#first kill review

[panstarry]

spreads from last semester’s zine 🎇 punks of color in the scene, issue 2

click here to read issue 1

[stuckinapril]

I’ve always loved medicine bc it’s the perfect intersection of science and humanity—the two things I value above all else in this world. Truly adored it since I was in the cradle. But now I’m thinking about how so much of my journey to neurosurgery will have to involve KILLING my feelings essentially bc how do you survive otherwise

[xxplastic-cubexx]

on the absolute highest of keys james mcavoy does pull off bald charles really well and i wish we got another movie with bald james mcavoy

[demonic-shadowlucifer]

never gonna forget how people bullied behindthememe into leaving youtube all because he "explained memes to people", yet they don't bat an eye at a site like Know Your Meme even though they do the same exact thing.

[walkerrenee]

you know i have seen all the warning posts about the declan lynch obsession gripping you after starting the dreamer trilogy, but i fear i was still not prepared for how much i do in fact love him.

[malleableplatypus]

Remembering when The Dumb Song first came out over a year ago and I checked some song review website after listening to it. They used a bit from another song in The Dumb Song and I knew it and recognized it but for the life of me could not remember which song and was hoping someone could name it for me.

And, I'm not even joking, literally ALL of the comments were either "I'm an AJR fan and this song SUCKS. They fell off HARD with this. BOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAD SONG!!!!!!!!!!" or "I'm not an AJR song and this is their only song that I like; it is a masterpiece nothing can compare" and it was actually really funny.💀

[liebelesbe]

i love those silly little "satisfying" games where you have to like, sort makeup or mow a lawn or clean a rug and stuff. HOWEVER it has happened MULTIPLE times now that there's a level where you have to kill bugs?? These are CUTESY games how is killing bugs cute at all!!

[corpsecoded]

my fatal flaw is wanting a sweet treat at every minor inconvenience

[the-gayest-show]

Through the Looking Back Glass Thoughts/Analysis

I LOVED this episode. It was very endearing and honestly heartwarming (near the end that is) and overall one of my top episodes in the series!

First off, Sofia leaning on Cedric for help with homework is so fucking CUTE. Their dynamic makes me jump up for joy, and Sofia really trusts HIM to get the job done 🥺 Even when Cordelia appears and offers to help, Sofia is still adamant to only have Cedric do it 🥺🥺🥺🥺

It's a small detail, but I think Cedric's pose changes slightly when his sister is around? Like, he's got that hunch back pose that he had in earlier seasons when she's there, it's crazy. There's probably more screenshots I could gather on this but yeah.

The song that comes up in this scene.... mmmm art. Here's me ranting about it.

I think the saddest part of the episode is really seeing Cedric and Cordelia's past dynamic because I genuinely loved it? Like. When they hugged here it was so heartwarming. The nicknames (Cordy, Ceddy) were so cute as well, I guess when they don't use the nicknames in the beginning it's to show the deterioration of their relationship over time, and somewhere in the end of this episode, Cedric starts using the nickname Cordy again which really cements the mending of the relationship. (I did get taken off guard when Cordelia called him Ceddy in the flashback bc I've always associated it with Calista. Maybe Cordelia said it around Calista and she picked it up? IDK)

Cedric is also shown to be really good at magic here. Bro did a spell that was apparently "too advanced" or something? And let's not even begin to discuss the lore implication for WANDLESS MAGIC. BRO TRIED TO REVERSE A SPELL WITH HIS BARE HANDS. THIS MAKES ALREADY INTERESTING STF LORE MUCH MORE INTERESTING.

I find it so interesting that the incident (despite having no known cause at the time) was quite literally blamed on Cedric almost immediately and everyone went with it? Like Cordelia shouts "he ruined it" and no one questions this??? Not even Cedric fending for himself worked? Whoever said in a Tumblr post that this implies that Cedric was treated like some kind of bungler/looked down upon even before this is probably right. Because why else is it just normal for everyone to jump to this conclusion? His parents don't do SHIT about it, and I'm assuming that Goodwyn holds this grudge too (if eps like Mystic Meadows mean anything). Why are they holding onto this for so long? Literally I get holding a bit of resentment but everyone makes mistakes....

Idk this went off, but basically, oof living in your father's shadow was hard AF especially with one mistake people reference in your presence.

