#Webb Bland

[itcars]

Dodge Charger Daytona EV

Image by Webb Bland || IG

[truebiger]

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1968 Dodge Charger R/T _Personal shoot with Sera and her stunning 572 Hemi '68 Charger R/T. 

I shot this series in 2016 alongside fellow photographer Richard Pardon, and the images have remained untouched on my server for two years, waiting for the correct treatment. Twenty-four months later, I've been able to give the sequence the attention it has deserved, shining a limelight on one of my personal all-time dream cars. And all in the most iconic paint scheme, no less. 

Photography/ Post-Production: Webb Bland Talent: Sera Trimble Hair/Makeup/Wardrobe: Raina Rishelle Collaboration with Richard Pardon

[lazywhispersobject]

Review: ‘Madame Web’ is actually a good movie. Yes, really.

I'm not gonna lie: while I was heading to the theater, I was concerned going into “Madame Web.” The majority of X, formerly known as Twitter, users seemed to be against what they saw as meager storylines and weak writing, characters, and performances, especially compared to other Sony/Marvel superhero movies, so I was hesitant. I was expecting “Madame Web” to be a lot worse than it was, but a few good performances and strong found family themes elevate “Madame Web” above some lesser Sony/Marvel superhero movies.

Columbia Pictures’ “Madame Web” was released in theaters on Feb. 14 and follows Cassandra Webb (played by Dakota Johnson), a paramedic in New York City. Webb finds herself having to protect three teenagers from Ezekiel Sims, a murderous adversary with superhuman powers who is hunting them.

“Madame Web” is set in 2003 and sort of pays homage to the conventions of the comic book movies of that era. The muted color palette and minimalistic special effects are all designed to remind viewers of movies like 2002’s “Spider-Man” or 2003’s “Daredevil.”

Also, like many of those movies, Webb is depicted as aloof and antisocial, with her friend having to drag her to social gatherings. Occasionally, with these characters it doesn’t feel realistic, but Johnson really sells it which makes it all the better when she finally finds her chosen family.

The other star of “Madame Web” is Adam Scott. I’ll admit that Scott and his glorious deadpan was half of the reason why I actually watched the movie in the first place, and he absolutely killed it as Ben Parker, a name most Spider-Man fans will recognize.

That’s the other thing about Sony’s recent Spider-Man Universe — it doesn’t have Spider-Man, but it gets really close. Sony is trying to convince people that its movies are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they’re not. It is this confusion that is driving audiences away from its movies after films like “Morbius,” which was both a critical and commercial failure. It’s a shame too, because with better marketing more people might be able to actually enjoy this movie.

I mentioned that Adam Scott was half the reason I wanted to watch “Madame Web,” the other half was because of Isabela Merced. Merced, known for her starring role as Dora the Explorer in 2019’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” brings layers to the role of Anya Corazon, who was my favorite of the three girls. The A-plus-student Corazon was one of my favorite characters in the 2017 “Spider-Man” animated series. Still, Merced portrays her as more than just an intellectual here, which I appreciated.

Sydney Sweeney and Celeste O’Connor were okay as Julia Cornwall and Mattie Franklin, but the script doesn’t give them much to do other than be a goody-two-shoes and a rebel, respectively.

The writing for “Madame Web” is kind of basic. The hero gets powers that she can’t control, finds the other main characters and must come into her power to save them – it’s all been done before. I am willing to forgive it, though, because of the ending.

I’m a sucker for the found family trope. It’s one of my favorites and “Madame Web” is a great example of it. Webb is initially reluctant to save the girls, but after learning that their real families have abandoned or left them, she takes it upon herself to protect them. By the end, Webb accepts Corazon, Cornwall and Franklin as her chosen family.

The villain in “Madame Web” is also bland. Sims sees a vision of Corazon, Cornwall and Franklin killing him, which is fine, but what I don’t get is why he doesn’t just try to talk to them first, instead of going right to hunting them.

I also thought the dialogue mixing for him was off. Whenever he spoke in voiceover, it sounded much deeper than his actual voice.

