#Also when I first saw the trailer for it I was in a theater in Amherst MA

[muhammadgiovanni]

Bob Carpenter “Miracle Man” Silent Passage, 1975.

[animationismycomfort]

bruh being born in the 2000s is so weird cause I grew up with one tmnt show was around when another came out and ended and I’m now around for another new release

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

This is off topic but the switch direct featured a game called Disney villains cursed café, and it got me thinking, what if Yuu ran a café in twst

I saw the trailer myself and instantly thought of Twst! 😭

Maybe Yuu wouldn’t be able to have their own café (lack of capital for startup), but they could be the Mostro Lounge’s barista or something? They have what appears to be a bar-like area:

It could be considered a part-time job to supplement the monthly allowance Crowley gives Yuu! It’d also be a good way for them to spread the Magic of Friendship and interact with the student body way more than what is shown in the main story.

If that part-time job goes well and Yuu enjoys it, maybe it could be a viable career path for them once they graduate NRC (assuming they don't find a way back to their world)? With a degree from a prestigious arcane academy + connections built by then, Yuu could surely net some financial backers and set up shop in Foothill Town (or even on NRC campus!). They could even have drinks and sweets themed after the dorms of inspired by their classmates. Since a lot of the expendable items in Twst gameplay are edible, it would also be so cool if Yuu recreated them for their business. Friendship Popcorn, Leaping Macarons, Rich Card Cookies, Limelight Waffles, Lucky Cupcakes, Starshards, Friendship Tea, Secret Snacks, breads drizzled with Blooming Honey, etc. It sounds like the beginning of a cozy fantasy novel www

In Disney Villains Cursed Café because I want to talk about how silly it is, you play the part of a "potionista" and serve magical brews to various Disney villains in a modern setting. Your choices will influence the villains' ambitions and result in different things happening in their storylines! Some stories teased include:

Gaston attempting to impress his golfing buddies

Hook wanting to be the star of a community theater production

Maleficent seeking to dominate on social media

Ursula becoming a reality TV sensation

The art style is very stylish, and I'm always a sucker for games involving food and fairy tale motifs 🤡

Some customers you'll meet include Ursula, Gaston, Jafar, Captain Hook. Cruelle De Vil, and Maleficent (in casual wear!). asdbasoydasd The Mistress of Evil using her staff as a selfie stick in the promo art makes me laugh a little 😅 Gaston looking preppy and athletic is also super fitting, but Jafar looks so different in a hat and suit that I had to do a double-take when I first saw him.

If you pay close attention, you'll also find Easter eggs in the decor and background! For example, Flotsam and Jetsam are in a glass container on the left of your counter, and the Magic Mirror seems to be mounted on the right. You'll find customers seated at tables and enjoying their drinks (JAFAR WHY ARE YOU HUNCHED OVER LIKE THAT... I also spot what seems to be the Evil Queen in one screenshot?)

Yzma also makes an appearance; apparently, she helps you with ingredients upgrades to make even more powerful potions.

THIS IS SO SILLY... My brain is just superimposing the NRC boys in these scenarios and that magnifies the silliness 😭

Ursula's "I went to the beach today and NO ONE wanted to make a deal with me" gives Azul being dramatic on an NRC school beach trip energy OTL Maleficent wanting to be a social media influencer is so ironic given that Malleus doesn't know how tf to use technology and regularly breaks phones... Vargas going on a golfing trip... Crewel wanting a hot brew to take the edge off of dealing with unruly pups all day... TWEELS CRAMMED INTO A JAR FOR THE AESTHETIC... Paparazzi trying to sneak a photo of Vil at a café... Jamil being a chuuni by declaring his drink teleports him to a powerful lamp, only to reappear a yard away under a ceiling fixture lamp... This just SCREAMS of the NRC students/staff terrorizing a local business/j Not me hoping that fan artists do crossover art/art inspired by interactions in this game...

[philip-the-nickel]

Marketing did Elemental DIRTY

Just saw the movie, it was well worth the watch. The trailer made the movie look like some half assed race metaphor Zootopia ripoff with a canned, rehashed love story you've seen a million times.

Let me be clear, Elemental was none of the things the trailer made you believe it was.

First things first, The Romance:

There's a reason aro/ace people are flocking to this movie. The main couple falls in love without having to rely on any passionate kisses or hand holding; they fall for each other based on who they are, their personalities, their interests, their appreciation of the other's uniqueness. The central hand holding comes at a point in the movie well after the two are established as a couple, and have gone on many dates together. This movie makes their characters fall in love over mutual appreciation, not physical chemistry, and its such a genuine, sweet, wholesome romance to see play out

On top of that, this movie goes into a lot of aspects of immigrant life and the expectations that come with being a first born in a new country. The romance does not shy away from this or sweep it under the rug. The romance blossoms as the two learn more about each other, and come to understand and respect those differences.

Second, the movie isn't about romance, its about being an immigrant.

I came into this movie expecting zootopia 2: now with elements, and what I got was a heart-wrenching look into the life of a first generation child in a new land, born to immigrant parents. The movie absolutely does NOT sugar coat things, showing not only an ellis island moment of having your name changed, but also a number of topics ranging from having to navigate in a city made for people who are nothing like you, being denied housing, micro-aggressions, and straight up being denied entry to public places based on who you are.

The true heart of this movie is about the child of immigrants realizing the life she wants for herself, struggling with disappointing people who gave up everything they had so they could give you a better life, repaying that sacrifice and what a burden it feels like, and somehow facing the truth of who and what is staring back at you from the mirror.

Third, and lastly, the movie is absolutely beautiful

The trailers did this movie dirty. You never saw the refracting lights from firelight streaming through water, you didn't see the glassblowing, or how the fire dies down to barely a wisp when Ember is sad to burning like a wildfire when she's angry. You didn't see the scene underwater with the tree and |Spoilers|, you didn't see the world building or the character design that went into the background characters. This movie is absolutely beautiful, and uses light as both a visual treat and a metaphor for the movie's themes. Its absolutely gorgeous.

So, if you're wondering whether to skip this movie or watch it, I'm telling you now: ignore the trailers and go see this in theaters.

[mochifiction]

I Saw Transformers One Early Last Week. Let’s Talk About It!!! (SPOILER FREE)

EXPECTATIONS

I’m going to be honest, I had very very low expectations for this movie for a multitude of reasons. The first was the cast, particularly choosing celebrity hires instead of professional voice actors for a franchise where dialogue delivery means SO MUCH historically and the present. I like Chris Hemsworth, I do, but I am so attached to Orion Pax that I did NOT see him as someone fit for the role. I was also afraid of it becoming a WFC situation where the VA tries TOO HARD to be Peter Cullen. I am also a huge fan of Elita One, and Scarlett Johansson was not my first choice by any means. The one thing giving me hope was the fact that Scarlett and Chris interact SO WELL in their films together and in press releases and they do give off that Orion and Elita energy sometimes. Regardless, I was skeptical.

Now for the big thing: I was very nervous how they were going to handle the politics and the buildup that leads to Megatronus and Orion’s separation. It is no secret that Pre-War Cybertron in many continuities begins with a very corrupt and fascist Senate. Corrupted Senators, capitalistic manipulation and unethical abuse, dehumanization, corporal punishment, you name it, Cybertron had it. The concepts of functionalism, shadowplay, mnemosurgery, and empurata also come to mind. It is also no secret that the United States is on the brink of total fascism. A lot of Pre-War Cybertron’s themes, particularly the Decepticon cause in its early days as a movement, emphasized the elimination of the oppressive regime and reconstruction with an end to the very infrastructure that caused class division and brutalization of Cybertronian bodies. Not only this, but Megatronus and Orion’s schism often comes because of class, particularly privilege and lack thereof, which is something that often happens in revolution. Those with more privilege often think that reform can happen underneath the system that looms over them, just with a switching of a guard and elimination of a few policies. They are often ones who partook in and benefitted from the system by birth or for the sake of survival. Those who come from the lower classes want to burn the entire system down, understanding in its entirety that its very infrastructure is unstable and is not sustainable, no matter who is in power. Examples of this divide despite deep friendship and similar ideas is Andres Bonifacio and Jose Rizal of the Philippines (as a Filipino). Orion, in most cases coming from a privileged background, saw hope in simple reform after extracting the corrupt portions of the federal structure. Megatronus, who fought his whole life to be deemed as sentient, understood that the entire system was diseased and could not go on. It would just eventually continue its horrid practices. I can go on a tangent about this, as someone who studies and writes on anti-colonialism, but that’s another post for another day. My concern based on the trailers was that it would address NONE of that and there would be some watered down conflict that removed the nuances and political passion behind a lot of other continuities. The trailers, to me, were not giving me enough proof that it would be handled correctly.

