#he has so many opinions about the legos because I have been rewatching at his place for like 5 days

[legokingfisher]

My dad heard Rapton call Dorama a washed-up clown and now he won’t stop calling me a washed-up clown at every minor inconvenience

[totallynotokguys]

Lego Monkie Kid Rewatch: Season 2

Episode 7, The Shadow Play

I know I'm backtracking a bit, but this episode is just so ripe with angst and reveals such interesting things about Macaque and MK's character.

Before we dive in, I kindly ask you to throw away any notion you have that Macaque's words and opinions about other people is gospel truth. The guy is cool. His SSS (snark, sarcasm, smugness) levels are off the charts. His voice and design drips favourite character. But that doesn't make him right all the time, especially about other people. This simian's perspective on others is flawed. Like, VERY, DEEPLY FLAWED!

Now that we have that out of the way-

We open up with a very tired and anxious MK. Thanks to a certain SOMEONE, MK is plagued with dread that he isn't strong enough or good enough to be Monkey Kings successor.

He has also had the pleasure of seeing a hint of the danger to come and does not feel anywhere close to ready to protect his family. So MK has been training non-stop, sacrificing activities and hang outs he usually enjoys to try and be better.

Then in saunters Macaque, steals MK's friends and then proceeds to unload his deepest insecurities in true theater kid fashion.

Performance!!

MK walks out of the theater with Macaque's tale of abandonment ringing in his ears and calls Mei (who of course does not answer) and says "You guys just left me back there."

Just to be clear- MK's friends are gone and what does he think? That they left him! Also remember what happened in Sleepbug when MK walks into the shop and doesn't see his friends. He immediately says, "They've abandoned me."

No joke. That's what he thinks. A rational and well adjusted person would see their friends and family not around and think "Oh, they must be doing something else or had other plans."

But not MK! Our dear boy has self confidence issues (as Monkey King pointed out in s1ep1) and part of this lack of confidence manifests as a fear that the people he loves most could grow bored of him, stop caring about him, not see him as worthy anymore of their time. He fears abandonment.

Macaque doesn't see that, though. He sees MK's inaction to find his friends as MK not caring about them. He legit thinks MK didn't even "realise they were missing."

Why did Macaque think this? Why, when he was obviously spying on the kid (you saw that shadow slip by when he was calling Mei too, right?), did his brain jump to 'kid doesn't care about friends.'

Because Macaque is blinded by his own faulty perspective- in which Wukong is a power hungry peach brain who only cares about himself. And he projects that onto MK because he thinks that MK must be just like Wukong.

(Thus falling into the same trap that nearly everyone else falls into, including MK… That MK is just another Monkey King).

'Wait', you say. 'Faulty perspective? No, Macaque is totally right about Monkey King. He did abandon Macaque in search of more power and was only thinking about himself!'

Ah, I see you failed to throw away your pesky lil notion that Macaque as a cool character and thus must always be right. Here, let me help!

Remember how Macaque describes his story?

"You saw a story about a hero who got handed everything, who didn't have to work for anything? And you thought you were the other guy?"

Did you catch it? The hero got handed everything? Didn't have to work for anything?…

… How many years did Monkey King have to train to learn the 72 transformations and immortality? How many demons and celestials did Monkey King have to fight to gain enough respect for everybody to stop trying to pulverise him and destory his kingdom? How long was the Monkey King stuck inside of a burning cauldron for him to gain his fiery red, golden eyes of truth? How many demons and trials did he have to go through in his journey west to become a better person?

What about Monkey King's entire life does Macaque think was easy?!

Just because Monkey King is overpowered now does not mean he had it (or even still has it) easy.

Macaque is just so, so bitter against Monkey King that he lets that anger and rage literally overshadow how he sees the rest of the world.

So yeah. Moral of this story is MK has some serious insecurities towards feeling of worthiness and belonging (no one who feels they belong thinks they have been abandoned at a drop of a hat, this poor kid) and Macaque projects his own insecurities and bitterness onto the world around him.

The way a lantern projects its shadows across a stage. How poetic.

[bogkeep]

last year i wrote my opinions on all the movies i watched on my Very Long Flights to australia, since long flights are a great opportunity to watch some movies i probably wouldn't have bothered to seek out otherwise. here's the stuff i watched this time around

the first 13 episodes of rurouni kenshin: okay so back when i watched demon slayer for the first time i asked around like "does anyone know any other Good Sword Animes. i'm in a big mood for Sword Anime" and a friend told me that they were going to tell me about THE sword anime, but with a BIG caveat. and the caveat was such that i went "ah yeah maybe i won't look into that one". i've since heard more about this series and been very curious about the story, because it sounds like My Shit. i figured in-flight entertainment is probably one of the more ethical ways to watch it, and i have confirmed that it is indeed My Shit. extremely skilled swordsman torn between his bloody past and a new life? he can win any fight, but at the cost of his soul? yeah. yeah. will say that the subtitles left in a lot of japanese terms and words that i think i would've greatly benefited to know the meaning of - like i figured it out from context eventually, but yeah. so Now I Know. at least my curiosity is sated.

the new wonka movie - it was Fine! i appreciated the sincere efforts of whimsy and trying to stick to a roald dahl-esque tone, though in hindsight it's ENTIRELY too magical and sugary sweet (hah). could definitely have done without the fatphobia - something that is very present in the source material, so i shouldn't have been surprised that it features in the prequel, too... it just made me go "nooo noooOooooo don't do that uuughhh noooooooooooooooooooo" a lot. honestly, as far as vibes go, this movie reminded me the most of the first f*ntastical beasts movie (you know, the one that came out in 2016, when we were still young and innocent) - like, decently charming, very cgi.

the old willy wonka movie - i had never seen this one before, and it provided me a lot of context for the New movie :') now THIS really hits the Unhinged Dangerous vibes the new movie lacked. easily the best played willy wonka. a grand old time. i <3 practical effects.

3/4ths of the barbie movie rewatch - is the barbie movie still fun to watch, even after a year of Essays and Takes? i think so. i was in a practical effects mood and had less than two hours left of my flight. like, it's The Barbie Movie. it will never be That Deep because it cannot escape its corporate mainstreamness, but i love the actual play-pretend whimsy and exorbitant amount of pink paint and funky outfits.

killers of the flower moon - i'd considered watching this on my previous flight, i had heard of the movie and put it on my to-watch list, but the THREE HOURS AND TWENTY SIX MINUTES runtime scared me off. not because i didn't have time (my flights were 12 hours and 7,5 hours respectively), but because i knew it was gonna be Heavy and Depressing and you gotta have the right mood for three hours of That. both of my flights had the exact same entertainment catalogues i gave it a try first thing on flight #2, knowing i don't have to finish it if i don't want. it was very good but oh boy heavy and depressing was correct! really good buildup of dread and despair as the web of murder closes in like water circling the sink. very good period piece, and everything i've read about it after indicates that martin scorsese worked very closely with the osage people to create this movie.

the lego movie rewatch - this is one of my favourite movies that i've seen many times but haven't in a while, and after the Three Hours And Twenty Six Minutes of indigenous people getting poisoned and murdered i REALLY needed something light-hearted. i was also severely sleep deprived at this point. all this to say that i was almost overwhelmed by how fun this movie is and kept tearing up at almost every scene. it's just such a good time!!!! my critique of this movie has always been that it has two tropes that annoy me - the "highly competent girl is reduced to an assistant for the clueless 'chosen one' dude" and "person who has changed their name goes back to use their ~*real name*~ because it's more valid than whatever they picked" - that only annoy me because of how prevalent they used to be at the time when this movie came out. in isolation, the story works really well and i still like it so so much. everything is awesome!!!!!!

anyway those are my movie thoughts

[mirrorfalls]

Lego Liveblogs ST: TOS, part 25 (of who-the-hell-knows-how-many?)

Depending on how far you want to stretch the term, so far we’ve seen the Enterprise crew visit anywhere from one to a half-dozen self-proclaimed “Paradises” - none of which really lived up to the name. Will This Side of Paradise be any different? Let’s find out.

* A surprise group of survivors on a mission that was supposed to have ended in disaster? Now where have we seen that before...? * And the Head Colonist instantly brushes off the slightest concerns! Another strike. * “We have harmony here. Complete peace.” Aaaaand strike three, you’re out. Tell me you have an interesting Purge Night, at least. * So this is the show’s first Spock’s-old-flame story - and with Pon Farr still months from being dreamed up. Expectations suitably lowered. * “There seems to be a total absence of life on the planet, with the exception of the colonists and various types of flora.” Like with Shore Leave, I’d like to ask what’s pollinating all the flora, but I get a feeling I’m going to regret finding out. ** “There's enough [crops] to sustain the colony, but very little more.” I’m not sure this works all that well as a red flag, though - these colonies are all supposed to be self-sustaining, it’s not like they have a market to take their surplus to. * Nono, wait, don’t tell me, there’s a giant Evil Computer keeping them all healthy in exchange for monthly sacrifices, isn’t there? * “What you're describing was once known in the vernacular as a happiness pill.” Maybe on Vulcan, but I believe Earth calls it drugs, Spock. * Okay now I remember what Tumblr imageset I first saw this episode through and I cannot wait to get to that scene * You know, I don’t think Kirk ever got this angry at Spock when he was committing literal, death penalty-tier treason with the entire ship. * Huh, Kirk can resist the LSD flowers for... some reason. Okay, I guess we need someone to carry the back half of the plot. ** All the same, dude, might’ve been a good idea to pack a Phaser. * Uhura does a damn fine HAL 9000 * Anyway - this is Kirk well and truly alone, and even if Tumblr’s already spoiled me on how he wins the day, it still comes off as a bigger challenge than even Khan or all the God-Aliens the ship’s run into so far. Extra points for the worldbuilding behind it all, which actually stands up to more than five seconds of scrutiny. * “Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is.” Okay, this is a decent slice of the Kirk we saw in Space Seed, with all the y’know-was-the-abusive-megalomaniac-really-that-bad? bits thankfully shown the door. * Unironically: this is the closest the show’s come so far to making me cry. ** (Even if some small, South Park-addled bit of my brain can’t stop thinking of this as a Hard-Hitting Metaphor for Shatner driving away all his costars in real life.) * And our big counteractant to the LSD flowers is... Strong Emotion! In other words, this whole ep is another fucking remake of The Cage! ** (There are also the Implications of Kirk’s all-important emotion trigger being a Starfleet medal, which I’ll leave you to decide for yourselves.) * “Aroused, his great physical strength could kill.” Hurhurhurs to your left, folks. ** But seriously - I think Kirk could’ve gotten some quicker mileage out of talking Uhura into putting the ship’s comms back so he can radio Starfleet HQ for backup. Tell her you’re recruiting more settlers if you have to! ** Or just punch out Spock’s lady-friend to trigger his “ThE WoMeN!” instincts * Oh, well - a pipe worked well enough against Khan, Spock shouldn’t be that differ- ** I WAS WRONG I WAS HORRIBLY WRONG * Okay, I know there’s no way they’re actually going to kill Kirk, but couldn’t they have waited more than two seconds after the ad break to deflate all that tension? ** (Also left for you to decide yourselves: whether this episode is out to teach the, er, moral of “It’s okay to be racist for a good cause!”) * Miss, this is Very Sad and everything, but have you considered that maybe Spock just doesn’t like you without drugs fucking him up? ** In all seriousness, though - I do have some sympathy for her. Of all the planets Kirk and co. have visited and “fixed”, this is probably the most innocent one yet; no, it wasn’t nice of the settlers to drug the crew and induct them into the commune, but it’s not like staying on the planet poses any actual danger to them. If Kirk was willing to give Khan a slap on the wrist and leave him to his own planet last ep, the least he could do is the same for these guys. * Aaaanyways... let’s watch this idyllic little co-op meet the fate all co-ops meet within six months. Tops. ** (If all it took to break the LSD flowers’ hold was an annoying noise, couldn’t Kirk have just played a tape of Lieutenant Riley’s singing for everyone?) * And here’s the Bones scene. Somehow I didn’t realize ‘til now it’s not Kirk who gives him the “we don’t need you, not as a doctor” talk. * Welp, for better or worse it’s all ended now. Ended with an extra dose of Sunday School on top. And these guys didn’t even walk out with astounding new knowledge about the Universe, so I’d say Adam and Eve got the better deal. ** ... so you guys did take a sample of those flowers along to research all their miraculous health benefits, right? Right?

As a suspense/thriller exercise it ain’t half-bad, and I stick to my opinion that Kirk strolling a completely empty Enterprise at the halfway point is quite possibly the most haunting scene we’ve gotten out of the show so far, but like so many other promising eps, the back half doesn’t quite deliver on the setup. Instead of building to a moral or theme in any satisfactory way, we get a quick Deus ex Machina punctuated with a big Kirk-Spock punchup that - if sources are to be believed - Season Two will do better, anyway. Evens out to a maybe-watch on a rainy day.

Next: The Best Episode, according to at least three VIPS on this show... after a week's intermission, because your humble rewatcher is about to get mutilated by the Bar. Later.

[vergilboyfriend]

You should do all of them questions and 90 is true

I love you!!!!

1. Favorite instrument?

I work at a music store u can’t just ask me this. When my coworkers play it’s the saxophone or the flute, when the boys in the repair shop are testing repairs and they harmonize with each other or try to outplay one another it’s the bassoon or the trombone or whatever they’re fixing at the moment. When I hear 🎺 give his lesson on Wednesday afternoons it’s the trumpet, and when I think about middle school it’s the clarinet, the flute, the French horn. When I hear the nutcracker pas des deux is the oboe and when I hear edith piaf l’accordeoniste it’s the remarkable human voice. Really my favorite instrument is all of them, it just depends.

