#not to mention that a how to destroy angels song was actually used for promotion for hannibal

[cannibalovers]

if SOMEHOW hannibal gets revived then bryan, please, pretty please, make trent reznor and atticus ross do the score for it, sincerely, thank u.

[doodler16]

If you asked me during the hazbin hotel pilot era who my favorite character was, it be Alastor 100%. He unironically stole the show with his mystery (if the pilot didn’t have Vaggie lore dump unnecessary I would’ve enjoyed a bit more), personality, voice, charisma, and heck even his design especially his consistent smile intrigued me. Even the way he interacted with the entire cast made me excited.

So what do I think of Alastor now? Alastor to me is a loser, unironically an attention whore in terms of screen time and merch, an egotistical, petty person, and a man child edgelord. He lost most of his mystery and charisma throughout the show (though I will admit I am interested in his backstory but I won’t be surprised if he, himself has daddy issues. And, I did find some of his jokes funny).

The pilot portrayed Alastor as this powerful overlord who didn’t care about his status which made him so unique. He wasn’t gloating about how he’s the radio demon about to end your fucking life. Alastor in the pilot was subtle. At the snap of his fingers he destroys Sir Pentious with no hesitation and no exchange of words. Meanwhile, Alastor in the show has to blab and go this tangent of how sloppy, slow, and unprofessional Adam is only to get his ass handed to him.

Alastor in the show frequently mentions his status and gets pissy when most don’t care that he’s back or straight up not recognize him. Meanwhile, in the pilot you will notice that it’s the opposite, Charlie (the princess of Hell) and Vaggie are freaking out that Alastor is here at their door. It truly shows much power and control presents in the pilot without even trying.

The thing that disappointed me the most was his lack of interaction with the main hazbin squad. It was the driving point of why I was excited for Alastor and how his involvement was going to shake up the hotel for better or worse. Only to find out He barely interacts with them and I’m supposed to “care” when the most of cast members hug and get excited that he is alive in episode 8.

Speaking of the hotel, he barely contributes much regarding the hotel and fucks around. Like I was expecting him to at least help Charlie and Vaggie brainstorm activities for the sinners to do or even take control in his own of how he would handle Angel dust and Sir Pentious. Heck or even go outside with Charlie and Vaggie to promote the hotel to other sinners via singing and cause some drama/mischief along the way. Specifically talking about the hotel, the only things he did was do the commercial, fix the walls, and protects the hotel twice. But That’s it.

As I mentioned earlier, Alastor is an attention whore in terms of stealing the spotlight in the actual show and being in most episodes, which may be good for Alastor fans. They got the full course meal but Vivziepop needs to focus on other undeveloped main characters who desperately need the attention and development. Which why Alastor should be used sparingly, this would also make the audience more interested with him and creates more mystery.

For example: Episode 5, Dad Beat Dad: you would think the episode would focus on Charlie and Lucifer’s relationship which it does for a small portion but we also gotta have Alastor in there so he could drop the biggest F bomb to Lucifer to show that he means business and hatessss him. We also gotta dedicate a 2:30 minute song duet between the two men having a pissing contest, along with our home girl Mimzy being a plot device/prop for Alastor in order to HYPE HIM UP and tell his origins. Because Alastor soooo mysterious and such a hunkkkk. Oh yeah, Charlie is there I guess…

Also, Alastor’s smile in the show bothers me personally, more specifically the way it’s drawn. It’s to jaded and sharp, so it’s pretty obvious to tell how he feels and emotions Alastor goes through. Meanwhile, in the pilot his smile and energy is so goofy and I miss that. That really added to mystery because not only keeps you on your toes but you don’t know what’s on his mind for the most part or his long term goal.

This is by far my longest post and I wanted to get this off my chest regarding Alastor. 😭

[abybweisse]

@gkrosental Oh, I’ve blogged about this before, but it’s split between various posts. So, it might be hard to find. You can check my blog, though, for #advanced technology, #medical technology, #technological advances, #medical advances, #reaper technology, etc. Oh... and stuff like #george and #giygas....

For one thing, that’s not Sebastian’s mobile; it’s the one Vanel’s thugs have. He just takes it from one of them to talk to Vanel.

The other thing is that modern technology shows up in the manga quite frequently, and Yana-san explained once that it’s an alternate universe to begin with, and these things are, therefore, only... slightly anachronistic. Let’s not forget that our earl has some kind of television; it’s been vaguely mentioned by our earl and Finny, and much more directly mentioned by Soma. Funny thing about the TV is that our earl must not be the only one to have one, since John Brown mentions the same TV program to the crowd at the Crystal Palace; he promotes the rumor that the show is based on Queen Victoria! But yeah... some of them are definitely still anachronistic, even for the Kuroverse.

The reapers (and their superiors) have advanced technology. We know this for a fact; even ages ago, when Othello was newer to the reaper organization, he’s seen carrying around a box of computer parts, like a keyboard. Othello says that humans can get ahold of such knowledge through demon contracts, etc. Even though Sebastian hasn’t been told (that we know of) to “invent stuff for me” by our earl, we can pretty well assume that Funtom’s innovative toys come from a combination of our earl’s imagination and Sebastian’s demonic abilities. Funtom is best known for its Bitter Rabbits and candies, but they also sell video game consoles... with game controllers connected by wires. Indeed, Funtom sells a few things that you’d only expect the reapers to have. But it doesn’t end with Funtom, not even regarding video games. How else would Chlaus show up in ch1 with that game cartridge packaging for “Mouse3”? It was actually full of the drug evidence he’d brought back from Italy... but the packaging is probably legit.

I suspect that reapers, like Undertaker, also have an effect on the advancements that humans make... accelerating the process of innovation. Those dialysis machines are a perfect example. I’m not sure yet who actually built them. Perhaps Druitt, since he has a medical license? And because Undertaker saved him on the Campania for REASONS...?

At one point, during the murders arc, Charles Grey makes a comment that Germany’s about ten years ahead of where it should be; I’m not sure how he learned that (perhaps from John Brown?!?), but this means that the Kuroverse is dealing with an accelerated timeline for its technological advances. Characters like Grey and Othello acknowledge something is amiss. But, it’s complicated why it’s happening. Germany might have some reaper or demon/angel intervention, too, but they also have/had prodigies, like Sieglinde Sullivan. She managed something her parents, with all their learning and training, had failed to do. SuLin was the result. Idk how they got the rest of the advanced technology they are using, like radar and tanks. Divine intervention? Other geniuses? Since coming to Great Britain, Sieglinde has continued to shock and amaze with her latest inventions... which seem to be financially backed by the queen....

The reason I mentioned #george and #giygas is because of my main theory regarding Black Butler... that’s it’s largely based on a Nintendo game called Mother3. I mean, that’s what “Mouse3” by “Ninkyodo” refers to, after all. But, as I’ve said in many of my posts about this, it’s not just Mother3 being used for the manga series; it’s the entire game series. And this topic is one of those situations that requires going all the way back to the first installment: Mother. In the US, it was titled EarthBound: Beginnings.

In Mother, a young alien, named Giygas (the translation varies, but this is one of the common ones), is traveling from their home planet, populated by this technologically advanced civilization. Their spacecraft crash lands on Earth and they are taken in by a couple, named George and Maria. They raise them as their own, and they later manage to travel with Giygas back towards their home planet, and Maria stays there... but George returns to Earth... with stolen technology, which he continues to research... and spreads around to other humans. Giygas is sent by their superiors to stop George, because the alien race is worried that humans will eventually use their own technology against them. However, George has died by the time Giygas returns to Earth, so they decide to target George’s descendants. Humans have started to incorporate the knowledge that George brought back; it’s even showing up in some humans’ natural abilities, as if it’s being genetically inherited. We meet one of those descendants, Ninten. He, with the help of friends, has to collect melodies from a song and sing it to Queen Mary, who is... kind of like Maria... but on another plane of existence, called Magicant.

Later, Ness (in Mother2, aka EarthBound) and his pals have to fight people who are under Giygas’ power, including a rather bothersome and wholly self-centered boy named Pokey Minch. By now, Giygas has been driven mad by his futile attempts to stop the spread of this stolen technology and knowledge. Then they have to fight Pokey Minch again, but Pokey has been drastically changed by time-traveling equipment he stole from a human inventor (Dr. Andonuts). Ness and his friends have to fight not just this futuristic version of Pokey but also an unhinged and unleashed version of Giygas; the alien has lost their physical form and now exists as an evil force of immense power. Through prayer (mostly), Ness and his friends are able to banish ... perhaps truly destroy... Giygas, but Pokey escapes to cause problems yet another time.

