#tokenization for filmmakers

[crypto195]

Blockchain’s Next Innovation: Borderless Funding For Indie Filmmakers

How Blockchain Funding is Transforming Indie Filmmaking The movie industry is one that’s known for its trail-blazing innovations. Although it has only been around for just over a century, the technologies and distribution models for movies have evolved dramatically over the decades. These developments have paved the way for more exciting, immersive and realistic experiences, opening the doors for more directors and actors to showcase their talents on the big screen. Now, with the rise of blockchain technology, the very nature of filmmaking is on the cusp of a major evolution that could entice many new talents into the industry from far-flung countries, and perhaps even end the dominance of movie-making hubs like Hollywood and Bollywood.

To Know More- blockchain technology in filmmaking

[mayexiled]

Exorcisms. Metalcore: my campaign for Chord Exiled is officially live!

CHORD EXILED is a thriller/exorcism narrative that shows the plight of two haunted metalcore musicians as they search for an otherworldly solution to their creative limits.  The answer they've been searching for may be found in an otherworldly Muse's lethal invitation. Both a reflection of an artist's silent struggle and a love letter to the metalcore genre-- the core of an artist's identity is put to the fire in this haunting, sentimental story.

A bit about me: I’m Marianne. Sketcher, screenwriter, a bit of a ghost. I'm coming off of my award-winning short film Pink, into my feature debut in Chord Exiled. Thanks to my brother, I very much grew up a core kid-- well, as much as my siblings and I could finesse within a Christian/Hispanic household. There is something unique to be told within this world of religious upbringing and the metalcore scene. My aim is to weave an intimate story with striking visuals that echoes a universal struggle garbed in a one-of-a-kind shade.

What We Need & What You Get

For Fans of films like Sing Street, Soul, and Alien, This proof of concept is a visualizer of the film, following Benji and RJ as they make a lethal deal with the Muse. Shooting this September on location in Tennessee, the short will provide just a taste of the peril, musical direction, and emotional core found within the narrative feature.  

The perks are pretty cool: from holographic stickers to displaying posters of your band as part of our production design; I like to be creative with the rewards, no matter the level, it's one-of-a-kind as a thank you for supporting me.

No matter the amount, every penny donated will go directly to the production, the backer rewards, production design, and paying our cast and crew during filming and post-production. 

My eternal thanks if you choose to share and boost!

[albertsantosgayo]

Cellphone that gives you income

Yes, you heard it right cellphone that will give you income, don’t get me wrong I love my Iphone because of its quality, the apps that I use with it and the powerful camera and picture quality, but what if you find out that a cellphone can do all these plus it can become a money making machine for us would you pick it up? I just attended a business opportunity meeting here in Dubai last night…

[willow-of-themyscira]

Willow Reviews: Creature Commandos - Season 1

While many were initially surprised and confused at the announcement that the rebooted cinematic DCU would begin with an animated series about the Creature Commandos prior to the more expected Superman film, I was nothing short of thrilled. I knew nothing of the team outside of its base concept, having only experienced the original incarnation of the Commandos via the DC Showcase: Sgt. Rock animated short. But the Universal Monsters were a staple of my childhood and James Gunn's whacky and raunchy but emotionally sincere style makes him my most trusted comic book filmmaker. So I was more than ready for a 7-episode animated series that promised to be “Suicide Squad but with monsters”. What I wasn't ready for was the ultimate culmination of all of Gunn's previous work with comic book characters and my personal favorite piece of DC animation since Batman: The Animated Series, only kept from being its equal in my eyes by one significant flaw that I hope future seasons address.

The Characters

Without a shadow of a doubt, what makes Creature Commandos work so brilliantly is the characters. The character work on display here is James Gunn's finest outside his take on Rocket Raccoon for the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, with some already rivaling Rocket with just this first season and having the potential to surpass him if future seasons and concluded character arcs prove effective and strongly-written enough. Were it not for one particularly disappointing misfire, this would be the James Gunn superhero cast I consider perfect.

The strongest characters are thankfully the five titular Creature Commandos. Everything that works about Gunn's takes on the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Suicide Squad is on full display here with no weak links. The Bride especially stands out as a haunted and cold-hearted badass who borrows much more from Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones and Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name than the four-armed alien-abducted incarnation of her seen in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers run. Her brilliant backstory melds the best Frankenstein elements from Mary Shelley's novel and James Whale's films together, and coupled with Indira Varma's vocal performance made this my definitive take on the “Bride of Frankenstein” character concept across all of fiction. G.I. Robot fares just as well, with Sean Gunn's adorably whimsical performance turning what could have been an annoying one-note character into a lovable presence that lightens up an otherwise grim and cynical story whenever he is on screen.

Sean's additional character Weasel, returning from the previous DCEU canon, is held back from being quite as strong a character as the others by his inability to verbalize and thus became the pick for least favorite of the Commandos. However, he remains an endearing and weirdly cute comic relief layered by a heart-wrenching backstory that completely recontextualizes how he was presented in The Suicide Squad. Though I'll admit, I was able to predict it six months in advance when watching the teaser trailer. Ultimately however, Weasel being my least favorite is like being forced to rank my favorite ice cream flavors; they're all great, but someone HAS to be at the bottom. Zoë Chao's Nina Mazursky has similar setbacks initially, but only from how long it takes to learn anything about her beyond being the token nice character in this ensemble of monstrous killers and supervillains. In this sense she can at times feel like a copy-and-paste of Pom Klementieff's Mantis from Gunn's latter two Guardians of the Galaxy films and the holiday special. But her interactions with G.I. and especially the Bride keep her from ever becoming boring, and the similarities to Mantis just mean that she is effortlessly adorable and endearing while you wait for the narrative to give the answers to your questions about her. And said answers being given when they do works to make finally learning what brought her to Belle Reve and Task Force M all the more tragic.

On the other side of the coin, a character who is immediately a blast to experience before you dig under the layers is Alan Tudyk’s Doctor Phosphorus (Tudyk also provides his voice to Dr. Will Magnus in G.I.’s flashbacks and does Clayface's wicked chuckles in the main plot). His sarcastic delivery of every breath he takes, near-total nihilism with a hidden soft side, and his being the center of the show's best action scenes make for such an instantly hilarious, badass, and fascinating character that if it weren't for the Bride, he would be at the center of my fandom brainrot toward this show.

The supporting cast does its job well enough, with Viola Davis and Steve Agee doing what they did best in their returning DCEU roles of Amanda Waller and John “Dye-Beard” Economos, respectively. But the real standout is Frank Grillo, a welcome addition as Rick Flag Sr., the father of Joel Kinnaman’s Flag Jr. who was last seen in previous canon's The Suicide Squad. He has a surprisingly friendlier tone with the Commandos than his son had with the Squad, and this makes for an interesting change of pace when he’s alongside them. It's unfortunate the plot decides to brush him aside in the latter half, seemingly just to prepare him for whatever roles he will play in Superman and the second season of Peacemaker. At the same time, it allows for the Bride's elevation to team leader that sparks what will clearly be her series-long arc of eventually letting her walls down and opening herself up to literally any form of relationship or attachment. So I suppose I can let it slide, even if I did enjoy Flag Sr.'s presence as the token human and want him to stick around.

But despite a magnum opus’s worth of protagonists and a solid supporting cast, this season’s ensemble does noticeably suffer in one place, and that is in its trio of antagonists. Initial big bad Circe is a fun and flashy menace for the first three episodes, but disappears from the narrative altogether after episode 4. And with so little of how she's written having anything to do with how DC depicts Circe anywhere else, it makes you wonder (ha ha) why one of Wonder Woman's greatest villains was used at all. It might as well have been a one-off original character for how disposable and non-Circe she is. The ultimate antagonist, who will not be spoiled here, is afflicted with what I call “Prince Hans Syndrome”. There are almost no clues to their true nature until it is revealed toward the end of the season and thus we have little time to know and appreciate them as a villain. But at the same time, their impact is harrowing and undeniable once their villainy goes mask-off. Their actions are bound to forever haunt the show.

