Watching - April 2022

Definitely, Maybe (2008)

A very enjoyable romcom, enhanced by Ryan Reynolds doing, well, himself, and an element of mystery during the story. The only slightly jarring note is that there is no big reconciliation at the end, which seems more realistic but less commercial.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Iconic, classic and unclassifiable. Just brilliant in all respects. Even the behind the scenes footage (in the making of featurette) of Mary Elizabeth Winstead practicing her big-eyed anime looks to camera doesn't spoil the magic.

Musical Elitism - Why it is EVERYWHERE (2022)

A long form YouTube video, suggested to me by B. The slightly click-bait-y title is a bit misleading, because what I think this is actually complaining about is that "classical" music is seen as elitist, and that that's wrong. But music changes, music tastes change and evolve and isn't necessarily a bad thing - as Tantacrul (the guy who made this) points out very entertainingly in another video. So people don't want to play or hear classical music as much any more? Music making itself has never been more accessible. That's the main thing, surely. (He's spot on about the ludicrous over-adulation accorded to successful rock and pop musicians though. Bob Dylan, "genius"? ffs)

The Wrecking Crew (2008)

I've wanted to watch this for ages, but actually it turned out to be a bit disappointing. The Wrecking Crew were musical legends, but there's very little here of them actually playing music - plenty about the songs they played on, some stories about who they worked with, but almost nothing of how they worked together. Perhaps this is because it's not a documentary for musicians, it's for a more mainstream audience, about musicians, which is why it spends so long going on about how unknown these people were. Given that I already knew who they were, this was a bit redundant for me. (as an aside, having been unable to find this to watch anywhere for years, I finally watched a hooky upload on YouTube, which I feel a smidge guilty about.)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2022)

Well-made and hits all the obvious marks, but possibly a little predictable. I find the Marvel films a bit formulaic these days, but Tom Holland is engaging and the whole thing with the three separate Spider-Men was cool - in fact, I could have done with more of that. The ending was a bit sad, so obviously a set up for the next one. Watched with the family, and only slightly spoiled by teenagers snickering through the more emotional scenes.