#the lighting between the two episodes of glee that he's in is vastly different and i couldn't get it right so the first gif looks weird

[catdadeddie]

Kenneth Choi as Dr. Wu in Glee

Bonus:

[nyangibun]

GoT S07E01 Thoughts

I don’t know if this will be a regular occurrence, but for the first episode, I’m going to be laying out my thoughts about the premiere in what will probably be a lengthy post that’s half gibberish and half maybe something substantial. Undoubtedly, not eloquent. These are just thoughts and nothing more that I’ve jotted down while watching and am now about to elaborate on. 

Let’s begin with what has to be one of the most epic intros in Game of Thrones ever. No, I don’t want to hear your counter. You will not sway me on this. I don’t care, mate, because this scene was bloody awesome. The minute Filch Walder Frey’s face popped up, I knew it was Arya and I knew shit was about to go down. Now nobler humans might be like ‘Oh, Arya is going down a dark path; this is bad’ but her gathering all of the Freys in one room was poetic justice. What they did at the Red Wedding warranted retaliation and this has been a long time coming. 

It was beautiful the way it happened too – a dark sadistic glee washed over you as you watch a room full of men choke on their drinks as Arya stands there telling them they should’ve killed all the Starks, and “leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe.” 

Look, people really hated that line prior to the premiere, but in context, it was wonderful, it was justified, it was so unbelievably satisfying. Then when Arya goes, “tell them the North remembers; tell them Winter came for House Frey”, you bet I got goosebumps. Like I’ve said time and time again, ‘Winter is Coming’ is not just a warning, but it’s a battle cry for the Starks. This is their season. When the world dies, the lands become barren and the knights of Summer struggle to survive, the North prevails, and the Starks are at the helm of this changing tide. It’s their time now, and beginning it with Arya avenging the loss of her family is a truly poignant way to set the tone for the rest of the season. Yes, we’ll see Cersei and Dany duking it out, but at the end of the day, this is about the Starks. 

The next thing I jotted down was ‘zombie giants’, which is just to say that: holy shit, there are zombie giants! Seeing the sheer number of White Walkers, it makes you realise how utterly inconsequential Cersei and Dany’s fight for the Iron Throne is. There won’t be a kingdom to govern when those icy bastards get past the Wall, and believe you me, they will eventually. No matter what anyone says, that Wall is coming down probably at the end of this season. 

Seeing Dolorous Edd as Lord Commander gave me goosebumps as well. I adore him; I love him, and I swear to god if he dies, I will kick someone’s ass, so he’s probably going to die. But him meeting Bran and Meera made my heart race. They are so close to Winterfell and we’re so close to another Stark reunion. Also, hey Bran, I know the world is ending but cheer up, pal. 

Now we get to the highly talked about scene with Jon and the Northern houses. First of all, I felt so euphoric when Jon told the North that they would need every man and woman, boy and girl fighting in this battle. Even more so when Lyanna spoke up and basically told the men in the room to shut up about it. Her “I don’t need your permission to defend the North!” speech was seriously my top five favourite moments of the episode. The look of pride on Brienne’s face as well. I wonder, however, if this means Sansa might learn how to fight? I don’t see it. She’s a diplomat, a politician, but she should know some self-defence. Jon should teach her. Late at night. Alone. Some flirty teaching.... I’m getting sidetracked. 

Speaking of Jon and Sansa though, can I just say to that redditor who apparently saw the first episode: ‘Hey buddy, you were wrong! And if you interpreted that scene as Jon putting Sansa in her place then you really are a sexist creep.’ Because while yes, Sansa does argue with Jon in public and Jon does tell her his word is final, he in no way puts her in her place. And there is no moment where the other Houses laugh at her. In fact, going by the murmurs of agreement, quite a large amount of lords and ladies wanted Jon to give Umber and Karstark lands to the houses who didn’t fight for Ramsay. 

I also want to clarify something here before anti’s get all up in arms about this scene (not that I think any of them follow me or stalk my blog but if you do: hi, how are ya?). While I do agree with Jon’s decision, in the end, I also understand Sansa’s opinion on the matter. If I had gone through what she had under the ministrations of Ramsay and knew that these Houses who have sworn up and down in the past to fight for the Starks sided with him, I’d be furious. There wouldn’t be a damn thing anyone could say to me to get me to forgive their indifference and compliance in the trauma I went through. Sansa has every right to want to strip the Umbers and Karstarks of their land. I can even understand being angry with Jon for not understanding this, but here’s the thing, she wasn’t.

