#even... the iconique shot...

[balestrra]

Silly (broke back mountain flavored)

[p-inkbrush]

...

[squaric-acid]

Rewatching PotO (2004) in 2024

~ A needless commentary. Please note that I first watched this movie seven years ago, in 2017. ~

I like the Wizard of Oz thing they do by having the prologue scene in black and white.

Is the Madam Giry in the prologue supposed to be Meg or her mother, it is unclear.

The costumes are decidedly not bad for a piece of historical fiction made in the early 2000’s.

I adore the chaos and attention to detail of the establishing shots of the Opera Populaire during a rehearsal.

All the costumes in this movie are good except for Christine’s during Point of No Return, like what the fuck was that.

I like that Raoul is introduced in person during the rehearsal scene and that Christine gives us some background on their relationship. Her saying they were childhood sweethearts makes the set up of their love story stronger, like they both obviously still harbored feelings for each other during the interim of their childhood and the events of PotO. In the stage production this is less obvious.

Was it really necessary to have the new managers make lecherous comments about Meg and Christine?

Emmy Rossum is very stiff during Think of Me, in contrast to the scene of her dancing just prior where she is very expressive. I’m not sure what to make of this, it’s only an observation. I want her earrings from this scene though.

The Phantom’s lack of a hat makes his head look small and Gerard Butler does not have a small head.

You can tell that the theatre they are in isn’t actually very big.

The dubbing does not sync well to the mouths of the actors.

Meg Giry is adorable.

Christine’s dress during Think of Me looks suspiciously like a wedding dress.

How can you not ship Christine and Raoul in this movie? They’re so cute together.

Not the slow-mo of the candles blowing out.

The arms holding the candelabra are weird, like icky weird, and remind me of the Haunted Mansion.

I do have to admit that Gerard Butler in that cape is really something, he does look good as the Phantom, even without the hat during Phantom of the Opera. I appreciate the electric guitar during that scene too.

It’s not subtle that they used the same archway more than once. And what happens to the horse, where did he go?

Erik’s lair really gives Pirates of the Caribbean ride vibes.

Was the dramatic cape removal necessary?

Why does he just leave her sitting in the boat?

RAMIN KARIMLOO WAS GUSTAVE DAAÉ?!?!!!! And I was supposed to find about this on my own?!?!

Gerard Butler as the Phantom is peak early 2000’s pathetic sad boy.

The dubbing continues to be bad which really impedes the impact of Music of the Night. The blocking isn’t bad though so I’ll focus on that.

Bro, not the mannequin! And the way he sets her in the swan? Hilariously creepy.

The scene of Meg discovering the passage behind the mirror is so interesting to me. What a great piece of character exploration! I wonder how much this version of Meg knows about the Phantom and inner workings of the opera house, surely she isn’t blind to her mother’s association with the Opera Ghost.

Madam Giry demonstrating the use of lasso was a girl boss moment.

How on earth did he not feel Christine prying at the mask?

I wish they would’ve used more drastic makeup and prosthesis for the Phantom’s deformity. Or at least let the camera focus on it for a tiny bit longer. We get basically nothing of it in this scene.

I forgot that they cut back to the black and white of the prologue (a continuation of it).

Just how much is 20,000 francs in 1870 worth today?

Those skull wax seals are cool.

Was the mooning of Carlotta necessary? Funny though

Minnie Driver is hilarious. The Prima Donna scene is fantastic.

Erik doing dastardly deeds in his fancy clothes is iconique.

Where is the musical cue for “Did I not instruct that Box Five was to be kept empty?”?! It sounds like an announcement at a train station!

Where on earth was Buquet to have seen the Phantom standing near the chandelier?

Only in the movies does cutting back and forth between the ballet from act three and the Phantom chasing Buquet around the flies really work. It makes the scene much more tense but is also amusing because we seen the Phantom doing stunts in his fancy clothes.

They really wanted to make this into a movie musical but did a poor job of integrating the music into the action of the movie.

I love the set design in this movie if nothing else.

If anything Gerard Butler’s Phantom has the least awful face of any rendition of the Phantom.

I can’t imagine this movie being made today, it would be an auto tune nightmare.

What is it about well-dressed pathetic sad boys of the early 2000’s variety?

You can’t fault Gerard Butler’s acting when he cries into the rose.

I take it back, why was the dramatic run so popular? It looks ridiculous.

I love Christine’s dress for the Masquerade scene. And Raoul looks dashing too.

The silver and gold fan choreography is neat. I also especially appreciate that only Christine and the Phantom are wearing shades of red.

Where are the fics of the Phantom and Madam Giry as children? That’s the story I want to hear.

Raoul sleeping, obviously on guard, outside the ballet dormitories is so endearing.

Showing that the Phantom knocks out the guard and is the one to take Christine to the graveyard closes the plot hole about how he knew she would go there. And it demonstrated just how obsessive he is about her.

I don’t know a lot about how funerary monuments worked in the 1800’s but how could the Daaé’s afford such a mausoleum?

The reprise of Angel of Music was very good. Excellent use of lighting.

The Phantom jumping down from the roof of the mausoleum is rather ruined by the fact his cape flipped over his head and he had to put it right.

The fight scene wasn’t the most coherent but it wasn’t outrageous either. I like the skull shaped guard on the Phantom’s sword.

Erik saying “let it be war upon you both” is undercut by the fact he didn’t say that it would be war between him and the managers earlier.

They cut back to Raoul coming up with his plan to ensnare the Phantom after the scene in the cemetery. I think it’s narratively out of place given the events of the scene of the graveyard. Christine’s lament, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, which both about her missing her father and about gathering the courage to bid goodbye to her angel of music. Which Christine felt she had to do because of the plan Raoul came up with.

Christine’s protestations about Raoul’s plan being spoken rather than sung works well in my opinion. But there’s a certain angst to how hysterical Christine sounds in the stage production.

