#Godzilla Minus One Minus Colour

[genkinahito]

Let’s Go Karaoke!, Aru Tozasareta Yuki no Sanso de, Godzilla Minus One Minus Colour, Kaze ga Toori nukeru Michi, The Theatre “Dramatica” ACT 3 Colourful Wonderful!, Cacao and the Japanese, Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp, Japanese Film Trailers

Welcome to the trailer post This week, I posted about the Third Window Films Blu-ray/digital release of MAD CATS and my thoughts on the Nintendo 3DS games Project X Zone 1 and 2. This week, I watched The Ghost Galleon, Payback, Don’t Look in the Basement, Evil Dead Rise, and Honey Boy. From today, I will be engaged in some intensive festival work! Looking forward to it! What are the films…

[geekynerfherder]

'Godzilla Minus One' by Phantom City Creative.

Officially licensed 24" x 36" screen print, in a numbered Regular edition of 225 for $60; a numbered 'Minus Colour' Variant edition of 125 for $70; a numbered Blue 'Fire Breath' Foil Variant edition of 150, on Blue Tinted Rainbow Holographic Foil paper for $80; a numbered Blue Variant edition of 50, on paper for $70; and a digital print on 4mm thick acrylic panel of 50 for $125, with numbered COA with BNG hologram of authenticity.

On sale Friday May 3 at 12pm ET through Bottleneck Gallery (in collaboration with ISH).

[lavandulacosmos]

people I'd like to get to know better

Thanks for the tag Linnea!💛 @gawincaskey

last song: Serious - FTIsland

favorite color: blue and purple

currently watching: The Bear, Moving (and the Paris Olympics lol)

last movie: The Green Knight, Godzilla Minus One/Minus Colour

sweet, savory, or spicy: yes

relationship: nah

current obsession: ATEEZ as always putting together my next travel itinerary

last googled: looked up the water polo/fencing results

currently working on: an old wip (finally) and planning Mingi's bday art

Tagging @natures-marvel @seonghwacore @snug-gyu @parabataisarah @dejatiny @applejongho if you want to💜

[haemaflyart]

"drop the mines!" I have always loved Godzilla ever since i was a child (even if my introduction was the 1998 American Godzilla), and Godzilla Minus One did not disappoint. An amazing movie with a full cast who seemed to love what they were creating and I felt it. Drawn on A2 paper, with prisma colour pencils.

[cherrydrop-rambles]

Everytime I listen to "Ruthlessness" from Epic The Musical, it always reminds me of a scenario in Minus One where "Hey, what if Tachibana did NOT forgive/help Shikishima and continued to hold that grudge against him?"

Therefore, I am compelled to bring you...

My TED talk of why I think this song is basically the scenario of Tachibana if he never forgave Shikishima;

Disclaimer: I will not take from the musical itself, only the lyrics I see on screen

Blue ; Lyrics

Normal coloured text ; Analysis

Also HUGE Godzilla Minus One Spoilers and I am totally 100% sane making this

---

(I'm not counting the multiple "Poseidon"s at the start because you can't really analyse that </3)

" In all my years of living, it isn't very often that I get pissed off,

I try to chill with the waves, but damn you've crossed the line. "

The mention of the waves - I see as a direct reference to the fact that Shikishima is a minesweeper - sailing the waves on his boat. (This is assuming this is all being said to Shikishima after he becomes a minesweeper)

" I've been so gracious, but yet you hurt this son of mine "

Instead of the 'yet you hurt this son of mine' line making an accusation of hurting his son, I'd say Tachibana would instead make a direct reference to Shikishima letting his friends get injured(killed)

" That's right, the cyclops you made blind is mine. "

" No, "

[ N/A - Dont have analysis for these lines ]

" I'm left without a choice, and without a doubt

Guess the pack of wolves is swimming with the sharks now

I gotta make you bleed, I need to see you drown,

But before you go, I need to make you learn how "

Okay, so, for the first two lines, I took this as two meanings. My first idea is that the whole "sharks" mention is another little reference to Shikishima working on the ocean. But then, the pack of wolves swimming with the sharks could be a direct signal to the large group of corpses (Tachibana's allies) on Odo Island being washed into the sea after the Godzilla attack. And clearly the third line of harming Shikishima is Tachibana wanting to practically kill him due to him blaming Shikishima for his crew being gone.

" Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves "

First of all, such a banger line in general. Second, I think this would be Tachibana saying that you need to kill to be 'Ruthless' and execute certain actions sometimes to save those around you, which in a way saves ourselves because if he saved everyone around him, he wouldn't have to feel that guilt. He considers Shikishima to have had a choice when aiming at Godzilla, and Shikishima "actively" never took that choice. If he did kill Godzilla - In which perhaps the powerful guns could have in Tachibana's eyes - then he would have mercy on himself because he wouldn't live with the added guilt of being responsible for all those deaths caused by the lizard he "refused" to kill.

A Greek who reeks of false righteousness, that's what I hate!

" You are the worst kind of good 'cause you're not even great.

'Cause you fight to save lives but won't kill and don't get the job done,

I mean, you probably could have avoided all this had you just killed my son,

But no "

Alright so, the first two lines I feel like this is Tachibana criticising Shikishima for taking the role that's known for saving their people and being heroic (hence the false righteousness) but failing to protect those on the island because he couldn't do "one simple thing" per se, and pull the trigger on the guns aiming at Godzilla. And of course the worst kind of good not being great ties into what I talked about him seemingly taking up this role and not being able to save those Tachibana cares about.

The third line sort of ties into what I've just explained about with Shikishima being a pilot in WW2 but failing to kill Godzilla, and the last part is pretty self explanatory, replacing the 'my son' part with him talking about his crew again.

This whole verse could perhaps refer to him being a Kamikaze pilot too and taking a dig at him surviving the war, even if it does kind of make Tachibana a hypocrite by then.

" You are far too nice, mercy has a price

It's the final crack, we're bound to break the ice now

You reveal your name, then you let him live

Unlike you, I've got no mercy left to give 'cause "

I feel like the "you are far too nice" could perhaps be a hint of sarcasm, followed by mercy being mentioned, which solidifies the idea of Tachibana thinking it was Shikishima's choice not to kill Godzilla rather than the truth of his hands freezing up. I feel like he's too clouded by his frustration and anger of losing those he cared about to consider that Shikishima didn't choose this. Or maybe he's too filled with anger/hatred to care in this case. The more he thinks of such a thing, the angrier he gets, so he tends to push it out of his mind until this scene.

" And now it is finally time to say goodbye, today you die

Unless, of course, you apologize

For my son's pain and all his cries

Poseidon, we meant no harm

We only hurt him to disarm him

We took no pleasure in his pain

We only wanted to escape "

[ N/A - No analysis other than what I've already spoken about. Perhaps the part about him only wanting to escape but thats about it ]

" The line between naïveté and hopefulness is almost invisible

So close your heart, the world is dark and

Ruthlessness is mercy

Die. "

With the thought of Tachibana still thinking that Shikishima had a choice, the first line possibly could refer to it's niave to inflict mercy on ruthless creatures such as Godzilla, because it won't get him anywhere. The hope that Godzilla will take any mercy is naive. And of course, the second one is enforcing the first line, telling Shikishima that the world is a dark place that doesn't take kindly to mercy. I feel like in terms of the last line of "Die," Tachibana would actually want to kill Shikishima in that moment to avenge his friends. I mean, we see in that scene where he gives over the letter, and his anger surfaces how he attacks Shikishima. We also know how far people can go when placed in a stressful setting whilst filled with anger and hatred for a certain person who has wronged you as much.

What have you done?

When does a ripple become a tidal wave?

43 left under your command

When does man become a monster?

