#i don’t know how i feel about those scenes with Andrés and his son

[loveothislife]

Inside Michael Stuhlbarg's Heartbreaking Monologue From 'Call Me By Your Name'

Cry with us, won’t you? As Professor Perlman says, “Nature has cunning ways of finding our weakest spot.”

By Matthew Jacobs Feb 3, 2018

If you’ve heard rumblings about any particular “Call Me by Your Name” scene, it’s either Timothée Chalamet fucking a peach or The Monologue.

Those familiar with the movie, or the celebrated André Aciman book on which it’s based, will understand these references. 2017 was, after all, the year fruit sex went mainstream. As much as I’d love to spend the next 1,200 words dishing about that juicy peach, we’re going to talk about The Monologue. Oh, that sweet, picture-perfect monologue.

It’s the moment that clinches the film, delivered by Professor Perlman (Michael Stuhlbarg), the father of 17-year-old Elio (Chalamet), who falls for a graduate student named Oliver (Armie Hammer) during one blissful, bittersweet summer at his family’s Italian villa. Elio has just bid Oliver adieu, and Perlman consoles him with delicately chosen words that are the envy of every queer kid who ever longed to hear a parent say, “It gets better.”

Director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter James Ivory lifted the monologue almost word for word from Aciman’s text, excising only a few sentences. Even some of Aciman’s scene-setting prose finds its way into the script’s parenthetical directions, guiding the conversation as it unfolds on a couch in Perlman’s dim study. “His tone says: We don’t have to speak about it, but let’s not pretend we don’t know what I’m saying,” for example, appears in the novel and the screenplay, ensuring they mirror each other’s dulcet timbre.

Stuhlbarg’s speech is best underscored by these words (punctuation and capitalization are the script’s):

When you least expect it, Nature has cunning ways of finding our weakest spot. Just remember: I am here. Right now you may not want to feel anything. Perhaps you never wished to feel anything. And perhaps it’s not to me that you’ll want to speak about these things. But feel something you obviously did.

You had a beautiful friendship. Maybe more than a friendship. And I envy you. In my place, most parents would hope the whole thing goes away, to pray that their sons land on their feet. But I am not such a parent. In your place, if there is pain, nurse it. And if there is a flame, don’t snuff it out. Don’t be brutal with it. We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster, that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything ― what a waste!

Two sentences nixed from Aciman’s rendering: “Withdrawal can be a terrible thing when it keeps us awake at night, and watching others forget us sooner than we’d want to be forgotten is no better,” and “Most of us can’t help but live as though we’ve got two lives to live, one is the mockup, the other the finished version, and then there are all those versions in between.”

During an interview ahead of the movie’s limited release in November ― it opened in wide release on Jan. 19, a few days before netting four Oscar nominations, including for best picture ― Stuhlbarg told me he delivered the monologue two different ways. His first take was more emotional, more impassioned; the second version, which Guadagnino “rightly” opted to use, was “a little more direct.”

On paper, the speech sounds very literary ― appropriate for an academic like Perlman who studies Greek antiquities, but still difficult for any actor to deliver with an organic cadence.

“You never know how a piece of text is going to live in you when you try to absorb it for all of its weight,” Stuhlbarg said. “I don’t think there was a conscious choice on my part for it to be any more or less professorial. I think the text does a lot of that for me, so maybe I was just concerned with it coming from a true place, and that he was choosing his words carefully. In another actor’s mouth, it would be different. ... I think the language speaks for itself. I tried to let it live in me over the course of the five or so weeks that we had, because we shot the movie in chronological order. [I wanted] to let it resonate with me that way I thought it could be said.”

Throughout the scene, the camera remains mostly trained on Stuhlbarg. He taps a cigarette on an ashtray perched on his lap and picks up a tumbler of whiskey to cut the silence between sentences. Sometimes he peers down, as if to reflect on his own youthful memories, but he largely holds Elio’s teary-eyed gaze. “Elio is dumbstruck as he tries to take all this in,” the screenplay notes, much like the novel’s first-person narration of the same sentiment: “I couldn’t begin to take all this in. I was dumbstruck,” Elio says.

“How you live your life is your business,” Perlman continues as the film’s gentle piano score kicks in. “Remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. And before you know it, your heart is worn out, and, as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it. Right now there’s sorrow. Pain. Don’t kill it and with it the joy you’ve felt.”

A pause, Elio nodding as he absorbs the advice.

“We may never speak about this again,” his old man concludes. “But I hope you’ll never hold it against me that we did. I will have been a terrible father if, one day, you’d want to speak to me and felt that the door was shut, or not sufficiently open.”

In Stuhlbarg’s mouth, Perlman’s words are poetry ― vestiges of a weathered existence and guidance for a life not yet touched by the wisdom of adulthood.

The scene reflects Guadagnino’s intentions for the film. Before the shoot began, “we all sat around his dining room table and read the screenplay together,” Stuhlbarg said. “That was all the rehearsal that some of us had. [Guadagnino] said, ‘I want this to be a story of love and light and buoyancy and fun, to be reminiscent of those idyllic summers that, if we’re lucky, we have when we’re young. Our eyes are opened, and perhaps we fall in love for the first time in a deeper way.’ That idea infected the way we told the story, and it made it such a joyous experience in a way that I never would have expected it to be.”

Stuhlbarg, who appears in two other best picture contenders (“The Shape of Water” and “The Post”), didn’t receive the Oscar nomination he deserves, and “Call Me by Your Name” produced middling box-office returns in wide release despite the fawning praise it received.

Regardless, his closing scene is a master class in acting and writing. It’s what sets this apart from most gay stories, where characters are judged or punished (by parents, peers, spouses, mentors, bullies) for their sexuality. Indeed, every graceful pause in The Monologue is calibrated to capture the movie’s optimism. It’s both heartbreaking and uplifting.

“I love the story and was so grateful to be asked to participate in it,” Stuhlbarg said. “It does seem to be having a lot of resonance and relevance and to be moving people, which is all you can hope for, really, because you never know what’s going to happen when you make something. And in different hands it would be a different telling ― it would be a different story. I think Luca’s a master and has masterfully articulated the story he wanted to tell.”

Huffpost February 3, 2018

[enterthecuttlezone]

This post got ONE LIKE, you know what that means!

Welcome to Tati, son las tres.

Sometimes I feel like Tati. She’s easily excited by mundane things, smiles dumbly like a dog. She dresses plainly in “unfashionable” clothing until the occasion demands some movie magic (admission: I only do the first part). And for Tati, “English or Spanish?” is answered with “A little of neither.” When I was unemployed, I felt like Tati way too much. All of Los Espookys (season one was all we had back then) seemed to me to BE about jobs and trying to find jobs and not knowing what you really want to do with your life and that feeling of oh my god!!! You know? And to a certain extent, it is about that.

In the very first scene of the entire show, Tico tells Renaldo he should make doing spooky stuff into his business. “All I ever wanted to do was park cars, and now I do it full-time! This spooky stuff is your parking cars,” he says. Tico has loved to park cars ever since he was a kid. He’s a prodigy at it, and now he works as a valet and the valet world adores him. In terms of his career, he’s living the dream, doing what he loves and loving doing it. And this model seems to work for Renaldo too. He takes Tico’s advice, turns his friends’ spooktastic hobby into a business, and though he’s not exactly rolling in the dough (he still lives with his parents and doesn’t seem to have any other occupation), he enjoys the experience, taking exciting gigs, spending time with his friends, and making a little bit of money while he’s at it. And he’s happy.

The character of Úrsula doesn’t fare so well. She is virtually her family’s sole breadwinner, working 9 to 5 as a dental assistant for a dentist who does not respect her. Her freedom is limited by the demands of her job and the financial circumstances of her and her sister, Tati. Because of these things, she has less time to devote to Los Espookys, gets stressed out, and suffers the disrespect of Dr. Ricky, just trying to stay afloat. Eventually, Úrsula gets to the end of her tolerance for Dr. Ricky and quits her job. But her troubles don’t end there.

In the beginning of the series, Tati is working as a fan, manually spinning the blades of an electric fan and going “woosh” to keep her employer cool. Because this is a very inefficient way to do things, Tati gets fired. Throughout the series she works and gets dismissed from a number of different odd jobs, for example, breaking in other people’s shoes, or being a “human Fitbit” who counts her client’s steps. After having a falling out with her internet boyfriend, Tati decides to “focus on herself and her career” and gets involved in a multilevel marketing company called Hierbalite (wink wink). She believes in the prosperous future Hierbalite promises so much that she spends two thousand pesos on Hierbalite products to sell from her home. This gets her and Úrsula into a bit of a financial pickle.

Although Tati seems blissfully unaware of reality much of the time— she tells her new boyfriend (who is her ex-boyfriend catfishing her for the second time) about “how stressful this amazing opportunity with Hierbalite has gotten”— she has a few moments in which she expresses very eloquently the same emotions I felt when I was floundering about sin major, sin dream and sin job. While Tati and her friend Andrés are shopping for mirrors for a Los Espookys gig, suddenly and without prompting Tati says to him:

What am I doing with my life? Horror is your passion. You all know what you’re doing with your lives, but… What am I doing? Where am I going? I can’t break in shoes. I can’t count steps. I can’t help people lose, gain, or maintain weight. I can’t keep time. I fail at everything I try. I mean, where will I be in five years? What if it rains? I don’t have those kinds of shoes.

This scene, being TV, is neatly wrapped up with Andrés telling Tati that “there are those who enjoy the journey more than the destination,” and Tati, reassured, deciding that her dream is to “be Cirque du Soleil.” We never do see Tati achieve this dream. It’s entirely possible that she forgot about it the moment after she said it. At the end of the first season Tati marries the heir to a prosperous cookie company. Her happy ending: “Now I’m a married woman! No one can fire me from this!” (Season two spoilers: Tati gets another painful gig-economy job, her husband divorces her, and she ends up back in her sister’s apartment, gigging and gigging and gigging and gigging…) Not the most comforting story for floundering me. I guess this little Tati train is just gonna have to keep on chugging.

[hemisphaeric]

honestly cannot wait to see where the whole “andrésm’ son who happens to be a computer engineer specialised in cyber security” subplot fits in the bigger scheme like

[ichayalovesyou]

El Hotel De Los Secretos Ep. 12 Reaction

We now return to Julio spewing some absolutely vile but true shit about the Alarcón family at the only living member who isn’t acting freaking awful toward him. Luckily he has Andrés holding him back. Honestly neither of those boys should be going anywhere without the other, inevitably they do stupid shit or have bad things happen to them when separated, case and point? This!

Losing my mind that no matter how prickly and destructive Julio gets Andrés refuses to choose anything other than kindness, than to heal him, than to persist. “Let’s patch the wounds on your body because the wounds on your soul…” I’m gonna lose it!! Julio is throwing an absolute tantrum and all that’s doing is letting Andrés see how badly Julio needs help I can’t DO this 😭😭😭

That being said at least Andrés has the good sense to step away. Seriously tho “I bet you’re glad [Isabel and I] are more than 40 centimeters apart now!” As he pulls himself apart from Andrés is such an UGH. It could be interpreted so many goddamn ways hnnn the queer lense is strong with this one! AGH the gay it hurts!! “Let’s just go to our room, please.” Before he finally gives up and let’s Julio burn himself out? OWW! HELLO??? Is anybody else reading into this?! 👀🔥🔥🔥😫😵‍💫🏳️‍🌈

No… NO! NO!! That’s not real?!?!! That’s some actual fan fiction bullshit! What happened Andrés?? Couldn’t bear another night staring at Julio’s empty bed even though you know he’s at least physically safe and not dead in a ditch somewhere? So you went back to the kitchen, calling him an idiot and HEA in his mostly unconscious state feebly attempts to help you CARRY him back to y’all’s dorm?! Is this REAL??? Oh my god oh my GOD WHAT?! We’re just gonna cross fade to the morning somewhere else after that?! HELLO???

