#kes reviews

[our-marvel-universe]

Ok I just LOVE these 2!!; I live for them!!! i mean ...

Bucky couldn't say he felt a pull toward you. It would sound crazy. He had to word it carefully. "I just want to get to know you a bit more and, maybe, there's a part of you that wants to get to know me, too."

Of course he felt a pull they are meant to be. I know this is meant to be a slow burn but I just want them too

And then

I mean...

His home was his kingdom. He had freedom and his friends who were practically family. But as you looked over at him with a smile, he didn't realize he was missing a queen to run along beside him.

I mean come on you're killing me!!!

Plus protective Steve who then becomes accepting and encouraging Steve? I mean stick a fork in me I am done!!

The Pull of Gravity

Pairing: Shifter!Bucky Barnes x Shifter!Female Reader Summary: Bucky has a chat with Steve about his new friend. Word Count: Over 2.3k Warnings: Shifters, flirting, tension, teasing, slight possessive behavior, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?). A/N: More Wolfie and Little Red! ❤️ Beta read by @whisperlullaby (thank you!), but any and all mistakes are my own. Dividers by the amazing @firefly-graphics .❤️Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

One of the most important rules of the eastern territory was that nothing and no one was allowed to disrupt the sanctuary of the land. It was a place for Bucky and the other shifters in the pack to shut out the rest of the world and be themselves without judgment or fear. They deserved a home with peace and security.

Watching you in the garden, he wondered if you were going to shake things up.

What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t know you. Other than that you're a little badass fox who can help in getting rid of a body. And spirited and beautiful and-

"Talk," Steve said.

Bucky raised an eyebrow at his best friend's authoritative tone. Growing up, Steve's growl was worse than his bite. That was only because he was so small. A late bloomer, his wolf form was one of the largest and strongest he had ever seen. And he was an affectionate punk.

"I'm not a dog. I don't speak on command."

Steve sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. "Would you mind explaining why there's a fox playing in our flowers? I'm sure there's a good reason and I'd love to hear it," he said, not as entranced with you as he was.

Good. One of us needs to be logical.

It took a moment for Bucky to respond since he was too busy watching you roll around, bringing a small smile to his face as your red fur blurred through the petals. “A hunter was tracking her near the border of our land and she handled it before I stepped in,” he said.

"The body?"

"Buried and we covered our tracks," he told him. Even if someone managed to find the man, no one would be able to trace it back to them. It wasn't the first time they had to put someone in the ground.

“She was alone?” Steve asked curiously. Bucky nodded in confirmation. “What was she doing there?”

“The hunter was killing smaller animals in the western territory, so she lured him here. She figured a larger creature could handle him if she couldn’t,” he explained, his gaze soft as he watched your tail flick.

"Smart strategy, if not dangerous. What if you hadn't stumbled upon her? She could’ve been hurt," he said.

Bucky had a hard time not smiling as you sat up to stare at his friend. "I think she can handle herself," he admitted, as much as he didn't want to. He liked to think you needed him in some capacity.

"Did she follow you here?"

“No,” he answered, clearing his throat a little as he crossed his arms. “I may have asked her to come here.”

Steve gave his friend a thoughtful look. He was a man who thrived on doing the right thing, but he also didn’t want to compromise the safety of the place they made their home. "Why did you do that?"

Bucky glanced at you before he looked away. “I offered to get her safely back to the border after we buried the body, but…” he trailed off as he thought back to the conversation he had with you.

"Well, that's that," you said, brushing the dirt off your hands. You weren't afraid to get your hands dirty as the two of you buried the man, along with his bow and arrows. "Finished up quicker than I thought."

"Not eager to leave, are you?" he asked casually, wiping his head with the back of his hand. He wasn't ready to take you back.

"As much fun as it is to put hunters in the dirt,” you winked, stretching your arms above your head with a hum. He wasn’t sure how he managed to concentrate without staring at your chest. “I figured you'd want to lead me back so I can be on my way and you can go home quicker."

"The shifters I live with are used to me being out late," he said, stretching a bit himself. "I'm sure they'd like to meet you."

