#this parallels a scene with lee and it is phenomenal

[cypresswarrior]

Longlegs (2024) directed by Oz Perkins

[randomthefox]

I watched the third movie

I don't really want to talk about it, but I'll just say this:

I felt worse for Agent Stone getting snubbed by Robotnik (whose portrayal made me legit uncomfortable at some points) than for the whole parallel with the dead women between Sonic and Shadow, lol.

(maybe because Lee Majdoub is a really good actor and can pull out a strong kicked puppy face)

Maria was legit adorable, though. The flashbacks with Shadow were fluffy, but effective. Wish they had done the same to show Gerald doting on his granddaughter, but I guess they didn't have enough time 🙃

Yeah he's pretty good at Acting. When I watched the movie during this scene I said out loud to myself "that was Acting."

It takes real Acting talent to be able to smile and frown at the same time.

It looks funny in a screenshot but he really brought his A game to that scene lol.

And yeah Maria was the only good part about the movie. Not the way the movie handled Maria. But the actress did a phenomenal job.

Really I don't have much bad to say about any of the actors. They certainly showed up and Acted.

Except for Keanu. Dude was barely fucking awake in that recording booth.

[cwfilmreviews]

Da 5 Bloods Film Review

Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” is an explosive film that tries to explore themes of war, race, friendship, and the effects of PTSD as it pertains to the backdrop of the Vietnam War.  

A standout quality of this film is its phenomenal cast. Delroy Lindo’s captivating performance as Paul, who is a deeply troubled veteran. He delivers a fierce and raw delivery that instinctually captures the internal struggles of a person grappling with the lingering effects of war and PTSD. It is clear throughout the film that Paul stumbles in between past and present events, making it more difficult for the rest of the characters to know if he is truly there in the head. The chemistry between the other leads, including Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis, and Clark Peters helps to ground the film, giving off a genuine sense of camaraderie that helps to define the characters as friends.  

The film’s bold cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel truly captures the landscape and gravity of Vietnam. Whilst also capturing the gritty realities of war through its brief flashes of innocent babies desecrated. It helps to illustrate that while yes are protagonists are looking for gold, it is set in juxtaposition to a dark reality of a war that occurred not too long ago. The use of different aspect ratios for scenes that take place in the past and the present helps to emphasize the moving perspectives throughout the film. Spike Lee’s unique directing style approach shines in “Da 5 Bloods,” highlighted by his use of vibrant visuals, dynamic storytelling, and captivating blend of historical footage and fictional narrative. This style helps to illustrate gravity of Vietnam War and its lasting effects, whilst also still retaining an adventurous like state in the search for gold or treasure.  

The film delves into themes inequality and race with its tackling of the challenges African American soldiers encountered during the Vietnam War. Furthermore, drawing parallels to contemporary issues of now. By mixing historical events and modern references, “Da 5 Bloods” surpasses the basis of war movie storytelling, elevating it something that offers a distinct reflection on systemic racism, social justice, and the importance of equality as highlighted by the end of the film.  

The soundtrack by Terrence Blanchard helps to enhance the film’s emotional moments. Elevating not the tension but the gravity of their predicament. Terrence’s score and its bold song choices enhance the viewing experience, which helps the audience feel the true weight of the characters experiences.  

A slight problem with the “Da 5 Bloods” is its pacing. The film can and will take moments to pause or go on detours. This was evident with the character of David played by Jonathan Majors. While a noteworthy performance, I do not think the subplot with David and Hedy’s characters was necessary, but I do get why it was included to some extent. It acted as a padding out to the rest of the film’s explosive narrative. I also found that while Delroy Lindo’s performance as Paul was good, I felt confused at what the narrative was trying to say when he split off from the group towards the end of the film.  

Overall, Spike Lee’s the “Da 5 Bloods” is an explosive film that tackled many issues as it pertained to the backdrop of Vietnam War and how it related to four African American men.

[nocturneworld6]

Comfort films, in no particular order:

1. The Green Mile (1999): My obsession for Stephen King runs deep with this one. Pretty sure almost everyone's watched this.

2. Legally Blonde (2001): Weighed down by patriarchy and catty women? This movie restores your faith in humanity.

3. Tumbbad (2018): Hindi language, it's a pretty good horror and the actors are phenomenal. If I recc something I'd recc this.

4. Howl's Moving Castle (2004): For that comforting feeling of being at home, away from home.

5. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992): Gary Oldman as Dracula, Winona Ryder as Wilhemina and Keanu Reeves as Jonathan? I'm sold. Also, a childhood favourite, even though I probably wasn't allowed to watch such media back then.

6. Pride and Prejudice (2005): I like this version better for nostalgia reasons. Also, Keira Knightley.

7. Gangs of Wasseypur (2012): One of my favorites. Rustic, unabashedly violent, and filled with vengeance. Pretty long though, so beware.

Doesn't hurt to add the kdrama/cdrama list as well:

1. Moon lovers (Scarlet Heart Ryeo)(2016): Tortured ML, check. Time travel, check. Political intrigue, check. Heart wrenching ending, check. The fluff scenes are tooth rottingly sweet.

2. W: Two Worlds (2016): Parallel worlds, check. Doctor as a protagonist, check. Hot ML, check. Weird plot points, check. Also my first kdrama.

3. Hotel del Luna (2019): IU and Yeo Jingoo should work together again, they're so cute (⁠｡⁠ﾉ⁠ω⁠＼⁠｡⁠)

4. Till the End of the moon (2023): I want to suffer at this point. Nuf said.

5. Forever Love (2023): I watch this for comfort. The comfort being Dai Gao Zheng. (Point at me and laugh, idc 乁⁠|⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠〰⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠|⁠ㄏ)

6. Law School (2021): Toxic study shit. Makes me want to better myself and I'll keep watching Kang Sol A work hard till she has a nosebleed so many times that I'll have a nosebleed myself.

7. Again My Life (2022): Lee Joong Ki as a lawyer, also toxic study motivation. Don't blame me, I'm a doc, I need to be toxic for a major part of my job. Also pretty cool with the action sequences, kinda underrated.

Bonus: Asur (Welcome to your dark side) (2020): Hindi language, crime thriller, with a healthy dose of Indian mythology and forensic science. Also has Arshad Warsi, my favourite actor ヾ⁠(⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠*⁠)⁠ﾉ

Sorry if I don't have older movies and dramas, I was way too obsessed with anime and didn't have time. Okay tags! @deng-yi-deng @mirageofadesert @hellofavillain @xiaolanhua (really want you guys to reccme your comfort watches tbh)

thanks @spurious and @colonelshepparrrrd for the tag!

List 7 comfort films and tag 7 people:

1. Iron Giant

2. Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

3. Hunger Games

4. Easy A

5. Mean Girls

6. uhhhhhhhhhh idk i don't watch movies 😅

7. not a movie but Stargate Atlantis bc it's my Ultimate Comfort Media

uhhh idk who has been tagged so sorry if you've already been tagged @frostysfrenzy @the-mushroom-faerie @lightthewaybackhome @books-space-things @stinalotte and anyone else who wants to do it!!!

[rueitae]

Writing Roundup 2020

This is a writing reflection I’ve been doing for myself every year for the last four years. Its a positive boost to myself see how far I’ve come and look back on my progress for the past year and look forward to the new year. 

