#she's a cool professor overall but THIS TAKE. IS SO COMICALLY BAD. i will fight her on it till the day i die

[ghostofsnails]

Sometimes when I'm signing my artwork I remember my professor telling us that artists shouldn't incorporate their signatures into their artwork because signatures aren't art. And then I scale up my signature and incorporate it into my art even more obnoxiously

[greatwyrmgold]

I've complained about how the White Fang were written over and over again. I'm going to do it again—this time, in the form of an analogy.

You know how the X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were originally written as the nice respectable civil rights advocates and the mean violent ones? The White Fang are a bit like that, but there are some serious differences.

First off, the minority they represent don't have superpowers. Okay, technically they have enhanced senses, and a few have neat animal powers like flight or changing colors for camouflage, but those are overshadowed by the Aura-based superpowers everyone has.

Second, their Professor X doesn't actually do anything. We get a brief mention that the White Fang had a nicer leader until a few years ago, with zero mention that he's still alive or doing anything, then he shows up three seasons later, shows up for a few fight scenes over the next two seasons, and barely gets mentioned after that. He talks about forming a new "brotherhood...truly working towards a better world," but as far as the wiki indicates, that's the last we've seen it mentioned.

The point here is that faunus aren't really choosing between Professor X's peaceful methods of achieving their goals and Magneto's violent ones. They're choosing between Adam's violent methods and nothing.

Third, despite all of that—despite the fact that faunus have no power and no other leaders—the White Fang are demonized way worse than Magneto. I'm sure there's some comic run or cartoon which portrays Magneto as a selfish monster, but for the most part he's portrayed as an idealist who doesn't want to live through a second Holocaust, and most of his Brotherhood believes in his ideology. By contrast, Adam is a cartoon villain who wants to kill all humans, and with only a few exceptions, the other White Fang members range from other cartoon villains to faceless mooks.

Fourth, the X-Men were created by two Jewish guys who lived through World War 2; they understood oppression and wrote it into their comics. We see how mutants are discriminated against, we see it constantly on the verge of getting bad, we understand Magneto's fear. Monty Oum was an Asian-American, but the actual writers (Miles and Kerry) are white dudes, and the faunus subplot feels like it was written by two white dudes while Monty was storyboarding cool fight scenes.

We hear about one company oppressing its faunus workers, but the overall framing is that that's the fault of one dude—the guy running the company before him was really nice, the dude's daughter plans to end the practice when she takes over. We see a handful of bullies pulling on a rabbit faunus's ear before the episode pivots to those bullies bullying a non-faunus main character. One villain insults the White Fang by calling them animals. We get the occasional nod to the idea of faunus oppression, scattered individual acts of bigotry, but it never coalesces into any sense of an inescapable aspect of the culture or looming institutional oppression or anything else seriously threatening.

Fifth, the White Fang don't really have agency. They work with the villains who calls them animals, because...if they didn't, they wouldn't be in the plot at all, I guess? If anyone ever explains why Adam was willing to work with a dude who uses racial slurs, it happened after I stopped watching and didn't make its way to the wiki. The White Fang are there so Cinder and Roman have some mooks to order around. Then they attack the nicer ex-leader and plan to blow up a Huntsman school; I guess the former was probably to consolidate power, but the wiki doesn't mention a motivation for either, so it honestly feels like supervillains doing supervillain shit. Then Adam runs away and gets killed by the good guys, and that's basically the end of the faunus subplot.

I could go on, but this is already way longer than I intended to spend on RWBY. I know the White Fang are already winning, but in my humble opinion, they deserve to win by a higher margin. Squealer is one villain with a tragic backstory that didn't have enough thought put into it. The White Fang are an indictment of RWBY as a whole.

WELCOME

TO THE FIRST ROUND OF THE COPAGANDA CLOBBERFEST!

“You know that trope? That one trope *Everyone* hates? The trope in which a well meaning antagonist to our heroes, one looking out for the good of a certain community, suddenly does something horrible and drastic to make not only them, but the ideology they stand for the most villainous of all?”

NOW IS THE TIME TO BATTLE THEM OUT! Like Ken dolls, fighting for survival! Like your Polly pockets discarded in the closet, we’ll see which of these bitches jumped that slippery slope harder! Whose character did numbers on y’all, and blew up a bunch of grandmas and babies and hospitals with it!

ROUND ONE

SQUEALER from SHIN SEKAI YORI vs THE WHITE FANG from RWBY

Squealer propaganda (TW for disturbing themes, as well as spoilers for the anime)

“he is a human man who has descended from a long line of humans who were genetically engineered, tortured, studied like literal rodents, selectively bred, and worse by a population of other humans with psychic powers. to show that he is in the wrong, he slaughters the elderly, infirm, children, murders two 14 year olds in particular and uses their child as a living weapon, and lobotomizes his mother in an effort to be recognized as human and treated better than literal garbage.”

White Fang propaganda (TW for Racism, Branding, Slavery, Antisemitism):

“As a Jewish person, I stopped watching RWBY around the beginning of s5 when Adam (the main White Fang antagonist) said that the goal of the White Fang was to replace humans in society. It came SO shortly after those riots where people where chanting "Jews will not replace us" and it made me so sick to my stomach to watch a conspiracy theory like that actually play out on screen that I hard stopped watching a show I'd been highkey obsessed with for years.”

“The evilest moment the writers wrote for their literal “minorities are secretly just wanting power over the whites” scapegoat character involves said character revealing he was not only enslaved but also was branded with a cattle prod over his eye.”

“The White Fang is the only organization fighting for the rights of the Faunus, the in-universe minority group meant to be an allegory for poc, and they’re portrayed as ruthless terrorists who are conveniently less white than the privileged minorities who “redeem” them. A majority of the actual poc who are also Faunus have “allusions” to the Jungle Book, and if you know the Jungle Book’s author and the certain other thing he wrote, you’d Barf at how racist that really is. The white comfort is strong in this Texan show. Also, said terrorists in this show are based off the real-world Black Panther Party, which just makes this whole thing feel like a special on Fox News!”

“The first indigenous-coded character and she’s a terrorist. Like what real life native Americans are to this day dubbed as for simply wanting their rights.”

Always feel free to rb with more propaganda :)

[for-dramas-sake]

My Favorite 2020 Dramas plus a few Honorable Mentions

In no particular order...

To Love

It’s not over yet, but already this is one of my favorites of modern Chinese dramas. The writing alone makes the story excellent in that it keeps you on your toes in every episode and keeps you engaged with the characters. Told from the two main leads’ POVs, it is a story of an undercover cop and a café owner who fall in love in the middle of his mission of a drug bust. It is a tale weaved from hard choices, complicated characters, and seemingly real life characters. It’s also a beautiful drama: full of color, excellent cinematography and lovely music.

I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to try out a underrated mature drama. I say mature for content (mainly for violence and drugs) as well for structure. This is NOT a bubbly, good-spirted drama. There is angst, pain, and conflict.

Qing Qing Zi Jin

I’m going to say it and mean it: My favorite drama of the year! I love it and have claimed the main leads to be “my babies” forever! The story is set in the Tang Dynasty of a mountain gang leader who comes to the capitol city to study at school not only to solve the mystery of ten years prior but to gain notoriety and fame. And let’s not forgot the love his life, a super strong (I mean that literally) girl who is a little shy at first, but then gains some backbone to go with those strong arms of hers. 

It’s sweet, charming and lovely. And while that might sounds more like the perfect date, it’s not. There is plenty of drama infused: a jealous older sister, a cruel stepmother, a scheming royal, the truth of the FL’s mother, the secret of the ML’s true identity, as well as so much more.

I love every single episode and which it had ten more than its 40 episodes. 

You Complete Me

Another modern drama that is so underrated! This is less violent and emotionally complicated as To Love, but it does pack a wallop of feelings. It’s another revenge story (third one in a row, I might have a preference for these kind of dramas). The male lead wants to take down the rich businessman who was the cause of his father’s demise but on the way he falls in love with the man’s daughter. 

It’s the most life-like drama so far on this list in that it’s very business-minded. There are quite a few scenes just discussing business tactics, money transactions, and meeting scenarios which all fly over my head. I can see that is a turn off for a lot of people, but believe me that it’s not all numbers and figures! There is a lot of story behind the suits and briefcases. The female lead is my favorite of the year: she’s a total badass who wants to earn her own way and won’t let anyone help or hinder her. She’s fantastic. If anything, watch the show just for her.

Note: I’m a sucker for the trope “I Did _(insert revenge act here)__ But Then I Fell in Love with You”. It’s the whole Good Girl and Bad Guy trope, and I love it so. The ML isn’t 100% bad, per say, but he does not have good intentions towards his enemy. 

The Journey Across the Night

Yet another modern drama! This one is full of mystery, intrigue, and darkness (more so than To Love). Unlike the other dramas, this one is not about revenge. But Like QQZJ, The ML is searching for truth as well as going to school. He is studying psychiatry under this creepy professor and hunting for answers. His mother and older brother both were diagnosed with schizophrenia when they turned 24 and he searches to learn how to prevent his own eventual dissent into madness.

