#but at least it gives me the chance to rewatch old movies

[blistering-typhoons]

Okay, so I watched one or two Rathbone Holmes stories back in high school and decided I didn't like Nigel Bruce, but I've also seen you talking positively about the Rathbone Holmes movies/ episodes. If you're willing, can you say why you like them and/ or which you would recommend starting on? Is it a series to watch in broadcast order, or are they more stand-alone? Which ones are your favorite? I want to give it a second chance.

hiya, thanks for the ask :D adding a cut here cuz this post got realllyyy outta hand- so so sorry xD

I wanna preface by saying that I totally get the frustration of Nigel Bruce Watson- as much as I've come to care for this portrayal, there are still moments of disappointment? I feel? Mostly once you see all the potential in him before it gets unceremoniously dumbed down for the sake of comedy, and it can be trying sometimes, but I've learned to breeze past those moments and! There are definitely movies where he shines brighter than others! In the end, you may warm up to him or you may not, but I fully commend you on taking another chance :D

I did not really start off in broadcast order (my ass still hasn't seen rathbone and bruce's HOUN- bloody disgraceful lmao) and mostly watched in order of vibes, which seems to have worked out alright xD

I started off with Scarlet Claw, and after rewatching it this morning, I feel like it's an alright place to start! It's a good sort of mystery and there was enough element of equal partnership to get me invested in Holmes and Watson. But, I'd say it's still pretty lukewarm, enjoy it as I do, so to compound this long ass post lemme throw a list at you real quick of rathbone movies i strongly recommend-

The Pearl of Death:

Starting off with Pearl of Death not only for the 'Watson gathers the braincells' quality but because it's one of the genuine classics in the series- a brilliantly crafted movie from start to finish, and in my opinion, one of the better shot ones. This one is a good start, it's a bit slow in some places, but it's a good, neutral film that showcases I think some of the more concrete themes and brilliancy of the movies.

House of Fear:

I honestly dunno if I'm biased about this one, but it is genuinely one of my favourite movies of all time. It's the very second one I watched, and it's still in my nighttime viewing collection- I fall asleep watching this movie, which is a compliment I swear. Watson has a more active role, is genuinely trying his best for most of the runtime and falls more in line with 'genuine failure to succeed' more than just 'bungled it up for a gag'. It's a really, really excellent mystery and I adore Holmes and Watson's dynamic throughout- 10/10, freaking banger movie.

Pursuit to Algiers:

Then, of course, the Big Daddy herself- Pursuit to Algiers. This one falls less in line with a mystery (our baddies become pretty clear at one point) and more suspense, but man is that a good thing. The dang thing takes place on a boat for most of it, Holmes and Watson are attached to eachother like pairbonded shelter dogs and have the most balanced, affectionate of interactions, Watson gets to sing! And not to give away any spoilers (yeah shush, i know the movie's old) but a particular plot point happens in this movie and as a result, Nigel Bruce gets to do a genuinely heartbreaking piece of acting- seriously, there is a shot where he goes out onto the deck, completely silent of music and just looks out into the ocean that still has me unwell even after all this time. Goofy moments still happen in the movie, but they feel more organic, and overall there is a wonderfully grounded approach to Watson here- he's still silly, but it's a fun silly, and a silly that Holmes indulges in with him. The depth of affection between these two is ASTOUNDING in this movie, bloody unhinged behaviour. Great movie, do watch it :D

I'd say those three are, at least in my opinion, the best of the best! I do enjoy the others, but I think it best to venture into those once an affection has been developed, they do strain the patience a bit at times I'm afraid. (And it goes without saying, some of the movies have a definite propaganda vibe to them, which is charming sometimes and sometimes just grating, really depends on the day i think- none of the three movies listed above fall under this category though- and the of course, general warning for all the really poorly aged 1940s stuff, but you know that :>)

Except The Spider Woman. In really the bluntest of terms, fuck that movie, all my homies hate The Spider Woman, do NOT watch it (i'm only half joking, oh god its so bad)

Anyways, uh, sorry lmao-

I really must thank you for letting me put this incredibly useless knowledge to use, I'm so goddamn sorry it came out in this absolute massive scrawl- I wish you all the luck in your rathbone holmes adventure, and I hope you have an illuminating time either way it goes for you :D

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Movie Night

Summary: No One Knows AU Part 3, Danny, Sam, and Tucker have a movie night at Sam's house on a rare night off from Danny being grounded.

...

It takes a while, but things do start to mellow out after another couple weeks.  Danny eventually catches up on homework, and now he’s back to only sort-of failing instead of actually failing.  His parents let up on the grounding a little bit, and he’s allowed to spend time at Sam’s house and Tucker’s house sometimes, though nowhere else yet.  He settles into a ghost fighting routine with Jazz and they both work up a rhythm that works well.  (Danny does most of the physical fighting and Jazz does a lot of background strategizing and overlooking of the fight that makes things run way smoother.)

Eventually, he does seem to improve his reputation at least back to where it was pre-Freakshow.  Especially when Jazz manages to make it known he was part of the reason Freakshow was captured and all of the valuables returned.

Unfortunately, the one person it doesn’t seem to have any effect on is Sam, which is really inconvenient given that she’s kind of the point of all this.  Danny can’t blame her, though.  He hasn’t had a chance to talk to her directly as Phantom, and he doesn’t want to just ambush her at school one day, that would be the opposite of helpful.  So Sam’s only one-to-one interaction with him continues to be “that time he tried to kill me by dropping me several stories to the ground.”  Honestly, her being suspicious is probably the logical choice.

He tries hard not to be thinking about that when he’s with her as Danny Fenton, though.  Compartmentalizing can actually be very helpful.  Prevents him from screaming in frustration every time she goes off on a rant about how everyone’s being fooled by that Invis-o-bill idiot again.  (Could she at least not use that stupid name?)

And this week isn’t going to have anything to do with Phantom at all, because the three of them are going to hang out in Sam’s basement with a lineup of scary movies and enough popcorn to put them into a food coma.  (Sam’s three favorite horror movie icons are going to be fighting each other in an upcoming movie, so they’re rewatching all of the old ones first at Sam’s insistence.)

Danny got special permission to go from his parents on account of his improved grades and good behavior, meaning things almost feel normal as he walks up to Sam’s house and knocks on the door.

Sam pulls it open a second later, a bright grin already on her face.  “Danny, finally!  Come on!”  She grabs his wrist and yanks him into the house before Danny can say anything, and pulls him past her parents without letting him get out so much as a hello.

Tucker’s already waiting in the basement when they get down there, and gives Danny a wave in a break from shaking a truly ridiculous amount of salt onto his giant tub of popcorn.

“Yours is on the left,” he says, nodding at one of the three tubs.  “Sam’s has the vegan butter.”

“Thanks Tuck,” he says, picking it up and heading over to his usual movie chair as Sam grabs her own popcorn tub and does the same.

“This is going to be the greatest movie ever,” Sam says, a grin lighting up her face as she turns the giant movie screen on.  “Plus I already bought us tickets, I cannot wait to see it on Friday.”

“I thought ticket sales didn’t open until Monday,” Tucker says as he finally sits down, apparently done taking years off his life with the amount of salt he’s using.

“There’s still a couple advantages to being filthy rich,” Sam says.  “We have three reserved seats right in the middle of the theatre.  I decided to cheat just this once.”

Danny snorts.  “Figures you’d break for horror movies.”

“Hey, I’m not breaking anything.  This is a one-time thing,” Sam says very seriously.

“Sure,” Danny says, giving her a teasing smile.

“I mean it!”

“Uh-huh.”

“I think Danny’s just telling you to get off your high horse,” Tucker says with a smile of his own.  “So much for hating being rich, huh?”

“Guys.”

“We’re just teasing, Sam,” Danny says, nudging her in the side.  “You know we’re gonna love having those seats too.”

Sam gives him a not-very-serious-glare, and then starts grinning again as she turns back to start the first movie.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t care either way,” she says.  “I don’t think anything could ruin this week for me.”

Danny smiles at her for a second, enjoying the image of her being so happy.  He settles back into his own chair and tosses a first handful of popcorn into his mouth.  Horror movies may not actually scare him much anymore, but Sam loves them enough that it’s incredibly easy to care, if only just for her sake.

Tucker still hides his head between his hands at a couple points, but he sticks it out through the whole movie, which is impressive enough for him.

