Every Saturday, I’ll post a thread where we can discuss what we watched this week! I’ll post the films and television shows I watched below in the comments, and you can do the same. I’d love some recommendations to add to my ever-growing list.
Can’t wait to see what you’ve all seen this week!
(Still from The Terrorizers, dir. Edward Yang, 1985)
Golden Kamuy, Season 3: Get hype, babes, because GOLDEN KAMUY IS BAAACK! (After two long years!) For those of you who don’t know, Golden Kamuy is my favorite currently running manga/anime and can only be described as part wild treasure hunt, part bear-hunting and survival adventure, and part cultural education show. After the Russo-Japanese war, our intrepid but PTSD-riddled hero, Sugimoto Saichi, meets and befriends a young Ainu girl named Asirpa, who enlists him into helping her find a huge stash of gold that her father hid away. Unbeknownst to them, there’s a whole rogue division of the Japanese army that’s also looking for the gold, which ensues in a series of strategic stand-offs where each faction tries to outwit the other at every turn. This show is notable for introducing Ainu culture to the Japanese mainstream public, as the Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido and have been historically persecuted by the Japanese government. Please note that this IS a mature show that isn’t afraid to depict the worst type of people you can imagine, and it’s also quite graphically violent (they are not shy about depicting how a bear mauls a human), at times flirting with downright body horror. But if you can get past those things, you’ll be rewarded with a fantastic and hilarious cast of characters with some of the best story-writing in manga/anime I’ve seen in some time. [Streaming on Crunchyroll.]
Wild Nights with Emily: I’m aware of how embarrassing it is to call myself “an amateur Dickinson scholar,” but in February/March 2019 I fell into an obsessive hole where I read her poems, letters, and other people’s recollections about her, so here I am. I have some Small Qualms here and there about Wild Nights, but overall, I’m quite impressed by the amount of care and research that was put into this movie. There was dialogue that was directly pulled from written recollections of Dickinson (most notably the first meeting with Thomas Higginson), and I appreciate the uncharitable depiction of Mabel Todd, who had an affair with Dickinson’s older brother and, in bringing Dickinson’s work to the world, heavily edited her poems. As a movie, it makes some interesting cinematic experiments, which was probably necessary, given that much of what we know about Dickinson is secondhand. I don’t know if all of the stylistic choices were successful, but I appreciate a movie that takes risks. And the ending shot is so powerful that it might just haunt me forever. [Streaming on Hulu.]
Bob’s Burgers: Bob’s Burgers is one of the few network shows I still look forward to watching every week. Somehow, 11 seasons in, the show is still incredibly fresh, funny, and heartwarming, and the writers never seem to run out of ridiculous situations to put the Belchers in. This week’s episode, “Worms of In-Rear-ment,” was a clever play on the COVID pandemic that manages to strike the right balance of capturing the sheer amount of paranoid panic of a pandemic without tipping over into gut-wrenching doom. It’s probably my favorite Bob’s Burgers episode in recent memory, so I’d highly recommend it, even if you aren’t a frequent viewer of the show. [Streaming on Hulu.]
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Parts 1 & 2: Well, it’s happened, folks. A friend finally tricked me into watching Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and here I am, trapped in the company of many extremely well-muscled men who shout all of their lines at full volume. I am not sure if I am the target audience for this show, but it’s what I watch in the background as I work on my crochet projects (a perfect demonstration of why I may not be the target audience for this show). Regardless, I’m finding it enjoyable and I’m invested it to keep watching. Also, I know that there’s approximately 5 bajillion Jojo’s to go, but I have a feeling Joseph Joestar is going to remain my favorite Jojo. He’s just so big and dumb and smart at the same time (and it really helps that he’s voiced by one of my favorite Japanese voice actors!). [Streaming on Netflix.]
The Terrorizers: This is the third feature film from Edward Yang, one of the most prominent and ground-breaking Taiwanese filmmakers to come out of the 80s and 90s. (The New Taiwanese Cinema movement was truly awe-inspiring, but that’s an essay for another time.) I’ll admit it’s not my favorite out of his movies, but it’s a dense exploration of life in 1980s Taipei, and the various issues and dissatisfactions plaguing its residents. If you’re a fan of stories that intertwine 3 or more otherwise unrelated characters, give this a shot — maybe it’ll be up your alley. [Streaming (or was streaming) on MUBI.]
