Weekend Report
This weekend, I:
* Bought and watched 'The Losers' after reading this rec post by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zillah975 (via kate). I really liked it! It's not perfect - the storytelling is predicable, it doesn't pass the Bechdel test, it's US centric, the villain's psychotic and fetishistic and kills a lot of people, particularly CoCs, barely off screen and wow, that reads much worse than it did in my head.
On the plus side - four out of the six 'Losers' are CoC. Our lone female character, Aisha al-Fadhil (played by Zoe Saldana!!), is kick ass, ruthless, competent, operating under her own agenda, and always the rescuer, not the rescuee. She's the unicorn of dude-dominated action flicks, is what I'm saying. Everyone else is also awesome and well acted, the action sequences are nicely shot and the cinematography is top notch.
Also, the boys are all very pretty. And slashy. I spent most of the movie shipping Clay/Roque - their dynamic was really interesting, you know? And complex enough that I was sure there was more going on at the end than we where shown, I was very bitter about how it was handled (until I watched the deleted scenes \o/) - and didn't pay enough attention to Cougar and Jensen (and Pooch, but I'm very happy shipping him with his, you know. Wife). Fanfic (and repeat viewings) have shown me the error of my ways.
Observe:
One's a sniper, the other's a hacker (an incredibly athletic hacker, jfc)! One rarely talks, the other talks non-stop! They are BFFs who trust each other completely, are very comfortable with each other, and are blazingly hot (and I've got to say, I am feeling *much* better about Chris Evens playing Captain America. He did a bang-up job as Jensen). Together they fightcrime evil psychotic masterminds!
So, yeah. I recommend giving The Losers a try.
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* Saw Inception, which is actually as good as everyone's saying it is. It didn't insult my intelligence, the acting was superb (Leo's grown so much, it's fantastic), the camera work, action sequences, and graphics were stunning and OMG the clothes. OMG Joseph Gordon-Levitt in those clothes.
(Wish I could find a better shot) Omg Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character (Arthur) wearing those clothes while being badass, being badass in no gravity, being prissy and badass, and being clearly married to Tom Hardy's character, Eames. I've never been more convinced of an Est.Rel. ship (that wasn't made explicit by the canon), it's amazing.
The movie's not flawless, of course - the thing with DiCaprio's character, Cobb, and his wife is...problematic and wtf was up with that kiss Arthur sneaked from Ariadne? But overall it the best thing I've seen in theaters in ages.
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I went looking fic for both films right after I saw them (that's how I roll) and found it. Lots of it! Most of it good! Some of my current favorites (because there's more to read, I haven't ridden a fandom high like this since Merlin came out):
The Losers
* Something Worth Dying For (The Grifters, Thieves, and Losers Job) byzillah975 (Gen, crossover with Leverage): When the Leverage team decides to take down Vaughn Wilson, they don't realize that he's dealing in something a lot worse than heroin and assault rifles, or that Eliot's old boss has his eye on Wilson too. Things can go wrong in a hurry when whether you're a Loser or just providing a little leverage, but with Eliot's life on the line, his past and his present had better work together fast, or Eliot's future won't last longer than tonight.
* Quintet for Blood and Bonding, in the Key of Home by Feather (Cougar/Jensen, first fic in a longer Aisha/Cougar/Jensen series. Not sure how I feel about the OT3, but this story's fantastic all by itself): Something always goes wrong. It's all a question of what you salvage from it - and that, you can't always predict. Or, in which Jensen fixes everything, mostly by accident.
* For A Smile They Can Share the Night by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
suaine (Cougar/Jensen): After the dust settles, Cougar comes to a few realizations about himself, his team and Jensen.
* like a screen door in a hurricane bymintyfiend (Cougar/Jensen. This is my favorite, but zie's written a bunch more. You can read them all here): Cougar is sitting in his lap and that’s just about all the stimulation Jensen can handle right now.
* Pushing Boundries by Marvinetta (Cougar/Jensen. Zie's also written more here): Written for a prompt on Losers_Fic asking for Bottom!Cougar. Porn. Lots of porn.
* And more - I'm tagging stuff on delicious as I find it.
Inception
* Sharp Dressed Man byannundriel (Arthur/Eames): Eames likes to watch Arthur dress.
* You Can't Hide the Sun with Two Fingers byhackthis (Arthur/Eames): Arthur frowns. "I'm not here to be entertained." Eames leans in close. Too close. Arthur can feel the warm air when Eames speaks. "That's part of your problem, darling. But don't worry, I'll fix that."
* save lay my rifle down byqueendombythe_c (Arthur/Eames): Ariadne had stood at baggage claim and asked, "What now?" and then, "Do we ever steal tangible things?" so Eames fully plans to blame her if something goes wrong.
* little things bynova33 (Arthur/Eames): Established relationship, they start influencing each other with their fashion choices. Eames is wearing a tightly tailored three-piece, is that color in Arthur's outfits?
