#he turned up fantastic compared to his appearance in that there trailer

[poppibranchlover]

Meet John Dory, Branch’s long-lost brother! 😁💚

He wants to get the BroZone band back together again, and now he needs Branch’s help to do so! 😊

[delyth88]

My immediate I-just-finished-watching-Loki-episode-4 reaction post

There be spoilers ahead.  Oh damn there be spoilers!

Okay.  Firstly, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Secondly, that was awesome!

Thirdly, so many things!  In no particular order…

Did they just create the Kang problem?  By spagettifying Timely near the Loom did they just somehow seed the multiverse with Kang variants who know more than they should?

“I don’t know”. Agh!  What does this mean! Why is this important to Loki?  What has he just realised? “What’d we do wrong?” “I don’t know”.

The time loop scene was just beautiful! I loved how they cut to Loki from the past and it took me a couple of seconds to realise that wasn’t our present Loki. (Not that I’m complaining, I could happily watch him running desperately through the TVA for a long time lol.) I’d had a feeling the show was going to tie back to the time slipping thing more strongly in this episode so had just rewatched episode 1, for which I am very glad. Made following things a little easier. But it was also great to be able to more closely compare the scene to the on in my memory from ep 1.  I totally thought it was going to be Loki on the phone too though, so that it was OB was almost a disappointment lol!  I’d thought perhaps it was going to be a future version of Loki making the call at that time to bring his past self to that location to be pruned. But unless things are even more convoluted than they appear it seems it wasn’t a call from anyone with that purpose in mind.

The music that starts playing as present Loki realises what’s going on and makes the decision to prune his past self – is that the beginnings of a heroic theme for him!?  Eeeee!  (I feel like it’s going to be my deathbed wish to see Loki straight up play the hero in something, lol!)  Even if not, the music here was great!  From tense and creepy to determined and uplifting!  I didn’t notice it on first viewing, it was just there unconsciously guiding how I felt, but clearly being very effective!

So. That ending eh? OMG! I was NOT expecting that!!!

I was genuinely shocked at the spaghettification.  And then how quickly the Loom went critical and that they actually showed us how everyone handled their last moments.  Mobius disbelieving, Sylvie and OB quietly resigned, B-15 terrified, and Loki, with tears in his eyes, facing death head on.  Lmao.O does that count as another death for Loki? *cackles madly* Also, so THAT’S what that shot from the trailer was from.  No wonder he looked so… much.

And then OMG!  The flickering lights! That was so well done!  Now you’re gonna laugh, but my TV and living room lights regularly flicker and the TV turns off. Something about the wifi and picking up signals from phones and alarms.  For instance it always turns off at 9pm when my alarm goes off.  So you can imagine why it took me watching the final scene three times before I was convinced it wasn’t a technical glitch at my end.  LOL! 

I love how it’s tied in with the flickering of the lights in the TVA itself. And I love how it works as a symbol for a glitch in time itself – which is what I assume these events have caused.  And the music over the end credits – good lord I still have shills! It’s all so very wrong! Like reality is disintegrating. Like a Dali painting. It’s sooo uncomfortable!  And so very, very, well done!  Such a fantastic blend of the show with reality!  Agh! I love it!  I also love that this is something new, something I’ve never experienced in film or TV before and it’s going to stick with me for life.

So did Timely sabotage things, or do something other than what OB was expecting? Or was he just bluffing with Renslayer? Did he volunteer for the reasons he said, or was he planning something? I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I’m just… not… sure.  Did he intend for that to happen to him?  Or did he miscalculate? Or was everything played straight?

I’m sympathetic towards Timely.  The trouble is we haven’t seen him for long enough to really know who he is. In the brief time we’ve been shown conflicting things – he’s a confidence trickster, but he seems harmless enough in the scheme of things. His wonder at all the things in the TVA (including the hot chocolate machine) are very endearing.  He seems genuinely scared of… well… pretty much everyone at some point (except OB), and the way Loki and Mobius show him trust and are kind to him is sweet. But then he hadn’t really been around the TVA long enough for us to see what sort of schemes he could think of to work to his advantage, so perhaps it’s just a matter of time.

So where to from here?  I can see why they showed the press up until this point, and I can see why some of the reviews talked about how episode 4 turned things on it’s head. 

I’m going to assume that episodes 5 and 6 are about Loki working out how to fix things. Or maybe not quite fix, but at least not completely destroy. I feel like things at the TVA won’t be the same by the end of the season.

Something makes it so that Loki starts timeslipping again, and into the branched timelines too.  Or is it perhaps just along his own timeline?? We’ve heard him asking how they could do things differently, so I assume that’s what he’ll be trying.  Maybe many different attempts.  Maybe all of those in the room are now unstably jumping about within their own timelines.  I don’t know, but there certainly look to be lots of super cool possibilities!  I half expect the start of the next episode is Loki opening his eyes to find himself in another place/time, and then working out wtf is happening. 

Also, we’ve been working on the premise that Timely is a variant, but what if he actually is He Who Remains? What if HWR is in a permanent time loop? (That is of course assuming that Timely somehow didn’t actually die. Or at least not permanently.)

I think I might have to stop thinking about it there or else I might go mad. *cackles*

Some other things:

OB learning everything from Timely!!!  OMG!  I didn’t expect that but I love it.  That was never fully explained, was it?  Does someone take Timely’s TVA book waaay back into the past? They were as cute as imagined in their meeting.  Part of me is still sad they never signed each other’s copy of the TVA book.  But if Timely’s book goes back to OB then it couldn’t be signed by OB I suppose.

Renslayer and Miss Minutes going outright evil.  Well at least I know what side of things she’s on now, I guess. I’m glad they never showed us the results of the machine, because the expressions of those watching was terrifying enough.

Dox defending B-15’s integrity was great. I should have known she wouldn’t live after that.

Nice to have the memory erasing confirmed.

Interesting convo between Sylvie and Mobius. I thought that was interesting and reflected their experiences and positions well.  I really feel for Mobius. I think I’d probably react similarly to him and just not want to know for fear of it being better than the life I knew.  So I have a lot of sympathy for him, but I can totally see Sylvie’s point.  But sometimes you have to narrow your scope of caring to survive.

Loki and Sylvie’s conversation in the Automat may actually be my favourite interaction between them so far.  Loki seemed to be more confident in himself.  He wasn’t trying to please her or desperate for her to do/not do something. It seemed a more mature conversation where he recognised there was no right answer, and was prepared to walk away rather than try to convince her, and equally, she didn’t just push him away or run herself. I might actually be starting to buy the fact that these tow have a history of some sort.

The fact that OB can reset the TVA’s system and enable magic to be used within the TVA – and Loki and Sylvie’s shouted response – Brilliant!!!  I feel like that’s going to be significant later on.  I mean it did allow Sylvie to enchant X-5, so maybe that’s the payoff already, but maybe it also allows Loki (or Sylvie) to do something bigger in that brief window if he’s jumping through time again. I wonder f also it’ll turn out that some other people in the TVA will turn out to be magic users? (I’m assuming not Mobius because of the 90’s and jetski thing, but maybe?)

So I had really quite low expectations for this season.  As I’ve said before I didn’t like several fundamental things about season 1, but we’re 4 episodes in and I am *almost* confident enough to say that most of those are absent from season 2. Or at least so far.  They key thing being Loki’s characterisation – it’s still not entirely consistent with OG Loki, but it’s no longer excruciating to watch him clown about. There are still a few moments this season that have been beyond my comfort zone, but 90% of the time he’s been more assured and has been treated seriously by the show.  He’s also been the driver of events and the eyes through which we see things more than in the first season. And I am so thankful for this.

The tone of this episode is more aligned with episode 1, but that makes sense because it’s both more similar in topic and by the same directing team.  And given Episode 1 was my favourite before this, I’m more than happy!

There’s still a couple of episodes to go, but 4 episodes in and I’ve gone from, ‘yeah, I’ll watch it but only out of curiosity and some weird lingering sense of obligation because I’m a Loki fan’, to ‘this is actually potentially great and I can’t wait to see what happens next’.  Which has been a bit of a shock.  Lol!  I’ve been a Loki fan for too long to have the confidence to call it yet, but I’m leaning more towards the optimistic end of ‘cautiously optimistic’.

Okay, my mutuals and anyone else who wants to discuss – what did you think?  :D

Tagging a few folk since I’m a day or so late.  But please let me know if you’d rather not be tagged (or would like to be added). @sparklegemstone @pinkpondofasgard @woodelf68 @galaxythreads @ladyofthestayingpower @scintillatingshortgirl19 @projectprotectloki

[not-too-many-eyes]

The ONE TIME I don't check Digimon Survive News is the day a 6 minute trailer for it comes out, hhhhhhhhh.

Gonna talk about some Cool Things about that trailed cause I'm very excited for Survive, mostly visual stuff since I don't know Japanese.

-BRANCHED EVOS FOR THE SIDE CHARACTERS, you can see in the trailed when they show Sangloupmon, Dracmon's Ultimate/Mega branches, probably only the Ultimate's/Mega's for the side characters but I still like there having branches, timestamp is 4:27 cause it's really easy to miss.

-Tyrannomon as an official Agumon Evolution here! There's pictures (that don't appear in the trailed) showing Tyrannomon taking the place of Greymon in the evolution shot thing, and those are real from what I can tell, trailer-wise you CAN actually see Tyrannomon as Takuma's Partner, at 4:34 of the trailer, same with Diatrymon being Falcomon's evo!

-THE ART OF THIS GAME IS JUST SO BEAUTIFUL, I love all the lighting and the art style of this game so much, plus it seems like the camera is pretty fantastic, with all the panning and close ups and general movement it's doing, something I find charming is that in one of the shot the camera bobs up and down to make it feel like your walking. That and also I just really like the limited animation and posing of this game, there's a lot of neat character poses and expressions, plus the poses and attacks the chibis do are really cute. Also Dracmon doesn't open his mouth and I love that.

Interesting thing to note: Some Shots are done in a comic style with panels, I don't know I just thought that was cool.

-THE SIBLINGS, THE TWO BLACK HAIRED ONES, I love how they just started the trailed with the sister getting forcibly dragged by the hands, also apparently the opening shot is the story of the Kemonogani, meaning that could mean those children got sacrificed. Also the girl seems to be connected to those weird frog thingys which *eyes*.

-I love the show where Arukenimon is right behind purple headband guy and he just...looks towards Arukenimon, really feels like a "...It's right behind me isn't it?" moment.

-Actually a lot of the new mons we saw are interesting, Arukenimon, Garurumon, Monzaemon, Gotsumon, even Biyomon, Palmon and Patamon, which we see terribly hurt in some sort of castle-like area, and there's also the weird frogs and that ball that you can see in the action turn part of the battlefield sometimes.

-HAT GUY IS NOT DEAD BUT ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT! I've seen some places call him a Professor and that seems to make sense with the footage we've seen of him. Really curious to know what his role here is.

-HUANGLONGMON MIGHT BE HERE! At the end there's a mural thing they find and the beast there seems to be Huanglongmon, now if it is, is still unclear but they do look similar. Still interesting to note

-Weird Cloak Guy has been repeatedly been compared to Piedmon, for multiple reasons but the main evidence is the blue ribbons behind them and the heart charm thing, not completely sure if I believe this but the Weird Cloak Guy is VERY NOTEWORTHY so it is here.

There's probably more things I missed but I am tired, I'm so excited for Survive.

[lizacstuff]

Liza that 3rd fragman 👀 "if I was born a 100 times I'd fall in love with you everytime" Eda saying this is their last obstacle and nothing can separate them, serkan's "I'll be right back, close your eyes I'm here" If this isn't all a red flag for shits about to hit the fan then I don't know what is LOL (but also how cute to Edser look and them telling each other they love each other very much 😭😭😭)

That fragman is both the SWEETEST and the MOST OMINOUS thing I’ve ever seen. ALL AT ONCE.  

Friends... we’re gonna go through some things.  That being said, everything is going to be great. These writers have been solid so far, and I have faith they have come up with something really interesting to increase the longevity of this show. And I don’t know about you, but I’m prepared to go through some things if it means keeping Eda and Serkan for longer.  (I heart them)

This show is about Eda and Serkan and their love story, at it’s core it’s a comedy, it will all lead to happy things, but... yeah, buckle up! 

I have a lot of asks both about the fragman and last ep, so I’m going to answer a bunch under the cut. 

Anonymous said: The fandom theories about episode 28 have gotten so wild that I literally think the most shocking thing would be if they actually got married and were not separated (emotionally or physically). What if the earlier painful episodes were to make us believe that things couldn't possibly go right in 28 and it's a reverse psychology trick?

You could be right!  I like your thinking. I checked on twitter and I had to back away slowly. The juvenile temper tantrums were too much for me today.  

Look, I think it’s clear something big is coming. It has to, there has to be something that shakes up the show. Some of the theories are more upsetting and catastrophic than others, but the writers won’t do anything that dings either character or their love for one another.  Whatever happens will showcase the connection between these two and the chemistry between the actors, that’s the point of everything, and anything that does those things is gonna be a-okay with me. 

@jan31​ Hi Liza. Do you think we are going to see the wedding in 28 or they will leave it on a cliffhanger for next week. Lots of theories going round mainly cos of Neslihan saying new dimensions coming in episode 29, which could just mean married life etc. I have seen suggestions of memory loss, it's all a dream since episode one. I would personally love Eda to wake up like in episode one but for it to be a total turn around and she is the boss and Serkan the employee. Eda being robot yildiz appeals to me!!! I know it will never happen but leave me here with my dreams!!

I started the day at 90% sure they’ll be married in 28/29, but now I’m down to like 30% that they’ll get married in these episodes. I really, really want them to get married before whatever happens happens, because every scenario I can think of for this reset or starting again, seems like it would be better if they were married.  

However, the shooting spoilers from today, make me question that. Namely the videos where Hande appears to still be wearing the ring on her right hand. We shall see, that could be for many reasons. 

Honestly, though, I wouldn’t hate a memory loss storyline. Seeing one of them (and Serkan’s line in the trailer makes it seem like it might be him) lose their memory and have to fall in love all over again? There are worse fates for a shipper than getting to experience that all again but in a different way.  

Anonymous said: Your response to the fandom drama anon was so good, it's exactly how I feel. While I don't know what the old posts that were like are (that's shady as fuck) I did see all the other drama go down and wow. The actresses def need to stay in their lane and some of the fans, hoooo boy, it's obvious they're young based off their reactions alone. Had to unfollow some people once I realized what they were like. Also some of the IRL shipping reminded me of col*fer stuff, reading into everything and blowing it out of proportion (which then gets picked up by paps....). But you're right in that at least the show related drama is tame compared to OUAT. But still, people being too careless even while they know the paps see everything and harass Kerem and hande (omg did you see the video of hande the other day stopped in the van and she looked so overwhelmed 😔)

You’re referencing this post here about yesterday’s drama. 

Today Neslihan made it worse by addressing everything and claiming she didn’t like all those Hande-bashing posts because... wait for it... she was HACKED. Oy. Hackers got in and went back two years to like gross posts about Hande? Sure, Jan. While I don’t believe that for a second, I guess that at least gives her cover with Hande so they can all pretend it’s true and move on so it’s not awkward on set.  But, yikes, she needs to consult a publicist, she took a narrative that was circulating in certain circles in fandom and made sure all her followers were aware. Not very savvy. 

As for the paps coming after Hande, yes I did see her in the car, she did look overwhelmed. Back off vultures!!! That’s why I think Kerem sometimes throws himself to the wolves so that doesn’t happen. She always handles them like a pro, but you can tell she’d rather be anywhere else on earth than talking to them. 

The pap stuff is worse than I’ve seen before, they’re like vultures circling for any conjecture (sometimes made up out of thin air) they can turn into a question and blame fans. OUAT actors dealt with nothing like this. Also I can’t believe they never ask about the show. Like after last week? They could legit ask about the sex scene which probably would have given them some angle on the actors that they wanted, (especially since it was too hot for Turkish TV) but they let that pass them by, and instead asked the same questions about being together that they never answer. Dumbasses. They are not only awful people, they are awful at their jobs. 

In Van, the paps pay off crew members for info, they always know more than fans. Also I don’t remember stars of my shows getting this level of tabloid attention before. Except for on Riverdale, Lili and Cole generated that level of interest, and while I didn’t pay terribly close attention to them, I feel like they rarely talked to the paps, were just photographed. Also I don’t suspected the CW of calling the paps on them, but I suspect either the network or production company of sometimes calling them on Hande and Kerem. 