2. Favorite fic trope? Mutual pining 🥺

3. Sport you played for the longest amount of time? LMAO I wasn’t a sporty kid but I did ballet

4. Shoe size? 10-11

5. Most recent (good) dream? Uhh I had a dream last night about my coworker 🎹 it wasn’t bad though I can’t really remember what it was about

6. Last person in your DMs? smugg

7. Can you do a handstand? Nooo nooo lmaoo nooooo

8. Unpopular food opinion I don’t like oranges or red meat

9. Conspiracy you believe in? There’s some kind of weird weather dome in my hometown around the military base that makes most storms pass around us

10. Is your hair its natural color/style? Most of it is I dyed the bottom layer of my hair tho so it’s blonde rn

11. state a useless fact all that’s coming to mind is outright lies rn hold on. The inventor of pringles is buried in a pringles can that’s so fucking nasty omg

12. most interesting gossip you’ve heard? Idk I don’t really care for gossip uhhhh have u heard tho rin dippindogs is a huge gay hah she uhh she like men AND women lmao gaaay gaaaay

13. Middle name? Carolyn

14. Sexuality? Bisexual

15. Amount of sleep you got last night? Idk actually I think like 9-10 hrs tho I slept in until 11

16. Opinion on ice cream cake? Tasty!!!

17. Opinion on (cup)cake frosting? It’s depends buttercream is usually too sweet for me in large amounts so I prefer whipped cream frosting

18. Last board game you played? Idk??? We played hunt a killer tho last Thursday me n my family I guess that counts kinda

19. Project you want to start? I need ideas first baby

20. Project you’re working on right now? HAHAHAHAHAHA

21. TV show you’re watching? nothing rn I just rewatch bojack a lot if I watch anything

22. Last movie you watched? Lego batman I think

23. Ever left anon hate? Not legit hate

24. Ever left anon love? Yes all the time. Sometimes to strangers it’s my favorite thing to do

25. Best Disney movie? The princess and the frog

26. Best Pixar movie? Soul or Up I can’t decide

27. Best Star Wars? Um. Empire strikes back

28. Last thing you consumed? Fuit gumy

29. NoTP? Idk I don’t really hate ships unless they’re gross like pedophilic gross

30. story behind your (nick)name? When I was a fetus my great grandfather had a dream that my name should be Carolyn Marie but my parents were huge dweebs so they named me Marina after the actress of Deanna Troi in Star Trek. Idk about my nickname ive just always been Rina/Rin as long as I can remember

31. ice cream order? Lately it’s lemon sorbetto I know it’s SO high in sugar but I love it

32. describe your blog in <5 words I love you

33. how many blogs do you follow? 436

34. Describe your voice it depends usually I sound like a sick child but my customer service voice is really pleasant

35. Describe your smile it’s cute :)

36. What is the place you live known for? LMAOOO LMAO we have a military base nearby and like. I could go on abt that one but also like. There’s a lot of gang violence and a lot of the other consequences of poverty. People from the cities around us see us as “””ghetto””” or violent but it’s just. It’s more than that it’s always more than that. And idk what else there’s nothing really particularly special about this town except that we’re all here and not anywhere else

37. What is the place you’re originally from known for? (if they’re different)

38. pronouns? she/any idc

39. Languages you speak? English

40. first friend you made through tumblr? Idk. I probably don’t talk to them anymore :(

41. Person on tumblr you know in real life? my brother

42. First dog breed you think of shih tzu I have 2 next to me rn

43. room wall color? Purble!!!! The paint color is called grape juice that’s why I picked it!!!

44. Song that’s stuck in your head right now? It’s tricky to rock a rhyme to rock a rhyme that’s right on time it’s trickyyyyy

45. Favorite number? 5, 34

46. Color you associate with your name? Red

47. Favorite jolly rancher flavor?watermelon

48. Pets? 2 dogs rocket and groot and 4 cats loki danni who r from the same litter and we raised from kittens, miss kitty who we adopted from a shelter after my boy blue moon passed away and ben (his real name is Kylo Ren thanks to my mom but I refuse to call him that) he is my little baby and he has 7 toes on his front paws

49. Collections? Hot wheels

50. Character outside of your fandom you’d marry? Girl what lmaooo idk

51. Character outside of your fandom you’d kill? That’s mean :(

52. Have you met any celebrities? NO thank god id have to kill on sight

53. Favorite time period in history? Itslian Renaissance & Romantic Era

54. What time is it right now? 2:35 am oops

55. History or future? Future but like . A good one. Or prehistory

56. Space or ocean? Space

57. Fears? Abandonment

58. Command + v and post. It’s this list of questions u don’t want that

59. Favorite season? Spring

60. Describe your aesthetic. Messy just a mess, neon and old buildings and things, antiques, countryside if there weren’t so many trump pence flags still lmaoo give uppp give up, nature just al of nature and space and places humans can’t touch and places they used to touch but can’t anymore

61. MBTI? Infp but I haven’t taken it in a few years

62. What’s your relationship with your family like? Normal.

63. “Biggest fan” in your tumblr activity? I’m in mobile hold on acc to tumblr it’s akky

64. Favorite musical? Sweeney todd

65. Comfort book? Idk how to read 💔💔💔 wuthering heights tho

66. Comfort movie? Whisper of the heart

67. OTP? Girl idk

68. BroTP? Joey and Tristan yugioh

69. AUs or canon compliant? Canon ig idk

70. Opinion on the person who’s sending the ask? It’s an anon!! But I love them

71. FMK + 3 characters anon didnt leave any characters and I was going to say something very bad but I won’t

72. Dream date? I’ve wanted to do this for a while but ideally it would be after we’d been together a while maybe even engaged or whatever, I wanna go to like a Home Depot or a furniture store and pretend to be married and looking for house paints and furniture and plan what our home is going to look like I wanna do that so bad. But idk for a first/early relationship date i really want to go to the zilker botanical garden it’s one of my favorite places, we could also go to the natural gardener which is a plant nursery in Austin I really love it there too and it’s not that far from zilker.

73. Relationship status? Single

74. Ever dyed your hair? Do you plan to? Yes and perhaps. Maybe

75. Dream job/career? Idk anymore I used to have big girl goals and I haven’t had any in a while. But when I was younger I wanted to be a game warden

76. Favorite band/singer? Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

77. Something that makes you soft/that you find adorable? My cats

78. The first thing you would do if you won the lottery? Buy a house

79. Are you superstitious? Yes

80. Character you project onto? Shizuku tsukishima

81. Fictional character you’ve had a crush on? Vergil devil may cry. Forever husband

82. Celebrity crush? LMAO

83. Person on here you’d date? my mutuals

84. Person on here you’d marry? 🥺 my mutuals

85. Person on here you’d throw into the void? Smugg

86. Other social media you have? I’ve got a photography insta that I barely use and a Twitter that’s just nintendo switch screenies that’s it

87. Finish the sentence: Due to personal reasons, ___________i will be passing away

88. Bad habit? I find it rlly hard to say no or like to say when and why I’m upset I don’t feel like for the latter I don’t feel like I should bring something that’s upsetting me up because I know I’ll get over it on my own and I don’t really trust myself to be upset about rational things. Idk I’m working on it

89. Three things you like about yourself? I’m hot, I’m kind, I’m resilient

90. Ily and you deserve the world I love you!!!!! YOU deserve it too!!!

[parachutingkitten]

Season 1 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challanged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Mood for this season: Logic? Nahh...

I'm taking three film classes right now, I only rip it apart because I love it! (Sry, if I seem a little overly critical at times)

So, let's start with some background (you get to learn about me, yay! This is what you came here for. Right?). When the original series (seasons 1 and 2) came out in 2012, my little brother, at the age of six, was THE target audience for lego ninjas that you could battle and spin really really fast. I... am five years older than him. He collected sets, and he even bought me a spinner pack with the "girl character", the "blue one", and one of the skeletons so that I could play with him. To this day they are the only legos I own, but they sit in an altoids tin in my night stand. It was right before our family moved to Germany (we're a military family btw) that our parents purchased the disk episodes of seasons one and two. When you live in Europe, you tend to want to do a LOT of traveling. Every weekend, I kid you not, we went to another country. Which means road trips. And road trips mean movies. I would always let my brother choose what we watched, because he was the one who would get fussy and upset, so we watched a lot of Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar, and a LOT of Cars (as in plural movies. I quote Cars 2, regularly), but the thing we watched most often was those niniago DVDs. Because you could just auto play those episodes one after another for a seemingly endless movie that would last until you arrived. So, I've seen these episodes a few times. Like, A LOT of times. Drilling these episodes into my mind over and over is what made me obsessed with it later (but we'll talk about that when we get to season 3).

Upon rewatching... they are exactly as I remember. There were no real surprises, so I don't feel like I have too much to say shock value wise, but that doesn't mean I don't have anything to say.

Plot

I've made a joke post about this before, but season one does fall into the treasure hunt formula. Find a fang blade. Lose it. Look for next one. Repeat for the next few episodes. Same thing can be said for the true potential. Find what holds them back emotionally, overcome it by the end of the episode to save the person/people you needed to fix your relationship with, glowing orb/pillar to make you certifiably awesome. For four. Episodes. Straight. Even if you space out the episodes where the ninja get their true potential, or when they find the fang blades, it would keep you on your toes a bit more. This being said... it does greatly help to give every episode a PLOT purpose. Every one of those "previously on ninjago" recaps was shoving a bunch of stuff in there. Most ninjago episodes do serve a purpose (except of course the atrocity that is the first half of season two - we WILL get to that next time) at least character development wise, but it is nice to have meaningful plot development too and keep a consistent pace throughout the season. This season certainly keeps up the pace. There is not an episode you can just miss. Even with the recap, you would still probably be confused. One thing that NO OTHER SEASON has over this one, hands down (aside from season 9 maybe, idk yet) is flow from season to season. Planning benefits this season GREATLY. It carries over things from the pilot, and sets up more to come in the next season. Watch them all together and it flows more naturally than any other season bookends. (Although I will say all the ninjago season transitions are smoother than any of Chima's [I will not touch that rabbit hole EVER again])

Characters

Character interaction is AMAZING this season. You really get to know the characters and feel all their growth equally. Every. One. Of. Them.

Think about it, Wu has an arc with his brother, Lloyd has an arc with the green ninja, Nya has an arc as samurai x, and it goes without saying that all of our regulars have an arc. And... that's about it. Those are all the characters. And I think that's why this season works so well.

You have four main characters, a handful of side characters, and they all get time and focus. Everyone has something to do during this season. As the season's go on and we accumulate more and more characters there's less screentime to go around, and the characters can suffer for it. There's a reason by season 6 they were literally REMOVING characters from the show. They don't have time to get distracted by Kai and his petty problems and drama this season, cuz Jay needs some focus for once, and we'd like to give him a little development gosh darn it! But I'm getting ahead of myself. This season works really well. Just because I feel like I should, I'm going to give you a breakdown on my feelings on new characters as they pop up or change dramatically, and because this is the first season, that means we get to do it for... all the characters! So here we go.

Nya

She's good this season. She's the most responsible in the group. The samurai x reveal was handled really well. Making all the ninja jealous of her really worked to give her credibility. She's just the right amount of strong and independent while still retaining her femininity. It goes WAY down hill when season 3 hits, but as for season 1 Nya I actually really enjoy her.

Wu

I mean... what are you going to say? He's Wu? Anyone have a problem with Wu? No? Good, moving on.

Kai

So... this is where my bias comes out. Quick piece of info, my elemental personality is water... so like the opposite of fire. I see a little bit of myself in each of the ninja... except Kai. And I think that's why he's my least favorite. Don't get me wrong! I don't hate Kai or anything! He's got some good lines (episode 5 comes to mind) he's adorkable enough. It's not hard to play or to write a hot head, but it's hard to play or write a hot head that I personally enjoy. I think what Kai is missing for me personally is the tripping over himself because of his attitude, and sarcasm. Sarcasm and sass. It's there, it's just not as prevalent as I personally would like it. He has a lot of opportunities and theoretical development, I'm not sure too many of them were taken advantage of fully, or maybe they just didn't read the way I personally can grasp it, but none of it felt very completed or meaningful. Like I said, I'm a water gal, so maybe I just can't relate and that's why it's not as powerful. I'd be interested to see your rankings of the ninja and how they line up with your own elemental personality. There's got to be a correlation there, right?

Conclusion, just not for me

Cole

Cole and Jay are tied for second favorite in general. It fluctuates from season to season depending on what's going on, but for season 1 Jay has Cole beat. I think the only reason just being screen time. Goodness knows Cole has been a bit neglected in that category, but hey. He's still really good for what he's got. I think in real life I probably act the most like Cole. I try to be serious, responsible and a leader and then I just get goofy sometimes. I love his true potential episode! It's funny, and heartwarming, and the only episode actually about him, so it's fun to see!

Conclusion, just needs more love

Jay

Jay is then, my second favorite for the season. He's funny. What else can I say? Personal opinion; Jay freakouts are the best this season. Especially at the climax. He just has that pure goofball-ness to him this season that makes his humor not annoying and actually relatable and funny. I also love his family to death! He loves them, he knows it, we know it, and the interactions between them are precious! It really is the way he plays off of other people that makes him enjoyable. He has a lot more dry humor here than other season, which I am partial to. I've got some kinks to work out with this one in later seasons but for now, he's good.

Conclusion, No, I'm the real Jay!

