#would love another Puss film like this though

[agentnico]

Top 10 Worst Movies of 2024

Ah shit, here we go again. It’s that time of year again and goodness what a mediocre movie year 2024 has been. Even the decent ones as a majority are not ones I believe will stand the test of time (sorry for the overt pessimism). Nevertheless though, I believe I did manage to avoid a lot of the cinematic damage this year, as there are many films I’ve heard negative responses of that I have not seen. Some of those include Madame Web, Venom: The Last Dance, Kraven the Hunter, Borderlands, Rebel Moon - Part Two and many more. Also wanted to shout out Red One as it’s a movie I started but gave up on an hour in as I got bored. However due to not finishing it didn’t seem fair to have it on this list, as for all I know that movie features a Primal Fear level of an ending that would have changed my life forever. Heck, guess we’ll never know. Anyway, there are films I did have the misfortune of coming across this year, and these are 10 of the worst, in my humblest of opinions…

10) MEGALOPOLIS - “So go back to da club” maybe one of the unintentionally best line readings in cinema history, but aside from that this passion project from Francis Ford Coppola is a total mess. It most certainly is unique, but for all the wrong reasons. Maybe Coppola needs to smoke less whilst making his movies.

9) MOANA 2 - How far I won’t go to see another unnecessary Disney sequel at the cinema. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is a box office juggernaut, but it also a project that so obviously was meant to be a TV series and turned into a movie last minute so that the studio could capitalise on an additional pay-check. The result is a sequel that is in every aspect worse than its predecessor, from the music to the story to the characters… you’re not welcome.

8) GLADIATOR 2 - Been there done that. Paul Mescal nowhere as entertaining as Russell Crowe was. Hans Zimmer’s score is missed big time. The story is essentially a copy of the first? Sharks in the Colosseum was fun. Denzel Washington is the only saving grace.

7) KUNG FU PANDA 4 - Unlike Puss in Boots where the wait for the sequel was more than worth it, Kung Fu Panda 4 feels as if the franchise may have run its course and the writers have simply ran out of ideas. There’s nothing new here, simply retreading old territory. I’m sure if you show it to your kids they’ll probably have a good time. Probably. Or maybe just show them the first three films instead. That “Hit Me Baby One More Time” cover though - hell yeah! Also, can we please petition to stop Awkwafina from appearing in every new animated movie?

6) FLY ME TO THE MOON - Is it a comedy? Is it a romance? Is it a space exploration epic? No clue, nor does the movie know it either. Channing Tatum is trying to find his inner Rock Hudson, and legends say he’s still searching for him to this day. The script feels like it had been written by AI, and if this is all AI has to offer then why the hell are we pursuing it in the first place??

5) WOLFS/THE INSTIGATORS - Kind of cheating here by including two films in one, but both these action comedy thrillers from Apple gave me the exact same feels, or lack of. Ironically the collective cast of these two features an Ocean’s Eleven reunion, however all four of them look so tired and deflated in these roles, evidently in it just for the paycheck. These are the types of films where you expect some fun bickering and skullduggery from its stars, yet here the jokes are barely chuckle worthy.

4) BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE - Every little thing is not going to be alright. For a very special individual this is a very unspecial biopic. Bob Marley is well known legend and icon, and the movie sets out to present him as such, yet it’s done in such a banal and messy way. The film zeroes in on pivotal events that occurred in Marley’s life between 1976 and 1978 however in the context of the movie they lack and real energy or impact. It’s all quite vanilla and under-cooked, and feels like a disrespect towards the man with one life and one destiny.

3) UNFROSTED - Honestly, I expected nothing less from Jerry Seinfeld. It’s easily the movie I most enjoyed on this list. There’s high Cat in the Hat level colourful energy to this stupidity. In no way a good movie, but that Mad Men reference was fantastic!

2) BROTHERS - I was wondering why this movie was so bad as I was watching it. Then I checked on IMDb that Brothers’ screenplay was written by Etan Cohen, who’s responsible for that Holmes & Watson parody with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly from a few years back. It’s all beginning to make sense now! But this movie’s biggest sin is that it has put a stain on Brendan Fraser’s Brenaissance!

1)DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS - While his brother Joel is out making such masterpieces like Tragedy of Macbeth with Denzel, Ethan has decided to go back to his roots and make a road trip movie that is infused with the 80s/90s goofy feel to it, and he even brings back the briefcase from Fargo! Or from No Country for Old Men. Or The Big Lebowski. Or Hail Caesar!. Pretty sure Brad Pitt also seeks a briefcase full of cash in Burn After Reading…. Honestly what is it with the Coens and their briefcases!? Regardless, this should have had all the charm of the previous Coen brothers outings, but unfortunately this is by far the biggest disappointment I experienced in a cinema this year. Unfunny jokes, boring overdone story, over-the-top annoying performances (Margaret Qualley as fast talking Jamie with a cringe-inducing accent twang gets extremely overbearing by the end of the movie), sloppy editing and transitions that belong in a Harold and Kumar flick…. this features all the bad tropes of a stinker. Drive-Away Dolls - a real no cunt-ry for old men I tell ya.

[imthepunchlord]

Heya! What's your opnion about kung Fu Panda? Personally, I liked more the effects and drawings then the ACTUAL history, I mean, it's STUNNING.

I love Kung Fu Panda.

Talk about a "don't judge a book by it's cover movie" as no one was expecting much from it, but it was incredibly deep, actually funny, and had amazing martial arts action that took full advantage of it being animated films. And the KFP series is visually stunning. The writing is solid, the jokes typically land and are funny, and they do have good words of wisdom to offer and share. It's a very encouraging and uplifting series.

Another thing to love is that KFP is up there with AtLA where occasionally, I come across thesis post of someone realizing something about these movies to talk about, and it's always fascinating to read and it's cool to realize these facts. Like, someone realized that the 3 movies of KFP cover arcs tied to body, mind, and spirit.

This is also a solid trilogy that does have a believable path for Po in each film, from becoming the Dragon Warrior, to finding his inner peace, and learning to become a teacher. Not many trilogies can do well having a solid path for their leads to warrant 3 films, but Dreamworks did a good job with these films.

@xiranjayzhao did a youtube video talking about KFP to talk about Chinese culture in the film as well as the philosophical inspiration; until she talked about it, I didn't realize the Confucianism vs Daoism that was in the film between Shifu and Oogway.

I really recommend giving it a watch.

I was surprised to learn that there will be a KFP 4, but I am optimistic for it. For the most part, Dreamworks is really good at sequels, that arguably their sequels will be superior to the previous film. Like, Puss in Boots The Last Wish was superior to the first Puss in Boots film.

KFP 2 I think is the best of the KFP movies (but that is me). I think they had the best villain, with Lord Shen being visually stunning and actually a little funny and intimidating. Loved Po's arc for his inner peace, and man, this film always makes me cry.

So KFP 4 I will be expecting to be a solid film. I don't know what else they can do or what would be next but I'm intrigued to see what they'll do. Though I am still waiting and hoping to see Megamind 2 and Rise of the Guardians 2. Please Dreamworks. I want to see more of them too. Please.

Either way, love love love KFP. If no one has watched them yet they are missing out. And thanks to this ask I'm going to have to go and rewatch the movies soon as it's been a while and they are so good.

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Shrek Forever After

Alas, we've reached the end of our Shrek Saga (at least for now, but my Dreamworks watch will be over way before Shrek 5 comes out so shhh). So, how do we cap off Dreamworks' most successful and well-known franchise? Well...

Bored with how mundane his life has become, Shrek strikes a deal with the shifty Rumpelstiltskin to have a day where he can go back to the old ogre lifestyle he used to have before he met Fiona, in exchange for a single day of his life, which just so happens to be the day he was born. So Shrek emerges in a timeline where he never existed, where he and Donkey never met, where he never saved Fiona from the tower, and where Rumpelstiltskin rules Far Far Away. Now Shrek has to find a way to undo the deal before he disappears forever. Sound like a complicated plot with way too much going on in it? Well, that's because it is.

