#at least they showcase his dodge in his trailer

[siribunbun]

Aventurine (and HSR) thoughts that won't leave my head

[feathers-blown-in-the-wind]

First thoughts on Illusion S5 ep5

Okay so the only thing the fandom got right about illusion was Nino playing detective

The trailers were perfectly crafted to misdirect us but I didn't find it disatisfying in the end ! I perfectly understand why we believed such and such about a scene and yet they take a whole other meaning in the actual episode and it's so so cool

Nino gets a much appreciated focus, that stays very in line with his previous characterisation and it was so nice to see ! He's so eager to help the heroes despite not having powers (just like he was in Anansi). He keeps his hot-headed tendency (just like he was in Rocketear) and his distate for Gabriel (just like in the Bubbler)... Everyone is very consistent in this episode and it was lovely

Even Gabriel is super consistent. Consistent at being an awful human being and parent but it's consistent so that tracks. The guy went full on constant guilttriping on Adrien (just like he does with Nathalie in passion) and basically uses him being a decent parent as a carrot to keep Adrien on his side and dodge all of his complaints...

The way he justifies the way he treated Adrien in the previous seasons and links the change purely to the existence of the Alliance rings to get Adrien to accept them ? He backs Adrien into a corner, stuck between two batons (actual modelling vs not having control on his image) but hey at least there's a carrot if he stops complaining about the rings ! Adrien gets a dad now, who makes breakfast, comes to parent-teacher's meetings ! All of the things that Adrien should have had from the beginning but it's such a step up from what Adrien is used to that he will do just about anything to keep it (the banana on pancakes detail in Passion now takes a whole new meaning)

He appears to backtrack at the end of the episode, presents himself as the victim to force Adrien's friends into taking the blame. He makes a compromise at the end, finally acts nice to Nino just like Adrien always wanted, accepts Adrien not wearing the ring and overall seems to be trying ! It's a perfect showcase of what manipulation looks like, how they show you what you want to see when actually getting better is absolutely not on the table in their mind. They make you think they will, but they know they won't

Gabriel is such an awful parent and it's so masterfully done ! Imagine if these plot points and constant manipulation comes back later on when it's revealed that Gabriel is Monarch ? Adrien (and his friends, Nino in particular) are going to feel so betrayed !

This episode was so so well done and I definitely understand why Tfou decided to put it at the end of the batch and honestly ? I think I prefer this order to the correct one because we're forced to recontextualise everything only now, we see passion without knowing for sure that Gabriel is 100% just manipulating Adrien and there's this sense of dread when you realise that Gabriel really is that terrible.

[elusive-lamb]

Was Adam nerfed?

There have been ‘concerns’ about consistency and I’m bored so I went on an adventure.. tldr: minor V5 to V6 inconsistencies but the answer is no. No he wasn’t

BLACK TRAILER

First combat appearance. He and Blake beat up a bunch of shitty robots and look cool while doing it. Neither of them are challenged at all in this fight -- the robots are so shitty that one of them dies to a gunshot, which is practically unheard of in RWBY. Only things to note are how versatile he is with using the hilt of his sword to attack and that he repeatedly sheaths and unsheaths the sword as part of his fighting style.

Big boi droid shows up. It hits both Blake and Adam and neither of them are able to inflict any significant damage. Blake suggests that they “get out of there,” indicating that they should retreat. The laser knocks them out of that train compartment and Adam has Blake distract it to he can absorb an entire laser blast with his sword. Unleashing this energy, he’s able to slice the droid in half.

Throughout the trailer, Adam and Blake seem equally competent. Only Adam’s semblance gives him the advantage of being able to destroy the droid -- without this, a retreat would have been necessary.

Adam’s strengths as a combatant: speed, versatility with his sword, SEMBLANCE

Weaknesses: not explored in this fight, but it’s worth noting that their plan was never challenged and he remained in control throughout. Even with the droid, they only took a couple hits before the laser revealed an easy way to beat it.

Next up! BEACON

Once again, Adam is completely in control during this “fight.” He catches Blake off guard and verbally abuses/intimidates her. Blake barely fights back because she’s so emotionally unstable and freaked out. Not to mention tired and out of aura from fighting all night. Yang reacts emotionally and lunges at Adam with no knowledge of who he is or his semblance. 

We only see Adam absorb a couple gunshots from Blake but as others have noted, he almost definitely absorbed power earlier in the fight as this showdown occurs late. Also, he is never challenged during the entirety of the Battle of Beacon, so most likely never released any of that energy until Yang’s arm came along to take it.

Strengths: not really explored.. This “fight” is not really a fight so much as a confrontation. Adam spends more time talking at Blake than fighting. But again, the semblance comes back as his most powerful tool. Consistent so far.

Weaknesses: not explored. Still fully in control. However, his emotional instability when it comes to Blake is starting to become apparent.

Next up! HAVEN

Again, not really a fight. But it is the first time we see Adam in a situation that isn’t going according to plan. He reacts emotionally and stupidly, throwing a fit and falling for Blake’s semblance in a spectacular fashion to set up a major concussion.

I can see how people could say this outcome was stupid, and I’ll admit that the amount of damage he takes from Blake whacking him seems kind of extra (did he not have his aura up??). But again, this is The First Time we’ve seen him attempt to fight in a situation where things go awry. Saying his reaction was out of character is pretty impossible given the amount we know at this point about his character. And especially given the amount we know at this point about his character in unfavorable situations (essentially zero).

We get a very short (like, 5 seconds) of him fighting Sun and Blake before he escapes. Worth noting that he gets zero hits in and takes a whack from Sun’s staff. So he’s not great in a 2-v-1 unless he has other advantages (one person incapacitated; fully charged semblance; etc.)

Strengths: not explored

Weaknesses: gets stupid when angered and not in control. Low durability (on ground for a while after Blake gets him)

Interlude! ADAM TRAILER

Fighting-wise, basically confirms what we saw in the Black trailer. He fights some villagers, shitty robots, and rather poorly trained soldiers and looks cool doing it. Showcases the same strengths as the Black trailer -- honestly remarkable consistent given how much changed animation-wise in the show between the two releases. Again (running theme) he is fully in control, never challenged, never gets angered or upset by anything.

Strengths: speed, versatility with sword. Consistent with Black trailer

Weaknesses: not explored

Next up! THE BIG ONE

First part is Adam v Blake. He still exhibits the same speed and versatility as previous fights. He swings a bit more wildly and misses more often, but that’s because he’s now driven by anger and Blake is 100x better at dodging than the canon fodder he got to fight previously. He’s still stronger and faster than Blake and beats her. Consistent so far!

Second part is Adam v Yang. They’re pretty evenly matched, with may seem like he got nerfed until you remember he just got run over by a motorcycle. If anything, he seems buffed from Haven... nary a scratch on him from a bike to the face. And he gets a few decent hits in! 

Final part is Adam v Blake and Yang. He starts out struggling, similar to the brief fight with Sun and Blake but taking even more hits. But he’s able to break Blake’s aura in spite of that, showing how strong he is [Note: this is consistent across multiple fights -- he is physically stronger than Blake and always manages to throw her off when their swords clash]. With Yang alone, he gets her on her heels. She gains some focus from seeing Blake is okay, but still doesn’t land any hits until the end when she grabs his sword. 

This is the FULL FORCE of Yang’s semblance and depletes the last of her aura. This is Yang “Destroyed an Atlesian Paladin in One Punch” Xiao Long. *insert that’s a lotta damage meme.* Adam runs out of aura but is fine otherwise, which is honestly staggering. And we know how it ends from there.

Strengths: speed, versatility with sword. STILL CONSISTENT. Not as on display because he isn’t fighting shitty horde enemies. Doesn’t get as many hits because Blake and Yang know how to dodge and block. Also, this is the only fight he has EVER been in that wasn’t either a super short confrontation (Beacon and Haven, barely count as fights) or against enemies that were literally made for him to look good (Black and Adam trailers).

Another strength is high durability. Not really consistent with the confrontation in V5 -- unless he didn’t have aura up or he decided to stay on the ground for an extra couple seconds just to be dramatic (totally possible).

Weaknesses: get’s stupid when angry. Motorcycles hitting him in the face.

Tangent: BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS SEMBLANCE IT GOT NERFED

Not really. He just uses it stupidly because of his anger. Remember he absorbed a full laser beam from the droid in the Black trailer before slicing it. At Beacon, he had a day’s worth of absorbed energy and also used his sword to cut off Yang’s arm. In the Adam trailer, he kills a super weak villager with unknown amounts of absorbed energy (but not a real impressive feat regardless). In this fight, however, he unleashes energy at least 4 times -- once to break Gambol Shroud and three (3) times to send an unfocused blast of energy (no sword) at Yang. This is just his “stupid when angry” weakness in another form. He doesn’t use his semblance well because he keeps losing his cool with Yang and attacking with it wildly. It’s still extremely powerful though, even unfocused and not fully charged it inflicts significant damage to her hella tough Atlas-grade prosthetic. 

Another tangent that should probably be a separate post: BUT THEY WASTED HIS CHARACTER TO BE A PLOT DEVICE

...Nooot really. Observe Adam throughout all the scenes he gets. It’s not a lot of time, but they actually do develop his character. It just isn’t a positive character development. At the start of the Adam trailer, there’s maybe a tiny bit of hope that he could be redeemed if someone steers him off of the death and destruction path. Unfortunately, Sienna becomes a not-so-great role model for him and he starts a creepy and abusive relationship with Blake. In all of his later appearances, he is consistently shown to care about two things: having ownership of Blake and having power in the White Fang. After Blake leaves, you can see him unravel and become obsessed with her. By Haven, he’s succeeded in taking over the White Fang. Blake is his last piece of unfinished business. But the obsession leads to him losing everything, which is exactly why it’s the only thing driving him in V6.