"I doubt that," you said, looking behind you. "Ready?"

Bucky's brow furrowed. "Why wouldn't they want to meet you?" he asked.

"Because I'm a stranger who killed a hunter in your land," you said, your expression blank. "Can we just go?"

"Okay," he said, ignoring the sinking feeling of you brushing him off. He understood that some foxes by nature preferred to be on their own, but he thought it would be nice for you to meet others like yourself. "So, what is your way once you get past the border?"

“Why? You planning on paying me a visit?” you smiled. "Take a roll on the dirt with me?"

In more ways than one.

"I'd offer a roll right now if we didn't need to get going," he smirked. As much as he didn't want to, he could see you itching to leave. “You said you came from the west, but is that where you’re living?” he questioned, curious to know even though you had no reason to give him an answer.

“It’s where I’ve been staying, but I'll likely move on soon.”

Bucky’s stomach dropped, hoping you wouldn't go too far away. “When are you going to leave?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?” you snapped, putting your hands on your hips. You didn’t back away or appear guarded, but the slight defense in your voice gave away that you didn’t want him prying. “Why do you want to know so badly?”

Bucky shrugged a shoulder, but it felt anything but casual. “You said you were used to going it alone, but maybe I want to make sure you’re safe. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yeah, it is. Because it's always ulterior motives or people looking out for themselves,” you said, kicking a bit of dirt toward the grave with a flash of fury in your eyes. He wondered what happened to give you that mindset, but knew it wasn’t the time to ask. “I’ve been on my own for years and I’ve been just fine, thank you."

"The thing is, you don't have to be," he said, taking a slow step forward as surprise filled your beautiful eyes. He had a feeling that if he moved too quickly or invaded your space, you’d run. And it wouldn’t be the fun kind of chase. "I don't know your story and you don't owe it to me, but I do want to help if you need it."

"I didn't mean to snap at you, okay?" you said, your tone softer as your arms dropped to your side. He kept still when you moved close enough for him to feel the warmth radiating from your body. "I can sense that you aren't a bad guy and I appreciate that you want to help, but I’m not your responsibility, Wolfie.”

“I know you’re not,” he said, his hands itching with the need to touch you. “But maybe I’m not ready for you to go yet, Little Red.”

"Why is that?" you whispered, placing your hand on his cheek as his heart raced, your scent invading his senses once again.

Bucky couldn't say he felt a pull toward you. It would sound crazy. He had to word it carefully. "I just want to get to know you a bit more and, maybe, there's a part of you that wants to get to know me, too."

Your soft expression shifted to something a bit more sultry. "Not ready to let me go and you haven't even had sex with me," you teased.

Bucky didn't kiss you, but he did lean in close enough to feel your breath mingle with his. "If we have sex, you won't want to let me go."

Cocky, but true.

"I knew I liked you, Wolfie," you smiled, your playful demeanor back in full swing. "And maybe I wouldn't mind seeing your place, if you're really offering. It doesn't mean I'm staying though."

Maybe I can convince you to stick around.

"Let's go then."

"But what?" Steve asked.

"I just thought it would be better if she stayed here for the night instead of letting her go off by herself," Bucky replied, not wanting to say more on the subject as you continued to stare at them.

"But she doesn't want to meet the others?"

"Maybe after she gets some rest," Bucky said, though you weren't acting tired at all. "I'm trying not to overwhelm her."

“Does she realize we’re talking about her?”

Bucky smiled when you barked, loudly. "Yeah, she knows."

The blonde held up his hands when you barked again. “I mean no harm. I’m just trying to get some answers.”

You stretched before you trotted over to Steve’s feet and looked up at him, not blinking as you assessed him. Bucky wondered what was going through his friend's head. The guy was massively built, like him, but you stared him down like his size didn't matter.

"I'm Steve. It's nice to meet you," he said, reaching a hand out to pet you before he decided against it.

Smart move.

Seemingly satisfied with what you saw after a moment, you went to Bucky and carefully climbed up his leg and side. Steve’s eyebrows shot up, not bothering to hide his surprise as you gracefully curled in the brunette’s arms. It had to be quite the sight.

