#it has great beginnings and is wonderful down to Peter and Kevin

[saturnaous]

TMNT has an absolutely RICH history that is very very enjoyable. And each version of TMNT all has many MANY strengths that a lot of people absolutely fall heave over heels in love with. An 03 turtle fan can tell you abotu the nuances of each relationship between characters, 2012 could tell you about the splended voice acting and neat premisises(AND HONEYCUTT. honeycutt my beloved out of 2012) or a Rise fan can tell you about the wonderful artstyle and amazing writing despite it's short run! There's so many things to love about each version, and overall the franchise is AMAZING. The Mirage comics are wonderful, the 87 show is so silly, Mutant Mayhem is gorgeous, and everything else.

Obviously everything has their flaws, but I think proably the biggest one is just the discourse between each iteration. But if you can ignore that the fandoms are absolutely WONDERFUL. They're so creative and love the turtles so much it's great. If you're a fanfic person there are SO many absolutely wonderful things that can fit your tastes perfectly.

basically you should watch a version of tmnt or two. Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is very good; it has unique character dynamics and personalities, along with stunning animation and amazing writing. I'm personally not a big fan of 2012, but it's still very good!! I absoltuely love Honeycutt. All I have to say is Honeycutt. He's the best character in the entire show. the 2003 show is also wonderful; it's clearly early 2000's animation but not in a bad way! The characters are amazing and I love them very much. The 1987 show is very goofy and fun, as expected from a show in the 80s(although I will say, the reason it got so big is because it was the first of it's kind and a major influence of shows afterwards).

Mutant Mayhem is a gorgous movie, and does the turtles a lot of justice!!! Particularly the '87 turtles; you can see a lotof their personallities peak through. There's also a Rottmnt movie! but it takes place after the show, so I recomend watching that first. Batman Vs the TMNT is wonderful! I love the artstyle and the tutles are just overall silly; plus Tom Kenny and Tara strong make apperances! Wonderful stuff, definitely recommended. The Micheal Bay Movies from 2014 sand 2016 aren't the worst thing in the world, but I think the first one had a lot of stuff that didn't go as well with the overhaul of all the stuff they had to do. Out of the shadows isn't horrible though! Solid movies but 100% not my favorite. The 2007 movie follows the same timeline as the original liveaction movies, but it's animated. It's not horrible but again, not one of my favorites. Its kinda hard to tell whats going on at first since it just kinda throws you into it, but it's nice! The original liveaction movies I personally LOVE. I still haven't finished rewatching Turtles in Time, but I love them all very much. The first one is obviously wonderful, everybody loves it. Secret of The Ooze is not well liked, and it may just be nastolgia but I ADORE it very very much. Turtles in time is not liked, but I like her. They are my girls.

The comics are where a lot of sthings shine! One of my favorites is The Last Ronin; there's only one Ninja Turtle left, trying to take out the last Oroku. It's an absolutely wonderful story through and through, based on Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman's original plot for a squeal! It doesn't follow any particular version of TMNT. It's my favorite version in the Turtle franchise EVER. The other comic is the IDW run which started in 2011. It's the longest running version of the turtles thus far! They're in the 100's of issues so far; a little less that 150 now? But they are also wonderful! They introduce Jennika, a 5th ninja turtle(I won't say 'the' fifth, since there are others), and overall is great. I've only read the first volume sadly, but I plan to read more when I can get my hands on it. Then there's the mirage comics! I absolutely adore these; you can see the love that's been poured into them. You can find them colored, but I love the charm of the black and white(The documentary actually says TMNT caused the black and white boom in comics! Crazy!). It features the turtles all in red bandanas, and introduces most of the iconic characters from the entire franchise. This is definitely my favorite version right after the last ronin just because I love it so much.

BASICALLY. turtles. they're wonderful, they're silly. They kick shell and eat pizza. They're absolutely amazing.

been seeing TMNT stuff from a few blogs I follow, including you. what's going on, I'm unfathomably ootl on tmnt happenings. did something really cool drop

HUMMM I'm not too sure about like if anything dropped but!! They turned 40 this last sunday!!! May 5th 1984 is when the first TMNT comic got published so. it might be that. Otherwise. wait hoild on it could be uhmm tales of the tmnt aka the Mutant Mayhem show. Hmmm. Okay Tottmnt doesn't have anything besides a trailer that came out a few weeks ago, and I think the 40th anniversery comic set is coming out in early july so! It's probably just peopel being excited about the 40th :))) they are 40!!! my guys are 40!!! mein sillies!!! yipee!!

[popculturebuffet]

Blacksad: Somewhere In the Shadows Review

Hello you beautiful people! I have a WEIRD relationship with Noir. It’s weird because i’ve never really dived into the films of type, though I really should, But as a kid I absolutely LOVED the tracer bullet arcs in Calvin and Hobbes, where everyone’s favorite hyperactive and imaginative six year old would plant himself as the hero in a noir pastiche.. ironically like myself Bill Watterson was also not a huge noir buff and just relied on Cliches but hey, it worked. 

Still love these. So from fourth grade on it imprinted a lifelong love of a good bit of detective noir. Not enough to you know, get me to read any traditional noir books or watch any noir tv shows or detective procedurals but I still love a good mystery from time to time and some of my favorite comics such as Howard the Duck by Chip Zdarksy and Peter David’s second run on x-factor run on the genre while having fun with it’s cliches. 

I also love anthropormphic animal stories. Dunno why, I just do, so once I found out about Blacksad, a comic that combines disney quality art from a former disney animator with gripping, adult noir that rips your heart out... I couldn’t resisit trying it. Telling the tale of John Blacksad, a cynical private detective and the cases he steps into via gorgeous, straight out of a disney storyboard art, the series is by  Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), the latter a former Disney artist who worked on several Disney films, meeting in the 90′s while working on licensed works and hitting it off, leading to this series.  That’s.. really all I could find about the making of the series in English. The only other fact is the series is designed for first release in France, which has a huge comics market, hence the various volumes being called “Albums”, with them later being released in Spain and then english, currently in the latter through Dark Horse Comics, who last year collected the current 5 albums and some side stories into one big volume. And with Dark Horse having infrequent sales including Blacksad on comixology it’s easy enough to pick up all 5 volumes in one complete package on digital for 9 bucks, as it is right now. Seriously I’m not trying to shill for Comixology or Dark Horse, I just love these comics and suggest picking them up. The creators DO intend on new volumes... it’s just both have been busy with other work so they’ve been stuck in development hell since 2013. However given there have always been, if much smaller, the biggest being 5 years, gaps between the Albums, I don’t think the series is dead quite yet and with Dark Horse fully backing it, taking the series from only two volumes getting translated to both translating the first four AND translating the fifth within a year of it’s release, we’ll undoubtly get the next one quickly. The series has also spawned a game, Under the Skin, which i’ll probably also cover some day as i’m dying to play it, but i’m waiting for a sale because it’s around 30 bucks and I can wait. It’s also been nominated for an Eisner three times to no suprise and has had fans in Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, Tim Sale and Will freaking Eisner. Yes the GUY the awards were named after liked the series.  So yeah, I love this series and highly support it, but the thought of covering it hadn’t occrued to me.. in part because I already had three comic retrsopectives going, my looks at The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Scott Pilgrim and New X-Men, and simply because I just hadn’t thought of it till Kevin, frequent patron and comissioner of the blog whose paid for tons of reivews, suggested covering the second Album, Arctic Nation, which has our hero searching for a missing little girl he feels has been taken by the titular white supramacist movement.. and if your wondering “Wait how the fuck does that work their animals”, John is black coded due to his black fur, while the white suprmacists are all Arctic Animals.. a touch I really like as I’d honestly never thought of that as a metaphor but it fits like a glove, especially given that most white furred arctic mamals are pretty agressive looking. So yeah I’ll be covering that one next month for Black History Month, among many other things, but I felt I wanted to cover the series in order and since again, it’s only the second of five and I had a free space on the schedule. So without further adew, join me somewhere in the shadows and under the cut as we enter the world of one John Blacksad. 

We open as you’d expect for a Noir with a heady narration and a murder. John was brought in by Smirnov, the chief of police and an old aquantice who serves as his Commissioner Gordon. Since the victim is John’s ex, he was brought in to see if he knows anything and as you’d expect warned not to look into it further, as John dosen’t buy this was a simple robbery. His response is exactly what you’d expect. 

I mean.. what did you expect? You called him out of bed to see his former lovers corpse, KNOWING he’s one hell of detective, dosen’t give up on things easy, and would probably be curious. For him to say “Cool gonna go smoke some reefer and take in a looney tunes short at the theater, call me when you find the murderer?” Also  this series takes place in the 50s. Because of course it does. 

So John goes back to his office to brood, reflecting that the office feels like the remains of an ancient civlization because “It seems to be all that remains of the civlized person I used to be”. Hell of a line. 

We then get his backstory with the victim, Natalia. She’s a famous actress, who John first as a younger man when hired to investgate some death threats she’d received with a boquet of flowers. John shows off just how good he is at his job in just a few panels. 

IT not only shows in just a few panels just how ferocious our hero can be when needed and how good he is at his job, easily having tracked down the man responsible and scared him shitless without breaking as sweat, but how fucking gorgeous the art is. I meant it when I brought up the old disney comparison, as Steranko even mentioned in his introduction to the collection of the first three volumes how it looks like animation cels on the page. IT’s utterly breathtaking and ONLY gets even more lush and beautiful as the series goes on and perfectly fits the noir stylings with it’s realisim, making it’s animal characters feel utterly human and real while still keeping their animal traits in perfect detail. 

John impressed her, and as we see in the next page under his narration they not only had really steamy passionate sex, and why yes we do see them naked even if the bits are covered it’s still very much nsfw and we saw Natalia’s naked corpse earlier, so that ship had already sailed anyway, with Natalia taking him on both as her lover and her on staff detective and the two were much in love.. until the fame apparenlty got to her judging from the visuals, and the realtionship fell apart. 

Before we move on i’d like to talk about the narration which CAN be a bit overwrought here or there and is a bit overused.. but does have it’s mometns of being utterly effective as with above, contrasting John’s statments about a sucessful job and being hired on.. with the beginnings of his and Natalia’s relationship and their passionate lovemaking. IT’s not BAD and it works for the setting, but it can be distracting, but thankfully the series levels this out as we go and they learned from it so no harm done. Just the kinda thing that happens early in a series life when the creators are getting a handle on things, so no harm done. 

But naturally John isn’t going to take the love of his life, responsible for the happiest days of said life, being brutally murdered lying down and is going to find the bastard who did this. So he goes to an old friend, Jake Ositombe, a championship boxer and Nat’s former bodyguard who he recommended to her. Given we see him knock the shit out of his opponent without the slightest effort, yeah good call. Also yes we share the same name and no it’s not weird to type about another Jake, adventure time sorta.. knocked that out of me. Jake dosen’t know much since she fired him a long time ago as one of her lovers hired private security, and the last one he knew of was a guy by the name of Leon.  John, naturally, easily finds the guy’s apartment, Leon Kronkski, a screenwriter.. but also rules him out as the guy lived in a humble apartment and clearly didn’t have the cash to hire his own hired goons. 

He does find a clue, a matchbook for some place called the Cypher Club.. and another when the man’s sweet  mouse landlady shows up, who John charms by pretending to be Leon’s friend and flashing a big smile, finding out a msyterious man with “big bulging eyes”, took him. This scene also to me is great in subtly showing off John’s skill. While the previous flashback showed how badass he is, shoving a gun down the throat of a stalking wannabe murderer with pure rage in his eyes.. here we see a lighter approach, how despite his serious and dour nature.. he easily slips into being cheery and looking like an average joe off the street. He bluffs the landlady not because the plot says so.. but because like any PI he’s just that good at slipping into whatever roll he needs to get the info he needs. He can be his dour self or a charming happy go lucky guy without missing a beat. 

So with that he goes to the studio leon worked for where his boss.. is a walrus j jonah jameson?

But yeah J. Jonah Walruson wants pictures of spider-man.. moving pictures.. but he can’t film them with his star dead and his screenwriter indefintiely gone, with the same bulging eyed man having told JJ he’d be gone indefintely. Nothing suspicious about that!

So naturally John’s next plan is to find the guy.. who is already after him as you’d expect with both a knife to slash at our hero with and the fog covering him so he can hit and run. But unluckily for him .. well i’ll let john say it...

John  headbutts the myserious snake, who only managed to get his coat before and tries to interogate him.. but gets a quick jab to the gut and the guy gets away. 

We soon meet our big bag, who has a big speech about insects and things being usefufl.. and once they stop being useful.. they become dead and collectable, telling the snake man to back off John.. and sending his right hand man to go take care of the Snake who apparently took something from the office. Realizing his numbers up the Snake Man goes to a lizard bar, picks up a package from a friend and runs out the back, knowing he’s being followed.. and we get some hints there’s also racial tension between lizards and mammials here as the bartender, said friend, has the entire bar circle around the guy preventing him from following our mysterious bulging eyed man. 

Meanwhile John goes to the Cipher Club, a wretched hive of scum and villiany. Given Nat was a glamorous movie star, it’s very clear she was here to hide from something or someone, and the bartnender, a wild pig. 

No not you sweetie. The wild pig tells John leon was indeed here and a local rat, in both senses of the word, offers to take John to him.. though understandably John is supscious of the guy he just met in a seedy bar taking him anywhere except to get some heroin. Did Heroin exist yet? Questions for later. But he’s got a case so he follows. Though suprisingly the guy DOES actually come through and it’s not ENTIRELY a trap: he takes john to a tomb for Noel Krinsok.. an anagram for Leon’s name. Unsuprisingly he’s dead. And also unsuprisingly, two hired goons

Show up. As I said not ENTIRELY a trap but it’s obvious given the rat split moments before that our mysterious big bad knew where john would be headed next, and thus while giving him a clue, also set him up to get his head knocked in. And while John is badass.. these guys are a bear and a rhino,  both stronger, bigger, and with suprise on their size, as well as a tombstone to knock john’s head into. They easily beat him senseless and hope he got the message, though john gives a defiant fuck you before being punched out for it. He returns home, feeling like he’s aged 20 years “But no one respects the elderly anymore”, PFFT, and heads home to his rathole, not literally this time, apartment to lay on his cot and think as he gets some rest. 

And while the trail for Leon is cold. our mysterious murderer accidently tipped his hand: only someone with a LOT of money and influence could make a man disappear like this, and it tracks with what we’ve seen so far. The guy has multiple henchman and despite being a big star with plenty of clout, Natalia had to hide in a dive bar just to get away from him and even THEN clearly wasn’t so lucky given she and her new lover both wound up dead.  But Blacksad has bigger problems.. he wakes up in a jail cell.

Turns out Smirnkov had him arrested.. but for his own protection as the case is getting too hot and while he was late on that front given John’s face is hamburger, it’s clear from his tone and demeanor that while he may of been harsh with John earlier.. the two are old friends, and the Chief is simply worried about him winding up dead, and John takes you know being thrown in prison in stride. Which while not a bad scene it is a BIT suspect that a black coded character was thrown in jail for nothing and it’s treated very lightly and as a simple protection between friends, though given they wouldn’t think of coding john like that till next volume, I brush it off as accidental implications in hindsight. 

Smirnkov though also called John here.. because he needs his help. Since Natalia’s Murder Case is pointing very high up, so his superiors have ordered him to bury the case and as he puts it “the bastards know where to squeeze”. And given in volume 3 we learn Smirnov has a wife and children, it’s very obvious where they squoze and to the volume’s credit while we don’t know that yet it’s VERY clear from Smirnov’s body language they went after some form of family. So while he has to give it up.. John does not. So he brought him to jail to offer a proposal: John goes after this son of a bitch and nails him to the wall.. and Smirnov will FULLY protect John no matter what he has to do.  Now naturally given the rightful reckoning for police that’s been going on for almost a year, this SHOULDN’T play well. You have an officer outright telling an outside party that he and his boys will cover up his crimes. But.. honestly even in that framework.. it still works. That’s because.. the system has failed here. The higher up and more corrupt cops put pressure on the honest and hardworking family man Smirnov to stop a legitimate investigation into a horrible murderer.. because the guy is rich. And even now we’ve seen time and time again how rich assholes effortlessly escape the consequences of their action: How our own president who actively asked other nations to interfere in our election escaped his first impeachment trial, but hopefully not the second, aquitted. How Jeffery Epstien took YEARS to bring down with his years of ellicit parties involving innocent women and children he fucking enslaved. How Bill Cosby got away with all kinds of sexual assault for decades. The rich are often literally above the law in this country, so having a down on his luck detective, who retroactively himself is a minority, go after him with the full support of an actually GOOD police officer who genuinely believes in these people being held accountable but is held back by his family’s safety.. it works. John isn’t able to skirt consequences BECAUSE of a corrupt system.. but because the system’s so broken and slanted in the rich’s favor, that the ONLY option an honest officer like Smirnov has is to go outside it. And when asked WHY he’s doing all of this, Smirnov merley replies

... I got chills, their multiplyin. So John plans to find the bulge eyed snake after a hot shower.. only for the guy to hold a gun to John’s head, having been waiting for him and wave the murder weapon, in a baggie around, the item he had retrieved, feeling John’s trying to replace him as number two. However before he can do anything our snake  pal is shot full of holes by the rat from before, who John dispatches with his own gun. 

So the Snake starts to expire.. but feels a kinship with John “We are nothing right cat? Spent so much time waiting for the right chance and when it happens it all falls to pieces”. The Snake explains his roll in things: He was one of the private security our big bad hired to guard Natalia. But being supscious he also hired the rat to follow her around, and thus found out about her affair, brutally torturing and murdering Leon and shooting Natalia in the head. And we finally get a name as our snake friend tragically expires. 

The snake’s death and tragic dying moments are something I forgot about.. but damn if their not really good writing, taking a character who before was seemingly just a murderous goon.. and comparing him to our hero. Another working class joe, and one who just caught up with the wrong asshole at the wrong time. He easily could’ve been john in another life and vice vers and it’s a good parallel. 

So John’s nightmares finally have  name and he naturally goes to confront the guy since he has an almost literal get out of jail free card. Turns out Smirnov is the richest man in town, and has his own big tower. Huh.. sounds familiar, and John simply sneaks his way up and once Statoc’s guards from before hear him rustling about.. sneaks up on them and clocks both one at at time with a fire extinqusher. 