It’s not like he doesn’t care at all about the White Fang and his twisted version of the Faunus revolution. It’s that he’s burned all those bridges and has no way of accomplishing his old goals. The only thing left for him to fixate on is Blake, and it’s the culmination of a downward spiral that we’ve seen since V3, with build up starting in the Black trailer. He never says that Blake is the only thing that hurt him, just that she hurt him in a *different* way. And at this point, this is the only vengeance he’s in a position to go after. Hence the stalking across a continent, constant anger, and lashing out at Yang. By all means be disappointed if Adam’s arc wasn’t what you wanted. But he is much more than a “wasted character” turned into a plot device. His negative character development is a frighteningly close to real life case of how obsession and spite can destroy people.

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: EDITORIAL: Movies and the 9/11 effect

(Image: pathtoparadise.com)

EIGHTH EDITION: UPDATED SEPTEMBER 11, 2019– In an update to my annual editorial (after the original post on the 10th anniversary in 2011), I’ve got new movie inclusions in several sections, including the most recent section of faded and relaxed sensitivity in films.  I plan to make this an annual post and study for at least until the 20th anniversary in 2021.  (All poster images are courtesy of IMPAwards.com)

Never forget.  There’s no doubt that every American over the age of 25 won’t soon forget where they were 18 years ago at 8:46AM on September 11, 2001.  The world and our American lifestyle changed forever that day in more ways that we can measure.  I know movies and cinema are trivial pieces of entertainment compared to the more important things in life, but movies have always been two-hour vacations and therapy sessions from life, even in the face of immense tragedy.  Sometimes, we need movies to inspire us and help us remember the good in things, while still being entertained.  In seventeen years, they too have changed.

I’m here for an editorial research piece on the anniversary of 9/11 to showcase a few movies, both serious and not-so-serious, that speak to that day whether as a tribute, remembrance, or example of how life has changed since that fateful day.  Enjoy!

MOVIES THAT WERE OPENING THAT FRIDAY EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO

Call this a time capsule, but these were the notable movies that opened Friday, September 7, 2001 and Friday, September 14, 2001, the two Fridays surrounding 9/11.  Such a different time, huh?  Needless to say, few people were in the mood for a movie in those first weeks and the fall 2001 box office took quite a hit until the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone showed up in November 2001, followed by Ocean’s Eleven and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring that December.

The Musketeer  (September 7th)

Soul Survivors  (September 7th)

Rock Star  (September 7th)

Hardball  (September 14th)

The Glass House  (September 14th)

All were box office bombs at the time.  The Musketeer garnered a good bit of overseas earnings and Hardball got some of the best reviews of Keanu Reeves’s post-Matrix career and grew to be a DVD hit.  Still, talk about bad timing.

EXAMPLES OF 2001-2002 MOVIES CHANGED BECAUSE OF 9/11

Spider-Man— Many of you may remember seeing this teaser for the big comic book blockbuster before it was pulled post-9/11. (New remastered video in 2019)

Donnie Darko— Suggested by Feelin’ Film Facebook Discussion Group contributor Josh Powers. Released months before 9/11, few remember how much this film was somewhat buried and forced to become an underground cult favorite due to a pivotal moment involving a horrific plane crash.

Lilo and Stitch— See a side-by-side video clip of differences in Imgur.  The trivia notes behind it are explained on IMDb.  

Collateral Damage— The Arnold Schwarzenegger terrorism movie had its release date bumped and terrorist overtones mellowed down.  (trailer)

City by the Sea— The production on this Robert DeNiro/James Franco thriller was moved from New York to Los Angeles in July 2001, dodging the terrorism attacks that would have threatened their home Tribeca studios.  (trailer)

Sidewalks of New York–– Edward Burns intermingled love story movie was bumped to November and had to have its posters changed.  See right here on the left for an example.  (trailer)

Men in Black II�� The original scripted ending of the movie was scripted to have the World Trade Center towers open up to release a barrage of UFOs.  (trailer)

Serendipity and Zoolander— Both movies had shots of the WTC digitally removed from the skylines of their finished films before they hit theaters that fall.

The Time Machine— Had its December 2001 release bumped to March because of a potentially sensitive scene of meteor shower over New York (which it cut).  (trailer)

Big Trouble— It too had its nuclear bomb-centered plot cause a release delay well into 2002.  The delay didn’t help this already awful movie.  (trailer)

MOVIES ABOUT 9/11 ITSELF

September 11  (2002)– International directors from around the world, including Ken Loach, Mira Nair, and future Oscar winner Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, made a two-hour anthology of short films showing creative expressions of other cultures and their reactions to the tragedy. 

United 93  (2006)– Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass took an unknown cast and directed a harrowing real-time account of the flight that fought back.  Hard to watch, but undeniably powerful without exploiting the tragedy.  (trailer)

World Trade Center  (2006)– Conspiracy specialist Oliver Stone turns off the urge to dig into his usual musings and delivers an incredibly humble, respectful, and understated (words that hardly ever describe an Oliver Stone movie) true story of the last two men (Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) rescued alive at Ground Zero.  Worth every moment to see and a great tribute to the first responders and their families.  (trailer)

9/11  (2017)– I think we all knew a day would come where some hack film was going to come around and exploit the tragedy that is the 2001 terrorist attacks.  That award goes to Charlie Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg, and director Martin Guigui’s straight-to-VOD trash heap.  Sheen, a noted conspiracy theorist on 9/11, took it upon himself to make a glamour project stepping on history.  Do not waste your time with this film.

MOVIES WITH PROMINENT 9/11 CONNECTIONS

The Guys  (2002)– One of the first reactionary films to 9/11 came from Focus Features in 2002 and starred Anthony LaPaglia and Sigourney Weaver.  Based on Anne Nelson’s heartfelt play, LaPaglia plays a fire captain who lost eight men on 9/11 and Weaver plays the editor who helps him write eulogies for the fallen.  The film is only available on disc from Amazon.  (trailer)

WTC View  (2005)– Gallows humor bubbles to the surface in this off-kilter indie romance from Brian Sloan about a SoHo man who placed an ad to find a new roommate and September 10th and now lives through a more difficult and trying landscape.  (trailer)

Reign Over Me  (2007)– In a rare dramatic turn, Adam Sandler plays a fictional wayward man who lost his wife and daughters on 9/11 and tailspins through life fiver years later when an old college friend (Don Cheadle) tries to help keep him from being committed to a psychiatric care.  (trailer)

Remember Me  (2010)– Billed as a coming-of-age film starring Twilight star Robert Pattinson, it features a fictitious family affected by the tragedy, including the fall of the WTC.  Most critics found the 9/11 connections exploitative and offensive.  (trailer)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close  (2011)– Speaking of exploitative, the Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock Oscar nominee from this past year definitely rubbed more than a few audiences the wrong way in using 9/11 as a backdrop to a fictional family tragedy.  Critics (including this one) clamored that if you’re going to bring 9/11 to the big screen, use a real story.  (trailer)  (my full review)

September Morning  (2017)– Independent writer/director Ryan Frost crafted a small drama about five college freshman staying up all night after 9/11 weighing the impact it will have on their present and future.  The film won a youth jury award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.  (trailer)

MOVIES ABOUT THE WAR ON TERROR

In the decade since September 11, 2011, our largest response as a nation to the terrorism of that day has been a pair of wars overseas in the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan.  The “war on terror” has quickly grown into a ripe orchard for possible movie storylines.

Home of the Brave  (2006)–Rocky producer Irwin Winkler earns the credit for the first mainstream Hollywood movie depicting the Iraqi War and the initial soldiers returning home to re-acclimate to society.  Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Jessica Biel.  (trailer)

The Hurt Locker  (2008)– Of course, the best-of-the-best is the 2009 Best Picture winner from Kathryn Bigelow starring Jeremy Renner as a driven, yet dark Iraqi bomb specialist.  Its quality needs no introduction.  (trailer)

Grace is Gone  (2007)– In the Audience Award winner of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, typical gender roles are reversed when John Cusack plays a homefront father (in my opinion, the best he’s ever acted) who has to find the best way to tell his two daughters that their soldier mother was killed in Iraq.  This movie is “guy-cry” level brilliant.  (trailer)

Rendition  (2007)– Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, and Meryl Streep get together for a movie calling out the wrongs of detainment, interrogation, and torture.  (trailer)

The Kingdom  (2007)– Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman investigate a bombing and throw down in the streets of Riyadh.  (trailer)

Lions for Lambs  (2007)– Robert Redford delivers a three point-of-view discourse on U.S. war affairs before home and abroad with the help of Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep.  (trailer)

In the Valley of Elah  (2007)– Crash director Paul Haggis leads Tommy Lee Jones (in an amazing Oscar-nominated performance) and Susan Sarandon as parents investigating with a local detective (Charlize Theron) the disappearance of their AWOL son returning home from Iraq.  (trailer)

Body of Lies  (2008)– Ridley Scott’s fictional take on the CIA’s involvement in preventing Jordanian terrorism starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.  (trailer)

Stop-Loss  (2008)– Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play three young Texas schoolmates who are finally home from overseas but are forced back via the stop-loss clause.  (trailer)

The Messenger  (2009)– Woody Harrelson was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a U.S. Army Casualty Notification Team officer mentoring recent veteran (Ben Foster) on the uniquely difficult job of informing families the bad news.  (trailer)

Taking Chance  (2009)– Along the same bringing-bad-news-home lines is this gem of a HBO film starring Kevin Bacon (like Cusack earlier, in arguably his best performance as an actor) as a desk officer who never saw combat but takes on the duty of escorting a young fallen soldier’s body back to his old hometown.  Even though this wasn’t in theaters, it is outstanding and worth your time on DVD.  (trailer)

