#I’ve been forcing myself to rewatch edits and edits of the trailer to be able to see Taylor as Alex for the movie

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Taylor on this photo does look a little like Alex hmm

Can we talk about how Alex is wearing Henry's signet on his finger 👀👀👀😬😬😬

[akkrosu]

5 Songs Tag – QL Shows Edition

I was asked by @recentadultburnout to share my favorite five songs from Asian QL shows, and with this, they have (unknowingly, I assume) unleashed a beast, because I not only love music, but listen to a lot of it and love talking about it. The rules are:

🎶 They do not have to be custom-made for the series.

🎶 Non-Western tracks only. Let’s support Asian music and languages!

🎶 Feel free to tag anyone who may be interested in participating.

🎶 Add #5qls tag to your post for others to find the new favorites.

1. See U by Heo Jung – Where Your Eyes Linger

There is so much power in this song, I love it. I even love the instrumental version, which is usually something I don’t listen to just for the sake of it. I’m just generally obsessed with the instrumentation and the harmonics, they add so much feeling to it.

2. รักหน้าตาเหมือนเธอไหม (Love Love Love) by Gemini Norawit – My School President

I forced myself to put only one MSP song here because I could easily make a top 5 MSP list on its own. This one is only here because I’ve been listening to it the most recently, but I love many of the songs the series has to offer. And Gemini is a suprisingly good singer, I enjoy his voice a lot. You can hear how much fun he has singing this.

3. ในวันที่สาย (When You’re Gone) by Alyn Wee – Big Dragon

Every time I rewatch the original trailer of Big Dragon, this song makes me cry. It’s a pretty slow one, but that’s the magic in it. The text also really gets me for some reason, if only because some of the little Thai that I know makes an appearance in the chorus, so I understand at least parts of it without a translation, small as that part is.

4. Twilight Dreams by Chihiro Onitsuka – The Novelist

Even though I didn’t like The Novelist at all and I’m not sure why I even watched it in the first place, this song stuck with me. There’s something so Japanese about it that I can’t quite place, and even though the sliiiightly off-key notes in the last chorus annoy me, I still enjoy this song a whole lot. It was one of my most listened-to songs in 2022.

5. 我们不像我们 (Unlike Us) by Della – HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count & Trapped

I can’t finish this list without including at least one Chinese song in it. This is another one of my most listened-to songs of 2022, and it’s so fucking sad, but that’s sort of what I love about it. And the lyrics aren’t too hard to understand, so I can feel the sadness even with my limited Chinese knowledge.

Since I’m also having a really hard time sticking with just five songs, I’ll include a few more like @telomeke did in their fantastic list (I got so many good recommendations from it).

เพลงรัก (Hook) by Gemini Norawit – My School President.

ฟัง (Listen) – My School President.

เพื่อนเล่น ไม่เล่นเพื่อน (Just Being Friendly) by Tilly Birds & MILLI. This one isn’t from one QL specifically, but was covered and featured in My School President and Cutie Pie (I think it appeared in it, all I remember is there’s a pretty good Nunew cover) and seems to generally be a favorite in the QL community. Oh, how many couple edits I’ve seen on YouTube set to this song. And I get it, it has an immaculate vibe and rhythm. Tilly Birds have so many incredible songs that I love listening to, even though their style of music isn’t usually my thing. So that’s saying a lot.

刻在我心底的名字 (Your Name Engraved Herein) by Crowd Lu – Your Name Engraved Herein. It’s such a soft song. I am such a sucker for a song with almost nothing but a voice and a guitar if it’s done well. And the way the brass instruments come in at the end, there is so much power in that. A great song for the movie.

รักเธอตัวเท่าโลก by Boy Sompob – My Only 12%. I listened to the acoustic version that came out first and never would have thought the fully-produced version would be even half as good, and then they went and gave me two beautiful versions of this song. I wouldn’t be able to decide between both of them, and it’s good that I don’t have to. Such a sweet song that perfectly fits the sweetness of the series.

แล้วแต่ดาว (My Starlight) by Joong Archen – Star in My Mind. I watched this show fairly recently and immediately lost it at this. It’s a fantastic song beautifully detailing Kluen’s feelings for Daonuea, and I’m obsessed with the star and wave imagery and word play used in the lyrics. When you listen to it, you can’t help but feel Kluen’s love, it’s like a lullaby that wants to put you to sleep with the sheer love and adoration he feels. I also think Joong is a surprisingly good singer, at least when compared to some of the other GMMTV actors.

[popculturebuffet]

Patreon Membership Drive: Turbo Championship Hyper Fighting Edition!

Hello all you happy people! For those wondering “who the hell is this.” I”m Jake Mattingly. I review animation and comics here on this tumblr 5 times a week, and love doing so. I do so by recapping an episode of an animated show or a volume of a comic piece by piece, how detailed depends on the work and how condensed it needs to be, analyzing the episode and sometimes throwing in some jokes because i’m a silly weirdo and tis my nature. 

 So far i’ve been able to scrape by with the help of my patreon’s kev and emma, with Kev suplimenting that iwth various comissions (I.e. paying me to review a specific episode of a show much like someone would comissoin). But I don’t want to place my entire finacial future in the hands of two people so last month I lauched my patreon membership, trying to get people to join my patreon to releive some of the pressure on them. And not a person signed on during the first month. 

But I realize a large part of that is I simply didn’t advertise propertly, not really explaning what it is I do, what they get, or throwing in any extra incentives for signing up apart from “If so many people pledge to my patreon i’ll do X review” Which is still the main thrust of my campaign but I realized I need MORE than that to give you all proper money for your buck, especailly with Tumblr trying to monteize in the most half assed way possible making people presumibly more wary of spending money on me. 

So for this promo i’m going into what it is I review exactly, how to sign up for my patreon and how any of that works, what you get out of it, and various juicy stretch goals i’m hoping ya’ll can help me reach so

WHAT IS IT YOU DO EXACTLY?

As I mentioned above I review animation and comics, more animation than comics. My meat and potatoes are Disney Duck works, primarily the 2017 reboot and the Don Rosa and Carl Barks comics. For the former i’ve done retrospectives on Lena’s arc, the Della storyline from season 2 and ALL the Season 2 storylines, the last one currently in progress. I intend to review the entire series, the lackluster tie in comics, and the this duckburg life podcast, though the last one has some strings attached we’ll get to under my goals.  I”ve also been reviewing various Carl Barks first apperances and most importantly doing a complete retrospective on Don Rosa’s masterwork the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. 

I also review certain shows week to week, almost entirely Disney as aside from the True Colors Debacle they have the most reliable schedule and announce release dates farther in advance than Cartoon Network and Nick which just sorta pop up announce things. I covered all of season 3 of Ducktales and season 2 of amphibia (With season 3 coverage coming in october) and i’m currently reviewing Owl House every week till that hiatus hits. 

