watching listening.

watching (Asian-Excellence Edition):

Always Be My Maybe:  The day this came out on Netflix, I watched it in a hotel room in Midway while I ignored my children.  It was so dang funny, and as soon as I got home to where Jon was, I watched it a second time with him on the couch.  This movie is brilliant and hilarious, and the line about the dad washing his face with shampoo still kills me.  Keanu Reeves has the funniest cameo, and whenever I picture him in my head, the image his him sobbing into a wine glass at a ridiculous restaurant.

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God:  This features two of the most beautiful men I have ever seen in my life, and I will never regret getting sucked into this show.  If you like high-cheekboned beauties who only wear the clothes you see in GQ, this show is for you.  If you like those beauties walking towards you in slow motion with the most perfect nighttime silhouettes, the ending of episode two is for you.  (It's my favorite scene of the series.)(Isn't it everyone's favorite scene of the series?).  If you like shows that are emotionally exhausting (but rewarding), this show is for you.  When I finished I think I must have looked dazed, because Jon asked: did it have a happy ending?  The answer is: it did, but not before each of the characters suffered intense grief and loss.  The characters were all happy at the end, but it hurt to have to watch them go through some really hard things first.  ANYWAY.  Watch this show.

Arsenal Military Academy: This show features a girl who dresses up like her brother and enrolls in a military school.  Before you say it, that's as far as it resembles Mulan at all.  This show is so funny, but also pretty complex as far as the antagonists and what their plans are go.  There is a love triangle, which is a trope I don't enjoy, but everything worked out in the end (most importantly, it worked out the way I wanted it to, haha)  My two biggest complaints about the show: (1) things happened in the last five or so episodes that I found shocking and annoying.  Not necessarily because of the context of the show (they are in battle often, after all) but because the rest of the show didn't match up with the last five.  This is all a roundabout way of saying: nobody we cared about died in the previous 35 episodes, so it was really annoying to have many of them die in the last five episodes.  (2) The main ship did not kiss once.  NOT ONCE.  It put me in a pissy mood the day I finished.

Your Name: This movie is an anime that I saw lots of good things about, so I decided to rent it one night.  The story is a lot more complex than the trailer makes it seem (this is a good thing), and had I been sitting while I watched (I was in bed), I would have been on the edge of my seat constantly after the twist was revealed.  Mostly, my overwhelming thought after it was over was how beautiful the movie was.  There were so many scenes or moments that nearly took my breath away because of how gorgeous they were.


listening:

Recomposed, Max Richter: I can't remember how the heck I discovered this, but I'm sure glad I did.  It's a recomposition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and it definitely has some familiar themes to the original.  But it also brings out little phrases that we don't think of when we think of The Four Seasons and fleshes out those bits.  A lot of it feels cinematic, and I really enjoy listening to this while I'm working around the house or on the computer.  I've even played it while working at the library a few times, and it never feels intrusive.

Elements, Ludovico Einaudi: I've mentioned this composer before, but lately I've been listening to him exclusively through this album, and it is so good.  It provides lots of moods, which allows for listening in many contexts.  I've also had this one playing at work, it's got good vibes for the library.

The Dragon Prince, Season 3 soundtrack: Season 3 has just come out and I am already obsessed and analyzing every bit of it, trying to answer my unanswered questions and discover every bit of this world I possibly can.  The soundtrack is also out, and it's so good.  I think it might be my favorite of the three seasons so far, and I can't stop listening to it.