“God,” Sam says, leaning back with a grin after the credits finally roll.  “It’s still good.  Isn’t it still good Danny?”

“It’s still good,” Danny agrees with a fond smile.

“Speak for yourself,” Tucker mutters, from his clenched up position in his own chair.

“Well I hope you’re ready for more tomorrow night!” Sam says with a grin at him.

Tucker gives her a look.  “You’re both so lucky that you’re my only friends.”

“Aww, he loves us,” Danny says.

“He does,” Sam says, putting a hand to her chest as if moved.  “Isn’t it so sweet, Danny?”

“It is, Sam, it really is.”

“I hate you both.”

“Inclined not to believe you,” Danny says with a grin.

Tucker rolls his eyes and sits up.  “Please, I would totally be sitting out on this if it wasn’t the only thing outside of school your parents were letting you do with us.”

“Somehow, still inclined not to believe you.”

Tucker crosses his arms with an annoyed huff, meaning Danny is totally right.

“Tell you what, you can bring a cooldown movie tomorrow night,” Sam says.  “That way we can all stay longer and you don’t have to go home terrified.”

“Except I still do tonight,” Tucker says.

“Not much I can do about that, you didn’t bring another movie.”

“I’ll walk home with you, Tuck,” Danny says, standing.

Tucker gives him a curious look.  “Do you have time to do that and still make curfew?  I thought you’re parents were being really strict about that.”

“I have my ways,” Danny says.  “See you at school tomorrow, Sam.”

“See ya!” Sam calls.  “Don’t let my parents yell at you on the way out!”

“That’s easier said than done,” Danny mutters, but they both head up the steps anyway.

They do actually make it out without any yelling, though they don’t manage to avoid a couple glares.

Tucker turns to him as they start the walk towards his house.  “I am glad your parents are letting up on you a bit, though,” he says.  “Especially considering you being gone wasn’t actually your fault.”

Danny nods, though he doesn’t really want to talk about it.  “Yeah, I don’t think they can really stay mad for too long.  I think it’s also pretty clear to them that I learned my lesson, which helps.”

“Your lesson about not getting kidnapped?” Tucker asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Still not gonna tell them, but thanks, Tucker.”

“Still don’t understand why, but alright.  I won’t push.”

“Thank you,” Danny says, and he means it.  “I do think the whole experience has thoroughly ruined circuses for me, though.”

“You and Sam both,” Tucker says.  “Though I think maybe part of that was Invis-o-bill’s fault.”

Danny winces and doesn’t say anything.

“Hey, you okay?” Tucker asks, clearly noticing.

“Fine,” Danny lies.  “Look, we’re here.”

He gestures at Tucker’s house just a couple houses down.

Tucker keeps looking at him as they walk.

“I’m not gonna push,” he says again as they reach his house, turning to face Danny.  “Just know that offer to tell me anything is still open.”

Danny looks at him, chewing on his lip.  “Hey,” he says quietly.  “You know I’d never want to hurt you guys, right?”

Tucker blinks.  “Uh, yeah, duh.  Was that in question?”

Danny huffs a laugh.  “No.”

Tucker looks at him another second.  “Danny,” he says.  “You know what happened wasn’t your fault, right?  I mean, how would that even work?”

And it’s funny, because he does know that, mostly.  Sure, the issue with Sam is tangled up in guilt and worry and other complicated feelings, but when it comes to actually being gone those weeks, he does know it’s not his fault.  He means it when he says that to Jazz.

But now, looking at Tucker, that stupid long-familiar voice creeps up in the back of his head: He wouldn’t be saying that if he knew.

Danny shakes his head, mostly to tell his brain to knock it off.

“I know,” he says to Tucker.  “I just… I hate that you guys were so scared for me.  I don’t want to worry you.”

“Dude,” Tucker says.  “You’re our best friend, that’s our job when you get hurt.”

“It’s not like that’s new,” Danny points out.  “Dash shoves me into lockers all the time.”

“Dash doesn’t kidnap you and hold you hostage for several weeks,” Tucker says.  “Little bit of a difference there.  And for the record, I get worried when Dash messes with you too.”

Danny shakes his head.  “It’s really not a big deal,” he mutters.  “I’m fine.”

“Danny,” Tucker says.  “Please stop lying to me.”

Danny looks down.  “No.”

They both stand there in silence for a couple seconds.

“I have to go,” Danny says finally.  “Curfew.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Tucker agrees quietly.

Danny waits until Tucker goes back inside to slip down a side alleyway, transform, and fly home.

[illwynd]

Tag people you want to catch up with/get to know better

Tagged by @gorgeousgalatea :DDDD! Ty!!

Last song: uhh the last one I was specifically intending to listen to, rather than just happened to hear in passing, was all of Dwarrowdelf's album Of Dying Lights, because I spotted it at the metal swap meet yesterday and was tempted to blind-buy it on a hunch but I always hesitate to do that with black metal (gotta at least do a cursory search for shadiness). However, nothing unsavory turned up and I liked the sound, and also I really appreciate when a band that has named themselves after something from Tolkien actually uses those themes in their music. Amon amarth I love you but why is a viking-themed melodeath band named that. Anyway, Dwarrowdelf. Pretty nice.

Last film: Last one i actually paid attention to was the rewatch of Pontypool the other night. I do really like that flick. I've watched a metric fuckton of horror movies in the last month or two and really good horror stands out all the more.

Current/last read: I bought JMS's Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer a while back and hadn't had time to get to it, but I threw it in my bag today and I'm really enjoying it so far. I despise most writing advice books, and there are only a handful of writers who I might trust enough to give it a chance. But his perspective feels actually helpful to me. I also have recognized a few anecdotes and thesis points from when i went to his panels last sdcc lol.

Currently watching: the moon outside the train as we roll into the desert. If you ever have a chance to get your own room on a multi-day train trip, it's so worth it. Even the tiny little budget room... so cozy. Imagine lying sprawled out on an actual bed, closed off by curtains in your own private nook, being lulled by the rocking of the rails. The romance of the train is still alive. I wonder how far we'll get before morning.

Current obsessions: I have a few things sort of orbiting in my head, sparking off each other. I've been studying some old interests again, historical linguistics, human prehistory, etc., and it's getting to be acorn season, and I picked up my bow for the first time in ages and found that I could shoot better than i remembered, somehow, and i acquired a bunch of old books on carding and spinning and dyeing wool, and I've also been realizing some parts of me that got worn away by tough times in my life, some of which I'd like to get back, and some things i never picked up on before, and... I don't know what it's all going to form, in the end, but I feel like something is going to arise and I'm just trying to leave it space to do so. I feel like Delirium: "what's the word for things not being the same always?"

Tagging (if you feel like it!): @rynfinity @hechizero-emplumado @morganeashton @philosopherking1887 @pyrebomb @actuallyvady @rabidfirefoxfan @rollychan @obligate-rebel @seamayweed and uhhh anyone else who wants to do a meme rn :]

[motsimages]

Being the change I want to see on here and popping in to chat.

Are you watching all of the X-Men movies, or just X-2? I do think that one is the best of not just the early 2000s trilogy, but of all seven films (though First Class was excellent and Days of Future Past was... fun). Do you have a different preference?

(I remain pleased the MCU hasn't taken over the X-Men yet. While I understand the appeal of mutants being a part of it, I think the MCU would make extremely bland, dull X-Men stories)

I am watching all of them. Although, tbh, I had to leave for a work trip and didn't watch the Dark Phoenix, but I don't think I've missed anything :P

I really liked the X-Men when they first came out but after Days of Future Past, I was done with them (except Wolverine, but I didn't know I had missed movies). Bf downloaded them all, so rewatch was in order and boy was I right.

This will be long because you gave me a chance and I have it fresh in my head lol.

I agree with you that X-2 is the best. I understand that maybe nostalgia plays a role, but with all the defaults of even the very first movie, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart knew how to play these friends/lovers? who broke up but still care a lot about each other, supported by a script that also knew how to write them. And the stories are compelling too. Particularly in X-2, with the cure and all that, it is an interesting debate, and it gives Magneto a strong motivation for his evil plans.

The new ones... first of all, I don't know how it is even possible to make them less gay (Ian and Patrick weren't there to make it so [get it?], I guess), but they go full cisheteronormative ideals. Someone didn't read the LGBT allegory of the X-Men or something. And then, now that I have watched them all very close to each other, the evil plot is always the same. And they even kind of give Magneto some of the Wolverine arcs. They try to compensate with Mystique, but given that both Charles and Eric are different kind of assholes, why would she even be there? She spends the first 3 movies trying to not be there, but they bring her back because apparently these adult men need a mother. And Beast. Someday, these mainstream movies will be allowed to have an intelligent and sensitive man who is not kind of a gullible incel, but it will be too late for this Beast. In this regard, I agree with you that the MCU wouldn't do better.

