#I highly recommend for tears and epic drama

[sapphicflower-ao3]

what are ur personal favorite fics? i can be a bit picky and have a hard time finding fics but i love ur writing and i feel like we might have similar tastes based on that :3

i'm sorry it took me like a week to get to this!! i wanted to compile my faves and write notes for each of them... and i went overboard LOL. but thanks so much omg, i'm flattered that you would trust my taste based on my writing!

these are all bkdk obviously :)

i. 'In Case of Fire' - passengerside

post-canon // complete // 11K // E

an absolute MASTERPIECE!!! this author has become a recent favourite of mine, i love the way they incorporate little details into their work and make the mundane so beautiful.

highly recommend all of their other works, especially 'Pacemaker'! so freaking beautiful and fun and the lead up to the confession was a genuine holding-my-breath moment

ii. 'Sun Hands' - yesthisisnarumi

snowboarding AU // complete // 5K // T

i've re-read this one so many times it's SOOOOO good! so fun and so classically bkdk it's insane. everybody say thank you OP for giving us the rival olympic champions to lovers story we needed

iii. 'all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing' - maxisnotokay

UA compliant // complete // 11K // T

i dont usually read a lot of whump but this was brilliant, im a sucker for this specific trope and for LOVE CONFESSIONS YEASS!!! obvi it has a happy ending bc i wouldnt have it any other way. a good length too :)

iv. 'Spinnin' On Our Feet' - sage_and_cinnamon

High School AU // ongoing // 47K // M

UNDERRATED AS FUCK and my favourite ongoing fic right now. i usually dont read jock x nerd AUs but this fic is so brilliantly funny and charming and heartwarming and it blew all my expectations out of the water and then some. i've been following it for ages and it's been on hiatus for a good while, but it updated recently and when i tell you it was the best day of my freaking life...

v. 'In Perfect Rhythm' - chalk

Band AU // complete // 50K // E

yes how surprising, a band AU fic in my faves list. anyway shut up, chalk is literally godlike in their writing and this fic was SO FUN and scratched all the itches. nothing gets me going more than awkwardly endearing izuku n rockstar katsuki

vi. 'Last Days of War' - antisora

Pacific Rim AU // complete // 44K // M

GENUINELY ONE OF HUMANITY'S BEST PIECES OF LITERATURE???? fuck. i never have the proper words for this fic, but it is SO gripping and the worldbuilding is so tight and their relationship development is so good and the CLIMAX OF THIS HAS BEEN MORE EPIC THAN HALF THE BLOCKBUSTERS I'VE SEEN. i beg you to read this even if you have never watched Pacific Rim. or maybe go watch the movie and get EDUCATED and then read this! i'm begging you, dear reader!!

vii. 'Ingenium' - crandberrycrush

Astronauts AU // complete // 85K // E

guys i love sci-fi sorry lol. this one is another brilliant fic. OP put so much blood, sweat and tears into research and it shows, it is just very intelligent and the plot itself is HEART RACING and GUTTING and THRILLING. there's a lot of POVs and it really fleshes it out, tho ofc bkdk is the main thing. happy ending obvi! it is the space/astronaut drama that i love and adore, just BKDKified now!

viii. 'The Magic in a Mirror' - totallyrottentomatoes

Magic/Circus AU // complete // 80K // E

oh how surprising, a totallyrottentomaoes fic in my faves list. anyone who knows me knows that i rec this fic all the time. it's one of my all time favourites, if not my favourite of all time lol, and it's really because of the writing and the imagery and the characterisation and the relationships b/w all the characters. it's all just so well done and MAGICAL. no joke, if i could print and bind a fic into a book, it would be this one. no notes. perfection. caters to my tastes so specifically. i could go on about this fic forever but i'll shut up for now

also highly recommend 'The Distance Between Suns' by this author - it's a high fantasy epic with TIGHT AS FUCK worldbuilding, brilliantly written, the romance is BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, the payoffs are amazing, etc... this deserves to be published and revered

ix. 'Battle of the Bands' - roadtripwithlucifer

Band AU // complete // 168K // E

look i know i always rec this fic, i just can't help that it's like my favourite thing ever. roadtripwithlucifer and totallyrottentomatoes my BELOVEDS. the humour in this fic is so fucking yummy and brilliant, the writing is gorgeous in typical roadtrip fashion, the stakes are gripping, the climax is thrilling, the romance n yearning is INTENSE, the sex is hot as hell, the ending is so satisfying, just..... the whole package.

and while you're here, read other roadtripwithlucifer works like 'Nothing Else Fills' if you feel like destroying your heart :) an angsty and beautifully written time-travel-to-save-my-kacchan-gone-wrong war AU fic. i love OP's works but her more recent fics (eg. after battle of the bands) have had some of her best writing. i adore it when you can feel how an author has poured their soul into their work, you can always feel it in a roadtripwithlucifer work and it's just the cherry on top

x. 'Scar Tissue' - Loriqod

canon-compliant // complete // 18K // E

loriqod is another author with a characterisation that i fuck with so hard... this one was so full of that Yearning and Tension that i so vibe with. bonus points to the plots focus on bkdk's scars like yes pls more of that <3

anyway i might make a part 2 some other time, these are just the ones i grabbed from my public bookmarks. i have a lot of private ones and some of them i forgot to make public oops

hope u find smth u enjoy!

[blackmoonlightexpress]

A Guide on Ashes of Love (for TTEOTM fans)

For TTEOTM fans debating whether to watch Ashes of Love (or struggling with how long it is), I highly recommend that you CHECK IT OUT and STICK WITH IT!

Why? A lot of people think that it's Luo Yunxi at his best looks-wise. It's the role that made him a household name and really defined the ethereal white-robed male god in Chinese pop culture. Runyu has much more screentime than is typical for a second male lead. And while it has a lot of filler, it also has some of the best scenes, lines, music, cinematography, and fight choreography among xianxias.

Now, there are problems with the drama... especially in retrospect, the two biggest are: (1) It's infamous for stretching 36 episodes into 63 because mo' episodes, mo' money. On the bright side, this gave the drama a bigger budget to play with, hence grander sets, better CGI, nicer costumes. (2) The naive female lead and love trumps all plot now feel dated and perhaps even problematic. However, Yang Zi is a compelling actress and there's enough politics to keep mature viewers around.

So here's a guide to the 63 episodes, for those who want the "lay of the land". You can decide for yourself what to watch or skip. Naturally it's hard to avoid spoilers, but I've kept them mild.

Episodes 1-5: Jinmi travels to the heavenly realm (Bloat Score: 3/5)

This is mainly Jinmi meeting different characters and having fun in the heavenly realm. You can speed watch as it's light on plot. Runyu only appears for 1-2 scenes per episode, but his fight scenes are beautiful (EP1-35m, EP3-27m, EP5-37m)!

Episodes 6-8: The four leads travel to the Demon Realm (Bloat Score: 2/5) 

This part is pretty action-packed. Jinmi surprises everyone with her powers. Blossoming romance between the leads. Runyu has a more consistent presence. Would watch at normal speed.

Episodes 9-17: The two brothers compete for Jinmi while uncovering her true identity (Bloat Score: 1/5) 

The plot really picks up here as you start to get hooked on solving the mystery of Jinmi's identity and affairs of the past generation. I particularly liked the mini climaxes in Ep 12 and 15.

Episodes 18-34: Jinmi & Xufeng undergoes human trial + Runyu's backstory (Bloat Score: 4/5) 

This is the plot within the plot that was not in the source novel and has no reason to exist other than to increase runtime and give viewers more romance between the leads. If you didn't like the dream arc in TTEOTM, this will be even worse. Lucky for us they've also fleshed out Runyu's backstory and perspective in Ep 29-32, where viewers started rooting for Runyu instead.

Episode 35-45: Jinmi decides who to marry as the brothers head to epic showdown (Bloat Score: 2/5) 

The drama takes a more serious tone here, with more angst, tragedy, and power play. Runyu sheds his innocence and fights for his own corner. You also get to see him confess his love to Jinmi in one of my favorite scenes in Ep 37.

Episode 46-59: The aftermath aka a big stew of tears, blood-spitting, regret, hurt (Bloat Score: 4/5) 

Frankly I found this part painful to watch and repetitive. I can't recall what happens other than it builds up to another epic fight between the brothers Helen of Troy style. Runyu is at his darkest and there are a few TTJ-like obsessive love scenes between him and Jinmi (EP50-19m, EP56-28m, EP57-15m, EP58-25m)

Episodes 60-63 The Ending (Bloat Score: 2/5) 

A pretty satisfying ending. The big battle itself takes place in Ep 61, so there are 2 full episodes to resolve things between the characters and give them a proper ending. Runyu's final scene is done very well and always gives me the goosebumps (EP63-39m)

Also, there are lots of scenes of the third couple (demon princess and her bodyguard) spliced throughout. If it doesn't do anything for you, just skip - it has no impact to the main plot.

Have fun watching!

[nim-lock]

A WIP crop of my piece in the @loveunspoken-book​! Please check out and back the Kickstarter HERE! Would very much appreciate it ✿

[popsiclemania]

My 2020 in K dramas (+1 J drama)

I began watching k-dramas in 2018 but I’ve never watched as many shows, Korean or otherwise, as I have in this one. 2020 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I think what helps me really enjoy this over Bollywood+Malayalam+ American pop culture I grew up with is that a smirk on the wrong character’s face doesn’t make me seethe with rage and want to burn everything down. It’s not like growing up with SRK on screen and then having SRK wannabes leave you with lifelong trauma in reality. I can just move on. It’s removed enough from my everyday life but still familiar in a generic Asian family way. Does that make sense? It’s not perfect and it’s not free of its own harmful stereotypes and narratives, but there’s enough of the good stuff to make you stick around. This year I fell in love with Nana, Kim Hye Soo, Han Yeri, Park Eun bin, Ahn Eun jin, Kim Bum, Kim Yong ji, Flower Boy’s Go Dok Mi and Search:WWW’s Bae Tami. Cancelled Ji Chang wook (bye). Desperately missed Kim Jae Wook. Had thoughts on Hwang In Yeop, which were mostly heart eyes. Discovered J dramas and fell in love with Cherry Magic’s Adachi.

My year-in-review below:

LOVED

Into The Ring - I am so glad I saved this for a rainy day because it’s exactly the kind of upright citizen shenanigans my unemployed ass needed at the end of the year.

Goo Se Ra thinks the govt should work for the people but that doesn’t mean her own moral compass always points north. Her purpose is to make steady money, and I love seeing her go hard to survive and cobble together what she needs. The thing that really works for me is that she wants to be good, but she isn’t always. And you get to see her be disappointed, upset, embarrassed and hurt from being publicly kicked in the gut as she navigates a job where she appears, on the surface, to be a supremely confident, self-serving, accidental politician. What you see as her naiveté is mostly just her being a regular person in an environment dictated by backhand deals and rich people politics. She gets hit again and again, and you see what it does to her sense of worth to get back up again, how she grapples with her self. And through all this the show is funny?! Se Ra is what writers of manic pixie characters think they are doing and not doing at all. Love her friends, and Jang Hye-jin is *chef’s kiss*!

