#Anyway that's kind of why the movie succeeds as high camp

[homoqueerjewhobbit]

Audrey Plaza knew that Megalopolis was high camp but I'm not sure anyone else did.

[garloszeczek-blog]

My new review Birds of Prey

You'll see where this is going very quickly. All right. So that movie was about the horror of someone else playing with your toys in a way that you feel they are not supposed to be played with. It's a great site to see the Birds of Prey. It's a very jarring experience, and most of us have been there, but in line with the message of that movie, I think it's important that we all take a step back and recognize that at the end of the day, We're all loving the same characters.

And that's nice right now that said my problems with birds of prey are not simply the significant, significant changes made to DC Canon. That bothers me, but the film has plenty of its of its own problems as well. Uh, and we're gonna discuss them, but I just want to make it clear that I wouldn't say this movie is a bad movie, but I wouldn't say it's a good movie.

Either in fact, I have been struggling since I saw it as to whether or not as a rotten tomatoes critic. I should give it a fresh or a rotten tomato, because to be honest with you, I don't think it deserves either. I feel putting a rotten tomato on it. It's too harsh, but I feel like a fresh tomato is a bit too much of a pass.

What made me see the Birds of Prey

But I got to pick one. Right? So what was the deciding factor? Well, I've been talking to a lot of you, uh, you know, some of you who've been very nice. Uh, I'll be curious to see the box office on this movie. Cause while there's a small contingent, that's very vocal about film. Uh, you know, the tracking has still been very low and I'm curious to see how it all eventually shakes out.

We'll see. But to some people, I think it's undeniable that this movie means a lot to them. Uh, and then also it's viewed as an important staff. And I think this is true in regards to who's in movies and Hollywood and who makes those movies, that con you know, I think that is fair. So for that reason, I think that's enough of a tiebreaker that tip the scales to a fresh tomato, but I'm going to put in the comments that it was a real squeaker between fresh and rotten.

Cause you know, again, that's really the case. So now we're going to talk about the movie, right? No spoilers, but boy, do we have a lot to talk about the spoiler review? Uh, but first I'm going to start with what I like about the movie. There. Isn't a lot of stuff that I like, and then I'm going to talk about what I don't like.

All right. So the good. The acting, I think the acting is quite good in this movie, everyone. Well, I have to say Andrew Kane and rename on tour. Really one toy isn't bad. I just feel totally unnecessary in the movie. I did not like Cassandra Kane at all. Um, But everyone else I thought was excellent. And you know what?

I thought very, very committed to their roles. Nobody is doing a paycheck gig here, and I think that has to be respected. I certainly respect it. All right. So first off, Margot Robbie personally, I prefer the current animated version of the character to me. That's perfect. This Harley does a lot of things by accident.

Happiness at every turn

You know, she's very lucky. Let's say right. She could almost be black cat in terms of luck powers to some degree. And the Marilyn Monroe comparison by the way is actually very apt because Robbie is playing Harley Quinn, like a criminal clown, Maryland Monroe. And I totally understand that choice by the way.

And on that note, she looks absolutely gorgeous here. Not only on the outside, but on the inside. Sure. She does some mean things and she is, you know, a criminal, but she does, you know, she does radiate, um, a fun factor and a kindness factor, which is great, which is, I think one of the things that makes the character so likable.

Along with her cool look and her costume changes. She's fun, right? No wonder Margot Robbie is going on to play Barbie. Uh, and while I don't agree with many of her choices here as to how to play Harley. You can't deny that Robbie's definitely making strong choices and that she really has made the character her own.

Uh, and we're going to talk about this at the end of the review to many people. She's the only Harley Quinn they've ever seen and she's beloved. And I think that's great. You know, you love to see comic book characters succeed beyond the initial medium. Right. And she has one. Undeniably good gag where let's just say she punches Zass in the fun house.

Curiosity is the first step to hell

You'll know it. When you see it, it was the one genuine roaring laughter that came from my audience and it was totally deserved. Uh, you and McGregor, he's having a lot of fun here, right? Speaking of fun with a very camp, but also very disturbed performance, which is. Very important. The disturbed part two black mask, one of the most disturbing characters in DC comics, from what you know, from, from one fire, the joker to the next, right.

I wish that had been commented on more. There's a lot, that's not commented on here. Um, but anyway, you and McGregor's performance is a hundred percent believable. I mean, I really thought he did a great job. I don't like a lot of what's done with his character, but that's not on you and McGregor. And it's undeniable that like with Margot, Robbie, You can't take your eyes off of either of them when they're on screen. For your message, you won't see the movie on Netflix.

I hated the end with this character though. I absolutely hated it. I was like, this is where we part ways, birds of prey. I don't know if I can, I don't think I can get over this. And it's a real travesty of justice. We'll discuss it in the spoiler review. I was like, wow. That was a mistake. I can't believe he did that.

All right. So next up journey smaller much, much, much better than I'd anticipated. Very good. I can see why so many people were singing her praise. Um, you know, in the run up to this film's release, she has the best fight scene in the film fitting since black Canary of course is an iconic character in the comics.

For her fighting skills, the kick to the car door that I heavily criticized and the trailer is still weak, but it's her only weak kick. Every other kick is controlled and powerful and made to look even cooler by the gold pants and matching boots that she's wearing. It's really phenomenal. I was really impressed.

Unlikely personality

I thought that she could definitely kick butt. I loved it. And her look for most of the film I feel is much better. I mean, I know they eventually incorporate the fish nets. You've already seen this look in the trailers, but the leisure suit. It was bad. I was like, what are you wearing? That's really bad.

