#And if I was playing the cgi boy romance game. What then.

[dragonaqe]

xavier

[starlight-phantom]

Since I've been replaying 06, thoughts on Elise?

Funny you should send this now since I literally just started replaying 06 earlier today (I missed Silver, okay? I wanted to see my boy)

Honestly, my feelings on Elise have changed quite a bit. When I first saw her, I hated her guts. I thought she was useless and basically just a plot device to push the story forward by just existing. Not to mention, while she is pretty in the CGI cutscenes, her in-game model is not flattering and the realistic humans mixed with the cartoony animals doesn't work.

But as I've got older and I've played through the game more times, I've actually mellowed on Elise and instead of thinking she's bad, I just feel bad for her. Because honestly? I think she has a lot of potential, they just didn't use any of it.

I mean when you summarise her story, she is a girl born into royalty who loses both parents very young, one of which died in front of her, and is forbidden from crying because of a world ending threat being sealed within her (Gee thanks dad). She is then forced to become ruler of the kingdom because she's the only member of the royal family left. So by the time the game starts, she's had the burden of the entire kingdom on her shoulders and has had to hide and conceal all negative emotions.

That gives us a lot that they could do with her story, hell something I do like in her interactions with Sonic is how he takes what she's been told her whole life "Don't cry" and then twists it into a positive light "Smile". She could've had a story of learning to embrace freedom and express herself while travelling with Sonic. Hell, maybe she could've been kidnapped once at the beginning of the game and then, instead of being kidnapped like 3/4 more times throughout the story, she could learn that Eggman wants to harness Iblis' flames sealed inside her so she asks Sonic and Tails to help her learn more and uncover Iblis' secrets so she can neutralise it and maybe even control it 'cause y'know fire powers are cool.

Plus, if they could drop the romance, that would be great. I mean, it's probably just me not being particularly bothered by romance in the Sonic series, but I feel like we could get a really good arc with a friendship between Sonic and Elise, with him teaching her it's okay to take a break and let her emotions show sometimes and that not everything is her responsibility. Plus, I always thought this was such wasted potential, but I really wanted Elise to interact with Blaze. I mean two princesses with fire powers, why didn't that happen? They don't even share any scenes with each other.

Unfortunately we didn't get anything like that. We got a character who stands around, gets kidnapped over and over and over again, has like one moment where she's kinda cool, that infamous kiss scene... And worst of all, they just gave her the personality of wet cardboard: plain and flimsy.

So yeah, in short: We could have had so much, and instead we got nothing.

[mymainwastoocluttered]

Homewrecker, husband-stealer villainess!

Idia is not going anywhere, you hear me?! You might be happy being the other woman, but I'm not happy with the pair of horns!

NOTE: I only write for female Reader, but everyone is welcome to read!

Inspired by @adrianasunderworld in this funny as hell post.

THIS HAS A SEQUEL! What if we fake married for real? (⁠ʃ⁠ƪ⁠＾⁠3⁠＾) ~★

"To give someone a pair of horns" is to cheat on them. Also, Rook gets involved because he'd absolutely adore to be part of the drama.

— (⁠╬⁠☉⁠д⁠⊙⁠)⁠⊰⁠⊹ฺ

Idia knows he's not frozen like the others, but honestly, he feels like it. He feels like even his lungs, even his heart has stopped. All because of this cute-faced npc who forced her way into a romance route with him. If he could think about it, he'd think about that horror game with the same story, but right now his mind is blank.

He has reached the point of no return. Actually dying would just reinforce his fate.

Or, at least, is what he thought. Almost as if answering to his thoughts, there's a loud noise coming from the other side of the doors, followed by footsteps.

Then the doors are thrown open by none other than (Y/N), the Ramshackle Housewarden that the school affectionately tends to call "Prefect".

She's dressed to the nines in a breathtaking wedding gown, the skirt pooling around her like God-Tier CGI, the blue accents contrasting beautifully with the pearly white of the dress, the blue roses decorating her head in a crown making her look like Persephone herself. She'd look perfect, if it weren't for the tear streaks her make-up left behind.

Wait. Tear streaks?

The silence breaks with the Prefects loud, shrill screech, a sound no one has ever thought she, the usually soft spoken and gentle Prefect, would be capable of.

"HOMEWRECKER!"

Without stopping to breath, she walks forwards, looking angrier and angrier each step taken.

"How dare you, you conniving bitch?! How dare you steal my groom! ON OUR WEDDING DAY?!" she screams at Eliza, stopping in the middle of the way to point at... at Idia himself?! "And you! You good-for-nothing two-timer! How dare you leave me waiting at the altar?!"

"Young man, I am terribly disappointed!" Professor Crewel chides from behind her, and Idia finally notices the group that actually came in with her. "I did not give you permission to marry my daughter, my first and only daughter, for you to break her heart on her happiest day!"

"Big brother! How could you! Think of your child!" Ortho chimes in, and if Idia hadn't built tear tracks on the boy himself, he would believe firmly in his tears. "Little Meg would be so sad if her daddy just left for another woman!"

"Idia, what is the meaning of this?!" it's Eliza's turn to screech, turning to him with fury in her eyes. Idia stutters a few random letters, trying to form words, just as confused as she is.

Until it clicks.

Right. Fake relationship. How could he forget one of the most cliche tropes in romance's history?

"I... I... t-this isn't what it looks like!" he finally manages to say, trying to look as desperate as he can, which is not hard considering what his fate is in case this plan fails. "I can explain!"

"Is it because of my past with Rook?! "

"Young man, you're still hung up on that, despite being the only man I've ever approved for my daughter?"

"What?!" someone yells in the crowd, but the man in question promptly enters the play as if he was born for this moment alone.

"Monsieur, I have told you this already, but I shall say it again! My dear dove's happiness is the most important to me! If she has chosen you, then my heart shall settle!" What the fuck, why is Rook so good at improv?

"I-I know!" calm down, Idia, think of this as a rhythm game and keep the beat going! "I don't... I don't want this, but this villainess wouldn't listen!"

"Wait, so this woman is telling the truth?!"

"This woman?! THIS WOMAN?! You mean his true bride?!" (Y/N) steps closer, fat crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks, smudging her make-up even more. "You- you- you husband-stealer! Know your place! You come into my house, you steal my groom and the father of my daughter-"

"I see no child-"

"Do you think I'd bring my child to see my husband's mistress?!"

"Big sister, calm down, think of the baby! Your stress levels are dangerously high!"

"WHAT BABY?!"

"Monsieur Shroud, if you do not fix this situation, I shall be taking my belle back! Do not worry, the children will not grow without a father!"

[period-dramallama]

Spanish Princess episode 7: the episode that had no right to be as good as it was

Come with meeeeeeeeee and you’ll beeeeeeeeeee in a wooooooooooooooooooorld of English Reformation~

-OK I had a lot of thoughts on how this ep handled Protestantism but the TLDR is: they misunderstood the theology of it, IMHO, but they actually were much more balanced than I was expecting.

-Maybe it’s my bias, but the printing press scenes were awesome. 

-the word ‘Protestant’ is being used 30 years too soon- but I get why they’re using it.

-”You’re dead Sassenach” some people have pointed out the guy called that is a Scot but I think the boy’s just using it as an insult and they’re play-fighting so I think he’s pretending his opponent is English Scum just as Hal Stewart’s pretending to be killed

-Accuracy! Thomas More did indeed lead a raid on the Steelyard, IIRC, though again it’s prob happening too soon, and he’s not undersheriff any more. They continue to knit sweaters out of the thread of linear time

-”the answer does not lie in here but in there,” I was highkey worried Henry was going to point at his own testicles.

-Please get Henry a barber. He has superglued a party city wig to his own face.

-”we were going after deer!” he sounds so much like a spoiled child i have to laugh

-the way Georgie says NO i love the inflection so much, I should make it my text alert for my least favourite people.

-”She creates bad humour in our land” “You mean she’s rude about your poetry?” “SO RUDE *sobs*”

-Wolsey has a reputation for relative tolerance and inaction on heresy, but historians seem to be finding that he was more invested in punishing heresy than previous histories and depictions (eg Wolf Hall) have shown. (At least so far as it was his job to do). He’s still hella villainized in this show.

-Allying with Angus? Sounds like Bad Decision #785

-CGI London looks way too big for a city of ~70,000 people

-Lina, I love you, but it has never been safe for a woman to walk around London alone at night. Not in 2020, 1820, or 1520. Especially before the invention of street lamps.

You can tell this episode was written by men

-”an army is for valiant purpose” Oviedo I love you but you’re a soldier, you’ve seen wars fought for political gain and not for moral reasons. Why you only shocked now? You should be more concerned that you’re attacking civilians instead of fellow militarymen.

-”what are you doing in the church?” “bitch i live here”

-”where are your ladies?” good question

-”it’s her own soul she risks, not mine” when you’re so selfish you accidentally become the most religiously tolerant person in the room.

-Wolsey’s face was a joy this episode. I want to make a moodboard of his beautiful sassy faces.

-the way Wolsey said “Thomas...” at More and Maggie looked angry... I think she was thinking “Really? You’re going to steal MY man now?!”

-why’s Henry Pole guarding More?? He’s a baron?? He outranks More??

-”maybe even have some lemon cake” it’s official, Margaret Pole is Sansa Stark

-”bathe me better and I will relax” she is literally a toddler omg

-”I have bathed you for years, no lady could do better” you can say that again, any other lady would have dunked katherine’s head under the water by now

-”to love the king why do you have to hate so many others” 

what happened?? the lines?? are so good?? i am SHOOKETH

-shot of the wavering compass...heavy-handed but i loved it

-Ursula geeking out over her garden :’) i get it girl i got into gardening myself this year.

-”my wife is the only sight I care for” *smooch* the second man in England to have rights! Thank god they’re so in love, given the real couple were married for 40 years. (They totally left the room to go make out, didn’t they.)

-Raiders of the Lost Inheritance Deeds

-WHERE ARE THE BOLEYN GIRLS?? THESE ARE STARTING TO BE THE YEARS THEY’RE AT COURT??

-God Stephenie was amazing this episode. I felt her pain, she became such a more well-rounded character, I’m so glad she got to speak her mind to Catherine instead of continuing to simp for her and excuse her behaviour. If she betrays her secret next episode, her character arc will be complete. Also, after whitewashing Isabella’s actions as Gurl Powah, it’s so refreshing to have Lina call out religious persecution of all flavours, not just against Lutherans. 

-”my own husband?” Lina...did you just... tell Catherine your husband isn’t Christian? Run?

-My theory was correct! TSP!KOA is indeed trying to be her mother!

-”ugly altar boys” Aardvark is on FIRE this episode. Everyone is bringing their snark game.

-good use of spooky strings

-mention of humours! Accuracy point! Also I’m glad that Katherine hanging out in her nightdress with men was called out for being hella sus in the Tudor worldview.

-the whole torture dungeon reveal reminded me of a similar scene in the 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow, but apart from that, it was perfect. No dialogue, just the camera, the props and Laura, and you tell the whole story with her face. This is why show don’t tell is so important!

-yes i am biased bc i never liked the ship, but the break up scene was great, for both their characters: More’s allowed to explain his worldview and Maggie is able to call him out. Also it answered the question “why Thomas More and not some tutor OC?” I’m not sure the bombshell justifies writing their romance, but at least it explains its existence. At least it built to some Juicy Drama. 

-poor Maggie though. The man she wants to sleep with won’t sleep with her, the man who wants to sleep with her she doesn’t want. Then she befriends both of them, only to lose their friendship when one dies of the plague and the other she wishes died of the plague because he’s terrible. Also her cousins keep being executed, her daughter’s terrified, and her son is way too fond of violence. Give the girl a hug.

-”watch your step” yeah we wouldn’t want you to get a splinter on your way to get your head lopped off. That would really suck. 

-the way the crowd groaned when henry’s letter was read out... they sounded like football fans when their team misses a goal.

-”Henry” just henry? not henry the king? No “PS: I’m so random lol” “PS: blow a kiss to Wolsey” No “Henry ex-oh-ex-oh-ex-oh”

-the obligatory gross thing obvs is the sideways beheading. His head bounces!

TLDR: By far and away, the best ep in the show so far in my opinion. It almost feels like it’s set in the sixteenth century. The history was still dodgy af, and so was much of the dialogue, but the drama was much more solid and less plot-holey, the pacing was good, and the foolish mistakes of Stafford and Catherine had actual consequences for the plot, the actors knocked it out of the park, some of the lines were accidentally brilliant. 

[365days365movies]

January 13, 2021: House of Flying Daggers (2004)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was HUGE. I don’t just mean on this blog, I mean in the United States in 2000 and 2001. If you were alive and aware of movies that year, then you remember people talking about this movie. It was, and is to this day, the highest grossing foreign-language film in the United States. So what does that mean?

It means that Ang Lee wouldn’t be the only wuxia film director to cross the pond. Two years later, a little movie called Hero would be released internationally. That wuxia would eventually become the #3 highest-grossing foreign language movie in the USA. It’]s director was an old hat wuxia director in China, Zhang Yimou.

Yimou’s success on China never translated in the USA, until Hero in 2002. After that, he would release more films in the USA, one of the most recent being...oh. OH. OH NO, The Great Wall starring Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, and Willem Dafoe?!? THAT’S A ZHANG YIMOU MOVIE?

...I mean, Ang Lee made the 2003 Hulk, so I guess nobody’s perfect. Anyway, House of Flying Daggers.

