#and i adore the planet of the apes trilogy

[theshinazugawaslut]

can you give us a list of all your fictional crushes ? ALL OF THEM

Sure!

in anime:

Sanemi Shinazugawa (Demon Slayer)

Genya Shinazugawa (Demon Slayer)

Gyutaro Shabana (Demon Slayer)

Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer)

Yoriichi Tsugikuni (Demon Slayer)

Michikatsu Tsugikuni (Demon Slayer)

Iguro Obanai (Demon Slayer)

Sabito Fujikasane (Demon Slayer)

Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer)

Kanroji Mitsuri (Demon Slayer)

Kotaha Hashibira (Demon Slayer)

Bakugou Katsuki (My Hero Academia)

Todoroki Shoto (My Hero Academia)

Todoroki Touya/Dabi (My Hero Academia)

Shigaraki Tomura (My Hero Academia)

Kirishima Eijirou (My Hero Academia)

Overhaul (My Hero Academia)

Izuku Midoriya/Deku (My Hero Academia)

Isaac Foster/Zack (Angels of Death)

Sukuna Ryomen (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Yuuji Itadori (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Choso Kamo (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Kento Nanami (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Geto Suguru (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Levi Ackerman (Attack On Titan)

Eren Jaeger (Attack On Titan)

Noe (The Case Study of Vanitas)

Enishi Yukishiro (Ruroni Kenshin: The Final live-action)

favourites from the list: Sanemi Shinazugawa, Bakugo Katsuki, Levi Ackerman, Enishi Yukishiro, Isaac Foster, Genya Shinazugawa

outside of anime: ///// it gets concerning here, please understand

Godzilla (Godzilla: King of Monsters)

Caesar (Planet of the Apes trilogy)

Koba (Planet of the Apes trilogy)

Toothless (How To Train Your Dragon)

Hiccup (How To Train Your Dragon)

Viggo Grimborn (HTTYD: Dragons Race To The Edge)

Venom (Marvel Venom)

Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians)

Pitch Black (Rise of the Guardians)

Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action)

Riven (Winx Club)

Sky (Winx Club)

Flora (Winx Club)

Optimus Prime (Transformers)

Ultron (Avengers)

Holly O'Hair (Ever After High)

Enzo Kang/Four (To The Edge of the Sky - visual novel)

Remy/Six (To The Edge of the Sky)

Ko Daehyeon/Five (To The Edge of the Sky)

Nine (To The Edge of the Sky)

Zero (To The Edge of the Sky)

Lloyd (Lego: Ninjago)

Young Lord Garmadon (Lego Ninjago)

favourites from list: Leonardo (TMNT - it's a turtle, get over it), Caesar (yes, I know he's an ape), Venom (idc), Enzo (I love assassin men), Godzilla (yeah, attack me), Optimus Prime (so fine and for what?)

celebrity crushes:

Min Yoongi/Suga (BTS)

Jeon Jungkook (BTS)

Park Jimin (BTS)

Kim Seokjin (BTS)

Kim Namjoon/RM (BTS)

Jung Hoseok/J-Hope (BTS)

Kim Taehyung/V (BTS)

There's more to each list but these are the basic ones

[sweet-old-hereafter]

I wanna talk about Soona!

I’ve seen a lot of antis say nomaes hate her. Where?

From a watsonian perspective: Soona has done nothing wrong. She’s kind and loyal. She is not “getting in the way” of nomae just by existing

From a doylist perspective: My first instinct is to say ’underdeveloped’ but I don’t think that’s a fair assessment at this point in the franchise, especially when she has so little screen time. Soona’s strength as a character depends on what happens in subsequent films, imo.

Soona is being set up as a love interest to Noa, there’s no denying that. Whether that’s as his endgame or as one corner of a love triangle is yet to be seen.

Ever heard of Chekhov’s gun?

"If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise, don't put it there."

Think about this. What will Noa ending up with Soona mean, thematically? What will it mean for Planet of the Apes, as a speculative science fiction franchise? Soona is not only another chimp; she’s from his clan, he grew up with her, he knows and trusts her. They seem to be within the same class. There’s no barriers or challenges between them.

It’s low hanging fruit. It would mean nothing.

Movies are written, blocked, and directed with purpose. Or at least, that’s a principle of storytelling; that no element should be introduced without SOME thematic or narrative purpose. And what drives a narrative? Conflict.

So if -

- Noa’s ‘we were born close together’ ass comment

- Noa refusing to choose between Mae and Soona even when she had a knife to her throat

-Noa taking Soona on a date to the observatory where he first looked at Mae with awe

actually all mean nothing, then that’s pretty shoddy direction and a violation of a very basic storytelling device. The film(s) will be worse for including a romantic arc at all.

So, I’d be more inclined to believe Noa and Soona are endgame if there was SOME obstacle between them, or if there weren’t these random parallels. I want to have faith in this trilogy! Do I? Eh…time will tell. Not getting my hopes up too high.

I do adore her character design.

[ape-apocalypse]

Road To The Kingdom - Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Film

I remember seeing the trailers for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, shaking my head at yet another remake of a long-ago franchise. In 2011, we were hearing rumors of a new Spider-Man coming to replace Tobey Maguire and now I was looking at Harry, son of the Green Goblin, becoming a scientist and creating a drug to make apes smarter. On the other hand, Andy Serkis was getting a main role, more screen time than Gollum in Lord of the Rings, where I adored him and was eager to see him again. I was going in with some hesitation but decided to just turn my brain off for a summer action movie. 

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed Rise. Many fans seem to put this as their least favorite of the reboot trilogy. I can understand why; it doesn't have nearly as much action as Dawn or War and runs at a slower pace. But what it did have was fantastic character building in Caesar, which is needed in this trilogy. I would not be as engaged with these movies if I didn't love Caesar. Seeing him start as a little baby with his human family living a carefree youth, and then grow into a mature ape questioning his place in the world really filled out his character. He could have easily just been a random lab chimp who got smarter but I think the slow-build really fleshes him out. You empathize with him when he protects James Franco's father to the point of biting a neighbor. The human world completely turns on him and Caesar is forced to realize his true nature as an ape. 

Andy Serkis is truly allowed to shine in this role. Gollum was fun and had the two different sides to play with but there is such a powerful subtlety to this performance. Though Caesar can sign, it's mostly not translated into subtitles; only in two conversations with Maurice does the audience get a translation. The majority of the film and Caesar's story is carried out entirely through his expressions, gestures, and body language. Look at the tall confident walk he has when directing Rocket to give cookies to the other apes. The heartbreak I felt as Caesar's expression falls when his human family says he can't go home. The wordless fury when Buck the gorilla sacrifices himself on the bridge to bring down the helicopter and save the escaping apes. Even when the story can get bogged down a bit in the constant science explanations, I immediately perk up when the focus switches back to Caesar and can soak in the incredible performance of Andy Serkis.

Rise is much less action filled than its sequel films because it has to cover a lot as set up for the apocalypse to come. That set up is good, but again the science is a lot and can be a bore. However I think the pay off works. The horror of a simple graphic of the Earth, where one line splits and becomes many more, spreading across the planet, was very effective for me. I've heard people who didn't like that the apocalypse that destroys the human race is done in the credits, that it feels more like an afterthought. But for me, I think it was a powerful hook. Halfway through watching the film for the first time, I'd forgotten that this was Rise of the PLANET of the Apes. So I was excited for Caesar and his apes to escape, just happy that they'd gotten their freedom. Then the sick pilot and the spreading sickness animation hit me like a ton of bricks like "Oh shit, I forgot the humans have to die for the ape world to happen!" This probably didn't happen for everyone, especially those familiar with the original movies, but I liked the ending, undercutting the triumph of the apes with the doom of humanity.

Other than Will and his father Charles, the rest of the human cast is mostly forgettable, servicing the story where needed. Tom Felton of Harry Potter fame is a bit fun in his over-the-top hatred of the apes. When he gets to say the iconic "get your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape", my movie theater laughed at how forced the line felt, which I'm sure was not the intention. The weirdness of the line was swallowed up by the excitement of Caesar speaking for the first time and leading the apes out of the shelter, but I still remember the laughter of the audience when rewatching this movie. 