Seriously, the Don Juan costume for Christine sucks.

The reveal in the stage production was better. They mention the hood of cloak in the song, the hood hides the fact that it’s so obviously not Piangi, anyone with eyes would’ve been able to see it wasn’t the same guy.

The background dancers, lol.

All the shots cutting to Madam Giry lowkey make it seem like she was secretly in love with the Phantom.

They could’ve made Point of No Return more tense.

Why does the Phantom’s wig look so bad before Christine pulls off his mask?

Now his disfigurement actually looks appropriate.

Madam Giry literally brought him to the opera house and he went willingly, the Phantom calling it a prison isn’t super accurate.

Erik has too much hair in this version. But props to Gerard Butler for killing it in the final scene in the Phantom’s Lair.

I like the detail that the cut on Raoul’s arm starts bleeding again due to all the action. It looks weirdly real though so maybe it was unintentional. I have not seen any behind the scenes footage to confirm this.

Why is Meg at the forefront of the mob? Why was she so interested in the mask? Is it supposed to be a hint about Love Never Dies? There is too much focus on Meg and Madam Giry’s involvement with the Phantom to just be as it is explained.

I adore the implication of the rose at Christine’s grave. Perhaps the most emotionally impactful moment in the whole movie.

7/10

Love the costumes and the aesthetics. The final scene at Christine’s grave was a very nice extra bit. Not as good as the stage production but enjoyable. The acting seemed a bit stiff and underwhelming but lots of movies from the early 2000’s were. I prefer the 25th anniversary performance but who doesn’t?

I can’t speak to how it compares to the book because I haven’t read it (I will sometime)

[daughterofluthien]

I’ve seen a lot of opinions going around about That scene—The Titling Scene—and how it differed from canon, and I wanted to offer my two cents.

First off, I was absolutely in the camp of folks initially being mildly disappointed by the way this was adapted. It was sort of an ‘oh. That’s it?’ reaction for me—which makes sense, since the titling scene is THEE scene for me in the original stream. Like, I was anticipating it so much, that it would almost be impossible for me not to be disappointed.

I do think the wording could’ve been stronger—I’m not sure why the changed the line to “do watch your manners towards a noble” rather than just “regardless of your relationship with her, do watch your manners,” unless they were worried that an audience wouldn’t understand the implication/why Percy chose to title her in that moment. But honestly, while it lessens the impact a little, that’s a minor quibble at the end of the day.

The bigger thing that I had an issue with—and what I’ve seen a lot of other folks have issue with as well—is that it isn’t the mic drop moment that it was on stream. Syldor doesn’t back down, he verbally attacks Percy over it instead. And that was… definitely frustrating, on a first watch. However, on a rewatch and some contemplation, here’s a couple thoughts about why I think they made the decision they did, and why I think it was the right one (even if I do still prefer the stream version akskfkkd).

1). Rather than talking over Vex, Percy empowers Vex to defend herself.

look, the titling is an incredible moment. Iconique. *chef’s kiss* Especially in the context of an improvised scene. But in a scripted show I can see how there would be something that might not sit right about having Vex essentially remain passive for the entire encounter.

In stream iirc she talks back to syldor more in the initial conversation, which makes the titling scene Percy backing her up. But in the show, in what I assume was an attempt to both show continuity to vex as a kid trying to gain Syldor’s approval and so that Saundor can reaaaaalllly focus in on the daddy issues stuff, Vex kinda shuts down for the first third of this ep. She reverts to how she was as a kid—where Vax has already yelled at him, she’s still trying to earn his approval. Which means, when it comes to the titling scene, if it played as is on stream, Vex would essentially remain passive the entire time, which… is less than ideal, honestly.

Instead, seeing Syldor berate Percy is the catalyst she needs to stand up to her father—to defend Percy, but also to, finally, defend herself. This is Vex’s arc—it needs to be fully about her an her decisions.

2). The titling is for Vex’s benefit, not Syldor’s.

Obviously, Percy wouldn’t just title anybody to make a point to a shitty dad, so this was very clearly always a gift to Vex. But on stream, in the moment, it does play as if the purpose is mainly to embarrass Syldor. (Which it does, spectacularly and gloriously.)

However, with the title being a complete no sell in the show, that means that the purpose it does have is on Vex—which their follow up conversation proved.

Which, honestly, I can get behind. Fuck Syldor, this was never about him anyways. Who cares what he thinks.

3). Economy of mic-drops

The Feywild arc in campaign 1 occurred over 5 episodes of critical role and nearly 17 hours of gameplay. TLOVM is telling that same story in less than an hour. In order to set up the feywild and Garmelie/Artagan (as well as leave a little time for some breathing room and character moments, after the breakneck pace of the first half of the season), they decided to pack two memorable, fan-favorite Perc’ahlia moments into 30 min.

In order for “My heart is someone else’s” to have the impact that it needed to, the previous mic drop moment needed to set it up, not overshadow it.

(And holy shit did it have an impact. The music, the realization, the determination in her voice. Percy’s lil eyebrow raise reaction shot… Let me tell you, I immediately ascended out of the material plane)

To go back to my original point, this needed to be Vex’s story arc, not Percy’s. Especially in such a short form media, the titling needed to serve her arc of overcoming her insecurities and not being emotionally trapped by the shitty relationships in her past. And I think they definitely adapted the scene in a way that served that purpose.

Do I like the original moment better, still? Yes. Yes I do. But I also really like how they decided to adapt it, changes and all.

[sergeifyodorov]

i could read a million of these character asks <33 would love one for jt of leafs pjs fame and alexander ovechkin

I already knew about ovi from cultural osmosis, so I’m pretty sure I just thought of him as That Big Russian Guy Who Scores All The Goals. you know how it is.

unfortunately, i can remember my first encounter with john tavares in much more clarity. Picture this. 2021. NHL playoffs. I’m tuning in casually to watch a hockey game, plenty of which I’ve seen before but none of which i have consciously paid attention to, as I am now about to.

john tavares plays three minutes before --

i turn the television off, not to pick up hockey again until christmas.

