#leung twins

[911bts]

[babygirl-diaz]

Buddie twin girls dads when? I want NAY NEED Buck and Eddie to have twin baby girls.

[superfamilydeadpool]

GIVE👏🏾US👏🏾GIRL👏🏾DAD👏🏾BUDDIE👏🏾TIM👏🏾

hand them over right now....pls 🥺

[buddiebeginz]

Ryan helping Oliver take pictures of Askyler Bell (who plays Mara) and one of the Leung Twins

[i-will-say-what-i-believe]

This is SO ADORABLE 🥹🥰🥰

When THE FUCK do we get Uncle Eddie with Jee-Yun!!???🥹🥹😭😭

Ryan being the one taking care of Gavin & playing with the Leung twins every chance he gets & keeping them engaged, until he's practically DRAGGED AWAY for his individual photo shoot🥹🥹🥹

He's SUCH a dad material🥹🥹🥰🥰

My ovaries are exploding 🥵🥹🥰

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Hypothetical MCU show: “Shang-Chi and the Hawkeyes”

PLOT SUMMARY:

A few months after the events of “Hawkeye”, Kate Bishop has been living on the Barton family farm in order to finish training with Clint Barton. Despite a rough adjustment period due to city girl Kate moving into a farm, the training has been going well. Kate is ready to start her superhero career, but Clint is hesitant, especially since he’s started viewing her as his daughter figure. Since the two Hawkeyes have been doing nothing but training, the Bartons decide to take everyone on a vacation to San Francisco.

Around the same time, Shang-Chi has been working with Wong to figure out what the origins of the Ten Rings are. From what they found, they learn that Wenwu stole the rings from the mystical lost city K’un L’un, home of the Iron Fist. Shang-Chi learns this the hard way when he’s confronted by the current Iron Fist, Colleen Wing, who wants the rings back (this would be the first major fight scene of the show).

Shang-Chi and Colleen’s fight is interrupted by a group of mercenaries who are also after the rings. The mercenaries are being led by the main villain Kenuichio Harada (also known as Silver Samurai), the most powerful crime boss in all of Japan and Wenwu’s most hated rival. This leads to a massive chase scene, which ends with Shang-Chi running into the Bartons.

So, unfortunately for Clint and Kate, they’re forced into the fight now that they’ve gotten involved with Shang-Chi. But we’re also hit with a twist; Silver Samurai, upon learning that Clint Barton is helping Shang-Chi, puts all his resources into play to stop our heroes. This is because Clint killed Harada’s twin brother Akihiko, the same Yakuza boss from “Endgame”.

Thus, we have multiple arcs for our heroes to deal with:

1) Shang-Chi trying to make peace with Colleen Wing, as well as trying to prevent the Silver Samurai from stealing the ten rings

3) Clint Barton being forced to deal with his Ronin past once again since his killing of Akihiko has come back to haunt him

4) Kate Bishop on her first rodeo as the newly minted Hawkeye, as well as facing off against super-powered people for the first time

5) While all this is happening, the Barton family and Katy Chen find themselves being targeted due to their ties to Shang-Chi, Clint, and Kate

CAST:

Of course, we have our returning characters Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, and Xu Shang-Chi.

Laura Barton and the Barton kids will likely have more prominent roles in this series, especially since they’ll be paired up with Katy Chen.

Wong comes back as a guest character.

Since Akihiko is Kenuichio’s twin, Hiroyuki Sanada is brought back to play Silver Samurai.

Jessica Henwick reprises her role as Colleen Wing.

Tony Leung briefly reprises his role as Wenwu, specifically to show how Wenwu stole the ten rings from K’un L’un.

MISCELLANEOUS:

1) The season’s story can be split like this: Group A is Clint, Kate, and Shang-Chi / Group B is the Barton family and Katy / Group C is Colleen Wing on her own / Silver Samurai is the main threat to all three groups.

2) I pictured the main trio’s dynamic to be that Clint relates to Shang-Chi due to them being men who are trying to escape their past. Shang-Chi and Kate get along as newbie heroes. Maybe this isn’t a perfect comparison, but think of them as Batman, Batgirl, and one of the Robins.

3) Show ends with Clint giving his blessing to Kate to join the Avengers, as well as inviting Shang-Chi to join. Clint ponders retirement, but then says something about how being in San Francisco has made him consider moving out to the West Coast (obviously a nod to a potential West Coast Avengers team).

4) Colleen and Shang-Chi make peace at the end and it’s implied that Colleen will continue to appear in the Shang-Chi movies. It’s also implied she knows the secret behind the rings (the signal that it sent out at the end of the first Shang-Chi movie).

[shammers86]

The dress blues are definitely a medal ceremony or promotion. And the entire firefam is there it looks like. Maybe minus Gavin and the Leung twin who play Jee.

At this point, I hope Tim turns Marisol into a stalker. A villain because it would at least give that character depth. No one interacts with her on set, Ryan is elsewhere and so for the love of God, have Eddie and Marisol break it off and have her stalk Eddie everywhere. If this is the finale, then she’s in the background or if this is episode 9, then it gets interrupted by an all hands on deck situation. Something maybe Marisol starts. Just stop with the nice girl Eddie thinks he has to be with and let him be free. Again.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Legend of the Dragon S1 Ep 1-13 Watch and Rewrite

I have gone down a rabbit hole by watching a random show from early 2000s (think Liberty's Kids, Sherlock Holmes 22nd Century kind of channel) that is clearly trying to jump on the Xiolin Showdown/Avatar the Lat Airbender and admittedly, it's mediocre but I'm just fascinated by its potential so my writer brain has a loooot of thoughts.