This is a psychological, thriller drama but it’s not as scary as you might think. It’s pretty tame as horror dramas can go, but there are several creepy scenes and a few sketchy characters. The ML is a nice guy (do they exist anymore?) who doesn’t believe ghosts, but he manages to get pulled into a new mystery along with his friends a lot. The FL is a bubbly, loud girl who takes an instant liking to the boy. She confesses to him quite a lot over the show and it’s quite cute to see him blush.

This drama does not have a story flow (other than the ML and his quest). It is developed by the several mysteries the ML and his friends solve which is very interesting. Every mystery impacts one of characters differently which gives more insight into them as well their interaction with each other. Friendship is a major theme in this show. It’s thrilling ride with plenty of mystery, but bring your tissues! 

Oh! My Sweet Liar!

What an adorable costume drama also set in the Tang Dynasty. This is a family grounded story set around the rich and powerful Li family. The FL is a painter who infiltrates the Li Mansion to paint “the four arhats” for money. She encounters the eldest son who doesn’t trust her from the start. But things take an interesting turn when she suddenly announces that she’s pregnant with his baby! 

It’s a comical, fun ride that is lead by a sweet couple as well as the second lead couple who are childish but also adorable. It’s the least dramatic of the dramas listed so far with its ML falling in love rather quickly with the FL and a powerful family that’s not quite as domineering as imagined. But it’s a sweet story.

Need a pick-me-up? I recommend this one. 

Under the Power

Crime fighting in the Ming Dynasty!  It follows the trope of silly, but headstrong FL and the brooding loner ML. The girl is member of the local constabulary and she wants to fight against all injustice. The boy, a member of a special government enforcement team, endures her until he falls in love with her (wink wink). 

The story follows the female constable and the government official teaming up to solve the case of the Disappearing Government Funds (play mysterious music here). They encounter multiple crime cases, battle different evil forces, even dip their toes into almost magical scenarios along the way. And they fall in love, of course.

It has its charm in the main couple’s cat and mouse interactions and slow burn love story. She comes from a poor background and he comes from the a government official lineage. They are night and day, but they click in a delightful way. Plus, there’s a ton of cool fighting scenes and a few likeable side characters too.

Eternal Love of Dream (aka the Pillow Book)

A fantastic follow up to the much-loved Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms with an appropriate story for everyone’s favorite minxy fox and the immortal who came from a rock. I love this story mainly because it gives depth to the shallow as a kiddie pool Feng Jiu from Ten Miles (I’m sorry, but she was not a favorite). She was such a crier that you needed an umbrella for a lot of her scenes. And Dong Hua was there too.

But then you actually see them have character and story and drama and a love story! And the chemistry is *chef’s kiss*. This drama is near perfection for its all mentioned previously except for a few minor things like it drags in some parts, a few side characters are boring (or the actors were switched from Ten Miles so I don’t quite care so much) and then it gets kind confusing in some parts.

Overall, a great fantasy drama with a well deserved ending. 

...and now for a few honorable mentions!

Twisted Fate of Love

I’m on episode 11 so far and not quite fallen hard for it yet. I love Feng Xi (the scheming!!!) and all his questionable choices both to get Dong Yue and to get a promotion. But I don’t like Dong Yue much. She’s a weird mix of innocence and fighting spirit that I just don’t buy just yet. I will keep watching for their eventually love story.

The Heiress

The scheming! The secrecy! The playacting! The love story! I like it all, but it’s just not enough to get on my favorites list. I did say previously it as my favorite girl-disguised-as-a-guy drama, but it’s not my FAVORITE drama this year. Still very enjoyable!

General’s Lady

A surprisingly fun drama with a cute couple! I’m about 16 episodes in and would like to finish it one day. I do like how the couple is married very soon and have to work on building their relationship over the courses of the show. It’s refreshing from other shows that have the reverse.

Dating in the Kitchen

Cute, cute drama! I probably would have put this on my favorites list but I haven’t finished it yet (I’m so behind in a lot of dramas). It touches on the older man/ younger woman genre, which is so rare is chinese dramas. And it’s done well. Not cringe-inducing because the two leads have beautiful chemistry. And there’s lots of food.

And that’s my list! I hope this inspires some of you to watch some very good dramas as well as stretch outside your comfort zone. I know I went out of my usual bounds of historical dramas and fell in love with some amazing modern dramas. Here’s hoping 2021 will bring lots of fun dramas for us to discover!

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY: The Official Manga Review

Back in November of 2018, it was announced by Viz Media that Rooster Teeth’s hit show, RWBY, would be getting a manga adaptation published by Shueisha.

This sounded like great news at the time. I mean, a manga adaptation of RWBY being published by Shueisha, creators of Shonen classics such as Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece and Hunter x Hunter? What part of that does not sound awesome?!

Now this isn’t the first time that RWBY had manga series, mind you. There was of course the manga written and illustrated by Shirow Miwa that was released in 2015 and the Manga Anthology collection in 2017.

But this manga was different from the others. Instead of being a spin off or a side story, it was an adaptation of RWBY itself, taking the story of the show and retelling it as a manga. Aside from anime, manga and comics are my favourite mediums of entertainment, so naturally this was something that I was very much looking forward to, even if I was pretty new to RWBY at the time.

The series was written and illustrated by Bunta Kinami and had a monthly release schedule, concluding in June of this year at 19 chapters total. Instead of reviewing this volume by volume, I’m going to be reviewing the whole thing. Without further ado, let’s get right into it. Here is my review of RWBY: The Official Manga.

Plot

Similar to the show, the manga opens up with notorious criminal, Roman Torchwick, robbing a Dust Shop in the middle of the night. It’s with the timely intervention of aspiring Huntress, Ruby Rose, that he’s thwarted. After an interrogation from the Professors of Beacon Academy, Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch, Ruby finds herself being admitted to the Huntsman Academy, much to her surprise. Together with her half-sister Yang Xiao Long, heiress Weiss Schnee and the mysterious Blake Belladonna, they form the Huntress group Team RWBY!

For the most part, it is a straight adaptation and retailing of the RWBY anime. It follows very similar story beats, such as the entrance exam, Blake’s revelation as a Faunus, meeting Sun and Penny, the revelation that Roman was working with Cinder, the infiltration of the school dance and the breach of Vale. With this new retelling, there was also the possibility of expanding on the source material and putting a cool new spin on a beloved series. Surely the writer would take advantage of that, right?

Well, no. He doesn’t. Not only is there very little in adding anything new to the story, but there’s a lot of things that have been either heavily condensed or flat out removed entirely. It’s almost as if Bunta goes out of his way to cut content. These aren’t just little moments either, a lot of what’s gone are plot points that are essential to the overarching story, making this adaptation feel hollow. It isn’t just the story that suffers, but so do the characters.

Characters

Team RWBY

Team RWBY come across as bizarro versions compared to their anime counterparts. For example, Ruby isn’t the cheery, optimistic aspiring hero that she is canon. Instead, she comes across more serious and sullen, but without any of the charm. Weiss is portrayed as nicer compared to canon. While this might seem like a good thing, I actually think it hurts her character development, where she starts out as fairly unlikeable but gradually becomes a better person, throwing away her shameful old prejudices. Blake seems less of a character here, having a lot of her endearing quirks completely removed. My least favourite, however, is what happened to Yang. Much of her personality is downplayed, to the point where I can’t even call her same character anymore. She doesn’t have that loveable “party girl” vibe alongside being the cool big sister. If that wasn’t bad enough, her backstory and motivation are also downplayed, which was essential in not only establishing and developing her and Blake’s friendship, but it also removes a key plot point for the Mistral Arc, which was the revelation of who Raven was and what she was doing all this time.

Team JNPR

Oh god, no characters have suffered more than Team JNPR. Their roles are severely downplayed, to the point where I’m questioning why they were even added to the manga in the first place. Ruby and Jaune’s friendship is almost non-existent, Ren and Nora’s fin shenanigans are gone and Pyrrha isn’t treated as a big celebrity athlete. Instead, she’s just another student. Such a waste.

Penny, Sun and Neptune

Penny doesn’t have any of the fun, cute quirks that she has in canon. Instead, she’s more desperate to be accepted and pushy wanting friends. As for Sun and Neptune? For the most part, they’re kept intact and there are few extended bits of dialogue they have, but that’s about it.

Roman Torchwick

All of the wit and humour from the canon is gone from this version of Roman Torchwick and he’s instead a cold, callous and sometimes downright psychotic. While that would normally sound right up my alley, there was nothing wrong with how Torchwick originally was! He was a fan favourite because of his wit and humour and that didn’t make him any less of a credible threat. Here, he acts more like Cinder, which is weird considering she is in this manga! Just... why?