IMPRESSION NOW

Ovechkin: DILF OF MY DREAMSSSSSS. kind of walks the line between the erotic and terrifying… he’s big and sexy sure but he’s also 240 pounds of pure freight train muscle and he DOES not get injured. Remember svech Trying It? remember svech trying It and getting knocked out in a couple punches? Ovi doesn’t even look like he’s TRYING, and svech, while being young, is no wimp, but he’s absolutely nothing compared to the absolute brick wall that is ovi. Also his power play technique freaks me out. He literally just stands there and waits for u to send him one timers. and it works

this is the shot density map for washington’s power play this year. Can you tell where ovi stands

yeah. 

anyway i also think besides his big scarysexydilfy power he also has this sort of genre-aware whimsy that makes him just absolutely fascinating. it kind of reminds me of chucky in a way and it absolutely makes sense charisma-wise that ovi was The Cool One and sid (mcdavid in our tkachuk analogy) was obviously better albeit less popular for the casual fan, who likes the shiny sparky one and perhaps does not have a finer eye for the true step-above skill that davo and sid have.

Tavares: from one dilf to another… anon u have chosen well. jt like ovi is a virgo, a captain, a werewolf, a first overall pick, and a dilf, but the similarities end there i think… jt is a lot quieter and his sense of authority over his team feels a lot more “democratically chosen figurehead” than ovi’s natural alpha pheromones or whatever. As a player i think he’s really quite underrated -- his footspeed has obviously slipped away from him as he ages, but he’s never been fast or agile and has kind of always been a lot more reliant on his intellect and upper-body dexterity than his skating. I think he’s got this steady internal peace that really comes off to a lot of us as Boring Man (and that’s not entirely false per se) but more importantly that he has this willful internal compass that few hockeys have. that he chose to leave the islanders like that is not something that can be overstated i think; he was offered more by the isles and the sharks and i believe at least one other place, too, but he picked. He CHOSE. Most hockeys who have that kind of first-overall captaincy expectation/franchise saviour mantle on their head like he did for the Island are trapped; he was not. AND HE’S SEXY

FAV MOMENT

Ovechkin: the out-knocking of andrei svechnikov is not my fav moment but it’s certainly iconique… ovi is old and has several Moments so im gonna list a few:

the goal from his back, without which we may not have auston matthews in his current capacity

Any of the million anecdotes where he shows up in denim shorts so tiny everyone tells him to go home and change

sidovi duelling hattricks night

Really any time he cellies by just jumping on TOP of his teammates, presumably all of which are smaller and significantly more fragile than him

hahaha ice tweet

partying in the vegas fountains with the cup

Tavares: instead of providing you with several small moments i will instead provide you with The Big One: CURSEBREAKING GOAL. nuff said. to many more.

IDEA FOR STORY

Ovechkin: his age as a vet and his nebulous genre awareness make him really an ideal man for something weird. real “talking about the nature of the metaphysics that hold hockey together” type fic. also because he is such a mother hen of all the caps he deserves to take a few of them on a road trip to solve some problems… maybe we can get some baby cap who is having a Moment when confronted with A Dilf. dylan strome seems like he would take any opportunity to ~service~ his amazingly talented generational captain and of course his winger.

Tavares: say it with me: JT/ROR werewolf/vampire au (jt is the werewolf)

UNPOPULAR OPINION

Ovechkin: if the nhl weren’t cowards they wouldve marketed him as a sex symbol in the late aughts

Tavares: if the nhl weren’t cowards they would’ve marketed him as a sex symbol in the early 2010s

FAV RELATIONSHIP

Ovechkin: i actually was never an nhl fan during nicke backstrom’s time so as much as i appreciate a good Duo marriage type deal im not like. Familiar enough with Nicke for any of it. so i suppose i have to come out of the little glass closet im in as a SIDOVI WARRIOR

Tavares: now he is not nearly as slutty as ovi so we mostly have to appreciate him looking like That without shipping. although he did confess to quote liking “bossing [Willy] around a little bit” so. there’s that. also through my campaign to make the bolts more popular (so i can enjoy more narrative while getting colour confused on our yearly playoff matchup) i should remind you all that he and stamkos are CHILDHOOD FRIENDS and both wear 91 because of the other. think on that

FAV HEADCANON

Ovechkin: we’re getting into magical realism fic au type deals but he is one of the nhlers who inherently Has Powers. look some nhlers just Have Powers and he is one of em. no sidney crosby does not he is just autistic and a hockey freak. no auston matthews does not he is just a virgo and gay. quinnifer and mcdavid definitely do and machuk definitely does not. back to ovi he’s got some weird seeing beyond the veil shit goin on

Tavares: now we know he likes celine dion so i think really he’s got tastes in music that are a lot more reminiscent of your standard suburban fifty-something white milf than what he is, which is a thirty-something toronto dad. we ARE listening to shania twain together and you have to deal with that

[girlfriendline]

mad i can't even get the wild stream working with a vpn on nhl66 tonight because that shot of kirill laughing at his goal being disallowed is Iconique

[james-stark-the-writer]

ICONIQUE. Marty would call this "CINEMA!" and i'm not fucking joking. spiritual predecessor to Crazy Ex Girlfriend, weirdly enough, and like an extended version of one of Rachel's music videos (kinda the We Don't Need A Man one specifically), in a great way. the 2010s' Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case. genuinely wild how much this is Basket Case but with some great fucking music and even funnier script. proof that sometimes all you need is a great script and a dream. honestly, like 99% of the jokes in here are not only good, but also clever. and that's really fucking hard to do. like most of them are genuinely just really well crafted jokes with real effort put in. genuinely really fucking well directed too, like there are so many great camera moves in here (genuinely like snap zooms and shit, just goes to show how much creativity you can still infuse on a tiny budget) and just so many fun shots, and like Greg is somebody i'm definitely gonna keep an eye out for. but beyond the genuinely great writing, it's the acting that carries it, and it's so fucking good. precisely what it needed to be. what this didn’t need is the random racism. kinda a movie about how men are the absolute fucking worst. however. James (no relation) is literally me. and so is the Art Critic.