But most frustrating of all is David Harbour's Eric Frankenstein, a well-acted but often annoying case of missed opportunity and wasted potential. I admittedly feel this way partially due to my personal life experiences and how strongly I identified with the Bride and her story. Being a transgender woman who was raised by an emotionally immature father with temper problems, and who has also been a victim of stalking and harassment, I was all too familiar with the experience of Bride being told she is meant to be a certain something when that is not the life she wants for herself and having to constantly be on the run after Eric asserts his sense of entitlement to her and her “purpose”. 

What Eric did to the Bride in those flashbacks and the subsequent threat he poses to her struck me personally as an ultimate irredeemable evil that perfectly embodied the horror of modern misogyny and incel behavior. Keeping with my comparisons of the Bride to Jessica Jones, I felt he was effectively set up to be a more childish and brutal answer to David Tennant’s Kilgrave. So I could not help feeling frustrated and a little insulted when he reappears in the modern day plotline with his sinister vibes from episode 2 mostly gone in favor of dopey delusions of undying romance that reminds one of Pepé Le Pew. These more comedic moments are much too frequent and at times seem like they're actively trying to undermine the inherent horror of the character.

I think perhaps this attempt to have it both ways with Eric being hilarious and horrifying could have been more effective if he was a more present threat to the Commandos and fought them to get to the Bride on a regular basis over the course of the story. Instead he is given his own mostly-solo side quest and only interacts with the Commandos for, and I don't think this is inaccurate, less than one second before he is instantly removed from the narrative altogether. I hope future seasons and storylines place him more actively in conflict with the Bride and the Commandos, because what season 1 goes for does not work and made me hope he is never seen or even mentioned again.

But even with all those frustrations in the villains and especially Eric, Creature Commandos bears a strong enough main cast that they just barely deter the overall quality of the season. Were it not for the extremely adult nature of this series, I could see the Commandos becoming a staple of goth childhoods worldwide. I hope DC editorial takes note of the reaction to these characters and brings the Commandos back into the current post-Rebirth comics continuity with more or less the same roster as this show, because they're just that pitch perfect a group. So long as the writers make sure to give them better villains, that is.

The Story

Reminiscent of shows like Lost, Once Upon a Time, and Arrow, Creature Commandos splits its episode lengths evenly between the actual plot and episode-specific flashback stories that for the most part reveal a certain monster's origin and what brought them to Waller's custody in Belle Reve Penitentiary. After the first episode that's entirely main plot setup, it's made easy to identify the remaining six by who their flashbacks are dedicated to; “the Bride one”, “the Weasel one”, etc. It would take too long to review each episode one by one so I will specifically talk about my picks for the best and worst of the bunch. But for the sake of satisfying curiosity I would rank my preference from best to worst as: 3, 2, 6, 7 and 4 tied, then 1, and finally 5. Ironically, almost identical to how I rank their central monsters as well.

Episode 3, the one centered on G.I. Robot, is a brilliant metaphor for veterans who lose their sense of purpose after being relieved of duty. It is not difficult to count it among my favorite episodes of animated television and just needs to be experienced. 2, as I mentioned when talking about the Bride's character, contains an exceptional alternative take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel, exploring a What If…?- like scenario where Victor Frankenstein fully gave in to the creature's blackmail and actually completed the construction of a female counterpart. It becomes a heartbreaking story of a woman born from male entitlement, and her life on the run in an endless search for identity beyond her “purpose”. Episode 5 on the other hand, while far from bad contains a flashback story for Eric Frankenstein that doesn't tell us anything we don't already know or could infer about the character from what we had seen before, ultimately feeling redundant and like a waste of time. Combined with the least amount of main plot progression in the series, this episode was the one and only time I asked myself “That's it?” once the credits rolled.

The big picture plot ultimately amounts to an amalgamation of both DCEU Suicide Squad films with a coat of monster-colored paint. It feels appropriate however because unlike the comics' Project M army squad from WWII or modern day S.H.A.D.E. agents, Gunn's Commandos are quite literally an in-canon Suicide Squad replacement. After events nearly identical to what we saw in The Suicide Squad and season 1 of Peacemaker (but not close enough for those to count as official canon), Congress has voted Task Force X/the Suicide Squad out of existence, prompting Amanda Waller to exploit a loophole in forbidding the use of human operatives by assembling a team of monsters instead, “Task Force M”. This task force, given the nickname of Creature Commandos by Waller herself, must carry out a glorified escort mission to save the ruler of a potential US trade partner from a murderous witch, only for it to transform into an assassination mission with the breakout of World War 3 on the line. It is solid enough, but can feel unevenly paced at times, like Gunn's scripts enjoyed the flashbacks and character moments so much that he looked at the actual plot and went “Oh yeah I gotta put something here”. This is especially true in episodes 5 and 6, and stems from how much of the plot is reliant on conflicting sources of information and how long it takes to clear it up and set the mission straight.

In terms of the lore, it is undeniable as a DC fan that the environmental storytelling and use of cameos and name drops in this season to paint a picture of how this new continuity works makes the future beyond exciting. Even better is how these moments never feel like they are awkwardly nudged in to announce an upcoming movie to you, as often happens with Marvel’s projects. There is an effort to establish a rich lore and history so that Gunn and DC Studios can explore the past in equal measure to the present. It is like if the patrons of the Mos Eisley Cantina from A New Hope were obscure but recognizable names you could tell stories about if you wanted, but serve equally well as the background decoration or pieces of the Commandos’ past they are presented as.

But this story is not really about a task force mission or a peek into the lore of a rebooted franchise. The story of this first season instead truly lies in the Commandos’ internal journeys processing their own trauma and searching for connection that they lost, never had, or denied themselves. In this way, the flashbacks are the bread and butter of the show and what makes this first season's storytelling truly exceptional. They are designed not to tie back to the events of the mission or to be dramatic reveals that each monster narrates to their comrades in arms. They are to show us in the audience what drives each characters’ choices and interactions while thematically exploring all the different definitions of a monster. Those definitions are then pitted against the monsters of the real world: in this particular case war, misinformation, and misogyny. Without the flashbacks, the story would lose its substance and this would be nothing more than what one would probably describe the show as to convince non-comic readers to watch it: “Suicide Squad but with monsters”.

The Style

As with all of James Gunn's comic book projects so far, this season has a bit of a jukebox soundtrack where action sequences and montages are amplified by a song handpicked by Gunn during the writing process. Due to my unfamiliarity with most of the tracks, it largely became just a vibe I came to identify simply as “Creature Commandos music”. A lot of solid rock tracks with Eastern European polka flair sprinkled in, carried most of the time by the works of Gogol Bordello. The band's “Start Wearing Purple” especially stood out as the track for a kickass Bride vs Circe fight in episode 2 that carried a “let’s fucking go” hype energy I would compare to the “Come a Little Bit Closer” scene from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. It quickly became my favorite song of the bunch and is destined to be on my Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year. But the best use of pop music comes in the next episode, when G.I. Robot mows through Circe’s forces like grass in a euphoric massacre set to The Dresden Dolls’ “Coin-Operated Boy”. This scene was so perfectly done that every single song used after it felt inferior and most failed to capture my attention as the season went on. But I never outright disliked a musical moment on the show, so they clearly did their job setting the mood at the very least. I suspect a rewatch focused on the music will bring more of the songs to my attention and change my mind, but at the moment I am convinced Gunn’s signature use of music peaked early when it came to season 1 of Creature Commandos.