Zane

...My baby! Especially this season he is so innocent, loving, caring, and mysterious that I can't help but love the heck out of this guy! I am a sucker for a good mystery! He has this whole other world he's a part of with his "sixth sense" and falcon and running away at night. It's unique and special to him and it's really cool! Plus, there is SO much ATMOPHERE that comes with this guy and MAN I LOVE it! It's all just so beautiful. I love interactions between him and Jay, I love his mutual respect with Cole, I love EVERYTHING. This season and the next have the most growth for him, and it shows.

Conclusion, there's a reason we call him the pure one

Romance

Kinda adding this one last minute, but I think it needs to be here. All we got this season is Jay and Nya but BOY has their relationship changed! This is the single one thing that caught me off guard. I forgot what their relationship, especially before Jay's true potential, is like. Honestly, I love it! They're so awkward and clumsy around each other at first, and then grow into this understanding couple of one another. There's not too much emphasis on it, but it's sprinkled in everywhere. I like it! Maya approved!

Villians

The devourer arc is one of my favorites. Maybe it's the nostalgia tingles at work again, but the snakes are ninjago's quintessential villains. Nothing can ever hope to replace them. It feels natural in the plot, they have their own culture and beliefs, and their motivation makes sense. You have your legitimately scary villains and bumbling comic villians in perfect balance. Scales starting as second in command was an amazing call. It proves he has power he's earned, is not easily put down and sets up his lust for power to be explored later. Pythor. Oh man oh man Pythor. I am a sucker for ATMOSPHERE and his introduction is BEAUTIFUL. Utilizes the rule of 3s and completely subverts your expectations with that eerie empty tomb. I love it! So manipulative! So sly! They aren't my all time favorite villians, but they're certainly among the best the show has to offer.

Garmadon is also there. He's half good half bad... sorta. Idk. He's not especially interesting, at least compared to the snakes and what they're up to. Let's be honest, he's just waiting around to get awesome in season 2 ;) I do like when he comes in with all the skeletons like, "yeah, no one likes you. Screw snakes!" Only to walk that COMPLETELY back next season, but you know. Whatever.

Lloyd... should I put him here? He's enjoyably annoying for a little bit... and then just annoyingly annoying. It's not too bad. He has some redeeming moments. Once he's the green ninja and has some responsibility on his shoulders, he gets a lot better.

Climax

... I love it. I don't know what else to say. It's tense, it has proper build up, the threat is real, they get desperate, they come up with a creative solution, they work together, there are stakes, there's good action, good drama, good humor. I don't have any complaints. I can't touch this one. There are minor things, but I don't think they're worth bringing up. Go watch it. It's freaking awesome. Enough said.

Humor

Pretty good this season. There are a few eye roll lines, but that's in all the seasons. Things can get kinda stupid, but for the most part, especially some of the more subtle humor really works.

Favorite line of the season, Cole's "I don't like metaphors" episode 11 - All of Nothing. You're welcome.

Drama

Not overly saturated this season, which is kinda nice. I mean, there's always "drama" but as far as heavy stuff, we have Zane's whole crisis thing, and then the Garmadon family reunion. I'll get to how I feel about the Zane stuff down below. As for the Garmadon stuff... it's fine. Gets a lot better next season, but for now... fine.

Spotlight Episode

So for every season I'll choose one episode that stood out to me to either praise or criticize in detail. There are a lot of episodes that come to mind for season 1 for one reason or another. The one about the power of rumors (also known as the pink ninja episode), lloyd rescuing the team, Cole's true potential is a classic episode with a good mix of heart and comedy, and of course THE FINALE, but because I am biased, and because I am a sucker for personal drama, season one's spotlight episode is episode 7, Tick tock, Zane's true potential. This was by far the episode me and my brother watched together the most. Aside from the movie Cars, it's probably the one piece of media we have scene the most times together. The episode begins by establishing Wu leaving, the ninja are at a loss of what to do and then... THE FALCON. Best character this season! XD seriously, the falcon theme is one of, if not my favorite piece of music in the show. Certainly the most memorable. And most importantly it kicks in the ATMOSPHERE! Have I mentioned ATMOSPHERE?

ATMOSPHERE

I am a sucker for some good ATMOSPHERE (no, I will not stop spelling it in all caps), and BOY the falcon chase scene! Zane is slowly taken away from his team members in order to reflect upon himself, and as he runs through the snow by himself to follow this bird you can see his determination, curiosity, desperation, and just that Zane factor that makes you go "awww, my child! He must be protected!" (Even though, you know, he was built to protect and all that) but just AGHH! I can't put into words for beautiful this whole sequences is! Go watch it right now! Look at that beautiful Zane! Listen to that music! That FREAKING MUSIC AGGHHHHHH! I LOVE IT SO AGGRESSIVELY! LISTEN TO IT! LIKE SERIOUSLY, LISTEN, HERE'S THE LINK!

https://youtu.be/2p07cgwwYws

It makes my heart SO happy! Idk if I'm the only one who feels that way about this scene but oh... oh how it gets me. Every. Time. Michael Kramer and Jay Vincent are freAKING GODS!

Okay. I'm done with the falcon chase. Now onto, like... the part of the episode people care about. The tree house, again, an amazing location. Unique, and mysterious, and as soon as he walks in, you just get this sense of memory. The flash back is ADORABLE and the others finding him... I think this was handled pretty well. Their reactions seem genuine (I mean, I would want to get out of there as soon as humanly possible too XD) and you can feel the genuine concern from all of the ninja, trying to help their buddy out in their own ways.

Zane's true potential feels really earned, and his thing that holds him back was established as soon as the series began. He was different and weird and he didn't know where he came from. Coming to accept what he is, accepting his past and finding an identity of his own is what gives him the power to unlock it.

Now, just for fun and because I know I'm going to hear it in the comments like "why is Zane's discovery of identity more valid than anyone else's? What about Kai! His true potential is entirely based on finding his purpose!" And yes. Theoretical commentor you make a valid point, but I think the key difference is in the identity they find when they unlock it.

Zane accepts his personality, his past, and his robotic nature as himself and can be proud of who he is as his own person. The thing that held him back was vague and sort of indefinable, and what he became afterwards was concrete, solid, and dependable. That's why you feel like the character has gotten stronger.

Kai goes in the opposite direction. The thing that holds him back is that he wants to be the green ninja. That's solid and concrete. The problem then becomes that you know exactly how the potential will play out. He's going to face something, discover he's not the green ninja, and come to terms with it. And his ending identity is much more vague. His purpose is to protect the green ninja... okay, what does that mean? What kind of a person does that make you? He didn't change as a person, his views about a certain topic where changed. Those are two very different levels of progress.

And I know you can argue that it wasn't the green ninja thing he needed to get past, he needed to get past his pride and all that, but even if you make that argument that conclusion is harder to reach and less apparent than Zane's progress as a character. Zane's progress is entirely centered on him. Kai's progress will never be separated from Lloyd. Just watch the episode. It feels like a Lloyd episode. I remember thinking the first time I watched it when he came out of the volcano "wait... what was his true potential? Why is this happening?"

Anyway, that's my little soap box rant. I hope I didn't offend too many Kai fans. Again, it's probably just my water bias coming into play. I know there's a frame work in place for development of all these characters, and every single one of them gets an arc and theoretically everything should work out and make sense and work beautifully and perfectly, but sometimes when you step back and look at it, it's just a matter of "but does it work?" And maybe it's a matter of opinion, but Kai's potential didn't work for me.

I've been on this way to long. I'm stopping now.

Misc

I really like the suits this season. They're all unique and the masks... compliment the Lego head shape nicely? Does that make sense? It makes them look a bit cuter. Anyone else see that? Idk, maybe I'm just going crazy.

Watch this season thinking about how the snakes become good in season 3...

I want more of the Pink ninja.

I love scales and his slight incompetence. Not total, just slight.

This exchange:

Pythor: I hardly have any friends

Lloyd: Woah! I hardly have any friends too!

Pythor: You don't say!

All together I really like this season. Light hearted, funny, good action and characters. Not super compelling or anything, but it doesn't need to be. Second best season for nostalgia tingles in general, third best for me personally. Most of this is a matter of opinion, so don't fret too much over anything I say. I'd love to see your thoughts/rankings/comments/disagreements in the notes! That's the point of this thing!

If there are any aspects of the season I skipped, let me know, I'm not perfect.

Thanks for reading! And if you got this far... I don't know. Work the word saxophone into your comment. Bonus points if it makes sense!

-Maya (a.k.a. parachutingkitten)

[mcrmadness]

Movies, I love movies...

Okay, it's happening again. Getting addicted to thing, I mean. And wanting to share my addiction and shout it to the world but not having even friends to open up to... So, Tumblr, here I'm again, basically talking to walls I guess but it's okay 'cause I've got used to it. (Basically my whole life has been that idk.)

I've had flu for the past 4 days so I've just stayed at home watching tv all day. Yesterday I started feeling like watching those (newer) Marvel movies that I haven't watched before so yesterday, I started with Iron Man 2 (which I also have had on dvd for years but have never watched that) and watched couple of movies I hadn't seen yet and now I'm pissed because I want to watch more and on Netflix (Finland at least) there's every Captain America movie but I really don't want to watch the third one when there's two other movies between them BUT THOSE ARE NOT ON NETFLIX and I don't know what I'm gonna do with my life. I want to watch more but I just hate to do things in "wrong order", no ocd here (at least something that ISN'T mental in my life wooohoo), but it's just something I like and what makes me happy. But also annoyed sometimes. You know, I have the second Thor on dvd (I might have a little obsession with pairings and I regretted buying that dvd but I did it just because of the pairing, now how pathetic is that? :DDDDDDD) but I don't have the first one. And every time I see that dvd at supermarkets I just WANT to buy it so bad because it looks stupid to have only tje 2nd in my shelf but I don't want to buy it because only thing I like in that movie is Loki and, yeah, I don't want the DVD but I want it. Struggle is real!!!!!!!!

...so I need to see more but I guess I have to start searching for the missing movies as DVDs in order to watch the rest if the movies on Netflix 😐 (One day, I swear, I will buy that first Thor dvd so it doesn't look so idiotic to have just Thor2 next to Iron Man and Iron Man 2 dvds hnnnnngh---)

Also I struggled because I felt like watching all of the movies in order but I didn't feel like rewatching some of them and I couldn't stop thinking about how this comes after this which I have seen but a long time ago argh what am i gonna do??? Well ended up just rewinding them to see if I remember everything and to see if I had watched through the end credits too.

[[[HERE I NEEDED THE READ MORE LINK BUT FORGOT HOW TO ADD IT ON MOBILE??? Or did the app just change?]]]

About the Marvel movies overall... Well I grew up with "superhero movies" and I'll always be tru Batman fan and I'll avoid this reboot of the DC franchise as I'm this stupid avoid-all-what's-mainstream kinda person who loves to stick to the "old stuff", and I've also watched lots of Marvel movies and have collected some of those on dvds as well.

I'm proudly one of those who love the original Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire. For me it's special because I was 13 or so when I first saw it on tv and it touched me because I was heavily bullied and rejected at school and it just made me feel better to see someone going through bullying and then finally defending themselves.

X-Men was also another trilogy that I used to watch and that I liked a lot and I still do. I have each of them on dvd. X-Men are still my favorite from Marvel and I grew a huge obsession to Deadpool a while before his first movie and there's no turning back, I'm still a huge fan and can't wait for the second movie and if had to talk using internet slang, DP would probably be my spirit animal. I'm still annoyed he has to be just a comic book character but fortunately we have Ryan Reynolds there somewhere which is almost like having the real DP in this world.

With the newer movies... Idk why they never got me. Maybe it's the same as with Batman: I love the Batman universe but I act like no other DC universe existed and I ALWAYS hated Superman (Lego Batman would be proud wait what?) when I was a kid so I guess it was same thing with the X-Men for me. And Spider-Man. Actually I think it's this my issue with not being able to adjust to new things that easily that made me not to be interested in those newer movies and I just stuck to the X-Men franchise and spent my energy for new things with Nolan's Batman trilogy.

I don't even know why and when I got that Iron Man dvd but must have been my first newer-Marvel dvd. I guess Robert Downey Jr. was the biggest reason and honestly, I still don't know if I like Iron Man because of Iron Man or because of Robert Downey Jr. 🤔 Anyway, I like Iron Man best from all these and I actually have liked all three movies too. For me they've been more interesting than... the rest? (of what I've seen so far.)

At first I was also annoyed by Captain America's character and I don't even know why. He seemed so negative for some reason - remember that at that time I had seen him only in the Avengers movie - but actually both of what I watched today were pretty interesting. (And I found a ship and can't see anything from behind it anymore. Probably the reason why these movies got so much more interesting so fast..... Sorry, can't help myself.)

I guess the only movies I didn't like that much were both Thor movies and Avengers. Why? Thor is basically a love story and I can't stand love stories and I can't understand love or romance. So I'm just fed up with all that cheesy romantic love story that I just wanna puke. I don't remember if the second movie was any better. I've watched it only once. But I rewinded it today and it seemed boring, mainly cause I could remember every scene as I saw the little images. And Avengers then? Well it's okay, I guess I just was so inspired by Loki's "You're free from freedom" speech that it woke up the anarchist in me that I can't remember anything but Loki and how I melted into another identity crisis and started hating society for not having freedom over my own life because some idiot once invented money and rules. (I'm too kind you know...) Otherwise it was bit cheesy and cliché, I was able to "predict" what's gonna happen so I was probably great company while watching the movie because I couldn't keep my mouth shut and kept telling what happens and "didn't I just say???" and kept criticizing everything they did cause HOW MUCH MORE WRONG CAN YOU GET? Like what about CPR instead of watching your friend die who didn't even die, what about pulse or breath, you know?

