#this movie would've made such a great book tbh

[jasonisaacs]

Jason Isaacs as Dr Heinreich Volmer A CURE FOR WELLNESS (2016)

[legallybrunettedotcom]

i want to know everything omg! what are your favorite characters on gossip girl? who do you hate the most? and what your opinion about this show in general. 💓

I really need to do a rewatch, I probably forgot a lot of plot points, but... Blair was always my favourite, my number one girl. I didn't like Serena, I think I just didn't like Blake Lively, and I hate to be that person that's like oh she always had bad vibes, I knew it from the start, but idk I just never got the hype around her and her acting was so bad. I think I end up disliking a lot of characters on any tv show just bc I hate the actor's acting choices, like why are you doing that face? that was so unneccessary lmao. I think I also maybe projected onto Blair a bit, like someone who is always trying their best, putting in 110% and someone else just swooping in and winning with zero effort, but... let's not unpack that here. Them together are obviously one of the best frenemies put on screen and I suppose both the tension and love that can exist in female friendships was portrayed really well imo so I don't really want to point fingers at either of them as like the root cause of the friendship problems, like one of them being the shitty friend and other the martyr. Like sometimes you are a shitty friend and sometimes your friend is the cunt, that's not the end of the world. I can see the same thing happening now that there's been a sort of SATC renaissance if i can call it that (even though SATC is a show that is consistently popular, like I don't think it has ever fallen off and then had some sort of resurgence but ygwim) where ppl are aggressively hating Carrie, like she was the devil. Plus I find it difficult to look at fiction through real life eyes, like asking why would this person do this? well they did it bc this is a show and we need an inciting incident to move the plot forward yk?

Blair and Chuck were made for each other, I loved their dynamic. With that said, Chuck is obviously not a good guy. I think at the time, as a kid, some things flew over my head, but looking back he is scary and creepy and you'd feel unsafe in his presence. I suppose he was entertaining, like you got this 15, 16 year old kid talking about stock exchange and dressing like Hugh Hefner, it kinda is funny. Even though I was rooting for Chair (was that their ship name I can't remember) endgame, I did actually enjoy Blair and Dan together, I think it was a cute moment and they worked well together. I don't think their relationship was for shock value, they actually had kind of a proper enemies to friends to lovers arc. I liked Dan, but also looking back... kind of a creep as well, his obsession with Serena was weird and the reveal of him as GG was disappointing. I gotta admit I never watched the show with anticipation of GG being revealed, I personally was like ok if it happens, happens, if it doesn't, fine. I never was interested in looking for clues on who GG might be. I think the show would've been fine ending without that reveal tbh. Definitely one of the more underwhelming and disappointing show finales out there.

I loved Jenny, I loved Juliet, I think she was the best antagonist. I kinda didn't care about Nate that much. I loved that the show delved into the life and drama of the parents as well, sometimes more entertaining than teenage lives. Honestly, can't say I hated anyone, which... funny considering I opened this with a politer version of calling Serena a bitch lmao. But despite GG being looked at as a silly teen show, I think all these characters were pretty complex and no one was really entirely good or entirely bad. I think what carried that show was great costumes, great set design and charismatic actors. I actually read some of the books and yk they're fine, can't remember much of the details, but I think actors made it much more than it is on paper, which also I feel is a sign of times. Like not to lump these actors with actual movie stars of the past, but we can definitely see an actor is not a star anymore, they're a product. The show had a lot of plot holes, but... idk I can't say I'm intense abt plot holes unless it's truly insanely dumb and demeans the audience.

I don't know if you've checked out the reboot, I watched like first half of first season and it wasn't good. They tried to fix a lot of problems of the original, especially in matters of diversity and class consciousness, but the problem with a lot of "socially conscious" media nowadays is that their writing ends up consisting of slogans instead of yk actually good writing and dialogue. The original was quite scandalous for its time, like I've seen ppl say their parents wouldn't let them watch it. It was like SATC for teenagers. The reboot didn't have that edge, but I also don't think this is a uniquely GG problem, I think it's just the times. Television doesn't connect us anymore. Which I know is ironic saying this on Tumblr, on a fandom site, in an era where there are so many streaming platforms producing many many many tv shows and programmes and it all being actually more profitable than films, BUT you can't tell me our relationship to TV is the same as it was 20, 30, 40 etc years ago, or even just 10 years ago.

But yeah, all in all, I love the show, I love the fashion, I love the bitchiness and I think it came at the right moment in my life. If you want to share your own opinions feel free to do so, my inbox is always open. Like I said, haven't seen it in a long time, so my memory isn't super fresh, but I think I'm due for a rewatch. <3

[bees-sknees]

ok so ive been thinking of the pjo tv adaptation a lot and tbh (as for 3 episodes in) I'm a little disappointed so far. I think the actors are great and everything but the pieces feel slightly disjointed. something in production doesn't fit. and I was thinking about it a lot bc I love pjo and I wanted to see it on screen but then I realized that the book is the perfect method of telling that specific story (especially with Percy's narration and inner monologue)

SO I WAS THINKING

they could've done a show based off the books but not intended to be 100% accurate. like how greek myths have a million versions, they could've made a version better suited to a tv story telling. then you'd have the books, the movie, the musical and the tv all as different versions of the same story and its like percy has his own little myth yk.

(my personal vote would've been to make a more realistic [as in realistic way that teens act] pg-13 version kinda like a stranger things vibe but thats neither here nor there)

[lost-girl-2021]

Do you have any more Quaritch headcanons? It's okay if you don't though! Thank you and have a great day!

Tbh, I've just been obsessing over The Walking Dead all week, but here're some random thoughts, lol.

I'm again bringing up the apocalypse AU, because of my new favorite TV show. Quaritch is a doomsday prepper. Like, he doesn't call himself that and very few people know about it, but he's set up for any of the major apocalyptic events; MREs, clothes, a whole-ass bunker, weapons (guns and others). Like, he's prepared. (Spider thinks he's fucking crazy).

Quaritch is an awkward guy. Like, when he drops the bravado and actually tries to be normal, he's completely at a loss. Especially with Spider. Like, here's this kid who's his total opposite; he feels bad about stepping on ants (or whatever the Pandoran version of ants is) and refuses to hunt for sport, only for sustenance.

Probably a big fan of old war movies and westerns. Like, he definitely (secretly) thinks he would've made a badass cowboy if he'd been alive in the Old West.

Does not know how to use 50% of the tech the RDA provides him with. He'd an old man, old men don't know how to change the TV from HDMI 1 to HDMI 2 without calling someone. Spider also does not know how to use 50% of the tech at the RDA, but that's because it's a decade more advanced than anything he grew up with.

Quaritch doesn't think Spider's stupid when they first meet, but he thinks he's got street (or jungle) smarts, not book smarts. In actuality, Spider is advanced for someone his age. For his own biological safety, he spends one or two days straight in the shack every week or so and has since he was old enough to go outside. He also had a curfew with the lab guys, sun-down to sun-up he had to be in the lab. He doesn't like doing nothing, so he spent that extra time learning. He also was raised by scientists and asked a lot of questions as a kid, so he knows how a lot of science-y stuff works. He doesn't even seem phased when one of the lab guys says something in science-lingo to him, just nods along and offers his own answer. Everyone is surprised that the half-feral kid they pulled from the jungle is smarter than the average adult.