Days of Future Past, I remembered worse but I liked it more than First Class this time.

I wonder if the director of the new movies even liked the X-Men to begin with. The old ones, even the bad ones, seemed to at least like the idea of the X-Men.

In all this, as I mentioned, Wolverine always has a special place for me. Do you have a favourite mutant? I really like Nightcrawler (particularly in X-2, I just love Kurt, I wish he was my friend). I also enjoy the tragedy of Rogue.

[wfagamerants]

So I finally saw the Mario movie, so of course I am not gonna miss my chance to do a good ol’ write-up about my thoughts. Spoilers btw.

I am just fresh from seeing it, so this is very early impressions speaking, but on the whole, I am very happy. A Mario movie on the big screen is something I wanted to experience as early as I can think back and yeah, it did not disappoint.

Above all else, the movie succeeds where it needed to succeed most.

It’s a Mario movie and very proud to be a Mario movie. it doesn’t rely on a ‘’Oooooh, Mario is in our world’’ kind of gimmick or anything. It looks like Mario, it sounds like Mario and it plays out like a Mario film and I mean all that in the best ways possible.

The movie is pure eye candy and while seeing so much of it’s setpieces from trailers already caught me off-guard, there was still more than enough to see. Brooklyn and the way it was made to fit with Mario’s current aesthetic was a major highlight there.

The characters look great, it’s full of detail, really, nothing to complain about there.

Music is a delight too, any time I recognized one of the game themes, which was a lot of times, made me grin. The licensed songs do clash with that, but are ultimately inoffensive. I get when people hate it, but for me, it’s just there.

I watched the movie in german, so I can’t comment on the english cast at large, but I liked them from the trailers and the german cast absolutely delivered too, with Luigi and DK being particular highlights.

Speaking of DK, everything around him and his series was fantastic to see. I always want to see the Marioverse be more connected and seeing a taste of that on the big-screen makes me more than a little giddy.

All that is good stuff and the many references to spot are going to make this an incredible movie to rewatch and discover new details, but there is one issue that I do think may make this movie a more difficult sell for people not super into Mario.

The beginning in Brooklyn is my favorite part of the movie for how it establishes Mario and Luigi, their relationship and struggles with both their business and earning the approval of others around them (being someone in the know and nostalgic about the old backstory adds extra points obviously). It takes time to show them actually at a job, gives Foreman Spike and Pauline small parts to give that fuzzy feeling of familiarity and all around serves as a great introduction. It’s nothing deep but it does a lot to elevate the Bros as characters in a way that suits the medium.

Once the Mushroom Kingdom comes in though, a lot of that starts to take a backseat to jumping from location to location. It’s an absolute joyride, but it does leave a lot of concepts without the room they need.

The flashback Luigi has while captive is great and earned, given Luigi’s timid nature and Mario being so protective of him have already been well established, but it doesn’t really go beyond that scene until the climax. It works, but at least an extra scene where Luigi laments being a scaredy cat would have given his one big moment some more pathos.

Similarly Peach’s backstory, while simple, does create intrigue and a new dimension to her care for the Toads, but it’s only brought up once and stops being a factor afterwards. It honestly feels like an entire sub-plot got cut there.

There is more stuff like that and it is an aspect where the movie feels a bit insecure about itself. It’s clear the shadow of the live action movie was looming over the movie’s production and through that, it feels they were afraid of focusing too long on something less fan–service. 

I still enjoy what we got, like Mario and DK’s dynamic is amazing even without an extended talk about their dads, it’s just stuff they could have done a little more of, because the movie otherwise does blatantly bank on your existing familiarity with the cast and world to carry things. It works for me, but I can understand a lot more now why critics who have not much clue about Mario, were less impressed.

On that note, the characters also really landed for me. Luigi did get thrown under the bus though. He’s great when he is on-screen and his moment of glory intensely cathartic, but he really does not get to do much and his dynamic with Mario does not have much time to shine. 

Similarly Lumalee is a big question mark for me. He’s amusing, but there is no context as to how Bowser got him. I really did expect some kind of Galaxy tease that just never happens and due to how little time the prisoners get, Lumalee really ends up just being a vehicle for macabre jokes.

I do also wish Peach was allowed to be a liiiittle more flawed, like I am totally on-board with her being more experienced because of her background growing up in the Mushroom Kingdom and always root for the SMB2 team to be the default hero team whenever possible. That I am all cool with, I just feel they overcompensated a little, because aside from being caught by King Bob-omb’s explosion, I struggle to think of a single mistake she made the entire movie, while everyone else bumbles at some point. Not a big deal, she ended up far more endearing than I expected, I just feel they could have made it more balanced than constant hypercompetence. 

The rest of the cast I have no complaints about. Mario is precisely what I want a more distinctly characterized take on him to be. All my praises regarding Toad still apply, Spike is great for what he gets, DK rules, Cranky is fine for what this version of him is meant to be, Kamek has good moments and Bowser is a hilarious incel that also caught me off-guard with how surprisingly evil he could be.

All that good stuff easily wins the day and made me genuinely love my time with the movie. A sequel really does need to address the pacing problems and let the characters breathe more, but I do think the movie is a slam dunk in what it wants to archive. 

This 100% is a movie for people that would get excited to see the Koopa General become a Blue Shell or see the Bros while invincible, put the smack down on Bowser and his army.

I am absolutely in this camp and as far as I am concerned, it’s a fan joyride, made by people that clearly respect the source material and I am happy I took on said ride.

I do wish the Plumber Rap used the same german lyrics as in the Super Show dub, but nobody’s perfect.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review Double Feature: Twister (1996) and Twisters (2024)

Making this another double feature. This weekend, I went back and rewatched the original Twister, an old nostalgic favorite of mine, just in time for the release of its years-later nostalgic sequel Twisters. Does the original hold up, and does the sequel live up to it?

Twister (1996)

Rated PG-13 for intense depiction of very bad weather

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/07/review-twister-1996.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

One of the films that, together with Independence Day a couple of months later, helped revive the disaster movie genre after it had seemingly died with disco at the end of the '70s, Twister is as wild a movie as the namesake weather phenomena it's named for and which serve as the centerpieces of its action. It's a movie that, while not science fiction, has the thumbprints of Michael Crichton, the sci-fi writer who co-wrote it with his wife Anne-Marie Martin and produced it, all over it in its depiction of scientists as heroic working men and women in a way that I, somebody who's had his fair share of experience with what scientific and medical work are actually like, readily appreciated. (Even if Crichton, over the course of his career, had a fairly mixed track record when it came to how his novels and screenplays presented scientific subjects, but that's another matter entirely.) It may have had problems when it came to telling a coherent story, especially when it came to Cary Elwes' character, but it was easy enough to place those problems in the back of my mind when the movie was busy thrilling me with intense, well-shot action and an interesting cast of characters that together dropped me right into the thick of it with them. There's a reason why, even long after the second wave of disaster movies in the Y2K era burned out, people of my generation still fondly remember Twister as a gem of that time.

The film revolves around a group of stormchasers in Oklahoma, led by Jo Harding, a scientist who entered meteorology after watching her father die during a tornado when she was a little girl. They do exactly what their name sounds like, chasing tornadoes in order to track and research them for scientific purposes, specifically with the intention of designing more effective early warning systems that might give people more of a chance to survive when these wicked storms touch down. Our viewpoint characters are Jo's estranged husband Bill Harding, a former stormchaser turned TV weatherman who's come back in order to get her signature on their divorce papers and formally end their marriage, and his new fiancé Melissa Reeves, a therapist from the city who's completely out of her depth in the wild world of stormchasers.

