#jumanji writers i'm looking at you specifically

[funforahermit]

I'm just so fucking happy today

just

this episode was so good. this season was so good.

the performances were off the charts, the writing brilliant, the directing - as far as i can judge - on point, the costuming, set design, make-up all fricking amazing, and the editing was maybe the most impressive of all, because they obviously had to sacrifice so much but it still worked.

i'm So Happy.

[frostyreturns]

Frosty Ruins "The Blackening"

At what point does the obsession with identity politics and 'representation but only for specific groups' thing become another era of exploitation films? Are we there already? It's one thing to prioritize movies with black people in them…it's one thing to create a movie for black audiences…but where it gets into blacksploitation territory is when the only thing you are trying to achieve is to make a black movie for blacks and your barometer for a job accomplished is that the people are black. When you call your movie the blackening it already communicates that this is going to be yet another movie that thinks being black is a genre of movie and a personality trait. I'm starting to wonder if they make movies like this bad on purpose because they have some kind of tax scam going…like they write off the losses…they generate buzz from how bad it is and can blame all of this on "racism". Dump a bunch of dirty money into the film...the film bombs so the studio claims the losses. And with AI they don't even need to put that much work into writing these awful movies. Ai shits out a script put a bunch of desperate nobodies you dont have to pay much in it...it makes way too much sense.

My other issue with the film beyond this is it's a horror parody movie…they are like 25 years too late to that party. We've moved beyond parody the writers and creators of today are not capable of understanding the concepts they aim to criticize enough to create parody. We also don't have a shared cultural experience anymore enough to be able to parody anything. It was different back when we all watched the same shows/movies and they were memorable and worth seeing. What's to parody now? Everything sucks…everything is its own parody. It's so rare that the people I know have watched the same things as me anymore. Meaning the references and parody will be lost on me…or it will be horribly outdated and stale. This is an ill advised movie right from the start. Imagine scary movie but horribly racist and not anywhere near as good and you see how low the bar is. And of course its going to be stale the central premise is horror movies where the black person dies first…the tagline is we can't all die first…so it's addressing a trope that's been done to death. The old stale references and tropes are also more ammo in my argument that its ai driven...rather than drawing from current experiences of the world...which a text generator doesn't have it instead pulls from all the stuff that exists already. You get a black reimagining of scary movie with references to blade and jumanji.

Whether I'm right or not it's yet another movie that has me questioning if any human beings actually made it. Which means either I'm right or it's gotten so bad that writers don't pass the turing test anymore. The dialogue is awful, the jokes are barely jokes…it really does sound like somebody put "scary movie but for blacks, and combine it with jumanji" into some chatgpt thing and this is what it turned out. Lines don't seem to follow from the line before it. Like the guy will say "You're asking too much." and she replies "I'll touch your penis later" it lacks the flow or rythm of human speech and lacks the cadence, timing or delivery of a joke. Plot blends with sentence the same way backgrounds blur together in ai produced art. It has the basic shape, you recognize it…but its off. You see what they were going for…but the shape of it is hazy.

It has hilarious jokes like "this looks like blades house…I want to talk to Wesley" get it thats a movie with a black person as the lead…it's a reference…but black.

It's also amazing how things that would normally be seen as horribly racist against black people are allowed because of the context. When the office has blackface in it as a joke…where the entire point of the joke is that it is offensive…its not allowed and must be censored and apologized for. However in a self appointed woke movie they can have slurs and blackface in a board game called the blackening. And of course if they have license to make fun of themselves…sort of…then of course they also have license to be horribly racist to the only group it's acceptable for every other race to be racist to. Every joke that wasn't about white people or race was some other obvious low hanging fruit joke.

Now I looked up the reviews for this movie because I saw a lot of people claiming to like it and could not believe it…and I call shenanigans. I think the reason this movie isn't getting ratioed like it should is for two reasons…#1 fake bot reviews inflating the numbers…anytime you see a lot of 1 star and a lot of 5 star reviews and not much in between it reeks of bots. The one star reviews were all clearly people explaining why the movie sucked…while the 5 star reviews were all generic…many were in spanish for some reason…they had weird grammatical errors and lots of 5 star reviews that say things like "I will want to watch movie." And the other thing saving it from being rated like it deserves is a little bit of the black panther effect where people who didn't see it sing its praises because its a black movie…and people see it as a kind of anti-white activism to defend the movie. I see a lot of comments defending it but most of them are accusing everyone who didn't like it of being white and racist. They may as well have called this one racebait the movie.