Like that fabric, you would think it was instant. No, no. The costumes on the other women are so bad. It almost seems intentional. It's it's for hunters. I actually liked Hunter's. We'll talk about her in a minute. In terms of her costume choices. I speaking of unnecessary though, the canal cry, which of course is something else that character is famous for in the comics.

It does make an appearance and it does look great, but it really came across. It's unnecessary because no one else has metal powers in the movie. So you were like, this doesn't really go with the rest of the film because you know, I think black Canary got the Canary. She didn't start out with it. She got that Canary crime.

So she could be in stories with other meta human characters in DC comics. They call them meta-humans. Uh, so that's why she has it, but here there no such character. And then I really didn't like what they did right after she did her Canary cry. Which really bothered me, which we'll talk about in the spoiler review.

Great combat scenes

But in addition to her fighting skills, small, like bell was simply very likable here, really likable. And while she doesn't have a lot of character development for shame, a smaller bell still manages through the sheer force of her acting and personality to come across very much like a real person with a lot of.

You know, dynamic elements. I really liked her a lot. Mary Elizabeth Winstead curious. So funny. She got, she got some good genuine laughs as well. Not as many as the Harley Quinn bed, but she got some laughs. She was good. I mean, Huntress has never been very particularly well-defined in the comics, but to see her go from a mid midriff wearing sex pot.

Too wearing a sweat, sweat sweatsuits, right. With anger issues and poor social skills playing up her New Jersey mafia angle. Well, that was just really clever and a true joy to see too bad. She has hardly any screen time. I mean, that was a real shame. Uh, both black Canary countries are very good. But they're really restricted in what they're allowed to do on screen.

It's unfortunate. I'm thinking HBO, or I'm going to make a video about it. I'm thinking HBO, max show for them just because. The actresses aren't as high profile and their stories seem a little bit smaller, but if the movie does really well, maybe a spinoff movie, but you know, streaming today is a hot, a hot spot.

And I think it would be very happy with the HBO max show. We were really, really explore both of their origins and there's good teases to their origins, but again, you know, kind of just shuffled in there to, for fan service and to give them a look it's a little as backstory as possible. Alright, so now we're on the positive.

Gotham never sleeps

A Christmas scene again, while I do not like it at all, what's done with his character. I did feel that Mussina fully commits here is that, and therefore is very engaging to watch on screen. Uh, also like black mask, he feels truly dangerous. I felt they were actually dangerous characters, which is great.

Especially if you're in an R rated movie. I'd also like to include director Kathy and here again, I don't feel she was the right choice for this movie. I think she makes it feel very small, but I have to hand it to her that she handed in a film that very much feels like a mainstream studio product. And that's incredible for someone who's never made one before.

I mean, you cannot tell that this is someone's first studio picture, so that's impressive. Then finally, in the good section, I would like to also include the police station raid, which is really three delightful sequences. They're not perfect. But they have the best visuals and some of the most clever elements in the movie. Besides, I recommend reading reviews of the movie on Metacritic.

And definitely the best overall action Harley really is good with the baseball bat. There was one where she one instance where she throws it and I thought that was incredible. I loved it. And a smiling Harley Quinn emerging from pink and blue smoke. Mimicking her hair. Holding a shotgun is probably my favorite shot in the film.

What it's like to be an anti-hero

I was like, wow. And I also liked the wanted poster joke. This is very good stuff. Now let's segue over unfortunately to the bat. And I have to say there was something about this police station raid that bothered me, even though I did enjoy it the most out of all the action sequences and that's that Harley is clearly using non-lethal rounds in a misguided thing to make her the antihero.

Right. They're like, yo, she can't shoot the police. The audience will not like her then. And I'm like, You know, either she's a criminal or she's not, I don't like things to try and have it both ways, which I think is a good way to describe this movie is we're going to discuss, but anyway, she's using non-lethal rounds, but yet still, for some reason, the police who have real guns cower in fear, and there are a lot of, Oh, whatever you want just don't hurt us.

I mean like the people of Gotham should be very upset. Okay. I mean, it also, at that point, the whole. Knows. She's no longer under Joker's protection for them. So there's really no reason for that this to be the case. And it just really bothered me. I thought it was sloppy writing to make her be able to pull off this raid.

I'm like, just figure out how she can do it for real, please. I also felt that even though Chad's the housekeeper came in here to help with the action with some reshoots, it just still didn't work out there. Isn't a lot of action. Um, even when there are action sequences, they aren't that great. Right? Uh, the fun house, for instance, it's a cool set, but it makes for a very awkward action sequence.

I mean, for instance, you can literally see the actors and the stunt people struggling to maneuver. In the fun house, their footing is very unsure. They're like, I guess I'm supposed to do this and it's not working. And you're like, it's not working. You should redo the scene. Um, my favorite moment in that sequence, by the way is again, black Canary, uh, needing a hairband to pull her hair back out of her face mid-flight she has to get it from someone else.

Women on top

And I just thought that was very real. I liked it. I thought a woman would really do that, but the fact that's my favorite moment in that fight sequence, I think says a lot about how little fighting is actually going on there. Uh, furthermore, for some reason, the tone dramatically changes in the third act.

And our leading ladies get really silly, like really silly it's on choice, considering that this is the time that they're in the most danger and also teaming up for the first time. I thought that was, I was like, this is a very weird tonal shift. Uh, next, I felt this movie had a lot of the same problems that suicide squad did yet.

For some reason, nobody is saying anything. I suspect that a lot of people in the media felt joker was irresponsible. I didn't like where joker was coming from. And this really is like the exact opposite of joker, um, which is unfortunate. Cause I feel like a really good Harley Quinn story could be as good as Todd Phillips do with joker, but talking about women in abusive relationships anyway.

I do feel that there's something of like, let's push this cause we want to see this more than joker. And I hope that's not how the conversation evolves because it's going to be super annoying. But anyway, um, so yes, a lot like suicide squad, like instead of doing the work and the script, a lot of things are written up on the screen.

