forever we try

Well, it might have taken me three evenings because I'm perpetually tired and have next to no time management skills (and because I was trying [and mostly failing] to write another fic, but eh--you win some, you lose some), but I did finish The Big Sleep and loved it just as much as I hoped/expected I would. Most of that comes down to the characters, since the plot is very...let's just say intricate, and watching it in half-an-hour-ish chunks over a couple of late nights didn't exactly help. And yes, it's about blackmail and murder and pornography (or at least very veiled references to pornography) and sleazy guys and questionable women, but it's also about Philip Marlowe and Vivian Rutledge--he's not quite sleazy, she's definitely questionable--falling in love while he solves a mystery she'd really rather he didn't solve. Which has to be about the most perfect set-up for any romance, ever. I'm just saying. 

The funny thing is that, despite all the trouble they make for each other, Marlowe and Vivian's romance isn't what I'd call angsty or tortured; they connect almost from the get-go and it's clear even in their first scene together that they like each other, or at least find each other interesting. You don't get the idea that Vivian has all that many friends (she never mentions any friends, at least not that I remember), or many people in general to talk to, since her father is old and frail and would rather not know the specifics of what's going on, anyway, and her younger sister's just something else, in addition to having plenty of problems of her own. Obviously Vivian loves them, or at least cares enough that she doesn't want to see them dragged through the mud, but as far as scintillating conversation goes, Marlowe's the best she's got. And he really is the best--he's witty and he respects her, and he cares about what's going on because he wants to put a stop to it once and for all, not just sweep it under the rug, and even when she's doing her damnedest to push him away they have so much fun together. Every conversation between them was an absolute delight to watch; you enjoy watching them together because they enjoy being together, no matter the circumstances. The "no matter the circumstances" part really hits home in the last scene, but it's a running thread though the entire movie, and probably about 50% of what makes their chemistry so great--for me, anyway. The other 50% is either their banter or solely the way Marlowe calls Vivian "angel"; I haven't decided yet. 

It's not that I don't love a good tortured and/or angsty romance--I live and breathe for them, honestly--but the hate-to-friendship-to-love trope (which, again, I'll never say no to) is so, so, SO common in romances that watching this movie made me think that I haven't seen all too many romances at all where both characters are pretty much immediately comfortable in each other's company. I don't think it always works, and I especially don't think it would have worked nearly as well with actors who didn't have Humphrey-Bogart-and-Lauren-Bacall-levels of chemistry, but when it does work? Hoo boy. It's really something special.  

...and at the point where jumping back in like I didn't drop completely off the map for almost three months feels really awkward, but what can you do? The new semester's just started up, and things are already pretty hectic (as per usual), but I do feel more organized and in control than I did last semester, which can only be a good thing. 

Other Things:

Books

I have an absolutely huge pile of books I started and fully intend to finish but just...haven't. Yet. Yet! A bunch of them (The End of Everything, The Hating Game, I'll Be Gone in the Dark, The Stand) got pushed to the side because of work/forgetfulness, and then a couple, like News of a Kidnapping, had to be returned to the library either right after I'd started them or right when I had only a few more chapters to go. And that's not counting all the books I own and either haven't finished or haven't even started. I'm going to try to make an actual pen-and-paper list and just work my way down, but now that I've got assigned reading on top of that it'll be slow going. 

Movies

To All the Boys I've Loved Before owns my soul. I don't know if I've ever talked about how much I enjoy a really good (or good, or okay, or not-all-that-amazing-but-the-premise-is-cute-and-it-stars-one-of-my-favorite-actors) romcom before, but I do, and To All the Boys is a really, really good romcom. It's got fake dating! And hot tubs! And a heroine who reads steamy romances and daydreams about falling in love in a field, wearing a beautiful ballgown, and isn't ridiculed for either of those things! The father-daughter and sister-sister relationships also hit my perfect sweet spot and were really nicely woven in without overshadowing the romance, which was adorable. 

Fic

I've got a couple stories in the works, including one that a good friend is betaing, so it should be posted to AO3 soonish. Also been dipping into new fandoms, which is always equal parts fun and nerve-wracking, especially when the fandom in question is on the small side and you aren't assured bucketloads of validation (not that I--or anyone else--ever is, but you're always thinking that everyone else is, which is almost as bad). Still, it's a story I worked on for a long time, wasn't sure I'd ever finish, and deeply, deeply wanted to finish, so whatever reception it gets (or doesn't) I'm glad I wrote it and that I'll have the chance to post it.   

Yesterday I went to watch Vol 2 with my sister and a friend (my sister and I had seen it before; our friend hadn't) and boy, it was even better the second time around. Still hilarious, still pretty (seriously, the costumes and effects and set designs are all so over-the-top gorgeous), and still wonderfully, unexpectedly sad. I didn't pay much attention to Yondu in GOTG; now his relationship with Peter (and Rocket and Groot) is all I can think about.

Spoilers under the cut.
( Read more... )

Overall: Loved it, loved it, loved it. If you like crazy space hijinks and dysfunctional families who are doing their best, you probably will, too.