#Also never have I encountered more child actors with less acting abilities

[b-rainlet]

The part in Captain Fantastic where they talk about Lolita...wished they had done more with that....

[olympivnshq]

congratulations hanna !  we’re so glad to see someone applied for our boy ACHILLES!  we immediately agreed your application was amazing the second we laid our eyes on it  - and the fact you went above and beyond to research achilles’s lore was just so heartwarming. it was very clear you were passionate about the character in how you’ve captured his voice and essence effortlessly throughout the application. so, that said, we’re happy to have you with us with your first faceclaim choice: NEILS SCHNEIDER!

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ  OOC INFO.

I’m Hanna, a 22-year-old nerd hailing from the GMT +2 timezone. I love coffee and drunk crying because I couldn’t pet a dog once.

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ  DEITY  —  GENDER. AGE RANGE.

ACHILLES – MALE. 26 - 29.

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ MORTAL NAME. JOB/OCCUPATION. BOROUGH/NEIGHBORHOOD.

Austin Alexander Pelham-Niarchos, though for the sake of simplicity, he goes by Austin Pelham. Actor / Heir. Tribeca, Manhattan.

☆ﾟ*・ﾟ AESTHETICS.

deafening cheers of the adoring crowd. letting the waves wash over your feet. a confident posture, challenges welcome. lazy mornings with a lover. biting into fruit and cherishing the taste. gilded crowns. teeth bared possessively when you try to take something that is theirs. flippant eye rolls. the constant presence of paparazzi. bloodstained swords. the rush of adrenaline. a child living entirely in the moment, not caring about the future. cities decimated after a whirlwind of rage and grief. dividing your time between two homes. a silver spoon in his mouth. spite is a great motivation. golden curls that bounce as you run. screams loud enough to frighten the gods themselves. a heart tattoo on the crook of your arm. a grin as sharp as a knife. a blindfold covering your eyes at the critical moment. slender fingers skillfully manipulating the strings of a lyre. boys or girls? boys and girls. bones tainted with exhaustion. black sunglasses, black leather jackets, black jeans. it’s this or that – no time for in-betweens. death is a friend. whatever it takes. the dust in your competitors’ eyes as you run past them with ease. a tight, terrified grip on it so it won’t slip away.

☆ﾟ*・ PLAYLIST.

i. so in god’s son we trust/ ‘cause they know i’m gonna give ‘em what they want. ii. some legends are told; some turn to dust or to gold. but you will remember me, remember me for centuries. iii. if there’s light at the end, it’s just the sun in your eyes. iv. i’m gonna fight ‘em all / a seven nation army couldn’t hold me back. v. you people are mistaken if you think that i’m awake and celebrating anything that i’ve become.

☆ﾟ*・ HOW WOULD YOU PLAY THEM?

Achilles. It would be easy to focus on what is known of Achilles’ and conjure an idea of his personality through his deeds. A legendary child with a destiny that had even the gods themselves trembling. A ruthless and skilled warrior who, instead of being deterred by the crimson covering, was energized every time he was out on the battlefield. A stubborn and prideful man who was unafraid to close his eyes to the suffering of others if it helped him make a point. A fiery inferno of rage on a quest to avenge his beloved’s death. All these traits are a part of Achilles; there is no denying that. However, if he was reduced to only these, it would be a major disservice to his legacy. The aforementioned traits paint a portrait of a godlike creature with very little humanity in them. That is not who Achilles is, though. He was half-god, yes, but he was also mortal and had traits which highlighted this part of him. Achilles was a trusting child, for he had been told from a young age that he would be great and, therefore, had little to nothing to fear. He was a natural performer with an innate power, a way with words, to captivate people and draw them in. He was a fearless leader unafraid to fight beside his men instead of forcing them to fight his battles for him. He was a man in love – and oh, did he love ( & grieve ) deeply. Achilles was a man who made mistakes and, consequently, despite his invulnerability, suffered the horrifying consequences of those actions. Did he deal with those consequences well? That can be contested. But in the end, he did learn from his mistakes, even if it was slightly too late. But that just proves that, despite his demigod status, beneath the expectations of greatness placed on his shoulders at a young age, Achilles was human.

Austin. The memories of Austin Alexander Pelham-Niarchos indicate a story eerily like the original hero. The only son of a US Army General and a Greek heiress to a shipping empire, Austin’s destiny seemed clear from the start – enjoy the opulent life, join the Army, and become the greatest hero this nation had ever seen. This was the path laid out for him; and Austin accepted it with a casual shrug of his shoulders before resuming his daily adventures as Manhattan’s boy king. Some called it arrogance, some called it indifference – but truthfully, that reality felt like a distant dream, years away, so of course a child could not be bothered to focus on it for too long. And so did Austin’s rich kid life – education in the best institutions in the world, money, fancy clothes, fast cars, and a large crowd of adoring sycophants. While he did enjoy the advantages granted to him, he could not shake the feeling in the back of his mind that something, or perhaps someone, was missing. This obstacle, nevertheless, was not powerful enough to complicate his future plans, but as he graduated from Harvard University, one such challenge did arise. She had never before openly objected Austin joining the Army when the time came, but suddenly his mother was vehemently against it. His parents had a major argument over it, yet Austin remained indifferent – this was not, after all, the first time his parents were quarreling. He was even less interested in getting involved when his mother, through her connections, got him his major role on the silver screen. Acting hadn’t been a profession Austin had seriously considered, but it did not take long for him to get swept up in the glamour of it. Specializing in action or war films due to his athleticism and ability to fight, Austin knew he had found his calling. Sure, some people called him a particular personality ( a polished way to call him a stubborn, somewhat single-minded asshole ), but what could they do to him? He has millions of fans screaming his name, he’s Hollywood’s moneymaker even after several years in the business, and he gets the job done in a way no other can. Even now, when he’s on a break after finishing shooting next spring’s major blockbuster film, Austin feels like he’s a god at the dawning of the world.

answer these questions:

1. Are they more likely to stand with the pantheon or against it?: I’d say Achilles is quite indifferent towards the matters of Pantheon. Despite being a demigod himself, he holds no special love for them; this was evident after Patroclus’ death when he willingly defied them in order to avenge his beloved. Gods are, in Achilles’ mind, a messy and dramatic bunch (a bit rich, considering what a drama queen Achilles himself is) and he does not have time for that. He fulfilled his destiny back in Troy; now he just wants to live his best chill life with Patroclus without the interference of the gods.

2. what is their stand on mortals?: Mortals > gods. 100%. Achilles is half-mortal himself, so how could he ever despise them? Furthermore, several things in his life swayed his opinion toward pro-mortal. Firstly, when the quest for glory was his main goal in life, he preferred mortals because they would be the ones responsible for ensuring his legacy would remain alive. To gods, he knew, he’d be just another hero. Mortals, on the other hand, would revere him in the years to come. Secondly, Achilles wouldn’t want to live forever without Patroclus (and there’s basically no way for Patroclus to become a god), so that’s another reason why he would rather stand with the humanity than the gods.

☆ﾟ*・ SAMPLE PARA (OPTIONAL)

              he has barely set a foot inside the bar; his hand still rests on the door, holding it open. not everyone within the establishment, but already austin can sense that, within a few seconds, all the attention will be on him. an arrogant observation, perhaps, but a truthful one as well. readying himself for this encounter, his lips twist into his trademark smile ( a cheshire cat, and a veil of secrets all in one ) mere second before he lets go of the door. it clicks closed behind him and, as if compelled by the sound, everyone’s heads turn toward him. the heir observes their wide eyes, their not-so-subtle whispers for a moment ( a cheap source of amusement ) before he strides toward the bar with purposeful steps. with graceful movements, he hops on to a bar stool with ease and lifts his hand to catch the attention of a bartender. “i’d like to have—,” austin considers. his expression turns serious before an idea hits him. he glances at the glass of the person next to him, “— whatever they’re having.” the bartender nods and as they leave to make him his drink, austin shifts so that he’s facing the person whose drink idea he just borrowed. “aren’t you going to tell me what exactly i’ll be drinking?”

☆ﾟ*・ ANYTHING ELSE?

Here’s my pinterest board!

[f-l-writes]

Underground Terrors

Warnings: Major character injuries, blood, psychopaths, serial killers, swearing, death

Word Count:

Loosely based on: The Houses October Built

Hope you enjoy and feel free to request! (Spooktober Writing List) (Ask Box)

Buy Me a Coffee

Mark Lee, also known as your boyfriend, had decided that the two of you, for his rare time off, would go extreme haunted house hunting. He had a few days off and, if you stayed in the are more or less, he wouldn’t get in trouble with his company. Of course, you knew that by doing this, you would be subjecting yourself to hearing Mark’s screams, shouts of “Yo!” followed by nervous laughter at the actors in the house and then, for the aftermath, have to help him sleep. None of which you minded, really.

You enjoyed haunted houses, didn’t mind going through and were usually pretty calm going through them. At least on the surface. On the inside, your heart would be racing a thousand miles a minute and your muscles would be so tensed up you would usually have Mark give you massage if he was around. If not, you would go to a professional to get it done, just so you were aching due to knots.

Now, finding yourself in the car beside Mark, you could feel the excitement swell in your chest. You were thankful that Mark had enough time off to hang out with you and you were more than happy to spend a few days with him doing this. However, underneath of it all, some unknown feeling churned in your stomach and made you feel a bit woozy. It felt as though something bad was going to happen and you weren’t ready to face that.

“Do you know anything about the haunts we’re going to?” you questioned, looking over at your Canadian boyfriend.

“Not a clue,” he responded, a smile on his face as he glanced over at you before turning his focus back to the road.