Overall, I think it's a great start to the series. Not the most exciting of the films, definitely dragged down by a lot of science exposition and unremarkable human characters, but a good intro to the world, setting up the apocalypse and making you root for a bunch of apes over the humans. You probably could jump directly into Dawn and War if you wanted, just knowing that humanity was wiped out by an illness that made apes smarter and Caesar is the leader, but I think getting to know Caesar makes it worth a watch before the more exciting films.

(Note that this is the only movie in this trilogy that does not have a novelization, likely because it was the first film and they didn't know how well the trilogy would do. It's a shame because I would have loved to read the thoughts of Caesar finding his place among both humans and apes.)

Intro / Next

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Summer 2024 Movie Reviews

So, imo opinion, while the BO of the summer movie season has been pretty ordinary until Bad Boys 4 and Inside Out 2, I have to say that I think the quality of the summer movies have been pretty good.

The Fall Guy was honestly a lot of fun. I feel bad this film has flopped but Gosling and Blunt were excellent and Gosling's comic timing was pitch perfection. Great action and a fun mystery story made for a really entertaining movie. An 8/10 for me.

IF was another winner from John Krasinski. A little on the slower side, but the second half of the film is a real winner emotionally, even if the final twist was relatively predictable. Reynolds takes a back seat, allowing Cailey Fleming to drive the film with both him and Krasinki providing solid support, along with a host of celebrity voices for all the IFs, with Steve Carrell's Blue being the adorable standout. A 7/10 for me.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was a film that released far too removed from Fury Road. Its a really well made film, with great vehicular action set pieces, but it really is a companion peace to Fury Road and should have been released within a few years of that. Hemsworth arguably delivers his best performance, stealing the show, with Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne both impressive as Furiosa. Film falls into the category of films that probably wasn't really necessary, but was still damn entertaining. A 7.5/10.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was a worthy successor the excellent Apes trilogy. These films are much better than they had any right to be, somehow able to make genuinely thoughtful movies. This one was on the slower side, and the human aspect of the story sometimes takes too much time, but I appreciated how they showed the positive and negative impact of Caesar and the world of this movie is fascinating. Noa was a likable lead. Idk if they would follow this character though, as compared to Caesar, who was the leader of the Apes. Curious to see where this franchise goes next. A 7/10.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die continues the winning run of the Bad Boys franchise. It may be controversial to say this, but I have enjoyed Bad Boys 3 and 4 more than the first 2. I feel they are better constructed movies and the more matured characters mean that there is less yelling at each other constantly. I didn't completely get the villain motivations in this movie, but I thought it was hilarious. Like with the last film, Lawrence carries the humor and Smith handles the drama. Lawrence is a riot in this movie and Smith continues to be one of the few stars who just oozes movie star charisma. Well support by the supporting cast. A 8/10.

Inside Out 2 is another winner for Pixar. I loved last year's Elemental, and I have generally thought the recent Pixar run has been pretty good, having liked Luca, Turning Red, Onward, and Soul. Lightyear was also decent thought relatively disappointing. But Inside Out is still a return to form, while not a top tier Pixar film, which I reserve for the Toy Story films, Finding Nemo, Up, The Incredibles, and the first Inside Out, but it is very much in the top of the second tier. It doesn't have the emotional gut wrenching scenes that the first one had with Bing Bong and the climax, but it has a strong message and impactful climax. Best film of the summer so far. An 8.5/10.

All in all, summer has been good quality wise. Wish Furiosa and The Fall Guy had done better at the BO. IF and KOTPOTA have done decently and honestly, The Fall Guy should have had a slightly lower budget because a non IP action movie making around $90 million domestic is not bad. Furiosa just was a film made way too late. It needed to pick up on Fury Road's popularity but 9 years later, no one really cared, despite it being a good movie. Mad Max is too niche of a franchise for gaps like that. Bad Boys 4 seems to be doing well and IO2 seems to be a monster opener.

[lxchadora]

Actinium: favourite band?  Americium: favourite book/movie genre?  Antimony: do you play video games? which is your favourite?  Arsenic: favourite book?  Bismuth: favourite class when you were in school?  Californium: if you could go anywhere, where would you go?  Carbon: are you a romantic?  Cobalt: do you like to stay up later or wake up earlier?  Gallium: favourite fictional character(s)?  Hydrogen: how many pets do you have?  Indium: what kind of pets do you have?  Iodine: what kind of pets do you want to have?  Krypton: do you want to dye your hair? what colour?  Lanthanum: favourite smell? Mendelevium: what movie have you seen the most?  Neon: what’s something you want to say to someone right now?  Palladium: favourite number?  Potassium: Do you like rollercoasters?  Praseodymium: any scars?  Protactinium: favourite colour scheme(s)?  Roentgenium: favourite movie quote?  Technetium: coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?  Vanadium: are you any good at sports? if so, which ones? 

Actinium: favourite band?

I couldn't decide on one. It depends on my mood. I like Pink Floyd a lot. And Metallica is also one of the few bands where I really know and like a lot of songs.

Americium: favourite book/movie genre? 

For books I'd say sci fi and dystopia, but the last book trilogy I read was fantasy and I loved it. I'd like to explore that genre further. I don't read as much as I think I should. My favorite movie genre is either also sci fi and dystopia or horror/thriller.

Antimony: do you play video games? which is your favourite? 

I haven't played any video games in a long time, but I love Mass Effect and I also adored Detroit Become Human and Beyond Two Souls.

Arsenic: favourite book? 

I haven't read it in a long time but The Host by Stephenie Meyer was a phenomenal read. And The Hunger Games was soo good.

Bismuth: favourite class when you were in school? 

English.

Californium: if you could go anywhere, where would you go? 

There are a lot of places I'd love to visit. I'd love to see the Grand Canyon.

Carbon: are you a romantic? 

I am capable of being that.

Cobalt: do you like to stay up later or wake up earlier? 

Both.

Gallium: favourite fictional character(s)? 

Magna from TWD, Rosita Espinosa, Daryl Dixon, Miranda Lawson, Jack Nought, Thane Krios, Aria T'loak, Justicar Samara and so many more.

Hydrogen: how many pets do you have?

None.

Indium: what kind of pets do you have?

Answered above.

Iodine: what kind of pets do you want to have?

Honestly, none. I'm not a pet kind of person. If I had to pick a pet, I'd go for a cat.

Krypton: do you want to dye your hair? what colour? 

I'd go for golden blonde if I had the money. But I don't and I hate bad dye jobs. So I am not gonna dye it anytime soon.

Lanthanum: favourite smell?

Coconut and vanilla.

Mendelevium: what movie have you seen the most?

I tend to watch shows more than movies. I'm not sure if I have seen any movie multiple times but Planet of the Apes and Mr. Nobody are on my list of movies that I am going to watch a second time.

Neon: what’s something you want to say to someone right now? 

I've been missing hanging out with my best friend. I just told her, I'm about to share my ideas for our next date.

Palladium: favourite number? 

I like the number nineteen.

Potassium: Do you like rollercoasters?

No.

Praseodymium: any scars? 

No.

Protactinium: favourite colour scheme(s)?

Light pink, rose gold, white, mauve and champagner; burgundy, black and sapphire; black and jade green, just to name a few.

Roentgenium: favourite movie quote?

"When I say love, the sound comes out of my mouth and it hits the other person's ear, travels through this byzantine conduit in their brain through their memories of love or lack of love, and they register what I'm saying and they say yes, they understand. But how do I know they understand? Because words are inert. They're just symbols. They're dead, you know? And so much of our experience is intangible. So much of what we perceive cannot be expressed. It's unspeakable. And yet you know, when we communicate with one another and we feel that we have connected and we think that we're understood I think we have a feeling of almost spiritual communion. And that feeling might be transient, but I think it's what we live for. "

A very long quote, I know, but I love it. That whole movie is beautiful.

Technetium: coffee, tea, or hot chocolate? 

Hot chocolate. The vegan variant with oat milk.

Vanadium: are you any good at sports? if so, which ones? 

Does stretching count as sport? I'm flexible.

[hopeymchope]

This doesn't really belong here, but oh well: Planet of the Apes time

The recent release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes looked weirdly good to me in its trailer? Maybe 2024 is just sort of light on movies to feel hyped about, idk.