Immediately after this extremely public argument, it cuts to a scene of Jon and Sansa talking about it. They didn’t fight, let the emotions fester and build up resentment. No, Jon and Sansa talked it out. He told her not to undermine him in public and she told him a king needed to be questioned lest he ends up like Joffrey. Then when he asks her if she thinks he’s like Joffrey, her eyes lose that fight and there’s fondness in it, as she tells him firmly that he is the furthest man from Joffrey she had ever known. Although they’re arguing and disagreeing on important political decisions, there’s fondness and trust and respect in the way they talk to each other. 

What I find interesting is that after Jon and Sansa’s scene, they cut straight away to Jaime and Cersei. Two pair of (sort of) siblings and yet two vastly different relationships. The placement of these two scenes is no coincidence. The two relationships act as literary foils for one another. Both are fighting and arguing, but in contrast, Jaime and Cersei are clearly on very different paths from one another. There’s wariness, disbelief, and disappointment in the way Jaime looks at Cersei; and she is so consumed with her grief, anger, power, she can’t see that he is questioning her very right to be on the throne. They are shot as two opposing figures circling each other with lots of space in between them. On the other hand, Jon and Sansa were shot close together, always within inches from another, with dimmer lighting, and more physicality (ie. Sansa touching his arm to assure him and let him know she may argue but she is on his side). 

Don’t dismiss the sequence of these scenes. Nothing in this show is a coincidence. 

Moving on, I love Sam and I am so excited to see him again, but dear lord, that was the most disgusting series of shots ever. I felt physically ill. Please never again. But I wonder if he discovers the dragon glass at Dragonstone this early in the season, what else will he uncover in the Citadel? There’s definitely more in store for Sam’s storyline and I wonder if it might be something to do with R+L=J. People have theorised about Sam confirming it somehow. We’ll see, I guess.

Nothing really of substance to say about the Brienne, Podrick and Tormund scene, but it made me laugh out loud. Tormund is the physical embodiment of the heart eyes emoji. And his “you’re a lucky man” to Podrick when he gets knocked down by Brienne was such great comedic timing and brilliantly hilarious. 

I wish I could play this next scene on a loop. Sansa telling Littlefinger off has to be the greatest ‘screw you’ to all the people clambering for StarkBowl just because they don’t like Sansa. I love when she says to him, and I’m paraphrasing here, “you don’t have to get the last word. I’m sure it’s probably something clever” and just dismisses him like he’s nothing, which he is. It was so queenly, so regal and so cutting. It was exactly like Sansa. She may not have a sword, but her tongue is sharp enough to wound. 

The biggest surprise of the episode was seeing bloody Ed Sheeran. When we heard the singing, I said that whoever that was had a great voice, and low and behold, it’s bloody Ed. I knew there was a huge musical guest star but this totally surprised me. I love this scene though. Arya’s always been on a very rigid path for vengeance. Those who serve the Lannisters are in the wrong and there’s no grey area about it, but you can see her sitting there listening to these men caught in someone else’s war longing to be home with their fathers, wives, daughters, etc. and realise that they are victims of this war just like everyone else. I wonder how that’ll change (if it does at all) Arya’s journey towards vengeance because truth be told, I am worried about her this season. Next on her list is Cersei, but we all know Cersei will either die by the hand of Jaime or by Tyrion (probably Jaime), so where will that leave Arya? Will she give up her quest and head home to Winterfell? Or will she die trying? 

You know what? I do like the Hound. I like his redemption arc. And although I don’t believe it makes up for all the bad shit he did prior to it, I am intrigued to see where he goes from here. Also, this line is hilarious: “it’s my luck I'd end up with a band of fire lovers.” 

Now, what I’m about to say people might nitpick with me being an anti-Dany person, but honestly, I’m not. I just thought the whole Dragonstone sequence was incredibly boring. It was exciting the first thirty seconds, but it dragged on for so long. Then when she stands at the table and says, “shall we begin?” it was just so anticlimactic. It was the dullest part of the episode and I’m hoping it gets more interesting for her soon. Actually, no doubt it will be considering this is her make or break moment, but let’s be honest, that sequence was way too long. 