Right away, I fell in love with most of this cast, filled with a who's who of talented actors like Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, and Philip Seymour Hoffman giving it their all. It's a highly glamorized depiction of meteorology that makes it look like a career that combines the advanced scientific work of crunching data with the gritty, hands-on work of actually collecting that data, depicting Jo and her team of scientists as operating highly advanced equipment, at least some of which (most notably the "Dorothy" units they're trying to send into the storms to measure them up close) they designed themselves, out of the backs of trucks, vans, and station wagons covered in dirt and mud. It makes for a very funny contrast with Melissa, the film's comic relief character and audience stand-in who's trying to take calls from her patients even as she's being dragged head-first into the path of a tornado. They may not have been the deepest characters, with Jo's history with tornadoes and her, Bill, and Melissa's rom-com love triangle being just about the only development they get, but I loved them anyway. If I had to pick favorites, they'd probably be Hoffman as Dusty Davies, the very hammy and excitable dude on Jo's team who explains a lot of weather-related concepts, and Lois Smith as Jo's aunt Meg, a little old lady who seemingly can't be put down even after a tornado trashes her house and leaves her injured. Above all else, this is a movie that knows how to make scientists look good, and I'm not surprised that there were a lot of people in the late '90s who got very interested in meteorology after this came out.

And if the cast and the writing did the work in crafting a great cast of characters for me to root for, then Jan de Bont's direction did the work in throwing them into peril and dragging me right along with them. The film takes the opposite tack of Independence Day when it comes to showing large-scale destruction on screen, focusing less on the grand spectacle of seeing cities and monuments get blown up and more on the people running for cover as the houses, farms, tractor-trailers, and drive-in theaters around them get shredded by wicked winds. It's a very ground-level perspective on a disaster flick that still makes it stand out today, when epic-scale scenes of destruction have become the norm for Hollywood blockbusters, much like how Cloverfield used a similar perspective to make a giant monster movie scary. A few shots may not hold up so well today (especially that early shot of a weather satellite that looks like a prerendered cutscene from an early '00s video game), but on the whole, its mix of practical effects work and CGI still looks amazing when it comes time to showing buildings getting torn apart and cars getting tossed around.

Watching and, more importantly, hearing the storms on screen also made me realize how underappreciated sound design is in so many modern movies. All too often, we've seen a trend in action movies especially that I like to call "Nolanization" after one of the filmmakers who helped popularize it, an emphasis on making sound mixing more "realistic" for the sake of realism that, in effect, winds up causing it to turn into a wash where you can barely understand what the characters are saying or where the explosions and gunfire are coming from. If you've ever wondered why you have to turn on the subtitles to make out the dialogue in a lot of movies made in the last ten years, especially movies that were made for streaming, this is why. I had no such complaints here, with the sound of the twisters, often compared in real life to freight trains and jet engines, embellished for effect here but very much drilling into me exactly the mix of awe and terror that the film wanted me to experience. It's repeated throughout the film that tornadoes are not to be trifled with, and as I watched, I very much felt that in my bones. The score by Mark Mancina also injected a ton of energy into the film, especially with its guitars blending almost seamlessly with the rock and country songs on the soundtrack, livening up the film's downtime when the characters are planning or heading out but then falling back during the action scenes and letting the roaring winds take center stage.

The plot of the movie is pretty paper-thin, more or less following a couple of very exciting days in the lives of a team of stormchasers. I liked these characters more because they were played by great actors and had a lot of very cool, funny, and entertaining chemistry and dialogue together, not because they really had any depth. Had the film just been about them, I probably wouldn't have minded. The problem came with Cary Elwes' character Jonah Miller, a guy leading a rival team of stormchasers who we're told are the bad guys because they have corporate backing and are only in it for the money, not the science. When it came to fleshing out its human villain, the film's thin writing and plotting hurt it, not least of all because, despite Elwes doing everything he can to make Jonah into a despicable jackass, the writing never really gives me a sense that he's a bad guy as opposed to just a foil to Jo and Bill. There are ways this movie could've gone about to make me hate Jonah as a proper villain, such as having him not just rip off the design of Jo's Dorothy units but actively sabotage her career for his own gain, having him be the reason Bill left stormchasing and wound up estranged from Jo, or fleshing out the other members of his own team (especially Jake Busey as his sidekick) and having him put them in harm's way because he's a dumbass and a glory hound. The film leans in those directions, but it never really fleshes them out, instead just having Jonah recur throughout the film as a guy who annoys the protagonists only to vanish again. It really needed more Cary Elwes, is what I'm saying.

The Bottom Line

Twister isn't exactly known as a movie with a great story, but there's a reason why a key part of its enduring legacy was an attraction at Universal Studios Orlando that lasted until 2015. This is a two-hour thrill ride that still holds up watching it again nearly thirty years later, and one I'd firmly recommend to anyone who wants to watch a pure, straightforward disaster movie.

----------

And now, for the sequel...

Twisters (2024)

Rated PG-13 for intense action and peril, some language and injury images

Score: 4 out of 5

While Twisters has been billed as a sequel to Twister, what it really feels like is more of a remake in all but name, which is what they were by all accounts originally planning to make. It features no returning characters and only a few minor continuity nods to remind you that the two films are set in the same universe, otherwise following a brand new cast that loosely fits into the archetypes of the first movie but does its own thing with them. More than that, however, it's a movie that recognizes how and why the original still works as well as it does. Like its predecessor, it's a more up-close-and-personal take on the disaster movie that demonstrates how to make this genre work in 2024, in a world where scenes of epic, spectacle-filled destruction enabled with the latest and greatest in special effects have become routine: focus on the people, be they those caught in harm's way or the ones running into it for either science or glory. It's a movie whose real heart and soul underneath the awe-inspiring action set pieces is its cast of characters, played by a host of rising stars who I can see riding this movie to much greater heights of fame and fortune, enough to make up for the fact that it doesn't quite fix the biggest problem I had with the original. There really isn't much to say here other than that it's about as good as the original and the kind of film that's made to be seen on a big screen, one that I'd firmly recommend.

Just like last time, we're back in Oklahoma following two rival teams of stormchasers. Our protagonist Kate Carter, who had been chasing storms when she was a college student, left that way of life behind five years ago and took a job with NOAA in New York City (where a little EF1 tornado that hit Brooklyn recently was considered big news) after a bad judgment call she made got most of her team killed. Her friend Javier "Javi" Rivera, the one other surviving member of her team, convinces her to come back to Oklahoma and work with his new team Storm-Par, a corporate outfit that's employing advanced radar technology that Javi worked with in his time in the military to track storms more accurately than before. While they're down there, Kate and Javi cross paths with Tyler Owens, a stormchaser and YouTuber who's become a minor celebrity as the "Tornado Wrangler" filming himself and his team performing death-defying stunts in and around tornadoes. While Tyler's initially presented as a fame-seeking gloryhound with more followers than sense, Kate eventually warms up to him as they cross paths and she realizes he's not the dumbass he comes off as at first glance, while she and Javi start to question Storm-Par's mission as they do some more digging on Marshall Riggs, the local real estate tycoon who's funding them.

Just as the first movie had a who's who of '90s stars at the top of their game, so too is this one filled with a bunch of modern-day rising stars who, if their performances here are any indication, are probably going places after this. Daisy Edgar-Jones does her best Helen Hunt impression as Kate and does it well, making for a likable heroine with her own tornado-related tragedy in her past for her to overcome, while Anthony Ramos' Javi made for a nice twist on Jonah from the first movie, a version of him who seems to realize what a jackass he's becoming and the kind of person he's working for but also knows that he needs Riggs' money to keep doing his work at the level he's doing it at. The real breakout star here, however, is undoubtedly going to be Glen Powell as Tyler Owens. A guy with a name like a country singer and a truck and wardrobe to match, Tyler is something like a cowboy MrBeast, a YouTuber who makes no bones about the fact that fame and fortune are perks of the job but also, as we see later in the film, seeks to use his platform to do good for the people whose lives are destroyed by the tornadoes he chases. He's initially presented in a fashion similar to Jonah from the first film, quite ironically given how the aesthetics of his team more resemble those of that film's scrappy protagonists, but the more we learn about him, the more Powell gets to lay on his rugged-yet-funny charm and get me to root for him. This is the kind of role that they would've cast Chris Pratt in ten years ago, and Powell brings a very similar energy to this part. Movie nerds have been waiting for Powell to get his big break after years of well-received roles in smaller movies and TV shows, and if this is any indication, he's almost certainly a star in the making.