It's strange because the whole "Planet of the Apes" thing never really appealed to me. I know the jist, of course. Everybody has absorbed information about the 1968 original via cultural osmosis, even if I've never actually watched it. And I've lived through the entire reboot trilogy from the 2010s, so I'm vaguely aware of the basics of what they were doing from their promotional campaigns. But like... apes. I never cared before now.

Yet somehow, something about Kingdom's ad campaign convinced me to go back and stream the recent Planet of the Apes 2010s-era reboot trilogy, casually watching them for the first time.

Well, I MEANT it to be a "casual" watch, anyway. By the second movie, I couldn't tear myself away. And now I can't stop thinking about them??? I'm partly obsessed with the motion capture tech and performances, which are just gobsmacking. Andy Serkis, y'know? The MOCAP GOAT.

But I'm also pretty obsessed with some of the these characters. Casesar is such a deep and compelling character that he carries the entire series despite being a CGI chimp. Koba is impossible to tear my eyes away from, with a heel-turn that I both totally understood yet hated to see happen. I adore an orangutan named Maurice now. Absolute fave.

Quick rundown of thoughts on the trilogy:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes — This was... fine. It is a movie that exists, but I don't feel particularly positive OR negative towards it. There are some great moments in here, but the greater package is kind of "whatever." This just feels like it's mostly just prologue/setup to something bigger, and... well, that proves to be true. But it does introduce us to important characters and give us background on them.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes — This was so fucking great. ABSOLUTELY my jam. Suspenseful throughout, fantastic human and ape characters, performances are stellar on both sides. Gary Oldman is barely in it and still makes me want to curl up and cry in a scene he has with NO DIALOGUE, that guy is so peak. Hell, this MOVIE is so peak. I don't even want to say too much. The journey was worth it for 'Dawn' ALONE.

War for the Planet of the Apes — Is this as good as 'Dawn'? No. Is it a good conclusion to the story arc of lead character Caesar the chimpanzee? Eh... not really imo. Is it obvious by now that this series utterly failed ALL its female characters? HELL fucking yes; big problem. Is it still a really, really good movie somehow in spite of all that? Actually, YEAH. Director Matt Reeves really knows how to handle some intense emotional storytelling and some really suspenseful scenes that make it a still-powerful experience overall. I was still riveted by this thing.

....guess now I'll have to see Kingdom.

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

From the drafts...

Rewatching Trilogy of Terror I was struck by how little I’ve changed.

Preschool me: Awww, I love that little fetish doll. It’s so cute! I want one!

Middle Aged me: Awww, that little fetish doll is so cute I can’t stop giggling when it’s on screen. Now where so I pack I away my replica...

Once upon a time my mother thought I was way too young to watch anything with horror in the title, even if I had fallen for the knife wielding doll from a magazine artical my parents had.  Pop wasn’t so worried, but let Mom try to keep me in the bedroom while he watched. Every time she looked away I went running down the hall to watch with Pop. She’d come to fetch me, so I’d miss chunks. I was incredibly annoyed by this.

Mom was always convinced movies and tv shows would scare me. Planet of the Apes on tv? She’s say no, Pop would say sure, she’d reluctantly give in, and I’d become a life long PotA fan. Pop would, to Mom’s amazement, read to me at bedtime from a book called Haunted New England, full of moody photos and “true” stories. None of it bothered me at all.

Yes, I was prone to nightmares, but they were real world things about school, doctors, possiblefamily deaths, and the sense I would never find my “home”.**

The only time I ever remember being upset by a scary work of fiction was when I was about 6 or 7 and some tv show about Alfred Hitchcock showed clips from Psycho edited together, including most the shower scene. Now that freaked me out. Worse, because the editing showed Norman using a peephole before the murder I got confused and thought the killer cut through the wall. For a couple years I wouldn’t take a bath without the bathroom door open so I could run away if a knife stuck through the wall. Considering the neighbors let their dogs run free (everybody  around here did...I never saw a dog on a leash as a kid) there were plenty of mysterious thunks outside the wall to freak me out.

I never had a nightmare about psycho either.

The morning after Trilogy of Terror Pop told me the whole story of the doll, acting it out with real energy. His acting of the final shot was so chilling I used to  ask him to do it again for me. When I finally saw the show as a teen I admit I was surprised how much scarier Pop made it seem.

Honestly, the little doll is adorable in the way the Gremlins are or the Martians in Mars Attacks are. Just looking at him and his gosh darn homicidal enthusiasm, while absurdly smaller than his prey, seems.....cute.

And now all those faces with scarp teeth or fangs that I sculpt makes sense!

Or does it? I mean, tiny me was drawn little Mr. Toothy from a simple photo, with no clue of the story. So maybe I was always weird!

**I dunno. I have a life long “I want to go home!” thing. I’d wake up inconsolable because this place wasn’t really home. I may have inherited that from my father. In moments of great distress he’d say “I want to go home”, but considering he moved to this hick town where he was bullied when he was 13 or so it made actual sense.    

[birdbird11]

Planet of the Apes: Full Franchise review!

My family decided to re-watch all the Planet of the Apes movies. We had seen the Rise trilogy recently, but it had been a very long time since we had seen the original five or the Tim Burton one. So here are my thoughts:

First thing first: The Time Burton Planet of the Apes movie was awful! I could go on for ages about it, but I don’t want to drag this post out for that mess, so I will summarize. The set design was very cool, and the ape make-up was fantastic! Everything else including plot and character was questionable at best and downright terrible at worst. 10/10 would NOT recommend

The Rise trilogy (the newer Andy Serkis films) were amazing as always! When we first saw them we loved them, and watching them again is a treat. But watching it right after the originals was really special because we picked up on so much more detail and nods to the original series that worked so well! 

The originals. It had been years since I saw the originals, and while yes they were cheesy, and yes not all five were amazing, I still deeply enjoyed them! Especially the characterization! All the main ape characters (Zira, Cornelius and Caesar) were so lovely! There were so many sweet moments between Zira and Cornelius in Escape, so many moments that made them feel like a genuine married couple, so much emotion and connection! And Caesar was so dynamic! There is so much emotion through the eyes and body language, and even through the makeup! It was older and a little bulky at times but the actors still showed so much emotion and character through and with the makeup that it became invisible. I adored re-watching the original series, and am doubly certain in my belief that the Planet of the Ape franchise (minus Tim Burton) is one of the best.

[bluewithpurplepolkadots]

thatdoodlebug1

i want to watch the new star wars films just to know all the kylo controversy...i havent seen a character so divisive to fans probably since the harry potter fandom?!

--

I can get people liking Snape honestly or finding him interesting even though he’s controversial and not a nice person. Rowling had however a story with him she wanted to tell which she seemed to stick to even if I felt it was flawed. She seemed to have an idea of what she wanted to do with him.

Kylo Ren... uuuuhhh. No. He’s awful but parts of the fandom adored him and what’s worse is Disney seemed to listen to them. That’s the major issue I feel: Kylo Ren fans and those who ship him with Rey were the section of fandom who, actually in their own way, messed with canon. Perhaps this is something we should have realised in the age of twitter and direct contact to creators like never before but... wow.

Another reason they had an effect is because it’s clear Disney didn’t have a real plan for the trilogy after The Force Awakens and they decided to give certain people what they wanted. And it sucked! 

God He’s just terribly written. He wasn’t at first. I mean I can obviously like villains, but he’s just... nope. A short summary honestly but it gets long. I only watched TFA twice and the other movies once and it’s been a while, but here’s my take on it. (Yeah I haaate him, sorry, also a video at the end I’ve seen recently which is a good sum up as well).

Also his fans just don’t behave well at all.

He’s an excellently written and terrible person in the first movie imo, The Force Awakens. The... only movie I like of the new trilogy honestly.

 Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is the child of Han and Leia and is a terrible person! Which is honestly a fun idea. He’s also however someone who helps destroys multiple planets and is basically modelled after neo-nazis if anyone: sort of aping how Vader himself was also modelled after modern political anxieties in the 1970s. Also this time it’s the kid of the heroes who is terrible rather than a parent. But he’s like 30. So.

The group KR belongs to clearly apes nazism given how they talk about ‘degenerates’ even if of course it smells a bit like set dressing at points: and he is an entitled white man who has wild tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. He acts like a pathetic child despite being like 30, was born to privilege and power and wants more-, kills his dad Han Solo and is the reason in fact all the old school trio eventually die so yeah I think anyone who likes the OT would hate his guts even if I’m not a major SW stan.