So yeah there's like... a thousand plot threads happening here, from Shrek realizing he gave up the good life he had, to him trying to get Fiona to fall in love with him again, to Fiona leading a resistance of other ogres against Rumpel, to Rumpel trying to apprehend Shrek so he can stay in power, and that's not even mentioning side characters like Donkey and Puss who get sidelined in this movie so bad it's not even funny. There's just... way too much happening here and none of it feels like it has the focus that it should. As a result, almost everything feels rushed as its packed into this movie's runtime, and the emotions the plot clearly wants you to feel... just aren't really there.

Something else that isn't really there is the humor. This movie definitely skews toward a younger audience than the previous three, with much more silly puns and grossout humor than whitty quips and clever references. I'd be willing to forgive that if the characters were enjoyable here, but... they just aren't?

This is Shrek at his worst; I think his biggest problem is he's a lot dumber here than he ever has been before, guilliable enough to fall for the obvious bad deal Rumpel sets him up with, too oblivious to read the room when it comes to his interactions with this timeline's Fiona, just... nowhere near as sharply clever as we're used to him being. The same can be said about the other returning characters too, though I will say Fiona is actually pretty cool here. Like I said, she leads a resistance, and we get to see the badass qualities we saw of her in the first movie really come back around here in full force. As for the new characters, I liked the ogres in Fiona's resistance, but like everything else, they get nowhere near enough focus and we don't really get to know them as much as I would have liked to.

Then, we have our villain, Rumpelstilskin who is... ok. He's very over the top, very silly and unhinged, power hungry and egotistical. And yet, say it with me again kids, I feel like we don't get enough time to focus on him! That's really the biggest problem with this movie as a whole. It's way too ambitious to the point that it seems fundamentally confused about what it wants to be. It has major structural and pacing problems that bring the entire package down a lot. I wanted to like this movie, but idk, I just... couldn't, really. And that's a bummer.

Something I will praise this movie for though, is it's animation. While this is far from the best Shrek film, this is by far the best looking Shrek. They've really mastered these character designs and textures, as well as how this world is supposed to look and feel. The music is also pretty good, with some fun choices for pop songs and some really nice pieces in the score.

So yeah, Shrek Forever After is... certainly a movie that Dreamworks made. I think I said this about another movie awhile back, can't remember which one, but this film really is trying to be a jack of all trades (humor, emotions, character development, etc) and proves to be a master of none. We hate to see our Lord and Savior Shrek go out on such a mid note, but eh, I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes.

Overall Rating: 5/10

Verdict: Do the roar

Previous Review (How To Train Your Dragon)

Next Review (Megamind)

[kestalsblog]

Puss in Boots Thoughts

I enjoyed Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Some thoughts below, though I never saw the other Puss in Boots movies. (Contains lots of spoilers).

-It made so much since for Perrito's character type to be a dog. One of the best things about dogs is how they live in the moment. They're always so joyous when they're around their loved ones, so making him a scruffy little dog was the best choice.

-Death was a great character, alarmingly chilling for a "kid's movie." The whistling was a good touch too, and my favorite line of his was about how he's not speaking metaphorically, poetically, etc. Death doesn't always need to be a metaphor. It's scary enough as is, and his presence was felt throughout the whole film.

-I wondered how Kitty knew Puss didn't show up to the wedding if she didn't either. Was that answered in another movie, or was she lying to save face and make him feel better? Did she just hear he hadn't shown up? I wasn't sure, but I overall liked their dynamic. It felt surprisingly mature and developed.

-Perrito's backstory (and the way it was told) really surprised me. This honestly felt like the darkest part of the movie to me. Death is universal, but what happened to Perrito isn't. I felt that on some level he knew the truth of what had happened to him - hence his insistence on being a therapy dog, "it's okay to be sad," etc., but that didn't stop him from loving the family/owners that tried to kill him. That relationship is probably one of the most complicated in the movie.

-Goldi's story felt the most predictable to me, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it and feeling a little teary over the rescue of Baby Bear even though I knew where it was headed. I liked her design too.

-Overall, I think the plot line of the whole movie was pretty predictable, but hey, it's Puss in Boots. One thing that surprised me was I thought Puss and Kitty would agree to give the wish to Perrito at the end, the "one who deserved it most" kind of thing. But that never came up, and Perrito was content without the wish till the end.

-Another aspect that surprised me was Horner staying despicable to the end, and his story seemed to be "some people can't be redeemed." I like this concept for a kid's movie. As heart-warming as the thought that all people have good inside and can "see the light" to be "morally saved" is, I've never been sure how realistic that is. Some people are megalomaniacs, just genuinely bad people. It doesn't mean they're the incarnations of evil, but it does often mean they're going to use the wish for themselves no matter what.

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Nimona

or How to Not Worry & Channel Your Inner Limp Bizkit

In the year before 2020, it was announced that Blue Sky Studios was adapting ND Stevenson's hit graphic novel. Everything changed though when Disney was on that bullshit post-Fox buyout, where to our surprise Blue Sky and Nimona would be shut down. The latter's cancellation hit especially hard understanding it was almost finished anyways, but that's Disney for you. Long as you don't say gay and give 'em your money, they'll stay out of the way. Leave it to Netflix to let the film rebound from Super Hell and finally make it to both the big and small screen; makes you forget they're garbage at anything else. All in all, Blue Sky had the last laugh one more time but was Nimona able to bring the flavorful fireworks or did we get a weak flare that fumbled before the 4th of July?

Well, I will declare now that the film... is fun. If it wasn't fun, that means Disney made it and would remake it live-action around 2040. This film is a ride-or-die by its titular protagonist and lads, I can't lie...

PROTECT. THIS. GODDAMN. SMILE.

Nimona is both a bundle of chaotic joy and an entity that deserved far better. She's like the manifestation of Limp Bizkit, 2000s punk, and B-tier shitposting rolled into an unapologetic but deeply frustrated rebel. I've seen naysayers before release going, "She's another attitude girl archetype" and like no. She has that raw gremlin bastard energy, but she's never an annoying bitch and that's big difference. The best thing is that you're with Ballister in getting to know her; it surprisingly hard for folk to be accepting of somebody harmless who's more comfortable with themselves than anyone lets on. She's not a character I felt forced to sympathize with nor was intrusive on Ballister's story. She's not exactly the focus, but she earned being the star of this movie.

I got major Haruhi and Kyon vibes from their dynamic and it's great

Plotwise, there's a good flow to it all that makes this rewatchable thrill. If there's one major gripe I have is that while Nimona and Ballister have a great dynamic, there's a part in the 2nd act involving them and the villain that was a bit rushed. I will admit to not have read the book, but while I do know the tone is different given they were probably going for an all age rating, I say things didn't feel too compromised. My mind is blown enough that we got an animated kids movie with two, COUNT 'EM TWO, openly queer protagonists. No winks and nudges towards Ballister being gay, no scatterbrained subtlety on Nimona's genderfluid existence, and thank balls their story exists as more than being a preachy memoir. These two get to just BE and live to go on a crime spree justice adventure. That is what I've wanted for longer than any of you think and this delivered. Any criticisms I could have I felt was diluted by the actual fun this was.

And if you've seen Iron Giant, you probably will love this movie

To conclude, I am wondering of a timeline where this wasn't originally cancelled and Blue Sky didn't get axed. This was as much their movie as it is Annapurna and DNEG who helped finish it. People said it looked "unfinished" but then again, given the situation I can cut it some slack because it still plays out gorgeously. Like you know Blue Sky got most of it done, but you think about the changes in direction and ponder if this was the best outcome for the film. It is poetic though, a phoenix forced to burn out but gets to revive as a stronger, if not more so, being that people finally get to see. For Nate, this is undoubtedly a dream come true. As for me, not since Puss in Boots The Last Wish have I been delighted to call this a...