Statoc warmly welcomes our hero inside, and has the fucking lizard balls, as he’s some sort of lizard himself, to offer John a JOB

I mean he’s clearly lost a lot of his goons and most of them were incompetent. He fails to realize that John can’t be bought, is here for vengeance and has no intention of selling his soul to some rich asshole who killed someone he loved for the creepiest and most asinine reasons imaginable. He says john’s Concisence is why he can’t pull the trigger and that he lacks “cold blood”.. before we cut to the next page, where John’s shot the fucker in the head and left a gaping hole where his lack of a brain was. 

And again what makes this work is the aftermath: John is clearly shaken, having ONLY been able to pull the trigger beause of Statoc’s smug grin and clearly not taking the sight of Statoc’s dead body bleeding out well. And while Smirnov keeps his word, covers for him despite the two guards clearly providing an iron clad argument against john and knoiwng thier blatantly covering this up.. he’s not happy about it. 

This is WHY the narrtive still works. Statoc stacked the law against the bad guys. .but despite this being a necessary evil.. it’s still an evil and subverting teh law at this rightly leaves him not in a great place mentally. John himself isn’t even if he plays it off as otherwise, as we get our final bit of narration and one hell of a closing line. 

Final Thoughts:

Somewhere in the Shadows is a bit rough around the edges, leaning a bit too heavily into the noir pastiche and Blacksad being a harboiled detective, something the next volume would ease up on. That being said.. it’s still a masterpiece, with gorgeous art and masterful pacing. While it’s the shortest of the stories, like those after it the pacing is sublime and never feels like it has any down moments or stuff that could’ve been cut, and the mystery keeps you on edge the whole time. Having forgot a lot of the details since last read I was on the edge of my seat the entire story and loving every second of it. Somewhere in the Shadows is the perfect starter for the series, introducing an important charcter in Smirnov and the noir nature and giving us a case personal to John so we can see who he was before, what he is now.. and what he WILL be for the rest of the series. The moment that MADE him into an even harder man than the one we follows here.. when he took a life in cold blood. A masterful story, seriously check it and the other volumes out, on comixology, in stores, great stuff. Next time we look into john and as I said, he’s taking down some racists and we also meet his sidekick weekly for the first time. As for me tommorow I dive back into my Tom Luictor retrospective but hit pause on our boy for a bit to take care of some of the larger plot.   Until the next rainbow, it’s been a pleasure. 

[notbecauseofvictories]

Hi Sarah! My friend and I are starting a bookclub (as much as you can with two people who aren't pressed for deadlines) and I was wondering if you have any recommendations? (That is if you have time to rec anything!) We're starting off with Deathless and have Fitzgerald next in line somewhere but I def want to try to expand the genres we read and tbh from years of following you, I trust your judgement

I don’t...like giving recommendations? At least not directly, it seems like too much opportunity for getting it wrong. Everybody has their own tastes, after all, and even the best of friends don’t necessarily vibe with what you vibe with. (I’ve experienced this with multiple friends, so I know what I’m talking about.) Truly, one of the reasons that my whole “I’m going to get back into reading for pleasure!” push has been so successful is that I only bother with books that interest me, and stop reading when they fail to catch my attention.

But I’ve now read at least 60 books in 2020, which is approximately 60 more than I’ve read in the years prior, so I’m happy to share that. Below is my list of recent reads, beginning to end, along with a very short review---I keep this list in the notes app on my phone, so they have to be. Where I’ve talked about a book in a post, I’ve tried to link to it. 

Peruse, and if something catches your interest I hope you enjoy!

2020 Reading List

Crazy Rich Asians series, Kevin Kwan (here)

Blackwater, Michael McDowell (here; pulpy horror and southern gothic in one novel; come for the monster but stay for the family drama.)

Fire and Hemlock, Diane Wynne Jones (here; weird and thoughtful, in ways I’m still thinking about)

The Secret History, Donna Tartt

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn (here; loved it! I can see why people glommed onto it)

Swamplandia!, Karen Russell (unfinished, I could not get past the first paragraph; just....no.)

Rules of Scoundrels series, Sarah MacLean (an enjoyable romp through classic romancelandia, though if you read through 4 back to back you realize that MacLean really only writes 1 type of relationship and 1 type of sexual encounter, though I do appreciate insisting that the hero go down first.)

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden (here)

Dread Nation, Justine Ireland (great, put it with Stealing Thunder in terms of fun YA fantasy that makes everything less white and Eurocentric)

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson (VERY good. haunting good.)

Tell My Horse, Zora Neale Hurston (I read an interesting critique of Hurston that said she stripped a lot of the radicalism out of black stories - these might be an example, or counterexample. I haven't decided yet.)

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society, T. Kingfisher (fun!)

St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Karen Russell (some of these short stories are wonderful; however, Swamplandia's inspiration is still unreadable, which is wild.)

17776, Jon Bois (made me cry. deeply human. A triumph of internet storytelling)

The Girl with All the Gifts, M. R. Carey (deeply enjoyable. the ending is a bittersweet kick in the teeth, and I really enjoyed the adults' relationships)

The Door in the Hedge and Other Stories, Robin McKinley (enjoyable, but never really resolved into anything.)

The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley (fun, but feels very early fantasy - or maybe I've just read too many of the subsequent knock-offs.)

Mrs. Caliban, Rachel Ingalls (weird little pulp novel.)

All Systems Red, Martha Wells (enjoyable, but I don't get the hype. won't be looking into the series unless opportunity arises.)

A People's History of Chicago, Kevin Coval (made me cry. bought a copy. am still thinking about it.)

The Sol Majestic, Ferrett Steinmetz (charming, a sf novel mostly about fine dining)

House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune (immensely enjoyable read, for all it feels like fic with the serial numbers filed off)

The Au Pair, Emma Rous (not bad, but felt like it wanted to be more than it is)

The Night Tiger, Yangsze Choo (preferred this to Ghost Bride; I enjoy a well-crafted mystery novel and this delivered)

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin (unfinished, I cannot fucking get into Le Guin and should really stop trying)

The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo (enjoyable, but not nearly as fun as Ghost Bride - the romance felt very disjointed, and could have used another round of editing)

Temptation's Darling, Johanna Lindsey (pure, unadulterated id in a romance novel, complete with a girl dressing as a boy to avoid detection)

Social Creature, Tara Isabella Burton (a strange, dark psychological portrait; really made a mark even though I can't quite put my finger on why)

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (slow at first, but picks up halfway through and builds nicely; a whiff of Gone Girl with the staggered perspectives building together)

Stealing Thunder, Alina Boyden (fun Tortall vibes, but set in Mughal India)

The Traitor Baru Cormorant; The Monster Baru Commorant, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson (LOVE this, so much misery, terrible, ecstatic; more here)

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone (epistolary love poetry, vicious and lovely; more here)

The Elementals, Michael McDowell

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (didn't like this one as much as I thought I would; narrator's contemporary voice was so jarring against the stylized world and action sequences read like the novelization for a video game; more here)

Finna, Nino Cipri (a fun little romp through interdimensional Ikea, if on the lighter side)

Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey (engrossing, even if I could see every plot twist coming from a mile away)

Desdemona and the Deep, C. S. E. Cooney (enjoyed the weirdness & the fae bits, but very light fare)

A Blink of the Screen, Terry Pratchett (admittedly just read this for the Discworld bits)

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine (not as good about politics and colonialism as Baru, but still a powerful book about The Empire, and EXTREMELY cool worldbuilding that manages to be wholly alien and yet never heavily expositional)

Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller (see my post)

Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan (didn't finish, got to to first explicit sex scene and couldn't get any further)

Prosper's Demon, KJ Parker (didn't work for me...felt like a short story that wanted to be fleshed out into a novel)

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik (extremely fun, even for a reader who doesn't much like Napoleonic stories)

Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone (fun romp - hard to believe that this is the same author as Time War though you can see glimmers of it in the imagery here)

A Scot in the Dark, Sarah MacLean (palette cleanser, she does write a good romance novel even it's basically the same romance novel over and over)

The Resurrectionist, E. B. Hudspeth (borrowed it on a whim one night, kept feeling like there was something I was supposed to /get/ about it, but never did - though I liked the Mutter Museum parallels)

Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang (he's a better ideas guy than a writer, though Hell Is The Absence of God made my skin prickle all over)

Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (fun, very much a throwback to my YA days of fairytale retellings, though obviously less European)

Four Roads Cross, Max Gladstone (it turns out I was a LOT more fond of Tara than I initially realized - plus this book had a good Pratchett-esque pacing and reliance on characterization)

Get in Trouble, Kelly Link (reading this after the Chiang was instructive - Link is such a better storyteller, better at prioritizing the human over the concept)

Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips

Soulless; Changeless; Blameless, all by Gail Carriger (this series is basically a romance novel with some fantasy plot thrown in for fun; extremely charming and funny)

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James (got about 1/3 of the way through and had to wave the white flag; will try again because I like the plot and the worldbuilding; the tone is just so hard to get through)

Pew, Catherine Lacey (a strange book, I'm still thinking about it; a good Southern book, though)

Nuremberg Diary, GM Gilbert (it took me two months to finish, and was worth it)

River of Teeth, Sarah Gailey (I wanted to like this one a lot more than I actually did; would have made a terrific movie but ultimately was not a great novel. Preferred Magic for Liars.)

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (extremely fun, though more trippy than Gods and the plot didn't work as well for me - though it was very original)

The New Voices of Fantasy, Peter S. Beagle (collected anthology, with some favorites I've read before Ursula Vernon's "Jackalope Wives", "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" "The Husband Stitch"; others that were great new finds "Selkie Stories are for Losers" from Sofia Satamar and "A Kiss With Teeth" from Max Gladstone and "The Philosophers" from Adam Ehrlich Sachs)

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #467

Top Ten Romantic Couples in Superhero Movies (& TV)

It’s Valentine’s Day this weekend. Woo, I guess? I dunno. I’m not generally cynical about holidays but Valentine’s Day does seem to be entirely focused on selling cards without any of the associated pleasantries of, say, Christmas or Halloween. I’d rather just try to be nice to my wife all year round. At least because of the apocalypse all the restaurants are closed so we can’t be tempted to pay through the nose for a set menu. Anyway, it gives me a strained excuse to tie this week’s Top Ten to something vaguely romantic.

Superheroes are often horny. This seems to be a defining characteristic of the artform. Whether it’s their descent from ancient myths, or their creators’ origins in writing romance books, or just a function of genre storytelling in the mid-twentieth century, there’s quite a lot of romantic angst in superhero stories. Pretty much every superhero has a significant other; Lois Lane even got her own comic that was actually called Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane. It’s hard to conceive of many heroes without their primary squeeze, and often – as we get multiple media adaptations of characters – we can add diversity or a twist to the proceedings by picking a lesser-known love interest, or one from earlier in the character’s fictional history; for instance, Smallville beginning with Cark Kent’s teenage crush Lana Lang, or The Amazing Spider-Man swapping out Mary Jane Watson for Gwen Stacey.

Anyway, I’m talking this week about my favourite superhero couples. I’ve decided to focus on superhero adaptations – that is, the characters from movies and films based on superhero comics or characters. I find this a little bit easier as I don’t have a phenomenal knowledge of sixty years of Avengers comics, but I have seen all the movies a bunch. As many comics as I’ve read, and as much as I love various ink-and-paper pairings, I can arguably talk more authoritatively about the fillums than the funny books. And let’s be real here, kids: my favourite comic book romantic couple is Chromedome and Rewind in Transformers. Also if I split them in two I can talk about comic couples next year. Woohoo!

It really is hard thinking of these things nearly nine years in, folks.

So! Here, then, are my favourite movie-TV Couples in Capes. Obviously there’s a fair bit of MCU in here. And I’ve been pretty specific about “superhero” romances: so no Hellboy and Liz Sherman, sadly (and I do really like them in the movies, of which they really need to make a third). Some are civvies-and-supes; some are capes-and-capes. You’ll work it out.

Superman & Lois Lane (Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder, Superman, 1978): who else? The most famous romance in all of comics, a combo so strong it remains the focus of pretty much every interpretation of the character, but arguably never better than here; so good are Reeve and Kidder that their fast-talking banter and inherent goodness set the template for a huge swathe of other comic adaptations to follow. She’s sarky and streetwise; he’s gormless and good-hearted. She leaps in where angels fear to tread, he’s an invulnerable alien in disguise. They have buckets of chemistry and an utterly believable (tentative) romance. They’re perfect performances and the scenes of Clark in Metropolis for the first time (including Superman’s balcony interview with Lois) are the best bits of an already excellent film.

Raven & Beast Boy (Tara Strong & Greg Cipes, Teen Titans Go!, 2014): on a totally different register, we have the comedy stylings of the Teen Titans. Raven and Beast Boy had a flirtatious relationship on the original Titans series, but on this longer-running and much more demented comedy follow-up, they were allowed to make the romance more official (I nearly said “explicit” but, y’know… it’s not that). The jokes and banter – BB the love-struck, jealous suitor, Raven the too-cool partner who feigns nonchalance – build and build, but every now and again they’re allowed a moment of genuine heartfelt romance, and it hits all the more strongly amidst the ultra-violence and outrageous comedy.

Captain America & Agent Carter (Chris Evans & Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011): the premier couple of the MCU, Steve and Peggy spend a whole movie flirting (she sees the goodness of him even before he gets all hench) before finally arranging a date that, we all know, is very much postponed. Peggy casts a shadow over the rejuvenated Cap and the MCU as a whole, founding SHIELD, inspiring dozens of heroes, and counselling Steve to her dying days. She remains Steven’s true north (like Supes with Lois, Peggy’s an ordinary human who is the actual hero of an actual super-powered hero), guiding him through the chaos and tragedy of Endgame, until they both get to live happily ever after. Even though he snogged her niece.

Batman & Catwoman (Michael Keaton & Michelle Pfeiffer, Batman Returns, 1992): Pfeiffer delivers a barnstorming performance as Selina Kyle, all barely-supressed mania and seductive feline charm. The chemistry between her and Keaton is electric, and propels the film forward even when the Penguin-runs-for-mayor stuff gets a bit daft and icky. There are beautiful moments of romantic comedy when they’re both trying to cover up injuries they gave each other, and of course there’s “mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it” – a line that runs a close second to “dance with the devil” when it comes to Burton-Batman quotations (just ahead of “never rub another man’s rhubarb”). Burton, generally favouring the macabre villains over the straighter edges of the heroic Batman, nevertheless makes great play of the duality of the character, and how this is something he and Catwoman can share – both “split right down the centre” – but also how this means a happy ending for either of them is impossible.

Spider-Man & Mary Jane (Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man, 2002): whilst a lot of this is really down to the sexiness of them kissing upside-down in the rain, there’s a nice duality to Peter and MJ seeing through each other too: he sees the wounded humane soul beneath her it-girl persona; she sees the kind, caring man underneath his geek baggage. This arc plays out beautifully across the first two films (ending in that wonderfully accepting “Go get ‘em, tiger”) before sadly getting all murky and unsatisfying in the murky and unsatisfying third film. Still: that kiss.

Wonder Woman & Steve Trevor (Gal Gadot & Chris Pine, Wonder Woman, 2017): probably the film that hews closest to the Clark-Lois dynamic of the original Superman, to the point where it includes an homage to the alleyway-mugging scene as Diana deflects a bullet. Steve is Diana’s window into man’s world, showing her the horror of the First World War but managing to also be a sympathetic ally and never talking down or mansplaining anything. He’s a hero in his own right – very similar to another wartime Steve on this list – and very much an ideal match to the demigod he’s showing round Europe. And, of course, Gadot’s Diana is incredible, both niaive and vulnerable whilst also an absolute badass. There is an enduring warm chemistry to the pair, with a relationship which we actually see consummated – relatively rare for superheroes! The inevitability of his heroic sacrifice does nothing to lessen the tragedy, and no I’ve not seen Wonder Woman 1984 yet.

Hawkeye & Laura Barton (Jeremy Renner & Linda Cardellini, Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015): I love these guys! I love that Hawkeye has a relatively normal, stable family life. He has a big old farmhouse that he wants to remodel, he’s got two kids and a third on the way… he’s got something to live for, something to lose. It humanises him amidst the literal and figurative gods of the Avengers. And they’re cute together, bickering and bantering, and of course she is supportive of his Avenging. I hope we get to see more of Laura and the kids in the Hawkeye series, and I hope nothing bad happens to them now they’ve all been brought back to life.

Wanda Maximoff & Vision (Elizabeth Olsen & Paul Bettany, Avengers: Infinity War, 2018): theirs is a difficult relationship to parse, because they’re together so briefly. They cook paprikash together in Civil War before having a bit of a bust-up, and by Infinity War they’re an official couple, albeit on the run (and on different sides). That movie does a great job in establishing their feelings for each other in very little screentime, with their heroic characteristics on full display, before the shockingly awful tragedy of Wanda killing Vision to save the galaxy, before Thanos rewinds time, brings him back to life, and kills him again, and then wins. Their relationship going forward, in WandaVision, is even trickier, because we don’t know what’s up yet, and at times they’re clearly not acting as “themselves”, defaulting to sitcom tropes and one-liners. Will Vision survive, and if he does, will their relationship? Who can say, but at least they’ll always have Edinburgh, deep-fried kebabs and all.

Batman & Andrea Beaumont (Kevin Conroy & Dana Delany, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, 1993): woah, Batman’s back but it’s a different Batman, say whaaaat. Animated Batman has had a few romances, from the great (Talia al-Ghul) to the disturbingly icky (Batgirl, ewwww), but his relationship with Andrea Beaumont is the best. Tweaking the Year One formula to give young Bruce a love interest that complicates his quest is a golden idea, and making her a part of the criminality and corruptiuon that he’s fighting is a suitably tragic part of the Batman origin story. Conroy and Delany give great performances, him wringing pathos out of Bruce, torn between heart and duty (“It just doesn’t hurt so bad anymore,” he wails to his parents’ grave, “I didn’t count on being happy”), her channelling golden age Hollywood glamour. The tragedy of them rekindling their relationship years later, only to wind up on different sides again, is – again – so very Batman. It’s a beautiful, earnest, very Batman relationship, a great titanic tragedy of human emotions and larger-than-life ideals. And they both look good in black.

Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy (Kaley Cuoco & Lake Bell, Harley Quinn, 2020): this one’s a little bit of a cheat, as I’ve only seen the first season of the show, where Harley and Ivy don’t even get together. But in the wider, non-canonical sense of these being characters who are part of the pop-cultural ether, Harley and Ivy will always be a couple, I feel; and there’s definitely enough in there already to see the affection between them, not yet consummated. They adore each other, are always there for each other, and as the season follows Harley getting out of her own way and acknowledging the abuse of her relationship with Joker – and finally getting over it in the healthiest way possible for a bleached-white manic pixie in roller derby gear. And all through this, holding her hand, is Ivy. They’re utterly made for each other, and I’m glad that they do get together in season two. I hope that Margot Robbie’s rendition of the character can likewise find happiness with a flesh-and-blood Ivy. Hell, just cast Lake Bell again. She’s great.

Just bubbling under – and I’m really gutted I couldn’t fit them in – was Spider-Man & M.J. from Spider-Man: Far From Home. Like Batman, I’m comfortable including multiple continuities here, and those cuties offer a different spin on a classic relationship.

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

So it’s been a while, huh?

I don’t know how many people are actually still following this blog/are interested in it but...hi again! I already wrote a post sort of explaining where I disappeared to and why (long story short: it was tumblr staff’s fault) but I also want to talk to you guys properly and update you all on what’s been going on since.

I don’t want to abandon this blog but I have another blog that I’m using now -> it’s @alwaysahiccupandastrid. It’s not as Beasts oriented as this one was, I’m afraid, but still feel free to follow it and chat to me! It’s much like this blog was when I used it in that I don’t really post exclusively for one fandom, it’s just a mix of whatever I like!

Anyway, updating! I already told you guys that I graduated university in July, finished my degree...that was stressful! A lot went down at university but it sorted itself out in the end and I survived! Our final assessment was at the end of May, and we performed a show that we created four times, three nights and one matinee. I’m very proud of what we achieved all things considered! But yes...I am no longer a university student!

What else has changed?

I no longer work for the cinema anymore - I quit a few weeks ago after getting a job at a fancy hotel that was supposedly better...I quit the day after my first shift because I had a “me too” experience with another employee...without too much detail, he touched and started kissing me, and I left. I struggled for a couple of weeks trying urgently to get a new job, and I’m now working for Superdrug! My first shift was Wednesday afternoon/evening and I’m excited to start properly! It’s not permanent: I’m also hoping to hear back from Nikon soon about an admin position that’s closer to home and pays extremely well!

I no longer see that therapist who likes Harry Potter - I think I talked a little bit on here about my counsellor who was also a Harry Potter fan and who I liked? Yeah...turns out not so much? I stopped going to her because she a) screamed at me for waiting in the waiting room until my bus was due to arrive down the road and b) she got pissed because I couldn’t do a few certain weeks due to show rehearsals. I’m honestly all the better for it frankly.

More tattoos! - Okay so it’s not a super important thing but it’s a change so...! I think when I was last on his blog I had 3 tattoos - I now have 8! So in addition to the wand, the “worrying means you suffer twice”, and the Deathly Hallows symbol, I now have a tattoo of Leta’s flower from the Lestrange family tree (with her name and the words “beautiful. Separate.”; a tiny tattoo of Harry’s scar/glasses; a Night Fury/Toothless tattoo with the words “heart of a chief” and “soul of a dragon”; the Chief symbol from HTTYD 2; and the words “Night Fury” in Viking runes.

My hair?! - Again, not important but hey! Let’s celebrate! My hair finally grew back and is now blonde! It’s not too long, just about to my shoulders, and my roots are dark blonde whilst the bottom is more bright blonde from dying it in March. It’s silly but hooray!

I met Kevin Guthrie in March! - I met Mr Abernathy himself at Comic Con in London and he was LOVELY. He was such a wonderful man, so cheerful and amazing with the fans. I had some pretty interesting conversations with him about Fantastic Beasts and whether he’ll be in the next one...we shall see! He also told us that Poppy Corby-Tuech (Vinda Rosier) is “all about the cosplay”! And ofc I got some photos with him :)

I’m now 21 - my birthday was obviously in January and I’m old(er) 😂😭 I didn’t do anything too special, just saw CoG with the family and then a few days later went to the WB Studio Tour again (which was amazing because my sister has a friend who works there and was showing us props lots of people won’t ever see!)

Mental Health crap - Obviously I’m not “cured” or anything. I’m still on Sertraline for my depression (haven’t taken the anxiety one for a while but that is a whole other kettle of fish!) and I still have problems but I’m not as low as I have been these past few years on this blog. I’m proud to say that I have been self-harm free since about March or April (it’s hard to remember since the months blur together), and I’m genuinely all the better for it! Part of it is because I didn’t want to damage my tattoos on my arms but it’s also because I’ve managed to resist the urge as well!

^ Having said that, I’m on the waiting list to see a doctor/specialist because my GP said there was a possibility I could have autism/Aspergers/be on the spectrum. It’s a LONG waiting list in the UK so it could be a while until I see a specialist, but there’s that. It’s not a bad thing necessarily since it might be a step closer to making sure I get the exact treatment/help I need.

Fandom junk - I already mentioned in my earlier posts that since late February/early March, I’ve gotten REALLY into How To Train Your Dragon. It’s now my main fandom, in fact, which is sad because the last film has come out and there’s just a half an hour Christmas special left to be released this winter 😭 but HTTYD has had such an impact on my life and my mental state, like it has genuinely made me so much happier and (in my opinion) a better person. I still love Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter (I even went to King’s Cross at the beginning of the month for Back to Hogwarts Day!) but it’s not my main fandom right now; I had to take a breather from Beasts and the Beasts fandom because it’s really not a great place to be at times. But I’m still into it and I’m waiting for the third film to come out in 2021!

Other random/rather unimportant stuff:

My bed is now overrun with Build a Bear dragons (and the odd baby Niffler)

My sister turned 18 and I’m so...old? I feel so old now omg

I’ve been trying to help the environment by taking little steps like going out litter picking (both on my own and with my dad) whenever I can, and I’ve been using the Ecosia search app as much as possible (for every 45 searches, they’ll plant a new tree!)

I went to Disneyland Paris again in June and it was a lot of fun, I met Peter/Wendy/Alice/Mad Hatter again, there was a false alarm because some twat left their bag at the meet and greet so they had to get the sniffer dog and everything, and I also met Donald Duck, Stitch, Tiana/Naveen AND Rapunzel (Rapunzel is my sister’s absolute favourite, so I’m happy she got to meet her!)

This may be super lame but I got so happy because I got noticed on Twitter several times by Jay Baruchel (the guy who plays Hiccup in How To Train Your Dragon - he’s so awesome and loves the character btw), his fiancée who’s a model keeps liking some of my posts on Instagram, and Cressida Cowell, who wrote the original How To Train Your Dragon books (which are vastly different to the movies but omg they’re so amazing?!), liked a tweet I sent her about my Toothless tattoo and she loved it?! I’m having a good year celebrity/famous people wise for some reason?! 😂❤️

I dont know if my blog was still in use when this happened but I’ll mention it anyway... I SAW EZRA AGAIN IN DECEMBER!! I went to watch Sons of an Illustrious Father play in London and it was GLORIOUS. Ezra Miller is GLORIOUS.

(I won’t post pictures of all the stuff here but... soon maybe?)

So that’s all I can think of...it’s been so long since I used this blog and I felt bad just abandoning it, so here we are.

I don’t know how much I’ll still use this blog, but as I said, I definitely don’t want to just abandon it. At the moment, I’m logged into this account on my iPod and onto my account on my phone, and I think I’ll keep it that way. I don’t know how much posting I’ll do here but I’ll still be around, and I’ll try to see if I can keep this blog alive alongside my current one, if people want me to!

I hope you guys are doing well, and I’m glad to have this blog back. Even if you follow my new blog and have been for the last few months, it’s still awesome to be talking to guys again on this account!

If you guys want to chat or say anything, feel free! Like I said, if people still want me to be active on here then just let me know and I’ll do my best! ☺️

[hayingsang]

What I read last year

Favourite book of 2019 – Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of The Aeneid. I wasn’t prepared for just how exciting this story was. Fantastic from start to end, even when you know what’s going to happen next. I also hugely enjoyed Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey, not least for her excellent introduction and its highlighting of lots of stuff to watch out for (especially all those brutal killings when Odysseus finally makes it home), and Pat Barker’s retelling of the Iliad from the point of view of Briseis, the young woman seized by Achilles to be his bed slave after her city is sacked during the siege of Troy.

Most exciting book – Eve Babitz’s Slow Days, Fast Company, her 1977 account of life in early 1970s Los Angeles. Also perhaps the most “masterly” book I’ve read in a long time – in my experience, most writing involves the writer getting it out there, usually using techniques they’ve built up over time; through SDFC’s collection of tales I felt I was reading what Babitz had decided was most appropriate for her readers to know. Extraordinary control. Loved it.

I would pair that with Patti Smith’s Just Kids, about her and Robert Mapplethorpe making themselves into artists in the very late 1960s/early 1970s New York – which feels like the total opposite of Babitz, ie Smith telling it how it was. Not particularly caring for her music – I loathed Horses as a 16-year-old – I was surprised how much I enjoyed/learned from her account of her life after she left home, struggling first to get by, then to make art, all as part of what was clearly a very special relationship.

Lara Alcock’s Mathematics Rebooted was my biggest learning experience – a wonderful journey through the elements of mathematics, beginning each chapter with something basic then taking it up past the point where most non-mathematician readers would fall off to something beyond. Every chapter I both learned something and found out what there was yet to learn.

As in 2018, I read four books in Chinese. Actually, two in “standard” Chinese and two in Cantonese. The Cantonese ones were a treat – a translation of The Little Prince and 香港語文: 聽陳蕾士嘅秘密, a collection of 20 Chinese essays and one Chinese poem translated into Cantonese. Who says it’s not a language of its own? Not the four writers who did the translations. The two others, a collection of essays from the early to mid 2000s by Chan Koonchung and a book-format edition of Being Hong Kong about various Hong Kong things (City Hall at 50, some food stuff, some Cantonese opera stuff, etc) were also worthwhile. Neither quite merit being translated into English, but both give a flavour of the things that exercise people in Hong Kong (or Chan’s case, of the things which exercised them in the early 2000s – a much more gentle set of concerns than those that bother them now).

Among the novels, Manjushree Thapa’s The Tutor of History was a standout. Set in the 1990s Nepal, it pulled off an astonishing feat of describing from scratch a society which most of us will never know. Sheila Heti’s Motherhood, a meditation mostly about whether to have a child or not, was also excellent in catching the feel of a person at a very specific and important juncture of her life.

Timothy Morton was an important discovery, especially Humankind. He tackles the question of what does it mean to be living now – in the Anthropocene, at a time when human beings are destroying many other living things and doing huge damage to much non-living stuff and comes up with some new answers – that maybe we have to take ourselves both more seriously and see ourselves as of rather less importance than we might like to think, especially when it comes to all those other living and non-things and stuff. Kind of practical in a bizarre way.

Walter Scheidel’s The Great Leveler and Francis Fukuyama’s Political Order and Political Decay are two tremendous overviews of where our societies have come from. Scheidel’s argument that throughout history, peace and economic growth have always led to ever-widening inequality poses a big challenge to the world. Fukuyama’s suggestion, continuing from The Origins of Political Order, that countries should build institutions before adding democracy points to another conclusion that merits serious thought.

Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit was my motivational book of the year. I would imagine it would be useful for anyone who has to come up with ideas and carry them through to completion.

Finally, Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish’s Siblings Without Rivalry is a terrific book about what to do when your children say they want each other to die. Like the one other great book about raising children I’ve read – Ross Gree’s The Explosive Child – it’s not about what you should get your children to do, it’s about what you should do. Gree’s single greatest point – one I think I took to heart – is that when there’s one angry person in the room, try not to make it two. Faber & Mazlish’s is don’t try to solve the problem yourself, just try and get those children to say (or even better write down) what’s bothering them about their brother/sister. Once that’s out in the open, they may even figure out what to do about it themselves. We tried it and – trust me – it worked.

The complete list

JR McNeill & Peter Engelke, The Great Acceleration

Frank Pieke, Knowing China

Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind

Susan Cain, Quiet

Ray Dalio, Principles

Lara Alcock, Mathematics Rebooted

Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost

Leo Goodstadt, A City Mismanaged

Timothy Morton, Being Ecological

Pat Barker, The Ghost Road

Martin Rees, Our Final Hour

Tyler Cowen, Stubborn Attachments

Timothy Morton, The Ecological Thought

Manjushree Thapa, The Tutor of History

John McPhee, Draft No. 4

Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish, Siblings Without Rivalry

Dante, The Divine Comedy

Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Joyce Carol Oates, Carthage

Zadie Smith, White Teeth

Xi Xi, My City

Eve Babitz, Slow Days, Fast Company

Various, Being HK

Nigel Collett, A Death in Hong Kong

Xi Xi, A Girl Like Me

Virgil, The Aeneid

James Scott, Against the Grain

Karl Popper, All Life Is Problem Solving

Ursula Le Guin, The Tombs of Atuan

Ursula Le Guin, No Time to Spare

Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit

Franklin Foer, World Without Mind

Ursula Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

Confucius/Simon Leys, The Analects of Confucius

Sheila Heti, Motherhood

Bill Burnett & Dave Evans, Designing Your Life

Ian Stewart, Nature’s Numbers

Mike Michalowicz, Clockwork

Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch

Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep

Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark

Philip K Dick, Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said

Peter Adamson, Classical Philosophy

Machiavelli, The Prince

Mary Clarke & Clement Crisp, How to Enjoy Ballet

Cas Mudde & Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism

Charles Lindblom, The Market System

AL Kennedy, Looking for the Possible Dance

Mario Vargas Llosa, The Bad Girl

Shen Fu, Six Records of a Floating Life

Han Kang, The Vegetarian

Mikel Dunham, Buddha’s Warriors

Yoko Ogawa, Hotel Iris

Elaine Feinstein, It Goes With the Territory

Homer/Emily Wilson, The Odyssey

Richard McGregor, Xi Jinping: The Backlash

Shiona Airlie, Scottish Mandarin

Jeannette Ng, Under the Pendulum Sky

Otessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

陳冠中, 我這一代香港人

Muriel Spark, Reality and Dreams

Muriel Spark, The Driver’s Seat

Mary Beard, Women and Power

Lauren Groff, Fates and Furies

Carlo Rovelli, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Anne Carson, The Beauty of the Husband

Francis Fukuyama, Political Order and Political Decay

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 小王子 (The Little Prince in Cantonese)

Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls

Joan Didion, The Last Thing He Wanted

Walter Scheidel, The Great Leveler

Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem

Svetlana Alexievich, The Unwomanly Face of War

Marguerite Duras, Blue Eyes, Black Hair

Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation

Chuang Tsu, The Book of Chuang Tsu

Cathleen Schine, The Weissmans of Westport

Patti Smith, Just Kids

Timothy Morton, Humankind

Various, 香港語文: 聽陳蕾士嘅秘密

Edna O’Brien, Time and Tide

[ad1thi]

IM PISSED OFF

(avengers: endgame spoilers ahead)

okay so i was talking to a friend about avenger: endgame and he was saying that tony’s death was the only logical way for his arc to end because his whole shtick was saving the world

and like through the conversation i realised

that the film could’ve ended w carol??

stay with me here

first of all

tony’s arc is about redemption

tony stark has never been the overbearing i must save the world nobility types

(at least, i never saw him like that)

tony stark doesn’t save the world out of some misguided virtuousness, he saves the world because he’s made to witness first hand what goes wrong tony stark doesn’t solve problems unless they’re directly in front of him

this is because (again, just personal opinion), tony was raised to be wilfully blind to problematic aspects of his life and company visa vie obadiah; which translates into his real life perception

in a much earlier post of mine, i noted this headline from im1 that said “tony stark wants to save the world”, which is very important because tony has always been about defending humanity; but he never really changes the method by which he does it until he’s faced with the abject consequences of them

remember, he was raised to be wilfully ignorant of problematic aspects of his life

so young tony stark believes he’s saving american troops by building bigger and better guns; then afghanistan happens- and he attempts to redeems himself by shutting down the weapons industry and becoming iron man

he thinks he’s saving the world by being iron man, then new york happens and he attempts to redeems himself by joining the avengers; following a chain of command and conceding seniority 

he thinks he can save the world by being a part of the avengers; then ultron happens and he attempts to redeems himself by admitting that he needs to retire, that his world view isn’t necessarily everyone’s world view

this arc is extrapolated in civil war, when he attempts to redeem his mistake of assuming that he knows all by pushing for oversight via the accords

the avengers break up, scattered across the globe, and tony attempts to redeem himself by operating as “earth’s best defender”

the black order comes to earth before tony is prepared to protect it, and he attempts to redeem himself by taking the fight away from earth

he loses peter parker, and he attempts to redeem himself by figuring out time travel and bringing him back

tony stark was raised to be wilfully ignorant of problematic aspects of his life

unless something happens that forces him to recognise that his world view is skewed; he operates under the assumption that it’s correct

that is why he’s earth best defender

because he is constantly working on improving himself for the good of humanity

tony stark’s arc was never about saving the world, it was about redemption

so how does dying factor in??

the long story short is, it doesn’t

following this line of thought; tony stark redeemed himself the minute he got into his car and went to the Avengers Compound instead of sitting on his couch with his wife and kid

dying to save the universe just logically doesn’t make sense because there’s nothing left for him to redeem; he’s done it

he saved the universe

he’s fighting the best he can

so why tony??