He tortures both Rey and Poe too in TFA. He also almost kills Finn and Rey with all this horrific imagery- I mean he basically has a burning cross as a lightsaber and he’s chasing after a black guy and the white woman with him... jesus christ. And like Finn, Rey and Poe are all actually likeable characters so you know- it doesn;t endear you to him. At all.

 Basically all the symbolism with Kylo Ren as the modern altright was not subtle- it made Vader look subtle and honestly Vader doesn’t even look half as bad as him. Vader at least had class and a sympathetic backstory- even though he obviously still had to die too for what he’d done. Rather than taking the chance his father offers him to change his ways, he instead kills Han.

And then the next two movies basically forces him into leather pants because loud parts of the online fandom became obsessed with him. Though a part if is because the trilogy has two directors and it seems neither of them ever passed notes to one another. It seems neither of them knew what the hell they were doing or I think in the last films case it’s clear Disney meddled way too hard- even the director there is clearly not happy at all.

Basically Star Wars has become a major example of why fan pandering in the age of twitter is such a bad idea. You need a plan before hand and while details can change the broad strokes need to be there and you need to actually stick to it.

You know despite Finn being the better candidate for a redemption arc, a stormtrooper stolen away as a child who stood up! TFA is great and I’m so sad it got messed around by TLJ and then TROS.

Rey even has to kiss Kylo for some reason in the last film.  When he like tortured her in the first, proved himself irredeemable and got millions of people killed. They clearly did it literally for fan service (which hilariously novelisations are backpedaling as a kiss of gratitude) because there are buckets of people online obsessed with the two boinking.

Hilariously this didn’t make them happy either because he died in the end. For some reason they thought he should be skipping in fields of flowers and kissing Rey. So like the last film, everyone basically hated it which was kind of hilarious.

Honestly I’d say Kylo Ren is part and parcel basically an indicator species of how misguided the direction in Sequel Trilogy Star Wars was. He wasn’t the only reason it sucked but TLJ was a drag with him in it, and the hyperfocus on him took time away from Finn- who continually lost relevance as the films went on.

 Disney decided to pander to shippers and didn’t have a plan in the beginning whatsoever to work with. They had basically a space neonazi, shoved a black character’s plot points to the side for it and made the woman he tortured kiss him. Nice sum up I’ve seen: in the Original Trilogy Leia got to choke her abuser, roday Rey had to kiss hers.

Dear lord it was a clusterfuck.

I mean I could almost get if Kylo Ren is supposed to symbolise all those kids caught up by the altright online but real life parents would draw the line after he kills millions or y’know his dad usually.

Kylo Ren like everything in this trilogy had no plan.

Also this video is like a good sum up as well I feel.

[lettersfromn0where]

Star Wars marathon semi-live-blog: Ep. V

So. Last night, I decided on a whim to rewatch every single Star Wars movie for the first time since I was seven this Christmas break. As I knew I’d have many things to say about this, I started messaging @marypoppinswasmyfatherbitches about my opinions and observations while watching Episode IV. She apparently thought they were amusing because she told me (several times, ily) that I should live blog, and i was already halfway through last time but wanted to do it, so I guess I’m doing so now. So, to everyone who questions why this entirely unnecessary liveblog of “The Empire Strikes Back” even exists...let’s just call it a Christmas gift for my ever-encouraging tumblr pal. (Is it a liveblog if you wait until the very end to post your collected thoughts? Nah? Maybe?)

Wow, I really was BABY when I saw this last. Literally, I was in second grade. I’m now just months from my high school graduation. What the heck? This is gonna seem so different than it did then...

I like the opening crawl way better sans weird capitalization.

I’m not sure why the tauntaun noises are such a mood, but they are.

17-year-old me is now remembering that 7-year-old me 100% had a baby crush on OG Trilogy Luke and I really don’t know how to feel about that. I guess I thought he was pretty...?

Peak romance: protracted gazes across a room.

“I can arrange that. You could USE a good kiss!” GOSH, THIS BICKERING IS PERFECTION. Again. Peak romance. I definitely was not able to appreciate that as a second grader but now it’s kind of the best.

HOW IS LUKE STILL CONSCIOUS IF HE’S BEEN UPSIDE DOWN FOR HOURS? Also this cave scene is lowkey incredibly tense for a few seconds.

I have no clue why but the way people fall over in these movies always cracks me up.

Snow planet makes me really freaking glad that I live in SoCal.

Chewbacca’s vocalizations sound like my Labrador’s and I’m not sure what to make of that information.

Literally everyone in this movie looks prettier in snow planet outfits.

The way that tauntaun falls over is an accurate representation of my AP chemistry grade after exams.

Is muttering the same phrases over and over a hypothermia symptom? Because I did not know that if it is, and if not, why the heck is Luke doing that?

“This is Rogue Two” *cries in Rogue One*

This tank thing is REALLY unfortunate. Leave the unconscious person half-naked in front of literally everyone, why don’t ya?

I probably missed something but I’m still not sure where the name “your worship” came from.

“Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf-herder!” Iconic for a reason.

Ewwwww that kiss is noooooo. (If they weren’t siblings though I would be dying @ his reaction)

I wanna know who sent Chewbacca on a stealth mission. I WANNA KNOW.

Seeing Han and Leia in this makes me wish the other series either had a central romance, or that the one they had was well-written, because it’s one of the best parts of the movie. See, guys? If it’s good, romance can actually enhance the plot of a movie that focuses on something else!

It’s driving me crazy that the AT-AT walkers remind me of some sort of animal but I can’t put my finger on which one.

“Someday, you’re going to be wrong, and I just hope I’m there to see it” is a very underrated line.

The fact that Leia’s immediate reaction to Han doing a stupid and dangerous thing is “you don’t have to do this to impress me!” is my favorite thing ever.

“You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake...this could be it, sweetheart” -> great payoff of that line earlier. I love it when they circle back to old dialogue. Also adorable that Han remembered she’d said that. (Get you a guy who listens!)

I always feel so bad for droids because they have to be on the outside of the ship, exposed to such harsh conditions. I know they can’t feel things, but I still :(.

Ohp, R2 just gotta YEETED by that Loch Ness monster thing.

“Sorry, sweetheart, I haven’t got time for anything else.” -> she walked right into that one. ALSO. SMOOOOTH.

One of the few things I remembered from my initial watch as a little kid is that I was always freaked out by how you never saw anyone eat onscreen in these movies, to the extent that I wondered if people had to eat in space. (Idk, i was SEVEN.) but there’s an eating scene in this! Vindication for baby me!

I...did not remember Yoda having this much crackhead energy. At all.

The way Han looks at Leia when she calls him a scoundrel! I AM DECEASED

C3PO be out here ruining moments.

Yoda goes from crackhead to wise elder in approximately no seconds. We love.

On a scale of 1 to C3PO, how terrible are you in a crisis?

Worm thing is the stuff of nightmares.

96% sure I just saw a live iguana in the background of that scene. HI, FRIEND!

AND THERE WAS A MONITOR LIZARD! Friends! I love all of the reptile friends on Dagobah :)

This cave fight with the sonshadowing must have been absolutely insane to watch when this first came out.

Guys, i realized...Yoda’s combination of pithy sayings, crackhead energy, and anti-establishment ideals make him seem like a typical midcentury hippie. *writes essay about how Yoda is actually a metaphor for the 1960s countercultural movement*

If this ship levitating scene didn’t inspire your kid self try to use the Force to lift your parents’ car, did you even have a childhood?

R2’s little “REEEEEEE!” screams whenever he gets thrown bring me LIFE.

Okay, Han is enjoying stopping Lando from hitting on Leia WAY too much. (They both are...)

The forehead kiss! In the middle of a fight! PEAK ROMANCE(tm)

“One last kiss before i face certain death” is my absolute favorite and hi this is not okay with me :)

“I love you.” “I know.” I DIED. (@my 11th grade English teacher: I used parallel structure!)

I remember thinking the fight choreography with lightsabers in the last movie was really awkward and it’s WAY better here.

Do lightsabers cauterize the wounds they cause? It would make sense, since people who get stabbed or sliced by lightsabers never seem to bleed.

This falling sequence is the weirdest-looking thing in this movie.

The fact that Lando is the only person in this movie who pronounces “Han” with a short A rather than the long A that everyone else uses bugs me to no end.