Despite this event happening over 30 years ago, it's still somehow the ONE thing people defined him for for years. This episode really further contextualizes his motivations for wanting to become king before season 4. Imagine being rejected from society for YEARS, being belittled and made fun of, people tearing you apart for a mistake you made when you were 9-10 YEARS OLD, it's crazy. 100% that took a toll on him, something you can see in this episode and literally most episodes. It's just really sad.

I'm glad that Sofia and Calista were able to help the both of them realize that it wasn't actually Cedric's fault (something Cordelia should've realized years ago, but seeing the event happen as it did was more a confirmation for Cedric than anything). Cordelia and Cedric forgiving each other was a bit too fast considering everything but I'm glad their relationship is mending.

Credit where credit is due, she sticks up for him after this and lets Cedric do his thing and lets him help Sofia without any ifs and buts, it's sweet.

Personally, I feel that Cedric and Cordelia probably still have a semi-strained relationship after this ep (your sister being the reason you were made fun of for years, and that reason wasn't even valid to begin with defo is not smth you can recover fast from in a 22 min episode)

Also, it's not hard to believe the circumstances wouldn't have changed if the incident were truly Cedric's fault, but Cordelia needed a wakeup call I guess, that works.

Want to mention King Roland for a second because dude. Why is your first reaction to blame Cedric (again), instead of the 2 other magic users in the room (ESPECIALLY THE CHILD. Look I'm a Calista fan thru and thru but logically the blame would be shifted there to an extent??)

King Roland I thought we were over with this since Day of the Sorcerers?? What happened to being NICER to Cedric and maybe NOT blaming him for every little thing? Idk that kinda pissed me off. The fact that Cordelia was the only thing stopping Roland from interrogating the guy... THIS BEHAVIOUR IS WHY CEDRIC TRIED TO TAKE OVER YOUR KINGDOM!!! ROLAND THE 2ND YOU IDIOT!!!

In conclusion, love me a character focused episode that develops a backstory as well as a slight resolution. 1000/10 would re-experience this again.

[cern1cal0]

[peaches2217]

Today is a huge day! Why’s that? Why, today’s the one year anniversary of the start of my current hyperfixation!

My girlfriend joked that I’d be that little boy soon enough, and I don’t think either of us realized just how correct she would be 😂 I remember stopping in the doorway while I was leaving the theater, sincerely considering turning around and getting a ticket for the next showing. I hadn’t felt so thoroughly uplifted and comforted by a movie since seeing KFP2 for the first time twelve years earlier. I ended up watching it eight times before it left theaters.

And in about two weeks, I’ll be celebrating another anniversary: the day I finally gave in and succumbed to the Mareach brainrot.

[watchingeverydcmovie]

Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)

I am watching every movie based on a DC publication in release order, for more information, see my pinned post.

First movie, Adventures of Captain Marvel from 1941.

Release Date: 3/28/1941 (This is the offical release date but also confusingly not the date the film was released, but instead the date that the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.) IMDB Rating: 7.2 Age Rating: Passed Runtime: 3 Hours, 36 Minutes/12 Chapters

GENERAL -

Adventures of Captain Marvel is considered the first comic book character adaptation ever. Captain Marvel (now known as Shazam) was not owned by DC at the time of this serials released.

In general, the plot is about Billy Batson going on an archological expodition with a team, meeting a wizard, gaining superpowers, and then his team steals this artifact and then they're hunted down by a masked villan called the Scorpian who they very quickly realize is a member of their own group.

MY REVIEW -

Is this movie good? Questionable.

It has not aged well, and I wasn't expecting it to have, but oh boy, is there a lot of rascim in this thing. Otherwise, it's engaging enough, if repetative, and it's very often uninentionally funny. The format that serials of the time used means that every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, which often leads to unnecessary drama being added that you can guess the resolution to before watching the next part. This also didn't need to be as long as it is, and there are often plot points that were definitely added just to add runtime.

That being said, I think Frank Coghlan, Jr. as Billy is an extremely likeable lead. He's generally sweet and charasmatic, and I like the movie most when Billy, the female lead Betty, and their friend Whitey are together.

I think the action scenes are well choreographed if a little silly, and all of the actors are pretty good overall.

Final Rating: 4.5/10

Would I watch this again? No. Maybe if it was shorter.

