#nervous but excited for this new era of the franchise...

[clovariia]

thank you for everything, sif! 🥲❤️

i’ve attached some of my personal memories from the game under the cut

here’s my card album!

here are my titles!

here are my wallpapers!

here’s my profile info from the last day of the game!

I’LL MISS YOU FOREVER SIF 😭😭😭

[adiarosefandoms]

MCU Upcoming Project Thoughts

I miss the MCU fandom atmosphere that existed 2017-2018. This was the era of Infinity War, the conclusion was coming (or so we thought), there were so many theories flying everywhere, the community felt so connected and excited. This was the height of my Marvel obsession, I lived for everything Marvel, consumed all the media, and was up to date on every possible Infinity War storyline that was in the comics. I've become part of many fandoms at this point and that is still the period I felt the most a part of something just because it was so massive and unifying. Now, I haven't finished Ms. Marvel or seen any of the shows since, I still haven't watched the Eternals, and I actively dread upcoming Marvel projects post the mess that was Thor Love and Thunder. X-Men 97, Deadpool 3, and news of The Fantastic Four has given me some hope though. If they just go about making good movies again instead of trying to make the movies with the biggest budgets that have the biggest impacts on the MCU, they have a real chance of returning this franchise to its former glory. Infinity War/Endgame were so big because of 10 years of buildup. You can't rush that, pushing out mediocre projects and expect the same success that came with a ten-year long venture of people who knew what they were making and who they were making it for. You have to earn it.

I do think that X-Men 97 will be good, just because it seems like they've left it to the devices of the shows actual crew as it doesn't connect with the MCU, so there will likely be less corporate fuckery. And I have faith in Ryan Reynolds to campaign for Deadpool as he's done for the past two films to great success. I'm a bit more nervous for the Fantastic Four, but I was fine with the first released Fantastic Four film released. Not in terms of effects or the villain's portrayal, but in the main characters. I'll forever be glad they made Reed Richards more likable, because he's such a tool, and I hope they keep up with that in the new movies. I am devastated that they won't be fighting Doctor Doom though. At this point I don't care who fights him, but I need him in the filmverse because he was always one of the villains for me, alongside the Green Goblin, Ultron, and MODOK thanks to the Avengers Assemble cartoon. I hate that I'm still somewhat timid about these projects though. I used to never be afraid that Marvel would screw it up, and now I'm terrified. Especially now that they have mutants at their disposal, knowing the characters contained within that is so vast and many are well known, there is so much potential for them to screw it up just because they seem to have forgotten what we loved about the MCU.

I just want to be able to stand in front of the current team leading Marvel and force them to watch the first ten films in the franchise and take notes on the story structure and character building that they see happening. CGI can do a lot of things, but it cannot cover up bad writing.

[hobgoblinns]

this’ll be my first time actually watching live as a New Doctor tm takes the stage, and im a little worried that like fifteen is going to be too cool??? Are these nerves just what happens to who fans any time a new doctor comes in??

huhhh well. twelve was the first doctor i watched take over live and at that point i wasn’t super invested in the show so i think i was just keen to see where the show was going next.

for thirteen i was ECSTATIC because as a kid it was my dream to play the doctor some day but thought they’d never let a woman do it. most of the concerns i had were more about a new showrunner coming in, and after watching the first few episodes i found myself feeling disappointed, so i figured i’d be more cautious about future doctors.

but ten is my favourite doctor so fourteen was purely exciting for me!! i had high hopes for both david and rtd, and so far my expectations have been more than met!

fifteen being TOO cool is the only thing i feel iffy about, really — honestly, i think it’ll be awesome to have a doctor who’s a bit more with the times, as long as he retains that element of geekiness and childlike wonder too. other than that, the clips i’ve seen from ncuti so far make me think he’s going to be amazing.

only time will tell if the new series meets our own individual expectations, but the great thing about doctor who is that even if you don’t like a certain part of it, there’s so much more to enjoy. i didn’t like chibnall’s era of the show much at all, but i loved the two rtd specials that followed. some people love chibnall’s stuff but can’t stand rtd or moffat or both. some folks think the show’s been shit since tom baker left and they’re willing to die on that hill. basically — yeah, i think everyone gets nervous, and that’s ok! as a doctor who fan, it’s impossible for you to love EVERY part of the show. there’s ups and downs and they’re different for everyone.

tldr: i think ncuti will be great, even if i have the occasional doubt, as i’m sure many others do. but no matter where doctor who goes, it’s such an enormous franchise involving such a huge number of people that you’ll always find something, somewhere, to enjoy about it.

[blazehedgehog]

What was the honest reaction to Sonic 06 back in 2006?

It was a long time ago, so I can only really speak to my own perspective.

Sonic 2006 was the time that Sega’s marketing department really started cranking the hype train really, really hard. Sonic 2006 was announced as a fresh start. A soft reboot. Sonic Team said they were treating it like “the first Sonic game on the Sega Genesis.” You still had Tails, and Knuckles, and Shadow, but it was the start of a new era. A new type of Sonic the Hedgehog. More serious, more realistic, more “epic.”

At this point, there was no reason to necessarily distrust any of that. Yes, Sonic games had been slipping in quality, and yes, Sega was still more or less pretending that everything was “okay.” But that was always in the typical, “we’re trying to sell a video game and not go bankrupt” sense. This felt like a tacit acknowledgement that things weren’t so great and they were going to start over and refocus. Set things right.

Early gameplay footage looked rough. I distinctly remember a Gametrailers hands-on where they were demoing the Mach Speed Zone in Kingdom Valley, and the Sega representative was very clear and upfront that the game wasn’t done yet, and all of the empty space Sonic was running through would be filled in later. (It wasn’t.) There was also the typical debate over the TGS 2006 “Bringing it Home” playable demo, where people argued then, too, that the game wasn’t done yet, and not to judge things too harshly. The final version will be better.

The final version also wasn’t done yet. So, y’know.

I had effectively bought an Xbox 360 for this game. I was broke as per usual, but I’d gotten lucky and won a Gametrailers video competition, which landed me $1000 in Gamestop gift cards. I bought a PS2, a Nintendo DS, and an Xbox 360, plus more than a dozen games between the three platforms. I knew there would be more Xbox 360 games besides Sonic 2006, and I’d even originally wanted a 360 primarily for Elder Scrolls Oblivion, but the simple fact is that once the money was in my hands and I spent it, Sonic 2006 was the only actual Xbox 360 game I owned.

Or was going to own, anyway. I think I’d won the contest in September or October of 2006, when Sonic came out in November. So I bought the 360 a few weeks early with some original Xbox games, and spent the interim with Spider-man 2, Ninja Gaiden Black, and the copy of Halo 2 I borrowed from my cousin.

Sonic 2006 was the first game I’d ever pre-ordered. The second game, pre-ordered on the same day, was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Gamecube. I still have the tiny pre-order statue that came with Sonic. His gloves and socks, once white, have begun to yellow with age, and the skin tone on his face and body is turning an ashy gray.

Even 72 hours before launch, there was not a clear picture what Sonic 2006 actually was. Sega was deliberately obfuscating certain features; early in development they’d sworn up and down that there were only three playable characters in the game, something that blatantly wasn’t true. Perhaps it was miscommunication from Japan, but it meant they were now going out of their way to hide how many other playable characters were actually in the game. I naively distrusted most (if not all) professional reviewers back then, and the earliest scores for Sonic 2006 were all over the map.

As a Sonic fan, you kind of had to know how to read between the lines on the more negative reviews, because we were definitely in the era where it felt like critics were starting to dogpile on the Sonic franchise now that Sega was a third party developer. There weren’t a lot of professional reviews you could trust regarding Sonic games, or at least, that’s what it felt like. This was the rise of the podcast, and snarky hosts were taking whatever low hanging fruit they could get.

I remember waking up on launch day -- friends had gotten up early and picked theirs up in the morning, when I’d rolled out of bed somewhere closer to noon (or maybe even afternoon). I had plans to pick up my copy later that evening, after sunset. My friends did not sound happy, but again, there was always this vibe of “Wait and see.” They had only just started the game. First impressions were still too fresh to really call.

But I had this moment, this cold spot in the pit of my stomach, where I thought “Maybe I can cancel the pre-order and get Gears of War instead?” Reviews for Gears seemed pretty good. I’d probably be happy with it instead of Sonic.

I couldn’t let myself do that. I was a Sonic fan. This was the first big Sonic game of a new generation. A new start. I bought the console for this. First game I ever pre-ordered. The second Sonic game in the history of the franchise I’d bought on launch day. This was it. This was the event. No backing down. Besides, Sonic 2006 was a big 15th Anniversary celebration game. They wouldn’t make such a big deal about the anniversary without just cause, right? Sonic 2006 was going to be great. I just needed to calm down.

So we drove out to Gamestop -- and it was the sort of thing where I think we couldn’t do the pre-order at my local Gamestop for some reason, so this one was a town or two over. It was a journey. I was nervous the whole way there. Something told me I was making a mistake. But I had to do this.

I think it may have been starting to rain as we rolled up on the store. It was around 8pm, and people were starting to camp out on the sidewalk. Literally camp out, tents and all, because of the rain. Today was the launch date for Sonic 2006, but tomorrow was the launch of the Playstation 3. These guys were here for Gamestop’s “Midnight Madness” launch event. They were going to be some of the first to get a PS3. I was probably the last person to pick up a Sonic 2006 pre-order.

Sonic 2006 might have been the first Sonic game to ever make me angry. I’d had a lot of internet debates on how I felt about Sonic Adventure 2, but most of those amounted to splitting hairs about things that felt disappointing when compared to the original Sonic Adventure. I was not angry then, I was simply let down. I was similarly let down when I finally got a chance to play Sonic Heroes. But again, not angry. Baffled, maybe. A little sad. But not angry.

With Sonic 2006, I slammed head first in to all of my excitement and uncertainty at 200mph. This was a Sonic game unlike anything I’d ever played before, and in all of the worst possible ways. Enough has been said about the quality of the game that I don’t need to describe anything that’s wrong with it -- also because literally everything was wrong with it. Perhaps the first video game I’d ever played, ever, on any platform, that actually fought back against your efforts to play it. A disaster in every sense of the word. A broken nightmare. After finishing Sonic’s story, I was mad. How could they let this happen? What was wrong with them?

I was less angry after having finished Shadow’s story. Shadow had even buggier gameplay than Sonic, but it also felt more complex, more action-oriented. His story was better, too -- instead of the sappy Princess love story, Shadow’s story was about how the world was against him, and the crossroads that brought him to: rise above his past and strive to be a better person, or give in to the temptations of evil? It was still dumb as heck, but it was less dumb than Sonic’s story.

By the time the credits rolled, I had accepted the fact that this game was a mess. More of a mess than any Sonic game ever had been before. It was clearly a deeply unfinished game. Friends theorized maybe they could patch the game, because that was a thing games could get now. Sonic 2006 could still be saved. The PS3 version wouldn’t be out for another month, surely that means they’re working on a fix, right? Some were even theorizing over an achievement called “Nights of Kronos” -- it mentioned a “complete ending to the last hidden story.” Perhaps that meant there was going to be more? Maybe we got the bad ending, and a better, more finished ending was waiting for us on the disc somewhere?

There wasn’t. And no patch ever fixed the game. That was Sonic 2006 -- the kiss, the loading screens, the strange mannequin NPCs, the stiff controls, the glitchy physics, the empty overworlds, the bizarre dialog, the plotholes and time paradoxes, that’s just what the game was, and was always going to be, forever.

Before Sonic 2006, you could say that 3D Sonic games were bad, but there was always a place to defend them from. They had problems, but they were never irredeemable. Sonic Heroes may have had frustrating controls and repetitive level design, but it had great art direction, nice music, and fun concepts. They were always trying, dang it, and it was obvious to see that.

Sonic 2006 felt irredeemable. Offensively terrible. A failure on such a level that it was hard to comprehend. Beyond simply “a new low” for the franchise. This felt like rock bottom. It was the kind of bad that spread like a virus. Even good games, like Sonic 2 on the Sega Genesis, felt notably tarnished by the existence of Sonic 2006. It threatened to ruin the entire franchise by proximity alone. For some, it probably did. I definitely had a moment where I wondered if I would ever enjoy a Sonic game in the same way ever again. They were all tainted now. Infected by memories of Sonic 2006, the game that was supposed to save the franchise, but condemned it to the lowest pits of hell.

In isolation, that might have been the end for me. I might have continued to drift away, bit by bit, until I found greener hills outside of the Sonic franchise.

I’ve said this before, but what saved me was getting hired to write for TSSZ News. Now, suddenly, I was paid to play and write about Sonic games. It was a duty. And it helped that the first Sonic game I reviewed for TSSZ ended up being Sonic Unleashed, a game I continue to openly gush about to this day, more than a decade after its release.

But never forget that Sonic 2006 was such a disaster that it nearly made me give up Sonic the Hedgehog. It really was that bad.

[addictedtostorytelling]

Did you see the news for CSI: Vegas? What are your thoughts on it? I about fainted when I saw the GSR video CBS posted 🤣

also:

anonymous asked: Omg! Did you see the video on cbstv instagram?! :D csi is coming back and looks like theres gonna be gsr <3

hey, @sabine--wrens and anon!

i’ve seen the news, and, honestly, i’m nervous about it, for a number of reasons.

however, since i know the majority of fans are excited and i don’t want to harsh anyone’s vibes or be a downer, i’ll both limit my comments and place them under the “keep reading,” just to be safe.

warning: here be salt about the later seasons of csi and wariness about the new reboot. proceed with caution. 

_______

so i wrote a more involved answer about the reboot here, if you care to read it.

the tl;dr version is that i haven’t really liked anything that tptb in charge of the csi franchise have done since about 2009—or really 2007, if i’m honest—either just in general and/or with grissom and sara as individual characters and/or with gsr as a relationship. 

overall, i feel as if the writing and production values for the original series really changed right around s8/s9, with the plots, characters, and even thesis of the show “getting away from them.” the showrunners seemed to lose sight of what had made their show great to begin with, and unfortunately, they never returned to the old m.o. at any subsequent point.

s10 to the finale of the original csi were, imo, not great™, and neither were any of the spinoffs, with cyber (the most recent of the spinoffs) perhaps being the most lackluster out of all of them.

that so, i am more than a little bit worried that this new csi: vegas is going to be more in the vein of the latter seasons and spinoffs of the original series than the “golden era” of s1-s7, and, frankly, i’d rather anthony zuicker and co. not mess with grissom, sara, and/or gsr if they’re going to subject them to low-quality storytelling. 

i very much hope my fears are ill-founded and that this new series is a return to form for the franchise, blessing us with lots and lots of memorable episodes and great new gsr material; i’m just worried that, given the show’s general trends over the last ten+ years, what we’ll get will be disappointing and do a disservice to these characters and their relationship. 

anyway, i don’t mean to dissuade anyone from being excited. like i said, i’m just nervous.

thanks for the question(s)! please feel welcome to send others any time.

[jokerxtreme36]

Thoughts on Zero One and Kiramager so far + extra (Spoilers)

Man it has been a while since I’ve done this. I was a bit uncertain to really come back and speak my mind on these since I feel what I say doesn’t really matter, I tend to fear what I say could be an unpopular opinion and get flack for it. I’m still hesitant on writing but I felt like wanting to write again after so long. I don’t know if I’ll bring this back but we’ll see. A lot has happened with Toku that’s surprising, I’m surprised how much Toku has been slowly getting itself up to be official over here thanks to various services like discotek and Shout Factory, in an age where you can officially watch the original Kamen Rider series and Kuuga online, If you told me that 5 years ago, I wouldn’t know what to believe.

Recap:

Been three years since I’ve done this iirc, but here’s My thoughts on the seasons I never wrote my full thoughts on.

Kyuranger: This was an up and down series for me. When I first started, I was hating it, due to awful pacing and was doing an awful job of establishing characters, especially Lucky who was hitting the marks of why I disliked Right and Takaharu, thankfully the series picked itself up around the second quarter with Scorpio’s arc and introducing Tsurugi. Would later go down and up with each arc but In my opinion, ended on a decent note. It does suck it never had a crossover with Zyuohger but I did enjoy the Space Squad crossover, which utilized the strengths of the characters really well and was ultimately satisfying.

Ex-Aid: Ex-Aid was a series I was a bit skeptical by but was one over by the end. I enjoyed Emu and his adventures and I give props for the show having two female Riders (Nico counts, fight me!). If there’s an issue, it’d be that I wish they’d just end with the crossover movie cause I feel the V-cinema’s felt like tacked on alternate endings, I do give them credit for trying to connect it to other films.

Lupinranger vs Patranger: A series I’ve seen that’s either enjoyed or disliked. I’m in the former and do like that they experimented with the concept of two different teams. I dig the idea that the Lupins are influenced by more modern Sentai that get the gimmick of the episode while the Pat’s are more akin to classic seasons where they just focus on the Monster, also doesn’t help that Japan has very low views on their justice system so the Lupins are more favorable. Plus I loved the way it ended on an open note, much like how Sanjo tends to do in his writing.

Amazons: Another divisive series and I’m leaning towards those that dislike it.On its own, it’s alright but as a series that uses elements from a classic series, it mostly is superficial in how it uses it cause the original series was remembered for how violent it could be, but there was more to it than just mindless violence. Also doesn’t help the producer’s comment on how “Recent Rider’s aren’t interesting, this series will give it it’s fangs back” saying the shows before it were not good when they were enjoyed by a lot fans. I do give the series credit for trying to write a gray moral type of setting but its flimsily written that it can come off as irritating,, especially around Season 2. Though I’ll give the movie credit for ending the series on a decent note.