Brothers  (2009)– Jake Gyllenhaal takes care of his older brother’s wife (Natalie Portman) while he (Tobey Maguire) is declared MIA in Afghanistan, from director Jim Sheridan.  (trailer)

Dear John and The Lucky One  (2010 and 2012)– These two adaptations of Nicholas Sparks romance novels briefly touches on the War on Terror through Channing Tatum and Zac Efron’s lead characters’ return home to romance.  (trailer and trailer)

Green Zone  (2010)–Director Paul Greengrass followed United 93 with his Bourne series star Matt Damon in this taut and marginally-dramatized account of the early unsuccessful searches and the possible cover-up of Baghdad’s supposed stores of weapons of mass destruction.  (trailer)

Restrepo  (2010)– The highly acclaimed National Geographic documentary film follows a one-year look at the real men of the platoon embattled in the deadliest fortified valley of Afghanistan.  (trailer)

Act of Valor  (2012)– Disney pumped up the military with this fictional anti-terrorism film using active duty Navy SEALs.  Coming out after the death of Osama bin Laden, this was a welcome and well-promoted hero picture and recruitment reel.  (trailer)

Zero Dark Thirty  (2012)– The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow made a film about the SEAL Team 6 men and their story of taking down Osama bin Laden.  The film was my #1 movie on my “10 Best” list for 2012.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Lone Survivor (2013)– Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) directed an outstanding and patriotic film based on the Afghanistan saga of Marcus Luttrell starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, and Emile Hirsch that echoes another true-life story from the ongoing War on Terror.  Very good movie!  (trailer)  (my full review)

A Most Wanted Man (2014)– Spy novelist John LeCarre’s multi-layered 2008 novel about the world of inter-agency espionage happening in Hamburg, Germany, the same city where the 9/11 conspirators hatched their plans, is an excellent and different post-9/11 film with an international flair and flavor.  It will also be remembered as one of the last performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was phenomenal in the film.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit  (2014)– This modern reboot or update of the famed Tom Clancy character, now played by Chris Pine, roots his pre-spy origins in the aftermath of 9/11 and the War on Terror that followed.  (trailer)

American Sniper  (2014)– Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture nominee war drama about the real-life story of the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (played by Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper) went on to become the highest grossing film of 2014 (north of $350 million).  Kyle’s journey from the heartland to the front lines was spurred by a sense of duty and patriotism that started from the attacks of 9/11.  This is, by far, the most high profile movie to date to feature the War on Terror directly correlating 9/11.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Good Kill  (2015)– On the smaller side, but just as solid with warfare and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is this under-seen film which had a limited theatrical release during the summer of 2015.  Andrew Niccol (Lord of War, Gattaca, The Truman Show) shifted his focus to the War on Terror by showcasing a Las Vegas base of drone pilots dealing with the ramification of their actions and the war being waged on their screens and with their joystick controls.  (trailer)  (my full review)

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi  (2016)– Director Michael Bay’s slanted look at the September 11, 2012 embassy attacks that have become a political firebrand since certainly qualifies to make this list.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot  (2016)– Tina Fey shed her comedic image for a heavyish war drama loosely based the true story of Afghanistan/Pakistan television journalist Kim Barker.  (trailer)  

Snowden  (2016)– Renowned politicized filmmaker Oliver Stone brought his brush of dramatic license to the story of whistleblowing former spy Edward Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The paranoia of the post-9/11 digital age was the mission field for Snowden and many other young men and women who sought the security and counterterrorism industries. (trailer) (full review)

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk  (2016)– A company of soldiers who lost their commanding officer in Iraq are making a victory tour of press dates and public appearances when the reflections of the title character (newcomer Joe Alwyn) fill the day.  Ang Lee’s film felt ten years too late and was not well received.  (trailer) (my full review)

Thank You For Your Service  (2015) and Thank You For Your Service  (2017)– This popular conversation sentence was the title of two different works.  In 2015, Tom Donahue’s documentary opened eyes to the shoddy mental health governance for modern veterans and made waves that changed actual policies.  The 2017 feature film borrows inspiration from David Finkel’s 2013 nonfiction bestseller dealing with the PTSD topic of returning Iraqi tour soldiers adjusting to civilian life.  Miles Teller is the headliner and is joined by Haley Bennett, Beulah Koale, Joe Cole, and Amy Schumer.  (trailer) (trailer)

Megan Leavey  (2017)– 2017 was a busy year for War on Terror-connected films with five new entries.  Taglined “based on the true story about a Marine’s best friend,” Megan Leavey stars Kate Mara as the soldier leader of a bomb-searching pooch on deployment in Iraq.  Touching film!  (trailer)

The Wall  (2017)– Nocturnal Animals Golden Globe nominee Aaron Taylor-Johnson and emerging WWE movie star John Cena play two soldiers pinned down by an Iraqi sniper in a single-setting thriller from action specialist Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow).  (trailer)

War Machine  (2017)– Enough time has passed now in 2017 where the War on Terror has reached a point of being a target of satire.  Animal Kingdom and The Rover director David Michod puts a witty spin on things creating a fictionalized account of U.S. General Stanley McChrystal with Brad Pitt in the lead.  Netflix is the exclusive carrier of this one.   (trailer)

Last Flag Flying  (2017)– The last and best of the 2017 bunch is Richard Linklater’s dramedy about three old Vietnam veterans (Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishburne) who come together when one of their sons is killed in Iraq and coming home for burial.  The excellent acting trio and Linklater’s writing (adapted from Darryl Ponicsan’s novel, a spiritual sequel to his The Last Detail) deliver touching brevity and sharp commentary on the echoes of war across generations.  (trailer) (my full review)

A Private War (2018)— Documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman made his feature film debut with a biopic on British photojournalist Marie Colvin, who made her stops through the hellfire of Iraq and Afghanistan in her storied career. Rosamund Pike was snubbed for an Oscar nomination that year. (trailer) (my full review)

Vice (2018)— Speaking of biopics, writer/director Adam McKay brought his machete for satire to the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film dove deep into the manipulated machinations from Cheney that engineered the War on Terror during the Bush administration. While not as good as The Big Short, Vice did earn eight Oscar nominations (winning one for makeup), including Best Picture and Best Actor for Christian Bale in the leading role. (trailer) (my full review)

Official Secrets (2019)— When invading Iraq was on the table to push the war to the ground, the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Tony Blair were lockstep next to the U.S. on seeking United Nations approval. The true story of whistleblower Katharine Gun unearthed secrets that led to questioning the war’s legality before it even began. This is a nice step-up for Keira Knightley. (trailer) (my full review)

The Report (2019)— Not yet widely released in 2019 after huge buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, frequent Steven Soderbergh screenwriting collaborator Scott Z. Burns made his directorial debut with this searing docudrama of the use of torture by American agencies during the War on Terror. Check out the film’s trailer:

MOVIES ABOUT THE CHANGES IN AMERICAN LIFE (BOTH SERIOUS AND NOT-SO-SERIOUS)

25th Hour  (2002)– New Yorker Spike Lee was quick to not shy away from the post-9/11 pulse of New York City following Edward Norton’s character’s last night of debauchery and unfinished business before going to prison.  Filled with scathing social commentary and visual reminders of 9/11 and Ground Zero, its amazing opening credits sequence alone set the tone as only Spike can.  (trailer)

Fahrenheit 9/11  (2004)– Documentary maverick Michael Moore’s slam at the handling of 9/11 and the war on terror became one of the most successful box office documentaries of all-time.  (trailer)

Sorry, Haters  (2005)– Robin Wright played a professional woman who receives conversation and unexpected interaction with an Arab New York cab driver in this IFC production.  (foreign trailer)

An Inconvenient Truth  (2006)– By contrast, in a small snippet and computer graphic on melting glaciers in this Oscar-winning documentary, Al Gore lets us know that half of Greenland or Antarctica’s melted ice would put New York, including Ground Zero, underwater within the next 50 years.  (trailer)

The Terminal  (2004)– Airports are now covered in bureaucratic red tape.  Heaven forbids, you’re not from America.  (trailer)

Anger Management  (2003)– Showed us that you can get kicked off a plane now for just about anything.  (trailer)

Soul Plane  (2004)– Then again, come on, guys.  Air travel can still be cool, even with the new security rules. (trailer)

Snakes on a Plane  (2006)– OK, maybe not so much… (trailer)

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay  (2008)– You’ve got to hate racial profiling as much as you equally love a good parody.  (trailer)

Iron Man  (2008)– Marvel’s steely hero had his Vietnam origin story conveniently and modernly flopped for an Afghanistan-connected one.  (trailer)

Bridesmaids  (2011)– Now, that’s how an Air Marshall gets down! (trailer)

Source Code  (2011)– Our fear of catastrophes on planes can easily be translated to trains as well.  (trailer) (my full review)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist  (2013)– For a serious look at the warped view of Muslim citizens post-9/11, take a look at Mira Nair’s dramatic thriller about a young Pakistani man (newcomer Riz Ahmed) who is successful on Wall Street but viewed differently through profiling after 9/11.  (trailer)

The Fifth Estate (2013)– The film story of the WikiLeaks of Julian Assange carry a loose connection to the changed post-9/11 landscape of security and more.  (trailer)

Boyhood (2014)– Richard Linklater’s huge biographical opus was filmed over the course of 12 years with the same cast growing up and aging to tell their family story.  The film starts in 2002, where the incidents of 2001 are fresh on the minds of the characters and discussed openly during the first year sequence of the journey.  Later on, political mentions of Bush, Obama, and the War on Terror make it into a reflective conversation as well.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor  (2018)– A key moment in the extraordinary Fred Rogers documentary chronicled when a retired Rogers was brought back for a special televised message to young viewers about reacting to the 9/11 tragedy that played on-screen for so many viewers.  It’s a touching historical moment.  (trailer) (my full review)

MEMORABLE PAST IMAGES OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN MOVIES

Sometimes, all it takes is the camera making a fleeting, yet memorable, glance at those beautiful and now-gone skyscrapers to immediately remind us of a different time.  The WTC towers have been shown in innumerable establishing shots.  We’ll highlight some great ones.  Beginning with the closing credits to New Yorker Martin Scorsese’s 2002 film Gangs of New York, here’s a great montage of cinematic views of the WTC from various pre-2001 movies.

