#seeing what they did to this line in the netflix adaptation....prison

[typewriter-worries]

There could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.

Persuasion, Jane Austen 

[talkingperfectly-loud]

Okay! So, I’ve finally watched the Netflix Live Action ATLA and gathered my thoughts! Spoilers under the cut…

Overall score: 7/10

Overall thoughts: I was actually pleased! I wasn’t going in expecting it to be like the original series, and I was really excited to see how they would tell the story, what they would keep, and what they would change. I think that they did a great creative job melding a bunch of story lines together in a way that made sense, but, on a negative note, they did miss some key character beats that ranged from baffling to unforgivable. I loved this cast, and I think they all embodied their characters so well (Dallas Lui as Zuko?!? Hello?! *Chef’s kiss*). Deliveries were a bit stilted (to be expected with young actors just starting out), but I actually found it endearing, and they’ll only get better with practice. The bending wasn’t nearly as punchy or fun to watch in live action (especially the water bending. Oof), but it was leaps and bounds better than the Movie That Must Not Be Named. Below are the major takeaways:

Things I disliked

- Making the discovery and freeing of Aang completely passive. In the animated show, this was brought about BY Katara and Sokka. Their characters and their bickering, which caused Kataras rage, which caused her to waterbend, which caused her to free Aang. In the live action, it just… happens? Randomly? Nothing caused it, and it was a much weaker moment because of it.

- They took away Zuko’s crucial moments of mercy. Yes, they have him save the 41st, and yes, they have him hesitate during his Agni Kai with Ozai… BUT he was about to burn Katara on Kyoshi island? When she was down and unarmed?? At the North Pole, he was about to burn Zhao, who was also down and unarmed?? Absolutely not. No. No way. He wouldn’t even burn Zhao in the original show, because he knows what it’s like to be burned and despite his rage, he is a good person. There is absolutely no way he would be willing to harm someone who is unarmed.

- Sokka not explicitly asking Suki to train him. We NEEDED to see that humility where he asks for their help, not just him staring wistfully through the door and her taking pity. Humble him!!!!

- Sokka not being involved in the Jet storyline. I know that Katara is more obviously the choice to get involved here (love interest, etc), but Sokka and Jet are foils! They are both young men tasked with protecting people they love. Not having Sokka’s moment where his skepticism and independence saves the day is such a loss for his character. This could have even been kept in the Omashu storyline, with Sokka evacuating a building before a bomb goes off, etc.

- Why the literal heck did Bumi himself come to the front of the palace to receive the inventions from Sai?? What the hell even was that scene??

- Cutting the Haru storyline. This episode is crucial for Katara, who has WAY too little to do in this show, tbh. Her rallying the earth kingdom prisoners, and encouraging them to fight back is so so so important. I think they tried to move this to the Northern Water tribe storyline (when she rallies the women) but we don’t SEE it!! It happens offscreen!!!!

- Minor, but the blue spirit mask looked kinda dumb. I wish they had taken inspiration from real kabuki masks and made it more scary.

- I personally feel that Ozai is TOO personable in this adaptation. I’m guessing Daniel Dae Kim probably had a lot of say over the portrayal of this character, but I don’t think they made him dark enough. Ozai is cruel and that is CRUCIAL. He is abusive and manipulative, and hateful. Framing Zuko’s banishment and mutilation as if these were deliberate “learning moments,” rather than cruel, unjustifiable abuse is character assassination.

- Azula isn’t Azula. No shade to the actress, but the script has her written as a hot-headed, temperamental teenager desperate to prove herself. That’s ZUKO! Azula should be able to make grown men per their pants. Do her bidding. She can command armies. She never lets you see her weaknesses or her walls. She is cold, calculating, and terrifying. She is 13 steps ahead of you. Live action Azula loses her temper during a fight, talks back to Ozai (?!?!), and whines to Mai and Ty Lee about her frustrations. That’s not Azula.

- The “ice moon” thing at the North Pole? Why? Why aren’t there any spirits in this world? There’s no need to change that.

- Zhao’s death!?! What the hell was that!?!? No no no no no. Absolutely awful in every possible way. Where was his karmic justice?!? Why introduce the Fog of Lost Souls if you weren’t going to show Zhao getting pulled down into it?!? Where was Zuko, offering him mercy, despite everything? Where was Zhao’s pride, refusing his hand?? Furthermore, you make Iroh of all people a murderer?!? Fine, you could have him intervene and push Zhao into the water like he pushed him down after the Agni Kai in the original series. But to kill him?? Unprompted?! In cold blood?! Zhao wasn’t even his opponent!! Horrifying and disturbing. Unforgivable.

Things I loved

- The order of events. I actually love starting 100 years in the past and not making it clear what is about to happen. I also love that it isn’t clear just how long Aang has been asleep for! I love love love that dramatic irony if you know, and the reveal if you don’t.

- Aang stealing Zuko’s notebook. Finally, it’s explained how the gaang knew Zuko’s name lol

- Aang & Iroh meeting and chatting on the ship when he’s captured! It’s such a small scene, but felt so reminiscent of their conversation from Book 2 that it made me happy.

- Suki being so awkward!! Yes girl!! You have clearly never flirted before and it is obvious! I also loved having her mother be the matriarch of the village. Makes total sense tbh.

- Fleshing out Omashu! I love that they combined Jet & the Mechanist here. It makes Omashu feel more real, and it’s a natural place to put these storylines. I think this was really well done. Also bringing Iroh & Zuko into the story here was seamless, and worked to further both their characters (Zuko choosing Iroh over Aang, Iroh sacrificing himself to save Zuko)

- Having Bumi be an angry old man. This is controversial, but if we put aside Legend of Korra for a second where canon says Aang and him stay bffs, this actually makes a lot of sense. It’s not fair that Aang got to be asleep for 100 years. Bumi, as he said, had to struggle and suffer during that entire time. I’m glad that not everyone is like “it’s okay, it’s not your fault” because it kind of is!! I’m glad they had someone to actually hold him accountable a bit!

- Aang and Zuko connecting during the Blue Spirit episode. Aang making Zuko smile! Them joking! Them feeling pity for each other! The star-crossed friendship of it all! Gorgeous, gorgeous scene.

- Expanding on the theme of friendship vs. isolation. It’s such a key theme in the animated series that flies under the radar, and I really like how they took it and seemed to run with it.

- Azula collaborating with Zhao. It makes so much sense, since Zhao is just some rando tbh?It sets up both the Dai Li storyline and sibling rivalry nicely in season 2.

- Having Zuko’s crew be the division he saved?!?! A stroke of absolute genius.

- No Kataang!! I’m so sorry, but I honestly always felt that any romance in the original series was gratuitous, odd, and oh so Western. This is a story about children at war. I’m glad the romance is taking a back seat.

- Having Pakku see Katara for HER, rather than for her grandmother!! I always hated that in the original show! She fights her damn heart out and he still won’t train her UNTIL he sees her grandmother’s necklace. It always felt like the age-old blight of men not being able to care about a woman unless they have, or can image having, a personal connection to them (What if that was your mother, daughter, etc). I LOVE this change.

- Katara rallying the other women!! Pulling up everyone!! This is such an obvious change I can’t believe they didn’t have this in the original show. As I said, though, I do wish we saw her speech to them. That’s such an important character moment.

[bearpillowmonster]

DD3

Wait, so you get denied a raise because of your credit score...and they tell you to sort it out- before the raise that will raise your credit score? Wait-

It's so easy to forget that there were successful comic book shows and movies outside of what we see today. You know how many we get a year now? 7 mainline live action in universe Marvel and DC movies plus 2 live action shows. These are straight from the source so why is it that Netflix, the company that redid Avatar and is famous for their goofy live action anime adaptations did something more quality years ago versus what we get today with super inflated budgets? Whether you like the show or not, whether you rank this lower than the other seasons, doesn't matter, the production quality is objective.

Bullseye in this season is top notch. I seriously didn't expect that or some of what the dialogue considers, I pondered some of that for days, the writing really shines. Everyone talks about Karen and Foggy reappearing for the reboot but Karen's still whiny. They even give her a whole episode on number 10 out of 13 and it's really something we should've gotten- um- not at the last moment. It doesn't even change context. Seeing it titled 'Karen', made me think there was this cool long hunt for her and she'd have to use her wits and ideals that she's built to fight back until Daredevil stops Bullseye's attack. Yeah, no, it's pretty straightforward.

It's strange how they really made Kingpin staring at a white wall a plot point and it's actually not bad, like how do you make that a successful character trait?

Sometimes it reverts to a stage play though, more often than not it's the most pivotal moments too. There are some great fights, don't get me wrong, it goes back to a lot of the corridor fighting and innovates really nicely but then there's the Bullseye fight in episode 10, it just didn't hit the right notes for me and neither did the last episode's fight. It's not even just the fights either, it's the dialogue. I expected Vanessa to die then Wilson concedes so DD will kill him, but DD doesn't give him what he wants and refuses after all this time. I ended up with half of that. But it's all done so rushed like there's no reason behind it. And Matt's speech is just over the top cheesy "You will go back to prison and live the rest of your miserable life in a cage knowing you'll never have Vanessa." Blah blah blah, I beat you. Stupid, like a pissing competition. I complained about Ultimate Spider-Man and it still gives me horrors thinking about it but there was one thing that followed in line with what I want and that's actually Daredevil.

There was a scene where he knows he can't beat Fisk at his own game so he sneaks and finds Vanessa- here, flocked right to it. Issue 110

She's comatose in that story and now he shows that he has all the cards, he's in control, he could break both his and Kingpin's life at once. It's Spider-Man that talks him down and we don't need that here but he stands for fear but how do you scare the person that isn't scared of anything? You scare those closest to him. "It was just business. Don't make it personal." Kingpin leaves the country but he ends up calling a hit on Spider-Man and DD anyway. That is until he gets what's coming to him, sidelined and distracted so that the cops come and get him for a murder he barely even remembered.

It'd be interesting if they made the season a murder mystery where it turns out it was Fisk even though he's in prison and then it starts the FBI thing then him barrelling through cops as they try to bring him down at the end. In fact, when I first heard of this season and saw Bullseye with the outfit, I thought that maybe he was A. a wannabe. or B. Someone framing him. DD going back to his old costume so not to be confused (or the other way around) and they're trying to uncover his identity all the way through until they figure it out in the end and DD reclaims his costume and beats him. That didn't happen and I love his character study but I feel that they kinda pissed on him in that final episode too. They kinda just chalked him up to another crazy guy by that point.

I didn't mind them hoping for another season and teasing for it but there are some things left undone, (what's that stain on my rug?) I won't really complain about them but I can say that the beginning where we get caught up on stuff that happened off-screen goes nowhere. Should Elektra have appeared, it'd undermine her death but if she was apart of his visions like Fisk and his dad were then it'd make more sense like "oh, he hallucinated her." I realized that Elektra's story more fit Blade's type of playground than what ended up being S2 so it does seem a bit weaker.

All in all, I see why the series is so heavily regarded and I probably agree with a lot of the consensus in terms of ranking.

[nevenabadr]

50 Shades of You! Tom Hiddleston X Female! Reader

Note: This is my first ever fanfiction for Tom Hiddleston. I have not written fiction for ages. English is not my first language.

Inspiration: this is inspired by:

“I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes.”

–Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

Word count: 2660

Warnings: Romance, sweet words, and smut–this is +21 and not for everyone.

Enjoy reading and please comment with your feedback. 💚

-------------------------------------------------------

During the summer Cambridge University was having a conference "Gothic Elements In John Milton's Paradise Lost." As you the young professor of literature, the coordinate manager suggested that the University alumnus could join for not just attending, but acting a piece of the tragedy. Amongst the candidates was the Classic department graduate and famous actor, Tom Hiddleston. 

You know that he might have scheduled issues or time conflicts, but you suggested the committee email him. To your surprise, he accepted the offer. 

 

The scene of choice was casting the devil out of hell.

On the stage during the conference eve, you did not have the perfect time to watch him, but you took a glimpse of acting from far.

He even caught your show and face attending the rehearsals.

The conference day was pressuring. You were trying to get everything right, in the middle of your so-close meltdown. A voice brought you to reality, "Hello, is this professor Y/N)?"

You turned to find the British handsome alumni smiling peacefully at you. "Yes, how can I help you?"

"Indeed, I am the one offering help." As he adjusted his glasses, I asked the committee manager to take upon some errant backstage. Maybe I can assist with the front ceremony?"

"Of course," you paused for a moment, "can you help me with the dinner's seats arrangement? My assistant is absent and I have to print and arrange them myself."

"Just show me a computer and all will be done."

Both of you took your time arranging an evening missing up some seats. 

 

"Here comes my name. You will be seated with the professors, of course!" He was busy putting name tags over the table.

"Oh! Don't remind me." You replied as if it is a conversation with an old friend and continued "the Classic department and Literature."

"They might start a war." Both of you started laughing 

"I have an idea." He took a tag from his table and moved yours next to his. "Now you will be with a friend"

The presentations finished, you had to go for the gym showers to change and wear your conference and dinner dress.

By the time you arrived, the scene from the tardy was about to be played. You took your place in the front seat.

Tom was playing Satan. He noticed that you were reciting the lines with him. He even almost smiles at you. Could not hold himself from looking at you in the front row while playing the scene of...

 

"All is not lost; the unconquerable Will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield; (And what is else not to be overcome?) That glory never shall his wrath or might Extort from me to bow and sue for grace With suppliant knee and deify his power, Who from the terror of his arm so late Doubted his empire[.] (I, 106–114)"

 

Your facial expressions captured his eyes, the movement of your lips and then the flame of your applause. 

At the dinner, he was interested to hear all about your work and writings. His eyes could not able to leave you.

 

By the end of the dinner, he walked you to your car, "this was lovely, thank you for tonight" 

You smiled at him, "thank you for accepting our invitation."

You shake hands and opened your car door like the gentleman he is.

"Would you like to go out with me, for a coffee? Books and coffee, maybe." He did not hesitate to ask.

"I would love to. You already have my number within the conference contact information." You raised an eyebrow and smirked.

As your car drove away, he knew he was up for an adventure.

Three months later, you are happily dating and sharing sweet kisses. He suggested a film marathon. Each week one of you chose a topic.

That Saturday's topic was Russian Literature and you had to add: "or inspired by it" 

"Excuse me, but Tolstoy has no comparison!" He grimaced

"Shadow and Bones, love!" You teased him, "it the Netflix adaption of the era" 

"After Anna Karenina, please," he sounded like an old professor.

"Alright then, deal." You tickled him and kissed his lips softly

Both of you enjoyed Anna Karenina, however, you were crying in his arms.

"That dreadful ending." 

He hugged you "Hey, Shadow and Bones will make it up to you, let me make extra popcorn." Once again, he kissed you.

He came back with popcorn that will at least survive three episodes. You snuggled between his arms.

"Look at Alexie, how he said 'Make me your villain.'" 

You were swooning as a fangirl.

"I beg your pardon, I am literally a villain," he complained

Oh! I would literally," stressing upon the last word, "let him have me"

His face was irritated and you not coming close to making love made him anxious, that you might not be ready. He never inquired about you.   

You caressed his tummy, "hey, a penny for your thoughts, sir." It sounded like one of the Jack the Ripper prostitutes, about which you have constantly been talking.

His voice evolved deeper and his eyes did not leave yours "your deepest sexual desire. What do you crave?"

Comparing to your age, you were nervous and inexperienced. "My life was spent between books. I..."

He did not let you continue speaking and took your lips between his drawing your body closer to him, uttering between his hot kisses "I am not just a villain" his lips made the earth move "I am a God" whispering against the sport skin of your nick " a king" his hands were moving down the same tomes his lips reached the line of your bosom whilst his hand slides prevailed touching down pussy and dug his fingers driving you till the edge.

"I want you," you whispered between your soft moans.

He neglected your cravings and maintained his rhythm, watching your complexion and closed eyes till you arched your back in awe.

You collapsed between his arms heavily breathing "that was extremely wonderful, but I need you"

He kissed your lips playfully. "you are a delicious girl, Y/N, but..."

You hashed him with a kiss that he pulled from "if your life was between books, I want you to write me your deepest desire."

"Darling, it was a series, Alexie is fictional." You wrapped your arms around his neck.

"Fictional or not, he is a man, you are paying for this." 

He was deadly serious "write me your longing."

You laugh "What? Like the 50 Shades of Y/N?"