You can find the whole series on youtube if you want to watch before reading cuz this has spoilers.

Here's the plot: The show starts when the previous Golden Dragon has passed on to the afterlife and Ang and Ling Leung, seventeen-year-old fraternal twins, born in the year of the Dragon, are next in line for the Golden Dragon powerband and use of its mystical abilities to defend the mortal world from evil. Ang doesn’t believe he will become the Golden Dragon, as Ling is the best fighter at the Dragon Dojo.

Ling is positive that she will become the Golden Dragon. However, when Master Chin Ho calls upon the power of the Golden Dragon to choose who will be the next Golden Dragon, it chooses Ang. Humiliated and furious, Ling storms out of the temple and is tempted by the dark and evil power of the Shadow Dragon. From then on, Ang is forced to fight his twin sister.

First, the general

Alright, the animation style, let’s face it it’s not the best. But after seeing 80s shows, it’s not the worst. It’s just very dated. It’s a weird combination of some shots are really good, and some just look like bad flash animation yet you can also see the detail in the fight choreography. It’s weird. 

Speaking of fight choreography, the show is just in loooove with doing slow motion shots multiple times in each fight. Like it’s supposed to be epic but since it’s used all the time, I think they’re just padding the air time. And since the speeches are generic, I have fast forward through it unless a shot literally particular interesting or seems to be delivering meaningful conversation between Ang and Ling. 

That or it’s trying to mimic old Kung fu movies with the over the top yelling (gets grating after awhile tbh especially from Ling), people suddenly flying (just assume everyone has the power to fly) and the slow motion. 

As for the powers, each temple guardian has a magic armband that gives them powers related to their zodiac like turning into the animal plus extra like Bengali has super claw rips, the snake guardian turns into a shapeshifting, size changing cobra, the ram has power over avalanches etc. 

Which makes the powers of the dragons disappointing as they display generic fire blasts. I mean if it’s the top guardian, you should put a little something special into the power like flame breath and turning into a literal dragon! So I would give the dragons a power upgrade stat. 

Btw, besides the generic power blasts, each dragon has a voice upgrade. Ang gets a manly hero voice while gets sexy villainess voice. It’s kinda funny because it’s just so unexpected. No explanation for why these teenagers suddenly sound like adults or why that’s part of their transformations, it’s just there. 

As for the dialogue, the show has some spark when it allows the characters to show their personalities with humorous lines that make them distinct but it is also hampered by generic hero speech tropes (like in a fight it’s more about “Incoming” “I know the real you is in there” etc. if you’re going to do the tropes, at least make it specific to your character). Like the animation, it has good potential but also limited. 

Now to the real meat of the show the characters: Like the summary says, the two mains are Ang and Ling who are suddenly on opposite sides due to Ling’s insistence that she deserves to be the golden dragon. 

The first scene brilliantly sets up their personalities with them sparring. Ling dominates the fight with aggressive, offensive moves but Ang manages to outmaneuver her with observation and subtly. When Ang teases her about forgetting Master Chin’s lesson on using your opponents’ leverage, Ling nearly hits him again in anger over losing. 

Foreshadowing. . . Totally 

Ang is set up as the more laid back of the two. Into video games and movies, while Ling has been eagerly awaiting the day to be the temple guardian her entire life. 

As Master Chin invites to the temple, the show further demonstrates their differences and sets up Ang as the real candidate for Golden Dragon. Ling is consumed with getting the prestigious position, focusing on the power she will gain. Ang rightly points out, there’s a lot of responsibility to it too but that’s not interesting to Ling. She will rule, it’s a given, because she earned the spot. 

And so Ling’s pride goeth before fall. 

It’s only natural since Ling represents the yin which is feminine and dark and Ang is the yang, masculine and light (as if the name wasn’t enough of a clue). 

Ling may have memorized the teaching/learned all the moves, Ang is the one who has taken the education/teachings to heart and put them into practice. 

Ling tries to take the armband even when Master Chin tells her it’s not a mistake but it electrocutes her and when he assures her that her real destiny is to support the Golden Dragon and teach the next generation like he did, she blows up and directs all her anger at poor Ang who doesn’t even want the position. 

Anyway, I’ll go into my thoughts about what I thought about the split in the episode discussion but from therein, Ang maintains a typical protagonist personality when one is suddenly the chosen one. He is upbeat but sometimes he gets lazy, he doubts his capabilities, he delivers a few noble speeches.

Even though he’s a bit generic, he’s still relatable and a good protagonist to follow. It helps that his relationship with his twin brings out his flaws. Like his optimistic belief that she’ll regain her common sense and stop trying to take his position as Golden Dragon.

Despite her many actions on the contrary, he still believes she can be good again even though no one else does. In fact, he gets very defensive when others call her evil or psychotic (no matter how accurate a descriptor). He’s just a very loyal person and will do anything to protect his friends.

I still think that he needs a different name if only because Ang is too on the nose for symbolizing Yang. And the other famous Aang from A:TLA. If you’re gonna take the name, it’s gonna bring up unfair comparisons to that masterpiece. Do you really wanna be known as “the other Ang”?

Ling is arrogant, aggressive, entitled, not self aware at all. . . Pretty much a good villainess in the making. I feel like the show (so far) needs to work in more positive traits as to justify Ang’s intense belief in her ability to be good again. 

But she does make a good foil to Ang, easily countering him in battle and thinking ahead of him. Plus she makes a good snarky Shego to Zodiac Master’s Dr. Drakken, introducing such ideas as hacking Ang’s phone to track down other armbands and temples or to ambush him. 

I’ll discuss more about how to improve her characterization in the episodes below. 