Dino Force Brave: A miniseries that caught a lot of fans by surprise, since Korea commissioned a miniseries/continuation for Kyoryuger given how popular it was. It seemed promising, then I saw who was producing and writing it, instead of Sanjo returning. we got Ninninger’s writer. it retcons things like Torin’s not dead and Devius isn’t mentioned (the latter I don’t mind). The series is short which is both its strenght and weakness because for a miniseries, it isn’t given much time to flesh out the new characters, since they only have 12 minutes for each story, shows like the Ultra Fight series work since its serialized and can work as a movie, this not so much but unlike Amazons, I consider this harmless, its nothing too bad and there’s some merit to it (even if they tried saying it was canon in the last Taisen film)

Build: Now this was a series I was actually surprised by, this series is probably my third favorite post Decade Rider series. The series blends the right amount of silly and mature moments. It has a lot of memorable characters and one of my new favorite villlains in the franchise, Evolt was a great villain that really brought the stakes and made you think how this series was gonna deal with him. I remember the ending being divisive but I was ok with it since it does give an explanation for how Build could interact with the other Riders in future crossovers with how the previous seasons (minus Amazons) could connect. plus the V-cinema’s were well handled from an ok one like Cross-Z to a surprisingly Amazing one that is Grease’s V-cinema, now this is how you do a continuation.

Strongest Battle: Now this was a miniseries that caught me by surprise as well since they brought back returning actors to lead up to the next season. Seeing Arakawa still got it and made me hope to see him return writing someday (hint hint).The cast they got surprised me, some I was glad to see return and some I wasn’t too happy with like Takaharu and to an extent Kagura (but too be fair, she wasn’t as bad as Right), but I was intrigued to see what Arakawa would do with them and I was ok with how they were written here though still dislike Takaharu as a character.

Ryusoulger: Ryusoulger is a series that I’ve seen that is pretty loved from what I’ve seen but sadly I’m on the opposite side, I don’t think it was that terrible but more or less disappointing and somehow boring. Strongest Battle setup a lot of things for Ryusoul to follow up on that it felt like a downgrade, like Gaisorg being underutilized that you can tell they didn’t know what to do with him. The writing was all over the place that it was hard to be invested with the characters, who did their best with what they were given but their wasn’t much stakes. If there’s one thing I enjoyed, I really loved the ending arc for giving us not only a Female big bad but also blowing my expectations and breaking status quo, with Red not being the one to finish off the main villain. The ending arc was great yet at the same time was upsetting that the rest of the series wasn’t up to par with it. But now its gonna be the next adaptation after Beast Morphers. With Hasbro in charge, I’m intrigued to see what they do with it.

Zi-o: From the same minds behind Dino Force Brave and Amazons comes what is meant to be a big celebrate/closure of the Heisei era, but threw logic out the window for what is ultimately a fun kind of mess. I don’t mind continuity but I was iffy on how Zi-o retconned the previous seasons as not connected since that’s what they were trying to do until this series went (rip paper) whoops it broke. The series does have some merit with the idea of the Another Rider’s and showing the development of our protagonist and his attempt to defy fate. I also enjoyed when the series stopped time travelling but instead met the characters in the present day cause then the arcs were written better like in Blade and Agito’s tribute episodes. I haven’t watched Geiz’s V-cinema yet but also heard from the producer’s twitter that Woz’s V-cinema isn’t happening, which sucks cause there’s potential in it.

Now that those are done, here we go.

Kamen Rider Zero One:

Now with the start of the Reiwa era, I was hyped since we had Ex-Aid’s writer returning and we got not only a cool awesome secondary but a surprising Female Rider early on and is our third Rider. The first arc starts off strong with Aruto wanting to save the Humagears from Metsubojinrai. Things were looking good until things went downhill thanks to a certain Gold turd known as Thouser, before I get to my issues, I love his suit and how his finishers have a trademark, but that loses its charm when you see him everytime as he’s a very arrogant and obnoxious about his views on how “Humagears aren’t necessary” almost every time. There’s character’s that are meant to be hated, but then there’s characters that you just want to see go away. Once the arc ends the series thankfully pics up with Fuwa getting Rampage, Yua quitting and the return of Izakuchi and Naki. I’m interested to see where things go from here.

Mashin Sentai Kiramager:

Now this was a series I was cautiously optimistic by, since Arakawa returns to write a new series and after my disappointment with Ryusoul, I was nervous but thankfully this series is off to a good start, was surprised we started with episode 0, which does a good job setting up the main 4 before the red shows up. I was a bit skeptical on Juru since he screamed a lot of traits that they could’ve easily screwed up. Thankfully they’ve been doing a good job with Juru, he’s cheerful and imaginative but not a total idiot (what Right should’ve been) and the series has been doing a good job giving everyone their own center episode while not being afraid to take a few risks. I also enjoy the villains like Garza and his rivalry towards Juru due to having a similar ability to his brother that he despised, especially the fight in episode 4 being a highlight. I like that Juru wasn’t sure if he was qualified into being the leader but saw that his passion could help the team in his own unique way. Another thing I love is the Monsters with them going for a Showa aesthetic on mask based Kaijin but with an added twist of a Kaiju counterpart for them to fight, it’s a nice change of pace from just having them grow. The series has done a great job at bringing back an old style and breathing fresh life to it. Was scared hearing what happened to Juru’s actor but thankfully heard he’s doing ok and I’m excited to see what the series brings next.

[eddycurrents]

For the past few years, you could argue that the X-Men franchise has been working on trying to rediscover its identity. Since reality reasserted itself coming out of the Secret Wars event, they’ve been in a kind of flux. The initial relaunch set up the mutants in opposition to the ascendant Inhumans. When that was brought to a head, Marvel’s merry mutants then redefined themselves in part through nostalgic “back to basics”. In the past year and a bit, the mutants through a series of endings in “Disassembled” and Uncanny X-Men, while the Age of X-Man event traumatized them in a loveless utopia. It’s been an interesting ride.

You don’t really need to know any of that, or anything at all of recent or past history of the X-Men, in order to jump into House of X #1. This hits the reset button on the franchise and, while I expect that the past will inform some elements, it can largely be enjoyed coming in blind.

This is arguably the largest, most dramatic change to the X-Men since Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Tim Townsend, Brian Haberlin, and Comicraft took over back in New X-Men #114. Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller kick off a new era that is firmly built on a science fiction grounding. It frames the mutant identity in a new understanding and begins a new conflict with the rest of humanity as human governments and organizations react to the new status quo.

Without going into any details in this section, I can say that House of X #1 takes many of the common themes and elements of decades of X-Men stories and gives them a new spin, both familiar and strange at the same time. All of it is brought beautifully to life through astounding artwork from Larraz and Gracia, taking it to a completely different level. It’s brought together nicely through the design work of Muller, implementing a number of text pieces yielding further information, making it decidedly feel like a Hickman comic. 

The digital edition on Comixology is also another instance of having “Director’s Cut” material, including Hickman’s redacted script for the issue, a wide array of the variant covers, and process pages of line art and coloured pages.

It’s a bold new era starting point for the X-Men and I’m excited to see what else is in store.

There will be spoilers below this image. If you do not want to be spoiled on House of X #1, do not read further.

SPOILER WARNING: Below I’ll be discussing the events, themes, and possibility of what’s going on in House of X #1 and beyond. There are HEAVY SPOILERS beyond this point. If you haven’t read the issue yet and don’t want to be spoiled, please stop reading now. You’ve been warned.

PREAMBLE | First Impressions

I had high expectations for House of X #1. 

Jonathan Hickman is easily one of my favourite writers currently working in comics. He’s full of mad ideas that you look at and wonder why no one has implemented them in quite the same arrangement before. He’s great at execution and construction for the long game. While each story usually works on a micro individual story-arc/issue level, they also build a large tapestry that tells an even larger tale. One merely needs to look at his previous outing for Marvel telling one grand story that began in Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (with elements you could say were seeded even in Secret Warriors) and ended in Secret Wars. It was wonderful.

Pepe Larraz has been wowing me with his art since Uncanny Avengers. There’s a fluidity of motion and design that evokes the spirit of Alan Davis, Neal Adams, and Bryan Hitch, while adding what feels like an even more gargantuan attention to detail and sense of design. He elevated that even further with stellar showings on Avengers: No Surrender and Extermination. He’s easily become one of Marvel’s premiere artists to me.

When you combine Hickman and Larraz, and couple it with a marketing machine hyping this as the next big thing in the X-Men evolution, expectations were huge.

House of X #1 exceeded those expectations.

This first issue feels like a sea change for the X-Men, in terms of the team’s status quo and in the approach to storytelling. This is a science fiction story with heavy political leanings. With Xavier pushing the lead, Marvel’s mutants have staked a claim on a new mutant nation on Krakoa, with tendrils through Earth and beyond.

And it’s breathtaking. The artwork from Larraz and Marte Gracia is beautiful. The landscapes and vistas, the designs for the characters, the page layouts, and more, this is a visually stunning book. Larraz has truly outdone himself with the line art, but it’s taken even higher by the sheer beauty in Gracia’s colours. It’s very rich, emphasizing the beauty and wonder of this new world being birthed into existence.

There’s also an interesting choice here in Clayton Cowles’ letters, it’s mixed case. These days it’s not necessarily as unusual not to be in ALL CAPS, but it is different from what we’ve seen in Uncanny X-Men as of late and helps to foster that idea of this being something different. Similarly the text pages scattered throughout from Hickman and Muller that give this the stylistic feel of a Hickman comic and enriches the depth of this new world with more information.

ONE | X Nation

The idea of a mutant nation isn’t a new one. Magneto broached it before and attempted a kind of compound with Asteroid M. Genosha was set up as a mutant paradise for a while. The fallen remnants of Asteroid M served as the X-Men’s home repurposed as Utopia. A corner of Limbo was briefly carved out as a haven for mutants. There was that enclave with Xorn. And Jean Grey kind of set up mutantkind as an amorphous nation within nations given central home in Atlantis during X-Men Red.

More often than not the nation merely serves as a backdrop for the X-Men’s interactions in the rest of the world. I mean, when mutants had their own homeland in Utopia, more stories took place in San Francisco even before the schism that drove half of them off to the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning in New York.

What’s presented in House of X #1 feels different.

Ostensibly, the new mutant nation is headquartered on Krakoa itself, but the implication is that it’s so much broader. The X-Men have seeded Krakoa flowers all over the Earth, on the Moon, and Mars and have grown what feel like embassies and external outposts of the fledgling mutant nation. And it’s the fact that these outposts are within other nations, with the potential of moving a superpowered army unseen and seemingly instantaneously, that has the government representatives met this issue nervous.

While it is a home and a haven for mutantkind, it’s also actively being treated as a political entity. Similar to how Jean argued her case for mutantkind in X-Men: Red, we’ve got ambassadors of sorts checking in with Magneto and two of the Stepford Cuckoos. There are some intrigue elements that sync up with other aspects of the story, but the fact that it’s being used as a tour, a show of force, and an ultimate in order to broker a deal recognizing Krakoa as a nation is an interesting development. It takes it from a place of superheroes playacting at being politicians to actually being politicians. Abrupt as it may be to have Magneto as the face of the operation.

But that’s part of the genius of this play. Like with Magneto siding with Scott upon the founding of Utopia, Xavier and Krakoa is a further fulfillment of Magneto’s dream. A mutant homeland with mutants in control. Every previous time this has happened it’s come to ruin, but it’s always fun while it lasts. 

Also, it’s an impressive show of power to have Magneto as the liaison to the rest of humanity. Where Kitty Pryde or Jean Grey would likely be more diplomatic, that isn’t the intent here. Sending out not only one of the most powerful mutants as your face, but also someone who has been in direct conflict with humanity over the years, pushing a mutant independence angle, is a statement that the new mutant nation isn’t something to be trifled with.

TWO | Who are these X-Men?

With the release of titles, creative teams, and team line-ups for the forthcoming “Dawn of X” reboot following House of X and Powers of X, there have been a lot of questions about what’s going on. Characters who have died during recent issues of Uncanny X-Men are alive and well. Characters who were in different configurations and statuses seem to have been changed to more familiar versions and attitudes. So it raises the question for House of X, who are these X-Men?

This first issue doesn’t answer that. I don’t know if we’re going to get an explicit answer that, but I think we’re given a clue on the very first page.

A key element in this first issue is the utilization of the mutant island Krakoa, both as a new home for the X-Men and as refined and adapted through application as portals, habitats, and medications. But in the opening scene, we see a central tree essentially acting as a birthing matrix overseen by Xavier.

The first born being Jean and Scott, I’d guess, then maybe that’s Bobby on the second page with some others. It’s possible that the one guy is even Gabriel Summers. It could be that they’re being rejuvenated, refreshed, and refined through healing properties heretofore unrevealed of Krakoa, but it may be more sinister. There’s a reaching, a yearning towards Xavier that makes me suspect. Are they the characters that we know? Or are they something else? I don’t even know if that’s a question we’re supposed to be asking.

Other than Magneto working front and centre with the team, they’re also working with a number of other traditional villains/antagonists like Sabretooth, Mystique, and Toad. All three have had their dalliances back and forth between the sides of good and evil, but it’s interesting to see them in the fold here. One the one hand, it reinforces the idea that this initiative of Xavier’s is for all mutants and that they’ve come together. But it also raises the question further, how?

I think it’s worth noting that every X-Men character we see fully interacting in the real world has been a villain at one point. Cyclops included, since the last time the world at large saw him before his resurrection he was “Mutant Terrorist Most Wanted #1″.

With characters seemingly back from the dead, characters changed to different versions, characters rejuvenated and healed as it appears that both Cyclops and Banshee are, characters who’ve previously been at one another’s throats, there’s a lingering doubt of how Xavier achieved this. There’s also a happy Wolverine playing with kids, so just think on that for a bit.

THREE | Master of Puppets

Professor Charles Xavier died (again, but who’s keeping track?) during Avengers vs. X-Men back in 2012. Then was brought back in Astonishing X-Men, first as a disembodied psyche caught in the Shadow King’s web and then through the personality sacrifice of Fantomex, inhabiting his body. He referred to himself as “X”, as something new, despite repeatedly claiming that he is the one, true Charles Xavier. His actions, both in his initial appearances and in the subsequent Astonishing X-Men Annual wherein he reunited with the remaining original five X-Men (Cyclops was dead at this point), could be considered manipulative, possibly even evil, callous, and villainous. We’ve not seen him again until now.

With the uncertainty of the origins of the wide cast of characters on the team, whether or not they really are our X-Men we know and love, doubt is cast on Charles Xavier as well. And it’s not just because we only see part of his face. Larraz’s design for Xavier’s new large, portable Cerebro deliberately distances us from him. It’s alien and off-putting, and I believe that’s the idea. I’m unsure whether or not this was the intention, but it also evokes the memory of another villain that Hickman enjoyed using, The Maker. The visual similarities and implication of another hero turned villain can’t be missed.

Consistent with that idea is the portrayal of Jean here. From a real life perspective, there’s an argument that all of the X-Men in House of X and beyond are taking on the costumes and behaviours of their most popular incarnations. In that regard, it would kind of make more sense that Jean would be in a more Phoenix-inspired get up or something similar to her blue and yellow outfit from the ‘90s.

Instead, we get Marvel Girl. Which seems odd to me. It’s not only regressive, but it represents a time period that in-canon Jean supposedly hates. It was, however, a time where Xavier’s somewhat lustful intentions towards his student were more apparent (creepy and disturbing as they are). It further reinforces that maybe not everything is on the level with what’s going on.

FOUR | A New Religion

Religious symbolism and outright textual substance are rife throughout this issue. From the beginning of Xavier acting as a kind of god to the newly reborn mutants beneath a Tree of Life through to Magneto’s proclamation at the end of the story, this first issue is planting the seeds of a new mythology for mutantkind. It’s something that sets them apart from the rest of the superheroes on Earth, giving them an explicit framing as the overseers of the world, but with it, there’s a tie back to how this new nation feels different.

There’s a definitive feeling from House of X #1 of building an entire society. Religion as an aspect of that, both real and implied, but we also get a new language of Krakoan (the glyphs we’ve seen before and again in this issue) and the idea of a broader organizational structure to Krakoa. It’s not just a school any more.

FIVE | Dangerous Beauty

There’s an interesting dichotomy set up in this first issue as well between the mutants and humanity. Of nature versus technology. It’s one we’ve seen before in mutants being the natural evolution of mankind coming into conflict with the sentinels constructed in order to prolong mankind’s grip on power. It tends to lead to the kind of nightmare scenarios of post-apocalyptic futures as we see in Days of Future Past.

Krakoa is an inspired choice for the catalyst of mutant change in the world, delving into some of what was explored in Wolverine and the X-Men, but going steps even further. Creating pharmaceuticals, creating properties similar to Man-Thing’s ability to transport throughout the world, and the various habitats. It’s like the Weapon Plus application of The World in that everything is grown, organic, nature-based objects all ostensibly pieces of the greater Krakoa entity. I wonder if this gives Xavier and the X-Men effective “eyes” all over the world?

