#i just feel like a lot of Zack's plan and intention as well as Ben's part in trying to build something here

[batfleckgifs]

Hi, since you put this in the tags, I hope its okay to answer some of your issues and would like to preface that this is not an attack or any sort, just a way in explanation cause I see a lot of these kind of struggles come up with people for the movie and this particular portrayal and goes under the presumption that you watched Batman v Superman the Ultimate Cut and not just the theatrical cut and Zack Snyder’s Justice League:

1) Yes, visually its inspired by Injustice, but actually the plot is really more Rock of the Ages, Final Crisis, Identity Crisis, etc. because Injustice is a Superman where he doesn’t really think he goes dark, he becomes militant / a dictator / turned by his loss to fear opposition and loss of control, and the endgame for this version of the Superman as revealed pre Zack Snyder’s Justice League release was for Clark to succumb to Anti-Life which enslaves him against his will to be a puppet of Darkseid’s will ( which is also hinted at in the origin of Parademons in ZSJL whom are soldiers / dead warriors turned into Parademons by Darkseid) meaning its not Bad Superman it is Enslaved Superman manipulated by Evil Alien Lucifer. 

2.A I would just like to clarify that BvS works like the main event comic where a lot of shit doesn’t get explained because you’re meant to read the solo comics AND THAT it had always been the intention for their to be a Batfleck solo movie to expand on that history and character probably sometime after the initial date for Aquaman and before Justice League Part 2 but due to essentially studio mishandling and ben affleck’s own personal problems at the time, a lot of what should have been are now just what could have beens so any presumption on his background will remain unknown unless somebody leaks that Ben Affleck Script

2.B. both marketing and story have heavily indicated that this is a Batman that has been around for 20 years and just like Wonder Woman, or to be precise more like Clark, has been working under the radar, and is a known myth within Gotham ( e.g. Clark was investigating the people in Gotham and the people who lived there knew of him, the cops knew of him, but they don’t exactly see him ) and like he said in ZSJL, he’s only real when he’s useful, which means like in comics, he functions in and out of city’s consciousness in a way because he operates in the dark and in the shadows and outside of the police, the usual Batman Cliche and he says a line that if you want to read into it heavily implies that he’s seen some shit: TWENTY YEARS IN GOTHAM, ALFRED, WE’VE SEEN WHAT PROMISES ARE WORTH? and another line, said to him, in early Snyder trailers of Gotham finding it nice to see him with working with partners again and if you also want to read into it Clark and Perry’s interaction is kind of the answer you need: Gotham full of crime. Water is wet. / The police are working with the bat. (paraphrased vaguely) , Clark obviously looked into it, they didn’t show us that he was reading other newsletters or journalists talking about it because as far as the GO TO GOTHAM AD ( if you accept it as canon ) treats the Batman as a tourist attraction, which means he may be Gotham’s Mothman in the sense that he’s there, people know it, and some people think he’s a joke attraction, some people think he works with the cops, some people think he’s a bad guy, etc. etc. ALSO SUICIDE SQUAD (2016) addresses him as having had experiences with a bunch of their members and that the government (Waller) knows he exists but since he’s probably only stuck in Gotham he was left alone

2.C. I also have conflicting feelings regarding this but that robin as far as Zack was involved had always been meant to be Dick Grayson because in this universe, there are damning repercussions to everyone’s choice, so Batman employing a child soldier (hate that term but its fitting in this context) to join him in a war against crime will have damning repercussions and its this death exactly that motivates this version of Batman’s particular darkness  ( take that as you will but I just wanted to clarify ) and he dies as a teenager AND i know a lot of people has a problem with it cause I would also have liked a more clear version of the BATDAD vibes that Ben’s Batman really gave but they have never hidden the fact that they took heavy inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns which is a seasoned Batman that doesn’t have Oracle, doesn’t have Tim, doesn’t even have Talia if I remember it correctly (so someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) so no Damian, so Carrie Kelley is the expected Robin here 

** yes, b and c are just for clarification purposes and less so to argue against what you might have felt or just you know disliked or liked from this interpretation

And this is more so the last overarching point, Zack’s approach was always just setting up a ground point and that ground point was Man of Steel = Man meets The Superman and Batman v Superman becomes how Man reacts to The Superman and this is through the lens of both Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, and The Media, he wanted to address basic themes of the hero’s journey with CLARK as the focal point, the build up was there, because this is not a straight POINT A to POINT B story, if you think all of these are bad writing, I’m not going to aruge that, but just as a reminder that so much would have probably been answered had there been so little meddling point because the very basic premise of the 5 arc movie Zack had was to get us from Superman to meeting the Trinity to the core League and from there a world united featuring all other superheroes in dc roster like Black Canary, Atom, etc. in fighting against Darkseid. 

I think that Ben Affleck's batman was wasted potential. The first scene with him really catches your eye. Bruce arrives in Metropolis in the midst of Supes and Zod duking it out. During the sequence, Bruce ensures a small girl stays with her class as a Wayne Enterprises building collapses, saves a man we see several times later in the film, and then saves the life of another little girl all in quick succession. These acts, coupled with the first batman scene are really REALLY compelling!!!! I genuinely was more drawn in during those 5 minutes than I was for the entirety of Batman 2022 (the film felt hollow and not like a batman film, no matter how cerebral and noir-esc they tried for) Ben Affleck's batman genuinely could have been great had it not been for a couple factors.

one - the injustice storyline that they seemed set on going with.

two - Batman V Superman glossed over so many things and jumbled so many more. (Ex. Jason's Robin outfit on display in the Batcave and the fact that despite that, the way it was written made it more feel like batman was a newer player in the field, not a man who'd had the time to go through two Robins. Let alone one)

and finally, three - No solo outing.

Granted, I'm not a big fan of Injustice in general as it just... doesn't sit right with me in general but disregarding that, it was rushed, even going straight from Man of Steel to Batman V Superman was incredibly rushed. There wasn't nearly enough world-building in Man of Steel to justify using that as the single baseplate from which Warner Bros attempted to build their entire DCCU from. Stories like these take time to build and unfortunately, the studio wanted the pay off without the work. That could have been fixed if they'd released the big three before Batman V Superman. Hell, even just tossing a Batman film into the mix and releasing Wonderwoman afterwards (like they had) would have been better. I think that if they wanted to start hinting at Injustice, they should have been a couple movies deep before even beginning with that.

As I've said above, Batman V Superman glossed over so many things that should have been addressed. Honestly, it was just bad writing that Henry, Ben, Gal and Jesse managed to make significantly less terrible. The way it was written made me think that they couldn't decide if Batman was a new player or if he'd been around for a while. Why isn't batman talked about more? Clark makes it sound as though there are no news articles or even chatter about him outside of a handful of non-criminals we meet in the tenement building scene. Why is Jason's robin outfit in the batcave? Why are there no other allusions to Dick or Jay since we DO know that there was, at one point, a robin? (Hint: the answer is bad writing)

And lastly, a lot of the unanswered questions could have been fixed with at least one solo outing with Ben Affleck as Batman and honestly, I definitely have the easiest time seeing Affleck's Batman with a hoard of children, so we definitely could have had the batfam on the silver screen. Plus I thought Jeremy Irons absolutely killed it as Alfred and I would literally pay anything to see more of his Alfred.

[cdt12345]

I just finished answering one of these and now I wanna know yours. Top 10 straight OTPs?

1.) Ben and Leslie - Parks and Recreation

If this was my OTPs list, they’d be second after Gallavich, but since this is straight couples, they have to be my number one. Amy Poehler and Adam Scott had great chemistry. Adam Scott played a lot of creepy/bad guys before this. So, when he showed up in Pawnee, I didn’t know what to make of him when he came in at the end of season 2. Pretty quickly I realized I was not only going to love the character of Ben Wyatt but we finally found Leslie Knope’s perfect match! I’ll never forget the moment I knew I was going to ship them. It was at the Freddy Spaghetti concert when Ben helped Leslie after he was against doing the concert in the first place. As soon as I saw Ben give Leslie that look as she walked away, I knew I was all in with this ship. That’s all it took! Leslie finally met someone who got her, admired her, was in awe of her, and was so supportive of her and her ambitions. They were both willing to put their jobs at risk by making their relationship known. And if you know Leslie Knope, her job is her life. Leslie’s love for Ben’s butt is also something I loved. Their love for each other is so beautiful and one of my favorite things about this amazing show.

2.) Ava and Boyd - Justified

Joelle Carter and Walton Goggins did amazing work together onscreen. Ava and Boyd Crowder did not have the most conventional start to their romantic relationship, seeing as Ava was married to Boyd’s brother. For me, that is a deal-breaker! I know they’re not blood relatives but it’s still weird to me when in-laws get together. In the pilot, we learn Ava has just killed her husband in self-defense and Boyd was supposed to be killed off in that episode. The powers that be, loved both Joelle and Walton so much they brought them back for more and they were series regulars for the rest of the series run. To keep Ava part of the storyline, they had Boyd staying at Ava’s house in season 2. It all evolved from there. I had no intention of shipping these two during season 1, but by season 2, I was all about Ava and Boyd getting together. They were the true definition of a power couple. They even had matching bullet scares on their chest! They stood side by side as a strong force against anyone who tried to overpower them or intimidate them in their growing criminal enterprise. Boyd really saw Ava, treated her with respect, and saw her as his equal. They had a long history, even went to the same high school together. I always love a couple who has known each other since they were kids. I never thought I would root for current or former in-laws, but it was hard not to fall in love with them.

3.) Jess and Nick - New Girl

I knew I was going to ship them from the very first episode. They are everything I love in a good ship, complete opposites who bring out the best in each other, who are also friends. Over the years, any time Jess would describe her perfect man, she was always describing Nick without realizing it. Once she was asked what her dream guy would be, and she said Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men and Nick fits that perfectly. He really is like a grumpy old man. There was nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other. One example of this was when Jess burns her finger on a cigarette lighter in the car and Nick puts his finger in the cigarette lighter so they would be in the same amount of pain. Who even does that?! I was so happy when they finally had their first kiss and when they officially got together. Those are some of my favorite episodes when they were finally dating. Any time they dated anyone else it became even more clear how much better they are together. They never fit with anyone else as well as they fit together. They really were perfect for each other.

4.) Corey and Topanga - Boy Meets World

Corey and Topanga are the OG’s of childhood sweethearts on TV. They’ve known each other their whole lives and were very believable in their genuine love for each other. It’s not always easy to believe that people who get married that young can make it work, but these two always seemed to defy those odds. They got married during their sophomore year of college. Today I would be like whoa that’s too soon to get married! But they felt so right together, I believe I would still think they made the right choice. I may be biased because I grew up watching this show and I was even younger than them at that time, but it always felt like they were meant to be. I still remember what a big deal their wedding was. My friends and I were so excited about that episode. They clearly did do the right thing because the show came back as Girl Meets World, which was more focused on their daughter than them, so of course, I wasn’t planning on watching all that. The only good thing to come out of that reboot, for me, was to get confirmation that Corey and Topanga were still together and had two kids. 

5.) Arnold and Helga - Hey Arnold!

This was a very one-sided crush on Helga’s part for years! This was another show I grew up on. I shipped them so hard because Helga was obsessively in love with Arnold. It definitely wasn’t a healthy obsession, but she really loved him. It was hard not to root for her. She fell in love with him when he was the first to notice her and be nice to her on their first day of preschool. A part of me could identify with her at that time in my life. I was in 5th grade and was experiencing my first love too. She was always so mean to Arnold because she was terrified for anyone to even suspect she had a major crush on him. The best way to describe Arnold is through Helga’s own words, he’s “a funny little football-headed kid with a good heart but no sense of reality”. Helga was realistic and tough but very poetic and sweet in private. In 2017, when Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie came out, I was really hoping she would finally come clean with Arnold about her feelings. It FINALLY happened! That was 21 years in the making. Talk about slow burn!

6.) Tiffani and Jake - California Dreams

Jake and Tiffani are one of my very first ships ever. They were high school students who were in a band called California Dreams together. They were like night and day. She was the surfer type, who was positive, sunny, and friendly. Whereas Jake was a biker type who scared everyone. They were even too scared to let him audition for the band. He played guitar and would sometimes sing and write some of their songs. He wasn’t the main singer of the band, but he would sing every once in a while. She played the bass and would sometimes sing too. They did have a breakup that was heartbreaking for me. He dated their friend Lorena for a short time, and it felt so forced and didn’t work at all. Again, I could be biased because I love Jake and Tiffani, but Jake himself and Lorena realized they didn’t work either. That’s when Jake realized he was still very much in love with Tiffani, and they got back together. This show also had the best theme song ever! I sing it every single time I hear it and when I do hear it, it’s stuck in my head all day.

7.) Monica and Chandler - Friends

I always preferred Monica and Chandler over Ross and Rachel. They were never on and off like Ross and Rachel, which would get tiresome. We never had to deal with that with Monica and Chandler. Obviously, they are friends and know each other so well that it was easy for them to get through anything because of it.

8.) Castle and Beckett - Castle

Richard Castle and Kate Beckett had amazing chemistry, even after the actors themselves were no longer getting along behind the scenes. I am amazed at how they were still able to be so believable at being very much in love with each other. Castle, a best-selling mystery novelist, and Beckett, a New York City homicide detective. Castle is inspired by Beckett and she becomes his muse for a new book he is writing. Castle uses his connections with the mayor to force the police to let him shadow Beckett. Their personalities clash in the beginning but they soon find their groove and become friends and great partners at solving crimes. The will they, won’t they was excruciating at times but paid off when they finally got together.