There was a lot of good humor in “Madame Web.” Johnson and Scott have a good rapport as Webb and Parker, with Scott stealing the spotlight in every scene he is in. The girls also have good chemistry.

The music was surprisingly good. I appreciated the use of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” as a plot device, and Tiffany’s cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” was also appropriate for the scene, because they were, in fact, alone.

Unlike most of X, I actually enjoyed “Madame Web.” If you ignore what people on the Internet say, maybe you will too.

by Tyler D'Errico - The Collegian

"Cassie"

Madame Web premiere

[peachypede]

One more oc because I wanted Calhoun to have a decent staff at the bug type sanctuary.

Name: Hani Kashino

Occupation: Research Assistant of Professor Calhoun Webb

Height: 5'0" (152 cm)

Weight: 115 lbs (52 kg)

Birthday: May 27th

Current Residence: Nacrene, Unova

Main Personality traits: Sweet/Sour, Bubbly, Curious, troublemaker

Likes: Bugs especially combee/vespiquen, flowery grass types, bright colors, making interesting conversation (likes to start arguments or make people uncomfortable), flowers, candy, wrestling (new like because of her occupation)

Dislikes: Dullness, boring and bland people, people who dislike bugs, dark color schemes

Fears: ?

Born and raised in Anville Town. Her father, a combee keeper, orginally came from Sinnoh and started a life with his wife in Anville due to it's quiet nature and room for the beehives. Hani's childhood was, aaccording to her, extremely boring and dull and she hated how nothing happened. This is possibly why she became such a trouble inciter nowadays.

Wanted a job that wasn't common, so she sought out the Bug Sanctuary because of the sense of adventure there. She enjoys it a lot and loves the hands-on nature of helping the bugs.

On her time off, she loves hanging out with people and will pester her coworkers to spend time with her. Those who know her outside of work know that she loves pressing buttons and getting reactions out of people, however.

[not-so-rosyyy]

When I say no less than 7 people texted me today to tell me how bad they think Sydney Sweeney is, I’m not joking. Between this trailer and the Madame Webb trailer, I was like wait, “is she a bad actress?” Cause let me tell you, the monotone bland delivery with no facial changes made me go oh no, she’s bad!

hmm, I really don't know about this because she was alright in Euphoria. and I heard she was great in Reality. so maybe she's just not for non-dramatic roles?

I have no bone to pick with Sydney, to be clear (unlike one anon implied in an ask I'm not answering bec they're just using it as an excuse to hate on another actress). I'm really just not sold on her / both of them on that particular romcom, and it pains me because everyone here knows I AM A FAN OF ROMCOMS 🥲

[petty-crush]

“Madam Web”

-this film’s stumble is a sadly common one, a nifty scenario cut down to shreds by bland committee suggestions

+every scene, almost every edit, suggest a tree never allowed to stretch its branches

-a pity, because the cast here is good, but they have nothing to do

-according to a interview with star Dakota Johnson (via ‘thewrap’) it was originally about a time traveling villain hoping to kill spider man before birth, and the gals all coming together to stop this occurrence, terminator style

-now that would have been awesome.

-how strange it is to imagine Emma Roberts (radiant and charming as ever) as peter Parker’s mom. Timelines are a funny thing

-the best sequence is when Cassie Webb (Johnson) goes back in time—“Christmas Carol” style— to see that her mother took a trip to the Amazon to cure her in womb daughter’s fatal prognosis

+hence she can let go of the pain and stop hating her

-I will wildly speculate this scene was emotionally highly satisfying to director SJ Clarkson. It feels more involved in a directorial way

-how much p/e/p/s/I is in this flick? And none of it cherry

-I sensibly chuckled when clairvoyant Web made a snide comment to Ben Parker loving being a uncle as all fun and no responsibility “no, it won’t be like that”

-that level of dopey fun is sorely needed in this film

-must all the spider peeps be orphans, literal or symbolic?

