Gon_In_30_Seconds

Two things I loved about this movie... the first is something you cover here, that 40 minutes following the first victim, which acts in a similar way to the opening of Psycho. What captivated me was not only the camera work as she moves through the apartment and into the elevator, or the scene through the art museum, but most acutely is what she finds in the man's desk and the tension built all through that scene of going back for her watch and writing and rewriting a note. We spend so much time building up this moment of leaving after an affair, then she discovers to her horror the consequences of her choice, it creates such dread and regret, then the elevator and it no longer matters.

Secondly, in the restaurant when the son and prostitute discuss the killer's (at that moment believed) transness (which turns out to be inaccurate), two old ladies over the prostitute's shoulder at the next table are disgusted by the overheard conversation. It's such a great subtle depiction and critique of prudish bigotry.

There's a lot to criticisize about De Palma, but he's got some great cinema in his filmography.

I would add Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, which shares some similarities to Spielberg's film A.I. The novel is told from Klara's perspective, from the time she is put on the shelf and through her life as the best friend of an ailing young girl. Her journey is a complicated and at times heartwrenching one as she grows close to her companion and the girl's family. Klara develops a mythos of her own around the sun, a power source for herself, which she believes may cure the girl's illness. The novel's exploration of the world through Klara's perspective is what keeps it engaging, as she is often victim to her own misguided beliefs and those who take advantage of her ignorance. But there's also a lot in the book about misguided and foolish humans and those who exploit them. While there isn't a lot of action, if you're interested in a story exploring the bonds between sentient girl robots and human companions, this is a solid emotional journey you may enjoy.

As a big fan of Butler's Patternist series, I see her dislike for Survivor differently. Butler never shied away from sex or discussing it, as it's mentioned in various different ways in the Patternist books. What she seems to have disliked, from her own words, is how that sex was used in the book as a form of sexual tourism, so to say. From the book's Wikipedia is this quote by Butler:

"When I was young, a lot of people wrote about going to another world and finding either little green men or little brown men, and they were always less in some way. They were a little sly, or a little like "the natives" in a very bad, old movie. And I thought, "No way. Apart from all these human beings populating the galaxy, this is really offensive garbage." People ask me why I don't like Survivor, my third novel. And it's because it feels a little bit like that. Some humans go up to another world, and immediately begin mating with the aliens and having children with them. I think of it as my Star Trek novel."

The Star Trek she's discussing here is the Kirk series, which notoriously did have Kirk traveling the galaxy and having sex with every female presenting alien he met before quickly peacing out to go to the next planet before any serious consequences could occur. For someone as thoughtful and intentional as Butler, it's easy to see why this treatment of an intelligent alien species would be gross behavior that she would be ashamed to propagate. In a way it's condoning similar colonist behavior Doro engages in, using sex for his own desires while ignoring the consequences and harms it creates for the others he forcefully involves.

Personally, I think it's scummy to ignore the wishes of authors and creators by publishing this, especially when we have other works that creator was happy to share (compared to say Kafka and his wishes, though that's also complicated to me). Of course it's up to the individual if they want to support this or not.

The dialogue, writing in general, and directing/editing of this show were the weakest parts, which isn't surprising for SW. I'd give it another shot with a second season, but really hope they get better writers.

No Other Choice is definitely worth watching. I saw it in theaters and it's such an interesting, wild ride of a film that speaks so acutely to the competitively fatal situation of slim job markets in the face of capitalist driven profits and automation. It is a great blend of class commentary, dark comedy, and violent tragedy. A display of what we're willing to do to one another for our families in societal pressure cookers beyond our control. It's also brilliantly acted, sharply written, and slickly directed. One of my recent faves.