But I don't think these are that bad at all. It's just. Funny to see how the plots are usually built the same way. Evil vs good, two different plots told to the audience and these plots will be connected towards the end. After watching this many superhero movies you just KNOW who will be the main villain in this particular one because of the way they're portrayed. Either something completely opposite loser-like OR something mysterious and nameless, powerful and feared character whose face is not seen at the beginning at all. Yeah, I hate clichés. Also with Marvel (minus X-Men) everything often seem to be so black and white. Either it's bad or good but there's no in-between and good will get bad when infected or enchanted or manipulated whatsoever and in the end they will always be back to being good. (With Batman I love how psychological everything is and nothing is black and white. Same with X-Men, it's not always good or bad but just people being imperfect and different.)

I think the main thing to inspire me to start watching these was the LEGO Marvel's Avengers game, it was about the movies and the levels were interesting. Also a while ago I saw the first Captain America movie on tv but couldn't watch it then and every now and then I've felt like I want to hear his story so yeah, I watched some of these today and was not disappointed, at all.

DISCLAIMER: So these are all my own thoughts and opinions so please don't get mad. Or do if you feel like that? My purpose is not to make anyone mad but just talk nonsense to myself but as I hate hearing my voice, I rather do that by writing somewhere instead of really talking to myself. I hate fighting (but live a good talk!) anyway so take it as honest opinions, just my thoughts written down. Not all can like the same things nor can all dislike the same things either. Thank you.

[thenicedolphin]

Oscars Analysis With Biting Commentary: 2019 Edition!

We are BACK, with the 7th annual Oscars post from The Nice Dolphin (see links here for 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013), where Matt provides insightful, quality analysis while Alex texts some thoughts from his iPhone about how Lego Movie 2 was robbed of a nomination even though it’s not even eligible this year. As always, Matt is in regular font, and Alex comes in with the BOLD.

 You know what? Lego Movie 2 WAS robbed this year! Just like how Lego Movie should’ve been nominated for Best Picture in 2015 and didn’t even get nominated to be in the ghetto of Best Animated Feature. Horseshit. We haven’t even gotten to the first category and I’m already PISSED.

 Best Picture: “Black Panther” “BlacKkKlansman” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “The Favourite” “Green Book” “Roma” “A Star Is Born” “Vice”

 I’ll start by noting this wasn’t my favorite years for Oscar nominees. The top picks aren’t as good as Get Out or Lady Bird (or Phantom Thread) from last year. Or Moonlight and La La Land the year before. But there are a few great films in here, along with some mediocre picks.

 Nice try sneaking La La Land in there -- should’ve at least gone with Argo. I do agree that it’s a weak year. Lady Bird would’ve jobbed out almost all the other movies this year, and it was like the third best movie from last year (behind Get Out and Phantom Thread). Honestly, just go back and read last year’s post.

I’d go to bat for Roma for sure. It’s a great film. It certainly is a masterpiece of visuals and a writer/director getting to tell his personal story. It certainly felt like a movie event to watch it in theaters.

 Certainly.

 The sound was really creative (surround sound to make the neighborhood and events feel alive). The visuals were beautiful and poignant, as one would expect with Cuaron. He really put all his effort in telling this story, paying homage to his childhood and to the live-in maid who so strongly influenced his upbringing.

 Roma starts slow, but it builds, and I became enraptured with it during the second half. Some of the sequences are intense and well worth the previous groundwork. There’s a 10-15 minute sequence (just an estimate) that left me shook and in awe at the filmmaking (the scene starting at the furniture store). Another scene gave such emotional catharsis and helped close the movie really well. Roma also has some fun tangents and moments (I think of everything around New Year’s Eve) that some may find meandering. I dug them.

 While Roma was a technical masterpiece, I’m still not sold on it as a story. Literally nothing happens for the first 100 minutes then we get some things that are completely unnerving, including one image that does not feel entirely earned, to put it mildly.

 TASTELESS SPOILER ALERT

 Cuaron is like “yeah, let’s focus on some dog shit for two hours. Enjoying that? Well, here look at this dead baby for like 15 minutes straight.” Dude was on screen for EONS. Thought he was gunning for a best supporting nom.

 SPOILERS OVER

 Roma is definitely a loving portrait of Cleo, a personal ode to the women who raised Cuaron, and an astute look into the intersection of economic class and gender in 1970s Mexico, but I can’t tell if those well-made pieces combine to make a truly great movie.

 Otherwise, I’m not sure how much I’d want to rewatch this film or revisit it in entirety, but I really admired it and thought it was great. It is the frontrunner, and it would deserve Best Picture.

 I’m a little worried that because of its Netflix standing and that weirdness. For example, AMC and Regal didn’t include Roma in their best picture marathons/showcases because it didn’t meet the distribution requirement for those theaters. Does that affect voters too? It seemed to with a few previous prestige Netflix films, but things do seem different now. So let’s talk about the next upset contender right now: Green Book.

 Green Book is an interesting movie to me. It’s fairly polarizing because of the way it treats racial issues and the friendship between Viggo Mortensen’s white Italian character (Tony Lip) and Mahershala Ali’s black character (Don Shirley). You may have seen some of the controversies, such as how Shirley’s family wasn’t consulted on the film and disputes some of the representations of Shirley’s relationship with his family (deserving of criticism in my opinion). There has been criticism of director Peter Farrelly’s past on-set antics, or co-writer (son of Tony Lip) Nick Vallelonga’s tweet history (less of an issue to me to criticize the film, but still, not great, Bob).

 First and foremost, FOCK this movie. Tony Lip is racist as hell! Like REALLY racist. You can tell it was written by his son, because the movie treats Tony like he’s the perfect man who was just a touch unexposed to other cultures. He never really learned or grew, especially with the whole “You’re not even black!” rant at the end. He just goes from being super racist to not(?) racist because he’s getting paid to hang out with Dr. Shirley for a few weeks.

 Green Book has two great leading performances and some wonderful friendship moments. It has some funny Italian moments (is this racist?), and it has some great moments of strength by Don Shirley in rougher times racially. But man… I just can’t get over some of the key aspects of the film.

 The film really leans into the dynamic of hey, you’re black, I’m white, we’re different, but hey, we’re not so different! It feels antiquated, and this year, other films handled race relations better while being better stories overall (examples include Sorry to Bother You, Blindspotting, and If Beale Street Could Talk). Green Book’s lack of nuance reminds me of Crash and Driving Miss Daisy. Hell, the movie is called Green Book, and they barely mention it! They should have just called it something else.

 I get that little Nicky V. wanted to make a film about what a big man his daddy was, but it really only should’ve been loosely based on the Lip-Shirley friendship, and it could’ve avoided all the embarrassing fallout about Shirley not actually being estranged from the family/culture.

 The flipside of this is whether or not Green Book is an entertaining, good movie. And in some ways it is. The friendship is fun. The banter is entertaining. I really liked Wesley Morris’ analysis of this on a podcast with Bill Simmons, who discussed how, when you take aside race and the message, the friendship is well-portrayed and some of the editing and scenes work well.

 The first 30 minutes of this movie is some of the worst stuff ever recorded. Not even in terms of movies, but like, anything. It’s just Tony and his family being super racist, him entering into a hot dog eating contest (lmao what) and hacky banter between Tony and Dr. Shirley. Tony having to explain the concept of fried chicken to Dr. Shirley was a low point in a year that featured the existence of 15:17 to Paris. LOOK AT THE BABY CHICKEN LEG SPENCER

 But Green Book is trying to talk about race. It’s what the film emphasizes and it’s what the creators of the film emphasized during their awards run. And if you handle that clumsily, it’s hard for me to separate that from my enjoyment of the film. I don’t need to see more stories about white guys thinking black people are deplorable, and then well, you meet a black guy, and he isn’t so bad! That’s not a great story! Ultimately, Green Book is a solid film with some troublesome messaging that weighs it down. And the film isn’t so amazing story/acting wise to overcome those issues. It’s just kinda… vanilla.

 I’ll speak more on the leads in later sections, but if it wasn’t for Mahershala Ali’s deeply nuanced portrayal of Don Shirley, this movie would be completely irredeemable. Fortunately, he’s actually given a character with some agency, but everything about him is all done in service of the white man’s story about his “growth” as a person, which is really just him learning to be less of an asshole -- not exactly a hero turn!

 Also, how many fucking times did they need to cut back to Tony shrugging in the Orange Bird? Geez, we get it already.

 One more point to rant on: the fact that Tony’s son co-wrote the screenplay, and then Don Shirley’s family came out strongly against some of the story points REALLY rubs me the wrong way. Let’s put it this way: if a friend of mine did a story about his friendship with me, emphasizing inaccurately that I didn’t know how to eat Korean BBQ and had initially thought the idea of it was gross, and that I was estranged from my family but considered him and his family to be my family instead??? Dawg… I would haunt you from my grave for that shit.

 /quietly deletes “The Nice Dolphin” screenplay

 A Star is Born seemed like a heavy contender when it came out. It crushed the box office, critics and audience members seemed to love it, but it seems to have cooled off bigtime v. Roma and Green Book (really??? Green Book???). Well, I loved it, so let me sing its praises.

 A Star is Born was good, but not that good. A hugely entertaining first hour followed by some terribly-paced sequences and a weirdly undefined Jack Maine (I didn’t realize how he spelled his name until that concert poster at the end) combine for an enjoyable, but uneven film.

 Star is Born coulda gone poorly. Cooper trying to direct/sing/play music, Gaga trying to act, original soundtrack, and remaking an old story. Well, it works. The music is on point, the two lead acting performances are strong. There are some magical moments in this film… the scenes where they meet and flirt, where they write music together, when they perform Shallow… it’s so good! The film is good throughout, and the ending packs a wallop. I really like Star is Born, and I hope it can get more love than its likely Best Song win.

 I will admit, I knew the ending before I saw it, so some of the impact was lessened and it also basically ruined that scene with Jack and his counselor. Also it was really late at night and I was pretty cranky, so by the third or fourth scene of her lumbering around the dance studio, I was ready to call it.

 Still, Gaga and Cooper have great chemistry, which made the early scenes pop. However, the movie seemed like it didn’t really know what to make of Jack. Was he truly a troubled poet, or just a raging asshole using his art as an excuse for being an awful person? Was he a big country star selling out amphitheaters or a washed up, piss-soaked loser? What the movie was trying to claim as nuance really just came off as equivocation.

 I am pleasantly surprised that The Favourite got as much Oscar buzz as it did. Alex can elaborate, but Yorgos is definitely a more out there director, and The Favourite seems to work really well as a pivot for him. It’s a little more mainstream, but not completely. It’s not a sell-out. This movie is still probably too weird and rated R for some people.

 As a true Yorgite, I am THRILLED that my man is getting more mainstream love. The Favourite and Black Panther are my two favorite Best Picture nominees this year, despite them basically having no shot at winning.

 Even going a bit “mainstream” here (this is the most natural-sounding dialogue in the Yorgos filmography), Yorgos sacrifices nothing about his unique, vicious style. This movie is as nasty, biting, and hilarious as anything else he’s done, and the entire cast (especially the three leads) delivers.

 I really liked it. The performances were great, the story was really fun (Mean Girls but in a royal setting, or All About Eve, which I haven’t seen), the camerawork was interesting. I like how unconventional it was in some ways, like the ending just sorta sneaking up on me.

 I saw this in a packed theater and I could definitely tell it was a lot of older couples who thought they were in for something along the lines of “The Crown” or “Downton Abbey,” and not heavy lesbian erotica. Also, despite what he says, I don’t consider Matt a true Yorgite, so it’s no surprise he wasn’t ready for that ending. My first thought when them bunnies hit the screen? “Yorgos, you’ve done it again!” A true masterpiece.

 People are worked up about Black Panther getting a nomination, and I’m like… have you seen Bohemian Rhapsody or Vice? And you’re mad about Black Panther?

 People being mad about the Black Panther getting nominated and Green Book getting legit Best Picture love? If only there was some common thread here...

 First, I’ve definitely had friends surprised because for them, Infinity War was better… but I mean, they’re big Marvel fans so IW was a bigger deal to them storywise. Meanwhile, a lot of friends also told me how amazing Black Panther was, how it was their favorite Marvel movie, how it was so much more than a superhero movie, etc. Critics gave it strong reviews deservingly in my opinion, and it crushed the box office because it resonated with a lot of people. Just because it’s not as critically good as Roma and it’s a superhero movie doesn’t mean that it’s only in because it’s about race or that it doesn’t deserve it.

 Black Panther absolutely deserved the nomination. Despite Avengers: Infinity War being a more crucial story to the MCU, Black Panther was a better, more cohesive film. IW was basically one long chase/fight scene, which I loved, but it can’t really stand on its own.

 Black Panther built an entire world, populated it with fascinating characters with complex motivations, and had some badass action scenes all within the span of like two hours.

 Also, come on guys. This is the same show that’s given nominations to… Bohemian Rhapsody. And Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (did anyone actually see that?). The Post, American Sniper, Philomena (does anyone remember that?)... I mean, does a movie only deserve to be nominated because it was about an Oscar-type of topic? I say nominate more of these blockbuster movies (IF they are good). Why did Mission Impossible and Crazy Rich Asians and Game Night not get nominated when Bohemian Rhapsody did? They were better reviewed.