He gazed into your eyes "aiming to please and punish you, darling, avenging my honour"

The next morning when you were with your family on Sunday's lunch, he opened an email titled "50 Shades of Y/A"

 

The content was as follows:

"You!"

 

He grinned to himself and determined to show her how fiction can become real.

Your week was busy. He had signed a new contract for a mini-series and was supposed to film soon.

Not replying to your email made you nervous, even went meeting for dinner. He was quiet about it. 

You checked your sent box millions of times to make sure it arrived. Still, you knew he was busy working, and you were busy with the finals coming soon.

Thursday’s dinner, nothing yet, nothing but gaggling and discussing your days and current reads. 

"Darling, we did not decide this week's marathon" 

He did not take his eyes off the menu "Are not you having a big family week, you should go" he was confident and calm. 

Deep inside you wanted to grab his neck and jiggle him, but for the lady you are and the restaurant, you were calm.

"Wonderful!"

The dinner was over; he drove you home, kissed you goodnight.

Saturday morning, a ringing at your door. Apparently, you received a package, a big one.

You kept thinking that some books might have come early from your publisher. Unwrapping it to a surprise satin 1950 coat with Ruby red entourage and black heels.

There was also a note, she recognised the handwriting:

 

"Wear nothing but this for your punishment. If other pieces were found upon your body, then fear my fury and vengeance.

Love, 

T"

 

So, it was her version of Mr Grey. But have you ever been ready to comply with anyone?"

Suddenly, a message arrived on your phone 

"Reminder, a black will pick you tonight at 8, don't disobey me, Princess."

Your heel clicked on the floor as a man dressed in an old fashion suit opened the car for you. The windows were blacked out, so you did not see where it was heading.

"Welcome, Princess," he greeted you as if you were royalty, "My master is awaiting your presence."

You took his hands. The place was carved out of one of your favourite dark fantasies, a mansion with gargoyles, dark lighting, and a vast garden.

You could not believe your eyes. Tom knew your deepest desires indeed.

But that is not the end.

The inside was as of a dark enchantment with deep red flowers and candles. The servant showed you the way to a dining room fit for a feast. Tom was not there. 

"My master requires you to await his arrival." The servant bowed and left.

You were like a child been left inside her favourite toyshop. The ornaments, the lighting, and even the shapes of the food. That aesthetic you only could dream of but never reach.

"Enjoying yourself already?" You turned to find your man dressed in a black Victorian suit. His face was shaved, shorter hair, no glasses. Just all of the handsome glory.

You took a step forward "no princess, I shall come for you"

He kissed your hand and then sat on the table's head, while it sat on the opposite side and faced you away indeed.

"Are you pleased, princess?" He raised his glass of red wine.

"Yes, my Prince." You smile.

"In here, you shall address me as your king." His eyes lit with fire, and his voice was harsh.

You played along and raised an eyebrow "my king."

"This is not a game, princess, you are my prisoner"

You dined quietly, as he did not drop his eyes from you.

"Enjoying yourself?"

You flirted "deeply, my king"

He left his chair and came closer to you, his fingers left your chain so you can gaze into your eyes.

He asked, "care for a dance?"

You smiled "I would love to."

You stepped forward and took his hand to a ballroom, just for you and him, the dark king.

The following piece of music was sensual and moving.

"The coat, princess, I want to see nothing but heels on your body,"

You obeyed the king, but for a tick. When you took it off, underneath it a short emerald green strapless corset dress tight upon the curves of your body and pushed your bosoms to their glory.

He grinned and his eyes darken "looking for further punishment, I suppose?" 

"Anything to please the king." You took his hand and kissed it. He did not expect it.

He turned furiously and the next song was romantic. He wrapped his arms around you once again, waltz, you sneaky woman, deserved joy before being punished.

Twirling you on the dance floor like the earth has no one but the two of you.

By the end, he carried you "to my chambers, little one"

You were nervous and anxious. What if he did not like what was underneath the dress?

He entered a candlelight room with a four-poster bed in the centre. The curtains of the bed were black and emerald. 

He laid you in bed, kissing your lips and playing with your hair. 

His breathing was heating against your skin.

"You won't miss that dress, will you, princess?"

He did not wait for your reply as he lifted a dagger amongst the layers of his suit and cut the corset down to the last piece of the dress.

You wore nothing else. You were lying exposed as he stood to look upon your naked curves for the first time. 

You spontaneously tried to cover your bosom and private parts.

"No, do not you dare" he was angry and you could not distinguish reality from fantasy.

You throw the rest of the dress away. Hands laying by your head and he stood there for a juncture, gazing at every inch of your body.

"Turn," he ordered angrily as if the soul of Loki took over him, "I said, turn" 

You nearly dropped tears "here my king" 

You felt the softness of his lips upon your delicate shoulders.

Kissing the line of your spine. He knows this will work like magic. You tickle from your back, now trying to lick you, taste you, slap you.

He flipped you to face him. You were sobbing. He could hear it under your moans.

"You are not a princess, you are not a queen."

He wipes her tears from her cheek "you are a goddess and I am your slave."

You giggled between your tears, wrapping your arms around his neck "my king"

"Your, slave" As his voice became softer, he hushed you with a finger.

He kissed every inch of your body. You were playing with his short blonde locks.

"Let me worship your bosom, my goddess" he kissed, licked and played with your nipples and cupped your bosoms gently.

Kissing down till he reached your pussy, "Let me worship your temple" as he licked your clitoris.

You were moaning loader now

“Not this time, my king I want you inside me."

"Alright, as the pleasure of my goddess, I shall obey." 

He adjusted his weight on you and asked, "wider for me, my goddess of beauty" 

You opened for him as he enters you for the first time. You let out a loud breath "are you alright" he took your hands between his.

"Continue, my king."

He is just thrusting himself gently inside you. Your moans filling the room 

"I am a villain, a king, a god, and a man"

Your hands were free to run along his back as he continued, "a man, no, a slave for my goddess"

You were moving with him and moaning louder, "my king, what else?"

 Thursinting himself harder and moving with a faster pace.

"My goddess, the sculptures of beauty," between his breathing and moaning "Da Vinci would not be able to capture your grace"

You were kissing as your nail dug inside his shoulders.

His last whispers as moving himself inside your pussy which was clutching around his manhood. He moved with pace, as you rocked your lap against him

"I will live in thy heart," kissing your lips as you bite his lower lip between your steamy breath. "Die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes.”

He was going faster now and you were in tremendous awe and your skin was heating up with your pleasure.

"Look at me goddess" you were closing your eyes as you become close to you your orgasm "look at me," he ordered 

"I love thee, Tom," you said as your pussy was clutching around his manhood and trembling underneath him. His enormous climax followed your orgasm. 

You were shaking. He used his hands to keep himself from crushing you with his weight.

He rested his forehead on yours till both of you caught your breath. Gently took you between his arms as resting on his side "and I love thee, Y/N"

kissed you and as you were falling asleep, yet muttered, "I made you my villain, did not I?"

He giggles, "I beg your pardon, your God, King, and lover"

You kissed for the last time of that night and snuggle between peacefully each other's arms.

----------------------------------------------------

Tag list:

@shafverani

@imsebastiansta-n

@brokenwitty

@221bshrlocked (awaiting your feedback)

@sinner-as-saint

@zemosimp05

@buckys-fairy

[maidenvault]

I watched the live action Cowboy Bebop.…JFC

Imagine talking a big game about diversity in your adaptation and then having an absolutely cringeworthy line fetishizing Jet as a black man and making the clearly Chinese syndicate largely white.

Imagine thinking you’re doing some good queer rep by making the absolutely valid change that Gren is non-binary now but then preserving absolutely nothing about the character but their queerness as if that isn’t totally textbook tokenism. Gren had a unique story with emotional impact in the anime and is now basically the sassy gay friend from a 90s sitcom.

Faye is one of the all-time great female anime characters because she’s a painfully human mess under all the toughness. Netflix Faye could not feel further from a real person. Nobody fucking talks like that. She wears a smug “badass” look when she shoots Asimov, whose death is meant to feel like a tragedy mirroring Spike’s.

And they clearly think they somehow did a feminism with Julia, ugh. Sure, have her take charge of the organization that has destroyed her life and so many others without giving her any real motivation except that Spike failed to save her. I can’t stop thinking about how ridiculous it is that she’s kept deliberately mysterious in the anime and actually appears for maybe 12 minutes altogether yet still comes across so much better than the naive schoolgirl Netflix has made her into. In what little time we see her, she’s portrayed very much like Spike’s equal and counterpart - cool and composed no matter the danger, similarly hardened by life, and certainly intelligent and capable (she’s survived three years on her own with the syndicate hunting her). She’s caring at her core but also believably dangerous; there’s never a motivation explained for why she was ever with Vicious that makes her into a victim.

And God, making Vicious her abusive husband is bad fanfic level of doing the most boring and obvious thing. You know, ‘cause we’d never see it’s a bad relationship and he’s a bad man otherwise. In trying to give him some depth they only made him so much more of a cartoon. The more I think about it, giving him some kind of humanizing backstory is so lol because the only backstory we needed for him in the anime came from Gren, who was possibly in love with him and had years in prison to obsess over how the fuck this man he fought beside and trusted could do what he did to him. That Vicious so coldly betrayed him shows that absolutely nothing is sacred to him and makes it unsurprising when he sets the final tragic events in motion by carrying out a coup against the Elders. He literally just has to be set up as the gun that’s bound to go off in the final act.

But honestly my breaking point wasn’t until Jet unironically said “It’s family time,” lol. There’s no hugging, birthday parties, or orgasms on the Bebop. The whole point of the story and its reason for ending tragically falls apart if these aren’t the loneliest and most emotionally repressed assholes in the galaxy.

[ciceroisthefamilycat]

10, 18, and 20 for the va asks?

Thank you so much! (the asks post)

10. What are some memorable quotes?

This is something I think Richelle does really well- setting up memorable, unique quotes.

"I set off, off to kill the man I loved." (the final line of Shadow Kiss)

“ 'Ah, those two. In a fight, they’re lethal. Around each other, they melt.' ” (Sonya about Romitri in Golden Lily)

Those are probably the biggest two- they're definitely widespread in the VA fandom (and outside for the latter) for a reason. But since my most recent reread, I've been stuck a lot on Mia's "talk about a face only a mother could love" in Frostbite (which... is yikes in context but her and Rose's zingers to each other always land). Sydney's postscripts to her letter in Blood Promise really send me though, and I think are my favorites.

P.S. "The Red Hurricane" is what I named the car. P.P.S. Just because I like you, it doesn't mean I don't still think you're an evil creature of the night. You are.

I also have a huge soft spot for "Are you saying my sister looks like a prostitute?" in Golden Lily, because as much as it skeeves me out that the Palm Springs crew interdate so much when they're pretending to be siblings and as much as I feel for Braeden and kind of hate how the others reacted to him, I love the hetaerae runner in those chapters.

18. What character would you want a spin off of?

Well, Sydney's already taken care of, so...

I guess I'd really like one, post Angeline's graduation (since she was so excited about getting her education), where she and Trey team up with some dhampir allies (her brother Joshua, maybe one of the Baia Unpromised from Blood Promise, etc.), team up to start hunting Strigoi, like they did in Fiery Heart. Hopefully a Moroi or two would be involved (MIA please) and maybe even a witch friend Sydney recommends for the job. Zoe (who I was always sad didn't get close at all to Jill or Angeline) could coordinate with them to provide info.

Inevitably, in the second or third of six books 😉, Rose and Lissa would send them a spirit user (say, one of the former Tsarov prisoners who's finally gotten help) to try and help with more restorations, and Richelle could broaden the lore on that- how many Strigoi restorations can any one spirit user accomplish, and what are the downturn periods. And as Lissa pointed out when they were first discussing spirit use and healing, not even restorations, would Lissa and Rose be asking them to restore royal Moroi for political machinations, would it be a first-find, first-serve basis? Inevitably somebody joins who, like Mikhail or Rose, is really looking for one specific Strigoi (though maybe in their case it's revenge??). I just think there's a lot of potential in there. And Angeline (and Trey, if we could have dual narrators) is such a great vantage point for all of it.

20. If you could crossover VA with any other fandom, which would it be and why?

You're kind of my favorite person right now. Soon after they announced the VA show (and since I had just marathoned the Netflix Defenders-verse shows and awakened a sleeping attraction to Ben B, who was the most popular Dimitri fancast for so long), I decided to watch Shadow and Bone and consider what it might mean for the VA adaptation. And since maybe 15 minutes into that first episode (if that late), I have been imagining a VA-verse/ Grisha-verse crossover. The majority of the reason I actually read the books (or at least, the main trilogy and Crows duology) after was because I wanted to know if I could make that crossover work.

Between the heavy Russian/Eastern-Europe influences in their mythologies, and the power sets... I definitely think it could work. I was thinking all of the characters from both verses, in the Ravka setting, using the combined timeline from the SaB show. Knowing my record, I'm not likely to ever actually write it, but a screenshot of my planning doc is below. I would just really want to see Rose hanging out with Inej, Mia and Zoya being besties, Dimitri mentoring Mal, Lissa and Alina really understanding each other's burdens, Sydney and Wylan bonding over their love of scientific experimentation and unfortunately their shit dads, Sydney and Nina being like "yes we are badass polyglots who speak a half dozen languages" together, putting Adrian and Nikolai in a room together (they are so similar trope-wise, but different)... I just think there's so much potential in those characters getting to meet and bond. Shadowclub.

[aion-rsa]

From Lupin III to Inspector Gadget: Examining the Heirs of Arsène Lupin

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This piece contains spoilers for Netflix’s Lupin.

As Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905, is a renowned master of disguise, it is fitting that he has inspired a number of literary characters to take up his mantle. Arguably the most recognizable riff is Lupin III, a copyright-infringing, quasi-canonical descendant by way of Japanese manga and anime. Yet it wasn’t until Netflix’s new French mystery comedy-drama series Lupin��which reinvented the source material through Omar Sy’s Lupin and the lenses of immigration, racism, and fandom—that readers and viewers have truly been challenged to consider what it means to inherit, whether through blood or through books, an iconic character’s legacy. Consider this a field guide to the many different Arsène Lupins.

What is immediately intriguing about both Lupins is that neither is as white as the top-hatted, monocled thief that Leblanc created over a century ago. Assane Diop (Sy), the charismatic lead of George Kay’s Lupin, is a Senegalese immigrant whose father Babakar (Fargass Assandé) brought him to Paris for a better life. The lethal mix of elitism and systemic racism that they encounter via Babakar’s employers, the Pellegrini family, are what shape young Assane’s life into a revenge narrative, but also become tools in his career as a gentleman thief. Yet even Lupin III, created in 1967 by manga artist Monkey Punch (a.k.a. Kazuhito Katō), is introduced as the French-Japanese grandson of Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin. In the Lupin the Third Part II episode “The Southern Cross Looked Like Diamonds,” which concerns Japanese casualties of the Pacific War, Lupin discusses his dual heritage. Both adaptations add texture to their Lupins’ stories by not allowing them to move through society quite as smoothly as the original French thief.

That said, Monkey Punch’s Lupin III certainly benefits from a fair amount of family legacy by carrying on his grandfather’s and father’s reputation as a world-renowned thief, marksman, master of disguise, womanizer—you name it. He’s almost more of a reincarnation of the original than a descendant, with the only real change being the shift in period from the early 20th century to the swingin’ sixties. Monkey Punch also drew from Lupin III’s contemporary James Bond to enhance some of those darker and more adult aspects in the manga, while basing Lupin’s on-again, off-again romance with bombshell spy Fujiko Mine on D’Artagnan and Milady de Winter’s relationship from Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers.

According to a 1995 issue of Manga Mania, Monkey Punch had initially considered keeping the blood connection a bit more under wraps, having not obtained the legal rights from Leblanc’s estate, but was convinced to embrace the Arsène Lupin connections. While Monkey Punch’s adoption of the Lupin persona wasn’t kosher by copyright standards, it was also very much in the spirit of the character—asking for forgiveness rather than permission—as well as the creator himself: Leblanc borrowed Sherlock Holmes for a few Lupin adventures before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle realized, and only then changed the detective’s name to “Herlock Sholmes” for subsequent showdowns. Still, it did eventually backfire for him, though it also led to, fascinatingly, beloved animated character Inspector Gadget (more on that later).

