Tag: review

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Review

I got to see this at a theatre today, and it was really, really good. If you can get to see it, you should. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to, because I didn’t know if ANY cinemas in Australia would be showing it, but there are three cinemas in my state (two in Sydney, one in Newcastle) showing limited screenings, and I went to the closest. The story is tight (limiting the story to the camp with occasional flashbacks was the right way to go), the actors are FANTASTIC, and the cinematography is beautiful. It’s a very honest adaptation. Even though there are small differences, tonally, it feels the same as the book, and it’s a lot closer to the source material than, say, Love, Simon is to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

I also said to my partner that it shows that you can make two movies with different tones about the same subject matter and still have them be a true account, comparing this to But I’m a Cheerleader. Both show the white supremacy and racism in this kind of therapy. Both show that it’s a fake science, with faith twisted up like a pretzel to justify it. Both show that it’s a system that singles out and crushes those who can’t pass as gender conforming. Both show the threat of ostracisation unless the kids submit to assimilation. Both show that the only way to win the game is to nope out all together, because that is the only way to survive something’s that meant to destroy you. I highly recommend watching both, anyhow, if you’re interested in the subject matter.

I got my copy of this yesterday, watched it this evening, and I loved it. It’s not a film with an overblown, fantasy finale. It’s a film about having the freedom to live your best life, and the freedom to explore exactly what that means, in your own time. There’s a quiet kind of triumph to Michelle’s journey, and that’s more real and precious than any artificial ableist narrative of normality.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

empresspinto:

I really like how The Good Doctor portrayed the Autism Parents™, all good-intentioned and loving their child, but not actually taking into account their child’s wants, and not thinking an autistic person can amount to anything… because so many parents of autistic kids are like that, and normally it’s portrayed as a positive thing, but here they showed that it was wrong to do.

Maybe I might actually watch this rather than AVOID like I have had to for so many shows that are purported to be about me and life for me and AREN’T.

My local Lush finally got stock back in of the Aromaco deodorant bar, so I went in to buy that, and the staff who served me hooked me up with samples of all but one of the tooth powder/pellets I wanted to try, too! (No Atomic, sadly.) So now I can try all of them and find one I like the taste of before I buy! For those who are curious, Penrith Lush has A+ service, very friendly staff, and none of them batted an eyelid at me stimming with a Tangle Jr the whole time.

Review: Episodes by Blaze Ginsberg

I really wanted to like this book. I liked Raising Blaze, his mother’s parental account. It’s a personal account by an autist, which I always want more of. I even liked the idea of the format, which I know from reviews here put some readers off. But this book’s unique style and presentation soured for me very quickly for one reason – the continual misogyny and male entitlement.

Blaze’s attitude to girls his own or near his own age is disturbing. If they’re a friend, he flies into rages if he so much as sees them talking to another guy. If they’re a new acquaintance, he immediately scouts them as a potential girlfriend and demands their number or email address, then flies into a fury again if they never reply/answer. (Spoiler: None of them ever do.) This jealousy and rage even extends to girls he’s never met or seen – if he meets someone new and finds out they have a sister, then discovers the sister has a boyfriend, he immediately ‘hates’ them. That’s right – hates. And not just in a passing annoyed way – he hates them enough for it to ruin his entire day or a song he liked at the time.

For those who might say ‘he’s a teenager’ or ‘he’s autistic, he can’t do regular relationships’, stop right now. This has nothing to do with age or autism, and everything to do with toxic masculinity. Blaze is the result of a society that tells men, especially quirky men, that they’re ‘entitled’ to whatever girl they like. That if they push hard enough the woman they want will say yes and become a reflection of their desires. Blaze’s incessant girlfriend hunt isn’t born of a desire for romance, intimacy or companionship. The book seems to make it quite clear – he wants a girlfriend because it’s the next achievement marker in life. That’s why he demands the numbers of every girl he meets. The individual woman doesn’t matter, because she’s just an object to be gained; a proof of his masculinity.

The book was written some time ago, so I hope that in the intervening years, Blaze has learned more about what it means to be a receptive, not aggressive partner. Because if he hasn’t… well, women deserve better.

This post is entirely about Sebastian Stan in The Bronze

thewinterotter:

Do you like Sebastian Stan? Do you like Sebastian Stan smirking like an asshole while sliding on his sunglasses? Do you like Sebastian Stan in a tracksuit? Do you like Sebastian Stan out of all of his clothes entirely? If so, you may enjoy The Bronze.

I’m not going to talk about the movie in general here, although this is the summary from the Sundance website just so you know what’s up:

In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women’s gymnastics team. Today, she’s living in her father’s basement in her small hometown—washed up, largely forgotten, and embittered. Stuck in her past glory, Hope is forced to reassess her life when a promising young gymnast who idolizes her threatens her local celebrity status. Will she mentor the adoring, hopeful protégé, take her down, or both?

Some thoughts on Sebastian Stan’s parts in the movie beneath the cut, and please be warned there are SPOILERS:

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The Tale of the Terrible Toffee Tin

I am a person of limited means. This does not mean I am immune from the occasional ridiculous purchase. One thing I love is novelty tins, the kind that fudge or biscuits come in. Most recently, I bought a brand of ground coffee not my own purely because it came in a gorgeous black tin with irises on it, and I knew I could refill it with my preferred organic beans at a later time, which I have done. Two Christmases ago, during the post-holiday season, I bought a tin of awful biscuits purely because the tin they came in looked like a stack of books.