Artwork

I’ll be blunt here, I don’t like the artwork here at all. A lot of it looks like it’s unfinished, especially the backgrounds and a lot of the characters look dangerously thin. I don’t know what kind of style Kinami was trying to go for, but it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t feel vibrant or colourful, it feels like a ghost, a shell of its former self.

Verdict

Overall, this is a very, VERY poor adaptation of RWBY. All of the charm, fun, heart and soul that made me fall in love with the original is nowhere to be found in this manga. Most of the cast have great personality shifts or have many of their signature characteristics downplayed, essential plot points that develop both the story and characters have been cut, the artwork is half-baked and there’s a real lack of effort put into this project. From what it looks like, it seems that Miles and Kerry had little to no involvement with this and gave Bunta free reign. With all that power, he decided to strip RWBY of its core and reduce it to something barebones and soulless. Some of you might be wondering if there is anything good in here and I will admit that there are two moments that I liked; Weiss actually apologising to Blake and Sun and Neptune taking a more active role in the fight against the Paladin. Other than that, there are absolutely no redeeming qualities to this adaptation. If you want RWBY manga, stick to either Shirow Miwa’s version or the anthologies.

Final score: 2/10

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #7: Gonna take a wild guess as to what I think Oscar’s semblance might be as I believe it could play a role in helping Jaune to finally awaken his.

According to what Ren said in Chapter 4, it is stated that one’s personality can define their semblance or vice versa. That being said, my guess for Oscar’s semblance is something to do with his mind, particularly the way how his mind is right now.

What if...and this is stretch here...Oscar’s semblance will have something to do with dreams and memories which will then grant him a more enhanced ability to connect to others through his mind.

(Fasten your seat belts and grab yourself a snack readers. This is gonna be a long one)

If we look back, the very first time we were introduced to Oscar was when he woke up from a bad dream following the scene with Salem addressing Team WTCH. To me, that scene insinuated that Oscar possibly dreamt that scene or at least bore witness to it in some form of outer body experience...maybe?

Maybe Oscar dreamt of Ozpin's battle with Cinder too and that was the first time the two actually connected mentally before Ozpin was eventually reborn inside of him. That could be a possibility, yes.  

As I said before, it's a stretch. And while I don't have much more evidence from the series to back my hunch, however I do strongly think that Oscar’s semblance would have something to do with his mind.

Maybe Oscar will have a Professor Xavier from X-Men kind of power. While I doubt he'll be able to read others minds and/or lift things telepathically like Jean Gray (though that would be freaking awesome if he could); I do like the idea of him being able to connect to others mentally, more specifically through their thoughts and dreams.

It would make sense. Oscar is a man (well boy) with two souls. He is the embodiment of two minds sharing one singular form so having a semblance that reflects that would fit. Plus I really want this cause I would love to see the series do a visual representation of Oscar's mind.

Gonna use another Yugioh reference here again. Remember back in the original series when the character Shadi used his Millennium Key to enter Yugi's mind when he suspected that he was the one who stole Pegasus' Millennium Eye (which was actually taken by Evil Bakura)? In that episode, we got a nice visual idea of the inside of Yugi's mind after pairing with the Pharaoh. As viewers, we actually got to SEE what both sides of the coin looked like with each being represented by a different room and door.

If I remember correctly, Yugi's was described to be more childlike, pure and innocent, as remarked by Shadi, whereas the Pharaoh’s was basically a cold dungeon labyrinth with endless staircases leading to many intricate doors housing a variety of tricks and traps, all to deceive unwanted intruders. Some were even guarded by Duel Monsters; one of them being Yugi’s signature card: The Dark Magician, as I recall. This was done, as I believe, to reflect the complexity and overall mystery of the Pharaoh’s character as part of the story was uncovering the secrets of his past and his true identity.

Gosh! That was such a cool part of the original Yugioh and I would LOVE it if the CRWBY did something like that for Oscar and Ozpin. Fingers crossed!

While hearing the mental banter between Oz and Oscar is nice; it would be an even greater touch if we actually got to see the inside of Oscar’s mind and what it looked like, especially now that Ozpin is there. Somehow I envision Oscar/Ozpin’s mind world being no different than how it was for Yugi and the Pharaoh.

Picture this everyone...

Oscar’s Inner Mind 

Imagine one room. One single room. An inner sanctum, if you will. The room is divided in half. On one side, there is a locked door with a clock cog symbol embedded on its surface to represent it being Ozpin’s room while on the opposite end, is another smaller, simpler wooden door to identify that it belongs to Oscar. At the centre of the main mind hall is a single long table with two chairs facing each other. It is here, within these uncharted walls, where Oscar and Ozpin meet within their inner mind (I need a more creatively whimsical word to describe this).

Since Oscar is still the more dominant soul, the room atmosphere changes to reflect his mood. When he's cheerful or perhaps relaxed, it becomes a tranquil afternoon sky in a large open field covered with lush green grass mirroring that of the one he would see all the time back in his home in Mistrel. When he's angry or upset, the skies turn grey and cloudy. Though they never rain, the raging thunder and lightning above are more than enough to voice his troubles. 

And when he thinks of Ruby; the ambiance transforms into a beautiful sunset and what was once a grassy field becomes a vast rose garden filled with an outstretch of blossoming red roses; their gorgeous petals blowing ever so delicately in the wind.

Okay, that one was for my RoseGarden shippers but c'mon, how sweet would that be.

Picture a scene where:

Oscar and Ozpin are having a private conversation within his inner mind world when Oscar is either dreaming or meditating (perhaps a session with Ren). Oscar is frustrated with his training and Ozpin is there to offer him some reassurance. The room atmosphere is a raging storm to reflect Oscar's brooding dissatisfaction but in the instance where Ozpin is able to calm the boy down, it simmers to a gentle breeze blowing through a green meadow.

Ozpin then tries to lighten the mood by asking Oscar about how he felt about his new teammates: Jaune, Nora and Ren. Oscar, of course, gives a good review of three remaining Team JNPR members, commenting that he gets along well with everyone. And since they're all so nice to him and help him with his training, he thinks they’re cool. Ozpin quietly accepts this answer. He then addresses the real Goliath Grimm in the room. He asks Oscar about his thoughts on Ruby and the instant he does Oscar’s whole demeanour changes in an almost comical manner. The young farm boy is suddenly fidgety and by Ozpin’s keen observation, a little red in the face, barely making his point audible as he clamoured out a bunch of nonsensical facts about Ruby (that Ozpin already knew of) all summing up to him basically saying that she’s just a huntress he really, really admires for her strength and considers a good friend.   While Ozpin accepts this answer as well, albeit with one of his trademark scrunch-nosed chuckles, he doesn’t however fail to point out that while Oscar’s mouth said one thing, his own mind betrayed him. For at that precise moment, unknown to Oscar, the room had changed again to match his current emotions; revealing his true blossoming feelings for Ruby (which literally take the shape of a freaking rose garden).

Imagine how perfect that would be. I know it’s just a thought however if the series somehow ever did something like this, I'd lose my shit.

The Room of Two Souls

I’d imagine the inside of Oscar's room would resemble that of his original home back on his aunt's farm cause right now it’s the only family tie he has.

However as he makes more connections with people he come to care about, the room will expand and even change depending on the person or bond he’s thinking of. Y’know how folks are always using the analogy of creating a space in their heart for someone or something they consider special to them. Maybe the same can work for the mind; in particular Oscar’s mind, with him creating a special place in his own mind room for certain cherished loved ones using the memories and feelings he’s shared with them to bring it to life within his inner mind. Imagine a place in Oscar’s mind built on the memories and sentiments of his time with Team RNJR which in turn links him mentally to all of them. Take special note of this point. I’ll elaborate more on it later in this post.

Ozpin's room, on the other hand, will be complicated with as much intricacy as the mechanical interior of a clock. As a matter of fact, I picture it being like a giant clock tower leading into another room decorated with towering portraits of different men; the faces of Ozpin's previous vessels with the memories of their lives and adventures contained behind each portrait. It within here where Ozpin’s past memories are all stored. For all the Star Vs The Forces of Evil fans in the audience, remember how in the episode ‘Into The Wand', we got to see all the past Queens of Mewni in portrait form including Moon.

I pictured something like that for Ozpin and all his past forms. The portraits not only paint a vivid depiction of what the previous Ozpins looked like physically but additionally it illustrated a perfect mosaic of all the major events in their lives; from rebirth to death.

Imagine if we got to see a portrait of Ozpin in his last form before Oscar; when he was simply known as just Professor Ozpin: Headmaster of Beacon Academy. An eternal collage all his achievements up until his demise by the hands of Cinder (maybe then we might actually learn how the events of that epic fight).

Why I’m taking my time to describe this in such detail is because I would honestly love to see the CRWBY do something like this in the series as I believe it can play a major part in Oscar’s growth as a character. Why would you create a character with two souls if you didn’t plan on showing us, the eager viewers, how the inside of his mind looked?

