#which is her backstory/a prequel to the movie

[penginlord]

you can tell a lot about someone based on their phone background. it shows what’s most important to them

[damienkarras73]

An essay on Furiosa, the politics of the Wasteland, Arthurian literature and realistic vs. formalistic CGI

Mad Max: Fury Road absolutely enraptured me when it came out nearly a decade ago, and I will cop to seeing it four times at the theatre. For me (and many others who saw the light of George Miller) it set new standards for action filmmaking, storytelling and worldbuilding, and I could pop in its Blu Ray at any time and never get tired of it. Perhaps not surprisingly, I was deeply apprehensive about the announced prequel for Fury Road's actual main character, Furiosa, even if Miller was still writing and directing. We didn't need backstory for Furiosa—hell, Fury Road is told in such a way that NOTHING in it requires explicit backstory. And since it focuses on the Yung Furiosa, it meant Charlize Theron couldn't return with another career-defining performance. Plus, look at all that CGI in the trailer, it can't be as good as Fury Road.

Turns out I was silly to doubt George Miller, M.D., A.O., writer and director of Babe: Pig in the City and Happy Feet One & Two.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is excellent, and I needn't have worried about it not being as good as Fury Road because it is not remotely trying to be Fury Road. Fury Road is a lean, mean machine with no fat on it, nothing extraneous, operating with constant forward momentum and only occasionally letting up to let you breathe a little; Furiosa is a classical epic, sprawling in scope, scale and structure, and more than happy to let the audience simmer in a quiet, almost painfully still moment. If its opening spoken word sequence by that Gandalf of the Wastes himself, the First History Man, didn't already clue you in, it unfolds like something out of myth, a tale told over and over again and whose possible embellishments are called attention to in the dialogue itself. Where Fury Road scratched the action nerd itch in my head like you wouldn't believe, Furiosa was the equivalent of Miller giving the undulating folds of my English major brain a deep tissue massage. That's great! I, for one, love when sequels/prequels endeavour to be fundamentally different movies from what they're succeeding/preceding, operating in different modes, formats and even genres, and more filmmakers should aim for it when building on an existing series.

This movie has been on my mind so much in the past week that I've ended up dedicating several cognitive processes to keeping track of all of the different ponderings it's spawned. Thankfully, Furiosa is divided into chapters (fun fact: putting chapter cards in your movie is a quick way to my heart), so it only seems fitting that I break up all of these cascading thoughts accordingly.

1. The Pole of Inaccessibility

Furiosa herself actually isn't the protagonist for the first chapter of her own movie, instead occupying the role of a (very crafty and resourceful) damsel in distress for those initial 30-40 minutes. The real hero of the opening act, which plays out like a game of cat and mouse, is Furiosa's mother Mary Jabassa, who rides out into the wasteland first on horseback and then astride a motorcycle to track down the band of raiders that has stolen away her daughter. Mary's brought to life by Miller and Nico Lathouris' economical writing and a magnetic performance by newcomer Charlee Fraser, who radiates so much screen presence in such relatively little time and with one of those instant "who is SHE??" faces. She doesn't have many lines, but who needs them when Fraser can convey volumes about Mary with just a flash of her eyes or the effortless way she swaps out one of her motorcycle's wheels for another. To be quite candid, I'm not sure of the last time I fell in love with a character so quickly.

You notice a neat aesthetic contrast between mother and daughter in retrospect: Mary Jabassa darts into the desert barefoot, clad in a simple yet elegant dress, her wolf cut immaculate, only briefly disguising herself with the ugly armour of a raider she just sniped, and when she attacks it's almost with grace, like some Greek goddess set loose in the post-apocalyptic Aussie outback with just her wits and a bolt-action rifle; we track Furiosa's growth over the years by how much of her initially conventional beauty she has shed, quite literally in one case (hair buzzed, severed arm augmented with a chunky mechanical prosthesis, smeared in grease and dirt from head to toe, growling her lines at a lower octave), and by how she loses her mother's graceful approach to movement and violence, eventually carrying herself like a blunt instrument. Yet I have zero doubt the former raised the latter, both angels of different feathers but with the same steel and resolve. Of fucking course this woman is Furiosa's mother, and in the short time we know her we quickly understand exactly why Furiosa has the drive and morals she does without needing to resort to didactic exposition.

Anyway, I was tearing up by the end of the first chapter. Great start!

2. Lessons from the Wasteland

Most movies—most stories, really—don't actually tell the entire narrative from A to Z. Perhaps the real meat of the thing is found from H to T, and A-G or U-Z are unnecessary for conveying the key narrative and themes. So many prequels fail by insisting on telling the A-G part of the story, explaining how the hero earned a certain nickname or met their memorable sidekick—but if that stuff was actually interesting, they likely would have included it in the original work. The greatest thing a prequel can actually do is recontextualize, putting iconic characters or moments in a new light, allowing you to appreciate them from a different angle. All of season 2 of Fargo serves to explain why Molly Solverson's dad is appropriately wary when Lorne Malvo enters his diner for a SINGLE SCENE in the show's first season. David's arc from the Alien prequels Prometheus and Covenant—polarizing as those entries are—adds another layer to why Ash is so protective of the creature in the first movie. Andor gives you a sense of what it's like for a normal, non-Jedi person to live under the boot of the Empire and why so many of them would join up with the Rebel Alliance—or why they would desire to wear that boot, or even just crave the chance to lick it.

Furiosa is one of those rare great prequels because it makes us take a step back and consider the established world with a little more nuance, even if it's still all so absurd. In Fury Road, Immortan Joe is an awesome, endlessly quotable villain, completely irredeemable, and basically a cartoon. He works perfectly as the antagonist of that breakneck, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote-ass movie, but if you step outside of its adrenaline-pumping narrative for even a moment you risk questioning why nobody in the Citadel or its surrounding settlements has risen up against him before. Hell, why would Furiosa even work for him to begin with? But then you see Dementus and company tear-assing around the wasteland, seizing settlements and running them into the ground, and you realize Joe and his consortium offer something that Dementus reasonably can't: stability—granted, an unwavering, unchangeable stability weighted in favour of Joe's own brutal caste system, but stability nonetheless. It really makes you wonder, how badly does a guy have to suck to make IMMORTAN JOE of all people look like a sane, competent and reasonable ruler by comparison?!?

…and then they open the door to the vault where he keeps his wives, and in a flash you're reminded just how awful Joe is and why Furiosa will risk her life to help some of these women flee from him years later. This new context enriches Joe and makes it more believable that he could maintain power for so long, but it doesn't make him any less of a monster, and it says a lot about Furiosa's hate for Dementus that she could grit her teeth and work for this sick old tyrant.

3. The Stowaway

Here's another wild bit of trivia about this movie: you don't actually see top-billed actress Anya Taylor-Joy pop up on screen until roughly halfway through, once Furiosa is in her late teens/early twenties. Up until this point she's been played by Alyla Browne, who through the use of some seamless and honestly really impressive CGI has been given Anya's distinctive bug eyes [complimentary]. It's one of those bold choices that really works because Miller commits to it so hard, though it does make me wish Browne's name was up on the poster next to Taylor-Joy's.

Speaking of CGI, I should talk about what seems to be a sticking point for quite a few people: if there's been one consistent criticism of Furiosa so far, it's that it doesn't look nearly as practical or grounded as Fury Road, with more obvious greenscreen and compositing, and what previously would've been physical stunt performers and pyrotechnics have been replaced with their digital equivalents for many shots. Simply put, it doesn't look as real! For a lot of people, that practicality was one of Fury Road's primary draws, so I won't try to quibble if they're let down by Furiosa's overt artificiality, but to be honest I'm actually quite fine with it. It helps that this visual discrepancy doesn't sneak up on you but is incredibly apparent right from the aerial zoom-down into Australia in the very first scene, so I didn't feel misled or duped.

