Let’s see…

Movies

After getting back from Disney, I did rewatches of Beauty and the Beast and Ratatouille. Both gems.

I watched Fackham Hall, not expecting a lot, and it turned out to be really funny! I do love the Airplane! genre, and this skewered the Downton Abbey stuff very nicely. I also finished Zootopia 2, which I’d started on the airplane. That was fun.

I did try the new Naked Gun movie though, and decided not to finish it. I tried Hit Man, and it just wasn’t holding my attention.

I haven’t seen anything in theaters, but it looks like Project Hail Mary will be coming back to the IMAX theaters and I’m going to go see it then. It sounds terrific, and also faithful to the book, which I really liked.

Books

I am finally reading the “Heated Rivalry” books. They’re fine, but I really just want to get to the TV series. Also reading Brideshead Revisited, which I’ve also never read or seen. Definitely going to follow up with the classic miniseries of that. It’s very queer, and also, it takes place at Oxford, some of it, which I can now picture because I’ve been there.

Finally finished my perusal of the Reacher books, have run up into the ones he wrote with his brother, and have decided to put it down gently. I will fill that slot with some of the many other detectivey/thriller books I have waiting.

Still going with the Muderbot and Discworld books.

And I’m hoping, after my cataract surgeries, I’ll be more likely to pick up a print book again. I do have several going now – detective novel, a book on Vaughan Williams, and a fun book called Soonish. And shelves and shelves waiting.

Television

I’ve been wrapping up some stuff. Bridgerton, which I enjoyed, particularly Katie Leung’s evil stepmother. The actress playing Sophie clearly has a Lizzie Bennet waiting for her. I also was bummed that Violet decided to put Lord Milk Chocolate* on hold. I would not have.
* (I didn’t come up with that name, someone on socials did, it just made me laugh)

I was enjoying the latest Lincoln Lawyer, which got really gripping the last few episodes, in that I couldn’t stop with just one. And, on Pitt night, it ended up being a Christopher Thornton fest – as he played the sleazy (and dead) con artist on LL and Dr. Caleb on The Pitt. I finished that up last night – I need a new detective-y thing to take its place. Maybe older seasons of True Detective. I loved the Jodie Foster season.

The Pitt is really great, of course – I’m trying to just let it wash over me rather than get caught up in any story. It seems maybe clunkier than Season 1, but what a bunch of great acting going on. I’m also watching Brilliant Minds, but it doesn’t compare. Matlock and Elsbeth too. Elsbeth is so darn silly, but their guest actors are the best, always.

Finally finished English Teacher. I wanted to like it more than I did. I see Hacks has come back, will pick that up again. Resident Alien, which is highly variable. Mostly it’s ending up blah, but once in a while, it’s as hilarious as the first season. And (way late, I know) season 1 of This is Us. I know how manipulative it is, but nothing else I watch is like that and it really does get right in there with the feels in a cathartic way, doesn’t it? I’ll have to see if I want to keep going after Season 1. The real reason to watch it is Sterling K. Brown. I wish I liked Paradise more than I did.

Too much damn good TV out there.

Theater

I’ll get to this in separate posts, but I did see Chess and Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway the last couple of weeks, and would like to keep picking off shows until opera rehearsals start.

And next week, I’m seeing two performances of Ruddigore and one of Utopia, Ltd.

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More soon. I don’t like it when blogging/writing feels like a job, but I remember Vance telling me that learning to write to a deadline is a very useful skill, so I guess I should develop it.