Anonymous said: Do you think it’s weird that they didn’t touch the kidnapping at all in either trailer? They might not have filmed it in time for the 1st one but certainly the 2nd. And I’m definitely not complaining about the ones we got because its like a fairytale but the kidnapping was the cliffhanger...? 🧐 I think they should’ve just left the princes storyline at “he went back to his country” but then they didn’t so......

If they’d left his story at just going back to his country, then the Prince really wouldn’t have served his purpose. He was brought on to cause some sort of trouble, so they probably need him to cause the trouble before he goes, lets hope it ends with this kidnapping!

And to answer your question, yes, I do think it’s weird that neither trailer touched on it. On any other show I’d think it was a huge red flag, but on this show maybe not as much because  a) there’s obviously a lot of romance in this episode, it’s not crazy that they are focusing on that to draw people in with the promos  b) this show likes to do cliffhangers that end up being no big deal, that happens a lot.  

Who knows it could turn out to be a big deal that shapes the rest of the episode in some unexpected way (Eda’s captured the whole episode and she’s dreaming about wedding prep, or... who knows) but I think it’s more likely that they resolve in the first 5-10 minutes and then move on.  Since we know from the summary (not that I trust those) that Serkan goes on the bachelor weekend, it feels like the Prince is taken care of prior to that. I don’t think he’d leave her alone for a second if there was a chance the Prince was still a threat. Perhaps Babaanne is pissed he tried to kidnap Eda and tells them she’ll handle it herself???

Anonymous said: Semiha not being in the promo is highkey suspicious. The actress is promoting the episode lol. She's about to Evil Queen this wedding ceremony but you know what, I'm fine with whatever she has planned if they end up married at the end of the day. What's funny is that since a lot of fans these days will assume that there will be shocking negative plot twists, not actually having one here would be a plot twist so I hope the writers keep them together for whatever's next haha

You’re not wrong, at this point, having this wedding take place would be a shocking twist for all of us!  As for Semiha... hmmm... it will be interesting to see what her reaction is to Eda being kidnapped by her pick of suitor. Serkan Bolat might be the son of the man indirectly responsible for her parents death, but he would never hurt her. Take note, Grandbag!  

Anonymous said: Do you mind sharing your speculative scenarios?

After the trailer today, I don’t know if I can even remember some of them. 

Memory loss

Grandma forces Serkan to choose between Eda and his company/wealth,  he chooses Eda and they start over from scratch with nothing

Time jump

AU starting over, showing a different path they might have taken together

Dream

These actors playing different characters in a new story

I don’t think the last three are likely, but they did spring to mind after some of Neslihan’s teases. 

Anonymous said: So this show doesn't get like fantastic ratings (it actually seems to be on the lower end compared to all other dizis airing) but the social media engagement is off the charts. Why is that?!? Is the show just extraordinarily popular internationally? or that this is a "shipping" show? I'm floored by the numbers - its like no other show/fandom is even trying

The ratings were terrific during the summer. But to your point, it has a huge fandom both in Turkey and internationally, but it’s worth noting that most of those charts you see where it beats every other show in every imaginable social metric is just for Turkey.  

It’s one of those lightning in a bottle situations where you get the right property and the right actors together at the right time and magic happens.  And, for sure, the number one reason is the shipping. Shipping drives fandom engagement, and a fantastic ship with a juicy, fun, tropey love story is what this show offers. It also offers up two extremely attractive, talented, likeable leads with off-the-charts chemistry (plus the added speculation about an off-camera relationship that has intrigued more than a few fans, tabloids and gossip sites and fueled interest) who have done a good job of building the fanbase through their social media engagement. Plus the timing is part of it as well. I don’t know about you, but this show hit the spot during this pandemic and the horror of 2020. We all needed this escape. 

Anonymous said:Do you think something happened in the writers room after the backlash of 25 and fan disappointment after Ayse's announcement? I feel like a switch flipped and now we're in fanficland with how much good content we've gotten in these last two episodes. Like I thought maybe they should wrap up the series soon before the characters got completely off the tracks but they may be finding their groove now and I'm interested to see what their next twist is after they can write out Balca/Seymen.

I don’t know about a switch flip, this show has been fanfic land since the first episode!  The tropes! That is how I described it to multiple people when I first started watching: an AU fanfic come to life.

As for the writing changes, no, I don’t think backlash after 25 affected 26 or 27, because 26 was already 90% shot, and 27 already written. However, I assume they themselves could tell that 25 got just too dark and had strayed pretty far from the DNA of the series. While I didn’t think it was bad, it was not fun to watch and this show ought to be fun to watch. 

Let’s hope, however, that the backlash affects future episodes in that they know what works... and what doesn’t.  The last two episodes definitely felt reminiscent of the first batch of episodes. Light, funny, romantic. If they can keep that tone... I’ll be thrilled.

Anonymous said: i didn't realize how much i missed "together" edser until watching 27.. it's been so long since they were "officially" together and we also had such few episodes of it.. ppl have been comparing it to 12 and while in some ways i agree, edser are always so different here than they were there. 12 was them navigating their new relationship.. they were more shy and finding their footing.. here they are very much established, as they should be after knowing their love for so long in comparison to 12!

Yes, it was lovely. You know I’ve preached a lot about how even though Eda and Serkan were broken up, they’ve still been together all this time. And it’s true, but there is something about them truly being together that is magical. We never got enough of that the first time around (a writing mistake in my opinion) and they’re so good together it’s lovely to watch. 

Anonymous said: Serkan not asking for help from Balca when asking his team for help with the marriage gifts preparations and refusing her offer of help when she asked made me so happy. Good job Serkan! He's learning! She's not trustworthy!

Yes, that was a good moment. And he was eyeing her very warily when she offered. The thing I don’t understand is how has no one caught on that she’s working with Babaanne? That entire office is filled with nosy people, has no one remarked on the number of times Balca has gone up to the office or they’ve disappeared for lunch at the same time? Come on Leyla! Come on Melo! Notice these things!  

Anonymous said: Fingers crossed that we finally make progress towards getting rid of Seiman & Balca now that all the girls were drugged and Eda was put in the car in the last episode. Unless Seiman has a change of heart and takes Eda back inside before anyone wakes & the guys get there then the show has to address it. Although I do not think Balca is going to back down unless Serkan straight up tells her he has zero interest in her and never will. Totally fine if that happens in the next episode.

Will Balca backdown even if she’s humiliated like that? She’s so delusional I’m not sure. What I am sure is that she’s dangerous. This came in before we saw the other two fragmans that have no mention of the kidnapping. Hard to picture how that is so easily resolved. Unless she frees herself (which seems unlikely in her groggy state) or maybe Melo’s future boyfriend is able to stop it before they get far?  Or I don’t know. I just know that I want to see Serkan lose his mind and all the other characters see Serkan lose his mind and then I want it to be over. LOL.

Anonymous said: As much as I am loving everything Edser, I cannot wait for Seiman, Balca and Grandma to be gone. And I am even more annoyed to think that the show might try to redeem all 3 characters. All 3 of them are truly awful people and no need to waste air time trying to make the audience think any different. Just my opinion...🤷🏻‍♀️. Show please finally expose those 3 for the psychos they are and get rid of them.

Bye bitches!  I don’t think there’s any redemption for Balca and Seiman. They both have poisoned/dosed people, hard to come back from that.  And there is no need to redeem them because neither is compelling enough to be a long-term character. But maybe Granny, we probably will see a redemption arc for her. 

Anonymous said: i know you were worried a few weeks ago that with ayse leaving as writer, we probably wouldn't have the same sort of comedy as previous episodes... but istg the whole kiz isteme scene, especially with chef alex, had me almost crying with laughter. especially when serkan off the cuff just goes "well if that's an option..." to everyone misunderstanding alex "wanting" ayfer for 2 nights and then eda ready to beat him with the flowers he bought her... comedic gold lmao.

SO GOOD! I was thrilled to see that sort of comedy, the sort of comedy we’d come to expect, from these writers. I think it bodes very well indeed!  

That scene was amazing. I know Neslihan said that much of it was improvised. Probably that line from Serkan (since Serkan is SO out-of-his-mind in love I’m not sure he could even joke about having Eda only two nights a week! LOL) was improv from Kerem, and Aydan asking about the other nights, and Seyfi bringing up the weekend. And Eda’s very Hande-esque “Ser-KAN.” 

I just love rewatching that scene and checking out everyone who is breaking character and just losing it. Cagri most of all. He’s blurred aback there but you can see Ferit spends the whole time laughing or trying to stifle a laugh. Reminds me of Cagri in the scene in 18 when they’re watching the security footage he was losing it in that scene as well. 

Anonymous said: i'm scared - I think they are really about to give us all of these happy EdSer scenes only to have something happen RIGHT before the wedding ceremony due to Babaanne. Based on the last episode, I don't think there's any chance of a breakup (knock on wood) but what if Serkan gets arrested, goes to jail for 2 years, and we get a time jump?

This was sent before the last two teasers, so yes I think something is gonna happen. We shall see!  I don’t really think Serkan going to jail for 2 years is in the cards, at least I hope not!  Besides if Babaanne did that she would have no hopes of ever reconciling with Eda, so that seems unlikely she’d follow through and leave him there for so long a time. 

Anonymous said: With the last week's sex scene, they did a lot of fade outs but the scene was basically still there so it wasn't much wasted effort for the actors. But for what they're teasing in episode 28 - idk how they can get away with showing them in the shower at all if Serkan lifting Eda with her clothes on had required blurring? Is Eda dropping her robe even pushing it? It's intriguing indeed.

Great questions. We’re 36 hours from finding out (well I'm longer than that because I wait for the English subs, hee hee) All I know is I want to see these scenes.. one way or another! 

[calliecat93]

Are we ready for a good ol’ fashioned Grimm fight readers? I hope you are! So this is the final chapter to contain footage from the trailer, and all that’s left from that are the outfits and the fights in the mines. So… this should be an interesting one. The past two chapters have been pretty strong, so can this one continue the streak? Well, let’s take a look~!

Overview

We actually get multiple perspectives in the beginning, so let’s go in chronological order. First is Clover briefing Ruby, Jaune, and Qrow on the upcoming mission, which is to clear the launch site for Amity Colosseum. The plan is to use an abandoned Dust Mine… but it’s Grimm infested, so they gotta get rid of those nasty buggers first. I really like seeing Ruby and Jaune there and being respected as the respective leaders of their teams. They feel like actual Huntsmen now… which if one zooms in on the holo-screen, we see that they’re labeled as active Huntsmen now! Yay~! Anyways, after the briefing, Pietro gives everyone containers containing their upgraded weapons, modified by both requests and based on what he saw in Vytal Festival footage, and new outfits! Everyone preps, including Ruby… but then Oscar approaches her. We’ll go into that one in a bit. For now though, everyone is ready to go, but Oscar remains behind in Atlas. Still, we see everyone use landing strategies, including Jaune. The boy has grown~! Also, new song~! Love it~!!! 

So it’s Team RWBY with Marrow and Harriet, JNR with Elm and Vine, and finally Qrow and Clover. We get a cute Bumblebee moment as Ruby feels cold, likely from the very brief amount of Aura she depleted when landing. Which we saw on Blake’s Scroll, which all of those were also updated! But when Blake mentions leaving Oscar behind, Yang stops Ruby to question about her lying to Ironwood. Ruby is clearly uncomfortable with this, but justifies it by bringing up the current state of Atlas and Mantle. Blake and Weiss back her up and agree that for now, they should hold back on revealing everything about Jinn, Oz, and Salem. Ruby even says that she /will/ tell Ironwood eventually… but she goes quiet when Yang asks about how Oscar took it. We flashback to Ruby handing Oscar the Lamp since… well, she’s about to go on a mission and having a Relic/Grimm Magnet out in the open could be a bad thing. But Oscar then asks the million-dollar question; isn’t Ruby doing to Ironwood what Oz did to them? We see Ruby look conflicted… but we don’t see her response.

For now, the mission is underway with all the groups going through different sections of the Mines. We get a few bits like Clover asking Qrow about being on a team before, but Qrow responding that working alone tends to be easier. Ouch. We have Nora trying to compliment Ren’s new look… but he dodges the topic. Because we haven’t seen that kind of scene in everything in existence ever. Over with RWBY, they run into a cave-in… which causes Blake to recognize the Mine that they are in. One where an explosion happened, and while no one says it, likely killed several Faunus. Hmm… could this be the same accident that killed Ilia’s parents perhaps? Anyways, this makes Weiss feel guilty for her father’s horrible actions as well as how complacent about it she used to be. Marrow, who is also a Faunus, even pipes in about how due to Atlas’ system/society, humans always stand back and allow his kind to be mistreated despite benefiting from them while they have to do nothing. Plus there are those who still willingly abuse them, like the Schnee Dust Company. After all, again it isn’t said, but remember what we found out was under Adam’s mask…

Anyways, they’ve found a way through via a gap and send Blake in since she can fit through/see in the dark. At first, it all looks clear and with no Dust around they can just blast their way through. But things quickly change as Blake encounters the Geist Grimm. As such, Harriet breaks the wall with her weapon, which seems to give her cybernetic armor. Nice! Before they can give chase, however, they are confronted by some kind of... ugh… bug Grimm. Centipedes maybe? Evil caterpillars? IDK, but they’re creepy as Hell and with my fear of bugs, you can only imagine how much of a joy this was for me.

Cue the action sequence! We get to see some of the upgrades as Yang can now attach miniature bombs to the Grimm that she punches, while Ruby can turn her scythe blade around which increases her trajectory. JNR, Elm, and Vine also get into a fight and we see that the blades on Ren’s guns now have grappling abilities. But we also get to see what the Ace-Ops can do. Marrow has a boomerang/sword/gun hybrid and seems to be able to freeze things… not like with ice, just stop them from moving. Elm can root herself in place while Vine is more or less Mr. Fantastic from Fantastic Four, but it looks like only with his arms. Harriet has a Speed Semblance, something that Ruby excitedly points out since she too has a Speed Semblance. Make a note of that for the end kids!

Back with Qrow and Clover, they’re facing the Geist as Clover tells everyone to head for his location. Unfortunately, it’s able to possess a boulder-sized chunk of ice and begins to have more form the body. Qrow sees that a metal grate is going to collapse due to this and just barely warns Clover, but the Geist is able to go down further into the mines. Qrow reveals his Bad Luck Semblance as to why he was able to warn Clover as well as how he can’t 100% control it. But Clover reveals his own Semblance, which as we all guessed, is Good Fortune. To say that Qrow looks less than happy about it, well… no, that seems pretty accurate. Less than happy. 

Everyone reaches the location, but the Geist has already proceeded to add what I assume is Gravity Dust to its body. So they can’t just smash it the way that RNJR did in V4 since… well… I imagine that exploding Gravity Dust would NOT end well. Before RWBY or JNR can do anything, Ace-Ops is already on the move. It’s a really cool sequence! We get to see how well Ace-Ops works together, seeming to know each others strengths and able to coordinate ad improvise very well off of each other. It’s like with Team RWBY when they coordinate attacks, but there’s this more… professional, higher-skilled atmosphere when watching them in action. They also are able to coordinate knocking off the Dust Crystals and catching them before they hit the ground. It’s an awesome display that clearly has RWBY and JNR awed, and I imagine it’s going to inspire them for later on.

The battle ends with Clover using his fishing line to rip the Grimm straight out of its ice body and Harriet delivering the killing blow. Daaaamn. With the Geist gone though, Dust Crystals start to fall and Ace-Ops starts to round them up. Before Harriet can grab the last one, Ruby beats her to it with the usage of her Petal Burst. But this brings up something… interesting. Harriet helps Ruby up, but she also points out that compared to other Speed Semblances she’s seen, Ruby’s Semblance… doesn’t appear to be Speed Based. Or at least, it’s not the main thing. There may just be something more to it. We don’t get a lot of time to ponder it though as Clover reports the mission as accomplished. But we don’t end on a happy note. We see Forest dropped off back in Mantle… where he runs into Tyrian. Our episode ends with Tyrian striking with his tail, and I think you can figure out Forest’s fate without me needing to say it.

Review

So far… this is my least favorite chapter. But that’s not saying much when we’re only three chapters in. And even then, I really enjoyed this one!