Fury Road never asks you to suspend your disbelief because it all looks so believable; Furiosa jovially prods you to suspend that disbelief from the get-go and tune into it on a different wavelength. It's a classical epic, and like the classical epics of the 1950s and 60s it has a lot of actors standing in front of what clearly are matte paintings. It feels right! We're not watching fact, we're watching myth. I'm willing to concede there might be a little bit of post-hoc rationalization on my part because I simply love this movie so much, but I'm not holding the effects in Furiosa to the same standard as those in Fury Road because I simply don't believe Miller and his crew are attempting to replicate that approach. Without the extensive CGI, we don't get that impressive long, panning take where a stranded Furiosa scans the empty, dust-and-sun-scoured wasteland (75% Sergio Leone, 25% Andrei Tarkovsky), or the Octoboss and his parasailing goons. For the sake of intellectual exercise I did try imagining them filming the Octoboss/war rig sequence with the same immersive practical approach they used for Fury Road's stunts, however I just kept picturing dead stunt performers, so perhaps the tradeoff was worth it!

4. Homeward

Around the same time we meet the Taylor-Joy-pilled Furiosa in Chapter 3, we're introduced to Praetorian Jack, the chief driver for the convoys running between the Citadel and its allied settlements. Jack's played by Tom Burke, who pulled off a very good Orson Welles in Mank! and who I should really check out in The Souvenir one of these days. He's also a cool dude! Here are some facts about Praetorian Jack:

He's decked out in road leathers with a pauldron stitched to one shoulder

He's stoic and wary, but still more or less personable and can carry on a conversation

Professes to a certain cynicism, to quote Special Agent Albert Rosenfield, but ultimately has a capacity for kindness and will do the right thing

Shoots a gun real good

Can drive like nobody's business

So in other words, Jack is Mad Max. But also, no, he clearly isn't! He looks and dresses like Mad Max (particularly Mel Gibson's) and does a lot of the same things "Mad" Max Rockatansky does, but he's also very explicitly a distinct character. It's a choice that seems inexplicable and perhaps even lazy on its face, except this is a George Miller movie, so of course this parallel is extremely purposeful. Miller has gone on record saying he avoids any kind of strict chronology or continuity for his Mad Max movies, compared to the rigid canons for Star Trek and Star Wars, and bless him for doing so. It's more fun viewing each Mad Max entry as a new revision or elaboration on a story being told again and again generations after the fall, mutating in style, structure and focus with every iteration, becoming less grounded as its core narrative is passed from elder to youth, community to community, genre to genre, until it becomes myth. (At least, my English major brain thinks it's more fun.) In fact there's actually something Arthurian to it, where at first King Arthur was mentioned in several Welsh legends before Geoffrey of Monmouth crafted an actual narrative around him, then Chrétien de Troyes added elements like Lancelot and infused the stories with more romance, and then with Le Morte d'Arthur Thomas Malory whipped the whole cycle together into one volume, which T.H. White would chop and screw and deconstruct with The Once and Future King centuries later.

All this to say: maybe Praetorian Jack looks and sounds and acts like Max because he sorta kinda basically is, being just one of many men driving back and forth across the wasteland, lending a hand on occasion, who'll be conflated into a single, legendary "Mad Max" at some point down the line in a different History Man's retelling of Furiosa's odyssey. Sometimes that Max rips across the desert in his V8 Interceptor, other times driving a big rig. Perhaps there's a dog tagging along and/or a scraggly and at first aggravating ally played by Bruce Spence or Nicholas Hoult. Usually he has a shotgun. But so long as you aren't trying to kill him, he'll help you out.

5. Beyond Vengeance

The Mad Max movies have incredibly iconic villains—Immortan Joe! Toecutter! the Lord Humongous!—but they are exactly that, capital V Villains devoid of humanizing qualities who you can't wait to watch bad things happen to. Furiosa appears to continue this trend by giving us a villain who in fact has a mustache long enough that he could reasonably twirl it if he so wanted, but ironically Dementus ends up being the most layered antagonist in the entire series, even moreso than the late Tina Turner's comparatively benevolent Aunty Entity from Beyond Thunderdome. And because he's played by Chris Hemsworth, whose comedic delivery rivals his stupidly handsome looks, you lock in every time he's on screen.

Something so fascinating about Dementus is that, for a main antagonist, he's NOT all-powerful, and in fact quite the opposite: he's more conman than warlord, looking for the next hustle, the next gullible crowd he can preach to and dupe—though never for long. For all his bluster, at every turn he finds himself in way over his head and writing cheques he can't cash, and this self-induced Sisyphean torment makes him riveting to watch. You're tempted to pity Dementus but it's also quite difficult to spare sympathy for someone who's so quick to channel their rage and hurt and ego into thoughtless, burn-it-all-down destruction. When you're not laughing at him, you're hating his guts, and it's indisputably the best work of Chris Hemsworth's career.

It's in this final chapter that everything naturally comes to a head: Furiosa's final evolution into the character we meet at the start of Fury Road, the predictable toppling of Dementus' precariously built house of cards, and the mythmaking that has been teased since the very first scene becoming diagetic text, the last of which allows the movie to thoroughly explore the themes of vengeance it's been building to. A brief war begins, is summarized and is over in the span of roughly a minute, and on its face it's a baffling narrative choice that most other filmmakers would have botched. But our man Miller's smart enough to recognize that the result of this war is the most foregone of conclusions if you've been paying even the slightest bit of attention, so he effectively brushes past it to get to the emotional heart of the climax and an incredible "Oh shit!" payoff that cements Miller as one of mainstream cinema's greatest sickos.

Fury Road remains the greatest Mad Max film, but Furiosa might be the best thing George Miller has ever made. If not his magnum opus, it does at least feel like his dissertation, and it makes me wish Warner Bros. puts enough trust in him despite Furiosa's poor box office performance that he's able to make The Wasteland. Absolutely ridiculous that a man just short of his 80th birthday was able to pull this off, and with it I feel confident calling him one of my favourite directors.

[comicaurora]

top three changes to the star wars franchise?

Like, top three things I would change if I was in charge of the franchise top to bottom?

This is Big Cheating calling it "one change", but scrap the prequels. The original trilogy already implied an incredibly simple by-the-numbers dark fantasy origin story for Obi-Wan and Anakin and if we strip away the space veneer we can easily see that Anakin's original backstory was implied to be "prodigy warrior-wizard is tempted by dark magic (and an established evil sorcerer-emperor who has clearly been in power for more than a scant 18 years by the time of the original trilogy) which slowly corrupts and twists him into a monster who eventually has a fight with obi-wan that he loses, also he has a relationship with a woman who survives to raise Leia for at least a few years". Those are the only points you need to hit, and you could tell a very compelling simple-meal-well-made sword and sorcery adventure with a guaranteed tragic ending. The original prequels fail at holding to the ONLY points of canon they needed to hit - the innately corruptive power of the dark side SLOWLY leading to Anakin's downfall, the empire being an existing threat for a long time and the jedi correspondingly being an ANCIENT religion rather than being less ancient than 9/11, and Padme being alive enough for Leia to remember her a little bit. Close your eyes, clear your mind, let the tropes flow through you - a By-The-Numbers Story will come to you and you will see the completely inoffensive prequel tragedy we could've had. Also, never show Yoda, preserve the fun twist in the original movies.

