What I've been watching - May

 Hey guys,

I thought I would do an update about the different TV shows and movies that I've watched in May, as I'm always searching for good recommendations, maybe it would be helpful for someone. However, I didn't want the list to be too long but if I wait until the end of May I think this is exactly what it's going to happen.

1. The TRIAL 

Yes, I got sucked into it. Well, I was interested in it before it started, but then I thought okay, it's for six weeks around 8 hours a day, it's almost impossible to keep up. And that's true. I'm still on day 10. But it's so addictive. There is a song about it - go listen to it if you haven't. Like everyone else, I was surprised by some of the revelations that have come to light - mainly about Johnny's childhood. It seems like almost all of the most famous actors had a terrible childhood. I'm glad that the trial is public because I was hesitant to believe Amber back in 2016 and I was hit with "Are you serious? She is the victim here!" There are a lot of lessons to be learned by this trial - if you have major issues at the beginning of the relationship - DON'T GET MARRIED. Actually, with the laws in the USA, I'm baffled that there are still people who do want to tie the knot. But love makes us do stupid shit. The memes that have come out are also top-notch. Seriously, this trial is a gold mine. If you feel like you don't have the time for everything just watch Johnny and Amber's testimonies. Although I still have time before I reach Amber's I've watched numerous Tik Tok videos and I think it would be a struggle to sit through hers. The audacity and the bad acting are too much.

2. The White Queen and The White Princess

These are two different shows but I want to talk about them together as they're intertwined. They're historical TV series based on the books by Philippa Gregory. I have a love-hate relationship with her. I'm an avid historical fiction reader and she writes about the periods I'm most interested in, however, there's something off about her writing. Maybe it's because all of her heroines sound the same. I really can't put my finger on it. I want to point out that as this is fiction, not everything is 100% accurate, so I'm just commenting on the TV shows and how they portrayed the characters.

 Anyway, the story is about Elizabeth Woodville (the white queen) and her life - all of the struggles she had to face during her lifetime, and Margaret Beaufort and how she got an idea stuck into her head and did everything in her power to implement it.  The two women were put in contrast throughout the whole series. One is a witch and the other is a religious fanatic. One was thrust into power by falling in love and marrying a king (although I'm not really sure she loved him when she married him, or she just wanted something-something), the other one sought it relentlessly. However, they both ended up in almost the same position. They both wanted the throne for their children.

The White Princess is the continuation of the story so we have a lot of the previous characters but this time with different actors, which had its merit in some cases. I think it was weaker than The White Queen but still, it is a way for you to move to the next part of the story and understand a lot of what happened with Henry the Eight. 

I really try to be concise here so I'm just going to say that the character of Margaret is the epitome of a narcissistic/toxic parent. 

3. Our Father

This is a documentary about a fertility doctor who inseminated his patients with his own sperm in the 70s and 80s. It's the story of the siblings and how they found each other and how they did everything they could to make him pay. The known siblings are close to 100. And the worst thing is at the end they said that 44 other doctors were also discovered to have done the same.

 It just shows once again that humans are despicable. Some people could argue that if the women had fertility issues and they needed a donor then it isn't thaaat much of a deal, as the sperm has to come from somewhere. However, he did this to women who were supposed to use the sperm of their own husbands. Can you imagine 30-40 years later to learn that your daughter isn't biologically yours?  Doctor Cline also had different health issues including autoimmune disease which he passed on to his "children", which is also hypocritical as people with such health issues wouldn't be allowed to be donors in the first place. 

4. Emma.

I read the book recently and was reminded of how much I like Jane Austen. 

The movie is aesthetically beautiful but I'm not really a big fan of it. First, Emma's depiction is off. Anya is a great actress but Emma is supposed to be charming, despite being spoiled. But I saw her more as an arrogant ass here. Mr. Knightley also feels a little bit off. There was absolutely no need for him to be first introduced in the film as he woke up completely naked. If it was for the shock value it was pointless. The movie did a good job of showing the ridiculousness and quirkiness of the side characters but the scenes gave me the feeling of being too chopped off and glued together. Basically, the story didn't flow naturally.  I barely managed to get through the second half. But again, I want to point out that it was absolutely stunning aesthetically.

5. Senior Year

At first, I was hesitant to watch it as I thought it would be a waste of time. It was surprisingly refreshing. The story follows a girl who had an accident her senior year, fell into a coma, and woke up 20 years later as 37 years old. The humor is light, there isn't too much wokeness and it's lighthearted. It felt like I was watching a movie from the early 2000s.

Okay, that's all for today.