9/10 ABSOLUTE BANGER

[adamwatchesmovies]

Shrek: Forever After (2010)

After Shrek the Third, I suspect many didn't even bother with Shrek Forever After but this final instalment in the series ties up the franchise in a pleasant, satisfying way. It’s not on the level of the first two. What it does well, however, does make it worth seeing.

Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) has grown weary of his present situation. The monotony of home life with Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and the three ogre children make him pine for the days when he was a “real ogre”. When Shrek meets Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), the imp tricks him into signing a contract that alters the past. In the new present, Shrek never rescued Fiona and Rumpel rules the kingdom of Far Far Away.

This story isn’t all that original. It’s yet another take on It’s a Wonderful Life. It still works. The previous film introduced many ideas that would’ve hampered any conventional sequel. The number of magical creatures to keep track of ballooned with the introduction of the three ogre children - essentially non-characters -, Shrek regressed emotionally by going back to his swamp and no one wanted more of Arthur or Merlin (neither of which are even mentioned in Shrek 4). Putting Shrek in a situation where he’s all alone is a good move. He and the audience get back some of that magic from the first movie when Smash Mouth’s All Star played and the green-skinned terror was doing whatever he wanted. Then, we remember the growth we’ve experienced since that first adventure and want it back.

A big part of this film's success comes from Rumpelstiltskin. The character is hilarious. Walt Dorn's voice tells you everything you need to know about him instantly, and his mannerisms make him a great, memorable - and original - foe. Every time he’s on-screen, he steals the show. He’s a great addition to the series, much more than the numerous ogres introduced - part of a resistance against Rumpelstilskin's dominion. They feel like a cheat because they come out of nowhere. It isn’t as though previous movies dealt with other ogres besides Shrek. How would him not being born make them spontaneously appear?

The previous chapter made it clear the well of jokes at the expense of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and nursery rhymes had dried up. Well, almost. This film shows us two stories we haven't seen before: Rumpelstiltskin and the Pied Piper. Those aren't enough to carry an entire 93-minute running time, which is why the bulk of the jokes offered come from the franchise itself. We see an alternate version of Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) who, from lack of adventuring - has become fat and domesticated. Shrek meets Donkey (Eddie Murphy) for the first time again but now, Shrek is the clingy one. The ogre must get Fiona to fall in love with him, which causes us and the character to remember how well the love plot was executed in Shrek. At this point, it feels right to use nostalgia as a tool and our expectations being turned on their heads make for clever gags.

Shrek Forever After doesn’t quite have the same magic as the first two movies. The story isn’t as inspired, the musical choices don’t hit the mark the way they used to. By focusing on nostalgia and the love story, it makes up for these flaws. Although this is a more serious story than we’ve seen before, the laughs come consistently. It’s a fitting conclusion the fans will be pleased with. (October 4, 2019)

[profblahson]

On that Puss in Boots brainrot, so here’s a list nobody asked for that I can’t get out of my brain

Classical Music I think characters would appreciate for one reason or another, usually because of the story or impetus behind its writing or meaning, in an increasingly longer title

Disclosure: these are just my thoughts. Feel free to comment, reblog, add, discuss! I’m just some dude on the Internet talking about fictional characters, have fun with it!

Under a cut cuz it’s long and there’s a lot of video links

My goal was to explore the music a bit more, get into the reasoning behind its existence, and how that story might play into why I think these characters would appreciate to it. (Sometimes, though, it’s a bit more simple than that)

Gotta start with our favorite, fearless Hero

Puss

“Heroic�� Polonaise in Ab, Frederic Chopin

You’ve probably heard this one before, as it’s one of Chopin’s most popular works. Some research, however, I found that Chopin apparently didn’t like attaching descriptive titles to his work - “Heroic” was added by the modern listeners and music historians. The piece was written during the revolutions of 1842, and Chopin’s love at the time, Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil - known by her pen name George Sand - wrote that the piece had the energy and passion needed for the French Revolution. It seems their correspondence was a part of why it gained the name “Heroic” later in life.

While initially I chose this piece because “haha heroic for the hero,” I found I had a “wait a minute” moment reading about how the name was added later on. If having a title and being perceived a certain way doesn’t describe this cat (at least, for most of the film), then I watched the movie wrong. But the energy and vigor with which it clearly gets performed with, the emotional weight it can carry for so many people, during a time of political upheaval…I think Puss would resonate with that, being a Robin Hood himself.

Death

I have to talk about my boyfriend my boyfriend next, of course, being the reason for Puss’ journey in the first place.

Piano Trio No 2 in e, Dmitri Shostakovich

(This is likely the most difficult piece to listen to and talk about, tonally and emotionally. It’s incredibly dark. I’ve linked the fourth movement, because it beautifully synthesizes all the themes and ideas from the previous three, but if you have the time and spoons to spare I highly recommend listening to the entire composition start to finish.)

I’ve actually mentioned this piece specifically in this context on my blog before, but now I can elaborate a bit more. Shostakovich was heavily scrutinized by Stalin’s regime, and his works and performances were subject to the whims of the government for most of his life and beyond. He often had to write as carefully as he could so as to appear to be aligned with those in power, but often would write using themes and motifs counter to what the government would have liked.

The Piano Trio No 2 in e was part dedicated to Shostakovich’s friend and mentor, Ivan Sollertinsky - who passed away during the writing of the piece -, and part dedicated to the Jewish prisoners of war during WWII. Apparently, Shostakovich heard they were made to dig their own graves, and then dance on them. The fourth movement I linked makes the most clear use of a Yiddish-sounding theme in the violin, and the tormented nature of the composition is undeniable. As a character who clearly values life, I feel Death would appreciate the dedications and thought behind the piece, but also enjoy how beautifully macabre it sounds.

Kitty

Kitty was difficult for me, to be honest. Trying to find something that captures her arc is tricky, as I don’t personally know of much music that discusses trust, both in general, and the way she experiences it. But I do think she has a lot of pride in herself as a strong individual, and has pride in her work, which is why I went with

Danzon No 2, Arturo Marquez

The Danzon is a partner dance that developed from the Habanera, and is an active musical form in Mexico today. Marquez’s Danzon No 2 takes this to the next level, in a high energy and blistering work that will leave you humming it for hours. This piece is important as a modern work, as its popularity brought about not only greater respect for Mexican composers, but caused people (read: Western classical musicians) to explore and perform more Hispanic literature, especially Marquez’s. This is also the only piece on this list by a living composer, premiered in 1994.

Being of Hispanic descent, I felt Kitty would find pride in her nation’s music and dances becoming popular across the world due to the popularity of this piece. We also know this cat likes to dance, and it’s incredibly difficult to resist when listening to it.

Perrito

Nimrod, from Enigma Variations, Edward Elgar

The Enigma Variations are small vignettes written for Elgar’s friends. The most recognizable and known of the Variations, Nimrod is an absolutely gorgeous piece of music. The title “Nimrod” is a play on words - the friend in question’s name was Jaeger; Jaeger means “Hunter” in German; Nimrod was a biblical hunter of fame.

Jaeger was not only a friend, but Elgar’s publisher. He would offer advice and helped Elgar rework sections of music here and there. Jaeger’s presence as a confidant is shown in the slow moving lines, reflecting on years of support. If Perrito doesn’t embody dedicated friendship, support, and love in this way, then again - I must have watched the movie wrong. He learns to sit and listen through his time with Puss and Kitty, and this movement almost forces you to take a moment and really sit, listen, and appreciate what you’re hearing.

