#i have to review all the caps i got and decide which ones my fave

[todayisafridaynight]

ima level with you rgg i think bbg snapped like. the second ichiban started breathing around him

[memorydragon]

Since I've now played through the remake eight times now (this is normal) I felt like I should say a few words on Trials of Mana, or Seiken Densetsu 3/Secret of Mana 2 as we called it back in the day.

First of all, let me say SD3 is one of my top two games of all time (the other being Tales of Phantasia). I have played this game an unholy number of times in my youth. I've had the Trials of Mana remake for a while now, tbh, but have held off on playing it because I didn't want Remake Disappointment. But coming off of three games in a row that ended on a downer (I'm looking at you, Kiseki) and a really rough semester, I finally decided to give it a go.

On the whole, I have to agree with the review that I read before diving in. Which is to say, it's a very faithful adaptation. It has everything that made the original fun and enjoyable. I do kinda wish they'd actually put a bit more effort into additional content (because there is so much they could have done and it would have been amazing), but overall very satisfying to play through.

I will say I am delighted that my fave was turned into a bisexual icon. He and Angela are both very bisexually color coded and my headcanon is that they are bi besties who wingman for each other and chat under the sacred bi tree about mutual crushes. ("He's hot." "He's not the smartest around." "Yeah, but you have to admit those muscles." "You're bringing me around to himbos." vs "Do you ever just look at Riese and think damn." "All the damned time. She could have her wicked way with me any day." "She's Riese, she's too kind for wicked." "I know. T_T" ) Like, if I could find the way to transfer photos from the ps4 without massive amounts of headache and digging, there's one screen cap for when I got an achievement of them in their dark classes still matching and it was like, yes, good.

Hawkeye is still my absolute fave, especially since they animated him with dancer warmups and very bisexually. He has soulful sad eyes. He hits fast. His beaming smile at friends is sweet. He's a treasure hunting thief. He was most definitely sleeping with Eagle He's out for revenge but ends up pitying Belladonna.

And honestly, let me just say that Fairy just kind of going 'oh, well. I don't have much choice, the MC is the only character around' as the way of picking the chosen of Mana still tickles me. Like, not even giving them a choice about things, just there's only one person here and now you're the chosen one.

I do like the voices, both english and japanese. Charlotte is still.... unfortunately translated, but the fact that their actor pool is all from New England is hysterical. Like, the Wiki says Angela has a valley girl accent and I'm over here like, um... I can see how you think that, but she's very definitely still a New Englander. No one says 'on' like that in California, I should know. That's where they put me in speech class.

Overall the game is easier, not just because they give all sorts of tips that I would have loved to know the first time I played. (The first time I played was... well. This is a game that very much needed the manual it no doubt came with, but I was emulating an english translation that didn't come with the manual. And I still persisted in playing.) The two main differences is that now the game lets you powerlevel your way through things and full screen class skills can be avoided. The former was Weird, because I played the original an unholy number of times and had every level and seed acquiring down to an art, and suddenly I'm several levels above where I should be, but it's keeping the skill points for later. That took a lot of adjusting to, but I managed, and now am usually past 38 even before I get to the first mana stone. XD Kinda makes me miss using the second class changes, but oh well. Full screen skills being avoidable is part of a 3d environment, which is honestly nice. It does make beastmen/swordsman and other monsters much, much easier though. It's no longer Kill Immediately and aggressively before they use their tech and shred your party.

The trap door monster in Laurant is much more of a bitch though. Fuck that thing, 3d made it so much worse.

The post game content is a bit monotonous, but not terrible. What I wish they'd done more with is the personal quests and at least a bit more interaction between certain party arrangements. Mainly along the shared quest lines. The all girl/all boy party was a fun touch, but I'd I wish they'd even done a bit more with that. Just more interaction with the characters, since that's half the charm of the game was who is and who isn't in your party. Writing didn't seem to be the remake crew's strong point though. Honestly, being faithful to the original is probably way more than enough. It's just wishful that we could have gotten a little bit more than just a little bit extra.

The new techs and new game plus does make replaying through faster, which is sometimes great when you just want to play with combinations. They also let you reset your class with specific items, which is a fantastic addition. I don't use it much, but being reminded why Riese's light/light class had the worst summon, it was nice to be able to switch her around. I also like that you can change the outfits regardless of class, which is great when Angela's dark/dark class was honestly clashing terribly on top of being a bikini armor. Now when I want to use Ancient, I just switch to her more reasonable outfits.

Kevin and Duran getting boob armor for their dark ultimate class was amazing though. Hawkeye not having revealing outfits also gives way to lots of gender headcanons. I also now have a lot of polycule headcanons, because they absolutely are. Except Charlotte. She can cuddle, but she needs to grow mentally 50 years. Then she can be the hot half elf who hits up her silver foxes/cougars, but she does not act her age in the slightest and looks about ten so she's waiting until she does some growing.

Being able to fight the black rabite on all paths rather than only available for Duran/Angela main is great too. I mean, it's still traumatic in a deeply unhinged way, but again, the game is easier in the remake. That includes superboss. Though I did not appreciate being asked twice each time I go to fight it if I'm sure I want to fight it. Like, fuck you game. I've already got the psychological trauma of the original.

(It does make me miss my irc heyday, when I had my bot named BlackRabite and would occasionally switch over just to make it bounce.)

Rabites are still the Most Monster of all time. I love them. Even when they're murdering me or I'm murdering them. You can't actually kill the black rabite. It just bounces away when it's done messing with you.

Anyway, I've played through most of the classes now, though I think I'm still missing one of each for Riese/Duran/Charlotte. I actually did a no healer run this time, which was interesting. Way easier in this version, especially with certain shared techs, but it's nice to not have to plan a party on needing a healer. I'd probably have all the classes by now if I didn't like, use Hawkeye for everything, but hey. He's a fave. I did a Hawkeye-less run, of course, but still. He's going to be in my party the majority of the time, because I love my bisexual thief. (They made his ultimate class change item the Loyal sphere, which also hits mine and Riese's Loyality kink, just as she hits his kindness kink and yeah, I've got a lot of headcanons about Riese accepting her bisexual thief boyfriend and outside game canon incest is just going to happen. Sorry, square, you made that final scene of Eagle saying the memories they had together were his most precious treasure after you've made a prequel game I didn't play that made Hawkeye Flamekhan's grandson. I found this out through wikipedia (and will absolutely be checking out how to emulate gba now, because Hawkeye's mom sounds Badass) and only after you made me ship it, so now it's just Flamekhan who gets ulcers when he finds out with Jessica as a supportive sister-in-law because only he knows he disowned his badass daughter. He only has himself to blame, while Ignorance is gonna stay blissful. And while Jessica and Hawkeye are distancing themselves from the old man because they think he's being homophobic, Jessica takes over Nevarl. As she should. Queen of Thieves we all deserve.

(Falcon in the thereafter may have had a few ulcers herself, but then decided, fuck it. Her father was the one who said he didn't have a daughter first, so she doesn't have a father. She's got a cute son-in-law now instead of step brother and will have a cute amazon princess daughter-in-law soon, so her son is obviously doing well.)

I did warn you I have thought A Lot about this. XD

The one thing I kinda wish didn't carry over is the total play time, because I do really not need to know how many hours I spend on this game. But well, no one else needs to know. XD I also kind of wish the final class was more of a combination like it promised than just a few extra stats, but hey.

Anyway, in terms of a remake, I do highly recommend it. I enjoyed it greatly, and it's very New England english cast, which most people may or may not necessarily realize that all of them are from there, but those were the vowels of my people. Also, I'm more forgiving of Charlotte's manner of speaking now, because she's hilariously also strongly from New England.

Listen, when you're put in speech classes and told your accent is terrible as a child, it's only natural to turn to Spite. That's just how it is. XD

On a final note, they animated the merchants in the most unhinged manner possible, and I adore it. It's absolute madness. They went there and it's glorious.

[thebestoftragedy]

https://www.gq.com/story/james-cameron-profile-men-of-the-year-2022

if you care at all about insane men. please read this. fave quotes below the cut.

@redactedmatopoeia @entertheaardvark you are both deranged go-getter enjoyers. I want to invite james cameron to dinner with all of you.

Cameron recalled working with Ron Howard, the famously nice director, on the visual effects for Apollo 13: “And I just watched what a great guy he was. I'm like, ‘I'm a total asshole compared to Ron Howard. I have to get in touch with my inner Ron Howard.’ And he probably has bad days, too, I don't know, but I didn't see it. And he was so complimentary to people. I always figured that no negative comment was the equivalent of a compliment. That's not how people are wired at all. You have to actually say it out loud.”

...

Because of Cameron’s clarity, and his ability to bring his crew into his process, Saldaña said, “When you are a part of a James Cameron project, you don’t feel like a tool. You don’t feel objectified.” But she acknowledged it took a particular mental toughness: “If you can take it, hang on, because it’s always going to be fun and beautiful and rewarding. But if you’re sensitive, and you can’t take it, then trust me, there is always somebody else who is going to accept it.” (She also said she’d gotten good advice from another actor who had worked with Cameron before, who’d noticed that Cameron often got so focused on what he was doing that he forgot to eat: “If he starts getting edgy, make sure you give him some chocolate and you give him some nuts.”)

…

A decade ago, Cameron and his wife decided to become vegans: “I’m 10 years, one hundred percent, not a molecule that I know of of animal entering my face. And I’m healthier than I’ve ever been, and most of these punks can’t keep up with me.” In an oblique way, this is part of the explanation for why Cameron has at times drifted away from filmmaking. “Nobody does empathy better than Hollywood,” Cameron told me. “But there’s a certain point where my mind wants to solve problems that are real-world problems.”

…

But Cameron still remembers an executive at the company—“who will go unnamed, because this is a really negative review”—who approached Cameron with a “stricken cancer-diagnosis expression” after a prerelease screening of the film and begged the director to shorten it. “I said something I’ve never said to anybody else in the business,” Cameron recalled. He said he told him, “ ‘I think this movie is going to make all the fucking money. And when it does, it’s going to be too late for you to love the film. The time for you to love the movie is today. So I’m not asking you to say something that you don’t feel, but just know that I will always know that no matter how complimentary you are about the movie in the future when it makes all the money’—and that’s exactly what I said, in caps, ALL THE MONEY, not some of the money, all the fucking money. I said, ‘You can’t come back to me and compliment the film or chum along and say, ‘Look what we did together.’ You won’t be able to do that.’ At that point, that particular studio executive flipped out and went bug shit on me. And I told him to get the fuck out of my office. And that’s where it was left.”

…

I was driving back to my hotel, not too long after, when the phone rang. It was Cameron, wanting to talk again about the shuttle flight he turned down and which eventually became—Goldin’s recollection differs here again, but no matter—a very notorious flight indeed. “I forgot the punch line to the story!” Cameron said. “The punch line is, the shuttle mission I refused? It was the Columbia.” His voice rose: “I fucking saved my own life by choosing the higher path!”

[shinymooncolor]

hey! you don’t have to answer this, but i know close to nothing about hockey and my family and i have never really watched it and i’m starting to get very interested, but i have no idea where to start 😅 what do you think i should focus on first, as a newbie? what should i absolutely know as a fan? what teams are pretty good in your opinion? again, thanks for your help if ever you see this p.s: i really love your posts and they bring a smile to me face, so thank you for your hard work! <3

Hi!

Ohhh well. First of all. Welcome to the nerve wracking, nail biting, jaw clenching, gut wrenching, heartbreaking and utterly incredible world of (ice) hockey. Angry muscle machines on skates chasing a tiny rubber puck in the nhl and their goddess equivalents in wnhl - what’s not to love?

You’ve decided on a hell of a year to join. Due to Covid, the normal system was paused and a recent bubble playoffs series played and later won by Tampa Bay Lightning a few weeks ago. The new season would’ve begun last week but is currently expected to start around December.

I’d say the best starting point would be to watch some games - YouTube has a lot of highlights, game compilations etc. and browse hockey tumblr. Hockey tumblr is a great combination of hockey gossip, game reviews, fans sharing their love, passion and (hateful) opinions about players, clubs and the sport in general.

My personal team faves are a handful - you see, the league is “split” into two conferences - east and west and within here a few other divisions dictating who the teams will play on a more recent basis. The clubs in the nhl being split over North America and Canada means a lot of ground to cover and therefore it’s split like this - time zones, distance and whatever. So maybe decide on a conference first? East or west.

I’m an eastern conference gal meself, but the west sure has its merits too.