-seeing them in a dream, actually using powers, is such a cheat

-once again, my body cries out to “start with action and world. Allude to past events that build up the present via flashbacks” Ala Batman 89

-this is especially notable as the Amazon journey is repeated, first as an intro, then towards a flashback which actually has stakes to the world

-one of the joys of the raimi spider man films (ya know, the ones that earned billions) was letting dorks with horror tendencies make something in the eternally dark and existential spidey universe.

+Letting their freak flag fly. Not cutting off their legs

-until then the entries become forgettable, not entertaining goof ups that make the audience want to give their money for mirth

[meek7]

Check it out

[french-pharaoh]

Curren$y for RIDES MAGAZINE

📸: Webb Bland

[bobbyinthegarden]

Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb (Review)

Spoilers ahead (though I will give a warning when I really get into spoiler-y territory)

I spoke a little bit about this book in the February Reading Wrap-up post, that’s essentially the TL;DR version of this post. If you want an even short version: I did not like this book very much.

Return to the Secret Garden is a 2015 sequel to The Secret Garden, written by British author Holly Webb. Prior to this book, I was actually aware of Holly Webb as an author, the front covers of her various books are very familiar to me, as somebody who was a child in the 2000s and who used to spend a lot of time in the library, and I remember having a copy of her book Alfie All Alone at home (though I don’t remember reading it – I might have done, not sure). She’s quite a prolific author, and (based on perusing her Goodreads page) seems to write mostly for the pre-teen girl demographic, with many of her stories centering around cute animals (puppies, kittens and the like), which explains the cat sub-plot in this book. 

I don’t know if all editions of the book have this, but in the copy of Return to the Secret Garden that I bought, there is an interview with Webb at the end, in which she states that The Secret Garden is one of her all-time favourite books, and that she took a lot of care to craft a story that felt true to the original work. I do believe her when she says this, that is to say that I don’t think that this book is just a shameless cash grab.

The book opens in 1939, at the initial outbreak of the Second World War. Children at a London Orphanage are being evacuated to Misselthwaite because of the treat of bombing. We are introduced to our protagonist, a ten year old girl named Emmie. Emmie is honestly kind of a tough character for me, because as a protagonist I don’t find her especially distinctive. She’s meant to embody some of the unpleasantness that Mary exhibits at the beginning of the original book, but she’s also clearly meant to be likeable and relatable to the hypothetical ten year old girl who is reading the book, and so much of Mary’s meanness has been shaved off. Personally, I found her to be a difficult character to warm to, mostly just finding her to be quite bland. I spoke about this in my February Reading Wrap-up post, but it really didn’t help that I had just finished reading The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin right before this book, as Tenar (the protagonist of that book, also a young girl, though at fifteen, she is older than Emmie), to be an incredibly psychologically interesting and flawed character whose arc is riveting to follow. I can’t say that same about Emmie, she just doesn’t have that much depth.  

The story has many of the same plot elements of the original book, such as:

the previously discussed mean-spirited, lonely orphan

a rich child, who cries in the night

a grumpy but ultimately kind older gardener character (in this case, that role is filled by Dickon)

an absent father (in this case, the father is Colin, who is in the Navy and so is away fighting in the war)

the garden, which Emmie discovers

animal companions (both a robin, as in the original, and cat)

As this list would imply, several of the characters from the original book are present here, with Mary, Colin, Dickon and Martha all making appearances. Mary and Colin are married, and they have two sons, one of whom is Jack (the rich child, who cries in the night) who is the same age as Emmie. Having Mary and Colin be married or romantically involved is a trend that I’m noticing a lot with adaptations (it’s also present in the 1987 TV movie). Surprisingly though, neither of them are in the story that much, Colin is only physically present for one scene, and, while Mary is physically present for much of the book, she doesn’t do very much, and so her presence is definitely lacking somewhat – she’s also oddly bubbly, which seems like an odd characterisation to me. Speaking of odd characterisation, Dickon’s portrayal was also confusing, his characterisation is completely different to how it is in the original book. I suppose you could justify it by saying that Webb is giving commentary about the ways in which war changes people, which is admirable, but the character just didn’t feel like Dickon at all. Martha is here too, she doesn’t do very much either though, and so her presence feels extremely small.  