Read more

TV

Lupin Part 2: 2021 Release Confirmed by Netflix

By Kirsten Howard

Perhaps the most beloved iteration of Lupin III is in Hayao Miyazaki’s 1979 film The Castle of Cagliostro. Monkey Punch’s manga cast Lupin III as a rather unsympathetic master thief: callous about his victims, a caddish ladies’ man who often harassed women he saw as little more than sex objects. While the anime quickly established a moral code—stealing from rich people who either deserved it or would not overly suffer for it—it was Miyazaki’s film that gave Lupin III real heart. In rescuing princess bride Clarisse from a Gothic marriage, he displays a surprising sense of chivalry, especially when the plucky girl wants to be his sidekick. Lupin’s silent agony over turning her down lends the otherwise carefree heist film a shocking touch of melancholy, and lays the groundwork for a more well-rounded Lupin III in future outings.

The Lupin III bloodline has extended several generations into the future, though none of these descendants made much of an impact beyond their respective adventures. First there was Lupin III Jr. (yes, that’s his name), the son of Lupin III and Fujiko, who only ever existed in the manga. Elusiveness of the Fog, the nineteenth Lupin III TV special, uses a time machine to jump ahead to 2883 and glimpse Lupin XXXIII, a.k.a. Lupin the 33rd, identical to his green-jacketed ancestor. He gets three whole lines and mostly seems like an excuse to show that thirty generations later, little about the iconic thief has changed.

In between those two there was Lupin the Eighth, would-be star of a 1982 spinoff created in collaboration between Lupin III studio TMS Entertainment and French-American studio DiC Entertainment. The Lupin VIII series would have jumped a conservative five generations ahead, with the familiar crew’s great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren carrying on the same names, traits, and rivalries and romantic entanglements. But when the Leblanc estate got wind of this Japanese/French collaboration showing up on their continent, they put the kibosh on the project; only the pilot was animated, and was shut down before vocals had been recorded.

Because TMS and DiC had already lost their investment, they scrambled to come up with a replacement for the timeslot. And so Inspector Gadget was created, with the trenchcoat-clad cyborg bumbling his way into viewers’ hearts. Despite his complete lack of suaveness compared to any version of Lupin, you could say that, in terms of staying power, Gadget was Lupin III’s true successor.

Yet while Lupin III had every familial and financial resource at his disposal to continue his grandfather’s and father’s work, everything Assane Diop needs to know he learns from a book. The Arsène Lupin books, which Babakar gifts him right before he is framed for stealing the priceless Queen’s Necklace from the Pellegrinis. Babakar’s arrest, guilty plea, and prison suicide leave Assane burdened with a strange inheritance of misfortune, words, and blood money—as Madame Pellegrini (Nicole Garcia) pays for fancy schooling he otherwise would not have been able to afford. Attending a prestigious academy is where he forges friendships with fellow morally gray criminal Benjamin Ferel (Antoine Gouy) and his eventual partner Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) and learns how to code-switch among his peers. 

Presumably, that upbringing creates the scaffolding of connections that allows him to move through high society, but his wealth and prestige in adulthood is all due to Arsène Lupin. Assane studies those books like religious texts, like instruction manuals, like the last connection to his late father. His obsessive fandom provides him the blueprints for foolproof heists that he enhances with his own experiences at playing with disguise. Though he does later employ prosthetics for his appearance as Twitter user Salvator, for the most part Assane doesn’t obscure his face. Instead, he trusts in his marks’ implicit racial biases that they will buy him as a deadbeat dad and immigrant janitor Luis Perenna, then not blink twice when staring him in the face as millionaire Paul Sernine in the course of the same evening. In prison, he literally counts on a white guard’s inability to differentiate between two black men to switch places with a prisoner.

Assane also continues his father’s tradition of gifting the Arsène Lupin books to his own son for his 14th birthday: Raoul (Etan Simon), French-born, mixed-race and equally enamored of the gentleman thief’s adventures. While it’s unlikely that Assane wants his son to make the same dangerous enemies, he clearly wants Raoul to see himself in the character—and to see his father, who understandably has difficulty showing his true self to anyone.

This by-the-book adaptation (Arsène Lupin entered the public domain in 2012) engages with the notion that anyone can embody an iconic character—that their skin color or class upbringing doesn’t have to match the original, that they don’t have to be a blood relation to inherit a persona. For all that Lupin III exists in his own right and will endure as a classic franchise, Assane Diop’s Lupin may be the truer heir to the gentleman thief’s legacy.

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Lupin is available to stream now on Netflix.

The post From Lupin III to Inspector Gadget: Examining the Heirs of Arsène Lupin appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[derpcakes]

So we watched (nay, Experienced) the BBC/Netflix Dracula series

Brought to us by everyone’s favourite team, Steve Moff and Mark Gatiss, promising to be an innovative and exciting new vision of the classic novel

Boy it was definitely something!!!

First I will say: obviously Moff is not my favourite TV writer and my fam and I did go into this with a bias. I’m happy to report, though, that it’s going to be one of these shows that haunts me forever, because if it had just been bad I could have said “bleh” and deleted it from my brain. But because parts of this were genuinely cool, interesting, and fun, and parts of it genuinely had potential, all the bits that were bad stand out as so much worse and the whole thing feels as cursed as a 500 year old undead count. 

Things that were enjoyable and well put-together:

Van Helsing has been gender-swapped into a vampire-hunting nun and her cat-and-mouse game with Dracula is rife with belligerent sexual tension. I was ready to hate this, and ready for like, Sherlock and Irene Adler 2.0, but their dynamic was actually pretty fun to watch! Their power balance is kept even throughout most of the show, and Helsing is never struck down because of ~womanly failings~ or infantilised. She’s consistently really clever and, even if there are some cringey one-liners, I found her and Draccy’s playful quest to murder each other one of the most fun parts of the show. It could’ve been better, but it was enjoyable! (I also like how Helsing isn’t Young and Hot, but is a capable older lady, and her actor and Draccy’s even seem about the same age. Amazing)

The second episode is a spooky murder mystery/horror mini-movie on a ship, with a cast full of interesting characters who all had different things going on and different relationship dynamics that were compelling to watch. There’s even an interracial gay couple! And they’re like, written pretty sympathetically and to be layered and flawed in ways that didn’t feel too stereotypical! And they don’t die first!! Wack! I understand the bar is on the ground, but it’s still worth a mention

Some fun with vampire lore: Draccy absorbs knowledge and traits from people he drinks blood from (which is how he learns languages. Get Duolingo, dude, stop eating people), leading to the intriguing suggestion that myths like “vampires will die in sunlight” and “vampires are afraid of holy symbols” have kinda become real to him even if they don’t literally work, because he’s swallowed so many people to whom these superstitions and beliefs were law. I’m sure this isn’t the first time this has been done, but groundbreaking or no it was kinda neat

Things that were not enjoyable and well put-together:

EVERYTHING ELSE

Episode 1: a weird speedrun of most of the original novel, feat. weaponised nuns and a weird fixation on whether or not Jonathan Harker and Draccy boned. They did not. Dracula pops out of the body of a wolf and he’s Whole Ass Naked. Him and Van Helsing have a power play where she stands just on the threshold of a convent and calls him a little bitch, knowing he can’t come and get her. A knife is licked. 

Episode 2: aforementioned cool ship horror story. Definitely the best ep. It really makes me think about hbomb’s critique that Moff is pretty good at doing standalone stories (and pilots), but when things are tied into a bigger narrative things get zonkers. 

Episode 3: Things Get Zonkers!!

Let me just. Okay. I have the most to say about this one because this is where things really got batshit. And yet, also really boring? How does that figure? Anyway:

Dracula emerges from under the sea and finds that 123 years have passed and he’s now the star of a Modern AU. Upon setting foot on British sand he is immediately accosted by what appears to be an anti-vampire task force. There’s a helicopter. It is later explained how they knew to pounce on him at this exact moment, but holy god it was wild to watch the entire British Secret Service descend on this one wet bastard in a suit

The editing shifts aggressively in the direction of Sherlock. Mark Gattis is there playing an amazingly annoying character. There’s a fuckign.... Underground Secret Society devoted to studying vampires and they put Drac in a Designated Glass Prison for Smug Geniuses (also as seen in Sherlock). Van Helsing is dead but her great-great-grand-niece is played by the same actress and. Okay. Van Helsing, vampire hunting nun, possesses her descendent and rises through the ether to roast Drac one last time, and he’s DELIGHTED TO SEE HER AGAIN. 

And she has cancer, right, so her blood is poisonous when Draccy tries to bite her, but in the end, right, the end of the episode, right, the final shots of the show, he comes to a place where he’s willing to die, and she’s already dying, and so he drinks her blood and they die together on a table while cinematic metaphor vision shows them having sex in the middle of the sun

There was a badly CGI-ed vampire baby. Jonathan Harker falls from a tower and a scene later they flash back to this event by reversing the footage of him falling down, meaning we just see him go VWOOP up through the air, bouncing off the wall on the way. Van Helsing says the words “come boy, suckle” when she’s goading Drac into drinking her blood. The show sits in a weird middle ground where the characters talk about sex a lot (”dID yOu HaVe sExUaL iNterCOURSE with COUNT DRACULA?”) and Drac is clearly meant to be super magnetic and sexy but the characterisation and cinematography is not horny at all. People have these sexy-type dreams of their lover of choice when Drac is drinking their blood but even those are very boring and weirdly chaste, except of course for the final one where, if I  can take the chance to remind you, Van Helsing and Dracula have symbolic Mind Palace sex inside the centre of the solar system

I can’t speak too much on its quality as an adaptation since I actually haven’t read the book, but splitting the story so that some characters (the Harkers, Van Helsing) existed in the time the story is set, and some (Lucy, Dr Seward) exist in The Modern AU felt very strange. Was there any reason to set the third episode in modern times, apart from the fact that I guess they wanted to do their Sherlock thing again? Or, perhaps, because they wanted to do their Jekyll thing again?? Oh my god, that’s what the editing reminds me of - the small clips of Jekyll I’ve seen. The zooming. The slow-mo. The emphasis on The Monster Man’s weird goddamn teeth

(Also, I don’t really feel qualified to dig too deep into it, but I will say there felt something a bit uncomfortable about Lucy being black in this version, while also being written to be very promiscuous and vain. idk. Also, since it happened in an ep of Sherlock as well, “weedy white Nice Boy rescues the Very Cool woman of colour he has a tragically unrequited crush on” is now an official Moffattis trope)

Count Moffatula is an experience. Its pacing is buck wild. The speeding through the original plot and the mish-mashing of elements in the Modern AU section feels like another expression of contempt for the source material on Moff’s part. Someone says “reality is overrated” in a show set in the 1890s. Draccy quotes a Beatles song. He also makes quippy allusions to having eaten various famous figures and basically winks at the camera every time. Granted, this wasn’t as obnoxious as I was maybe expecting, but there are still too many lines of dialogue where you think “oh, the writers high-fived each other after they wrote that one, huh”. The fact that Moff has such vitriol against fan fic writers is more and more grating every day because this is so, so clearly a zany-ass fanfic that he happens to be getting paid for. The costumes are nowhere near as nice as they could have been, and Dracula’s cape looks like his mum made it for him for the school play in which he is playing Dracula. 

This show is So Much. Watch it to share in this fever dream. Or don’t, and save approximately 5 hours of your life. God. 5 hours. Who was I before Count Maffatula. Who am I now. Why was his cape so bloody ugly. Why did they bone in the centre of the sun

[kpoptimeout]

My Top 10 K-Dramas of 2019 - What’s Yours?

2019 is ending soon and K-Dramaland has once again brought us so many goodies this year. As per our blog’s tradition [For 2018 faves click here], below are my Top 10 favs of the year (my faves in alphabetical order so it might not be yours so please don’t judge). (For our blog’s 2019 music ratings, click here!)

My only specific criteria usually is that the show must have had started in 2019 to be considered a 2019 series but this year I have made an exception for dramas that started very late in 2018 and it required watching well into 2019 for to be sure it was a great drama.

Without further ado, check the list below!

Doctor Prisoner (KBS2)

If you are looking for a thriller with insanely good acting, I would highly recommend Doctor Prisoner. Set in a prison clinic with Namkoong Min’s disgraced doctor as the lead plotting to right the wrongs society has done to him, the drama blurs the lines between good and bad. The medical director of the prison played by Kim Byungcheol seems like the perfect evil archetype for the audience to hate on but over time the plot and the acting allow us to soften up to his character and worry about his well-being. The drama also thrived in the current political climate in South Korea with its nuanced look into corruption and class issues. It was also a delight to see Namkoong Min’s rise in the past years from a rom-com lead to a seasoned leading man able to take on many diverse roles. If you love a drama that discusses the conflict between humanity and greed with stellar acting, you would love Doctor Prisoner!

Extraordinary You (MBC)

I actually struggled with whether to put Extraordinary You in the Top 10 due to the poor writing in the last few episodes of the show but caved in due to the spectacular quality of the earlier episodes and the consistently amazing acting of the main cast. Based on the popular webtoon “July Found By Chance”, the drama is about a girl called Eun Danoh who discovers she is in a shojo manga and not even the female lead - just an extra there to drive the love line between the male and female lead and stuck with a one-sided love to the biggest f*ckboi in school. Danoh decides to fight against fate (the writer’s plot) and try to change the storyline with her friends who start to also gain consciousness as well as the male lead Haru, a nameless background character who seems to have a mysterious connection to Danoh and an ability to switch characters in and out of scenes. The first half of the drama is pure K-Drama gold and consistently makes self-aware jabs at K-Drama tropes. Also, the quality acting of Kim Hyeyoon really breathed life into the character of Danoh, whose many monologues during her self-aware moments would fall flat without good delivery. While playing Haru was SF9’s Rowoon’s first major lead role, he carried the part well and was able to show the changes in Haru as he went from brainless NPC to an increasingly aware player in the plot to take down the comic book writer. Lee Jaewook, April’s Naeun, Jung Gunjoo, Kim Youngdae and Lee Taeri also all excelled in their respective roles. If you would like a drama where you can discover lots of young talent, Extraordinary You is the drama for you!

He is Psychometric (tvN)

While using the common K-Drama trope of male lead has a peculiar and uncommon superpower, and teams up with a female lead with secrets and some investigators to solve crimes, He is a Pyschometric excels in how it used these tropes well. I mean it is a tvN production and they own the supernatural mystery/romance genre these days. The male lead has the power to know about people’s past by touching their skin so of course we know plenty of skinship shenanigans and questions about human nature and trauma would be explored in this drama. After providing backstory and building up the personality of the main characters in the first few episodes, the series was consistently intense and the chemistry of the characters is great. GOT7’s Jinyoung has proven that he is ready for lead roles in more dramas, while Shin Yeeun showed that she is ready to take on the television screen after her quick rise to fame as a web drama actress in the record-breaking web series “A-TEEN”. SISTAR’s Dasom has also continued to grow as an actress, as seen in her role as police investigator in this series. If you are a fan of supernatural and mystery based K-Dramas, He is Psychometric is definitely one of the best dramas this year for you!

Hotel del Luna (tvN)

Another fantasy series coming from tvN, Hotel del Luna was definitely one of the most talked-about dramas of the year and rightly so. Set in a hotel that caters to ghosts, e.g. the dead with grievances and unable to “move on” to the world of the dead, you know you are in for episodic adventures involving the lives of many guests. We are also provided with the interesting relationship between IU’s Jang Manwol (her name literally means full moon) who is the ghost hotel owner for over 1000 years as a punishment for her sins and Yeo Jingoo’s Koo Chansung (his name literally means bright star) that the deities believe is the key to Manwol’s emancipation from ghost hotel running duties. In a way, it is like a gender-swapped version of the Goblin relationship going on but due to additional plotlines and character relationships, it is honestly a lot more and I will leave it to you guys to find out when you watch the show yourself. If you enjoy a fantasy drama involving ancient supernatural beings, Korean folklore and diverse stories, you would enjoy Hotel del Luna!