With Mother3, which never got a worldwide release (which is why Chlaus says in Black Butler that “Mouse3” [and the drugs] were hard to get ahold of in Italy), mirror twin brothers Claus and Lucas get separated after their mother is killed (and their father is too full of grief to help them). Claus ends up missing (he’s dead at the bottom of a cliff), and Lucas and the family dog, Boney, go on a quest to avenge his family. Lucas, Boney, and friends they make have to defeat King Porky; King Porky is what the time-traveling Pokey Minch decides to call himself when he travels to this future setting and settles down to become a tyrant. Giygas seems to be gone, but King Porky still follows Giygas’ destructive life path. King Porky is obsessed with popularity and technological advances. And, at some point, the lifeless body of Claus gets turned into a Fascinating Chimera, and the mirror twin brothers have to compete to fulfill a prophecy... of waking the Dark Dragon. Dr. Andonuts was previously forced to help King Porky, but even he eventually gets revenge.

I have a lot of posts about Mother3 theory, and I’m trying to focus here on a particular aspect, so here are some parallels, particularly regarding technology:

Our earl — Lucas

Real Ciel — Claus

Sebastian, under contract — Boney, the loyal family dog

Sebastian, aka the “Black Butler”, once the contract is fulfilled — Dark Dragon, particularly once the prophecy is fulfilled

Undertaker, bringing otherworldly technology to humans — George

Reaper superiors and/or John Brown — the original manifestation of Giygas and that alien race

Reapers, in general — Magypsies, in general

Prince Soma — Pokey Minch

Prince Soma with the Right Hand of Kali — Pokey Minch with the unhinged Giygas (This parallel would be further strengthened if Prince Soma ends up stealing anything out of Sieglinde’s lab or convinces her to make any sort of contraption for him.)

Queen Victoria, who demands unwavering loyalty and is trying to increase Great Britain’s power through technology and new infrastructure — King Porky, who demands the same and is also focused on infrustrucfure, technology, innovation, etc.

Queen Victoria with John Brown — King Porky drunk on unbridled power, basing his actions on what he thinks Giygas would want of him.

Undertaker, inventor of Bizarre Dolls — Dr. Andonuts, inventor of Fascinating Chimera

Sieglinde, chemist and inventor of various contraptions — Dr. Andonuts (also his younger version, Lloyd), inventor of various contraptions

There are so many other parallels, not just in characters and plots, but also in their timelines. However, like I said... I’m trying to focus on your ask regarding technological anachronisms.

TL/DR: It’s definitely supposed to be the Victorian era, but it’s an alternative universe to our own, so it took some different paths along the historical timeline. Add to that the fact that reapers and demons/angels (or other supernatural beings, like gods) have been intervening in human lives, and advanced technologies and innovations have been introduced along the way because of it.

There are lots of examples of this throughout the series, including the mobile phone used by Vanel’s thugs (Sebastian grabbed theirs; he doesn’t have one of his own). Other examples include TVs, video game consoles, war tanks, radar, and all the contraptions Sieglinde makes for herself and for others, like the Phantom Five.

This all works just dandy with my theory that the manga series is largely based on Nintendo’s Mother game series, since both deal quite a bit with “stolen” technology and runaway technology/innovation.

Thanks for the ask and for letting me screenshot the message to answer in a post. 😊

[analyze-1dsongs]

Only Angel

The first solo!1D song I’m going to do, and it’s because of the misconceptions I see of it all the time. Listen, if you know anything about Harry Styles, it’s that he has a dry sense of humor. When I first heard this song I was shocked at how sarcastic it was. That was the tone that I picked up on, and I feel like a lot of the heavier songs on the album really reflect this dry, sarcastic, mocking, and almost passive-aggressive tone. 

This interpretation is my own, so you are free to disagree or send me any of your ideas and I can update this!

I saw this angel I really saw an angel Let’s start with this opening of spoken words. Not only do these lines follow the church opening that mirrors Sign of the Times (which we can get into when I analyze that song), but it sets the tone of the entire piece. Harry TRICKS us in the beginning with the music, starting off so beautiful, peaceful, ANGELIC (see what he did there?) and ending up with a song that was not what we expected: loud rock n’ roll.

Basically, it sets up double meanings and a sarcasm: “She’s SUCH an angel!!!” Someone who appears to be angelic and good, however is not. Hmm, then who is this about? I’ll leave that up to you, dear reader. 

Open up your eyes, shut your mouth and see That I'm still the only one who's been in love with me

I'm just happy getting you stuck in between my teeth And there's nothing I can do about it

The “you” is apparently the “angel” that Harry is talking about throughout the song. Because of Harry’s womanizer image that definitely conflicts with his previous song writing topics of long-lasting love, it’s interesting that he would rebuke both at once by saying “I’m still the only one who’s been in love with me.” Taking into account the sarcastic nature of the song, as well as the following lines, he’s obviously upset that he has to interact with this person. He’s also telling us to “open our eyes” to the truth. He’s saying it’s obvious to the human eye, just stop talking so much about it--whatever “it” may be. He’s also slyly saying, “I’m not in love with this person.”

The following lines also set up more of the sarcasm. He’s “happy” that there’s “nothing [he] can do” about getting this person “stuck in between [his] teeth,” or “happy” that he has to have this person’s name on his lips / associated with this person. The “nothing I can do about it” qualifies the previous “happy” by comparing hopelessness to happiness. It’s sarcastic. Why would one feel happy to be hopeless, especially when seemingly forced to be associated with this person (or is it generally speaking to a TYPE of person?).

Broke a finger knocking on your bedroom door I got splinters in my knuckles crawling 'cross the floor

This part is my personal favorite. I laughed out loud listening to this when I finally realized how sarcastic everything was. Everyone tends to write these lines off as sexy, sleazy, Harry letting go of a boyband image, etc. However, the sheer exaggeration, the hyperbole of these lines truly takes the sarcastic cake. It’s as if Harry has been portrayed (and he has been, due to his womanizer image) to be this desperate sex machine that he “broke a finger” trying to get in to the bedroom and “got splinters” from wantonly “crawling ‘cross the floor” to get into this person’s bed. It’s deceptive, it’s genius, it’s SARCASTIC. 

Couldn't take you home to mother in a skirt that short But I think that's what I like about it The following lines are special, too. They also make me laugh when considering the sarcastic tone. Harry’s basically saying, “I like your skirt because that means you don’t have to meet my mother.” He’s using his womanizer image (that has been proven time and time again to be FALSE through his own actions and beliefs that he has presented) against everyone, trying to shout: “NO, WE ARE NOT DATING” as he has tried to say many times in the past about his good friends who are girls. 

He is also trying to allude to his past interviews. Harry has always said he wanted a domestic life one day, and bringing in the FAMILY means that a relationship is serious. None of these relationships are serious or even REAL.

She's an angel Only angel She's an angel My only angel Now, let’s analyze the word ANGEL here, because it is important for the next verse. Angel is a word used from religious ideas regarding purity / innocence as a servant of God in a sense. However, in Judeo-Christian beliefs studying the Torah & New Testament closely, angels are truly SOLDIERS and DEADLY ONES at that. They actually have more than two wings and multiple animal faces. In these religious depictions of angels, they are sent by God to destroy and carry out commands. The current religious imagery of angels is a complete 360 of what angels were truly about in ancient times. This could be an allusion to how someone who seems innocent in the music industry is actually a snake fake.

Another facet of “angel” is how they are regarded and revered by God and by humans. They are powerful, and given a platform by the almighty. This could mean that “angel” represents some sort of status / fame and also allude to the industry hierarchy. 

You can also interpret angel as referencing Victoria’s Secret Angels...whelp that leaves options VERY broad, am I right? (Notice the sarcasm, like this song!)  I must admit I thought I'd like to make you mine As I went about my business through the warning signs End up meeting in the hallway every single time And there's nothing we can do about it

The first line is a bit confusing. Continuing with the sarcastic tone, we can extend  the line as so: “I must admit, I thought I would like to make you mine.” This is definitely more of a “I thought this was a good idea.” Truly, the first line qualifies the second. Harry is basically saying: “I thought it was a good idea, even though there was something off about the situation.” The warnings signs may allude to this person being an “angel” or possibly using him for fame. 

In the next two lines, Harry references “Meet Me in the Hallway” which is earlier in the song, but he also repeats “there’s nothing we can do about it,” which now includes this person. They both don’t have a choice anymore. They are both seemingly escorted out and through the hallway mention, they do not even share the same hotel room.

