3/22/21

[owlmoose]

Catching up on a few weeks' worth here...

To All The Boys: Always and Forever: The third movie in the trilogy was cute, although like its predecessor it didn't live up to the charm of the original. As soon as Lara Jean didn't get into Stanford, it became fairly obvious that she was going to end up at NYU; we watched the movie while making and eating dinner, and when we took a break to wash the dishes, T said something speculative about Lara Jean going to New York, and I said "oh, she's going to New York." And I was right, and I was also right that the breakup wasn't going to stick. The only thing I wondered was whether Peter was going to find a way to follow Lara Jean to the East Coast or if they were going to commit to making long distance work. One aspect I appreciated was the thawing of relations with Gen. It wouldn't have rung true if they were suddenly best friends again, but it does make sense that they are cordial to each other now, even if the undercurrent of unease remains. I like the idea that they can be at least allies at NYU, even if they never become close.

Olive Kitterage: A limited HBO series from a few years ago, based on a book of linked short stories by Elizabeth Strout, about a woman living in a small town in Maine. I don't think I can quite say I liked this, because the characters were for the most part difficult to sympathize with, and it was also quite depressing (we got to the point of joking about how many characters might die in each episode), and the main character at the end made a decision I had a hard time believing. But it was certainly well-made, with a phenomenal cast -- the star was Frances McDormond, and Zoe Kazan and Richard Jenkins also gave memorable performances. I'm glad it was only four episodes, though.

WandaVision: A lot of people have a lot to say about this, and I'm not sure how much I can add to it in terms of interesting analysis. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, although I agree with the criticism that the end didn't live up to the promise of the beginning. Because I watched the entire series in less than a week, I didn't have time to build up the fan theories that I know a lot of people did, and I think it was better that way -- fewer thwarted hopes and dreams. The first six episodes were basically a master class in the history of the American family sitcom, a high concept executed brilliantly, the Agatha reveal was a show-stopper (although I wish they'd found something slightly different to do with her afterward), I loved seeing Darcy again, and Monica was wonderful (I do wish she'd been more involved in the finale, although I understand that was forced at least in part by COVID restrictions). The bit with Pietro would have just been a fun Easter egg, if only Disney didn't now own the X-Men movie IP -- it set up all the wrong expectations. I don't mind the big CGI battle ending as much as many people do, largely because it set up that bit with the runes, and I love that as a moment for Wanda finally realizing her full power. And of course the romance between Wanda and Vision was simply wonderful. I'm so glad they finally got some room to breathe and grow as a couple, so that it really hurt when she had to give him up this time. Not that it wasn't sad and tragic in Infinity War, but because their relationship seems almost theoretical it wasn't nearly as emotional. Their ending here gives some closure as well as maybe hope for the future.

Leverage, Season 1: I'm rewatching this again because T has never seen it, and he expressed interest, so I pounced. He is much more hit or miss with it than I am -- something about "realism" and "that doesn't make sense" and "it would never happen like that" and other such unimportant things. To the point where he almost gave up on it, but then he agreed to watch through the First and Second David Jobs, and he liked those better -- appreciated the various reversals, thought it mostly hung together. Meanwhile, I'm just happy to revisit this little family again, see them coming together from the beginning, knowing where they're going to end up. I'm so excited for the new series, you have no idea.