#avatar crew review

[mahamid110]

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[melefim]

Hey @netflix honestly how do you expect people to watch your shows and invest their time and money into you when EVERY SINGLE TIME you have something people love you just throw it away?

What’s the fucking point if a show with a 92/90 on Rotten Tomatoes and that’s made MULTIPLE Best Of lists isn’t even given a chance to grow?

Let’s look at some comparisons of a few other recent Netflix shows that got a second (or more) season, shall we? How are they stacking up on RT?

Stranger Things: 91/90

The Sandman: 88/80

Bridgerton: 84/74

Shadow & Bone: 83/84

Wednesday: 73/85

Locke & Key: 68/56

Avatar: The Last Airbender: 61/72

Fate: The Winx Saga: 45/82

So good reviews and critical acclaim won’t do it. Multiple weeks on your top 10 won’t do it, making the Nielsen top 10 won’t do it. Engagement from a devoted fan base won’t do it. I’m curious, what’s the metric here? Just because it wasn’t an instant runaway sensation, it’s not worth it to you? Is that what it takes?

Here’s a hot tip: if you want people to continue to pay for a subscription to your service, maybe give stuff a chance to grow. Maybe invest a bit of time into actually advertising a show before it premiers.

One of the most popular tweets about Dead Boy Detectives when it came out was someone saying they didn’t want to watch it because they didn’t trust you not to cancel it and break their hearts. There were THOUSANDS of people agreeing with it. Thousands of viewers, thousands of accounts you missed out on because people didn’t trust you. So how is this move going to help that?

How are you planning to get people to stick around when one of the best shows on your platform isn’t given a chance? How are you expecting them to ever give your shows a chance when you’re proving again and again that you can’t be trusted to follow through?

Dead Boy Detectives is a great show. It’s a quality product. The cinematography, the lighting, the sound design, the sets, the props, the COSTUMES. The scripts are good, the acting is great, the effects are believable. the cast and crew poured their hearts into it and you can see it on the screen. The characters are relatable and real. This is a show that is rewatchable. A show that is fun. A show that is entertaining. That has a good message, that deals with heavy topics with care and sensitivity. That’s got comedy and drama and horror and mystery. That’s got representation and diversity. That means something to people. Means A LOT to people. But that’s not important to you.

Dead Boy Detectives was THE reason I renewed my account. I watched it multiple times. (See how many magnifying glasses there are after my name up there? Fun fact: I added one every time I watched the full season.) I was even making a list of other shows and movies I was planning to check out. But that’s not happening any more, because I’m canceling my account as soon as this post is up. And I know I’m not the only one.

[katarasmomsnecklace]

OK so controversial opinion

I haven't see the live action avatar (I'm a Katara stan yall I just can't do it) but going based of reviews and general consensus I can see I'm going against the grain here

I hate that the 41st is Zuko's crew

I've seen so many people say that it was the only change they liked but I cannot get on board with it

My biggest issue and I guess this is on me since it wasn't stated in the show (though heavily implied) was that I and many assumed that the 41st was child soldiers

I know they only state it's new recruits in the og but even as a kid I assumed that meant teens at the very oldest

I thought the 41st would be 14/15 year olds

And I assumed they all died

Leaving the fate of the 41st ambiguous was what made the fire nation terrifying to me as a kid, were they really willing to kill their own children? That's what made Zukos banishment hit so hard for me because if the Fire Lord could maim his own child, what was happening to the other kids in the fire nation?

Also it takes away a level of cruelty from Ozai, even if the 41st is alive is he really going to let Zuko know that, is going to let Zuko see the people he saved?

Plus I think it really sours Iroh telling the crew about Zuko's compassion and love of his nation and its people; instead it sounds more like "stop complaining that he's disrespectful he saved your lives"

I just can't see how it adds to the story and I think it actually makes Zuko's arc with his crew worse.

In my opinion, it messed with the untold story telling, we didn't need to know what happened to the 41st. Why not let the audience draw their own conclusions instead of dumbing it down

I just really really hate that change

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

roland and linda in cahoots on something

Thank you. Athos and Linda got along, I think Roland and Linda would get along like a housefire no one suspected.

-

"Roland."

"Something I can help you with, Spartan?"

Linda 058, the quietest member of Blue Team, is asking for his attention.

"How much nuance do you allow when it comes to personnel in potentially off-limit areas?" She asks while staring straight ahead, not bothering to look at the ceiling or a camera. Her voice is low and even.

He can't get a read on her in comparing her tone and body language to his wealth of readings from his crew. IIs were sarcastic, but also had a habit of malicious compliance and going right up to the point of rule breaking before stopping. It gave his captain and the admirals headaches but fascinated Roland all the more. Despite being a Ship AI and not having the experience of partnering with a Spartan, he found a kind of kinship in their creative problem-solving. What files were available to him painted a relatable picture. Linda had worked with an AI, receiving a glowing review, but Roland could read between the lines. Nuance, huh?

They were so interesting. Roland found himself struggling to balance his desire to see where this led and his ingrained purpose of maintaining order and function on the Infinity.

"That's an interesting question." He can't help the chuckle that follows. "Potentially, if someone was where they shouldn't be and I caught them, they'd get a warning to leave before I contact whoever's necessary to remove them."

"So you have to catch them."

Oh, this is fun.

"I see everything on this ship, Spartan. You may have the clearance, but I can't let you climb around the engine room."

A muscle twitches on her face. Roland counts that as a victory.

IIs were so much fun. 15 minutes after he's thrown down the gauntlet, Linda 058 disappears into a blind spot in a major hub of hallways. Roland notes it down for security and then leaves several threads around to ping when she reappears.

She does not reappear. He gets no ping. AI can't sweat, but the invigorating exercise of hunting for her sours when it's 4 hours later and the Captain is frowning at him.

"Roland, where's Linda?" Captain Lasky asks in front of three quarters of Blue Team.

"I may have chosen my words poorly." Roland says, his avatar slouching in defeat.

"Sir, she doesn't have her armor, so we can assume she's inside the ship." Kelly supplies.

Captain Lasky pales as he considers the thought. Roland hadn't considered that. "She would do that?" Lasky's voice is stricken. Roland feels a bit guilty as he watches his captain's blood pressure spike.

Fred is the only one who grimaces as they all nod once.

"You might have to admit defeat before she reappears." The Master Chief says to Roland. "Linda's competitive."

"What?" Roland gapes in shock. He doesn't want to give up so easily, surely there are ways to track the NI or IFF tag even if she's not in armor.

He stops himself from answering when his captain looks dolefully at him.

"Do I make a shipwide announcement and hope she hears it?"

He does.

180 painful seconds tick by and Linda 058 materializes out of a different blind spot halfway across the ship. Her ready gear has dust on the knees and elbows. The vents then? She walks into the meeting more relaxed than Roland's seen her.

Linda nods to the captain and Roland as she takes her place beside her team.

"Do I want to know where you've been, Spartan?" The captain sighs. His face and his biosigns are pointing towards no.

"Finding gaps in security, sir." Linda replies.

"Great." Lasky looks like he does not think it's great. Roland is just glad it's over. "You can help Roland with that when we don't have scheduled meetings."

Or not.