Finally i’m currently looking at all the Tom Luictor episodes of star vs the forces of evil tracking both Tom’s character arc and the show’s steady decline straight into the dumps. 

Comics wise i’m more sporadic but in addition to duck comics stuff, I’ve also been doing a retrospective on the Scott Pilgrim franchise: all 6 volumes of the comic, those reviews avaliable now and in two weeks from this post, just in time for  the video game and movie anniversaries to finish things up. I recently started another one for the comic book Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, I intend to finish one I did for New X-Men, and I have a few in my mind’s eye I want to do soon on John Ostrandre’s Suicide Squad run, Justice League International, and Mega Man that i’m going to do pilots for to see if anyone’s interested. 

Finally recently i’ve started doing quick thoughts, quick reviews on recent stuff from trailers to full on movies I don’t have to cover normally. 

So What Is Your Patreon?

Patreon is a site where creators can get paid for work and can put up exclusive content and what not. You pledge anywhere from a dollar a month, and become one of my patrons and help me do this blog for a living. I genuinely love writing about media, analyzing it and making weird jokes, and this lets me do that as my job and my passion. I simply don’t want to put finacing that on the backs of only two people. 

So What’s In It For Me?

Unlike Tumblr itself I feel my supporters deserve to get the most bang for their buck. As such Patreon Membership starts at JUST ONE DOLLAR. That’s right for a dollar a month, 12 bucks a year so the price of a movie, you get access to my occasoinal exclusive reviews, exclusive poles once I get more than two members so that’s actually sensical to do to vote on reviews, and to pick a theatrical short when i review a bunch of them for character birthdays or holidays or just cause. 

In addition to these though i’ve decided to sweeten the pot. ON SIGN UP ANY PATREON OF ANY TIER GETS ONE FREE REVIEW OF ANY SINGLE EPISODE OF TELEVISION OR ISSUE OF A COMIC BOOK. That’s right for just one buck, you get a review of your choice. Whatever you want. You want to force me to watch something you hate so someone else can bitch about it for you? Go on about an episode yo ulove? shine a light on something obscure? Well i’m your man and for ONE BUCK A MONTH, you can get that. Whatever you want put on my schedule as soon as I have room and your payment’s gone through. 

And if you want me to review stuff on a more regular basis, five bucks a month gets you a review a month, same permaiters as above along with said free review. I will PERSONALLY make sure there’s a space on the schedule every month for your patreon review and review whatever you want no matter how good, bad or stuppid. 

But that’s not ALL. 

STRETCH GOALS:

To explain these better than what I did next time: My stretch goals are goals on my patreon: if I hit a certain number of Patreons I will review (Insert Thing Here) And these are meaty projects too: full season reviews, retrospectives and what have you and something’s unlocked with each person who signs up, adjusted from orignally basing it on price. So your dollar a month not only gets you your own review, but also will get my solemn vow to review a bunch of other thigns, and the more people who sign up the more thigns I’ll add to my plate. Not only that but just for this pledge drive i’m adding a bunch of super neat drive exclusvie stretch goals that will VANISH AT THE END OF AUGUST. dosen’t mean I won’t EVER do these reviews, but it does mean i’ll probably sit on them a bit. 

TLDR: You singing up gets me to guarantee to review some extra stuff. 

SO WHAT ARE THE GOALS. 

I”m glad you asked. Each one is based on a person joining, so 

REGULAR PATREON GOALS THAT AREN’T GOING TO EXPIRE BUT ARE STILL PRETTY NEAT:

One goal for each new patreon so

1 New Patreon: Starting off light but still juicy, I will review the complete season one of Amphibia across two posts. I’ve already rewatched the season recently, so all someone has to do is sign up and i’ll get on it in septmeber in time for season 3! And that’s not the only show as i’ll also review BOTH seasons of the birdtastic show after my own heart Tuca and Bertie! 

2 New Patrons: This one’s a big lighter but you still get some neat things: for my scottaholics in the audience I will review the rest of Brian Lee O’Malley’s works so far: Lost at Sea (his first graphic novel) Seconds (his first post scott work) and Snotgirl (his first ongoing and first work he didn’t draw himself), which follow a girl trying to reclaim her soul/cat, an immature restrauntieur who discovers reality changing muschrooms, and an influencer who might of done a murder. For those who don’t really like Scott Pilgrim i’ll review a buch of paramount plus shows first seasons: Kamp Korral, the rugrats rugboot and iCarly. So if any of that sounds good get on the bus won’t you?

3 New Patrons: My juicest one and one that stands alone: I will review the complete first season of the Owl House across two posts. Every episode, every bit of lumity progressoin, every bit of foreshadowing in hindsight, all for you, all if three people join my patron. So if you want more bisexual magic, step up. 

4 New Patrons: Duck Goals Woo-Ooo! This one unlocks a review from Duck Master Carl Barks EVERY MONTH. Not only that I will be taking suggestoins from my patrons , meaning you can help decide which ones I do! And while tha’ts plenty i’m jucing this one up as getting me this far also nets a review of This Duckburg Like, the interquel podcast that’s given us our last ducktales content for what will likely be an eternity. 

5 New Patrons: Gravity Falls Retrospective! I”m not only talking both season of Alex Hirsch’s era defining masterpice, but also the side materials I have acess to: the shorts, Journal #3, and the lost legends tie in comic. I”d throw legend of the gnome gemulets in there two if I had a working 2ds or 3ds bu tas it stands this is what I got. 

6 New Patrons: Avatarverse Retrospective. No not James Cameron the Bravest Pioneer’s movie he wants to turn into a franchise despite NO ONE wanting this please stop James, we’re begging you. Of course i’m talking about Avatar the Last Airbender, the epic franchise that’s blowing up in size. This will include all three books of Avatar: The Last Airbender, All Four Books of the Legend of Korra, and all the juicy side stuff I can cover: the sequel comics for both series, the kioshi novels and the eye gougingly bad M Night Shamlyn Movie. Yes I really will   myself to that. I have not till now i’m happy that way but I will sufer for you. Speaking of suffering:

7 New Patrons: It’s a crapstravaganza!  If i’ve made it this far I clearly have enough fan support that I can fly into the eye of the crapstorm so i’m going to review some of the worst things I can think of:  * Chuck Austen’s X-Men the run that dared to ask the tough questions your coke addleed uncle you don’t let see your kids would like “What if Angel could cure AIDS with his blood and had sex with a minor while her parents watched?” “What if a rouge relgious sect tried to make Nightcrawler pope and then desingrate people with commuiion wafers in a scheme that makes no sense?” and “What if an x-man made a plant horny?”  * America: The comic that has the infamous and oft used by me line to compare it to other bad lines “What in the holy menstration are you doing here”. And it’s still not the most bonkers thing int his somehow 12 ISSUE SERIES tha twastes one of marvels best creations.  * The Prince: Aka that series HBO what farted out onto the service with no intention of renewal after realizing “Holy shit we greenlit this what is wrong with us” which is basically family guy but with the royal family. I’d say it was a somehow worse family guy but Famiily Guy once had an episode that was about 22 minutes of transphobic punchlines so as long as there isn’t an episode of that your good.  * Mordecai is a Bastard Man: Aka that arc of Regular Show that took a ship I really liked, Mordecai and CJ, and then destoryed it with cheating, attempted murder and saxophone.  *Star Vs Final Arc: Aka a look at how a once great show descended into a mess with unfinished plot lines, wasted characters and a finale so terrible it’s only topped by “Kids this is the story of how I really want you to say it’s okay to bang aunt robin” 8 New Patrons: Infinity Train, all four books and any finale movie if it happens. (Please let it happen) All aboard! 9 New Patrons: Two juicy disney retrospectives! The Incredibles (both movies and both comics series) and Darkwing Duck (Both the Boom! and Joe Books runs) Let’s get incredibly dangerous! 10 New Patrons: My highest tier for now and i’ts anothe rdouble feature and two big projects. If you get me this far, you’ve earned em: A She Ra and the Pricesses of Power Retrospective and a Bojack Horseman retrospective. The two greatest things Netflix has made back to back for life. 

And THAT’S NOT ALL... as I said I have some special stretch goals JUST FOR THIS PLEDGE DRIVE. 

SPECIAL DRIVE SPECIFIC GOALS BABY!:

These are a simple five extra projects for hitting the goals within the rest of the drive FROM AUGUST 1ST TO AUGUST 31ST. I will not add these to the regular goals for a full year if you do not reach them, so one buck helps you unlock projects that otherwise might not happen for YEARS. Like the other goals their measured by patrons but ONLY for this month sooooo

1 New Patron: Quack Pack series review! the most hated Disney Afternoon show in one big two part review. God help me. 2 New Patrons: Rise of the TMNT Retrospective: Both seasons, a movie and regular coverage on the offchance a third season hopefully gets greenlit.  3 New Patrons: Peanuts and Garfield Specials retrospective!: Retrospectives for the technicolor years long world of Peanuts specials and the shorte rlived but still neat garfield specails. All the specials plus all the animated movies for both!  4 New Patrons: Craig of the Creek-AThon: Rewatching season one and watching BOTH seasons i’ve missed since then with full reviews as well as reviews of each bomb of episodes as their released on teh app from here on out!  5 New Patrons: Steven Universe Retrospective! All 5 seasons, The Movie, Future, the comics, graphic novels and games. EVERY. THING. 

So if ANY of this sounds enticing 

STOP BY MY PATREON RIGHT HERE IN THIS LINK, SIGN UP TODAY, HELP ME GET PAID DOING WHAT I LOVE AND GET REVIEWS FOR EVERYBODY. YOU WON’T REGRET IT AND YOU’LL BE MAKING MY LIFE BETTER. 

And even if you can’t support it feedback on the goals, reblogs to get the word out and general words of encouragment are appricated so join me as I try to get at least one extra dollar a month in the span of this month. PITTER PATTER, let’s get at er!

[roseisread]

My Year in Movies: Favorite Non-2018 Feature Films (Part 1)

I watched a LOT of movies this year. At last count, I had logged 229 features and 126 shorts; and that doesn’t count rewatches--only movies that were new to me.

I set a few challenges for myself as well this year. The first one was to watch at least one non-English language/US release per week--this exposed me to so much world cinema and some really amazing filmmakers. Anyone who avoids foreign films because “I don’t like subtitles” is really missing out, and I found myself craving these narratives from voices I don’t ordinarily get exposed to in my everyday life. 

Other personal challenges: Watching as many horror movies as possible in October (with horror defined pretty loosely so I could include entries from silent era and onward, as well as some comedy cult classics that have horror/thriller elements); participating in Noirvember (in addition to attending Noir City in Chicago); crossing off some major blindspots from my list (such as Bicycle Thieves, The Producers, Lethal Weapon, A Few Good Men, Grease, Home Alone 2, Brazil, and Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom); and trying to watch movies and short films from every decade that motion pictures have existed.

In 2019, I hope to do similar personal challenges with a focus on movies made by women, LGBTQ+, and people of color, in addition to filling in the gaps of my classical/canonical movie knowledge. 

OK, so that’s enough preamble. Let’s get to the list! For this list, I’m excluding movies that were released in 2018--that’s coming but this is for movies released before that. 

50. Linda Linda Linda (2005, directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita, country of origin: Japan)

High school girls recruit the Korean exchange student (Doona Bae, of Cloud Atlas and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) to join their rock band a few days before the school talent show. This is just a feel good film, recommended if you enjoyed the likes of Sing Street, We Are The Best!, and The Runaways. Unfortunately, it’s out of print in physical form; but last I checked someone had uploaded it to YouTube so you might want to get on that before it’s removed. You can watch the trailer here.

49. The Blue Dahlia (1946, directed by George Marshall, country of origin: US)

This film noir stars Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, and like any good noir, it deals with dark subjects including murder, blackmail, political corruption, and PTSD. It’s been on my watchlist for a long time, and thanks to Noir City Chicago, I got to see it on the big screen at the Music Box Theatre. For small screen viewing, you can catch up with it via rental on Vudu, Amazon, iTunes... the usual suspects. 

48. Siren of the Tropics (1927, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Etievant, country of origin: France)

My dearly departed Filmstruck had a spotlight on the films of Josephine Baker, and this was among them. I fell in love instantly with the lively, beautiful Baker, here playing a woman named Papitou who deals with some super scummy dudes but manages to be herself in the face of all that nonsense. Silent films can sometimes be tougher to engage with for modern audiences, but this one flies by and contains some unexpectedly racy sequences for the time. Its racial politics don’t meet today’s cultural standards, but considering Baker’s parents were former slaves and their daughter went on to become the first woman of color to star in a major motion picture, this is still a landmark film worthy of our consideration. She broke down many barriers and contributed a great deal to both the entertainment world and the Civil Rights movement, and this serves as a nice entry point into her career. It’s available on DVD through Kino Lorber, and hopefully one day soon it’ll pop up on another streaming service that carries on the Filmstruck legacy.

47. I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore (2017, directed by Macon Blair, country of origin: US)

Here’s a film that goes to some unexpected places. I had no idea what to expect from Macon Blair, who frequently appears in the movies of Jeremy Saulnier; but in his debut feature for Netflix, he pulled out all the stops. Hilarious, violent, and intense, with memorable performances from stars Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood, this is a movie about getting in over your head and just going for it anyway. I don’t want to tell you about the plot because it’s best discovered through watching--just go to your nearest device and add it to your Netflix queue. 