Zhang Ziyi’s back! This is another critically acclaimed movie, but wasn’t nearly as popular in the USA. It was nominated for one Academy Award, for Best Cinematography, but it lost to The Aviator. I’ll talk about that one in the future the way of the future the way of the future the way of the future.

But OK, enough introduction, IT’S WUXIA TIME WOOO SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

The House of Flying Daggers is a Robin Hood organization, stealing from the wealthy and giving to the disenfranchised in a particularly poor area and time period in China. Their biggest enemies, as you’d expect from a Robin Hood group, are the police, who are conspiring to take down their leader within ten days, whomever they may be.

One of these policeman is Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), who goes to the Peony Pavilion, an “entertainment house” full of beautiful women. See, the leader’s daughter is rumored to be working there as a new showgirl.

This is the blind dancer Mei (Zhang Ziyi), who’s questioned awkwardly by the VERY drunk Jin. She dances and sings for him, as requested. Good time to mention something that I didn’t mention yesterday: Zhang Ziyi has no martial arts background prior to her film career. Instead, her background is in dance! She learned fight choreography in that film the same way she learned dance choreography. So, it’s neat to see her return to her roots.

It’s less neat to see Jin straight-up sexually assault her and get arrested by the cops. So, y’know, ups and downs there. To prevent from getting arrested herself, Mei accepts the offer to play a game called “Echo.” This is prompted by another police officer, Leo (Andy Lau). He, uh...throws beans at a circle of drums, and she responds by hitting the drums with her sleeves. Yeah. Sounds dumb, right? Well, check out how it looks.

This is a very different movie, as compared to CTHD. And yeah, I’m only 15 minutes in, but the choreography is far more artistically flourished. Yeah. I said that as compared to CTHD. Only time will tell, but this full dance sequence is definitely interesting to watch.

Anyway, as you can see above, it ends once Mei grabs the captain’s sword with her sleeve ribbons, and challenges him to a duel. She also TOTALLY blows her cover as a sympathizer to the House of Flying Daggers, and the two fight.

This fight does NOT go well for her, and she’s arrested. Also, it would seem that the drunken display by Jin was actually just a ruse, meant to get her to play the game and reveal herself. Seems...complicated, but it got result, I guess? Anyway, they threaten her with torture (like you do), unless she gives them information of the new leader of the House of Fly...HoFD. There. If CTHD gets an acronym, so does this.

Suddenly, though, a ninja appears and sets Mei free, fighting off the guards. Said ninja reveals himself as...Jin? They refamiliarize themselves.

Very refamiliar.

Anyway, the soldiers are indeed approaching, and Mei and Jin go on the run. The policemen chase them down on horses, and Mei takes down three horses and the guys riding them...with a scabbard. By herself. Badass.

That’s followed by her taking on four armed men at once, although this round doesn’t go nearly as well.

Luckily for her, however, Jin arrives in the nick of time to save her. We get this VERY cool POV arrow shot:

And the two leave. HOWEVER, the policeman ALL get up at the end, which means...Jin’s lying about all of this, huh? It’s a ruse to find to location of the HoFD, using Mei as an unwitting guide. Oof. Liar revealed plot set-up, huh? If that’s the case...I’ll get into that more later.

Jin leaves a message for his fellows, while Mei bathes and puts on men’s clothes provided by Jin, as a disguise. 

It’s at this point that Jin decides to go FULL creep again, and GODDAMN is it not working for me. It is...UNCOMFORTABLE, knowing what we know about Jin. And yet, despite that information...

It’s working for Mei. Yeah, they make out. Mei does say that it’s too soon, and that she doesn’t quite trust him that much yet...but they definitely made out there for a hot sec. It was...yup.

We get a reminder the Jin’s kind of an emotionally manipulative asshole as he meets with Leo, who warns her not to “fall for her.” So. It IS one of these stories, huh? We’ll see how it goes, but...yeah, not digging the love story so far.

And yet, as I say that, there goes Jin, falling in love with her. Soldiers consistently follow them wherever they go. Looks like the plan is backfiring, as soldiers who aren’t one of Jim’s cohorts believe that he’s a member of the HoFD, having broke Mei out of jail and all. So they attack them in earnest, even injuring Jin somewhat.

And that’s when Mei brings out the dagger. The Flying Dagger. THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGER.

I tell ya...that’s cool. Might be a CGI house of flying dagger (LOT of CGI in this movie, by the way, and none of it is technically...good), but I love it. The two fight off the soldiers in the field using the house of flying daggers and arrows, but reinforcements arrive. The two fight them in a sequence that’s more dance than ight. And it’s pretty cool. But they’re soon outnumbered.

Until...some wooden dowels come out of NOWHERE, impaling them in the neck and taking them down. Having survived, the two rest in the field, pondering where the dowels came from. And, of course, making out.

Although, this time, Mei starts it, and Jin refuses. He leaves, at her urging, and meets with Leo. Turns out the General sent the soldiers in the field, and is sending more to kill Mei AND Jin. And, as a note, Jin just KILLED some of those guys, as did Mei. Arrow boys from earlier lived, since it was a set-up for Mei. But, no, Jin actually has to kill the soldiers coming up.

That’s when he realizes that the General doesn’t care about him, at ALL, and he’s willing to shed the blood of his men and of Jin to get his goals met. And Jin...quits. Jin STRAIGHT UP quits, and returns to Mei. They get into a spat, and Mei leaves. And she goes to...

A bamboo forest. Thank you, China, for loving bamboo so much in these movies, because this sequence is gorgeous. I tell you, these movies do real well with the bamboo green color. Gorgeous.

The soldiers ambush Mei there, but Jin’s caught up, and he helps fight them off. Some awesome bamboo tricks (and sounds, by the way, real neat sounds here), more object-throwing (including a lot of using the bamboo stalks as weapons, which is SUPER FUCKIN’ COOL), and some gorgeous cinematography though the forest. Real talk, this scene made the movie for me. So far, anyway. We even get a BADASS bamboo spike trap! And it’s here that our pair is caught.

AND THEN

IT’S THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS FUCK YEAH

Looks like the madam of the entertainer’s house actually is the head of the HoFD, once again upholding the tradition of badass women of wuxia that we’ve seen in LITERALLY ALL THREE of these movies.

The leader asks if Jin likes Mei, and would consider marrying her. It’s far too soon for Jin, and he’s formally captured by the HoFD. They knew about his and Leo’s plan, and drag a captured Leo in as well. AND, AND...MEI’S NOT BLIND, or the daughter of the leader!!! Yeah! She’s been faking the whole movie! HA! Liar revealed indeed!

Didn’t see that one coming! Mei’s just a normal anti-governmentrevolutionary, and Jin’s now just a prisoner alongside Leo. But another twist, as this isn’t the actual leader of the HoFD. Leo reveals this; and how does he know that? LEO...IS A GODDAMN MOLE IN THE GOVERNMENT!!! WHAT????? YES! Leo’s a member of the HoFD, and he was planted three years ago to spy on the cops! And...AND...HE’S MEI’S FIANCEE!! WHAT IN THE SHIT?!?

OH I AM FULLY INVESTED. What the hell else is gonna happen? How about a game of Echo?

Yeah, that scene from earlier? No wonder it was a dance! It was the reunion between two lovers, long since parted! Holy shit, THIS is a romance I can fully get behind! But...can Mei? Because she certainly isn’t feeling it as much as Leo is...

Yup. Looks like she fell in love with Jin after all. Uh oh. BIG UH OH. And there goes my support of their romance, as Leo tries to rape Mei. Nia, the leader, ain’t having it, and throws a dagger into Jin’s back. He goes back to spy on the cops, but not before shaming Mei. Oof. I take it back. 

And now, Mei’s been told to kill Jin. I’m sure that’s gonna happen.

YUP

Well, after they have Field Sex (probably better than CTHD’s Cave Sex, let’s be honest), they decide to go their separate ways, becoming fated lovers on two separate sides. But Mei has second thoughts, and goes back.

Somebody else comes back, too.

YIKES, LEO! Yeah, he kills her right there in the field, blaming her for making him kill her! YIKES, LEO!!! I take it back, you’re a DICK.

Jin ALSO comes back for Mei, and finds Leo instead. A pissed-off Leo reveals himself to Jin, and the two engage in a sword battle for Mei. And then...autumn turns to winter.

As the army encroaches on the HoFD in the bamboo forest, two former friends shed blood amongst the snow. Their fight...their fight is brutal. The choreography may not be the fanciest...but it is insanely and viciously emotional. Blood and snow, man. Blood and snow.

Also, hey, guess who’s alive after all! Mei gets up, despite the DAGGER IN HER CHEST STILL. She asks Leo to let Jin go, or she’ll USE THE DAGGER IN HER CHEST TO KILL HIM. METAL. Obviously, that’ll actually kill her, So Jin asks her not to do it. But it doesn’t matter in the end.

Mei throws her dagger to intercept Leo’s. And Leo...never throws his dagger..

Leo leaves. Mei dies. Jin cries and sings their song.

A rare beauty in the North. She’s the finest lady on earth. A glance from her, the whole city goes down. A second glance leaves the nation in ruins. There exists no city or nation that has been more cherished than a beauty like this. A rare beauty in the North. She’s the finest lady on earth. A glance from her, the whole city goes down. A second glance leaves the nation in ruins. There exists no city or nation that has been more cherished than a beauty like this.

And we never see what happens to the...House of Flying Daggers.

WHOOF. Epilogue soon.

[dxc-95]

VeggieTales

Lately I’ve been watching VeggieTales, both ones I had seen as a kid (King George and the Ducky, The Toy That Saved Christmas, and Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space; I also had the PC game, Veggie Tales: The Mystery of Veggie Island) Mostly because Saberspark posted his long-awaited video on VeggieTales, including how it started and fell apart. I’ve been searching for and watching the ones I find interesting on YouTube (sucks that most of them are marked “Kid Friendly”, thus disabling the comments; I like to see people discussing the episodes)

The most recent one I finished was “Esther... the Girl Who Became Queen”. Her [Esther’s] character design is interesting, from her whited and irised eyes (which apparently became the norm when VeggieTales went to Netflix; I’ve seen the pics and... not a fan -_-) to her hair, which apparently was such a nightmare to animate, they never used her again. But with VeggieTales apparently being made again, with some of the original people behind it, and being closer to its original forms, I wonder if she’d be used again, since CGI tech has come so far and made things easier.

But what I wanted to talk about was how adorable the “movie” was (can you call them movies? They’re half-an-hour, as the theme song explains, but this was more of a special) Mostly coming from the king, Xerxes, played by Mr. Nezzer. I’m actually gonna talk about him for a minute. I was pretty much today years old, give or take a few days, when I found out he was not a pickle, as kid!me thought he was, but was actually a zucchini. Beyond that though, from what I’ve seen of VeggieTales as a kid, he usually played a bad guy (Toy That Saved X-Mas, and Veggie Isle) This was one of the first episodes I say (after Lord of the Beans) where he was a good guy.

Speaking of, I don’t know if enough people talk about how charming and adorable his character, King Xerxes was :3 Heck, from the beginning when Haman kicked out the queen, instead of Xerxes advocating for her banishment, thus making it seem like he ordered it, he instead asked if that wasn’t too harsh. This pretty much tells us this was Haman’s idea. Heck, Haman seemed to be pulling the strings (I won’t try to go movie-analyst on this, I promise XD)

In any case, even though the episode didn’t have much romance, if any at all (the only mention of Esther and Xerxes being married was the “head chef” mentioning that every newly-wed needed a cake) you could tell he was smitten with Esther after hearing her sing. And after she had warned him about the trap. And when he was sitting on his throne, wondering if she would like him; wondering if, were he a guy who cleaned after the camels, or a lawyer (XD) if she would like him. It was just so cute! X3 Not to mention SPOILER ALERT! how angry he was when it was revealed Haman tricked him into signing a law that would send Esther and her family to the Island of Perpetual Tickling (this show sometimes XD) I know him calling her “his queen” was basically on the tin, it being her title, but I could see him calling her that as a pet name.

Like I said, the episode doesn’t make a big deal out of them being in a romantic relationship, outside of the comment about him being a newly-wed (not to mention she becomes his queen) but the substance is still absolutely adorable. I think it also helps that Mr. Nezzer, as a whole, is a big guy with an Oogie Boogie-esque voice (NEVER put that together until I saw someone point it out; have I mentioned I can be kinda dense at times? XD) which makes him quite endearing when he’s not being a jerk. I’ll bet if the episode was made into a movie, or at least a longer special, it would have focused more on their relationship, even if it was portrayed as a friendship (I don’t see VeggieTales focusing on romance; they’re not super overtly-Christian, but regardless)

Anyway, I just wanted to talk about that because I don’t see a lot of people talking about that aspect of the movie; mostly just Esther (which isn’t a bad thing; like I mentioned, her design is quite interesting) and the story as a whole. I just found it really cute myself.

[thegirlwholied]

ten faves

Rules: name ten favorite characters from ten different things (tv, movies, books, etc.). 

Thanks for tagging me @bibliophileiz ; exactly the sort of distraction I both needed (and that my current concentration-level is capable of) at the moment! Hard choices ~ especially as many of my favorites come in pairs! ~ but my top ten today...

...after draft error #97 or so, sorry in advance for the scroll, and for anyone else who winds up responding, do not draft on your phone take my word for it... 

Princess Bride: Inigo Montoya

Which character don't I love in Princess Bride? Even Humperdink is such a pitch-perfect villain. But while I'd choose Westley if I was picking a date... Inigo's the one who captures me, every time. It's not the desire for revenge itself that's compelling; it's the love for his father - the heartbreak, the dedication, even the defeat and the rise again (the "you told me to go back to the beginning scene" comes to mind as one that stays with me and is probably a huge influence on things I think of but haven't really written yet...)