I am your darkest moment

The monster that always draws near

Any last words? "

Last but not least, the final verse I am going to analyse. (Yippee!!!)

Now I see a ripple becoming a tidal wave as Godzilla surviving Odo Island and then causing distruction another few times. One event which went wrong turned into a bunch of them occurring. Last but not least, I feel like for the 'when does a man become a monster?' Up to 'The monster that always draws near' instead of Tachibana saying these lines, it's Shikishima's survivor's guilt surfacing as he reflects on what he's done and how he believes he's handles everything. It makes him beg the question of does he even deserve to live at this point? Is he part of the problem and the true monster who has been a catalyst for these events, no matter how much he's tried to stop it - seeing as it follows HIM around?

Finally I feel like the final part is him getting ready to take his revenge.

For the last few lines thats left of the song, honestly doesnt fit in my humble opinion so I shall not include them :3

Extra;

Setting/Time: I think in my mind, this argument with Tachibana arguing with Shikishima during the scene when Shikishima finds Tachibana and Tachibana has seen the letters and is visibly furious about this. It would explain his anger filled explanation and his desire to just get rid of "the root of his problem". Plus he was intentions angering Shikishima in order for Shikishima to actually find him, which would fuel his rage even more!

A quite note that I am taking this from the perspective of Godzilla being a real, tangible creature. I know in the movie he's meant to represent survivor's guilt but I feel like this whole analysis above would make a tiny bit more sense if he really was a real creature. I dunno,

That's all for now! I'm just cramming my thoughts into this one post X3 They don't call it Cherrydrop rambles for nothing!! I've honestly had this concept in my head for a while now and as much as Id love to make this into an animatic, I dont have the time nor motivation for it. However, hope you've enjoyed reading through this chaotic post, and gold star if you did! :3

[orbitalwings]

Everyone's patting themselves on the back feeling very clever parroting the same 'Japan can make dark serious Godzilla movies and the west can make silly campy Godzilla movies, isn't that great?' take and while I completely agree the character's versatility is one of the franchise's greatest strengths and I firmly believe there's no singular 'correct' way to make these things, I feel like a lot of people are forgetting so many of the most successful takes on the character sit somewhere in the middle?

Like, I don't want it to become a binary 'bleak and philosophical like Minus One' vs 'colourful and ridiculous like Godzilla x Kong' situation - both the Heisei and Millenium eras basically thrived off of straddling that divide and a lot of those movies are still fan favourites.

Also hi yes I have lots of Godzilla opinions and I'm doing my best not to go all 'old man yells at cloud' over the direction the Monsterverse is taking but Mr Wingard you are not making it easy.

[badartxd]

People you want to get to know ^^

Thank you @heniareth for tagging me, and sorry about the late response - I only just saw!

I’m gonna tag @darkspawntaxcollectors if you feel like it! If not, no pressure!

Last song:

Favourite colour: Green! I like most shades of green, but some honourable mentions are LuAG

And holly (I think that’s what it is)

Currently watching: a bunch of Caitlin Doughty! Content warning though, she’s a mortician and most of her videos are about death, the funeral industry, and notable historical cases.

Last movie: Shin Godzilla! I firmly believe that Godzilla is the modern Archdemon XD while I like Minus One more as a movie overall, I love the Shin design most for what it represents.

Sweet/savoury/spicy: in that order, honestly. I love sweets too much but even though I like spice, my body doesn’t so I don’t often eat it.

Relationship status: lurking

Current obsessions: Dragon Age Origins, gemstones, pathology and anatomy, crows, Hatsune Miku.

Last thing I googled: MRSA (antibiotic resistant skin infection, graphic). I was just in a rabbit hole.

[ladydorian]

MEME STUFF

Tagged by @little-arcadia tysm it's been a while since I've played one of these!

The last song: "Wasted Nights" by ONE OK ROCK, it's been in my head ever since I started writing this Swansuke fanfic

Fav colour: Red

Last book: I am so bad with picking things up and actually finishing them, but I started reading Lolita and I really enjoy the writing. Might take me a few months but I'm gonna try and finish it (someday)

Last movie: Umm...I don't watch movies too much bc I have such a horrible attention span, but I think it was Godzilla Minus One? Which was amazing btw

Last TV show: FROM!! I fuckin love it and I need to know wtf is going on with Fatima and her nonexistent demon baby

Sweet/spicy/savoury: I must burn my taste buds off with curry and then pay for it the next day

Relationship status: Married

Last thing I googled: Alcohol withdrawal symptoms bc I'm bringing up Swansea's alcoholism in a future fic

Looking forward to: getting a new tattoo this weekend! And working on/posting this Swansuke fix-it series!

I'm always too nervous to tag ppl, but if you wanna do this, please have fun! ^__^

[skulandcrossbones]

Questions for gif-makers.

4. A set that flopped but deserved better

this one :( idk why cos it's not like a special gifset or anything, i was just proud of the cropping/scene selection + colouring and it didn't do as well as i hoped

[fashionablyfyrdraaca]

nine people I’d like to get to know better —

tagged by @goldenclaymore (thank you!!! :D)

last song: Desire by Arogya

favourite colour: purple is the first colour that comes to mind :D

last movie/tv show: godzilla minus one

sweet/spicy/savoury: spicy burns the shit out of me, but i endure nonetheless because i love spicy food.

relationship status: I'm technically common law married,, but we are socially engaged :D

last thing you googled: "En french svp je suis pas trop en englais"' I googled this because someone dropped it in the Palia discord when the mods told them to use only English LOL.

current obsession: Well, my OC Archibald and his relationship with the Likely Lass lol. I also am obsessed with the mmo Palia right now too

i'm tagging: @arisatominakos @elfgremlin @rivensbane @veshialles

@shykorok @giaffa @arborstone (no pressure if you don't want to)

[inkystaar]

for the fun ask game- 3, 8, 19, 20? :D

hi jordan ✌️

3. 3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored?

OHHHH BOY. yes. ok. SO. first. Knives Out, directed by Rian Johnson, music composed by Nathan Johnson. i am in LOVE with this movie. everytime i watch it there’s more details to discover and look at and OUHHHH its so so so fucking good. not to mention the mood and the colours of the scenes…… much love for Knives Out

SECOND!!! Train to Busan, directed by Yeon Sang-ho. FUCKING BEAUTIFUL MOVIE. will make you cry your eyes out. i’m very certain ive talked about this one on the discord before but OHHHHH fuck. okay. it hurts me so much. it’s horrible. i love it. i will watch this forever and ever ( cough cough zombie apocalypse hyperfixation holding me in a chokehold ) this one has a shit ton of blood, so beware.

goddd also Minus One….. directed by Takashi Yamazaki. i know it was just recently released but holy shittttt. it’s a retelling of the original godzilla movie but oughhh i like Minus One so much better. this one has a lot of grief and death and world war II topics, so beware.

8. recurring dreams?

none, actually! i don’t dream often :] and i’ve never had a repeat dream!

19. favorite things about the day?

i love the sun. i love hanging out with my friends. i love when it rains and i love the smell of rain ( which is called petrichor — which is made up of the greek words “petra” meaning stone, and “ichor” relating the the golden fluid that flows through immortals in greek mythology ). i love picking out outfits and i love taking my dog on walks and i love doing my makeup

20. favorite things about the night?

i love documenting the moon phases. i love taking out my dad’s telescope and looking at the moon and stars in detail. i love when the night sky is clear and i love seeing the stars. i love playing overcooked with my parents and i love the inside jokes that come from it.

