(no subject)

1. Finished watching the latest Crazy Ex-Girl Friend episode and figured out that I'd been watching the series from the wrong angle lately. It's not a satire or critique on mental illness nor is it really about "mental illness" but on how our society and our culture and people handle and/or view/judge mental illness. The latest episode sort of hammers you over the head with it.

We don't handle mental illness or suicide well. And more often than not relate it back to ourselves.

Rather brilliant episode actually, at least in the abstract.

My difficulty with it is it feels at times as if the writers are sacrificing character in order to make a point -- an issue I have with most satire, actually.

I'm also not positive, but it felt like the series finale/season finale of the entire series. ( spoiler )

2. Trigger warning...well not literally, just the heading of a sub-point.

I've realized post-Trump, everything seems to require a trigger warning. I avoid the news as much as possible, and have been avoiding mentions of it on social media. I turned off my NY Times notifications, Twitter notifications, and FB notifications. I avoid discussing politics or other current events on social media or off as much as possible.

Also, trying not to engage in anything that will trigger me. It's not as easy as it looks. Ran into three far too close for comfort scenarios on social media. Backed off.

As much as I'd like to fight the good fight, and continue my work in social justice (which I was very active with in the 1980s-1990s and off and on through 2009-2015, I just can't right now. Not if I wish to maintain my own mental health and stability. Self-care sometimes has to come first.

Also, I'm not sure fighting over social justice issues on social media is helpful or all that productive. In person? Maybe. Online? Eh, no.

3. Off to watch Good Behavior. It is very windy today. But the good news? The wind has managed to blow all the rain clouds to the east and north of us. Very rainy yesterday, which made it a good movie day.

Considering doing dinner and movie with one of the meetup groups for Thanksgiving. Sounds nice and low-key. I like low-key. Also movies give you something to talk about. And, if you want you can just leave after the movie. (All my family is far far away. Plus with my weird dietary restrictions.. So I don't tend to do Thanksgiving. Nor do I care that much one way or the other. I rather prefer low-key. Have in the past traveled to see family and/or friends. But often just did my own thing. It varies.)

Top 10 Superhero Films....

Watching the American Music Awards...and I didn't know that the female lead of Blackish is Diana Ross's daughter. Fascinating. Hate her dress though, I'm wondering if her breasts will pop out. Also so far none of the songs are resonating or working for me. I'm admittedly not a fan of pop music, generally speaking. Most music genres I love and I'm terribly eclectic...but I want it to stand out - do something different, and pop tends to feel like elevator and pharmacy music. Safe and bland.

Oh and just saw the movie trailer for A Wrinkle of Time and it looks brilliant. (This was among my favorite children's books growing up and they are doing it right with the casting.)

Top 10 Favorite Superhero Flicks

I promised to do this after I saw Thor. I have a feeling Justice League won't matter much.

In no particular order, because while I can do lists, I suck at organizing them.

1. Thor: Ragnack -- by far the best of the stand-a-alone Thor flicks and most of the other one's. It is funny with excellent cinematography. Also all the character arcs are furthered by the humor, fight scenes, and the plot. At the end of the film everyone is in a different spot than they were at the beginning.

2. The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan by far the best of the Batman franchise and the DC films. Dark and twisty, it weds the noir mystery genre with the superhero genre, commenting on both. Is Batman hero or vigilante? You decide. And the images are truly gripping -- like noir paintings from a nightmare. At the end everyone is in different spot than the beginning. And the story furthers all the characters. Although unlike Thor -- not a movie I can rewatch.

3. Superman -- the first one starring Christopher Reeves, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder...this film was fun, colorful, and the unknown Christopher Reeves got across a subtle sense of physical humor wedded with intelligence. It was the best superhero film before the Batman franchise began.

4. X-Men: Days of Future Past - X-men film starring Peter Dinklater, Jennifer Lawerence, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Ian McKellan, Nick Hoult...and it may well be among the best ensemble superhero films done. The story borrowed from a Chris Claremount comic of the 1980s, reboots it and manages to create a suspenseful thriller that also borrows heavily from the Machurian Candidate and Sarah Connor Chronicles. It's not clear who the villains are, and everyone is complicated and layered. It's comical, but uses it's humor to build on character and further plot.
Also, it managed to undo one of Marvel's biggest mistakes in the X-men movie verse -- X-men Last Stand.