So. Teams. You’re about to start a rumble here 😂

I am a personal fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins 🐧 they play good hockey, in spite of their idiot general manager (I’ve got posts detailing why he’s an ass hat extraordinarie). They’re captained by Canada’s hockey savior, Sidney Crosby: hockey robot, yellow crocs enthusiast , triple gold member (youngest captain to get all three?) and the goodest boy in the league. He’s been heralded as the next great one yada yada since he was about 5? And shot pucks into a dryer back in Canada - with that came a lot of shit for the poor guy who, in his own words, just wants to play hockey. And he’s good. He’s got his team of French Canadian d-men (letang, dumo), a whole lot of goalie drama which seems to be a pattern and his Russian (husband) assistant captain Evgeni Malkin who’s got the cutest kid, a really cool wifey (seriously her insta is 10000 better than geno’s own) and a wicked sense of humor which he conviently hides behind his “English big bad today” excuse to avoid media on a daily basis (he’s played this card since his wild escape and temporary defection from Russia back in 2006) seriously google it. It’s wild. They’ve won three cups since 2009, they’re contenders in the playoffs most years and their pr department provides some hilarious videos of captain Canada and his Russian (husband) A. It’s a true love story. Sue me. We’ve got an intense rivalry with philly and the caps. Seriously. That orange flyers jersey is intense - even if philly’s mascot is the next president.

Funnily enough, my strange obsession with Russian hockey players have led to the most disturbing but developing club crush on the Washington capitals who are the penguins’ nemesis.

I mean, this club led by the one and only gr8 8 mr Alexander Ovechkin is a rollercoaster of emotion and hot daddies in skates armed with sticks and a murder Swede.

So. Washington caps used to be a joke in the league until they went and drafted mr ovechkin first overall, brought him to the capital and let him do his thing. He’s got a rep for being a hell of a lot of fun on the ice (if you’re on his team) and one of those players that people love to hate (even if they can’t take away how freakishly good he is at hockey) - look up his impossible goal(s)! He’s an exuberant, fun loving Russian with a heart of gold and a missing tooth. In 2007, the caps went shopping for a center just for ovi who needed a playmaker and a slap shot feeeder - they went and drafted the Swedish angel (maybe assassin) (Lars) Nicklas Backstrom - and the purest hockey marriage was forged. The actual words (we needed a center for ovi and ovi wanted backstrom) have been said. Yes, these two Are now famously the mama and papa of the caps and they have a roster of unruly (and handsome) hockey babies with the fighting menace Tom Wilson, bird impersonator and Russian cat Evgeni Kuznetzov and a whole army of other adorable (albeit hockey playing menaces) babies. Most recently they had the leagues daddiest daddy goalie Mr Holtbeast as the fun and handsome canadien cowboy uncle but he’s ventured to Vancouver to adopt a new group of hockey babies. To compensate, the caps went shopping in New York and brought the one and only king Henrik from the crease in msg to be the goalie mentor for baby Russian caps goalie and to keep the daddy energy flowing.

(Seriously why are Swedish players part time models? Their national team strategy is to be so handsome the other teams are distracted. It’s a thing. Look it up)

I also love a handful of other players on other teams (I really don’t dislike any team in particular - but you’ll meet some dedicated and strong minded fans here)

Erik Horse Johnson, Cale Makar and Nikita Zadorov (Colorado Avs - zad have recently been traded to the blackhawks (not sure how I feel about that). Phwucking fun team. Who needs teeth anyways.

Marc Andre Fleury (Vegas now but hell always be a penguin to me)

The Russian gang in Tampa - and giant Swede victor Hedman (seriously he’s massive)

The canes (Carolina) and their collective of Finnish and Russian babies (aho, svech) with chaotic Marty and former penguin Baby Staal as captain

And a whole lot of others too. It’s hard to choose.

The Dallas stars and the most precious bean of them all (Russian) dobby - Anton khudobin their backup goalie turned playoffs hero and fashion icon. The man said we’re not going home and threw the entire team on his back and dragged them to the final. And their homoerotically charged captain and his alt captain and their Hollywood epic soap worthy relationship. Stallions, people, Stallions...

Btw we like to project our brash queerness onto this league. You’ll learn why quickly. There’s only so much talks about hot hands, slick moves, eternal love for teammates and quite frankly obscene (sexy) amounts of kneeling, roughing (let’s face its it’s just aggressive cuddling) and teammates honorably defending teammates.

Anyways. I love hockey. He. Sorry.

Fun fact I’ve dragged @canesinthecrease kicking and screaming into the hellhole that is the caps and I’m working on convincing @dontpuckwithme about the incredibly sexy thing that is Russians and Canadians being secretly married in Pittsburgh.

Great, sexy, amazing, cool, smart and wonderful hockey ladies to follow for even more amazing content on more clubs (the hurricanes - also a team I’m starting to love). They’re my queer sherpas and emotional support network.

Hope you can use this dear (new) hockey friend and mutual 💖🐧

[jinjojess]

Oh, All-knowing Jess, hear my call and drive away my doubts: how was received in Japan the datamining of the beta of Pokémon Gold? What do you think about it? Are some Pokémon you like or want in actual games? (Personally, my favourite is that creepy Pinsir, for some reasons it reminds me of the Kaonashi from Spirited Away!)

You know, that’s a good question. I’ve seen some fanart and reactions on Twitter, but I didn’t really follow it much, sorry!

To make it up to you, I will now review all of the betas:

Chikorita! 

Yay! I think I’ve made it very clear that I am a big fan of this little plant nugget, so I don’t have much to add really.

10/10

AAAGGGGHHH?! 

What the fuck is this thing? How does this relate to Chikorita or Meganium, who are both largely unchanged from their beta designs? Where are the eyes? Like I’m diggin’ the tiny smug face-looking thing at the top of the bulb, but what’s the deal with the huge single eye down below? Where did the legs go? Why does the body shape change so drastically in the in-between stage when both the first and third stages are quadrupeds?!

0/10 would not trade Bayleef for it

Meganium

Whew, okay. Back on familiar ground here. Meganium is likely my least favorite of the Johto starters’ final forms, but I still like my big, dumb boy.

8/10

Tepkon 

Awww~!

So unpopular opinion, but for a long time I really disliked cyndaquil’s design. I’ve come around to it these days, but back when GS came out, it really put me off. This thing is absolutely adorable, and though the design isn’t super inspired, I still fucking love it.

7/10 wouldn’t trade cyndaquil for it, but would love to see the design reworked for future games

Chubby quilava

This is like quilava’s cousin who grows up to discover that he’s actually more of a bear than a twink. Really like it–seems very cuddly.

7/10 like quilava better but I support this thicc boi

Kirara

Seriously, this is basically just Kirara from Inuyasha. Not as crazy about this design as its pre-evos, especially since it seems like it’s trying to edge in on arcanine’s floof territory. An okay pokemon, but not a fave.

6/10 would not trade typhlosion for it

Baby Nessie

Totodile was one of those pokemon that I had been low-key hoping for, but I gotta admit that this is one adorable little fucker. Look at its stubby limbs! Its cute snoot! Its pudgy tail!

6/10 would not trade totodile but would love to see in another game

Let me clear my thoat (I hope ya don’t mind)

I am…less enthused about the middle evo. The eyes are cute and the little shy smile is to die for, but the…ballast? on its throat kind of looks like a giant boil and I’m not really here for that.

4/10 no thanks I’ll keep croconaw

Dragonair but with legs

The final evo I like a bit more–it looks like a dragonair that struck up a deal with Ursula the sea witch so that it could pursue its land-dwelling love. Now that the gem isn’t jammed right up under the chin it’s less off-putting, and the kind of fang-looking necklace is a Good Look.

6/10 still prefer feraligatr but GameFreak please dust off this design

Hoot-Hoot’s just really into henna right now

I’ve never been a huge fan of hoot-hoot, and I kind of like the extra markings. I assume they were taken off to make the design less busy as well as giving it a fanned tail, but I think I’d actually prefer this one.

5/10 would replace regular hoot-hoot with this one

It is the night

Okay, here we go! Now this is a cool-looking pokemon that would make training up a damn hoot-hoot worth it. Noctowl is a decent pokemon in the game since it means you get access to psychic moves early in the game, but I’ve always thought the design looked too goofy. I like irl owls a lot and this design really speaks to me.

8/10 go back in time and give teenage me this bird instead

Mareep

There’s not a ton to say here other than they lightened up mareep’s fleshy bits in the final release, and I like mareep quite a bit so there we go. Instead, I want to draw attention to this disaster of a backsprite. What am I even looking at? A giant ball of cotton candy that rolled through a bunch of broken candy canes?

9/10 I mean I like mareep, but I gotta take off a point for that awful backsprite

Flaaffy

Flaaffs seems largely unchanged. I’m pretty partial to this boi as well, especially since I had one following me for a bit in my Japanese Soul Silver game.

8/10 I like flaaffy, but fuck that name spelling

Ampharos

One of my fave Gen 2 pokemon! Doesn’t seem to have much different about it, though I did always question where the delightful floof went. I mean we get it back in the mega evolution but still. What was that about, GameFreak?

9/10 docked a point for lack of floof

Mikon

So this is clearly a pre-evo idea for vulpix, and it’s pretty damn cute. I love that with the addition of this member to the family, it’s confirmed that the line increases its number of tails by 3 every time it evolves. I like this, but I’m not entirely sold on it. The face lacks some detail and I feel like the design isn’t different enough from vulpix to really feel necessary.

7/10 it’s cute but I don’t think vulpix needs a pre-evo

Mahou Shoujo Green

This tangela pre-evo is pretty cute, though the body underneath kind of reminds me a bit too much of oddish. I mean maybe it’d be cool to look at the oddish line and the tangela line and see how two related species had off-shoots, but I am not really the biggest fan of baby pokemon as an institution so these will all be a hard sell for me, sorry.

6/10 again, cute but unecessary

Tangrowth as imagined by CalArts

I loved tangela a lot back in the day, and tangrowth is a really interesting pokemon as well…however this one has a little bow and ringlet hair so like, no contest, really.

9/10 this should be an alternate evo option for tangela (perhaps for females?)

i could be your angle or yuor devil

So this one is kinda cool in concept. It’s clearly drawing influence from Japanese kites, and the scary face might be an evolutionary feature designed to scare off predators…that or it’s a flying/ghost or flying/dark type and the angel imagery is the ruse. Either way I fucking love this thing.

10/10 I want this concept revisited

Qwilfish

I like qwilfish a lot! It’s got cool typing, it can perform decently on a rain team, and it’s based on a pufferfish. It’s definitely an underdog in the wider world, but not in my heart.

10/10

The Fish Who Lived

I have…reservations about this evolution though. As cool as it would be to have a qwilfish evolution, this just isn’t doing it for me. It’s kinda cool that it’s shaped like a naval mine, and the Harry Potter scar is pretty cute, but I can get over the dead-eyed stare.

4/10 yeah no I think I’m happy to wait for better evo ideas to come along

Pichu

Pichu’s cute enough I guess but I’ve never liked it as much as pikachu and sure as hell not as much as my boy raichu. However if the baby version was this roly poly cutie, I think I’d be more into it. This style of pre-evo harkens back to the good ol’ days of fat pikachu, and therefore I must doff my cap to it.

8/10 with a bit of polishing I would take this over pichu for sure

Cleffa

Okay, so of the baby pokemon, of which I am generally not fond, cleffa is by far my favorite because of how cute it is. This is also extremely cute. I like picturing the trainer being able to just grab the thing by the little knob on its head if it’s heading toward danger. Plus that tail nub is so cute! I don’t know that I could choose between this version and the actual cleffa.

9/10 would be a 10 but Nate once said “what if cleffa’s hands were its nipples?” and now I can’t unsee it

Igglybuff

Iggly has always reminded me of the Powerpuff Girls, but this beta version is so…delightfully round. God, it’s like hypnotizing how round it is. You wouldn’t have to show this from above to trick someone in a silhouette quiz. The tiny, wide-set eyes are also both piercing and kind of unassuming, which I can’t decide is cute or terrifying.

8/10 think I’d swap this guy in for the existing igglybuff

Quagsire!

I freaking LOVE quagsire. It’s so derpy, I love water/ground types, and just everything about it is cute and makes me want to hug it. The only problem with it in this beta is that there’s no wooper.

10/10 bring wooper with you bro

Natu

I’ve always thought natu was cute and really neat in concept, but I’ve never actually sat down and trained one. This sprite isn’t too different from its final one, but it is missing the color scheme, which is one of the reasons I like it.

6/10 stop being so washed out!

Xatu

Also largely unchanged from its final design, though I do prefer the Silver sprite where its wings are spread. (And I’m sorry about this, but some of the pictures will have bits of other sprites in them, since it was hard cutting these all down in Paint with a trackpad.)

7/10 very unique

Prince(ss) of the sea

Is this a pre-evo of goldeen and seaking, and I can see why it was cut. Who thought either of those would be popular enough to warrant a baby form?

2/10 fuck yeah was a meme guys, it wasn’t sincere

Marill

Marill’s okay. I think it’s fairly cute, and the design they went with using smaller ears and non-clown feet is better imo. Plus this is really minor but it’s bothering me that despite the codename “pikablu” this sprite is pink.