The Verdict

As the first official entry in the DCU, season 1 of Creature Commandos is a promising introduction to this updated timeline that's elevated to greatness by James Gunn’s best band of superpowered misfits yet. It’s only held from perfection by its trio of mediocre villains and a wee pacing problem as the finish line approached. But what works about Creature Commandos works so exceptionally well that those problems mostly feel negligible and can be forgotten as you enjoy the monsters rampaging through Pokolistan and weep over (most of) their backstories.

I’m almost sad the next project is Superman and not a second season of this series. I can only hope the Commandos are set to be the third most prominent team behind the Justice League and the Teen Titans in this new universe. Because otherwise I may have to march to DC Studios and ask to play in their sandbox myself just so I can get more of the Bride and G.I. Robot.

9/10, strongly recommend as long as you are okay with intense gore and potentially distressing subject matter such as depictions of stalking, a threat of sexual violence, and child death.

[davenportia]

lab rats, if it was not produced by disney, or at least not disney xd (maybe netflix or disney+) would have been a much better show. bryan and chris did a great job with what they had but unfortunately were working for disney. if you’re following my insta, you heard me talking about this on my story yesterday, but i’m going to try to type it all out here. trigger warning, trauma, abuse, and deaths. i will also do another warning right before the topic is brought up. here we go

time: i am aware that disney shows whether channel or xd only have a certain amount of time for table reads, filming, editing, and then airing. for a show especially like liv and maddie, they REALLY didn’t have time as dove had to film everything twice. disney episodes, unless a special episode, are usually between 24-30 minutes. but it’s so annoying how everything gets solved so fast. the laugh tracks (i am very used to them but i am aware that people find them annoying). it’s not very realistic that way. now to swiftly move to the next topic, scripts and reality

scripts and reality: even a show like fuller house on netflix, which also only had 24-30 minute episodes, had a more realities script. disney said “tweeter, twits, facegab, e-phone, madame googoo, vuuugle” because they’re cheap, fuller house would say “new kids on the block, facebook, nintendo, hamilton, pippin” ACTUALLY NAMES OF things. even outside of that, they talked like normal people would. in a disney show, something would go wrong, they would cut to commercial break, then come back and say “i can’t believe you ____! how are we going to fix this?!” NO ONE talks like that except for disney characters. whyyyy

characters:

adam; he was the token dumb character and honestly, not a nice person. i know that disney always has sassy characters but adam was just rude and didn’t have a filter. there should have been more to his character. maybe he would have had some sort of special interest like dez from austin and ally. dez was dumb but had his sweet moments and was a really good filmmaker and director. all adam seems to do is make fun of others and use his super strength. he should have been more useful outside of his bionics. had some sort of personality other than being dumb.

bree, trigger warning - drinking? ; bree, desperately wanting to be a normal teenager, would have gone crazy with partying. literally in the first episode, she said she was close to getting a curfew she was going to break. she wanted to be rebellious from the first episode. bree would have been one of those teens that either did not want to grow up or wanted to grow up too fast. she may have even been a bit of a rebel in school. not too bad, but like getting detention sometimes. once she grew out of that phase possibly, she would have had an identity crisis. and yes, i mean that kind. she was not straight. there’s no way. she should have struggled with her sexuality. maybe even a potential love interest that was a girl. i mean, considering she was the only girl besides tasha, there should have been some sort of identity issues with her.

chase; chase probably could have been explored the most. disclaimer, i promise i am not being biased by saying that; i just know him the best out of all the characters. chase is the smartest man in the world and in my opinion, was way too sane. katie from alexa and katie would get overwhelmed thinking about high school and college and would have panic attacks. chase was stressed out a lot and probably should have had panic attacks. and it pains me to say that because the last thing i want is for him to have mental health problems but it’s very realistic that he would have struggled with anxiety and panic attacks. additionally, i have seen a lot of people say this, i could see him being autistic. i don’t think he is, but if someone were to confirm it somehow, i would totally see it. i could see him being overstimulated and like how he jumps up and down when he’s excited? that could be him stimming. also, i’ve always wondered this, isn’t it painful to use his bionic eye? i feel like i would get headaches. and then all the apps he has? commando app (i will talk about spike momentarily), magnetism app, override app (no pressure??), internal hard drive, laser bow, molecular kinesis, super senses, levitation (which was only used once wtf), and obviously, super intelligence. think about how overwhelming that is, and they called him WEAK? bro was holding the team together. even if he weren’t autistic, he should have gotten overstimulated more.

follow up- spike; i’m going to be incredibly contradictory here but just bare with me. what the fuck did spike even do? he just caused destruction and distress for chase. when chase was nervous, mad, or embarrassed, he came out, but only when the episode revolved around him. i understand davenport’s intentions: remove the flight part of fight or flight, but why did he make him so angry? and also, i think that’s a bit insulting to chase, as if saying he’s too weak to handle himself. ugh, the very little he did was just useless. i wish we had gotten more of him and that he had had a bigger role. he was written terribly and never came out when he really should have come out. leo’s jam, trent gets schooled, rise of the secret soldiers, bionic rebellion, space colony, and the attack episode are all examples of where spike could have come out because chase was embarrassed or upset. also chase clearly didn’t like spike being a part of him. why did davenport never realize this and remove him when not only does chase not like him but also, he was doing anything but help chase.

leo- trigger warning, mentions of divorce, abuse, possible death; did the writers forget the literal first scene of the show? his mom literally got remarried. what happened to leo’s dad? did they get a divorce. did leo’s dad die? was he abusive? was he not around? so many questions. and we know they were married because leo excitedly said “my 𝐧𝐞𝐰 dad is batman!” so it’s not like tasha and leo’s biological father had a baby but were never married. in ‘can i borrow the helicopter?’ leo confides in davenport about his crush on janelle and he told tasha, which leo was upset about, but he had the opportunity to be more upset than he was. maybe his old dad never would have done that. maybe he’s used to it so he wasn’t as upset but he never thought davenport would have done that to him. he also forgave him way too fast (again, fast-paced episodes😒). he also should’ve had a harder time adapting to gaining 3 siblings after being an only child his whole life. i mean, even chase - who already had a brother - had a hard time gaining even on sibling. other than familial life and possible trauma leo could have had, i don’t have much to say about the character. he was written pretty well and had some awesome lines

i’m going to make a part 2 so stay tuned!

[thehollywoodnecromancer]

Hello all!

I’ve been here for a while and have not yet done an intro post, so while it makes my heart heavy to unpin this post, I felt like I should

I mostly just scream into the void here, and occasionally the void screams back and talks to me about Yellowjackets so that’s pretty neat

I use he/him, I’m Australian (AEST), and I don’t use tags because I can’t even organise myself to stand up half the time

I’ll occasionally post fanart but mostly it’ll just be reblogging/rambling to myself lol

I’m very nostalgic, it makes up a good 80% of my personality

I love flowers, filmmaking, art rock, vampires, poetry, absurdism & psychedelia

Fandoms/interests under the cut! 🩷

I listen to a LOT of music but my favourites are:

David Bowie

Florence + the Machine

Anaïs Mitchell

Hozier

Picture Parlour

The Last Dinner Party

The Beatles

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

The Doors

The Cranberries

Oh Pep!