Harry Potter: Sirius Black

Yes, that's a gif of Midnight Mark from Pirate Radio, because I very much mean the book version (sorry, Gary Oldman!). Is anyone following me surprised by this one?

I'm so fascinated by all of the Marauder era characters, both as they are on the page and the hinted-at aspects of them explored in fandom; love Lily/James... but Sirius is the Harry Potter character I think of first (honorable mention to non-HP Edmond Dantès, as I love Count of Monte Cristo and think much of Sirius' plotline owes that a clear debt). Aside from being a tragedy, aside from all his great lines, what a *fascinating* character and twist, in a way, on the fairy godmother plot in his first book 3 appearance (getting Harry the Firebolt, his permission slip, etc). I could say SO much more but will avoid writing an essay.

Smallville/Superman comics/adaptations: Lois Lane

Always a favorite character for me, but Erica Durance in Smallville is my favorite version. I feel like they gave her a bit of Marian Ravenwood (specifically in the outdrinking the frat boys scene) and leaned into the modern comics "army brat" angle so well.

Anne of Green Gables: Anne Shirley.

With honorable mentions to of course Jo March, other fellow aspiring writer Emily of New Moon, and Pippi Longstocking, other fun redhead of my childhood reading... Anne, and all her drama and dreams and mishaps, wins out as most relatable for me. Book heroine of my heart.

Speaking of childhood book heroines...

Star Wars: Jaina Solo.

Look, this is partly to save me between picking a favorite between Leia and Han (a dilemma which has haunted me since childhood, in part because, guiltily, it's Han), and serious honorable mentions to Mara Jade and especially Jyn Erso here... but Jaina was *everything* I wanted in a heroine as a girl. We're talking about the Young Jedi Knights series here... though I actually started with Junior Jedi Knights featuring Anakin Solo (oh Anakin Solo 💙💔)... going into the New Jedi Order, as I stopped following the EU so passionately around there.

Jaina, who is brash and so her father's daughter but has a harder time seeing she's also her mother's, the Rogue Squadron pilot, the wielder of a purple lightsaber, the mechanic... my inner little girl will never quite forgive the sequels for failing to give me a Solo daughter (sorry, Rey; I still think Daisey Ridley was pitch-perfect Jaina Solo casting... and honestly part of me considers the sequels the "weirdest Jacen & Jaina fan fiction ever" 🤷🏻‍♀️)

BtVS (out of the whole Whedonverse really): Buffy

My other favorites in the show are really also doubles/foils for Buffy: Cordelia Chase & Faith. But the first episode of the show I ever saw was "Anne" and so I've always known I would watch an entire show with just Buffy (... I would also watch an entire show of her friends dealing with her absence, but that's more about *plot* than character). I love the concept alone of Buffy's character - overturning the blonde damsel in distress trope by making her what monsters fear - but I mostly just love her; favorite Chosen One ever. “No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away, and what's left?"/"Me."

...and now it gets very hard, where my early choices were more instinctive and now I keep thinking of others and can't decide. Tempted to make a bracket (I feel like Sirius and Inigo have some crossover, but how could I put them against each other)?

But ("if you had to choose, if you had to choose") to get at some of my other favorite character types and embodiments thereof...

2010-me would never believe I'm going to say this, but: Jaime Lannister.

I'm usually not a villain girl... but of course, he isn't a villain, though he starts out cast in that light. Slightly annoyed I’m picking Game of Thrones (yes, even grouping the books in that, as post Storm of Swords, I remember thinking "this could really benefit from the tightening the show will likely give it" ahahahahahahaha whoops). And yet. Where did that "came for the Starks; stayed for the Lannisters" quote come from? I feel very attacked by it.

"The things I do for love". The boy who wanted to be Arthur Dayne and somewhere along the way became the Smiling Knight. The reveal that he's not (or at least so much MORE than) who he seemed : perhaps not the comparison you'd expect but ah yes that Mr. Darcy twist always does it for me. So much character development (let's not speak of how the show ended, but still). 

The motives, in particular:  I love the Spike backstory reveal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Fool for Love, and in many ways I think Spike and Jaime hit the same note for me. He’s definitely a character that stays with me. Also, he hits that "golden boy" type I also like but in a *very* interesting way (and oh no now mentioning golden boy is making me think of Aron and Cal in East of Eden, I don't have room to even consider them on this list but know I love them both...)

Speaking of golden boys (also I cannot believe this is the only character from a musical I'm choosing, and Eponine’s a character that haunts me too, but...)

Enjolras.

Michael Maguire is not a golden Enjolras but was my introduction to the character and still a (the?) favorite. Love both book & musical Enjolras in different ways. But inspiring idealists with the light of rebellion abalaze in their eyes...? Facing death & despair still waving the flag? Ah yes. Top ten, 10/10.

Favorite detective out of all mysteries really, but especially from the Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Super Mysteries: Nancy Drew.

An icon. Why is it so hard to have a good Nancy Drew adaptation? (The new TV series lost me with going with actual ghosts - I love my supernatural shows, but I don't need that with Nancy Drew.) Detective characters tend to be some of my favorites; honorable mention to Shawn Spencer from Psych here, but I was reminded in watching that recently (as Maggie Lawson, Jules on Psych, had once played Nancy Drew in a Disney movie! ... that I need to find and rewatch as I remember almost nothing about it) a) how much I love a good mystery and b) that Nancy is the OG.

Speaking of icons... out of all the folklore & mythology I love, it’s clear what character I love best: Robin Hood.

Oh, I love my Arthurian knights, but I love all Robin Hoods more. Trickster heroes, rob-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor-justice, true love... cheeky 1952-movie Robin Hood is my favorite - both favorite Robin and favorite Marian, and their childhood-friends-to-lovers romance is the epitome of that trope for me! - but I also love the fox version...and am very alarmed at the prospect of a CGI remake of that; I'm sorry but that is not live action... and also Errol Flynn! It has to be Robin. If this was a ranked list (it’s not) he’d probably take #1. 

My ten slots won out to other characters, but also I love every Tamora Pierce character and if I had to pick one, it would be Daine Sarrasri, YA fantasy heroine out of all magical girls (and yes over the lady knights; sorry Alanna and Kel; Daine had wolves for friends). Also shout out that I love a LOT of characters named Marian, aside the already-mentioned Maid Marian -- Marian Ravenwood (& Indy!), Marian ‘the Librarian’ Paroo (& Harold Hill!), X-Men’s Rogue (usually named Anna Marie when a name’s revealed, but a Marian in at least one version, & her own thief Gambit)... to quote Thin Man, “You got types?”

I’ve got types. 

If you’re reading this and have types yourself, please @ me them! But tagging, if you’d like, @conniecorleone​ @aliform​ @aurorawest​ @vivacephoenix @justkeeponthegrass

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Dragon Quest: Your Story

To begin with, I wryly note that I am perhaps the person LEAST suited to review a Dragon Quest animated film. I haven’t played any of the games and the sum total of my knowledge of most of them is “the beloved long-running JRPG franchise that isn’t Final Fantasy”. It has thus far, you might gather, escaped my general notice and interest outside of “nice to see Akira Toriyama gainfully employed in between Dragon Ball projects”. Yet the movie intrigued from a distance: the CGI style was far more appealing than much of the cel-shaded kind you often see coming out of Japanese animation, more akin to a Disney or Pixar style while retaining a certain Toriyama-esque charm. The director, Takashi Yamazaki, is also of interest, having directed as many live action projects as animated ones, albeit still with an emphasis on visual effects a lot of the time (Returner, adaptations of Parasyte and Space Battleship Yamato), and he previously translated the stalwart Doraemon’s cutesy stylized roundness into an appealing form for CGI in Stand By Me Doraemon, as well as the recent Lupin III: The First (which I hope gets a U.S. release sooner rather than later). Thus enticed, I decided to give Dragon Quest: Your Story a whirl.

The story starts out in some pretty rote, familiar places, aided by what I assume are recreations of the original sprite animations from the game this is based on, Dragon Quest V, apparently one of the most beloved entries in the franchise (no pressure or anything). Young Luca (Julian Lerner, then Yuri Lowenthal) lives an adventuring life with his father Pankraz (Parker Simmons-yes, the Mao Mao one), a former warrior, as they search for his missing mother and befriend characters like the snooty Prince Harry (Elijah Rayman, then Zeno Robinson). Things quickly (and I MEAN quickly, the prologue material is not even 10 minutes long) go to pot as the evil wizard Ladja (Jason Marnocha) attacks, killing Pankraz and enslaving the boys. A decade passes as Luca and Harry are put to work on a temple for undoubtedly sinister purposes, and they finally escape thanks to the help of kindly Dr. Agon (Neil Kaplan, and yes, I’m ashamed it took me as long as it did to catch on to the pun there when a certain reveal happens). From there, various adventures and shenanigans happen as we build up to the final confrontation with Ladja and his unseen master Nimzo: monster battles, a romantic subplot involving Luca’s two childhood friends and which one he might choose to ultimately marry, as well as another, far more drastic in its circumstances timeskip.

Up to the point of the final battle, Your Story is an agreeable enough fantasy adventure, even if I got a distinct sense it was preaching to the choir in many respects. Clearly fan favorite characters appear and vanish from the narrative in equal measure and with little fanfare beyond “Hey! This person is Important!”, and the major dramatic beats are, with one or two exceptions, rushed as hell: we’ve barely met and established Pankraz and Luca’s relationship before he’s six feet under, and the aforementioned romance dilemma is introduced and resolved within about 15 minutes of screentime. They seem like things that I suspect had far more time to sink into the player’s psyche over much longer periods of gameplay and put it more into one’s hands narratively.

Still, I suppose brisk pacing in a 90 minute movie is something to applaud, and the loose animation and dynamic action direction carry things along nicely; a particular highlight is a chase and fight with a monster that resolves itself in a quite clever fashion. The dub performances are quite strong too, NYAV Post being one of the most consistently interesting and versatile dubbing studios in the American market (they did an excellent job recently with the difficult Weathering With You). They go fairly old-school and archetypal for this, almost reminding me of 90s dubs, if not in a bad way (all the charm, none of the hideous audio quality). Lowenthal makes for an affable hero as ever, charming, determined, and an awkward dork in equal measure. Robinson is so much fun that I wish Harry was far more of a presence, giving him a pompous likability and genuine heroism; this guy’s going places. Stephanie Sheh grants Bianca the tomboy a nicely brassy-but-sweet quality, Xanthe Huynh brings a more wide-ranging feel to the gentle Nera than we might expect, and Kaplan is reliably grouchy and helpful as Agon. Though the standout performance is easily Marnocha, making Ladja a truly nasty force to be reckoned with in his gleeful villainy that almost reminds one of Mark Hamill’s Joker at points. All in all, it’s a handsomely mounted production and one I was getting into the spirit of even if I was frankly lost at points.

And then things get....weird.

The film ramps up to its big action climax: secrets are revealed, showdowns are had, and everything seems to be heading to its big climactic moment, only for the game to....crash. Luca finds himself in a strange white void, confronted by “Nimzo”, who coldly informs him that none of this was real and it was all a virtual reality simulation; rather than a demonic big bad, he’s a virus introduced by a bored rogue programmer here to tell the player that he’s a loser for being so attached to his nostalgia.

Yes, it seems that not even one of the most venerated and beloved JRPG franchises of all time can escape the hot current trend of Isekai Syndrome. It’s certainly an INTERESTING twist/made me sit up and pay attention, but outside of a couple big hints, it comes right the fuck out of nowhere and interrupts what was a fairly natural ending to the film. Its thematic conclusion is odd too. There’s a genuine conversation to be had about the hold nostalgia and remembrance can have over us culturally: there’s a divide in wanting to celebrate the art that helped make you who you are as a person whilst keeping in mind that it is ultimately art, in the end, and much of it had flaws that you did not perceive at the time or can have troubling messages. Your Story....does not really go this route: the villain tells the player character to get a life and the response is essentially NUH UH, IT WAS REAL TO ME, DAMMIT.

This eludes any larger questions and frankly seems a little like sour grapes against some imagined force saying that you can’t enjoy your childhood favorite video games anymore (driven home by a warmly lit montage of the player growing from child to man while playing the game). Perhaps even stranger is that this is rather at odds, arguably, with the themes the film’s adaptation of V was setting up, which WAS in many ways about growing up and becoming an adult with family and responsibilities (something I suspect, once more, was more prominent in the game). And then it just...ends after the player drives out Nimzo and the virus, Luca and the other heroes riding off into the sunset, with no other point to be made.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the film, certainly. It has old-school charm and humor to spare, and it made me interested enough to look up V itself (which had, as I surmised, a lot more content, including an entire potential love interest). And Yamazaki is a talented director in this medium, pushing the boundaries and production values of what Japanese CGI films can do (as said, I’m quite excited for his Lupin). Even the twist makes it stand out in many regards. Yet I can’t help but feel a sense of disquiet at its empty (and quite male-centric) and hollow nostalgia. It is all flash and style, but ultimately lacking in the way of real substance.

That being said...I wouldn’t necessarily mind a Chrono Trigger movie now....

[coll2mitts]

#65 Beauty and the Beast (2017)

I’m burning through my Disney+ subscription, and instead of this forever cursing my drafts section until I work my way through the other lower movies on this list, you’re getting this one now.

Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney movie as a child.  Belle was smart, she read a lot, and she was a bit of an outcast, which were my only identifiers as a wee lass (other than being obnoxious and constantly having tangled hair).  I'm going to bet that this movie is the reason so many girls my age went through a Paris phase in their tween years.  I did take 3 years of high school French that I have almost no memory of.  

