watching and shameless begging
Last Friends: yes, I have watched episode one. Hmmm. I wouldn't say it was great, but it was not bad, either. The characters are decent, but so far, the three with the most focus are annoying transparent. The voiceovers are corny and unnecessary, as are the constant flashbacks. The beginning with Michiru cryptically refering to "that incident" and "the death" reminded me of Takki's Taiyou no Kisetsu, which isn't actually a good thing, as that drama quickly went downhill in a fiery crash. The only characters who ring true to me are Michiru and Sousuke; the former because her problems with her mother are given good screentime, and the latter because he's opaque - the creepy factor is upped because we can't tell what he's thinking. The fact that he works for Children's Welfare is... well, not overdone, but... we'll see where that goes. I have to admit, Ryo is good. He's excellently creepy; the gaunt face works for him here.

I think they're trying too hard, to be honest, with Ueno Juri's character. Her issues (and Eita's, I think), are bit... over the top. I feel there's just too much going at once here. The main problem is that there's too much showing, not enough telling. Take away the voiceovers, make Ruka's affections for Michiru more subtle, and it would be a lot more compelling.

There has been Gormenghast watching in the last week or so; a BBC four-part series based on the Titus Groan novel by Mervyn Peake. It's a bit dated in terms of graphics (as it's a tv adaptation from 8 years ago), but it's quite good if you can look past the shoddy sfx and the rather overdramatic dialogue - all these Harry Potter actors pop up in bizarre places (Vernon, Arthur, Madam Hoot, etc). And Jonathan Rhys Meyers constantly dives into lakes.

I really enjoyed The Spiderwick Chronicles; it was classic, very much in the vein of old children's films like Labyrinth and Neverending Story. By that I mean scary ogres, goblins and green goo every which way and the protagonists constantly in danger, just the way they oughta be. It would probably be a bit too scary for younger kids now (though back in my day people would show this to 5 year olds, no sweat). Freddie Highmore is SO ADORABLE. I want to take him home and feed him cookies and juice.

Oh, and:

My paid lj is running out, and right now I just don't have the funds to renew it, so I'm wondering if anyone would like to buy me some paid time in exchange for something? Icons, layouts, fic, whatever you want, if I can do it I will!