Goldi

Symphony No 1 in c, Johannes Brahms

I literally cannot think of a better “just right” story in music history than this piece. Brahms was known for destroying his manuscripts of works and sketches he didn’t approve of - he famously ached and pained over writing his first symphony, despite having already solidified himself as a successful composer. He was afraid of the looming shadow of Beethoven, who he had already been compared to by audiences and critics. Some records say it took 14 - others upwards of 21 - years for him to finish this first symphony, and even still he trialed it before publishing.

It seems things ended “just right” for this piece, after all. It was received positively, and spurred him on to compose his second symphony in about a year after the first. Music historians have pointed to this as a shift in the romantic symphonic style. While comparisons to Beethoven were still made (Brahms apparently being frustrated by this - not because of them, but because he felt it was obvious), Brahms had carved his own path of symphonic writing.

Okay I’m done here that’s as far as I got

If you made it down to here, congratulations! This idea came about because, uh, I thought it’d be fun! It gave me a chance to research a bit, and it was fun to try and think of music these characters that I can’t stop rotating in my head would appreciate.

Music is so universal, you could probably find a reason in any piece to give it to anyone, but that’s also what makes it so great. I am by no means an authority, and if you read all this way, feel free to let me know what you think!

Thanks for your time.

[smeemyselfandi]

Every movie of 2022 I’ve seen till  3/31/2023 ranked best to worst

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once- A Masterpiece. So creative and interesting. It had me glued to the screen.

2. Guillermo Del Toro's Pinnocchio- Pinnocchio been told many times before but this somehow brought a great retelling of it.

3. Tar- In my opinion has the best performance of the year.

4. The Northman- This is my favorite Robert Eggers film so far.

5. The Banshees of Inisherin- Really liked it but felt like something was missing and I don't know what.

6. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish- Wasn't a masterpiece as people say but still a lot of fun.

7. Bones and All- Surprised this made the list so high but it was probably the best "horror" film of the year.

8. The Batman- Best Portrayal of Batman but a bit too long and slow.

9. Babylon- Best scene of the year probably.

10. Avatar: The Way of Water- I enjoyed it way more than I thought but it still had problems.

11. Scream- 2nd best Scream. But still not close to the original but A for effort.

12. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever- The lead was the problem but mostly everything else was fine.

13. The Whale- Acting performance is great but a bit cheesey for me.

14. Turning Red- Fun family film. Nothing special

15. White Noise- It's weird but I really liked some of it and some not so much.

16. Hustle- A basic sports story but doesn't make it bad.

17. Thor: Love and Thunder- I'm surprised I liked this more than most people but I thought it was funny and fun.

18. Jackass Forever- Not as good as the others but is expected cause of their age.

19. Glass Onion- A bit stupid but I think that's the point? Still a lot of fun scenes.

20. Prey- I wanted to love this but was a bit bored.

21. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness- I was so hyped for this and so disappointed. Still not bad though.

22. Men- Freaky movie. A bit too freaky for me.

23. The Son- Suprised by the bad reviews. I thought this was fine.

24. The Bob's Burgers Movie- Just felt like another episode instead of a big epic movie.

25. Lightyear- Basic as basic can be and they ruin a character.

26. Wendell and Wild- Wanted to love this but the characters were too bland.

27. Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers- Funny at the start but gets old after a while.

28. Clerks 3- Tried to be too emotional instead of funny.

29. The Greatest Beer Run Ever- It's fine but I barely remember it.

30. Woooooooo! Becoming Ric Flair- If you seen any Flair doc then this is pretty much what you've seen.

31. Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons- Robin was better than I thought but another forgettable DC animated film.

32. Barbarian- Comedy horror or serious horror. Pick one cause this didn't work for me.

33. X- Basic horror. Nothing new or special.

34. Nope- So dissappointing. Hated most of the characters and felt the thing in the sky was dissappointing.

35. Fresh- Going in blind as possible might help but the stupid poster spoils it.

36. Black Adam- So many characters wasted to feed The Rock ego.

37. Sonic the Hedgehog 2- Better than the first I guess but still a crappy adaptation.

38. Morbius- I didn't hate this as much as others but it was still pretty crappy.

39. Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse- The Super Hero Girls are boring and not enough Multiverse.

40. Smile- Thought it would be a fun horror but I felt it was trying too hard to have a message then to have fun with the silly plot.

41. Texas Chainsaw Massacre- Just stop. You're almost ruining the first which was great.

[dessa-banks]

Alright, the gifsets will come later, but for recs... I think I'm just gonna list everything I watched this year and if I liked it or not, and you can decide :] Under the cut bc it's a long list!

In order of when I first watched them this year, with a (!) if I watched it for the first time this year:

(!) The Second Coming (2003). A two-part miniseries that I'm counting as a film because it's film-length and is on Letterboxd. It stars Christopher Eccleston and Lesley Sharp and is a drama about the second coming of God, except he decides to appear in the north of England. Absolute banger, Christopher Eccleston ate this role up. 4.5/5

The Lair of the White Worm (1988). My second favourite film ever, I watched it a few times this year. It's a horror comedy about snakes and Pagan gods, and stars Peter Capaldi and Hugh Grant being extremely queercoded. 5/5

Revengers Tragedy (2002). Another Christopher Eccleston film, this time an adaptation of the play The Revenger's Tragedy, except it's set in post-apocalyptic Liverpool. I cannot in good faith recommend watching it, and if you do you should check Does The Dog Die first, but it's insane and great. 4/5

(!) Equals (2015). Dystopian romance with Kristen Stewart (the dystopia in question being a world where humans have been genetically modified to remove emotions) but it's boring and doesn't fully commit to any one allegory or metaphor, so it's just weak. I do respect that it's pretty different from a typical blockbuster, though - you can tell there was a vision behind it. 2/5

(!) Pacific Rim (2013). Not much to say, this is a banger. Wettest film in existence, and being a Torchwood fan I always love Burn Gorman's acting. 4/5

Power Rangers (2017). Long-time followers will know that this has consistently been one of my favourite films since it was released, and that didn't change this year. Go in without any preconceptions of what this will be, especially any preconceptions based on the rest of the franchise, and you'll have a great time. Also, RJ Cyler plays one of the most realistic autistic characters I've ever seen. 5/5

(!) Scoop (2024). A dramatisation of how Prince Andrew (of the British monarchy) ended up getting exposed for doing Very Bad Things, with Billie Piper playing the lead role. I think if I watched it again I'd probably rate it slightly lower, but it's solid! 4.5/5

Charlie's Angels (2019). Reboot (/sequel thing?) of the classic series and film, with Ella Balinska, Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Scott. They're an incredible trio, and they do their best with this really cheesy script. Good fun to turn your brain off to. I love women. 4/5

(!) The Old Guard (2020). Fun action film about immortal people. It's good, if not very memorable. 3.5/5

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022). I started this up because I was wondering if it was as good as I remembered it being, and the answer was "yes, but it will make you [REDACTED]". Unrated for personal reasons, but usually would be 5/5.