Ah we are back to Chef Lupe struggling to be a good single dad and trying to tell Jacinto trying to explain to his son love isn’t only suffering. Like the teen he is blames Lupe for his mom being gone (guessing she didn’t die) but Lupe still thinks highly of her so like, who knows what the deal is with Lupe’s wife??? Man, it’s in the name of the show but damn EVERYBODY has got secrets around here.

Isabel hiding from Diego in Matilde’s room as she SHOULD. Matilde is all like “you like him don’t you” and she looks her dead in the eyes and tells her “We Are Just Friends” and honestly? Good for her (even if there’s some denial there)!! Definitely not gonna lose it over the fact that Matilde says “I hope you’re right for your sake, whoever gets involved with that waiter will need an endless amount of love to face such rage” as if Andrés didn’t just ‘face such rage’ then carry Julio to bed TWO SCENES AGO! It’s really not just the onscreen chemistry that’s making this shit feel gay, it’s the frickin narrative! I love it!! 😍

“Good morning” Julio says like a kicked puppy “there’s nothing good about it, I couldn’t sleep last night because of you!” OKAY we’re just gonna leave this here. Andrés it’s okay to say “I love you I was worried about you” DAMNIT why are they like this?! I’m gonna eat my teeth about these two idiots, istg this has been THE shippiest episode since episode since they were both walking on air about being reunited in ep.8 fr fr

Oh boy, Mercedes and Felipe are finally getting in trouble with their parents about their little escapades. Now it seems that Elisa (Alfredo’s mother) is missing?? Belén is already using her new position to get a room to herself back, I assume she was sharing with Victoria up until just now after Elisa got here.

Okay not to be Like That but I KNEW IT! I knew Andrés’s whole thing had very to actually do with Belén and mostly to do with really, REALLY wanting to be a dad and not letting that baby (or Belén) to go through the same trauma he and his mother did. He’s also apparently been told his dad was a soldier and died in the war and god this kid has such a complicated relationship with masculinity.

It’s also kinda sad really because Andrés isn’t actively being like, directly sexist, but also it’s 1908. Honey, there’s more to a relationship than being physically attracted to your wife/fiancé and her being the mother of your kid. Now granted Belén isn’t really letting it be anything other than that (because she doesn’t love him either) and that’s such a ‘young kid whose never been in a relationship in their life’ mistake. You have relationships with people of both genders that are closer to what you’re looking for baby she ain’t it! This ain’t gonna fix your daddy issues!! Bitches be out here playing house…

Oh okay LUPE was eavesdropping so now I’m starting to think maybe, is he??? Does he have a thing for Ángela cuz, uhhhhhhh 👀 the way he shoos away Benjamin all protectively that was, hmmm 🤔

Elisa wants to take Sofia to an obstetrician ohhhhh BOY 😬 now Teresa and Doctor Lazaro Vicario (what a cool name, up there with Serapio Ayala) are conspiring to make sure Sofía is not removed from the Hotel at all. Teresa has offered to “keep him company” very flirtatiously among the other things she’s offering him. Listen I hate both of these people but also Evil Couples are inherently sexy and I’d totally be here for that if they’re implying what I think they are 👀

Okay okay okay so Ayala is informing Dagoberto that Julio’s tattoo is from a high security prison reserved for violent offenders who are considered enemies of the state?! Julio is a convict??? Okay okay okay LORE 🌙 (also Werewolf!Julio is so real in my brain now lmfao).

In this show we don’t say I love you we say “I don’t mind if you get me in trouble” apparently. Andrés do you understand how fully and totally Insane you and Julio are about each other I mean, like, seriously?! Y’all have known each other for less than a month and You Are Like This? Hello?? Ffs this bitches gay, good for them good for them.

Every time part of me goes “well maybe somehow and some point maybe Belén has just a tiny lil’ smidge of genuine care for Andrés in her own deeply fucked up way” but then she goes and calls Andrés a fool to Diego while flirting and making out with him as he puts her raise on the record books and then I go “Nevermind I Am Going To Fucking Kill Her 😀” my loathing for Señorita Belén Aguará García knows no fucking bounds for reasons that are much tmi but it’s FINE.

Nooooo now that’s just fucked, Melinda is kicking the shot out of poor pregnant Violeta, Jacinto saves the day thank god. I hope she didn’t kill the baby because I mean, that’s fucking awful obviously. Violeta baby I hope whatever happens you end up somewhere better than here cuz this shot is ROCK. BOTTOM. You know what, maybe I take back what I said, Jacinto’s got a good head on his shoulders, probably

Wow Victoria (Elisa’s pastel pink guard dog) will really just flirt with ANYONE huh? First Pascual, then the new desk guy, and now Natalia! I wonder what Elisa meant by “do what we agreed?” That was ominous as hell. Natalia is honestly terrible with secrets (like Andrés) and just let slip Ángela was there when Sofia fell, hopefully this doesn’t come back to bite the poor dear!

Wow! Doctor Vicario may be aligned with Teresa (which makes him fucking shady and maybe even evil in my book) but he’s surprisingly not sexist for the times! I mean he’s STILL sexist but like, comparatively (kinda like Andrés y’know)? He even calls Isabel his colleague. Although I do have to wonder if he’s doing that specifically to maneuver Isabel into trusting him so that she gives him the benefit of the doubt when he inevitably dies shady shit for Teresa later? 🤔

Yet another interlude of Felipe and Mercedes being insane and horny for each other, this time with window climbing like it’s a teen movie from the 80s! Back to Ayala getting the Lore on Julio! Ohhh okay, so he’s one of the ringleaders of the Cananea riots (looking THAT up later). He’s not only a convict but an escaped one! Ayala pls don’t go ACAB on me (I have a feeling he won’t, he’s a smart guy, not just smart but wise, and the wise hate the rich because THAT is good sense).

Jacinto is having Dr. Vicario save Violeta! Vicario is helping her without question. Hey maybe I misjudged Vicario too, if nothing else he’s willing to lie for patients but he seems to want to help people idk idk he’s interesting, there’s a lot of conflicting facts about him laced together and I am Intrigued by this cagey but nice doctor 👀

So the file on Julio Olmedo says that he wasn’t a political agitator but killed an American Ranger who was trying to control the riot he was part of! That he died before he came to the prison did Julio fake his death?? I hope that doesn’t mean he lied to Andrés about his worried mom (probably not). But also… WHAT?!

Oh right, Julio got picked to serve Diego and Isabel’s little surprise romantic dinner… AWKWARD. 😂😬 ooooof.

[roccinan]

1/? simply because you have the most galaxy brain thoughts ever,,, what do you think would've happened if they waited until s5 to reveal sergio and andrés were (half)brothers?

i do know that when my fam started watching lcdp at first i was so put off. like i watched ep 1 and the prof creeped me out. ""berlin"" creeped me out. e v e r y o n e creeped me out. and i was cringing so hard becz of the short lived romance angle with alison parker. i literally did not watch s1 at all xcept for like sneak peeks. highlights being the scene where berlin discovers monica is alive and does his dramatic door by door thing? that was so SUSPENSEFUL even tho i had no idea what was going on. DOMINGO DE RESURECCION remains forever iconic.

2/? And OF COURSE the group bella ciao dance when they hit earth (hahah i thought the banda were actually like a "found family where they all love each other LOL") i am a SUCKER for found family. but anyhoo when i properly got intrigued was s2 when tokyo was kicked out (the music from that scene is still my favourite) it's just so dramatic..!! why am i telling u all this again? right, i haven't slept a wink and it's nearly 7 am pls forgive me if these rambles make no sense. i have a point with this.. i'm going somewhere

RIGHT. so when the fam actually rewound the ep cz i wanted to know WHY berlin did that (didn't fully realise how batsht crazy he can be), the russian roulette scene played. and pedro's acting. MAN. and like just that ep they made a point of showing us these flashbacks where sergio and andrés hug....

Hi anon! Thanks for stopping by- sorry took me a while to get back to you, will do my best to answer this string of messages (got all 4 parts)! Glad you like my thoughts XD

Firstly, I believe Andres/Sergio would be the biggest LCDP ship if the writers were evil enough to wait until s5 to reveal that they’re brothers asdfasdf. They’re already the two most popular male characters anyway. 

It’d be especially crazy because it’s not like they tell the actors these things beforehand either. So that means there’d probably be a Serdres vs Berlermo vs Serquel fight every 5 minutes. I mean, even if not everyone agrees on everything in the lcdp fandom, it’s the most “peaceful” one I’ve ever been in because no character really gets in the way of any other ship (like even with helermo and berlermo there’s no true conflict since Andres is dead). But with Serdres in the mix?? CATASTROPHE. Everyone out here writing essays about how much of a bastard/bitch/homewrecker/motherfucker that Andres or Sergio or Martin or Raquel is. Never a moment’s peace!! so basically, a regular fandom lmao.

Then when we find out they’re brothers, it goes from catastrophe to Apocalypse. Suddenly serquel and berlermo have the upper hand. Everyone would double down and harass the crew/cast into whatever’s going on.  Plot-wise, everything is the same though, just without Andres calling Sergio “hermanito.” Fandom however, would be a minefield! And I’m glad that’s not the case because I’d probably be an unfortunate serdres shippers XD No joke, my mother and I thought they were a couple in S1. So bullet dodged!

Secondly: haha, everyone creeped me out in S1 too, especially Berlin, I hated him, but thinking back, I think I mostly hated the fact that I didn’t hate him as much as I should have. I’ve made peace with it now but oh boy, was he a controversial figure in my head. I actually like the professor on sight though! IDK why, maybe because I thought his plans were cool or because of Alvaro’s delivery. I was afraid of an Alison Parker romance thing too- like, I do feel like she had a storyline that got dropped, but that part was quite cringey and overall unnecessary to the plot. Same with Ariadna, which was even cringier and even Less necessary to the plot. 

Domingo de resurrecion was iconic though yes! And even with all that said, I genuinely enjoyed parts 1 and 2 because it was so different from anything else I’d seen. Not content wise, but maybe tonally? IDK, they were just really bold with a lot of things, like being objectively unafraid of having the protagonists (plural because all of them did LMAO) do objectively shitty things. Really kept me in suspense from beginning to end! 

