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rolandrockover · 6 months

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Some Theme for X in Hell

Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell is one of Gene's better songs from the 80s, but that's not really meant as a compliment, because while it's not bad, which is a good thing, it's not really good either (1). And what does that make it then? I can't say for sure, and I don't think I want to, because I don't care a little bit. It is there and it simply exists. And on days like today, somewhere between my sense of duty and listlessness, when I think that I should quietly write something about Hot in the Shade again, then this song seems to me to be more than suitable for my only little demanding intentions, because in it one can easily and quite quickly find one or the other useful thing to cannibalize.

…but for today we'll stay frugal and ultimately just work on a low key and just look at the main guitar theme, which always seems to be somewhere between the verses and the chorus. You know, the one that has some similarity to Peter Gunn's theme. If we now slowly sprinkle in a little bit of the chord progression of the main riff from Got Love For Sale then we'll get a lot closer to the desired middle. But there's still something missing, and because I don't want to try too hard I'll grab something close, maybe something from between 1987, und 1989, namely Let's Put the X in Sex, and just a teeny bit of its keyboard-backed main riff and that Robert Palmer feeling.

I knew it, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell is somewhere between Got Love For Sale and Peter Gunn. And Let's Put the X in Sex. Now I just have to find the Enter key and I'm done, it was here somewhere between the asterisk and the seven on the extra number field.

Side Note:

(1) It's a bit like the red wine that The Old Man Parker drinks in A Christmas Story (1983).

Just press Play. Everything starts exactly where it should, as usual, but please do not exert yourself:

Theme from Peter Gunn (1958)

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Got Love For Sale (1977)

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Let's Put the X in Sex (1988)

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Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell (1989)

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rakruined · 1 year

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The Religious Implications of GotG vol. 3

So, it's Easter, and while I've got a lot of stuff to work on and things to do, I wanted to take the time to discuss the utterly insane things Guardians of the Galaxy volume three has done to my brain chemistry. After seeing @adamwarlock's post here, I've been thinking about just how many religious themes there seem to be in James Gunn's magnum opus. From a villain with a god complex to Rocket Raccoon becoming my new favorite satanic archetype maybe, this is gonna be a deep dive into everything I've picked up from the trailers so far.

So, let's start with the implications of that post I linked: "some corners of the galaxy consider (The High Evolutionary) God".

Now, the High Evolutionary has always had a theme of 'playing god' in the comics, what with his whole deal being creating sentient life from animal experiments, but in the MCU, his connections to Christian notions of religion are a lot more fascinating. For starters, his goal is stated to be wanting to create a "perfect society", which you'll notice looks a lot like suburban Bible Belt America, albeit with a lot more hybrid animal-people.

Now, in the comics, he uses Earth animals as a basis for his new lifeforms because he was once a normal human named Herbert Wyndham. He eventually traveled into space to continue his experiments on his own world, later adopting Adam Warlock (this will come back later). Given his desire to make himself more powerful in the movie, this makes him an interesting counterpart to MCU!Peter Quill, who was born with Celestial (ie. godly) power and left Earth not by choice.

Now, there are a few things they changed from the comics, his connection to Rocket being the most significant in the context of this story. While Halfworld performed similar experiments on Rocket and the other uplifts, the H.E had nothing to do with the planet. And while I'll get back to why his connection to Rocket is significant, as well as what I said about Adam, I want to get into another major change: his design.

Here we have the comics design on the left and the movie design on the right. But isn't his movie look almost priestly? Almost... familiar...?

IT'S FUCKMOTHERING ENRICO PUCCI WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

Okay, JoJo references aside, the High Evolutionary's connections to Adam Warlock definitely add to the whole religious overtones. I mean, a guy who's considered God has a perfect creation literally named "Adam", trying to create a perfect world? This shit writes itself. But if you consider a few additional facts, this takes on a pretty wild meaning. For starters, Adam has been stated to be relatively naive and innocent, unknowledgeable of the universe.

But where this gets interesting is that, based on Rocket's absence from most group shots during what is clearly being billed as the midsection of the movie (spacesuits scene, that fight where they're all in orange, the team arriving on Halfworld) that he possibly is captured by Adam and brought back to his creator for additional experimentation. Shots of someone implied to be Rocket on the operating table and Gamora carrying him to the ship half-naked serve as further evidence of a rescue mission.

But if he's captured by Adam Warlock, that means he has the opportunity to tell Adam what his creator is really planning. He has the chance to tell him how he was made and what the High Evolutionary's "perfect society" is built upon: the blood of innocent creatures he'd deemed imperfect. This could be what changes Adam, what makes him turn against his god and his Garden of Eden.

The voice of the devil on his shoulder.

Edit: I forgot to mention this wild coincidence! Gunn once said Rocket was inspired by Frankenstein's monster. It makes sense on the basic level of a tragic science experiment abandoned by his creator, but it gets even more bizarre. In the novel, the monster identifies with Satan in the book Paradise Lost, making him the same sort of tragic figure as Lucifer. Rocket too was an imperfect creation cast out by the "god" who made him. In this light, it's undeniable that yes, Rocket Raccoon is as much a satan figure as Adam Warlock is space Jesus.

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weclassybouquetfun · 3 months

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Next month is the annual exhibitor showcase Cinemacon where movie studios tout their wares for the very anxious theater owners.

It has already been announced that Sony is sitting this year out, so no info on VENOM 3: THE LAST DANCE, to be released October 25, 2024.

While I assume there will be some changes to the lineup, so far it is shaping up to be:

OPENING DAY: International Day features a screening of Universal 80s series remake THE FALL GUY starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who has said in a recent interview that it is a small role) ; directed by David Leitch (BULLET TRAIN, DEADPOOL 2)

DAY ONE: WB pulls up with their presentation "The Big Picture". It will be the first Cinemacon for James Gunn in his position as Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DC Studios.

I expect a song and dance from Gunn about how awesome sauce the new DC film universe will be

I'll believe it when I see it.

Sure to tease SUPERMAN LEGACY which stars David Corenswet as the title character, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.

JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX, BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUCE

MORE STUDIO OFFERINGS

Also, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA

, the supernatural horror film THE WATCHERS, directed and written by Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night

, M. Night Shymalan's TRAP starring Josh Hartnett, ALTO KNIGHTS with Robert DeNiro playing a dual role.

Certainly don't expect anything to hear about THE BATMAN sequel other than it won't shoot until 2025. There has been no reason provided, but some say there isn't even a script, others say it was because there were no soundstages available in London to shoot this year.

DAY TWO: ANGEL STUDIOS - The outfit behind SOUND OF FREEDOM.

I suspect they will tease SIGHT starring Greg Kinnear and BONHOEFFER (aka GOD'S SPY) about German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, starring August Diehl, Flula Borg and Clarke Peters.

LIONSGATE: I suspect they will tease Guy Ritchie's THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE starring a pick-a-mix of men for all tastes - Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Henry Golding and Hero Fiennes Tiffins

; the action-thriller BOY KILLS WORLD fronted by Bill Skarsgård and costarring Sharlto Copley, Andrew Koji (who is working like mad), Famke Janssen and Isaiah Mustafa.