I have a problem, I know, but I also a) am a crafting person and b) have mice in my kitchen, so tins get used in my house, rather than stuck on a shelf and forgotten.

Novelty tins and such come in early in Australia, because we don’t really celebrate Halloween at all, and Thanksgiving is not an Australian holiday. So, Christmas merch turns up in mid-September. My birthday was the 15th, and, sure enough, in town three days later, I spot the first cheap and nasty Santa crap outside a kitchenware store.

So it wasn’t a massive surprise that while shopping with my partner in our regular supermarket, I saw this, and immediately gasped. “It’s hideous. I need it.”

Because copperbadge regularly documents hideous merchandise, we took an immediate photograph for posterity. My partner was quick to point out how unnaturally close they’re all standing to each other to fit on the tin. Maybe they’re not wearing pants, it was eventually decided, since Steve’s O-face suggests he might be on the receiving end of some Hulk-lovin’. We discussed this conversationally standing next to the milk fridge, at normal vocal volume. Since entering our thirties, we’re officially in the no-fucks-to-give zone of caring who might overhear.

Because it’s only $5, it ends up in our trolley with our already-over-budget weekly shop.

“What will you put in it?” my partner asks, demanding answers, some kind of vague justification for buying it.

“Buttons or something,” I say. It won’t be buttons. I don’t know what it’ll be, but I’ll find a thing to go in it.

I’d noticed when I picked it up how light it was. Not light enough to be empty, but certainly light enough that I didn’t even bother trying to claim I just wanted the sweets. I was buying the terrible tin.

Later that evening, my partner opened it, and this is what was inside.

Eight tiny offbrand sweets, of the kind you tend to buy from a $2 shop by the kilo. (Yes, I know that’s six, we ate two.) Eight sweets, in the whole $5 tin.

So, I have yet to find something to put inside it, but I own my first fandom tin, and maybe it’s silly of me, but I think the fact that it’s driven me to out-loud laughter twice and made my partner make buttsex jokes in a rural supermarket, means it’s money well spent.

why deaf clint barton is important

actuallyclintbarton:

officialnatasharomanoff:

ok, all you boys and girls who read comics, listen up.

if you read matt fraction’s hawkeye comics, you know that clint barton has been stabbed in the ears with arrows, and as a result, is now deaf.  furthermore, if you read the comics, you know that today was the release of the asl issue.

in case you don’t know me, i’m hard of hearing.  i grew up hearing, and my hearing wound up getting fucked up the older i got.  now i’m 20 years old and wear hearing aids.  my signing isn’t as good as it could be since i’m surrounded by hearing people who won’t learn asl to communicate with me, but i use it as often as i can.

when i read the asl issue, i found a superhero that i could actually relate to, an actual, real, human being, flawed superhero that d/Deaf/hoh people can relate to and understand, particularly those people who have lost their hearing as they’ve gotten older the way i have.  this asl issue speaks more than anyone can understand.

admittedly, the issue didn’t quite use proper signs all the time, and the grammatical structure was more english than asl (asl has a very different grammar syntax), but for now, it was enough.  it was representation.  it was a step forward. (and why was clint talking on the phone if he’s deaf?  honey, if you deaf, you deaf.  i’m hard of hearing, and i can’t hear shit on the phone. like, i get he was letting jess know that it was him talking, but son, you are deaf and cannot hear her response.  but that’s ok, it’s just details.)

so marvel, you don’t know how much your asl issue meant to me, but i’d like to thank you, matt fraction, and everyone else involved with this from the bottom of my heart.  thank you for giving representation to a group of people who don’t really get very much representation at all.  thank you for for showing me a superhero who gets it.

deaf clint barton is important.  

disabled superheroes are important.

disabled superheroes getting back on their feet when their disability makes things rough for them is important.

disabled superheroes trying to figure out how they fit into the abled world around them is important.

deaf clint barton is important.

This.  All of this.  

IRON MAN & CAPTAIN AMERICA: HEROES UNITED Liveblog

vulcantastic:

  • why does the red skull sometimes have a british accent and then suddenly remember he’s german again
  • “a glorified trash can lid” excuse me tony stark that is made of vibranium and you know it
  • “i hope you like pushups, tony. i see a lot of them in your future.” steve r u suggesting ur a dirty bottom
  • steve is literally CREAMING tony what a shitbag i love it
  • “guard those pretty nosehairs”
    G U A R D  T H O S E  P R E T T Y  N O S E H A I R S
    who WRITES this shit????
  • “you’re my friend, tony. i wanna keep you alive.” SWEETIE BABE SUGAR PIE HONEY BUNCH JUST TELL HIM YOU LOVE HIM
  • this animation is so fuckING BAD
  • what is this weird HYDRA skype session i don’t have time for this
  • cap’s run is so aggressive he just CHARGES everywhere he goes like a raging bull

  • caption: ”oh christ i’ve left the iron on”

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