Easy change for this one. Finn's a force-user with a plot about inspiring a stormtrooper rebellion, another plot that literally writes itself, also let the sequel trio actually all hang out for more than five fuckin minutes because the only thing that ever made Star Wars work was the raw charisma of the actors having a good time and the chemistry was really solid for the only time in the final movie they were allowed to share screentime.

And while we're gutting the sequels, how about letting the hero's victories actually fucking matter. Luke gets to actually reinvigorate the jedi way and doesn't have all his victories ripped away in the name of sequel bait, and can serve as an extremely powerful but very busy Jedi Ex Machina who turns up in the darkest hour to save the day, Mandalorian-s1-finale style. The Empire doesn't just get magically replaced with Empire 2, Now With Less Charisma, let the threat be something actually new or a natural consequence of a newly liberated galaxy in sudden turmoil - feudal tyrants ruling over planetary fiefdoms squabbling to fill the Emperor's power-vacuum, more sith lords coming out of the woodwork now that their greatest rival is gone. Leia and the other rebel leaders struggling to reinstate some semblance of democracy in a scarred and shattered galaxy too accustomed to the crushing totalitarianism of the empire. How goddamn unoriginal to start a sequel by undoing every happy ending from the original series for retreaded drama, as if the universe could only ever hold three problems in it.

[ape-apocalypse]

Road To The Kingdom - Firestorm Tie-In Novel

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm is a prequel novel written by Greg Keyes for the second movie in the reboot trilogy. It takes place soon after the end of the first film, about a week after the apes escaped into the redwood forest beyond San Francisco and the Simian Flu began to cut through the human race. This novel is a fantastic bridge between Rise and Dawn, giving us more insight into characters we met in the first movie who will feature in the next, as well as fleshing out the fall of society. 

The book does very well juggling between the two massive plots of Caesar's apes avoiding their human hunters and the Simian Flu tearing through the city. Though we don't see Will or any other humans we met in Rise, they give us many new human characters: a reporter trying to make the connection between the escaped apes and the new virus, an emergency room doctor dealing hands on with outbreak casualties, and an ape researcher and a former hunter who have been brought in by Gen-Sys to capture Caesar's group. While I thought I wouldn't care about the humans because the apes are always my favorite characters, all these humans in different locations and with different stories keep the story from dragging; I ended up enjoying the final days of humanity almost as much as Caesar's story. The book also gives us the first introduction to a human character who will become important in Dawn: Dreyfus, the leader of the human colony played by Gary Oldman. Going into the movie, his backstory isn't very clear other than he was in some position of power before the end and he lost his wife and children. But the book goes really deep into his story of a former police chief running for mayor and wanting to protect humans. Rereading the book in 2024, the parallels of the Simian Flu with the Covid outbreak definitely rings true (much like the YouTube shorts).

But no matter how good the human characters are, what I enjoyed most about this book was seeing Caesar and his escaped apes start to adapt to life in the wild. Even while they're being hounded by the humans chasing them, they have to figure out how to care for sick/injured apes and where to get food without humans to feed them. A great moment for Caesar is when he thinks to himself that he never thought beyond escaping from the human city; his realization that there is more to figure out than just dodging humans shows how he goes from accidental ringleader from the sanctuary to the wise authoritative leader of the apes of the next two films.

Though surprisingly, the true star of this book isn't Caesar; it's Koba. We get numerous detailed flashbacks of Koba's life before ending up in the Gen-Sys lab and receiving the brain enhancing drugs. From the death of his mother to being an abused TV star to arriving at the labs as a test ape. In the films, Koba's hatred of humans shines through and is unquestionable; you don't need the backstory to understand why he carries a grudge against all humanity. But reading the details really did break my heart. And getting his backstory revealed as he learns to work with other apes, as he proves his loyalty to Caesar by rescuing injured apes rather than wrecking vengeance on humans, you actually have hope that he could be happy now that he was free with other apes. 

Another great part of the book is getting to see the very beginning of Caesar and Cornelia's courtship. Since one of my disappointments with the films are the forgotten female characters, I was glad to see Cornelia here, challenging Caesar's orders when it came to taking care of injured apes. Though her role is still small, I liked seeing her get a little time to flesh out her character.

Firestorm is officially labeled as a prequel (which is why I have it listed first as I'm trying to go in chronological storyline order), but I actually enjoyed reading it after seeing Dawn. While I think it can still be appreciated in any order, I liked getting to meet Koba in the movie and seeing him as a great complicated villain, before then learning his backstory and growing your sympathy for him, while also thinking about how tragic it is that he couldn't let go of his hate. Whatever order you decide to read them in, Firestorm by Greg Keyes is a wonderful expansion on the movies that I would label as required reading for fans for the expansive and enjoyable story it shares.

Intro / Previous / Next

[artistshadow]

In the novel, are there any Disney heroes involved with war of roses?

SPOILERS FOR BEYOND THE ISLE OF THE LOST: WONDERLAND!!!!

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Hopefully this helps answer any questions pertaining to the new Isle book. If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask if this didn’t answer anything! I just felt like this will be easier than going back-and-forth pulling small tidbits to add 🤣😂😂

Okay, so here’s the briefest summary of what happens in Beyond the Isle of the Lost: Wonderland. We learn that Wonderland is sealed off from Auradon because the Queen didn't want to be under the Beast’s rule, I believe, so she raised an army to fight back just in case. This was known as the War of Roses. It sounds like there never was a fight. It sounds more like the Queen showed that she was no punk and wasn’t gonna let anyone scare or intimidate her, or most likely, she just didn’t want to be the one not in control so out of fear, Auradon closed the Rabbit Hole, which is one of two ways to get in and out of Wonderland, the other being The Pool of Tears. Because of this, Red has never been outside of Wonderland and doesn’t know much about what is going on in the outside world. The Queen has turned Wonderland pretty much into a dictatorship prison where so many things are outlawed that it doesn’t even seem like Wonderland anymore. She wants Red to follow in her footsteps and rule like she does, but Red ain’t having none of it. She wants to rebel against it all, but because she hasn’t had any sort of influence from anyone since everyone in Wonderland is scared to death of her mother, they never act out, so she doesn't know how. In comes Ace and Chester, two characters who sort of help her rebel, but they don’t know much either. Chester is, I believe, the son of the Cheshire Cat or at least a descendant of him. Ace…I'm not sure cause they never established, but if I were gonna take a wild guess, I would say that he could be the son of an Ace card. They do things to rebel and bring life to Wonderland by throwing parties, two to be exact, and the first failed royally, which resulted in them being arrested by the guards, and the Queen just dismissed them. The second party they throw in the throne room which makes the Queen blow her lid and start arresting everyone, which in turn makes Red, Chester, and Ace go on the lam. They plan on going to the Pool of Tears so they can escape Wonderland, but unfortunately, C and A get captured by the card soldiers. They tell Red to run for it and escape Wonderland, but she doesn’t want to leave her friends, so she goes back for them. Big mistake because that was a trap by the Queen, who throws her in the dungeon with them. The next day in front of all of Wonderland, the Queen shows just how much of a royal evil bitch she is by showing what she does to people who break her laws: She turns them into mindless card soldiers, as she demonstrates with Ace. It’s very heavily implied that she did this to the other kids she captured at the party. She then turns Chester into a cat, who then disappears. It goes without saying that Red is heartbroken, distraught, and traumatized by this, and her mother doesn’t give a flying fuck. So, Red now has this deep resentment toward her mother and is probably willing to do anything to get back at her. She probably wants to escape Wonderland more or perhaps take her anger out on the land.

