#andrew watches tokyo revengers

[starlightfae]

the live-action tokyo revengers is soooo good omg

its a movie, 2hrs long, and only covers the fight with moebius, but its very good and a very faithful adaption imo

(readmore so the post isn’t so long lol)

the only changes afaik were changing everyone from middle schoolers to high schoolers (which is imo a welcome change) amd changed some hair colors (for ex, drakken’s hair is more brown)

altho drakken and mikey’s personalities were tweaked just a bit, like esp in the lower risk fights, they felt more playful?

the fight choreography was rly good too, like it looked cool but still maintained that anime fight feel

also it’s the same amount of graphic, but seeing ‘real’ blood on real people made it seem more graphic.

Drakken and Mitsuya were super hot, and Hina was so cute!

the movie didn’t set up the rest of the series, but if they ever did want to adapt more, it wouldn’t be that hard. but it doesn’t feel incomplete if they don’t do more, which imo is a great idea

[anitalenia]

↼𓍢ִ໋♥︎ my private collection ㅤ𓏲⇀

𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗶 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿, 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲. 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 ! * ੈ✩‧₊ ⟡ 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 ⟡

IMPORTANT INCOMING MAIL ◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡ due to the fact I’m only allowed 50 @‘s per post, I will be unable to @ any more authors past that limit. I will still write their names next to the FIC title like i usually do. i hate tumblr rules ☹️

⊹˙⋆ OTHER LINKS ⋆˙⊹ masterlist | taglist | time stamps | guidelines | back home | honorable mentions

✧･ﾟ: * FANDOMS I’M CURRENTLY WRITING FOR ★ The Gray Man | Avatar | Triple Frontier | Slasher | Ari Levinson | Rio (good girls) | Miscellaneous

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✧･ﾟ: * SOME OF MY FAV. FANDOMS ★ Tokyo Revengers | Obey Me! | Genshin Impact | Jujutsu Kaisen | Haikyuu | Triple Frontier | Marvel | DC | Sons of Anarchy | My Hero Academia | Kill La Kill | The Gray Man | The Slasher fandom

☆。* THE GRAY MAN 。☆。

ONLY THE LONELY | Sierra Six x fem!Reader x Lloyd Hansen ( @charnelhouse )

WHO’S THE BOSS | CEO!Lloyd Hansen x fem!Reader ( @darkficsyouneveraskedfor )

STOP ALL THE CLOCKS | Sierra Six x fem!Reader x Lloyd Hansen ( charnelhouse )

MILK AND COOKIES | daddy!Lloyd Hansen x little!fem!Reader ( @valleyfae )

NICE AND EASY PRINCESS | daddy!Sierra Six x little!fem!Reader ( valleyfae )

THE DEVILS THIRST | daddy!Lloyd Hansen x little!fem!Reader ( @babyjakes )

☆。* TOKYO REVENGERS 。☆。

DEAD IN THE WATER | merman!Ran Haitani x bimbo!fem!Reader ( @manjiroscum )

CAN’T PRETEND | college boy!Manjiro Sano x college girl!Reader ( @blueparadis )

AMBROSIAL WHISPERS | aristocrat!Manjiro Sano x fem!Reader x butler!Haruchiyo Sanzu ( manjiroscum )

☆。* OBEY ME! 。☆。

OTAKU HIDEAWAY | Leviathan x virgin!horny!fem!Reader ( @milqilin )

PORN WATCH | multiple brothers x fem!Reader ( @ange1princess )

BEEL IN A RUT | bull hybrid!Beel x fem!Reader ( @tsumutiny )

☆。* MARVEL 。☆。

A RARE CONDITION | dark!daddy!Bucky Barnes x little!fem!Reader x dark!doctor!Steve Rogers ( babyjakes )

WHAT A WORLD | tarzan!Steve Rogers x doctor!fem!Reader ( @onsunnyside )

BOUND TO YOU | dark!mob!Bucky Barnes x stewardess!fem!Reader ( @flordeamatista )

SWEET SUGAR HANDYMAN | hardware store worker!Steve Rogers x bimbo!Reader ( @buckymorelikefuckme )

SERPENTS TOUCH | hela odinsdottir x fem!Reader ( inklore )

FIXATION OF LUST | Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader ( inklore )

SWEET GIRL OF MINE | Andrew!Spider Man x fem!Reader ( inklore )

MY LITTLE FLOWER | grumpy!Bucky Barnes x sunshine!fem!Reader ( @vase-of-lilies )

LATE NIGHTS | Steve Rogers x fem!Reader ( @princessbellecerise )

☆。* GENSHIN IMPACT 。☆。

none yet…

☆。* JUJUTSU KAISEN 。☆。

HEAVEN AND HELL | angel!Yuuji x fem!Reader x demon!Sukuna ( onsunnyside )

THE SINS OF MORTAL FLESH | dom!Sukuna x sub!Reader ( @prettyboykatsuki )

THE LOVEABLE JOCK | jock!Itadori Yuuji x fem!Reader ( @garoujo )

CALL 1-800-BOYFRIEND#2 | multiple jjk x fem!Reader ( @satorhime )

THE THRILL OF THE RUSH | vampire!Nanami Kento x vampire!fem!Reader ( @nanamibeloved )

WELCOME TO THE PARTY | boyfriend!Toji Zenin x fem!Reader x Gojo Satoru x Geto Suguru x Ryōmen Sukuna ( @sukunababy )

BAKUTO | yakuza!Toji Zenin x fem!Reader ( sukunababy )

THE HAUNTING | dilf!Toji Zenin x ghost!fem!Reader ( sukunababy )

RED RIDING HOOD | Ryōmen Sukuna x fem!Reader ( sukunababy )

☆。* MY HERO ACADEMIA 。☆。

PUPPY PLAYTIME | hybrid puppy!Eljiro Kirishima x owner!fem!Reader ( @eijirhoe )

HOME TO ME | Eljiro Kirishima x hybrid puppy!fem!Reader ( eijirhoe )

☆。* HAIKYUU 。☆。

YOURS FOR ALWAYS, HIS FOR THE NIGHT | Sugawara Koushi x fem!Reader x Kageyama Tobio ( heich0e )

4PLAY | Matsukawa Issei x Hanamaki Takahiro x fem!Reader x Oikawa Tooru x Iwaizumi Hajime ( heich0e )

MAFIA MADNESS | mafia!Ushijima Wakatoshi x fem!Reader ( heich0e )

☆。* TRIPLE FRONTIER 。☆。

STAY QUIET FOR ME | Frank Morales x fem!Reader ( @theshireisburning-so-mordoritis )

NO WAY TO RUN FROM THIS | Santiago Garcia x fem!Reader ( theshireisburning-so-mordoritis )

SIT TIGHT | Benny Miller x fem!Reader ( @say-al0e )

TIDES AND HEAT | Benny Miller x fem!Reader ( @dameronscopilot )

☆。* DC 。☆。

IT MATTERS TO ME | bale!Batman x fem!Reader ( @reveluving )

SURE AS HELL NOT JESUS (BUT YOU’RE SAVING ME) | Battinson x fem!Reader ( @greenorangevioletgrass )

YOU BRING THE PLEASURE, I’LL BRING THE PAIN | Pattinson!Batman x fem!Reader ( inklore )

☆。* ATTACK ON TITAN 。☆。

A YOUNG MANS DREAM | husband!Levi Ackerman x fem!Reader ( @sakurashell )

HIDDEN DESIRES | neighbor!Eren Jaeger x fem!Reader ( sakurashell )

THE PRICE OF CROSSING TWICE | Levi Ackerman x grim reaper!fem!Reader ( @heich0e )

☆。* MISCELLANEOUS 。☆。

DADDYS LITTLE PRINCESS | stepdad!Ari Levinson x bratty!fem!reader ( @evansbby )

PUSH ME DOWN | ghostface!Steve Kemp x virgin!fem!reader ( valleyfae )

THE WARMTH OF YOU | dads best friend!Ari Levinson x fem!reader ( @inklore )

INVOLUTED | Wade Wilson x fem!Reader ( inklore )

OF THE ESSENCE | Tangerine x fem!Reader ( inklore )

FOOL ME TWICE | Joel Miller x muggler!fem!Reader ( inklore )

PROFESSIONAL | Joel Miller x trainer!fem!Reader ( @chloeangelic )

[abduloki]

Bullet Train *spoilers*

Bullet Train is like The Wolverine meets Kill Bill. 

It’s one of those shows where you just sit back, switch off your brains and enjoy the ride with your popcorn. In this case, following a group of assassins boarding the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) from Tokyo, each with a mission of their own, each not aware of the other’s presence on board the same train until later on.

What I love about this is the uniqueness of each character, each with their own backstory explaining why or how they end up doing what they are doing, ending up on the same train as the other assassins. They make each character relatable and badass that it’s hard for you to choose who your favourite is.

Brad Pitt plays a weathered assassin who is hired by his employer played by Sandra Bullock, for a simple mission to retrieve a briefcase but got entangled in a web of conspiracy on board the train that he finds it hard to accomplish it as he is not the only one who wants it and there’s someone out to kill him too.

(For the record, can I say how absolutely stunning she still is. I’ve had a crush on her since I watched her in Speed and Demolition Man! 😆)

Anyway, I find his character to be relatable when you’re older as he’s tired of being an assassin and going therapy for his anxieties, had enough of dramas in his life and just wants to get the job done. His zen mode in wanting to talk to cold blooded assassins to settle things instead of fighting is just hilarious.

He is an absolute mood throughout the whole show, having enough of all the shit happening around him and just wants some peace, he could not understand why everyone is so aggressive and angry when they could just settle things peacefully, he even remarked he just wants to go to a temple. 

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver, Avengers Age of Ultron) plays the charming British assassin with low tolerance for bullshit, he’s like the funny parody of James Bond. I honestly didn’t know it’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson as his different looks and accent threw me off until the ending credits starts rolling.

Anyway, he works in pair with his brother, Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs King Kong), who is good at reading people and could see right through them if they are lying through their teeth. He credits his favourite childhood series, Thomas the Tank Engine, for teaching him life lessons in reading people.

