#performance from synder way

[kstarlitchaotics]

You know the scene when Bruce is removing the Kryptonite from Clark's chest and they're being sassy at each other as Bruce is saving Clark's life that's the kind of friendship I would like to see in the new DCU if ever

General observation

[viking-raider]

I’ve only seen a few things with Henry Cavill in them and I love him mostly as Napoleon Solo. Also from clips and photos I’ve seen from Synder’s DCEU, Henry Cavill’s Superman reminds me of Injustice Superman

Oh yeah? I love his Napoleon Solo. Really want a second one! His Superman will always be one of my favorites. Top 2, with Christopher Reeves.

What I recommend:

Geralt of Rivia, even though he's not in the show anymore. (Big Sad). (Netflix)

Nomis/Night Hunter, the premise of the movie could be triggering, don't how you'd take something like it. (read about it first) but OMG! Walter Marshall, Henry's Original Grumpy Character, before Geralt! (Amazon Prime)

The Tudors is also really good. His character, Charles Brandon's, development from Fuck Boi to Teddy Bear, is the best. (Starz of Amazon Prime)

Sherlock Holmes! I will show his performance as this Detective from the rooftops, for all the time! He's so good as Sherlock. Esp in the 2nd one, where we get to see some of Henry's humor. It's not all about his muscle and brawn. He's wielding his mind as the sword now. It's like we've stepped back into him playing Charles Brandon in a way. (Netflix)

August Walker, wow! Another role Henry really blew out of the water! And I will say, the man can sport a mustache like few I've ever seen! (Amazon Prime)

[shallowseeker]

Character parallels and modes of emotional operation

SAM + PROJECTION

You know, someone somewhere in the tags said that Sam projected onto Jack very, very hard, wanting desperately to see himself in him, even when Jack sometimes displayed a very different emotional life.

This is a fun Sam trait. Because Sam saw himself in "the monster," the monster was worth saving. (I don't necessarily judge that as an abnormal, spookily terrible thing. That's literally how empathy works.)

But interestingly, it's also why he's praying to Cas in the beginning of season 7.

SAM: He's not! He's in there somewhere, Dean. I know it. DEAN: No, you don't. SAM: No, I don't. But, look, I was pretty far gone sometimes myself, and never gave up on me.

Sam easily forgives Cas, just like he easily forgives John. Because deep down, he views them as fundamentally similar. He sees himself in them, and so they get big passes on moral things, whereas Dean and Mary, the ones who are supposed to support him in a certain way, do not.

To be fair, with Cas, Sam and Cas actually have a lot of parallel journeys, even translating to back-and-forth cinematography throughout the series. (Hunter Heroici & Our Little World come to mind.)

That's why it was so good for Cas to go with Sam in Peace of Mind to give him mentorship, and for Dean to go with Jack to try to tackle his emotional headspace.

//

THE "SAVE THE CAT" FAMILY LOVE STORY & PARALLEL JOURNEYS

THESE ARE CARVED IN THE LIBRARY ON THE "WORK TABLE" = It gives us a glimpse into each character's primary mode of emotional operation in their daily lives. It's also a little reminiscent of the coworkers' bar, but the library is specifically more of Sam's domain. The family business coworkers' space or the "legacy space," perhaps.

The final table reveals the parallel journeys of the characters: Sam and Cas on one side; Dean, Mary, and Jack more parallel-ish the other. Some lines are literally more parallel.

They're all a big giant love story, but it's in the movie-industry-Save the Cat / Blake Synder kinda way, a tapestry ranging from familial to sibling to parent to child to lover to friends to comrades to even groups of strangers.

(Even buddy stories are love stories in disguise, so the saying goes in the movie workshops. It's often about sacrifices and meeting in the middle, despite your differences and mistakes.)

///

WHERE WOULD OTHER CHARACTERS FALL?

Maybe in completely different directions, like more vertically oriented. Also, I think characters move around the table, depending on their psychological wounds of the moment. Nonetheless, they probably have particular quadrants of operation they stick to within the narrative.

(Movements: For example, I think Mary and Eileen are on the right with other heart characters, but they can also tend to go "lone wolf," more analogous to Castiel and later-John, who live more fully on the left.)

I suspect Henry Winchester would be on the left, too, over with Cas and Sam. He's a "thinking character" and seems stupidly courageous to the point of sacrifice. His idealism has the potential to get him into morally corrupt scenarios, as well.

Millie Winchester on the right, with the other heart characters.

//

The Campbells are harder. Probably because they tend to move with the modes of their circumstances more readily.

I'd put Gwen Campbell for sure on the right with Dean, a sensitive heart who "performs toughness" to disguise it.

Samuel Campbell could be on the left, right next to Mary's rightward name; a parallel to Cas-and-Jack. Samuel is still tragically trying so desperately to save her, even decades after her death.

Of course, Winchesters can move, too:

John could also be right next to Millie, who seemed to try to love him through his crises. (Or John could be next to Mary, of course, especially in the context of The Winchesters, where they actively work together as co-protectors/coworkers within the narrative.)

Another movement character: John could actually be on the right for a little while, with the hearts, running parallel with Millie, as he grows up without Henry.

///

For The Winchesters companion series, even though we didn't get very far into it, I mentally visualize Deanna Campbell as being someone who might sell her soul for Maggie, which is why she's cagey and missing for all of season 1.

Ergo Deanna on the right with the hearts but opposite Maggie Campbell, who lives on the left, very close to an intersection with Mary's journey.

Latika is an idealist, so I'd put her on the left, too, with other idealists.

And Carlos, on the right, with other "heart" characters.

[atopfourthwall]

Knowing what you said about "Zack Synder's Justice League" on here and past tweets, what did you think about the theatrical cut of it at the time of it's release and has your POV of it changed since all the stuff that came out during the reshoots and all that mess?

I actually saw it like a year or so after its release, IIRC. And not really - the film has remained “Okay” at best. I don’t think it’s that great, mostly because it’s still built on the crap of the previous two movies, I think the complaining about the CGI over the upper lip is VERY exaggerated (I kept looking for it and I couldn’t tell anything had been done), it’s actually in color, I liked the references to Batman and Superman music leitmotifs (even if there’s no reason to use them because these aren’t in the same film series), and I complained a lot about Ray Fisher’s performance being bad... though of course given the crap he went through, it’s understandable why he wasn’t giving 100% on it and by all accounts, things are much better for him in the Snyder Cut. The villain was garbage and like I said it was still built on the crappy foundations of MoS and BvS - the thing about the MCU was that I CARED about the characters moving into the Avengers. It was FUN to see these characters who hadn’t interacted before having scenes together when they hadn’t before - Iron Man’s snark over Thor’s more dramatic manner of speech, Cap’s report with most of the team, etc., etc. I WANTED to see more of these people, so it was so great to have any scene where they interacted and eventually coming together. With Justice League, I liked Wonder Woman walking into it... but even the end of her movie and how it tied into BvS just made me keep thinking how she seemingly DID NOTHING for almost a hundred years in Man’s World. I hated this Batman, I hated this Superman, and Justice League was introducing us to Aquaman and Flash. And they were fine, but I wasn’t excited about them and I wasn’t excited to see them interact with anybody. I joked when I first saw it that Superman dying was the best thing that could’ve happened to him because suddenly he started ACTING like Superman. But of course he’s barely in it because he’s dead for the first half, then missing for most of the second half. I just didn’t care about it the way I did for the Avengers. And therein lies the problem with the first few movies of the DCEU for me: I don’t care about these people, and some in cases I don’t even LIKE them, so I don’t want to see more of them. I cannot look at these as individual movies and separate them. Some can - even if the Snyder Cut is an improvement, I don’t care to see ANY more of Cavill Superman or Affleck Batman. I’m done. And hell, from what I’ve heard Gadot’s Wondy in Wonder Woman 1984 does a lot of iffy stuff, too, so now I doubt I even have that anymore. If you like these movies, great. I’m happy for you - but they clearly not for me and I’m not going to pretend they are. EDIT: Oh, and of course I am still and forever will be bitter that DC stole Cyborg from the Teen Titans and transplanted him into the League post-New 52 because they realized how bad it would look to have an all-white team and he was their only black character most people knew about outside of comics (aside from John Stewart, but heaven forbid HE be Green Lantern instead of Hal friggin’ Jordan because “”””iconic””““).

[smeemyselfandi]

Every movie of 2021 I've seen till  2/20/2022 ranked best to worst

 1. Judas and The Black Messiah- I was on the edge of my seat since I didn't know the story that well. It's a shame it's a true story.

2. The Green Knight- The most beautiful movie of the year.

3. Spider-Man: No Way Home- Not the best Spider-Man movie but pretty close

4. Raya and the Last Dragon- I liked all the characters and was a very good adventure to watch.

5. Encanto- The songs are just too good.

6. Nightmare Alley- The first half really got my attention. 2nd half is not as good but still solid.

7. Last Night in Soho- It wasn't as scary as I hoped but still pretty creepy and entertaining

8. Candy Man- Better than the original in my opinion.

9. The Suicide Squad- Still not perfect but a much better improvement then the other one.

10. Red Rocket- Simon Rex giving one of the best performances of the year. Never thought I say that.

11. In The Heights- Just a fun musical. The songs weren't as good as hamilton but still good.

12. French Dispatch- One of the stories is great but the others are either okay or kinda bad.

13. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings- Has some of the best action scenes in the MCU.