[horrorfilmlesbian]

So, recently I have completed my self appointed mission to watch all the Saw movies, and now I present to you my currently definitive ranking:

Saw

Saw II

Saw VI

Saw III

Saw X

Saw V

Saw IV

Saw 3D (/The Final Chapter)

Jigsaw

Spiral: From the Book of Saw*

*tbh I DO wish it was possible to leave Spiral off the list entirely bc it's so far below the quality of the other movies. But. It is technically a Saw movie so I have to I guess .

Other definitive Opinions per below (spoilers included) -

Personally, Amanda is my favourite Apprentice, and obviously I don't like Hoffman but at least he actually was half interesting, unlike that other guy from Jigsaw who's name has escaped me. Logan? Liam? Idk. He's a loser. To me.

Like, ultimately Amanda was the Real One. She survived her trap and dedicated herself to her mission. Hoffman didn't get tested, not really, and I really don't get why John didn't attempt to do that first before he brought Hoffman on. I can't quite see the appeal.

Also. I have soooo much beef with Jigsaw's place in the chronology. The twist of it being an old game was genuinely mid, and tbh it would have actually been good had it engaged with the true crime elements it teased. I think if it had been some freaky true crime fan desperately trying to recreate Jigsaw traps using information compiled from various freaky corners of the internet, it would've worked.

Instead, it was extremely mid and goes too hard on shock value with its plot twist for it to say or do anything meaningful.

Although genuinely I will give it to them for Saw X as a late addition prequel bc it really fit into the canon. I know people think the kid was corny and maybe it was but. I genuinely had a great time and having my best friend Amanda there really did it. I did get excited about the plot twist bc it was once again such a classic Saw movie move.

I could also talk about Spiral but actually I don't think it did anything. At first I got excited bc it seemed like we'd get a fun modern Saw movie but it genuinely was extremely bad. Nothing it did made any particular sense and it felt like a waste of 90 minutes.

Anyway. Saw movies, overall, rule and I love that silly little riff they do when the plot twist gets revealed at the end of the movie. The joy they have in revealing these things. Unparalleled.

[incorrectdwkquotes]

Definitely. Masannek isn't that great at writing female characters. People nowadays left the leonessa ship. They actually see they're toxic for each other. Vanessa is shipped with maxi nowadays. And I'm here, w/ the butterflies in my stomach for the marlonessa moments in the book. They're the cutest. Why does the movie have to suck this harddd

Hi! Well, yes, indeed, objectively speaking Masannek really wasn't/isn't that great at writing female characters unfortunately and I feel like that's something I've picked upon as I got older and started thinking more about the series' themes and how they were handled; or, as I mentioned, I think he simply doesn't feel like he needs to go above a certain level in his female characters' characterization, and you can clearly see it with many (especially side) female characters in the franchise: Düsentrieb is basically a female doppelgänger of Markus, Horizon's only personality traits are being """mysterious""" and stirring up strife between siblings, Annika's character is never delved upon that much except for the bunny costume trauma which only tells us she's actually a bit insecure despite putting out a bold face.

As for Vanessa and Leon... tbh I don't think they're toxic in the very sense of the world but yeah, in the end I, too, kinda made up my mind that maybe they really don't work that well together, but that's because they're too similar (both are stubborn and impulsive and both believe they are always right) and because Masannek made their relationship in the movies look like the classical everlasting "teenagers in love" drama, i.e. a relationship that only works and is carried on because of drama, the problem is that such drama is never explicitly resolved and always comes back the next movie over in the same. exact. way. (unbelievable): Leon/Vanessa leaves/is kidnapped > Vanessa/Leon loses trust in him/her > the power of football saves everything and we're back to where we were before. Literally ALL of their problems in the movies could be resolved if they just sat down and COMMUNICATED like an actual couple, but they're stubborn teenagers™ so Masannek didn't let them do that (yeah, overall I think the lack of communication is the only true toxic thing in their relationship). Same goes for Maxi and Vanessa... personally I see them better as friends and not as a couple, their little friendship scenes in the fifth movie are among my favorites ever!

Ultimately (and unfortunately) the movies are "offspring of their times" (is that a phrase in English? Idk we say that in Italian) and, most importantly, they are targeted towards children and pre-teens, so it is inevitable that not everything that happens in them gets resolved and that characters and their relationships aren't explored thoroughly and so on.

PLEASE don't even get me started on Marlon and Vanessa in the books, I think they're legitimately my favorite couple in the entire franchise, I love them with all my heart, I think Marlon's level-headedness is a perfect match and complementary factor for Vanessa's strong temper!! It would've been fun to see how (IF) they got developed in the books

[yanderefreud]

Why do YOU think the MCU made an ults adaptation instead of a 616 adaptation? 👁️👁️

It was definitely primarily the "realism" of the ults. I think one of the worst thing about comic book movies is just that: they try to make things seem all Serious and Gritty and Dramatic. It's a bunch of guys in spandex for fucks sake!! Have some fun with it! Give iron man roller skates like in the comics!!

Also, not only did they take shit from the ults, but they DID NOT COMMIT TO IT. Guys. Seriously. Why is Captain America not screaming and yelling at everyone within spitting distance (an exaggeration but still).

I think you highlighted most of the reasons why the MCU did what they did tbh and I definitely agree w the whole islamaphobia backstory in IM1 and how the thing that changed Tony's mind was American soldiers dying (lmfao).

Other than that, I can think of one reason as to why they might have made this decision : they did not have enough time. As in, in the comics you can spend years upon years building upon characters but in the theatre you have like two hours to portray everything. Something as vast as 616 lore could not be sensibly shrunk into a three hour movie imo, as great as that would've been.

That's all I can think of rn that you didn't say. Ty for asking <33333

[inlovewithcharmers]

Never in my life would I have thought to do this to a harry styles fan but they insulted everyone besides Joe Keery in the cast even though Gaten is literally on Broadway rn and they called MY BBG SEASON 3 TRASH- like don't act like seeing Steve harrington in a skirt was the best thing you have gotten to see. PLUS DACRE :((((( NO ONE GIVES HIM ENOUGH CREDIT FOR THIS SHIIIIIITTTTT HES SO TALENTED LIKE HE LITERALLY MADE PART OF HIMSELF CRY WHILE ACTING AS FLAYED BILLY.....

like girl......

Eduardo.....as soon as I seen the musical of everyone getting high I was genuinely scared....but Mike's beef with him is hilarious lmaoooooo.

I also love how they changed Charlie's character into being funny.....At first I was like I don't like how he stalks people like that?- but Steve s1 was an ass more than he was so I forgave him. He did a really great job changing his character a bit.

Caleb, HIM AND SADIE ARE JUST🫨🤯💣 THOSE DANCE MOVES TOO THOUUUGH. THE SWAGGIEST OUT OF ALL THE CAST (Don't tell Joe I said that, especially Djo)

Finn is so amazing in mystery horror movies and series you don't even know- he can also sing so like WHAT YOU TALKING ABOUT? HES SO SWEET. THE SWEETEST BEAN EVEEERRR. HES THE REASON WHY I EVEN GOT INTO IT SO MUCH. I LOVE HIIIMMMM.