Initial Experience

My theater was filled with mostly adults of various ages who were fans of different continuities. Some people were even talking about how they thought the movie was going to suck, including me with my dad, who has been a fan since G1 in the 80s and was going in blind. However, throughout the entire film, the whole theater was laughing, gasping, cheering, clapping, and screaming. Afterwards, there were people who were literally talking about how it was the movie they’d been waiting for after years of disappointment. Someone literally shouted when leaving the theater that he was so excited for September when everyone else could see it. My dad, who has not been a fan of recent Transformers material, talked nonstop about how much he loved it. Me personally, I was BRIMMING with excitement afterwards, which is huge given that I was ready to criticize the movie’s every move. Let me get into why- note this is SPOILER FREE.

Orion Pax

Believe it or not, I really liked TF1’s Orion. He was witty, had the snark of Aligned Orion, and clearly had a goal in mind: to entirely shift the status quo by breaking the class distinction. He was extremely optimistic like most versions, something that is often criticized in the fanbase, and is also criticized in the film. However, the qualities that G1 created and the Bayverse destroyed were THERE. Orion was a DORK. He was KIND. He CARED for people deeply, even if they weren’t necessarily thinking about him. He was a KNOWN PROBLEM-SOLVER. His intelligence is noted MULTIPLE times. He really is authentically Orion. I’ll do a more in-depth analysis in September.

Megatronus/ D-16

Now, THIS MAN WAS AMAZING. I am so used to the source of his anger being solely lower class-based oppression amongst other things relating to that. The film offered another option, which I will not disclose, but I thought it was a wonderful addition. I will keep my mouth shut about D-16’s personality in this film because it’s a secret, but just know this new take on Megatronus was a bit refreshing and gives new material for both fan continuity writers and fanfic writers.

Elita

I was honestly scared to see how they would portray Elita, especially with their track record of solely making her Optimus’s love interest and killing her off. I also was afraid that they would turn her into a white feminism caricature, which I can go into depth about for clarification if anyone needs it. However, the writers take feminism for Elita and take a much more in-depth route. I found her well done. She was giving mother in this film, absolutely brilliant. There will be an analysis on her as well in September, especially since they have so much intended room for her.

Worldbuilding and Additional Characters

I think that with about an hour and a half, it would have been SO HARD to create an entire world of deep political brutality and nuance like the comics directly. So, I think the writers created a framework that was good enough to convey the fascist undertones of Cybertron while also leaving so many avenues to explore and elaborate on for future films, whether they be prequels or sequels. Some characters were added in with a bit of context, but no in-depth explanations. While I would normally say that’s a downside, I think that it was actually really smart on their part. If you tried to add all of these complex stories from the comics in an hour and a half film combined with everything else, it would have likely been underdeveloped and left more questions and holes than answers. By removing that, I think that it was a smart move to expand on in their own time and with good pacing. Besides, the presence of some characters was very enjoyable and kept the audience I was with wanting more from them. Not in a “there wasn’t enough of them” way at all, but instead a “they were so cool in the short time they were here I need more now” way. Everyone in this continuity gets a new and different start. I honestly think it would give fan continuity writers motivation to continue what they’re doing, now that basic and consistent pre-war plot lines have been redone. I think for how long the movie is, they did a great job.

Additional Thoughts

I think that everything was pretty well done. The pacing was especially important, given we were supposed to witness a buildup in such a devastating “divorce”. That isn’t done lightly, and they made sure that they built it up enough to where the final blow was devastating. It was SO DEVASTATING that people in my theater were gasping left and right. The comedy was well done, as someone who hates poorly-written jokes for laughs. It fit into the characters’ personalities well, that’s what made it work well. It didn’t feel forced because that’s just how that particular character is. I also think that, as a fandom, sometimes we get too wrapped up in very specific characterizations of these individuals to the point where we refuse new ideas. I was extremely guilty of this. However, this film was truly made by someone that loved the franchise and knew exactly what the fans wanted. Brian Tyler, who did the score for TFP, also doing the score for this film was proof of that (as someone who absolutely ADORES film scores as a musician) There was a good amount of brutality within the rating of the film, so bayverse fans who are itching for something shockingly horrible are in for a surprise. I also think that it knew its boundaries well and moved not to push them while also being considerate of certain audiences who may be a bit younger. It was a good restart, especially for animated Transformers films, and I think that they can really build it into something great. This was a very sound foundation and I was not disappointed.

ALSO, THERE IS A MID AND POST-CREDIT SCENE SO DON’T LEAVE IMMEDIATELY

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

I was a skeptic about Criterion releasing any post-Showa Godzilla movies on disc, but lo and behold, they're teeing up Godzilla vs. Biollante, my favorite movie of all time, for 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (or just plain Blu-ray) on March 18. The description:

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:

New 4K digital restoration, with 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

New audio commentary featuring film historian Samm Deighan, host of the podcast Eros + Massacreand coeditor of the book Revolution in 35mm

Making-of program from 1993 featuring director Kazuki Omori and special-effects director Koichi Kawakita, among others

Short documentary from 1993 about the Biollante and Super X2 vehicle concepts

Deleted special effects

TV spots and trailers

New English subtitle translation

PLUS: An essay by science-fiction and horror film expert Jim Cirronella

Yes, this means they're skipping over The Return of Godzilla and not waiting until all the Heisei films are in their hands to unload them as another box set. I was surprised at first, but it makes sense. Biollante is the only Heisei movie Toho has released on 4K in Japan so far (with The Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II joining it in June), and arguably the best-regarded. Toho's always going to prioritize the domestic market first, so this is Criterion's best shot at a new release during Godzilla's current swell of popularity.

I have mixed feelings, as is usual when any new English kaiju/tokusatsu home release is announced. I'm glad the movie is back in physical circulation; it's again become legendary as the most difficult Godzilla movie to find on home video for a reasonable price. Only one library in my county owns it, and that number is about to spike. It'll be a major visual upgrade to boot. The non-G54 movies in the Criterion Showa box set didn't have audio commentaries, so I'm glad they sprung for one this time. I'm not familiar with Samm Deighan's work, but I think she's the first woman to record an English commentary for a Godzilla movie.

But...

I saw the Criterion presentation of Godzilla vs. Biollante at the Dryden Theater in October, and the subtitles were... simply not proofread, or at least not proofread by anyone who should have a job in the field. "More typos than a Mill Creek Ultraman Blu-ray" was how I described it at the time. I believe Criterion is using a number of vintage (we're talking probably-shown-in-Hawaii) subtitle scripts for the Toho tokusatsu films they're made available on streaming but not on disc, and I dearly hope they show more care with the Biollante 4K.

There's also no English dub.

This suggests that Toho is now doing its best to bury all the pre-Reiwa Godzilla dubs, even the ones they commissioned themselves. I doubt Criterion will bother to include the film's English visuals either. So... the version of Biollante I rented from Blockbuster some 20 years ago, the version I grew up with, will just be completely erased from the latest-and-greatest (and last?) edition. Depressing stuff. The current incarnation of Toho might be embarrassed by those old dubs, but as an indignant woman in the Diet Building once exclaimed, the truth is the truth! And Biollante's one of the films I prefer to watch dubbed (for one, nobody can argue that the English the actors spoke on set was better than that recorded by the Hong Kong Players).