(!) Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). This is a stupid spy thriller with deep flaws that I unfortunately love to absolute bits. Taron Egerton is great as the main character and it doesn't take itself seriously at all, which I love. 4.5/5

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). The YA (??) books this is based on were my favourites as a kid, and this film does the job. It's about three siblings who keep getting hunted by a distant relative in order to take their inherited fortune. I've always wondered why they didn't make more of these films, though, considering all the things this sets up - it only adapts the first three books out of 13. Also, Liam Aiken looks exactly like a kid I knew in secondary school. 3.5/5

(!) Killer Sofa (2019). God I fucking love stupid films!! The title says it all, really. It's about a recliner that kills people. Incredible, if kinda slow. 4.5/5

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001). This is one of my favourite films for how bonkers insane it is. Jesus Christ himself has returned - but that's not the important part, because there's lesbian-killing vampires that he has to hunt! It's ridiculously low-budget but there's genuine heart behind it all, and it's hysterically funny. Shoutout to the director, Lee Demarbre, who was very lovely when I talked to him over email recently. 5/5

(!) The Velocipastor (2018). He's a priest that turns into a dinosaur. What else can I say. 4/5

Holy Hell (2016). A fun fact about me is that cults are one of my special interests, and to steal a phrase from the Youtuber Paper Will, this documentary is the cult enthusiast's equivalent of a tornado hunter's video from inside a tornado. It's made up of 20 years of footage from an ex-member of the cult Buddhafield, Will Allen, plus interviews from survivors. It makes me cry every time I watch it, and does a great job of showing how gradual the shift from new religious movement to cult can be. Just don't look at the top Letterboxd reviews if you're passionate about compassion towards cult survivors - they're full of victim shaming. 4.5/5

(!) K-9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend (1981). This is a little-known Doctor Who spinoff starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and I'm counting it as a film despite it being a pilot TV episode because it's on Letterboxd and the rest of the series never got made. It's essentially a typical 80s British detective show except with a robot dog and, inexplicably, attempted human sacrifice. Probably not that good if you don't like (or aren't familiar with) Sarah Jane Smith. 4/5

And that's it!! 17 films, nine watched for the first time. Sorry this was so long, I wanted to give each film its due respect :] If you've read this whole thing, you should probably follow me on Letterboxd to see more of my bad opinions on films!

In 2024 (obviously not including the next couple of weeks) I watched 17 unique films, nine of which I hadn't seen before. I'm pretty happy with this :]

[the-light-of-animation]

Oh WOW Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was freaking awesome!

I’m so happy this film eventually got made, I’m curious how different it is to when it was originally set to be made all those years ago. Either way it turned out absolutely incredible, really really loved it. I had only seen an image from it but it looked like the animation was a lot simpler than the previous Shrek films, kind of reminding me of The Croods: A New Age (but that turned out gorgeous regardless of the different, less detail focused? style that DWA did so well). And this was film was the same, holy fucking shit the style this film had was amazing, the creativeness and everything was so well designed. It was really different to anything I expected and worked so well with a Puss in Boots story.

Speaking of the story, great freaking story. I was really surprised it was a sequel to the Shrek films and not another prequel, I suppose the one downside to the new animation style is that Puss looked so much younger and at the beginning I thought it was actually a prequel to the first Puss film. But yeah the whole nine lives story and a bunch of characters trying to get the wish was really great, really fun. The humor of this film was so good too. And Puss’ fear of death was done in a really chilling way

And I always loved the Shrek series and their use of Fairy Tales and this film did it in plenty! They truly just went fucking ham on the Fairy Tale stuff hahah. It was so fun to see all of it.

Loved Perrito as well, Harvey Guillén was so good. Was surprised by a lot of the characters and voice actors to be honest. John Mulaney was instantly recognizable and great to hear. Oh and the Cricket was fantastic, so freaking funny! Goldilocks and her family were a really fun and heartfelt part of the story too. And I LOVED those two Serpent Sisters they gave me such unbelievable Tuff & Ruff vibes that it almost felt like it was them hahah. And I love them so much so it was perfect. But it’s funny I thought I recognized Death’s voice but then no I didn’t know the actor. He was amazing though.

But yeah I guess they are making a Shrek 5 as the ending set it up like only a Marvel post-credits scene could hahah. As much as I loved the animation and style this film had, I kind of hope Shrek 5 looks more like the previous films. I just feel like this style would be too out of place for a Shrek story, can’t picture Shrek like that. But anyway they went to Far Far Away though so that must mean Artie’s returning, which has actually got me a bit excited for Shrek 5 even though it does not need to be made at all. But screw it I love these characters and want to see them again.

Anyway, like I’ve said before I was so worried DreamWorks Animation was gonna turn into Illumination 2.0 but it is the complete fucking opposite and it’s been amazing (besides the film we do not speak of). I am so excited for anything and everything they have coming up.

[agentnico]

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) review

Jack Black’s new version of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” is great. In all honestly all of Tenacious D’s covers are superb. Their take on “I Think I Love You” for Croods 2 slaps as hard as Will Smith’s palm against Chris Rock’s face. Apologies, I just watched the new Bad Boys trailer so that momentary awards moment has sprung back into my mind.

Plot: After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.

For some reason I presumed Kung Fu Panda 3 was the ending to the trilogy and the story was over. Then again Hollywood wants to keep making more money and this animated franchise has been highly successful for DreamWorks till now, so of course it was only a matter of time. To give them props though, DreamWorks has been on a bit of a hot streak recently with The Bad Guys - a visually-pleasing heist flick; Croods 2 - hilarious riot; this year’s Orion and the Dark - a fun concept with a mind-bending ending; and of course Puss in Boots: The Last Wish which is an animated masterpiece. There, I said it. The Puss in Boots sequel is fantastic and I won’t hear otherwise! As such even though the trailers weren’t showing too much promise, I went into Kung Fu Panda 4 optimistically, hoping it’s not just a needless cash-grab.

Right, yep, it’s a cash-grab through and through. You can tell the writers were really trying to milk some kind of an idea for a plot, and all they could come up with is Po needing to find a new Dragon Warrior in his place. Not the most original concept as is, and one that in the end feels really rushed, and his choice for his replacement is one that feels unsatisfying. The main villain also is really weak. A chameleon voiced by Viola Davis, and though visually the shape-shifting gimmick works really well, narratively this character has hardly anything to do, let alone be in any way intimidating. I recall in one of the previous films the villain was Lord Shen, who was introduced as someone who has killed Dragon Warriors before. What’s the scariest thing this chameleon now does, you may ask? She lightly pushes someone down the stairs. That’s it.

Another rushed aspect of the movie is that many voice actors from the previous films are needlessly ditched either with a lame excuse for their absence, or not giving them any lines and the characters appearing in silence. Like a big selling point in the marketing is that we get to see all the villains from the previous entries come back. A fun idea, however aside from Ian McShane as Tai Lung the other villains only appear as if they’re in a silent movie. Are you telling me that DreamWorks really couldn’t afford to get Gary Oldman to record a couple of lines on his phone and send them over? It’s like if Spider-Man: No Way Home had all the old Spidey villains from previous films come back, but they just stand about silently doing nothing. How crap would that have been? So yes, this really cheapens the movie.

Visually the film looks great. It’s mad to see how the animation has progressed as this series of movies has gone further. Particular attention has been given to the background environments that look gorgeous! Great use of colours and detail. A chase sequence through a city of thieves is a particular eye-popping set piece, that even gives Hans Zimmer the small opportunity to have some fun with the music score during it.

As for the voice cast - Jack Black is a charisma machine! He’s an icon and of course Po is just Jack Black being himself, but he has so much energy in his line delivery that he carries this movie fully on his shoulders. Awkwafina is also in this movie. Look, the reason I’m pointing that out is that if one looks at her filmography since 2019 she’s voiced characters in Little Mermaid, Migration, Kung Fu Panda 4, Bad Guys, SpongeBob: The Movie, Raya and the Last Dragon, The Dark Crystal Netflix series, Angry Birds Movie 2…. That’s so much!! What does she have on these animation studios that they keep hiring her? She’s not the only female voice actor out there. And I’m sorry, she’s not even that great of a voice actress, and I wasn’t a fan of her here either. Dustin Hoffman kind of just lingers about questioning his life, Bryan Cranston and James Hong have some amusing co-dads banter, Ian McShane being back as Tai Lung was lovely, and Ke Huy Quan is the usual ball of excitable energy that he always is.

