#me in the club crying: i just love trini

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

Little Women Film Adaptations, Part Three

1994

Meg: Trini Alvarado

Jo: Winona Ryder

Beth: Claire Danes

Amy: Kirsten Dunst/Samantha Mathis

Laurie: Christian Bale

Marmee: Susan Sarandon

Professor Bhaer: Gabriel Byrne

Even though I’ve seen this movie multiple times and could do an actual written out review, I’m going to stick with my bullet point format....it’s just easier while I’m watching the film!  :)

~I really like the score for this film.  The main theme really gives me Christmas vibes.

~This movie does a good job of adapting the book dialogue, rather than just transplanting it from the book as earlier adaptations did...which worked for those, but I don’t think would have worked for this film.

~Jo has a writing cap!

~Like the ‘49 version, the girls have the idea to donate their breakfast, rather than Marmee asking them.

~Pickwick society!  I like that they include the girls’ stories (like Beth’s The History of the Squash)

~Jo burning off Meg’s hair

~Meg spraining her ankle at the Gardiner’s party and Laurie offering to take them home

~Amy’s clothespin makes an appearance!

~Random lines about Mrs. March being against corsets...I don’t remember any mentions in the book about her being against them.  I feel like this was added due to more modern sensibilities.  And possibly to make Meg’s transformation more noticeable with her wearing one at Sallie’s.

~Mr. Brooke is such an awkward dork and I love it

~Meg giving Amy money for limes and the punishment Amy receives because of them

~Even though they don’t discuss it like in the book, I am glad that they gave Marmee a temper.  After Amy has been struck by her teacher, you can see her pacing around the house, trying to keep herself calm.

~A mention about the fact that Beth does her lessons at home

~I love that they have a bunch of kittens!

~The girls rehearsing their play and inviting Laurie to join their club.  And the post box in between their homes.

~Jo and Meg’s trip to the theater (without Amy)

~Amy burning Jo’s manuscript

~Amy falling through the ice 

~Referring to the March home as Orchard House

~I love Mary Wickes as Aunt March!  She’s the first one of the three that calls Jo “Josy-phine”

~Meg’s trip to Vanity Fair and being dressed up by the girls in a silk dress.

~I find it interesting that Meg (and the Marches) are against wearing silk...Meg talks about the fact that the silk mills used children for labor and she seems offended by the idea of buying silk.

~Laurie not liking Meg’s fancy look....though Christian Bale really plays up the creepiness....but I’m glad they kept the scene between them afterwards.

~The scene with Marmee, Jo and Meg after Vanity Fair...

~Jo crying about her hair

~The scene when Beth visits the Hummels always breaks my heart.  The way that baby cries is so sad...it really makes me think the baby is sick or in pain, poor thing.  

~So, Christopher Columbus is no longer Jo’s catch phrase...instead it’s Jehoshaphat.

~Alluding to Amy’s will, but without her actually making it.

~I wish they could have included the scenes with Mr. Laurence and Beth from the beginning...him showing up with the doctor does kind of come out of nowhere.  This also changes how Beth gets her piano...but I don’t mind too much, because the scene still makes me cry.

~The way Meg becomes engaged to John is changed from the book, though I like that they mentioned how he visits Mr. March in the hospital.

~Amy falling at her father’s feet when he comes home.

~I like that they acknowledge the fact that a few years pass before Meg’s marriage.  The earlier films don’t really do this...And of course, it helps in the switching of actresses for Amy.

~I’m not sure about how I feel about Laurie kissing Jo when he proposes...and wow does Christian Bale’s accent keep slipping in this scene.  

~I like how Amy wears Meg’s old blue dress and Beth wears Jo’s old dress...hand me downs!  

~Gabriel Byrne as Professor Bhaer...this time we have an Irishman, although he can do a decent German accent!  

~Jo mentioning that her father read German poems to her as a child, and that they’re Transcendentalists

~I like that they included Jo’s letters home

~Still including the Professor playing with the kids...I hope they keep that bit of adorability in the new film

~Never really been a fan of the scene where they discussing suffrage...that’s always been a “go to the bathroom” scene

~Jo writing under a male pseudonym...it’s an interesting choice.....especially since she didn’t need to do that in the book

~I’ve also never been a fan of Jo and Bhaer kissing at the opera....just because it most likely would have never happened in those days.  And the way they look at each other like they can’t help themselves....they’re really laying on the romance.

~We get scenes of Amy and Laurie in Europe!  And Laurie acting like a douche

~I do like that Amy refers to Mr. Laurence as “Grandfather”....showing how close their families are.

~This version moves things around in the timeline....like when Meg is pregnant in relationship to Jo leaving/returning NY at when Beth dies....

~Beth’s collection of dolls...all tattered and worn, but well loved and cared for. :(

~THEY SHOW JO’S POEM ABOUT BETH IN BETH’S TRUNK!  I’ve never noticed that before!!