[burst-of-iridescent]

atla live action thoughts: season one review

first things first: anyone who says the Movie That Does Not Exist is better than the live action is straight-up lying. the shymalan film fails on the criteria of even being a decent movie, let alone an adaptation. the netflix series, for all its problems, is at least an enjoyable watch with great effects, music and (mostly) appropriate casting. there's absolutely nothing to compare here - the netflix version clears easily.

now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's delve into the series, starting with the positives.

the good:

visuals and cinematography. they really did a great job of making it feel like a fantasy universe you wanted to be in & i love how vibrant the saturation and colour grading was. it made the world feel so much more dynamic and alive instead of the same flat, boring dullness that so many movies and shows have these days. sometimes i didn't even mind that i was being fed obvious exposition because at least they were giving me something pretty to look at lmao

effects and action. the bending was surprisingly good for the most part, and they did a good job of making the elements feel unique through the stunt choreography and the actors' movements. i'm immensely thankful they didn't try to skimp on budget by merely cutting away from fight scenes or showing us as little as possible. almost all the action sequences were fast-paced and engaging, and i was never bored watching them

acting. the main four were all great, but gordon cormier and dallas liu have to be the standouts for me. gordon brings such an earnest, innocent sweetness to aang that you can't help but like him, and dallas plays all of zuko's facets perfectly: the angst, the explosive anger, the bratty snark, and especially the deep-rooted pain that characterizes so many of zuko's actions in book 1. the range he has, especially when flashing from younger to older zuko, was insane. special shoutout to maria zhang and sebastian amoruso as suki and jet respectively, because they killed it

music. leaves from the vine instrumental had me tearbending and i love how they kept the iconic avatar theme while making it a little darker for this iteration of the story. in general, the soundtrack felt very true to the animation while still being a fresh spin on it

zuko and iroh's relationship and expanding on zuko's crew. i think the fandom universally agrees that lu ten's funeral and zuko's crew being the 41st division were the best changes in the series, so i'm not going to talk about it further other than to say that these scenes show me what the show can be, and that's why i'm not giving up on it

the bad:

characterization. almost all the main characters are missing the little nuances that made them so great in the original, but the greatest casualty is katara. i hate that they took away so much of her rage, and gave many of her traits and struggles to sokka. i don't think this is a problem solely with the writing though, because certain lines do feel like things animated katara would say, but the directing and line delivery don't have the same punch that made her so fierce in the original. this is an easily fixed issue though, so i hope they take the criticism and let my girl be angry and fuck shit up next season

exposition. this was primarily a problem in depicting aang's personality and the relationship between the gaang, because a) why are you TELLING me that aang is mischievous and fun-loving instead of just showing me and b) the gaang do NOT feel like close friends, mostly because they spend so much time apart in every episode that they have little screentime to actually bond and develop intimacy.

lack of focus on the intricacies of bending. for a show whose tagline is "master your element" the characters spend very little time actually... mastering their element. zuko is never shown to struggle with firebending (which is going to have ramifications when it comes to developing his relationship with azula), and neither aang nor katara ever learn waterbending from a master throughout the the entire show. i'm pretty sure aang never willingly waterbends ONCE in the entire eight episodes, discounting the avatar state and koizilla. bending isn't just cool martial arts, it's closely linked to the philosophies and spirituality of each nation, and i wish that had been explored more.

pacing. they really needed to do a better job of conveying that time passed between episodes because an 8-episode season is just going to FEEL shorter than a 20-episode one. the original animation felt as though they'd truly been on a long journey before arriving at the north, but here it feels like the entire show happened in the span of a fortnight or so because each episode seemed to pick up right after the previous. they needed to have more downtime within episodes instead of just rushing from plot beat to plot beat because it made everything feel a lot more rushed. give the characters and story time to breathe.

final rating: 7/10.

overall, i would describe the live action as a better version of the percy jackson movies - not an accurate or perfect adaptation, but a decent story that's very fun to watch. but what really makes me root for this show to get a season 2 is that it has a lot of potential and more importantly, a lot of heart. it's evident that the people who worked on it do genuinely love and respect the original series, and it shows onscreen.

regardless of anything else, this show created opportunities for so many asian and indigenous actors, writers and creators to tell the kinds of stories and play the kinds of roles they don't usually get, and that's something worth supporting. if they take the criticism from this season and improve, i believe they really do have something special on their hands which - although it might not be the original we all know and love - could still be a story to be proud of.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Netflix Avatar: the Last Airbender (Book 1)

(Thanks @knightsweeties for this cute GP)

Now I have AVOIDED looking at spoilers, and opinions of others until After I had made my own conclusions.

A lot of people are mixed on this series. With only one thing being consensus:

The last airbender movie < Netflix Avatar the last Airbender < Avatar the last Airbender

Aside from that, opinions have been all over the places. On how great or how bad the show is.

I will be going over my thoughts on it in the following categories.

The Action (fight scenes)

The Effects (from bending, CGI, and costumes)

The characters

The Plot

The changes

Does it capture the Spirit?

How does it stand on its own?

Conclusions.

(Spoilers below, but let’s get Right into it)

____________________________________________

The Action

So I’m going to say this. The action in this series is great. In my opinion it’s the strongest point in the series.

The battles from invasions, to simple one on one fights are very well done, some aspects even surpassing the original. Like the invasion of the Northern Water Tribe, you really feel the place is under attack.

And the bending battles are pretty gorgeous. It’s impressive to see the fight between Katara and Paku done serviceable well.

Though one flaw is the fact that sometimes showing the fight or attack actually took away from the impact of story beats done in the original. Seeing the attack on the Air Nomads actually took something away from it. Seeing Aang discover that horror is much less impactful.

And seeing Zuko fight in his Agni Kai against his Father also took a lot of bite from the scene. If Zuko never fought back it would have been so much more traumatic.

But they were still good fighting scenes.

Solid 9/10

____________________________________________

The Effects.

The Costumes in this are Gorgeous! Especially Kyoshi warriors. The characters mostly look as if taken straight from the cartoon. The Face stealer himself being ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING to look at in Live action. He is a sleep paralysis demon.

Appa and Momo both look great. The effects of the cities, and the blending are beautiful.

The bending also looks pretty clean. Though I admit the water bending was a bit lacking but the Fire looked ESPECIALLY fierce.

There is so much detail jam packed in this it’s amazing.

Though, I will say that it’s not flawless, some of the things do come off a touch goofy. But that could be more of uncanny valley with some of the bending.

8/10

___________________________________________

The Characters

And it wouldn’t be Avatar without the Characters in it.

And before we do anything, let me say, ALL of the characters look like the character they are playing. It’s like Netflix genetically modified them to Look like the character.

Dallas James Liu’s Portrayal of Zuko is PERFECT. Matching Season 1 Zuko’s personality to a T.

Zuko actually gets more development and his relationship with Iroh and the Crew are expanded upon more. That Funeral scene with him and Iroh broke my heart.

Maria Zhang’s Suki is also an incredible performance.

DANNY PUDI AS The Mechanist. (They cast Abed!) that was a fun surprise.

But now that we talked about what I loved about the characters… now to get to the negatives.

Aang feels so mopey. Yes Aang has his sad moments. But instead of being a hyper optimist with a penchant for fun, he is more like a depressed kid that has occasional bits of being a kid. I don’t blame the Actor, I just feel it’s more the writing

But if Aang got a downgrade in character, Katara was SHREDDED to practically nothing. The strong yet caring Katara was so… Passive. Even her big moment fighting Paku felt so… lack luster. It pained me to see this girl who was so strong come off so… passive.

Sokka did lose a chunk of character and development, but it wasn’t AS detrimental as one would believe. It’s still cruddy. But there was some stuff added that helped cushion the blow.

Appa and Momo were not as present because expenses (but at least they were fine)

King Bumi is dead. I don’t know WHAT was the plan behind Bumi, but this felt so… twisted and off. This isn’t the Bumi that taught Aang the lesson about how not everything is as it seemed. It hurt me to see such an accurate look be so inaccurate.

Azula and her friends felt like a down grade. I know what they were trying to go for. But I just didn’t feel that EDGE she had. It felt so.. pitiful.

On a positive

Jet and his team were still fun and a bit psychotic.

Ozai actually coming off as more competent.

And Admiral Zhao being incompetent yet super Egotistical was a change I welcome.

The bounty hunter Jun, flirting with Iroh was a change I wasn’t expecting but loved.

The Face Stealer may have looked more terrifying… but his actual action was mid… aside from the nightmares.

The rest of the character acting was a mix.