It’s also important to recall how dangerous Krakoa has been throughout X-Men history, acting as an antagonist that kickstarted the all-new, all-different era in Giant Size X-Men #1, built out even in Deadly Genesis with the lost team, and the problems had at the Jean Grey School with the baby Krakoa.

And then there’s the flip side.

Orchis is a new organization introduced here comprised of a number of former agents of Marvel’s intelligence community, good and bad, ranging from SHIELD to AIM. And we’re brought aboard the Forge. There’s a fearful symmetry to it, a station close to the Sun building machines to counteract whatever it is that Xavier is ultimately doing. At the Forge’s heart what appears to be a new kind of Master Mold sentinel, decked out in some of the same colour schemes that we recently saw with the golden sentinels of ONE in Uncanny X-Men.

I can only imagine that this is going to wind up well.

We’re shown a face that we’ve not seen for a while (outside of solicitation covers), since I thought she was an “ordinary” human again, in Karima Shapandar. It’s kind of sad, though, as her Omega Sentinel protocols seem to have been reactivated.

SIX | We Can Be Heroes

The presence of the X-Men within the broader Marvel Universe framework can be problematic at times. It’s one of the reasons why they’ve often been shuffled off to parts unknown, set up as a rag tag band of fugitives, and limited in number to the point where they’re culturally, socially, and politically insignificant. Because the heart of mutant existence within the Marvel Universe is one of intolerance.

Mutants are feared and hated, hunted down, enslaved, or executed. While it works extremely well as an analogy for real life racial and sexual bigotry and prejudices, it takes on a different level of problem in the face of a world filled with superheroes. For superpowered people who aren’t mutants, you wonder about a couple of things, such as why the general populace even makes a difference and why non-mutant heroes don’t seem to care about mutant prejudice.

That latter one has been approached a few times previously, as recently as this latest volume of Uncanny X-Men, and it always seems strange. It’s like the question that you see raised in Swamp Thing and Marvelman and later The Authority of the realistic application of near limitless god-like powers as a force for change; if you’ve got these powers, why don’t you do something to change the world’s ills?

It really undercuts the heroism of teams like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, because it eliminates them as defenders of a universal justice, but merely teams that fight for the status quo. And so eventually the X-Men get shuffled off to Chandilar.

I think it’s great that House of X #1 goes straight for that jugular. Cyclops’ confrontation with the Fantastic Four beautifully displays his integration and friendliness towards the other heroes, that he’s happy for Ben’s wedding, but still at odds with them when it comes to overall mutant rights. Including those of Sabretooth, who admittedly just robbed a place and probably killed a few dozen people. So, it’s not like the Fantastic Four are in the wrong in trying to apprehend Sabretooth, but it’s reinforcing bits of the laws of the state versus possible ethical or moral concerns.

This scene also reminds us that mutants are everywhere. They can be anyone within society, anyone’s husband, wife, mother, father, friend, daughter, family, neighbour...anyone’s son, including Franklin Richards, son to Reed and Sue. It helps underline that compassion, understanding, and fighting for what’s morally right is something that really should be at the forefront here. And that Cyclops and the rest of Xavier’s new nation of Krakoa are making it known that they’re not going to accept the intolerance any more.

It’s also interesting the incorporation of the broader Marvel Universe as a catalyst for this confrontation in that Sabretooth, Mystique, and Toad were stealing information from Damage Control. It’s a neat bit of the shared universe and presents something potentially nefarious about Damage Control appropriating broken Stark and Richards tech. Though, we are left wondering, what did they steal?

SEVEN | Nothing As It Seems

One of the central themes we’re presented with in the ambassadors’ tour through Krakoa as led by Magneto is that nothing is quite as it seems. It’s even mentioned explicitly through the dialogue when the ambassadors are discussing the deal as lain out by Xavier. Worrying about the drugs, but even more about the amnesty. The terms of the amnesty aren’t actually stated here, but the gist seems to be that all mutants, criminal or otherwise, need to be set free (and presumably allowed passage to one of the gateways to Krakoa), if the country is to take part in the life-saving drug aspect.

Now, there’s an in-story payoff to the ambassadors statement, in that they’re all plants of one form or another, working for different organizations in order to gain information or surveillance on one thing or another and in Magneto’s ulterior motive for gathering them, but it feeds back into that tingling suspicion from the first page.

Something feels off. Something feels wrong. But that could well be the point. The seeds of doubt may well be planted intentionally for Xavier’s plan and the appearances of the characters. It could well be that we’re supposed to think that something hinky is going on, just to keep us in suspense. And that everything we’re seeing, everything we’re being told, really is the truth.

CONCLUSION | A More Perfect Union

As I said previously, House of X #1 exceeded my expectations.

Hickman, Larraz, Gracia, Cowles, and Muller came together to produce what is one of the most exciting and intriguing first issues that I’ve read in a very long time. Every single element from dialogue to line art, colour to letters, to cover to design gels into one massive stroke of storytelling. Every single thing within the comic adds another layer to immerse yourself into this brave new world of mutant merriment.

This is an incredible start to this new era and I am very excited to see what comes next week in Powers of X #1. Especially in how it relates back to House of X #1. These issues are apparently meant to be paired, but how exactly remains to be seen. I find that interesting, since PoX is apparently set in a different time frame.

d. emerson eddy is not an island.

[letterboxd]

Play.

“When something is cute, it puts the audience at ease, and that builds the horror more.”

We talk to the team behind a new reboot of the 80s horror classic Child’s Play.

The new Child’s Play reboot is unique among reboots in that the series it is rebooting remains an ongoing concern. The original Child’s Play came out in 1988 and spawned no fewer than six sequels. Although the last two skipped theaters to be released straight to home entertainment platforms, the series has maintained an admirable level of quality and consistency thanks to the continued presence of original screenwriter Don Mancini, who wrote all seven movies and directed the last three.

He’s currently putting together a Chucky television show that continues the often innovative mythology of the features. But in one of those only-in-Hollywood situations, two separate companies currently own the rights to make Child’s Play films, and Mancini has nothing to do with the new film, which puts a modern spin on the Chucky story.

When the reboot was announced, Mancini threw a little shade on the film, apparently (and understandably) concerned that it would muddy the waters around his upcoming TV show.

Jennifer Tilly, who voiced Chucky’s girlfriend Tiffany in the gonzo fourth movie, Bride of Chucky, and co-starred as herself in the meta fifth movie, Seed of Chucky, also expressed her displeasure with the remake.

Mancini appears to have declined an executive producer credit on the new film, which was shepherded into existence by the top studio horror producers of the moment: Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg, who were also behind the insanely successful It and its upcoming sequel.

You wouldn’t know it from the original film’s poster, which seems positively ashamed of the film it was selling, but the conceit at the heart of the 1988 film existed as a direct response to heavily marketed dolls of the era such as Teddy Ruxpin and the Cabbage Patch Kids. The new film updates Chucky’s origin so that it similarly reflects a heavily marketed contemporary product: smart toys.

While the original Brad Dourif-voiced Chucky was, sorry, is a talking doll who became possessed by the soul of a serial killer, the new Chucky is an artificially-intelligent robot friend who turns murderous when his programming is tampered with. And he’s voiced by Mark Hamill.

Aubrey Plaza (Ingrid Goes West) stars in the film as Karen, a single mom who takes home a returned Chucky from the big-box store where she works and gifts it to her son Andy, played by Gabriel Bateman (who previously encountered a sinister doll in Annabelle).

Norwegian filmmaker Lars Klevberg directed the new Child’s Play, which was written by Tyler Burton Smith. Klevberg’s American feature debut, Polaroid (an expansion of his own 2015 Norwegian short), has yet to be released in the States due to the Weinstein Company’s ongoing problems.

Letterboxd caught up with Plaza, Bateman, Klevberg and Smith at this year’s Wondercon.

Aubrey Plaza as Karen and Gabriel Bateman as Andy.

What was your reaction when you were offered this film? Aubrey Plaza (Karen): I was so honored that they thought I could pull that character off and took a chance on me and, I dunno… Chucky is an iconic character in the history of film so I feel really lucky to be a part of it. I’m really excited about that.

I play a woman named Karen Barclay who is a single mom. Her son is named Andy and she’s kind of a young mom doing the best she can and struggling a bit but trying to provide for her son. She ends up giving Andy a toy for his birthday that starts to try to kill everybody, so… but Karen thinks that her son is kind of losing his mind. So she’s going through a lot.

And Chucky was on set while you were filming? AP: Oh yes, we did a lot of things practically, so the doll was there at all times.

What do you think fans of the original should expect from the new Child’s Play? AP: I think they should expect a total re-imagining of this character. I think the whole idea behind it is: how could Chucky be relevant right now? And the idea of making Chucky a smart doll is kind of brilliant and it’s a cool way to bring Chucky back into the theaters, you know? And show a whole new generation of people how terrifying that doll can be.

Is it tough making something that is cute also scary? Tyler Burton Smith (screenwriter): I think in some ways when something is cute or funny, it puts the audience at ease in a way, because they feel like it’s safe and I think in some ways that builds the horror more. When you feel safe with a character or with a product or with a thing, seeing that transform into something dark is a lot easier. Because you’re put at ease and then you’re fighting against that. So I think that’s kind of a fun dynamic shift in a way.

‘Child’s Play’ director Lars Klevberg (left) with cinematographer Brendan Uegama.

This is an R-rated horror with kids in peril—is it tricky to know how far to go with that? Lars Klevberg (director): Well, there are different levels, when you’re making a movie, of how far you wanna push it. When you’re dealing with a Child’s Play movie, when you introduce Chucky as a toy, of course there will be kids involved. We bumped up the age a little bit on this one, which I think was a smart move. Andy’s no longer eight, he’s thirteen. But we’re dealing with a movie that takes an object that everybody loves—a doll, a toy—which is in many ways when you’re young, it’s kind of your safe spot. And you turn that around and what you love and trust in your fantasy world when you’re young turns against you, so suddenly your fantasy world becomes very very real and that’s interesting.

Screenwriter Tyler Burton Smith.

This is a separate project to the original Chucky franchise, which is still going. How did having the original creator of Chucky vocalize his opposition to this film affect you, if at all? TBS: We love the original Child’s Play. We love Don Mancini. I grew up on Child’s Play, it’s just an awesome movie and we wanna make the best version of that possible. It’s unfortunate that he’s not more involved in this movie. It would’ve been amazing to work with him on this, but we love Child’s Play as a whole, we love him and just wanna make the best version of a Child’s Play film possible.

LK: With something like this, it’s an iconic IP, of course you think about it, but you get the script and you read the script and you connect to the story and the characters and for me as a director that’s where it starts. And you have to be able to separate that and just focus on what’s there on the page, which we did. Tyler has a big brain, and he was able to get in a lot of those things that made the first one successful. I kind of jumped on and went back and watched all the movies and I was amazed by how the atmosphere was still there.

What do you think the key differences are in this version? TBS: A big part of it is the doll in the original film was just a stationary doll that you played with and it had these lines that it would say, but otherwise it was just a doll. The idea of updating that and asking what this toy would be now, or five years from now in the future, the idea of a different kind of product that is more technologically advanced was definitely kind of at the heart of it, but definitely keeping a lot of the elements that made the original great.

When I figured out the direction they wanted to go I thought it was a great balance of being a tribute to the original and doing something new with the franchise at the same time. It wasn’t just an excuse to remake a movie, it felt like a lot of people who loved the original who wanted to do an awesome reinvention of that concept. I was a bit nervous at first, but once we found the direction for it, I was really excited. I think we found a cool fresh take on that film.

Gabriel Bateman as Andy in ‘Child’s Play’ (2019).

You dealt with practical Chucky dolls on set—did you ever get concerned they might turn on you? Gabriel Bateman (Andy): No, not really. I don’t know how much I can say but the animatronic dolls don’t really have all that much motion. But I mean, when I’m actually filming and the cameras are rolling, I feel afraid, because I’m trying to be the character, but as soon as the cameras cut, it’s the same.

You’ve been in a lot of horror, but you’re totally a kid. Have you ever seen any of the horror stuff that you’ve been in? GB: I don’t think there’s ever been something that I didn’t watch that I was in. I think I’ve watched everything.

Were you excited about the idea of being in a remake of Child’s Play? GB: I kind of figured out that it was Child’s Play from the [audition] side, so I watched it pretty early on, but I was really excited. A lot of my family were fans of the original trilogy before, so I was always familiar with it. So yeah, I was definitely excited.

What do you think Child’s Play fans will make of the film? GB: We’re not trying to take away from the original in any way. It’s just a re-imagination of Chucky as a character, so I just hope people can enjoy it as its own film, without comparing to the original.

‘Child's Play’ will be in theaters on June 20.

[seriouslycromulent]

(Lengthy) Thoughts on Fantastic Beasts 2: Crimes of Grindelwald

I don’t really plan to write a full review of FB2, but since I said I was more excited for it than Widows, Aquaman, and Bohemian Rhapsody, it feels wrong not to share some general thoughts on the second installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. 

Especially since I just got back from seeing it a second time in the theater.

As usual, I haven’t read any reviews, nor do I plan to. I think I’ve established by now I don’t care what critics think. Never have. The only opinion that truly matters in how I view any work of art or entertainment is mine, so if you’re mostly expecting to see me repeat or refute any critics’ opinion of the film here, you might want to keep scrolling. (I address a few at the end. But it’s very cursory.)

Anyway, here are some of my reactions to FB2. And yes, there are spoilers below. I tried to keep them vague as to not give too much away, but I was not as successful in doing so as I might have hoped. You’ve been warned.

And away we go ...

Overall, I enjoyed the film greatly. It didn’t give me the warm fuzzies at the end that the first FB did, but it’s not supposed to. It’s not the first chapter that kicks off the story. It’s the next chapter that leads us down the darker path in the tale that introduces us to true struggle and turmoil that we’re going to have to deal with through the remaining 3 films.

It’s not meant to be shiny. It’s not meant to be sweet. But it is meant to present us with a few twists, turns, and new information to keep us invested in the story. And with that in mind, I was not at all disappointed.

I don’t know if I’ve communicated this yet, but I truly love the look of Fantastic Beasts in general. The 1920s is one of my favorite eras when it comes to design and history. From fashion to automobiles to architecture to hairstyles to music to literature to advancements in technology, etc., I think it’s a very underrated era when it comes to human ingenuity and cultural significance. And to set the second film in 1920s’ Paris was just brilliant. In the first film, I got to enjoy the ‘20s of New York, but now we get a splash of NYC and London, but mostly Paris as our backdrop, and the visual design and production were even more amazing.

I was nervous that they were going to use Leta Lestrange to drive a wedge between Newt and Tina, and even though they sort of did, I was happy to see it was a bit of a red herring. And she was never any real threat to Newt and Tina. Crappy love triangle averted!

Now with that out of the way, I really did feel sorry for Leta. Once we learn her backstory, it all comes together and makes sense. When she says the line, “Newt, you never met a monster you couldn’t love,” I was shook by the accuracy of that.

Newt was probably drawn to that ever-present, misunderstood sadness in Leta that he quite honestly sees in Tina as well. I like Tina, but she does have her terminal anxiety covered by that fake-it-til-you-make confidence that allows Newt to see a bit of himself in her. And I think in no small part, plays a role in their attraction to one another.

I do find it unfortunate that I’m seeing so many people rush to show concern for Queenie’s character and express empathy for her, wanting to protect that character going forward, but I see so little of that consideration and empathy shown toward Leta. Which is ... telling.

While we’re also on Leta Lestrange, I was pleasantly surprised by Zoe Kravitz’s performance. I’ve been a bit hard on her for the past year or so. Not because I don’t like her, but because, frankly, I’ve yet to see her deliver a great acting performance worthy of all the love and praise she gets from fans. I feel like most people just like her because of who her parents are, and they want to see her succeed in Hollywood because of it. But she’s yet to really impress me with her acting at all. I’m not saying she’s changed my mind entirely in FB2, but this performance was definitely one of her better and stronger ones. So kudos to her.

Now I’m not disappointed in terms of performance, but a part of me is really annoyed by Queenie in this. I get that she wants to marry Jacob, and the Ministry in America says no, but what was she thinking in enchanting Jacob?! Like he said, when was she going to wake up him? After they were married and had 5 kids? Come on, Queenie! How was that the answer to your problem?

Yes, I’m upset she joined the dark side in the end. But I’m trying to be understanding because Grindelwald is making some enticing points on why people should join him. For Queenie, she thinks that if Majs are in charge, they can get rid of this silly rule about who can marry whom. But at the same time, she knows Grindelwald is dangerous. Does she think Majs will gain control over the No-Majs without casualties? Does she even care? And with her telepathic abilities, she’s going to make Grindelwald a powerful operative -- as we saw in the end when he asked her about Credence’s mental state. Damn it, Queenie! Why did you have go to the dark side?!

It does make me wonder: If Queenie had known what Grindelwald had done to the family that originally lived in that Paris apartment, would she still have joined him? Is she willing to see innocents killed (even children) in the name of creating Maj rule just so she can marry Jacob?

Also, can someone explain to me why it was OK for Queenie to call Jacob a coward -- especially since we know he fought in the war -- but it wasn’t OK for him to think she was crazy? Why is she allowed to insult him, but he’s not allowed to insult her? Again, she annoyed me with this.

Going back to the look of the film, I not only enjoyed the production design, but I also loved the many special effects. From the Kappa (the Japanese water demon in the tub at the circus) to whatever that giant deer with the enormous jaw Newt was feeding in his lab to the Zouwu (the giant Chinese New Year dragon-meets-Falcor from Neverending Story creature) to the simple stone statue of the woman in Paris who hid the underground entrance, I thought most of the special effects were ... well, quite fantastic.