Anyway, I’m done. Those are my thoughts. Let me know what you guys think!

[semicolonthefifth]

Fans won't like this, or, Death Note 2017

“Death Note” is a story that I got into at the height of its popularity, when the anime and its English Dub was being spread across media, and when fan support was at its most public. I saw it around the time when the “Death Note” aesthetic was growing in stores like Hot Topic, and when schools were banning products similar to the titular notebook from their classrooms. Although I was spoiled on several of the critical plot points surrounding the series, I still enjoyed it from beginning to end. Aside from the animation and story, which followed the dramatic battle of the minds between a teenager who wished to use the death note as a means to combating the world’s ills and the mysterious detective bent on putting this self-appointed god down, it was the themes and intrigue that truly grabbed me. Each episode was another new method in out-thinking your opponents, in a world where death could be brought down by simply writing a person’s name in a book. Light Yagami was cold and calculating, always thinking 2 steps ahead as he slowly went insane from an ever-growing god-complex and disillusion of moral superiority; the detective L, although a socially-awkward golem, proved to be Light’s intellectual equal, and was getting closer and closer to learning Light’s identity as Kira, an omniscient figure who killed those who committed bad deeds. There’s a lot of themes to pull from the story, even to this day, but it worked thanks to a series that approached it all through the genre of a detective piece, with multiple characters making the mystery all the more complicated. It’s understandable then that an American film adaptation would draw in a lot of concern and hate, especially due to the controversial name and race change. Unlike some anime where race is somewhat questionable due to fictional locations, “Death Note” is undoubtedly Japanese in both location and culture. It would be controversial to make all but one of the characters non-Japanese, in addition to changing the main character’s name to fit the western location (the now often-mocked Light Turner). In addition, with all western film adaptations of anime, the story is heavily condensed to fit the typical running time for a movie, and so a lot of the characters and story that would have been present in the original manga and anime is cut out to fit the new story. Obviously “Death Note” isn’t a good adaptation, enough so that you wonder why it wasn’t its own movie. Dwelling on that thought though, there’s an observation I have to make. Could it be that, were this film not an exact adaptation of the “Death Note” story, and at best a side-story to the universe, that the film is actually pretty good? What I’m saying may come across as blasphemy to fans, but let me explain through this review. STORY: Netflix’s “Death Note” follows Light Turner, a bright kid in high school who (after a run in with some bullies) discovers the strange death note. In his time at detention he reads the rules of the book and soon discovers the presence of Ryuk, a death god who has chosen Light as the keeper of the notebook. When an individual writes a name into the book, while thinking about that person, the named victim will die, whether by the writer’s choosing or through some form of fate. Light, testing the book, uses it on one of his bullies, and witnesses the books effect almost immediately. With the book, Light decides to take up the mantle of Kira, and uses the death note to kill criminals, terrorists, and evil people. He does this with the help of a high school friend turned lover named Mia Sutton, who helps in picking the names for the book. However his actions soon takes the notice of the world, and with it its greatest detective, L, who quickly theorizes the location of Kira being where Light lives. Now Light must hide from L’s investigation, all the while Misa grows reckless, his sanity starting to slip, and Ryuk watching it all with a sick sense of glee. DEATH NOTE THE ADAPTATION: I’m going to devote a section of this review to pointing out the differences between the film and the original anime/manga. While the film does its best to match the general story, there’s a lot of changes between the source material and the adaptation, enough so that the film feels like its own story. Light Turner is vastly different from Light Yagami. While Light Yagami is mostly cool-headed and places himself at a moral high-ground, Light Turner is prone to emotional outbreak and often questions his use of the death note. Yagami is more intellectual in his actions and behaviors, to the point that you can believe he has truly thought out the use of the book, its strategic value, and the value in his way of thinking; Yagami is also charismatic, and he does a fine job in hiding his identity from everyone around him. Light Turner, on the other hand, is in way over his head, and constantly runs into issues regarding how he uses the book through much of the film. Although bright enough to dodge suspicion, he lacks the charisma to really convince people of his involvement to Kira, to the point that it’s easy to suspect he has some sort of ties. In a battle of wits, Yagami overpowers Turner very easily. The same could be said between the American