I had completely forgotten how iconic this movie was. Off to watch the next one 👀👀

In my defense, I did say this was going to make no sense...

Until next time!

[jojo-javabean24]

Top 10 Movies!!!

Tagged by @cyanide-cynicism

Soooo, this is my first time posting something on Tumblr, ever! My friend above tagged me in this, so hopefully I’ll get this post right. :3

1. War of the planet of the apes

I grew up LOVING the entire Ape series, and it saddens me to see that this may be the last one. The acting in this movie was incredible, the CGI was on point, and I was rooting for the apes till the end. Caesar is forever the greatest ape and leader in my eyes!

2. Spiderman: Homecoming

I’ll admit that I was very hesitant when they announced another reboot of Spider man. I wasn’t sure about Tom Holland at first because I grew up as a dedicated Toby Maguire Spider man fan, but after watching this movie I absolutely fell in love with this kid! He’s so precious, and dedicated to be an Avenger, and the father/son interactions between him and Tony are to die for! I can’t wait until the sequel! XD

3. Thor: Ragnarok

Thor is by far my #1 favorite superhero in the Marvel Universe! This movie was awesome, and I adore the love-hate relationship he has with Loki. Loki is probably my favorite Marvel villain? I’m not even sure if Loki is actually attempting to be a good guy or not. *shrugs* Well, then again, he is the Trickster god. XD

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Ah, yes! My boys! (Mikey’s forever my precious favorite!) :D

Now, this movie did get some hate from the audience, and I will agree that the storyline could have been improved just a little, but the cool character designs and voice acting was what took my breath away in this movie. I heard that there might be a reboot, but I hope that they keep these designs and the voices! D:

5. Casino

Yes! Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in the same movie is an absolute must watch! I loved watching Mobster movies growing up, and this definitely takes the cake! Wonderful acting, wonderful story, but it all resulted in every character’s downfall, sadly. :(

6. Goodfellas

Like I said before, I LOVE Mobster movies! And I think that Goodfellas was the second one I ever watched that was mafia related. The storytelling was astounding, and it kinda made me wish I was one of the ladies living the lavish life in the movie, minus the whole abuse and drug-related stuff! XD

And as I mentioned before, a movie with  Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci is a MUST WATCH!!!!

7. The Godfather

A pure classic! The very first mafia movie I ever watched, and I seen the whole trilogy about a hundred times! XD

Actors, amazing! Story, outstanding! There’s probably nothing about this movie that I don’t love. The Godfather really got me obsessed with anything mafia-related, including Goodfellas, Casino, Scarface, and the Sopranos.  

8. Chocolat

This movie right here became an instant favorite of mine before I even declared it a favorite. I stumbled across Chocolat when I was trying to search for something to watch one day, and just the name itself brought me in (Because I love chocolate and anything related to sweets! :3) and I suddenly had the urge to bake after watching it!

Chocolat was a fun story that teaches a lesson near the end, and you can’t help but grow attached to the characters all throughout the movie. But be warned! You will grow hungry near the end! XD

9.Waiting to Exhale

Honestly, it was this clip above that I saw on Youtube that made me want to see the whole movie! (Plus, I love Angela Bassett!) XD

I was pretty young when I first saw it, not really getting it at first, but once I rewatched it as I got older I finally understood what the heck the lesson was throughout the movie! :P

This is a movie that should make every woman going through struggles feel strong near the end. There are scene for everyone here! They’ll make you laugh, they’ll make you cry, they’ll even make you angry! This movie is one huge emotional rollercoster, and it’s definitely  worth the watch. 

10. Marie Antoinette 

And last, but not least, the movie that got me obsessed with one Queen forever. Marie Antoinette! It’s sad what happened to her, and I wish that she had been spared in real life, but other than that I think that this movie represents Marie to a T! 

Yet again, another movie that will make you hungry AND make you wish that you were there to attend those lavish parties the last Queen of France attended! I loved this movie and have watched it nearly a hundred times. It’s fun yet sad at the same time, and you have mixed emotions about it near the end. I must watch in my opinion, though!

[lewyn-martell]

tag game

Tagged by @lionessonthethrone

Rules: Answer 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers that you want to get to know better.

Name:  yall can call me Lui

Nicknames: that’s it.

Age: 19, scared as hell to grow up.

Gender: i’m nonbinary, folks.

Orientation: I’m on the asexual spectrum. I’ve dated girls and boys. Right now I really can’t see myself dating anymore though, it’s like all my curiosity with it has worn out.

Favorite colour: white, brown or gray... But I think it’s white mostly.

Book recommendations: I’m not really knowledgeable about books. Nowadays when I want to read something I turn to fanfiction, mostly. But I’ll always love the hunger games, the millennium trilogy, asoiaf, the aubrey-maturin and jane austen books to pieces but these are so basic in literature world you don’t really need my recommendation to know about it. I think I might help more with manga.

Movie recommendations: Master and Commander for starts because I cannot recommend this enough. Same with Phantom Thread and City of God. If you want to see an artistic representation of some historical figures, I really like Marie Antoinette, Lincoln, and Frida (the first one especially is not really rooted on every truth as I’ve read about it, but this movie is just so delightful). Regarding animation, my favorites are Ratatouille, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Spirited Away, Mary & Max, the Croods, Kung Fu Panda and Corpse Bride. My favorite franchises are Planet of the Apes and Star Trek (2009 and so on). I have a shameful thing for David Fincher movies, like my faves Gone Girl, The Social Network and Fight Club (I can see your eyes roll sjansjna). But I’m mostly a drama hoe. I love drama so much that if I start I just won’t shut up. And Historical. If you join the two you have the most perfect film in history, Pride and Prejudice, based on the greatest romance book of all time jjasbjhsdbjhbjha. I also adore The Butterfly Effect, Gone With the Wind, Inglourious Basterds, Good Will Hunting, Catch Me If You Can, I Robot, Arrival, The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi), 

TV recommendations: I would recommend The Good Place to anyone. Seinfeld, Big Little Lies, Mr. Robot, Westworld, Vikings, Spice & Wolf if you’re not opposed to anime, Ugly Betty, Lucifer, The End of the F***ing world, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Music recommendations: If you’re up to some brazillian music (the song names are in Italic, the bolds are my favorites), I like Skank very much (check Esquecimento, Noites de um Verão Qualquer, Vou Deixar, Dois Rios, Sutilmente - I would bold all of these). Legião Urbana is an obvious one (Tempo Perdido, Que País é Este, Índios, Faroeste Caboclo), Madagascar Olodum (the Olodum version if my favorite, but the singer from Reflexus has a beatiful voice) Djavan (Eu te Devoro, Flor de Lis, Um Dia Frio), Tim Maia (Gostava Tanto de Você, Sozinho), Chico Buarque (João e Maria, Geni e o Zepelim), Tocando em Frente, Eu Sei, Velha Infância, Meu Erro, O Segundo Sol, O Tempo não Para, Exagerado, Quando Gira o Mundo... These are already too much jnsjanja sorry. But they’re so special to me, it’s like... All my childhood.

Coffe, tea or hot chocolate? Coffe.

Cats or dogs? Both. Neither. I’m not really that crazy about pets.

Favorite meme? Never thought about it and nothing comes to my mind right now.

I want to live long enough to witness: Stephanie’s answer was so good I’m gonna have to rob a little. Ideally, YES, aliens making contact but also all of humanity’s scientific advancements for all eternity ahaushuas not time travel though, I hope that never happens. Realistically I’m gonna have to also say the enf of asoiaf because it’s just the first thing that comes to my head when I think about my possible very near death. I just love this story so much, I gotta see how it ends.

Weird obsessions: To be fair I don’t think any of my obsessions are weird, but I am very reserved about all of them so it’s hard to discuss about it with anyone. I guess for tumblr standards I could say that I have a ‘weird’ obsession with monsters and aliens a la Guillermo del Toro.