The only effect that threw me at all were the protective felines, Matagots, at the French Ministry. They not only looked disturbing, but they also didn’t look real enough. They almost felt like they stepped out of a video game. And not one of today’s video games either, but one from like 2013. Perhaps it was intentional because they’re meant to be a bit surreal with their huge eyeballs, but I’m afraid that also made them appear just a tad less believable. Which is odd considering all the things we’ve seen in the Potterverse that skirts the concept of realistic. Oh well. It wasn’t enough to make me dislike the other special effects, so I’ll shrug it off.

Shallow moment reveal: I want Tina Goldstein’s leather trench coat and I don’t even wear leather.

I adore Jacob Kowalski. That is all. Change nothing about him. 

I love that their solution to showing Young Dumbledore even younger is to remove the strands of gray he has from his beard. 

This is going to sound odd, but Callum Turner’s face is perfect for this film. Why? Because he has that classic bone structure we used to see all the time in old films from the 1920s and 30s. Seriously, put a straw boater hat on Theseus and give him a bamboo cane, and he looks like he walked out of the background of a Buster Keaton movie. Maybe it’s just the combined effect of the movie’s setting and wardrobe. Maybe it’s the fact that Callum’s skin is so damn tight across his cheekbones he looks like if he sneezes, he’s going to rip his jawline from the bone. I don’t know. But I do know that he has the perfect face for this film.

When I heard that J.K. mirrored Grindelwald’s speech at the cemetery after some of the things Hitler used to say in his speeches, I knew he was going to be a great villain. In the first Fantastic Beasts, Grindelwald is really just a boogie man. What we know of him is more in relation to how people react to him. Even when it’s revealed that he was wearing a Percival Graves-glamour to hide while doing his dirty work, we still don’t truly see him as the dangerous menace that he is. In that respect, he was a man seeking power (and Credence) to get his ultimate plan underway. The rest are newspaper headlines.

But to see Grindelwald talk to his minions in the Paris apartment and at the cemetery with such effortless manipulation was somewhat jarring. Especially when you think of present day parallels with the rise of more authoritarian regimes around the world. Grindelwald uses seductive language to coax his followers into believing their desires are born from love and a need for safety, not born from hate and fear. He tells them that No-Majs are not worthless, but simply of “other value.” He softens the declaration of war by painting what could be an impending genocide by insisting it’s for the betterment of all mankind. 

This is a villain for a story written for adults. Voldemort is for children. He doesn’t get the window-dressing and subtlety of true real-life villainy. Grindelwald, on the other hand, can exist in our world today. Voldemort cannot.

Now I’m aware that a lot of people are talking about the reveal regarding Credence’s lineage -- which was the truth bomb that left quite a few people stunned while the credits rolled. Understandably. But until I see someone piece together a theory on how Credence can be a Dumbledore (although it would lend itself to explaining his Obscurial nature), I’m inclined to believe that Grindelwald was just lying through his teeth.

When he says that the Phoenix comes to Dumbledore family members in their time of need, why did the bird that Credence was nursing suddenly transform into one? At that moment in time, Credence was not in his most need. Why wouldn’t the Phoenix have shown up in New York prior to Newt’s visit? Why didn’t the Phoenix show up after Credence had gone ballistic and ripped up half of NYC and retreated into the subway? 

Hopefully, at some point in the next film, Credence will question Grindelwald and demand some sort of proof. But even if he does, I can see Grindelwald manufacturing something semi-credible to manipulate Credence further. We’ll have to wait and see.

One of my favorite lines: The line where Dumbledore says he and Grindelwald were more than brothers ... I see what you did there, J.K. ... I see what you did there. ;-)

You know what I want for this film series now? More Nicolas Flamel in future FB films. :-)

I also want more Dumbledore, but I suspect that wish will be easily granted as the series continues. And if we can have more Dumbledore with Grindelwald, I would like to order that as well.

I’m not sure of the name of the actor who played a young Newt Scamander in the Hogwarts flashback scenes, but wow! Talk about matching the perfect youngun’ to the right adult actor. That kid was completely believed as a young Newt. Hell, he’d be believable as a young Eddie Redmayne.

Notice how when Credence goes to Grindelwald in the cemetery, he puts his head on Grindelwald’s shoulder? He did it just like he did when Credence thought Grindelwald was Graves. It was a nice, but subtle callback to the connection these two formed -- even if temporary -- in the first film. And back then, Grindelwald was manipulating him just like he is manipulating him now, by filling a void disguised as love, affection and genuine concern. And Credence is still susceptible because he’s spent most of his life devoid of that.

Although I feel like he would have shown more hesitation at the idea of leaving Nagini behind. But maybe he figured since this is what they were working toward all along, she might understand with time.

I did see some people complain about the exposition scene where we learn of Leta’s secret, Yousef’s oath, and Credence’s connection to the Lestrange family. I thought they did a wonderful job getting the audience through that level of detail without making it boring. You hear a narration, but the visuals communicate the story perfectly. For such a tragic tale to be included in a film where some may think it’s all about love stories and magic wands, I appreciate the inclusion of how evil like Grindelwald’s exists in every generation. And its lasting effects helped create the situation everyone is struggling with in this current story. That is some expert-level storytelling.

Can I just say I love the relationship between Newt and Theseus? It’s not perfect, but it’s not mean-spirited. When Newt says, “This is probably the greatest moment of my life,” after Tina uses her wand to tie Theseus to a chair so they can escape, you can see that these two brothers have had a bit of a rivalry in the past, but you also see love there in the beginning when Theseus warns Newt that the ministry is watching him. And when Theseus is heartbroken after Leta tries to take down Grindelwald, that hug from Newt with the line, “I’ve chosen a side,” really says it all about their relationship. They’re brothers who love each other, even if at times, like many brothers, they don’t always like each other.

It was sad to see the poor Niffler get hurt because of the whole blue fire scene, but it’s also awesome that he snagged Grindelwald’s keepsake. One of the trailers said “No nifflers were harmed in the making of this movie.” Better not be. ;-)

OK. I think that’s all I have for now in terms of original reflections on the film. I’m sure more will come to me as I am exposed to other’s feedback. Like I said, I don’t read reviews. But I do hear different things being uttered by others on social media and in casual conversations. And to that, I say this: I’ve yet to hear one complaint about this film that I agree with. Not. One.

For example:

I don’t agree with the complaint that it had too much plot. (What the f*ck does that even mean?!)

I don’t agree that Queenie was acting out of character. (How is that possible if the person who created the character wrote her doing those things in the script? Not liking what a person does is not the same as acting out of character.)

I don’t agree that J.K. didn’t do a good job with the screenplay. A) She wrote the screenplay for the first one, and B) That’s utter bullsh*t because your desire to not think when you go into a cinema doesn’t have to translate into a script that caters to your desire to not think.

Johnny Depp did a phenomenal job, as expected. And no. He should absolutely not be replaced or recast.

And no. Leta Lestrange was not a disappointment. Quite the opposite.

I try to stay away from reviews, because mainly, I enjoy thinking for myself. So I honestly don’t know what all the critics are saying. All I keep hearing is that the movie is getting “mixed reviews.” So clearly some people like it. While others don’t.

I don’t know what others were looking for, but I do know that this film was exactly what the next act in this story should be. I look at Fantastic Beasts like a 5-act play. The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second act, and it did what a second act should do. The second act introduces a significant complication, develops the primary and secondary characters’ personalities further, and increases the action on all fronts in the plot. 

I think it’s unfortunate that some critics (and perhaps fans) thought that they were going to walk out of FB2 feeling the same way they did when they walked out of FB. And I can’t help but feel that some of the criticism being lobbed at J.K. has more to do with trying to take her down a peg and attempting to find a flaw in her skillset than it is about a genuine critique about what appears on the screen in Fantastic Beasts 2.

I don’t support mindless entertainment. I don’t even want my cartoons and action films to be mindless. It’s a sad state when we see critics demanding films cater to the lowest level of attention spans and depth. And I’m happy to see J.K. not give over to that idea.

As I said in the beginning, I enjoyed the film greatly -- enough to see it twice in 4 days. So you’ll likely see me praising the movie as much as the previous one until the next chapter (or Act 3) is ready for me to enjoy.

[a-travels]

taken: 22 dec, 2019 AMC 34th Street 14, Manhattan, NY

this is where the fun begins

Yes, I’m going to do a review of the new Star Wars movie. 

Personally, I hate reading a review and reading endless fluff to hear their thoughts on a movie. So upfront, I did not like this movie at all, perhaps not entirely evidenced by the jubilant nature of this picture, but my views, nonetheless. If you want to stop reading, then by all means please do. This is unsurprisingly my longest post to date, and probably will be for some time so I don’t blame you if you don’t want to read through the text equivalent of a grown man crying.

I don’t know if I represent the classic Star Wars fan or not, but I think it makes more sense to hear my review with some context of my relationship with this franchise. 

Perhaps contrary to popular belief, I did not grow up a Star Wars kid. I was certainly aware of the franchise and knew the famous aspects of it. I knew about Darth Vader and lightsabers, I knew about the “I am your father” moment and the Force. I saw Episode III in theatres in 2005 and remember the Anakin and Obi-wan fight, but was asleep for most of the movie. Since then I had somehow seen all of the 6 movies and knew the basic story of the movies, but never had any deep interest in the lore like I do now. My story with Star Wars began in high school, watching the Clone Wars television show. I won’t bore you with how much I loved that show, but it really exposed me to the vastness of the galaxy, the deep emotional storytelling that Star Wars really built its core fanbase on. I found myself connecting to the characters and really encouraged the inner fanboy to latch on to every minuscule detail of the lore and finding the connections to the movies. Needless to say, it was what really awakened (no pun intended) my passion for this franchise and really recontextualized the prequels and original trilogy for me in a new and exciting way. I think it all culminated in this perfect storm before 2015 before The Force Awakens (TFA) came out in 2015 and with general fan fervor at an all-time high. It was a good time to be a Star Wars fan. 

Episode VII hits and fans are generally happy. It wasn’t perfect mind you, it felt like a retread, some iffy story points, but overall very satisfying and for many a return to “feeling like Star Wars”, which for many was distinctly absent from the prequels because it was so different. Rogue One was also positively received as well in 2016. I happen to like both of these movies as well. 

And then 2017 hits with Episode VIII, The Last Jedi. 

I won’t ramble too much about this movie, because I know this is something that divides a lot of people. I think most people in my sphere did actually enjoy this movie. It’s not a perfect movie, and I think everyone (including supporters like myself) would admit that. But for me, this movie recaptured that spark of surprise and wonder that really made me fall in love with this franchise to begin with. By all means, this is an unconventional Star Wars movie: the original hero (Luke) is a jaded cynical man, the whole B-plot is the world's slowest chase sequence, and plot-wise, very little actually happens. I think where this movie really sings was in its attempt to really focus on character and bring something new to Star Wars. It asked questions about the power structure of Star Wars, namely the force, and had you question its workings, matching the cynicism of Luke, but in turn making your conviction in it that much stronger, just like what happened with Luke and when he comes back and has that incredible Kurosawa-esque fight with Kylo on Crait. I think a lot of people who think of this franchise, fans especially, have such a fixed idea of what this movie and franchise should be, that anything that seems to deviate or challenge that can seem honestly jarring in some ways. It’s why the Holiday Special is reviled because coming right off the original movie, people didn’t still have that sense of what made Star Wars, Star Wars; but when people saw it, they knew that wasn’t it. It’s why people hated the prequels (at first) because rather than seeing a hero’s journey, good versus evil and more, you got clunky dialogue, droll politics, seemingly-idiotic and childish characters, and wooden acting. For all the wrong the prequels did, and the criticism it (rightfully) deserved, the prequels had a story to tell and told us something new (albeit in a largely ham-fisted way). Keep the prequels in mind because I’ll be touching back on it.

I’m going to be upfront, I’m writing this bit now almost two months after I started this post and saw the movie. All the stuff above this was from then, but I’ve really just taken a break to just let my thoughts congeal more on this movie because I was just in a bit of shock coming out of it. To be honest, I still can’t tell you my thoughts on this movie are fully formed, but I do think I’m finally ready to express my thoughts on this movie in some sort of coherent manner.

If it isn’t obvious, my review is obviously going to be colored by my view of this franchise. You are entitled to your own view on this franchise and view on this movie. Also, I have tried to link the deeper lore information with articles in this review. The links are the underlined words so feel free to check them out. Anyways, here we go.

So, I didn’t like the movie then; but having thought about now for two months, this film just makes me angrier and sadder with every passing thought. For me, this movie is not only a betrayal of the past two movies which I enjoyed but honestly a betrayal of the whole franchise which I love so much. There was an excellent video I just watched and I think it accurately sums up my views on this movie quite well. But this movie for me can be summed up in four words: unearned, unsatisfying, wasted potential. I think it makes the most sense to unpack this movie with those four words because, to be honest, I could go on for hours on this movie, and I think any of you who know me, know I could, but still probably will.

Unearned. 

This movie touts itself as an ending, holding all the answers to the questions we started off with from VII, and arguably, from I-VI. I was nervous when it was announced that the king of the mystery box, the notorious reviver and rebooter of franchises, J.J. Abrams, was tasked to not only write an ending but answer all these questions, many of which he set up. Seeing the ire he caused in the Star Trek community after Star Trek: Into Darkness, I can’t say I was all too shocked to see that these answers (among the few we actually got) unfolded in ways that made little to no sense with the story we were set up with. 

Let’s start off with the big one, (oh yeah also this post is going to be spoilerific. I’d say don’t read if you haven’t seen it, but frankly I don’t care if you just read this, don’t see it and just save yourself the time) Rey Palpatine, or Rey Skywalker?? Yeah, I have problems with both in massive, massive ways. But let’s tackle these one by one. Rey is our hero of this trilogy, a character we are introduced to, who we are told and who herself thinks is nobody, is whisked away on this journey on a story much bigger than her. Nothing new here, this is just Luke as a girl so far. Episode VII goes out of its way to seed us with this one big question: who is Rey? Our extensive Wookiepedia-esque knowledge of Star Wars dictates to us that, based on precedent, if she is the main character, she has to be someone we know. Anakin was our prequel protagonist and was related to Luke, maybe she’s related to Luke? That was what we wanted to know going out of VII and into VIII. So what do we see in Episode VIII? Rey struggles with trying to figure out who she is, “trying to find her place” and even dabbles with the dark side of the force in her “limited” training to try to uncover who she is. And what was the answer: she’s no one. A shock to the system. Impossible! How can this be? A protagonist this powerful is a nobody? She’s too overpowered! No force user with that little training could be that strong. But is it really that shocking? The Skywalkers started off as a family of nobodies. Shmi was a slave. Anakin was a child without a father, albeit with some freaky immaculate conception circumstances, but in all other senses, unremarkable and inconspicuous. The same could be said about Rey. And honestly, was it really all that surprising? The trailer we saw at Star Wars Celebration 2015 literally starts off with Maz asking Rey “Who are you?” and her replying “I’m no one.” I know a bunch of people were not so happy with Rey already being so force-sensitive and powerful, essentially being a “Mary Sue” character despite having no important lineage or bloodline. But to me, the democratization of the force was something that really intrigued me and seemed to set the stage for a new era of Star Wars, maybe with a new set of movies based on Rey’s lineage, the Rey Saga or something. This was an idea we saw with broom boy at the end of VIII, which fits with what we already know about the galaxy, that everyone is born with the force but some kids are force-sensitive, and that he could be among the next generation of “Jedi” or force users. And then IX comes and tells us, nope it was just Palpatine’s granddaughter. Where was that evidence (and do not point me to that fan theory video where some guy on YouTube who says that)? Where in any of the prior movies did we get any remote inkling of Rey’s connection at all to Palpatine? Hell, where was the hint that Palpatine was remotely involved with any of the scheming going on in VII and VIII? Even in the prequels, we got hints that Anakin would turn to evil (fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering). Well I can tell you having scrutinized those prior two films myself, there was never any seeds of Palpatine’s presence. It was something just brought in because “OOO a name I recognize of a powerful force user.” How that happened, what that means for the story beats of her being no one in those other two movies, “Eh, just don’t worry about those, this is how it is”. Unearned. And oh boy, Rey Skywalker. Let’s talk about this in the context of Episode IX logic, apart from the logic I already presented, that the prior movies very clearly seem to imply Rey is a nobody. Episode IX is a movie about Rey ultimately discovering who she is, and how when she finds out her lineage, how she eschews her “nature” and stands for good and righteousness in the galaxy because she isn’t defined by a name or bloodline. Even beyond that, we’re told she’s nobody because her parents “chose to be nobodies” and didn’t want to be defined by the name of the reviled megalomaniac of the galaxy. Great! So, wouldn’t it be interesting to see our character find strength in herself and set aside the dumb importance of name and legacy (letting the past die 😉) and honor her parents by choosing to be nobody herself? She buries Luke’s and Leia’s lightsabers on Tatooine (a planet that Luke hated by the way and Leia was on for maybe a few hours or days as a slave to a fat, gross, giant slug in a metal bikini and has no attachment to, a planet with no significance to Rey either) and is somehow asked randomly by this traveler “who are you”, who isn’t satisfied when she gives her name as “Rey”. Forgive me for being nit-picky here, but how weird is it to force a conversation to ask someone their last name randomly, especially when there are TONS of creatures in the galaxy with one-name names. Somehow, a vision of Luke and Leia is enough to convince her she is now a Skywalker, because....force ghosts, Tatooine, Twin Suns, Binary Sunset music, nostalgia-porn. Where in the hell does it make any sense that she adopts the name of Skywalker? How? Because it doesn’t make sense, because it is unearned. Nothing about her “choosing” to be a Skywalker jives with the internal logic this movie sets out, much less the logical flow of the prior eight movies as a whole.