--

right so now that ive explained why tony doesn’t make sense

let me explain how i got to carol

--

now, i understand and am very aware that captain marvel as a film only exists because kevin feige and co were trying to capitalise on the feminism agenda, and it was a response to DC’s Wonder Woman

but

but

but

one of the most important take aways from Carol’s origin story; is that, much like Wendy BItchimoff, she gets her powers from an infinity stone

she gets her powers when her body somehow survives the blowback of the Tesseract

and marvel did this great job of selling the idea that captain marvel was strategically released because she was this major player in endgame

which, if we run by that thread, it can be logically argued that carol is one of the few people who can survive the impact of the snap (in my head the list is thor, carol and bruce) since we already know that she has insurmountable powers that come from her surviving an infinity stone attack when she was just human

except, despite all the flourish around carol’s big role- she has about 5 minutes of screen time

which okay, i get it, the film was centered around the original 6 avengers

but thats no reason that carol couldn’t have made the snap when she had the gauntlet

at the very beginning of the film she’s the one who makes the logical leap that if the stones could be used to snap people out of existence, they can be used to snap people back into existence

so why can’t she make the logical leap that they can be used to snap thanos’ army out of existence??

if she’d used the stones; there’s no reason why tony (who would’ve been alive) couldn’t have rebuilt the quantum machine to put all the stones back to their original place (since Hank Pym is now alive and can make Pym Particles)

so why not Carol??

in terms of story, it fits

in terms of marketing, it fits

its a logical and succinct conclusion that doesn’t arbitrarily change any character arc

it a very logical assumption that strange saved tony because he was the only one who could work out time travel, and that carol was introduced because she needed to make the snap

--

and like i said earlier, tony’s arc is about redemption

given how long he’s been in the superhero business and how many times he’s almost died saving the world (its 7 times i counted); nobody would argue that it was OOC for him to step down and let the new age of superheroes take on all other threats; since the threat that’s been haunting him for 6 years had been vanquished- in no small way because of him

we literally see him retire/step down no less than 3 times in this cinematic universe; its very par for the course at this point

tony stark stepping down to try the family life is a really normal thing

so

why not?

why subject us to all that pain and suffering when there was another perfectly good solution that fit just as well??

IM PISSED OFF

[citizenscreen]

You’ve probably heard that the schedule for the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (TCMFF) 2019  was published earlier this week. TCMFF is scheduled for April 11-14 and this year’s theme is Follow Your Heart: Love at the Movies. As you can imagine, such a broad theme allows for all sorts of relationships in movies and in that sense the offerings don’t disappoint. There’s something for everyone – from traditional romance to bromance to love in pure evil form. What’s important is that for the 10th consecutive year, classic movie fans will have a love affair with movies in Hollywood.

As has become tradition on this blog I’ve put together my planned schedule for discussion sake. I tried to go a bit beyond my comfort level this year choosing new-to-me fare in more slots than ever before with a dear coming home at the end the festival. This will be my seventh year in Hollywood for this event and the excitement has not waned. There’s simply a lot to look forward to.

Also exciting is the fact that I will be playing a dual role at TCMFF 2019. I’ve mentioned my media credentials to cover TCMFF in the past and that is true again this year. In addition, I will also be one of about 30 Brand Ambassadors. I don’t know many details of this post yet, but follow me on social media and we’ll learn together.

Now to my picks…I hope some of you will chime in with yours. If you’re a blogger and publish a pre-TCMFF post be sure to leave me the link in the comments so I can include it in this post. I enjoy comparing people’s picks and think others do as well. Here we go…

  Thursday, April 11

I’m betting the biggest crowd aside from Grauman’s for the official opening night feature, will be at the Egyptian for Howard Hawks’ enjoyable Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and its iconic images. Although I adore that movie, which features Marilyn Monroe in standout comedic form, I plan to attend the 35MM screening of Hobart Henley’s Night World (1932), which I’ve never seen. Sara Karloff, daughter of the legendary Boris Karloff, will do the introductory honors alongside writer Susan King. Spending some time at a Karloff speakeasy is simply too good to pass up and it’s a fantastic way to start the festival.

Next I’ll likely meet bunches of people I know at the Egyptian for the Nitrate screening of Irving Reis’ The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer (1947) starring my love Cary Grant, the lovely Myrna Loy, and the popular Shirley Temple. This is the first of several movies featuring Cary Grant this weekend and I plan to stare at him every chance I get. Almost.

  Friday, April 12

Friday morning poses a bit of a dilemma for me. There’s the film noir staple The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) opposite pre-code Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) opposite Judy Garland’s only drama appearance in The Clock (1945) opposite the enjoyable High Society (1956). I decided on Dorothy Arzner’s pre-code featuring Sylvia Sydney, Fredric March and a pre-stardom Cary Grant. How can I go wrong with that combination?

Following that movie I’ll have a bit of time before the Club TCM presentation of The Descendants: Growing Up in Hollywood. This presentation may be as close as I’ll ever get to the idea of “Legacies” I’ve been hoping for, which calls for a panel of children of classic stars. In attendance at The Descendants presentation will be Cary Grant’s daughter, Jennifer. This means I’ll be one degree away from the greatest Hollywood has ever seen.

The next Friday block poses another slight problem. My choice of screening is Garson Kanin’s delightful, My Favorite Wife (1940) at the Egyptian, but skipping Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) is not easy. The reason I’m going to see Cary and Irene Dunne, besides the fact they’re wonderful, is due to the next screening, which will likely be a popular one.

For the 5:30 to 8:00 PM block on Friday I plan to watch the new-to-me Vanity Street (1932) directed by Nick Grinde followed by John Reinhardt’s Open Secret (1948). I think these two films will have long lines because the others screening in the slot are much newer movies. That means die-hard “old” movie lovers have my choices as their choices as well. Robert Wise’s beloved The Sound of Music (1965) is also screening in the slot and that eases my worries a bit.

Next I go to go see Jean Negulesco’s Road House (1948) starring Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark. The other movie I seriously considered in this slot is the premiere restoration of Anthony Mann’s Winchester ’73 (1950). Watching at least one important Western at the festival has become a tradition for me. If I skip Winchester the tradition will be broken, which is tough.

This year I am making it a point to attend at least one midnight screening and it looks like Joselito Rodríguez’s Santo Contra Cerebro Del Mal (1961) is the choice. It’s exciting to watch a movie in Spanish at TCMFF and, although I am familiar with the Santo superhero character, I’ve never seen one of his films. This should be a heck of a lot of fun.

  Saturday, April 13

What hit me immediately upon perusing the Saturday morning line-up is that I might not make it into Grauman’s at all the entire festival. Can you imagine? One of the two golden age films screening at the historic theatre, Fred Zinnemann’s From Here to Eternity (1953) opens the day there, but I am going for science fiction and Rudolph Maté’s When Worlds Collide from 1951. The movie stars John Hoyt, Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, and Peter Hansen. Rush will be in attendance to introduce the film with Dennis Miller. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Rush on a couple of occasions and she couldn’t be more down to Earth, a truly lovely person who will no doubt offer interesting tidbits about the making of When Worlds Collide. 

From possible world annihilation I will venture into the jungles for the special presentation of the 85-year old Tarzan and His Mate (1984), the only directing outing by legendary art director, Cedric Gibbons. One of the first film courses I ever took was taught by a film historian and author obsessed with the nude swim scene and its artistry. I’ve seen it, of course, several times, but never on a big screen so this one is exciting.

Before you continue down my schedule, know that the rest of Saturday is a web of sacrifices for me. Foregoing a few screenings to ensure entrance in the ones I cannot miss is the order of this day. With that I continue…

Following Tarzan I’ll be visiting with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer in Leo McCarey’s Love Affair (1939) celebrating its 80th anniversary. This will be introduced by Dana Delaney who is a great classics fan in her own right. Although I have no reservation about enjoying this film, which I haven’t seen in quite some time, it would not be my choice if not for the rest of the day’s offerings. For instance, I think I’d enjoy the Tom Mix Double Feature immensely and would attend that if not for Rowland Brown’s Blood Money (1933) hailed as “the ultimate pre-Code film” on the TCMFF page and I’ve never seen it. Blood Money follows in the next slot and if I see Tom Mix I won’t have time to get to it. That’s the deciding factor for me. I’ll also be truly sorry to miss the Hollywood Home Movies presentation at Club TCM yet again.

The worst block of the entire 2019 TCMFF for me as far as decisions go is the Saturday evening offerings after Blood Money. My good friend Laura of Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings mentioned the rarity that will be the screening of George Marshall’s Life Begins at 40 (1935) and she should know as she takes full advantage of the numerous classic screenings available in the Los Angeles area. The problem, my dears, is that if I go to Life Begins at 40 I won’t make it to what I believe will be an unforgettable experience, Mervyn LeRoy’s The Bad Seed (1956) poolside with Patty McCormack in attendance. I’m super excited about this one as I consider McCormack’s portrayal of Rhoda one of the all-time great child performances and an impressionable evil. That said, this decision comes at a great cost because while I’ll be watching this terrific film, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, two stars that mean the world to me, will be Indiscreeting in a nearby theater. This actually hurts to think about, but this will be my first ever screening by the pool at the Roosevelt and I couldn’t look forward to it more.

  Sunday, April 14

Another tough choice opens Sunday with Peter Lorre’s fantastic performance in Karl Freund’s Mad Love (1935) screening opposite George Cukor’s Holiday (1938), but in the end Cary Grant wins as does Diane Baker’s introduction. Touch one though.

My choice for this next block may change depending on the TBA. I’m hoping it’ll be Indiscreet in which case that’s where I’ll be. Barring that happening I may well forego movies and attend two Club TCM presentations in a row, which would be a first: Hollywood Love Stories and The Complicated Legacy of Gone With the Wind are both enticing and likely to be entertaining and informative.

Finally, I arrive at the end of the weekend with the two final screenings. These are no-brainer choices for me. The first is Clarence Brown’s A Woman of Affairs (1928), the third picture to team Greta Garbo and John Gilbert and their final silent film together. Present for the introduction will be Kevin Brownlow and Leonard Maltin. This screening will also be accompanied by a live orchestra performing a score composed and conducted by Carl Davis and it should be spectacular.

Now talk about thrilling. This will be a nitrate presentation of Irving Cummings’ The Dolly Sisters (1945) starring one of my idols, superstar Betty Grable and June Haver as famous vaudeville entertainers, Jenny and Rosie Dolly. This movie strays far from the real story of The Dolly Sisters who were known more for their dark beauty than for their talent, so if you’re looking for biographical drama look elsewhere. However, if enchanting entertainment, the wonderful fluff I adore that’s important enough to get a Carol Burnett parody, if what you’re after then look no further. This one means a lot to me. Remember, Betty Grable was my idea of the biggest star in the world. Oh oh…I may cry during this screening. With John Payne as Grable’s love and character greats S. Z. Sakall and Sig Ruman, The Dolly Sisters screening cannot come soon enough even though it ends my TCMFF 2019.

◊

There you have my picks and ideas on this year’s festival. It all adds up to 16 movies – a decent number for me – three Club TCM presentations, and numerous new experiences. I hope to run into you in Hollywood, but if not follow me on social media for the latest from TCMFF 2019.

Facebook:  Citizen Screen

Twitter:  @CitizenScreen

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It’s always fun to compare notes with friends so I’m including links to a few other bloggers’ TCMFF picks. I love reading how everyone makes his/her decisions on such things and hope you do too.  If your blog post is not included leave the link in the comments section and I’ll be happy to add it to this list.

Check out the choices of Pre-Code.Com

    My Picks for #TCMFF 2019 You've probably heard that the schedule for the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (TCMFF) 2019  was published earlier this week.

[the-desolated-quill]

The Quill Seal Of Approval Awards - The Best of 2018

Hello and welcome, dear reader, to the greatest, most important awards ceremony in the history of entertainment. The Quill Seal Of Approval Awards. The award of recognition that everyone on Earth covets even though they don’t know it. For the Quill Seal Of Approval is a most esteemed prize for hard work and artistry. Better than the Golden Globes, more prestigious than the BAFTAs and guaranteed to be more diverse than the Academy Awards. You know your film, novel, TV show or video game has achieved legendary status when some random nobody on the internet says it’s the best in some obscure top 10 list that’s read by only a couple of people. That’s the true sign of success.

First, a few parish notices. Obviously this is my subjective opinion, so if you disagree with my choices, that’s fine. Go make your own list. (also remember that my opinion is 100% objective, scientific, factual and literal truth and anyone who disagrees is clearly a philistine and a dummy and a poopy-head whose mum smells of elderberries). Also please bear in mind that I haven’t been able to experience everything 2018 has to offer for one reason or another. In other words, please don’t be upset that A Star Is Born isn’t on this list. I’m sure it’s as amazing as everyone says it is. I just never got around to watching it.

Okay. Let us begin.

Inside No. 9 - Series 4

BBC2′s Inside No. 9, written by the League of Gentlemen’s Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, is an anthology series that’s often sadly overlooked, but it’s really worth a watch if you’re into shows like Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone, and this series in particular has been fantastic. We’ve had an episode written entirely in iambic pentameter, an episode whose chronology runs backwards, a live episode that really plays around with the format, episodes containing tragic and biting satire, and one especially twisted episode that brings out a side of Steve Pemberton we’ve never seen before. Series 4 has been a real treat from start to finish, with each episode beautifully written and expertly performed. Inside No. 9 deserves to share the same pedestal as Black Mirror, no question.

Black Panther

I’m sure everyone knows about my less than flattering views on the Marvel Cinematic Universe by now, which is what made Black Panther such a breath of fresh air for me. Stripping away all the convoluted crap, Black Panther has often been compared to The Dark Knight, and for good reason. Like The Dark Knight, this movie uses the superhero genre to tackle real social and political issues. In Black Panther’s case, exploring just what it means to be black in the modern world. Boasting an impressive cast of black actors, strong female characters, an engaging and complex antagonist, fantastic special effects and truly excellent direction from Ryan Coogler, Black Panther represents a new benchmark for Marvel, the superhero genre and the film industry in general. It proves how important and how lucrative diversity and representation in media can be, and it unintentionally shows how flawed the Marvel business model has become. The reason behind Black Panther’s success is simple. It’s because it’s bloody brilliant. And the reason it’s bloody brilliant is because Coogler was allowed to realise his own creative vision without Kevin Feige and Mickey Mouse breathing down his neck. Perhaps they should take note of that in future.

Deadpool 2

Of course Deadpool 2 is going to be on this list. Are you really surprised?

The Merc with the Mouth goes from strength to strength in the rare instance where the sequel is actually as good as, if not better than, the original. The first Deadpool was a great origin story for the character, but Deadpool 2 felt like an adventure ripped straight from the comics themselves. Crass, ultra violent and hysterically funny, Deadpool 2 is the crowning jewel of the X-Men franchise. Fan favourites such as Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus return as well as new characters such as Domino, played by the exceptional Zazie Beetz, Cable, played by the astounding Josh Brolin, and Firefist, played by Julian Dennison who deserves all the success in the world because good God this kid can act!

But of course the star of the film is Deadpool himself with Ryan Reynolds once again proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he understands this character back to front. Not only is he hysterically funny, capturing the character’s irreverent tone perfectly, he also absolutely nails the tragic underpinnings of Deadpool that make him such a wonderful character. In between the f-bombs and gore are moments of real drama and emotional pathos as the film tackles themes such as loss, discrimination, abuse and suicidal depression. All this whilst taking the piss out of 2017′s Logan. 

Oh yeah, and it also features the first openly LGBT superheroes in cinematic history. Fuck you Disney! NegaYukio and Poololosus for the win! LOL! No, but seriously, now that you have the rights to X-Men back, if you try and censor Deadpool in any way, shape or form, I will kick your arse.

God Of War (2018)

“BOY!”

Yes Kratos is back, having successfully destroyed the world of Greek mythology and now has his eyes on the Norse Gods. And he has a son now. What could possibly go wrong?

Seriously though, this new God Of War is simply exquisite. While I have long admired the God Of War franchise for its interpretation and adaptation of Greek mythology, the previous games in the series have never exactly been the most sophisticated when it comes to storytelling (and the less said about the casual sexism, the better. Yes Sony, I promise I understand the thematic reasons behind playing a minigame that allows you to have sex with Aphrodite in God Of War 3, but it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s sexist as shit). God Of War 2018 changes all that with an intelligent and engaging story that allows us understand and connect with Kratos at a more personal level than we’ve ever done before. Taking place years after God Of War 3, Kratos is older, wiser and trying to raise his son Atreus in the hopes that he won’t make the same mistakes Kratos did in his past. Not only is the story amazing, continuing the franchise’s themes of vengeance and the strained relationships between parents and their children, the gameplay is also a ton of fun with many memorable moments and boss fights.

And as an added bonus, we get two strong female characters that aren’t treated like discardable sex objects. That was nice of them.

Incredibles 2

The long awaited sequel to The Incredibles finally arrived in 2018 and it did not disappoint. Incredibles 2 was everything I could have wanted and more. Continuing on from the events of the first movie, we see Elastigirl take the spotlight as she fights the Screenslaver whilst trying to persuade the worlds’ governments to lift the ban on superheroes. Meanwhile Mr. Incredible takes a back seat as he tries to reconnect with his kids Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack and prove he can be a good, supportive dad. 

Continuing to draw inspiration from Fantastic Four, X-Men and Watchmen, Incredibles 2 is... well... incredible. Expanding the world he created, Brad Bird tells a smart, funny and compelling story that stands head and shoulders above the majority of superhero movie fodder we get nowadays. Elastigirl flourishes in the lead role this time around and the kids get a lot more development, the Screenslaver is a great villain that compliments the themes of the franchise wonderfully, and we get to see a whole bunch of new characters such as Voyd and the Deavor siblings as well as the return of old favourites like Frozone and Edna Mode. 

Honestly, the baby alone is worth the price of admission. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another fourteen years for Incredibles 3.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

Marvel’s Spider-Man is an amazing game. But of course you knew that already. It’s made by Insomniac Games, the same guys behind Ratchet & Clank. Of course it was going to be brilliant.

Simply put, this game does for Spider-Man what the Arkham games did for Batman. Not only is it a great game with brilliant combat and fun web swinging mechanics, it also has a great story worthy of the wall crawler. Unlike the movies, which seem to continuously yank Peter Parker back into high school with each new reboot as those the poor bastard were attached to the fucker on a bungee rope, this Spidey has been fighting crime for eight years. With great power comes many responsibilities as we see him struggle to juggle crime fighting, his new job as a scientist, his commitments to helping Aunt May at the F.E.A.S.T shelter and trying to win his ex Mary Jane Watson back after a six month split. It’s a brilliant story featuring many classic villains such as Shocker and Electro as well as lesser known villains like Screwball and the criminally underrated Mister Negative who finally gets to be the central antagonist in a Spider-Man adaptation. It’s fun to play, engaging, dramatic and really emotional at points. I cried real tears at the end. What a punch to the gut that was.