14. Bad Trip- Better verison of Bad Grandpa.

15. Belfast- Beautifully shot but drags in some places.

16. The Mitchells vs The Machines- One of the best family films of the year.

17. Dune- Beautiful movie but felt too long.

18. Spencer- The performance is better than the actual movie.

19. The Tragedy of Macbeth- It's just another Macbeth movie.

20. Black Widow- Fun for the most part but dumb in some places.

21. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two- Best Two-Face movie

22. Godzilla vs Kong- Dumb but fun.

23. Zack Synder's Justice League- Long but better than the original.

24. Batman: Soul of the Dragon- Better Mortal Kombat movie.

25. Mortal Kombat- The action was good but lacked the charm and character from the first one.

26. Patrice O'neal: Killing is Easy- The doc was good but should've been much better for a great comedian.

27. Licorice Pizza- Most overrated movie of the year?

28. Luca- The story is bland but the animation is good.

29. Venom: Let there be Carnage- I'm just happy to see Carnage.

30. Together Together- Cute movie nothing special.

31. The Matrix Resurrections- Meta stuff is good but everything else is meh.

32. Oxygen- Takes from other movies but it's okay I guess.

33. Eternals- Too long but I liked some of the characters.

34. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One- Should've been one movie cause this felt incompleted.

35. Justice Society: World War 2- I like seeing some of the characters but the story was bland.

36. Halloween Kills- Pretty dumb. Didn't expect it to be worse than the other one.

37. Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans- Let down of a finale of a good series.

38. Chaos Walking- Interesting idea done poorly.

39. Old- Another interesting idea done poorly but this was worse.

40. Injustice- A boring and stupid story to be done.

41. Spiral- Don't expect SAW movies to be smart but at least let them be entertaining.

42. Space Jam- That Porky Pig rap scene is one of the worst scenes I've ever seen.

43. Willy's Wonderland- Could've been decent if they tried harder on making the villians more intimidating.

[sleepykittypaws]

Celebrate the Olympic Spirit

Sure, the Olympics aren’t a holiday, per se, but the every-four-year, or two if you count both Summer and Winter editions separately, massive international sporting events sure seems like a reason to celebrate, especially given their recent, unprecedented delay. And what better way to get into the Games mood, than by watching a sports movie?

Here are my favorite motivating, inspirational, and aspirational tales of athletic derring do…

Favorite Sports Movies

The Cutting Edge (1992) - This figure skating romance was released around the 1992 Olympics, and actually name-checks that year's winter host city, Albertville, more than once.  It's not good in the traditional sense of great storytelling or athletic veracity, but I loved it so very much I saw it three times in the theater as a teen. Watching it at some point during every Winter Games is a tradition for me so, yeah, I can’t help it, I love this silly sports movie/romance, which also features a bit of holiday feels.

Wimbledon (2004) - It's a rom-com. It's a sports movie. It's a rom-com sports movie that really should be better known. Notting Hill but set at tennis' best-known event. Paul Bettany and Kristen Dunst have surprisingly great chemistry, and there's more sports-related tension than you'd think.

Friday Night Lights (2004) - A football movie for people who don't really like football. a.k.a. 🙋‍♀️. The TV series it spawned is also brilliant (”Clear Eyes, Full Hearts,” indeed), and well worth a watch, but the original movie, starring Billy Bob Thornton, is, honestly, a masterpiece. Definitely Peter Berg's best work and the original book, written by Berg's cousin, Buzz Bissinger, is a great read.

Muriel's Wedding (1994) - You mean you forgot this Australian export, which made Toni Collette a star, was a sports movie? Yep, one of my all-time favorite movies, of any genre, this absolutely brilliant, ABBA-soaked comedy is not only a girls-night go-to, but also a stealth Olympic sport classic.

Remember the Titans (2000) - OK, football isn't in the Olympics, but it sure does make for a good sports movie setting. Even if this early 1970s-set story is most definitely Disney-fied, Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Ryan Gosling and a baby Hayden Panettiere really sell this sort-of true story.

Invictus (2009)-Rugby isn't an Olympic sport, or even one most Americans know much about, but this Matt Damon-led, Clint Eastwood-directed, based-on-a-true-story tale made me care about a sport I'd only tangentially knew even existed before watching.

Hoosiers (1986)-I grew up in Indiana so, by law, I have to include this basketball classic on any "best of" sports movie lists. Also, it actually is really very good.

Rudy (1993)-Ditto the above. But, again, it's hard not to root for Sean Astin (and Jon Favreau!) in this love letter to the Fighting Irish. Plus, there’s no better scavenger hunt task or TikTok challenge than going into a bar and convincing a patron to allow you to put them on your shoulders and march around chanting, 'Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.' 

Miracle (2004) - Given how much more popular the Summer Olympics are, it's weird that the Winter Games seem to get all the good movies made about them, but this Kurt Russell-led true tale is another Disney sports movie classic.

McFarland, USA (2015) - Disney, and Kevin Costner, just really know how to make a sports movie, damn it! This movie made me care about cross country for which it, too, could have carried the title Miracle.

A League of Their Own (1992)-The best baseball movie ever. Yeah, I said what I said. Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty—even Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell are making it work. 1992 was a weirdly great year for sports movies.

Moneyball (2011) - A movie about baseball, and math, and yet it's also great, I swear. In addition to all of the above, it's also a stealth Christmas movie and maybe Chris Pratt's best non-Marvel, movie role.

Creed (2015) - This surprisingly effective Rocky reboot starring Michael B Jordan as Apollo Creed's illegitimate son has spawned its own movie series which, in many ways, exceeds the original Rocky franchise.

Rocky Balboa (2006) - Maybe it's because I was a toddler when the original Rocky came out, so only saw the ever-worse sequels as a kid, but this mid-aughts return to the character for Sylvester Stallone, as both writer and actor, is a triumph.

Eddie the Eagle (2016) - That Hugh Jackman features in as many movies (spoiler alert) on this list as Kevin Costner surprised me, too. This story of the English ski jumper who became infamous for being, well, less than golden, is one of those non-Olympic triumph stories that really works. If you're going to watch one underdog-at-the-Games movie, I definitely prefer this this to the more ubiquitous Cool Runnings.

Love & Basketball (2000) - Only because I'm an anglophile is this great, chemistry-filled Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps college basketball romance not my favorite sports-movie-meets-rom-com.

I, Tonya (2017) - Margot Robbie and a nearly unrecognizable Sebastian Stan are perfectly cast in this sarcastic, highly stylized look at the Tonya Harding scandal.

Pride (2007) - Apparently I like this swimming movie, which I think almost no one saw, better than critics, but I found this 1970s-set, Terrence Howard-Bernie Mac-starring story of inner city kids excelling in the pool emotional and entertaining.

Field of Dreams (1989) - This Kevin Costner magical realism baseball classic is often goofy and imminently tease-worthy and yet…It also works. Maybe it's no surprise that someone who loves cheesy Christmas movies as much as I do would have a soft spot for Field of Dreams.

42 (2013) - Chadwick Boseman is absolutely fantastic as legend Jackie Robinson. One of those movies that's ostensibly about baseball, but is really about so much more, except not in a pretentious way.

Race (2016) - Before Jason Sudeikis was Ted Lasso, he was famed track coach Larry Synder in this Jesse Owens biopic that is far from perfect, but still important. Plus, I honestly don't think Stephan James got enough credit for his relatively nuanced portrayal of Owens.

Goon (2011) - This overlooked gem starring Sean William Scott as a semi-pro hockey player whose main skill is his ability to take, and dole out, a beating, is surprisingly great.

Real Steel (2011) - This is a robot-boxing movie starring Hugh Jackman that is basically Rocky meets Over the Top—and yet it's actually really good. Yeah, I was surprised, too.

Forget Paris (1995) - OK, so maybe Billy Crystal playing an NBA referee doesn't really make this a sports movie, but it does begin and end (spoiler alert) at real NBA games, and I will die on the hill that this rom-com co-starring Debra Winger is wildly under-rated.

Bend it like Beckham (2002) - This girl-power sports movie has some highly questionable romantic dynamics (the coach is their love interest???) but this Parminder Nagra-Keira Knightley movie is also a heckuva sports movie and an inspiring immigrant story.

Bonus Pick: The Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso is one of the best things I watched in 2020, and I'm sure of that, because I watched it twice since, just to be sure. Jason Sudekis is absolutely perfect as an American college football coach taking over a UK Premier League team. This sweet show with a heart of gold is smart, funny, and absolutely impossible not to love—even for a cynic such as myself.

More Sports Movies Worth Watching

For someone not very into sports, I am, apparently, into watching movies about sports, so while not a comprehensive listing of the entire, vast genre, here are a few more suggestions I personally think are worth watching.