5. Logan starring Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart...which is dark twisty take on a noir western motif with strands of Road Warrior. Jackman plays an ailing Wolverine who is being slowly poisoned by the metal coating his skeleton -- since his healing factor is no longer functioning, while Stewart plays a Xavier suffering from dementia...and the loss of control of his telepathic abilities..with increasingly dire results. Coming into the scene is girl who has all of Wolverine's abilties and was created by a government research lab attempting to create a weapon -- much as they'd attempted on multiple occasions with Wolverine. Logan is forced to help her and her friends escape to a haven he doesn't even believes exists while pursued by government hounds aka the Reivers, who want to put them down or take them into custody. Don't watch for the action sequences, which are good in a Sam Peckinpahish manner, but the character interactions with Stewart, Jackman, Eric LaSalle and the little girl playing Laura (Wolverine v. 2)

6. Wonder Woman possibly the best of the DC films to come out of the Snyder franchise, maybe because it was helmed by Patty Jenkins and not Snyder? It has the dark palettes, but it also has wit and humor and in depth characterization. The interactions between Diana and those around her are well worth the price of a movie ticket. (Just ignore the history, which makes no sense -- even if you don't know it and the exposition.)

7. Spiderman: Homecoming -- a brand new sparkling take on Spiderman that manages to do what the others failed, be fresh, funny, and moving...and complicated, without layering on the sentimentality. The mistake of the others was growing Spiderman up too quickly, Homecoming wisely lets him stay a teen and respects it, by casting "teens" in the roles. We have no Uncle Ben dying to turn Spidey into a man. It's more complicated than that and far less tear-jerky. It also has a nice twist that most of the films didn't and was unexpected. (Before fans of the comics could see what happened next, here, they really can't.) In the villain category -- Keaton doesn't ham it up and goes for realism, to great effect, and manages to create a relatable villain worthy of the film's hero. Also, Robert Downey Jr's character Tony Stark is re-examined from yet another angle and not necessarily a flattering one.

8. Captain America: Civil War -- this film managed to do everything Batman vs. Superman attempted, better and with more impact. It also is among those rare superhero flicks with something to say -- the film looks at our world and comments on the conflict within it. The conflict or the central one is between two perspectives or ways of looking at power and being a superhero -- Captain America's and Iron Man's, and it's not clear which makes more sense. Iron Man sees unlimited power as dangerous, there should be boundaries, restrictions, controls in place, while Captain America feels that the government should not be implementing those controls and each person should be granted a choice. Their different views turn out to be ultimately irreconsible, even though both men respect and care for one another, their own upbringings and deep-seated beliefs make it impossible for either to see the other's side.

While Batman vs. Superman tried to be about the same thing, it got muddled in the guagmire of mommy issues and Superman's death, without really ever delving deeply enough into the central question - while Civil War goes there, without letting other issues distract too much from that theme. It also services all the characters, bringing in multiple perspectives along the way.

9. Deadpool -- this film makes fun of the genre, and comments on it in various ways at the same time. In your face, Deadpool is neither hero nor anti-hero. He cracks wise every fifteen minutes. Scarred beyond belief, because he decided to volunteer himself to an experimental program that promised to heal his cancer -- it actually turns him into a super-solider. He was always a merc, and he escapes with the goal of inflicting vengeance on the man who did it to him, along with getting his girl bad. Foul-mouthed, yet with a heart of gold -- Deadpool pokes fun at the genre and makes us question why we love it. Also, the title character manages to outdo Robert Downy JR in the fast talking self-deprecation act.

10. The Avengers -- the first film, directed by Joss Whedon, which managed to take an ensemble and give everyone something to do. Fast-paced, and witty, it holds our attention throughout, and at the same time comments on the consequences of being a superhero and what happens when power is not limited. Something Whedon is understandably obsessed with.

Honorable mentions:

* Iron Man #3 ---- where Stark has to deal with the results of his creation of the Iron Men, when his love is encased in one of them and could die.

* Kick-Ass --- the superhero flick where no one really has any powers.

* Captain America -- Winter Solider

* Ant-Man

* Tim Burton's Batman