A comedy movie

Sometimes it gets laughs, but I do feel it's a little bit sloppy. Um, similarly, the editing is very choppy. The story is told out of order. Um, And a lot, a lot. I don't, I don't know if suicide squad did that too much, but I have to say a lot of what we saw being filmed or was in the trailers, never makes it into the movie.

I know it. And you had it too. I know it had to be reworked, but there's stuff that's not in there that you feel should be in there maybe a little bit. Like for instance, Jared letter's joke or body double, even the body doubles doesn't show up. So it's kind of weird to have joke would be so much a part of what Harley's talking about yet.

You don't see him. I wish that they had managed to maybe. Work something out to Jared Leto could return cause his shadow weighs heavily on the entire film. Um, so yeah, there's a lot missing. There's a lot missing, right? Also many, many times just when the movie hits on a really good idea and you're like, wow, this might be something it stops short and moved on.

Right. A perfect example of this is the diamonds are a girl's best friend musical number. I didn't think it was going to work. But then when it was in the movie, I was like, wow, this is really working. I can't believe I'm good. Oh, it's over. That's what it was like. It was like less than a minute. It felt like there was less footage about dance sequence, that musical number in the movie that has been in the trailers. Before I watch a movie I always try to check the information on this page.

So that was weird. Um, I mean, I'm, I'm like, you must've felt more than this. Why did you not put more of this sin? For instance, also one of my favorite shots from the trailers when she does like the boom would hit somebody with her head. That's not in the movie. I also have a real problem with the hypocrisy of birds of prey.

What I didn't like

I really hate this kind of stuff. It really bothers me, which is maybe one of the reasons that I have a problem with this phone and it's has hypocrisy on a number of points. All right. So number one. It's supposed to represent women, right? Yet Harley Quinn is front and center and the other female characters have very little screen time in development.

Margot, Robbie has famously now said that you wanted to shine a spotlight on lesser known DC characters, which I think is admirable, but she's not doing that. They very much come across a cross as backup dancers, right. Instead of partners. Uh, that kind of works a little bit with where the story goes again.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but you know, it's unfortunate. Uh, you could easily cut my least favorite characters Ram on toy and Cassandra Kane and give that screen time, which is very badly needed to black, Canary and hundreds. Also considering again, how great Harley Quinn's multiple costumes are.

It seems almost intentional that the other costumes are so bad. I like the joke of Hunter says, you know, sweatsuits, right. Or, you know, I think that's very funny, but black Canary should look much closer to her comic book origins. They don't even give her the leather coat. It's it's it's it's frustrating.

Um, but anyway, the movie is also supposed to support characters of color diversity, but bottom line it's it's hero and villain who have by far, the most screen time are white. And so I don't know why this movie is getting rewarded for doing something it does not do. And also again, I loved smell like bell and that she was great, but you can't ignore her.

Supporting LGBT communities

Hollywood's continued colorism. It's really unfortunate. The movie is also supposed to support LGBT representation. I felt I was worried about this. Some people misconstrued, my comments is not wanting in the movie. That's totally incorrect. I really wanted in the movie, in fact, in a moment, we're going to talk about why, uh, but I was worried that it wouldn't be done well, or it would be more queer baiting, which is exactly what it is.

Right. For instance, you only know that Montoya is a lesbian because Harley says so in voiceover, she never does a single thing on screen. To show that that's the case. Even her interactions with her supposed ex-girlfriend have no subtext to them whatsoever. They could just as well be friends, former friends, to be honest with you, uh, Harley Quinn who's famously by in the comics.

Not here. There is a quick visual gag, which could easily be cut for foreign audiences, uh, about her experimenting in college. And that's it on a side note while we're talking about it now, uh, black mask, uh, is very campy as a character, but some of you have actually written me and told me that foreign dubs take that out of the movie. It is worth noting that the main character was played by the wonderful Margot Robbie.

That's stripped away from the performance. Um, so there's the campy aspect, but the movie just refuses to commit to him being. Even potentially a gay character. It's very cowardly. I think even the moment where he puts his arm around as his shoulder, I don't think that's in the actual movie. I might be mistaken on that to be fair, but I was looking for it and I didn't see it.

Uh Zara's does Fort with black mask, but, uh, Zass flirts with everyone. Right. He just seems like he's just kinda like into everything. Uh, and he gets the most sexual gratification from violence. There's a specific kind of violence, but I don't want to give it away. Uh, then finally, I really don't like how this movie depicts men.

I think, I think it's problematic. I don't like this trend that for one thing to be awesome. Another thing has to be torn down. Why can't I, why can't, you know, again, from the Lego movie, why can't everything be awesome? Right. Harley Quinn can be a great villain without having to put out the idea that she was the one who came up with all of Joker's good ideas.

Joker-related threads

Right. I was like, why do you have to tear down joker to make her like, when a great character? I don't think that. Good at all in the comics and an animation Montoya, it gets along great with Gordon and books. She's part of the inner circle of the GCPD, but here she's ostracized, but every single man in the department bullied by them and her case is stolen by them.

Um, Now it's hard to go into many more specifics without spoilers. So we will definitely revisit this issue in my spoiler review. But I will say here that all the men are depicted as very rapey. And I just didn't see one positive male character in the film. There's one character that you can maybe argue as positive, cause he doesn't want to get killed, but like that's a really horrible excuse for what he ends up doing to a woman. We can read about the history of the Birds of Prey on the wiki.

I'm like, We'll talk about it. I mean, wow. I mean, their men are definitely portrayed as the enemy and at one point Harley even Moes down a male store manager with her shopping cart laughing, and we're supposed to laugh at it. And you're like, that guy is responsible for the paying. You know, he has to take the monetary loss for what you just stole.