9.) Sabrina and Harvey - Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina and Harvey were such a cute couple. I already went into this show knowing they were meant to be because of the Sabrina comic books. Harvey was always the boyfriend. So, when Harvey left the show after season 4, I was surprised and saddened. Especially, since Harvey had finally learned about her powers. He did guest star in season 5 but was brought back for the last two seasons. I really loved when he came back because Sabrina and Harvey’s relationship was so much better after he knew about her powers. They didn’t get back together and were only friends but whenever things got complicated, he was there to help her now that he knew she was a witch. She didn’t have to hide who she really was or lie to him anymore and I really loved how that changed their relationship. Sabrina was dating someone else at this time and was going to marry this other guy, but she doesn’t go through with it. For once I can actually say Sabrina and Harvey are soulmates and really mean it! Remember she is a witch and has a soul stone and Harvey was given one too. Harvey is waiting for Sabrina outside the church when she comes out and they kiss. Their soul stones drop to the ground and fit perfectly at 12:36pm, the exact time they first met seven years ago.Then they drive off together in his motorcycle.

10.) Kelly and Zack - Saved by The Bell

Who didn’t grow up in the 90′s and wasn’t shipping Zack and Kelly? I thought they were the most gorgeous couple I had ever seen. Saved by The Bell: The College Years wasn’t a great show, but I was happy to see Zack and Kelly went to the same college, and eventually, we got to see them get married in a TV movie with Saved by The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.

[theliterateape]

I Like to Watch | Zack Snyder’s Justice League

by Don Hall

Mythology is fun.

As a kid I loved reading Edith Hamilton’s book on the Greek gods and the myths. Hercules, Perseus, Apollo, and Hera—this fell completely in line with my love for superhero comics. The strangely petty human traits of envy, greed, and lust combined with the power to level cities make for some great storytelling.

Zeus was basically Harvey Weinstein in the retroactive revision we’re mired in today. If Harvey could’ve changed into a golden animal and boned unsuspecting ladies looking for careers in Hollywood I’m pretty certain he would. The gods and demi-gods of the Greeks dealt with daddy issues, mommy issues, bad relationships, and fighting. Lots of fighting. Sometimes for the good of humanity but more often for the glory of winning.

Zach Snyder is in the business of tackling myths and reframing them with a style all his own. His career has become its own myth.

From Dawn of the Dead (not so much a reboot of Romero's zombie mythology but a philosophical reimagining of the genre that arguably jumpstarted The Hollywood fascination with it), 300 (a borderline homoerotic take on the myth of the Greek underdog), and Watchmen (a ridiculously ambitious attempt to put one of the most iconic takedowns on the potential fascism of the superhero legend machine ever written) to his nearly single-handed hack at answering the Marvel juggernaut with Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder is in the artistic business of subverting and re-envisioning the mythologies we embrace without even seeing them as such.

Snyder's style is operatic. It is on a grand scale even in the most mundane moments. The guy loves slow motion like Scorcese loves mobsters and Italian food. When you're tackling big themes with larger than life stories, the epic nature of his vision makes sense and has alienated a good number of audience members. With such excess, there are bound to be missteps but I'd argue that his massive take on these characters he molds from common understanding and popular nomenclature elevates them to god-like stature.

Fans of Moore's Watchmen have much to complain about Snyder's adaptation. The titular graphic novel is almost impossible to put in any other form than the one Moore intended and yet, Snyder jumped in feet-first and created a living, breathing representation of most, if not all, of the source material's intent. Whether you dig on it or not, it's hard to avoid acknowledging that the first five minutes of Watchmen is a mini-masterpiece of style, storytelling, and epic tragedy wrapped up in a music video.

Despite a host of critical backlash for his one fully original take, Sucker Punch is an amazing thing to see. More a commentary on video game enthusiasm with its lust for hot animated chicks and over-the-top violence that a celebration of cleavage and guns, the film is crazily entertaining. For those who hated the ending, he told you in the title what his plan was all along.

The first movie I saw in the theaters that tried to take a superhero mythology and treat it seriously (for the most part) was Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie. Never as big a fan of the DC characters as I have been of Marvel, it was still extraordinary to see a character I had only really known in pages to be so fully realized. Then came Burton's Batman movies. The superhero film was still an anomaly but steam was gaining. Things changed with Bryan Singer's X-Men in 2000, then Raimi's Spiderman, and those of us who grew up with our pulpy versions of Athena, Hermes, and Hades were rewarded with Nolan's Batman Begins. A far cry from the tongue-in-cheek camp of the 1966 TV Batman, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne was a serious character and his tale over three films is a tragic commentary filled with the kind of death and betrayal and triumph befitting the grand narrative he deserved.

I loved Singer's Superman Returns in 2006 because it was such a love letter to the 1978 film (down to the opening credits) but by then, the MCU was taking over the world.

Snyder's first of what turns out to be an epic storyline involving perhaps seven or eight movies was Man of Steel. It was fun and, while I had my issues with the broodiness of Kal El, the odd take on Jonathan Kent, and a redheaded Lois Lane, I had no issue with Superman snapping Zod's neck. Darker and more tragic than any other version of the Kryptonian, it was still super entertaining.

Then came Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. By 2016, Marvel had codified their formula of serious characters wrestling with serious issues of power and responsibility peppered with lots of good humor and bright colors. Snyder's desaturated pallete and angst-filled demi-gods was not the obvious road to financial competition.

I'll confess, I hated it. BvS felt half-rendered. Lex Luthor was kind of superficial and played as a kind of Joker. The whole Bruce Wayne wants to kill Superman thing felt undeveloped and the "Martha" moment was just stupid.

When Joss Whedon's version of Snyder's Justice League came out in 2017, I was primed for it to be a turd and I wasn't surprised. So much of it didn't work on any level. I dismissed it as DC trying and failing miserably and was comforted by the coming of Thanos.

Following Thanos and the time heist was COVID. Suddenly, we were internationally sidelined and the movie theater industry caved in. Streaming services started popping up like knock-off smartphones and Hollywood was reeling, doing anything and everything to find a way back. Since Whedon's disastrous helming of Snyder's third act, fans online had been demanding to #ReleasetheSnyderCut but no one was ever really taking them seriously until all movie production was shut down for a year.

The stage was set to remedy a mistake (or at least make some bucks on a do-over of a huge box office failure). Snyder had left the production in part because of the suicide of his daughter and in part due to the constant artistic fights over executives looking for the quippy fun of the MCU but he still had all the original footage. Add to that the broiling accusations that Joss Whedon was "abusive" during the reshoots, the path seemed destined. For an additional $70 million and complete control, Snyder delivered a four hour mega-movie streamed on HBOMax.

Of course, I was going to watch the thing as soon as I could.

The Whedon version opens with an homage to the now dead Superman (including the much maligned digitally erased mustache on Henry Cavill). The SynderCut opens with the death of Superman and the agony of his death scream as it travels across the planet. It's a simple change but exemplifies the very different visions of how this thing is gonna play out.

Snyder doesn't want us to be OK with the power of these beings unleashed. He wants us to feel the damage and pain of death. He wants the results of violence to be as real as he can. When Marvel's Steve Rogers kicks a thug across the room and the thug hits a wall, he crumples and it is effectively over. When Batman does the same thing, we see the broken bones (often in slow motion) and the blood smear on the wall as the thug slides to the ground.

The longer SnyderCut is bloated in some places (like the extended Celtic choir singing Aquaman off to sea or the extended narrations by Wonder Woman which sound slightly like someone trying to explain the plot to Siri). On the other hand, the scene with Barry Allen saving Iris West is both endearing and extraordinary, giving insight to the power of the Flash as well as some essential character-building in contrast to Whedon's comic foil version.

One thing I noticed in this variant is that Zach wants the audience to experience the sequence of every moment as the characters do. An example comes when Diana Prince goes to the crypt to see the very plot she belabors over later. The sequence is simple. She gets a torch and goes down. Most directors which jump cut to the torch. Snyder gives us five beats as she grabs the timber, wraps cloth around the end, soaks it with kerosene, pulls out a box of matches, and lights the torch. Then she goes down the dark passageway.

The gigantic, lush diversity of Snyder’s vision of the DC superhero universe—from the long shots of the sea life in the world of Atlantis to the ancient structures and equipment of Themyscira— is almost painterly. Snyder isn't taking our time; he's taking his time. We are rewarded our patience with a far better backstory for the villain, a beautifully rendered historic battle thwarting Darkseid's initial invasion (including a fucking Green Lantern), and answers to a score of questions set up in both previous films.

Whedon's Bruce Wayne was more Ben Affleck; Snyder's is full-on Frank Miller Batman, the smartest, most brutal fucker in the room. Cyborg, instead of Whedon's sidelined non-character, is now a Frankenstein's monster, grappling with the trade-off between acceptance and enormous power. Wonder Woman is now more in line with the Patty Jenkins version and instead of being told about the loss of Superman, we are forced to live with the anguish of both his mother and Lois Lane in quiet moments of incredible grief.

To be fair to Whedon (something few are willing to do as he is now being castigated not for racism or sexism but for being mean to people) having him come in to throw in some levity and Marvel-esque color to Snyder's Wagnerian pomposity is like hiring Huey Lewis to lighten up Pink Floyd's The Wall or getting Douglas Adams to rewrite Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

I loved Snyder's self-indulgent, mythologic DC universe.

So much so that I then re-watched Man of Steel and then watched the director's version of BvS (which Snyder added approximately 32 minutes). The second film is far better at three hours and Eisenberg's Lex Luthor now makes sense. Then I watched Zach Snyder's Justice League a second time.

After nineteen hours of Snyder's re-imagining of these DC heroes and villains, I saw details that, upon first viewing, are ignored or dismissed, but after seeing them in order and complete, are suddenly consistent and relevant. Like Nolan or Fincher, Snyder defies anyone to eliminate even one piece of his narrative no matter how long. With all the pieces, this is an epic story and the pieces left at the extended epilogue play into a grander narrative we will never see.

Or maybe we will. Who knows these days?

[losersweregoingclownhunting]

The One with Greta’s Sonogram

So I did it again, both as a stress relief and because my dashboard is full of sad Losers and needed something more positive. 

Bill was talking to Marsha about the newest article he planned on writing for the magazine’s next issue. Marsha was the secretary in his office and a bit too friendly if you asked Bill. He was leaning against the wall nearest to her when he saw Greta walk by the window.

“Speaking of issues,” Marsha interrupted. “Isn’t that Greta, your ex-wife?”

“Nope, never seen t-that person before.” Bill turned so Greta wouldn’t see him. He started to walk towards his office when the bell chimed.

“It is! Hi Greta! I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Bill groaned internally turning around with a fake smile on his face. “Marsha, isn’t it time for your morning break?” Marsha rolled her eyes before grabbing her coffee cup and walking out of the office. “I hate that you l-look g-great… Anything new? How’s the family? Are you still…”

Bill leaned against the counter edge, trying to be casual. “A lesbian, yes. But, thanks for checking, I guess? Marty’s still paranoid. Oh, I ran into-”

“Greta, stop. Why, why are you here?”

“I’m pregnant.” Bill’s arm slipped off the counter and he stumbled forward.

All the losers, except Bill, were at Ben and Stan’s apartment watching Three’s Company. Mike made a comment that he thought he’d seen the episode before. Eddie turned it off saying that every episode was essentially the same, just misunderstanding after misunderstanding.

“Are you done?” Bev asked, taking a half full cup from Richie’s hand. “Who’s balled up paper is this?” Bev moved to fluff pillows on the couch. “Ben, thanks again for letting me host dinner here. I get so nervous around my parents and having dinner at my place would just give them too much ammunition.

Bev kept running around fluffing Ben’s pillows, picking up the most obscure things she could find, and fixing things that were fine. Her entire demeanor could be described as chaotic and twirly, but not in a good way. “Bev,” Eddie stopped her. “Why do you always freak out when they come? Bill never does.”

“Well first of all, Bill is their birth child. I feel like I have to compete with that. Plus, he can do no wrong in their eyes. He’s the prince, you know? Apparently, the ceremony happened before I was adopted.”

Richie and Stan were standing by the window when they both shouted ew. The others ran over to look at what was happening. Someone across the street always left his blinds open. It wouldn’t be that big of an issue, but he never wore clothes. Today, Ugly Naked Guy was using a thighmaster. Everyone groaned as Bill entered the apartment.

“Hi,” was all he said. He sounded miserable. The others turned around, abandoning the window. “Greta’s p-p-pregnant.” Nobody knew how to respond. Bev was just stuttering out the word what. “Yeah, that’s all I could say for about two hours.”

“But thank god the pillows are fluffed,” Richie said. At the same time Stan asked, “How do you fit into that?”

Bev helped Bill walked to the couch, guiding him slowly. “She said both her and Sally want me to be involved. But I don’t even know what that means.” Bill sank to the couch. Bev rested her hand on his arm and half hugged him as she sat next to him. “They want me to go to the s-sonogram thing t-tomorrow.”