Ultimately I would say its "bottoms" for black people instead of for gays. Unfunny pointless movie that exists only for identity politics reasons. It's not as bad as bottoms which I still maintain is far and away the worst movie ever made. The movies and genres it pulls from appeal to the lowest common denominator so I can see some stupid people with gutter palates still enjoying it. It's an hour and a half of black people standing around going look at us we are black. Avoid at all costs.

Not sure what number or star rating to give it…I know

Tax scam/10 money laundering scheme/100 woke/woke

happy last day of black history month everyone.

[binkywinky]

hi! Comics rec anon here! to answer your question, I'm not entirely new to comics, have read a few but not enough to say I have a specific type. The first series I read was all the jessica jones comics which I really liked, also the miles morales series which i enjoyed and the spidergwen series which was cute but the art was kinda annoying lol. i also like a couple of dc ones like mister miracle. so i think i prefer a general rec from you since the comics world is so big. thanks in advance!

Got it. Hmm… let’s see. It’s probably easiest to break it down by publisher then. I’ll try to give a mix of ongoing, finished, and “classic” stories. 

Fair warning, I read a lot of comics (probably about 60 per month, and that’s not including manga), so even though this may feel like a long list, it’s short for me.

Marvel

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man - Relatively new series, and it’s been fantastic so far. Great art, and a bit more grounded than the Amazing Spider-Man run (which is also great). Stellar art, too.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man - A little YA-ish at times, but overall enjoyable. You get to see a lot more of Miles’ personality in this one, which is always fun.

Superior Spider-Man - Because nothing is more fun than seeing a semi-reformed Otto Octavius try to be a hero.

Captain Marvel - Kelly Thompson does a phenomenal job with this series. She has a great hold of Carol’s voice. Would highly recommend Kelly Sue Deconnick and Margaret Stohl’s previous runs to give context (Captain Marvel 2012-2017, Mighty Captain Marvel, and The Life of Captain Marvel).

Jessica Jones - Not sure if you’ve read Kelly Thompson’s recent run or just Bendis’, but hers is definitely worth a read.

Avengers (2019) - actually a solid run. I would check this out if you’re more into crossover, large-scale storytelling. They’re in the middle of War of the Realms, though… so maybe wait until like August or September?

Immortal Hulk, Daredevil, and X-23 - also good. I read them off and on (not really my fave characters to read on their own, I enjoy them in ensembles), but the stories are solid.

Rogue & Gambit - mini series that I absolutely love by Kelly Thompson (she does great character work) that came out last year. Mr. & Mrs. X is a follow-up to it and also tons of fun (nearing its end as well). 

Runaways - I fell off of this when Brian K. Vaughn left, but I can say up through his run ended is well worth the read.

As far as classic stories, Infinity Gauntlet, The Dark Phoenix Saga, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, Secret Invasion, and Secret Wars would be my first recommendations.

I would’ve recommended Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider, but maybe wait on that. It’s about to end soon and transition to just Ghost Spider (where she leaves Earth-65 and comes to Earth-616 where Peter and Miles are). Same for X-Men. I’m currently reading Uncanny, but X-Men is about to be overhauled soon. So probably hold on that front.

DC/Vertigo

Honestly, not the biggest DC fan (I lean more towards Vertigo actually), but there are a few that I enjoy.

Action Comics (starting at #1000) - I am not a Superman fan, but I enjoy this series, which says a lot. I enjoy what Bendis is doing with him in this run.

Naomi - a new series, also by Bendis, following the story of a young Black girl who is investigating the circumstances around her adoption. Don’t want to give too much away, but probably my fave DC run at the moment. And Jamal Campbell’s art is fucking gorgeous.

Dial H for Hero - it’s fun. It’s weird. Not for everyone, but maybe give it a shot.

The Flash and Batman, New 52 runs - New 52 gets shit from fans a lot, but I thought these runs were awesome. Very good story-telling.

Dark Nights: Metal event - Probably one of the best things DC did in a long time. It’s a massive event that pretty much reworked the DC universe and all the characters. Enjoyed it immensely.

Heroes in Crisis - this miniseries ended very recently. It’s a story focused on a major event that happens at Sanctuary, a rehab for superheroes suffering from mental health issues (e.g. PTSD after doing something that nearly killed them). Not your usual superhero story, which I liked.

American Carnage - very gritty story focused on a white-passing Black man who infiltrates a white supremacist organization. It’s really fucking good.

High Level - I picked this book up randomly because the cover looked cool. I’ve been reading it ever since. I would say it’s weird sci-fi/fantasy/cyberpunk adventure. A little strong on the language, but very interesting story and great artwork.

Birds of Prey - awesome series with the DC women. A little shaky sometimes, but Gail Simone does really good character work. Her run is probably the only one I’d bother reading.