Gaten :)))) The talent My grandparents are so sucked into this show and literally have 7 to see him on Broadway but just don't want to drive💀 like HIS SINGING WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO MISS OUT ON. JAMIE WOULD BE SO PROUD OF HIM BRUH-

You sound like you only know one person that can sing and that's it? You are so wrong for that.

MILLIE DESERVES THE WORLD, SHE HAS A BOOK COMING OUT UNLIKE THE REST OF THEM.....Hell, she's living my dream talking to Winona writer and Henry Cavil. SHE. IS. LITERALLY. BESTIES. WITH. A. HOT. MAN. (Noah taking notes✍️) Not to mention this girl can rap like Ice spice who? No that's eleven spices. HIM AND DAVIDS FATHER DAUGHTER DUO IS SO ICONIC.

NOAH SLAYYYYYED THIS SHOWWW. OMFG WHERE DO I START?- When it was just us old byler stans. This man made us livid in a good way tbh. Finns my favorite ally, and noah not to sound homophobic 🙄 but he's my 3rd or 4th favorite LGBTQ bestie idk man Sadie's just so🦁 Rawr you know what I mean? I CRIED WHEN WILL HAD THAT BREAKDOWN IN SEASON 3 I WAS SOBBING. OUR POOR WILL :(

Jaime omfg. If you say this man is shit, sis we going to fight to the death. Jaime as Jace was a masterpiece. HE FITS THAT KIND OF VIBE SO WELL I LOVE IT. ALSO HE WAS IN TWILIGHT ❤️

JOSEPH, :) IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT THIS MAN I DONT WANT TO HEAR IT.... normal mean directors cut you off what did they end up doing? LETTING HIM IMPROV A LOT OHHH MYYY THE THOUGHT OF THOSE GUITAR SKILLS😯 I nearly slapped myself when I found out my birthday is right after his.......PLUS JAIMIE IS HIS BEST FRIEND WTF?!! MY ALMOST BIRTHDAY TWIN GETS A FRIEND LOOKING LIKE THAT AND THE ONLY THING I GOT MORE THAN FRIENDS WAS HOSPITAL VISITS?!!!! I CANT WAIT TO SEE HIM IN THE QUIET PLACE TOOOO IM SO EXCITED.

SADIE IS FR A GODESS.🛐 She carried 2022 on her back. WAS AMAZING IN FEAR STREET. BREATHED DYLAN O'BRIENS AIR. I WOULD'VE FELT LIKE I WAS DIEING MAN WTH?. Not to mention the fact that her and dacre are my fav 2 duo in the show. I LOVE THEM. YOU INSULT OUR GINGER QUEEN WE RIDE AT DAWN.

Natalie, sure her character in season one was a little annoying and was pretty much a personality copycat to a shameless character, but THE CHEMISTRY OMFG. IF JOE KEERY LOOKED AT ME LIKE THAT- girl bye. WHO CAN EVEN SAY NO TO THAT JAWLINE LIKE DAMN GIRL?- D A M N.

Pryiah is my favorite girl boss d&d player feminist btw so if you mess with her ill literally hunt you down.

[nsfwitchy2]

Maybe I'm just way too easily entertained, but I thought Wish was a good movie! Do I think that having it be an old school romance with the wishing star as an actual character and both the king and queen as the villains would've been much more engaging? Well, yes, but hey, it had kept my usually hyper lil brother genuinely interested for over an hour, so that's gotta count for something aesrdfghjkliop 😆.

(A.k.a. @sheepywritesfics )

BELOVED BESTIE HOW I MISSED HEARING FROM YOU 😭💞

Also you have opened S U C H a can of worms, I have VERY strong feelings about wish XD

I do wanna say though - I’m glad you liked it!!! Like, I will never knock someone for liking something even if I personally do not like it or don’t think it’s good - hell I think half the shit I like is just. Objectively badly written and poorly executed. You will never, gun to my head, get me to say Gotham is a well written TV show and I spent like 2 years making content for that fandom (no regrets tbh I still love that show).

Honestly, Wish isn’t a bad movie!!! It actually genuinely fascinates me if I’m being honest - because it isn’t a bad movie. It also isn’t…. A good movie, though. It is, what I believe is the worst possible thing any movie can be - it is mediocre to its god damn core. And THATS why it fascinates me.

If it was just a random kids movie like fuckin…. Idk the teenage kraken movie or the one about the ducks or whatever (I haven’t seen any of those so I’m not saying they are mediocre btw for all I know they’re works of art), that would be fine!! It would be a-ok for it to be mediocre and just kinda fun for kids!!!

But Wish is Disney’s 100th year anniversary and they tried to sell that shit SO hard. I remember!!!! I remember when the trailers came out and people expressed their concern over the way the movie was stylized - Disney had a chance to change that and they just!!! Didn’t!!! Whether that’s because the movie had already been made, or because they just didn’t care, I cannot say. But I can say that the animation style didn’t do the movie like…. Any justice. It looks flat. Like, it looks really god damn flat. Very rarely is the movie colorful and eye catching - the most colorful and eye catching scenes are the two animal musical numbers, which you can honestly remove from the movie entirely and the story will not be affected at all. So that’s not great. The rest of the movie is INCREDIBLY grey scale and therefore looks very drab, which doesn’t help the flat appearance any.

I remember when Disney came out talking about how they were going back to their roots and making a movie with a real actual classic Disney villain!!! And then they just. Didn’t. In fact, they made this weird….. hodge-podge character who is very clearly like one of their newer “villains” where the real villain all along was trauma, and then halfway through the movie they make him evil and just…. Act like he was like that the entire time??? Which makes the ending feel almost cruel, if I’m being honest. The king doesn’t do anything explicitly evil until he opens the book and becomes like, basically possessed??? But then they spend the whole movie acting like he’s ALWAYS been evil - when he wasn’t!!! He was just kind of a dick!!!!

Which leads me into my next point - Asha literally is the sole reason the kingdom is in danger in the first place, and her reasoning doesn’t make any sense. Asha says, herself, in the BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE, that giving the king your wish has like…. No negative consequences. You don’t regret it, you feel no remorse, you don’t lose anything. So when she suddenly 180s because her grandfather can’t get his wish granted (for admittedly pretty solid reasoning, it was a hella vague wish) and starts saying he’s taking the most important part of someone and won’t give it back, it just kinda makes her look…. Selfish. This isn’t helped by the fact that the one person who IS shown to be suffering negative consequences from having his wish taken is shown like, no support. She’s willing to risk it all to get her grandfathers wish back when he’s not shown to be any worse for ware - but not her friend??? She does, however, MASSIVELY INCONVENIENCE her friends MULTIPLE TIMES, and never really does anything for them in return. Which doesn’t make her look better either. In fact, Asha trying to steal from the king is the reason he even opens the cursed book to begin with, which basically means if Asha had minded her business the kingdom would’ve never been in danger.

And I won’t even get into how clunky the songs are lyrically, they’re either incredibly redundant or incredibly vague. They’re not memorable.