The others gathered around, except Richie. He was pulling spaghetti noodles out of the pot and eating them when nobody was looking. “Are you going to go?” Stan asked.

“No idea. It’s not like I c-can j-just not g-go, right? No matter what I d-do, I’m still going to be a dad.”

 Bill poured wine in his mom and dad’s glasses before setting the wine bottle on the table. Bev grabbed the appetizer that Ben had made off the counter. She couldn’t thank him enough for helping her prepare for the Denbroughs. Don’t get her wrong, she loved them. Her mom just tended to be a bit flighty and make hurtful comments without thinking. And her dad had the best intentions, but sometimes it came across rude or inappropriate.

“Oh, Bev! Martha Ludwins’ daughter is going to call you.” Sharon grabbed one of the appetizers. “What’s that curry taste? It’s very curry tasting.” Bev turned to look at Bill, exasperated. Sharon hummed, clearly not enjoying the appetizer. “Bill you remember the Ludwins, don’t you? The eldest had the biggest crush on you.”

“All of them had a crush on Bill!” Zack announced.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Bev said at the same time Bill said, “Stop it mom.” Bev shot him a look before continuing. “Why is Martha calling me?”

“She graduated recently and wants to start a business, so I told her you owned a coffee shop.”

Bill sat down on the arm of the chair next to Zack, eating the appetizers. The two of them didn’t speak, just listened to Sharon and Bev. Sharon was turned around so she could face Bev. Bev’s frustration was evident on her face as she prepared dinner.

“Mom, I don’t own the coffee shop, I work there.” Sharon turned around muttering something under her breath as she started fluffing pillows. “Bill! Could you help me with the spaghetti?”

Bill nodded, standing to help. Bev dropped the cheese grater and parmesan on the table. She put her hands up. “As selfish as this sounds, I’m wondering when you’re bringing up the whole my wife is a lesbian who’s pregnant with my child?”

Instead of answering, Bill put the silverware on the table. Bev had already finished getting everything ready and the plates of spaghetti looked really good. He looked up to see Bev waiting. “Maybe during d-dinner. They’ll b-be calmer,” he said softly before announcing, “dinner’s ready!”

Sharon and Zack sat at the table, eating the spaghetti Bev had made. “You know, you should learn to make something more challenging! Men love a good meal and spaghetti doesn’t always cut it.”

“Mom, B-bev doesn’t need to cook to find a husband. Stanley said his ex-fiancée couldn’t c-cook.”

Sharon took a drink, not hiding her eyeroll. Zack’s eyes lit up. “We ran into his parents at the club. I’m not going to tell you what they spent on that wedding, but forty thousand dollars is a lot of money! Don’t worry about your mother either. You’re independent Bev. Even when you were just reading alone in your room doing puzzles.

“Take Bill. He is someone who needs to shoot for the stars. He’s getting published, making waves. Then there are people satisfied with not achieving things. And those people never get cancer,” Zack continued. Bill and Bev didn’t say anything, just tried to not make facial expressions in response. “And now all these women are trying to have it all and I’m glad our Beverly doesn’t have that problem.”

Bev turned to Bill, resting her elbow on his hand. She pressed down, smiling. Her eyes pleaded for help. “Bill, you haven’t said anything all night. Do you have any fun stories you’d like to share?”

Bill jerked his hand out from Bev’s elbow, shaking feeling back into it. He stood, pacing behind his parents. “Alright. I know you have b-b-been wondering what happened b-between G-g-greta and me. Here, here it is. G-greta is a lesbian. She moved in with Sally and is p-pregnant with my child. They’re going to raise the child together.”

The Denbroughs didn’t respond. Sharon and Zack looked at each other, blinking. Sharon grabbed her wine glass and downed the rest of it. Bev mouthed thank you to Bill when he looked at her.

The Losers were back at the coffee shop. The place was closed, and Stan was sweeping. He’d gotten a second job at the coffee shop since he was only working part time at the accounting firm. Bev had helped get him the job. The others were sitting on tables and lounging around their favorite spot.

“Are your folks really that bad? I’ve never had a problem with them.” Richie swung his feet to rest on the coffee table.

“Oh they’re pros. They really do know how to make you feel like you wish you could choose your p-parents. I’ve got to pee,” Bill said, standing up.

Bev sighed, “if I could, I would want Bill’s.” Bill pointed at Bev before leaning down to kiss her forehead and retreating to the bathroom. Mike laughed, rubbing Bev’s feet.

Eddie leaned against Richie, resting his head on his shoulder. “At least you’re not a twin.” Stan looked at Eddie ready to clarify. “Oh, we don’t speak. He’s really weird and crazy eccentric. He works as a masseuse and sings these weird songs.”

“Two Eddies, seems like a dream,” Richie smiled. Eddie poked him in the stomach before leaning away from him. Stan started walking to the back room to put the broom away. “Is that our signal to leave Stanley my boy?” Stan waved without a word.

The others stood up and started walking to the room. Ben dropped an arm around Bev’s shoulder as she asked him question. “So, you’re an only child, right? You don’t have any of this?”

“Nope. I had an imaginary friend though. Pretty sure my mom would have liked him more if she could have feed him. Looks like Mike is the lucky one.”

“Yeah, although siblings would have been nice when we were working on the farm.”

They exited the coffee shop and Bev flipped the light switch, knowing Stan would have asked. Stan walked out from the back, wiping down the counter where Ben had been sitting. Bill rushed out from the bathroom, stopping when he saw the dark, empty room.

“How long was I in there?” Bill asked. Stan stopped to look at him before laughing. “D-do you, uh, d-do you need any help cleaning?”

“No, no, that’s alright,” Stan said. He looked around the almost clean shop before sitting on the couch to stack the magazines.

Bill sat down next to him, clasping and unclasping his hands nervously. “So, are you nervous about seeing Patty tomorrow?”

Stan stopped stacking the magazines. He’d almost forgotten he was meeting Patty tomorrow. She’d called to say she wanted to return the engagement ring since it was an Uris family heirloom. “I am. I mean what do you even say in this situation?” Stan looked at Bill. “You probably feel the same when you’re with Greta and Sally. Why can’t we be back in high school when things weren’t complicated.”

Stan’s head rested on Bill’s shoulder, closing his eyes. “I mean, didn’t you think you’d meet someone, fall in love, and the rest would just fall into place?” Bill looked down at him fondly. “Bill?”

“Yeah, I definitely never thought I’d end up here.”

 Bill burst through the door at the doctor’s office. Greta was sitting on the chair, waiting for the doctor. Sally walked through the door after Bill. An unpleasant air settled between the two, something they were all to familiar with.

“Sorry I’m late Greta. There was a problem with the editor.” Bill shook Sally’s hand before speaking in a bitter tone. “Always great to see you Sally.”

“That’s fine Bill. We’re just waiting for Dr. Harkavay. And don’t worry, she’s familiar with our…special situation. She’s also very supportive.”

Bill took the cup out of water from Sally before passing it to Greta. He started playing with the models the doctor had sitting on the shelf. This whole situation was hard. How would it work, how would they make important decisions? For instance, how would they even choose a name?

“We were brainstorming baby names,” Greta said, as if reading Bill’s mind. “Marlon, if it’s a boy. Minnie for a girl.”

Bill stood there, making faces as he tried to process the names. Greta couldn’t be serious. “Marlin? Like the f-fish? And Minnie, as in mouse?”

“Marlon, not Marlin. And Minnie as my grandmother, Bill.”

Bill tried not to roll his eyes. When he heard Minnie, he thought Mouse. He would guarantee that anyone who heard it would too. “What about Julia?”

Greta repeated Julia, clearing entertaining the name. Sally, on the other hand, was not pleased. “We already agreed on Minnie.”

“Oh, weird. Greta and I agreed to spend our lives together, f-funny how things change? Learn to roll with the punches Sally.”

“Okay, fine. What about Dani? Nothing wrong with Dani!”

Bill scoffed, his voice rising when he spoke. “Dani Denbrough? It’s a bit too alliterate don’t you think? Who is she, a superhero?”

“It’s not going to be Dani Denbrough,” Greta yelled. Bill made a gesture as if to say, thank you, it is a ridiculous name. “No, Bill. It’s not going to be Denbrough. We were thinking Bowie-Mueller.”

“I’m sorry. Why is Sally in the title?”

“Because their my baby too. Look we all know how difficult this is going to be.”

“Oh that’s weird. I don’t remember you being there when they were made! If she get’s credit, I should too.”

“Dani Bowie-Mueller-Denbrough? That’s utterly ridiculous and borderline child abuse.”

There was a knock. The three of them all fell quiet. Dr. Harkavay entered with a smile. “Hi! How are we feeling today? Any nausea?”

“A bit, yeah,” the three answered in various ways.

Dr. Handor looked around. “I was just wonder about the mother-to-be, but sorry to hear that. If you could just lie back Greta.”

Bill started walking towards the door. “You know, I don’t, I don’t think I can b-be involved with this right now.” Bill stopped when he heard the heartbeat from the sonogram. He turned back, walking up to Greta and Sally, transfixed by the monitor. The three of them looked in awe. Sally held Greta’s hand and Bill placed his hand around theirs.

 When Stan had got to Patty’s office, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Bill had suggested that he not look too great because Patty might feel worse about being left at the altar. Stan wasn’t sure what that meant, but he wore a pair of jeans and a polo shirt.

The receptionist pointed him towards one of the back rooms stating that Patty would be there. Patty stood when she saw Stan walk in. She looked great. She’d always been beautiful, but there was a lightness about her energy now that Stan hadn’t seen in a while.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I come in?” Stan asked.

“Oh, yeah. Robbie’s going to be here for hours,” Patty explained as she took off her surgical mask. Robbie jolted when he heard, looking surprised. “How are you?” Before Stan could answer the receptionist called Patty’s name over the intercom. “Sorry, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Stan looked at the door as Patty walked out. He turned around to see Robbie staring at him. Stan ran a hand through his hair. “I dumped her.”

“Okay?” Robbie mumbled.

Neither of them said anything while they waited for Patty to come back. Robbie looked at the posters on the ceiling. Stan adjusted the light over Robbie’s head. He picked up one of the instruments off the counter and checked his reflection. He jumped back when Patty opened the door.

“Sorry about that. What have you been up to?” Patty asked, sitting back on her chair and sliding towards Robbie.

“Nothing much, started working at a new accounting firm.” Patty nodded and smiled before moving to get something out of the drawer. “So, why are you so tan?”

“Oh, I went to Aruba,” Patty answered, looking over her shoulder. She picked up an instrument and moved back towards Robbie. “I actually went with, um, this might hurt.” Patty didn’t look at Stan. Robbie jolted again, pointing at himself and mumbling something. “Not you, don’t worry. I went with Matthew.”

Stan walked up to Patty, trying to process that. Robbie huffed either in annoyance or surprise. “Matthew? You went with my best man, Matthew?! And you dyed your hair and got contacts. Two things you said you’d never do.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind sticking my finger in my eye for him. But Stanley, listen, I want to say thank you. A month ago, I wanted to hurt you, more than anyone in my life. And Stan, I’m an orthodontist. But you were right! We weren’t happy.”  Patty rolled to the other side of the office and grabbed something out of the drawer. “Anyway. I guess this belongs to you. Thank you for giving it to me.”

“Well, thank you for giving it back,” Stan said. He backed out of the office feeling confused, angry, and almost satisfied. He felt ready to close that chapter of his life, almost.

 The Losers were sitting in Stan and Ben’s apartment. They were watching a video of Greta’s sonogram. Bill kept asking everyone if they found it as amazing as he did. He wasn’t too happy with the comments that it looked like an attack on the Enterprise or an old potato. Beverly blinked rapidly, trying to clear away her tears.

“Are you going to cry Bev?” Bill crossed to her. She was standing behind the couch, watching the video. “You are! You’re going to be an aunt!”

“Shut up,” Bev choked out, tears flowing freely. She shoved Bill, walking towards the sink.

Stan walked towards the window, dialing Matthew’s number. He picked up after the second ring. “Hi Matthew. Hi, it-it’s Stanley…Oh, I’m fine. I’m calling because, because I saw Patty today… No, no, she told me about everything…No, it’s okay. I hope you’re both happy…I really hope it works out. You know marriage, kids. I just hope they have her giant ears and your receding hairline!” He slammed the phone down.

He’d never thought he’d say that to someone. It really wasn’t him, but boy did it feel good to say something to Matthew. Stan looked up seeing the others staring at him. “Fine, it was a cheap shot. But I feel soooo much better now.” He dropped onto the couch next to Mike with a smile.

Again (I feel like I should put this) the characters are Stephen King’s and the story + some of the quotes are not mine, but property of Warner Brothers. 

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior November 6, 2020 – LET HIM GO, JUNGLELAND, KINDRED, PROXIMA, THE INFORMER and More!

It’s November, which under normal circumstances, would be the holiday season, the thick of awards season, the beginning of the end to the Oscars, but this year? Not so much. Instead, we’re suffering the after-effects of a hugely close and contentious election, although thankfully, there’s quite a few decent movies to check out as we still wait for the whole COVID pandemic to settle down with no end in sight. (And as promised, I got this down to six reviews this week. I wouldn’t expect that next week.)