I’m usually a big fan of found families too! The funny thing is, then banda never struck me as a “family” until season 3. In 1 and 2, I was wondering what felt different about this show; then it hit me that these people remained colleagues to the end. Like, they backstabbed each other (repeatedly) and everyone was quite selfish, and only the bonds that were already there stuck. They were the opposite of a found family LOL But I think by S3, they went down the found family route and I didn’t mind because it makes quite a lot of sense for them to feel that bond after the Mint heist and almost dying/living together (and having witnessed 3 deaths together on the team). But I still doubt Berlin and Palermo were ever really part of this found family, with good reason XD

LOL the scene where Tokyo got kicked out is also among my favorites!! It was so funny and dramatic, and it was like, wow we can go anywhere with this now! Don’t worry- your rambles and thoughts are always welcome :D

I’m rolling over how you watched the Tokyo expulsion scene before the Russian Roulette scene haha. Also yes, PEDRO. Berlin may have been “controversial” to me at first, but I became Pedro’s fan from day one! Also the Hug is probably what made me like Berlin (despite my determination to hate him rip) in the first place. 

3/? ... and like now that i think about it... tokyo had real guts huh. like she KNEW berlin was close enough to el prof to know his name (fhshshs imagine if she'd heard andrés saying 'hermanito' it's unrealistic that she didn't TBH. i mean obviously they decided to make them brothers only towards the end but like in canon universe. how tf did andrés de 'i raised my bby brother since he was 12 and i'd actually die for him and his stupidly brilliant plans' fonollosa go 5 months without slipping up once and calling sergio hermanito. or like,,, i like to imagine sergio kinda gave him lots of leeway(?) sergio's a lil oblivious too but like i'm sure half of it is.. that's my dumbass older bro shut up i'm not being partial you all have city names .. andr-berlin, pass the salt. like OOF. + sergio also knew his big bro was dYiNG so like. i'm sure they were sneaking in some quality time (i hope they did 😭 gosh imagine if sergio really did not ever consider the possibility of andrés dying in the heist so he'd tell himself he needs to perfect the plan now & anyway he'll have enough time to spend w/ his brother post heist in philippines. and then ... that happened :/

Tokyo has guts in place of braincells you bet that she’d do something like this, consequences be damned XD I also think it’s unrealistic for Andres not to slip up, but I have a feeling nobody besides Tokyo really tried to spy on them in private. I headcanon that Andres instead slips up and does things like ruffle Sergio’s hair or adjust his tie when other people are around. I also think Tokyo was convinced that they were a gay couple when she saw them hug XD And if Sergio never went on to tell the banda that Berlin was his brother, everyone would be giving Palermo such awkward looks after Nairobi accused him of being in love with Berlin LMAO. 

I agree! I also imagine Sergio giving Andres leeway because he’s just so used to interacting with his brother that way haha. So either he’d go out of his way to ignore Berlin in front of everyone else or IDK, borderline telepathically communicate with him. Not even “pass the salt” has to leave his mouth- Berlin just puts salt into his food and cuts it up for him, in front of everyone who’s just staring like O.O

I actually do think Sergio never considered the possibility of Andres dying in the heist because he was just that confident in his own plan. Plus, Andres was probably the one person he expected to survive. And a lot of it has to do with Sergio’s attachment to him + Andres’ own habit of downplaying any illness/injury over the years, which I think is safe to believe canon. He was really in no condition to be in the heist, let alone lead it. Just the fact that he needs to take those injections is a big sign that he shouldn’t be there, but Sergio didn’t catch it because he’s human and blinded by faith :’) So yeah, I think Sergio was planning to spend proper time with Andres in Palawan and at Toledo, they just settled for those little moments by the fireplace. 

4/? what always also just GETS me in the feels is that el prof was shown to be this in control creepily calm dude who is miles ahead of everyone. + in the 1st Toledo class itself we see how detached,, like how impersonal he is, how professional - choosing frickin CITY NAMES?! no 'personal relationships' ? (after recruiting his older brother, a father son pair, and war cousins... oh sergio 😂 he's such a frickin nerd and i love him) but like the earlier seasons really emphasised how robotic and down right COLD he can be. it still sometimes bothers me that he put the button in the car. he lead the police to his own damn brother, his blood, who took care of him and adopted him and was terminally ill and like - UGH i try to rationalise that sergio is that cold and unbothered. or that he has strict morals. but it still bothers me becz that button really sort of tipped andres' already unstable sanity. like andrés tells denver someth like you've robbed my future and after that he just seems so much more suicidal and accepting that he can't get out of the mint alive - WHY SERGIO WHY. I KNOW THAT AT THAT POINT YOU BASICALLY DIDN'T KNOW ANDRÉS WAS GOING TO BE YOUR BROTHER YET BECZ IT WASN'T WRITTEN IN THE SCRIPT BUT WHYYYYY

That’s so funny to me too LMAO No personal relationships, then he recruits these guys. Sergio, hello?? Also can’t forget how he just recruited his own girfrleind in the second heist too. Buddy! Love this nerd.

I don’t think that cold aspect of Sergio went away in later seasons either; he just had more opportunity to show a more open side of himself + without Andres, he had to metaphorically leave his comfort zone without a safety net. But in earlier seasons, he really did seem heartless at times XD Then again, we can argue that the same goes for Andres.

To be fair, I didn’t feel sorry for Andres over the button thing lol, but once the brothers reveal happened and all of Alvaro/Pedro’s headcanons came out and we know everything Andres did for Sergio, it makes what Sergio did REALLY harsh. We really just have to explain it through Sergio’s strict morals and him believing this to be the best non-fatal punishment for Andres, who at that point had convinced him he killed a hostage. And because he knew the television interview was coming up, maybe Sergio assumed Andres would use it to “clear” his name anyway. And empathy isn’t one of Sergio’s strong suits either, so through that lens, I can rationalize it.

Also it was lowkey funny to me how Andres was there like DENVER MUST DIE until he found out Sergio put the button there, then he was like “oh hermanito, you and your practical jokes <3″

Still, like you said, Andres and Sergio weren’t brothers yet at this point. They were probably supposed to be lovers lmao and had a dysfunctional Hannibal Lecter x Will thing going on. But because they made #hermanos canon, that button moment just feels very out of place now, especially given how much the two genuinely love each other.

Guess we could also say that Sergio’s just generally kinda bratty with Andres XD Like, he knows no matter what, Andres would forgive him anything. That’s how I see it anyway! 

[blorbosexterminator]

AND I am back. Once again on this lovely day to give my review for the EPISODE 24 so, here we go :

Agustin is squinting his eyes at him, as Sergio keeps muttering that Agustin has in fact done what he just mentioned he did and which both of them have known for years. 

Federico is 99% dead?! Damn, what is Sergio's gonna do?! Make it 100% ? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

(I got a feeling that Federico is the kidnapper or atleast a very important lead to them)

Btw, WHO IS FEDERICO?! Tatiana's alive husband?!

(Look at me, hoping like a moron she aint dead

My dog : Yep, total moron 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Me :

Me : NOBODY ASKED FOR YOUR BITCH-ASS OPINION, YOU DUMB-FUCK DONKEY!!!! 😡😡😡)

Martin, my darling, my sweetheart, my poor angel. Nada, some help? Atleast gimme some tips, bruh, come on, you cant desert me like that. Not when I need to help someone 🙁🙁🙁

since, drunk, the last idea he got was that Laura turned out to be completely insane and kidnapped Andrés to marry him

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Martin, honey, stop drinking. This getting out of hand 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. But then again, Andres is so hot poor thing keeps on doubting.

As Roci said in one of the tags, his wives deserve the highest civilian award for putting up with him.

(Although, I just had a frisky thought. What if Sergio wanted Andres away from Martin, not because he cared bout his hermano but......😳😳😳😳😳 *whispers loudly* he wanted Andres all for himself? In *frantically looks around* INCEST WAY?!)

(Calm down, my deranged mind, you went too far 🤣🤣🤣)

Who knows, it could be the professor he punched in the middle of an exam once. Martín doesn’t think he has forgiven him.

Mood, bruh, such a mood 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 NO, OMG 😆😆😆 I didnt do it, but I do kinda have a beef with my Organic prof. I'll go off tangent again, so tell me if you wanna know the story.

He sent Silene in disguise to collect the cctv from the nearby shops and streets. His own cctv has been disabled since the IT bitch ruined it, Martín will kill him when he gets them back.

I think if and only IF Silene finds something good, her % of redemption will increase.

(Raquel s2e7 deja vu, I see what you did there 😏)

And Martin about to go John Wick on anyone & everyone. I tell ya Keanu Reeves will be crying when he sees Martin go nuts. I am willing to bet he'll pull a gun on the poor milkman, who just wanna do his job 😆😆😆

So he calls Bogota, with a little (not that little) handwritten list in his hand with the names of people he thinks he might have ruined their life in the past. 

Martin : Okay, I'll just take out the list and

*the paper rolls out the door, travels around the world for 5 times and comes back while going over top of Everest and bottom of Marina Trench*

No, it’s because when he hated Martín, he had always hated him openly. If he wanted to hurt him, then he’d just try to stab him in the middle of the living room.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

“Bogota, did Tatiana have any family?”

“No, who of us did, Martín?”

“You literally have 7 children and 7 ex-wives.”

COMEDY GOLD, NADA 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

“Those kids are ungrateful bastards, if I fall dead tomorrow they would just run to see what they’ve inherited.”

Aka THE PLOT of 70% Indian Telenovas 🤣🤣🤣. Also this line alone has so much soap opera vibes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

He has no choice but to go to fucking Sergio Marquina. And if it’s his wife, then even better. Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. 

For fuck sake, Martín, Ive been telling you from last 2 ep

Stop. Blaming. Raquel.

Also, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 damn, these 2 assholes cant keep away from each other. Nada, are we sure these 2 married the right people? As much I am a Berlermo ship stan, this here is just smth else 😆😆😆

Uh-oh 🙁 this asshole son of a bitch just poked the mama bear. And if ANDRES of all people narrows his eyes at you, You are, quoting Martin from last ep, truly, utterly, entirely, thoroughly and wholly fucked.

“Do you know him?”

“Oh yes, a childhood friend, I stole his pencil once and he never forgave me. Have you heard this Paula? Don’t steal your friends’ pencils, they will never get over the betrayal. You could steal the teacher’s ones though.”

“Why did you steal his pencil?” Paula asked seriously, with a delirious tone, and too tired to even move her head upwards. Raquel is gonna kill every single person involved for doing this to her daughter.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Sassy Andres = Best Andres. Words that should be written with GOLD. Wisdom passed onto generations

Poor Paula 🤣🤣🤣 I just imagine this in some other situation :

Andres : *saying smth smth*

Paula : *taking notes & asking questions*

Raquel after seeing her daughter :

Look what you made me do

🎶But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time

Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time

I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined

I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!

Ooh, look what you made me do

Look what you just made me do🎶

(Look what you made me do by Taylor Swift)

I am telling you Nada, by the time Raquel will be done with everyone, Uma Thurman will cry buckets because no one, okay?, no one can compete with A MAMA BEAR RAQUEL MURILLO.

“Poison is a woman’s choice of weapon, Anibal. Don’t be disrespectful.”

Again, words of wisdom. Only time hes not being a misogynist.

Also, Andres, my dear, are you speaking this from experience?

(Why do I think that Martin got Tatiana killed cause she poisoned him and Martin had to watch Andres fight for his life in hospital?)

“He won’t say anything, Mama. He’s the one who kidnapped grandma with Silene!”

Is anyone gonna listen to her? Or do I need to bonk Raquel myself? 🤦‍♀️

“Silence!” she screams. “I need to know everything that happened, if we’re getting out of here alive.” 

FINALLY!!!! SOME COMMON SENSE!!!! WE THANK THE LORD FOR MERCY!!!

