#star wars visions volume 2 spoilers

[acewizardinspace]

The last two episodes of Star Wars Visions Volume 2 ("The Pit" and "Aau's Song") have some great parallels. I have no idea if this was on purpose or a coincidence, but it is very telling how differently the sith and the jedi handle the same issue.

In both episodes people were mining for kyber crystals, but in one the people were slaves in awful conditions who face oppressive acts of violence, and in another they are respected workers who are completely free and when in danger are protected from injury.

It is a comparison that is impossible to ignore when the episodes are right next to each other and forcibly reminds the viewer that yes, the sith are fucking evil and the jedi are nothing like them.

[groundrunner100]

A Brief Summary of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 For Those Who Haven’t Seen It Yet:

Saved you 2.5 hours of your life. Your welcome.

[aq2003]

sw visions s2 review! i overall enjoyed this season more than the first, the variety in animation mediums was amazing and a lot of these were just fucking stunning to look at. thoughts and ranking under the cut:

9. sith

i have beef with this one. i think this by default takes the spot as my overall least favorite star wars visions episode across both seasons just because of how it does the dumb "you can use both the light side AND the dark side :) dont worry about it" trope. the animation is cool in some places but (likely due to disney+ deep frying the video quality?) it felt weirdly hard to look at in others. i do love the painting aesthetic but it feels the least true to the star wars spirit. i think the duel from season 1 executed the "darksider vs former sith" idea much better

8. i am your mother

this one being so low on the ranking is just a testament to how much i enjoyed all of the other episodes. i think this short succeeded fully with what it set out to do, it's just a fun story about a mother-daughter pilot duo which is great! simple and enjoyable.

7. aau's song

this one was just really adorable. i loved the aesthetic and the animation, the characters felt so.. fuzzy. huggable. really nice breather to end off a volume of really good stories. loved the visuals for the crystals and the character design for the jedi in this episode especially

6. the pit

bruh i was so fucking sad when THAT happened . i get why they did it but it felt so unfairrrrr aaaaaaaaaaaaaa. i liked the animation and character designs and this one also has some really creative visuals for the settings. but i thought the resolution to the conflict felt a little too .. easy isnt the right word for it. but i think some of the writing falls a little short in an otherwise really good story.

5. the bandits of golak

and i KNOW the people that made this were fans of tcw/rebels. (was that sabine's phoenix symbol i saw on the side of the train????). loved the dynamic between charuk and rani, i get why they had to part ways but i got sad when they did nevertheless. the texturing on the models feels very reminiscent of tcw's style and it tickled my brain <3 except i think the character designs blow tcw out of the water <333

4. journey to the dark head

FUCKING SUE ME. i loved this one. studio mir put everything and i mean EVERYTHING into the animation on this one. toul and ara are great characters and i love how they played off of each other. bichan's character design went HARD AS HELL i literally don't care if some of the story didn't make sense to me because ouhghhhhh this was just a whole MEAL for my eyes . if that makes sense. studio mir i love you

3. 2. the spy dancer

i CANNOT in good faith put this at any spot below a 2 so i guess we'll have a tie here. the animation was absolutely fucking STUNNING and the fight scenes were also, like journey into the dark head, complete and utter bangers. loi'e is probably my favorite protagonist out of all the episodes this season, just the concept for her being a performer and also a spy for the rebels is [chefs kiss]. i also do love a good ironic twist and this one Has it <3

2. screecher's reach

perhaps this one is ranked so high because it was placed right after my disappointment from episode 1 and perhaps it's because it struck such a chord within me that i truly cannot explain. daal and her friends were so cute and the colors and backgrounds were truly beautiful to look at and god. the story on this one. fully fucked me up. crazy how a story this dark and upsetting made me feel better than episode 1 but it gave me Such a level of tragic catharsis. (is that the right word for it? it's unsatisfying but on purpose and i love it) this one probably isn't going to be as high on other people's rankings but i don't care. i love it. it's dear to me.

in the stars

this one just straight up made me cry. i don't why it hit me that hard but it definitely has to count for something. this one is also really fucking beautiful to look at like the rest of my top 4 but this one has an aesthetic that lends itself really really well to the storytelling. the scene of the painting telling their mother's backstory is just.. ugh my heart. i love koten and tichina so much it's unreal. the final scene where they stared down the walker mirroring the painting made me fucking lose my mind. perhaps i was not feeling very hopeful for their fates after what happened in episode 2 but i was so happy when it did end on a happy note. also them finally seeing their mom's star in the sky.. i just.. ugh. lay me into the ground!!!!!

[jonberry555]

The Animation and Music of In the Stars is Beautiful #starwars #starwarsvisions #short

[danwhobrowses]

Star Wars Visions: Volume 2 - Review

I am one with the 4th and the 4th is with me, and it's time for Star Wars to return into the experimental animation department for Visions' second season.

I had high opinions of the first season, so the second had a high standard to live up to. But this is what I thought about it

Spoilers for Visions: Volume 2. Watch it first if you don't want to be told major plot points and what my opinion on it is

And again I was left impressed and satisfied. Very glad to see Visions hit a home run once again because there is a lot of meat to bite into of a similar and different variety to the previous season.

As we have for the review of last season we'll start with the negatives to get them out of the way.

What Wasn't Great

No existing story is picked up A small gripe would be that after the great episodes of the first season it was an overall shame that none got a continuation, despite their potential for greater mileage. It's not entirely a bad thing, but it's a shame nonetheless.

The runtime still lacks Before we were looking at 20 minute episodes, but it seems volume 2 has ran down to episodes as short as 10-15 minutes. Which for a fan never feels long enough. While nobody's asking for padding, some episodes could've benefited from a bit more time to flesh out their action or emotional scenes.

Dumb Hopeful Child is Dumb (Twice) Once is passable but twice is worth noting, but the 'In the Stars' and 'Bandits of Golak' storyline both seemed to use the same idea of a force sensitive child's ignorance to how much the empire would hammer down on them, leading to the older sibling to step in. Rani and Tichina may have endearing qualities, but given what the episode tells about their past bereavement at the hands of the empire you'd think them to be at least a little more apprehensive towards using the Force in front of the Empire.

'This Path is only meant for you' (Thrice!) While one side is Jedi x2 and another Sith, there's also a similarity in conclusion in 'Screecher's Reach', 'Aau's Song' and again 'Bandits of Golak' with the young force sensitive having to leave their companions in order to complete training with their master - who in the former and latter is adamant to only take the one child - in search of a better life. In comparison, Daal's tragic story which sees her forced to kill to fall into the dark was more compelling than Rani's previously mentioned naivete stumbling into it, but Aau's tale achieves the opposite side of being hopeful as a counter to Daal's which I'll get more into. But again since Visions is meant to be fresh stories from appraised animation studios, it's a shame that you see duplication: it wouldn't have been too difficult really to tell each other what your story is so there's no overlap.

The Pit's main conflict is easily fixable While 'The Pit' acts well as a well-animated story with a dark turn midway, the whole problem of them being stuck in a hole they have dug felt like it could have been resolved a numeral amount of ways other than 'one will climb out into the imperial controlled city to tell people how the imperial has built this city on prison labor' or just 'chanting in unison so they can hear', I mean they could just build steps out of the bedrock, or just climb out the way Crux did. I also think that the story didn't want to go super dark with the troopers opening fire on the civilians, even though they were okay abandoning people in a pit to die. I dunno it felt rather unambitious at times, taking stories of other media (The Dark Knight Rises) and putting it into Star Wars.

What Was Great

An immediate feast for the eyes Immediately from the episode 'Sith', we are presented with a fresh and stylish level of animation; from the sketchbook-esque world, the flat brush strokes to the classic claymation, everyone's unique take on how the Star Wars world looks offers a new and intriguing perspective. The action is dynamic and fluid too, not to mention the character design for most are unique and themed to their environment.

Aardman understood the assignment At face value 'I Am Your Mother' felt like it'd be little more than a silly story. But its unique charm, blatant references, typical anime antagonist behaviour and its relatable storyline managed to pull off a lighthearted but fun ride.

Journey to the Dark Head! My favourite for this volume has to be the fifth episode, Studio Mir's 'Journey to the Dark Head', I mean fuck yes! A story of multiple plot threads, character development, and stakes, paired with japanese-esque settings, anime visuals and an unnerving villain, not to mention the core theme of balance rather than just light and dark. It's much of what I expect from this series and much like my last favourite 'The Ninth Jedi' it leaves me desiring more.

But also, The Spy Dancer! Second only to this would be the mesmerising Spy Dancer by Studio La Cachette that came right after it. What could've simply been an episode of manipulation underlined by a stunning performance immediately got turned on its head when the imperial ended up being Loi'e's kidnapped and indoctrinated son! Providing a new layer of complexity to the entire second half. A story which could've ended in brutal tragedy was instead given a merciful and hopeful open end. I can't exactly tell you the reasons why it doesn't beat Journey to the Dark Head, it could even be because I saw it first, but these are two stories that go higher and harder than the others in the volume in the similar bar as Ninth Jedi, Village Bride, Lop & Ocho and The Ronin.

Slight Familiarity Although it is unique content, you can see many influences in the episodes from other Star Wars Legends; a Malak-like sith, Gennedy's Clone Wars aesthetic, even an actual Wedge Antilles appearance, the familiarity does usher an easier immersion into the story.

It didn't end on a bummer like last time One of my biggest critiques of season 1 was that the season ended on a sore and bitter note with 'Akakiri', but this season seemed to remedy that with the ethereal-like story of Triggerfish's 'Aau's Song'. Immediately drawn in on premise, Aau achieves where Rani and Tichina struggled in being curious but aware, and also using her powers when necessary rather than forcing another to step in. While Aau also leaves her companions behind, her choice appears a lot more soft than Daal and Rani's 'leave or continue to suffer in this poor existence', and her departure feels more hopeful than bittersweet.

Definitely more stories to expand upon While we didn't pick up anything from Season 1 (yet), Season 2 has offered even more great story paths to look into; I do feel like each episode provided enough to be explored further and most would be captivating enough to be commissioned into full series if given the chance.