The Miracle Season (2018) - This movie about high school volleyball champs whose star player dies suddenly stars Helen Hunt and is a lot better than you'd think based on its tiny budget and, honestly, fairly small story. Just missed making my Top 25.

The Way Back (2020) - This Ben Affleck as a drunken high school basketball coach movie is a lot better than expected. Released just as the pandemic kicked into high gear, it was overlooked last year, but worth seeking out.

Fighting with My Family (2019) - Does it count if it's a show, not a sport? Either way (but that's why this isn't in my Top 25), this stealth Christmas movie/love letter to the WWE is a lot better than it ever needed to be thanks to some really great performances from Florence Pugh, Lena Headey and directer Stephen Merchant. Even The Rock reins it in.

Warrior (2011) - You couldn't pay me to watch an actual UFC bout, but this Tom Hardy story of (literally) battling brothers is incredibly compelling and well done.

Win Win (2011) - This movie isn't really enough about wrestling, even though its ostensibly centered around the sport, to make it into my Top 25, but it's still really good, and Amy Ryan gives an outstanding performance.

Fever Pitch (2005) - Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon star in this remake of a UK film whose ending they had to shift when the Red Sox unexpectedly won the World Series.

Fever Pitch (1997) - This Colin Firth-starring, Arsenal-centered original is much smaller, more realistic and arguably better than the big budget Barrymore-Fallon redux.

We are Marshall (2006) - A real-life sports tragedy made into a sports-movie tearjerker starring Matthew McConaughy. And my tears were very much jerked by the end.

Coach Carter (2005) - Samuel L Jackson plays real-life basketball coach Ken Carter and, because it's a Disney movie, doesn't use the F-word even once. Now that's a feat worthy of its own sports movie.

Invincible (2006) - Yes, it's Mark Wahlberg, and another based-on-a-true-story, Disney sports movie that hits all the cliches, but dang it, that works on me. It just does.

Glory Road (2006) - If you're sensing a theme with me and Disney sports movies…Well, you're not wrong. This look at the first all-Black starting lineup at the 1966 NCAA Final Four does, unfortunately, center white coach Don Haskins, played by Josh Lucas (though I always mis-remember it as Josh Charles), making the important story it tells less than what it should be, but it still mostly works.

Million Dollar Arm (2014) - Admittedly one of the lesser Disney sports movie entries, and another that centers a white guy in a film mostly about people of color (not a great look), this Jon Hamm movie about a scout seeking an Indian cricket star who can make it in the Major Leagues still mostly worked for me.

The Mighty Ducks (1992) - One of the few movies on this list aimed directly at kids, this beloved peewee hockey saga actually is cute, and mostly does hold up.

Cool Runnings (1993) - Kind of shocked this movie that is part White Savior-movie and part-wacky kids movie essentially making fun of a real group of athletes of color came out in 1993 and not 1973, but the earnest charm of John Candy and a general Disney gloss keep this from being totally unwatchable and mostly just mildly, rather than extremely, offensive. Not really recommending, but feels like it belongs on an Olympic movie list.

Nadia (1984) - This made-for-TV, mostly true biopic, starring Talia Balsam as Nadia Comaneci, was a Disney Channel staple in that network’s early days. 

Munich (2005) - It's a movie with the Olympics very much at its heart—namely the 1972 Israeli athlete hostage tragedy—that isn't really about the Olympics at all, but this Steven Spielberg-directed movie about national revenge is compelling, if problematic if you think about it for too long.

American Anthem (1986) - Is this Mitch Gaylord-Mrs. Wayne Gretzky (a.k.a Janet Jones) starring movie good, realistic and/or well-written? No, no and none of the above. But did I still watch it 8,000 times as a kid on HBO? Yes. Yes, I did.

Men with Brooms (2002) - Once, on a business trip to Canada, my husband was stuck in a hotel that only got three channels, and one of them always seemed to be showing curling, which actually got him weirdly into this obscure sport. This movie wasn't quite as fun as I hoped, but it's still a mostly charming, if slight, Canadian classic.

Unbroken (2014) - The harrowing and incredible real-life story of Louis Zamperini deserved better than this Angelina Jolie-directed movie delivered, but it's still a serviceable version of a worthy tale.

Chariots of Fire (1981) - I remember being bored out of my mind by this movie trying to watch this movie on cable as a kid, but no denying that, if nothing else, the score is iconic and indelibly linked to sports-movie magic.

Without Limits (1998) - Jared Leto’s Prefontaine beat this one to the theaters, but this Billy Crudup-starring film is the better of the two movies about the life of running pioneer Steve Prefontaine. There’s also a 1995 documentary, Fire on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story.

Personal Best (1982) - Mariel Hemingway’s story of ambition at odds with love, is a sports and LGTBQ+ classic. 

Olympic Dreams (2019) - The story of how this small, meandering movie was made during the 2018 Winter Games is, unfortunately, more interesting than the movie itself, but there is some charm in watching Nick Kroll as an Olympic dentist making his way through the real Village, while interacting with real athletes.

Foxcatcher (2015) - This excellently-acted story is more true crime than sports inspiration, but if you're seeking a look at the dark side of the Games—and don’t want to turn on a doc like Athlete A—this is very dark tale indeed.

Seabiscuit (2003) - Every great athlete deserves to have their story told.

Any Given Sunday (1999) - Oliver Stone and Al Pacino take on pro Football. 'Nuff said.

The Replacements (2000) - I mean, the movie isn't amazing, but Keanu Reeves is super charming and Gene Hackman is always worth a watch.

The Program (1993) - Another bit of a dark-side-of-football take, worth it if only for the fantastic cast: James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Eps, Joey Lauren Adams.

Everbody’s All-American (1988) - Not a movie I particularly love, but this Dennis Quaid-Jessica Lange football story that spans decades has always stuck in my memory.

Bull Durham (1988) - Just let Kevin Costner play actual baseball already.

[lol-jackles]

So Zack Snyder's Justice League, how was it? I loved it. The characters were all fleshed out more and did not mind the 4 hour long movie. I did not even mind the too many super hero's that were introduced. Whedon's was too rushed. The VFX blew me away.

It was awesome, it did not feel like 4 hours even though it could have been easily trimmed to 3.5 hours without sacrificing heart and soul.   

I love the non-jokey violence in this movie.  One of my biggest complaints about the MCU is the jokey violence.  But in this movie when Wonder Woman, Steppenwolf and Superman punch, you see the ionized molecules fly away from the punches, the walls shudders and the ground rumbles and the surface buckles.  I love this about Snyder’s visuals, that you can feel these are gods on Earth and not Earthlings with some godlike powers.  

Seeing Wonder Woman utterly annihilate those terrorists was probably my favorite scene.  She didn’t even care that they died; she wanted them gone.  Each and every one spattered against the wall.   That fight showed how dangerous Wonder Woman is, she’s literally a god compared to those regular humans.

I hate it whenever Marvel fanatics complain that Wonder Woman shouldn't kill when she NEVER hestiates from killing, even in the comics she's like this: 

Seeing Wonder Woman as both warrior and teacher was the best thing. There’s this sort of debate as to her role in the Trinity.  Superman is always the fireman. Batman is always the police officer.  Wonder Woman has hovered between teacher and warrior, although according to the Delta Force, one of their most important jobs is battlefield teacher, so I say Wonder Woman can be both. 

Cyborg is the heart and soul of this movie, his scene helping the waitress was compelling.  Why did Joss Wheldon cut his arc?????  Ray Fisher saying he will only return to Justice League if Synder returns makes complete sense.  Cyborg's arc is the most evolutionary and seeing his father and him make eye contact on the ship just before they reawaken Superman was emotional.

When Flash entered the Speed Force to break the light barrier, I never thought I would be so moved, it was extraordinarily well done. Even his inner monologue was perfect because was absolutely necessary to frame what was happening — there was literally no other way without using subtitles or a narrator.  It is honestly so inspiring and epic seeing Flash, a normal dude with super speed be the only one left standing and is gravely injured but faces death head on with only one goal in mind: to save the world.  

 What I loved so much about this movie was it’s a story about heroes becoming Gods…. in compelling ways.   This is a complete opposite direction from Marvel’s Avengers where its shows heroes doing god-like things.  IMO is far more interesting and inspirational seeing these powerful beings come together and act human and work as a team.

  Other great additons:

Steppenwolf had … motivations? Gasp!

The Mother Box Gods.

The 100 ending scenes. Each one was great.

All of the “premonition” scenes. All of them. Every one. 

Omega Beams??? Squeeeeeee!

The setup for a potential sequel or re-incorporation of the Snyderverse into the wider DCEU is hugely exciting to see.

I love Ben Affleck’s performance because he actually cares about doing well and isn’tTony Stark in a bat suit who says “Something is Definitely BLEEDING!”

Best of all, fleshing out Superman’s ressurection and return, and returning Superman back to being comic accurate aka optimism. There are more scenes of Lois and Superman talking about their history, which I loved, as it builds up their relationship and makes them both likeable.

The only thing I didn't like, no, loathe was the death of Silas Stone.  I want HIM to be on the Justice League as some kind of civilian scientist/leader.

Can’t have everything.