Kingdom (Netflix)

Netflix Korea continues to churn out amazing dramas and Kingdom is definitely one of the best this year. Adapted from the Korean webtoon series “The Kingdom of Gods”, the drama is set in Joseon Korean (in the 16th century) where a crown prince already dealing with court intrigues and trying to make it out alive is thrown another deadly problem - zombies. Given the stellar performance of Netflix’s earlier Korean period drama Mr. Sunshine and the amazing global box-office results of Korean zombie movie Train to Busan, this concept itself already sounds like a perfect cocktail for success. And the drama was received very positively, with a second season renewed for 2020. Besides the ridiculously addictive plot, the acting is also superb. The crown prince is played by none other than Ju Jihoon, who has long been popular in South Korea and among K-Drama fans for his dark and brooding demeanour perfect for an apocalyptic series. Bae Doona, who has found great success in Korea and in Hollywood for her roles in K-Dramas and movies such as Cloud Atlas and Netflix series Sense8, expertly takes the female lead role of the physician uncovering the zombie epidemic. If you love period dramas, zombie movies or both, this is the drama for you!

Sky Castle (JTBC)

Widely lauded as the best K-Drama of the year, Sky Castle is arguably one of the best K-Dramas of this decade because of the amazing acting, the unpredictable plot and its inclusion of many societal issues in South Korea. The show set the record for the most-viewed cable drama in South Korean history. Set in the opulent neighbourhood called Sky Castle, the story revolves around the “real” housewives of the neighbourhood who are all trying to get their kids into the top three universities in South Korea (SNU, Korea U and Yonsei - often also abbreviated as SKY universities). This concept of looking at the competitive education environment of East Asian countries is not new but the series set itself apart but including a mystery element, where deaths, secrets and intrigue involving members of the neighbourhood also shed light to class issues spanning across generations, gender issues, work culture, as well as familial relations in the conservative Korean society. The show also employed an extremely talented but underrated cast of actors who either spent many years honing their craft as side characters of many shows or are star film school students. The show also gave many opportunities to the cast afterwards, as seen in Kim Byungcheol’s lead role opportunity in Prison Doctor and Kim Hyeyoon’s lead role in Extraordinary You that are both discussed above. If you love a socially aware drama full of intrigue and mystery with great acting and cinematography, you would love Sky Castle!

The Fiery Priest (SBS)

The highest-rated miniseries of 2019, The Fiery Priest is really a unique show unlike any other. The story follows an investigation into the death of an elderly priest, with the Scooby-Doo crew made up of a young priest, a detective, and a prosecutor. While the crime-solving trio dynamic in the synopsis would definitely give “The Guest” flashbacks, this drama is completely opposite to OCN’s 2018 gritty horror extravaganza and is instead heartfelt and utterly hilarious. The priest clearly has anger management issues, the detective sucks at his job and the prosecutor has questionable moral standards. And Kim Namgil, Kim Sungkyun and Honey Lee all played these roles ridiculously well. Like other great dramas this year, The Fiery Priest looks at social issues in South Korea but instead of extremely serious commentary, touches of them in a humorous and sarcastic manner. This allowed the show to get away with more than you would expect on Korean non-cable TV. One thing the show did do which was similar to the much more serious “The Guest” was not having a romance plotline shoved down our throats like many K-Dramas. If you love a good comedy-mystery drama, you should check out The Fiery Priest!

The Tale of Nokdu (KBS2)

Another drama based on a webtoon, The Tale of Nokdu received average national ratings but was massively successful among the Gen Z of Korea and overseas fans. The reason may be the premise of the series. We have seen a good amount of girl masquerades as guy romcoms in the late 2000s and early 2010s such as the legendary dramas “Coffee Prince”, “You Are Beautiful”, “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” and “To The Beautiful You” but HAVE WE SEEN A REVERSED VERSION? Well look no further as The Tale of Nokdu is exactly that. Set in the Joseon Dynasty, the male lead has to hunt down a female assassin who has taken refuge in a women-only widow’s village and he must pretend to be a woman to live in the village to catch the assassin. Jang Dongyoon and Kim Sohyun delivered quality acting but probably what really made the show so popular with the Gen Z audience is seeing the male lead coming to realise the struggles of women in ancient times, with some struggles still existing today, as he lived in the widow’s village and the fierce and strong personality of the female lead who keeps saving the male lead’s ass. While there are some expected period drama tropes with royal court politics and will-they-won’t-they in face of the greater good, The Tale of Nokdu is one of the standout dramas this year for its fresh take on the cross-dressing K-Drama trope. If you have enjoyed previous cross-dressing K-Dramas, you should give The Tale of Nokdu a try!

Vagabond (Netflix/SBS)

Lee Seunggi and Suzy reunites in Vagabond for the first time since Gu Family Book in 2013 and this was definitely a great reunion. With a backdrop involving government corruption and terrorist attacks, Lee Seunggi dons the role of a retired stuntman turned vagabond to avenge the death of his nephew and uncover the truth. Suzy joins Lee Seunggi as a rookie special agent who gets pulled into the investigations after being in the wrong place during the wrong time (or the right place in the right time depending on how you view the investigations). This action-packed series was filmed across many countries such as Portugal and Morocco and would give you a huge adrenaline rush as the main cast faces new obstacles and betrayals in every episode. The current ending of the series suggests a possible Season 2. If you are a fan of spy and action-type thrillers like City Hunter and IRIS, you would love Vagabond!

When the Camellia Blooms (KBS2)

The highest-rated mini-series this year after The Fiery Priest, When the Camellia Blooms is a slightly more light-hearted slice of life series set in the fictional matriarchal town of Ongsan. The series stars Gong Hyojin as a single mother who moves to the town to raise his son and run a bar called “Camellia”. The story revolves around Kang Haneul’s small town cop (and lowkey village idiot with a heart of gold) who has a crush on Gong Hyojin and her baseball star ex-boyfriend and the boy’s father played by Kim Jiseok trying to win her back. What makes this series so well-loved is that besides the love triangle shenanigans set in the small-town community, the endless line of useless pushover men, and the community drama between store owners and neighbours, there is also a mystery involving a serial killer who holds a grudge against the female lead. But ultimately it is a quirky drama where the slice-of-life really dominates over the mystery aspect of the series and we learn a lot about the characters and their backstories as the series progresses. If you like a more slow-paced, slice-of-life series, When the Camellia Blooms is the series for you!

Honourable Mentions:

Dazzling/The Light In Your Eyes (JTBC): The story about a young woman who suddenly became 70 years old but with the ability to manipulate time. The series received critical acclaim for its portrayals of the struggles of everyday folk in South Korea and for its surprising twists.

The Secret Life of My Secretary (SBS): The male lead is a childish company director who lost the ability to recognise faces and must enlist the help of his secretary to maintain the pretence of normalcy. Rainbow’s Jaekyung was a complete scene-stealer for her role as the over-the-top CEO Veronica Park. 

The Last Empress (SBS): Set in the alternate reality where South Korea is a constitutional monarchy, this is a melodrama involving a bodyguard who wants to seek revenge on the King’s mistress and a Queen who discovers her fairy tale marriage was just a PR ploy by the royal family. Basically, peak quality makjang.

What’s your Top 10 K-Dramas of the Year? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and may the drama sharing begin (and the road to more excuse for holiday procrastination!)

Also, if you want to check out underrated K-Pop songs of 2019, here are the lists for idol songs and artist songs. We have also made a list for the Top 20 most underrated K-Pop songs of the decade!

[perfectlywisedelusions]

A Diagnostic Almost-Essay On The Last Airbender Movie

The Last Airbender is one of the many bad book and/or anime adaptations that have plagued the 2000s. Like all of these rage-inducing two-hour long torture sessions seemingly designed to make fandoms crawl into a corner and cry, The Last Airbender was incredibly unfaithful to the beloved source material. But there are two differences that set this movie apart from all the other depressing studio flops-namely, the fact that the show was made in America, and the fact that the movie fails as a movie and an adaptation. It has always been a divisive factor among ATLA fans on whether or not the show is an anime. It’s made in the anime style, but it was also made in the US. Most anime adaptations that fail miserably can probably be attributed to the fact they were made by studio executives who would never want to watch the source material and as such completely miss the point of the original. For the Last Airbender, though, it was a massive hit in the US. M. Night Shyamalan said he took on the project because his daughter was a big fan. The show has a clear plot and tone, and it’s even in English to make things easy for the screenwriters. (Except that there were none. It was written by M. Night Shyamalan.) So how did a $150 million blockbuster manage to fail to successfully adapt a children’s Nickelodeon show? By putting M. Night Shyamalan in charge. Shyamalan had only really made horror movies, and his most recent ones had been less than successful. A struggling horror director whose trademarks are a bunch of characters staying in one location in a realistic setting as they undergo internal struggle and mounting suspense seems a great choice to direct a fun action adventure movie that relies on different locations in a fantasy world, right? Needless to say, Shyamalan was out of his depth, and it really shows in the movie. It starts out strong, with the Nickelodeon logo and the classic shots of 4 benders bending their respective elements against a red background. And then, rather than transitioning to the iconic opening narration, we get Nicola Peltz reading a bunch of exposition in the same manner than an embarrassed elementary schooler would read an essay in front of the class. And then, as if we weren’t tired of listening to this girl talking, we get voiceover from her explaining who the characters in the scene are and what they are doing. This does not go away. It is in the entire movie. You will become very sick of Nicola Peltz’s voice by the end of the movie, but you don’t notice it because you have either a.) turned the movie off and/or left, or b.) you are too distracted by everything else. If the incredibly amateurish opening exposition dump isn’t enough of a red flag for you, then the sight of our two main heroes should be. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a very diverse show, representing Japanese, Chinese, Inuit, and Tibetan cultures as well as others. The first shot shows white actors playing characters who are decidedly not white. It would be slightly more forgivable if the actors were decent. But they’re not. Nicola Peltz, who plays Katara, supposedly got the role because her father was big in the production of the movie. And the actor who plays Sokka, Jackson Rathbone, is perhaps best known as a background character in Twilight. Clearly, this movie has a high caliber for acting. When we eventually meet Aang, he is also white and played by Noah Ringer. Noah Ringer was cast as the lead role in a $150 million dollar film because he could do martial arts. He landed the lead in a blockbuster movie with zero acting experience. The awful acting is a lot like the Phantom Menace, except nowhere near as funny. Every single character in the movie acts strangely. One noteworthy thing about the show is that it develops every character, giving them realistic traits and flaws that allow us to see them grow as well as giving them lovable personalities. (Except Azula and Fire Lord Ozai. They’re just evil. But they’re really good villains.) In the movie, everyone just says their lines with varying degrees of emotion. (Or lack of it.) Things like character traits or, you know, personality, are completely forgotten about even though we need to see these things on screen. It’s not like they had to write a whole cast of characters from scratch. M. Night Shyamalan was literally given characters with traits, backstories, flaws, conflicts, and motivations-basically everything needed to make a movie. But he failed spectacularly. What’s really sad is that Noah Ringer is apparently really friendly, and played jokes on the cast offscreen. Sounds like a certain beloved character, doesn’t it? If M. Night Shyamalan had just let Noah be himself, we could have had a decent Aang. I mean Ong. Because not only are the character’s appearances and personalities butchered, their names are too. Aang, Sokka, Iroh, and even the word Avatar are all mispronounced. M. Night Shyamalan said that this was to be true to the Asian pronunciations of the name, which could be understood if he hadn’t whitewashed the cast. Not to mention the fact that the lore of the show is completely changed for no reason. This lore is very important in later seasons, but M. Night Shyamalan decides to just change it. After the initial rage over the blatant disrespect to the show, viewers may notice the incredibly rushed pacing. 5 minutes after finding Aang, Katara decides he is her responsibility, despite the fact she doesn’t even know his name. 2 minutes after that, they are best friends and traveling the world together. Then Aang gets captured without a fight and is taken to a camp designed to imprison people who can control rocks. This prison consists of low, naturally occurring walls made of rocks. After an amazing fight scene were six men do an intense dance to move a tiny rock very slowly toward one firebender, the movie, unfortunately, continues. They rush through one of my favorite episodes, the Blue Spirit, and what is a great fight in the show is, again, incredibly lame. Then our group of “heroes” make it to the Northern Water Tribe, and Sokka and the princess “become close friends right away”. Basically, rather than showing these two characters becoming friends, we are told exactly this line this by Katara. After exactly one scene together, which is really just exposition (again) Sokka and the princess fall in love. Then the bad guys attack, with drill helmets, another really dumb battle happens, a fish is made into fish sticks, and the princess, who we have known for literally five minutes, dies in a very moving scene because we all care so much about her. Then Aang makes a giant wave and lets it down gently rather than turning into Koizilla and the movie ends. And just as you are about to sigh in relief because it’s over, we see Azula in a cliffhanger because the creators of this abomination thought it was good and they were going to make a sequel. Then we get the best part of the movie, the end credits. The credits not only mean that the movie is over (thankfully) but the animation they added in isn’t bad. The movie is awful and no one likes it. It’s a bad adaptation and a bad movie. Either it’s the movie version of the Ember Island Players play or “there is no movie in Ba Sing Se.” There’s supposed to be a live action show on Netflix but the creators left and almost no one has any hope for it anymore. Long story short, this movie was doomed because they left out the most important character, the Cabbage Merchant. Although even he and his ill-fated cabbages could not have saved this movie. 

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

Season Review: 13 Reasons Why - Season 4 (Netflix, 2020)

Netflix’s dropped the final season of their controversial teen drama 13 Reasons Why last week and, as expected, it quickly climbed to the number one spot and was trending. Albeit the trending topic was full of just as many people saying “don’t watch the show” as there were fans talking about the show but that’s too be expected.

Inspired by the teen best selling novel by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why was adapted into a television series by Brian Yorkey in 2017 and has since spanned four seasons despite controversy from critics, parents, and teenagers. The fourth and final season of the series follow the same group of Liberty High teenagers, now seniors, as they grabble with the aftermath of their decision to frame a murder on a fellow Liberty High student who was sent to prison for sexual assault and ultimately died in prison. Each of the core cast is dealing with the aftermath in different ways with Clay (Dylan Minnette) experiencing the most negative reaction due in part to his deteriorating mental health.

In true 13 Reasons Why fashion, the season deals with a variety of topics ranging from the ongoing drug use of students, their safety in school, mental health, and it even touches upon the very timely topic of police brutality and racial profiling. And of course, it had to pull one last controversial publicity stunt which left one of our beloved characters dead before graduation day.

I’ve already written about my overall thoughts on the characters outcomes but I felt the final season also warranted its own review. In addition to the usual categories, I’ve also includes a spot for my favorite character and favorite couple of the entire season since this is the final season. Least favorite character of the series will not be featured because I don’t feel the need to write anything more about Bryce. I’m also going to try to keep the character portions short so that I don’t repeat myself.

As always, spoilers are ahead.

Favorite Episode: 4×09 — “Prom”

All I’ve ever wanted is for this group of teenagers to be happy and actually enjoy their youth instead of dealing with whatever shit was complicating their lives. Episode 9 finally gave that to us, if you ignore the last 3 minutes of the episode like I’m choosing to do.

This episode had some of my favorite scenes that left me crying tears of joy and had my heart swelling with pride. It was also the first time, in a long time, that we saw the entire group back together in Clay and Justin’s bedroom. I’ve always said this show is best when it’s characters are all united and share the screen together and that scene proved I was right. If only they would have supported each other from the beginning of this season instead of just at the end.

Episode 9 is also home to both Charlie and Alex’s coming out moments and they could not have been more perfect. I absolutely love that both of their families were accepting and didn’t even question their sons. Charlie’s scene with his dad literally had me laughing out loud when they were talking about Charlie’s obsession with Eli Manning. It’s such an innocent thing and yet it showcases that LGBT kids and teens are just like their heterosexual counterparts who have innocent crushes on celebrities and athletes. I also love that his dad basically said he knew but wanted Charlie to come to him when he was ready.

Alex’s coming out moment was equally as cute. I really loved the fact that his wasn’t a coming-out moment in the traditional sense because he didn’t sit his parents down and talk to them about his sexuality. Instead, he just shows up with Charlie who he introduces as his boyfriend. It was perfect and honestly, I think more shows and films should deal with coming-out stories that happen like this. I was once again laughing when Alex’s brother got all excited because he was dating the quarterback of the Liberty High football team. Plus, the heartfelt moment with both of his parents warmed my heart. All they’ve ever wanted for their son is to see him happy and healthy and they finally got that.

