TV and movie reviews
Apr. 28th, 2011 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sasha_featherBreaking Bad Season 1
It's weird to say to people, This is about a high school chemistry teacher who gets into cooking crystal meth. You see, he finds out he's dying of lung cancer and wants money for his family. His wife is pregnant and his teenage son is disabled; he's always been a stand-up guy and suddenly he just goes "fuck it" and grabs at this opportunity. Since he's really into chemistry he cooks the best effing meth around. Naturally, things get bad really fast. This show is violent and gritty, but there is enough dark humor in it to keep me invested and entertained. The characters are nuanced and the actors wonderful. What happens when a good man decides to go bad? And why am I rooting for him?
Just One of the Guys - 1985 ImDb page PG-13, streaming on Netflix.
This movie rates as "almost queer" and is a cross-dressing movie. Clips from it appear in Charmax's fan vid "I'm Your Man". It's a high school comedy that is surprisingly good; I particularly enjoyed the friendships and the sibling relationship presented in the film. Terry, a journalism student, dresses as a boy at a neighboring high school in order to get a story and win a scholarship. One of the best scenes involves Terry's brother teaching her how to act like a boy. She evades bullies and the locker room with grace. She attempts to live a double life, dating her college boyfriend and hanging out with her new pal Rick (whom she finds herself falling for). It's a sweet film, and would have been much better without the (sigh inevitable) ending where things are restored to gender norms.
It's weird to say to people, This is about a high school chemistry teacher who gets into cooking crystal meth. You see, he finds out he's dying of lung cancer and wants money for his family. His wife is pregnant and his teenage son is disabled; he's always been a stand-up guy and suddenly he just goes "fuck it" and grabs at this opportunity. Since he's really into chemistry he cooks the best effing meth around. Naturally, things get bad really fast. This show is violent and gritty, but there is enough dark humor in it to keep me invested and entertained. The characters are nuanced and the actors wonderful. What happens when a good man decides to go bad? And why am I rooting for him?
Just One of the Guys - 1985 ImDb page PG-13, streaming on Netflix.
This movie rates as "almost queer" and is a cross-dressing movie. Clips from it appear in Charmax's fan vid "I'm Your Man". It's a high school comedy that is surprisingly good; I particularly enjoyed the friendships and the sibling relationship presented in the film. Terry, a journalism student, dresses as a boy at a neighboring high school in order to get a story and win a scholarship. One of the best scenes involves Terry's brother teaching her how to act like a boy. She evades bullies and the locker room with grace. She attempts to live a double life, dating her college boyfriend and hanging out with her new pal Rick (whom she finds herself falling for). It's a sweet film, and would have been much better without the (sigh inevitable) ending where things are restored to gender norms.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-29 05:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-29 09:36 pm (UTC)One of the first scenes (no real spoilers) is the chem teacher Walter and a very low-life dropout in a RV. Walter is very soberly demonstrating the use of safety equipment before they start cooking crystal meth. Around 2.5 seasons later, the dropout begins to understand and appreciate the importance of the safety routines!
Also, Walt Jr is just hitting puberty, and is played with a lovely shy style by RJ Mitte. Like his character, Mitte has CP. The grim humor -- be calm and carry on! -- the family brings to handling disability is (I think) one of the foundations for Walt's persistence in the face of more obstacles than you can even possibly imagine.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-29 11:03 pm (UTC)