Told it to her brother and she told it to me That she's gonna be an angel, just you wait and see When it turns out she's a devil in between the sheets And there's nothing she can do about it

Here we have the extension of “is this person using Harry for fame?” The answer seems to be yes by this verse. 

I thought the first line was Harry telling her brother, but it’s actually the angel telling her brother and telling Harry that “she’s gonna be an angel, just you wait and see.” She’s going to be famous, successful, and powerful, she’s going to have status and move up in the hierarchy. She’s going to be an Victoria’s Secret angel by dating Harry Styles!

The last two lines are ALSO misread as sexy and Harry singing about his sexcapades. It’s more of a karma type line. “She’s a devil in between the sheets,” as in, the media will now see her and represent her as someone easy, since Harry has already been represented as a womanizer who wants one thing (no pun intended). The last line truly hits home this interpretation: “And there’s nothing she can do about it.” The angel got what she wanted, but at the cost of being portrayed in a way she may have been trying to avoid. 

Wanna die, wanna die, wanna die tonight [3x]

Now this final part of the song that hasn’t been touched on are not part of the lyrics that are found on iTunes, nor is it part of the lyrics that come with the album booklet. However, many people hear this before the final parts of the song. Either way, Harry says something in this part of the song. If it truly is “wanna die tonight,” then this song took an even darker turn. It does make sense that to become an angel, one dies, as that’s another idea in religious ideas of mortality: when one dies, they become an angel. It’s also a way for a celebrity to be remembered, as dark as it sounds. The 27 Club, for example. 

This could also reference how either person, Harry or the “angel,” felt during the situation that was going on.

This is all leading up to what this song is referencing: Publicity Dating. It’s an open secret in Hollywood and the music industry. Celebrities fake-date a lot to promote a movie series, their own music, etc. This just confirms that Harry has done some. Could it be referencing all the fake relationships or one in particular, who knows?

You are free to disagree, this is just my interpretation. If you have any other ideas / theories, you can send them my way!

[airoasis]

The Untold Truth Of Always Be My Maybe

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/the-untold-truth-of-always-be-my-maybe/

The Untold Truth Of Always Be My Maybe

There is no maybe about it: at all times Be My probably is one Netflix long-established film you must undoubtedly watch. Starring Ali Wong and Randall Park, the film has been hailed via critics and viewers alike as a recent and hilarious success. So just how did this gem of a movie come to look the sunshine of day? For those who proposal the on-screen chemistry between Ali Wong and Randall Park was pretty super, you’re not on my own. Correctly, a part of that possibly on account that the comedic duo goes back a very long time, all the means back to school at UCLA, if you can consider that! They met within the late Nineteen Nineties at a pal’s position, the place mentioned pal was once internet hosting a fried rice cooking competition, as pronounced by The Washington put up.The two were additionally part of the LLC Theatre enterprise, a comedic performing arts crew that Park co-established. And in a twist that confirms all too evidently that truth is stranger than fiction, perpetually Be My maybe premiered at the Regency Village Theater in Westwood, which is where UCLA is placed. The surreality of that was not lost on them, either. Wong informed variety that being in Westwood was once, quote, "a trip." "superb. High-quality, as always. Ta-ta, Julianne!" "ok, to start with, you sound like rely Chokula." For as much acclaim as normally Be My perhaps is receiving, the movie could by no means had been made if now not for a fateful 2016 interview Wong did with the new Yorker. Wong used to be riding excessive from the success of her Netflix particular child Cobra, and he or she acknowledged that she and Park had been seeking to make a precise movie for years, their, quote, "version of When Harry Met Sally." Of course, by means of their "variation," Wong presumably intended an Asian take, as there aren’t exactly a ton of rom-coms in the market with Asian-American leads.It didn’t take very long for the phrase to get out about it after that, and boy did the web reply. Vulture even put out a plea to Hollywood, begging to get the movie green lit. Park recalled in an interview with The Washington post: So Wong and Park received to writing the script, along with screenwriter Michael Golamco. The rest, as they say, is history! When Harry Met Sally wasn’t the only movie that Wong and her crew appeared to for inspiration even as birthing always Be My possibly into existence. The 1992 famous person-studded comedy Boomerang, starring Eddie Murphy, used to be additionally a movie Wong had in intellect when fleshing out the characters and meditating on the comedic aspects of the film. She instructed Rolling Stone: moreover, Wong favored that the premise of Boomerang used to be black staff working at a black promoting company, anything she found clean, and, quote, "empowering." She dished: The late 2010s marked an uptick in the amount of movies starring Asian-American actors, like loopy wealthy Asians and To all the Boys I’ve loved before. Continually Be My might be is a welcome addition to these groundbreaking movies, and it quite is the first of its form.Director Nahnatchka Khan gushed in an interview with variety: The equal holds true for Jordan Peele’s Us, a horror movie predominantly starring black actors. Furthermore to that, Park and Wong emphasized that it was equally fundamental that they make a amazing film, as individuals wouldn’t wish to see it in any other case, it had to be great. Wong joked: invariably Be My perhaps is stuffed with many little moments that Asian american citizens resonated with in a specified manner, similar to Judy telling Sasha: "We Koreans use scissors for the whole lot." and Sasha preparing unsolicited mail musubi for dinner. Those moments are major, as they allow families descended from immigrants to peer bits of their possess daily lives on the monitor in front of them. Whilst that used to be certainly intentional, Park additionally desired to make certain that the film wasn’t rife with stereotypes or populated via characters that viewers would expect. The actor defined to The Washington submit: To that end, they sought to make the relationship between Marcus and his dad, who does not speak with an accent, affectionate and close. "howdy. At some point, you are gonna must take a threat on whatever, son." That flies in the face of the stereotypical portrayal, which suggests Asian moms and fathers with thick accents.One of the crucial many hilarious and bitingly smart elements of the movie is Marcus’ band, good day Peril. With intelligent lyrics and fun performances from the actors, you cannot aid but crack a smile when the band takes the stage. And sure, that is the noted Bay discipline rapper Lyrics Born on stage with Marcus. Plus Dan the Automator honestly produced all of the hiya Peril songs, in step with Pitchfork. And get this: Park even wrote his own lyrics. It most commonly helps that he had his own ’90s hip-hop band, unwell again, to use as concept.You might no longer have caught it, however Park very intentionally named the band good day Peril for a purpose. In an interview with Pitchfork, he published: How intelligent are you able to get? It used to be pretty unimaginable to overlook that Daniel Dae Kim performed the role of Brandon Choi, Sasha’s fianc. You would have well-known him from his work in misplaced as Jin-Soo Kwon or possibly as Jack Kang in insurgent, the sequel to Divergent. While we’re over here questioning why he would not have his possess James Bond film but, Kim used to be simply hugely stoked to be cast in Wong and Park’s movie.In an interview with form, he gushed: Plus he says he loved attending to play a jerk. Hey, he possibly the sweetest man in real lifestyles, however Kim seems to be a professional at enjoying jerks! "So, you need me to head to San Francisco alone?" "that’s the great thing about it. We would each be in new environment. We might be aparttogether." And Wong knew what she was doing with this casting, too. The actress shared: You could have noticed some subtle cultural details in continually Be My probably. For instance, within the establishing, Sasha and Marcus remove their sneakers when they come indoors, only replacing them when it’s time to leave. That’s corresponding to Judy pointing out that Koreans use scissors for the whole thing.However a few of these touches were the work of director Khan, whose movie debut is arguably a visionary one. She wanted to make certain that the time and location, the San Francisco Bay discipline in the ’90s, was reflected within the film, mainly for Asian-american citizens. She defined in an interview with the los angeles occasions: So, should you felt transported to a San Francisco where the rent wasn’t so darn excessive and there weren’t hipster coffee shops all over the place, that’s the motive why.Kimchi stew. Lemongrass dumplings. Free shumai. And yes, even venison sous vide, complete with headphones… "Comes with headphones so which you could hear the sound of the distinct animal you might be about to eat, illustrating nature’s life to death cycle." In so many scenes in invariably Be My perhaps, food plays an most important position, each as a marker of cultural identity and a drive that can either convey individuals collectively or destroy them apart.Food is fundamental in each tradition, and, on this film, viewers are treated to the cuisine that’s gigantic in Asian-American traditions, corresponding to Korean and chinese food. Lest we omit that Sasha is a chef, and a very successful one at that! To that end, it makes complete sense that they employed famous person chef Niki Nakayama as a consultant for the movie. Director Nahnatchka Khan advised the los angeles times: Who’s hungry now? All of the places they filmed within the film had a enormous feel of situation, person who felt acquainted, especially when you grew up in the Bay field within the ’90s as Wong did. And although Park grew up down south in l. A., he put a number of himself into his character, Marcus.In an interview with NPR, Park shared: And, you realize what? That fairly comes via. Suppose it or now not, Park actually brought facets of his loved ones onto the film set: above all, these artwork. He defined: All of that helped make things believe as exact and nearly the heart as viable for him. When you saw the trailer before gazing always Be My maybe, you knew Keanu Reeves was going to show up at some factor. But in the event you did not, you might have fallen out of your chair when he turns up as a satirical version of himself as Sasha’s date."Jesus Christ." "Oh my God, you are bleeding!" "You see how convenient that was once, Marcus?" recollect that dinner scene? Yeah, it was once clearly one of the vital funniest moments of the movie, whole with lines from Reeves like the characters’ $6,400 meal costing "not up to a residual paycheck from my hit film speed." Of course, Wong and Park wrote the function explicitly for Reeves with out understanding if he’d simply take it. But much to their shock, he did, and he reportedly was a whole blast to work with. Wong had some unique reasons at the back of this casting, too. In an interview with Vulture, she confessed: verify out certainly one of our newest movies right here! Plus, much more list videos about your favourite stuff are coming quickly. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don’t leave out a single one. .