I loved Charlie’s promposals and how he kept trying to one-up them to get Alex to say yes. I’m wondering though if maybe he should have tried something more low-key and intimate since that seems to be more of Alex’s style. Either way, they were all cute and I’m glad Alex finally said yes. Also, I love that they finally realized that Jess didn’t need a boy on her arm to have a good time. Having her go with Ani was cute and felt a bit full circle since the only ever girlfriend she had was Hannah who she had a falling out with before her death. And I also love that Clay tagged along with Alex and Charlie to make sure Alex was comfortable. He’s always looking out. Honorable cute mentions also go to Caleb for finally getting Tony to participate in high school activities and Tyler for going with Estella and having the best time ever.

Of course, the prom scene as a whole was amazing (again, until the last 3 minutes which I will not be mentioning again…hopefully). Seeing these kids get to be teenagers warmed my heart and it was everything I ever wanted. I loved that the football team was behind Charlie and Alex winning Prom Kings. It really showed a growth in the team since they’d been homophobic and rapists in prior seasons but have finally started to mature and “be better” as Zach and later Charlie helped instill in them. I also love that Ani and Clay finally hashed out their weird relationship and that they were able to move on as friends.

I was so glad when Justin showed up at the prom. He deserved to have a great time and enjoy his dwindling senior year just like the rest of his friends. I love how they show the scene when Jess spots him in this cinematic and romantic way. Was it cheesy? Yes, but dammit these two deserve all the cheesiness after everything they’ve been through. I also love Jess’s line telling him to never love anything more than life. It was perfect and everything I wanted.

Oh, and Clay asking his mom to dance was equally as adorable.

The only thing I felt this episode needed (other than a different ending) was the inclusion of “The Night We Met.” That song is a staple of this series and it would have been nice to have it played at their final dance. Perhaps, they could have all come together on the dance floor like they did in season 2 for Clay.

Least Favorite Episode: 4×03 — “Valentine’s Day”

To be honest, the whole first half of the season was a hot mess but I think my least favorite episode had to be the third episode. I literally almost stopped watching after it because it no longer felt like I was watching 13 Reasons Why.

I found it to be an interesting choice by the writers to write another episode centered around a dance when we were going to get a prom episode and have had multiple dance centric episodes in prior seasons. I think it would have been more interesting if they set the drama somewhere else. Then again, dances seem to be the only way to get all these characters in one place at the same time so I digress.

My biggest issue with this episode was the whole plot surrounding Clay and the mysterious phone calls. I felt like I was watching a cheap knock off of Scream every time Clay answered the phone and was tormented by the caller. Of all the dumb things this show has done, this was the dumbest and completely unnecessary. After all, Clay had been cleared from being a person-of-interest in Bryce’s murder before Ani’s confession that Monty was the one who did it. Therefor, the football teams motive for taking their anger and emotions for Monty out on Clay made zero sense. Not to mention, they did it in the most unoriginal way ever.

This episode also featured Winston and Alex getting closer and dating. Look, I believe most characters can change and be good people but Winston doesn’t seem to be one of those people. Granted, Alex didn’t know who he was or his involvement with Monty at the time but we did which made it hard for me to root for these two. Winston may have actually had feelings for Alex, but to me he was just using him to get information and that is totally not cool.

I also greatly disliked Clay and Ani in this episode. It’s clear that their relationship has run its course and Ani’s constant need to keep pushing Clay to be with her was dumb. Ani is such a smart character and yet she does the stupidest things. She definitely needed one of Jess’s woman empowerment speeches.

Also I absolutely hated Zach yelling at Justin and then Jess yelling at Justin — even if she was right to do so.

By far the worst thing about this episode had to be the ending sequence with Clay in the shower and then on the football field. Of course, the episode then ended with him walking into the gym with a red stained shirt holding a knife. Definitely not a good image for Clay but what really killed me is that everyone blamed him for brining a knife to the dance when Diego and his boys literally planted it for him to take! Once again 13 Reasons Why forgets its own plot for more drama.

Favorite Character This Season: Charlie St. George

While Charlie might not be my all-time favorite character, he definitely earned the prize of being my favorite character this season.

Charlie was the one character this season who was actually there for everyone around him and wasn’t consumed with his own issues. In fact, Charlie is so selfless that he chose to get involved with all their drama last season when he didn’t need to but did anyway because he knew it was the right thing to do.

As for this season, well Charlie continued to out do himself. He helped Justin hold the football team accountable when they were being dicks. He made sure Jess was getting the team’s undivided attention during her speech. He tried to help Tony decide on what to do about Tyler’s gun pictures during the lockdown and he even calmed Alex down during one of his anxiety attacks. Not to mention, he researched Alex’s TBI so that he’d know what to expect and how to handle any issues that may arise from it. His helpfulness didn’t stop there. He also tried to be there for Clay and for Justin during the season. And he even went as far as tracking down Zach and forcing him to go see Justin in the hospital when he was dying.

If all that doesn’t prove that he’s the best character than I don’t know what will.

He also had the best coming-out moment and literally ruled the prom with Alex as his date.

So yeah, Charlie was the best.

Favorite Character Of The Series: Justin Foley

Since this is the final season, I also wanted to speak about my favorite character of the entire show: Justin Foley. If you read my other post this should come as no surprise that Justin is my ride-or-die character.

Justin is my favorite character because he has one of the best character arcs of the entire series (if you ignore the final episode and is horrible fate). In the first season he was this angry and broken kid who was so distraught with guilt that he turned to the streets for some kind of relief and eventual revenge. Thankfully, Clay and Tony were there to save him and the Jenson’s were kind enough to offer him a home when he had no where else to turn.

Sure, Justin still struggled with his addiction but he tried and fought so damn hard to get better. Relapse is part of the recovery process and if you recall, most of the times Justin relapsed were do in part to major things happening in his life, like his biological mother’s overdose which lead to her death.

Despite all the things against him, Justin finally got help this season and was on the path to recovery. He was thriving in school, had a college acceptance letter in his hands, and was finally happy. All Justin ever wanted to do was live and he constantly tried to do that.

As you know from my character thoughts post, I was completely devastated when he died. It’s been a week and I’m still not over it. I honestly feel like I lost someone I knew in real life.

Despite his ill fitted and unnecessary ending, Justin Foley had the best character development of this group. He was the one character who deserved to live more than anything. In my head, he’s alive and thriving in college while having regular FaceTime dates with Jess.

Least Favorite Character This Season: Winston

Avoiding the obvious answers like Bryce and Monty, who I hate with my entire being, I’ve decided that Winston is my least favorite character of season 4.

I mentioned this in my other post but I’m going to say it again, Winston is nothing more than a knock-off Clay who doesn’t have half the heart that Clay Jenson has.

I can’t get behind Winston because his entire character is rooted in being a rapist apologist because he “loved” Monty. Obviously, I don’t think Winston is a terrible person but I do think something is wrong with him since he is able to have feelings for Monty despite knowing all the terrible and hurtful things he did to people. I mean Mrs. Walker couldn’t look her own son in the eyes after learning everything he did and you’re telling me that Monty can turn a blind eye to it because he’s in love. I call bullshit.

I didn’t feel like Winston’s actions this season were rooted in good like Clay’s were. I think every relationship he formed with the core group was made because he wanted to get information out of them.

The only good thing Winston did was not turn Alex in for killing Bryce. In my opinion, though, that doesn’t redeem him for spending the entire season trying to seek revenge for Monty.

Favorite Couple This Season: Alex and Charlie

Let’s be honest, 13 Reasons Why doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to relationships. Even the most iconic and shippable couples on the show are problematic. Which is why I was so shocked and proud when the writers finally decided to show a happy and healthy relationship, between two boys to top it all off!

While I’ll admit, I had been hoping that Alex would end up with Zach this season I am 110% sold that he was destined to be with Charlie. As I’ve said before and in this very post, Charlie is so caring and attentive to Alex that you can tell his feelings are completely authentic and he has no ulterior motive for wanting/choosing to be with Alex.

In fact, if you watch the third season carefully, you’ll notice that Charlie had taken an interest in Alex during that season. It just wasn’t as prominent on the screen. Perhaps, that’s part of the reason Charlie decided to get involved with this group. And once he found out Alex was the one who needed saving he jumped into action to plant Bryce’s tape on Monty. But that might be my brain stretching.

Regardless, Charlie and Alex are the perfect teenage couple and the by far the healthiest couple of this entire show. They’re there for each other, they celebrate each other’s victories (even if Alex doesn’t always understand them) and their love is unconditional.

These two may be Prom Kings but they’re also Kings of healthy relationships.

Favorite Couple Of The Series: Justin and Jess

Even though Alex and Charlie are the healthiest couple and by far my favorite this season, I can’t help but continue to ship Jess and Justin.

Now listen, these two are not a couple that should be idolized. They’re extremely toxic at times and they are way too dependent on each other. Not to mention, the origins of their relationship are complex and for some, immensely problematic. And yet, here I am stanning this couple because they’re so made for each other.

Part of what makes Justin and Jess work is that they understand each other, even when they don’t always want to. They both have been in each others shows. They both know what it’s like to be at rock bottom and to climb out on top. Beyond that, they’re (usually) always there for each other or at least are cheering each other on in some way.

Was Jess wrong this season to lash out as Justin when he told her he needed to focus on herself? Absolutely. But Justin was also in the wrong a few seasons ago when he didn’t fight to help Jess enough. Regardless of their issues and arguments, these two are always finding their way back to each other.

I loved that Justin went to Jess’s aide during the lockdown. Sure, it took Diego being an ass to get him there but I’m pretty sure he would have went regardless. Frankly I’m convinced that Justin was texting Jess during the lockdown before he even went down to see her. And, despite everything going on, in that moment they felt safe, because they were together.

I love that Justin, even though he was jealous of Diego, never really made it an issue — or at least, a major issue. When Zach is trying to rile him up at the Valentine’s Day dance Justin reminds him that Jess doesn’t belong to him. It’s the smallest thing but it a sign that he loves and respects Jess enough to let her be on her own. In fact, I’d argue that the real issue he has with Jess seeing Diego is that Diego is a complete dick to Clay and is obsessed with finding out the truth about Monty.

I love that Jess is (almost) always there for Justin. Should she have pulled him out of the alleyway when she finds him doing drugs again? Absolutely, but I think her choosing to walk away was an extremely hard decision for her to make. And I’m glad their story didn’t end there. I absolutely loved Jess’s speech to Justin at the prom. And the scene of them in the hospital completely wrecked me. Hearing Jess say that Justin taught her to love when he was still convinced he ruined her life was seriously the most heartbreaking thing ever.

As I said, I’m pretending these two are living a happy and healthy life because that’s what they deserve.

Complaints:

13 Reasons Why is strongest when the cast is together and supporting each other. Unfortunately this season everything felt disjointed, especially these characters relationships with each other. Alex and Jess had barely any scenes together despite committing a murder together. Zach was messy the entire season and acting very out of character. And no one cared enough to help him. Alex did try but it didn’t feel like enough, or maybe Zach was just too stubborn to accept it. The golden trio (Clay, Justin, and Jess) had little to no scenes until the end which hurt me to my core. I felt like Justin was missing from the first half of the season and then when he did get more time on screen he was literally dying. Clay and Tony barely had any scenes together and seemed annoyed with each other. Tyler was basically on his own this season – at least he had Estella. I guess I had higher hopes that our core group would be stronger than ever but that simply wasn’t the case and I’m upset about it.

My other major problem this season was the show’s need to try to be a psychological thriller. I fully support them wanting to show Clay’s deteriorating mental state and I found it interesting that they chose to go the disassociating route but I am not a fan of how they did it. I felt like the writers forgot the genre of their show. As I mentioned above, I also hated the football team using their phones to torment Clay. It was stupid and unoriginal.

Another issue I had this season was the fact that both Ani and Zach out Alex to different people. In Ani’s case she outed Alex to Clay by confessing that she caught him making out with Winston in the hallway during the dance. As for Zach, he outed Alex to almost all of their friends during the senior camping trip after learning that Alex broke up with Winston. While neither of them outed Alex with malicious intent, it was still wrong. I would have liked to see Alex confront them about it, at some point.

I absolutely hated and was disgusted at the fact the show tried to portray both Clay and Zach as people who would rape unconscious women who were unable to consent. I will never forgive the writers for that. It literally served no purpose and completely went again both of their characters.

I also found it extremely random and unneccesary that Clay hooks up with Valerie, Sheriff Diaz’s daughter, at that party. I don’t care that he hooked up with someone but because it was the daughter of the Sheriff I wanted that to be a bigger moment. I was waiting and expecting Sheriff Diaz to find out and flip out on Clay but that never happened. As it stands now, the only purpose that scene had was to inform us that Sheriff Diaz did have a family which would make his speech to Alex’s dad at the end of the season make sense.

I also wasn’t a fan of Monty and Bryce’s presence this season. Both of them already got their moments in the spotlight we didn’t need to see them again. They were monsters who don’t deserve any sort of redemption or yet another attempt of a redemption arc. I also found it extremely peculiar that Clay was the one that was seeing them. As I’ve said before, Clay wasn’t the one who came up with the idea to frame Monty so I wasn’t totally sure why he felt so guilty. I also hated that they gave Jess another scene with ghost Bryce at the end instead of having her see ghost Justin. If anyone deserved to be in that final scene where they’re burying Hannah’s tapes it was Justin. After all, he’s where the story began.

Speaking of the final scene, I felt it odd that they decided to bring Courtney and Ryan back. If they were going to reunite the entire tape crew where were Marcus and Sheri? Even though they weren’t prominent in the episode I felt their screen time could have been given to one of the other core characters instead.

Another minor thing, I missed the smooth transitions in and out of scenes that 13 Reasons Why always seemed to nail. I know they were mainly used when the story was switching from past and present but I truly missed them this season. Everything felt harsh and jagged and I wasn’t a fan.

Lastly, and this one is going to be obvious. I hated that they killed Justin. There was no reason for his death. There was no hint that he was the one who was going to die. It was unnecessary and a last ditch attempt to be controversial and shocking. I’m not over it and I’ll never be over it.

Praise:

Most of the things I’m going to write here I’ve said elsewhere so I apologize for any repetition.

As I said above, one of my favorite things about this season was Alex and Charlie’s coming out scenes. Something I have yet to mention though, is that I love how Alex turned to Tony when he was still in the midst of questioning his sexuality. It was a really sweet moment and it showcased Tony and Alex’s friendship. I also love that Tony answered the question without questing Alex on why he was asking. Tony could have asked Alex if he was questioning his sexual identity or something else but he chose not to because it’s not his place.

Speaking of Tony, I adored the scene with his father when Caleb told him about Tony’s college opportunity. Tony was so adamant on turning it down because he wanted to keep the auto shop going and to hear his father tell him that Tony is his dream was heartwarming. I think we all knew that his father just wants what is best for Tony but to hear him say it was important.

I did like the scene where the tape crew was reunited. It felt very full circle but I think they should have burned the tapes instead of burying them. I swear to god, if in 10 years this show gets a reboot because someone finds the tapes I’m going to die. I was a bit confused though since it didn’t appear that all the tapes were in the box. And I still think Justin should have been a part of it in some way. After all, he was the start of the tapes. Bryce may have brought them all together in a twisted way, but without Justin they wouldn’t have existed either.

Everything considered, I’m glad we did get to see Jess and Justin together in the end. To me they are endgame — even though Diego tries to get Jess to date him right after Justin’s death. I’ll cherish the prom scene and even the scenes in the hospital forever.

Also regarding Justin’s fate, I loved his final scene with Clay. The series spends so much time trying to get us to believe that Justin found a brother in Bryce, but I never bought it. Justin’s only brother was Clay and that essay proved that. It was so heartfelt and sad and I loved it. I also love that Clay admits to Justin that he doesn’t know how to go on without him but Justin assures him that he does.

I also did like the ending scene with Clay and Tony, even though in my perfect world it was Clay and Justin driving off to college together. It was a nice full circle moment. Although, I will admit my anxiety was through the roof because I seriously thought they were going to get into an accident. After all, it is 13 Reasons Why.

Lastly, I want to discuss the final scene at the police station between Alex’s dad and Sheriff Diaz. I spent a lot of this season and last season hating Sheriff Diaz but he certainly redeemed himself in that moment. There’s no doubt in my mind that he realized that Alex was the one who killed Bryce. And yet, he understood that Alex is a good kid who doesn’t deserve to be in jail. He understood that Bryce and Monty were both monsters. He knew that if the truth got out Alex’s dad would fall apart. His speech about putting family before his job was important and impactful.

As I’ve said, of all the shitty things this show has done the one thing they actually got right was letting Alex walk free. I never would have forgiven them if they had sent Alex to jail. After all, he’s not a monster he’s the hero of the story.