What about Reylo. Oh boy. This is something I know a select few of my friends actually liked. Yes, I concede there was some sexual tension between Rey and Kylo in Episode VIII, but I do not think they were setting them up to be a thing. Kylo is a character who murdered his own father in cold blood, and then murdered his own master (Snoke). This entire time, we are led to believe Snoke is manipulating Kylo and his conflict isn’t given room to settle because its forced one way over the other. Now, Snoke is dead and Kylo is relinquished of this external force telling him what to do, and he still chose to be evil and rule the galaxy, despite Rey’s pleas to join her on the light. Any and all hope to redeem him in my eyes, vanished in that moment. Yes, Anakin fell to the dark side and did some terrible things, but he never was irredeemable because there was someone above him pulling the strings and orchestrating it all. This is a key story structure that makes us as an audience believe that is because of how our villains were set up. In these movies, you have your big bad villain, and then your sub-villain. The sub-villain is usually redeemable but is often dispensable, while the big bad villain is simply the embodiment of evil and can only be destroyed, not redeemed. The sub-villain is sympathetic because you get the sense they are being manipulated or played like a puppet, always leaving room to be redeemed or free themselves, if they can be free of those shackles. That is the nature of the relationship between Palpatine and Darth Vader, and that was the nature of the relationship between Snoke and Kylo Ren. The difference now is Kylo kills Snoke in VIII instead of IX and has now an entire other movie to live with the consequences. He is free of those shackles, and yet he still chooses to be evil. Rey’s connection through “force-time” was her connection to Kylo and her attempt to turn him. She literally leaves her training with Luke because she believes that, only to find Kylo betray her faith in him. Rey acknowledges he cannot be saved, and literally closes the door on Kylo, accepting he is now fully gone. Tell me, how does closing the literal and metaphorical door on someone who has murdered his own father, killed hundreds of innocent people, was given the full free choice to be good and choose evil, lead to love? Because it’s unearned. And frankly, their interactions in Episode IX doesn’t really do much to change that either. Kylo Ren is still moody and literally acts as a constant source of opposition to Rey, with little to actually show their relationship is romantic in any way. Oh yeah, but somehow getting stabbed by a girl and getting healed from almost dying really is such a turn on. I’m sorry, but it’s just unearned. (Hello from even further in the future, I am now writing this in April with updates to this bit. The novelization of Episode IX revealed that their kiss wasn’t romantic, in fact. They gave us this: “His [Kylo’s] heart was full as Rey reached for his face, let her fingers linger against his cheek. And then, wonder of wonders, she leaned forward and kissed him. A kiss of gratitude, acknowledgement of their connection, celebration that they’d found each other at last.” I don’t know what the hell is going on in Lucasfilm, but this is much, MUCH worse. Just a few months back, J.J. said their relationship was a “brother-sister” thing in a romantic way but not really. Can we go back to a half-baked romance again, please? Also, they revealed that Rey’s dad is failed clone of Palpatine.). 

Now, let’s talk about Palpatine himself. “The dead speak” “Somehow, Palpatine has returned.” Yeah so this is the big, big leap this movie asks you to take right from the get-go. I understood a lot of the trepidation around bringing back Palps back, mostly surrounding the fear that his return invalidates the sacrifice Anakin/Vader make at the end of Episode VI, bringing balance to the force, mortally electrocuting himself in the process saving his son out of love. I understood the concern, but I had enjoyed the first two films in the sequel and I’m always willing to give a movie a shot in the theater. As long as they explained his return in a satisfying manner, I’d be in. Once the lights dim, the Star Wars logo pops up and you hear John Williams triumphant score, regardless of the drama and bad press, everyone always starts with a clean slate. And then, of course, we get no explanation as to why he’s back beyond a cheeky quip from the prequels “The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.” Har har, +100 nostalgia, much memes. 

Yeah it just boggles my mind that the head villain, that for six movies our protagonists tried to defeat and who we thought was defeated (and who even the actor, Ian McDiarmid thought was dead), somehow came back to life. He was thrown down an energy shaft, and vaporized. Then the space station in which he was thrown down is subsequently destroyed and atomized, and somehow, we’re told he comes back to life. Perhaps the casual audience wouldn’t remember or notice or care, but beyond the fans, and anyone following a story deserves a little bit more than just a little tease with no actual explanation. For the record, yes, they did explain how Palpatine was saved, but in the visual dictionary, with his body retrieved by Sith Acolytes, brought to Exogol, and revived using “technology and the occult”. Say what you will, but that is not satisfying to me and still begs a better explanation for his return and undercut Kylo’s character progression, invalidating his choice to be bad without being beholden to anyone. Kylo was not going to be redeemed, and then Disney gave him a get-out-of-jail-free-card by putting him under the shadow of “the real villain” so that his redemption “made sense”. Except, it made no sense to randomly introduce a more powerful villain. It was narrative cheating and it was unearned to see Palpatine back, and eventually, Kylo/Ben redeemed because of it. It just is not good enough. I think more heinous for me, is that this move inarguably undoes the work of the past 6 movies. In the effort to create this breathing piece of nostalgia and love for George Lucas and the past 42 years of storytelling, it ends up betraying it in perhaps one of the most scathing ways imaginable, unintentional or not. 

(Hi, another update from two-month-future me. The novelization for this movie now revealed that Palpatine’s “essence” is what is alive and is now being transferred into clone bodies, of sorts. Here is the quote: “So the falling, dying Emperor called on all the dark power of the Force to thrust his consciousness far, far away, to a secret place he had been preparing. His body was dead, an empty vessel, long before it hit the bottom of the shaft, and his mind jolted to new awareness in a new body—a painful one, a temporary one.” Yeah, this novelization really isn’t making things better.)

Unsatisfying. 

Admittedly, this is a very subjective metric (though I guess so are the other two descriptors), but satisfaction is a unique experience for each person, more than the other two descriptors. I think one of the worst things a movie can do is be boring, where there is no excitement or energizing quality to a story that there it can’t illicit any emotion out of you. What I think is worse potentially, and what I think is the cardinal sin of this movie, isn’t just the fact this movie was bad, but how it is so far beyond a failure that it has retroactively affected how I view the prior movies now and has diminished their impact on me.

Let’s first talk about its failings as a movie itself. I think when discussing this movie, and this new era of Star Wars, it’s hard not to separate the shift in direction from its new relationship with its new owner, Disney. It’s actually shocking to see how Disney has overall mismanaged this franchise and created such a rift amongst the fandom from the five or so movies it has released over the past four years. This movie more than any other, even more than VII, feels uniquely like a product of corporate intervention and directing, rather than the voice and vision of an auteur. What is now known, is that Disney fired the original director of this movie and scrapped his plans for (in my mind) a far more interesting movie that took the characters and story in brand new directions, paying homage to the past without relying on it, but utilizing it in an effective manner to further the story and plot in a meaningful way. And yes, it importantly kept Rey a “nobody” and it kept Kylo Ren bad and unredeemed, and did not have them kiss. If you want to read more about this, I recommend searching for “Colin Trevorrow Dual of the Fates Script” and you’re bound to find it. I also have the full pdf script of it and would be happy to share it if you would like. I encourage you to read it if you’re interested and form your own opinions on it.

Speaking more to this movie, it objectively had three major goals: wrap up its own three-movie trilogy, wrap up the entire 42-year, nine-film saga, and of course function as its own movie. That is not an easy job by any stretch, and I think any filmmaker would have an incredibly challenging time accomplishing those three tasks, while under the scrutiny of a giant corporation and a rabid fanbase. Except, that is almost exactly the same position George Lucas was in when making his prequel films. Again, I’ll get back to that point in a little bit. I think there could be an argument of cutting this film some slack if it accomplished some of these goals. Maybe this movie didn’t end all nine movies nicely, but at least it worked in its own trilogy? Maybe this movie didn’t end either the trilogy or saga so well, but at least it was a fun movie itself? Somehow, J.J. Abrams and Disney succeeded in fulfilling none of these tasks in my mind. 

Like I mentioned, the Force Awakens is far from a perfect movie, but it too came in with a very similar set of goals, especially being Disney’s first Star Wars movie, those being: 

1. Establish a new story that connects with the prior six films 2. Set up the foundation for a new trilogy that will last the next 4-5 year 3. Reinvigorate the Star Wars fandom and get them excited about the new era of Star Wars entertainment on the way 4. Work as its own movie. 

I think in some ways, these challenges were harder than what Episode IX faced and yet in a lot of ways, it still succeeded in many, if not all of these respects. I think the major failing of Episode VII is its reliance and, often, copying of past story points without much of the finesse in “making it rhyme like poetry” which George Lucas loved to do so much. Episode VII really did reinvigorate the franchise, did introduce us to great cast and characters that left us wanting more from a trilogy, did connect in some satisfying (though sometimes a bit on the nose) ways, and did leave us feeling excited, hopeful and energized with Star Wars. Episode VIII came in and was arguably a lot more disruptive, asking us to challenge what we knew and what we thought we wanted to know and instead posed more basic fundamental questions about the foundations of this story, which I think was an important introspective moment for the saga and this trilogy as the penultimate chapter of both. It had us question the nature of the force, the importance of this “Skywalker” lineage, and the nature of Jedi in this universe where Luke truly is the only one left. It had us question our own conceptions of Luke as a swashbuckling do-no-wrong hero and showed us a more cynical, perhaps jarring, but a realistic Luke that blames himself and his belief in this ancient religion for unleashing Kylo Ren and a new era of darkness upon the galaxy. We also saw how Luke was struggling with how he was roped into this way of life from this old hermit he met for a day or two and then left to navigate reviving the religion of the Jedi on his own. We were also asked to question the nature of the force and whether this sort of power was isolated to a few people and families, or is truly something anyone can have? Again, whether fans agree or not with these story choices or not, The Last Jedi still functions as its own story and does (in my opinion) meaningfully connect to the prior story. Whether fans believe that meaning was eschewing the fabric of Star Wars or whether they believe these challenges strengthened the mythology (like I do), it was still meaningful in that it does draw upon the story from the last movie directly and progress it in some manner (whether a positive manner or not, I’ll let you decide). And regardless of how you like VIII or not, the movie left the door wide open for any kind of story to be told. Our heroes are starting from zero, the villain is now trying to learn the ropes. There is no real cliffhanger of sorts but rather an invitation for total freedom to tell the next story and wrap up this trilogy and saga.

Episode IX unfortunately comes across as one of the laziest ways imaginable to end this nine-story arc. In serving as the final movie of the saga, this movie seemed obsessed with callbacks, and nostalgia plays to remind us of the world we’re in and the “story” we’re watching, rather than relying on the story, character and narrative. I think to a fault, it incorporated elements of past movies, just to say it had it, and in many ways cheapened the overall character or object or story point. I think the biggest example again, is bringing the emperor back, which makes such little sense in the context of what we were presented in the prior two films because it wasn’t ever hinted or ever part of the plan to include him in the first place. The emperor was simply added because of the “nostalgia”. Using the remains of the Death Star on Kef Bir was super cool imagery, but didn’t we already literally see the Death Star completely disintegrated? Na, it’s ok, a huge chunk of the important bit just happened to land here fully intact for our heroes to find. There are many more callbacks in this movie, but almost every one of them, I’m left asking myself: “Why?” “Why did this callback have to be here?” “Could something else achieve the same effect?” Why did Maz give Chewie a Battle of Yavin medal? Why did we go back to Tatooine at the end? More often than not, none of those callbacks had to be there other than to try and excite fans, except doing so in the laziest manner by ultimately pandering. Callbacks are not a bad thing, mind you. Star Wars has been secretly calling back and seeding things in the background for ages, hinting and suggesting to us the vastness of this galaxy in terms of creatures and places. A recent example that comes to mind is Avengers: Endgame, and how it uses callbacks masterfully, calling back not just items and places, but character and relationships. It all works there because everything serves its purpose to drive that story forward in a manner that doesn’t feel cheap but feels necessary and important and something that wouldn’t work otherwise. This movie tried to be like Endgame in that regard but just failed to capitalize effectively on nostalgia and characters in the same way in way to emotionally resonate, but rather elicit a cheap, ephemeral reaction. This was a movie that lived from moment to moment of attempting excitement, but ultimately never establishes a through line for me to care about it as a cohesive piece of a nine-chapter story. 

(For the record, I am writing the rest of what is below in April, like those other parenthetical notes above.)

Beyond just my frustration with callbacks, I ultimately ask myself, “What is the drive of this trilogy? What was it trying to accomplish?” The whole premise of this movie is Palpatine is back and they need to stop him from taking over the galaxy. I’m definitely beating a dead horse, but how does that adequately connect to the goals of Snoke/Kylo from the last two movies? How do our character’s stories culminate and end in this movie, in the context of the prior two films? I’ve already talked a bit about Rey’s story making little sense, but my god did they squander Finn’s character. If you look at the “new” characters from this trilogy, Poe was our Han Solo-eque type, Rey obviously our Luke type, but Finn was someone totally new. The idea of a disillusioned Stormtrooper seemed inspired, a totally different perspective in these Star Wars, a regular grunt who didn’t like the side they were fighting on in this war. For all my love of Episode VIII, that movie did not do much for Finn’s story. In the three years since VIII released, I have increasingly appreciated Finn’s journey in VIII, starting as someone who only cared about himself and Rey, to caring about the overall cause of the resistance. It was intriguing, albeit not executed in the best manner. But I think back to IX and struggle to see what the whole point of his arc was. He was a key fighter, who becomes a leader, and finds a whole group of defected Stormtroopers, but we never explore it. And all the while, he has this “burning secret” he needs to tell Rey and never does, which we find out from press junkets is that he’s supposedly force sensitive. It’s just an absolute mess. Even Poe’s arc seems to revert this movie in some regards, where VIII was all about him learning to not be so trigger-happy and actually thinking through things like a leader, IX is the same story beat about him becoming a leader in the eventual shadow of Leia. The only character who’s arc makes some sense (apart from the nonsensical Reylo kiss), was Kylo Ren, because he seems like the only character JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson somewhat agreed on. It’s why undoubtedly the best scene in this movie was his vision of Han Solo, as a revisit of the original confrontation on Starkiller base where Han died. Even then though, look deeper and you realize Kylo’s arc is also filled with contradictions. 

Perhaps my view is a bit too colored by my view of Episode VIII, but in terms of following the narrative, Kylo was someone who was tired of being beholden to the past and killed Snoke in part as a refutation of the traditional power structure that had held the galaxy. At the end of VIII, he literally tells Luke “I’ll destroy her, and you, and all of it”, being Rey, Luke and all the remnants of this old way of life. Again, whether or not you like that story in VIII, as a storyteller, J.J.’s and Chris Terrio’s jobs were to continue the story in a manner such that there was consistency to the through lines. On the face of it, Kylo’s actions make some sense, again because I think there was some general agreement on him.  Think deeper and you realize this is someone who refuted his past, his “destiny” and decided to choose his own path, only to inexplicably come back to his past again. If he wanted to come back to his past, that should have been seeded in VIII, where the conflict still existed. Rey felt this conflict and that’s why she went to try and redeem Kylo. But, once she is with him in the throne room, Snoke articulates how he now senses Kylo’s resolve where there was once conflict. Kylo made his choice, and we bring back up again the idea that he’s conflicted simply because Disney wanted Kylo to be redeemed. It’s lazy and its narrative cheating.

I will say, I know some Episode VIII supporters were unhappy with Luke’s portrayal in this movie and were quick to jump and say how J.J. “undid” Rian’s take on Luke. Luke is actually someone else who’s character stays consistent with his arc from VIII to IX, where he learns to believe in the Force and the light side again and learns to accept his role as a Jedi. Looking beyond characters though, the trilogy set up various story points which we were hoping to get some kind of payoff for. Much like the movie, I’m not really going to delve into them too much other than just list them. Who are the Knights of Ren (idk, but they all died at the hand of their supposed leader)? Who was Snoke (just a test tube deformed clone I guess)? How did Maz get Luke’s lightsaber (“a good story for another time” 😒)? How did Snoke seduce Kylo and undo the work of the prequels and original trilogy (eh, look for it in a comic I guess)? How did the First Order come about and rise to power (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)? What did the galaxy look like once the rebels won and could bring democracy back to the galaxy (watch The Mandalorian, only on Disney+)? The only real question this movie was interested in answering for the trilogy was Rey’s identity, and really that’s it. And even then, we kind of already got an answer about that from the past two movies: Rey was “nobody”. 