Something which agitates his brother, who got sick and tired of hearing the same story of Thomas the Tank Engine being used as a metaphor to describe people, that his brother threaten to shoot his face every time. Watching them bickering at each other like real siblings is wholesome and funny.

Bad Bunny plays an absolute beast in this. His character’s grand entrance is just epic and the song got stuck my head since I left the cinema. He grew up being a good son and a loyal gangster who wants revenge for his lover and gang. I was rooting for him but disappointed at how quickly he was killed off.

Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2) plays the silent assassin who is a master of disguise who could blend into any situation without anyone realising until it’s too late. She’s quick and could outsmart anyone but Brad Pitt’s character. At the beginning, I thought the assassin was Karen Fukuhara (The Boys) instead.

Andrew Koji (Snake Eyes) plays the distraught father of a son who was pushed off a rooftop by someone he believes to be on board the train and wants revenge. But he got outwitted by the assassin whose looks and mannerism threw him off guard, becoming manipulated and played by her instead. 

Joey King plays an innocent looking schoolgirl who can change her behaviour and mannerism instantly, like faking tears and playing the victim, to throw the assassins off guard before pouncing on them with her ruthlessness. The prime suspect believed to be pulling the strings on board the train until the end.

Hiroyuki Sanada plays the father of Andrew Koji’s character who came into the picture after learning of his grandson’s assassination attempt and the disappearance of his son. The only one who knew who tried to kill his grandson and the only one he knew who the real mastermind is and is out to get him.

Michael Shannon plays the mastermind who orchestrated the entire train saga. A Russian gangster who infiltrate the Yakuza that Hiroyuki Sanada’s character once belonged to in his younger days and kill the entire Yakuza including his wife, the flashback scene alone is the better part of the movie with its song. 

Overall, it’s an enjoyable and fun movie to watch if you just want some ass kicking action with some comedy and a little bit of violence. The repetitive snake scene is unnecessary and I wish the flashback scene to the Yakuza takeover by White Death was longer. Other than that, it’s a pretty good movie. 

[ash-rabbit]

Reading Recs for Each Entity

When Magnus ended, I thought back on different media that I've enjoyed, some of them fit very neatly into the dread powers, unsettlingly so in some cases, others not so much. If you enjoyed the show for it's horror, and want more of that, then I've got a list for you.

Assume everything here is rated M and has some gore, death, and general dark themes.

Beneath the cut, because there's 15 of these fears. Feel free to add on if you like. By the way, I'm citing writers, not directors when there's a movie.

Beholding

1984 - by George Orwell: Classic surveillance society. Very boring to start off with classical lit, but it was and still is a relevant commentary on society.

Psycho-Pass - by Gen Urobuchi: Has anyone read Hobbes' 'Leviathan'? It's like if that met psychological horror. This anime engages in what it means to live in a world where crimes can be stopped before their ever committed due to the Psycho-Pass system. This system allows authorities to monitor ones emotional state and likelihood of turning violent. I think there's a brief mention of sexual violence, but it's been a hot minute since I've watched.

Panopticon Theory - by Michel Foucault: Yes, political theory. I've read it multiple times (not by choice) and it offers some interesting insights into the world of the Magnus Archives. It's greatly influenced how I regard the dread powers, that being that Smirke's 14 is incredibly limiting.

Buried

Nutty Putty Caving Incident - A real life news story. The only time I can say I've felt properly horrified and deeply unsettled. If 'Lost John's Cave' was the statement that gave you nightmares, avoid this. It's true and it's tragic.

Corruption

Fate/Zero - by Gen Urobuchi: Another anime by the Urobutcher. If you thought Jane Prentiss was excellent this is the show for you. It's excellent for all sorts of reasons, and engages with other avenues of horror but when I heard the Prentiss statement, I was brought back here. Living hives, magical evil wasp larvae writhing beneath someone's skin, it happens. Your warning is that anything bad that can happen to a child, will happen to children here. I mean it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - by Oscar Wilde: Moral decay, and it's just a damn good read. It's not conventional Corruption material, but the corruption of one's soul in the pursuit of beauty and pleasure is somewhat fitting I should think. I like it, so it's here. Also Jonah Magnus vibes.

Dark

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - by a bunch of people: it's a movie. Not an orthodox choice but I feel the dark deals better in ignorance then the literal. Err, no spoilers, but nothing particularly bad happens, it just sort of tugs.

The Flowers - Alice Walker: A short story about innocence and ignorance. Not particularly spooky, but it hits you at the end.

Allegory of the Cave - Plato: Just a good preliminary reading that provides an alternate lens. It's not spooky, I just like it.

Desolation

All is Quiet on the Western Front - by Erich Maria Remarque: The effects of war on the youth, child soldiers, and the death of innocence. It's bleak, and miserable, but it's honest and Remarque and his family were persecuted by Nazi-Germany because the book carried 'anti-german' (anti-war) sentiments. There's a movie as well.

Pan's Labyrinth - by Guillermo del Toro: Also anti-war, with bad things happening to good people and children. A bit heavy handed with it's symbolism, but hey it's a two hour movie. Also be prepared to read subtitles. It's very good, and if you haven't seen it, I don't want to say too much.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - by Ken Kesey: There's a more popular movie version as well. Corrupt systems, cutting people down until they fit into a socially appropriate mold. It's fairly dark, and has lobotomies since that was what, the 60s? I watched this in my catholic high schools film studies class, so I don't think there's anything overly egregious. But an interesting lens for the Desolation.

The Count of Monte Cristo - by Alexandre Dumas: For a fun revenge romp. The titular count gets his revenge after everything he's ever loved has been stolen from him and looks to do the same to his betrayers. Err sexual violence happens here as well. A bit of background that might inform the reader: Dumas' father was half black and affected by the 1802 discrimination laws, causing him- a high ranking military officer to be dismissed. The precursor to Monte Cristo, 'Georges' deals more heavily in themes of colonialism and racial discrimination.

End

Masque of the Red Death - by Edgar Allen Poe: You know why this is here. Warning for plague allegories and people not properly social distancing.

Nothing in the Dark - (Twilight Zone): No words needed, it's the Twilight Zone.

Death Parade - by Yuzuru Tachikawa: This is your fun suggestion. It's light for the most part, but there are scenes and moments that will absolutely hit you.

Extinction

Godzilla - A whole bunch of people: Atomic bomb fear during a time of censorship. Everything is an allegory.

Flesh

Tokyo Ghoul - by Sui Ishida: It's the most Magnus-y out of all my suggestions and I desperately want to see a crossover between them. The manga is better as the anime tends to brutalise plot points and water down the horror. Deals with becoming a cannibal, the nature of humanity, and other things. Warning for mentions of child abuse. Kaneki has a sort of - if Martin was the Archivist vibes. Not 1-1 of course, but if I had to make a comparison, that's the one.

Lamb to the Slaughter - by Roald Dahl: Arguably more slaughter, but hey I'm not giving you any warnings. I read this short story for ninth grade english, so I'm sure you can survive this one.

Hunt

Se7en - by Andrew Kevin Walker: A movie about a detective hunting serial killer. It's excellent, there's gruesome murder scenes. It's from the 90s go watch it.

Frankenstein - by Mary Shelley: From the perspective of Mr. Frankenstein it's the terror of being hunted, from the monster's perspective it's the horror of being alone. It's good, a pillar of sci-fi written by a teenager, don't snub this because it's classical lit.

The Bone Collector - by Jeremy Iacone: Another detective hunting a murderer. Also from the 90s and also excellent. Look, the 90s don't pull their punches, it's got blood and lots of it. A favourite film of mine.

Lonely

The Metamorphosis - by Franz Kafka: Turning into a big bug does not a corruption/flesh story make.

Passengers (2016)- by Jon Spaihts: I hate this movie, it's clearly a horror, but they try to pass it as a romance. Anyway, for psychological lonely horror and manipulation, this is a movie for you.

Slaughter

Go watch a classic slasher film. I don't care for senseless violence, so I don't like most of this sort of media.

Read up on a war or a riot. Learn how your nation's government discriminates and persecutes minorities historically and today.

Sweeney Todd - by Hugh Wheeler: The musical is the better known version. Some flesh horror here as well. It's not really senseless, as I think the Slaughter should be, but hey, we need substance here.

Spiral

The Giver - by Lois Lowry: A utopia that is not quite right. Read for school when I was nine, I'm sure you can all live without a warning list.

The Matrix - by the Wachowskis: Reality is an illusion, and the Universe is a hologram.

Truman Show - by Andrew Niccol: You know why this is here.

Stranger

Coraline - by Neil Gaiman: The scariest children's book. Other!Mother and all that jazz are so very Strange.

The Landlady - by Roald Dahl: Taxidermy.

Vast

Lovecraft: I'm sorry, I can only think of him. No one else is so ignorant as to be able to capture the horror of things beyond their ken.

Web

Medea - by Euripides: The God's suck, it's a Greek tragedy, bad things happen to everyone without discrimination. Children are harmed, Medea is dosed by Aphrodite, Jason is literally the worst.

Animal Farm - by George Orwell: It's anti-authoritarian and deals with the mutability of laws and how uneducated masses are sheep. . . literally. You will feel horrified, it's a short read.

There's also some children's story about a spider/snake(?) and gluttony that I've been looking for, for the past year. It's pretty similar to Mr. Spider, but the villain consumes so many victims that he becomes too large to leave his den and is blockaded in by those he terrorized, and it's heavily implied that he starves to death. For the life of me I can't remember a title, but then, it's been 15 or so years.

[nissakii]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: First Impressions and Significance

We all have baggage that we have to carry.

With the experiences we make in life, the things we gain as well as the things we lose, we learn to live with every decision that we make.

What is left are the memories and the way they impact us. The journeys that we’ve made or have been pushed to make, culminate in the past that we learn from and leave behind. But what happens when it is that past that we have to run from?

So to find out more about such sentiments, we’ll be looking into our first movie impression post!

In our impression posts, we take a certain kind of media like anime or K-drama and watch the first couple of episodes or even just the first, to give you a detailed initial reaction so you can decide for yourself if you wish to watch or not!