"Are you not going to shift?" Bucky asked.

You yawned and closed your eyes like you didn't hear him.

Why aren’t you showing Steve your human side? Are you nervous to meet everyone? Or are you just being careful?

“I’m not just going to stand here and hold you while we talk, Little Red,” he said, a slight growl in his voice. Instead of jumping out of his arms or cowering, you huffed and lightly nipped his forearm. It didn’t hurt. If anything, he liked it. “Fine. I’ll hold you.”

Steve covered up his laugh with a small cough when you nuzzled against Bucky with a satisfied hum. “Little Red, huh?”

“It’s what she said to call her. Well, what I can call her,” Bucky said, stating your real name.

"She seems to like you," Steve mused.

You gently barked, a happy sound, and moved your head to his chest.

"I like her, too," he said, running a hand along your fur as he glanced down at you, your eyes crinkling as you stared back.

Fucking adorable and probably two seconds away from biting my chin.

"And she's just staying for the night?"

Bucky didn't give him an answer as you tilted your head. He didn't want to say "yes" and make you think you weren't welcome. He also didn't want to say "no" and pressure you to stay.

As if you sensed Bucky's dilemma, you sprang free from his hold and landed gracefully on your paws. He stepped back to give you room when your bones began to shift, your red fur gone within moments as your naked human form appeared. Steve averted his eyes as you stood, the gentleman shifter he was since he didn't know you. He was thankful he didn't have to growl at his best friend to look away.

Even though I have no claim over you.

"Nice to meet you, too, Steve. I like this place," you said, giving Bucky an amused glance when Steve continued to look off in the distance. "Will he not look at me? I'm sure it's nothing he hasn't seen before."

"Just being polite," he said.

"I'm not after you bit me," Bucky said, wondering how much lust was in his eyes when he saw your nipples harden in the breeze.

You rolled your eyes, ignoring his heated gaze. "Relax. It was a love bite and you enjoyed it."

Just a little.

"And, Steve, I'm curious. Will anyone get mad if Wolfie and I fuck in the flowers?" you asked, giggling when he chortled.

"Um. Natasha might ask that you put new seeds in if you make a mess of it."

Really, Steve?

Glancing below Bucky's waist, you smirked, a hint of arousal in the air. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be a mess. And I doubt he'll have any trouble filling a hole with seed," you said. Before Bucky could drag you over and pin you down, you turned and went back to the garden with a swish of your hips. "But maybe later. For now, I'm making you both flower crowns."

Fucking tease. You're going to drive me crazy.

"I'm not wearing a flower crown!" Bucky called after you.

"Yes, you are!" you called back.

Yes, I am.

"She's, um, bold," Steve commented, clearing his throat again as he finally turned his head. "And did she call you Wolfie?" he asked, not covering up his laughter this time when Bucky snarled.

"Tell Sam and I'll rearrange your face," he threatened.

"I'd like to see you try," Steve said as his laughter died down. "She can stay as long as she wants."

"Just like that?" Bucky asked. Was he sure? He knew it was a lot to have someone unfamiliar there.

"Just like that," he nodded. "You like her and I trust your judgment. And, like I said, she seems to like you, too. I have a feeling that doesn't come easy to her."

"Thanks," Bucky said. It meant a lot that he was willing to take a chance on you. "And I have that same feeling."

"I wonder why that is."

Bucky watched as you chose a few flowers, your eyes narrowed in concentration as you made a crown. "I don't know, but I hope she knows she's safe here."

His home was his kingdom. He had freedom and his friends who were practically family. But as you looked over at him with a smile, he didn't realize he was missing a queen to run along beside him.

Until now.

Oh, these two. Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

2023 - A YEAR IN REVIEW

[bumblingbabooshka]

Tuvoktober Day 4: Dungeon Meshi Inspired Crew Ratings [Patreon | Commissions]

[namjhyun]

DRAMA REVIEW | The Double (2024)

For starters, this was a great watch. The production value was outstanding, the clothing design beautiful and the performances exactly what you want from this kind of revenge story, which is subtle and over the top at the same time, somehow. The music and editing could be better but they didn't stop me from enjoying this drama.