I believe Zach Synder’s Justice League is revolutionizing the streaming movie experience.  This changes the game now.  Before, peoplle were worried that fans would get bored after 3 hours but not anymore, thanks to this movie.Sure, it doesn’t make a lot of money but it does bring in NEW subscribers.

One last thing, Holy Zeus Abs Batman!  (every gay fanboys checking Grindr for Zeus)

[taromilkmagic]

Notes: Cursed Child NY 27 November 2019

My first time watching CC was in Melbourne during previews, and I had an amazing time. A few months later I absorbed myself in the cc fandom here and on twitter and I became more and more obsessed with the incredible casts and crew that are a part of this amazing production all over the world. So yesterday, I finally treated myself to a second viewing of HPCC, but this time with NY Cast 2. I was taking frantic notes in between parts because I wanted to unpack and reflect over it, but when I first saw the play I wasn’t as absorbed into the fandom, so there may be things that are obvious that I’m finding new. Anyway if you’re interested in reading my thoughts on this cast/performance and how I found it different to Melbourne I’ve dumped a rant below...

Part One

Act 1

Nick Albus looking at his family and smiling, so excitedly, when they are about to enter platform 9 3/4, is everything I need in my life. But it really is heartbreaking to watching Albus’s progression from excited and hopeful to isolated and resentful.

Everyone in the background at the station is captivated by Matt Ron’s trick. This time around, I noticed that they are all incredibly grossed out when Ron plucks Lily’s ‘nose’ from his behind (accompanied by a loud fart noise), simultaneously leaning away from the Potters and Granger-Weasleys. It’s these little extra details that really lift the comedy in the show for me.

Bubba Scorpius is anxious and tense, but in a quiet/soft way. While I remember Will having very frantic nervous energy, Bubba is much more reserved and closed in on himself—both emotionally, but also physically. He is permanently hunched over and withdrawn, and his movements are smaller—not as wild— and stiffer than Will McKenna’s (James Snyder does a good approximation of this in the Polyjuice scene). When Scorpius is being sorted, he clenches and unclenches his hands. Then, when the sorting hat declares SLYTHERIN! he slowly closes his eyes. Rather than going ‘oh, as expected!’ like Will does with his head tilt and eye-roll, Bubba Scorp seems a combination of relieved and resigned.

As a sidenote, Bubba was staring emptily in my direction at the start of third year while taking to Albus. So I was a crying mess, but I also felt extremely uncomfortable because it felt like he was looking directly at me with his sad eyes 😂

Something that struck me about Nadia’s and Jenny’s Rose and Hermione: the similarities in how they carry themselves and the way they speak. They both radiate fast-paced Type A energy and you can tell that Rose is every bit like Hermione by her brisk mannerisms and alert eyes.

Jenny’s Hermione has a mischievous streak that isn’t as obvious in Paula’s drier, authoritative Hermione (disclaimer: I love them both). In Harry’s office, the toffee line is sung in an enticing tone. Tof-fee? Translation: Are you sure you don’t want one? Apparently, Jenny was quieter than usual during this performance, but I have to say that I didn’t notice this at all. As my first introduction to her Hermione she was both vibrant and funny. 

Nick Albus and Bubba Scorp are much more tactile than Will and Sean (at least compared to when I saw the Melbourne cast in previews). Some moments that stood out — Nick touches Bubba’s shoulders and back a LOT, including on the train at the start of their third year, and then at the start of fourth year when he escapes Rose’s efforts to (re) befriend him and plunges into Scorpius’ train compartment.

Another instance of cute Bubba-Nick Scorbusness in the visit to St Oswald’s. Scorpius stands directly behind Albus, turned toward the audience and away from Amos, for most of the conversation. He flinches away several times when Amos is talking, essentially sheltering behind Albus. Have I talked enough about how Bubba’s Scorpius really is adorably awkward? When Albus earnestly assures Amos that they know about the danger they’re about to embark on, Scorpius leans in to Albus and says “Do weee?” Albus turns around, and Scorpius immediately spins around and peers at the wall details—he even squeaks Oh LoOk!! (*in small twitter font). Overall, Bubba Scorp feels vulnerable—more vulnerable than Will!Scorp, who is a bit of a drama queen at times—and must be protected at all costs.

Right before drinking his Polyjuice, Bubba did his trademark forehead shzzzzap, and it was art.

Act 2

When Albus and Scorpius decide that Delphi should not travel back to the first task with them, and Delphi is storming off after kissing Albus, Sara and Bubba do that thing where they both almost run into each other and block each other, then feint/dodge in the same direction as each other twice. Bubba Scorp says “OHkay!” in an exasperated voice before going around her. It was an incredibly awkward and funny moment and you could feel the tension between Scorpius and Delphi.

The Edge of the Forest scene was beautiful, as always. I didn’t notice this but at stage-door Nick told me that he stuttered and struggled to say “Look-L-look its-look it’s Hogwarts.” And then he said that Bubba was side-eyeing him like >_> the whole time. Bubba definitely seems like the sort of person who would passive-aggressively judge you at your worst moments, but I love him anyway.

Interestingly, the lighting is different here compared to the Melbourne production. The theatre is lit up with soft golden lights which make it sort of look like golden hour, casting everything in a comforting glow. In the Princess theatre, they go for a more literal Hogwarts-through-the-trees, with gorgeous dappled shadows on vibrant blue and orange stained glass windows. Both of these work wonderfully.

In Dragons, James Romney’s Slytherin student being in the wrong House section and having to squish through everyone was very funny. Kevin Reyes as [Craig Bowker Sr?] was doing something funny in the crowd during the first task as well but I can’t remember it for the life of me sadly. But it made me realise how amazing and constantly on point every single member of the cast is, even when the spotlight isn’t on them. Sitting in row D was a massive change from being in the balcony in Melbourne, and it made me realise and appreciate the actors who are carrying out their own stories in the background. 

Nick’s Albus looks both a little put out and surprised when Hogwarts’ audience has a mixed response to Harry in the first task. 

Interestingly, James Brown III’s Bane is more human than horse here than Melbourne Bane (MelBane?), who would neigh and snort every few sentences. The only horse noise he makes is a loud snort as he backed away into the shadows. 

Albus was having nightmares in the hospital wing during Harry’s conversation with Dumbledore. Several times, he mumbles “Dad?” in his sleep as he tosses and turns. It’s actually kind of heartbreaking. 

James Synder and Nick Podany both pretend to eat the chocolate. The chocolate itself is fake and a Lie. I just thought everyone should know that. 

There is a noticeable difference between Paula’s Hermione and Jenny’s Hermione in the first AU, particularly the DADA classroom. Jenny is much more aggressive and explosive, getting in Ravenclaw girl’s face with a loud nOOO??!!? Her soft, dangerously cold voice was terrifying and a different take to Paula’s terse, irritated, authoritative tone. This AU Hermione seems angry and vindictive, rather than just disillusioned and bitter. In Melbourne, Paula presented her AU Hermione as a possible version of the same person—someone who could grow more and more unhappy with the world over the years. Jenny’s AU Hermione was different; her energy simply felt so wrong and at odds with her usual character, and I think this performance emphasised how unnatural and completely off the new timeline itself is. It definitely made me empathise with how shocked and bewildered Albus would have been, and it reminded me of my experience reading the script for the first time as it gradually dawned on me how messed up the timeline had actually become.

Staircase Ballet in New York made me just as emotional as it did in Melbourne. I don’t think that scene will ever get old for me. Bubba did some incredible face-acting that I was glad to be able to see from my seat. His Scorpius really looks completely broken and despondent as he stares downwards and then, later, at Albus.

Sara’s Delphi is soft (wait what?? I know...) when she speaks to Scorpius about him and Albus. Madeleine Jones had more of a “silly billy, of course you should just talk to him, he’s your best friend!!” big sister vibe when I saw her in Melbourne—gentle, but talking down a little bit (still in a friendly way). This Delphi is much softer, which only makes the reveal more shocking and upsetting when she later reveals her real motives.

Bubba Scorp blowing Polly Chapman a kiss twice in a row to distract her from Delphi under his cloak was so LOUD and breathy and cringe that I may have died from second-hand embarrassment.

The library confrontation! Incredible! @lumoshyperion observed something about Melbourne’s Louis!Scorp in her (incredibly detailed and poetic) review/recap, where he falters and holds himself back at the end of each sentence or phrase during the library confrontation. This was definitely true of Bubba as well! He would sort of trail off and fade away as he spoke, rather than crescendoing continuously to a shout.

When McGonagall came into the library and the two boys were hiding, Nick SKIDDED across the stage and FELL flat on his face, knocking a chair over. It looked really painful and I was like 😶. I asked him about this at SD after, and he said he was okay but that he and Bubba immediately started laughing while they were hiding under the invisibility cloak. After McGonagall left, Bubba casually put the chair back up right before he sat down.

The two boys were both vigorously wiping their eyes during the library confrontation. When Nick hugged Bubba, Bubba made a 😬 and stuck his arms out straight.

When Draco said “The girls’ bathroom on the third floo...ooorwhat on earth would they be doing there.......”, it was so ridiculously deadpan and disappointed and exasperated all at once. I haven’t written many notes on him but Jonno truly is an amazing Draco.