6/10 solid cute pokemon, but the final design is better

Finding Flounder

So I’m a big fan of lanturn because of its digimon-esque eyes and its cool typing. Chinchou I’m…eh on. This cutie though, I could get used to this.

8/10 cute eyes are better than terrifying cross eyes I’m sorry

Clanker’s Cavern

As I just said, I like lanturn a lot. However, this is a shark with an anchor attached. That’s like if you left dhelmise and sharpedo at the day care on the same day an enemy team spilled plutonium all over the yard. It’s so stupid! I love this thing so damn much.

8/10 it’s way too similar to other existing pokemon, but I still kind of want it anyway

Homsar

This thing kind of scares me. The gaping mouth, the wide eyes, and the fact that it clearly would inhabit deep parts of the ocean all make me want to nope out. That said though, I respect it.

6/10 glad they came back to this idea with elektross

Crobat

If you’ve ever battled me in one of our local or online tournaments, you will know that I have a soft spot for crobat. I think golbat’s design is kind of terrible, zubat is simplistic yet kinda cute, and crobat gets to be both cute/cool and also not suck completely in battle (see what I did there?). This design seems mostly unchanged.

8/10 a very good bro

Most likely to drive an airbrushed van

This paras pre-evo looks like it’s inspired by a lovely whimsical creature from Wonderland or Fantasia. I kind of like having a pre-evo to show that at the start the sinister mushrooms allow the baby para to call the shots, biding its time until takes over the entire nervous system as a parasect. Really not feeling the face, though.

5/10 cute, interesting idea, but I don’t know if I want to add more baby pokemon to the mix

Spinarak

I have some mild arachnophobia, but I actually rather like spinarak since it’s so adorable. This version is a little more true to life and not as adorable. Also wtf GameFreak stop giving your arachnids six legs!

5/10 very much prefer the final design but kinda reminds me of the little jumpy bois I catch and release from inside my apartment sometimes

Ariados

Again with the six legs thing. Ugh. Anyway, this beta version of ariados is actually much cuter than the one we ended up getting in the final game. I’m pretty lukewarm on ariados in general (my spider boi of choice is the far superior galvantula), but look at this thing’s face! Look at the face on its body! It’s cute even when it’s trying to be scary!

6/10 why did we not get this adorable boi?!

Skarmory

It’s skarmory. That’s it. A pokemon that I like in theory but have never been super into his design.

5/10 respectably cool but not my cup of tea

Alphonse Elric’s head in chibi form, screaming as his body melts

Here it is. My favorite of all of the beta sprites. This thing is so fucking wonderful in part because I have literally no idea what the hell it’s supposed to be. What is this?! What type is it supposed to be? What is it based on? Is it a pre-evo of an existing mon? Why is its mouth parted in an eternal screech? These questions do not necessarily have answers, and I am a sucker for mystery.

10/10 GameFreak please bring this idea to life just so that I can get closure

Mine! Mine!

So I see what they were going for. It’s a baby form of doduo, with three baby bird heads and a big puff of feathers to make it look like a brood peeking out of a nest. I respect the idea, I do. Too bad it also conjures up images in my head of rat kings and other fused abominations. 

5/10 a good idea that didn’t pan out so well

[Obligatory Undertale Reference]

Sunflora would actually probably be more intimidating if it had an evolution rather than a pre-evo, though. I’m no big fan of sunflora, but I gotta say that this sprite is way better than the one we ended up getting.

6/10 replace existing sunflora with this bullet seed-spewing former skiddo

The Littlest Babaar

I’ve never really been into elephants as a species. Like they’re cool, but they’re pretty middle of the pack for me in terms of my animal preferences. As a result, I always found donphan kind of disappointing. However, I do like phanpy quite a bit, if only for the fact that it’s goddamn adorable. This sprite is a bit plain, but does bring the cuteness.

6/10 prefer the final design but this one ain’t bad at all

Donphan

The Don hasn’t changed much at all as far as I can tell. I’ve never trained one in Gen 2, so is its backsprite really just its trunk? If so, hilarious.

5/10 congrats! you exist!

That’s the statement of the grave mint, Doublemint

I can’t decide if this was intended to be a pre-evo for ghastly or if it’s supposed to be a new ghost type (perhaps later replaced by misdreavus?). Either way it’s an interesting concept, and I can imagine the pokedex entry now: “Born from the souls of fetuses who were eaten in-utero by their siblings. Since they feel they were destined to be twins, they find each other shortly after death and fuse together so that they’ll never be alone again.”

7/10 not the most original design but damn we had a shortage of ghost types back in the day

Girafarig

Girafarig is one of those pokemon that I always wanted to be more competitively viable because I think it has a unique design and could fill a cool niche. I like that the final design has the tail as an evolutionary measure and that there’s a smaller brain in it, just like some real life creatures. That said, we really missed out on getting a face full of evil uniraffe in the backsprite. Man, this is a real tough choice.

7/10 let’s keep girafarig as is and try out this concept on a different mon

Smeargle

This version of him seems a bit more…simian than his final, kinda canine design. Not sure if I dig it. Also, have you noticed that Gen 2 felt obligated to have a ditto/mew type mon that could mimic all the other mons? I feel like this concept gets revisited every so often and GameFreak thinks we’re none the wiser.

5/10 flesh beret just isn’t okay

Coin Kitty

So I know I said I’m against baby pokemon on principle, but the fact that this thing never saw the light of day upsets me so much. It’s so. fucking. CUTE.

10/10 go back in time and replace skitty with this

Betty Boop’s best friend

I get the feeling that this dark type cat got recycled into the purrloin line, but this one is way cooler imo. It references the old adage of “belling the cat” and I think that this pokemon line could have had some really cool sound-based signature moves (sorta similar to the whismur or jangmo-o lines).

9/10 not feeling the bipedal thing, but still a really neat concept I’d like to see

Luna

Again, I love the idea of a pokemon based on a fable. I can see why this particular design didn’t get used, given how simple it is and how closely it resembles umbreon if you just glance at it, but I’d love to see this revisited.

7/10 spruce up the design a bit and get back to me

Politoed’s wild ride

So when I first met politoed I felt he was a bit too…cutesy? Like the rosy cheeks were a bit much. This guy feels a bit more like he belongs in the poliwag line, though he doesn’t look like he’d be as bouncy.

6/10 might replace existing politoed design, might not

Slowking

Though I prefer slowbro as my yadon evo of choice, slowking is pretty awesome in his own right. Not a big fan of the clown ruffle, but honestly it’s kind of a minor setback all things considered. 

7/10 remember how he could randomly talk in the 2nd pokemon movie? That was fucked up.

Unknown

All of these cool, unsued beta designs, and this one gets to stay in?

1/10 don’t talk to me right now, GameFreak

Ledyba

It’s ledyba. One of the bug types I’m actually not really all that into. Pretty sure this is the sprite actually used in Gold.

4/10 fine just not for me

I see you

Ledian’s deal as a superhero is kinda cool, even if I don’t particularly care for the actual design. And I gotta say, it’s preferable to the ever-watching eyes of this thing. Those stars aren’t natural; they’re tattoos for each trainer its killed.

3/10 I feel like I need to go lie down

My Little Shetland Pony

Clearly this is intended to be a ponyta baby form, and while I commend the idea of a foal version (or maybe a Shetland or something?), you may notice that there is very, very little to set this pre-evo apart from ponyta. Like it and and rapidash aren’t exactly the most daring design-wise, so stripping it to the essentials doesn’t really work.

5/10 this is cute as all hell but it has no reason to exist

Espeon

Though I get shit all the time for liking espeon the least out of all the eeveelutions, I do still think the design is neat, and the fact that it draws from the nekomata myth is fascinating. Backsprite is a bit janky in the hips department–yet another unrealistic beauty standard, amirite ladies?

7/10 I personally don’t think there are any bad eeveelutions

Umbreon!

My absolute favorite Gen 2 pokemon! Not many changes between this and the final design, though I will say that this one looks a lot more terrifying–the hole eyes are worse than the red ones somehow. Still, love.

10/10 listen this is my personal rating

Alolan Shellder

This one is so fascinating to me. It’s obviously the chompy boi from slowbro and slowking, which in the pokedex is referred to as a shellder, but perhaps this is a unique evolution that only happens when it disconnects from the slowpoke? I am really upset this wasn’t actually used in the game, because getting to have this thing on the same team as slowpoke, slowbro, and slowking would have been like when Banjo-Tooie introduced the mechanic that let Banjo and Kazooie split up.

10/10 give me, dammit!

Garbage Pail Kid

Again with the baby form for a line that already is known for extremely simple designs. Grimer and muk are literally just piles of slime of differing sizes. (Shut up, Alolan forms weren’t a thing til later.) So basically this baby form is fucking adorable, and I’m loving the thing that could be a nose but I’m choosing to interpret as a mouth with a single tooth. It’s just that…who needs this?

7/10 cute, but not necessary by any stretch of imagination

Are ya feelin’ lucky, punk?

Okay, so this beta is a) way cooler than remoraid ended up being, and b) makes the evolution line make SO MUCH more sense. I can definitely see why it was changed, especially since censor-happy America was a legit market by that point. And I guess the revolver barrel part of the design still persisted in Gen 2, but still.

5/10 booo censorship!

TANK!

Octillary’s name also makes way more sense with the original tank design. I mean I can kinda see why this changed, but like…Digimon was over there with a creature in the anime just literally called Tankmon who shoots shells at elementary schoolers so I don’t fucking know. 

7/10 I like octillary as is, but this is a much more interesting design

WWE fan

Okay so real talk, I am not the biggest fan of tyrogue’s design, but what was even going on here? What’s with the frog hat? Is it a safety helmet? The general hitmonlee body shape combined with the baby boxing gloves for hitmonchan was pretty cool, but this is not something I’d look at and think “Yes, this will grow up to be a humonoid fighting type.”

5/10 it’s…cute? I guess I just don’t see what’s going on here really

shaga;lsdkfhahdgajspd[f

NO. JUST NO. THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS HAPPENING HERE, TOO MANY LIMBS, TOO MANY EYES, JUST NO. HITMONTOP ENDED UP BEING SILLY BUT AT LEAST IT WASN’T THIS MANGLED BODY HORROR NONSENSE.

0/10 for reminding me of claydol and my own mortality

Pupper

This is going to come as a surprise, but I’m glad they didn’t introduce a baby form of growlithe. The growlithe and arcanine line includes 2 of my top 3 pokemon ever and as cute as this is I don’t think it would fit aesthetically. It looks like a spaniel that doesn’t match the shisa vibe of the growlithe line. That said, I would love to see it as a first form for a different line of perhaps…ground type doggos?

9/10 please give us some floppy ear dog designs, GameFreak! new doggos!

Like, nya

I do think the hoppip line (except for the last evo) is pretty cute, and this one reminds me a bit of an in-training digimon so I’m liking it. That said, I think the designs we got were better.

6/10 cute but like existing hoppip

Gardnyar

Again, prefer Skiploom.

5/10 not a fan of the flower for some reason

Nyancat theme plays in the distance

So I like this better than jumpluff personally, even if the other is probably a more unique design.

5/10 jumpluff’s limbs bother me, but lbr I was never going to train one anyway

New this Easter

Mr. Mime, I think we can all agree, is an unsettling design. That’s its whole appeal, really. Mime Jr. is cute enough I guess, but this is a tiny clown egg that looks like it’s learning to ice skate for the first time!

6/10 get your derpy clown nose out of here, Mime Jr.

Agatha’s apprentice

Smoochum is…well, she is. She’s kinda cute, and I think I prefer the finished design to this one since it looks way too similar to grown up jynx. Plus it raises some uncomfortable questions about it being born with ganguro make-up and hair (in a style that looks like E4 Agatha’s for some reason). This smoochum looks like it’d be taken out to sit alone at the bar in the club while wearing booty shorts that read “Mama’s Lil’ Bitch” across the back.

4/10 this makes me uncomfortable, and the hair is too close to Agatha’s

Which way to the Chao Garden?

Elekid is one of few baby pokemon I like, but hot damn this thing is adorable. It looks like a tiny, wingless bee with a halo.

7/10 can this be recycled as something else?

Bart Simpson

Really what keeps me from fully embracing the magmar line is largely the fact that they all have butts on their heads. These spikes are way more appealing to me, and so I would have loved having this one in the game.

8/10 is it still too late to redesign magby?

Bellossom

Not too many changes from the beta. I am digging the shoujo sparkles going on around her, haha.

6/10 not a big bellossom fan but a well-design pokemon nonetheless

Audrey III

Nope, I don’t like this, no sir. Where would this even go in the evo line? Is it supposed to be an alternative to victreebel? Cause this isn’t much better, guys.

1/10 I will give it one point since it looks like it could cut a rug on the dance floor

Miltank

A good, solid pokemon I’m pretty fond of (once I got over my salt from the Whitney battle). I like her as a female counterpart to tauros. Nothing too astounding but still fun and cute.