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 4, Episode 8. We've Been Busy With... Nightwing, Lore Olympus, Madame Web, Godzilla Minus One, and more

The Stereo Geeks discuss the TV shows and films they've been watching, and the books they've been reading.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Mon: Hello and welcome to a new episode of Stereo Geeks. We’re doing things a little differently today. We’ll be discussing a bunch of stuff we’ve been watching, listening to and reading recently.

I’m Mon.

Ron: And I’m Ron.

Mon: Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, and a team of artists brought Dick Grayson/Nightwing back to himself in the Eisner Award-winning series, Nightwing Volumes 1-4. I’m behind on this series, but I intend to get back into it because of these four volumes. 

There was a lot of controversy surrounding what happened to Dick Grayson in Batman #55 way back in 2018. 

Ron: Was it that long ago? 

Mon: Yeah, I’m still processing that. 

I kept reading the Nightwing books after that, but those were a tough read. Dick wasn’t himself, so these new volumes were a welcome change. 

Ron: I haven’t read the latest volumes. I barely got through the Ric Grayson nonsense. What’s our favourite pretty bird been up to?

Mon: Well, Dick is back as Nightwing, but he’s reeling from losing his memory and himself, and his home of Blüdhaven is worse off since his absence. 

What I liked about this section of the series is that Dick returns and he wants to do so much more for his city than just punch bad guys. I like that the creators addressed the fact that Bruce Wayne could have done so much more with his money, and Dick is hoping to course correct in Blüdhaven.

The story had a lot of emotional beats, and the ones concerning Alfred got me in the feels. Who knew I’d get teary over Dick and Alfred’s relationship, but here we are. I do love how newer renditions of the Bat-universe comics really lean into the notion of them being a family who love and loathe each other, just like any other family. There’s so much love in the writing, it makes it such a joy to read these stories.

I loved the art and colours—for most of the volumes Redondo is leading the art team, so the character art is especially beautiful, giving the Bat-family distinct and gorgeous faces. Good art, especially art that flatters the characters I love, helps me become more invested in the story.

After eons of Dick being touted as the next big thing, he finally feels like he’s taking on that mantle. I believe he’s become a big deal in the DC Comics universe. I need to read more of the current stuff to know for sure. 

Volumes 1-3 are particularly solid. 4 is a little more gruesome, so I didn’t like it that much. I also hate it when the art changes during a volume or a run. I know it happens, but it’s so frustrating, especially when you start off with the kind of art you love and then it changes. Sigh.

Highly recommend these volumes for Nightwing fans. I really hope what comes after is just as excellent.

Ron: Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe is a retelling of Greek mythology in Webtoon form, now available across several paperbacks as well.

Mon: Greek gods in Webtoon form. Tell me more!

Ron: It’s essentially about the romance between Persephone and Hades but pretty much every Greek god and goddess makes an appearance. The story started fairly small but expanded to encompass so much of the mythos. It was such a rich world and I found it a very immersive reading experience.

Smythe has been writing this series since 2018. I only started reading Lore Olympus during the pandemic and then I ended up taking a break from Webtoons for a long while. But I went back to it this year and I couldn’t stop reading. I ended up racing through to the end. I was a bit bereft when I’d come to the end of the 280 episodes.

The story is engaging but what captivated me at first was the art. I love the way Smythe uses colours to differentiate the characters and the different realms. There’s a lot of detail in her art that had me lingering on sections of the story. But she also uses colours to display emotions which I found very moving. Lore Olympus goes to some pretty dark places at times and I appreciated her putting content warnings for those episodes.

My only criticism was that the final volume both dragged and felt rushed. We had too many episodes that were stuck on one plot point and then the entire story was wrapped up in just two episodes. Having said that, 280 episodes is a massive commitment from a writer and artist. It was a riveting story and I loved the modern incarnations of the gods and goddesses. Highly recommended.

Mon: Wow, I’ll add it to my list. 

Mon: Anyone who’s read Marvel comics is going to tell you that the What If…? series of books is the coolest part of being a comic reader. Alternate takes on what would have happened to our favourite characters are always fun to read. My guess is, Marvel, seeing that the What If…? animated show got some traction, decided to venture into new territory–YA What If…? novels. So we have Marvel: What If...Loki Was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux.

Look, I love Loki as much as the next person, and I’ll admit, at the start I was itching to get to the book whenever I was away from it. At one point, the book mentions a Marvel character who I’m fond of, and I got so excited I decided to ‘save’ the book and read it at my own pace.

Ron: Just for that cameo, I want to read this book now. Should I?

Mon: No. Taking a break was actually a dumb idea because this is a library book and it got snatched away. I’m back to reading it now, haven’t finished it yet, but the magic’s gone. I’m struggling to read this. The writing is so slow, the descriptions are overlong and unnecessary. They don’t just bring the pace to a halt, they grind it backward. I’m literally screaming in my head for the story to move forward, but nope, we need to describe every single room in this tiny trailer with the utmost detail. 

And here’s the thing, I don’t hate descriptions. I used to love Thomas Hardy’s books, so I can’t complain about descriptions. But my issue is the descriptions are given more importance than what Loki goes through. I’m sorry, but I am way more interested in knowing how he coped with a certain live-changing event than his bloody lizard!

And don’t get me started on Tony Stark. Crikey–what is with the overly sentimental histrionics? And why are they three chapters long? 

I’m halfway through, and I think things are picking up. At this point, I just want the book to be over. I don’t care if Loki was worthy, I just know I’m unworthy of this suffering. 

Ron: Well, that takes us to more comics-related suffering. This is something I’ve been dying to talk about. The Krakoa-era of X-Men! I have so many thoughts and I don’t know if I’ll be able to cover it all but I’m going to try.

Ron: For the longest time, I just couldn’t find a way back into the X-Men comics. I found that so frustrating because they are our favourite comics team. But with the House of X/Powers of X series in 2019, I finally got a way in. We read that series for our comic book club and I stayed with it.

Mon: I never read past Hox/PoX, which we covered on this podcast, by the way. So I’m all ears.

Ron: At first, I really enjoyed the Krakoa comics. After decades of being despised, hunted, killed, just for being born different, the mutants had a safe home on Krakoa, the living island. I loved reading about the way they were setting up their lives, how Krakoa would give them whatever they needed to thrive. And the resurrection protocols ensured the mutants couldn’t die. The Five, consisting of Tempus, Proteus, Hope Summers, Elixir, and Egg, combined their mutant powers with Xavier to resurrect dead X-Men. All the mutants who lost their powers in House of M, or died on Genosha, they were all being brought back. That wasn’t all. Mutants had created a medicine that was going to help humans fight diseases. I was so enjoying reading about this mutant Utopia.

Mon: That sounds awesome. I love my X-Men being happy.

Ron: Not so fast. Things weren’t all that rosy on Krakoa. The Quiet Council, the governing body of the island, was made up of past villains with their own agendas, like Mr Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, and Apocalypse, who seemed to have turned over a new leaf at least. Cyclops and Jean were so annoyed with Xavier and Magneto keeping secrets from them that they both abandoned the Quiet Council. Xavier and Magneto also made Mystique’s life miserable; they put her on the council but refused to resurrect her wife, Destiny, for absolutely no good reason. Honestly, the internal politics of the Quiet Council were to die for. I loved the drama, the tension, the subterfuge. Who was betraying whom? Who had their own plan for world domination? Who knew who’s secrets. This is what had me picking up issue after issue.

Mon: Wait, so you liked that part?

Ron: Very much so! But alas, Marvel comics got in their own way. Instead of giving us these self-contained stories about mutant intrigue, Marvel introduced fantastical elements like the Arakki, an ancient mutant civilization to which Apocalypse belonged to. 

Mon: The ruddy Arakki. How many times have I heard you complain about the Arakki?