Surely, another Bill Skarsgård film THE CROW with fka Twigs

; THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1, which is the third film in the franchise - doing a bit of FAST AND THE FURIOUS mathing. It stars Madelaine Petsch, Froy Guittierez and Gabriel Basso

At long last the BALLERINA has pliete into the spotlight. This JOHN WICK spinoff stars Ana De Armas, with Anjelica Huston reprising her role from JOHN WICK 2. It's direct by Len Wiseman who directed the UNDERWORLD films starring his ex-wife Kate Beckinsale.

BORDERLANDS, an action-comedy based on the game, brought to the screen by Eli Roth. Starring Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Haley Bennett and Édgar Ramírez, amongst others.

and WHITE BIRD, which is in the same universe as the excellent children geared film WONDER. It was due to come out in 2023 but was pushed back due to the actors strike.

UNIVERSAL / FOCUS FEATURES: I suspect teases for Dev Patel's directorial debut MONKEY MAN. The film was originally slated to go to Netflix but Jordan Peele, under his Monkey Paw shingle, bought it and took it to Universal so it could have a theatrical release. *Granted, Netflix does a theatrical release for most of their films in certain markets, but I get Peele's rationale.

Their Monsters Universe theatrical idea didn't work, but Universal has realized there is more than one way to skin a cat. They are creating a Universal Monsters themed area at their parks and their monster/horror film ABIGAIL is a re-imaging of DRACULA'S DAUGHTER. It stars Alisha Weir, Melissa Barrera and Dan Stevens and features Angus Cloud in one of his last roles.

THE FALL GUY most definitely will have a place. Same with THE BIKERIDERS (with Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Norman Reedus, Mike Faist, etc.), which was a 20th Century (Disney owned) Film, and even though it was the first major film out the gate ahead of Oscars/Golden Globes' FYC season with a screening and Q&A held in L.A., the studio purposely stalled the engine and towed it off their schedule. It will now be distributed by Focus Features in the U.S., and Universal, internationally.

Other possible teases? DESPICABLE ME 4, TWISTERS, the standalone sequel to the 90s film TWISTERS

, horror film SPEAK NO EVIL starring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis

, WICKED: PART ONE and Sir Ridley Scott's GLADIATOR 2 with Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.

There will also be a surprise screening; studio unknown.

DAY THREE: PARAMOUNT: Expected: the mixed live-action and animated comedy IF starring Ryan Reynolds, written/directed and produced by John Krasinski.

A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE, GLADIATOR 2 (though this is a co-production with Universal, so maybe Uni will tout it), SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, the unending production that is MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 8,

WALT DISNEY: Possible: THE FIRST OMEN, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

, MOANA 2, INSIDE OUT 2, DEADPOOL 3, ALIEN: ROMULUS, CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD and SNOW WHITE.

CinemaCon always closes out with their awards (which always ties into an upcoming release. Funny how that works.

So far the honourees are:

Star of the Year - Lupita Nyong'o (A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE)

Breakthrough Performer of the Year - Joseph Quinn (A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE)

CinemaCon Vanguard Award - Amy Poehler (INSIDE OUT 2)

Director of the Year - Shawn Levy (DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE)

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tmbgareok · 1 year

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The song Spy is very good, but it puzzles me. I understand that it's a spoof of Secret Agent Man and the Peter Gunn theme, but where do the crazy solos come from? It's like every subsequent version of the song, you try to outdo yourselves on the nutty honking and noodling. What is it about secret agents that bring out your inner jam band?

JF: we are secretly a jam band.

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lazlolullaby · 1 year

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Starmora is still canon, stop sinking your own ship

I'm not sure why people are mad or sad about the way Gunn "ended" the Starmora relationship? It's not over, it just went through a natural resting point after all of the stuff that happened in the plot???

Because even if the characters don't share a screen anymore, that doesn't mean it's over. That doesn't mean that love can't happen twice. Gunn has laid the groundwork - you can see it if you're looking at the characters.

Gamora has always been subtle. but she commits. She puts her whole traumatized heart into something if she believes that it's the right thing. She was raised by Freaking Thanos - she was (kinda) fine with him killing half the population but when Ronan wanted All of Xandar killed she Bolted. Betrayed Ronan and by proxy Thanos and Nebula.

After Endgame, she knows how to reach the Guardians if she wanted to. Heck, she's been talking with Nebula who respects that enough to only bring her on a mission that could kill a Guardian and end their found family.

About 75% of Gamora's lines are her denying that she's the same person. She's clearly pissed as hell that Peter is trying to "bring her back" when it's clear to her that she's fine without the Guardians.

At the end of the movie, if she wanted to be on the same team as Peter, she would have stayed on Knowhere. If she never wanted to see Peter again, she wouldn't have said anything.

By saying "I bet we were fun" its a signal to both Peter AND the audience that she is fine to stay in contact. That she acknowledges that her love with Peter could happen again.

As for Peter...

Peter loves HARD. He's never been subtle about it. He's never been subtle about feelings; happy, sad, angry, romantic - he boosts them up and uses them as a distraction, makes others think he's not sharp as an arrow.

He values Gamora's choices. We see him flirting at Knowhere, she pulls a knife on him and he doesn't directly flirt again for a while. You see that in Vol 2 when he's patient about her having feelings. He SHOT HER in Infinity War because she told him to. She's dead but she knows - she knows that's love.

We know he respects her choices in all situations...except in Vol 3. He's more childish and clingy especially compared to the other Guardians - they don't try as hard as Peter does to get her back. I feel like this is justified; he's already heavily traumatized from Infinity War and as acknowledged in the movie(!) Peter is dependent on Gamora in a way that the other Guardians aren't.

And with Vol 3, he's lost that part of him. He just wants "his Gamora" back. And it's cringy and sad and messed up.

You can parallel it to Thanos, who just saw "his little one", a daughter he trained to be a weapon and didn't acknowledge as a person. You can parallel it to the High Evolutionary, who wants his creations "perfect" and only sees Rocket as a failure that needs to be utterly destroyed.

(yeah it's a theme, its kickass writing, it's *chefs kiss* thank you mr. Gunn for tying this all up with a big fancy bow)

Peter is stronger than both of them. Able to move past what he thinks he needs and see Gamora as she is now instead of as he wants her to be.

"Like you wouldn't believe." He finally has something in his past that is complicated but at the end of the day, he can smile about it. An ending he can be at peace with.

Both of them know that they are not the same people that met on Xandar outside the pawn broker's shop. Fighting over their ticket out from under Yondu and Thanos.

But they know they could be good to each other again. It's just going to take some time apart.