~I like how when Jo is writing her book, we get voiceovers of the sisters reading lines directly from the book.  

~The passing of Aunt March and her leaving Plumfield to Jo and Jo wanting to turn it into a school.

~Delivery of Jo’s book “Little Women”...changed from the book, but I don’t mind it.

Of the three adaptations I’ve watched, this one is probably the most liberal with the source material...more changes in dialogue, rather than lifting the text straight from the novel.  This one does include a lot more scenes from the book, though they do occasionally change the order of events.

I love the look of this film.  Everything has a very warm and inviting look, but at the same time, it’s very lived in.  The inside of Orchard House isn’t spotless; there’s clutter and work piled throughout...and the costumes, while beautiful, don’t look perfect and that’s what I like about them.  The only time they do is when the character is wealthy, like when Amy comes back from Europe.  But at the beginning, the clothes aren’t suctioned onto the girls bodies, they share and hand down outfits, and they can get messy when needed (usually Jo getting her hem wet).  They look like their clothes, rather than costumes; which is an improvement over the 1949 film....and I love the costumes in that film, but everything looked too perfect.  

All the actors are great.  Once again, they all had great chemistry and felt like a real family.  And this is the only adaptation that uses two Amy’s!  A smart decision, I think...especially considering how much more is included in this movie.  I don’t think two actresses would have been needed for the older versions, since Amy doesn’t have as much of an arc in those two.  And the amount of time passed isn’t as clear in the older films.

I don’t want to say which version is my favorite yet...I think I’m going to do a separate post for that.  But this is a fantastic adaptation of the novel and is definitely a classic.

[davetrash]

Talk to me about the green ranger!

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE GREEN RANGER

-first off tomi oliver is a demigirl as i’ve stated here and i love them even if they aren’t actually a character yet (they/them or she/her but tomi prefers they)

-plays for the soccer team and is NUTS. they’re a forward and aggressive and probably would be scouted for a college team. weird fascination with dinosaurs and is actually really good at science but not much else.

-the way i’ve kind of come to interpret the green ranger is as a complementary character to each of the other rangers. i know they’re usually the comic relief character or the super serious powerhouse, but those were already kind of divied out (to zack and trini, respectively, or so i’m thinking) so the green ranger kind of becomes an adaptable extra limb that isn’t crazy strong by themsevles but when put with another ranger, it’s an unbeatable combo. 

this is getting crazy long so i’m putting it under a cut lmao my b

-thanks to the original tommy oliver switching colors every few seasons or so, i feel like the green ranger would have that ability to just kind of….do that. like, if something were to happen, they’d be able to momentarily slide into the red ranger role and start the zord morphin’ or take hold of someone else’s weapon and use it until at least the danger has passed or whatever. of course, this makes them kind of unstable in their own morph, but tomi can deal with that as a subplot or whatever in a diff movie

-tomi lives in a kind of shitty apartment with their grandma who’s very old fashioned (she barely even likes tomi wearing anything more revealing than a v neck) and so that’s where tomi gets most of their angst. they’re also really untrusting because of the way a few of their friends treated them when they came out, but tomi finds an understanding and a family in the other rangers that they didn’t know they needed.

-in detention for throwing a snowball at someone’s face that apparently had a rock in it. he deserved it.

-they’re definitely comic relief, and the go to person for a wacky idea because tomi is literally always down. doesn’t matter, tomi’s there and ready. partly responsible for at least three (3) minor explosions. can get out of anything and is super surprised when they finally get caught and stuck in detention.

-okay so in the fic i put that they kissed kim in middle school during spin the bottle at a party and i think this is so funny. tomi and kim and jason all kind of ran in the same circles in middle school/early high school years even if they weren’t the best of friends because they’re all sports stars/dating sports stars. the bottle is spun and it lands on tomi and kim is freakin’ out and finally somebody shoves the two girls onto the same couch and kim is still freakin out so tomi just. kisses her. and it’s actually super nice?? but tomi is a GIRL and kim DOESNT LIKE GIRLS (yet) but she couldn’t forget about it (until she met trini of course and then it all made sense) so tomi and kim kind of bond over awkward first kisses and are sassmasters when it comes to dealing with the dumb girls at school. squad.

-trini and tomi would start out kind of rocky tbh because of course trini can pick up on tomi’s easy chemistry with kim (WITH ALL OF THEM) and it makes her insecure/jealous. then they end up having a venting sesh immediately following a crazy practice fight and tomi’s like “omg NO she’s all yours man it’s not like that” and trini’s kind of like “oh okay my b” and after that they both laugh and then they just fight all the time together because tomi’s the only one who matches trini’s no mercy all or nothing fighting style.