And this - all of this - is what fascinates me about Wish. Wish is a movie full of tropes Disney has pulled off correctly multiple times over the years. The 3D animation meant to look like water color? They’ve done that, in their short Paper Boy, and it was beautiful. Villain songs? Strong heroines? Compelling story lines and beautiful music?

They’ve done all of this. Multiple. Times. And the one time, the one time it REALLY counted - the 100th year anniversary they will NEVER get back. They totally phoned it in and put out the most mediocre film imaginable - all while telling audiences they were finally gonna give them what they want, a true villain and a classic Disney princess. And then they didn’t. And you can see that it was just straight cowardice - BECAUSE of the concept art. The concept art DID give us a true Disney Princess and a true villain - two of them!!! But it’s like the executives were so terrified they would alienate audiences that they tried to shoe horn modern Disney tropes in where they didn’t fit - by giving King Magnifico a sad backstory and making Asha a Quirky Awkward Girlie™️ for no real reason. Which ended up making the movie feel unfinished and half baked - it’s full of concepts from what essentially would’ve been two different films. A classic Disney film, and a modern Disney film - and it doesn’t do either correctly.

At the end of the day, despite my criticism, I won’t say Wish is bad. Because bad movies are memorable. It wasn’t good either though. It was mediocre. It was Disney’s 100th anniversary movie they will never get back, it was full of tropes and styles they’d done before so it should’ve been the easiest thing to make, but they got scared and phoned it in and put this out instead. Wish will forever live rent free in my head but not because the movie itself left a lasting and memorable impression - but because it is the perfect representation of everything Disney has become. It’s a Disney made knock off of a Disney movie that repeatedly reminds you of other, better, Disney movies through its entire run time. Just like all their live action films and new prequels.

And by all means!!! You are more than welcome to like it!!! Like, I am not saying all of this to talk you into hating Wish - I don’t even hate Wish. It really is just a movie that genuinely fascinates me but for all the wrong reasons, and you opened a door for me to talk about that so…. I did XD

Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk XD

[columboscreens]

there are definitely flaws with It's All in the Game but the same is true of even a lot of the best loved classic episodes. I personally find Spielberg's episode overrated because it's a bog-standard murder story, it is a good looking episode but the plot is meh and it's full of the worst murder mystery cliches like the insertion of an incompetent blackmailer who invariably becomes another victim -- a cliche repeated throughout the series

personally I rank It's All in the Game up near the best of the classic series. maybe it's not as good as Prescription Murder, Ransom for a Dead Man, Death Lends a Hand, Short Fuse, or Forgotten Lady, but I'd still put it in my top ten for the entire Columbo canon

(most of those listed above have flaws too, everything does, and a lot is personal taste as to which flaws are the worst ones)

I didn't know he had written it in the 70s, but that does explain why it feels so much more like a classic Columbo episode than most of the other revival episodes felt like to me

also I know they're movies not episodes but. hard habit to break tbh

anyway my biggest problem is the way it ends. imo he should've let them both go, the guy they killed was abusing them and threatened to kill one of them, they had no recourse. go to the cops? cops wouldn't have done a thing and the guy would've retaliated violently. and you know there's no way they'd get a fair trial even if they pled self-defense

Columbo to me has always been like... some mythical good cop, the kind that doesn't exist in real life or would get murdered by his fellow cops if he did. he carries no gun, he's compassionate to murderers he meets, he tells suspects to stop talking & get a lawyer... he sets up one of his fellow cops (who outranks him!) to incriminate himself by trying to frame a crook, that can't have made Columbo very popular with his fellow cops

I just felt like when Columbo knew the whole story he should've helped them both. again, it could be worse, he could've arrested both. but even setting aside my personal morality, it'd be so great to see him let a killer go, even if you didn't agree that it was right -- maybe especially if audiences didn't agree it was the right thing to do. idk

anyway I love the Columbo resurgence. I was lucky to see a bunch of episodes in reruns as a kid when my grandparents had satellite TV, so I've been a fan long before he started to get big again on tumblr -- not that it matters or I'm bragging, just giving context to say it's really great to see people watch old stuff and become new fans of it because it's so good

oh yeah, every columbo has its flaws, it's just a matter of personal taste as to which ones are most egregious.

i do think murder by the book is easy to laugh at now as bog-standard and "overrated", but it was truly groundbreaking when it hit TVs. that's really the beauty of it, anyway--columbo needed to start somewhere and establish a formula.

i do agree that the script for it's all in the game being written in the 70s definitely comes through. the episode itself has some 90s cheesiness to it that i don't think it would have had if actually made in the 70s (and i do wish it was), but underneath is a very real and interesting type of story.

i don't think columbo should've let both of them go as i think that'd cross over into going against the heart of his character--he is a "good cop", but no matter how justified they may have been in their act, they've still ended another person's life. the one time he does let a perp go is only because she has a terminal degenerative brain disease and no longer even remembers the murder.

the man isn't judge judy, nor executioner for that matter. he just gathers enough evidence to prove to everyone that you did you what you did

besides which, if lauren staton can afford good lawyers (she can) and provide proof that her ex boyfriend was a two-timing piece of shit who wanted to kill her (she probably can) then she likely wouldn't have ended up serving that much time anyway. i think columbo knew that, too.

more about this and some of the mcgoohan episodes under the cut since this post is already so long....

i'm not sure where i'd rank it, myself. probably not top 10 all time columbos, but i would certainly rank it amongst the originals simply because it dares to push columbo's character in a way that's high quality, believable, and fun to watch, all while retaining his aura of mystery.

it makes me wonder how that episode would've come out if patrick mcgoohan had directed it. i don't always agree with mcgoohan's interpretations of columbo's character, but he dared to innovate and dared to usher the character into new territory with high-quality technique, and i think that alone is commendable. even last salute to the commodore where columbo is clearly stoned is a commendable entry because it's (at least in my eyes) not a failure of an episode, it's a sharp self-parody of the series as a whole.

take by dawn's early light. we're shown his quarters, which is groundbreaking stuff. hell, link & levinson balked at showing columbo's office in earlier seasons, let alone where he's retiring for the evening.

we may have inferred that columbo would be driven so mad by a case detail that he'd get out of bed in the middle of the night, but we actually get to SEE that here. we get to see him padding around in an undershirt at 3am, kept awake by ballistic detail, then waking up in the morning and washing up. it's not earth-shattering, but it's one of many meaningful peeks into the character's workings hallmarked by the mcgoohan episodes.

plus, i mean. need i say more

in identity crisis, where mcgoohan directs and exerts far greater control over the story, we get to see columbo made really uncomfortable in one of the most masterfully-done cat-and-mouse bouts in the series. agent brenner reads him front to back (NERVOUS? want a CIGAR to CALM DOWN huh lieutenant?? lemme mock you with your wife's favorite song while i take off your protective carapace)

so it makes me wonder how he would've tackled it's all in the game! combined with faye dunaway, i think it would've really elevated things even further. though they were both divas so perhaps the whole thing would've just imploded lmao

[scattered-winter]

respectfully requesting newt from maze runner for the character meme !!