Conclusion

It was another good showing from Visions to show the newer and creative avenues the Star Wars universe can take under the helm of various animation styles and creative minds. With episodes tailored to different audiences too, there is a widespread appeal. If I were to rank them from best to worst in my opinion it would be:

Journey to the Dark Head, The Spy Dancer, The Sith, I Am Your Mother, Aau's Song, In the Stars, Screecher's Reach, The Pit, The Bandits of Golak

I'd say Bandits is probably the one I liked the least because In the Stars and Screecher's Reach/Aau's Song had the same plot elements done better, in spite of its unique arabic culture aesthetic and inquisitor villain. The Pit's lack of ambition also harmed it, but the rest were all very strong stories. It's actually a very good sign how much I had to toil between where to rank the third to fifth spots, with Aau's Song and I Am Your Mother surprising me on their quality, Screecher's Reach is great too with its tragedy but I do like positive stories over 'trauma be upon thee'. But yeah I think I'll gush a long time over Dark Head and Spy Dancer, that's some premium gourmet star wars there.

Bring on a Volume 3.

[themovieblogonline]

Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 Shows Limitless Possibilities For The Franchise

Star Wars has always been a cornerstone for science fiction, or just storytelling in general, all over the world. It’s a franchise that has captured the imaginations of generations starting with its debut in 1977. While the franchise has seen a lot of ups and downs since then, the Visions anthology series is one of its most innovative ideas ever. I would even go as far as to say it’s the best thing that’s happened to Star Wars, since the original Trilogy. I’ll expand more during my Star Wars: Visions volume 2 review. Please note, that while this Star Wars: Visions volume 2 review will be relatively spoiler-free, I’ll be discussing the synopsis and story elements of some of the episodes. Star Wars: Visions Opens The Door To International Creators When Star Wars: Visions was originally announced, it felt like an auxiliary exercise in expanding the franchise. Just an innocuous way to add to the franchise’s repertoire. It didn’t feel as significant as the Obi-Wan Kenobi prequel series, The Mandalorian, or other entries of the franchise. However, since its release, it’s become one of the best things in Star Wars today. The idea behind Visions was to open up the Star Wars universe to creators from different viewpoints and storytelling styles. Animators and storytellers from Asia, getting to tell one-off stories set in their culture, in their style of animation. And while the stories themselves weren’t canon, or had any long-lasting impact on the larger franchise, they easily could! The compelling characters, plots and visuals were breathtaking. Not to mention how each story was particular to a specific culture and society. And I’m very happy to say in this Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 review, that the new season continues that trend, in more amazing ways. Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 Review Is Spoiler-Free Volume 2 of Star Wars: Visions opens with an episode that is sure to make audiences sit up and take notice. Titled, Sith, the short comes from the Spanish animation studio, El Guiri. The same studio also worked with Pixar on movies like Incredibles, Ratatouille and many more. Sith is a masterful short story with visuals that will blow your mind. The entire animation seems feels like a moving painting. The character designs, the scenery and the entire short looks hand painted, with visible brush strokes. It’s visually gorgeous with a story to match! The next episode is a more tragic look at something Star Wars has gotten good at over the years: showcasing sympathetic stories from both sides of The Force. Screacher’s Reach is a seemingly abstract story about a group of kids going on an adventure. But one that quickly turns tragic and leaves a lot to unpack by the end. The episode titled In The Stars comes from Chilean animation studio Punkrobot and is a gorgeous stop-motion story that deals with colonization. And how the Empire’s rule affected the indigenous people on the planets they colonized for their natural resources. It’s a great parallel to the same thing happening in our own history but told from a very specific lens of two sisters trying to survive in an Empire-controlled world. Visions Opens Up The Star Wars Universe Like Never Before The most important part of this Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 review is just how important this anthology series really is. These stories aren’t just one-off tales that you can watch and forget. They are a testament to the creativity and limitless possibilities of Star Wars. Stories are only possible when other creators from other cultures get an opportunity to tell their stories in a world that inspired them to become storytellers. The Bandits Of Golak episode, for example, comes from Indian Studio 88 animation house, and it left this reviewer devastated in tears. To see a Star Wars story set in an Indian world, with Indian characters voiced by Indian artists, is something I never knew was missing, much less that I needed. But as a South Asian person, to see these two formative aspects of my life, Star Wars and my culture, come together, is emotional in a way I cannot explain. And I’m sure this goes for the stories of all these other cultures, represented for the first time ever through Star Wars: Visions. Such as French animation Studio La Chachette’s short, The Spy Dancer, which feels like a direct parallel to World War II stories. Stories about entertainers and artists living under the rule of a tyrant, doing all they can to help the rebellion, and sacrificing their own lives in service of it. It’s a visually gripping tale that also has an incredibly heavy-hearted emotional story at its core. Exciting New Futures For Star Wars While Star Wars on the smaller screen is doing brand new innovative things, the feature films are another story altogether. However, if Lucasfilm really wants to break the pattern of their previous film trilogies, and provide audiences with something new, fresh and wholly original, they need to look at the creators of Visions. The stories being told in Visions Volume 2 are so brilliant and engrossing, that I wish the movies could replicate these same feelings. Hopefully, this Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 review will encourage others to check out this anthology series and the success of it might get these creators additional opportunities to play in this universe. Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 is now streaming on Disney+. Let me know which episode of Star Wars: Visions season 2 was your favourite. Either in the comments below or on Twitter at @theshahshahid. Read the full article

[nimata-beroya]

For English speakers - the translation is below (and posted on the right blog)

MY THOUGHTS ON VISIONS - Volume 2

I just finished watching all the shorts from the second season of Visions and I loved them!! The reviews I had heard about this season were true. This one is better than the first. Honestly, I don't know what my favorite short is. They are all so, soooo good.

I hide spoilers below the cut

One of my favorites is "Sith" because I was able to notice that the magical realism that often is present in Latin American stories, and also because of how it deals with the duality of the Force, which at the same time is the same duality that we all have. The goal is to recognize that and be vigilant of the dark side. I love the half jedi, half sith lightsaber.

"I am your mother" is sooooo but sooooooo cute and beautiful. I liked the message it has and the animation is so adorable!! (Is it me or does Dorota Van Reeple have Ahrynda Pryce vibes? I don't know if it's because she has a similar haircut or what, not to mention similar personalities, but I couldn't help thinking that if Pryce had had kids, I would have been just like Dorota 🤣)

The end of "Screecher's reach" is heartbreaking when you realize what's really going on. He resembles Akakiri from the previous season in that regard. You're all hopeful and then zap! 😞 Oh no! It's the complete opposite of the ending you predicted.

I loved the animation of “In the Stars”. And I loved the sisters, surviving together. I could also tell that it is made by Latinos. I know my people.

I was surprised how good "The Journey to the Dark Head" is. I like it a lot. It's hard to say which is my favorite short, but this is among them. It's very, very good. Especially the fight between the padawan and the sith.

I loved the story of "The spy dancer". When Loi'e noticed the imperial official and had the flashback, the first thing I thought was how the old man had lasted so long? because he was already old when he took her baby…. Then I said… Aah ! It makes sense now 😆 I also liked that it is open-ended. What happened after? There are several options to that question, depending on how you want it.

One of the aspects of "The Bandits of Golak" that I like the most is how they incorporated one of their folk myths into the plot. And the animation is beautiful, with so many colors, I don't know how to explain it, but I love the aesthetics of this short. And the fight between the jedi and the inquisitor was also very good.

"The pit" showed once again why the empire is so deplorable. When the prisoners finished digging and the troopers removed their handcuffs, my first thought was that it was too good to be true that they were being released. And guess what? I was right. And the way they killed the one who climbed out of the pit 😖 Seriously, a shot to the head would've been enough.

And finally, "Aau's song" was a nice way to end the season. The animation and the story very charming and sweet. Interesting the concept that someone force-sensitive can connect with kyber crystals with their voice, and not only that, but also have the power to purify them, and on a planetary scale too!!

In conclusion, I liked this season much more than the first, in both things: animation and plot of each short. And for the first time, I was able to see 2 of the shorts in the original language. I am happy that Latin America was well represented on this occasion.

Will there be a volume 3? I hope so, because I love seeing the perspective of people around the world on Star Wars.

MIS PENSAMIENTOS SOBRE VISIONS - Volume 2

Acabo de terminar de ver todos los cortos de la segunda temporada de Visions y me encantaron!! Las reseñas que había oído sobre ésta temporada eran ciertas. Ésta es mejor que la primera. Honestamente, no se cual es mi corto favorito. Todos son tan pero taaaaaaaaaan buenos.

Escondo los spoilers debajo del corte

Uno de mis favoritos es "Sith" porque pude notar que el realismo mágico que ha seguido se ve en las historias latinoamericanas está presente, y también por como trata la dualidad de la Fuerza, que a la vez es la misma dualidad que todos tenemos. El objetivo es reconocer eso y estar vigilante del lado oscuro. Me encanta el medio jedi, medio sith lightsaber.

"I'm your mother" es taaaaaaaaaan pero taaaaaaaaaaaaan tan cuchi y hermoso. ¡Me gusto el mensaje que tiene y la animación es tan linda!! (¿Soy yo o Dorota Van Reeple tiene las mismas vibras de Ahrynda Pryce? No sé si es porque tiene un corte de pelo parecido o que, sin hablar de personalidades similares, pero no podía dejar de pensar en que si Pryce hubiera tenido hijos, hubiera sido igualita a Dorota 🤣)

El final de "Screecher's reach" es desgarrador cuando te das cuenta lo que realmente está pasando. Se parece a Akakiri de la temporada anterior en ese sentido. Estás todo esperanzado y después ¡Zaz! 😞 Oh no! Es todo lo contrario del final que predijiste.

Me encantó la animación de “En las estrellas”. Y amé a las hermanas, sobreviviendo juntas. También podía notar que está hecho por Latinoamericanos. Conozco a mi gente.

Me sorprendió que bueno es "The Journey to the Dark head". Me gusta mucho. Es difícil decir cual es mi favorito, pero este está entre ellos. Muy muy bueno. Especialmente la pelea entre el padawan y el sith.

Me encantó la historia de "The spy dancer". Cuando Loi'e notó al oficial imperial y tuvo la memoria de años antes, lo primero que pensé fue que como el viejo había durado vivo tanto tiempo, porque ya era anciano cuando le quitó el bebé.... Después dije... Aah! Ahora tiene sentido 😆 También me gustó que tiene un final abierto. ¿Qué pasó después? Hay varias opciones a esa pregunta, dependiendo de como tú quieras.

Uno de los aspectos de "The Bandits of Golak" que me gusta más es como incorporaron uno de sus mitos folklóricos en la trama. Y la animación es hermosa, con tanto colores, no sé como explicarlo, pero me encanta la estética de este corto. Y la pelea entre la jedi y el inquisidor fue también es muy buena.