OOOOOH! And we might be getting to play as Miles Morales in the sequel! I sure hope so! :D

The Grinch

At this point I imagine many of you are scratching your heads. 

“Really Quill? The Grinch? Illumination’s The Grinch? This deserves the Quill Seal Of Approval? Are you sure?” Yes dear reader, I’m absolutely sure. Just hear me out.

It’s true that the majority of Dr Seuss adaptations are shit. While the live action version of the Grinch starring Jim Carrey has a cult following and is fondly remembered by some, it’s still pretty crap, and even Illumination themselves screwed up royally with their adaptation of The Lorax. But this new Grinch is truly excellent. For starters, the animation is gorgeous. This is clearly the format that works best for Seuss movies. Benedict Cumberbatch does a really good job voicing the character, giving him depth and complexity beyond just being a big old meanie. The film also has something no other Seuss film has ever had before. Subtlety. Illumination have clearly learned their lesson after The Lorax. They’re no longer bashing you over the head with a moral message. They’re not trying to over-complicate a simple story by adding pointless sub-plot after pointless sub-plot. In fact the bits they do add actually feed into the main core of the narrative, as opposed to The Lorax, which just confused things. And while there are cute Minion-esque sidekicks like there are in a lot of Illumination films, The Grinch limits it to two (Max the dog and a reindeer named Fred), they’re both legitimately funny, serve an important narrative purpose and don’t distract from the more serious and emotional moments.

In all honesty, I was debating between giving the Quill Seal of Approval to The Grinch or to Bumblebee (the first legitimately good Transformers movie), but I decided to go with The Grinch because of how it handles the character and the story’s message. A lot of people scoffed at the idea of giving the Grinch a back story (and to the film’s credit they don’t force the issue or over-explain where the Grinch came from) but it’s honestly what makes this new adaptation of The Grinch so special to me. He’s gone from being a Scrooge-like monster to an anxiety filled misanthrope who associates Christmas with being alone. It may sound like a jarring change on paper, but in practice it honestly works so well and adds a whole new dimension to the Grinch. It’s treated with absolute care and sincerity and the film really earns its emotional moments, particularly at the end when we see the Grinch sit down to have Christmas dinner with the Whos.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you give this new Grinch a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised :)

Doctor Who - Series 11

A woman?! In the TARDIS?! How absurd!

Jodie Whittaker made history as the first woman to play the Doctor and the new series doesn’t disappoint. Whittaker is predictably brilliant in the role, giving the character compassion, charm and wit. We also get a new bunch of companions (including the always brilliant Bradley Walsh as Graham) who all have some great moments in Series 11 and the relationships they form with each other is incredibly touching and fun to watch. But the writing, my God, the writing. Admittedly not every episode has been perfect, but it’s leagues above anything Moffat has given us during his disastrous reign. The majority of Series 11 has been well written and intelligent, tackling important and relevant social issues (something Doctor Who has always been doing and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot) and focusing on likeable and relatable characters rather than convoluted series arcs. We got to meet Rosa Parks, witness the partition of India, and ponder on the dangers of automation whilst the Doctor tries to save the world from bubble wrap. Oh, and the Daleks are scary again! I know! I couldn’t believe it either!

What makes this all the more remarkable is who the showrunner is. Chris Chibnall. A writer I’ve often criticised in the past for being derivative and shit, and yet somehow he’s managed to create some of the best Doctor Who I’ve seen in a long time. Not only has his writing improved dramatically since his Torchwood days, he’s also demonstrated a commitment to having diverse representation both in front of and behind the camera as well as in the scripts themselves. For the first time in what feels like an age, Doctor Who feels like Doctor Who again, and I’m ecstatically happy.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

How come we don’t see many animated superhero movies in the cinema? Considering the medium from which superheroes came from, you’d think it would be a no-brainer. Presumably it’s because Disney have got such a strangle hold on the animation market, but that’s hopefully going to change thanks to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (or, Sony’s Repentance for The Emoji Movie).

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. The animation is gorgeous. It’s pretty much an animated comic book and it stands out as one of the most unique looking animated films in recent memory. Spider-Verse is essentially a love letter to the legacy of Spider-Man as we see multiple different versions of Spidey, including Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham and Nicholas Cage as Ghost Rider cosplaying as Spider-Man Noir, demonstrating not only the sheer variety of Spider-Men we’ve had over the years, but also exploring what connects them together. With all these different interpretations across many different universes, the idea of Spider-Man comes to the same thing. An ordinary person who experiences tragedy and becomes something greater. It’s hopeful and inspirational in a way Spider-Man films hasn’t been for a while now (Spider-Man: Homecoming sucked donkey balls. Period).

But let’s not forget that while the film explores the Spider-Verse, the main focus is Miles Morales who finally makes his cinematic debut. Not only is it a very faithful adaptation of Ultimate Spider-Man’s origin story, Miles himself is such a great central character for the modern age and arguably has more relevance to today than Peter Parker does. The characters are funny and relatable and the story is expertly crafted and impactful. But then what do you expect from the writers and directors of The Lego Movie? (if only Disney hadn’t interfered with Solo: A Star Wars Story. We could have had it all).

Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle

This one kind of snuck up on me toward the end of December, but I knew the moment I saw it I had to include it on this list.

Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle is an adaptation of The Jungle Book with Andy Serkis making his directorial debut. Yes the same guy who did the motion capture for Gollum in Lord Of The Rings and Caesar in the rebooted Planet Of The Apes movies and who totes deserves an Oscar for Best Actor (fuck you Academy Awards!), and he brings this same motion capture technology to this film. Unlike Disney’s Jungle Book, which merely rehashes the original animated film whilst somehow stripping all the charm from it, Mowgli sticks closer to the original Rudyard Kipling book. This isn’t a cheery musical. This film is often dark and intense as we see Mowgli (played wonderfully by Rohan Chand) struggle to find his place in the world. He knows he doesn’t belong with the animals in the jungle, but he doesn’t really fit in with the world of man neither. It’s an emotional and dramatic character piece brought to life by great writing, great acting and stunning special effects. 

Andy Serkis has expressed a desire to do an adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and after watching this movie, I would love to see that. If you haven’t already, go watch Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle. It’s available to stream on Netflix and it’s truly amazing.

And that’s it for 2018. Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Quill Seal Of Approval Awards. Unfortunately we’re on a limited budget here on The Desolated Quill, so I can’t offer any sort of trophy or medal or anything. What I can do though is write the words ‘I’m an awesome cookie’ on a post-it note and stick it on your forehead. Will that do?

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 29 April 2019

Quick Bits:

Angel #0 spins out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4 (the ending events of which are presented again at the beginning here), giving us a flashback of Angel in Los Angeles and a case involving a werewolf. The tone here from Bryan Edward Hill, Gleb Melnikov, Gabriel Cassata, and Ed Dukeshire is bleaker than the Buffy series, but it’s fitting.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Barbarella/Dejah Thoris #3 is a whole lot of flirting. Gorgeous artwork from  Germán García and Addison Duke with some impressive lettering from Crank!

| Published by Dynamite

Batman #70 wakes up from its “Knightmares” for the first part of “The Fall and the Fallen” by Tom King, Mikel Janín, Jorge Fornés, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles. It throws down a gauntlet of Bats’ rogues as he fights to escape Arkham Asylum.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #1 is the first of these series that I’ve picked up, so I didn’t initially clue in that this wasn’t necessarily how this crossover had played out previously, but this first issue features a world of the two properties mashed-up in a combined reality. It’s an interesting start from James Tynion IV, Freddie E. Williams II, Kevin Eastman, Jeremy Colwell, and Tom Napolitano with some gorgeous artwork.

| Published by DC Comics & IDW

Black Hammer ‘45 #3 features a guest-spot for a young Abraham Slam, who seems to rub the Black Hammer Squadron the wrong way through trying to follow through with ideals and principles. It’s an interesting underlining of whatever potentially grey area operation the squad is on, as Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes, Matt Kindt, Sharlene Kindt, and Marie Enger continue to let that plot point simmer.

| Published by Dark Horse

Champions #5 is a tie-in to War of the Realms and also serves as a bit of glue to hold together different parts of the event, building upon things across different areas of the Marvel universe. It also gives us a very heartfelt reunion of Ms. Marvel and Cyclops, wonderfully told by Jim Zub, Juanan Ramírez, Marcio Menyz, and Clayton Cowles.

| Published by Marvel

DC’s Year of the Villain Special #1 gives a trio of teasers, two largely for the two sides of the Justice League/Legion of Doom stuff that has been going on, providing a backbone for the Year of the Villain event, and the third for Brian Michael Bendis’ brainchild of Event Leviathan, which unfortunately feels kind of out of place with the rest of it. As though the two separate stories are competing for resources, rather than being part of a cohesive whole. That said, all of the teasers do their job fairly well, piquing interest in what’s to come.

| Published by DC Comics

DCeased #1 is basically DC’s answer to Marvel Zombies by way of Stephen King’s Cell, but it’s damn entertaining work from Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, James Harren, Stefano Gaudiano, Rain Beredo, and Saida Temofonte. The set-up for the series with Darkseid meddling with the Anti-Life Equation and winding up with something worse is perfect.

| Published by DC Comics

Deathstroke #43 is kind of the conclusion to “The Terminus Agenda”, on paper at least. There’s still an epilogue over in the next issue of Teen Titans and the final page of this one sets up something huge going forward.

| Published by DC Comics

Descendent #1 begins another new conspiracy thriller, building off a child abduction and a “truther”, from Stephanie Phillips, Evgeniy Bornyakov, Lauren Affe, and Troy Peteri. It’s a bit of a slow build, working to develop the characters nicely, but there’s an intriguing mystery here.

| Published by AfterShock

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #7 continues the hunt for the Stilean Flesh Eaters as the Doctor and the team cross paths with some familiar faces. Gorgeous layouts and art here from Roberta Ingranata, Enrica Eren Angiolini, and Viviana Spinelli.

| Published by Titan

Eclipse #15 reaches a boiling point in this penultimate issue. Zack Kaplan, Giovanni Timpano, Flavio Dispenza, and Troy Peteri have at least partially turned this arc upside down, causing us to have some serious questions about the morality of either side in the conflict. It adds a great depth to the characters’ actions and makes me unsure as to what exactly I’d like to see in the finale.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Elephantmen 2261: The Pentalion Job #1 begins a new digital original mini-series from Richard Starkings and Axel Medellin. Burba sees himself released from prison early, only to be set up to do a new enormous heist. Starkings builds this one greatly out of what’s come before in the series and the art from Medellin is gorgeous.

| Published by Comicraft

Fallen World #1 is a very welcome return to the future of the Valiant universe, spinning out of the changes made to the world in 4001 AD and War Mother, with Dan Abnett, Adam Pollina, Ulises Arreola, and Jeff Powell weaving gold out of the fallen threads of the fallen New Japan. You needn’t have read anything prior to this, Abnett does a wonderful job filling in necessary details of the world and the characters. The art from Pollina is probably the best I have ever seen from him, there’s detail, grace, and expressiveness that has leapt so far beyond even the beautiful work he’s done before. He and Arreola make this a damn impressive book to look at. Highly recommended.

| Published by Valiant

Giant Days #50 features a cricket match, including an explanation of the game that makes more sense than I’ve ever seen it explained before. John Allison, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar, and Jim Campbell deliver another hilarious issue, with one hell of a final page.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / BOOM! Box

The Girl in the Bay #4 is the end to this mini from JM DeMatteis, Corin Howell, James Devlin, and Clem Robins. It answers what happened in order to create two Kathy Santoris, and her murderer’s deal, but it maintains the weirdness set from the beginning.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Gogor #1 is an entertaining start to this fantasy series from Ken Garing. The set up for the Domus taking over is interesting, as is the introduction of the seemingly Hulk-like saviour in the titular character. Gorgeous artwork throughout.

| Published by Image

Green Lantern #7 is a standout issue in an already astounding run, as Hal Jordan and a friend he finds in Pengowirr try to escape from Hal’s dying power ring. Great twists and turns throughout from Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, and Tom Orzechowski. The layouts for many of the pages, playing with the shape of the Green Lantern symbol are very impressive.

| Published by DC Comics

Harley Quinn #61 is the first of this series I’ve picked up, due to Otto Schmidt taking over regular art duties, and I quite like this. This is the first part of “Role Players” from Sam Humphries, Schmidt, and Dave Sharpe, porting Quinn off to an alternate realm steeped in Dungeons & Dragons fantasy tropes. It’s pretty entertaining, with great art from Schmidt.

| Published by DC Comics

Hashtag: Danger #1 is another entertaining addition to the second wave of Ahoy’s comics, with Tom Peyer and Chris Giarrusso’s humorous take on the Challengers of the Unknown formula graduated from back-up to series. It’s rounded out with the usual back-up strip, text piece, and prose.

| Published by Ahoy

Justice League #23 has one hell of a gut punch for an ending (granted, it’s a little undercut by the DC’s Year of the Villain Special, but how could we expect something like that to remain anyway?). Absolutely stunning artwork from Jorge Jimenez and Alejandro Sánchez who only seem to outdo themselves with each subsequent issue.

| Published by DC Comics

Marvel Team-Up #2 continues the team-up between Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man in this Freaky Friday take from Eve L. Ewing, Joey Vasquez, Felipe Sobreiro, and Clayton Cowles. Interesting exploration of Peter and Kamala as they navigate aspects of each other’s lives.

| Published by Marvel

Meet the Skrulls #4 unveils what was a the heart of Project Blossom as fractures continue to develop between the Warner family. Great twists and turns from Robbie Thompson, Niko Henrichon, Laurent Grossat, and Travis Lanham as the series winds up for its conclusion.

| Published by Marvel

Nobody is in Control #1 features some very dense storytelling from Patrick Kindlon, Paul Tucker, and Wallace Ryan in this debut issue that goes down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and seemingly random information. It reminds me a bit of the structure of Steve Seagle and Kelley Jones’ Crusades from Vertigo ages ago, but with a more likeable protagonist and a decidedly different narrative.  

| Published by Black Mask

The Punisher #11 is the explosive conclusion to “War in Bagalia” from Matthew Rosenberg, Szymon Kudranski, Antonio Fabela, and Cory Petit. When I say “conclusion”, though, I only mean it’s the end of the arc, it doesn’t really conclude anything with Jigsaw or Zemo. Great art from Kudranski and Fabela.

| Published by Marvel

Red Sonja #4 delves a bit more into Sonja’s past and training, seeding something interesting, while the first assault after being resupplied takes place. Mark Russell, Mirko Colak, Bob Q, Dearbhla Kelly, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou are continuing to tell an engrossing, thought-provoking story with this series.

| Published by Dynamite

Savage Avengers #1 is a good debut from Gerry Duggan, Mike Deodato Jr., Frank Martin, and Travis Lanham. It spins out of Avengers: No Road Home, but only inasmuch as depositing Conan in the Savage Land. We’re getting a bit of a gathering of the team here as an ancient cult tries to summon a bloodthirsty deity from a planet past Pluto.

| Published by Marvel

The Six Million Dollar Man #3 is another hilarious issue from Christopher Hastings, David Hahn, Roshan Kurichiyanil, and Ariana Maher. The comedy of errors increases as Steve tries to recharge himself through acting as a lightning rod. Just wonderful stuff.

| Published by Dynamite

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #8 sees Seanan McGuire continue to absolutely nail the character development and interpersonal interactions between the characters in a compelling and intriguing way that hooks you well on their drama, even amidst all of the action, mystery, and excitement. Also, the art from Takeshi Miyazawa and Ian Herring remains incredible.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Han Solo #1 gives us a sweet smuggling run set between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back as Han and Chewie are still carving out what their place happens to be in this world, from Greg Pak, Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, Tamra Bonvillain, and Travis Lanham.

| Published by Marvel

Transformers #4 maintains the slowburn for this story arc, delivering a bit more information, a Cyclonus that might be insane, and Brainstorm’s funeral. Also, I’d swear that the story is hinting that the newly forged Transformer is the murderer, but that may just be me putting together dots that don’t actually align. It’s really nice to see art here from Sara Pitre-Durocher and Andrew Griffith as they join Angel Hernandez this issue.

| Published by IDW

Volition #5 throws a boatload of betrayals and twists at us as Amber and Hale continue to try to track down their creator...and her dog. Ryan Parrott, Marco Itri, Leonardo Paciarotti, and Marshall Dillon are very nicely raising the tension levels in this issue.

| Published by AfterShock

The War of the Realms #3 sees Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson, and Joe Sabino continue to juggle the massive amount of characters and threads going into this event (even if some of the tie-in mini-series don’t seem to line up with the main event book itself). Gorgeous art from Dauterman and Wilson.

| Published by Marvel

The War of the Realms: Strikeforce - The Dark Elf Realm #1 is a one shot from Bryan Hill, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Matt Hollingsworth, and Joe Sabino further exploring the team of Freyja, the Punisher, She-Hulk, Blade, and Ghost Rider before they ride off to Svartalfheim in War of the Realms #3. Some interesting character explorations and the nightmare of thousands of fluffy kittens.

| Published by Marvel

Young Justice #5 is huge, potentially exponentially huge, as it seems to pull at the fraying threads of the New 52 and Rebirth to hearken back to the pre-Flashpoint DCU. Brian Michael Bendis, John Timms, Kris Anka, Doc Shaner, Gabe Eltaeb, and Wes Abbott may be playing with fire but it’s a very welcome warmth. Bring marshmallows.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Amazing Spider-Man #20.HU, Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command #2, Beasts of Burden: The Presence of Others #1, Black AF: Devil’s Dye #3, Devil Within #4, The Dreaming #9, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #5, Female Furies #4, From Hell: Master Edition #5, Goosebumps: Horrors of the Witch House #1, Grumble #6, Hillbilly: Red-Eyed Witchery From Beyond #4, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #9, Marvel Action: Avengers #4, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #3, Outcast #41, Paper Girls #28, Self/Made #6, Star Wars #65, Star Wars Adventures: Flight of the Falcon, TMNT: Urban Legends #12, Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale

Recommended Collections: Aliens: Dust to Dust, Amazing Spider-Man - Volume 3, Art of War of the Realms, Bloodborne - Volume 2: Healing Thirst, Bone Parish - Volume 1, Doctor Strange - Volume 2: Remittance, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option, House Amok - Volume 1, Killmonger, Man Without Fear, Midas, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Volume 8, Olivia Twist: Honor Among Thieves, Princeless - Volume 7: Find Yourself, The Quantum Age, The Silencer - Volume 2: Helliday Road, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Terra Incognita, Stranger Things - Volume 1: The Other Side, Takio, TMNT - Volume 21: Battle Lines, Wonder Woman & Justice League Dark: Witching Hour, The Wrong Earth - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy would like to remind you that it’s Free Comic Book Day. Get out there and free some comics from the shackles of oppression. May the fourth be with you.

