So apparently the Texas governor is okay with movie theaters reopening in May at 25% capacity, but I doubt a lot of theaters will open yet. Maybe just small independent theaters and drive-ins that have old movies they can show. The big chains like AMC are going to wait until maybe June, July, when new movies will be available.
I do miss going out to the theaters, but have been trying to watch the free stuff available on TV. I was able to finally rewatch Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase on HBO NOW. I couldn't get it to load on the app, but I could watch it in a browser on my laptop. Though there is a scary scene in the "haunted house", the movie actually has real detective work, not just stumbling around getting clues from ghosts. I wish they would make a sequel to that. On my day off, I'll try to watch Thousand Pieces of Gold on the "virtual screening" website. Some arthouse theaters are doing this kind of thing so they can sell tickets but show the films online. You just pick whichever theater you want to buy from.
Also, God Friended Me just ended on Sunday. The episode was clearly cobbled together from old footage, glossing over how Miles and Cara got back together. I don't really mind, because all the love-triangle drama and the God Account coming in between them this season was really tiresome and frustrating. I liked that they brought Jaya back too. They left the ending ambiguous so you could either imagine that the "she" was God, or the ghost of Miles's mother, or even simply a mortal female programmer/hacker capable of of stealing that code and starting the account. I was a bit surprised when the creators said that they had already shot that footage of Miles on the mountain during the pilot episode, and just have been holding it back all this time for the series finale. That's cool.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Free for Now
A lot of streaming services are offering free shows lately, so I'm trying to catch what I can. I checked out AppleTV+ (which is a terrible name that confuses me vs the hardware device) and I need to binge some Dickinson and the Little America series, but I also want to rewatch that Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase on HBO. Definitely a much better movie than the ghost-obsessed CW show.
I saw the story about Disney doing a "live-action" CGI remake of Robin Hood, and I wondered how could that possibly work? But then somebody proposed Zootopia's Nick Wilde as the model for the foxy Robin, and that's not a bad idea at all. I don't hate it. They just gotta be careful that it doesn't veer into Cats territory.
Anyway, I watched the Tigertail movie on Netflix, and it was a very poignant tale about what-might-have-beens and a father's inability to communicate with his daughter. Told in Mandarin and Taiwanese with English subtitles, we explore the backstory and the present of a Taiwanese immigrant played by Tzi Ma. He passes on bad parental advice like "crying never solves anything" and avoids heartache by working nonstop so he'll barely see his family. The timeline is a little confusing with some of the present-day vs near-present flashbacks, but overall it's a great, tragic tale, and something Asian-focused to hold me over until Mulan arrives.
I'm trying to find a new cozy mystery series, too, and I've watched the Frankie Drake Mysteries from Canada. They've started airing on PBS lately. I was lukewarm to the first couple of episodes, but the 3rd is starting to feel better. I'm trying not to compare it too much to the Miss Fisher Mysteries that I miss so much, and I am annoyed about them having Ernest Hemingway as a character. But it is nice to see that actress from Houdini and Doyle having fun. Really, I'm missing a Murder She Wrote-type show or an adaptation of Encyclopedia Brown and Sally Kimball in all her glory. But the problem is when I search for mysteries or whodunnits to watch, all I get are recommendations for cop procedurals or true crime series, and that is NOT the same! Especially those tedious shows that drag a mystery out all season.
I saw the story about Disney doing a "live-action" CGI remake of Robin Hood, and I wondered how could that possibly work? But then somebody proposed Zootopia's Nick Wilde as the model for the foxy Robin, and that's not a bad idea at all. I don't hate it. They just gotta be careful that it doesn't veer into Cats territory.
Anyway, I watched the Tigertail movie on Netflix, and it was a very poignant tale about what-might-have-beens and a father's inability to communicate with his daughter. Told in Mandarin and Taiwanese with English subtitles, we explore the backstory and the present of a Taiwanese immigrant played by Tzi Ma. He passes on bad parental advice like "crying never solves anything" and avoids heartache by working nonstop so he'll barely see his family. The timeline is a little confusing with some of the present-day vs near-present flashbacks, but overall it's a great, tragic tale, and something Asian-focused to hold me over until Mulan arrives.
I'm trying to find a new cozy mystery series, too, and I've watched the Frankie Drake Mysteries from Canada. They've started airing on PBS lately. I was lukewarm to the first couple of episodes, but the 3rd is starting to feel better. I'm trying not to compare it too much to the Miss Fisher Mysteries that I miss so much, and I am annoyed about them having Ernest Hemingway as a character. But it is nice to see that actress from Houdini and Doyle having fun. Really, I'm missing a Murder She Wrote-type show or an adaptation of Encyclopedia Brown and Sally Kimball in all her glory. But the problem is when I search for mysteries or whodunnits to watch, all I get are recommendations for cop procedurals or true crime series, and that is NOT the same! Especially those tedious shows that drag a mystery out all season.
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