bro you've Awakened Something in me it's been far too long since I've talked about my boy my babygirl my blorbo

favorite thing about him

his selflessness!!! throughout all the events of the series (both the books AND the movies) he's consistently putting everyone else's needs before his own. he was one of the leaders of the Glade, which meant he worked day and night to keep the order and safety there. and outside the Glade, he pulled his own weight and even put himself in danger to protect the others on several occasions (saving Minho from the lightning storm is what immediately comes to mind but I know there's a lot more). and even in the death cure, when the flare is taking over and he can feel himself changing, he still stays focused and doesn't let that distract him or anyone else from the end goal. to me it's just....heartbreaking, really. he suffered in silence because he didn't want his friends to grieve him while he was still standing there, and so he had to deal with slowly losing his mind by himself

least favorite thing about him

his SELFLESSNESS

listen I can love and hate the same thing about a guy

the fact that he was so focused on the group's survival just added so much more angst to the story and it causes me PAINNNN. like!! in the movies specifically, they were SO CLOSE to giving him the cure!!!!!!!!! they were so achingly close!!!!!!!! but he'd been fighting the virus for so long and it finally took over and he died only moments before the cure arrived. I'm fukcijgn

favorite line

"great, we're all bloody inspired"

brOTP

Minho and Newt are BESTIES ok. they're besties. I cry about them every day. they're besties

same with Alby and Newt they were! leaders together! and neither of them made it out! I'm unwell!

actually on that same note. I think Minho was the oldest Glader to have made it out alive. all his friends and mentors who came before him are dead. I'm so fucking emo right now

honestly I love all of Newt's canon friendships! his friendship with Thomas is GREAT his friendship with the other Gladers is GREAT

nOTP

meh nothing really....strikes me as a nOTP tbh. in fact I don't really actively ship anyone in this series! usually when I hard-core ship something, it's because I felt unsatisfied with the media/felt like it's an interesting dynamic to be explored. I was fairly satisfied with the series as a whole and I felt like the overall point of them was complete without romance, and to add a lot of romance (excluding the thomas/teresa thomas/brenda stuff that was already there) would have just....blocked out the horror and morally gray themes, ya know? so idk I don't really have strong feelings about any romantic pairings in this specific piece of media

in fact, I saw someone point out that it would've been a stronger and more potent narrative if Thomas and Teresa were SIBLINGS instead of romantic partners and tbh that hasn't left my brain because they're RIGHT. it would've been soooo compelling ughh I'm going insane just thinking about the parallels here

OTP

all that being said, it's kinda fun to play with the narratives a bit :] most of the fic I intend to write in this fandom is friendship/family based, because of my feelings as stated above, but I'm not immune to the newtmas or minewt here <3 there's just something about two best friends who have been through hell and worse together getting to kiss <3

random headcanon

Newt actually left notes for EVERYONE, not just Thomas. he even left one with Thomas intended for Teresa, despite everything she'd done, but ofc she never got the chance to read it so Thomas just kept it in a pocket by his heart. and maybe one day, years later, after he finally found some semblance of peace and healing, he burned it to ash to finally say goodbye to them both

unpopular opinion

listen I love Newt but the fandom has a tendency to shove Minho aside to make room for him (especially hardcore newtmas shippers) which is... :/ let's all examine why that might be !

song I associate with him

Doom Days by Bastille. warning: you will cry.

favorite picture of him

hair floof <3 he's so blorbo shaped here idk

send me a character!

[goji-pilled]

Okay @princekirijo you want an essay? Well here it is now, or as I like to call it Felix's "Asumari is great and this fandom has no fucking taste" rambling and infodump. Congrats fellas, thanks to Prince you ALL get an asumari essay. But before that I'll try to give you a rundown of Mari and Asuka. 

(I'm also so sorry for putting this long ass post on everyone's dashboard)

(Spoiler warning for Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time!!)

Alright on one hand we have Mari Illustrious Makinami. Her whole deal? She's a walking ray of sunshine, literally lol. Unlike any other character in the Evangelion franchise she doesn't suffer from her trauma, she's quite literally the only healthy and functioning human being, she's just slightly leaning towards "batshit crazy" with the stunts she pulls 🤷‍♂️. Other than that she just loves living, she loves being with people, she keeps moving forward, stays positive and decides to live life to it's fullest even after she experiences loss and multiple apocalyptic events (Second Impact, Third Impact, etc.) and she really just embodies the joy of living. That's all there is to her, or at least all we know.

On the other hand, we have Asuka Langley Shikinami who is... well it's hard to explain what she is to be honest. She's part-German and part-Japanese and part of a line of clones specifically made with the purpose to pilot an Evangelion and later on be used as a sacrifice to trigger another Impact (ITS COMPLICATED I KNOW-) Asuka is, unlike Mari, very much suffering from her trauma. She doesn't have her parents and has a very deep seated belief that she's completely alone, which she says doesn't matter as long as she can pilot the Eva. She also very much wants to fight and kill angels all by herself, and it's seriously messing with her when she can't achieve that.

Now we get to the more interesting parts (hopefully this so far wasn't too confusing, then again it's Eva and even I can't fully wrap my head around it all LMAO)

In the second Rebuild movie (Evangelion 2.0 You can (not) advance) we get introduced to both of them, Mari's introduction scene (in the original English dub) has her pilot an Eva and singing about how she'll take the world on by herself, while in the third movie's (Evangelion 3.0 You can (not) redo) opening scene she's piloting the Eva again but this time it's together with Asuka (in her own Unit 02 though) and during that Mari sings about how wonderful it is not to be alone. It's nothing big yet, but it's a really cute detail me thinks,,, you know what else I love about them? They bicker and they banter and it's genuinely so fun to listen to shskdhsuwj

(For a quick catch up: During the end of 2.0 Shinji (the protagonist) triggers another apocalyptic event, the Near Third Impact, and was only stopped due to Kaworu (the guy in my pfp) stepping in. Also between 1.0/2.0 and 3.0/3.0+1.0 are about 14 years (without Shinji bc he's like comatose) where A LOT happens AND we learn in 3.0 that Eva pilots don't age physically bc of "The curse of the Eva"... honestly Eva is wild lmao)

Okay okay I'll get back to it!

So one thing that happens is that Asuka during 2.0 develops a crush on Shinji (girl why-), unfortunately things take a turn for the worse. Asuka had volunteered to be the testpilot for a new Eva (Unit 03), she seemed happy at the time and it was a really sweet build up with the "I can smile, I didn't know I could still do that."-line. And then? Then it turns out the Ninth Angel had infected Unit 03 (Angels are basically the Kaijus they fight using Evas btw). The thing goes on a loose and Shinji is forced to fight it (With Asuka inside mind you), he refuses and his father uses an autopilot to destroy Unit 03. And boy did it destroy the angel, well it and it crushed Asuka between its jaws (you can actually hear her scream btw haha pain :)).

Asuka survived though, but the whole incident cost her her humanity and she ended up becoming an angel herself/she took the place of the Ninth. But despite that, there's one person who keeps believing in Asuka's humanity, who fiercely believes Asuka is still a human and tells her as much.