Hyena - Kim Hye Soo’s Jung Geum Ja is perhaps Se Ra’s older and darker contemporary.  Geum Ja is a survivor and will get what she wants and where she wants to, however many hells she has to cross. She’s single-minded about her success, ruthless and has no qualms about bending morals to get the outcome she needs. She’ll never compromise on who she is or justify how she lives, can build people up and also tear them down, but she also knows care and kindness.

I turned to Signal for more Kim Hye Soo but was disappointed in how the first few episodes seemed to shortchange her. May try again in 2021.

(Highly recommend @saltr0se​’s  fic series which just GETS Geum Ja so well. Fic writers are the best)

Search: WWW (Finished in 2020) - It took me half a year to finish this. I started watching Search in Oct 2019 and raced through the first 6 episodes because I couldn’t take my eyes off the rollercoaster of Bae Tami’s life. And then I had to take a break because it was a little too close to the frenetic pace of my own industry. As @drivingsideways wrote, a lot of Search is premised around ‘patriarchy? who dat?’, which is why watching its politics play out is so fascinating.  It’s also deliciously turmoil-y to watch a very clear-sighted, weathered Tami put on rose-tinted glasses for her romance and then frequently peer over them to evaluate whether it could actually meld into her life.

Catch The Ghost - Kim Seonho oozes charm and perhaps Startup was a showcase of how effectively he can be a typical male lead. But Catch is exactly not that. Go Jiseok and Yoo Ryeong have moulded their lives around to meet their most desperate wishes in life and in the process also left parts of themselves untended. There is guilt, pain and need. Now guess who will tend to whose wounds? Their dynamic is electric even when the central mystery flags towards the last few episodes of the show. I really hope Moon Geun Young is doing well and gets more amazing roles soon. She is so good here.

(Highly recommend @melonatures​‘s fic for putting that sizzling on-screen chemistry into words. HOW?!) Cherry Magic - Stories about painfully awkward people are my jam and Eiji Akaso gets Adachi’s shy, nervy energy so right. Cherry Magic is straight up just 12 hours of 🥺🥺🥺. 

Stranger/Secret Forest - I’ve been devouring the entirety of Agatha Christie’s work this year after Stranger reminded me how comforting murder mysteries can be. I love Bae Doona. I also love characters who don’t get social norms, not always because they are out to flout them but because that’s just not how their mind/brain works. (have to watch S2)

Flower Boy Next Door -  Honestly, the opening scene introducing Park Shin Hye’s character Go Deok Mi sold me on this immediately. An introverted, penny pinching copy editor living alone and working from home thanks to extreme social anxiety? Love. All the side characters are a lot of fun and I’ve never loved Kim Seulgi and Go Kyung Pyo more. It’s a warm show, slowly rounding off the sharp edges of every character.

JUST FUN

The Spies Who Loved Me -  It’s been a year of disappointing rom-coms and Spies kind of quietly turned it around for me. I want to be the fly on Yoo In Na’s wall as she figures how to play her characters. I’ve only seen her in 3 roles but somehow she always manages to be in character arcs that don’t short change her. Spies could’ve been and sometimes is the regular heterosexual fare, but In Na ups the ante over and over again, coming out on top as the smartest person in the room.

ENJOYED WITH *RESERVATIONS*

I have to watch A Piece Of Your Mind again because I don’t understand how Jung Hae In and Chae Soo bin built SO MUCH warmth and crackling chemistry with barely a kiss. I was iffy about how the whole AI thing started off and the tortured musician plotline (angsty male artists will forever be an eyeroll for me).

Park Min Young is a queen who never disappoints and When The Weather Is Nice is everything you want in a winter romance. My reservation was in how they explore so much of domestic abuse and the complex ways its traumatised the women in this family. I’m ok with the characters having imperfect ways of processing and understanding the violence, I welcome it. I’m not ok with the show dancing around whether the pivotal crime was justified/ self defence (it was).

A lot of dramas did this. I loved Han Yeri and Choo Ja Hyun in My Unfamiliar Family, I didn’t like the free pass the show gave their dad’s abusive character. 

Hwang Jung Eum’s comedy style is generally not my thing but she was pretty great in Mystic Pop-UP Bar. But I’m side-eyeing the sanctity surrounding motherhood. Maybe I should read more about babies and Korean folklore.

Hospital Playlist was my comfort watch through June and July. I think its wholesomeness and non-plot writing came at a good time for me. But I noticed then that the throughline for all main characters was moral superiority and hence what I then saw as *wholesomeness*. It’s kind of what makes it a grating rewatch in parts. Plus the real life of misogyny of Yoo Yeon Seok makes me want to push his angelic catholic character off a cliff. (For context, i was raised catholic). I want to continue loving Chae Song Hwa, and for that the showrunners need to stop cornering her with overbearing romantic interests (let that woman breathe! she literally ran away to another city!) 

Hospital is good at creating moments of comfort, so much so that I went to watch Reply 1988 after it, but had to drop it coz I couldn’t get into it. Maybe I’ll come back to it next year.

Once Again is what I call joint family propaganda. What it does well is lay bare the mechanics of living in a society that prizes the heterosexual family structure, the loops you have to jump through to hide when you break its rules and what happens when you are found out. I love the characters, their fights, their frustrations. I just don’t love the validation of joint families. (context: i grew up in an oppressive joint family lol). In my au, Nahee and Gyujin don’t get married again or immediately have children, but take the long route to figuring out how to love the person the other is. Gahee is openly dating Hyo shin and her parents have to figure out how to process her success and her romance. Young dal and Ok boon have to learn to stop dictating their children’s lives.  Joon sun runs his company from home, so his wife Hyun kyung can work on what she wants. Choyeon, Joori and Ga-yeon go back to being flamboyant AF and the market learns to not judge. Gyujin and Jaesok have to actually work on the relationship with their mother and what sent her into depression. Just a lot of learning involved.

Just Between Lovers was a nice watch, i just don’t get how Kang doo and Ha Moon So’s relationship will survive his constantly simmering anger. 

Crash Landing on You was so much fun until the main romance turned angsty, but it gave us North Korean soldier shenanigans and the epic romance of Seo Dan and Alberto Gu that we needed more of.

Tale of The Nine Tailed is probably what Goblin wished it was. I, however, will never be over Lee Rang. (Also, when can gods stop meeting their love interests as babies? Asking for my sanity)

I literally ignored everything in Oh My Ghost except Park Bo Young and Kim Seulgi and it was amazing. 

NOPE

Goblin, Dinner Mate, Oh My Baby and My Secret Romance were a whole lot of NO, NAHI, ILLAAA. 

I loved hate-watching The King:Eternal Monarch with the rest of k drama tumblr but someone please take away Kim Eun-sook’s access to gigantic budgets and all-star casts.

It was painful to watch Do You Like Brahms squander away its potential but I’m glad to be introduced to Park Eun bin. Age of Youth is next on watchlist.

More than Friends to me is only Ahn Eun jin. Someone give her amazing lead roles asap.

Why did Record of Youth do that to Park So Dam and her clothes? Just why

WANTED TO WATCH, BUT COULDN’T BECAUSE *INTENSE* 

World Of The Married, It’s Okay Not To Be Okay, Sweet Home, Extracurricular, Penthouse, Flower of Evil, Lie After Lie

WILL WATCH NEXT YEAR

SF8, Stove League, Birth Care Centre but I’ll start the new year with School Nurse Files coz it looks very good.

[overthinkingkdrama]

Jona’s Top 10 Dramas of 2019

A couple words about how I do these lists. Firstly, I only count as “2019 dramas” shows that finished airing in 2019, therefore dramas that started airing in 2018 but finished in the early months of 2019 have been included in my process, but dramas that are currently airing and will finish in 2020 have not been included. Secondly, this list is more based on my subjective experience with each of these dramas than my objective assessment on things like acting, writing and production values, though naturally I take the latter into account when forming my opinions.

Also: Yay! This year I managed to write a full review on every drama that wound up in my top ten, so feel free to click the link on each title and check those out if you want to read my detailed thoughts.

10. Hotel Del Luna

I have a somewhat Stockholm Syndrome-y relationship with Hong Sisters dramas. Though a lot of them are not excellent, or stumble a bit in the execution, I can’t seem to stop watching them. And yes, I’ve seen them all. Something about their particular blend of fantasy, romance and camp just works for me. I do think Hotel Del Luna plays to their strengths. Somewhat like if they got to take a second run at Master’s Sun but with their dream budget, and it’s just fun. This drama is gorgeous to look at. However, it is Lee Ji Eun, aka IU, who carries the entire drama on her lovely shoulders with her mesmerizing presence as Jang Man Wol.

Bottom Line: It shouldn’t be this way, but it’s so rare to get a mainstream drama where the female lead is allowed to be truly dark and flawed, or for a drama to fully focus on its heroine’s journey through the whole run.

9. Encounter

I was somewhat disappointed by the ending of this drama, and I think that might have made me unduly harsh when I looked back at it earlier in the year. However, I got the chance to rewatch episodes with a friend and was reminded of the soft, romantic escapism of this drama. Ultimately that’s the reason this ended up in the list. I like that it plays the rich woman/poor man, noona-romance tropes entirely straight and I liked the quixotic fairy tale it was unapologetically trying to sell me. Park Bo Gum and Song Hye Gyo are a noona-romance dream team up that I’m glad I got to see at least once in my lifetime.

Bottom Line: If you don’t like your dramas slow-paced and highly sentimental then this might not be the show for you, but I can appreciate a drama that knows exactly what kind of show it is and tries to do one thing well.

8. The Light in Your Eyes

If there’s any common theme to these favorites lists in previous years, it’s that they usually include dramas that took me by surprise and did something I haven’t seen before. The Light In Your Eyes fits that description so well, not just because of oddly dark tone or the quirky premise it presents in the first episodes, but because it’s a drama dedicated to showcasing the talents of the veteran actress, Kim Hye Ja, with whom the lead character shares a name. Of the dramas on the list this one made me cry the hardest.

Bottom Line: The Light In Your Eyes is a drama that has a greater emotional coherence than it does logical sense. In fact, if you think about the plot too hard it falls apart entirely. But it feels true, and that’s why it hit me so hard.

7. Search WWW

In my review I called Search a “female power fantasy” and I still think that’s a good description. It’s also sexy romantic fantasy, twice a noona romance, and a corporate drama focused on the very contemporary issues of powerful search engine companies and how they affect the information we see and the way we view the world. I think any of those is an interesting enough angle to make a drama about, maybe several dramas. If this show has one major flaw, it might be trying to wear too many hats at once. But I salute the creators for trying to make us something different than the typical pretty boy chaebol story, and giving us not one but three female characters filling those typically male roles.

Bottom Line: I do believe this drama deserves more love and respect than it got from a fandom that at least in theory cares about women’s stories. But I also understand why a lot of people didn’t connect with the lead character or the business stuff. But for me there was something about the lead couple that rang true and resonated with me.

6. WATCHER

Every time I watch a thriller, I’m hoping for something like WATCHER. Something with deep, complex, gray characters and a story full of twists and turns that keeps me engaged and guessing from episode one until the finale. Add on top of that a powerful cast who can really do justice to these substantial characters, you’ve got a winning recipe. OCN produces a lot of dramas in this genre, and they seem to be more prone to produce sequels than most other networks. Unfortunately, that also means a lot of the dramas they make feel paint-by-numbers and empty on the inside. WATCHER is one of those shows that reminds me why I keep coming back to this network and this kind of story time and again.