[suranflower]

Things I got from BS&T Japanese version

Ok hear me out: Jimin realised something. I don’t think he saw anything but more like connecting things he had been seeing and feeling he suddenly realised something, something big. Significantly, and connecting it to other MV, Jimin walked through the same corridor as Jin in Awake. He was eating an apple. Jin had one going around in Awake too —if I remember well. And what is an apple? An apple, according to biblical mythology, is the fruit that comes from the Tree of Science. It’s the forbidden fruit that made all humanity fall from Heaven, but it is also the fruit of (forbiden) knowledge. By eating it, Jimin is both falling and opening his eyes. Now, here’s the thing: Yoongi blinds him as soon as Jimin has gone to realize that thing. Jimin, who has been blind and trying to scape for a long time, being trapped into something (as in Lie, as in BS&T Korean MV), into a “Lie he cannot scape”, something that he played along with but he didn’t quite understand. And when he finally realizes it and he is able to “scape” (and by doing it encountering himself), he is suddenly blinded again by Yoongi, who stands beside him like a shadow. Therefore, he is not able to see himself and he is seen going back again to wherever he was before. Now here’s the other big thing: I’ve always thought of Taehyung as the evil (either the Devil or a representation of evilness and temptation, sins and even pleasures), with Jin as “the good” and the pure. I noticed, however that in this MV things are a little different. On the first view I didn’t pay too much attention and thought “Jin is the evil now?!” But he is not. The thing is that, for once, Jin —in a sense— is acting like a tempter here: he gives Namjoon the lighter (Yoongi’s lighter) and even though he apologizes to Taehyung, he still beats him up and somehow “tricks” him into stabbing him, into committing a crime. Suddenly, it feels like Jin knows much more and he is actually manipulating the whole thing, not just contemplating, like it seemed in previous MV (he recorded, made pictures, observed from a distance and contemplated art, stared into the camera but overall had a passive role). So, while his intentions still seem to be good, he has become —at least for me— a much more complex and grey-ish character in the sense that, even if it’s to prevent bad things from happening, he is still manipulating everything and everyone (that is some machiavelic thing going on). Jin is always in everything. He sees what is happening and he knows how to change it. Both the beating of Taehyung and the final scene with Namjoon seem to be very important. And if he has some sort of gate or seeing to other realities (or the past), he is and has always been, constantly using that “gate”. On the other hand, if we talk about Jin we have to talk about Taehyung, because after all they usually play parallels (it’s specially noticeable in Spring Day were they imitate each other’s movements constantly). During BS&T Korean version, Tae seemed very happy and like at home, very confident. In BS&T Japanese version, he looks haunted, scared, as a wild animal in a cage or other timer very serious —and drugged—, like for the most part of Spring Day. Something has changed for sure. If I remember well, he is the first to fall in Not Today. Now what about Yoongi? I mentioned him before and I think Yoongi’s role is more important than what we could think of. Yoongi is also the evil, but not the “tempter” evil type that Taehyung is, more like one that promotes ignorance, blindness (that’s why his scenes with Jimin in both versions of BS&T) and destructive passion, as seen by his fight with Jungkook, the anger outbrusts, his apparent tendency to destroy things (First love anyone?), and finally setting fire to that motel room. It’s a very human “evilness” —weakness could maybe be a better word—, unlike Taehyung, much more “god-like” in this sense (that’s why I usually say he’s the Devil and if you remember BS&T Korean version, he is a fallen angel, just like Lucifer). Fire is the ultimate symbol of destructive passion. But it’s also a symbol of cleansing (as seen in Fire MV and song). Could it be a way ti say he “washes” Jimin’s mind to keep him blind? Anyway, I think we can confirm that Yoongi’s passion for fire is no joke. And I’d like to say that under my point of view, he is, in so many senses a representation of human flaws and passions. He seems to live it all to the extreme and latest consequences. For Yoongi, however, it’s not just fire. Also drinking. In Fire, he’s with a bottle and I always got the feeling the fight with Jungkook was fuelled by alcohol as well, present too in HYYH era photos of him in the hotel room. What does this connect with? Jungkook. Jungkook is given a strange drink by Namjoon (the same drink he was having in BS&T Koresn MV). Drugs? Most likely. He is seen in a very bad state which makes me wonder if he died of some kind of overdose and we could connect it with the whole “blue lips” and JK being dead in Spring Day thing. Jungkook, however, always seems a step behind, specially in Spring Day. He seems to be one of the truest victims of whatever is going on (along with Jimin, probably) because unlike Yoongi and Hobi who are very active in their own self destruction (INU, Run), he seems to realize how foolish it is and suffers from watching his friends in such a bad state. I think after this MV we could say that the one being the most clearly “tempted” and not knowing any consequence is Jungkook. In Run he seemed to be thinking “why are we doing all of these things?” looking at his mates. The question pops out. In Not Today, he has a revelation, as all of them are shoot. A revelation he had in Spring Day as well when he saw himself in the train. He is the one who will potentially save them all as he is the youngest, the future. When he realises things, nobody stops him, unlike with Jimin, the other figure who is clearly tempted. And who is left? Namjoon and Hoseok, both of them with very different roles in INU/Run compared with BS&T. Let’s start with Hobi. In INU/Run, he is in a state of depression and wants to end it all. But he slowly gets over it and recovers (he throws away his pills, he is seen happy with Jimin). In Fire he’s a ball of energy and also in Not Today, he’s defiant and confident, and also in BS&T Korean version —where he is maybe more agressive. Who is he aiming at with his arc though? Taehyung. The same one he is pointing at with a dart in the Japanese version. Tae looks scared. Others are holding him. It’s almost as if J-Hope had something against Taehyung? Maybe. Then Namjoon. He’s the representstion of recovery and hard work, of keeping up with life in INU/Run. In Not Today and Fire his role is similar to Hobi’s. But in BS&T… He has fallen into temptation. But he seems way more self-conscious (remember the mirrors in Reflection?) about it than Jungkook is. It’s almost as if Namjoon knows exactly what he is doing all the time, while Jungkook lets himself slip into a fantasy world. In BS&T Japanese version he is actually Jungkook’s tempter. He has, or will have, a very important role. Let’s not forget he is the Spring Day king. I think he has always know what he is doing and why, but his role is to be more explored, like Hoseok’s

note: also Taehyung's "lone wolf" jacket. I think his role is about to change a lot, either in the next cycle for BTS (supposing thisbis really the end as the ending being the very start of INU would close the circle) or if they keep up with this storyline (if we can call it like that lol).

[fiddletwix]

Rating: 6.5/10

Plot: Kronk has been living a happy life in the village since the end of the last movie. He has a good job as a cook, he’s the leader of a Squirrel Scout troupe and everyone around town loves him. However, he’s shaken when his father, Papi, announces that he’s coming for a visit. Kronk has always yearned for his father’s approval, but has never been able to get any recognition since his father finds everything he enjoys to be silly, and believes a successful life can never be achieved without a house on a hill, a wife and kids. Kronk explains to his boss that he had most of that stuff once, but lost it all. When he’s done with his stories, Papi arrives, and Kronk has to convince Chicha, Pacha’s wife, and their kids to pretend to be his wife and kids for one last chance at a thumbs up from Papi.

