I think I have a new favorite film

[miriam_e]

When Marnie Was There (2014) is a Studio Ghibli film I hadn't heard of previously. It is a beautifully bittersweet story that reminds me of some of my favorite RenPy stories.

It adds to, rather than displaces, my other favorites, many of which are Studio Ghibli films too. Speaking of which, it's probably about time I re-watched Whisper of the Heart again. I rewatched another of my favorites again the other day: Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist -- love the quirkiness of that movie, and its refreshing dialogue. And another: The Wedding Singer. Lovely nutty movie, that.

Past due that I re-read John Wyndham's novel Trouble With Lichen too. I used to read it again every several years, but I've come to look forward to it so much lately that I read it once every couple of years. Wonderful story.

Hmmm... seem to be on a bit of a nostalgia binge...

At the moment I'm reading Cory Doctorow's latest novel, Walkaway. I love a lot of his concepts, and this one is based around the idea that people in dire circumstances don't act horribly toward each other, but become everyday heroes. There is a lot to bear out his thoughts on the matter. In recent disasters people have gone out of their way to help each other, often putting themselves at risk to do so. It is a relief to see someone notice that. We have so many disaster movies and horrible survivalists who paint humans as civilised only skin deep where you scratch the surface and monsters emerge. We ignore all the clear evidence to the contrary... such as this picture of the guy who spent a lot of time and effort and fuel pulling wild wallabies out of flood waters.

Comments

[greylock]

I went on a Wyndham binge about two years back, re-reading some for the first time since I was 9-10, and some for the first time.

Sadly, my copy with Trouble With Lichen has a godawful cover. Still, I was bowled over by how readable they all were (except Web) and The Kraken Wakes became one of my favourite books of all time, and one of the few to ever freak me out.

I'm not ashamed to say, for the types of movies they are, I really enjoy Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (and Silver Linings Playbook, which I always confuse with the former), and The Wedding Singer earned far too much of a free pass for Adam Sandler from me. Hell, I think I actually went to see Little Nicky for my birthday.

[miriam_e]

Yeah. :) I have all John Wyndham's books and revisit them from time to time. There is something wonderful about the banter between the husband and wife in The Kraken Wakes that makes that special. I think all releases of Trouble With Lichen have terrible covers.

Oooh! I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook. That's one I'll have to look out for. Thanks.

I'm not a fan of Adam Sandler, but I have to say I enjoy him in the 3 films he's made with Drew Barrymore -- off the top of my head, The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates, and Blended. Perhaps it's that Drew Barrymore takes the edge off him.

Thanks for the comment. I should post to Dreamwidth more often. It feels nicer and more relaxed here than exhausting and frenetic facebook. Also there isn't the same oppressive feeling of knowing big forces are constantly spying on you that you get with facebook. Heaven forbid that one should ever click on an advert -- you get bothered by targeted ads for ages after. Heaven knows what happens behind the scenes if you click-like a controversial post there.

[greylock]

I have all John Wyndham's books and revisit them from time to time.

I have most of them (aside from a few Beynon ones and most of the posthumous stuff) and I love them. He doesn't get enough love in the modern era.

There is something wonderful about the banter between the husband and wife in The Kraken Wakes that makes that special.

It kinda feels like it was scripted for radio.
My copy has the last few pages missing. I was miffed. Must get a replacement.

I think all releases of Trouble With Lichen have terrible covers.

You're not wrong. This is mine (yeesh), and this monstrosity is from the series I usually love.

(This series is the worst).

Oooh! I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook. That's one I'll have to look out for. Thanks.

I'm not sure I can recommend it, but it's in the same style, and I recall enjoying it enough.

I should post to Dreamwidth more often. It feels nicer and more relaxed here than exhausting and frenetic facebook.

I've been making an effort to post here more for the past few months. It's nice. Sure, it's empty, but it's nice. I do it for myself. I've found myself going back through old entries for various reasons, and it's cool to have a record.

[miriam_e]

It kinda feels like it was scripted for radio.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation made it a 5-part radio play and it works perfectly for that format, so there's something to what you say. It's available for free download. I enjoyed it immensely. I must listen to it again sometime.
https://archive.org/details/TheKrakenWakes_cbc

My copy has the last few pages missing.

What's the last sentence you have? I can post the last few pages online. Or I can send you the ebook. As you know, I prefer ebooks over paper these days. However, for some ridiculous reason I find myself reluctant to part with my paper copies of his books. I don't know why. When I recently wanted to re-read Trouble With Lichen I couldn't bear to read my paperback. I bought an ebook version instead. :) So I don't really need the paper books. [sigh] Human psychology. Is it weird, or what? (Incidentally, my paper copy has the second cover you list above. My electronic copy has the third cover. You have the best cover.)

[greylock]

Thanks, but I torrented a text file, and printed out the section when it happened.
Blessed are the pirates.

However, for some ridiculous reason I find myself reluctant to part with my paper copies of his books. I don't know why
I can't even part with my Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth books. No reason why.
I can't even burn my Piers Anthony books.... they're covered in plastic. :)

Mine is not the best cover. There's a Saul Bass-style one. Much better. Yours is from my favourite style, and most of my books are that series... just, that one sucks.

I must grab the CBC audio. At some point I'll run out of Dr Who plays!

[miriam_e]

Oh blast! I wish I'd known you were a Dr Who afficianado. recently* Humble Bundle had a Dr Who audio bundle, with oodles of stories featuring the voices of many different, well-known Dr Whos voicing the parts. I didn't get it because I'm trying to conserve my money and bandwidth. Oh well... maybe it will come around again.

Do you know of Humble Bundle? They mostly make games available at a price you choose, with much of the money going to charities (you can choose what fraction, and often what charity). The bundles that interest me most are the ebooks and e-comicbooks.

(* For me, "recently" can mean any time in the past few years -- I have zero time sense. When I say I have zero, that's what I mean. It's not like how most people say they don't have a good time sense. I'm genuinely permanently lost in a mist of time.)

[greylock]

I always thought of HB as software only. Huh.
Thanks for letting me know.