8/10 

Fire Seal

I feel like there’s folklore here, but my tired brain isn’t coming up with anything at the moment, sadly. Not a really detailed design but those tend to be more my favorites anyway. Trying to figure out what this was replaced by in the final game but I’m having a tough time figuring it out.

7/10 we have a lot of seals, but this is the only FIRE seal

Delibird

I see we chose the path with more subtlety in the end.

4/10 not really a big fan of delibird

Hanshin Hopeful

Okay, I know I said earlier that the screaming pile of goo was my favorite, but this line is also my favorite out of these beta designs. This one upsets me because this would have been such a great cultural addition! Osaka (represented by Goldinrod City in the games) has a baseball team called the Hanshin Tigers, which everyone in the area is a fervent fan of. Not only is this unbearably cute, it could have been hanging out in like a little baseball stadium area or something in or around Goldinrod. 

10/10 how could you leave this out?!

Nandeyanen!!

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Why did I not get this?! The Akihabara of Osaka is even called “DenDen Town” (Electric Town)!

10/10 we’ve missed our chance and now amends cannot be made

Talk to the wing

Is this supposed to be a farfetch’d evolution?! It doesn’t make a ton of sense aside from the waterfowl connection, but like…how pissed would you be if you were farfetch’d? This is kinda cool. I’m not super into swans or anything, but the masquerade/crime fighter mask is a neat detail.

5/10 I could see this being used interestingly, even if I’d probably not use it

Hitori Kakurenbou

I love this concept. Look at this! I know it was basically recycled for shuppet’s line, but this is so much more hardcore. Now this is a pokemon that can use curse appropriately.

10/10 personally like this one better than shuppet, if I’m being honest

Hsien-ko

This is the most Chinese pokemon since arcanine, oh my god. It’s a panda jiangshi. A panda jiangshi! Imagine it hopping after you adorably, ready to leech life you to death.

9/10 it’s not as cute as the pre-evolution, but still–panda jiangshi!!!

Murkrow

Not a lot of changes going on here either, aside from the more obvious witch’s hat design. Unsure if I like this one better or regular murkrow.

7/10 good flappy friend

*uncomfortable cough*

Blissey’s design is a bit too busy and frilly for my tastes, but it’s certainly a lot more acceptable than this. I get what they were going for: a heart on top of its head to represent healing and whatnot, but it just came out so…so yonic in nature that I have to wonder about the person responsible for this design.

1/10 not entirely awful but good lord

Scisor

Here’s the boi, only this time with eyes on his little crab claws! It’s cute but later got used for hydregion instead, and I dunno, I kind of prefer scisor as is. Still think scyther looks cooler, but a good strudy boi.

6/10 for the puppet shows it could give to entertain all the baby forms on this sprite sheet

Pinsir Noh Pinching

Here’s your fave, anon! You’re right that it seems to have a blank Noh-like mask on its face, as if a huge pinching bug wasn’t terrifying enough for you. That said, I kind of like the really creepy vibe, and poor pinsir got left in the dirt by his rival scyther once Gen 2 hit and gave scyther an evolution but nothing for his clampy comrade.

6/10 we could still get a pinsir evolution, guys

Houndour!

As you might expect of me, the houndour line is a close second to umbreon for Jess’s Favorite Gen 2 Pokemon. It combines two types I love, fire and dark, into this edgy but adorable package–what could I not love about it? This design is actually even better than the final one, because look at that sick-ass spine highlighting the ribs that got left in!

10/10 you cannot half ass edge; that misses the point

Houndoom!

Houndoom, meanwhile, looks pretty much as I remember him in Gold. And there’s nothing wrong with that–his design is fucking amazing. Man, kids, back in the metagame in Gen 2, houndoom was firmly in the top tier. Ah, I remember those days…

10/10 like a shark, houndoom has passed through decades without major tinkering to its evolutionary design

Baby yeti

Long before froslass burst onto the scene, this little bundle of deceptively charming horror could have been the first ice/ghost type. Yes, yes, it’s very adorable upon initial inspection, but once you look a bit deeper, you notice that the pokemon itself is actually black as night, with two piercing Jawa eyes, and the happy fur coat is another creature that’s been skinned and put on like a hoodie. Amazing.

10/10 I’ll take four

Wampa

I started on Star Wars references in the last entry and I gotta keep it going. Anyway, the evolution of tiny, arctic Buffalo Bill up there is even more fearsome, with claws and pupils! It’s even somehow found a way to make its fur covering evolve with it, having it sprout huge fangs (yeah I know, adults probably hunt larger creatures for clothing, but let me have this).

10/10 this so should have been a thing

Pon de Lion

I wonder if perhaps this design was meant to be an alternate form or evolution of porygon, or if this was an entirely different species based on toys (presumably to pad out the number of steel types). It’s an interesting idea, certainly, but I 100% get why this design got scrapped–it was a lawsuit from Mr. Donut waiting to happen.

Ugh

Did you know that horses produce 10 gallons of saliva a day? I now do thanks to Nate quizzing us over vacation last weekend to see if we could tell the difference between real animals and pokemon based on factoids. Now, lickilicky was not a new evolution I embraced with open arms, but man, it could have been so much worse.

2/10 I can’t say there’s no appeal (that mustache is great) but it just looks slimy and no thanks

Steelix

It’s steelix, unchanged from this beta to the final game.

7/10 I just think it’s neat

Sunken Master

I would like kingdra so, so much more if this is what it looked like.

9/10 this is goddamn cool and no one can convince me otherwise

Shadow the Edgedog

I’m not gonna lie, I fucking love this stupid design. It’s an electric dog with super sayain hair. 

10/10 fuck you, I do what I want

Oscar Myer

Do I find this design cute? Yes. Do I personally like it more than entei’s? Yes. Do I think it’s a better design than entei? No. It’s a bit too plain to really give off that legendary feel, but for me? I’d totally take this in a game. Also at least the last two have actually looked like dogs. The Legendary “Dogs” we got were a tiger, a lion/bear hybrid, and whatever the hell suicune is supposed to be.

8/10 I am a simple woman with simple needs

Jen Kira

I see people likening this design to Nina Tucker, but I actually don’t see that. It looks more to me like a special edition My Little Pony toy from the 80s released to promote The Dark Crystal. I dig it, even if it’s my least favorite of the three OG doggos.

8/10 if only some of the pizzazz of this design was afforded to fiery boi up there and we’d be onto something

Rook

This weasel/otter type thing is really cute, and perhaps was a concept idea for what later became sentret? I’d say I would want to see it again, but I kind of get the feeling we already did get the concept revived in the mienfoo line.

6/10 glad we got to see this one again

Ho-oh

Doesn’t seem too different from the sprite in the final game, and still a good design. That said though, I’m noticing that there’s no lugia in these beta sprites. What the fuck is that?!

7/10 got bros over this ho(-oh)

Togepi

This little bugger was introduced so early in the anime that I’m not surprised that its design was firmed up by the time the demo came out. Togepi’s okay I guess, but again I don’t really tend to like baby pokemon and I got kind of over-exposed to it in the anime.

6/10 cute but not a fave

Snubble

SNUB PARTY!! Snubs has the dubious honor of being the only dog pokemon I actively dislike. I like granbull so I can put up with it temporarily to get it to evolve, but this does a lot of things on my Dislike Checklist: aggressively pink, check; clown ruffle, check; appears to be wearing a dress, check.

4/10 not a fan

Boscoe

This early version of aipom looks like Marsupilami if it had been created by the Fleischer brothers. Something about this design just isn’t Right, but I can’t put my finger on it. I think it’s the 1930s American animation style face combined with walking on all fours? Either way it creeps me out.

3/10 though aipom is a very middle-of-the-road pokemon for me, it’s a helluva lot better than this abomination

Leafeon Prime

If you had asked us kid pokemon fans back in the days of Gen I what pokemon we’d most like to see in the future, I imagine “grass type eeveelution” was near the top for many of them. It just made sense–you had the leaf stone just sitting around, not reacting to your eevee, and it was so blatantly conspicuous. I had my own grass type eeveelution design I’d made called “Thorneon”, the design of which I might share at some point, and I was far from the only one.

So yeah, I’d have appreciated this a LOT in Gen 2. I was disappointed it wasn’t introduced in Gen 2. However, promises of a grass type eeveelution in Gen 4 got me to finally pull the trigger on getting a DS to play Diamond and Pearl, and that turned out to be an execellent decision. So maybe it was better that they kept this idea incubating for a bit longer.

10/10 I like leafeon and I also like this design–particularly like the vine bits that look like scars

And so there you have it! All 100 beta sprites reveiwed by yours truly. 

Hope it was worth the wait, anon!

[thearabkhaleesi]

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR SPOILER REVIEW

I wrote most of my opinions on the movie in general in my NO SPOILER review, so I won’t be repeating myself, but instead will discuss in depth, the story and plot.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still can’t wrap my head around Gamora’s death. She was such an awesome, strong female character in the MCU and I’m so sad to see her go. I wished she lived long enough to see the end of, and have a hand in, her father’s demise.

Doctor Strange blew my freaking mind. MAN. I always said I liked his character more than his movie, and this is what I’M TALKING ABOUT. HE’S SO COOL AND AWESOME. I’m so happy we FINALLY see Doctor Strange this way. He kicked a** in the movie and definitely stood out, amongst a large number of amazing characters, which is such an amazing feat. & to anyone thinking: “But he’s so stupid, why would he give the Time Stone away so easily?!” You’re forgetting something. Doctor Strange KNOWS what’s going to happen. He looked at their futures. He knows he has to give up the Time Stone to win in the long run. He said earlier on in the film he would let Tony & Peter die for the Time Stone, and with his stubborn personality, he wouldn’t have a change of heart that fast. As he said himself, “It was the only way…” (to defeat Thanos in the long run)

To say I love the Thor would be an understatement. In Ragnarok and especially in Infinity War, we finally see him at the height of his powers. I’ve also I’ve always been fascinated with the idea how Mjölnir was made, and to see the making of STORMBREAKER, with GROOT, ROCKET, AND TYRION LANNISTER by his side, it was incredible (also: how GOOD WAS HIS CHEMISTRY WITH THE GUARDIANS?! I loved it.)

And, I don’t care what Tony thinks, Thor is the strongest Avenger, and he KILLED IT.

I also loved Scarlet Witch in this movie. In my opinion, she doesn’t get enough appreciation and people underestimate her & her powers, but the fact that she was able to destroy the Mind Stone proved how powerful she is, I thought she was awesome (even though I don’t really like her relationship with Vision).

Now, Star Lord, Oh Star Lord.. what did you do? I have to be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with Star Lord (and Chris Pratt tbh), and I loved & hated him in Infinity War more than ever. He was bad***, cool, exciting, funny… and then he decided to punch Thanos. While it really angered me at first, someone pointed out that it was most probably meant to be in order for them to defeat Thanos in the long run. But seeing the Gauntlet slip out of Spiderman’s hand at the last second made me wince. Damn it, Quill.

One thing I loved without a shadow of a doubt in this movie was the separate, but connected storylines, and the dynamic/relationship between the characters who are meeting for the first time. All of the groups had GREAT chemistry! Tony, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Star Lord, Thor, Rocket, and Groot (HOW CUTE AND PERFECT!). Cap, Black Widow, Hulk, T’Challa, Bucky, Scarlet Witch, Vision. It was all so perfect, seeing two narcissist Sherlocks with big egos quarreling, a mighty Norse god with a raccoon and a tree, and super soldiers and assassins with the King of Wakanda, his army, and Bruce role-playing as Iron Man. It was a perfect blend and unity of our beloved characters.

Captain America is a character that will always have a place in my heart, and I literally squealed and clapped at his entrance. However, I needed more on Captain America / Black Widow. and their time post Civil War. Cap especially is a very important character in the MCU and to me, and I was upset that we didn’t see more of what he was up to. His sudden appearance to help defend Vision and Wanda just felt rushed for plot convenience, which I didn’t appreciate. Maybe they’ll expand on what he was up to in Avengers 4, but I love Cap so much that I just needed more.

Some of my of my favorite comic book characters of all time, Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-Man, were just as great in this movie. I got so emotional when we discovered Tony and Pepper were engaged, because this is FINALLY where he deserves to be, and yet Infinity War comes along and Marvel loves to torture us. Seeing Thanos stab him made my heart stop, but I’m happy he’s safe (for noe). Seeing Science Bros reuniting and Bruce hugging Tony made me so emotional and reminded me of happier times. Spider-Man is literally one of my childhood heroes, and I LOVE Tom Holland’s version of him, which is arguably the best. He was so fun and brilliant in this movie, and I can’t express my love for his relationship with Tony; they both look at each other as father/son, and the way he calls Tony “Mr. Stark” and always wants to impress him. Gah my heart.