Lesser concerns: I'll have to double-check, but I think the making-of program and the short documentary were on the old Echo Bridge discs too. The trailers would be new, but, well, they're trailers. So potentially nothing fresh in the featurette department, certainly not a retrospective with surviving cast and crew. (Somebody get one of those done before we lose even more of them!) And I do feel bad for Ed Godziszewski, whose commentary for Echo Bridge was effectively pocket-vetoed by Toho and is now truly never going to see the light of day.

Bleh.

[graciesbow]

Please pleaseeeeee write a Severus Snape x reader who’s obsessed with musicals and drags him to see wicked and sings musical songs (like wicked/mamma Mia/sweeney Todd of course/hamilton) at home constantly

In honor of me seeing wicked 7 times I thought I'd write this :) ( I have so many one shots lined up) (let's also pretend the movie is act one and act two I got too ahead of myself)

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR WICKED!!

You didn’t think you’d ever convince him to come.

The second you saw the trailer for Wicked, a movie musical inspired by Wicked: the musical, you knew you had to go. The soaring ballads, the lush costumes, the reimagining of the Land of Oz—it was everything you loved in a story. But getting Severus, your brooding, no-nonsense husband, to agree to two and a half hours of singing and dancing? That felt like a lost cause.

Still, you tried.

“I’ll owe you,” you had said, leaning on the kitchen counter as he skimmed the headlines on his tablet. “Whatever you want. A week of your favorite movies. Even the ones with subtitles.”

His dark eyes flicked to you, amused. “A week of no musicals?”

“Deal.”

And so, here you are, sitting next to him in a theater as the lights dim and the first lilting notes of Wicked play. Severus is already slouched in his seat, arms crossed, his usual look of resigned skepticism firmly in place.

The movie begins with the birth of Elphaba, the green-skinned girl destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West. The opening number is vibrant and grand, but you can feel him shift beside you, hear the faintest huff of disapproval when characters burst into song.

“Of course,” he mutters under his breath when Glinda makes her grand entrance in a bubble, singing an impossibly high note.

“Shh,” you whisper, elbowing him gently. “Just watch.”

An hour in, you notice the change.

It starts during Defying Gravity, a powerful ballad where Elphaba begins to question everything she’s been told about Oz. The actress’s voice fills the theater, raw and full of longing, and you glance at Severus. His arms are no longer crossed. He’s leaning forward slightly, his eyes fixed on the screen.

By the time Elphaba and Glinda perform their duet, For Good, a tear-jerking number about friendship and forgiveness, you catch him tapping his foot ever so subtly.

When the movie reaches its dramatic climax, with Elphaba and the Scarecrow defying the Wizard, you feel him tense beside you. It’s subtle, but you know Severus well enough to see it. He’s invested. He cares.

As the credits roll, you sit in your seat for a moment, watching the audience filter out. You’re glowing, your heart full from the story and the music. Beside you, Severus stretches, his expression thoughtful.

“Well?” you ask, trying to keep the teasing out of your voice.

He tilts his head, his mouth twitching into something almost like a smile. “It wasn’t terrible.”

You laugh. “Not terrible? I saw you tapping your foot during For Good. Admit it—you liked it.”

He shrugs, standing and offering you his hand. “The green witch was interesting. I’ll give it that.”

As you take his hand, his grip warm and firm, you can’t help but smile. “So, would you come to another one with me?”

“Maybe,” he says, that rare flicker of lightness in his voice. “If you don’t make me watch any more bubble entrances.”

You beam, knowing full well he’ll be there next time, humming the songs under his breath when he thinks you’re not listening. Sometimes, even the most stubborn hearts find their tune.

[lenalenouilleisblogging]

2024 feminist movie retrospective ~ day 9

It's RAPID FIRE REVIEWS TIME !! ROUND 2

I don't have enough to say about these next films to write full reviews, but i still want to mention them, these are some of the ones i watched in theaters in April of 2024. (i wanted to do 1 post per trimester initially, but i saw a LOT of movies last summer and the posts are already long enough lol)

AUTISTIC VAMPIRE FLICK YESSSS!!!!! 🦇 An incredible first feature from Ariane Louis-Seize, I'll definitely keep an eye on her work. Thank glob the movie was shown with subtitles 😵‍💫 I already have comprehension issues when people with the same accent as me are mumbling, I would not have understood the Quebec accent in this film at ALL.

The two main leads give great performances, all the character dynamics are super entertaining and watchable. Great pace, great dialogues. Mostly takes place at night and there's some great photography and lighting. A bit predictable, but also really sweet and funny, will put you in a good mood.

trailer

My favourite thing ever is when I get to see SSA characters outside of "gay cinema". I want to see characters who happen to be gay go on the same adventures as straight characters. I want to see them have fun. But I'm.... Not sure about this one?

It's purposefully vulgar and over the top, it's absurd, it's "unserious" as the kids say. And it works. It's fun and engaging, and the film-making is very good. The editing in particular is really original and fun. But there's just something about this film that reeks of "a straight man directed this". Too phallic centric for my liking for a film that was originally titled Drive-Away Dykes. It tries to be an ironic B-Movie but it has the most celebrity cameos I've seen all year. It tries to be """sex-positive""" but it ends up feeling fetishistic.

While the film is directed by Ethan Cohen, it's a dual effort from him and his wife Tricia Cooke. They both wrote and produced this. Cooke "identifies as queer" and has said their marriage, I quote: "is a very non-traditional marriage. I have a partner, Ethan has another partner." Which is the lamest and most heterosexual thing I have ever heard lmao

Make your own mind up on this one. If you like juvenile comedies and absurdly horny characters you might enjoy it. I would be lying if I said that I didn't. Texan lesbian Margaret Qualley I am free on friday please call me.

trailer

One of my absolute favourites of the year. It's interesting to watch from France, holy shit the USA medical system is truly broken on every level. The film is brutal, shocking, unrelenting, and that's the point. All the technical aspects work in tandem to create a truly harrowing experience. It's well shot, it has great fucking sound, and the performances are stellar all around. Michael Pitt from Hannibal is still fucking crazy lol.

This movie does a better job at putting you in the main character's shoes than anything else I've seen this year. When it finally ends you'll feel like you can breathe again. The director worked as an ambulance driver for 1 year in preparation for this and you can tell he cares. The film feels very raw, a lot of sequences have a documentary feel to it and the acting is so good it looks like an unscripted mess (yes this is a compliment). Very real and flawed characters. Very atmospheric. A bit sloppy in how it handles drama in the second half. But overall I loved it.

trailer

Undoubtedly my biggest ❓❓❓of the year lol. I absolutely loved the two first thirds. The dialogues, the pacing, the movie is absolutely beautiful to look at with some amazing locations that are filmed beautifully. The characters have great dynamics and it's engaging. Then the film COMPLETELY lost me in the last third. I don't even know what to say. I'm often told that I have artsy fartsy intellectual tastes but even I have my limits. What the hell? Don't get me wrong, I love cryptic endings. But it didn't feel earned at all. It felt like 30min of film were missing? I love every part of this film individually. I actually think the last third is great. I just don't understand how it's related to the rest of the film AT ALL. What... What the fuck

trailer

Low-budget documentary about a french nurse. That's it. Very simple, very sweet, loved watching it with my nurse mom. It's sooo french lol. It's about life, it's about healing, it's about incredible women. A fun watch. French hospitals need urgent help that our government isn't providing. But the fucking heroes who work in them are still clocking in and making the world a better place.

trailer (no subtitles sorry)

This kind of drama is not what I go for usually, but undoubtedly powerful. A grim look at reality. A film about how little the law cares about victims of rape. The fact that the movie ends up "proving" (not graphically) that the crime did happen feels like a betrayal of its concept. We didn't need to see it, we just believe victims. But i guess it's needed for the general audience... All the performances are terrific. Very female-centric with a hopeful ending. Loved the end credits 🥹 let's go women

trailer

I'm a huge, HUGE fan of Alex Garland's previous film, Men. I was hyped as fuck for this. And, uuuuuuuhhhhhh. It's not that it's badly made. It's great in fact. Amazing camera work, editing, soundtrack. Wonderful acting. But it's all in service of NOTHING... How frustrating... This is a film about war journalism. And journalism in general. And if you wanna see that, then go see it! The problem is that it's not at all what the movie advertises itself as! (watch the trailer below if you doubt my words lol) It establishes this really surprising story of a massive, violent civil war tearing the US apart and then it simply uses it as a background to talk about journalism. Now DON'T TWIST MY WORDS, journalism is important. Some war journalists are fucking heroes. (see : day 5 of my retrospective)

But it all just ends up feeling super phoney. What was the point? What's the message? There is none. Why did this civil war start? Don't know! What does every side want? Don't know!