Breakdown: Some of you have been following Dissecting the Disquels since the start, and we’re nearing the end of the road (about four left after this, give or take). By now, you’ve probably caught on to the familiar formulas Disney tends to use when it comes to Disquels.

Almost all Disney sequels follow one of these structures.

1 – The child of the main character from the first movie having their own adventure, which is the first movie either redone or in reverse.

2 – A prequel or midquel no one asked for and answers questions no one had.

3 – Three stories stitched together, pretending to be a full movie when, in reality, it’s actually a pilot to a failed or aired TV series.

You should be able to tell by the plot synopsis which route this movie takes.

So take a stab at an answer. Which do you think it is?

If you answered 3, you’re right! Though, don’t feel bad if you answered 1 or 2 because even those are partially right.

While Kronk isn’t Kuzco’s kid, they do make off like this is a replica of the first movie in numerous ways. I’ll get more into details later, but the very start of the movie has Kronk in a bad situation narrating how his life was awesome and asks how he got in this situation, like Kuzco does in the start of the first movie. The first song of the movie is a choir/soul song singing Kronk’s praises like the first movie did with Kuzco (except it’s totally different because whereas Kuzco had a man singer, Kronk has a woman singer.) and the finale answers where the first scene came from and so on.

This is a sequel, not a midquel or prequel, but it does delve into Kronk’s backstory (gotta love the recurring trope of compelling backstory=daddy issues) and answers questions no one had like ‘What happened to Kronk after the first movie?’ ‘Did Yzma ever turn back into a human?’ ‘What happened to that restaurant Kuzco and Pacha stopped at during the last movie?’

As for the stuff about being a first movie replicant….

You know how many Disquels seem like they’re pretending to be the first movie or have the wrapper of the first movie and bank on that being enough to hook in viewers? Those movies never seem like they care to try to be like the first movie and do the bare minimum to remind viewers that it is indeed still a movie in the franchise. This movie, however, is doing its damnedest to try to be the first movie in every way short of just taking a DVD of the first movie and printing the poster art for this movie on the front.

The weird thing is, the story isn’t very much reminiscent of the first movie. Kronk’s not really getting his groove back. He never lost it. He never gets turned into a llama or any other animal or anything. Plus, the fact that this movie is technically three stories in one means the focal goal really can’t be anything like that.

What I mean by this movie being a replicant is, holy hell, they love to throw every single joke they ever made from the first movie at your face. Outside of some jokes exclusive to Kuzco, and I’ll get to his role soon enough, they take every notable joke and scene from the first movie and recreate it.

For many of them, they recreate them and then run them into the ground. For example, Kronk’s shoulder devil and angel appear way too many times (they even give Tipo, Pacha’s son, his own pair so they can milk the living hell out of it), they repeat the animated ‘plan’ quickly narrated by the planner schtick a couple of times, they let the uncomfortable Yzma seeming like she’s sexually alluring someone go on for nearly an entire scene etc.

Most of the other references are just one-offs, but the insane repetition of jokes doesn’t end there. When they have an original joke, they also like to run that into the ground, even if the joke isn’t funny. For instance, during the second segment, they have Kronk mark his box of eggs with ‘Kronk’s eggs. Property of Kronk. Do not touch except for Kronk.’ then his love interest, Ms. Birdwell, has a box of raisins which have ‘Birdwell’s raisins. Property of Birdwell. Do not touch except for Birdwell.’ written on them. Then ‘Tipo’s itching powder. Property of Tipo. Do not touch except for Tipo.’

That wasn’t a funny joke the first time, yet they deemed it funny enough to repeat three times. They not only have it in writing, either. They need to have someone read each item out loud, subsequently wasting five seconds of your life on purpose each time.

That’s not to say everything in the comedy department’s a failure. I will admit, a couple jokes actually warranted a chuckle out of me, which is more than I can say for nearly any other Disquel. That was when they were actually making jokes that kept the spirit of the original movie’s comedy instead of just referencing it or directly ripping off its jokes.

They start getting a steady rhythm or ‘groove’, if you will, and then they screw it up by repeating a joke, making a first movie reference or repeating a first movie reference. Maybe this movie is more accurately titled than I thought, because I wanted Kronk’s New Groove to get its groove back quite often.

In a story perspective, we can break up the film fairly easily. We start with Kronk flailing around in a bunch of cheese as he narrates to us about how he got into that situation. We flashback to earlier that day and get the Kronk praise song I mentioned. Kronk has made a good life for himself as a cook at the restaurant Kuzco and Pacha visited in the first movie, and everyone loves him. However, he gets a llama-gram (which is not delivered by a llama so I guess this is just another first movie reference) that says his father, Papi, will be coming for a visit soon.

Papi is under the belief that Kronk has a successful life as a businessman with a house on a hill, a nice wife and several kids – the requirements to be successful per Papi’s guidelines. Papi never approved of the way Kronk acted, such as speaking to squirrels and cooking. He basically forced Kronk to give those things up, telling him he’d never be successful unless he got serious.

Kronk explains to his boss that he once did have the house and family, but was unable to keep any of it.

This leads us to the story of the house. But first, an interlude by Kuzco. Since fans of the first movie are probably wondering when Kuzco will make an appearance at this point in the movie, they give Kuzco the responsibility of popping up once in a while as an interlude either before a segment or in the middle of it. They’re all not funny, none of them have a point and they only serve the purpose of giving David Spade a paycheck.

He shows up before the first segment, in the middle of the first segment, in the middle of the second segment and then finally shows up in the actual movie for a few minutes at the very end.

This first segment interlude has Kuzco merely telling us, over and over and over and over, because repetition is this movie’s bread and butter, that this is Kronk’s movie – not his. Because we’d never get that from the fact that this movie’s called KRONK’S New Groove. Most of the time, they even omit the ‘The Emperor’s New Groove 2’ part of the title. It’s officially just Kronk’s New Groove.

I don’t know where they got that DVD art. I’ve never seen it outside of the movie.

And that’s all he does. Fun fun. Why is he one of the most prominent characters on the DVD covers and promotional art, again?

The actual first segment is about Kronk running into Yzma yet again. She’s returned to a human state, but maintains a cat tail. After an incredibly long scene of Yzma flirting with Kronk to seduce him into her plan (including, yes, the reference to her raising her dress and showing leg, which is actually nonsensical here because she’s trying to show him something she’s stepping on and her dress isn’t long enough to warrant needing to do that for that task.) we’re made privy to her scheme.

Yzma has a plan to sell a youth potion to the elderly people Kronk has befriended. She needs Kronk to sell it because he’s built a good rapport with them so it will be easy for them to trust his pitch. He reluctantly agrees because he needs the money to build a house on a hill to impress Papi.

We get a song break that….I’m not sure I like…..I like Eartha Kitt a lot. I loved her in Batman, I love her as a singer and as a person, and I hated it when she died. This is also her second to last film role before her death. However….she sounds really….odd here. For some reason, she sounds like she has a Russian accent half the time and her singing ability is just off-base. I’m not sure if she was sick and that was affecting her ability to talk or sing properly, but she just sounds weird in this movie.

Long story short, the people nab up the youth potion and eventually become addicted to it, Kronk becomes rich and buys the senior center from the desperate-for-money old folks, which he destroys for the sake of building his house, and Yzma reveals that she’s just putting sewer sludge into a bottle and selling it.

Kuzco interrupts again just to tell the audience that Yzma’s a snake oil salesman and this whole thing’s a scam for some greater scheme…..Thanks Kuzco. I’m sure you educated the butternut squash that didn’t deduce that at this point.

Kronk sees that Rudy, the old man who threw off Kuzco’s groove in the first movie, is naked and begging for money to buy youth potion. He and his friends sold everything they had, including their clothes, in order to get more youth potion. Kronk spots him a bottle and he starts acting like Gollum from Lord of the Rings….Literally. That’s the reference they’re making. Kronk, with the help of his shoulder angel, realizes that Rudy doesn’t look any different, so the potion must be a sham.

This is just stupid. Rudy needs to actually realize that he doesn’t look any different before he realizes that the potion’s a placebo. Tricking yourself into believing it’s making you feel better because you trust Kronk is one thing. Ignoring that the outside does not match the inside…..especially when naked……is another.

Yzma’s real scam was to get all of the elderly people on her side so she could win an election for emperor. They brought up that it’s odd that it’s suddenly an electoral position, but they don’t explain why Kuzco doesn’t seem to be running a campaign if it is (Kuzco voluntarily giving up an opportunity to partake in an activity that is literally nothing but speaking highly of him? Yeah, not happening) nor do they explain why the elderly vote is so vital to her campaign. Only elderly people are buying and using this potion – I can’t imagine elderly people were such a huge majority of the population back in Incan times.

