halfcactus

Rainless Love in a Godless Land (2021)
Omg I swear I had an entire post about this but Dreamwidth ate it. :(((((( tl;dr this was just an okay drama that is a bit of a cross between Good Omens and Goblin/Guardian, but had very, very, veeeery powerful cinematic moments (the entire intro, and then the Shi Shi performance in the middle, for example!) and a banger soundtrack. The soundtrack is really impressive to me--it's not only cohesive, but the lyrics are actually very relevant and used for maximum effect in the show!!! It's very purposeful about the music in ways that I found EXTREMELY satisfying. The Mayday song is used exactly once, in the end, and there are even some great BGMs that they saved until the later scenes.

I had and still have a lot of thoughts about its use of Amis folklore and I guess overall I appreciated the intention but ultimately I think it falls short. I wish they'd used their artistic budget to have short informative post-credits segments about the real lore and practices.

Other things I liked: Toem's everything!!!!!!! She is the single most interesting, and most well-executed character in the show. Best BGM, best styling (not just her excellent collection of earrings, but her outfits that play a lot with PoV), best storytelling. And generally I think this show did well with visual themes of dualities, reflections, and seeing people through reflective surfaces. I also loved that one scene where Hsieh Tienti compares prophecy with the experience of having to rewatch a movie and laugh at the same jokes again and again.


Midnight Diner (S1)
I've only finished maybe 7 out of 10 episodes, but I was enjoying this as a Sunday afternoon background watch! It's a slice-of-life show from the PoV of the diner's owner (known as Master)--his policy is to accommodate requests from customers if he has ingredients on hand. Each episode is centered on one customer and one dish, and dishes are usually simple, homey, comfort food, from butter rice to ochazuke to yakisoba.

Of all the food-related shows, this is the only one that genuinely made me want to cook and made me realize that I do actually enjoy food, haha.


Jay Chou, "The Greatest Works of Art" [album + MV] (2022)

This is the long-, long-,long-awaited Jay Chou album, though half of the songs appear to be re-releases of his older singles. I think it makes for a good workout album, and that Still Wandering and You Are the Firework That I Missed fit so well together, lyrically.

I really enjoyed the MV!!!!!!! Plot-wise it's a lot like his 2007 movie Secret (Jay really likes his magical pianos), but more artsy and glamorous and whimsical, and with an outlook that is more adult and less self-absorbed. There's a little piano duel in the middle (with none other than Lang Lang) that's actually fun, not just a directorial flex.