I’m just saying.

Now that I’ve described what I think Oscar’s semblance is, you might be wondering at this moment what does that have to do with Jaune and his semblance? I’ll explain.

I think I’m all finished here with Oscar. Let’s talk about Jaune for a bit.

 Jaune’s Semblance Is....

Back in Volume 1, I remember Pyrrha mentioning that Jaune possessed a lot of Aura after using some of hers to unlock his. Ren said that once one has mastered control of their Aura, not only can it aid them during battle as a form of defense but also recovery by gradually healing their wounds. The keyword there is gradual. When Jaune first unlocked his Aura, it instantly healed his wound. Sure it was only a scratch but...the way Ren implied it is that the healing process is supposed to be slow, not as quickly as Jaune recovered.

So what this says to me is that Jaune is certainly unique when it comes to his Aura level and that is one of the clues to figuring out his semblance. What else so we know about Jaune? Let’s only focus on the positive. He’s always willing to step up and do what he can for the people he cares about. Evidence? Despite his feelings for her being unrequited, Jaune still cared enough for Weiss that he called out Neptune on the way he was treating her.

He even empathized with him a little too by helping him through his own securities by making him see the error of his shallow ways. He was so willing to cheer Pyrrha up that he tossed all semblance of dignity out the window and wore a dress.

He was kind enough to help Ruby on their very first day of school, even though they had only just met.

He even forged a new weapon for himself combining his with a memento of Pyrhha’s. He did it, almost as a little tribute to her so that, even though she was gone, the memory for her will forever live on with him and their teammates.

Jaune Arc: Helpful. Compassionate. Loyalty with a high level of Aura...I think I’m starting to piece together a semblance of a semblance here guys.

While Pyrrha didn’t exactly say that Jaune possessed an infinite amount of Aura, the fact that she said he has a lot of it; so much so that he’s able to project it around his entire body is interesting. Up until now, I haven’t witnessed any other character in the series project such a strong Aura around themselves that they glow in the same manner as Jaune did. Maybe his semblance will be something along the lines of Restoration: Because he possesses such a high level of Aura, he is able to use it to help others. This way he can use his Aura to commit amazing feats: such as shield others with it and/or even use it to heal and replenish their strengths by restoring their own Aura. 

I hope it’s something  morally exciting like that and true to the nature of Jaune’s character...rather than a semblance that just makes him super OP for a limited (or unlimited) amount of time, destroying anything and anyone in his path (like Mario juiced up on star power in a Super Mario Bros game).

NO! That’ll be way too typical. Way too shounen protagonist cliché!

But Squiggles, what the fudge does Oscar’s semblance have to do with Jaune’s?

To me, Jaune seems to be suffering a block right now when it comes to his own untapped power. Based on what he said last episode, the reason for his block doesn’t seem to be a physical one nor even a lack of skill. So...maybe it’s something deeper...something psychological.

Remember the point I made earlier about if Oscar had a mind semblance then maybe he can connect to people he’s close to. Here’s where that ties in now.

With a mind semblance, maybe Oscar can enter the minds of those he connects to or look into the memories. Maybe Oscar unknowingly connects to Jaune during his sleep/meditation and ends up sharing a nightmare/thoughts with him about the events of the Fall of Beacon where he’s been constantly reliving the moment where Pyrrha abandoned him to fight Cinder. We have yet to truly touch base on how each member of the remaining Team JNPR felt after Pyrrha’s death. Sure we caught a little glimpse of it back in Volume 4 (during the first and last episodes of the volume, ironically) but still not too much. I’m particularly curious about Jaune’ feelings in this as he was there that night and was the last person Pyrrha spoke to before leaving for her inevitable death.

You can tell or at least immediately assume that he’s still grieving over losing Pyrrha. Remember that episode in Volume 4 when Ruby found him training at night to an old recording of Pyrhha’s mentoring. While a touching albeit a depressing scene, it definitely highlighted my point of Jaune’s internal grief over losing a close friend.

Maybe Oscar will help Jaune by entering his mind to help him deal with his grief. Perhaps Jaune is suffering from that kind of mental block. Maybe his guilt and grief over Pyrrha is what has been holding him back from unlocking his semblance.

Now that I think about it, it would make sense if that was true. Everything about Jaune’s development and improvement from amateur warrior into a full-fledged huntsman has more or less centred around Pyrrha. Pyrrha was the first person to acknowledge Jaune’s potential and reach out a helping hand to help him grow. She was the first person to truly believe that he could be a real huntsman before he believed it himself. So wouldn’t it make sense if SHE is the reason why he can’t move forward? I think Jaune’s reasoning for not unlocking his semblance has something to do with his feelings for Pyrrha. Feelings of never fully understanding her during her time of uncertainty and grief (y’know over the whole Fall Maiden scenario). Feelings of never getting the opportunity to reciprocate his own feelings for her (?).

Feelings of feeling as if he failed her, not just as a friend but as everything: a friend, someone that she felt worthy of her love; failure as a leader cause she was part of his team. She was his teammate. He was supposed to protect her. But...he didn’t! He failed her! He probably blames himself for being so powerless that Pyrrha felt it more fit to send him away to safety rather than stay and fight alongside her to stop Cinder. Maybe if he had been strong enough and less of a weak burden, maybe he could have saved her.

He might not have been able to stop Cinder especially at her full Fall Maiden strength but at least he might have been able to save Pyrrha. If it weren’t for his weakness and incompetence as a huntsman...maybe she’d still be alive and their team wouldn’t be so broken; incomplete and...cold without her.  

So maybe we’ll get a mental battle where Jaune faces off against his guilt which takes the form of Pyrrha. And after defeating that and overcoming those negative feelings, he either finally unlocks his semblance or comes much closer to unlocking it, feeling more confident that he’ll do soon. Y’know just in case the show writers wanna drag this out longer again.

All in all, those are my theories. It’s a pretty interesting theory. Kinda out there. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not canon. As I said, early. It’s a stretch.

I just think it would be cool if we got something like this. If Oscar’s semblance doesn’t have anything to do with the mind then I’ll be fascinated to see what it could be canonically.

That being said, as a top choice, I’m still gunning for another mind-based, mental semblance in the series. So far Emerald Sustrai is the only confirmed one with her mastery of mental hallucinations. Neo was technically another with her illusions however I’m not sure if she’s still part of the series. I know she’s in RWBY Chibi (then again, so are Pyrrha, Penny and Roman Torchwick and they’re all....YEAH!) and I know fans have been waiting hopefully for her to make a triumphant comeback.

However beyond those two, I want another character to possess a mental semblance especially a good guy (seriously Emerald and Neo are both villains). So yeah, we need a good guy main character to have a mental-based semblance.

CRWBY...C’MON! Golden opportunity here! OSCAR GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!

I’m just saying; Oscar is right there. You’ve already set him up with having two minds. You’re basically writing his semblance for him. Make it a mental one.  

Give him a cool Professor X type of awesome mind semblance! I’m calling telepathy or some RWBY variant of it. Maybe he can read the minds of people he makes either physical or eye contact with. This could be a SWEET ability to have especially in combat cause then Oscar will be able to tell his opponent’s next move before they even make it. The only exception will is that he won’t be able to read certain people who either have a mental type semblance like him or have somehow been trained to block out mental intrusion abilities like that or...are Salem. I also call the ability to enter someone’s mind through their dreams or thoughts or just by having a strong connection with to a person due to an intimate bond (like a close friendship or relationship).

Fingers crossed here!

 But anyways, I think now I’m officially done with this musing. See you all in the next new episode! Hope we get another Mistral moment with Team JNRR and Oscar. As a matter of fact, each episode should contain a mandatory scene with them). Just saying.

~LitteMissSquiggles (2017)

[comic-movieheroesranked]

Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2000)

Alright here’s the first list! Since X-Men was the only comic-to-movie theatrical release in 2000, this list will only consist of the film’s main characters.

*Spoilers for X-Men ahead*

Cameo Appreciation: Stan Lee

Honestly, I couldn’t spot Stan when I rewatched the movie (to be fair I think I was responding to a text while this was happening) so I actually had to look it up to find out that he was just an innocent man selling hot dogs when a very nude Senator Kelly washed up on the beach he was at. It probably wasn’t anything he hasn’t seen before, seeing as he sells pinkish wieners for a living.

Cameo Appreciation: Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, and Pyro

Having Senator Kelly bring up Kitty’s ability to walk through walls during the Congress meeting was cool, having her demonstrate said powers later when Logan shows up to Xavier’s school was even better. We also get a glimpse of Pyro playing with fire and Jubilee taking notes in her signature jacket while Rogue tries to fit in to her new school life. Now that we got the cameos out of the way, let’s move on to the actual list!

12. Bobby Drake/Iceman

“Welcome to Mutant High!”

