krisvm.bsky.social
Reviewer of books, bunny snuggler, Non-Binary & Genderqueer (they/them), god of excel & filled with geeky squee.
Mastodon: @[email protected]
1,859 posts
1,018 followers
261 following
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Next up, hopefully not quite as terrible, Mars One, about a brazillian boy dreaming of being an astrophysicist.
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This took me and long while to get through I am not going to rate it in the same way because this is so harrowing. It is important and incredibly well put together, but so brutal and derpressing.
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Not yet. It is on my list for when it comes on streaming.
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Coming soon, a documentary that will be significantly less cozy, Storyville: Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge.
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Queerness Rating: 9/10
Subjective Rating: 8/10
An interesting little slice of queer history which I learnt a number of things from. It is very conventional in style and a touch short compared to other similar pieces but still good.
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Good morning.
I am reading The Patient Assassin by Anita Anand but I also do need to start soon on Orbit 7 for review.
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Good luck. Hope you work it out!
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Next up, Sandi Toksvig presented documentary Gateways Grind, about London's first Lesbian club.
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Queerness Rating: 10/10
Subjective Rating: 9/10
A great selection of comics from different backgrounds and genders giving their own different comedic styles.
I particularly enjoyed that Gadsby went in with their eyes open on this, describing it as Netflix's carbon offset.
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*hugs*
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Next up, some stand-up comedy with Hannah Gadsby: Gender Agenda.
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Queerness Rating: 9/10
Subjective Rating: 9/10
Lovely set of 5 dads just talking about what it is like to have trans kids, with a real sense of love, from different backgrounds. The only issue is it was so short, I would love to have really spent more time with each of them.
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Next up, the documentary short The Dads:
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Rather than being from the usual trans storytelling tradition, to make things comfortable for cis viewers, it is like Trainspotting and Euphoria had a trans femme baby. I would say everyone should watch it but also ALL the content warnings. It is not for the faint of heart.
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Queerness Rating: 10/10
Subjective Rating: 20/10
This was so ridiculously good it passed all my expectations. I feel like I want to describe this as the anti-Heartstopper. This is an affirming middle class love story but a real ground level messy tale of what queer life can be like.
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Comin up What It Feels Like for a Girl, the BBC's new series based on Paris Lees' memoir.
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Queerness Rating: 10/10
Subjective Rating: 10/10
A fascinating documentary that not just covers a jazz musicians but also reactions to his work and the revelation he was trans, the reactions to this reactions, reactions to these, a play based on his life, and generally discusses trans masculinity.
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And currently watching, No Ordinary Man, a documentary on jazz musician Billy Tipton.
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Terry and Julien:
Queerness Rating: 6/10
Subjective Rating: 3/10
Comedy is always subjective and I didn't find this particularly funny. It is more a time capsule of a certain period. An odd couple sitcom where a flamboyant gay man reeks chaos on an unsuspecting straight man's life. A curio.
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Looking For Langston:
Queerness Rating: 9/10
Subjective Rating: 9/10
A strange but beautiful meditation on Langston Hughes, the harlem renaissance, queerness, white people's relationship to black art and much more.
Very odd but also very moving.
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Definitely something I want to check out more of going forward.
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I cannot help but compare it to the UK version and it is interesting as it goes in a different direction. It is richer and more sympathetic. In particular I was surprised that I felt at least a small level of kindness towards Frank, when in the UK version he is unremittingly awful.
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Shameless (US): Pilot
Queerness Rating: 4/10
Subjective Rating: 7/10
As this is only the pilot it is perhaps unsurprising the queerness level is low. Whilst we do know at this point Liam is gay it is handled (I assume intentionally) poorly by those around him and Monica is not present yet.
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I have done a few of these but hadn't had a chance to post so going to do a quick run through of the next few:
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Unfortunately, I do not know much about the period following the death Chiang Ching-ku and the ending of Marshall Law so lots of the complexities were lost on me and as such the power relations which are clearly important in certain scenes I was unsure of.
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Queerness Rating: 6/10
Subjective Rating: 5/10
Okay, what is with the reviews saying this is joyful and sweet. This was so brutal, seeing horrific repression, abuse, violence and homophobia.
I feel I may have benefited from clearer expectations and also more historical grounding in the period.
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Coming up, the hugely successful Taiwanese drama film, Your Name Engraved Herein. Apparently a beautiful 80s set romance, hopefully a nice palette cleanser after the heaviness of The Long Call.
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Queerness Rating: 7/10
Subjective Rating: 6/10
Not entirely my cup of tea, still feels like it is filmed in Broadchurch style and not much of a detective person, but the interpersonal relationships here are really strong.
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I haven't read the books but so far in the show I have been wondering what it had to do with long calls too!
Glad I am not the only one.
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Next up, The Long Call. Another of ITV's many, many, many detective shows but the first with a gay male lead. Also, Pearl Mackie, whose mere presence instantly ups the queerness of any scene by 200%.
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Queerness Rating: 8/10
Subjective Rating: 9/10
Rustin's personal life is not the central focus of the documentary but it also is not ignored and has a number of lovely moments. Particularly writing love songs about a man but would just use "her" so they both knew but others didn't
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🎶It was a mild evening in March
Twenty years ago plus one,
There was a blonde woman in shop
We didn't know how far we would run,
Some bald bloke took us all
To the End of the Earth,
Who knew that it could be.
Such a brilliant rebirth!🎶
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Nicholas Briggs' section:
🎶There was a Prime Minister and a River
And an alien farter,
Each David Tennant hoped
This series wasn't the last o'her.🎶
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Next up, a 2003 documentary on the great Bayard Rustin.
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Queerness Rating: 4/10
Subjective Rating: 5/10
I wonder if only having watched the earlier episodes and also the translation are affecting my perception of this show. The queerness seems subtextual and scenes didn't always follow logically to me.
Didn't really connect.
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I guess the people doing it will say "it is a reaction video, it will only be seen by people who have already seen the episodes."
That is not how the algorithms work and, even if it was, if someone is watching for your reaction to that, let them enjoy the whole video first.
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Next up, Absolute Beginners. Not the 80s musical, but the first couple of episodes of the Polish teen drama centred around neurodiverse queer polyamory.
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Queerness Rating: 10/10
Subjective Rating 7/10
This is so wonderfully queer and real, I went between loving and hating it. Certain scenes were so relatable and painful I had to pause as I realised I was screaming into my fist while watching.
But also beautiful in so many ways.
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I can see that happening in #3 for sure!
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Next up, Dominic Savage's 2023 film Close To You, starring Elliot Page as a trans man coming home.