An Adventure with My Amazon Watchlist: Day 4, part 2

I ran out of space for the labels in my last post. I'm starting a new one here

Like Clouds, Like the Wind: Damn it! In Japanese. 

Midsommar: I'm really tired of movies being over two hours long. Needs to stop asap. It's good, but it's to quiet to hear on my laptop. Going to save this one to watch on my T.V.

Miss Austen Regrets: Nope. People forget that Jane Austen's works are not so melodramatic and hyper romantic. She was a very logical sort of person. This is all wrong 4/10

Morobito (Live action): I started to watch the anime version of this on Netflix once. I wanted to see what happened, so I put this on my list. It's ok. I just can't get into it myself. 5/10 (those green screen effects though...💀)

Night Scream: I had started to watch this one a while ago. It's a good Lifetime quality thriller. 7/10

Northanger Abbey: Wow... it only takes two minutes and they misquote Austen. 0/10

Ready or Not: I saw this one in theaters and it's pretty good. I mean I wouldn't buy it, but it has a good plot. Main character marries into a wealthy board-game family. They make her play a weird ass game of hide and seek, so she has to survive. Weirdly, reminds me of Knives Out, which I liked better. I can't remember how this one ends though. 

    You know who I feel bad for? Margot Robbie. Thought she was the lead in this. *Spoilers* It's the devil. I will say the explosive ending was pretty funny. 7/10

Scents and Sensibility: Oh. We'll come back to you Scents and Sensibility.

Shadow Island Mysteries: I'm not sure which one is supposed to go first. I had started to watch the wedding one before, so I'm assuming it's that one. They're alright; basically a Hallmark movie mystery. 7/10

Honey Boy: Oops, I missed this one! I'm not going to watch this whole thing, I just wanted to "see about it" if that makes any sense. It's really good! If you are into thinky-feely deep sort of movies. Labeouf did a great job; hope he makes more things like this and I hope it has brought him some sort of peace. My only concern is they guy they got to play Labeouf in treatment. He looks nothing like Labeouf, which wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that young Otis looks like young Labeouf. I will say the actor is very good though. It really was beautiful. 10/10

The Stone of Destiny: The most Scottish. DNF 7/10

The Ash Lad: Not sure what language this was in originally. I love it! It's a light fantasy romp. It did make me think, why do all fantasy stories start with a barn/farm getting burned down? DNF but 9/10 fro effort

AND I'VE GOTTEN MY WATCHLIST DOWN TO 60 MOVIES! STARTED AT NEARLY 100 A FEW DAYS AGO. DOWN TO 13 THINGS TO WATCH. (15 of the 60 are either things that I have to pay for or things another one of my family members has listed and I refuse to watch my sisters Nicolas Sparks bullshit💩).

An Adventure with my Amazon Watchlist: Day 4, part 1

*Sorry if the tags on this post are wrong. Blogger being weird. 

I've decided to stick with T.V. Shows today. Thought it would be something I could get through a little more quickly. For the most part, I plan to only watch the first one or two episodes.

Good Omens: I have tried to listen to this as an audiobook. Couldn't recommend it that way. This version if far too much like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 5/10

Grantchester: This feels like a much more subdued Father Brown. I'm a little confused by the lead character. Is he a Catholic priest or... whatever it's called for the Church of England? Is he supposed to be with a woman? I feel like not, but it doesn't look like he cares if anyone notices. (Googled it; he's an Anglican vicar and can most defiantly get married.) Then why is the woman he's with marrying another man? In conclusion: this is a very subdued Father Brown, not sure if I like it 6/10.

    This "What the Dickens?!" business needs to stop.

Hans Christian Anderson: Lead, a grown ass man, abandons a dying man in his house to go to a parade. F*ck no. 0/10

His Dark Materials: Saving this one for a later post.