 First of all, I take umbrage to you including American Sniper with that trash. Also, Game Night didn’t get nominated because it wasn’t that good (it’s still better than Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody, but you get it). Crazy Rich Asians and Mission Impossible were both fantastic. Actually, here is an incomplete list of movies that are better than Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book that came out this year, but didn’t get much, if any, Oscar love:

Annihilation Bad Times at the El Royale Crazy Rich Asians Deadpool 2 The Equalizer 2 (didn’t actually see this, but it’s got Denzel) First Reformed Halloween Lego Movie (still) Mission Impossible: Fallout A Quiet Place Searching Sorry to Bother You Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse (got some love, deserved more) Widows

 Honestly Teen Titans Go! To The Movies and Venom were better than that trash too.

 Anyway, Black Panther rules. It’s got an awesome cast of characters, it represents culture well, Coogler crushes the direction, the story is fun, and the villain is super compelling. People loved the ending scenes of Black Panther. This movie is worthy. Also shoutout to that last scene between Boseman and Jordan. Seriously, so good. Honestly, Black Panther had at least 4 scenes that were just as dramatic AND better-done than BR.

 That sounds impressive until you realize that BR had zero well-done scenes. Seriously, every time I think about that movie I hate it more. It’s the opposite of Phantom Thread. It’s the Terrestrial Thread.

 Bohemian Rhapsody is probably one of the worst movies to be nominated for Best Picture in recent years. Look, if you like the movie and find it entertaining, that’s totally fine! Just don’t tell me Black Panther didn’t deserve it when it’s better in every technical aspect.

 The editing is bad. The story of the movie is a censored version crafted by the living band members of Queen to paint them in the best light. Freddie Mercury is portrayed like more of an immature punk than he deserves, and the other band members seem like the grown-ups. The dramatic scenes are not very good. It’s just fine. The acting is solid. The movie is fun when the band is playing music or making music. But it really drags at parts. A solid B- crowdpleaser. NOT an Oscar movie.

 The only time this movie is entertaining is when Queen is playing/making music. Just save yourself the trouble and watch some old concert DVD or whatever. Every “based on a true story” movie is going to take some liberties with the facts, but this is the first movie I can recall that makes the true story MORE boring. This is literally the exact same movie as Straight Outta Compton, except that one was better -- and didn’t even get nominated! Straight Outta Compton is the Lego Movie of musical biopics.

 BlacKkKlansman was a powerful movie, though I’ll say it isn’t peak Spike Lee for me. It is really good in moments, and it’s also weaker in stretches. Basically, whenever the main character is infiltrating the KKK or working with his partner, the movie works. The scenes about the civil rights movements are really good, especially a scene where Kwame Ture gives a speech. The movie is slower when it tries to delve into Ron Stallworth’s personal life and romance. The movie is probably 15-20 minutes too long, which would be my main critique. And the ending is a bit polarizing (it worked for me, but I can see the argument against it).

 15-20 minutes too long? Sounds like peak Spike to me. Hey-ooooooooooooo!

 I really dug BlacKkKlansman, but man the capitalization of the title is infuriating. I agree that it’s a bit scattered (and not in a way that actually serves the story), but overall, I think Spike put together a film that is entertaining, exciting, and sadly all-too-relevant in today’s world. The scenes from recent news at the end might’ve come off a bit clunky to some, but it really brought the message home that in some ways the movie might’ve had a “happy” ending, but in no way is the big picture a positive one.

 Vice. Man. I was really looking forward to this one and I was disappointed. It felt like Adam McKay took all his tools from The Big Short and used them to excess. The Big Short was crisp and covered one specific story. Vice tries to cover a lot of years of Cheney’s life without much cohesion. I wish the movie had focused more on the VP years, which were the best parts of the movie and far too short. The Big Short’s narrator was a main character who explained a lot of complicated concepts that related to his character. Vice tried to have a random character with tons of narration, and it was all over the place without really having a reason for being in the movie. McKay also tries a few other ambitious things that don’t work as well when your movie isn’t strong. Basically, the riskier decisions stuck out more poorly. I wanted to dig this movie, but it just wasn’t very well-made, and I’m underwhelmed by its nominations.

 I didn’t get around to Vice, but there’s something comforting about knowing that I’ll never see all of the Best Picture nominees. Not that I’ve ever let that stop me from providing commentary before. Besides, after Matt’s SCATHING review, I probably made the right call.

 An interesting theme that pervades several of the Best Pic noms this year is the movies being directly at odds with their “true stories” in ways that actively hurt the movies. Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, and BlacKkKlansman all suffer from this. Maybe Vice too? Who knows.

 Generally, I try to separate the movie from the real events it’s based on. Real life is rarely as entertaining as a Hollywood flick, so I totally get why Die Hard didn’t have a third act of Carl Winslow filling out paperwork. HAVING SAID THAT when the true tale gets twisted into something totally unrecognizable, is it fair to criticize the movie for that? Green Book completely mutated the character of Dr. Don Shirley to fit a narrative of friendship triumphing over racism; Bohemian Rhapsody mischaracterized the relationship between Freddie Mercury and his bandmates to create a non-existent redemption/comeback arc; BlacKkKlansman ignored all the ways Ron Stallworth sabotaged the pro-Black movement in Colorado in service of painting police as the true heroes of equality.

 I don’t have all the answers here, but these three examples feel like particularly egregious warpings of reality. However, I want to use this opportunity to praise YORGOS, who took enough from history to give The Favourite some context, but was up front about his editorialization enough to where the historical inaccuracies didn’t matter, and it didn’t feel like watching some ol boolshit.

 I wish First Man and If Beale Street Could Talk had gotten in over Vice and Bohemian, or in addition to (since the nominations can go up to 10).  Hell, if you had just added these two to make it 10, this crop would look stronger. The follow-ups for the directors of La La Land and Moonlight, neither film was as strong as the previous outings, but both were quality art. First Man sometimes had less impressive action with its use of shaky cam in the cockpit (which made the theater experience dizzying at times), and it mostly lost the mainstream audience because it was less adventurous than movies like The Martian or Interstellar. It also chose to try to portray Armstrong as an ordinary, less romantic type of hero, which may have been to its detriment for entertainment purposes. But I really liked the story of Neil Armstrong and NASA, warts and all. It felt more authentic and well-acted compared to, oh, I dunno, BR. And the moon landing scenes were breathtaking.

 Beale Street struggled for me with its back-and-forth narrative, and some characters who I wish had more to do but some of the scenes were so good, and the art of it was beautiful. I also wish foreign films like Cold War and Shoplifters could get some Best Picture love too, but I’ll talk more about them below.

 Cinematography: “Cold War,” Lukasz Zal “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

 (edit: We put these categories here as a little TND protest for when the Oscars weren’t gonna air them on the regular telecast. But we’ll leave them here still, because these categories rule.)

 The presumed favorite appears to be Roma, with Cold War as a potential dark horse. After Cuarón’s go-to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (three-time consecutive Oscar winner at one point, including for Cuarón’s Gravity) left, he pulled a Thanos and decided to do it himself. Roma’s photography has all the marks of a Lubezki/Cuarón joint. He did well. Some of the shots may be a bit much (as one friend asked, why so many dog poop shots?). But the tracking shots are glorious and usually worked well for art. Following the lizard around on a random day, Cleo running along the street, the shot of the men training, the forest on New Year’s Eve… and of course, the aforementioned furniture store and beach sequences.

 I didn’t see Cold War, but it’s fine because Roma will win. Roma does look great, but damn can Cuaron get another trick besides panning ten feet in either direction after the natural conclusion of a scene? Seriously, he does it like every twenty minutes. I guess this is world building? “You see, here’s what’s happening to our characters. And there’s also more stuff happening...slightly to the left.”

 I was very curious about Cold War after it got a best director nomination as well. The cinematography was beautiful too. And it also deals in black-and-white like Roma, and with different camera framing (I’m not technical enough to explain that). It had some great shots too, in particular a shot with a mirror that really impressed me. Of note, Cold War beat Roma in the American Society of Cinematographer Awards.

 A Star is Born had some good camerawork and cool concert shots.

 Great camera framing when the guy pisses himself. You really *feel* the piss.

 The Favourite was worthy of a nomination too, using some unique camera angles and fisheye lens shots that could have been distracting but ended up working really well for the movie. I have not seen Never Look Away, but the trailer looked good.

 Those long hallway shots in The Favourite were superb. Robbie Ryan is a true Yorgite.

 Film Editing: “BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis “Vice,” Hank Corwin

 LOL Bohemian Rhapsody. See the aforementioned link about the bad editing in it. I mean, I guess the montage while they recorded the title track was really fun, but cmon! I also had a lot of fun during some scenes of Venom, and I didn’t see that get a bunch of noms!

 Well maybe it should have! Matt made me watch that clip of the first record exec convo from Bohemian Rhapsody, and it’s so bad it wasn’t until like my third viewing when I realized Matt was trying to point out how poorly edited it was. Seriously, I couldn’t even get past the dialogue: “Queen...is for losers” “Well I’m sold!”

 Vice seems to be a favorite on Gold Derby. The movie was too all over the place for me, and I guess it would win for the most editing, because there are all sorts of jumping around and montages and random things the film does. Bohemian is the next favorite, so I don’t really care for this year’s winner. Maybe this year it SHOULD be on commercial break. Jk.

 I didn’t see Vice, but I agree with Matt that more editing definitely doesn’t equal better editing. I think Billy Walsh would agree that sometimes it’s about the cuts you DON’T make.

 I would vote for The Favourite. It’s crisp and efficient. Green Book’s editing is probably a strong suit too, admittedly. BlacKkKlansman could have been shortened some, but the editing during some of the back-and-forths (I think of the KKK meeting versus the black students’ meeting at the end) was really good.

 I agree* that all three of these films were well-edited. It’s a shame that apparently they have no chance at actually winning this award.

 *I think I’ve already set a record for most times agreeing with Matt in an Oscars post. We’re like one of those old married couples that gradually turn into the same person over the years. Sure it might make for a boring post, but at least we’re RIGHT.

 Director: Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War” Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite” Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” Adam McKay, “Vice”

 Cuarón is the presumptive favorite, and he would be very worthy. He shepherded this project to fruition, he told the story he wanted to tell, and he kicked ass. I’ve heard Spike Lee is a possible surprise here, but I’d rather see him get the Screenplay win. As mentioned, BK is not his strongest work for me, and doesn’t quite compare to Do the Right Thing.

 Finally Matt says something stupid! Okay because BlacKkKlansman wasn’t as good as one of the greatest films of all time, Spike doesn’t deserve a win here? I’m not even saying he should win, but if he doesn’t, it’s not because he made a better movie in 1989.

 Cuaron will probably take home the gold, and it’s well-deserved, as he really put his signature style on every aspect of Roma. It’s obviously an extremely personal project for him, but he never lets it dip too far into “diary” territory, and ultimately allows the audience inside of his perspective instead of forcing us to observe from a distance.

 It’s dope that Pawlikowski got nominated sorta out of left field. He really crafted an interesting, powerful story, and it was creative and unique. Yorgos deserves props for his nomination, managing to combine his style with someone else’s script (first time using a script that wasn’t his!). I’m glad Peter Farrelly didn’t get the nod here, but I wish Cooper had gotten it in over McKay. Vice is not that impressive, but I really dug some of the decisions made in Star.

 This might come as a surprise, but I’m quite happy Yorgos got nominated and would love for him to get the upset victory over dog dookie Cuaron. Shoutout to both guys for being able to direct the hell out of some nudity though.

 Lead Actor: Christian Bale, “Vice” Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born” Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate” Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

 My Cooper support continues! I hope he wins, and it sounds like some people want him to be a surprise upset here. I thought he really built this role up and nailed it. This could have gone poorly. He could have sounded like Russell Crowe in Les Mis, his voice could have been weird, and he might not have been so likable on screen. But he was! He really became Jackson Maine and crafted this interesting, romantic, tragic character. I thought he was terrific.

 *big sigh*

 I agree with Matt again. Cooper was fantastic in playing a could-have-been-thankless role of a guy who does terrible thing after terrible thing, but still needs the audience on his side at the end. His singing was more than serviceable in the movie, as it was mostly done in live concert scenes where him being a little ragged fit the character/moment. Just uhh, don’t pull that shit up on Spotify.

 Rami Malek is the frontrunner here, which surprises me. Again, I don’t like the movie, but I also like Malek. But Malek has impressed me much more in projects like Mr. Robot and The Pacific. Here, I feel like he is doing a solid impersonation, but he’s not blowing me away like DDL in Lincoln. I feel like he was also limited by the weak script/story. I wish he had had more powerhouse scenes and dialogue, but he just didn’t.

 Oh he didn’t blow you like DDL in Lincoln? That might’ve been the greatest biopic performance of all time. “Malek was good, but his acting wasn’t as good as Spike Lee’s directing in the 80s.”

 Not to defend Malek, dude is just up there doin a little bucky beaver impression -- and I like Malek! Shit was limp and lame. IAWM (I agree with Matt) in that the rest of the movie was so bad, Malek was never afforded the opportunity to rise above being a Halloween costume. Still, he did next to nothing, even with scant material.

 Bale obviously made an impressive transformation in weight/look for Vice, and I always am a fan. He was pretty good here, and I’d be fine with a win, but it wasn’t his best work.

 Viggo was good, but part of the problem of the movie is the fact that Viggo was the lead instead of Mahershala, as the film would have benefited more from being through the lens of Shirley’s view, and not Tony Lip’s.

 Yeah, it pisses me off that Viggo (lol never realized how funny of a name that is until I just typed it) is even in this category. Sure he did a fine job playing a racist guy...maybe a little too fine of a job? I’m surprised Liam Neeson wasn’t clamoring for the role of Tony Lip, so he could do a little method acting.