The main characters are smart, deadly and flirty. Their friends and family members a perfect fold for their cunning ways.

Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xingyue have an explosive chemistry. It's unreal. Every scene they had together got me giddy with excitement.

The villains were not your typical and I found myself equally invested in the part they had to play in this story. Their ending was befitting to their respective arcs and retribution sweet.

It's my first time watching a drama where Li Meng stars in but I am damn impressed by her. She's a powerhouse and I will be looking forward to her future projects.

This is also the kind of drama where nobody is safe and I commend the script writer for going there when so many other don't. That said, if you are going to kill a major character, you can't have a lukewarm resolution.

I have spent the better part of the last hour reading and watching every interview the director, cast and crew gave about this drama because when I finished it watching I was pissed.

This might be controversial because I know this is a well loved drama, hell, I loved watching this drama but what was the director thinking changing the script of the final episode and leaving the story as an open ending? Viewers spent 40 episodes, invested in this characters, hoping for them to have a happy ending, only to be met with a final scene that can be interpreted as reality or wishful thinking. Leaning more on the latter.

A revenge story it's not something you leave open ended. And, yes, I know there's an epilogue and I think it should be part of the final episode not something you release just in case fans might be angry at what you did. This is so unserious, I am lacking words.

This drama was a solid 8 for entertainment and production value until that ghastly final scene, forcing me to drop a full number. They should have known better... and they did. Why release an epilogue if they didn't?

Rating: 7/10

[liam-summers]

Sp*ke: “I’m drowning in you, Summers, I’m drowning in you”

Me:

[strawberrysapphocake]

Is now a good time to remind everyone about that bit of the house meeting after the L*ke fiasco where Hisam straight-up pretended he didn’t hear that shit and essentially threw Cory under the bus when we all know full well he was fucking Shook™ at the time, ‘cause… 👀

(I know it’s weird to be bringing this up again months after it happened, but given L*ke’s recent livestream it seems relevant to me).

[tinyreviews]

Tiny Review: Kung Fu Panda 4. Wholesome passing of the staff.

I went into this with very low expectations. The franchise has been quite lacklustre. The previous movie barely had any story.  

But this one, like its theme, brings change. It’s commendable that they are transitioning the franchise past Po and into a new generation.

I love Po’s slow acceptance of passing on the staff. And look forward to Zhen’s heroic growth arc, in the next one.

Edit: OMG, I realized this so late... Po's awkward transition into bad jokes is a reflection of him slowly becoming a father-figure(dad jokes)!

Hmm, I can’t help but think of the MCU’s transition as well. I think this succeeds where Marvel failed, because Zhen is a wholly different personality than Po.  

Whereas in the MCU, the successors were mostly gender/race-bended bland copies of the originals.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is a 2024 American animated martial arts comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, and Ian McShane, with Awkwafina, Ke Huy Quan, Ronny Chieng, Lori Tan Chinn, and Viola Davis. 

[kayenimate]

CW: Blood/Implied Violence

Jojo Chewbacca (Jobu Tupaki) 🥯

Guess who’s years late to the EEAAO train? Me- it’s obviously me. Long movie review below, feel free to skip; I don’t usually do these~

Find more of my work through my Carrd (seriously, i’m more active on my insta): https://kayevillart.carrd.co

Mooobie Rebieww

🎬 This movie is the epitome of cinema, which is no understatement. The inherent themes of nihilism, depression and clinging onto familiarity are so perfectly wrapped into a full two hours of action, comedy and cinematic delight.

🥯 Joy and Evelyn’s relationship is such a realistic depiction (save for the fact that they can infinitely verse-jump lol) of generational differences and ideals in terms of sexuality and identity.

👁️Jobu just wants sense in a world that’s already crazy, insufferable, and broken anyway and it takes the both of them to finally understand what they’ve been searching for in the first place.

💝 Oh and don’t forget about the mantra of “Be Kind” that doesn’t feel shoehorned into the movie for the sake of marketability or falsely good morals; it just WORKS. Waymond doesn’t need protecting when he could befriend everyone!!