"The pit" mostró una vez más porque el imperio es tan deplorable. Cuando los prisioneros terminaron de excavar y los troopers le quitaron las esposas, lo primero que pensé fue que era demasiado bueno para ser verdad que los estaban liberando. ¿Y adivinen qué? Yo tenía razón. Y la forma en que mataron al que escaló el pozo 😖 En serio, un tiro en la cabeza hubiera sido suficiente.

Y por último, "Aau's song" fue una forma bonita de acabar la temporada. La animación y la historia muy bonita y dulce. Interesante el concepto de que alguien sensible a la Fuerza pueda conectarse con cristales kyber con su voz, y no solo eso, sino también tener el poder de purificarlos, y ¡a escala planetaria además!!

En conclusión, me gusto esta temporada mucho más que la primera, en ambas cosas: animación y trama de cada corto. Y por primera vez, pude ver 2 de los cortos en idioma original. Estoy feliz que Latinoamérica estuvo bien representada en esta ocasión.

Habrá un volumen 3? Espero que si, porque me encanta ver la perspectiva de personas alrededor del mundo sobre las Guerras de las Galaxias.

[brentwatchesmovies]

Brent’s Top 10 Movies of 2019

Scorsese is probably my favorite living filmmaker, but I’ll be honest, when I heard that Scorsese was making this movie, and *how* he was making it (heavily digital de-aged actors) I was a bit skeptical. De Niro and Pacino haven’t been turning in interesting performances in quite awhile, and Pesci came out of a decades-long retirement for the movie as well. On top of that, the first trailer released did little for me. All that to say I was an idiot to doubt the master.

Scorsese returns to the crime genre that he re-invented many times over the years, this time with the eyes of a man in his 70’s, looking back on his life and career. The movie is very long, but in my opinion, it needs the length. The viewer needs to *feel* the totality of a life, and as is his intent with The Irishman, the *consequences* of this specific life. The final hour or so of this movie feels like a culmination of Scorsese’s career in many ways. The energy and entertainment of a crime/mob epic, with the fatalism and philosophical leanings of a movie like ‘Silence’. It’s a 3.5 hour movie that I’ve already rewatched, and actively want to again, so that alone ought to speak volumes.

Harmony Korine made one of my favorite movies of the 2010’s, the neon-soaked and often misunderstood ‘Spring Breakers’, so I was already in the bag for whatever he did next. When I heard it was a freewheeling stoner comedy where Matthew Mcconaughey plays a guy named ‘Moondog’ costarring Snoop Dogg, I reserved its location on my top 10 list.

This movie doesn’t have the empty heart at its core that defines Spring Breakers, opting instead for a character study about a ‘Florida man’ poet after his life pretty much falls apart. It’s basically plotless, stumbling from one insane, borderline hallucinatory sequence to the next, but I just loved living in the world of this movie. Beach Bum almost feels like a deliriously fun VR simulation of hanging out with Matt McConaughey and his weirdo friends down in the Florida keys. This is one that probably won’t pop up on many top 10 lists but I really adore, and will surely rewatch it a dozen times in the years to come.

Let the record show, I’ve been a huge fan of Bong Joon-ho since I first saw his monster movie/family drama ‘The Host’. Some time later, he went on to make ‘Snowpiercer’, one of my favorite movies of the last decade. All that to say, I think Parasite is probably his best movie, and a true masterwork of thriller direction. It also has his usual brand of social commentary and a script filled with darkness and humor, following a South Korean tendency to juggle multiple tones throughout, sometimes all in one moment or scene.

Parasite also follows a big 2019 trend of commenting on class and social dynamics between the rich and the poor. I think that’s part of why it’s done incredibly well at the box office (especially for a Korean language film), the fact that people can relate in a huge way, regardless of which country your from. Parasite is one of the most entertaining movie viewing experiences I’ve had this year and I’d recommend everyone check it out.

If you were to ask me what the funnest movie-going experience I had in 2019 was, I’d have to pick Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’. Hot off making one of the best Star Wars movies ever made (don’t @ me) Johnson decided to make a passion project in the vein of classic Agatha Christie style murder mysteries, and the results are a total blast. Filled with clever twists and turns, weaponizing the structure of murder-mysteries against the audiences expectations, it stays one step ahead of you the entire time.

Aside from the clever mystery of it all, it’s the actors performances and chemistry that really sell this thing. Jamie Lee Curtis and Toni Collette are expectedly great per usual, and Daniel Craig is having the time of his life as Mississippi private-eye Benoit Blanc, but the heart of the movie is relative newcomer Ana de Armas. She brings an emotional weight and anchor to the movie that always keeps you emotionally invested amidst the terrible, money hungry backstabbing by the other heightened characters. I hope everyone sees this movie and Johnson is able to give us another Benoit Blanc adventure somewhere down the line, I’ll be there opening day.

Nobody makes an upbeat, feel-good movie like Ari Aster does! After last years light and breezy ‘Hereditary’ (which I liked a lot but didn’t totally love) he’s back with a completely riveting and emotionally draining (not to mention horrific) masterpiece. What I connected to most in Midsommar is the journey of Dani, played incredibly by Florence Pugh. The way the film portrays the relationship between her and her dog shit boyfriend played by the (usually) charming Jack Reynor keeps you invested in every twist, perfectly paced out over the movies admittedly long runtime.

I won’t get into spoiler territory, but where this movie goes in the end is what makes this a fully 5-star movie for me. After putting you through hell, like Aster loves to do with bells on, Midsommar ends in a euphoric, psychedelic orgy of music and violence that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Midsommar rules so hard and I can’t wait for whatever twisted thing Aster cooks up next.

One of my increasingly favorite brands of movies is a finely crafted, primo slice of dad-movie cinema, and James Mangold has made one with Ford v Ferrari. The story chronicles the partnership of ex-racer and designer Carroll Shelby and racer Ken Miles as they work to make a Ford that can compete in the 24 hour race of Le Mans. Bale and Damon are a blast to watch bounce off each other and the race sequences are pretty damn thrilling, combining (what I expect is) a solid amount of great VFX with practical racing to great effect.

I also didn’t expect it to have as much to say about the struggle to create something special by passionate people and not committees while also inside the very machine that churns out products on an assembly line. Just a random note, this original movie was just put out by 20th Century Fox, now owned by Disney but that’s completely unrelated and I’m not sure why I’d even bring that up??? Anyway, I love this movie and dads, moms and everybody else should check it out.

If you saw my list last year, then it must appear like I’m some diehard Mr. Rogers fan. I don’t really have many memories watching his show as a child, but what the documentary ‘Won’t You be my Neighbor’ and this film by Marielle Heller have in common is a shared fascination of his immense empathy and character. It’s only right that America’s dad Tom Hanks should play him, and I was surprised at the end that I was able to get over his stardom and accept him as Rogers. He’s not doing a direct impersonation, and I think it’s all the better for it, instead opting for matching his soft tone and laid back movements.

On a pure emotional level, this movie was a freight train. It didn’t help that the movie covers a lot of father stuff, from losing your own to becoming one yourself (2 big boxes on the Brent bingo card). Heller’s direction is clever in its weaponizing of meta/post-modern techniques, such as one incredible fourth wall break in a diner scene. It literally breaks down the barrier between Mr. Rogers, we the audience, and the films intent to make us feel something.

I cry a lot at movies, that much is well known, but it’s rare that a movie makes me weep, and this one did. Even thinking about scenes right now, days later, my eyes are welling up with tears thinking about the messages of the movie. Mr. Rogers and his lessons of empathy and emotional understanding have rarely been as vital and important as they are right now in our world.

Robert Eggers first film ‘The Witch’ from 2015 is one of my favorite movies of this decade, possibly of all time, so my hype for his black and white, period piece two-hander ‘The Lighthouse’ was through the roof. Even with sky-high expectations, it still blew me away. With dialogue reminiscent of The Witch in its specific authenticity to its era, to the two lead actors giving all-time great performances, It was one of the most entertaining film viewing experiences I had this year.

There’s something about both of Egger’s movies that I really keyed into watching this one: his fascination with shame and the liberation from it. Where Witch was from the female perspective, Lighthouse literally has two farting, drunk men in a giant phallic symbol fighting for dominance. It’s less a horror film than his first, but still utterly engrossing, demented and specific to his singular vision. I can’t wait to see 20 more movies from this guy.

This is another big movie of 2019, like The Irishman, where you can see the director looking inward, at what his films mean and represent. It initially caught me so off guard that I really didn’t know how to feel about it, but after seeing it again, it’s one of my favorites of the year, and probably Tarantino’s filmography overall. More akin to something like Boogie Nights or Dazed and Confused, letting us live with and follow a small group of characters, it mostly doesn’t feel like a Tarantino movie (until the inevitable and shocking explosion of violence in the third act, of course).

‘Hollywood’ is the most sincere and loving movie Tarantino has made, interested in giving us a send off to an era of Hollywood and artists that have been lost or forgotten (Some more tragically than others). In the end, the movie functions similarly to ‘Inglorious Basterds’ in it’s rewriting of history to give us catharsis. “If only things could have worked out this way.” Luckily in movies, removed from the restrictions of reality, they can. And once upon a time in Hollywood, they did.

Uncut Gems probably tripled my blood pressure by the time the credits rolled. A slice-of-life story about a gambler/dealer in New York’s diamond district, the movie follows Howard Ratner, played by Adam Sandler in easily the best performance of his career. Ratner is basically addicted to living at the edge of a cliff, being chased by violent debt collectors, juggling a home life and a relationship with an employee, and fully relying on risky sports bets to stay afloat. It makes for a consistently tense and unique viewing experience, expertly directed by the Safdie brothers.

Something that might not work for everyone but that I personally loved, is the chaotic way in which the movie is shot. What feels like loosely directed scenes, with characters talking over each other and multiple conversations happening at once, adds an authenticity and reality lacking from most other movies. It’s more adjacent to Linklater (thanks to Adam for the comparison) or Scorsese’s earlier films (also fitting, that he’s a producer on this). Following Howard Ratner as his life descends into chaotic hell was one of the best times I’ve had watching a movie this year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

AVENGERS ENDGAME

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME

BOOKSMART

JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3

THE FAREWELL

AD ASTRA

[sw-daydreamer]

‘Star Wars’ Screenwriter Chris Terrio on Ending the 42-year ‘Skywalker’ Saga

The Oscar-winning screenwriter talks about collaborating with J.J. Abrams on the script, respecting the memory of Carrie Fisher, and ending the Skywalkers.

(...)

They had no illusions, though, that they would be able to satisfy everyone.

