#to me it helps with a lot of the major sci-fantasy side of ben 10 more than just alien stuff alone

[whatudottu]

Just as a note, Bazel is a super powerful (and silly) magician that made the magic stones featured in the OG. They introduced him in person in Omniverse.

Baz-l is Ships weasel dad

Anyway: Bazel becomes Sparks teacher cause she was born into a new class of magic he didn't know, so they're learning from eachother. Spark learning how to use her magic without it getting all fucky, and Bazel learning about Magitech

Ah there we go, been a hot second since I’ve watched Omniverse! Sometimes I see Baz-l spelt Bazel so thanks for clarifying lmao- maybe in part because, when i searched bazel ben 10 i got baz-l and saw charms of bezel with an ‘e’ though it is fandom wiki as it always has been :P

Either way that makes more sense, and it’s also a really cool way to develop biomechanical magic in relation to the typical organic-based mana that fuels most spells, who else would Spark study magic under than the man behind the Charms of Bezel himself!

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #164 - Twitches

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes, but I was young.

Do I remember it: Mostly.

Did I see it in theaters: It was a TV movie, so no.

Format: DVD

1) Don’t judge me.

2) Seriously, don’t judge me. Most of us have those movies that we bought as a kid and don’t really watch anymore. That doesn’t mean they’re bad or that we should feel ashamed for owning them, it just means we shouldn’t be judged.

3) Now that no one’s judging me, let’s see which fantasy movie clichés we can cross off in the first few minutes.

Dark vs light? Check.

A prophecy? Check.

Chosen ones? Check.

Questions about their birth? Check.

Magical mentors? Check.

4) I like the idea of the twins being of the sun and the moon and it ties into a surprisingly well done juxtaposition we achieve between the two.

Cam’s Mom: “As long as the sun’s up, she’s up.”

Alex: “If the moon’s up, then I’m up.”

It’s easy to have a twin-relationship feel cliché but the film works with it well. The whole ida of Cam is day and Alex is night. Cam still has her family, Alex is reeling from the loss of hers. The fact that Cam is a skilled artist while Alex is an author. The both have a sense of the future, but Cam feels the positive and Alex feels the negative. And this is just what we get from them BEFORe they meet. Once they do we have Cam’s initial excitement played against Alex’s sheer panic and an immediate bond between the pair which is surprisingly interesting. They compliment each other and complete each other, balance each other out. It’s a surprisingly nice relationship to see play out on screen.

5) Karsh can at times feel wooden to me but I like the pair of him and Illena, the mentors who watch over Cam & Alex. They’re best when they’re together, able to compliment each the other’s personality well and bring out fun sides to them.

(Screenshot taken of a GIF set originally posted by @xkaitiannex)

6) So to get a job Alex walks into a store, bugs the manager (I’m assuming it’s the manager) and starts right away without an interview or training or even submitting a resumé.

(GIF originally posted by @beigency)

7) Okay, I first saw this when I was nine. I immediately called the uncle who married his dead brother’s widow as the bad guy because 1) Lion King and 2) creepy. Also now that I have more knowledge about certain things, I recognize that the name Thantos (that of the evil creepy uncle) is remarkably similar to Thanatos which is the greek personification of death.

Wait a second...this guy was on an episode of “Friends” I found on TV last night. Literally just last night. He played a male nurse. And there is no way I would have noticed that if that episode hadn’t literally been on 13 hours before now. Huh.

8) There is this nice internal conflict with Alex. She has this feeling of guilt over finding a new family and her biological mom when her mother passed away just three months ago (which is remarkably soon, I mean damn). But in all honestly she’s the only one who feels that way. She even blurts out at one point, “I’m not trying to replace my mom!” to Cam when that literally wasn’t part of the conversation they were having at all. It’s a nice bit of a drama to see play out.

9) I was pleasantly surprised by how witty some of these lines were.

Alex: “I’m driving in a Porsche with my twin sister. Magic truly seems to be the logical explanation.”

10) The sisters go from “oh my god, we have magic!” to accepting that and trying to control it REALLY quickly. I guess we have to keep things moving fast in an 86 minute movie.

11) I find the visuals behind Cam’s art to be really strong.

I know they probably didn’t have this in the budget, but I can’t help imagining the scene where Alex gives Coventry’s backstory would hve ben pretty great if they had incorporated this art style into it. Like the Deathly Hallows scenes in the seventh Harry Potter film.

12) So like the next three notes or so are about lines which I think are strong.

Cam [after opening her closet door and entering into Coventry]: “This is not my closet.”

Alex: “In a weird way I’m kinda relieved to hear that.”

13) I love this line, if only for the world implication buildings it has. But mostly because of how it takes a classic sci-fi/fantasy trope and sort of makes fun of it.