Superman  (1978)– Even a passing fly-by over “Metropolis” feels different.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York  (1992)– Tell me this clip didn’t just go from cute to eerie to sad.  Wonderful then, but different now.

Godspell (1973)— Submitted by friend-of-the-page and larger-fan-of-musicals-than-me Josh Powers, enjoy this dance number from the summery musical filmed and completed before the skyscraper’s ribbon-cutting.

King Kong  (1976)– While it may not match the iconic 1933 image of the original ape towering on top of the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center plays a big role in the 1976 remake starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange.  (trailer) 

Independence Day  (1996), Deep Impact  (1998), Armageddon  (1998), and The Day After Tomorrow  (2004)– These all constitute the prominent disaster movies that leave New York (and, in three cases, the WTC) in destructive shambles.  

HONORABLE MENTIONS:  Godzilla  (1998), Cloverfield  (2004), War of the Worlds  (2005), and Watchmen  (2009).  Kind of not so entertaining for few seconds anymore, huh?  See for yourself.  Here’s a montage of NYC movie destruction:

MOVIES THAT FEEL DIFFERENT IN THE POST-9/11 WORLD

I don’t know about you but a lot of movies just don’t resonate or feel the same as they did before September 11th.  We’ve changed and the perception has changed.  For some movies, their message and impact is only made stronger (in good ways and bad) since 9/11.  In other cases, what was entertaining then doesn’t feel so right anymore.

Airplane!  (1980)– Farce or not (and still funny to this day), we could never get away with anything that happens on an airplane from that movie now.  (trailer)

Passenger 57  (1992)–Let alone this movie… (trailer)

Executive Decision  (1996)– …and this movie… (trailer)

Turbulence  (1997)– …and this movie… (trailer)

Pushing Tin  (1999)– …and probably this movie too… (trailer)

True Lies  (1994)– Slammed even then for its depiction of Arab terrorists, it likely has picked up a little more egg on its face. Adding to its burial, the movie hasn’t been released on any physical media format since 1999, which includes zero Blu-ray editions in its history (factoid from Josh Powers). Do you think 20th Century Fox wants that movie to go away or what?  (trailer)

The Siege  (1998)– This frightening martial law thriller with Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis makes True Lies look like G.I. Joe starring Ken from the Barbie dolls toy line.  Scary and eerily prophetic in its over-the-top terrorism and bombing scenarios.  (trailer)

The Dark Knight Rises  (2012)– Though fictional with Pittsburgh standing in as Gotham City, the New York imagery and parallels occurring during its terrorist takeover led by Tom Hardy’s Bane have eerie 9/11-inspired ramifications.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Syriana  (2005)– George Clooney won an Oscar, but the touchy subjects of torture, terrorism, and the oil industry evoke a little dose of fear.  (trailer)

Munich  (2005)– The Black September assassination of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the Mossad’s reaction was probably the last time before 9/11 that terrorism made worldwide live media headlines.  (trailer)

Arlington Road  (1999)– While this resonates more as a comparison to Oklahoma City-style domestic terrorism, the Jeff Bridges/Tim Robbins underappreciated thriller is no less scary now than then.  (trailer)

Fight Club  (1999)– Watching Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt/Edward Norton) destroy New York’s credit district is another example of domestic terrorism and destruction that rings a little louder post-9/11.

The Sum of All Fears  (2002)– Many people found the Super Bowl bomb plot far too soon to see those images just a year removed from 9/11.  (trailer)

V for Vendetta  (2006)– Urban terrorism in London via a Guy Fawkes fan resonates a little different for a public scare on our side of the Atlantic.  (trailer)

Courage Under Fire  (1995)– Our first trip to Iraq foreshadows a lot of the equal futility, bravery, and loss experienced in our second trip… (trailer)

Jarhead  (2005)– …especially when told from the true account of a disillusioned soldier who was there.  (trailer)

Charlie Wilson’s War  (2007)– The same foreshadowing can be made out of our 1980’s Cold War involvement on the side of Afghanistan versus the Soviet Union as outlined by a gem of a Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman film.  To think that we could have stuck around and cleaned the place up before they became our enemy.  (trailer)

Rambo III  (1988)– Speaking of an American fighting on the anti-communism side of the Afghans!  (trailer)

Air Force One  (1997)– Not that George W. Bush or Barack Obama ever channeled Harrison Ford here, but don’t you now root a little harder for a take charge President… (trailer)

The Patriot  (2000)– … or a flag-carrying American hero from 230+ years ago… (trailer)

Pearl Harbor  (2001)– …or the last great American tragedy that galvanized a nation and sent us to war.  (trailer)

MOVIES SINCE 2001 THAT RENEW THE AMERICAN SPIRIT

These examples (as well as the aforementioned World Trade Center) will get your patriotic heartstrings going and boost your down spirit.

The Last Castle  (2001)– Opening just over a month after the tragedy, the military and flag-waving patriotism of Robert Redford’s underrated drama undeniably stirs you.  (trailer)

Behind Enemy Lines  (2001)– Leave it to Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson (of all people) to win macho patriotic points for loosely re-enacting the famous pilot Scott O’Grady Bosnian prisoner escape story.  (trailer)

Black Hawk Down  (2001)– Released during the 2001-2002 awards season, Ridley Scott’s powerful depiction of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu showed the uncompromising courage of U.S. Army Ranger and  Delta Force soldiers at a time when our current soldiers were likely preparing for going overseas to similar urban warfare.  (trailer)

We Were Soldiers  (2002)– Mel Gibson may be embroiled in unpopular headlines now, but his 2002 action-drama from his Braveheart writer about America’s first official military action in Vietnam is as powerful and it is impressive.  Like Black Hawk Down, it added to the heroic mystique of the American soldier, even if it was set in the past.  If you don’t cry watching those wives deliver those first casualty letters, there’s something wrong with you.  (trailer)

Spider-Man  (2002) and Spider-Man 2  (2004)– New York’s #1 resident superhero always fights for a way for the citizen of the city to stand up together.  I suppose you can throw in the pair from the reboot (The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2) for some of the same reasons.  (trailer)

Gangs of New York  (2002)– Martin Scorsese is a quintessential New Yorker and his mid-1800’s history piece (while definitely violent) was a love letter to the city’s great history.  (trailer)

Elf  (2003)– Will Ferrell put the Big Apple back in the Christmas cheer.  (trailer)

Ladder 49  (2004)– Though it wasn’t set in New York, you can’t help but think of the 343 NYFD men and women that lost their lives on September 11th and ardent first-responders when you watch Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta as macho Baltimore firemen.  (trailer)

Million Dollar Baby  (2004)– America loves a good underdog story and Clint Eastwood gave the public a heck of a good one that went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.  (trailer)

Miracle  (2004)– What better way to boost American spirit than to relive our greatest Olympic triumph. (trailer)

National Treasure  (2004)– How about a history lesson to make you feel good about our great country?  Why not?  (trailer)

Hitch  (2005)– Will Smith brought popular romance back to the City That Never Sleeps. (trailer)  He would capture hearts for a different reason the next year with The Pursuit of Happyness.  (trailer)

We Are Marshall  (2006)– Another real-life airplane tragedy sets the stage for an amazing story of athletic and community rebirth.  One of the most underrated football movies out there.  (trailer)

Live Free or Die Hard  (2007)– Why not give NY’s best bad-ass cop a chance to save the nation’s capital? (trailer)

Captain America: The First Avenger  (2011)– Last but not least, you can’t get more patriotic and underdog than this skinny guy from Brooklyn transformed into a red-white-and-blue super soldier.  He followed it up this past summer saving New York in The Avengers.  (trailer and trailer)  (full review and my full review)

American Sniper  (2014)– The tremendous reception Clint Eastwood’s film had to become the highest grossing movie of the year made Chris Kyle a household name and heavily amplified a previously dormant red-blooded (and “red state-d”) surge of patriotism and soldier appreciation. (trailer) (my full review)

Sully  (2016)– Both the incredible true story of Flight 1549 from 2009 and Clint Eastwood’s respectful retelling featuring Tom Hanks as Capt. Chelsea “Sully” Sullenberger remind audiences of the strength of New York City.  There’s a great line in the movie where someone is trying to thank Sullenberger and says that it’s been a long time since the city has had good news about anything like the “Miracle on the Hudson,” especially about a plane. (trailer)  (my full review)

Patriots Day  (2016) and Stronger  (2018)– The way the city of Boston rallied from another terrorist attack on American soil during its marathon has key inspirational value.  It’s too bad the film was the Mark Wahlberg show rather than a well-rounded ensemble approach.  (trailer) (my full Patriots Day review) (trailer) (my full Stronger review)

Spider-Man: Homecoming  (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018)– Much like the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield web-slinger movies that came before, Tom Holland’s take on Peter Parker is a born-and-raised New York kid that supports and protects his neighborhood and city from dangers foreign and domestic. His protection, joined by fellow New Yorker Doctor Strange, expands with the united effort with The Avengers when Thanos shows up in Avengers: Infinity War.  One part down on that with one to go in the summer of 2019.  (trailer) (my full Spider-Man: Homecoming review) (trailer) (my Avengers: Infinity War review)