Bottom Line: This is one of those dramas that has you second guessing yourself even when they come right out and give you the answer, keeping you in a perpetual state of distrust along with the characters. But it’s built on the strong backbone of complicated and dynamic character relationships, which is why it is one of this year’s best.

5. Be Melodramatic

The higher I get up this list the harder time I have boiling down my thoughts on these dramas to one pithy paragraph. Often even I don’t know what kind of dramas are going to steal my heart. I have a particular weakness for dramas that can make me both laugh and cry, and then laugh through the tears. Dramas like Go Back Couple and Matrimonial Chaos that have deep heartache folded into the shenanigans. I love a funny drama. I like to laugh, but that doesn’t count for much unless I really care about the characters and their lives at the end of the day. That’s what makes me go from liking a drama to loving it, and that’s ultimately what I’m going to remember about a drama when it’s over. Be Melodramatic is special for the way it deals with heavy subjects in a gentle and lighthearted way, and somehow without losing the emotional impact.

Bottom Line: Be Melodramatic is a drama with tongue firmly planted in cheek, lots of laughs, lots of clever dialogue as well as a meta look at the drama industry from the inside, but the reason it works so well is the vein of heart, love and loss that runs all through the story.

4. One Spring Night

It’s so gratifying when a drama delivers exactly the experience you hoped it would. One Spring Night was a drama that ended up on my radar on the strength of the previews and posters, which promised me understated, romantic slice-of-life. I’d really enjoyed Han Ji Min in The Light in Your Eyes and have been fond of Jung Hae In since While You Were Sleeping. The pairing immediately seemed to have potential, but because the drama was picked up by Netflix, in the US I had to wait until it finished airing before I could give it a shot. A lot of the time when that happens, I see enough of the drama through gifs and screencaps that my interest fades. In this case I was only more intrigued. I’ve still never watched Something In The Rain but watching this drama has made me consider that might have been an oversight on my part. And yet I worry that if I watched it now I wouldn’t be able to help unfavorably comparing it to One Spring Night. This drama is truly something special.

Bottom Line: Because of the restrained, faithful realism of this drama and the two leads who seamlessly embody their characters, this drama has the almost voyeuristic quality of peeking into something intimate and private. It’s a palpable and thoroughly involving love story.

3. Nokdu Flower

I can hardly recommend this underrated gem of a show enough. I know nearly every historical gets compared either favorably or otherwise to Six Flying Dragons, which is kind of the recent high-water mark of sageuks, and I’m going to do that again here because Nokdu Flower is really the first historical drama I’ve watched since SFD that is at the same level of quality. One thing that sticks out about my experience watching both dramas is getting actual shivers watching these charismatic leaders rally their followers around them, and understanding at least in some small part why someone would leave behind everything they knew, pick up arms, and risk their lives for an ideal. Nokdu Flower captures the fearful power of revolutionary ideas in the hands of common people, but doesn’t descend into mere jingoism or sand off the rough edges or try to white wash the dark parts of human nature while it’s at it.

Bottom Line: At its most basic level Nokdu Flower is a story of revolution, and one of flawed characters either finding their humanity or having it burned out of them in the crucible of war. As that description would suggest it’s not an easy watch, but it’s a good and worthwhile one and definitely one any sageuk fan should check out.

2. My Country: The New Age

Compared to the far more traditional and grounded Nokdu Flower, My Country is almost fantastical in tone and at times eschews logic and realism for set pieces, sword fights and close range shotgun blasts of pathos. That’s probably why I love it. The larger-than-life sensationalism of this drama is what pushes it higher on this list than the carefully crafted Nokdu Flower, because this drama appealed to me on a more primal way. It’s so unrestrained and epic in everything from the set design, the soundtrack, the cinematography to the characters themselves and the performances of the actors playing them. Lurid, melodramatic, passionate, intense, suspenseful, romantic, raw, angsty, dark...I’ve basically run out of new adjectives to use while describing this drama elsewhere on this site. Basically, My Country is my id on a plate. Bon appetit.

Bottom Line: While there are definitely misguided and flawed elements to the writing and execution in this drama, somehow all of that is swept away in the sheer pleasure of watching it. If it had been specifically designed to appeal to every narrative kink I have, they couldn’t have made a more perfect drama for my tastes.

1. Children of Nobody

I finished my favorite drama of 2019 back in January, and then got to wait around 11 and a half months to see if anything else I watched last year would knock Children of Nobody from the top spot. It’s a mixed blessing to peak that early in the year. On the one hand, there was nowhere to go but down from here. On the other, I’ve had a lot of time to digest this very heavy show, which is something I definitely needed. I mentioned in my original review of this drama that each of the characters is an iceberg, so much more going on beneath the surface than what we can see. And what I’ve realized over the course of the past year is that the whole drama is like that, in a way. It’s an iceberg of a story, and I was able to pour a lot of myself into it, to try to understand it, and that’s part of the reason it was such an emotional watch for me. I don’t know when or if I’m going to be able to rewatch Children of Nobody, but I hope I can do it some day because I feel certain I would appreciate it even more upon a second viewing.  The fact that this is a murder mystery and a thriller is almost incidental to the emotional core of the story, which is deeper and more lingering than that. The secrets, once revealed, do not diminish the story but only turn it slightly so that you can see it from a different angle.

Bottom Line: This drama is certainly not going to be for everyone. I don’t know if I would say it was underrated so much as it’s niche. The difficult subject matter is naturally going to narrow its appeal. But I do think that dramas that require the most from me, mentally and emotionally, are often the ones that stick with me the longest and make me bend and grow as a person.

I sure hope you’ve enjoyed my top 10 list this year and I wish you joy, success and profound wellbeing in 2020. Thank you again--and thank you always--for following me. I’ve got great things planned for us this year.

Jona

[playernumberv]

Game concept: Sci-fi Space Adventure JRPG

This idea popped into my head from watching Astra Lost In Space (an excellent space anime which I completely recommend watching). If I had to pick my favourite genre of games, I wouldn’t even hesitate to say that JRPGs are my favourite genre. There’s just something about embarking on an epic, lengthy adventure with a colorful band of comrades that captivates my heart like no other genre does. Whether it be Final Fantasy, Persona, Tales of, or other lesser-known JRPG franchises (throwback to the first JRPG I remember playing, and absolutely one of the most epic - Golden Sun), I simply adore the genre. It then hit me that as far as I can remember, no JRPG has ventured into the territory of a space sci-fi story. We’ve got sci-fi JRPGs, sure, and we’ve certainly got a whole host of fantasy ones. We’ve also got many JRPGs set in a more contemporary world (Persona being the most notable). A space adventure JRPG, though? Not as far as I’m aware. 

Hear me out - I think there’s tremendous potential to a space adventure JRPG, and I give full credits to Astra Lost In Space because all these ideas come from there. Having a ragtag band of unique and lovable characters - a staple of any good JRPG - embark on a journey is nothing new, but make this a space-adventure journey and you instantly have something completely fresh to the genre. Instead of having a long journey to many different continents or cities, a space-adventure JRPG would quite literally span multiple different planets or even multiple different galaxies. The immense potential for a highly varied and breathtaking journey immediately becomes clear when you consider that each planet can itself feature completely distinct geographies, along with extremely diverse lifeforms which can also form the basis of a wide range of enemy variety. I was particularly impressed by the thrill of discovering completely unique animals and plants on different planets in Astra Lost In Space, and I think this would translate very well to creating an exciting and thrilling space-JRPG too. In much the same way that JRPG stories often have subplots involving specific cities or continents, a space-JRPG can also have distinct subplots involving each planet that ultimately tie together to form a coherent story.

Narratively-speaking, I think there’s room for many different types of plotlines that would potentially be highly fascinating in a space adventure JRPG. One can easily imagine a more traditional “save-the-world” narrative structure involving a ragtag band of characters coming together to protect the universe from the nefarious schemes of an intergalactic empire (maybe this hearkens too much to Star Wars) or from the no-holds-barred insanity of a mad scientist who stops at nothing to develop extremely dangerous space technology which threatens to tear the space-time continuum apart. A more character-focused type of drama would be incredible too - I think a mystery-genre narrative would work particularly well with a space-adventure JRPG. For example, I imagine that the narrative can begin with the main character (and maybe a few companions) setting out to look for a family member who had gone missing in space without any known reason. As the journey unfolds, more questions are raised than answers. Strange occurrences suggest that there’s more to it than meets the eye. A mystery-type narrative structure whereby questions and answers are intertwined in a way that compels an audience to keep pushing on to find out what’s really going on would in my view be extremely intriguing and fascinating in a space-JRPG, especially if you throw in the mystique and mind-numbing revelations that could be possible with space sci-fi. 

I really do believe that a space-JRPG has a tonne of potential. Western games like Mass Effect have already dabbled with the space genre, but I don’t remember any JRPG doing so yet. I think there’s a gold mine here for makers of JRPGs to tap into. The charm of JRPGs along with the breathtaking and awe-inducing intrigue of space scifi go really well together - as evidenced to me by Astra Lost In Space - and I hope I get to play such a game someday.

[haveagooddalyn]

Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, The Untamed

hello all!!! i don’t usually Make Posts here bc.... well i just never started and now it’s a Habit. BUT!! it’s a brand new (terrible) world and i’m locked in my house looking for things to do and i NEED to talk about the untamed and #QuarantineLyfe has deprived me of coworkers to shout at and i’ve already yelled at my three (3) friends, so here we are

the untamed?? you’re thinking, is that that show with all the gifs you reblog of the two beautiful swordsmen pining at each other and you’re just screaming in the tags? yep!!! that’s the bitch!!! i started it 2 months ago and it still has a death grip on my soul. i have gone fully fucking feral about it. will i ever be capable of caring about anything else again? who knows. do i care? absolutely not, i have never been happier

the thing is that everyone who watches this show promptly (a) loses their full-ass mind about it and (b) feels compelled to get everyone else in the world to watch it, so that’s what’s happening here. PREPARE TO BE CONVINCED

(below the cut, bc i am not a monster lol)

okay so the untamed!!!!!!!!!! (that’s the appropriate amount of exclamation marks, i assure you). it’s a chinese drama on netflix (can confirm us and canada, unsure about anywhere else), it’s also all on youtube, and it’s *unhinges jaw and starts screaming*

you know that gif from the pride & prejudice movie where they touch hands for 1.2 seconds and we all clutch at our hearts? the untamed is THAT but for 50 episodes and also gay. you know the north & south bbc miniseries when richard armitage is watching the love of his life leave him and says “look back, look back at me” in That Voice and you’re somehow on the floor? it’s THAT but also gay. this show is just Yearning and Devotion dialed up to 10000000000 and it is UNBEARABLE and also THE best thing i’ve EVER seen. i love myself a period drama and the untamed is like: Period Drama, But What If The Most And Also Gay And Also There’s Magic, and that is Very Good For Me

i’m not doing a very good job telling you what this show is about and that is bc this show is batshit. if you start to describe the plot at all you sound unhinged, so i’m not gonna do that, i’m just gonna make a list of The Best Things About The Untamed, and then i’m gonna link to a couple people who’ve said things way more coherently than me. okay? okay.