46. Song of the Sea (2014, directed by Tomm Moore, country of origin: Ireland)

Absolutely gorgeous animation from the team that previously brought us The Secret of Kells, and a touching story that combines family and mythology. I adored this one. Watch it on Netflix or rent on the usual streaming sources--for a preview, click here. 

45. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942, directed by Michael Curtiz, country of origin: US)

I always watch Independence Day on the Fourth of July; but in 2018, I decided to mix it up and cross this patriotic musical off the watchlist. I’d seen James Cagney’s gangster movies like White Heat and The Public Enemy, but seeing him sing and dance was a whole new joyous discovery. This movie is entertaining, funny, touching, and full of iconic sequences that other films would go on to borrow from. I absolutely loved it. Pretty sure I saw this on Filmstruck originally, but since that’s no longer possible you should be able to find it at your local public library or you can rent it for a couple bucks on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, and the like. 

44. The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950, directed by Felix Feist, country of origin: US)

This tightly wound noir thriller pits brother against brother against the backdrop of 1950s San Francisco. Lee Cobb plays an aging bachelor and an accomplished police detective who falls for the wrong dame. His younger brother, played by John Dall (Gun Crazy, Rope), has just joined the police force and idolizes his older brother. Trouble strikes when the dame murders her no good husband and needs help from Cobb to cover it up. Naturally, Dall gets assigned to the case and as he begins to piece together the clues, he doesn’t like where they’re leading him. The climactic sequence is one of my favorite endings to a noir film, and I’ve seen a lot of them. Watch it for free if you have Amazon Prime; otherwise, there are a few versions uploaded to YouTube of varying quality or you could wait for it to pop up on TCM. 

43. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003, directed by Thom Andersen, country of origin: US)

This documentary edits together clips from movies of every era that were filmed or set in Los Angeles, and explains through voiceover narration the significance of each location and the history of the motion pictures in LA. That’s it--very simple concept but also fascinating. I split this up over a couple nights because it’s pretty long, but if you’re a film fan or a Los Angeles native, this is well worth your time. The voiceover is kind of hilariously flat in its delivery--kind of a Steven Wright sound actually--but that sort of adds to the charm for me. Get a taste by watching the trailer, and then you can rent it on YouTube for $1.99.

42. A Simple Plan (1998, directed by Sam Raimi, country of origin: US)

It’s been almost two years since we lost Bill Paxton; I don’t know about you but I don’t think any other actor can really fill those shoes. This year I caught up with three films that showcased his talent: A Simple Plan, One False Move, and Frailty. He plays very different characters in each one but in many ways they all start off with a similar premise: Ordinary guy dreams of becoming more. What that “more” is for each character is what sets each film and performance apart, but Paxton provided a great canvas to paint these unique characters onto. He inhabited the ordinary man better than just about anyone. 

In this film, which I watched during Noirvember, Paxton plays Hank, a college-educated guy working a blue collar job in a small town, trying to make a better life for himself and his family. He’d like to get away from those small town roots, but his socially awkward brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) relies on him. Unfortunately, Jacob is often accompanied by the hard-drinking loose canon Lou (Brent Briscoe). When the unlikely trio discover a crashed plane in the woods containing a suitcase full of cash, they each have ideas for how to handle the situation. Of course things escalate from there, and the way the movie explores human nature and family ties set this story apart. Available for online rental on the usual platforms.

41. The Iron Giant (1999, directed by Brad Bird, country of origin: US)

Given my obsession with Vin Diesel in the early 2000s, it’s pretty shocking I never saw this movie til now--sure, he and his glorious muscles don’t appear on screen, but he does provide the voice of the title character after all. When the Iron Giant made a controversial cameo in this year’s film adaptation of Ready Player One, I decided it was time I saw the source material for myself. 

This gorgeously animated fable unfolds during the Cold War era, and features an ET-inspired story arc of a young boy befriending an unlikely being that the government is looking for. If you’ve never seen it, this is definitely a must-watch. Currently available on Netflix, but rentable on other platforms too.

40. The Unsuspected (1947, directed by Michael Curtiz, country of origin: US)

I adore Claude Rains, star of this film and supporting actor in Curtiz’s more famous work, Casablanca. Here, he plays the host and narrator of a popular radio show that revolves around tales of murder--basically the Law and Order: SVU of its day. We learn early on that he sometimes draws inspiration for his broadcasts from real life criminals. When people in his own life start dropping dead, the plot thickens and he finds himself at the center of the action. A very suspenseful and well-plotted film noir, which is available from the Warner Archive collection on DVD. I got to see it at Noir City Chicago, and loved every second of it. 

That’s all for this entry--stay tuned for part two of this list, posting soon! 

[13thhr]

Episode #241: Reading from The Thirteenth Hour on Exercise in Seclusion and the Start of Like a Hood Ornament 1

https://archive.org/download/podcast241_202003/Podcast%20241.mp3

On this week’s show, I thought I’d touch on the topic of exercise, specifically what you can do if you happen to be isolated (either due to a global pandemic or imprisoned for other reasons, like Logan in one part of The Thirteenth Hour, which we’ll be reading from shortly.

As it turns out, there’s actually quite a lot you can do even if you can’t go to a gym.  Although being quarantined does not necessarily mean you can’t go outside (the virtues of short duration outdoor physical activity is something we discuss briefly though a scientific paper – see the abstract below), you can do a remarkable amount inside, even if you have little to no equipment.  I’ve done a version of the workout that inspired the little passage in The Thirteenth Hour for decades.  That workout was really nothing special – just having been the body weight exercises we did in martial arts classes and other calisthenics I recall from an old Canadian Air Force fitness manual I had as a kid that we probably got at a garage sale.  If you’re interested, Arnold Schwarzenegger put together a similar routine that is available for people to access here.

Here’s the passage from The Thirteenth Hour:

They’ll break you if you let them.  I wasn’t the strongest person out there, and though I always had hope, now I had purpose again.  I started from the beginning, with my body, the only way I’d learned how.  Every morning, after I woke up, I would wash my face and clothes, if they needed washing.  Then I did calisthenics – pushups, sit–ups, stretching – like I had done when I was in training.  My muscles felt deconditioned from lack of use and malnutrition, so much of my strength had left me, and everything was more difficult now. 

It’s hard to take it slow when your never–resting mind can envision all the things it’d like your body to be able to do once more.  But in the end, sometimes it’s best to just get busy trying and spend less time thinking. 