Everyone is welcome to use this same format if they’d like to do the same! 

~~~~~~~

Stats:

Words written:

330,000, which is nearly half of all the words I’ve written on Ao3 in the last three years. 

One Shots Posted (all fics plance unless otherwise stated):

In the Arms of the Ever(pink?) Tree (4463 words)

For the Plance Secret Santa exchange. Post s8 date/not date on a snowy moon. Love confession. 

Birthday Treats (2129 words)

For Pidge’s birthday this year! Domestic family fluff, breakfast in bed, plance kids.

Begin Again (Together) (4805 words)

Canon divergence from before episode one! Pidge and Lance are established dating when alien intervention brings them to where they are supposed to be: with the Blue Lion. Just a brief look into what the AU would look like. 

Common Ground (4521 words)

A treat for my friends who introduced me to Magic Knight Rayearth and pointed out some fun character parallels. There is this beautiful art Arya made to go with it because we’re all trash for both series. Plance meet up with Fuu and Ferio post series for both couples. 

Bonded To You (1808 words)

For the Langstron Halloween Exchange! Established plance with a baby Lance is trying to keep safe from a witch who would take advantage of the child’s heritage. 

It Tasted Good (6785 words)

Pikelavar for Pikelavar Month! The premise is crack, but it's mostly treated seriously. Pike ate the Jewel of Jitan by accident and doesn’t realize it until Haggar finds them. Meklavar gets Protective.

The Remainder of Days (3188 words)

Part of my Bad Things Happen Bingo. Fantasy AU where Pidge is a minor forest goddess and Lance is her neighbor mortal farmer. 

I Love You a Lily More Each Day (3232 words)

Another of the Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon compliant where Lance is undercover at a flower shop and knee deep in an illegal smuggling operation. 

Lease on Life (4978 words)

This one was also part of Bad Things Happen Bingo and was an experiment. It’s POV of an oldest plance kid, canon verse. Her parents’ Paladin days come back to haunt them one night. Some cute family stuff too in there. 

Ready to Dance (4135 words)

For the Valentine’s Day exchange! Post series. Lance tries to get back into the party scene and Pidge rescues him from a disastrous night. 

Loopholes (5476 words)

Technically I didn’t write this fic this year, but a very kind reader asked if I would post this to Ao3, so it was my first fic of the year on Ao3. It’s Lotura! Originally a gift for a dear friend I’ve had since elementary school. It’s a fantasy AU where Lotor stumbles into Allura’s kingdom needing help. 

Next to Me (7311 words)

Also for Bad Things Happen Bingo, this is probably one of my favorite fics of the year. This is the canon verse AU that went all wrong in s7, and Sendak succeeds in destroying Earth. Lance and Pidge end up not only his prisoners, but also two of the last humans in the universe. Ends open ended, but it became a series in the end!

Into Me (14248 words)

The sequel to the above fic. There are two versions, this and the one below. The title tells all. Lance and Pidge come to terms with their new life aboard Sendak’s flagship and do their best to keep the other comforted.

Into Me (non-explicit version) (7228 words)

Exactly the same as the fic above, only this one is SFW

Sunshine (3831 words)

A Bad Things Happen Bingo! One of my favorite concepts. Canon verse. Pidge gets sick while she and Lance are on a scientific mission. 

Showoff (635 words)

A really short fic for a friend on their birthday, featuring their plance kids!

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

A fic I have been wanting to write for a very long time. I love the concept of Pidge as a Disney Princess in the sense she has the forest guardian theme and all these animals love her. So there’s some play on that as the Paladins stop for lunch on their journey back to Earth in early s7. Lance comes to a realization and they have a chat surrounded by the animal friends. @anchoredtetherart did a phenomenal piece to accompany it. Please look at it in awe here.

The Hardest Part (3960 words)

For Bad Things Happen Bingo! An AU of the episode The Reunion where Pidge doesn’t return when she’s supposed to. 

A Planned Sacrifice (4988 words)

Another Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon verse. Pidge assumes that being a sacrifice for the ‘forest god’ is strictly ceremonial and at worst a wild animal. It’s actually Sendak, who no one has seen since Shiro shot him out of the Castle. He remembers Pidge and is far too pleased to see her again, tied up on a silver platter. 

Almost Forgotten, but Not Gone (3946 words)

Bad Things Happen Bingo. AU sometime in s1 where Haxus isn’t as dead as Pidge thought. 

Touch (7519 words)

Written for the Lance Goes Boom bang! It was inspired by @fenixseraph ‘s amazing art here! It’s a different take on The Way Forward, where Pidge and Lance are separated from the rest of the team and placed in their own cell. And the Red Lion causes issues. 

Chaptered Fics started/added to:

Wolf In Thieves’ Clothing (4516 words)

An AU of The Castle of Cagliostro from Lupin the Third series. Lee, you have my thanks forever for making me watch this finally. Pidge is a literal princess whose kingdom is in the middle of an internal coup. Lance is a gentleman thief who rides with his best buds Hunk and Matt. Their paths are destined to cross again when Lance goes back to the castle he used to call home. 

Game of Love (4593 words)

The most crack of the bunch. AU of Fall the of the Castle of Lions where Sendak and Haxus get away with it all. Pidge and Lance are prisoners on Haxus’ new ship, and Lance finds an opportunity for eventual escape when he learns that Haxus has a crush on his second in command. Operation matchmaker begins. (happy ending planned for all)

What Tides May Bring (20704 words)

Collab with the fantastic @anchoredtetherart for MerMay! Established plance as mermaids and guardians of their elements with adorable mer child. Then angst because they are all captured by a ‘research’ institute. 

Seasons of Magic (16546 words)

I actually added a chapter this year! Ongoing collection of one-shots with mage Pidge who lives in the country and cultivates her plant magic and makes potions with the assistance of her dragon familiar, Lance. Mostly domestic fluff. 

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words)

Added another chapter this year to my Keith-centric AU. It’s basically VLD but five years early and they’re all literally child Paladins. Keith gets to meet Krolia earlier and its fun to go into tween friendships as they try and navigate the reality of their situation. 

Seeds (48833 words)

Added a ton earlier this year. A collection of plance fics all or mostly under 500 words. All meant to be adopted by others if interest strikes. Covers many genres.

Chaptered Fics Finished:

Resolve to Fly (75799 words)

Written for the Pidge Angst Bang. My artist @alchemie0 did an outstanding job capturing the feel of the fic. Look at the art here! Canon verse AU where Pidge encounters Haxus, who has crashed on Earth. She helps him repair his ship in excitement and good faith, which he pays back by kidnapping her. For two years she survives as little more than a housepet on Sendak’s ship. Gen.

Who's Protecting Who? (28989 words)

Also technically not written this yeah, but posted. A collab with Hush waaaay back in 2018. It's a plance Altean AU with Pidge as distant royalty and Lance as a bodyguard.

A Dish Served Cold (21533 words)

Finally finished this one! Canon verse in which Pidge accidentally runs into Sendak on an isolated planet. Sendak takes advantage of this encounter and tries to return to the Empire with her in tow. Much Pidge whump. Gen

Reflections: 

Best title 

I still really really love Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words). Because it's too soon for the Paladins to be Paladins, and for Keith it's not nearly soon enough for Krolia to return. It just feels like it has a lot of heart to it. I hope I can keep it going, but my ideas are incredibly scattered for it. 

Worst title 

Touch (7519 words). Yeah it’s a play on ‘Don’t you touch her’ but it feels soooo dry. 

Best/worst last line

Best: This was really, really hard choice this year, but ultimately, making up for the terrible title, its Touch (7519 words) 

“It feels good to escape the ship with all of his teammates, secure in the knowledge that he has a way forward not just as a Paladin, but also with Pidge.” 

- Not only did I manage to fit the title of the episode in there, it's got that hopeful tinge to it and reflects on personal growth both internally and with Pidge. 

Worst: This one isn’t necessarily bad from Begin Again (Together) (4805 words), but it could be better. It didn’t get quite the epic sense I was hoping to pull from it.

“Okay,” he smirks, hand firmly on the throttle. “Operation save Earth starts now.”

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

Definitely wrote way more. Even with posting two fic that are essentially the exact same, I still ended up writing nearly half of my total Ao3 word count this year. (330,000/670,000). Doing Bad Things Happen Bingo was a bit part of that - I was very inspired at the beginning of this year - but also there were many events I participated in (8 total!!) on top of my personal projects. 

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

A really hard decision this year, because there are several that make me really happy. I think oddly enough though, it’s Game of Love (4593 words) because of its potential and how much crack it is. It has such whacky rom-com energy to it but also that underlying angst of the situation I can fall back on. My favorite trope to explore is what happens to the characters when they’re captured. I just really enjoy the concept and the challenge to make such a concept believable with minimal suspension of belief. 

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Using kudos as my gauge (and not counting the chapter fics), the winner is: 

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

Not surprising because Ivy’s art is STUNNING.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

I think that’s It Tasted Good (6785 words), the pikelavar fic. Pikelavar is underappreciated in general