Civil War is a very good film. As i said before, my philosophy is to judge movies based on what they are trying to achieve. And i think this film meets all its goals. It's a weirdly apolitical movie about the way violent conflicts affect people's personal lives and what role war journalists play in all this. BUT i think the decision to choose the context of a civil war is a bad one. The title is bad, the trailer is bad. It muddles up what the film is trying to achieve. It makes you expect answers the movie will never deliver, and it ends up feeling empty and boring. I recommend that you watch it and make your own opinion on it. I broadly agree with what Adum from YMS said about it.

trailer

I was told this was the Indian John Wick but I liked it a lot more than John Wick! A great, fun watch. It truly is a perfect mix of Hollywood codes and Bollywood codes. The film has a great style complimented by its visuals and music, it's well edited, it has a great use of color. A great directorial debut for Patel! The story will feel very tropey if you don't like bollywood's codes but i thought it was very engaging from beginning to end! It has interesting characters and a very satisfying conclusion. I like that the film takes its time, and the action scenes are great. Sometimes you just wanna see people beat each other to a pulp 🩵 This is a great one if you want that.

An important note : i like that the film includes hijras characters, it's very interesting and it truly links the narrative to specific cultural phenomenons. HOWEVER. At some point there's a journalist on TV who refers to hijras as the "trans community" and at first i thought it was a mistake from the french subtitles but no it's actually in the film. And that sucks. It's already bad enough that this kind of oversimplification/misiformation thrives online, but it's dangerous to put it in mainstream big budget films. Like what the fuck.

I don't know... Maybe i'm too woke but i don't think it's good to refer to a caste of men who were castrated as minors because they were effeminate/SSA, and who are legally considered a third sex that is heavily discriminated against, as "transwomen". Am i the only one who's bothered by that? 💀 I guess i am considering the most popular reviews. (I just looked it up and most big NGOs consider them to fall under the trans umbrella... We're doomed.😐)

trailer

That's it for April ! I also watched Godzilla × Kong but I have nothing to say about it lol

[crypthunter101]

Sinners (2025) Review

Okay here it goes my take on the cinematic masterpiece Sinners (2025) by Ryan Coogler after seeing it twice in theaters:

Full disclosure: I'm a yt girl (23) who loves history and music. My family also has very deep roots in the south. My daddy is Cherokee from Oklahoma and mom is Scot-Irish from North Georgia both born in the 1950’s. I was born in Oxford, Miss. so when the show opened with Clarksdale I was like “I know exactly where that is!” and when Smoke is talking to the young girl to watch his truck she says she’s from Shelby (which is actually my name). Our porch ceiling is even painted in “Haint Blue” which Annie mentions highlighting her hoodoo/ New Orleans connections to keep away bad spirits. Hearing Delta Slim play harmonica instantly made me think of my Grunkle Bud who used to play on his porch in the evenings.

The cast is AMAZING and when I first saw Michael B. Jordan as the “smokestack twins” I was blown away by how different he plays them which makes you believe they're actually two separate people! Hailey Steinfield (my beloved) is phenomenal as usual and her character Mary does a great job of highlighting the struggle that so many interracial couples faced in those times. Still can't get over the fact that this was Miles Canton’s, the protagonist of the show, breakout role as Sammie Moore- his voice is so powerful and gives me chills everytime I listen to the soundtrack.

As for Jack O’ Connell’s character, Remmick, I’m completely OBSESSED!! I honestly was not expecting to like his character based on what we see in the trailer and was ready to write him off as this horrible,evil villain. But the surprise of learning he's from Ireland and actually experienced the Christian colonization of his homeland making him ~1300-1400 yrs old really added to his backstory. Definitely would love a prequel that dives more into him and the Choctaw people. Also the moment “Rocky Road to Dublin” started playing I was done for, as I've loved that song since I was little- had my feet tapping out a jig in my seat. 

I love the theory that he once shared the same gift as Sammie, when he was alive, that's why he wanted him / his gift so badly. Which could be possible as Annie points out in the very beginning that every culture has their own version (Filidh and Griots). To add to that, my personal take is: even if Sammie was turned he would be like Remmick and not be able to use his gift anymore as it requires the most important ingredient: SOUL.

The soundtrack and score are nothing short of a stroke of musical genius from Ludwig G. Haven't stopped listening to either one since I got out of the movie the first time! He and Ryan Coogler have created what could easily become the next cult classic of this time. Sinners beautifully portrays the hurt and trauma that the black community has felt for generations, but how music can truly bring healing and branches that divide between cultures. Might have to make a pt.2

[what-gs-watching]

"You can be beautiful or you can be ugly, but you can’t be plain."

Soooo I’m pretty sure I died over Christmas; my entire family got a stomach bug that was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced, and now I have a head cold and I’ve lost my voice and I’m convinced this is some weird limbo and I’ll never be healthy again.

BUT! Before all of that, my dad and I got to indulge in our favorite holiday tradition: going to the movies. He and I have been sneaking off in the afternoon once everyone falls into a Christmas coma to see something for like, fifteen years. That man hates holidays because my mom goes insane trying to make them perfect and he just wants to escape and I appreciate that he allows me to go with him. 

This year, I was especially excited - the first time I saw the trailer for A Complete Unknown in September, I called him immediately screaming about it. Bob Dylan’s music was a huge part of my childhood, another thing that my stoic father shared with me, and could not wait to see it with him. Honestly, I’d been vibrating out of my skin about it, shrieking at the tv every time the commercial would come on.

Gang. It was so worth it. What a beautiful fucking movie.

Wherein, 19 year old Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet) heads to New York City in 1961, befriends Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger (Ed Norton), breaks into the folk scene, falls in love, has insane on and off stage chemistry with Joan Baez, writes songs that define a generation, puts the Newport Folk Festival on the damn map, learns he doesn’t really love fame, and then eventually goes electric. 

I do realize this movie isn’t going to be for everyone - it’s specific. Like, were you alive then and you’re wanting to relive that time and the way Dylan’s music made you feel? Perfect, you’ll dig it. Or, are you a super weirdo like me that WISHES you were alive during that time and just deeply loves the 60’s aesthetic and longs for what you think was a simpler era but it really was not, and you just want to romanticize the whole thing and feel wistful about it? Amazing, get your ass to the theater. 

One thing I appreciated about this movie was that it wasn’t really shoving anything down your throat, what was happening wasn’t overly explained, there were no ridiculous voice-overs or forced understanding, and honestly, Dylan was fairly mysterious. It didn’t feel like it was from his point of view, you’re not going to come out of this feeling like you finally GET him. He’s still this weird mythical genius, just doing what he’s driven to do. He never explains himself and he never wants to. So is this really a biopic? Or are we just seeing a snapshot in time, take it or leave it? I don’t think it matters; it’s wonderful, either way.

Also, like, DAMN, Chalamet. He was fucking incredible. Dylan is a hard guy to portray, he’s always been kind of aloof, withdrawn, he’s never seemed like this larger than life personality and to pull off that demeanor in a way that’s still endearing to the audience is NOT easy. He really encapsulated Dylan’s confusing charm, it was pitch perfect. And I had to laugh to myself a bit - last year’s Christmas movie was Wonka, also starring Chalamet. What a hilarious dichotomy from one year to the next. 

I’m going to be watching all of the award shows just for this. Give this dude all the flowers. 