Um, you know, joker was a man of the people I'm just saying, and, you know, Harley the selfishness, there's a little bit of a one character flaw for the character. I was also particularly devastated to see that even black mask is portrayed as hating women, like really being misogynistic. Right. And there's one scene in the film, which involves that other guy that is truly appalling and which we will definitely discuss in the spoiler review.

Does it pay to see

I'm not even sure if it should be in the movie. I don't understand exactly why it was put there, except it'd be just like the pinnacle of men hating women. I didn't like it. Um, And it made no sense story-wise either who would ever go to black masks club, but this kind of stuff happens there. Uh, and the, one of the main reasons that I find it disappointing is that gay men and women have historically had a bond.

Right. And I had hoped that that would be played up. And highlighted in this movie and might be a really clever reason or one of the really clever reasons for making black mask, a gay character in the context of this specific film about representation and victimization either. That could be really cool, but instead he's just another woman hater, which, you know, women have no friends who are men and I don't like that at all.

I mean, I think that there's definitely abuse that goes on. Um, and that I have, I have absolutely no problem. I'm being depicted. The Harley Quinn animated series does a great job with that, but I don't think you should vilify all men. I think that's not a good. That's a good path to go down. So yeah, I have a lot of problems with this movie and I'm surprised that so many people are seeing the film as revolutionary, right?

Public expectations

I suspect it's because the number of people have not seen it yet, but some people have and have been very laudatory. And I was thinking about it and it occurred to me that for many, many people, and this is sad, they've never read mad love. They haven't read any of the Harley Quinn comics, which admittedly.

Are really dodgy in terms of quality, but they've also let seeming wonderful new animated series, which is stuck behind a paywall. And unfortunately, very few subscribers to that service. I mean, it's really unfortunate because mad love and the new animated series, not the comics, unfortunately, but mad love.

And the new animated series are both much better than this movie, but have a smaller audience. So I guess at least the story's getting out there, but it's been told better. So that's my non spoiler review of birds of prey. My spoiler review will be coming very soon and again, as I said, we have plenty to discuss, but for now, share your thoughts down below.

[joeys-ordinary-odyssey-blog]

some gen for la squadra for this winter evening, pretty please?~♡

Well, since you asked so nicely…

Headcanons are under the cut due to length.

Risotto

-Looking at him, you’d think Risotto is the kind of guy to work ‘till he drops, but in reality, he Lives™ for naps.

-Sometimes he’ll attract metallic objects in his sleep because of his Stand. This leads to him having to pick paper clips, staples, & other similar objects off his clothes when he wakes up, & thumbtacks end up piercing his skin from time to time.

-Once Risotto’s out, he’s not gonna wake up that easily, so if you have any piercings & you get too close to him when he’s asleep, you’d better make yourself comfortable ‘cause you’re not going anywhere anytime soon. At least this gives you an excuse to cuddle into him a bit.

-You have to be close by to hear it, but Risotto lightly snores in his sleep. It’s actually kinda cute. Well, about as cute as a man that’s trained to kill can sound, anyway.

-Risotto loves the horror genre, but he avoids slashers like the plague. He already sees enough blood, death, & violence in real life, & he’d much rather watch a film that relies on atmosphere to be scary than a movie that’s just filled with senseless killing.

Prosciutto

-You know how earlier I said that Risotto seemed like the kind of guy to just keep going until he collapses? Yeah, that’s Prosciutto.

-Out of everyone there, he’s the one you really don’t want to wake up once he’s out unless it’s like, a Very Super Heckin’ Vitally Important Emergency. In that instance, he’ll be even more pissed if you didn’t wake him up. More often than not, he’s either fallen asleep standing up or just folded like a chair onto the floor & the Squadra draws straws to see who has to move Prosciutto to his bed, or at the very least the couch & risk waking him up & having him go ham on them (no pun intended, surprisingly).

-Prosciutto has a bit of an overbite. You probably won’t see it unless you’re actually looking at it, though.

-When he was in his early teens, Prosciutto lost his kid brother that he was really close with. Prosciutto saw a lot of his little brother in Pesci, & that’s what led to him taking Pesci under his wing.

-You wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that he may be projecting onto Pesci a little.

-Prosciutto is actually one of the Squadra members that doesn’t care too much about how he looks. He just picks what he thinks looks good, & he just ends up always pulling it off. Lucky.

Illuso

-If you try the “Bloody Mary” thing with him, he’ll either scare the shit outta you, or just flat out deck you. Depends on his mood & how much sleep he’s gotten.

-Illuso is actually pretty well-versed when it comes to hair care. Whether you have any questions or just want some of that sweet hair knowledge, Illuso’s your guy.

-The biggest little shit besides Formaggio.

-Illuso says he doesn’t believe in horoscopes, but he checks his like it’s a natural instinct. He may check the other Squadra members’ horoscopes from time to time.

Formaggio

-You know those throw blankets that’re like, unreasonably soft? That’s what Formaggio’s hair feels like.

-Voted “Most Likely to Succeed at a Keg Stand” in high school. I’m just kidding. Calm down.

-You’d think’d be Melone, but it’s actually Formaggio that’s the most physically affectionate of the Squadra. His brand of affection is more friendly than creepy, though.

-He may seem like just a gangster with a slight drinking problem to most people, but if you get close enough to him (which will take quite a bit of time), he’s like the big brother you never had.

-Can give pretty good advice when the time is right.

-Formaggio’s actually pretty sensitive.  I don’t mean the “soft” kind of sensitive, because he can’t really afford to be soft, what I mean is that he’s surprisingly in tune with other people’s emotions. Even though he’s gotta be one of the biggest little shits there is, he does know when enough is enough.