Siouxsie & the Banshees

Chappell Roan

The Cure

PJ Harvey

The Crane Wives

Stevie Nicks

Kate Bush

Gracie Abrams

Jefferson Airplane

Sleep Token

Ethel Cain

Jeff Buckley

They Might Be Giants

The Smiths

Will Wood (& the Tapeworms)

Telenova

Hooverphonic

Movies:

Edward Scissorhands

Dead Poets Society

The Breakfast Club

The Truman Show

Love & Mercy

Labyrinth

Beetlejuice

Lisa Frankenstein

Television:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Yellowjackets

Interview With the Vampire

Derry Girls

Blackadder

The Good Place

Deadloch

Daisy Jones & the Six

How I Met Your Mother

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Frasier

Books:

The Liar’s Dictionary

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Anne of Green Gables

Ella Minnow Pea

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Metamorphosis

Theatre, musical and otherwise:

Hadestown (but I prefer the concept album by a huge margin)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Les Misérables

Jekyll & Hyde

The Producers

Jesus Christ Superstar

Hamilton (not as much anymore but I still like it)

Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Otherwise… I love 60s fashion, I wear a lot of long coats, and I could rant about Grigori Rasputin for hours at a time. T.S Eliot and Gwen Harwood are my favourite poets, Alphonse Mucha is my favourite visual artist and I have a soft spot for purple carnations

That’s pretty much all!

[devilsskettle]

I just watched The Love Witch for the first time and would love to know your opinion (if you have seen it)?

i have mixed feelings about the love witch tbh. on one hand, it’s visually stunning and i would love to see more movies embrace the style and production value of older cinema, especially these older horror movies that i love that are so atmospheric. it’s so whimsical and dreamlike

i also like MY interpretation of the movie, which is about elaine’s desire for agency and power to protect herself from men, but she tries to do so by appealing to male desires thinking that if she gives them what they want, they’ll give her what she wants, which is a fundamental misunderstanding of the exploitation of women under the patriarchy — you can’t gain your freedom from the patriarchy by submitting to it. she wants love because she wants control, and she conflates her hatred and bitterness with an excess of love because that’s the narrative that makes sense to her. but if you watch her interactions with any man in the movie, she really does fucking hate them. at the end, after her appeal to the male gaze fails to protect her from sexual violence, she realizes that manipulating male desire isn’t enough — her repressed desire to hurt the people who hurt her is finally expressed by direct violence. i find that to be a tentatively hopeful ending for her

however. i don’t necessarily think that is the “correct” interpretation lol (in terms of author’s intent) and the fact that i’m not sure if the filmmakers intended this story to be like a tradwife manifesto or if it’s being critical of that rhetoric is already a problem because that means the messaging is extremely muddled. i see people quote this movie completely uncritically, i think a lot of elaine’s idea that she can achieve agency by being the perfect traditional woman appeals to a lot of young women, it certainly is in line with the popular 2010s trope of female characters who can be feminine AND strong, she has eyeliner so sharp she can cut you with it and she’ll kill you with her high heels on and she’ll make men underestimate her by seducing them or acting dumb. which of course is a way to repackage the sexy male gaze token female character into an acceptably “feminist” character so we don’t question it anymore. that was peak Strong Female Character -ism and i think that’s widely regarded as a regressive trope now but this movie speaks to that logic, and now it speaks to the “coquette” trend as well which doesn’t even purport to be interested in female agency (not even “feminism,” just basic agency lol). anyway my least favorite criticism of satire is that it’s not clear enough that it’s satire because sometimes people are just being dumb when they say that, but in this case i really can’t tell which perspective the audience is intended to agree with and that’s a problem to me. idk if it’s even intended to be satirical at all lmao

the part of the movie that illustrates the tradwife-esque narrative for me is the character trish. she voices the perspective of female equality with men especially within a romantic relationship as a partnership, and not only is she shut down by elaine, but she’s framed as this naggy, jealous character who turns on elaine and is just as much a participant in elaine’s victimization as the men in her life. her relationship with her husband is actually insecure despite her insistence that they have mutual respect and her repressed desire to be the same type of woman as elaine is manifested as rage and violence towards her. they model two types of womanhood and we are not supposed to side with the model where women demand mutual respect, because the movie doesn’t believe that men are capable of that or that women actually desire that. it’s such a standard tradwife perspective that feminism is for ugly women who can’t be women the “right” way so they can’t be successful within the patriarchal status quo

and it’s such a bummer because i think the movie taps into such a real experience of rejection and powerlessness and being at the whims of shitty, deeply pathetic men. the movie has a sharp, derisive, sarcastic humor that i think goes under-appreciated, because it’s hard to tell what’s being said genuinely and what’s being said with a wink at the audience

all that is to say, i’ve watched the movie a couple times and i really enjoy what i got out of it but i don’t know if that says more about ME or the movie itself. upon first viewing i thought it was absolutely genius, i kind of wish i had preserved that experience by not reading what other people have said about it lol but i think it’s kind of a product of its time — we’re continuing to navigate gendered power dynamics and trying to figure out the best way to approach being a woman interacting with a male dominated world. i’m not convinced that this movie has it figured out but i want to be able to enjoy it for its merits and take what i want from the story

tl;dr: the way i interpret it, it’s one of my favorite movies. but idk if i’m interpreting it “right”

also: it reminds me of the haunting of hill house because of the main character’s sublimated loneliness, anger, and jealousy, the narrative doubling (elaine + trish are so theo + eleanor coded to me lol), and the 1960s aesthetic sensibilities

[vesseloftherevolution]

Napoleon 2023, Review

I saw this with @idefilarate, and it was such a train-wreck. There was so much wrong with it, in the funniest way imaginable. We spent the entire film whispering what was wrong to each other.

This will be a long post, and I’m aware a lot of other people have already made some excellent points on here.

I can see what Ridley Scott was attempting with this film, and there are several reasons it didn’t work. I also have some historical specific points to make.

Directing Choices, Acting Problems, and the English Propaganda

It can be argued that Scott was trying to show Napoleon in a “more human” light, and I am always perfectly happy with that interpretation. It could also be argued he was deliberately showing Napoleon in a negative light, which I am also fine with. However, this film didn’t really do either. Napoleon did not seem more human for his brutish behaviour to Josephine, the childish tantrums or the forced jokes. If Scott had wanted a proper negative light, he would have focused on Napoleon’s ruthlessness, such as with the Massacre in Egypt, and his willingness to bypass the laws.

The overall sense I got when watching the film was that it was too compressed. The action went from point to point without showing how on Earth it got there. We had about ten minutes of Napoleon as consul, and then he was unexpectedly emperor, with a token line from Talleyrand about becoming emperor. Too much stuff in not enough time. However, I was also bored. By the time it got to Napoleon on Elba, I half felt like taking out my phone and doing something else. There was no narrative arc to keep the load of action in place, and the characters went through no real development.

There was some good acting. The lady playing Letizia Bonaparte was excellent, for the ten minutes we saw of her, as was Talleyrand. There were even a few scenes with the main characters (like Josephine cooing over the baby) that I actively enjoyed. But for the main part, every character had one mode and that was it. Napoleon was sulky and incompetently panicked. Josephine was moody or upset in a coquettish way. Tzar Alexis I was obnoxiously cheerful about everything.

I can see, as others have pointed out, that Scott was following English propaganda of the “Corsican Ogre”. However, he payed no attention to the fact that Wellington had a good deal of respect for Napoleon as a general, and that part of Napoleon’s charm for the English press was just how astonishingly unexpected he was. This wasn’t a caricature of Napoleon. This was a caricature of a caricature.

Historical Inaccuracies

Oh. Where to start with the many many many things that were wrong with this. I am fairly lenient when it comes to historical accuracy in fiction. Authors and filmmakers are allowed some artistic liberties, otherwise they wouldn’t be writing fiction. However, the sheer amount of nonsense Scott made up is incredible. I am going to list it in bullet-points, so as not to rant too much:

The age gap between Josephine and Napoleon, and how that messed up their relationship.

The utter butchery of FRev, including Marie Antoinette executed in 1789, and Robespierre looking like Danton and spouting random nonsense.

Hot-shot destroying the ships in Toulon harbour, whilst N hadn’t finished capturing little Gibraltar.

Josephine’s dress hanging off her shoulder as if she were a whore.

