Movies and TV
Sep. 27th, 2016 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sprocketInterstellar: leaving aside the science quibbles, I would like this movie much more if Cooper or whatshisname the old scientist guy were genderflipped. It takes away a bit of my irritation with the scene where Murphy dismisses her honors for a lifetime of hard work on space travel as "only because I had your help, dad!" It didn't feel like Team Science, it felt like misattribution of credit. Also, I dislike Spielberg's the Spielberg-like manipulation of my feelings. IT'S SAD I GET IT OKAY. ANNE HATHAWAY SHOULD BE THE PARENT, NOT MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY. EVEN IF MCCONAUGHEY GIVES ME CONTACT FEELS.
Instead I've been watching The Good Wife, which for many years I avoided because of the title. My mistake! It's political maneuvering, with shades of gray, but unlike House of Cards, I'm invested in the characters.
I love Diane. I LOVE DIANE. I love her unapologetic ambition. I love her wicked cackle, I love that she gets to be smart and ruthless and occasionally fall for A Cause. Diane could be the villain, but it's not that kind of show.
I love Diane and Will. They have the best work marriage. I love their scheming to manage the equity partners. "Is it working?" "Look angrier." Diane and Will fighting in the offices! Diane and Will dancing in the halls! Diane castigating Will for his lousy dating choices! Will bringing Diane booze to sweet-talk her! Will and Diane are each other's peers and have their partner's back, even when (OH DIANE) they should be throwing Will under the bus. Of all the relationships on TGW, Will and Diane have some of the best communication, trust, and mutual respect. AND THERE IS NO UST. Just badass lawyer-ing! Y'alls have no idea how much the judge plotline destroyed me. It was the worst divorce ever. Peter's still not a good person but he created an enemy when he pulled the judgeship and he saved Will and Diane's work marriage. Good work, Peter.
I could take or leave Will Gardner The Romantic Interest, but it's often hilarious when Will and Peter get stuck dealing with each other. Peter is the show in a nutshell. Law and order sound good, but what keeps the wheels moving in the GW!verse is who you know and how you use those connections. Law and winning aren't aligned with justice. Peter is much more interesting when he's being slightly evil, like using his political situation to browbeat the headmistress of a private school For The Children (tm). To circle this around to Will, he's... sort of learned about power and right-ness? If you're going to mess with the law, mess with it for someone else's sake, not for personal gain?
Alicia probably needs a post of her own. She is awesome and complicated and I love complicated characters trying balance their responsibilities. (Getting back to HofC, wow everyone was selfish. There wasn't a sense of selfishness vs responsibilities, or doing things for the greater good, or even doing things for the tribe, except for a tribe of one. And the writing bought into that premise as a compelling way to generate narrative tension. Yuck.)
I like Kalinda... as a character. I like that she's her own person, I A++ approve of putting a queer character front and center. I am dubious about how the show handles, oh, 99% of her sexual relationships. I'm okay with kind of aromantic characters, but I'm not sure the writers are okay with what they've done?
The secondary characters are wonderful schemers: David Lee and Julius Cain, Eli Gold (I hate Eli as a person. As a character he is hilarious)... okay, I'm watching 4x01 and I'm back to screaming LEE YOU OLD GRUMP, which believe me is giving me whiplash. ...okay, I'm getting a soft spot for Mister Trustee, there's something irresistible about competence.
I kind of want to do Five People Alicia Florrick Didn't Sleep With (But Perhaps Should Have), but I also... don't? Because more sex doesn't actually solve any of Alicia's problems. What might solve some of Alicia's problems is a social structure that lets her have her political husband and her handsome if feckless lawyer boyfriend on the side, but it doesn't work that way, does it.
It would also be a lot of fun if there were a West Wing crossover, because CJ and Diane would slay me.
Instead I've been watching The Good Wife, which for many years I avoided because of the title. My mistake! It's political maneuvering, with shades of gray, but unlike House of Cards, I'm invested in the characters.