Ghiaccio

-Ghiaccio actually doesn’t take that long to get ready in the morning.

-Ghiaccio’s hair is naturally curly. He’s actually tried to straighten it out several times before, but since it keeps curling back up at the first sign of humidity, he just gave up after a while.

-Has a pretty big scented candle collection & is very aggressively passionate about it.

-Ghiaccio gives some of the best hugs, but these instances are very extremely rare.

-Is not above using White Album to make his hands colder & putting them on your back.

-Will act annoyed if asked, but he has a hard time turning down the opportunity to pull a Sick Prank™.

Pesci

-Pesci is a big guy, so he’s probably like a human space heater.

-Pesci doesn’t like being cooped up for too long. He likes to spend what spare time he has being outside, even if it’s just him wandering around the city. He can’t go out of town to do something like hike or camp as often as he’d like to because of his “line of work” requiring him to be easy to get ahold of, & if he’s in the middle of bumfuck nowhere it’s going to be more trouble than it’s worth to pack everything up & drag himself to wherever it is they need him.

-Cares a lot about how his hair looks & is very meticulous about styling it in the morning (He’s not gonna go “Josuke” on you if you insult his hair though. You’ll just hurt his feelings a little.).

Melone

-Melone has given everyone in the Squadra a nickname (much to their chagrin).

-Melone’s right eye is quite a bit more sensitive to light than his left one, which is why he wears that mask-thingie all the time.

-You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but he’s quite the wine connoisseur.

-Will jump at the chance to do karaoke.

While Illuso’s more skilled when it comes to hair care, Melone’s area of expertise is skin care. He always seems to know what kind of lotion or mask to use just from a glance.

[missanthropicprinciple]

Horror films, Bruce Campbell, and trauma

When I was a kid I always used to see the covers of the Evil Dead movies in Blockbuster’s and Video Update. I loved going in to those places. That certain smell, the shelving, the vibrant 80s carpet, the quiet, all those stories waiting to be watched. We used to rent a lot of videos. VHS cassettes are part of my personality in many ways. Blockbuster had the standardized cover for almost every VHS tape, but at Video Update and other rental places they had those misty, textured clear covers. The employees would cut up the original cardboard VHS boxes and slip the into the plastic sleeves. And then stickers with the ratings and genres in garish neon oranges, greens, and yellows would be stuck on top. I saw the Evil Dead covers and was sickly fascinated, hardly able to look, but I snuck a peak anyway. 

Once when I was about 13 my mom bought me this out-of-date magazine...I think it was one of those movie mags geared for straight men and there was this great spread in it about best moments in movies and I wanted that section. I tore out the centerfold of some scantily clad actress I didn’t recognize and cut out a lot of the movie pictures. One caught my eye and I can’t remember if I threw it away or not, but it really freaked me out.

I wasn’t used to watching horror movies or seeing gore beyond the atrocities of concentration camps. Full color 80s gore was usually beyond my access, which was good, considering my age at the time. This image haunted me. I think there were some other pictures of the Evil Dead franchise in there too but I mainly remember this one. 

About a year later I saw previews of Jack of All Trades on tv. I think my reaction was “oooo who’s that handsome guy making charmingly lewd comments” and my parents were like nope! not watching that. So I missed that show entirely at the time and certainly didn’t make the connection between this show and Evil Dead. All these years later a mutual of mine reblogged this beauty, so I knew I needed to watch Army of Darkness at the very least. And then I rediscovered Jack of All Trades and started watching that too. 

And why would I, someone with PTSD, watch horror films? Aside from my attraction to his handsomeness, there’s something about facing horrible things that I feel compelled to do. Bruce Campbell himself phrased it best in an interview with Craig Ferguson. When asked why do people like scary movies, he responded, “They like scary movies because it’s the same kind of people that go to the highest theme park ride. They wanna think like they're gonna die. Because when they're feeling they're gonna die, it's just that then they decelerate theoretically at the end..You can cheat death by going to a horror film.” In light of my upbringing, trauma, and grief I’ve been through, plus my sensitivity to graphic images and my high empathy, you’d think I wouldn’t want to watch these horror films, but there are many factors why I selectively watch them. 

It’s not just the Evil Dead movies, I love American Werewolf in London. Now THAT movie is also pretty rough. Lots of gore, both realistic and hokey. Especially the transformation scene which I caught about 5 seconds of as a child and was terribly horrified but fascinated too. 

It wasn’t real but as it was a physical effect it was physically there. Somehow I can watch some of that. I’ve only seen clips of Evil Dead 1 and 2, but all of Army of Darkness. The latter isn’t as gory so I can sorta handle it better. I think what I like about these movies is seeing people struggle through impossible circumstances, watching someone succeed because I can’t always do that. Army of Darkness is kind of the penultimate point of Ash Williams’ “3000% done” attitude. 

He comes out of the pit and gives this amazing “come-at-me-bro” rant that’s both hilarious and kick-ass. I think at this point in my life his character arch is something that really resonates with me. So much ridiculous crap has happened to me lately that I laugh almost bitterly when I watch this. The line “who wants some?” is especially great because he’s just daring people to test his strength. I feel like that too. I think a lot of people must identify with this. I can see why people hero-worship Ash (and Bruce) because he’s not always wise but he learns and works through things, and yes, cheats death. 

As much as seeing some or too many horrific images can cause someone to develop PTSD, I have also heard that people with PTSD can use horror films to heal, to face issues and even work through them. I think in a way I’m doing that. I face some of the gore and sometimes I don’t. It’s the whole composition (or decomposition...forgive the pun) of horror films in the 1980s that create the feeling that attracts me to them and I sort of put up with the gore because it’s important to character development. And maybe I want to cheat death, feel the thrill of a near death without the pain I felt before. Movies have a purpose, not simply for entertainment but for evoking feelings, solving problems, and even maybe healing wounds. 