The lake battle with “the high ground”. It doesn’t deserve the name of Austerlitz.

The lack of tactics in any of the battles. Just men running at each other.

Josephine and Napoleon’s relationship being at best toxic and strained.

Napoleon returned from Elba because Josephine had a fling with Alexander, despite the fact Josephine had historically died earlier that year.

Letizia making Napoleon cheat randomly.

The scopes at Waterloo, the lack of farmhouses, the tents just behind the lines.

Wellington being clumsy and talking too much nonsense.

The use of Ça Ira and the Camagnole (which was in itself somewhat good), but the utter lack of any of the other excellent Napoleonic folk songs and military marches.

That is all that immediately comes to mind. Having said all that, I did enjoy the cinematography, and it was worth seeing, just to confirm my suspicions that it was a mess, and that there are many better films. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this rant! Let me know if there’s anything I’ve missed off the list of failings.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Abigail (2024)

Abigail (2024)

Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language and brief drug use

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/04/review-abigail-2024.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

The trailers for Abigail, the latest from the Radio Silence team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, promised a simple, straightforward horror/comedy that inverted the premise of their prior film Ready or Not (a lone female character faces off against a group of people inside a mansion, but this time, she's the villain), and that's exactly what the film delivered. Probably the biggest problem I had with this movie is that the trailers spoiled way too many of its wild plot turns, not least of all the central hook that the little girl at the center of the film is actually a vampire, which the film itself doesn't reveal until nearly halfway in -- but then again, I was having way too good a time with this movie to really care all that much. I came for blood and some grim laughs, and I got them, courtesy of some standout performances and filmmakers who know exactly how to take really gory violence and make it more fun than gross. If you like your horror movies bloody, this is certainly one to check out.

Our protagonists are a group of criminals who have been recruited by a man named Lambert to kidnap Abigail, the 12-year-old daughter of a very wealthy man, after she gets home from ballet practice and hold her ransom for $50 million. However, once they've taken her to their safehouse, a rustic mansion deep in the woods, strange occurrences start happening around them, and one by one, they start turning up brutally murdered. Before long, they learn two things. First, Abigail's rich father is actually Kristof Lazar, a notorious crime boss who has a brutal and fearsome assassin named Valdez on his payroll who may well have been sent to take out these hoodlums. Second, and more importantly, Abigail is herself Valdez -- and a vampire. A very pissed-off vampire who quickly gets loose and goes to war against her captors, using all her vampiric powers against them.

In a manner not unlike From Dusk Till Dawn, the film starts as a slow-burn crime thriller with few hints as to what Abigail truly is, instead focusing on fleshing out our main characters, a motley crew of entertaining crooks who have no idea what they're getting into. Our protagonists may not be a particularly sympathetic bunch (being kidnappers and all), but all of them are great characters who are very fun to watch, reacting as many of us would to seeing what happens in the latter half of the film and anchoring the mayhem in something human. Melissa Barrera makes for a likable and compelling lead as the token good one/telegraphed final girl Joey (not her real name; they all use codenames taken from members of the Rat Pack), Kathryn Newton was hilarious and got some of the biggest moments in the film as the rich kid hacker Sammy, and Giancarlo Esposito made the most of his limited screen time as their mysterious leader Lambert, but the real standout among the protagonists was Dan Stevens as Frank, a corrupt ex-cop who becomes the de facto leader of the group and takes charge once the carnage begins only to turn out to have some skeletons in his closet. This was a group of people who all felt like fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters who I wanted to see either succeed or, in some cases, get what they had coming to them, even if the words "let's split up" were used a bit too often during the third act.

The true MVP among the cast, though, was Alisha Weir as Abigail. In the first act, she's excellent at playing an innocent-seeming little girl -- with emphasis on "playing", as every so often she lets her precocious mask slip just enough to let both her caretaker Joey and the audience know that she knows a lot more than she's letting on. After the reveal, she turns into a hell of a villain, a potty-mouthed psycho who's absolutely relishing getting to murder her captors, operating with glee as she fights them and continuing to them even when they think they have the upper hand. The film makes great use of the fact that Abigail is also a ballerina, not just in her outfit but also in how the action and chase sequences give Weir (who has a background in musical theater) ample opportunity to show off her dance skills, which has the effect of framing Abigail as the antithesis of her captors: violent as hell, but also elegant and graceful in a way that lets you know that she's probably been doing this for a very long time. I can see Weir going places in the future, if her performance here is any indication.

When it comes to scares, this film is a mess of gore, inflicted on both Abigail and her captors. The first act keeps us in the dark as to what's really going on, and did a good job building tension as Abigail lurks in the shadows and the characters find the dead and mutilated bodies of her victims, not knowing what's really happening. There are decapitations, a man having half his face torn off, lots of bites, and more than one instance of somebody exploding into a mess of gore (a gag that, going by how they used it in Ready or Not, Radio Silence seem to be pretty big fans of). There's a creepy sequence of somebody getting psychically possessed by Abigail that spices up the proceedings with a different kind of horror, especially as the performance of the actor playing the victim shifts. The climax was action-packed and filled with vampire mayhem, and while I thought the story was kinda spinning its wheels at this point, the film was still too much fun for me to really fault it too much. At this point, Radio Silence has become a brand I trust when it comes to delivering popcorn horror experiences that aren't that deep, but are still very fun, enjoyable times at either the multiplex or in front of your TV.

The Bottom Line

I came to see a ballerina vampire kick people's asses for nearly two hours, and that's exactly what I got. Abigail is a rock-solid, rock-em-sock-em good time of a horror/comedy buoyed by a great cast and directors who know how to entertain. If you don't mind lots of blood, check it out.

[undrgrnd-nft]

JANUARY 12TH, 2024 - Originally posted on UNDRGRND

Note: If you can translate this into your native language, please QT this and paste the translation. Art may transcend language barriers but all I have are my words. Thank you in advance for sharing this.

Before it gets too loud in here again, before the masses return, before the hype cycle of cliches and empty sentiments begin to take over the hive mind of web3, I’d like to tell you my idea. 

Next week I will launch the $GRND token, a coin to power influence within the UNDRGRND ecosystem. 

The initial distribution of the token will be…different.

I want the token given to the right people. Those who supported my dream. Those I support.  Those who trusted me. Those I trust. Those who know me. Those who don’t. Those who want to succeed and see others like them. 

The genuine community many of us came here seeking, that’s who should hold this power. 

So, to ensure that, next Friday (January 19th) I will take the UNDRGRND Twitter and Discord private. I will share the vision of UNDRGRND and the DAO with everyone who joins or follows. Then in February, we’ll open it back up to the public.

So if you’re an artist, musician, filmmaker, collector, crypto-enthusiast: make sure you’re in the know.

This is what it’s like to be early to something; before the influencers, whales, and “investors”.

So if you know me, if you trust me, or someone you know vouched for me…

If you think things could be better…

If you like discussing movies, music, books, art…

If you like to write…

If you like to create…

If you like to build…

If you’re tired of shill threads…

If you’re tired of promo DMs…

If you’re tired of influencers…

If you have a small following…

If you feel unseen…

If you have a large following and want to see others succeed…

If you know someone who should be involved…

If you know someone who may benefit from this…

If you think there is strength in numbers…

If you’re hopeful…

If you’re frustrated…

If you believe in others…

If you trust first…

If you feel deeply…

If you think this should be easier…

If you enjoy genuine connection… 

If we’ve spoken once…

If we’ve lost touch…

If I’ve piqued your interest…

If you’re skeptical…

If you think I may be full of sh*t… 

I’d like to share my idea with you. 

If you’ve been called a punk, hipster, nerd, stoner, geek, freak, loser, delinquent, thug, hooligan, failure, different, weird, outsider, free-spirit, artsy, loner, or degraded any way, you are UNDRGRND. 