And as for me, its time for me to say goodbye and goodnight (Cause its quarter to 12 rn in my watch)

AND ILL SEE YALL TOMORROW 🤗 BYE!!! 🙋‍♀️

I'm back as well! And we've finally caught up with each other.

Valid reaction. Sergio is also slowly going insane. Love that for him.

He's hoping he could. We all know this family has beef with that last one percentage.

(we'll see👀👀👀)

Hope is all we got at this point afabgs.

Now, now, don't speak to him like that. He has valid criticism.

I'd help him if I could, but alas (lmfao no, I do love them suffering)

Same recommendation. But he just, poor boy, could nothing to think of. So might as well be Laura. (also fair, who knows, maybe Andrés gets constantly kidnapped and forced into marriage)

Definitely, she's 100%. I really don't know how they do it.

Avsnsjsvjshsjs all theories are valid. Maybe Sergio does want Martín or Andrés, who knows what goes in the head of that fucker.

Seems like an interesting story! I never got along with my chemistry teachers. (Got one once to tell me that he's still not kicking me out of class only because he feels bad for my parents that they have to deal with me and they'll be the ones who will have to deal with the mess lmfao.)

Yes, have some faith in her!

100% accurate. Martín is this close from just shooting random people in the supermarket because they also could be the ones who kidnapped Andrés.

HAHAHA YES. This is exactly how the scene went.

We stan honesty in this house.

So happy you found it funny!!

I can confirm! Like 70% of all Egyptian drama as well.

I don't think he's hearing you well. But afnajscsgsh SAME. Okay look, now I really understand show runners with super homoerotic ships that they refuse to make canon. You try and make two male characters hate each other so much for plot then it slips and gets homoerotic.

Totally agree. This guy isn't making enemies with the right people (they are all dumb, but also none of them have anything that even resembles a moral compass)

Totally agree. This guy is honestly super amusing to watch and it's mainly because he's incapable of taking any situation in life seriously.

This family is really iconic. (love the song agsnsg) but also like Raquel would basically tell her after writing done his notes just put the title on top: things to never, ever, do.

I believe you! They really fucked with the wrong dumb family.

I mean, he's still a misogynist. Maybe some of us really like dagger, has he considered that?

That's as valid theory as any right there.

Hopefully Raquel will finally start listening to the child!

Raquel is the only one with a semblance of common sense.

Hope you had a good sleep! I'll see you tomorrow!

[into-september]

Party Crasher

While the rest of the fandom is presumably flipping out over the NY special, those of us relying on Disney Channel dubbing schedules running months behind will have to live with the re-runs until we can be bothered hunting it down, and today happened to be the only episode I hadn’t seen yet. Speaking of the dumbass comedy which makes me love this show and all. 

 - It’s sad that I’m honestly a bit surprised to find that they remembered Wayhem’s VA. (Mr. Banana hasn’t got the accent from “Kwamibuster”, though.) His and Adrien’s friendship is really sweet and I so hope he’ll be around in S4 too

 - Gabriel is “going to Tokyo” and I instantly start low-key shipping him with Kagami’s mum for no other purpose than hilarity. This is not entirely without precedent, because I probably have a fifteen hundred word essay in me about my feelings on Gabriel/André (the mayor, not the ice cream man). Which I mostly ship because god damn does Adrien deserve a positive, loving parent 

- Ivan might be incapable of lying but the episode running straight after this one was “Puppeteer II” and Nino, you are not one to talk 

- World championship of bad excuses indeed. Props to Nino for supplying one for Kim, who didn’t owe one to anyone 

 - Anyway Gabriel’s little beekeeper outfit while harvesting butterflies is excellent

 - I don’t know what I love most - that Adrien keeps his bathtub always ready with rose petals and a rubber duckie, or that Kim spends most of the party snorkelling in it. How can anyone hate this show. 

 - The Grand Piano released from the floor by scoring at the basketball hoop is a strong contender there. As is the joy with which all those teenage boys greeted it. 

 - Of course Max runs enough hardware at home for the question of power supplies to be a topic about which he is learned and can wire into digitally???? I guess in a universe where macarons and now also hot dogs can be split clean in half by hand

 - I’ll admit to having lost some of the dialogue but that sounded to me like someone suggested Gabriel had a personal nuclear reactor installed

 - I love how Marinette starts out playing detective FOR JUSTICE and slips into “but why aren’t I allowed that’s so unfair” the moment she realises what is going on

- The Mulan-joins-the-army energy is strong 

  - That scene between her and Fu is a homage to “it is I, LeClerc” and you cannot convince me otherwise

 - Please consider: Tom Dupain at Adrien’s party. Everyone else is there for good or less good reasons, so what’s keeping him?

 - Thank you Thomas Astruc for giving us Chloé using the mayor of Paris as a make-up doll. And the fact that he ran around around like that in relative public. 

 - My favourite minor character is the fireman man. He’s so lowkey funny in both “Despair Bear” and “Riposte”.  

 - It says so, so, so much about the Agreste home that Gabriel is shocked and appalled to register JOY, PURE JOY happening in his house. I mean, he’s got a history of personally bullying others to get them upset and ripe for akumatisation. But expecting everyone close to him, his teenage son included, to spend their days in misery? Lord allmighty, what a piece of human garbage. 

 - Gorilla ships Majestia/Hawk Hero and clearly I don’t know how that goes yet but it’d be the best thing ever if his “now kiss” game was foreshadowing (yeah yeah I know this is MLB Ladybug’s accidental confession to the pharmacy lady was probably the best they could get away with. let me dream)

 - I like Chuppu and I like King Monkey’s transformation music and his chaos is excellent. We were robbed by this being his only episode

 - One of the biggest mysterious of this ‘verse: how does Adrien Agreste know how to clean. That little scene with Marinette and Nino was cute, though. 

 - I cannot stop thinking about the how Gabriel had to spend that weekend skulking around his own home like some ghost. Sneaking into the kitchen at night to eat. Keeping track of Adrien and Gorilla before flushing. Probably sleeping down in his secret lair. 

 - Unless I’m forgetting something, this is the first episode where Ladybug goes down and stays down for the entire battle until it’s time to de-evilise. The only other time I remember her being taken out by an akuma at all is in “Desperada”, and all those times are second chanced instantly. 

[sherlock-is-ace]

1/n I just noticed something really funny 😂 I was rewatching lcdp, as one does (long story short I did something really stupid/embarassing and it's played in my mind the whole day while studying for a test, finally I'm free so I DOVE into an lcdp rewatch to get my mind off it) the Andrés flashbacks in s3/4 are some of my favourite scenes (like overall, I dislike s3/4 compared to s1/2 but the berlermo flashbacks? they have my heartttt ♡) so in s3 when Sergio is arguing with Raquel in like ep 6

skjghsfg I also didn’t notice that! :P I mean I only watched the show once (need to rewatch it for these type of things lol) and yeah, it’s weird that Andrés changed his mind so drastically, and it’s also not much time between one flashback and the other, like days must have gone by, maybe a month? idk, but it can’t have been that much lol

I definitely think the writers aren’t as careful with stuff after season 1 (both parts). Specially cause that’s where the show ended, like they had planned that amount of episodes, that heist, those characters with those stories and that was it. Then the show was a hit, Netflix was like “make more, we’ll pay you more money!” and they were like “uuugh FINE” kdfjhdg which I understand cause they have to live and pay bills, and I appreciate cause I got to see more of the characters i love and new ones too :D But yeah, definitely seasons 3 and 4 are a bit of a mess. Big reason is Raquel, I don’t think they ever even imagined her to be working with them, and she’s become such an idiot, going from the best as negotiating with criminals to not knowing how the police works now that she’s on the other team? idk, I feel like she’s a very different character now.

Ok wait, I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t want to rethink what i already wrote so I might contradict myself here lol But there’s been a lot of very drastic changes of mind in the show :o Like Raquel going from working for the police and being mad at Sergio to dropping her entire life to go with him and then joining a criminal band... Also Monica being a normal person who was kidnapped to, again, dropping her entire life to go with and join a criminal, sort of abandoning her son in the process... Like why did she want to go to the bank heist so bad?

And that’s sort of what I mean by the writers making weird decisions. They needed these female characters to continue on the show and still be main characters so they wrote them in such weird roles that don’t make thaaat much sense... That makes it sound like I hate the show lol I don’t! I love it! And with all it’s faults I still love seasons 3 and 4, even parts 1 and 2 had many faults and I still love them :P

And I’m very sorry to say this, but I think everyone’s gonna die in season 5. Maybe not Tokio, cause she’s narrating, so maybe she’s the only survivor, maybe she dies too, idk, but I feel like that’s the only way the writers can make sure the band stays separated and that they don’t see themselves forced to write another heist lol

I mean, idk, they can do the big Arthur Conan Doyle and bring people back from the dead and keep making lcdp content forever jkshgkfg

[theinquisitivej]

Review Variety Pack: Singers, Vampires, and Autopsies

When you write reviews, there are some weeks where there’s simply nothing on the schedule that grabs your interest or sparks any ideas that you feel compelled to write down. Then there are the times where you have the opposite problem, and you end up watching more than enough content to fill two or three articles, and you just don’t know what to pick. When this happens, I’m often torn between my desire to cover everything I see to produce more content and talk about as many different things with my readers as physically possible, and the practical limitation of only having so much time each week to properly go into extensive detail of what I’ve seen. Well, on this occasion, I thought I would try something a little different and take a quick look at a couple films and a TV series rather than dedicate an entire article to just one of them. Don’t worry, I’ll be back to the more in-depth format for my reviews soon enough. For now, this approach just allows me to catch up on some of the content I’ve been meaning to talk about, as well as point you all in the direction of a couple of items. There may even be one or two which have flown under the radar for you.

 ‘A Star is Born’

         Okay, so maybe not ALL of these are smaller projects that haven’t received a lot of media attention. But whatever – the deal with this movie is that Bradley Cooper decided to direct the latest in what has apparently been a long line of remakes and adaptations of the 1937 movie A Star is Born. Cooper plays a popular male singer who discovers a young woman with a talent for singing, played by Lady Gaga, who he wants to introduce to the world and drama ensues as they start a relationship and her fame keeps growing. I have no familiarity with the original or any of the other three remakes listed on Wikipedia, so take that for whatever it’s worth when I say I’m glad I saw this film.

         The 2018 A Star is Born seems to be made with the knowledge that the audience has likely heard this song before. Even if you’re like me and you haven’t seen any of the four previous versions of this film, the rise-to-stardom story is so well-established that it’s a safe bet that you’ll recognise many of the typical story beats of this kind of film. You see the future star’s humble origins, their soaring debut, their optimism for their bright future, them getting signed on for a record label and a soulless manager character entering the picture, their image having to be changed as they get pushed further into the public eye, someone close to them criticising them because they believe the star has lost their way, one of the characters taking a bad turn as it starts to feel like the star has lost all control of their life, and so on. It’s a story we know, but A Star is Born appears to be conscious of this fact. Towards the end of the film, there’s a conversation where a character reflects on how the same notes are repeated over and over between different songs. The character remarks that it’s in the different ways that people see those notes and interpret them through their music that new experiences are created.