* Oh, Darling by JenNova (Arthur/Eames): They're called 'terms of endearment' for a reason.
* And more x2 - I'm tagging stuff on delicious as I find it.
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* Read 'Soulless' by Gail Carriger, which I disliked intensely. I had planned a rant for this space but, honestly, it's not worth the effort. Suffice to say I found it clunky, cliched and stereotyped past offensiveness (Lord Akeldama and his prancing droney-poos, oh my god). Also, the steampunk was pasted on.
* Started setting up my workspace! We were using my personal/freelance PC to run the TV, but I've borrowed my sister's old tower off from parents to use instead and moved mine over to the desk (also borrowed). Tonight I'll unpack my many, many art supplies onto the nearby shelves and set up the peripherals (printer, scanner, data storage). Hurray for having a creative space again!
* Played Dragon Age: Origins. I'm only just past Lothering (heading into the Circle Tower) and holy cow, I love this game. Not gonna lie, I started playing to see the hot elf-on-man action, but then it turned out to be good. And full of Alistair, whom I adore (why can't my dude bag him instead? Do want!).
* Bought and watched 'The Losers' after reading this rec post by
zillah975 (via kate). I really liked it! It's not perfect - the storytelling is predicable, it doesn't pass the Bechdel test, it's US centric, the villain's psychotic and fetishistic and kills a lot of people, particularly CoCs, barely off screen and wow, that reads much worse than it did in my head.On the plus side - four out of the six 'Losers' are CoC. Our lone female character, Aisha al-Fadhil (played by Zoe Saldana!!), is kick ass, ruthless, competent, operating under her own agenda, and always the rescuer, not the rescuee. She's the unicorn of dude-dominated action flicks, is what I'm saying. Everyone else is also awesome and well acted, the action sequences are nicely shot and the cinematography is top notch.
Also, the boys are all very pretty. And slashy. I spent most of the movie shipping Clay/Roque - their dynamic was really interesting, you know? And complex enough that I was sure there was more going on at the end than we where shown, I was very bitter about how it was handled (until I watched the deleted scenes \o/) - and didn't pay enough attention to Cougar and Jensen (and Pooch, but I'm very happy shipping him with his, you know. Wife). Fanfic (and repeat viewings) have shown me the error of my ways.
Observe:
One's a sniper, the other's a hacker (an incredibly athletic hacker, jfc)! One rarely talks, the other talks non-stop! They are BFFs who trust each other completely, are very comfortable with each other, and are blazingly hot (and I've got to say, I am feeling *much* better about Chris Evens playing Captain America. He did a bang-up job as Jensen). Together they fight
So, yeah. I recommend giving The Losers a try.
--------
* Saw Inception, which is actually as good as everyone's saying it is. It didn't insult my intelligence, the acting was superb (Leo's grown so much, it's fantastic), the camera work, action sequences, and graphics were stunning and OMG the clothes. OMG Joseph Gordon-Levitt in those clothes.
(Wish I could find a better shot) Omg Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character (Arthur) wearing those clothes while being badass, being badass in no gravity, being prissy and badass, and being clearly married to Tom Hardy's character, Eames. I've never been more convinced of an Est.Rel. ship (that wasn't made explicit by the canon), it's amazing.
The movie's not flawless, of course - the thing with DiCaprio's character, Cobb, and his wife is...problematic and wtf was up with that kiss Arthur sneaked from Ariadne? But overall it the best thing I've seen in theaters in ages.
--------
I went looking fic for both films right after I saw them (that's how I roll) and found it. Lots of it! Most of it good! Some of my current favorites (because there's more to read, I haven't ridden a fandom high like this since Merlin came out):
The Losers
* Something Worth Dying For (The Grifters, Thieves, and Losers Job) by
zillah975 (Gen, crossover with Leverage): When the Leverage team decides to take down Vaughn Wilson, they don't realize that he's dealing in something a lot worse than heroin and assault rifles, or that Eliot's old boss has his eye on Wilson too. Things can go wrong in a hurry when whether you're a Loser or just providing a little leverage, but with Eliot's life on the line, his past and his present had better work together fast, or Eliot's future won't last longer than tonight.* Quintet for Blood and Bonding, in the Key of Home by Feather (Cougar/Jensen, first fic in a longer Aisha/Cougar/Jensen series. Not sure how I feel about the OT3, but this story's fantastic all by itself): Something always goes wrong. It's all a question of what you salvage from it - and that, you can't always predict. Or, in which Jensen fixes everything, mostly by accident.