I gotta put this at… 5/10

When most of the main cast feels so bland it really takes away from the story.

____________________________________________

The Plot

So the season still follows the general plot of Book 1 of ATLA.

Katara and Sokka find the Avatar who got frozen for a long time. They go travel to help Aang find a Waterbending master so he can start learning to bend and save the world.

Now interestingly since it only has 8 episodes it sort of Blends together several plots into one episode. And this causes a lot of changes… and the effects of it are… well… a mixed bag at best and almost completely undefinable at worst.

Episode 4 being especially messy.

Now there are additions and changes from the original because of the constraints of Live Action.

Like not specifying that Aang has been gone 100 years, and actually changing certain story beats to references in order to save on time.

In some cases, it’s understandable. In facts being a one to one retelling would be boring.

The problem is that the story feels more like it’s pushing the characters rather than the characters pushing the story. Aang had agency, but now there is even more forced Agency.

I did like the changes that made the fire nation more competent. (I’ll discuss further in the next section)

But overall, I felt that the story was speed blitzed and super monologue heavy at its worse. It’s nothing incoherently awful. But it’s very lacking.

4/10

_________________________________________

The Changes

There were a Lot of changes done to this in comparison to the original series. So for this. I decided to make a new system.

I will list the change. If you see this Symbol (+) it’s a change I am fine with. If you see (-) it’s a change I didn’t like. And if you see (\) it means I’m indifferent to it.

-Fire Lord Sozin wiped out Air benders in person (/)

- Aang got lost in a storm by accident, not actively running away (-)

- Katara and Sokka lose the feminist development (-)

-No penguin sledding (- -)

-No Haru (-)

-Avatar Kyoshi take over (+)

-Zuko has a journal about the Avatars (+)

- Jet in Omashu (/)

-Teo and his father in Omashu (+)

-Bumi is jaded. (-)

-Secret tunnel early (-) (it’s weird that Sokka and Katara go in there, there is more I don’t like but I will just leave that out for now)

-The Funeral for Iroh’s son. (+++)

-The Agni Kai with Ozai was changed (-)

-The crew of Zuko is revealed to be the division that would have been sacrificed. (+)

-Aang never Water bends (-)

-Azula’s whole character alteration, and earning the blue flames (-)

-Less Serious Roku (-)

-Koh’e whole deal (-)

- Zhao’s death is different. (-)

-Yue having a bigger connection to Sokka (+)

-Fire nation demonstrates far more competence (+)

-

There are more but most of them I’m more understanding because of Time Constraints.

I will give credit that a lot of the changes I didn’t like but they did try something.

3/10

______________________________________

Does it capture the Spirit?

This is where I have to say Kind of.

When you see the references, Cameos, and the small details. You can tell there is some love for the original series. The attention to details and the bending choreography is gorgeous and Almost seamless.

It’s where we get to the core of the show that feels different.

For example. The Netflix version of One piece. There are a TON of differences, but the core of the characters felt the same. The spirit of the show was still clear. It was handled with love.

With this series, I can say there is a respect for ATLA, but the core seems to have a different focus.

So I put this at 5/10

As there are some things that you can see have reverence, but other things that don’t.

_________________________________________

Conclusion.

The stark defenders of the show say you shouldn’t compare it to the Original because it will seem worse. While also then comparing how much better it is compare to the live action movie.

Here’s the truth, if you watched ATLA, you are not going to expect this show to be better than the original.

If you didn’t watch the original show, you would probably be entertained, and since this show explains basically everything, you won’t need to know as much as the viewer going in… but there is also a lot going on.

If you were to go in and watch this show with 0 understanding of the show. I’d say 6 maybe 7 out of 10.

But if you are a fan that cares about the show. I have to put it at 5/10

And that’s where I put it.

5/10

It is watchable, but I’m not absolutely smitten with it.

I’m willing to give book 2 a chance… but I’m iffy. On it.

[kat-rose-griffith]

I’m stopping for now because I have to sleep, but 1 1/2 episodes in, my review of the Netflix avatar the last airbender is that it’s alright. The atla vibes are there and the child actors (specifically aangs actor) are doing a great job. The scenery and effects are really beautiful especially for tv show. If the show gets a season 2 I do hope that they get better writers and a better director because there are quite a few awkward/clunky bits on their part, but other than that I think it does have potential. It’s obviously not on the same level as the og, but, as I have said before, no show will ever be on the level of the original avatar the last airbender. The Netflix show is far better than that movie though and I think that it can get even better. My favorite part is the actor playing Aang. He is beyond adorable and he is doing the best job out of everyone working on the show. Of anyone (cast and crew) I can tell that he truly is a fan of the og show, that love is definitely coming out in his performance

[waitmyturtles]

THE MORNING AFTER: ONLY FRIENDS, EPISODE 1 ("MY PHONE'S STILL NOT WORKING?!") META EDITION

(Unless something changes, I'll be letting loose my Only Friends episodic meta a day late from now to October -- mommy duties call on the weekends! Saturday nights'll be for that GMMTV good-good from here on out.)

So, yesterday's episode was great. I totally enjoyed reading everyone's unhinged pleasure at the first episode yesterday, and I reblogged a whole bunch of stuff and picked up on some early theories. Jojo, Ninew, and Den were having a grand time on Twitter, and it was just a lot of fun to track (JOJO).

Before getting into the meta, just to put this on the record: my first expected and/or hoped-for clown checkpoint is a confirmed and committed throuple (NOT the missed threesome we almost got in this episode, but damn it, missed opportunity!). I understand that @respectthepetty and @shortpplfedup have separately originated a murder/manslaughter clown checkpoint (thanks, @slayerkitty, for THAT heads-up, lol) (and see below re: Mew), which tracks with Jojo's previous comparison to 3 Will Be Free -- am I HOPING for murder? Maybe I'm not HOPING for murder, but for what I'm about to muse on, maybe it won't be a surprise?

@cookie-kat777 (here) and @isaksbestpillow (here) and so many more folks out there are positing that something the fuck is UP with Mew, and I agree. I find him to the the most interesting character so far, simply because he's the only one who's not letting his actions fully tell his story -- he's almost fully in charge of his narrative, as opposed to everyone else so far (Ray, obvious pained drunk; Sand, obviously broke and tired of the BS, cc: @neuroticbookworm, etc).

My read on the kitchen scene is that Mew knew beforehand that he would stop Top in his tracks prior to letting Top in. Mew is clearly a game-player, slamming that bell during bar trivia (....... y'all, that was a HELL of a lot of drinking for bar trivia, HA), and it just struck me that there was a "win" in Mew getting Top to move towards commitment before Mew gives up his thang. I smell narcissism on the dude. Mew's not acting like a blushing maiden, quite the opposite, he knew FULL WELL what he was doing when he let Top in -- but I want to know his goal in getting Top to settle down and in first.

And moving towards faen in a week? (A WEEK?!) (UM.) For Top to bag commit to Mew -- a virgin! -- that quickly, particularly in the face of the conversation he had previously had with Boston about getting with Mew in the first place: what's Top's ultimate priority here, as well? Top's going to commit to someone he hasn't slept with yet? Color me surprised. What, to show up Boston? Is that how playas play? I dunno, we'll see. I'm not sure that Boston is a strong enough reason. Maybe there's a male-toxicity-driven shallange that's coloring this narrative, but I'll wait to find out more.

Other quick thoughts: what's the source of Ray's pain that's driving him to multiple and regular black-outs? What's Sand so tired of? (Family strife, poverty, rich kids, etc. -- what's happening there). What's up with Cheum, Mew, and Boston leaving Ray to stumble to his car alone -- especially now that it's clear that he has a pattern of blacking out and showing up to school hungover?