The only reason Bobby isn’t being considered a cameo like the other students is because he actually has more than two lines in the movie (he might just have three, but still.). He’s basically there to help Rogue feel like she’s normal by being hella smooth, using his ice abilities to leave her a small flower as a gift. It’s obvious that he’s interested in our girl and at the end of the film it looks like Rogue is starting to feel the same.

11. Senator Robert Kelly

“Are they dangerous?”

In short, yes, mutants can be dangerous, but like Jean said, a drunk driver behind the wheel can be dangerous. Senator Kelly represents one of the biggest issues the X-Men face in the comics: the fear and ignorance of mankind. He’s the force behind the mutant registration act, which causes his own downfall when he catches the attention of Magneto. The film’s villain has his Brotherhood of Mutants kidnap Senator Kelly to test out his latest weapon which caused Kelly to become the thing he hates most: a mutant. Luckily for him (or unluckily, depending how you look at it) the effects of the machine don’t last. After he escapes, he ends up having one final moment with Storm before completely grossing her out by exploding into a watery glob.

10. Sabretooth

“You owe me a scream.”

Sabretooth was all brute strength and nothing else. He seemed to be Magneto’s bodyguard/pet with a bad attitude and a weird obsession with certain white haired females. His power was on par with Wolverine’s, dishing out some heavy punches throughout the film. It seemed, though, that every fight he was in ended with him being blasted off, either by Storm’s lightning bolts or by Cyclops’s powerful energy blasts.

9. Toad

“Don’t you people ever die?!”

Like some of you, I grew up watching X-Men Evolution as a kid where it was universally known that Toad was lame. Like, super lame. Rewatching the X-Men movie, I noticed it was a different story. Instead of being the one that got laughed at, Toad did the laughing. Not only did he openly mock Jean Grey and the X-Men, but even Magneto’s muscle, Sabretooth. But this was probably because he could be a bit of a threat himself, unlike his high school cartoon version. At one point Toad manages to take on Jean, Storm, and Cyclops with a surprise attack but couldn’t jump away fast enough to avoid being zapped by one of Storm’s lightning bolts. Finding out exactly what happens when a toad gets struck by lightning.

8. Scott Summers/Cyclops

“Stay away from my girlfriend.”

Poor Scott. Really. It seemed right off the back Logan just did not like him, even before he found out he was dating the woman of his affections, Jean. Watching the film I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy. He got manhandled by the Wolverine a few times before getting his bike stolen and is constantly being thrown insults. On top of that,during the confrontations at the train station and at the statue of liberty he was knocked out of the fight pretty early on. Still, he was able to redeem himself by using his powers to blast off Sabretooth and save Logan by hitting Magneto. He might be slightly annoying, but you gotta give him props for taking the highroad on that one. My petty ass would’ve let Magneto turn Wolverine into an adamantium can, but that’s why I’m not a superhero.

7. Ororo Munroe/Storm

“At least I’ve picked a side.”

Storm, like Scott and Jean, is a former student turned teacher at Xavier’s school for mutants. In fact, she’s the only one seen teaching the new generation in the movie. Her powerful weather abilities allowed her to take out every opponent tossed her way, even if I feel like she needs to touch up on her combat skills. I was pretty bummed that she couldn’t fly apparently, because we can’t have our superheroes use all of their powers conveniently it seems, but overall Storm was a much needed addition to the film.

6. Jean Grey

“I’m nowhere near as powerful. But [Professor X] is teaching me, himself."

Despite her modesty, I feel like Jean has the best control of her powers out of her, Scott, and Ororo. She proved herself strong enough to access Cerebro when Charles was out for the count, even if she felt weak afterwards. She also seems to have the least limitations with her powers, with Storm being useless indoors and Cyclops needing his visor. She puts her big brain to use by being the school's resident doctor/medical examiner as well as being a spokesperson for the repeal of the mutant registration act. It's seems pretty clear why Xavier gave her the most responsibilities, it's because she can handle them.

5. Anna Marie/Rogue

"The first guy I kissed was put in a coma for three weeks."

*Prince Zuko voice* That’s rough, buddy. X-Men laid out the origins for Rogue. We figured out when she first got her powers, how she met Logan followed by the X-Men, we also see how she gets her signature white streaked hair. She kinda serves as the damsel in distress but only because her powers are so dangerous, which is proven when Magneto has her nearly wipe out the world's most important human leaders in one try. Her one on one moments with Logan were highlights of the film and it starts the recurring theme of Logan having a weakness for abandoned little girls needing a father figure.

4. Charles Xavier/Professor X

"Don't give up on them, Eric."

The mentor of all mentors. Charles Xavier is considered the most powerful mutant on the planet and has opened up a sanctuary disguised as a school for all mutant youth to come. We don't see the full extent of his power mainly because he still believes mutants and humans can coexist and won't do anything to jeopardize that. Despite being taken out of the equation before the final battle at the statue of liberty, Xavier proves throughout the film that hope is a powerful thing, even more powerful than himself. Plus, it was pretty badass the way he shut down Magneto's threat at the end of the film.

3. Mystique

"People like you were the reason why I was afraid to go to school!"

Mystique, along with choices 1 and 2, is a badass. Not only can she serve an ass kicking, but she's clever as hell which is why I wouldn't even consider her as one of Magneto's henchmen but more of a second-in-command. She truly believes what Magneto stands for and would probably stand for it herself if he were to never have existed. Her abilities to shape shift make her the perfect spy, infiltrating the government and Professor X's school to help accomplish Magneto's goals. During the final battle against the X-Men, Mystique goes toe to toe with Wolverine and nearly wins but bites off more than she can chew when she tries to fool him into thinking she's Storm. Wolverine catches on and impales her with his claws, knocking her down but not out. She's the only one in the Brotherhood that manages to slip away and is acknowledged by Charles to be someone the team needs to look out for in the future.

2. Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto

"A war is still coming, Charles, and I intend to fight it. By any means necessary."

One of the greatest foes the X-Men have ever faced, Magneto is a mutant proud of his abilities with a strong hatred for humans. He has every right to hate them, he lost his family in concentration camps during World War II and the Holocaust and was tortured for being a mutant. With the ability to control metal, Magneto becomes a huge threat in the modern world. The only one capable enough to stop him is Charles Xavier himself, but doing so would mean killing his former best friend, which is just something our professor just can't do. He kidnaps Rogue in attempt to use her powers to transform humans into mutants (with the high possibility of said humans dying from the effects) but fails once the X-Men come to save the day. He's locked away in a plastic prison but everyone knows that it won't be long before he's free again, ready to exact revenge on the human race.

1. Logan/Wolverine

"You're a dick."

It's a no brainer that Wolverine is making the top of this list, he's the only character that's fleshed out in my opinion. We see his wild side in numerous fights, his adult side when he meets Jean, and his soft side when he becomes a sort of father figure to young Rogue. He's the main hero of the story, even if he doesn't want to be. He sticks around to learn about his forgotten past from Xavier but stays when he gets more attached to Rogue. He saves her life at the statue of liberty, touching her so she can absorb his rapid healing abilities before taking off to learn about his past. Watching him using his signature claws for the first time was everything I needed and more.  He's comedic, he's untamed, and he's the beginning of a legacy that follows through every single future X-Men movie to come.

Let me know what y'all think about the first list, especially if you think someone else should have been on top. Until next time!

[jacobtmcelroy-blog]

Marvel Films Ranked (1998 to 2016)

Comic book films. In my opinion, they are their own genre now. Why is this? Well, look how many are coming out in a year nowadays. A good portion of the summer blockbuster season belongs to the superhero genre alone. Over the past twenty years, there’s been a superfluous amount of Marvel films. Many of them meh, some of them good, and others flat out atrocious. So, I have compiled a list of my personal rankings on the matter. Let’s knock this out.

Also, I will be discussing spoilers at a few points, so beware.

THE ATROCIOUS TIER

43. Man-Thing (2005)

Want to know how bad Man-Thing is? The entire test audience walked out of the theater before the film was even done playing. True story. Because of this, the film was relegated to become a Sci-fi original movie instead of being released in theaters. Yikes. At least one of the film’s stars, Rachael Taylor, would go on to do much greater things in the Jessica Jones Netflix series as Trish Walker.

42. Hulk (2003)

No, that’s not an early development picture of Shrek. Ang Lee’s Hulk has a cult following who love the psychological approach he took to the film. That is cool and their opinion. However, this film harms me psychologically. From the lack of smashing things (It’s a Hulk film!), to the ludicrous plot, to the zombie dog fights, and the part where the Hulk flew on a plane to space, 2003′s Hulk is a boring mess that is not even fun for laughs.

41. Fantastic Four (2015)

What do you get when you combine a group of young, talented actors and a somewhat promising director with a studio that is desperately trying to hold the rights to their non-X-Men Marvel properties? A really, really bad movie is what. Fan4stic, as many call it, is an unorganized train wreck from the production issues down to the person who decided to film every scene in the dark The mid-2000′s films look great compared to this mess.

40. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

This movie did not even need to be a thing honestly. We got enough backstory of Wolverine in X2, and he is the main character in the first three films. Anyways, Origins is a flat out mess. Memory wiping bullets? Special effects worse than the first X-Men? (seriously look how bad his claws look) The Merc with a mouth missing his mouth?! This is just a bad movie. No wonder there were not any other Origins films like originally planned.

39. Blade: Trinity (2014)

Before being booked into a jail cell for tax evasion, Wesley Snipes and his new allies imprison the unlucky viewers of this film into a sentence of 113 minutes of pure boredom. Blade: Trinity is dull, forgettable, and takes away most of the fun the first two films had (even with Dracula as a villain!) It is hard to believe director David S. Goyer, writer of the Dark Knight Trilogy, directed this blood-reduced suckfest.

Still Pretty Bad Tier

38. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)

Ghost Rider and the sort of sequel that nobody asked for should be the real title. While Nicolas Cage gives a better, and much loonier performance here, the storytelling and execution really came up short here. Spirit of Vengeance cannot decide what it wants to be. It goes from dark and serious, zany and erratic, to mid-2000′s Nicolas Cage mode at a dizzying and confusing rate. 

37.  Elektra (2005)

In all honesty, Jennifer Garner isn’t a bad Elektra. Not as good as Elodie Yung’s recent version, but Garner does the best she can with the awful script. The film takes itself WAY too seriously and does not have any sort of fun. Some of the plot twists are ludicrous too. The biggest flaw of the film though is the fact it focuses more on some random girl and her dad almost more than Elektra herself.

36. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

The second modern stab at Fantastic Four was unfortunately worse than the first. While I still actually like the casting, (especially Michael Chiklis as The Thing) no one can save the film from the deranged screenwriters who turned Galactus into a giant hungry cloud. The plot and execution also leaves some to be desired. At least it is not as frustrating as the Silver Surfer NES game.

35. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

If we are ranking the worst adaptations of actual comic book story lines, then X3 would probably take the top prize. Brian Singer’s departure from this film for the snorefest better known as Superman Returns tanked both films at the same time. Here, Magneto flat out looked like an idiot after his infinitely stupid plan back-fired. Cyclops died after five minutes of screen time and somehow did as much as he did in the other films. Mystique lost her abilities... for some plot reason. Angel did pretty much nothing after being the focus character in the opening tease. X3 is just a massive disappointment. 

Tier of Mediocrity

34. Ghost Rider (2007)

How do you make a badass anti-hero a lot less cool? Give him the most generic origin story in history. Ghost Rider is honestly not an awful film, it just feels like a tired retread of every other superhero origin story. Oh, but that is not the only problem with the film. Some of the humor is really oddly timed and does not hit a lot. The villain is mostly unmemorable. Sam Elliott is really good when he is on screen, but the most the writers let him do is ride a firey horse in a straight line.

33. Spider-man 3 (2007)

I am actually surprised I ranked this as high as I did. Spider-man 3 is one of my biggest movie disappointments in history. The plot is over-bloated with WAY too many characters (3 villains?!) and subplots, Uncle Ben’s death is downgraded to an accident, and every scene Emo, Cool Peter Parker is in makes my facepalm and cringe at the same time. Yeah, that piano/bar scene is absolutely painful. Venom is absolutely wasted too. If there are so many problems, why is this film not lower? There are good scenes hidden inside this waste dump of a film. The scene in the tower where Peter rips off the symbiote is good. Another is the scene after the Sandman gains his abilities and struggles to pick up the locket. The first fight with Sandman is pretty good too. Overall, Spidey 3 is a disappointing, bloated mess.

32. Fantastic Four (2005)

The Mediocre Four return! The first modern Fantastic Four movie is complicated by a lame plot where the heroes are trying to get rid of their powers rather than use them. Also, the mis-fired plot is not executed very well as the scenes feel like somewhat connected moments patched together into a finished project at times. Although, not all is bad here. While the scenes feel all over the place at times, some of them are pretty fun. I personally like the entire cast, particularly Chris Evans’ Human Torch and Michael Chiklis’ The Thing. 

31. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

This film is so forgettable and mediocre I almost forgot it existed. Not much else to say. Time to move on.

30. Iron Man 3 (2013)

All I really need to ask here, is why whose brilliant idea was it to turn the Mandarin into... whatever on earth he is in the finished product?! Late 2000′s M. Night Shyamalan? Seriously. It is kind of like when they were adapting the Harry Potter movies, if the director decided to turn Voldemort into a comic relief villain with Wormtail as the true villain of the franchise. Ugh. Besides that major error, I guess there is some fun action scenes in the film and Robert Downey Jr. is as good as always.

29. DareDevil (2003)

DareDevil is my favorite Marvel hero, so this film may be higher than a lot of other people put it. The casting of this film is pretty good as I think Ben Afleck’s Matt Murdock actually is pretty good. His DareDevil is decent in comparison.Jennifer Garner’s Elektra lacks some of the edge of the original character,but she’s not bad either. The problems here begin with execution. The scenes, like Fantastic Four, feel patched together and do not flow well at several points making the film feel a bit all over the place. It almost feels like an entire story line is missing. Hmm.....

Hey, These Are Decent Tier

28. X-Men Apocalypse (2016)

Instead of making Magneto looking like a dumbass, 2016′s X-Men film forces that label on Professor X. However, the film’s main problem is that the whole world takeover plot is really forgettable. Mixed in with all of the mediocrity are some good performances and memorable scenes. A couple of these include another ingenious Quicksilver rescue and when Magneto destroys Auschwitz. Otherwise, this X-Men film feels like eating Days of Future Past two week old leftovers.

27. Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2: Filler Man. Seriously, Iron Man 2 almost feels like an anime filler episode. At the end of the film, the characters and the plot do not advance at all from where they were at the beginning of the film in the Expanded Universe. Mickey Rourke’s meh Whiplash did not really help much. However, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and newly added Don Cheadle are all really good here. Additionally, Sam Rockwell gives a really fun performance as Justin Hammer, making him one of the better pseudo-villains of the MCU.

26. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

First off, The Amazing Spider-man is definitely not a bad film. Actually it is a pretty decent film. The film’s downfall is it feels like a complete retread of the 2002 film, and even the most talented cast cannot save that. I actually laughed last time I heard how hard Uncle Ben tried to rephrase, “With great power comes great responsibility.”. The Lizard is a decent villain, but he’s nowhere near as good as either villain from the first two Raimi films. Basically the TASM is a lower quality version of a movie that already exists. The lone big improvement I can think of is the love story and Garfield’s Spider-man.

25. Thor (2011)

Chris Hemsworth was the perfect cast as Thor, as was Tom Hiddleston as Loki. The scenes in Thor in which the two interacted were a blast to watch. However, everything else was just decent. There were some comical scenes, such as when Thor screams “Another!” and breaks the glass on the floor, but everything else in the real world did not really leave a lasting impact on me. Not a bad film, but not near Marvel’s best effort.

24. Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Some of you reading this are probably shaking your heads in disgust or absolute confusion. How on earth did this commercial and critical failure rank this high on my list? War Zone is probably one of the most entertaining films I have ever seen in the ridiculous, over-the-top action movie genre. Ray Stevenson is a good Punisher. More importantly, Dominic West’s Jigsaw along with Doug Hutchison’s Loony Bin Jim are so over the top and cartoony that they make Colin Farrell’s Bullseye look down to earth. Everything is so overly violent, completely stupid, and laughable in this film that it entertains every time I re-watch it. That is why War Zone ranks this high.

23. The Amazing Spider-man 2 (2014)

Similarly to the last entry, some may question the higher rank of TASM 2 and the fact it is higher ranked than its generally better received predecessor. TASM 2 definitely has a web of problems, but not all is bad. The chemistry of Garfield’s Peter Parker and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy is really, really believable and well done. While many others did not, I actually liked  Dane Dehaan’s Harry Osbourne due to his different approach to the character. Despite these positives, tone uneveness (Jamie Foxx’s Electro for instance) and a general lack of direction at times really brings TASM down from the better film it could have been. 

22. Doctor Strange (2016)

Doctor Strange is really uniquet. As one may expect of an actor of his caliber, Bennedict Cumberbatch is a really nice fit as the title character. Also, the soundtrack kicks some major ass. However, the villains of the film are really mediocre and some of the most forgettable in the MCU, which is saying a lot. A good film, but just midpack in a solid library.

21. Blade (1998)

The first of the modern Marvel films still holds up pretty well today. Well, for the most part. As I have stated before in another list, Blade’s opening scene is one of my personable favorites to any film. It is scary, gross, and sets the perfect tone for the rest of the film. Wesley Snipes was a perfect casting choice as Blade, and the rest of the casting was pretty solid as well. However, a mediocre ending, some laughably bad dialogue, and some silly concepts (vampires wearing sunscreen?!) hold Blade back form being as good as its sequel. 