Being from a close seat this time, I was able to see the second task. It definitely didn’t look like a projection this time and that made it feel much more dynamic and engaging.

Bubba Scorp gets immediately self-conscious after the “Consider me engorg-impressed” joke and steps quickly back from Albus and the sink (where he was casually leaning), wrapping his robes around him tightly.

Lauren Myrtle was hilarious as I assume is usual. Lauren’s Myrtle did that thing where she poked at Harry with her foot with every word she said. He flinched back every time, it was hilarious. Diane did a full flinch and staggered back four feet from Myrtle’s hISSSS. 

Lauren looked upside down—DIRECTLY at Albus—when she said the “....and BOYS” line, and Albus immediately started fidgeting with his hair, with his hands behind his head. HE KNOWS THAT SHE KNOWS. In general, Lauren’s Myrtle was just as hilarious as Gillian, although a lot growlier. There was, as there was in Melbourne, a large round of applause as the second task began, presumably for Myrtle! 

I realise I have zero notes about any of the 'adult’ characters but they are just all-around excellence anyway so there’s not that much to say. Matt Mueller is a fantastic Ron, but very different to Gyton. He’s just as cheesy and cheerful, but not as jolly and laidback (if that makes sense...it’s a little hard to describe). Diane Davis as Ginny is Soft™, and very clearly understanding and caring. It’s easy to see that Harry depends on her as a source of advice, wisdom and emotional support. She generally doesn’t “roar” like Lucy Goleby’s Ginny does, so when she shouts it tends to come out in one angry punch—i.e. “My son is missing!” “SO is MINE!” (as opposed to SO!!! IS!!! MINE!!!!). As for James Snyder’s Harry, his anger and frustration in the alternate timeline is scarily believable, and it’s upsetting to see how it affects Albus and Ginny. It made me think of Angery Harry in Order of the Phoenix (I’m not @ing the people who say Cursed Child Harry is OOC, but...maybe I am). His American accent popped in a few times, but I barely noticed it and he was such an incredible Harry that I did not care in the slightest. The woman next to me was marvelling at how much he resembled Daniel Radcliffe, but to me this wasn’t even a fraction of why he felt like an authentic and well portrayed Harry.

Part Two

I have much less notes for Part 2. Part of this is because I was too much of a weepy mess being swept up by the art of Bubba and Nick’s Scorbus and part of it is because my phone died. I hope you enjoy what I DO have though!

Act 3

After being assigned this investigation, I can report that I am pretty sure I saw Bubba drool (?????) in the Dark AU office scene and I don’t know why or how or what... I didn’t even know this was a thing that happened on the daily but yes, yes it did. If anyone can provide more information on this... And yes, Bubba did look amazing in the Dark AU outfit. Thank you for the warning. I was still unprepared.

Spinella Snape was great! He has the deep voice down, and the dryness was Dry. Something interesting that happened in the Snape classroom scene is after he opens the secret passage in the chalkboard, Snape takes Scorp by the shoulders and gently guides him toward it. It’s a surprisingly protective and ~mentorly~ action and it reminded me a little of Snape getting in front of the Golden Trio in the PoA movie. ~Obviously~, Snape is a terrible person. But I guess he’s also capable of looking out for others! Stephen Spinella did an incredible job at actually endearing his character to me.

Ron fumbling with the wand for ages before pointing it at Scorp in the Dark AU. Unlike Gyton (and the script), Matt didn’t point it at himself this time. But he fumbled with his jacket a ridiculous amount before finding his wand and it got a lot of laughs, including from me!

Bubba was so out of breath after getting out of the pool that he had to take a long pause between the first “Harry!!!!” And “HARRRYYY POTTERRRR!”

Fiona Reid’s Petunia, in the graveyard scene, was visibly emotional. You could hear her voice getting choked up as she thought about Lily. I didn’t pick this up the first time I watched the show, but here I got it and I even teared up a little.

The jump scare GOT ME.

During the Slytherin Dorm scene, Bubba Scorp leaned over the top of Albus’ bed and yelled directly over his face to wake him up. This was both hilarious and adorable. And Malfoy the Unanxious: this whole scene was pure gold. Bubba doing weird hip-swaying dances in the air on tippy toes. Bubba waving his hands in weird and wild gesticulations (a contrast accentuated by how stiff and closed up he was prior to this). Aaah. He must be protected at all costs. 

Bubba said the ‘It’s time that time turning became a thing of the past” line very solemnly, and leaning in very close to Albus’s face (!) rather than standing (sitting?) next to him and gesturing proudly, which is what I remember from Melbourne. It’s an interesting take and a more serious one. It’s also more Scorbusy, so I’m not complaining. 

When Harry and Ginny and Draco walk in on Ron and Hermione kissing, Diane Ginny said OH! really loudly and, without a pause in her stride, immediately circled around and started to leave 😂

Jonno Draco acted so disgruntled when Specialis Revelio didn’t work. It was hilarious how grumpy he sounded when he said it was worth a try

Sara’s Delphini was much more menacing than I remember from Melbourne. I think what Madeleine did great in Melbourne is make Delphini seem like Ralph Fiennes’s Voldemort — powerful, ambitious, confident, a little bit dramatic. She DECLARED her lines: it was very Shakespearean. Sara was more sneaky and sinister. You get a sense of how she easily tricked Albus and Scorpius. Also, when she was mocking Albus for being naive, she did the little leg-kick dance that she did when she was saying he was becoming quite some wizard. I don’t remember if this is something that always happens with her or with other casts, but this is the first time I was paying close enough attention to notice it and I got CHILLS at the return. Sara’s Delphini is just that sinister and bone-chillingly terrifying.

Act 4

I have a lot of Feelings about Part 4, but not many details, sadly. Mostly because I was too absorbed by the incredible acting by everyone on stage.

James Snyder jumped around a lot when he said “Clever boy left me a message!” and it was such a pure and adorable move compared to his previous Angst that the audience laughed and cheered.

Jonno was wiping his eyes a LOT in the scene in Harry’s office. Several times, as Draco spoke about Astoria and her death, he got so choked up that he had to pause and take a breath before going on. It was a teary scene for all involved and a great testament to Jonno’s acting ability. 

Since we’re on Jonno, his delivery of “Look at the thatched roofs.......and......is that a farmer’s market?” SENT ME. He genuinely sounded kind of intrigued, interested and hopeful. I guess Joward Draco isn’t the only one who loves a good farmer’s market.

When Draco and Scorpius hugged in Godric’s Hollow, they hugged for a long time. He held onto Scorpius for a long time after, repeatedly craning his neck to be closer and holding him close as if afraid to let go again. Throughout subsequent scenes, Jonno kept his hand firmly on Bubba’s arm/inner elbow. You can see how shaken Draco was at losing Scorpius, and how fiercely protective he is now that he has his son back.

When Nick hugged Diane from her side, sitting on the bench in St Jerome’s, he knocked her down a little and she said oH! as she lost her balance. It was such a spontaneous moment and showcased the bond between Albus and his mum.

In the second to last scene, and perhaps most importantly in this entire recap...When Nick Albus says: “You better ask Rose if that’s the right thing to do!” (in response to “this new version of us”), Bubba keeps his hands firmly gripped on Nick’s arms, and stares at his face for a full three seconds before going “oh-ahaha...yeah!” and laughing awkwardly. Then, when he goes off and the stairs start spinning to bring Nick into the Nice Day scene, Nick keeps his head facing to the side where Bubba had exited—Albus’ gaze lingering distantly on Scorpius. Not saying Scorbus is canon (I really am), but Bubba Scorp’s last scene presented him as a very believable Confused Bisexual.

Finally: Nick and James rushing into a hug right as the lights went down.

“We almost broke like four times” — Nicholas Podany, 2019, on his scenes with Bubba. We are so blessed to have them.

[evilelitest2]

How would you write a Batman story so that to get rid/mitigate the usual problems and have the premise make (mostly) sense?

I mean I don’t like Batman so I don’t know if I’d be the best choice, I imagine people who like the character ought to be the one to write him.  Cause my idea of a good batman story is ‘not batman” because I don’t like the character, so anything I imagine is going to be out of line with the entire premise of the character and the fandom.  

BUt if this was some sort of bizarre Charity thing or like i was kidnapped by comics fans and forced at gun point, then here is my idea

And I am not even going to embrace the ideas I find more interesting like gender flipping, making Batman Jewish or making him gay, or like making Batman the villain and somebody else the hero, lets do a batman story with batman as popularly imagined.   

I think’d i’d go in one of two directors.  

The First is that Batman comes about not because of he needs to fight crime, but instead because of supernatural/alien/supervillian nonsense that the police literally can’t fight. So batman is like good Lex Luther, he wants to fight threats to earth and his super power is money.  This way you can keep the character intacted and avoid the fucking stupid backstroy. 