My ★★★★½ review of Killer Rack on Letterboxd

[marvhael]

Im not in a writing mood so come yell in the ims ab our muses / plot w me

[wheelernancy]

lowkey excited for lisa’s return

[rahleeyah]

Ok this is too much for tags pls forgive me while I work my way thru it

rotps is That Girl like the unmatched high of seeing Olivia and Elliot reunited after ten years, I promise I'll behave//if I heard your voice//were you and Kathy Stabler friends//we were both referred rotps is iconique and I will never be over the fact that we actually got Elliot back and the way this reinvigorated the fandom is stunning and they're both so pretty and they acted their little asses off but

It is a fucken mess of an epi imp. The attempts to be ~relevant with current events, jumpy case shit, the frankly atrocious camerawork and lighting that was a hallmark of SVU production at that time and made me physically nauseous in some points and also resulted in visually ruining some really important shots, like. The eo shit HIT it was so good but a lot of the plot work is a miss.

But

Olivia stopping him in interrogation?? The fight on the roof?? Just her fucking eyes? Showstopping.

And 500. My baby boo. My darling. The fact that they took the time on the 500th episode to center Olivia, to say she is the heart of the show, to explore her as a person - talking to her son about her mother and purposefully evading the truth to protect him, the threads of her feelings about her mother (a relationship that by default has become a foundational part of the show even tho Serena has been dead for 20+ years) and her coming to the realization that Serena was trying to protect her, maybe even saved her, even tho the way she went about it was all wrong, us seeing Olivia's unwillingness to acknowledge her own victimization, her romanticism and tender hopefullness, the examination of the established fact that Olivia still, after all those years in SVU, believed that she and Burton were in love and did not see that he was taking advantage of her until she was forced to, the absolute devastating human moment of her in the hallway listening to girl from impanema, and grieving (and drinking...), the way we hadn't seen her fuck anyone since Tucker but she went straight to bed with Burton (her unwillingness to let anyone go, her desperate longing to have a love she's lost returned to her), Nick being the one to support her thru this (friends for life Nick Amaro), the final shot of her alone throwing the tape away and making the choice to move forward for herself, by herself, the flashbacks...

I think I know already what the general consensus will be, but I have to be true to my heart. It's 500 for me

playoffs (round 2)

episode descriptions under the cut

rotps -> the squad rallies around det. stabler to find the suspect behind a threat to his family (imdb) aka elliot stabler come back episode! moments of note (to me), "where's the exit?" rest in peace kathy stabler. an icon. a hero.

500 -> amaro and olivia's ex-boyfriend burton lowe ask svu for help with overturning a wrongful conviction in one of cragen's old cases (imdb). moments of note (to me), olivia fucks . melinda warner sighting! nick and liv fight. "i'm just time traveling."

[rainbow-squirrels-7]

my partner agrees with me so i took it as a go ahead to write a trailer pitch DC plz hire me

Picture it: black screen, the single ~Iconique~ single piano note plays (I may not be anything close to goth or punk or emo and actually avoid wearing black at all costs, but even I know how iconic the first piano note is), and the instrumental bit of the beginning of the song plays as the various movie company logos fade onto the scene, probably in time with the notes.

The first verse kicks in over a scene of a kiddo and his dad and you’re made to THINK it’s baby Bruce Wayne and his dad but SIKE I foOLED you! It’s ROBIN (cuz if any Batman deserves a sweet sunshiney boy, it’s Battinson) and his dad, talking about… idk. Something. Tbh I don’t know a lot of Batman Lore™️- that’s someone else’s job.

A cut to black with “he said son when-”, and the next words of the song are matched with quick scenes of the Wayne parents deaths and  also Robin’s parent’s deaths (he’s an orphan in the Lego Batman Movie, the only other Batman media that’s good that I’ve seen besides scattered episodes of old Cartoon Network shows, so like. Dead parents. Probably) and the continuing of Bruce’s Batman-ing (“will you be the savior of the broken” etc. etc.) and beginning of Robin’s Robin-ing

The song fades into an instrumental as the proper trailer stuff happens, whatever villain of the rogues gallery the sequel decides to go with and their shenanigans (side note it better not be Joker cuz I Just Don’t Care For Him and he’s Not That Interesting send tweet. Keep him in jail. Where he belongs) coming in around a minor key chorus, and the actual story of the sequel is presented here. It’ll be one of those movies where the whole time Bruce is like “I couldn’t care less about you kid don’t get in my way” but not-so-secretly he’s all “I CARE ABOUT YOU SO MUCH KID”

And the rock opera part of the song (“caaaary onnnnn we’ll caaary oooon”) BLASTS back in when Bats comes back with scenes of him doing cool Batman stuff, but Especially with him helping people and being the source of hope like he said he wanted to try to be at the end of the first movie (when we all said ‘YES! Now THIS is Batman!!’ Even me. Who hasn’t even seen any other live-action Batsmen but I Know they’re Not Him. Battinson Is him. I saw it described like the other live-action Batsmen would be perching gloomily on the side of a building like a gargoyle at the end where the rescues at the flood are happening, but Battinson is THERE helping out HIMSELF! In the immortal words of Red OSP: “If your Batman can’t comfort a crying child then he’s not Batman”) and him being A Good Dad to his new sunshiney sidekick. Also insert gratuitous shots of RPatts with smudgy eyeliner again (cuz this Batman’s for the gays and theys and goths) and Alfred being a Supportive Dad Figure™️ and maybe a quick shot of Selina Kyle, if she’s coming back for the sequel as well. Or keep her a secret so audiences can be surprised. Whatever works. But also there’s shots of Bruce as Bruce Wayne, helping out people in situations where Batman is not needed (like with money and stuff), and he’s like. Still a soft-spoken, scrungly, sopping wet cryptid of a man (hc he’s autistic I claim him), but he’s doing good! For his city!!