Listen, a movie can suck in terms of connecting to prior movies, connecting to a full nine movie story, but hey if it’s a good adventure of its own then maybe there’s something redeemable about it. Unfortunately, this movie fundamentally fails to even service its own story properly. Any movie, no matter how good, needs to be self-contained and its own story in order to be effective. A storyteller cannot rely on a moviegoer to have seen eight other movies, read comics, books, etc. to know what’s going on. For all the praise I’ll give Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, my one strike against them is that the emotional resonance and impact of these movies only hits fully when you’ve followed all prior 21-22 movies, like me. It relies heavily on intertextuality of prior movies, though not like Episode IX as a cheat to explain things. And even if you haven’t watched every movie, you can make some sense of what’s going on and get some of the impact, it just won’t hit the same way. It’s near impossible to balance that inclusivity with referential storytelling, but Avengers just about gets away with it because each story still does work on its own.  While the Avengers movies are enhanced with more background knowledge, they did still give you every relevant piece of information you needed to follow the story. Episode IX on the other hand, uses narrative cheats to hope you’ll buy into their story and go with it. Obviously, the big one cheat here is not explaining Palpatine’s return. Again, a villain who was thought to be dead and is crucial to the overall story should have his return be properly explained. They did it in Kingsman with Harry’s character, they did it in Avengers: Endgame with Gamora and Thanos, they even do it with Superman in the dumpster fire that is Justice League. When you leave something like that unresolved, it just leaves a giant asterisk above the whole movie, leaving you questioning the nature of it all, asking why it’s even happening, rather than being able to go on the ride. You know, even if the movie told us that “technology and the occult” story beat, or even showed it to us as a prologue to the movie, I would have been able to buy into this premise of this movie more and not just be left asking why or how the whole time. Again, I recognize that those questions may be more personal and not apply to everyone, but I think the criticism of a movie being its own story and explaining itself still holds. Beyond that, the movie just never has any time to breathe and appreciate its own emotions. With a majority of a movie seeming like a video game fetch-quest (that is just getting one item to get another item, repeatedly), the characters aren’t given the room to grow and are simply at the mercy of the next macguffin to find. 

One of the fundamental ideas of storytelling is the idea of a passive protagonist versus an active protagonist. The latter is a character that drives the nature of the story through their actions, whereas the former is driven by the flow of the story. Neither is necessarily better than the other and can be employed to excellent effect in both regards. Perhaps one of the best examples of passive protagonist is Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski in The Big Lebowski, a guy who just has consistently poor luck surrounded by moronic friends and people trying to take advantage of him, and really speaks to the kind of character The Dude really is. In an action or drama movie or a movie with a strong lead character, you generally want a balance of plot happening with the lead character forced to make consequential choices that add tension and weight to the story. Star Wars is a franchise driven by strong characters with their backs consistently against the wall and forced to make tough choices. It’s what drives the tension as Han Solo tries to escape Vader’s Star Destroyer by going through the asteroid field in Episode V, or compels Luke to leave with Ben Kenobi to go to Alderaan in Episode IV, or how makes Rey decide to leave her training with Luke to try and save Kylo in Episode VIII. This element of choice in a movie also works crucially to tell us about a character and their motivations. Han chooses to go through the asteroid field, an almost suicidal endeavor (the odds being 3,720 to 1), telling us how this is a man acting with a mix of desperation and bravado, perhaps overconfident in his abilities while also secretly trying to impress Princess Leia who he clearly likes. Rey goes back to Kylo out of a naïve sense of optimism and hope in other people and hasn’t had the experience Luke has, chiding his cynicism. This movie doesn’t give room for a character to decide much of anything. Rather there is a problem and somehow only one solution to the story. The whole goal of the characters this movie is seemingly to find this Sith wayfinder, to reach the Emperor and destroy his Final Order fleet. Conveniently, there happens to be one last clue of where to look, that leads to one thing, that takes them to a place, that leads to another place, where something just happens to work out and then the final battle takes place. If you’ve seen this movie, then you know I’ve just pretty much exactly described the order of events in this movie. There is no room for a character’s choice to dictate the flow of events here, there is no crossroads of destiny for someone to face. Ultimately, there is no tension and no stakes, because you’re left feeling like the heroes will just find the next clue to the next place or someone will tell them. It’s happened X number of times before, so why not have it happen again. It not only comes across as lazy but ends up hurting our characters’ progressions in the process.

I’ve also already talked about how the within-movie logic just seems to crumble on itself. This movie only seemed to be headed towards tackling the renunciation of bloodlines and the internal conflict between inherent nature and free will. Instead of seeing those story beats through, the story decides to instead shift away from that flow and gives us something we don’t expect but dripping with nostalgia. Obviously, the Rey story spring directly to mind, but even Kylo’s story does the same thing, like we talked about. So, I won’t go much further into all that again, but yeah. It’s pretty baffling how for me this movie just systematically failed on every level.

Wasted Potential 

When I drafted out this review, I had put my main points for each of these three descriptors for this movie. I guess in the course of my weak-sauce furor and passion, I inadvertently covered most of my points on this part in prior parts. I was going to talk here about Finn’s story arc being totally wasted and also the whole idea of Rey being nobody, wasted. The former I think I spoke to a sufficient amount and the latter I’ve practically beaten to death by this point in this seemingly never-ending review. All I’ll say on these two matters is that there was the potential to tell a very unique story about finding your identity alone from two unique perspectives. For Finn, it was someone who thought he was alone, but finding that he was one of many and found validation and strength in others, where he initially was fearful of others except for Rey. And on the flip side, Rey’s story could have presented the idea of accepting who you are, even if you are a “nobody”, anyone can become someone. In this case, Rey could have become her own person, a new hero to which the galaxy looked up to or someone totally different. 

Yeah, it’s really no wonder this is my longest post to date, but frankly I don’t imagine any of the five of you reading this are all too surprised. So, I’ll just touch a bit on the last point I wanted to talk about which had a lot of potential.

When George Lucas started this crazy Star Wars project back in the 70’s, he was a scrappy, young filmmaker really trying to push the boundaries and do something new with film on a shoestring budget. Doing something new was always at the forefront of George Lucas’s goal with every Star Wars film, through the prequels. I had mentioned back in the beginning of this mess how the prequels, for all the bold steps it tried to take, ended up making a lot of missteps as well. In a way, Lucas is in a similar position as Disney right now, begged by fans to make something new, and immediately angering fans with what they tried to do. Where I think Disney’s vision and Lucas’s vision differ is that one, Lucas had a clear vision and plan for his movies while Disney did not, but two, I think history will and already is looking back at Lucas’s films more favorably than we will on Disney’s trilogy. I think for all the missteps that the prequels made, a lot of the kids that grew up with those movies now champion it in the way Lucas intended them to. He was unapologetic in his approach to Star Wars being a space soap opera for children, teaching them good from evil through a basic hero’s journey. Disney for all its guts with the Marvel movies, trying new genres and championing new stories and heroes was playing it ridiculously safe with Star Wars. Very clearly, Disney’s goal was to make movies for fans and not necessarily children like Lucas did. So their primary focus to please fans was making movies that skewed perhaps a bit more mature, but “felt like Star Wars”. Once they re-established that “feel” with The Force Awakens and re-energized the fan base, they inarguably ended up losing a lot of that goodwill taking creative chances with Episode VIII. So rather than hold true to their Marvel formula of trusting the filmmaker and story, it seems that Disney caved and wanted to keep “pleasing fans” instead. A choice like that isn’t necessarily a wrong one, ultimately these movies are costly projects and they need to be made in a way that can generate the money back and actually make money. Where I think Disney was artistically and creatively bankrupt was relying on and weaponizing fan service and nostalgia to try and win back good will. And for what it’s worth, a lot of people did like Episode IX, because a lot of them said it “felt like Star Wars again.”

I mentioned that idea also in the beginning, “feeling like Star Wars”. To be honest, I thought I knew that feeling, but I honestly don’t know if I do anymore. In the past five years of Disney’s reign over this franchise, it seems to have evolved into something else entirely, something designed simply to please fans and focus on its past more than explore a lot of new ideas and themes. Arguably, Star Wars television has taken the biggest steps in that direction and that’s where my interest also seems to have shifted as well. And even then, our “new shows” are just fresh coats of paint on old ideas and concepts. The Mandalorian, for how much I loved the first season, is comprised of proxies of characters we as fans knew and associated with. Mando is the same as Boba Fett, IG-88 is the same as IG-11, we have the Empire (Werner Herzog and Giancarlo Esposito’s characters), and we have a force user in Baby Yoda. Even the return of Clone Wars these past weeks (which I am not complaining about), seems more of a reaction to give fans what they want rather than an idea borne out of creative inspiration or guts. And for however happy I am to see Clone Wars back and see its actual finale, I think a lot of fans and I had made peace with the way it ended with season 6, unresolved though it may have been. It’s not necessarily something new but revisiting something we know. The sequels were just a roundabout way to revisit the characters we knew and loved, just older. Rogue One was arguably a new angle on a story we already knew from the opening crawl of Episode IV. Solo was a backstory really no one wanted on a character we already understood fairly well. Maybe that’s what Star Wars has just become now. That “feeling” may now just be that simply be the sense Disney tries to evoke by drawing on nostalgia and old themes and ideas and characters and bits and bobs, and that’s really saddening to me. 

Lucas’s idea was always to tell a new story, something different and unexplored. He follows the philosophy that Nintendo does when making a new game in a series like Mario or Zelda, or Pixar when making a new film: if there isn’t something new (a game mechanic, a story idea, a new film-making technique), then what’s the point in making it. George was obviously interested in telling his story, but in a way that pushed the limit of what was possible and sparking a sense of amusement and awe in what we watch. By this point, audiences have become accustomed to the level of photorealistic computer graphics employed in major blockbuster movies. It’s not hard to imagine anymore and is generally easy to discern. Lucas was interested in doing something no one else could do or conceive of, and in turn audiences wouldn’t be able to believe was possible. It’s why he founded Industrial Light and Magic, the premiere VFX company in the world today, to realize his lofty goals of space wizards and impossible spaceships and laser swords. It’s why he made Skywalker Sound, the masters of sound mixing and editing, to construct this sonic tapestry to define this universe. It’s why he helped spin-off Pixar in the 90’s with Steve Jobs, albeit not related to Star Wars but still exemplifying Lucas’s ultimate drive for doing new things. That Star Wars feeling isn’t just sense of excitement from the clashing of a lightsaber or the recurrence of a familiar face, but the investment in a character’s backstory, the sense of wonderment of seeing something pure and unadulterated from someone’s wildest imagination. It’s the music, it’s the atmosphere and background characters. It’s why a lot of fans were averse to some of the choices Lucas made in the prequels, doing away with a lot of the practical sets that were common in the original trilogy. In Lucas trying to realize his vision for this bustling galaxy and universe with increasingly complex elements and ideas, it ultimately became easier to just add it in post than build it, but in turn sacrificed the grittiness and rough-worn down of the galaxy we were exploring. 

Before I’m accused of being a prequel shill, I will simply say that I don’t love all the prequels. I think Episode I is charming, II and III are messes for sure. But I think in all of the failures of execution, Lucas really did try to do something original and new with this story. You can fault a story for maybe not resonating or working, yes, but for trying, no. These were movies that were not trying to be “Star Wars”, but something new that was in that same universe, and I think fans rebelled because of that. It was something new that challenged us to look at this galaxy differently at a different time and didn’t match that same mold we were accustomed to from 1983 to 1999. I think A lot can be forgiven for Episode VII especially in how it was trying to get us back to that feeling that a lot of fans were missing. Also, it’s a very unique position it was in, as the characters in that story were a lot like us, subject to the tale and legend of the “Star Wars”, with the hero Luke Skywalker and the Rebellion and whatnot.  They were reverential to the past, because it was a movie that drawing in it to set up the future. Episode VIII took that and tried to set the stage for something totally new, and question what actually was and wasn’t important in this myth we thought we know. Episode IX instead then decides to revoke the thrust towards the future and decides to focus on the past to a far greater degree. But rather than show it the reverence it received from Episode VII, its ultimately stuck pandering to it, rather than adding to the conversation. It was a move very clearly to recapture the enjoyment the audiences found in VII, by trying to appease angry fans clinging to the past. Ultimately, this movie ends up appeasing so few because it is more focused on trying to win back the goodwill it lost from Episode VIII than focusing on its own story, and just ends up as a mess as a result.

It hurts to feel this way about Star Wars. This is the first mainline Star Wars movie I haven’t wanted to rewatch. It makes me feel upset and even angry at times. It took me so long to write this because I’d just get so bummed every time I’d start writing and thinking about this movie and just lose all energy to keep going till some time later. It’s a movie that has made me re-evaluate my relationship with this franchise and question whether I was even right to enjoy the last two movies, VII and VIII, since they’re all meant to be the same story. I think I just have to accept that this new Star Wars is not all made for people like me anymore. I think like a trip to the restaurant or a buffet, I’ll just pick and choose the bits I engage with now. I am quite happy with Star Wars on television right now, but I just hope at some point, somehow, the movies will connect with me again. I just hope the movies can connect with all the fans again eventually, remind us of that magic that defined each generation while not being beholden to the past. I hope it continues to fascinate and indulge our sense of childlike wonderment, building lightsabers, theorizing the physics of star ships, acting like we’re force choking our friends or able to grab the remote with the force across the living room. The Star Wars experience isn’t a solitary one, but rather one best shared with friends and loved ones. It has the power to bring together a disparate group of friends from across the country to one theater for two+ hours to eventually praise and/or criticize it. I just hope Star Wars can warrant such a jubilant reunion again, not relegating such occurrences to a long time ago, or far, far apart.

Also, Ben Shapiro liked this movie so I think that just validates why this movie is total garbage. Maybe that could have been my whole argument. Eh, four months too late I guess…

tl;dr – If into the recordings you go, only pain you will find.

P.S. If you made it to the end of this review, congrats. Perhaps you are nearly as crazy as I am, though honestly probably not. Nevertheless, I appreciate you sticking around to read through this all.

[junker-town]

The Vikings’ expensive passing offense is worse than the Dolphins’

Kirk Cousins continues to struggle with the Vikings in 2019.

The Vikings can’t throw, the Cowboys can’t run, and the Ravens can’t defend. What is going on?

It’s hard to imagine there’s an NFL fanbase that’s not panicking even a little bit right now. The Patriots and Chiefs — the only teams with 4-0 records — survived scares last week from the Bills and Lions, who couldn’t quite overcome the cursed history of their respective franchises.

Six teams are winless; one has fully accepted its tanking fate and at least one more probably should. A third of the NFL has had to bring in a backup quarterback for major playing time, while almost half of the league is sporting a 2-2 record.

There’s a lot we don’t know about this season, even a quarter of the way through it. While there’s freedom in that kind of uncertainty, it also means we’re probably in for a wild ride the rest of the way.

As exciting (and a little daunting) as that is, let’s take stock in what we might need to be nervous about at this point of the season.

The Vikings are paying too much for a passing offense this bad

Quarterback Kirk Cousins and wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs count for a combined $49.573 million against the Vikings’ salary cap in 2019. It’s the most in the NFL for a quarterback-receiver-receiver trio.

The Vikings are also last in passing attempts, second-to-last in passing yards (behind the Dolphins and ahead of the Jets), and third-to-last in passing touchdowns.

That wasn’t exactly a problem for Minnesota when running back Dalvin Cook racked up 375 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the first three weeks of the season. But when the Bears held Cook to just 35 yards in Week 4, the inability to throw the ball became a glaring issue.

“At some point, you’re not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL,” Thielen, who had just two catches for 6 yards in Chicago, told The Athletic. “That’s when you have to be able to throw the ball. You have to be able to make plays. You have to be able to hit the deep balls. You have to do that.”

The Vikings haven’t done that much at all. Even when the situation against the Bears begged for desperation, Minnesota couldn’t break out of dink-and-dunk mode.

The Vikings got the ball down 10 with less than three minutes left and threw four passes short of the first-down marker.

— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) September 29, 2019

Part of the blame lies with Cousins, who is better when he’s not asked to put the team on his back. He doesn’t handle pressure well — he’s fumbled 52 times in his career and has 15 in 20 games with the Vikings. Even when he has time to throw, he doesn’t always wait for Thielen and Diggs to get open. Or when he does, his accuracy is not there.

Part of the blame lies with the offensive line, which still has problems protecting Cousins. And part of the blame lies with the playcalling, which needs to find ways for the passing game to succeed and to get the ball in the hands of playmakers like Thielen and Diggs.

The Vikings are spending way too much money on the passing game to be afraid to throw the ball, and it’s a major reason why they’re at the bottom of the NFC North.

Panic index: Some alarm is warranted at this point — especially when Cousins, Diggs, and Thielen count for a combined $58.3 million next year too. Fortunately, the Vikings won’t play a defense like the Bears’ every week, and Minnesota’s own defense is strong enough to carry the team to some wins.

But until they can figure out how to get the passing game to work more consistently, the Vikings could be headed for another season like last year: good enough to finish with a winning record, but not good enough to make the playoffs.

The Ravens’ defense looks very un-Ravenesque

Almost every great Baltimore team has one thing in common: a dominant defense. Few franchises have been as defined by their ability to stop the ball and make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks than the Ravens — home to Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and All-Pros like Haloti Ngata, Adalius Thomas, and Terrell Suggs in their 24 years of existence.

Baltimore tried to keep that tradition alive by signing Earl Thomas and drafting the NCAA’s all-time sack leader, Jaylon Ferguson, this offseason. That hasn’t been nearly enough to offset the loss of players like Eric Weddle, Za’Darius Smith, C.J. Mosley, and Suggs. Each left Maryland in 2019, and the Ravens clearly aren’t the same without them.