“So cute,” you mumbled. “You do know that some of these haunts probably won’t have background checks for their actors, right? There’s definitely gonna be some sketchy ass places we visit if we’re dealing with ‘extreme haunts’” you noted, leaning back in the passenger seat.

“Well, if anything comes up,” Mark began, taking one hand off of the wheel to grab your left hand, “I’ll protect you.”

“So romantic,” you teased, letting your lips curl up into a smile. “You know you’re the best boyfriend, right?”

“You tell me at least once a day.” Mark squeezed your hand after the statement, his cheeks moving upwards into that wonderful eye-smile of his.

You couldn’t help but to admire him. He was beautiful with just the right amount of meme-ness. Funny yet knew when to be serious. He was hard working, focused, caring, and everything you could ask for in a boyfriend. He was your perfect man and you couldn’t have asked for anyone else.

Sure, things got hard sometimes but both of you were young and inexperienced. Sometimes he put his attention on his work full time (which admittedly didn’t bother you all that much since you knew what you were getting into) but he always made up for it. On the other hand, sometimes you put your own college work before him without totally meaning to. Things happened, but you worked through them. There was no doubt in your mind that you would last for a long while.

“Where’s this first haunt supposed to be, Mark?”

“It’s about two hours away. It’s an outdoor haunt and one of the less scary ones we’ll be dealing with on this trip, but the actors have been known to get a little too close for comfort. Especially to girls. If one gets too close to you for what you feel is comfortable, let me know.”

“Will do.” and just like that, the two of you let the music from your CD’s fill the comfortable silence as you made the drive to the first haunt over the four days the two of you would be out of Seoul.

When you finally made it to the haunt, it was six o’clock and the place was already packed with people who were daring to go through with the horrors the haunt had in store. While you and Mark parked, you decided to bring up an idea for the following Halloween.

“Maybe we could go to Canada and do some extreme haunts in Vancouver. I heard there was this one called Reapers Haunted Attraction.”

“Oh! I know where that is. Me and my dad used to go when I was younger!” Mark explained, a smile on his face as he climbed out of the car, followed by you.

“That’s awesome! Maybe next year we can convince SM to let you head back to Canada for a bit.”

“I’d be down with that. Besides, you could finally meet my family as well.”

That was a thought more chilling than the haunt you were approaching. Were you ready to do that? Right now, probably not. In a year? Maybe you would be, even if you didn’t think you would. Either way, it was always a matter of you worrying about whether or not you would fit their expectations and wants. You were Mark probably favored his parents consent and happiness over even his own so, if they were to say no to you, you had no doubt that that would be the end of you and Mark.

Pulling yourself from your thoughts as Mark grabbed your hand, you flashed him a smile before the two of you finally began to walk towards the entrance. Hanging on a tree was a clock alongside a digital timer that stated that there was thirty minutes until the haunt opened. You felt excitement course through your veins as you turned to Mark, seeing the smile that was plastered over his face. You noticed how he began to bounce on the balls of his feet like a child, filling your heart with love as you watched him.

If there was one thing about Mark that you loved above all else, it was his ability to still act like a child sometimes despite the pressure and stress from his work. He was able to keep that childish side for when he wasn’t required to act like some badass. You adored him for it and you had to assume that you loved it because it allowed you to be able to be more laid back as well.

“I can’t wait to get started on this haunt,” he raved, his dark eyes glittering brightly as he looked over at you, grabbing your hand before squeezing it.

You moved closer to him, wrapping your arms around his waist and giving him a hug. He wasn’t much taller than you but you were still able to comfortably rest your head on his shoulder, remaining close until it was time to begin.

When it did and you and Mark were thrusted into the darkness of the woods, only illuminated by markers to lead the way, you were then faced to deal with the actors who would rival your worst nightmares and possibly pave the way for new ones. As you walked, everything seemed relatively calm when it came to the actors until you heard the sound of something hitting a tree off in the near distance. Immediately, you knew there was something that was going to start coming at you and Mark. The boy in question apparently heard the sound as well as he picked up his pace, his eyes darting around quickly despite the fact that his smile never fell from his face.

There was a shout from behind you and you couldn’t help but to jump, turning your head to see the man dressed in a tattered and bloodied Easter Bunny costume, holding some sort of hammer in his hand. There was another muffled scream from beneath the mask of the costume before the hell-sent Easter Bunny began to run at you. Naturally, your fight or flight instincts kicked in and you and Mark set off, now following the herd of people who had decided to take a leisure walk rather than rush ahead.

You and Mark, in spite of your pounding hearts and racing pulses, were laughing the entire time until you got out of the Easter Bunny’s zone and entered somewhere else, continuing to follow the red lights that guided you to the end. Somewhere along the walk, someone expertly dressed up as a werewolf began to walk beside you. You hadn’t realized it at first until Mark looked over and let out a small yelp, his left hand flying up to cover up his mouth as he burst into laughter at your obliviousness to the wolf man beside you.

When you looked over, you jumped, a loud laugh escaping from your lips as you looked at the actor who smiled at the innocent reactions of you and your boyfriend before he moved on to try and terrorize some people who were more on edge than Mark and you were. Continuing on, the two of you managed to finish the haunt by the time eight o’clock came around. While walking back, you were approached by the wolf man again as you walked along the path back to the cars.

“You two were the chillest people I’ve ever met when it came to just walking beside. I’ve had people try to hit me before, I’ve had people threaten me and swear at me for scaring their dates. It’s insane. But you two were great. The others I encountered weren’t nearly as amusing,” the actor chuckled before looking around, realizing he was almost out of his zone, and then waved you and your boyfriend goodbye.

“He seemed nice,” you commented as you continued back to the car.

“Agreed. Now on to the next haunt.” and with that, you were off.

The next two days had gone swimmingly. The haunts were fun, most lived up to their names of being “extreme” as they often had the actors get close and even touch the participants in the haunt. Quite a few got a scream out of Mark and a bit of a yelp out of you but, aside from the adrenaline from the fright, it was fairly chill.

Now, on your final night of extreme haunt hunting, Mark said he had saved the best for last. It was another outdoor haunt that was based in the woods near a park. The park itself was pretty much surrounded by forest despite being so close to Seoul, but you couldn’t complain. As long as it was fun, you couldn’t have a care in the world.

As you drove to the last haunt of your four day travel, Mark explained that this one was meant to fuck with your mind. It was more of a psychological haunt than a jumpscare based one and, he stated as he grabbed your hand, “I chose because I know how much you love those psychological horror movies.”

Finally pulling into the parking lot that would lead you to the entrance of the haunt, Mark parked the car and you were making your way towards the looming and intimidating forest. Something caused fear to spread through your body and freeze the blood in your veins. Something felt wrong about this haunt, but you couldn’t pinpoint what it was and you didn’t want Mark to feel disheartened after searching so long to find something you would like. However, it didn’t change the fact that your heart was slowly beginning to speed up in your chest although you had no idea what the haunt really had in store just yet. For all you knew, it could be some cheap ass attraction that wasn’t even that scary.

Settling into line beside Mark, you tuned into the conversation the two older girls in front of you were having, you fear and concern only continuing to solidify.

“I heard people who got lost on the path ended finding bodies hanging on trees. Like real human bodies just… shoved onto the lowest branches.”

“That’s so sick. Hopefully we don’t get lost,” the second girl grimaced.

“Knowing you, that’s probably what’s going to happen,” the first one teased, nudging her friend in the side.

With that, you tuned out their conversation, turning your attention to the woods that stood imposingly in front you, looming and making you feel small. You grasped Mark’s hand tightly in yours, trying to use him as you escape from the terror that weighed on your heart.

“You good, Y/N?”

“Yeah, just a little nervous is all. This one seems like it’ll actually be intense,” you responded, not technically lying but at the same not being completely truthful to the man beside you.

“I feel the same. But we’ll get through it. Just remember, I’ll always protect you.”

You smiled at him before your attention was snatched away at the sound of the bells going off, signalling the start of the final haunt of the week for you and Mark. And with that, you were off.

Though the two of you tried your best to stay on the path and follow the crowd, it certainly didn’t remain that way as you accidentally made a wrong turn at one point. By now, the darkness was complete and there was nothing to show the way but the flashes on your phones that were dwindling in battery. As you walked, you remained quiet, hoping not to attract any actors that may be wandering around to terrorize lost souls.

“Y/N, look over here. I think there’s someone el- Oh my God! We need to get out of here now!”

Before you could even process what was going on, Mark was running back towards you, grabbing your arm and dragging you off in another direction. From behind you, you could hear the thudding steps of someone trailing you, no intent of slowing down either.

“What’s going on, Mark?” you shouted over at him, your heart racing in your chest. You hated this. Your guy feeling had been right in the first place and now you were probably going to face the fatal consequences from it.

“He… He was pushing someone onto a branch… and when he saw me he started to walk until I ran… We need to find the car, Y/N!”

You both ran until all direction was lost. Though the the running of the killers steps had stopped, it didn’t still the fear in either of your hearts. When you had finally slowed down, you began to look around just to ensure that the killer hadn’t found you so soon after stopping to catch your breath. You felt Mark grabb your arm again but, before he could pull you to him, you had run into something. Or rather someone. You let out a yelp as you let your phone light go up to show the rotting face of someone who, as Mark had described, was hanging from a branch.

At this point, the fear was so intense that you were sure you were ready to cry. This wasn’t what Halloween was supposed to be. It was supposed to be fun with make-believe monsters. Serial killers weren’t supposed to ruin it. They were supposed to be locked up for life. Not ruining the lives of two nineteen year olds.