This actually does something the other “prequel” books did as it gives us a look into who the character of Red is and her mother as well. It also gives us a glimpse of how much of a threat the Queen of Hearts is because when I heard that she was planning a coup in the movie, I was like, “yeaaaaah, but she’s really not that big of a threat like Maleficent, Uma, Audrey, or any of the other villains or ‘villains’ so how will this work?” But this gives us more information. It also gives a little more backstory as to why Wonderland is separate from Auradon and why Uma is looking to invite people from there to go to school in Auradon. Do I think they will reference some of the things from this movie? Maybe a little because a lot of it gives us reasons to see the Queen as a threat and more about why Red wants to rebel so much. Do I think we’ll get closure for Chester and Ace? Most likely not, and I hate that because while the other books left their endings with shots of happiness, this one ended completely depressing and horrifying.

Something to note: the Queen HATES cupcakes. In the summer preview, there was a picture of her younger self holding a plate of cupcakes while looking sad, so I wonder if we��re gonna see the reasons behind her hatred for them.

Maddox, the son of the Mad Hatter, is a science teacher at Wonderland High who is in the Queen’s favor. He’s interested in…wait for it…time travel, which is the basic plot of the film.

Reading this really makes listening to Red’s part in the new “What’s My Name” hit a little deeper, especially the parts where she says, “My mom’s as mean as it gets” and “It was rough growing up.”

I don’t know where Merlin Academy, Cinderella, and the other characters come into play, as the book mainly focused on Red, but I guess we’ll find out more in the new film.

It’s pretty much confirmed that the Queen was never on the Isle of the Lost (which makes the mention of her hair salon in the second book kind of weird), so that means Red is probably the only VK who wasn’t born on the Isle. She’s heard rumors about it but has never seen it. The only people she has met from the Isle are Harry and Jasper, who apparently got trapped in Wonderland after the VKs got released from the Isle in the 3rd film. But how they got trapped there if Wonderland was sealed off before they were born is what’s puzzling me. But timelines have never made absolute sense in this franchise so I’m not gonna get to deep into it😄😂

[hypequeenves]

NEW TO THE BLOG? READ ME!

Enchantée, my loves! Welcome to the blog! <3

Just to let you know that this is a story based blog, with an alternative style of story telling. The plot is revealed mostly through the lens of different types of technology. From Sinstagram posts to security camera footage, this Hellaverse AU centres around my OC Vesper:

Vesper is a popular popstar and sinner operating within the Pride Ring. She is soul contracted to Vox, and was designed around the idea of a 'hypeman' for the Vees. Her outfit is loosely based around a cheerleader, and her abilities are based off a Siren.

The story is told through a bunch of different mediums - mostly images, but I do have some audio files on here along with some music! I did not expect to be writing music for this, but here we are! So if you'd like to stick around, I'd scroll right to the bottom of the blog and explore the story!  SPOILERS BELOW - If you haven't looked through the posts thus far and don't want to be spoiled, come back after!

THE PLOT THUS FAR:

(I didn't just wanna write the plot point blank, so I wrote it like POV: Your at a movie night and your best friend is telling you the plot to the prequel movie so you have *context*)

We're diving into the wild world of Vanessa LaBlanc, this mega-popstar who goes by the stage name Vesper in the Pride Ring. But here's the kicker: her climb to stardom? It's only been about seven years! Insane, right?

So, her smash hit 'The Devil You Know' rockets to the top of 'Hell's Hottest Hits'. It's like her big breakout moment, and suddenly, everyone's got their eyes on her.

But here's where it gets interesting: turns out, she's been hanging out at the Hazbin Hotel, but not just for kicks. Nope, she's on this super-secret spy mission, keeping tabs on things. And her deal with Vox? Let's just say their whole working relationship is one big question mark.

Then there's this whole issue about her being under some soul contract with Vox, so it's not all rainbows and sunshine. But Charlie, being the sweetheart she is, rallies everyone to support Vesper at this major award ceremony, and guess what? She totally wins and takes home the prize!

But after that, Vesper goes MIA, ghosting everyone's texts and calls. Finally, when she resurfaces, it's because she's been tied up shooting some ad campaign. Turns out, her and Vox had this major fallout over the ad's ethics.

And get this: the product of the ad? Love Potions! Vesper's kinda backed into a corner she doesn't think its right - but Vox makes her do it anyway! You can see the strain it puts on her and Vox's relationship. It's messy, to say the least.

Then there's this whole backstory between Vesper and Angel Dust, like they used to hate each other and Valentino admits to being the reason behind it. But now that she's staying at the Hotel, they seem to have made up! Val's flipping out, convinced Vesper's up to something, but Vox is tells Val to calm down, because 'it's not like before' that she's 'under contract now'.

Things really hit the fan when Vesper and Vox have this big blow up over some news article about her going public with staying at the Hazbin Hotel. But in the middle of all the drama, you can see there's this genuine care between them, buried beneath all the chaos.

And then there's the bombshell about Vesper's new album, 'Absolution', which Vox drops on her out of nowhere. She's not thrilled, especially when she finds out the album cover's shot in Val's flooded studio, and she has a deep-rooted fear of water.

Things get tense between Vesper and Angel, too. He's worried sick about her, but she's not having any of it. And then after the album shoot, her relationship with Vox starts unravelling big time.

And that's pretty much it thus far!

[olderthannetfic]

The ace asks about how asexuality and being aromantic is increasingly seen to mean "has sex and romance like a normal person" reminds me of the time I accidentally deeply angered an author. She had the tag 'asexual character' in her fic's tags, but since it's a 300k word long fic involving a lot of characters, it wasn't clear who that referred to right away. I left long comments on each chapter, talking about what I liked, sections that hit really hard, lines that I loved, etc., as I always do. (I like to ramble IRL and I can't turn it off even online.) At the halfway point of the fanfic, during a long comment about the OCs that helped flesh out the oft-mentioned but barely explored organizations and companies in the world of canon, I said that I hoped This One Specific OC or That Other Specific OC would turn out to be the asexual character, as I saw in them echoes of myself and a friend of mine (we're both ace).

She had never responded to a comment of mine before, but she did for that one... to yell at me about how the main character OC was aroace, actually. This was apparently supposed to be obvious since the word ace was used in the tie-in prequel fic, which I had held off on reading because the author's note mentioned it would have spoilers if you hadn't read the whole main fic. The character in question has a relationship not remotely different from any of the cishetallo or cisqueerallo relationships presented in the text. She develops a snarky sarcastic friendship with someone she finds visually beautiful and impossible to look away from, gets to know him a little, watches movies with him, they get into urban fantasy danger which they help each other through, they fuck and do so extremely regularly, and she has past exes who she also did all of this with.

And I was, apparently, a bigot with internalized aphobia and negative attitudes towards women who have sex because I didn't look at her and go, "Ah, yes, an aroace!" She informed me I was forcing unrealistic stereotypes no one adhered to onto ace people by thinking aces had to be a certain way and by refusing to see that

Her angry reply was so long it took three AO3 comments to send to me, and it didn't really make me convinced I'd misread the situation. It just made me convinced this wasn't an author I wanted to read more fic from, because 1. this is a lot of anger, holy crap and 2., I really think this is an excusable mistake on my part. I saw no signs this character was in any way different from any other couple in the fic beyond that she and her love interest didn't get to know each other's backstories as much and instead bonded more through experiences they shared, which in my opinion is not something that can be linked to any sexuality or lack thereof.

I feel like there's a moral in here. Like, authors, as a fellow author, I get that it sucks when someone else doesn't see the characters like you do, or misses something you thought was clear, etc. I get that it's frustrating. But don't rip into someone who's been gushing about every chapter of your fic individually just because they didn't catch one thing. I failed to realize one character's sexuality. That's not the same as hating you, the character or the writing.