Homecoming: I'm telling you right now. It's the government. It's always the government. 0/10

Jane Eyre (2006 series): Is this Jane Eyre or The Secret Garden? Nope- most def Jane Eyre. I think I've seen this version before. They really upped the violence in this one. No, seriously, this version of the aunt makes the evil stepmother in Cinderella look empathetic. A bit too heavy handed for me. 2/10

Little Dorrit: I've seen this before. Pretty typical Charles Dickens. Costumes are good though. 7/10

Little Women (PBS series): Makes the 2019 version look even more like sh*t. Would give more points, but I still hate Beth and she's still alive after the first episode. 9/10

Middlemarch: Ohhh I've tried to watch this before. NOOOO IT'S GEORGE ELLIOT! 0/10

Midsommer Murders and Murder, She Wrote: Technically next on my list, but I've seen them both before and I just love them! 10/10

Ordeal by Innocence: I have watch the first episode of this. Reminds me a little too much of the ABC Murders and not The Pale Horse. I know some of the siblings are adopted, but they grew up together. So why does one of the brothers sound like he lives at a cockney shipyard? (I'm American so I don't know if that's racist or not.) Also, it's a bit odd, but I've seen about everything that Matthew Goode has been in. And my god, I thought the aunt in Jane Eyre was over the top... Goode's character is completely off the charts. 5/10

Ren: Ren is fantastic! I first saw it as a Youtube mini series. I just wish there were more episodes. They had been working on one, but I'm not sure if the funding worked out. It's a great fantasy mini-mini series. And when I say mini, I mean mini. All of the episodes add up to about an hour long watch. Very Legend of the Seeker meets Outpost. 10/10

Sense and Sensibility (1981 series): WOW! This is bad. It sounded like one of the sisters is called "Ellen"... and she looks like she's the same age as their mom. Marianne looks like she's about 13. Also what's with all the early 2000s eyeliner. Looks like they are about to go to an Avril Lavigne concert. 2/10

Tales of Little Women: Why? Because I'm trash. 10/10

AND FINALLY MY LAST SHOW!

Vikings: ...Someone else in my family has been watching this and I don't want to mess up where they are at. I guess I'll have to watch this on Netflix.

ON TO THE MOVIES:

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: I just want to get through this series again. I can't remember which ones are the good ones. I know I liked the first one.

    Never mind- they are all bad. They need a main actor who doesn't look like muscle for the mob, especially with that accent. 2/10 (because I like this historical murder).

Dune: I cAn'T; it's soooooo bad. 0/10

Haunting Sarah: I can't begin to tell you how skeptical I am of this one. We shall see. 

    I was right. 1/10 (because I think I could watch it drunk.)

Imaginary Friend: UMMMM I frickin love this movie! It's got Gretchen from Mean Girls, so an instant Lifetime Movie Classic. It actually has a pretty good twist to it too. 9/10

Jack the Ripper; London Slasher: If this is dumb, I'm going to just move on.

John Tucker Must Die: YASSS. I love this movie! I actually dated a John Tucker in high school... yeah I was the bitchy one that looks like Katherine Heigl. I'm a little disappointed by what happened to the guy who plays John Tucker. He's become the angry sort of Christian. Doesn't really matter; he'll go down in history for this movie. 10/10

An Adventure with My Amazon Watchlist: Day 3

Daniel Deronda: Hugh Dancy (aka, happy and less dramatic Orlando Bloom) AND Romola Garai!? Sounds lovely to me! While watching, I can see why they cast Garai for Emma in 2009. She's good at playing amore selfish character with out making them completely unlikable.

    I keep finding myself checking the IMDB page for this one. There are so many actors from other period dramas I have seen. I'm also fairly certain this is my first experience with one of George Eliot's works (YEs iM a FRauD😅). As a side note- I frickin loved the archery contest in the first episode. That is something I need to get into.

    Spoilers- That.Ending. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. It literally made me hate the whole show. I will never read an Eliot novel. I've wasted this whole afternoon. 0/10

Dark Shadows: Technically my list has the revival series listed first, but I thought it would be best to start with the O.G. version. I have seen the movie with Johnny Depp... and I actually liked it. I'm assuming, based on reviews of the movie, that the show is more like a classic soap opera, as opposed to a goofy comedy. 

    I like the style of the show; costumes and set are great. However, I don't think this one is for me. I can see how someone might like it, especially at the time it was made. Just not for me. 3/10

Dark Shadows; the Revival: This is already better. I like things that are in black and white, but this version made me realize how hard it was to see anything in the original version. The show is still a little goofy. Like why use the term "governess"... shouldn't it be "live-in tutor"? I know they're rich, but rich people hire tutors for their kids. I think I'm going to have to pass on this one. 4/10

Dear Zachary: Yeah... I'm not watching that right now... I know what happens at the end. And not after the disappointment that was Daniel Deronda. 10/10

Detective Anna: Argh! Why is this in Russia(?)??? Costumes and set are wonderful, but I don't feel like reading a mystery. 5/10

Dragonslayer: Movie- Skip for tomorrow

Gentleman Jack: First thought; AMAZING COSTUMES! Also, Bridget Jones' mum?! 