Just as you turned away, Mark let out a pained groan, his voice choking up in his throat. Shakily, you raised the light to see that there was the tip of a knife protruding from his shoulder and a man behind him. The man was mangy, his hair greasy and matted. He had bloodstains on his face and outfit and a completely insane look in his eye. As he pulled the knife from your boyfriend’s shoulder, you were finally able to begin acting and lunged forward, grabbing Mark before the chase began again.

Just as you turned to run away, the serial killer slashed down with his blade, cutting through your jacket and shirt before slicing your arm and allowing a hot trail of blood to run from the wound. The pain, however, was silenced by the adrenaline as you and the teary eyed man beside you continued to run, avoiding bodies as you did so.

The air in your lungs was quickly diminishing and a stitch was forming in your side, making it difficult to continue running. However, you pushed on as you the light of something up ahead. Pouring more strength into your horror filled flee, you headed towards the light, seeing that the people who had been at the entrance were gathered there.

You could hear the outrages from parents who had lost their teenagers to the woods as well as people who had originally come as couples losing their significant others to one of the odd turns. When you and Mark had burst into the clearing, bloodied and horrified with leaves in your hair and tears in your clothes, you had to rush to tell them that there was a killer in the woods that had been following you and your partner.

“He… he was putting people on branches like some sort of sick decoration,” you wheezed out, trying your best not to sound like an insane person.

From here, an outbreak arose, only worsening by the sight of the man in question. There were those who tried to run towards the entrance, following the trail they used to get to the clearing and then those who were too shell shocked to do anything. Above all, though, was the director of the haunt. From the faux cabin the director set up, he produced a gun, his eyes set and shimmering with a hate that could only come from a personal experience.

Mark and you had darted towards where he was, hiding behind him as he fired the first two shots, hitting the killer in the shoulder and in the stomach. He was down like that, as any normal human would be, before the director walked over, seeming like he was going to talk to the killer or take his weapon. Just as he bent down, however, the knife found itself lodged in his throat. Though the killer didn’t say anything, there was the unspoken words of “you’re going down with me” before the director collapsed, blood spurting from the now empty wound on his neck as he pulled out the blade.

Deciding you could no longer watch, you began to make the run towards the car, not bothering to stop and look behind until you reached the vehicle. Once settled into the seat, it was decided to then go to the hospital.

“I’m so sorry this happened,” Mark mumbled, his eyes brimming with tears once more.

“Mark, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known. Let’s just get stitched up and head home. I think from now on we can just stay in and watch movies on Halloween.”

“I can agree to that. I’m done with haunts,” he laughed a bit, wincing at the pain in his shoulder, as he continued to drive, taking you to the nearest hospital.

It was a night you knew you would never be able to stop reliving, but for now, it would be one that you would simply have to overcome throughout the years, no matter how difficult or who was at your side. You may be a bit fucked up because of it, but it would have its positive effects alongside its negative ones.

[beardedchrisevans]

Chris Evans Is Tired of Feeling Inauthentic Sharp Magazine April 2017 Issue

Chris Evans has a lot on his mind. The Oscars are in less than a week, and he’ll need to look so good on the red carpet that people don’t notice how uncomfortable that whole situation makes him. He just got back from a fitting with his stylist. The tux he’ll end up wearing, a royal blue take on a classic, works nicely. Now he’s looking at a night filled with some much-needed house cleaning, because as he puts it, “it’s getting pretty gross.” But, mostly, he’s thinking about America.

“Lately all I’ve been thinking about is politics,” he says, before launching into a sincere monologue about what that means. Because he’s not thinking about congressional districts, or immigration reform. When he says he’s thinking about politics, he’s really thinking about how we’re supposed to live our lives in these crazy times.

“It’s not just Trump’s policies, or politics, or his behaviour. It’s just shined a light on how to treat one another and I question whether we’ve forgotten the technique behind discourse; the actual art of disagreeing with someone while still respecting our humanity,” he continues. “People are so polarized right now, and the issues are so personal, that this rage has crept in and it’s made for very little patience, and understanding, and empathy. It’s almost become not, ‘your opinion versus my opinion,’ but in certain people’s minds, ‘good vs. evil.’ and people don’t want to compromise with evil.”

To be clear, I didn’t ask him about politics. Getting the guy who professionally embodies Captain America to sound off on the state of political discourse would be a little too obvious. Instead, I just asked him if he’d had any mini-epiphanies lately. You know, those discoveries that we make over and over again without realizing it. Evans’s answer to that was: politics. This isn’t all that surprising — as his recent Twitter spat with David Duke demonstrates, Captain America doesn’t need much prompting to talk about American ideals. Maybe that’s life imitating art, or maybe that’s part of why Evans makes such a good Captain America — he really is that gee whiz decent — but either way, it’s a lot to be thinking about, especially when, technically speaking, he’s under no obligation to consider much of anything.

Wait. Just stop.

I’m about to call bullshit on myself. “Chris Evans has a lot on his mind?” Really? That’s disingenuous fluff. And I respect Chris Evans too much — especially after actually talking to the guy — to engage in that kind of lazy malarky.

A celebrity profile — like this one — has three, maybe three and half — major objectives.

1. You want to humanize the subject. Sure, Evans is world famous, and has a body that will make your wife fall in love with him, even while you’re sitting right there in the theatre with her (true story), but it’s okay to like him, because he’s just a regular guy!

2. Justify the subject’s renown. You understand that, while being a non-threatening normal person, the subject also has some quality that you, perhaps, lack, otherwise you’d be famous, too! “Chris Evans has a lot on his mind,” lets you know that he is worthy of his position because, unlike some imagined, impossibly vacuous actor who we all have in our collective unconscious, this guy actually thinks about stuff. His brain is always going, he’s always working, he’s a smart cookie and a hustler. He’s earned whatever he’s got, and, remember, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more down to earth guy.

And finally, objective 3. Provide the frisson of access and the thrill of vicarious living. Chris Evans has a lot on his mind — and you are special because you know this about his mind, even though you are a stranger who might never see Chris Evans in person. (Oh, and objective 3.5: promote the movie the subject is starring in, thereby paying for subject’s time.)

Chris Evans has played this exact Hollywood game for more than 15 years now. (It doesn’t happen so much now, but for a long time, most profiles of him had a fourth objective: make women/gay men swoon in the presence of his shirtlessness. But, a few years ago, a publicist put a stop to all that. Dude still looks mighty good in a t-shirt though.) You get the sense that, despite his non-tortured demeanour, he’s done with the inauthenticity of it all. You get that sense mostly because he’s admitted as much.

“A lot of times in this industry you are tasked with, not just acting in a film, but then you have to sell the film. And it can be hard if the film isn’t, maybe exactly what you anticipated,” he says. “It’s hard to sell anything, in my opinion. I don’t like selling things. I feel very transparent when I feel myself embellishing. And that’s where the anxiety is born.”

So, in that same spirit, let me admit something: I don’t actually know if Chris Evans had a lot on his mind when we spoke, nor do I necessarily believe that thinking about human decency in the age of Trump, the Oscars, and cleaning one’s house necessarily qualifies as having a lot on his mind. That’s me embellishing. And while I don’t necessarily feel the same discomfort as Evans, maybe I should.

So, in the spirit of Chris Evans, let’s start again. Maybe this time with a bit of integrity, goddammit.

***

While I’m waiting to speak with Chris Evans, there are two competing narratives in my head, two possible Chrises I might encounter.

It’s funny: one of the serendipitous results of there being, at the moment, several A-List actors named Chris — who are all, it should be said, handsome, blonde, white dudes — is that they inadvertently create a spectrum of Male Celebrity Persona. On one end, there’s Pratt: affable, charming, game. At the other end of the spectrum, you have Pine, who’s more reserved, sensitive, desperate to show his seriousness and range. Hemsworth, for what it’s worth, resides closer to Pratt. Evans could go either way. In some past interviews he demonstrates a gentle Bostonian dudeness — like, if life were an 80s movie, he’d be a part of the popular crowd that picks on the wimpy nerds, only he’d be the one trying to get his friends to cut it out, and he’d stick around for a few beats after they left to make sure the nerd was okay. But then, in other interviews, he’s honest about how much he hates interviews, how they make him self-conscious and anxious.

This dichotomy, while a natural part of being human, is interesting because the movie he’s promoting seems to deal with something similar. At least to me. In Gifted, Evans plays a man raising his young niece after his sister’s suicide. She had been a math genius and her daughter inherited her preternatural abilities. Not wanting his niece to go through the same hardships as her mother, Evans raises her in Florida, as far from demanding academic elites as possible. The conflict comes when the girl’s grandmother takes him to court, in order to bring the child back to the ivory tower, where she can do something Mathematically Important. The movie, of course, is heartwarming, and his performance is natural, and nuanced and you almost forget that the last time you saw him on screen he was beating up Iron Man with a stars and stripes shield.

But in trying to take her granddaughter back to the Big City, we get a clear picture of the Two Americas we heard so much about during the election. A child psychologist looks concerned and pitying when the girl talks about how she watches UFC with her uncle, or how her best friend is a neighbour played by Octavia Spencer. Evans is an everyman (albeit one that is secretly a philosophy professor, slumming as a mechanic), trying to give his adopted daughter a ‘regular’ life, the villain is a card carrying member of the coastal academic elites. It’s messy, but it’s all American. Both sides make mistakes, both sides are human.