Tumblr birthday: March 2015 if I’m not mistaken, but just started really using near the ending of the sixth season of got

How many sideblogs: none

Random fact about me: I’ve won poetry contests before jsjsdnjs

Goals for 2018: just to get through it with as little drama as possible.

tagging @lukesandwalker  @pantalaiimon @detectivesassembled @ferriberries @ekscelsior @bayleafpaprika @fyeahstarlord @littledidtheyknow @ceichler @jokerasylum91 @obi-wan-kxnxbi @castelodehades @all-aboard-the-ss-brucenat @oscarpoedomhnallhux @doloreswyat @ledaxcastor @anythingmarvel18 @brutashacuddles

[bilbo-baggins-is-fantastic]

Martin freeman & Andy Serkis appreciation post

I am making this post because lately I've been seeing and hearing rude things about two of my favorite English actors.

Martin freeman and Andy Serkis, genius actors, are being ridiculed for being the two "white guys" in the new Black Panther Film.

They are being judged not for their acting talents.. but because of their skin color.

This sadness me greatly, why are we judging actors by the color of their skin instead of for the talents that they possess??

Anyways I wanted to make an appreciation post for these two.

This is Andy serkis: he's a bloody good actor! He's known for playing gollum from Lord Of The Rings Film adoption also King Kong for Peter Jacksons Film (King Kong) and Casear from the Rise of the Planet of the Apes) reboot series. He's also a known and good stage actor, a director and has even written his own book.

He's freaking adorable

This is Martin Freeman: he's a darn good versatile actor and is mostly known for his parts in the hit BBC series (Sherlock) where he plays the beloved John Watson, and for Bilbo Baggins in the Peter Jackson Film Trilogy (The Hobbit) He's also known for playing Tim from the Office and Lester Nygaard from Fargo.

He's also freaking adorable

All in all, these dudes are okay dudes. They are good actors, they both also have a very good reputation with fans and co-stars, both have been praised for being gentlemen and for being very kind , especially to their fans.

I support Andy Serkis in his role as Ulysses Klaue and Martin Freeman in his role as Everett K. Ross.

[aion-rsa]

Venom 2: How Tom Hardy Convinced Andy Serkis to Direct The Sequel

https://ift.tt/3uDEk0z

Andy Serkis knows his way around giving great performances via both motion capture and CG. So the idea of him directing Venom: Let There Be Carnage—the new follow-up to 2018’s Venom, which introduced Tom Hardy as both popular Marvel Comics character Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote that infests him—seems like a no-brainer on paper. After all, this is the man whose groundbreaking work as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy showed just how far a digital character could go, even 20 years ago, in range and emotion with a human actor underneath the computerized costume. He further refined the process with his work in movies like Jackson’s King Kong (2005) where he played the title character before delivering his masterpiece as ape leader Caesar in the Planet of the Apes trilogy (2011-2017).

So when fellow British actor Tom Hardy called Serkis a few years ago about getting into the same kind of shenanigans, Serkis was intrigued.

“Tom and I have known each other for years and years, and wanted to work with each other, both as actors and as an actor-director relationship,” Serkis tells us. “In fact, just before the first Venom movie, he reached out and said, ‘Andy, look. I’m going to be playing a sort of CG character, I think. And I might be using performance capture. Can I come down to your facility, and can we experiment with stuff?’ So I said, ‘Absolutely, that would be great.’”

The experiment that Hardy spoke about never panned out, although it was a short time later that Serkis realized what project Hardy was getting into at the time. “The first [Venom] movie came out, and then I realized it must have been Venom that he was talking about,” recalls Serkis. “I thought no more of it, and thought, ‘Well, our paths will cross at some point.’”

Flash forward a few years, with Serkis now establishing himself as a director with the features Breathe (2017) and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018), when suddenly the phone rings… and it’s Hardy again. “I got a call out of the blue from him again, saying, ‘We are very keen to throw your hat in the ring to direct the second movie. How do you feel about that?’ And I said, ‘Look, I love the first movie. Absolutely adored your performance. And I love this Venom-verse. So I’d love to talk about it.’”

Serkis continues, “It just seemed, to me, to be absolutely the perfect piece of material for us both to come together on and work. In many ways, Tom and I have a very similar sensibility in terms of character choices. Marginal, outsider, edgy characters who are somewhat larger than life, sometimes. So it felt like exactly the right thing to do.”

Venom: Let There Be Carnage picks up three years after the end of the first film, with Brock and Venom somehow coexisting, even if it means that Brock’s life (and apartment) is a source of perpetual chaos. Trying to get his journalistic career back on track, Brock scores an interview with incarcerated serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), who inadvertently tips Brock off to the location of his victims’ bodies and seals his own fate on death row—but not before he bites Brock on the hand, ingesting enough of his blood for the symbiote to transform him into the monstrous Carnage.

Soon Carnage is escaping from prison and rescuing Kasady’s incarcerated girlfriend Shriek (Naomie Harris as a mutant with a destructive scream) from the Ravencroft asylum. It doesn’t take long either for the pair to target Brock and his former fiancée, Anne (a returning Michelle Williams).

Read more

Movies

Venom: Let There Be Carnage Review

By David Crow

Comics

Venom: Let There Be Carnage – The Comics History of the Symbiote Rivalry

By Gavin Jasper

There is much more banter between Brock and Venom in this film, giving the proceedings the feel of a fucked-up buddy comedy or bromance in addition to the body horror already associated with the characters.

“There are multiple love stories in there,” says Serkis. “It’s not just Eddie and Venom, it’s Eddie and what’s happening to Anne, and Venom’s relationship with Anne. He wants Eddie to get back together with Anne… and obviously Shriek and Cletus, and even Cletus and Eddie have a strange bond to do with family, in a dysfunctional way. So there’s multiple threads which tie all of these characters together, which I think is real fertile ground for keeping it real. But at the same time, we let it just bounce off into all of the different areas of comedy and melodrama.”

While Eddie and Venom actually learn to get along better, and even help each other, there are in fact echoes of the split-personality conversations between Gollum and Smeagol that Serkis so magnificently personified in the LOTR trilogy.

“I feel like I do have some understanding of those kinds of characters, of course,” says Serkis. “And Tom knew my history of the sorts of things that I directed, and the sorts of characters that I’d played. So I think he felt that someone would be there who could create the right atmosphere for him to do his performance.”

Although Hardy perhaps did want Serkis behind the camera for his expertise with creating characters through motion-capture and other digital effects, the director maintains that Hardy has his own approach for inhabiting the roles of both Brock and Venom (for which Hardy provides the voice).

“Tom’s process, which is the way that he created Venom in the first movie, is awesome to watch,” marvels Serkis. “Awe-inspiring. He has his own process of recording Venom’s voice before every single scene, and then having Venom’s voice play back in an earbud in his ear, so that he could then talk over him or relate to him, or react, or vehemently oppose him… I was just there to frame that and make sure we captured that in an interesting, visceral, kind of way.”

Having now worked with Hardy on one Venom outing and noting that the actor has been “living and breathing this character, and the world of this character, for a number of years now,” Serkis must contend with a question that is surely going to come up a lot as soon as people see this movie: would he be interested in bringing the other Tom into the mix, Tom Holland, that is, and getting back behind the camera for the inevitable clash between Spider-Man and Venom?

“Who knows?” he states. “I’m not going to be a clairvoyant and imagine what might happen, because that can get me into a lot of trouble. But I do think that before we get to any sort of Spider-Man activity, if there is to be any, there’s still some really rich scenes to tap into just within the Venom-verse, on his own.” Serkis pauses before adding, “There’s so many different ways it could go, if we should be so lucky to make more after this.”

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is out in theaters starting today, Friday, Oct. 1.

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The post Venom 2: How Tom Hardy Convinced Andy Serkis to Direct The Sequel appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Y7PFtA

[the-desolated-quill]

The Quill Seal Of Approval Awards - The Best Of 2017

It’s an established scientific fact that the real world is horrible. Full of nasty, hideous and deeply unpleasant things like racism, corruption, global warming, terrorism and prawn flavoured crisps. No wonder more and more of us are turning to the world of fiction to escape from our unhappy lives.

Yes a number of good stories have come out this year, and as it’s the last day of 2017, it’s time once again for the Quill Seal of Approval Awards. Where I pick my personal favourite stories of the year and hopefully persuade you to give them a try if you haven’t already.