___________________________________

Literally the Best Thing…

🎶 Ke Huy Quan never stepping foot onto the big screen in years because of lack of opportunity and then going up to accept an OSCAR will never not make me tear up. Amazing performances across the whole board, literal comfort watch. Thank you Daniels.

_____________________

Additional Notes

I didn’t mean for Jobu/Joy to pose a BIT risqué, but that’s what ended up happening in these. She does hold up (you know what) in this scene though, so she’d definitely be okay with that.

THE PERSPECTIVE IS OFF IN THE SECOND VERSION HALP /lh/j

Was also going to add additional drawings for other characters, ie. Diedre doing the infamous bagel salute, or Waymond/Evelyn’s martial arts but didn’t want to take too much time from other projects. I always take requests though ;)

[thenarddogmeister]

Everything Everywhere All At Once. The Daniels. 2022.

I love this film and have watched it three times so far so it’s about time I wrote this review.

First of all, I think the main themes I see being explored in this film are the different outlooks/ philosophies a person can use to live in a world like this. Everything Everywhere is a daunting film to write about because it’s postmodern to the maximum, there’s so much to talk about. Firstly, the absolute hybrid of genres and intertextual references (ranging from Disney’s Ratatouille to Wong kar-wai’s In The Mood For Love) makes this a staple of post-modernism and reflects the chaos of the world we live in today. We have access to everything and we can see so many things (especially with the rise of social media) and just like this film proves, it can provide beauty but it can also cause chaos and destruction. The movie is beautiful in its variety of colours, creative costumes, and allowing Evelyn (Joy’s mother) to understand her daughter’s sexuality better by jumping to a universe where she is in a relationship with Jamie Lee Curtis’s Deadre. However, it is also immensely destructive as by having a surplus of meanings and universes, Joy finds that she feels now, nothing has any meaning and she can’t trust anything she sees because she has seen everything. To use a perfect quote from the film, “She no longer believes in an objective truth.”

The Daniels like to draw contradictions in the film to highlight this distrust we feel in our modern culture due to having access to so many juxtaposing “truths.” For example, they comically use phallic and yonic imagery to reinforce the binary opposite drawn between nihilism (nothing matters) and absurdism (represented by Waymond’s whimsy throughout the film). This imagery is funny when we see Joy fighting with large dildos but it also allows us fresh perspectives when Evelyn and Joy put their hands together to create a vaginal-like shape, allowing Evelyn to see what Joy sees. This juxtaposition of humour and deep understanding supports the theme throughout the film that in this culture of media oversaturation, we cannot find an objective truth or an objective way of living anymore. It’s all about choice. This is also inferred as Evelyn is seen at the beginning of the film choosing to either stick to her laundry and taxes or go into the mysterious janitor’s closet - at one point, the screen even explicitly cracks into two perspectives to anchor this idea of choice. 

Another part of the film that I love, is the soundtrack/score, which also expertly contributes to the point of the film, that we are all confused and scared in this overstimulating postmodern world. Clair de Lune is used as a musical motif throughout the film, which perfectly sums up the point the Daniels are trying to make. This is an old, classical song used in possibly the least classical movie ever, showing how we have access to content spanning over literal centuries (due to streaming platforms like spotify I can listen to the 1905’s Clair de Lune and seconds later listen to the 80’s She Goes Down by Motley Crue). This overwhelming level of choice can be beautiful as we can watch Everything Everywhere All At Once and hear the magnetic and majestic Clair de Lune but it can also create so much disillusionment and confusion as how do we decide what is true and how we should live when there are million and millions of contradicting answers to those questions out there. 

The last thing that needs to be mentioned is the motif of the Bagel. The bagel represents Joy’s nihilism. It sucks everything in and leaves nothing in its wake. Moreover, it is black which is what you get when you mix all the colours together, surplus resulting in nothingness. However, the room we see the bagel in is overwhelmingly white, which is what you get when all the colours of light are added  together. White has happier connotations like heaven and purity, adding to this idea that the same situation (all the colours added together) can be interpreted positively by us or negatively. Will we see the black-hole bagel or the googly eyes that Waymond leaves around the house? 