The original's animation is gorgeous, the songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman are iconic, and the romance between two people who learn how to trust and support each other... it's probably the reason why I've stayed in terrible relationships for way too long.  My father took me to see this movie in theaters when I was 6, and it is the first movie I remember crying during out of sadness.  There I was, while the Beast was dying, trying to hide the fact tears were streaming down my face because I didn't want my dad to see I was crying and not take me to see another movie again.  When they adapted it for Broadway, I listened to that soundtrack over and over...  "Home" was my favorite song, and the end still makes me cry like a 6-year-old.  It's perfect.

I had attempted to watch this remake once before.  I hated it so much I started drinking, and then peaced out so hard when Lumiere started moving that I had to watch Moana to normalize myself.  Visually, this movie is what happens when the Uncanny Valley turns into the fucking Grand Canyon.  Little did I know that this movie gets worse... much worse... as it goes on, and that Stephen Chbosky, the author and director of The Perks of Being a Wallflower made it this way.  A man who wrote one of my most beloved novels and movie adaptations helped in creating this narrative monstrosity, and that, out of all of this, was the deepest cut of all.

I'm not rehashing the plot, because I have too much to say about why this remake shouldn't exist, and I’m going to guess you’ve either seen the movie or are familiar with this almost 300-year-old story.  It took the source material and just murdered it in its attempts to update it.  I'm going to start positive and work toward the biggest issue I had with it, because I'm currently writing angry and that never turns out well for me.

Things I liked:

This may be controversial, but I did like Josh Gad's performance as LeFou.  I'm not saying what LeFou did made any sense (he suddenly was upset Gaston was making things up again?), but as an actor, Josh Gad was working with what he had, and I think he owned it.

Chip's introduction to Maurice - I actually paused the movie because I was laughing so hard.

The piano playing the funeral march when it tackled LeFou.

When Mrs. Potts said Chip smelled good when he turned back into a little boy.  It was a cute little detail.

The guillotine joke in "Be Our Guest" and the Les Miserables barricade reference.

I actually thought Cogsworth was adorable for being a CGI nightmare.  I don't know how much of my opinion of this was influenced by the voice of Ian McKellan.

I really liked the costumes, except for Belle's gown, which was definitely a downgrade.  Micarah articulated the issues with it perfectly.

Celine Dion singing the credits song was a nice homage to her cover of "Beauty and the Beast", although it sucks she's associated with this nightmare of a remake.

Little quibbles:

Whatever they did to Emma Watson’s voice made her sound like a robot.

Almost all the CGI, especially the Beast, was completely unsettling.  The wardrobe was the worst of it, holy shit.

They went out of their way to explain plot holes like "Why don't the villagers remember the castle?" or “Why is it snowing when it looks like the middle of summer in the village?” or "How did Belle get the Beast up on that horse?" when none of that really matters to the overall narrative.

The reaction to Belle teaching a little girl how to read was unbelievably eye-roll inducing.  Lindsay Ellis' video on this is so fucking good, watch it now - You don't have to read the rest of my ramblings if you do. #beastforshe

Ariana Grande slurring her way through "Beauty and the Beast".

It was nice to see Maurice updated from a manic inventor to a level-headed, sweet, competent, reserved man who treats his daughter like an equal.  Clock-maker Maurice that actually takes care of Belle reads better to me, and I like how they had him wander into the garden to get a rose for her - it's a nice callback to the original story.  The problem with doing this, however, is it negates the "crazy old Maurice" narrative that plays heavily into why the villagers don't believe his tale of the Beast in the first place.  If Kevin Kline, a put-together man (up until this point), wandered into the tavern looking disheveled and conveying a story about his daughter being kidnapped, I'd be like, "Shit, Maurice, what did you see?!".  But instead, the story goes out of its way to put him at the mercy of Gaston, and shoehorn in an attempted murder plot to really turn everyone against him - it's bizarre.

Medium quibbles:

Gaston went from being a well-liked, athletically inclined dude to a literal predator and murderer.  Belle was a beautiful status symbol in the original movie, but she becomes literal game to Gaston in the remake, as he refers to her as prey, or something to be hunted.  When Maurice gets in-between him and Belle, Gaston punches him in the face and leaves him out in the forest to be eaten by wolves?!  What does this add to the story?!  Gaston wasn't right for Belle because he wasn't kind and didn't intellectually stimulate her, but that nuance is wasted on the remake, turning him into a full-blown vengeful villain that will literally kill Belle's family to get what he wants.

The first time Belle is brought to her room, there is this long panning shot showing off how nice it is, and she comments, in wonder, how she thinks its beautiful.  They had the fucking nerve to play “Home” in the background of this scene, completely ignoring the original context of the song is sadness and despair.  But go off, I guess...

The Big Enchilada:

This is where my notes went from eh????? to WHAT THE FUCK, so be prepared.  How someone with enough emotional maturity to write Perks can make the Beast into such an abusive asshole is so fucking beyond me, I'm still trying to process it.

Beauty and the Beast is a romance at heart, which you would never know by watching this movie, as Belle and the Beast have so little chemistry it's painful.  This might be because the Beast is abusive to Belle at every turn in the beginning, making the pivot from enemies to lovers so completely unbelievable it's shocking.  The remake is already at a deficit as the CGI Beast is terrifying, in contrast with the cartoon, which has the ability to make the Beast cuddly with big eyes and an expressive face.  But they still decide to take all of the Beast's inner conflict out of the remake, remove his agency completely out of the relationship with Belle, and make him supremely unlikable in every interaction they have together.

There are a few scenes that illustrate this, starting with the dinner invitation scene:

In the original, the Beast sees the pain he's inflicted by pulling Belle away from her father, and offers her a tour of the castle and a bedroom instead of a prison cell.  He also invites her to dine with him, although he could have gone about it wayyyy better.  He confides in his staff that she is beautiful, and he realizes she can break the spell, but he doesn't know how to appeal to her.  His staff give him tips on how to be charming and not so intimidating.  He is receptive, but overwhelmed, because he hasn't had to interact with any other human in years.  When he discovers she doesn't plan on eating with him, his anger takes over because she refused his hospitality, and he's a king, so how dare she?  The staff try to help him appear genteel, cause again, HE expressed interest in being appealing to her.  When this doesn't immediately work, he throws a massive tantrum and tells them not to feed her.  When he looks at Belle later in the mirror, he hears the direct result of his actions as Belle is ranting to the wardrobe.  He laments she'll never see him as a human because his actions have pushed her away.

In the remake, it's not the Beast’s idea to give Belle a room, or to invite her to dinner - it is his staff's intervening that puts him in that situation in the first place.  He doesn't even want to get to know her because she's a daughter of a thief, and that's somehow below his current social status of recluse animal/human hybrid.  His staff persuade him to give Belle a chance as they're all invested in breaking the spell because they'll turn into furniture if they don't!  They give him tips to manipulate her into opening the door, he tries it, it fails spectacularly, he gets angry and he leaves - but not before calling his staff idiots...  I appreciate he's not as physically violent in this version, but he just acts like he couldn’t be bothered with Belle.  He does spy on her from the mirror, but she looks bewildered.  He doesn't know if she's lonely, or missing her father, or what...  There's no indication that how he treated her in that moment has pushed her further away.  Then he just stares at the rose like, "Well, shit, this ticking time bomb is still ticking!".  It's completely self-focused.

Oh, and then Mrs. Potts tries to handwave the Beast’s behavior away with, "People say a lot of things in anger.  It is our choice whether or not to listen," which, excuse me, WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?!  You are in charge of how to interpret someone's actions, and you could just choose to ignore when they are being abusive??  I CAN'T.  She also tries to gaslight Belle into seeing how great the Beast is when Belle has had zero positive interactions with the dude since she's been there.  The wardrobe brings it up in the original, but this is after he's offered Belle a room and invited her to dinner himself, not by his staff...

The west wing scene and the Beast turning into less of a dick:

In the original, the Beast himself tells Belle not to go to the west wing.  Her curiosity brings her there, because she wants to understand more about him and what he is hiding.  She's invading his space knowing full well that she is invading his space.  When she is discovered, she's about to fuck around with something that is literally tied with the Beast's livelihood.  His anger is disproportionate, but justified, and you see that he immediately regrets his reaction after she runs away from him.  That’s why he goes after her.  Belle watches him risk his life to save her even though she broke a promise to him, so she decides to repay the favor by bringing him back.  They fight while she's trying to clean his wound, and they're both right in their perspectives, but the Beast acknowledges that yes, his temper got the best of him - he realized that the moment she bolted.  Belle then rewards his selfless act by thanking him, which sets his entire transformation in motion.  

He gives her the library because he expresses interest in doing something to make her happy, and he vocalizes he's falling in love with her.  He's delighted by her reaction.  During the ballroom scene, the way he looks at her, you can see he absolutely adores her.  He asks, "Are you happy here with me?" because he loves her, and her well-being is the most important thing.

In the remake, the staff tell Belle not to got to the west wing because it's a storage area.  She wanders over there anyway, for whatever fucking reason, and takes a glance at the rose behind the glass.  The Beast finds her looking at it and gets mad at her, even though he never told her not to visit him in the west wing, and she didn't fuck around with the rose.  When she runs away, he doesn't even look like he cares.  There is no reason for him to go after her, and there is no reason for her to help him back to the castle other than the plot told them to do it.  She doesn't help him with his wounds, and the staff are the ones to thank her for returning him.  She even asks the staff why the fuck they care about him, because he's such an asshole.  They justify his behavior because he had a cruel father, and damn themselves to his fate because they didn't stop a literal monarch from raising his son.  Belle continues to take care of him because she pities him?  He repays her kindness by insulting her taste in literature.

He doesn't even show her the library because he knows she likes books, he does it because he wants her to read "better" books.  Then he makes one joke about not reading Greek and THAT IS WHAT MAKES BELLE SWOON.  THE FUCKING GREEK BOOK JOKE.  I mean, I sort of get it, I fell in love with my ex because he made a bread pun, but he hadn't been continually abusive to me up until that point.  Belle starts to read out loud to him, and that's supposed to be the event that incentives the Beast to be better?  Even while Belle is singing about how much he's changed (he hasn't), he throws a boulder of snow in her face. The cherry on top of this sundae is his stoic question after they dance, "It's foolish, I suppose, for a creature like me to hope that one day he might earn your affection?" which not only sounds like complement fishing, it is primarily motivated by breaking the curse!  Only after she gives an indifferent answer does he ask if she'd be happy at the castle.

Oh god, and the death scene is cut off in the middle because we have to watch 2 minutes of the staff members permanently turning into furniture, which, like, I wouldn't think they'd want to castrate the emotional climax of the movie, but this whole thing is an exercise on how to fuck something already good up.

This movie fails so spectacularly at this basic love story, I can't begin to justify its existence.  I wouldn't recommend this to anybody.  If you want to watch new Alan Menkin content, watch Galavant, because this movie just pissed me off.

It was bold of Disney to end it with a beastiality joke, though.

[leakinghate]

Legendarily Defensive: Editing the Gay Away in VLD

Disclaimer: This meta is a collaboration of the entirety of #TeamPurpleLion.  We understand while we do touch on narrative romance, we are intentionally trying to be as ship-neutral as possible, and provide that which we only have evidence for.  We encourage the experts in their respective ship-fandoms to meta as they do best on these topics, and we hope this can be a factual basis to springboard from.

In the most recent AfterBuzz interview March 4, 2019, Executive Producers Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim dos Santos revealed in no uncertain terms who, precisely, is responsible for the editing fiasco that resulted in the version of Season 8 presented to the fandom, including explaining to their viewers when the changes were called for, and a heretofore unknown why: the removal of a mlm relationship between two of the male Paladins.

Let’s break it down.

The interview itself is a little very difficult to stomach, especially the latter half.  But, the first portion is an unusually open and honest discussion of what went down behind the scenes, and what it meant to the producers.  It’s also the place where we’ll be lifting direct quotes from.  The hosts of AfterBuzz allow the Executive Producers to have the floor and speak with quite a bit of leeway, and some very curious facts come to light.  For anyone interested in the source, the interview can be found on Youtube.(3)

Voltron is a unique case.  While much of the fan base may not have been around for prior incarnations of this franchise, it has existed for quite a while.

It originally came from a Japanese show Beast King GoLion.  From this show, the robot we recognize from Voltron: Defender of the Universe, was created in 1984. There exists an interview with the Executive Producer of Defender of the Universe, Peter Keefe, as well as other cast and crew on the production of how BeastKing became Voltron.(4)

After Voltron: Defender of the Universe, several other iterations bloomed forth - some in the form of comics, some as sequels, some as reboots. The first series to follow Defender of the Universe was Voltron: The Third Dimension, a CGI-based sequel released in 1998.

While not nearly was popular as its predecessor, it managed to stir up some legal conflict:

“Worse, the Japanese creators of Beast King GoLion — Toei Animation — began saber-rattling. Toei believed World Events had overstepped the boundaries of their 1984 agreement and made the CGI series without buying those explicit rights.

To quash this dispute once and for all, Koplar and crew purchased GoLion outright in 2000. Now they had the freedom to adapt at will. But nothing was in the works.”(7)

As of 2000, Koplar and World Events Productions (WEP) owned all the rights to Voltron. Talk of a live action movie has been in the works since 2005, but with little traction. In 2010, WEP licensed rights for the Voltron franchise to Classic Media (now DreamWorks Classics) (7).   By 2011, the animated series Voltron Force was released.