Ron: I know I go on about it, but I cannot stress enough how much I despise the Arakki. The moment they appeared on the comic page, the mutants I wanted to read about went right out the window. Practically every single issue became focused on the Arakki. They were a warring race so we got plenty of mindless action and no character development. They didn’t want to fit in on Krakoa, so the mutants terraformed Mars and made it Arakko and the Arakki were still fighting. Worse, Storm and Magneto were appointed leaders of the Arakki so the entirety of their story in X-Men: Red was just them quelling fights between the Arakki. It was so boring!

Ron: And let me not start on Avalon and the Braddocks. I don’t know Betsy Braddock very well but her constant tussle with Saturnyne which went on and on and on made me dislike them both and all of Avalon so much. Betsy was in a group with Jubilee, Rogue, Gambit, and Rictor, all of them much more interesting than her. Yet every Excalibur book was about Betsy and only Betsy. I was so glad when she shattered into glass pieces but alas, she got better and even more insufferable.

Mon: Wow, that sounds… not great. A book featuring your favs Rogue and Gambit, and it’s about neither of them? I don’t know how you persevered. 

Ron: I didn’t. I gave up on Excalibur when Rogue fell into a coma.

Mon: You have got to be kidding me. 

Ron: Nope! However, I did get to hang out with some very cool characters on Krakoa. Mystique and Destiny, who was eventually resurrected behind Xavier’s back, haha, take that sucker. They were such an amazing couple. They were so conniving, so smart, so in love, I enjoyed every moment I got to read them. Laura Kinney got a few incredible story arcs. She and Synch, a mutant I’d never met before, had this incredible storyline of living many lives to fight a terrifying enemy. It was a sad ending for them but Synch has become one of my favourite mutants now. He’s got the ability to use any superpowers that he’s been near but because of his experiences, his powers are killing him. And yet, he keeps fighting to save mutantkind.

Mon: I’d really like to meet Synch one day in the comics. 

Ron: Don’t hold your breath; he’s not slated for any new books.

Ron: There were lots of little moments that I enjoyed from Krakoa, as well. Scott, Jean, Logan, and Emma Frost becoming a happy quadrangle. Logan even lives on the Moon in the Summers home. Almost everyone getting their families back. Jean and Scott have Cable and Rachel. Logan has all his kids, Akihiro, Laura, Gabby. Krakoa was very queer-friendly. Lots of the lads wore gorgeous dresses to the Hellfire Gala. Northstar’s husband, Kyle, who’s human, got to live on Krakoa. Then there’s Ms Marvel becoming a mutant and adapting to her multiple identities, which was a great addition–she’s an absolute natural as a mutant even though her powers haven’t appeared yet. Seeing Captain America step up and lead the mutant resistance, considering the Avengers have historically been absolutely awful to the X-Men. The political machinations of the Quiet Council and how mutants like Emma Frost managed to get the upper hand over their rivals was so thrilling! And nothing will surpass the shock of Orchis murdering all the mutants at the Hellfire Gala just as the new X-Men team was announced.

But it’s been downhill for a while. The focus on the Arakki, the overlong Dominion plotline that fizzled out, quite literally, with the return of Dark Phoenix. Sidelining characters I love, like Storm and Iceman. I had such high hopes for Krakoa and now I’m just happy it’s ending. I really felt like they’d lost their way. Now we’ve got the Fall of the X-Men that’s spread over some 13 series, and you have to read each issue from each series sequentially. It’s bonkers. I am so going to miss the hope and joy I thought Krakoa would bring. Not to me, my X-Men.

Mon: Dang, that sucks. I’m hoping for good things with the new series. But, you never know.

Mon: Anyway. So, I like listening to podcasts, but my podcast habits are pretty standard–I’m either listening to reviews or news. But I heard ads for the BBC and CBC podcast Hollywood Exiles, which is about the Red Scare in the US and J.Edgar Hoover’s apparent obsession with taking down Charlie Chaplin. 

The podcast is hosted and narrated by Chaplin’s granddaughter Oona. Oona is an actress, so she has a great voice for podcasting–very soothing and measured. We, of course, know about the Red Scare and the witch-hunts for supposed communists, but it was really interesting to hear about the rise of Hoover and the impact of these trials on Hollywood. 

Apparently, Hoover started a file on Charlie Chaplin–one that grew to over 1000 pages–as early as the 1920s. Chaplin, was, according to the podcast, one of the earliest targets of the Bureau for un-American activities. Chaplin was an immigrant from Britain–he never got American citizenship, and was openly ‘anti-authoritarian’, if you can call it that, in his work. That immediately drew a target on his back even though he wasn’t part of the Communist Party in the US–or so he said, anyway. 

Listening to this podcast, it’s really heart-breaking. Chaplin was older, secure in his career, and rich. Life got tough, he upped and offed to England. But other writers and creators, they went through hell and back and lost their jobs. Some left the US, forever, others eventually returned. But they couldn’t return to their old jobs because they were put on the ���Hollywood blacklist”. Man, that sucked to hear. The adult children of those exiles talking about how life changed for their families, was so sad. And over what? Fear-mongering.

And listening to it now, when the US is so divisive and so quick to judge and cancel–all the wrong people, of course–just made me so angry. It hits worse now that we’re in North America.

My one grouse with the podcast was that, because it’s hosted by Chaplin’s kin, Oona sort of brushes off Chaplin's less-than-stellar inclinations. The dude had a penchant for really young women, and even if the women were of consenting age, the power dynamic between Chaplin and anyone else is off. Oona Chaplin never really deals with that in the podcast. I think the producers at the BBC and CBC should have stepped in to contextualize the problematic side of Chaplin.

But this podcast is worth a listen to understand how and why Hollywood was so embroiled in the Red Scare. 

Ron: I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about a mind-bendy thriller called Dark Matter on Apple TV+ so I decided to check it out. You and I loved Netflix’s Dark, and I adored the other sci-fi show called Dark Matter so why not? It’s based on a book by Blake Crouch and the premise is around alternate universes. I love alternate universes so I was very excited when I realised that was what the show was about.

My enthusiasm was waning partway through episode one, of what I believe is a 10-episode series. Joel Edgerton plays Jason Dessen, a science professor. 

Mon: I’m sorry–that’s a name choice.

Ron: Hehe. His wife Daniela, played by Jennifer Connelly, works in an art gallery. The two of them gave up their dreams of being a scientist and an artist to raise their son. First up, how cliche, the dude is the scientist, the lady is an artist. Why don’t we swap it around and really make things interesting? Anyway!

Then they waste the first three episodes with this setup about Jason being kidnapped and left in an alternate reality. And he’s wondering who could’ve done it. When we already know the answer in episode one. Why would you spend three episodes with the characters not knowing something the audience has already been told?

Also, I tuned in to see alternate universes. Those really only appear from episode 4. And I don’t know if it’s a budget issue, but the characters rarely interact with the alternate universes. They’re mostly green screen. How very boring.

But the premise of the story is so dull. Jason loves his wife and wants to go back to her. That’s literally all there is to this man. Nothing else. Every single episode he keeps going on about how much he loves his wife. But I don’t understand what they’re on about because, honestly, Jason and Daniela’s life looks awful. There’s no excitement. They have no hobbies. The show has to keep telling us they love each other when it really looks like they’ve just settled for this existence.

Also, I cannot stand when characters make stupid decisions. We all do dumb things sometimes, sure. But nobody looks at a snowstorm and willingly runs into it. There’s this pandemic world they go to, and you will not believe it, Jason, after being told that the virus on this world is spread through fluids, he handles a vial that Daniela was holding after she was wiping her tears away. Dude, two seconds ago, they told you not to do that!

The show is really held back by the central romance between Jason and Daniela, because I just don’t see that love. Companionship, sure. Love? Whatever. Just show me the cool alternate worlds.

