What’s Up Week 19

Another week and things are pretty much back on track. Some new things, some currently ongoing and some things finally wrapped up! Its a fun little bit of stuff here and there which is always good.

READING

• Justice For Belle by Didi Oviatt

Currently reading: Crossline by Russ Colchamiro

Working on some ARCs and upcoming blog tour things in the reading department. Justice For Belle releases soon (May 15th) and the review is going up shortly after that time as I wrapped up the novel last week

PLAYING

Currently playing: Danganronpa Happy Trigger Havoc

A serious lack in gaming this week but I’m set on working further on Danganronpa while at the same time, I’m trying out some new mobile games for the next mobile games roundup as usual.

WATCHING

• The Shape of Water – rewatch (review)
• Deep Blue Sea

A week of rewatches specifically all for Movies and Tea preparation for recordings! The Shape of Water is the final film in our Guillermo Del Toro season two journey and then we head into our first after hours episode with our shark week selection. As usual, we have three after hours episodes upcoming after The Shape of Water is released. I won’t say too much about it.

BINGING

• The Brightest Star in the Sky (2019)
• Idol Producer (Season 1, 2018)

Currently binging: Put Your Head On My Shoulder, Le Coup de Foudre, Dream Space, Produce Camp 2019, Flipped

Finally wrapped up Idol Producer from 2018 which was last year’s season that sparked Nine Percent and a bunch of other entertainment company’s also introduced their own boy groups after their artists have more popularity from this show. I realized that the Idol Producer for this year had actually ended just in April or something so I’ll be checking that out once I’m done with Produce Camp 2019. I realize that I can’t watch two at the time or else I mix up the contestants. As for The Brightest Star in the Sky, that finished up with 2 episodes dropping into the following week and its a really great show. I think that the ending kind of jumped a bit quick to wrap things up in terms of the natural progression of things but it still has its priorities in its plot. I’ll talk more once I get the TV binge done. Just toss it into the backlog pile ;).

Most of the shows I’m watching right now is currently updated every week. Put Your Head On My Shoulder is in its final week or two. Le Coup de Foudre stars the very fun to watch Janice Wu and is also a relatively short series at about short of its halfway point, I think. Produce Camp 2019 is going on at a weekly basis and I do participate on the Weibo voting when I catch it before the time zone difference cut off time. In my mind, there’s slowly a good idea of what the 11 members of this group might be although, the participants keep improving and having different shining points. While Dream Space is supposed to be preparing for its 2nd season but I’m still watching the first one where its a somewhat social matchmaking sort of show but very different from what I’ve seen from the US or Canada and while I don’t review a lot of these shows, I think I might actually talk about it in a TV binge once I finish.

That’s it for this week’s What’s Up!

What have you been watching/reading/binging/playing?

Double Feature: Bullhead (2011) & The Shape of Water (2017)

Next up in the recaps is an odd combo, I’d guess. Probably should have taken the next double features movies (since I’m way ahead on watching movies but way behind on reviewing them). Either way, it is what it is. As I work through the Shudder movies, Bullhead came up which I wanted to watch because I love Matthias Schoenaerts. And then, I remembered that I had a rental that was almost due for The Shape of Water so here we are with two features with nothing in common except that they are both dramas.

Let’s just check it out!

Bullhead (original title: Rundskop, 2011)

Director (and writer): Michael R. Roskam

Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Tibo Vandenborre,  Frank Lamars

Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Jacky, a young cattle farmer who is constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, is approached by a veterinarian to make a deal with a notorious beef trader. – IMDB

Before we start this up, there’s a serious language labelling issue on Shudder. It said this was in English but its not. Bullhead is in Limburgish, Dutch and French. The French parts are the only ones that I had any ease at watching although it was fairly good subtitles. Regardless of that, Bullhead is quite an interesting movie. I don’t think that the crime part did a whole lot for me but the intriguing part is in watching Jacky, played by Matthias Schoenaerts as he grasps his character so well, with its aggression, pain and complex emotions. Its more of a character study than anything because everyone lacks depth in comparison to Jacky who we start learning about his past and why he is the way he is. There is a lot of unspoken moments and I love movies that can deliver those moments well.

Honestly, this movie is fairly slow-paced and requires a little bit of patience. It is a dramatic and at times, a little off-putting. Overall, Bullhead might not exactly be a great crime thriller that it was cut out for but Matthias Schoenaerts taking on the role of the main character Jacky is exceptional.

The Shape of Water (2017)

Director (and co-writer): Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones

At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity. – IMDB 

Exceptional style and great visuals are two things to always expect in Guillermo del Toro films and The Shape of Water is no exception. There is a real balance between its colorful characters, thanks to an outstanding cast, along with its music/soundtrack paired up with the great visuals and set and how can we forget the Amphibian Man. While I can’t say that I think the story was particularly great, it did hit a lot of great elements and it derived from a story using a mute girl, played by Sally Hawkins who can’t seem to fit in and be heard but finds her place in only a few friends but it seems to truly make her come alive when she encounters the Amphibian Man. The lack of talking on her part emphasizes on how skillful Sally Hawkins was in her role as it gave her moments a lot of time to just imagine what she would do next but never quite know until she’s doing it.

As great as the visuals and the music here, the cast here shines also. Sally Hawkins, as I mentioned above is great in her role and hard to imagine any chemistry between her and an Amphibian Man but she manages to get there and at the same time, also let her character grow and develop. Octavia Spencer is always a joy to watch on screen. She has so much charisma and attitude that she truly embraces her role while Richard Jenkins plays a character somewhat the opposite of her character but also shows his worth and how everyone of them has their struggle to find their worth as well. And its how these two people are also friends with Sally Hawkins’ character. Now, let me take a breath as I talk about Michael Shannon because oh my goodness, is he a great actor? You can probably go back to the movies I’ve reviewed of his and you’ll see me say that also. I never think about Michael Shannon but whenever he shows up in a movie, he just is awesome and its no different here as he plays the villain. I actually had actual moments of disgust and hatred towards his character by the end. Its really a great thing one someone can carry a role in such a believable way.

Overall, there is so much to love about The Shape of Water. I don’t know if its Best Picture material since I haven’t seen the other nominations but this one is a must-watch. Its not quite as spectacular as some of del Toro’s earlier work but it tells a fantastic story and the soundtrack and visuals are great. There are some great sets here. What I love most about this story is the way they end it. Some people mess up the ending but this one I think ended it in such a smart way.

That’s it for this double feature!
Have you seen these films?