Yzma get ousted as a fraud, the old people chase her through the city and they do that bit from the first movie where they pan out far away to see her on top of a huge overhang. They very nearly redo the ‘I win’ joke from the first movie, but Yzma again turns into a tiny cute animal, this time on purpose so they won’t attempt to hurt her. Little bunny Yzma rejoices in victory, but is carried away by a hawk and we’re left to assume she got ripped apart and eaten.

The lesson of this segment, by the way, is that you’re only as old as you feel….which 1) is useless to the demographic this movie is aimed towards 2) doesn’t make a lot of sense anyway because a lot of these guys felt old to start with. They didn’t want to improve their looks so much as how they felt.

In order to make up for what he did, Kronk gives his super cool new house to the seniors and that’s how Kronk lost his house.

Next up, the story of how Kronk had and lost the love of his life. Kronk goes to a competition for Squirrel Scouts when he meets a woman named Ms. Birdwell. He falls in love according to schedule a la Disney Princess, but the romance is ended before it even starts when Kronk’s fun loving scouts cannon-ball the more refined campers of Birdwell’s troupe, getting them wet….yeah. That’s the huge conflict. The swimming children….got wet…so Birdwell’s furious. Oh and one of the girls got her dolly wet, so that makes her super furious. Must suck to live in a world where shit doesn’t dry.

Because of this, Kronk and Birdwell become incredibly determined to beat each other in the competition and run their kids ragged in training. They realize what idiots they’re being so they decide to make it up to their campers by making raisin bread. Which leads us to the ‘property of….’ yadda yadda ‘joke’.

Birdwell and Kronk fight some more, but when things get out of hand, they feel guilty and start making bread together, which leads to our second song…..a disco song, which is fine….but….uh….the background animation is just Kronk and Birdwell being luvey duvey with each other and uh….some of the animation is…..*cough* I might just be reading too much into some of it, but you can’t tell me there’s not something off about her saying ‘get out your oven mitts, because it’s about to get hot’ followed by this…

This

and especially this

There is no way I’m reading too much into that. Their movements, their position, the camera angle, Kronk’s facial expression. I was surprised that shot even got by the censors.

In addition to the Aladdin 3 effect of making a bunch of Disney movie references during this montage (Lady and the Tramp, Tarzan) third-party movie references (Titanic) and for some reason a Michael Jackson reference (hot on the heels of his second child molestation allegation. Smart, Disney) it also seems like this whole montage is one big reference because this is the second time I’ve seen a main character in an animated Disney sequel fall in love through a disco dance montage – The first being A Very Goofy Movie (should that be considered a Disquel? Hm.)

While I can dance along to the song just fine (and no one shall ever see me dance) I have to say, this montage goes on for too long. They just make various references, dance and gaze creepily into each other’s eyes.

Montage over, Kronk and Birdwell are ungodly luvey duvey now (as in, I was gagging at how luvey duvey they make these two in the proceeding scenes) and Kuzco butts in again. What does he have to say now?

Nothing. He cries because it’s so romantic then tells the audience to excuse him because he needs a moment.

That’s it.

That’s all.

Kuzco has less to do in this movie than Slowking did in Pokemon the Movie 2000.

They make up with the campers and go on with their friendly competition. They end up tied in wins with the tiebreaker being the cheer off. However, there’s a snag.

Kronk told everyone to do whatever it takes to win the previous day, so Tipo decides to put itching powder in the grip chalk before the other team does their routine. He tells Kronk right as their routine starts and the team falls, with Birdwell falling into the mud. She finds Tipo’s itching powder bag, and Kronk takes the heat for it, since he feels guilty for putting Tipo in that situation.

Despite this being a clear misunderstanding (it’s not like he told Tipo to cheat, and I can bet she also said something similar to ‘do whatever it takes to win’ to her campers) Kronk doesn’t even really try to patch things up and Birdwell leaves in a fury.

And that’s how Kronk lost his woman.

The final story takes place in the present, though still flashbacked slightly, and Papi arrives. This segment is by far the worst and the most annoying to sit through.

I hate stories where the main setup is fueled by lies and deception that the audience is aware of. It makes everything incredibly predictable and awkward. However, they amped up the sitcom awkwardness to levels I never even imagined. Kronk asks Pacha is he can borrow his wife and kids and pretend he owns his house just for however long Papi stays. Before he can solidify agreement, Pacha runs off, thinking he’s got a better idea, and Papi arrives, leaving Chicha with the baton.

He’s short.

It’s funny because they thought this intimidating guy would be tall, considering how huge Kronk is. Haha.

She agrees to help and everything goes alright for a while until Pacha comes out in drag, claiming he’s Kronk’s wife. Normally this would be the end of the road for the charade, but Kronk says he’s Chicha’s mother. Papi starts hitting on Pacha….Hah…..Wait, where’s Kronk’s mom? Is she dead? You create a backstory no one asked for and then forget a big aspect of it? I’m surprised they didn’t take the obvious joke of her being dead because this is a Disney movie.

Kronk also tries to hide the fact that he’s the cook at the restaurant. Rudy then comes in pretending he’s Kronk’s wife. Then some of Kronk’s Squirrel Scouts get together in a big coat to pretend they’re Kronk’s wife. Some other elderly people arrive in diapers to pretend they’re Kronk’s kids. Kronk’s two old secretaries from the first segment arrive claiming they’re his wives. Finally, Kuzco arrives in drag pretending to be Kronk’s wife. At least he acknowledges that he weaseled himself into the movie. Points off for bragging about it instead of it being a confession, though.

….Is it weird that I think Kuzco looked better as a llama in drag?

Anyway, Kronk left some cheese in the pressure cooker, the result is what you’d expect, so we’re back to the beginning of the movie. He confesses to his father and then realizes that he is successful because he has a bunch of great friends.

His father’s not so quick to accept that because, by his definition, he still has nothing. His friends, however, reveal that he used to have a big house, but gave it up for his friends and he used to have a girlfriend, but gave her up to protect Tipo. And it’s during the predictable speech and group shot that you realize Kuzco has gone missing again. Do they need to pay David Spade for screentime even if he’s not talking?

They also give us this lovely shot of Chicha.

Sweetie….you okay?

The expected happens again after the speech as Papi realizes that Kronk’s right and gives him the thumbs up he always yearned for.

Because we need every possible thread tied up neat in a bow, Tipo arrives. He sneaked out earlier after he started feeling guilty about Kronk’s situation since he was responsible for what happened with Birdwell. As a surprise, he brought Birdwell with him. By the way, did Pacha and Chicha get replaced with Didi and Stu Pickles? Tipo’s been gone for about an hour. Pay attention to your children!

They don’t say Tipo explained everything to Birdwell, but she has forgiven Kronk and they reunite. They imply that Papi and Kronk’s boss will get together and then they dance to a reprise of the first song, which, now that I’m hearing it, says ‘be true to your groove’. Which means this movie should moreso be called ‘Kronk’s Old Groove – Now with 50% more parental respect.’

We still have Yzma’s plot thread to take care of, so we see Yzma in a nest when the eggs next to her hatch into cute little birdies, who then turn into crazed monsters and we’re again left to assume she’s ripped apart and eaten. Roll the seven minutes of credits in the hour and 14 minute long movie.

The en….wait.

During the credits, there are a bunch of photos. Through these photos we see Kronk and Birdwell getting married, going on their honeymoon and buying a house on a hill as Papi gives them a thumbs up.

……..So….doesn’t that mean….the whole message of the movie is now moot? Now Kronk has 2/3 of everything Papi required for him to be seen as successful, and he’s probably on his way to getting the third if that bread kneading scene is any indication. I know they wanted to drive home the happy ending, but come on. Don’t unravel your entire plot. We can deduce that they get those things down the line.

———————————

This movie received the predictable terrible to mixed reviews and, even over 10 years after its release, it still holds a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes…..which is completely unjustified in my opinion.

Anyone who left a rating on RT, go watch the Disquel garbage I’ve watched then go back and write a review. You fuckers gave Hunchback 2 a 30%, Cinderella 2 an 11%, Tarzan 2 a 33%, Tarzan and Jane a 17%, Belle’s Magical World a 17% – one of the few Disquels that actually seems like it’s trying to give a shit and, hell, is just actually trying….a 0%. Jeez, no wonder RT and IMDB seems like two entirely different worlds at times….