I don't want to project, but I'm gonna: this is a hell of a heavy drinking crew, partying QUITE hard and regularly. If Jojo's previous references to at least Gay OK Bangkok stand, I'm wondering if one overarching commentary/lesson we're going to get out of Only Friends is -- escaping to the bottle is not the best way to mitigate yours or anyone else's issues. We know he's framed shows around health issues before, GOKB and The Warp Effect as the most prominent. Let's see.

Speaking of Gay OK Bangkok, I offer another OF clown checkpoint: in my review of GOKB, I posited that Pom of GOKB and Shin of 3 Will Be Free are avatars of a very similar character style -- virgins, glasses-wearing, and unassumingly wiley in their ability to survive in a competitive world. I think Mew joins that avatar crew, but in a much more insidious fashion. Let's see. I love that Jojo is playing around with this style.

One more clown checkpoint I'm gonna put out there is that Jojo and Ninew do not let the recent Thai political turmoil escape this show. I don't know HOW it'll even work, but I have my eyes sharply peeled, because the political craziness was going down literally as they were filming the show. We'll see -- I'll likely be wrong, but ya never know.

I think that's it! I LOVE Jennie, I can't wait to see Nonnie, and Drake -- welcome back to the boys, my friend. This episode was fantastic, but by FAR the best part about yesterday was seeing the filmmakers go totally insane on social media, hyping their work and their people -- damn. When the artists KNOW what they made is good, then that's just like, it's cookies for us. Jojo and Den are out there replying to fans, and it’s just awesome. What a ride already!

[adventuretolkienlover]

My Atlantis The Lost Empire Review!🗺️🪖💎🏺💣🛞🧭⚓🛟

I finally got the courage to do it! Yay!

First I'd just like to start out by saying AOAHSJDJDHFBJFJFJFJFIGJGJDKSOXJVJFJDJUVJFUFJFUGUGHFHFUDIDJDJFHFHFUFHFJ!!!!!!!!!

🤩🤩🤩

Okay, stimming done! I should note, I don't hold back in my reviews. I see something wrong? I can and WILL say it! Luckily, there's like, nothing wrong with this movie, so you won't hear much of that from me! Lol!🤣 This is first time doing this kinda thing. So I apologize for any errors or incorrect formatting.

Now, without further adu, the review! (Hey that rhymes!) Below the cut cus it's LOOOOOOOOOONG!!!! It's literally the longest post I've made. And there's SPOILERS! So beware!

Okay, I'm not even sure where to start cus this is one INSANE ride of a movie! I mean HOLY COW!!! IF ALL OF DISNEY'S MOVIES WERE THIS GOOD, I'D WATCH

EVERY

SINGLE

ONE.

I'm not even kidding. I don't know what I'm doing, so let's just start with the World building.

WORLD BUILDING

This movie ROCKS in the world building department. Everything is well rounded out and looks stunning. One of the things that I found most exciting was the fact that they made a WHOLE FRICKEN USEABLE LANGUAGE FOR THIS MOVIE!!!!!! They actually brought in a linguist to make it!!!! That's how committed they were!!! Do you hear about Disney doing this nowadays? NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Also, THE STEAMPUNK AESTHETIC.

LOOK AT THIS SUB!!!! LOOK AT IT!!!!!

It's so detailed and cool looking!!!! If I saw this in love action, I think I'd freak! How can steam powered vessel go below the crush depth?

I DON'T CARE!!! IT'S AWESOME!!! (I especially like that bubble in the front. How fun! I'd definitely be looking out of that thing all the time!) I heard people say that watched the scene with the Leviathan attacking the sub thought it looked so real, that some people who worked on army subs got FLASHBACKS!!! I'm not even kidding! Everything during those scenes felt so real and immersive! You can tell Disney did their home work!

Okay now Atlantis itself!

It feels like it's own culture. It's feels real. It doesn't feel or look like a lazy combination of two cultures. It's distinct and interesting looking. And the people are very unique in appearance too. With their blue eyes, white hair, and coppery brown skin. It's a beautiful combination. And their clothes are nice as well. Lots of bright colors. Mostly blues, purples, magentas, etc. Very beautiful.❤️

OH! OH! AND THEIR TECHNOLOGY!!!! Oh my gosh!!! That leviathan and those fish shaped flying machines?!! HECKIN RAD!!!! How are they made?!?? What are they made out of?!??? So many QUESTIONS!!!!!!

I especially love the use of crystals in the Atlantian technology. I actually studied stuff like that and from what I've found in my research, it was actually entirely possible that ancient civilizations, like Atlantis used Crystals in somes ways of energy. Which is amazing! I don't know if that's where they got inspiration. But I found it intriguing none the less!

And the Creatures were also cool! They felt almost alien or prehistoric in appearance! It was really cool. Some of the creatures looked like they came straight from Pandora from the movie Avatar! I'm a sucker for fantasy creatures and speculative biology. So I'd love to see If I could figure out everything about the ecosystem of Atlantis! To bad they didn't go into more detail about it, but the movie wasn't about the critters. Still, hats of to the crew for giving them such interesting designs!

Okay, Onto more stuff!

THE CHARACTERS

Milo. He's adorkable.

That's it. He's perfect. I love him.

Okay, lol. Actually I have a lot to say. They gave him SOOOOOOOOO much personality! He's dynamic and easy to read! He's allowed to push his expressions and be exaggerated! He's just so fun to watch! Big thumbs up to his animator(s). And look at those glasses! And that hair! Such a good character design! He's just so fun and loveable looking!❤️

And he's allowed to show a full range of emotions! I know this one sounds weird. But it drive me crazy when a character is only allowed to show one emotion and by completely defined by it. Like being sickingly happy go lucky, or dark and moody. It's like, that's all you're going to do with them? But Milo, goes through the full range of emotions in the movie. He's got excitement from going into the unknown. Sadness and grief from the loss of his grandpa and parents. Anger at Commander Rourke's betrayal and utter disregard for the Atlantian people's lives. He experiences everything and it all feels so relatable. He's just the best. I also love how enthusiastic and kind hearted he is. He has the heart of a hero despite his first impressions. And his cute crush on Kida is the best. He's such a goober. He needs to be considered a Disney Prince. He deserves it more than most.

✨KIDA.✨ Just KIDA.🤩

Kida is GORGEOUS. 🤩🤩🤩🤩❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ LOOK AT HER DESIGN! IT ROCKS!!!! WHY THE HECK IS SHE NOT AN OFFICIAL DISNEY PRINCESS!?!??!? SHAME ON YOU DISNEY!!!! She has ALL the qualifications!!!!

She's strong! Mentally, emotionally, AND fricken physically!!! She cares deeply about her people and her culture!!!! She is ROYALTY. She is a WARRIOR!!! She is a QUEEN!!! If any of the "forgotten Disney Princesses" deserved the title of official princess, it HER! FORGET RAYA!!! You're telling me that the Disney heroin that taught people to trust their abusers, EVEN AFTER THEY'VE HURT THEM MULTIPLE TIMES and then GUILT TRIPS THEM, deserved the title of Disney Princess more than THIS WOMAN?!??! BULL! ABSOLUTE BULL! (Sorry for the rant. I have to refrain myself for going on a lecture about how Raya never deserved that title. She is my least favorite Disney princess. 😖👎 KIDA ALL THE WAY!!!!😄👍💕)

Oh, and her and Milo are the cutest couple. I heard people were upset because they didn't get a big kiss at the end. NO! They didn't kiss at the end of the movie! They didn't need to! They just FLIPPEN met!!! I wouldn't either! We're they still an adorable couple? HECK YES!!! They cared about each other and learned from each other and UGH! They so CUTE!!!!! And Milo gets to be King Consort of the Kingdom he spent his entire life searching for alongside his Queen who is also the woman he loves! How great an ending is that?! He knows they were both great rulers. You know it.

Commander Rourke. I hate this man.