“We knew at the beginning that there was no world in which everyone was going to say that was exactly what I wanted,” Terrio explained. “But I hope at the very least our love for the characters and for the galaxy comes through in some way.”

Critics and audiences alike seem torn on the concluding film to the Star Wars world as we know it. It posted $177 million in its opening weekend, but that was down significantly from the previous outing, The Last Jedi. Additionally, The Rise of Skywalker is the only film in the new trilogy to not receive an “A” Cinemascore rating, indicating the perhaps inevitable mixed reactions from fans.

(...)

During the course of our near hour-long interview, he dropped a lot of plot spoilers (avoided here) and detail about additional footage not included in the finished product (also avoided here) that seemingly speaks to many of the internet-based criticisms.

(...)

AD: When you two were working together, you obviously had this shared appreciation for the Star Wars universe. When you starting working on the final script, were you responding to a pre-defined structure  or were you creating something unique between the two of you?

CT: Both actually. Kathy Kennedy and Michelle Rejwan had a clear plan for where they wanted things to end. They had clear plans about certain narrative marks they wanted us to hit. They also gave us a lot of freedom within that. We knew that Rey and Ren were utterly key to this trilogy, but we also felt that there was no way that we were going to not find a path to redemption for Kylo Ren, the son of Han and Leia. We felt that right from the beginning, when J.J. established Kylo Ren in Episode VII, there was a war going on inside him and that he had been corrupted by something bigger than himself and had made bad choices along the way. J.J. and I felt we needed to find a way in which he could be redeemed, and that gets tricky at the end of Episode VIII because Snoke is gone. The biggest bad guy in the galaxy at that moment seemingly is Kylo Ren. There needed to be an antagonist that the good guys could be fighting, and that’s when we really tried to laser in on who had been the great source of evil behind all of this for so long. That’s when we really started aggressively pursuing this idea that there is old evil that didn’t die. The source of the evil in the galaxy is this dark spirit waiting for its revenge and biding its time. The entity known as Palpatine in this version – his body died in Return of the Jedi – is patient and has been waiting. He dug his fox hole and has been waiting for his chance to re-establish his total domination.

AD: Was returning to this entity known as Palpatine always in the plan or was it newly introduced in Episode IX?

CT: Well, I can’t speak to Kathy’s overall intent. That was certainly discussed and was discussed before I ever came on. Kathy had this overall vision that we had to be telling the same story for nine episodes. Although from the sleight of hand of Episode VII and Episode VIII, you wouldn’t necessarily know immediately that we were telling the same story. She thought it would be a very strong end for the ninth movie. This fits well with J.J. because he loves magic tricks. He will often talk in metaphors and magic tricks, and so in Episode VII and Episode VIII, you think you’re watching one thing but Episode IX tells you to watch more closely – you were actually watching something else. When you rewatch the earlier films, things start to make additional sense. Ren and his devotion to the idea of his grandfather. The voice that he’s always heard in his head. The certain similarities between Snoke and Palpatine. The intention was that, by the time you get to Episode IX, you realize there were real reasons this is all happening. It all shows how this story is being fought cyclically through the series.

AD: One thing that’s fairly pervasive right now is the buzz around Kelly Marie Tran’s reduced role in The Rise of Skywalker when compared to The Last Jedi. Tell me about working through her role in the final film.

CT: Well, first of all, J.J. and I adore Kelly Marie Tran. One of the reasons that Rose has a few less scenes than we would like her to have has to do with the difficulty of using Carrie’s footage in the way we wanted to. We wanted Rose to be the anchor at the rebel base who was with Leia. We thought we couldn’t leave Leia at the base without any of the principals who we love, so Leia and Rose were working together. As the process evolved, a few scenes we’d written with Rose and Leia turned out to not meet the standard of photorealism that we’d hoped for. Those scenes unfortunately fell out of the film. The last thing we were doing was deliberately trying to sideline Rose. We adore the character, and we adore Kelly – so much so that we anchored her with our favorite person in this galaxy, General Leia.

AD: Given the sheer volume of exposition required and number of characters you did have to balance, was there ever talk around expanding Episode IX into a “Part 1” and a “Part 2?”

CT: I wish we could have done that. There is a lot of plot in the movie, and as a writer, you always want scenes to let the plot breathe more. If there were a way of doing it, splitting it would have been my dream. We could have written these characters forever. There was so much backstory that had to be left by the wayside. I wish that we could have that, but George always said it was nine movies. That was the natural size of the saga, and so, other than a few initial discussions, we never really advanced that conversation. Of course, as a writer, it breaks your heart to leave stuff on the table that you think would have given the story more depth and nuance and to give the characters more to do. Speaking for myself and not on the part of the studio, I do wish there could have been a “Part 1” and a “Part 2.”

AD: Trying to avoid spoilers here, but leading into the final film, the word was that this would be the final chapter on the Skywalker saga. Yet, there’s a persistence still in the name Skywalker at the end of the film. Is this really the end?

CT: I don’t have any additional insight into that than you do, honest to God. For us, the resonance of the name Skywalker was just purely a thematic one. It wasn’t an attempt to brand something in the universe. J.J. and I had a post-it that read, “You don’t discover who you are. You create it.” So much of this film is about discovery and creating who you are through that discovery. It’s purely for thematic reasons that we included who is a Skywalker at the end of the film. [Editor note: We omitted a great deal of conversation around spoilers related to the end of the film for this answer. This printed response provides the overall sense of his answer while avoiding explicit spoilers.]

(...)

source : www.awardsdaily.com/2019/12/24/star-wars-screenwriter-chris-terrio-on-ending-the-42-year-skywalker-saga/

[table-top-romulan-playing-games]

Movies I have seen so far in 2018

A few of these arent new movies, just ones ive watched for the first time in 2018. I felt like doing this cuz I really love watching movies and felt that it might be a good version of those "good things" jars, but instead it's movies I saw. Some reviews are short, mostly cuz I didnt really have much in the way of opinions, but I did have something to say.

Just incase you havent seen them. I have tried to keep them spoiler free, but if you dont want even vague non spoiler spoilers, the list of movies is as follows; 

The Grand Budapest; The greatest showman; Jumanji: out of the jungle, King Arthur: legend of the sword, The Black Panther, Shape of water, Thor Ragnarok, the Emoji Movie, the Good Dinosaur, Jurassic world, Incredibles 2, Hotel Transylvania 3, Ant-man, A Wrinkle in Time, Lara croft: tomb raider, Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2, Spider-man homecoming, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers age of ultron (semi live blogged), Captain America civil war, Avengers Infinty War, Deadpool 2016, King Arthur the one with kiera knightly, Deadpool 2, The Nutcracker, four realms, Venom, Love, Simon, Ready player one, Aquaman, Solo, a star wars story, Ghost stories (2018), Wreck it Ralph, Ralph breaks the internet, Goosebumps 2, Hidden figures, The meg, Pacific Rim, Pacific rim uprising, Wrath of the Titans, Mission impossible: fallout,Oceans 8, The Breadwinner, Mune, Operation Finale, The House With A Clock In Its Walls, Bad times at the El Royale, Outlaw king, Gnome alone, Journey to the center of the earth, Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, Vvitch, Ex machina, To all the boys ive loved before, Extraordinary Tales, The Golden Compass, Erramentari, the blacksmith and the devil, Dragon heart, The black klansman, Robin Hood 2018, The Princess of Thieves, First Man, Bohemian Rhapsody, What we do in the Shadows, Overlord, For the Love of Spock, Next Gen, Small Foot, The Spy who Dumped Me, The Nun, Kin, Crazy Rich Asians, Spider-Man, Into the Spiderverse, A simple favor, Predator 2018, Rampage, 47 meters down, 2036 Origin Unknown, 2001 A Space Oddessey, The Martian

The grand Budapest hotel - good, great visuals. I enjoyed it.

The greatest showman - wonderful music, actual circus parts were good, the rest was boring. Its really short, and I felt it focused to much on the drama in pt barnums life, too much focus on a silly fuax love triangle, not enough on the acts themselves. I went in hoping to see the acts interact and actually be presented as the forefront. The beginning showed this magnificent scene with the acts, with this wonderful musical number that made me tear up. But then, it was just about Barnum and his kids being boring most of the time. The songs and musical scenes though? Absolutely wonderful, magnificent, stunning, and entertaining. Zendayas and Zac efrons characters duets? Beautiful, I loved the song and choreography. I just feel like the emphasis should have been on the circus itself. Hugh jackman. Needs. To. Do. More. Musicals.

Jumanji: out of the jungle - hilarious omg I laughed my ass off!

King Arthur: legend of the sword: wtf was this movie bro? I mean. I have a new song in my cars playlist, but wtf.

The Black Panther - IT WAS SO COOL! I loved the visuals and the storyline. Shuri is my favorite genius and I can’t wait for more Black Panther

Shape of water: absolutely beautiful omg

Thor Ragnarok: you mean that was the actual movie, that tumblr wasn’t just fuckin with me, like, those were real ass scenes that were filmed?

the Emoji Movie: bad, forgettable, literally did not remember watching it till a friend asked me.

the Good Dinosaur: literally a children's movie, idek why I watched it tbh

Jurassic world: THE HUBRIS OF MAN! THE INDO RAPTOR! BLUE! They made... An indoraptor. Not just any raptor, oh no, that's not enough for the hubris of man, its an indoraptor. What's an indoraptor you may ask? Well it's when you mix a raptor, with the indominous rex DNA. But Cotie, didn't the indominous rex already have raptor DNA? Wasnt that the whole thing that it was a t-rex with raptor DNA? Yes, yes it was. But this one is different, it's smaller, it's smarter, it made to obey commands like a war machine, it's the I N D O R A P T O R! So it's just a super powered velociraptor? Yes, yes it is. So what makes it special? THE HUBRIS BEHIND IT!

Incredibles 2: awesome! I loved it! Those flashing scenes really were no joke though. I don't have epilepsy, but damn those scenes were hard to look at. But I absolutely love the fact that edna babysat jack jack for a night, and gave him a super babysuit. I hope we get to see more of the other superheroes helping out the incredibles!

Hotel Transylvania 3: it was a good movie. Its the only Adam Sandler movie series I can stand, but it was a decent movie. I like the introduction of the van helsing family, and the whole premise. Plus I love the message that its possible to fall in love again.

Ant-man: "in like the Flynn" niiiiiiiiice Tangled ref! "ANT-THONY!!!!" Ok that was a fun and hilarious movie. I fucking love the three wombats, especially Luis omg. Also I love Scott lang relationship with his daughter and that he was the driving force behind his motivation. Also not gonna lie, I kinda watched this one so I could go see Ant-man and the Wasp, but I liked this one too.