Golden Kamuy, Season 3: Get hype, babes, because GOLDEN KAMUY IS BAAACK! (After two long years!) For those of you who don’t know, Golden Kamuy is my favorite currently running manga/anime and can only be described as part wild treasure hunt, part bear-hunting and survival adventure, and part cultural education show. After the Russo-Japanese war, our intrepid but PTSD-riddled hero, Sugimoto Saichi, meets and befriends a young Ainu girl named Asirpa, who enlists him into helping her find a huge stash of gold that her father hid away. Unbeknownst to them, there’s a whole rogue division of the Japanese army that’s also looking for the gold, which ensues in a series of strategic stand-offs where each faction tries to outwit the other at every turn. This show is notable for introducing Ainu culture to the Japanese mainstream public, as the Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido and have been historically persecuted by the Japanese government. Please note that this IS a mature show that isn’t afraid to depict the worst type of people you can imagine, and it’s also quite graphically violent (they are not shy about depicting how a bear mauls a human), at times flirting with downright body horror. But if you can get past those things, you’ll be rewarded with a fantastic and hilarious cast of characters with some of the best story-writing in manga/anime I’ve seen in some time. [Streaming on Crunchyroll.]
Wild Nights with Emily: I’m aware of how embarrassing it is to call myself “an amateur Dickinson scholar,” but in February/March 2019 I fell into an obsessive hole where I read her poems, letters, and other people’s recollections about her, so here I am. I have some Small Qualms here and there about Wild Nights, but overall, I’m quite impressed by the amount of care and research that was put into this movie. There was dialogue that was directly pulled from written recollections of Dickinson (most notably the first meeting with Thomas Higginson), and I appreciate the uncharitable depiction of Mabel Todd, who had an affair with Dickinson’s older brother and, in bringing Dickinson’s work to the world, heavily edited her poems. As a movie, it makes some interesting cinematic experiments, which was probably necessary, given that much of what we know about Dickinson is secondhand. I don’t know if all of the stylistic choices were successful, but I appreciate a movie that takes risks. And the ending shot is so powerful that it might just haunt me forever. [Streaming on Hulu.]
Bob’s Burgers: Bob’s Burgers is one of the few network shows I still look forward to watching every week. Somehow, 11 seasons in, the show is still incredibly fresh, funny, and heartwarming, and the writers never seem to run out of ridiculous situations to put the Belchers in. This week’s episode, “Worms of In-Rear-ment,” was a clever play on the COVID pandemic that manages to strike the right balance of capturing the sheer amount of paranoid panic of a pandemic without tipping over into gut-wrenching doom. It’s probably my favorite Bob’s Burgers episode in recent memory, so I’d highly recommend it, even if you aren’t a frequent viewer of the show. [Streaming on Hulu.]
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Parts 1 & 2: Well, it’s happened, folks. A friend finally tricked me into watching Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and here I am, trapped in the company of many extremely well-muscled men who shout all of their lines at full volume. I am not sure if I am the target audience for this show, but it’s what I watch in the background as I work on my crochet projects (a perfect demonstration of why I may not be the target audience for this show). Regardless, I’m finding it enjoyable and I’m invested it to keep watching. Also, I know that there’s approximately 5 bajillion Jojo’s to go, but I have a feeling Joseph Joestar is going to remain my favorite Jojo. He’s just so big and dumb and smart at the same time (and it really helps that he’s voiced by one of my favorite Japanese voice actors!). [Streaming on Netflix.]
The Terrorizers: This is the third feature film from Edward Yang, one of the most prominent and ground-breaking Taiwanese filmmakers to come out of the 80s and 90s. (The New Taiwanese Cinema movement was truly awe-inspiring, but that’s an essay for another time.) I’ll admit it’s not my favorite out of his movies, but it’s a dense exploration of life in 1980s Taipei, and the various issues and dissatisfactions plaguing its residents. If you’re a fan of stories that intertwine 3 or more otherwise unrelated characters, give this a shot — maybe it’ll be up your alley. [Streaming (or was streaming) on MUBI.]