[hellstate--rp-blog]

↪ b a s i c s ;

N A M E: Vanessa ‘Mama’ Hendricks A G E: 43 P L A C E   O F   O R I G I N: Montgomery, Alabama G R O U P: V. A. Medical Center O C C U P A T I O N: Leader F C: Queen Latifah

❝ Nothing will work unless you do. ❞

↪ p e r s o n a l i t y ;

P O S I T I V E   T R A I T S: wise ; asssertive N E G A T I V E   T R A I T S: domineering ; sarcastic

↪ b i o g r a p h y ;

L I F E   B E F O R E   T H E   O U T B R E A K:

The center of the community, that’s what she was. If there was a fundraiser, a car wash or festivities in the local park Mama was involved. If there was something to be done she was the woman on hand to make sure it got done right. And it had always been that way. She’d raised two brothers and a sister on that same motivated spirit. Early mornings filled with complaints for her twelve year old ears as she readied her younger siblings for another day. While they seemed to struggle to brush their teeth right she pushed through horrid slurred words from her father and the lack of any kind of maternal figure. There was no praise for the work she did, it was all mice work. Early morning shuffling and the late night scuttling, all behind the scenes magic that allowed the world to keep turning. She was sure that if she stopped the world would turn anyway but she didn’t want to risk it. Soon her brothers and her sister were old enough to put cereal into their own bowls and walk themselves to school and she let them. Not a mother, but gifted instincts far beyond her years. The situation wasn’t the worst it could have been, but she certainly did make the most of the bad she’d had to deal with.

Her father found a woman, an ill-fated woman who had love in her heart for him. She moved into their home and her name was uncomfortable. It was uncomfortable to say as much as it was to hear. That woman was her ‘not-mother’ who had made an appearance much to late. Vanessa already held the world in her chest, holding so many seams together as best she could. This stranger in her house tried so desperately to call herself mother, to do as a mother did but she couldn’t even begin to understand. She didn’t have children of her own and believed that she could just step in and live the life rather than earning the stripes. Vanessa could only watch the woman make beds the wrong way for so long. The house stopped being home for her, it had turned into a aged house that anyone could have lived in. It was not the house where her sister broke her arm after a silly stairs jumping stunt to impress her brothers. It wasn’t the house that three pre-prom parties had seen, food for everyone and pictures to last a life time. Vanessa wanted her home again, but knew that she’d have to make her own.

She worked jobs that had endless days. Where clocking in felt like clocking out and breaks were reserved for sleeping. Every day was a work day, the money was never enough and being tired had become an emotion in her mind. The money went into rent on one of the smallest dorms she’d seen when in search of colleges. While loans piled up around her she adored her college life. Education was why she’d gone to college, to learn and then to teach. Four years and a masters degree later she was Ms Hendricks to her students. All of their glazed eyes just made her work harder. There was no praise to be had in the early days and she didn’t need it to do everything in her power for those children. Vanessa believed that in high school so many kids didn’t realise the paths they had until they’d already found themselves half way down one of the possible routes. To her, her job was to educate and to clear all paths so that those young minds could really see their potential. Lemons were never lemons around that woman, they were lemonade to be shared with every soul she met. When not in school she did everything she could for the local church and community. It didn’t matter if people didn’t believe, once they were coming together positively they were working in the way the Lord had intended. She was the driving force within the community, the soon to be principal of the local high school. But plans always did change and the outbreak scuppered the future she’d seen for herself.

L I F E   D U R I N G   T H E   O U T B R E A K:

At first she’d done everything in her power to keep the people calm. The local community had met in the church for a vigil. They prayed for the world and for each other but that didn’t seem to stop madmen from looting and turning their town riotous. Slowly people began to peel away from their refuge, choosing to run or choosing to join the madness. Vanessa stayed with her people, she stayed with the faces she recognised and held their hands as they wept over what had happened. It seemed to happen so quickly and so devastatingly. Slow news reports lacking details and then soon the world was deafened by atrocities only ever portrayed in movies. There was a sadness that was felt around her edges, but her strength and determination didn’t wane. How could she give in to grief when there were so many that looked to her? Instead she led prayers and invited people to speak on how they were feeling and she attempted to quell the fears they had. But that serenity didn’t last long.

The food began to run low. Families whispered amongst themselves about new plans and friends attempted to ration themselves more than what they were due. It was falling apart at the seams while Vanessa did everything in her hold it together. Mothers and fathers began to complain about their children’s hunger and then their own. The doors of the church were swinging with each little group that left; one by one until she was left with a group that had nowhere else to go. They were ones that never missed a Sunday mass and ones who all had houses dedicated to the Lord that they knew was going to save them. They needed a leader and she was the figure head they were used to, the woman that mothered them all in times of need. Everyone in the neighborhood called her Mama and a mother never let her people down.

But then the food ran out. There was nothing left for them in that church bar a closer connection to God. She knew they had to leave and find somewhere to go, but it was difficult. Vanessa was leading people on a path they could only see with each new step they took. First it was the outskirts of their town, then the edge of the state line. It was hard to keep the group motivated but Vanessa knew they’d come across something if they just kept pushing through. Cheyenne had slowly become their focus with so many telling them that it held supplies and a collection of survivors. She knew that she needed direction to keep the group at her back following. Some were lost along the way via attacks and raiders attempting to rob them blind, but after twenty six days of trekking they made it to Wyoming. Mama V had led her people, she’d done right by them and could have collapsed right then and there with gratitude for the ability to due so.