Mon: Yikes. Giving that a miss then.

Mon: On to some stuff we’ve been watching together. 

I think a lot more people have heard about Madame Web the film, than actually seen it. It’s a running joke at this point–another Sony Marvel movie that bombed, haha. 

We only recently caught up with it. I had no hopes for the film. I’d heard nothing but outrage at how bad it was, so my only expectation was to be mildly entertained. 

But you know what, now that I’ve watched it, I’m really annoyed. I’m annoyed with people, especially the people who said don’t even bother watching this film because it’s dead on arrival. Like, if you’re a fan of superhero stuff, this film was worth one viewing at least.

Ron: This is the same nonsense that happened to The Marvels. People kept saying don’t watch it because it’s bad but since you and I got a preview screening, we were completely confused because we knew The Marvels was incredibly fun. I wish we’d got to give Madame Web a chance because it was also fun, in a very different way.

Mon: Madame Web is not great. The CGI is so janky, I can’t believe they let it out in public like that. And then there’s the first scene, which is atrociously acted. Yikes! But if you stick around, you get this really wholesome road trip, sorority sisters sticking together vibe. I kinda liked it. It was, I don’t know, adorable? 

Ron: Here’s the thing though, the CGI was janky in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 but people were still raving about those!

Mon: Yep. 

None of the performances are great, but it’s like everyone had a bit and they stuck to it. The whole film does feel, a little, like everyone involved is on cruise control, but again, it didn’t make me hate it. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience to hang out with these characters and this film. I mean, I liked this film more than the second and third volumes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which isn’t saying much, because those were awful entries. But they made money and aren’t as openly mocked as this women-led and directed film. I wonder why. #sarcasm

Ron: I really liked the characters in Madame Web. Cassie Web is relatable. That scene where the kid hands her a drawing and she’s like, what do I do with this? Relatable! That entire subway section with her and the three teenagers and they’re sure this woman is kidnapping them, was hilarious. This movie was genuinely so funny. All the emotion that Guardians 3 was forcing on its script and actors, this film did it organically. I found myself so moved when Cassie had that revelation about her mother. Now I’ve just made myself sad again.

Mon: The characters were the best part of the film–truly surprising, but that’s what annoys me more about people being so mean about this film.

Mon: Two things about this film I’m not sure about–they made it like this was a one-and-done. These people will be superheroes, even though we don’t know how. We see them in costume, but it’s not in the present. That was a weird choice, and it seals the deal on there being no future for these characters.

Ron: There could easily have been a sequel that shows us how this group gets to that point. I mean, Venom seemed like a one and done film and it’s got two sequels!

Mon: The first Venom was so bad. How do people like it more than this film?

The other thing that weirded me out about Madame Web was the ending. I’m still trying to process what they were trying to say with that ending. This goes back to the film being on cruise control. A character needed to be a certain way to reflect their comic book persona, so even though they go through a life-altering experience, everyone’s super-chill about it because… that’s destiny? It was really weird. I wonder if that put critics off. I mean, this film does not hold up to criticism, but man, it does not deserve the hate. This felt like The Marvels all over again–though that film is objectively much better made and really fun. 

Ron: I actually really liked the ending. Life-altering injuries are always treated like the end of the world in stories but I like that this film had this character accept it as part of her journey. A sequel could have explored it more. 

Ron: With the crazy backlash against The Marvels, and before that, the vitriol against She-Hulk, which was such a fun, enjoyable, relatable show, and now Madame Web, Marvel’s not going to have any female superheroes headlining films or shows. These stories are hated on to the point where they lose box office sales and that’s it, we never get to see these characters again. But Starlord will return! I’m so angry.

Mon: Booooooooo!

Ron: Moving on, I guess. We didn’t catch Godzilla Minus One in theatres because going to the movies is expensive, you guys! We had to wait quite a while but eventually it arrived on Netflix Canada and we duly watched it. I was expecting standard monster fare. People screaming. Monsters destroying buildings. Lots of action and great VFX, because the film won the Oscar for VFX. But hoo boy, we got so much more!

Mon: Sitting down to watch Godzilla Minus One was worrying. I was certain this wouldn’t live up to the hype. Well, I was wrong. The film is riveting–but not because it’s about a monster called Godzilla, it’s because it’s a character study of people, and who the monsters really are. I know some people were annoyed that the film doesn’t touch on the atrocities that Japan committed during the war–there are other stories that deal with that, but I don’t know how this film would have included that as well. I mean, we all know there are no saints in a war; I don’t think this film tries to paint things any differently. 

Ron: The movie does touch on the fact that Japan made some terrible choices in the second World War.

Mon: It does. Godzilla is merely a catalyst to tell a deeper story about governmental and systemic failure, the devastation of war, the real cost of the atomic bombs, and most importantly, the connections among people. This isn’t the first Godzilla film to tap into these themes, but it’s the first one that I’ve seen do this. 

Ron: Godzilla was created in response to the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To have this movie set during and just after the second World War, drives home the devastation that those bombs caused.

Mon: The American Godzilla movies are always the same–monster fights. They’re so dull. And then you have this one, with these complicated characters who have so many layers to them. And the special effects. The VFX team won the Oscar for a reason. Godzilla looks so real! It’s scary.

Ron: True. Godzilla Minus One was so much more than the action. Protagonist Shikishima is a failed Kamikaze pilot. And then he’s one of only two survivors of Godzilla’s attack on a small island refuelling station. Not only that, but he returns home to find his civilian parents died in the war. It’s just survivor’s guilt upon survivor’s guilt for Shikishima! Ryunosuke Kamiki, who plays Shikishima, carries the film on his shoulders and he manages to portray the unimaginable burden of surviving so much really well. It’s a shame the international awards didn’t recognise his acting.

Mon: My only criticism is that I wish our leading lady Noriko had a larger role in the story, and that there were more ladies in the story. I know that Japan can be very patriarchal, and would have probably been even more conservative in the 1940s, but I wish they’d figured out a way to bring more women into the story.

Ron: 100%. Noriko is the amusing heart of the story. She’s the reason why Shikishima ends up with the world’s most bizarre but loving family unit. Noriko’s really the one who makes them work as a family. She had some incredible scenes and was played with a lot of sensitivity by Minami Hamabe. I was impressed by how much love Shikishima and Noriko had for each other without there being long monologues about it, just quiet moments and a shared look. And that’s down to the acting.

Mon: This film is worth a watch whether you like or care for Godzilla. It’s outstanding. Who knew you could get emotional during a Godzilla movie!

Mon: Everyone has been decrying the end of the world because The Fall Guy failed at the box office. Us plebs who refuse to go to the cinema all the time are the worst of humanity, don’t you know? How dare we not spend every dollar on passively absorbing every single film that comes out instead of trying to buy groceries and, you know, survive. 

Mon: I’m sorry, did I go on a diatribe? I did. The way the online space made it out, it seemed like The Fall Guy was the best film ever to have been made. Listen, I was going to watch it anyway, just not in the theatre. We have to pick and choose when we spend money and where we go. We used to love going to the cinema every week, but that’s just not possible now–money isn’t even the biggest issue, for us at least, it’s that you have to be wise about which indoor spaces you want to be in.

Ron: When cinema tickets are $26 per person, before taxes, you’ve got to choose the groceries. I’m afraid The Fall Guy isn’t the kind of movie I’m spending that much money on. Sorry.

Mon: Anyway, on to the film. The Fall Guy is just meh. I was kinda disappointed, honestly. I was expecting something spectacular. This isn’t it. The opening scene? Yeah, sign me up. Awesome direction. That was, wow. And the way it ends, holy moly. That was incredible stuff. 