Illena: “Oh, the world has infinite dimensions. Well nine. Maybe nine-and-a-half.”

14) I’m Karsh in this situation.

Illena: “I wonder if we should’ve mentioned they’re marked for death.”

[Karsh looks at Illena like he’s on “The Office”.]

Karsh: “Why would we tell them that?”

15) Hey, did I mention Thantos is kinda creep yet? Well, if I haven’t...

Thantos [to his dead brother’s widow, who he’s married to]: “Even though I’ve never laid eyes on your daughters, I already love them as if they were my own.”

(GIF originally posted by @centralperksource)

16) Hey look, another line which is in here purely because I think it’s clever!

Illena [to Karsh, after walking through walls]: “I went through some 70s wallpaper that’s gonna emotionally scar me for life.”

Gonna be honest, that line had me laughing for a good couple of minutes.

17) So apparently Cam lives in a place called Waverly. She is a witch/wizard who lives in a Waverly place...

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

18) This is a Disney Channel Original Movie. You gotta have some cheesy dorky moments that feed right into whatever “SNL” makes fun of about this channel.

Cam [after both she and Alex call themselves Twitches]: “Twin!”

Alex: “Witches!”

Both: “Twitches!”

Roll credits!

19) So far most of the character conflict has been focused on Alex and the guilt she feels over finding a new family. Now we get to see Cam freaking out when things get a little too real for her.

Cam [after The Darkness tries to kill them]: “This was supposed to be fun! You know! Magic and sparkles and castles and unicorns!”

She runs off the first time trouble comes her way, ditching Alex to do so, because she’s never dealt with conflict in her life. She’s never dealt with anything bad in her world before. And she knows this is kinda crappy for her to do and she deals with that, but it’s important for her to face that fear and cower a little first before picking herself up by the bootstraps and moving forward.

20) So for a brief part of the film the Aly & AJ song “Rush” plays. That was my freaking jam as a kid. I like the darkness it has to it and the mystery and the sense of foreboding. I got major nostalgia when I heard it. Next to “Like Whoa” it was my favorite song of the sister-group.

And yes, I am now listening to “Rush” because of this recap.

21) I didn’t mention it before but I like the relationships both Alex and Cam have with their loved ones. The relationship with Cam’s parents specifically are a nice healthy alternative to the “rich girl is forced to meet standards by her parents” (this Kate Winslet in Titanic), instead giving us a relationship of love and humor and warmth.

Cam’s Dad [after Alex gives him a big bear hug and says how much she loves him]: “I don’t know if I’ve just been played or if that was one of those moments which makes parenting all worth while.”

Cam’s Mom: “Oh honey. [She kisses him on the cheek. Beat.] You’ve just been played.”

22) Similarly, the relationship Alex has with her best friend Lucinda has been really strong throughout the film. But Lucinda is very clearly feeling under appreciated by her friend, as this exchange was earlier in the film.

Lucinda: “You’re like family.”

Alex: “Like being the operative word.”

And then after Cam ditches Alex, Lucinda gets this wonderful bit of appreciation.

Alex: “The only person I can ever count on in my life is me.”

Lucinda: “Wow. You know that’s kind of a sucker punch for someone who just made you a birthday cake.”

When I was a kid I was disappointed that Lucinda didn’t show up in Twitches Too (no, I don’t own Twitches Too; so I’m only doing a recap for this one).

23) This message was surprisingly powerful for me. Maybe it’s because of the way the world is or because I wasn’t expecting it, but I think I’m going to hold it close from now on.

Cam’s Mom: “If there’s anything I know it’s that love is infinite. You can always make more when you need it.”

24) I might care more that Thantos was really The Darkness if they’d taken the time to develop him more. But again: 86 minute Disney Channel Original Movie; if it comes down between developing Thantos or the titular witches I’m glad they went with the latter.

25) Man, this WAS released in 2005. I dig it.

26) I’m a sucker for A+ sass game. Except I can’t decide who has the better sass here.

Thantos [to the twins’ biological mother]: “Sadly, you have nothing left.”

Cam: “That’s not true. She has us.”

Thantos: “Thank you, I stand corrected. Sadly, they’re all you have left.”

Alex: “Is he just asking to get slapped?”

27) I like that the final lesson of the film was not that evil is snuffed out with light but with love. I have issues with the trope of darkness = evil and light = good in all media, so while this film does fall into the former of darkness = evil I’m glad they decided that it is love - not light - that beats darkness. I think that’s a good idea to hold onto in this world.

Can I be honest? This was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Yes, it’s a Disney Channel Original Movie from 2005 so it’s no Harry Potter. BUT I found myself compelled by the relationship between the titular Twitches. Some of the humor was strong, the lesson of love was effective, and it was just a solid film. If you’re looking for a nostalgia trip, you could do a lot worse than Twitches.