Story that could have been better?

For all I was excited to write Sunshine (3831 words), it didn’t quite fall the way I had imagined in my mind. I don’t know if it was the structure or I was running out of steam or what. All i know is that I wanted more but all I could concentrate on was that scene where he’s caring for her in bed. Maybe I was just too ambitious.

Sexiest story?

No brainer it's Into Me (14248 words). Literally. Which really shocked me that it happened. Didn’t think I’d write any smut at all, let alone this year. This particular fic just kinda called out for it 

Saddest story?

The prequel to the above fic: Next to Me (7311 words). How much more sad can you get than Earth being destroyed, being Sendak’s prisoners all while trying to tell each other ‘i love you’ without seeming weird because you’re the last humans in the universe. 

Most fun?

I think it's Ready to Dance (4135 words). Just Valentine’s fluff and impromptu slow dancing in the park at night. 

Story with single sweetest moment?

I’m picking What Tides May Bring (20704 words). Listen, mer Lance and mer Pidge playing with their mer baby in their domestic paradise is probably one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Dad Lance has my heart. 

Hardest story to write?

The last chapter of A Dish Served Cold (21533 words) was like pulling teeth. I’m pretty happy with it in the end but at the time man it was so hard. 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I wrote smut. It was...weird? But also strangely calming. I wrote more for another fic but it's still a WIP. I definitely need to be in the mood to write it. 

Proudest Achievement:

The Pidge Angst Bang. Resolve to Fly (75799 words). Look at that word count. I only wanted something under 3k at first, so it was just going to be Pidge meeting Haxus. But by the time I finished that part it was already 10k. So even though I was going through a rough part of my life, I just kept going and it ended up being my therapy. I’m really proud of the fic and I love my artists’ pieces. It really lifted my spirits. (You should all really go check out the Ao3 collection of all the bang stories and art they are AMAZING you won’t regret. If you love Pidge angst they are all must reads.)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

I’d like to finish my Bad Things Happen Bingo card and then focus on my current WIP, that includes the Seeds collection. There are days I still feel a bit overwhelmed, and I’m still trying to find a routine after moving. I’d like to do more events too, but I think I need to be more selective about which ones I do. I don’t want to burn myself out. 

Apart from that, I’d really like to try and give back to the community more. I’d like to start consciously writing fics for others without an event to go by. 

Past Years:

2017

2018

2019

[kdramacrybaby]

The King: Eternal Monarch (2020)

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Synopsis: A coup in the Kingdom of Corea leaves behind an orphaned Prince Lee Gon, now a king. The person who saved his life left behind an ID card, and the King spends his whole life looking for that person. The person who saved him, however, was not who he expected it to be, and for his questions to be answered he must travel to a completely different world.

Episode info: 16 episodes / Runtime around 70 minutes

Lead cast (I usually list what roles the actors play as well, but here this would be spoilers so I won't): Lee Min-ho, Kim Go-eun, Woo Do-hwan, Kim Kyung-nam, Jung Eun-chae, Lee Jung-in

Link to watch: You can watch on Netflix or Dramacool

Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)

Okay so, I want to start with the positive things I have to say about this drama.

The first episode was amazing, and I was so excited to see where it would go. It was just confusing and intriguing enough to leave me wanting more. They used a lot of Alice in Wonderland parallels and I loved every second of it. All of that, however, was forgotten as soon as the second episode started, but we’ll get back to that later.

Another thing I noticed - and I am by no means an expert on this, I just call it as I see it - but the camera work is exquisite. I don’t really know how to explain it because I don’t know any of the terms, but the way they went about shooting the different scenes made it such a smooth and interesting watch. The different camera angles and effects they used fit the mood they were going for and enhanced the drama perfectly. The lighting and coloring of the drama overall also made it a very beautiful drama to watch.

So now we get to the parts I didn’t like, which is pretty much everything else, though it sounds pretty harsh.

This is by no means a dig at Min-ho as an actor, but this is now the third drama I have watched with him in total, and his character is a complete copy-paste. I could take Kim Tan from The Heirs or Heo Joon-jae from Legend of the Blue Sea and put them in this drama, and it would make no difference at all.

My overall disappointment with this drama, though, is how messy it is. Their use of flashbacks is way too excessive, to the point where I was sometimes confused at what point of the story I was even at. At one point they went three flashbacks deep and then skipped ahead in the story, and I was so lost.

And, I never thought I would say this ever, but I wish they would have done a bit more telling instead of showing. It felt a little like they tried leaving clues out for the viewer to piece things together, but often plot just came out of nowhere, and we were just expected to go along with it without explanation. Some things I’m still not sure how or why they were even relevant to the story. A lot of things just happen because it needs to for the plot, and rarely things are set up previous to it happening.

Very few dramas have me as lost and confused as this one did, and I don’t consider myself a stupid person, but this made me feel like I was stupid. And I don’t like that. I could probably watch this again and hopefully understand more of what was happening, but I am honestly not sure if I want to.

It is such a shame, though, because the actors were all phenomenal. And if I step back and look at the overall plot they were going for, it could have been so good if executed well! It is a very difficult plot to pull off though and in my opinion, they failed. The only drama I can think of that has tried something similar and succeeded is Memories of the Alhambra, which is also my favorite drama for that reason.

I could maybe see myself going back to watch this again someday, but until that happens, I can’t really say anything else positive about this drama. As amazing as the first episode was, as disappointing was the rest of it, and I am so sad it came to that.

[itsokay-thatskdrama]

my uninvited thoughts on the king eternal monarch

*SPOILERS* I watched this show for two reasons: Kim Eun-sook’s drama’s SLAP and Woo Do-hwan. 

As for reason one, Kim Eun-sook writes phenomenal and creative dramas. She’s never disappointed me before and I wouldn’t say I was disappointed with this show. I enjoyed it. I was intrigued, I was really into the plot and concept. In the world of the drama, it felt like a Kim Eun-sook drama. Well developed characters, a world of its own, and a plot that moves quick from the start. But I wouldn’t say this met or exceeded expectations regarding Secret Garden, DOTS Goblin, or even Heirs. 

As for Woo Do Hwan, I watch everything he’s in because I’m in love with him. 

More below. (*SPOILERS*)

1. The main couple. The one thing that I feel really lacked is the main couple. Lee Gon is a well developed, deep character and he grows throughout the show. Jeong Tae-eul is a developed, deep character and she also grows throughout the show. But I was never rooting for them as a couple. I totally bought his feelings for her. I understand where they came from, I understand why he fights for her, and I can recognize at what point during the show he started to love her romantically. I can’t say the same about Tae-eul’s side. I believe that she loves him, and I understand that her feelings for him are true and deep and unmoving, but i don’t know where they came from. It felt like she was annoyed by him, annoyed by him again,intrigued by him, friendly but indifferent and then suddenly deep undying love and i have no idea where it started. 

2. My biggest issue with the treason plot. It built and built and built and almost climaxed and then died. I feel like so much of the last few episodes built up to this fight that was maybe 10 minutes max and then it was done. And then the show went into epilogue mode. 

3. The parallel counterparts. Jo Yeong/Jo Eun-sup was brilliant. To have such different characters switch roles was brilliant, and honestly, held the show together at some points. I also really liked the storyline with Hyun-min and Sin-jae. I wish we got to see a bit more of that, especially Hyun-min’s side of waking up as Sin-jae. How were his memories seemingly erased? How did he end up in Sin-jae’s position beyond meeting Lee Lim? The Tae-eul/Luna arc was mediocre at best honestly, and the best part was seeing her happy ending after the timeline changed. 

4. The ads. The drama got a lot of criticism for the “excessive advertising” but it was still better than several other dramas I’ve seen. Even DOTS and Goblin had some horribly incorporated commercial lines. (The iconic “I’m hungry” “almonds?” from DOTS or the towels in every scene of Goblin.) All I’m saying is some could have been better (there were too many lines about the coffee and skin care) but at least they were eating at a chicken place instead of SUBWAY. 

5. Memory loss at the end. I freaking hated this for one reason only. It almost entirely negates Eun-sup’s story arc. He was a jumpy, cowardly, guy who literally jumped in front of a bullet to save a king that isn’t his. His story as the Unbreakable Sword just kind of disappears. From the scene where he runs away from a fight, to jumping in front of Gon in the shoot out, to pulling Na-ri behind him to physically protect her is growth. And it’s a bummer that he doesn’t remember, especially because Yeong does. Yeong learns to live for himself a little bit. He finds joy in the twins, he finds a friend (?) in Sin-jae and Tae-eul and Eun-sup. The scene where Yeong hugs Eun-sup shows that while Yeong lives to protect the king, he’s found people he really cares about and misses them and thinks of them. He finds and accepts romance with Seung-ah. Eun-sup doesn’t have that. 