Anyway, as the final “caAArY OOonn!” and that part with the chanting, (“I’m just a boy not a hero”) the title and release date fade in here over like. A shot of the city skyline or something. Idk.

And there we go. What we could have if the director of the Batman sequel isn’t a coward.

oh also one more note mr. director: More bats. Like. Real bats. Just for me. because i love them

[inhibited-irregularity]

Thoughts on Eurovision 2022 that nobody asked for:

*All highly subjective and possibly rude

- Not a fan of the hosts. They're clumsy af, and while they may be cool individually, they made everything a bit awkward. Also tired of the exaggerated flirting. Also, Mika shouldn't be allowed to sing in a low register.

Onto the performances:

🇦🇱 Liked her energy, the beat was catchy, but it was a bit too racey for family TV ngl. Love the parts where she just yells aggressively. Would follow her to battle (ok, as a Serbian, not THAT battle (lol jk hope that stays in the past)) She may not have qualified, but she became a certified icon.

🇱🇻 Eh. Obviously I'm on board with the ICONIQUE moment that made history, but overall, the song wasn't that good, sorry not sorry.

🇱🇹 Monika my lovely! She's beauty and she's grace (and the good kind of crazy) and the song low-key slaps. Also she just did her thing and obviously lived in the moment, and was overall refreshing. Good for her.

🇨🇭 Nothing against the guy personally, but WHY.

🇸🇮 ROBBED. Adorable kiddos with the good song deserved so much better. Also, such a pleasant vocal and sound overall.

🇺🇦 Sorry, doesn't deserve the hype. I love the chorus and the flute, but the rap part is just (???) There. And be mad at it as much as you'd like, but if they score high, it will mostly be political. I am usually a fan of what Ukraine sends, but ngl they had better songs in the past that didn't even get to go to esc. That being said, I don't think they didn't deserve to be in the final. They're just not top 10 material.

🇧🇬 Well, I want that guy's confidence, but it was not proportional to what they were putting out there. They weren't rocking as hard as they think they did. If they were going for classic, they gave us outdated.

🇳🇱 One of the most overrated songs of the year. Indie-pop bands of 2014. want their melody back. The song is so stuck in that particular period of hipster sound that the singer apparently went through entire puberty in the same jacket.

🇲🇩 For the general public, amazing, refreshing, original. As an Eastern-European, a bit shticky. Užičko kolo but make it punk. Not mad at it tho.

🇵🇹 I don't care, it's LOVELY. And all the "puts me to sleep" people need to check their attention spans. It's soothing af, I WANT to fall asleep to it (slight bias cos l have a crush on the singer)

🇭🇷 It wasn't bad? Nothing spectacular, but such a sweet voice and a pleasant melody. But girl, the outfit was... a choice.

🇩🇰 Do not come for them. While I get why they didn't qualify, they're dear to me because 4 middle-aged women having fun on stage? AMAZING. I feel like they achieved what Bulgaria was going for. The drummer made this years "people I have a crush on" list as well.

🇦🇹 I feel like the staging f-ed them over and maybe they got a bit overexcited (and it affected their energy). Wasn't very good live unfortunately, but the song is a certified bop and there I say next big European summer hit. Points for being adorable. The lyrics were also a good kind of quirky. Sad they didn't qualify, was rooting for them.

🇮🇸 Liked the song, but nothing to write home about.

🇬🇷 People love it so much that I'm surely missing something? I'll give it another shot, but it was capital b Bland. The singing wasn't impressive either.

🇳🇴 One of my favorites this year. The idea might have been shticky, but they committed so much that they overcame it and perfected it while not going into overly-produced, and hit the just-the-right-amount of polished. Also you can't convince me that that's actually not What does the fox say guy in disguise.

🇦🇲 Just WHY. Another song stuck in 2014, but unlike the Netherlands who tried to out-hipster the hipsters, this person apparently only listened to the Lumineers.

🇫🇮 To quote a meme, peaked in high-school energy. Sesame street, but make it emo. Expected more. Juvenile lyrics. They slided to the final solely on their past glory. Didn't deserve to qualify.

I*rael - First of all, if Russia is banned from the competition, they shouldn't have the right to compete as well given the shit they do in Palestine, but apparently, the EU is selectively humanitarian, surprise, surprise. Politics aside, that guy is one of the most obnoxiously people ever to grace the esc stage, and overall rude and disrespectful. The performance itself was a "safe" act on RuPauls drag race. (This being said, you can criticize him without being homophobic, and just as the people of Russia don't deserve to be bullied for the actions of their government, there's no excuse to be Anti-semitic or bully regular Israeli folks)

🇷🇸 She should win. Absolute perfection. Immaculate. The lyrics. The layers. The delivery. Godstrakta, everyone. No national bias btw, I hated most of our entries.

🇦🇿 Song was a snooze, but he was the best male vocal of the evening. The singing was perfection. Not mad at it.

🇬🇪 Love that they're always themselves and unconventional. This just wasn't my cup of tea tho, and the buildup was too long. I can see prog-rock fans enjoying it. Nika Kocharov still remains my favorite Georgian weirdo.

🇲🇹 Prefered the first song, it was a decent pop ballad (yes, there is too much ballads). Her voice was on point and she has a great stage presence, but the song was just one pile of PANDERING. Melody goes to the Bulgaria pile. Wishing her luck in the future, she's likeable.