The Second is to make batman a more flawed character, he 100% buys into that “individual choice” narrative and the character is explicitly capitalist.  He means well and does genuinely want to help the city, but he has a massive tin ear and comes from an entitled background so he doesn’t actually understand how to solve problems.  So the entire arc of his story would be both him risking life and limb to fight bad guys, but also learning that the entire methods he employs don’t like...work.  Basically make the story be about a well intended super rich white dude with a guilt complex and apparently too macho to go to therapy sort of learning to go from performative justice to like...actually helping.  

Like he starts with this simplistic “Oh if I punch the bad guys, that will fix the problem” and the whole arch of the story will be how that doesn’t really work.   He’d defeat individual baddies, but since he isn’t solving the true problems so he keeps accidentally creating new villains in the process.  Like really lean into the war on crime angle of the whole thing.  In that line, I’d redesign all the villains (except for Catwomen and the Joker) to have similar simplistic macho bullshit views of solving the problem that he does, where they are very obviously just picking up justifications to go out and beat the crap out of people.  All the super villains are like batman broken people who result to super villiany because they are too emotionally stunted to just sit down and have actual conversations, with Joker being the ultimate embodiment of that.  And the whole story arc will Batman learning to not be like them, to not do the Frank Miller/Christopher Nolan/Zack Synder macho bullshit and actually make an effort to be part of the community and to try to solve the core problems not the symptoms.  You could even have the final villain basically be Crazy Steve style fascist Batman who is either the Judge or like, the Joker doing a parody of batman (with Klan imagery attached).  So the whole point of Batman would be learning to be a human and learning to actually make a difference in the world rather than self indulgently beating up criminals.  Really basically try to make the entire point of the work be a rejection of the batman character we’ve had to endure since The Killing Joke.  

or i’d just make lego batman =p 

This is what I mean by the problem of me designing a batman story because I don’t like Batman, any story idea I have would involve moving away from the core concept of what makes him batman.  Like this is a story for the target audience of ‘people who don’t like batman” which I’m not sure is a real thing =p

So like an alternative idea I would have would be him focusing a lot less on fighting crime and a lot more on fighting against hate groups and extremist 

Incidentally me and @afriendtokilltime did have the idea of the Joker being an in universe Stephen Colbert type but nobody got the joke and he snapped.  

[moremoremovies]

Joker

Smile... even though you’re terrified and disturbed.

Grade- A+

“I haven’t been happy for one second in my entire fucking life.”

Group Chat: The Injustice League

Members: Warner Brothers, Christopher Nolan, Zack Synder, David Ayer, Pattie Jenkins

Warner Brothers added Todd Phillips.

Todd Phillips: Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass. K, bye.

Todd Phillips has left the group.

Todd freaking Phillips of The Hangover Franchise. I mean, really, WHO KNEW? Phillips brings to life Batman’s most infamous adversary to life in the most beautiful, tragic, and above all, terrifying way possible.

Arther Fleck, played by Joaquin Phoenix, isn’t wronged by a bureaucratic company or motivated by the loss of a loved one. He is a man who is languishing through mental illness, suffering a horrible psychotic breakdown, egged on by one traumatic experience after another, beginning from his very childhood. And Phillips and Phoenix equally shine in this complicated, dark tunnel that carefully examines the psychosis of a deeply disturbed individual.

I could go on for hours about the brilliant direction of Phillips. Joker rivals, and arguably supersedes, the Dark Knight trilogy by Christopher Nolan. Classic Hollywood fans will recognize the deep, long shots of Citizen Kane, that Phillips meaningfully adds to his stunning cinematography that moves through the ever busy and chaotic New York City (as the fictional Gotham City). Most notably, the soundtrack adds drastically to every scene from beginning to end. From the classic dark orchestra to the contrasting happy show tunes, the effect is chilling and moving every damn time. Snaps all around to The Hangover boss man!

And we all know no one plays crazy quite like Joaquin Phoenix. From The Signs to The Master, Phoenix is the go-to-Hollywood-boy for off beat, quirky characters. Joker shows an entirely other side to the talent of Phoenix. As the story unfolds, the performance is simultaneously heart-breaking and deeply terrifying. It is shocking and yet, unsurprising when all is revealed as to how Arther became the troubled person is. Phoenix shows his ultimate best acting chops that makes me actually want to forget Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight. Again, who knew?!

Simply put; where Ayer and Snyder failed, Phillips learned and adapted. Where Jenkins and Nolan excelled, Phillips built on and advanced further. Phillips made a comic based film that was tragically honest and terrifyingly violent and dark, lightyears away from the tired out PG, Marvel Comics. Finally! A throne for DC to sit upon that Marvel would never dare to even glance at.

Thank you, Mr. Phillips for choosing to use your talents to make the perfect comic book film over making billions from dried out Robert Downy Jr. one liners, beautiful Hollywood stars, and Happy Meal toys.

[chrayneponz]

4 Benefits of Business Automation

Automation offers more than cost savings. It takes time-consuming repetitive tasks out of employees' hands and allows them to focus on higher value activities.

Every business is on the lookout for ways to increase efficiency and productivity to stay ahead of the competition and deliver value for their customers. To succeed in these endeavors, many organizations have shifted their focus towards automation.

According to Zapier’s 2021 State of Business Automation Report, 94% of workers perform repetitive and time-consuming tasks in their roles. When it comes to knowledge workers specifically, two out of three say that automation has helped them increase their productivity.

To better understand the value that can be gained, here's what a group of business leaders have to say about how they’re using automation in their companies and the benefits that it can yield for others.

What Tasks Can Be Automated?

Trying to decide which tasks can be automated requires businesses to take a step back and analyze which tasks they do regularly. The ideal candidates are tasks that are manual and repetitive. Take accounting, for example.

"Businesses tend to spend up to 12 hours a week on manual, repetitive tasks connected to bookkeeping which leads to widespread reporting discrepancies and human error," said Michael Astreiko, CEO of Synder by Cloudbusiness, a San Francisco-based accounting software company. "The result is that this makes it challenging to find the correct reports when the time comes. Instead, automating those repetitive tasks can free up more time to work on other things and lead to less frustration."

Automation can also help to improve knowledge sharing. According to Richard Boyd, CEO of Carrboro, N.C.-based Tanjo, an AI tech firm, machine learning software can be used to auto-generate taxonomy based on knowledge your organization already has. That means when employees create new documents, these documents can be automatically placed in the correct location.

Reducing manual data entry, generating new leads, organizing and creating documents, and managing inventory are some of the other areas that many businesses choose to use automation to help with, according to the Zapier report.

The Business Benefits of Automation

Many tasks can be automated, but the types of tasks an organization chooses to automate will ultimately depend on the business. Regardless of what ultimately is automated, the benefits seem to be universal. 

They include:

Reduced Human Error

One of the challenges that businesses with teams face is that someone within a workflow might forget or be slow to do a particular task. Automation can be used to provide reminders or even remove these tasks from the workflow so employees don’t need to remember or be reminded every time.

"The benefits I’ve seen using automation tools include increased resolution times [and] reduced human error — by executing repeatable and predictable results, increased agility — which allows for tighter cohesion with other systems within an IT ecosystem," said George Carter, director of automation services at Blue Bell, Penn.-based Anexinet.

Increased Productivity

Constantly executing the same manual and repetitive tasks is time consuming. Using automation, organizations can save employees' time and increase their levels of productivity.

Reduce Operational Costs

Eliminating human errors doesn’t just save time and increase agility. It also reduces operational costs. By automating repetitive tasks, organizations can help employees to complete other tasks more efficiently.

Automation tools mean that companies don’t need to use as many employees to perform tasks and save on labor hours.

Increased Competition

For smaller businesses that don’t have the human resources of larger enterprises, automation can be the ultimate solution.

Startups can rely on automation tools to streamline their workflows and increase their productivity, allowing them to move faster and spend less time on repetitive tasks so that they can compete against larger businesses.

What Does the Future of Automation Look Like?

Given the benefits it can provide, we will likely see more businesses utilizing automation soon.

"As artificial intelligence and machine learning tools become more widespread, workers are learning that the best outcomes are achieved when human intelligence collaborates, not competes, with machine intelligence," Boyd said.

Many employees may fear automation for various reasons. However, there are several things that machines can’t do better than humans. By embracing automation, companies can find the most effective ways for employees to work with such tools to improve the business.

CREDITS: Kaya Ismail

DATE: May 28, 2021

SOURCE:https://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/4-benefits-of-business-automation/

[jr9285]

Man of Steel Review

Man of Steel is a sci-fi extravaganza that explores the lore of Superman in the most grandeur of ways. Reviews of Zack Synder's movies tend to come with mixed reactions to the narrative he presents. Still, it's undeniable that when it comes to cinematography, Synder's movie a near unrivalled. The film is visually breathtaking from start to finish. He beautifully captures the aesthetic of Superman. From the visuals of Krypton, space and Earth, you can genuinely tell Synder understands the importance of visuals when it comes to immersing the audience into the story of a film. Henry Cavill is excellent in the role of Superman. When people think of Superman, You will picture someone like Henry Cavill in appearance. With a highly talented group of actors such as Micheal Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, an Laurence Fishburne, we were given fantastic performances of the Superman mythos' well-known, beloved characters. It's not too far fetched to say that the musical score was outstandingly good. Hans Zimmer has knocked it out of the park once again. Overall the film was a rollercoaster ride of emotions and a enjoyable experience. And I'm proud to say that it reminded me why I loved the DC universe.