I love Diane. I LOVE DIANE. I love her unapologetic ambition. I love her wicked cackle, I love that she gets to be smart and ruthless and occasionally fall for A Cause. Diane could be the villain, but it's not that kind of show.
I love Diane and Will. They have the best work marriage. I love their scheming to manage the equity partners. "Is it working?" "Look angrier." Diane and Will fighting in the offices! Diane and Will dancing in the halls! Diane castigating Will for his lousy dating choices! Will bringing Diane booze to sweet-talk her! Will and Diane are each other's peers and have their partner's back, even when (OH DIANE) they should be throwing Will under the bus. Of all the relationships on TGW, Will and Diane have some of the best communication, trust, and mutual respect. AND THERE IS NO UST. Just badass lawyer-ing! Y'alls have no idea how much the judge plotline destroyed me. It was the worst divorce ever. Peter's still not a good person but he created an enemy when he pulled the judgeship and he saved Will and Diane's work marriage. Good work, Peter.
I could take or leave Will Gardner The Romantic Interest, but it's often hilarious when Will and Peter get stuck dealing with each other. Peter is the show in a nutshell. Law and order sound good, but what keeps the wheels moving in the GW!verse is who you know and how you use those connections. Law and winning aren't aligned with justice. Peter is much more interesting when he's being slightly evil, like using his political situation to browbeat the headmistress of a private school For The Children (tm). To circle this around to Will, he's... sort of learned about power and right-ness? If you're going to mess with the law, mess with it for someone else's sake, not for personal gain?
Alicia probably needs a post of her own. She is awesome and complicated and I love complicated characters trying balance their responsibilities. (Getting back to HofC, wow everyone was selfish. There wasn't a sense of selfishness vs responsibilities, or doing things for the greater good, or even doing things for the tribe, except for a tribe of one. And the writing bought into that premise as a compelling way to generate narrative tension. Yuck.)
I like Kalinda... as a character. I like that she's her own person, I A++ approve of putting a queer character front and center. I am dubious about how the show handles, oh, 99% of her sexual relationships. I'm okay with kind of aromantic characters, but I'm not sure the writers are okay with what they've done?
The secondary characters are wonderful schemers: David Lee and Julius Cain, Eli Gold (I hate Eli as a person. As a character he is hilarious)... okay, I'm watching 4x01 and I'm back to screaming LEE YOU OLD GRUMP, which believe me is giving me whiplash. ...okay, I'm getting a soft spot for Mister Trustee, there's something irresistible about competence.
I kind of want to do Five People Alicia Florrick Didn't Sleep With (But Perhaps Should Have), but I also... don't? Because more sex doesn't actually solve any of Alicia's problems. What might solve some of Alicia's problems is a social structure that lets her have her political husband and her handsome if feckless lawyer boyfriend on the side, but it doesn't work that way, does it.
It would also be a lot of fun if there were a West Wing crossover, because CJ and Diane would slay me.
no subject
on 2016-09-29 05:13 am (UTC)If you need a nudge to get into TGW, I will shamelessly nudge. It does lovely drama, and remembers its own history. It lets the characters range across shades of gray. The alliances and antagonists change over time, in fairly organic ways... though David Lee will always be, bless you, predictable abrasive David Lee. I like the show best when it's got all the plots in the air - whatever is going on with Peter and the Illinois political scene, the lawyer team tackling the case of the week, Florrick family drama, and whatever schemes are bedeviling the firm's internal politics - because the writing and acting come together very well. The show doesn't forget it's named after a woman, and heavily salts the show with interesting female roles. It's been criticized for its handling of race, and I don't think it's the show to watch for a nuanced embrace of non-vanilla sexuality.
Getting back to the pluses, there are the guest stars. Carrie Preston nets a recurring guest role as a brilliant if slightly scattershot lawyer, and plays it wonderfully. Stockard Channing plays Alicia's mom! Michael J. Fox gets to be one of the fleet of colorful opposing counsel guest stars, like Martha Plimpton. Renée Elise Goldsberry shows up for the state attorney's office. And do not get me started on the judges, who get to have their own quirks.
Short version: it's worth watching.