For what it’s worth, he’s happy I saw Gifted as an exploration of the duality of the American experience, but that wasn’t what drew him to the part. “I think it’s always fun to try to interpret films through different lenses. For me, it was more about the friction and conflict that can happen between a parent and a child, when a parent is overbearing and expects too much and a child rebels, and kind of just wanting love and never feeling good enough,” he says. It was about family for him. But — and maybe we’re stretching here — I say there isn’t much difference between the dichotomy of familial relationships, and how Americans relate to one another, and their government.

And, while I’m straining for a thematic through line, Captain Americatouches on something similar. Think about it: we have the living symbol of American strength and righteousness constantly being pitted against his own government. If both Cap and the United States government are symbols of America, which America is true? What does Family mean? Who is Chris Evans?

You think about a lot of things when you’re waiting for Chris Evans. It turns out though, that the Chris that shows up is closer to Pratt on the spectrum than the Pine side.

He sounds energized and positive, ready for a nice, light conversation about his new movie. I’m almost disappointed. Mostly because — and this is projecting — I had decided that the quietly anxious, adonis-with-an-artist’s heart was the real Chris Evans, and this charm machine that’s talking to me is a facade.

“I don’t actually mind doing these interviews,” he says, after I apologize for forcing him to participate in something he hates. “The first time I made a few movies that I loved so dearly, you couldn’t ask me enough questions about them. I was thrilled. But, if you see my IMDB page, at the beginning of my career it’s just evidence that making a good film is hard. If it were easy, there would be a lot more of them. You work really hard on this thing, and then you have to figure out what to say, how to say it, everything felt just a little too tailored, everything felt a little too forced. It made me very self-aware, and I felt really uncomfortable in that environment.”

***

And speaking of dichotomies, I realize while I’m talking to him that we constantly put actors in this maddening position: we expect authenticity, then we either make authenticity contractually impossible, or we punish it when we see it. We expect them to happily promote whatever film they’re in, then we blame or mock them if the movie isn’t very good. On the other hand, if an actor so much as hints at unhappiness during a press junket or TV appearance, we scold them for being ungrateful, or shake our heads at them for selling out.

It’s easy to understand why some actors — especially Serious Actors — would be media shy, or overly sensitive. But, when Chris Evans talks about this situation, it doesn’t come off as preening or pretentious. He inserts enough qualifiers into his sentences that he’d be unimpeachable. And even when he talks about how he wants to focus on directing — a precarious subject for any actor that often comes off like a freshman English major talking about how he’s writing the next Infinite Jest. Evans sounds more like a coworker speculating about making a lateral career move.

“It’s tough, because if you’re not going to write original content, and you’re just looking for projects that are available, the truth is it’s slim pickings. A lot of great scripts that are up for grabs, big great accomplished directors are snagging them. So it’s a little tough trying to find that diamond in the rough. But that’s been my hunt as of late,” he says. “I think with directing you get to do less press. Every time I do these movies, and do these junkets, you see the director very little. So that would be nice to not be tasked with the job of doing talk shows. But, I also feel with every passing year I’ve become more and more comfortable with certain things that, 10 years ago, I was not.”

He manages to sound grateful and grounded, but also, well, like he actually has integrity. Because of course it would be maddening having to promote films you didn’t believe in. Especially since, what with editing and directing and studio notes and all that, it’s almost impossible for an actor to know whether he’s making a Captain America: Civil War, or if he’s making Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Integrity though is not a trait one usually associates with celebrities, especially ones who have action figures made in their likeness.

I mentioned the objectives of a celebrity profile — and I stand by them — but, really, setting aside any thematic musings about dichotomies, and who the real Chris Evans is, the main question these pieces should answer is simple: what’s it like talking to Chris Evans?

It’s refreshing. It’s decent. It’s like meeting your friend’s new boyfriend and realizing he’s a pretty damn cool guy. And on the one hand, you’re not surprised because your friend is a pretty damn cool girl, and so of course she’d have good taste in men, but on the other hand, she’s dated some real assholes.

But that new boyfriend, you don’t spend all that much time with him. You get a glancing sketch, a taste, for lack of a better, less vaguely homoerotic-in-this-context word. You don’t see the whole picture, but what you do see is promising. If there is an anxious, striving Chris Evans he’s not all consuming. In fact, it’s almost as if the stuff that would make him insufferable — which is to say, his discomfort with the commercial side of the business — is actually what makes him more relatable. Because it comes from a real, homegrown, son-of-a-teacher, bring-his-sister-to-the-Oscars, place. Which, actually, is exactly right.

Because Chris Evans is human. He’s famous and fun and serious and vulnerable. And he deserves his fame, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Probably.

[dweemeister]

Friendly Persuasion (1956)

When watching the films of producer/director William Wyler, one notices that his body of work defies categorization. There’s the affluent marriage drama in Dodsworth (1936), the Gone With the Wind-esque warm-up film in Jezebel (1938), film noir The Letter (1940), post-WWII coming-home drama The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and sword-and-sandals epic Ben-Hur (1959). With Friendly Persuasion, Wyler turns to a Quaker family considering their participation in the Civil War – a thematic departure of scores of wartime films, but playing to Wyler’s strengths as an actor-friendly director. For in this film adapted from Jessamyn West’s novel of the same name, an astounding ensemble performance beautifully dramatizes the mental anguish, the tension between central religious tenets and an innate human impulse towards action.

Jennings County, Indiana is the home of the Birdwell family: patriarch Jess (Gary Cooper), matriarch and minister Eliza (Dorothy McGuire), eldest son Josh (Anthony Perkins), middle child Mattie (Phyllis Love), youngest son “Little” Jess (Richard Eyer), and their pet goose Samantha. Despite the American Civil War entering another year, little has changed in the lives of the Birdwells. Jess has a liking for horseracing, Eliza is an active participant at service on Sundays, Mattie retain her love for cavalry officer Gard Jordan (Peter Mark Richman), and “Little” Jess gets into squabbles with Samantha. But the Civil War is encroaching upon Indiana, with Confederate raids across Kentucky (which never joined the CSA, despite not abolishing slavery until 1865) striking fear into southern Indiana border. Friendly Persuasion postures itself as an episodic movie, almost like many Disney live-action movies in the 1950s and 60s. But as Morgan’s Raid commences, convictions are tested and difficult decisions must be made.

Officially, Quakers are known as the Religious Society of Friends, referring to each other as “Friends”. Hence, Friendly Persuasion. Quakers are typically rigid pacifists and, in antebellum America, were noted as one of the earliest and most vehement supporters of the abolitionist movement. Friendly Persuasion is one of a handful – maybe even a quarter-handful – of films that portray adherents and practitioners of Quaker beliefs with the utmost respect, allowing certain details of Quaker life in that most have not cared to learn about. A scene juxtaposing the near-silent, gender-segregated, and unorganized (as opposed to disorganized, which connotes a lack of control) Quaker meetings on Sundays with the nearby rambunctious service of a Methodist church is an early introduction into the differences between expectations for the dominant Christian groups in the United States and the Quaker community the audience is about to be introduced to. The dichotomy here prepares the viewer to set aside those expectations, to anticipate not proselytizing – Quakers, compared to established Evangelical groups, are much less inclined to proselytize – but a presentation of a culture little understood. 

Perhaps most jarring, if not perplexing, to first-time viewers is the substitution of the pronouns, “you”, “your”, and “yours” for “thee”, “thy”, and “thine”. By the Civil War this style of diction remained intact for numerous Quaker communities, but was falling out of style to the point where, today, Quakers have since abandoned this archaic English. Credit screenwriter Michael Wilson – more on Wilson shortly – for inserting those culturally- and temporally-specific pronouns into the screenplay; I would imagine most other writers then and today would attempt to modernize the richly-structured dialogue for the sake of audience accessibility.

Yet there are inconsistencies in Wilson’s screenplay. As beautifully as Quaker life is portrayed and as alternately humorous and evocative Friendly Persuasion’s episodic structure is, the final decisions of Anthony Perkins and Gary Cooper’s characters regarding their participation in the Civil War lacks narrative clarity. Perkins, as Josh Birdwell, has developed belligerent motivations from somewhere or something unspecified. As Friendly Persuasion hurtles towards the breaking point, as Confederate raiders have streamed across the Kentucky-Indiana border, it loses its focus on the precarious dynamic between religious nonviolence and existential tendencies towards self-defense.

One of the most-commented scenes in Friendly Persuasion is also one of the most derided. That would be the opening second involving Little Jess’ narration introducing Samantha the pet goose and acknowledging the constant bickering and violence in Little Jess and Samantha’s love-hate relationship. Some believe that the scene is too comical, too arbitrary, too Disney to be in Friendly Persuasion. But this is our introduction into the pacifism of the Birdwell family, of most in the Quaker community in which they reside. Because soon after, Eliza steps in and scolds her youngest child that violence is not what the family believes in. Her defense of that nonviolence is passionate, ingrained. By portraying this squabble between Little Jess and Samantha, Wilson’s screenplay becomes more efficient by not having to spend precious minutes explaining and lecturing in a more formalized, less “cinematic” setting on Quaker beliefs. 

For Michael Wilson, his screenplay to Friendly Persuasion had been completed in 1946, as Frank Capra’s short-lived independent studio Liberty Films had first purchased the rights earlier that year. But when Liberty Films was running into financial trouble and was dissolved in 1951, the rights were sold to Paramount, which later sold its rights to Allied Artists (which offered a soon-to-be out-of-contract William Wyler full artistic license and control). Within those years between the transfer of production rights, Wilson found himself blacklisted in Hollywood after refusing to provide names of suspected Communist Party members in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during 1951 hearing – this is part of the reason why Friendly Persuasion took so long to be shot and released. Thus, upon release, Friendly Persuasion had no credited writer until Wilson’s credit was posthumously restored in 1996.