Staying away from anime and K-drama but still the movie remaining in the asian diaspora, today’s focus will lie on the groundbreaking movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”. If you are interested in our previous impression posts, let me direct you to our Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo Revengers, Vanitas no Carte and Squid Game posts!

Normally, after getting into some details of the series or movie we want to present to you, we describe at least the plot of one episode. Since we are talking about a movie this time, and we do not wish in any way to destroy your experience with spoilers, we will instead look further into the significance of this movie’s representation.

If you have watched the trailer, the setting and premise should be familiar to you, and there will be no major spoilers! Still, if you wish for a completely blind experience, make sure to watch the movie and come back!

If you’re okay with fresh impressions and some hinted aspects of the plot, let us continue on together then…

Shaun is a young chinese-american man living in San Francisco, seemingly normal and peaceful as any other person in a big city. With his good friend Katy and a past that haunts him, he feels lost in a world in which he can’t face his inner demons.

Everything changes when a figure from his said past emerges and threatens to change everything that he has built for himself.

With a promising premise, let’s look at some general base information of how this movie came together.

A movie made by Marvel, is surely not one that has to be afraid to catch any popularity. With a huge team working on these normally high-grossing movies like Iron man, The Avengers, Black Panther and more, it’s no wonder that bigger developing teams work together.

Obviously representing the superhero genre, “Shang-Chi” makes sure to keep Marvel’s reputation intact with the genres of fighting-action, fantasy and mystery.

Marvel announced the title and cast of the movie in July 2019, but the licence and idea to make a movie about the comic figure Shang-Chi was not new. Initially, a “Shang-Chi movie” entered development as early as 2001, but wasn’t truly in bloom until much later. The movie was released on the 16th of August in Los Angeles alone, and then on the 3rd of September 2021.

The director of the movie Destin Daniel Cretton who co-wrote the screenplay together with David Callaham and Andrew Lanham, voiced that it felt very emotional to work on this movie, since it was the first time he could write on a project with such magnitude that involved part of his own perspective into the story.

Shang-Chi is the first Marvel movie with an asian lead, which might sound like a smaller deal than it is, but after a movie that represented the black community like “Black Panther” did, there is a lot to say about what this movie’s representation signifies. We shall delve into more of that later as well.

Speaking of representation, the actors that played in this movie are just as interesting as everything else, so let’s look into the cast together.

The main character Shaun is played by Simu Liu. Having immigrated from China to Canada when he was merely five years old. His portrayal of the character Shaun is beautiful, and he himself has stated that the individual struggles Shaun has to go through are the main focus of the character instead of merely the action elements.

A much wider known actress would be Awkwafina, who plays the character Katy and also Shaun’s best friend that supports him. Other honourable mentions are the actor Shaun’s father Tony Leung and recurring Benedict Wong as his namesake Wong.

Barring some exceptions, the entire cast is asian-led, bringing various actors together with varying degrees of asian descent that enrich the cultural standart of the movie greatly.

When talking about a movie with such a widespread audience, it is no shock that the OST is meticulously crafted and put together. In this case for “Shang-Chi”, there is something like a two-split album that  was created to accompany the film.

The movie consists of an ‘original score’ soundtrack composed by Joel P. West, known for working for other movies’ soundtracks like “Just Mercy” (2019) and “Glass Castle” (2017). His music has a very emotional tone that clings to the listener throughout the movie and switches quickly to an action-filled and loud atmosphere gracefully.

A modern touch is added with the second part of the OST that consists of the soundtrack album produced by Sean Miyashiro and 88rising that harbours many different artists, many of which are also asian descent to match the movie.

With a mixture of both soundtracks, ones that are typically the way movie music is made and the other full of underground sound and culturally appropriate ideals and mindset the movie does not let up on its representation of asian culture.

Speaking of which, there is a reason why the title is teasing the significance of this movie. So after talking much about facts and production, let us start the discussion about why this movie is so significant for many people out there.

Significance of Representation:

In modern media, there is more often than before a discussion of diverse representation in all sorts of media.

The world is full of many different kinds of people. It is no news that many narratives in movies and in the film industry in general have been influenced by a system that values certain groups more than others, leaving many minorities behind in any sort of positive media portrayal.

People are demanding that diversity should not only be something we are encountered with in real life, but also in everything we watch and consume.

But why is that so important?

Representation matters so much because media often mirrors what general society views to be interesting, trendy or even acceptable. Every circle of people, be it a small heap of friends or an entire country can have different do’s and don’ts, different values or a different mindset. What we put into our media shows what we currently enjoy to see, or what makes us feel some sort of way.

Whatever is seen as ‘good’ or ‘nice’ in wide-spread media will immediately be a mirror of what that society believes to be exactly those traits. In turn, whatever is seen as ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ in the media will automatically fall into a bad light and be merely a reflection of society’s views on it.

Now the reason why representation of all sorts of minorities is so important, is because in the face of systemic racism and general struggles that for example immigrants or other minorities have to go through can affect any person greatly. We need representation of the diversity in our real life, because so many people want to see themselves in the heroes and heroines of the stories told on the screen.

It shows even the tiniest child, that it doesn’t matter how they look or where they come from they can still be just as favoured as anyone else.

Now with this movie, Marvel has made a huge step toward a more diverse ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’. Especially since the original comic “Shang-Chi” was created with many different racial stereotypes, this movie was in turn made in a very sensitive environment that made sure the movie would become an empowering narrative.

For so many people out there, it must’ve been a great feeling to see someone who looks like them be a hero in one of the most watched production companies’ movies ever.

With an asian-led cast, directors who were finally able to tell a part of their own story as people of asian descent and culture, it had a similar impact as “Black Panther” which was also a historical moment for many people of colour out there. Keep in mind, this was the first time Marvel produced a movie with an asian lead, and not just that but a movie that showed a story that many asian-americans and even other minorities could relate to.

Representation matters, because so many more kids out there can feel like they are more in touch with their own cultures positively after seeing parts of them and their families on the big screen.

Expectation vs. Reality:

In looking at the premise of the movie and giving you my first impressions I hope to shed some light onto this film so you can decide for yourself if you want to watch it or not!

Marvel normally makes a big deal out of promoting its movies. Since I’ve watched almost all films of the MCU, I was quite shocked when I found out very late about this movie. Truth be told, I was quite confused and without watching the trailer, I had no idea what to expect.

Happy to see some asian representation, I kept the title in the back of my mind and left it there until I got the chance to watch it in the cinema for the first time.

Shang-Chi brings us a narrative that is packed with the usual superhero flair, with lots of action scenes and a dash of comedy here and there. The characters are very realistic and relatable, especially with themes of romance and mystical creatures also playing a part here.

The movie has something nostalgic to it. It feels like something you might have watched before, and yet it is totally unique in its storytelling. The landscapes and movie sets are incredible as is known for Marvel movies, but this one especially should hold a place in anyone’s heart who loves gorgeous landscapes.

We have the shift between the urban San Francisco and the mythical parts of the fantasy elements  full of ancient and whimsical life, which both have their interesting parts and intermingle just enough to keep a beautiful balance.

The characters are very believable and relatable, showing how any person can follow their calling and fulfill their destiny no matter what their past had in store for them. The general idea of the movie brings us near the principle of “you are the writer of your own destiny” from the perspective of a young adult that feels lost in the world.

We all feel a little lost sometimes, so if a movie about a character that tries hard to run away from his own dark experiences until he finally confronts them might be of interest to you, I would encourage you to give this movie a try.

Shang-Chi has left a permanent dent in my memory and I hope that after reading all of this, you will have just as much of a positive experience with this impactful film.

Have you already watched the movie? If so, please comment down below what your experience with this movie was like and let’s discuss together!

I hope you know that there is always a way to turn to your own good side…

Until then, I’ll see you at the next tea ceremony!

-Nissa

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Fast & Furious

Hi Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where Today We're Continuing Our Look At The 3rd Film, The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo...

Drift...I Mean The Fourth Film, Fast And Furious?

Let Me Explain, When The Sixth Film Came Out It Created A New Timeline That Moved The 3rd Film After 6th So, Yeah We're Doing This One Next...

This Movie Sees Dominic Toretto (Played Again By Vin Diesel) Being Reunited With Now FBI Agent Brian O'Connor (Played Again By Paul Walker) As They Work Together To Get A Known Drug Lord Named Arturo Braga Who Is Involved In The "Murder" Of Dom's Longtime Girlfriend, Letty Ortiz (Played Again By Michelle Rodriguez In Case You're Wondering Why I Have Emphasized Murder That's Because Surprise Letty Is Not Dead But Instead Gets Amnesia And Ends Up Working With Gaston From Beauty And The Beast) Will Braga Face Brian Or Dom's Brand Of Justice?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Fast And Furious...

Now Before We Begin We Have Another Short That Ties Into The Movie (Thank God It's The Last One ) And It's Called Los Bandeleros Which I Am Briefly Go Over Basically Giving The Short Short Version Since Half Of It Is In Spanish Now...

It Starts In The Dominican Republic Where Dom (Played Again By Vin Diesel) Is Planning On Doing A New Job So He Hires Han Lue (Played By Sung Kang, Who Has Played The Character In Another Film Done By Director Justin Lin Called Better Luck Tomorrow, (Which Has No Connection To These Movies Whatsoever But I'm Just Mentioning It As It's Necessary) Before The Character Appeared In The 3rd Film Of The Series, Tokyo Drift Where He Died At The Hands Of Someone That I'm Not Going To Talk About Now) And Leo Tego And Rico Santos, (Who Don't Speak A Word Of English But Expect To See Them In This Movie And The Next One Fast 5) To Do The Job

But Dom Needs One More Member To Complete His New Crew And That Surprisingly Goes To Letty (Played Again By Michelle Rodriguez) Who Gets Back Together With Dom And Become More Than Just Partners But Husband And Wife Which We Don't Find Out Till Another Movie...

I Would Place The Prelude Up Here Like I Did The 2 Fast 2 Furious One But Unfortunately I Can't Find The Whole Short On YouTube, So Let's Move Onto The Film...