The basic meat and potatoes of this movie isn't that different from the first. What made that movie work is still in play here, this being a film where, while the scenes of tornadoes ripping apart a highway, wind turbines, a rodeo ground, a motel, an oil refinery, and a small town Main Street are exciting, well-shot, and brought to life with outstanding special effects, they aren't the most intense scenes in it. I've seen other reviews, both positive and negative, call this a movie shot in close-up, with the focus placed less on the action and more on the characters running for their lives and hanging on for dear life as tornadoes roar around them. I've always felt that this is the way to do a disaster movie right nowadays, in a time when most viewers will look at even the biggest action spectacle and quote one of the musicians featured on this movie country-heavy soundtrack ("that don't impress me much!), and director Lee Isaac Chung proved my point by making the action feel about as intimate as you can get when there are tornadoes roaring right behind the main characters. The result was that, even when the camera wasn't focused squarely on the mayhem, it felt more impactful than a lot of comparable effects-driven blockbusters.

Unfortunately, it also has a very similar problem to the first movie: the script, and most notably the villains. Marshall Riggs is given a lot of attention as a background villain who's running Storm-Par as part of his scheme to buy up ruined homes in tornado country and then flip them for profit at the expense of the often desperate people who live in them, a scheme that drives a wedge between Kate and Javi and forces the latter to think about why he's doing this job. The problem is, as despicable as this guy's actions are, he's only in the movie for one scene early on and then completely vanishes, with Javi's co-worker Scott, himself a fairly minor character, serving as the main representative of his villainy. Once again, the film tries to shoehorn in a human villain, in this case a timely representative of gentrification and corporate greed, without really doing anything with him and giving him a real presence in the film. Like with the first movie, I would've either dropped this subplot entirely or made things personal between him and the protagonists. Maybe have Kate's mom, played in one scene by Maura Tierney, know some people who've lost their homes and farms to Riggs and may very well lose hers? Or have him cut costs on Storm-Par's equipment and training, putting them in harm's way? Or have him find out about Kate and Javi's plan to disrupt tornadoes and try to sabotage it because it would mean fewer distressed properties for him to buy up and redevelop? The least this movie could've done is give him a satisfying death, preferably one involving a tornado eating a rich douchebag's mansion or him trying to get the hell out of Dodge in a rhinestone-encrusted Cadillac only to get one of his own billboards dropped on his head. As it stands, it's the same pitfall that ensnared the first movie from a writing perspective, playing out a bit differently in the details but otherwise having more or less the same effect.

The Bottom Line

Twisters is a very well-made throwback to '90s disaster movies that, while suffering from many of the same problems as the original, is also blessed with many of the same things that made it so much fun to watch, especially in a crowded IMAX theater. If you're just looking for a good-time, empty-calorie popcorn blockbuster that hits the spot, this is your ticket.

[gabenvrhappened]

BooksOr... Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Read my post about the movie;

Throughout the times I sat to read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (most of it when I was getting ready to sleep, but once in Primrose Hill), something inside of me screamed for the chance to put into a song all the love the book was making me feel. Just like the movie, living the story of Ari and Dante was incredibly cathartic. Unfortunately, until now at least, I wasn't able to write anything — which is shocking and definitely not usual. All that I know is that I felt the love in Benjamin Alire Sáenz's writing jumping from the page to my chest, in a warm and welcoming way.

Innocent and pure is the best way to describe it. The words that follow us through the reading, that come from Ari, are just as simple as you could expect them to be from a 16-year-old, but they hold so much weight and sincerity. It's not a mystery why this book is famous because it blew my mind how the author was able to capture the essence of growing up so perfectly, that it became an arrow that could look deep into my soul and fish my inner secrets to the surface. Just like the movie, reading the story unfold made me come back to many moments of my life, but, mostly, made me reflect on where I am right now. Made me hope for the simplicity of falling in love.

As we grow up and discover the power of attraction, everything tends to become a road to the finish line. We look at people on the street (or at the gym) and wonder what it would take to have this person in bed with us. We forget to create connections, we forget the moments that could lead to a kiss, because we have our eyes on the prize. I wonder if that's just me, or if we really lost that sensibility. I won't lie; I always pictured how cool it would be to live an enemy-to-lovers story, but reading this book made me want to live a friend-to-lovers experience because, after all, that's all we should want in a partner: a friend.

Here, Ari has a special friend in Dante. The book, of course, runs more deeply into their friendship than the movie. I love, for example, how they are always laughing and repeating each other's sentences. I loved reading the small clues of Ari's hidden love throughout his thoughts. The book does a good job in building up his character, and I found it fascinating how his parents helped him understand his love for Dante, making him, in a special way, come out. It was different and touching, and it felt so right. I wished Dante had the same development, but it was infatuating seeing all the love and affection he shows towards life and his parents (something I missed in the movie).

However, nothing, I said nothing, prepared me for the chapter where Dante asks to bathe Ari (page 145). Nothing and I can't stress that enough. I had to read that chapter twice (maybe even more) while I was drunk at a bar in SoHo. I never had read something so honest and touching. Again, innocent and pure. It was the most beautiful thing in the world, and I don't know why exactly, but that chapter, of only two pages, will be forever marked in my mind. One of the desert chapters, though, comes really close, where they are smoking pot (page 273). When Ari says he wouldn't know what he would do if Dante touched him while they were laying naked on Ari's truck after running around in the rain, was like the fist on my throat had grabbed my heart.

It's impossible not to draw parallels, especially because I saw the movie first (and rewatched it as soon as I finished the book). While the book brings more into Bernardo's drama, it's in a way that feels more palpable than the movie. And, just like the part where Ari beats up Julian, the book gives more context of why there weren't any consequences. These two things made me see this storyline in a better light than the movie did and made it feel more real and understandable. And even though the movie failed to do justice to Dante's letter — which is acceptable —, it gained more depth with Aunt Ophelia's presence. Overall, the adaptation was amazing (but I wish we could see the 2:47 hours cut the director mentioned one time on her Twitter).

The thing is that, in London, my creativity flows in so many different ways (at this Tumblr, at the gym, in my acting classes) that my songwriting started to become less current than it used to be, and, even though I understand that, I hated it because I wanted so badly to write a love song about this book. It's so insane to imagine that I didn't roll my eyes at this book not once when I'm constantly doing that throughout some passages in Adam Silvera's books, for example.

That's why I'm so excited to read the sequel to this, and I couldn't be happier to know that it has more pages than the first one. I'm also scared because sequels tend to have less magic than the first project, but I'm glad that I'll be able to dive into the story as it goes, something I missed while reading this because I already knew everything. I wonder what will take my breath away in the second book, just like the thought of Dante dying took mine during those minutes in the theater last December. I'll let you in on this secret of Ari's and Dante's universe when I delve into the waters of the second book. Thank God it's being delived in two days.

[maythearo]

I think Jamil doesn't need a real "Uncle Ben" figure to teach him "great powers, great responsibilities" since he's pretty responsible. Like, he takes care of Kalim his entire life and all. And Gwen didn't lose her uncle or aunt, she lost her best friend.

But at the same time, even he hates Kalim, if he lost him, that still counts a cannon event(?).

Before Uncle Ben's death in Tobey Maguire's movie, he said "I miss the part where that's my problem". Think about it: Jamil finally gets a chance to be himself, be free. Without worries, without responsibilities. While he's using a mask, no person would find out and co relation his behavior with the Asim family. With that said, he isn't a hero yet. He just a random guy using a suit like someone in comic-con. But he forgerts about time itself. And I didn't thought about it too much, but he saw someone sus and don't do a single thing. Hes not a hero, the only person he needs to protect is Kalim. Turns out that single "Idc" leads to Kalim's death. So he takes the path, like in the beginning of Tobey's and Andrew's movie where they search for the killer.

I had more things to say, but I totally forgot about it.

The BR Jamil Simp Anon

Jamil's the most responsible spider-man in the multiverse fr

Losing Kalim could count as a canon event now that I think about it 🤔 a canon event of this type, from my understanding could either be the loss of a mentor (not specifically uncle Ben, Tom Holland's spider-man lost aunt May) OR of a best friend (like Spider-Gwen when she lost Peter, or when in Andrew Garfield's role he lost Gwen. In Tom Holland's universe he was supposed to lose MJ too, but Andrew saved her last minute since he's an anomaly in that movie and interfered with the event just like Miles did with Pavitr's universe when he saved the police chief)! Jamil may not consider Kalim as the dearest friend or anything like that, HOWEVER Kalim does consider Jamil to be his best friend... so... in a weird way that could count as a canon event, I think? An unexpected one, but still! NOOO MY SUNSHINE BOY

I still have to rewatch the old movies to remember the major stuff that happened, but how could I forget about the "I missed the part where that's my problem"? THERE'S SO MUCH TRAGEDY!! Jamil took the opportunity to be free at least while he's spider-man... but turns out, responsabilities follow him around no matter where he goes, or who he tries to be.