6. Honestly, what the fuck is the timeline in this show. What the fuck is happening? 

[guardians-of-exo]

The King: Eternal Monarch

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Synopsis: A coup in the Kingdom of Corea leaves behind an orphaned Prince Lee Gon, now a king. The person who saved his life left behind an ID card and the King spends his whole life looking for that person. The person who saved him however, was not who he expected it to be, and for his questions to be answered he must travel to a completely different world.

Episode info: 16 episodes / Runtime around 70 minutes

Lead cast (I usually list what roles the actors play as well, but here this would be spoilers so I wont) : Lee Min-ho, Kim Go-eun, Woo Do-hwan, Kim Kyung-nam, Jung Eun-chae, Lee Jung-in

Link to watch: You can watch on Netflix or here

Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)

_

Okay so, I want to start with the positive things I have to say about this drama.

The first episode was amazing, and I was so excited to see where it would go. It was just confusing and intriguing enough to leave me wanting more. They used a lot of Alice in Wonderland parallels and I loved every second of it. All of that however, was forgotten as soon as the second episode started, but we’ll get back to that later.

Another thing I noticed - and I am by no means an expert on this, I just call it as I see it - but the camera work is exquisite. I don’t really know how to explain it because I don’t know any of the terms, but the way they went about shooting the different scenes made it such a smooth and interesting watch. The different camera angles and effects they used fit the mood they were going for and enhanced the drama perfectly. The lighting and colouring of the drama overall also made it a very beautiful drama to watch. 

So now we get to the parts I didn’t like, which is pretty much everything else though it sounds pretty harsh.

This is by no means a dig at Min-ho as an actor, but this is now the third drama I have watched with him in total, and his character is a complete copy paste. I could take Kim Tan from The Heirs or Heo Joon-jae from Legend of the Blue Sea and put them in this drama and it would make no difference at all. 

My overall disappointment with this drama though, is how messy it is. Their use of flashbacks is way too excessive to the point where I was sometimes confused at what point of the story I was even at. At one point they went three flashbacks deep and then skipped ahead in the story and I was so lost.

And, I never thought I would say this ever, but I wish they would have done a bit more telling instead of showing. It felt a little like they tried leaving clues out for the viewer to piece things together, but often plot just came out of nowhere and we were just expected to go along with it without explanation. Some things I’m still not sure how or why they were even relevant to the story. A lot of things just happen because it needs to for the plot and rarely things are set up previous to it happening.

Very few dramas has me as lost and confused as this one did, and I don’t consider myself a stupid person, but this made me feel like I was stupid. And I don’t like that. I could probably watch this again and hopefully understand more of what was happening, but I am honestly not sure if I want to.

It is such a shame though, because the actors were all phenomenal. And if I step back and look at the overall plot they were going for, it could have been so good if executed well! It is a very difficult plot to pull off though and in my opinion they failed. The only drama I can think of that has tried something similar and succeeded is Memories of the Alhambra, which is also my favourite drama for that reason.  

I could maybe see myself going back to watch this again someday, but until that happens I can’t really say anything else positive about this drama. As amazing as the first episode was, as disappointing was the rest of it, and I am so sad it came to that.

[grump-the-deer]

stuff about HDM ep 5

listen,

it was good, very good.

but ALSO

could have been much better

hear me out

.....

- Will looks FANTASTIC, he’s absolutely PERFECT. he’s stoic but caring, I was worried he might be too dramatized but they’ve got his subtle (hehe) personality down pat. very concerned but very practical. a good boy. I love him.

- still not sure about putting him in so early but eh. can overlook it for now. I like the Lost Boy title parallel with Billy, hehe.

- I also love his mom, she’s a bit more with it than in the books but it works for exposition and showing their relationship more. really good portrayal of real mental illness - not cutesy and not unhinged, poor woman is just obsessive. and she’s RIGHT about them being in her house, damn it.

- on that note, I hope they didn’t kidnap her...that might throw the whole story off, Will puts her in a safe place so he doesn’t have to worry about her as much, but if his goal is finding her when he goes through the window it’ll throw off his whole motivation. he’ll be spending time being afraid for her instead of going through his normal arc.

- Iorek is MUCH improved. he’s much more stoic and savage, which is fantastic. even a bit more savage than in the books, which surprises and delights me. I also LOVE how annoyed he gets with Lyra’s chatter, that moment was GOLD.

- Lyra as always is absolutely perfect, I adore her and her spunkiness and her directness - it’s perfectly childlike and in character, she doesn’t mince words and she’s clever as fuck and delighted by Iorek and the north

- Kaisa is growing on me, I’d still prefer a goose but his voice is wonderful and I enjoy his role a lot

- SERAFINA AND CORAM DEVELOPMENT. I LIVE FOR IT. that was so FUCKING POWERFULLY SAD.

- Lee Scoresby is starting to get on my nerves, for real. his first scene was great, honestly, definitely good for his new characterization. and from there it disappeared. just. utterly. disappeared. he became Stand-In Fatherly Soft Boy #3 at the drop of a hat. like what? that’s not development. he did not earn that. Lyra did not earn that from him. why is he being so soft with her? there’s no point to his character in this damn episode, other than trying to shoehorn him in being supportive so you don’t forget he’s there. I was ready to love this new Lee and love Lin all over again and this episode shat all over it. they had better rectify this later, if they can. this had better not be the end-all be-all of Lee’s and Lyra’s relationship development. curse you Jack Thorne.

- also his shoehorned line about control and whatever was stupid. this just in: Lee Scoresby has been relegated to the role of exposition fairy. great. just great. like that is entirely out of character for him, he doesn’t think shit about that stuff. he’s a hired gun and damn it that’s what he’s gonna do. not think about morality and institutional power. that’s Serafina’s job.

- howEver....Iorek on the other hand has phenomenal development with Lyra. absolutely stellar. he’s big tough guy and shows it but he levels with her a bit and when she turns away you can see his face grow softer. and the concern for her when she goes into the shack alone is palpable. A++++. and great that they added the explanation about the difference between bears and humans, that is vital.

- there are some more background dæmons I noticed, which is great - especially the wolves, and the pyre scene with the dæmons mourning. that was perfect.

- on that note, my main gripe: NOT. ENOUGH. DÆMONS.

yes, yes, I know, BUDGET. but if you’re going to take on this gargantuan project with something like dæmons as its CENTRAL element to the plot, especially in this episode, why the hell wouldn’t you make sure to put them in enough?? make them a part of the world every chance you got? even a couple extra shots or interactions? budget for it guys! make us FEEL IT when Billy’s dæmon isn’t there - my reaction when they started freaking out saying “where’s Ratter? where’s his dæmon?” was “I DON’T KNOW, WHERE’S YOURS?”

we haven’t seen Ma Costa’s dæmon since around episode 3. in the background. from afar. he’s never EVER around. neither is John Faa’s, and in this episode Pan isn’t even around that much either when Lyra is interacting with Iorek. he just suddenly appears when they get to the fishing shack. I appreciate the few shots we get with Sophonax walking next to Coram or Kaisa reacting to Coram’s presence - like jesus, that’s what we NEED HERE. to REMEMBER how close and integral dæmons are to their humans! that’s the POINT! that’s what makes the climax and the themes of the show WORK! if we don’t FEEL that connection every step of the way, even between side characters, we aren’t impacted when people LOSE their dæmons! I forget they’re supposed to be there half the time, and that is utterly disastrous to keeping us emotionally attuned to the plot!

in that same vein, I was very disappointed that they didn’t utilize the dried fish Billy clung to in the books. that part could have been SO visually helpful. Billy just kind of sat there out of focus, and despite the characters’ reactions around him and the sad music I just...didn’t find it that sad. he didn’t do any real acting, he didn’t look lost. he didn’t seem to care his dæmon wasn’t there. the dried fish was a horrible grotesque prop for showing just how twisted it was to wrench someone’s dæmon away - people NEED something to hold like that, even if it’s just a shriveled up piece of food. and Lyra’s blowup when the gyptian men take the fish away after he dies is a wonderful bit. it gives her something to vent her sadness and to show how much she felt for his loss. it parallels the pure terror of the prospect of losing her own dæmon later. it cost 0 CGI to do, and would have been a much better stand-in for making people feel the loss of a dæmon, if they absolutely had to do it without extra CG.