         And I think that’s what this film does. The story may be similar to half a dozen other examples, but the execution is what engages. There’s a naturalistic direction to the film that you can see through the way characters talk over each other as they conduct their conversations, or the slight documentary-style to the cinematography, or the minimal use of non-diegetic music which makes the soundtrack seem as if it’s coming from the characters themselves as they sing and play throughout the story. This increases the sense of impact to some of the events within the story because the film is selling you on the impression that what you’re seeing is really happening. On top of that, Lady Gaga’s experience as a professional singer not only enables her to sing well throughout the film, but it also helps her to convey the emotions and thought processes being experienced by her character as she sings. She’s able to deliver a dramatic performance alongside her musical performance, and that’s compelling to watch.

         The 2018 version of A Star is Born is not telling a new story, but it manages to tell a familiar narrative in a way that manages to be distinctive and emotionally affecting. If any of the people involved make the film of interest to you, or if the mood takes you and you want to experience a decent version of this sort of rising-star story, then this version of A Star is Born is a decent pick. Now I just have to watch Bohemian Rhapsody and see if the other film about musical celebrities currently out in cinemas does as good a job at hitting its marks.

Final Score: Bronze / Silver

 ‘Castlevania’ Season 2

         Castlevania is one of those franchises that, on first inspection, appears to have a complicated history with dozens of instalments all coming together to form this grand tapestry telling the story of the war between Dracula, destined to reincarnate every 100 years, and the Belmonts, a family of vampire hunters that have dedicated their entire lineage to keeping Dracula and his forces of darkness at bay. And for fans who want to read into it, that expansive timeline is absolutely there, but on a very simple level, every Castlevania game more or less tells the same story. Dracula shows up along with his huge labyrinthine castle, and someone with a whip and a bunch of vampire-hunting equipment rocks up to kick him back into his coffin. Sometimes there are other characters along for the ride to make it slightly more complicated, but that’s the general gist. Also, there’s always some excellent music accompanying the proceedings.

         The first season of the Netflix animated series Castlevania adapted the story of the third game in the series. As it was only four 20-minute episodes, the first season is barely longer than a feature-length movie, and just as it finds its purpose and you feel like you’re getting into it, it ends. It wasn’t anything more than a semi-decent series, but I felt like there was potential when I watched it last year. The animation during the scenes where characters are simply talking to one another was stiff and you’d only see characters shift in place after a sentence or two, rather than exhibit more natural, flowing movement from moment-to-moment. But the action scenes were clearly where the animation budget went, as fights were creative and choreographed with a satisfying flair which showcased the animator’s passion for the source material. Performances were suitably brooding and at the right level between genuine human levels of emotion and melodramatic excessiveness, which is fitting for something Gothic and cheesy like this. At times the excessive gore and general revelling in shock-factor violence grated on me, and none of the characters really captured my interest or felt like I could get behind them until the second half of the last episode.

         Now Season 2 of Castlevania doesn’t fix all of my issues with the previous season, but I am very happy with some of the progress I’ve seen so far. I haven’t finished the season yet, as I’m six episodes in and have two left before I’m done, but I’ve seen enough to say that the extra time has benefitted the writers, allowing them to take the time to further explore characters and focus on conversations and interactions between the different members of the cast. The result is a more satisfying and complete-feeling season.

         Apart from that, my thoughts are more or less the same as the first season. I like their presentation of the series’ established Gothic aesthetic through the impressive backgrounds and character design. I enjoy seeing characters and references from the games and think the showrunners are doing a great job at translating the tone of the games to an ongoing TV series. The excessive gore is a little much at times, and not because I can’t handle it, but because it feels inelegant and unnecessary when they’re already doing such a good job at establishing a Gothic atmosphere. I am enjoying the characters more, even though the attempts at humour feel a little awkward (though I think that’s part of the intentional style of the series, so take that for what it’s worth). All in all, a solid series that has gotten better since last year, but still has several areas in which it could improve. If you enjoy the original games or are a fan of cheesy Gothic fantasy, then give it a watch.

Final Score: Copper / Bronze

 ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’

         Watching this 2016 horror movie from André Øvredal, the director of Trollhunter, was how I spent Halloween this year, and it was a night well spent. A father-son pair of coroners are given an unidentified body of a woman that was found on a crime scene and are tasked with finding a cause-of-death by morning so that the local sheriff can give a full statement on the matter. As they proceed with the autopsy, they find more and more things which don’t add up. There are signs of things happening to the body which don’t make scientific sense when you consider the body’s appearance, and to top it off, there’s an uneasy atmosphere around the office as things just don’t feel right. And from there, I’ll keep you in the dark, as one of the most enjoyable elements to watching this film for the first time is trying to work out what’s going on alongside the two main characters as they dig further into this mystery.

         The Autopsy of Jane Doe got under my skin because it taps into the uneasiness you often feel when you’re stuck in an office or medical building late at night and you’re one of the only people remaining. It makes effective use of space to create a suffocating feeling to the autopsy room and the one or two other spaces our characters find themselves in as the film goes on. The use of the right-angled corridor to create suspense as you fear what might come around the corner is commendable. Both of the two main actors, Brian Cox as the father and Emile Hirsch as the son, work well in their roles, selling you on their close, familial relationship as well as the fact that they are professional coroners, so they know what to do and how to handle their nerves around a dead body, but they’re also human enough to get a little uneasy when things start looking weird.

         As I touched on earlier, I was really drawn in by the set-up to The Autopsy of Jane Doe, fascinated to learn more as conflicting pieces of information are revealed to both the characters and the audience. It’s an exciting sensation that I think is unique to horror; it’s the human urge to find out more even when all signs are telling you that you should stop delving into this unsettling area. You have to know the truth and understand what’s going on, even when it takes you to deadly territory. It’s such a recurring feeling that I experience when watching horror, as well as see in the motivations of the characters within horror narratives, that I consider the horror and mystery genres to be close relatives. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is dripping with that sense of horrific mystery as it centres on an autopsy, a procedure that is done when you want to find out the truth behind something but is also inherently unsettling as you are staring face-to-face at death, in all its detail.

         This horror movie has a great premise which is executed with impressive technical ability by its actors, cinematographer, and director (even if it leans on the jump-scare tactic a little too much). For those who like their horror with an air of mystery, then this is a hard recommend.

Final Score: Silver

[ma-bien-aimee]

Why does Oscar choose to live her life as a man?

The anime of The Rose of Versailles starts off very differently from the manga. The pilot episode introduces Oscar and features the events that lead to her decision to wear the military uniform and become Commander of the Royal Guards, charged with protecting Marie-Antoinette.

The act of donning the uniform symbolises that Oscar decides to leave aside her womanhood once and for all and to lead the rest of her life as a man. The episode emphasizes the fact that Oscar consciously chooses her path after much soul-searching. However, it does not explain how Oscar finally makes her decision or why she makes that particular decision. Here, I will attempt to fill in those blanks.

Disclaimer: The anime scripts have been taken from the subtitles in the North American DVD release by Right Stuf, via Nozomi Entertainment.

The manga scanlations are made by me based on the original Japanese text and the official French translation. They are bound to be clumsy as English is not my mother tongue and as I am not proficient in either Japanese or French. Having thus broken all the rules of the translation world, I hope I was able to convey the gist of the meaning enough to make my point.

Needless to say, The Rose of Versailles is copyright Riyoko Ikeda. I don’t have any claim over the story, characters, manga, anime, designs, etc. These stills and script from the anime, and scans from the manga, are featured here for only for the purpose of providing insight into the subject matter I am attempting to analyse in this post.

***

So why does Oscar choose to live her life as a man?

Like every young heir being prepared for a military career, I suppose that Oscar was engrained with a notion of what an ideal man is from childhood. In episode 28 ("André, a Green Lemon"), she alludes to this ideal:

In this scene, after riding her horse to exhaustion to let out her frustration, Oscar brings her mount to back to the stable, followed by André. Her eye catches her name scratched on the wall.

OSCAR

Do you remember these scratch marks on this the wall?

ANDRE

Yeah, I remember. It was around the time when I first came to this manor. It’s the scratch marks from us measuring our height.

OSCAR

That was 23 years ago. I didn’t have a shadow of a doubt that I was a boy back then. I still hadn’t known what love or falling in love meant.

OSCAR

I was brought up as a man. There’d be nothing strange if I lived the rest of my life, even more so, as a man. That’s why I’m going to leave the Royal Guards. I want to live as a man! Being a woman… These emotions… I want to forget it all! I want a mission that only a man could do! I couldn’t care less if I were an infantry soldier! I want to carry a gun, cross the river and fight the enemy! I want my days to be spent risking my life in the line of duty, without love or romance! I want to live more like a man! I’m going to return to those days, when I believed I was a boy. I swear, I will!

This scene gives us an idea about Oscar’s perception of the ideal man: a tough, strong, duty-bound soldier who dedicates himself to fighting the enemy and has no room for anything else in his life.

Also in this scene, Oscar admits to herself that she hasn’t been able to live up to this ideal. She fell in love with Fersen and was later heartbroken. She blames her womanhood, which she regards as a weakness, for straying from this ideal and strives to get back on track. She believes that once she achieves this ideal, everything will be all right and she won’t suffer anymore.

Then in episode 30 (“You’re the Light, I’m the Shadow”), General Jarjayes tearfully admits to Oscar that he regrets his decision to raise her daughter as his son because it caused her to face unnecessary hardships, and asks for her forgiveness. Evidently not expecting such an emotional outburst from her father, Oscar is momentarily taken aback. Then, she sits back in her chair and plucks out a single white rose from the vase in front of her. As she distractedly pulls off the petals of the rose, she calmly says, “Father, please don’t worry. I didn’t abandon my womanhood as much as you think. I even fell madly in love as a woman once. In fact, I’m very grateful to you, Father. Because you raised me as a man, I’m able to forget everything and live strongly.”

Here, Oscar’s calm acknowledgment of her femininity is in stark contrast to her fervent assertions back in episode 28. She seems to have calmed down and to be more at peace with her womanhood. However, the reason why I wanted to mention this scene here is the bit about ‘forgetting about everything else and living stronger.’

I think what Oscar means by it is that her upbringing as a man has allowed her to better cope with the hardships in her life. She can take action or has the resources to take action in the face of conflict because she was raised as a man, while if she had been raised as a woman, she would have been helpless to take action or she would have had to ask a man to do so in her stead.

Take the duel with the Duke de Guéméné. The cruel Duke catches a poor little boy in the slums of Paris, trying to steal his money. Rosalie pleads with him to forgive the child this once as he attempted theft because he hadn’t eaten in days. The Duke seemingly forgives the boy, but then shoots him in the back, killing him instantly. Witnessing the scene, Oscar is outraged. She doesn’t issue a challenge right away, but she certainly taunts the Duke. Perhaps since the Duke’s rank is higher than Oscar’s, he could refuse Oscar’s challenge to a duel and she didn’t want to risk that.

If Oscar were raised as a woman, I’m guessing that it would be more difficult for her to stand up to the Duke, who would then have to challenge her father or her husband to a duel.

Although we are talking about the anime here, I thought the manga could provide some insight as well. In chapter 6 (“The Burning Flames of Revolution”), Oscar again thanks her father for raising her as a man and says to him something along the lines of how being raised the way she was has allowed her to live as a human being in this vast world in the midst of the foolish struggles of humans, although she was born female. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but this is what I could come up with.