Unlike Puss in Boots where the wait for the sequel was more than worth it, Kung Fu Panda 4 feels as if the franchise may have run its course and the writers have simply ran out of ideas. There’s a “been there done that” aura surrounding this whole movie, and again it’s not terrible, but more so just passable. There’s nothing new here, simply retreading old territory. I’m sure if you take your kids with you to see it though they’ll probably have a good time. Probably. That “Hit Me Baby One More Time” cover though - hell yeah!

Overall score: 5/10

[kookies2000]

Seen a few one stared reviews for Puss in Boots The Last Wish. Just what I thought they would be. Complaints that the film isn't for kids and why does it need to be so violent and dark? Welp! Here's why it was so much darker.

The youngest kid that could remember the first film has to be 6 years old. It's been 11 years since the first film meaning the youngest that has seen the first film is now 17. Almost done with high school. The children are grown up and the film grew up with them. So of course there's gonna be a little blood and murder in the film, with a heavy lesson about death. That lesson was put there for the older audience that grew up with the first film. And it was still kid-friendly with the B plot of Goldielocks trying to find a family while the bears take care of her like their daughter and sister. Along with Perrito also trying to have friends and a family like her. And I love it when films do that. Frozen did the same thing. We were kids when we saw the first one and now we're teens when the second one came out. Frozen 2 wasn't very dark but it was definitely darker than the first. I like that Olaf was a kid that was trying to understand what was going on around him while Anna and Elsa discover their bad history. How their kingdom basically tried to kill off an entire village. I still like Frozen 1 better though because Frozen 2 wasn't really all that great. Good movie but not great for the fact that Elsa was the 5th spirit just because she was ice. Like, no. If anything you're just another form of the water spirit. They should have specified that love was the 5th spirit and given it to Anna because she resembles love more than Elsa.

Ok, off track! I just really like it when films have a large gap between their sequels and they mature with the audience while still being aimed at kids.

[roseprincessarts]

Shrek Meets Shrek... From The Past

Modern Shrek: *encounters his early version of himself, who is happy to meet him* Huh? Who the heck are you? And why do you look like me?

Early Shrek: Well, I'm you! I just came from the past. :D!!!

Modern Shrek: Oh? Well, I'm you! Well, from today right now.

Early Shrek: Ahh! Scary! You are more ugly and scary than I could ever have as my twin-like ogre!

Modern Shrek: Oh? Well... you're even MORE the scariest and ugliest ogre I ever have as a twin-like as well :).

Early Shrek: Ahh! Now we are both scary and ugly ogres we'll ever be!

Modern Shrek: *smiles* Yeah! :D!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh boy... I CANNOT draw ogres 😣

Anyways, I came up with this idea if the Shrek from the modern Shrek films encountered an early Shrek from the early animation test in 1996 and they have in common of being ugly and scary. This would take place before the events of the Shrek films, before Shrek rescued princess Fiona and became a family to her and his kids ^^. This idea would've became cute and hilarious xD !!!

It's been like years since watching Shrek ^^. I was real young since watching Shrek. I watched like three films, shorts, and bits of the Halloween specials and the Christmas special ^^. I watched bits of Forever Ever and Puss in Boots, I just need to watch the whole thing ^^. I heard they are releasing the new Puss in Boots coming out this year (or next year ? idk). Things I just love about the film, all the fairy tale creatures :3 I knew something about Grimms Fairy Tales, I never posted the colored artworks for awhile on DA. The descriptions were short :p. I think I saw the rumors of Shrek 5, but I might or might not doubt the fifth Shrek film will be developed, idk:/. I also love how the themes of medieval period with fairy tales are crossovered with modern time period, like Far Far Away being Hollywood and all shops were parodied to like Burger King, and Starbucks (of course because they made a parody of my favorite coffee shop ^w^) and all other stuff ^^ and also along with modern and today's music :D. I did watch the musical broadway version of the movie on Netflix and I saw a biiiiiiiiiiiig difference between the 2001 film and the musical that the story are the same but different development to it. The songs are beautiful and wonderful 💞 People seemed to LOVE Pinocchio in the musical ^^.

Hehe, don't worry, Pinocchio. Everyone loves you <3.

Another DreamWorks film I did see at school is How to Train Your Dragon. I never got to watch the whole thing >_<. One song I discovered from the second film is For the Dancing and the Dreaming. I listened to the cover on YouTube first before the film version ^^. The cover was by Erutan a.k.a katethegreat19 . OMG, the song got stuck in my head for a while ☺️. I need to watch those films along with the third.

Also, wanna know a fact about Shrek for those who didn't know?: In 1996 during the start of the development of Shrek, DreamWorks had a lost tape footage of an early animation test what Shrek originally look like. The test was known as I Feel Good.

I'll put a link of the video for y'all to show you what I mean : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3SypsJPjnBc

It was before they redid Shrek in 2000 I think (?). I know they released the film in 2001 (I wasn't born that year, and wasn't born a year before Shrek 2 was released in 2004. I was born a year after the second film was released), they probably redeveloped the year before it's release :/. I rethink of the older Shrek, he looked like a goblin-like ogre, other than the modern version of Shrek in the film. I found it really awkward and interesting how Shrek originally looked like. Imagine having an early version of Shrek in the actual film and other films with Fiona and other stuff, people would've been thinking "Why does Shrek look like that?" either in a hilarious way or been weirded out xD!!!

Also another fact!: Chris Harley (though I don't know him) was initially hired for the role of Shrek, but passed away in 1996 (97 or 8(?)). The thing I thought was weird was Nicolas Cage was gonna be the role of Shrek but he didn't want to look like an ogre. I thought while reading about it I was like "...It be weird for Nicolas Cage to voice Shrek.". So Mike Myers voiced Shrek with the Scottish accent, which I like about it ^^. I saw some technical goods of the film and it was funny seeing how the technical bloopers turned out for animation xD!!! Absolutely LOVE Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz <D!!! Though I wouldn't think she would do the first voice acting for animation, though Shrek is the only thing for her ^^.

There is a book published in 1990 known as Shrek!, and I read a few two pages of the book online, but didn't finish, but I knew it was gonna be different than the film.

I might do more DreamWorks artworks as well, even with crossovers ^^. What y'all think? :)

Oh wow, this is the LONG description, sorry xD!!!

Shrek ©William Steig, Andrew Adamson and DreamWorks Animation

Artwork ©SuperShadowSilver

[retvenkos]

noooo Olive I'm so sad the princess bride did not live up to your expectations! I definitely agree it is a movie that is deeply engrained in its temporal and cultural setting, and appreciating when you weren't raised on it can be somewhat tricky. I have the fondest memories associated with it because watching that movie was a bonding moment with my mom and I - it's one of her favorite movies of all time and to my own, purely blissful enjoyment of the movie I must add the tender reminiscence of my mom watching it with me. also, I must admit the princess bride has all the corny tropes and plot points I love, though I only half-heartedly admit it? the passionate romance, the swordfights, the quest for vengeance, the vaguely medieval setting with pretty dresses and tiaras I would imagine myself wearing as a kid, the swashbuckling, masked hero who must triumph over all foes to finally be reunited with his one true love! I just... love the kitschiness of it all. peak camp energy, as Lindsay put it! another thing Lindsay mentioned that really contributes to my love for that movie is Iñigo Montoya's character - he made such a strong impression on him and I couldn't exactly tell you why, but his presence is so heartwarming and fun, his character arc so engaging, that you can't not root for him to avenge his father, and in trying to be a breather from the anguished love story at the forefront Iñigo's story became a subplot that, in the minds of many, almost eclipsed the main one. "hello, my name is Iñigo Montoya. you killed my father, prepare to die" is such a metal quote, I could not stop saying it over and over when I was 8 because wow? imagine introducing yourself like that? the power move that that is?? the sheer BDE that that is??? and, but this is totally personal, but Iñigo Montoya was actually the first Spanish character I ever saw in a Hollywood movie (and to this day remains... like the only one I can quote off the top of my head apart from puss in boots ✌️) so I was really thrilled americans knew who we were, and that we were capable of being cool. if you're still not convinced by all of this, then I can totally understand, but I'm afraid you leave me no other choice but to fly over to the US and hold a Princess Bride sleepover!