The Film Starts With Cars Driven By Dom, Letty, Han With His Girlfriend? And Leo And Rico As They Go After A Gas Truck, With Letty Hopping On, Han's Girlfriend Places On A Hook So They Can Tow It Once Lefty Uses Liquid Nitrogen To Break It Off Of The Truck (Which She Does) With Leo And Rico About To Place The Hook On And Letty About To Do The Same Thing She Did, The Driver Spots Her On Top Of One Of The Gas Tanks...

Falling Off When The Driver Hits Dom (Who's In Front Of The Truck), Letty Falls, Hanging On For Dear Life, Telling Leo To Unhitch His Hook, The Driver Shoots At Dom As He Goes To Get Letty Who Managed To Get Up. Dom Tells Her To Spray The End With Liquid Nitrogen But She Lost Her Hammer When She Fell So Instead Dom Breaks It Lose By Sideswiping His Car Into It, Now The Only Thing Left To Do Is To Get Letty...

Reaching A Dangerous Cliff, The Driver Jumps As Dom Gets Letty Just In Time As The Truck Turns Over Causing A Dangerous Gastank To Come Right At Them!

Dom!

(Start At 2:06, End At 2:12)

Driving Off, We Get A Brief Seizure Inducing Intro, As We See Dom And His Crew Celebrate At A Street Race Party Where Dom Talks Briefly With Leo And Rico Before Talking With Han Who Says That The Cops Raided Their Garage And That It's Probably Best If They Separated For Now But Dom Disagrees Saying They're After Him And Anyone With Him...

Telling Letty This, She Has No Intention Of Living Without Him Saying That They'll Figure It Out They Always Do While Also Saying The Phrase That'll Be Said From Now On In The Films "Ride Or Die" But Dom Doesn't Want To Figure It Out And Leaves In The Middle Of The Night While Letty Is Sleeping...

With Another Few Years Passing We Catch Up With Brian (Played Again By Paul Walker) Who Is Now An FBI Agent That Is Trying To Catch A Criminal With Connections To Known Drug Lord Arturo Braga. Eventually Capturing His Man, He Gives Brian A Name, David Park Telling His Superiors About Park, Brian Tells Them That Park Is A Scout That Recruits Street Racers To Be Mules For The Braga Cartel Or In Other Words If They Find Park, They Get Braga...

Meanwhile In Panama...

Dom Gets A Call From Mia (Played Again By Jordana Brewster) Who Tells Him That Letty Has Died. With Both Brian and Mia At The Funeral, We See That Dom Has Returned To LA But Does Not Attend Funeral Because The FBI Is There, Believing That Dom Will Show But You Can Tell In Brian's Eyes That He Knows Different...

Returning Home After The Funeral, Mia Finds Dom In The Garage Despite Her Telling Him Not To Come As The Authorities Are Monitoring The House, But He Had To See Her. Dom Also Notices His Father's Wrecked Charger That He Destroyed All Those Years Ago At The Railroad Track With Brian With Mia Telling Him That Letty Wouldn't Let The Authorities Touch It And That Whenever She Was Around She Was In Here...

Back At The FBI, Brian's Superior Tells Everyone Including Brian That If They Don't Get Anything On The Braga Case In 72 Hours, It's Over Because It's Been 2 Years And The Last 3 Agents That They Sent In To Braga's Organization Died From There We Gets Some Exposition On Braga Including The Fact That They Have Nothing On Him No Fingerprints, No Date Of Birth It's Like This Guy's A Member Of The Men In Black. But While We Listen To This, We Discover That Letty Had Connections With Braga.

Asking About David Park, They're Running Names Through City And Country Databases But There Are Too Many Possibilities Right Now. With Another Agent Named Stasiak Saying That Park May Be A Dead End, Brian Thinks That It's Not As Without Him, Braga Wouldn't Have Drivers Search Records And They'll Find Him...

Going To The Crime Scene With Mia, Dom Visualizes The Entire Incident In His Head...

Taking Mia Home, Mia Knows He Found Something At The Crime Scene, Saying That He Found Burn Marks On The Ground That Could Only Be Caused By Nitrometh And Surprisingly He Knows The One Guy That Sells It In LA. However, Mia Tells Him That Doing This Will Not Bring Letty Back And If She Was Here She Would Ask Him To Let It Go...

Oh, Dear God, No! GET THAT OUT OF HERE!

Just The Mention Of Those 3 Words Get That Song Going...

But Saying He Can't, Mia Says She Loves Him Before Getting Out Of The Car...

Getting Some Food, Brian Goes Through Various Files On David Parks As Stasiak Brings In Mia For Questioning...

The Next Morning, Brian Gets Rid Of Satsiak So, He Can Get Mia Away From The FBI While They Try To Find David Park...

Meanwhile, Dom Questions Some Guy We Never Get A Name On Who The Guy Who Killed Letty Is But He Says This Ain't Your Neighborhood Anymore Blah Blah Blah Which Leads To Dom Torturing His Ass!

But The Guy Talks Saying David Park Brought It In And It's A Green Ford Torino...

Having Coffee With Mia, Brian Says That He Doesn't Want Her To Get Tangled Up In Whatever Dom Is Involved In And To Stay Away From Him, But With Mia Bringing Up Their Past, Brian Tells Mia That He Never Meant To Hurt Her And That It Was The Hardest Thing He Ever Had To Do, But Being A Liar Got Him His Job At The FBI...

No, I Think It Was Your Connection With Bilkins That Got You Into The FBI, Brian...

But Then Mia Points Out Something Insightful, Maybe Brian's Lying To Himself, Maybe He's Not The Good Guy Pretending To Be The Bad Guy But The Bad Guy Pretending To Be A Good Guy...

Whoa, That's Deep...

Before She Leaves, Mia Asks Brian One Last Thing, Why Did He Let Dom Go All Those Years Ago? But He Says He Doesn't...

Heading Back To The FBI, They Have A List Of Possibles On David Park By Reading Off A List Of Cars But Eventually Hearing A 98 Nissan 240 With An Illegal Mod, Brian's Got His Man...

Meanwhile At Park's Address, Dom Drops By His House To Ask Park About Who Killed Letty, In The Interrogation Style Of Batman. As Brian Arrives, Park Is Hanging Out The Window, Which Leads To Brian Running Upstairs Where Both Him And Dom Are Reunited...

Telling Dom That Letty Was Running For Braga Till It All Went South, Brian Promises Dom That He Will Get Braga However Dom Promises To Brian That He'll Kill Braga And Anyone Who Tries To Stop Him From Getting His Revenge...

Taking Park Back To The FBI, Brian Gets Attacked By Stasiak For Taking Mia Out Of His Custody To Which Brian Slams His Face In...

No, You Did, You Asshole!

With His Superior Telling Brian To Keep His Attitude In Line, Brian Chats With Park Who Tells Them That Braga's Number 2, Ramon Campos Is Holding A Street Race In Koreatown Tomorrow Night To Fill A Slot On His Team To Which Brian Is Going To. Picking Out A Car, It's Just Like Old Times As He Chooses 3 Cars To Which He Makes His Own Car Out Of...

They Give Brian A Tracking Device To Know Where He Is At All Times As He Finishes Up His Car. That Night, Brian, Dom And 2 Other Racers (Who I'll Just Call Guy 1 And Guy 2) Meet With Braga's Second Hand Man, Ramon Campos And His 2 Henchmen, Fenix Or As Sly Stallone Would Call Him Fenix!!!!!!! And Giselle Yashar....

Who Looks Strangely Familiar To Me

Though I Can't Quite Put My Finger On It...

Yes, Before She Had Her Breakout Role As Wonder Woman In Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Gal Gadot Was In This Series As Giselle Yashar, A Villain Who Ends Up Reforming Herself And Joins Dom's Family So, Expect To See More Of Her After This Movie...

Anyway, Campos Tells Them That Braga Is Looking For Real Drivers With Dom Asking What Are They Hauling? Campos Tells Them That They Don't Need To Know But Dom Makes A Point Stating That A Real Driver Knows What's In His Car Liking What He Says, Campos States That Whoever Wins The Race, Gets The Info...

With Giselle Giving Them A GPS, The Drivers Go To Their Cars As The Race Is About To Begin...

With The Race Beginning, Dom Takes An Early Lead Where With The Others You Can't Really Tell Who's In Second, 3rd Or 4th Place As There Are Other Cars In The Road, So. To Make This As Short As Possible I'm Just Going To Say Who Wins And It's Dom With Brian In Second...

So, Yeah, Brian Loses But That Doesn't Stop Him From Going After One Of Braga's Other Drivers So That He Can Take His Place...

Going To A Club With Dom And Campos, Dom Asks Brian What's To Stop Him From Telling Campos That He's A Cop, With Brian Telling That It's The Same Thing That's Keeping Him From Telling Campos Why He's Really Here...

They Have Some Friendly Banter With Campos, To The Point That Dom Mentions That Brian Dated Mia...

Asking What Braga Is About, Campos Gives Somewhat Of A Little History Hinting That He Grew Up From The Streets But Now He Calls The Shots And Is Basically The Boss Of Bosses...

With Both Of Them Going Undercover, Brian Goes Upstairs To See Campos Talking With An Old Man Who He Believes To Be Braga, While Dom Goes Downstair Where He Finds The Car That Matches The Car That Was After Letty And Giselle, Tells Dom That The Car Belonged To Fenix...

Well, I Guess Dom Has A Reason To Say Fenix!!!!!! Now..

Before She Flirts With Him...

The Next Day At The FBI, Brian Brings The Shot Glasses Of Campos And The Guy Who Is Probably Braga To The Girl In Charge Of Forensic Evidence Telling Her To Run The Fingerprints To All Agencies Even Those Beyond Interpol, But As The Girl Says That That Could Take Weeks, Brian's GPS Starts To Buzz Which Means He's Got To Go...

Taking The Car Into A Wherehouse, They Scan The Cars For Trackers (Which Forces Brian To Kill His) And They End Up Loading The Cars With The Racers Inside Them Into A Truck For Mexico Where Giselle Guides Them To The Area, Once There, Dom Confronts Fenix On Letty's Death To Which He Admits That He Killed Her...

Asking What Dom Will Do Now That He Knows This Information, Turns Out Nothing Right Now As Dom Created An Escape Plan Before Leaving His Car By Unscrewing The Main Nozzle Of His Nos Tank And Pressing His Lighter, Which In Turn Causes Not Just His Car But All The Cars To Blow Up...