L I F E   A F T E R   T H E   O U T B R E A K:

The group decided that rather than moving on right away they might stay awhile. Some did stay on the outskirts of camps and things while others decided to move on and Vanessa waved them off as they went. The world was in a time where saying goodbye really did feel like the last time. When she thought about herself and what was right for her she felt drawn to the sense of community within the camps. Vanessa took on the leadership roll at the V.A. Medical Center because she felt it was the position she was succeed in most. It was the one thing that allowed her some normalcy in all the chaos that surrounded Cheyenne. The medical supplies were abundant and she looked at the camp as a Mecca for those in need and she happily stood by that. Her work ethic was a simple one, that they all worked for each other. The more work they put in, the more successful the camp would be. She relied on goodwill and comradery create a welcoming and warm environment for survivors.

Vanessa didn’t change much. Perhaps she’d hardened a little and gotten kinder to make up for the darkness of the end of the world. But she was still the same rambunctious woman she’d always been. She insisted the friends called her Mama and that if they ever needed anything then they were to come to her. Vanessa was a problem solver, there was no situation too adverse and no question too heavy to ask. Of course, there are some evenings where she looks back on the crux that her life had been in and wonders what it would have been like. Principal Hendricks, the bigger office and a whole school really looking to her as the example. Maybe she would have met someone that year, someone who would have stayed and then she could have had kids of her own. It’d been all she’d ever wanted. Someone to call her Mama who actually had the birthright to say it. But with how busy she kept herself the thoughts were always soon waved away and she plunged herself into doing as much as she could to make the best of her new little family.

[theconservativebrief]

Gettin’ the Band Together, now playing on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre, is an original musical about a down-and-out stockbroker who gets his high school band back together in time to face off against his old rival in his New Jersey hometown’s Battle of the Bands.

That’s it. That’s the whole show. On paper, it sounds pretty boring: a stockbroker? An all-dude rock band? From Jersey? Is this really what the world needs in 2018?

But I suspected there must have been some reason that in this age of high-glitz adaptations of movies and other blockbusters, this unassuming original rock musical had struggled its way from a small-town Jersey stage to Broadway, and so I set out for the Belasco hoping to find magic and wisdom and a reflection of the self, or at the very least a fun evening.

The onstage story of Gettin’ the Band Back Together is a basic battle of good and evil — of following dreams versus settling for mundanity — playing out in song and dance. As a fellow theatergoer who’d already seen the show described it, it’s basically the movie Dodgeball but with rock music. And that’s not a bad thing, unless you hate fun.

Gettin’ the Band Back Together is a warm, infectious delight. Yes, it’s true that the show has been prominently panned because its shamelessly tropey plot is packed with dorky, improv-style humor that constantly pelts you with silly jokes, visual gags, cheesy puns, physical comedy, and references to other rock musicals. But it works anyway, because it’s performed with deep joy, it’s extremely well-sung, and it’s delivered with charm by an ensemble having the time of their lives. If you let all of these things speak to you, as you should, then at some point during the performance, you will inevitably reach that wonderful moment where you are laughing purely because you are laughing.

It’s this feeling that illustrates what ultimately made a lasting impression on me as I alternately laughed and cringed my way through the show: not the onstage battle between bands, but an offstage one. The musical that Gettin’ the Band Back Together is trying to be is distinctly at odds with the current Broadway culture — embodied by an unmoved audience at the performance I attended — that unfairly expects it to be something more.

The truth is that Gettin’ the Band Back Together is a delightful show. But even if it weren’t, I would be writing this review with my heart on my sleeve to tell you all to go see it, because it’s one of those musicals that earnestly strives to be exactly what it is: a good-hearted, shamelessly self-indulgent trope factory built on fun and silliness. And in this age of problematic faves and anxiety-laden media consumption, this show, practically wholesome in its throwback juvenilia, is the rare offering that isn’t going to make you feel bad for liking it — even though it’s inane.

In that spirit, it’s reminiscent of another recent tropey, heartwarming cultural offering: Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. On some level, Gettin’ the Band Back Together is the movie’s Broadway equivalent — a sort of To All the Bands (or Least Rock Musicals) I’ve Loved Before. So what if its storyline is familiar? So what if it openly embraces every clichéd tale of down-and-out has-beens getting their groove back? Just like To All the Boys, its execution is solid, and its cast is charismatic. In essence, it’s a “cheesy cover band” equivalent of a rock musical. And that’s perfectly fine; after all, there’s a reason people love cheesy cover bands.

Put another way, Gettin’ the Band Back Together is one giant dad joke, if your dad were still a kid at heart, and that kid was a giant Nickelodeon fan who never got over Ren and Stimpy going downhill after season two, who secretly cried when My So-Called Life ended before Angela and Brian got together, who definitely got drunk at Bonnaroo and wrote “fuck Nickelback” on a fence while stoned; someone who, in adulthood, probably owns a Blu-ray of Drumline because he wants to be close to that movie in a physical way; someone who just wants his kid to be happy and kind and motivated by love rather than by a capitalist reading of the American dream.

The show sports a decently catchy, fun score by Mark Allen, making his Broadway debut. The cast — led by the charmingly winsome Mitchell Jarvis as Mitch, our stockbroker-cum-band reuniter, lover, dreamer, and Alex Brightman impersonator — performs it with loud conviction. But the real star of Gettin’ the Band Back Together is the book, which comes to us via veteran producer Ken Davenport and the improv comedy troupe Grundleshotz, in a literal “Hey, gang! Let’s put on a show!” process. (Among the Grundleshotz improv performers is Jay Klaitz, who doubles as Mitch’s MILF-obsessed, stoner best friend Bart.)

Grundleshotz, Davenport, and Allen have infused Gettin’ the Band Back Together with so much energy that it leaks out of the stage at random moments, punctuating an endless stream of jokes that succeed due to the sheer enthusiasm and dedication of the show’s cast, and to their own shameless silliness.