As much as it is sad, Oscar has got a point about how being raised as a man allowed her to live as a ‘human being,’ as if women are not humans. Even today, the women’s rights movement worldwide is still trying to establish the most basic notion that women are human beings just like men are.

The scene continues with Oscar saying to General Jarjayes, “I don’t have regrets anymore. From now on, I will live as the child of Mars, the God of War, and dedicate myself to my sword and pistol. I will live my life as a soldier.” This statement mirrors the one she makes above in episode 28.

However, it is important to note that, in the manga, Oscar’s confrontation with her father takes place after the mob attack in Paris, meaning after Oscar realises for the first time that she might harbour feelings for André. It also takes place after Girodelle confronts Oscar squarely, asking her without preliminaries if she is in love with André, to which she responds by saying, “I don’t know.”

This tells me that although she has realised that she might have feelings for André, she has no intention of acting on them. Until she can’t help herself anymore, after seeing how André is willing to sacrifice himself for her in the famous incident with General Jarjayes’ attempt to punish Oscar for her disobedience.

Judging from the way Oscar has carried with her this dedication to walk the path of the duty-bound soldier well into her adult years, General Jarjayes must have done everything he can to make sure his daughter aspired to become this ideal man.

I imagine that spending fourteen years, devoid of almost any female influence, being trained and preached to be a soldier would have a lasting effect on any young girl, for lack of knowing any better, if for nothing else. I don’t think Oscar grew up with any female role models around. She wouldn’t even be able to imagine a life spent as a woman for herself. Just look at how shocked she is when, as an adult, she realizes that if her father hadn’t decided to raise her as his son, her life would have been just like her sisters’.

With her upbringing, the fourteen-year-old Oscar would have rebelled fiercely against being constricted to the traditional gender roles of the time for women.

Note that Oscar does rebel, as an adult, when General Jarjayes has a sudden change of heart and decides to marry Oscar off. But her rebellion is tinged with sadness because she has already known as a woman what it is like to fall hopelessly in love with a man. Then, with good reason, she asks herself this question:

On the other hand, Oscar is a headstrong, stubborn and rebellious character, a fighter in spirit. Even if she were raised as a woman, I believe that she would have resisted just as fiercely against being forced into any traditional role for women if she didn’t want it herself.

[EDIT 27/01/2018]: Take this particular (watercolour!) scene from chapter 5 (“Oscar’s Suffering”). When patrolling the grounds of Versailles with the French Guards one night, Oscar runs into Fersen, obviously returning from a secret assignation with Marie-Antoinette (Just ignore the strip with Alain and the other guards). After getting over the initial shock of seeing him after such a long time, Oscar sends him safely on his way. Then, her mind wanders to Marie-Antoinette and to the fact that the queen doesn’t have the freedom to take control over her own life. By her own admission, Oscar can’t imagine herself in her shoes.

[/EDIT]

However, if Oscar were raised as a woman, I imagine that her resistance to conform with what is expected of her would not be deemed legitimate or, let’s say, would be deemed less legitimate, because she is already born and raised as a woman, not born as a woman but raised as a man.

Knowing herself, perhaps Oscar thought that living her life as a man would better suit her independent personality. Perhaps she finally chose to lead her life as a man because she thought that it would give her a lot more freedom that she wouldn’t have had as a woman.

One can then, of course, question how much freedom she had as a man, as a duty-bound soldier, compared to how much freedom she would have had as a woman, as a lady of the court. Needless to say, Oscar, as a man, isn’t free to abandon her military duties or break her allegiance to the crown of France, let alone join the revolutionists. What I mean by freedom in this context is that Oscar, as a man, has the right to have an opinion and is asked for her opinion. She can make her own decisions, as well as decisions that will affect others. She behaves with confidence among other men, knowing that they accept her as one of them, as their equal. She also has freedom of movement without needing a chaperone, thus she spends more time outdoors and leads a more active life. The list goes on. 

In conclusion, the answer to the question of why Oscar finally chose to lead her life as a man has lain in Oscar’s own words all along: At the end of episode 1 “Oscar, the Destiny of the Rose,” she tells her father in her mind that she has chosen this path not for him or for anyone else, but for herself only. Oscar decides that she can be more “herself” if she lived as a man.

[darshitajain]

I have to admit, I havn’t explored director Luca Guadagnino’s work before. But I have read the book Call me By your Name, so watching the movie was something I was dreading. But imagine my surprise when I came across a movie that made me forget to actually compare it to the book. (that, never happens!)

Set ‘somewhere in Italy’ in 1983, for the initial first hour of the movie, I kept wondering what language the movie was in, and it made me realize how the first pre-conceived notion we have about any movie begins with the language. Italian means scenic yet European in its sensibilities, French might be sensual and American, brash.  But Call me By your Name walks right past those barriers with its seamless navigation between Italian/English/French languages. Luca Guadagnino blends the sensibilities of North American and European independent cinema. The result is lyrical, accessible and one of 2017’s finest films.

To briefly sum it up, the movie is a story of a once-in-a-lifetime love between the 17-year-old Italian Elio and 20-something cocky American academic Oliver, played out over a brief six week period but recalled over and over for a lifetime. Love, being the keyword. Because there is nothing brash about this romance. Infact it is incredibly passionate yet equally tender in its nature, like most relationships are. Elio is the intelligent, charming son of archeology professor Samuel Perlman (Michael Stuhlbarg), with whom Oliver, a graduate student, is interning for the summer. Guadagnino’s film, based on the 2007 novel by André Aciman, takes us through Elio and Oliver’s relationship, which develops haltingly at first but then burns and seeps into every pore of your skin.

    Elio is someone desperate to take the growing-up process in his stride despite how scary it may be. Though he’s a teenager desperate for the approval of everyone around him, he has this vulnerability that he displays only occasionally. Timothy Chalamet portrays Elio who is genuinely aloof and cold at times. He is a teenager struggling to fit into the so called molds of the society by appearing cool and nonchalant when he really is not. It is so endearing to see his relationship with his mother, which has no barriers. It is sweet and raw and tender. He can cry in front of his mother and laugh and fall in love and hug her out of nowhere.

Armie Hammer, who could so easily be reduced to the part of a typically handsome Hollywood stand-in, is enthralling; he shifts between Oliver’s public brashness and private tenderness with ease, making his character far more than a simple object of desire. Oliver is the blazing embodiment of cocky self-confidence, and yet, there’s an endearing vulnerability in the way he needs for Elio to make the first move — setting the tempo for the deliciously tentative courtship dance between them.He’s flirty but tender—the couple’s love scenes are heartbreaking and intensely erotic all at once—and even though he’s the more experienced of the two, he can’t help but diving in headlong.

And lurking in the background is Stuhlbarg, wonderful as a knowing father who is content to mostly let his son figure things out by himself, but who steps in with a guiding hand when things get a little tougher.

Both intensely erotic and intensely contained, the movie acknowledges the very private lives gay men were forced to lead in the early 1980s, when the film is set. As a result, in Call Me by Your Name,virtually every bit of physical contact is crucial and electrifying. The way Elio and Oliver peel away each other’s layers has both a sweetness and a giddy thrill to it. The romance is complete with silent, unspoken understandings and messages that bounce around public space and crowded rooms full of oblivious straights. It’s about tension, desire, longing, rather than big events.

Guadagnino’s sensual attention to the textures and smells and intimate noises of Italian life builds out a cinematic world that encompasses his characters but is much greater than them.

Call Me by Your Name is a opulent, intoxicating experience for the body, but it’s also an arousal for the soul.The lazy European summer glows with nostalgic warmth, as the textured stock captures the haze of the beating sun and the azure blues of water and sky. Frames if you pause them can turn into paintings and the symbolism that remains heady yet firmly in the background, the aesthetics put a huge smile on my face.

I admire how the movie is not anything about the politics or the social aspect of gay romance. This isn’t a film about wrongdoing and punishment; it is about love, loss, and piercing joy in the context of a gay romance. We know (and Oliver and Elio and Elio’s parents know) that this gorgeous intoxicating generous romance can’t last forever, but in capturing the burn, Guadagnino makes us feel Elio’s desire, and thus his devastation. Every image practically drips with longing: a live fish someone’s trapped in the river, pages flapping in the hot breeze, water pouring from a tap into a stone pool, a table spread with breakfast arrangements, the smouldering end of a cigarette.

One of my favourite scenes is when Oliver pleading in a whisper to Elio, after they’ve finally slept together, for him to “call me by your name, and I’ll call you by mine.”. though a strange request it might seem, it is a direct reference to Plato’s Symposium and the theory of humans split in half, which we now call the origin story for Soulmates.

Another scene is one of the most beautiful monologues I have witnessed recently; in a surprisingly heart-warming conversation between Elio and his Father,the film offers this conversation as a gift to audiences who might have desperately needed to hear it in their own lives.

Note, You’ll want to stay all the way through the closing credits—that long, last image is so transfixing. I seriously don’t know how Chalamet pulled it off, but there is serious craft on display here.

Call my By Your Name is a swooning tale about the seismic power of first love—one that doesn’t dismiss Elio’s experience as a folly of youth, but instead digs into the unmistakable trace it leaves, for better or worse.

  The Unabashed Endearing Vulnerability of Call me By your Name I have to admit, I havn't explored director Luca Guadagnino's work before. But I have read the book Call me By your Name, so watching the movie was something I was dreading.

[burritodetodo]

Burrito Reviews: Regular Show Season 8 (final season)

Regular Show is done. After seven years of surrealistic stories, the crew decided to serialize the final season into a big space adventure with Pops as the main character. It went with a bang, closing almost all stories. But something is pretty sure: we won't forget one of the best animated series of this decade for sure and part of the Pantheon of 2010 Cartoons.

Serializing Regular Show was a big change that went well in order to tell the final story properly. There were lots of fourth wall breaks and demolitions, meta moments, emotion, fun, references/parodies and licensed songs. New characters, like Rawls or even one-hit-wonders like Roxy, were nice additions.

The introduction of the first half had many good episodes, mostly funny ones (Lost and Found, Can You Hear Me Now?) but also deep and emotional ones (Stuck in an Elevator, The Dream Warrior, Welcome to Space), and don't forget the action ones (The Space Race, The Brain of Evil, Cool Bro Bots).

On the second part the serialization was notorious with the quest of the key to the Universe, in which emotional and action moments took the lead on the arc while Pops found out the purpose of his existance and why his sibling was hunting him.

The finale left us with our jabs on the floor. Killing off a main character is a huge and polemic move. But it was the final episode, anything could happen and believe me that everything happened on those three part episode. Obviously it hit right on everyone’s feels not only with those scenes, but also with the future moments after the Park musicalized with David Bowie's Heroes.

At least 80% of the main and secondary characters got their stories closed. There was some controversy on how it was handled (I'm watching at Pops, Benson, Mordecai, CJ, Thomas' endings eh), but in general they were okay. There was also time of self-criticism/fans point of view on Meet The Seer, or some epic meta moments on No Train No Gain and Christmas in Space.

MVPs

This final season had heavy stories. But @bentonconnor/ @yeaboiiiii duet did the best episodes (without counting the finale, that isn't rated). First, Space Escape had all kinds of emotions in 11 minutes giving us the heaviest moment to end the first part of the season. And second, Meet The Seer broke the fourth wall like never in the show (it was broken after that episode, but The Seer analysis was incredible). Special mentions to @oweeeeendennis /Sean Glaze for the amazing The Space Race, and @madelinequeripel /Alex Cline for the beatiful, emotional Welcome To Space.