Despite All Of Fenix's Men And The Other Drivers Being Dealt Fenix Gets Away While Brian And An Injured Dom Also Get Away With A Hummer Filled With $60 Million Dollars Worth Of Heroin. Contacting The FBI, They Know That Brian Has Dom With Him And The Shipment And They Expect Him To Turn Both Of Them In. Deciding To Hide The Shipment, Brian Hides It At The FBI Impound Lot Cause That's The Last Place They'll Check It, Right?

They're The FBI, They're Not Stupid, If They're Looking For Someone I'm Sure That Guy In The Parking Lot Will Be Like "Yeah I Saw Someone Who Matched That Description Last Night, He Was Here With A Hummer" And They'll Find The Shipment!

Anyway, This Leads To A Joke By Brian Saying That When Dom Blew His Car Up, He Blew Up Brian's As Well So Now He Owes HIM A 10 Second Car...

Contacting Mia, She Heals Dom And The 3 Of Them Have Dinner Together Even Down To The First Person That Touches The Plate Gets To Say Grace Tradition...

Talking With Mia While Dom Looks At Some Of Letty's Stuff, Brian Tells Mia, Why He Let Dom Go, And It's Because He Respected Him More Than He Did Himself, Learning That Nothing Really Matters Unless You Have A Code...

Finding Letty's Cellphone Which Still Has Power In It Dom Calls The Last Number She Called And Unfortunately It's Brian's...

Punching Brian, He Eventually Explains That Letty Made A Deal With The Feds, In Exchange For Clearing Dom's Name, She'd Give Them Braga...

Wow, If I Didn't Know Letty Was Coming Back For Another Sequel, This Would Be Really Sad...

Returning To The FBI, With Everyone Looking At Him In Disgust...

Brian Tells Them The Shipment Is Safe But Instead Of Parading It In Front Of The Media Maybe They Should Use It To Try To Lure Braga Out In An Attempt To Cut The Head Off Of The Snake If You Get My Gist By Doing An Exchange With Braga Brian Has A Plan But There's A Price

Of Course...

They Nab Braga But In Return They Let Dom Walk...

With Dom Calling Giselle, She Hands The Phone Off To Campos So He Can Tell Him That He Wants A Trade Off But Campos Tells Dom That Braga Doesn't Negotiate But Then Dom Tells Campos To Explain To Braga How $60 Million Dollars Of Product Goes Missing...

Asking What Dom Wants, He Tells Campos He Wants 60 Million Dollars In Cash Delivered By Braga However, Campos Says That Braga Will Never Go For It, Which Leads Dom To Say That Either He Deals With Braga Or Campos Does...

Meeting Campos, Giselle, Fenix And Braga, They Get 2 Million And The Rest Will Be Delivered Once They Have The Items However, Before They Can Make The Trade, The Fingerprint Match Comes Through And It Turns Out Campos Is Braga...

With Gunfire Going On, Braga And Fenix Get Away, Giselle Is Saved By Dom...

Huh, Never Through I'd See The Day That Wonder Woman Was Saved By A Tree...

Who Gets Her To Safety, While Brian Captures The Fake Braga...

With Braga Beyond FBI Jurisdiction, Brian Is Taken Off Of Both Active Duty And The Assignment By People Higher Up, Brian Decides To Visit The Toretto House Where He Finds Dom Working In The Garage On The Charger And To Say That He's Going With Him To Get Braga...

Seeing Brian And Dom Working Together, Brian Goes To See Mia Who He Kisses And Makes Out With, Rekindling Their Old Relationship...

Driving Off In The Charger With Brian Beside Him In Another Car To Deal With Braga, They Eventually Reach Mexico Where They Reunite With Gisele Who's Returning The Favor For Dom Saving Her By Giving Braga To Them...

Hey, Dom, I Didn't Know Her Car Could Turn Into An Invisible Jet....

Heading To A Church, Braga Delivers Money To A Priest Who Gives Him A Blessing, He's Confronted By Dom And Brian With Braga Telling Dom That They're Not So Different But Dom Beg To Differ, Deciding To Let Brian Have Braga However, Fenix Is His...

With Fenix Hearing That Braga Is Gone, Fenix And Braga's Henchmen Catch Up To Dom And Brian...

One By One Cars Are Eliminated Until It's Brian, Dom And Fenix Who Destroys Brian's Car In An Attempt To Get Braga But Dom Kills Fenix When He Rams His Car Right Into Him...

With Fenix Dead, Brian Is Injured And The FBI Are On Their Way, Telling Dom To Run, Dom Says He's Not Running Anymore...

So, Being Arrested, Dom Faces Justice For What He Has Done But Despite A Good Word From Brian The Judge Believes That One Right Does Not Make Up For A Lifetime Of Wrongs And Therefore Sentences Dom To 25 Years To Life At Lompoc Maximum Security Prison With No Possibility Of Parole...

But Do You Honestly Believe That Brian Will Accept That?

(As Balki) Of Course Not...

Him, Mia, And Leo And Rico Decide To Break Dom Out Of The Prison Bus...

Which Is Where This Movie Ends...

And That's Fast And Furious And It's A Good Movie!

For A Reunion Movie, It's Good The Story Is Good, The Cast Is Great, The Cars While Not As Well-Designed As The Last 2 Movie Are Good And While There's Only One Race Scene I Still Like The Scenes With The Cars So, Yeah, In My Opinion, This Is Probably One Of The Best Fast And Furious Movies Of The Series And I Definitely Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[stargazer-balladeer]

My tiktok is filled with TR! I'm never going to watch it now. It's like when my hero was new. I can't deal with it right now. I already know so much because people keep spoiling everything. It's AoT all over again. If I do watch Tokyo Revengers ever, it's going to be years from now.😭😭😭

LMAO HELP 😭😭

I keep trying to find tiktok edits for spiderman :( particularly for andrew’s <.< yes im simping for andrew’s peter shush-

[aion-rsa]

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Review: Shared Universe Shows Promise

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The biggest thing that Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins gets right is the casting of Henry Golding as the titular, iconic masked ninja. Not only is it nice to see the character played by an Asian actor (Snake Eyes has up to this point only been portrayed as a white man), but the Malaysian-English Crazy Rich Asians star does a fine job at kicking the living shit out of countless baddies, as well as giving the up-til-now silent character a voice that fans can get behind. And director Robert Schwentke treats the material seriously while still remembering to have fun along the way.

The movie opens with Snake Eyes as a boy, long before he becomes the wordless warrior fans know and love. He and his dad are on vacation at their family cabin when a group of militarized mercenaries led by a scraggly super-goon captures his father and forces him to literally gamble for his life by rolling a pair of dice. The old man, of course, rolls snake eyes (two ones) and is executed, albeit not before the kid is able to escape. 

Twenty years later, that child is now an underground cage fighter going by the name Snake Eyes as a sort of pledge or reminder to himself that he will one day find his father’s killer and end him in violent fashion. When a shady Yakuza-adjacent figure named Kenta (Takehiro Hira) offers to help him find his father’s killer, Snake Eyes agrees to come work for him. And when Snake Eyes befriends Tommy (Andrew Koji), the heir-apparent the heir-apparent to the Arashikage clan, a wealthy, powerful family in Japan, he gets caught in the middle of a clan war that sees him play both sides to ultimately get revenge on his father’s killer.

Golding does a fine job of remaining likable and sympathetic in spite of Snake Eyes’s incessant lying, which is quite the feat considering just how desperate the character gets in the final act. Both physically and dramatically, Golding is more than up to the task here and proves that he’s got the chops to be a leading man on the big screen for years to come.

He’s also got a great cast backing him up too. Koji is magnetic as the sword-swinging Tommy, who will later become Storm Shadow (the writers do a good job of explaining why the fan favorite character is so duplicitous by nature). Adopted sister Arishakage Akiko (Haruka Abe) is the only family member skeptical enough to sense that Snake Eyes isn’t being 100 percent honest with them, and the friction between them serves the story well. The Raid star Iko Uwais lends a tremendous level of physicality to the action as Arashikage fight guru Hard Master, and Peter Mensah brings a palpable sense of mystery to the proceedings as Blind Master.

Unlike the previous G.I. Joe movies, Snake Eyes takes a more personal, ground-level approach to both the action and storytelling, with a smaller sense of scale that focuses more on character dynamics than bombast, guns, explosions, and hero-posing. There’s also a notable absence of the military aesthetic and milieu the franchise is known for since the 1960s, which may seem like a major departure but actually opens the brand up for a more diverse line of titles going forward.

As for tie-ins to the larger G.I. Joe universe, Baroness (Úrsula Corberó) and Scarlett (Samara Weaving) join the fray in the later acts, seemingly for the sole purpose of providing on-ramps to future titles that expand the story. A Scarlett solo movie seems likely (Weaving falls into the role well and deserves a brighter spotlight in the future), but what’s even more likely is a continuation of the ninja blood brothers’ saga, perhaps in the form of a Storm Shadow movie. If Snake Eyes is any indication, the future of the franchise looks bright.

But being something of a supernatural Yakuza flick, this particular movie is filled to the brim with fight scenes, mostly of the hand-to-hand variety. The combat sequences are choreographed well, and with practitioners like Uwais on-screen, you know you’re going to see some cool-looking stuff. The set pieces are nice (a duel set on top of a moving car carrier trailer later in the film is a highlight, as is a neon-lit mob fight on the streets of Tokyo), though a tussle between Snake Eyes and a trio of gigantic anacondas comes off as just a little hokey in contrast. The shaky-cam is abused often, mostly during intimate fight scenes, but not enough to ruin the mood.

As an action/martial arts movie, Snake Eyes is rock solid. But the story is what pulls you through—getting to know Snake Eyes and his relationship to the other characters, and watching him confront his inner demons is more riveting than it has any right to be. This is the kind of summer movie you’d watch on a whim, or perhaps out of sheer boredom, only to be surprised at how legitimately awesome it is.