* For A Smile They Can Share the Night by
suaine (Cougar/Jensen): After the dust settles, Cougar comes to a few realizations about himself, his team and Jensen.* like a screen door in a hurricane by
mintyfiend (Cougar/Jensen. This is my favorite, but zie's written a bunch more. You can read them all here): Cougar is sitting in his lap and that’s just about all the stimulation Jensen can handle right now.* Pushing Boundries by Marvinetta (Cougar/Jensen. Zie's also written more here): Written for a prompt on Losers_Fic asking for Bottom!Cougar. Porn. Lots of porn.
* And more - I'm tagging stuff on delicious as I find it.
Inception
* Sharp Dressed Man by
annundriel (Arthur/Eames): Eames likes to watch Arthur dress.* You Can't Hide the Sun with Two Fingers by
hackthis (Arthur/Eames): Arthur frowns. "I'm not here to be entertained." Eames leans in close. Too close. Arthur can feel the warm air when Eames speaks. "That's part of your problem, darling. But don't worry, I'll fix that."* save lay my rifle down by
queendombythe_c (Arthur/Eames): Ariadne had stood at baggage claim and asked, "What now?" and then, "Do we ever steal tangible things?" so Eames fully plans to blame her if something goes wrong.* little things by
nova33 (Arthur/Eames): Established relationship, they start influencing each other with their fashion choices. Eames is wearing a tightly tailored three-piece, is that color in Arthur's outfits?* Oh, Darling by JenNova (Arthur/Eames): They're called 'terms of endearment' for a reason.
* And more x2 - I'm tagging stuff on delicious as I find it.
--------
* Read 'Soulless' by Gail Carriger, which I disliked intensely. I had planned a rant for this space but, honestly, it's not worth the effort. Suffice to say I found it clunky, cliched and stereotyped past offensiveness (Lord Akeldama and his prancing droney-poos, oh my god). Also, the steampunk was pasted on.
* Started setting up my workspace! We were using my personal/freelance PC to run the TV, but I've borrowed my sister's old tower off from parents to use instead and moved mine over to the desk (also borrowed). Tonight I'll unpack my many, many art supplies onto the nearby shelves and set up the peripherals (printer, scanner, data storage). Hurray for having a creative space again!
* Played Dragon Age: Origins. I'm only just past Lothering (heading into the Circle Tower) and holy cow, I love this game. Not gonna lie, I started playing to see the hot elf-on-man action, but then it turned out to be good. And full of Alistair, whom I adore (why can't my dude bag him instead? Do want!).
no subject
Dragon Age: Origins is also very good. I want to put Alistair in my pocket and carry him around! (Have you gotten to the part where you met Zevran yet? Him and Alistair have some entertaining exchanges).
no subject
I have not met Zevran yet! I'm only just past the set up - out of the wilds, out of the first town (Lothering), and starting up the Magi's tower (which I picked to do first). But I believe you re: the entertaining exchanges - Alistair has entertaining exchanges with my dog.
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My modus operandi is very similar to yours, except it's more "post things to delicious when I can bring myself to close the tab and stop re-re-reading".
COUGAR AND JENSEN. OH AND AISHA, AND ROQUE.
What do you know of the comic?
OH AND DRAGON AGE. I'm just now re-playing (I'm a dude for the first time, played through with a female elf mage, a female human noble and a female dwarf noble.), and it's so much fun. Just got back from the first wilderness mission though (got sidetracked by planning my build and playing the newest DLC).
[RE: Soulless - I have yet to get past the first chapter.]
no subject
I have read most the tics recced here at least three times. The banging like a screen door in a hurricane one I read four times in succession before I could click away.
I want to watch the movie again. But I also want to play Dragon Age. Decisions!
I have not read the comic, but I've seen plenty of panels the last couple days. Definetly gonna track it down next time I'm at the comic book shop. Have you read it?
Well, Dragon Age is already starting, so I guess I'll go with that! I'm playing through as a human male noble (warrior, just to complete the cliche) with plans to go through as a female dwarf commoner next (already got her all made up! Making characters is one of my favorite parts).
I paid $8 for Soulless so I figured I should finish it. It just...keeps getting worse.
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I have not read the comic either, but it's on order and I was spoiled for the end a while ago by a friend who assumed I would never read this particular one. *less happy sigh*
Oh Dragon Age. I spent hours the first time around just playing with the chara config. I wish there was a modding hack for the PS3 like there is for the PC version.
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I really wish I could go back and adjust my dude's features a bit on DA:O - his face is a little too long and his chin a little too shallow, it's bugging me. Also he is apparently adopted, seeing as his family was all light of hair and skin while he is...not, but I'm happy to roll with that.
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I'm going to re-watch this weekend (or during the week ... or both), so I can take a couple of meta notes.
Oh, I had similar problems at first. Idk, I guess I adjusted to what camera angles they use in-game, and to using the zoom-and-move-around-function more. Also, WORD re: the adoption scenario. Three out of my four charas were/are COCs. [My female elf mage who was pretty dark skinned and tattooed looked amazing, especially next to Zevran. ;)]
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no subject