We’re Starting to Get  Pretty Good Films Tier

20. The Punisher (2004)

I feel as if Thomas Jane’s Punisher movie is one of the more underrated gems in Marvel’s cinematic history. Jane had a really nice performance as the title hero as he captures both the vengeful vigilante and tragic hero complex of the comic book character. Many of the action scenes are tight, and the film contains several memorable scenes. (The ripping out piercings scene, for one) However, I feel like the film is almost holding back and playing it safe at points. Solid film, but definitely could have been one step greater.

19. The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Age of Ultron is a film that almost lands with a thud, sort of like the city that fell from the sky. The Avengers sequel is a good film, but feels underwhelming. The great James Spader is never given enough to do as Ultron, the plot is almost too over the top, and it feels underwhelming compared to Cap 2, which came out a year prior. However, the cast chemistry makes the film fun to watch as you can see they are having a great time making it. All of the action scenes are well done as well. Also, giving Hawkeye a personality was nice touch. 

18. Blade 2 (2002)

Blade’s second adventure on the big screen took the impressive fight scenes from the first film and gave it a better story to go along with it. Adding Guilermo Del Toro to the mix helped out the cause too. While the film is far from perfect due to some questionable plot twists, Blade 2 is an enjoyable in a unique way.

17. The Wolverine (2013)

The Wolverine’s story is pretty forgettable, but wow does it have some of the best action set pieces of the X-Men franchise. The setting is super cool, maybe it is because of my Japanese culture bias, but I love the atmosphere and locations in this one. Not much else to say. An entertaining watch even if other X-Men films are better than it. It is a Hell of a lot better than Origins at least. *shudders*

16. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Wow, 2008 was a fantastic year for superhero movies. DC released The Dark Knight and Marvel had Iron Man. The Incredible Hulk got lost in the mix a bit, but the reboot of Bruce Banner’s rage monster was another thoroughly entertaining superhero film. The movie gets a little generic near the end with its giant monster CGI fight, but 2008′s Hulk is a pretty nice picture. This Hulk ALMOST makes me forget about Ang Lee’s atrocity.

15.  X2: X-Men United (2003)

To many fans of the superhero genre, X2′s placement on this list may seem pretty low. Honestly, I have always felt that X2 was a bit overrated. However, that does not mean that X2 is not a great film. The story-telling is mostly tight, the characters’ motivations are realistic for the most part, and it utilizes flashbacks well. (a rare occasion) One of my grievances from the first film still remains in the sequel: Cyclops does absolutely nothing. Oh well, he gets killed in five minutes in the X3 anyway.

Exceptional Film-making Tier

14. DareDevil: Director’s Cut (2004)

Okay, now this could be borderline cheating. However, the director’s cut version of DareDevil is so much better than the theatrical cut that I had to put it on this list. The box for the Director’s Cut says the version adds a “Devilish new subplot”. I think it should just say it adds a plotline that connects everything and makes the film make a lot more sense. Matt doesn’t stay on the rooftop with Elektra, The Kingpin murders an employee of his to show how scary he can be, and the court plot receives nice depth. Coolio is actually pretty good in his role in this cut as well. This version still does not fix the asinine decision of not killing The Kingpin or erase the odd playground fight scene, but give this one a watch if you have not seen it.

13. X-Men: First Class (2011)

First Class stopped the bleeding from the last two awful X-Men films. Most importantly, it brought us Michael Fassbender’s fantastic version of Magneto. (James McAvoy’s solid Prof. X as well) The scene where Magneto forces the coin through his mother’s killer’s head is one of the best in the X-Men franchise, at least in my opinion. While First Class is a solid film, it still feels like a prologue for something to come. Also, it was “outclassed” by its sequel...

12. Ant-man (2015)

This high of a position may surprise people for Ant-man, but Ant-man is just too fun not to enjoy. Paul Rudd was a perfect cast for the title hero possessing the necessary humor and right amount of emotion to carry the role. The rest of the supporting cast of heroes is also really well cast anchored by a sterling performance by Michael Douglas. However, much like many other MCU films, the villain is just pretty meh. Just an evil bald guy with a similar suit to Ant-man.... sound similar to Iron Man at all?

11. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

If one stops and thinks about it, Cap: The First Avengers plot is pretty average and extremely safe plotwise, but the Captain’s likability factor is so high that it carries the movie’s plot through a lot of its,,, shortfalls in originality. The First Avenger takes an old-fashioned film and gives it the perfect pinch of new age style to make it about a perfect blend. Evans’ Steve Rodgers and Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter also have top tier on screen chemistry, which makes the main couple of characters even more likable.

10. X-Men (2000)

With help from 2002′s Spider-man, X-Men was the major catalyst that kicked off the modern superhero era of film. Guess what? X-Men stands up pretty well today. There is good action, fun characterization, and a couple decent twists. Guess what else though? Cyclops does not do anything here either besides be an asshole to Logan. The directors really neglected his character for some reason.

CLASSSICS Tier

9. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

After First Class dragged the X-Men films out of the pits of Hell, Days of Future Past took the franchise even deeper into its past’s glory. Get it? Past? Anyways, much of the stellar cast from the prior film return along with the best members of the original trilogy films.The end result is a film that combined the best of both time periods. Oh, and Quicksilver’s few minutes of screen time were amazing. Not much to knock here.

8. The Avengers (2012)

Thought this would be number one didn’t you? Well, some annoying plot holes and hype caused it to fall a little bit here. Those problems withstanding, The Avengers is terrific film that most comic book enthusiasts hoped for since childhood. All of the heroes finally group up and take on one of the worst baddies of all. In this case, it was Loki, by far the MCU’s best villain. Containing excellent scenes, such as the Hulk tossing Loki around in the room , and clever dialogue, The Avengers is just a pure fun film.

7. Spider-man (2002)

For a long time, this was my favorite film. Period. Nowadays, I still really love the film that kicked off my love for Marvel superheroes. Sam Raimi seems like an odd fit based on his past work looking back now, but it ended up being a solid match. To this day, Spidey is one of the better superhero origins story due to its mix of heart, humor, and fun. The Green Goblin is still one of the better Marvel movie villains. (even though I still do not understand why exactly Gobby hates Spidey so much after the halfway point of the film after accomplishing his original goal...). Even without the webshooters, Spider-man is a top tier Marvel film to this day.

 6. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

After massive lead up and hype of one Marvel’s most famous story lines, Civil War delivered on most fronts. The main flaw was the plot relies on conveniences. While the villain’s plan is cool and different, it would NEVER have worked in retrospect. Besides over-critiquing, Civil War was pretty much all I wanted it to be: a battle royale between two balanced teams. (although Iron Man definitely had a strength advantage...) The airport scene, the Black Panther street chase, and the final fight are all some of the best in the MCU. Good job not letting us down here Marvel.

5. Guardians of Galaxy (2014)

The men and women behind the scenes at the MCU are geniuses. They took an almost unknown property and made it into a cultural phenomenon. GoG was a huge sleeper hit for Marvel and myself, admittedly. I did not really think much of it during the trailer phase, but after seeing the finished product, I was beyond pleased. Guardians of the Galaxy is high octane from beginning to end and is a blast to watch. I am eagerly awaiting to see the continuing adventures of Star Lord and crew this next week.

4. Deadpool (2016)

I dreaded a Deadpool movie being made. I read and read the comics during my high school years and fell in love with the character. After seeing the Ryan Reynold Origins version of the character, I was furious. Why would you sew his mouth shut?! Anyways, I was luckily wrong in my doomsday theories for a Deadpool film. In fact, it is exactly the type of Deadpool film I wanted. It had hilarious jokes and scenes, fourth wall-breaking, ultra-violence, and Ryan Reynolds’ absolutely nailed the character. Not much more I can say that has not been said.  

3. Iron Man (2008)

I feel sorry for this film. It was completely overshadowed by The Dark Knight that came out a month later. What a lot of people forgot was that Iron Man was a fantastic film that broke the chain of mediocrity from Marvel the past few years before. Robert Downey Jr. revived his career even further by playing a character he was born to play. However, I believe the best part of the film was the way it combined realism of the current conflicts in the Middle East to the fantastical technology of Tony Stark. Obadiah Stone was a decent villain, even if he is sort of forgettable now because most MCU villains have been clones of his. Despite that, Iron Man is stellar.