As for the other movie sequels, all I recall from them is that at least in Tobey's story, there's a brief period of time he gives up being spider-man? Or maybe I'm remembering the order of facts wrong, and he only stopped the super hero duty because his powers weren't working anymore? (Correct me if I'm wrong though). But regardless, what came to mind here was the question of what if Jamil gave up on that too? Just as a second possibility, like, "if he can't even be free as that alter-ego then what's the point"? I'm screaming and crying, why do all paths of this au lead to pain end suffering??? To my favorite guy no less?????? 😫😫😫

And for the last point, I guess so! It's just that whenever I think about twst's universe I tend to imagine the majority of people there use/are used to seeing magic in their day to day lives, while in marvel's universe science and technology are more prominent than magic itself. Idk how to explain it, but I feel like magic usage has a bigger "weight" in stories than science does? (Depending on how the story plays with it of course) So in a world where magic is more prominent than science, it kinda feels a bit unbalanced in terms of how the characters' powers play out. Like why use science if magic can do these same things with much more ease? Even if it's just to cut some corners, at least to my view it feels a little out of place. But that's just me really!!

[alphashley14]

I had a WEIRD dream this morning that reads like something straight off of Wattpad so I figured, why not post it here?

I fell asleep again this morning after my alarm went off. (I know - bad Ashley. But I don’t work until 2 so it was fine.) and that was when I had this dream.

So I’m a kid again in this dream, maybe 13 or 14 years old. And I’m in a generic summer camp program, riding a small activity bus to some field trip. (Yesterday I took my students - I work at a daycare that’s currently having its summer camp program - on their first field trip of the summer. Also was in summer camp programs pretty much every summer of my childhood.)

And all of a sudden our bus is hijacked by KGB agents. (My family are big movie people and we’ve been rewatching the Indiana Jones movies in preparation for seeing the new one. We watched Crystal Skull last night, which takes place during the red scare and the villains were the KGB. That’s probably why.)

Fortunately for us however, the KGB doesn’t exactly get us very far… because for some reason Sylvester Stallone was our bus driver. (DO NOT ASK ME WHY I DON’T KNOW)

And obviously no one fucks with the Stallion. Like they didn’t even try. Sorta just noped outta that.

So Mr. Stallone pulls the bus over in the middle of nowhere and lets the kids off at a conveniently placed government trailer full of Rangers. (I’m reading a novel rn in which one of the MCs is a former Ranger so I think that’s why.) Giving the “commies” the stink-eye the entire time like an overworked teacher glaring at the “problem children” to behave.

Thank you Mr. Stallone.

-But not before the agents had somehow poisoned all of us. Or at least they CLAIMED to have poisoned us. And as I’m getting off the bus one of them for some reason gives ME two little orange pills that were supposedly the antidote because they planned to recapture me alive for something nefarious later.

So I was stuck with the moral and psychological dilemma of whether I should take the pills, take one pill and give my BFF the other, or give the Rangers the pills in hopes that they could make more and save the whole class. OR. Is it a trap and are the pills the poison?

In the end I gave the Rangers the pills, and they crushed one in half and made me take it as a Guinea pig to see if it was poison. Because taking half means a smaller dose, so they have a higher chance of saving me if it IS poison. (Look I know that doesn’t make sense but this was a DREAM!)

- But I somehow managed to choke on that tiny thing as it was going down my throat and that’s how I woke up. I think I got some phlegm at the back of my throat and that affected the dream.

Bottom line: my brain is a friggin WEIRD place when it’s unsupervised. 🧠💭

[undeniablycandycane]

Watched NATM:KRA. Here are my thoughts.

Heads up: there will be spoilers, and a considerable level of negativity, so if you're not up for that I recommend scrolling past.

Off the bat, the animation is really smooth and looks nice. Doesn't look at all what I expected it to before the trailer hit.

Honestly a lot of things really were not what I expected, so it really threw me for a loop.

They did not include Ahkmenrah AT ALL. That's just offensive to me. His tablet is literally the whole point for these movies. They included his evil brother as the main villain, though.

I really like Seth. He's my second favorite addition. He and Kah didn't flirt enough for me. I expected more flirting. I do think Seth likes Kah though...

They could have done without the fart jokes. It's not too out of character for the movies, considering all the times monkey piss was involved in the franchise. I'm glad they acknowledged that everybody toots, even gods. That's a question answered right there, that I probably never would have thought to ask lmao.

Jed and Tavi? Their designs were cute, and they've legitimately grown on me. They're so so different from their live action looks (I know probably to avoid paying to use the old actors' likeness) and I wish we could have had more of them (including the classic running gag of them screaming). Plus, there wasn't much flirting going on? Octavius being annoyed by Jed was cute, but I consider it very OOC.

Joan of Arc is a great addition and my favorite new character. I love her so much!! And it seems her and Sacagawea could have had something going on. Just sayin'.

Some of the jokes I legitimately laughed at (more often the ones with Jed and Tavi) but some just didn't get me at all. Hit-or-miss, no laughapalooza but had some of the awkward charm of the previous films.

There are several inconsistencies with the main films that make it impossible for me to consider this film as canon. It's a cute off-canon project, but it just doesn't fit in with the other movies to me.

Nick has the cutest crush on a girl, it's honestly adorable. His jazz DJ thing was really creative and cool, and I loved how that was incorporated in such a neat way.

I'm glad the writers at least acknowledged that it wouldn't be a Night At The Museum without a dance party at the end. The music was really cool and I enjoyed the sequence a lot. It was a great way to end the movie.

OVERALL: I'm honestly,, underwhelmed. There's just too many things I don't like/ inconsistencies/ etc. for me to love this movie right off. There is a not-insignificant chance my feelings will change, but fresh after the first viewing, I don't see myself rewatching as much as I did the first three films. Like I said, I'll consider this as a non-canon offshoot of the main franchise, but it doesn't hit enough marks for me. I may make an update after some time or a second viewing if my feelings change, but more than anything it just makes me want to rewatch the other three films.

Sorry if my response was a little disappointing to some of you, but I want to be honest about how I feel. I just don't think it's for me that much. I was more "that's not right/that's not how it works" when watching the film which made it a less positive experience for me. My expectations almost certainly affected my response which is why I'm going to give it a grace period before going all in on the details, because there's a decent chance I'll feel different about it as time goes on. I just don't feel great about the whole thing right now. I'm sorry.

I still respect people who found it enjoyable, and I like to see that some people really really liked it. I'm happy for them, and pretty jealous lmao. generic outro that I can't come up with right now cause I'm tired and have depression.

[shakes-writes]

Random things that may or may not be important for context:

While I inspired initially by the lives of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier (and in fact, reading a bio about them last year made me do some initially scribbling around this time last year) there are only a few superficial similarities with the main couple of this story, at least now. 

Started thinking/writing for real this time in late February early March when I realized the guy that picks up Rose on the lifeboat at the end of Titanic looks like my guy and I freaked out. (and lowkey to me anyway he looks like Laurence so it fits.) how many times have I watched and rewatched this movie and I just noticed this year LOL 

(Though as bestie said, things happen because they are supposed to.) 

Started writing what would become this in 2012 when I was a high school senior. Wanted to write an old Hollywood epic in the same vein as The Thorn Birds 

flashes back to post WW2, though the “present day” story takes place in the late 60s. 

Second chance romance 

O (my lady) is obsessed with R. (her man.) I LOVE deconstructing and studying the figure of the *muse* in fiction (I’m sure if you’ve read IWD or anything else you know) and in this story she makes more a muse out of him versus him making one of her which has always been present in this specific idea I’ve carried around for years.

About actors and writers and theatre artist 

a production of Antony and Cleopatra is the catalyst of the plot

I have literally written every day. This is impressive to me because since getting my teaching job I’ve hardly written 

I haven’t written original work really since my one act play in college eight years ago or so

probs going to need one of my friends from England to read this at some point and give the okay/critque on British-isms in the story. 

[nuri148]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Hi Anon! Thank you so much for the ask! No, I hadn’t been asked this before.

It was quite hard to come up with 10 names for, outside of my current blorbos, throughout my life (which is quite longer than that of most people around this site) I’ve consumed and loved a lot of fiction, and so I’ve loved many characters, but also many of them I fell in love when I was too young to know (or remember) why I liked them, or know anything about characterization at all.