Which brings me to the antagonist, the Zodiac Master. He’s a pretty generic villain, wanting to gain all the armbands so he overpower the Golden Dragon and achieve power all for himself. 

And. . That’s it. I know it’s a kid’s show but this was around the same time as Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, surely they can work in more backstory and motivation than just power for power’s sake. Like how did he even get power? Was he a former guardian, does he relate to Ling in not getting what he “earned” so he is taking it all by force? He needs more, which I’ll get to below. 

I’d also improve his powers which are generic power blasts (seriously why give the secondary guardians cooler powers than the protagonist and antagonists?). He does demonstrate life force draining in one episode which I think he should utilize more to make him a more dangerous threat. 

But between him and Ling, he’s the Dr. Drakken if Dr. Drakken was more evilly competent and took himself way too seriously. 

Master Chin, the teacher of the dojo and all the guardians is another generic (maybe even stereotypical?) wise master character delivering vague wisdom and a sometimes humorous old man line. I also wish he had more of a backstory and developed a more fatherly guardian ie. Uncle Iroh from A:TLA 

Bengali is the Tiger guardian and friend of the twins. It doesn’t say how long but one must assume they grew up together and she’s a little older since she’s been guardian for awhile (seriously this show needs to work on giving people backstories!). 

She’s kinda generic too. She’s a good friend, sometimes teases, sometimes is the voice of wisdom, will go along with the others hijinks, delivers quips during battle. She’s similar to Ang in that she focuses more on the spiritual side of being guardian rather than martial. She also has feelings for him (okay not yet but it’s obvious as the only non related, reoccurring female, she’s gonna be a love interest, let’s not kid ourselves). 

If I had to improve her, I would give more of a backstory on her feelings as being Tiger guardian. Since everyone seems to be an orphan in the show, maybe something about how being a guardian gives her a community, gives her a purpose in life, the spiritualism allows her to find acceptance in the face of so many unknowns of her origins, gave her confidence. 

According to wiki, Tiger personalities are passionate, stubborn, generous, and with a strong sense of justice. She can provide some contrast to Ang as believing things are black and white in Ling’s case and she needs to deliver the hand of justice to eliminate the threat Zodiac Master and his sister pose. If you have the whole Chinese zodiac, lean into it.

Xuan Chi is the Monkey guardian and is exactly what you would expect. At least with western depictions of monkeys, he’s a goofy jokester. Raised in the jungle, Xuan Chi isn’t quite used to civilization and is mainly there to serve comic relief. I think kids would like him even though his one note monkey jokes can get annoying after while. Luckily, he is more than one note as he provides common sense to Ang when the latter continues to ideally believe his sister can change or tries to take short cuts of his guardian training. I like their burgeoning friendship. 

Xuan Chi also has some mistakes in his past like the fact that he came to the dojo seeking help when thieves stole his armband. He doesn’t have powers like the others but his martial arts and tree swinging (and bananas) skills keep people off balance, providing dynamic fights. The loss of his armband provides some depth as he struggles with the humiliation and shame of failing his duty as guardian, revealing the insecure teen behind the happy face. 

Now the first half of the season:

Alright I described most of the first episode up to Ang getting the armband at which point, Ling blows up and the Zodiac Master appears with samurai goons to kidnap Master Chin. This gives the show an excuse to show Ang’s powered up Golden Dragon transformation and save the day. Ends with Ling swearing that no matter what, she’ll take that armband from Ang and become the golden dragon herself. 

First thing I would change is Ling’s reaction, vowing vengeance and all that. She acts more like a frenemy than a twin sister. She shows no care for her brother, and is so willing to hurt him for her supposedly “earned” position. There’s no connection between them and makes it hard to see why Ang would continue to root for her redemption and familial bond when Ling feels nothing on her end. 

So I would change her reaction to her, still being angry, but trying to calm down and say that she’ll try to support him and teach him better cuz he’s still the baby brother. 

Episode 2: Here, Ang goes with Master Chin to the dojo with Xuan Chi who came seeking help to retrieve his stolen armband. That will be saved for another episode as Ang is concerned with the sibling rift. Ling goes to the cliff side to calm down and the Zodiac Master appears to preposition her. Together, they can team up and steal the other armbands so they can eventually overpower the Golden Dragon. 

She hesitates for like 3 seconds because she knows he’s evil but damn her resentment makes her easily give in to his proposal. He gives her the shadow dragon armband (basically evil twin, I mean yin powers), she shows up at the dojo, transformed and drunk on the dark side. Ang eventually defeats her, and kicks off the whole series arc. 

The major change I would make here is to continue to make Ling less psychopathic. Have her totally refuse Zodiac Master’s offer because he’s everything she's been trained to fight against. She may not be the golden dragon but she has honor!

Zodiac Master would reveal his backstory-he used to be a teacher alongside Master Chin, training future guardians and warriors. But he grew weary over the years of watching guardians make foolish mistakes. He, with all his wisdom and experience should be the one with the power, he wouldn’t make those stupid mistakes. He knows better than all. So he struck out on his own and got the yin armbands (which corrupted him and so his original good albeit arrogant intentions have disappeared. Now he’s all about the power) 

Ling refuses and returns to the dojo. The Zodiac Master vs Ang/Xuan Chin/Ling fight would happen and after several bad mistakes, Ang would triumph. 

Ling wouldn't be able to appreciate Ang’s eventual victory through his out of the box smarts. All she would focus on is his mistakes and how, if she had been the Golden Dragon as she was supposed, she would have defeated the Zodiac Master with decisiveness. She would have defeated him once and for all, she wouldn’t have let him escape. She should be the Golden Dragon and if only she had the chance, had the armband, she could prove it. 