The plot is not really memorable or distinctive enough to really analyse. It’s just The Secret Garden, but like… less interesting. The one noteworthy thing that happens (major spoiler alert here) is that Colin dies after his ship sinks around halfway through the book. I would applaud Webb for such a radical move, killing one of the original central characters, but honestly it mostly just feels contrived, like they really needed something to make this story more interesting and add angst.

One noteworthy element of the story is the diary aspect. The story is told in-part through Mary’s diary, which essentially tell the story of the original book, and which Emmie read (this is how she comes to learn about the garden). It’s worth noting that Mary never kept a diary in the original book, this diary is purely an invention of Webb’s. As a plot contrivance, it’s mostly useful for exposition, though it does feel a little tedious for somebody who has already read and knows the plot of the original book. I suppose the diary element would be useful for somebody who had never read (or watched a film version) of the original – though I don’t know why somebody would read this book if they weren’t already familiar with the original. Also, it took much too long for Emmie to realise that the people she was reading about in the diary are the same people who she interacts with every day, indeed the knowledge that Mary and Dickon in the diary are Mrs Craven and Mr Sowerby is treated somewhat like a reveal, which just seemed very odd and unnecessary to me.

As I’m sure you can tell, I didn’t like this book very much. But the worst part is that there isn’t really a lot to say about it. In terms of the writing, there’s nothing wrong with the prose, and other than the off characterisation, there’s nothing that really stands out about it.

[ourpretender]

— webbe library. @rejectory

by no means, is oliver the naturally studious sort. he's marking his notes simply because there is little else to do. michael gavey has left him to his own devices — stubbornness apparent alongside pride — and the anticipation he tends to nestle in, wavers, lies chipped and aimless. there is little waiting for him, not even a peek of sun. the work is predictably bland, the speeches humming like white-grey noise, and oliver itches for nothing. he blends into the furniture, some half-molted thing that twitches, piques to wariness only when splotches of colour bleed into view. opposing all tradition (even mocking the muted ceiling, lined and painted and mathematical) as well as the antiquarian quiet is farleigh. the wound is fresh, the scabs are rubbed raw. it isn't masochistic, nor cruel, nor competitive when oliver holds his gaze.

[truebiger]

[jwilliams051197]

Madame Web (2024) Review

I don't even know why Sony is just keeping on making these Spider-Man movies without Spider-Man. At least with Venom, he built an identity away from Spider-Man so I can possibly see solo movies being made of him. But Morbius or the topic of this movie, Madame Web, have never had solo comics. They are strictly supporting characters and cannot sustain a single film themselves, they aren't interesting enough for that.

I do admit, I did have slight hope when I heard the director of the film is the same director from some Netflix MCU shows, S.J. Clarkson. Hoping that some of her competent directing would at least make this somewhat watchable, but no, the writing and editing in this is so terrible that it doesn't matter who directed this.

The writing in this is just atrocious, and the characters they chose to be in this make the whole Spider-Man universe feel so damn contrived. Like Cassandra Webb being friends with Ben Parker sounds like something that would happen in a bad fan fiction, not a Hollywood produced film.

Not to mention, this is probably one of the most boring action movies I've ever watched. When something exciting does happen, it ends up being a vision. Not only does it make it really hard to get invested in the plot and these characters, but it also ruins the pacing of this movie.

The villain of the movie, Ezekiel, is just so bland, and looks nothing like his comic counterpart (except for one split second in a vision). Much like most of the cast in this, a lot of them are bland and none of them talk like actual human beings.

I really hope Sony stops with these. No one wants these movies. These movies are just a transparent ploy to keep the movie rights of Spider-Man away from Marvel, which they deserve the rights to.

★

[sucede-es]

1968 Camaro Z/28 - Lifestyle Webb Bland

[itcars]

Ferrari 288 GTO

Images by Webb Bland || IG

[engineandlifestyle]