Lastly, I love the match cut at the end where Joy and Evelyn share a mother-daughter hug, which then transitions ,through this match cut, into planets colliding. It really anchors this point that we can either focus on the massive destruction in this world (planets colliding) or the intimate moments of love (the hug). And each is powerful. 

The theme of this movie is so masterfully explored in the film’s editing, sound, cinematography, genres, imagery etc and so in my opinion it might be a perfect film.

[anotherfanaccount]

A long (spoilers included) review of Dunki.

Because I think I should just write it all out.

Starts with classic Hirani flavour. A main character on a wheelchair plotting an escape. And they succeed. Mannu runs away to meet her lawyer to ask about her visa condition. The answer is negative but she's desperate to be back home now. So comes the names of Hardy, a guy who she hasn't met in 25 years now.

Cue Hardayal Singh Dhillon, in all his greys and old age cramps running a race and also winning it but well a call from Mannu, who cares about a damn race. He answers no I'm not coming to get you and she smiles saying 'kand' ho gaya hai. And how can the 'Banda' refuse.

This was the introduction of a tale so simple, yet so real. Why do people leave their homes? The homes even with the poverty still has the warmth and love. But what could be more glaring than poverty for unemployed youth. Sometimes it's heartbreaking love, a love so powerful that people decide to end themselves instead of trying to survive through. That's Sukhi and Jassi's subplot, which only propels Hardy to decide on the donkey route, a decision that'll change all their lives forever.

And so starts the dunki, shown very aesthetically if I might say the horrors and the dangers. But you know your leads survive so you hold on. They wade underwater, scared and tired. They hide in freezers, cold. They walk through the desert among skeletons and evilness. Mannu has a cathartic experience here. And you wonder what exactly is the point of going through all this trouble without any guarantee. But they manage to reach their destination.

And now awaits another horror. Immigrants are looked down upon. They aren't humans in the eye of the citizens and don't get the dignity to live like humans either. Toiling through odd jobs, sending fake pictures to assure their families and to give them a better life is their only cause now. But Hardy doesn't have any of that. He's there for Mannu, so he starts the point of going back. But necessity is larger than lives for some people.

So they get caught and the rest seek asylum but Hardy can't lie, won't lie that it was his country that's unsafe for him. So he's sent back.

Fascinatingly dark that deported people get to travel safely back to the places they tried so hard to escape. It's along the same line as punishing people attempting suicide. This helps no-one.

Anyway 25 years pass offscreen. We get to know in passing that the families back home are doing well enough but our 3 asylum seekers are not getting the visa to return home. But trust Hardy, he can do it.

And Hardy does, with a bit of cunning and so much old man charm, the old man does it for his Mannu. But Mannu is dying. And ah well. What beats a tragic love story.

What beats a movie with so much heart and love and pain underlying the humour and constant laughter.

You just end up sitting a bit longer in the theatre and hoping to gather your thoughts because there's so much and yet there's this numbness. Is it because you saw the best movie, maybe. There's no best movie as per me honestly. Is it because this topic is way too real but so far from your reality that it shocks you a bit more. Is it because you love the man frontlining these moving images and you can see no fault.

Honestly I don't even want to conclude. If I could I would like to hug Sukhi right after the phone call, and Hardy after the court and at the terrace. But I'm guessing Hardy will be fine. Wo sambhal lega apne ko. Mannu I hope you had happy moments, even if they were the bare minimum.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

If all you know about Everything Everywhere All at Once, is that it won a bunch of Oscars and topped many Best of the Year lists, you're not prepared for how strange a film this is. It may seem weird for weirdness' sake at first but stick with it. You’ll see just how emotionally rich and creative a story this is.

Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) and Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) are being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, preparing for their Chinese New Year party and about to welcome Evelyn’s overbearing father (Gong Gong, played by James Hong) to their home, all while Evelyn struggles to accept her daughter’s lesbian relationship (Joy is played by Stephanie Hsu) - all on the same day. On their way to meet with Deirdre Beaubeirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis) at the IRS, Evelyn gets a strange message from a version of her husband from an alternate universe: the omnicidal Jobu Tupaki is on their way to destroy everything that exists and Evelyn is the key to saving all of reality.