Though I have a few personal issues and bones to pick with Thanos, I can’t deny that I thought he was a great villain. Yes, his intentions can seem stereotypical, and he isn’t my favorite MCU antagonist (Loki & Killmonger), but I can’t deny he was great. He was unstoppable, ruthless, and showed no mercy. Plus, he was scary because you know your faves aren’t safe against him. He was so frightening that on my second screening of the film, there was a little kid a few seats away that sat trembling in fear when Thanos collected all the Infinity Stones. THIS is a great villain.

Something I really didn’t like in the film was Loki’s death. Loki’s death was TOO FAST, AND TOO SOON. If you know me, you know I went through a Loki phase & he’s a character I actually really love. I low-key (lol) expected him to die, but the way it happened kinda angered me. The Loki we’ve seen before wouldn’t be that stupid to try and stab Thanos like that. I AT LEAST expected him to make it really seem like he was betraying Thor (again) but had a bigger plan, and was going to betray Thanos for Thor.  + The scene was too fast. Did we REALLY have to see Drax eating snacks instead of more Loki? It was very disappointing. In my opinion, he was the greatest villain in the MCU and deserved better. However, I do have to say it was amazing to hear him say “We have a Hulk”.

Another thing, Thanos’ children were lame. I hoped for characters similar to Captain Phasma - even though they wouldn’t be the villain in the film, but rather a minor antagonist, I at least expected them to be somewhat cool. But alas,  I don’t really care about them, they didn’t have that big of an impact, and at least we got that hilarious Squidward joke.

So let’s talk about that ending. I’m going to be honest here, don’t worry about the safety of those that died at the end. Most of them have contracts for future movies past Avengers 4. I would say most of them are safe in the long run. Worry about those who are still alive, as it seems THEY are the ones facing Thanos in Avengers 4 next year. Even though I was very emotional, I was actually satisfied with the ending because I love a good cliffhanger, I can theorize a bit, and yet I still don’t know what to expect! I loved it. And I don’t care what Kevin Feige says, those characters will come back somehow…

In conclusion, I loved Infinity War. The Russo brothers took huge risks, but I’ve always wanted to see stakes this high in the MCU. Even though many of my beloved characters “died” at the end, it was emotional, epic and exciting.

9.5

[lilulo-12fanfiction]

Paladins Chapter 4

Author’s Note: Thank you for the follows and faves and reviews! I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Please forgive any spelling or grammar errors. I’m not having it beta’d and sometimes I miss some. Also- obviously not following the show to the tee. This chapter I kind of rearranged events because well it worked better for me this way. Enjoy! I promise to try to not have such a long period between chapters. I had the flu and was sick for a while on top of life getting in the way.

Cami deadpanned when she opened her door the next morning and Oliver was standing there holding coffee and what appeared to be breakfast. She walked away from the door without saying anything and he followed her in and kicked the door shut behind him.

“Cami-“ he started to speak but she held her hand up to stop him.

“Ollie we don’t have to do this okay?”

“Do what?”

“The song and dance where you beg me for forgiveness? Where I’m mad until you wear me down. I get it okay? We aren’t what we used to be. As much as we want to pretend that nothing changed in the 5 years you were gone. You’re hiding something. And for some reason you don’t want to tell me. Or feel like you can’t tell me. You don’t trust me anymore and that’s fine. But I cant do this. It hurts to know that you have this life that you’re shutting me out of and I have so much I’m dealing with. You just left me there yesterday, alone. You actually left and this is the first I’ve heard from you since.”

“I have no excuse for yesterday. We had a moment and it freaked me out a little bit. It opened up something that I haven’t been willing to accept because I’m a coward. There is so much that I want to tell you...I just...I can’t. You will never look at me the same. I’ll lose you for good and I cannot have you walk away from me.” She hadn’t seen him so upset before. She placed her hand on the side of his face. He was being sincere. She couldn’t stop herself. She leaned in and their lips touched for the briefest of moments and a pounding knock on her door jolted them apart. She walked back over to the door and barely had it open before Tommy barged in.

“He cut me off.” Was all he said as he pushed into the apartment.

“What?!”

“Our father- he cut off my inheritance. No warning.” Cami’s eyes went wide. She threw her bead back and groaned.

“I’m gonna go” Oliver stood. “Cam- can we get dinner tomorrow? Continue our conversation.” She nodded her head. He kissed her on the cheek and quickly exited the apartment.

A little while later she made the decision to follow Moira’s advice. She couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled her phone out and texted her assistant Romano while Tommy ranted. She had spoken to him last night about her plan. The two of them were close. He was like her life assistant. She decided to have Oliver followed. She had an idea of where he was spending his time after looking through the Queen Consolidated properties but she needed to be sure. She couldn’t stress the importance of not getting caught. She was positive John Diggle would not be gentle. Romano knew he couldn’t tell them anything if caught. She promised an amazing bonus if he caught a beating. She was confident that he would go unnoticed.

She let Tommy vent for a while longer and when he seemingly got it out of his system she was ready to interject. “Listen, Dad cutting you off like that was a real dick move. No arguments there. But at the same time you have to see why he did it. Tee, you have so much potential and because you’re more focused on making him pay for being a crap Dad to you, you’re wasting it. He should have talked to you first or at the very least warned you, something. But we will figure this out. You can stay with me until you figure out your next move.”

“I’m going to stay with Laurel” he admitted. She nodded not even slightly surprised. “But thank you for listening and thank you for the offer. I will figure this out. I was just pissed.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “No matter how pissed off I am at you I’m always here. No matter what. We stick together.”

He pulled back and gave her a skeptical look. “So uhh what’s going on with you and Oliver? There was some heavy sexual tension when I got her.” She gagged.

“Never say sexual tension to me again. Nothing is going on” Tommy gave her a pointed look. “Okay fine I have no idea what’s going on to be honest.”

“Well it’s about time something happened. I mean you’ve been in love with him since you were like 3 years old.”

“I take it back. You can’t stay here, ever. Get out” he laughed as she smacked him all the way out the door.

Oliver was working out in the bunker when John walked in. His mind was spinning about that morning.

“How’d it go?” He questioned. He was certain Cami chewed him up and spit him back out. John admired the fire that she had. He also loved that she had no issue with putting Oliver Queen in his place.

“Surprising actually.” Oliver walked towards John. “She didn’t yell. She was upset. Really upset and I feel like a fucking scum bag for making her feel that way. She thinks I don’t trust her or don’t care. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. I mean I wasn’t lying when I told her last night freaked me out a bit and that I’m a coward when it comes to her. I’ve always felt something for her. But she’s Tommy’s sister.”

“She’s also an adult Oliver. She’s a woman who is clearly torn up about you. She has feelings for you. I saw the look on her face when she ran out of that party. She was devastated. And not for nothing but isn’t Tommy dating Laurel now? I mean he really doesn’t have anything to say.”

“I can’t be with her and not be honest with her. She knows me too well. She knows I’m hiding something. I told her that I was afraid she’d walk away. That she wouldn’t be able to deal with it and that she’d never see me the same way again.”

“What was her response?”

“She kissed me. I mean it was the shortest kiss in the history of man. Tommy was banging on her door literally the second her lips touched mine.”

“But she kissed you.” John saw a genuine smile on Oliver’s face for the first time. “Look man- if you don’t tell her, if you don’t bring her into the fold in some capacity you will most definitely lose her. Friendship or otherwise. I’ve seen how she looks at you. The fact that she even let you in her house today. She’s not going to walk away.”

“That then leaves the issue of telling her puts her in danger. What if someone went after her? Do I have any business being with her?”

“Don’t you think that’s for her to decide? You need to let someone else besides me in. You need to have someone to confide in. I can’t begin to even pretend to know what happened in those 5 years. But you need someone you can be completely unfiltered with. She’s it. ”

“I’ll think about it. But for now we need to discuss this Paul guy.”

Cami was pacing in her apartment. Oliver had been with Frank Bertinelli and then left with his daughter Helena. She didn’t know if it was a date or what it was. She hated herself for being so put out by it. She had no right to be. They had barely kissed and he didn’t owe her anything. She wondered if that feeling would ever go away. But what superseded those feelings were ones of worry. She knew Bertinelli was a mobster bad had been trying to book Moira and Walter for as long as she remembered. She couldn’t begin to imagine what Oliver had gotten himself into. She had sent Romano home a few hours ago. She didn’t need to know the details of what was happening at that restaurant.

Instead her SUV was parked within walking distance to the abandoned Queen Consolidated building in the glades. Oliver had spent a good portion of his day there and then John had joined him. She figured she had time to get in and get out with Oliver not here. She was ready to confirm her suspicions.She slowly made her way through the rundown building. It was a perfect cover. Why would anyone come here? She didn’t find anything incriminating. There had to be either and upper or lower level. She was glad in black leggings and black knee high boots, a fitted black vneck and a black baseball cap pulled down to cover her her hair and sheild her face. She was searching the building inch by inch when she spotted a door but stopped in her tracks. She felt goosebumps and the hair on her body standing on end. Someone else was there. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the floor creek.

“Don’t take another step” a gruff voice came from whomever was behind her. She heard and arrow being pulled back. She rolled her eyes and raised her hands. “I’m not armed. You can put the bow and arrow down.”

“Don’t move” the command came again. She hadn’t expected to be caught. She let her intuition guide her next move like she had been taught by so many. Before the archer knew what hit him he was flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him after she had quickly dropped to a squat and spun her leg out. The heel of her boot was pressing into the hooded figures jugular.

“It’s not very nice to point a weapon at someone who tells you they’re not armed. Where are your manners?” She released her foot after making her point. As soon as he could breathe properly he stood up still shocked by what had happened but more shocked by who had done it.

“Cam.” Was all be said. She took the baseball cap off of her head. “Might as well drop your hood Oliver.”

“How did you know? How the hell did you figure out I was using the building.”

“You often forget who I am Oliver. One- I know you. I know when you’re lying. Two- we both know I’m way smater than you. No offense.” And three I’m a Merlyn. The resources I have are substantial and my name carries quite a bit of clout. You might be shocked to know I actually can be quite intimidating.” He sighed grabbed her by the arm and dragged her with him. He led her down to the bunker.

“Look what I found.” Cami wasn’t surprised to see John down in what seemed to be a bunker for Oliver’s extra curricular activities. “So who else did you tell?” He was angry. Cami scoffed.

“I told no one Oliver! And it’s really rich that YOU’RE mad right now! I should be furious with you!”

“I told you I needed time to open up.”

“About the Island Oliver. Not this. You never would have told me about this. Jesus. This is...I don’t know what this is. But this is what you thought would make me walk away from you? Because The Hood has killed people? Well those people were human garbage that the justice system couldn’t touch. Your methods may be extreme but you’ve made quite a difference.” Oliver was surprised.

“How did you know how to do that?” He finally spoke again. “What? Drop you on your ass? I told you my father had had me take all these fighting classes.”

“That was a little more than self-defense Cam.” She shrugged. “You know what my mother’s death did to him. You realize now I’m in right?”

“No. You’re not. I’m not letting you get hurt.” She rolled her eyes.

“I can take care of myself. And you don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do. You need help.”

“I have John.” She rolled her eyes at him. “He’s not me. Again- I have resources that he doesn’t, that you don’t. Oliver- you need me.” She was pleasding. She couldn’t let him do this without her. He was going to get himself killed. “She’s right.” John finally spoke.

“NOT helping Diggle. I’m taking you home.” Cami snatched her arm away. “You’re a mysoginistic asshole. I can drive myself.” And with that she stormed out of the bunker. Oliver signed and sat down as he rubbed his forehead.

“Oliver” John made his way over to Oliver.

“Don’t Digg. It’s not up for discussion. I needdd you to have my back with her. Talk her out of this. I don’t need her getting killed in the crossfire.” John held his hands up and backed away leading Oliver to his thoughts.

[haleyfury]

If We Were Having Coffee is my favorite way to share current happenings in my life  outside of my usual fangirl and bookish-ness. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of talk about the books, TV, and podcasts I’ve been consuming lately. 

Although I’m waiting for my  honors cords to come in the mail, my cap and gown did come in, which called for an impromptu photoshoot!

If we were having coffee, I’d probably be having a cup of coffee with milk and cinnamon. I feel like I’m cheating on summer by saying that I haven’t been drinking iced coffee that much lately. 4 out of the 5 people in my house drink at least two cups of coffee everyday, so instead of making single cups using the Keurig, we usually make two or three pots a day using Dunkin Donuts’ Original Blend. My sister and I love blending cinnamon in the grinds before brewing. 

If we were having coffee, I’d probably tell you that my mind feels like its in five different places at once. It’s weird to think that I feel busier being at home vs. being out in the world at school and work. I know I’ve mentioned it in a wrap-up and maybe another post, but since my If We Were Having Coffee about my college graduation, I made the decision to stay at my alma mater to attend their Master of Arts in Teaching program. I had actually been admitted into the program back in March and hadn’t made a decision about when and if I’d join the program when the world went into madness. Since one of my summer jobs went from full-time to part-time remotely, I made the decision to join the program and start taking summer courses. 