In 2014 Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos approached DreamWorks Animation with the idea of producing a new Voltron show, with the license DreamWorks had recently come to own through their acquisition of Classics Media. In 2016, Voltron: Legendary Defender launched.

It’s worth noting World Events Productions licensed rights to produce Voltron content to DreamWorks Studios.  They did not hand over the entire franchise to do with as they saw fit.  DreamWorks only purchased the ability to play with the characters and the story in whatever capacity WEP believed would remain on-brand.

Amidst the protests and visceral reaction to the final season of Legendary Defender, many have felt confusion about where to direct their frustrations.

In another post, @crystal-rebellion theorized the symbolism in Season 7’s Episode 4 ‘The Feud’ was actually a very blatant representation of what was going on behind the scenes, and why. (2)

Since the most recent interview, statements from the Executive Producers as well as the host have confirmed this to be an accurate assessment of the situation.

Joaquim Dos Santos says it himself:

"This is not a vilifying of DreamWorks. Any exec we ever interacted with was like, 'Hey, we understand why you want to tell the story, we understand where you're coming from. It's a little bit bigger than that. There's other sort of controlling parties with Voltron, which makes it unique.’ It's not just a DreamWorks owned property, and I think it got logistically really really weird." (3)

Seven times, he specifically mentions the pushback didn’t come from DreamWorks, but from ‘other controlling parties.’  He alludes to some logistical weirdness, the implication being a difference in creative direction, or some dissention from higher up. In fact, the hosts and EPs discuss a controlling IP owner eight times in the course of one interview.

He also says, in regard to the issue of LGBTQ+ representation and Adam specifically:

“Here's where we arrived on this. And we were pointing to things like Overwatch. We were pointing to Steven Universe. They're different scenarios, we were in a slightly different position. We didn't have that position of being the creators of this IP. And we also weren't a video game that was marketed to teens and above. We for all intents and purposes were started as a show for boys like 6 to 11 to sell as many toys as possible. And that's just like a fact and that's business, and it is what it is.” (3)

DreamWorks is not a platform that markets ‘toys for boys’ (a talking point brought up no fewer than five times) - but World Events is. President Robert Koplar himself states his target demographic is boys and their dads in Episode 12 from the Let’s Voltron podcast not once, but twice. (5)

The EPs confirm as much with their recent statement in the March 4th ABTV Voltron interview(3) that the possibility of a male paladin’s replacement was greenlit until the IP holder learned the male paladin was to be replaced with Acxa, a woman. This kind of sexist hypocrisy goes as far back as 1984 with Allura being spanked in front of her own team in one episode(11) and tied to a chair by them to prevent her escape in another(11). The 2003 Devil’s Due comic shows Lotor, who looks to be no more than five, witness his mother’s murder via strangulation by his father (complete with an expression of horror on her dead face)(12). Lotor then suffers the same type of non-lethal strangulation in a scene where his father interrupts what the comic refers to as “recreation” with a scantily clad blonde resembling both Lotor’s mother and Allura in a different series(13). All of this takes place in a franchise whose target demographic has consistently been six to eleven year old boys and their fathers. Koplar’s company has made their hypocritical moral stance abundantly clear in Legendary Defender, even going so far as to order the destruction of the entire final season. According to Dos Santos:

“Specifically with Season 7 and 8 we basically held onto Season 7 so Season 8 was like done by the time S7 was dropping. We had like a month left when reaction for Season 7 started coming in, and that was day of the drop. We were in a weird position. To DreamWorks's credit, the tide started changing internally. They came back to us and said, okay we're open to explore this relationship between Adam and Shiro so we were in this weird position where we had all the animation done, we had $0.00 left in the budget in terms of like what we could do and it was like, all right, we know Adam's fate is what it is, do we do this and sort of like take this step knowing that we're going to take some flack? And we decided to do it so we revised the dialogue. You can probably see it in the animation. If you really pay attention it's like, it's literally our editor cutting out mouths and like puppeting different dialogue. The dialogue is pretty vague, it's sort of the best we could do, and that was a process of discussing what we could actually have them say.”(3)

Hold the phone. Taken in context, Dos Santos is explaining the process of DreamWorks giving the showrunners the green light to change the epilogue of Season 8 to give Shiro the unambiguously gay orientation they had written out of Season 7. The problem is, there is no dialogue in the epilogue. Even if we consider the epilogue to consist of everything from “one year later” onward, there is no dialogue for Shiro and another male character that would have to be reworked.

Here is what we think happened: Season 8 was finished in June. The IP owner hated it and ordered it changed at the beginning of July. Those changes included cutting a male/male romance. August came and the fandom melted down over Adam dying. Hoping to avoid a repeat of the Adam debacle, in mid-August DreamWorks came around and offered to let the showrunners put something into Season 8 for more gay representation. By this point the edits to Season 8 were almost complete, the budget was gone, and time was short, so they opted to give Shiro a wedding during the ending, in the epilogue. In an effort to brush off the clear edits to Season 8, Dos Santos mentions the lip movements during the interview but is confusing the making of the epilogue with the rest of the edits.

Indeed, it seems those edits resulted not only in the deaths of the series’ heroine and a childhood abuse victim, but also in the demolition of not just one but possibly two completed romantic arcs. When discussing Allura and Lance’s romance, Dos Santos and Emma Fyffe have this to say:

JDS: I could see the argument where it’s like, it's basic. It's what we've kindof come to expect from okay the guy sort of turned around and-- but I think Lance's arc aside from being with Allura was bigger than the Allura love story.

EF: And Lance's overall story arc I really enjoyed. But again, I think it's this whole idea that we were dealing with this IP that was like "okay, monster of the week, it was like dudes being in love with one hot girl and just macho men with fighting robots and whatever was happening with Pidge".

JDS: Right, yes, yes. (3)

The showrunner himself not only agrees Lance’s milquetoast romantic arc was due to pushback from the IP holder, in discussing the controversy surrounding the main characters’ sexual orientation, Dos Santos inadvertently reveals a major romance between two male paladins was cut.

EF: ...it is important to know that, again, you have this character who is very much your sort of quintessential, like, alpha male.

JDS: That-that was the trope that we were trying to, like, sort of step on was that, you know. I grew up with characters like Duke. To a much lesser degree, he’s a big, giant robot Optimus Prime. The idea of Optimus Prime being with another Optimus Prime was off the table. Like it was a no-go. (3)

If Allura and Lance’s IP-owner-influenced romantic arc is any indication, clearly two main paladins being together was fine. Dos Santos is referring to the inability to pair two male mains.

We don't know for sure, and won't until the original S8 is released. But, we have reasonable cause to believe Keith was intended to be gay and part of the romance that got tanked. When speaking about Keith’s sexuality Dos Santos says:

JDS: Because, I think we didn’t, we didn’t pair him with anybody, you know what I mean. I think we didn’t designate sort of where he stood. We don’t know. It’s-- It’s--

KC: We don’t know

JDS: Yeah, it-- It doesn’t really matter to be honest with you. I mean it would be great to confirm just to make people happy, but, like at the end of the day he is who he is, and leaving it open to interpretation. (3)

Do you hear that? “It would be great to confirm”. Not that it would be great if they could have done it, but if they could have confirmed it. It seems that JDS conceptualizes Keith as having an attraction to men, but he was forbidden from making that fact plain. Again, we have no concrete evidence of who Keith was slated to be with, just that the writers couldn't have two gay male paladins.

The wording of his statements is just clear enough to avoid dishonesty and just vague enough so as not to break contract. Even beyond NDAs, it’s not as if the Executive Producers can speak more directly to these points. We already have evidence of the IP owner’s character in the form of the Voltron Store’s Twitter presence outright lying about WEP and the store being separate entities:

(8) When only a few weeks earlier they had liked a tweet explicitly identifying them as one and the same, while confirming they have the final say over what can be done with the characters:

(1)

Before the fandom realized that WEP was behind the edits to S8 of VLD, the information that they owned the license was accepted fact. This excerpt from the Lets Voltron Podcast, Episode 134, is just one example:

(talking about a Voltron reference in Ready Player One)

Host 1: For those of you not in the know, if you think DreamWorks is the all in all for Voltron. Well, World Events Productions is the company that owns --

Host 2: The Voltron intellectual property.

Host 1: Many of you have heard of DreamWorks obviously. They make the show. Well, World Events Productions owns the property and has helped make this new show and all previous shows possible.

LV Podcast EP 134, 5:00-5:30 (6)

Now? Many official avenues are hastily attempting to downplay WEP’s involvement. When reached for comment in February 2019 the LV Podcast claimed that DreamWorks owned the licence.

The official phone number listed on WEP’s website no longer offers an option to connect a person to WEP, instead it offers three options: to directly input an extension, the accounting department, and The Voltron Store. (9)

In an effort to prevent fans from contacting them with complaints, WEP have inadvertently made their association with The Voltron Store explicit. Regardless of what the twitter account may claim, they are one and the same company. If these incidents weren’t damning enough, the store has further attempted to engage in a subtle smear campaign by liking tweets from users apologizing for harassment and death threats the store had received over Season 8, when all groups bringing the problems with its forced edits to WEP’s attention have specifically advocated for civil and nonviolent communication. (8)

As the story unfolds, one point is clear: Each new interview brings more information forth, repeatedly shining the spotlight on one little office in St. Louis.

WEP LLC is a private company. It has no shareholders, investors, or boards to answer to. It is the sole IP holder of the Voltron brand, and its President is the only person in the entire world who has final say over what can and cannot be done with the characters. When someone says “the IP holder” they are really talking about one man: Bob Koplar.

#TeamPurpleLion is a collective of analysts ( @crystal-rebellion, @dragonofyang​, @felixazrael, @leakinghate​, and @voltronisruiningmylife​ )intent on tracking down the who, what, where, how, and why of the destruction of VLDS8. We present sourced & cited commentary, relying on evidence so the VLD community can see what happened behind the scenes.

[theboys-2x6-streamingsubita]

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TRADUZIONE: Italian GENERE: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure ATTORI: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Kapon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell

TRAMA The Boys The Boys è un anti-superhero drama, basato sull'omonimo fumetto di Garth Ennis e Darick Robertson, prodotto da Seth Rogen ed Evan Goldberg per Prime Video di Amazon. L'irriverente serie, creata da Eric Kripke (Supernatural), segue l'idea secondo la quale i supereroi non possano essere tutti buoni e di nobili intenzioni. Cosa succederebbe, dunque, se usassero i propri poteri e il proprio status per corrompere le autorità, scendere a patti con aziende di poco rispetto o perpetrare abusi di ogni tipo? Servirebbe qualcuno per tenerli a bada. Ed è qui che entrano in gioco i Boys, un gruppo di guardiani riunitisi per contrastare i Seven, i sette supereroi pagati dall'agenzia multimiliardaria Vought International.

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Film is a Work of art in the form of a series of live images that are rotated to produce an illusion of moving images that are presented as a form of entertainment. The illusion of a series of images produces continuous motion in the form of video. The film is often referred to as a movie or moving picture. Film is a modern and popular art form created for business and entertainment purposes. Film making has now become a popular industry throughout the world, where feature films are always awaited by cinemas. Films are made in two main ways. The first is through shooting and recording techniques through film cameras. This method is done by photographing images or objects. The second uses traditional animation techniques. This method is done through computer graphic animation or CGI techniques. Both can also be combined with other techniques and visual effects. Filming usually takes a relatively long time. It also requires a job desk each, starting from the director, producer, editor, wardrobe, visual effects and others.

Definition and Definition of Film / Movie While the players who play a role in the film are referred to as actors (men) or actresses (women). There is also the term extras that are used as supporting characters with few roles in the film. This is different from the main actors who have bigger and more roles. Being an actor and an actress must be demanded to have good acting talent, which is in accordance with the theme of the film he is starring in. In certain scenes, the actor’s role can be replaced by a stuntman or a stuntman. The existence of a stuntman is important to replace the actors doing scenes that are difficult and extreme, which are usually found in action action films. Films can also be used to convey certain messages from the filmmaker. Some industries also use film to convey and represent their symbols and culture. Filmmaking is also a form of expression, thoughts, ideas, concepts, feelings and moods of a human being visualized in film. The film itself is mostly a fiction, although some are based on fact true stories or based on a true story. There are also documentaries with original and real pictures, or biographical films that tell the story of a character. There are many other popular genre films, ranging from action films, horror films, comedy films, romantic films, fantasy films, thriller films, drama films, science fiction films, crime films, documentaries and others. That’s a little information about the definition of film or movie. The information was quoted from various sources and references. Hope it can be useful.

❍❍❍ Formats and Genres ❍❍❍ See also: List of genres § Film and television formats and genres Television shows are more varied than most other forms of media due to the wide variety of formats and genres that can be presented. A show may be fictional (as in comedies and dramas), or non-fictional (as in documentary, news, and reality television). It may be topical (as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television films), or historical (as in the case of many documentaries and fictional MOVIE). They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.[citation needed] A drama program usually features a set of actors playing characters in a historical or contemporary setting. The program follows their lives and adventures. Before the 1980s, shows (except for soap opera-type serials) typically remained static without story arcs, and the main characters and premise changed little.[citation needed] If some change happened to the characters’ lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.[citation needed] Since the 1980s, many MOVIE feature progressive change in the plot, the characters, or both. For instance, Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere were two of the first American prime time drama television MOVIE to have this kind of dramatic structure,[4][better source needed] while the later MOVIE Babylon 5 further exemplifies such structure in that it had a predetermined story running over its intended five-season run.[citation needed] In “DC1&”, it was reported that television was growing into a larger component of major media companies’ revenues than film.[5] Some also noted the increase in quality of some television programs. In “DC1&”, Academy-Award-winning film director Steven Soderbergh, commenting on ambiguity and complexity of character and narrative, stated: “I think those qualities are now being seen on television and that people who want to see stories that have those kinds of qualities are watching television.

