I finally got to see Abominable, though I missed the opening minutes, having misjudged how many ads and trailers would be shown in front of the movie. It was cute, funny, and had lovely visuals during the magic sequences. The glowing flowers and trees reminded me of parts of Kung Fu Panda where Master Oogway died. Really nice, and I'll probably see it again to catch what I missed. The violin music was good, but didn't use the same music as in the trailer.
Meanwhile the new TV season has started to premiere. My TV antenna didn't cooperate, though, so my Tivo recordings came out messed up and I missed a couple of shows I wanted to see. I have to try to get by on recaps until I can find repeat airings. Or maybe I'll have to see if the websites will let me stream the episodes I missed.
Also I've read some new books lately with some Asian representation in them. The Downstairs Girl is historical fiction about a Chinese-American girl working as a maid in post-Reconstruction Atlanta. The book points out that a lot of Southern planters imported Chinese labor to replace slaves after Emancipation. While Jo Kuan secretly lives in a former Underground Railroad cellar, she decides to anonymously write an advice column for the newspaper upstairs. There are also some mysteries about the parents who abandoned her, and other people in town, but it's not a murder-mystery like other period books I read. I enjoyed it a lot, though, as a love story and coming of age drama. The race and class issues are tackled well, along with the white feminists discriminating against women of color who want the same things.
Another unusual book I read was Murder on Millionaires' Row, set in Gilded Age New York. The protagonist is an Irish maid who decides to investigate the disappearance of her British employer. This fantasy mystery is brimming with Victorian cliches like Freemasons, Pinkertons, ghosts, alchemy, etc. It's all blended with the author's special mythology about magic, witches, and "luck", special powers that some families inherit, enabling them to accumulate wealth and power as the Astors and Rockefellers of the world. I usually don't venture that far into fantasy realms, but this one was pretty enjoyable, and the story also features a black cook and a Chinese friend whose father owns a shop of exotic potions and more. It is nice seeing more period tales where the characters aren't all white, especially since immigrants of all races have been blending into America's melting pot for hundreds of years. They were there in history, and they should be there in our fiction too.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Friday, September 20, 2019
Up in the Air
Well, the Miss Fisher movie is going to be released in Australia in February 2020, but Acorn is still being vague about when the US will get it. I hope it will be good and worth the wait.
Meanwhile, SNL fired that new hire after all the controversy about his racism and offensive jokes. Glad that finally got resolved, but now I'm so disappointed in Justin Trudeau's blackface photos. It's so stupid of him to, as an adult, have done this 3 times, and moreover to not have volunteered this information back during Ralph Northam's controversy. If he'd confessed then, it might have mitigated things somewhat and not put his re-election at risk. Northam never resigned, and apparently his voters wanted him to stay because other options are worse. I wonder if Canadians will think the same and let Trudeau slide on this too. I don't know.
Anyway, the Israel election resulted in no party having enough seats to form the majority, and it could take weeks to resolve who is prime minister. But Benny Gantz declared victory, and I hear he promised not to form a government including Netanyahu. I hope he sticks to this promise, and that Netanyahu will finally be indicted for his corruption. I haven't liked his warmongering either, and can only hope a "unity" government can be less rightwing, though I admit I don't know how different Gantz will be.
Meanwhile, SNL fired that new hire after all the controversy about his racism and offensive jokes. Glad that finally got resolved, but now I'm so disappointed in Justin Trudeau's blackface photos. It's so stupid of him to, as an adult, have done this 3 times, and moreover to not have volunteered this information back during Ralph Northam's controversy. If he'd confessed then, it might have mitigated things somewhat and not put his re-election at risk. Northam never resigned, and apparently his voters wanted him to stay because other options are worse. I wonder if Canadians will think the same and let Trudeau slide on this too. I don't know.
Anyway, the Israel election resulted in no party having enough seats to form the majority, and it could take weeks to resolve who is prime minister. But Benny Gantz declared victory, and I hear he promised not to form a government including Netanyahu. I hope he sticks to this promise, and that Netanyahu will finally be indicted for his corruption. I haven't liked his warmongering either, and can only hope a "unity" government can be less rightwing, though I admit I don't know how different Gantz will be.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Weighing Things
Well, Apple finally announced pricing and a start date for their TV service. At $4.99, they actually undercut Disney's monthly price, which was wise, since Apple doesn't have a large catalog of content. I am mildly interested in a couple of their shows, and I read that 1 year of content will be free if you buy new Apple hardware. So possibly if I upgrade my phone or computer, I could get the TV stuff at the same time. That could be doable, and then I could cancel later maybe.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong protests continue because only one of their demands were met. I'm not sure how long these protests will last or if they'll be successful in getting reforms. The results might be mixed like the Arab Spring a few years ago. In August, the star of the live-action Mulan posted something on Chinese social media supporting the police instead of the protestors, so people started calling to boycott the film because of that. Her comment reminds me of Gal Gadot's comments in support of the Israeli army, not the Palestinians being brutally repressed. I didn't like that either, but the film itself was financially successful in spite of that. It was important for that film to succeed to make Hollywood stop shying away from female-led films and female directors. With the new Mulan, there are similar issues at play about diversity. It might still be important to support the movie to make sure the new Asian trend doesn't fade away.