Let’s go over the outfits and upgrades first. It… was a little underwhelming. I was hoping for some more character stuff like Blake debating on cutting her hair and thinking about where she is now compared to back then. Instead… we just have her looking into a mirror. Jaune we at least saw tracing his fingers over his Pyrrha sash. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the sequences fine and I LOVE the results! Everyone looks so good! Even Jaune, who’s new hair I hated the most looks great! I just wanted… well, a little bit more. Still, very least nothing drags like they’d run the risk of if they did extend it, so it is what it is. The upgrades are all fantastic as well! Not sure if we’ve seen all of them, but Ruby, Yang, Jaune, and Ren’s? Love ‘em~!

I also wish that we had more follow-up after the last episode regarding Ruby. I’m happy that Yang and Oscar did question it and I liked Blake and Weiss voicing their support for Ruby. But we don’t get to hear from Ruby about how she feels about her own choices. We can tell that she isn’t happy, but we don’t get to hear her talk about it. I know, that’s kind of her thing and it’s gonna be a matter of when the floodgates finally break open. Still, I just wish that we could hear her perspective about it, but I guess we have to wait. But I did like it being brought up and Oscar asking about it being like what Oz did to them. Take that people who called it bad writing!

Those nitpicks aside, this episode was great! We get to truly see the Ace-Ops in action and they are fantastic! Especially at the end! All of them come off as very likable and have this sense of comradery between them. They work together incredibly well, feeling very coordinated and in tandem with each other. Might be because they’re a military unit, but still. My favorite one so far is probably Harriet since imo she has the most personality with her competitiveness, but has this older sister kind of vibe. Marrow is probably a close second though, especially with how he points out how Faunus are put down by Atlas’ system. It might have been his weird way of making Weiss feel better and not put all the blame about her complacency on her since it’s very much a society issue. It was nice to see someone who seems to be on top despite his status recognize the problem is still very much existent.

Speaking of, there’s a lot of good subtle things in this episode regarding the SDC. We see Weiss push snow off a crate, and her face when she sees the company initials just screams guilt. We see her express this regarding how she used to be and how her father treated the Faunus as she recalls his anger when the accident happens. Speaking of, the possibility of it being where Ilia’s parents died? Nice! Blake’s unnerved reaction as she recognizes where they are and how she clearly feels sad about the lives lost shows how dedicated to Faunus Rights she still is and how much better her and Weiss’ relationship is. We’re likely gonna see the true darkness of the SDC this volume especially after seeing Adam’s scar/brand, and it ain’t gonna be pretty for either girl, so it’s good to have that solidarity between them.

The Mines looked like… well, a mine. So not much to say on the design work, but it was good. The fights were great, especially with Ace-Ops. Music was good, both the score and the new vocal track that played, as brief as it was. I know it's WAAAAY too early, but… SOUNDTRACK NOW PLEASE! The pacing was good. Some nice bits like Bumblebee flirting, Jaune and Nora pouting at Elm’s comment about them not dying, Ruby fangirling over Harriet’s Semblance, Qrow’s still lingering self-loathing about Team STRQ and then meeting a guy who has Good Luck powers. There are just so many good things in this episode. I still have my nitpicks like what I mentioned above, and the ‘Nora compliments Ren and gets mad when he changes the subject’ scene because it’s just so… predictable and not funny, cute, or insightful. I’d have cut it personally. But nothing in this episode was badly done. It was standard RWBY quality, which is great~

Last thing that I can think to note is Ruby’s Semblance. As we learn from Harriet, there’s more to it going on than Ruby may have believed. And… I am all for this! It’s been said multiple times how Semblances constantly grow and evolve over time, and we’ve seen that with people like Weiss. It’s been debated a lot about how it doesn’t seem like Ruby’s Semblance is simple speed with rose petals trailing her since at least Volume 4. What is the true extent of her Semblance? I don’t have an exact idea, but I do believe that the rose petals play a part in it. Especially since my headcanon for a long time is that Summer’s Semblance is being able to turn/scatter into rose petals. Which… has me concerned considering the “Thus Kindly She Scatters” inscription on Summer’s grave. Does Ruby have a similar ability? IDK, but I’m excited to find out~!

Chapter Four Predictions

So as it turns out, the thumbnail/description for this episode came out the same day as the premiere. So I have a good idea of what’s likely going to happen. Going off the title, ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ I think that this is going to mark the return of Jaques Schnee. I know, I hate it too, but it was gonna happen sooner or later. Makes sense since he’s likely going to launch some kind of campaign in Mantle and stir up trouble there that’s likely gonna effect RWBY’s efforts to help the city. Especially for poor Weiss cause as Chapter 2 demonstrated, Mantle does not have a happy view of the Schnee Family. Not sure if we’ll see Mama Schnee or Whitley, though the latter has a good chance, but yeah, asshole dad may very well be making his return. I hope that Weiss kicks him.

But on the upside, due to that and them being in Mantle, I think that we might have a very good chance of Robyn finally appearing. Chapter 4 feels like a very good place to bring her in and let her counter Jaques efforts, as well as letting us see what she and her allies can really do. She is Robin Hood after all, so she’s probably up for some thievery and mischief! We also might hear about Tyrian’s murder spree cause that’s probably gonna cause some tension between Mantle and Atlas. It’s gonna be Beacon all over again kids!

Episode Stats

Favorite Character: Harriet Bree and Marrow Armin Favorite Scene: Ace-Ops vs Geist Least Favorite Scene: Nora and Ren scene in the mines Favorite Voice Actor: Anairis Quinones (Harriet Bree) Favorite Animation: Harriet activating her Semblance against the Grimm Bug things Rating: 7.5/10

Final Thoughts

Overall, competent episode. Not my favorite since I felt it was lacking a lot of the tension and drama of Chapter 2 and the draw-in power of Chapter 1. But by no means is it a bad chapter. It accomplishes all that it set out to do and did it well. It fleshed out the Ace-Ops and made them more interesting characters that you want to see more of. It’s a fun episode that may not progress much in the way of plot or drama outside some minor bits, but it was an enjoyable watch. Which at the end of the day, is all that I could ask for~

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: A Bucket of Blood

Dick Miller was such a constant presence in cinema that his death earlier this year was almost like losing an old friend. His familiar face would often only pop up for a scene or two, but he would almost always steal them. Thankfully, he had a long life and left behind plenty of movies through which he lives on. Over the course of his six-decade career, Miller amassed over 150 acting credits, including Gremlins, The Terminator, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Dirty Dozen, The 'Burbs, 1941, and Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight.

1959's A Bucket of Blood is significant for several reasons, perhaps the most notable one being that it's a rare leading role for the character actor. Miller stars as Walter Paisley, a name that would follow him throughout his career, as later filmmakers would adopt it for Miller’s cameo appearances. A Bucket of Blood is also one of Roger Corman's best directorial efforts. It may not have the cache of his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations with Vincent Price or the cult status of The Little Shop of Horrors, but it's one of his most entertaining works.

In typical Corman fashion, A Bucket of Blood was conceived as a way to repurpose leftover sets from 1959's Diary of a High School Bride. He hired writer Charles B. Griffith - their first of three horror-comedy collaborations, succeeded by The Little Shop of Horrors (which not only follows the same plot structure but also reused the sets) and Creature from the Haunted Sea - to pen the script in five days. Corman then shot the film in another five days on a budget of $50,000. Running an economical 66 minutes, it remarkably doesn't look nearly as cheap or as rushed as it undoubtedly was.

Miller's Walter Paisley is a cafe busboy who dotes on insufferably pretentious artists but has ambitions of being one himself. After accidentally killing a cat, inspiration strikes to cover it up as a grotesque yet dignified sculpture. When the local art critics and collectors respond positively to it, he's pressured to replicate the success. The taste of fame goes to his head, turning Walter into one of the obnoxious beatniks who once mocked him, amidst his inadvertent murder spree.

Miller cited A Bucket of Blood as his favorite role, and it is indeed a highlight of his storied career. Giving new meaning to the phrase "tortured artist," the pathos he brings to the character allows him to walk the line between protagonist and antagonist. Miller even subtly shifts his body language from a meek hunch to a poised swagger as his newfound notoriety boosts his confidence. Along with a bevy of Corman's B-movie regulars, the cast notably features Ed Nelson (Peyton Place) and future game show host Bert Convy (Win, Lose or Draw).

Corman’s filmmaking prowess lies not only in his penchant for pinching pennies, but also his talent for discovering and surrounding himself with talent. Despite the restricted time frame, director of photography Jacques R. Marquette (Burnt Offerings, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) was able to deliver quality images. Shot in black and white, the use of shadows and lighting is inspired. Selections from the film's jazz score, composed by Fred Katz, were reused in The Little Shop of Horrors and Creature from the Haunted Sea.

A Bucket of Blood has been released on Blu-ray as part of Olive Films' Olive Signature line. Limited to 3,500 units, this edition is housed in a slipcase along with a booklet featuring an essay on the film and its legacy by Caelum Vatnsdal, author of You Don’t Know Me, But You Love Me: The Lives of Dick Miller. The film itself has been mastered from a new 4K scan, looking as pristine as ever in honor of its 60th anniversary, and is accompanied by a variety of special features.

In an interview shot mere months before his passing, Miller is joined by his wife, Lainie Miller, for a 12-minute interview. His declining health is apparent, but he remains charming, particularly in his interactions with Lainie. Corman, as efficient and sharp as ever at the age of 93, tells the story of the making of the movie in under eight minutes. An archival audio interview finds Griffith briefly discusses each of his scripts over the course of 20 minutes. The 8mm "digest" version of the picture, which could be enjoyed at home before VHS was invented, is included; condensed to an 8-minute, silent montage of murders followed by the final chase.

Elijah Drenner, director of the fantastic documentary That Guy Dick Miller, provides an audio commentary, which he begins by calling A Bucket of Blood "Corman's first great movie." It largely plays like a film historian track, detailing the production and its players, but his relationship with Miller makes it more engaging. Drenner also provides a brief visual essay comparing the original, 93-page script (titled The Yellow Door) to the final product, recreating unfilmed passages like an audio drama.

One of the most fascinating special features is the prologue from the film's German release, where - in a clever but misleading advertising strategy that would make Corman proud - it was marketed as a sequel to House of Wax. The 10 minutes of German footage purports that Walter Paisley is the last descendant of Vincent Price's character (portrayed by an unknown German actor under prosthetics). Extras are rounded out by a digital version of Vatnsdal's booklet essay, a gallery of recently discovered on-set photography, and the U.S. and German theatrical trailers.

Nary a dull moment among its lightning-fast pacing, A Bucket of Blood works remarkably well 60 years later. The concept remains timely, as both the social commentary and dark satirization of the counterculture art scene still play. It was already remade once as a TV movie starring Anthony Michael Hall in 1995, but you could swap out beatniks for today’s hipsters to make a contemporary, subversive slasher-comedy of errors in the vein of Tucker and Dale vs Evil.

A Bucket of Blood is available now on Blu-ray via Olive Films.

[willsff7rthoughts]

[REVIEW] Final Fantasy VII: Remake

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for both Final Fantasy VII (1997) as well as Final Fantasy VII: Remake (2020).

Introduction

Before I get into things, I feel like this review deserves a little bit of context. 

Final Fantasy VII (1997) is my favorite video game of all time. As a kid, I liked my Game Boy games; Pokémon Red and Link’s Awakening were good fun as I passed summer days at my grandparents’ house. However, it wasn’t until I played Final Fantasy VII that I fell in love with video games and realized the platform’s potential as an art form. The game packed a full and impactful punch – a vast and varied world to explore, an engrossing and gripping story, characters whose lives are changed forever, stunning graphics (at the time), a simple yet deep combat system, and a new way of keeping things fresh at every turn. All of this spanned across four discs and fifty hours of a completely riveting gaming experience. 

Video games have been my foremost hobby and passion since my first foray into this wonderful adventure, and thus it isn’t a stretch to say that Final Fantasy VII helped define who I am as a person. So, let me be the first person to say that I was nervous when Final Fantasy VII: Remake was announced. I wasn’t one of those people who obnoxiously kept asking for it, nor did I even really want it. The odds of this remake meeting the sky-high expectations set by the original were astronomically low, and the thought of recreating my first love in a modern gaming culture where games are more popular, more culturally relevant, and more heavily scrutinized than ever before was downright terrifying. Imagine that the thing you loved and championed for the most was vilified in the social media era. Indirectly, the part of you which that thing helped to define would be vilified, too. If, in the middle of the remake’s development cycle, Square were to suddenly announce that the plug was pulled on the project and it would never see the light of day, I wouldn’t have been upset because I was so fearful of being disappointed. Nothing could have eased this fear – not the news of the old guard getting together to make this game, not the breathtaking visual previews, or the overwhelmingly well received gameplay demo. I needed to see for myself if Square could re-capture lightning in a bottle.

The point that I’m hoping to illustrate here is that this isn’t a Kingdom Hearts III (2019) situation where Square could have put prison gruel on my plate and I’d still eat it up like a well-seasoned filet mignon simply because I’m happy it exists. Quite the opposite, in fact. Upon popping the disc in, I went in with a strict and critical mindset because this game had to be absolutely stellar; anything else would be a massive disappointment.

With that set up, and a thirty-eight hour escapade from the Sector 1 Reactor to the highway out of Midgar in the books, let’s get into it. I’ll be covering and assigning subjective scores to each of the following categories: Visuals, Sound, World, Gameplay, Characterization, Story, Ending. At the end, I’ll deliver concluding thoughts and attempt a final subjective score.

Visuals

We’ll start with the bells and whistles. Visuals, and then sound.

I’ve always been one to say that graphics are a low priority in the world of video games, that the “game” part is what should grip you moreso than the “video” part. In fact, I haven’t adhered to this more loudly than when defending the 1997 original because no game has been subject to more “polygon graphics” and “Dorito hair” memes.

All that said, good graphics are one hell of a cherry to have on top. And this game’s cherry is a sweet one.

Square Enix has always been at the forefront of graphical prowess for pretty much their entire history; they tend to set the bar in this department when it comes to a new Final Fantasy installment and this remake is no exception.

It’s pretty simple here: Everything. Looks. Fucking. Amazing.

We’ll start with the character designs. All stay true to the original; the biggest liberties that Square decided to take were Barret’s sunglasses to highlight that renegade, demolitionist aesthetic (he may or may not wear them indoors a bit too much, but I digress) and Tifa’s new stockings and sports bra underneath her iconic white tank to give her more of that sporty, martial artist look. Both are welcome additions. Zooming out and taking a look at the entire cast, everyone looks absolutely brilliant in their 2020 self. 

Facial expressions, lip syncing, and body language are of course impeccable and life-like for all characters throughout the game’s entirety. It’s important to note, too, that Square pushed the envelope so much on these character models that it’s often hard to distinguish whether or not in-game models or pre-rendered models are being used in cutscenes. 

Animations both in battle and out of it are extremely fluid and well-done. Battle particles and visuals are flashy and distinct without being overbearing or stealing the limelight away from the gameplay itself. Between Kingdom Hearts III and now this game, it’s probably fair to say that all of the chatter surrounding Square’s adoption of Unreal Engine 4 can now be put to rest. 

I’ll cover the visual quality of Midgar itself in the “World” section, but as you can probably imagine, I was blown away by that, too.

Visuals Score: 10/10

Sound

Let’s begin with the voiceover quality (I played in English). This is actually a harder obstacle for Square to tackle than people realize, I think. These aren’t brand new characters. People know them already. The original game’s dialogue was done completely in text, so if you’re Square, you face this challenge where your players have a distinct voice in their head for these characters based on their appearances, backgrounds, personalities and choices of words. Can you capture that exactly?

I think Square did a great job, for the most part. You can hear Cloud’s fake apathy, the sincerity underneath his front of not caring. There’s a distance and mysterious quality to his voice that I think is so essential to his character. Barret is likely the weakest in terms of vocal performance; when he gets loud, I can’t get the Internet’s early comparisons to Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder (2008) out of my head. However, when speaking at a normal tone, and especially when speaking at a somber tone, I think he’s absolutely perfect. Gruff and tough, yet absolutely empathetic and passionate. Tifa likely has the strongest vocal performance, perfectly capturing a character who is pensive and struggling to identify what’s right amidst the chaos around her while being put in the position of needing to be the voice of reason. Aerith’s voice is higher pitched and carries more whimsy than I had imagined, but I also really like this version because it paints Aerith as this ordinary, innocent and playful woman which is true to her initial characterization before we find out that she is connected to something much, much deeper. The rest of the characters are voiced beautifully, from the Shinra crew, to the entirety of Avalanche (shoutouts to getting Badger from Breaking Bad to play Wedge, how absolutely perfect), to the random scared citizens we meet amongst the slums.

Moving onto the soundtrack... just wow. Nobuo Uematsu, you brilliant son of a bitch. 