Yep, that one person is Mari and she keeps holding onto that belief until the very end when Asuka uses her last resort, which is using the power of an angel (Doing so was a guaranteed death sentence btw). Mari's own words (in the German dub) were, "Princess, you're giving up being human…" AND IT MAKES ME SO EMO GOD FUCK

While I'm at it, Mari and Asuka are a fucking killer combo as a team. They rely on each other for support in combat, listen to the other's orders and advice. Especially in Asuka's case it's kind of a big deal that she so openly relies and counts on Mari's support. Like these two trust each other with their damn lifes!!! Holy shit!!

Guess what though, they also have nicknames for eachother. Mari always calls Asuka "Princess" or "(Your) Highness" while Asuka calles Mari "Four-eyes" / "Four-eyed chrony (idk how you spell that tbh RIP" Even better though, in the German dub Asuka calls Mari "Brillerella" as in a combination of "Brille" (German for glasses) and "Cinderella",,,,Cinderella and her Prince,,,Brillerella and her Princess,,, man, that was a gay fucking move of the translation team. Spoiler: I owe them my life.

Funfact: There's exactly two times throughout the Rebuild movies where Mari uses Asuka's actual name. These two times being when she watches Asuka "die" and be used as a sacrifice for Gendo's selfish plan and when later on she begs Shinji, "So please the Princess… Asuka needs your help!" And the best part? That wasn't even the first time she did that. The mentioned line came from 3.0+1.0, but she did that too in 3.0 with the, "At least save the Princess!" line (although her tone was much more...pissed, like she was really angry lol)

Remember the crush Asuka had on Shinji? Well due to the Unit 03 incident a whole lot of other shit got mixed into that and her feelings for him in general became really bitter (understandably so). Now Mari being who she is sometimes teases Asuka about said old crush but she really does want Asuka to get closure and sort that mess out. 

As an example for the teasing, in 3.0 there's a scene that goes like this (please imagine Mari with a literal :3 face while saying that):

"Unit! Are you back in the game?"

"I'm on it, your Highness. But first things first, how was our little puppy (Shinji)? Did he sit like a good little boy?"

"He's exactly the same! Same stupid face talking mayhem!"

"That goofy face of his, that's what you wanted to see? Riiiiight?"

"Shut up! I went there to bat him one!... And I feel better!"

There's also a very short bonus manga that was released in Japan for Thrice Upon a Time's release that has Mari trying to convince Asuka to come with her on the mission to get Shinji, given everything that follows, it's just another thing to prove my point. And the final bit relating to that is this:

"Feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I do feel better."

That's the exchange Asuka and Mari have after they talked to Shinji, it's nothing special but I think it's really sweet and this time Asuka actually sounded like she was feeling better instead of when she was screaming after she nearly broke pretty thick glass with her fist (If she had hit someone with that much force she definitely would've broken something omggg #violentimpulsesgang)

To get back on track though: I already mentioned it but during the second half of 3.0+1.0 Asuka "dies" (and honestly that entire scene is worth its own in-depth post because its just one huge parallel to The End of Evangelion), the point is: You can tell that the loss of Asuka honestly hits Mari hard. Not only because of how Mari screams Asuka's name but also because of her expressions. They're pained, like really fucking pained and Mari even apologizes to her that she has to fall back due to the fact that she's injured AND because eveything is going wrong.

After the events of Evangelion 3.0 these two got seperated from eachother, Mari was with WILLE (the organization both of them are with) and on board of Wunder (the ship WILLE basically operates from) while Asuka was in a Village full of (Near) Third Impact Survivors. When they do meet again it went like this:

Asuka, barely back, comes to the door and calls, "I'm back." And within seconds of Asuka stepping into their room after the door opens Mari already runs towards her, arms wide open and she says, "Welcome back, your Highness! Good job. I missed you so much!" And she says that while she literally nuzzles into Asuka,,,like,,,what the fuck gay people real!!! 

Best part? Asuka clearly has enough strength to push Mari completely away if she were uncomfortable, but she doesn't. Asuka merely wanted enough space to look at the room (because Mari managed to horde even more books lol) and play her game. During their entire renunion Mari keeps hugging her, and part of me thinks that perhaps deep down Asuka actually enjoys the feeling of physical affection.

Before we get to the last point though, let me say that Asuka and Mari have scenes in 3.0+1.0 that parallel Shinji and Kaworu's from 3.0. (Fyi Kaworu loves Shinji (yeah, like that, and 3.0 was basically them being gay as fuck for an hour) so like...do I even need to explain? 

And then of course there's also this, the "Take care of yourself, Princess…" line. That is the last time Mari talks to Asuka and as much as that line alone already is so much, it's Mari's expression in particular that kills me. Because this? This soft, almost bittersweet expression she has, as she basically says goodbye? Because she knows Asuka will finally be happy and safe? It just makes me feel so much actually. Man.

In the end it's a fact that Mari loved Asuka, wether that is interpreted as platonic or romantic by someone is up to them. But it is a fact that Asuka was loved enough that someone wanted to hug her, was happy to see her, to praise her, was hurt by her loss, wanted her to be safe, that someone told her "Take care of yourself…" Asuka was really and honestly so loved that someone would tell her, "I missed you."

But Asuka? Asuka was too hurt, too wrapped up in her own head to actually see how loved she was by Mari (and other people) that she genuinely believed she's completely alone and always will be alone.

It makes the "Take care of yourself" line hit even harder to me, because it's not only Mari's goodbye, but it's a goodbye during the one time Asuka allowed herself to be vulnerable and admit what she really wanted.

And honestly? All of this? Its makes me feel so many things and I just love them  so much man.

[mastersoftheair]

that's fair! i really do get why people would be upset about croz's relationship with sandra, i do. ig the main thing that bugged me was the idea that sandra's been "reduced" to "just a love interest". episode 6 was divided into 3 parts that focused on 3 of the main guys. and since a 3rd was about croz, his 3rd- by extension- was also about sandra. sandra isn't introduced as a one-note love interest, or anything "reduceable" imo. she's intelligent, quite forward, dedicated to her work, enjoys debate, and an altogether very interesting person (crazy refreshing for an hbo war show). she has agency here. she doesn't exist For croz. it just so happens that croz is there.

her sleeping with croz would've been a decision she made while being fully aware that he's married (she's not dumb). so, obviously a bad look for croz for doing that (he knows better), but it makes sandra interesting to me, too. she's likely a spy. does she have other motivations? is she here to have a good time with a friend? or a 3rd option?

i also guess it didn't turn me off like that bc these shows so often romanticize these men (men in general, really), often at the expense of the female characters. in band of brothers, nix's wife leaves him- and took the dog! compton gets unceremoniously dumped during christmas from over half a world away. also, while not directly connected to the men of easy company, there's that whole scene in carentan where dutch women are publicly shamed and shaved for "sleeping with the germans" (which genuinely disturbed me the first time i watched it, bc nothing about that felt right (just the implications), but then they just...kept it pushing). and in the pacific, outside of lena imo, all the other (two) named women feel like they only exist to be a conquest of some kind or something for the men to angst over.

the men doing the cheating isn't explicitly shown in band of brothers (i feel very doubt.jpg about that tbh). i do think it's Way more implied in the pacific (there's also the "what's the missus think about kitty cat" scene). so, it's there, just not focused on.