The biggest wide release this weekend (into 2,200 theaters plus) is Thomas (The Family Stone) Bezucha’s thriller LET HIM GO (Focus Features) starring Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Montana ranchers George and Margaret Blackledge, who after losing their son James, must try to rescue their young grandson Jimmy, who has been taken to North Dakota to live with his stepfather’s dangerous family, led by matriarch Blanche Weboy (played by Lesley Manville).

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie. The commercials I’ve seen sell it like a straight-up revenge thriller ala the recent Honest Thief, which also isn’t necessarily a straight-up genre film. (Odd coincidence is that this one also has Jeffrey Donovan playing a jerk – I hope it’s not type-casting.) The movie was adapted by Bezucha from a novel by Larry Watson, and it puts Costner into another role where he’s able to ride horses. If you’re a fan of Costner, that might be enough to watch the film, but he gives also gives a typically strong performance as does Lane, as Bezucha reunites Ma and Pa Kent from Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.

At first, this is more of a family drama where we don’t learn too much about their son before he’s killed – nor do we ever find out who actually killed him. Instead, this is about caring grandparents who worry about how their young grandson might be raised by his new stepfather and his family. It’s particularly suspect when Jimmy’s stepfather leaves for North Dakota in the middle of the night, taking his new wife and stepson with him. It’s enough to make anyone suspicious.

It starts fairly slowly as things are set-up but it leads to more than a few crazy and violent moments including the last act where things really come to a head. Oddly, it isn’t Costner acting like the “tough guy” so much trying to get back Jimmy, despite his background as a sheriff. Instead it’s Lane who impresses with her ability to act super-sweet one moment in order to get results but then fully throwing herself into the film’s violent climax. Oddly, I wasn’t that into Manville’s performance as a malevolent matriarch, and that really surprised me. I do have to call special attention to the amazing Booboo Stewart who plays a Native American lad who helps the couple, this being his second great role/performance of the year after The Grizzlies.

Despite Costner’s presence, Let Him Go feels much more like some of the recent Clint Eastwood movies, and while it has a few issues in terms of tone and pacing, Lane and Costner are more than enough to make this quite enjoyable for what it is.

Even so, that isn’t this week’s “Featured Flicks”…

No, that would be Max (Ceremony) Winkler’s JUNGLELAND (Paramount), an amazing drama starring Charlie Hunnam and Jack O’Connell as brothers Stan and Walter “Lion” Kaminski, the latter who is a brilliant bare knuckle boxers who is constantly dealing with his older brother Stan getting them into trouble with his gambling debts that have left them near to poverty. When Stan gets further into debt with the loan shark Pepper (Jonathan Majors), he agrees to go on a road trip to a big underground no-holds-barred boxing match in San Francisco, but along for the ride is a young woman named Sky (Jessica Barden) who the brothers need to drop off in Reno to the despicable man from whom she ran away in the first place.

This ended up being a far more complex and emotional movie than I expected, although as a huge fan of the movie Warrior, I was interested in seeing how this one diverged from what was one of my favorite movies the year it was released. Well, Winkler does not disappoint, as he finds a way to create a “boxing movie” that’s unlike any other due to a number of elements. We’ve certainly had a few “brother fighters” movies, but what separates Jungleland is that it’s the younger brother played by O’Connell who does all the fighting, his brother acting more as a domineering manager who makes all the decisions for them. You can really feel the love between these brothers and the interesting dynamic that Barden’s Sky brings to the mix.

Maybe you can figure out that there will be some sort of romance between Lion and Sky, but they’re such unique individuals due to the performances by always great O’Connell and an actress who I’m not as familiar with but insures that Sky is not just introduced merely as “love interest.” Sky is bratty and sassy, and she isn’t going to just do what Stanley says even though he always acts like he’s the smartest of the trio, and it’s that attitude that brings so much to the dynamics between the three of them.

There’s a lot of tension leading up to the final fight, as well as a lot of emotion, all enhanced by a gorgeous score from Lorne Balfe that bolsters the performances rather than overpowers them. The way Winkler uses Bruce Springsteen’s cover of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream” is the perfect punctuation to a film that keeps you enthralled from beginning to end.

This is just a wonderful film from Winkler, one that really shows his tremendous growth as a filmmaker, and it’s very much the kind of movie that I absolutely love, especially because it’s always going in different directions from the typical boxing movie.

Another nice surprise this weekend was Joe Marcantonio’s psychological thriller KINDRED (IFC Midnight), starring Tamara Lawrence as Charlotte Wilde, who discovers that she’s pregnant by her boyfriend Ben, but when he dies suddenly, Charlotte finds herself trapped in the large estate of Ben’s mother Margaret (Fiona Shaw) and Ben’s creepy half-brother Thomas (Jack Lowden). She soon realizes that Margaret plans on keeping her trapped there in order to keep control of her son’s baby.

I went into this British thriller not really knowing much about it other than its small cast including the generally decent Shaw and Lowden. I wasn’t familiar with Tamara Lawrence at all, but she does a pretty amazing job carrying the film as a woman trying to deal with some sort of pre-natal depression on top of mourning for her ex while also feeling trapped, probably rightfully so. The dynamics between the three people – this is very much a three-hander – is what keeps Kindred so interesting, because Margaret probably blames Charlotte for her son’s death, but Thomas seems to have more lecherous intentions. The whole time, Charlotte has dreams and visions, sometimes horrifying ones, about birds.

Over the course of the film we learn more about Charlotte’s background and her own mother’s issues dealing with “perinatal psychosis,” which could be a big clue to what is happening with Charlotte. Lawrence is absolutely amazing at giving the film a strong heroine who works hard to try to outsmart her captors, and it’s a film that never really goes far into the most expected realms. Marcantonio’s direction works well at maintaining a steady pace, and the musical choices greatly add to the tension even the few times it’s using overused stock classical musical themes.

Kindred works quite effectively as a tense psychological thriller in the vein of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? I expect we have not seen the last of either Lawrence or director Marcantonio.

Eva Green stars in Alice Winocour’s PROXIMA (Vertical) as Sarah Loreau, an engineer and astronaut who has gotten the plum assignment to spend a year aboard the International Space Station. Unfortunately, that would mean being apart from her young daughter Stella for a year, and the film deals with Sara’s tough battle to get through the training necessary while dealing with her emotions over being separated from her daughter.

For some reason, I had lost track of Winocour since her amazing breakthrough film Mustangs, and though it’s odd that this would premiere at the same TIFF as Natalie Portman’s Lucy in the Sky, it’s quite a different movie despite a few similarities, mostly that they’re both about women astronauts. Oddly, Lucy in the Sky is based on a true story, although Proxima feels far more grounded, both literally and figuratively. Much of that is because we only see Sara’s journey before getting on the rocket into space.

In many ways, Proxima means to show how tough training for a space mission is on women, particularly having to leave their children behind, and Green does an amazing job in the many demands of the role. Part of Sara’s issue is that she’s dealing within a very heavily competitive male-dominated environment, as typified Matt Dillon’s Texan astronaut Mike, but there’s also the aspect of her not wanting to show any signs of weakness. (It’s a rarity for women, particularly a French one, to have this opportunity.)

Much of what’s keeping Sarah from giving up is because she wants to be a great role model for her daughter, and honestly the scenes between Green and young Zélie Boulant are so wonderful they almost make the movie in themselves. It’s to Winocour’s credit that she continually shows how well she does at casting younger and newer actresses. I’d be neglect if I didn’t mention the gorgeous score by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who seems like such a great get for Winocour, being that he hasn’t scored as many movies in recent years.

Winocour has created another beautiful film, one that really sticks with you because she and Eva Green manage to convey the story of a woman we rarely get to see in movies in such a truly authentic and emotional way. Sadly, Proxima isn’t getting a theatrical release, but it will be on digital and VOD this Friday.

Bryan Bertino, director of The Strangers, returns with THE DARK AND THE WICKED (RLJEfilms/Shudder), an eerie horror thriller mostly set on a farm where sister and brother Louise and Michael (played by Marin Ireland and Michael Abbott Jr.) return to see their dying father only to find their mother  (Julie Oliver-Touchstone) behaving erratically. They soon learn that there’s something dark and wicked (hence the title) holding sway over anyone who enters the place.

I was pretty excited to see this movie, because while I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Stranger, I could see from his debt that Bertino definitely had talent as a director in terms of creating a mood and tone that can keep an audience on edge. While I haven’t seen his other two films since then, The Dark and the Wicked proves that my earlier instincts were correct.  With a fairly simple premise, location and relatively small cast that’s usually one or both of the two main actors, Bertino has created an enigmatic and eerier horror-thriller that does both the two elements that makes for good horror – create interesting characters with depth and then proceed to totally fuck with them in any way possible.

In this case, the set-up might seem slow to match its Southern setting, but this is one of those rare cases where slow isn’t necessarily bad. Ti West’s The Innkeepers and House of the Devil is a pretty gauge for whether this is your kind of horror. If you liked those, you’ll probably like this.

Once the gory and quite disturbing stuff starts happening, Bertino rarely lets up. Although some of the imagery isn’t as original – a woman chopping off her fingers for the third time this year! – there’s just a lot of things that are done in such clever and unique ways. There’s little question that Bertino knows how to creep viewers out and put them on on edge, but it’s all greatly helped by the two main actors who really sell the scares. I won’t get too into what the evil is that’s causing people who enter the house to savagely mutilate themselves, but it is of a demonic nature

While at first, this might seem to be in the vein of the recent Relic, of which I wasn’t too big a fan, it also delves into territory ala The Witch (without the historical setting), and that might in fact be the best barometer to decide whether Bertino’s latest is for you. Be warned that like this year’s The Lodge, The Dark and Wicked lives up to its title because you witness a lot of truly awful things, and you should not expect it to end cheerfully. (I also want to give credit to Bertino’s DP, since I’ve watched so many horror movies this year that are so dark, you cannot make out what’s going on, which isn’t the case here.)

A movie that was supposed to be released way back in March by Aviron Pictures is finally coming back via Vertical, Noriva as Andrea Di Stefano’s THE INFORMER finally sees the light of day in the U.S. after being released all over the world. It stars Joel Kinnaman as Peter/Piotr Koslow, a Polish assassin and mercenary, who has been working as an undercover FBI inside man to help them bust criminals. Rosamund Pike plays his handler, Agent Wilcox, while Clive Owen is her immediate supervisor. After a drug bust that gets an undercover cop killed, Piotr finds himself being investigated by a local detective, played by Common.

The Informer starts as as a fairly typical crime-thriller that seems to be inspired a little too much by Breaking Bad, but in fact, it was adapted from a Swedish crime thriller called 3 Seconds, written by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellström. What’s interesting is that it transforms itself from being a passable but bland entry in one of the most overused movie genres ever into something halfway interesting when Peter is sent back to jail to get closer to the drug kingpin known as The General.

If you’re a fan of Joel Kinnaman, then maybe you’ll enjoy this, but I don’t think Kinnaman has very much charisma as an actor and that really hurts the first half of the movie where he’s required to do a lot of heavy-lifting, especially opposite Pike. But it takes a while to adjust to the fact that everyone in this movie, other than Common – showing less range than usual – has taken on some sort of accent. It’s certainly a decision, though I’m not sure it’s the best one.

I have to admit that I didn’t fully understand the dynamics between the characters, and it didn’t get much easier once Peter goes back to prison, but in general, I felt like there was a lot of talent wasted here, particularly Ana de Armas as Peter’s wife. It also is a little devoid of thrills, but again, that’s mostly through when the movie turns into a prison drama, which is where it gets quite a bit better. That said, I’m still not sure if Common is supposed to be one of the good or bad guys…

The Informer may not be the most inspired crime-thriller, and Kinnaman’s typically stiff performance doesn’t help, but there’s some good moments towards the end that makes it not feel like wasted time to watch it.

Opening in 200 theaters this Friday is True to the Game 2 (Imani Media Group), which as you might guess is the sequel to movie called True to the Game, which I have not seen. It’s a street level gangster crime thriller that begins with a lot of black people shooting at each other, which seems rather ill-timed for the current situation in the country (and New York in particular). The movie stars Erica Peeples as Gina, the love interest of Quadir Richards, a drug dealer murdered in the first movie, who decides to leave Philly to recreate herself as a New York journalist. While in L.A. on an important assignment, her past in Philly follows her as Quadir’s killer Jerell (Andra Fuller) wants revenge for a hit against his crew in revenge for them getting revenge for Quadir. Oh, the movie also stars Vivica A. Fox as a woman named “Shoog.” I’m not going to review this, partially because I don’t think I’ll have much to say without having seen the first movie, but this is also not my kind of thing nor am I the target audience for it, so writing a review might just be a waste of all of our time. (Hint: It isn’t a good movie.)

Jeff Roda’s 18 to Party (Giant Pictures) is set in a small town in 1984, as it deals with a group of 8th graders who have been dealing with UFO sightings, missing parents and recent suicides as they try to get into a club despite being underage. Boy, does this have a lot of ‘80s references, so it should really be my thing. Sadly, it’s very talkie and not particularly well-written while being derivative of so many other things like Stand By Me and the It movies as filtered through Richard Linklater. Roda does get some points for his choice in music that includes Big Audio Dynamite and one of my own ‘80s favorites, The Alarm. (And yes, U2 DID steal much of its sound and schtick from the Alarm, so kudos for the movie acknowledging it.) Unfortunately, it’s used as awkwardly as most of the interactions between the kids, and yet, I still didn’t hate this. 18 to Party will open via virtual cinemas on Friday through the Laemmle in L.A. in Alamo on Demand (New York and other cities) but then will get a VOD release in North America on December 1.