A Wrinkle in Time: FUCK ITUNES NOT WANTING TO WORK DURING THIS MOVIE! ok but Chris Pine as a Dad? Awesome. "Happy anniversary, if only you'd dissapear too" wow, these high school preps are viscous. Also I love the little kid calling out grown ups for being pieces of shits. Also this movie was adorable and heart felt and I loved the mix of fantasy and science that made it a science fantasy movie omg.

Lara croft: tomb raider: ok but the girl who kicked Lara crofts butt in the beginning has me gay as Fuck man. "OPEN IT! OPEN IT! OPEN IT!" OK calm down Nicolas cage.

Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2: omg that was indeed another real marvel movie I had just seen. I can't believe the stooges are a space family that just, does stupid things. I love them all. 

We gonna start some parralels; a wrinkle in time - a movie about two siblings trying to find their dad who has been lost for 4 years. They get him back through the power of love; Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - a daughter finds some adverturing stuff to lead her to her father who had been missing for 7 years. Tries to get him back by killing men. Doesn't, and then kills more men; Gaurdians of the Galaxy volume 2: a boy finds his father after 34 years, but turns out he is a huge fucking jerk, also finds that Mary poppins was his dad after all, but then both Mary poppins and jerk dad died, with varying degrees of mourning from Boy.

Spider-man homecoming: omg so many second hand embarrassment scenes but it was so good! I laughed my ass off at the ending omg tony no. But also, that awkward moment when ur dates dad threatens your life and he actually meant it...

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Dude. Duuuuuuude that end credit scene. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude. That movie was just as hilarious as the first ant-man movie omg! It was fun and incredibal and I'm so happy the 3 combats were there. I was losing my shit over the baba yaga stuff!

Avengers age of ultron (semi live blogged): god, I'm 9 minutes in and I hate this movie... 13 minutes in an ur telling me this could've been avoided if marvel hadnt turned two Romani (from what I remember of mutant canon) characters into, not only human expirements instead of mutants, but voluntary hydra agents. -sighhhh-... 20 minutes in and why, why Tony, just... Tell the team, why do we gotta have lazy 'i dont wanna communicate' writing bullshit...Jarrrrrviiiiissssss my boy T.T... Did they really just try to make dissimising female characters and using their achievements as a sort of 'my horse is bigger than yours' as quality character writing? God this Bruce/Nat romance is so forced... Oh no, Ultron fucking appeared, why does he sound like a bad Tony stark impression? Ultron is fucking annoying... Fuck man, the plot with the twins have arrived, and I hate it... -mentions Wakanda- thanks for reminding of a better movie I could be watching... God, the acting is either way too dry, or way too ham... Wow... Clint is... The most mature person in the movie... Wow, the scene where Nat reveals she is infertile, is worse than I thought it would be, and I knew it would be awful... Hour and a half in, still bad... Though ultron is now acting like a c h i l d... Oh no, now we creating Ultron 2.0 this time its Jarvis... Please discuss it with the team, pleeeease... Annnnnnnd U didn't... Fuck... I'm so tired, 1 hour and 31 minutes and the team is fighting... Thor coming in for the jarvis Saaaave! Yassss vision with the worthy of the hammer! Okay the battle scene with ultron was pretty cool. Still dont like the movie over all.

Captain America civil war: not as much fighting as advertised. Too much 'we arent going to sit down and communicate' trope. Honestly I was too bored and tired to really actually pay attention to closely... All I got from it is the russos need to learn what a get along shirt is and be better film makers.

Avengers Infinty War: wtf, what the fuck, was that. That was some fuck right there. You are telling me thanos was really able to get the soul stone like That? And the mind stone like That? And all that other bull shit? Y'all Russo better be ready to have thanos ass kick in the next avengers movie. But damn that was some shit that happened.

Deadpool 2016: I loved every bit of the movie omg, it was everything I hoped for out of a deadpool movie.

King Arthur the one with kiera knightly: That uh, sure was a King Arthur movie? Way less weird than King Arthur Legend of the sword. Merlin didnt cast magic, and arthur was a Roman, but guinevere is a kick ass archer, soooo acceptable...

Deadpool 2: THAT WAS FUCKIN HILARIOUS I LOVE DEADPOOL SO MUCH! god I love this movie, I would die for dominoe.

The Nutcracker, four realms: such a cute af movie omggggggggggggg. I loved Captain Phillip the nutcracker soldier and the gold highlight they put on his lips 💓

Venom: listen. I did no t see this film for quality. I saw it for the symbi ote ok. Ok. I lov it. But blease for the love of god.... Y.... Did...... The......... Symbiote........ Take the shape of a sexy comic book lady..... When........ The same sexyness could have been achieved by letting the symbiote be big beefy orc like lady....

Love, Simon: I'm not one for these films... I dont like these films... They are teary eyed wholesome cake frosting that make my cold gay heart sick... That being said... I relate, I relate so much... Also... If I was in simons shoes and the blackmailing weasle Martin outed me? They would still be scraping him off the pavement... That is all.

Ready player one: it wasn’t as bad as some of the things i heard about it on tumblr, but its not one I will watch again.

Aquaman: "show off, heh, I could've just pee'd on it" is the exact quality line I want out of my films. Also that was soooooooo awesome! I loved it! More Aquaman!

Solo, a star wars story: Not bad, but not great, it kept on plot really well, not memorable but I won’t knock it. I still say the actor playing Han Solo looks photoshopped and not real.

Ghost stories (2018): awful... It was slow and boring, and I didnt like it... I rented it through itunes and it glitched part of the way through and I stopped being able to see the picture. Even after I got it working again I still didnt like it... Though I did like the message of "dont be a bystander", but the whole this was boriiiiiinnnnnnnggggggggggg.

Wreck it Ralph: okay, technically I caught the beginning like 4 or 5 years ago, but I finally actually watched it and it wasnt bad. Will go see the sequel.

Ralph breaks the internet: WAYYYYYY better than the emoji movie, also, I really loved the princesses scene, the bright colors, and following Venelope through the internet... Also.... Ralph........ WTF..................... Also............................. that Stan Lee cameo.................................... Heartbreaking............

Goosebumps 2: Mr. Chu and his Halloween obsession is me... Stones appearence had me dying omg... Also where tf r ppl getting these awesome super cool Halloween stuffs!

Hidden figures: IM NOT CRYING UR CRYING! omg such a great movie i fucking loved it. Couldnt understand a WORD of math that went on, but damn girls, calculate that shit.

The meg: listen... Listen... The trailer looked stupid... And ridiculous... I just... Wanted to know how bad... And it was bad... But it was incredibally enjoyable omg... I loved it... In all seriousness, it was actually a pretty beautiful movie when it came to marine life and the wonder behind it, and it was anti shark culling for fins, and it was very clearly "not all sharks are bad, they do as they do, but megalodon is about to fuck our shit up."... It was also fucking hilarious... My favorite character was meiying, the little 8 year old in the movie... The love plot wasnt forced and they way they did it the two leads were not having it and had actual chemistry... Just... Also the dog... The dog does not die... Pippin lives... The wedding is not ruined... Also the shark ate a billionaire soooooooo... We good meg... We good...

Pacific Rim: yes I know, I took a long ass time to watch this movie... But Listen... Explody robots and monsters... Hannibal chau... Look... I just... Sometimes take a long time to watch movies... You wanna know how long it took me to watch Merlin BBC? I watched every episode as it came out and then put off the last episode for 5 years... Listen...

Pacific rim uprising: ok I watched the first one so I could watch the one with my boi John Boyega in it.

Wrath of the Titans: wtf kind of movie... Like really what the f... Since when is zues ever responsible and wise.

Mission impossible, fallout: I liked it. It's an action movie. Saw it for my birthday, kinda interested in the other mission impossible movies now. I appreciate the advance tech and the obviously stupid impossible shit.

Oceans 8: Listen, i have never been interested in the Oceans franchise, i dont want to see crusty men steal things, but lads, im gay. Extremely gay, just, shamelessly gay.

The Breadwinner: holy shit that was a good movie.

Secret of the Kells: eh, it was a good movie. Not my favorite, but it was good. I mostly just like the animation.

Mune: Guardian of the Moon: dat was a cute movie, and also i loved Munes Design, he is a little fawn

Operation Finale: Wow, that was an amazing film, absolutely superb. Not at all like the trailers. Seriously, what is it and trailers where everything has to either be an high stakes action movie or a romantic comedy? but this film, spectacular.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls: A Neat little movie. Corny, but i liked it. like, its a kids movie in the same way A Wrinkle In Time is, but this one was little less disney-fied in the way that they needed to have this overarching lesson of empowerment, and more “this is a kids movie to enjoy, like Halloweentown”

Bad times at the El Royale: neat movie, somewhat engaging, kept losing focus at the slow parts... Liked the Chapter title cards... Can't remember who that "important person" was supposed to be.... I think I may have missed it...

Outlaw king: I liked it! Way better than Braveheart! Also.... Cpine was not that naked.... Butt....

Gnome alone: weird, didn't like it, like a bad combo of Mean Girls and Coraline?

Journey to the center of the earth: I said old movies were gonna be on this list now didnt I? Also this movie was awesome and I wish the book was real too.

Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy: Nice!!! I had been meaning to read the book before I watched the movie, but I've packed my book away soooo, MOVIE. Also out of all thw sci fi movies that have destroyed planets, this is by far the only good one.

Vvitch: it was okay... By the middle I was kinda wishing it would go faster. But it was okay.

Ex machina: I'm not done with the movie yet but it's so fucking creepy holy shit... Also "its kinda non-autistic" in relation to "aware of her own mind and mine"???? Wtffffffff.uggggghhhhhhhhhh ewwwweeweeewewweeeewwwwwww the talk about giving the robot a sexuality is so grooooooooooooosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss he gave her a working vag and hearing him talk about fucking the robot was baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Mmmmmmmm no, did not like.

To all the boys ive loved before: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... Also that sibling relationship was..... Relatable.

Extraordinary Tales: tales based on Edgar Allen Poe and holy sweet Jesus I loved it, it has multiple different art styles per story and I loved them soooooo much!

The Golden Compass: okay but how could you end on that cliffhanger and not at least put out another movie????

Erramentari, the blacksmith and the devil: based on Basque folklore which I know nothing of, but it looked neat. It's also originally in basque but netflix has the English dub over. AND HOLY SWEET JESUS I KNOW THIS MOVIE IS SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY BUT THE VOICE OVERS ARE SO FUCKING FUNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

Dragon heart: I didnt like it, there were better movies I could have seen, I'm not gonna reach for this one again...