L and the Japanese L. Both L’s are socially awkward, and prove to be competent in their investigation, however that is where the similarities end. Anime L is awkward, but it more shows that he’s absolutely focused on the case, and that there are attempts to softening his act when he needs to get close to people; L is also as intellectual as Light Yagami in how he acts, and very rarely does he go into emotional outbursts. Film L, meanwhile, is very awkward, trusts very few people, doesn’t attempt to connect with people, and is very prone to letting his emotions get in the way. Whereas Anime L can be seen as an investigator who is barely a person, Film L is a gifted youth who can be ruthless in his attempts to finding Kira, and loses as much sanity in this case as Light does. More so than Light, the film L is very different from his anime counterpart. Other characters are different as well, with Light’s Dad being more gritty and as father than an investigator as compared to the anime, and Film Watari barely having a presence. Misa Amane, the second Death note user and an obsessive love interest to Light, makes an appearance as Mia Sutton, Light’s partner and potential lover who quickly becomes obsessed with the death note and Kira. On Mia versus Misa: Misa was characterizes as being bubbly and in love with Kira, and having a tragic backstory that led to her ownership of a death note. Mia, meanwhile, becomes a partner to Light when he shows her the death note’s power, and helps him along in hiding from L while slowly wanting to power of the book herself. Lastly there is Ryuk, who is the most like his original character than all the others. Still, the film Ryuk is actually more evil and gleeful in how he acts, in contrast to the anime Ryuk who, while gleeful, is treated more as an entertaining spectator to Light’s actions. One can almost see the film Ryuk as a villain in how he’s portrayed, however that would be getting ahead of myself. Aside from the character differences, the stories are vastly different. Missing from the anime is the friendship between L and Light, as well the in-depth investigation to finding Kira, as well much of the characters that were present in finding him (like all the agents who helped Light’s father). Rem is not present, nor is she mentioned, as well as any other Shinigami (the death gods aside from Ryuk). The second half of the anime is cut out, so we also don’t meet Near and Mello either. Instead we have a story that’s all about L trying to find Light; Light’s relationship to Mia; and the fears towards Ryuk and what he plans to do with the death note once Light’s done with it (if it even goes that far). If you are a fan of the original “Death Note”, there’s a good chance you’ll be pissed by all these changes. The story doesn’t match the source material, and its understandable to be frustrated by it. Of course it’s also quite expected, as it would’ve been impossible to adapt such a long and complicated series without cutting so much out to fit a single film. All of this sounds like it makes for a bad film… …right? Well, here’s where I think I may lose some people. While this film is a bad adaptation, strangely enough it’s a pretty good film. Not necessarily a great one, as there are issues, but it’s actually good. Allow me to explain. STORY (SPOILERS) AND ACTING: I want you to first change how you think about this film. Let’s pretend that this isn’t a movie about the story from Death Note. When approaching this film, let’s think about the story in a different way. If we were to see this movie as a side-story to the Death Note universe at best, which followed another user of the book who was influenced by Ryuk (or any other Shinigami) who was also hounded down by another detective (perhaps even change all the characters’ names so they don’t match the source at all) you would get a film that is actually quite interesting. Instead of the story surrounding a battle of wits between two intellectuals, you’d instead get a horror story surrounding a naive youth who comes across the death note, whose problems grow more and more as he’s hounded by an obsessed detective. Both sides are quickly losing their sanity, all to the entertainment of a sadistic death god who simply had to toss a book their way to bring out an insane world-changing phenomenon. What the film lacks in intrigue, it almost makes up for in madness. Almost. Light Turner is alright, but he comes across as foolish for a lot of the film. You sympathize with him not for his beliefs and the idea that he could fix the world, bust instead because he’s very pathetic, and you feel sorry for him for getting caught in this mess. The actor’s performance is great, and there’s nothing bad that comes to mind about it. L is cast almost as a secondary villain, especially in how he jumps to outbursts towards Light. He’s less of an investigative character, and more so an obsessed detective who is letting this particular case become more personal as time goes by. Another fine performance, almost better than Light in how he uses his emotions within the story. Another villain is Mia, as she progresses to this mad individual who keeps trying to influence Light to go deeper into his Kira persona. She’s very different from her anime counterpart, but in a way that she becomes her own character. Like the others, her performance is