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The post Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Review: Shared Universe Shows Promise appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3eLYzm4

[therearemonsterseugene]

The Movies I Watched -- 2017

Here’s an inelegant list of the movies I watched this year:

1. Joe Kidd (1972) -- John Sturges (US) 2. Friday the 13th (1980) -- Sean Cunningham (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 3. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) -- Steve Miner (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 4. Jurassic Park (1993) -- Stephen Spielberg (US) -- rewatch 5. Horns (2013) -- Alexandre Aja (US/Can) 6. A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012) -- Crispian Mills, Chris Hopewell (UK) 7. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) -- Howard Hawks (US) 8. The Court Jester (1956) -- Melvin Frank, Norman Panama (US) -- rewatch 9. The Wailing (2016) -- Na Hong-jin (S. Kor) 10. Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) -- John Landis, Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, Robert K. Weiss (US) 11. A Wedding (1978) -- Robert Altman (US) 12. A Brief History of Time (1991) -- Errol Morris (UK/US/Japan) 13. Frank (2014) -- Lenny Abrahamson (UK/Ire/US) 14. The Housemaid (2010) -- Im Sang-soo (S. Kor) 15. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) -- Bong Joon-ho (S. Kor) 16. Assassination (2015) -- Choi Dong-hoon (S. Kor) 17. The Nice Guys (2016) -- Shane Black (US) 18. A Single Shot (2013) -- David M. Rosenthal (US) 19. I Am Not Your Negro (2016) -- Raoul Peck (US) -- in theater 20. Lost in America (1985) -- Albert Brooks (US) 21. Tokyo Twilight (1957) -- Yasujiro Ozu (Japan) 22. Vernon, Florida (1982) -- Errol Morris (US) 23. I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (2017) -- Macon Blair (US) 24. Get Out (2017) -- Jordan Peele (US) -- in theater 25. 44 Inch Chest (2009) -- Malcolm Venville (UK) 26 To Be Or Not To Be (1942) -- Ernst Lubitsch (US) -- in theater, 35mm 27. Passion (2012) -- Brian de Palma (Fr/Ger) 28. Never Let Go (1960) -- John Guillerman (UK) 29. Ghostbusters (1984) -- Ivan Reitman (US) -- in theater, 70mm, rewatch 30. Grand Slam (1967) -- Giuliano Montaldo (It/Sp/Ger) 31. The 'Burbs (1989) -- Joe Dante (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 32. The Void (2017) -- Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanki (Can) -- in theater 33. Whiplash (2014) -- Damien Chazelle (US) 34. Mazes and Monsters (1982) -- Steve Hilliard Stern (US) 35. Colossal (2016) -- Nacho Vigolando (Can/Sp) -- in theater 36. Skins (2017) -- Eduardo Casanova (Sp) 37. Good Morning (1959) -- Yasujiro Ozu (Japan) 38. God Help the Girl (2014) -- Stuart Murdoch (UK) 39. Empire of Passion (1978) -- Nagisa Oshima (Japan/Fr) 40. Fast and Furious (2009) -- Justin Lin (US) 41. The Daytrippers (1996) -- Greg Mottola (US/Can) 42. Alien: Covenant (2017) -- Ridley Scott (US) -- in theater 43. The Sweet Hereafter (1997) -- Atom Egoyan (Can) 44. A Dangerous Method (2011) -- David Cronenberg (Various) 45. Train to Busan (2016) -- Yeoh Sang-ho (S. Kor) 46. It Comes At Night (2017) -- Trey Edward Shults (US) -- in theater 47. Le Mans (1971) -- Lee H. Katzin (US) 48. Cabaret (1972) -- Bob Fosse (US) 49. Finding Dory (2016) -- Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane (US) 50. The Four MusketeersK Milady's Revenge (1974) -- Richard Lester (Sp/Pan) 51. Girlfriend's Day (2017) -- Michael Stephenson (US) 52. The Bad Batch (2016) -- Ana Lily Amirpour (US) -- in theater 53. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) -- Alexander Mackendrick (US) 54. Okja (2017) -- Bong Joon-ho (S. Kor/US) 55. One Million Years B.C. (1966) -- Don Chaffrey (UK) 56. Mascots (2016) -- Christopher Guest (US) 57. Amarcord (1973) -- Frederico Fellini (It) 58. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) -- John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 59. Moana (2016) -- Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, Chris Williams (US) 60. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) -- Stephen Spielberg (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 61. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) -- Stephen Spielberg (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 62. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) -- Stephen Spielberg (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 63. Things to Come (1936) -- William Cameron Menzies (UK) 64. Moana (2016) -- Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, Chris Williams (US) -- rewatch 65. Baby Driver (2017) -- Edgar Wright (US/UK) -- in theater 66. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) -- Matt Reeves (US) 67. Circus of Fear (1966) -- John Llewellyn Moxey (UK/Ger) 68. Win Win (2011) -- Tom McCarthy (US) 69. Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987) -- Norman Mailer (US) 70. Her (2013) -- Spike Jonze (US) 71. Dunkirk (2017) -- Christopher Nolan (various) -- in theater, 70mm 72. The Shallows (2016) -- Jaume Collet-Serra (US) 73. The Sea Hawk (1940) -- Michael Curtiz (US) 74. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) -- Richard Fleischer (US) 75. The Mayor of Hell (1933) -- Archie Mayo, Michael Curtiz (US) 76. Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom (1973) -- Noribumi Suzuki (Japan) 77. l'Atalante (1934) -- Jean Vigo (Fr) 78. GLOW: The Story of the Glorious Ladies of Wrestling (2012) -- Brett Whitcomb (US) 79. The Killing (1956) -- Stanley Kubrick (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 80. The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) -- Peter Yates (US) 81. The Neon Demon (2016) -- Nicolas Winding Refn (Various) 82. The Iron Rose (1973) -- Jean Rollin (Fr) -- in theater, rewatch 83. In Like Flint (1967) -- Gordon Douglas (US) 84. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) -- Tomas Alfredson (Various) 85. Kill Me Three Times (2014) -- Kriv Stenders (US/Aus) 86. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985) -- Stan Dragoti (US) 87. The Age of Shadows (2016) -- The Age of Shadows (S. Kor) 88. Adam's Rib (1949) -- George Cukor (US) 89. Happiness (1998) -- Todd Solondz (US) 90. Kong: Skull Island (2017) -- Jordan Vogt-Roberts (US) 91. Resolution (2012) -- Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead (US) 92. The WIndmill (2016) -- Nick Jongerius (Netherlands) 93. The Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971) -- Paolo Cavara (It/Fr) 94. Fiend Without a Face (1958) -- Arthur Crabtree (US) 95. Versus (2000) -- Ryuhei Kitamura (Japan) 96. Little Deaths (2011) -- Sean Hogan, Andrew Parkinson, Simon Rumley (UK) 97. Village of the Damned (1960) -- Wolf Rilla (UK) 98. Children of the Damned (1964) -- Anton M. Leader (UK) 99. The Vampire Bat (1933) -- Frank Strayer (US) 100. Hush (2016) -- Mike Flanagan (US) 101. Extraordinary Tales (2013) -- Raul Garcia (Various) 102. The Boogens (1981) -- James L. Conway (US) 103. The Black Room (1935) -- R. William Neill (US) 104. The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) -- Nick Grinde (US) 105. The Thing (1982) -- John Carpenter (US) -- in theater, 70mm, rewatch 106. The She Beast (1966) -- Mike Reeves (UK/It) 107. Idle Hands (1999) -- Rodman Flendor 108. Knights of Badassdom (2013) -- Joe Lynch (US) 109. Requiem for a Vampire (1971) -- Jean Rollin (Fr) 110. Beyond the Gates (2016) -- Jackson Stewart (US) 110. Society (1989) -- Bryan Yuzna (US) 111. Full Moon of the Virgins (1973) -- Luigi Batzella (It) 112. Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal (2012) -- Boris Rodriquez (Can/Den) 113. Christmas Evil (1980) -- Lewis Jackson (US) 114. A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) -- Lucio Fulci (Various) 115. Little Evil (2017) -- Eil Craig (US) 116. Stagefright (1987) -- Michael Soavi (It) 117. Day of the Animals (1977) -- William Girdler (US) 118. The Leopard Man (1943) -- Jacques Tourneur (US) -- in theater, 35mm, rewatch 119. The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972) -- Charles B. Pierce (US) 120. Pacific Heights (1990) -- John Schlesinger (US) 121. Sleep Tight (2011) -- Jaume Baluguero (Sp) 122. Pigs (1973) -- Marc Lawrence (US) 123. Salem's Lot (1979) -- Tobe Hooper (US) 124. Black Cobra Woman (1976) -- Joe D'Amato (It) 125. Sinister (2012) -- Scott Derrickson (US) 126. Madman (1981) -- Joe Giannone (US) 127. The Woman in Black (2012) -- James Watkins (Var) 128. Burnt Offerings (1976) -- Dan Curtis (US/It) 129. Cold Prey (2006) - Roar Uthaug (Nor) 130. Shocker (1989) -- Wes Craven (US) 131. X the Unknown (1956) -- Leslie Norman (UK) 132. Design for Living (1933) -- Ernst Lubitsch (US) 133. Peter Ibbetson (1935) -- Henry Hathaway (US) 134. Ultraviolet (2006) -- Kurt Wimmer (US) 135. Love Crazy (1941) -- Jack Conway (US) 136. Cinderfella (1960) -- Frank Tashlin (US) 137. Wacko (1982) -- Greydon Clark (US) 138. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) -- Martin McDonagh (US/UK) -- in theater 139. The Firemen's Ball (1967) -- Milos Forman (Cz) 140. Village of the Damned (1995) --- John Carpenter (US) 141. Funeral Home (1980) -- William Fruet (Can) 142. Quiz Show (1994) -- Robert Redford (US) 143. Black Christmas (1974) -- Bob Clark (US/Can) -- rewatch 144. Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) -- Martin Campbell (US) 145. The Incubus (1982) -- John Hough (US) 146. Blackboard Jungle (1955) -- Richard Brooks (US) 147. Kong: Skull Island (2017) -- Jordan Vogt-Roberts (US) -- rewatch 148. Phone Booth (2002) -- Joel Schumacher (US) 149. How to Steal a Million (1966) -- William Wyler (US) 150. The Shape of Water (2017) -- Guillermo del Toro (US/Can) -- in theater 151. Volunteers (1985) -- Nicholas Meyer (US) 152. The Blackcoat's Daughter (2017) -- Osgood Perkins (US/Can) 153. I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968) -- Hy Averback (US) 154. Adventures in Babysitting (1987) -- Christ Columbus (US) 155. Fascination (1979) -- Jean Rollin (Fr) -- in theater 156. The Trouble With Spies (1987) -- Burt Kennedy (US) 157. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) -- Brian Henson (US) -- rewatch 158. The Undertaker (1988) -- Franco Steffanino (US) 159. Witchcraft (1964) -- Don Sharp (UK) 160. Beetlejuice (1988) -- Tim Burton (US) -- rewatch 161. Zero Dark Thirty (2012) -- Kathryn Bigelow (US) 162. Raw (2016) -- Julia Ducournau (Fr, Belg, It)

[sywtwfs]

A Preview for 2017 World Team Trophy (aka. The Most Important Event of the Season)

Thought the season was over? Not quite! The last competition of the 2016-17 season, World Team Trophy, will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from April 20-22! The top 6 countries based on world standings will participate, and unsurprisingly, those countries are Canada, Russia, USA, Japan, China, and France. We'll be seeing lots of familiar faces here, so this preview will focus less on individual skaters and more on teams as a whole.