The Black Klansman: Damn, I might very well be speechless. That was a Fantastic Movie, came at you like a bag of Bricks, and the ending when it went straight from a cross burning to the 2017 neo nazi rallies, to trumps “good people on both sides” speech, to everything that happened in 2017. The movie did NOT fuck around with anything. God Bless.

Robin Hood, 2018: Antifa film of the YEAR! Yeah Robin, Be a Class Traitor to the ruling class, Spread Wealth, Down with the 1%!

The Princess of Thieves: OMG Kiera Knightly as the daughter of robin and also a kick ass archer that causes trouble!!!! Loved it!

First Man: dude that movie was incredible, it read like you were seeing snapshots of his life, not completely invested, but as though you were a spirit looking at memories. I kinda liked it. I loved the silent scenes that filled the viewer with anxiety, like a realization of the gravity of what was happening. Omg. Good film A+

Bohemian Rhapsody: OMG I LOVED IT SO MUCH OMGOMGOMGOMG MY QUEER HEART IS RESTORED AND THEY SAID BISEXUAL!!!!!

What we do in the Shadows: that was an enjoyable movie. I didn't quite like the reality show format but it was funny!

Overlord: That was a great movie! it had decently fast pacing, which is good that it was only an hour and forty-eight minutes long... They Plot-Ex-Machina’d alot of the movie, like the wounded soldier feeling fine for the main firefight, then remembering he was supposed to be wounded all of a sudden. I watched it with a friend who saw one character, turned to me and said “He’s cute, i hope he doesnt die” one (1) second before a landmine went off. Also, Ghouls created by science rather by supernatural means.

For the Love of Spock: -cries like a big baby-

Next Gen: screams of anti-tech ideals... Also.... Damn...... They are channeling the "addiction to iPhones" angle man, like, villianous angle...

Small Foot: Not bad, At least it was a Short movie, or at least it didnt feel like it was dragging on. The Songs were great though, I actually liked them and at least they were written for the movie and not like, a song that already existed...

The Spy who Dumped Me: I rented it through iTunes and it gave some Ukrainian nuts swangin in my face...

The Nun: it was okay, but let maurice theirult be a lesson; u see some creepy haunted shit, you grab a cross and you walk away. You dont go back to play hero, cuz then you get possessed.

Kin: there is a line in the movie that says "you got a decade of bad decisions under your belt" and I feel like that sums of this movies plot points...

Crazy Rich Asians: that was so gooooood! I don't normally go for romcoms, but ppl had been praising the film, and I actually liked it. I'm glad I saw the majong scene explain before I actually watched the scene, because it felt a shit ton more powerful.

Spider-Man, Into the Spiderverse: AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! the animation was TOP NOTCH, like, omg!

A simple favor: I didnt like it... It tried to be both a thriller and what seemed like a parody of a thriller.

Predator, 2018: I kinda liked it, it was a mindless action movie, and the ending left it open for a badass sequal. I havent seen the other predator movies so I have no idea if this is in faith for the series, but im guessing yes.

The Martian: It was cool and chill, I liked it, also Mark Watney cussing out a government agency via a hundred thousand dollar communications outlet is.... Mood.

47 meters down: 2hrs of one woman having an absolute panic attack and being right to worry about sketchy diving boats.

2036 Origin Unknown: kinda what I feel like 2001 a space Oddessey wouldve been like if I had actually watched that movie... Oh shit the Borg!

2001 A Space Oddessey: Have I ever told y'all that I dont like Kubrick or his movies? His movies are the epitome of that pretentious art school boi style that just does too much and tries to pretend it's more than it is and sweet merciful god why is this one 2 and a half hours long! I'm 40 minutes in and I have a head ache from the over ise of classical music and boring slow pace of the movie. 2001 a space Oddessey is 2 and a half hours long and only has 1 hr of actual relevant film... The other 1 1/2 is just unending, weirdly colored space shots, two color inversion shots of planets and eyes, theremin and flute noises, and classical music set to nothingness

RAMPAGE: a 30ft alligator showed up about an hour and 10minutes into the movie and the first reaction was "well that sucks" and it killed me on sight. The movie is awesome! In am so glad I picked this as my last movie of 2018.

[transformers-art-showcase]

P.A.T.C.H. #06: "Life After the Big Bang"

There’s a common rule of thumb when it comes to comics: you can jump in when you see a new #1 on the cover. If not, be wary –you’re not gonna get it, you’ve skipped episodes, you’re missing out. Well, you know what? Nuts to that! We here at P.A.T.C.H. like to stick it to common sense and provide a halfway decent explanation for it! So here we are, presenting a story from possibly the most popular “Transformers” comics title ever that is not a number 1 and provides a satisfying, complete story with connections to more! Enjoy! ... No, seriously, did it take us that long to talk MTMTE?!

“LIFE AFTER THE BIG BANG”

“The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye” #4-5 (2012)/ “Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye” Volume 2

Written by James Roberts, pencils by Alex Milne, colors by Josh Burcham, letters by Shawn Lee The amazing sogn for this wondrous edition of P.A.T.C.H.: https://youtu.be/tvqlt7OWTOk https://open.spotify.com/track/4p82pfEa4cayPqXLN6Rhzm

SO WHAT’S IT ABOUT? After receiving a cryptic, worrisome message, Autobot medic Ratchet, turncoat Autobot Drift and bad luck magnet Pipes land on the medical outpost of Delphi on the planet Messatine to investigate. Faced with a motley crew of doctors and patients and a deadly epidemic, our heroes have to rush both against unexpected enemies and their own worsening health... Oh, and Tailgate and Red Alert aren’t doing so hot on the ship, either. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? The opening blurbs mostly fill you in on everything: the recent end of the Autobot-Decepticon War, the proposal to search for the fabled Knights of Cybertron (“Death of Optimus Prime” one-shot), the open invitation by captain Rodimus into the starship “Lost Light” and its disastrous launch (“More Than Meets the Eye” #1). Other than that, the rest are character threads picked up from previous issues of the series and can be ignored for now, to focus on the stand-alone nature of the thing. Still, let’s go over some major ones. In terms of pre-existing character development, the most pressing issue would be Drift’s dramatic arc(s). Although he first appeared in “All Hail Megatron” #5, he already had a pretty long history behind him, mostly outlined in the first “Drift” mini-series. In those four issues (written by Shane McCarthy, penciled by Alex Milne, colored by Josh Perez and lettered by Chris Mowry), it was revealed that Drift started out as destitute and homeless before the War, and so the Decepticon vision of equality appealed to him greatly. (Not to mention giving him an outlet for his pent-up rage.) He was renamed “Deadlock” and garnered a reputation of cruelty and efficiency. That is, until a disobedience episode, an escape attempt and a brief stint with the Circle of Light, a group of pacifist warrior-scholars, changed that. Following that, he bumped into the Wreckers (“Spotlight: Drift”, written by Shane McCarthy, penciled by Casey Coller, colored by Joana Lafuente and lettered by Chris Mowry) and started associating with the Autobots, with whom he stayed for the next few years, up to the second confrontation with the Dead Universe forces (“Chaos”, written by Mike Costa and James Roberts, with art by Livio Ramondelli and letters by Chris Mowry, which we’ve briefly talked about here). One near-death experience later, he emerged as a cheerful spiritualist, much to one famous medic’s annoyance. Just this once, Ratchet’s wrong –this latest rendition of the character is one of his most popular ones, and even if you’re not interested in his pre-history, you can go by what is said about him easily. Though Tailgate is (rather famously) one of the breakout stars of the series, it’s not he who has the more extensive history, but his roomie Cyclonus. An ancient warrior and comrade of deranged megalomaniac Nem-, excuse me, completely stable individual Nova Prime’s, he was an undead creature under the sway of the Dead Universe for a long time (“Revelation”, written by Simon Furman and drawn by various artists). He later joined fellow Golden Age survivor Galvatron and his reformed army against Cybertron (“Chaos” and “Heart of Darkness”... I think so, at least). Following the betrayal of his commander for the love of his home planet, he joined the “Lost Light” after a misunderstanding (and beating up Whirl, but that’s perfectly normal). He’s been warned at least one on his violent tendencies by Rodimus and has expressed his doubts over the entire War; can he really make a fresh start with these people? Finally, and although that could be considered a bit of a spoiler, certain details –locations, characters, even phrases– first appeared or were mentioned in “Last Stand of the Wreckers”, and specifically its trade paperback editions. Click here to get there immediately and (hopefully) get a few good reasons to check out the book yourselves! WHERE DO I GO FROM THERE? To all of “More Than Meets the Eye”, obviously! These two issues, apart from being stand-alone, plant the seeds for so much more down the road, it’s dizzying! Keep up with the series, where all the characters mentioned here receive further development, and when you’re done, be sure to jump in on “Lost Light”, its continuation. If, however, you want to go to specific arcs from the first season of the series based on individual elements (most by the same team as this issue), I’d suggest “Shadowplay” (issues #7-9 or Volume 3) for Ratchet’s past with Drift (and Red Alert’s troubles), “Remain in Light” (#17-21 or Volume 5) for the comeback of Ratchet’s antagonist, “Before and After” and “Cybertronian Homesick Blues” (#12 and #13, both in Volume 4) for Cyclonus and Tailgate’s continuing development and “Under Cold Blue Stars” (issue #15 or Volume 4) for Pipes’ shining moment. Reader discretion is advised: at least one of these stories is known to cause intense pain in the feels. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Finally, make sure to pick up the dual 2012 Annuals for “More Than Meets The Eye” and “Robots in Disguise” (both contained in Volume 3 of their respective trade collections). Both are split in two. One half of their stories are the adventures of the present cast interacting with a Titan, a huge Transformer from the distant past. The other half, drawn by artist Guido Guidi (who also colors his work) in the style of the old Marvel “Transformers” series (as well as various “cosmic”, high sci-fi titles of the publisher), provides added world-building and backstory for the entire universe. While seemingly unrelated, the origin stories explain a few holes in the pasts of key characters (Cyclonus was young once?! And he knew Dai Atlas, too?!) and become vital later on, especially in the finale of “Lost Light”. IS IT ANY GOOD? It was a satisfying mystery that showcased how unique this world and its characters are. It featured the evolution of a true master artist. It introduced about a trillion things in 44 pages. It provided us with proof that Ratchet is, and shall forever be, one of the greatest things we have ever produced in this miserable world. WAIT, WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT DRIFT?! Oh yeah, he’s there, too! Did I forget that? Never mind, song, playlist, go!