Ron: That one-take opening scene was so well-executed and then you have that unexpected ending. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Mon: But the film goes downhill after that. The pacing is off. It tries so hard to be funny, but it keeps falling flat. There’s some really slick directing, but the action scenes were badly paced.

I also didn’t like that Ryan Gosling’s the only one with any significant screen time. There’s this cast of amazing actors, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and they don’t get their due. Taylor-Johnson has more to do than Duke and Hsu though.

Ron: Aaron Taylor-Johnson is so freaking funny and he absolutely owns this douchebag role. But he disappears for three quarters of the movie! And don’t get me started on Stephanie Hsu getting only two scenes.

Mon: And Emily Blunt is totally wasted in this. What the hell! Useless, tiresome role. So boring. At least Gosling can finally act though. I swear, till before Barbie, he was as wooden as a doll, and now he can actually emote.

Ron: Ken has changed Gosling so much. I actually understand the appeal now!

Mon: I have to strain to remember that I watched this film because it was so meh. I cannot believe the vitriol the average movie-goer faced because they didn’t support this film. People need to live a little.

Ron: Well, we’ve definitely been busy being entertained this year. Have you been watching or reading something you’d recommend? Let us know in the comments. Until next time.

[nctzenkane]

I got tagged by my wife @tenpintsof-sundrop, and thus I must comply (as if I'd wanna do anything else)

Last Song: Nightwalker by Ten- serves as both inspo and like, the main theme song for the novel I'm writing

Favourite Colour: Green. But like... GREEN green, ya know?

Currently Watching: It's time for my annual Futurama rewatch (shut up baby I know it)

Sweet, Savoury, or Spicy: Savory baby. I am a southern belle after all (Virginia peeps tap in)

Currently Reading: Spin of Fate by A.A Vora. It's really dope so far, I dig the worldbuilding like A LOT

Last Movie: Godzilla: Minue One. I missed this movie when it was in theatres last year, so I'm really glad it's on Netflix now. It is hands down one of my favorite movies I've ever seen, and the message about the importance of living for the future really hit me when I needed it most

Relationship: Poly gang. I have more partners than Zeus has bastard children, but my A1 since day 1 is of course @tenpintsof-sundrop (and also the loser known as @spectre-of-sin. You're lucky you got a big dick sir or I'd be mad at you for being away from home so much)

Current Obsessions: The same as my eternal obsessions: superhero comics (specifically Batman and Spider-Man), Star Wars (unfortunately), MASS EFFECT (I've been eager to replay the trilogy for the 400th time) and D&D

The Last Thing You Googled: "Erlang Shen vs Sun Wukong". For reasons

Currently Working On: A fucktillion things, but specifically Splicers: The Rising Gods

[kloppinthekop]

Ooh this is fun- thanks for the tag, @felig-szitt-cigaretta and @ollieflopkins! 💖 Last song: "Night of the Swallow" by Kate Bush (an absolutely gorgeous song- but imho all Kate Bush songs are beautiful and unique and wonderful)

Favourite colour: Purple, turquoise, and other jewel tones like dark red, etc. - but mostly I wear black haha.

Last movie/show: All of Us Strangers (dir. Andrew Haigh) - Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott are so hot together but the ending made me incredibly angry...

Next on my watchlist: Lisa Frankenstein (dir. Zelda Williams) or Godzilla Minus One (dir. Takashi Yamazaki)

Last book: Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

Last game: Oh gosh, probably Rummikub with my parents over Christmas? Haha I don't really play many games.

Sweet/savory/spicy: Spicy 🌶

Last thing I searched online: How much will tickets cost for the World Cup 2026 finals? ⚽

Relationship status: Single

Greatest flaw: Getting angry/frustrated about things that are completely beyond my control. Also, not letting myself be vulnerable/not letting other people in.

I'll tag... @stormoflina, @trentxaa, @kraeki, @lexqa, @hopelesslylfc, @immortaltale, @jarellquansah, @walkon-throughtherain (but only if you want to do it/haven't already done the tag)! ❧

[rottenbrainstuff]

Oh I can’t remember if I mentioned the other movies I saw over the holidays or not. The tumblr search function sucks shit but I’m pretty sure I already talked about the Boy and the Heron, I distinctly remember writing a summary of that one, even if I can’t find it now, thanks tumblr.

But I also saw Poor Things.

That was a big surprise because all I knew going in was that it appeared to be some kind of Frankenstein type story, with a girl being the creature brought back from the dead this time, and Willem Dafoe as the mad scientist, and also Mark Ruffalo is in there somewhere, doing something. That was all. I was very surprised by how beautiful the movie was. It was shot on real film, and made use of beautiful lenses, shots, composition, colours, etc etc etc. Mark Ruffalo was hilarious. It’s a very strange, funny, graphic story.

…I DO have a few complicated thoughts about the character’s sexual journey in this film. It’s very difficult for me to be objective because I am some brand of ace and I relate to sex just a little slightly differently than other people. So it’s hard for me to say if my inability to relate to the character’s experiences is because I just simply do not relate to the majority of women’s experiences…. Or if the reason I don’t relate is that this movie is directed by a man and is based on a book written by a man so there’s a layer of male gaze that I don’t like.

I honestly do not know. I’m willing to say it’s a personal quirk of my own and leave it there. Really the majority of the movie is quite good and I highly recommend it. When it comes out of blu ray I can’t wait to watch the special features and see them talk about all the camera work.

Then on New Year’s Eve I saw Godzilla Minus One. This was ok. It does what it says on the tin, it’s a very fun Godzilla movie, tropey as hell with some delightful overacting. Setting it during the Second World War was an interesting choice. It was a fun movie to watch at the end of the year with some smuggled-in alcohol.

With those three movies, I’ve now used up all the free tickets I had accumulated in my movie account, but that’s ok cause I think I’ve seen everything I want to for now.

[disappointingyet]

A bunch of movies that didn't make my final films of the year – some of them are very good, mind (and one or two really aren't).

Godzilla Minus One

Very much not to be confused with the current US Godzilla movies, this comes from Toho Studios and not only goes back to the start, but the story is all about Japan coming to terms with World War II. Our central (human) character is Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) a guilt-ridden former fighter pilot trying to get by in bomb-flattened Tokyo. He acquires not one but two found families: a young woman and the child she rescued from the rubble, and the crew of the minesweeper he finds work on. The healing for both the material and psychic damage seems underway when a massive, mysterious creature – which Shikishima encountered during the war – reappears, only bigger and with new powers…

G-M1 is a talky film with sombre stretches (there are jokes, too), with lots of grief and guilt and trying to figure out how not to make the same mistakes again*. And, in between all that, we get a big stompy monster (this is mean Godzilla, not saviour Godzilla). The special effects do the job: you’re unlikely to be awestruck, but equally I didn’t spend any time wanting to chuck something at the screen as I often do with (say) Marvel movies. 

Satisfying.

(*I was trying to think of other movies where I successfully guessed what was going to happen not so much because of plot tropes as ideology… the only one that springs to mind is the Robert Aldrich-directed Burt Lancaster & Gary Cooper Mexican-set Western Vera Cruz.)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 

What were the odds, in the year of full superhero backlash, that there would be a critically endorsed Ninja Turtles movie? But here it is, and yes, it’s good. Essentially, TMNT:MM is (as far as I know) the first post-Spider-verse film, embracing the idea that comic-book adaptations can look drawn. This is 3D computer animation, but it’s not trying to look solid or clean, and so you don’t end up with Shrekian chunkiness. It’s weird and colourful and sometimes rather beautiful.

It’s a basic origin story: how did these strange creatures come to be, why do they regard a rat as their father, what other weird animals are lurking in New York? Well, for one, Superfly, a massive insect styled after Ron O’Neal’s Blaxploitation antihero and voiced by Ice Cube.