Still, I tried to cover a wide variety of works/genres, which as I racked my brains came with some interesting revelations:

- The first characters that came to mind were all males. It took me an extra effort to recall some female characters that I love.

- The list is white af. This can be for a number of reasons, all related to complex societal dynamics, cultural constructs and how the media portrays or ignores this. This is meant a light hearted ask, so I won’t delve into that, but I did want it to make clear that yes, I’m aware this list lacks diversity.

Some of these media I haven't seen for years so apologies if my memory of some details is not very accurate.

Last but not least, as I don’t like the reductionism of “top x”, I am listing with bullets for these come in no particular order. (Except Levi, of course; as current top Blorbo he could actually fill the top 10 by himself.)

Levi Ackerman (AoT) – He kicks ass, he’s a no-nonsense guy, he’s got a rough exterior but it’s a kind person. He’s had a shitty life but he chooses to be the good guy, even if he has to resort to violence sometimes.

Severus Snape (HP) – I said it already and I’ll say it again that I’ve no proof and no doubt that if you were a Snape fangirl, you’ll be a Levi fangirl. Snape makes Levi look like Miss Congeniality in comparison. He too had a rough life,went over to the dark side, yet realised he’d fucked up big time and spent the rest of his life trying to minimize the damage his actions had caused. PLUS he’s a huge nerd.

Mike Ehrmentraut (BB/BCS) – Mike is SO OVER being a badass. He just wants to live a quite life spoiling his grandaughter. His curse is being too good at what he does, and he can’t help but care about the idiots that would die if he wasn’t there to clean their messes. (On the topic of diversity... Honorable mention for Stanley from The Office and Lester from The Wire, whose “I’m too old for this shit” vibes give me life).

Arya Stark (GOT) – She didn’t stay around suffering for her losses nor went into a rampage, nope. She took the long scenic route to become a pro killer to serve her revenge in a cold dish.

Heidi (from the 70's anime series)– Hands down my first and oldest Blorbo. She lived in the mountains, roamed barefoot on beautiful meadows, was friends with a bunch of goats and all the little critters of the alps. What’s not to love? (At the ripe age of 3, I would make my mum buy me goat cheese bc if Heidi ate it, so must I. At 4 my parents took me to the mountains in winter so I could see the snow and the fir trees that Heidi loved. We’re rewatching now and my new Heidi Blorbo is Joseph the dog, he’s got big Mike Ehrmentraut energy).

Jesse Pinkman (BB)– He’s a good guy who fell into the wrong path. He’s had rotten luck, partly brought onto himself through bad choices and poor judgement, yet he still tries to do good and craves some love.  

Petunia Dursley (HP)- Harry's unlikable aunt kinda grew on me over the years, as we saw some of her backstory and how it resonated with parts of my own family history. She grew up knowing herself the lesser child and I believe she never got a chance to smooth things over with Lily. In spite of which P. still cared enough to do the right thing and take charge of Harry (horribly, admittedly).

Omar Little (The Wire) - I don't usually like "bad" characters but Omar was more badass than he was bad. Circumstances made him a violent criminal but he I believe he had redemption potential. Also, how cool is it that he was unequivocally gay in a setting where everyone tends to be so macho... but of course no one would say anything about it. bc it's Omar.

Peter - he's the MC and first person narrator from a rather unknown Ray Bradbury's short story titled “I’m not so dumb” which is one of my favourite Bradbury's tales. Like the title suggests, as the story unfolds the simple-minded Peter will try to show his neighbours that he's not that stupid.

Mafalda - I could not leave out the title character of the (likely) most famous comic in Argentine history. Mafalda's concern for world affairs is of course unrealistic, but it does sort of put those call-outs "in the mouth of babes".

[ortegajasmin]

Blog Post #1

Hi, my name is Jasmin Ortega and I am an 18 years old. I am hispanic as is the rest of my family, my mother was born in NYC as well and had lived there her whole life while my father was born in a small village in Mexico, he eventually moved to NYC in his early teens where he met my mom. My name origin is extremely basic and unoriginal and does not have a specific or meaningful origin, my parents just chose it because they liked the sound of it and thought it was nice. If I had the chance to change my name to a fictional character I would probably pick the name Diana, taken from the fictional superhero Wonder Woman, Diana is Wonder Woman's real name. The reason why I would choose this name is because of how important Wonder Woman is in the DC, she is one of the titular characters in the Justice League being one of the founding characters alongside Batman and Superman. 

High school was a bit of a blur for me. I remember that my first day of high school was very anticlimactic and nothing like the movies. I went in extremely nervous to be in a whole new world with a lot of older kids and honestly speaking the first day was a little overwhelming by how many people there were and how big the school was, but after the first day I got used to it and was pretty bored by it. I actually did not go to school on the last day, I had graduated the day before and I decided not to end up going on the actual last day. On my physical last day of school I did not do much but get ready for graduation and say goodbye to my favorite teacher one last time. My favorite moment of high school would usually be when whenever I had gym on specific days and was able to go out with the class and meet up with my friends in the other gym class, it always made the class period that much better.  My least favorite moment would have to be when I had a falling out with an old friend from middle school, leading us to never speak again. If I could do it all over again I would probably go about it by putting myself out there more and trying to make more friends and by also trying for more extra curricular activities. 

 Currently, I am in my freshman year of college, in my second semester and my major is Psychology. Truthfully speaking, I chose this major because of a crime tv show called Law and Order: SVU. The show is about detectives solving cases revolving sex crimes, occasionally on the show they would have a psychiatrist come on to the show and give his professional opinion on the cases and criminals to help solve the crimes. Watching this show and the psychiatrist work to identify motives and reasonings behind a criminal and their crimes was fascinating. This essentially led to my interest in true crime and the way criminals' minds work, it also led to my interest in the human mind as a whole and why we do what we do or feel the way we do. With this major one specific career path I am interested in is of course a criminal psychologist, the other career path would be a child therapist. What essentially inspired me for both of these careers is my want to understand the mind and how it works for specific groups of people as well as helping those who need it. 

I unfortunately do not participate in any recreational activities, I never got into them when I was younger and so I never gained an interest in them when I got older. For my interests and hobbies I would say I have pretty basic ones like reading, playing video games, spending time with my family, listening to music, and watching movies and shows, but if I had to pick a semi interesting interest it would have to be taking pictures of the sky. I never miss the chance to take a photo of the sky, day or night, when it looks pretty and memorable. The main reason for this is because I think it is something that is nice to look at and look back on. 

The last movie I watched was Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and the last show I watched was a rewatch of Cobra Kai. For movie and tv show recommendations it would be The Boys on Amazon, That 70s Show, Teen Wolf (mainly season 3), Back to the Future, Ready Player One, and Scott Pilgrim vs the World. My favorite film and show are both from my recommendations, The Boys and Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Both pieces of media have great stories and comedy in my opinion and the latter has amazing original music. My least favorite show would have to be a netflix original called Ginny & Georgia, I am just hate watching it at this point, but I would be lying if there weren't moments that absolutely had me laughing. There has not really been anything I have created, no original pieces or nothing. And if I were to pick my last meal to have on my last day on earth it would be tortas. Tortas are some of the best sandwiches my mom has made, they usually include beans, mexican cheese, ham, eggs, hot dogs, and breaded chicken. Now reading it may not seem appetizing but trust it is absolutely amazing and I would absolutely want nothing more than to have a torta as my last meal. 

[cookiedoughentity]

Rewatched 2019 Little Women Clips and Jo....

So relatable to me at this point in my life....

I like where they took some of the dynamics and themes in the new movie.

It's hard following the lesser traveled path or being a person ahead of your time. The Jo in this movie seems to have her independent-minded/feminist qualities more prominent in this movie.

To me, she's always been the strongest March sister. I like her Tom-boyish attitude, aversion to societal norms, and desire to forge her own path.

She wants to be a writer, an author. She wants to be taken seriously in a world that tells her women should stay in the home, have families and babies, and not make too much noise.

And it's hard. She's rejected again and again.

But rewatching it, how she handles the rejection is what resonates with me.

It's easy to be bullied into going the easy way or thinking "You know what, maybe I'm not cut out for this. Maybe I should just stay in my lane and take the easy way out."

When we don't have fulfillment in our current lives, when our dreams are having trouble taking off, or when we feel....lonely or empty. We go back to old connections and stagnate ourselves into places we don't belong.