Tag your friends. Share it with enemies. Invite them in. There’s enough for us all.

@NFTjoe, Founder of UNDRGRND

[hsslilly-blog]

okay im here w my list :)

celebrity skin (but purely for the sound. like do you think it represents her aside from the lyrics?)

just your general thoughts/interpretation on shes a carnival in relation to claire. same as drive my car and fascination

lastly this masquerade. how does it relate to claire? like what specifically makes it define her character and what does it define?

hii!!! okay you asked me about two songs i was dying to talk about (fascination and this masquerade). sorry for taking some time to reply, i wanted to dedicate myself to this lol. for almost all of these i'll have to talk about other songs as well because of the way i structured the playlist following a character arc of sorts. it's long!!!

(playlist here)

celebrity skin: yeah!! the lyrics are pretty straightforward, but i placed it in a spot so the grunge-y guitar riffs would come out as jarring (right after an abba song and with no comparable examples up to that point in the playlist). claire not only grew up in the 90s, but her high school friend group was comprised of two melancholic goth kids and a self important wannabe filmmaker (and goth-adjacent). she was the preppy token friend, visually. in reality her interests aligned a lot with theirs. i think her interests section on her myspace page show this a little. horror, gothic literature, goth culture and 90s/early 00s alt scene really influenced her since she was surrounded by it almost all the time. also seen throughout her film career. back to the placing on the playlist, it works as a divide after many up-beat, positive (?) songs. most of the songs prior to ir characterise claire, her wants and her way of interacting with people. and then there's a jaded, grunge/alt rock song about being a star in hollywood. since the playlist follows a narrative, i think this would fit right around the time she's almost expelled from hollywood u because of backstabbing, petty tatics and because the industry favours some over others. she knew this, of course, but going through it it's different.

she's a carnival: one of my favourite songs from siouxsie lol. i think it serves to further characterise her/people's perception of her. she's fun. she's an amusement show. a fête.

is she a person, though? does she exist only to fulfill your fantasies? it is true that she revels on public attention, but what does this attention transforms her into? it comes right after bubblegum bitch as well, which is also a song i interpret being about others' perception of her.

this is especially in regards to men, i think. claire is a serial dater (for a pletora of reasons) and i don't think she feels like men see her. florence's dream girl evil would fit here nicely too. men fantasise her, then see her as evil once this fantasy is broken (queentex, latex; madonna/whore)(a portrait of a poison)(you like me better in your head)(je suis la belle dame sans merci!).

and not so subtle, but venice carnivals are famous for their masks. theatre is symbolised by masks. these three talk about archetypes: film archetype, psych archetype, etc. she says she doesn't care. is it true?

drive my car: also forms a trio along with material girl and money, money, money. claire likes money lol and she likes scamming men. <- not outright scamming them, but if they're going to use her she might as well get something out of them. the opening is great. "asked a girl what she wanted to be // she said, baby can't you see // i wanna be famous, a star of the screen // but you can do something in between". she states her goal and men are not the first thing on her mind. they're simply a distraction.

fascination: i've loved the beaches since 2017 this is not important to the ask but damn i love them so much. anyway. this is from side b, after her moment of reflection in what is it about men (last song from side a). in that song, claire consciously acknowledges her behavioural patterns/fears/thoughts about relationships/herself. the next song is national anthem. she wants to be someone's national anthem. and later on you have fascination. this last bit of the playlist is about her relationship with hunt.

this is a song about her approaching this relationship (it's not a relationship yet) in the same way she has always done: lightheartedly and without much thought put into it. it's not serious. why would she be into her professor? lol. it's just a crush, don't be stupid. right after fascination comes stupid cupid. it's the first song in the playlist where she approaches romance in a non-cynical way and it's very silly and it was done on purpose. she feels silly and she's acting in a way she doesn't usually do. she doesn't run after men, this is stupid. and then the next songs approach the subject much more directly and without putting on a front.

also this comes straight out of a scene in red carpet diaries. i've waited years to post this screenshot.

this masquerade: this one works as a reference to hollywood u: the first time hunt and claire have a moment together is in a masquerade ball and they're both wearing masks. literally, figuratively, everything in between.

(i made my friend transcribe this to me so she'd read hollywood u lol). his line about her "seducing" him also call back to femme fatale/bubblegum bitch/she's a carnival. and what is he talking about? do you want her to believe he did not recognise her because of a mask? have you seen claire??!! lol. lmao even. loser. i like her lines about him knowing it was her subconsciously and nothing clouding his feelings and i think it fits here. yeah he wanted it to be her. also psych major moment but you must've noticed there's a theme going through all of these songs.

it's also just representative of their relationship up to the point they actually get together. they're both playing a game they're bound to lose in the end, especially if it's not addressed.

i think that's it. sorry for the lenght + any spelling mistakes, i wrote all of this in one sitting.

[cto10121]

Watching Breaking Dawn Part 2, the mixed bag of all mixed bags. Slow as molasses and boring as hell, but most of the cringey lines have all but vanished and there is (some) competency in (some) of the filmmaking. Let me count the ways…

Bella spoke literally 1 word after her transformation. In the books, she said “I love you.” In the movie, “Renesmee.” Fine, except she doesn’t say “I love you” to Edward…le sigh.

Man, BD is really where they decided to say “fuck it” and ditch the unnatural pallor of the vampires, because Vampire Bella does not look at all different from Human Bella (okay, granted, her wardrobe is subtly different, but not by much). It’s a tribute to Stewart’s acting that you can even register a massive change

The Loch Ness Monster scene began okay/funny and then it was ruined re: 1) Bella punching Jacob (just no) 2) actually showing Bella hitting poor Seth and 3) actually keeping the somber tone. Lighten up, movie! What’s with this movie series and making the fun parts of the book so damn dull?

Not Jacob phasing just a few feet from Charlie and the movie making it so dramatic with a growly wolf when phasing is almost instantaneous and Jacob is in complete control of his wolf form 😑

The little girl actress for Renesmee is adorable. Such a relief after the horrors of the CGI baby.

Garrett’s “British invasion” introduction is hilarious, 💯 Good job, movie

Vladimir and Stefan are Vampire Diaries-rejects horrors, though. 🤮 They are literally thousands of years old and yet look like they just came from Hot Topic. Ew, ew, ew

Bella’s shield special effect…yuck, yuck, yuck. Why couldn’t they do it like Harry Potter did the wards? That wasn’t too bad. So damn corny

Wow, they robbed poor J. Jenks of any and all personality, didn’t they? His parts were actually one of the best of the books for me. They felt mature, like actual adult instead of YA. Instead, it’s all blah. Also, no oyster satin cocktail dress!! The one time Bella chooses to dress up and chose her own dressy clothing, showing her maturity and arc!!!! Meanwhile they just garb Stewart in a really modern dress that barely looks different than her usual outfits!!! Damn it, movie!!!!

Edward: “To think, all of these people are risking their lives because I fell in love with a human.” What. The. Fuck Movie????? In what universe would Edward even think this???? The Screenwriter Cannot Write Edward Cullen For Shit Number 383782838

Edward: “I never thanked you, Carlisle. For this extraordinary life.” Okay, so the script has (1) braincell regarding his arc, no doubt because Meyer was there as producer. Too bad it does a piss-poor job of showing it

“The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming.” Garrett, as always, is the best.

Aro: “Ahh…Young Bella.” 🇮🇹 Also, why does he sound like he wants to fuck Bella? Why that particular relish in his line reading?