I’m of the opinion that Final Fantasy VII boasts the second best soundtrack in the franchise, second only to Final Fantasy IX (2000), and I really didn’t see where it had room to improve. Imagine if all of The Beatles were alive and said today, “Yeah, we’re going to remake Abbey Road, and make it even better.” Like... how? How do you improve upon a masterpiece? The potential and possibility is just outside of our comprehension, right? And yet, they would probably find a way.

Similarly, in a 2020 landscape in which Nobuo has a lot more tools, tricks, and experience up his sleeve, he managed to churn out a reimagined soundtrack that builds upon the core strengths of the original to create something new and grand. For example, from the jump, we can compare the Bombing Mission tracks. The original is fantastic, and a classic – a spunky baseline combined with anxiety-inducing synth horns create the perfect ambience for the mission at hand while setting up Midgar’s feel of a grungy, electric city. Nobuo’s version for the remake utilizes a sweeping orchestra to create the exact same feeling but with a much fuller sound fitting for a modern game. 

Of course, plenty of new tracks were created for this game as well such as the score for the Wall Market sections, and certainly deserve their place amongst the old songs that we fell in love with before. Because of this, no two areas of Midgar felt the same (which can happen in a world where everything is called a sector and a number), and areas from the original took on that received their own theme took on a life of their own. Finally, the collectible jazz tracks were an amazing touch that provided an alternative look at the game’s iconic themes without breaking the immersion of the world too much.

A few of my personal favorites from throughout the game:

The Airbuster – A remake of Final Fantasy VII’s boss theme, and it just... slaps, as the kids say.

Critical Shot – An alternate battle theme that we first heard in the trailers which was simply a lot of fun to fight to

Tifa’s Theme – Seventh Heaven – The iconic piano track blossoms into a wonderful and iconic orchestral experience. Beautifully done.

Aerith’s Theme – Sector 5 Church – This one’s a bit of an outlier; it’s not actually listed on the FF7R OST and is in fact original to Nobuo’s Final Fantasy VII piano collections, but it’s the perfect example of music tying a ribbon onto a scene. Cloud falling into the Sector 5 Church and meeting Aerith is something I’ve seen countless times, but I was still moved to tears by how beautifully everything comes together. 

On Our Way (Collectible Jazz Track) – We get the Kalm theme early with this one. Man, oh, man that saxophone.

Sound Score: 10/10

World

To be honest, it was basically a given that Square was going to nail the bells and whistles. Square-Enix games rarely, if ever, disappoint in the audiovisual department. With those out of the way, we can start moving to the meat of the review: How well did Square-Enix recreate this iconic world? In the case of this edition of the Remake, did they manage to bring Midgar to life in an acceptable way?

I’m going to make a confession. After the bombing mission, I felt bored. In fact, I turned the game off and called it a night. This isn’t to say that the bombing mission wasn’t recreated beautifully – it certainly was – it’s just that I've been conditioned by the original game to associate Midgar with being this slow, uninteresting opening act of the Final Fantasy VII story and that the bombing mission is just the first step to leaving Midgar so that I can start the real adventure. 

And then, I got to Sector 7.

Holy shit.

I hadn’t really put much thought into how many levers Square had at their disposal to bring Midgar to life. Sector 7 served as the first of many slaps to the face that absolutely nothing was off limits, and whatever Square was going to touch was turning into gold. What in the 1997 edition was simply one screen with the bar, a couple shops, and an apartment or two we could enter was transformed into a full-on city. A grid of streets, avenues, and alleyways littered with townsfolk whose conversations about recent plot points we could overhear as we passed by, which created a pulse within the slums. A bevy of different stores and buildings to explore. A fresh cast of characters and NPCs to converse with which deepened our connection to these slums. And the plate. I could talk for hours about this – in the original, such a big deal is made of the two layers of Midgar, and how the top plate on which the privileged live blocks out the sky and pollutes the air for the slums below. But we literally never see the freaking thing because obviously, how could they show it in a top-down view? And yet, in this remake, it’s very much omnipresent. The steel sky of dread and inequality spans omnipresent across the slums we traverse (I unashamedly spent a legitimate five minutes just staring up at it, like “Holy crap. There it is...” as if I were a kid catching Santa Claus on Christmas night). 

And of course, Sector 7 was just the tip of the iceberg. Sector 5 got a very similar treatment in addition to perfectly recreating Aerith’s house while capturing its vibes of being a diamond in the rough. Shinra HQ was downright gorgeous and more grand than we could have imagined. Something that stood out to me was Square’s ability to expand on areas from the original Midgar that were total afterthoughts – the journey from Sector 5 to the Sector 7 playground which in the original was a couple unremarkable screens became a winding stretch worth hours of exploration, puzzles, and battle. Other originally miniscule areas like the train graveyard, the sewers underneath Wall Market, and the climb up to Shinra HQ all got a similar treatment. Square didn’t stop there, either, introducing new areas such as a brief foray to the suburbs topside of the plate which showed new light upon this electric city. Honestly, what floored me the most was just how much life there was in all of Midgar. The conversations that the city’s inhabitants in virtually all areas that we pass through served to not only give Midgar a heartbeat, but also to make us as the player truly feel the gravity of our actions.

Truly, Square’s brilliance shone bright here – the bland and boring original Midgar only served as a blank canvas for the city to be invigorated in grand fashion for this remake.

World Score: 10/10

Gameplay

This is possibly the most important section. All the bells and whistles about this game are great, and the setting was recreated beautifully while capturing every vibe of the original and then some... but in the end, this is a video game, and aesthetics and soundscape don’t mean anything if your game isn’t fun.

Square-Enix had a monumental challenge before them when having to come up with a combat system for this remake. On the one hand, you have the classic Final Fantasy ATB system which longtime fans of the series absolutely love; this rewards tactical thinking, preparation, and methodically planning out and expending turns and resources to reach the outcome that you desire. On the other hand, turn based combat isn’t exactly premium gaming in 2020. I’m a Final Fantasy purist and even I can admit that. We’re just not as limited anymore. Developers have the ability to create these fantastic action-based games with better responsiveness, flow, and hitbox/hurtbox technology than ever before, and this style of gaming is obviously a lot more appealing and rewarding to a wider audience of players who frankly know better in this day and age.

So, Square did their best Dora impression and said “Why not both?”

And from it came perfection.

Yes, I said “perfection”. Square was somehow able to find a way to make old school and new school tango, and they are wonderful dance partners. 

A brief summary for those who are out of the loop: In a normal state, combat plays a lot similarly to a lot of action-based games we know and love today (think God of War, Kingdom Hearts, Dark Souls). You can move around freely, guard, dodge, and attack to your heart’s content. There are elements here that are absolutely necessary in a modern video game that were missing in the original Final Fantasy VII: Constant engagement. Real-time skill expression. 

The traditional Final Fantasy players don’t get left out either. By playing through combat normally – attacking, blocking, and dodging – the player builds up their ATB gauge. Once their ATB is full, they can enter Tactical Mode, which slows down time dramatically and allows the player to use their character’s skills, magic, summons, and items.

And the absolutely beautiful thing? You need both standard play as well as Tactical Mode to succeed in combat. The necessity of standard play is obvious – you need to be able to run around, attack, and defend to thrive in combat. But you won’t get anywhere with tougher enemies just by whacking them. You need to use your ATB gauge in order to pack a significant punch to enemies, to discover and exploit their weaknesses, and to heal up your party.

Speaking of the party, I deeply enjoyed being able to switch seamlessly between controlling the party members with the push of a button. AI-controlled party members’ ATB gauges fill up more slowly, which means constant switching, assigning ATB usage, and moving to the next party member are key to maximizing effectiveness. Hooray for even more avenues for skill expression!

And let me just take a second to gush. Perhaps my biggest criticism of the original Final Fantasy VII is that literally every character is pretty much the same in battle. Yes, their base stats vary slightly, as do their Limit Breaks, but aside from that, with enough materia and stat increase item shenanigans (and it doesn’t take much), every character plays and feels the same in combat.

Square completely shattered that criticism in this remake. Every character feels unique and satisfying to play:

What’s remarkable to me about playing as Cloud is how well Square nailed the speed at which he plays at. ‘Cause think about it, right? Dude’s holding a sword that weighs 80-100 lbs, so his attacks and moveset have to be able look and feel like they pack a heavy punch. But at the same time, we know that Cloud’s no rook, and he has some dexterity and speed to him. To find this balance, his combos from beginning to middle a great tempo and good flash, and they finish with a visible powerful and empathetic smash.

Tifa is far and away my favorite character to play as. Honoring her Final Fantasy monk inspiration, Square designed Tifa in such a way that she feels like she came straight out of a fighting game. Lightning quick, an emphasis on combos, and get this – you can animation cancel. As an example, I was fighting a boss and already had Unbridled Strength (damage boost) and Haste (ATB buildup boost) activated on Tifa. I dodged the boss’s frontal cleave with Focused Strike, strung some basic attacks together, threw in Overpower which links with your basic attacks, and finished by using Whirling Uppercut then canceling the landing animation by using Divekick. That’s. Insane.

Square nailed Barret’s awkward role as the supporty-ranged tank. His damage isn’t great, but he plays at a safe range and is your best bet to take down units at a far distance. He has some ridiculous HP and defensive stats and is a solid magic user so he was honestly great to switch to when my higher DPS characters needed a breather to get healed up. 

Okay first of all, thank God they gave Aerith a magic-based ranged basic attack. The sound of her whacking something in the original to the tune of, like, 12 damage will haunt my dreams forever. Aerith feels fantastic to play as well. I draw comparisons to the Final Fantasy XIV black mage – switch to Aerith, set up an Arcane Ward (doubles spellcasts!), don’t move, and watch as her ridiculous magic abilities burn enemies down. She’s also great to leave on AI-controlled standby so that she can attack safely from a distance and heal up the party as needed.

The battles themselves were great; each boss felt unique and had a weakness to discover and exploit. Seamlessly weaving in cutscenes and dialogue added a cinematic flair that was just another cherry on top of an amazing combat system. The typical monsters and trash mobs that we came across were all unique as well, and their variants encountered later in the game added twists of required tactical thinking.

I have only a couple points of discomfort with the new combat system, and they’re both very minor ones. First, the fact that skills/spells (and even Limit Breaks!) can be interrupted by enemy actions could be extremely frustrating – especially if there were larger amounts of enemies present, your character could get juggled quite easily. Filling up your ATB gauge and readying a skill just for it to be interrupted because some demon hound ran up and smacked you in the head has to be the least “Final Fantasy” feeling ever. That being said, this is easily where you can throw the term “skill expression” right back at me. The second point of discomfort is that enemies were very clearly agro’d to whoever you control as the player. This made playing a ranged character like Aerith annoying at times, because, dammit, I just want to DPS without hordes of monsters running at me! Again, “skill expression” is a double edged sword, but I found it a little strange that enemies would drop what they’re doing, stop fighting Cloud, and start running at Barret just because I switched to him.

Zooming out to other facets of gameplay! I really enjoyed how materia was implemented which may just be a derivative of how smart the combat system was that Square created, but I think Square really hit the mark of having to carefully plan out your party’s materia loadout and envisioning how it would execute in battle. The weapon level-up system adds an extra layer of depth and reminds me of Final Fantasy IX’s skill learning system, which is great. Finally, the large amount of minigames and side quests available added a good deal of variety to the game, without being overly complicated or time consuming.

This was probably the most enjoyable game in the Final Fantasy series from a pure “this is a fun game” standpoint.

Gameplay Score: 10/10 (would honestly be an 11 if such a thing were real)

Characterization

The Final Fantasy series is typically at the top of its class for its character building and development, but I was still slightly nervous heading into this remake that Nomura wouldn’t recapture that magic accurately. Maybe I was conditioned from Final Fantasy XIII (2009) and Final Fantasy XV, but I was especially worried about Cloud. “Please don’t make Cloud this typical brooding, angsty emo Final Fantasy protagonist,” I remember thinking to myself. Because that’s not who he is. Cloud Strife is a dork. He’s a dork who adapts incredibly poorly to new situations and puts on a front of apathy when uncomfortable, but he doesn’t hate the world.

I should have put more faith in the fact that the original game’s character designer became the remake’s director. For the most part, I truly feel like the cast’s Act I character arcs played out and were shown as they should be. Cloud starts out apathetic but that front really begins to melt after he meets Aerith. Aerith herself comes off as this fun and innocent girl but progressively drops more and more hints that she’s part of something much bigger. Barret begins as the loud and rambunctious leader figure which gives way to a total empath who’s still trying to process just what he’s been caught up in. Tifa is shown with her typical slow and steady struggle to come to terms with what has to be done to make things right in the world after traumatic childhood events made her averse to it all.

The rest of the cast’s characters were painted beautifully. Sephiroth made more appearances than normal in this Midgar section (more on that later), but we still don’t understand a word that’s coming out of his mouth. We see the distinct division in those under the Shinra umbrella between those who have morals and those who sip the Kool-Aid. We’re introduced to a new cast of characters in the slums who are working tirelessly to make life better for those around them despite being dealt a terrible hand, and they function to strengthen both the main cast and the story as a whole.

A particular gem that I was delighted by were the interactions between characters. The original was somewhat limited in this department, but we can visibly see the cast grow closer as the remake goes on. Cloud goes from being disinterested and saying “For a price” to any request that Avalanche have for him, to selflessly agreeing to help Barret search for his friends and family post-plate drop, to poking fun at his old self in front using his old “For a price” motto. Additionally, because the areas of Midgar to travel between locations were expanded immensely, things like conversations between characters with no other purpose but character development were added in as we made our way through these winding stretches. That’s a huge advantage that a modern voiced game has over the original that had to use text for dialogue – we had to literally stop everything in order for an interaction between characters to occur. Now, they can just be thrown in wherever. We see more high fives, cheers, ribs, jokes. hugs, and tender moments than ever before. And to me, what this establishes for the cast as a whole is such a beautiful change of pace from a classic Final Fantasy game. This isn’t just a collection of individuals with aligning goals. These are friends.

This in particular makes me really excited for future installments; we now have evidence that these characters are everything that they should be. That baseline allows for more interactions and development, and even the most hardcore old school Final Fantasy VII fans will get to know and enjoy these characters on a deeper level.

Characterization: 10/10

Story

Too often did I get one of my friends to try the original Final Fantasy VII, hoping they’d fall in love too, only for them to lose interest before leaving Midgar because that part of the game is downright boring. Everything is dark and dreary, we don’t really care about the people of the Slums so we don’t feel the empathy to want to help them, the story crawls along, the deaths we see are of characters we only knew briefly, and all of it seems for naught because we find out Sephiroth is the much bigger threat; not some greedy electric company.

But much like with the design of Midgar itself, I hadn’t really put much thought with just how much they can build upon that unexciting first act.

[isfjmel-phleg]

it's "the secret garden" "anon" again! did you see the teaser for the 2020 adaptation?! what do you think?!

Hi, Secret Garden anon! Nice to see you again!

I had no idea that the teaser had come out; thanks for letting me know.

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The new time period allows Mary to have an adorable bob. I approve. Also her costumes are lovely.Misselthwaite looks appropriately Gothic and forboding. And oddly bare inside? Mary’s room appears to be very sparsely furnished. Even Colin’s room seems pretty minimal compared to other adaptations’ sets, but then clutter was very Victorian/Edwardian, and it would make sense for a 1940s Misselthwaite to look as if it’s seen better days, as if perhaps things have been sold to keep the place afloat amid the dramatic changes of the last few decades.Speaking of Colin’s room,

wow

, they went straight for that reveal. No secrets about

this

plot point. Although this is his only appearance in the teaser.The grounds are beautiful! Rather a different aesthetic than, say, the 1993 version, which was more muted, more old-fashioned. These gardens are bright and vibrant.Apparently she finds the key in a hole in a tree? Nice to see the robin is included, but I’m curious about this dog. Is it going to serve the same function as Dickon’s animals?This garden appears to be vast and wild, which I like for this setting, but I’m a bit confused by what look like rather tropical plants--not plausible for Yorkshire--and what looks jungle ruins. Unless this is an imaginary sequence? The garden should be a bit fantastical, but it shouldn’t stray too far from what’s likely for a walled garden in Yorkshire.Aww, Dickon. That shy smile. That’s in character.But I’m puzzled by this oddly threatening line from Mr. Craven. What trouble could she possibly cause him? Especially if (canonically, at least) he’s so seldom home. It’s normal for adaptations to throw in some Conflict involving the possibility of Mary being sent away or something comparable, but I’m not sure that this is in character for Mr. Craven. This is, however, given without context.Mary appears to either have a vision of or be visited by (the ghost of?) a woman. Is it her aunt? Letters are scattered all over the floor in this scene. I wonder if those are attempts to contact her uncle regarding Colin’s recovery that have been thwarted somehow, and perhaps she’s the one to be contacted by Lilias? And who are these mysterious floaty ladies wandering the halls of Misselthwaite? One could be Mrs. Craven, but several?Birds in Mary’s room? What’s going on?Is the garden literally magic? Or is this an imagination sequence? I wouldn’t get too worked up about it at this point. I can remember when trailers for the most recent version of

Bridge to Terebithia

came out and there was a great outcry over some emphasized fantastical scenes that turned out to be nothing than brief imaginary sequences. We’re seeing everything out of context, and at this point anything is possible.