2. Spider-man 2 (2004)

For a long time, up until The Dark Knight’s release to be more specific, Spider-man 2 was the best superhero film of all time. (in my opinion at least) However, one surpassed it in Marvel land a few years back. Spider-man 2 has all you want in a Spider-man movie. A terrific anti-villain, a well-written inner main character conflict where he has to choose between two paths, and a plot that makes sense almost the entire way through. The train scene and the reveal of the lair behind the mirror are still two of my favorite Marvel scenes to this date. Once again, not much more I can say. This movie still rocks.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

A surprising choice to some people I bet to some people, The Winter Soldier is an almost perfect superhero film. Cap’s sequel is a fantastic film in about three genres I can think of, including spy thriller. Kind of reminds of a 60′s Bond film with A LOT better special effects. The plot of the film is modern and well thought up and avoids the common problem of being trendy with current event plot ideas. That is a bigger feat than most films of the kind can say. Besides the modern, appropriate and politically astute plot, the best parts of this film are the fight scenes. In the first Cap, he didn’t get to show off his fighting skills very much. But here, he kicks some major ass. Oh, and Black Widow does too, in what I believe to be her best movie as well. Add in Falcon for a flatout kickass trio. Overall, Cap 2 is fantastic from beginning to end and never lets up. Way to to go Marvel.

[youmeandwinona-blog]

We apologize for the delay in posting; it has been a busy (in a good way) last couple of days.

Jess has just notified me that she does not apologize.

On Wednesday, February 22, we spent the day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure using our full day two-park pass. For those of you who are not familiar, these are essentially two separate parks. Universal Studios is known for its classic movies and shows like the Simpsons, Shrek, and Revenge of the Mummy, while Islands of Adventure has more of the epic sagas like the Marvel storylines, Jurassic Park and King Kong. Both of them have children’s sections but overall, Islands of Adventure is more teen-friendly while Universal is more family-friendly. 

Recently, Harry Potter world was introduced and eventually placed in both parks. They are connected by the Hogwarts Express in order to get people to pay for both parks! ;)

Anyways, it called for rain for most of the day so we figured that there would be less people. I am also quite scared of roller coasters but Jess and I spent the previous evening preparing me with Youtube videos of the rides and a route that started with light attractions that got more and more intense.

The main three big rides we were building up to were:

3. Rip Ride Rockit (Universal) - big drop, lots of twists

2. Dragon Challenge (Harry Potter, Islands of Adventure) - two rollercoasters side by side, very twisty and upside down most of the time

1. Hulk (Marvel, Islands of Adventure) - very powerful, fast, many loops

9:00 AM

We got there early to avoid any line-ups; although, as we expected, there were none. Our game plan was to start in the Islands of Adventure section of Harry Potter World when it was less busy, take the express to Universal, where the rides are less intense, and then train back over to Islands of Adventure and do the two big rides (amongst other things, of course). 

Walking into Harry Potter world was unbelievable; the castle was so well done and all of the rooftops were covered in snow with Ollivanders, Honeydukes, and other adorable little stores amongst the rides.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

Jess remembered that this ride had a really long line in the past so by speed-walking across Islands of Adventure, we weren’t in line for more than 10 minutes. The storyline behind this 4D was that Harry, Ron, Hermione and the gang urged us to skip class to see a Quidditch match. But, things went awry went they realized that the dragon was on the loose. During the ride, we were strapped in and experienced flying around Hogwarts, the Quidditch field, and running away from the dragon.

Hogwarts Express

The train took us from Hogsmeade Station to Diagon Alley. In a way, this was its own little ride because it too had a story. In a train compartment with 4 other people, we witnessed the trip from Hogwarts to London’s dark alleys within King’s Cross station. The window was really a TV screen showing us the forest, Hagrid following us on his flying motor bike and the scenery leading up to the city. The doors to our booth were also TV screens; we could see the shadows of Harry, Ron and Hermione talking to the confectionary lady as the chocolate frogs they’d purchased also hopped along the sliding door to our compartment.

Exiting from King’s Cross into Universal Studios, we had to find the rest of Harry Potter world (because Diagon Alley is hidden from the muggles)! You can see how realistic (or magical) both renditions of Harry Potter World were from the pictures we posted earlier. 

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott’s

This was probably the longest line we waited in for the whole day - only 30 minutes! It’s a new ride so this is expected. Also 4D, this ride had a similar story only this time we were taking a tour of the vault, but the gang was breaking into the vault (like they did in the seventh movie). There was a dragon. Shocker. Plus, Voldemort also made his appearance. Jess was happy that I liked these rides so far. When we exited the ride, the rain had started.

So, we booked it to...

Revenge of the Mummy

Jess had loved this ride when she was a kid apparently, so I had a good feeling going in. I knew that this ride had a drop somewhere in it, but I didn’t know what to expect. This ride was completely in the dark and surprisingly short. It was very obviously based on the movie. There were a couple parts where we were going backwards, and there were a couple of drops, but I loved it in the end! (And, Jess did too of course.)

We went to check out the Rockit as our next ride, but it was closed due to the rain.

The Simpsons

This ride had a lot of TV’s showing old episodes the whole time, so our 25 minute wait was a breeze. The premise of this ride (which was stationary and mainly the 4D experience) was that we forget who was out to destroy the rollercoaster we had just boarded and Homer was trying to save us. But in the end, Maggie saved the day and we won’t tell you how. :) 

For some reason I ended up feeling quite nauseous after this one, most likely from all the jolts and the extreme drops in the movie we watched. But, it was lunch time so I had to power through.

12:00 PM

Krusty’s Burgers

To pass the rain, Jess plowed through her pizza and I had a grilled chicken sandwich plus the carrots we had brought. 

Shrek 4D

To seek more refuge from the cold weather, we decided to partake in this show. Shrek, Fiona and Donkey try to hide from the ghost of Lord Farquaad but they face a couple of challenges along the way. This ride featured some spurts of water representing Donkey and/or Shrek’s spit and a lot of moving around in our seats!

I had now built up the courage to skip the third most intense ride (which was the Rockit) and go onto the Dragon Challenge back in Islands of Adventure.

Dragon Challenge

After another ride on the express, I got quite nervous about this rollercoaster! The wait time was only 5 minutes which did not give me any time to freak out before the ride (which was probably a good thing). So, after a (unnecessarily long) stroll to the front of the line, we sat in the blue dragon. 

Side note: This ride has a cool design; it is basically two dragons that ‘battle’ with each other. Jess told me its even cooler when they set off the dragons at the same time because there is one point in the ride where we can see their feet flying when we are upside down! 

Back to the ride.

After being strapped in with no escape, I tried to act all confident to make Jess think I was fine and also because we were sitting in a row with two young teenagers and didn’t want to embarrass myself. But I was not fine. The click click click of the rollercoaster felt as if each following click was slower than the last. When we got to the top, we twisted off to the side right away, and dropped HUGE. The rest of it was just a series of screaming, constant change of scenery between sky and ground, and catching my breath. 

But it was so much fun. 

So we did it again. This time, on the red dragon. Jess was so soososoosos proud of me!

We decided against the third time in a row because we were feeling quite woozy, so we went out to get some butterbeers that we were eyeing before.

The guy working the butterbeer stand didn’t seem to be enjoying himself at all. Which doesn’t make sense because what he was selling was soOO good. It basically was a caramel, vanilla and root beer slushie that was smooth and frozen through-out; no extra ice at the end. Even though we were dripping wet from the rain and freezing from the wind, it was perfect. 

3:00 PM

Poseidon’s Fury

Next, we decided to slow things down by attending a show. Here, in a room full of other tourists, the host was an archeologist named Taylor who told us that the professor he worked with would be back shortly! He told us about the room we were in, and excavating, and how it was Poseidon’s chamber. I don’t recall the full story, but Taylor had gotten us into a pickle and also got us out by helping Poseidon fight his fiery counterpart - the evil Lord Darkenon - by finding his long lost trident. We walked through a spinning water tunnel to see the crazy finale where Poseidon and Darkenon fight with fire and water explosions! 

After this, we walked back around through Harry Potter world to access the rest of Islands of Adventures. Along the way, we picked up some treats from Honeydukes: a lollipop and some fudge! To get to our next ride, we passed by Jurassic Park to get to...

Skull Island: Reign of King Kong

There was basically no wait here either! The ride involved our sitting in a safari truck throughout the rainforest. Unfortunately, Jess and I were seated in the front seat right in front of a canvas. This was because the driver’s cabin was right in front of us. It was difficult to move our heads left and right to see all of the action! The 4D part of it was cool though; King Kong fought off a bunch of dangerous dinosaurs to save our lot of helpless humans!

We walked through Toon Island, where we decided against all the water rides because it was already freezing outside, and made it to the final Marvel section.

4:30 PM

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

This was my favourite ride! Here, you are journalists meant to take pictures of Spiderman’s victory in stopping Dr. Octopus and his accomplices from stealing the Statue of Liberty. The makers of the ride did a very good job of keeping Spiderman’s story true to the comics and less about the movie; it was also very interactive.  

The last big ride we were going to do, the Hulk, was also closed which was a bummer because I got really excited after my successful experience with the other rides.

That concludes the end of our trip to Universal + Islands of Adventure! We walked the way back to our car and then spent an hour in traffic.

6:15 PM

Once we got home, Jess napped, I made dinner and then I got her started on Are You The One. It is a really good-but-bad MTV reality TV show, as well as my guilty pleasure.

- Maria