                                                         * * *

I still have mixed feelings about the final season and I think I will for the rest of time. Had they not have killed Justin I feel like I would have felt a lot better about the conclusion of the show. But if 13 Reasons Why has taught me anything its that life is not fair and that we cannot let tragedy dictate our entire lives. We must live (and continue watching questionable television shows).

You can stream the final season of 13 Reasons Why on Netflix.

What did you think of the final season of 13 Reasons Why? What was your favorite and least favorite episode? Who do you ship? Are you happy with the ending? Let me know in the comments or by tweeting me @3RsBlog.

Featured Image Source: Netflix

[we-til12-things]

365 days movie review

Okay, where do I even start in describing the 365 days movie? Okay imagine like Beauty and the Beast but instead of being a Disney movie, it's a porno. Let's figure out what the hell Netflix got going on, okay so 365 Days and DNI basically translated in English means 365 days. It's a Polish movie that came out in February and recently made its way east United States by way of Netflix. It's based on an erotic book written by Blanca Lipinski. The movie adaptation here was written and directed by Barbara B Louis and Tomas climb ala.

365 Days cast and plot 365 Days/ 365 DNI softcore porn movie on netflix reviewThere is an 85% chance that there's a hundred percent chance that I said those names are wrong but onward the film stars Anna Maria as Laura said cuca and Michelle Moronne as Massimo maybe let's get into the plot here.  The movie starts where you see some sort of like mafia activity, there's a dude named Massimo and he's talking to his dad on this nice rooftop and the dad tells the son the most popular movie line in history you know what son one day you have to run the family business That's all good but the son is kind of distracted he's got these binoculars and he's looking down on the beach and he sees his beautiful woman. The next thing you know the dad just gets shot by some snipers on like another roof and literally just dies in his son's arms. Take the first three minutes of the movie cuts to five years later and Massimo is now indeed running this Italian mafia at the same time. That same beautiful woman that he saw these binoculars, her name's Laura she's on vacation in Sicily that's in Italy for those of you counting at home she's celebrating her birthday with her boyfriend who kind of sucks at being a boyfriend.

Coincidentally on that same birthday trip, Massimo randomly sees her at the airport and follows her to the resort that she's staying at we find out that Massimo has spent the last five years searching the globe for this woman and this is wild because it's basically like you're riding the train and you see the love of your life. She gets off the train all of a sudden five years later you pull up at Wendy's and there she is is Wendy's canceled anyway, back to Italy Massimo pulls up on her as soon as she's separated from her friends and kidnaps her yep on her freaking birthday. Massimo now has this girl from Poland all the way in Italy away from all her friends and family takes away her phone and her laptop and tells her ''I'm gonna give you a chance to fall in love with me'' what a treat Massimo what a freaking treat. He tells Laura that he'll never force himself on her and if she doesn't fall in love with him in 365 days uh-huh, he'll set her free she has a whole year to fall in love with this dude but in less than two months she's in love and my TV goes from Netflix to sex flix and off we go we got a movie so what's my take you might be wondering how I found out about this damn movie duh. Was the sex scenes real in 365 days? Well, sources have confirmed that it was NOT.

Check this airport, airplane girl scene in 365 days. (Explicit)

Lord of mouth is that wordplay yes it is but first things first this movie it was met with a lot of criticism and not just because it's about an hour and 54 minutes of freaky deeky sex but because some critics are saying it glorifies Stockholm Syndrome what Stockholm Syndrome you might ask that's John Stockton  Syndrome is when it's like when you fall in love with being kidnapped no it's when you are a kidnapper who loves no it's because that's the only make sense as when you got kidnapped right you know what let's just someone else can explain this. The robbery that named the condition Stockholm Syndrome is generally defined as the occurrence, were hostages form emotional attachments to their captors and/or begin to feel sympathy for them.

Criminologist and psychiatrists Nils Boudreau first coined the term Stockholm Syndrome in 1973 that year four people were held hostage during a bank robbery in Stockholm Sweden yet upon being released the hostages didn't show any anger towards their captor instead they defended him and even refused to testify against him in court since then Stockholm Syndrome has been spotted in various situations. It has been recorded in victims of sexual abuse human trafficking discrimination terror and political and religious oppression as well.

365 days Actors Instagram 1)Anna Maria 2)Michelle Morrone

Okay you Maxton points there and in this movie, Massimo is a mob boss so he has to a ton of money you can take her shopping and buy all this fly when she finally admits that she's in love with him, Massimo lets her have her cell phone back her laptop back so she lets her best friend pull up and her best friends like a girl you're trapped in a gold cage you're not really in love and Laura trying to convince her best friend that she actually is in love. There's actually FBI evidence that shows only 8% of kidnapping victims show any signs of Stockholm Syndrome so might not be as prevalent as we think it is but I in say it's an FBI why don't we use these are these Wikipedia I didn't make this up let's say we take the controversial nature of the movie away is it worth the watch?

No of course not from a storyline or acting standpoint but if you've been in quarantine for 90 days 13 hours and 26 minutes and you have the desire to see what I imagine is a 20/20 version of Fifty Shades of Grey Mazal find out what the hype is about these sex scenes are so damn steamy there's a good chance and I'm pregnant you know when you used to watch skinemax, I mean I don't have that channel but I would imagine thinking okay obviously they're not really having sex when you're watching 365 Days movie online.

If you really want to watch or stream 365 Days Online, don't forget to check out this link in the English version.

 I like you know it's not real but then you be thinking is that real because it'd be looking real but it can't be real could it be who knows, what they're allowed to do in Poland. I guess I'm gonna give 365 Days a 2.5 stars. 365 days movie was rated   3.3/10 on IMDB and no consensus yet on Rotten Tomatoes.   I probably would've given it two stars but it's at least I have to start with that movie sex in there obviously if you do watch this movie the ending will have you questioning if there's room for a sequel, I mean if a second movie of 365 dni is possible or not. There's been no news of another 365 dni movie but don't worry this book actually is a trilogy and the second book came out in 2018 and with this movie doing so well in Poland and now killing it in the United States on Netflix. 365 days had a $9.5 million at the box office. There are some beautiful songs and soundtracks in 365 dni movie:

Michele Morrone-Hard For Me Ghost Monroe-I Am The Fire The Rigs-The Hunted Michele Morrone-Dark Room Nick Kingsley & Hannah Hart-You Made A Monster Alex Condlife & Lamb Hands-You Michele Morrone-Watch Me Burn Malo-Kiss Me Röyksopp-Here She Comes Again  The Venice Connection-The Times Of Our Lives "- Everybody Loves An Outlaw-I See Red Fly Project-Toca Toca SATV Music-Finish Line

Robin Loxley & Smudge Mason-Coming Back Everybody Loves An Outlaw-Give Em Hell Mabel-Don’t Call Me Up  Raphael Lake, Aaron Levy & Daniel Ryan Murphy-Prisoner Raphael Lake-Another Wave  Lee Richardson, Jonathan Murill, Tom Ford-Here Comes The Thunder Theo Chinara & Craig Hardy-Lost In Your Eyes Michele Morrone-Feel It Everybody Loves An Outlaw-I See Red

Check this out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnRpxw2UlXQ

Talking about the ending, did Laura died or got pregnant with Nacho's child? Well, we don't really know, some say she was simply kidnapped and some believed she could have been killed by Massimo's rivals. I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of Massimo's but as always thanks for checking out Movies Reviewer, who knew that I had so much range that I could also do softcore porn reviews, what a time if you fill in the post make sure you share this posts as much as possible every week you never know what you're gonna get if you've seen this movie let me know in the comments if you want to see a sequel if you haven't seen this movie let me know in the comments if you plan to see this movie thanks for reading, see you with another Movie Review.

[thenightling]

The Dodged Bullet

Warning: This is deliberately bad!

The dodged bullet:  

The following is the horrific notion of what would have happened if The CW, Fox, or Syfy adapted Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman instead of Netflix.   This is going to poke fun of common tropes of Fox and CW shows.  See if you can spot them all.

I am going to deliberately write this very, very badly.

             The generically attractive young man in his early-twenties walked toward the crime scene.  He wore a long leather jacket, designer sneakers, expensive brand-name jeans, and a stylish and perfectly fitted black polo style shirt under the jacket. It was rumpled but just so as to hint at what a great body he had under it.  He had thick, dark brown hair.  Brown eyes, a smoldering gaze and a dazzling smile.  He’s Caucasian and generically attractive.  He’s thin but not rake thin, more like sexy male model thin.   He’s got muscle tone.  

           At the moment he looked stoic, hands resting in his pockets.  He crosses the yellow crime scene tape without anyone stopping him.  No one questions his presence but he is not invisible. This is “grounded” in reality, folks.  

           The Sandman solves crimes!  The Sandman is a private investigator with a secret. He is a real Sandman!  Hidden in his jacket is a leather pouch which will probably get used maybe once or twice an episode (budgetary reasons).   And he gets confused by certain social cues and pop culture references but otherwise he’s just a generic hot guy.

           He’s probably portrayed by a Tom Mison type. He might be American. There’s an English accent but it’s so slight (so hidden by Americanisms) that it’s almost undetectable.   He approaches the pretty, ninety-pound, college age female detective with perfect, blond hair.   She looks up at him.  

           “Hey, Murphy.” She says in a friendly tone.  Yes, Murphy is his alias. She thinks he’s just eccentric and thinks he’s The Sandman but he gets results!  

           “Detective Walker.” He smiled with obvious affection. He crushes on her, pines for her. But she mustn’t ever know the truth. It is forbidden for one of his kind to be with a mortal.  Even if she is a Vortex.  And her great power may one day destroy the world…  or save it!  That’s the real reason he was here, to watch her. He had never expected to fall in love with her…

The show has almost no scenes in The Dreaming and when there are it’s about 90% CG over green screen, like the Enchanted Forest sets of Once Upon a Time, or the under-whelming Hell of Lucifer.  There’s probably a throne room with a starry night sky behind it, and an under-whelming “vast” library on par with Belle’s library in Once Upon a Time that will be shown very rarely.

           “We’ve got another one.”  She said gravely.  “Eyes torn out.  Pretty girl. Whoever this creep is- this predator must be stopped!”   The implication here is the victims are all damsels who have been targeted by an evil man targeting them for misogynistic reasons.  But don’t worry!  The show is totally not sexist!   Detective Rose Walker kicks ass!   And in season four she’ll be raising her own long-lost little brother!  Even though it’ll take her at least five seasons to learn Murphy’s secret (if she ever does).  

           “I thought the ‘me too’ movement would have at least reduced some of this.” She said with a shake of her head in disappointment at the world.

           The line of dialogue doesn’t actually really make sense under easy scrutiny.  Why would “Me too” actually make a serial killer reconsider his life choices?  Oh, well, the audience doesn’t have enough time to question it.

           “Me too?”  The adorable, awkward, pretty “Murphy” questions.

           “Boy!  Where have you been?  In a cave?”            “Actually I was trapped inside a prison cell for a hundred and five years and before that I resided in another dimension.”

           She rolls her eyes.  “Not this again.   Tell me you can at least figure something out with your ‘Dream powers’” she said cynically.   He might have been insane and socially inept but he got results!

           Morpheus knelt down next to the body and placed his hands on the corpse. There isn’t even any SFX for this. He’s just sensing something.  He grunts in a sexy portrayal of sexy CW level pain.  

           “What? What is it?”

           “I think I know who did this…”

           “Who?”

           “Corinthian…”

             (Opening credits here.  Maybe the opening riff of Enter Sandman by Metallica.  No, wait, Fox and CW can’t afford that.   It’s Mr. Sandman by the Charlottes!  It kills the mood but everyone knows the song.  You’ll be sick of it by episode five if you weren’t already.  And it will get a LOT of use since the song is cheap / practically public domain.)

           The next scene is not present day.  It’s a flashback.  And by flashback I mean a hastily put together set in Vancouver Canada.  It’s probably someone’s private stables being passed off as a medieval village.  No, wait. Its eighteenth century.  There’s a sexy other character wearing slightly anachronistic style sunglasses hiding his eyes (No CG here, the production team figures the glasses are enough).  In fact his eyes might not even be weird at all. He just likes sunglasses!  There, that’s better, no wasted money here.   He’s wearing a badly fitted white wig over white hair.  

           “My king,” the sunglassed man says with a bow. We have to be blunt for our easily distracted audience, so there’s the reminder that this is the dream king. “Thank you for letting me accompany you to the waking world.  There are such delicious things here.”

           “Yes, the food is rather pleasant.” Morpheus replies. His costume is decently fitted but obviously borrowed from another show, possibly a left over from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  Those props and some period costumes still get use.  Isn’t Morpheus adorably oblivious, though?

           Morpheus is wearing a dark blue frock coat and lace. His trousers are exceptionally tight to show off the actor’s perfect ass.

           The Corinthian’s costume is cream colored. There was a behind the scenes fight and as small victory for the one crew member who actually read Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman in getting the cream outfit.  Others working on the show wanted the costume to be black to make it more obvious he was the bad guy.        

           An attractive, tall, black man (probably American), under the age of thirty, is behind Morpheus.   This is his loyal manservant, Lucien.  But it’s totally not racist making the dreaming librarian / butler black when the show hasn’t had any black characters yet.  No, it’s inclusive!  

           The attractive black man speaks.  “My Lord, I think he intends to do harm to the mortals here.”

           “Nonsense, Lucien. I’m certain it’s fine.”

           The Corinthian wandered away from his master and he soon drags off attractive young female into an alley, hand over her mouth.   No, The Corinthian isn’t gay anymore in this version.   But it’s okay.  Hob Gadling, Morpheus’ immortal friend (who now runs a bar for some reason) is gay!  He’s very gay.  In fact that’s the extent of his entire personality.  But isn’t this diverse and inclusive?!   And there’s no more problematic gay nightmare, even though in the original comics The Corinthian gets uncreated and the second Corinthian is a relatively decent guy for a nightmare.  

           After some persuasion Morpheus finally listens to Lucien and walks down into the alley.   He stops in his tracks when he sees The Corinthian has killed the girl and his licking his fingers, having obviously already eaten her eyeballs (gotta keep that TV-14 rating!)   He lets out a gasp.  “Corinthian, what have you done?”

           We cut back to present day and “Murphy” is walking into the bar owned by his friend, Hob Gadling . Hob sees him and smiles. “Murph, oh, honey, you look like Hell! Come sit down and tell me all about it.   You know I love juicy gossip.” He says in a naisly, lisping voice.

Imagine this scene was written by some very straight guy whose only exposure to gay people were 1990s Will and Grace reruns.  

           Hob places a shot glass in front of Morpheus and Morpheus downs it quickly. “Have you seen Matthew?”

           Matthew was Morpheus’ straight human friend and roommate.  He had learned Morpheus’ secret in the pilot episode when Morpheus rescued him from a car accident using his dream magick.   Ha!  And you thought we’d have talking birds in this thing. Lol!  No!  Grounded, remember?

           “Matt?  Oh, sweetie, you can do better than him.  I keep telling you, he’s just not your type.”

           Morpheus raises an eyebrow but says nothing about the implication about his sexual identity.  There will be a LOT of queer baiting on this show without confirmation in regard to his sexuality.  

             “I need to talk to him.   One of my nightmares is loose in the city.”  You can tell this was written by a New Yorker because they take for granted “The City” to mean New York.  

           “One of your Nightmares?   Why couldn’t it be one of those sexy wet dreams?”  Get it?  Because if the character’s gay he has to always be horny!!!  Ha-freakin’ –ha.  

(Please know I don’t actually feel this way. I’m mocking bad TV writing.  This whole thing is a spoof.)    

           There’s an awkward pause intended for the viewers to laugh.

           “I don’t believe any water nymphs have escaped The Dream dimension.” Morpheus replied in confusion.

He calls it The Dream Dimension in the show because “The Dreaming” didn’t sound hip enough according to some executive.

“I’m afraid it’s The Corinthian.  So now I have two problems.”

Hob nodded sympathetically.  “The detective you might have to kill…”

“And now this.”   This is an idiot proofed recap for people turning on the show late or just watching it in passing while doing other things or playing on their phone.  CW does this sort of in-story forced, shoe-horned exposition all the time.

The episode plays out a little bit like an episode of Lucifer mashed into an episode of True Blood.