Voice acting was great as usual, and Robert Englund (aka Freddie Krueger) joined the party as Anti Pops/Malum Kranus that was pretty well done.

Curiosities

Storyboarder Madeleine Queripel did a series of comics with Margaret Smith as the main character called "Dear Eileen". They were letters written to Eileen about things that happened in Earth while she was on Earth. According to her creator, those were non-canon, but I think they were nice aditions to the main story in space.

On the finale, we could see the return of Andrés Salaff as a storyboarder after three years (he went to work on Adventure Time and voice Princess on Harvey Beaks). And do you remember that smooth animatic of Anti Pops rising? It was animated by the one and only Jaaaaaaames Baxter. The day of the finale, Regular Show was trending topic on every social media: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook... Even on Google+ (?).

The last season of Regular Show was the end of not only a seven-year series, but also of a process that began on late Season 6 which was the strong development of many characters:

Rigby finally matured, dated Eileen and got his GED. He became more serious, although he still did some dumb things, and made better decisions. And his dad was finally proud of him!

Mordecai recognised he was depressed and began a road to overcome it. It took him many years, but he could do it and he finally found a life partner (Steff the bat)

Pops had to leave his comfort zone to save not only the fate of the universe, he had to save his friends. So he chose sacrificing himself

Benson knew Dumptown wasn’t the end of the road and he had to do stuff to leave the depression zone. Also make other know he was the boss and he had to make others to show respect to him, no matter if they were from the Park or out of it

Muscle Man and Fives strengthened their friendship like never before, no matter if there was a fight or a lightning strucked them. They couldn’t be away from each other

Margaret used all her skills to become a very important reporter and then an anchorwoman

Eileen finished her college studies but also found a new, big challenge on space that tested her skills (and she succeeded)

Maellard understood that sacrifices must be done, despite he wasn’t prepared yet to send his son he loved so much to his probably death

Seven years, +250 episodes, a movie, many shorts, comics, loooooots of merch, countless OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHS, threats of fireing, my mom jokes, angry rants, fanciness, awkwardness and punchies. Regular Show left us with an unforgettable bang, like many of the animated shows born on this decade (besides, it left the stick very high for other shows like Adventure Time, that ends next year). I would like to thank all the people who worked on this jolly good show, that was anything but regular, that made me believe again on cartoons after many years. And I wish them good fortune on the projects they're going to work on.

[thechrisgonzo-blog]

Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ Album Review

       Once thought as the prodigal son of hip-hop, the career of Scott Mescudi—better known to the masses as Kid Cudi—has definitely been a roller coaster. Emerging onto the music scene in 2008 with his breakout single, “Day ‘n’ Nite”, and later signing to Kanye West’s GOOD Music label, Cudi has definitely been one of the most influential artists in the past decade. Some would even say that he’s criminally underrated and many people don’t give him the recognition that he deserves. Even though he might not get as much praise as the contemporaries that entered the game around the same time he did (i.e. Drake most notably), Cudi has amassed a cult-following that will continue to support his career no matter what. But since the release of his last studio album, the indie-rock attempt and critically panned Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven, even his die-hard fans were questioning Cudi’s ability to produce a project that’s been as universally loved as the first two entries of the Man on the Moon series were. I can say confidently that his latest effort, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’, has steered the ship back in the right direction.

       Now before I get into what I liked and disliked about this album, I want to give a little more backstory of the album and the promotion of it leading to its release. Cudi began working on material shortly after Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven dropped and previewed a couple of tracks titled “The Frequency” and “All In” on his SoundCloud in the first quarter of 2016, giving fans a first glimpse of what the new album would sound like. He would then continue to provide snippets of tracks through his various social media accounts. Based on those previews alone, the overall sound was more reminiscent of his previous hip-hop work compared to the punk-rock aesthetic he recently tried to emulate. That definitely peeked my interest and many of Cudder’s die-hard fans’ interests as well, and I was definitely curious to see where Cudi was going with this. Slowly more details emerged as the year went by such as the title of the record; the variety of producers he was working with like Mike Will Made-It, Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Plain Pat, and of course his long-time friend and WZRD bandmate, Dot Da Genius; and some features like Travi$ Scott and Willow Smith. Cudi would also reveal via Twitter that the album would be a double-disc album, and it would be released at the end of September.

       That tentative release eventually got pushed back due to sample clearances, and Cudi would be apart of some controversy as he had a short public beef with Drake and Kanye West after he called both of the superstars out on Twitter. Not too long after the beef, Cudi would go on to post a letter to his fans on Facebook stating that he had checked himself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges—leaving the release of the album in question. Kanye later reconciled publicly with his former GOOD Music signee at one of the stops on his Saint Pablo tour shortly after Cudi went into rehab. After a little over a month in rehab, Cudi came back into society and once again began to promote the rollout for the album with a definite release date of December 16th and a final track list that included additional features from André 3000 and divided it into four acts, much like in the Man on the Moon series. Fans were in for a pleasant surprise from Mr. Solo Dolo.

       I cannot deny that I loved this album. It took me multiple listens and a couple of months after the release to fully appreciate it as whole. The production and instrumentation is hands down the best it has been since Man on the Moon II, and that’s primarily due to Cudi enlisting others for help unlike his previous three studio albums where he handled most of the production himself. The intro track, “Frequency”, sets the mood perfectly for the sonic journey the listener takes through the album. The overall sound is the typical atmospheric aesthetic that’s been present on most of Cudi’s albums, and it compliments his vocals well. He also implemented some beautiful string arrangements on certain songs that I absolutely loved. Lyrically, Cudi doesn’t overcomplicate what he’s trying to say; he’s being as honest as he has ever been when he raps/sings about his inner demons, how fame is affecting his life, and how he continues to push through and produce his art. That honesty is what I have always appreciated about him as an artist. Also, some of the standout songs are structurally some of the best songs he has crafted in years—from the melodies, grooves, and songwriting. The guest features also compliment Cudi’s style and don’t overshadow his prowess for the most part. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the album, there were still some elements that I didn’t like and I felt they were a little unnecessary.

       One of the main issues that has been the consensus amongst critics and fans alike is the length of the album. With 19 total tracks, the album is an hour and a half long. If every song on the album was a perfect gem then length wouldn’t be an issue, but unfortunately that’s not the case. I feel that Cudi stretched the ideas on certain songs—whether it’s having the instrumental go on for a certain amount of minutes or where Cudi just vocalizes some of the lyrics repetitively—to have the songs last 4 to 5 minutes where they could’ve easily been 2 to 3 minutes long. If he would’ve trimmed some of the fat and cut it to about 12-14 songs, I think that this project would have been up there along with his first two albums in terms of quality.

       Overall, this album was an enjoyable listen despite its length. Kid Cudi delivered something that his fans will enjoy as it is truly an amalgamation of all his previous works, and it’s the most focused he’s been musically in years. He brings honesty through his lyrics and songwriting, the instrumentation is varied and very infectious to the ear, and the album is consistent throughout. It might not be for everyone as Cudi does appeal to a certain niche of people, but I can confidently say that there are songs here for everyone. The perfection summation of Cudi’s career can be heard on the album closer “Surfin’” as he proclaims on the chorus, “Now, I ain’t riding no waves. Too busy making my own waves, baby. I ain’t riding no waves!” Simple but effective and whether fans gravitate to Cudi’s experimentation in genre-blending or not, he isn’t riding what’s trending in the current music scene; he’s simply doing him. To conclude, I’m very excited to see where Cudi goes on his next project and maybe we finally get the concluding chapter in the Man on the Moon series? Who knows but Kid Cudi definitely displayed all of his passion, voiced his pain, and slayed his demons on his latest effort.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: By Design, All In, Rose Golden, Baptized in Fire, Kitchen, Surfin’

Least Favorite Tracks: Releaser, Wounds

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more pop culture reviews and discussions! One Love - Chris Gonzo

[randomnameless]

Chapter 4 - Sailane to Thove

Siggy is maturing as a lord, like a good cheese. But Misha’s mom dies in the process, RIP Misha’s mom.

The barbarian king promotes! Wait, since Siggy is a traitor, is Verdane still a part of the Granvallian Raj? Hell, even if he wasn’t, it’d still be an annexed country :’(

The barbarian queen promotes! you know what, I’ll pair Julia to Ulster and imagine she’ll bring her major Naga genes to Verdane to give them access to the Naga bomb.

WOW THAT’S EXPENSIVE. TFW your shiny bow takes a lot of money to repair maybe they’re melting the gold to repair the golden arrows idk

DAMN AIDEEN HOW MANY BOWS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR INVENTORY??

OH. She bought it for him, she didn’t brough them from Jungby. It’s a nice present for her husband!

The sad thing is, Midir can’t promote because he can’t kill things in the arena because of his LOUSY 10 skill, so more often than not the brave bow means two misses instead of two shots :’(

Oh Midir. If we didn’t get it in the 4 previous chapters you didn’t love her, now we do.

Aideen too, but she had some social standing to uphold. Imagine how André’d have laughed if he ever found out his sister was married to a lowly knight! but wait, who cares about him?

Aww. Given how Lana looks to be younger than 17; I suppose Midir survived. Or she isn’t his daughter.

Meanwhile, Taillte speaks to her loser friend now that the humble knight from Leonster’s gone.

Me? Poor Azel, he isn’t used to receive attention.

and you still ignored him in chapter 3 way to go “friend”

not even lex? But Azel’s here to listen to your worries, because he’s a good guy and he wants to help !

oh crap is it a love confession? 

Nope haha what were you expecting Azel ^^. OTOH she’s clearly telling him she shouldn’t have followed him around, she only did it for Claude. Joining her friends in their quest/fights? Nope. Are you really sure you’re their friends? 

jeez i wonder why. And i wonder why you’re talking to Azel about this when Lex has the same issues! (or maybe there was a convo with Lex too?)

they refrain from saying “Reptor that son of a bitch” and say “Reptor that son of Taillte’s sweet grandma”. 

Azel offers Velthomer advice, the kind that’s totally uneeded “that doesn’t sound fun” you don’t say Azel!

yeah one day you’re clinging to Claude and the other you’re sad because of Reptor. Lord Sigurd doesn’t how to talk to you.

Once Alec’ll know you better, he’ll hit on you too!

Oh, it’s kind of sweet, Azel’s happy to bring back cheerful!Taillte.

PROMISES YOU CAN’T KEEP 11 : WHERE THE FRICK WILL YOU BE WHEN HILDA WILL BE HILDA’ING HER?

what i moved three units in the forest what kind of signal was that

liar seeing your sprite you’re not a wind mage but a Loptyr one!

Finally, were you expecting this for ages ?

Oh Pamela! Are you Misha’s aunt because your sprite is identitcal to Deevtar’s or the devs were just lazy? At least you know that Siggy’s kind of strong.

Oho, if he succeeds in weakening us. Which is not guaranteed. 

Private deal with Granvalle? Watch out Daccar, you might end up backstabbed.

OH GODS WE DON’T STAND A CHANCE LORD ANDRE IS AGAINST US

okay so between this and André’s arrival a week will pass?

Ha? Lore translated into gameplay mechanics? again, a reason why i love those games even if they create some kind of bias, at least in FE4.

