Happy Easter, friends!
Links
Batman V Superman: Grimdark Grimdark Grimdark dropped Friday, and every last bad review of it gives me life. I’m going to go see it on my birthday. Here are some highlights from the critical carnage:
- Helen O’Hara reviews the film for GQ UK. I literally read this review out loud to my roommate, I was so excited about it.
- Rob Harvilla at The Concourse also did not care for it. This review is especially telling because Harvilla talks about a kid who was at his screening who was clearly so excited to be there to see a Batman/Superman movie—and ended up having to leave early, having burst into tears because it was so cruel and violent. One of my favorite fan interactions in the world was meeting a little girl who loved the Hulk at my midnight screening of The Avengers, and it breaks my heart that little kid didn’t get to have the experience she had.
- A.A. Dowd at The AV Club: “Their conflict isn’t so much “day versus night,” to quote the bad guy, as “late evening versus slightly later evening.””
- THE WAYNES MUST BE SACRIFICED FOR THE COMING HARVEST!
- Zack Snyder is confused as to why people are so upset about the end of Man of Steel, when so many more people die in Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Okay, a couple things: one, said destruction is visualized in a tasteful, implicit way, and two, the guy who does it is evil ginger Space Hitler, not freaking Superman.
- Charlie Jane Anders is actually a fan of Man of Steel, but even she hated Batman V Superman: Grimdark Grimdark Grimdark.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reviews the film.
- Zack Snyder put Jimmy Olsen in the movie as a “fun” cameo—in a scene where it sounds like he is violently murdered. ZACK SNYDER, EVERYBODY.
At The Guardian, Eva Wiseman interviews Mad Max: Fury Road costume designer Jenny Bevan.
The Cut’s recent feature on sex work is really fascinating, largely because I’ve never really seen a mainstream media outlet talk to a variety of sex workers about a variety of stances on decriminalizing sex work. The piece itself doesn’t take a stand, but rather provides a good picture of all sides of the issue.
John Oliver destroys Donald Trump’s dream of a wall between Mexico and the United States.
Anne Helen Petersen on Jennifer Garner? Don’t mind if I do!
Prompted by a Twitter question about why the new Xena series (both comic and television) can’t just let Xena and Gabrielle be gal pals instead of girlfriends, Genevieve Valentine talks about queerness in media. “Heteronormativity isn’t considered an expression of sexuality, but of life” is so berserking true that it kills me—I remember being a queer kid and knowing that any queer media I wanted to consume was at least rated R and therefore difficult for me to get my hands on or trick an adult into acquiring for me. (The day I finally watched Velvet Goldmine was one of the greatest days of my life.)
Margot Robbie has been cast as Tonya Harding in an upcoming biopic of the figure skater. I am very down for this.
Rolling Stone’s endorsement for Hillary Clinton for President of the United States comes with some interesting talk about protest votes and how those have treated Democrats in the past.
I had no idea that popular young adult book Kill the Boy Band features a very fatphobic representation of a teen girl of size. And I’ve heard good things about it, too! Ugh.
Harley Quinn is a blonde again in the comics and I have no idea why that’s so important to me.
The trailer for The Lego Batman Movie is… amazing. Will Arnett’s Batman will never fail to amuse me.
The first picture of the Amazons for the upcoming Wonder Woman film has dropped, and the costumes are… uh. Hmm. Gavia Baker-Whitelaw tries to rationalize them.
Hey, Americans! Nine states currently have anti-trans bills percolating. If you live in these states, here’s how to contact your lawmakers to let them know that this is unacceptable.
Georgia has a more general anti-queer law going through their legislature, but Disney (and the NFL and AMC) have made it clear that if it gets signed, they will stop filming and producing in the state. I imagine this will be very persuasive.
Here’s a recipe for homemade Thin Mints. (This would also be a good time to let you know that Target now carries a store brand version of Mint Oreos and that I have two boxes of them in my kitchen at all times.)
Lynda Carter might play the president on Supergirl next season. YES, GOOD.
iOS users: you can get Day One 2 for free until May 1st! I quite like Day One Classic—it’s what I use for personal journaling—and don’t need the extra features, but if you’re interested in playing with it, this is a great chance to explore.
Acquisitions
Books
Purchased: None
Added: Face Value by Autumn Whitefield-Madrano (via Arabelle Sicardi)
Films
Purchased: None
Added: None
The Literary Omnivore 
I will never stop enjoying negative reviews of Batman vs Superman. And I say that even though watching the “Sad Affleck” video with the music and everything made me feel VERY SAD while I was laughing hysterically.
It puts years on your life, I’ll tell you that.