Only the Brave (2017)– Just as with Ladder 49 thirteen years before it, you can’t beat the sympathy generated by the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice of firefighters.  Forest fires aren’t terrorists, but the feels are all there.  (trailer) 

The 15:17 to Paris (2018)– Four years after American Sniper, Clint Eastwood dipped his filmmaking brush in the hero worship paint again to tell another true story.  The wrinkle of this one is that Eastwood called upon the actual heroes that thwarted the 2015 Thayls train attack to star in their own movie recreation.  Results were mixed, but the Eastwood prestige is there. (trailer) (my full review)

THE UP-AND-DOWN PULSE OF CONTINUED SENSITIVITY AND/OR CENSORSHIP TO 9/11 SIMILARITIES

For 2014 and going forward, this is a new section I’m adding to this study.  Now that enough time has passed since 2001, I’m beginning to notice that movies are starting to go back to some of the images and themes of violence, destruction, and terrorism that were hands off for so many years after 9/11.  Like all history, even 9/11 will fade.  What we were offended by after the horrific incidents have returned, in some cases, to be more tolerated and even acceptable and celebrated again.  Sure enough, there are plenty who vividly remember 2001’s events and images and are quick to point out when something is in possible poor taste.  That shaky barometer has led to some allusions and reminders to 9/11 and some flat-out censorship changes and corrections.  Some get flak and slaps on the wrist while some don’t.  Here are some examples in recent years.

Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down (2013)– Both competing White House takeover films from 2013, one from Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and one from Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) had a bit of split audience reaction to their violent and terrorist content.  Some rooted and cheered as if it was the 80’s again and America is always going to win.  Others were not so keen or ready to see the White House become a target and battleground, even if it was just a movie.  Between the two, Olympus Has Fallen, the R-rated and more severe one of the two, was the bigger hit.  In a way, no one batted an eye. (trailer and trailer)  (my full Olympus Has Fallen review)

Man of Steel  (2013)– Despite being one of the most all-American heroes around, Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel gave Superman a very serious tone that, in a way, can’t be included on the category before this one of movies that renew the American spirit.  Also, many people were not very pleased with the immense city-wide destruction scenes of Metropolis during the film’s climax.  Even though Chicago was the filming location of a fictitious comic book city, there were staunch critics who had a problem with huge office buildings and skyscrapers in very 9/11-esque rubble. Its 2016 sequel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice mildly addressed that a city can’t be destroyed without consequences, even on Superman’s watch in a colorful comic book setting.   (my full review)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)– Much like Man of Steel, the third Michael Bay Transformers movie features a great deal of city-wide destruction (again, in Chicago) that rubbed a few people the wrong way.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)– Throw in the terrorist label for the villain and his bombings and the big San Francisco starship wreck during this film’s ending action that was clearly a larger scale to a passenger jet taking out buildings.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Godzilla (2014)– Add the King of the Monsters to the list of more city destruction that raised an eyebrow for some.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)– Outside of this string of modern and accepted examples of urban attacks and destruction, is the minor amount of hot water the makers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got it for a promotional poster that had an exploding skyscraper that cut too close to 9/11 similarities.  The study pulled the poster and had to apologize.  Censorship and sensitivity won that argument and mistake.  (trailer)  

The Walk  (2015)– A very big test to peoples’ memories of the World Trade Center will be coming in the Fall of 2015 with Robert Zemeckis’s film The Walk, the true story of the French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s quest to tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 (previously featured in the Academy Award nominated 2008 documentary Man on Wire).  Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the film will prominently display, thanks to Zemeckis’s stunning use of CGI,  a tremendous amount of imagery of the two lost skyscrapers.  Even though it’s a period piece to a non-turbulent time, no film since 2001 has attempted to show this much of those building.  Public reaction was mixed and the film was not a box office hit.  (trailer)  (full review)

Independence Day: Resurgence  (2016)– I guess it’s OK for patriotic mass city destruction again.  London gets it worse than New York, though.  (trailer)  (full review)

Ghostbusters  (2016)– Well, New York was safe for at least a month anyway between Independence Day: Resurgence‘s release and the new reboot (which conveniently made sure its city destruction in Times Square and other places be easy to erase).  Not far behind was the fictional Suicide Squad and its over-the-city halo of supposed death.  (trailer)  (my full review)

Rampage (2018)– Larger in size than the old World Trade Centers used to be, Chicago’s Willis Tower, the former Sears Tower and tallest building in the world, was the targeted collapsed skyscraper spectacle of choice in the Brad Payton/Dwayne Johnson live-action video game adaptation.   Monsters aren’t terrorists, but the imagery hits close as the Willis Tower was one of many skyscrapers across the country evacuated on 9/11 out of fear of becoming another target.   See the collapse clip above. (my full review)

I hope everyone enjoyed this little (OK, large) retrospective about the impact of 9/11 in movies for the last 18 years and counting.  Take some time this coming weekend to appreciate the freedoms we have the people fighting to keep them for us.  Support your troops and first responders and, again, NEVER FORGET!

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Dudeblade Doesn’t Know Yang Xiao Long

https://rwdestuffs.tumblr.com/post/177851454657/throughout-volumes-1-to-3-yang-has-had-a-problem

For someone who says they’re a Yang fan, you sure do miss a lot of info about her.

Firstly: Anon, seriously. Punctuation. Did you skip that class or something? Did punctuation kill a family member or something?- Why do you hate punctuation so much? You only used it once, and it was a single period. At this point, I’m just imagining you going up to the literal embodiment of punctuation and going “Hello my name is annonymus you killed my father prepare to die”

Dudeblade, Asks have limited character counts. Has it not occurred to you that in order to say all this they need to cut the punctuation? Same reason why I cut punctuation on Twitter: it just piles up. The lack of punctuation doesn’t even make them incoherent because I can understand them perfectly well (more on THAT later...). This is just you trying to dismiss someone based on petty reasoning...Which doesn’t really work when we both know you praise Sokumotanaka despite having similar issues with punctuation AND spelling.

However don’t think my anger is limited to YOU only. I’m pissed at that anon as well? Why? Because aside from one argument that was wrong, every single argument they just made is actually their own. I know this because those are, word for word, MY arguments. From my rebuttal to your “Yang done dirty” post. Hey Anon, how about you make your own arguments or at least reword mine so you don’t wholesale rip me off.

Second, no. Yang has not had a problem of overly relying on her semblance, or ‘emblane’ as you put it, she always used it strategically. I watched the Yellow trailer again just to look for when she abused it, and it was only in the final stretch of the fight, when she was going 1v1 with Junior. But I also looked back, and saw that you were right. She was firing at the Nevermore from the ground, but when it came in close, she adapted. She jumped into it’s beak, and started firing into it.

A. the full part is ‘hers emblance” which shows he just put a space in the wrong area. You even left out the “c’ just to mock someone who disagrees with you.

B. Yeah wanna know WHY she used her Semblance? because she got angry. Remember this, it will BITE Dudeblade in the ass later.

C. Also, You should ALSO know that Yang was using kicks in the Yellow Trailer as well, Remember THIS as well.

And D. Yes because leaping into the jaws of a giant bird is such a smart idea. Not like if the bird’s jaw strength was slightly better should have gotten EATEN. Congrats Yang, you gave your sister Survivor’s Guilt.

Repeatedly.

So, my bad. She didn’t strategically do that

Huh. Wonder if he would have admitted that if he knew the Anon was just parroting what I said.

every other time, I was right. Take the fight against Mercury. She wasn’t abusing her semblance then.

And oh, hey! A shot of Yang, dodging Mercury’s attack, and not deliberately taking a hit to fuel her semblance. It’s almost as if Yang never had a problem abusing her semblance in the first place!- Shocker!

Thing is:

https://youtu.be/moxtu3AuA4s?t=14m8s

Here’s the fight.

Yang begins with a punch. A punch. Against a kick based fighter. She didn’t back away to make sure she wouldn’t get hit, she tried attacking despite the fact it was more likely Mercury would hit her before she could.

She goes onto try and fire bullets at Mercury which I’ll admit was a smart move considering close range was not a good idea with Mercury. He closes the distance and jump kicks her, she blocks then tries to attack which gets her kicked in the jaw.

She then rushes back at the guy who just showed to be able to maneuver around her in close range and proceeds to try and pummel him, which ends as you expect with Mercury deflecting all of her attacks. She then STILL tries to attack him where she misses and has to block (which would logically still cost her Aura).

They then go onto trade blows where Yang dodges twice and blocks once. Mercury falls back and Yang uses her long range attack for the last time to drive him back, he falls off the arena but blasts his way back up.

Mercury proceeds to go on the offensive where Yang dodges/deflects two attacks, blocks about six and gets hit in the stomach once HARD, where he follows up with a Dust attack. He then proceeds to circle around, blasting away without seeming trying to hit Yang while the dust rounds circle in the air obviously. Yang does NOTHING for most of this (mind you, she STILL has a long range attack) and just tries to get in close after two bullets fire in her direction. She doesn’t think to use her lunging attack we’ve seen her use against Junior and Adam despite the fact that if she did Mercury would have fired off less bullets and instead tries to fight him close quarters AGAIN, getting slammed into the ground and the Dust rounds all hit her in a dogpile fashion.

We all know the rest.

Thing is, Yang gets hit and blocks attacks more than dodging and deflecting them while constantly rushing in at Mercury who she should KNOW by now has the advantage as her best showings were from when she was using her long range attacks. She in fact only fired off about eight shots at long range. And yet she focuses more on getting into Mercury’s melee range than staying out of it despite him kicking her ass or nullifying her attacks each time she does. And then there was Mercury’s final attack which she does NOTHING to stop despite the obvious Dust rounds flying in the air.

