Watching the Screen: Library Edition!
Jul. 11th, 2026 09:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runpunkrunBorrowed from the library on DVD.
Annihilation (2018): Very atmospheric science fiction/horror that doesn't say anything new, or really anything much at all, leaving the viewer to put together the pieces it offers as it slowly reveals the threat posed by a phenomenon known as "the shimmer." Concerned about contagion and self, but, again, the work of worrying about what it means it is left to the viewer. With long periods of silence as the characters explore the environment inside the slowly expanding field of weirdness, much of this movie is left to the viewer, making it an interesting challenge. Stars Oscar Isaac as a handsome man who says nothing of importance, Benedict Wong who speaks entirely in questions from inside a hazmat suit, and an all female team on a mission to figure out wtf is going on: Natalie Portman shooting a very big gun with deadly accuracy, Gina Rodriguez being charismatic and queer and super hot, and Tessa Thompson playing a quiet scientist so deeply she almost vanishes from the screen, a real feat when usually she'd be giving Rodriguez a run for her money. Jennifer Jason Leigh is also there.
Contains: violence, blood, body horror, gore, animal harm, references to suicide and self harm.
The Good Fight (2017-2022): There is something suspicious about porting Diane Lockhart, whom I love, over to a Black law firm and bringing all her white friends (and Marissa) with her. I liked the pivot, initially, as a response to the whiteness of The Good Wife, but she has watered down their brand considerably, and every time we're on a Diane plot, the screen is filled with white people, and the new Black characters aren't given as much screen time or opportunities to distinguish themselves. Like the two partners are basically the uptight lady and the guy she's disappointed with? BUT CUSH JUMBO IS HERE. Which honestly makes up for a lot. However, the episode about abuse on social media platforms and TOS violations with the in-person appeals process made me incandescent with rage as that is not how any of this works. It was a joke, completely unrealistic, and clearly just an excuse to have a bunch of Black lawyers (two of them name partners) and Diane sit at a table while absorbing abuse from incels and white nationalists. DISGUSTING. Okay. Still pretty mad about that, and being forced to listen to that garbage. I stopped watching for several weeks, and then finally picked it back up again.
( the rest of the series (contains spoilers) )
In conclusion, while I liked the characters and can see how this show might have been affirming to watch during Trump 1.0., during Trump 2.0 it's actively too much like the real world and I watch the screen to get away from the real world, so this was a bumpy ride.
Contains: racism, recreational and pharmaceutical drug use, gore, swearing, riots, riot police, gun violence, rape threats, white supremacy, Donald Trump.
Annihilation (2018): Very atmospheric science fiction/horror that doesn't say anything new, or really anything much at all, leaving the viewer to put together the pieces it offers as it slowly reveals the threat posed by a phenomenon known as "the shimmer." Concerned about contagion and self, but, again, the work of worrying about what it means it is left to the viewer. With long periods of silence as the characters explore the environment inside the slowly expanding field of weirdness, much of this movie is left to the viewer, making it an interesting challenge. Stars Oscar Isaac as a handsome man who says nothing of importance, Benedict Wong who speaks entirely in questions from inside a hazmat suit, and an all female team on a mission to figure out wtf is going on: Natalie Portman shooting a very big gun with deadly accuracy, Gina Rodriguez being charismatic and queer and super hot, and Tessa Thompson playing a quiet scientist so deeply she almost vanishes from the screen, a real feat when usually she'd be giving Rodriguez a run for her money. Jennifer Jason Leigh is also there.
Contains: violence, blood, body horror, gore, animal harm, references to suicide and self harm.
The Good Fight (2017-2022): There is something suspicious about porting Diane Lockhart, whom I love, over to a Black law firm and bringing all her white friends (and Marissa) with her. I liked the pivot, initially, as a response to the whiteness of The Good Wife, but she has watered down their brand considerably, and every time we're on a Diane plot, the screen is filled with white people, and the new Black characters aren't given as much screen time or opportunities to distinguish themselves. Like the two partners are basically the uptight lady and the guy she's disappointed with? BUT CUSH JUMBO IS HERE. Which honestly makes up for a lot. However, the episode about abuse on social media platforms and TOS violations with the in-person appeals process made me incandescent with rage as that is not how any of this works. It was a joke, completely unrealistic, and clearly just an excuse to have a bunch of Black lawyers (two of them name partners) and Diane sit at a table while absorbing abuse from incels and white nationalists. DISGUSTING. Okay. Still pretty mad about that, and being forced to listen to that garbage. I stopped watching for several weeks, and then finally picked it back up again.
( the rest of the series (contains spoilers) )
In conclusion, while I liked the characters and can see how this show might have been affirming to watch during Trump 1.0., during Trump 2.0 it's actively too much like the real world and I watch the screen to get away from the real world, so this was a bumpy ride.
Contains: racism, recreational and pharmaceutical drug use, gore, swearing, riots, riot police, gun violence, rape threats, white supremacy, Donald Trump.
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