Streaming information for WTT is available here.

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COMPETITION FORMAT

What the ads tell you to expect: A fierce battle between the top countries of the world!

What will actually happen: K&C parties, silly hats, streamers, vuvuzelas, no one taking the event seriously, messy performances because everyone’s tired after Worlds (let’s be honest here), basically one last bit of fun before the reality of the Olympic season sets in. Watch this video to get a preview of the WTT experience.

World Team Trophy is a team competition hosted in Japan every other year starting in 2009 (the 2011 competition was postponed to 2012 due to the earthquake in Japan). Each team is composed of two ladies, two men, one ice dance team, and one pairs team, for a total of 12 men, 12 ladies, 6 pairs and 6 dance teams. Skaters earn points for their team based on their placements in both the short programs and free skates. For the singles events, 1st place earns 12 points, 2nd place earns 11 points, and so on until 12th place, which earns 1 point. For the pairs and dance events, 1st place earns 12 points, and so on until 6th place, which earns 7 points. Teams are represented by a Team Captain in the press conferences. As WTT is an ISU Competition, scores recorded there count for season's/personal best scores and world records.

But let's be real, the most important part of WTT isn't the competition itself, but the kiss n' cry, which is truly the life of the event. Skaters cheer for their teammates with silly hats, costumes, noisemakers, props, dancing, anything they can come up with. (Sometimes even the officials join in.) The most creative and enthusiastic team is awarded the Team Spirit Award. Team France won the Team Spirit Award in 2012 and 2013, but Team China is the defending champ from 2015, and we can't wait to see all of them bring their A-games to the K&C.

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TEAM CANADA

Captain: Kaitlyn Weaver

Ladies: Gabrielle Daleman, Alaine Chartrand

Men: Patrick Chan, Kevin Reynolds

Pairs: Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro

Ice dance: Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje

Competition prospects: Team Canada is fresh off one of their most successful World Championships in years, buoyed especially by their two ladies’ medalists in a discipline that has often been their weakness in recent seasons. However, the team that Canada will send to Tokyo is missing some of its biggest stars; the absence of Virtue/Moir, Kaetlyn Osmond, and their top 3 pairs teams could make the results more unpredictable. But with a deep field in every discipline, Team Canada still has a very solid shot at the WTT podium and will be fighting primarily with Team USA and Team Russia for their first WTT title. The team will be led by Weaver/Poje, Gabby Daleman, and Patrick Chan with solid backup from Kevin Reynolds, while Alaine Chartrand and Moore-Towers/Marinaro - strong skaters in their own right - will use WTT as another opportunity for competition experience and to finish their seasons on a high note.

K&C prospects: Expect many moose hats, mountie hats, and maple leaves, tried and true symbols of Canadian patriotism. Alas, Scott Moir isn’t here to tell us he hates this event, which has been a real highlight of Team Canada in the past.

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TEAM RUSSIA

Captain: Ekaterina Bobrova

Ladies: Evgenia Medvedeva, Elena Radionova

Men: Mikhail Kolyada, Maxim Kovtun

Pairs: Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov

Ice dance: Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev

Competition prospects: Team Russia isn’t fooling around this season, sending their highest-ranked skaters from Worlds to Tokyo next week - the sole exception being Elena Radionova, who can use this competition as another opportunity after missing her country’s European and World teams. Evgenia Medvedeva, Bobrova/Soloviev, and Tarasova/Morozov will be the anchors of the team, while Team Russia’s final placement will likely depend on the performances of Elena and the men, who can be a bit of a wild card. Russia didn’t start sending their strongest skaters to WTT until 2015, where they took the silver medal, and if this year’s team can skate to their potential, Team Russia might just win the entire competition.

K&C prospects: Team Russia’s K&Cs have a wide range of quality depending on who’s on the team. They can be a lot of fun or they can be a snooze; their performance this season is a bit hard to predict.

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TEAM USA

Captain: Ashley Wagner

Ladies: Ashley Wagner, Karen Chen

Men: Nathan Chen, Jason Brown

Pairs: Ashley Cain/Timothy LeDuc

Ice dance: Madison Chock/Evan Bates

Competition prospects: Three-time and defending WTT champions, Team USA has what it takes to win once again. Fielding high-level competitors in singles and ice dance, they’ll be looking for consistent performances across all disciplines in order to snatch the gold. Team USA has some very strong skaters, but there are a few questions up in the air: Has Nathan Chen fixed his boot problems? Will he attempt 6 quads in the free skate again? Will he survive this competition in one piece? Will Karen Chen continue her rise? Will Ashley Wagner and Chock/Bates redeem themselves from Worlds? Will someone try to start a “U S A” chant, only to be shut down by Captain Wagner? All this and more will become apparent next week in Tokyo!

K&C prospects: Expect at least a few “U S A” chants, and for the team to be bedecked like a Fourth of July parade. The enthusiasm is usually there, but may require more creativity to truly contend for the Team Spirit Award.

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TEAM JAPAN

Captain: Kana Muramoto

Ladies: Mai Mihara, Wakaba Higuchi

Men: Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno

Pairs: Sumire Suto/Francis Boudreau-Audet

Ice dance: Kana Muramoto/Chris Reed

Competition prospects: Team Japan has medaled at every WTT held so far, with 3 bronze medals and one gold (in 2012). As the host nation, Japan is allowed to participate in WTT by default, but Team Japan is always high enough in the rankings to qualify anyway. Although pairs and dance are Japan's weakest disciplines, they are still a podium contender by virtue of having some of the strongest singles skaters in the world. However, unless their pairs and dance teams can pull off a miracle, Japan is unlikely to contend for anything higher than bronze this year. Their biggest potential point-getters are the men, Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno, fresh off gold and silver medals at 2017 Worlds. (Then again, if they’re a disaster here, we would not be surprised either.) Team Japan's final placement will likely come down to the performances of their ladies, who are capable of high scores when they're on; Mai Mihara brings consistency to the table, while Wakaba Higuchi will no doubt be looking for revenge after her Worlds debut. Muramoto/Reed and Suto/Boudreau-Audet will also be looking to end their seasons on a good note after just barely failing to qualify for the free skates at Worlds.

K&C prospects: Japan's K&C performance has ranged from lackluster (2015) to good (2013), with their best years coming under the captaincy of legendary uncle Daisuke Takahashi. Ice dancer Kana Muramoto will lead the team this year, and it will be interesting to see how this young, rather shy version of Team Japan gels together.

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TEAM CHINA

Captain: Yang Jin

Ladies: Zijun Li, Xiangning Li

Men: Boyang Jin, Tangxu Li

Pairs: Cheng Peng/Yang Jin

Ice dance: Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu

Competition prospects: Team China has never medaled at WTT and that's not about to change this year, either. Boyang Jin and Peng/Jin have the best chance at high placements, Xiangning Li and Wang/Liu have risen steadily this season, and Zijun Li will be looking for redemption from Worlds, but it’s unlikely that Team China will place higher than 5th overall. But truthfully, who cares?

K&C prospects: This is where Team China shines. With a close-knit group of skaters all around the same age, Team China really feels like a team. Their enthusiasm and creativity in 2015, as well as their mastery of props and choreographed dancing, nabbed them the Team Spirit Award. If they can bring the same quality to their K&Cs this year, Team China has a shot at defending their title - but those performances from 2015 may be hard to top. Personally, we're looking forward to Boyang Jin's WTT debut, and whatever machinations Zijun Li comes up with to raise Team China's K&C game. (Yang Jin is listed as the captain, but we know who’s really calling the shots.)

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TEAM FRANCE

Captain: Morgan Cipres

Ladies: Laurine Lecavelier, Mae Berenice Meite

Men: Chafik Besseghier, Kevin Aymoz

Pairs: Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres

Ice dance: Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac

Competition prospects: Sixth-place qualifier this year, Team France will probably fight with Team China for 5th place in the standings. With the exception of James/Cipres, the members of Team France are unlikely to place very high at WTT, and they're really just here to have a good time.

K&C prospects: If previous years are anything to go by, Team France will be fighting once again for first place in Team Spirit - they won the Team Spirit Award in both 2012 and 2013, and put up a good fight in 2015, too. Their efforts in 2012 and 2013 revolutionized K&C cheerleading with the use of costumes, props, and themed acrobatics. And you’ve really gotta give props to a team that cheers wildly when they hear they’re in last place, and will likely stay there. However, team composition is also important when considering K&C prospects, and Team France is missing some of its big K&C players of the past, so we’ll just have to wait and see what they come up with this year.

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[hccwproductions-blog]

New Year’s Revolution Pre-Show Predictions pannel with Mauro Ranallo, Bully Ray, and Christopher Daniels

Mauro Ranallo: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the HCCW New Year’s Revolution Pre-Show! We’ve let 5000 fans into the garden a day early, and we’ve got some matches coming up later tonight, but first, joining me now, two men with over 40 combined years in our business, Bully Ray and Christopher Daniels, both men former world champions, Gentlemen, I want to get your thoughts on each of tomorrow night’s matchups.