So she goes to Zodiac Master and accepts the offer, becoming the shadow dragon and the dark side seeps into her. 

Eye on the Tiger, Hero Worship, Terra Unfirma, Master of Sarcasm: All are good episodes, introducing other guardians, have Ang put his training and teachings into practice, some generic hijinks like “Don’t meet your heroes” “What being a hero/warrior really means” “Appearances are deceiving” etc. 

Although I must admit Hero Worship is really dumb in Zodiac Master believing a regular movie actor is an actual warrior even after Ling tells him Wang Lee is just a lame actor her brother worships, he still kidnaps the guy, convinced that Wang Lee is capable of teaching any martial arts to Ang when it’s the other way around. I do enjoy the Drakken/Shego vibes. 

Eye on the Tiger feels a lot like filler even as it shows Bengail’s Tiger guardian prowess. It was more focused on the fight scenes than character interactions or dialogue. Here, I would add more emphasis on Bengail’s friendship with the twins and the characters realizing “oh shit, Ling is serious about being a bad guy.” It does show Ling being not a total psychopath as she refuses to kill Bengali (just fight her and knock her out and steal from her but not kill) 

Terra Unfirma was fine though I wanted more ox guardian action. I liked Zodiac Master’s idea to combine the ram and dog armbands even if it put him over his head and Ang had to help him out in the end. 

Master of Sarcasm was the best. Not just because I liked sarcasm but because of the location change. Ang and Xuan Chi travel to Vietnam to learn discipline from Shoong (unbeknownst to them, he’s the pig guardian though his surroundings should provide a huuuge clue). He was a lot like a gruffer, tougher Master Piando. So enjoyable. 

Temple of Changes was disappointing. After failing in his training because he wants to hang out at the movies and do normal stuff, Master Chin tells Ang it’s time to go to the temple of changes as all the golden dragons before him have done. There he goes through some trippy sequences and fights a dark samurai before emerging victorious and more confident in his abilities. 

This was disappointing as Ang’s big test was fighting himself. Like literally fighting himself with very few psychologically painful taunts of his inadequacies. There was no reckoning with his destiny vs his wants. 

So I would change this with a poignant flashback to Ang’s past. A few months ago to be exact where Ang is playing a game on his phone while Ling spars with Bengali. In the present, he thinks about his new role and his past certainty with his future. He had thought that Ling was sure to be the golden dragon so he didn’t apply himself with the same intensity. He thought he would teach others like Master Chin. That he’d be able to travel, go to university, be able to hang out with his friends without responsibilities and new foes. Now he’ll be bound to the temple, always on alert for evil and he isn’t even as formidable of a warrior as his sister was. Why him?

So the temple would have him face these questions. Since Ling wants the armband so bad, why not give it to her? Why hang onto it? Because of destiny? Does he want this destiny? Is he capable of being a good guardian? Can he actually become better than he is? 

So the temple would force him to really think about why he chooses to stay in this role that he never asked for, ultimately deciding that he is doing it because he wants to. He wants to protect his community, his friends. He believes there needs to be a golden dragon in the world. He’s accomplished so much already, he can do more and he wants to improve, inserting some of the lessons Master Chin has taught him. 

Mindbender is another semi disappointing episode with a good premise that doesn’t go as far as it could. It’s Chinese New Years and everyone is celebrating new beginnings. Ang hopes that will include Ling coming back to her senses which everyone rolls their eyes and warn him that Ling won’t change, he needs to give up the idea. Zodiac Master attacks, setting up a distraction for Ling to sneak into the temple and ambush Ang when he goes to recharge his armband. In the midst of battle, Ang gets knocked out with amnesia and Ling sees the opportunity to trick him into giving her the armband. 

Predictably, it nearly works but Ang’s memories come back and he changes to the right side at the last minute. Also, in the episode, Ling should do a better job of convincing Ang she’s the real golden dragon if she doesn't get impatient and transform into the shadow dragon so they can escape the cave they’re trapped him. That was just so dumb. 

To make it more dramatic, the plot will go as shown up till the amnesia. Ling tricking Ang will have more weight as she references their past relationship (including a cute beach flashback), she is imbuing it with truth. She has always looked out for her brother, she protects him, she cares for him. She wants him on her side as always. And here, one can tell she means it even as she’s angling for him to give her the armband. Again, this will make her look like she has actual emotion instead of a manipulative psycho. 

Ang will regain his memories in time with the help of his friends, and defeat the Zodiac Master and Ling. Only their face off will end with Ang deciding to officially cut off all hope that Ling can be redeemed. He is too hurt that she was willing to manipulate their twinship, to corrupt their happy memories. She’s gone too far. 

Episode ends with Xuan Chi, Bengali, Master Chin and Ang having a fun New Years meal with Ang appreciating his new family. 

But there’s a flashback to his previous happy new year with Ling and Master Chin. Flashback ends to Ling sitting alone at the cliff side, staring at her locket with their baby picture. As fireworks bloom overhead, she decisively closes the locket and walks away, a tear running down one cheek. 

Chow Chow is yet another interesting episode that could do more with its ending. 

It all starts when the Zodiac Master is trying to resurrect the original dak Emperor of Yin, and tries to use Ling to do it by allowing the Emperor to drain her life force. Well, Ling isn't going out that way and realizing the danger she's in, tries to contact her brother for help. But the Zodiac Master intercepts the email and goes to ambush him, making it seem like it had been a trap all along. 

Now I like that idea, and the subsequent execution where Ang does the smart thing and hides his armband before getting subdued by the Zodiac Master in battle which enrages him when he realizes that Ang is useless. 