Films like The One and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse might have made the idea of multiverses a bit more well-known, but it’s still wild stuff. What makes EEAaO even stranger is that Evelyn needs to access the skills and memories of her parallel universe selves to defeat Jobu Tupaki. To access those skills, she has to perform what you could sort of call “rituals”. They're random, ranging from declaring your love for someone to going for a nap, eating something weird, putting your clothes on backward or giving yourself a paper cut. Doing these actions allows Evelyn to see versions of herself that are culinary geniuses or martial artists.

If that wasn’t strange enough, Jobu Tupaki is one of the strangest antagonists you've ever seen. They can do almost anything because they have the abilities and memories of every version of themselves from every parallel universe, and there are infinite universes. Even ones where people can shrug off bullet wounds, manipulate matter with a thought, or have evolved a wildly different anatomy from the one we know. When Jobu Tupaki attacks, they’re generating sex toys out of thin air and whacking people in the face with them so hard they die, moving in impossible ways, or doing all sorts of things no human being could do.

You're wondering “How do you fight against someone who can do almost anything with a thought?” For that, you’ll have to watch the movie. You might also be asking “Is it just pure absurdity?” The answer is “No”. Beneath the weirdness is a lot of substance. As Evelyn explores other versions of herself, she sees paths she didn’t take. If she hadn’t married Waymond, she could’ve gone on to become a world-renowned opera singer, or a rich and successful actress in Hollywood films (kind of like Michelle Yeoh did, in a clever bit that makes you go “Wait, so are we just living in another alternate universe that Evelyn will visit to pull memories and skills from?). Everyone has played that “What if?” game and I’d wager that when you do, it’s almost always because you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Jobu Tupaki believes that “because every action and reaction creates an alternate universe where the opposite took place, nothing matters”. There is a lot of anger and depression in this film and although the focus is on a physical confrontation, if Evelyn wins at the end of the day, it’s equally important for her - and others - to deal with their feelings, to see that what they have matters and is worth keeping.

Everything Everywhere All at Once has a plot like none other. It also has poignant emotional moments as its characters consider mature themes like love, suicide, rejection, what could’ve been, and more. The performances are strong. The story calls for a wide range of emotions from the actors, asks them to portray alternate but recognizable versions of the characters they're creating and perform all sorts of wild stunts. Also noteworthy is the script. The film is often quite funny, and in ways that take you completely by surprise. You’ll see a trophy and think it’s just a weird-looking prop. That that’s the joke but later in the film, that same prop will come up again to be used in a way that makes it clear it was designed to look that way specifically, which now makes it twice as funny. So much of the joy you get from this film is not knowing what comes next. While there is something nice and comforting about seeing a “Standard” plot, this is the kind of picture you just can’t predict at all.

I know many people will love Everything Everywhere All at Once. I also suspect some will find it too strange for their tastes. I understand. To those people. I’d ask them to consider just how bold and imaginative a story this is. You’ve never seen anything like it. You'll forget this film. If that’s not enough for you, there are many big laughs and equally big emotional moments packed within its 139-minute running time. That sounds long, but it earns every second. Everything Everywhere All at Once lives up to the hype. (March 28, 2023)

[balimode]

His pin is incredible... I love him a lot... yet another Karl homage is killin' me, smalls.

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

2022 - A YEAR IN REVIEW

[twh-news]

Loki season two review – by far the best Marvel TV show in years ★★★☆☆ | The Guardian

Tom Hiddleston’s lovably narcissistic Norse god is back with Owen Wilson for a spectacular time-hopping caper that may just save the MCU from certain death

If ever there was a time for a second season of Loki, it’s now. The first outing was a witty romp through time and space, in which Tom Hiddleston’s lovably narcissistic Norse god charmed the pants off viewers. There were wild cameos (Richard E Grant as a weird alternate Loki!). There was sizzling chemistry (the bromance with Owen Wilson’s Agent Mobius!). There was even the tender blossoming of love (with Loki’s metaverse alter ego Sylvie – almost certainly the most poignant romance a TV character has ever conducted with themselves). So, naturally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe chose to follow up this televisual triumph with a disastrous series of flops, culminating in June’s Secret Invasion: a slog of a show that felt like the death knell for the franchise’s entire TV future.