When I could comfortably walk around my cell and jog in place, I slowly motioned through the different hand–to–hand combat techniques that I had learned during my training.  Who knows, I thought, if I make a break for it, I’ll need those techniques the most.  After a few weeks, my stamina began to reassert itself, allowing me to wage ongoing battles against that cloaked magician, Klax.  Whenever I felt myself growing tired, I saw his form in my mind and practiced harder. 

More than once the guards rushed into my cell, thinking that I had collapsed or died because I was lying face down on the cold stone floor.  I was actually just resting, but my guards had grown somewhat fond of me, they said, and didn’t want anything bad to happen to me.  I was never sure if they were telling the truth or not; I’ll bet Klax would have had their necks if they had been so careless as to let me kill myself without his being able to see. 

My agility came back last.  The cell was not large enough for much, but the ceiling was high and my boots were padded, so I figured it was worth a go.  Pretty much anything is, though, after you’ve been cooped up in the same room for weeks. 

I tried standing on my hands again, at first with my feet resting against the wall to accustom my arms to the change in weight they’d be frequently bearing in the near future.  Then handstands without the wall.  Then handsprings, and finally, aerial techniques.  As for the latter, the first few times, the guards must have heard the sound of my feet slamming into the stone floor because they came running.  They saw what I was doing, took it as a suicide attempt, doubled their checks on my cell, and, of course, made me stop at once, lest, by golly, I crack my head open on the hard stone floor.  I was too far into my regimen to really care what they thought, and it just meant I had to practice when they were asleep or weren’t looking.  And try to land softer. 

There were a few times when I did go overboard and missed beaning my noggin on the stones out of sheer luck.  It goes with the territory … sooner or later, everybody ends up bailing in midair.   One minute you’re in the air, next thing you know, your jump seems off or things just feel weird, and if you have time to think anything at all, that’s about when you think some bad words, along with “this could hurt.” 

But I knew that once I regained confidence in my body and what it could do, I would stop bailing.  I knew my body would get used to being in strange positions in the air again, and I knew the best way to not get hurt was to go all out on each technique.  I just wasn’t quite there yet, resulting in a few midair problems and hard landings on an unforgiving stone floor.  I hurt an ankle after a bad landing – an easy thing to do if you’re practicing on a hard, uneven surface like the floor of my cell – but thankfully escaped anything worse.  Luckily, I had a good set of boots – one of the few things Darian’s Army did right – that were light and flexible with thick, padded soles meant to withstand miles upon miles of marching and other abuse.  Later, Aurora found me a mattress, which she intended for me to sleep on (which I did, of course), but what she didn’t know was that it was the mat I used to soften my landings.

https://www.tiktok.com/@13thhr/video/6805532752927001861

https://imgur.com/gallery/yYmEOnO?s=sms

So I finally took the plunge and created a little profile on Tik Tok.  To be honest, I don’t get 95% of the stuff on there, but it has some videos of people making stuff and doing flips, so that’s enough for me.  I mainly just use it to post some videos of the resin minifigures I’ve made.  This is the backflip animation whose frames are above.

Today also marks the first Rocketeer segment as a part of the podcast.  Now, obviously, there have been many episode mentions about the Rocketeer before, though here are a few:

–Ep 18 on comics (Dave Stevens)

–Ep 53 on rewatching the Rocketeer as an adult

–Ep 235 on making the resin miniature Rocketeer

But this week’s show marks the first time starting an actual segment (kind of like how I used to do a starving artist segment before) that I’m calling:

https://imgur.com/gallery/yYmEOnO?s=sms

That’s “Like a Hood Ornament” if your interface doesn’t support graphics (that’s you, iTunes show notes).  You may recognize the moniker as a line from the 1991 film.  Today’s we’ll start out with the fictional bio most likely written by Dave Stevens for his protagonist, Cliff, who inspired Logan in many ways.

More coming next week!  Stay safe!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

  There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!

You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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 Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!

Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.

Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.

Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.

Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.

Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com

Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY

Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

Stuck at home? Think you can't exercise? Maye not! This wk on the show, we touch on #exercise you can do in #quarantine, like Logan in #TheThirteenthHour. Plus, the start of a regular #Rocketeer segment on the show! @ihavespokenpod Episode #241: Reading from The Thirteenth Hour on Exercise in Seclusion and the Start of Like a Hood Ornament 1…

[bcwallin]

Streaming services need bonus features

The stream of content never ends.

Hulu, like many other services, has autoplay set up so that as soon as I finish one movie, I’ll start whatever’s next. Disney+ won’t start something without a click, but it’ll try to get me to start something else while the credits are rolling. Netflix doesn’t let me have a quiet moment from the second I open it, and at one point or another, it had buttons to encourage skipping the opening credits or rewatching a scene that had just finished in the middle of a movie. I want to be able to sit with the movies and let them soak in, and that’s often not easy to do when I’m being pushed to watch something else and move on – because, to analytics-obsessed streaming services, everything is content and the goal is for me to be yet another number in a streaming quarterly report.

While I crave a moment to process the film or TV show I just enjoyed, I also want other ways to enjoy them. I want to learn more about the creative process behind the piece and engage with the ideas of whatever media I’ve just seen. I want to see alternate takes the filmmakers opted not to use in the final work and hear commentaries from those artists, or the scholars who can teach me more about what I’m watching. I want to explore. I miss special features. I miss the context and bonus content that would come with DVDs, ones that encouraged me to stay with a movie even after watching it. In the age of limitless content and fully customizable menus, this experience is all but dead.

The one streaming service that I’ve found that really, fully does this — where you can generally depend on having more to watch than just the movie — is the Criterion Channel, where much of the library and supplements from the Criterion Collection are available. The first thing I watched on the service when I activated my subscription was a making-of documentary for A Hard Day’s Night. When Criterion’s movies end, they don’t force anything on me. I can explore, understand, go deep. Movies are a whole lot better with context — and a little extra something.

The Criterion Channel treats bonus features like they’re worth watching, and it’s clear when you look at the UI. Movies are treated as films or collections, and when you open them as collections, all the extra shorts, commentaries, interviews, and extras are laid out, easy to see. You can search for bonus features and you can add one of them to your watchlist without adding the movie it’s related to. The first step in offering great bonus features is to make them or at least make them available. The next thing to do is to actually show where they are, instead of pretending they don’t exist.

Sure, Netflix and Hulu have some featurettes or clips hidden with certain releases – the odd podcast or alternate cut. HBO GO sometimes offers extended editions of a movie. Amazon Prime has X-Ray trivia running over their movies, if you want to keep pausing and checking intermittently. And Disney+ has the occasional special feature that’s actually special, like the feature commentary that can play during Avengers: Endgame (if there were better commentaries available, it would be less special, but beggars can’t be disappointed about listening to the Russo brothers explaining time travel, I guess). Yet, seeing these options here and there only makes me crave more. For the vast majority of these streaming platforms’ titles, the best we can expect is an attached trailer.