After handling bottom dwellers Arizona and Miami in Weeks 1 and 2, Baltimore has struggled against teams not currently in the midst of an identity crisis. The Chiefs hung 33 points on them, but it was easy to write that off because hey, it’s the Chiefs and that’s what they do. Then the Browns came to visit in Week 4 and that Kansas City loss went from an outlier to a giant warning sign, embarrassing Thomas in the process.

Cleveland stomped a mudhole into a once-proud defense in a 40-25 win, recharging the fortunes of second-year players Baker Mayfield (342 passing yards) and Nick Chubb (165 rushing yards, three touchdowns) in the process. With that, the Ravens fell to 23rd in the league in points allowed. Their 7.03 yards given up per play is dead last in the NFL — a hair worse than the woeful Dolphins’ 6.99 mark.

The Ravens have the league’s top offense in terms of both scoring and yards gained. They haven’t ranked in the top five in either category since 1996. Despite this, they’re 2-2.

Panic index: Help may not be on the way this fall. Ferguson was the only man among the team’s top five draft picks who plays defense. Thomas hasn’t been the same dynamic talent he was before breaking his leg in 2018. Cornerback Jimmy Smith will return at some point, but he’s slated to miss a few more weeks with an MCL sprain. The pass rush has only produced eight sacks in four games.

But hey, Lamar Jackson still looks awesome. Maybe winning shootouts is the new Ravens way.

Kellen Moore’s Cowboys offense suddenly has a Scott Linehan vibe

Kellen Moore, one of the league’s youngest offensive coordinators, had Dak Prescott and the Cowboys averaging 32 points per game through the first few weeks of the season. But against the Saints during Week 4, Dallas was held in check. The team had its lowest offense output of the season, including just 10 points and 45 yards on the ground.

To start the season, one of the best elements of Moore’s offense was the heavy play-action. That was shut down against New Orleans:

#Cowboys set season low in play-action rate & season high in first-down run rate in SNF loss to #Saints. Please let this not be the work of Jason Garrett infiltrating Kellen Moore’s beautiful offense. Please let this not be a sign of things to come.

— Evan Silva (@evansilva) September 30, 2019

Prescott still played well when they used play-action — he was 6 of 7 for 65 yards Sunday night, according to Pro Football Focus. But the Cowboys mostly went away from it, going from an average of 39 percent to 20 percent in Week 4.

Instead, they fell back into the conservative playcalling of the old Scott Linehan offense, such as running the ball too much on first down. The Cowboys averaged just 3.4 yards on first down, and kept trying to feed an unproductive Ezekiel Elliott, who had 35 yards on 18 carries. Here’s Cowboys’ blog Blogging The Boys on the first-down playcalling:

You throw it twice, picking up a first down and then having a “success” on the next - then you hand it off to start seven consecutive sets of downs, with only one meeting the traditional criteria of success, 40% or more of the yards needed for the next first down. A failure to execute well played a part, but even with that, why go back to that dry well over and over?

Head, meet wall.

There has been a suggestion that Prescott was changing the call at the line a lot, and it certainly seemed like the Saints found a way to disguise things very well. Whatever happened, Moore and company need to get this sorted out.

The Saints deserve credit for what they did, but if future opposing defenses sell out to stop Elliott again, Moore has to find ways to get the offense’s early-season mojo back.

Panic index: It’s a little too soon to assume Dallas’ offense is going back to the Linehan era, even after one bad game against a great defense. Moore showed enough promise with his creative playcalling in the first three weeks that it’s worth waiting to see how he adjusts before worrying too much.

However, the Cowboys need to rebound quickly. There are no shortage of stout defenses ahead on their schedule, include dates with the Packers, Eagles, Vikings, Patriots, and Bills.

Khalil Mack is coming for you, Raiders

There is no amount of context that will properly explain Jon Gruden’s actions when he took over control of the Raiders. Sending Khalil Mack to the Bears was a mistake, pure and simple. Now, Mack wants his revenge. Given Mack’s entire job boils down to making life as difficult as possible for exactly one person on the other team, his words should carry some weight.

“This is one I’ve been looking forward to,” Mack said about facing the team that traded him just over a year ago. “I can’t lie to you, man; I’ve got to let you know how it is. It’s going to be a big one.”

In his first season in Chicago, Mack racked up 12.5 sacks, a pick-six, and six forced fumbles, helping the Bears to the NFC North crown. This season, he’s already up to 4.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.

Mack, who thought he was going to be a Raider for life when they drafted him, also said, “I ain’t a talker. I just want to go out and show it.” That’s even scarier considering what he can do.

Panic index: Mack has been a force with the Bears, even while constantly double-teamed by opposing offenses. The Raiders will need to do that to contain him, but the last thing they need right now is Mack with a little bit of extra fire in his step.

Derek Carr has only been sacked eight times this season, but Mack is going to do his best to throw a wrench in those works. Unlike Gruden, we would never bet against Mack.

[esonetwork]

What Star Wars means to me

New Post has been published on http://esonetwork.com/what-star-wars-means-to-me/

What Star Wars means to me

I’ve written plenty of blogs about Star Wars over the years, and by this point, I’m pretty sure that anyone who knows me is fully aware of the fact that I am completely obsessed with this franchise.

I’m not even really sure of how it all began, of why Star Wars in particular made such an enduring impression on me. There are plenty of franchises that I enjoy, but Star Wars is the one that I love the deepest, and always keep coming back to.

When I was a kid, I was really interested in outer space, and I loved learning about stars and planets. I was particularly interested in NASA and the Apollo 11 moon landing. I also really, really loved fiction and using my imagination to make up new stories, so I suppose it’s sort of a marriage between these two interests that sparked my passion for Star Wars.

I’m embarrassed to admit I can’t even remember which Star Wars movie I saw first (I think it was “Empire Strikes Back”), but of course, it was love at first sight. High school and college is about the time I started to think of myself as a hardcore Star Wars fan, and it just stuck. I’d binge-watch the movies with friends, and read all the expanded universe (EU) novels. I think at one point I calculated that I’d read 60-70 different Star Wars EU novels…but hey, who’s counting?

Now, I’m sure I would have gone on loving Star Wars even if there weren’t any new movies beyond Episodes I-VI, but Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm really kicked my fandom into high gear.

I’ll never forget that moment in 2012 when I heard the news; I was sitting at my desk at work, just going about my day. My memories of the event are a little fuzzy (unfortunately this seems to be a theme for me), but I’m pretty sure my dad texted me to see if I’d heard the big announcement. I was so excited I had to excuse myself from my desk for a moment to process the news, and yes, I’m sure I got a little misty-eyed. New Star Wars, imagine that! I once feared we’d never get to see another Star Wars movie, and now we were getting a whole bunch!

Going to the local movie theater in 2015 to watch “The Force Awakens” on opening night is one of my favorite geek experiences. I spent a lot of the film’s runtime just marveling that I was watching a brand-new Star Wars movie on the big screen. I was still so excited when I got home that I didn’t sleep much that night, just replaying the movie in my mind and imagining what might happen in the next episode.

I feel fortunate in that I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything Lucasfilm has put out since being purchased by Disney, and you’d think that being a fan during this time would be a great experience for me. And it has been…mostly. However, as much as I love Star Wars, I don’t always love the Star Wars fandom.

When I was in high school and college, I felt like I was just enjoying Star Wars in my own little bubble. I’d talk about it with friends, but I wasn’t super involved with the wider fan community. In the Disney era of Star Wars, I started getting more engaged in online fandom, and sadly, it wasn’t always a positive experience.

I’ve learned that people have really, REALLY strong opinions when it comes to Star Wars, and sometimes they’re not very nice when it comes to expressing those opinions. Some people don’t care for the Disney era of Star Wars, and I can respect that. We’re all passionate about this franchise, and we have different feelings about what Star Wars should (or should not) be about.

But I’ll admit, by the time “The Last Jedi” celebrated the first anniversary of its release in December 2018, I was getting really tired of interacting with the Star Wars fandom. If I had a dollar for every time I’d witnessed someone being rude, nasty, condescending, gatekeeper-y, or otherwise participating in negative fan behavior in relation to the Star Wars franchise, I could probably buy myself a huge pile of Star Wars memorabilia.

It’s hard to know what to do about that kind of behavior. Sometimes I’m tempted to just disengage from the fandom, which I’ve done a little bit since “The Rise of Skywalker” came out. I loved Episode IX, but I haven’t really felt up to participating in many discussions surrounding it, so I’ve been quietly enjoying it on my own.

However, I also don’t want to fall into the trap of just creating a little echo chamber where I’m insulated by my own opinions. One of my firmest beliefs as a geek is that it’s vital to engage with other people who think differently than you, and to learn to respect alternate takes. I’m still trying to figure out how to limit the negativity I encounter while also being open to deep, challenging discussions. Anyway, it’s a work in progress.

I will say that one of the things I’m most thankful for about the Disney era of Star Wars is that it genuinely has helped me to grow as a person.

I’ve really latched onto Rey as a character, in an even deeper way than I had with any other Star Wars character in the past. I’ve made not one, not two, but three Rey cosplays, and dressing up as this character brings me so much joy (and also plenty of hairspray to keep those iconic three hair buns in place!)

Now that “The Rise of Skywalker” has come out, I’ve also decided that the sequel trilogy is my favorite era of Star Wars. In the past I would have been super nervous to admit this, because in some circles expressing your love for the Star Wars sequel trilogy (particularly “The Last Jedi”) is enough to make some fans choke on their blue milk.

I promise this is not a dig at those who didn’t like “The Last Jedi” or the other sequel trilogy films. “The Last Jedi” is my personal favorite Star Wars film, but it took a lot of creative risks that didn’t work for everybody. And that’s okay.

What I’ve gotten tired of is being treated like a second-class fan because of how I feel about Star Wars, or worse, getting “fan-splained” by people who want to explain to me why I’m wrong for loving the Star Wars the way I do (and yes, this has happened both online and in person).

But a lesson I’ve learned over the years, is that when a geeky thing brings you joy, you shouldn’t be ashamed of it. Like Rey letting go of her fears and embracing who she is as a Jedi, I’ve learned to be proud of who I am and what makes me different and special. It seems like such a small thing, but as someone who spent a large portion of my 32 years feeling bad about myself and assuming my opinions were dumb or wrong, this was a huge step for me. And I’m thankful to Star Wars for helping me get there.

One of my favorite fandom memories was traveling to Star Wars Celebration in Chicago last year. I went all by myself, something I couldn’t have imagined years ago. Was I nervous? Sure. But I felt so empowered planning this trip all on my own, and I had the most amazing time.

The future of Star Wars seems a little uncertain right now, especially with how the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our world. I don’t know when we’ll get the next Star Wars movie, and what Disney+ shows we may or may not get. I’m also sad because at the end of April my husband and I were supposed to visit Galaxy’s Edge (a.k.a. the new Star Wars land) at Disney World for the first time, but we had to cancel the trip because of the pandemic. Although we’re planning to try again in September, I don’t know what the world will look like then.

However, Star Wars continues to bring me joy in this strange, unsettled time. I’ve been re-watching the sequel trilogy movies, and I’m excited about “The Mandalorian” documentary series on Disney+ and the Clone Wars finale.

I could probably keep writing on and on about Star Wars and what it means to pop culture, but I know there have been plenty of articles already written about the endearing impact of Star Wars and why it’s remained popular for 40+ years. It’s like the modern version of the King Arthur myth; it’s an epic, timeless tale of hope, love, and courage.

Maybe not every episode or TV show works for you personally, and that’s okay. Star Wars means different things to different people. I hope that as time goes on, fans are able to let go of the parts that don’t work for them and celebrate the ones that do.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #358

Top Ten Things That Look Cool in 2019

After last week’s trip down memory lane, stopping in all of 2018’s laybys for a wee, I'm turning my attention to the coming year. 2018 was, in a lot of ways, great; can 2019 top it? I mean, for a start, we might see the back of both Trump and Brexit, although I admit in both cases that’s probably a long shot; Brexit might even end up consuming the entire world like that little black hole thing they fire at Vulcan in Star Trek. But I remain an optimist, and I think even these twin evils can be vanquished. But, really, I'm meant to be talking about fun entertainment-y type stuff. Otherwise I'd fill these things with “aww, my little girl starts school” or “boy, I hope I don’t contract Ebola”.

So! What could be better than the year that brought us the end of IDW’s Transformers comics and the biggest Avengers movie of all time? How about a year that brings us the start of a new range of IDW Transformers comics and an even bigger Avengers movie, AND a Star War?

So. 2019. Ten things. Don’t disappoint me, you fickle time bastard.

Ends of an eras: look, in 2019, a Star Wars trilogy ends. Not only that, but it’s the end of a trilogy of trilogies; arguably the culmination of a story begun over forty years ago and which has changed cinema irrevocably, more than once. And that is not even the most exciting film released in 2019. Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars Episode IX are two of the biggest, most exciting-looking, most-anticipated films of my entire life, and they come out merely months apart. I can’t get over it. It's ridiculous. Literally nothing else comes close to generating the buzz I get from these two films. Disney owns my soul.

Animation showdown: if further proof were needed vis-a-vis Disney and soul-owning, there is also a battle of the animation superpowers when Pixar’s brightest goes up against Disney Animation’s biggest. Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2 both come out in 2019. Despite all three Toy Storys being better than Frozen, I'm probably more excited to return to Arendelle than to Bonnie’s toybox; we have three perfect Toy Story films already, and I just can’t believe that a fourth will be anything other than a disappointment, even if it’s really very good. A sequel to Frozen still has a North Mountain to climb, but I'm more comfortable with it being less of a masterpiece. As to which will make more money? I reckon if it’s good, if there’s a wind behind it, and if Star Wars doesn’t hoover up too much airspace, Frozen 2 could be not only the biggest animated movie of all time but maybe – just maybe – the first animation to hit $2 billion.

Next-gen now: well, not now exactly; more likely 2020. But all things being equal 2019 will see the first concrete details – maybe even names?! - of the successor consoles to the PS4 and Xbox One. I’m really interested in seeing where they go from here: game streaming? Integrated VR? 8k? Beyond the grunt and gimmicks, I'd like to see a next-gen that offered gameplay-improving abilities such as deformable scenery, vast crowds, destructible cities, water and flame physics, rather than just sexier graphics or even more Ds to make H. All the same, I'm really excited to see how it all pans out.

It never ends: as one door closes, so another transforms into a giant robotic dinosaur and breathes fire. Yes, coming soon to a comic store near you, is IDW’s revamped and rebooted Transformers universe. Streamlined, bereft of around 13 years of continuity, potentially excluded from the wider universe of Hasbro properties, we have (yet) another origin of everyone’s favourite robots in disguise (sorry, Go-Bots). The idea to set the story on Cybertron, pre-war, is a good one, and seeing newer characters like Windblade take their rightful place in Transformers lore is delightful (I hope we see other comics-originated characters like Nautica and Aileron before too long). My only reservation (other than, y’know, this series following my favourite series of all time) is that some of the best Transformers stories ever told were about pre-war Cybertron, and specifically Megatron’s ideology and subsequent formation of the Decepticons. I’m still really excited, but can this possibly come close to living up to what came before?

Discovering Picard: two Star Trek shows in one year? What is this, 1996?! But it’s (probably going to be) true: season 2 of Discovery starts very soon, bringing with it Pike, Spock, and the Enterprise. Truth be told, although I dug Disco, it didn’t feel quite as “Star Trek-y" as it could have, and trying to square its continuity circles gave me a headache. How its darker take on the Federation’s history will impinge on characters we already know gives me pause. I’m much more excited – although likewise much more nervous – about Patrick Stewart’s return to the franchise in the currently-untitled Picard spin-off. Next Generation is my favourite Trek flavour, so catching up with probably my favourite character and seeing how the universe has evolved beyond the ending of Nemesis is – wait for it – engaging. See what I did there?

Get ready, Agent: I’ve been looking forward to a new Crackdown for years. Not just since Crackdown 3’s announcement in (wow!) 2014; I’ve been hoping and wishing and praying since Crackdown 2 (which, weirdly, I never really got into). Off the top of my head, I can’t really think of another announced game in 2019 which I'm really excited for; just as well, as I’ve still got Mass Effect: Andromeda, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Gears of War 4 to complete. But I love the superheroic verticality of Crackdown, the tower-climbing, orb-collecting, minivan-throwing power you feel. The second-to-second gameplay in the first game is one of my top gaming experiences of all time, right up there with Halo in terms of sheer enjoyment rush. I’m disappointed the freeform destruction appears cordoned off in a multiplayer arena, and the game doesn’t appear to have evolved much since 2007, plus it’s had a protracted and apparently difficult development... but I love Crackdown, so I'm keeping everything crossed.

Strang3r: I missed Stranger Things this year. Whilst perhaps not quite reaching the heights of the first season, Stranger Things 2 was more consistent for me, building from episode to episode and feeling like a more complete package (the slightly dodgy Eleven-in-the-big-city story notwithstanding). So I'm really looking forward to Part 3. Moving out of its spooky Halloween comfort zone is a bold move, but perhaps allows for some delightful blockbuster thrills. It'll be interesting to see how the young cast fare as they get older, and hopefully they’ll continue to put David Harbour and Winona Ryder closer to the action.