Whether it's an old job, old friend, old relationship, connection, whatever. It's usually something we cast off in order to find ourselves or something we leave behind. We want better. We want more.

"Maybe I should've took that job offer when it came along."

"Maybe I was wrong to turn that guy down. He was nice and pleasant."

I think about my past and it's easy to beat myself up about not taking or using "opportunities" I had at my disposal when I had the chance.

"I should've listened and took dual enrollment."

"I should've went to the monastery and volunteered. At least I would've been on my own in a sense and finally in a new environment."

People tell me that I should become a model due to being tall. I was told that nursing (a common profession these days) would have been a good career for me.

I didn't want to. I didn't want to do the "common thing". Nothing wrong with either of those, but it wasn't what I wanted to do at the time. I wanted to do great things. I wanted to invent, engineer, go against the grain and achieve wins over and over. I wanted to blaze a trail, to revolutionize.

Quite the ambitions....lol. Still haven't gotten to where I want to be and feeling time creep up on you is unpleasant....

But moving on.

You feel very foolish and regretful when deciding to take a different path and it seemingly has nothing but a cliff at the end.

And this is what Jo does. She writes to Laurie (out of loneliness) wanting to reconcile and give them both another chance. He has since moved on and found a wife in Amy.

She finds out that her spot as Aunt March's companion has been taken and Amy is going to accompany her to Paris, somewhere she's always wanted to go.

So now, with no dreams, no progress, and no job.

She's stuck.

At this point in my life, I feel her situation so deeply.

Unbeknownst to Jo, she wasn't wrong in her assessment of Laurie and how they wouldn't have been compatible.

Laurie wasn't what she wanted.

It wasn't wrong for her to want more in her life.

It wasn't wrong to grow tired of being a companion to Aunt March.

It wasn't wrong to choose her current career path.

She might have been stable, but she would've been unhappy.

What is the use of being stable if you're dying on the inside? There might be safer options, but it wasn't what we wanted at the time.

It was a decision, a detour. Dual enrollment might have helped, but I didn't have the energy or a sense of direction for my life. I wanted to go straight home. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm slowly learning that making the "wrong" choice won't automatically lead to destruction.

You can still end up where you wanted to go, it can just take a little time. Or you might find that you excel at something you once found unappealing.

Also, that there's nothing wrong with not having much ambition and just wanting stability and normalcy.

Initially, Jo tries to convince Meg that she doesn't have to get married. She doesn't have to be tied down or become a housewife. Meg assures her that she'll be happy and tells her basically that her dreams are not less valid because they lack ambition....

I really feel Jo's depression at the loss of her childhood as well. Everyone you were close with are being taken away due to having new priorities and going their own ways.

You can't move forward with them because you're stuck. You're on a different path. A strange one.

Jo goes to London and finds opportunities there. She meets a kind professor that's her equal and they end up being engaged by the end of the movie. I feel this shows that compatibility and being seen can go a long way in a relationship. This makes it more appealing to Jo.

She followed her dream and still ended up married with someone that supports her. Even if she decides to give it up, she'll be alright and taken care of. She wins both ways. I think I read something where she WASN'T supposed to end up being married and that's a point of contention for some people.

I like how they do not demonize either path that the sisters take in the movie. There's nothing wrong with marriage and nothing wrong with being single and following your dreams.

I don't know, I just watched it and Jo's situation stood out to me this time around.

I think about my life. My decisions. My future. It's been a long and frustrating journey. The detours and setbacks sap my spirit, but I'm slowly learning to just go with the flow. Learning that sometimes you have to take the long way or the easy way to get what you want.

And learning that the little things and things you DON'T want to do, can open the way to getting closer to your goals. I'm still a work in progress, but....baby steps.

Anyways this is long, but I love literature, character analysis, reading, and this story. Little Women is a favorite of mine. It's been a bit since I've seen the movie so if certain details are wrong, I apologize.

[distantwayfarer]

Movie Review: Miracle in Cell No. 7

I recently rewatched "Miracle in Cell no7(7 Koğuştaki Mucize)" a Turkish movie, an official adaptation of a Korean movie, and is based upon a true event. So here goes my thoughts.

The movie is set in 1980s rural Turkey under martial law. The story revolvs around Memo, an intellectually disable man, and his 6-year-old daughter Ova. It portrays a heartwarming father-daughter relationship. Even though Memo is handicapped, it doesn't get in his way to live a normal life with his daughter and grandmother. By a cruel twist of fate, he is falsely charged with the murder of a commander's daughter and sent to prison. If you get accustomed to the peace and serenity of the first 15 minutes then it's time to buckle up cause it's going to be a rough roller coaster ride.

In the beginning, Memo's inmates find it hard to accept him as he's labelled as a child murderer. But soon enough, Memo's kindness, childish remarks, and display of gentle fatherhood melt their hostility. It takes no genius to figure out that he's obviously framed by the higher-ups, yet none can fight the system that has everyone in its cluctches. I once read in a book: "In a world too often governed by corruption and arrogance, it can be difficult to stay true to one's literary and philosophical principles." This statement couldn’t be more accurate.

Along with Memo other characters also get their spotlights. Their stories unfold naturally, and characters develop spontaneously. In the case of his inmates, their remorse and intent to make up for their sins are vividly expressed. In my humble opinion, a peek inside the mind of the commander wouldn't have been bad. At least we could get some insight into those who holds the absolute power and authority. It is not a thriller or suspense genre , but I remember with each passing moment I was holding my breath in and anticipating the next turn of events. The movie doesn't forget to provide comic relief, giving me a chance to exhale.

Cinematography, dialogue delivery, and costume design leave no room for disappointment. The soundtrack and background music are not at all exaggerated. They are used when necessary to bring out the proper reactions of the audience. Lastly, hats off to the cast and crew. With their polished performance, it hardly felt like i was watching a movie . I empathized with them and shed tears as the poignant story went on.

Overall, I loved every bit of the movie. I felt a range of emotions. This movie will never be too old for me.

[tiredelirium]

D.16

The only time I feel free is during the time where hobbies take over. I think it’s the lack of conscious responsibility of taking care of myself and others. Freedom to do whatever you want without a responsability or a burden or a pain, or a Sisyphean task getting in the way of whatever it is your brain deems fun.

For me thats really only my hobbies. When I was a kid and teenager it was primarily drawing, reading and games. Though those hobbies haven’t deviated much, they have either dwindled, evolved, or been abandoned. I don’t draw anymore, even though I have a desire too. My focus in that regard was taken from me in a way. I don’t read nearly as much as I should nowadays, but there are things I do read and regularly try to keep up with. Playing games is something I enjoy immensely but sometimes it feels like I shouldn’t be playing them because other tasks are piling up.

Responsibilities are a burden, but they keep us grounded in reality. People without them fall apart. People who can’t maintain them fall apart in a different way. Without them, the chain around your neck is so loose you can inadvertently strangle yourself with the excess length.

Lately the hobby thats been giving me the most enjoyment, despite being a huge time sink in the eyes of most has been anime. Theres countless old series I never watched. Either because I didn’t get a chance or didn’t know they existed. So many creative art styles, different animation approaches, alongside stories of every vein and style being told.

Though, like all things, some anime just doesn’t mix well with your own likes. I’ve watched a fair few where something has just felt so off that I had no interest in watching more than the first two episodes. I always give the second episode a chance, as you can’t always judge if you’ll like a show from a singular episode. On the opposing side sometimes you watch a singular episode you really enjoy only to have the rest of the show let you down.

Convoluted plot. Shoddy lip sync. Unappealing art style. Weird voice acting. Uninteresting characters.

All of these things can let down a show immediately. I think most forums would probably praise and bash their favourite anime in equal proportions. While that is a good thing, it can also leave a stale taste in the mouth from opinions you disagree with. I won’t pretend to be knowledgeable about any anime, even the anime I have watched, both past and present, that I’ve enjoyed can easily escape my mind.

I never understood rewatching a series over and over again. There’s never been any show or movie thats ever got me obsessed that way. I do enjoy what I enjoy deeply, but there’s never been a show to make me stop and go, “I’m going to watch this seventeen times in a single week, and love it.”

Considering all the shows that exist in the world, I want a chance to see them all at least once.

For those curious, who manage to find and read these journals, my favourite anime of all time is actually Fooly Cooly. And any modern day anime that can live up to its craziness instantly earns my respect and an add to a watch later list.