I want to be able to learn more about a movie, to immerse myself in these stories and the artists who brought them to life. These materials exist and are put out on disc releases, so why can’t I enjoy them on streaming platforms? I’m sure Disney and Netflix and Amazon and AT&T have the cash on hand to clear whatever rights issues might be standing in the way, or to produce original features for content. HBO certainly saw the value when it came to explaining why Game of Thrones’ last season was such a rush job.

Am I going to have a movie night with friends where we watch a feature-length commentary or a recorded Q&A from a festival screening? Probably not. Do I get concerned looks when I complain that a special SteelBook release doesn’t deviate from the already-available bonus features in a standard Blu-ray? That’s not unimaginable. Have I felt alone for so long because these special extras feel like they’re generally only special to me, and I could just mindlessly binge Friends (which is bad) or The Office (which isn’t bad, but I’ve seen it enough) without complaining about this possibly meaningless crusade? Let’s not make this personal.

Sometimes, the special features are what pull me toward one home release over another. I’ve been interested in watching Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s dialogue-free version of the film (special features also include the documentary The Director and the Jedi, which is a step above standard featurettes), and I’ve sought out releases because they have a sing-a-long version, like a recent Mamma Mia double-feature gift purchase. If I ever buy a copy of Blade Runner, it’s going to be the one with all five cuts available. I want Disney+ to offer the incomplete version of Beauty and the Beast it once screened, which should require minimal effort (especially because they actually packaged and sold the work-in-progress version to the public). I want bonus features, and I’m getting tired of waiting for them.

I get the motivation for us to move from title to title, mindlessly consuming this vague, money-making thing they call content, but that doesn’t mean I understand why they do this. Why does Netflix, self-crowned champion of the independent cinema, not want to encourage viewers to fall in love with film and explore their passion? Does context only belong on its Twitter account (which should really stop pretending it’s a human person) or in podcasts that I wouldn’t have known existed without an oddly insatiable curiosity about The Other Side of the Wind, a not-so-good movie I can’t stop thinking about?

Even when they’re not providing context, bonus features can just be fun. Animated features that have bloopers as if the characters are real actors being filmed? I love it. An in-universe animated series that also features a commentary track by the characters being portrayed in it? Absolutely. How about a series of one-offs that eventually launched a TV series? It can happen. And those are just Disney properties.

I’m tired of the constant, never-ending stream of content, of being told to watch one thing then the other then the other — “Are you still watching?” Netflix asks, then shovels more down your gullet — and I can’t even breathe and contemplate what I just saw. I’m annoyed that Roku’s Apple TV app won’t let me watch a movie with commentaries or that the best Amazon Prime has to offer in terms of context involves disrupted viewing.

Bonus features let us take a moment. They’re the special ingredient that home entertainment gave us. And I want them back.

Originally published on Input

[undulated-raptor]

Blade Runner 2049 Non-Spoiler Review

Let me begin by saying that I absolutely love Blade Runner. It is one of the few movies, with The Godfather and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, where no matter how many times I watch it, I remain practically silent. I grew up seeing Blade Runner on random lists of “Greatest Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”, etc. Needless to say, I was practically indoctrinated into loving the movie, before I ever even saw it. When I finally did, I bought the special Blu-Ray 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, with the The Final Cut, both the Original Theatrical and International Theatrical Cuts, and the 1991 Director’s Cut. I watched them all. Back to back to back to back. Personally, my favorite is the Original Theatrical, but I see why people prefer different ones. Again, the most important thing to remember about film is that film is subjective. While there are some objective rules about what is good or bad, most of critique is subjective.

So, this brings me about to watching Blade Runner 2049 last night. Again, I had been ridiculously excited about this movie since it was first announced, and my excitement only built when following announcements came, like Denis Villeneuve being named as Director, Ryan Gosling taking the main role, Harrison Ford’s return as Deckard, and especially Roger Deakins as Cinematographer. With each trailer that came out, just more and more excitement, to where I could hardly contain myself. My sister and her family came to visit over the weekend, so I didn’t take the chance to watch it until Sunday night. Now, Blade Runner 2049 officially has a 2 hour and 44 minute run time, according to IMDB.com, which from what I’ve read, seems quite a daunting task to most movie-watchers. It definitely, to me at least, did not feel anywhere nearly that long. I’ve read several other reviews and listened to several podcasts that have already talked about it, and it seems to be the general consensus that it felt too long and bloated, that Villeneuve was able to just pack in as much as he wanted without restraint, making a too long, boring, movie. I completely disagree. Not only did the time fly by for me, but I was fully wrapped into the movie from practically the first shot (the opening of an eye, a brilliant callback to the original film) to the very end.

Another major complaint that I’ve read online is several writers criticizing Blade Runner 2049 for having a “woman problem”. Now, a lot of what I’m about to say could probably be discounted by most people holding up that argument, seeing that I am a straight white male, but I think that that doesn’t provide nearly the bias that others claim. For me, there were some problems with female representation, but not necessarily the complaints they’re referencing. (The article in question is titled “Blade Runner 2049 Has a Woman Problem”, read from http://movieweb.com/blade-runner-2049-woman-problem/). The first claim this article makes is that Blade Runner 2049 fails the infamous Bechdel Test. For those that don’t immediately recall, the Bechdel Test is commonly used “standard” for testing to see whether movies have deep female characters, based off of three criteria: (1) the movie has at least two women in it, (2) who talk to each other, (3) about something besides a man. If we use this test, I will admit. Blade Runner 2049 does have multiple female characters, and some do converse with each other, the third part is never fulfilled. However, despite the article’s claims that the women in the film fall into male fetish archetypes, I disagree. Robin Wright, as Lieutenant Joshi, shows actual empathy toward Ryan Gosling’s K, while retaining a toughened exterior. Within the world of the story, this makes sense, seeing that she is a Lieutenant within the Los Angeles Police Department, a position which demands a certain amount of toughness. Also, yes, she does drink whisky several times throughout the movie. As did M. Emmet Walsh’s Bryant in the original film, who has a very similar relationship with Deckard as Joshi does K. (Note: If I remember correctly, Bryant doesn’t actually drink in the movie. It is, however, heavily implied that when he pours the two drinks in his office, both drinks were not meant for Deckard.) The article also mentions that Joshi sexualizes K, which I see not as a fault of Joshi’s character, but rather a well-made choice that highlights more complexity, not only of the relationship between Joshi and K, but of the world of 2049 Los Angeles altogether.