#Starmora #gamora #Peter quill #star lord #Gotg vol 3 #gotg vol 3 spoilers #gotg 3 spoilers #Spoilers #lazlo's lulls #Ok you can call me Peter Quill for this post because I freaking love Gamora #also gotg 3 was peter quill at his worst his technically darkest #and he still was giving Gamora a choice to stay #but goddamn Gamora's line about what is wrong with yourself that I need to be someone else? HURTS #if more people thought of relationships that way - or checked in with that view every so often #dude there's a lot of healing and changing to be had if that happened #thanks mr gunn for the blorbos i'll take good care of them #and guys if you really want to write happy starmora without as much baggage #there's always exploring the 4 year gap inbetween vol 2 and Infinity War

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undine66770 · 2 months

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Introduction Post (pinned) I figured since I've made some new boop-friends and such, I might make a brief little introduction post about me and what you'll expect to see on my blog... even though it's kind of in my blog intro itself. *You can call me Undine! (she/her) it's nice to meet you all and as said before I had so much fun exchanging boops with everyone.

I like a bunch of stuff, but mainly I'm really into things from days gone by such as the oldies but goodies. We're talking:

Music. My listening scope is the 20s-60s; but with a main focus on the '50s-'60s. I even have a big ol' Spotify playlist compiled of my favorite oldies if you're interested in listening to that! There's even earlier music in there too. If you want to check out what kinds of artists I mainly listen to, I have a last.fm profile. It'll give you a better idea! But some of my favorites at the moment are Jim Reeves, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Sanford Clark, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Ricky Nelson, Lola Albright, Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Starset, Vitas.... Obviously this list is not exhaustive and you can go to my Lastfm and pretty much my tastes are there! I mainly like rock n' roll and classic country but again, Lastfm will tell you!

Movies. I'll admit I don't really have the attention span for much movies but on the occasion that I do, the Golden Age of film is probably my go-to. I have a lot of stuff on my watchlist... procrastination is a big thing with me.

TV series, too. I like the older TV series but I'm into modern stuff as well (I promise I'm not just a boomer, the modern stuff applies to everything else too! /j). I really like the noir and detective noir genres. Some examples of TV series I like include Dragnet, Peter Gunn, Johnny Staccato, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, the Addams Family, BBC's Merlin (still need to finish), Doctor Who (although unfortunately I've not been able to catch up in a long time so no spoilers please!)

Old-time radio. Dragnet (which originally started as OTR) and Broadway is my Beat are some examples of what I'm into. So going into this, you will probably see me post people or things from the medias above, or others also. Other things I like include:

Pokémon. A bit rusty as I've not played a mainline game nor completed one in a while although wanting to get back into it soon but still like it.

RWBY

History

Worldbuilding and writing!!

Playing video games

Photography, one day I hope to learn how to become a great photographer. Besides the above, I'll just browse and reblog things that I think are neat or that I like - variety is to be expected, my blog doesn't really follow a theme. And that is pretty much basically everything that I can think of, off the top of my head! If I think of anything else or get any new interests I will edit this post with the edit date. Welcome to my blog!

#random undine rambles™️

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duffertube · 1 year

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The Blues Brothers

Original Soundtrack Recording

Atlantic ‎– SD 16017 (1980)

A1. She Caught The Katy

A2. Peter Gunn Theme

A3. Gimme Some Lovin’

A4. Shake Your Tailfeather

A5. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

A6. The Old Landmark

B1. Think

B2. Theme From Rawhide

B3. Minnie The Moocher

B4. Sweet Home Chicago

B5. Jailhouse Rock

Source: Internet Archive

#The Blues Brothers #Original Soundtrack Recording #Record #Album #OST #Music #MP3

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thevindicativevordan · 1 year

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What would you like to see in Superman: Legacy? Do you think James Gunn is the right person to ''bring back'' Superman on big screens?

My top 10 wants:

Don't use Lex or Zod as the villain

(Credit to David Jamison for the art). Take a look at all these guys, this doesn't even cover all of the options, there's a whole bunch of them we've never seen on the big screen. Pick one of them, preferably someone on the smaller end of the power scale so we didn't repeat MoS starting Superman's career with the entire city being destroyed, and advertise that it's a villain we haven't seen before. Right now Lobo remains the most likely choice for Legacy, but if instead they're using him for Supergirl, I want Metallo or Parasite.

2. Don't make Clark stoic, morose, or navalgazing

After how boring Cavill's incarnation was, I'm ready for a Superman who is assertive and aggressive. He's young and eager to prove himself, or he should be. Let him show joy in using his powers, more scenes like Cavill's First Flight where Superman is clearly having a blast being himself after all the years of hiding. Let him talk shit to bad guys, after the last two guys were self-doubting Jesuses, I'm ready for the new Supes to be more cocksure. Yes we get that Superman can be a burden, but it can be a pleasure too. Remind the public of that side to him.

3. Draw on the animated Metropolises for inspiration design wise

The DCAU, the League of Super-Pets movie, the Tomorrowverse, they've all given us some great looking Metropolises. Look to them for inspiration in designing the DCU Metropolis. For all it's other failures, I thought Superman Returns had a cool looking Metropolis too with all the Art Deco architecture. It's totally possible to make a Metropolis feel like it's own character, same as Gotham, but it requires abandoning "realism".

4. Take inspiration from the Snyder fight scenes but reign in the collateral damage

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If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know how I feel about the DCEU. Doesn't mean there aren't aspects of that which I think are worth building on. If there's one thing Snyder did right it's showing that Superman fights can be just as thrilling and visceral as Batman and Spider-Man. Only problem is that the level of destruction was way too over the top. Don't vaporize downtown Metropolis and you should be in the ballpark for what's acceptable. While you're at it, instead of destruction porn, why not make Superman be the one who comes away looking like hell? One thing I miss from the Raimi Spider-Man films is that Peter and his suit always got torn up by the end to show how tough the fights were. Do that to Superman instead of the city this time around. Give Superman black eyes, bruises, and bleeding cuts, I assure you that would be more impactful to the audience than seeing another CGI building explode.

5. Make a new Superman theme and costume

Trunks, no trunks, s-shield on the cape, solid red cape, Fleschier s-shield, classic shield, something new, I don't care. I'm pretty open to Superman's suit being changed, and in fact I don't necessarily want a "classic" Superman suit. My only big grievance with Cavill's suit was the washed out colors and needing a thicker belt around his waist, but otherwise I thought his was fine. I would love to see the Gleason designed Reborn suit serve as the inspiration for DCU Superman suit. I've seen some people ask for the Williams' theme to be used, and that's a hard no people. Use it as a shorthand for Superman in general, but every new film Superman needs their own theme, just like Batman and Spider-Man.

6. Give me the Fortress of Solitude, Krypto, and the more fantastical elements

If Krypto doesn't show up in Legacy, then we know he will be in Supergirl's film at least. Gunn naming All-Star Superman as a big influence should hopefully ensure we get these fantastical elements, especially since Gunn himself loves this kind of obscure memorabilia (he's the one who introduced the Infinity Stones into the MCU after all). Since we're jumping into a Superman who has already started his career, I want to see the Fortress of Solitude with the Intergalactic Zoo, and the Phantom Zone projector, and the Kryptonian war suit, and all the crazy trophies Superman collects over the course of his career. Superman Robots are a must.