At the head of a strong ensemble is Gary Cooper, who was reluctant to star in Friendly Persuasion because of his history of playing proactive characters when violence looms. Audiences would be confused, Cooper reasoned, but the book’s author Jessamyn West convinced Cooper that the very nature of deciding upon inaction is an action in and of itself. “You will furnish your public with the refreshing picture of a strong man refraining,” she told the actor, and Cooper portrays exactly that in the final cut. Though arguments can be made about Cooper’s age (he was 55 then, but this criticism was more salient for his role in Billy Wilder’s 1957 film, Love in the Afternoon), what is clear from the opening minutes is that even a graying Gary Cooper – who reportedly despised his performance in Friendly Persuasion – could still act with a seemingly effortless naturalism that he did in decades past. With subtleties in his facial and physical acting, he conveys thoughts and emotions seamlessly.

Cooper’s co-star, Dorothy McGuire, could also summon similar subtleties but was always less heralded than she deserved. From A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), and Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), McGuire had already displayed a variety to her craft few other actresses could accomplish. Yet McGuire was one of the last choices for Allied Artists for the role of Eliza Birdwell; Cooper – who, if you couldn’t tell already, didn’t exactly have his heart set on Friendly Persuasion – was initially disappointed in the casting, thinking poorly of McGuire’s acting abilities and her attractiveness. But for the scenes where Eliza encounters Confederate troops and where she is directing the Quakers’ Sunday meeting, McGuire displays some career-best acting, showing incredible discipline in her performance.

But the breakout performance comes from a young 24-year-old Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates in 1960′s Psycho), whose appearance in Friendly Persuasion was only his second film role. As the determined, headstrong, loving oldest son of the Birdwell family, Perkins fills his performance with youthful anxiety, wondering about what to do with himself in the world. Before Perkins was typecast post-Psycho, this is Perkins displaying a vulnerability that would soon disappear from his later works. It is a treasure of a youth performance, especially in the scene where his character, Josh, realizes he has reached a wrenching milestone in his short life.

Taking from some of the lush string melodies found in his score to It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Dimitri Tiomkin’s gorgeous score is based upon the song that appears in the opening credits. “Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)” has music composed by Tiomkin, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, and is performed by Pat Boone. As titular theme songs go, “Friendly Persuasion” boasts a memorable string-dominated melody, with incredible harmonies that undergo various arrangements throughout the score (like in “Love Scene in the Barn”). It sets up an idyllic, pastoral lifestyle, which is rearranged into harsher orchestrations and dissonant passages when it is threatened by the incoming war. It might be the finest example of how Tiomkin could incorporate melodies invoking Americana into a film, but his work for Friendly Persuasion is an excellent work that successfully modulates given the film’s different moods that sometimes clash due to the narrative structure.

William Wyler’s Friendly Persuasion is intimately crafted, providing audiences a glimpse of a pacifist narrative more reluctant than that of Sergeant York (1941) and Hacksaw Ridge (2016) – these three films would make for an interesting comparative essay in how successful each executes its balance of nonviolence and belligerence and to what extent each film leans towards the notion that violence can be a terrible necessity. The film is always exudes familial warmth. And though it might not be a film of unshakeable moral or religious faith like some of its contemporaries, Friendly Persuasion poses questions rarely asked in American cinema. Even if just for the very presence of that inquiry, it is a remarkable piece in examining one’s conscience in times distraught and dire.

My rating: 9/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating.

[crazydiscostu]

It’s got it all! This film literally has a character break the 4th wall (with a boat)! The Truman Show has not only been nominated for countless awards in its time but it has won countless more. We take a look at what makes this Jim Carrey outing so enduring after all these years and why it is so difficult to corner into any one genre of film.

This film can be defined as Science Fiction, Comedy, Satire, Concept or Drama, but more accurately the film is a blend of all of these genre elements. Everyone and their dog agrees the film is a giant metaphor but no-one can seem to agree on what that metaphor is. Lets get the more obvious symbolism and observations out of the way first : There’s the Christof (of Christ) / Truman (true man) dynamic between what is essentially creator and creation. The themes of Moses and the book of Exodus. But the most prevalent themes come from Plato’s ‘Allegory of the cave’, an interplay where :

“Plato has Socrates describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them, and give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoners’ reality. Socrates explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not reality at all, for he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the manufactured reality that is the shadows seen by the prisoners. The inmates of this place do not even desire to leave their prison, for they know no better life. The prisoners manage to break their bonds one day, and discover that their reality was not what they thought it was. They discovered the sun, which Plato uses as an analogy for the fire that man cannot see behind. Like the fire that cast light on the walls of the cave, the human condition is forever bound to the impressions that are received through the senses. Even if these interpretations (or, in Kantian terminology, intuitions) are an absurd misrepresentation of reality, we cannot somehow break free from the bonds of our human condition—we cannot free ourselves from phenomenal state just as the prisoners could not free themselves from their chains. If, however, we were to miraculously escape our bondage, we would find a world that we could not understand—the sun is incomprehensible for someone who has never seen it. In other words, we would encounter another “realm”, a place incomprehensible because, theoretically, it is the source of a higher reality than the one we have always known; it is the realm of pure Form, pure fact.” – ‘Allegory of the cave’, Wikipedia

This idea was also promoted heavily in the Matrix. After all this is a story about control.

“We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented”

Moving on – Flat Earthers point to the symbolism of a presented idea, a giant dome which is not as it seems…. I’m not going to get too bogged down in that one given that the Flat Earth movement was started on 4Chan….

But speaking of paranoia – while researching the film I came across a few articles commenting on how the film echoes our current online privacy and data concerns (outlined in a previous post). However I feel that line of thinking is ill conceived : We elect to share our information, doing so without comprehension whereas Truman literally had no choice. He was born into his world was denied privacy from the start. Presumably those articles were attempting to draw comparison to Jim Carrey dumping his Facebook stock and calling out data mining? Who knows.

Soundtrack-wise the themes are emotive and engaging. Burkhard Dallwitz and Philip Glass capture the mood with each scene and build from introspective piano melodies to crashing epic tension with ease. Check out ‘It’s a life‘ , ‘Dreaming of Fiji‘ , ‘Reunion‘ and ‘Truman sleeps‘ specifically. The strings are vibrant and never overstep the mark, driving the scene in some areas and guiding it gently in others.

Jim Carrey filmed this at the height of his career but up until then was only really known for his comedic roles. Despite filming taking place earlier and delays with the studio over the films release, Carrey already had a number of successful box office films (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) The Mask (1994) Dumb and Dumber (1994) Batman Forever (1995) Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) The Cable Guy (1996) Liar Liar (1997)) under his belt. Some more successful than others obviously but this marks his first real acting job as far as I’m concerned. He has range here that we had previously never seen before. It demonstrates his first performance outside of the goofball character.

It’s worth noting that a similar project came out after The Truman Show – EDTV was another concept film which saw Matthew McConaughey (also starring Ellen, Woody from Cheers and Chandlers fruit-dehydrating roomate) elect to become a reality television star (with hilarious consequences ugh). A bit of a flop, EDTV’s saving grace was it’s ability to portray the “everyman”. They showed the effects of having the cameras intrude on the life of an aware Joe Bloggs character. The protagonist being a bit of a slob (and not too bright) made it easy for the writers to put him into that situation and act boisterous in an effort to escape. With Truman there was a child-like naivety that made him the hero of the film. His schtick was an innocence that made the audience root for him.

The deleted scenes allude to deeper plot threads and character traits. There is a scene where it could be theorised that the network were drugging Truman with “vitamins”. A scene outlining a studio plot for Truman to have an affair, a son and his inevitable death (prematurely or otherwise). In this scene they discuss Truman’s son and the continuation of the show which is an interesting concept in itself. In another scene we see that when Truman steps onto the boat – he knows completely that everyone in Seahaven is in on the conspiracy. He appears disguised as a member of his own search party and makes his way to the docks. Once he knows the truth there is no turning back for his character. Obviously this scenes omission from the theatrical cut makes for a more compelling story if Truman still has doubts as to the level and intricacies of the conspiracy by this stage.

I truly feel like Andrew Niccol doesn’t get enough credit for the world-building at play. Every character not only has a backstory within Truman’s world, but so does the actors that play them (within the confines of the world outside Seahaven). I admire this level of detail (seen more recently in the gaming world with the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 – where the NPC’s have lives and jobs and a scheduled day independent of the protagonists actions). We can also see the sophistication of the camera technology grow as Truman gets older in the more “clip driven” portions of the film.

The filming is in itself fascinating. At the beginning of the film shots of Truman appear largely in fish eye, iris and point-of-view to demonstrate the perspective of the hidden cameras. As Truman discovers his world these devices are used less, subtly taking the audience out of this world alongside Truman (to a certain extent). The shift is subtle but wholly impactful. Even camera angles throughout the film make it look like filming is being conducted from hidden locations within the scenery.

As solid as the world-building of the film is, there are still some concerns about the ending : what happened when Truman went through the door? Did it lead into a backstage area or some sort of maintenance corridor? Echoing back to the religious symbolism, Christof addresses Truman from the heavens with a booming voice and Truman turns his back on the creator. As symbolic as his exit is in the film, Truman is still within Christof’s control (at least until he makes it outside of the secure studio/dome facility). And then there’s the legal ramifications of his departure. The studio presumably have a legal obligation to his care and well-being. We assume that Sylvia comes to meet Truman leaving the studio but we have no idea how difficult it would be for him to leave the compound property.