The article also briefly discusses the other three main women of the film, Sylvia Hoeks’s Luv, Ana de Armas’s, Joi, and Mackenzie Davis’s Mariette. Luv is described as “a tough-as-nails femme fatale in heels, coldly flirtatious, deadly murderous”, which she is. Believably so. Having seen the original as many times as I have, Luv reminds me an awful lot of a more advanced version of Daryl Hannah’s Pris, a cold, calculating killer. It is also mentioned that Hoeks kisses Gosling’s K in the climax, which the article calls “laughably improbable and out-of-nowhere ...straight out of an S&M dungeon.” Again, I have to disagree with the writer. The kiss, which is delivered at a pivotal moment of the climax, has, to me, a sense of the departing embrace between respectful enemies. (I can explain more, but I want to stay as far away from spoilers as I can for this writing. My next one will most likely go more in depth). Switching to Ana de Armas’s Joi, the article refers to her as “a purchasable housewife style AI program whose greater yearnings all revolve around her devotion” to K. However, I think this claim misses the most important point of Joi, in that she is supposed to be nothing more than a caricature. Joi is an AI program, one early in the eventual evolution of holographic entities. Thinking within the world of the film, the complaint that she is not more fleshed out would be similar to complaining that a Nexus-1 or Nexus-2 Replicant was not fleshed out. They aren’t because they are the early stages. This is even addressed within the movie, as Mackenzie Davis’s Mariette tells her “...inside you, and there’s not as much there as you think.” Speaking of Mackenzie Davis, I actually agree with the article in that the movie “criminally underuses… [her] as a “hooker with a heart of gold,” a movie trope so tiresome and old school it’s almost nostalgic.” Again, I actually agree with this sentiment, and I think it’s one of the very few actual problems I had with the movie.

The next main problem that the article discusses is that Harrison Ford was brought back, while his co-star from the original Sean Young was left behind. Her character, Rachael, is in the movie, though off-screen. It is established rather early in the film that her character died seemingly shortly after the events of the first movie, during childbirth. This revelation is the driving force for the rest of the movie, as K is trying to find the child, due to personal curiosity, while Jared Leto’s Niander Wallace sends Sylvia Hoeks’s Luv to tail K, then bring the child back to him, feeling the need to make Replicants that can produce their own offspring. Rachael’s presence is felt throughout the movie, and even through CGI de-aging, she does make an important surprise cameo in the movie.

So, I’ve realized that I started this as a conversation/review of Blade Runner 2049, and have spent most of my time rebutting an article that I only somewhat disagree with. This may have not been the way I wanted to go about doing this, but it also let me get out some of my first and heaviest thoughts about the film. Now, we go on to my just rambling about a film I absolutely loved, but do have some issues with. First, something I wasn’t overly fond of. I know Villeneuve is a brilliant director, and very few people can tell a story like him and Roger Deakins. That being said, I was left a bit confused by the amount of nudity within the film. I’m not sure necessarily that it was gratuitous, and I’ll feel more certain about that after a second or third rewatch, but it was a bit overwhelming at times. (Particularly a giant holographic nude Joi, though I see why that scene in particular is important.) However, in dealing with nudity, this movie has one of the craziest and most interesting love scenes that I have ever seen. *Mild Spoilers Ahead, But Only Kind Of* There is a scene where K brings home Davis’s Mariette so that he and Joi can be together, physically. In doing so, de Armas’s holographic Joi “syncs” with Mariette, but the sync is slightly off. As such, while they are beginning to kiss and undress, Mariette and Joi seem to phase back and forth, as well as their hands are slightly differently placed on K. Like I said, it was crazy to watch, but definitely interesting. (Also note: very minimal nudity during that scene, almost as if Villeneuve is careful to point out the purity or innocence of this, compared to the lewdness of the streets.)

Overall, I absolutely loved Blade Runner 2049. For those of you looking for an answer as to whether Deckard is a Replicant or not, don’t worry. You don’t get an answer. For those of wondering if K is a Replicant, don’t worry. They tell you he is almost immediately. For those of you that may be worried that the studio made Gosling do a voiceover narration throughout the film, don’t worry. They didn’t. (I love the Original Theatrical Cut of the first movie, with Ford’s narration, but I  definitely think it was for the best that it was not done for this movie). Also, this movie plays out a bit more of just a regular Detective Story rather than more of the classic Film Noir that the original did, but it pays tribute to the original perfectly, without drowning itself in nostalgia or sequel teases. To sum up, I think that if you enjoyed the original, or if you just want a movie that’s different from most things you see, definitely give Blade Runner 2049 a shot. Hopefully you’ll have a better movie-going experience than I did. Side Note: there were two 15-16 year old girls that sat directly in front of me, there only because “Oh my god! Ryan Gosling is so hot!”, who were on their phones almost the entire time, and I still absolutely loved this movie.

P.S. - I feel I can’t talk too much about the main cast without ruining potential spoilers, so expect a much more in-depth spoiler-filled review coming later this week. I might even go watch it again, to reply and possibly counter some of my own arguments I made here, who knows?).

[bookwormguri]

A Kinda ‘Okja’ Analysis

I’m still peeved over Okja, but after gathering my thoughts and sleeping on it, I think I can more accurately discuss why I thought it was a bad movie.

Rest is under the cut if you don’t want to see the negative shit and because it got REALLY long.

I was finally able to pinpoint why Okja made me so angry. Going back and rewatching the trailers, to me it seemed like we were going to be in for a movie about the bond of friendship, a feel-good and possible heartbreaking story about Okja and Mija’s relationship. We did get that. And I find that part of the film to be it’s driving force and greatest pull. Unfortunately, the film gets bogged down by a ton of other messages, where nothing gets resolved.

The description of the movie on Netflix seems much more accurate that the trailers ever were (”A gentle giant and the girl who raised her are caught in the crossfire between animal activism, corporate greed and scientific ethics.”) which is also unfortunate seeing as the trailer is wat got me hyped for the film. To me, the film seemed to be going for The BFG or Pete’s Dragon feel through their trailer editing and language and I can’t help but feel lied to with the final product.

I understand why some people enjoy the movie. It does apply some commentary to the corporate greed aspect and is staunchly anti-capitalism which I LOVE. However, for its possible pro-vegetarianism message (as many fans seem to be taking it as) is not only misguided, but also confuses the tone of the film. The thing that makes me the angriest is how Okja and Mija’s bond and storyline seems to be sacrificed for these sensationalised themes.

I tried to break down the other issues I had with the film into the following categories.

Characterization  As much as every seems to love the ALF, what do we even know about our loveable bunch of not-terrorists? Aside from Jay, they can easily be categorised as ‘Snarky + one notable personality/physical trait + ALF Member.’ 

Red = Snarky Female ALF Member Silver = Snarky Hungry ALF Member Blonde = Snarky Big Guy ALF Member K = Steven Yeun

Trust me, I use the same technique when I need to make NPCs in D&D to make them seem like an actual person instead of a cardboard cutout. This technique is fine and dandy for the side characters that they are, but the characterization falls flat for many of the bigger characters as well.