Deathbed - miniseries by Vertigo that ended maybe a year ago. It’s so bizarre and hilarious and out there. I loved it.

Batwoman (J.H. Williams run) and Batwoman: Rebirth - Kate Kane, my favorite lesbian superhero. Williams did a great job in his run (and the art is to die for). Don’t read the back half, they change writers and it’s a goddamn mess. But then Marguerite Bennett (a queer woman) picked it up in Rebirth, and it got awesome again. Also, shout-out to Greg Rucka for officially making her queerness canon in 52.

Wonder Woman - Wonder Woman’s my fave of DC main characters (along with Martian Manhunter and Wally West I & II), and my favorite run for her is Greg Rucka’s. He does a surprisingly good job of writing women. The run is over at the moment, but I’d check it out. Good stuff there.

For classic stories, Kingdom Come, Watchmen, Flashpoint (precursor to New 52), and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman are some of my faves.

Image

Image is probably what I read the most. Definitely has the most diverse pool of comics to choose from.

Saga - My favorite comic series of all-time. I’ve gotten so many people to read this and they love it. It’s weird - really weird, actually - but the storytelling is phenomenal. And it’s on hiatus right now, so plenty of time to get caught up.

Ice Cream Man - This series is so fucking weird, but I love it. It’s sorta like… Tales from the Crypt? Different stories (mostly horror) that all feature this demon ice cream man.

The Weatherman - This series is such a goddamn delight. I don’t want to ruin the plot but just… yeah. Read the first issue and it just goes crazy from there.

Man-Eaters - Sort of a niche story. Basically, this takes place in a society where when women get their cycle, they turn into giant cats and maul men, so they’ve given them pills to keep them from menstruating. Sounds weird? Wait until you read it. Probably a highlight series of the year for me. 

Black Science - You might not like the art in this one, but maybe give it a shot? These scientists are trying to solve the problem of limited resources on Earth by hopping across dimensions for new ones (infinite dimensions, infinite resources). Only problem is, their machine got damaged so now they hop uncontrollably to whatever dimension it chooses for however long it decides. It’s a wild ride.

Middlewest - An interesting take on parent/child relationships and how the consequences of abuse, anger, and depression can manifest in dangerous ways. Sounds more bleak than it is - the story actually has quite a bit of humor.

Excellence - Very new series, but with a PoC lead, about PoCs, with mostly PoC creators. A story about a secret society of Black magicians and a son whose next in line to take on the mantle, and it’s pretty fucking cool. Issue 2 comes out this week - check it out!

The Walking Dead - I don’t think I have to explain this one, do I? Zombies.

Lazarus and Lazarus: Risen - Sci-fi story set in a dystopian society where the world is ruled by like 15 or so families, and they each have a Lazarus to fight for them. This is told from the perspective of the Carlyle family’s Lazarus, Forever. 

Die - If Dungeons & Dragons and Jumanji had a baby, it would be this book. Sounds weird, but once you read it, you’ll find the description to be accurate.

Anything from Brian K. Vaughn - I have yet to read something from Brian K. Vaughn that I don’t like. Saga, Paper Girls, Y: The Last Man, Runaways, Barrier… his shit’s always good.

Independents / Not Marvel, DC, or Image

Some of these are nostalgia-based, so fair warning.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BOOM Studios) - very new series that’s out. Great art. If you were a fan of the show, I think you’ll like it. It’s a re-imagining of sorts. There’s also an Angel series that just started.

Nancy Drew (Dynamite) - Listen… I could not stand Nancy Drew as a kid. Never got into it and thought it was boring as hell. But I really loved this miniseries (another Kelly Thompson run). It’s maybe 5 issues?

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers and Go Go Power Rangers (BOOM Studios) - Honest to God, if you had told me 3 years ago one of my fave comics would be a Power Rangers one, I would have laughed in your face. Both of these series are really good and provide the continuity, nuance, and characterization the show lacked. Fan of the show or not, I’d say it’s worth checking out if you enjoy the teenage superhero genre. Also, just some really amazing art and world-building.

Anything from Jinxworld - This is Bendis’ own publishing company. He’s put out Cover, Pearl, Scarlet, and United States vs. Murder, Inc. All of them are really good.

Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse) - This is the series the Netflix show is based off of. Right now, they’re doing Hotel Oblivion in the comics, but start with Apocalypse Suite and Dallas.

So, there you go anon. There are FAR more I would recommend, but I tried to give a good range of books for you to choose from without (hopefully) overwhelming you. And if you have any questions, I’m more than happy to talk about any of them.