❍❍❍ Thank’s For All And Happy Watching❍❍❍ Find all the movies that you can stream online, including those that were screened this week. If you are wondering what you can watch on this website, then you should know that it covers genres that include crime, Science, Fi-Fi, action, romance, thriller, Comedy, drama and Anime Movie. Thank you very much. We tell everyone who is happy to receive us as news or information about this year’s film schedule and how you watch your favorite films. Hopefully we can become the best partner for you in finding recommendations for your favorite movies. That’s all from us, greetings! Thanks for watching The Video Today. I hope you enjoy the videos that I share. Give a thumbs up, like, or share if you enjoy what we’ve shared so that we more excited. Sprinkle cheerful smile so that the world back in a variety of colors.

[theboys-streaming-vf-s2e4-blog]

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SYNOPSIS ET DÉTAILS

Overview: Road trip! The Boys head to North Carolina to follow a lead on a mysterious Supe named Liberty. And did you know a person’s choice of candy bars might tell you if they’re a serial killer? Watch and learn the warning signs! This episode could save your life!

Les films sont réalisés de film manières principales. La première consiste à utiliser des techniques de prise de vue et d’enregistrement à l’aide de caméras argentiques. Cette méthode se fait en photographiant des images ou des objets. Le second utilise des techniques d’animation traditionnelles. Cette méthode est effectuée grâce à des techniques d’animation graphique ou CGI. Les film peuvent également être combinés avec d’autres techniques et effets visuels. Le tournage prend généralement un temps relativement long. Cela nécessite également un pupitre de travail chacun, à partir du réalisateur, producteur, monteur, garde-robe, effets visuels et autres.

Définition et définition de film / film Alors que les acteurs qui jouent un rôle dans le film sont appelés acteurs (hommes) ou actrices (femmes). Il y a aussi le terme figurants qui sont utilisés comme personnages de soutien avec peu de rôles dans le film. C’est différent des principaux acteurs qui ont des rôles de plus en plus nombreux. Être acteur et actrice doit être exigé pour avoir un bon talent d’acteur, ce qui est conforme au thème du film dans lequel il joue. Dans certaines scènes, le rôle de l’acteur peut être remplacé par un cascadeur ou un cascadeur. L’existence d’un cascadeur est importante pour remplacer les acteurs réalisant des scènes difficiles et extrêmes, que l’on retrouve généralement dans les films d’action et d’action.

Les films peuvent également être utilisés pour transmettre certains messages du cinéaste. Certaines industries utilisent également le film pour transmettre et représenter leurs symboles et leur culture. Le cinéma est aussi une forme d’expression, de pensées, d’idées, de concepts, de sentiments et d’humeurs d’un être humain visualisé dans un film. Le film lui-même est principalement une fiction, bien que certains soient basés sur des faits réels ou sur une histoire vraie. Il y a aussi des documentaires avec des images originales et réelles, ou des films biographiques qui racontent l’histoire d’un personnage. Il existe de nombreux autres films de genre populaires, allant des films d’action, films d’horreur, films d’humour, films romantiques, films fantastiques, films à suspense, films dramatiques, films de science-fiction, films policiers, documentaires et autres. C’est un peu d’informations sur la définition d’un film ou d’un film. Les informations ont été citées à partir de diverses sources et références. J’espère que cela peut être utile.

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❍❍❍ TV MOVIE ❍❍❍ The first television shows were experimental, sporadic broadcasts viewable only within a very short range from the broadcast tower starting in the 1930s. Televised events such as the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany, the 19340 coronation of King George VI in the UK, and David Sarnoff’s famous introduction at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in the US spurred a growth in the medium, but World War II put a halt to development until after the war. The 19440 World MOVIE inspired many Americans to buy their first television set and then in 1948, the popular radio show Texaco Star Theater made the move and became the first weekly televised variety show, earning host Milton Berle the name “Mr Television” and demonstrating that the medium was a stable, modern form of entertainment which could attract advertisers. The first national live television broadcast in the US took place on September 4, 1951 when President Harry Truman’s speech at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco was transmitted over AT&T’s transcontinental cable and microwave radio relay system to broadcast stations in local markets. The first national color broadcast (the 1954 Tournament of Roses Parade) in the US occurred on January 1, 1954. During the following ten years most network broadcasts, and nearly all local programming, continued to be in black-and-white. A color transition was announced for the fall of 1965, during which over half of all network prime-time programming would be broadcast in color. The first all-color prime-time season came just one year later. In 19402, the last holdout among daytime network shows converted to color, resulting in the first completely all-color network season.

❍❍❍ Formats and Genres ❍❍❍ See also: List of genres § Film and television formats and genres Television shows are more varied than most other forms of media due to the wide variety of formats and genres that can be presented. A show may be fictional (as in comedies and dramas), or non-fictional (as in documentary, news, and reality television). It may be topical (as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television films), or historical (as in the case of many documentaries and fictional MOVIE). They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.[citation needed] A drama program usually features a set of actors playing characters in a historical or contemporary setting. The program follows their lives and adventures. Before the 1980s, shows (except for soap opera-type serials) typically remained static without story arcs, and the main characters and premise changed little.[citation needed] If some change happened to the characters’ lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.[citation needed] Since the 1980s, many MOVIE feature progressive change in the plot, the characters, or both. For instance, Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere were two of the first American prime time drama television MOVIE to have this kind of dramatic structure,[4][better source needed] while the later MOVIE Babylon 5 further exemplifies such structure in that it had a predetermined story running over its intended five-season run.[citation needed] In 2012, it was reported that television was growing into a larger component of major media companies’ revenues than film.[5] Some also noted the increase in quality of some television programs. In 2012, Academy-Award-winning film director Steven Soderbergh, commenting on ambiguity and complexity of character and narrative, stated: “I think those qualities are now being seen on television and that people who want to see stories that have those kinds of qualities are watching television.

❍❍❍ Thank’s For All And Happy Watching❍❍❍ Find all the movies that you can stream online, including those that were screened this week. If you are wondering what you can watch on this website, then you should know that it covers genres that include crime, Science, Fi-Fi, action, romance, thriller, Comedy, drama and Anime Movie. Thank you very much. We tell everyone who is happy to receive us as news or information about this year’s film schedule and how you watch your favorite films. Hopefully we can become the best partner for you in finding recommendations for your favorite movies. That’s all from us, greetings! Thanks for watching The Video Today. I hope you enjoy the videos that I share. Give a thumbs up, like, or share if you enjoy what we’ve shared so that we more excited. Sprinkle cheerful smile so that the world back in a variety of colors. Thanks u for visiting, I hope u enjoy with this Movie Have a Nice Day and Happy Watching :)

[iwritesometimes]

quarantine q&a

the ever-fabulous @lazaefair​ (AND I’VE JUST SEEN @poemsingreenink​ as well!!!<3) tagged me to complete a little cabin-fever antidote quiz, so HERE WE GO!!

Are you staying home from work/school?

staying home, but still working. technically i’m even working a little extra because i have to be on call on sundays, as we have a lot of work related to coronavirus plaguing my department. however, i get to do all this work in my PJs, from the comfort of my couch, with cats adhered to various parts of my body. so it’s, on average, a thousand times better than the way i usually have to work.

If you’re staying home, who’s there with you?

my little sister and her fiancée, and our collective five cats. guys: we live with so many cats in this house. that’s not a new coronavirus development. it’s just how we live. SO many cats.

Are you a homebody?

extremely - to be honest, i rarely go places anyway, and even then mostly with my family. all my friends are online. but even i, legendary hermit in a metaphorical cave (with wifi), am starting to feel vaguely cabin fevery. i’m going to relish a trip to the grocery store this weekend. i might cry on the vet tech when i go pick up louie’s meds.

An event that you were looking forward to that got cancelled?

my dad and i were supposed to go to NYC to see Keane this weekend. i’m so bummed we’re not going to get a chance to go. he and i rarely do things together just us, and i was hoping to take him to Levain, which is like two blocks from the venue, to try their supposedly amazing cookies. also, KEANE, who i wasn’t sure were ever going to release another album or tour again. THANKS, CORONAVIRUS. also, on a much less petty note, one of my best friends was supposed to get married next month, and now that’s been postponed. i’m glad we’re not going to either event, of course, and it’s the right thing to do. but it still sucks.

What movies have you watched recently? What shows are you watching?

so, EXTREMELY ill-advisedly, my sister made me watch Contagion with her last weekend. DON’T DO THIS. as a palate cleanser, however, we later watched Warcraft, and i loved it, and none of you can judge me. if i had seen that shit at like 10 years old i would have lost my goddamn mind. even at 33 it was pretty great to get to see Lothar as a bumbling moron and Khadgar as his magical twink sidekick. the CGI was eye-searing, the storyline was much more followable than i expected, and the shoulderguards were patently huge. it was a big dumb fun movie.

we then had some more big dumb fun bingeing The Letter for the King, right up until the point in the last episode where two of the male sidekick characters - the warrior and the bard, who had been a little flirty throughout if you squinted - OUT AND OUT KISSED, and we screamed and hyperventilated, and then they dropped an anvil of foreshadowing IMMEDIATELY after and we googled to see their fate. yeah, one of them gets killed like a half hour after that. we stopped watching right where we’d paused it. we’re still utterly furious. it was so much fucking cute fun. goddammit.

i also blitzed The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel recently and enjoyed it overall. i have watched ALL of The Repair Shop that is available to me and if you need a show to put on when you just need a fucking break, i could not recommend it more. i started Black Sails and i’ll probably continue it because everyone says it’s amazing. i tried the first episode of The Untamed and oooo boy, did it make absolutely no sense whatsoever to me and i literally could not tell you a single thing that happened in it. i keep hearing it gets better, so i’m gonna try to soldier through. THE GIFSETS ARE JUST SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. but lordy that was a rough experience. 

What music are you listening to?

mostly the usual “lofi hiphop study” crap i keep on to work to. i listened through most of Carpenter Brut’s discography yesterday and it was GREAT. listening to Keane, of course - their new album is so sad and frustrating, subject-matter-wise, but OOO THE SONGS ARE REALLY GOOD.

What are you reading?

lol, endless coronavirus messaging for work :’( also, all fifteen (15) fics in the hugh/elnor tag on ao3 FUCK i need to WRITE something for them.

also might fuck around and reread Persuasion for the LONGING.

What are you doing for self-care?

been HYPER limiting my time online/on social media. i’m sorry if i’ve been hard to get hold of, i’m not trying to ignore anyone or disappear. i’m just basically working constantly on wordswordswords about this stupid pandemic and then, when i clock out, playing videogames or watching my sisters play videogames (the Ori games and Hollow Knight have been a balm in these times - even if Hollow Knight is about a spreading infection and the collapse of an unjust society WHOOOOOPS) or daydreaming about nonexistent Star Trek romances and not looking at twitter, the news, discord, or even tumblr too much. i just can’t take it.

so anyway! lol. sorry. it’s late and i need to go to bed, i’ve barely been sleeping. it’s been a weird couple of weeks. i love you all and hope sincerely you’re staying safe out there and looking out for each other. take a walk tomorrow, if you can, or drive around for the fresh air. it’s springtime, the world is still beautiful, we just have to stick it out a few more weeks in our depression caves. THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH, Y’ALL!!!!!

if the following gorgeous people have any interest in divulging their quarantine agendas and haven’t done so already, i would love to hear from them!!

@northstarfan​ @boba-fettuccine​ @omicheese​ @wolfhalls​ @onyxmoonstone​ @look-and-wonder​ @bebeocho​ @shih-shoulda-had-it​

[hamfistedmorals]

Rise of Skywalker: Initial Thoughts and Feelings

As a movie, it was engaging. As a Star Wars story, it hooked me. But as a conclusion to this particular trilogy? As a final chapter to the entire saga? Oh boy, was it a hot mess.

BEWARE OF SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

(Disclaimer - I’m one of the 5% of Star Wars fans that loved The Last Jedi, so that might influence my opinion, but I’ll try to keep things unbiased.) 

It was all over the place, and I mean that quite literally. 

We got to see so many new locations, and most of them seemed interesting. Unfortunately, because of the breakneck pace and the ticking clock, the film doesn’t spend any time developing these places apart from Exegol - and that’s only planet who’s name I can remember. Adding on to the map of a Galaxy Far, Far Away is always a good thing. But so many new locations in one movie, with our heroes jumping back and forth every ten minutes...doesn’t make this universe feel larger. Actually, it makes it feel smaller. In past Star Wars movies, it would take time to go from one planet or star system to another. But that really doesn’t seem to be the case here. If there’s one problem that’s been semi-consistent throughout this trilogy, it’s the confusion of timing. (What’s the point of the title crawl if Episode 8 is going to pick up immediately after Episode 7? But I digress.)

The Dyad in the Force is easily the most fascinating concept of the entire trilogy.

I braced myself for the movie to ignore the connection previously established between Rey and Kylo Ren, as it ignores so much of Episode 8. But no, Rise of Skywalker actually build on the bond between these two characters and gives us more amazing scenes of them interacting entirely through their connection in the Force. We learn that they are essentially a one-of-a-kind anomaly, that Palpatine can use to restore his life energy. Rey and Ben even learn how to use their bond by the end of the film. It’s a new idea that Star Wars hasn’t done before and I kinda love it - I just really wish they had explored it more, and better outlined what it is, where it came from, and how it works. Then again, after how much people hated the Midichlorians, I expect the writers are hesitant to give any answers about how The Force works. 