The only conclusion we can gather is that Yang did this because she relied on her Semblance for one last push instead of treating as a last resort because THAT is the only logic that works here.

And really?- She just stood around and let Junior’s men come to her?

Didn’t seem that way to me. One of my favorite parts was when she rushed the DJ, and beat him down. Which completely contradicts your claim that she waited for them to come to her by about……… 100%.

Ironic given that this is the only original argument that anon made. However, take a look at the footage again. Look how many times she blocks attacks from Junior’s men instead of simply moving backward or ducking. Again, Aura is still be used to protect her gauntlets from damage so it’s still feeding her Semblance. And looking at the footage as a whole, she doesn’t do much actual dodging aside from big movements made to go after opponents (like her big leap towards the crowd of goons or the rocket jump at the twins) and instead focuses on blocking and just getting hit.

She’s still prioritizing her Semblance over survival.

Oh and considering one of your arguments towards Yang’s flaws is that she doesn’t use kicks, good job showing that she does in fact use kicks in her fighting style (for fuck’s sake, she finishes off the blue twin with a kick!).

Another favorite part of mine is when she was seen blocking Melanie Malechite’s attacks when she was confronted by the twins. Which contradicts any claim that she deliberately takes hits in the Yellow Trailer by……… another 100%.

Actually that just shows you don’t know how Aura works, where it is shown to protect clothing. AKA her gauntlets? Blocking still feeds into her Semblance. The only evasive maneuvers that do not are dodging and deflecting AKA the two she uses the LEAST of.

Details like that are deliberately ignored to fuel a criticism of Yang that isn’t there to begin with.

... Dudeblade, if I went through my blog to showcase the number of times you ignored details to fuel a criticism that wasn’t there to begin with, I’d make a LEGENDARILY long post. But I don’t need to since I can just point to the video YOU provided and showcase that you are giving a criticism that isn’t ther eto begin with.

Your hypocrisy negates your smugness.

Go join that Yang Haters group on deviantart. I’ll even give you a hint and tell you that I just gave the group’s name first two words to you. Go join that haven of people who despise Yang if you’re going to victim blame so much.

Gee Dudeblade, why don’t you follow him? They also ignore facts about RWBY and bullshit all over it.

Hell:

You have similar tastes in hate art.

Yang’s fighting style has only changed in the sense that she now incorporates kicks into her attacks, something that would be a valid criticism.

Nope, not true. The Yellow Trailer contradicts you.

But wanna know what the ACTUAL difference is?

Yang doesn’t let her opponent’s get an attack as often and she’s more willing to just sweep them off their feet or attack their legs to put them down rather than just pummeling them. AKA she’s trying to end the fight faster instead of dragging it out.

But it wasn’t a criticism given. Instead, Tai calls the manifestation of Yang’s soul a temper tantrum, and decides that despite him being her teacher, this subject never came up. 

Because as your own evidence shows, Yang DOES use kicks. She’s been using kicks since the Yellow Trailer.

Despite the fact that the only time that Yang ever abused her semblance was when she and the rest of her team were fighting Roman in the mech. That is literally the only time we see Yang abusing her semblance in the show.

Aside from Junior...

And Neo...

And Neon and Flynt...

And Mercury...

And Adam...

And the fact that Taiyang gave more than one criticism like her anger needs to be controlled and she needs to think while she fights which we see in the volume 5 Episode 4 fight where, upon being shot at, she takes a moment to survey the area and prioritize the shooter...

Every other time, she was never seen abusing it. She used it to power through Flynt’s attack in the doubles round, and……… That’s about it.

Despite the fact that she should have been fighting with Weiss the entire time and was getting her ass handed to her by Neon.

There wasn’t any other time in the tournament that she could have abused it as far as we were shown, so Tai’s comments are a case of them telling us the information, rather than showing us the information.

Neon, Mercury, Neo, Junior, Adam. All examples of fights were she would have benefitted from dodging, deflecting and long range attacks rather than blocking and just getting hit. That is the showing.. You just, in your own words, “deliberately ignored details to fuel a criticism that isn’t there to begin with.”

I mean, Tai was her teacher. If this comment never came up, then this wouldn’t be Yang’s fault for not knowing this, it would be Tai’s fault for not teaching it to her. There are no such things as bad students, only bad teachers.

Bull fucking shit. As a former student, I can safely say that is bullshit.

I use to go to school with a bunch of idiots who, despite being a grade above me, was in the same class as me and thought their time was better spent trying to piss me off than actually paying attention. Hell, I thought I spent my time better dicking around than studying or remembering my homework. There are bad students Dudeblade, I’ve met them and I WAS one.

Neo’s fighting style is literally Yang’s antithesis. It’s there to use her opponent’s power against her, and Mercury never used Yang’s anger against her. It was Emerald. Yeah, Yang has an anger problem, but that is what would give her agency. Not Tai being a crap teacher and never teaching Yang to not be so over-reliant on her semblance. Yang was in a tight corridor. You really expect someone to try shooting explosive shots in a closed space?- What world do you live in, where you do that?

The one where Yang tries that exact same thing in the show. Oops.

Also, she could have, I dunno, SWITCH OPPONENTS WITH SOMEONE ELSE?! The doors were not locked as we see in the Volume when the White Fang Lieutennant opened the door and flung Weiss through it. Hell, that same opponent would have made a better match for Yang so if she just tried to go get help from her friends, she could have switched opponents with Weis sand they both could have won.

And once more: Passing Yang’s flaws off to Taiyang does nothing but rob Yang of her agency. Because nothing is ever her fault thus she faces no challenges and thus she can never truly control her own path.No no, everyone else must take responsibility for Yang’s actions and change Yang’s life for her.

And retreat?- Why would she retreat?- If she had retreated, then you would be bitching about how she chickened out like a coward.

Hell no. I don’t call Ruby a coward for trying to run away from Roman in the same damn episode: that was a logical tactical retreat. Yang was being a stubborn dumbass. This coming from a stubborn dumbass.

Or maybe you’d rather she not do her job, and run away?- Who do you think she is?- Batman?- She’s not going to run away like a little bitch! 

No, I expect her to fucking THINK her actions through because each time she gets into a fight she gambles not only her life but the lives of everyone around her WHICH SHE KNOWS FROM EXPIERENCE (Summer Rose.)

Was she reckless in that fight?- yes. Was it a result of her semblance?- no.

Was it the result of not only her focusing on her Semblance too much in her fighting style but also her own anger which is known to trigger her Semblance? - YES

In fact, once Yang figured out the fighting style she was up against, she changed tactics. She just changed too late, and got KOd by Neo, and bailed out by her deadbeat mother.

Yeah, changed from “Attack” to “Attack Attack Attack”

Yang’s problem had been predictability, a lack of kicks, and anger. It was NEVER abusing her semblance.

The first of which is due to an overreliance on her Semblance, the second never existed and the third is a PART of her Semblance issue.

Also-That means that everything Taiyang said to Yang in V4 E9 was right since you JUST listed off the things he mentioned minus the non exsistant kicking one.

Congrats Dudeblade, you’ve shot yourself.

And seriously anon. Learn punctuation. It’ll help people take you seriously.

A. You used dashes above wrong.

And B. Hypocrisy makes people take you less seriously even worse.

[operationrainfall]

CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS is one of those games that people love to hate. And I’m not saying everybody is wrong that’s reviewed it so far, nor am I saying I necessarily know better. What I am saying is that whenever I see something which the aggregate tells me is irrevocably horrible, I tend to want to disprove the consensus. Or at least offer an alternate viewpoint. After all, I’ve actually been excited for CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS since I saw the surprising trailer unveiled way back at E3 2019. I may have been the only journalist woohooing and raising my fist in appreciation, and for a simple reason – I’m a fan of the CONTRA series. Yes, it’s generally hard as nails and beyond brutal, but it’s one of those series I grew up playing. Sure it’s not very intellectually stimulating or terribly deep, but sometimes you just need an excuse to blow away alien scum. So seeing as how I finally started playing my preorder copy of the game, let’s see if it scratched that violent itch.

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First things first, I will concede that ROGUE CORPS is a messy title. Not just visually, but in terms of the precision of how the game and its systems work. I’m not saying that to be cruel, but sadly it’s just a fact. Having said that, I still found myself enjoying the basic loop of the gameplay. Picking a character, going through missions, beating bosses, getting rewarded with items, then using said items to upgrade my character. Now if you’re an old fan of the series, most of that probably stood out to you. Usually you don’t have progressive upgrades in CONTRA games, you just fight from level to level. And while I respect developer Toylogic for being ambitious and taking chances with the title, I couldn’t help but come to a conclusion as I played – ROGUE CORPS isn’t truly a CONTRA game. Again, not a slight, just a fact. In a way, ROGUE CORPS is a mishmash of various games wearing a CONTRA suit. In many ways, it reminded me of a mix of Gauntlet, Smash TV and DOOM. Which in a way isn’t that surprising after I researched other projects developed by Toylogic. One that particularly stood out was Kid Icarus: Uprising. That’s another great example of using the window dressing of the series, but totally reinventing how it sounds and plays. And much like Kid Icarus: Uprising, ROGUE CORPS fires many shots that miss the mark, as well as some that hit dead center.