I can't even find any good gifs of him. THAT'S HOW MUCH PEOPLE DESPISE HIM! Rourke is the DEVIL! Hidden under the guise of a good old American Army Commander! Which is why he is one of the BEST if not THE BEST Disney villains! He was about to let an entire lost civilization of people die, just because he wanted their LIFE FORCE!!! He definitely deserved to be transformed into a crystal creature then shattered. What a complete MONSTER!!!

I have to admit, I was actually already spoiled by the twist ending. I already knew about it from multiple sources. But somehow, that didn't matter! I watched it and I still felt connected to Rourke, even though I knew what was coming! It was so good! Rourke was written as the stereotypical brave army commander. Down to the last detail. Making a memorial for the lost crew mates. Being friendly with the main cast. Acting like a true gentleman. This is why he makes such a good villain. Nobody expects someone like him to be in league with the NAZIS of all things! Ultimately, he was an absolutely cruel and insane man, that nobody saw coming. It is probably the BEST twist villain I have EVER seen. Incredible writing. Wow.

Now, I'm not sure If I want to go through every single character. But I loved the all and definitely have thoughts on them, so I'm gonna speed run this.

Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair. MA'AM??? Just what do you think you're doing in a kids movie?!!??

🤣 Okay, in all seriousness. She was actually a cool character. She was tough as nails, beautiful, confident. To bad she was that jerk Rourke's head lackey. I mean, she sort redeemed herself toward the end. But it was mostly because she was mad at Rourke for betraying her. Not because she cared about the Atlantis or Kida. Soooooooo... I don't know.🤔

Audrey Rocio Ramirez. LOVE HER!!!!

Her backstory his incredible. Her dad wanted sons. He got two daughters. Audrey and her sister. But you know what? That didn't stop them! He wanted someone to run the garage with him? HE GOT IT! And she's good too! I also love the little detail in her backstory that says her sister is a literal heavy weight boxing champion. You go girl! Show'm what's up! I wish they had given her a name. (I'm gonna give her the name Rosa. That feels right.)

Wilhelmina Bertha Packard. Honestly the most relatable character in the movie.😂 This one gif pretty much sums it up for me.

Somehow, I feel like me and old Mrs. Packard would get along just fine.🤣

Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini. I'm not sure whether he's crazy or just like explosives a whole lot. Lol.

I actually thought he was Russian the first time I saw him. It wasn't until I found out he was Italian that I realized I made a horrible mistake in identifying his accent. 😂 His almost always neutral expression is helirious. I guess once you've blow up a lot of stuff, nothing phases you. Haha!

Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet. *Squeees*

As someone who has Native American ancestry, (my grandfather is Apache,) I was SO excited to see a someone who is half Native American in this film! I mean, half Black and half Native American?! That's INCREDIBLE! I can safely say I've never seen that type of representation in a film before. And he's also one of my favorite characters.

Gaetan "Mole" Molière. This dude is WEIRD... And of course I love him. Haha!

"You have disturbed the dirt." - Mole

I was laughing so hard when I first saw this guy come on screen. He's so dramatic! But he's french, so I guess that fits.

Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth. He said this.👇

That's one of the best lines in the film. ☝️😂 But seriously, what can I say? Crazy southern chuckwagon cook with as many unhinged stories as he has pounds of bacon grease. How could I not love him? 😂❤️ One thing I wondered was if this was such a high budget expedition, why couldn't they get like a five star chef instead? NOT THAT I'D WANT THAT BESIDES COOKIE!!! I'd be so mad if they replaced him. I was just curious. But I'm not gonna question it. He's the best and I love him. No five star chef could ever top Cookie.

Kashekim Nedakh i.e The King of Atlantis! WOW.

LEONARD NIMOY?!!?!?? That was pretty much my reaction when I found out who played Kida's father. Who would have guessed that Spock would end up playing a king from a lost empire?! The crew that worked on this movie said that while he was in the recording both, they were stunned. He put his whole heart into the role. They felt like the king was standing there in the room with them! And I FELT that. He sounded just so real! It actually sounded like I was listening to a real ancient king speaking. He was amazing for the role. I'm floored.

THE STORY

The story was amazing. I got a lot of Jules Vern Journey to The Center of The Earth vibes. It was clearly inspired by it.

Milo felt very much like the Axel of the story. Despite being much braver then him. The whole thing felt so cinematic and thrilling! Me and my family were either screaming with excitement or laughing super hard the whole way though.

As the for the moral? Well, it's actually kinda hard to pinpoint exactly. But I think that because unlike other movies, it lets the story show the moral instead of the characters telling us directly.

I would say it shows what happens when people value money and power over human life. Which is important in the time we live in. And that people's culture should be respected.

In all. A very good movie and I highly recommend it. It's a fun, bold, thrilling adventure that you will love.

✨Thanks for reading my review! Bye!✨

[ekwolfwriter-blog]

LA ATLA thoughts - No spoilers

To be upfront: I was greatly skeptical about the live action Avatar show. It is common that a lot of adaptations from cartoon to live action, that something always gets flubbed. And many times, it really feels like a cash grab than an actual passion project.

While I still watched with a critical view point, I have to say that honestly - and yes this seems like a "hot take" for some reason - but I enjoyed it.

I might need to go into detail with each episode of what worked for me and where I think some meddling happened to make scenes feel off, or things that confused me. But all an all, it was not a bad adaptation.

And the actors and actresses are giving it there all, which is awesome. I am happy for them and the few that are using this role to get into the movie business. I will not be commenting on them as people because they are just doing their job - but I will block people if you have anything mean about them as a person or body shame anyone. I am not here for that, PERIOD!

I know some people will be like "It was too rushed; it feels lifeless! It's boring, how can you find enjoyment of it?" And all I have to say is, it is unfortunately, given how making shows are; especially now a days when studios cannot promise full multiple seasons like before and as long as they are, so it makes sense the crew had to make the decisions that they made. Do I like this style of creating - hell no. Can it work for some stories - yes. Did it work here.... ish, but that is neither good nor bad.

Additionally, I think part of it is that there is not a lot of conflict that can help characters grow internally and externally because of the time crunch, and lack of nuance in the arguments that were brought up and not allowing time to ruminate before the next big issue. (That being said, that is not inherently the shows fault but a bigger issue with media literacy that I am will not be going into today.)

Point is, I think this adaptation is good with the limitations that it had on it. I know that the actors certainly surprised me with how good they were and some lines that were added and or deliveries that made me laugh, some scene that had me crying, and some scenes that have given me new ideas to create.

As I like to say, Death of the author is my muse and I will keep that in mind as I am creating and reviewing each episode with some thoughts and critics. Hopefully, to just have fun and inspire others.

As it stands: 7.5 out 10.

[airbender-dacyon]

Just some quick personal thoughts on Netflix’s adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender before it premieres tomorrow.

I know I’ve not been as active the last couple years, especially in the Kataang and AtLA fandom, but I started this blog for Kataang and AtLA and it will always be a blog for Kataang and AtLA. And it’s been a while since I’ve talked about my favorite fandom and ultimate OTP.

First and foremost, I think the adaptation is completely unnecessary (same goes for the HTTYD live-action movie that’s currently being filmed). The story has been told in a visual medium already through its original animated series.

That said, I feel this live-action series will be an improvement over the 2010 film, though that is admittedly a very low bar to clear.

Despite that I feel it’s unnecessary, I do intend to watch it after I rewatch the first season of AtLA. I want the first season fresh in my mind because I’m planning to do some level of a review of each episode as I watch it, if anyone’s interested.

My expectations for the show are that it will be… okay. Somewhat good even. Slightly above average.

From the trailers and clips released so far, I have hopes for some aspects of the adaptation and disappointment and irritation with other elements. It seems like they’ve handled some concepts well (set design, costumes, casting, visual effects, some character bonding moments, expanding upon some of the lore and characters, etc.) while it appears they may have failed to grasp the significance of key plot points and character arcs (Aang is a kid, please let him be a kid and have his fun; Sokka needs to grow as a person; Katara needs to relearn how to be a kid and have fun; Ozai scarred Zuko because Zuko refused to fight him during their Agni Kai, so why is there apparently a fully choreographed fight?).