Overall, I am curious and definitely eager to see where this goes. Obviously changes to the book will happen, that’s a given, but I hope they can capture the right spirit. I am determined to keep an open mind. 

I’ve seen a lot of comments denouncing this as a “remake” of the 1993 version which is Perfect and Should Not Be Tampered With (as if this film will obliterate the previous one’s existence?), but to be strictly accurate, this is just another adaptation of a classic book that was adapted multiple times even before the 1993 version. Same story, different take/interpretation. That’s what’s so great about literature; there are so many different ways to engage with a good story.

What did you think?

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: Spider-Man Far From Home (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the weekend after the movie’s release in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie do not read on until you do because there are some rather juicy spoilers here.

MCU Ad Campaign:

This is why I feel Kevin Feige needs to have full control over Spider-Man because he is a master of teasing us with enough in the trailers to get us excited for the movie.

Even with Avengers: Endgame which kept so much secret in the trailers built up that hype and anticipation, okay yes it was the culmination of 11 years of movies and the second part of what was one of the greatest cinematic cliffhangers in history, but even so there were so many theories and speculation about what could happen that it obviously helped with that juggernaut release.

But the issue with Spider-Man: Far From Home is the trailers and promotion just made the movie seem like your average superhero flick. It was necessarily the case of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 or Suicide Squad where so much was shown in the trailer that wasn’t in the final movie, but there wasn’t enough to speculate on or build up the hype unless you’re already a comic-book fan and want to see another Spider-Man movie and know that in the comics Mysterio is a villain so want to see what happens with him here.

I’d say the introduction of the multiverse may have been what both Feige and Pascal thought could be a key plot point to draw in the hype, but that was proven just to be a facade. It was only really mentioned in that scene that everyone has seen in the trailers and there was never a time in the trailers where I thought “Yes that is what everyone will talk about”.

With Thor: Ragnarok for example, it was penned as a fun 80s style buddy movie and that is what the trailers showed, but then you add in Hela and that shot of her destroying Mjolnir as well as the “He’s a friend from work” scene and that’s what made it one of the most watched trailers of all time.

I said in my non-spoiler review that I fear for this movie’s performance if we are to base mainstream audience interest on watching the trailers, I still feel that even though the two times I have now seen the movie the theatres have been relatively full.

Characters:

Spider-Man:

As I said in my non-spoiler, Tom Holland continues to prove why he was such a perfect casting choice for Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Not only does he still look like a teenager so you believe he should still be at school, he has so much charisma and charm that you can’t not like the guy.

I loved when he was at Aunt May’s support centre and was, as May said, a little stiff but it was believable.

Let’s face it, this is a guy who is still a teenager, he is still dealing with the average student problems like fancying a girl and possibly getting good grades, although at Midtown it’s a wonder any of them can get good grades with those teachers, we’ll get to them. But also Peter is dealing with the added stress not only of being Spider-Man but the aftershock of what happened in Endgame both in terms of “The Blip” and Tony’s death.

It was interesting to me that they were kind of going down the Iron Man 3 route of Peter having PTSD from “The Blip” but that quickly turned simply into either guilt or grief over Tony’s sacrifice and the responsibility everyone is now putting on his shoulders. With great power comes great responsibility, that saying is echoed throughout this movie in particular.

I also really like the Spidey suits in the movie, because there were so many it was like a Spidey fashion show at one point.

I loved the fact he kept the Iron Spider suit and especially seeing it pixelating in that container was really cool. Also the upgraded suit he was given which is a mainstay of the character at this point.

Then there’s the return of the original Spidey sweatsuit during one of Mysterio’s illusions which was a nice little nod and a reference to the Emperor’s New Clothes with who the world has built him up to be compared to how he feels on the inside.

Also, his new red and black suit that he created in the Stark Industries jet was a fantastic sequence. Not only was it crystal clear that they were trying to make Peter resemble Tony in that scene, but it was done so effortlessly and it was really fun once again to see someone play with the Holo chamber.

But in terms of my negatives, because I do have negatives for all these characters, I cannot believe he was that stupid that he gave away EDITH to Mysterio, not because Mysterio was an obvious bad guy because he wasn’t, but because EDITH was such a useful device and Peter apparently doesn’t have KAREN anymore so he needs some form of AI assistant.

I did however really enjoy the onscreen partnership of Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Holland, you can tell off-screen the two really got on and it resonates on screen.

There was also a really stupid moment when he’s facing Hydro-Man and he wears that mask to try concealing his identity from his classmates, despite the fact that he is wearing the same clothes his classmates know he is wearing so why didn’t anyone attempt to put 2 + 2 together. I mean it’s implied MJ may have but who knows.

With the Elementals as well, as much as I think they are brilliant antagonists visually, and of course in this instance weren’t real but may still exist, I don’t see how Spider-Man can combat any of them because his synthetic webbing would have no effect on water, fire, sand or air. It was obviously Mysterio’s perfect plan to make himself the hero, but the fact no one thought to question that Spider-Man was less use than Black Widow would have been in that fight really bugged me.

I did like him trying to court MJ, I thought his six-step plan was well thought out and the rivalry between him and Brad over MJ was also refreshing to see in a superhero movie.

We’ll talk about the post-credits scene further down but that ending scene before the credits of him doing Spidey’s traditional scout of the city was a great way to end the movie. The main reason I love playing the Spider-Man games is simply to swing through the city and will gladly spend a lot of time doing it just to explore. Also if that’s not the Oscorp building he swung through than it’s the biggest misdirect in a Marvel movie.

Mysterio:

By far my favourite Jake Gyllenhaal role, I have never been a massive fan of his as he and his sister have simply been actors I gloss over. But Mysterio was a very comical villain for me in terms of looks yet Gyllenhaal manages to make the suit and the fishbowl look awesome.

I loved how he was so committed to his role as a parallel world superhero, you honestly believed he was a good guy right up until the moment when the illusion fades.

Speaking of illusions, these are potentially the best use of visual effects I have seen since Doctor Strange. I haven’t seen the movie in 3D but I was almost tempted to the second time just to experience the splender of how the visuals looked. They were literally effects ripped from the comics, everything came together and it was magic.

When he was revealed as a villain and that epic reveal scene of his and his crews master plan, including throwbacks to Captain America: Civil War and the first Iron Man was jaw-dropping. I really appreciate both Feige and  Peter Billingsley who was the actor playing the former Stark Industries scientist turned Beck’s henchman for making it seem like this was the plan overall all those years back. I doubt very much that Feige planned it from Civil War let alone 2008.

However, the ending for Mysterio is where my negatives come in. Not only did Beck turn into a raging child running out of ideas but also the fact they killed him off is something I really can’t get my head around. Vulture, Shocker and Scorpion are all alive and if they want to build a Sinister Six then surely this Mysterio is a likeable candidate, yet now he’s dead. It just reminds me of the likes of Hela and these one-movie villains with so much more potential.

Nick Fury:

I love Samuel L. Jackson, I know I sang his praises during Captain Marvel but he’s just as great here.

I loved the running theme of Peter ghosting him by sending him to voicemail, then eventually when Fury and Peter do meet and there’s the constant interruptions of staff and students that makes him turn and say “If one more person touches that door you and I will be attending another funeral” it was so great and only could be said by Nick Fury.

However, and I’ll get into the reasons more in my post-credits discussion, but with the reveal at the end that the Fury we have seen throughout the movie is in fact Talos the Skrull, there are tells throughout the movie that indicate that which I can’t tell as to if they’re deliberate or accidental.

For instance, during Spider-Man’s first meeting with Mysterio, Fury says “He’s from Earth, just not yours” so why didn’t he say “ours”? Also when he said that appearances can be deceiving I bet that was also a tell that he was the shapeshifting alien.

For that reason, it is hard for me to say that I enjoyed Fury in this movie because the real Nick Fury is only in one small scene at the end of the movie. But Samuel L. Jackson still delivers. Also “bitch please you’ve been to space!” never gets old.

MJ:

Commiserations to Zendaya for not getting Ariel, but at least now she is the girlfriend of Spider-Man so yay. 

I really love Zendaya in this role, I think she brings a much needed grounded modern realism to the role that I feel is needed for the younger female audience of today.

I loved it when she revealed that she always knew Peter was Spider-Man but when he eventually confirmed it she said “Really, because I was only 67% sure”. They really played up the character’s awkwardness and vulnerabilities in this movie which explain why she is such an outcast and how she just seemed to float on by in the first movie.

My one negative is where the character goes now, I think that scene after she found out Peter was Spider-Man was definitely her weakest because she just seemed like a very mopey love interest. But then she’ll have kick-ass scenes like knocking out a drone with a mace.

The ending with her swinging around with Peter was already shown in set photos but it was hilarious to see the final thing, I loved how she kept saying she wouldn’t look down and then kept looking down. Then when they landed and her hair had seemingly grown in weight was very funny.

Happy Hogan:

I am so happy for Jan Favreau being a mainstay in the MCU, you would think that after RDJ left that his entourage would also leave. However, now that Happy is seemingly Spider-Man’s support staff it gives him more reason to be around.

I will say this though, everything you see of Happy in the trailers you pretty much see in the movie itself, with some extended scenes. There are a couple more funnier scenes added in but other than that you’ve seen pretty much everything he does in the movie.

As I said, I loved the recurring gag of “ghosting” Nick Fury, it was interesting in the first instance because I swear up until now Happy and Fury have not actually met before, but now Tony is dead I guess they have some association with each other.

His relationship with Aunt May in the movie was a very sweet and understated coupling in the movie. I actually do see the two of them together and it would be great going forward if they remained in a relationship just to give them both something to do other than support Peter Parker.

It was such a great moment when Peter started designing his suit on the plane and Happy was watching in awe. He saw what the audience was meant to see which was Peter acting like Tony Stark.

I have also enjoyed his progression from Tony’s bodyguard to Spider-Man’s right-hand man. Not only did he come and save Peter from the Netherlands, but also he saved Peter’s school friends and put himself in danger in the process.

I really hope Happy continues to be a part of the MCU, even if it is in the Spider-Man movies but also branching out elsewhere.

Brad:

Hudson from Neighbours is in this movie. For anyone that doesn’t know what I’m on about there was a minor-recurring character a few years ago who was a gay competitive swimmer who became romantically involved with a main character at the time but also got into trouble with the police, this was him and I am so glad to see him still working.

I am unsure if the character was part of the first movie, but I am happy to see him here as he was a great example of how The Blip affected Midtown High.

He did present himself as a bit of a douche but also he did start off simply as a decent guy, it was just that he let his competitiveness for wanting to be with MJ and screwing over Peter get the better of him.

This did cause problems for me as the movie progressed, not only did he become the whistle blower that no one listened to and simply came across as a bitter individual, but also there was never really any resolve to his story after the outburst of questioning why Peter was always disappearing.

Aunt May:

Marisa Tomei continues to be a great and innovative Aunt May. I’m still unsure about having a younger and somewhat hotter Aunt rather than the sweet old lady we are used to but I still say Sally Field in The Amazing Spider-Man movies was my favourite of the bunch.

I am really happy that she set up her charitable rehoming shelter as she has done in the comics and the latest Spider-Man game. Her delivery of when she “blipped back” into existence and the new tenants of her apartment thought she was a ghost or a mistress was hilarious.

I do think May was a bit harsh to Happy, I don’t think she led him on but she clearly invited him to her office and you don’t do that if there’s not something there more than just a summer fling.

I am a fan of the fact that May now knows of Peter being Spider-Man and supporting him in his endeavours, as well as using him to boost support for her homeless campaign.

Maria Hill:

Much like Fury, it is hard to say how well Maria did in this movie because she spent the entire movie as a Skrull. However in terms of Cobie Smulders performance, I am glad she got more screen time than she has done recently.

Although she didn’t have many lines, she had a lot to do action wise. I loved in the climactic battle when she went to the roof with that bazooka because both she and Fury had anticipated Mysterio’s drone being sent to assassinate the two.

Ned:

If I found Ned annoying in Spider-Man: Homecoming, I found him unbearable in this one. Not only are the negative qualities of him from the first movie back in force here, but that added story of Ned and Betty getting into a relationship was simply pointless and made Ned even more unlikeable if possible.

First of all, I don’t care how he defends himself, Ned got a girlfriend and then blew Peter off despite not only being adamant in wanting the two guys to be American bachelors in Europe but also in supposedly being Spider-Man’s “guy in the chair”.

Also, Brad’s jealousy over Peter was understandable and actually good for the movie, Ned being jealous of MJ after she found out about Peter being Spider-Man was just pathetic. Not only because that is the point when he actually tries to help Spider-Man but also because MJ didn’t really need him, no one did.

Teachers:

With the teachers in the movie, I will say I miss Selenis Leyva as physics teacher Monica Warren from the first movie. Not only because her being Latina fit in rather well with the Queens neighbourhood, but also because it was some gender diversity in the ranks.

Here we have the Caucasian Harrington and Mr. Dell who I believe was created for the movie after J.B. Smoove was involved in the Audi commercial with Tom Holland to promote the first movie.

I do agree with Dell about there being no science on the science field trip and this is also why I’d prefer Monica Warren to be there over Harrington, Harrington is a crap teacher. Not only did he not plan ahead with the trip but also his incompetence nearly got a bus-load of students killed. Bearing in mind he was also the teacher responsible during the Washington incident.

Students:

Aside from the students already mentioned, the other students involved in the movie are Betty Brandt, Flash Thompson and Jason Ionello. I thought on the whole the students of Midtown High still continue to be a great and modernly accurate portrayal of Queens in the present day, but also they proved themselves necessary to the movie rather than just clutter in the way.

Post-Credits:

Alright so we have two very juicy post-credits scenes that not only shape the next Spider-Man movie but also the future of the MCU.

The first scene picks up directly where the movie ended and has Peter return MJ to the ground before taking off for some superheroism. However he is then stopped by a breaking news bulletin which was set up by Mysterio and delivered by William Ginter Riva showing a doctored version of events in the climactic battle where apparently Spider-Man was the one orchestrating the drone strike and Mysterio was the hero who Spider-Man killed.

The bulletin then cut to none other than J. Jonah Jameson, returning to the live-action Spider-Man movies portrayed by the one and only J.K. Simmons. My audience cheered at this point because not only is it about time Jameson returned to the movies but to have J.K. reprise the role he is probably most notable for is a delight.

Although here, the Daily Bugle seems to be an online media outlet rather than a newspaper company but for the modern day it works rather well.

However, believing that Peter will one day get a job at the Daily Bugle seems very slim with the reveal that Mysterio identified Spider-Man as Peter Parker, meaning the world now knows Spider-Man’s identity. I want to see the fallout now.

The end-credits scene shows Fury and Hill in a car before shapeshifting into Talos and his wife Soren from Captain Marvel. Talos reports to the real Nick Fury who is in front of the most fake green-screen imaginable as it is revealed he is actually on some form of space-station crewed by Skrulls.

This could be a myriad of things, but my favourite theory is that this is the start of S.W.O.R.D. to become Fury’s new organization after S.H.I.E.L.D.

Overall I rate the movie an 8/10, I’m not going to say it’s a perfect movie but it is a brilliant movie and definitely the movie needed to follow up after Avengers: Endgame.

So that’s my review of Spider-Man: Far From Home, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Marvel Movie Reviews as well as other Movie Reviews and posts.

[nationallark]

Blood From the Stone, an adaptation of Onision’s Stones to Abbigale, Chapter One [EDIT: now complete] 3k words

(AN: hi friends! I decided to go ahead and align chapter one of my rework with chapter one of STA, so here it is for you guys! from now on, I’ll be posting the full chapters on Tumblr and I’ll put links to my Wattpad and Ao3 in my About page!!)

