oy, been a hot minute lmao;;;
Nov. 24th, 2025 12:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rinjaso uh, work has been absolutely insane (my new role is much more involved now and it’s GREAT but also SO BUSY ALL THE TIME)… but in the meantime, have managed to watch more things.
anime
Kaiju no. 8: Season 2
studio: Production I.G
adventure, scifi/fantasy
Between S1 and S2, I caught up with the manga, which also happened to finish this past summer… and I really enjoyed it! Season 2 has been kind of in the same vein as S1, though the animation quality felt like it dropped off just a little bit (also this series had some SERIOUS heavy-hitting competition, ha). Still a great time, and I still really enjoyed it. The stakes are growing, the enemies are getting more potent, but so are our heroes—and it ramps up nicely for a Season 3 (which will probably be the final season tbh based on where this caught up to with the manga). Nothing groundbreaking, but an honestly good time. (And more banger OP/EDs!! That opening sets a really interesting tone for the series IMO.)
DANDADAN: Season 2
studio: Science Saru
action, romance, comedy, supernatural, thriller
Look. I’m probably gonna come off as biased at this point, but this show is now one of my faves and y’all are gonna have to deal with me being positive all the time on this one haha. While I did not think this season’s OP/EDs were as banger as S1 (still good, but tbh i skipped them more than I did for S1), and there weren’t the same gut-punching emotional episodes like ep7 from S1, this was honestly a series I looked forward to keeping up with every Thursday. And I did for the entire season—still a super fun, crazy, psychedelic romp with these silly kids!! We also finally got to meet Evil Eye, who honestly is a GEM of a character hahaha. I can’t wait for this to get more seasons, because this is going to be one of my personal mainstays! I’ll probably finally get antsy enough to read the manga before the next round comes out, but hooboy this adaptation is fantastic.
My Dress-Up Darling
studio: CloverWorks
romance, comedy, slice of life
Despite having this recommended to me A LOT, I’ll admit I avoided this one for a long time since it felt super incel-bait-y/neckbeard-friendly the way isekais tend to be. But a couple of my friends were like, “okay yeah it’s pretty uh, raunchy at times, but I swear it’s good!!!” so I eventually caved… and binged both seasons in quick succession LOL. It feels weird to say this, but this show is surprisingly wholesome for how horny it gets at times. Like, this is not something you wanna be caught watching in public without some context involved haha. But the mains are super precious and this is actually really sweet & fun, and a really interesting deep dive into serious cosplay.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Movie
studio: Ufotable
adventure, dark fantasy, action, supernatural
Okay, okay so. I love this series dearly. I even liked this movie. HOWEVER, and I think this was a complaint from quite a few of us: the pacing kinda was off, because the flashback scenes (while really interesting from a story standpoint—I’m glad they didn’t get totally cut) were a little stretched out/misplaced. But overall? Feast for the eyes. Music on point. Giyuu+Tanjiro vs Akaza was incredible!! I’m a little mad at the handling of one other super-spoilery thing but there are 2 more movies here… and they’re gonna have to move at a break-neck pace to get through it all tbh. (I’ve read the manga in its entirety, and uh. Yeah. There’s still a significant amount of ground to cover.) Also my only other complaint was the sound mixing… which might be a “me” problem, because uh, i can actually say now that I’m in the video industry and it was very clear the ones doing the mixing for IMAX on this were likely not all that experienced in the format?? Anyway it was just LOUD and the balance between dialogue/SFX/music was definitely not quite right, made it hard to hear some things clearly because it was just LOUD NOISES (which is a normal IMAX complaint for me too but this was very noticeable for me). Otherwise though, definitely glad I caught this in theaters, and having to wait a year between these is gonna be rough even while knowing where the story goes.
Sakamoto Days: Season 2
studio: TMS Entertainment
action, comedy
Sakamoto Days is a blast. It’s not anything super ground-breaking, but it’s a fun wacky shonen series with a lot of fun tropes like Found Family and a “secret” assassin underworld that’s really running the show in Japan. Season 2 has brought significantly more gore though, and is much more serious for a comedy series than the first season was. I’m still thoroughly enjoying this one, and will likely pick up the manga at some point while we’re between seasons.
Ranma 1/2: Season 2
studio: MAPPA
comedy, romance, martial arts
MAPPA knocking it out of the park with this reboot honestly. They’re really breathing fresh life into this series—while they didn’t update the setting of the original series, they definitely gave it a fresh, more modern feel. And it’s still fun and wacky and silly. I’m having such a good time, and this is one I’ve been keeping up with every weekend so far. (Although Happosai can still go jump off a steep one. Goddamn forgot how awful he is as a character lmao. Rumiko wtf were you thinking???)