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The game starts with a surprisingly epic introduction, illustrated in a comic book style. It tries to encapsulate the entire history of the CONTRA games, showing how the aliens invaded and were beaten back. Or so we thought. Turns out, they left a present deep in the Earth’s core, and it suddenly erupts into a living nightmare called Damned City. This twisted location is so dangerous that most humans go mad just stepping foot there, and that serves as the excuse for our eclectic team of heroes, the titular ROGUE CORPS (or I guess technically Jaegers, according to the intro). Whatever their name, this fearsome foursome is the strangest band of heroes found in any CONTRA game. There’s team leader Kaiser, who looks like the cybernetic caveman ancestor of Bill Rizer. Then there’s Ms. Harakiri, who somehow got fused with an alien parasite that she stabs to gain temporary power boosts. Then there’s Gentleman, a hideous insectoid alien that is apparently on the side of the angels. And then there’s my favorite, Hungry Beast (HB for short), a giant mecha panda with a scientist’s brain in his noggin. Though you’d be hard pressed to call the heroes from other CONTRA games normal, this bunch makes them look boring by comparison. Oh and there’s one more character named Lily, she’s your pilot as well as the narrator of the story.

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Now, as I said earlier, the basic gameplay is fine, with some provisos. It plays like a twin-stick shooter in a quasi 3D environment. I’m used to CONTRA being a 2D platformer, so this was a bit of a learning curve, but thankfully my recent addiction to the twin-stick genre helped my immersion. As you run around blasting hordes of foes, you have a couple things that help. One are the special skills unique to each character, which can be activated at any time, and then have to cool down before using again. Kaiser’s skill adds spreadshot bullets to his attacks, Harakiri gets stronger, Gentleman throws black holes that scoop up small foes and HB lays down several turrets which both shoot foes and deflect bullets. I like that amount of diversity, and it goes a long way to making the game feel fresh. Each character plays a little differently, dictated both by their size and movement speed as well as their primary and secondary weapons. I much preferred Kaiser and HB, since their machine guns pushed back foes, while Gentleman and Harakiri fired a laser that cut through enemies, but didn’t repel them.

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I also appreciate how whenever you use a missile attack to clear the screen, the animation changes depending on your character. Kaiser rides the missile like in Dr. Strangelove, for example. Then there’s also Finishing Moves, which can only be used against nigh unkillable gold enemies. To stop them, you have to shoot and dodge attacks to dizzy them, then get close and press A to watch the blood flow. These are spectacularly violent sequences, and I only have two issues with them. First, enemies don’t stop moving just cause you’re murdering one of their buddies, and crowd up close and personal. This means you have to immediately dodge away once the sequence is over. The other problem is sometimes the animation doesn’t play properly, and instead you just see your character pose slightly before the attack activates.

More Rogue Action on Page 2 ->

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Besides all that flashiness, you’re much more maneuverable in ROGUE CORPS. Not only can you run around and jump, you can also dodge foes, avoiding damage. The dodge can also be used aggressively to knock foes off balance and dizzy them, as I said earlier. My problem with this mechanic is that once you’ve dizzied a foe, you can pick them up, but there’s usually no reason to. If there’s a handy meat grinder around, toss an enemy in, but it’s not satisfying or effective to toss foes into each other or against walls. There are also sequences called Shooting Galleries, where the camera pans to quasi FPS and you aim your sight with the right stick. While these have the benefit of more clearly displaying the action, they also are cumbersome and frustrating. And they don’t just occur when you’re facing stationary turrets and foes, but in boss fights as well. In fact, the first massive boss fight against an angry metal skeleton, which is teased at the end of the demo, is fought in Shooting Gallery mode. I struggled and struggled with him, doing minimal damage, until I realized I could move forward while in that mode, and once up close and personal, I started to do massive damage. Problem is, it’s not intuitive that you’d be able to move forwards and backwards in a mode that normally forces you to a horizontal plane.

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When boss fights don’t involve that mode, I tended to enjoy them more. Sure they are time consuming and more than a bit grindy, often involving waves of lesser foes distracting you as the boss rampages around, but they still were a fun challenge overall. And while it’s true they do overuse the first boss a lot, since he shows up later as a recurring mini boss and even in a upgraded form, there’s some very distinct boss designs here. I loved the giant metal skeleton’s design, as well as the fiery chariot boss. Hell, even the recurring boss is a neat design, looking like some bloated Toxic Revenger. My biggest issue isn’t that the game is ugly, but that the camera angles and magnification often made it hard to make out the visual niceties. Compounding that issue is that the most common grunt in the game, a sort of red fleshy skeleton, is completely generic looking. Which is frustrating, since some of the others are great, like the flying baby heads, the giant mouths that burst from concrete and even the roller skating buzz saw bastards. It’s also frustrating because in general, the CONTRA series is known for fantastic enemy design, be they robotic terrors or organic nightmares.

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I liked the idea of weapon and character customization in theory, but in practice it proved more than a little confusing. This is in part because even the game’s internal guides don’t do a great job of explaining what’s required. An example is that whenever you work on an upgrade, it requires not just items to dictate the properties, but curiously also requires a sufficient number of them. This is compounded by referring to these items as B.A.D. (an acronym I don’t recall the game explaining). It’s very confusing, and I still can’t say I fully understand the system several hours in. However, it’s still fun to experiment, and I strongly recommend you use this system. Not only can it make your guns more powerful, it can add new effects such as an increased critical chance or inflicting status ailments. Best of all is you can make it so your weapons fire longer without overheating, and I strongly suggest you invest in that feature. Other than customizing your weapons, you can also put your character in the surgery room and upgrade their body parts. This is pretty similar to weapon customization, other than offering different doctors. Each one has different potential chances to either improve or tweak your stats, and most of them cost cold hard cash. For that reason alone, I mostly stuck with the one doctor that was free, but feel it’s probably best to bite the bullet and risk using one of the others.

Sadly there are some typos in the game as well.

Now, I’ve been trying to help showcase the positive aspects of ROGUE CORPS, but I need to spend some time with the messy bits. While I can look past muddy visual effects and grindy mechanics, I can’t ignore the following. One particularly offensive problem is the pause menu. Quite simply, pausing the game doesn’t stop the action. I noticed the enemies kept moving afterwards, and I am pretty sure I’ve taken damage as a result. I understand the missions have time limits, and maybe the developers want to encourage you to watch the clock, but in my mind, pausing means everything has stopped. Taking cheap shots when I’m taking a break is problematic in the extreme. Another problem deals with the aforementioned camera angles. Often these will not properly display everything happening, and more than once an enemy was hidden by the camera angle. I only noticed cause their health bar was visible. I also was annoyed that often the various planes of the battlefield would trap foes in odd places. Considering the game usually gates you in areas until you beat all the enemies, this wasn’t helpful. It was also difficult that sometimes the controls were less precise than I would like. Often I would aim with the right stick and the moment I let go, the gun orientation would shift. And while I did enjoy the boss fights in the game, I almost wish the mega boss fights were structured differently. I would have preferred if ROGUE CORPS took a page from Mechstermination Force, which ironically is based loosely on the earlier CONTRA games. Having large foes that I took down in distinct phases, whittling away their armor and causing new threats to surface, would have been much better than the Shooting Gallery approach. Yes, it shows the bosses better than the standard camera angle, but I just wish the combat was consistently the twin-stick format.

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In the end, I still enjoyed CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS. Yes, it’s a hot mess, and many things aren’t properly explained for my tastes, but the core mechanics are fun and work pretty well. Which makes it more of a shame this title was so poorly received. I admire Konami and Toylogic for taking a chance on something different here, even if it didn’t work out perfectly. As a fan of the CONTRA series, I still don’t feel ROGUE CORPS was a traditional experience, but also think it has something to offer fans. Now that playing it has put me in the proper frame of mind, I think I’ll finally start playing my copy of CONTRA Anniversary Collection.

Too funny not to use.

OPINION: ROGUE CORPS is Fun, Despite its Quirks CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS is one of those games that people love to hate. And I'm not saying everybody is wrong that's reviewed it so far, nor am I saying I necessarily know better.

[netunleashed-blog]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Characters, Release Date, And What We Know (So Far)