As much of a fan of his music as I am, I never did a deep google dive on him and so I really enjoyed seeing his relationship with Joan Baez unfold. The scenes of them performing together were honestly beautiful, their voices blending and complimenting each other. Her song “Diamonds and Rust” unsurprisingly was also a large part of my musical upbringing and to learn she’d written it about their relationship - fuck. I listened to it again after we left the theater and it was devastating in an entirely new way.

Here’s the thing. I absolutely cried big fat tears a few times sitting there. It’s not a sad movie in any way, shape or form. But when he performs “The Times They Are A-Changin’” at the festival, just him and his guitar and his harmonica, and the crowd starts singing along with him, having never heard it before, I sobbed, smiling. 

When I was a senior in high school, my dad - who notoriously never put effort into gifts for us kids, relying on my mom to know what to buy - sat down and  made me a bunch of mix CDs of the songs he’d always been sharing with me. One of them was his 12 essential Bob Dylan tracks. The rest of that year, I lived in those tracks. The agenda pad I used for that school year was littered with Dylan lyrics, it’s my basement even now, “don’t criticize what you can’t understand” scrawled all over it.

So I was 17 again, sitting there, or 8 or 21 or any of the ages I’ve been where Dylan has kept me company. “It Ain’t Me Babe” is deeply ingrained in my mind as part of the dumpster fire that was the relationship I had with the first boy I ever fell truly in love with, and watching his long-time girlfriend Sylvie (Elle Fanning) witness him singing that with Joan Baez was like a punch to the gut. 

I’m not 100% sure what I’m driving at with all of this, but what I can tell you is: A Complete Unknown is beautiful. If you have any connection to Dylan’s music, it’ll light your soul on fire. If you don’t, it’ll still immerse you in a time or place you really should visit. It’s fascinating and visceral and glimmering, and it just might change you, a little bit.

HOW does it FEEL?

[familyvideostevie]

tlou season 2: episode 7 thoughts

wow you guys we fucking made it. my tldr is get me out of the hell that is the writing of s2 and into the probably-similarly-bad-but-i-care-less-about-it-being-right-hell of s3. bring! it! on!

spoilers for tlou hbo and tlou part ii below.

EPISODE 7: THE CONVERGENCE

first of all, stupid fucking title. considering this whole time the viewer has no idea that abby and ellie are circling each other -- this would have been a better title for the theater from abby's pov, but whatever..

GOOD -jesse. how i love you, how i wish we got more of you. i think that his relationship with ellie and by extension dina is not quite what i wanted -- but i think it suits the way ellie behaves. i just think young did a really nice job as this man who is in a sort of impossible situation and has to make choices that are stressful and always hurt someone because shoulders such responsibility. and a young man who does not think he will run out of time! -the dressing room scene looked nice visually. if we take away the point of the scene (more on that later), i think it was a nice moment for ellie and dina. and shows some of their dynamic -- dina taking care of ellie even though she's the hurting one cause ellie won't ask. -hilarious that shimmer lived. good for you, queen -more than one prophet is...kind of interesting? i think it's one of many heavy handed moments of trying to hook people for s3 by asking questions we didn't know we wanted answers to -i think the way i've given up on ellie's writing and her plotline for the show have made me hype as fuck for abby. i love the hints we finally get about what's going on with her -- gearing up for the invasion with Isaac, abby and owen being missing, manny being present. it makes me excited for the next season! i wonder how folks who have no idea what is happening saw some of these scenes. guess they'll find out in two years! -ellie getting the abby game trailer treatment is wild and i was kind of gagged by it so it gets to live up here in the good section but this was another heavy handed moment of writing obviously for the invasion. also the first time i really noticed the space pin on her backpack? i must have seen it before, but. well, it wasn't present LAST WEEK. -i was laughing like the joker when we got to the aquarium, sorry. this is such an intense scene that drags and drags and drags as you play it -- with so many hints. the broken ceiling window, the bloody bandages, the arguing. man, and the music. this is the building music i wanted in 202 before joel died, but whatever. more on the actual content of this scene below but the lead up was really nice (no alice but i guess HBO draws the line at killing animals on screen). -never in my life have i been so glad to see tommy. bro how i missed you. -abby. abby abby abby abby. i never thought i would be so glad to see you. and she looked so good, i can't lie. the jacket, the braid, the bruises around her neck. this entire end scene actually rocked my world. again, maybe I'm just excited for something different, but i was on my FEET when we flashed to her on the couch (why is she wearing lip gloss but whatever) and her room looked great and the stadium looked great and DAY ONE. WOW. and the soundgarden kicking in...GET ME THERE NOW

IFFY -the dialogue in the dressing room. some of it will be in the next section but some of it is here. I thought it would be harder to do, but it wasnt, it was easy. I am finally coming around to the idea that they are writing Ellie as darker than originally written on purpose — that this rage simmering inside her is making her into someone she thinks she always has been, instead of someone she doesn’t recognize. and like, i think this would be interesting if it was not followed by Kellie feeling guilt with "maybe she didn't" and the resolution of the conversation or lack thereof. idk, i just don't think i understand what how are supposed to think about ellie's flip flop between vengeance and guilt.

-sooooo obvious that jesse was a gonner. like, come on. -the park and Isaac convo was weird for a few reasons. first on the list is okay are you in love with her or something? You wouldn’t be the first old man to — I just don’t get why we need to be having these conversations and these lines bro what’s the purpose. this this meant to hint at something? if so i missed it like bro -second is abby as the head of the WLF — that is really interesting to me. I don’t actually think she was ever WLF leadership material — she was fueled by one thing and one thing only and Isaac gave that to her and she came back fucked up and he knew that. So like, why would she be leadership material now? She’s by all rights an outsider, only joined up 5 years ago. Like, I think this is just filler to make her relevant right now in this moment, but I don’t think we needed it. We could have just said that she’s missing and it’s a concern because it IS — she knows sensitive information and she would have been an asset in the invasion, she's a soldier who went AWOL and we know the WLF takes things seriously. -it’s EXTRA interesting how they follow the conversation above about abby with this confession from Jesse — that he wanted to leave jackson but he didn’t, that he stays because he feels a sense of responsibility and also, though he doesn't say, probably wants to be needed like that. And how Ellie reacts, too — I think he’s trying to tell her something important, that he’s there to look after her and that maybe she will grow into someone like that? that he wants that for her? but they are unable to communicate this. It’s interesting and also sad, right, cause he is going to fucking die because he cares about her and dina.

But honestly, it does make sense to have this convo right before Ellie and Jesse split up — cause, dude. This moment in the game made me so frustrated with Ellie. And honestly? This Ellie is selfish! Fuck the community! It’s really interesting, actually, Ellie comparing it to them not helping the seraphite kid, etc. like, she has a point — but it’s all too heated. She should go home. She really really should and at this point she’s lying to herself that she shouldn’t. And he knows that she would do whatever it takes for anyone she loves, not just Joel. And is that a flaw? Who is to say! like, i don't like it, but i think it makes sense. i just don't get why the want us to hate ellie so bad lol -this girl just fucking finds a boat and she just gets on it. Girl, I had to fight so many seraphites and so many WLF and a fucking bloater to get you that fucking boat. Also are we just supposed to assume she can swim now? Kind of a hilarious way to reintroduce that part without the flashback showing us. Also this green screen blows like really bad???? really really bad? -im thinking about the aquarium and Mel and Owen. they are both the most sympathetic members of the group — that is clear early on and will be made clearer later. It's interesting because tommy is right! they both were there, they both participated, they both can be held responsible. the thing that i can't figure out is if this was a weird pro-life slant on mel's death or not. i think that, at the very least, it's a scene that will drive home ellie's inability to settle down later in the game as well as (if they do this) abby's indifference to dina's pregnancy during the theater fight. mel uses her last moments to beg for the life of her unborn child and ellie cannot save them (no way that was going to work anyway, but that's not the point). i think this could be a line to how ellie will leave her life for santa barbara -- how she fumbles in the moment when it comes to children.

but like, idk, there's something pro-life in my mouth about this whole scene that i cannot articulate. mel (whose name i do not know) was Acting, though, good for her. the thing is, this scene is again jerking our chain back to ellie being a sympathetic character. like, she does not shoot mel on purpose here and she is clearly very upset and regretful that she died. like, damn! i need to think about this one more and am interested in your thoughts

BAD -only one bad point here. i hate that ellie tells dina the whole truth of it. Sorry, I hate it. I sort of assume that someday ellie does tell her — maybe? I don’t think about it a lot. But I think Ellie carries the burden of what Joel did by herself on purpose, in part because of guilt and in part because she doesn't fully understand it, even with time. I think that Nora telling Ellie in the hospital is so that ellie can tell Dina and then feel guilty or like, guilty about not being guilty about joel killing the fireflies? and her own kills of the WLF?

