Can't Cope, Won't Cope (Season 2)

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Can't Cope, Won't Cope Season 2 was not as good as season 1. And I'm nuot sure the photo above is from Season 1 or 2. Anyway I was entertained but not moved.

Deliha 2

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Deliha 2 öyle oyalanırken karşıma çıktı ve neden olmasın diye kaydetmeye karar vermişken gün içinde tam başlangıcına denk gelince oturup izledim. Öncelikle dişi Recep İvedik ve entelektüelliğin aşağılanması kısımları biraz itici evet ama aynı zamanda feminist söylemi, entelektüellik adı altında yapaylığın, özentiliğin eleştirilmesi hoşuma gidiyor. Seviyorm Gupse Özay'ı ben. Ha güldüm mü hayır, ama ben komedi filmlerine ender gülen bir izleyiciyim (Bir Jackie Chan filmine ailecek bir de There is Something About Mary filminde kahkahalarla güldüğümü hatırlarım, hatta karnım ağrımıştı, GORA'ya da gülmüştüm biraz galiba neyse). O kadar da kötü değildi bence. 

La Cueva (In Darkness We Fall)

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La Cueva (In Darkness We Fall) is a film I saw an add on twitter. It looked nice so I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a found footage film of 5 friends going on a trip to a beautiful island and deciding to go into a cave to explore a bit before swimming. A bad decision. Anyway I thought this was going to be a creature feature but it was better (for me). It depicts the sorry state of humanity when it is confronted with survival at stake. The friends turn on each other and it was very nicely depicted, great used of found footage trope and furthermore the visuals were actually very good. You can spot the final girl right away and this time she earned it people, she truly earned it. 

Mudbound

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Mudbound turned out to be a boring film that tells a fascinating story. It would have been much better as a mini series. Actors were all good but the script and the direction were not to my taste at all. 

The Warning (El Aviso)

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The Warning (El Aviso) only interested me by its plot. I did not know it was a Spanish film (and unhappily surprised in the opening credits) but it turned out a film that appealed to me in more than one way. Firstly I liked the cinematography a lot. It is the clean type that I love with lots of close ups on the actors faces. Secondly the plot interested me. There were some holes but I liked it a lot. And it involves time travel of sorts (which is my least favorite trope). Anyway I recommend this for some fine acting, interesting plot and good Spanish Spanish (I'm learning Spanish Spanish so other Spanish accents are not immediately clear to me. 

Beasts Of No Nation

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Beasts of No Nation child soldiers are the shame of humanity. The way people, humans can treat children this way should be severely punished. I didn't want to watch this film but I saw it at a list and thought why not? And it turned out to be a well made film telling a horrible experience of a small boy who is made a child soldier. I highly recommend. 

The Mountain Between Us

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The Mountain Between Us well I had seen this sometime ago on a flight and I think I have not put it in here so here it is. Well, this was not a good film despite loving Kate Winslet I just couldn't get into it. There was no chemistry (and I'm not into Idris Elba, at all), the story didn't evoke any feelings in me, anyway safely skip.

My (Not So) Perfect Life

My (Not So) Perfect Life is an entertaining novel I would have loved if I have read it in my twenties. 

Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no renkinjutsushi)

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Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no renkinjutsushi) is the live action version of the famed anime series, I have always wanted to watch the anime because it was on everyone's favorite lists however when I watched it, I have sadly found that it didn't appeal to me at all. While the story of the brothers' origin is tragic and interesting, the AU and the rest of it put me -literally- to sleep. I couldn't even finish the first episode. Anyway I wanted to watch the film since it is a live action Japanese film and these, more often than not, suit me. This one was better than the cartoon but still the AU and the characters except the two brothers did not suit me. This is more of a 'it is not you it is me' situation as far the AU goes but the film was not that good either. 

From The Corner of His Eye

From The Corner of His Eye when am I going to learn? The Watchers is my first Dean R. Koontz novel and it still remains the best. Not that I have read a lot of his novels but each time I feel dissapointed. Even this one, having liked it more than the rest, except The Watchers, was similar. The guy has great ideas and some storytelling skills but somehow along the way he just doesn't fill me up. 

Bluebird, Bluebird

Bluebird, Bluebird is highly praised and deserved all of it. This is a murder mystery in Texas and our protagonist is a Texas Ranger who is African American. The issue of race is wrapped around both in the mystery and the prose. This one is a literary mystery but unlike many of its ilk (and don't get me wrong, I love literary thrillers) it has a fast tempo and a quick rythm. I highly recommend even if you are not into the genre. 