Christof and the network can’t have been too happy about Truman’s departure – Would they seek to smear him using footage of grabbing his wife Meryl with the blade? What are the copyright and consent limitations? Then there’s the serious mental toll of living a lie : breakdowns and trust issues, lack of anonymity. We only see glimpses of the world outside of Seahaven and even then it is only of the audience themselves. What kind of world could Truman potentially be walking into?

Calm down, Stu. It’s only a film?

The Truman Show is heartfelt and sincere. It is all of these genre specific elements, religious analogies and psychoanalytical commentaries rolled neatly into the DNA of what is a solid concept film (which ironically would work well as a television series). It asks fascinating questions about identity and privacy. For that reason I feel it will be remembered fondly for years to come. A time capsule if you will. A snapshot of a time before mass surveillance and reality television.

“In case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight”

    https://crazydiscostu.wordpress.com/

When Truman leaves : ‘The Truman Show’ (1998) It's got it all! This film literally has a character break the 4th wall (with a boat)!

[aoshimas-blog]

The Ultimate Purchasing Guide for the Perfect Foosball Table

Whenever I think about foosball tables, I think back about episodes of Buddies in Joey and Chandler's apartment or condo. "Good video game" would be offered by Chandler after completion of a played against his roomie. The actors make playing the game seem so very easy and also I have wanted a foosball table given that their first video game. Nonetheless, have you ever attempted to play a video game of foosball? I was in a buddy's rec room one-time, as well as he had a great foosball table. My one buddy and I acted to be Joey and also Chandler playing foosball. Having never played in the past, I had no concept just how tough it was. Seeing the small sphere, relocating the gamers passed away to the side and also having them kick ahead and also functioning as a goalkeeper. There are numerous consider purchasing a table, including: Budget plan: If you typically aren't going to be playing that much, you shouldn't be investing near $1,000 or more. Directly, I wouldn't invest greater than a few hundred. Informal gamers like myself could get away with a less expensive top quality table, and that was one of the determining variables for me. As an informal foosballer at celebrations, a $100-$ 500 table might be enough. Who's It For?: When I bought my foosball table, I bought it for my college good friends and I. Recognizing the people I was going to be having fun with, I really did not want to purchase something too pricey. If you're also a college child, I would not suggest spending $1,000 unless you're going to be developing a competitive and expert team. Constantly see to it to purchase for the people who will certainly be utilizing it most as well as keep in mind if they're harsh, or gentle. Table Material: My friends and I are a bit rougher, which is why I went for the resilient plastic. I was afraid that a wooden table would be as well conveniently scratched as well as something made of bit board would conveniently damage. There are items on this list that have a particle board as their primary material. Players: The total amount of guys on the foosball table ought to be 11. While there might just be a couple of poles, we have actually been able to have a 2 versus 2 game of foosball. It's not constantly regarding 1v1 playing. Dimension: There are several dimensions available for foosball tables, as not everybody is the same elevation. If you're like me, a conventional foosball table will be the only one that's perfect in height for you. A standard, full foosball tables are about 2 1/2 feet in size with a length of 5 feet. For a policy table, measurements are around 30" in size x 56" in size x 36" in elevation. Keep this in mind throughout your search. Goalies: For goalie arrangement, there are two alternatives. The first being a solitary male goalie system and a 3-man goalie system. Anytime I would certainly play, I would certainly observe that the round would jump and also hit the two outside men, however will not be anywhere near the objective. I after that understood that these two males function as gamers to maintain the sphere in motion rather than goalies. Prior to I made the large choice, I asked myself these concerns: 1. How small is my space? Considering that I really did not have a great deal of area to extra, a huge table wasn't in my views. This is why I acquired a table top variation. 2. Do I need a 1-man goalkeeper configuration or 3? Depending on your casual versus major requirements, you could prefer one over the other. Always ensure to inspect the choices for goalie arrangement. I chose a three goalkeeper setup so it would certainly be extra fun to maintain the sphere in play, rather than excessively affordable and also not enjoyable. Quality features that I searched for in my search was the dimension of the foosball table, the total style of this table, the setting up, and of course the evaluations. Thanks to confirmed evaluations, I had the ability to figure out which foosball table is best for my way of living. Photos were additionally an excellent deciding aspect for me to locate if I took pleasure in the appearances of the foosball table. Private reviews of each foosball table also aided me establish the quality of having fun. Typically, customers are in the marketplace for a brand-new foosball table because their own have either broken or have not held up with the moments. While I was purchasing a foosball table installation for the very first time, I comprehended the stress of being bewildered by the selections. In examining the finest foosball tables on the modern market, I wish to aid you make a decision that will certainly last you years to come. Upon looking for the various sorts of foosball tables, I encountered both sorts of qualities for foosball tables. These grades are referred to as home versions and also professional designs, although several of the "residence designs" are developed to expert grade standards. Tables like this are available at a consumer level however are a bit pricier, something I wasn't super curious about, yet was willing to try. Higher quality, specialist tables will have more attributes like the levelers and also rack up systems that I mentioned previously. Accuracy is a key consider playing foosball successfully. Any type of flooring that isn't level will have a rough influence on tables without levelers. If you're a person who doesn't take shedding easily just like myself, you desire the playing field to be as fair as possible. Given that I live in an apartment or condo near my university campus, it's an older house. Given that it is older, I most definitely needed to look for a table with some kind of levelling device. Levelers play a huge function in the success of an at-home table. By paying the added to obtain even more, I was able to ensure that everybody would obtain a fair shot at winning. A key difference between all tables close to the dimensions is the quantity of men they carry the field. As I pointed out, there's a tossup in between a single-goalie system as well as a 3-man goalie system. This is exactly what made the difference between "offered" and also "no, thanks" for myself. For those that won't be making use of the foosball table much, but want to have one for household celebrations or college parties like we have actually mentioned, I suggest that you acquire one that's even more compact as well as less about the expert quality. If you're buying it for the more youthful children at your family members events, a small foosball table will suffice. If your events are anything like mine and mainly consist of enjoyable and also adventurous adults that enjoy foosball, I recommend acquiring a bigger table. In this circumstance, the table could be placed in the basement, garage or backyard so it's not in your means, however conveniently accessible. Selecting the Best for Your Way of living For those with a lower budget that does not have an elevation choice, the most effective foosball table for you may be the compact, Sport Squad FX40. For a restricted time, it's on the less costly end. This is in comparison with the highest possible I have actually pointed out and also allows you versatility in elevation. If you're wanting to play on a specialist quality table and you do not have much of a budget, the best foosball table for your requirements is the Tornado Sport Foosball table. This table may be on the greater end of the price spectrum, but the abundant mahogany will last you for several years to find as well as permits you to select the height.

[msbrittanykay-blog]

Summative Reflection

This PlayQuest was incredibly challenging. It forced me to take a more critical look at myself from a psychological perspective and analyze some of my bad habits. I faced head on what has been challenging me for years and contemplated those feelings. As hard as this quest was, it was also entirely therapeutic. This quest was so deeply connected to who I’ve always been that it felt very personal. And because of how close it was me, this quest and my progress felt more meaningful than it might have been otherwise. The goal was something I’ve wanted to experience for so long, but didn’t know how to get there. This quest has been like the 20% Project described in Dr. Upitis Creativity: State of the Domain,  but in our case it’s worth 45%. We were required to work on something that we were passionate about, document our progress and learn through self direction. The 20% Project “supports student-driven problem based learning...proponents recognize that to encourage students to take on work with creativity, innovation, and passion, it is not extrinsic motivation that nurtures these qualities, but rather, autonomy, opportunity for mastery, and a sense of purpose” (Upitis 11). This quest enabled me to more clearly dictate and direct my future, a future I have been carving out for myself since I was a child.  

Stuart Brown says that “the ability to play is critical not only to being happy, but also to sustaining social relationships and being a creative, innovative person” (12). Before this quest, and more specifically before I started my Masters this year, I had been feeling like I was in a slump. I felt like my teaching was getting stale and routine like, that I didn’t have anything really challenging me, and there was nothing in my acting career that was making my brain think in a new way. This quest supercharged my thought processes. I didn’t think a course was capable of bringing exactly what I wanted to get out of my Masters in such a practical and life serving way. This quest has allowed play to be the driving force of a lot of my creative decisions and preparation. This quest has proved to me that “play is what lifts people out of the mundane” (Brown 12). And it isn’t over. This is just the beginning. Acting and teaching is an ongoing process because I govern both careers through the principle of lifelong learning. Eberle argues that “ play is evolution based and developmentally beneficial” (214), like that of my own work. Acting, teaching and play will always be constantly evolving and growing for me.

The new sense of play I now bring within my art, mirrors the way I live my life because “play allows ‘pretend’ rehearsal for the challenges and ambiguities of life, a rehearsal in which life and death are not at stake” (Brown 29).  Play has allowed me, in a funny way, to be more relaxed. To take the pressure off my expectations. To be present in situations, whether that is in an audition or with a group of friends or with my students.

This new awareness of bringing play into my work has developed and enhanced my teaching style. I teach the grade 5/6 class at Young People’s Theatre each week. I have been more self aware of the way I have encouraged my students to learn.  I made room for discussion, to talk about what worked and what didn’t work after each activity. These discussions sometimes focus on subjects beyond the drama lesson as “some students seem to make further extensions of their learning into their lives and the real world they experience beyond their created world” (Gallagher 49). I structured my lessons through Gallagher’s four areas of learning.  I tell them to make mistakes and fail often. I’ve even felt able to make mistakes in front of them and laugh amongst them when I did. It became a more open room where we found ways to learn about each other through the drama “as it was happening [and] not just afterwards” (Booth 14). I think the most effective change was getting rid of “comparing and competing that often create[s] an unhelpful kind of self-consciousness during this kind of exploratory work” (Gallagher 54). We still perform for each other but we do it in the round, so that one group performs instantly after the next. This takes away time students could have for comparing their efforts against others and instead hypes them up for their turn. I have also instilled the idea that there won’t be any finished work in our class, that I’m more concerned about their process than their product.  Our work has been ongoing and exploratory and therefore more playful. This new kind of style has visibly allowed my students to “grow in dramatic ability, they improve their communication skills, grappling with experiences, playing out problems, and learning to use the conventions of the medium” (Booth 17).