While they’re trying to find the killer, Detective Rose Walker meets Murphy’s roommate, Matthew, and the two hit it off while chatting about Murphy’s weirdness.  They decide to start to date.   As Morpheus has feelings for Rose that he won’t admit to this causes a strain between him and Matthew Raven (There’s that bird reference!  What?  That should be Lucien’s last name?  Naw!)  And between him and Rose Walker.  

Morpheus lashes out rather than admit to what he is truly angry at and he and Matthew argue over something petty and this leads to recovering alcoholic Matthew to start drinking again as sad music begins to play.  

Morpheus eventually finds The Corinthian and is forced to destroy him.  He had to kill his own creation so he is kneeling in angst crying prettily while the sand left over from the uncreation slides through his fingers.  Some new female cover of Queen’s Who Wants to live Forever? Is playing in the background.  The original version is “too old” and too expensive for use. So here’s a very generic sounding cover done in a style that makes it blend in with every other pop song played during the forty five minute mark of a CW show’s run time (including commercial breaks).  

           The song plays as we cut to Matthew drinking alone sexily in an alley.  He’s sweaty and wet, but he just looks like a wet fashion model.   Morpheus is sexy crying over the sand that was the Corinthian, and Rose going to sleep prettily in her bed, no bed head here.  Oh, and she sleeps in perfect makeup!  There’s no scene where she even remotely looks like she’s out of makeup.

 She’s having strange dreams but they look pretty mundane.  Like real-world mundane.  It’s her living room set that we probably saw a few minutes ago, just dimmer lighting and some haze to make it clear this is a dream.  Because even with a show about The Dream Lord, dreams have to have an old fashioned camera fringe haze.  Murphy is there with his back to her.  He looks sad.  He turns to look at her and she gasps.   She sees a star (lense flare) from Murphy’s eyes in the dream as he looks at her in surprise like he wasn’t expecting her to see him.  She wakes up with a gasp, and everyone in her apartment building also wakes up at the same time, signifying that their dreams were connected.

And so ends what was probably the third episode of CW (or Fox’s) The Sandman.  

And that is pretty much how CW or Fox would have done The Sandman.

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

August Picks

And so we’re back for another end of month wrap up! Looking back I feel like I didn’t watch too many new things; I finished a few shows that I talked about last month (the 100, Blood & Treasure to name a few). I guess it’s good I watched less-maybe I went outside more? 

Spoilers....

DERRY GIRLS SEASON 2

You all already know how much I love this show, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m starting with it I was SO EXCITED to hear that season 2 was coming to Netflix August 1st and I tried my best to drag out watching the episodes. But it’s really really hard when there’s only 6 of them (a half hour each) and they’re just SOO GOOD! So I finished in about a week, but I guess that’s better than a day. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I enjoyed season 2 more than season 1. I laughed so hard (and got a little teared up in the last episode-especially afterwards when it was over and I discovered that next season won’t start filming until 2020!) I LOVED the stories this season and how the adults got more of a major plot-line in each episode. At times I laughed harder at them (at the movie theater, Gerry making the sandwiches at the funeral). More people seriously need to check out this show. It’s hilarious and a quick watch that you won’t want to end. 

KRYPTON SEASON (SERIES) FINALE

Syfy’s Krypton ended a few weeks ago, but I was holding off watching it until last week. I know I had said this in my last review, but this season was tough for me to get into, but once I did then I was really enjoying it. However, once we got to the last couple of episodes I was losing interest again. Plus, hearing that the show was cancelled made it harder to finish. SPOILERS! So, we knew they had to defeat Zod and it made sense that he is now under the Black Mercy (like Lyta was), but obviously this is only a temporary fix. He’ll definitely find his way out; he’s smart. Then Brainiac and Doomsday are still an issue, so while things are safe for now things didn’t exactly get settled. Now I get they thought they’d get a third season so things would have to be resolved later, but this still feels like a lot. Of course I’m upset that we won’t see Jor-El getting rescued AND the next season build up with Brainiac taking him to Earth to create his very own “Superman” seems really interesting. But we won’t see it. Meanwhile Nyssa is off world and Lobo is back (he was funny so I was happy to see him again). Like I said, I’m not surprised the show got cancelled, but I think a third season would have been good. What do you think?

CATCHING UP 

ARROW

It might have been MONTHS in the making, but I FINALLY caught up and finished Arrow season 7. I was only 3 episodes behind, but it took me a very long time to complete. My main comments on this season was that the beginning was good and the rest was eh. I liked Oliver in the prison and while I was done with Diaz very early on I was happy to see that story-line resolved. Now, while I did take a very long time to watch this season in entirety (and that might be the main reason I feel this way), Oliver being in the prison feels like A LONG time ago (and a completely different season). When I look back on this season I really just think of him and Emiko who I was not a fan of. We lose Thea and welcome another half-sister who we learn knew about the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit before anyone else. The constant back and forth of trying to save Emiko got very repetitive and while I know Oliver as the hero could not give up on her fully, I wanted him to. I was also not a huge fan of the flash forward this year. At times I did like it, but I think the show did fine that one season when there was no added plot-line. The ending to this season was a disappointment. I was very curious how things with Felicity would end seeing as how she is not going to return for the final season. But overall it felt very much like a SERIES finale, which makes me worried for the last season. Will it just feel like a filler? How many people will return? Will we even be in Star City? Taking Oliver away like that sucked and I really hope he gets reunited with his children.

THE FLASH

As a big fan of all the CW Arrow-verse shows this past season I had a hard time getting into most of them and got VERY behind on episodes before just giving up on watching altogether. While Arrow was one that I was just a couple episodes behind for most of the year and Legends of Tomorrow I binged all at once the Flash and Supergirl dropped off my watch-list. This was sad for me because I had enjoyed these shows a lot, so now at the end of summer we’re giving it a second go! This month I began the 5th season of the Flash and am currently on episode 5? I only remembered the first 2 episodes, which shows you how long ago I stopped watching. I remember not being a huge fan of Nora West-Allen and this is mainly because they are making the actress seem a lot younger than she is. The mistakes she makes and her overall attitude feels better suited for a pre-teen/young adult rather than someone in their twenties. I’m still holding out hope that this changes as the episodes progress. I really love this idea of having Barry and Iris’ daughter in the past (because it feels very much like something Barry would do) and how they are still addressing the headline of the Flash’s disappearance. I feel like maybe as we uncover more about Nora’s past I will enjoy her character more. This season I like the return to the CCPD and Iris’ blog. Sometimes the alter-ego jobs get pushed aside and I am happy to see the return of Barry and Iris in the field as themselves. With this addition to her character plus the fact that Nora is being completely rude to her, I feel this is the most I’ve like Iris in a very long time. I love how she stands by her decision of keeping Nora’s powers a secret even though she hasn’t done so yet, and the fact that Barry is with her. I’m glad they’re finally taking her character to places outside of STAR Labs. I think Caitlin’s story-line of finding her father is really interesting as well as the origins of Killer Frost. This reincarnation of Wells will take some getting used to, but I already like his dynamic with Ralph (baby giraffe) and of course Cisco. (They are always the best.) I’ll continue watching and see if my feelings change, but I do feel that I’m getting invested again, which makes me happy. 

MOVIES

Descendants 3

Should I be embarrassed that I am putting Descendants 3 on this list and I am a lot older than the intended audience? Nope. While this DCOM came out at the beginning of the month, it has replayed on Disney Channel dozens of times already so I feel I have watched it fully or in clips many times. Out of the entire series this movie is one of my favorites. I like the songs and the overall plot. The idea of having one of the hero’s kids become a villain was genius and really said something about people’s innermost character. My main problem with this part of the movie was that I wanted more repercussions for Audrey. In the end she almost dies and they bring her back and everything is good because she apologies. But her intentions seemed real at the start of the movie. Could they vanish that quickly? (Now I know what you’re thinking...this is a kid movie. Of course she needs to learn what she did was wrong. But I think it would be even more interesting if she didn’t or struggled with it. Either way she should have had some sort of punishment. I don’t think they should have welcomed her back so fast.) I really liked meeting new characters from the Isle of the Lost, the new addition of VKs in Auradon and Hades. I wish all the new VKs would have gotten more screen time as well as Hades. From the promos leading up to the film he seemed really important and the actual BIG BAD of the movie. I would have liked to see a little more of that. But I did really like learning he is Mal’s dad. I loved seeing Uma, Harry and Gil working with the Auradon group. Again, this drove the message home about working together now matter what your background. There’s probably a lot more I could talk about but these are really the main moments that stuck out to me/my main concerns. I know I’ll be singing the songs for a very long time.  

Miss Austen Regrets

As a Jane Austen buff, it is probably very surprising to hear that I had not watched Miss Austen Regrets (2008) until last week. I knew about it, but am always cautious when it comes to a film adaptation of the author’s life; especially after Becoming Jane (which yes is a great movie, but not 100% accurate). It took learning that Tom Hiddleston was in the film to make me watch it. (I know, but just look at him. He’s got such a baby face.) :)

But a young and always good looking Tom Hiddleston should not be the only reason to watch this film (although it is a great reason). The movie focuses on Jane’s later years as she completes Emma. She visits her niece Fanny who is deciding who she loves and how to know what love is. In her early twenties, Fanny seeks advice from her aunt as to how to spend the rest of her life. Should she settle? Or wait for the man of her dreams? But what if he’s right in front of her? Her aunt, the author of romances, should have the answer, but in fact she believes she doesn’t. You get a little insight into some of Jane’s past loves and lots of echoes to Persuasion (one of the novels published after Austen’s death). I had just finished reading Persuasion for the second time and watching this film so closely behind it mirrored that tale of maturity, friendship and romance very well. Taken from the remaining letters between Austen and Fanny the movie feels authentic. Of course nothing can be 100% but I think Miss Austen Regrets does a very good job. 

BINGEING

THE WALKING DEAD

And so the summer binge continues on. Gotta say that I feel pretty obsessed with this show now. You know you are watching a lot when you start to have dreams where you are fighting walkers. (And yes, that recently happened to me.) Currently I’m in season 5. Just finished season 4 this week, which I think might be my favorite so far. I really enjoyed their time in the prison and while I thought the episodes with the illness dragged at times, once the Governor returned it really picked up again. (Although I didn’t love the stand-alone episodes focused on him.) Then watching the group be separated and anticipating the reunions between them all was great. Terminius definitely seemed too good to be true and I am happy that (right now at least) it seems to be resolved. Now we are heading to Washington. I like seeing the new characters that I know will be a part of the regulars. It does make me nervous about some of the originals. Losing Hershel was tough. I’m not ready to lose too many more. 

[snicketsleuth]

Slackin’ with the Sleuth: reviewing Netflix’s “The Vile Village”

After two sluggish double-episodes, we are now headed to the three best two-parters of the second season, nay, of the entire show until now. Today, we’re going to talk about direction. “A Series of Unfortunate Events” has suffered not only from being overwritten, but also from being under-directed.  Not an unfortunate consequence of the original writer being involved in the production of the television series, but rather of the other writers not controlling him enough. Episodes written by Daniel Handler get a bad rep amongst the fandom, but from their structure it’s pretty clear that he was more than willing to change his own outlines and listen to the contributions of other people. That being said, it’s hard to criticize the guy who came up with the work you’re supposed to adapt. Which is why episodes written by other people and peer-reviewed by Handler tend to fare better, as his role is to remind everyone of what made the story so successful in the first place.

We’ll see how this contributed to the improvement in direction in the latter half of Season 2. Most of it comes from the production team finally treating the series not only as an adaptation, but also as its own cinematic work. Let’s determine why below the cut.

DISCLAIMER (NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REVIEW):

I missed you guys, it’s been a while.

I apologize for abandoning the blog for so long, to the point that some of you people started worrying about me. I do appreciate the concern, so thank you. Most of my absence can simply be explained away by the many hours I’ve had to put into my day job. This has led to difficult choices regarding my hobbies and extra-work activities, writing for this blog being one of them. Truth be told, I don’t feel this blog fulfils as interesting a purpose as it did before. I’ve already talked about most book theories I cared about, and the books have been discussed to death at that point. As to other types of analyses, there are plenty of talented people on Tumblr who do it as well as me, so I didn’t feel the need to add much to the debate. But I’ve had time to think about plenty of Snicket-related topics during my absence, so no, the blog isn’t dead, just… much less active as it was a few years back. Stay tuned for more, my love for the books and their associated material is very much alive and kicking.

With all due respect (and affection) for our community, your duly devoted Sleuth.

This is the most atmospheric episode to date, and a beautiful one at that. While episodes of the first season certainly had their ambiance, most of it came from the introduction of new musical themes. The second season tries to bring the direction to the next level by fashioning each double-episode after a certain genre, which influences the entire aesthetic of the piece from its writing, colors and camera work. This is perfectly in line with the tone of the original series: each book focuses on a vivid and peculiar location which becomes a character in and of itself, and also parodies specific literary tropes. In keeping with this tradition, the televised version of  “The Austere Academy” mocks coming-of-age teen movies, “The Erstaz Elevator” has shades of musical romantic comedies from Hollywood’s Golden Age, “The Vile Village” pays homage to Westerns, “The Hostile Hospital” is a straight-up horror exploitation flick and “The Carnivorous Carnival” is a neo-expressionist drama. Or rather that’s what we were supposed to infer. In reality, “The Austere Academy” and “The Erstaz Elevator” don’t have anything special in terms of direction to truly allude to their models, and while “The Carnivorous Carnivale” is a blatant remake of “Freaks”, so was the book in the first place. Only with “The Vile Village” and “The Hostile Hospital” do we see the direction add a substantial commentary on the original aesthetic of their respective book. So while the intention is laudable, the execution is somewhat lacking as far as the entire season is concerned. More on that in the next review.

But for now let’s just gush over the gorgeous visuals of “The Vile Village”. Westerns describe the struggle of civilization in a lawless territory, a perfect setting for the crux of a book concerned with legality and mob psychology. While the introduction of the Nevermore tree leaves something to be desired, we do eventually get some fantastic shots. The integration of the CGI and the digital matte paintings significantly improves from this episode on, although whether the artificiality of previous episodes was an intentional choice from the directors is anyone’s guess. The scene of Hector’s first flight aboard the self-sustaining mobile home is a work of beauty. One must regret his line about crows being too “scary”, though. Not only is this an unnecessary change to his character (he is fascinated by the crows in the book), it doesn’t even make sense as the adaptation does not portray Hector as being scared of crows in any shape or form otherwise. He actually has a line about admiring them in the first part of the episode! What on Earth were the writers thinking?

The feels of Western movies is well-rendered, with an impressive focus or lighting. What the director seems to have forgotten is how dusty the Village of Fowl Devotees should look. This is pretty unforgivable given that the book insists on the unbearable feeling of dirtiness which permeates the town. There’s an egregious continuity error where the Baudelaire orphans escape from prison in a massive cloud of debris… then come into the next shot with immaculate clothing. This is a major sin as far as immersion goes.

Another blatant directorial choice is the tendency to film scenes across a two-dimensional space, with characters moving from one side of the screen to the next. This ever-present horizontal axis gives the series a somewhat stiff aspect, with characters not being able to express themselves in a dynamic body language in action scene. There are two possible reasons for this camerawork. Firstly, it makes certain scenes easier to follow (we must not forget that the series is expected to remain watchable for small children), although a little boring on the visual side. Secondly, it does imitate the format of a theater stage, and the theater world plays an important role in Snicket’s world, from “The Marvelous Marriage” to “La Forza del Destino”. I do think the showrunners went a little too far in this direction, though. If they’re so deadest on reproducing the feel of a theater production, maybe they should just pitch the series as a Broadway show rather than a television series. The chase sequences in this double-episode look more like a Street Fighter screen than a cinematic production.

But by far the greatest contribution of this episode is the merciful introduction of SILENCE. What a relief to hear the godforsaken concertina shut up for one minute and let us enjoy the dialogue! The heart of the double-episode comes from the back-and-forth dynamic between Jacques and Olaf (or, to a lesser extent, Esmé and Olivia). Truly a battle between blind, hopeful idealism and cynical nihilism. Major props to Nathan Fillion, who remains possibly the best actor in the entire series, and Neil Patrick Harris who should ruin the seriousness of the scenes with his constant bebopping but somehow doesn’t.