all in all: this should have been one of the most poignant episodes thus far. and it wasn’t for me, because of the dæmon problem. everything else was secondary. there was SUCH a buildup for the moment when we find Billy Costa, and it fell utterly flat as soon as we saw him. bad reveal. first episode I was genuinely disappointed in.

(despite its very very very good points. call it a 4/10 for its own standards, and a 7.5/10 for general show standards)

[nellie-elizabeth]

His Dark Materials: Betrayal (1x08)

Dafne Keen is going places. She's phenomenal. This show... just... wow.

Cons:

I liked the way the daemons were integrated into this episode; they definitely got better about that as the season went on. But now I have to register a related, yet slightly different complaint...Pan is always in the same damn form. I mean, not always, but enough that it's distracting. I think in the book that was definitely his preferred form, but since it's a very important plot point that Lyra's daemon hasn't "settled" yet, I think some more variety would have been nice, just to emphasize that. Is this a nitpick? Yes.

Also... I missed Lee. A lot. I wish we could have seen more of him, although I understand why time constraints would limit his role towards the end of the season.

Pros:

While I'm not sure I'd ever recommend this show to someone on the basis of its effects/action sequences, I will admit that the final battle scene was pretty cool, with all the moving pieces of the bears, the Magesterium, etc. coming together in one bombastic final confrontation. Bodies are flying around, lights and noise and chaos... and Lyra, running through it all, just trying to get to Roger. I really felt the tension and urgency here.

McAvoy is such a good Lord Asriel. All of his scenes with Lyra are just so intense and layered and amazing. Because he has... affection for her. He freaked out when he thought she had come alone, but if you play that despair through to its obvious conclusion, he freaked out because he was still thinking about going through with his plan, killing his daughter for the sake of progress. He was relieved to have another child to victimize instead. But if Roger hadn't been there? Who knows.

Their conversations, about Lyra being special, about Dust and sin and what science can teach us, are all tinged with this sinister energy for those of us who can see the writing on the wall. Lyra saying she would have been so proud to be Asriel's daughter... that just gutted me. There's this distance between them for obvious reasons, and I think it can be encapsulated in that moment at the very end, where Asriel is asking Marisa to come with him through the bridge in the sky, and Marisa says that she needs to stay in this world, because it's where Lyra is. Asriel asks her: "you want her?" And it's... a polite question, a general curiosity. His love for Lyra is real, true enough, but the idea of giving up what he's discovered for the sake of his daughter is something he can't understand.

I really, really love that this is a story about a little girl who gets pulled in to a crazy adventure, but it's also about the evils of organized religion and this sort of alternate history that's intrinsically tied up with the corruption of the church, and all of that is so clearly displayed and then complicated by Asriel and Coulter as characters. You've got science vs. religion, sort of, but both sides are willing to torture children for their aims. Asriel is doing it as a means to an end, since severing a daemon and child releases the energy he needs to open a portal. Marisa is doing it because she thinks ultimately she's saving humanity from original sin. It's... messed up. Both of them are so wrong, and so evil, and so certain of their own righteousness.

Let's talk about Roger and Lyra's friendship, because... oh boy. They really milked this bond for all it was worth. They really wanted me to feel this one. They have sentimental conversations about how much they've changed and helped each other, and Roger is so supportive, and checking in on Lyra, and then he's so confused and betrayed, and there's time for Lyra to find Roger in the cage, for them to see each other one last time but not time for anyone to say anything... God. It's just so much. So heartbreaking. And Dafne Keen's performance as she cradles Roger's body to her, and contemplates her future with Pan... wow. Just, wow. I don't really have the words for it.

We also spend some time with Will in this episode, as he is on the run after Boreal's men broke into his house. There's not a lot to talk about here, other than the big thing - he finds a portal and steps through it. And we see this, juxtaposed with Lyra walking across the bridge that Asriel created in the Northern Lights. I wavered back and forth with how I felt about Will's story being started here in season one, but as we hit the end of this finale, I've got to say I'm firmly in favor.

There are two reasons for this - one is that the parallel of Will and Lyra both entering this other world through vastly different means is really setting up how important they will be to each other. Both are at an extreme low point. Both feel totally alone, and both are about to encounter something the likes of which they never could have imagined. The second reason is specifically the 'vastly different means' thing. Because Asriel just murdered Roger right in front of Lyra's eyes, desperate for the energy to go into another world and find answers about Dust. And Will? He just... wandered through a weird displaced pocket of air and vanished. It's so quiet, so simple. And having seen Boreal jump between worlds throughout the season, it becomes heartbreakingly clear that Asriel's evil methods are not at all necessary to travel between the realms. The heartbreak of this climax is all the more potent when you realize how unnecessary it all was.

I could really go on and on about this episode, and about Keen's performance in specific, but I'll just leave it here - this girl is killing it, no matter what scene partner she's working with. She's bringing so much nuance and empathy and love and joy to Lyra Silvertongue, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

9/10

[meatballvision]

Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood (2019)

Oh hey! I can still write reviews!

Leave it to Tarantino to bring back the desire to put my thoughts back out on the internet with his latest (almost) masterpiece.

So here we go with the plot, though I’ll say without meaning it negatively that there ain’t much of one in the traditional sense, at least for a while. It starts off as a more of a series of vignettes set in the Los Angeles of 1969, where Rick Dalton (Leo, somehow doing better work than ever here) is feeling blue. He was a big deal in the late 50s on a successful western show but never could quite get a foothold in film, and is now relegated to playing badguys on other up-and-coming stars’ shows. Fortunately for him, he has the emotional support of his sometimes stunt double and alltimes bestie, Cliff Booth (Bradboi, also doing his best work in years as somehow both a badass and complete goofball). Running parallel to these two storylines is the tale of rising star Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who isn’t given much in the way of verbosity but serves a very important role in the story. The way Robbie portrays her as a star on the rise is super effective, particularly in a scene where she goes into a theatre just to watch her own movie and is delighted by the audience reaction to her character. Like so much of this film, it had me grinning like a goof.

Let’s get the negative out of the way. It dragged a little bit about an hour and a half or so through. That’s it.

Anyway, obviously from the title and the director you can tell this movie is gonna fall all over itself with love for old school LA and moviemaking, and I did enjoy that aspect of it, but my real love for this movie came from the characterizations.

Rick and Cliff are, at heart, adorable goofballs, despite the former being a surprisingly great actor and the latter being a supercool tough guy, because Brad Pitt. They are so different from and yet completely compatible with one another that I couldn’t help but smile every time they were on screen together.

And that’s not to say their scenes separately aren’t winners either, particularly when Rick retreats to his trailer to berate himself over forgetting his lines (I seriously laughed myself into a coughing fit during this scene), or when Cliff beats the hell out of Bruce Lee(!) just for the fun of it, or when Rick acts so well in a guest spot on a show starring Jim Stacy (Timothy Olyphant, heyyyy) that I wanted to actually see that show, or when Cliff [accidentally] infiltrates the Manson compound at Spahn Ranch or...anyway.

Then there’s the ending, which is yet another Tarantino gutpunch. All I can say (and this is kinda spoilery so stop now if you wanna go in totally blind) is that it takes everything we’ve learned and connected to with Cliff, Rick and Sharon over the last 2 hours, as well as everything you may know about the Manson Family murders and...oh hell, let’s just invent a new word, Tarantinerizes it.

Go see this movie. It’s phenomenal.

-Jeff C

[douxreviews]

Gotham - ‘Pena Dura’ Review

Eduardo: "You left the army for this city?" Jim: "It grows on you."

How right Jim is here. And while 'Pena Dura' is actually a pretty outstanding follow-up to last week's episode, it also bears a disheartening feature often found in Michael Crichton novels; it builds up some thrilling concepts for the first two-thirds, but the actual executions of said concepts in the last third are quite lackluster.

Still pursuing the unknown culprit behind Haven's detonation, Jim Gordon and Bullock follow a lead given by Barbara on a dealer of RPG's. Unfortunately, the confrontation with the dealer himself is cut short when a battalion called Delta Force drops in and axes off Gordon's only lead. As it turns out, Delta Force is led by Eduardo Dorrance (Shane West), a former comrade of Gordon's when he was still in the army. And right away, I marked Eduardo as a character drafted to inevitably betray Gordon at some point down the line, because even if Gotham chose to keep West's eventual transformation into Bane confidential, he still reeks of someone you could just all too easily see double-crossing our protagonists; he's enthusiastic, he's chummy right from the get-go with Gordon, he gets a lot of the zingy one-liners once in action, in fact, he's too much of all these things. It's as if he's almost too eager to be here in Gotham City mowing down its costumed gangsters one by one, because he's got some kind of clandestine government cabal pulling his strings. But now I'm just getting ahead of myself here...