(warning: about to get soapboxy) i get that they're called the "Greatest Generation" (this is usually attributed to only the men tho) so, by default, they tend to be deified and deemed untouchable. which is a bit much bc they were just Some Guys (usually in their early 20s). guys in their early 20s are the same no matter the generation imo. they weren't perfect, they had normal flaws (probably exacerbated by their wartime experiences). they likely weren't all that Great if you got to know them. next to all the ww2 movies/shows that are contractually-obligated to sing these guys' praises by any means necessary, i think we'll live if one show wants to go "also, he cheated on his wife". like, i love croz in this show. he's also a man lol. And he's a member of a group that bombs people. idk, weigh it.

as for the german civilians, i took a few classes in undergrad about the holocaust and the second world war (not including my own personal research ft. a shitton of books), so i fully understand that most germans were aware (to varying capacities) of what was going on. i can also see how it'd be hard to devote time to really Showing it in this show (what with the nine episodes, the shorter runtimes, and how Physically Distant these men were to their bomb targets). all they've got room for is scattered speculation and egan seeing up-close-and-personal what bombs like his does to actual communities and the people who live there (they fucking hate his guts). maybe it's hard to force a feeling of sympathy for these people, and it's not the point of the show either.

but idk. for me, the fact that most germans were aware of nazi crimes is what allowed some to do what they could to help. there's hundreds of germans counted in the "righteous among nations", for example. there were (scattered) german resistance groups, like the white rose. there were german protestors and espionage networks. ordinary germans made assasination attempts on hitler's life (they failed, but credit for trying). the crux of it is that there were people who just Tried. it wasn't most of them, sure, but innocent bystanders still existed (not that the main characters would've known that for sure, and tons of viewers don't see it my way, but it personally bothers me more than affairs). i really dislike any narrative that claims "they're all bad people, so they deserve it" bc it's a Hell of a slippery slope.

huge apology for the essay, i understand where you're coming from. i just had to shit say bc i'm chronically opinionated and my brain kept cranking out more words lol

tl;dr- it's ww2. people be cheating.

this isn't even me being a certified CrozGirl (i'm an hbo* war girl, if anything)- but some of the reactions to croz getting it on with sandra feel very "i can excuse war crimes, but i draw the line at extramarital affairs" tbh

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

ICE NINE KILLS - The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood in-depth review

There's a saying that the sequel of something is always worse than the original. With this album Ice Nine Kills proved that this isn't true. While I'm personally not into horror as a genre, I really got into the first Silver Scream album last year, and even had the pleasure of seeing them live just before the pandemic broke out. I thought their gimmick was just enough to keep the listener/viewer interested in their material and this hasn't changed in the last 2 years. Spencer Charnas is a walking hook and scream machine, everything he touches turns to gold. Their videos (especially for this album) have really high production value that could hold up to pretty much any horror studio environment. I'm gonna list my first impressions and feelings regarding this album because there are just so much to talk about.

1. Opening Night...

The first track is a simple intro where there's a narrator who tells us the story of how these tracks were too messed up for the public therefore they had to be hidden away. There are spooky sounds in the background so you know you're in for a wild ride.

2. Welcome to Horrorwood

I didn't have to wait long for the first surprise of the album. This song is random and catchy and at times scared the ever living crap out of me. No spoilers though, it's a really fun track with no specific movie or book in mind, it's just about how Hollywood makes horror movies, and how people crave for this kind of fucked up stuff.

3. A Rash Decision

I instantly got lost in the lore of all these movies. Cabin Fever is one movie I've never even heard about before this album, so I have nothing to explain at that department. This is a fast paced song, especially the chorus (this musical tool will return later in the album). We have everything we expect from an Ice Nine Kills song: catchy chorus, random guitar noises, clean slow bridge, the whole package.

4. Assault & Batteries

The second single off the album, about the movie called Child's Play. I know about the lore of this movie how this child's toy was posessed by a serial killer and so on but the narration and the lyrics do a great explanation too. It's surprisingly heavy, not as catchy though (at least in my opinion) as the first single. The child toys' noises that play every once in a while give this song the extra creepiness tbh, it's a solid track but I think there's better single material on the album than this one

5. The Shower Scene

This song convinced me that Spencer has hooks even under his skin (that would be spooky as hell, wouldn't it). This chorus is so melodic that it's borderline annoying. I think this would've been a better single instead of Assault & Batteries or Rainy Day, since Psycho is a classic movie that literally everyone and their mom know about. Plus it has that nice chorus, the tempo is not as fast, it would've been perfect. Oh and of course they couldn't miss the iconic killing noises in the breakdown. Fucking genius

6. Funeral Derangements

Pet Sematary is one of the movies that I've never wanted to see, despite liking Stephen King as a writer. This song proves that it would scare the fuck out of me for sure. This is the last single they dropped before the album and oh boy, oh boy did it deliver. I thought this is the peak heaviness that metalcore ever gonna get (Spoiler alert: I was wrong). Spencer got such a nice range for this song, I can't imagine anyone else pulling this off. The chorus is melodic and fast paced (just like the title song), the breakdown is absolutely crushing with probably the lowest Spencer has ever got. The WRATH OF GOD LAYS BENEATH THE SOIL line is literally burnt into my memory, it's such a heavy moment. Love this song as a whole, great concept, great execution.

7. Rainy Day

The Resident Evil series I only followed when it comes to videogames, but I know just about enough that the song made sense to me. The umbrella corporation, the whole virus thing (this is the second song about a mysterious virus, I wonder why). The video for this song I think is way better than the song itself, despite it sounding like Obey by BMTH in the intro. The song is good and all but for a single... meh. The game over breakdown is a great tribute to the videogame side of the franchise though, I respect that addition a lot.

8. Hip To Be Scared (feat. Jacoby Shaddix)

The first single off the album and I must say, this song got me hyped more than I ever thought. As I mentioned, I'm a chicken when it comes to horror and American Psycho was one of the movies I was scared shitless of. I know it's such a weird choice because the movie is not even that horrifying but as a kid I saw glimpses of the bloodier parts and it got stuck to me. Hear me out, this song literally got me to watch the movie I was so terrified of. The pop culture references hit just differently especially the addition of Hip To Be Square by Huey Lewis and The News and the "Hey Paul" breakdown. Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach is a great feature in the video, however his singing style is not as distinguishable to Spencer as I expected so I didn't even know he sings the last chorus before I watched the video.

9. Take Your Pick (feat. Corpsegrinder)

Remember the part that I said Funeral Derangements was the track that I thought was gonna be the heaviest? Well I was FUCKING WRONG. Of course I heard that Corpsegrinder of Cannibal Corpse is gonna be a feature on the album but I didn't expect it when I heard the first couple notes of this song. I was like damn, this track is one of the heavier ones, no catchy chorus, no nothing. Then the Man, the Neck, the Legend himself hit me with those brutal growls and I was like what the fuck, this isn't the album I signed up for. Naturally then I realized that not even Spencer could pull those lows off, it was Corpsegrinder all along. This track is DISGUSTINGLY heavy. Like to the point that it gave me chills. I don't even like brutal death metal yet this is one of the highlights of the album for me for sure.