I agree with some of the reviewers that Kronk is funny in smaller does and just cannot hold a whole movie on his own. Nor can he probably hold a TV series, which is why this never took off.

However, The Emperor’s New Groove did get a TV series, though it was still based on Kuzco. It was called The Emperor’s New School, and it was about Kuzco needing to graduate school before he can officially take his place as emperor (just go with it). I’ve watched a few episodes of it and it was fine. Kuzco’s left best in smaller doses, too, though, especially when he’s hitting on the TV series love interest of Malina.

Oddly, while Kronk is also in that series, he’s back to being Yzma’s crony and Ms. Birdwell is no where to be found.

This movie was both better and worse than I thought it’d be. Usually the Disquels that employ structure 3 are basically unsalvageable, but this one’s entirely watchable and even a little funny. It’s not great, there are some spots that are actually terrible and the whole structure is a complete mess, but, like I mentioned before, when it gets in its groove, it’s one of the stronger Disquels.

They poke fun at themselves, they poke legitimate fun at Disney itself, and there are some good and funny moments here. It’s just a shame because it could’ve been a lot better. They obviously had a drive to do it, but the stories they ended up using were just either bland or cliché as cliches can possibly go without causing a rift in time and space.

It’s also one of those movies that reeks of production problems. I can’t find anywhere that states such a thing, but it seriously feels like the writers and director wanted one thing, a legit sequel, while the higher ups forced them to make it into a series of episodes for a failed pilot.

I would not be at all surprised given the first movie’s troubled production history, but let’s save that story for another time.

The art and animation is lower quality than the first movie, of course, but it’s on the high end for direct to DVD Disquels. Despite Derp!Chicha, there aren’t that many odd frames and the animation is fluid enough.

The music is also better than Disquels usually give us. I’m not a big fan of the feature presentation version of Feels Like A Million by Eartha Kitt, but the end credits version where it’s less filtered and is half lounge-y sounds much better. Let’s Groove by Earth, Wind and Fire is something I can listen to anytime. Be True to Your Groove by Sandy Barber is eh, and the orchestral music is fitting and nice, especially the very last end credits song. It can get a little too doinky, though.

The voice acting is great, barring Eartha Kitt’s odd voice work here and there. Nearly everyone reprises their roles, including John Goodman, but I almost wish David Spade had just said no to this because his role is entirely pointless from start to finish. I don’t care how much it’s not his story – Rudy, Pacha, Chicha, the kids, even Bucky the Squirrel had 1000x more to do in this movie than Kuzco did. It’s almost like they thought no one would buy it if they didn’t see Kuzco throughout the movie and on the artwork.

Give this movie a shot if you liked the style of the original movie. It really does make an effort at both trying to stay true to the original and being funny on its own, but be prepared for a lot of first movie references, beating the dead horses that are some of the original and referenced jokes and just dealing with the typical blahness that comes with Disquel-itis.

Recommended Audience: Surprisingly, there are several instances of sexual themes, and it can’t all be my dirty mind. Rudy gets naked once, but you obviously can’t actually see anything. Plus, some references no kid would ever get but that doesn’t matter much. 7+

Dissecting the Disquels: Kronk’s New Groove (The Emperor’s New Groove 2) Rating: 6.5/10 Plot: Kronk has been living a happy life in the village since the end of the last movie.

[duaa7343-blog]

The Development of Arabic Music

I grew up with a love of music, all kinds and styles of music. I loved listening to Indian, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese and many others types of music. However, as an Arabian girl I cannot deny the extreme influence of Arabic music in my life and my memories. My ear got used to the sound of the delicate beats of the Arabian oud, that familiar sound is played on my heartstrings. Sometimes I ask myself why Arabic music isn’t popular around the world although it is rich with unique melodies? Many people have never listened to it before. Why are some styles of music more preferred among people than others? I would like to see Arabic music getting the recognition it deserves and reaches more and more people around the world because I believe that music connects people together, and helps us to understand each other. Not to mention that it plays a big factor on how a culture is perceived. That’s why I did some research on this topic to get a better understanding of this issue. 

To develop something in the right direction, you should look closely into two things: what it is lacking, and what are the obstacles that are stopping it from developing. No matter how much time we spend trying to make something work, we won’t be able to make it work if we don't know what is actually missing. When it comes to Arabic music, there are some things that Arabic music is lacking. First, music is rarely tough in schools in Arabian countries. There weren't any classes that teach music in my country. That is why many people grew without being able to practice music and understand the importance of it. Other things that are missing in Arabic music are preferred more by certain ages and certain types of people. Arabic music didn’t change so much over time and it lacks the diversity. For example, it doesn’t contain enough things to keep all of the age groups attracted. It is important to understand, young ages are not always focused or driven by real talent, but rather to what catches their eyes and what is popular and trending. People these days need to watch and listen to things that keep them entertained. Most of the time Arabic songs don’t contain english phrases, music videos, and often dances are not performed in the concerts which makes people feel less enthusiastic and involved with it. 

Now it is the time to answer the second question: what are the obstacles that are stopping the music from developing? Music in Arabic or the Islamic countries has been facing a lot of challenges and it was fought by many people from the day it was started until this day. From an Islamic perspective, people are divided into more than one type. Some people in the middle east who compeletly support listening and enjoying the music and believe it is allowed in Islam and it should be more opened and develped. There are other moderate people -which I support- who believe music should be only in a certain type. It should only be constructive and discuss topics that talk about values and it shouldn’t contain bad words, dancing moves that violate decency. Another type of people who completely fight against music and believe it is evil and it is not allowed because it manipulates people's minds and its harms are more than its benefits. Many people in the middle east still resist the idea of being open to new types of music because some people believe that being open might lead to moral decay. However, this issue makes many young people drift away from Arabic music and choose to listen to different styles of music. 

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I support being moderate when it comes to music. However, I can understand both sides’ point of view and why both sides think they are right. I can see why people want Arabic music to be more open and free. People do not like the feeling of being restrained, tied or suppressed. People love freedom and love to have their inner voice heard. They want Arabic music to meet their actual feelings. On the other hand, when people are raised on certain beliefs, they find it difficult to accept new ways and change their view that they have been taught since they were born. Especially when they think they are saving society by fighting against what they think is right. They feel like they carry on their shoulders the task of fixing what they believe to be corrupt. People who resist music have many fears that music would insert bad behaviors in society, destroy the family bonds, and young people's minds. They want to protect -in their view- the world by fighting against music. That is why I see that they have good intentions behind what they are doing. In this case, not everyone agrees on the same definition of music development. Some people believe that development comes with changing our tradition and beliefs and other people who shut the door of development because of the fear of its dire consequences. 

It is true that music can affect human behavior? Yes it absolutely can. Like everything else in this world, music can change human mood and behaviors in good and bad ways. The words of the songs and the music that is played can affect the brain and the subconscious mind. There are many cases when songs have lead people to commit suicide, crimes or take drugs. On the opposite side, there are many more songs that helped people through a hard time and gave them hope in life. Should we worry about music manipulating our minds? In my opinion, everything in the world has its downsides. However, we should be careful when we are dealing with those things. I don’t think avoiding music would prevent people from doing bad behaviors. If someone wants to do bad things, they will find million ways and reasons that encourage them to do so. I believe that it depends on us how we want music to affect us.

After discussing these problems, I would like to discuss how these problems affect the Arabic world and why it is important in my opinion to encourage people to develop Arabic music to the better. It is a human tendency that when you limit people, they try to find alternative ways that make them feel they are in control. Sometimes we think by limiting something we solve the problem. We think that when we prevent others from doing something, we reduce people's interest in it. But quite the opposite. We see that people are thirsty for art that expresses their feelings without restrictions. As a result of the lack of different types of music in the Arab world, people choose to follow Western music because it is advanced, developed and free, rather than seeking to encourage the new talents that we have. Not only that, another result for that, many Arabian artists choose to not sing in Arabic. At this point we realize that when Arabic music doesn’t make people feel happy, that might lead to bigger problems such as, not feeling a sense of belonging to their culture and they feel that there is a barrier between them and their culture.

That’s why this topic is important to me. It is an undeniable fact that music can do many amazing things. Music makes people feel peaceful, united and understood. In fact, it is an important factor to build a culture and it is how many cultures are defined these days. When we hear someone is from Korea, many of us think about K-pop and k-drama. Korean music is very famous these days. Korean bands are performing in many countries and getting fans from all around the world. BTS is a korean band, composed of seven members who performed at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards that was in Los Angeles. Many people consider them as their role models in life and many people who don’t speak korean have learned the language and dream to visit Korea as a result of the big influence of their music. It is great to see how the world embraces many talents from different places. It is a beautiful thing that can make people understand and feel closer to each other. 