actually quite good. I’d say that everyone does a fine job, but nobody gets on Ryuk’s level, thanks to the voice acting done by Willem Dafoe. Dagoe’s Ryuk is amazing, although it does get into Spiderman’s Green Goblin at times. He’s very sadistic in how he acts, taking delight in Light’s suffering and always making joyous threats to what he’ll do with the book when he passes it on. The way he comments on Light’s situation is always entertaining, and the way the film raises him to a full-on antagonist is amazing (specifically for the film, of course). The story is simple where it needs to be, with the investigative intrigue being present at the middle and end of the film. There’s less of a mystery and more of a horror/drama, with Light being in panic over what he’s gotten himself into, and the actions he commits to trying to fix everything. The first third of the film is a hard sit; the attempts at comedy can be dull, and Light is pretty dumb in a lot of the moments at the beginning. In addition the beginning feels a lot like a typical horror movie, with bully characters, death scenes and scares. However, after Light takes the alias of Kira and L is introduced does the film become a lot better. The way Light tries to avoid capture is great, and L’s obsession raises the stakes well enough. I’d say that the film gets better and better as it goes, with the ending making up for the beginning. The gore tones down along with the dumb moments, and the film actually starts being smart in how Light uses the death note. It’s at the end where it feels like a real “Death Note” film, with a closing scene that is the best in the film with how it leaves on an ambiguous (albeit frustrating) end. Honestly a lot of the fault lies in the beginning up until L comes in. The way characters act is dumb and very typical, with Light’s father being a gruff cop who scolds Light for getting in trouble, and Light being this typical teen who has some angst. Once the actual crime drama comes in does it finally get better. As great as the anime/manga though? Not close at all. The original anime/manga is a lot smarter, and has the advantage of being a series, whereas the film is short and relies more on the drama/action side of things. Still, it’s quite entertaining, and there are moments that does serve as a smart film. VISUALS AND MUSIC: The visuals and cinematography is great, and a lot of the artistic editing/shots are fantastic. The film does a great job in adapting a lot of the wild angles and shots that were present in the anime, and I’d say that’s well worth some praise. Some shots are really dark though, especially whenever Ryuk is present, however the coloring and lights is great when the darkness isn’t too strong. Once more the beginning feels a lot like a typical modern horror movie with its use of blues, but (again) the tone improves once L enters the picture. There’s a careful use of CGI, mostly in Ryuk and in other scenes. It’s not too obvious, although Ryuk (while as incredible as he is) does feel like a puppet when he talks. He’s certainly better when seen either from behind or away from direct view. The music though… is more miss than hit. I think it was a mistake to use a lot of songs from bands, rather than its own original soundtrack. They try to be quiet for a lot of the film, with a soft orchestral soundtrack in a lot of the scenes. However in the final third the music tracks come right after the other in attempt to make certain scenes feel more powerful. It can be laughable at certain times, but in others it’s just extremely noticeable and gets in the way of seeing the film. It’s a terrible mistake, and one I wish wasn’t in the film as much in the end. CONCLUSION: This is going to be difficult. If this film were its own story, or was treated as a side-story with characters completely separate from those in the original, it would be an entertaining film that has some flaws, but could be considered a good watch. Not something you could recommend to see, but a good film to pass the time. However, as an adaptation it is extremely unfaithful, and fans will hate this film a lot for what it did with the story and characters. The film-makers had to make the film about Light Turner and a detective named L, and for that it suffers for making so many changes. Were it about a teenager (not named Light) who was stalked by a code-named government agent, with the teen finding a death note that looks eerily similar to a case happening in Japan (thereby being a story running parallel, rather directly from it) this movie would be seen as an interesting mini-drama that could perhaps expand the world more. Instead it chose to be a adaptation, and it’s difficult to ignore that, even for me. So do I ask you to see it? Perhaps to not see it? I can’t say. If it is impossible to ignore this film as an adaptation, than I’d say don’t watch it. Go watch the anime, or maybe the Japanese film adaptation in 2006. You won’t find the anime or manga in this Netflix film. Fans will hate it, this I promise. However, if you can treat this as a side-story, or something completely cut from Death note, it’s a good popcorn film to see with friends. Nothing worth remembering, but entertaining nonetheless. I wouldn’t say it’s worth recommendation, but if you have any free time and you’re browsing Netflix, I don’t think you’ll regret putting it on.