Solo Camping for Two
studio: SynergySP
slice of life, camping
Look, sometimes I just want some quality fluff. This is entirely fluff: pretty much what it says on the tin. Literally a show about two people “solo camping”, and it’s been a nice palate cleanser of late. The title kinda cracked me up on a day I was feeling blue, so I gave this one a shot, and I’m really glad I did—it’s pretty darn wholesome and sweet, without really being about romance. Plus, it’s kind of scratching a camping itch for me that I won’t actually go do myself. I’m still working my way through this one but will happily continue on when I need an easy pick-me-up.
The Summer Hikaru Died
studio: CygamesPictures
horror, supernatural, drama, slice of life
The premise of this got me interested, so I waited for the whole season to complete before I jumped on it… and I binged it in one evening. FAIR WARNING for the rest of y’all: this is NOT a complete show and it ends on a mcfriggen CLIFFHANGER. (I’m mad!!) Honestly I knew this was going to have horror elements, but it truly is a full-on horror series—which I tend to avoid, BUT. The plot and character development is super fascinating, and it tackles some truly heavy, very human topics, like grief, the value of life, and pondering the afterlife/existence of souls. But at the same time, there’s this sense of overarching dread woven into everything that’s going on, and there’s plenty of unsettling (but also fantastic??) music & imagery. Really, REALLY lived up to the hype for me, though this is definitely not going to be a show for everyone (I knew after the first episode that two of my buddies who were like HEY I WANNA SEE THIS TOO were totally going to not be fans of it At All lmaooo;;;;). I really want to read the manga, but at the same time, I want to go into the next season as blindly as I did this one.
GNOSIA
studio: Domerica
scifi, mystery, action
This series is actually based on a social deduction video game from 2019 that takes its influence from Werewolf (much in the same vein as games like Among Us and Town of Salem), but is designed to be a single player version. I haven’t played the game, though now that I’ve somehow kept up with this series weekly, I may actually pick it up at some point. Really interesting adaptation of a game that’s more cyclical in nature, and the character designs are super artsy and colorful. This probably won’t be for everyone either, but as a somewhat regular Among Us player here, I really am enjoying this one so far.
Spy x Family: Season 3
studio: Wit Studio, CloverWorks
action, comedy, spy
Aaaand it’s back for a silly zany new season! Absolutely love this show, still am loving it, and am watching it weekly as it drops. (I’m caught up on the manga for this too now, ha.) While it’s still got its usual mission-kinda-going-wacky shenanigans, there’s actually a fantastic backstory arc for Twilight that made it into this season, and it’s just a reminder that it still feels like there’s actual real overarching plot in here somewhere. At any rate, I’m always down for more SxF.
With You and the Rain
studio: Lesprit
comedy, slice of life/iyashikei
Okay I admit, I had to look up what iyashikei was as a genre, and um. Apparently it’s a subgenre of slice of life that’s meant to be calming & healing, and that is SUCH a good descriptor for this show. I also kind of started this while feeling a little blue, and it’s just… really calming and sweet and beautiful. I’m not quite finished with it just yet, but it definitely is like a “chicken soup for the soul” kind of vibe. A single woman who writes as a vocation encounters an interesting creature that self-identifies as a dog (yeah, yeah it does—it has a signpad and everything HAHA) on a rainy day, and gives it shelter in her apartment… and effectively adopts it. The rest of the show kind of follows her through her daily life with this creature involved, and it’s just so SWEET? Like nothing super exciting or anything, but one of the best pick-me-up series I’ve seen in a while. So yeah, this is definitely a calming/healing kind of show, if you’re in need of something in that vein.