reasons to watch the untamed: an incomplete list

the sweetest and sunniest Chaotic Bisexual dark lord you’ll ever meet, a stone-cold badass with a heart of gold who’s also a gigantic little shit

his boyfriend, the Lawful Gay who is a huge bitch and also The Most Integrity Of All Time, literally the definition of “cool and calm on the outside, emotional disaster on the inside”

#Peak Fucking Romance. just Peak Romance after Peak Romance until you’re just like okay, so everybody else pack it up and go home, this is the most EPIC ROMANCE of ALL TIME, and also every single scene between them is somehow the greatest scene of all time??? what the fuck

so much sibling drama. SO MUCH. just so many siblings having so many feelings about each other all over the place

everyone is beautiful??? literally everyone. it’s wildly unfair

brilliant costuming. the robes are so fucking gorgeous. i have a huge incurable case of beautiful robe envy

“gay chaos angst” which is what my friend called it and she’s right and she should say it

“doing the right thing for your loved ones vs. doing the right thing” and “doing the right thing when it isn’t popular” and “doing the right thing by your heart” and other top hits that make me weep

necromancy and also zombies

magic and also martial arts

STUNNING sets

the Tortoise of Slaughter, which is the greatest name for anything ever and so it gets to be a reason all on its own

do you love to suffer? do you love hurt/comfort where the hurt is a LOT but the comfort is also A PLUS? do you love emotionally devastating story arcs about love and loyalty and betrayal and sacrifice and loss and found family? do you also love murder? OH BOY do i have the show for you

are you like, who cares about plot when i have a boatload of characters i’d die for and stunningly compelling relationship dynamics of all sorts and powerful themes about propaganda and justice and corruption and morality and family? bc SAME and the untamed is HERE for us

always a slut for sick-ass swordfighting, ESPECIALLY when it’s homoerotic

Tearful Reunions Up the Wazoo

cute bunnies!!!!

if this has you interested, here are links for (a) an extremely helpful primer that i highly recommend reading before watching bc it tells you things like a list of each character’s 8 names and also that the first 2 episodes are like being launched into a fantasy series on book 3 and you will understand about 30% of what’s going on, and (b) a very good spoiler-free review

http://readingtheend.com/2020/02/01/the-untamed-a-primer/

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/27/21192718/the-untamed-netflix-review-rec-mdzs-cql

and so i will leave you with the soulmates’ faces, bc they are beautiful and every time they look at each other my heart grows not three sizes but thirty thousand

(p.s. pls feel free to talk to me about this show ANY time, either here or on twitter, where i spend 127 hours every day)

[fallynleaf]

wrestling is good, actually

So, I’ve had a lot of people ask me how on earth I got into professional wrestling, because it’s an interest that seems VERY out of character for me. And, well, the simple answer is: “I found out that the best professional wrestler in the world in 2018 built his entire career on a decade long gay love story”

(More on that, later. But it was this 54 second interview clip that did me in.)

I’m making this post for a few reasons: 1) to answer some questions I’m sure people have about me inexplicably developing an interest in this completely out of nowhere, and 2) to give people a place to start appreciating or at the very least understanding how professional wrestling as a medium works, because it’s actually really weird and really cool!

Do you like it when actors do their own stunts, and secretly wish that actors truly, genuinely embodied their roles in real life? Have you ever thought, “man, gymnastics is cool, but I wish it had a plot”? Do you enjoy drama? Are you intrigued when stories get really meta, and the line between what is real and fake is blurred?

Then maybe professional wrestling is the medium for you!

If you’re not convinced, or if you’re just extremely new to wrestling, please take half an hour and watch this video (if you enjoy this one, here’s another wrestling video by the same creator).

That video explains two of the most essential concepts of professional wrestling: a) selling, which refers to a wrestler acting like they got hurt by a move that was done by their opponent, and b) kayfabe, which refers to the constructed reality within wrestling, or the storyline “canon” that wrestling fans enjoy by suspending their disbelief.

When you hear someone say that “wrestling is fake,” this is what they’re referring to. In professional wrestling, outcomes to matches are predetermined, and people who appear to be fighting each other are actually working together in order to put on a performance of violence while minimizing the actual hurt that is being done to the participants in the fight.

Kayfabe, and the concept of wrestling having “a story,” is tricky to explain to someone who’s never seen wrestling before. But it truly is a narrative medium!

The story that got me into it was the Golden Lovers story. Back in March, I found this article, and stumbled headfirst into a deep rabbit hole. That article was written last year, and is a bit out of date, but it’s still incredibly in-depth, and it describes how two of the best wrestlers in the world used their careers to build a beautiful decade long epic gay love story.

This article on the Golden Lovers is another really good read (and, since it was published early this year, it’s more up to date, though there have since been a couple more developments in the story!)

When I first got into wrestling, all I did was read essays about it, actually! It took me a couple weeks before I was brave enough to actually watch a match. I adore this essay about the Golden Lovers’ 2012 singles match against each other for a lot of reasons, but it’s a fantastic read if you’re intrigued but are still hesitant to actually watch wrestling, or if you’re new to how an individual match can tell a story, or if you just enjoy reading about a wrestling match that absolutely embraces the homoeroticism of the sport instead of shying away from it.

As it turns out, wrestling is a very rewarding medium to get into if you’re the kind of person that enjoys close-reading. Wrestlers put a lot of thought into their gear, their moves, their promos, their social media posts, everything. It’s a medium that is simultaneously very blatant and in-your-face while also being incredibly subtle and full of little deliberate details that can hearken back to years of deep history. And unlike other mediums, if you’re seeing subtext in a costume change or a wrestler’s choice of move, it’s usually very intentional and meaningful!

Wrestling is also cool because:

Time passes differently in wrestling than any other form of narrative media.

And wrestlers can see the future.

It’s impossible to talk about wrestling without talking about blood. I’m the kind of person who’s always really struggled with the sight of blood (and I still struggle with it). Blood, sweat, and tears are part of the weird interplay between real and fake in wrestling. I don’t even think I can explain it to someone who’s never watched it before, or who is actively repulsed by it. But maybe this essay can (content warning for some images of blood). Most wrestling doesn’t get bloody, but it would be disingenuous to ignore that aspect of it completely, because it does sometimes happen, whether intentionally or not.

If you can’t already tell, The Spectacle of Excess is my favorite wrestling blog, and they’re honestly largely responsible for me getting into the medium as a whole. I wrote this essay for them a few months ago, partially to process my own feelings concerning all of the blood in one particular wrestling match that moved me to the point of tears.

But wrestling is a very broad medium, and it doesn’t even have to necessarily be violent!

If, at this point, you’re intrigued enough to want to try watching an actual match, I highly recommend watching Orange Cassidy vs Gentleman Jervis. This match is a comedy match, and it contains no blood, and very little violence! But it’s a great introduction to how wrestling works, and it’s very entertaining!

This post is already long enough, so I’m stopping here, but if you have any questions or want me to elaborate on any of this, feel free to drop me a message!

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 7 January 2019

Quick Bits:

Aliens: Dust to Dust #4 concludes this series from Gabriel Hardman, Rain Beredo, and Michael Heisler. It’s been very good, capturing the feel and atmosphere of the first two Alien films and delivering a very taut horror-thriller. Absolutely gorgeous artwork from Hardman and Beredo.

| Published by Dark Horse

Atomic Robo: Dawn of a New Era #1 isn’t a bad jumping on point. It doesn’t really get you up to speed on the past of the series, but you also don’t really need to have read any of it to enjoy this story. Great humour and interesting tidbits of science and history as usual from Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener, Shannon Murphy, and Jeff Powell.

| Published by IDW

Avengers #12 works to build up Black Panther’s “Agents of Wakanda” to serve as a support network for information and grunt work throughout the world to feed the Avengers team proper. It’s an interesting use of otherwise lesser-used characters from Jason Aaron and definitely broadens the scope of the overall series.

| Published by Marvel

Barbarella/Dejah Thoris #1 is a very good beginning to this series from Leah Williams, Germán García, Addison Duke, and Crank!. Williams captures the tone and feel of both characters very well through their dialogue and the artwork from García and Duke is impressive.

| Published by Dynamite

Batman #62 is the second part of “Knightmares”, which near as I can tell is going to be a series of one-off stories by an array of brilliant artists with Batman as filtered through some strange psycho-thriller lens (or at least the first two parts adhere to that ethos). It’s good, but it’s weird. Great art from Mitch Gerads as Tom King keeps us off balance and at arms length with the narrative confusion.

| Published by DC Comics

Birthright #35 concludes this arc with an epic battle between Brennan and Mikey, as Brennan confronts his family, cutting deep into the resentment that Brennan has felt for his brother. The art from Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas is amazing.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Bitter Root #3 continues to be thoroughly excellent in every conceivable way, presenting a compelling mystery in the origins of the Jinoo, an interesting family drama delving into more of the history and interpersonal foibles of the Sangerye family, and it’s just an entertaining supernatural schlockfest on top of all of that. David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, Sanford Greene, Rico Renzi, and Clayton Cowles are delivering one hell of a story here. Oh, and the art from Greene and Renzi is stunning.

| Published by Image

The Black Order #3 shifts to the perspective of Black Dwarf here, and like the first issue, plays off a narrative that is contrary to what you’d expect. Where Glaive thought himself a comedian, Black Dwarf is more contemplative, wondering if his thoughts and desires are who he is, or if he’s merely the brute that others see. It’s interesting, even as it continues the ongoing plot of trying to destroy the Sinnarian Empire.

| Published by Marvel

By Night #7 takes an interesting turn as Heather’s father and uncle take a moment to act as exterminators and she and Jane try to rescue Barney from a mob boss. Love the humour as always from John Allison’s script, especially as he adds some unexpected elements. Very nice design and presentation of the bug from Eidolon by Christine Larsen and Sarah Stern.

| Published Boom Entertainment / BOOM! Box

Captain Marvel #1 is a fun relaunch, perfectly mixing humour, action, and interpersonal drama as Kelly Thompson, Carmen Carnero, Tamra Bonvillain, and Clayton Cowles bring Carol back to New York. Beautiful colours throughout from Bonvillain, really making Carnero’s line art shine.

| Published by Marvel

Criminal #1 is a very welcome return to the Lawless family, as Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, and Jacob Phillips weave a tale of Ricky stealing an old thief’s necklace trying to bail Teeg out of jail, only to wind up in even more hot water than he began in. You don’t need to have read any of the previous volumes of Criminal before, but I still highly recommend that you do since they’re awesome.

| Published by Image

The Curse of Brimstone #10 gives us some more answers as Annie confronts Wandering Jack to get information on the Salesman and to figure out a way to possibly save her brother. This is still a weird series, but Justin Jordan, Eduardo Pansica, Júlio Ferreira, Rain Beredo, and Wes Abbott have definitely been making it interesting.

| Published by DC Comics

Deathstroke #39 gears us up for the conclusion next issue by positing that from Slade’s point of view what he’s claimed happened actually did happen, as the disparate threads converge. It’s interesting as to how Priest has been staging this story.

| Published by DC Comics

Die #2 is brilliant. As good as the first issue was, and it was really damn good, this one is even better as we get the exposed to some of the rules of this fantasy world and thrown headlong into the seamless world building of this realm. Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles have something truly magical here, taking a childhood love of science fiction and fantasy, and subverting it into something that can hurt us like weaponized nostalgia. It is absolutely stunning.