PFF TELL THAT TO FE5!LEIF, his peasant foster sister and her bio dad from Fiana are full blooded crusaders of Odo, his friend from Tahra has naga blood and a fellow inmate has some kind of Holy blood on top of being Conote’s prince! but Saias isn’t one, he said so.

who are the other three?

Sorry I still have 7 chapters to play so no, it’s not here that we end.

BRIDGET NO! RIP Dithorba, we will miss you.

Yep. It’d have been funnier if I sent Azel visit the village, to rub salt on the wounds.

I think there is a patch that contradicts this? Binary? On the one hand the minor carriers don’t have that much of an advantage over random people when they are supposed to be semi-divine, OTOH major carriers are supposed to be super special. They are less “special” if a minor can use a HW, even nerfed.

Intersect uh?

the reason why, despite Loptyr’s advice, we won’t pair Claude and Sylvia. The Braggipocalypse won’t happen.

How kind from Siggy to apologise to Claude. He was really dragged into this, wasn’t he?

but Claude had some off screen action. He rewarped to Granvalle and was about to see Azmur, surely while Arvis was busy sitting under a tree with Deedee

Hopefully Reptor was here to save the day! Still, I wonder how that encounter went. It isn’t present in the Oosawa manga, right? Or I forgot about it.

how is that sorry way

haven’t you hear Rahna doing this will destroy you - heck I’m kind of happy Siggy didn’t do a 180° right away, but part sad that he ignores the advice of that foreign but wise queen. Claude is “you know better now that you lost Agustria and your friend Edlie, right?”

It’s so weird to imagine Claude feeling pissed about anything, but he is, in his own way.

stop it with your prophetic sentences foreshadowing our doom

Azel most likely knows it, old man. He is one of those Granvallian nobles who received education. But maybe he didn’t know about Forseti.

Funny how Forseti is a god in Silesse because of Wind God etc, shouldn’t it be Ced? Unless the old man talks about the dragon, so it’s indeed Forseti but Vala isn’t the Goddess, Salamander is. Or he just mixes things because no one truly knows who is what anymore.

I still like how each house specialises in a branch of magic, even for garbage magic. It makes them more unique!

but even in Silesse, Naga is revered as a “great god”. They know Naga is above everything else, maybe they’d make a ruckus if they knew that Julia was demoted to an accessory in the 2nd gen?

Tahra what

No no Seliph, we’re not talking about you, but about the son of this unnamed Princess. And oh, funny, if she has a son the son is heir to the Throne, regardless of major blood or even holy blood. We can’t say if the guy assumes that the son’d be major naga or doesn’t care about that, even if he is from Silessse and if Erin’s words are common, major blood = throne.

Ah? But they were rumored to be in love, so this is not an arranged marriage to gain more political influence! Check your facts old man.

Again with bridges? Trust no birdges in Jugdral!

You could have won, but I happened to have a thief from a barbarian country step on the right tile and poof, the bridge returned to normal. 

haha, it’s Lord Sigurd’s army, and no mention of Prince Lewyn who’s tagging along! It’s so funny, Erin said villagers were expecting Lewyn to return, but so far I haven’t seen any.

of course she doesn’t mind, she’s Sylvia and Sylvia’s kind.

Boost their morale Sylvia! Sylvia’s really kind and selfless, willing to help those villagers even if she’ll get hurt/tired in the process! Way to go Sylvia!

Go!

some “yeah” scenes later, Sylvia’s tired. She gave her best here! Hopefully fatigue doesn’t exist in FE4

Yay, you cured random villager from his depression!

and he gives her a magic sword that raises def by 7. It’s a cool sword. A pretty cool sword.

Meanwhile, Azel tries to grab exp to promote, because taillte is suddenly a love interest and he doesn’t want to stay lousy anymore!

But Maios doesn’t care about that idiot with a pointy hood and tries to Blizzard’ his nephew.

Not happy feeling ignored, Azel kills the guy. Kuddos to him!

you meant melee weapons, not weapons, right? Bows don’t fit in any hierarchy.

the reason why Azel won above, he had the triangle advantage!

even themselves?

a village elder? Where are the nobles and stuff? Why should it always be a village elder?

yeah, i got it. Will you give me a present?

WHAT??? SIGGY IS ASKING, AGAIN, THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?? Damn if the campaign in Agustria didn’t slap him HARD in the face! Siggy finally matured into a Lord and not a “follow orders happily” knight. 

and again, we got rid of a corrupted lord. Why couldn’t Maios be a bit more like Clement? Someone who, apparently, did nothing wrong save for using a sleep staff?

note, again, how Lewyn is totally excluded from this convo. At this point I’m thinking people will accept his “short” reign because he is Rahna’s son, not because he is the Crusader.

That she will, surely. Note how Siggy said “the queen” and not “I”. Keep growing Siggy, I’m starting to like you a lot now.

he even appoints locals as governors! I’m so proud of him :’)

But Siggy wouldn’t be Siggy if he didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep! Promises you can’t keep : 11. Rahna might be a beacon of peace and kindness, castle Silesse is still going to fall.

AU where Lewyn and Ced are welcomed by the population of Silesse because of their ties to Rahna, not because of their own qualities

[eliteweddingcoordination]

Sundance 2017 Dispatches: ‘Patti Cake$,’ ‘Walking Out’ and the Final Tallies

A still from Patti Cake$, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute

For everyone who felt Hustle and Flow would have been better if a zaftig white girl was the one spitting the raps, Patti Cake$ is for you. The raucous Sundance crowd-pleaser stars 25-year-old breakout Australian actress Danielle Macdonald as the titular teen, a Jersey girl named Patricia Dombrowski with the stage name Killa P who doesn’t let a plump profile stop her from chasing dreams of being a high-wattage hip-hop queen. Does it play? Fox Searchlight certainly thinks so: they dropped $10.5 million on distribution rights within hours of the film’s triumphant world premiere.

That nosebleed price might portend greatness for the Little Indie That Could but don’t forget that it was Fox Searchlight who sank $17.5 million into Birth of a Nation last year, only to see their #OscarsSoWhite frontrunner stumble out of the gate and quickly evaporate from multiplexes. (They scrambled to buy another award hopeful last fall with the Toronto pickup Jackie, a soft box office performer which at least eked out an Oscar nomination this week for Natalie Portman.) The company also came to Sundance to premiere/promote their quirky (and underwhelming) comedy Wilson, starring Woody Harrelson as Daniel Clowes’ charming misanthrope; and just spent $4 million for distribution and remake rights to the uplifting dance documentary Step, about a troupe of high school seniors trying to make it into college.

The mini-major is aptly doubling down on aspirational stories of scrappy success—and they’re going to need them, considering how Sundance has become one-stop shopping for 800-pound gorillas Netflix and Amazon Studios. At an event where a hungry distributor might pick up 2-3 films, those two companies, neophytes in the indie-film world, crushed the competition in 2016 by snatching up 6 titles each (including Amazon’s deal for newly-minted multiple Oscar nominee Manchester By the Sea).

This year Amazon only has 3 pickups so far, but one of them is the breakout hit The Big Sick, which they just nabbed for $12 million. Netflix, though, is on a rampage with a staggering 12 titles to date. The streaming service brought 3 movies to the festival, including the sci-fi thriller The Discovery with Robert Redford, Jason Segel, and Rooney Mara; plus I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore and Deidra & Laney Rob a Train; and then picked up another 9, mostly documentaries such as Casting JonBenet and Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press; as well as Marti Noxon’s well-received anorexia drama To the Bone, with Keanu Reeves and Lily Collins.

Reed Hastings’ juggernaut has so many Sundance films either already pegged for release in the next few months or just acquired for release later in the year that some jaded festgoers have consciously avoided scrambling for tickets, knowing they can just eventually Netflix and chill instead.

 Quality will always trump quantity: there is still a need to savor, not binge.

The greedy appetite of a digital content leviathan like Netflix seems to reduce Sundance selections to a school of plankton ripe for devouring—especially ones with big stars, headline-grabbing gimmicks or newsworthy hooks—which makes it all the more deeply satisfying when the festival offers up choices that refute such a 21st-century mentality. Quality will always trump quantity: there is still a need to savor, not binge.

Two outstanding films that unspooled this past weekend, Alex and Andrew Smith’s Walking Out and Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, are so visceral and spiritual in their harmonious communing with nature that technology barely makes a blip in its sous-vide storytelling. Walking Out is a modern-day father-son two-hander about a winter hunting trip that jarringly turns into a survivalist thriller worthy of Jack London; Call Me By Your Name is a rapturous 1983-set summer romance where homosexual passions percolate in the incandescent sunshine of Northern Italy.

Both films are immersive, unplugged experiences in analog worlds. The father in Walking Out barks at his son to stop playing video games on his iPhone and relishes the fact that there’s no cell reception in his hunting cabin. And in Call My By Your Name, a lover confides that he sneaks out at night to stare at the moon for hours. Time slows in both as scenes turn into reveries, and seeing them in darkened theaters makes the outside world slip away effortlessly.

Walking Out is a full-blooded, gun-toting generational male bonding movie—the kind of story where a plaid hunting cap gets subtly and wordlessly handed down from grandfather to father to son. And yet it’s the perfect balm for Trump-Era divisiveness, as a surly teen (Matt Bomer), child of divorce, flies to a remote corner of Montana to spend time with his estranged red-state father (Matt Bomer) and slowly learns to appreciate how intensely he communes with nature.

The dad only kills what he eats, and so thoroughly loves and respects the wildlife around him, as well as the rigorous physical demands that outdoor camping demands, that he slowly earns the deep respect of his son. A jolt of unexpected violence then turns the film into a harrowing tale of existential self-reliance that amazingly transforms the dark adventure into an elegiac study of human connection, and how family ties can endure even when they seem to be unraveling.

But Call Me By Your Name is on a whole other level of filmmaking, and felt like a master class compared with all the young directorial work that Sundance routinely spotlights. Guadagnino’s 2009 swooner I Am Love was an expressionistic thrill, and last year’s A Bigger Splash was a study in bohemian decadence. But his new picture is a bonafide masterpiece, a respectful adaptation of André Aciman’s acclaimed 2007 novel that nevertheless takes bold liberties with the material.

As stylish and sensual as anything from Bernardo Bertolucci, Call Me By Your Name chronicles with almost painfully tender care the budding romance between Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a 17-year-old virgin just discovering his sexuality; and Oliver (Hammer), a tall, hunky twentysomething grad student studying Hellenistic sculpture for a few weeks with Elio’s professor father. The pas-de-deux between these two isn’t just erotic—there’s an undeniable intellectual and emotional connection that both grounds and elevates their relationship, which is why the movie is ultimately so profound by the end. This is delicate, mature, poetic drama at its best, accomplished work from a director at the height of his powers.

Cynics may snicker at the movie’s hothouse passions (OK, OK, it’s true: somebody fucks a peach), but the characters are just as quick to laugh at themselves as they are to break into tears over the precariousness of love. And rarely does an affair between two people climax with a parental talk that’s almost as heartbreakingly beautiful as the romance that precedes it. Film festivals are motley venues, with myriad political and social agendas, so it’s all the more revelatory when a movie expresses such universal emotion. It’s testament to Sundance at its best.

Source

http://observer.com/2017/01/sundance-2017-dispatches-patti-cake-walking-out/