Quite surprisingly, I expected Gotham to drag out Gordon learning that Nygma was the one behind Haven's detonation by at least one more episode, but in fact, the pace doesn't drag too much after Eduardo steps in, and he and Gordon learn from the RPG dealer's logbook that Nygma was his most recent client. Gordon and Delta Force try to arrest Nygma at his safehouse, but Nygma is able to make his getaway by activating an IED below Eduardo's feet that will go off if Nygma is shot down. I must confess that this scene alone gave Nygma the essence of The Riddler more so than anything Season 4 did for his character. He's got his massive ego back, he's rigged his safehouse with booby traps, and of course, it takes the solving of a riddle too to deactivate the IED. As Gordon appropriately puts it - "there's always a puzzle with Nygma."

It's becoming a bit muddled though as to who exactly is in control of Nygma's body now. At the beginning of Season 5, it seemed that it was the Riddler trying to retrace his steps and learn what Ed has been doing during the blackouts, but in 'Pena Dura', the geeky CSI Ed is now the one the focus is on. What's more, Gotham seems to be doing a bit of retooling to the Ed personality as well; he's suddenly aghast to learn he was behind the bombing of Haven and the deaths of hundreds of civilians, yet he had no issue with making a name for himself as a feared criminal mastermind back in Season 3 by mercilessly stabbing a stage performer.

With Nygma on the run, Gordon puts the word out around the city that Nygma's the most likely culprit behind the attack on Haven. As a result, it isn't long before Nygma is captured and bound by a group of stereotypes, evidently intent on avenging their dog that was killed in the attack, and tortured through electroshock administration. In the process, buried memories start rising to Nygma's conscious, most prominently, a vision of Oswald promising to 'fix' Nygma. Believing Oswald to be the one behind his constant blackouts, Nygma engineers another escape and confronts Oswald, in a much-anticipated reunion for many of the show's viewers. Regardless of whether or not there's meant to be some sexual undertones in the conversations between these two, there's no denying that their bickering and their scene-chewing is always a welcome highlight. I got a kick out of how Oswald basically admitted too that only because he shot Butch last year did Nygma by default fill the slot of being his 'best friend'.

I've also grown fond of the increasing competitiveness between these two over the last year. I don't think they'll ever be able to return to the relationship they once held back in the beginning of Season 3, but they at least now retain a mutual respect for the other. They'd never go out of their way to kill the other, but they also definitely would not hesitate now to throw them under the bus if it meant saving their own skin, as Oswald does moments later when Delta Force shows up on his doorstep. Oswald tells Gordon that Nygma's going after Hugo Strange next, since Strange was the one Oswald ordered to 'fix' Nygma. I also haven't forgotten that Oswald also asked Strange to 'fix' Lee Thompkins, but the show seems to have, so let's move on.

Strange, greeting Nygma with an impeccable George Takei imitation, admits he is also unaware that Nygma has been blacking out, but confesses to having installed some sort of microchip that is subject to remote control in Nygma's head while he was in the process of being resurrected. Yet Strange oddly enough is also not the one who has been controlling Nygma. In a twist of events that now makes the twists of How I Met Your Mother's finale look rather superb, it turns out Delta Force and their shadowy government-affiliated leader Walker have been controlling Nygma the entire time. But here's the darnedest thing - the eyeroll and exhale this reveal got out of me wasn't a result of the twist being obvious - it's just that I feel Gotham has earned its place as being a series that should have shelved plot points like this. If Gotham remained in the confines of the grounded cop drama it was attempting to be way back in Season 1, then a reveal like this would have felt more accommodated to the show's nature. But Gotham is well past that point, what with their featuring of laughing gas, serial killers with pig masks, shapeshifters and countless resurrections, I know it can do more than just the evil-government-conspiracy that wants to clean house shtick.

Meanwhile, at the Sirens' club, Selina is being celebrated for killing the clearly not-dead Jeremiah Valeska. Funny how Bruce and Selina are always attempting to alleviate the other in Barbara's club, and this felt like a nice parallel to their encounter back in Season 4's 'Pieces of a Broken Mirror'. As much as Bruce wants though to convince Selina she's not a cold-blooded killer, Selina's only form of rebuttal is by trying to - once again, no less - demonstrate to Bruce that she doesn't give a hoot about anyone else except herself. This blather doesn't strike me as genuine though, as much as it more feels like Selina's just trying to save face. I also trust in Bruce to know Selina well enough to see through her jibber-jabber. Jeremiah himself turns out to have survived Selina's stabbings through the use of some nifty body armor. As commonplace as that solution does sound, we finally get a laugh out of Jeremiah by the episode's end. Something else I haven't seen others comment on is how it sounds almost as if Cameron Monaghan is evolving his Jeremiah voice with every episode. By now, he's done a phenomenal job at distinguishing his performance as Jeremiah in every aspect from his performance as Jerome.

To capitalize on my earlier metaphor, 'Pena Dura' has a first-rate setup that's unfortunately dampened in the end by its anti-climatic resolutions - our big baddie for the final season looks to be our own government, Nygma's been reduced essentially to a murder-bot hitman, and Jeremiah survives a stab wound to the chest (he even mentions that one Selina's attacks missed the armor) merely because the story needs him to. Not to mention that the cat-and-mouse game of pursuing Nygma and Strange could have been trimmed down by ten minutes.

Other Thoughts: • I don't consider myself much of a dog person, but if something ever happens to Oswald's bulldog, Gotham's showrunners will be receiving a vent-heavy letter penned by yours truly.

• I thought I heard Eduardo misspeak at first, and refer to Walker as 'Waller', leading me to suspect that Gotham was actually in the midst of introducing to us Amanda Waller and conceiving their own lineup of the Suicide Squad.

Aaron Studer loves spending his time reading, writing and defending the existence of cryptids because they can’t do it themselves.

[josebarrmageddon]

Thoughts on Halloween 2018

The Halloween Franchise is a hot mess and I love it. Well, I like most of them, but regardless, i’m a fan. Being a fan can make it hard to review something, because I’m not really in a critical mood, I just want to sit down and enjoy it. So this isn’t meant to be a real review, just a quick rundown of what I thought. I’ll try to keep this spoiler free, but it is best if you see the movie. First of all, I loved it. It was everything I wanted out of a new Halloween, but I knew that going in. I don’t think anyone was really worried about it being bad and the crowd i saw it with was having a blast gasping and screaming and laughing. The opening scene and title card got a huge applause. We knew that this movie was in good hands.

As the credits start, a decayed pumpkin is seen coming back to life, almost saying that this series is back. Ignoring all other entries, this only follows the first movie, so Laurie Strode is alive and once again played by Jamie Lee Curtis. She has a daughter and a granddaughter, Karen and Allyson, but there is a fractured relationship. Karen resents her Laurie for not being a great mom and focusing more on surviving another Michael attack. Allyson is a little more sympathetic towards her and wants her to be happy and part of the family again. It was important to address the trauma that Laurie would’ve experienced after the first movie and it’s done well here, with her having moments of panic, self-destructiveness, and ultimately being tired. Her family as well are either trying to help her or fed up with her paranoia and cut all ties.  

As we continue Laurie’s story, we also get to see more characters with her granddaughter, Allyson, played by Andi Matichalk. We see her and her friends represent everyone who grew up watching or hearing about these movies, only for them its actual history. There’s debate over what happened that fateful night and what Michale Myers is. Scenes with them and other teenagers at the school takes you back to the first movie with Laurie, Annie, and Lynda. The movie is almost in two parts, one follows the new Laurie story and the other acts like an homage to the original. So it really is half sequel, half reboot. It moves through the same motions as the first without being a rip-off. There are several nods to shots, lines, characters, and even sequels all through out. Michael’s doctor, Dr. Sartain, is even called “The New Loomis” by Laurie. He’s does emulate Loomis by having a fixation on Michael and keeping on eye on him. Nick Castle returns as Michael Myers and is just as intimidating as ever. He is still able to fit into his surroundings and still is in no hurry to run after his prey. 