I also appreciated the official introduction of Healing, as a Force Power. 

Say what you will about some of the Force-Abilities introduced in TLJ, but this one makes perfect sense. So much so that I’m pretty sure it’s already a thing in Star Wars video games? It was well foreshadowed and it played a role in Rey and Ben’s final fight, as well as that heartbreaking climax. Honestly, I truly thought Rey was dead in that moment. I teared up, thinking that her parents’ sacrifice was for nothing. Wondering if Finn could sense that she was gone. Wondering what Ben would do without her, since he had no one else. To be honest, I almost wish Rey had stayed dead, since as it stands...we have a redeemed villain sacrificing himself to save the hero that redeemed him...sound familiar? If Ben had lived, and Rey had died, it could have been a tragic inversion of Return of the Jedi, instead of just a retread. But oh well. I had a feeling they were going to kill off Kylo Ren anyway. 

It feels like they did have plans for Finn, but never properly carried them out. 

Rise of Skywalker very clearly implies that Finn has discovered that he’s Force-Sensitive. Which is a good idea, it just comes out of nowhere. Apparently, that’s what he was going to tell Rey - JJ has clarified it. One problem...that’s not a detail that should be confirmed in an interview. It should be answered within the movie. There were two separate conversations about Finn wanting to tell Rey...something, but the film never comes back to that or gives it any conclusion. Likewise, the idea of Finn being force-sensitive is only ever foreshadowed, never brought to light. Overall, Finn got some great moments, like when he met Jannah and got to connect with another former Storm-trooper...but his overall character arc in this film never got off the ground. 

Was it just me...or was Poe constantly angry throughout the movie? 

I don’t know if this was just Oscar Isaac’s frustration slipping through, or if it was meant to be the stress of the war, or something...but Poe was in a bad mood in just about every scene. But just like with Finn, this never gets resolved or even really acknowledged. Didn’t Poe go through an entire arc in the last film about learning to be less of a hot-head? For some reason, he and Rey are at each other’s throats...even though the end of the last film hinted that they found each other attractive? He does get some backstory as a Spice Runner (though they don’t explain what that is. Maybe it’s answered in one of the books, I dunno.) and we get to meet Zori, who is truly a charming and compelling character. Even if she was only written in as a final “no-homo” to Finn and Poe, I wanted to learn more about her. 

They did Rose dirty. They did her so dirty.

She should have been an official member of the squad in this film, not relegated to cameos. There was no reason she couldn't have been more involved. Her romance with Finn should have been addressed. Even if it was just him gently letting her down, they ought to have mentioned it. Regardless of how you feel about Rose and that particular pairing (Personally, I adored her) it's downright strange that she's so absent from the story when she was a main character last time. Gee, I wonder why this was done? Could it be because the character was eviscerated online by a group of hardcore “fans” who compared her to Jar Jar Binks? Who not only made racist, sexist, and body-shaming comments about the character - they drove Kelly Marie Tran off social media? It really seems like downplaying Rose in this film was a direct response to how unpopular she was, and that isn’t fair to the character or the actress. It just seems...cowardly.

The CGI on Leia...could have been better. 

Not gonna lie, it might have been safer to simply reveal Leia’s death in the title crawl and open the movie with her funeral. Don’t get me wrong, I was initially quite impressed with how they managed to re-create Carrie Fisher. It was nice to see her training Rey, and we even get an answer to the age-old mystery of why she never became a Jedi. But as Leia’s scenes went on, the cracks started to show. It became very noticeable after a while that she would never adjust her standing position or really move at all. So many of her lines were shot to avoid showing her face while she spoke. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why it looked this way. I’m just saying that as a viewer, I noticed. Leia’s death scene was the worst offender of this. By the way...what exactly killed her? She apparently gave the “last of her energy” to call out to Ben, but...nothing beforehand indicated that her health was failing, so why would a simple telepathic message consume all her life energy? She’s done it before. Either way, the death scene was kinda lame...but other characters reactions to it? Hit me right in the feels. Chewie’s breakdown tore me to pieces. I wanted to hug him. And as for Ben...

 That Han Solo Cameo

I’m impressed, first of all. We all though Han could never come back since he wasn’t force-sensitive, so he wouldn’t get a spirit form. But the great thing is, Han didn’t come back - not really. It was all in Ben’s head, hence the lines echoing his father’s death. I love how Leia’s death, compounded with Rey healing Ben and all but telling him that she would be with him if he wasn’t on the dark side, is what ultimately swayed him to turn back. When he called Han “Dad...” In that broken voice, and Han just said “I know...” Honestly, that was the best scene in the movie. Ben previously said to Rey that the Dark Side was in her blood, so she couldn’t escape it. It was so clear that he felt that way about himself too, which may have been part of why he turned. Seeing Han was a perfect reminder that he had more than just Vader in his ancestry. 

Chewie’s “death” was the other scene in the movie that took my breath away. 

Echoing the Force-Battle over Anakin’s lightsaber, Rey and Kylo Ren have a tug-of-war for the ship Chewie is on, and in her rage, Rey accidentally conjures Force-Lightning and blows up the ship, shocking everyone. It demonstrates Rey’s power, as well as her natural leaning toward the Dark Side (through anger.) It also foreshadows her lineage. Plus, the whole concept of accidentally killing your beloved friend..It’s got so much tension, so much emotion - it’s fantastic. Only one problem...Chewie survived, and we find that out not even five minutes later. Honestly, it’s the last movie. Anything goes, you can kill off main characters, even beloved main characters. All of the emotional drama that this scene brings to the table stops mattering once you find out Chewie’s alive. I would love to see Rey actually have to deal with the consequences of what happened, for the movie to explore how it makes the other characters feel about her. On the other hand, one of my first thoughts after it happened was “Geez, if the fandom hated her before...” All the fans who complain Rey is a Mary Sue (She’s not) Yeah, they’d never, ever forgive her if she was responsible for Chewie’’s death.

I can’t decide how I feel about Kylo Ren repairing his mask. 

When I first realized it was happening, I was disappointed. In a way, it undoes his character growth in Last Jedi when he rejected his hero worship of Darth Vader - and even did what Vader could not, slaying his master and living to succeed him. Kylo Ren surpassed Vader once he stopped trying to be him, and that was awesome. But between bringing back the mask (with the painfully on-the-nose line about the “cracks in your mask”) and the reveal that “Snoke” is still alive, all of Ben Solo’s coolest moments from TLJ have been reversed. On the other hand... the Kylo Ren mask is, and always was, a symbol. In TFA, it reflected a pretentious attempt to be more like Darth Vader. But in this movie, it seemed to reflect Kylo Ren embracing the image of being the “Big Bad.” much like how Luke embraced his status as a legend, just before he died. And I’m not gonna lie, seeing the words “Supreme Leader Kylo Ren” in the title crawl was quite satisfying. Not to mention, at the end of the day...it’s all an act. Kylo Ren has always tried very hard to be “evil” but his heart just isn’t in it. He’s trying to be something he’s not - so maybe it’s okay if the mask comes back. 

Let’s rip this band-aid off: Bringing Palpatine back was a mistake.

If they needed a greater-scope villain for the climax after Ben was redeemed...why not use Snoke? Apparently, they’re the same person anyway, and people were mad that Snoke died without having a greater story to tell. Palpatine’s return goes entirely unexplained. He just hand-waves the issue by quoting Episode 3. As a viewer, why should I feel triumphant when Rey kills him at the end, when as far as I know, nothing is stopping him from returning again? After all, he survived certain death before, and we don’t know how he did it. (This is what I mean when I say the film is good by itself, but highly flawed as a continuation of existing Star Wars.) Palpatine’s return devalues Anakin’s sacrifice. It weakens both Vader and Kylo as villains because it removes their agency - we now know they only turned because Palpatine manipulated and groomed them. They’ve made him the greater-scope villain of every single trilogy, which just feels weird. I always thought the overarching villainous force of Star Wars was supposed to be, y’know, the Dark Side and it’s tempting call. That anyone could potentially succumb. But speaking of this film rejecting the idea of “anyone” being special...

Rey...did not need to have a bloodline. 

You need Palpatine to have a reason that he’s so intrigued by her? You’ve already got that - she’s part of an anomaly in The Force that no one’s ever seen before. Need a life-changing shock that pushes her closer to the Dark Side? All you have to do is let Chewie stay dead, and have it be her fault. As much as I have genuinely loved Rey’s character growth and I always enjoy watching her, I can’t help but feel like giving her a bloodline at this point was at least partially done to mitigate the claims that she’s “too powerful.” Not to mention, it ruins the reveal at the end of The Last Jedi, and it’s one more thing that makes the Star Wars universe feel smaller. Coming from a powerful bloodline shouldn’t be a requirement for changing the fate of the Galaxy. Sure, Force-Sensitivity is often hereditary, but not exclusively. Besides, there are more people out there attuned to the Force that just the Skywalkers, Palpatines, and Kenobis. Why couldn’t Rey just be one of them? If Star Wars really is going to go on forever, it can’t simply be the continuing sage of two or three families screwing up the Galaxy. 

What’s up with the super-rushed tone of the ending? 

So, Rey and Ben share a kiss - whether or not you ship them, this moment is wholesome, heartwarming, and so earned -  But then Ben immediately, and I mean immediately falls down dead. He doesn’t get any last words or even a last moment. (Come to think of it...does Ben have any lines at all after his scene with Han? I...don’t think he does. That’s just weird.) Nope, he just fades into the Force so quickly that I didn’t even realize what happened at first. Rey makes it back to the Resistance base and reunites with her friends, but they don’t share any dialogue either. No final moments, not even Finn telling Rey that he’s Force-Sensitive. Disney gets to check off their diversity clipboard by having two nameless women kiss in the background, and Rey then visits...Tatooine, of all places, to bury The Skywalker twins lightsabers. Because you see, a Jedi’s Weapon deserves respect. Burning them? Shameful. But burying them, A-Okay.

Rey is never shown mourning Ben Solo.

Whether or not you think he “deserved” redemption, the film clearly sided with the idea that he did. It based a lot of it’s conflict on Rey and Ben being a hero and a villain who also cared about each other. Going so far as to include the Dyad, and give them a kiss scene. So it’s bizarre that Ben’s death doesn’t seem to affect Rey. She doesn’t even have any sort of reaction to it, but she does have a gold lightsaber now. Which is so incredibly cool that it baffles me that they didn’t let her have it sooner. She never gets to really use it. A random local shows up, for no other purpose than to ask Rey who she is. Rey looks on to see Luke and Leia’s Force-Spirits give their blessing (No Ben, for some reason.) And she then introduces herself as Rey Skywalker. Because they had to justify that title somehow, right? Then the scavenger-turned-jedi, who started out all alone on a desert planet but found a family through her travels...ends her story all alone on desert planet. Hey, wait a minute-

The problems of this trilogy boil down to the fact that it had two writers, with two different visions for the characters.

Perhaps the death of Snoke, the introduction of Rose, and Rey’s lack of lineage directly conflicted with J.J.'s plans for the new trilogy...but The Last Jedi happened. It's canon now. Trying to pretend otherwise doesn't "fix" that. Having moments that directly contradict the previous film, even taking intentional jabs at it (looking at you, Force-Spirit Luke) is a waste of time and honestly feels...kind of immature? As a writer, I’m sure it isn’t easy, but you've got to work with what you have, follow the ideas and plot threads introduced, or else none of it will feel organic. So many moments like repairing Kylo Ren's mask, bringing back Anakin's destroyed saber, giving Rey a bloodline...they just cause whiplash.The only arcs that really continue through each movie are Kylo Ren's redemption, and Rey's identity issues. The writing of Episode 9 does everything it can to erase the ideas of Episode 8, and as a result, the entire trilogy feels directionless. The story feels like its at war with itself. I understand if Rian left J.J. in a compromising position, but sometimes you have to let go of ideas if they can no longer work in your story, however much you want them to. And, not to pick on J.J. too much, but...if he really had a major plan for the trilogy, then why didn't he stay to write Episode Eight? He left the second chapter of the trilogy to an entirely different writer, so...what did he think was going to happen? 

It’s a good movie. It really is. I was on the edge of my seat. If you’ve never seen the first two films, you’ll likely enjoy the hell out of it. But if you’re hoping to get a satisfying conclusion for the characters you’ve grown to care about...well, I’ll just say that I didn’t find that here. 

[dafukdidiwatch]

U.S.S INDIANAPOLIS: MEN OF COURAGE

Nick Cage mixed with WW2 and sharks. What can possible go wrong?

Answer: Everything

Nick Cage has just an attraction to me. I have known him for so long since I was little, I can’t tell if he is a good actor or if it was nostalgia. All I know is if there is a Nick Cage film, it is going to have that Nick Cage charm. And BOY HOWDY, this movie has it.

Let’s go with backstory first.

This movie is based on the incredible and horrific events that happened to the U.S.S Indianapolis, a Naval Ship during World War 2. It was sent on a secret and dangerous mission to deliver parts for the construction of the Atomic Bomb. However, on their way back a Japanese Submarine sunk it with a torpedo, leaving the survivors stranded alone in the middle of the ocean for 4 days filled surrounded by sharks who would attack the dead, injured, and living. Out of the almost 12,000 sailors aboard, only 300 would survive, making this the worst naval tragedy in U.S. Navy history.

And they made this movie.