Before we start, two things. One, this is my list. If you disagree with my choices, that’s absolutely fine. Go make your own list. And two, full disclosure, I haven’t been able to see everything 2017 has to offer for one reason or another. So please don’t be angry at me because movies like Get Out aren’t on this list. I’m sure Get Out is as brilliant as everyone says it is and I’m sure it would win a Quill Seal of Approval Award. I just never got around to watching it this year (also fuck you Golden Globes. Satirical horror is not the same thing as comedy horror. From what I’ve heard, Get Out is not remotely like, say, Shaun Of The Dead or Zombieland. Satire is not synonymous with comedy, you know? It doesn’t need to make you laugh. That’s not a requirement of satire. I mean look at Black Mirror. That’s satirical. What about George Orwell’s Animal Farm? That’s satirical. Would anyone ever consider either of those to be comedies? No! Of course not! Do you know why? Because they’re fucking depressing, that’s why! If you thought either of those were funny, you require serious psychiatric attention, you sicko!)

...

I’m sorry, I went off on a total tangent then. What were we talking about?

A Series Of Unfortunate Events (TV Series)

There had been rumours for ages that we were going to see another attempt to adapt Daniel Handler’s post-modern series of gothic children’s books after the painfully lacklustre movie starring Jim Carrey, and on Friday the 13th January (on my birthday! EEEEEEE!!!), we saw Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events arrive on Netflix. Speaking as a massive fan of the books, I absolutely adored this adaptation. TV is just such a better medium for the Baudelaires than the movie was.

Adapting the first four books of the series, Season 1 follows Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, having recently lost their parents in a terrible fire, trying to keep their fortune out of the clutches of Count Olaf; a vile villain and even worse actor. The series is being adapted by Barry Sonnenfield and Daniel Handler himself, and not only remains close to the original source material, but also expands on it thanks to the TV medium. It also boasts a great cast. Neil Patrick Harris is incredible as the villain Count Olaf, able to walk the line between comic and sinister effortlessly. Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes are both great as Violet and Klaus, and share excellent chemistry on-screen, selling the sibling affection better than the movie did. There’s also Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket, who offers deadpan comic narration, as well as K. Todd Freeman as the incompetent Mr. Poe, Aasi Mandvi as the eccentric Uncle Monty, Alfre Woodard as the petrified Aunt Josephine and Catherine O’Hara as the perfectly innocent, I swear, optometrist Doctor Orwell.

Admittedly this may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re into family friendly viewing that intelligently mixes both the surreal and the macabre, then I’d say definitely check out A Series Of Unfortunate Events. It’s perfectly wretched :)

Wonder Woman

Warner Bros and DC may have completely fucked up their shared universe thanks to the total cock-up of Justice League, but one good thing did come out of the DC Extended Universe this year. Wonder Woman.

Finally making her cinematic debut, Wonder Woman is definitely one of the strongest superhero movies to be released in recent memory. Patty Jenkins does an amazing job bringing this feminist icon to life and Gal Gadot gives quite possibly one of the best performances in any superhero movie to date. This naive, but passionate warrior who takes it upon herself to try and save the world from the evil influence of the Greek God Ares. But what I especially appreciated was how the movie went beyond the simple hero vs villain story and really created something both powerful and socially relevant with its themes of love and sacrifice. The main takeaway from the film is that evil isn’t an external force or outside threat. It’s something that exists in all of us. We all have the capacity for violence and treachery, but if we could all just learn to love and support each other, and work together, we could help change things for the better. It sounds incredibly hokey when you say it out loud, but the movie conveys it extremely well.

If you haven’t already, definitely check out Wonder Woman. It boasts a strong female protagonist and an intelligently written and emotional story with a noticeable lack of the sexist tropes and cliches you’d normally find in these kinds of movies. Hopefully Wonder Woman will be the start of a whole new wave of female talent both in front of and behind the camera (and when I say women, I don’t just mean white women... please! Feminism only works if all women benefit from it after all. Let’s see some more women of colour in the director’s chair and on the red carpet).

War For The Planet Of The Apes

The long awaited conclusion to Caesar’s story, War For The Planet Of The Apes is simultaneously both the darkest and the funniest of the rebooted Planet Of The Apes movies. As the human race lash out against the apes in their desperate bid to survive, we see Caesar face his ultimate test. Will he lead his tribe to salvation or be consumed by inner darkness just as Koba did in the previous movie?

While not the strongest movie in the Caesar trilogy, it’s still exceptionally good. Andy Serkis gives the best performance so far as Caesar, and you really feel for him as he undergoes his inner conflict. He’s by far one of the strongest protagonists to come out of a Hollywood blockbuster, and War serves as a fitting end to his story. Director Matt Reeves continues to make us care deeply for the apes’ survival, with characters like Maurice, Rocket and newcomer Bad Ape providing many touching and comedic moments to alleviate the tension and darkness. We also see some strong human characters, such as the mute Nova, played by Amiah Miller, and the antagonistic Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson, who definitely stand head and shoulders above the other human characters in the previous films.

A lot of filmmakers could learn a thing or two from these films. 20th Century Fox should be immensely proud of this trilogy, and I hope the franchise will remain this intelligent and impactful in the future.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

No! Stop it! I can see you sniggering! ‘Oh! Quill honestly thinks this puerile kids movie full of toilet gags is worthy of some kind of award, does he?’ Well, actually yes. Yes I do. And before you judge me, have you actually watched the movie? No. I didn’t think so. So why don’t you get off your high horse and go into this with an open mind because I’ll think you’ll find Captain Underpants is one of the best kids movies ever, so there!

Based on the popular (and surprisingly controversial) series of children’s books written by Dav Pilkey about two troublemaking schoolchildren, George and Harold, who hypnotise their mean principal into thinking he’s a superhero and go off on a series of whacky adventures, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is an excellent adaptation that captures the books’ humour and message perfectly. Yes it’s filled with toilet gags and fart jokes (and I can see you rolling your eyes dismissively already, you snob), but it all serves a purpose, and the message behind Captain Underpants is incredibly unique for a kids film. That sometimes a little rule breaking is okay provided it doesn’t go too far. Children are often forced to conform to societal norms, and discouraged from certain things because they’re ‘inappropriate’. Captain Underpants serves as the perfect antidote to that, encouraging children to actually have fun and let their imaginations run wild. The toilet gags and adolescent humour in this film are very funny. It’s not very high brow or sophisticated, but it doesn’t really need to be neither. That’s the point. Captain Underpants is basically a celebration of the childish and the silly, implying these things have value in and of themselves rather than just dismissing them as being ‘immature’.

If you have kids, this would be a perfect movie to show them, and you just might reconnect with your inner child in the process. And if you need further convincing that Captain Underpants is worth watching, consider this. Did you know Harold is gay? Yeah! In the final book of the series, Harold meets his future self and discovers he’s married to a man and has two children. So it’s a cleverly made family movie that encourages children to be creative and to not feel constrained, and offers positive representation for the black and LGBT communities. Suddenly this movie doesn’t feel so puerile anymore, does it?

Logan

I never thought I’d see the day I’d actually be praising a Wolverine movie. 

After two failed attempts, 20th Century Fox finally offers a Wolverine movie that doesn’t make me want to fall asleep, tear my hair out in frustration or gouge by eyes out with ice cream scoops. Logan is not only the best Wolverine movie, but quite possibly the best movie in the entire X-Men franchise. Hugh Jackman gives a brilliant performance in his last ever portrayal of the character and Patrick Stewart is equally as good as an elderly Professor X.

Logan is as tragic as it is thought provoking, deconstructing the idea of a superhero and spelling out in no uncertain terms how Wolverine utterly fails to meet that criteria. It’s dark, hard-hitting and surprisingly poignant as we see Wolverine desperately try to redeem himself, escorting a group of young mutant children across the border whilst metaphorically passing the baton to them. He may have failed to be a superhero, but he could well have saved a new generation of mutants that will succeed where he failed.

If you haven’t already, you need to watch this movie. Even if, like me, you don’t like Wolverine very much, you should still watch it. Logan more than makes up for past mistakes, I assure you.

The Tick

Are you getting sick to death of the over-saturation of superhero movies and TV shows these days? Then The Tick is the perfect antidote for you!

Based on the comics created by Ben Edlund, The Tick essentially drops a Saturday morning cartoon character into a Christopher Nolan-esque environment. Serving as an affectionate parody of the superhero genre, The Tick is both incredibly funny and surprisingly clever. Peter Serafinowicz does a stellar job in the title role, giving a performance almost reminiscent of the late Adam West, and is both charming and hysterical. But the true star has to be Griffin Newman as the Tick’s sidekick Arthur. While his surroundings are incredibly wacky and surreal, Arthur himself is treated with the utmost care and sincerity. He is to all intents and purposes the main character, as we see him try to overcome his own anxieties and insecurities in order to expose a plot from supervillain the Terror. He is the emotional centre that the show revolves around and is what elevates The Tick from being just a simple parody to a legitimately good superhero show in its own right.