This however comes as the expanse of the Baudelaire orphans themselves, whose presence is somewhat secondary in this episode. The symbolism of them escaping the town in a fire truck is a strike of genius… but the Isadora couplet subplot is drastically skipped over and the unnecessary introduction of Mr Poe drastically reduces their screentime. It’s more forgivable than in “The Erstaz Elevator” as most scenes between the adult characters do help move the plot forward and provide interesting information, but it’s still one of our major criticisms for this season. The writers are clearly infatuated with the adult actors, which hurts the pacing of the story. It’s a shame as the child actors’ acting shows major improvements in the second season. Louis Hynes comes into his own in the prison scene, but the breakneck speed of the scene’s direction does not leave him enough room to grow. We will however concede that Jacquelyn and Larry don’t overstay their welcome in this episode, and that Jacques and Olivia’s romance is sweet to look at. While we disagree with the changes made to Olivia’s character on the whole (we’ll get to that in my review of “The Carnivorous Carnival”), it did produce some well-written, well-acted scenes. Less appreciated is the unnecessary and overstated introduction of a Violet/Duncan romance subplot… this is what happens when you base 90% of an adaptation on what admittedly amounts to fan-pandering. It’s sweet, then it’s sweeter, then you’ve got diabetes.

As far as character development goes, it’s pretty hit-or-miss. Esmé is as usual fantastic. The writers have managed to attain a difficult equilibrium regarding her character dynamic: she obeys enough not to overshadow him, but she also acts as her own antagonist, pursuing her own goals and betraying him if the need arises. The rest of the troupe also has an interesting dynamic with her and her integration in the crime family feels pretty seamless.

But so far we’ve saved the worst for the last paragraph, and as you’ve probably guessed, we’re going to have to speak about Hector. Gods almighty, what a waste of a perfectly good character. Josephine’s death was shot in a very disrespectful manner, but at least her character remained mostly the same. Here the Hector from the books, a tragic and heartbreaking portrayal of peer pressure and social anxiety, is reduced to a joke. To add insult to injury, it’s not even a funny joke: his constant fainting gets tedious quickly. And the ultimate twist about his mom’s fate not being the source of his trauma after all basically reduces his arc to a complete waste of the viewer’s time. If the writers hated him so much, why not just cut his screen time instead of demeaning his entire existence? This does not bode well for a potential adaptation of “All The Wrong Questions”, as Hector’s outlook on family loyalty and peer pressure is somewhat of a plot point in this series. I truly cannot begin to understand these choices as Hector plays a similar role to Hal, Charles and Jerome, who also have likewise personalities… but the writers have adapted Hal, Charles and Jerome faithfully and cleverly, so what gives?

[smillingcartoonist]

TV Shows That I Watched in 2018

A bunch of shows that I saw only one episode.

I have different reasons to drop out some of this show most of them is because It just didn't ring right with me. The first one I guess it was the Grant Morrison comic adaptation 'Happy' it was kinda fun, maybe I should watch the rest since it is on Netflix now ! The new Devilman anime was another one off ! Mostly because I kept reading the comics and I saw no sense into watch something that I just read and it was gonna be the same exact thing but with some differences ! also another anime was that B whatever that was terrible, and I saw the first episode of Final Space, it was fine but is not for me, it was like it was trying to hard to be funny and I can't care for that !

Black Mirror (Season 4)

Not as good was the last season, but still have some good episode, like half is good and the other half is meh ! I liked the most of them but the best one was the Star Trek parody one, and the most boring was the one after that, the one with the Daughter with a video cam in her brain, that one was way to dramatic for my taste ! Did kinda liked Metalhead there is pretty interesting stuff in that episode, it also weird that there is a episode that links all the other episodes in one shared universe ! like almost everything seems to happen on their on place, but ones says that no ! everything happen in one place, I Know that there is subtle hints of that on some episode, but I’m not one to look after that !

Adventure Time (Season 1-7)

I wanted to Watch all seasons in almost half of this year, but I couldn’t, because I get easily distracted sometimes and I’m Lazy, I managed to finish the 7º season in time to end to write this ! I Not one for care about all this cartoon shows that fan art appears on that god awful Radar, but this was like the last modern cartoon that I watched when i was a Teen, and so this year i decide to catch up to it and I realized that this year was gonna be the last season of the show ! talk about luck. But anyway, this was the most enjoyable thing that I watched this whole year ! re watching the first season make me realize how much cynical they are, like there is this episode where they go find a crystal in the middle of the woods with Tree Trunks and a lot of silly cartoon stuff happens and then at the end they find the goddamn apple and Tree Trunks bites it and explode ! it’s like the whole episode was this joke and that ending was the Punchline !

I guess it’s around season 5 when everything get really existentialist Are you dreaming this Universe Finn ? or are you a butterfly dreaming being a human boy and land made of candy ? it’s weird this children show passing this topics that don’t even go though the head of most people, like they own Mortally or something like, but it’s incredible to see how mature the show get across the time, everything begins with this silly crazy LCD cartoon show and go evolving and taking on more mature themes, the characters also evolve, like you see Bubblegum is this lovable character at the beginning and then you realize she is actually a Control freak maniac ! the character arcs are really nicely done in this show !  and also the own mythology of show is build up nicely, but there is some weird message that i get from this show, like some things are inevitable, Finn losing his Right arm in all of his lives, the end of the world ! there is some pretty eerie stuff in there ! man Love this show !

Also for reason one these i was Think about that scene with David Bowie in Fire Walk with Me but I replace all the character with the ones from this show ! Finn was Cooper of Course, Magic Man was Bowie, I Though that the whole FBI should be form by the wizards. Maybe I why work on that someday, Twin Peaks but the characters of Adventure Time ! That should be fun ! we live inside a dream.

The End of the Fucking World (Season 1)

I Think I describe the trailer for this was the Murder version of Moonrise Kingdom, and after watching I Think I was kinda right, it was based on a graphic novel that Will probably never see the light of where I live ! It was one the best series of this year for me ! You have two oddballs one think he is a psychopath and the other is rebellious Teenager and both of them go out on a journey of disasters ! It has nice sense humor and soundtrack too is nice, mostly composed of music that I probably have listen at least once and never knew the name ! I Though it had Sonic Youth in the middle of that, but It wasn't it was another band ! I do wonder how the next season is gonna be ! some Prison Break stuff maybe ?!

Jessica Jones (Season 2)

A Much weaker season then the previous,but still watchable ! I like seeing Krysten Ritter as Jessica, I Enjoy most of it the only thing I Kinda didn’t like was the whole thing about her Friend being jealousy of her for not having super powers, that diminish so much about that character ! Also the Villain was kinda of OK, Jessica psychopath mother, in comparison to David Tenant in last season ! Tenant appears in one episode in this season as Ghost and Think that was the most enjoyable episode of this season ! This was also the only show that got saved from being Cancelled from netflix, I don’t really know if that good or bad ! 

The Rain (Season 1)

One of the most boring show that I watched in this year, I really don’t know why I watched everything ! Does even anything in this show make any kinda of sense ?! I suppose this was to be something like the walking Dead,but in Denmark, and on the place of zombies there is a Killer Virus mixed in the rain and some incredible boring and stupid people ! and really dull story ! so I don’t Really care about it !

Dennou Coil (26 Episodes)

The Only anime series that I care to finish ! It’s about a bunch of kids that use a glasses to see through some kind of virtual reality, but also it’s about dealing with Grief of dead relatives ! most of the show is this straight forward narrative that get’s kinda of rushed in the end, but the stand out of this show was the one-shot episodes, those are really good, especially the one where they grow beards that are actually a bunch of sentient hair virus thing ! I wish that more of this show was just this type of one shot episodes, I think that the original Idea was kinda like that ! specially when you see the conceptual art for the show !

The Alienist (Season 1)

A Good first season for a show that can get better ! I Really like the concept of this, a Psychologist create a crack team to play Sherlock and find a serial killer, I really like the first episode but everything after that was kinda of average, good performances in general, but most of the other story lines I Couldn’t care less about them, Expect from the main one that was the serial Killer that was killing boy prostitutes in the streets ! pretty big shock of culture that come of that, Like “Really that happen before ?! Damn ! Thank god I don’t Live on that time” 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (5 or 6 Episodes)

I Think this year I discover that I might really not like anime, I Wanted to watch all of this, but I end up not really caring about it so much the more I watched, and I at some points I barely wanted to continue, I don’t Think that it was bad, I Think it just me ! Maybe was my mood at the time, i stopped after watching 6 or 5 episodes, maybe I Get back at watching this, I still Think that Giant Robots fighting is a pretty awesome concept.

Banana Fish (5 Episodes maybe)

Another one that I just dropped because I just didn’t care about it, I think it begins great but I kinda lost interest in the way, I guess it’s good but just not for me ! So year ago I try to read the manga and the same thing happen !.

Atlanta (Season 1 & 2)

One of the people that I follow keeps saying how good this show is and saw it was on Netflix, so I decide to see if was that good ! and it is ! I Don’t even like hip hop that much, actually I don’t Like Hip Hop Point, but really didn’t think that this show would be of the quality that it is ! So intelligent and funny, Donald Glover is really something else.I watch most of the second season while trying to do a Essay that really didn’t wanna do it , I Think I finish both of them at the same time I guess. I can’t to see the next season, hope they give more episodes to Darius, that is the best, the actor is pretty great to, he was on that Death Note Movie, I guess that there he was really bad !

The Hollow (Season 1)

One day I was browsing in the netflix catalog and find this show, that was just there ! I decide to watch because why not ! I Think I already said what I though about, it’s a really fun show with a terrible ending, It’s about three kids that wake up in a white room and they have to figure out the way out and what is happening, eventually they learn that are inside of a videogame, but you can figure that out way early ! I suppose this did make quite a success for a show that have no advertising what so eve. Also I think this show is just this one season, I don’t see how either this can go further then what it was !  

Preacher (Season 3)

Find Incredible that this show keep getting better and better ! The first season was kinda of Ok, the second was a way better and this one is just even better, I like the way the adapted the angeville arc, Jesse Grandmother was a crazy religious fanatic, but in this series they turn her into a Vodu witch with a phone with a direct line to hell ! also like how they make Jodie and TC more charismatic, in the comics those two are just the worst fucking person to ever walk the earth ! in this one they still complete bastards but still likable ! God this time is not a Yellow buff dude turns red when it get’s angry, But it’s a old man in a Dog costume riding a motorcycle with some tramp ! I mean you kinda have to love the surreal sense of humor of this show ! I Think from everything that happen in this season, the next might be the last one ! I do wonder If gonna see god rip out Jesse eye with his teeth.

Disenchantment (Season 1)

I Though this show was ok, most of the jokes didn’t really landed with me, but still was something nice to pass the time, since I had nothing to do at the time that I watched this ! I Not really the biggest fan of Simpsons and Futurama, but I kinda watch a lot of episodes of this shows, I remember that since we never got a cable TV we watch most of this show on the public channels, at Simpsons will all ways be on a different channel ! or on a different time ! Browsing to channels one day and find that is passing at this one channel at afternoon, the other day It was in another in the evening ! It was kinda crazy ! This show did some kinda of success and got already four seasons ready to be delivered in the following years ! I Think that would happen even if it wasn't successive !

American Vandal (Season 2)

This I have some kinda power over me, because i can’t stop watching, like I watch one episode and I just get so into it that I binge watch almost everything, I don’t really know what it is, well this time they moved from dicks to shit, I don’t really know if that was supposed to be more funny or less, it’s kinda like almost the first season but on a better resolution and a Incredible likable character that is the basket player, there is even a Meta thing about the show being a show in Netflix, is kinda nuts ! anyway still a really solid show, the humor is still not flying with me but the investigation stuff is really what grabs me ! this time the season end with some kinda of moral massage that I totally forgot about, I guess it was about being yourself or some stuff like that !

Maniac (Season 1)

I Just remember the Scene where there is a fat Asian guy playing chess with a pink kaola in a park with no context what so ever ! that enough for me to say that this one the best show of the year ! It’s on me over on the concept of the mind exploration so you end up seeing a lot of crazy stuff that don’t really make sense but they are there anyway ! the show is Cute, it’s about the relationship of this two broken persons and them dealing with their problems, I thing one of the high points of the cinematography that is really interesting, also like the universe they are in, is like a futurist version of 70′s or something is completely crazy, I was watching the first episode trying to figure out what year they are ! also the other high point is Jonah Hill playing the Sweden secret agent in penultimate episode.

Big Mouth (Season 2)

I thing the one of the downsides of this season was not seeing people over reaction to the explicit stuff in this show, this season was even more explicit then the last, I mean some people flip because there was a scene where Jess talk with her vagina in the Mirror, This time they enter in a vagina in that episode of the sexual education lesson, that was the weakest episode of this season by the way !  and there even more gross stuff like that in this. Also this season got more of a story line then just one-off episodes, they introduce a villain to this season, which I kinda like the idea. In Resume I think this season was kinda better then the first.

Castlevania (Season 2)

What everyone wanted a season of castlevania that have more then a hour ! iT have two hours now ! Still amazing as ever, even though the animation was kinda poor on some scene, most when characters are talking at some points the animation become really wonky, but on the fight scenes, whoa ! it’s something else ! Most of the season was focus on the bad guys and Belmont and friends stay kinda on the background for most of the season, I Though that was a really good idea, focus more on the new interesting characters and let the other laid back a little. I also like the whole depressive Dracula thing, give more character them just some megalomaniac bad guy that wants to kill everyone ! the only thing that I wonder is if Warren Ellis is gonna keep writing for this show. I can’t imagine this show having the same quality without his writing !      

Daredevil (Season 3)

I don’t really don’t remember if I watched this show before of after I read the Frank Miller run on Daredevil, I Think it was after that, because while i was watching i was starting to remember the things that I just have read ! specially on the second season, it is kinda a ok adaptation, everyone seem to love this show from all the other marvel netflix super hero shows, I thing it is just kinda of ok. This Season was the fall of Murdock, and kinda have to say that the comic was way better, I really don’t like saying that, because I think the only people that say that are complete idiots that want to pose was intelligent or something ! The High point is the fight scenes, those are really well done ! 

Doctor Who (Season 11)

This was the worst season of this show so far ! No even Kidding, this was really bad, I said one my mega review last year that season 10 was bad, and thinking about it, it wasn't that bad, and the finale wasn’t complete trash, I still don’t like what I don’t like. But this season, damn, we have Jodie Whitaker was the first female Doctor and her first season is a complete mess, everyone though if they got rid of Moffat the show would get better, I don’t see why everyone hate him so much ! he have Up’s and Down’s, But so far Chris Cannibal only have downs ! The main problem is the writing, is so poor ! almost all episodes are either ok or complete garbage, in mine opinion there is only 3 good episodes in this season, the first one, the Rosa parks one and It takes you away ! Cannibal episodes are the worst, the first episode was ok, and then he just got worse and worse, this season Finale was the most boring thing ! I stop caring to whatever was happening in the middle of the episode, Like last time I had something to complain to about the finale, this time I had nothing, because I don’t give a shit !

Whitaker was the Doctor was kinda of ok to me, it seems to me that her acting was really good when they give a Doctor, which are very few ! so most of the time she was saying complete nonsense ! Her characterization of The Doctor was really shallow too, it’s like she was a side character in her on own Show ! it’s Crazy, it’s like they have no Idea what they are doing ! The companions of this season too are possible the worst  too, except Graham ! he is a charismatic old man with a actual character, But the other two, Ryan and Yaz, I could do without them ! Ryan is a Complete Dipshit and Yaz is a complete blank slate ! most of her scenes she just kinda there, listing and them she say something, she never really did something in this entire season ! Why have her them ?! also why they are travelling together ?!  all of this people have no chemistry what so ever, they try to impose that their a friends, but it seems like they are sharing a cap together ! 

The Critics have been saying that this season was the best of the show in years or something, and Jodie is the best Doctor ever, and of courser their going to say that, she is the first female Doctor, they going to fill her ball even if she was complete terrible ! also the notes of for this season in IMDB have been the lowest that I ever seem for the show ! It was complete shit show I Think even care about that I have to wait a entire year to get the next season, I Don’t really give a shit anymore ! if we keep getting this kinda of quality for the next seasons I Don’t stop given a fuck about this show !

But on the hand this season re-woken mine fanaticism for Doctor Who and I saw a Bunch of old Episodes, and I end forgetting about that Park Chan Wook series ! Also two Other series that I wanted to see and end Forgetting was Killing Eve and Sharp Objects, also maybe I should have watched the Sabrina show or maybe not I don’t really know.