#and just to be totally clear this is not a criticism of zac the player! this move made sense for the character

[quantummindclassicalheart]

I think Brennan did something interesting with the Porter and Gorgug scene in the last episode. Porter is by all appearances a competent Barbarian teacher. He understands the role of Rage and its mechanical combat benefits, and he even recognizes how Gorgug uses Rage to protect those he cares about. But he doesn't understand how multiclassing into a caster fits into that framework.

And it's true! In 5e you can't cast or concentrate on spells in a Rage. But-- Artificers work a little different than other casters! Alchemist Elixirs and Arcane Cannons aren't technically spells. Arcane Armor just works. And so does the Steel Defender.

Of any caster I think the Artificer is probably the best-suited to multiclass Barbarian because their key subclass features are largely not spells. But it also runs into the problem of requiring multiple high stats. Barbarians already want high STR and CON, and Artificers need INT for their spells and spell saves.

And so there's this narrative tension here. Brennan the DM obviously wants to let his player have fun with the character build-- embracing the creative artificer side of himself is a great character moment for Gorgug, bearer of the tin flower. Someone who has always channeled Rage to protect those he cares about but who has also been called to create and preserve beauty.

And yet mechanically, it's a difficult build. We didn't see Gorgug cast anything in the Night Yorb battle, as far as I recall? And in-universe, classes are a formally recognized thing that require approval. But Gorgug can't be the kind of Barbarian that Porter wants him to be. So he has to show that he can be a different kind of Barbarian-- one whose magic integrates and synergizes with his Rage rather than opposing it.

We see Gorgug still insecure about his homunculus and about the solar lasso, even though these are objectively impressive feats. So it's not a skill issue but an internal conflict-- it's only once Gorgug reconciles and synthesizes his magic with his Barbarian side that the in-world powers that be will recognize him for all of who he is.

[snarkydefense]

Quick Take: The Greatest Showman deftly tells the story of a charming hustler intent on bringing his dreams to vivid (and profitable) life. The character at the center of the action is, Phineas Taylor Barnum (Hugh Jackman) best known as P.T. Barnum.

The Greatest Showman‘s a story told with a deliberately light dramatic touch and bombastic savoir-faire. It’s less traditional musical biopic and more a stylistic “highlight reel.”

But while P.T. Barnum may be the story focus, it’s the people who make up his menagerie that give this film its purpose.

This film entices its audience room to engage and have fun while gleaning its message from the margins. So if you wait around for this tale to told through dialogue, then you’re going to miss most of the important (and interesting) bits and leave feeling like it’s a film with little substance under the glitter and glam.

The Greatest Showman delivers its character backstory through song and dazzling visuals. It entertains and keeps the film’s pace with a delightful syncopated precision.

The cinematography and set design are nothing short of amazing. The period costuming and site location establish time and place perfectly. Everything behind the scenes works together to capture the heartbeat of this period piece and sets a believable image of the times.

I’m pretty sure I could watch the opening sequence of The Greatest Showman once a day. Great staging, fantastic lighting, perfect vocal drop in. It has the rush of an opening night, that moment of great expectation and Hugh Jackman striking a dashing pose.

This scene does more than just set the tone; it sets the pace and The Greatest Showman doesn’t slow down for a single second.

Grade: B- (due entirely to the extraordinary visuals and accidental revelations behind all that dancing)

Hugh Jackman (P.T. Barnum) and Zac Efron (Philip Carlisle) star in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.

P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) and Charity Barnum (Michelle Williams) share an enchanting dance on a New York rooftop in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.

Reality Check:

But this isn’t really the story of P.T. Barnum, showman, impresario and circus master. It’s a tale invented by screenwriters Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and Director Michael Gracey’s vision of a savvy American nobody who built an empire and fortune out of his wit, hard work, and ingenuity.

And that’s not who P.T. Barnum was at all. In reality, he launched his career as a showman by exploiting former slave and extremely elderly Joice Heath turning her into an exhibit then authorizing her public autopsy after death.

He wasn’t just a “hardworking Joe” turned businessman made good. He was a social climbing, fast-talking, huckster who wasn’t above employing a good gimmick to make a name for himself. He repeatedly and shamelessly exploited others for his own gain.

Barnum’s motto might well have been, “scandal equals sales.”

Phineas Taylor Barnum is not a hero, he wasn’t a trailblazer; but he is very much so the embodiment of a capitalist-minded, win at all costs (as long as the profits wind up in my pocket) American businessman. He should not be lauded as a role model or example of how to get ahead. But this is America, so of course, he’s cast in an admirable light and given the “Hollywood” treatment.