I'm guessing that the boycott might be forgotten by March when the film is released, because after all, proposed boycotts didn't take down Wonder Woman. So ultimately it comes down to a personal ethical decision of whether I can put aside politics for the art. For some people I can do that; for others, I find that the person is too repugnant for me to put controversy aside. Like, I don't even want to watch Johnny Depp anymore, but Hollywood keeps casting him in stuff anyway, so that's frustrating. It's similar to my decision to see Avengers movies when Black Widow was part of the ensemble cast but not to support the solo movie due to the actress's stupid casting decisions. I don't know yet if I really can stay away from Mulan, in favor of other movies that have Asian casts like the new Marvel superhero, or the Crazy Rich Asians sequel. I'll have to think about it more.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong protests continue because only one of their demands were met. I'm not sure how long these protests will last or if they'll be successful in getting reforms. The results might be mixed like the Arab Spring a few years ago. In August, the star of the live-action Mulan posted something on Chinese social media supporting the police instead of the protestors, so people started calling to boycott the film because of that. Her comment reminds me of Gal Gadot's comments in support of the Israeli army, not the Palestinians being brutally repressed. I didn't like that either, but the film itself was financially successful in spite of that. It was important for that film to succeed to make Hollywood stop shying away from female-led films and female directors. With the new Mulan, there are similar issues at play about diversity. It might still be important to support the movie to make sure the new Asian trend doesn't fade away.
I'm guessing that the boycott might be forgotten by March when the film is released, because after all, proposed boycotts didn't take down Wonder Woman. So ultimately it comes down to a personal ethical decision of whether I can put aside politics for the art. For some people I can do that; for others, I find that the person is too repugnant for me to put controversy aside. Like, I don't even want to watch Johnny Depp anymore, but Hollywood keeps casting him in stuff anyway, so that's frustrating. It's similar to my decision to see Avengers movies when Black Widow was part of the ensemble cast but not to support the solo movie due to the actress's stupid casting decisions. I don't know yet if I really can stay away from Mulan, in favor of other movies that have Asian casts like the new Marvel superhero, or the Crazy Rich Asians sequel. I'll have to think about it more.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Movies to Come
With fall around the corner, Apple still hasn't announced pricing or a specific launch date for their Apple TV+ service. This vagueness really looks bad, especially compared to the many detailed announcements about Disney's new service. I mean, I probably can't afford to sign up for anything while keeping my Netflix account, but if I did have extra money, Disney's offer looks more affordable and comprehensive than any of the other choices. (Such is the strength of their monopoly that they can price-cut everyone else.) I wonder if Apple's September 10th event will be the big announcement, or if it will only be about iPhones and computers?
Still no announcement of a release date for the Miss Fisher movie, either. Come on, Acorn! I've got to see Phryne again. Also hope that Mr. Malcolm's List is still going forward as a feature film.
I've seen some movie trailers for a new kids movie called Abominable (this is like the 3rd or 4th yeti movie in the past few years). I was going to pass on this since I've already seen a good yeti movie, but this one actually has an Asian protagonist, and her other, non-Yeti friends are also Asian. So great, and she even gets dumplings from her Nai Nai. As much as I enjoyed Smallfoot's compelling portrayal of cultural conflicts between yeti and humans, I did notice how the main human characters were white or foreigners visiting Tibet. No natives with speaking parts. So I guess I'll see Abominable and hope it will be good too.
Still no announcement of a release date for the Miss Fisher movie, either. Come on, Acorn! I've got to see Phryne again. Also hope that Mr. Malcolm's List is still going forward as a feature film.
I've seen some movie trailers for a new kids movie called Abominable (this is like the 3rd or 4th yeti movie in the past few years). I was going to pass on this since I've already seen a good yeti movie, but this one actually has an Asian protagonist, and her other, non-Yeti friends are also Asian. So great, and she even gets dumplings from her Nai Nai. As much as I enjoyed Smallfoot's compelling portrayal of cultural conflicts between yeti and humans, I did notice how the main human characters were white or foreigners visiting Tibet. No natives with speaking parts. So I guess I'll see Abominable and hope it will be good too.
Labor Day weekend
Well of course we couldn't get through another weekend without more mass shootings, especially since Texas loosened their gun laws. Damn the GOP and the still not dead NRA! Anyway, some Democrats finally dropped out of the presidential race so the next debate will be smaller. Good.
Meanwhile Dorian mostly spared Puerto Rico but headed north to the Bahamas. Sad that most people didn't care until its projected path started turning toward mainland US. I don't know how bad this hurricane season will get, but it's certainly no time to be stealing disaster relief funds to build a goddamn border wall.
Well, with fall getting closer, maybe Texas weather will cool off some more. I'm currently knitting a sweater with those new finger-looping yarns. Might be a fad, but I like how easy it is to change colors and bind off.
Meanwhile Dorian mostly spared Puerto Rico but headed north to the Bahamas. Sad that most people didn't care until its projected path started turning toward mainland US. I don't know how bad this hurricane season will get, but it's certainly no time to be stealing disaster relief funds to build a goddamn border wall.
Well, with fall getting closer, maybe Texas weather will cool off some more. I'm currently knitting a sweater with those new finger-looping yarns. Might be a fad, but I like how easy it is to change colors and bind off.
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