And Ling makes it much more difficult when Ang accuses her of setting him up and she gets all defensive that he doesn't believe her. I mean, girl, you have set up plenty of times before, you can't blame him. 

Nonetheless, when Zodiac Master threatens to suck her life force, Ang gives in and agrees to show where he hid the armband.

And while all this is happening, Ang's friends have teamed up with the dog guardian, Chow Chow to literally sniff out where he's been kidnapped. I just find these specific guardian traits/powers super fun. It also comes to an entertaining battle where Xuan Chi grabs ahold of the dragon armband and temporarily becomes the Golden Dragon. 

Cool but brings a few plot holes to why did it reject Ling if Xuan Chi can just take it? Does it only repel evil? Then why don't the other armbands repel Zodiac Master when he steals them?

In the end, there's a big fight and Ling returns to Zodiac master despite him trying to kill her just hours ago, proving how stubborn she is about holding a grudge against a brother who has only tried to help her. While Ang realizes she was telling the truth and admits that he wishes he could give up on her, he's sad to admit he just can't. 

So I would change the ending a bit. After Mindbender, Ang won't have any trust for Ling so when he gets her email, he just straight up assumes it's a trap. The plot will go on as expected only Ling will be taken aback by the fact that Ang was prepared for the betrayal and doesn't believe her. He just wants to learn what the Zodiac Master is planning. The life force draining will still take place as well as the battle. 

But the reason Ling stays with the Zodiac Master despite him trying to kill her will be because she sees that Ang doesn't trust her and she is totally alone. So she convinces herself that because this night turned out fine, she can handle it. She never needed Ang's help even if he had offered it. She'll show him and she will show that backstabbing Zodiac Master, furthering her evil descent.  

Monkey Mission was a very fun episode, giving Xuan Chi more depth than I ever thought he would get. For one thing, apparently he has PTSD-esque nightmares of losing his armband. You see, he didn’t just lost a fight to some temple robbers, they held him down and electrocuted him. No wonder he has nightmares! 

But now, he has a clue of where the thieves are going. They’re auctioning it and other temple items off like any good temple robber and Zodiac Master is on call to steal it back. 

Why doesn't he just buy the armband since his civilian disguise looks like he’s the head of a majorly rich corporation, I don’t know, but I guess he’s cheap. 

Anyway, it was a bit of Indiana Jones and a bit of a regular martial arts movie with three separate acts and gave Xuan Chi a chance to shine and prove to himself that he’s an honorable warrior even as it leaves off with a cliffhanger of the armband going missing again. 

The Emperor of Darkest Yin was an episode that felt like a filler with Ang and Xuan Chi disobeying Master Chin's warnings that teaming up with Zodiac Master's vengeful ex-partner. This ex partner calls himself the Master of Red Chi whose powerful blasts mostly make up for his incompetent combat skills. 

I liked the message, "When you  try to use the force of evil, it is evil that ends up using you," and it plays it straight with Master Red Chi double crossing them for another of Zodiac Master's traps as well as the twist ending. 

But it felt riddled with holes like why doesn't the Red Chi Master not have a name? Where did he learn red chi? Can anyone else learn or was he just born with it? His story was very vague and felt like it could have been expanded to add to the magical lore of the show.

The fight in the Hong Kong docks also felt silly with the Zodiac Master's entire samurai army in view. 

Like is this like Marvel New York? Are the people used to samurais and bombs in their harbor? Isn't this supposed to be a secret mystical battle? Just the concepts of what is secret and what is normal in this world is unclear? 

I would have kept the use your enemy concept but have Ang try to outwit his sister, the way she has been doing the previous episodes and throw in the Red Chi Master for the red herring (this was unintentional, I semi swear).

The Last Dragon- I actually have no complaints with this episode. It was solid story wise, revealing that the previous Golden Dragon was the twin’s father who had Master Chin erase their memories to protect him from their enemies. Of course, Ling is dumbly manipulated to turn her rightful anger toward Zodiac Master for murdering her father to being furious at her father for “abandoning” them. 

But the show actually pulls through and has her realize the truth thanks to Ang and of course, a cheesy flashback. 

And then they team up to fight the Zodiac Master! 

It’s a temporary truce but I enjoyed that it touched on my previous complaints that Ang was the only one acting like they had a familial bond. Also Ling was less hostile psychopath and demonstrated she may have some good after all. Also them as kids were cute. I would just change the animation of the last scene because it looked less like a hug in the moonlight between twins but the beginning of something else between not siblings. . . so ew.

Spy Hard was also a fun episode. As you might guess, it’s a James Bond parody! Well a parody if James Bond had mystical possession and martial arts powers. Okay, it doesn’t really follow any James Bond movie plot but the Rooster guardian,Lo Wang has a Sean Connery voice which is delightful to listen to. Ang learns a bit about thinking before acting which I’m pretty sure he learned before but I didn’t care since I was enjoying Sean- I mean Lo so much. 

Also, Ling continues to return to her roots by fighting against Zodiac Master again. While she was originally down for the whole possessing the dragon temple, she’s not in it for corrupting the Golden Dragon temple’s spirit with the darkest yin. If she’s going to steal the Golden Dragon, she’s going to do it honorably! 

So yay? She’s not quite on Ang’s side but she’s not the Zodiac Master’s idiotic puppet either. And Ang trying to do an awkward fist bump was surprisingly endearing even if Ling didn’t reciprocate. You could tell she kinda wanted. 

So yeah, as I write this down, I can see that it’s really starting to improve as the season goes on and I’m excited to see what the second half of the season does. 