I’m hoping I’m proved wrong on the rumored issues regarding plot points and character arcs.

I understand there are always differences between adaptations, but some of these things do worry me.

All of this said, please do not attack the cast and crew if you dislike the show. Criticism is fair, but do not go after the people who worked on this adaptation, no matter how much you disagree with some (or all) of the decisions.

And I think most importantly, be kind to newcomers to the fandom and if they liked the show, encourage them to watch the original animated series. We have an opportunity to show people that the original series is worthy of its praise and that any adaptation, no matter how well done, won’t be able to recapture the essence and beauty that made the original series so special.

I say this because it was only thanks to the live-action adaptations of One Piece and Percy Jackson that got me interested in the originals. It wasn’t that I never had an interest in them, but I had other shows/books/fandoms/interests that overshadowed them for literal years. Now I’m planning to read the OP manga and the PJO books once I’ve got some free time. And I imagine I’ll enjoy them both more than the live-action adaptations.

Last, but not least, I’m hoping to see some bonding between the main trio and especially hoping the Kataang friendship is strong. I doubt there will be any indications of anything romantic, but if they at least handle Katara and Aang’s friendship well, it will serve as a foundation for any romance in potential future seasons.

So, these are my ramblings.

If anyone is interested in me reviewing the episodes, let me know and I’ll try my best to write them up when I get a chance.

In conclusion, be respectful of the cast and crew, be kind to fandom newcomers (and please do not incite ship wars), be open-minded about the show if you watch it, but also do not be afraid to critique the adaptation.

[aprikosenklang]

Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action

First, some context: I started watching A:TLA when book 2 was airing. Since then, I watched it at least 10 times. Half of it in German and half of it in English. The last time was in 2020. I know a lot of lines by heart—yes in both languages. Zuko was my fist teenage crush and Oncle Iroh’s quotes helped my through a lot of dark times in my life. I might be biased because I love the original series a lot. But I try to reason everything carefully.

The Good

I loved it visually! Bending looked so cool and never felt out of place or weird. All of the shown places could be recognized in a blink. It was beautiful to see this world adapted in a realistic way.

The casting was mostly done perfect. A lot of the characters looked a lot like I would have imagine them.

The Kiyoshi Warriors were really awesome. Especially Suki—even though she didn’t got a name at all?!

I loved the addition with the 41st devision. It gave Zuko‘s crew actually a reason the respect him and fitted to his character and backstory.

Zuko and Iroh give the same energy as in the original. Usually this wouldn’t be something to mention, since I would expect this from and adaption. But due to issues you can read further below, I have to mention it. Zuko and Iroh might be one of the few characters that never felt out of character. I’m happy we got those two true to original at least.

The Bad

Since there is so much, I structure it even further into story, production and costumes.

Story:

I didn’t liked any of the story changes. I don’t even understand why they had to tangle all the storylines. The original book 1 is 20 episodes each about 20-25 minutes—which results in 400-500 minutes in total. The live action had 8 episodes each about 45 minutes to an hour—let’s say about 400-450 minutes in total. So basically, they could have taken the timeline as is is. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t advocate for a 1:1 adaption here. I just don’t get why they saw the need to tangle storylines, pull in things from later seasons and leave out important scenes, places, character traits and even whole characters. Each and every story change felt out of place, out of character and over all pointless. Nothing added anything that made sense. Just like it was changed because they had to change something.

Aang didn’t even learn water bending!!! Like what is the whole season even about if the main character doesn’t have a real character arc? All he does is having guilt over disappearing for 100 years. Yes that’s also a thing he has to overcome. But it is just half of it. And he even doesn’t really get over it. He has none of his childish fun moments like he does in the original.

Why did Sokka have SOOO much screen time?!?! Sometimes it felt like he‘s the protagonist of the series. Especially with Aang not even learning water bending.

Momo in contrast had like 0 screen time. But than in the last episode when he became important as plot device Sokka was weirdly attached to him.

Katara being her own master made it pointless to actually go to the northern water tribe. Yes there was Aang's vision. But in the original the plot is not mainly driven by what the fire nation does, but by what team avatar needs to do. Like… Aang learning bending!!!

We didn’t get the epic intro we could have. It felt like they tried to make up for it in the first episode. But having three different versions of the epic lines and finally Gran Gran dropping the original ones was actually the worst. It felt forced and as if she would read them out.

Everything regarding Azula was sooo off for me. She felt like a completely different character with other motivations and struggles. I wish she would not have been so present in the first season.

Uncle Iroh drank not enough tea. Lol. This is maybe a personal one and I cannot reason it to be honest.

I‘m disappointed by the Lu Ten moment. Fist of all, why did it need to be in season one?! But also: It was a bonding moment for Zuko and Iroh. It didn’t payed any respect for Lu Ten in my opinion. And leaves from the wine was barely noticeable and didn’t make feel anything.

Katara never lost her necklace. Which I don’t mind. But it made a huge plot hole for the headhunter Zuko hired. They tried to cover it with randomly finding a piece of fabric. But how did they know this belonged to the Avatar? This change feels similar to the one with the water bending scroll. Important things just become meaningless.

Agni Kai was once mentioned but never explained. If I didn’t know what an Agni Kai is from the original series, this would probably be either the most missed or confusing thing.

Hei Bai was never healed!!! Yeah sure, Aang saved the villagers. But what about the forest and spirit?! And why was there no winter solstice? And in general why did everything in the spirit world was so all over the place?

The siege of the Nothern water tribe being a distraction for Omashu is stupid. It would take them way too long to hear about it. So they would not be able to send troops there by time and it would not weaken them in any way.

The world feels super flat and boring. Because they tangled so many story lines, they got rid of a lot of places. No fire nation prison in the earth kingdom, no nothern air temple, almost no villages. You never get a change to explore the world and learn about the ordinary people.

Production:

The directing felt bad. A lot of people say, the acting was bad. But I don’t agree. First of all, a lot of the cast were children. I think it is not fair to judge them so easily and hard. In my opinion the directing wasn’t good. And you could tell because even the older and more experienced actors were really stiff.

The dialogs were almost always awkward. This adds to the previous point and is another sign that the acting isn’t the problem. The lines were sometimes random, jokes felt forced and original lines never made the same impact as in the animated series.

Some of the CGI green screen backgrounds were awful. They reminded you that this is a show which really pulled me out of the immersion.

Costumes:

The costumes felt lifeless. They could have added so much details to the garments and accessories. But of all things they decided to stick to the original with the costume design?! I expected the outfits to be a lot more toned down in brightness too. That’s something you need in an animated series, but not in a live action. So much missed potential.

Why could they not cast old people for old characters? All of them looked so stale, emotionless and almost uncanny.

I was sooo disappointed by Yue! Maybe I’m biased here, because she was one of my favorite characters of book one. But somehow she was the only character that didn’t felt casted perfectly. And especially her hair was awful and looked like a cheap wig.

Conclusion

Overall, I‘m disappointed. Again, I didn’t expected a 1:1 adaptation. But I don’t see that the same care was put into it like it was for the original. I would have wanted to have something that creates similar emotions and an overall known feeling. But it doesn’t. It’s confusing, flat and carelessly made. I can definitely see why the original creators stepped back from it.

If you think about watching it, I would recommend you the original. Especially because it is not that much longer. So better invest your time wisely.

[masterghandalf]

MG Reads Embers: Theft Absolute

So, as I mentioned in the second part of my Embers review, I did a full chapter by chapter reread and commentary on the fic this past fall and winter over on my Dreamwidth account; since I just put up the second part of my review, I thought I'd transfer this over here as well. It starts with the oneshot "Theft Absolute" and then goes through all ninety-one chapters of the fic proper (following TVTropes' lead, sorted into twelve arcs for easier reference); each post includes a brief(ish) summary of the chapter, and then an overview of my thoughts on it. For fair warning, I'm more critical of the fic than not, but I do try to give credit where credit is due and point out things I like as well.