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/apple-boosts-ipad-air-performance-by-40and-other-small-business-tech-news/

Apple Boosts IPad Air Performance By 40%…And Other Small Business Tech News

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 — Apple has boosted the performance of iPad Air by 40% with a new A14 bionic chip.   

According to an announcement from Apple this past week, their iPad Air tablets are going to be getting a big boost in performance thanks to an innovative A14 Bionic chip. When compared to the models released last year, these newest tablets operate 40% quicker during simple tasks, while the speed of processing graphics tasks are improved by 30%. Apple’s A-series processors — which the tech giant develops itself — were typically used for iPads and iPhones, not computers. This will be the first year that personal computers will be driven by the chips, which will perform at a higher caliber and allow for greater battery life than tablets or phones. (Source: CNET)

Why this is important for your business:

As you’re considering tech purchases this year, just remember that speed equals productivity. Investing in the iPad Air may not be cheap, but the cost savings by helping your customers and employees get things done quicker because of the device’s enhanced performance may be worth it.

2 — Square adds features that speed up payroll for employers and workers.  

Square recently announced that they are looking to make payroll simpler for businesses and their employees through their launch of two features. The first feature — “Instant Payments” — will allow employers to use the funds in their Square Balance to more quickly transfer paychecks into the accounts of their employees. This process will negate the traditional delay, which historically has taken up to 4 days. The second new feature — “On-Demand Pay” — will provide employees with the opportunity to access their money when they need it, even if that means immediately at the close of their shift. (Source: Pymnts)

Why this is important for your business:

Remember when Square was just a mobile card reader? Yeah, those were simpler times. Now the company is stealthily expanding its reach into more accounting functions, like payroll. That’s good news for small businesses that are already using the platform and want an easier way to handle their finances.

3 —Fast-growing startup Synder has integrated with Shopify, Amazon, and eBay to help ecommerce businesses automate bookkeeping and better manage accounts receivable.

Snyder — a startup that developed a smart app for bookkeeping and financial management — has shared that they will be integrating with several e-commerce companies including Ecwid, eBay, Shopify, and Amazon. Snyder — which rolled out in 2017— is designed to assist businesses in streamlining transactions from their payment platforms into Zero or Quickbooks. (Source: PRNewsWire)

Why this is important for your business:

The company says that with the integration, businesses selling online will be able to more efficiently navigate and operate their AR while automating their accounting processes, as well as instantly categorizing and recording their fees or sales into the bookkeeping software.

4 — Slack wants to make life easier for remote teams with its 5 new Workflow Builder templates. 

Slack recently rolled out 5 templates for their visual tool — Workflow Builder — that will give Slack users the opportunity to automate day-to-day tasks such as gathering team feedback and streamlining various requests. (Source: The Next Web)

Why this is important for your business:

According to the company the idea behind the new templates are to help work-from-home life feel more effortless. Users will also be able to streamline the way in which they alert teammates without bombarding them with notifications, set up daily reminders for team huddles, as well as make and approve requests in a more effective way. The new templates also include a way for users to send their teammates friendly reminders to take breaks while working from home.

5— Fiverr is expanding their business offering for easier remote work.  

Fiverr is a great place to find contract and outside help to accomplish online tasks. This week, the company said that that they will be growing their offerings for businesses in order to help make remote work easier with so many at home during COVID-19. (Source: Pymnts) 

Why this is important for your business:

Their new platform was developed in order to help departments and teams work and collaborate with one another more seamlessly and balance overseeing projects involving freelancers. Fivver will allow users to have access to a curated list of freelance workers, budgeting and project management tools, as well as executive assistants.

[scripttorture]

Starvation Part 1: What it does to individuals

Part of the reason this post has taken so damn long is because from a writer’s point of view there’s a lot to cover. I started out trying to fit everything in one post and it really wasn’t working out.

 So instead I’m splitting it in two. We’re going to start by talking about starvation at an individual level. How much people need to survive, for how long and what starvation would do to your character.

 The next post is going to be on mass starvation: famine.

 How much food is enough?

 The figure I see quoted most commonly is 2,500 kCalories for an adult man and 2,000 kCalories for an adult woman. The difference is presumably based on the assumption that men are physically larger.

 The World Food Programme gives 2,100 kCalories per person per day to those completely dependent on food aid. (When people have access to some food but not enough the WFP gives less food aid and judges this based on each situation).

 The World Health Organisation relates calorie requirements for severely malnourished people to body weight (with the caveat that variation can be up to 30%). For adults of 19-75 their figure is 45 kCalories per kg of body weight; higher calorie intakes are recommended for younger teenagers and children.

 Those are all estimates of what people should get.

 Human beings are capable of surviving for prolonged periods on much less. In Belomor, an early Soviet Gulag, the forced labourers were given around 1,300 kCalories a day (Snyder), and in China during Mao’s famine peasants could expect between 500g-150g of grain a day* (Dikötter), depending on how valuable they were judged as being.

 Depending on their level of physical activity people can survive for months or sometimes years on diets that are a little over half the normal calorie intake.

 The volunteers in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment lost 25% of their body weight and were kept on a severely restricted diet for six months. The people who set up the experiment deemed this length of time safe.

 Your characters can realistically survive in a severely malnourished condition for a pretty long period of time.

 What does starvation do?

 Along with a host of physical changes starvation also seems to induce a particular mind-set and group of psychological symptoms. It’s really important to include both in your writing in order to really capture what’s happening to your character.

 Physical

 ·         Weight loss

·         Reduction of muscle mass

·         Growth of body hair (this compensates for loss of fat to keep the body warm, it is often curly like pubic hair)

·         Pain

·         Measurable decrease of physical strength and speed

·         Lack of coordination

·         Hair and nails become brittle

·         Bones become weaker

·         Menstruation stops

·         Victims often appear paler or ‘ashen’

·         Skin is less elastic

·         Dry mouth, tongue and absence of tears

·         Inability to regulate body temperature (victims become dangerously hot or cold very easily)

·         Moving too quickly, especially getting up or sitting down, can cause fainting fits

·         Swelling in the legs, similar to the edema observed in stress positions.

·         In children growth is halted, a condition known as ‘wasting’.

·         Poor circulation results in cold hands and feet, in serious cases a weak radial pulse.

·         Prolapsed uterus may occur, which can vary from the uterus sagging below the cervix to parts of the uterus becoming visible outside the vagina

·         Bloating of the abdomen called oedema (this happens in severe cases; a character in this condition may not survive)

·         Diseases/conditions caused by lack of nutrients, anaemia, rickets, hypoglycaemia etc

·         Multiple organ failure as the body cannibalises itself

 There are also additional physical problems that, while not directly caused by starvation, are more common in severely malnourished people. These include:

Infections, both bacterial and fungal

Disease, particularly diarrhoea, but other infectious diseases are also more common and kill in larger numbers (an estimated 10-15% of deaths during the Chinese famine are attributed to typhus, typhoid and fevers)

Pneumonia and dysentery seem particularly common in famine conditions.

Parasitic infections, especially helminths and other intestinal worms

 Psychological

 I think the best way to start this off is with some quotes from the men who volunteered for the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. The men were conscientious objectors during World War 2 who wanted to help the millions of people being deliberately starved at the time. They voluntarily starved themselves for six months under the supervision of several doctors, leading to a new and better understanding of the effect starvation has on the body and mind.

 These are their words, their summary of what starvation felt like.

 “The time between meals has now become a burden. This time is no longer thought of as an opportunity to get those things done which I have to do or want to do. Instead, it's time to be borne, killed until the next meal, which never comes fast enough.” Month 1.

 “I purchased a tube of toothpaste yesterday. Finally got around to using it for the first time last night. Had a desire to eat the paste, but controlled it.” Month 3

 “Received a new insight and shock as to my physical condition today. Tried to play table tennis for the first time in four months and was amazed at the amount of effort it took to hit the ball. Also the lack of co-ordination and poor response of the arm. I had no idea co-ordination would be so poor.” Month 3

 “This week of starvation found me completely tired practically every day. If they want to get any more work out of me, they're going to have to feed me.” Month 4

 “Last week was unquestionably my toughest. I had hunger pains every day. Tuesday afternoon I had to quit work because the pains were so bad.” Month 5

 “Stayed up until 5:00 A. M. last night studying cook-books. So absorbing I can't stay away from them.” Month 6

 Below are the main psychological effects of starvation. The majority of these symptoms affect every starving person to a severe degree. They create a mind-set peculiar to the starving which can only be relieved by food and recovery.

 Apathy

Lack of concentration

Obsession with food

Lack of sex drive (in sexual people)

Reduced ability to care for others and show empathy

Extreme lethargy and lack of energy

Lack of motivation

Emotional ‘blunting’, a lack of emotional response

‘Dejection’ and symptoms similar to mild depression

Lack of confidence

Irritability that coincides with apathy and lack of interest, leading to a switch between extremes. Listlessness followed by sudden outbursts.