AND YOU THINK YOU'VE FIGURED OUT EVERYTHING | PLOT AND DIALOGUE While the format of this story isn’t unfamiliar, even for this feature (this is our third mystery, after “Windblade” and “Punishment”), what separates this one is how dense it is. Within the first three pages of the story, we’re introduced to three characters, one location and an impending threat, all unrelated to the main cast so far. Various techniques –unreliable journal narration, dialogue insertion, two-page spread– are mixed to give everyone as much character as possible and make everyone suspect for what’s going on. And the onslaught of detail doesn’t stop there. This is the kind of story that would’ve been impossible with any other type of property, even a sci-fi one: the very idea of transformation is integral to how it works. Alt-mode details, in-universe cultural views, even having the ability to change shape are used both as world-building and clues for the mystery. This is the kind of story that makes the casual, vaguely interested reader into a devotee and forces them to go back and reread it to get all the foreshadowing. This applies to the dialogue, too. Roberts’ language, which we’ve seen before here, has been praised as snappy and quotable (Ratchet and Drift here, full stop), but it also shows a deep appreciation for all “Transformers” lore. The famous joke on the best names being taken, for example? Done at the expense of an obscure character from a previous generation reusing the name “Prowl”. If there’s one downside to all that, it’s that some scene transitions can be a little clumsy (Red Alert’s scenes, though important for later, come a bit out of left field), but it’s a small price to pay for the excellence on display.

Hark! What is that I see? A vessel is leaving the port! The sirens of the “S. S. Dratchet” are blaring! All aboard! FEELING SPACED BREATHING OUT LISTERINE | ART And speaking of excellence, the team of Alex Milne and Josh Burcham are on fire here. The amount of detail, fluidity and expressiveness on all pre-existing characters is incredible, but the new designs are a triumph on their own. Most will be distracted by Pharma (I know I was!), but it’s Ambulon’s story-important form that’s the real star here. In general, however, there’s incredible synergy between the art and the story. Background details (First Aid’s badge collection) and actions (again, First Aid’s fiddling in the second issue) are as important as anything else to solve the mystery, so make sure you read slowly and pay attention. In general, Milne’s able to pack an incredible amount of information into very tight pages. The best example is probably Drift attacking another character and transforming in a single, enlarged panel and a few mini, inserted ones. Lastly, the backgrounds need to be highlighted. The arrival to the outpost and the climax excluded, all scenes are set indoors, but the art doesn’t feel constrained by them. Instead, it has two different approaches to interior spaces. Everything in Delphi looks used, dented, past its prime –even the very walls feel grimy. This makes it the polar opposite to the brightly lit, spacey rooms of the “Lost Light”, full of inviting light blues and pinks (the violent outburst in Cyclonus’ room is the exception). Burcham’s richly textured work favors faded browns, sickly greens and rusted reds –the liquid of the mysterious disease looks eerily much like blood. Two flashback-montage sequences (Tailgate’s narration and the final explanation for the outbreak of the epidemic) are much freer in panel construction and dreamier in color pallet, but are once again tight and informative. Add to this some splashes of robo-gore and the unobtrusive lettering (Pharma’s silent speech bubble and use of a laser scalpel is another small miracle) and this is an artistic five-course meal.

Pssst. Nobody tell Pipes “corpse-pile” isn’t an actual game. Let him figure it out on his own. YOU'D KILLED THE BETTER PART OF ME | CHARACTERS AND THEMES But, if you’ll let me get personal for a moment, despite all the above gushing, my favorite element in this story is still its protagonist. Ratchet’s arc in IDW has been one defined by his old age, not a unique element in the franchise –same goes for his “Animated” and “Prime” incarnations, after all. Where this medic separates himself, however, is how he’s tied to the larger themes of reconstruction and moral grayness. The characters of this universe are no strangers to morally questionable actions –we have already seen one such early demonstration from the Autobots on this feature–, but the culprit behind the Delphi disease really takes the cake. He claims all sorts of survivalist justifications for his criminal actions, but the one that rubs the worst are his similarities to Ratchet –he calls attention to them to buy time and out of a need to show off, in traditional “baddie” fashion. And that hurts. After all the effort to end the war, there’s still rot, (literal and figurative) disease and evil. How long can anyone hold onto their ideals in such a world? Won’t these ideals be corrupted, sooner or later? Why not just copy the bad guy’s tactics? If such violence is justified, why not snap and kill the bastard already? Why remain selfless and sacrificial –isn’t it tiring? The villain’s charm and Ratchet’s moral dilemma play off of each other wonderfully through Roberts’ snarky dialogue, and the final stinger remains uncomfortable. In the b-plot, this theme is further emphasized with Tailgate and Cyclonus’ scenes, where the senior bot berates the younger one on choosing a faction knowing little of their world. The younger characters introduced do offer another view –that there can be hope for the future-, so there really is no final closure offered. Instead, I wish to end this paragraph with the words of another great author: “Life persists”.

Even beaten down, rusting from the inside out and minutes before death, Ratchet is still cooler and more presentable than all of us at our best. BUT I CAN'T STILL FOCUS ON ANYTHING | FINAL THOUGHTS While reading this story again for this feature, I had flashes of my first time reading it a few years back. At that point, I hadn’t been completely sold on “Transformers”, but processing the facts and the details and the character beats here, I started seeing that there was something great about them. “More Than Meets the Eye” is a special book, the perfect gateway to a rich, complex, beautiful universe and introduced me to one of my faves. This wasn’t the story that blew me away (that might come up later), but it definitely was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[aion-rsa]

What If…? Season 2: What Can Marvel Fans Expect?

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This article contains spoilers for Marvel’s What If…?

Marvel’s What If…? ended its first season while revisiting all eight previous episodes in one big crossover climax. All of the major worlds from the season have been given some sort of follow-up, including one from an episode that got cut completely! Despite its anthology nature, the final three episodes (well, the final two episodes and like 30 seconds of the one previous) morphed the season into one big story. As Uatu the Watcher goes back to his status quo of being us, but with narration duties, we close this chapter and await the confirmed second season.

We probably have a year at the very least before What If…? season two hits. I highly doubt it hits in 2022. But based on what’s left after the first season, what might we see?

Captain Carter

Considering she gets her own post-credits scene in the ninth episode, I think it’s safe to say that we haven’t seen the last of Captain Carter. Hell, even the first What If…? comic issue (What If Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four?) got two separate sequels over the years. More than Uatu himself, Carter is practically the mascot for the animated series. She’s the marquee change who shows us how fun these worlds can be.

The post-credits scene reveals that not only did the HYDRA Stomper survive the ravages of time, but somehow its pilot Steve Rogers did as well. Did he get frozen again? We don’t know for sure, but with the hopeful way Black Widow talks about it, we’re led to believe that Steve is the same young, skinny hero from World War II and very much alive. Between this and Carter’s minimal understanding that HYDRA still exists, it will be very, very interesting to see how the alternate retelling of Captain America: The Winter Soldier works out.

T’Challa Star-Lord

The show’s director Bryan Andrews suggested that if not for Chadwick Boseman’s untimely demise, we not only would have seen a sequel to his intergalactic What If…? episode, but it may have even gotten a spinoff. Even if that episode suggested tragedy with the coming of Ego in a universe without the Guardians of the Galaxy, the finale showed that not only was T’Challa all over that, but the shot of Peter Quill fighting at his side suggested that Quill would join his ranks after all.

There’s fun to be mined out of the further adventures of the heroic Ravagers, but for now I think it’s best they leave it as a memorial to Boseman’s performance. Leave this optimistic world untouched, at least for a little while.

Marvel Zombies

Other than Strange dropping a gigantic pile of zombies onto Infinity Ultron, we didn’t get much out of that episode. Well, I guess we saw that Zombie Scarlet Witch survived her encounter with the Hulk, but now she’s off the table. The Marvel Zombies sequel is definitely a possibility, as the cliffhanger from its episode has gone completely untouched. Really, it’s the only episode without any real follow-up.

Let’s just hope that when Thor does show up in Wakanda with Stormbringer, he’s smart enough to go for the head this time.

The Remains of the Other Episodes

A lot of the worlds introduced in What If…? have received closure. Black Widow helped save the “Hank Pym serial killer” world from Loki. Killmonger has been removed from his reality’s conflict, which ultimately just ends that story. Ultron’s universe is completely devoid of life. Party Thor could easily return, but there’s no unfinished business there. Then there’s Strange Supreme.

Read more

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Strange’s assignment at the end of the season is an interesting one because he’s more or less being redeemed by becoming a Watcher in his own right. One who would have to interfere if need be. That might tie in with the possible repercussions of Uatu’s actions from the final two episodes. He broke the oath and he may have to answer for it. Strange could easily become involved in that situation.

Iron Man on Sakaar

We do know for sure that we’re getting that episode about Iron Man landing on Sakaar. That one didn’t make this season due to COVID, which in turn caused Gamora in the finale to come off like the Old James gag from the beginning of Half-Baked. Her episode is to What If…? what the Black Widow movie is to the MCU.

This is supposed to be a very humor-based installment of the series, but its lost episode status makes it rather fascinating. We know these characters going into the story and we know the characters in the aftermath, so it’ll be cool to see the animated journey.

President Rogers

The idea of Steve Rogers being elected president was one that didn’t make the cut as its own episode, but got to live on as an Easter egg during the eighth episode’s Uatu vs. Ultron scrap. It was going to be a big West Wing type of story about Rogers running the country. Maybe we’ll see them actually revisit the idea.

Funny enough, that was actually the basis for a What If…? comic issue (volume 1, #26). It was a mostly forgettable story outside of the Thing cutting what amounted to a wrestling promo to reporters about how he was voting Rogers and anyone who disagreed could kiss his granite ass. It was also a latter development in the Ultimate Universe and if Into the Spider-Verse is anything to go on, doing animated adaptations of late-era Ultimate Marvel isn’t the worst idea.

Shang-Chi and the Eternals

A later season means more toys to play with. The Black Widow from the Ultron universe got to make a few references to the Black Widow movie, but by the time we get to the next season, we’ll have more Marvel canon to mold stories out of. That means, for instance, that we can see what reality would be like if the Eternals actually did help out against the likes of Thanos or even earlier.

Since Shang-Chi’s movie is actually out, there’s more for us to speculate with. Maybe a world where Shang-Chi’s father was killed instead of his mother. Maybe one where Shang-Chi decided to stick with the family business after committing his first assassination. The possibility of redoing Iron Man 3 with Wenwu as the villain is so on the nose that it would be a waste not to do the episode.