Not going to lie, I was stupidly judgy through this movie. I mean, I tried goddammit, to watch and enjoy it straight. But I couldn’t help it. I care about this history. I’m fasinated by this bit of history, the horror and pain the sailors when through. This is THE Greatest Shark Attack in history. I was judgy because I wanted this movie to respect the event and tragedy that had happened, to do the survivors justice. And they tried.

God did they tried.

The problem is that they didn’t do it well.

Let me start with the good things about this movie.

1) Nick Cage was pretty Good

He plays Captain Charles B. McVay of the Indianapolis. There is still a bit of hokiness that comes from Nick Cage being Nick Cage. One is him talking to himself while writing a letter to his wife in the weirdest way possible. Another is the fact that his sunglasses makes it look like his eyes are closer to his forehead. But he does the role well I think. He makes sure to show that Captain McVay cared for his men, put their safety ahead of his own, did everything he can to help. I thought he did a good job.

2) They were respectful in the representation of the Japanese Submarine Crew.

The movie could have just not even show the submarine until the ship sinks, but no, we actually get to see the crew. We see the Captain Hashimoto dealing with the struggles of fighting their side of the war. How he cares for his crew, and how they will lay down their lives for the fight. The ship was sunk by Kaiten Torpedoes, basically an underwater version of Kamakazi pilots. They were manned torpedoes, so you see the men loading themselves in to be launched. So while the main focus is on the Indianapolis, it is nice they tried to be empathetic to the Japanese crew as well.

3) The side-characters were interesting enough.

With a historical story like this, the best way is show the movie is to let the audience see all the possible people that were serving on the ship. You see two best friends fall in love with the same girl. Two guys who were enemies and in jail together. A guy with a gambling addiction. The lovable engineers that you see up above. The brand new green commander who is a bit of a dick. My favorite one is the writer sailor. He writes what he sees and tries to bolster people up with his stories. Like, there is a lot of characters so even if you don’t like one plot-line, there are others you can enjoy. They may act goofy/overly dramatic at times, but the actors did a good job for you to root for them.

With that out of the way, things I didn’t like.

A) The cgi was too basic and shit in places

I wish, I WISH I can find a better picture to show what I mean. When we were watching, even my sister were going back and forth on whether it was good or not. Everything that was cgi was just weirdly too smooth. Like really look at it. It looks more like graphics for a video game. Which, is passable. But you can’t have passable for a movie. This movie came out in 2016! We have the technology for a hell of a lot better images than template models. At that was the better cgi. Because when the cgi is bad, it is glaringly obvious bad.

B) The Editing Kills Me.

They have a weird sense of pacing in this movie. When you hit the middle part of the movie, it’s fine. Decent moments of the sailors goofing around, hving drmatic romance, fights, struggles. But there are some parts of the movie where someone in the editing room was like “Oh shit, the people watching this won’t understand. Quickly! Put out that exposition as fast as you can!!”

An Example: the first 3 minutes of the movie. Minute 1: BATTLE! Ok, good, see our historical men in action. Minute 2: We are in a war council room where the Indianapolis has been chosen for a secret mission. “You mean the atomic BOMB?!” -> Basically the line used. And this was BEFORE meeting ANY of our main cast. So it felt like the movie was putting more emphasis on the ship rather than the sailors. 

It also didn’t help the movie Felt like it ended when the survivors were rescued, but didn’t Actually end for another 20-30 minutes longer. I appreciate them going in for historical accuracy of showing the actual aftermath to Captain McVay, but by that point I was so done and bored that I didn’t really care.

Plus they keep using the same periscope tracking shot 7 times! Seven! In the same scene. TWICE!! When the Japanese were firing in daytime, we see the same daylight periscope 7 times before launch. Then when they fired a torpedo at night, LET’S DO THE SAME THING since it went so well the first time.

B) The ship sinks titanic style, the fuck is that?? 

Not going to lie, while I am facinated by the Indianapolis, I do not know everything about what exactly happened. One of them was how the ship sank. But I am pretty sure the ship did not sink in the Exact Same Way as the Titanic. Where one side is lifted up, then got cracked in the middle, and so it was split into two parts. It was, it was bad. Because this tied in to the whole repeating shots thing, because I saw the same man holding onto a pole trying not to drop 5 different times. The Same Exact Scene. No difference. And I’m sure he fell in the exact same way as in the Titanic Movie shots.

(Note:The jail cell sailors during this part were very good, but I still have No Idea how the hell they got out. Let me know if you figured it out)

C) The Sharks were S H I T!

This is basically where the whole meat of the story should have taken place, nd it was AWFUL! Trash! They were stupidly inaccurate, trying to go for Jaws Chomp factor instead of being anywhere near historical. The sharks were all Great Whites, which wasn’t a thing. Because the sharks that historically attacked were Oceanic Whitetips.

But ok, you could get pass. The sharks look similar enough at first glance so it would be an honest mistake. Except that sailors were specifically talking bout “Great White Sharks” with colored pictures of great whites, (which think about that for a minute) so that was bullshit. in making the audience think Great White.

But ok, so what, who cares, the sharks still does it’s things right? Why should we care if they got the type wrong or not?

^Because of Shit like This!! This movie decided to try and shittily mimic Jaws and the Jaws ripoffs by having crappy cgi sharks launch itself out of no where to stupidly chops on the nearest sailors. God you could make a drinking game out of it. Take a shot for every shark you see. Which won’t kill you, because there were NOT ENOUGH SHARKS!!

^The sharks should have been like this. The sailors literally should have been like waist deep in sharks. There were a lot of fucking sharks. And yet! There weren’t any. The sharks only decided to freaking rocket launch themselves out of the water when it’s time for a jump scare, on any old person they can fine. And maybe the reason they decide to throw themselves to the nearest pound of flesh instead of going for the closest dead body is because

D ) THERE WERE BARELY ANY SURVIVORS!!!

Seriously! When the ship sank there were 800 sailors left in the water, We only see 60. TOTAL! Not even random background sailors. It was just Nick Cage’s group, then a separate group of 30 people, and random boats here and there.  God how could they have fucked this up! I don’t know if it was just, not in the budged to hire more people or what, but you can still get somebody. Show the survivors dammit!

It pisses me off because this could have easily solved their shark problem. Because if there were more people, you can see the sharks eat/take the dead bodies. Then when there is a ton more sharks, see them go after the injured and dying. Like, having screams constantly while sharks pick people off left and right, even if it is just background characters, would build so much more tension than just “guys have a good laugh, talk, and support each other, send the shark for the jumpscare.”

I will give the movie this though: While I feel like the majority of the ending was unneeded, I do respect that they have little end-cards for what happened to the character’s historical counterparts, as well as come footage of some of the survivors describing the experience.

Overall: Don’t watch it. If you wanted to watch it for the actual historical event, watch something else. They made note of smaller historical facts while completely screwing up the actual main event with the sharks. You can find better documentaries Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here. The last one has a clip of the special that I I saw originally and while you do have to pay to see it (Here), it is very well done.

And If you want to watch a “so bad it’s good movie” then maybe it fits the bill, but I just honestly don’t think it’s worth it. The editing and pacing will give you whiplash. The CGI takes you out of the zone.  Nick Cage tried his best, but not even his enjoyable presence could save the film. They make for a great movie to rag on, but having it be on an actual historic event like this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth

[msawesomegeek]

9 good movies with terrible endings

A/N: So I felt like writing some lists and this has been a long way coming. This is of course on endings, so spoiler alert! 

9. Remember Me.

Okay this movies is not particularly spectacular to begin with. But it did have decent enough acting and a fairly simple plot. Seemingly a good old fashioned notebook rip-off. And then it all goes to god damn shit! 

It turns out he works in the twin towers on 9/11, which would have made a great twist. In literally any other movie. It makes this entire thing so god damn pointless! 

8. Lucy

From a romantic drama to sci-fi the only thing Lucy has in common with Remember Me is that they both decide to fuck their audience just before ending. Right so Scarlett Johanson who plays Lucy, gains access to all of her brain capacity (Limitless style, but without the drugs). And then in the end, she just turns into a fucking USB drive! What the hell?????

7. Vampire Academy

Okay, I will admit these first few films are by no means cinematic masterpieces. But up until the end of this film, it actually had a lot going for it. It was everything that Twilight was not. Gory, funny, had some compelling characters (and some that were as dead pan as Kristen Stewart (look at you dude who plays the stalest love interest in recent memory)). But it was a good movie, it does have some problems with its premise, but it would have made an amazing b-teen-vampire-comedy if it wanted to. But at las. The twist does kind of work it is not that bad. It is the same problem that DCEU has. It spends the entire last few minutes of the movie, setting up a sequel that was never to be. Never even explaining any thing about what it means and why it is there? At least they could have saved it till an end credit scene like Marvel does. But they did not, and in stead of leaving this movie feeling entertained and content I was left with more questions than answers. 

6. SpiderMan 3

Now, before you all collectively loose your shit. Yes, I am calling SpiderMan 3 a good movie. Because right up until the end it kind of is. Yes it has a major villain problem, and sandman being uncle Ben’s killer doesn't really make sense. But until then it is objectively a good movie. AND before you say anything, yes I know the dreadful emo sequence. But if you think about it, it is totally in line with Peter Parker’s character. Peter Parker is not cool or an edgy killer guy like Tom Hardy. Finger guns, a dumb haircut and silly singing and dancing is what he would think is cool. And I am willing to fight you on that.

But then there is the villain team up that sort of works and is kind of odd. And hell even Topher Grace agrees that he was a bad Venom so... But go re-watch it, and I guarantee that you will have a good time, until the ending. 

5. Now You See Me

Now, I do actually really like this movie. I am a Harry Potter nerd, so even if there is a trick to it, I do still love the wonders of magic. I loved the actors, I mean I am a sucker for Jesse Eissenberg and Dave Franco on their own, and having those two balanced out by Woody Harrelsson and Isla Fisher, sign me the fuck up.

But even I, a fan of the film, is willing to admit, that the twist ending does not work. I mean I do kind of get it, but then all of it just seems to undermine everything. And were they really getting away with everything or was he just letting them? And why be so cryptic about it and not just contact them instead to tell them? Like I get that he is a secret organisation of magicians that have an image to uphold, but like??? Come on, there is just too much lapse in logic for this to work...

4. 2001 a Space Odessy

Again, a movie I do objectively love. I have no idea how it should have ended, but that weird ass acid trip in the end, was not really what I was hoping. 

Honestly it would have been great and terrifying to end it with: I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can't do that”. And just having him choke to death, hell I would even take the acid as a kind of death sequence. But seriously, while it is set to epic music and I have watched that movie a few times now, I still have no fucking clue what that ending means. 

I know it is what Kubrick wanted, but I would just have cut it...

3. Hereditary

Marked as one of the scariest movies of 2018, and I get it. I was objectively scared in sequences of this movie. But the twist in the end, it just seems so forced.

It seems like a weird way to explain everything that happened without explaining anything. I feel like there is a huge chuck of this movie that I either missed or was cut from the version I saw, because by the end of this movie. I was more confused than I was going in. Like why was the mother seemingly the main character when she just gets offed like its nothing in the end? Is she just crazy? Are the supernatural events we saw real or just fabricated by this cult? Who is the demon king? And why did it first possess Charlie, why couldn't it go directly into the boy. Why do the weird haunting thing? Why the naked people? 

I just have so many questions! I get that there is something scary about the unknown, but I felt like this movie took that feat a little too far.

2. Black Panther

I know everyone is gonna hate me for this. But Black Panther is a Meh movie at best. Like Shuri is fantastic, the villain is one of Marvels better ones. T’challa is a pretty cool protagonist. But I don’t think that it deserved all of the praise and the oscar nod it got. Why? The ending is just plain shitty.

The end fight is just plain stupid and Illogical! Right before Killmonger and T’Challa go to fight, one of the warriors literally says: The dual is not over.

So since T’Challa is not dead, he and Killmonger need to continue fighting till one of them surrenders. Meaning, there is no logical reason the rest of them should be fighting! It is just plain stupid. That and I am sorry, but the CGI for the last fight scene looks like something from a play-station 2 game. If they had just changed a few things about this movie, maybe it could have been great enough to deserve all it got. But I am sorry, but the end fight is just so dumb and badly animated that I can’t call it a perfect film.

1. Kingsman 2 The Golden Circle

Now this movie still infuriates me. On one hand I love it, and it is seemingly another very great movie, almost as good as the first one. And then, the last 5 minutes of the movie happens. I even remember leaving the theatre infuriated with this movie. Obviously they had a bit of a bigger budget and expectations for this movie compared to the first one, because the first one was so good. But it was like as soon as the americans got involved they took everything that was great about the first one and just pissed up and down it. The reason I liked the first one, is that it was cheeky. 

Taron Egerton, is cheeky too arrogant for his own good and compelling through and through. I liked it for having great character dynamics and for not cheapening it by putting in some unnecessary romance plot. It was, in other words everything the second movie wasn't. I loved every bit of it. Up until the marriage and the speech Harry gives about how having relationships are as important as BEING AN INTERNATIONAL SPY! And then he just marries the girl, without thinking about how public a royal wedding is, and how many enemies and henchmen know his face and he will be putting himself Thilde and everyone else in fucking danger! So not only is it a stupid decision, but is also just soooo Hollywood. Having to get married and have that perfect happy ending. It was so sugar sweet that I feel like throwing up just thinking about it. 

Now I could bitch forever about how much I hate that movie ending, but I am stopping myself. If you agree or disagree with what I said I am always willing to discuss or go into depth, or just talk about movies really. 

If not, tell me what list or movie I should review next.

Until next time.

- Geek out.