Theft Absolute NOTE: While not part of Embers proper, this one-shot is the first installment of the Embers continuity, marking the major point of divergence (sort of; we’ll get back to this idea later) from the show’s canon and setting up some plot points and character beats that will continue across the later fic.

The one-shot opens with a brief AN from Vathara: Nothing Avatar-related belongs to me. AU bit of "The Cave of Two Lovers". Because robbery is one thing, but horse-stealing is just wrong. We begin the story right at the point of the canon episode where Zuko is preparing to steal Song’s family’s ostrich-horse; Iroh tells him the family showed them kindness, and Zuko responds that they’re about to show them a little more kindness. He has a brief flashback to the night Ursa disappeared, regretting that he never even got to say goodbye to her, and then tells Iroh that Azula is after them and it will be best for Song’s family if they’re far away when she catches up to them. Iroh points out that news of an ostrich-horse theft would likely reach Azula’s ears faster than news of two refugees. Zuko takes a moment to reflect that “Azula always lies” and that he needs to think of her as an obstacle, not as his sister; he also remembers how Iroh redirected her lightning the last time they met.

Zuko reflects on how he and his uncle are fugitives now, but so long as the Avatar is still out there, their mission isn’t done. He thinks about how to turn the situation to their advantage; he knows that Azula is smarter than he is and a better hand-to-hand combatant, but she doesn’t know Zuko has learned how to use a sword, like a commoner. This makes him decide to embrace the identity of a refugee as a cover, though he can’t help but wonder about the fate of Lieutenant Jee and his crew, and if they died during the battle at the North Pole. Finally, remembering Ursa’s words – never forget who you are – he dismounts and helps Iroh return the ostrich-horse to the pen. Zuko asks if Iroh knows where they can find a port, to inquire about the sailors’ fates; Iroh tells him they’ll have a long walk ahead of them, and Zuko agrees. He has one final request, though – Iroh is never to try gathering tea leaves himself again! The one-shot ends with another AN. Pre English conquest, the gravest of all crimes in Welsh law was not murder, but theft. And while armed robbery was considered excusable under some circumstances, theft by stealth - theft absolute - could be a capital crime. Stealing from your own host, who'd taken you in and given you shelter… well. Very bad. This story wouldn't have to change canon events much; Zuko could always have bought another mount with stolen funds later. Or then again, it might change quite a bit, down the road….

MG’s Thoughts In general, “Theft Absolute” is a pretty innocuous little one-shot, barely longer than a drabble, and looking back at it, it’s kind of amazing to see that this is what would, in a few months, end up spawning a 91-chapter epic. It’s a decent character study of Zuko, exploring his thought process during the ostrich-horse theft from canon and also what might have pushed him to change his mind about going through with it. That said, I do have a few quibbles with it, mostly related to things which are minor in “Theft Absolute” but will, IMO, go on to become bigger problems in Embers. The first is Vathara’s seeming determination to sand off a lot of Zuko’s rougher edges to make him a more conventionally heroic protagonist (the Embers-verse basically reverses Aang and Zuko’s canonical positions, making Zuko the protagonist and Aang the deuteragonist and foil instead of the other way around). Not going through with the theft is the big one (in canon, IMO, it’s a very important “kick the dog” moment that proves that, sympathetic as Zuko is, he’s not a good guy yet and still has a long ways to go), but also having him show a much greater level of concern for his men and interest in their fate than he ever did in canon. Embers will continue more in this vein. The aside about swords being a commoner’s weapon is a bit odd, since historically, a sword was more often an elite weapon, due to the amount of training and practice it takes to master it, which commoners generally didn’t have (the spear was more often a commoner’s weapon) nor is the idea that benders especially look down on weapons much supported by canon (several bending styles incorporate weapons, after all, and even Azula will use melee weapons at need, though she usually doesn’t need them). This will also be a recurring element in the fic, generally presented as proof that Zuko is more flexible than most benders and more willing to look outside the box.

Finally, I’m a bit iffy on the one-shot being based on, and named after, a Welsh law. Sacred hospitality was a thing across almost all of the world, after all, and A:TLA is based on Asian cultures, not European ones. It’s just an odd detail that bugs me, and makes me think that while Vathara did her homework, she’s somewhat spotty and inconsistent about applying it, which will, IMO, continue to be a trend across the fic (at least, as far as my own areas of research interest go). Now, all of these comments are pretty nitpicky, I’ll admit, and certainly none of them are dealbreakers in the context of this particular one-shot, which again I mostly do like… but I do think they point to what will become bigger issues in Embers itself down the line.

[mad4turtles]

THE ONE PIECE LIVE ACTION IS GREAT!

As someone who, since Disney ran it into the ground along with so many companies currently struggling with creativity, generally dislikes live-action adaptations of shows/movies, I was very, VERY sceptical if not downright abhorred when I heard they were making a live-action version of one of my all-time favourite anime/manga series. Not even the involvement of Oda himself could convince me.

Fast forward a few years since the announcement, and we get a first look at the cast. I was impressed and pleased by what I saw, and cautiously optimistic. Then the first trailer dropped, along with my jaw, because suddenly I was 100% onboard (no pun intended) with the show.

As of writing this, I've just finished watching the entire 8 Episode season. And when I tell you, as a long-time One Piece fan, I loved EVERY MINUTE of it. It managed to condense dozens of my favourite episodes and moments into just 8 1 hour episodes. And yes, some things were a liiittle rushed, and some things got somewhat brushed over which I was a little disappointed about, but the good so far outweighs the bad that even the 'bad' I would hardly consider 'bad'. Just could've been done better.

The characters and casting. It's. SO GOOD. You can tell this cast and crew LOVED this story, the set pieces and the music, the lines and camera work, the ACTION, the drama and the humour--It ALL hit. You feel EVERYTHING with and for these characters. And the humour isn't FORCED like it is so often in modern media. It stays within the bounds of the world, no wink-wink-nudge-nudge 'reference to popular thing right now' to horribly date it. It's the same way I felt about watching the Avatar movies; while not outstanding storywise, there's a genuine-ness about it with the lack of forced humour and stupid references.

There's so many references to the source material, and yet so many NEW things that I NEVER would've thought would fit with the One Piece world or characters, but here, the new things WORK. The way they tell this story WORKS. And by god, I'm so happy to see something REAL, and made WITH LOVE, rather than another stupid, passionless, desperate cash-grab from a multibillion-dollar corporation. I've not been this moved since watching Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last year. Spider-Verse moved me with its rule-breaking, breathtaking animation and compelling storytelling of course, but it just. MEANS something to me when a Live-Action adaptation can move me the way animation has ever since i was a child.

I LOVED this show. i love this crew, this cast, this story and all its characters. As of writing this review, I have no idea if we'll ever get a Season 2 or beyond, but I pray we do. I want more projects like this than another Disney knock-off, a passionless regurgitation of beloved classics. At the same time, I do acknowledge what's currently going on with the strikes, so these CEO's or whoever better wake up and pay up what creators like these DESERVE.

TL;DR: The live-action One Piece is freaking AMAZING, please watch it, and I pray for more genuine projects made with love in the future!

[old-people-like-avatar]

Netflix Avatar the Last Airbender S1E6: Masks Review [Spoilers]

I actually really, really loved this Zuko-heavy episode. Probably my favorite so far. It introduced some important new scenes to the canon.

THE GOODS

Ozai: He's just trying to be a good father, guys. Really. Just trying to teach his son a valuable lesson to make him strong. No, but really. I really enjoyed Daniel Dae Kim's fresh interpretation of Ozai's agni kai with Zuko and its aftermath. He somehow made the concept of suffering-as-teacher come off... as parenting. Of course, we can all see the horrific abuse for what it really is, but Ozai the character truly believed. He even showed some hesitation in burning Zuko's face. Kim's performance gave Ozai a depth that wasn't really in the show. I actually really enjoyed watching this character.