I just don’t know what this is supposed to emphasize most. Looping dina in when she has this established relationship with Joel — it makes some of this about her in a way that it does not have to be (obviously it’s about her because she’s there and she’s injured and she loves Ellie) but now it’s like, even more about her? And then Dina saying we need to go home — it’s all setting the stage for their eventual tension to be even more awful cause this is where it starts, right here. Not on the farm, not after the fight with abby, but here, in this moment. a secret that ellie had been keeping, an act of violence that has nothing to do with dina but she now feels the affects of and will for the rest of her life, right? i just think ellie was mean to carry all of this alone. because wow -- how do explain that to someone? i was love so much that it killed people.

so. that's the end. the way i am excited for abby's days is actually so out of left field that I'm surprised as hell. but, jesus. i think i just want something new. i bet it'll be full of its own bullshit but damn! let's get it, abby. eager as always to hear everyone's thoughts. back to my part ii playthrough. see you in 2 years or whatever. very good time to remind you that you can find all of my tlou fics that are not x reader on ao3 under wmthackeray xoxo

[sarnai4]

So I just want to say that I absolutely adore your greek gods/goddesses headcanons - especially the cinema ones - and I don't know if you take requests but I was wondering if you could tell us which movie each god/goddess would go to during Barbenheimer?

🥰Aw! Thank you!! They're so much fun to make! Yeah! I definitely am up for taking requests! Thanks😃. Let's see...

Athena: Oppenheimer for sure. She got asked if she wanted to see Barbie and shot daggers. Not with her eyes. She threw actual daggers at that individual. On an related note, Hermes needed stitches.

Ares: Barbie. Under duress. Aphrodite dragged him there and he can't deny her anyway. His eyes began to bleed from the pink during the first 5 minutes, but if he squints, he can still see Aphrodite’s smile and that makes it worth it.

Aphrodite: Well, you know now. She was so excited about Barbie. She wouldn't stop talking about it ever since she saw the first trailer with the pump. She was probably going to kill someone if she didn't get a front row ticket. (Yes, them being in the front row is also why Ares’s eyes were bleeding)

Demeter: Oppenheimer. Because sometimes, her world feels a little brighter when she can compare it to other disasters. Plus, these movies came out in summer, so she and Persephone could go. They love watching absolute trainwrecks and discussing them later.

Hades: Barbie. He sees enough death at work. He wants something cheerful for once. Persephone also suggested he try it out, so they met up afterwards to compare notes. There was a little cloud of gloom in the back of the theater, contrasting with all the brightness. That spot was Hades.

Hermes: Oppenheimer. He thought someone said it was going to be "the bomb." He misunderstood. In his mind, this was supposed to be a comedy. Hermes kept laughing until other movie goers, feeling uncomfortable, left.

Apollo: Barbie. He actually played with Barbie dolls until he was 16 in god years. He's not ashamed of this fact. He was very excited to learn about this movie.

Artemis: Oppenheimer. She's not THAT interested, but she and Apollo are practically joined at the hip. So, she was going to the theater that day anyway with him, but she refused to watch anything even possibly girly.

Zeus: Barbie. He has a crush on Margot Robbie and is looking for...options. Ryan's pretty good looking too. Lots of eye candy.

Hephaestus: Oppenheimer. He loves watching people build things. He's 99% sure he can make this and it won't be a problem. His family is scared he's going to try.

Hera: Barbie. She doesn't care about either movie and just needs to know who to kill if Zeus follows through on any crush.

Poseidon: Barbie. Same reason as Zeus. There's a running bet on who will get with more members of the cast. He thinks he will since Hera is more likely to scare off actors than Amphitrite.

Dionysus: Barbie. He thinks it sounds fun and it's a musical. How is Mr. Theater Kid All Grown Up not going to support that? Come on now.

Hestia: Oppenheimer. Just because everyone kept saying how she was going to see Barbie. She wanted to be surprising. She cried. A lot. She's okay not being surprising anymore.

[susandsnell]

i saw wicked today too and loved it! what did you think? (was i the only one who went "oh shit" out loud in the theater when That Cameo happened?)

well i may or may not have just gotten out of my second viewing of it in three days some fourish hours ago, so that should be some indication!

hiya bestie! sorry for the delays on this, things have been thinging and life has been lifing. I'll admit that as early as February I was not looking forward to this movie or its promised follow-up. Splitting it into parts confused me, I was dubious over some of the casting, the visuals, the lighting, and the use of CG, and was being a bit of a hater over the trailers. However, every hater worth their salt should eat crow when they're wrong, and wow was I ever wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong, actually, because I'll go so far as to say (though I have high high hopes for Nosferatu later this month)! that Wicked Part One was my favourite movie of 2024. Extended (gushing) quasi-organized thoughts under the cut, because like Elphaba, no I never stop talking.

Bit of background, I've been lucky enough to see the show live twice, plus countless bootlegs/the cast album being the soundtrack to my life since I was nine. I know the script, the score, and the lyrics back to front. So you can imagine how shocked/pleased I was to find that the movie retained just about everything! I know people are giving mixed reviews about the extended scenes/runtime, but honestly the Oz they gave us (which I'll get to momentarily) was so wonderful and the cast so wholly inhabiting of their roles that I could not get enough of the world and these characters. I also thought they fixed several plotholes/added depth and stakes to a lot of arcs from the musical with their changes, especially with respect to the villains.

Visually, the film is an absolute treat; the colour grading/lighting does have the unfortunate modern fantasy film vibe to it, but the sets, practical props/effects, and costumes more than make up for it. That rotating library portico set? Let me live there! The Wizard's invitation?? The choreography was fantastic and every dancing scene was shot so so beautifully. My only complaint really is the CGI; the animals looked really fakey and goofy, particularly poor Dr. Dillamond, to the point that my entire theater was cracking up when his little goat ears wilted at the blackboard scene during my first viewing. Which is...not really the reaction you want to go for with a scene that's supposed to be depicting a hate crime.

The costumes in particular were a standout; Paul Tazewell's work is so stunning (Morrible's gowns, the revised Popular dress, and Elphaba's little pirate academia number when she gets her Emerald City invite) that I feel comfortable saying with the exception of Glinda's Junon-takeoff bubble dress (because it's just so iconic), they vastly outdo the stage version's costumes. He needs an Oscar for this yesterday and I'm not kidding.

The performances!!! Oh my gosh! Everyone sounding great and there being good mixing?? in a musical movie made after 2007??? Who'd've thought!!! My only complaint musically was, unfortunately, during Defying Gravity. In the stage show there's like 2 pauses in the song for plot to happen (Morrible's call-out and making the broom fly), and through that iirc they keep the instrumental going. Today, at my second viewing, I counted like....6-7 pauses where the song just outright stops, including two instances where they play different sad piano music altogether and give Elphaba this big suit-up superhero moment because book cover nod I guess, and healing her inner child, and it was kind of a pain because part of what makes Defying Gravity such a memorable piece is its momentum and when you stop the song to do something else, the momentum really dies. With that said, all eight parts of Defying Gravity were, in each pocket, performed to perfection.