7. Use Jimmy

I know you've read Fraction's Jimmy Olsen mini Gunn, don't let me down! Go with Jimmy as Clark's surrogate younger brother and demonstrate why the two of them are good friends. Jimmy is perfect as the sort of comic relief character who still has emotional depth that Gunn loves.

8. Either kill the Kents off or keep them sidelined for now

We've seen his Smallville upbringing and the Kents giving him advice countless times already. Kill them both off this go around or at the very least keep them sidelined. I'd rather see Clark treat Jimmy as his confidant over his parents for this incarnation.

9. Keep the shared universe at a distance

I don't want Legacy to end up like The Flash, where the main character is just a vehicle to take us along for a trip to see other DC properties. I don't want Batman or any of the other DC characters showing up. Ideally I would prefer none of them were even referenced at all, but I recognize that's delusional. Sure you can have people make a passing mention of the freak in Gotham or a speedster in Central City, or a green guy in Coast City, but nothing more than that please.

10. Get Lois right... but don't put her and Clark together at the start

After the DCEU completely rushed the pairing, I'd rather see a slow burn this time around. Pairing Clark at the start with someone else would certainly upset quite a few people, but it's what I would do. Have him and Lois be rivals/competitors at the start, he dates others at first as does she, but ultimately the two will of course get together. I would put Clark and Leslie together, that would make things interesting for when she becomes Livewire. For Lois if they're not doing Metallo in the Legacy, maybe have Corben pursue her while she fends him off? That would be good build up for Legacy 2. Just make sure the Clark and Lois actors have good chemistry together because the Cavill/Adams interactions were so painfully stiff.

#superman #superman legacy #james gunn #dcu #all star superman #action comics

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 1 year

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Michael in the Mainstream: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

As most people know by now, I am a huge fan of superhero movies and have been since I was a kid. I grew up with Batman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and even Ghost Rider, and I loved the transition into the MCU and the huge leap in care and respect towards the source material.

Still, I don’t think it was really until 2014 that I really came to love the genre like I do now. I sat down in a theater for a little movie called Guardians of the Galaxy, not knowing what to expect since this was a pretty obscure superhero team comprised of characters I’d never heard of, directed by a guy whose work I wasn’t familiar with at the time (aside from Scooby-Doo, of course). The opening scene, in which Peter “Star-Lord” Quill watches his mother die before being abducted by aliens had me intrigued. But when the next scene began and Chris Pratt began dancing through the ruins of an alien world to the sound of Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love,” I knew I was watching something special, something extraordinary. I left the theater that day with a new all-time favorite film.

Fast forward nine years. The superhero movie landscape has changed a lot in that time, but there are only two things really relevant to the topic at hand. The first is that people have grown incredibly tired of Marvel’s brand of humor and witty banter, something that really defined the first two Guardians movies. It doesn’t help that so many superhero films, even outside of Marvel, tried to crib their style without understanding why people liked it there (looking at you, Suicide Squad). People don’t mind some humor to lighten things up, but they also want dramatic moments and genuine emotion to let them connect to the characters.

The second is that the MCU wrapped up its decade-long overarching plot and gave a few characters the satisfying conclusions they deserved while leaving some threads dangling for the future. It was a truly massive event that felt like the end of an era… and it was immediately followed by Disney churning out dozens of movies and shows in only a couple of years, inundating the market and pushing out products that feel incredibly half-baked and underwritten. Even the ones I’d call great like Wakanda Forever or No Way Home suffer from the sort of wonkiness that the home runs of Phase 3 didn’t have, while the ones I didn’t like exacerbated all the problems people have with Marvel. Now I don’t believe in “superhero fatigue,” because people still want superheroes. What they don’t want is bad movies, and too many of the films lately are falling short of audience expectations.

And that brings us to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Despite James Gunn having hit it out of the park with Marvel twice before and hopping over to DC to redeem their cinematic universe with two of their best entries, the aforementioned points weighed heavily on everyone’s minds. That’s not even getting into the film’s tumultuous development, with Gunn being fired and then rehired, which only further had people worried about the gang of intergalactic goofballs. Even from a man so known for quality superhero cinema that DC put him in charge of their own cinematic universe, the odds seemed stacked against this film delivering.

But in spite of all that, even with all these things against the film, Gunn managed to pull off one of the rarest feats imaginable: He went three for three and delivered an amazing finale to a perfect trilogy.

Now, when I say “perfect” I don’t mean the films are without flaw, because a movie without flaw does not exist. What I mean is that the trilogy consistently builds on core themes while maintaining its identity throughout, as well as maintaining a high level of quality throughout. Think of the original three Star Wars films or The Lord of the Rings to see what I mean. The key is to start strong, keep building through the middle, and then conclude on a strong note that wraps everything up nicely. In short: Be a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Vol. 3 manages to pull off being that satisfying endpoint that no other superhero third movie has been able to so far.

The big way the film does that is by recontextualizing the series in a big way: It establishes that, rather than Peter Quill, the trilogy’s true protagonist has been Rocket. It makes sense when you look back on the movies and see how he has had the most development (which is even more pronounced when you remember he and Nebula were the only Guardians to survive the Snap), and this film is no exception other than taking this to the logical conclusion by making him the focus character and the one who drives the plot. It’s frankly amazing how a character who spends two acts in a coma dreaming of his heartbreaking backstory still manages to feel relevant even when he’s not actively participating in the plot, and when he is Bradley Cooper makes a case for being one of the single greatest actors in the MCU.

That’s not to say the other characters are bad, though! Every single one of the Guardians’ actors brings their A-game here, especially the ones for whom this is definitively their last rodeo (Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana). Bautista is finally given his due, getting to play Drax as more than just dumb muscle, while Saldana gets to play a more brutal and vicious Gamora than we’ve seen before. Outside of them, the very best performance is probably from Karen Gillan as Nebula who, while still as crabby as ever, genuinely feels like a part of the family for the first time and gets to play the straight man to a lot of antics.

I think it’s also worth pointing out how good Chris Pratt is here, especially after Quill was something of a joke in the Avengers films. Here, Quill is back to his proper characterization and gets a great character arc that plays to Pratt’s strengths, unlike many of his modern roles. I know there’s been a bit of a Pratt fatigue lately, but he’s in his element under Gunn and delivers one of his strongest performances yet. And with all that said, no matter how minor (Cosmo) or out of focus (Groot) a Guardian is compared to the core cast, they all get their time to shine in the third act with a finale that makes use of all their skills in unique and creative ways. No one really feels underutilized here, even if they don’t get as much spotlight as others.

I think one of the more divisive new additions is going to be Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock, though I think most of that will hinge on how familiar you are with his established character in the comics. As I’m not super familiar with Warlock, but do love Poulter even in films I hate like Midsommar, I thoroughly enjoyed him here. He feels like Age of Ultron Vision done right, a powerful being only recently born but forced into dramatic conflict. He is a bit underplayed unfortunately, but you know we’ll be seeing more of him soon enough, and at the very least he gets a handful of really funny moments and some cool scenes to build him up. They could have done more with him, but I certainly loved him.