Literate TV: there are a number of Capital-B-Big adaptations of books coming to the small screen this year: Good Omens (which I'm reading at the moment), His Dark Materials (which is one of my favourite books), and Catch-22 (which is also rather good). This is to say nothing of the Gatiss & Moffat Dracula adaptation, which may still sneak in at the end of the year. Although my TV backlog is ridiculous at the moment – including most of the Marvel Netflix stuff, the last couple Maniacs, Sabrina, Lost in Space, and fellow Gaiman adaptation American Gods – these all sound rather fantastic, and I can’t wait.

Livewood: speaking of classic TV... I can’t believe it’s actually happening, but the Deadwood movie is apparently coming out this year. Deadwood is phenomenal, one of my favourite shows of all time, cut down far too soon, and it’s so, so good that they’re finally being allowed to finish their story. I’m worried, naturally, as I often am when classics are revisited; but truth be told I'm more worried about how I'm going to watch it as it’s all HBO. Presumably it’ll be on Sky or something.

Gelflings-a-go-go: what’s this? More TV? Bloody hell, how on Earth am I going to finish writing my book?! To say nothing of completing Red Dead! Anyway, this is another Netflix biggie: a prequel/continuation/spin-off/whatever of beloved 80s puppet curio The Dark Crystal, the weirdest and creepiest kids’ movie ever made. I'm fascinated to see how they build upon what Jim Henson created, especially as I believe it was a very personal movie for him. Also: have you seen the cast list?! Blimey!

All that, and I still didn’t get round to the other superhero films (including two Captain Marvels – or Captains Marvel?), the return of Alan Partridge, the frankly-tragic-looking (in a good way) conclusion of the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, DC’s young-reader-friendly Wonder Comics, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There are an awful lot of things to look forward to this year, even if the rest of the world is getting all Children of Men on us.

[lindsglenne]

Apparently, 2019 is going to be dominated by Disney and Marvel, but what else is new? Basically, this is going to be one hell of a year when it comes to movies. TV is another story. Some shows are premiering new seasons, some are airing their finales, and a few debuts I’m really excited about.

MOVIES

Captain Marvel – March 8th

Brie Larson is a doll and I’m so pumped to see her in such a badass role. And it’s set in my favorite era: the 90’s.

Dumbo – March 29th

When I first heard they were doing a live-action Dumbo I was very wary, even more so when it was announced that it was being done by Tim Burton. Then I saw the trailer and I kind of fell in love. Plus, Michael Keaton is the villain.

Shazam! – April 5th

This looks so fun! Plus, its Zachary Levi playing a dream role—incredible casting choice.

Avengers: Endgame – April 26th

Let’s just say, I saw the trailer and weeped.

The Sun is Also a Star – May 17th

This is an adaptation of Nicola Yoon’s book of the same name. I loved this book and think it would make a really great movie, if put into the right hands.

Aladdin – May 24th

Another one I was pretty nervous about, but after seeing some pictures, some of my fears have faded away. Jasmine is my favorite princess and love that Nasim Pedrad is going to play one of her friends. I do wish Jafar was older, but I guess it just makes it less creepy when he tries to take Jasmine as his slave/bride—spoiler alert.

Toy story 4 – June 21st

Toy Story 3 was a perfect finale to my favorite Pixar franchise, but I never turn down a new Toy Story movie. The teaser trailer sealed the deal. The addition of new toys voiced by Tony Hale, Keegan Michael Key, and Jordan Peele made me even more excited. And if the rumors are true and the plot is focused on finding Bo Peep. I know I’m going to cry my eyes out.

Spider-man: Far From Home – July 5th

More Marvel, more Tom Holland being perfect.

Lion King – July 19th

So this is the movie that I’m excited for the most. The Lion King is my very favorite Disney movie and this cast! This cast is an absolute dream and I don’t know how it could be more perfect—Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver, and fucking Beyonce!

Little Women – December 25th

I love Little Women, the book and the ’94 movie. I think Greta Gerwig is the perfect person to adapt it into a new movie. Plus we have Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, and the lovely Timothee Chalamet.

TV

Brooklyn 99

Oh baby, we almost lost you. Thank God for NBC! NINE-NINE!

Stranger Things

Can’t wait to get back to Hawkins!

Crashing

The semi-autobiographical show from Pete Holmes returns and from the trailer, it looks like we are getting more from John Mulaney.

Veep

The final season of one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen.

You’re the Worst

Another one of my favorite shows ending. There is nothing like these characters and their frank discussions regarding depression, relationships, and marriage on TV.

Fosse/Verdon

Bob Fosse, 2. Sam Rockwell, 3. Lin-Manuel Miranda. SOLD!

  Anticipated Movies/Television of 2019 Apparently, 2019 is going to be dominated by Disney and Marvel, but what else is new? Basically, this is going to be one hell of a year when it comes to movies.

[jasonheart1]

On the Rocks no more. Colorado vanquishes Cubs

DENVER -- The clubhouse was thinning, the music dimming as the players began to file out for batting practice last Saturday. There was no talk of champagne, but rather deja vu. 

I stood with outfielder Matt Holliday and revisited his role in the franchise's defining moment. Remember that time you slid into home plate, and scored that walkoff run? Holliday grinned. I have known him since long before his first big league game. He knew where I was going.

"It is kind of crazy being in this clubhouse and being here in 2007. It's pretty exciting to be involved in a pennant race here," Holliday said. "It was going to take an opportunity like this with this team to play this year. It's been worth it to get back out here. I have really enjoyed it."

Unspoken was the idea that he wanted to be part of something special again. There will never be another 2007 -- so much pixie dust was sprinkled that fall I helped pen a book on the "Magical Season" for The Denver Post.

Since, there has been suffering. Two playoff berths featuring quick exits. Last season the Rockies staggered home after a clumsy loss at Arizona. The sting left a welt, a reminder of what could have been, the anxiety growing as the window started closing on the core group of stars.

The ache vanished on Tuesday night. Scott Oberg delivered a strikeout, and gloves flew in the air and grown men ran around like kids on the playground. The Cubs are dead. Gone. Vanquished. 

The Rockies, who are treated as afterthoughts as the lone team in their time zone, moved on to the division series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They have three games to win five starting on Thursday, and can take a bus to Miller Park from Chicago. That is a welcomed after three games in three days in Denver, Los Angeles and Chicago. Regardless of how the next round plays out, these Rockies earned a place in Colorado sports lore. 

You know what? They were buried multiple times this summer, including by me after the Cardinals and Brewers walked them off three times in five days. They invested $106 million in their bullpen and only one of those arms -- Wade Davis, who had Prestone running through his veins Tuesday -- is a viable contributor. They lost shortstop Trevor Story for a critical stretch last month. And yet, they couldn't take a hint. This team is harder to kill than a cockroach. Or Chuck Norris. 

Tuesday's victory featured Kyle Freeland, Mr. 303, showing the world why he should be third on every Cy Young ballot. It featured a bullpen with an iron stomach, and a reserve catcher producing the greatest swing of his life. Tony Wolters, who hadn't posted a hit since Sept. 10 and owned a .170 batting averaged, knocked a changeup into center field to score the go-ahead run. Because, you know, it's the playoffs where Brian Doyle and Francisco Cabrera become famous. 

Anyone within ear's reach knows I have questioned why Wolters is on the roster. He frames pitches well, but has committed four errors with six passed balls in 64 games. He inexplicably got his signals crossed with German Marquez on Monday in Los Angeles, opening up a big inning that required four outs in the loss to the Dodgers. That said, he delivered with the alarms blaring Tuesday, staying patient in an at-bat when few hitters could resist the temptation to swing early and often.

Players love him in the clubhouse, which means nothing to outsiders, but matters to the chemistry of the team.

That he strode onto the stage was a credit to Freeland and crew. Freeland produced a most impressive postseason debut, holding the Cubs scoreless over 6 2/3 innings on four hits and six strikeouts. Sometimes it's easier to appreciate a player than explain him. Freeland is an ace. That's what it looks like. He would rather eat tacks than give in to hitters or the umpire. 

Pitching on short rest for the first time in his pro career, Freland went past the exit for respectability and stopped at history. According to STATS, Inc., Freeland became the second left-hander since 2000 to record 20 outs without allowing a run, joining Madison Bumgarner in 2014 and 2016.

Of course, it's the Rockies so nothing comes easily. Adam Ottavino entered in the seventh and doused flames, but couldn't escape the eighth unscathed. He raced to two strikes on Cubs star Javy Baez, and inexplicably left a slider over the plate that he crushed to left to tie the game at 1-all.

Prior to that pitch, hitters were 0-36 with 31 strikeouts on 0-2 counts against him this season. Again, the playoffs embrace aberrations. Baez's single transformed the next few hours into a series of Pepto shots and nervous breakdowns. 

Manager Bud Black made a double switch, losing Charlie Blackmon's bat in the lineup to keep David Dahl in the game and shove Carlos Gonzalez into right field for defense. Nolan Arenado found himself hugging Baez on a potential double play lost a few innings later. Chris Rusin, with an ERA north of 6.00, was needed. 

The Rockies escaped. Turning stick figures into Picasso. 

Playoff games require imagination and consternation. They are not perfect. They come down to three or four moments defining a team's season, if not legacy. The Rockies have long suffered insults -- plenty deserved -- for their lack of success and altitude address. 

That will never change. Colorado exists in the witness protection program. But on this night, with voices hoarse and goggles protecting their eyes, the Rockies advanced. The heck with critics -- me included. In a time when Instragram, Facebook and Twitter provide validation, the Rockies found it 1,000 miles from home in the longest postseason winner-take-all game in major league history. 

The Rockies are playing in Milwaukee on Thursday. Let that sink in. Just like the champagne in the carpet in the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field. 

  Enjoy this content? Follow Denver7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and download the Denver7 app on iOS and Android devices for continual access to breaking news, weather and sports.

Want Broncos news? Denver7 Broncos insider Troy E. Renck is your source. He talks to the players, covers the games and reports scoops on Denver7 and the Denver7 app. He is a CU grad who has covered pro sports in Colorado since 1996, including 14 years at The Denver Post. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and TheDenverChannel.com’s Broncos page. Troy welcomes most of your emails at Troy.Renck@kmgh.com.

from Local News https://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/rockies/rockies-top-cubs-in-13-innings-advance-to-division-series

[foursproutwealth-blog]

Human Evolution Favors Safe Thinking. As an Entrepreneur, You Need to Be Unsafe.

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/human-evolution-favors-safe-thinking-as-an-entrepreneur-you-need-to-be-unsafe/

Human Evolution Favors Safe Thinking. As an Entrepreneur, You Need to Be Unsafe.

Learn to step out of your comfort zone and your business will thrive.

April 23, 2018 8 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Excerpted from Unsafe Thinking: How to be Nimble and Bold When You Need It Most by Jonah Sachs. Copyright 2018. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

For more than five years, researchers have been able to demonstrate that women-led tech businesses, though rare in the industry, tend to outperform their male-led competitors. Yet Silicon Valley investors, paid millions for their Midas touch, still give male-led startups about 34 times the venture funds. Most have seen the evidence. Few have done anything about it.

Related: 7 Proven Ways to Reprogram Your Thoughts

Despite watching CVS vastly increase its market share after cutting its $2-billion tobacco business, every other major pharmacy chain continues to insist there’s no way it can stop selling cigarettes.

Having briefly learned a very hard lesson about the perils of over-zealous lending, big banks are once again spinning out subprime mortgages at a furious pace.

Old habits, it seems, die very hard.

It’s easy to see these as moral failures, but they are more likely simply very human ones. In the face of threats that come from rapid change, we’re programmed by evolution to seek what seems like safety — fall back on what’s worked in the past, choose the most obvious paths forward, hunker down and dig in — even when it’s obvious that such behaviors are incredibly dangerous. This is not just a problem for big businesses. Medical surveys show that when doctors recommend critical lifestyle changes, up to 70 percent of us choose to stick to our comfortable, unhealthy ways. Gallup reports that more than two-thirds of Americans are disengaged at work. They have settled for the safety of a job that doesn’t excite them — and they’re sometimes miserable in — rather than risk pursuing a passion.

Related: The Importance of Dreaming Big and Envisioning Success

We are, it seems, a species of safety-seekers. And then there are people like Jason Klein the young branding executive who, when hired to rename the Hartford minor league baseball team, chose the bizarre, seemingly ridiculous, and ultimately ingenious name, Yard Goats.

The Hedgehogs had been a close runner up.

At first, reaction to the Yard Goats was swift and merciless. “Worst thing I ever heard of,” snarled an 87-year-old man who had been a dedicated fan of the team, formerly known as the Rock Cats. He vowed never to watch another game. Twitter lit up with derision. “Yard Goats?” the fans demanded. “That’s the best you could do ?”

The anger and rejection that greet Klein’s creations never feel good exactly, but by now he knows this type of response signals that he’s struck a nerve. The people of El Paso, Texas had been angered when he named their team the Chihuahuas. The people of Lehigh, Penn., and Richmond, Va., had received the Iron Pigs and the Flying Squirrels with the same ire. Under pressure from fans, Klein’s clients had often considered abandoning the brands he created for them and ending their relationship with his firm. But, within a year, in all these cities and dozens more where his firm’s touch had been felt, sales of team merchandise had shot off the charts, setting minor-league sales records. People bought hats adorned with a slab of bacon, not just in Lehigh but across the country. They ate nachos out of dog bowls at the Chihuahua’s games and then proudly displayed the empties on their mantels at home. These franchises generated buzz, and profits, that teams with respectable names, like the San Jose Giants, simply couldn’t keep up with.

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“If you’re feeling nervous, that’s a good spot to be in,” Klein told me. “Stuff people expect gets forgotten quickly. On their mental computers they drag it right to the ‘I’ve seen it before folder.’ And then it’s game over.”

Of course, there’s a method to Klein’s seeming-madness. For many minor-league franchises, game over was becoming a real possibility. With the proliferation of competing entertainment options available in smaller towns and a decline in baseball interest, owners had been looking instinctively to the still-thriving major leagues to figure out how to compete. But, Klein and his firm Brandiose turned that obvious approach on its head. Minor-league teams, he reasoned, provide local family entertainment. The minors, he evangelized, can either be second-rate sport or first-rate spectacle. This assertion may offend die-hard fans, but Klein’s work has had enormous influence in the industry.

Klein could have made the citizens of Hartford and his client momentarily happy with a safer team name like the Huckleberries, the choice of Hartford Courant readers, in honor of Mark Twain’s history in the city. He would have gotten the high fives and the approval we’re all after. And his firm would almost certainly be struggling in a sea of sameness now. Instead, he has found a way to overcome his natural bias to seek safety and approval. In doing so he’s sparked a revolution of growth in what was becoming a stagnant industry.

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Klein is an unsafe thinker. He’s chose not to freeze in the face of the rapid changes tearing minor-league baseball apart. Rather, he saw the turmoil as an opportunity. He approached the problem with a spirit of courage and playfulness that he knew industry experts wouldn’t accept and would thus put his reputation at risk. And in doing so, he discovered a kind of genius in the bizarre and counterintuitive form of Iron Pigs, Flying Squirrels and Yard Goats.

So, why do a small number of individuals and organizations consistently thrive in conditions of rapid change while so many more attain a certain level of success only to get stuck in a rut? Why do so few of us take a flexible, nimble approach to unfamiliar challenges while the rest of us hold on to outdated or incremental solutions?

This tendency to retreat to the familiar when challenging times call on us to change is not the only unhelpful mental habit we have to contend with. It’s just one of dozens of quirks of the human psyche, implanted through evolution, that make us favor safe thinking. We’re also pushed in that direction by a bias toward projecting authority and surety instead of admitting we need to ask more questions, an involuntary drift toward conformity when working in groups, and a knack for internalizing conventional wisdom until it appears to be our own gut instinct.

While science tells us we face an uphill battle in changing ourselves and our institutions, it also offers plenty of reasons for hope. Our understanding of the nature of creativity has undergone a revolution in the past few decades. Where once creative ability was assumed to be a fixed trait that we can’t influence, more recent research tells us we have far more control when it comes to being far more creative.

Related: Are Entrepreneurs Born — or Made? Research Says ‘Born.’ But There’s a Catch.

Over the past three years, I’ve found dozens of individuals who have intentionally worked to expand their thinking patterns and broken with old habits and old ways. I spent time with economists who have upended conventional wisdom and even conventional morality by simply giving away money, no questions asked, to the world’s poorest, $1,000 at a time. I’ve seen how an executive vastly increased her company’s valuation by throwing away a $2-billion line of business she knew was undermining her company’s brand. I learned the secrets of a two-time championship NBA coach who’s taken the pressure out of the game for his players so they can be freed to take risks and I learned about where to find the courage to bounce back and reinvent yourself from the former CEO of the internet’s most famous flop who has since rebuilt her reputation and a thriving business.

I found that the breakthroughs of these unsafe thinkers often come not from a single trick or practice but from using all the mental tools available to them. Rationality and creativity, intuition and analysis, intrinsic and extrinsic drive, expert and beginner’s mindsets, these are all essential aspects of human thinking. The most adaptive of us rely on those tools that come most naturally and intentionally work to hone those they are less naturally inclined to use.

This whole-brain way of operating is not automatic or instantly achieved. But, it is urgently needed in an era when automatic and simple solutions, appealing as they may be, are unsuited to the challenges we face. We are confronting social, technological and ecological problems unimaginable to our ancestors. We also have, for the first time, opportunities to finally eradicate poverty and most diseases while designing far more just communities. It will take unsafe thinkers who move beyond a reliance on standard approaches, to help us overcome these challenges and seize these opportunities.