I had high hopes for Cynthia Erivo vocally, but was dubious about an apparently more earnest, innocent Act 1 Elphaba as opposed to the stage version which I'm more used to, where she's a lot more of a Daria type. However, I was so pleased to find that she deepened the aching tragedy of the character with this take, especially opposite a more sinister and insidious Wizard + Morrible, and her takes on these songs, her vocal choices, her runs...heavenly. Ariana Grande pleasantly surprised me as being much cuter and funnier than I expected, and her surprise option ups during Popular were an absolute treat. Jonathan Bailey was as charming and talented as any Fiyero worth his salt (also loved how casually they made him bisexual?), Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard killed me (especially since they played him as simultaneously more of a huckster conman and an Evil Walt Disney, and it worked), but the show-stealer was Michelle Yeoh as Morrible for my money.

From the moment Morrible swoops in to smoothly cover for Elphaba's power explosion, knowing what it would mean to her to be spared social ruin, I was on the edge of my seat with such a different take on what's usually just kind of a comic relief diva character. Michelle Yeoh's effortless grace and elegance command screen presence. But the slow creep of her goading Elphaba into intensifying her powers while playing the sympathetic ear/mother figure/mentor only to make the betrayal hit that much harder (I genuinely choked up during the cut to Elphie's face when she hears her saying that her skin is a manifestation of her twisted nature), to say nothing of dangling her approval over Glinda until becoming the shoulder for her to cry on at the end of Defying Gravity...my god. chills. Forget Gelphie, shoutout to all the teenage sapphics with something deeply, deeply wrong with them who are going to have an awakening over this chillingly manipulative milfy sorceress who presents herself as a twisted maternal figure and intellectual colleague.

On the note of Gelphie -- oh my god??? A homoerotic swordfight during What Is This Feeling - are you KIDDING???? They amped it up from the stage show if anything; the Ozdust sequence brought me to tears, and then ended with them joining hands and running off together and leaving Fiyero behind like???? The amount of times they fell over each other? Glinda's thousand-yard stare during No One Mourns The Wicked, Elphaba's longing/fond glances....the love note, are you kidding me. They were baby's first yuri for me so seeing them on the big screen played with such natural chemistry by Cynthia and Ariana warmed my heart and got me super emotional. Sidenote, okay, not to be the boss baby guy about Carrie, but with the changes/additions, Elphaba is kind of Carrie White now and I'm here for it? From the visions to the explosions to baby Elphie already having her powers in the flashbacks...and then you get to the Ozdust scene, and the extended cruelty towards her plays very much as Elphaba's They're All Gonna Laugh At You Moment...only for Glinda to swoop in and dance with her as the Sue Snell, so yeah, we now have fantasy CarrieSue in Oz. We won so hard.

Last bit, to address your point about the cameos -- I really was worried that I'd be cringing at all the lore tie-ins with the '39 Wizard of Oz or the Broadway cameos or any of the other fanservice, but it all tied in and flowed so smoothly at most I was rolling my eyes affectionately rather than in exasperation (the Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead tie-in to No One Mourns The Wicked was shockingly seamless). Stephen Schwartz being the one to invite them to see the wizard got me properly emotional!! Idina and Kristin were hilarious and 10/10 diva legends as always, and the extended Wiz-O-Mania propaganda play/Grimmerie Lore Dump is both a visual and auditory treat. The original Glinda showing up to tell Ari to shut the fuck up during her song got maybe the biggest laugh of the movie out of me, but then they had Idina doing her end of defying gravity 'aaaaaaah ah ahhhh' Elphaba War cry riff as a heehe gag just like...20ish minutes before Cynthia!Elphaba is going to do it for real. Which had me in stitches because it plays then as either subversion of the wizard's propaganda in finding her voice, or Elphaba's a theatre kid and said yeah that was a sick riff I heard 2 hours ago, I'm going to incorporate it into my political loudmouthing after nearly being assassinated 20 times. Fuck you, Oz man, I'm stealing your propaganda riff!

What an ending. What a movie. Can't wait for part 2.

Thanks for asking! <3 hope you're well.

[pascalcampion]

Under the Boardwalk.

I was at Lightbox a few weeks ago and I bumped into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. ( hey Francis! We need to do lunch) He was laughing because he said that he had just seen a trailer for this thing I did some work on years ago. It took me a minute to realize he was talking about Under the Boardwalk. Movies do take a while to get done.

Anytime I see a movie in a theater that doesn’t come from Pixar, Disney, Illumination or Dreamworks, I clap my hands in my mind. It is SO hard to get to the finish line. Each movie that you see is the result of a series of small miracles.

I did a couple months of work on it. I was think it was in preproduction at the time. It was called Jersey Crabs at the time and there were only three people on it. At least, I only met three.

There was Chris Zibach, Ericka Stewart and David Soren.

I had just come off of two rather long and hard productions and I was a bit burned out about Art direction, production design or just… design in general.

When I first got an email about this, I wasn’t sure. But I went over to Paramount to meet with all three of them.

And you know what? They were fantastic.

Ericka was the producer and she had this no nonsense approach. Tell me your price, I’ll tell you if we can do it, if not we’ll figure something out. Boom. Done. She cut to the chase and any time I had a question she would reply within the hour. Her feedback was always short and precise, and she was always encouraging. After I was gone, she emailed me a couple of times to follow up on this or that. She didn’t leave any loose ends AND, something that is absolutely remarkable in this industry, she would reply to emails. She didn’t simply reply when she needed something, but when I would ask her if I could send recommendations, or if there were any other projects going on, she would send me an email back. I think the longest it took her to reply was TWO days, which is incredible.

Chris Zibach. It wasn’t immediately clear what Chris’s role on this was. I knew he was an artist. I had met him a few years prior while visiting a friend at Dreamworks TV I think. He was quieter than Ericka. Not sure if he was shy or I was simply too aloof for him to talk to me. For whatever reason, when I saw him, I thought of Tim Burton. Maybe the genius in him? Not sure. Later, I learned he was the production designer. I was surprised because that is something I typically learn on the first meeting. I was also unsure of his role because I hadn’t seen any of his work before and he didn’t act like any of the production designers I had met before. He wasn’t bombastic or sure of himself. He wasn’t trying to win me over with his talent or past battlefield experiences. He was humble. Yes, I think that’s probably the right word. Humble. But at the time, I couldn’t figure out if it was humility or something else.

It became clear after the first few designs of his I’d seen and especially after I had done a sketch for a moment that I couldn’t quite picture. I wasn’t understanding what they were looking for and Chris did this thirty second sketch that was SO clear, SO readable and SO easy to work with, and I was. OH! Ok.. he’s the real deal.

I love Artists like him. I wish I had worked with him more actually.

And, David Soren, the director

That was such an interesting meeting.

You know how sometimes you are hesitating on a project and you meet the team and all of a sudden it all flips? That’s how it was for this. I didn’t know what this story was based on, I didn’t find crabs particularly interesting, and the story, as it was pitched, wasn’t what I gravitate toward.

But David, wow. He had this energy in the meeting, this confidence. He was good at talking but he could listen AND hear you. He could also answer questions. Any type of question regarding the art, the story, the schedule, the planning. I didn’t know much about him but I came away very impressed.

I gave it a shot and now, I feel I was lucky to have been asked because, even if I was only on this for a very short while, it was one of those candy like work experiences. All good, nothing bad. Short and sweet and really fun.

There was a moment when I was drawing this big long scene that was supposed to be in the middle of a battle and I stopped, look at it and laughed on the inside because I had just realized I was being paid to do this and THIS was SO much fun.

I don’t know what my job was, what I was supposed to bring to the project. I didn’t understand why they had me do these designs when Chris’s work was so different and so unique already, but all three did a good job at quieting those thoughts.

I was working from home and they were on the lot. If I remember correctly, they would send me emails to broadly tell me “ There is a flood there, there is a battle there, there is club, a hotel, etc etc” and I would just do some images on what I thought it could be.

They already had some character designs, and Chris had done a few images, so I wasn’t totally going from nothing.

Each time I would send a set of images, I would get an email back the same day or the next day from either Ericka or David telling me something nice. Never from Chris though. I always wondered why but now I am realizing it was because he was too busy getting the whole thing off the ground.

