Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and today, our writers share what they’ve been watching over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching, too, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been watching over the past month.
Kyra’s Movies
I finally got around to watching Fahrenheit 451 (2018). It’s been some time since I read the Bradbury novel (of the same name), but I could tell HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 took a lot of liberties. Updates, if you will. I don’t believe the eye drops and augmented reality social media were part of the original. I’m okay with the additions, but it did bother me that Fahrenheit 451 didn’t elaborate on what happens to people after they got booted from augmented reality social media.
I may have missed something. I got that erasing someone’s data (from their fingertips) severed them from the rest of humanity (through the augmented reality social media or ARSM), but I couldn’t see why that was a bad thing. Did people get food through the ARSM? Did the ARSM pay them? Fahrenheit 451’s world-building was a little shaky. But the acting was stellar. Michael Shannon and Michael B. Jordan–hey, two Michaels–gave brilliant performances. They did so well in the roles that they made me forget all those pesky world questions.
Fahrenheit 451 clocks in at just over an hour and a half. I appreciate the shorter runtime. Too many films insist on more than two hours. The short runtime and the performance of the Michaels make Fahrenheit 451 a fun watch. I’d still recommend reading the original novel. It’s a short read. Heck, I may reread it so I can see all the liberties the movie took.
Crazy Rich Asians was another random movie I watched this past month. Typically, I don’t watch romantic comedies; I read them. And Crazy Rich Asians was first a novel. I may need to pick up Kevin Kwan’s novel and add it to my never-ending to be read pile. Actors make acting choices, and actors in romantic comedies can make some poor choices–or they can’t act. That’s why I tend to read romantic comedies. Let me fill in the blanks for myself. Case in point, the romantic lead in Crazy Rich Asians is not the best actor, and one or two actors make some questionable choices.
Of course, Michelle Yeoh was amazing. The look she and the romantic woman lead’s mother share is perfect. Years were conveyed in a thirty-second stare. Awkwafina was in rare form. I don’t tend to like her in most movies; she’s funny in Crazy Rich Asians. Ken Jeong is the perfect choice to play Awkwafina’s father. I love most of that family. I could do with a little less of Awkwafina’s creepy little brother. Stand-up comedians Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng partially round out this massive cast. I love Yang and Chieng’s stand-up routines, and they don’t disappoint.
I didn’t expect to like Crazy Rich Asians as much as I did. The movie showcases Singapore, another city just made my bucket list. The set pieces look phenomenal. Constance Wu (the romantic woman lead) did a stellar job, as did most of the cast. But the romantic man lead torpedoed some of his scenes. I didn’t care for the ending because he was deeply unlikable. And I wanted to see a happily ever after. Who doesn’t in a rom-com? Still, I recommend Crazy Rich Asians. Just try to block the male lead from your mind.
Kyra’s Shows
If you’ve been following Geekly for a while, you’ll know I’m a sucker for true crime. Netflix’s Should I Marry a Murderer? stands out from many of the streaming giant’s other offerings: empathy. Should I Marry a Murderer? presents its subject, Caroline Muirhead, in a way that we see why she makes certain choices. She fell in love with a man who turned out to be a murderer. She doesn’t cooperate with the police and makes some questionable decisions. Muirhead admits that her choices may not have been great, but they did have internal logic.
If you’re ever wondering “why did X stay or return,” you may want to give Should I Marry a Murderer? a watch. Muirhead explains her position well. She gets the viewer on her side, and just when that happens, the documentary throws in one of the authorities who call her foolish or state they would’ve helped her. Only, we see how the authorities didn’t help. Should I Marry a Murderer? shows how a police department can fail a witness. This is a cautionary tale. It may even give you pause with judging others because we don’t know what led them to make their decisions.
Originally, I watched Should I Marry a Murderer? while working on a project (a board game design), but I rewatched the show, giving it more attention on the subsequent view. Few shows like this offer empathy. I found myself agreeing with a witness who refused to immediately go to the police. Should I Marry a Murderer? reminds us that we live in a world of gray.
I also watched the recently released Spider-Noir. I won’t go into too much detail. Geekly has a full review of the series. In short, Spider-Noir is better than it has any right to be. I didn’t anticipate Spider-Noir, but that works in its favor. The biggest debate I’ve seen about Spider-Noir is which version is best, Authentic Black & White or True Hue (color), and after I reviewed the show, Marvel released its definitive way to experience the series. You split the two versions.
Marvel suggests watching episodes 1-3 in Black & White, Episodes 4 and 5 in True Hue, Episode 6 in Black & White, and Episodes 7 and 8 in True Hue. Essentially, Marvel says the first three episodes should be in Black & White because Ben Reilly isn’t in the best headspace, stuck in the past. Episodes 4, 5, 7, and 8 are more Reilly’s present (color), while Episode 6 is a flashback (so, Black & White). It’s an interesting concept. I may just try out this method of watching Spider-Noir. No matter how you watch the show, it’s fun.
That’s all I have for what I’ve been watching this past month. Let’s check in with Season.
Season’s Show
I’ve been feeling anime recently, and My Roommate Is a Cat stood out to me on Crunchyroll. I have two cats, so that’s part of the reason. Tee hee! Anyway, My Roommate Is a Cat isn’t something I normally watch. I tend to watch action/adventure or romance, not slice of life, which is the category My Roommate Is a Cat falls under.
My Roommate Is a Cat follows Subaru Mikazuki, a twenty-three-year-old introvert novelist who sucks at dealing with people. He’s also kind of a jerk to the few people who are close to him. He feeds a stray cat (whom he later names “Haru”) and takes her in. Subaru studies Haru’s behavior for a novel he’s writing, learning how she shows affection for him and bettering himself in the process. The show features both Subaru’s perspective for most of each episode and Haru’s for the last five-ish minutes of each episode. Haru’s perspective is goofy since she doesn’t understand why her dumb human won’t feed himself. She has to do everything.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. That’s all our writers have for what they’ve been watching this past month. Let us know what you’ve been watching, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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