This movie certainly ends up being one of the darkest films in the entire MCU, and nearly all that darkness is the result of the film’s villain, the High Evolutionary, who is quite possibly the most evil villains in comic book movie history, if not necessarily the very best (though I certainly think he’s up there). His entire character revolves around his insane god complex, and to satisfy it he abuses animals, cruelly experiments on living beings, and commits genocide with an unnerving casualness. On top of that, he’s just incredibly petty, never missing an opportunity to either figuratively or literally kick the dog. Chukwudi Iwuji is clearly relishing every moment he has playing a guy who can switch from classy visionary villain to frothing lunatic at the drop of a hat. If nothing else, it’s just so refreshing to see a villain without a tragic backstory or sympathetic motivations and who is just an asshole, plain and simple. This might not work for everyone because it does leave him as a rather simple character, but sometimes it’s just nice to see a villain who’s just a massive cunt that you want to watch die with every fiber of your being. He’s pretty easily the best villain of the entire trilogy, and considering how good Ego was and how fantastic Kurt Russell is as an actor, that’s really saying something.

You will not be surprised to hear that the soundtrack is good, because Gunn has not missed once when it comes to these soundtracks. It’s not quite as good as Vol. 2’s soundtrack—how could it be when there’s no Fleetwood Mac?—but the variety of decades the Zune brings beyond the 70s and 80s tunes of the first couple of movies really help set the scenes. It’s never bad to hear Faith No More’s “We Care a Lot,” and the movie has the best use of the Beastie Boys in a movie starring Chris Pratt that you’ll see this year.

What is surprising, though, is that the CGI isn’t dogshit. We’re not talking Avatar levels of quality, but it’s still a damn pretty movie, and this is supported by some fantastic practical effects and costumes. The only real complaints I’ve got are that the humor doesn’t always land and there are some rather weird editing choices, but aside from that you can tell everyone working on this was given the time to make sure this was the sendoff these heroes deserve.

And I think that’s the movie’s ultimate strength: It’s a true sendoff, and not just setup for the future. The characters conclude their arcs, and unlike with Endgame all of the endings our heroes get feel fitting, satisfying, and well-earned. We may see some of these characters again someday, but for certain members of the Guardians you can tell they’ve finally ended up where they need to be. And this is a good thing! All stories need an ending, and as far as endings go this is one of the best.

At the very end of the film, the audience gets to experience something the other characters have throughout these films: We get to clearly and without translation understand what Groot is saying, symbolizing how we as an audience have become as close to him as his friends have. In essence, we are all Guardians of the Galaxy now. Our journey, too, has come to its logical conclusion; we’ve seen these characters we’ve followed for so long complete their arcs and end up where they need to be. Isn’t it nice to reach a conclusion, however bittersweet it is?

This is one of the best superhero movies out there, and easily one of the top 5 MCU films. If you like superhero movies and are tired of the same old slop being shoveled out, you need to go see this movie, because it shows a bright future where creative control goes to the filmmakers so they can make films with heart and soul. The future of DC is definitely in good hands, that’s for sure. And if this is ultimately where you get off the superhero rollercoaster, I can’t blame you when this is the best stopping point we’re likely to get. For me, my days of obsessively making sure I see every Marvel project are over; I’ll stick to checking out what interests me, ignoring what doesn’t, and being at peace knowing my favorite heroes got a satisfying conclusion.

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caatws · 1 year

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I can't speak for the merchandising but when it comes to gotg rides Mission Breakout is set just after vol 2 so there would be no need to change anything about it because of vol 3. Not that I think they would change the ride anyway. The newer ride is Cosmic Rewind and it's supposed to be taking place during or around vol 1. Gamora is of course included. This ride came out last year and I don't know when or how it was decided but I have been wondering if the whole rewind to vol 1 theme was picked so Gamora could be included.

I have mostly loved Gunn's work when it comes to gotg. I think he's typically thoughtful and nuanced when dealing with the abuse and trauma plots. However I don't think he had the ability to deal with Thanos killing Gamora. Gamora needed way more attention and her death should have been one of the most serious issues gotg ever had. I don't know what the perfect solution would have been but part of me wishes they would have given Gamora a solo movie or show handled by someone more willing to do the work needed to give Gamora's murder closure and Gamora an arc that was about finding a way to give back to her rather than take away. The mcu wanting to deal with hard and complicated issues is great. Being unprepared to see them through to the end or research what those situations are really like, isn't so great and honestly can send out a bad message. Vol 3 treats everything Thanos did with nonchalance. Gunn also uses the time and space since Endgame mostly in a negative way for Gamora. Vol 3 has Rocket and Nebula as much better friends and the entire basis for this is Endgame. At the same time it only lightly touches on Gamora and Nebula's relationship even though Endgame showed that was the most important thing for both of them and the entire catalyst for Gamora having confidence that her arrival to the future might be okay and they could win against Thanos. He ignores that 5 years working and being friends with other people could pose an issue for Rocket and Nebula when the guardians came back from the snap. Especially Nebula who hadn't been on the team before. It's like none of that time mattered at all. Then with Gamora he treats her time after Endgame as if it's created a permanent wall where she can't connect with these characters or be part of the guardians. And now here we are with Gamora being excluded and her value as a character being questioned which is the exact opposite of what you should want for a film about abuse survivors.

you're so right on all fronts here! i think gunn is extremely talented and everything else has been generally handled well and beautifully; for me personally it mostly only starts to all unravel when i consider the gamora situation, but looking past that, i think most of the characters got pretty solid arcs/moments/etc across the 3 films, especially considering the chaotic context of trying to fit into the greater mcu.

i'm glad rocket got the attention and care he did in this film, esp knowing how much it meant to gunn, but like i mentioned yesterday, i think it would've made more sense to put this particular story between vol 2 and iw, since the effects of iw/eg are hardly even explored in the film beyond peter grieving, the ravager gamora storyline, nebula's presence, and just other random details.

and i'm not just making up reasons to sound like a hater here lol like i've LITERALLY been saying since 2021 when mcu content resumed post-covid that, in general, one of my biggest gripes with post-eg mcu is the lack of rly going into the effects of 1) the 5-year time skip, and 2) the snap itself on most of the characters/stories, and unfortunately vol 3 ended up falling into the majority of films/shows that didn't rly deal with it much.

and my issue isn't necessarily gunn not wanting to deal with all that on top of the rocket story he wanted to do, but just like...we didn't have to make it a post-eg story then lol

in my ideal world we'd get like a vol 4 that is post-eg where it's just the gotg grieving gamora and searching for the new one, or perhaps even rectifying the whole original issue by bringing original gamora back or merging her with 2014!gamora etc. but either way, i think gamora's circumstances in her life and death warranted her getting a story just as much centered around her and driven by how much the other characters love her just as much as rocket did.

but yeah like you said anon, i just don't think gunn - or markus, mcfeely, or the russos bros for that matter - were equipped to handle this kind of storyline. and that isn't a bad thing! that isn't even a criticism of their work. it's just a literal fact that not all storytellers are equipped to handle every kind of story. and i don't think it should be A Big Deal to simply say that a white male storyteller may not be the best choice to tell the story of the consequences of a woc abuse survivor getting murdered by her abuser like lol. (bc when white male storytellers did tell that story, it was to show how the abuser actually Loved her and how there are parts of thanos we can still sympathize with UWU)

this is not even a radical opinion. this is quite literally the whole point of movements like #ownvoices and giving bipoc/queer/etc creatives jobs in directing and/or writing films/shows that center their identities.

like it literally is not that deep to suggest that local middle-aged white man james gunn (who's already made it clear that rocket was His Guy from the beginning, so we already know which character he'd prefer to focus on) was maybe not The Best Choice to write a story abt a woc surviving and escaping her abuser only to end up murdered by him in the end. he had his chance to show he was equipped to tell that story and he didn't, the end, case closed. it's as simple as that, and i don't wanna hear any dissenting opinions from white ppl, honestly!