I hope you enjoy :)

The moment I opened my eyes, I was blinded by my freshly wallpapered room. Several days into my latest drastic redecoration, even the cast iron bed frame was now painted white. Light peeking through a narrow opening in the curtains bounced off the walls, making me clamp my eyes shut. Clearly, changing my room back to wall-to-wall white was another in a long line of self-inflicted psychological tortures.

My family could tell that the black had depressed me. I found comfort in the darkness, but neither extreme was without fault. I didn’t mind waffling between light and dark bedrooms, as I had ample spray paint and plenty of time to kill, but for a moment the intense light show pouring through the bay window felt like it was burning clear through to my brain.

Mom, having switched to the overnight shift by mid June, didn’t wake me up like she used to. Then again, neither did my alarm clock. I rolled away from the window and squinted into its plastic face only to see a cheaply backlit 8:17 AM staring back at me.

Great, I was going to be late again.

Not taking the time to grab my usual handful of cereal, I scribbled an excuse note and pulled a sweater over my sleep shirt before hopping on my scooter and pointing it in the direction of the school. As soon as the cold wind began to sting my cheeks, I realized that I in my haste had forgotten a scarf. Oh well.

I narrowly missed crashing into a giggly Lauren and Raymond who, hand in hand, were heading away from the school and towards the old church, no doubt to smoke or make out or any number of activities Lakewood students tended to use the place for.

Mr. Hanson, my heavyset history teacher, gave me a withering look as I ducked into his room with only fifteen minutes left in first period.

“James, talk to me after class,” he said mildly from his perch in the back of the room. I dropped my note on his desk on my way over to one of the few empty seats, electing to try and absorb some of the day’s lesson from the ongoing group activity rather than sit outside and count ceiling tiles.

It didn’t take long, however, for my mind to wander from British colonialism to the fascinating small scale history being made around me. I watched as Calvin, one of the honor students who was gunning for valedictorian, explained the reasoning behind his answers while Jaime nodded along and Miranda half paid attention to him while also monitoring Mr. Hanson to know when it was safe to chew her gum. It was too early in the school year for anyone to be too stressed out over grades, so there was only a sense of resigned monotony among the students.

That is, until the bell rang.

Over the ensuing bustle, Mr. Hanson glanced up from his work and looked at me expectantly, but I could only smile and shrug as I allowed myself to be pushed into the hallway with everyone else. Sorry, Mr. Hanson; I had a more important class to get to.

My second period was all the way across campus, relegated to one of the ancient trailers that also held the ESL students, sign language class, and music appreciation. Sculpture I, being one of the easier options for making the required fine arts credit, was naturally full of slackers and people who, like me, weren’t talented enough in music or theater to take anything else.

My cross-campus trek was interrupted by dozens of students circled around what I could only assume to be a fight. Unfortunately, the fight just happened to be in the center of the hallway that was my only path to art class. I hunched my shoulders and slipped through the growing crowd, breaking into a jog as the minute bell rang. I normally wouldn’t bother with getting to class on time, but I made an exception for sculpture; sculpture was the class I had with Abbi.

Ever since I’d seen Abbi in second period on the first day of senior year, she was all I could think about. Every day she would sit at the left side of a shared desk, drop her bag on the left side of her chair, and, resting her elbows on the tabletop, pick at the fake wood grain desk cover with her pencil.

As I ascended the creaking steps into the trailer, there were more seats open than I expected, probably because their usual occupants were still observing the fight I’d managed to squeeze past. There Abbi was, however, in the same getup as usual: her dark, wavy hair bunching on top of the desk as she bent over it, her deep purple eyeshadow and tinted brows still visible through the fringe. She had on the army jacket I’d never seen her without, even during messier art projects that showed in the cuffs of its sleeves. Even in the harsh light of the trailer’s fluorescent bulbs, she looked fantastic.

I tried not to make it too obvious that I was rushing to sit next to her, so I forced myself to slow down and take a casual approach to the desk. Step. Wave to Mrs. Stanley. Step. Check out the newest student-made hangings above her seat. Three steps. Gently drop my bag onto the desk.

Finally, I pulled the metal desk chair out and plopped into it with a grin ready for Abbi to turn and look at me...which happened to be at the exact same moment my thighs registered how ungodly cold the A/C had made the chair. I hissed in shock and stood up to save myself from mild frostbite, pushing the chair away from me and tipping it backwards and onto the floor with a metallic crash. Having looked up from her handiwork in time to see everything go down, Abbi glanced mildly at the chair, then at me, and went back to work without even laughing at me. Freaking smooth, James.

I picked up the chair amid the laughter of the other sculpture students and the quiet concern of Mrs. Stanley and sat down once again, this time being careful to pull the stretchy fabric of my shorts down long enough to cover the metal seat. I aimed my smile back at Abbi, who, this time, didn’t look up.

I barely had time to be disappointed before the stragglers arrived clearly invigorated by the hallway fight, whooping and hollering before Mrs. Stanley told them to quiet down or she’d mark them as tardy. Once again I looked at Abbi, whose attention was held steadfast by the desk cover. Well, at least it wasn’t just me that couldn’t get her attention. At this, I felt a wave of relief.

The relief was cut short, however, when one of the stragglers named Jason joined us at the shared desk, taking the seat directly across from Abbi. His arrival and unceremonious dumping of his bag on the desktop earned him a brief look and a practiced readjustment of Abbi’s position so that he wouldn’t accidentally bump into her, and once again the relief flooded my system.

Now that everyone was in their seats, Mrs. Stanley, looking for all the world like a walking retirement party, officially began class by going over the previous day’s finished assignment, which itself was the culmination of our unit on color and texture. I myself had modeled my project after my then-black room with soft black silk and smooth painted wood and was given an A for my trouble.

The main topic of discussion, however, wasn’t our grades. It was the introductory project for the next unit: symbolism and storytelling. Mrs. Stanley began to hand out the rubrics for the project while she gave us the bad news: we were going to be working with partners.

No, no, no. Not okay, because with my luck, I’d be paired with bonehead Jason or asshole Alex who’d just gotten back from a stint in alternative school for exposing himself in the cafeteria last year. I struggled to pay attention as she continued to outline the project.

“To simplify things,” she said, still handing out papers, “you’re going to be paired with the person across from you.”

That rule meant I was paired with….oh, God. While I wasn’t looking, Alex had apparently drifted into class and sat in the one remaining seat, which just so happened to be next to Jason and across from me. This wasn’t happening.

I’d been there in the cafeteria last year when Alex exposed himself. I’d even seen it. I can’t say I was particularly impressed, but I guess I didn’t have very much data with which to compare. Regardless, I was uninterested in being stuck with this kid for God knows how long while trying to work with whatever drivel he’d come up with and pass of as ideas.

My musing was interrupted by a voice that said “Can I be paired with James?”

Hearing the rare appearance of Abbi’s somber voice made me smile despite myself, and I took a moment to apprecia--wait. That was my name that had come out of her mouth. She’d asked to be paired with me. I couldn’t blame her, really, as her other option was Jason, who was barely a notch above Alex in terms of competence.

Despite her annoyance at Abbi’s resistance of her rules, Mrs. Stanley appeared to take pity on the both of us and rearranged our partnerships to put Abbi and I together and sic Jason and Alex upon each other. Looking only a little hurt, Jason huffed and looked Alex up and down before shrugging and choosing not to make a stink about the arrangement.

As Mrs. Stanley continued, I tried to remind myself that Abbi was only working with me to avoid the more offensive option that was Jason. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the thought that Abbi would be talking directly to me and nobody else in second period for the next several days.

“For this project, you will each take something you own, and together, you will create something that brings new meaning to your possessions. In case you can’t tell, this is a project that’s going to render the items you bring useless for the future, so I wouldn’t suggest bringing a favorite shirt or expensive electronic. Today, you’ll work on deciding what you’ll bring and sketching out the final product.”

My mind was racing with ideas about what I could bring when I stopped to consider what Abbi might have to offer. What would she consider useful but okay to part with? Surely she had a spare makeup brush or two, with all the work she clearly put into doing her face day after day.

“What are you going to bring?”

I wished she’d say my name again. I’d always thought my name was so boring, but coming from Abbi, it was beautiful. Shit, gotta answer before I look like a weirdo.

“Uh, I don’t know…” Great.

“You could bring something to go in my hamster cage,” said Abbi.

“Did he die or something?” I winced, mentally berating myself. Great, just great. Bring up her dead hamster. That’ll make her have the hots for you.

“Never had one. Dad got the cage and forgot the hamster.”

“How do you forget a hamster? Was he high?” Abbi shrugged and looked away, and I took the opportunity to feel like a complete ass, first for bringing up her nonexistent dead hamster and then for asking about her maybe-stoned father. I wondered, briefly, how the species ever managed to repopulate if there were men like me walking around and completely turning women off.

Instead of shutting my mouth, I decided to try one more time to lift her spirits.

“Maybe I could, uh, bring that weird thing my mom keeps in her bedside table?”

Abbi snorted and, for a fleeting moment, gave me the most perfectly little crooked smile I’d ever seen on those plum-painted lips. And, by God, I was the one who put it there. I let slip an eye-crinklingly wide smile before composing myself into what I hoped was a sly grin. Abbi got ahold of herself too and opened her mouth, hopefully not to be too grossed out with me.

“Tell me you didn’t actually touch your mom’s--”

“Of course not!” I interrupted her. I didn’t know if I could stand to hear that combination of words aimed at me and not die from the resulting embarrassment. I laced my fingers together and stared down at my desk, willing my reddening cheeks to calm down.

Soon, the bell rang and dismissed us to third period, and I quickly stood up, grabbing my things and getting ready to run away from the social situation my big mouth had put me in. I was in such a hurry, in fact, that I almost missed Abbi calling my name from our desk.

I stopped short of the door and sidestepped the other students rushing back to the main school building. Having successfully grabbed my attention, Abbi reached into the scrap paper box and pulled out a white and gold speckled scrap of tissue paper.

“Here,” she said, scribbling something down on it. “gotta run; gym class.”

I felt for her; to get to the stadium for girls’ gym, she was going to have to cross the whole campus and wait for the crosswalk. But more importantly, she gave me a note! I scrambled to open it as I walked to class and discovered she’d written down a phone number. Her phone number? My eyes snapped upwards to the hallway, but Abbi was long gone.

For the rest of the school day, I was floating on air. Abbi had never once given me a second look, but now that we’d spoken some she wanted me to have her phone number! Did she want me to call her? I decided to play it safe and wait until I was home to do anything. I moved my phone case and gently pushed the note inside for safekeeping.

The final bell couldn’t have come soon enough. I picked up my scooter and ran to the bus in hopes of getting home as soon as possible, and Davis waved me over from a seat near the back. I joined him.

“Blow me off again this morning? I’m starting to get lonely,” Davis said with a theatrical sigh. I gave him my best eye roll in return while artfully cramming my scooter in one of the overhead storage areas. I sat down next to Davis and held my backpack in my lap.

“Alarm didn’t go off,” I said, gazing out the window at all the people milling around in the bus circle. Why wouldn’t they get out of the way? Didn’t they know I had something important to do?

“Whatcha’ looking at?” said Davis.

“Oh, nothing. Just wish these assholes would mo--”

And suddenly through the throng of students and teachers I saw Abbi perched on the hood of an old Sedan in the parking lot, looking bored out of her mind and utterly, utterly perfect. Without looking away I grabbed Davis’ sleeve and pulled him towards the window.

“See that girl? That’s Abbi.” I said.

Davis squinted at the parking lot. “The emo chick with the crappy car? That’s your dream girl?”

I smacked him on the shoulder and spoke, still unable to look away.

“She’s amazing. She’s artistic and good at carving, she always does her eyebrows perfectly, and she matches her makeup to the paint stains on her jacket cuffs.”

“Uh, okay. Why not wash the jacket?”

I was getting ready to reply when an unwelcome figure entered my field of vision. Seth, one of the assholes in my history class who liked to talk back to Mr. Hanson, walked up to Abbi and hugged her while she sat on the hood. And sure enough, those paint speckled cuffs wrapped around his waist and hugged right back.

I sat back in my seat and tried not to look as devastated I felt. Of course she had a boyfriend. How could a girl like that not have a boyfriend already? Besides, I didn’t have any right to be upset. Before today, I’d barely said ten words to her altogether. I opened my phone case and pulled out Abbi’s note. Why had she given me this, then?

When my stop came I rode my scooter the rest of the way home and dumped my backpack on the floor before flopping onto my bed. So, Abbi wasn’t trying to get me to ask her out. And she wasn’t asking me out, either. So...what gives? I sent her a text, trying my best to seem casual. Abbi? It’s James.

She replied a few minutes later, Cool. Was wondering when you’d text. So, what are you bringing? And don’t say your mom’s vibrator.

Oh, so that’s why she gave me her number. Of course. We hadn’t started on the sketch for our project, and we hadn’t even figured out what we were bringing. Scanning the room, I came up with the first thing I saw and texted her back. A stuffed animal?

This time, her response was almost instantaneous. What if I bring one of mine and we do like a zombie animal?

I couldn’t help sighing dreamily at her idea. I did tell Davis she was artistic, after all. Sounds cool! :)

Sweet.

As much as I wanted to keep talking to Abbi, I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so I set my phone down and picked a stuffed animal I was willing to part with--a brown bear with a red ribbon--and put it in my backpack for tomorrow before hopping in the shower. I lowered myself to the floor of the tub and distantly felt the warm water hitting my chest.

[bunchill-blog]

RISE AND SHINE, KINGDOM HEARTS FANDOM! The fantastic new opening is up and I’m here to bring you some cool details that may have gone unnoticed with all the hype and questions that are popping up and eating all of us alive as we wait for January 25~29. Thus, I’m here to present you some cool theories (that absolutely no one asked for) based on the eye colours of the characters in the Kingdom Hearts series! Or, as I like to call it, the Rainbow Spectrum theory! Sounds a bit boring, right? But I promise ya it gets better, if not interesting! Okay, so let’s dive deep by starting with the basics.

As many of us have noticed, Kingdom Hearts is a game that most characters have blue eyes, with a few exceptions here and there that scream stranger danger to all of us; yellowish eyes are bad by default and are a sign of darkness, generally of people who got Norted, which means they’re considered one of the vessels of Xehanort, or simply put, golden-eyed people are the villains of the story (take Xemnas, Xehanort, Ansem the Seeker of Darkness, Xigbar, etc, for example) and the blue-eyed people are the heroes (take Sora, Ventus, Aqua, Roxas, etc, for example).

That’s cool and all, but... Isn’t it strange that Kairi is one of the few characters that have purplish eyes? She has indigo eyes, it varies between deep blue and purple, as we can see in the famous KH2 ending and in the new KH3 trailers. Huh, how curious. Then we can notice Sora’s eyes clearly changing colours from KH1 to KH3; the once strong, azure-like blue starts to fade away just so hints of green can begin to appear.

Then we have these two... Who share nothing in common, right? Except for the fact that they’re both considered “anomalies”, people who walk between darkness AND light, The Road to Dawn, as it’s explained in KH Re:COM. Not to mention that Riku’s entire arc is him accepting the darkness as part of himself, controlling it and using both darkness and light as his strength to protect what matters the most to him, his loved ones and his home. But what does this entire rambling mean? Well, I’ll let optical physics be our friend here to let us visualise it better!

The more vibrant an eye colour is, the stronger the connection between the individual and their nature [be them light-based or darkness-based] is. The closer such colour is to red, the closer the individual is connected to darkness. The closer such colour is to purple, the closer the individual is connected to light. (I used hex codes to make this little exemplification since I have some difficulty distinguishing between colours by the way so forgive me if they aren’t completely 100% spot-on!)

Rainbow. Seven colours. Seven lights?! Okay, maybe that’s seeing too much into things, but I had to put this here, my bad, let’s get back into being serious.

When you look into a simple colour spectrum it’s funny to notice that the Princess of Heart, Kairi, a person that supposedly has nothing but light inside their being, is the one to have purple-blue eyes. Meanwhile, Ansem The Seeker of Darkness, an entity that’s supposed to be made out of pure darkness since he’s a Heartless, has orange-red eyes. What’s even more fun to notice is that the colours are commonly divided by blocks of wavelength/frequency intervals, which in exchange makes the rainbow’s colours [violet, blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red]. Then, you have the dude that managed to control both darkness and light, and was chose to be one of the Guardians of Light and a Keyblade Master, Riku; he has cyan eyes, one of the most distinct eye colours in the whole series. By that logic, that’d explain why he’s still closer to the light even if he has great darkness within himself and a good affinity to it; such can be exemplified and justified when we observe that the cyan block interval is closer to the purple block interval instead of the red block interval. 