Lust Stories

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Lust Stories did not really interest me but after watching Sacred Games (GREAT novel, so so TV show) I realised I missed Indian films and chose this compilation. There are four films in this from respected directors. Anurag Kashyap's turned out to be fun to watch but very focused on the main actress (who was also in Sacred Games produced or directed by the same Anurag Kashyap) not that she was bad or anything but she doesn't have that particular quality that makes one arrested to the screen (for example Aishwarya Rai has that) anyway then came Zoya Akhtar's and to me she is a bit uneven but her film turned out to be my favorite. In limited space she managed to convey all the feelings and this one remained with me longer than others. Dilbakar Banarjee's is for people my age I suppose and the actors were very good however the story did not really interest me. And Karan Johar is all Karan Johar, this guy is amazing. I really like his cinematography and his ease with actors. Everyone gave a great performance and while being cute his film also had a good message and a happy ending :) (This is not really a spoiler hain?) 

Romina

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Romina was very bad on every front. And not in a so bad it is good way either. 

Love

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Love  was not a film on my radar since Irreversable scared me of Gaspar Noe. The film he did before Irreversable, 'I Stand Alone' seemed to carry similar themes. I just chose it because it is about Love and I wanted to see how much of it was cencored. I'm happy to say that none. And it turned out that I liked it a lot. The romantic scenes (and there are a lot) are very explicit but there is a certain mood about many of them, which the director helpfully tells us, in the form of the male lead (who is an American film student in Paris - alter ego?) who says he wants to make a film where sex between people who are in love is shown. I also liked the story and cinematography and the actors who are very courageous.  

The Face of Trespass

The Face of Trespass is yet another good Ruth Rendell (RIP) novel. This lady is one of my all time favorite writers and this novel is no exception. SPOILER: I was especially happy that it had a sort of happy ending. 

A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)

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A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica) is this year Oscar winner for a foreign film. I didn't know anything about it and liked it very much. I especially liked the fact that a real transgender actress played the transgender character on screen. The lead character has an older lover and they have a good relationship (she is about to move in) when he dies suddenly at night (and he tells him to stay there and goes to put something on and grab her keys and he falls from the stairs bruising himself). We slowly being to understand that this lady is transgender and is being prejudiced for it. The film has close up shots which I like and a nice cinematography (not the clean type I prefer but still good). I hope the lead actress will be able to get more roles since she was good. 

Magician: Apprentice

Magician: Apprentice was not for me. It is not a bad novel but didn't work for me at all. 

The Queen's Fool

The Queen's Fool turned out to be not an entertaining novel. A disjointed story with a shallow lead (and it is so unfair since she is a Jewish person escaped from Inquisition and this character could have been fascinating). I had the feeling while reading that the writer wanted to humanise Queen Mary (aka Bloody Mary and for good reason too) but it just didn't work. At least I finished it.

Entourage (TV Series and Film)

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Entourage (TV Series and Film) well this one helped me out at the early breakfasts during the last half of Ramadan - if I recall correctly-. And I have found it entertaining enough to finish it. The series tell the story of a film star and his friends who help him out and earn money. He has an elder brother who is in business longer than the star but kind of in the fringes only and never truly made it. And he has a vicious agent who genuinely likes the star. The whole thing has a misogynist vibe to it masked in "just for a laugh" attitude. The script is not bad and it kind of works but it is not a 'must watch' or anything like that.

The Vegetarian

The Vegetarian turned out to be a very powerful novel and I was very much into it. I'll look for the other novel of the same author (Human Acts I think it is called). 

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place turned out to be great novel focusing mostly on the psychology of a criminal. The whole book tells us how a normal salary man turns into a vicious murderer and in the end how this psychology enables to him act in the aftermath which leads to his getting caught. I really liked it and think the world of this writer. 

An Untamed State

An Untamed State turned out to be tense and emotional. And I liked it a lot. The reader was very good and I'm happy that I listened to it in audible. There were explicit scenes but not of romantic nature so I was not embarrassed to hear them. 

The Hurt Locker

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The Hurt Locker is a film I surprisingly liked the first time I watched it. War is my least favorite genre you see and not my first choice to watch. I like Ms. Bigelow as a director though and thought it won't hurt to give it a try. The first time was amazing and I was under the influence of it for a long time after it ended. This second time was not bad either but not as effective to my psyche. The thing that annoyed me most was how everything is explained. It was not necessary at all. The thing I liked most was how the action/non action scenes were so well done and tense. I remember liking Anthony Mackie a lot in the first film and he still is the best actor among the bunch imho but the part is also a good one. Anyway this is probably my favorite war film. 

Oh My Venus (O Ma-i Bi-neo-seu)

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Oh My Venus (O Ma-i Bi-neo-seu) was not a drama I particularly wanted to watch but when it landed on my lap in Netflix I decided to give it a go because I like the two leads. Especially So Ji Sob who I think it is the perfect looking man. He looks great no matter what he does .Seriously he even ugly cried with snot in one scene and he still looked better than 80% of the population. He is aging well too. I also like Shin Min A the female lead. She is cute and talented and nice to watch. So this show was mainly eye candy to me but its classicness somehow worked and I found myself invested. In the end it was not anything special but I enjoyed it very very much.

The Thief

The Thief was a bargain purchase and it was interesting but I didn't feel a connection to it.