RANDOM THOUGHTS -

Billy Batson spends this entire movie getting knocked unconcious. In fact, all of the characters do. There is so much head trauma in this movie, it's unreasonable, but extremely unintentinally funny. I wish I had coutned how many scenes end with or contain a character just getting knocked on the head and going unconcious, it has to be upward of twenty. Also, when Billy wakes up, he's always gaged, even if other charcters who are with him aren't. This makes sense considered that he has to say the word "Shazam" in order to turn into Captain Marvel. However, it absolutely *doesn't* make sense when you add the knowlege that absolutely nobody knows he's Captain Marvel or that Captain Marvel needs to speak to use his superpowers.

There's one scene where Captain Marvel rescues Betty from a group that kidnapped her and then turns back to Billy before she wakes up. Before she got kidnapped, she was attempting to get to a certain location before the bad guys, and Billy assures that he'll get there faster on his plane, and then brushes her off when she attempts to go with him. I saw this and was thinking "Ah, yes, Billy Batson, who is Captain Marvel, who can fly, does not actually own a plane, and will instead turn into Captain Marvel and simply fly there with his superpowers." Imagine my surprise, when Billy then goes to airport and gets into an actual fucking airplane. Why did that do that?? What was the point??????? The man can FLY.

I think I am far to used to modern superhero comics and movies where, like, "should the hero kill the villain" is posed as a tough moral quandry and the answer is usually "absolutely not", because Captain Marvel kills SO MANY PEOPLE. And not even the main villain, someone else kills the main villain, Billy just throws a henchman off the roof of a parking garage at some point. He gets his powers and immidiately goes lethal.

I'm also extremely used to the Captain Marvel/Shazam narrative of "very young boy gets superpowers and looks like an adult", which means that this movie's "young adult man gets superpowers and turns into a just slightly older but different man" is very funny.

FUN FACTS -

To achieve the special effect of Captain Marvel's transformation, the production team apparently put a trough of flash powder in front of Frank Coghlan, Jr. who played Billy and ignited it, which apparently lead to Frank Coghlan, Jr. losing a few eyebrows if the wind was particularly unfavorable.

Frank Coghlan, Jr. also apparently did not know who Captain Marvel or Billy Batson were before getting the role.

They used a paper mache dummy to achieve the flying effects from far away. It is incredibly obvious when they do this and also very funny.

[royal-misfit]

The Painscreek Killings Review (Spoiler Free)

Vivian Roberts, the wife of the former mayor of the village of Painscreek was found murdered outside her mansion in July 1995. Four years later, the case is still unsolved, and the village has been abandoned. With the auction of the land almost complete, it's only a matter a time before Painscreek is bulldozed and any chance of this crime being solved gone forever. You play as reporter Janet Kelly, it's up to you to find out what happened the summer of 1995 and bring the truth to light. Along the way, you'll dive deeper into the personal lives of the former residents of the village and uncover the dark secrets of the inhabitants.

The Painscreek Killings takes a unique approach to the detective genre. For one, there are no suspects to interview/interrogate. You as the player are all alone in Painscreek, a ghost town full of the belongings of residents that left two years before the start of the game. Instead, you learn more about the people of the village through the diaries you find skewed around the map, alongside keys and other clues to help you progress. There is no quest marker to help you keep track of everything. All you have is a camera, a documents page, and a map screen (that you cannot edit). You are as close to a real life detective the game designers could create for a mystery game.

There is little dialogue in the game itself, as mentioned you came to the village alone, most dialogue that exists comes from the very beginning (a co-worker of yours explains why you're at Painscreek) and a few voicemails left by the villagers before they left. That's not to say the game is silent. The designers knew the importance of music for setting the tone and atmosphere of their game. Every location has a music track that perfectly conveys the dread and tension that comes with exploring an abandoned place. The moments where the sound cuts out completely had me feeling so tense I was tempted to step away from the game entirely, but the story and need to find answers kept me coming back.

It's hard to talk about the story in games like this, because the game is the story. Most summaries of the plot would spoil the twists and reveals that are integral to the mystery genre. I will say that the writers of the game did a phenomenal job keeping me invested in not only the main mystery of the game but also the side mysteries as well. If you pay attention to all the clues, you should have no problem finding the killer. Some players might find fault with the last section of the game due to an admittedly abrupt tonal shift, but the sequence is fairly short and didn't hurt the overall experience I had. Final Score: 8/10

Positives:

Masterful use of atmosphere and tone

Compelling characters and beautifully crafted story

Plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing

Negatives:

Repetitive gameplay loop might be boring to some players

Final sequence of the game can be extremely jarring.

