just in time for independence day! (and other matters)

[lookingland]

i decided to splurge a little on myself and got the HBO series John Adams. i am only a little more than halfway through it, but i love it. i read some super-negative reviews, but obviously these were from people grinding axes because the complaints about it being nothing but a bunch of people sitting around talking are unfounded (yes, there's talking, but a whole bunch of stuff happens too!). also, complaints about the film style are mostly unfounded as well. yes, there is some creative camera angling, but for the most part it works (a few scenes stand out as sort of awkward for the tilt perhaps).

my single complaint is that sometimes context is wholly lacking (and for an audience of ill-educated americans and foreign viewers, this can be deadly). if you don't know much about american history, there's a whole lot here that will probably frustrate you. there has been at least one point at which i had to pause the dvd to look up what the hell was going on because there was no exposition to explain the scene. the performances are great. laura linney is a scene stealer in the best way and paul giamatti is fabulously cloying and nebbish as the title character (that adams fella was a dweeb in his time ~ which is not to say that he wasn't brilliant, but he certainly made his own bed politically).

so it's flawed, but i think very enjoyable. naturally i wish they showed more of the actual war, but the story is about john adams, not George Washington (when are they ever going to make a respectable movie about George Washington?)



ooo snow. a movie with snow.
it automatically gets thumbs up for that.
oh, and in case i didn't indicate enough: George Washington is just the coolest ever (both in the series and in real life).

it was update day thursday, but i didn't blog that day. i'm barely getting by week to week, and second-guessing myself every step of the way. i redid thursday's "page" twice and it still came out middling, and then rewrote this post half a dozen times, which also does not bode well. i keep reminding myself that i started out with this story just to find a style, practice drawing, and get the hang of the week-to-week posting thing ~ to see what the schedule will be like. i figure i have a dozen or so more pages to do before this story is over and then maybe i can get some perspective.

if i struggle through it.

msmcguire made a post the other day that best captures my feelings on the matter. yeah. same-o. and off i go to wrangle with dragons.

happy sattidy all!

: D

Comments

[keesa-renee.livejournal.com]

George Washington may, indeed, be the coolest person ever...but I had to read his diaries as part of my schoolwork, and the name has left a bad taste in my mouth ever since. (Rule of thumb: never force children to read through something they hate. It only does harm, never good. A general reluctance to read something out of minor boredom or laziness should be nipped in the bud, but if the kid genuinely hates the book and is bored to tears throughout endless pages talking about the fact that today he planted barley or hemp, it won't do them any good to keep reading.)

But, on the bright side, Washington Irving's "Life of Washington" (I think that was what it was called?) was infinitely more interesting, and (somewhat) rescued poor George in my estimation.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

awwww ~ i think the fact that he wrote the most boring journal ever just increases my esteem ~ hahahahahaha. he was so not a great writer or speaker (two traits i would gladly sacrifice for a president with common sense and integrity).

then again, i wasn't forced to read about the hemp and barley. nevertheless, i am glad that Irving has given some of his dignity back for you.

because, c'mon, bro was pretty dang cool.

: D