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Opens the Gates in Episodes 43-49!

  Welcome back to THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Nate Ming, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 36-42, and we continue this week with episodes 43-49.

  This week is all about the FIGHTS, as we witness some of the best action in the series yet--and the start of what many consider the best showdown in all of Naruto! The "elimination tournament" portion of the Chunin Exam heats up, and we get to see a whole bunch of characters show what they're really made of--Kiba, Neji and Hinata, Shikamaru, and of course, Rock Lee and Gaara all get a chance to shine.

  But first, a reader question from last week--this one's from twintailedmadness:

  Hey, what happened with the two people impersonating the grass ninja along with Orochimaru? At the beginning of the forest exam part when they run in he says "you know what to do, we only have one target" and they go separate ways. Its not the two with Kabuto, you also see them at their own gate. Is it a plot hole or something that will come up later?

That's a really good question! They actually do vanish and we only see Shiore/Orochimaru-in-disguise--I think that Orochimaru was either controlling their corpses, or he had two underlings impersonating them. Sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the two random Grass Ninja who entered the Forest of Death and never returned!

  And now, this week's Q&A!

  This week we've got three, four… FIVE fights all in a row, and yet we're also getting a whole bunch of great character moments and development. How are you feeling right now with the show's pace?

Kevin: Knowing what’s coming with the third exam, I wish that they had saved some of the more poignant moments for after the prelims. Maybe of the people that completed the second exam, the slowest half need to fight, and then everyone else moves on to the actual third exam, so that the likes of the Hyuga fight and Lee versus Gaara would happen while the plot was actually moving forward?

Paul: No objections here. The show is moving along at a brisk pace, especially considering that it's a shonen action series, and by comparison sometimes a single fight in One Piece or Dragon Ball will last like five or six episodes. Two to three episodes per fight, maximum, is about my attention span these days.

Jared: This set of episodes in particular really felt like it moved quickly. Which isn’t bad, considering all the fights and moments that were packed into these episodes, it’s amazing how well it kept the flow up. Which really is how I’d characterize the pace, in that it does a good job of keeping things moving and the only time it really feels hindered is when it can go into recap mode.

Danni: I watched all of this batch’s episodes in one day without even realizing it until I was done. It was extremely tempting to just go ahead and keep watching. It feels like we’re really moving along right now.

David: The pace hasn’t been consistent--the recaps and long-winded explanations of stuff that should be easy to grok come to mind - but these episodes were all incredibly solid and left me wanting more. It’s very easy to see why this arc is remembered so fondly.

Noelle: I don’t have any complaints. It’s mostly fighting, but it’s compressed enough, especially when compared to a lot of other shonen series of the time.  What we get really isn’t that bad, and is engaging enough that I didn’t feel like it was dragging.

Kara: I think I may be in the minority that actually enjoys when fights cut away to back story. We had a lot of characters introduced all at once, and they seemed genuinely interesting. Especially considering the techniques a lot of them use. I dig the sheer amount of action, but I’m also enjoying finding out more about these people as we go.

Joseph: I’m loving the pacing of these episodes because, with a couple exceptions (especially Gaara vs. Rock Lee), I don’t really think they needed to spend too much more time on anything here. The stakes aren’t that high, but they still make it seem as if each fight is a deathly serious affair.

Carolyn: I’m also in the minority but for a different reason. I actually really like when the fights are sprinkled with backstory, I feel like it makes their fights more relevant and emotional. But I’m really over how many fights are dragged across multiple episodes. It feels like they are stretching them out to fill time.

Peter: What’s. With. The. Constant. Split. Screen. Facial. Reactions. That aside I was pretty pleased with the animation treatment Kiba and Hinata got. The show really set its pace to the moment whether it was comedy, dramatic reveals, character moments, or even just taking an extra second so you can appreciate how f**ked-up Temari’s finisher was.

How does it feel getting to truly see Shikamaru in action, even if it was for only a half an episode?

Kevin: Shikamaru is one of the characters that grew on me over time. Early on, he’s just lazy and doesn’t do much, but as we get to see him fight and plan more, he just gets more awesome. So finally getting to watch him execute a plan in the moment was a great taste of what’s to come.

Paul: While I enjoyed it in the moment, I almost instantly forgot that Shikamaru defeats his opponent by using his understanding of the layout of the battlefield to trick them into banging their own head against a wall. For some reason, the details weren't sticking with me.

Jared: For me, seeing him in action was pretty similar to everyone else we hadn’t really seen fight yet. I was glad to see them all get screen time and actually see what they can do. With Shikamaru we kind of saw what he could do in the forest with his shadow possession, but this fight really showed the extent of that power and how dangerous it can be.

Danni: Shikamaru seems cool, but I don’t understand why people call him a galaxy brain level strategist. He seems no smarter than the other top genin.

David: The best of Shikamaru has yet to come. As of now, he’s interesting, but not much more interesting than the rest of the cast.

Noelle: This fight is more of a Shikamaru 101 than anything. Where he really shines has yet to come, but it’s nice seeing that his intellect and creativity has been highlighted even this early on.

Kara: One thing I’m learning about Naruto is there are very few one-trick ponies, despite what early episodes may lead you to believe. It was cool seeing Shikamaru step up from being the “mendokusai” guy to having some good in-the-moment tactics.

Joseph: I think I mentioned his power as being the type I’d like to have myself. I loved the strategy of using his environment to his advantage, even it if seemed like a totally wild gambit.

Carolyn: Shikamaru! I love him so much. I love that everyone tends to think he’s just a lazy jerk when really he could be the most grounded of them all. Reality/knowledge leads to depression and all that. In my opinion, he’s incredibly observant and clever.

Peter: I have never understood why he doesn’t just hit someone with a damn shuriken when he’s got them trapped. Even with all holsters being coincidentally placed in the same location, he could have another one just for this purpose or pull a needle out of himself. Then even him taking damage was part of his plan.

We're seeing more and more ninja animals show up--Kakashi's ninja dogs, Shino's ninja bugs, Guy's turtle that only showed up once, and now Kiba's dog, Akamaru. What animal companion do you think would be the most useful for a ninja to have?

Kevin: The insects would probably be the single most useful creature a ninja could be in charge of. Reconnaissance that no enemy would think to check for, setting up traps that are practically invisible and a weapon that drains the enemy’s chakra, making them much easier to defeat, all in one. The only problem is that the bugs live in their host, which would make me run away so fast that Lee wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Paul: Definitely a turtle, because while your enemies are busy wondering why on Earth you brought a turtle to a ninja fight, you could sneak up behind them and shank them in the kidneys. Ninja are all about sowing confusion, and the only ninja animal that would be more confusing than a turtle would be an inexplicably out-of-water shark.

Jared: Having a bunch of bugs would probably be very beneficial since you could have just thousands upon thousands of them swarm an opponent. Just having that numbers advantage is going to be beneficial in most circumstances.

Danni: Without contest bugs are the most useful for a ninja to have. Control a few and you have the most stealthy intel team imaginable. Control a swarm and you will never, ever lose.

David: For the sake of variety, I’d argue that rodents like mice and squirrels would be similarly useful to insects. They are everywhere, which is useful for surveillance and such, and they easily carry disease for assassination purposes. Also, you probably wouldn’t have to let them live in your body, so it’s just a win overall.

Noelle: Bugs, all the way. There are so many kinds that each specialize in different things- poisons, paralytic agents, webbing, heightened senses- even reconnaissance from away is very easy for something so small nobody would notice. It’s a lot easier to catch sight of a mammal than a fly. I also am pretty fond of bugs, so it’s not like dealing with them would be a problem.

Kara: Guinea pigs, and not just because me owning four of them kind of obligates me to say that. Those little suckers are faster and stealthier than potatoes on legs have any right to be.

Joseph: I’m down with the dogs, because when you’re not fighting to the death with them by your side you got yourself a ride or die buddy.

Carolyn: Based on what’s in the show and not just any animal we choose? Because, sharks maybe? I dunno. But I guess bugs would make the most sense. Dogs could be useful in a fight but they would need to be exceptionally trained, I would think. Bugs at least give you a shock factor.

Peter: Really can’t argue with chakra eating demon bugs. Such a variety of insects too. Always thought Shino was an underutilized character given how freaky his power is. Little sad they turned him on his head to be an awkward joke character in Boruto. I’ll always have my Ninja Storm ougis I guess.

Neji and Hinata's fight had a lot of raw emotion to go with the really brutal combat. For those of you who are new to the series, how do you think this story's gonna play out?

Paul: I don't honestly know where they're going with the conflict between Hinata and Neji, although I doubt they'll let Neji remain victorious in the long-run. Neji demonstrates the sort of rigid thinking that's a prime candidate for karmic retribution, and pride goeth before the fall. It was also nice to see that Hinata practices Hokuto Shinken.

Jared: Neji’s gonna have to get his comeuppance eventually, although you could probably go about this in a few ways. One could be that eventually Neji finally realizes that Hinata is deserving of his respect and they go that route. Or they have Hinata save him from something and that’s what makes him change his mind. Either way or with whatever they do, I’d be surprised if this beef extended throughout the entirety of the series and they aren’t at least tolerable of each other.

Danni: The conflict within the Hyuga clan is one I can easily see becoming tied in with a civil war were that to ever happen. The lesser clan families will likely attempt to usurp the main family through assassination and align themselves with a greater evil threatening the Hidden Leaf Village, is my guess.

Kara: For me, Neji reads so much like the personification of Hinata’s self-doubt—at least in this fight. That feeling of self-doubt never goes away; we kind of resolve ourselves to it, admit it’ll be there, but learn not to let it overtake us. With all the focus Naruto has on personal growth, I feel like their relationship will mirror this to at least some degree, with Hinata coming to a point where Neji’s thoughts about her don’t even matter. Whether he’ll ever respect her? No idea. I hope so.

Joseph: I think it’s gonna end up with Hinata shocking him with her prowess later on, and bringing out his own lurking self-doubt in a way that mirrors how he messed with her at the start of the fight. I’d like to see more psychological ninja warfare either way.

Carolyn: I’m not new to the series, but I’ll answer with my thoughts on the episode, anyway. I was very happy with Naruto throughout Hinata’s fight. He pays close attention to his friends, which often comes across as being callous or inappropriate, but he knew Hinata wasn’t out of it yet even when everyone else thought she was down for the count. I appreciate that.

Peter: I don’t think this question's for me because I already know, but just wanted to say I forgot how brutal the whole affair was and the anime delivered. Right when the board had their names next to each other you knew Hinata was afraid and their opening combo was basically psychological torture. Bless Kurenai for being a good wingman.

We're here, at my single favorite fight in the series: Rock Lee vs. Gaara. For newcomers, how was the experience? For those of us revisiting Naruto, what was it like coming back?

Kevin: Rock Lee versus Gaara will always be one of the hypest things in all of Naruto, and the hypest part of it comes next week, once Lee starts tapping in to the Eight Inner Gates. It is taking all of my discipline to wait to watch the next episode.

Paul: One of these days, Rock Lee is going to hit a Lotus on somebody that doesn't use Ninjutsu trickery to cushion the blow or replace themselves with a decoy, and that day will be glorious. Until then, I'm just going to have to wait to see how the final episode of the fight plays out next week. I can see why people like this fight, but I still have difficulty taking Sandy Murder Cinnamon Roll (aka Gaara) seriously as an antagonist.

Jared: Maaaaaaaaaaaan, this fight rules. I’d seen the gif of Rock Lee’s weight moment before watching this so knew at some point it was coming, but I’m so glad to finally see the context and know it’s even cooler. The animation in the first episode of this fight was just astonishing with how much it let that fight feel so dynamic and fluid. Rock Lee continues to solidify himself as the coolest character in this show and the best boy.

Danni: This is the only fight I’ve ever heard anything about in Naruto, and I’ve seen the weights dropping already. It was still extremely kickass to see my favorite boy landing shots through Gaara’s impenetrable defense. Rock Lee is the ultimate underdog and I want nothing more than to see him dominate.

David: Ridiculously good. I haven’t watched this fight in years, and it’s really amazing how supremely it holds up. Taijutsu is straight-up the coolest form of fighting in the series, and it’s already being set up to be outclassed overall, and while that’s kind of sad, it ends up making Rock Lee’s underdog status so easy to see and root for that this fight benefits from it.

Noelle: Rock Lee!! Appreciation!!! This fight, and I think a lot of old fans would feel the same, was one of the most spectacularly awesome moments in the series. I haven’t rewatched it since I finished the series, but it’s just as hype as I remembered. Gaara, the boy who has never taken a hit, finally is forced to eat a blow from someone who only uses pure martial arts, and it’s great.

Kara: Everyone’s been talking about how this fight is The Best. I get it, I see it, I believe you now. It’s amazing and hype, but also a little weird because we’ve got two characters who wandered in from other genres going at it—Rock Lee being every sports anime personified, and Gaara genuinely belonging in a horror movie. (Seriously, the sand shell was hitting my creepy doll vibes more than Kankuro’s literal creepy doll.)

Joseph: It’s Frieza eyes vs. Usopp eyes and it rules. I’ve read the source material but I like the anime version of the event even more. When Rock Lee dropped the weights I got chills.

Carolyn: I actually liked the flashbacks more than the fight itself. Seeing baby Rock Lee so dedicated and driven, holding himself to impossible standards, it’s why I love him so much.

Peter: I thought there was still one episode to go until I saw literally ANY animation. Azuma was talking to Choji or something and I was thinking to myself “why does this look so good?” They gave every second of that episode special treatment. Lee dropping the weights is still iconic.

This is less of a Naruto question, and more a general question about action anime. Can you think of 1-2 other instances that were your "Rock Lee dropping the weights" moments from other shows?

Kevin: After giving it some thought, nothing I can remember did the same thing. In Lee versus Gaara, we had no idea that Lee was holding back, but then suddenly he’s on a whole new level and managing to injure a character who was previously untouchable. The closest comparisons I can think of are various moments from Dragon Ball Z. In the Raditz fight, Goku and Piccolo wore weighted gear, and Gohan had his first berserk moment that showed he had further untapped powers, and later on Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time also showed off the hero managing to one-up the villain with powers the audience had never seen, but each of those moments have a part of what made Lee dropping his weights such a memorable scene, not the whole picture.

Paul: There are plenty of direct parallels, such as Sky Star removing her weighted shoulder pads in Air Master, but I think my favorite recent example of someone taking the limiters off (at least in a metaphorical sense) is when Satsuki Kiryuin stabs her mother, Ragyo, in the heart before openly declaring her rebellion in Kill la Kill. That moment has the same transcendent impact, dramatically speaking, because you can kind of see it coming just an instant before it happens, but the reveal is still glorious.

Jared: These maybe aren’t direct comparisons, but for me it’d be something like Joseph vs. Esidisi from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency where we see the fruits of Joseph’s training and cunning pay off. Although, I might also put what Jotaro is able to pull off in the final episode of Stardust Crusaders as one that got me hyped in the same way.

Danni: Dragon Ball has quite a few moments where characters literally take off weighted clothing, but the most "Rock Lee dropping the weights" moment in the show I can think of is when Goku unleashes the Kaioken on Vegeta for the first time. I think a good recent example would be Uraraka vs. Bakugo in My Hero Academia. Everyone completely underestimated her and it looked like she was being ripped to shreds, but then she reveals it was all part of her plan to launch a meteor attack.

Noelle: This is hard, because I don’t think there are any direct comparisons. The fight shows a capable fighter showing their true strength, but also in a way that nobody expected, even the audience. There are many good fights, and many surprises, but none that we can’t see coming, at least on some level. I think the thing that elicited the closest feeling to that was Black Lagoon when Roberta was first introduced, and despite her demure appearance, she started blasting through absolutely everything.

Kara: It’s really kind of the “I am not left-handed” of anime, isn’t it? Except turned up to a ludicrous extreme. Funnily enough, the first one I think of is sort of an inverse—the mid-point of GaoGaiGar, where after a battle to the near-death that leaves our heroes and multiple robots on the point of falling apart, we get a post-credit scene that shows us the villains have been holding back. Definitely not a “punch the air” moment so much as a “drain the glass” moment.

Joseph: I have a really bad memory so no, this is the only one ever.

Carolyn: Not to be repetitive, but I think Uraraka and Bakugo are a pretty good example, as well. I tend to watch darker anime over action anime, so I don’t have a lot to draw from.

Peter: I have to thank Carolyn since I was trying to find a way to shoehorn in that in retrospect you can see a lot of the Hinata/Neji fight in Uraraka/Bakugo. As far as a moment where the series reveals its been underselling a character? Maybe Killua ripping that dudes heart out in the Hunter exam? Or Kenpachi pulling off his eyepatch is probably closest. I love when Ichigo claims there’s a trick and Kenpachi admits the trick was he had a demon eating his power the whole time.

  COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 19

Bowls of ramen consumed: 2 bowls, 3 cups

Shadow Clones: 123

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule!

-Next week, on MARCH 8th, the Chunin Exam finals begin in EPISODES 50-56, with CAROLYN BURKE hosting!

-Then, on MARCH 15th, DANNI WILMOTH covers EPISODES 57-63--Naruto settles a grudge as the finals heat up!