Mostly I remember that incident as the day I stopped asking questions in my long comments. A sea of gushing does not make up for a mistake and the best way not to make those is to not ask if a tag relates to a character or line.

--

Oof. I mean, sure, there's a diversity of experience. Everything is a spectrum. Yada yadda. But if two labels become entirely indistinguishable, what's the point of even having them, much less getting mad when people can't spot the difference?

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

It bothers me how so many people think LLTPQ is canon, when Shea says it's an alternate story. But if that's true, wouldn't she had made an alternate book-version of the movie as well? We should'nt have had to learn it's its own universe from a Q&A. That information should have been a lot more clear.

Hmmm, it's always been in my mind that fans can disregard anything that isn't in the movie as "canon" - since these are all spin-offs and alternate universes/stories made by fans, which happen to be licensed products from Disney, and in LLTPQ's case, also had the approval from Tim Burton and his team. But I get where you're coming from, anon, I've seen people get insistent that things like LLTPQ and The Battle for Pumpkin King are "canon", and are the official stories for these characters.

But...they're not, reeeallly, unless you want them to be? If we're to consider EVERY tnbc book/game/comic canon, then The Pumpkin King Game directly contradicts Jack & Oogie's backstory in the prequel comic. And I am a firm believer that LLTPQ simply isn't correct in having Dr. Finkelstein be the kidnapper of Sally rather than her creator. I see it as an Alternate story, like Shea considers it to be, and I would feel like that's obvious just on that Ragdoll Parent twist alone, but it's unfortunate that you only really learn about that in a Q&A, and how Shea made a big decision with the tnbc characters that's pretty much based on her personal bias.

Maybe they'll be more open about it with these next two books.

[idkaguyorsomething]

Why Greta Gerwig should adapt The Magician’s Nephew instead of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I had some thoughts. They are below the cut in list form

Something we Haven’t Been Shown Before- to put it bluntly, we already have a perfectly good adaptation of TLTWATW, and it’s probably as good and accurate an adaptation as you could ask for. There are a few minor details that got cut and added, but honestly, as far as book-to-movie adaptations go, it’s extremely faithful to the plot, themes, characters, the whole shebang of the original book. Even if you don’t count the live action movie, there’s still the animated movie, the BBC production, and several play adaptations out there. It’s had its time to shine and by adapting The Magician’s Nephew, we’d be getting something fresh from the franchise.

Equally Accessible Starting Point- while TLTWATW was the first Narnia book to be written and published, chronologically The Magician’s Nephew takes place before it, serving as both a prequel and standalone story so that newcomers to Narnia could get into the series with either book. C S Lewis himself said that it didn’t matter which one people chose to start with, so it would serve as a great entry point for anyone looking to get into the Chronicles of Narnia as well as provide an interesting prequel for people familiar with the movies that already came out, leading me to my next point:

Worldbuilding- this book has so much cool stuff you guys. The pool world, Charn, the apple grove, the rings, Frank. ¡Actual literal worldbuilding! Also Sherlock Holmes and Atlantis for some reason. There’s just a lot of really interesting concepts and locations in this story that have the potential to be a true spectacle while also serving as a rewarding expansion of the universe that Narnia fans know that newcomers will still be able to appreciate.

Our Heroes- Digory and Polly are incredibly adorable and likable protagonists. They feel a good deal more fleshed out and realistic than the Pevensie kids in the books, and even though the movies went out of their way to give them some more depths, our dynamic duo from The Magician’s Nephew still feel quite distinctive in their own right. Their interpersonal conflict never grows as deep as something like, say, Edmund’s betrayal, but they both have different perspectives and things they bring to the table as individuals while also having a very fun, genuine friendship. Bonus points for being a rare boy/girl relationship that is never so much as hinted to be anything beyond platonic.

The Villains- The Magician’s Nephew has a pretty perfect combination of antagonists who manage to be memorable and legitimately menacing as well as pathetic little meow meows. This book gives us Jadis’ backstory as well as her getting to wreak unhinged havoc in downtown 18XX London as well as Uncle Andrew, a conspiracy theorist incel Redditor before Reddit was ever a thing. They’re delightfully entertaining in completely different ways, and seeing them onscreen would be an absolute treat.

Thematic Resonance- lots of things that happen in this book carry a lot of similar motifs to other films that Greta Gerwig has worked on, and since she hasn’t really created any epic fantasy style films yet, they could provide a strong emotional core to center any experimentation she tries out in the genre. You’ve got Digory’s loving but complicated relationship with his mother due to her illness displacing them from home, the coming-of-age aspects as the children encounter various adult figures they feel powerless to oppose, and learning the consequences of one’s actions. It’s even mentioned in the book that Polly is working on a little writing project that she’s sensitive about, like Jo March. A lot of people have complained that they feel Greta Gerwig will neuter the story by toning down the religious elements (which there is A LOT to dissect about concerning how C S Lewis’ beliefs led to things like the Problem of Susan, but there just isn’t enough information about the actual movie out yet to draw any actual conclusions) yet I’d argue that these emotional arcs, which play into Gerwig’s strengths as a director, could easily hold up a movie on their own if handled well. Combine that with the potential for unique visuals, the book’s surprisingly good sense of humor, and the many concepts that could be brought onscreen in a truly unique way, and you’ve practically got a recipe for a great addition to the Chronicles of Narnia unlike anything the movie fans have gotten before.

Feel free to disagree about any of that, though. Hearing where other people think the netflix movies should pick up would be really interesting, so leave any thoughts on the subject in the notes if you want. I just wanna see Fledge the pony accidentally get yanked into another dimension.

[physalian]

X-Men First Class Appreciation Post

I own this on BluRay courtesy of thrifting. Can I just gush about this amazing piece of cinema for a moment? Does anyone still care about this movie?

So much of why this movie works is expectation and precedent. Had these characters been drawn up out of thin air for this movie, never before seen in any other medium, it still would have been amazing, but the history of how this movie came to be just pushes it over the top.

I grew up with the OG trilogy and while I know Last Stand is not good, I used to watch it if I saw it on while channel surfing. I have X2 also on dvd because I saw it while thrifting. Completely new actors, save for the Wolverine cameo, but the same old song, just a new verse. This movie will never exist in isolation, so while Erik’s arc is amazing, knowing that people who don’t read comics are seeing the main villain from the movies they know now an anti-hero with a gut-wrenching backstory, who’s right, is fantastic.

Knowing what these characters will come to be later in life as you watch it all slowly fall apart and their fundamental, philosophical divide on the nature of humanity and their place in it, is fantastic.

—

But beyond the history that bolsters this movie (which I think is the best X-Men movie, above DOFP and Logan), it’s just a fantastic screenplay.

The script: It’s such a tight script with only a few odd things here and there, like Emma Frost just existing after she’s served her purpose in the plot. It’s longer than I remember every time I watch it, too, kind of two movies rolled into one that splits into the second half after the CIA base attack. The setup and payoff of Erik’s “rage and serenity” moment with the dish, is the highlight. The backdrop of the 60s, weaving in real politics kind of like Forest Gump as if this all really was a shadow war going on, helped it feel more grounded than the plots of the OGs.

The characters: Obviously pulled from decades’ worth of groundwork, First Class does so, so well establishing the dichotomy of Charles and Erik, while also not leaving the rest of the team as one-note (mostly, the tornado wind dude doesn’t have a single line in the whole movie). Shaw as a villain is just hammy enough, with a ridiculously sinister comic-booky plan, it’s great.