#i'm so sick of ppl in the fandom acting like ppl are 'turning' on writers/directors who've made good projects in the past #like this attitude creates 0 space for ppl to share their valid criticisms esp when it's as simple as saying hey i don't think a white male #pov was best for this maybe! like BROOO #i'm just anticipating there's gonna be this same defensive sentiment with gunn after the dickriding i saw happening for the russos lmao #like bro just bc i thought catws was good didn't mean the russos could do no wrong after that help???#anyway this got off topic #ask #the gamora situation

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waterlight · 1 year

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2nd House signs as AOTY winners

Disclaimer:

Aquarius 2nd House isn't in this list because no band or artist with this placement has won it, at least for the people we know about the birth time.

Do you want to win an AOTY? Have a Scorpio 2nd House.

Some AOTY winners won't be present because we don't know their birth time

When you read 'ruled by', it means the 2nd House is ruled by that planet.

Aries 2nd House

The Beatles (ruled by Gemini Mars in the 4th House): they won it for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1968), it was associated with numerous touchstones of the era's youth culture, such as fashion, drugs, mysticism, and a sense of optimism and empowerment.

Michael Jackson (ruled by Taurus Mars in the 2nd House): he won it for Thriller (1984), itforeshadows the contradictory themes of Jackson's personal life, as he began using a motif of paranoia and darker themes. It is the best-selling album of all time, with sales of 70 million copies worldwide.

Whitney Houston (ruled by Libra Mars in the 7th House): she won it for The Bodyguard Soundtrack (1994), the album gave Houston the distinction of having the most weeks at number one by a female artist on Billboard 200, holding that record for 19 years until being surpassed by Adele's album 21 (2011).

Billie Eilish (ruled by Pisces Mars in the 12th House): she won it for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2020), its songs explore themes such as modern youth, drug addiction, heartbreak, suicide, and mental health, with lyrical sensibilities of humor and horror. Eilish said the album was inspired in part by lucid dreaming and night terrors, which are reflected on the cover photo.

Others: Herbie Hancock (ruled by Gemini Mars in the 3rd House; with Jupiter, Sun, Saturn and Uranus): The Joni Letters (2008). Bruno Mars (ruled by Virgo Mars in the 7th House): 24k Magic (2018)

Taurus 2nd House

Barbra Streisand (ruled by Venus Pisces in the 12th House; with Saturn and Uranus): she won it for The Barbra Streisand Album (1964); Streisand said about the title, "'What is the truth of it? It's the Barbra Streisand album.' If you saw me on TV, you could just go [to the record shop] and ask for the Barbra Streisand album. It's common sense."

Beck (ruled by Leo Venus in the 6th House; with Saturn): he won it for Morning Phase (2015).

Others: John Lennon (ruled by Virgo Venus in the 6th House): Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1968, with The Beatles), Double Fantasy (1982, with Yoko Ono).

Gemini 2nd House

Bonnie Raitt (ruled by Scorpio Mercury in the 7th House; with Moon): she won it for Nick of Time (1990), many of the songs deal with personal issues Raitt was struggling with at the time. For example, the album's title track is about coming to terms with middle age.

Kacey Musgraves (ruled by Virgo Mercury in the 5th House): she won it for Golden Hour (2019), it's a country pop record, it also contains elements of disco, electropop, electronica, and yacht rock.

Cancer 2nd House

Judy Garland (ruled by Sagittarius Moon in the 6th House; with Neptune): the first woman to win AOTY, she won it for Judy at Carnegie Hall (1962), a live recording of a concert of hers in New York.

Adele (ruled by Sagittarius Moon in the 6th House): she won it for 21 (2012), composed in the aftermath of the singer's separation from her then partner, the album explores themes of heartbreak, healing, introspection, and forgiveness; and 25 (2017), its lyrical content features themes of Adele "yearning for her old self, her nostalgia", and "melancholia about the passage of time" according to an interview with the singer by Rolling Stone, as well as themes of motherhood, new love, and regret.

Leo 2nd House

Henry Mancini (ruled by Aries Sun in the 10th house; with North Node and Neptune): the first AOTY winner, he won it for The Music from Peter Gunn (1959), a soundtrack album for the TV series Peter Gunn.

João Gilberto (ruled by Gemini Sun in the 12th house; with Mars and Neptune): he won it together with Stan Getz for the album 'Getz/Gilberto" (1965), it's considered the record that popularized bossa nova worldwide and is one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, selling over one million copies.

George Michael (ruled by Cancer Sun in the 12th House; with Moon): he won it for Faith (1989), in addition to playing various instruments on the album, Michael wrote and produced every track on the recording except for one, "Look at Your Hands". Faith's songs include introspective lyrics, which generated controversies about Michael's personal relationships at that time.

Alanis Morissette (ruled by Gemini Sun in the 11th House): she won it for Jagged Little Pill (1996). The lyrics touch upon themes of aggression and unsuccessful relationships, while Ballard introduced a pop sensibility to Morissette's angst.

Others: Billy Joel (ruled by Taurus Sun in the 11th House; with Pluto): 52nd Street (1980). Celine Dion (ruled by Aries Sun in the 9th House; with Jupiter [R]): Falling into You (1997)

Virgo 2nd House

Natalie Cole (ruled by Capricorn Mercury in the 5th House; with Mars, Moon and Neptune [R]): she won it for Unforgettable... with Love (1992), the album includes covers of standards previously performed by her father, Nat King Cole. She became the first African-American woman to win the award.

Lauryn Hill (ruled by Gemini Mercury in the 10th House; with Pluto [R]): she won it for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1999), it is a neo-soul and R&B album with some songs based in hip hop soul and reggae. Its lyrics touch upon Hill's pregnancy and the turmoil within her former group the Fugees, along with themes of love and God. In 2000, the band Santana wins AOTY for Supernatural, Lauryn is credited as producer.

Other: Art Garfunkel (ruled by Libra Mercury in the 3rd House; with Neptune and North Node): Bridge Over Troubled Water (1971, with Paul Simon).

Libra 2nd House

Paul Simon (ruled by Sagittarius Venus in the 4th House; with Sun): he won it in 1971 for Bridge over Troubled Water together with Art Garfunkel; in 1976 with Still Crazy After All These Times; in 1987 for Graceland, it features an eclectic mixture of genres, including pop, rock, a cappella, zydeco, isicathamiya and mbaqanga. Simon wrote songs inspired by the recordings made in Johannesburg, collaborating with African and American artists. He received criticism for breaking the cultural boycott of South Africa because of its policy of apartheid.