    So far I really like the show. Anne reminds me of Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes, without the over the topic sociopathic tendencies. (Meaning this Anne is smarmy without being a d-bag.) She clearly cares about those around her and is determined. She don't take no shit, and all without being a contrived robot... but now that I think about it, that is because Anne Lister was a real person and we know quite a bit about her. 10/10

An Adventure in Witchcraft

    There is a term going around in the Witchy communities that I don't fully understand; a "baby" witch. It sounds gross and demeaning. Yes, I understand that there are new practitioners to witchcraft. Calling them babies is very demeaning/dismissive, makes us as a whole look foolish, and can lead to further harm in spell work.

    I am not new to witchcraft. I've been a pagan for nearly a little over a decade and a practicing witch for nearly as long. However, I am aware there are people who have been practicing more diligently and for a longer period of time than me. If any of those people were to call me a "baby", I would find it belittling. Calling a grown adult a "baby" is infantilizing. You are literally saying "you are a child that cannot take care of itself and therefore I will not take you seriously". It's toxic within our community for us to be treating each other that way. We all have valuable knowledge and share our learnings. And there are times where we all get things wrong. It is not far to assume that because someone is new to a concept, that their ideas are less valuable.

    It also makes us look foolish to the greater societal community. We are literally calling each other "babies". How is anyone supposed to take us seriously when we do that? Why would anyone want to join, especially if they thought it meant they would be harassed by being constantly called a baby? It has been so hard for us to be taken seriously in the past and now we're at a crucial point where mainstream society is valuing what we have to say. They are listening and hearing us call each other babies. Is that what we want non-witches to take from us?

    This name calling can also lead to further harm. So many people lack confidence in their craft. This is dually so when they get called baby. These new people then latch on to this idea of being a baby. I've seen practitioners who have been at it for longer than I have, refer to themselves as being baby. It's not humbling; it's a lack of confidence in their work. Witches need to have confidence in their craft in order to... well.. work. This is especially true for those who come from backgrounds in which their identities have not been valued. For example, I come from a pretty conservative Christian background. When I was young, I was not valued as a woman. If I started my craft now, I would not feel valued because I am new and keep getting called a "baby witch". (That's not to say you can't be a Christian and a witch, this is just an example).

    Maybe there is something that I don't understand here. I don't think so and I'm disappointed in with the witchy community for letting this happen. I was so welcomed when I joined and now we are calling each other babies. 

An Adventure with My Amazon Watchlist: Day 2

Belgravia: Those Amazon white-livered drunkards! I thought I would be able to watch all of this fantastic show, but I am only see the first two episodes without paying for it. This show is wonderful! I love how they played with the style of clothing to show the two different timelines (see Little Women 2019, it can work to you benefit). All I could think was that I need to get to work on sewing a regency gown and then the 1840 scenes would happen and I would get ready to sew a hoop-skirt. It's also great to finally see a regency drama in which the mother is not portrayed as "ridiculous" (aka, Mrs. Bennet knock off).

    The plot will suck you in right away! Drama. Drama. Drama! However, you have the feeling that things will turn out alright, unlike Downton Abbey. I would compare it to Doctor Thorne. 

    The only issue is that the cast if very large and I find it difficult to remember everyone's name. There were also two characters that looked too similar, played by Tamsin Greig (aka Miss Bates in the 2009 version of Emma) and Harriet Walter. They also didn't age the characters very well. Tamsin Greig's character has a daughter of marrying age at the beginning, so I would imagine her to be nearly 40. Then the story moves ahead about 25 years, so she would be in her 60s, but her hair is only a little more grey and her husband hasn't changed at all. I mean they digitally enhanced the stucco on the buildings to look more accurate. Couldn't they have done to the actors' faces in the 1815 timeline?

    There are so many classic twist of Julian Fellowes's craftsmanship. He needs to stick to more mini-series such as this. (I know this is a pretty controversial opinion, but Downton was a little too drawn out for my taste.) Could not recommend more. 10/10

Beowulf; A Legend Reclaimed: This isn't a terrible adaptation of Beowulf. I can totally see how someone could get into it. It just failed to capture my attention. Feels like a Lord of the Rings sort of rip-off. If you need some sort of fantasy in your day, I would say go for it. 6/10

Black Field: This is a Bronte Sister adaptation? Wait no, it was just inspired by... um ok? 5/10

Bramwell: Bad version of Dr. Quinn... 