| Published by Image

Faith: Dreamside #4 is a very strong conclusion to this mini from Jody Houser, MJ Kim, Jordie Bellaire, and Dave Sharpe. The entire series has looked good, but Kim and Bellaire really take it to another level with this finale, the confrontation of Belu is just incredible.

| Published by Valiant

The Freeze #2 is probably better than the first issue and it was an incredibly debut, from Dan Wickline, Phillip Sevy, and Troy Peteri. I absolutely love that the focus isn’t on the freeze itself or what caused it, and is instead about the people living in the world and the problems that this kind of apocalypse could cause. It’s smart and leads to some very compelling character drama and complications.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 is amazing. Spectacular even. This is a very heartfelt and humorous debut from Tom Taylor, Juann Cabal, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham that takes Spider-Man down to the local level, spotlighting his, well, neighbourhood. There’s also a back-up from Taylor, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, Jim Campbell, and Lanham that could well be a game-changer.

| Published by Marvel

The Green Lantern #3 continues to be one hell of trip from Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, Steve Oliff, and Tom Orzechowski. It still feels like something out of a different time, but that’s part of what really makes this work.

| Published by DC Comics

Gunning for Hits #1 is a pretty dense beginning to what’s apparently a crime drama mixed with the music industry, not at all like Empire because I know that’s probably what many would think. It’s seedier, grittier, down at the street level, but as I say, this is dense. This first issue has a lot of narration, a lot of dialogue, and a great number of pages that more or less outline how signing deals work in a how-to format. It’s unique, blending some of the hallmarks of something like an autobio comic with a more standard narrative approach. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what Jeff Rougvie, Moritat, and Casey Silver do for a second number.

| Published by Image

Hit-Girl #12 is the bloody conclusion to Rafael Scavone, Rafael Albuquerque, Marcel Maiolo, and Clem Robins’ “Rome” arc with Mindy and Paola confronting the corrupt convent. Absolutely beautiful artwork from Albuquerque and Maiolo, with even time for one last twist in the tale.

| Published by Image

House Amok #4 features some very impressive artwork from Shawn McManus and Lee Loughridge as the story takes and interesting path as it heads towards the conclusion. Christopher Sebela has been giving us an interesting look at this world through Dylan as the scales fell from her eyes, but this one makes us wonder, what if the family isn’t really crazy.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Justice League #15 heats things up on Hawkworld with a very interesting revelation about Shayera and Thanagar Prime, along with a deeper mystery about the multiverse. It really makes me wonder what James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder are getting at. Gorgeous art throughout from Jim Cheung, Stephen Segovia, Mark Morales, Tomeu Morey, and Wil Quintana.

| Published by DC Comics

The Last Siege #8 is the brutal conclusion to this series that has been a practical masterclass in storytelling, from character development through pacing, atmosphere and execution. This series has just been incredible. Landry Q. Walker, Justin Greenwood, Brad Simpson, and Patrick Brosseau stick the landing with one hell of a finale.

| Published by Image

Man Without Fear #2 continues to tear Matt Murdock apart as he finds ways not to deal very well with being hit by a truck. And gives in to fear. Great art from Stefano Landini and Andres Mossa as Matt’s nightmares come to life.

| Published by Marvel

Martian Manhunter #2 continues to be a bit of a slow burn, parcelling out a bit about the in-story present and then delving into more about J’onn’s past on Mars, building up Martian culture and what they were taking from Earth even in our ancient past. The art from Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia is amazing.

| Published by DC Comics

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 is another great issue as Miles and the Rhino team-up to track down the missing kids. Saladin Ahmed does an amazing job of humanizing Rhino and making us empathize with his plight. The art from Javier Garrón and David Curiel is again very impressive. 

| Published by Marvel

Moth & Whisper #5 concludes this series from Ted Anderson, Jen Hickman, and Marshall Dillon. While it does bring the story to a satisfying resolution, it still leaves open the door for more to come, which I’d love to see.

| Published by AfterShock

Murder Falcon #4 delivers some pretty big revelations as the reunited Brooticus faces off against Magnum Khaos. It goes about as well as you’d expect. Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, and Rus Wooton are really nailing the heartfelt character beats in amongst the over-the-top monster battles.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Oblivion Song #11 deals with the fallout of Ed’s transference of another piece of Philly over to Oblivion. Gorgeous artwork as always from Lorenzo De Felici and Annalisa Leoni, particularly during the creature battles.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Outer Darkness #3 continues to show us how this universe works as the crew try to salvage a derelict vessel on a supposedly barren rock. This mix of horror and science fiction is wonderful and John Layman, Afu Chan, and Pat Brosseau are really creating something unique here.

| Published by Image / Skybound

The Punisher #6 begins the next leg of Frank’s ongoing nightmares with the first part of “War in Bagalia” from Matthew Rosenberg, Szymon Kudranski, Antonio Fabela, and Cory Petit. I’ve really been enjoying what Rosenberg has been doing since the “War Machine” arc and it just seems to be getting better. There’s some really intriguing things about a nation run by Baron Zemo here.

| Published by Marvel

Red Sonja #25 ends this volume with another one-off tale with Red Sonja ferrying a musician to a ship on the coast from Amy Chu, Erik Burnham, Carlos Gomez, Mohan, and Taylor Esposito. It’s a curious story of longing for home that allows for a little bit of reflection on the series, but it doesn’t ruminate on it long. 

| Published by Dynamite

Self/Made #2 doesn’t have the luxury of the twist of the first issue, so has to work harder to get past that “I see dead people” Sixth Sense moment, and, really, it does. This is just a damned good story, playing with sci-fi and fantasy elements, blended seamlessly due to it all being a representation of game development. Mat Groom, Eduardo Ferigato, Marcelo Costa, and Troy Peteri are doing some great work here.  

| Published by Image

Sleepless #11 brings all of the plots and machinations to an end as Sarah Vaughn, Leila Del Duca, Alissa Sallah, Gabe Fischer, and Deron Bennett bring the series to an end. Some very interesting bits of tradition, change, and resentment towards monarchy.

| Published by Image

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4 is an epilogue to the “Spider-Geddon” event, paying tribute and burying the fallen. It’s a very haunting story, making you wonder if Gwen’s going to take a darker turn in the future. Seanan McGuire, Rosi Kämpe, Takeshi Miyazawa, Ian Herring, and Clayton Cowles do a wonderful saying goodbye to various parts of the Spider-Verse.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Republic - Jango Fett #1 is this week’s one-shot exploring various characters around the Star Wars canon. Jody Houser, Luke Ross, Java Tartaglia, and Travis Lanham give us a decent story of betrayal and consequences with Jango and Boba Fett.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #3 concludes this mini from Scott Beatty, Derek Charm, Jon Sommariva, Sean Parsons, Matt Herms, and Tom B. Long. It’s been interesting to see the two time periods of the stories play against one other with events in the past informing those in the present.

| Published by IDW

Thor #9 is somewhat of a companion piece to this week’s Avengers #12, setting up Roz Solomon as another Agent of Wakanda, but you don’t need to read both of them to enjoy them individually. This one delivers a lot of information on what’s going on in regards to the build up of the “War of the Realms” in addition to giving Roz a new purpose and changed outlook. Gorgeous artwork from Mike del Mundo.

| Published by Marvel

Turok #1 is an entertaining reimagining of the series from Ron Marz, Roberto Castro, Salvatore Aiala, and Troy Peteri, somewhat in line with the original Valiant interpretation, albeit moving it forward to the late 1800′s. Quite like the art from Castro and Aiala. Castro’s art reminds me a bit of a cross between Joe Kubert, Bart Sears, and Jordi Bernet.

| Published by Dynamite

United States vs. Murder Inc. #5 paints a very bleak picture for the next stage in the US government’s war against the crime families following the assassination of the President. Wonderful work on tone and atmosphere from Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming, Taki Soma, and Carlos M. Mangual. 

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Web of Venom: Venom Unleashed #1 is a pair of tales spotlighting the new dog-form of the symbiote as he chases down people infected by Carnage, then Cletus’ perspective on it, from Ryan Stegman, Kyle Hotz, Juan Gedeon, Marc Deering, Scott Hanna, Livesay, Roberto Poggi, Victor Olazaba, Dan Brown, Matt Yackey, Andrew Crossley, Carlos Cabrera, and Clayton Cowles. Really nice to see Hotz’s art here.

| Published by Marvel

William Gibson’s Alien 3 #3 has the crap hit the proverbial fan as meddling with the xenomorphs begins to bear its deadly fruit. Johnnie Christmas, Tamra Bonvillain, and Nate Piekos are doing such an amazing job at adapting this for comics, it makes me kind of sad that it wasn’t the direction the films took.

| Published by Dark Horse

Wizard Beach #2 continues the fun of the first issue, with Hex trying to get off the beach, build himself a castle, and hunt down tasty, delicious rats for lunch to no avail. Nice bits of humour and the introduction of a girl who Hex might well be smitten with, as well as a darker mystery involving her grandfather’s wand. Great art from Conor Nolan, Chad Lewis, and Meg Casey.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

The Wrong Earth #5 has both of the dimension-displaced Dragonflies(flymen) continue to attempt to get back to their respective homes. Also, through flashbacks and monologues, I kind of get the impression that Tom Peyer is trying to tell us that both of them are thoroughly insane. There’s also the usual back-up comic and prose text pieces to round out the issue.

| Published by Ahoy

Young Justice #1 is the launch vehicle of the new Brian Michael Bendis-driven Wonder Comics line. If you look at it from a perspective of DC’s continuity, it’s probably very confusing. Many of the characters seem to be in their pre-New 52, even potentially pre-Infinite Crisis forms, Gemworld is attacking, Amethyst seems particularly bloodthirsty, and we’ve got a couple of inexplicable legacy characters in Jinny Hex and Teen Lantern, but...I think that confusion, that chaos and frenetic energy, is part of the point, since at the onset, the invaders from Gemworld are aware of the shifts in the multiverse. So maybe give it a chance to develop from there are clue us in on what’s ultimately going on? Regardless, there’s gorgeous action, interesting layouts, and fascinating design work from Patrick Gleason and Alejandro Sanchez.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits #3, Black Dahlia, Blackbird #4, Cemetery Beach #5, Curse Words #19, The Dreaming #5, DuckTales #16, Euthanauts #5, Go Go Power Rangers #16, God of War #3, Hack/Slash vs. Chaos! #2, Joe Golem: The Drowning City #5, Kick-Ass #11, LaGuardia #2, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest #4, Patience! Conviction! Revenge! #5, Predator: Hunters II #4, Prodigy #2, Rose #16, Star Wars #59, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #40, Vampirella/Dejah Thoris #4

Recommended Collections: Dread Gods, Eclipse - Volume 3, Lucy Dreaming, Modern Fantasy, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra - Volume 4: Catastrophe Con, Tomb Raider - Volume 4: Inferno

Housekeeping: You can check out my review of the hardcover of Rick Geary’s Black Dahlia here. 

Also, every Monday, I’ve been providing a selection for my comic of the week for Batman’s Bookcase. The latest was a look at Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Matthew Wilson, and Travis Lanham’s excellent Conan the Barbarian #1. Read it here.

d. emerson eddy is too hot to handle, too cold to hold, he’s not a Ghostbuster, and he’s not in control. Please somebody put him back into his cage and into some kind of climate controlled environment.