My Happy Marriage: Season 2
studio: Kinema Citrus
romance, drama, fantasy, supernatural, historical
I finally sat down to seriously finish Season 2, and I’m so SO glad I did!! While I did enjoy season 1, I loved that season 2 really gave Miyo the space and opportunity to grow. Baby girl gets some confidence and a power-up, I’m so proud!!! Also Kiyoka is a gem, such a good supportive guy. Tooth rotting fluff romance from that perspective, but with some action and drama tossed in there (AND IT HAD GOOD WHUMP OH MY SOUL!!! IT HAPPENED!!!). My only complaint was the whump fallout wasn’t as pronounced as it should’ve been imo but that’s a me problem haha. I’m ready for some beautiful, tooth-rottingly sweet payoff, because while this season ends on a very nice note, it didn’t give us The Payoff that the title is promising just yet!!! Supposedly it’s happening in a few follow-up OVA-type episodes later on, so we shall see. Anyway, I really enjoyed this for the fact that it was kind of a surprise in the romance genre—little different than the norm, and I’d probably watch this one again at some point.
movies
Superman
director: James Gunn
action, adventure, comic book, superhero
I had a great time on this one. It’s been a while since I actually LOVED a DC movie, much less a Superman one, so it felt like James Gunn was a good choice to bring in here. From Krypto, to Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, to Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, to the whump??? I really enjoyed it. So many good elements—even if it wasn’t a perfect movie, I personally thought it was a great big step in the right direction. Lots of great laughs, and for a franchise that’s had a ton of movies, it actually felt fresh and different for a change.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
director: Matt Shakman
action, adventure, comic book, superhero
ON THE FLIP SIDE… Marvel is feeling tired. I didn’t hate this one, but it was very much a blah installment. I’m mainly going to see the MCU titles because I might as well (theater subscription yaaaay), but yeah. I love Pedro Pascal with the rest of us, and I even liked Vanessa Kirby in this, and it was decent for a Fantastic Four installment, buuuuut… solidly okay movie. Just okay. And placing it within the broader MCU context was very confusing, so who knows at this point what they’re trying to do here. We shall see, I suppose.
Good Fortune
director: Aziz Ansari
supernatural, comedy
This one wasn’t on my radar until my movie buddy was like, WANNA SEE IT?? and that aforementioned theater subscription comes in handy for this kind of thing… I’m SO glad we went for it HAHA. Ridiculous and silly and yet also somehow rather relevant and heartfelt? Keanu Reeves is a gift to mankind, truly, and Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen just rounded out that cast so well. TONS of laughs, but also kinda hits the nail on the head with the current California class chasm crisis. It kind of struggled in theaters, which is kind of a shame because it was actually a great time and seemed to get some pretty great reviews. Definitely worth a peek.
The Running Man
director: Edgar Wright
dystopian, action, thriller
Aight honestly? The fact that Edgar Wright’s name was on this was like, 99% of the reason I went to see it. And it’s actually quite a fun action romp, though I’ll admit I have not seen the 80s version nor have I read the Stephen King novel for comparison. But it doesn’t quite live up to the usual artistic high bar that Wright usually brings to his films (if you’re unfamiliar with his name, maybe you’d recognize some of his other films: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World…?), which was a bit of a bummer. I still personally enjoyed it regardless, and am still glad I went to see it over Now You See Me 2 (idk why but I’m just… NOT A FAN of Jesse Eisenberg, which I’m trying to stop feeling that way because I know he’s doing some SUPER philanthropic Good Deeds these days but maybe it’s because he played Zuck in Social Network)—WOW tangent. Anyway—yeah. Fun film, might not have been up to my personal hype bar, but I wasn’t upset about it either.
Wicked: For Good
director: John M. Chu
musical, fantasy
I can’t remember if I ranted about the first movie here, but in case I didn’t… I was NOT the biggest fan lmao. I am a big fan of the musical, which I’ve seen multiple times on stage, but the pacing for the first movie I thought was sooo bad. They could’ve made a great, tight single movie out of the entire show, but instead they decided to drag it out into a 5-hour ordeal that wasn’t as gracefully paced as the stage production, and the new musical numbers they crammed in were largely unforgettable & meh. BUT that aside, this did have some good moments. I still think they did a really good job with the casting; it might be blasphemy, but I actually liked Cynthia Erivo’s rendition of “No Good Deed” (my personal fave song in the musical) better than the original?? The girl fight in Munchkinland was also a great moment of levity. The costuming was (mostly) really good too. But otherwise, some of the super-creative stage montages & moments got very lost in translation to the big screen, like the creations for all of the Wizard of Oz members (tin man & scarecrow specifically, without going into spoiler territory—and tbh scarecrow’s costume/effects were kinda off-putting and weird to me). And I know this is a hot point for a lot of online discourse, but Ariana Grande is uncomfortably, noticeably thin—which I wouldn’t even think of if it didn’t feel so front & center with the costumes sometimes accentuating it. For the budget and pomp that these movies had going for them, I feel like we could’ve had a much better product than we got. I’d set my personal bar for this second one pretty low though, and it was fine from that perspective. Plus, seeing all the folks show up in costume to the showings was pretty fun—glad to see this is still a thing for theaters.