Along with Curtis and Castle, John Carpenter returns as a producer and composer. While not directing, his presence is felt with the film’s new score. You hear the classic Halloween theme a few times, but for the most part, the score is brand new. There is a new main theme that kicks ass, it will not disappoint. David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, known for comedy, also did a stellar job at reviving the character of Michael Myers. Like I said before, the movie has parallels the first and the biggest one of all is mood. Much like Carpenter’s, Green’s movie is slow and keeps it’s kills subtle with little to no blood. However, as it progresses, the kills become more intense and some even top the kills in Rob Zombie’s versions. The camera moments and color scheme are also noted as being similar in style to the original. The motion-censored lights scene, the high school dance, the running through the streets. It actually makes you feel like it’s Halloween more than the first Halloween.

Now, there are a few things that left me wanting more. There are a few characters who are introduced and just leave the movie without much of a resolution. That’s gonna be a problem with some people because there are people who we want to see killed and others we want to live, but some of their fates are underwhelming. There are points when Michael isn’t wearing the mask and some shots are a little too close to revealing his face. The final fight with Laurie and Michael is suspenseful and masterfully done, but it drags a bit too long and has some false scares. Those may be my only gripe. Halloween(2018) is a phenomenal movie and an even greater sequel. It immediately ranks as my second favorite in the franchise. In case anyone’s wondering, my order is this.

John Carpenter’s Halloween

Halloween(2018)

Rob Zombie’s Halloween

Halloween H20

Halloween II (2009) or H2

Real quick about the titling. In order to avoid confusion of which Halloween we’re talking about, the first does have John Carpenter’s name in front of it and Rob Zombie is known for putting his name in front of his movies too, so that clears up that confusion. Zombie’s sequel is also sometimes branded as H2(2009).

This isn’t the first time that the franchise has been rebooted. Halloween H20(1998) was the 7th sequel, but only followed the first two movies, so Michael and Laurie are siblings in it. You could make the argument that Halloween III: Season of the Witch(1982) is itself a reboot, since it’s not tied to the Michael Myers mythos at all. In fact, the whole series is starting to feel like a “pick your own adventure” book. Halloween was rebooting itself, before rebooting was cool. It has been said that this is meant to be the final movie, but I don’t think anyone is buying that. As climactic and final as everything feels, I wouldn’t mind another one, though I have absolutely no idea where else you can go after this one without feeling like a retread. It’s sole purpose is to end Michael Myers, but after a successful opening weekend, no way is anyone letting that happen. Regardless of what happened in the future, this one movie will stand proudly next to John Carpenter’s Halloween. Happy 40th Anniversary.

-Jose Barr (10-25-2018)

[notyoursterotypicalnerd]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

On Sunday, my local event cinemas had one session for an advance screening of Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse. So, myself and a half of other Spiderman/marvel fans attended the session.

Let me just say this was fantastic. One of end credit scenes from Infinity War gave us a taste of what this movie would be about but to see the full feature was phenomenal.

Not only do we see the original Peter Parker (voiced by Chris Pine) do his thing but we also see his demise which leads to the new kid on the block, Miles Morals (voiced by Shameik Moore) showing us what his got.

With the help of various parallel dimension Spiderman’s featuring Spider-Gwen (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-man Noir (voiced by Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (voiced by Kimiko Glenn), Spider-Ham ( voiced by John Mulaney) and also including an alternate Peter Parker/Spiderman (voiced by Jake Johnson) and with Aunt May (voiced by Lily Tomlin) coming to the aid as they attempt to take down Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk (voiced by Liev Schreiber), Doctor Olivia “Doc Ock” Octavia (voiced by Kathryn Hahn) and Aaron “Prowler” Davis (voiced by Mahershala Ali).

This movie is incredible; normally when I think of animation, I imagine something more suited for TV screens and not the big screen, but the Sony/Marvel team did an incredible job capturing the comic book characters.

This movie looks as if they just scanned the countless spider-verse comic pages and worked a little magic to bring the character’s abilities to speak to life.

From my point of view there is no fault. Each character was explained in a way that made sense to a non-comic book reader like me.

No doubt when the official screening is released masses will flock. Also, for those that don’t know there is already a sequel in the works.

Oh, and before I forget, yes there is an end credit scene which takes us right back to 1967. It’s hilarious and captures the scene that now lives on forever as a meme.

Also, Into the Spider-verse does have a Stan Lee cameo, his final voice work which is quite touching. There is also a tribute to both Steve Ditko and Stan Lee.

Again, a must see for any marvel comics fan. You won’t be disappointed plus it is much needed after the pain the Russo brother inflicted onto Marvel fans.

[gregellner]

Cover by Jenny Frison.

Today I’ll be reviewing the complete four-issue limited series “Year One” style story for Cassandra “Cassie” Hack, the protagonist of “Hack/Slash,” titled “Hack/Slash: My First Maniac.” It is written by Tim Seeley, with artwork by Daniel Leister, colors by Mark Englert, and letters by Crank!, all published by Image Comics (@imagecomics) as the first of the “Hack/Slash” properties to be published there before they took up the second ongoing series.

As a warning, this review is also an analysis, and so will include spoilers regarding this arc and major developments therein.

Throughout “My First Maniac,” Tim Seeley’s word choice rules the day, showcasing changing scenarios through repetition of common lines that have small, significant variations. Particularly in the first issue, there are intense parallels during the last two days that Cassie spent in her Wisconsin hometown, with her survivor’s guilt and vulnerability contrasting against her utter viciousness on her last day, figuring out how to use her “otherness” to make others afraid of her. On a similar note, the repeated use of certain phrases such as “come home” and similar words helps to add on to how alone Ms. Hack really feels and how she does, deep down, wish she could be at home again, but can’t seem to allow that for herself, a recurring struggle for her throughout her slasher slayer career.

Repetition also continues through events, such as the aforementioned last two days and her feelings about firearms. While Hack was at first upset and in shock over shooting her mother after she had become a slasher, noting that the gun felt heavy in her hands, her almost casual execution of the slasher she set out to hunt in this arc and intentional use of the gun she had actually demanded from someone else gives a look at how far she has delved into her killer lifestyle.

Religion, in particular Christianity, gets some mention, and acts as a contrast to the slashers themselves. Seeing as Cassie doesn’t know much about them (and won’t know much at all beyond the basics for years), she equates their ability to rise from the dead by sheer hatred as a kind of opposite number to Jesus of Nazareth, albeit not an actual antichrist. “The Bible says Jesus Christ died for our sins and returned to show his love. What about those who died for their own sins and returned to show their hate?” While this connection isn’t really all that important, it helps to tie readers in to the story, given a common perspective that many are at least familiar with on a cursory level.

Tim Seeley has long proposed that all of the famous slasher film franchises (and a few horror comic series) take place within the same world and share that world with “Hack/Slash,” with crossovers including “Hack/Slash vs. Chucky” (Child’s Play after Seed of Chucky), “Cassie and Vlad meet the Re-Animator” (Re-Animator), and “Hatchet/Slash” (Hatchet) alongside other more subdued connections or offhand references. In this limited series, Cassie’s original research into slashers includes direct mentions of the actions of Freddy Kreuger of A Nightmare on Elm Street (“a man who kills in dreams in Ohio”), Michael Myers of Halloween (“a masked maniac who terrorizes a small town on Halloween”), and Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th (“a camp plagued for thirty years by a psycho who won’t die”) who, though already mentioned to exist within the world by Charles Lee “Chucky” Ray in his one-shot story, are still a nice treat for readers.

As a fun little note, Delilah Hack’s year of death is mentioned on her tombstone as 2004, the same year that the original “Hack/Slash” story, “Euthanized,” was published, and therefore probably the same year that this story takes place.

“My First Maniac” is, at its core, a tragedy. Cassie Hack wants a normal life, and by right, probably would have had one, albeit one filled with bullying, in most other circumstances. But with her life’s path and her survivor’s guilt, any hope for a happy life is mercilessly, repeatedly dashed, and she isn’t the only one to whom this genre applies.

First, let’s look to the case of Cassie herself. From the outset, re-killing her undead mother has irrevocably changed her life, leading her down a dark path that results in running away from the loving foster care of Shannon and Karen Moore. As she starts to develop a new, real life for herself in Buffalo Center, Iowa, over the course of her first intentional slasher hunt, she actually seems to be happy, or at least give the idea of possibly becoming happier with time. She develops friends, and seems on the road to becoming better again after her violent turn in Wisconsin. Then, of course, things go horribly wrong, as becomes a pattern for her life from then on.