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this week (#167)

(I've gone overboard again this week!)...

🍿  

'A spectre is haunting Europe, the spectre of communism...'

The Young Karl Marx is my second film by Haitian Raoul Peck (After his 4-part documentary about colonialism 'Exterminate all the Brutes'). An historical German biography about the birth of the labor movement, with lengthy discussions of the political theories of the time. It's so refreshing to experience an unapologetic look at the revolutionary ideology of class struggle, improving and uniting the impoverished workers and taking down the exploiting bourgeoisie. Vicky Krieps is lovely as Marx's sexy and supportive wife. 7/10.

🍿

Chan is missing, my 3rd by indie filmmaker Wayne Wang (After 'Smoke' and 'The Joy Luck Club'). Made for $20,000, this detective story was his solo directorial debut, and the first 'important' film about "ABC"s ('American Born Chinese') and other Asians living in Chinatown. I lived in San Francisco in the later 80s, and this brings back very fond memories to a long-forgotten time.

🍿

2 by Tricia Cooke:

🍿 Tricia Cooke is an editor, who worked on many of the Coen Brothers' films (together with "Roderick Jaynes"). She's also been married to Ethan Coen for 30 years (in an open, "non-traditional" marriage, according to Wikipedia).

Drive away dolls, the new comedy was written by her and husband Ethan, but without brother Joel. It's a "Lesbian road trip", in the raunchy tradition of 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!' and 'Bad Girls Go to Hell'. Andie MacDowell's foxy daughter is a free-spirit just looking for uncommitted, good time, but eventually falls in love with her girlfriend Marian. The romantic scene when it finally happens plays well to Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou background (but then, anything would!). The first 10 minutes were a bit confusing, but once they started driving, it got funnier (especially with the UNG soccer team 'basement party', and the Big Lebowski-style dream sequence). With time, it will earn its higher place at the Coen cultish pantheon.

"Who are you?"... "Democrats"...

🍿 Eve, (2008) an unexpectedly poignant story, Natalie Portman's directorial debut. A young woman visit her very old grandmother Lauren Bacall, only to intrude on her romantic dinner with very old beau Ben Gazzara. With score by Sufjan Stevens. 7/10.

/ Female Director

🍿  

"...I'll see you in my dreams..."

First watch: First season of Twin Peaks. I've seen 4 of David Lynch's surreal films before ['Blue Velvet', 'The Elephant Man', 'Wild at Heart' and 'Mulholland Drive'] and none of these made me a fan. But I like to keep an open mind, so I gave this, his most popular work, a try. However, like many old classics you see for the first time many years after their production date, its charms were completely lost on me. I can see what a radical breakthrough it was for network television in 1990, but today it feels like the antics of a straight-forward Soap Opera with an added, pretentious 'quirk' to every move and character. The coffee fetishism, the dancing midgets and log ladies, the absurd police procedural, the eclectic twists and supernatural dreams. With every episode I hated it more. The mystery of who killed whom, or the obviousness of everybody sleeping with everybody else, were utterly uninteresting. I really wanted to like it, but after 6 arduous episodes, I had to just admit that it's not for me. 2/10.

But I always loved Angelo Badalamenti's theme, and I often listen to it on loop.

🍿  

"I feel so low that I could get on stilts and walk under a dachshund"

It (1927), my first silent film with the original 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl', Clara Bow. "It" being basically sex appeal. Pre-Code, sassy and cheesy. This version is 'Colorized'.

🍿  

"You notice things when you pay attention", and “We won’t be like them”.

Another frequent re-watch of my most cherished romance film, In the Mood for Love, with incomparable couple Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. Her sad beauty, in these exquisite high-collar Qipao, and unrequited longings, are etched on my heart. With 2 different musical themes, the famous 'Yumeji's waltz', and the Nat 'King' Cole Spanish Boleros: I want to find an analysis of when and why each one was used. The 3rd act was unbearably sad. And what is exactly the meaning of the Cambodian coda? 10/10. ♻️

🍿  

4 Winning and Nominated Shorts from Last Night's Oscars (plus 11 more):

🍿 The Last Repair Shop - deservedly - won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short this year. (Video Above). A quiet story about a shop that maintains and repairs the 80,000 musical instruments used by students of the Los Angeles school district. It's about mending broken things so they can be whole again, performed by people who were also broken, but are now whole.

Similar and even better than the 2017 Oscar nominee Joe's Violin. One of the best films I've seen so far this year! 10/10.

🍿 The previous short directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers was the wonderful A Concerto Is a Conversation, about jazz pianist Kris Bowers' relationship with his grandfather. Nominated in 2021. 9/10.

🍿 The Queen of Basketball was another Ben Proudfoot short which won an Oscar in 2021. Their trade in stock is a well-told emotional human interest angle. This one is about a black woman who was college basketball superstar in the 1970's. Heart-warming.

🍿 Proudfoot's 2021 Almost Famous: The First Report told the story of a Louisiana reporter who broke the story of the Catholic church sex abuse scandal, but who did it in the 1980's. He was too early, and eventually got a mention in 'Spotlight'.

🍿 War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko, a lovely alternate World War One animated short about two soldiers from the opposite sides playing long distance chess with the help of a carrier pigeon. Won this year’s animated short.

Also, Dave Mullins previous story, Lou (2017), another Oscar nominated Pixar pre-feature item. It's about an anthropomorphic Lost & Found Chest, at a school yard identical to the one Adora used to go to her first 6 years. 7/10 and better than many of the later Pixar shorts.