🇸🇲 Didn't think I'd like it, but now I'm lamenting that he didn't qualify. At first I falsely assumed that he was a Måneskin wannabe, but au contraire, Achille is an established artist. Was it shticky? Yes. Did I absolutely fall for it? Also yes. He delivered and left the competition a legend. And yes, it was sexy af. Will download. Shout-out to the guitarist and the brilliance that was the mechanical bull.

🇦🇺 Again, WHY. For such a generic song, I expected better vocals and more drama. Thinking of revoking Australia's esc privileges. Cool outfit tho.

🇨🇾 A perfectly made dish with no seasoning. Trusted formula would've worked, but the energy was tragically lacking. Waiting for Eleni or a Balkan folk diva to cover it properly.

🇮🇪 The song was a generic pop-bop that I knew will depend on the performance and HOLY SHIT she s l a y e d. The voice was there, the energy was there, the SASS was there, and I have no idea why she didn't qualify.

🇲🇰 Sorry, not a fan. Way to nasal for my taste and while she's very pretty, there was something unsettling about her. I do not want to test her limits, so that's good.

🇪🇪 WHY. While they had some great entries (Stig Rasta and Elina, La Forza opera lady), they're on their merry way of becoming the new Sweden. I swear they've been sending the same conventionally attractive white-bread guy in his mid-30s every year. Also, quit sampling/copying Avicii already, we're over it.

🇷🇴 ROMANIA singing in Spanish? Sure to be a bop? Right?... Right? No. Disappointed. I was glad he was going for the golden age of Eurovision sound, but it was flat. I wish Ireland or San Marino qualified over him, and I hope Spain out-spanishes them.

🇵🇱 Surprisingly, I am a fan. Way less generic than I thought it would be, catchy, his voice is wonderful. He did struggle a bit, but hopefully, he sings it to his full potential in the final.

🇲🇪 Boring staging, but not the worst ballad, and the singing was excellent, although I do feel like the nerves got to her. Not mad she didn't qualify, but I think she deserved it more than the guy from Switzerland.

🇧🇪 BABY. Precious. Baby. Yes, not the most original track, yes it does remind me of Cry me a river by Justin Timberlake, but the song is early 2000s nostalgia done properly. And the boy CAN SING! I think he had a cold or sth tho, but he's serious competition if he recovers for the finale.

🇸🇪 Good song. Sweden finally figured out how to do pop without being generic. Like it. Am in love with Cornelia. Her voice makes me happy.

🇨🇿 Not a fan. Mikolas was the last Chezh entry that I liked. Ever since, they've painfully been trying to be *urban*. Tired of that Calvin Harris sound, and the performance wasn't my favorite. I knew it would qualify tho, people seem to eat it up every time.

🇮🇹 The song itself kinda grew on me, especially Blanco's parts. Expected more from Mahmood, both musically and vocally. That being said. It's a bit iffy and creepy. Mahmood, please don't be inappropriate with that kid. Come on, be better than that.

🇬🇧 The guy should be a national treasure. Please vote for him, he deserves more than 0 points. And I've been feeling sorry for British artists in esc lately, lol. If someone should break the curse, it's him. I like it very much. Not top 5 material tho. I guess it will depend on the performance.

🇫🇷 One of my favorites. And I hope they score highly, just to stick it to the French government. There should be a song like this every year (Go_a, you're not forgotten)

🇪🇸 Didn't like it at first, reminded me of americanized Latin pop (think Camila Cabello), but I might change my mind, according to the snippet from yesterday. If she manages to be high-energy, she's golden. It will come to the performance. Not gonna be surprised if she gets to top 10, but not gonna be surprised by 0 points either.

🇩🇪 It's growing on me. Much like Spain, we'll have to wait and see.

[wickedpact]

Hey Crim, I can't sleep, so I thought I'd come to you blog for a bit :) may I ask what your favourite scenes in tog are?

all. all of them

well i know i have a (very obvious) inclination towards joenicky. the van scene: very fucking tender. the lab malta/bedhead scene: extremely cute. the keane fight: iconique™ but if i had to pick favorite-favorite scene they would probably be the group ones. the baklava scene, the dinner scene, the kill floor, the train scene, etc

the baklava scene is So Good. ppl sometimes give tog shit for too much exposition dump (fuck man, its got 7000 + 1000 + 1000 + ?000 +200 years of history to cover. theres a lot of shit nile/the audience needs to know) but the baklava scene does So Much characterization work with barely any dialogue. the reunion between booker and andy, the gift, the playful ribbing. the way they establish andy's dislike of being photographed to peak the audience's interest. joe and nicky's reunion with andy (how they differ from booker's! how they differ from each other! nicky's silent hug vs. joe's playful one vs. booker's distanced jokes and questions!) the camaraderie & fondness that the inside joke of the baklava bet establishes between them, and the way you can see them communicate without words. <3

the dinner scene, you learn So much abt the characters. yes its a shitton of exposition but its all so good. nile's curiosity, the slow reveal of the ages youre working with (booker is 200 years old -> nicky is older -> joe is as old as nicky -> andy is the oldest) the way they work off of each other when they explain everything to her as they eat, the domesticity of the meal and the safehouse, the way the table is round but the shots make it feel like andy is at the head

the way it transitions to them sleeping and you see joenicky, booker, and nile all crammed together in a corner while andy keeps watch. loooooook someone even got nile a toothbrush 😭

the kill floor! swords! axes! sexy military armor/equipment! look at them cosplaying the beatles together <3

again people give tog shit for too much info dumping but the kill floor shows without any words how well the squad works together and moves together, watching each character take out their respective bad guys in their own ways (booker and his lil combat roll and his rifle, nicky and joe fighting together, andy with her axe and brutal efficiency) and its a beautiful scene & set and the action is [chefs kiss] and the hits all feel so brutal and real. lov it.

and the train scene! its a bit short in comparison to the others, but if you learn about the squad from the way they fight you really learn about them from the way they argue. their immediate reactions to learning about nile (andy's done, booker's wary, joe is protective, and nicky is empathetic) how they all argue about the best way to move forward but eventually agree after nicky makes his point (and how they all listen when andy tells them what they'll all do) and how the point nicky makes is 'we all need each other so that means she needs us too' and how nobody can argue with that BC THEY ALL WUV EACH OTHER VERY MUCH ❤❤❤💕💞💖💗🥰

[goldlightsaber]

A Quiet Place Part II

Wow, I just came back from the movie theatre, and I am so pleased that this movie was everything I wanted it to be. So here it goes, another movie analysis/review.