Scorpio 2nd House

Frank Sinatra (ruled by Leo Mars in the 10th house; with Mercury and Sun): he won it for Come Dance With Me! (1959), September Of My Years (1966) whose theme is exlopiring the "who am I" questions that a man faces upon entering the middle age, A Man and His Music (1967) which provides a retrospective of his musical career.

Bob Newhart (ruled by Libra Mars in the 12th house; with Saturn): he won it for The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart (1961), the first comedy album to win AOTY.

Stevie Wonder (ruled by Virgo Mars in the 12th House): he won it for Innervisions (1974), the album has been regarded as his transition from the "Little Stevie Wonder" known for romantic ballads into a more musically mature, conscious, and grown-up artist; Fulfillingness' First Finale (1975); Songs in the Key of Life (1977), widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the greatest albums in the history of recorded music, many musicians have remarked on the quality of the album and its influence on their own work.

Eric Clapton (ruled by Pisces Mars in the 4th House): in addiction to his award for the Concert for Bangladesh credited to George Harrison & Friends, he won it for Unplugged (1993).

Quincy Jones (ruled by Virgo Mars in the 11th House): in addiction for his AOTY for Thriller which he produced, he won it for Back on the Block which features legendary musicians and singers from across three generations.

Yoko Ono (ruled by Virgo Mars [R] in the 12th House): she won it together with John Lennon for the record 'Double Fantasy', upon its release, the album stalled on music charts and received largely negative reviews from music critics, with many focusing on the album's idealisation of Lennon and Ono's marriage. However, following Lennon's murder three weeks after its release, it became a worldwide commercial success.

Harry Styles (ruled by Aquarius Mars in the 3rd House; with Pluto and North Node): he won it for Harry's House (2023)

Others: Carole King (ruled by Taurus Mars in the 7th House; with Moon): Tapestry (1972). Phil Collins (ruled by Pisces Mars in the 4th House): No Jacket Required (1986).

Sagittarius 2nd House

George Harrison (ruled by Cancer Jupiter [R] in the 9th house): in addition to his award with the Beatles, he won an AOTY in 1973 with The Concert for Bangladesh credited to 'George Harrison & Friends'. The shows were a pioneering charity event, in aid of the homeless Bengali refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War, and set the model for future multi-artist rock benefits such as Live Aid (1985) and the Concert for New York City (2001).

Other: Glen Campbell (ruled by Sagittarius Jupiter [R] in the 2nd House with North Node): By the Time I Get To Phoenix (1969).

Capricorn 2nd House

Bob Dylan (ruled by Taurus Saturn in the 5th House; with Mars): in addiction to his award for The Concert for Bangla Desh (1973) credited to George Harrison & Friends, he won AOTY for Time Out of Mind (1998). For many fans and critics, the album marked Dylan's artistic comeback after he appeared to struggle with his musical identity throughout the 1980s.

Other: Robert Plant (ruled by Leo Saturn in the 9th House): Raising Sand (2009, Alison Krauss)

Pisces 2nd House

Christopher Cross (ruled by Aries Jupiter in the 2nd House with North Node and Moon): he won it for his self-titled album Christopher Cross (1981).

Other: Alison Krauss (ruled by Scorpio Jupiter in the 10th House): Raising Sand (2009, Robert Plant).

#2nd house #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #aoty #virgo #libra #sagittarius #capricorn #scorpio #pisces #harry styles #astrology #billie eilish

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ordinaryschmuck · 2 years

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What I Think About MCU Ms. Marvel’s Powers

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

With Ms. Marvel coming this Wednesday onto Disney+, and with me most likely stating my quick thoughts each week, I figured that I should discuss the cosmic elephant in the room that is Ms. Marvel’s powers. If you’ve been paying attention to how Marvel and especially Ms. Marvel fans have reacted, you can tell that the overall consensus is that they do not like this change. In the comics, Ms. Marvel is a shapeshifter who’s able to grow her fists into massive proportions, grow and shrink her body into whatever size she wants, stretch her limbs like Mr. Fantastic, and even change her appearance to look like whoever she wants. In her very first comic title, Kamala Khan actually turns herself into Carol Danvers, the original Ms. Marvel. She couldn’t copy the powers (why would she?), but she did copy the look down to the minute detail.

From what we can tell with trailers, it looks like the show is making her less like a shapeshifter and more like Green Lantern. She can summon these cosmic projectiles that can make fists, platforms to run on in the air, and forcefields to protect herself and others. Now, to be fair, it does look kind of cool...but it doesn’t look like the Ms. Marvel fans know.

As far as I can tell, that’s the only issue fans have so far with the show. In terms of the character’s spirit and significance to the expansive universe, it seems pretty spot-on to what fans adore. So, if they got everything else right, you might be asking, “Why are fans complaining? Couldn’t they just let go this one thing that was done wrong in favor for everything else that’s done right?”

I can see why you think that. After all, changes from the comics to the screen happens more times than you think, especially in Marvel media.

Sam Rammi’s Spider-Man trilogy gave Peter Parker biological webs instead of having him build web-shooters. Fans called shenanigans at this change, but to this day, there are people who still claim that these movies are the best live-action adaptation for Spider-Man. Why? Because they kept to the same ideas and themes of the character. They just changed one aspect of him.

And sometimes, a change can be more than just minor. Take James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, for example. In terms of personality, they’re nothing like what their characters originally were in the comics. And yet, people love them. To the point where these characters went from non-recognizable characters to the ones that almost everybody knows about, Marvel fan or not, you at least now know who Rocket Racoon is.

So, if changes to comics doesn’t stop people from liking the overall product, that means change is good, right? Well...it depends on what’s being changed.

If we’re talking about personalities or how a character got their powers, change can be good. It just depends on whether it makes sense for the story.

However, when it comes to superheroes, there is one key-aspect of the character that should never change.

“Their costumes?”

...There are two key aspects that should never change.

“Their sexuality, race, and gender?”

...Depending on how straight, white, and male they are, there are THREE aspects of the character that should never change.

And that is the superpowers. Because, above everything else, the powers define the hero. Don’t believe me?

How many times are you reminded of Mr. Fantastic whenever you see a new superhero stretch?

How many times are you reminded of the Hulk whenever you see a new superhero get stronger the angrier that they get?

And how many times are you reminded of Spider-Man when you see a new superhero swing through the city?

That happens because those powers are what makes these heroes unique, and without them, they might as well be a different superhero. Sam Rammi’s Peter Parker may have biological webs, but he still swings through New York, sticks to walls, and has the proportional strength of a spider. James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy may have different personalities, but they still, relatively, have the same powers they do in the comics. That’s because the powers are what made them unique. Not what a director altered for the sake of a story. And that’s why fans are in an outrage over Kamala Khan’s powers in the show. Because, as I’ve said, it doesn’t make her Ms. Marvel. It makes her Green Lantern.