The music: Standout here being the leitmotif for Erik, which you can hear shift as his attitude shifts from “rage” to “serenity”. The difference in the music when he’s on screen between the Villa Gessel bar scene and the sub lift. This is Erik’s movie. Charles supporting him, and everyone and everything else supporting them, and the music reflects that.

The acting: A refreshing set of faces that bring a lot of subtlety in gesture, I particularly like Charles feigning massaging his temple at the bar when he meets Moira so he can focus on her thoughts or how is attitude changes around Raven and her “cosmetic issue”. Fantastic representations, both in presence and face, of what a younger version of the OG cast might’ve been like.

The story: Yes the overarching plot of nuclear war is fun and all but the meat of the story is Erik and Charles’ relationship and their approach to mutants in human society, as it always is, and the interactions with the newer recruits. There’s plenty of quiet moments that take themselves absolutely sincerely, no half-assed awkward jokes to laugh at itself before the audience can because the writers are insecure. You know how it has to end, and this movie doesn’t for one second pretend it won’t. It never asks if they’ll end up as enemies, it spends the entire time showing you how they became enemies, which is what a prequel should do.

The climax: The last, gosh, 45 mins of this movie? Fantastic. The Americans and the Russians being played as equals but opposite, neither side being vilified because both are victims of Shaw’s plans. They’re just innocents caught in the middle (the sailors on all the boats, not the greedy higher ups). The coin, the setup and payoff and Chekhov’s gun of the goddamn coin that Erik first flicks into Shaw’s picture’s forehead at the start of the movie. Charles screaming as he still holds Shaw frozen because he feels both Shaw’s pain and the horror of what Erik’s doing. Also the choreography incorporating the various mutant powers. All of it. No notes. 10/10.

—

Smaller things, too. Making sure Charles and Erik have their little chess matches. The multi split-screen during the training montage and the era-appropriate music beyond the score. Dancing around the love triangle between Erik, Raven, and Charles without having it be a huge piece of the plot. Without any romance distracting from the plot, just dressing on the side. Erik being such a tired dad already around the younger mutants. The "yes we do" sonar moment. Raven still getting to use her non-combatant powers in the finale to trick Azazel. All of Michael Fassbender’s languages, rather long conversations that aren’t in English. The nods to the story at large with Charles’ hair comments, Wolverine’s cameo, cheeky origins for their hero names, the jet from the OG movies, the other significant characters popping up.

Also the balance between conflicts that do and don’t rely on powers. The final fight isn’t a fistfight and for a comic book climax, that’s kind of rare (and no blue sky beam). This is a climax that can only happen in this story. Erik doesn’t just punch Shaw into submission, he magnetizes a coin through his skull. That’s how it’s done.

I love this movie. I just watched it before making this post and I already want to watch it again.

[https-hunter]

Part two to this post because I’m never not thinking about ghosts

More things I’d like to see in future episodes of ghosts

Nigel backstory!! What was his life like before the war? What’s his family like? Was it difficult for him to travel across the ocean and leave his old life behind? Why is it that he’s more open about his queerness than Isaac is? When did he start to develop feelings for Isaac? Ghost power??

More. Sasappis. Plots

Hetty and Flower as roommates. I need to know how this works out for them

Jay’s restaurant!! I can’t wait to see how it develops. I hope he gets all the customers in the world

It’s not high on my list, but it would be funny if Sam did a DNA test and finds out that the Woodstones are Irish. Hetty is devastated

More vault material objects the ghosts can interact with!! Like in that one Halloween fic I wrote with the Ouija board

Farnsby drama. You’re telling me you have a mean 50 housewife, a thousand-year-old Viking, and a horny puritan living together and no drama?

Jay gets to see the ghosts, if only just once

Pete gets into stranger things. In a similar spirit, Jay mentions the star wars prequels, which reminds Trevor of a certain movie that came out the year before he died, and Pete loses his mind. The three of them spend like a whole episode marathonning every Star Wars movie

Sam’s family lore!! How is she related to the Woodstones, exactly? Her mom, her dad? Who IS Sam’s dad? There’s so much potential here

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 21

Link for Seasons  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Remember the fact that the whole idea of this guide is absurd and pointless? And yet, I feel like if every season was like this one, it actually makes sense. So here we go, with a season that actually could warrant something like this. S21E1 White People Renovating Houses is CANON

Eric and Heidi break up and we get subjected to the main theme of the season, which is about toxic relationships. S21E2 Put it Down is CANON

This one is important in that it actually moves three separate plotlines. Eric and Heidi's relationship (right after breaking up they got together again), Craig and Tweek's relationship (shown in a different light than earlier) and Herbert Garrison's presidency. S21E3 Holiday Special is FILLER

Randy was a fan of Columbus and now he is ashamed of it. We never see anything related to this and neither does this relate to the rest of the season. S21E4 Franchise Prequel is LORE

This is a prequel to the video game, Fractured but Whole, it provides some backstory. The Fractured but Whole is LORE

And I have an important announcement, @skittering-roach was right, when I did the season 12 post I didn't think about how the episode S12E3 Major Boobage is essential for this game. So watch that one too if you wanted a list that helps you understand the games! Bring the Crunch is LORE From Dusk 'Til Casa Bonita is LORE

If the New Kid wasn't such a canonicity questioning presence, I'd probably pass these two off as canon, since Mr. Adams from S15E14 becomes the step-father of Mike Makowski and Bradley returns from and shares details of his home planet. And I'm pretty sure both these events are fully intended to be canon. S21E5 Hummels & Heroin is FILLER

Josh Gad guest appears just so we see Marvin Marsh in the nursing home. S21E6 Sons A Witches is CANON

Heidi and Eric are in the center and Eric wants to murder Heidi for the first time, which sets off Kyle's alarms about this whole thing. The President also longs for his time spent with the guys in South Park. S21E7 Doubling Down is CANON

Kyle inserts himself in Heidi's life, but in the end Heidi stays with Eric, however the price for this is giving up everything she previously stood for. The Member Berries return and continue to help Herbert with the presidency. S21E8 Moss Piglets is CANON

Heidi changes. That's the main event, however Nathan and Mimsy also get a story just to make sure that the inclusion of their plotlines was necessary. S21E9 SUPER HARD PCness is CANON

South Park elementary gets a new, permanent vice principal, Strong Woman. This episode is also a sequel to the movie, and Kyle is no longer a fan of Terrance & Phillip. S21E10 Splatty Tomato is CANON

The first episode with a major spotlight on the White family. Strong Woman sleeps with her boss - one thing that will have major consequences - and Heidi finally leaves Eric for good.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

S21E1 White People Renovating Houses is CANON S21E2 Put it Down is CANON S21E3 Holiday Special is FILLER S21E4 Franchise Prequel is LORE* The Fractured but Whole is LORE** Bring the Crunch is LORE*** From Dusk 'Til Casa Bonita is LORE*** S21E5 Hummels & Heroin is FILLER S21E6 Sons A Witches is CANON S21E7 Doubling Down is CANON S21E8 Moss Piglets is CANON S21E9 SUPER HARD PCness is CANON S21E10 Splatty Tomato is CANON *Made to be a prelude for the game **Has a lot of continuity nods, also watch S12E3 before playing ***Canon world-building with a non-canon character included

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13  S2: 3 out of 18  S3: 6 out of 18  S4: 10 out of 17  S5: 8 out of 14  S6: 11 out of 17 S7: 6 out of 15 S8: 4 out of 14 S9: 8 out of 14 S10: 4 out of 14 S11: 4 out of 14 S12: 8 out of 14 S13: 3 out of 14 S14: 7 out of 14 S15: 6 out of 14 S16: 2 out of 14 S17: 4 out of 10 + a highly lore based game S18: 8 out of 10 S19: 9 out of 10 S20: 10 out of 10 S21: 7 out of 10 + a highly lore based game + 2 DLCs

Overall: 137 out of 288

[333creolelady]

14 final scenes that inspired LOTBB, A thread:

1. "Black Sails” (2014) is a historical drama set in the early 18th century and serves as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." The series is about the adventures and political intrigues of Captain Flint and his crew of pirates in the Caribbean. John and Madi's relationship stood out to me. John is a former British naval officer and Madi is an enslaved woman and the daughter of an African leader. Just from their descriptions you can imagine how different they are. I found that some of the themes in the show overlap with my intentions for LOTBB. It’s not often you see a black woman on a boat with pirates on a tv show. However, every few years we see something different. As their personal connection deepens, it becomes entangled with the larger conflicts and ambitions that drive the narrative of the series. I chose two scenes for you those interested. Scene 1 and Scene 2.