puss in boots?????? asdfghjkjhgfdsdghjkjhgfdfghjkjhgfdfghjhg, clara nOOOOOOOO

no, but all jokes aside, i totally get what you mean about how dear it is to you because of your fond memories of watching it with your mom. there are so many books and stories that my mom read to me every night before going to bed, and the amount of love i have for those stories - even if others don't get it - cannot be quantified. even stories that are like,,,,, objectively slow or with some questionable moments are still so important to me, because of the memories i associate them with. and i also totally get what you mean about representation! i cannot tell you how many times i have watched and rewatched and cried over lilo and stitch, because of the hawaiian representation. it's just like,,,,,, yes, there! that's what all of my great-aunts and uncles, and grandma and great-grandma look like! that's how they talk! ("what we went hit?" still garners laughter from my mom and i because the accuracy is real,,,) i know so much of that movie by heart, and it was such a big part of my childhood that my older brother's nickname for me is still 'lilo' 😭.

and okay! yes! the charm, wit, and bde of iñigo montoya was nOT lost on me. he was by far my favorite character in the film (followed closely by The One True Himbo™ wesley) and i agree that his scenes were the highlight of the film. and as for the quotes, i agree that the quotability of the show has to be one of its strengths, but i think one of the bad parts of that is that i knew all of the quotable lines just from,,,,,,, existing this long on the internet, lol,,,,,, and i feel that because of that, some of the Quotes™ didn't have the same effect as they might have had, had i not known of their existence, y'know? like, i can still enjoy them as the Quote and as the Meme, but the original intent is parodied in a way that lessens the original impact. you feel me?

like, iñigo's iconic line, the whole "as you wish" recurrence, the "inconceivable" bit and whatnot - it all would have hit it's mark better, had i not already known their weight and had their meaning bastardized by memes.

and i feel like had i viewed the princess bride as a younger me - who had fewer forays into the fantasy genre and hadn't known about its existence - with someone who really loved the film, it would have been a game changer for me, too. but alas!

i appreciate the film and support it because it had such an impact on my mutuals and friends, and i know that if you were to fly out and watch it with me, i would love it for you. perhaps that will have to be enough.

[versatilewindow]

Lego Sets

Find it on Ao3

Warnings: None, just fluff

Summary: A chill evening with your boyfriend, SunaRin

A/N: Earlier this week i was like, I dont wanna do my chem homework, ill project my sappy feelings and wants onto my man, SunaRin. And thanks to my friend for suggesting including legos.

The evening sun creeped in through the sheer curtains drowning Rintaro in a warm glow on the couch, a forgotten Netflix show playing faintly in the background. You walked in the front door and set down your shopping bags with a light yawn and stretch. The quiet of your shared home was a godsend after all the bright lights and sounds around the city, the smell of home instantly relaxing you. 

Hearing the sound of the TV, you walked towards it, noticing Rin asleep, curled up in your guys’ favorite blanket. You crawled over him, careful to not disturb him (not that it mattered, he usually slept like a rock), and tentatively sat down on him. He moved and your breath hitched, but he stayed asleep, damp hair splayed over his face. You always told him to dry his hair before sleeping, not wanting him to catch a cold, and he always argued he wouldn’t get sick, simply because he was ‘built different’. Giggling at the memory, you moved the hair away from his eyes with a feathery gentle touch. You’ve always loved his pretty face, gentle features, pinchable cheeks, and smooth clear skin (courtesy of your skincare routine that he adopted when you two moved in together). Taking advantage of the lighting and his serene sleeping expression, you quickly got out your phone and snapped a picture, even though you were lucky enough to see his face everyday, you wanted to admire his features without being teased by him for looking like a simp. Not that he was one to talk, he spoiled you, checking your online shopping search history to find you a surprise gift, bringing your favorite meal without being prompted, massaging your shoulders after a long day, pampering you in any way possible. He never really spoke too often about his feelings, but his actions were loud enough for you. You leaned down, the ghost of a kiss over his nose and forehead, but before you could lean away to leave him alone, strong arms wrapped around your waist, trapping you with no chance of escape. His head buried itself into your neck leaving a soft kiss before mumbling something about joining him in sleeping.

“Well, good evening to you too SunaRin.” He lightly chuckled at your nickname for him, remembering your explanation the first time he heard it years ago, ‘it just rolls off the tongue SunaRin!’, and nuzzled closer to you, breathing in your scent. “Are you hungry? Because I forgot to stop for food on my way home.”

He lifted his head enough for you to hear, “Not really, but I will be soon. What do you want?”

Mumbling an ‘I don’t know’, it was your turn to cuddle closer to him, warm breath over his neck making his heart speed up ever so slightly (it used to speed up a lot whenever you were near, but constant exposure helped his heart relax).

He sat up, taking you with him, asking “Dumplings?” already knowing you would say yes to that. “Go shower, I’ll call the place.” 

“Are you telling me i’m stinky?” 

A light snort filled the space between you two, him rolling his eyes, and you with a mischievous grin “You know what I mean, now go shower.” 

An hour later the two of you were back on the couch, in your comfiest clothes, with a spread of your favorite dumplings and other sides on the coffee table. Finishing to chew your food, you said “Thank you for the food honey.” and pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

He kissed the crown of your head, “I’ll buy you dumplings any time you want.”  A beat passes, “What were you out buying earlier?”

“It's my cousin’s birthday next week, we’re going to the party remember?” His eyes narrowed but let out a hum in affirmation as he remembered you mentioning it a while ago, “She really likes Lego sets, so I got her one Aunty said she’s been wanting, wanna see?” You had already gotten up from the couch, so he was going to see it whether he wanted too or not. Going to the bags left in the entryway, you pulled out the Lego Star Wars box and Rintaro’s face lit up.

“Wait is that the new one? That like, just came out?” His eyes widened.

“Yeah, the store had a lot of them.”

You handed him the box for a closer look, “Babe, can we PLEASE build it.”

As amusing as his cute expression was, you placed a hand back on the box, “Taro, it’s not for you, its for my-”

“I know, but you said the store had a lot, I’ll even go with you tomorrow to get another.” He looked like he was ready to get on his knees and really beg. You narrowed your eyes, and crossed your arms. He would never beg about anything, not even his beloved chuupet.

“Keep going.”

An exasperated look took over his face for a split second, but he took a deep breath, got on his knees, and did his best Puss in Boots impression, tilting his eyebrows up, eyes widening, and a cute pout on his lips, “Pleeease? I’ll give you a massage anytime you want?”

“You already do that.”

“I’ll clean the bathroom for two weeks? Please?” 

He would never willingly clean the bathroom, so you savored the moment before responding with a sigh, “Make it four and you pay for the new one, then you have a deal.” He cheered in celebration, getting up giving you a tight hug and messy kiss on the cheek before diving into the box. You chuckled and cleared the table before joining him in building the set.

The set was finished a few hours later, the two of you admired your work slumped on the couch together. You lay your head on his shoulder, lightly yawning while he wrapped his arms around you, resting his head on yours.

“Thanks for letting me steal your cousin’s present.”

“Well when you beg and offer to clean the bathroom, how can I say no?”

He grumbled softly, but pressed a kiss to your head. “Wanna go to bed and do… stuff?” you could practically hear his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

“If by stuff you mean cuddling, then yes.”

“Of course I meant cuddling, who do you think I am, some kind of heathen?”

“With the way your dirty clothes always miss the laundry basket? Yeah.”