[Possible spoilers ahead]

Luckily, Loki’s action-packed return suggests it is more than prepared to rise to the challenge of shaking off Marvel’s track record of TV tedium. We’re taken to the exact moment the previous season left off: the aftermath of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) killing He Who Remains – the shadowy figure behind temporal police the Time Variance Authority (TVA). There are slow-mo chases, car crashes in flying vehicles and Loki constantly running into effigies of He Who Remains. One thing is instantly clear: you really can’t avoid season one if you expect any of the following to make sense.

A good chunk of the opener consists of Hiddleston vanishing into another timeline. His body briefly turns into something that looks like it belongs in Stranger Things’ Upside Down, while he makes the sound of a man who has eaten some seriously out-of-date scampi. “It’s horrible,” quips Wilson’s Agent Mobius. “It looks like you’re being born, or dying – or both at the same time.” There are temporal loops, baffling causality chains and the establishment of what will be a series-long plot about stabilising a “temporal loom” – whose explanation is so convoluted the characters may as well be repeatedly chanting the word “MacGuffin”. Compared to the first season’s simple thrills, it’s all a bit overcomplicated – a disappointing choice of direction, if predictable.

Less explicable is the decision to do away with the beating heart of season one – the surprisingly lovely romance between Loki and Sylvie. This time, they’re on very separate paths, with Di Martino’s character reinvented as a time-hopping assassin, while Hiddleston moves ever further from his character’s mischievous past to buddy up with Agent Mobius in a bid to fix the McTimeWotsit. This makes for more zingtastic back-and-forth between Hiddleston and Wilson, but it robs the show of emotional heft. And with Loki proving ever less of a bad cop to Mobius’s good cop, there’s less edge to that sparkling comic chemistry too.

Nonetheless, the performances are as excellent as ever. Hiddleston is fantastic in every mode, from debonair to monstrous or ashen after a brutal insult from Sylvie. Di Martino is a bubbling pot of empathy, eyes constantly dewy with sadness, when she’s not spilling over into murderous rage. Wunmi Mosaku’s reprisal of her role as a TVA agent is ineffably intense – from taking down fugitives while wearing a tangerine ballgown to subjecting goofy colleagues to a Paddington-esque hard stare. And Owen Wilson is … Owen Wilson: a twinkle in the eye in human form.

When it spreads its wings, Loki’s second season manages to have plenty of fun. By episode two it feels like a time-travel thriller, with Loki and Mobius being shot into period-specific missions. There’s a retro spy caper in 70s London, our heroes suiting up like extras in Gangs of New York for a hot pursuit through 19th-century Chicago and an attempt to track down Sylvie in a 1980s McDonald’s in which romantic tension simmers over retro cash registers. The design is spectacular throughout, particularly the gloriously stylised TVA building in which every computer monitor looks like a microwave’s great grandparent, corridors are lined with tarnished aquamarine filing cabinets and even their IT guy (played by Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Ke Huy Quan) is dressed in a Ghostbusters-esque boiler suit that drips with vintage cool.

A few episodes in, things are settling into an enjoyable enough – if not tremendously exciting – groove. Then there is a gigantic cliffhanger that upends the narrative, wrongfoots the viewer and blows the show wide open. The final two instalments aren’t available for preview, so it is hard to say whether this will kickstart the show into scaling the heights of its first season. But either way, one thing is certain: this is easily the best Marvel TV series in years – for all that’s worth.

[thecraggus]

Loki (Season 2) Review

Marvel's Loki Season 2 builds on its title character's rich history, transforming the God of Mischief into a fully realized character grappling with profound existential questions. #Review

[marvelloussynergy]

What did you think of Loki S02E06?

Like the Facebook page. Follow on Instagram. Get the books: Phase One | Phase Two | Phase Three Listen to the podcast: Anchor | Google Podcasts | Spotify