Britannia: I wanted to like this. Why don't I like this? Why do all the actors look like knock off other actors? DNF Try again later.

It has now dawned on me that my watchlist has more than 90 movies on it still... this is going to take me more than a few days....

Carnival Row: OOOO I like this! I feel like it's been years since I've seen anything with Orlando Bloom in it! I think, just maybe, I might need a break from T.V....

An Adventure with My Amazon Watchlist: Day 1

Here I will keep a running list of shows/movies that I have watched with a brief review

Absentia: I'm pretty sure this is one that my sister or stepdad added. It's a show about a woman who was declared dead after being missing for six years. When she returns she learns that she has become the suspect in a string of murders. 

    Not sure how much I like this one. I do love a good mystery and I think it would be worth watching a few episodes. I'm a little concerned that the mystery might be more interesting than the characters. They did a good job showing how PTSD can effect people, but other than that, the characters are pretty flat. 

Never mind; I just google how the mystery ends and it is BAD. Let's just say it doesn't sound very LGBT+ friendly. 5/10

Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders: Now I know I was the one to add this to the list. I just love Agatha Christie. However, I remember starting this mini-series and finding it dull. 

    And I wasn't wrong. This version is so slow! Something I like about the movies and radio dramas based on Christie's works is that they cut out the fluff. This mini series really had to stretch things out and in doing so, it became too drawn out. Not to mention, I'm not a fan of this version of Poirot. There is usually a slight sense of humor around him, but this Poirot is overly dramatic and serious. 2/10

Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse: The Pale Horse is one of my favorite works by Christie! I was so excited when this version came out and it did not disappoint. At thought it deviates quite a bit from the source material, it is still a fantastic rendition. I throughly enjoyed the horror-drama that was created. It has a lot of the same tones as The ABC Murders, but because there really isn't an iconic lead, such as Poirot, it would have been difficult to make a mess of things. Mark is still in the story, but his character has been changed. The two concerns I have with this version is the age of the women cast to be his wives. Yes, Mark is now a womanizer, but these wives are both 28 and he is clearly in his 50's at the very least. I could understand Hermia being younger, but his first wife just doesn't make sense. I also took issue with the ending. I did have to do a little digging to understand it, just wish that would have been a little more clear. 8/10

An Inspector Calls: Are they in German? OOO pretty dress! Why do all these Germans have the MOST British accents possible? Is the mom Rita Skeeter? *Gasp* That's Lupin! ... Wait, in his other German movie, he plays a Nazi... Gawd, I can't watch this, but maybe one day I'll teach it. 1/10

The Hustle: For the past few titles, I have been going through my Watchlist in alphabetical order. I had to take a quick break from British dramas and watch something a little more upbeat (The next thing in order was another BBC show). I've seen The Hustle once before in theaters. It's great! Is it a high quality film? No. But it's a good, funny romp in the vain of Spy, The Heat, and Bridesmaids. 9/10

Atlantis: End of the World, Birth of a Nation: Oh the slow-mo, the horror! 0/10

Beauty and the Beast (2015 [2014 IMDB] mini-series): Not to be confused with the 2014 French film, La Belle et La Bete, which is also fantastic. This mini series is wonderful. It's a mix between Dangerous Liaisons and Phantom of the Opera bundled into a traditional Beauty and the Beast story. The series very clearly had a low budget, but they did the very best with what they were given; good costumes and amazing set design. The acting needed some work, but I think this was the first film in English many in the cast had done, so I won't hold that against them. The plot got a little slow in the second episode and I found myself getting a little distracted. 9/10

An Adventure With My Amazon Watchlist

I have been so bored. I'm a teacher which means my summers are pretty slow. With COVID going on, I've decided to take measures of isolation, which I enjoy... to a point. For the next two days (maybe three or four) I will be binging everything on my family's watchlist on Amazon. The vast majority are things that I or my sister have added. I refuse to watch any of her Nicklas Sparks nonsense that is on there. I can't stand it! I plan to write a little review for each Show/Movie I watch.

-The Lady Adventurer