The Loki Variants

The Loki series, especially the fifth episode, had a lot of fun introducing all the different incarnations of the titular hero. With the multiverse unraveling, we could easily get a What If…? tie-in that gives us a closer look at the various variants. It could just be one episode with each Loki getting his or her own segment explaining their paths.

We could see what Sylvie’s life could have been like had she was not arrested. We could have seen what Boastful Loki’s deal was. Get a comedy segment of Gator Loki. Even a poignant final story about Classic Loki leaving exile to reunite with his aged brother so many years after Thor thought him dead.

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In the end, the possibilities are endless. Do an episode about Captain Marvel remaining on Earth. Give us 30 minutes of Wanda Maximoff and Vision surviving Avengers: Infinity War. Show what Avengers: Endgame would have been like if the opposite half of living beings had been wiped out instead. As long as the MCU is chugging along, the sky’s the limit.

If you want to dig deeper into What If…?, please consider subscribing to Marvel Standom on the Den of Geek YouTube channel, where we dish out weekly episodes on all the new Marvel TV series, trailers and movie releases. Can’t stand our faces? That’s fair! You can listen to Marvel Standom on Spotify and Apple, too.

The post What If…? Season 2: What Can Marvel Fans Expect? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: REWIND REVIEW: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

(Image: hollywoodreporter.com)

For an occasional new segment, Every Movie Has a Lesson will cover upcoming home media releases combining an “overdue” or “rewind” film review, complete with life lessons, and an unboxed look at special features.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Big as a billboard in some places and as small as a mobile ad in others, the marketing imagery of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker touts the tagline “The Saga Will End.” There’s something to be said for finality, especially with a 42-year-old franchise as venerated and cherished as this one. The virtues of remembrance, culmination, gratification, and other such lofty notions loom so much larger when an entity is billed to be the last of something important. The movie in disc form hits store shelves everywhere today.

LESSON #1: THE DEFINITION OF “FINALITY” — Diving deeper beyond the basic “something that is final” meaning, the dictionary of this galaxy describes “finality” as “conclusiveness,” “decisiveness,” or “an ultimate act, utterance, or belief.” J.J. Abrams’ massive space opera follows his own The Force Awakens and Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi to aim so very badly for those traits. In many peaks of scope and emotion, his movie achieves such finality. In others, overindulgence and disarray put question marks on the value or vindication of all this promised fulfillment.

Going back to the tagline, the key word out of that poster’s sentence becomes “will.” As grand of a finale as The Rise of Skywalker builds itself to be, the likelihood of its stewarding studio turning off this cash cow is zip, zilch, and zero. This saga had an ending already in 1983 and another in 2005. Those had legitimate finality. Time will tell if this one, and its willy-nilly trajectories, will resonate strong enough or long enough to be of honored and revered significance.

ANTICIPATORY SET AND PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:

.Announcing his presence to the galaxy (and to us immediately in the yellow title scroll), a resurrected Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has elevated the First Order into the Final Order with his Sith influence and the manufactured might of a colossal new fleet of Star Destroyers. His orders to his acolyte, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), are simply to “kill the girl.” That embattled female target remains Rey (Daisy Ridley), who has spent the undetermined amount of time since the Battle of Crait on the sidelines away from Resistance efforts to continue her Jedi training under the tutelage of General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher).

LESSON #2: CONFRONTING FEARS— As she continues to grow in immeasurable power and skill, Rey endures visions abound of possible future fates that hinge on an eventual rubber match with the former Ben Solo. Matching a quintessential Star Wars motif, Rey has become the next emerging hero obligated to stare down the opposition with a will strengthened by summoned bravery. With “never be afraid of who you are” encouragement, Rey’s fears are hefty emotional obstacles made thoroughly compelling by Daisy Ridley’s lead performance, her best in the series. She may not be given the best scripted material (more on that later), but the actress squeezes every drop of rooting vulnerability out of this crucial plight.

Meanwhile, Rey’s supportive comrades and Resistance operatives, including Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), help her stay a step ahead of Kylo Ren and his masked squad of weaponized knights. Flanked by their handy droids, the tight crew zealously join Rey’s pursuit of items and information deemed vital for the fledgling revolutionaries being able to bring the fight to Palpatine instead of awaiting overwhelming decimation. The invisible ticking clock urgency to blow enemies away and prevent “all for nothing” disappointment sets the plot off on numerous (as in too many) busy-bodied and lightspeed races and chases with weakly-presented MacGuffins in the crosshairs.

LESSON #3: THE VALUE OF PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL SUPPORT— Long has Star Wars been about populating a heightened unity in support of influential individuals. Call it amassing an army or the intimate recruitment of trusted friends. For Rey, her verbalized chant is the powerful wish of “be with me.” It is answered with “we have each other.” Whomever stands behind the lead antagonist or comes to the aid of the lead protagonist does so with fervent dedication and multiplying motivation. True to this now ancient battle of dark versus light, not all assistance entering the fray comes in corporeal form.

MY TAKE:

J.J. Abrams has always been more than capable at delivering sheer adventure for the silver screen. His urge for kinetic energy is answered by the polished production teams. Borrowed from good buddy Steven Spielberg, two-time Oscar-winning production designer Rick Carter teamed with VFX concept artist Kevin Jenkins to create otherworldly arenas of flash and flair. J.J.’s trusty cinematographer Dan Mindel (five previous collaborations between them) captured the accelerated action set to every possible hymn, horn, and hurrah from retiring composer legend John Williams. Merging four decades of cues and themes with impeccable placement and push, Williams earned that 52nd career Oscar nomination. Flying through this fantastical world will always remain a rousing treat. The wonderment and magic is there.

That said, no amount of razzle-dazzle filling eyes and ears can cover up the glaring examples of questionable creativity and incomplete development enacted by Abrams and lead screenwriter Chris Terrio. Even in a third film meant to wrap up storylines, The Rise of Skywalker compels itself to introduce even more tangents and swerves. It has characters that answer questions with more questions and moments ringing with vague parables rather than stamping cemented mythology. The arcs for Ridley and Driver fare the best, but the periphery is scattered with superfluous glaze. The isolation elements of The Last Jedi slowed matters down to create tangible suspense. This overpacked trilogy capper favors sprinting set pieces instead. Moving at a rush does not automatically or always create one in return, magic be damned.

To explain more crosses into spoiler territory, but there are downright mistakes here that expose the distance between forming merely a sense of finality, albeit a forcibly telegraphed one, and garnering a true, earned, and fitting consummation. Gauge all of this ambition straight toward the many synonyms of “finality.” Measure this film for “decisiveness,” “totality,” “resolution,” and even “integrity.” You may find its force more thin than thick.

3 STARS

EXTRA CREDIT: 

(Image courtesy of Disney)

For the first time in quite a while (re: see every Marvel disc release in ten years), Disney has finally put out a stellar disc release worthy of full purchase ahead of merely a digital download of the feature itself. All it took was a legitimate and immersive behind-the-scenes documentary that actually showed the full filmmaking process. Little seven to fifteen minute featurettes can’t do that, no matter how many of them you pretend to pack on a second disc, not when half of them feel like sales pitches instead of documentation. 

The Rancor-sized beast feature in question is the feature-length The Skywalker Legacy documentary.  Running a rich 126 minutes, the documentary follows the film’s production process from pillar to post. The access and observational intimacy into the process is phenomenal. Best all, they merge little flashbacks to the making-of footage of the original trilogy, making that “legacy” in the title the perfect term.

Those callbacks are some of the best moments to savor in the documentary because they each pile on a full circle of reflection and completion. For example, to see and hear Anthony Daniels compare walking onto the Tunisian heat with uncertainty in 1976 to stepping off the set in the same costume for the last time over 40 years later as a legend is beyond a treat. It’s a moment of pure satisfaction. Moments and threads like that are echoed and repeated for Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and the memory of Carrie Fisher, especially how this production had to remember here while finding a way to go on without her.

Probably the best legacy moment captured in The Skywalker Legacy is when director J.J. Abrams brought composer John Williams on the set to film a first-time cameo. After Williams finishes shooting his bit, J.J. has the octogenarian look around the “junk” around his character’s workshop table. Each tarnished prop in view was purposely constructed to represent all 51 of Williams’ Oscar-nominated scores. That’s an incredible display of easter eggs that will drop your jaw and just a taste of the complete devotion and keen respect J.J. Abrams operates with the entire shoot.

The figure to watch (and being watched) the most is Abrams. His insistence, no matter the time, resources, and expense, to shoot with as many physical layers of creation and authenticity as possible is extremely commendable. From black bean quicksand and an alien festival to the wild energy of scene-stealing stunt coordindator Eunice Huthart, the massive volume of sets, costumes, vehicle rigs, and puppetry is off the charts.  The armies of people who train and put their heart, soul, and sweat into work that may only be seen mere seconds or minutes on-screen is dizzying. All the while, his skillful focus and constant smile make the pressures and expectations and returns look invisible.

Outside of the feature-length centerpiece, there are few more samples of blockbuster dessert. They come in the form of five smaller featurettes.  Even these still beat the Disney/Marvel entries of talking schills and put their focus on the stories behind the movie. 

One of the best of them is “Aliens on the Desert.” It’s a quick six minutes, but it outlines all of the set-up work in Jordan, where the visiting humans are the foreigners to the rugged vistas, that happens even before the circus-level main unit arrives. The scale of teamwork and practicality from the gear-loaded teams is something not normally shown for behind-the-scenes material that more often loves their headliners. The 14-minute “Pasaana Pursuit” feature is similar in its background focus.

If artistry gets you awestruck, you will enjoy the “Cast of Creatures” featurette. Like their shining moments in The Skywalker Legacy, the merger of makeup, engineering design, and puppetry have long made the fictional living things in Star Wars more tangible than any CGI power. This short is a tribute to the folks underneath the heavy gyros, foam, and rubber shells. The new droid D-O also gets a quick five-minute-and-change video on its character genesis of the more mechanical nature.

The final featurette is “Warwick & Son” and it’s the smile-inducing parting glance to the special features and nine-film saga. This snippet chronicles actor Warwick Davis returning to the Ewok role of Wicket and the chance to bring his aspiring actor son Harrison in to play his Ewok kin. Like the legacy circles earlier, to hear and see Warwick’s journey and sage maturity being celebrated is delightful. This caps a truly fantastic disc of special features.

LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED (#867)

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