The first half of Season 1 is available to watch on Amazon Prime, with the second half due to be streamed in February 2018. if you haven’t already, check this show out.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Finally we end with a video game, and it’s a very special video game (well it would be. It’s on a best of 2017 list). Horizon Zero Dawn. Created by the same people who did the Killzone games, Horizon is an open-world adventure game set in a post post-apocalypitic world where machines dominate the landscape and humanity have gone back to basics, living in isolated tribes and shunning the technology of the ‘Old Ones’.

Two things make Horizon Zero Dawn stand out. The first is the world itself. Guerrilla Games have created a very rich and nuanced setting, and as you explore the environment and collect datapoints, you begin to piece together how exactly human society as we know it initially fell hundreds of years ago. The machines are well designed and each have a very specific purpose, and the tribes are incredibly well thought out with believable hierarchies, belief systems and societal structures. It’s simply fun to explore this world and interact with its inhabitants.

The second is the protagonist the entire game revolves around. Aloy. A young outcast woman who goes in search of her parents and ends up discovering herself. She’s a classic archetypal hero and one of the best female protagonists to come out of the video game industry for quite some time. She’s a fully realised, three dimensional character with her own goals and motives, and is at no point ever sexualised or objectified. Even when she’s captured by the baddies, the game never resorts to sexist tropes or cliches. Just as Wonder Woman represents a significant milestone for women in film, Aloy represents a significant milestone for women in video games. She’s intelligent, resourceful and immensely likeable and I was completely emotionally invested in both her as a character and her journey. It’s not only fun to explore the world of Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s fun to explore the world of Horizon Zero Dawn with her. If you have a PS4, definitely get this game. It’s a must-own and you won’t regret it.

And that’s it for this year. All that’s left for me to say is Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and I hope that your 2018 is less shit than your 2017 most likely was.

[maudelebowski29]

My Top 10 Movies Of 2017

So this was hard because I saw a lot of good shit this year and I thought 2017 was a way better year for films than 2016. Here’s my list:

1. Baby Driver Is Edgar Wright capable of making a terrible movie? The answer so far has been a resounding no. The man who gave us The Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World continues his unstoppable streak as one of the best film makers of the 21st century and gives us a fantastic hybrid of heist movie and jukebox musical. Baby Driver is an excellent example of great character study, technical prowess, and scene geography. I adored every second of it. It also has the best soundtrack of the year. Oh, and a film that finally knows how to use Jon Hamm correctly!

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Are Wonder Woman, Logan, and Thor: Ragnarok technically better movies than this? Probably. But I don’t care. GOTG Vol. 2 is still my favorite comic book movie of 2017 and holds the most emotional resonance for me. It deals with themes of losing a parent, toxic fatherhood, and making a family of people who aren’t blood-related to you and it had many moments where I wept in a movie theater openly. It’s a tearjerking heartbreaker that still manages to deliver the laughs and satisfying space battles. I can’t wait to see what James Gunn has in store for us in Guardians 3.

3. Blade Runner 2049 Easily the best science fiction movie of 2017. Absolutely gorgeous to look at, fantastic performances all around (including one of the best roles Harrison Ford has had in many years) and manages to ask a lot of poignant questions about what it means to be human. There are things about it I like even more than the original and that’s saying a lot. Unfortunately this didn’t do well at the box office, but I hope more people do see it. Denis Villeneuve is one of the most gifted directors working today.

4. Thor: Ragnarok The best movie in the Thor trilogy, the most fun I had at a movie all year, and it has some subtle anti-colonialism messaging to boot. Marvel lets Taika Waititi loose on their product and he gave us a cosmic party adventure that wouldn’t look out of place in the Flash Gordon universe. It’s drenched in 80′s - the colors, the costume design, and Mark Mothersbaugh’s synthy score, but it doesn’t feel cynical like the upcoming Ready Player One. Also, hearing the term “devil’s anus” in a superhero movie will never not be funny to me.

5. I, Tonya Darkly funny, well acted, and an almost feminist call-to-arms to reevaluate Tonya Harding in the pop-culture landscape. This is a star-making turn for Margot Robbie and I hope she wins all the awards she can for it. We also see strong acting from Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Bobby Canavale. The cast is stellar. I only saw this a couple days ago as of typing this out and I can’t stop thinking about it.

6. Star Wars: The Last Jedi My favorite Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. I loved The Force Awakens but you can’t deny it played it quite safe. This, on the other hand, does not. I love the weird, bold choices it makes in terms of storytelling and the Star Wars mythos, the characters, and the stunning visuals. Mark Hamill has never been better as Luke Skywalker and Rey, Kylo, Poe, and Finn continue to be fascinating. I also really loved Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, a fangirl who loves Finn but doesn’t shy away from pointing out his faults. Plus a lot of MRA and Reddit choads hated this movie which gives it a ringing endorsement, as far as I’m concerned. 

7. Logan Lucky Holy shit. A movie about working-class people that doesn’t condescend to them. Steven Soderbergh’s return to the director’s chair sees him going back to the well for a heist movie but I liked this way better than any of his Ocean’s films. Adam Driver’s quiet dignity as Clyde and Channing Tatum’s likable Jimmy make for a great duo. Though Daniel Craig steals the show as Joe Bang. He’s terrific. There’s a scene in this movie where a little girl sings “Country Roads” by John Denver at a beauty pageant and could have been corny as hell and laughable. But it’s not. It’s a show-stopper and an emotionally effective moment.

8. Get Out The best horror movie of the year. No contest. Smart and genuinely scary. It has a lot of intelligent and relevant commentary about race in America but never comes across as preachy and heavy-handed. The fact that this is Jordan Peele’s first time as a director is astonishing. Oh, and I will never look at a spoon tapping against a teacup the same way ever again. *shudders*

9. Logan So if you’re Fox what do you do with the X-Men franchise after the disappointment of Apocalypse? Why, you do a Wolverine solo movie, make it R-Rated, and turn the universe into a dystopian western. Nice. Logan isn’t for everyone - it’s violent and bloody as hell and there are no happy endings. But I fucking loved it. It’s certainly the best X-Men film since First Class. Dafne Keen is a revelation as Laura Kinney (X-23) and one of my favorite female characters in recent memory. When her claws came out the first time I literally squeed in the theater. Please give her her own movie as soon as possible. Logan is a fitting send-off to Hugh Jackman’s signature role.

10. War For The Planet Of The Apes The third entry in the second best trilogy of the 2010′s (the first being Captain America) is a different breed of summer blockbuster and one I hope to see more of. It’s thoughtful, ambitious, and emotionally devastating. The themes of slavery and genocide and the allusions to militias and the white power movement are pretty clear and it definitely puts you on the side of the apes. Andy Serkis is still amazing as Caesar and the motion capture used to create him is astoundingly realistic, Woody Harrelson is genuinely frightening as the main villain, and Amiah Miller as the mute Nova is one of the best child performances of the year. Oh, and that last shot is killer. I’m hoping they make more of these films, but if they don’t this is one hell of a finale.

Some honorable mentions: Spider-Man: Homecoming Huge thank you to Marvel Studios for saving our favorite webslinger from the awful Amazing Spider-Man franchise, two movies that turned Peter Parker into Edward Cullen from Twilight (ugh).

Wonder Woman After the cinematic wrongness of Man Of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Suicide Squad (three of the worst big-budget movies of the decade that are not Transformers films), I had really low expectations for this one and was pleasantly surprised by how good this is. Three words: No Man’s Land.

IT Another film that surprised the hell out of me. A horror movie released in the beginning of September has no fucking right to be this good. But it is!

Dunkirk Christopher Nolan at the peak of his powers. This almost made my top 10 list for its technical acumen alone but it didn’t quite make the cut.

Atomic Blonde Probably the best pure action movie of the year. Is the plot convoluted as all hell? Sure. But it has Charlize Theron kicking major ass in well-choreographed fight scenes and making out with Sofia Boutella. What’s not to love?