stormsewer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stormsewer) wrote2020-06-15 08:27 am
stormsewer) wrote2020-06-15 08:27 am
2020 Hugo picks: Best Dramatic Presentations, etc.
While we're all holding our breath waiting for me to finish the nominated novels, I thought I'd write up some thoughts on those of the other categories (besides Best Short Story, Novelette, Novella, and Novel) that I have opinions on.
Let's start with a complete ranking of nominees for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, and then go from there. Like the novellas, these fell pretty neatly into "no thank you" and "yes, please!" categories.
6. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
The conflict between good and evil reaches its zenith as the true big bad is revealed.
I just. Ugh. For all that there were things about The Last Jedi that bugged me, at least it seemed to be taking the franchise in some refreshing new directions. This one just pulled us right back into the same old, same old, just unartfully dialed up to 11. It was pretty, though.
5. Avengers: Endgame
The battle of everyone versus Thanos reaches its conclusion.
So, that's finally over. I don't really like big ensemble films like this, and I find Thanos a pretty boring big bad. How long before they just reboot everything?
4. Captain Marvel
A super-powered alien special forces agent learns she has a deep connection to Earth.
I don't remember much of this now, except that I'm a sucker for 90s nostalgia, and that I would have thought that arguably the most powerful Avenger would have had a more interesting and meaningful route to getting her powers than standing next to an exploding spaceship engine.
3. Russian Doll
A woman keeps dying and returning to the same moment to start again, and tries to figure out what's going on.
I'm a fan of plot devices like this [1], and the characters were interesting, if sometimes annoying.
2. Us
An army of doppelgangers suddenly appears, intent on killing their double in conventional society.
I used to have nightmares about evil doppelgangers when I was a kid [2], so this hit me pretty hard. I was unsure of whether I liked it until the very end, though. It's almost required that a film like this have a twist ending; the question is whether it's going to be a good one. This one I found very satisfying. And Lupita Nyong'o was so so good in it.
1. Good Omens
The Antichrist is born on Earth, but due to some bungling, he ends up being raised by the wrong family, giving an angel and a devil a chance to work together to prevent the apocalypse.
I love the book this is based on, and this is a wonderful and worthy adaptation. I am always here for deconstructions of good/evil dichotomies.
Okay, what else is there?
For Best Series, I'll probably vote for the The Expanse, since that's the only one I've read any of, and I enjoyed it, and the series seems to have a good reputation.
For Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, the only one I watched was "The Answer," the episode of The Good Place, but it's the only one I need to watch, since I think The Good Place might be the best TV show ever made.
You know what, I think that's all I've got this year. I could vote for Our Opinions Are Correct for Fancast again, but since it won last year, that's uninteresting. I'm on track to finish reading the novels nominations by the end of the month, so I might check out some of the nominees for the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (not a Hugo), but I doubt I'll get to all of them.
[1] "Isn't it great how we're all better people?"
[2] One such nightmare in particular that featured an evil Big Bird has stuck with me all my life.
See also:
Short stories
Novelettes
Novellas
Let's start with a complete ranking of nominees for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, and then go from there. Like the novellas, these fell pretty neatly into "no thank you" and "yes, please!" categories.
6. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
The conflict between good and evil reaches its zenith as the true big bad is revealed.
I just. Ugh. For all that there were things about The Last Jedi that bugged me, at least it seemed to be taking the franchise in some refreshing new directions. This one just pulled us right back into the same old, same old, just unartfully dialed up to 11. It was pretty, though.
5. Avengers: Endgame
The battle of everyone versus Thanos reaches its conclusion.
So, that's finally over. I don't really like big ensemble films like this, and I find Thanos a pretty boring big bad. How long before they just reboot everything?
4. Captain Marvel
A super-powered alien special forces agent learns she has a deep connection to Earth.
I don't remember much of this now, except that I'm a sucker for 90s nostalgia, and that I would have thought that arguably the most powerful Avenger would have had a more interesting and meaningful route to getting her powers than standing next to an exploding spaceship engine.
3. Russian Doll
A woman keeps dying and returning to the same moment to start again, and tries to figure out what's going on.
I'm a fan of plot devices like this [1], and the characters were interesting, if sometimes annoying.
2. Us
An army of doppelgangers suddenly appears, intent on killing their double in conventional society.
I used to have nightmares about evil doppelgangers when I was a kid [2], so this hit me pretty hard. I was unsure of whether I liked it until the very end, though. It's almost required that a film like this have a twist ending; the question is whether it's going to be a good one. This one I found very satisfying. And Lupita Nyong'o was so so good in it.
1. Good Omens
The Antichrist is born on Earth, but due to some bungling, he ends up being raised by the wrong family, giving an angel and a devil a chance to work together to prevent the apocalypse.
I love the book this is based on, and this is a wonderful and worthy adaptation. I am always here for deconstructions of good/evil dichotomies.
Okay, what else is there?
For Best Series, I'll probably vote for the The Expanse, since that's the only one I've read any of, and I enjoyed it, and the series seems to have a good reputation.
For Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, the only one I watched was "The Answer," the episode of The Good Place, but it's the only one I need to watch, since I think The Good Place might be the best TV show ever made.
You know what, I think that's all I've got this year. I could vote for Our Opinions Are Correct for Fancast again, but since it won last year, that's uninteresting. I'm on track to finish reading the novels nominations by the end of the month, so I might check out some of the nominees for the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (not a Hugo), but I doubt I'll get to all of them.
[1] "Isn't it great how we're all better people?"
[2] One such nightmare in particular that featured an evil Big Bird has stuck with me all my life.
See also:
Short stories
Novelettes
Novellas