The movie leans hard into the ‘teenage’ part of the title – these are kids, cocky, confused, bored, trying to fit in and figure themselves out (often contradictory impulses.) The script is by Seth Rogen and chums, so doesn’t take itself too seriously. 

There’s an argument to be had about whether famous faces deserve to be the voice leads in animated movies - surely specialists are better at the job and anyway, much of the time nobody recognises it’s eg, Chris Pratt. But here, I think the star casting works - as well as Cube, we get Jackie Chan being very endearing as Splinter the rat, a brief but perfect turn from Giancarlo Esposito and the ubiquitous Ayo Edebiri as April.

The soundtrack is ace – and maybe gives away who the target audience is: it’s a bunch of late 1980s/90s hip-hop standards.

The storytelling isn’t groundbreaking but the visuals are so good. One of the best surprises of the year.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

Essentially: ‘You know that game the kids in Stranger Things play? The one people used to get beat up for been associated with but now movie stars boast about their expertise at? Let’s do a Guardians Of The Galaxy-style film based on that.’  So they did, and gathered a more-than-decent cast: Chris Pine*, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant, and send them off on some questing. The jokes do the job, the dialogue largely non-fantasy mode, Rodriguez does all the action and Pine is the Hannibal Smith-esque generator of plans (but w/tragic backstory). As this kind of adventure movie goes, it’s comfortably above average: not as good as the first Guardians, the first Pirates Of The Caribbean or Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, but better than most of the tosh out there. *Brudenell Road’s most famous former resident!

They Cloned Tyrone

Strange things seem to be happening in the hood and a drug dealer (John Boyega), a sex worker (Teyonah Parris) and – reluctantly – a pimp (Jamie Foxx) team up to investigate. This is a comedy with sci-fi elements as well as things that would be horror if this had a different vibe. Maybe think of this as a much broader take on Jordan Peele’s Get Out or Nope or a less way-out Sorry To Bother You. Although it’s set now, there are nods to the Blaxploitation era (Foxx’s hair, various cars.) There’s a nice murky look to the night scenes, a tangible atmosphere and an excellent cast – so plenty to enjoy.

(Netflix)

Theater Camp

Fond and indulgent mockumentary made by a bunch of chums who grew up as theatre kids. Very familiar set-up: much-loved thespian institution (in this case, a summer camp) has its future under threat – will everyone rally round for a big show to save the day?

There are plenty of familiar faces here, particularly if you’ve seen Booksmart and The Bear (Molly Gordon, who is one of the directors, writers and stars of this links that terrific film and that excellent TV show.)  

Ben Platt, who has become even more mocked and reviled in critical and showbiz gossip circles than his Pitch Perfect cast mates, makes the wise decision to write himself a largely dickish character to play. 

Theater Camp mostly manages to be the right kind of silly – I enjoyed it a bunch. (Disney +)

Bottoms

Extremely daft although reasonably fun comedy. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri (who are both 28 years old and aren’t trying to fool you otherwise) play a pair of unpopular high-school kids who start a female fight club with the hope of hooking up with the cheerleaders they have crushes on. It’s very silly, gets a reasonable amount of mileage out of people punching each other and has plenty of decent jokes. Had me thinking of Rock ’n’ Roll High School more than I expected. 

Three Musketeers: Part 1 - D’Artagnan

Yes, yet another version of the Dumas book. This one has the virtue of being actually French. The vibe is somewhat gritty: the fights include guns and punching rather than only elegant sword work. Many of buildings are actual historic structures rather than something fairly see-through cobbled together on a computer. We get Vincent Cassel and Romain Duris as Athos and Aramis, plus Louis Garrel as the king. I’ve never really got Eva Green but she makes perfect sense as Milady. What’s added (from what I remember of the book) is a conspiracy involving a war-hungry faction at court and the Protestant rebellion.* Anyway, this is a solid and satisfying period action movie.

*To be clear, the siege of La Rochelle is in the book - it’s what leads to that that’s new here.

Maestro

Are you intrigued by the idea of current movie stars attempted many-layered 1940s accents? How about a film half in the lushest of lush black & white and half in fairly authentic-looking late 1960s colour, also rather beautiful? Tidal waves of great, great music? Fully committed performances? Some genuinely extraordinary, including a scene where biopic slips into ballet…

Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic is wildly ambitious, and it succeeds more than I was anticipating. Cooper, as often, gives a better performance than I expect him to. Carey Mulligan is excellent as Felicia Montealegre, Bernstein’s wife, even if the accent escapes her occasionally. It looks and sounds incredible.

But? It’s a big film with a small story at its heart. Firstly, what happens to a marriage between two people in the arts when their careers have very different trajectories? 'Isn’t the only other film Cooper has directed A Star Is Born?', you point out correctly.

Secondly, what happens to that marriage if it begins with the acceptance that one of this pair is going to continue shagging other people, but once there are kids to consider that seems less cool and you don’t feel like trying to explain to your daughter why her middle-aged father is chasing young men around, especially because this is only the 1970s…

I’m certainly not saying a film needs to say big stuff. But Maestro has a scale and sense of importance that seems at odds with what it wants to talk about. We do get some scenes with Bernstein pronouncing about music in grand terms – and those are the worst parts of the movie. But other than hearing the tunes, we don’t really get much of a sense of why Bernstein was such an imposing cultural figure. Credit to Cooper for acknowledging the pivot that most based-on-real-life stories take if they span a fair bit of time: things are fun, and then they are difficult. In Maestro, that fun part is not just in b&w, but the rules of space and time don’t apply. As we’re watching them, that’s clearly the case within scenes, but as we learn in the colour second half, things that you would have guessed took a couple of weeks took several years. All of that first part, it seems but is never stated, was lovely memories that edit all the tricky stuff. 

Not a wholly successful film then, but one I’m really glad I watched and even a little regretful I didn’t see it on the big screen.  (Netflix)

Creed III

Better than Creed II, nowhere near as good as Creed. Michael B Jordan does a decent job as the director and introduces some interesting visual elements. There’s no Stallone, which I’m fine with. The issue is a classic genre film trap: how to get the main character back to doing the thing the franchise needs them to do, even though that’s a terrible choice. Weirdly, for once, if this was hyper-realism, that wouldn’t be a problem – legendary boxers clamber out of retirement and back into the ring the whole time, often repeatedly. But in this movie, Adonis Creed seems to have too much going on – as the beautiful, successful guy with a beautiful, talented family – and to be too smart to get himself clobbered again. True to life, but somehow implausible within this fiction.

(Prime)

Babylon

Damien Chazelle’s massive, noisy discursion on the history of Hollywood is a film I definitely enjoyed talking about – there was so much to debate. But it was probably more fun talking about it than it was watching the last two hours of the movie (maybe watch the two big set pieces at the start and then stop?)

Full review here

Air

Schlubby dudes sit around in dingy offices arguing about the details of a deal for a young athlete to endorse a shoe. Not a painful watch, but nothing that Affleck/Damon manage here convinces me that this is a story worthy of cinema and not a very long Nike ad.

Full review here

Barbie

On the one hand, most of Barbie was fun, and an impressive feat of multi-level storytelling (eg, the very niche joke at the expense of fans of 1990s indie band Pavement.) Could’ve done without the Will Ferrell and Rhea Perlman bits, but a billion-dollar box office movie taking the piss out of the patriarchy is a great thing.

On the other, as much as I want to celebrate popular art, in my heart I know I’d rather Gerwig was making films like Lady Bird or Mistress America. Much as I hope Boden and Fleck’s future work is more like Sugar or Mississippi Grind than Captain Marvel, and that Cate Shortland goes back to films like Somersault and Lore instead of Black Widow.  