My portfolio on Tumblr was also an extremely useful tool in documenting my process. This blog supports creativity. It allowed me to storyboard my thoughts but also source creative inspiration from other bloggers. I was able to have a visual and ultimately visceral multimedia exploration of my play narrative and the way it has evolved to who I am today. It has allowed me to foster and work on my mini-c and little-c creativity, which is necessary for my work because it can prepare me “ to deal with life’s challenges, helping [me] develop the capacity to act resourcefully and to feel confident that [I] may find ways through challenging situations” (Upitis 2), like the audition room.

What have I learned about play?

This passage from Brown is directly related to not only what I face and learn from as an actor, but also how I can use play to shape the rest of my life. “In play we can imagine and experience situation we have never encountered before and learn from them. We can create possibilities that have never existed but may in the future,”which is directly in line with how an actor prepares, but also lines up with what they take away from each character.  “We make new cognitive connections that find their way into our everyday lives,” this is what this quest has done for me, made new mental connections that I can apply and practice during my artistic preparation and use to ease my mental state in an audition room. “We can learn lessons and skills without being directly at risk” (Brown 31), meaning if I practice my creativity in low pressure situations, I won’t always feel high pressure while in an audition.

I feel that this PlayQuest has opened me up creatively and inspired me to continue to pursue my acting career. It has made me want to seek out artistic opportunities just for the fun of doing so. It has shown me the importance in making time for little-c work. That little-c work can translate into my big-c work because “play can be challenging or soothing, rough or gentle, physical or intellectual, mischievous or well mannered, orderly or disorderly, competitive or cooperative, planned or spontaneous, solitary or social, inventive or rule-bound, simple or complex, or strenuous or restful (and so on)” (Eberle 232).  It has also driven me towards other modes of expression like writing. I bought a notebook and started jotting down ideas for potential scripts, ideas I’ve had in my head for years but have never thought of putting down on paper.

While I will always still feel a sense of urgency and nerves before and during an audition, I now can practice, build and channel those feelings into something less fearful. My career will always be considered both work and play, because “play can take active or passive form and can be vicarious or engaging—and so we recognize play in both the spectator and the actor. In fact, at play we may even become both spectator and actor” (Eberle 214). I now know the crucial necessity needed to carve out for creativity and play because as Henricks states play is a “ necessary for comprehending what we can be and what we can do” (Henricks 211).

Additional Reference: 

Booth A. David. (2005). Story Drama: Creating Stories Through Role Playing, Improvising, and Reading. 

[electricgrasshopper]

Raven Dane is an award-winning author of steampunk, dark fantasy, alternative history and horror fiction. Her first novels were in the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Dark Kind series; Blood Tears, Blood Lament, Blood Alliance. These are dark fantasy/alternative history/SF novels about a non human race of vampires who most definitely do not sparkle!

In 2009, Endaxi Press launched The Unwise Woman of Fuggis Mire, Raven’s scurrilous and most definitely adult spoof of all things High Fantasy. A fairy tale for grown ups with a sense of humour.        

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/287640.Raven_Dane

Described as The Gothmother, Raven Dane is all things Gothic. With a ‘taste’ for vampire’s and ghosts, poison and dark fantasy, she has entertained readers of all ages with creations from her inky quill (I’m absolutely convinced she uses a real quill and ink!). She also enjoys dressing up in Victorian Gothic clothing for Steampunk conventions, and has a wicked sense of humour.

  Hi Raven, Welcome, and thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for my blog; Flailing Through Life…

  And talking about flailing; do you ever find yourself ‘flailing through life’?

Flailing?  Sounds very energetic …lol!   I used to find myself frantically plate-spinning, trying to balance work, bringing up my son, looking after my mares and writing. These days, I sort of crawl between time spent writing and  the necessities of real life and my ever welcome duvet. Wish I had the energy for flailing now!

  Raven, you’re well-known for writing supernatural stories. There is the Cyrus Darian series and Legacy of the Dark Kind series, plus many more. What draws you to this genre and what kind of horror do you prefer to read (or watch) yourself?

I have always loved SF and dark fantasy.   I was a precocious early reader as a child and devoured books at a fast rate. I used to sit on the floor by my parent’s book case and read works by Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, especially the Canterville Ghost.  That story terrified me; it wasn’t until I re-read it as an adult that I realised what a poignant, sweet story it really was. In those early days I was definitely drawn to the dark side. My brother and I used to sneak downstairs late at night and peak through a gap in the living room door and frighten ourselves with Quatermas, SF and old horror films. Later when we were older and could watch what we wanted, we loved the old black and white Twilight Zone and Outer Limits as well as Hammer horror  and old SF films like The Trollenberg Terror. And of course, Doctor Who which I have watched since the very first episode, usually from behind a cushion.   Today my love affair with horror and dark fantasy has not dimmed. I am not a fan of gory fiction (unless it is something by Sam Stone, who adds style and great characters to the genre). The same goes for torture porn like the Saw films and  the growing in popularity extreme horror books, they are not for me.  I do enjoy creepy ghost stories; I am a huge fan of Susan Hill and M R James novels and their film adaptations. Ghost stories in a Victorian setting are a favourite for me to write. Other favourites include dark fantasy like Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, his two Hellboy films and Clive Barker’s Nightbreed.

  As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? And why?

That’s a tough one. I have a special affinity with horses and love cats, wolves and ravens.  I would have to choose a dragon though, for its magical nature, grandeur, its ability to soar to distant, exotic realms and to incinerate anything and anyone who gets in its way.

Editors beware!

  What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? What did you do with your first advance?

Did you splash out on something exotic with your first pay cheque?

Not my first pay cheque or advance. My other half has supported my writing all our married life and allowed me to work as full time writer for many years. It has been a struggle and we have gone without the material things that many people have thought essential in life, like holidays, big, new TVs and modern cars.  So anything I have earned has gone straight into the household running costs. I did however, treat myself to a huge golden velvet dragon made by a lovely lady in the US.  Total extravagance though!

Oh, and after a successful morning’s book sales at an Asylum weekend, I treated myself to a gorgeous black pirate ship hat, very steamgoth, very me. I have had so much fun and use out of that hat, it was worth every penny.

  What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I was blessed to be taught English literature by a lovely lady called Miss Curry. She was not far off retirement when she had the tough job getting our lively class through the GCE’s for O and A levels but she introduced us to wonderful things. The powerful emotional impact of the War Poets like Rupert Brook and  Siegfried Sassoon, the ravishing beauty of the English language from  poetry by Gerard Manley Hopkins.  I think the most powerful moment for me personally was the first book that made me cry, to really weep as if for a person I actually knew…and that was The Ship Who Sang by Anne MacCaffrey. If the fate of fictional characters can move me to mourn, than what better proof of the power of language?

  What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Research is vitally important to me, whatever I am writing. I tend to research as I write as I never plan a book in advance. Some writers are planners, others fly by the seat of their pants and get straight to work with no idea of where the story will go. I am a definite pantser. Research can take me more time than writing sometimes but I think it is essential.  I spent all afternoon recently researching a historical find that I mentioned in just one line of a book. Even in the most fantastical setting, research can give a depth and believability to a story , anything less is cheating the reader with shallow, implausible storytelling.

  Cyrus Darian is a rather unusual name, how do you select the names of your characters?

Some come to me instantly as if been channelled from another dimension. Others can be a nightmare and get changed many times throughout the writing process. Thank goodness for my friend, the search and replace thingie on Microsoft Word.  Cyrus Darian was a bit of a blend between the two. I decided he was Persian, so being named after a great Persian king of antiquity suited his vanity. Darian came into my head as a nice sounding name. I used my other friend, Google to see if it meant anything and discovered it was a town in Iran. Perfect. Mind you, it might not be his real name, Cyrus lies all the time and uses many aliases.

  To date, what has been your hardest scene to write?

The hardest was also the easiest…if that makes any sense.  The end of a story arc for one of my favourite characters was always going to end badly for him. He had become more than someone fictional but a very real presence in my life, so knowing how it had to end was deeply emotional for me. But the scene wrote itself, confirming it was the right plot thread for the culmination of a trilogy. Not saying any more…Spoilers!

  If you were not a writer, and you could be anything else in the world, what career/vocation would you choose?

I love any form of creativity so always drawn to arts and crafts but I have no talent and anything I do is just for the pleasure of making things.  I was always a good actor as a teenager, I was the annoying little madam who always got the main female role in all the school drama productions which were almost always Shakespeare. I was the only child for years that was encouraged by the teachers to go into acting much to the ongoing annoyance of my younger sister who was at the same school and  did become an actress. Her teachers suggested a career as a secretary for her.  A mixture of a sense of family duty and the need to earn regular money took me on another path, journalism and later fiction writing. I take part in amateur dramatics now and thoroughly enjoy being on stage…I love to make people laugh… or boo, when playing the baddie in Panto.

Or be one of those smiling ladies in sparkly clothes riding a dancing pure white Spanish stallion in a circus….

  Have you ever had what one might call, a supernatural experience or event occur in your life? If so, would you care to share it with us? If not, which figure from history would you like to receive a visit from?