[zalrb]

Hi there. I've been rewatching Goblin every day, for over two weeks now, deep in my feelings. Literally crying and laughing. But I NEED more! 😰😥 😭 And since I know you love it too, I was wondering if you have any recommendations that's similar: Books, Movies, other Kdramas please? Halp.

Oh man, the thing about Goblin is that there’s just nothing like Goblin, it’s what makes it amazing and terrible. But good news is that the creators (who also did DotS) have created a new drama Mr. Sunshine which will be out in July! I saw the trailer, it looks pretty fucking lit

Synopsis: The story of a young boy who travels to the United States during the 1871 Shinmiyangyo (U.S. expedition to Korea), and returns to his homeland later as an American soldier. He meets and falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter.

So we have that to look forward to.

The Princess Weiyoung is a long Chinese Drama and it does start off a bit slow and there are, like, 60 episodes, it’s a little overwhelming at first but it will consume you in the best possible way, it has the intrigue, the politics, the drama, oh my god the drama, the epic romance, it has it all so I would recommend that

Coffee Prince, I always recommend because Gong Yoo is my second husband but my god, is that drama an exercise an angst, it’s a different angst than Goblin and The Princess Weiyoung but it was another drama where around episode 4 I didn’t realize that it had completely taken over my life.

Pinocchio was surprisingly angsty and emotionally dark (it’s also quite funny) and again it’s not Goblin but it’s a good drama to get that kind of you’re-tearing-me-APART-guys experience

Spartacus is probably the closest kind of Goblin-esque show that NA has in terms of the extreme emotion you feel when watching it, I don’t remember if you’ve watched the series or not, but if you’re good with gratuitous sex and violence then I highly recommend being fucked up by it.

[crazytownhananapants]

Please recommend me your favorite doramas

so i totally answered this but stupid tumblr deleted it sooooo……

well I’ll start with the dramas I can watch again and again and again:

Cinderella’s Sister- not only do i deeply identify with the main girl, but it is so refreshing not to have a girl who is always happy and kind…Also, the romance is so perfectttt

Coffee House- they did a brilliant job with the character development, the people and story were captivating, the romance was passionate.

Hana Yori Dango- i always return to it for a funny, very entertaining, sweet escape

Soulmate- this one makes me believe in love again, it captures that sitcom feel that none have been able to thus far, its so fun

Nodame Cantible- this is the funnest, most inspiring drama ever; i watch it before every semester to get me pumped up. i love everyone in it and of course the music is the most prominent best character

For a fun easy watch

Hello Miss- its funny, sweet, and highly enjoyable 

Fantasy Couple - good chemistry with everyone, so funny and sweet

My Unfortunate Boyfriend - soooo cute and such eye candy!

Surplus Princess- very cute, i love both boys!!

The Best Hit- i find this to be very cute, does have its broodier moments, but still fun, def turned me into a big Yoon Shi Yoon fan

For a more pensive or thriller experience

A Man’s Story - this was definitely an epic story; i also def fell in love with the villain– it was a ride

Alone in Love- this is a pensive quiet drama that really makes you feel everything they do- such good acting

Delightful Girl Choon-hyang - very emotional, very dramatic, you will drown in tears but it will be worth it

Goong- classic, worth the hype, but also like unnecessarily dramatic lol, but still entertaining

Last Scandal- very good acting, sweet story, just a bit more emotion to be in this category and not the above one

Miss Ripley - very gripping story– clearly im a Lee Da Hae fan

My Fair Lady- just any drama from the early 2000s is going to be a riveting story, like this passionate one

The Princess’s Man- a sageuk with a good story, riveting characters, and intense acting, made me a huge Moon Chae Won fan

The World They Live In- this is a drama lover’s drama- i think thats how they promoted it lol. it is intricate and very profound. but still enthralling 

Best Wedding- i am a huge fan of Park Si Yeon and this was the most captivating and powerful drama that still affects me today

[otakuupgrade-blog]

Sword Art Online, a masterpiece in more than 3 genres

Are you a fan of almost every anime genre? Or are you a picky otaku who spends all day reading anime recommendations and end up watching nothing by the end of the day? (<This one is me.) Whichever you are, Sword Art Online (SAO, in short) is a must-watch anime series that adapts the hugely popular light novel series written by Reki Kawahara.

Why should you watch it? Now, it's time to explain why I stated SAO is "a masterpiece in more than 3 genres". The anime series SAO not only covers major genres such as action, adventure, fantasy and romance but it also includes a wee bit of sub genres like drama, sci-fi, and game. By watching it, you'll get to see more than just exciting fight actions, such as heart-melting (yes, certainly more than "heart-warming") romantic scenes and tear-dropping tragic events. The wide range of genres it covers isn't all that is exceptionally attractive about this anime; the engaging plot line, the striking turns of events, the blood-boiling, touching OSTs that appear perfectly-timed, and the stunning character and scenery artworks all have the power to make you cry your hearts out.

Enough with my personal thoughts and praises. Let's dive into the discussion of this masterpiece right now! I can bet that more than 6 out of 10 otakus out there have watched SAO by the time I'm writing this; the others are newbie otakus who watch only what's currently airing on TV or those who don't like Action-adventure and fantasy at all.

Information and Statistics:

Sword Art Online anime adaptation was premiered in summer 2012. It currently stands as No.3 in Popularity on MyAnimeList, and has more than one million otakus in its fandom. There are 25 episodes in Sword Art Online and 24 in Sword Art Online 2. The light-novel series has 20 addictive volumes, and I suggest you read all of them, either before or after watching the anime series. The manga series have 10 adaptations of the light novel series, all of which are written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by different artists.

Synopsis:

The compelling introduction of Sword Art Online, as I cite from light novel series volume 1, is as follows:

“ A huge castle made of stone and steel floating in an endless sky. 

That was all this world was. It took a vagarious group of craftsmen one month to survey the place; the diameter of the base floor was about 10 kilometers — large enough to fit the entirety of Setagaya-ku within. Above, there were 100 floors stacking straight upwards; its sheer size was unbelievable. It was impossible to even guess how much data it consisted of.Inside, there were a couple of large cities along with countless small scale towns and villages, forests and plains, and even lakes. Only one stairway linked each floor to another, and the stairways existed in dungeons where large numbers of monsters roamed; so discovering and getting through was no easy matter. However, once someone made a breakthrough and arrived at a city of the upper floor, the «Teleport Gates» there and of every cities in the lower floors would be connected making it possible for anyone to move freely through these levels.With these conditions, the huge castle had been steadily conquered for two years. 

The current front line is the 74th floor.The name of the castle was «Aincrad», a world of battles with swords that continued floating and had engulfed approximately six thousand people. Otherwise known as...«Sword Art Online».”

The story takes place in the near future (around 2022) when Virtual Reality gameplay technologies advance to the level where all your sensations can be transferred into a virtual world so that you can get exceedingly realistic experience while playing. All you need to do is just lie down on bed, put on a device around your head, and control your virtual avatar in a virtual world with nothing but your thoughts. One day, a very popular VR game got released and the protagonist Kirito, along with 10,000 other thrilled players, logged into the beautiful virtual world Aincrad. Unfortunately, the players soon find themselves unable to log out of the game. To make matters worse, the game developer declared that players will be trapped inside Aincrad until they finish all 100 levels of the game, and that they would die in real life if they were killed inside the game.

Here's a trailer to get you pumped up.

[SPOILER ALERT] If you're like me, you're probably wondering if the story has a happy ending. The answer is YES. The story contains both fun and tragic twists and turns that'll make you cry out loud. But, I guarantee you'll be left feeling awesome in the end so just sit back and enjoy the series.​

And, friends, this is how a masterpiece story is crafted. I hope you'll enjoy the thrill and drama of Sword Art Online anime series as you progress through the plot together with the protagonists that'll remain in your heart perhaps forever. It's best to watch alone so you can enjoy the most epic scenes to the fullest, turn the volume up to max when the soundtrack kicks in, and cry out loud without any restraint. I also highly recommend you to marathon the series if you have enough time.

The Psychology of Sword Art Online

Considering thoroughly, Sword Art Online is more than just love and war. It serves as an ominous implication of the future of VR technology that'll potentially trap humans inside virtual worlds. What's more, SAO elegantly portrays the power of true love that helps us overcome even the biggest obstacles. In addition, it teaches us a moral, which can be described in Albert Einstein's quotes as follows:

Not satisfied?

Yes, I understand it isn't easy to be content with just 49 episodes of anime, 20 light-novel series, and 10 manga adaptations. Here's "Sword Art Online, The Movie- Ordinal Scale", the first SAO movie that was released in about 1,000 theatres worldwide on February 18, 2017. The story has a meaningful, heart-warming plot and an interesting AR fantasy. The theme song of the movie is "Catch The Moment", a new song by LiSA.

This is it for now, otakus. Peace out! See you in my next post! I'll be back soon enough... unless I cry a river and drown after re-watching SAO and re-reading the whole light-novel series. T.T

Please visit my website at  www.imxprs.com/free/hiroyuki/otaku-upgrade to discover even more awesome anime series and lovely anime characters.

[tenoclocks]

Top 5 Angelina Jolie Movies You Should Not Miss

Angelina Jolie Movies: Bringing out the top 5 Angelina Jolie movies for the people who are a huge fan of Angelina or if they are having an obsession with movies but have so arduous time deciding which one to choose. Here I bring out the most epic Jolies movies which you should watch if you haven’t. 5.A Mighty Heart (2007)

A Mighty Heart Mighty Heart of Angelina is a 2007 drama film. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom from a screenplay by John Orloff. The story shows a pregnant Mariane's husband Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, who does not return home after his visit to a cafe for an interview. Then we see Mariane who starts a frantic search to look for him. 4.Gia 

Gia  An American television biographical HBO film about the life and times of one of America's first supermodels, Gia Marie Carangi.The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizabeth Mitchell. It was directed by Michael Cristofer and written by Cristofer and Jay McInerney. Gia Carangi i.e Angelina Jolie travels to New York City with desires of becoming a fashion model. As soon as she arrives, she meets Wilhelmina Cooper (Faye Dunaway), a wise and high-powered agent who takes Gia under her wing. Soon with the aid of Cooper's and her own ability she shoots to the top of the modelling world. Then we see the sad part of the movie where Cooper dies of lung cancer and, Gia turns to drugs. The movie is so beautiful with its adorable story that is quite worth to watch. 3.Maleficent

Maleficent An American fantasy film starring Angelina Jolie as the title character. The film is directed by Robert Stromberg from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton . The movie drives the people of all ages to the world of fantasy and the fairy world. The story also has an important character Elle Fanning , Aurora in the movie who is shown as a beautiful princess has been cursed by the Maleficent. The film revolves around her and we get a glimpse of the fairy world and the nasty people who in their greediness tries to conquer the fairy world of the forest but fails every time. The movie and the story are remarkably fascinating to watch. It also has released the second part of the movie i.e The Magnificent Maleficent 2.Changeling 

Changeling  An American mystery crime drama film directed, produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski. This Anjelina movie is well made for its Suspenseful and stirring drama, "Changeling" is fine movie-making in a complete display. Director Clint Eastwood's light touch is apparent, emphasizing storytelling above all else.It is highly recommendable if you have not seen it. 1. Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted An American psychological drama film directed by James Mangold, and starring Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Moss, Angela Bettis, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jared Leto. It's a splendidly vivid movie with a powerful cast; Girl, Interrupted caught my eye with its different disorders the characters which are portrayed accurately and respectively. This movie really will make a lot of ones out their happier and enjoyable who had a struggled life or currently struggling with mental and/or physical disorders can relate to this movie. At the end of most great movies, you wish for a sequel, but this movie said everything it was meant to. Its a must watch a movie, and you will surely be in love with Angelina if not. Lots of drama, laughs, tears, outrageous scenarios. So watch it and comment if you really loved it. Also read: Top 5 War Movies You Should Watch Top 5 Evergreen Movies You Should Watch 6 Must-watch Movies Of Irfan Khan List Of Indian WEB Series You Should Not Miss Bollywood Different From Hollywood Read the full article

[greedisgreen]

I was tagged by @lady-sansa-baelish, and I’m feeling better today so why  not? :)

Goal: tag 9 people to get to know them

Relationship status: Married w/kid. We’ve been together 10 years, but have actually known each other for twenty.