 As for Dafoe… I don’t know anyone who saw this film, and I wasn’t hyped enough to go see it. Hell, the idea of a 60+ year old playing a guy who died at 37 was enough to not get me hyped, even if the makers tried to say he would have looked like Van Gogh because of the circumstances of the times.

 I obviously didn’t see this movie, but wow that is a hell of a paragraph. Are most people hyped by an old man playing a younger man? Actually, I heard that the producers were worried that Dafoe didn’t look old ENOUGH and were going to CGI in Christopher Plummer. Still though, “circumstances of the times?” I know 2019 seems awful, but this is a helpful reminder that the world use to be a literal hellscape.

 I would have liked to see Ethan Hawke here for First Reformed. He carried the movie, he was awesome in it, and it was definitely unlike the normal Hawke performance I’ve seen before.

 Matt, put a backhanded compliment warning there, sheesh. Hawke was fantastic in First Reformed and absolutely deserved a nomination ahead of Viggo, Malek, Fat Bale, and Benjamin Button-ass Dafoe.

 Gosling here would have been good too. Also would have been cool to see an indie lead, whether Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry to Bother You or John Cho in Searching.

 Stanfield and Cho crushed it in their respective roles. Funny story, Cho initially passed on Searching, but the filmmakers basically stole his phone number and hounded him until he agreed to do on the condition that they leave his ass alone afterwards.

 Lead Actress: Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma” Glenn Close, “The Wife” Olivia Colman, “The Favourite” Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born” Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

 Glenn Close is supposed to win. It’s apparently a lock. This definitely feels like another career honor, since this is her 7th nomination and she hasn’t won. Close is pretty good. The movie is OK and she has a delicate, graceful, but powerful performance here. I mainly just feel like it was the least memorable role here.

 I didn’t see The Wife, but for some reason I’ve got love for Glenn, so I’m happy she’s getting a win.

 Colman wasn’t necessarily the lead of the film, and it was really a three-headed monster (apparently Stone’s character has the most screentime), but she was awesome. She nailed this crazy, sad, bigtime character. I’d pull for her, and I think she has a small chance.

 Colman might’ve had less screen time than Stone, but as the raunchy queen, she commands the audience’s attention much like she commands love from Stone and Weisz. Everything is in service of the queen and Colman puts every ounce of emotion and feeling into a role tightly balanced between needing fealty and needing love.

 Gaga was a contender for a while, and I really liked her and was impressed with her rising to the occasion and taking on this lead role, weaving in her real life story with this fictional character. I think she didn’t always quite hit the acting level of Cooper, but she was close.

 Gaga was good for a rookie, but cmon. She basically had like two expressions the entire movie (dumbstruck and covering half her face/sad and covering half her face).

 I was really into McCarthy’s performance and thought this was a legit good indie film. Small story, really focusing on her character, and she carries it well! The Wife and this are smaller indie stories, but I was more wowed by McCarthy. She handles a sad sack of a character, self-loathing, mischievous, witty. I think she’s a great actress who sometimes ends up in unfortunate movies. This was a good one.

 Shockingly I didn’t see Can You Ever Forgive Me?, but I’m glad McCarthy is getting love. She’s a great actress, but always finds herself in shitty movies.

 I’m so glad Yalitza Aparicio got a nomination! She wasn’t quite as strong to me as Colman or McCarthy, but she has to be good for the film to be good, of course, and she is. I think the technical aspects of the movie outshine her performance in some ways, but she deserves merit.

 Yalitza’s gotta be straight up laughing at all the love for Lady Gaga. Another first time actress, she actually does a great job in the film instead of just getting points because she has hit single songs. The range of emotions on her face when confronted by the nude ninja alone made her worthy of a nomination.

 Who else would I have wanted? Maybe Joanna Kulig for Cold War. She’s a star, and she dances/sings/acts in terrific fashion. Also shoutout to Natalie Portman for Annihilation and Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade. No one’s gonna remember The Wife in 5 years, but Eighth Grade will stand the test of time.

 Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman” Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born” Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

 Mahershala is expected to win, and he’s really good as Don Shirley, so I’m cool with it. He is such a magnetic actor, and he carries Shirley well. It’s a pretty different type of character from Juan in Moonlight. Juan’s performance leaned in on charisma, masculinity, and tenderness. Shirley is a character reliant on dignity, sophistication, and inner rage. He nails both. He’s really good. For all the faults I have with the making of Green Book, I do really like Mahershala here. It’s pretty wild that he’s about to get his second Oscar, but hey, good for him!

 You mean an actor played two different roles? Wauw.

 Mahershala completely carried Green Book and filled Don Shirley with so much nuance, complexity, and integrity that he himself should’ve gotten nominated for Best Picture. He IS the movie. It’s such a shame his character was relegated to the supporting role because there’s so much awesome internal logic to Dr. Shirley that he’s fascinating to watch and Ali does a great job of bringing all of that to the forefront without having to resort to speechifying his thoughts or emotions.

 I really like Driver and always like his work. He’s a unique, compelling actor in whatever role he’s in. He has more to do in BK than John David Washington’s main character, and he’s not weighed down by the romance story. There’s something really convincing in any role Driver portrays, whether it’s Kylo Ren, Adam in Girls, or his performance in Silence. I thought his performance was pretty key to the BK story.

 Driver definitely brings a fun presence to BlacKkKlansman helping to achieve the delicate tonal balance Spike was looking for. I mean, not as good as the tonal balance JGL brought to Lincoln, but I digress.

 Grant was really wonderful and charming, and he really carries the movie along with McCarthy. Elliott doesn’t have a ton of scenes in A Star is Born, but each scene of his was a highlight for me. His relationship with Cooper is key to the film, and I really dug it. I don’t really see why Rockwell had to get a nom here. He’s not too essential to the film, and he does a good W impersonation, but this just pales in comparison to his role last year in Three Billboards.

 Ha I only skimmed that last paragraph and just furiously googled “Sam Elliott Three Billboards” because I was confused as fock. Yeah that last conversation between Cooper and Elliott was fantastic, and Elliott is great throughout as the older brother who never got quite as much ass as Jackson Maine.

 We couldn’t have thrown a nod here to Michael B. Jordan instead, for his compelling (albeit polarizing) acting job in Black Panther? I also loved Brian Tyree Henry’s character in If Beale Street Could Talk. Similar short screentime to Rockwell, but way more impactful and memorable. Henry’s scenes in Beale Street are some of the best work you’ll see from last year.

 Was that acting job really polarizing? We have a term for people who have negative things to say about Black Panther. They’re called...Vallelongas. Brian Tyree Henry is one of my favorite actors, so I have no doubt that he was great in Beale Street. I do want to shout him and Daniel Kaluuya out for their performances in Widows. For a story about four strong women coming together to wreck some shit, Henry and Kaluuya stole the show. And my heart.

 Also want to shout out my man Beast! Not saying he should win, but his scene to hilarity ratio in The Favourite was easily 1:1. Everything in The Favourite popped, but his presence made it even poppier.

 Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Vice” Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” Emma Stone, “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

 I really like Regina King, and she’s pretty good in Beale Street, but I’m sorta surprised that she became the consensus pick. She doesn’t quite have as memorable a performance for me as Mahershala’s or say, Brian Tyree Henry in the same film. She’s a great actress, but there’s not a ton for her to do, and I didn’t leave that film being like WOW, that character!

 Stone and Weisz seem to negate each other, unfortunately. They are both terrific. I didn’t love Stone in La La Land but she’s really fun and vicious here. Weisz is great too and has a lot of fun. I would probably give the edge to Weisz, but I’d strongly praise either performance.

 Weisz was amazing as Sarah Churchill. She is definitely the centerpiece of the film, and does a wonderful job providing an axis for all the wild shit that goes down. What really elevates her performance is that she doesn’t fall into the trap of merely being the straight woman (no pun intended, seriously), and still imbues her character with loads of cunning, fire, and personality.

 Stone was great as well, and I’ll say I didn’t enjoy her in La La Land either, but that’s mostly because I was watching La La Land at the time.

 Amy Adams is awesome in general and good in Vice. Marina de Tavira is really good in Roma, and her nomination was a nice surprise too. Her character as the mother is really pivotal to the story, and I thought she was good at being overall likable even while sometimes being harsh.

 De Tavira gives a great performance in a role that would’ve been easy to gloss over if played by another actress. She never allowed herself to become a background character or only appear as Cleo’s boss. Her story is just as dynamic and heart-rending as Cleo’s, and with less attention given to it, only a great performance would give it the weight it needed and de Tavira absolutely delivered.

 Original Screenplay: “The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “Vice,” Adam McKay

 The Favourite seems to be… the favourite for this category.

 Nice.

 It’s a fun, witty script based on historical events (and it seemed to do a decent enough job being similar enough to real life!). Updating a story for the modern times in film format is no easy feat, and I really enjoyed this story.

 Like I mentioned earlier, The Favourite does a great job of drawing just enough historical context while still keeping things fresh and honest, without making the story feel bastardized.

 This is Paul Schrader’s first nomination, which is pretty crazy when he’s had films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. First Reformed has a unique, fascinating, compelling premise and story arc. It does remind me a good bit of Taxi Driver in some ways but is its own story too.

 Really happy First Reformed got a little love. In a time when we’re getting nothing but remakes and sequels, a truly original story is always welcome.

 I don’t want Green Book to win. As mentioned, this shit wasn’t vetted by Shirley’s family, which seems kind of important! And it’s a bit cheesy throughout. Technically speaking, it seems like the directing/editing would be better than the writing here. Vice… that story was so all over the place. McKay’s script for Big Short was way crisper and stronger. Roma is a great film, but I don’t put its screenplay up as strongly as its other technical achievements. Eighth Grade should have been nominated here and been a contender. It won at the Writers Guilds Awards (Bo’s speech is really funny too), and Bo Burnham made a brutally vulnerable, honest story about adolescence and technology.

 I usually make a joke here about how movies based on actual events should be in the Adapted Screenplay category (since they’re adapted from real life!), but I guess Nick Vallelonga really took that to heart because he basically removed any shred of reality from Green Book. May as well give Bohemian Rhapsody a nod here too lol

 Adapted Screenplay: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

 The rules for adapted are always funny. A Star is Born is based on three previous versions, and Buster Scruggs apparently has some adapted short stories but other completely original short stories. Weird. I wouldn’t feel too strongly about Star’s screenplay since I feel like the quality in its update is more in the acting and music, versus the writing. Buster Scruggs was a mixed bag for me, with some awesome and some meh stories.

 Bro, which stories were meh? Name names! There wasn’t a bad one in the damn bunch.

 BK seems to be in the lead, which would be a cool win for Spike Lee (he previously received an honorary Oscar). Apparently the movie changed a lot, which I imagine was positive for movie action/plot intrigue. I feel like whatever the screenplay did with the romance didn’t really play, but I’m not really sure what else I would push alternatively.

 Matt is really hating on the romance angle in BlacKkKlansman. I’ll be honest, I barely remember that aspect of the movie, so the hate is probably warranted.

 Beale Street was a worthy effort, but I felt like the narrative was all over the place and wonder if Jenkins could have done a better job conveying the story in movie form. I don’t think it was an easy book to adapt, as I’ve heard with Baldwin fiction, but the product in the end doesn’t measure up to BK. As for Can You Ever Forgive Me?, I thought it was a stellar story, and also apparently people don’t think the original memoir itself was very good, so I guess it gets points for that!

 Go ahead and give Jenkins the win to make up for that L* L* L*nd/Moonlight mix up back in 2017.

 Best Documentary Feature: “Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

 I’m not a big documentary guy, but they have gotten more popular (Won’t You Be Me Neighbor, Three Identical Strangers, Free Solo, and RBG all were box office documentary hits this year), and I’ve ended up checking a few more out. Won’t You Be My Neighbor was one of the most noted snubs when nominations came out, and it’s a shame it didn’t get nominated. It was beloved and had a notable cultural effect last summer, and I thought it was terrific and charming. I didn’t see Three Identical Strangers yet, but I’ve heard it considered to be a snub too, which Alex can elaborate on.

 Shit I had this whole paragraph written up about Mr. Rogers, but Matt just reminded me that it didn’t get nominated. Basically the punchline was that I watched it with my parents and they just clowned Fred the whole time, which I think explains a lot.

 Three Identical Strangers was great, but apparently I’m the only person who either didn’t know about the second twist or didn’t think it was that shocking/big of a deal. I gotta say, capitalizing on your 15 minutes of fame by opening a celebrity restaurant in New York City is probably the most 1988 thing ever.

 Also, no love for the Pope Francis doc? Guess I’ll see the Academy in hell...as I look down from Heaven!

 The betting odds seem split between Free Solo and RBG, with Solo slightly ahead. I am all about Free Solo, and I hope it wins. It’s an incredible, fascinating story. Is this guy insane for making this climb? How do we feel about him with his girlfriend? How do we feel about his girlfriend with him? How do we feel about the documentary crew filming him? Are they enabling him? Deterring him? These are really interesting dynamics throughout the story. It’s helpful that everyone involved in the story is inherently likable, and they are wondering about these same dynamics. Also, although I think most people know the fate of Alex Honnold’s climb before watching, the feat is so extraordinary and ridiculous that you will still be stressed out, nervous, and fascinated watching it.

 The climbing footage is awe-inspiring. The filmmakers do a great job explaining the audacity and absurdity of the climb so that the average viewer can understand what’s going on. This is such a good documentary.

 RBG the person is awesome, and I’m a big fan. But RBG the documentary is just… good? I feel like voters must have been split between this at Won’t You Be My Neighbor, and it’s hard not to compare the two, since they came out around the same time and are both about revered figures. WYBMN has really good editing and panache, and an inherent charm in talking about Mr. Rodgers’ legacy and his past. RBG feels more by-the-numbers and with less impressive editing and focus. It felt a bit short and all-over-the-place. I could have used more time on her advocacy versus her time exercising or becoming a cultural meme.