41st Division: I loved the addition of Zuko's crew being the division that was supposed to be sacrificed. Awesome.

Zuko/Iroh: While there was a little too much of Iroh "talking up"/exposition-ing Zuko to the crew as someone who "sacrificed" and whatnot, they did also manage to do some really great showing. Little gestures, like Iroh fixing Zuko's gauntlest or putting a blanket on Zuko. <3 Or the way Iroh choked up when Zuko finally came back to the ship.

Zuko/Aang: The Blue Spirit action scenes were great, but what I really enjoyed was Zuko's scene with Aang in the random hut in the middle of nowhere. [Where did the hut come from? Who knows? How come the soldiers didn't see and search the hut? Who knows? Plot device!] Them bonding over goat hair and Zuko's notebook! Their conversation. I liked this expansion of the "Kuzon" scene from the show a lot.

Iroh and Azula in the agni kai: I liked that they had Iroh try to stop Ozai before the agni kai, and that Azula wasn't just sadistically watching.

Admiral Zhao: I loved the portrayal of Zhao's ascension to admiral. He was delicious.

THE I-APPRECIATED-WHAT-THEY-WERE-DOING-BUT-NOT-SURE-THEY-PULLED-IT-OFF

Resolution for Koh: Thematically they were trying to tie Koh's need for family to Aang and Zuko's need for family, but... it just really did not work. Here's this piece of wood totem! (But why did Roku steal it? No idea.) Something about a mother of faces! Family! Yeah! Okay! They didn't really pull it off.

THE BADS

Clunky dialogue... again. "I can't let everyone down again!" Please, make it stop. We've been hit over the head too many times with this. "I have feeling you've been hurt more than enough." No, no, no. Why do you feel the need for Aang to state all the obvious things? This writing team needs an editor.

Aang's capture made no sense: They didn't really explain how Aang didn't escape after the shirshu venom wore off. He was just secured with a rope on a cart. Couldn't he have airbended? If the answer is he was still under the effect of the venom, then say something about that. Otherwise, it just didn't make any sense.

THE UNKNOWN

Roku: I'm not sure how I felt about Avatar Roku as a character. Remains to be seen. Needs further development.

[dans-den]

Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review

What's going on everyone! Dan here and today I'll be reviewing Shazam! Fury of the Gods!

I'll try to not give as much spoilers as possible but there will be some, you've been warned.

First off I'd like to say, I loved the first Shazam! movie from 2019. I thought it was the best DC hero movie made in the 2010's even beating out movies like Man of Steel and the Dark Knight Rises. So when I heard Shazam! was getting a sequel, I was excited and looking forward to it thinking it'll be as good as the original, maybe even better. Unfortunately that was not the case as this movie was a bit messier than the original in terms of plot and some character development issues. This movie was horrible, but it wasn't as great as I was hoping either. I'll be going over the strengths and weaknesses of this film.

Now this is where the real problems start, Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock. As we all know, Johnson wanted the role of the Black Adam character and years later as he is now one of the top A list actors in the business, he got his wish. However, He would only do the role if he got his own stand alone Black Adam movie which he did, I have a full review of The Black Adam movie and mentioned this in that review but didn't go into how it would hurt the Shazam! franchise. At the cost of giving Black Adam his own solo film, it crippled the sequel for Shazam! especially given that Black Adam is the most iconic villain Captain Marvel himself has in his rogue's gallery. I'm sure this sequel was meant to have these two meet but unfortunately Dwayne got his way and pretty much left the Shazam crew scrambling. It's a similar situation to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever where they had the plot ready but due to the death of Chadwick Boseman they had to rewrite the script which had a very mixed reception to say the least. I find it to be a real shame we didn't get the battle of Captain Marvel vs Black Adam on the big screen, that would have been epic. Who knows? maybe they'll work something out to where they'll meet and fight, maybe Superman can get in on this too like Superman/Shazam: Return of Black Adam (which is honestly great). Though I highly doubt that as Zachery Levi and Dwayne Johnson are going through some beef due to this issue. But as it stands, they had to rewrite the script and salvage what they could.

The plot now is there are three daughters of a god named Atlas, these gods were sealed away and because of the events of the last movie, the seal is broken and they are free. Now they're after the Marvel family deeming that mortals should not have powers of the gods. They try to take those powers away all while trying to get the gold apple to plant the tree of life back at their home to restore it to its former beauty. The villains here were more or less made for the movie and aren't really Captain Marvel villains, they fit more as Wonder Woman villains if I'm being honest. The villains aren't bad and I do like the actresses who portrayed them. The sisters provided three different sides/views such as Anthea (Rachael Zegler) being the good side of the sisters, Hespera (Helen Mirren) being the neutral side of the sisters, and Kalypso (Lucy Liu) being the evil side of the sisters. They all did a great job in their role, their powers are cool but I feel are underutilized from their full potential against the Marvel Family. Hespera controlling elements she should basically be the Avatar and use all the elements to greater degrees but is mostly used as like a power puncher, Kalypso has the power to whisper in your ear and make you do as she commands and even spread it like a plague but its only used in the first half of the movie and is pretty much forgotten about later on when she has her dragon to destroy everything. Anthea has the power of accessibility where she can pull a Doctor Strange and can warp the room and areas around which is honestly cool VFX. The fighting and VFX were not bad honestly, definitely better than what Marvel has been churning out lately. As I said, they did good and served their purpose, but I would have preferred Black Adam or even another Captain Marvel villain like say Chain Lightning, she would probably be better to add to the story than random gods.

The main cast did a great job again like in the first one, Zachery Levi as Captain Marvel did great, I enjoy his humor and him as a boy in a grown mans body just like the rest of the cast being kids in adult bodies. I love the dialogue and humor with the Marvel family. I will say that there is a bit of development for Billy with having abandonment issues which makes him hold on too tight to everyone around him and Freddy especially gets sick and tired of it which causes some issues within the Marvel Family. Freddy was basically the B plot of this movie with him wanting to do his own thing whether it be as a hero or just his personal life in general but Billy is just reluctant to the idea of anyone in his family going off and doing their own thing. I wish these aspects of character development was more prevalent through out the film but it was sprinkled in here and there. at the end, Billy realizes that his family will always be there for him and this helps him realize that the wizard chose right with him. There is a cameo towards the end of a familiar hero and they'll be crucial towards the end after the final battle.

Post credit scenes are a bit jarring but reflects what plans they have for the Shazam franchise (if they can get any backing behind it now). There are two post credit scenes this movie has and both I think are meant to set up another Shazam! movie in the near future. Though after the mixed to somewhat negative reception of the Shazam! sequel, odds of there being another Shazam! movie is a bit slimmer than before. I honestly wouldn't mind another Shazam! movie but right now DC is just a complete mess with projects being cancelled out of nowhere, The Flash still going forward as planned despite the Ezra Miller controversies, and with Warner Bros just being a complete fiasco right now. Things are uncertain but hopefully things will be better from here on out or at least after The Flash movie.

Overall, the sequel wasn't as good as the original. I felt that Dwayne Johnson really threw this franchise under the bus and left them to pick up the pieces. As I said I like the Shazam! movie, I like Zachery Levi and I wanted to like this sequel but so many problems plagued this production. I wish they could have taken more time to make it better but I guess it is what it is. It's not terrible, just underwhelming compared tot he original. Hopefully DC/WB can get it together and churn out bangers in the future.

Rating this movie I'd give it:

6.5/10

Despite the problems it suffered in production, it is still a fun movie to watch and if you're looking for a fun movie with kids or family then this is definitely serviceable. I'm hoping The Flash and the upcoming Blue Beetle movie will be better but we'll see. That's all I have to say.

See ya!