Favorite color: Does holographic count? This one is actually hard for me because I used to be crazy deep into doing my nails, and blogged for a time about it. I fucking love color. If I have to choose just one though, there is a polish from Pretty Serious called Peace on Earth, and it’s just this beautiful minty green with pink shimmer.

Lipstick or chapstick: Despite all the lipstick I own, I’m gonna go with lip balm. My favorite is from a brand called Hurraw! I can’t get it locally, so I buy up like $30 at a time, and customer service always sends me a little something extra for the big order which is nice.

Last song: Does this mean last song we listened to or last song we want to hear upon our deaths? I’ll just answer for both.

Last song I listened to: Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man. Great song, great album. Highly recommend.

Last song I’d like to hear before I die: Knowing me, it’d be something fun and frivolous – screw somber. I like a good beat that makes me want to move. Just throw anything from a young Beck on. The more obscure and nonsensical the lyrics the better.

Last movie: Same question as above, so I’ll do the same thing.

Last movie I saw: Thor: Ragnarok. A punchy good time. Bonus: Jeff Goldblum being epically Jeff Goldblum.

Last movie I’d want to see: Forrest Gump. I know, I know, this is so goddamn corny, BUT it was the last movie I saw with my grandfather before he died. I just sat with him and held his hand, and it was the last real moment I had with the man that basically raised me growing up. It’s sappy and sentimental, and I still break down in tears when it’s on, and despite all that, I’d still want it to be the last thing I see. Sometimes the pain is worth it for the memory.

Top 3 shows: This one is a toughy. I’m assuming top three of all time.

*M*A*S*H*: I still remember staying up late summer nights during middle and high school to watch reruns on Nick-at-Nite. It stood up to the test of time as both a comedy and drama.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: This show aired during my late teens/early twenties, so I could identify with something almost every episode, and as the characters grew so did I. It’ll always have a spot in my tops list despite Whedon turning out to be a hypocritical asshole.

Battlestar Galactica (2004): I debated throwing this one up here because it gets a lot of shit for how the series ended, but honestly I didn’t mind. There was always an element of supernatural/religiosity to the series from the first vision(hallucination?) Gaius has. I’m 100% atheist, but I’ve always been drawn to the exploration of faith –  the role it plays in hope and survival, both the positive and detrimental effects. BG has this in spades and cranked up to eleven.

Top 3 ships: Oh, now we get to my questionable tastes. lol

Petyr x Sansa (ASOIAF): There is just something exquisite with how these two characters play off each other. It’s addictive, and inspired me to finally dust off my skills and delve into writing again. For all the shit this ship gets for being unhealthy, I fucking love it. Healthy is boring. There I said it.

Gaius Baltar x Six (BG 2004): This hits all my sweet spots. Strong female character. Selfish asshole of a male character. The manipulation, the hot dirty sex. They each grow during their separation (some more slowly than others, *cough*Gaius*cough*), and that growth ultimately brings them back together. It’s dark and twisted and beautiful. Honorable mention from the same series: Starbuck x Leoban (Two). This is a fucked, fucked, fucked ship to have, but goddamn did their scenes together ignite my blood. Just amazing fucking chemistry even if it was massively wrong on so many levels.

Buffy x Spike: I will forever be Spuffy trash, and I will never understand people’s (read: my real life friends) preference for Angel. I’ll leave it at that though. You can pretty much read into how I like my ships by now.

@0writerchick0, @redlektor, @janedethr​, @rbennetwrites​, @0pheliaraine​, @lady--sansa-stark, @dust-in-the-universe​, @playwhatgoeson, @weekendsareforwhiskey

[kirkypet]

This Week I Have Been Mostly Reading (16)

Oh this is so late! But I’ve been on my holidays…which involved reading an actual book with an actual spine, I know, crazy or what? Anyway, back on the literal review bike, so here you go.

The Wheel (Biliouskaiju, Chrome Carnivale (thewarboys)) What? Interesting times for Nux, what with Judgement Day looming and his mates fighting for his attention. Why? Nux and Slit have a VERY complicated relationship. Seriously epic detail of the tournament. DRAMA! Highly recommend a read. When? 3rd July 2015 Quote 1 – “Alright, cough it up! You're not dyin' soft in bed! I will not Witness! Hear me, Below Boy?!" Quote 2 - He told of the men and women draped in chainmail made of bullet casings at the Bullet Farm, of how the air was filled with the sound of gentle metal clinking, like a chorus on the wind.

After the Fire (bonehandledknife(ladywinter), Primarybufferpanel(ArwenLune)) What? A Return of the MaxTM fic, of the heartstrings-tugging variety. And their very own brand of foreplay. Why? I’m rubbish at reviewing smut, so just read between the lines, yeah? When? 3rd July 2015 Quote – "Furiosa, an Imperator has come back!"

Bottled Glory (squeezedoutofmiracles) What? Slit placates an enraged Nux by bringing him a war trophy. He doesn’t know what it is, though. Why? Bounces wildly between dark and hilarious, and properly nails the War Boy turn of phrase…That was not intended as a pun, but it’s staying. When? 4th July 2015 Quote – His clay was all smeared off, and there were bite marks scattered over his shoulders, with a smear of chrome aerosol on his nose and Nux wanted to hear hours of story over how it had got there.

Until You Sleep (xenowhore) What? Slit taking care of a dying Nux. Why? Goes down in fic history as the one that reduced me to tears in Byres Road Starbucks. I didn’t even have to reread it, apart from picking out a quote (sniff). It does remind me why I’m determined to read ALL MAD MAX FICS because this is a prime example of a determinedly weepy fic I might have passed by. Because I’m not into that sort of thing, Oh no not me *bawling into my tall filter* When? 4th July 2015 Quote 1 – he knows he would take the burden of them if he could. Take them in the night and have Nux wake up the way he used to, annoying and prattling on like a pup, grinning at Slit as he pestered him into getting dressed faster. Quote 2 - When that morning comes, all the Rotgut in the world won’t be enough.

Leviticus 19:28 (Zagzagael) What? A guilt-ridden Furiosa makes a memorial of Ace. Why? It’s a rare fic where Ace doesn’t come home. Another one where I remember exactly where I was while reading it, but I digress. Memorable. Painful. Realistic. When? 4th July 2015 Quote – On a ripped and tattered scrap of paper, she had his name. She memorized the shape, whispered it until she could speak it aloud without choking on it. After ten days the name was illegible, rubbed to fading between her thumb and fingers and she had Capable write it out again, this time in block letters at the nape of her neck, just beneath the brand. Then she went in search of the tattooist.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior for January 10, 2020 – 1917, Like A Boss, Just Mercy, Underwater

Well, it looks like we’re back to the usual business now that it’s 2020 with the first weekend with four wide releases – two new movies and two expanding after opening in limited release over Christmas. I’m running a little behind on this so I’ll work on finishing a few reviews before Friday but for now, you can just get a general idea of what’s coming out so you can make some moviegoing plans.

The big movie that I’m most excited for people to see is Sam Mendes’ WWI epic 1917 (Universal), starring George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman as two soldiers sent on an urgent but dangerous mission to the frontlines to prevent an invasion that could leave thousands of British soldiers dead. It’s one of the most exciting movies I saw last year, which is why it ended up on my Top 25 at #2. I already reviewed the movie for ComingSoon.net and did some interviews for VitalThrills.com, so I probably don’t have a ton more to say about it, but it is the one movie I can recommend whole-heartedly this weekend. It is easily one of the best movies I saw last year (twice!)

This weekend also brings the high-concept R-rated comedy LIKE A BOSS (Paramount), which pairs Rose Byrne with Tiffany Haddish and Salma Hayek, three very funny women and great actors in a movie directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl). Essentially, Byrne and Haddish play long-time besties who have been building a small grassroots make-up company and then Hayek comes along as a huge corporate mogul who wants to buy them out who makes a deal that will allow her to get a larger percentage if the two friends break up. You can probably guess the rest. (My review will be posted later tonight since it’s under embargo.)

Mini-Review: It was almost immediately apparent as Like a Boss began that this movie wasn’t going to be for me. It wasn’t the premise or the characters as much as it was the fact that it expects the viewer to be somewhat savvy about the make-up business, something I know (and care) little about.

Byrne and Haddish play best friends Mel and Mia, who have turned their shared love of make-up into a thriving local business that gets the attention of Salma Hayek’s Claire Luna, a big-shot exec at a corporation who wants to buy a stake in their business but with a catch. If for some reason the friends break-up, Luna gets the majority share of the company. This is literally the difference between a 51% and a 49% stake… so not really that big a deal.

I’m not even sure where to begin with this because there’s so much talent involved that generally deserves better, but Haddish has yet to deliver anything on par with her Girls Trip role, and that doesn’t change here. Mind you, I’ve been a big Rose Byrne fan for quite some time, and she’s really been great in movies that allow her to go between humor and drama, but it feels as if she’s trying way too hard to keep up with Haddish, who has actually toned back her character to be more of a 4 or 5 on the Haddish scale.

Jennifer Coolidge seems to be doing the exact same thing she’s done in everything from Legally Blonde to Two Broke Girls, basically acting like a dimwit, and it’s a shame because it’s not really a good part. There’s also Mel and Mia’s three best friends who are so useless at bringing anything to the story that it’s unclear why they’re in the movie at all except to act as a Greek Chorus.  This leaves it up to Billy Porter to steal the movie with but just one scene, and pretty much the only one that delivers a laugh.

I’m not sure if the makers of this movie thought that it would be seen as another pro-feminist movie that women flock to, but the problem might be the simple fact that it’s written and directed by men. That certainly couldn’t have helped, especially since this movie is clearly trying to be another Bridesmaids by pushing the R-rated envelope.

The thing is that if you’re going to make a comedy, you should at least try to make some effort for it to be funny, and the fact that Jennifer Lopez’s Second Act takes place in a similar environment but finds a way to be funnier is telling that Like a Boss just isn’t up to snuff.

It’s doubtful Like A Boss will be anyone’s worst movie of the year, but that’s because it isn’t particularly memorable and will likely be forgotten by February.

