I’ve been sewing & cooking Christmas presents recently, because there’s no point giving shop-bought presents to people with a lot more money than you. The only way to make an impact is to give them something truly unique. Preferably awesome AND unique. I’d love to achieve awesome, but I’m just aiming for the “unique” part!
While I sew & sometimes while cooking & cleaning, I like to have a show or movie playing in the background to stop me getting bored with the monotony. I now understand why housewives of old watched daytime TV, & I’m very thankful that these days there are streaming services!
It occurred to me to share some thoughts on some of the movies and shows that I’ve watched. Some of these I watched quite a while ago, but they’re memorable enough to comment on. Others were very recent.
This list is long, so scroll through and read about the things that might interest you. Happy viewing!
All the Marvel Movies
Alright, not quite ALL the movies produced by Marvel Studios, just the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” ones. This series of movies links together the main characters of The Avengers, including their background stories, into one cohesive story.
I’m re-watching these in chronological order. I’m only part-way through, but loving this decision so far!
Each movie is beautifully made in itself, but watching them in order, quite close together, is giving me even more of an appreciation of the craftsmanship and well-planned storytelling that went into the series of movies which link together the stories of the Marvel Universe. It’s like they were all mapped out before filming began. It’s the kind of care and attention to detail, and respect for the story and the audience that I’ve read in George RR Martin’s ‘Song of Ice and Fire’ series.
The sequence of movies is:
- Iron Man, 2008
- The Incredible Hulk, 2008*
- Iron Man 2, 2010
- Thor, 2011
- Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011
- The Avengers, 2012
- Iron Man 3, 2013
- Thor: The Dark World, 2013
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014
- Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014
- Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015
- Ant Man, 2015
- Captain America: Civil War, 2016
- Doctor Strange, 2016
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2, 2017
- Spider Man, Homecoming, 2017 (I missed this one first time around)
- Thor: Ragnarok, 2017
- Black Panther, 2017
- Avengers Infinity War, 2018
- Ant Man and the Wasp, 2018
- Captain Marvel (I haven’t seen this one yet, but I’m looking forward to it!), 2019
- Avengers: End Game, 2019 (We’d better get that half of the Universe back!)
- There are still more to come!
*(I couldn’t find a copy of this one for my rewatch, so had to skip over it. A pity, since I’ve loved The Hulk since he was played by Lou Ferrigno, and Mark Ruffalo does a superb job!)
Scorpion (TV show)
A great ensemble cast playing a delightful group of slightly dysfunctional geniuses and the people they bring into their circle of love. As a Team they solve impossible problems to save the world over and over again, like MacGuyver, The A-Team, or superheroes. There are surprises every episode, but, like Doctor Who and Original Star Trek, (almost) every episode ends on a happy note. Amidst this are the relationships that develop throughout the series. With a Psychiatrist as one of the main characters, Psychological insights and motivations are spelled out. (Correctly or not.)
Travellers (TV show)
Gripping scifi time travel drama. Over 3 seasons we get to know the main characters, and almost feel like part of their Team. This show is cleverly written, with great continuity throughout the various convoluted developments involved in time travel. The only flaw that I noticed was the final Marcy/David scene. When you have watched all the seasons you will probably realise what I’m referring to. (If you don’t notice, think of the “original” Marcy’s story.)
The Holiday (movie)
I watched this a few years ago and loved it. I watched it again recently, and (despite references to video rentals) it’s still relevant. It’s a bit cliche’d and sentimental, but it’s also funny &, more importantly, empowering for people who have not yet experienced being “the star” of their romantic relationship.
Mona Lisa Smile (movie)
Beautifully played with Julia Roberts starring, this is a female “Dead Poets Society”, but less tragic and more triumphant. Bring a box of tissues.
Warhorse
I’d avoided watching this because I thought it would be dreary and tragic. It’s not. It’s a story with twists and turns, beautifully illustrating the human impact of war: on civilians & on soldiers of both sides. There are a range of emotions, including triumph.
I, Tonya (movie)
I think I expected this movie to be piggybacking on “Battle of the Sexes”: a biography of a female sports star. By that description, it is. It’s a very different story, though, well told from “first person” interviews with the characters, and the relevant flashbacks.
Incidental to the story, we see a picture of how Domestic Violence works. The contradictions, the complexity of relationships, the inability of the abused to leave, and likelihood that they unwittingly go to a similar situation because it seems “normal”. For those who need to be told, that does not mean that they like, want or deserve it. They are victims of training and circumstance.
Somehow, these horrible people are sympathetically portrayed. It’s even funny!
Tonya calls the skating judges on their middle-class bias, and they agree. “You’re not the wholesome American Family image we want to portray.” “But I don’t have a wholesome American Family.” Then she works towards fixing the problem. That’s guts. Whatever else Tonya Harding may be, she has guts.
Bandersnatch on Netflix
You can’t watch this one “in the background”. It requires all your attention, & participation.
Bandersnatchis a “choose your own adventure” story with multiple endings. When I watched it I got at least 3 of the endings. I’m tempted to watch it again to see if I can get all the other endings.
The choices are forced, & maybe that’s also part of the story.
This article gives some more detail (contains spoilers).
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I might add more as I think of them, but here is where I’m up to so far.
Feel free to comment your viewing suggestions for me and others! 🙂
You can also follow me on Twitter (@LyannaSpearwife) and my Facebook page ‘Lyanna Spearwife’
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