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=22496 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Characters, Release Date, And What We Know (So Far) - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=22496 Following a tantalizingly brief teaser trailer back in March, Nintendo formally unveiled its next Super Smash Bros. game at E3 2018. The new installment in the beloved fighting series arrives on Nintendo Switch later this year, and while there are still undoubtedly many details we don't yet know about it, Nintendo revealed a ton of information about the game during its June presentation, giving us a good idea of what to expect.To catch you up on everything Nintendo has revealed about the game so far, we've compiled everything we know about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate below, from the game's release date and new characters to the many changes being made to its gameplay. We'll continue to update this list as new details emerge, so be sure to check back for the latest information on Nintendo's highly anticipated mascot fighter.Is It a Port or a New Game?Prior to its official reveal at E3, there was much speculation over whether Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would be a new installment in the series or an expanded port of the Wii U entry, in the vein of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo cleared up any misconceptions during a Q&A session at this year's expo, confirming that Ultimate is indeed a brand-new title built for Nintendo Switch.How Many New Characters Are There?Nintendo has revealed three new fighters debuting in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Inkling, Ridley, and Daisy. The first two are brand-new additions to the series, and both boast their own unique movesets and play styles that draw from their respective franchises. Inkling can splatter opponents with ink and use a variety of weapons from Splatoon, such as Splat Bombs and the Splat Roller, while Ridley can spew fire and spear other combatants with his tail.Unlike the other two newcomers, Daisy isn't an entirely new addition to the roster, but rather an Echo Fighter--a clone of an existing character, in the vein of Lucina and Dark Pit. Her moveset and play style are based on Princess Peach, although she boasts some different characteristics to set her apart. Beyond those three fighters, Nintendo hasn't revealed if any other new characters will appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, although it seems likely that a few surprises still remain in store for fans.Which Characters Are Coming Back?Everyone! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate features the largest roster in the series to date with 66 confirmed fighters (and presumably a couple of surprises still to be revealed). Every playable character who has ever appeared in a Smash Bros. game will return in Ultimate, including all of the DLC fighters released for the Wii U and 3DS installments--such as Bayonetta, Corrin, and Mewtwo--as well as third-party characters like Sonic, Cloud, and Street Fighter's Ryu.The roster even encompasses characters who have previously only appeared in a single Super Smash Bros. game, including Pichu and Young Link (whose sole appearances were in 2001's Melee), and Wolf and Snake from 2008's Brawl. Longtime Metal Gear Solid voice actor David Hayter revealed he is reprising his role as the latter in Ultimate, and Snake's signature stage, Shadow Moses Island, has also been confirmed to return.It's unclear just how many of these characters will be available from the outset; Nintendo teases that the starting roster could be as small as that of the first Super Smash Bros. for N64--eight characters--but an exact count has not been confirmed. However, the company says the conditions for unlocking characters have been streamlined this time around, and new fighters will be doled out frequently, giving players the feeling that they're constantly making progress.How Many Stages Are There?Nintendo hasn't revealed the full list of stages in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate yet, but the company says a "massive list" of them will return in the game. Among the many that have been confirmed thus far are Spirit Train and Tortimer Island from Super Smash Bros. for 3DS; Princess Peach's Castle and Great Bay from Melee; New Pork City and Frigate Orpheon from Brawl; and Mario Galaxy from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. At least two new stages will be introduced in the game as well: Great Plateau Tower (based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild), and Splatoon's Moray Towers. Every stage in the game will also have a Battlefield and Omega form.What Else Is Different?Aside from all of the new characters, stages, and items, Nintendo is making a ton of mechanical and balance changes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Game director Masahiro Sakurai says the amount of tweaks in the game could number in the "tens of thousands," and they range from subtle visual upgrades--like Wii Fit Trainer's refined face--to reworked movesets and other dramatic overhauls.One of the most notable changes is the pace of the game. Combat in Ultimate feels speedier than in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, resulting in quicker and more intense matches. Moreover, Nintendo has introduced some new techniques, such as directional air dodges, and simplified other ones, like short hop attacks, improving the game's accessibility while also allowing for more skillful play. In keeping with this emphasis on speedier matches, players will dish out more damage in one-on-one battles, while those who excessively dodge will now be penalized with slowed dodge movement and a smaller window of invulnerability.Most Final Smashes have also undergone some dramatic changes in Ultimate. Some existing specials, like Pikachu's Volt Tackle and Sonic's Super Sonic transformation, are now uncontrollable, lightning-fast attacks, while other characters have received new Final Smashes entirely. This time, Link fires a devastating Ancient Arrow, while Pit barrels through opponents in the Lightning Chariot. Nintendo says that nearly every Final Smash has been reworked in Ultimate to be more immediate, allowing players to get back into the fray more quickly.Likewise, many returning characters have received significant overhauls in Ultimate, both in terms of their appearance and their movesets. Ganondorf, for instance, is modeled after his classic look in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and he now uses his sword for his smash attacks. Princess Zelda's new model is based on her appearance in A Link Between Worlds, and Link dons his Champion's Tunic from Breath of the Wild. Shulk can now choose Monado Arts directly rather than having to cycle through them, while Palutena's special attacks have been streamlined.Can I Use GameCube Controllers?Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will support several different controller options, including the Switch Pro controller, a single Joy-Con, and many Smash fans' preferred gamepad, the GameCube controller. As was the case with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the latter will be compatible with the console via a separate adapter. This peripheral plugs into the Switch dock and works with both standard wired GameCube controllers and the wireless WaveBird.Those who already own the Wii U GameCube controller adapter will be able to use it with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Switch. Nintendo will also release a new controller adapter later this year, along with a new line of Smash-branded wired GameCube controllers. Both are already available for pre-order from various retailers such as Amazon and GameStop; the adapter retails for $20, while the GameCube controllers run for $30 each.Will It Work with Amiibo?Nintendo confirmed Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be compatible with the existing range of Smash Bros. Amiibo, and data saved to those figures will carry over to the new game. The company has also announced it will produce several new Smash Bros. Amiibo. During E3 2018, Nintendo showcased figures of Ridley and Inkling, two of the new fighters making their debut in Ultimate. The third new fighter announced for the game thus far, Daisy, will likewise receive an Amiibo, although it wasn't on display at E3.In addition to the new figures, Nintendo announced it will also produce Amiibo for returning characters. The company has specifically confirmed Wolf, Ice Climbers, and Pichu will receive Amiibo, although that will presumably apply to other returning fighters, such as Young Link and Snake, as well. The Ridley, Inkling, and Wolf figures will launch alongside Super Smash Bros. Ultimate this December and retail for $16 each. Reprints of many previous Smash Bros. Amiibo will also be available later this year for $13.Will I Need to Pay to Play Online?While online play on Nintendo Switch has been free up until now, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (and other online-enabled games like Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee) will require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription once the premium service rolls out this September. Subscriptions will be available for one month (US $4 / £3.49 / AU $6), three months (US $8 / £7 / AU $12), and 12 months (US $20 / £18 / AU $30). Nintendo will also offer a Family Plan, which allows up to eight accounts to share one membership for US $35 / £31.49 / AU $55 a year.Will There Be DLC?Nintendo hasn't given any indication as to whether or not it will release additional content for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, the most recent installments in the series received an extensive amount of DLC following their release, from new stages and characters to a wide assortment of Mii Fighter costumes, and it seems likely that Ultimate will get a similar level of post-launch support, although nothing has been confirmed as of yet.When's the Release Date?Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch later this year, on December 7. Source link

[chicagoindiecritics]

New Review from Jeff York of Creative Screenwriting Magazine: Noble Intentions Hamper the History of “Harriet”

Harriet director Kasi Lemmons is an award-winning filmmaker. Star Cynthia Erivo is one of the most enthralling actresses working today. And the exciting story of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman certainly deserves a big-screen treatment. So, why does this new biopic feel so stiff and formulaic? Tubman’s story is a fascinating one, but those tasked with telling it here ended up treating her narrative with far too much reverence. They’ve also squeezed too many chapters of her biography into its 125-minute running time. Thus, this Harriet stands as a noble effort, albeit one that buckles under the strain of its deference and weight.

The story of the famed runaway slave Harriet has a lot of ground to cover, literally and figuratively, and this film bites off more than it can reasonably chew in one sitting at the Cineplex. (Tubman’s story would’ve been better served in the longer form of a TV miniseries.) There’s so much narrative to get to that the film eschews the fascinating childhood of Araminta “Minty” Ross (Erivo) and starts with her as a newlywed in 1849. The new Mrs. Tubman attempts to leave her enslavement to the Brodess family with her free husband John Tubman (Zackary Momoh), but there are snags in the local laws. The Brodess’ refuse to honor John’s legal rights and wholly ignore the manumit clause that should have freed Minty’s mother as well.

Minty’s dreams are further dashed when vile slave owner Gideon Brodess (Joe Alwyn) attempts to sell her to break up her family. That’s the last straw, so she flees the plantation at night, running on foot towards freedom in Philadelphia. Minty’s escape makes for one of the most exciting parts of the story, particularly as it showcases how she dodged authorities and inclement weather to get to the ‘promised land.’

Janelle Monae and Cynthia Erivo

Her courageous flight earns the attention of abolitionist William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.) and boarding house proprietor Marie Buchanon (Janelle Monae). Minty, now dubbed Harriet to hide her true identity, becomes fast friends with the sophisticated Marie and learns the Northern city ways. She also begins a partnership with Still to start rescuing other slaves via the Underground Railroad. The heart-on-her-sleeve Erivo has terrific chemistry with both Monae and Odom, but then the hyperactive plot kicks in and her Harriet character starts to act more and more like a superhero.

Not only does Harriet rescue her family, but she starts leading other slaves out of bondage too. This earns her the nickname “Moses” and omnipotence starts to overwhelm any vulnerabilities that Harriet once displayed. The obstacles of terrain and weather don’t seem a hindrance at all to her or those she’s leading to freedom, making the crossing of a river with a baby in tow seem like a piece of cake.

Harriet becomes more deity than flesh-and-blood woman in the second act, and rigidity and piousness start to cripple her character too. Her prowess is never in doubt and the film misses the opportunities to showcase how life-threatening her rescue missions were from the first moment to last. Harriet may have fainting spells here and there due to an old head injury, but they never seem to threaten her missions the way they could have in a script more mindful of her vulnerabilities.

Leslie Odom Jr.

The plot then starts to accommodate too many events and too many characters as Harriet gets involved in local politics too, and historical characters like William Seward show up for distracting cameos. Gideon’s financial hardships become a veritable B story as does his vendetta against Harriet for leaving him. By the third act, the script starts covering far too many events and geography with Harriet making clandestine appearances at churches, climbing mountains to thwart slave owners in hot pursuit, and striking poses like she’s Calamity Jane in a shoot ‘em up.

There’s far much of “this happened” and “that happened” in the script Lemmons co-wrote with Gregory Allen Howard, but at least her direction knows how to deliver top-notch production values throughout. Terence Blanchard’s euphoric score is striking, as is John Toll’s saturated location cinematography. Sometimes Lemmons can frame things too tightly in close-up, not to mention centered a bit too perfect, but by and large, the look of her film is exquisite.

The telling here will likely inspire audiences who see it simply because it reveals so much of Harriet’s incredible story vividly. If only the whole of it was less formulaic and not nearly so unctuous. Towards the end, Harriet starts lecturing, even hectoring, and her diatribes feel more like the words of a modern-day professor than a period piece’s heroine. Too much classroom, not enough crackling cinema.

View the trailer for Harriet below:

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