He got up, pulling you with him and mumbled, “Really comin for my neck with that one huh?” you could only giggle lightly in response. When you two had gotten into bed, he lay on his back, with you cuddled against his chest, breaths moving in time together. Thinking you were asleep, Rintaro pulled you closer to him, saying I love you. Grinning when he heard you respond with an I love you too. 

Extra:

The two of you were shocked in the store the next day, they were sold out of that set when there had been plenty the day before, and they wouldn’t get a new shipment till after the birthday party.

Not that you told Rin, but you definitely filmed him on his knees apologising to the 10 year old birthday girl at her party for stealing her present.

A/N: Hope y'all liked it!!! leave a kudos or comment if you liked it!!! if you didnt like it, u can tell me in a comment or ask, im a big girl

[smartguyreviewed]

2x1 - Primary Brothers

Original air date: September 10, 1997

Season 2, what it do? Yes, the first season only had 7 whole episodes and now we are back. I hope everyone enjoyed heartwearming TJ in the last ep, because we’re getting a full push back into manipulative TJ. And what better setting for this little villain than politics?

It all starts with TJ, home from school and hoppin’ mad, slamming shit down and just letting his little lips pucker all the way out. The source of his ire is the broke ass science club at school. They have no money for anything cool. TJ, hon, you go to a predominately black public school that has no money for AP classes, so what did you expect? Go make some dry ice or something.

Floyd asks why Piedmont isn’t paying for its more intellectual extracurriculars and Yvette says the funds are allocated by the student council. It’s the reason why the Penguins got new gear even though their team is shitty. I get that Floyd is just trying to do his best here, but he’s completely out of touch by saying TJ should run for president. Yvette has to quickly shut that down by reminding TJ that it’s nothing but a popularity contest that a 10 year old has a chance in hell of winning. I personally remember when I foolishly ran for president in grade school. Quickly learned that nothing beats being tall, a guy and promising everyone Pokemon cards if they voted for you. This world is unfair, I tell you!

Even Floyd has to admit that Yvette is right, but TJ notoriously doesn’t take n for an answer and never accepts defeat. He decides to run anyway, with astoundingly bad results. These posters certainly don’t help. 

Yvette checks in on TJ after Mo chides him for not having food. He tells Yvette that he’s failing and she reminds him of the missing height and age that would make running easier. We know where this is going. In true political form, TJ decides to make someone his puppet. Enter Marcus, who isn’t interested at first, but the moment a cute girl shows up and strokes his ego just a teensy bit, he decides to run. TJ is so annoyed that he breaks the fourth wall.

Now we’re on the campaign trail and first up are the “science dorks” as Marcus so eloquently puts it. When they roll up on the clique, one of them actually flinches. I’m just confused because Marcus doesn’t seem to have a bullying bone in his body but apparently he pantsed this kid. Weird. After mispronouncing the name of a comet, Marcus gets clowned a bit, but reassures them that their issues will be heard.

Next up is the jock table and Marcus easily wins this one by promising them a peek at the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue after school. Ah, the days when you actually had to turn pages to get your fap on. 

Last but not least are the ladies. Now, if Marcus wanted to gain points in my book, he’d pressure the administration to get the girls free pads and tampons because they shouldn’t even have to buy them to begin with. Or he’d make sure to protect them from unwanted sexual attention on campus. But it’s okay because apparently, they don’t want those things either! All they want is a better sound system for dances. TJ is mad that Marcus is following his dick when the plan was to raise money for his science club.

Marcus however, has grown to like this and wants to continue to run alone. Good for you, Marcus! Don’t let that little pipsqueak boss you around. 

Yvette always seems to be around whenever she needs to point out the obvious to TJ, so here she is, reminding TJ that Marcus is popular and has a real chance at winning. TJ realizes he needs to nab someone else with that popular proximity. Enter Mo. Because TJ can’t just do one thing at a time, he figures he can both win this election and break up his brother’s only real friendship in one go. 

TJ is able to convince Mo that he’s in Marcus’s shadow because Mo is a lowly bass player and Marcus sings lead. But...it’s Marcus’s band! And what’s wrong with being a bass player? This doesn’t even make any sense for Mo to entertain because as we saw before, he clearly doesn’t even care what happens to the band as long as the puss keeps flowing. It’s really annoying to watch him blindly believe anything TJ says, especially when he’s not even really “friends” with TJ. Part of me would even think TJ is still mad about him getting kicked out of the band even though he deserved it. Wow, one bird and three stones, the third being possibly ruining Mackadocious.

Marcus comes around, being uncharacteristically mean to Mo and belittiling him for the plot’s sake. Mo naturally takes offense and now he has ammo to run against Marcus. TJ is a petty--yet brilliant-- little asshole.

At home, Marcus lets Floyd in on what’s been up and how he dropped TJ from his campaign that he didn’t even wanna run for in the first place. Daddy Flody is sad because for a moment because TJ and Marcus were actually getting along. Once he knows that Mo has replaced Marcus, he’s confused, The only one who wanted the damn science club fixings in the first place was TJ. I don’t get why he’s confused though. Doesn’t he remember what his son is capable of? He should totally know that TJ orchestrated all of this, but TJ just shrugs, pretending he doesn’t know why Mo of people is now his running mate. Do better, Flody.

Since this episode is about mudslinging and typical political treachery, Mo as TJ’s stand in is making fun of Marcus to the originally intended demographic. Yvette comes up to TJ and asks if he and his puppet are ready for the debate, and TJ deadass says Mo isn’t a puppet, “he’s a real boy.” Yvette just stopped by to say they’re filming the debate and she’s hosting. 

In the midst of all this sneaky fighting and smear campaigns, Marcus actually comes to Mo and tries to apologize for being a dick earlier. Aww, Marcus. Too bad TJ is about to shit all over this because he’s watching and once Mo hears this olive branch, TJ is able to convince Mo that Marcus is trying to bait-and-switch Mo to shake him up for the debate. Marcus insists that it is genuine but TJ wins Mo over by just telling him things to repeat. At this point, Marcus is over trying to be nice and says autonomy is the shit. Mo says fuck autonomy and leaves with TJ to prepare for the debate.

I love how Yvette leans into this husky, reporter voice for the television. She even put on her best two piece lilac suit. She introduces the candidates and is baffled when she realizes that Mo has had his extracurriculars beefed up. When Yvette asks when Mo was in all those clubs, TJ says since earlier that day and that he can prove it. I’m sure that he committed a crime here with these fake documents, but it’s pretty on brand for him to do, so whatever. The view count for the debate goes down when Yvette starts going off into how long each candidate has to talk about issues and honestly, I probably would have left, too. This is a high school student council election, for crying out loud. Her audience went from this:

To this:

Mo and Marcus get into a fight over the stupidest thing: who calls heads or tails. After they start elbowing each other, a physical fight breaks out. Again, TJ tries to break it up, even though he just, you know, only is the reason they’re fighting right now. Intervening gets TJ some new eye makeup. But TJ hasn’t learned shit because at home, nursing his black eye, he is still trying to manipulate the two into being friends again. 

Floyd has to remind TJ that hey, you can’t just play with people like that, even if you have good intentions. It finally sinks in that TJ could have very possibly ruined a friendship and broken up a band in one go. Floyd tells him to fess up to the boys and prepare for another ass whooping. Luckily, Mo and Marcus are guys and guys tend to resolve conflict--with each other--fairly fast. Mo comes over and gives something back to Marcus and just as he’s leaving, Marcus invites him back in to watch television. They chat and Mo reciprocates the olive branch with a pound. I really love these two together! They have so much chemistry that I honestly would be heartbroken if I learned that they stop talking after Smart Guy. Anyways, I ship it, Marcus x Mo forever. 

Stuff I noticed:

- Yvette is her middle name. Her first name is Tasha!

- Welp, guess the white guy is still president.

- Pretty sure this may not have been intentional, but I love that there is a black girl at the science dorks table. We love our black girl nerds!