Tetsuya Nomura is known for his love for symbolism and little details [the X marks on items of clothing in BBS and DDD is just the biggest example of this I can think of], and I honestly can’t see how all of this can be a coincidence, especially when we have this new KH3 trailer showing a Young Xehanort facing the night sky with purple eyes. It’s something we should take into consideration, in my opinion. What happened to his eyes for them to change colours and turn golden? Is his name even Xehanort? What did he experience that made him follow the Dark Side path?

As it’s shown throughout the series, people can apparently change eye colours depending on their emotional state and current nature [light/darkness, good/evil]. Take Xehanort, Aqua, Larxene, and others! This clearly has a link to their hearts’ stats, so this is also a cue to Sora’s eyes changing colours. 

Literally, Nomura said that Sora will be on the edge of true despair in KH3, not to mention all the hints he left for a possible end to his character since he apparently doesn’t care about him at all, sympathizing with Xehanort way more than his little hero, which to me are pretty good reasons to consider his eyes changing colours in KH3. If this isn’t enough to back it up though, have screencaps of the video KINGDOM HEARTS III – Big Hero 6 Trailer.

Right from the bat, you can see that Sora and Roxas don’t share the same eye colour anymore. Sora’s eyes have major hints of green whereas Roxas’ eyes have hints of navies among shades of deep blue. Roxas currently has bluer eyes than Sora!

Now scroll up and compare to KH1 where Sora’s eyes were absurdly blue, like the summer sky (let’s not forget that Sora’s name [ソラ] is literally written as ‘sky’ in Japanese and that Nomura himself said in the past that that was the reason he named his character as such). I wonder what happens to a polluted sky? Or a cloudy one? Can a sky even get green? Hey, wait a second.

Let’s also not forget that “despair” and “tornado”/”thunderstorm” are constantly used in literature as synonyms or metaphors; you can have H.P Lovecraft (I’ll be exemplifying this with this poem of his, Despair) as a major example, here’s an extract of said poem: “Once, I think I half remember, / Ere the grey skies of November / Quench’d my youth’s aspiring ember, / Liv’d there such a thing as bliss; / Skies that now are dark were beaming, / Gold and azure, splendid seeming / Till I learn’d it all was dreaming— / Deadly drowsiness of Dis”. Please also compare said extract to the end of the poem, the final paragraph of verses, where he talks about oblivion, anguish and agony finally coming after the signs of storm: “Thus the living, lone and sobbing, / In the throes of anguish throbbing, / With the loathsome Furies robbing / Night and noon of peace and rest. / But beyond the groans and grating / Of abhorrent Life, is waiting / Sweet Oblivion, culminating / All the years of fruitless quest.” I honestly think Nomura takes some inspiration out of Lovecraft, but that’s a topic for another discussion.

Other modern authors that use such word-plays on their pieces [despair, torment, tornado, etc] constantly to describe an agonizing sensation are Stephen King, J.K Rowling, John Green, Rick Riordan, G. R. R. Martin and others.

And then we have a screencap from one of Tetsuya Nomura’s interview of this year that I linked before but here’s the link again if you wanna check it out once more. So, green is a hint of despair here.

Isn’t this curiously interesting? I wonder what all of this would mean to Sora, especially since we’ve been told over and over again by Nomura that this is probably the end to his journey as a hero, as exposed on the links above. We have a lot of theories that are based on him getting Norted by the end of the game and ones based on a possible sacrificial/martyr ending. Either way, when it comes to that, the possibilities are endless.

What’s certain is that times are indeed changing and along with it, so is the sky.

And what happens when the sky changes? According to what we learned with Kingdom Hearts, destiny itself changes.

What I’m trying to say is that KH3 ain’t looking so positive for our heroes, my friends. This new song’s lyrics (I deeply believe this song is specifically targeted at Sora, given what Nomura said and this whole context that I wrote) alongside what Nomura said about the KH3 having an ending that will shock or upset most of the fans is really unsettling.

Well, let’s hope for the best! I’ll be probably be writing more posts based on this theory in the future, relating it to the Organization XIII members and more! See you guys next time!

[klimp42]

Devil May Cry V Review: A Pizza Style Boys End

Well after 11 long years here we are, a sequel to probably one of my favorite franchise in history, Devil May Cry V and what a fantastic sequel it is. Now unlike my last review, the iron for this one is still warm. I know it's been a month but hear me out here, I want to be able to spoil some stuff and not feel to bad since, hey its been a month since the game came out, but if you still haven’t played DMCV then watch out we got some spoilers up ahead.

Alright so before we go into talking about all the things this game did right and wrong, I should probably give some backstory to this almost 20 year old franchise whose last canon game came out 11 years ago, I know another “DMC” came out since then but we don’t talk about DMC Devil May Cry. So Devil May Cry for those who don’t know is the story of one of the sons of the legendary Dark Knight Sparda, whose Sparda? The biggest baddest demon who decided that demons being dicks on Earth isn’t cool, betrayed his kind and fight them back to hell and sealed them in it using his amazing power. For the next 2000 years, he acted as Earth’s guardian and then eventually he met either the most smoking hot or most powerful or both, girl ever named Eva. He married her and had twin sons named Dante and Vergil. Now demons aren't a big fan of Sparda because of the whole betrayal and locking them into hell thing, and no one hates him more then his old boss, the demon king Mundus. So one day Sparda dies, don’t ask how its never been fully explained he just died, and Mundus sees this as the perfect opportunity for some revenge and sends a bunch of demons to kill Sparda’s family, but those demons suck and only succeeded in killing Eva.

So after all that and to speed this up to talking about the actual game, Dante and Vergil leave their destroyed home and go about following two paths, Vergil stylishly lusting for power and Dante being a stylish gun for hire, and eventually a demon hunter. Backstory aside all you really need to remember is style means everything, Sparda was the coolest, Dante and Vergil have two different ideas on how to live life.

Alright so moving on to DMCV, let's finally talk about what I feel is a perfect end to the story of Dante and Vergil. DMCV takes place about ten years after the events of DMC4 and involves Dante getting a job by mysterious new guy going by “V”, V wants Dante to go kick the ass of this new demon named Urizen who is causing all sorts of havoc in Red Grave City, where he has raised this giant demonic plant called a Qliphoth which if it isn’t stopped will lead to the end of the world. So Dante, his friends Lady and Trish, go to Red Grave City, into the Qliphoth to stop Urizen, but he starts taking a long time so V gets nervous and decides to go pick up Nero, one of the main characters of DMC4, who just a few days ago had gotten his arm ripped off, it was a demonic one that had Vergil’s sword in it. I know that sounds insane, but if I explained everything in this game series we would be here for a forty more pages, so let's just move on, things are crazy and V tells Nero that the demon who took his arm is Urizen and the Dante needs his help. Fast forward a few hours, Dante is losing his fight to Urizen, Trish and lady are knocked out, V can’t do shit since all he can do is hobble on his cane and let his demon buddies do his work for him, so Nero tries to help and also doesn’t question why this demon looks nothing like the human shaped figure that took his arm, he loses, Dante loses and things go south really fast. In the end, Nero leaves to train for a month to try and actually beat Urizen, V stays behind to try and slow down the Qliphoth’s spread and Dante is assumed to be dead.

Well now that all that back story has been dealt with, let's move on to gameplay, setting and the fantastic soundtrack. So while not being the first DMC game that you can play more than one character, it is the first base release game that you play as multiply characters, Nero, V and Dante, who spoilers is still totally fine and alive. Each character plays completely differently, making it so that depending on who you are playing in the level offers a completely different experience. Nero controls similar to his DMC 4 counterpart, he has the Red Queen that can be revved up to do longer and fire infused attacks, he also has his Blue Rose which can be charged to do explosive shot. The difference of DMC V Nero and DMC4 Nero, is that he no longer has his Devil Bringer, his arm that was taken, instead he has a bunch of different prosthetics he can call upon called Devil Breakers, offering different abilities like a big electric hand, a rocket fist, the ability to stop time, one that lets you go wild with big crazy attacks and a few others. Other than that, he has the same combos and movement and if you liked playing as Nero in DMC4 you’ll love it here, especially after you beat the game which is the only thing I won’t fully spoil, just know you can do some cool stuff.

Now if I was to do this right, I would start talking about V, but I want to keep the speed of similar characters going so let's talking about the pizza loving devil hunter Dante. Like Nero, Dante is very similar to his DMC4 counterpart, honestly his is the exact same if it wasn’t for the fact his sword changes three times and he gets Sin Devil Trigger. I know you might he saying why spoil this and not Nero, well this was in the trailers and Nero’s thing wasn’t. Seriously it's the same bread and butter Dante had in DMC4, you can switch between his four styles of Trickster, a dashing and teleporting style, Swordmaster, a style that increase the moveset of your devil arms, Gunslinger, a style that lets you do crazy gun tricks, and Royal Guard, a hard style to master but it lets you guard attacks and turn them back on your enemies. He has his main sword Rebellion, which becomes his main sword Devil Sword Dante, he has his guns Ebony and Ivory and Coyote-A and gains more throughout the course of the story as he beats bosses. You have your devil trigger that lets you regain health and do more damage, and through the story you get Sin Devil Trigger that lets you do insane damage but you cannot heal. Listen, if you like Dante and like playing as him, you will love him in this, he controls well and its stylish as hell.

Alright so it's time for the boy I skipped, V, and the reason for that is because he is the newest character and controls completely different from every other DMC character you have been able to play as. V doesn’t actually fight, he kills demons, but he does not fight, his boys Griffin, Shadow and Nightmare fight for him, demon summons who share appearances and names with enemies from the first Devil May Cry. As V you just stand back and let your demons fight for you and when they drop the enemies health you rush in and kill them with you cane. It is this exact gameplay that has people split, unlike Dante and Nero, you are not in the action, you are off in the distance hitting buttons for combos that you don’t have full control for. Personally, I feel that once you get more used to it that it's not so bad, you have certain moves that allow you to keep control of where Griffin and Shadow are and if things get to hectic or those bastards just won’t listen to you you can spend devil trigger to make them to increase damage and fight by themselves. You also can use devil trigger to summon Nightmare and have him just fall onto the battlefield and fuck things up for you and you can also get an ability that lets you jump up and control him. So while V is the most hands off character and some people are not fans of that, I love and will always protect my hands off emo son.

The last few things to talk about in DMCV, like always style is a factor in fights and the more varied and different your attacks are leads to higher style points and taunting the enemies gives you a ton of style points, which while before was just so you felt cool, with the games new multiplayer elements in which in certain missions you play alongside other players, now other people can know if you are super cool. However unlike previous DMC games, there are no items to be used, no holy waters or stars to heal you or refill your devil trigger meter, however to balance this enemies drop more orbs that fulfil this function and you can find orb packs to break that heal you or refill your devil trigger.

The setting of this game is much less varied compared to previous canon title DMC4, which I feel is better for it, since you have a coherent theme to the whole story. Your setting is the streets, buildings and sewers of Red Grave City, the destroyed areas around the Qliphoth,and the inside of the Qliphoth itself. Personally, I feel like this gives the game a more end of the world feel, as you see drained corpses of the people of Red Grave City and places that looked lived in just a month ago, I know that other DMC games have let you go through cities, but in those the cities where always just abandoned since they couldn’t really have a bunch of corpses on screen while you were styling on demons.

Alright so one of the things I couldn’t wait to talk about, the soundtrack, which is just great. Listen, if you like any of the other DMC soundtracks you will love this game and if you like rock and roll you will love this games soundtrack. Hell, even if you don’t like rock after a while of playing this game you will grow to love it. The soundtrack is also tied to you style meter so as you do better the song gets better while you are fighting by adding more bass, chorus, and increasing the volume, all building up to a full song to match how cool you look as you dodge, taunt and style on these demons. To get a taste of what it will be like when you go full style god,  lookup Devil Trigger, Crimson Cloud and Subhuman, those three songs play while you kick ass as Nero, Dante and V and makes you feel so bad ass when you are taunting and beating down demons. Also the songs during the boss fights are also amazing, seriously the way that DMC incorporates music as you fight is masterful and makes you seem cool as hell.

Now I know I have been singing this games praises, but it is not perfect, its close though damn close. One big detractor that might affect you is the voice acting, it’s great sometimes and others it is just a little of sync to what the character is saying and the story, while great, does have a few moments that are weird like how because Nero says quit it, Dante and a newly refreshed Vergil go alright and stop their fight to the death and instead decide to jump into hell and stop and kill the Qliphoth.

So yeah those are my only complaints, I said it was close to perfect and I mean it. This game is the Devil May Cry that we have deserved since DMC4, it controls well, looks beautiful and gives a final send-off to Dante and Vergil, leaving the stage for future games to focus on Nero and Nico and even new casts of characters. Honestly if you enjoyed old DMC games, even DMC Devil May Cry, pick this game up as you need to play it. If you have never played a DMC game before, play the free demo and see if its your speed and if it is, then dive on it and be the stylish demon hunter you were meant to be.

[walterreso57-blog]

Top Advice on Dragon Ball Z Games

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If you're a person that has been playing online games for a while now, you probably would have tries playing Bakugan games at least on one occasion. At elevated levels of play, we'll likely see players fish for quick combos or straightforward hit confirms as a way to tag out safely and cheaply. For different players, we've got classic, cartoon-style fighting action. I understand many folks love this game. What You Should Do to Find Out About Dragon Ball Z Games Before You're Left Behind Still, the majority of the combat is really boring, unfortunately. You can chose your favourite warrior and just begin fighting! Bear in mind that should you do fail on a number of the more compact fights, then you'll want to begin the map all over again. Why Almost Everything You've Learned About Dragon Ball Z Games Is Wrong You pick the species and I'll sculpt it. The eggs need to be put in smallish depressions in the incubation container. 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The Z Burst Dash is a far faster and more evasive variant of the Dragon Dash. The Assist is like the Team Combination. Additionally, it is a cool research the heads of several Dragon Ball characters you might not have paid much attention to in the true series. Even with the visual chaos, Dragon Ball FighterZ's mechanics are in reality deceptively easy and simple to learn. In the event you were a Dragon Ball fan then this game is a best option for you. While he's a push-over when compared with current Dragon Ball villains, Tambourine is still among the most menacing antagonists in the whole series. These Super Dragon Balls in addition to Super Shenron were made by the Dragon God Zalama.

[camkablam]

Day Two - Actor AU

Hey, I got Day Two up. Nice.

Yuri was your average freak.

He was small and quiet and wore glasses that looked too big for his face. Every single kid in his year was twice his height and thrice his size. He’d been bullied so bad that his mum had actually gotten herself involved, but no matter what the school did, they never seemed to be able to get it to stop. So Yuri stopped telling them.

But when he got a part in Story Mode’s second season, he’d been certain he was going to burst with joy, shock and downright anxiety all in the one go. It was, without a doubt, one of the best things that had ever happened to him. Not that any of the bullies actually believed him; all he’d got from telling them was his head dunked in a toilet. But it didn’t matter. They’d see he was telling the truth when the first trailer came out.

Yuri wasn’t sure whether or not it would make the bullying better or worse. There were some people who thought Story Mode was stupid, after all. As though they’d actually bothered to go see it.

But it was more than just that. Because Yuri was honestly finding himself having fun.

There were twelve different actors playing Jesse; Yuri was finding it a little hard to remember all their names (they were startlingly similar, though), so he sort of just ended up calling them all Jesse, to their amusement (but it was fine, because they had taken to calling him Radar; he was fairly certain they couldn’t remember his real name either). They were all so nice as well. A lot like the popular version of the character they were playing.

Ashley was the actor that played Petra. Yuri had been embarrassingly excited when he’d first met her (okay, he’d been embarrassingly excited when he met every actor that played a role in the first season, he’ll admit it), but the redhead (which turned out to be dyed) had just laughed and ruffled his newly gelled hair, telling him she liked him and completely ignoring the angry cries of the hair stylist he’d just left.

Lukas’ actor (or Scott, although he responded to both) was just as kind as his character. He’d helped Yuri multiple times when he got lost and always shot him an encouraging smile whenever he screwed up his lines. Which was often. Embarrassingly often. To be honest, he was a walking embarrassment at this point.

But, at the same time, he had fun. An odd combination, but it was true.