10. The Box (feat. Brandon Saller of Atreyu and Ryan Kirby of Fit For a King)

Ever wondered what it would be like to have the lovechild song of the Backstreet Boys and any 00's metalcore band? Well here's your answer. This song kept the heaviness of the previous one, added a hella catchy chorus with double bass drums and voilá. The other highlight of this album, even though the lore is still a little bit foggy for me. (Yes I've never seen Hellraiser either, what a blasphemy). The features are great and the song itself is awesome despite it being all over the place at certain parts.

11. F. L. Y. (feat. Buddy Nielsen of Senses Fail)

Song starts off as pop punk then turns into the typical sound of the mid-00's emo post-hardcore scene. Of course I shoud've expected this because duh, Senses Fail. Kind of a forgettable song for me, I don't know it just didn't stand out after Take Your Pick, The Box and the better singles. The feature is great though, sent me down a nostalgia trip.

12. Würst Vacation

Okay this was the first song I literally burst out laughing at. I know it's supposed to be about the movie, Hostel and how a vacation could be this fucked up, but I couldn't help but laugh at the 1,2,3, (in german) DIE intro and the whole Rammstein mimic just because... evil tourist organization connects to European metal? The song is great and because of the inappropriateness of the title and the gimmicks it's not forgettable at all, I've never thought I'd laugh at something this fucked up but apparently I did

13. Ex-Mørtis

I thought this was gonna be the closing track because it's so similar to the last album's closer, "IT is the end". It's a.. ska song? with an old school jazz vibe and rhythm? It's random but to be perfectly honest compared to the other great tracks before, it's just a little boring. I know again I don't know the lore of The Evil Dead but I think the track should be enjoyable without knowing the background so this gets a solid meh... from me.

14. Farewell II Flesh

The nice wordplay here lets us know that this is the farewell to the Silver Scream sequel. Just as they did on the prequel. The movie this track is about is Candyman so of course there are lots of references to honey and bees. This is the second song about evil insects (just like there are 2 songs about killer viruses) and to be frank this is the better one. Fast paced chorus to close the record to give it a nice little frame, bee sounds so that we don't forget this is still about a horror movie, and a worthy breakdown to finish the record once and for all.

I thought this was gonna be my AOTY this year. I'm just a very teeny-tiny bit disappointed. For me the Spiritbox album is just a little bit better, the new Slaughter to Prevail record is great but I wouldn't call that my AOTY. This album is great, I'm gonna listen to it many many times for sure but those 2-3 kinda "flawed" tracks definitely threw me off.

[nero-neptune]

Omg pls tell me your thoughts about barbarian

i meant to respond to this earlier, but after sleeping on it/thinking back on it, i actually really, really liked it! i was watching the movie with my sister and i remember pointing out early on how i had just watched a romcom with that exact same premise, where two strangers booked the same listing, just on different websites (it's called "love in the villa"). and it really emphasized how unnerving that scenario would be, being a woman staying in a random house with a random guy. and then, that twist!

at times, i found the main character So Frustrating, i was yelling at the screen, like? why are you still going down there? why are you still walking more creepy dark steps?? just go back upstairs??? (that frustration is also leveled at keith, bc maybe i'm just risk-averse, but in No World am i going exploring in a random house (forget about the stained bed with the camera and the bucket, just creepy dark stairs? like i would've turned around after seeing the first hidden hallway lol)

idk when i guessed it, but i remember saying "what if this is like that don't breathe movie, where that guy is just holding a woman down there?" and then. well!

the Massive tone shift in the middle was really jarring, but after a minute, it was okay bc i needed a breather lol. and then, it's just like, this guy, aj, is such a dick! it gets funny when he's measuring all the extra space in the house (despite the room with the stained bed with the camera and the bucket???) and the further he goes, it's all, you deserve to get killed, you're soooo dumb!

in a review, it suggested that the main character, tess, was probably missing for two weeks? bc aj was told that no one had been in the house for a "few weeks" which Majorly sucks for tess. and speaking of being down there, that tunnel system is Extensive. it was eerie seeing the purple light come from that room, which meant that someone else had to be down there. not to mention all those fucking cages and whatnot. and all the tapes, like, jesus christ.

the flashback to the 80s was pretty interesting, especially how it implied that the dad (great-however-many-granddad) had been Well into doing that shit. plus, how it showed white flight (though it makes me wonder how neighbors felt about that guy bc that man saying he was gonna leave the neigborhood soon didn't think it was weird he was wearing a uniform with the name carlos?). also, double-check that your windows are locked!

this movie said acab. the cops were Infuriating (either they already knew there was some fuckshit in that house, given the local rumors (the interview lady seemed weirded out by the mention of that neighborhood) or they just really didn't give a shit. both options suck)

at the end of the movie, my sister said "that made me wanna cry" bc she felt bad for mother. and tbh, so do i. her life was incredibly unfair. she never had a chance. and despite it all, she was still trying to take care of tess in whatever way she knew how (even if it was. yknow. fucked up). she wasn't even the Real monster of this movie. it was her father.

tess was tenacious as hell, for better and for worse. she didn't Have to keep going. earlier in the movie, she says "guys get to blast their way through life making messes. girls have to be careful" and it even plays out on screen, the way she's going slow, making observations, being careful, unlike keith and aj. and later, she says "i just need to stop going back. i keep going back" in reference to relationships. and that also plays out, bc she keeps. going. back. to. the. goddamn. house. and i can't fault her for that bc she's just a better person than me. but that wouldn't be me!

anyway, that's my (really long) review. i really liked it! i wish i'd watched it in the theater like i did with "nope"!

[veryholland]

frat!tom helping you study, even though he has no idea what you’re learning, he quizzes you and for every right answer you get a kiss :’) but tbh knowing him, it’d probably end up with having a heated makeout session !!

liv!! this is so him ahhh

you would've had plans for a cosy friday night in your dorm room together when you suddenly have to cancel because this one professor had this great idea of surprising the class with a very short notice exam on monday. so instead of watching a movie with tom's arms wrapped around you, you'd sit in your room all alone, flashcards, books and notes spread out around you, tears of frustration already blurring your sight because you'd have no idea how to memorise all of this within just two days time. the very familiar knock pattern tom uses whenever he visits you at your dorm would surprise the hell out of you and those tears blurring your vision would threaten to spill over as soon as you see him standing on the other side, bearing things he'd know to make your heart happy—one of his sweatshirts, your favourite, slung over one of his arms for you to wear, a thermos bottle of tea, a new pack of your favourite markers because your own batch has stopped working and a few bars of chocolate "for happiness hormones". he'd just chuckle when you'd start rambling about how he doesn't have to waste his free time here, helping you study when he doesn't even take that class but he wouldn't have it and instead sit you down on your bed, help your dumbfounded self into his hoodie and place a loving kiss on each of your cheeks before picking up your flashcards to quiz you, granting you a celebratory kiss for each right answer, every time a little closer but annoyingly enough never on your lips because "if i start kissing you, i won't stop". when you finish a particularly tricky set of questions without any mistakes though, you'd take matters into your own hands and wind your arms around his neck to at least steal a small peck on the lips and this time he'd be the dumbfounded one, his brown eyes sinking into yours until he seems to have made a decision because not even a second later, those flashcards strewn about would be the very last thing on either of your minds :)

concepts 💌