On the other hand, we have the supporting cast and even the villains. The Moores just wanted to help Cassie, but her self-given mission had consumed her to such a degree that any happiness would be impossible. Sarah Bunn and her boyfriend Kelsey each have a tragic tale, each a victim of the slasher of the story in their own way. Cassie even identifies them as a “free-spirited girl with a dark secret” and a “genuine good guy” respectively, acknowledging that they also were suffering from tragedy much as she was in their own ways. Even the slasher was in his own way a victim, though not as sympathetic. He was murdered in a rage, but his actions in life were not kind either, so there is less sympathy afforded to him.

A major part of “My First Maniac” is not just the case itself, but how Cassie Hack evolves from a relatively innocent girl into… well, kind of a sociopathic girl with intense post-traumatic stress disorder. By the end of the arc, she even claims that “Cassie Hack, teenage girl” is dead.

The majority of the symptoms of her disorder do not come into play during the limited series (having apparently been developed gradually in the months since), but her increased aggression is definitely important. Over the course of a single day, perhaps two, Cassie Hack goes from reluctantly shooting her mother to death in order to save someone’s life, to experiencing such severe survivor’s guilt that she feels she deserves the beating that a trio of bullies led by group alpha Rhianna Stegman are giving her, to beating Stegman to within an inch of her life with her bare hands the next day and threatening to murder her if she ever tried again. Even more, that very night she threatened her foster father’s life with a knife in his bed to keep him from following her as she ran away, further showing that she is seriously unwell. The speed with which she shifts from a shy, bullied girl to making death threats and physical assault demonstrate a thoroughly fractured mind, one that will only get worse as years of hunting take their toll.

On another note, it is important to be aware that while Cassie is a huntress of monsters, she is not a good person on her own. When she witnesses Jay and Ludo beating up a homosexual student outside of Club Fuzz after work, she almost doesn’t help at all on account of them not being her prey and her not being a hero, only actually getting involved when the odds are obviously in her favor once Kelsey and Sarah jumped in. Part of this relates to how she feels she can’t have anyone to care about, seeing any attachments as collateral in her hunt that she cannot afford (something that takes years for her to grasp is not necessarily the case, and never really leaves her mindset altogether), but another is the fact that she is so obsessed with her mission that she has faith in nothing else at all and makes attempts to refuse any other ways to help.

Even with her increasingly hardened exterior, there is still a sheltered, hidden part of Cassie Hack that is still that flustered, shy, teenage girl who ran away from home. Being the center of attention and attracting compliments leaves her very shy, with her new goth wardrobe breaking her out of her intense focus when people bring up how good she looks. Furthermore, when someone actually tells her she is a cool girl, she is overjoyed, actually writing it down in her diary with her feet up and crossed like a guy she likes noticed her.

Daniel Leister’s artwork is amazingly done, and in two different, but similar styles. On the one hand, we have the present day storyline, with realistic, well-detailed faces and scenes, the emotion clear on everyone’s faces (especially important for this particular slasher). Blood and guts are in horrific, terrifying detail through which Leister considers the amount of time that has passed since the blood has spilled, ranging from a general stain to caked on gore or bruises to a smear to a bloody, oozing wound. Water is shown in detail as well, with sweat and splashes helping to showcase effort in a way that many other artists might overlook.

On the other hand, the tellings of the tale of the slasher threat are somewhat more simplistic in nature, with flatter artwork that somehow works very well regardless, playing off in a way that is not unlike the works of Jack Kirby. In fact, the artwork even utilizes his famous “Kirby dot” technique!

On the whole, it is very well put together in some of the best art on “Hack/Slash” in general (not to put down any of the other phenomenal artists either).

The issue would be incomplete without Mark Englert’s coloring. Darkness and light, across different times of day, different ages of bruising, or even different styles of artwork help to make the entire story feel like a classic slasher movie, even as it is clearly something different.

The coloring of blood and gore is particularly well handled, as each of these elements has a weight to them, with light and shadow playing across them to showcase the amount of blood spilled or the fact that a blood stain may just be a single layer, whether a minor smear on clothing or skin. By using that kind of detail, readers are made aware of how fresh, how wet, a wound really is at any particular moment.

Together, this four-issue series is put together wonderfully, with the masterful writing, excellent illustrations, and disturbingly realistic coloring working together to make yet another piece of the amazing “Hack/Slash” epic.

[juleswritesthis]

My Thoughts - ACS Finale - ALONE

I can’t believe it’s over. It’s been an incredible, stressful, sad, thrilling and crazy journey. ACS Versace is extraordinary television. As for the finale it was filled with phenomenal moments of artistry, , of music, and most of all of acting. Here are the moments I remember right now.

Andrew drinking champagne and watching the helicopters. Most people would be scared sh**less. But not Andrew. Nope he is enjoying all the attention. He loves that they say his name and showed his picture on national news even if as a murder of one of the most famous designers in the world. Or maybe that was the whole point he is finally linked to Gianni Versace. (On a side note, the champagne bottle frightened me so much I literally jumped. And thereafter every loud noise scared me. Just proved how intense this show is and how heightened each emotion).

Ronnie seems to be Ryan’s mouthpiece as he tells the authorities and us exactly what he feels. Excellent scene and wonderfully ties in the “American Crime.” Marilyn is me asking the FBI what the heck they have been doing the last 2 months. I will say I took some satisfaction watching the agent squirm while saying “that man” evaded the police once more.  

The entire sequence when Andrew is watching Marilyn is incredible television. The way they parallel Marilyn and Andrew both artistically and narratively. Marilyn in the light, bright tears reflecting in her eyes. Andrew in the shadows his eyes blurred by darkness his face unrecognizable, blurred or erased so like how he tried to erase his victims’ faces.  Both Marilyn and Andrew’s fathers were storytellers. However, Marilyn’s father told stories to make others happy whereas Modesto told stories for attention. Both Marilyn and Andrew inherited their fathers’ talent in storytelling. Marilyn uses it to sell products that make women feel beautiful, creating a perfume in honor of her mom. Andrew uses it to manipulate others into believing his lies just as his father taught him. I really loved this scene.

Another moment, Andrew waiting for his father happily thinking his dad is going to save him then walking in on his father saying that homosexuality is a slur. I didn’t think I could be more disgusted by his father as I was last week. Once again, the show proves me wrong. Andrew shooting the TV reminded me of his aim at Jeff Trail’s interview. This time he shoots wanting to shut his father off. The look on his face in that moment is haunting.

Antonio breaks my heart. The episode is called Alone and that is what Antonio feels even in a church packed with people. No one acknowledges him after 15 years with Gianni. The way the priest flicks his hand away, how awful. Does he really attempt suicide? His story is truly tragic.

Donatella feels so broken. Her confession of ignoring her brother final phone call is so hard to watch. And the final scene of her break down is unbelievably painful.

Andrew watching Gianni’s funeral then singing along to the prayers. It’s despicable really but I’m not surprised. I wonder if some part of him mourns Gianni after all he was obsessed with him. It’s like how he stops for just a moment when he sees David’s picture. Darren does an excellent job as you can see a flicker of tenderness in Andrew’s eyes for just a second and then boom the empty dark look returns.

Another moment, when Andrew sees his younger self on the bed watching tv. The way the stare at each other the boy, still filled with youth and life; the man completely broken and alone by his own hand. Its such a chilling scene.

I wish they hadn’t ended it with Andrew’s name. I know they showed that he was buried in an ordinary place, almost forgotten. Andrew, the man whose biggest dream was to be special, would have hated it; such a bland and boring destination. There is a solemn irony to that. Still I would have preferred the final scene to be about all the victims as those are the ones I want to remember.

The music, as it has been throughout the series, was on point tonight. Bringing the show full circle with Adagio in G minor, the music plays in the final moments for both Gianni and Andrew. Once again paralleling the Creator and the Destroyer. Brilliant.

The acting is beyond amazing. I can’t say anything more about Darren that others haven’t said. The way he portrays Andrew descending into the abyss with every scene, desperate and trapped like a caged animal. I’m truly at awe. All I can say is Bravo. Penelope Cruz and Ricky Martin did a remarkable job of portraying heartbroken and grieving individuals. Max Greenfield’s quiet and bitter disgust was well done. Jon Jon Briones once again proving he is an incredible actor. And last but never least, Judith Light, wow she’s just phenomenal.

Bravo to all who worked on this extraordinary show. Tonight, I remember Jeff Trail’s courage and resilience, I remember David Madsen’s kindness, Lee Miglin’s generosity of spirit, William Reese’s love of his family, and Gianni Versace’s brilliance.