Although I’ve still been eating up 3 or 4 books a week (summer time is the best reading season for me), I’ve been doing so much work and reading for school since mid-May. Two of my classes met for two weeks each every day, so now I have a slight lull in my schedule. I have a weekly elective until the end of June when the second round of classes  begins. I am also doing some remote work for the organization I worked at as an undergraduate. It’s definitely a busy schedule, but I am of course grateful to know that I am able to partake in all of these things from home. 

That being said, by the time 6 PM rolls around each day, I am so sick of looking at a computer or phone screen. When I was going to school remotely during the spring semester, I had read a few articles and blog posts about Zoom burnout, but didn’t really understand the phenomenon. I don’t know if it’s because my spring course load at home definitely lessened up with all of the craziness vs. the amount of work I have for grad school, work, and meetings, but I completely understand the burnout now. I’m definitely kicking myself for not getting blue-light protection on my glasses last year.

One of the perks of being home is that on my breaks, I can go for a walk around town or sit out in my backyard (or in my pool) to eat lunch and READ. I also feel sort’ve guilty because while I have been reading my normal amount, I also haven’t been in a super big writing aka blogging mood lately. Instead of writing a little bit each day like I normally do, I’ve found that I’m better off taking an hour or two at least twice a week and just banging out a few posts at a time. I really want to get back to my old ways, aka writing a review at least a few hours after I’ve finished the book and scheduling the week’s posts by Sunday night, but I’m trying not to push myself. Blogging is something that I love and while I do have obligations to read books for review, I don’t want blogging to become something that feels like a chore or job itself. 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that my go-to listens on my walk haven’t changed too much. I’ve still really been embracing podcasts – Bad on Paper is still my favorite and I’ve been loving co-host Becca’s new podcast series with Rachael King, RomCom Pods. RomCom Pods is a fictional podcast series about, you guessed it, rom-com stories! Each season will take on a new storyline. This first season will be six episodes total (currently 2 are out) about Claire, who after finding out her fiancé is cheating on her, decides to still go on their honeymoon tour of Italy. Podcasts are still my go-to walking activity – I also started listening to Here to Make Friends (a Bachelor recap podcast) – but I also sometimes listen to music. After loving Ben Platt’s Radio City special on Netflix last month, I’ve been listening to Sing to Me Instead all the time again, including the live cover of “The Joke,” and his newly released songs like “So Will I.”

If we were having coffee, I’d probably wouldn’t be able to contain myself over my excitement about my local Barnes & Noble re-opening and my library preparing for door side pick-up…even though my friend recently gifted me with her old Kindle! Yes, three months into quarantine and after getting frustrated with using an iPad for e-books, I finally gave in to using a Kindle. Obviously, I’m super happy that the bookstore is open and that my library is working on pick-up plans, but I do see myself still reading e-books (okay fine, I admit I read maybe one e-book a month because I love physical books way too much) because of limited services and availability.  

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I got a new MacBook! I don’t think I’ve ever talked about my laptop issues here, but until May, I had been basically running my life with my 2013 MacBook Pro. I’ve had that laptop since I was a high school sophomore and it was finally time for us to part. For the past two years, I had to always put it on at least twenty minutes before I needed to use it. During this past February, the battery basically died in the middle of my senior capstone class. I was able to get it replaced at a store in my college town and borrow a laptop from the library for a few days, but even with the replacement battery, it wasn’t operating too well. Between work and online school for the summer, I was very fortunately gifted with a 2020 MacBook Air for my graduation and I’ve been LOVING it! I was originally going to go with the MacBook Pro because I was so used to the Pro and I wanted to try the tool bar, but after ordering the Air instead (oops) and reading the reviews, I decided to keep the Air and I am so happy with my decision. It’s super light, works really fast, and I love the Touch ID. It also came with a free year-long trial of AppleTV. 

If we were having coffee, I’d probably talk about what I’m watching on TV.  Unless I’m up to my eyeballs in school work, I usually take the last 1-2 hours before bed either reading or watching TV. Reality TV is still the current love of my life, between Selling Sunset S2 (Netflix), Below Deck Mediterranean (Bravo), Outdaughtered (TLC) and The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever (ABC). My friends and I love watching The Bachelor together, so this is a fun way for us to connect while being separated and unable to watch the show IRL together. Since I’m fairly new to The Bachelor, I like the idea of these episodes covering one whole season of the show so I can get more familiar with  Bachelor Nation faves and not-so-faves. When it comes to ‘actual’ TV, I recently finished finally watching The Morning Show (Apple TV) and started watching Shtisel S2 (Netflix). I’ve also been rewatching The Politician because S2 drops TODAY. No matter how long this season is or how long the episodes are, I can guarantee you that I’ll have this second season finished by next Friday, if not earlier. 

What you been reading and watching lately? Any recommendations for me? Do you have any plans for the summer? Share in the comments! 

If We Were Having Coffee: June 2020 Edition If We Were Having Coffee is my favorite way to share current happenings in my life  outside of my usual fangirl and bookish-ness.

[totalrockfiend]

Best Rock Albums of 2017

When I started contemplating this list, I got kind of... DEPRESSED.

Why come?

Well, when I put on my thinking cap and tried to conjure up some candidates for this list, sadly very few rock records (released this year) came to mind.

In fact, off the top of my head, I could only recall three albums (more on those later).

So, of course that sent me to Google search box...

“Dear Google, what were the best Rock Records of 2017?”

And low and behold, a bunch more noteworthy material than I had originally imagined came to light.

What does all this mean to you, dear reader (as if anyone’s reading this)?

Well, I’m going to divide this review into three sections:

Part I: My Recommendations for the BEST rock albums of 2017.

Part II: My BIGGEST disappointments among rock albums released in 2017.

Part III: Supremely interesting rock albums from 2017 that I’ve yet to hear (completely anyway).

So, here goes...

Part I:  My Recommendations for the BEST rock albums of 2017...

This is going to be short and sweet, because there are only three records on this decidedly diminutive list.

We’re All Alright, Cheap Trick

After 2016′s somewhat disappointing Bang, Zoom, Crazy I was happy to see Cheap Trick back with their second album in as many years.

And not only that, but a ROCKIN’ release to boot!

Read my full review here... 

Weather Diaries, Ride

Following the acrimonious split of Ride founders and principle songwriters, Andy Bell + Mark Gardener, and release of the disastrous Tarantula album, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 1996, Ride officially hung it up.

But after a “short” reunion tour wound up stretching out to nearly18 months, due to OVERWHELMING fan demand, the boys decided to give the studio another go.

Read my full review here...

Concrete And Gold, The Foo Fighters

Music critic + author, Steve Hyden may have said it best when it comes to the Foos latest record... “The Color And The Shape has nothing to fear from Concrete And Gold...”

But that acknowledgement aside, how many artists manage to match their artistic high-water mark 20+ years into their careers? Not many. Like really, almost NOBODY in the music game.

Meanwhile, if you’re into the band’s Beatles-meets-Floyd-influence-worn-on-the-sleeve and paired with punk-inflected, grinding guitars and howled vocals, Concrete and Gold is another solid Foos release.

Plus, I’m a total Foo’s apologist. So, you KNOW I’m going to recommend at least giving this a spin (or two).

Part II: My BIGGEST disappointments among rock albums released in 2017

Owing to the fact that I didn’t realize how many rock records were even released in 2017, you can bet I don’t have a ton to complain about. But there ARE a few bees in my bonnet none-the-less...

Pacific Daydream, Weezer

What happened to Weezer? I’ve actually been working on a longer review of this record (still in progress) delving deeper into this question.

Anyway, every Weezer record for the last 10 years has been touted as a “return to form.” Major promises of The Blue Album, redux! Most recently their release prior to Pac Daydream, the “White Album,” garnered such praise (though it didn’t make the cut for me, but whatevs).

So, does Pacific Daydream continue in that general direction? Not hardly. And while I was initially enamored of Mexican Strat (by faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar my fave track amid this messy affair), even this tune falls well short of any daydreams I’m interested in indulging.

Basically, Rivers turns in a glossy pop record that’s shined to such a tremendous sheen the glare might distract you from the albums utterly un-listenibity and complete lack of substance. Unless you’re brain dead, however, this is HIGHLY unlikely.

Hey, if I want to hear a slick pop record, I check in with Katy Perry, mmmm-k Rives?

Interiors, Quicksand

Listen, I’m not here to bag on Quicksand. That fact that they’re still in the game, still touring and still making records 27+ years later is a REVELATION. And as far as I’m concerned, they’re welcome to keep at it however they chose. 

Moreover, Interiors, Quicksands first full fledged since 1995′s Manic Compression is by no means. It just didn’t live up to my expectations. I guess that’s my issue. I was EXCITED for this album. And the results just didn’t equal my excitement.

Criticism aside,  Walter, Sergio and the boyz haven’t lost a step musically. But the grooves and guitar hooks just didn’t rock my world with the same visceral attack as early the classic Quicksand of the early ‘90s. 

On the other hand, it is, after all, Quicksand. So, I’ll likely give this record another shot. And maybe you should, too?

Part III:  Supremely interesting rock albums from 2017 that I’ve yet to hear

What I DID discover during my research into the past year’s record releases: There’s a heap of album’s I WOULD like to hear, but haven’t spent time with yet...

Shade, Living Colour

Yes, I’m ashamed to say it. I have yet to hear Living Colour latest album, Shade. Never mind that I caught the band this past summer. Or that I they played the staring role in my first legit rock show (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 1989). Or that LC was my FIRST stated favorite band.

But we all know LC’s resume, so this record is definitely at the top of my SHORT LIST.

A Deeper Understanding, War on Drugs

Actually, I have heard, at least some of this record. And with band leader Adam Granducie’s usual mix of indie rock, folk, alt-country, Springsteen-inflected Americana rock, and shoegaze tones + dynamics in evidence on Understandings, I look forward to hearing more!

Visions of Life, Wolf Alice

This female fronted band hailing from North London has cultivated a punky, classic ‘90s alt-rock sound that’s music to this total rock fiend ears. And the promise of a hearing their new album has go me EXCITED! 

Blood, AFI

If I’m being honest, I’ve never been disappointed by an AFI record. The band’s punk roots, goth leanings, and arena rock aspirations have pleased my discerning ears for many a moon. Which makes this another must hear release.

Songs of Experience, U2

Fan. Apologist. Call me what you like, but I’m on the U2 train for good. Ride or DIE, y’all!

And I’ll be riding with U2 ‘till the very end! So, Songs of Experience here I come!

In-Ter A-Li-A,  At the Drive In

These guys hung up their Drive In 17 years ago, with following their last (and best, IMHO) record, Relationship of Command. In the interim, they’ve certainly been pretty busy, most notably with The Mars Volta. But the promise of the late ‘90′s most exciting experience band crafting some new tunage is, well, promising to say the least!

 Nightmare Logic, Power Trip

Is there such a thing as alt-metal? Well, if there is, the guys are doing it. And I can’t wait to hear MORE.

In Spades, Afghan Whigs

No one’s accused Whigs’ front man, Greg Duli of being a “Gentleman” in quite some time. But this band’s impeccable track record makes their new album worth a look see, agreed???

Pollinator, Blondie

Blondie’s latter day albums, which includes No Exit, and it’s hit single, Maria, have all proven solid efforts. So, how can I not investigate the latest from Deb and her band of merry musical mates? I mean Ms. Harry IS proto-alt-rocks’ original punk rock princess, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight???

In closing, a question for you...

Let’s hear about your favorite rock records of 2017?

[tbhhair-blog]

Buying a Wig Online versus at a Beauty Supply Store?

Discussion: Buying a Wig Online versus at a Beauty Supply Store?

Fact: The very first wig that I proudly wore in public was made by my sister. However, after that, I spent a couple of years going to Beauty Supply stores to buy wigs. Now, the majority of the time, I order online. So what are the Pros and Cons of buying online versus at a Beauty Supply store?

Getting Hair Online (Some Pros)

*From my experience overall, the wigs are usually cheaper.

*You can order and get it shipped directly to your home. A lot of online hair companies ship them out pretty fast. I have ordered one before on a Monday, and got it by Thursday (and that was based on flat shipping). Plus, usually the shipping is discreet so neighbors can’t get all up in your business when the package is delivered.

*Bigger selection.

*You can compare prices between the different wig/hair sites.

*Discount codes (such as for signing up for newsletters or for holidays)

*No discomfort/pressure during shopping (*More on this later*)

*You have time to research each potential wig before adding to cart and buying.

*You can earn points to be applied toward future purchases.

Getting Hair Online (Some Cons)

*Strict return policy (although this is probably the same with the stores -- and I understand about this). However, that restocking fee for returns wigs, miss me with that. Some even charge you the return shipping fee. It ends up cheaper to keep a bad wig.

*Buying based on the company’s photos of a model wearing the wig or based on reviews by customers -- which can either be helpful or...not.