Constant frustration

Outbursts of bad temper, especially when waiting for or around food

Severe mood swings

Anxiety, even when there is a secure source of food

Restlessness

Alienation and animosity towards strangers

Less care taken over personal appearance

There is no drop in intelligence in adults, but lack of concentration and focus makes learning difficult

Children who are starved in the first 2 years of life perform worse in schools

Indecisiveness

Forgetfulness

 During recovery some of the emotional and psychological symptoms of starvation persist. This is temporary but it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re writing someone as they get better. They’re likely to recover their normal energy levels well before they gain control over their mood swings. As a result it should take a character a while to adjust to behaving in a normal, socially acceptable way. They may be more aggressive for a short time when they start eating normally.

 It feels like there is so much more to say here. There are a lot of points that I’ve only touched on.

 But the aim is to give a summary, an overview which hopefully paints a picture of the experience of starvation and will help you write it.

 Sources:

World Food Programme

           -If you like my work please consider donating to the WFP, their global funding was cut recently which is having a detrimental effect on famine relief worldwide.

World Health Organisation

           -These are their guidelines for identifying child malnutrition.

           -These are their guidelines for managing malnutrition generally (1999)

Men and Hunger: a psychological manual for relief workers by H S Guetzkow, P H Bowman, A Keys, 1946 (The Minnesota Starvation Experiment)

           -This is not the full text but the 70 page summary sent out to relief workers immediately following the experiment. Highly recommended, this covers all the important psychological and physical points necessary for an author writing a starving character. However it does contain some racist and sexist language common during the 1940s when it was written.

Mao’s Great Famine by F Dikotter, Bloomsbury, 2010

Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin, by T Synder, Penguin, 2010

 *Note: the calorific value of the food given to people during the famine in China is unclear. Measurements were in weights and volumes so like for like comparison isn’t possible.

Edit: Gentle reminder that I am not a doctor and information on starvation should never be taken as diet advice. 

Disclaimer

[aion-rsa]

Batman Gifts: Our Pick of the Best DC Collectibles

https://ift.tt/34HQcAI

Here's our rundown of this year's coolest Batman collectibles.

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80 years in and Batman is as popular as ever. Even as you read these words, work is underway on the next cinematic adventure for the Dark Knight, and Joker is still going strong in theaters -- so much so that Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips are hiding away crafting the character's next solo film. The eight decades since Batman was first introduced in the pages of Detective Comics have seen him undergo countless changes, the versatility of the Caped Crusader is a huge part of his staying power. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty, Batman is just a hero at heart -- whether he's the goofy 1960s one or the grimdark Synder take. So you really can't go wrong with giving the gift of Batman, and here's some ideas to make your holiday shopping experience a Bat-tastic one!

Batman 4K Film Collection

Let's kick things off in a big way with some Bat-Movies, shall we? Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin get a deluxe treatment in this eight-disc set that includes 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and digital copies of each film.

Buy the Batman 4K Film Collection here

The Dark Knight Trilogy Collection

Those who prefer their Batman to be a bit less ridiculous will likely be more interested in Christopher Nolan's take on the character with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises -- all of which are included here in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray. Point to ponder, why does everyone give Batman & Robin so much shit when Bale's Batman essentially causes nuclear winter over the skies of Gotham City at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. No wonder he gets the fuck out of town so quick.

Buy The Dark Knight Trilogy Collection here

Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond

Nearly ever iteration of Batman -- from the World's Greatest Detective to the Dark Knight -- is explored in this mammoth 400-page guide to the character and how he has been portrayed in various forms of media. When a book bills itself as "the most comprehensive history of Batman ever written," it better have the content to back such a brazen statement up, and thats exactly what authors Andrew Farago and Gina McIntyre aim to do here.

Buy Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond here

Batman Chair Cape

Earn the respect of your coworkers -- or maybe just get a quick trip to HR! -- with this Batman cape that you can connect to your office chair.

Buy the Batman Chair Cape here

The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus

Long before you grew tired of Joaquin Phoenix stair memes, the Joker starred in his own short-lived solo comic in 1975 and '76. A strange affair, the title removed the character from the context of Batman -- allowing him to star in stories that were unlike anything he previously appeared him. All nine issues of that book, along with a previously unseen tenth issues and countless other iconic appearances from throughout the DC Universe's stable of comic are included in this massive omnibus. From lightweight adventures to tales that portend the dark madness to come, this is an unmissable volume.

Buy The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus here

Batman: Damned

The dream team of Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo collaborated for Batman: Damned, the comic that infamously showed Bruce Wayne's penis for the first time. Yeah. Despite the controversy, the story ranks among the best in recent memory, with Batman trying to get to the bottom of the Joker's death with the unreliable assistance of John Constantine. The miniseries has now been collected into this graphic novel, featuring a behind-the-scenes gallery and afterword from Azzarello.

Buy Batman: Damned here

Also from the team of Azzarello and Bermejo is Joker (not to be confused with the movie of the same name), which DC Black Label declares is "arguably the most terrifying Joker tale ever written." But we will leave that to you to decide. 

Buy Joker here

Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker Lego Set

With the holidays here, it's great that this Lego set actually allows for the Batmobile to lose a wheel, allowing the Joker to get away. At press time Batman's smell remains undocumented.

Buy the Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker Lego Set here

The Batman Who Laughs

What would happen if Batman and the Joker were one and the same? That's exactly what happens in this graphic novel from writer Scott Snyder and illustrator Jock that focuses on a character who is half Batman, half Joker, all terror -- and you'll never look at the Dark Knight the same again.

Buy The Batman Who Laughs here

The Batman Who Laughs Funko Pop!

FYI: If you really want to win over the Batfan on your holiday shopping this, get them this and The Batman Who Laughs graphic novel.

Buy The Batman Who Laughs Funko Pop! here

Batman Hallmark Christmas Tree Ornament

Tim Burton's Batman turned 30 this year, and Hallmark is celebrating the anniversary with this Keatonesque Batman ornament that will give your Christmas tree some Dark Knight realness.

Buy the Batman Hallmark Christmas Tree Ornament here

Batman Umbrella/Rainwear Set

Rainy days just got that much cooler. This raincoat/umbrella combo would make a fantastic gift for aspiring young superheroes/vigilantes. It's a fine line, right?

Buy the Batman Umbrella/Rainwear Set here

DC Collectibles Artists Alley: Batman by Joe Ledbetter Designer Vinyl

Figure

DC Collectibles continues to up the ante in terms of unique items through their Artists Alley line, which provides the industry's greatest creators with the opportunity to put their spin on the publisher's most iconic faces. Limited to 3,000 pieces, this 7" tall vinyl-cast interpretation of Batman by Joe Ledbetter is a re-imagining of the character that has a real bite to it.

Buy the DC Collectibles Artists Alley: Batman by Joe Ledbetter Designer Vinyl Figure here

Batman: Exclusive Original Television Soundtrack Album

With music and dialogue from the 1960s Batman TV series, this is a gift idea that is a little retro kitsch, a whole lot of cool.

Buy Batman: Exclusive Original Television Soundtrack Album here

Prince: Batman 

The same as the above LP, just even more so.

Buy Prince: Batman here

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass

One of 2019's finest graphic novel is Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. Writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Steve Pugh have crafted a story about fractured adolescence that elevates the oft-maligned character into a true pop culture force to be reckoned with.

Buy Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass here

Batman: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History of the Dark Knight

Another colossal book that was produced for Batman's 80th anniversary is this effort from Robert Greenberger that is sure to stir fevered debate among the faithful.

Buy Batman: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History of the Dark Knight here

The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture

If you are looking for a brilliantly written exploration of how Batman shaped pop culture (and vice versa) look no further than this joyous effort by writer/comics historian/NPR personality Glen Weldon.

Buy The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture here

Invicta Men's Batman Watch

Be the most fashionable Batman fan around with this handsome men's watch from Invicta that is waterproof, has automatic self-wind and comes with a black stainless steel case. What's the time? It's time to stop criminals in Gotham City, whee!

Buy the Invicta Men's Batman Watch here

While not directly connected to Batman, 2019 best show is set in the DC Universe and therefore will has more than enough shared DNA to please fans of the character. Doom Patrol brings together a variety of largely unknown DC characters for a show that somehow manages to be both wildly entertaining and one of the greatest explorations of trauma that the medium of television has offered up. If that sounds somewhat unhinged, that is the entire point. Each of Doom Patrol's characters is severely damaged -- from the world weary Robotman (voiced by Brendan Fraser in a soulful performance) to Jane (Dianne Guerrero), a young woman whose childhood abuse caused her to splinter into 46 personalities each with their own super powers. In a season packed with mindblowing moments, perhaps the most touching involvings the Danny the Street character: A sentient qenderqueer city block that is a haven for society's castoffs. To say any more would give away some of the show's surprises, so just know this, Doom Patrol is peak TV at its best...and a show that deserves to be a much larger part of our cultural conversation.

Buy Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season here

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Feature

TV

Movies

Books

Chris Cummins

Nov 29, 2019

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Batman

from Books https://ift.tt/34xuaka