So many!  I am very attuned to the presence of earth bound spirits since a child. I wish I wasn’t to be honest. It is not something I can switch off and has led to many uncomfortable times in the past. My present home is totally spirit free which is so relaxing!  The worse one was an encounter with an angry, aggressive spirit in an old farmhouse where I worked. Young students at the riding school lived there and though we never told them about it to avoid hysteria, he was always targeting the youngest females, trying to frighten them. One day, when the house was empty for a couple of hours, I went in and ended up being pushed down the stairs. I could feel the imprint of strong fingers digging into my shoulders.  In 1995, there was a big fire there, no one was hurt but the oldest part of the house was burnt down. All the spirit activity stopped and never returned.

  11 And finally, what is your favourite childhood book?

Oooh….a tough one, I have so many. The first one that sprang to mind was  the fantasy novel, Elidor by Alan Garner. I loved it and he is an early influence on my writing.

Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed Raven.

      Raven’s most recent work is included in, Trumpocalypse; an anthology of satirical horror from authors on both sides of ‘the pond’.

    You can find Raven at   http://ravendane.blogspot.co.uk/  and her books to order from all good bookshops, on Amazon or direct from Telos Publishing. At the moment her books published by Endaxi Press are only available as eBooks.

The Raven Dane Interview Raven Dane is an award-winning author of steampunk, dark fantasy, alternative history and horror fiction. Her first novels were in the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Dark Kind series;

[amateurfan227]

Trailer Talk Review - IT and Justice League

Hey guys, I’m back with another review on 2 separate movies this time, The reboot (or remake in this case) of Stephen King’s miniseries based on the novel, IT as well as DC’s recent trailer for the upcoming Justice League which does look promising though it has some flaws.

I’ll start with IT first as I will dive into Justice League more openly, So Pennywise is back with a new movie, I saw the trailer and I have to admit, it does look creepy like the book’s feelings but it doesn’t have the same scares as the book or the miniseries contain; for making a movie based on a book which is over 1000 pages long is going to be quite difficult, I mean Peter Jackson did make a trilogy of Lord of the Rings which is technically six books.

I think it’s both a good and a bad idea, I’ll go with the negatives first, the book is more focused on Fear which is what the creature IT resembles, as well as the child protagonists returning back in the future when they are more older and more wiser to fight the creature off for good. The novel also seems to fit into some horrific imagery as well such as Homosexuality is frequently mentioned as well as Derry’s background history is mentioned towards Pennywise.

However seeing that all the things mentioned above are frequently mentioned in the book, I wonder on how this will be mentioned in the film, another note to add on the trailer is that in the book, there was a bully who tormented the children who went to the same school as them, who also encountered Pennywise who would become a secondary antagonist for the heroes.

I would also like to add on how in the book, it mainly revolved around the adults who were suffering from major flashbacks which would explain why they were afraid of it, mainly towards Billy as he feels more responsible on getting his brother killed, this too is mentioned in the book as he’s a lot more aggressive against Pennywise.

I dislike the fact that they refuse to show Pennywise as he was more of a fearful essence rather than a standard figure in the miniseries as well as the book; that would include the balloons as they would resemble his abilities aside from his appearance. Though the saying, ‘less means more’ is a huge negative when it comes to the trailer.

Another thing that brought to my attention is that in the first few chapters, Mike (apologies for racial stereotyping, the black kid) now grown up is researching a series of child deaths which closely resemble It’s return which is a huge motivation to call the older kids back to finish it off, however in the trailer this is never mentioned, only missing persons posters.

The main concern is making it into one movie as it should be panned out better into 2 movies like the miniseries which got it completely right, though the miniseries had some flaws; I think that the movie however would suffer the most consequences when it comes to adapting it straight from the novel.

The positive notes however is that the appearance on Pennywise looks more deceiving than Tim Curry’s performance as the killer clown, mainly because he sticks more to the shadows than Curry did when he was out more in the open, this would raise a bunch of questions though when it comes to displaying Pennywise’s abilities of fear manipulation mainly shape-shifting into other people as he did in the miniseries.

Though the movie does look interesting, I’m going to have to watch another trailer to give my final thought, now for the next trailer which is Justice League which is going to trigger a few people off who hate Man of Steel as well as Batman Vs Superman.

I’m going to put the elephant in the room first by stating that I love Man of Steel, it’s possible one of the closest adaptations to the Superman mythos especially when it comes to an origin story, though the movie is heavily flawed, it’s easier to see the movies logic to get past them.

A lot of people are stating that Superman is officially dead after watching this movie because he breaks his rule by stating ‘Superman killed Zod’ ‘What’s with Jonathon Kent giving him different advice’ ‘Why is Louis Lane so important in this film’ ‘Why was Superman so important to Zod’.

I can see the negatives in those questions but I see more positives that were answered by the movie’s logic, to answer the first question on him killing Zod, which are a few statements I like to mention first.

There was a reason why this movie was called Man of Steel, meaning that Kal-El is not Superman yet, he’s still learning his abilities as well as his heritage which leads up to the name Man of Steel; The reason why he killed off Zod is that Kal-El destroyed the remaining Kryptonian technology as well as the people who were the last survivors of the planet which gave Zod a motive in stating that he will either kill everyone on the Planet.

Leading Kal-El to kill him to save the rest of humanity, another thing that got my attention is that everyone hated him for killing of the last Kryptonian; may I just remind you that he killed Zod in a noble fashion rather than in the second movie in 1980 where he removed all of Zod’s abilities rendering him mortal leading him to break his hand only to throw him into an eternal pit, only to smirk off after it.

The other question is relating to Jonathon Kent on giving Clark different advice, I only managed to trace a few answers to this occurrence including his fatal death, I believe that he was testing his son at the very beginning shortly after suggesting to let a bunch of kids die such as he wasn’t meant for this world.

It also includes later on which lead to them both having an argument on how Clark should act when he’s older which lead to the ultimate test, letting Jonathon die into leading Kal-El’s persona as Clark as an average person to avoid attention, which is pretty hard-hitting. Though the answers I made are misleading but put your-self in his shoes.

The Louis Lane one for me is pretty misleading though it does show something that we’ve not seen in any Superman Movie, Louis Lane doing actual research when it comes to investigating journalism, this is possibly one of the best things I’ve seen her do aside from casting smug remarks and just being there as a damsel in distress.

Though why Zod requests her to be brought in is another thing as well as her being the one that Clark/Kal-El eventually fell for is entirely beyond me.

And now for the final question on why does Zod want Superman, seeing that he’s the most common villain towards Superman, a lot of people miss the fact that in the beginning of the movie Jor-El placed the remaining Codec into Kal-El’s body when he was young infant whom is the last natural birth on Krypton.

The Codec however was important to the Kryptonian army as it contains billions of years of Kryptonian DNA, which would grant Zod the ability to create a new army of Kryptonian hybrids of modified DNA. Which I believe most of the people viewing the film would mistake as the only reason why Zod wanted the Codec as it was the only secondary thing that was natural to Kryptonian history.

The trailer for Justice League... this is something I’m pretty confused by as well as invested, let’s get some of the negatives out of the way first, the ideas of making the heroes act more like teenagers was a bit of a bad situation which made it more deceitful to the material, mainly the new 52 which the franchise would be based on.

But I’m going to have put credit where it’s due by stating that it is an interesting looking trailer for a team superhero film rather than an independent hero movie, unlike the Avengers (who pretty much killed people through their independent movies), let’s get through some of the characters first, the first attention would go to Victor Stone himself aka Cyborg and boy Mr Snyder, you’ve made a pretty good choice on this one.

I hate to say it but this is pretty much from the comic, a random teenager who was badly injured leading his father to place him in a biological metallic suit which was created by one of the signature mother boxes that Darkseid was using, though I’ve not seen Ray Fisher in his broadway appearances, I’m pretty sure that he’ll do a good impression on Victor Stone.

Aquaman on the other hand was more of a running joke which I despised mostly because his powers were more closer to godlike level rather than just a man who can control water and fish, but now seeing Jason Momoa is playing the character which is given a huge bonus as he looked absolutely incredible in the trailer.

Don’t get me wrong, Momoa is seen as a bad-ass actor in different shows like Stargate but most notably in Game of Thrones where he relies on brute strength when it comes to his character but seeing him in this would be the definition of both strength in physical form as well as diplomatic form depending on which route they go with his character.

The Flash on the other hand is way different from the novel as he’s more of a science fan rather than a colleague with the CCPD (Central City) but seeing that the actor Ezra Miller who starred in We Need To Talk About Kevin, is an interesting choice but I’m not 100% sure that he will be the iconic scarlet speedster that most people will fall for.

Wonder Woman however is something that I’m expecting will possibly be the greatest out of the film as she was more independent in the New 52 as she would be more active towards her own missions which would allow the league to join her, such as going after Cheetah (whom was a former friend when she arrived in the U.S.A from Themyscira.

As well as Batman for example who I believe would show the same aggression towards the oncoming threats that would scour our world but though the trailer as he searches for the other heroes, it appears that he’s more able to find the truth on others aside from seeking Clark’s/Kal-El’s forgiveness for attacking him in the first place.

Though the trailer does look interesting in some parts such as the introduction of James Gordon as well as the landscapes that Bruce Wayne goes to find Aquaman as well as the visual effects of what’s to come towards the movie, though the main problem is the fact that it’s more based on being kid friendly which is something I do admire but at least make it less childish or less immature towards the future trailers.

There is another trailer talk review in development which will come shortly after this will be posted.

I would also like to post my sincere apologies that I’ve placed less reviews this year which is going to change very quickly.