-tomi and billy are like actually best friends. despite how crazy and intense they are, tomi’s super patient, and works really well with billy. it’s not like a “oh he’s special i need to go slow” so much as a “oh man that makes sense THIS is how you talk man i got this” and they’re determined to be as accommodating as possible (because they know what it feels like to have people ignore your feelings and push you aside because you’re different). billy is the accomplice in the three (3) minor explosions. zach was there for one. tomi gets out of detention and ends up immediately back in there after the third one. tomi is also determined to introduce 80′s pop to billy for no reason other than “i feel like he’d really like ABBA”

-tomi and jason did NOT get along when they were younger. tomi was friends with a few of the more asshole football players that jason tried to avoid and so they never talked. once they’re both rangers jason realizes it was never really them that was the asshole, just their friends, and tomi realizes that jason’s not the stuck up golden boy they thought he was. they lowkey kind of idolize him because he’s so confident and they become the best of friends. jason’s there for them to cry on when they finally confess about disappointing their grandma (because he knows he knows what that feels like) and they’re there when jason admits he’s not confident he’s actually scared like 98% of the time that he’s doing something wrong. they kind of ground each other and keep each other honest and level headed and tomi’s pretty much vice captain of the cool kids club.

-tomi and zack tOMI AND ZACK TOMI AND ZACK

-DEMIGIRL TOMI OLIVER AND PANSEXUAL ZACK TAYLOR P L E A S E

-i am one million thousand hundred million percent behind this ship

-they’re both nuts and they’re partners in crime. zack is the last person tomi trusts because he seems so flighty but after they finally get to know them tomi’s immediately like “okay time to confess all my deepest darkest secrets” and right after zack’s like “cool okay date me”. they’re SUPER supportive of each other and are the dynamic duo from hell. cannot be beat in a fight or in air hockey or a trivia challenge. his mom loves tomi and tomi’s slowly learning mandarin in order to speak to her better. they go on late night runs and watch shitty movies and just generally kick ass.

-tomi sees through everyone being dumb teenagers and is the one who’s shouting “holy mother of god MAKE OUT ALREADY” while zack cackles in the backgorund

-their armor is vague. so vague. boy? girl? nope, just a dragon. ESPECIALLY WITH THE GOLDEN ARMOR ON IT LET ME L I V E tomi would fuckin love that they get golden arm bands. (”gee tomi how come you get TWO cool armor pieces?”  “because i’m a fucking champion”)

-DRAGON DEMIGIRL. tomi loses their goddam mind over the dragon. it’s so cooooool

-i just have a lot of love for tomi oliver sorry this got so long hahaha

[brionyjae]

power ranger feels

OKAY so i just went to see the power rangers movie! i didn’t know anything about power rangers before going. and i FREAKING LOVED IT :)

it was kind of like a modern, diverse, superhero version of ‘the breakfast club’?? except way more happens rofl. i love all the characters!!! they are developed so well despite having 5 of them share screen time, on top of plotty things. it’s just all the little details about them! and they don’t spell everything about those details out for the audience, which is so refreshing.

MY PRECIOUS AUTISTIC SON BILLY. i would seriously die for that boy. as would everyone else!!! he’s so lovely and clever and badass!!! just everything about him. and his lil excited clap, i’m crying gahhh. he literally brings them all together I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW GREAT HE IS.

ohhhh and my girl kimberly! i adored her character arc and growth so much. so real. before i saw the film i read that they’d cut a “romantic moment” between her and jason in his bedroom, and i am SO THANKFUL they did bc it definitely would have ruined the actual moment which was her realising something important about herself!! THANK YOU to the director/producers/editorswhoever else for having the self-awareness to cut it, they did her character a great service :)

TRINI. I AM SO PROUD OF HER. she’s just so relatable, and quietly works away in the background, but it actually crucial to the whole thing. the moment when she opens up to the group was PERFECT. ugh. (also fellow fans of the flash: CAPTAIN SINGH WAS IN IT AS HER DAD for like ten seconds lmao.) i just really love her, and if when they make a sequel i will be most interested to see how she’s developed!

asdfghjkl; okay zack is freaking hilarious and crazy and fun and so so necessary to balance the group out. but he’s also really perceptive!! HIS MUM. i cannot even. and how he says to the others that his mum is the best, with zero embarrassment??? ALL THE TEARS.

okay okay and the most surprising of all was jason - i was initially like, oh boy, what is this white jock dude gonna be like... but he was actually super caring and emotional, and SO PROTECTIVE OF BILLY from the very moment they meet. he helps kimberly find her way, and unites and inspires the team. and by the end of the film, he is actually realising and expressing all the emotions he’s feeling, which is AMAZING and such an important thing for cis straight boys.

DAMMIT NOW I’M CRYING AGAIN. just, everybody, you need to go see the power rangers film. even if you’ve never watched any power rangers stuff (like me). you don’t need to know anything, imo. the characters are what makes this movie so brilliant. <3