I highly recommend checking The Painscreek Killings out if you are at all interested in mystery games. The game is normally around $20 on steam, but it's currently 75% off until June 24th.

[buldakdrama]

Upcoming Dramas in August 2023 that are a must watch!

It is never too early to get your calenders decorated with what will really keep you busy in the upcoming month and honestly, I am a huge procrastinator in almost every other subject except one... can you guess it? Yep, it's kdramas. I need to get that mental preparation running so I can be thrilled, haunted, humoured and of course, romanticised to the point of desperation. And if you are like me, then I can guarantee: August is going to be your month!

The First Responders 2

Starting with this sensational thriller that took us by storm with its first season, The First Responders is finally back with its sequel. We are finally going to be off that cliffhanger that made us lose our minds. As a fan of crime thrillers and *ahm-ahm* drool-able people in uniforms, can you imagine the sequences with firefighters and cops at play, together?! I am excited to see how their combined efforts will continue on the restless path of justice. Well, if somebody looks for me in August, you all have a clue now for where I would be.

This season will follow on the tracks of its prequel and air on Disney+ for all audiences and will take over the slot occupied previously by SBS' Revenant on Fridays and Saturdays.

Moving

Moving is a webtoon adaptation from Writer Kang Pool's webcomic. The story captures three high schoolers, who have superpowers that they want to hide from people. They, however, have inherited these powers from their parents who struggle to protect them from letting their powers be misused.

I'm not too empathetic about the latest inclination of kdramas towards webtoon adaptations but as an avid viewer, I cannot deny the crazy amount of interesting tales that have come to life from toons, all of which are a sight for sore eyes. But Moving really grabbed my attention from the distinct plot. I am expecting a lot of parent-child dynamic and a lot of (hopefully credible) action scenes.

Moving will be airing on Disney+ for all audiences.

My Dearest

Yet another period drama that will tug at your heartstrings. Set in the Joseon era during the Qing invasion, there is a great suffering of people from all works of life. In an unforeseen storytelling, love blooms in the ruckus between a man of complex character and dark secrets and an almost-too-confident noble lady. Will their journey be a smooth sailing or will it be overturned by storms? We'll have to see.

With the serene covers and the bright, picturesque snippets, I do feel a very strange conviction that we'll be dragged through the darkest angst in this series. I am praying that they won't pull a Scarlet Heart Ryeo with this one *cries in sad endings*.

My Dearest will be airing on the slot previously occupied by MBC's Numbers on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Killing Vote

Do the loosely tied law bindings sometimes call for extreme measures by the anonymous greater masses? Such happens in The Killing Vote when all citizens over 18 years old begin to get a polling message that makes them choose whether a person should receive the death penalty or not. If the majority votes in favour of the death penalty, the offender is then taken out by an anonymous masked persona. This stirs up the authorities and hence begins a blind pursue of a murderer in the facade of a lawless justice lender and the real national safeguards.

And we are at my favourite genre! This one is based on a webcomic too written by Eom Se-yoon. Ah, the way I am already jittery awaiting this drama. I feel like this has the potential to be one of the biggest dramas of 2023 or it could be a massive disappointment and a mess of plot holes. Either way, strap up your seat belts because this will be a ride for sure!

The Killing Vote will occupy the airing time of SBS Thursday's 21:00.

My Lovely Boxer

A story of a coerced bonding between a professionally ruthless Sports Agent and a lost boxer, who was previously undefeated in all her matches. Sports agent, Kim Tae-young begrudgingly takes the duty of bringing back the lost boxer, Lee Kwon-sook. Will he, whose strongest suit is extracting the most from his players, succeed in convincing someone who has no intention to return?

A sports drama with what I expect to be a painful back drops awaits us in My Lovely Boxer. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the developments that the two visibly hard headed characters will have. The action will be added bonus!

My Lovely Boxer will take over the slot previously occupied by Heartbeat on Mondays and Tuesdays.

How many of these are you going to watch? Or do you have already more dramas scheduled in your itineraries? Do let us know! I'll get the spicy chicken ready and you set up the dramas, okay? I'll see you next time.

- Admin Kiara

[eggs-love-loki]

Me: I’ll watch one episode of my hero after dinner that’ll be fun :)

Me three episodes later, having gone from crying earlier to just pure distress by the end: Well that was the worst choice ever