Ferrari

In some ways, this could be a companion piece to Maestro – another film about a wife who has sort-of-tolerated the chronic infidelity of her giant-of-the-20th-century husband. Although, in this case, he's only cheating with women and by the time the film is set – the late 1950s – only one woman. In Michael Mann's movie, Adam Driver plays Enzo Ferrari, Penélope Cruz Laura Ferrari and Shailene Woodley the mistress. These people, you may have noticed, are not Italian. Yes, this is a film in English in which the actors do accents to indicate they are speaking Italian (the bit players, confusingly, talk actual Italian). I'm generally not in favour of that approach. This isn't a biopic, as such – it seemingly takes place over a few months as Enzo faces simultaneous work and personal crisis, linked by Laura, who was his work partner as well as spouse. Cruz is excellent value as the fuming, grieving Laura. Driver – has his hair ever been this short on film? – is good too, and wears excellent suits. It looks lovely, too – whatever issues Mann had during the early digital switchover (Collateral?!) are long past. But the ending just fizzles out, in a way that leaves me wondering (other than Cruz being entertainingly furious) what this was all about. And the big events just before that are handled in a way I found both clunky and kind of distasteful. (I feel you need to be at least somewhat careful portraying real-life tragedies on screen. And also announcing your characters bear no responsibility when with all things taken into account, they do.) One of those films that I was very into when I was watching, but increasingly less so on the walk home.

No Hard Feelings

The sort-of-return of the once weirdly popular older-woman-deflowers-kid ‘raunchy comedy’ genre. This being 2023, the kid is a legal 19 but socially awkward, inexperienced etc (I mean, to be fair, there are a lot of people like that). Jennifer Lawrence plays the desperate-for-cash local who is hired by a Princeton-bound nerd’s parents to make a man of him. The film is well cast, and some of the jokes work… ‘the hey! we’ve all learned something’ stuff maybe less so. Pretty OK.

The Killer

Michael Fassbender plays a stat-bore hitman in David Fincher’s fan-boy-pleasing thriller. Some generally sane critics reckon it’s a blinder. I reckon it’s cliched, obvious and very grating. (Many of the arguments in its favour are based on the idea that it is Fincher taking the piss out of himself – to which I say, who cares?) 

Starts well as Fassbender is patiently doing the tedious prep for a kill in Paris, but goes duff quickly once he’s off on the obligatory revenge kick. Fassbender’s American accent is horrible, the gags are thumpingly obvious and yet triple-underlined in case you didn’t get them the first time. I kept hoping against hope that one of Fassbender’s enemies would finish him off and we’d be done with all of this. Tilda Swinton is good but she only gets one scene. (Fassbender had a supporting role in Fincher’s bestie Steven Soderbergh’s somewhat similar Haywire, which – for my money – is way better.) 

(Netflix)

Love At First Sight

Industry wisdom is the romcom is one of the genres people will no longer pay to see in a cinema but will consume happily on streaming. Netflix is notorious for putting out loads of them with TV-movie production levels. This is maybe one of their higher budget efforts? I saw it because Haley Lu Richardson was great in two of my favourite movies of recent times: Columbus and Support The Girls. 

LAFS* feels like three different ideas chucked together. First, a high-concept romcom with lots of vibrant colours and some bollocks about fate and Jameela Jamil as the narrator who pops up in turn as a flight attendant, immigration officer, bartender, helpful passerby…** Secondly, your contemporary British comedy where the characters are all wearyingly eccentric (so many British films, whether comedies or thrillers, just try far too hard.) Thirdly, a melancholy film about two people in pain who make a connection on a transAtlantic flight. Unsurprisingly, these three ideas constantly undermine each other. (Oh, and the London geography is just distractingly nonsense.)

*The title of the book this is adapted from is The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight, which is a much better match for the theme and tone of the story.

**An idea seemingly nicked, as I’m happy to admit I didn’t know when I watched it, from Max Ophuls’ 1950 classic La Ronde, emphatically not a romcom.

(Netflix)

Documentaries

Squaring The Circle: The Story Of Hipgnosis 

What was Hipgnosis, you ask? Hipgnosis was a little company that designed the covers of long-playing records, most famously for Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Its founders Storm Thorgerson and Po Powell were dope-smoking chums of the future members of (The) Pink Floyd in Cambridge (the city, not the university) who had enough photographic and graphic design nous to turn a favour for mates into a lucrative career.

Everyone in this documentary talks about how grumpy Thorgerson (who died in 2013) was: ‘He was rude to everyone,’ someone says. Now, as it happens, a long, long time ago I used to interview designers and photographers about famous album covers for a rock magazine. Almost all these chats happened over the phone… except for the one with Thorgerson about the Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. Thorgerson invited me over to his large, comfortable north-west London home and we sat drinking tea as he told me about how the LP sleeve had come about. As I remember it, he was an excellent host and I sat there feeling guilty about how bloody hideous I thought almost all of his work was and how unbearable his old mates’ music was. Maybe he’d mellowed by then.

Anyway, this documentary was made by Anton Corbijn, legendary rock photographer/terrible feature film director, which accounts for the interviewees being shot in elegant, flattering b&w. Corbijn’s movies are utterly humourless so it’s a pleasant surprise to find plenty of chuckles here. The heart of the film, indeed, is a series of tales from the mid-1970s in which the album shoots involve vast expense, effort, travel time and even danger… and afterwards everyone decides for all the record buyers will notice, it could have been done round the corner or just in the studio…

If you like a rock dinosaur, there’s a bunch here: Planty! Pagey! Macca! Gabriel! And the surviving Floyds, of course. Speaking of which, my big concern watching this was the presence of Roger Waters and Noel Gallagher, both extremely low-quality human beings. Fortunately, restricted to talking about album covers (both) and the early days (Waters), they are non-toxic. Just why Gallagher is here is a different question. He has no connection to Hipgnosis – not as a client nor even (as far as made the cut) as a fan. He just talks about album artwork in general, including his daughter not knowing it was a thing that exists. So he’s effectively the cut-price Bono, here to provide uninformed vibes and enthusiasm – but as the man who shot U2’s most famous images, surely Corbijn could have got the real thing?

There’s a tradition of documentaries – which I think this fits into – that work two ways depending on how you feel about the subjects. If you think the cover of (say) Led Zep’s Houses Of The Holy is a great piece of image-making, here’s the inside story of how it came about. On the other hand, if you find the aesthetics of 1970s rock grotesque or funny, then this is an entertaining account of how completely everyone lost the plot as the cash (and coke) rolled in. (Netflix)

Little Richard: I Am Everything

You can see why people want to make documentaries these days about Little Richard – he was black, he was gay, he did some drag early in his career and certainly had no truck with the 20th-century western version of masculinity. In 2023, if you want to celebrate a rock ’n’ roll pioneer, he’s more appealing than one of those white guys with their child brides. (Before we overtip the balance, it's almost certain that Richard also had sex with teenage girls when he was an adult, even if they weren’t his main area of interest.) 

The big problem I had with this film – which got some rapturous reviews – is not its fault at all. What happened was that earlier in the year I had seen the BBC’s Little Richard: The King And Queen Of Rock’n’Roll, which has some of the same interviewees (plus Keef rather than Mick as their Rolling Stone), much of the same archive and – as the title suggests – the same contemporary take. I Am Everything’s director Lisa Cortes does try to do some things to make this movie-like, including having clouds of glitter and bursts of high-speed nature montages. She also has some current musicians in to a play a few songs, almost always a bad move in a music documentary. There are some good academics etc here, but alas, if you’ve recently heard all this stuff, I Am Everything doesn’t add that much. But if you’re not familiar with this story, this is a great place to start.