anime
Kaiju no. 8: Season 2
studio: Production I.G
adventure, scifi/fantasy
Between S1 and S2, I caught up with the manga, which also happened to finish this past summer… and I really enjoyed it! Season 2 has been kind of in the same vein as S1, though the animation quality felt like it dropped off just a little bit (also this series had some SERIOUS heavy-hitting competition, ha). Still a great time, and I still really enjoyed it. The stakes are growing, the enemies are getting more potent, but so are our heroes—and it ramps up nicely for a Season 3 (which will probably be the final season tbh based on where this caught up to with the manga). Nothing groundbreaking, but an honestly good time. (And more banger OP/EDs!! That opening sets a really interesting tone for the series IMO.)
DANDADAN: Season 2
studio: Science Saru
action, romance, comedy, supernatural, thriller
Look. I’m probably gonna come off as biased at this point, but this show is now one of my faves and y’all are gonna have to deal with me being positive all the time on this one haha. While I did not think this season’s OP/EDs were as banger as S1 (still good, but tbh i skipped them more than I did for S1), and there weren’t the same gut-punching emotional episodes like ep7 from S1, this was honestly a series I looked forward to keeping up with every Thursday. And I did for the entire season—still a super fun, crazy, psychedelic romp with these silly kids!! We also finally got to meet Evil Eye, who honestly is a GEM of a character hahaha. I can’t wait for this to get more seasons, because this is going to be one of my personal mainstays! I’ll probably finally get antsy enough to read the manga before the next round comes out, but hooboy this adaptation is fantastic.
My Dress-Up Darling
studio: CloverWorks
romance, comedy, slice of life
Despite having this recommended to me A LOT, I’ll admit I avoided this one for a long time since it felt super incel-bait-y/neckbeard-friendly the way isekais tend to be. But a couple of my friends were like, “okay yeah it’s pretty uh, raunchy at times, but I swear it’s good!!!” so I eventually caved… and binged both seasons in quick succession LOL. It feels weird to say this, but this show is surprisingly wholesome for how horny it gets at times. Like, this is not something you wanna be caught watching in public without some context involved haha. But the mains are super precious and this is actually really sweet & fun, and a really interesting deep dive into serious cosplay.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Movie
studio: Ufotable
adventure, dark fantasy, action, supernatural
Okay, okay so. I love this series dearly. I even liked this movie. HOWEVER, and I think this was a complaint from quite a few of us: the pacing kinda was off, because the flashback scenes (while really interesting from a story standpoint—I’m glad they didn’t get totally cut) were a little stretched out/misplaced. But overall? Feast for the eyes. Music on point. Giyuu+Tanjiro vs Akaza was incredible!! I’m a little mad at the handling of one other super-spoilery thing but there are 2 more movies here… and they’re gonna have to move at a break-neck pace to get through it all tbh. (I’ve read the manga in its entirety, and uh. Yeah. There’s still a significant amount of ground to cover.) Also my only other complaint was the sound mixing… which might be a “me” problem, because uh, i can actually say now that I’m in the video industry and it was very clear the ones doing the mixing for IMAX on this were likely not all that experienced in the format?? Anyway it was just LOUD and the balance between dialogue/SFX/music was definitely not quite right, made it hard to hear some things clearly because it was just LOUD NOISES (which is a normal IMAX complaint for me too but this was very noticeable for me). Otherwise though, definitely glad I caught this in theaters, and having to wait a year between these is gonna be rough even while knowing where the story goes.
Sakamoto Days: Season 2
studio: TMS Entertainment
action, comedy
Sakamoto Days is a blast. It’s not anything super ground-breaking, but it’s a fun wacky shonen series with a lot of fun tropes like Found Family and a “secret” assassin underworld that’s really running the show in Japan. Season 2 has brought significantly more gore though, and is much more serious for a comedy series than the first season was. I’m still thoroughly enjoying this one, and will likely pick up the manga at some point while we’re between seasons.
Ranma 1/2: Season 2
studio: MAPPA
comedy, romance, martial arts
MAPPA knocking it out of the park with this reboot honestly. They’re really breathing fresh life into this series—while they didn’t update the setting of the original series, they definitely gave it a fresh, more modern feel. And it’s still fun and wacky and silly. I’m having such a good time, and this is one I’ve been keeping up with every weekend so far. (Although Happosai can still go jump off a steep one. Goddamn forgot how awful he is as a character lmao. Rumiko wtf were you thinking???)