From Sweden – running the gauntlet of almost every single genre festival since its release overseas in the summer of 2019 -- comes the dark fantasy-horror Koko-Di Koko-Da (Dark Star Pictures) from filmmaker Johannes Nyholm, about a couple terrorized by a sideshow artist and his entourage in the woods. I honestly didn’t get too far into the movie, because like many Swedish movies, this one is so dark and grim that it starts with the couple losing their 8-year-old daughter in the first ten minutes and when the horror element shows up, I just couldn’t get too far. Maybe I’ll give this another chance when I’m in a better head.

Similarly, I saw but don’t have much to say about Alastair Orr’s Triggered (Samuel Goldwyn Films). It’s a stylized horror-thriller in the Saw vein where a group of nine friends are out camping and partying in the woods when they wake up to find suicide bombs strapped to their chests with different countdown clocks, but in order to survive, they need to kill their friends to get more time on their clocks. It’s another high-concept thriller ala the recent No Escape and considering how much I hated that movie, I knew this wouldn’t be my thing either. I’m a little surprised that it’s being released by Samuel Goldwyn since they normally focus on more arty films and not C-level genre fare.

At my beloved local theater, the Metrograph, which I miss deeply, they’re continuing their “Robert Kramer Retrospective,” now showing Milestones from 1975, while Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli’s So Pretty will run through Thursday night. This Friday, the terrific doc Decade of Fire, directed by Gretchen Hildebran and Vivian Vazquez Irizarry, will debut as part of Metrograph’s Live Screening series, and I have to say tht this is quite a fantastic doc about the series of building fires that decimated the Bronx in the ‘70s. Monday will see the debut of the 1974 doc Frame-Up! The Imprisonment of Martin Sostre, directed by Steven Fischler, Joel Sucher and Howar Blatt, and I remind again that the Live Screening series can be accessed with an annual Metrograph membership, which is still just $50 a year or $5 month-to-month, and you cannot get a better deal right now within the world of Virtual Cinema with the number of movies being offered for that price.

Metrograph has also begun a “Ticketed Screening” series where you can pay per film, and the second one in that series is the 1965 French anthology Six in Paris (Icarus Films), that has the likes of Chabrol, Godard, Pollet and Rohmer telling short cinematic stories set in Paris, which is a must-see for fans of the French New Wave of the ‘60s. That’s available for $8 for members and $12 for non-members, so being a member is STILL a pretty good deal.

Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema continues King Hu’s Rain in the Mountain, Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall and more, joined by a double feature of Fellini’s Toby Dammit (1969) and Chris Marker’s La Jetée (1962) (the basis for Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys) starting Friday.

Also, just want to throw a quick shoutout to my much-missed neighbors uptown at Film at Lincoln Center, who also have a fairly hearty Virtual Cinema going with new and repertory offerings.

Also, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

[survivor-tierradelfuego]

Ep. 9: “If you’re not on top, you’re on the bottom & getting played” - Maddison

Maddison

I made the merge!!! Let’s gooo baby!

Aimee

I cannot believe me the oldest person made it to merge! I’m still shaking a little bit to be honest. Haha I always see those reality tv shows where the oldest person is the first boot. Haha and I know there are other 30 year olds but this feels special to me. 

Yay merge! This lady is gonna kick it into high gear, hopefully the alliances I made and the friendships I have started help me to get far but we will see what the future brings 🌅

Olivia A.

I’m excited for merge but not sure if we’ll able to get numbers together and have a majority.

Grae G

We do be merging.... OG maola is in mini Priya so I will be spending every spare moment working my ass off to try and make as many OG Hanuha bonds as possible... 

Najwah

While I'm happy to have made it to merge, I'm actually really sad about James. I've never been this sad about losing anyone in this game before. We started off never having had a one on one chat but we just had each others backs from day one. Stuck it out. Fought together. We spoke on a video call earlier and it was the most easiest conversation ever. He was genuine and kind and I wish him everything of the best in this life. He deserves so many good things. My heart is sore. I didn't want to be here with Amy. She's unresponsive and I don't really trust her. But she told me she had a steal a vote and she wanted to give it to me before tribal because it could be used post merge. And then, she changed her mind like 15 minutes before tribal she was like no this game is a distraction for me and I want to use it tonight. And it was either going to be James or me. She was in a position of power. I think she chose to vote James out coz she has previously stated that he is good at challenges. She wants to have a secret alliance with me. I agreed to it just so that I could be. Kept in the game by her I guess. I have no intention to betray other people I am in an alliance with. Idk. I'm just still shocked. I actually cried about it on a call with Cody earlier. Cody also told me that since day 1 Ben and Zack have been bitching about me voting James out and turning on James and weakening Hanúha Tribe alliance. Like? What? I'm so annoyed. Not once have I even considered voting out James. We had a good thing going. He's just one of the best people in this game and I honestly wish he was. Here. I'm not in the mood for these two faced assholes who only care about themselves. 

Pedro A

im scared ..this can change the whole game

Sarah

AHHH, it’s Merge time! I’m so excited that I, along with most of my alliance, made it to Merge. Definitely sad about James being voted out at the last vote since he was one of my closest allies in the game but thanks for giving me coins and helping me get the idol James! 😊 Maybe Amy has put a target on her back after playing steal a vote and can be an “easy” first vote for the majority of people on our new tribe. Well, there was definitely a lot to catch up on in a week and I talked with Cody for quite awhile last night and he filled me in. He let me know that Ben confided in him and said he didn’t trust Zack fully either. Cody of course hasn’t completely trusted Zack this whole game so at some point, I’m sure everyone will vote out Zack. But for now, our alliance and former Hanuha tribe is staying strong. Like I’ve said, I feel like Cody and I are in one of the best positions in the game because of our connections with so many others. Aimee feels close to me, Najwah feels close to Cody, and Ben and Zack feel close to us. I have also had some communication with Grae and feel like I can talk with her. I do think there is an alliance between Grae, Maddison, Olivia, and maybe Amy though. This next challenge and tribal will be interesting for sure with a 6/6 tribe split. 

Olivia A

At the moment it feels like we’re in the minority (with Pedro still mad abt the John vote) but with this idol and the plan to get everyone to target Pedro I feel like we can get in a good place again. And then convincing people to turn on Zack will hopefully not be too hard.

Maddison

It seems like the boys from original Hanuha are coming after me... and there is nothing I hate more than men chasing me. Time to bring down the hammer. :) I found an idol today thanks to the help of my lovely Rox the Sox alliance. I’m happy to have it in my possession but I’m also ready to use it for whomever in my alliance may need it. I wouldn’t have found it without them anyways. 

Amy A

Made the merge 🎉🎉🎉🎉. Can’t say it has been an easy road. Almost voted out last night. Even though that was not even remotely gonna happen cos ‘Steal-a-vote’. So, definitely happy to be here but sad that I lost my advantage. Also, my alliance with Najwah seems pretty solid. I hope she isn’t just saying stuff to me just to gain my trust and then break it. I absolutely trust her. Even beyond the game. I feel like I can actually talk to her. Let’s go merge!!! Amy A. So, lies. I feel like this should be my little confessional to keep track of my lies cos 😂😂😂😂😂😂 it’s so damn hilarious to ME. I don’t even have a cat but I feel like people seem you as more trustworthy when you have a pet. I also think Grae believes I’m not aligned with Najwah cos I told her I had a mini bond w James instead. This is really entertaining. 

Zack M

"well, i got it." - valerie cherish, the comeback and by it i mean the merge. i'm here. i've accomplished what i wanted to do. now my goal is to make it to top 10. baby steps. but i feel like i'm going to be the first person voted out tbh. something is off with my tribe. the only person i feel like i can actually trust at the moment is najwah. we had like a 2 hour video call last night and compared notes. apparently cody also tried to buy the necklace with her. i'm like 89% positive that him and sarah have the idol. i really wanted to go to final two with him but 1. i don't see me making 2. if i do, i don't think i can fully trust him. it's obvious he is running around talking to everyone and it's starting to get messy. anyways, i think i will be voted out first because it's clear the maola girls are working together. maddison, grae, olivia, amy, kalle all need someone to vote out. why not the guy who was the "tribe leader" at the swap. there may be some hope IF pedro stays loyal and votes with the hanuha tribe but that would also mean that aimee and sarah have to stay with us. aimee apparently told pedro she's been on the bottom which isn't a lie but like why aimee? *face palm* if hanuha stays strong and pedro votes with us then it will be 7 /5 and i should be safe. i would like to pretend to vote amy out (#Justice4James) because i feel like alan may have gave her the idol, if they actually had one like rumor suggests. she plays the idol ... we flush it ... and take out maddison or grae. that would be dream scenario. but who knows what is going to happen with this auction coming up. stay tuned. 

Olivia A

At the moment it feels like we’re in the minority (with Pedro still mad abt the John vote) but with this idol and the plan to get everyone to target Pedro I feel like we can get in a good place again. And then convincing people to turn on Zack will hopefully not be too hard.

Pedro A

OKay so kalle basically said...."I've been on the bottom since the John vote lol....I just don't know who I can try to connect or reconnect with at this point"...so she doesnt trust them anymore....which is nice...and i kinda believe her..considering they didnt pick her to be in the swap tribe...which honestly was a mistake......Grae and Maddison..im coming for you...karma is a bitch

Pedro A

im talking with najwah...i kinda wanna know about her relationship with amy...cause amy is a snake gURL...But i feel like its too early on to ask that...but im watching you GURL

Pedro A

lets just hope we dont self destruct...cause then we will be devoured by the habuha. tribe

Olivia A

Checked in with Aimee and she’s seeming iffy about the original Hanuha people and is still interested in working with me! This is very good news :) If we get Pedro our next and Aimee sticks w us then we’ll have the numbers 6-5.

Kalle N

This first tribal is going to be a gigantic mess. Pedro now says he trusts me and asked me really nicely to not lie to him bc he's sick of being lied to, and it just made me feel really bad. I think rox the sox is still planning on voting Pedro but if I feel like I genuinely have him on my side, I could maybe try to get our alliance to vote for someone else like Zack or Ben. Ben really wants to take out Maddison or Grae but idk how much I want to rely on Ben.

Pedro 

i honestly feel like i noone is being truthfull to me

Pedro A

Honestly im scared...at this point..i just want to make it into the top 10

Pedro A

one step at a time

Olivia A.

For this challenge I’m paired with Cody. I’m not really excited about it. I don’t have anything against him but I’ve never interacted w this man before and I don’t want to help him get immunity! He seems rly nice and funny I just feel like it’s gonna be awkward and also I have 0 ideas. Doesn’t rly matter though bc we’re not planning on targeting him so if he does get immunity it’s whatever. 🤷🤷

Pedro A

Is this  a jokkeeee..I'm with graeeeee .....I'm so unlucky...I'm honestly doneeee..like wtf...what did I do to deserve this ass...gods please help..

Kalle N

I don't know if you're familiar with the show New Girl or not, but it's my favorite show of all time and I'm going to use an example from it to explain how I feel. In New Girl, Nick Miller once said "I'm so sick of the lying... and the manipulating ..  and the out-manipulating". I'm lying and holding so much different info from different people and groups of people that my brain is going to explode. Can't wait to see what Aimee will be like but oof this is getting crazy

Olivia A

I take back what I said Cody’s vibes are immaculate 🤠

Aimee

Haha I’m an idiot. I just sat there at the auction staring at the void. I think I’m still so shook I made it to merge that I just stare into the blankness instead of doing anything. Dang, I wish I would of gotten that envelope. I need that extra vote man. I don’t want that extra going to the Suite life of Zack and Cody. I feel like they are still a big threat to my game even if we are being friendly right now. I don’t necessarily believe in this old Hanuha strong alliance. I’m skeptical, the game of survivor is so complex and I don’t want to play this simple, it has burned me before. With this immunity challenge for me Kalle would be a simple vote to get out now. But now I have to work with her to get immunity. Damn. We will see how this goes. Your lady is gonna to try her best no matter what. No throwing challenges here , in this house. 

Zack M

literally fml. i didn't get anything the auction which i don't care about tbh. but now it's our first INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE but we have to work in pairs. individual immunity challenge .... in pairs. i know. seems like kindergarten knowledge that we would work alone but like whatever. i'm partners with amy. she fucked over najwah and james. i hear she doesn't respond and she didn't even complete the last challenge. i guess i will be doing this alone. flashback to high school when i did all the group projects. this is kind of mean. amy could be a sweetheart of a person. she's been nothing but nice to me. and i did reach out to her this morning because her facial expressions during tribal do crack me up. so if you read this amy, know that my frustration isn't with you personally ... it's how you've played the game so far from what i've been able to see. + that our first individual immunity challenge isn't individual at all. whatever. 