Bully Ray: Mauro, it’s good to be here, Chris, it’s good to see you again, let’s do this.

Christopher Daniels: Yeah yeah, it's good to see you as well, and it's even better to be here.

Mauro Ranallo: First, talking about the Elimination tag team matches, we’ve got the women’s five on five elimination tag, Asuka, Mia Yim, Shayna Baszler, Nikki Bella, and Lilith Brookes take on Sister Abigail, Nikki Cross, Becky Lynch,Tessa Blanchard, and Toni Storm... Chris, who do you have winning this one, and why?

Christopher Daniels: We can all agree that Asuka has been an unstoppable force between her time in NXT and her time here, but this is where her streak comes to an abrupt stop as her team loses it what will probably be an overall embarrassing fashion. It won't be her fault, of course. The people standing with her are weak and won't be able to hold themselves up to the standard of their opponents. I mean, against people like Sister Abigail and Becky Lynch, both former Vixen's Champions, and the wildcard of Nikki Cross, those four don't stand a chance. Asuka is the only one who might but she won't get the job done by herself.

Bully Ray: I gotta disagree with Chris, here. I don’t care if the match comes down to a 5 on 1 situation. Asuka is unstoppable, there isn’t a woman on planet earth who could take her out. And if you seriously take a look at her team, she’s got a great support system. Mia Yim, world class wrestler, Shayna Baszler, former UFC fighter, Nikki Bella, she’s been around forever, former WWE Divas Champion, and Lilith Brookes, you know, we still don’t know much about her, but she’s got that fire about her. Team Asuka takes it. Asuka and Mia Yim are the survivors for the team.

Mauro Ranallo: Alright, Gentlemen, the men’s five on five. You’ve got the Bullet Club, Kenny Omega, AJ Styles, Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll, against the ragtag team of Christian, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, and Sami Callihan. Bully, why don’t you start us off this time?

Bully Ray: I’ll start this off by saying, that Bullet Club team is an absolute dream team. Under normal circumstances, if that was a normal, thrown together team, i’d like their chances. But ladies and Gentlemen, I’m gonna give you a hot scoop right now. There is descension in the Bullet Club. I have good knowledge that says that Cody may be trying to take Kenny’s spot as the leader of the club. I think that causes them to lose this match. Finn Balor is my sole survivor for Team Christian.

Christopher Daniels: As what should be common knowledge, I have not had a good history with Bullet Club over the course of 2017, so this pains me to say but Bullet Club will take the win here. As you said, they're a dream team, and no matter what may go on outside of the ring, they are a cohesive unit inside of it that not many stand a chance against. Besides, it's not as though leadership struggles are a foreign concept to them. Omega and Cody will be the sole survivors.

Mauro Ranallo: Moving on to our other matches for the night, Chris Jericho takes on Sami Zayn, Sami Zayn trying to get retribution for Jericho screwing him out of the world title on numerous occasions. Mr. Daniels, what say you?

Christopher Daniels: Chris Jericho will get a decisive victory here as Sami Zayn's emotions get the better of him. He'll seek revenge rather than victory and Chris, the wiser veteran, will take advantage, as he should.

Bully Ray: Do you now how many PPV wins Chris Jericho has in HCCW? He’s got one! Jericho ain’t focused on this match either. He’s too worried about Omega in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. I wouldn’t be surprised if Omega gets involved in this match actually. Zayn takes it.

Mauro Ranallo: The Young Bucks look to reclaim the HCCW World Tag Team Titles against Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta, who just recently reclaimed them from Syn and Rosemary. Bully, who do you have and why?

Bully Ray: Alright... look. I like Chuck and Trent, I do. They’re good kids. Nice boys. I want them to win. Are they going to? Sadly, no. I think both of their tag title wins were flukes, to be honest with you. The Bucks are too good. Trent and Chuck show a lot of heart, but I just can’t see them pulling this one out. Bucks.

Christopher Daniels: I mean.. how does one disagree? Trent and Chuck; what do they call themselves? Best Friends? They're a joke. Impressive wrestlers, but together they're a joke more focused on putting on a comedy act. The Bucks are a whole different monster and they're just not ready for it. Bucks.

Mauro Ranallo: The Queen, Charlotte Flair, steps between the ropes to defend her newly won Vixens Championship against both The Fairy Tale Killer, Alexa Bliss, and HCCW’s newest signee, Emma. Chris, give us your thoughts.

Christopher Daniels: The fact that Emma is in this match is somewhat.. weird, considering she just got here. But alas, she won't be much of a factor. The true matchup here is Charlotte vs Alexa, and this time Alexa will be the one emerging victorious. Charlotte busted her ass to win the Elimination Chamber, but she's not going to be able to hold onto it much longer because Alexa Bliss is — something else. She has beyond impressed, beyond exceeded expectations, and you know she's hungry to get her title back. Alexa Bliss will be our new Vixens Champion.

Bully Ray: There are just certain things you don’t bet against. You don’t bet against Jeter in Yankee Stadium, you don’t bet against Eli Manning against the Patriots, and by god, you do not bey against a Flair when the title is on the line! Charlotte keeps the belt and continues to make her daddy proud.

Mauro Ranallo: Pete Dunne faces his toughest challenge yet, An Ultimate X match against Davey Richards, Crazzy Steve, Mark Andrews, Jimmy Havoc, and a mystery competitor. Who will the mystery man be? Who will walk out Zero-G Champion? Bully?

Bully Ray: It don’t matter who the mystery man is. I got no idea who’s it’s gonna be, but it’s not gonna matter. That Davey Richards? That’s one mean son of a bitch, and with that big bastard, Baron Corbin, watching his back in there? Davey takes it. A lot of people are gonna be unhappy about it, but that’s the way it’s gonna be.

Christopher Daniels: While I do agree with your sentiment about the mystery competitor being unknown and unimportant, I have to disagree with you about the victory. Pete Dunne will defy the odds stacked against him and walk out still Zero-G Champion. It will be a tough test, but if anyone has proven there unafraid of a challenge and will do whatever it takes to overcome it, it's Pete Dunne.

Mauro Ranallo: It’s the HCCW return of The Beast, Brock Lesnar, as he steps into the ring with the Monster Among Men, Braun Strowman. Guys, they’re gonna have to reinforce the ring for this one! Who do you have, Chris?

Christopher Daniels: Just as Bully said just a few minutes ago, there are certain things you don't bet against, and one of them you forgot is that you do not bet against Brock Lesnar. It will not be easy, it will hurt, but the F-5 will put Strowman away and Lesnar will win in his return.

Bully Ray: This is the one that I had the toughest time picking. Braun Strowman is an absolute monster. It’s in his nickname. But Brock Lesnar is Brock Lesnar, and when Brock Lesnar wants to do something, there isn’t a man walking planet earth who can stop him from doing it. Brock wants to win this match. Lesnar wins.

Mauro Ranallo: Speaking of in-ring returns, The Heart Break Kid, Shawn Michaels, makes his in ring return, as he teams up with Triple H, to take on Mike Bennett and Adam Cole of The Kingdom! Mr. Ray, you know some things about tag team wrestling.

Bully Ray: That I do, Mauro, and I know this. The Kingdom right now? They look like garbage. They’re unfocused, they’re sloppy, and they’re spending more time fighting each other than their opponents lately. And, cmon. You’re telling me that Shawn Michaels doesn’t win his in-ring return? You’re telling me DX doesn’t win this? Cmon. It’s easy. DX wipes the floor with Mike and Adam.

Christopher Daniels: I know a couple things about tag team wrestling myself, Mauro, and one thing that always prevails is tag team chemistry because it never goes away, no matter how long it's been since you've last teamed. Shawn and Triple H have that, but so do the Kingdom. They're younger, fresher, hungrier. And, with Michael's experiencing ring rust after not wrestling for so long, is why the Kingdom will win.

Mauro Ranallo: The World Heavyweight Title is on the line, as Rusev defends against the HC1 Tournament winner, Seth Rollins. Chris, who will leave with the biggest prize in HCCW?

Christopher Daniels: Unless Cody cashes in his Gift of the Gods, we will not see the world title change hands. There's a reason Rusev has been champion for so long, and Seth Rollins is no match for him. Seth Rollins isn't prepared for the beating he's going to receive. Rusev will humiliate Seth and continue his reign.

Bully Ray: There’s reasons Seth won HC1, and they’re the same reasons he’s leaving with the belt. Without Chris Jericho by his side, Rusev can’t retain. Seth wins. Seth finally reaches the mountain top.

Mauro Ranallo: And the main event of the night. Rosemary vs Syn. Demon vs Soul. Career vs Career. Hell in a Cell. Possibly the biggest match in HCCW history... Christopher, let’s hear from you first

Christopher Daniels: Look... This is a hard one. They're both tough, they're both talented, and neither want to lose. But as we have learned by watching those like the Undertaker that, when everything is on the line on the biggest stage, those who have a sort of.. supernatural assistance always win. I'd like to believe that this won't actually be the last we see of Syn since he's so young and still has a lot left to offer, but Rosemary has the edge and will be the last one standing.

Bully Ray: I trained this kid, Syn, I’ve seen what he can do. He’s a New Yorker in the Garden, and I know he doesn’t believe, but god is on his side against the forces of evil. I think he can do it. I think Syn pulls this one out. I really do.

Mauro Ranallo: Thank you folks, for joining us, you heard the predictions here first! Now let’s continue on with the pre-show, Gentlemen, thank you.

[starlightfae]

[starlightfae]

Baji

[starlightfae]

was the Yuzuha panty shot necessary when Taiju was beating the shit out of her?

trick question, it Was Not

i literally made this face 🙄 when i saw it

[starlightfae]

Mikey @ Takemichi within the first 5 minutes of meeting him: you’re my friend now 😀

[starlightfae]

on the bright side, i finished tokyo revengers and started the second season, shit's wild lmao

slightly related, im gonna make a collage of all the hot guys bc I'm gay and there's too many of them in this series lmao