*Maybe this is a problem just for me, but it is so easy to come back a little too often and buy new wigs. So this might not be your con, but for shopping addicts like me, it is.

*If a wig is new and has no reviews, you really are buying it and hoping that she’s the one (i.e. that fiyah wig).

*Being sure a wig/hair website or seller (like on Amazon, as an example) has a good reputation. Ain’t nobody trying to throw money away for a wig that never shows up (or the wrong wig shows up, yikes!).

*The wait. Unless you pay extra for a quicker delivery, you’re looking at waiting a few days to a couple of weeks or so to get your wig sent to you. Even longer if you are having one custom-made.

Getting Hair in Stores (Some Pros)

*Usually, you can slip on a stocking cap and try a wig on in the store.

*You can buy it that day, take it home, and be rocking it by that afternoon. No wait time.

*They will sometimes offer to cut the lace off for you in the store (if you don’t use it).

*No shipping charges.

*You can compare prices between the Beauty Supply stores (however, where I live, some of them have different names, but are owned by the same people :/)

*Getting to see the wigs in-person can help you decide better which to buy.

Getting Hair in Stores (Some Cons)

*They be marking up them wigs, ya’ll! Lol, I get it. Got to make a profit, it is a business, I get that -- but that ain’t helping me as the customer. But I’ve seen a wig selling for $50 in the store and it is $35 (including shipping) online. Just saying.

*I know this matters to many people who buy wigs: sometimes, you don’t want everybody knowing that you wear wigs. Some of us don’t want to maybe bump into someone we know while shopping for new hair. Buying online -- overall -- seems to be more discreet.

*If they are sold out of your fave or your fave color, you have to either drive to another store or pick a different one.

*This is the biggest con for me, personally: I often have to deal with Beauty Supply owners who are rude. Now, they may not see themselves as being rude based on their own culture/custom, but I do. It is VERY uncomfortable for me to try to decide on a wig when a store owner is remaining an arm’s length away from me -- unsmiling -- at all times, shaking her head, watching me like I’m about to snatch some hair and make a run for it. When I move an inch, she moves an inch. This happened to me today, actually.  I swear, once, I had an owner who (gently, but still) slapped my hand when I tried to touch a wig on a display head. ABSOLUTE TRUTH. She could have just told me to not touch. Why give your money to a business that treats you like that?

I’m sure that every person has their preferences, and there are always ways to get around the cons. Plus, you may not experience the same issues I’ve had with either methods. It’s possible to buy a wig in person, and still not be entirely happy with it. Or sometimes, you may want to rock some new hair tomorrow and don’t have time to wait for it to be shipped.

Now, is there is way to get the best of both worlds? Yes. You could always scope out wigs at a store, remember the name, then go home and research it/order it for cheaper online. Or go home, research it, and go back to the store to buy it.

When it comes down to it, though: your experience may vary. Do what is best for your pocket and your life :)

~Vee

[sierradorotheia]

It’s been such a LONG while since I actually “blogged” something of substance, so I decided to take some time and discuss my Current Favourites. I know this “blog” is turning to somewhat a photo-blog instead and I try to avoid it since, I mean, that’s what’s Instagram is for, right? 

Notice that my current faves comprise mostly of Skin Care. If you don’t already know, I quit daily makeup application over a year ago and I very rarely wear makeup nowadays- not by choice, I tell ya.

** SKIN CARE FAVES **

Caudalie Vino Perfect Serum ~ I got this as a deluxe sample from Sephora and I just started using it when my Sunday Riley Good Genes serum ran out, and for some reason, they won’t ship this product to Canada any longer. Caudalie Vino Perfect Serum was the only one I have at the moment, and it seem to work for me, so I bought the full-size bottle. I use this at night after washing my face, followed by Sunday Riley Luna Night Oil. I love the subtle scent, and love how it’s a tad cheaper than Good Genes.

B. Kamins Blemish Gel ~ I have been using this for quite some time to say that this is now part of my holy grail crew. This is my perfect spot-treatment for new breakouts that would almost always be gone by the next day. 

Tarte Maracujá Under Eye Cream ~ another item I got as a sample. This is so perfect for hydrating my under eye area during the day time and definitely brightening for me. During my makeup days, it works so well to prime my under eye before my brightening concealer. Love that very little goes a long way!

Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask ~ I have been meaning to buy this for the longest time since one of my favourite YouTubers, itsjudytime, has been raving about this product. I bought a travel size at first and I’m so amazed about how well it works for me. For the longest time, I’ve been using Boscia Charcoal Illuminating mask and while that works for me as well, my recent obsession with face masks persuaded me to try new things out. I love how smooth the product application is- and I can't help but compare it with Glam Glow mud mask, which has some residue that I can almost say scratch my face sometimes. This Origins mask leaves my face so soft and dewy on my no makeup days and sometimes, just being able to wash the mask off after as opposed to peeling it off just works better for me.

AHAVA Mineral Hand Cream ~ got this product from my FabFitFun Winter Box and the reason why it made it to my current favourites list is because of the way it smells- subtle and neutral. It almost reminds me of a Johnson and Johnson lotion my Mom used on me when I was little, so I can’t help but to feel a surge of nostalgia every time I apply this product.

Sephora Charcoal Exfoliating Cream ~ another one I got as a sample first. I usually don’t use exfoliating cleansers since I was using my Clarisonic Mia, but since I stopped using it, I find that I had to exfoliate every once in a while. I tried this product from a sample and I loved the scent at first, and then I realized how well it works for me. Leaves my skin supple right after wash and couple days after, so I use this every two days or so.

BrioGeo Don’t Despair, Repair Hair Mask ~ I love getting sample products that I actually end up liking and buying full size! I rarely ever use hair masks just because of the amount of work you have to put in, but this product is so worth it. I use all the products from this 12ml packet right after I wash my hair with my favourite shampoo and towel-dried. I leave it on with a shower cap for about 20-30 minutes (I usually wear a face mask when I do this as well- hit two birds with one stone!) and rinse. The scent is immaculate and I can use this on events and does not wear my hair down, like some hair masks do, and my hair would be feeling amazing for days.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray ~ this product is actually not very available in Canada and for a while, I wanted to understand what the hype is about since I see it all the time on social media. I stopped by a Nordstrom Rack store when I was in Palm Springs and decided to pick a bottle up for $5. This is such a perfect face mist that actually moisturizes my face on my no-makeup days. I also find myself applying this product when I wear makeup, right after a blotting sheet. 

Bumble and Bumble Invisible Oil ~ I never thought I could actually replace my Paul Mitchell serum until I tried this out. This was reviewed as one of the cult favourite hair products in BuzzFeed so I decided to purchase the travel size at first. Four pumps usually does it for me and I use this product before using a hard dryer, or sometimes I just apply it on my damp hair and let it air dry. The ‘no frizz’ claim is 100% legit and it makes my hair look healthier.

Sol Janeiro Samba Foot Fetish Creme + Foot Board ~ I can never stress enough how much I LOVE this combo. I wore sandals the whole time I was in Palm Springs and my heels were incredibly cracked beyond repair. I used several types of foot creams every night but nothing seemed to be of any help. I checked Sephora and this was one of the top-rated foot products and because the price was reasonable, I took the plunge and bought it. The results are very instant- the foot board is something I would take with me wherever I go on vacation because it actually works! I’m sure it’ll work just well with other foot creams- I have yet to find that out- but the foot board is a gift from God. No lie.

** MAKEUP FAVES **

Tarteist Pro Glow Palette ~ I bought this palette during Sephora’s Week of Wow for 50% off, and this has been the best makeup purchase I’ve made in a while. I brought this whole palette during one of my vacations and the creme contour works so well with the bronzer, so I didn’t have to bring another one. The highlighters are so popping that you can mix and match, and it’s almost comparable to Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit.

Smashbox Lash Primer ~ I have been interested to see if lash primers actually work so I was glad that this was one of the deluxe samples I can pick out in one of my Sephora purchases. This product works wonders in actually adhering to my mascara and making my eyes smoked out even without using eye shadows. I love how well it holds my mascara. Definitely buying a full-size once it runs out!

Beauty Blenders ~ I was five years late jumping in the beauty blender bandwagon since I love my flat-top brushes so much for foundation application. I decided to finally try it out and I could say, this filled my makeup void all my life, and I wish that was a hyperbole. I would still use my foundation brushes for initial application, but I would dab my face with a damp beauty blender for a flawless, streak-free finish. I’m just so amazed at the effectiveness of this product so I bought a few more during the Sephora Rouge Event.

[jezabellgirlandfriends]

From #1 NYT Bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the swoony and oh-so-romantic title…MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY.

In MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY, the NFL starting quarterback Cooper Armstrong needs his best friend’s sister to pretend to be his girlfriend. Violet is willing, but neither one expects their boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage to turn into a full-contact sport so quickly. Find out if their fake play will become the real deal or if they can turn back the clock to when they were just friends in this sexy new standalone sports romance!

Now available on all retailers! Get your copy delivered now!

✮✮✮ MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY is here! Grab your copy today! ✮✮✮

Hands down, my favorite thing in the world is to score. Touchdowns.

Don't let the fact that I'm the leading pick in the Most Valuable Playboy charity auction fool you. These days, I'm only a player on the field. I've kept my pants zipped all season long -- and it has been long -- because nothing's more important than leading my team to victory every week. Except maybe escaping from the team owner's recently-widowed and handsy-as-hell sister who's dead set on winning more than a date with me.

Enter Violet and a well-placed Hail Mary.

She's my best friend's sister with a smile as sweet as cherry pie and a mind that runs quicker than the 40-yard-dash. After Violet saves the day with the highest bid, I don't even give her a two-minute warning before I kiss her in front of the whole crowd and then announce that she's my girlfriend. Which would be fine except my agent tells me we have to keep up the act while he's negotiating my contract. Violet takes one for the team and pretends to be mine, but our boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage quickly turns into a full contact sport, and I want it to go into overtime. The problem is -- I've been riding the bench for years.

How can a guy like me, who finally has a chance to prove his worth on the field, convince the girl she’s most valuable to his heart?

MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY is a brand new standalone sports romance written in the guy’s POV!

Amazon ✦ Amazon UK ✦ Audible ✦ Audio on Amazon

iBooks ✦ Barnes & Noble ✦ Kobo ✦ Amazon PB ✦ Google Play

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Add it to Goodreads here!

Review

AAAH! I JUST LOVED THIS ONE. IT’S A MUST READ KIND OF BOOK!

Lauren has this perfect formula for her friends to lovers trope that makes it effortless to get lost in her stories. It’s so damn fun and easy. (Well for us… the hero has got to work for it don’t they? )

Cooper, oh you sexy, adorably sweet and fun hunk of man. He was pleasurable from the first page! His squad -a lovable bunch of characters and an all around fun bunch to be with.

Violet is more of the same. A strong female lead with the sweetest disposition. She was one of those heroines you like from the instant you meet her.

There were a few scenes ladies that will melt you to your seat. One particular time that had me fanning my face it was so damn hot! But honestly, this was just an amazing romance.

I cannot wait to see Jones fall!!! His book will be up next in Most Likely to Score.

Happy Reading~ Sherry

Excerpt

Always a bridesmaid.

No Action Armstrong.

Ball Cap Boy.

Mr. Clean.

The Unused Insurance Plan.

Oh wait. Here’s one more, a personal fave.

Best Butt in the NFL.

Those are just some of the nicknames I’ve been given in the last few years. They don’t bug me. Not one bit. They’ve all been true, especially that last one. You should see my ass. You can bounce a quarter off my cheeks.

Here’s the thing—when you spend the first three years of your career warming the bench for the best player in the league, you can’t get a chip on your shoulder. You have to stay sharp and be ready for that moment when you swap out a ball cap for a helmet and get your pants dirty.

My time has finally come this season, and so far, we’re winning.

But tonight isn’t about what happens between the opening kickoff and the end of the fourth quarter.

Tonight is about the one game I’ve always dominated.

For the last few years, I’ve been the highest ticket item in the players’ annual charity auction, and I can’t help enjoying that. Because the guy I’ve backed up has been called a lot of things—a legend, the greatest ever, a titan of the game—but the one I most enjoy is “second-best-looking quarterback on the Renegades.”

Hey, I didn’t give him that name. The media did, deciding the dude who play second-string—me—had a prettier face. Before this season, I’d seen a grand total of 120 minutes of playing time in my first three years, but I’ve taken home the top honors in the charity auction, where some of the loveliest ladies come to bid on the players they want to take out for a night on the town.

Ah, the memories of those dates have warmed my heart, and other parts, on the sidelines when the games were dull. Evenings in limos, testing the strength of the leather backseat, nights in hotels that lasted way past dawn, mutually and blissfully ignoring the no physical contact between the winner and the player rule.