I would get notes sometimes but not very often. Chris would do little drawers or notes on my images and, again, they were always minimal except for that one set piece and always clear.

I don’t know what the movie is like. I was still working on this when I started with the Peanuts Special which would occupy my life for the next three and a half years.

But I do know that I remember this as a very fun, loving and carefree work experience, which have not come around very often in my career.

Thank you Ericka, Chris and David.

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You're commenting as Pascal Campion.

[tea-and-secrets]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to confess this, but I really need to get this out of my chest. Feel free to make a post redirecting me to another confessions blog if you'd like, in the meantime I'll just spit out what I wanna say. This will also be a long post, please excuse my ramblings.

on May of this year, a movie from A24 came out called "I Saw The TV Glow", a horror/drama film based on transness created by a transfemme individual. I didn't hear about it when it came out, I haven't seen any trailers or anything, but as soon as it started airing on local theaters on the US, everyone was talking about it. My TikTok FYP kept showing me dozens of videos of trans people crying after they watched the movie, how it was a beautiful touching and anxiety fueled movie that resonated with so many people from the trans community.

I was interested and my expectations were high, I like horror movies and I haven't seen many movies tackling on transgenderism. I told my partner (who doesn't label themself but they sure are every But cis) about the movie and they actually heard about it and was also interested. Since we're a super long distant couple (I live outside of the US while my partner is from there) we couldn't watch it on theaters, but we planned on watching it online at some point.

Well, that "some point" was a week ago. We got on call and watched the movie and... I was kinda disappointed. I didn't Hate the movie, I still think it was good and my partner thought the same, but we didn't see it as a amazing film like so many people were claiming. We both agreed it was a 7/10 movie with a great message, but in the end it was nothing special.

The confession comes from me feeling guilty about this. I feel bad for not liking this movie as much as a trans person compared to every other trans person that loved it. My partner and I read articles about it and even watched videos covering the ending that left us confused and unsatisfied. Later on I searched the movie tag here on Tumblr, and saw many posts of people (trans people) criticizing those who laughed at moments and questioned the movie and started picking it apart after the movie ended instead of staying in silence. I think that's kinda ridiculous considering that was our first reaction to the ending, but apparently everyone on the notes were agreeing with the original posters, even accusing those that did those as "ignorant cis people".

I'm sure people will say: "You didn't like it because you're not a trans woman/trans femme". And you're right about one part: I'm a transmasc non binary person, but that can't be the reason since I've seen trans men and transmascs enjoying and relating/resonating with the movie. "Well clearly You didn't have to hide your identity" I Have to hide my identity to so many of my family members. I can't even get the haircut that I want, I don't have the clothing that will make me feel like im dressing myself, I don't have access to top surgery or testosterone injections. I know who I am, I just can't fully be that person yet. "Maybe you didn't get the message and symbolism" I watched the movie Knowing the symbolism, people on TikTok weren't being really vague about it lol. It's about suppressing your gender identity, suppressing who you truly are and the dangers of doing so. Not transitioning can kill, and Has killed, so many people. No matter who you are or how old you are or where you live, there's still time. There's still time for you to dig out your suppressed identity and turn into your true self. I think the message is Beautiful and So Important, it's just Something in the Execution that didn't work for me, I can't even explain it.

I know that in the end it's not that deep, it's just a movie that a lot of people Love while I just mildly enjoyed. I just wish I cried and adored this movie like everyone else did, I wish I connected to this movie like everyone else did. Maybe one day I will not care about this anymore, but I don't know when this guilt will go away. Hopefully soon.

This is just a me issue btw, my partner feels fine with just finding the movie okay.

.

[bloodyviolentine]

SMILE 2 ENDING THEORY (re-explained)

I'm doing this again because I didn't really like how I did it in my last post. It was very rushed and I was kinda on a time crunch at the time. I think i didn’t really explain it well enough for people to understand, i mean there are probably some of you that did but looking back in my eyes it just looks like shit and not properly explained. I posted it on my second IG account where I now post some theories and updates on other stuff and since IG has a word limit I couldn’t explain a lot more of it and just used that to put it on here and add a little more but it just wasn’t enough for me at least. (Edit: I don't have the account anymore lmao)

So here is the theory properly explained.

A recap of what happened after Skye was chased by her backup dancers.

A few days after watching the movie in theaters I was looking back at the first teaser Interscope Records released to promote Skye’s song ‘Blood On White Satin’ released on June 14, 2024.

This was when Smile 2 was doing a secret marketing campaign to seem like Skye was a real person and it did work by making a fan account with the user ‘skyerileynation’, putting up billboards in LA and the UK with a QR code, pop culture accounts teasing her new era, another video about Skye, and having the character’s name be Quinn Parsons on the IMDB page and the casting list for the movie until the 2nd trailer released.

And they were hiding Naomi’s face so it wouldn’t ruin the marketing. Of course there were a lot of people thinking she was real.

I was looking back at it because I remember how excited I was when they said it was going to be a pop star getting the curse and she was going to be played by Naomi Scott. I love horror, pop music, and Naomi so I didn’t shut up about it for months.

Here’s the teaser.

In the teaser you can see Skye going to stage excited, obviously you can’t see her due to not ruining who she looks like but by body movement. And in the rest of the video it’s her performing the song on stage with a different outfit, showing small clips of the movie, and 2 clips of Skye facing the other way.

Now here’s the theory.

After watching the teaser again I noticed in the first 10 seconds she was wearing the exact same outfit she didn’t want to wear because it showed her scar.

I didn’t think too much of it until in the last 3 seconds of it it was her on stage looking at her fans. I quickly went back to the beginning and noticed she had the exact same hair from the end of the movie and realised it was the day of her official comeback.

I went to talk about it on twitter and said that is kinda footage of how she got there, but how exactly it was still confusing for me and a lot of people because how the hell did she go through all of that and her label still made her go on tour?????

That’s when someone replied with “The entity must’ve controlled her body there when it stuck its hand in her mouth”.

I was so surprised when I saw that because I didn’t think of that and I just thought when it put its hand in her mouth just to traumatize her or just put her to sleep.

So I also thought that it must have put a piece of it in her and when she woke up in the private clinic it wasn’t her it was the entity acting as her. Let me explain:

I think after she said “I wish you could feel what it's like to live inside my head” to her mom, some type of switch happened after the entity possessed her mom.

The real Skye was put in some type of coma in her head, obviously hallucinating the clinic, car, and the pizza hut. And the fake Skye who is being controlled by the entity apologized to Elizabeth, apologized to everyone on her team and was ready to start the tour.

And when the entity closed the doors on her and when they opened again that is when she woke up. That is why the entity said “This isn’t real, Skye” and “You’re not in control, Skye…. I am”.

So basically what I am saying is that in the first teaser they released showing Skye going on stage all happy it wasn’t her, it was the entity possessing her body all excited to curse thousands of people in the crowd.

While the real Skye was sent into some coma and woke up when she got on stage.

It was not kidding when it said “i like wearing your skin”.

If this was ever to be true by Parker Finn it would make this movie a thousand times better because it really shows how powerful the entity is and what other crazier things it can do in the 3rd movie.

So did they basically had the ending in front of our faces? Yes. Was the ending pretty predictable when they said it was going to be a pop star getting it? Yes. BUT the way Parker Finn did it made it SO FUCKING GOOD I CANT LIE.

(Also I think when Skye stabbed herself with the needle in her neck, I don’t think the drug was in there, it looked empty to me. And when she was about to faint it was probably blood loss from her foot or not eating and drinking water. Throughout the whole movie she did not eat once and that was probably because of Lewis’ death because of how gross it was or after the car crash she started not eating much.)

One more thing I want to share that doesn't really have nothing to do with this but someone in the comments on the first post of this theory thought I didn't get the whole thing of the entity and the movie even though I do. Like this is just something cool i wanted to share that is all. not everybody is going to get it when they first watch something like this that is why there are explanations videos.

This is it for now. I will update if Parker says anything about the ending in some interview or in any or the special features they will release. I would love to hear what you guys think about this. Thank you for reading this thread.