Jay introduces himself as a lover of all living creatures. I thought he came off as creepy, which is why I thought the film was going to the set-up of “corporations are bad, but their opposite isn't altogether innocent either.” I was almost entirely sure we were going this route when Jay beats K, but no, not only was this completely out of character, but the ALF turn out to be the good guys through and through. 

I give some leeway to the Jay-K scene as it was during that absolute trash rape scene, so we can infer that Jay let his emotions get the better of him and he decided to throw away his non-violent creed in a fit of passion. Okay, sure. But what about why he goes to hit Okja with the mic stand and Mija stops him? Up until the point with K, Jay had been established as a person who did not act brashly like that, especially against and animal that he saw being raped and tortured. This is what I mean by poor characterization. When they can’t keep one of their titular characters IC, what’s even the point?

Speaking of titular character, let’s talk about Lucy. Aside from Mija, I think we got the best performance and characterization from Lucy. We got to know her motivations and insecurities throughout the film, which is why I can’t fucking fathom why they toss her aside to shoehorn in her sister as the titular villain. Oh wait, yes I can. Because without Nancy taking Lucy’s place as the villain at the very end we would have had no reason for the gratuitous slaughter house showdown. 

Why the filmmakers thought it was a good idea to bring in Nancy is beyond me. We spend almost the entire film with Lucy telling us how horrible and barbaric Nancy is, and once she’s introduced, BAM, she’s exactly that. No intrigue if Lucy’s perception of her sister is a bit biased. No investment to ‘beating’ Nancy like there was with Lucy. No. She was just there. 

Bong Joon-ho said in an interview that he scrapped the first ending of the film (where all the pigs in the slaughterhouse would be set free) because he’s too much of a realist and it would be too-Disney. Idk what is more Disney that the Nacy style of villain to be honest?

Lastly, let’s talk about Mija. Honestly, I found her performance to be the best out of everyone. Not surprising considering she is the lead, but there are still parts that are lacking. For one, while Mija’s single-minded determination to find Okja is fantastic to see, her poker face and steadfast gaze gets repetitive after a while. I would have loved to see more emotional scenes with her like when she was on the mountain (both in the beginning and end).

Speaking of emotions, why oh WHY, is this film allergic to even giving Mija’s close-up shots? You know what would have REALLY driven the emotional impact of Mija and Okja’s reuion? A fucking shot of Mija’s face as she realises how Okja has changed. OR when Jenifer not-so-subtly threatens Okja to get Mija to cooperate? Would have been nice.

What makes me the saddest is the missed opportunity during the slaughter-house showdown. Mija ‘celverly’ uses the golden pig to buy Okja (because who didn’t see that coming the minute she put it in her fanny pack?), but we’ve already seen how that pig means nothing to her from when she slams to the ground in the beginning. Her giving it up to Nancy carries no emotional weight and is honestly a poor climatic solution. Of course, it feeds into the message of corporate greed I spoke about before, but as I also said, it is at the expense of actual deep, emotional impact from Mija as she finally finally gets Okja back. I got more satisfaction from all the times Mija screams, “Okja-ya!!” 

Mixed Messages I really don’t think this film knows where to go with its final message. We’ve got the Homeward Bound or Fox and the Hound theme of best friends doing anything for one another and to get back home. Then we’ve got Lucy and later Nancy with the corporate greed, anti-capitalism side. THEN we have the animal rights theme being pushed quite heavy-handedly in the most grotesque scenes. And of course it introduces the ethics of science before forgetting it altogether. 

The problem is, this film was not great about balancing these issues in a way that didn’t make it seem like even the film didn’t know what it was going for. 

Furthermore, from what I’ve read in the Okja tag it seems like many people have chomped into the animal rights theme and refuse to let go. While I think the handling of the various themes could have been handled a lot better, it is no better to dismiss the other messages. Many people seem to mistakenly label the film as pro-Vegan and say they will stop eating meat after seeing the film. This is a perversion of the intent if I’ve ever seen one. While the film tries to shed a light on the horrible conditions of mass produced meat, it does not try to preach that all meat is bad. (Mija and her grandfather are farmers for christ’s sakes) I think many people are forgetting the beginning of the film where Mija has Okja catch a fish for her to make into stew? Or when her grandfather makes her “favorite” chicken stew?

Instead of stopping at the simple solution of “don’t eat meat” we need to delve further into what makes something have enough ethic to pass the standard of consumption (even as Silver mumbles about when refusing to eat a tomato). Of course, that is not an easy conversation to have because it inevitably will lead to a conversation about economic disparity and whom has access to a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. I don’t have the time to go into that here so I’ll just leave it at that.

Loose Ends Boy howdy are there a lot of them.

Why happened to Lucy after her sister says they won’t help her with legal fees? What happened to Wilcox? Why are Nancy and Frank even in cahoots? Why did none of the people watching a drunk Wilcox harvest from Okja stop him when we know Okja was not supposed to be harmed? Who the hell even were those people? How long was Okja in the lab? What caused her to go all rampage-y? Who the fuck where those three taste-testers and why did they take up valuable screen time? Who is K’s doctor friend? Hello Ms. Conveienient Plot Device? How are Jay and K able to break into Mirando’s slaughter-house with relative ease but not their lab? If they expected to get caught why even bring Mija? So she could say goodbye to Okja before she’s killed?

The question that is most important to me:

WHY DID WE NEVER REVISIT OKJA BEING AN ACTUALLY INTELLIGENT CREATURE?? LIKE, SHE SAVED MIJA FROM THE CLIFF AND SPENDS THE REST OF THE FILM ONLY REACTING TO WHEN MIJA CALLS HER NAME??? MY IDIOT CAT DOES THAT.

I’m sure there’s more that I could pick out if I watched the film again.

Tonal Issues My biggest gripe with the whole fucking movie was its tone issues. There was even one point I said to myself, “Oh, we’re not supposed to take this seriously, it's just a good-time film.” This, of course, was before the dark second half.

I’ve seen some people praise the film for being seamless in its transition from fart jokes to serious commentary, but I’d like to ask what about it was possibly seamless? I would have gotten whiplash it the tone was any more sporadic.

Furthermore, the ‘serious’ bits were mostly those with ‘graphic�� imagery like the rape scene or the whole slaughterhouse. I found the Wilcox and Okja scene was actually one of the better scenes, but it on top of the gratuitous rape scene ended up just feeling like bad torture porn. The Wilcox scene on its own would have stood up much better as it is a human doing the evil deeds, not another animal. That carries more emotional weight for Okja whom has never met another mutant pig.

The ALF and Mirando specifically suffer from tone issues and I have more to say about all of these problems, but I’ve already talked for long enough.