🍿 The ABCs of Book Banning was nominated in 2023, but did not win. It features intelligent kids of 7-15 questioning the mass removal of books from schools and libraries, mostly about race, women and LGBT topics. Knowledge is power and the American Nazis who ban books have their eyes on much bigger prizes.

/ Female Director

🍿Island in Between, another terrific nominee from this year, about the Taiwanese islands of Kinmen. Made by a Taiwanese filmmaker, who reflects on his family relationship to china, Taiwan and the USA. Got me to listen to the songs of Teresa Teng again.

🍿3 by Jay Rosenblatt: "What do you want to do when you grow up? What are you afraid of? What is power? What are dreams? What is most important to you?" Nominated for the 2022 Oscars, How Do You Measure a Year? hit me very hard. New father Jay Rosenblatt started recording his daughter on her 2nd birthday, asking her about her life, and continued doing it every birthday until she was 18. My Adora Project didn't end so positively. Another 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes. 10/10.

🍿 In Jay Rosenblatt's 1998 Human Remains, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco and Mao share details about their intimate lives, what they like to eat and drink, their sexual preferences and bowel movements, likes and dislikes. Personally banal.

🍿 When We Were Bullies, a third reenactment by documentarian Jay Rosebnblatt, about a personal incident from his elementary school days, when he and others bullied a classmate. It gives some unpleasant ‘This American life’ vibes, but ends tenderly with a simple “I’m sorry”.

🍿 The Elephant Whisperers won the 2022 Documentary short with 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes. An Indian 'Animal Planet' style story about an indigenous couple, caretakers of baby elephants at a large national park and elephant reserve. I wish it was me.

A couple of hundred years ago, most of the world was the space where animals lived, tigers, elephants, birds, monkeys. Then humans killed them all and took their place.

/ Female Director

🍿 The girl and the tsunami is an Argentinian animation about a 12-year-old Chilean girl who saved her island community in the 2010 tsunami.

🍿 Snif & Snüf, a little geometrical animation, by a guy who worked on 'Bojack Horseman'. It's a similar concept to Břetislav Pojar's Czeck award-winning Balablok from 1972, where squares and circles fight to the death.

🍿  

Jim Jarmusch/Tom Waits/Rosie Perez X 2:

🍿 "Tasty Porcinis..."

Re-watch: The Dead Don't Die, his slow, absurdist apocalyptic comedy about flesh eatin' Coffee Zombies. Full of meta-connections and allusions to a cinematic universe: Sam Fuller, Cliff Robertson, Patterson, George Romero, and breaking the fourth wall ("Jim gave me the whole script!")

An ensemble piece with a special 'Thank you': 'Would anyone object if I gave credit to Atilla Yücer?' Such a Jarmusch thing to do! ♻️

🍿 Night on Earth (1991) is an anthology about 5 unrelated taxi drivers in 5 different cities, and the clients they pick on the same night. I found it irritating, and the rides in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Roma couldn't end fast enough. But the last story which took place in Helsinki, as the morning was about to break, was sad and powerful. Jarmusch was a friend of Aki Kaurismäki, and this influence might have helped.

🍿  

Craig Ferguson X 2:

🍿 “Congratulations, Mr. Stuart. You are tonight’s lucky Scotsman.”

Saving Grace, an well-written, well-played and funny stoner comedy, about middle aged widow Brenda Blethyn whose irresponsible husband left her in an enormous debt, forcing her to grow marijuana in her greenhouse along with her pot-loving gardener Craig Ferguson to avoid losing her large country house in Cornwall. 7/10.

🍿 I’ll be there (2003) was the only film Ferguson's wrote and directed (and rather competently). A sentimental but enjoyable story of an aging has-been rock star who discovers that brilliant teenage singer Charlotte Church is a daughter he didn't know he had. A different slant on my favorite theme from 'After the Wedding'. It ends with a perfect 'Happy End' when she sings 'Summertime' on a stage, whose lyrics sums up very nicely the whole movie.

🍿  

I watched Larry David's Clear history last week, but I felt like laughing at it again. David is such an unbearable asshole, but it was a solid comedy. Now I'm considering seeing 'The Fountainhead' with Gary Cooper, which is mentioned as part of the joke.♻️

🍿  

"Those aren't pillows!..."

After seeing again the "I want a fucking car" clip, a re-watch: Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the classic Thanksgiving dramedy with the classic 'Odd couple' plot. ♻️

🍿  

René Laloux, who directed the amazing 'La Planète sauvage', followed it up with another psychedelic, experimental movie. Together with bandes dessinées artist Moebius, they did Time Masters in 1982. I had a very hard time with this worthless science fiction story. Except of a few sparks of visual poetry here and there, it was more like a terrible, boring 'Time Wasters'. 1/10.

🍿  

I watched the super-light French comedy My Best Friend's Girl from 1983, but only because it features a young Isabelle Huppert. She plays a sexy, promiscuous temptress, who seduces 2 best friends at a ski-resort, so much so, that they both go crazy over her. Nothing wrong with some frothy ménage à trois, as she was glamorously prancing in revealing negligees for most of the time, but this was terribly-written and unwatchably juvenile. 1/10.

At least, I discovered this recording of Nirvana's 'My best Friend's Girl'.

🍿  

Throw-back to the "Art project”:  

“War is Over” Adora.

🍿  

(My complete movie list is here)

[fayewonglibrary]

Faye Wong: 'Words often fail me when I talk' (1995)

The singer, who performs here tonight, says she expresses herself better through music.

The 26-year-old Hong Kong based star has become the fastest rising pop phenomenon in the Chinese music industry.