Dare I say iconique? 

There was a lot hinging A Quiet Place Part II. It is one of the first movies “back in theaters.” There was a lot of anticipation because the movie got delayed for over a year. But I don’t think it could’ve come out at a more perfect time. One of the things I noticed about the world of A Quiet Place was that, in thematic ways, it reflects our own. In the height of the pandemic, everyone in our world was scared, worried about supplies running low, losing loved ones, and grieving a life they once had. Like in the movie, we were all forced to lay low by staying inside. Maybe I was projecting my own feelings, but I found it to be highly relatable and touching in that way (without being tragic but rather uplifting instead).

Onto the actual contents, though. The opening scene was *chef’s kiss.* You feel tension right away because of how eerily quiet the town is mid-day, a foreshadowing of what’s to come. Except everything is too neat, the cars too perfectly parked, no windows broken -- we know it is the calm before the storm. I love the patient shot of the stoplight changing lights. We are waiting for disaster to strike but just don’t know when it will. 

The baseball scene subverted a few of my expectations -- I thought Emmett would be a stranger to the family so I was surprised he turned out to be a friendly family acquaintance. This worked well because it probably made Emmett feel some obligation in helping Evelyn and her family later. I also expected Marcus to hit the ball eventually because of the two initial misses -- but then the fireball passes through the sky and life as they know it is over. 

Some part of me expected the flashback scene to be superfluous and just an opportunity to show John Krasinski again, but it served its purpose -- when characters refer to “that day,” we feel the gravity of it because of what we saw in the opening segment. 

I didn’t expect the monster when it first appeared. You expect Lee to have a conversation with the cop, for the monster to show up soon but not just yet -- and then Lee, almost dissociating, is rushing back to his truck after what was no doubt the most traumatic sight of his life at that point. He starts the car with the it’s-going-to-be-all-right facade a parent must don for their child. 

There were several other excellent “oh-shit” moments in this movie. One of my favorites was, after Evelyn sets off the booby trap that attracts the monster (an excellent oh-shit moment in and of itself but already revealed in the trailer), Marcus gets his foot caught in a bear trap. When he screams, it’s like watching a glass you knocked over to the floor crash into a million pieces. My brain was just one big shout of “OH SHIT” and nothing else. Emily Blunt’s acting was superb here and throughout -- the way she played desperation and a simultaneous love for her child was palpable.

Cillian Murphy is an excellent addition to the cast. I was particularly mesmerized by his acting in all the breathy dialogue scenes where he’s protesting against either Evelyn or Regan. Emmett felt believable in all his sweaty, scruffy glory.  He keeps insisting he doesn’t want to help, but, very wholesomely, he always does. He’s a sucker for them from the start. And whether he and Regan like it or not, he is slowly becoming the protective father figure in her life. He can’t get in the way of her plans and her genius, and he can never replace Lee, but the love is there. I love their arc.

And speaking of Regan...

Wow, did the kids in this movie shine. Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupp absolutely exceeded my expectations. Boy, could Jupp scream and look scared for his life. He was completely believable in his role. And Simmonds walks with this quiet strength, this gentleness. I loved what they did with the scenes where Regan and Emmett were struggling to communicate and she had to keep bringing him back down to Earth. I love the way this movie changes the game for what communication looks like -- there is rarely yelling or even regular-volume conversation. Instead there is sign language, exhales, whispers, the mouthing of words. This creates a mesmerizing atmosphere for the movie. These silences and moments of white-noise do not mean the absence of humans speaking to each other. 

I’m not sure how I feel about the shady, red-eyed community of people on the docks. They looked like they were all on drugs and walked like zombies. And the creepy little girl who trapped Emmett just felt like she belonged to another genre of horror? This isn’t a “creepy children” horror movie, it’s an eldritch monster horror movie! It wasn’t the most believable plot point but I wasn’t super opposed to it, either. I wanted to know more about these shady people. I fully expected them to take Emmett and Regan back to their leader or tribal base, but nope, they were just shady people (the kind not worth saving). 

This isn’t a criticism per say but I was definitely expecting more scenes between Emmett and the entire Abbott family, so I was a little sad they split them up and we didn’t get a reunion. This is a possible tease for a third movie -- as is the expanding world of the island and the lack of a total end to the apocalypse. And, of course, there are hints that Evelyn and Emmett might have a future together -- Evelyn symbolically takes off her wedding ring and Emmett reluctantly but naturally fills the father role for the children. At the same time, we leave off at a point where we can imagine what happens next and don’t need to know more -- it can be up to our interpretation. They can end the movie there, since it is clear that the children have figured out how to defeat the monsters.

And speaking of that, the ending had a very Stranger Things feel to it. Never mind that the monsters from each respective series look almost identical -- the ending takes a surprise turn when it is the two Abbott children who take things into their own hands and kill the monsters while their parental figures literally sit back and watch in awe. I appreciated the message here: that young people are innovative, strong and brave enough to do the right thing. They are capable of great things; it’s all right to trust them and let them take the reins. 

I think the movie’s atmosphere is just lovely. Just because it’s horror doesn’t mean there can’t be scenic shots of a sunset on the beach. That’s what I like about both movies so much -- they don’t feel like most horror movies because they still leave room for beauty and tenderness and hope.