No one: Not a soul: Look how nothing this nothing is: Aro: *weird ass high-pitched ahahhehhaggahahah sound* And of course it’d be in response to *just* noticing Renesmee’s heartbeat when every vampire can and should hear it immediately. 🤦‍♀️

I like how Patt!Edward has to stumble a bit and then fall whenever Jane is torturing him. And by like I mean hate with all the fervor of my being. By that token, I also “like” Jane literally saying “Pain”

They introduce Alice returning so casually…where is the tension, Alice’s O.S. voice, everyone turning, all the “Alices”? Nope, just a brief distance shot. There she is! Smh

I hate the fake-out fight scene of Alice’s vision

I hate the fake-out fight scene of Alice’s vision

I hate the fake-out fight scene—

Okay, so regardless of what you feel about the lack of battle scenes in Breaking Dawn…it did make sense. There was no way for any semblance of a happy ending to occur had the Volturi decided to come to blows. Full-on mask off isn’t their MO anyway. The way the trial scene (yes, it is basically a trial à la Merchant of Venice) was set up, with witnesses and objections and the like, made sense and the tension was riveting. Also, in bringing Nahuel Alice foiled any rationale for the Volturi’s planned takeover, so there was absolutely no need for the canon-breaking vision

Second of all, a fake-out scene is much more disappointing and/or infuriating than the book’s scene. All of that tragedy and death and it just turns out to be fake? Fuck that. But ofc movie has to movie for the dudebros in the audience (!!) despite the fact that this series has and always was a romance first

Third of all, the way it was all executed…Bella not being an immediate target even though the Volturi must at least suspect her shield is so damn convenient. Babe, she would have been one of the firsts to go. Other bad shit: Edward leaping out of the crater, his skirmish with Aro…bleugh

Okay, there are some good parts: The Bella-Jane stand-off, Seth’s death, Leah saving Esme (good callback), Marcus’s “Finally” (in-character). But it’s just not worth it

The way they garbed Nahuel…it may be well-researched for all I know, but knowing Hollywood, I highly doubt it. As it is, it looks grossly stereotypical to me

Oh, God, the script for Nahuel’s part is so little emotive, it’s like a summary. Nothing compared to the book. He had such personality and the way he spoke of his father…you could just taste the drama

“We will not fight…today.” Movie-verse only, but I do have to wonder if Meyer will ever bring the Volturi back and have them kill off some characters. Not really the type of author to do this, though

And of course they have to have a moment between Bella and Wolf!Jacob for no good reason, even though Jacob should be all about the Renesmee now. Nope, the movies are still on their Bella/Jacob bullshit

“So should I call you Dad now?” Yes, feed the antis, movie.

Speaking of feeding the antis, Alice’s vision of Jacob/Renesmee!!! I know the movie threw out the whole Alice-cannot-see-werewolves-or-hybrids out the window just from the fake-fight alone, but ugh. Ugh. Meanwhile Book!Jacob literally did not give a fuck either way about Renesmee coming of age in 7 years

The actress for Adult Renesmee looks really nice, though. I’ll give it that

That Bella-shows-Edward her thoughts montage was nicely edited, with good transitions. But unfortunately it reminds me of all the bad directorial choices of the prior movies and so alas it’s just cringe to me

Book!Edward after Bella shows him his thoughts: hfgkzoycychohh!!!!! 🥵🥵🥵🥵 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Movie!Edward: How did you do that? 😑 Fuck you too, movie

I probably should feel something about the credits montage…but I don’t. They include everyone, even minor characters!!!! Please…just don’t

[playermagic23]

Devara DOP Rathnavelu expresses gratitude after shooting ‘intense’ action sequence with Jr NTR and Saif Ali Khan.

Jr NTR will be returning to the big screen after the grand success of RRR, has sparked much excitement among fans regarding Devara: Part 1. Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor will be making their Telugu debut with this Kortala Siva film.

The high-octane action drama, which will feature Saif Ali Khan as the antagonist, is currently in the shooting stage and the cinematographer of the film, Rathnavelu ISC dropped photos from the sets of the entertainer along with sharing details of an intense action sequence.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Rathnavelu spoke about the scene in the caption, wherein he wrote, “Shot an  interesting action sequence in  Goa forest despite heavy rains and  bad weather with @tarak9999 ??and #Saif Ali khan ??Thanx to my wonderful camera crew, light crew ,stunt crew n Team Devara ?? for the cooperation”. As a token of gratitude, he also tagged everyone in this team including filmmaker Kortala Siva.

Just last week, it was revealed that the release date of the film has been preponed to September from October. The Kortala Siva directorial is expected to release in two parts and is touted to be a massive action entertainer with Jr. NTR as the lead. The film will mark the Telugu debut of Janhvi Kapoor as well as Saif Ali Khan.

Apart from them, it is expected to feature an extensive supporting cast too and it is slated for release on September 27 in multiple languages including Hindi.

[hungry-skeleton]

And didn't you say Jax Jonez and Agent Raymond have a connection in some way to you? Can we hear about that?

Oh don't get me started /silly those two were MADE for eachother. Romantic or platonic however you want to see it those two would be best fucking pals and it's such a shame we have no canon content of them interacting (probably because they know putting them in the same room would be too powerful)

They're both huge movie nerds that have extensive knowledge of tropes and story structure, they're both the token comedic relief punching bag, and they both have such high energy. If those two met they would just feed off eachother in an endless feedback loop of tism. Plus come on... What's a better match then a filmmaker and a tech guy.

With the way both of them are treated for their general demeanor they NEED eachother they NEED that validation. They need someone to match eachothers energy and interest and passion for things!!!!!!!! They need to find eachother and realize they aren't weirdos!!!!! AAAUUGHH!!!! Rayjax!!!!!

[hollownoire]

I made a ko-fi!

If you'd like to see more from me you can show your support by either donating to or sharing my ko-fi page ^w^ I'll be posting unique content there for supporters to get access to (One time payment of $3 minimum, any support past that whether it be a monthly donation or a donation higher than the minimum is purely optional). Anything helps, as donations will contribute towards my living expenses and support my future creative endeavors. (I would be able to afford to focus more of my time towards my artwork, whether it be drawing/painting, game dev, music production, filmmaking, or YouTube/possibly streaming. It would just make doing anything more feasible to sustain on my end).

Even if you just follow my page without donating there will be good stuff there to check out for free, (consisting mainly of assets for DnD related things like magic items, token assets/markers, maps, templates, but also stuff like art guides or templates I might make). You can also find updates on what I'm up to there that you might not find anywhere else.

Thank you all very much for your love and support. I've finally been able to show myself that I can actually accomplish things I never thought I would, especially as someone who's disabled and cannot work a conventional job.

You all helped me see that I'm more than whatever I thought I was, and that...maybe I can reach the point where I can support my roommates better and improve life for the three of us. Without those two I'd be homeless, or worse, and....well...

I just want to be able to give back to them and all of you. Your kindness and friendships mean the world to me. Thank you again. Take care.

[dweemeister]

Best Documentary Short Film Nominees for the 96th Academy Awards (2024, listed in order of appearance in the shorts package)

This blog, since 2013, has been the site of my write-ups to the Oscar-nominated short film packages – a personal tradition for myself and for this blog. This omnibus write-up goes with my thanks to the Regency South Coast Village in Santa Ana, California for providing all three Oscar-nominated short film packages. 

If you are an American or Canadian resident interested in supporting the short film filmmakers in theaters (and you should, as very few of those who work in short films are as affluent as your big-name directors and actors), check your local participating theaters here.

Without further ado, here are the nominees for the Best Documentary Short Film at this year’s Oscars. The write-ups for the Live Action and Animated Short categories are coming soon. Non-American films predominantly in a language other than English are listed with their nation(s) of origin.