 WYBMN also benefited from having tons of footage from the TV shows. RBG by comparison doesn’t have as much old footage, and with RBG alive, they do a lot more interviewing her or following her around. It’s an interesting glimpse, but doesn’t work quite as well for me. It’s a good film, and I enjoyed getting more of a look into RBG’s life. But I don’t want it to win.

 Minding the Gap is the other film I saw out of this batch, and it had caught my eye after being on a few critics’ best movies lists at the end of 2018. It’s on Hulu, and it definitely wouldn’t become a box office hit. It has an indie vibe for sure, as Bing Liu, a young filmmaker, follows two friends as they grow from teenagers to young adults, along with examining his own life. The film delves deeply into masculinity, physical abuse from childhood, and identity in the Midwest. It really builds and gets stronger and stronger towards the end. There are some deep emotions that this film can evoke in the viewer, and I really felt for the story by the end. Also, a bonus is that the footage of them skateboarding is really beautiful and whimsical.

 Best Foreign Language Film: “Capernaum” (Lebanon) “Cold War” (Poland) “Never Look Away” (Germany) “Roma” (Mexico) “Shoplifters” (Japan)

 Roma is the clear favorite here. I almost wish that if Roma was definitely getting best picture, they could just retract its nomination here so someone else could win!

 Ha that’s actually not a bad idea. These other flicks don’t stand a chance when Roma is going toe-to-toe with the entire field of movies.

 I really liked Cold War and Shoplifters. I didn’t get a chance to see Capernaum or Never Look Away. Never Look Away seemed to have mixed reviews, which makes me wish that Burning (South Korea! Steven Yeun!) got the nom instead. While in the lobby post-Cold War, my friend and I saw a bunch of people left Capernaum in tears, so… that seems like it must have been good and sad?

 Bro, people were crying because it SUCKED. Jk, I’m sure it’s wonderful. Also, has a foreign language film ever been nominated that wasn’t a totally depressing tearjerker? Do countries besides the U.S. and France make comedies? I know there isn’t much to laugh about in Turkmenistan or wherever, but I’m just asking.

 Cold War is by the previous winner of Ida, another excellent black-and-white film. While Ida was smaller scale in time, Cold War spans a romance of two musicians over some years. It similarly tackles the repercussions of WWII and the titled Cold War on Poland. The two main characters are really captivating and dynamic to watch. The music portrayed is super fun. The challenges of the times are fascinating. My one gripe is that the film felt a bit weirdly paced at times, partly because it was covering a multitude of years, and the characters’ decisions were sometimes a bit too dubious for me.

 I really dug Shoplifters too. It’s a lovely, beautiful film that ponders what a family is. The characters aren’t conventional good guys, mistakes are made, and these characters try to keep their version of a family together. Sometimes the movie is beautiful and optimistic, sometimes it’s sad and heartbreaking. I also liked how the movie was intentionally confusing about some details, to add to the storytelling aspect.

 Animated Feature: “Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

 SPIDER-VERSE. All the way. That movie could have gone poorly. There is definitely a lot of Spider-man content out in the world in recent years, and the movie worked by both leaning into that and truly creating its own story to stand on. Miles Morales was an awesome main character. Peter Parker was a great side character (that was definitely a risk in storytelling). Miles’ family characters were well-portrayed (shoutout Brian Tyree Henry and Mahershala Ali, AGAIN. Those dudes kill it).

 Spider-Verse might be my favorite movie of the YEAR. #2 this decade behind Moonlight and all of the X-Men films. Everything about this movie is fantastic. The characters are well-drawn (emotionally and literally), the stories are engaging, and the humor, while appropriate for all ages, doesn’t include any lame juvenile shit (unlike this blog post). Folks (myself) were legit getting emotional in the theater. Looked like a screening of Capernaum in there.

 The animation was awesome. It was new and unique, making the movie feel like a comic book come to life. I think the movie had a poor box office opening because of market saturation, but it ended up grossing a respectable amount based on word of mouth and audience reception. Good! Can’t wait to see what’s next.

 I’d literally never seen anything like Spider-Verse. The animation was crazy dynamic, constantly shifting between more realistic and more cartoony depending on what the situation called for. Everything about this movie from the animation, to the music, to the voices is completely fresh and inspired.

 The Incredibles 2 seemed to take the box office by storm, and by the time I saw it a month or so later, I was a bit let down. The movie is a bit unsatisfying in originality after so many years. It’s still good! I had a lot of fun, and some of the action sequences were pretty exciting. It’s just not as good as Pixar’s best or the first Incredibles.

 No desire to see Incredibles 2. Incredibles 1 is massively overrated and all anyone wanted to talk about from part 2 is how hot the mom was. I’m good, homie.

 Isle of Dogs was really fun and charming. It was a solid Wes Anderson joint. I do wish it had more agency for some of the Asian characters, and it’s still sorta funny to me that Wes just kinda dropped in with his crew + one Asian writer for the script. But yeah, it was a really fun movie. I haven’t seen Ralph since I hadn’t gotten to the first one yet. Mirai looks like my kind of jam, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. Spiderverse all the way.

 Isle of Dogs is racist as hell! Why will no one talk about it??? I feel like I’m going INSANE

 Original Song: “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

 Shallow is such a heavyweight here. That song is the classic from a soundtrack of lots of good songs. It’s perfect for their relationship in the story, and it’s the best scene in the film when she comes onstage to sing it. I hope they crush it live on stage. Get it, Bradley!

 Would’ve loved for “Why Did You Do That?” to get an ironic nomination here. Man that song was ass. “Shallow” is a good song and plays an important role in the movie, so I’m not upset at all if it wins, but yo that part where they’re just like “Sha-la-la-la-la-low” is weak as hell. Should’ve ponied up for Jason Isbell to get the late checkout time, maybe he could’ve done something there.

 Hot take: “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” is a MUCH better song.

 Man, the Mary Poppins’ new songs were pretty disappointing. Maybe they should have gotten Lin involved in the writing. The Buster Scruggs song is pretty goofy and funny, and All the Stars is a fun anthem.

 All the Stars is a fresh track, I wouldn’t be mad at it pulling an upset.

 Original Score: “BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

 Feels like First Man got snubbed here bigtime. That score was really good, and it seemed like a favorite before nominations came out. I’d root for Brittell’s score. His work was beautiful in this (and in Moonlight), so a win would be cool. I generally like Desplat’s whimsy, but I don’t remember much about the score here. Black Panther’s was cool, though I feel like it was more about the songs on the soundtrack versus Ludwig’s score. Ludwig is the man though. I wouldn’t hate him getting it.

 Good point about Black Panther’s strength lying in its songs instead of the soundtrack. Really disappointed in Sicario 2 overall, but especially in its score. Sicario 1 had the hottest score of the year when it dropped, but much like everything else about Sicario 2, it didn’t deliver.

 Sound Editing: “Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

 Sound Mixing: “Black Panther” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “First Man” “Roma” “A Star Is Born”

 This confuses me every year. Here’s a good article for the differences. Basically, sound editing awards effects (think, creating gunfire/explosion noise for a war/action movie). while  sound mixing awards the soundscape/all the sounds mixed together.

 So with that in mind… these categories seem to have less predictable winners, and I see that the sound editing leaders are currently First Man and A Quiet Place. I’d give props to First Man here, for doing work with the space exploration. A Quiet Place is interesting since it had to use its sound so effectively and specifically.

 How you gonna award A Quiet Place for its SOUND? Smh

 As for sound mixing, I really dug watching Roma in theaters. You could hear sounds, birds chirping, and it felt like you were on the street in the neighborhood of Roma.

 It’s almost like you can really *hear* the dogshit squishing between the kids’ toes on the pavement.

 Now, it appears that Gold Derby leans towards three options: A Star is Born, First Man, or Bohemian Rhapsody. I feel like BR relied a lot on pre-done recordings unrelated to filming, so I’m not sure about that one (though I suppose that’s the point of sound mixing, I dunno… look, I just don’t want it to win -- lmao same bro). A Star is Born had to deal with live music! It’s way more worthy.

 Visual Effects: “Avengers: Infinity War” “Christopher Robin” “First Man” “Ready Player One” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

 This is easily Infinity War. Relying on Thanos as a main character meant a ton of work, and if you remember his cameos in Guardians or the Avengers post-credits, you know that he looked better here and much more fully realized. He was a mammoth, a threat, and the visual portrayal was well done. His fight against Hulk, his fight against Doctor Strange, some awesome FX. Having to weave in tons of comic characters was no easy feat too, with Falcon and War Machine fighting in the sky while Groot, Rocket, and Cap are on the ground against those bad guys.

 Avengers all the way. Having a lame-looking Thanos would’ve nuked the whole movie (people are STILL talking about Superman’s CGI shave), but they knocked it out of the park. Infinity War had to be a huge undertaking, as it’s a million superheroes pulling out all the stops for like 6 hours. Kinda surprised Black Panther didn’t get any love here for similar reasons.

 Ready Player One had a lot of fun effects too. It had to rely a lot on video game storytelling, and the adventure of it was pretty fun and well-done. Solo was fine.

 I honestly had to ruminate for like five minutes to remember if I saw Solo or not. I think “fine” is the most accurate possible description of any aspect of Solo.

 First Man was quality. I dug their comments on how there is no way they could have faked the moon landing considering how hard it is now to even try to demonstrate that in a fictional film.

 That’s what they want you to think, sheeple!!!

 Christopher Robin? Wasn’t that bear real?? What are you trying to say???

 Realest bear since the one that took Leo’s ass in The Revenant.

 Production Design: “Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

 Costume Design: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

 Black Panther was sick. Weaving in futuristic elements with African culture. The sets were wild. The costumes were fantastic. The Favourite did a good job doing the royal vibe too. The NASA production that they had to recreate in First Man made it feel really authentic. Same for Roma. Lots of good stuff here.

 Agreed on Black Panther for all the reasons Matt mentions, but I think you gotta go with The Favourite here. Those people looked like they STUNK. Just fucking gross all the way around -- and it was PERFECT.

 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Roma had great design as well. As an anthology, Buster Scruggs had the added degree of difficulty of making sure every story appeared distinct enough while maintaining the overall look and feel of the movie.

 Makeup and Hair: “Border” “Mary Queen of Scots” “Vice”

 I mean, you saw Christian Bale as Dick Cheney. Lock this up.

 Clink-clink!

 Animated Short: “Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine “Bao,” Domee Shi “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

 “Weekends” by Trevor Jimenez sounds like a banger of an R&B album.

 Best Documentary Short Subject: “Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi

 Best Live Action Short Film: “Detainment,” Vincent Lambe “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen “Skin,” Guy Nattiv

 Bao was a fun, sweet short that had some nice Asian representation… that’s all I got.

 I’ll be watching the documentary shorts the night before the Oscars, but wanted to get this post up before then, so if you want my thoughts on those nominees, holla at ya boy.

 As for everything else? I probably agree with Matt.

[ptiasims]

Ayyy a question thingy I was tagged in.

100 Questions No One Asks

I was tagged by my name twin @thedancingsim. <3 

The questions and answers are under the cut because wow lol that’s a lotta questions!

1. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED?

When I had a door, I slept with it closed. Now I have a little doorway that leads into the kitchen, like a bachelor suite so it is open... as there is NO door. But I’m slowly getting used to it. 

2. DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS?

If I stayed at hotels often, I would. The last time I stayed in one, I didn’t take anything, though. 

3. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT?

They stay tucked in, I rarely ever sleep with the little flat sheet. I used to when it was hot, because I can’t sleep without something covering me, but now that I live in a little basement suite, it’s always cold so i can use my blanket. 

4. HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE?

I can’t say that I have, no! 

5. DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES?

I tell myself yes so I can justify buying them, but I never do.

Yes, same here. I wish I used them. 

6. DO YOU EVER CUT OUT COUPONS BUT NEVER USE THEM?

I haven’t cut out coupons yet, but I have a feeling I will eventually in the next few months haha. 

7. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES?

Bees because I think I would have a chance of outrunning them or jumping into water.

I’m going to go ahead and agree with this as well. 

8. DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES?

They mostly start sprinkling my nose in the summer, uner the sun. 

9. DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES?

Generally, yes. 

10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?

Racist/homophobic/transphobic/etc. people who are unwilling to listen and understand how absolutely absurd their opinions on those matters are.

Tèa had such a great answer, that I’m going to leave it, because honestly I’m so laid back and in my own world that I rarely let things get to me for very long. 

11. DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK?

Not my steps, but I have a habit of counting any stairs I’m on. Always. 

12. HAVE YOU EVER PEED IN THE WOODS?

Several times. One of my best friends likes to go walking in woods in the middle of the night, which is super great, especially when he purposely tells me about a ghost story just before we go into the woods, and I often end up peeing in the woods because I never go before I leave the house. 

13. HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS?

No.

14. DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERE’S NO MUSIC PLAYING?

There’s always music in my head, but yes I have done this. 

15. DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS?

Nah, I’m a writer, I respect the pens and pencils too much.

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK?

None, I like to be alone recently. 

17. WHAT IS THE SIZE OF YOUR BED?

It’s technically a twin right now, but once I get the second mattress, it will be a king size. It’s a daybed from IKEA. 

18. WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK?

I have been on a Hot Chelle Rae kick lately, so either Tonight Tonight, or Honestly. They are such a great summer band.  

19. IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK?

It’s okay for anyone to wear whatever they want, what do I care? 

21. DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS?

Not really! I watch animated Disney and Pixar, but that’s it. 

21. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE?

Paranormal Activity. 

i’m also going to stick with Téa’s answer for this one, because another friend of mine likes to have wine night and watch horror movie night because apparently i’m HILARIOUS to scare the shit out of and this is one of the movies he enjoys making me watch. 

I should get better friends?? 

22. WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME?

Omg I don’t even know, but I’d probably build something over it, too for extra safe keeping. 

23. WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER?

Water or soda. 

24. WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN?

Barbecue sauce 100% 

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

Ugh I don’t even know how to answer this. I love shrimp, Panda Express, tacos.. my mom made this wonderful crab bake and invited me over for dinner last night and it was so good. 

26. WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE?

Zathura, How to train Your Dragon (1&2), Harry Potter, Hunger Games (Except the first one)... honestly I rewatch a lot of movies. 

27. LAST PERSON, YOU KISSED/ KISSED YOU?

I made out with my boyfriend the other night at his friends’ house out on the balcony while he was loaded. Hi Joshua. 

28. WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT?

I was a girl scout, for probabl one season, but I did do a lot of boy scout stuff with my brother and my mom when my brother was in the scouts. 

29. WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE?

UNLIKELY. 

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER?

I wrote something to my mom I want to say two years ago, but I never sent it. 

31. CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR?

No, but I do get a discount for being a student. 

32.EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET?

Two of them. And on the last one, my grandma told my mom that “your daughter needs to slow down!”  AND MY GRANDMA HAS PROBABLY TEN TIMES AS MANY TICKETS AS I DO she has a lead foot!!! 

33. EVER RAN OUT OF GAS?

Not yet, but I do lock my keys in my car a lot, so let’s not rule it out. 

34. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWHICH?

TUNA WITH SPINACH AND CELERY 

35. BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST?

Cereal or like eggs or a smoothie 

36. WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME?

Lately, I’ve been crashing whenever I’m tired so that’s anywhere between 7pm-2am. 

36. ARE YOU LAZY?

Oh yes, absolutely. I’m filling this out rather than adding text to the next Remedy post ha my bad y’all. 

38. WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN?

my mom actually used to make our costumes, like shit she was good. but idk, halloween was never really a big deal to me, but I remember being a witch several times, and i remember asking for this one cloak during halloween solely because i wanted to play dress up with it for the rest of the year, i had no interest in it for halloween. 

39. WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN?

I have no idea?? I googled it and it says dog?? i’ll take it. 

40. HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK?

just the one, but i’d love to eventually learn spanish. my name is spanish for aunt, and i can apologize in spanish, so i’m getting there. 

41. DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS?

Not a one. 

43. WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS?

EITHER as long as I can build a really big fort with it. that’s all i’ve ever wanted. 

43. ARE YOU STUBBORN?

NO. lol yes, completely bull-headed. 

44. WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN?

I don’t care for either. 

45. EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS?

Nope

46. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS?

For like two seconds, and then I get over it. 

47. DO YOU SING IN THE CAR?

Only when I’m in the car. 

48. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?

Not so much anymore. 

49. DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR?

Yes... always. 

50. EVER USED A GUN?

I’m originally from the states... it’s basically mandetory to shoot a gun. (It’s not, but I have used a gun, yes). 

51. LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKE BY A PHOTOGRAPHER?

Lol I think it was a family portrait when I was in grade school, so a good ten or so years ago. 

53. DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY?

Some are, but some I love. It’s a hit or a miss. 

53. IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL?

Absolutely it is, but I love it. 

54. EVER EAT A PIEROGI?

Heck yes! 

55. FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE?

I don’t like cooked fruit. 

56. OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID?

Actress, singer, and writer. So i’m really practical. 

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

As much as I believe in breathing air. 

58. EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING?

All the time

59. DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY?

Nah, but I should. 

60. DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS?

I have fuzzy pig slippers that I adore. I rarely wear them because I want to keep them forever. 

61. DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE?

No, but I’ve been wanting to have one just to make me feel grown up. 

62. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED?

Big shirt & panties, boxer shorts and a tank top, sometimes something... just depends. 

63. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT?

Britney Spears! And I got to meet her before the show. She had rened out my mom’s salon a few nights before hand so my mom went home to get me, take me back to work and I followed her around the store and told her DJ I wanted to sing when I grew up. I think I also cartwheeled around the store, but I didn’t even realize that it was her, I don’t thinkg, when I was following her around. 

64. WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART?

Target (I miss it in Canada, RIP) 

65. NIKE OR ADIDAS?

N...either. 

66. CHEETOS OR FRITOS?

Cheetos AND Fritos. 

67. PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS?

Neither. 

68. EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN?

No

69. EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS?

Yes, and I wish I still did. 

70. IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING?

Whatever they want, idc as long as they’re happy. 

71. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE?

Sure can. 

72. EVER WON A SPELLING BEE?

No. 

73. HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY?

Only all the time. 

74. OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS?

I do not. 

75. OWN A RECORD PLAYER?

I do not. 

76. DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE?

I burn candles, does that count? 

77. EVER BEEN IN LOVE?

I have! 

78. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT?

Ed Sheeran and Mumford and Sons again, and Maroon 5 again, Miley again... I don’t know about anyone else tb. 

79. WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW?

Awolnation with my ex ... NO WAIT, it was the last bit of July Talk which my ex was supposed to take me to, but I went with my friend instead. 

80. HOT TEA OR COLD TEA?

Hot

81. TEA OR COFFEE?

Tea for sure. 

82. SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES?

Making me choose between two things I love is stressful. BOTH. 

83. CAN YOU SWIM WELL?

Yup! I used to take lessons lol 

84. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE?

Yeah

85. ARE YOU PATIENT?

Most of the time. 

86. DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING?

I like the idea of a band, but probably DJ for a better sound quality. 

87. EVER WON A CONTEST?

Yeah

88. HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY?

No

89. WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES?

Neither, they’re both gross. 

90. CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET?

I can crochet in my sleep, but I’m just now learning how to knit. 

91. BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE?

My room right now omg it’s so cold. 

92. DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED?

I’m not sure, tbh. Some days I do, some days I don’t. 

93. IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED?

Not even a minute. 

94. WHO WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH?

Aww, his name was Jesse and he was a cutie for sure. 

95. DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY?

Not since I was like 3. Okay... maybe last week. Just kidding. 

96. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

I do not! But I have lovely niece’s and nephew’s whom I love so much. 

97. DO YOU WANT KIDS?

Only like three, or so. 

98. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Yellow

99. DO YOU MISS ANYONE RN?

Seger, the pup. 

100. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS TAG NEXT?

Oh man, I’m gonna go ahead and tag anyone who wants to do this! and also @malcolmlandgraab 

oh shit wait, i’m also going to tag @vodkasims for the name twin thing!! 

[traincat]

Hi! I've seen people ask about your opinion on the Fantastic Four movies before, but I was wondering about your thoughts on the various Spider-man films we've gotten throughout the years and the actors who played him (I really liked Tom Holland in Civil War and I'm looking forward to Homecoming a lot!) Thanks for taking the time!

Haha every time I talk about Spider-Man and Fantastic Four movies I really do feel like it’s the Unpopular Opinions Hour because my favorite superhero movies are Fant4stic and TASM2.

It’s been approximately one million years since I saw the Raimi movies as a baby Spider-Man fan so I can’t exactly say a ton but I remember… not liking them. Raimi Peter is just such a schlemazel that there’s really nothing appealing to me about him. I love underdog Peter as much as the next person but yeesh. I do love their JJJ. I really should rewatch them, though, so maybe my opinions will have changed. (Probably not.) (The dance scene in Spider-Man 3 really is art though.) (Who is going to get drunk and watch every Spider-Man movie with me.)

I just remembered that John Jameson was played by a guy who later went on to be one of the Originals in Vampire Diaries and cracked up. ‘Cause, you know, John’s a werewolf sometimes in 616.

The Amazing Spider-Man movies I loooooove, though. TASM2 is probably the movie I watch most when I’m just feeling down. Andrew Garfield was such a good Peter Parker in my opinion, and he has both the good eyebrows and the good Spider-Man opinions. (He said he played Peter as Jewish and he wanted Peter to be bi and also to kiss MBJ but that’s neither here nor there cough the otp cough.) As somebody who lives right outside NYC, New York has a feel to it that I think TASM really gets. The Parker home feels very real to me, and I love May and Peter’s dynamic and Ben and Peter’s dynamic and that he loves them, but he’s angry, too, and feels abandoned, and that he and May both know the other lies to them. And I love that it lets Peter have an edge. For me Peter’s kindness and compassion are much more interesting when contrasted against his anger and deep sadness – if he’s sweetness and light all the time it strikes me as hollow. Going to get Way Too Personal for a sec but that kind of economic and social shift that young (look at Richard&Mary’s house in the beginning vs Ben&May’s) really does a number on you and I recognize a lot of it in TASM Peter. Anyway, the fast-talking, also really good, moving along here.

And like! There’s so much stuff in the background of these movies! I kind of don’t know where to begin because I just have so many Thoughts – that beautiful apartment the Stacy family has, like, where is that money coming from? Presumably from her mother? A police chief isn’t affording that place. Asking Peter where his suit for dinner is? WHAT WORLD DO THE TASM STACYS LIVE IN. It’s so weird. It’s great. I love it, I love the differences between Peter and Gwen represented by their environments and their almost magnetic attraction to each other. And like! Flash and Peter in the first movie – the hallway confrontation, Flash’s “It feels better, right?” when Peter pins him up against the lockers, referencing Flash’s abusive home life. Why did they have to cut Flash’s one TASM2 scene. You will never convince me that the brunette girl with glasses in the first TASM movie isn’t TASM Jessica Jones.

I REALLY like the decision to skip Norman as the Green Goblin altogether and go straight to Harry, and I think Dane DeHaan’s Harry was amazing. I never thought I would kind of ship Electro/Harry Osborn but here we are. Okay this is just. Getting really long. I love TASM. I love its Peter. I cry like, every time at the car scene when he takes the mask off while saving the little boy and also at all the swinging. I love how lonely a series it is. I’m realizing this is why my really long TASM2/Fant4stic JohnnyPeter fic is Just So Long, it’s all of these feelings. (It’s actually because I have to keep switching povs because from Johnny’s pov I can’t convey Peter’s deep grief properly and from Peter’s pov I can’t find an elegant way to mention that Johnny and Victor made out once and it was a bad time.) 

Stuff I didn’t like: 

taking Dr. Ashley Kafka, who in 616 is a woman in the psychiatric field who is professional and compassionate, and ending up where TASM ended up with THEIR Dr. Kafka, a sadistic male scientist with a German accent. Why.

SO MUCH RICHARD PARKER HONESTLY WHO CARES ABOUT RICHARD PARKER

but it’s fine because we could’ve either gone the clone place or the android parents place with that alternative ending and I would sat there stuffing popcorn into my face being like “wow give it every oscar”

But really they should’ve cut every scene with an airplane in it in TASM2 and kept the one where Flash and Peter hug and Flash says he loves him instead

We’re never getting TASM3 and I will never get to roll around in all the cash I would’ve won betting on them doing the Ultimate Spider-Man Venom plotline

I really liked Tom Holland in Homecoming edit I meant Civil War in my defense this is a lot of names. I thought they did a great job with the introduction – my entire theater burst into THUNDEROUS applause as soon as QUEENS flashed on the screen, and they established his power set really well. (Stop Underpowering Peter Parker 2017.) The trailer for Homecoming looks good! I’m excited! I totally called the Vulture AND the Shocker villains so if they crash prom Marvel owes me money for stalking my twitter.

I have like. Two complaints.

Why Is Ned Leeds Ganke, like, okay, Ned Leeds in his original incarnation is Peter Parker’s romantic rival for Betty Brant and, later, his coworker and friend. (He was also a supervillain. It’s a long story!) Ganke Lee is Miles Morales’ best friend and confidant in all things Spider-Man. MCU Ned Leeds looks incredibly similar to Ganke, and Ganke loves legos – we see Ned playing with legos in the trailer. I’m really (eyebrows raised) about the MCU so blatantly taking a major Miles Morales character and grafting him onto a Peter Parker minor character. If you wanted to make a Miles Morales movie, MCU, you should’ve made a Miles Morales movie. (Before anyone says yes I know there’s going to be an animated Miles Morales movie.)

I’m ehhhhh about the amount of Tony Stark in the trailer and the role he was presented in. I know trailers lie, and I was … mostly fine with Tony giving Peter the suit in Civil War, but one of the things I like about Peter Parker is that he’s an inventor, and he’s mostly street level, and he’s kind of a weird loner solo player. So. I don’t know. I’m going to see the movie and form my opinions I guess! Trailers are just trailers! Let Peter Parker make his own stuff before we go all Iron Spider.

I’m also worried it will be Too Fun because what’s a Spider-Man story without creeping, crushing sadness. And I literally just said I hate fun. Rest assured if I was capable of being sorry for being this way I would be. 

Anyway I am the opposite of the entire internet and I wish we had like, five different Spider-Man movie series running at all times so we could really get deep into Spidey mythos and explore a whole host of things. There’s no such thing as too many Spider-Man movies! There could be ten a month and my dumb self would be in the theater every opening night stuffing popcorn into my face and whispering “gosh I just love Spider-Man.”

PS the night I went to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 I went to my local theater where it’s almost always just me and a handful of other people and there was this trio of old people up in the front row having a loud and passionate argument about PeterGwen vs PeterMJ and it was the best real life ship war I’ve ever witnessed.