Solo Camping for Two
studio: SynergySP
slice of life, camping
Look, sometimes I just want some quality fluff. This is entirely fluff: pretty much what it says on the tin. Literally a show about two people “solo camping”, and it’s been a nice palate cleanser of late. The title kinda cracked me up on a day I was feeling blue, so I gave this one a shot, and I’m really glad I did—it’s pretty darn wholesome and sweet, without really being about romance. Plus, it’s kind of scratching a camping itch for me that I won’t actually go do myself. I’m still working my way through this one but will happily continue on when I need an easy pick-me-up.
The Summer Hikaru Died
studio: CygamesPictures
horror, supernatural, drama, slice of life
The premise of this got me interested, so I waited for the whole season to complete before I jumped on it… and I binged it in one evening. FAIR WARNING for the rest of y’all: this is NOT a complete show and it ends on a mcfriggen CLIFFHANGER. (I’m mad!!) Honestly I knew this was going to have horror elements, but it truly is a full-on horror series—which I tend to avoid, BUT. The plot and character development is super fascinating, and it tackles some truly heavy, very human topics, like grief, the value of life, and pondering the afterlife/existence of souls. But at the same time, there’s this sense of overarching dread woven into everything that’s going on, and there’s plenty of unsettling (but also fantastic??) music & imagery. Really, REALLY lived up to the hype for me, though this is definitely not going to be a show for everyone (I knew after the first episode that two of my buddies who were like HEY I WANNA SEE THIS TOO were totally going to not be fans of it At All lmaooo;;;;). I really want to read the manga, but at the same time, I want to go into the next season as blindly as I did this one.
GNOSIA
studio: Domerica
scifi, mystery, action
This series is actually based on a social deduction video game from 2019 that takes its influence from Werewolf (much in the same vein as games like Among Us and Town of Salem), but is designed to be a single player version. I haven’t played the game, though now that I’ve somehow kept up with this series weekly, I may actually pick it up at some point. Really interesting adaptation of a game that’s more cyclical in nature, and the character designs are super artsy and colorful. This probably won’t be for everyone either, but as a somewhat regular Among Us player here, I really am enjoying this one so far.
Spy x Family: Season 3
studio: Wit Studio, CloverWorks
action, comedy, spy
Aaaand it’s back for a silly zany new season! Absolutely love this show, still am loving it, and am watching it weekly as it drops. (I’m caught up on the manga for this too now, ha.) While it’s still got its usual mission-kinda-going-wacky shenanigans, there’s actually a fantastic backstory arc for Twilight that made it into this season, and it’s just a reminder that it still feels like there’s actual real overarching plot in here somewhere. At any rate, I’m always down for more SxF.
With You and the Rain
studio: Lesprit
comedy, slice of life/iyashikei
Okay I admit, I had to look up what iyashikei was as a genre, and um. Apparently it’s a subgenre of slice of life that’s meant to be calming & healing, and that is SUCH a good descriptor for this show. I also kind of started this while feeling a little blue, and it’s just… really calming and sweet and beautiful. I’m not quite finished with it just yet, but it definitely is like a “chicken soup for the soul” kind of vibe. A single woman who writes as a vocation encounters an interesting creature that self-identifies as a dog (yeah, yeah it does—it has a signpad and everything HAHA) on a rainy day, and gives it shelter in her apartment… and effectively adopts it. The rest of the show kind of follows her through her daily life with this creature involved, and it’s just so SWEET? Like nothing super exciting or anything, but one of the best pick-me-up series I’ve seen in a while. So yeah, this is definitely a calming/healing kind of show, if you’re in need of something in that vein.
My Happy Marriage: Season 2
studio: Kinema Citrus
romance, drama, fantasy, supernatural, historical
I finally sat down to seriously finish Season 2, and I’m so SO glad I did!! While I did enjoy season 1, I loved that season 2 really gave Miyo the space and opportunity to grow. Baby girl gets some confidence and a power-up, I’m so proud!!! Also Kiyoka is a gem, such a good supportive guy. Tooth rotting fluff romance from that perspective, but with some action and drama tossed in there (AND IT HAD GOOD WHUMP OH MY SOUL!!! IT HAPPENED!!!). My only complaint was the whump fallout wasn’t as pronounced as it should’ve been imo but that’s a me problem haha. I’m ready for some beautiful, tooth-rottingly sweet payoff, because while this season ends on a very nice note, it didn’t give us The Payoff that the title is promising just yet!!! Supposedly it’s happening in a few follow-up OVA-type episodes later on, so we shall see. Anyway, I really enjoyed this for the fact that it was kind of a surprise in the romance genre—little different than the norm, and I’d probably watch this one again at some point.