Then there was Jack and Nurm. Or, rather, Fred and Mark. They hadn’t known each other before auditioning, but the two had practically clicked. Fred actually had a blind eye, too; something about getting a bit of glass stuck in it and getting it infected a few years ago (Yuri was still trying to decide if that was cool or just really gross). Mark was even quieter than Yuri; and when he did actually speak, it was in a low muttering that only Fred seemed to be able to hear. Which was just downright coincidentally amazing.

Yuri hadn’t really talked to Stella’s actor, but from their few interactions, she’d been nice. Her name was Ashley, like Petra’s actor, but she’d said that she’d always liked to have Stella as her name. Yuri hadn’t even realised until way later that he’d taken to calling her Stella instead of Ashley; the actress didn’t seem to mind, though.

JB was Romeo’s actor; he’d already made multiple jokes about Shakespeare, mostly (of course) Romeo and Juliet. One particular joke had been during screening, when he’d been dangling five foot in the air from a harness, and had proclaimed his everlasting love for Jesse while quoting something from what Yuri was pretty sure was the balcony scene (the fact that it was a male Jesse that was steadily turning red had just made it all the funnier).

He didn’t see Axel and Olivia’s actors all that much (he was fairly sure they were called Brian and… Natasha? Yeah, Natasha), but that was fine; apparently, they were only appearing briefly at the beginning and then again for the final thing. While Yuri, as a fanboy, was a bit disappointed by this, he decided not to voice it. He was embarrassing enough as it is.

The familiar ring of the bell tore him from his thoughts. Yuri looked up from where he’d been doodling equations on the side of his notebook, blinking as the teacher tried to yell over the chaos of teenagers eagerly packing away their things to go home to remind them that their homework was due tomorrow. Of course, Yuri’s mother had been sure that he was on top of his homework, especially with him needing to go to the studio for most of the day, pretty much every day. Then again, he’d always made sure he was on top of his homework. He just needed to make sure he did it faster and earlier than he used to now.

Yuri shoved his books into his bag and swung it onto his back, making sure to tuck his chair back under his desk before trailing after the other teens darting out into the hallway. His mum was still at work, so the Jesse’s had taken it upon themselves to take turns picking him up from school. Something Yuri had tried to stammer his way out of, because he was fairly certain (still was) that they had way better things to do than pick up some teenager from school, but they’d insisted.

He slipped out the front doors, pausing at the top of the stairs so he could see (sorta) over the hundreds of teenage heads, trying to spot Jesse’s car. He swore that they all shared one car, because he was sure it was the same one every time. Either that, or there were twelve identical cars parked in the studios parking lot. He wasn’t sure which theory was funnier.

He must have been lingering too long. Maybe he’d been blocking someone’s way. Or maybe they’d just decided the average little freak standing on the edge of the stairs had just been too good an opportunity to pass up.

He supposed it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that one moment he was standing there, and the next he was lying at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at the clouded sky in a daze. It was a considerably blurry sky. Where had his glasses gone? They were supposed to keep things from being blurry.

There was quiet laughter. Yuri groaned, pushing himself up and fingering the throbbing area where the back of his skull had met concrete with a grimace. His fingers came away wet with blood.

The laughing continued. Yuri looked to the top of the stairs, wincing again when he spotted the blurry figures of some of his particularly harsh bullies. Realising that almost everyone else had stopped to stare at him, Yuri ducked his head, heat rising to his cheeks. Spotting what he hoped were his glasses, Yuri reached out, half blind- a foot came out of nowhere and kicked them away. The laughing got louder. The uncomfortable heat crawled further up his neck.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Yuri’s head snapped around, somewhat useless eyes widening as his heart sank to his stomach. A blurry figure stood a few feet away, distinguishable from all the other blurs from the way they were inching away from them. But he didn’t need to see them to recognise their voice.

Jesse. Well, one of the Jesse’s. They must have seen what had happened from the car.

If Yuri had thought everything about him was embarrassing before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now.

Jesse marched forward, bending down to help Yuri to his feet. The laughing had stopped, but he had much preferred it when compared to Jesse seeing him get shoved down a set of stairs. They turned to him, close enough that Yuri could see the frown on their brow.

“Are you okay?”

Too mortified to speak, Yuri nodded. Jesse’s frown deepened, but they didn’t push, instead turning their attention to the teens still standing at the top of the stairs.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“It was an accident,” one muttered, a tad weakly. Yuri could practically hear the sneer on Jesse’s face.

“Didn’t look like an accident,” they said; so they had been watching. Fantastic. “In fact, looked pretty damn deliberate to me.”

They didn’t answer. After a moment, Jesse scoffed, before bending down to scoop up what Yuri assumed were his glasses. The actor shot the teens one last glare, before wrapping their arm around Yuri’s shoulders and beginning to guide him away.

“C’mon, Radar,” they muttered, handing him his glasses. Yuri took them in silent thanks and slipped them back onto his face.

Neither he nor Jesse said anything as they slipped into the car, or as Jesse pulled out of the lot and onto the road. Yuri kept his eyes glued to his knees, unwilling to look at the older actor. The back of his head continued to throb.

After a few moments of tense silence, the boy swallowed, finally dragging his fingers up to prod carefully at the back of his hair. It was still wet and sticky, and that blood was going to be hard to get out of his hair if it dried in, and just ow. Why did they have to do that? Why did it have to be then? Why couldn’t they have done it when Jesse wasn’t looking?

Angry, embarrassed tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. He blinked hastily, unwilling to cry in front of his hero. He’d already been shoved down a flight of stairs in front of them. He didn’t need them to see him cry about it too.

“Radar?”

He jumped, hand jerking from where it had still been prodding at the back of his head. Jesse frowned at him, still keeping one eye on the road.

“You okay, pal?” Jesse’s eyes trailed over to his hand, widening as they came to his blood coated fingers, “Is that from your head?”

Yuri swallowed. He wanted to wipe his hand on something, but he’d rather not get blood on his clothes and he wasn’t about to wipe that, of all things, all over his co-worker's car. “Um, ye- yeah.”

Jesse frowned, turning their eyes back to the road as they reached a round-a-bout, “We’ll get you patched up when we get to the studio.”

The boy nodded. With the amount of action that takes place in Story Mode, there was a lot of stunt stuff and heavy equipment with the potential to horribly injure someone. So medical supplies were often kept handy.

They shifted into silence. After a moment of hesitation, Jesse broke it.

“Does this happen often?”

“Does what happen often?”

“Radar.”

Yuri sighed; it had been a weak attempt anyway, “Yeah. But- But it’s fine, I’m used to it by now.”

Jesse stared at him. Of course, they were only able to do so for a moment before they had to snap their attention back to the road, unless they wanted to crash.

“What do you mean you’re used to it?”

Yuri shrugged, “It’s been going on for years. I told my mum and the school, but they weren’t able to really stop it. So I just stopped telling them. I think they’re under the impression that it’s stopped.”

Jesse was silent. They didn’t really seem sure what to say. Finally, they grunted.

“I don’t understand people,” they admitted, “What do they gain from hurting you?”

“I dunno,” Yuri admitted quietly, “Maybe it’s their way of desperately trying to find something they can actually control.”

Jesse huffed, “Maybe. Either that or they’re just jerks.”

Yuri’s lips twitched. The silence returned, but it was a bit more comfortable this time. He dug some tissues out of his bag (because allergy season was, unfortunately, upon them) to press again the back of his head. They were just turning into the studio’s parking lot when Jesse spoke again.

“The other Jesse’s are hearing about this, just so you know.”

“What? Wait, no, I don’t think that’s-”

“Sorry, buddy. Jesse’s tell each other everything.”

Yuri groaned. But he couldn’t have helped the little smile that twitched onto his lips even if he’d tried.

[bearpillowmonster]

Venom Review

I wasn't hyped for this movie, but as time went on it was a bit of a gamble because it had some cool looking trailers but not much to back it up, so I took the bait and rolled with it and ended up wanting to see it. It comes out, bad reviews, not to mention the embargo they put on the reviews so they knew it was bad. I had only little hope because some people said they were giving it a bad review to promote A Star Is Born and I just looked at some spoilers to get a feel for it. Lost that hope. The actors explained themselves on Twitter. "I did it for the money and Tom Hardy" "My favorite 40 minutes of the film were cut" yeah so the actors didn't like their own movie.

I ended up just watching it yesterday and to be honest it doesn't feel like a movie, I remember 2/3 of the way in I'm like "We're in the third act...This is where the motocycle scene is? This is where we see Venom full fledged?!" and by the end I was like "Oh, that's it.." it reminded me a little of a more characterized version of how Fantastic Four (2015) was. But let's get one thing straight, learn to say symbiote! The subject of the frickin movie! In the trailer we hear Symb-"i"-ote, and at one point Symbi-"it" then they correct it in the movie with Symb-"e"-ote why don't you make up your mind-"ote". I prefer the proper way of saying it "SYMB-"E"-OTE". I like Eddie Brock towards the beginning, but for the rest of the movie (about when he gets infected then on.) he's just in it for the ride and screams every now and then. Also why did Dora choose Eddie to go to after everything that's happened? What made her think he would help? Also Riot goes from host to host in the entire movie without a problem of achieving symbiosis as much as the others, then finally makes his way to Carlton Drake...why? Why did he target Drake? And Jameson is at the beginning...does that mean they took J. Jonah for this universe? I wanted him for the MCU. (though nobody tops JK Simmons)

You really have to shut off your brain to enjoy this movie and forget prior knowledge of Venom from comics and other sources, I can't say I didn't have a little fun though. In fact it was so stupid, I found it funny, that never happens for me, I didn't expect that. You're trying to tell me Venom, who is an alien with no prior knowledge of how to drive can suddenly drive a motorcycle much better than Eddie who has probably driven that motorbike for years? There's a lot of banter like "Venom No!" and then he'll be like "Venom YES!". I don't like that he's "a loser compared to the others" that's stupid, this isn't Transformers. When he makes his way back to Eddy and he says "we are Venom" for the first time and Eddie asks "What made you change your mind?" then Venom says "You Eddie"...how? Did I miss something? Did they cut it out in editing? What suddenly makes Eddie so much better? That's the thing, there's no memorable dialogue and when it is, it's used in a scene that isn't meaningful. It's almost like they knew they wanted that dialogue in the film but didn't know where to put it. Venom is presumably dead in the rocket scene and then about 2 minutes later is revealed to be back with Eddie which we knew would happen but so soon?? What's the point in making people think he's dead? Is this Amazing Spiderman 2 all over again?

There are characters that I know, I recognize, and I see in this movie but they are just there kind of for the sake of being there. That's makes it poorly written. (Not to mention the straight commercial for Into the Spiderverse in the end credits, shameless promotion there) Look at Cletus Kassidy in the end credits, we know he turns into Carnage in the comics but unlike the movie in the comics, Eddie is in jail with him and then escapes leaving some of the symbiote behind which fuses with Cletus. Rather than Eddie is just interviewing him...for no apparent reason other than he's a killer. Then he's isolated in his own "cage" within a cell in what seems like a straight jacket and you mean to tell me there's blood on what little wall there is in it. Poor set design for starters, if you're going to write on the wall, give a little room to do so and I know the blood is just for effect but where is the blood from? Him? He's in a straight jacket with handcuffs so it couldn't be a guard.

I have to say that this is better than the Amazing Spiderman 2 (simply for that lobster scene) but it's nothing to be hyped about, it's not the big deal that we wanted. 6 out of 10. I have a personal connection with the Black Cat character and "Black and Silver" is supposed to be their next film, I don't want Black Cat's first 'proper' appearance to be a bad one and handled this way. (not counting that Felicia Hardy we saw in AS2) if anything save her for a future Spiderman movie in the MCU or reevaluate your idea of spinoffs please. I'd much rather wait another 10 years for Black Cat than see her mishandled.

[aion-rsa]

Will Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Reignite Love for Movie Musicals?

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The musical genre has made a remarkable recovery in the 21st century. Once relegated to one of the “relics” of pop cultures past, and often put in the same neglected box as Westerns and biblical epics, genuine toe-tappers that were both original and based on Broadway shows surged to new popularity in the 2000s and 2010s. This began with the one-two punch of Baz Luhrmann’s decadent Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Rob Marshall’s more traditional Oscar winner Chicago (2002). Yet fans of the revived art-form should be watching how Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is received this December very carefully.

Judging by the new trailer for the holiday epic, Spielberg and 20th Century Studios think they have a blockbuster on their hands. Relying on much of the same visual iconography as seen in Robert Wise’s original West Side Story adaptation from 60 years ago, Spielberg is leaning into the nostalgia older generations likely have for this classic tale of love, tragedy, and Romeo and Juliet melodrama in mid-20th century Manhattan. The West Side Story trailer is also leaning, perhaps more than the original Hollywood version, into the racial tensions and bigotries that felt so timely in 1961, and sadly feel as vital as ever today—particularly after anti-immigrant xenophobia surged back into the mainstream beginning with the 2015 Republican Party primaries.

As with many of Spielberg’s recent dramas, West Side Story is in conversation with his audiences’ collective conscience and America’s living past. Yet he’s also having to do something which few probably expected when the studio formerly known as 20th Century Fox greenlit this movie: reassure studios that musicals remain a popular genre.

Despite nearly every awards season for two decades featuring producers who claimed they were astonished that a musical could be nominated for an Oscar, the musical has been relatively healthy since the aforementioned Oscar races of 2001 and 2002. Both Moulin Rouge! and Chicago were critical and box office darlings, and both led to a renewed interest in the genre after Baby Boomers had largely abandoned it in the 1970s. With notable exceptions, the ‘70s through ‘90s were a desert for Hollywood musicals. One might even wonder if that’s why Spielberg, a director in the prime of his commercial filmmaking prowess during those years, never attempted a musical then.

In any event, the genre has thrived with new audiences among Millennials who grew up on animated showtunes in the Disney Renaissance, as we ll as among the even younger Generation Z. Only five years ago, the completely original La La Land was a critical and box office hit, grossing nearly $450 million worldwide and winning Oscars for Best Director, Actress, and almost Best Picture. And while Hugh Jackman’s also wholly original The Greatest Showman failed to generate similar critical or awards appreciation, the movie found an even larger, more enthusiastic domestic audience among young Americans who returned week after week to the cinema for months, taking that movie to $174 million in North America (compared to La La Land’s $151 million) and $437 million overall.

Yet in recent years, Hollywood prognosticators have too enthusiastically started opining if the genre is in trouble. Universal Pictures thought they had a sure thing with Cats, an all-star slice of Oscar bait from the director of the Oscar winning Les Misérables, which also netted Universal $442 million at the global box office back in 2012-2013. Of course Cats turned out to be awful and a social media punchline. So that really shouldn’t be indicative of anything.

More recently, however, the critically adored and genuinely fantastic In the Heights sank at the box office last June, grossing a grim $43.9 million worldwide off of a purported $55 million budget. Granted, In the Heights also endured a hybrid release on HBO Max the same day it entered theaters, and the last six months have demonstrably shown such rollouts kneecap even Marvel movies’ box office earning powers. In the Heights also featured vocal criticism on social media, leading to the composer and lyricist of the musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda, to apologize to folks who felt offended that the first all-Latinx and Black cast of a Hollywood blockbuster favored lighter skin-toned actors.

Meanwhile, this month will see the anticipated release of Dear Evan Hansen, one of the biggest Broadway behemoths of the last five years. But while it remains to be seen how audiences receive the movie, the picture has already earned a highly divisive and derisive critical reaction out of the TIFF, including in our own review. But then again, composers and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul also earned some negative notices from critics on The Greatest Showman, which still went on to become a genuine pop culture phenomenon.

However, if Dear Evan Hansen doesn’t repeat a similar groundswell of support among moviegoing audiences—even on a pandemic curve—then some industry watchers are already bemoaning if the musical genre is again losing its luster.

To be clear, there are specific extenuating circumstances in all three of these major Hollywood studio productions, with only one being warmly embraced by critics and the audiences who did show up (while also enduring a day and  date release during the pandemic), and another only having been snickered at by the relatively insulated world of film festival attendees. And recall that one of the biggest streaming phenomenons of 2020 was when Disney+ released a Hamilton film, which was actually the editing together of several live performances of that show’s original cast in 2016.

Ultimately, it would be unfair to judge the current popularity of a whole genre based on a handful of movies, including West Side Story. Still, making a major movie musical is not cheap, and Hollywood studio executives considering whether to invest another $150 million in the making and marketing of, say, a Wicked movie or something with no built-in fanbase from Broadway, might be looking very closely to see if Spielberg can make audiences feel pretty and witty again.

West Side Story opens exclusively in theaters on Dec. 10, 2021.

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