2. “Becoming Jane” (2007) is a biographical drama about the early life of Jane Austen. The film explores Austen's relationship with Tom Lefroy. Their romance, which faces societal and economic challenges, serves as an inspirational story. The film blends historical facts with fictional elements to illustrate how Austen’s personal experiences influenced her novels. Jane and Tom have such good chemistry in this movie and I think this scene perfectly encompasses the tension between Roman and Jane, especially in those early days when their relationship was still undeclared and seemingly vague. I loved the literary element of the second scene so much that I found some way to work it into the story . Watch scene here & Here .

3. “Belle” (2013) is a historical drama based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of a British admiral. Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th-century England, Belle navigates racial and social issues while becoming involved in the fight against the slave trade. The film explores her personal and legal struggles, her relationship with a young lawyer, and her impact on the broader movement for justice. Belle (Dido) who was born in the West Indies like Jane. This movie was really popular here in the early days of tumblr. This scene was sweet to me as Belle learns how to manage her hair as a black woman in such a difficult and tumultuous time. I relate Jane with this character as she navigates Europe while being black and a woman. She learns the beauty of self care and begins to enjoy things like styling her hair and dressing up. Jane begins to accept that it’s okay to be perceived in her new life. Readers will see Jane in a new light in the last chapter, as she fully embraces her differences and even falls in love with them. Watch it here.

4. “Anna Karenina” (2012) revolves around Anna Karenina, a woman trapped in a loveless marriage who embarks on a passionate affair with Count Vronsky. This movie birthed MANY Aaron Taylor Johnson fans. I personally gravitated more towards Kitty and Levin in the story. Their story was allll about patience and growth. No did not mean never. This proposal scene is heart warming and a Hint for chapter 9. Watch the scene here.

5. “Chevalier” (2023) is a historical drama about the life of Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Set in 18th-century France, it portrays Bologne as a talented Black composer, violinist, and swordsman who rises to prominence despite facing racial prejudice. The film explores his achievements, personal struggles, and the impact of his extraordinary talents in a society that is both fascinated by and hostile toward him. Roman’s backstory is based heavily on this portrayal of Joseph Bologne. I recommend this movie to any of you period piece lovers out there. It’s the embodiment of “you have to work twice as hard to get half”. I also appreciate a nod towards the people of color who lived in Europe during this time. All too often movies like these use black people as props or decoration. However, Joseph’s mother introduces him to a whole new world that the “others” create for themselves when nobody is watching. Those who are “othered” have always made space for themselves—even during the darkest points in their history. Paris will be eye opening for Jane. This is a Hint for chapter 9. Watch the scene here.

6. Castlevania:Nocturne (2023) Edouard and Annette's relationship is marked by a deep bond rooted in shared experiences and mutual support. Edouard, a skilled and determined vampire hunter, is initially focused on his mission to vanquish the vampire threat. Annette, his close ally, provides both emotional and practical support. Their relationship evolves from professional partnership to a more personal and affectionate connection, with Annette often serving as a source of strength and encouragement for Edouard. Annette’s backstory helped shape Jane’s backstory, especially as she finds herself. Annette begins to understand that she is not defined by what she’s been through. She pushes past the labels placed onto her and finds her strength. Edouard uses his talents to disarm and survive much like Roman did at one point in his life. However, Edouard is on a mission and Annette joins the cause proficiently. Watch the scene here.

7. “Pride & Prejudice” (2005) a film adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel. It follows Elizabeth Bennet, a witty and independent young woman, as she navigates issues of class, marriage, and morality in 19th-century England. The story focuses on her relationship with the wealthy and initially aloof Mr. Darcy, exploring themes of first impressions, social expectations, and personal growth. I’m sure that most people have heard of this movie by now and it’s certainly a slow burner. However, my favorite part of the movie was Elizabeth asking for her Father’s blessing. A close second was Darcy’s second attempt at a proposal. It was so touching and it will be a hint for chapter 9. Watch the scene here.

8. “ Sense & Sensibility” (1995) is an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. The film focuses on the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, who must navigate love and hardship after their father's death leaves them in a financially vulnerable position. Elinor, who represents "sense," is practical and restrained, while Marianne, embodying "sensibility," is emotional and impulsive. As they contend with romantic entanglements and societal expectations, the story explores themes of love, class, and resilience. I found this movie touching and the element that I hoped to extract from the male lead was the patience of Colonel Brandon. This movie is age gap done right especially considering how much older the Colonel is than Marianne. Watch the scene here.

9. “ Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (2013) needs no introduction or explanation. There’s a good chance you’ve seen it or have seen enough clips to understand what this movie is about. It’s nothing short of devastating. However, the monkey mutts idea is an idea I pretty much stole (not without tweaking a few things of course). Do I feel bad about it? Considering some of the political affiliations/opinions that the directors and producers/actors have—-no I don’t. Watch the scene here.

10. “Annihilation” (2018) is a science fiction film based on Jeff VanderMeer's novel. The story follows a group of scientists led by biologist Lena, who enters a mysterious and rapidly expanding zone known as "The Shimmer." Inside, they encounter bizarre and deadly mutations affecting both flora and fauna, challenging their understanding of reality and human nature. As they delve deeper, they confront existential questions and personal traumas, leading to a gripping and surreal exploration of transformation and the unknown. The island in chapter 8 is inspired by this movie, especially the encounter with the Monkey’s. I highly recommend this sci-fi if you’re into aliens. Please proceed with caution with this scene as it has gore and the death of a character. Watch it here.

11. “ Damsel”( 2024) The talking dragon. Need I say more ? Watch the scene here.

12. “ Alien” (1979) directed by Ridley Scott, follows the crew of the spaceship Nostromo, who encounter a deadly extraterrestrial lifeform after investigating a distress signal from a remote planet. The alien creature, initially discovered as an egg, grows into a lethal being that picks off the crew members one by one. The film builds tension and horror as the remaining crew, including Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), must fight to survive and ultimately confront the alien. This scene is such an organic depiction of how a group interacts during an impossible situation. There’s frustration, fear, disbelief, anger, paranoia and exhaustion. I wanted the conflict for my story and I did that to the best of my abilities. Watch the scene here.

[legendarylibrarianwitch]

I finally saw Furiosa the movie and the 9 years wait was worth it! I have a lot of thoughts and feelings so here's my rambling and thanks to anyone reading it to the end. Was the prequel about Furiosa's past necessary ? No but it did provide a great backstory for her and it dwelved deeper into the Mad Max lore. Furiosa the movie isn't as great as Fury road but it's still worth a watch. There's no need for this movie to exceed it, I'm not sure it's even possible because Fury road was such a punch in the face kind of movie.

The actors did a great job, especially Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne who were very convincing as Furiosa.