Yeah, I’ve enjoyed the fuck out of being paraded on stage in front of hundreds of women, their slender arms lifted in the air, raising their bids higher on me than all the other guys. It’s been my one chance to shine, even to stand out.

Those days are behind me, though, now that I’m finally leading the team down the field every single Sunday. I still expect to rake in top dollar for the charity I gladly support, but this time, I won’t be living it up and letting loose after hours. I have a reputation to protect, and a season on the line.

The trouble is, the woman who has her eyes on me at the Most Valuable Playboy charity auction wants my full enchilada, and it’s not on the menu anymore.

Guess that means it’s time to call an audible on the line of scrimmage.

✮✮✮ MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY GIVEAWAY! ✮✮✮

Lauren’s Most Valuable Playboy Team Spirit Prize Package Giveaway! This bundle is valued at $450 and includes a Coach Handbag ($300 value) and $150 Stub Hub Gift Card to use for tickets to the game, your favorite concert, or theater performance.

http://laurenblakely.com/valuable-playboy-giveaway/

About Lauren Blakely:

A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than eighty times, and she's sold more than 2 million books. In September she'll release MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY, a standalone sports romance. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter!

laurenblakely.com/newsletter

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Newsletter ** Goodreads

[iamgullible]

Drama Review: Liar and His Lover

Again, I’ll take this opportunity to state the tale of me accidently getting into this drama’s on-site filming…haha! Ate Mica and I were strolling around Digital Media City and went inside CJE&M building because of curiousity. We got ourselves standing in front of a crowd, chairs, standees, and a nice back figure of a fine looking man. I was busy looking at the life-size cardboard standees frowning at how much I’m not familiar with rookie bands anymore. Then, my eyes went back to the tall back figure of a man in front of us who seem to be having his make-up done. Ah, must be someone. From there we processed that there was a shoot on standby. We went to the side so we are not blocking the door. Finally, we were met by some familiar faces - Sweg couple standees - which I took picture of and is by the way, my only souvenir. Then I glanced back to the man whose back is facing us, curious of who might this celebrity be. Then, suddenly he turned to his side enough for me to see his face. IT’S LEE HYUN WOO!!! OMG!!! ASHSJSMSKKSKS!!! You can tell by my all caps that by then I was freaking out. Ate Mica had to escort me outside to prevent me from getting unnecessary attention. LOL. We look him up in the internet and that’s the only time I knew that he has an upcoming drama. As much as I want to go back inside, I cannot promise that I will behave so we opted not to…hahaha! (Turns out that scene was part of episode 6.)

I love Lee Hyun Woo since Masters of Study which was like 7 years ago? I even consider him my first love in my kdrama world along with Yoo Seung Ho. Anyway, that’s the main reason I decided to find time to watch this drama. :)

Overall, the drama was ok. Nothing really special but it wasn’t bad (aside from Joy being cringy at times. Lol). My fave is the last half of the last ep. I got goosebumps realizing that Hangyeol and Sorim did meet thrice by fate. It makes me kilig to know that Hangyeol is the one who keeps that count. I like dramas which are able to link a scene from the first ep to the resolution in the last ep then a lot of things will make sense. I just find it brilliant…haha! I feel so pabo not noticing those small things. But it makes me smile that the drama makes me realize that. And oh yeah, the OSTs are gold!

The last few episodes were all awkward and cheesy…haha! I get that the writer might have wanted to add light feel-good moments. But it felt a little forced and off. In anyway, I still appreciate it. I like that they put value in friendship. It makes me emo to watch Crude Play quarrel and make up like nothing happened. They are matured men and young toddlers at the same time. Watching them makes me think of my favorite kpop groups. I believe they’re the same - they would argue a lot but they would settle their differences after, and they would appreciate and understand each other more afterewards. Beyond being in the same industry working together, they are friends doing what they love to do.

In this drama, Actor Noh Jik got me bawling my eyes out again. It was the part when he was talking with the other Crude Play members, saying how he does not belong and at the same time confessing that he knows how much of a good person everyone is and that’s the reason he cannot walk away. He feels bad to be a replacement but he’s aware that the band has accepted him long time since - he just don’t want to admit it. He lives in his own ghosts of the past. But I think by this scene, he was able to realize that he is not just that bassist player replacement, but an essential member of the band.

In all, I got touched mostly by the band friendship. Of course seeing my Lee Hyun Woo and actor Noh Jik in one frame is a big eye candy bonus. I wish they’ll get lead actor projects respectively which will give them more recognition of how amazingly good actors they are.

EDIT: I just watch this drama's mini-concert and OMG! I love this cast! Majority may be rookie actors but they are legitly musically talented! Special mention to the cast who played the characters of Sihyun (Crude Play's Main Vocal), Yoon (Crude Play's Lead Guitarist), Kyusoon (Mush&Co.'s Drummer), and Yoona. Hope they blossom in their career paths and I'll be able to watch them again. ❤

[its-just-like-the-movies]

April Viewing List

So I decided to just keep a little diary of all the films that I see every month which seems like a great way to sort of talk about what I’ve seen even as I’m still hiding viewing indexes for almost every year ever. It’ll basically just be a chronological index with a grade and whatever I tweeted off about the movie when I saw it. And without further ado, here is what I saw in April!

The Love Witch (16, C+): Gorgeous outfits, but often teeters into the kind of film you discover on MST3K. It’s own ideas often inchoate - April 1, 2017

Jane Eyre (11, B): Tough, cold. Rich and economical in its storytelling. Aesthetically inhabits Jane’s headspace so fully, as does Mia. - April 2, 2017

Zero Dark Thirty (12, B): Uneven realization of livewire narrative culminates in a powerful last act. Fine ensemble, Chastain the weak link - April 2, 2017

Pan’s Labyrinth (06, C): Visually stunning, especially the ghouls. Affecting, not as much as it desires. Blunt politics, cipherish actors. - April 2, 2017

T2: Judgement Day (91, A-): Approaches an Aliens precipice while improving and expanding upon the original in every way. Phenomenal. - April 3, 2017 (Rewatch)

Queen of Katwe (16, B): Delights in and cares all of its characters while following Phiona to glory. Great look, costumes. Such fun! - April 5, 2017

Raw (17, B): Affecting. Casual scenes, revulsions play better than the ostentatious ones. Isn’t college self-discovery fun? Rumpf! - April 5, 2017 (review)

Donnie Darko (01, A-): No tweet this time. (Rewatch)

The Club (US 16, B+): Such strange, horrific textures in realizing this tale of abuse as an infection on attackers, victims, the complicit. - April 6, 2017

Safe (95, A): Whopper of an ending caps an already potent, rich horror story. How can we ever be free? Moore, Haynes and inimitable pair - April 7, 2017 (Rewatch)

The Martian (15, B-): Never feared for Damon’s life. Still compelling, but feels limited. Comic tone, teamwork, space smarts keep it fresh. - April 7, 2017

The Whisperers (67, B): I wish Forbes’ neglected, spooky tone his a richer narrative within its odd tones. That said, Evans is unstoppable. - April 8, 2017

Tyrannosaur (11. B-): Colman breathes life into this potent, nasty work, limited as it is by generic notes, Marsan’s work. Mullan’s fine. - April 8, 2017

Machete (10, D): Surely the worst thing Rodriguez has made. Horrendous look. Political narrative weirdly ineffective. Only gets worse - April 9, 2017

This was bad so I’m gonna watch the Mickey Rourke segment of Sin City to make myself feel better.

Bridges of Spies (15, C+): I think I get nostalgia as a term now. Compelling moments, especially in Berlin. Hanks an asset, Kaminski is not. - April 9, 2017

I truly don’t get the Mark Rylance thing, or how Hanks got no momentum in such a weak field. Bryan Cranston over him? What the fuck

I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore (17, B): Violent parable that remains funny as shit gets even more disastrous. Lynskey, Blair emerge triumphant. - April 10, 2017

Frances Ha (13, B): Triumph of mood, script, characterization in depicting millennial purgatory. Generous to its characters. Always fun(ny). - April 10, 2017

Philomena (13, C+): Tonal variance mostly works, parallels either underplayed or under explored. Economical yet padded. I liked Dench - April 11, 2017

Farewell, My Queen (12, B+): Unsettling tensions only accrue. What laws are worth keeping in the face of imminent death? Three great perfs. - April 11, 2017

Cameraperson (16, B+/A-): History of the world in B-roll vignettes. Of your life in other people’s. So intimate. But who’s Kirsten? - April 13, 2017

There’s a point in the 20th Century Women Film Experience podcast where Nick praises the canon of fiction films that show women fostering ->

and writing and burdened with carrying the history of the world in their lifetimes. This is equally deserving among that esteemed group.

It almost feels like Greta Gerwig’s art project in 20th Century Women realized. A self portrait via her most treasured moments on the job.

Blue Jay (16, B+): Unpacks 20 years of baggage as leads revert to old selves, rhythms, wonder where it all went. Paulson, Duplass revelatory. - April 13, 2017

Little Sister (16, C+): Poor audio, good makeup. Actors help. Gets better at being itself after the death metal baby dance, if never great. - April 14, 2017

Fish Tank (10, A-): An Education, but grottier, with more authentic emotions and characters. Imagination abound in images, direction. - April 14, 2017

Personal Shopper (17, C): More ideas that Clouds but so few sparks. Best in spirit realm. Often tedious. Assayas, Stewart too comfortable. - April 15, 2017 (review)

The Devils (71, A-): Perverse and horrific in every way possible, but stunningly realized without getting marred by its own madness - April 15, 2017

The Tree of Life (11, A): No tweet - April 15, 2017

Your Name (16, A): Body-swap comedy grows more poignant as obstacles separating our heroes seem insurmountable. Beautifully drawn and plotted. - April 17, 2017

In the Valley of Elah (07, C-): Unstoppable thesis meets unsubtle direction. Lame reveal. Weird color. Jones forges a path to quiet glory. - April 18, 2017

Planet Terror (07, B): Such pure, unfettered delight and Rodriguez-y looseness that never makes its aesthetic a hinderance. Fantastic look. - April 18, 2007

Set it Off (96, B): Lead quartet revitalizes a script that struggles to see even them. Keith, soundtrack often embarrass. Latifah indelible - April 19, 2017

Margaret (11, A-/A): Accrues such wide sympathies, thorns, and heartbreaks in its sprawl. Fullness of character, city, and chaos in its mess. - April 19, 2017

Elena (12, A): Suspense within certainty, human passion inside cinematic restraint. We are what we want, and what we’ll do to get it - April 20, 2017

Long Day’s Journey Into Night (62, A): Heroic long shots enable even more heroic performances. Beautiful realization of O’Neil’s prose - April 20, 2017 (review)

Pariah (11, B): Smart, earnest, gorgeously framed and colored drama that works even at its most obvious moments. Applause for all its women. - April 20, 2017

The Midnight Meat Train (08, D): Lurid convictions, some neat images. But ultimately a tasteless, racist, even grosser object as it continues. - April 22, 2017

The Faces of Love (13, C+): Bening, Harris spark. Lonely. Script better than expected. Shoulda been Hansen-Løve’s or Sirk’s. - April 23, 2017

A Bigger Splash (16, B-): Lots of effort to look effortless. Functions without ever settling into itself. Interesting influences. Fiennes!! - April 26, 2017

Free Fire (17, B-): I get the Tarantino comparisons, but when was the last time he made something this taut and energetic? Fun cast - April 26, 2017

The Lost City of Z (17, A-): No tweet - April 26, 2017

What Have I Done to Deserve This? (84, A-): Wonderfully eccentric and warm with all its characters. Almodovar, cast (Maura!) make magic. - April 27, 2017

The Big Short (15, C+): Frenzied and raggedy, kinda smug. Works pretty well within those limits. Good thing that’ll never happen again. - April 27, 2017

Death Proof (07, B): Did you know Tarantino watched 70′s movies? Gripping car chases. Talks like something’s happening when nothing is. - April 28, 2017 (rewatch)

Talk to Her (02, A): No tweet. - April 28, 2017

My Blueberry Nights (07, C): Marries the nothing talky-talk of Death Proof with glossier lensing, unearned ostentation. Cast helps - April 29, 2017

Southside With You (16, B+): So politically and personably principled, with plenty of charm. Great couple that just happens to be the Obamas. - April 29, 2017

My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea (17, B+): As morbidly hilarious, petty, and sweet as any high schooler I was friends with. What great visuals - April 29, 2017

Colossal (17, B): Dizzying ambition, at its best once all its conceits get off the ground. Real awareness of its own stakes. Sudeikis! - April 29, 2017

Fuck me, that’s a lot of movies, and fuck me again for not thinking of ways to articulate some 140 character praise for three pictures I really loved. Please feel free to talk about any of these to gush or ask what the fuck one of these tweets was talking about, I know I articulated some thoughts poorly. Soon all of these will be in perfectly articulated haikus. Or, if you want, recommend a personal fave as I trawl through every movie ever made. Have a good May, and have a good fucking summer vacation!