Sarah

AHHH, it’s Merge time! I’m so excited that I, along with most of my alliance, made it to Merge. Definitely sad about James being voted out at the last vote since he was one of my closest allies in the game but thanks for giving me coins and helping me get the idol James! 😊 Maybe Amy has put a target on her back after playing steal a vote and can be an “easy” first vote for the majority of people on our new tribe. Well, there was definitely a lot to catch up on in a week and I talked with Cody for quite awhile last night and he filled me in. He let me know that Ben confided in him and said he didn’t trust Zack fully either. Cody of course hasn’t completely trusted Zack this whole game so at some point, I’m sure everyone will vote out Zack. But for now, our alliance and former Hanuha tribe is staying strong. Like I’ve said, I feel like Cody and I are in one of the best positions in the game because of our connections with so many others. Aimee feels close to me, Najwah feels close to Cody, and Ben and Zack feel close to us. I have also had some communication with Grae and feel like I can talk with her. I do think there is an alliance between Grae, Maddison, Olivia, and maybe Amy though. This next challenge and tribal will be interesting for sure with a 6/6 tribe split. Olivia A.For this challenge I’m paired with Cody. I’m not really excited about it. I don’t have anything against him but I’ve never interacted w this man before and I don’t want to help him get immunity! He seems rly nice and funny I just feel like it’s gonna be awkward and also I have 0 ideas. Doesn’t rly matter though bc we’re not planning on targeting him so if he does get immunity it’s whatever. 🤷🤷

Sarah

FUCCKK. I didn’t buy anything in the auction except for a ticket with the VL (which I’m honestly thrilled about that). I definitely thought there would be 10 items, I learned my Survivor auction lesson.... So much has happened in the past hour I- Cody got an extra vote which he told me and then we discussed whether we should tell the whole group or not. I encouraged him to share it because it would keep our Hanuha tribe from getting paranoid at this first vote if they knew we had that advantage. We don’t want Zack to get paranoid and flip... So. Zack messaged Cody about Najwah sharing with him about what the necklace meant. Zack said that the necklace had to be used with an idol and would be like a super idol that can be played after the votes are read. But if Naj holds on to it, she gets a 5% disadvantage each week. Najwah didn’t message Cody about it and he was hurt and didn’t know if he could trust her. Cody asked Najwah and at first she said it was just a cursed necklace with a disadvantage and then later shared with him about using it with an idol. So we have no idea what is the truth and if Zack and Naj are closer than we think... but Zack literally wanted to vote Naj out so I have NO idea what to think anymore. I’m also worried that James shared with Naj he had shared 5 coins with me because they got close and now she may think I have an idol.... asdfghjkl. Cody also wants to start a group of 3 with Ben, him, and I but we don’t know if that will expose Cody and I and if Ben would share that with Zack. Sooo much uncertainty. Merge is CRAZY. 

Grae G

Pedros my partner which sucks for him bc of my disadvantage :///

Najwah

 I'm so happy about having Sarah as a partner in this challenge. Also awesome that I'm able to give people a 10% advantage. So Amy and I are secretly chatting. Initially I was ready to just blindside her and get her out but she's giving me the tea from the inside lmao and we are sharing ideas and hyping each other up and I love that. Pedro started talking to me too and we kinda connected. I told Amy the 10% in giving is for her and Zack and I'm telling Zack it's because I don't want to give Maddison, Grae or Olivia an advantage so Ben and Cody don't benefit from my advantage either. Aimee, Sarah, Zack, Amy and I do however and these are all people I'm willing to work with in the future. I have to play this very carefully. I THINK people trust me right now, but I suspect they're extremely weary. I don't want to be messy so I am sticking to Hanúha, Amy African Queen alliance and I'll listen and entertain Pedro if he wants to talk. He just needed to vent and I really think he's a genuine person. Not sure what he's going to be like now that he's working with someone he "Hates" and is "dead to him" yep my guy is hella dramatic. I feel for him though, I do. It's a game of survivor yes but the constant lying and betrayal affects one psychologically. It's important to still treat each other like humans and be kind. I feel okay right now. I think I'm in an okay position right now. 

Olivia A

I take back what I said Cody’s vibes are immaculate 🤠

Sarah

Cody, Ben, and I formed a three person alliance tonight and I honestly feel really good about it. Cody and I were worried that it might expose Cody and I’s closeness but we both really trust Ben and want to talk through things and work with him. Ben brought up the point of causing chaos at the first tribal so the former Maola tribe can play advantages/idols and we can flush some of them out. I think that will be a good plan. We will get more information tomorrow and then make a decision when we go to tribal. I still haven’t told Ben about my idol yet and I feel like I may but I just want to make sure sure sure that he wouldn’t tell anyone else... After talking with Ben, Cody and I called for another hour and seriously, our friendship goes beyond this game. It’s so crazy how someone can become your best friend in a couple weeks. We obviously want to get to final three/two together and don’t care about voting each other out (if there was a million dollars up for grabs yeah I would want to vote Cody out 😂). We want to go down as the best dynamic duo. 

Pedro A

really GRAE an disadvantge??????....CHILLLLEEEEE....my luck...im literally so unlucky.....anyways lets try to win either way Im so not confidente about this challenge and about the next tribal jeez...this will be a long ride

Cody A

https://youtu.be/cAF4L9RNlHg

Pedro A

me and grae did fine.....i really liked our ideia....i hope the judges like it too......IM SO NERVOUS...after this challenge chilllee...IT WILL be a mess

Olivia A

I’m excited for merge but not sure if we’ll able to get numbers together and have a majority.

Olivia A

Working with Cody on this challenge was a lot of fun!! We’re not in the same alliance but if I’m in a position where I do need to strategically work with him later on I’m confident that won’t be too difficult. Also I love what we made lol. 

Grae g

Amy got immunity which is very sexy Zack not so much but you know he’s not an active target ((yet))

Kalle N

Ok I literally had to make a chart to keep track of which lies I'm telling to which people bc this is getting WILD. Basically, Ben and I are trying to organize a Grae blindside without Grae knowing anything. If all goes according to plan, we have the numbers to make it happen without me even having to vote for Grae, which will make Maddison and Olivia still trust me. We're also trying to get Maddison to play her idol so we're pretending that her name is being thrown out. In order for this to work we NEED Aimee so tomorrow we're trying to pit her against Grae and make her think that Grae is just using her as a number and wants to get rid of her. I also have to keep talking to Pedro and just make sure he doesn't spread any info or find anything out. Bc he could topple this whole thing. I've also told everyone that I have a fake idol when it's actually real, and Grae is the only one who knows it's real. So if we vote them out and they haven't told anyone else, then that secret dies with them and I'm golden. Even Ben thinks my idol is fake. I'M OUT HERE PLAYING 11TH DIMENSIONAL CHESS rn

Zack M

to quote the great philosopher t-pain, "all i do is win win win...." dude. what?! i won the first "individual" immunity challenge?! this is so wild to me. najwah and sarah's was so cute. i want the little bead man najwah made of me. she really called me an #EMOGAY ... love to see it. back to my work though ... look ... was amy my first choice? no. literally no offense to you amy because you were actually a delight to work with because you allowed me to do what i wanted to do. the secret to a relationship with me is to let me have my way. you did and LOOK AT GOD you're safe. i know i'm a threat in this game and the second i don't win i will be in the mouths of everyone ... im including my alliances in that statement. like why would you want to keep me in this game with my track record? i guess for a shield? seems risky to me. i would 100% blindside me. i would like to take a second and talk to one of the judges from this challenge: dear raffy, lord where do i even start. this is an online game of survivor that's happening while everyone is also living real life. i'm not sure what you expected from people but like damn dude ... you were really acting like you were a guest judge on america's got talent or something. make way for TRYra banks. he called himself "a moment" in his bio. let me tell you that no people wait a lifetime for a moment like this. i can't. lol. you literally gave me a 6 for appeal but gave a computer generated buzzfeed quiz a 9. these judges should really have to explain their scores live in my opinion. ALSO JUDGES SHOULD NOT BE PEOPLE WHO ARE DRAFTING PLAYERS!!! now, i'm not saying they are cheating. (please do not edit this out because i just learned that was a thing from najwah. i will share whatever is missing from my confessions on twitter or somewhere if it isn't here when posted.) it seems a lot of this game is "in the family" and i don't like that. it's hard to be unbiased. but back to raffy ... you said i should have included the entire tribe or created a whole deck. sir ... 1. this is an INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE that i already had the displeasure of working on with someone else. it should have just been me on that card tbh. i'm tired of having everything comeback to a tribe. this isn't pre-merge. 2. create a whole deck? this was not some copy and paste art project. i did EVERYTHING including writing out the text on the cards instead of typing it out. now that that's out of my system .. jesus .. i don't even know where to begin with the vote. ben and i have decided to start floating maddison and olivia's names around. this will hopefully scare maddison into using whatever her MAYBE advantage from the auction is. let's flush that out. BUT the target i believe is going to be grae. we're not going to share that until later because we don't know if they're are any moles in the group. omg i just thought, what if her advantage is to steal immunity away from a player at tribal. i don't think that's ever been a thing but like maybe on this fucked up online version it could be. you just never know what to expect. hopefully everything goes according to plan and i just get to chill and see where everyone stands in the game .... and then i win again next time. 

Pedro A

I dont like that Amy came to talk to me.....seems suspicious...expecially because amy and najwah for sure have an allience...LOL.....i dont even know what to say..........i think im going tonight...maybe im just being paranoid....But i have this feeling....and hey its my 3rd tribal....3 times its a charm LOL

Amy A

So my little alliance with Najwah is brewing 😂. We’re super close and tell each other everything and I think this is the best move I’ve made since the game started. Also, I won immunity 🎉. Najwah’s advantage really helped. Cos that’s what boosted us. Unless no one tells me she’s the vote, she’s NOT going home tonight. I feel really great for tonight’s tribal and can’t wait to see what’s next.

Pedro A

but im 95% sure najwah..and amy are working a together...like amy came to talk to me...while najwah was online....and it seemed like shes was comparing notes ..to what i said to najwah lol

Pedro A

it feel like Najwah came to supervise me and to get me to throw out a name...LIKE GURLLLL...you think im stoopid?....I HAVE A BAD FEELING...i think its me tonight...chilleeee...which is dumb tbh....cause theres bigger fish...

Pedro A

I feel like najwah...doesnt trust me........like shes always...suspicous of me ...i dont like that....like im paranoid...but she is AN INVESTIGATOR 

Pedro A

IM going homeeee FUCKKK

Pedro A

Theory confirmed...CHILLEE...kalle told me....and Grae, Maddison, or Olivia, are planning to vote my ass out...like gurl....and apparently the other tribe was also considering voting my ass out also...wtffff...IM AT ROCK BOTTOM...and im not even playing both sides...i just want grae maddison and olivia out LOL

Pedro A

Grae´s ass better leave...i worked so mf hard on that challenge...and got a disadvantge from them ...and now they are trynna vote me out...LIKE chillleee wtf

Maddison

I! Still! Want! Pedro! Gone! Also hi Zack you’re the clear ringleader but you’ll be knocked out soon enough my guy

Olivia A

Hiii so it’s looking like we’re going for Pedro. I think we have a solid 6 and hopefully 7 if we can get Aimee to get Sarah in with us. This vote feels really important bc it’s gonna establish who has the majority. Although, anyone could flip at any time. WHO KNOWS!! 

Kalle N

So last night I was stressing and now I've actually decided to just pass away. This is getting insane. I told Pedro about the Grae vote and he's in, I just have to babysit him and make sure that he doesn't say a word about it to anyone. We also NEED Cody to use his extra vote. I need to throw away my vote on someone that Amy could vote for bc I'm gonna have to throw blame on her after this if this actually works out. The lying is really getting on top of me bc I have to say different things to different people but here we are. Very big tribal tonight

Maddison

I wish some people would realize that if you’re not on top, you’re on the bottom & getting played. 

Amy A

The votes are a MESS lemme tell you! The names are Pedro and Grae. We’re tryna use Cody as our decoy vote. The actual mess is in who we’re gonna involve and everyone tryna downplay their closeness to people on the other side. OG Maola tea-time seems to be working well together and have all agreed on Pedro. Maddison has taken a step back from the aggressive role cos I think she has seen that it’d make her a target. I honestly wouldn’t mind voting her out someday because she’s GOOD. I just want us all to get through this tribal and see where the lines fall. 

Amy A

Najwah is an actual rockstar 😂😂😂. She and I are basically a tag team at this point. Our private messages are actually lit. Nothing is off topic and literally everything I hear, I tell her. The best part is always blaming the things I know from her from our Palena swap tribe on James. I always say ‘James told me ...’ and it’s HILARIOUS. People may have doubted at the beginning but I think that now, no one even thinks we work together. We nicknames Zack and Pedro ‘Dynamic Dúo’ and I basically love her. She’s my spirit animal. 

Olivia A

Hiii so it’s looking like we’re going for Pedro. I think we have a solid 6 and hopefully 7 if we can get Aimee to get Sarah in with us. This vote feels really important bc it’s gonna establish who has the majority. Although, anyone could flip at any time. WHO KNOWS!! 