Overall, a very enjoyable film. I would love to see the family reunion if there is a sequel -- and that the potential sequel is helmed by the right writers/director once again! Go, John Krasinski! He killed it.

[sciderman]

sci.. you wouldnt happen to know all the appearences of wade wearing dresses in canon, would you? googl wasnt very helpful

oh, god... ALL of them? i’ll do my best... i’ve read like, no books published past 2017 - so anyone that has and can report their findings on wade’s wardrobe choices for the past 4 years would be much appreciated!! i’m doubtful there are any recent additions though (wade just hasn’t been the same since the heteros took over... someone. please take him away from the heteros....) 

i’m not going to list them in chronological order, it’ll just be as and when i remember them.... deadpool (2008) #20. c’est iconique... 

bonus deadpool (2008) #49.1 (to the tune of britney’s hit me baby one more time. yes. really.) 

cable and deadpool #9 (begging you all to read this series, it truly is wade at peak performance) 

(can i just say i Love that he singled out iceman before bobby was even revealed as gay in the comics. wade’s gaydar is impeccable.) 

thank you for the panty shot, marvel, always so generous. speaking of panties, he likes this particular pair enough to continue wearing them. cable and deadpool #20. 

not a dress but in times of stress my mind returns to bikini. deadpool (2008) #33

deadpool (2012) #4 

avenging spider-man #12, obviously, my absolute favourite (beautiful, beautiful man) 

bonus rocky horror hallucination from avenging spider-man #13 because i think it’s important, and we should talk about it. in fact, if anyone ever tries to tell you deadpool is straight i want you to look them in the eye and show them this panel. there is no heterosexual explanation for this. 

wolverine/deadpool: the decoy 

this is... actually a lot more tricky than i thought, i’m sure there are more that i’m missing. 

we got paid lip service to this in deadpool (2012) #27 but we didn’t get to see it. (i would like to see it) 

if anyone out there can remember any that i’ve missed please add to this post! let’s get a love train going for wade’s wardrobe 

[shiverandqueeef]

Would you like to explain the canucks one?

Thank you from a little(I promise only a little bit) confused Canucks fan

You got it anon! buckle up for a long and possibly non-nonsensical answer! moving from left to right, top row to bottom:

Brock Boeser: one of his nicknames is Mr.Sensitive (unless you ask him 😂) plus he has the saddest of sad boi post-loss playlists over on spotify

Elias Pettersson: AKA Pistol Petey! so named for his insane wrist and slap shots. and ofc it’s gotta be in gold - only the best most unnecessarily expensive for our Drip King Petey 😉 im serious tho. the man spent $280 on a flippin t-shirt.

Jake Virtanen: AKA Big Tuna! and uh...i mean i don’t think either chunky nor cornball need to be explained 😂

Quinn Hughes: AKA Huggy Bear! only the best nickname on the nucks roster in my humble (and correct) opinion. everybody say thank you brandon sutter

Bo Horvat: our captain’s full name is actually Bowie - he was named after the musician. the pic is from Bowie’s role in the movie Labyrinth (which, sidenote: everyone should see at least once.  it is... well it sure is something.) the baby made it perfect, as Bo and his wife Holly had their son Gunnar this year

Nils Höglander: okay. so. canucks announcer John Shorthouse has taken to calling nils a “little pepper-pot!”. no one knows why. but he says it lovingly and with admiration. the team has started calling him hog/hoggy. and uh. pepper pot + hoggy gives you? peppa pig!  (if you live in my brain 😂)

Adam Gaudette: oh gauds. my favourite boston greaseball 😌.  so gaudette has a long and proud history of being a massive hoe. then he got married. you would think this would have dimmed his bright beautiful sluttiness - but no! being in love has only compounded his thot ways! so he gets the Iconique Cardi B vine. for video evidence of said ways and also free serotonin please refer to Micaela Kim Gaudette’s tiktok and insta.  also this shirt from the always on point @broadscastpod

Antoine Roussel: AKA Rooster! he is a chirpy french bird with criminal tendencies - currently second on the team in most penalty minutes at 29 (myers has 35, but he also plays roughly twice the minutes roussel has per game) basically rooster is our brad marchand, but with less intent to injure.  also less licking.

Alex Edler: his nickname is eagle. that’s it that’s the explanation 😂. although, if i could have found a pic of a grizzled elderly eagle i would’ve gone with that, as the team delights in reminding him he is (in hockey years) a full on grandpa

Braden Holtby: our newest canuck is - when at his best - a solid brick wall in the net. he and his awesome wife brandi are also LGBT allies 🌈❤️  hence the rainbow brick wall (he also chose not to visit the white house after winning the cup, alongside teammates Devante-smith Pelly and Brent Connelly, and he puts his money were his mouth is)

Tyler Motte: love of my hockey life. short king. mental /health /advocate. Champion of the Penalty Kill. I will eventually get to the explanation i just love him a lot. we motter fans are a small but passionate few. okay so fans have bestowed the nickname of Applesauce on account of the applesauce brand Mott’s. afaik this is a fan only nickname and the team just calls him motter.    

and last but certainly not least

Zack Macewen: aka Zack Attack! Mac Attack! the man comes in like a Mack Truck and defends his teammates like a handsome knight in hockey pads. he’s also a wholesome marshmallow off the ice, elite giver of hugs, and as previously stated, very not hard on the eyes. please refer to @churchofrileytanev ‘s blog for quality zack content. 

not included due to the hockey gods being cruel and unfeeling deities (and also jim benning being a moron):

Troy “From Richmond” Stecher

Chris “Tequila” Tanev

Jacob “Marky” Markstrom

and that’s it! apologies if some of the info was redundant for you anon, i just figured i would provide some extra context for non-canucks fans; even tho it’s unlikely this post will ever make it to them...but i had fun compiling it all so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ thanks for giving me an excuse to go on about some of my fav boys!