The Furiosa/Jack relationship fucking destroyed me, I didn't expect it. Jack was such a great ally and kept supporting her no questions asked. Their relationship was subtle and a great exemple of "show don't tell". It was all about acts of friendship/love, about trust and hope. Furiosa in Fury road made such an impact on me when I was 19. I'm so glad to meet her again almost 10 years later in this younger version. She was the first female character I realized that wasn't defined by her feminity and held so much rage and hope in her. And it made her powerful and beautiful in my eyes. She helped me understand that you didn't need to be feminine as a woman. Furiosa the movie shows how resilient this character is, and seeing how far she comes from, damn I want to be tough as her. I loved the final confrontation and the dialogue about revenge between her and Chris Hemworth's character.

I was rooting for Furiosa throughout the movie and hoping she'll escape and have her happy ending in the Green Place with Jack even though I had already watched Fury road. This shows how much this movie was engaging and it makes a specific scene in Fury road even more more impactful (if you've seen it, you know which one I'm talking about). Now I need to rewatch Fury road but I'm not emotionally ready yet.

[cctinsleybaxter]

Furiosa thots!!! Putting under a readmore since it only just came out and i don't want to dissuade people from going. I find it kinda funny I find it kinda sad (I lowkey hated it but the war rig scene made me go stupid aaaa)

Stuff I liked:

Pacing and sound design. Was really skeptical of the 2+ hour runtime but it went by quick and plotting made sense

Costuming! Any time a practical effect or something textured is onscreen (which is not always. bodes well for the 'stuff i hated' section) is awesome; I don't care if it looks stupid or doesn't make sense it's a pleasure to have in class.

Arm backstory

This car

I went in thinking 'sigh well they're never going to beat robert de niro exploding that helicopter in midnight run' and then the war rig scene happened; I was going crazy!!! I loved it from beginning to end. I actually gasped because I'd noticed the grey mass of cloth being used as a flag at the first encampment and thought 'that's my favorite thing they've shown so far' (i was going to say prop but idk that it was practical); WELCOME BACK GREY CLOTH

Chris Hemsworth was somehow my favorite performance, I felt like he nailed the combination of goofy/ridiculous and scary/threatening

Stuff I didn't like:

George Miller uses bible allegories and imagery like he's the fucking Ultraman guy (Eiji Tsuburaya.) Why make posts about how fascinated you are by 'the japanese' using catholic imagery when we got that egregious crucifixion setup. Australians are culpable.

We don't learn anything about furiosa as a person that can't already be gleaned from Fury Road. I do think this does a pretty admirable job of storytelling for a prequel, we learn about what happened to Furiosa and we (sort of) get the character development that led her to take the wives with her, but I wish it'd been a brand new character's story

I like Anya Taylor-Joy and disagree with people saying this was a miscast because she can't act and is only suited to play models (misogyny takes many forms...), but I do think she's best in roles with a lot of speaking and micro-expressions, so playing a woman who barely speaks or emotes and will later become charlize theron just wasn't it. I'm also legitimately worried about how skinny she is rn

Stuff I hated:

This movie looked like absolute garbage in comparison to the rest of the mad maxes; even the ones I think are irredeemably bad. The combination of whatever frame rate they were using and the CGI was just. Ugh.

Scene transitions (so many fades to black) and montage (specifically thinking about the sped-up footage of them assembling the rig, Furiosa's Lion King dream sequence, and 'the horrors of war') were a hot mess

Framing dementus's anarcho-fascism as worse than immortan joe's regular fascism is such a misstep it casts a shadow over the whole movie. Yeah the hedonist with the working class accent who hates art and is too stupid/selfish to run a territory yadda yadda. It's very Stephen King villain, which would be fine!, but Fury Road had such good politics it just felt tired

You're telling me that a woman who spent her childhood kidnapped and threatened with rape (interesting that said threat only comes from individual extra bad guys btw; both evil men-dominated societies accept slavery and rape but condemn pedophilia) falls for her male coworker and mentor figure. You're telling me this is a compelling relationship between two victims of the same system. You're telling me you filmed it like a YA dystopian romance. You're telling me her backstory is that she showed a guy her most treasured and vulnerable possession, a seed from the fruit she plucked before being taken from eden and losing her innocence, and he bade her keep it by putting his big-ass yaoi hand over hers, and that's what solidified their trust. You're telling me she doesn't once speak to a woman who isn't her mom. Can we die? Can we go to the wasteland?

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

APARTMENT 7A (2024)

Starring Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess, Kevin McNally, Marli Siu, Rosy McEwen, Amy Leeson, Scott Hume, Andrew Buchan, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Rosy McEwen, Nikkita Chadha, Julia Westcott-Hutton, James Swanton, Brooke Walter, Hannah Morley, Patrick Lyster, Dylan Baldwin , Mellanie Hubert, Anton Blake Horowitz and Eva-Marie Kung.

Screenplay by Natalie Erika James & Christian White and Skylar James.

Directed by Natalie Erika James.

Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 104 minutes. Rated R.

There have been a ton of horror films over the years that have ripped off Roman Polanski’s classic 1968 horror film Rosemary’s Baby (I’ve seen at least two which stole scenes from it in just the last few months), so it is kind of a surprise that it has taken so long for an official reboot of the movie.

Apartment 7A is not a remake of Rosemary’s Baby – it’s actually a prequel – but the film is based on Ira Levin’s classic novel (as was the 1968 film) and has a very similar storyline and old-fashioned style to the original. In fact, it seems that the movie was originally conceived as a remake as written by Skylar James, but when that project didn’t take off, writer/director Natalie Erika James reconceptualized the story to show the happenings in the Bramford, a mysterious old apartment building in New York. (As with Rosemary’s Baby, the Bramford is filmed in the famous Dakota on Central Park West in the Upper West Side.)

In fact, the makers of Apartment 7A are being a bit coy about the connection, not really pushing the fact that it is a part of the Rosemary’s Baby story, particularly not in its very generic sounding title.

However the lead character Terry Gionoffrio did appear, briefly, in the Rosemary’s Baby novel and film. This film is that woman’s backstory. (I won’t go into details as to how she fits into the original storyline, because that could be considered a bit of a spoiler for Apartment 7A.)

The basics of horror cinema have certainly changed a whole hell of a lot since Rosemary was released in 1968, and interestingly Apartment 7A sort of settles into the old-fashioned, more measured, spooky vibe of its predecessor. Which makes the film rather interesting, if occasionally a bit slow-paced for modern audiences.

We meet Terry (Julia Garner) as an aspiring Broadway dancer. During a performance, she badly injures her foot, leading her to have to stop her promising career for a period of months. (The accident becomes so well known that on Broadway she is broadly referred to as “the girl who fell.”) She tries to hurry herself back to work before she is ready by using painkillers, eventually becoming addicted to the pills.

After a particularly humiliating audition, Terry follows the producer Alan Marchand (Jim Sturgess) to his home at the Bramford. When she is unable to get through to him, she passes out due to her drug use. She is brought in the building by a sweet-seeming older couple named Roman and Minnie Castavet (Kevin McNally and Dianne Wiest), who quickly offer to put Terry up in an apartment that they own. Of course, if you have seen Rosemary’s Baby, you know that the Castavets have ulterior motives. (Wiest, in particular, does a stunning job of recreating the character as played by Ruth Gordon in the original. Close your eyes and you may think it was the same actress.)

In fact, their plans for Terry are very similar to their later plans with Rosemary. In fact, according to this storyline, the satanist residents of the Bramford have tried similar acts several times with multiple women.

None of it is completely surprising – if you are familiar with the original story, you have a pretty good idea how it will all end – but Apartment 7A is still an interesting chapter of the tale.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: September 19, 2024.