Năi Nai & Wài Pó (2023)

Rarely do both sides of one’s family ever meet. You might expect them to mingle at weddings and funerals. But cohabitation? Such is the case with Taiwanese American director Sean Wang’s two grandmothers in Năi Nai & Wài Pó (paternal and maternal grandmother, respectively), available worldwide on Disney+ and Hulu. Wishing to live closer to family, Wang moved in with his grandmothers Yi Yan Fuei (Năi Nai) and Chang Li Hua (Wài Pó) in their California household during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. His grandmothers rarely leave the house, even for groceries, and keep their heavy curtains drawn at all hours. As thin beams of sunlight barely stream through the interior’s earthy colors, both grandmothers continue to read the newspaper, sing traditional Chinese music, do their own cooking (I assume someone drops off groceries for them), tease each other about farting in bed, and reflect on their families and their pasts. They know that there are fewer tomorrows remaining, but that will not stop them from living joyously and with love for their grandson, who, though off-screen, they converse with throughout the shoot.

Qualifying for the Academy Awards by wining Best Documentary Short at SXSW in 2023 (in addition to the equivalent prize at AFI Fest), Năi Nai & Wài Pó freely admits that its subjects are playing up their act for their grandson. Observational cinema this is not. But in their sense of exaggerated play there exists a twofold acknowledgement. First, as Năi Nai states, “the days we spend feeling pain and the days we spend feeling joy are the same days spent. So, I’m going to choose joy.” And perhaps most meaningfully to Wang, their playing for the camera is one of many ways they express their love for their grandson. It is an elevated home video, a loving portrait, and a reminder to cherish those who loved us into being.

My rating: 7.5/10

The Barber of Little Rock (2023)

People Trust in Little Rock, Arkansas is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). In other words, it is a non-profit – partially funded by the American federal government – to address issues in creating economic growth and opportunities in some of the most underserved communities in the nation through loans, emergency financial assistance, and housing subsidies. People Trust and its President, Arlo Washington, are the subjects of The Barber of Little Rock (available for free online through The New Yorker), directed by John Hoffman (2021’s Fauci) and Christine Turner (2021’s Lynching Postcards: 'Token of A Great Day'). The film, Oscar-qualified by winning the Grand Prize for Documentary Short at Indy Shorts International Film Festival (Indiana), requires a wealth of context to the issues that it raises, but does not always provide enough – especially how municipal, state, and regional history impacts racism in banking, and vice versa.

Arlo Washington is a fascinating, wonderfully-intentioned person, but the movie spends too much time with him directly stating the piece’s thesis about financial equality and generational poverty to the camera. Most compelling of all were some of the individual appointments at People Trust of regular people simply looking for financial relief or a loan to kickstart a business or make their rent payments. So too Washington's barbering training school – especially a scene when two students are asked to look intently at the other’s faces, to understand the other’s struggles simply through quiet observation. Arlo Washington figures in many of these scenes as well, and those scenes reveal as much, if not more, about the lives of People Trust’s clients than any of his brief lectures can accomplish. Hoffman and Turner clearly had deeply cinematic material to work with that could empower their messaging, and it is a shame they are unable to fully utilize it.

My rating: 7/10

Island in Between (2023, Taiwan)

Ten kilometers away from the Chinese city of Xiamen lies Kinmen, a group of islands under control of Taiwan (the island of Taiwan is 187 kilometers away). Directed and narrated by S. Leo Chiang and distributed by The New York Times, Island in Between is Chiang’s meditation on not only Kinmen’s precarious geography and its political status, but his own identity of being American, Chinese, and Taiwanese – three separate identities that interconnect, but are forever distinct. Like many viewers, I was unaware of Kinmen’s existence before viewing Island in Between. This film is most valuable in introducing audiences to a place in some ways frozen in the mid-twentieth century, not so much capturing the spirit of the place and understanding its history.

During visits to mainland China in the late 2000s, Chiang, Taiwanese-born and American-raised, was struck by how vibrant the mainland was – something unrecognizable from “the communist wasteland [he] learned about in school.” In the years since, the crackdown on Hong Kong’s democracy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased political tensions between China and Taiwan have complicated his feelings towards the mainland. As a Vietnamese American, I easily saw parallels between how the younger diaspora views our so-called “motherland”, what we are taught, and how older generations perceive their original home. Even among generations, there are divisions in how we feel about the motherland. But Chiang has the additional complication of being caught between three nations important to his being. If anything, his mentions about his parents and their views feels far too cursory, as they are the ones most responsible for shaping his views about American/Chinese/Taiwanese tensions. One hopes this film is not a harbinger of things to come, as beached tanks rust on the placid Kinmen shore.

My rating: 7/10

The ABCs of Book Banning (2023)

As of the publication of this omnibus write-up, bans and challenges to books in libraries and schools have spiked since 2021. These book challenges, often taken up by parents and certain religious organizations, have disproportionately targeted books by and/or about LGBTQ+ and non-white (especially black) people. Stepping into the debate is MTV Documentary Films’ The ABCs of Book Banning (available on Paramount+), directed by Sheila Nevins, Trish Adlesic, and Nazenet Habtezgh. Unfortunately, the film advocates against book challenges in the most stultifyingly artless way. Early on, a title card reveals that the filmmakers will ask about book banning and restrictions from a group that we have heard little from: children. An honorable approach, but the interview snippets found in The ABCs of Book Banning are repetitive and seem rehearsed – children, aghast at the notion that a selected book is a target, offer reasons why book banning is a terrible idea. Nothing Americans have not heard before. Breaking up their interviews are images of book covers, followed by a brief quotation from said book, and an amateurish “BANNED” or “CHALLENGED” banner in red over the book. Sometimes, cheap animation depicting that book’s passage appears; the placement of these animated sequences has no rhyme or reason.

Damningly, this is a film in search of a structure. A handful of authors whose books have been banned from libraries or schools show up to introduce themselves over what appears to be an interview over Zoom. They say a few sentences about why book banning is terrible and we never hear from them again in the film – a complete waste. I suspect these authors recorded longer interviews, but there is almost nothing that remains of those interviews in the final product. This is a film for those who agree with its premise, have no cinematic taste, and are tediously self-satisfied in how they express their political views.

My rating: 4/10

The Last Repair Shop (2023)

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the last major city school district in the United States to offer free musical instrument repair to its students. From the Los Angeles Times and Searchlight Pictures comes Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers’ The Last Repair Shop (also available on Disney+ and Hulu), which takes us to LAUSD’s repair shop. Just short of the 40-minute limit for short films, The Last Repair Shop curiously tells the viewer preciously little about the shop itself (what are the challenges it is facing, and why is the last of its kind?). Proudfoot and Bowers – both previously nominated in this category for A Concerto Is a Conversation (2021; also available online thanks to The New York Times) – adopt much of the same style as their previous nominee. Both films share talking heads in shallow focus and snappy editing. These aspects sometimes made A Concerto Is a Conversation incohesive, but they work immensely better for The Last Repair Shop. It also helps that The Last Repair Shop, which slowly reveals itself to also be a portrait of a rarely-seen side to L.A., has a clear structure that the viewer can discern early on.

What carries The Last Repair Shop are the life-affirming conversations we have with the four principal interview subjects, all of whom work in a different department at the shop – Dana Atkinson (strings), Paty Moreno (brass), Duane Michaels (woodwinds), and Steve Bagmanyan (pianos; also the shop supervisor, and who inspired the film as he tuned pianos at Bowers’ high school). Whether they play an instrument or not, all four recognize music’s ability to better understand ourselves and others, and as “one of the best things that humans do.” The addition of student voices to the film – especially when one realizes that the repair shop employees almost never hear back from the children whose instruments they repair – strengthens a connection, however distant, through music. The Last Repair Shop’s final minutes provide it that final cinematic touch you might have anticipated, an affirmation of why those who speak the language of music hold it so dear.

My rating: 8.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.

From previous years: 88th Academy Awards (2016) 89th (2017) 90th (2018) 91st (2019) 92nd (2020) 93rd (2021) 94th (2022) 95th (2023)

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.