Tonight and tomorrow, Singaporeans will be able to catch Faye Wong's first concerts here at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

With brisk sales for tickets to Wong's two-day concert being reported by Jasper Production, it is ironic that the Beijing-born singer, who has won over most of the region and all of Hong Kong with her silky voice and seamless, emotive singing, once claimed she did not have the confidence of peers like Anita Mui and Sally Yeh to stage a concert of her own.

And yet, her debut in Singapore follows a series of sell-out concerts in Hong Kong, which the organizer had to extend from the planned 10 to 15, and later to 18.

Among the almost 200,000 people who caught her show in the British territory, were peers such as singers Alan Tam, Andy Lau, Kenny Bee, Lau Sung Yan, and other star celebrities.

But Faye Wong who?

For those not yet familiar with the singer whom industry pundits are touting as the next Sally Yeh, the 26-year-old Hong Kong-based star has become the fastest rising pop phenomenon in the Chinese music industry. All in a mere five years.

Today, she is a household name in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Singapore. Mention "Faye" and images of a doll-like face framed by outrageous wigs come to mind.

Though born and bred in Beijing, Wong's secret is that unlike most of her peers, she is not your typical Chinese pop singer. She has manged to gather a large following among the young, old and even the English-educated Chinese.

Part of her uniqueness is that while Wong admits to drawing inspiration from Western singers such as The Cranberries, Sinead O'Connor, Whitney Houston, and Cocteau Twins, the more popular she gets, the more individualistic and alternative the singer becomes.

Her unconventional dressing and nonchalant attitude often draw extreme reactions from fans - you either love it or hate it.

Besides wigs, she has appeared in see-through outfits on variety shows and clothes worn inside out à la Madonna.

At the 93.3 FM Hit Awards presentation at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last September, she arrived in a pair of white flip-flops.

On a phone interview with Life! from Hong Kong, where Wong was recording, her public relations officer quoted the star as saying: "I do not really give much thought to how I mix and match my clothes. I dress according to my moods. It is not a publicity ploy on my part."

Yet her avant-garde image has certainly spawned copy cats from stars like Sammi Cheng to Shirley Kwan, to even Tony Leung Chiu Wai.

This is a far cry from when she was just an unknown singer dressed in tacky shirts and jackets, until she took a one-year hiatus in New York three years ago, and came back a totally different woman.

Confidence, character, coolness - that just about sums up Faye Wong, especially the latter quality which is a sore point with the Chinese press. Her answers to questions are often short and curt.

Most of the time, Wong would have you believe that she would rather open her mouth to sing than to talk.

But when asked about her cold and arrogant attitude, the singer says that she freezes up every time when faced with unfamiliar people and places.

"I'm better at communicating through my songs than in public speaking," she once told a Hong Kong magazine. "Words often fail me when I talk."

But no matter, she speaks her own mind and her care-less attitude is exactly what keeps her followers intrigued, and radio stations giving her recent hits, such as 'I Am Willing' and 'Sky' frequent airplay.

These songs will be heard once again tonight and tomorrow live in a show that Wong has promised over the phone will be the same format as her Hong Kong shows.

Translated, this means you can expect great singing, but do not expect her to make many costume changes or small talk.

Even her boyfriend, China rocker Dou Wei, who guest stars in the concerts, will provide just music accompaniment. In Hong Kong, he played the flute.

As the star speaks her mind: "It is not a wild carnival, but a music show."

——————————————————————

SOURCE: THE STRAITS TIMES

[911bts]

[hitchell-mope]

ZM part three word posters. Uma, the Hook’s and the Smee twins.

Uma. Her hair’s still in her canon verse d2 style. No captain’s hat though. She has her canon verse d3 outfit on. She has four tentacles sprouting from her back. One above and below her right arm. One above and below her left arm. She’s holding the ember out to the audience with her right hand. Above her head are the words “The Pirate Queen”

Harry. His hair’s pitch black falling into his face. His eyes are glowing blood red. Pupils, irises, sclera. All of it is completely blood red. Which matches the ember induced streaks in his hair. He’s silently screaming in pain. You can’t see his outfit because he’s wrapped up in rusted chains. But he’d probably have the canon verse d3 and outfit on except the sleeves would be there as well. Above his head are the words “The Unwanted Brother”

Harriet. Her hair’s blowing out behind her. She’s wearing a Chinese inspired version of her fathers outfit in the 1953 Disney cartoon. Her sword set in her scabbard. She has the same deranged expression Harry usually has. Above her head are the words “The Lying Sister”

Cj. Her hair’s partially done up in Viking braids wit the rest of it loose behind her back. She’s wearing an exact duplicate if her fathers 1953 outfit except it’s all in black and without the hat. She looks bored and annoyed. Above her head are the words “The Alleged Brainiac”.

Squeaky. Blonde hair’s peeking out from under his bandana. He’s got a massive cheesy smile on his face which contrasts the large almost healed scar on his left cheek. He’s wearing the same outfit he had in the canon verse. Above his head are the words “Twin One”

Squirmy. He’s an exact match for his brother except the scar is on his right cheek. Above his head are the words “Twin Two”

They’re positioned like so: Uma and Harry are in the middle. The Hook sisters are on Harry’s left side. The Smee twins are in Uma’s left side. Below them are the words “The Pirates”

[buddiebeginz]

Ryan helping Oliver take pictures of Askyler Bell (who plays Mara) and one of the Leung Twins

[fragilefiller]

[twoflipstwotwists]

@UMichWGym: A look back on when Li Li Leung was a gymnast at Michigan from 1992-95. She was a part of four Big Ten Championship teams. #GoBlue

[wereverine]

"Are you a believer?" is now the creepiest fucking question anyone could ask me jfc