Rating: 5/10

Another movie expanding nationwide after a platform release is Dustin Daniel Cretton’s prison drama JUST MERCY (Warner Bros.), which stars Michael B. Jordan as young defense attorney Bryan Stevenson, who finds himself trying to get prisoners on Death Row exonerated. The movie also stars Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, a man falsely accused of murder who becomes Bryan’s biggest case to date while Brie Larson plays Eva Ansley, who works with Bryan. I was kind of bored by the movie the first time I saw it, but I gave it another chance recently and generally liked it more, especially towards the last act. I may write a review before Friday if I can find any time but I’m pretty slammed this week.

The last movie of the weekend is actually one I’ve been looking forward to, since the sci-fi thriller UNDERWATER (20th Century Fox) is my kind of movie. It stars Kristen Stewart, Jessica Hardwick (from the Netflix series Iron First), TJ Miller, Vincent Cassell and John Gallagher, Jr. as a team of scientists who are trapped 6 miles below sea level when their station is hit by a catastrophe and they learn that they’re not alone down there. It’s the new movie from William Eubank, a talented filmmaker who I interviewed years agofor his movie The Signal. I’m also still working on my review for this so please check back tonight/tomorrow for it.

Mini-Review:

It’s a bit of a bummer this new undersea horror-thriller probably won’t get a fair shake from critics, because it’s being released in January. Far too many film critics just love their clichés, and when it comes to January movies (other than the ones premiering at Sundance), they expect everything to be horrible. They go in with that thought in mind and then nitpick to make sure they’re theory is right. Maybe it’s true, but it’s also not particularly fair when you have a movie like Underwater that delivers exactly what’s being sold.

The underwater drilling station Kelper rests on the outskirts of the Mariana Trench, and no sooner then we meet Kristen Stewart’s electric engineer Norah, Kepler is hit by a powerful earthquake that tears the station apart, as she and a few of her colleagues do what they can to survive. They soon learn that they’re not down there alone.

Yes, the premise is a bit of a horror cliché we’ve seen many times before, mostly in space thrillers like the classic Alien, but director William Eubank (The Signal) clearly has chops to direct a much bigger-scale movie like this that involves a lot of underwater FX-work.

While the dialogue isn’t always great, and the attempt to make TJ Miller the film’s comic relief doesn’t always work, you generally like the characters played by Stewart, Hardwick, Cassell and Gallagher, which tends to be half the battle when it comes to horror films.  You actually care about them as they face bigger and bigger jeopardy.

I’m sure some women will take issue with Stewart spending a good portion of the movie in a skimpy bathing suit, as soon as she’s out of the bulky deepsea suit she wears for the rest of the movie, but you won’t hear any complaints from me about that.

Like I said, the movie gives you exactly what is being advertised and Eubank has created a movie that’s suitably claustrophobic and at times, legitimately terrifying.

Rating: 7/10

LIMITED RELEASES

The movie opening in limited release that I can recommend highly is Ladj Li’s police thriller LES MISERABLES (Amazon Studios), an amazing police thriller about a group of French detectives trying to deal with issues taking place at the local projects. I thought this French film (France’s shortlisted selection for the Oscar “International Film” category) was fantastic and shows a promising new talent in Li, who wrote and directed the film. If it’s playing in your area, I recommend checking it out, although I’m guessing it will be on Amazon Prime sometime soon as well.

I haven’t seen Jon Avnet’s THREE CHRISTS (IFC FIlms), which has Richard Gere playing Dr. Alan Stone, a psychiatrist in charge of dealing with three schizophrenic patients who all believe they’re Jesus Christ, as played by Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins and Bradley Whitford. It will open in select cities and On Demand shortly after.

Opening Friday in the States roughly eight months after it opened in the United Kingdom is Ron Scalpello’s crime-thriller THE CORRUPTED (Saban Films), starring Sam Claflin as Liam, an ex-con trying to win back the love of his family, while trying to get out of the tangled web of corruption surrounding him. The movie also stars Timothy Spall, Hugh Bonneville and Charlie Murphy.

Josh Hartnett and Margarita Levieva star in Anthony Jerjen’s Inherit the Viper (Lionsgate), playing siblings Kip and Josie, who are dealing in opioids as their only means of survival.  Kip’s attempts to get out of the family business put him and his sister and younger brother (Owen Teague) in danger. it will open in select cities and On Demand.

Ofra Bloch’s documentary Afterward (1091) debuted at DOC-NYC last year with its look at the issues between Israel and Palestine that came out of the Jews being driven out of Germany during World War II and settling in Israel where they were seen as an enemy by the Palestinians, while trying to give and receive forgiveness. This is a fantastic doc that will open on Friday and then be on VOD January 28.

Alison Reid’s doc The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber) is a little more obvious what it’s about, as it follows Anne Innis Dagg’s solo journey to South Africa in 1956 to study giraffes, featuring voicework by Tatiana Maslany, Victor Garber and more. It opens at New York’s Quad Cinema on Friday and at the Laemmle in Los Angeles on February 21.

Opening today at the Film Forumin New York is Renaud Barret’s doc System K (Artification Release), which looks at the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the street artist performance scene that criticizes government corruption and the poverty that has struck the area.

The Sonata (Screen Media) stars Freya Tingley as a virtuoso violinist who inherits the mansion of her composer father (the late Rutger Hauer) after his sudden death, where she discovers a mysterious score with strange symbols that she tries to decipher with her agent and manager (Simon Abkarian).

This week’s Bollywood offering is Meghna Gulzar’s Chaapaak (FIP), starring Deepika Padukone as a woman attacked with acid in New Delhi in 2005 and how she survived it.

REPERTORY

It’s a new year so we’re back with more cool repertory stuff!

METROGRAPH (NYC):

My favorite local rep theater is beginning with two movies by Your Name and Weathering with You director Makoto Shinkai: 2007’s 5 Centimeters per Second and 2011’s Children Who Chase Lost Voices. On Saturday night, the Academy is back at the Metrograph screening Lina Wermüller’s 1976 movie Seven Beauties. Also on Thursday, you can see two “Metrograph Standards,” Jack Hazan’s A Bigger Splash (1974) and Edo Bertoglio’s Downtown 81. Welcome To Metrograph: Reduxwill screen Richard Quine’s 1958 film Bell, Book and Candle, Late Nites at Metrograph will screen Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low  (1963) while the Playtime: Family Matinees  selection is Danny Devito’s Matilda from 1996.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Folllowing up FilmLinc’s amazing Korean cinema series from last year, this week, they’re doing a special “The Bong Show” retrospective, highlighting the work of soon-to-be Oscar nominee Bong Joon-Ho, as well as other related films with Director Bong in person for some of them. It runs through January 14 and besides all of his feature films, there will be a showing of all his shorts on Friday night, January 10, as well as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure  (1997), Deliverance (1972), Intentions of Murder (1964), John Frankenheimer’s Seconds (1966), John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) and more.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday “is the 1984 Supergirl movie, starring Helen Slater, which is almost sold out. Thursday’s “Cherry Bomb” pick is the 1988 film Shy People. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the horror classic Ghoulies (1984) and “Weird Wednesday” is Tarsem’s The Fall, the latter hosted by Vaiance Films founder Dylan Marchetti.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Today’s “Afternoon Classics” matinee is Norman Jewison’s 1967 film In the Heat of the Night, while the Weds./Thurs night double feature is Secret Ceremony and Boom!, both from 1968, both starring Elizabeth Taylor. Friday’s “Freaky Friday” is the 1985 film Re-Animator, while Tarantino’s own Django Unchained is the Friday midnight movie. This weekend’s Kiddee Matinee is the Studio Ghibli film Ponyo, while the “Cartoon Club” is also running this weekend. The Saturday midnight movie is Martin Scorsese’s classic Taxi Driver  (1976). Monday’s “Monday Matinees” is the Stephen King adaptation Misery (1990), while the double feature running from Monday through Thursday are newer films, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and Sofia Coppola’s The Beguilded from 2017, both in 35mm.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

On Wednesday, Film Forum will begin screening a 4k restoration of Russian filmmaker István Szabó’s Mephisto (1981) along with screenings of his other movies, Confidence (1980) and Colonel Redl (1985).  This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is one of my all-time favorite comedies, Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot(1959), starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Apparently, the Egyptian now has two theaters? Sweet! As part of the theater’s “New Year’s Resolutions” its screening the 1993 horror anthology, Necronomicon: The Book of the Dead on Friday in the Spielberg Theater, followed at 10pm by Roar (1981). The Egyptian’s usual theater will screen a double feature of Airplane! (1980) and Stripes  (1981) on Friday. On Saturday, you can see Pacino in Scarface (1983), the sci-fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and Terrence Young’s Valley of the Eagles (1951) with an introduction by Joe Dante (schedule-permitting).  Also on Saturday night is a double feature of Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Other (1972). Sunday’s “New Year’s Resolution” is “Get More Sleep!” in the form of Akira Kurosawa’s later film Dreams (1990), plus you can also see a 35mm print of The Blue Angel (1930), starring Marlene Dietrich as part of the theater’s “Sunday Print Edition.” Sunday’s New Year’s Resolution is Deliverance (1971)andWake in Fright (1972).

AERO  (LA):

As part of the series “The Films of Marty and Bob, the Aero will screen a matinee of Taxi Driver (1976) on Thursday – two days before the Alamo. (Oops!) Thursday night is a double feature of Douglas Sirk’s 1955 film All That Heaven Allows and Fassbinder’s 1974 film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Friday begins an “All About Almodóvar” series with a double feature of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown  (1988) and All About My Mother (1999), Saturday is Bad Education (2004) and Talk to Her (2002) then Sunday is some of the filmmaker’s earlier work, The Law of Desire (1987) and Matador (1986).

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

This weekend, the Quad will screen four movies by Bernard-Henri Lévy: 2012’s The Oath of Tobruk, a double feature of Peshmerga and The Battle of Mosul, and Bosna! With an introduction by Lévy. Sorry, but I’m not really familiar with his work enough to elaborate. 

MOMA  (NYC):

The Museum of Modern Art has started a new series called “Show Me Love: International Teen Cinema” running through January 19 with some interesting selections including Diane Kurys’ 1977 film Peppermint Soda, Greg Araki’s 1993 filmTotally Fucked Up, Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya (Two Daughters) (1961) and more.  Another series that will run through February is Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmon, which will show some of the comedic actor’s best movies, including 1963’s Irma La Douce on Wednesday, Blake Edwards’ Days of Wine and Roses (1962) on Thursday, George Cuckor’s It Should Happen to You from 1954) this Friday. (Most of the movies will be repeated later in the series.) Tuesday’s matinee returns to “The Films of Marty and Bob” with New York, New York(1977).

IFC CENTER (NYC)

The IFC Center is in the middle of a comprehensive “Films of Studio Ghibli” series with a bunch of Studio Ghibli animated films, which will run through next week, as will the 75thanniversary digital restoration of the cinema classic Casablanca. This week’s Late Night Favorite selections are David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Eraserhead, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

MOMI is in the midst of a “Curators’ Choice 2019” made up mostly of new movies vs. repertory stuff. Saturday will be a tribute to the late Carol Spinney with a screening of the 2014 doc I Am Big Bird.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

The Nicolas Cage love continues with the 1997 action movie Con Air.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday’s midnight movie is Rene Laloux’s 1973 animated familyFantastic Planet.

Next week, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are reunited for Bad Boys for Life, taking on Robert Downey Jr. as (Doctor) Dolittle.