Writing down the jokes can’t translate their onstage effectiveness as a litany of Dadaist dork humor, but here are a few: There’s a dead cat. There’s a “nuns and roses” quip. There’s an R&B singer who turns love songs into domestic disputes. There’s a character whose only purpose in life is to take selfies. There’s a spray-tanned villain who drives a Pontiac Solstice and just wants to be loved. There’s a love ballad composed entirely of bad puns about police. There’s a running “your mom” gag. There’s every kind of New Jersey in-joke you can wedge into a two-hour running time. There’s a one-liner that’s such a cute, absurdist mix of juvenile humor and randomness that it literally stops the show.

I should repeat that: The songs are solid and fun, but it’s the jokes, not the songs, that you’ll remember.

Taken on their own, the jokes in Gettin’ the Band Back Together are nothing unique or exhilarating, but they work because the cast is so committed to selling them. In fact, I have rarely seen a more committed, joyous ensemble work so hard to win over a dead audience than I did during my Thursday night show. I’ve never seen a cast sing their hearts out with more glee and vibrance in the face of a crowd that clearly rejected the kind of show they were attending. Thank god for my seatmates Tyler and Bradley, who were there to see the show for the second time in a week, and who were living for Gettin’ the Band Back Together the way only we queer Broadway fans living through the homophobic cake years can.

“This is the kind of show I can take my Trump-voting brother to and we’ll bond over it,” Tyler told me before the show started.

“I cried,” Bradley added.

“It’s so dumb,” Tyler gushed to me at intermission. “It’s so dumb, isn’t it amazing?”

This show is so dumb, and it is amazing. It is so funny, so soft and joyous, that during intermission, I texted a friend who refused to come see it with me solely to upbraid her for her mistake. Meanwhile, my betrayer audience sat unmoved by the endless adorkable hilarity playing out in front of them. And every second that the sea of unenthused faces around me refused to be swept along by the ebullient hopes and dreams of a bunch of New Jersey ’90s kids who just wanted to have fun again, I resented not only them but the modern theater industry itself.

After all, only Broadway could build an American musical legacy out of exploiting camp for its cultural mileage, and yet somehow wind up increasingly abandoning ironic forms of entertainment — including “so bad it’s good” enjoyment.

In recent years, Broadway has conditioned audiences to expect either high-budget remakes with canned messages and blatant crowd-pandering (last season’s Spongebob comes to mind) or high-budget sophistication à la Dear Evan Hansen. Hell, even Gettin’ the Band Back Together, with its crop of references to aging rock artists, was designed to appeal to a certain crowd of baby boomers, to its detriment and their apathy.

But at heart, this isn’t a musical for boomers; instead, it represents and caters to the kind of media-savvy fan who fully embraces absurdity and silliness in their pop culture (the sillier, the better). As such, Gettin’ the Band Back Together desperately needs a younger audience, or at least a better older one.

Who were these people sitting around me who refused to show any enthusiasm for a stellar ensemble that served up some of the strongest group vocals I’ve heard since Evan Hansen? Who were these people who sat largely unmoved while our band of heroes rocked a bar mitzvah, reminisced about the roller coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure, and overcame numerous trials and obstacles to not only find love and happiness but receive a deus ex machina from none other than a fictional version of Aerosmith’s Joe Perry?

As it happened, a good portion of my fellow audience members had apparently come to see Gettin’ the Band Back Together because they’d received comped or discounted tickets as part of Broadway deal websites like Show Score. Through these kinds of watch-and-rate deals, some theatergoers — thanks to retirement, or sheer determination — are able to see upward of five shows a week.

That’s great for them, and ostensibly it should be good for shows that open in the summer, like this one. Late-summer Broadway openings tend to be rare for New York, because the tourist crowd doesn’t gravitate toward new releases that don’t already have strong buzz; you need New Yorkers to see those shows, and in August, they’re often away.

So these websites help fill seats during the offseason, which is a win. But it’s easy to see how they can hurt shows like this one, which wind up being viewed by an assembly line of people looking for deals first and feels second. It struck me that while teenage audiences were being encouraged, off-Broadway, to Be More Chill, on 44th Street, the cast of Gettin’ the Band Back Together was pleading with their older, middle-class audience to be less chill. And, miracle of miracles, eventually the audience at my show thawed out; gradually, more and more of them seemed to open their hearts to the silliness and sincerity of this show, its complete lack of irony and pretense, its sheer eagerness to make you laugh.

But they couldn’t have done it without my dudes Bradley and Tyler, whose constant laughter kept the orchestra section on life support all night. Late in the third act, veteran Marilu Henner, who plays Mitch’s mom with brassy warmth, came halfway up the aisle just to film the two of them — cast members breaking the fourth wall to film the audience is not an infrequent practice on Broadway these days, but rarely is it done with such specificity — as they lost their minds over the big finale number, when Mitch and the band finally play the Battle of the Bands. It’s exciting!

I was happy for them both, these pure-hearted theater lovers receiving a pure-hearted musical blessing, and feeding all their love and energy back to this hard-working, earnest cast. That is what we come to the theater for. That is Broadway at its core, stripped of size and massive budgets and pretension, until all that remains is love and communion.

At intermission, I’d overheard one of the comped five-show-a-week people say, with a shrug, “Maybe it’ll run for a few weeks.”

Fuck that.

Go see Gettin’ the Band Back Together. Enter with love and leave with laughter. May it, and all the other plucky, misunderstood musicals of its ilk, run forever.

Original Source -> Why critics are scorning new rock musical Gettin’ the Band Back Together — and why it deserves your love

via The Conservative Brief