-On MARCH 22nd, the Chunin Exam ends as NICOLE MEJIAS covers EPISODES 64-70!

  Have any comments or questions about episodes 43-49? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 50-56?

-----

Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. Check out his comic, Shaw City Strikers!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[austinariail]

Prince of Peace

This piece originally appeared in Every Thought Captive, a journal for the members and friends of Park Cities Presbyterian Church, on December 25, 2020.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called ... Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

In the holiday classic, Home Alone, we find a young boy by the name of Kevin McAllister mistakenly left behind by his parents and family as they head off to Europe for Christmas vacation. Kevin rejoices at the prospect initially, enjoying all the things he has been told he could not do. But as the story progresses, Kevin finds himself defending his home from a duo of intruders: the Wet Bandits. With great ingenuity, Kevin schemes and plots to make sure the robbers understand they have picked the wrong house. In the end, the Wet Bandits are apprehended but only after having to endure tests of the worst kind. While the victory was satisfying for Kevin, the peace was palpable when he was reunited with his mother and family at the very end.

In the opening pages of Scripture, we find all creation in full harmony with its Creator. The crown of God’s creation, Adam and Eve, enjoyed uninterrupted communion with Him. The world – the whole cosmos – was idyllic. The biblical writers described this as shalom. At face value, we take this as peace, but in the Bible, it has much more depth. Shalom is the “webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight.”1 It was not an armistice between co-existing entities or some distant deity and creatures. Shalom was a state of affairs where the needs and desires of all creation were rightly ordered, and joyful wonder and delight was found in its Creator and Savior.2

But the devious Serpent wanted a different world. The wily beast set a trap, and our first parents ultimately disobeyed God. And at that moment, an intruder barged in on God’s good creation. Unlike young Kevin in Home Alone, there were no crafty devices to repel the intruder. Sin crossed the threshold of creation, and not one thing was left intact or untouched. Everything God created was spoiled, ruined, broken, and marred by sin. Not only was enmity between God and man present, but the cosmos was at war within itself and with its Creator. There was no shalom; there was no peace. As the words from O Holy Night describe it, “long lay the world in sin and error pining.”

The world was now dark, turned in on itself, and at war. As humanity trudged on in its new direction, God gave the Prophets visions of a new, future reality. One that echoed Eden but was different and better. The visions and promises of Isaiah paint such a world where human wickedness was punished and righteousness prevailed, a land where valleys were made high and mountain tops made low, crooked paths made straight, where lamb and wolf lie down with one another, where God’s image-bearers would gather around a table and have their appetites filled, and where pain, sin, and death would be no more. It was a knitting together of all God’s creation in perfect harmony with its Creator and one another once again. But the only possibility was the God, who established shalom in the first place, would have to re-establish it Himself. So, a Child would be born of a virgin, a Son given, and on His shoulders the government – the Kingdom of God – would rest. He would be called the Prince of Peace.

“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn” the songwriter tells us. With Jesus’ birth, the plan to make all things right took a real and dramatic step as God said it would from the beginning (Gen. 3:15; Eph. 1:4; Rev. 13:8). The Prince of Peace steps into the broken world He created to re-order it, to restore it, and to make shalom. It was not merely détente with a chaotic, belligerent creation, but a full-on embrace and heightened restoration of all things where God’s image-bearers would be sons and daughters of the King and part of a royal priesthood, but only “by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:19-22; 1 John 3:1; 1 Peter 2:9). In Jesus’s Incarnation, death, resurrection, and now ascension, has the Light broken through the darkness and shalom advances upon a sinful, wild creation. And now we await His second Advent, where shalom will be fully restored.

As we live between the two Advents, our world is still helplessly at war with God and itself. One only needs to look at social media, a newspaper, or a news program to see such evidence. We as Christians are caught up in it too. Are we helpless in between the two Advents? Is the peace the Prince promises presently preoccupied? Where or who do we turn to while the nations rage? Ever so briefly, I want to propose we look to the Prince of Peace, and specifically at His humility.

The season of Advent gives us the opportunity to ponder with great awe, God becoming man. Paul tells us in Philippians, Christ demonstrated His humility in coming to dwell with us and His submission to the cross so we could be reconciled to God. If Christ is the example of humility, the opposite is a person full of pride. Pride, some might say, was the first sin in the universe, and is, as Augustine would observe, the chief mark of the unconverted. Pride is indignant at the wound the ego might incur. Pride breeds anger, envy, and resentment towards any so-called offender who might wound the ego. Pride is the cataract for self-awareness and introspection. It doesn’t allow a person to acknowledge their short-comings, failures, or sins. It doesn’t promote repentance or allow a person to make amends for the wrongs done. Pride is part and parcel of why creation is in upheaval, groaning for its day of redemption. On the other hand, humility does the opposite of pride. Humility leads us to self-denial, sacrifice, and restoration – all chief traits we see in the life of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. And until He returns to make all things right, peace be with you.

1. Cornelius Plantinga, Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be: A Breviary of Sin. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 10. 2. Ibid.

[wiener-soldiers]

love is for idiots - peter parker

summary: You have been alone all your life, and from a young age, you learned that love doesn’t exist. However, as soon as you met Peter Parker, you learned to love again.

pairing: Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

words: 2,477 (goddamn that’s a long one)

warnings: kinda agsty, kinda fluffy, couple of swears, my really bad spanish skills (I SPEAK FRENCH STILL LEARNING SPANISH) also first fic so there’s that

a/n: guys i did it. first ever fic. i don’t know if y’all will hate it or love it, but it was so much fun to write. ALSO THERES AN IN THE HEIGHTS REFERENCE.

You didn't need love.

You were an independent person who didn’t need to feel satisfied by having someone love you.

You were strong, independent, and brave.

That's what you told yourself everyday when you looked in the mirror.

Truth be told, you lied to yourself everyday. Everybody needed somebody, but you just weren't used to that. With your mom out of the picture, and your dad always gone for work, you had convinced yourself that love was for the weak.

You just never realised how emotionally weak you actually were.

"Hey sweetheart. It's me, dad. I, uh, I don't know that I'll be home in time for your birthday. Work has been crazy as hell. I'm actually flying out to D.C. tonight for a conference, then I'm going over to Paris for another convention. I'm so sorry baby, I'll talk to as soon as I can."

A loud beep follows the end of the voicemail.

This has been the third voicemail this week from your dad saying that he might not be able to come home as soon as you thought. First, it was a convention in Dubai, then a lecture at MIT, and finally this one.

Rolling out of your bed, you shiver as your feet come in contact with the cold hardwood floors. It was a chilly Tuesday morning, which was the norm in New York City during the spring. You shrug it off, knowing that it was an amazing excuse to wear comfortable clothes.

Deciding that a pair of boyfriend jeans rolled up a couple times and a white NASA tee tied in the front was decent enough, you hastily comb through your (Y/H/C) hair with your fingers and trudge into the kitchen, wear Kevin, your uncle was waiting.

"Morning Kev," you mumble midway through a yawn. Ever since your Dad started going on extended work trips, your uncle Kev, who lived an hour away, give or take, would always take care of you.

"Well, buenos días to you mi amor," Kev says sleepily.

You scoff. "You're practising Spanish for that guy again, what's his name...Michael?"

"Miguel, el cariño, his name is Miguel. And he's single."

You smile slightly. "Love isn't real, Kev."

He rolls his eyes playfully as he hands me a granola bar, "Wow. Is that you or your teenage angst talking?"

You narrow your eyes at him as you snatch the bar from his hands. Slipping on some black Vans, you call back, "That's me talking. Bye Kev! Good look with Miguel...I guess."

You speed walk down the stairs of the subway station and barely make it to your train. You glance at your surroundings and see that the only empty seat is next to a boy, probably your age. Huffing slightly, you walk over and stand in front of him, preparing to ask if the seat is taken.

His earbuds are in and his eyes are closed, so you decide to just sit down next to him. The noise must have woken him up because mystery boy jolts up, ripping his earbuds from his ears. You giggle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." For the first time, you get a good look at him. With his brown hair, dark brown eyes, and his obvious liking for music, you deem him kinda cute.

He smiles, "It's totally fine. I shouldn't have been dosing off anyways."

He's smooth, you think to yourself, very composed.

However the brunette was freaking out. A very, very pretty girl just happened to walk into the Subway car with one seat open, which just happened to be the seat next to his. He was so distracted by your blinding beauty, he didn't realise you had asked him another question until he realised that you were staring straight into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

You laugh, "I said how did you even hear me sit down? You had earbuds in and it's pretty noisy in here, regardless."

The boy freezes, knowing if he slips up, his identity might be revealed. From that question alone, he can tell that you’re smart, and that a girl like you would easily find out his secret.

"I uh, you just, uh, you just hit my arm accidentally," he blurts out.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! First I wake you up, then I hit you? I'm so sorry," you squeak, a blush beginning to come up your neck and cheeks.

"It's all good. I'm Peter by the way. Peter Parker," Peter says, sticking his hand out to shake.

You smile in return, sticking your hand in Peter's to shake. You let your hand linger on his, oddly finding a form of comfort in his touch.

"(Y/N) at your service."

And that was the start to something beautiful.

After riding the Subway to school together, (you had learned that you went to the same school and were shocked that you've never met before) you and Peter had become inseparable. The two of you would embark on adventures, which basically consisted in going off campus for lunch and finding the best spots in town, and the best bodegas to eat in. Ned, who completed your version of the modern day, American Golden Trio, always teased you that one day you and Peter would get married, and have children; to which you would always reply with:

"I told you guys, love is for--"

"For idiots, we get it." Peter interrupts with a small smile on his face. Deep down though, he felt his heart tear a little.

Faster than he'd liked to admit, Peter had fallen in love with you. Well, not really. He is still falling in love with you. Every second of every day, Peter Parker falls more and more in love with you. Maybe it was fate, maybe it was soulmates, but Peter didn't care. He didn't wanna risk scaring you away. He already knew that you believed that love was absolute bullshit, and he knew that his friendship with you was far more valuable than saying "I love you" to the girl who didn't believe in love.

On the day’s latest adventure, you and Peter had planned to go to a little bodega in Washington Heights. Both of you were aware that it was more than an hour ride on the subway, but you both knew it was a great way to explore the city, and you had also insisted that the bodega had the best coffee and sandwiches you had ever tasted.

With only one period left to go, you raced to your English class excitedly. Bursting into the classroom, which was on the other side of the building from your last class, you let out a huff as you sit beside Peter, who shared the class with you.

"How'd you get here so fast?" he asks with an amused look on his face.

"Oh, don't look so smug. I ran. Yes, that's right, you heard me. Actual physical exercise," you retort. Peter throws his head back in laughter. You pout, fake punching him in the arm.

"Aw, boohoo. Is little (Y/N) winded by a little running?" Flash Thompson, aka the biggest douche in the school, taunts from the back of the class.

Peter's face contorts, and is about to defend the beautiful girl sitting beside him, but said girl beats him to it.

"Oh, shut up. Your nickname might be 'Flash', dickwad, but you do Barry Allen no justice. Don't think I was the only one who saw you fake an injury to get out of the mile run."

The class let's out a series of 'ohs' and 'damns', (most of them coming from Flash's friends) while you turn around with a smirk etched on your face. Peter smiles out  you, with eyes filled with adoration. One thing he learned was that you could always stand up for yourself.

The teacher walks into the class and attempts to settle down the noise. Peter steals another glance at you, nose deep in To Kill A Mockingbird and already working on the book report due soon.

After an uneventful rest of the period, the final bell rang, and you and Peter were out of the classroom faster than you could say 'bodega'. The duo were on the Subway as soon as possible as the chatted about the day’s latest events.

"So," you stated, "Homecoming is coming up."

Peter laughs, a little too loudly, and almost chokes on the Boba they had bought before they hopped on the train. You attempt to shush him as people were beginning to stare.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just, when did you care about Homecoming? I though we were gonna binge watch Lord of the Rings together that weekend. Besides, it's in like, what, three months?" He replies.

You shake your head. "Peter, I'm serious. Who is she?"

Peter nearly spits out his tea. "What?"

"The girl, Parker! The one I hear you and Ned talk about when you think I'm not listening." You retort. A part of you wants your best friend to go to Homecoming with the mystery girl, happy. But the other part of you wants Peter to go to Homecoming with you.

Peter coughs. "It's no one, I swear."

"Well," you start, "do I know her?"

Peter hesitates. "You do actually. You know her really well."

"Really?" you say in disbelief. You couldn't think of many people. The first name that popped into your head was MJ. Or maybe Liz Allan. "What's she like?"

"Well, she's smart. Like ridiculously smart. Smarter than me, even. She's funny, in her own way. Like sarcastic, satirical humour. She also really like reading. Um...she can definitely stand up for herself and hold her own. Very confident. And she's beautiful," Peter gushes.

"Hmm," you say in shock. Logically, you think he's talking about Liz Allan, one of the most popular girls at school. But once again, your mind drifts to the thought of being with Peter. What it would be like to hold his hand, hug him, and kiss him. It sounded wonderful.

"(Y/N), did you hear me?"

Your realise that Peter is nudging your arm. "What?"

"I said this is our stop. C'mon. I'm getting hungry and you said this place had good sandwiches." Peter grabs your hand and pulls you out of the Subway car, throwing your empty Boba cups in the trash can as you walk by. He doesn't let go of your hand as you march up the stairs and exit the station, and walk the streets that alive with salsa music and great smelling food.

"So, where is it again?" Peter asks, only now becoming conscious that he was still holding your hand. His grip falters a little, not knowing if you were freaked out, but to his surprise, you squeezed his hand a little tighter, enjoying the feeling of his fingers caressing yours.

You blush a little, "It's just up the street. It's beside this salon and has a beautiful mural on the side of the building. Oh! It's right there,” You explain while pointing to a bodega at the end of the street.

The two of you step inside to the small bodega, greeted by the smell of fresh coffee.

"Well, if it isn't (Y/N). How ya doin', mi amor?" the dude at the cash whistles. You roll your eyes and are about to respond to his antics when Usnavi, the bodega owner, walks in from the back room.

"Cut that out Sonny. I'm serious. You ain't gonna pick up girls with that attitude. Besides, (Y/N) seems to have a niño with her," Usnavi says.

"Usnavi!" you cry in embarrassment.

He laughs, "Lo siento, (Y/N). Two sandwiches, I'm guessing?"

"And two coffees!" Peter calls out beside you, "I hear that you have the best coffee in all of Washington Heights?"

The man lets out a laugh. Peter finds himself laughing along. He kinda liked it in the Heights.

"Si, señor. Whatever the lady says."

As they wait for their sandwiches, you realise you haven't introduced Peter to your Latino friends. "Oh! Peter, by the way. This is Usnavi, the bodega owner, and his cousin Sonny."

Peter smiles, "I'm Peter Parker. Nice to meet you."

Sonny, who is sitting on the counter replies with a 'sup bro', and Usnavi, who is sporting his signature hat, waves in response.

"¡No me diga! (Y/N), is that you?" a voice from outside the bodega exclaimed.

"Diana! No way!" You said excitedly, running outside to greet your old friend while mumbling an 'I'll be back' to Peter.

Not long after you left, Usnavi comes to the counter with two sandwiches (which smelt incredible) and two coffees. Peter began to pull out some money from his school bag to pay when Usnavi stopped him.

"No, it's on the house kid. That girl out there, she's special. More than she'll ever let on. She thinks she can do it a alone, but we both know that no one can. I know that she told you that she doesn't believe in love, but trust me, that girl loves you. You treat her right, you here me?" Usnavi tells him. He can't help but think that (Y/N) sees Usnavi as a role model if Usnavi cares that much.

"Yes sir."

Usnavi smiles. "Good, now go enjoy your sandwiches!"

About half an hour later, the duo find themselves under the George Washington bridge, munching the last of their sandwiches and sipping their coffee. They both lean against a rock listening to seagulls and the traffic above them.

You stare at Peter. For the first time in your life, you feel like doing anything with him is better than doing it alone. You felt something in your chest, something you haven't felt since you were a kid, before your mother left and your father became addicted to work.

Something like love.

You watch as Peter looks at the scenery, a smile on his face.

"Where'd you find this place? The bodega, I mean," he asks you, while pretending to yawn and putting his arm around your shoulders. You blush a little; it was a classic move, but it still worked.

"Kev has a crush on this guy, Miguel. He's completely head over heels for the dude. He just so happens to be Sonny's older brother. So Kev started bringing me here a lot. He introduced my to Miguel and Sonny. Sonny then introduced my to Usnavi and soon, the entire neighbourhood knew who was, it seems." You explain, while leaning your head on Peter's shoulder.

"Pete?"

"Yeah?"

"What does love feel like?"

Peter furrows his brow. "Well, it's kinda like a magnet. Like you seem to be opposites, but you fill each others missing pieces, so you work in perfect harmony. And everything seems to be pushing you together. If you try to turn your backs on each other, the world puts you back together...why do you ask?"

"Peter Parker, I think I'm in love with you."

Peter sits up in shock and turn to face her, studying her face for signs to show that it was all a joke. "What? I--I thought you believed that love was for idiots."

You shake your head, "Then I must be the biggest fucking idiot in the galaxy, because I'm in love with you."

Peter searches your eyes, in search for any signs of regret. However, your were filled with determination and love.

So he kissed you.

And like magnets, the whole world seemed to push you together.

[auburnfamilynews]

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

The two deep appears to be taking shape on the backend of Auburn’s defense.

Auburn lost four starters off last year’s strong secondary unit including a first round draft pick. However, despite those losses, Auburn entered fall camp feeling pretty good about the backend of its defense. Roger McCreary, Jamien Sherwood and Smoke Monday were technically not starters for the Tigers last fall but played enough significant snaps that they are far from newbies. All three are expected to step into starting roles joining the lone returning starter in Christian Tutt. With those four solidified as starters, Auburn really only had two questions to answer this fall in regards to its secondary but those are two very important questions nonetheless.

Who will start opposite McCreary at corner?

Does Auburn have quality depth behind those four?

The answer to the first one is still fuzzy but based off Kevin Steele’s comments yesterday, the answer to question number two will be a resounding yes.

It was believed that the 2nd corner spot was a two man battle between JUCO signee Marco Domio and sophomore Nehemiah Pritchett. Per Steele, both are locked in a battle for the starting role but it’s far from a two person contest.