Olivia A

The vote is still Pedro but our fake-out vote is Cody. I completely trust the people I’m working with but I’m getting a gut feeling that this isn’t going to work out in our favor. Just bc the numbers aren’t quite secure yet. But I’ll just stick w the plan and stay hopeful :/

Kalle N.

kinda bummed we didn't get to pull off the Grae blindside tonight and give Pedro the idol that no one knows about :( But I'm more bummed that Zack was treating anyone the way he did so good riddance I guess. The PB & K alliance is hopefully going to be the undercover move making force that we need to keep our momentum going forward. Unfortunately I do have to work with Ben for right now since I'm definitely on the bottom of my other alliances. It'll be interesting to see what happens next

Pedro A

SOOO this was a mess....i was going homeee tonight.........this wholee situation saved my damn lifeeee.....lets hope this was only a situational thing....and next round is someone different....i doubt it...but still......im so shocked about zack...also can i say that my nº1s change every elimination ..like now its kalle and ben ...i trust them..they had my best interest in mind....im sorry to whoever is reading this...i dont like making long texts in english..and im not good with essays.. SORRY

Aimee

I’m not sure where I left off in my last confessional lol so I’ll start here It was a lot of fun working with Kalle on the coloring and poem projects. I really liked her haiku and her originality of it. I hope she becomes more confident in her creative writing. I’m happy that we got 3rd overall. This morning I heard Grae’s name get thrown around. Haha I literally almost cried when I heard that. I’m not normally an emotional person but I feel like Grae and I have such a special connection and I don’t want to lose it so soon. They are a joy to talk with everyday and I might honestly have a little crush forming. ☺️😅 Their energy matches no other that I talk to in this game. 🤩 It was so nice getting reached out to by Grae and Maddison on how they wanted to vote Pedro out. It was such a relief to finally get included in a vote. I am working closely with Ben in this game. Our main thing is that no one can know we are working together so that we can hear information from all sides of the game. He is someone that I can spill my guts to about ANYTHING game related and I know that he is in it with me for the long haul. There’s so much we know about  each other that it’s almost impossible to betray each other without burning each other to the ground! Not that I would want to! He is such a sweetheart and I love him to bits! Haha it’s hard to keep track of the days at this point. We video chat a lot and I really enjoy his company! I’m happy we both made it to merge and together we can turn this game upside down. Sarah and I call ourselves Team Casanova! The flash game queens! 👑 I love talking with her about outside of the game stuff. It’s was so great having her on Maola with me and now merge. We have built such a strong relationship and I really think she is someone I can trust through the end!!!! I really enjoy Maddison too. She seems so down to earth and easy to talk to. I’m glad she sees me as an ally and am excited to see how far she is willing to work with me. Shout out to my girl Najwah! I had no idea what all she was going through and I’m so happy that the emotional threat to her well being is out of this game. She is such a gem and I hope we get to work together more in the future. I’m honestly happy Zack is out of the game. I don’t enjoy hearing what all he was saying about contestants and the host. This game is meant for fun. I hope with him being out the game will be less stressful for us all. I’m just so sorry to hear about what people on my old Hanuha chat had to go through, it sounds even worse than how I felt about things. It breaks my heart and I’m relieved for this reset in the game where we can all air things out and come together. I love everyone here and I’m so happy Jay has decided to recruit me. These friendships I have made and continue to make have been such a joy this summer. Your lady is strong and I will keep fighting for that immunity. ✌️

Najwah

these past 24 hours have been the craziest ever and I have experienced a whirlwind of emotions, all while forgetting to eat, barely sleeping ans having not got out of bed today. Let me start from the beginning, hopefully I remember it all. Let me grab some snacks too. So it started with our first reward challenge. The auction. zack immediately asked me what I got and everyone else were sharing their bid items in the old hanuha group chat so in a panic, I told him. In retrospect, I should have lied. Anyway, zack made me doubt my trust in Cody so i decided not to tell Cody the truth about the necklace, i would learn that zack had told cody about my necklace almost immediately. But more on that later. Anyway, in a panic, i told ben too. lmao. Why? who knows? But i suppose it was an opening and Ben and i Could talk for the first time. Why am i writing this at 12 am on like2 hours sleep? who knows? Okay so then the reward challenge comes up and I am paired with Sarah. I end up having the best day ever. I had so much fun creating and chatting to sarah. We just spoke about life, absolutely nothing game related. For the first time in this entire game, I felt as though we could actually WIN and for the first time, I was having THE BEST DAY. I gave each of my 8bit survivor characters little haikus. It was funny, if i say so myself. Me? I love my silly humour. Okay this page is cutting me off I will write these in parts. 

Najwah

Before the challenge due date yesterday, Cody messages me and of course I am pleasantly surprised as I have felt like things were a bit off between Cody and I since merge happened. He said he wants to call and it ends up being one of the most emotional calls i have had in a while, even in real life. Through our call, we realised that we have basically had the same gut feelings about zack and his behaviour for a while now and we spoke about how zack has been trying to pit us against each other, how controlling and jealous and manipulative he is. We basically realised that the reason we have been so mentally exhausted was BECAUSE of Zack's paranoia. zack spoke so much game. we were constantly being bombarded and had our trust and loyalty questioned and he thought nothing about throwing My or Cody's names out. All of this just validated and reaffirmed our feelings towards Zack and we decided there and then that we would vote Zack out ASAP. As we were talking, the reultsof the challenge were released and lmao what are the chances that FRIGGEN ZACK WINS IMMUNITY URGGGHHHH. We were reeling and i so much wanted to decompress with Cody but then I had my meeting with the VL draft people so I had to reframe my mindset. Bare in mind that this is all happening at 4am and im under the blankets, with a warm bean bag because it is freezing out. NajwahI actually loved my conference call with Ellie, Raffy and Tim. What awesome people. I wish i wasn't as distracted or could articulate better because I feel as though my mind was all over the place but i also took the opportunity to ask for their advice and guidance post my call of revelations with Cody. It was still fresh in my mind and they gave me some GOOD pointers. They also told me how I should approach the game moving forward. I loved how they all had such different approaches. Raffy made me laugh so much. They told me how to deal with Zack too. So some other ish went down after this call. 

Najwah

Cody calls me and is like "lets get on a three way call with Sarah" After gushing about how much we love each other and how we have been on the same page for such a long time, Sarah throws an idea out that sticks. WHY NOT VOTE PEDRO OUT TO ISOLATE ZACK SINCE WE CANNOT VOTE ZACK. And we spent a lot of time freaking out and laughing about how we are going to do that. Cody was frustrated that everyone just assumed he and Zack were a duo and I said its because "Zack and Cody" to which Cody replied "Well this definitely aint the sweet life." Later I suggested that we call the group Mr Moseby and Cody said it was perfect as Zack was the bane of Mr Mosebys existance. Everytime i think about it I laugh. We spoke until my battery died, which was around 6am. I didnt sleep much because I was tasked to get a name out of pedro. I think i was messy there because Pedro accused me of being acting "like a supervisor and demanding a name from him like he is a ring leader" and honestly, it made me laugh so much. He is so dramatic I can't deal. Anyway, he knew what I was trying to do and he called me out and I apologised and honestly felt bad about the whole thing. In the end, I am happy we didn't vote him out. He has loose lips but he is very honest and I like that.

Najwah

So i feel as though there are so many things that happened simultaneously today. Amy L and I are working together on the side, she gives me all the ex maola tea. She told me Maddison has an idol. I haven't used this information yet and I won't now because it will raise questions. I told her that some of us are willing to vote Zack. The funny thing about our chats is that Amy keeps saying we need to share this tea with the VL. Any bit of information I have ever given her, she tells her tribemates she got from James lmao. And whenever I talk about her, I use James and Ryan too. Our alliance is so low key and its such a safe, unpretentious space. We have the best chats and we just spill tea for information's sake. Neither of us are going to use any of the tea. It's great having an in. 

Najwah

So all day Zack has been bitching about jay and Raffy and the judges and honestly, I can't even remember what else. It was as though he got a kick out of being verbally abusive. I think he watches too much trashy reality TV, there is a difference between sassy and just plain rude. I also felt that many of his comments were borderline misogynistic. also, whatever information I have given him, he used against Jay. Today was a blur and also intense and also exhausting. I went with Cody to a mall, to visit his friend at a military base, drove around with him, chatted in his room while he was drinking a whole bottle of frozen coke. Like we spoke so much and it was just Zack's constant bitching and paranoia getting to us? Like? How does one person make so many people feel uncomfortable. Cody got on a call with Ben and told him that we had been trying to vote Pedro out and ben went ballistic and said that i am being manipulated by ex moala, he didn't know that we all wanted Pedro out. It made me mad so I called Ben too and asked him why he keeps thinking I want to flip? But he gave me his word and I guess that should mean something. Today was especially exhausting because I had to pretend and entertain Zack until we voted him out. I hated every minute because usually if i find out people talk shit about me, I either talk it out or just not talk to the person at all. I couldnt do that with him. I needed him tio feel safe with me in order for us to pull of the pedro blindside. I wanted to see the look on his face when he realised wtf had just happened. Am i sad that I didn't get that satisfaction? yep. 

Najwah

Do I feel Zack should have been removed? Honestly no. I don't agree with it. I think we should have worked with everyone else and voted him out. I genuinely don't think he is a horrible person. In all honesty, I wish we could have met outside this game. I feel as though the game wasn't good for him. Not that i'm trying to justify his actions but I feel as though he got too invested and was too emotionally unstable. Most of us are here to have fun. Sure, it would be nice to win but at the end of the day it's not real life and I would much rather preserve the friendships and connections I've made in this game than win. Winning is nice but it isn't everything. Am i worried about Zack and wonder whether he will have a setback of some sort? Definitely. He has spoken about his crippling anxiety numerous times, which he has also projected time and time again. 

Najwah

So Cody feels bad and blames himself for all of this. I don't blame him. I feel bad too. I thought I would feel some sort of relief with zack gone, but it is just guilt. I mean the messages were still sent in confidence and I feel bad for violating his privacy. I also feel bad for entertaining him because of the game. I don't want to be playing so hard that I go against my values. It just feels weird with zack removed. Like he wont be on the jury. I can't stop wondering whether he is okay, as a human to another human. My husband says that the Russel Hantz of Tierra del fuego got removed. It made me laugh a little. He is a survivor super fan too so he is very invested in all of this. Sigh. I may have left some stuff out because its so late and just A LOT has happened but I will keep confessing as I think of things or remember things. Oh lol Ben said he would voted Zack out in a heart beat, Basically we all felt the exact same from the beginning, no one wanted to speak out in fear of being targeted.

Olivia A

The vote is still Pedro but our fake-out vote is Cody. I completely trust the people I’m working with but I’m getting a gut feeling that this isn’t going to work out in our favor. Just bc the numbers aren’t quite secure yet. But I’ll just stick w the plan and stay hopeful :/

Sarah

From last night.... https://youtu.be/EirlyVVXDKk

Ben Kessler

Today was eventful, so I will skip to the end. Situationally, I believe I am not in a good spot at all. There are 11 people left, Pedro will receive votes next tribal, but I would like him to stay. My former tribe it seems as though everyone is closer with others than they are with me, except possibly Aimee but that's a stretch. Today could potentially crash my game. So, what do I do? Hope is not strategy. Tomorrow, I talk to others. I ensure everybody knows how close people are. I play double agent. I make sure I am at least in important conversations to merely be there. I let people know I want to be with them in a group setting. I re-establish that I am here to have a good time. At the end of the day, this both is and isn't monopoly. Strategy is involved, but the rules aren't as specific. You don't know how much money or property people are holding. Situationally, though, it is the same. You work with the hand you are dealt and I intend to make the absolute best of this hand. People will do what they want for a variety of reasons, so I need to let things roll off my shoulders, read, and react. To end this long confessional, I am not hoping for anything. I will be doing things to affect change. If I see it doesn't work, I lay low. Read and react.

Maddison

the pink house has become my safe haven. i shall inhabit her until i can no longer. thank you, pink house, for the many blessings of coins that you have given myself and my allies.

Pedro A

Okay...so i think grae maddison and olivia are voting me....and everyone else is voting maddison (if maddison doesnt use her ring)...and im voting olivia and using kalles idol....idk at this point 2 hours till tribal..and anything can change

Sarah

Plans keep changing every minute but as of right now going into this first Merge tribal, the plan is to vote out Maddison because it seems like Maddison, Grae, and Olivia want to vote Pedro so if they vote Pedro and the rest of us vote Maddison we may could blindside her and we could get an idol out of the game. If she plays an idol, then Pedro still goes home and original Hanuha is saved... but if Pedro wins immunity, of course we will have to rework everything. We may be able to do 4 for Olivia and 4 for Maddison .

Aimee

https://elysiankardia.tumblr.com/post/625017490490179584

Is this really happening? Am I going to vote for who I ACTUALLY want to vote for for once, as a treat? And I getting what I want...and controlling the vote?! Am I in the twilight zone? The name of the game now is to get all of my potential final allies to get along with each other and play nice. My hand is in so many cookie jars I have to be careful, all my relationships trust each other. I already have an army ready to strike if anyone tries to turn on me, and I was forming those relationships genuinely and BEFORE I needed them to come through for me, not last minute where trust would be harder to earn. I literally am running this vote off of Grae and Maddison and onto a different target. Hanuha is so deadest in getting one of the “core three” out and this is the best I can do to protect those two but also not flip on people who I trust from my original tribe. For DAYS they have been so afraid of Grae and Maddison and I’m put in massive work to divert that away from them. My plan is something right down the middle, where I get to have my cake and eat it too. I love the best of both worlds; I’m Hannah Montana!