So, how do you build a movie around such an unapologetic shyster?

With music, dancing, to die for costuming and sublime set designs. Naturally.

With a story that wholeheartedly distracts from a few truths: 1) there are plenty of people who believe that realizing their dreams are more important than people’s lives; 2) “American ingenuity” is usually just code for a willingness to lie, cheat, steal and shamelessly use people to get what one wants. Obviously.

By focusing on the dazzling extravaganza of it all and peppering the rest of the cast with people and story arcs that uplift and only hint at the grime behind it all. Of course.

This entire script is a lie. But that doesn’t take away from the fact this ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Zac Effron, and Michelle Williams do a pretty solid job of selling it (jazz hands and all).

P.T. Barnum would be proud.

♦

After the opening credits, time swiftly rewinds to reveal a young Phineas and his father struggling to make ends meet and working for an upper-crust (socially and financially) family. Phineas lives in his head where anything is possible including marrying the daughter of his father’s employer Charity. Almost immediately, talking gives way to singing and the lyrics carry the story arc and character development forward right through to the end.

This part of the story is, for the most part, sweet and intended to have you rooting for Phineas to capture his dream, win his girl and sail into a great future. But while it offers insight into how Charity and Phineas grow closer and remain true..ish to each other and their hopes, it also reveals the beginnings of Phineas’s willingness to do anything to make a buck.

♦

Jackman plays Barnum with enduring wit and a charmingly slick edge. He’s a guy with his eye on the main chance and his head in the clouds. He’s promised himself a grand life and he’ll stop at nothing (and for no one) to make it happen.

It’s clear from the story angle, Gracey wants you to see Barnum as a man unafraid to step outside the norm (exploit), to innovate (cheat), and invent (lie). You’re supposed to be inspired by his ingenuity (sticky fingers) and quickwittedness (con); it’s supposed to showcase the American work-ethic and “bootstrapping” mentality at work, so to speak.

His relationship first with Charity and then with his daughters in the movie humanizes Barnum up to a point and the reworking of the Jenny Lind years serves to underscore that he’s not completely without loyalty (he so is) and integrity (just saying that word would totally give him hives).

I found this more accidentally unvarnished look at a man of his type refreshing. Jackman’s portrayal leans “into the light” but the overt inferences and his onscreen interactions tell the real tale. P.T. Barnum was a selfish, smarmy asshole of a man.

His use of the subversive wasn’t intended to benefit anyone although that was a very real secondary effect (the primary being he made money) for those ordinarily cast-out and shammed. Those “othered” by society found kinship, homes and a greater sense of safety working under his banner. He wasn’t a humanitarian. He didn’t give a damn about the plight of others unless it could make him a dollar.

So kudos to the film’s screenwriters for finding a way to paint Barnum as just a quick-thinking American with a dream and a heart of gold. It only goes to show what good writing and a loose relationship with the truth can really accomplish.

♦

Despite being issues of the day, the secondary storylines are decidedly modern feeling: A tale of star-crossed love (a story I’d much rather watch unfold with greater detail), the combustible public protests against his showcase of Oddities, the hostile environment his cast members navigated daily and the chokehold Barnum had over the players in his exhibits (let’s not pretend he wasn’t running a human circus).

All these story arcs serve to balance the scales (but not nearly enough) and insert a dose of the realistic into The Greatest Showman. Some of the musical numbers didn’t sync with the time period and therefore rang slightly false. They’re great songs but not always put to their best use. This may be due to the aggressively modern niche Ben Pasek and Justin Paul seem content to rest in.

Plus the story angle and direction took gross liberties with what truly would’ve been permitted which undercuts the emotional payoff in the end and makes it all just one more element of Barnum’s showcase.

There are moments where it’s clear Gracey wants you to see them as pivotal for Barnum emotionally. We’re to believe those moments are what shape his willingness to bring those living in the shadows to the main stage. Not that he’s playing to the public’s interest in the macabre and bizarre.

Gracey does a solid job of “show not tell” for the majority of the film but he’s occasionally a bit heavy-handed.

It doesn’t detract from the story or the glorious visuals but it does make everything feel as though it’s trying just a little too hard (because making P. T. Barnum not come across as the trash he is is hard work) and aiming to deliver the overall storyline with an edge that just a little too slick.

But anyone willing to can see P.T. Barnum was a charming flim-flam man who pitched the right scheme at the right time to the right banker to secure funding with a wink, smile and some slick talking and slight of hand. He saw a niche market he could capitalize on and goes for it with no remorse.