movies
Superman
director: James Gunn
action, adventure, comic book, superhero
I had a great time on this one. It’s been a while since I actually LOVED a DC movie, much less a Superman one, so it felt like James Gunn was a good choice to bring in here. From Krypto, to Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, to Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, to the whump??? I really enjoyed it. So many good elements—even if it wasn’t a perfect movie, I personally thought it was a great big step in the right direction. Lots of great laughs, and for a franchise that’s had a ton of movies, it actually felt fresh and different for a change.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
director: Matt Shakman
action, adventure, comic book, superhero
ON THE FLIP SIDE… Marvel is feeling tired. I didn’t hate this one, but it was very much a blah installment. I’m mainly going to see the MCU titles because I might as well (theater subscription yaaaay), but yeah. I love Pedro Pascal with the rest of us, and I even liked Vanessa Kirby in this, and it was decent for a Fantastic Four installment, buuuuut… solidly okay movie. Just okay. And placing it within the broader MCU context was very confusing, so who knows at this point what they’re trying to do here. We shall see, I suppose.
Good Fortune
director: Aziz Ansari
supernatural, comedy
This one wasn’t on my radar until my movie buddy was like, WANNA SEE IT?? and that aforementioned theater subscription comes in handy for this kind of thing… I’m SO glad we went for it HAHA. Ridiculous and silly and yet also somehow rather relevant and heartfelt? Keanu Reeves is a gift to mankind, truly, and Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen just rounded out that cast so well. TONS of laughs, but also kinda hits the nail on the head with the current California class chasm crisis. It kind of struggled in theaters, which is kind of a shame because it was actually a great time and seemed to get some pretty great reviews. Definitely worth a peek.
The Running Man
director: Edgar Wright
dystopian, action, thriller
Aight honestly? The fact that Edgar Wright’s name was on this was like, 99% of the reason I went to see it. And it’s actually quite a fun action romp, though I’ll admit I have not seen the 80s version nor have I read the Stephen King novel for comparison. But it doesn’t quite live up to the usual artistic high bar that Wright usually brings to his films (if you’re unfamiliar with his name, maybe you’d recognize some of his other films: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World…?), which was a bit of a bummer. I still personally enjoyed it regardless, and am still glad I went to see it over Now You See Me 2 (idk why but I’m just… NOT A FAN of Jesse Eisenberg, which I’m trying to stop feeling that way because I know he’s doing some SUPER philanthropic Good Deeds these days but maybe it’s because he played Zuck in Social Network)—WOW tangent. Anyway—yeah. Fun film, might not have been up to my personal hype bar, but I wasn’t upset about it either.
Wicked: For Good
director: John M. Chu
musical, fantasy
I can’t remember if I ranted about the first movie here, but in case I didn’t… I was NOT the biggest fan lmao. I am a big fan of the musical, which I’ve seen multiple times on stage, but the pacing for the first movie I thought was sooo bad. They could’ve made a great, tight single movie out of the entire show, but instead they decided to drag it out into a 5-hour ordeal that wasn’t as gracefully paced as the stage production, and the new musical numbers they crammed in were largely unforgettable & meh. BUT that aside, this did have some good moments. I still think they did a really good job with the casting; it might be blasphemy, but I actually liked Cynthia Erivo’s rendition of “No Good Deed” (my personal fave song in the musical) better than the original?? The girl fight in Munchkinland was also a great moment of levity. The costuming was (mostly) really good too. But otherwise, some of the super-creative stage montages & moments got very lost in translation to the big screen, like the creations for all of the Wizard of Oz members (tin man & scarecrow specifically, without going into spoiler territory—and tbh scarecrow’s costume/effects were kinda off-putting and weird to me). And I know this is a hot point for a lot of online discourse, but Ariana Grande is uncomfortably, noticeably thin—which I wouldn’t even think of if it didn’t feel so front & center with the costumes sometimes accentuating it. For the budget and pomp that these movies had going for them, I feel like we could’ve had a much better product than we got. I’d set my personal bar for this second one pretty low though, and it was fine from that perspective. Plus, seeing all the folks show up in costume to the showings was pretty fun—glad to see this is still a thing for theaters.