What are the things that attract people to listen to music in the first place? Music world is very entertaining because of many reasons. Music is very interesting because it deals directly with our emotions. We get different responses depending on the type of music we listen to. For example, we like loud music because it can give us a sense of happiness and motivation, quiet music because it gives us a sense of relaxation and calmness, sad music because it gives us a sense of comfort and relief and the list goes on. Not to mention that but many people listen to music because they admire the artist. There are many artists that we like and we find ourselves following their news and care about them and want to support them because music creates a bond between the listener and the performer. Another thing that attracts people to music is when music is trendy. There is something special that drives people to listen to a certain song that is popular. Many people listen to popular music, for example most of the young people like the music that is popular in “Tiktok” because it is considered as a theme between a group of people and listening to it would make them a part of a certain group and get them closer to each other.

After spotting the things that Arabic music is lacking, and understanding the real obstacles that face Arabic music and understanding what actually attracts people to listen to music in the first place, I would like to introduce my action plan  to “Arab Music Magazine”. My action plan promotes the idea of helping Arabic music to develop. I believe “Arab Music Magazine” has many aware readers that are conscious about this problem and can help to solve it. In our Arabic world, we have many talents that are hidden because of the fear of the rejection and the society’s opinion. We should encourage young people to be proud of their culture, and offer them a platform for their talents and for their ideas that are related to the development of music. We should believe in these new talents and what they can bring to Arabic music. Arabic music, like everything, needs a renewal in order to progress. We should allow ourselves to be creative and think more openly about the future so the world could hear us. Developing doesn’t mean changing our identities or who we are, development means to embrace what we have. Another point that I have is that younger people can learn faster than adults. Since many countries don’t teach music classes in schools, we need to educate people about the importance of music since they are kids and have the time to learn music and find their passion and encourage schools to teach these classes.

When I think about the future of Arabic music, I truly can see it getting the recognition it deserves and getting bigger and bigger in the next few years. I can see many great Arabic songs are known by many people around the world. In this new world, anything can happen. In the last year, music classes were officially added to the schools, and concerts became allowed in my country. The future is promising as long as young people learn music in schools. Things are changing day by day at the speed of light, giving the hope that Arabic music will finally see the light. Not to mention that people are starting to have different opinions toward music and more and more people now are supportive to the development of music.

[lacalaw2]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ermias Joseph Asghedom came to be known to the world as rapper Nipsey Hussle. Over more than a decade long career, Nipsey’s popularity grew until the rapper met his untimely demise at the age of 33 on March 31, 2019. Nipsey’s musical legacy sheds light on the gangster lifestyle that consumed him, however, there are numerous song lyrics that hint at his breath of knowledge gained through reading. His voracious reading habits and his ancestral lineage are aspects of Nipsey’s life that were only explored in personal interviews. Nonetheless, these aspects of Nipsey’s legacy are equally important and undoubtedly hold greater significance for the man who many view as a unifying force around the globe.

March 31, 2019

3:55 p.m. — Nipsey Hussle is declared dead at a hospital.

April 11, 2019

10 a.m. — Nearly 20,000 people attend a public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in honor of Nipsey Hussle.

  Oman (AP) — While the events surrounding Nipsey Hussle’s murder unfolded, I was living in the Sultanate of Oman where I taught English at a college in the former capital city, Nizwa. In relation to time, Oman is eleven hours ahead of Los Angeles.

April 1, 2019

6:00am — My cellphone alarm clock rang. I reached for my phone and looked through my Instagram, which I have a habit of doing. While scrolling through my feed, I came across Amil Gibbs’ IG post, which stood out because Gibbs rarely posts photos. Also, the photos Gibbs posts are usually related to himself, and not others. Nipsey’s photo on Gibbs’ IG feed struck me as out of place. After reading the caption, I feared the worse. As I began to scroll through my IG feed, it became clear that my worst fear was confirmed — Nipsey was dead. Tears welled in my eyes. I went into denial — it had only been one week since I read about Nipsey’s business successes in Forbes magazine. The fact that he was deceased was too great for me, his fan. I still needed to prepare for work so, I got dressed and proceeded to drive to work.

7:20 a.m. — En route to work (a short five minute drive), as I approached a roundabout, I noticed a large truck that was speeding. I adjusted my speed so as not to collide with the truck. The truck’s driver continued to enter the roundabout without stopping or slowing down to wait for me. Subsequently, the truck cut me off. As the truck continued down the road, I stared at the truck’s license plate which I noticed read 1090. In that moment, since I have a history of encounters with these numbers, I snapped a photo for posterity.

April 7, 2019

7:20 a.m. — En route to work, upon exiting my home I looked into the sky to find two distinct lines (possibly chem-trails) that intersected forming what looked like a cross. Over the six months that I lived in Nizwa I had never seen airplanes fly at the altitude at which these lines were. Though planes were visible at night, they appeared to fly at an altitude of 38,000 feet. These lines appeared to be far closer to the ground, perhaps 10,000 feet. How the lines were made is a mystery. Similar lines were neither seen before nor after this date.

Conclusion — Nipsey was a divine being who completed his mission on Earth. To arrive at this conclusion, I employed the use of Supreme Mathematics utilized by the Nation of Gods and Earths.

It was exactly 7 days from the day that Nipsey was murdered that I took this photo. Also, seeing 1090 on the license plate of the vehicle that cut me off  (on the day Nipsey was murdered) confirmed for me that my past 109 encounters were preparing to interpret  this event.

Wikipedia states “The Supreme Mathematics is a key concept in the Five Percent Nation. The Supreme mathematics is a system of understanding numerals alongside concepts and qualitative representations that are used along with the Supreme Alphabet. The Supreme Mathematics is thought to be the highest system of numerology in the Nation of Gods and Earths, used to give qualitative value to numbers in addition to quantity.”

The Supreme Mathematics include the following numerals :

1. Knowledge

2. Wisdom

3. Understanding

4. Culture or Freedom

5. Power or Refinement

6. Equality

7. God

8. Build or Destroy

9. Born (Birth)

0. Cipher

First, encountering 109 over more than a decade has prepared me to interpret these events. When 109 began to come up on my radar I amused myself with the idea that these numbers simply alluded to my birthday (October 9). Seeing these numbers at stressful times while traveling helped me calm my nerves, e.g., while flying. My habit of encountering these numbers when I was not looking for them always struck me as peculiar. I often documented my encounters and shared them on Facebook. Recently, after searching Google for an alternate interpretation of these numbers, I learned that these are Angel numbers calling me to a higher purpose. What is more, the Nation of Gods and Earth’s interpretation is no less surprising when Supreme Mathematics are concerned. For instance, when closely inspected, 109, reads Knowledge, Cipher, Born according to the NGE. That 9 means “born” or “birth” as defined by the NGE, and that it is the day on which I was born is a huge coincidence that spurs me to wholeheartedly accept Supreme Mathematics.

Second, I saw the lines seven days after Nipsey’s murder. Seven is a Biblical number. After the Heavens and Earth was created, God rested on the seventh day. Likewise, the NGE interpretation of the number seven is God. Nipsey’s name, Ermias, actually means God Will Rise, therefore, the connection between Nipsey and my sighting seven days after his murder is only fitting to establish Nipsey’s status — a divine being. Another definition of the name Ermias offered by Google is Sent By God, which too lends itself to a similar conclusion.

Third, through patrilineal DNA, Nipsey was a descendant of the Axumite Empire — a Biblical Empire once led by Queen of Sheba. The Bible mentions Ethiopia (one of lands included in Axumite Empire’s territory) in the Book of Genesis. Queen of Sheba’s story is told in the Book of Kings. During the reign of Haile Selassie I, Jamaicans deified His Imperial Majesty because they had never seen a Black man rise to his level. Also, Marcus Garvey prophesied that a king would rise in Africa before HIM was coronated. The sequencing of Garvey’s words and Selassie’s coronation was proof that they were witnessing God’s plan.

In conclusion, Nipsey’s interviews and documentaries about his life suggest that he had lofty goals for himself and his community. The most outstanding goal of his was that of changing the narrative that Black and Brown people are forced to accept in America. Instead of offering songs that promote mindless gyrating on the dance floor, Nipsey suggested that his community grow wealthier through the ownership of real property.

Nipsey Hussle: Supreme Mathematics LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ermias Joseph Asghedom came to be known to the world as rapper Nipsey Hussle.