I will not be surprised if most critics flat out do not like The Greatest Showman.

The Greatest Showman is a song and dance extravaganza that’s anchored in joy, light, pain, hubris, laughter, and promise.  It’s far more than a simple “boy makes good” story.

Go, have fun but remember this is “theater” at its best; don’t get blinded by the lights.

Overall:  2.75 out of 5 (because truth in advertising damn well matters)

*originally posted on tggeeks.com

Repost: Now Watching: The Greatest Showman | Movie Review Quick Take: The Greatest Showman deftly tells the story of a charming hustler intent on bringing his dreams to vivid (and profitable) life. 

[cover32-yahoopartner-blog]

Week 2 Review: Ken Zampese out, Bengals scrambling after 0-2 start

It’s hard to remember a time when a Bengals season started on this poor of a note.

Two games. Two home games, against teams that went a combined 17-15 over the 2016 season. Nine points. The last Bengals team to go two consecutive games without a touchdown was the 2008 squad that started Ryan Fitzpatrick for 12 games. The last team to open a season with two home games and fail to score a touchdown in either was the 1939 Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s crazy to think that the Bengals can remain this bad, but they’re already in historic territory.

AROUND COVER32

Giants WR Brandon Marshall not worried about his role on offense

Analyzing the Redskins’ left guard position

Takeaways from the Eagles’ Week 2 loss to the Chiefs

Breaking down Cowboys CB Nolan Carroll

Check out the hottest news in the NFL this week

Four Quick Notes

• Almost as historic as the anemic start the Bengals’ offense has had this season was the immediate reaction made by the front office after Thursday’s game. In fifty years of owning the team, Mike Brown has never signed off on a mid-season firing of a coordinator, yet Friday came and offensive coordinator Ken Zampese received his walking papers.

Zampese joined the team as a quarterbacks coach in 2003, the same year that Carson Palmer came to Cincinnati as the first overall draft pick. He was elevated to offensive coordinator after 14 years with the team, having served under offensive coordinators Bob Bratkowski, Jay Gruden and Hue Jackson. After having success with Gruden and Jackson as internal hires, it was clear after 18 games with Zampese that the well had run dry.

Zampese isn’t a bad coach, he’s just a quarterbacks coach. He’s had success as one, and he’ll land on his feet as one in another NFL city. The Bengals, for their part, actually have to go outside at some point in order to find their next coordinator.

• Bill Lazor, the quarterbacks coach during Zampese’s stint as offensive coordinator, was promoted to fill the void left by the latter’s firing. A 45-year-old who has bounced around the league as a quarterbacks coach, Lazor himself was also fired midseason as an offensive coordinator, by the Miami Dolphins in 2015.

That’s not to say that Lazor’s tenure in the position for the Bengals is doomed, but he was essentially the Bengals’ only option. Of the six interim offensive coordinators appointed over the last two seasons, four were the quarterbacks coach of their team (Zac Taylor in Miami, Jim Bob Cooter in Detroit, Marty Morhinweg in Baltimore and Nathaniel Hackett in Jacksonville).

Ultimately, it may not matter. The chorus calling for Marvin Lewis’ job has grown louder over the past two weeks, and Lazor will almost certainly be swept out with him if Lewis has to be fired. It would be an unusually bold move for Mike Brown, but he’s already made one this season when he had to.

• It would make sense for quarterback Andy Dalton to be on some kind of hot seat after his nightmarish start to this season. According to several sources close to the Bengals – from Lewis to receiver A.J. Green to backup quarterback A.J. McCarron – that isn’t the case. Zampese has fully fallen on the sword, and the discussion about improving the offense has revolved around getting skill players more involved in the game plan.

That hasn’t stopped conspiracies from forming around changes at the quarterback position, however. Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk published a piece on Sunday suggesting that some in the locker room wanted the Bengals to pursue Kaepernick. George Iloka joined the Flying Pigskin podcast on Monday to shoot the rumor down, which is frankly more recognition than it deserved to be given. Even this five-line paragraph is pushing it.

• While the performance of the Bengals’ defense has been admirable in the face of an offense that refuses to score, their performance against Houston last Thursday was still disheartening. The book on quarterback Deshaun Watson was wide open quickly – he had about five skill position players available to him but only had eyes for DeAndre Hopkins. A stop on Houston’s last drive or not giving up a long scramble would have been enough to win the game, and both were fair requests. Even if the circumstances around them weren’t.