Maddison

Tonight is going to be a big one. I’ve heard my name and I really don’t want to go home with an idol in my pocket. Better safe than sorry? Olivia AI really hope this vote works out I’m NERVOUS!! Also, I worked really hard on this challenge so getting the disadvantage when I had 2 puzzles left was shitty but I don’t really need the immunity anyway. Still felt really good to finish it out regardless of if I win. :)

Sarah

Plans keep changing every minute but as of right now going into this first Merge tribal, the plan is to vote out Maddison because it seems like Maddison, Grae, and Olivia want to vote Pedro so if they vote Pedro and the rest of us vote Maddison we may could blindside her and we could get an idol out of the game. If she plays an idol, then Pedro still goes home and original Hanuha is saved... but if Pedro wins immunity, of course we will have to rework everything. We may be able to do 4 for Olivia and 4 for Maddison . 

Amy A

Tribal again and with it, ALLLLLL the drama. So I have made a ‘vote four’ alliance w Kalle, Ben and Pedro which is supposed to be secret. Which makes it two secret alliances I’m a part of 😂😂😂😂😂😂. The alliance w Najwah is definitely the one I’m most loyal to but Pedro and co seem like a really solid group I can work with. I didn’t think I’d win immunity so there’s that. About tonight’s vote, the new ‘core four’ is aiming for Grae but in order to keep the alliance a secret, only Pedro will vote for her. It’s all exciting stuff and I KNOW tonight’s tribal is going to be THE ONE. Cannot wait. 

Olivia A

I really hope this vote works out I’m NERVOUS!! Also, I worked really hard on this challenge so getting the disadvantage when I had 2 puzzles left was shitty but I don’t really need the immunity anyway. Still felt really good to finish it out regardless of if I win. :)

Aimee

Nooooo I didn’t need Olivia to win immunity. That way she is one of the “core 3 Maola” out. Oh man I don’t think I can save my game and Maddison at the same time. I got the target off Grae after merge happened. I worked so hard for that so this all wasn’t for nothing. There’s like fifteen minutes before tribal and I’m still not entirely sure what is going to happen.

[jakelace]

Justice League - Review

(Don’t worry, this review is spoiler-free.)

Do you remember The Avengers? I’m sure you do. It’s a film filled with great writing, great performances and outstanding fun, so why wouldn’t you? I remember sitting in the theater for The Avengers and being so excited to see all the heroes I had come to know finally join forces. I was utterly blown away by what I saw. It’s a movie that sparked my passion for film and helped inform my decision that writing and telling stories was what I wanted to do with my life. Well, DC saw The Avengers two. And no, I don’t mean “also”. With that knowledge from Avengers: Age of Ultron they birthed Justice League: a deeply flawed and borderline incoherent mess that has just enough charisma from a few of its leads to keep it from becoming completely unbearable.

“What are your superpowers again?”

“I’m rich.”

Justice League sees a new side of The Batman (Ben Affleck) as he works to assemble a group of heroes to stop the impending invasion of Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds)  and the parademons. The problem lies here, first and foremost. Ever since 2008’s Iron Man, it’s been very rare that I don’t understand how or why anything happens in a superhero film, and for a concept that is worlds less convoluted than Lex Luthor’s plan in Batman v Superman, Justice League goes out of its way to introduce plot threads and scenes that needlessly complicate everything. There’s been a joke ever since BvS came out that DC doesn’t know how to pace a film, and Justice League is only marginally better in that department. The focus shifts wantonly from character to character with no sense of flow, cohesion, or purpose other than to set up (extremely weak) character motivations. The whole film feels unbelievably rushed, while also having overly long scenes that are either outrageously unimportant and overacted, or so painfully unfunny that you’ll get second hand embarrassment from how poorly they’re written.

It was clear once Joss Whedon was brought on to finish the film that Justice League would be a tale of two tones. However, I wasn’t expecting it to feel this disjointed. Zack Snyder’s universe has always been a darker and more serious take on superheroes, while Whedon is known for his fast-paced quips and comedic dialogue. While there is a way that these two styles could meld decently, this isn’t it. There are moments in the film that are just as dour as anything in the DCEU placed directly next to ones that make light of it all. It’s wildly inconsistent, and though the parts that are lighter are by far the better parts of the film, when mixed with everything else it just comes off as forced. While not all of its bad humor can be blamed on the tonal inconsistencies, (some jokes, like Flash’s ineptitude in fighting crime, work) there are some jokes so played out and awkwardly written that it’s hard to imagine a film where they don’t instantly fall flat. Particular stand-outs in this genre of “jokes” include multiple comments about Wonder Woman’s attractiveness, and the whole “Flash falls on Wonder Woman’s breasts and gets uncomfortable” gag. Aren’t those just knee-slappers? (Hint: The answer is ‘no’)

“I believe that an enemy is coming from far away. I’m looking for warriors, this stranger. Others like him. I’m building an alliance to defend us.”

There are smaller beacons of light though that shine through the abysmal clutter that makes up the bulk of the film. Gal Gadot does her best to elevate the film despite the misguided dialogue that was given to her, and she once again proves the she embodies both the character of Wonder Woman and the physicality of her action scenes (even if they are more heavily steeped in CGI than before). Though I’m still not sure how I feel about Ezra Miller as Flash, I couldn’t help but smile seeing how much fun he seems to be having in the role. But that’s where the performances that are really good end. Ben Affleck comes off as completely bored in the role of Batman, which he essentially confirmed when he announced he was looking for a way out of the franchise. Jason Momoa’s performance as Aquaman is one-note throughout, which is more to the detriment of the screenplay than to Momoa himself, and Ray Fisher’s interpretation of Cyborg is by far one of the parts of the film that works the least, though again, I blame that more on the writing than anything else. Cyborg is so thinly written that you’d swear they got frustrated trying to find his motivations and just gave up half-way through. The rushed nature of it all leaves several smaller character plot threads left loose, and though there’s certainly something interesting buried in this cinematic version of Cyborg, Justice League doesn’t seem too intent on even taking the time to find out what that is.

So when the plot, characters, and writing of your action blockbuster as a whole doesn’t work, what are we left with? Why, the action of course! But…what if the action is also sub-par? Because it is. At this point I might sound like a broken record when I say that DC has a real problem making its larger-than-life heroes and villains feel life-like. It happened in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and even the climax of Wonder Woman. Whenever the action gets too intense and computers are brought in to choreograph it, there is a sort of weightlessness that comes with the territory. Nothing feels like it can actually be placed in that world, much like the clone troopers in the Star Wars prequels. To combat this though, DC brings in Steppenwolf, a completely CGI character…and by “combatting the problem”, I meant plugging their ears and looking in a different direction. It doesn’t help that as a villain he is so bland and forgettable that the movie itself won’t even give him anything interesting or spectacular to do, he just sort of punches people. In fact, a lot of the Justice League boils down to each member just punching their enemies. At times it feels like every hero’s powers are so similar to one another that there isn’t even a reason for half of them being there. When the majority of your team can move at a superhuman speed, what is the purpose of even having a hero like The Flash around?

“Dressed like a bat. I dig it.“

Justice League is a disappointing movie. I went into the theater with low expectations, hoping that those low expectations would blossom into an appreciation for a film that would keep the DCEU on the right track. Unfortunately, instead of continuing on the good will and work Wonder Woman had done, Justice League instead blew the path into a million pieces and pushed full steam ahead. Let’s hope that James Wan’s Aquaman can repair those tracks before it is too late. Until then there will be no justice for the Justice League.

Justice League is in theaters now. Yikes…

[zackquaderer]

Weekly Recap - Week 1

Introduction:

Hello! My name is Zack. I am 24 years old and live in Minnesota. This last year has been a very exciting one for me as I found a passion in Health and Fitness and have been diving deeper and deeper into as the year has gone on. I wanted to create a blog to tell the story of what is going on in my life and document the journey to becoming a better me.

Age: 24

Height: 5 feet 9 inches

Weight: 152 lbs

The Gym:

When I first started weightlifting I didn’t really have a set goal, I just wanted to put on as much muscle as possible. At the beginning of this year I set a new goal for myself, I want to get strong. My intent is to get my squat, deadlift, and bench press max over 300 lbs by the end of 2018. This is going to be a huge challenge because I have only ever gone up to 225 lbs on all three lifts. If I keep my focus and dedication I should be able to achieve my goal. Right now I am following the stronglifts 5x5 routine. I have heard amazing things about it and as of now I have already seen quite a bit of progress. When I started a few weeks ago I started the 3 lifts mentioned above at 135 lbs as a working weight. This quickly got changed as it was much too easy. On Friday 2/9/18 my working weights (5 sets of 5 reps with 90 seconds in between sets) were, squats - 180 lbs, Overhead Press - 75 lbs, Deadlift - 180 lbs (these are only one set of 5 reps), Bench Press - 165 lbs, and Bent over row 95 lbs. See last two completed workouts below. So far I am having a lot of fun with this workout as the progress is insanely fast and definitely makes me feel like I will be able to hit my goals this year.

Workout A (2/7/18): 

Squat - 175 lbs 5 sets of 5 reps 

Bench Press - 165 lbs 5 sets of 5 reps

Barbell Row - 95 lbs 5 sets of 5 reps

Weighted Dips - Body weight + 25 lbs 3 sets of 5 reps

Weighted Push ups - Body weight + 10 lbs 3 sets of 5 reps

Standing Calf Raises - 95 lbs 2 sets of 8 reps

Planks - 3 sets of 50 second hold

Workout B (2/9/18)

Squat - 180 lbs 5 sets of 5 reps

Overhead Press - 75 lbs 5 sets of 5 reps

Deadlift - 180 lbs 1 set of 5 reps

Weighted Pull ups - Body weight + 10 lbs 3 sets of 5 reps

Barbell Curls - 65 lbs 2 sets of 8 reps

Hanging Knee Raises - 2 sets of 8 reps

Diet:

Right now I am trying to eat every three hours or so. This is likely to change in the near future but I will get into that later. As it is now I eat three main meals and two large snacks everyday. I have been slacking on keep track of my macros and as a result my percentages have been really crazy the last couple weeks. I never really noticed this until I was looking back getting ready to write this. Going into this week though I have set my macros at about 40% protein, 30% fat, and 30% carbs. I will be consuming somewhere around 2200 calories a day. As I am writing this I feel really absurd about my previous couple weeks. I really didn’t realize how out of whack things were. Facepalm. I usually stay right around the 2200-2400 calorie range and so far my body weight has not changed much although my physique definitely has. I may cut calories down a little bit as I would like to burn off some more body fat but I am not sure yet. I also want to start doing intermittent fasting to see how that feels and how my body reacts. I have heard of / read about a lot of really great health benefits and honestly I don’t like having to set time aside to eat every three hours. It gets to be a little much. I think I am going to start easing into fasting this week by trying to create a 14 hr fasting period every day. My plan is to have my last meal at 6:30 pm and not have breakfast until the next morning at 8:30 am. I am hoping to get to a 16 or 18 hr fasting period if all works well!

Here are a list of the recipes I am using this week. 

Breakfast: Zucchini Lentil Breakfast Burritos

https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/zucchini-lentil-breakfast-burritos-make-ahead/

Snack: Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs

http://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/honey-sriracha-glazed-meatballs/

Lunch: Dairy-Free Chicken Zasta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSkqBWOpOE

Snack: 1.5 Scoops of Amplified Wheybolic Extreme Protein Powder

Dinner: Korean Beef Bowl

https://damndelicious.net/2017/04/21/korean-beef-bowl-meal-prep/

Content:

In my journey to getting stronger and healthier I try to emerge myself in content that will help me learn. Below I will list some of the content that I have been exploring in the past week.

Ben Greenfield Fitness:

I listen to his podcasts on spotify as they come out and frequent his site. He is a fantastic content creator and super knowledgeable. I would highly recommend checking out his site/podcast.

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/

Crust It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion 

This book was written by Gary Vaynerchuk and gives a lot of good insight and advice on entrepreneurship and just going after your dreams/passions. I listened to the book on audible and would highly recommend it to everyone. 

Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power, and Increase Your Energy

This book is written by Dr. Joesph Mercola who I found out about because he was on the Ben Greenfield Podcast. This book is very interesting and takes a deep dive into how the food you eat affects your body and how it can be used to prevent/fight diseases, cancer, and health issues that may happen. I am nearly complete with this audio book and have to say that it is a tough one. It is extremely informational and the writing is done very well but it is definitely above my knowledge level and there is a lot of information that I have to research on the side to make sense of it all.

Life and What Not:

This last week has been a good one. I have felt very Productive and gotten quite a bit done around my house and fitness wise. I am considering going back to school to get a diploma in Sport and Exercises Sciences. This is a big decision as it has absolutely nothing to do with my current career in Information Technology. 

In other news I also bought a new mattress this weekend. I am super pumped for this because I can finally get rid of the tiny bed I have had since I was a kid! Hopefully this will lead to me getting better night sleep as I usually wake up multiple times through the night. 

Conclusion:

Thank you if you have made it this far! I plan on doing one of these every week and possible some smaller things throughout the week as I have time or something to write about. I am extremely open to any questions or advice that people have to offer and would love to talk to more people who share similar goals to me. If you want to see more day to day stuff of what I am doing please follow me on instagram as I try to post something daily. IG: zackquaderer  Thanks again! Much love!