“As far as the corner position we’ve kind of got a fun battle going on. I know it sounds like a lot, but it’s factual. With (Nehemiah) Pritchett, (Marco) Domio, Devan Barrett, Matthew Hill and Jaylin Simpson, those guys are battling. If you asked me today I couldn’t tell you who would be the starter of that group. That’s how competitive it is. With that we’ve actually gone from having a situation of ‘who’s going to be the starter’ and can we find some backups to having a good competition with five guys not counting Roger (McCreary). The guys are playing at a high level. They’ve all worked with the ones. It has been kind of fun to watch because they’ve all embraced the challenge, like you should.

I was pretty surprised when I saw this quote from Steele. Like most everyone else, I thought this would be a 2 man competition with Domio possibly having a leg up. Instead, Steele believes he has five legitimate options at that 2nd starting spot. That’s a huge boost to Auburn’s secondary especially in this new world of high powered offensive attacks and the always looming fear of positive covid tests. Depth is more important than ever and it appears the Tigers have plenty of it at corner.

It’s not just as corner though that Steele seems happy with his depth. At the “Star” aka Nickel, Auburn decided to move senior Jordyn Peters to safety due to the impressive play of redshirt freshman Zion Puckett and true freshman Ladarius Tennison.

Auburn DC Kevin Steele says senior Jordyn Peters has moved to safety thanks to the emergence of freshman Ladarius Tennison at Star.

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) September 10, 2020

I was a big fan of both of these kids coming out of high school. Puckett redshirted last fall but the former top 150 player looks poised to see more meaningful action this fall. As for Tennison, well it’s no surprise at all he’s fighting for playing time. Two or three inches taller and he would have been a top 100 player in last year’s class. If you ever wondered what it would be like to watch Shaun Shivers tackle someone you will get a chance this fall.

Peters will likely backup Smoke at free safety while true freshman Chris Thompson Jr appears poised to see snaps behind Jamien Sherwood. Thompson’s tape reminded me a lot of Sherwood coming out of high school and the junior agreed with that take earlier this week.

“He is a freshman, but he is doing really well,” Sherwood said. “He is big, he is physical, he is fast. He is smart as well.

“When I had first got here I was fast so he kind of reminds me of myself,” Sherwood said. “As he just keeps growing and molding into the system, keeps getting everything down like the meetings, practices, repetition stuff, he will be great when his time comes.”

That gives the Tigers 14 players they have some sort of confidence in to play on Saturdays. I will be surprised if all 14 see regular action but the fact that Auburn has that much depth heading into this very unique season is huge. It also means the Tigers can begin getting the next wave ready as they did with McCreary, Sherwood, Monday and Tutt. Chances are good that at least two of those starters will be in the NFL next season so having the next man up ready to go will be huge for the Tigers chances in 2021 and beyond.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/9/11/21432338/auburn-football-secondary-depth-zion-puckett-jordyn-peters-ladarius-tennison-chris-thompson

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 9/11/20 – I AM WOMAN, BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY, RENT-A-PAL, UNPREGNANT AND MORE!

Thankfully, we’re getting a slower week this week after the past few weeks of absolute insanity with so many new releases. This week, we also get a nice string of movies about women that are mostly made by women directors, so hopefully these won’t get lost in the shuffle of theaters reopening.

To be perfectly honest, I went into Unjoo Moon’s I AM WOMAN (Quiver Distribution) – this week’s “Featured Flick” -- thinking it was a doc about ‘70s pop sensation Helen Reddy. Imagine my surprise to discover that it actually was a narrative film with Tilda Cobham-Hervey playing the Australian singer who moved to New York in 1966 after winning a contest, expecting a record deal but only winding up with disappointment.  Once there, she’d meet journalist Lilian Roxon (Danielle Macdonald, being able to use her real Australian accent for once) and Jeff Weld (Evan Peters), the man who would become her manager and then husband. Once the couple move to L.A. with Helen’s daughter Traci (from her previous marriage), things began to pick up at the same time as Reddy starts dealing with issues in her marriage and friendship with Roxon.

Listen, I get it. To some (or maybe all) younger people, including film critics, Helen Reddy represents the cheesier side of ‘70s music. I only know her music, since I was a young kid who listened to AM Top 40 radio for much of the ‘70s, but by the end of the decade, I had already switched to metal, punk and noisier rock. As you can tell from watching I Am Woman, Reddy is a particularly interesting music personality, particularly once you realize how hard she struggled to get into the business with a husband who only feigned to support her after dragging her to L.A. for “her career.”

There were many takeaways from watching Moon’s film, but one of the bigger ones is how amazing Cobham-Hervey is at portraying a woman that few of us may have actually seen perform even on television. I’m not sure if Cobham-Hervey did any of her own singing or is lip-syncing the whole time, but it doesn’t matter because she instills so much joy into the performances, especially the two times she sings the highly-inspirational title song live.

Although there isn’t a ton of major drama in Reddy’s life, most that does exist revolves around her relationship with Wald, who is depicted by Peters as an out-of-control coke-sniffing monster. Those in Hollywood may have dealt with Wald as a movie producer or during his stint as Sylvester Stallone’s manager, and only they will know how exaggerated this performance is. Far more interesting is Helen’s friendship with Macdonald’s Roxon which would inspire her to perform the song “You and Me Against the World.”  (Seriously, if you want a good cry, throw that song on after watching I Am Woman.)

Moon does a great job with the material, whether it’s recreating New York in the ‘60s – often using music to set the tone of the period -- or by framing Reddy’s story with Phyllis Schlaffly’s fight against the ERA, as depicted in FX’s mini-series Mrs. America.  Still, it never loses track of Reddy’s journey and her role as a mother to Traci and slightly less to Wald’s son, Jordan. The movie ends with a wonderful and tearful epilogue, and I will not lie that I was tearing up more than once while watching this movie.

I Am Woman may be relatively uncomplicated, but it’s still a compelling relaying of Reddy's amazing story bolstered by an incredible knock-em-dead performance by Tilda Cobham-Hervey. It’s also one of the most female-empowering film I’ve seen since the Ruth Bader Ginsburg movie On the Basis of Sex, starring Felicity Jones.

This week’s primary theatrical release is Natalie Krinsky’s THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY (Stage 6/Sony), starring Geraldine Viswanathan as Lucy, a young woman who works at a gallery who is still obsessed with her ex-coworker/boyfriend Max. On the night of her  disastrous break-up, Lucy meets-cute Nick (Dacre Montgomery from Stranger Things), who later inspires her to rid of her hoarding issues by creating the “Broken Hearts Gallery.” This is a place where people who have broken up can bring the remnants of said relationship by donating the mementos they’ve maintained from their partners as sentimental value.

I’m a big fan of Viswanathan from her appearance in Blockers and TBS’ “Miracle Workers” series, as she’s clearly very talented as a comic actress, but I couldn’t help but go into this with more than a little cynicism, because it does follow a very well-worn rom-com formula that can be traced right back to When Harry Met Sally. Yup, another one.  Much of this movie comes across like a bigger budget version of a movie that might play Tribeca Film Festival, and I wish I could say that was a compliment because I’ve seen a lot of good movies at Tribeca. But also just as many bad ones.

The problem is that The Broken Hearts Gallery isn’t very original, and its roots are especially obvious when it starts interspersing the recently-heartbroken giving testimonials. It’s also a little pretentious, because rather than the real New York City that would be recognizable to anyone who lives there, it’s more of a Millennial woke fantasy where everyone is a 20-something LGBTQ+ of color.  Even so, the main trio of Lucy, Nick and Nick’s business partner Marcos (Arturo Castro from Broad City) do keep things fun even when things are getting predictable.

To be honest, I’ll be perfectly happy to see Viswanathan become the next Meg Ryan, because part of the reason why I warmed up to the movie is because I thought she was quite great in it. (I hate to say it but she’ll definitely need a simple name to remember to make that happen. I’d like to suggest G-Vis… as in G-Vis, she’s awesome!) There’s no question she’s the best part of the movie, but it also thrives from some of the other women cast around her, including Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo and (surprise, surprise!) Bernadette Peters. (At times, I was worried Lucy’s friends would get particularly annoying, but you’ll warm up to them as well.)

Krinsky’s movie is cute, and while it certainly gets a little overly sentimental at times, there are also moments that are quite heartfelt, so basically, it’s a tolerable addition to the rom-com genre. The fact that the characters are so likeable kept me from outright hating the movie, especially once it gets to its corny and somewhat predictable ending. Another thing I like about Broken Hearts Gallery is that at least it’s making an effort to have some sort of theatrical presence, including drive-in theaters.

Next up is Jon Stevenson’s RENT-A-PAL (IFC Midnight), a rather strange and very dark horror-comedy. It stars Brian Landis Folkins as David, a lonely 40-year-old living with his elderly mother suffering from dementia, who has been using the services of a dating service called Video Rendezvous. This is the ‘80s after all, so it involves getting VHS testimonials from various women. One day, David finds a tape labelled “Rent a Pal” and he decides to check it out. It turns out to be a video of a guy named Andy (Wil Wheaton aka Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation) who David begins having conversations with, but once David gets his chance to have a real relationship with a nice woman named Lisa (Amy Rutledge), he’s been dragged too far down the rabbit hole with Andy’s evil urgings.

This was recommended to me by my own personal rent-a-pal, Erick Weber of Awards Ace, who saw it weeks ago. I totally could understand why he would have liked it, because it’s pretty good in terms of coming up with an original idea using elements that at least us older guys can relate to (especially the living with your Mom part which I had to do a few years ago).  I wasn’t sure but I generally thought I knew where it was going, because David’s trajectory always seemed to be heading towards My Friend Dahmer or Maniac territory. What I liked about Folkins’ performance is that you generally feel for him right up until he gets to that point. I also really liked his innocent relationship with Lisa and was hoping things that wouldn’t get as dark as where they eventually end up. I also have to draw attention to Wheaton’s performance, because as one might expect if you only know him from the “Star Trek” show he did as a kid, this is a very different role for him similar to Seann Michael Scott in last year’s Bloodline.

Either way, Stevenson is a decent writer and director who really pushes the boundaries with where Andy takes his new friend, and it’s especially great for its synth-heavy soundtrack that reminds me of some of John Carpenter’s best scores, as we watch David’s inevitable descent into madness. You’ll frequently wonder where it’s going, but for me, it just got too dark, so I only really could enjoy it up to a point.

A little cheerier is UNPREGNANT (HBO Max), the new film from Rachel Lee Goldberg, who directed the recent Valley Girl remake, although this time she’s adapting a book written by Jenni Hendricks. It stars Haley Lu Richardson (from Split and Support the Girls) as 17-year-old Veronica who discovers that her dopey boyfriend Kevin has gotten her pregnant. Since women under 18 can’t get an abortion in Missouri without a parents’ consent, she goes on a road trip with her estranged childhood friend Bailey (Barbie Ferreira) to New Mexico to get the job done.

It’s more than  little weird seeing this movie come out in the same year as a much more serious version of the same movie in Elyza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometime Always. That aside, Goldberg and her cast do their best to make this something more in the vein of last year’s Book Smart, although that’s also a fairly high watermark for any movie.

Because this is a road trip comedy, it tends to follow a fairly similar path as other movies where they meet a lot of strange characters along the way, as they try to get a ride after being busted cause Bailey stole her mother’s boyfriend’s car for the trip. For instance, they meet a friendly couple who tend to be pro-lifers who want to change Veronica’s mind, and the best side character is Giancarlo Esposito as a conspiracy theorist named Bob.

I guess my biggest problem with the movie is that it just isn’t that funny and feels fairly standard, but at least it has a decent ending to make up for the predictability of the rest of the movie.

Now streaming on Netflix is Maimouna Doucouré’s French coming-of-age film Mignonnes aka CUTIES, a film that premiered at Sundance and then stirred up quite a bit of controversy last month due to its marketing campaign, but is actually not the pervy male gaze movie which it may have been sold as. It’s about an 11-year-old Sengalese girl named Amy Diop (Fathia Youssouf) who wants to join the school’s “cool girl” dance group, known as the “Cuties,” even though it goes against her family’s Muslim beliefs.  Amy learns to dance so she can be part of the dance team and take part in a dance competition, but you know that this decision will led to trouble.s

Cuties got a lot of backlash from for the trailer and Netflix’s decision to release Doucouré’s movie, which is about a young girl discovering her sexuality, although it isn’t really something lurid or gross but actually a very strong coming-of-age film. I haven’t seen the trailer, but I can only imagine what scene it focused on that got people so riled up, since there are dance scenes that felt a little creepy to me. Other than that aspect of the film, Cuties is as innocent as a Judy Blume book. I mean, how else do you expect kids to learn about real life than movies like this? (Unfortunately, the movie is TV-MA so young teens won’t be able to watch it.)

The big problem with the Cuties is that they’re actually kind of bratty and bullies, almost like a younger “Mean Girls” girl gang, so it’s very hard to like any of them. They’re also trying to act way older than they really are, and you can only imagine what dark places that might led, as you worry about Amy getting dragged down with them, just because she wants to have friends and feel popular.

Despite my issues with Cuties, Maimouna Doucouré is a fantastic filmmaker, and this is a pretty amazing debut, especially notable for how she’s able to work with the young cast but also make a movie that looks amazing. That said, Cuties is a decent coming-of-age film, although I feel like I’ve seen better versions of this movie in films like Mustang and The Fits.

Also from France comes Justine Triet’s SYBIL (Music Box Films), starring Virgine Efira (who appeared in Triet’s earlier film, In Bed with Victoria) as the title character, a jaded psychotherapist who decides to return to her passion of writing, getting her inspiration from an actress patient named Margot (Adèle Exarchopoulos), who she becomes obsessed with. I don’t have a lot to say about this movie other than it wasn’t really for me. As far as French films go, a movie really has to stand out from the usual talkie drama filled with exposition, and though I thought the performances by the two women were great, I didn’t really care for the script or the pacing on this one. After playing at last year’s Cannes, Toronto and the New York Film Festival, Sybil will be available via Virtual Cinema through Film at Lincoln Center and the Laemmle in L.A. as well as other cities. You can watch the trailer and find out how to watch it through your local arthouse at the official site.

Now seems like as good a time as any to get into some docs…

 Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés’ doc ALL-IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY (Amazon) follows Stacey Abrams through her run for Atlanta Governor in 2018, but it also deals with the laws that had been put in place to try to keep black voters from taking part in their right as Americans to be able to vote. I’m not sure what’s going on with me right now, but I generally just don’t have much interest in political docs right now, maybe because there’s so much politics on TV and in the news. I also have very little interest in Abrams or even having the racist history of the American South drilled into my head by another movie. I was born in 1965, my family didn’t even live in this country until 1960, and I’ve spent my life trying to treat everyone equally, so watching a movie like this and being preached to about how awful African-Americans have been treated in parts of the South for hundreds of years, I’m just not really sure what I’m supposed to do about it here in New York. I guess my biggest problem with All-In, which is a perfectly fine and well-made doc – as would be expected from Garbus – is that it lacks focus, and it seems to be all over the place in terms of what it’s trying to say… and I’m not even sure what it is trying to say, nor did I have the patience to find out. I thought Slay the Dragon handled the issues with gerrymandering far better, and I think I would have preferred a movie that ONLY focused on Abrams and her life and political career than trying to make a bigger statement. All-In will open at a few drive-ins (tonight!) and then will be on Amazon Prime on September 18.

I was similarly mixed on Jeff Orlwosky’s doc, THE SOCIAL DILEMMA, which debuted on Netflix this week. This one looks at the addiction people have for social media apps like Facebook and Twitter, and how the information of what people watch and click on is collected into a database that’s sold to the highest bidder. Basically, it’s your worst fears about social media come to life, but my issue with this one is that the filmmaker decided to hire actors to dramatize parts of the movie, showing one family dealing with social media and phone addiction, which seemed like an odd but probably necessary decision other than the fact that the topic is so nerdy and so over my head that maybe it was necessary to illustrate what’s being explained by programmers. Again, not a terrible doc, just not something I had very little interest in even if it is an important subject (and I’m probably spending too much on social media and essentially more of the problem than the solution).

I saw S. Leo Chiang and Yang Sun’s doc OUR TIME MACHINE at Tribeca last year, and I quite liked it. It follows influential Chinese artist Ma Liang (Maleonn) who collaborates with his Peking Opera director father Ma Ke, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, on an elaborate and ambitious project called “Papa’s Time Machine” using life-sized mechanical puppets. I don’t have a ton to say about the movie but it’s a nice look into the Chinese culture and traditions and how the country and art itself has changed between two generations.

One doc I missed last week but will be available digitally this week is Michael Paszt’s Nail in the Coffin: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro about semi-retired professional wrestler Ian Hodgkinson aka Vampiro, who is a Lucha Libre legend.

There’s a lot of other stuff on Netflix this week, including THE BABYSITTER: KILLER QUEEN, the sequel to the Samara Weaving-starring horror-thriller, again co-written and directed by McG (Charlies Angels: Full Throttle). This one stars Bella Thorne, Leslie Bibb and Ken Marino, as it follows Judah Lewis’ Cole after surviving the satanic blood cult from the first movie.

I don’t know nearly as much about the British comedy series The Duchess, other than it stars comedian Katherine Ryan as a single mother juggling a bunch of things. Julie and the Phantoms is Netflix’s latest attempt to be the Disney channel with a movie about a young girl named Julie (Madison Reyes) who decides to start a band with a group of ghosts (hence the title). It’s even from Kenny Laguna, who is best known for the Disney Channel’s biggest hits High School Musical and The Descendants.

Other stuff to look out for this week include Kevin Del Principe’s thriller Up on the Glass (Gravitas Ventures), which is now available On Demand, digital and Blu-Ray; the Russian dogs doc Space Dogs (Icarus Films) – available via Alamo on Demand; Phil Wall’s doc The Standard  (Gravitas Ventures), and Andrei Bowden-Schwartz, Gina O’Brien’s tennis comedy All-In (on Amazon Prime and VOD/Digital) and Sam B. Jones’ Red White and Wasted (Dark Star Pictures).

Next week, more movies not in theaters!

By the way, 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!