Regardless, this is a defensive unit that currently ranks seventh in the league in scoring defense, fifth in total yardage and first in pass yardage. All this with linebacker Vontaze Burfict having yet to return from suspension.

  Stock Up

Geno Atkins: In the interest of only choosing one repeat selection from Week 1, Geno Atkins will get the nod here. Through the first two weeks of the 2017 NFL season, Atkins has looked like the most disruptive interior presence in the NFL. Unfortunately, of course, those performances are still buried under a couple team losses on the national radar. Atkins finished with a 93.4 overall grade per Pro Football Focus. J.J. Watt led Houston with 88.8, while second place for Cincinnati was Shawn Williams’ 81.9.

Jordan Willis: Filling in the for the injured Michael Johnson, Willis had an effective night rushing off of the right edge. He wasn’t remotely near as productive as Atkins, but his 78.8 PFF grade was only marginally below the 80.0 scored by Carl Lawson in week 1. It’s wasn’t a breakout night for the third-round rookie, but it’s a solid building block for a very young career. He’s a promising piece for defensive coordinator Paul Guenther – the question that remains is whether Guenther will remain around to use him.

  Stock Down

Tyler Boyd: Boyd was held out of Thursday night’s game without an injury playing a role. It’s hard to believe that, in a game where Alex Erickson was targeted in critical situations, the Boyd that looked like a solid slot weapon in 2016 couldn’t have contributed. It’s fair to question Boyd’s role with the team going forward, especially with John Ross still needing to get on the field.

Andy Dalton: It’s hard to pin the abject failure of the offense through two weeks all on Dalton, but he has to shoulder some of the blame as the starting quarterback. Dalton’s game Thursday night was average, but he had to be more than average in order to win. If nothing else, he had to consistently find his established more-than-average players – A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert combined for only 109 yards on 8 catches. Both players, especially Eifert, haven’t been sufficiently involved in the game script over the past two weeks.

  Four Things Looking Ahead

• The most recent parallel for the Bengals’ current situation on offense is what Buffalo went through in 2016. After two weeks of fielding a subpar offense, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and promoted Anthony Lynn, the running backs coach, to fill the void. Coming off an 0-2 start, Lynn refocused the offense to accentuate the strengths of the personnel and run-first mentality desired by then-coach Rex Ryan. Buffalo rebounded from 0-2 to 4-2, stomping Arizona and San Francisco and shutting out New England on the road.

Buffalo was widely seen around the league then as being the first team to hit the ‘panic button’ in that season, firing Roman for the sake of firing somebody. Others saw it as Ryan scapegoating his offensive coordinator for losses caused by his defense, or even ejecting coaches he wasn’t close to from a ship he knew was sinking. While Ryan was ultimately fired, Lynn became the interim coach and now coaches the Los Angeles Chargers. Before any of that, though, he provided the Bills with a rapid turnaround. It can happen.

• Traveling to Lambeau Field is a daunting task for any NFL team. For fans, it’s daunting to watch – especially for fans who don’t have any confidence in their team’s chances of winning. That’s an understandable place for Bengals fans to find themselves in right now, but perhaps the situation is better than they’d think.

The Packers are currently dealing with injuries to starting tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga, as well as reserve tackle Jason Spriggs. Additionally, five Packers left Sunday night’s game against the Falcons with injuries – defensive lineman Mike Daniels, receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, cornerback Davon House and safety Kentrell Brice.

Obviously, the Bengals just came off a week where they lost at home to a team similarly emaciated by injuries. No amount of injuries can guarantee an outcome for a bad team, but they can provide opportunity for a good one. If the Bengals can, in fact, come out Sunday looking like a good team, there’s a chance they’ll show it in the win column.

• Around the AFC: five teams in the Bengals’ conference are currently sitting at 0-2: themselves, Cleveland, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the New York Jets. Baltimore, at 2-0, has a perfect record as a result of beating Cincinnati and Cleveland. What this means in a nutshell: the AFC hierarchy is far from established. That may seem like an obvious truth of week 3 in the NFL, but it doesn’t always feel that way.

• Past the Packers, the Bengals head to Cleveland in week 4, host Buffalo in week 5, then have a bye during week 6. It’s entirely possible that Cincinnati goes into the bye at 2-3. Cleveland and Buffalo have one win between them over two weeks (against the Jets), and have both averaged under 20 points per game. Again, they’re not hand-outs, but the Bengals don’t have to become world-beaters to win them. They just have to play to the sum of their parts.

  – Andrew Hammel is the managing editor for cover32/Bengals and covers the Cincinnati Bengals for cover32