“Well, if fans don’t like the change, they can just read the comics. Those will stay the same.”

Yeah, here’s the thing: They don’t.

Comics change all the time and, more often than not, it’s because of how popular a movie/TV show adaptation is. Because of how popular Sam Rammi’s Spider-Man is, Marvel went through this bizarre way to give Peter Parker biological webbing instead of web-shooters. And with how identifiable James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy are, the comics actually started ret-conning them to be more like the movies. And it’s not just the comics either. Every animated series and even video game that features the Guardians of the Galaxy all try their hardest to copy James Gunn’s vision rather than make their own.

This leads to another reason why fans are so upset over how Kamala Khan’s powers are different in the show. If the show ends up being popular, the comics will change the character to line up with the series. And fans who loved Ms. Marvels original powers, the one thing that made her unique in the first place, are going to be upset that she’ll be changed so drastically for...whatever the MCU decided to change it for.

Is Ms. Marvel going to be a good show? Maybe. Will it stick to the spirit of the character? Possibly. But while it looks like Ms. Marvel and sounds like Ms. Marvel, if she’s not a shapeshifter, then she’s not Ms. Marvel. She’s practically a different superhero.

A good superhero, maybe. But not the one that won people over.

#marvel comics #marvel cinematic universe #ms. marvel #ms marvel #kamala khan #mcu ms marvel #what i thought about

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sivavakkiyar · 8 months

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you seem to like it so I’m gonna ask you, what is up with Persona 5 and jazz memes? why does it piss bros off so bad lol

in a sense it’s just standard gatekeeping stuff, but I’ll make an argument for it. Jazz has a kind of unique status in the 20th century as being a genre of music that’s simultaneously popular music and art music, though from about the mid 50’s on it starts to move more towards the latter while still having a relevance to the former. In the late 50’s there was this show called Peter Gunn that you definitely know the theme music for: the soundtrack for it, explicitly jazz, was a kind of gateway for a lot of people to look into the genre as a whole. When I was a kid and I think still today the score for Cowboy Bebop did the same thing. Persona 5 is less distinctly ‘jazz’ than either of those, but it has a distinctly ‘jazzy’ feeling in that kind of post-nujabes way that seems to get a lot of people interested (tho I think often in later forms, like jazz fusion or jazz hip hop or acid jazz. Whatever, jazz)

So all three are great, right? In my opinion, anyway. On the one hand what makes them ‘gateways’ are that they’re associated with other media that renders connecting to the music easier. On the other hand, the fact that they’re primarily *scores* means that from the perspective of the genre they’re very direct—-the medium of scoring means that you have about a second to set the mood, which means the stuff is generally “simpler” from the perspective of the music that is made to be primarily music: primarily textural, immediately melodic, short, immediate constant hooks. In truth it’s a different form, it wouldn’t be as successful if it wasn’t like that—-but it is what it is.

anyway what winds up happening of course is that as people get into the genre they get very defensive and argumentative for what got them into it, and so for every person saying ‘that’s not even real music’ you’ll have 3 or 4 people saying that it’s actually a masterpiece of the form, perhaps superior to the standard material of the form they might not have down yet (no joke: there’s a famous review of Coltrane’s Giant Steps where the reviewer explicitly says that the Peter Gunn soundtrack is superior on every level for all the above qualities mentioned: at least people like listening to it, only the pretentious could possibly prefer Coltrane or Bird, this is old stuff)

essentially standard fandom stuff, except it’s with music so people get particularly weird about it. Don’t sweat it. Like what you like and keep and open mind, keep in mind different things have different goals, don’t pay too much attention to memes

#silistens #long post #sorry

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moviewarfare · 1 year

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A Review of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)”

Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the best and most surprising things to come out of the MCU. They were an unknown group with heroes that were even more unknown than Iron Man (at the time). However, thanks to director James Gunn, he made them one of the most popular Marvel characters and team. I loved the first one and it is still up there in one of my favourite Marvel films. The second one is a great movie but not as good as the first one. There is a joke that the 3rd movie is always the worst which did occur with Ant-Man recently. Does Guardians of the Galaxy fall into this or does it deliver an epic trilogy?

One of the core themes in the Guardian of the Galaxy movies is family and loss. This is still prevalent here and still as powerful. We see the Guardians feel closer as a family than ever but also argue a lot like family too. In terms of character arcs, Peter is still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Yondu and even his mother which is making him go to the bottles. His struggles stem from self-blame for those losses and becoming more protective of his current family, The Guardians. He has conflicts with alternate Gamora who he still sees as his Gamora which she is having none of. Nebula is also a stand-out character this time with her being a member of the Guardians and not an antagonist. She has great interactions with everyone and her character arc is a great one. The character that is the major focus of GotG3 is Rocket. We finally get his backstory which is so dark and heartbreaking that it genuinely brought a tear to my eye. Mantis and Drax are still the idiot duo but they get some emotional moments and even cool scenes where they shine. Likewise, Groot, Kraglin and talking dog Cosmo are mostly just there but they get moments to shine too.

On that note, the return actors continue to do a great job in the role. They all get to flex more of their emotions due to this more emotional entry. Special praise to Bradley Cooper as Rocket who gives a stunning voice performance. Additionally, I must praise Chukwudi Iwuji's performance as the villain High Evolutionary. He gives a full-on narcissistic, zealous and unhinged performance that makes him so hateable. Another standout element from this series is the music and its incorporation of non-mainstream pop songs. James continues to use great songs such as "In the Meantime" by Spacehog and he uses them in great ways that benefit the movie. One difference this time is the use of some more popular songs such as "Creep" by Radiohead and "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machines. Nevertheless, they are used satisfyingly that I don't mind their use.

There are a couple of awesome action scenes. The ones that come to mind are the fight against Adam Warlock where we get to see the guardians struggle against a powerful foe. Moreover, there is a phenomenal one-shot-looking action scene that illustrates all the Guardian's fighting prowess and it was so cool. The costumes and set design are well-designed. I love how creative the world is with the unique-looking planets and different alien species. Most of the aliens are done using prosthetics and they look great! The story itself is quite basic as it is mostly a fetch quest but the emotional payoff to all the characters' arcs is extremely satisfying. We get what feels like a proper ending to the original Guardians team that I wouldn't be angry if this is the last we see of these characters.

However, I do have some minor gripes with the movie. Adam Warlock who was teased since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is finally here but he doesn't feel that meaningful to the plot. He is just there to be a nuisance rather than a significant antagonist. Him having the mindset of a child just makes him slightly lame. One common superhero movie issue is the vague villain powers which are also here. The High Evolutionary seems to be able to use telekinesis or emit giant energy blasts but never seems to do it against the Guardians when he should. Alternate Gamora was one of the biggest challenges as it was a Gamora with none of the character development from the first 2 films. In this film, she comes off as way too cold and aggressive than the Gamora of previous films which makes her not that likeable. Although, you could argue that was the whole point as she isn't the same Gamora, plus she does have her character arc. There is also a weird Nebula and Peter subplot that is hinted at but never amounts to anything.

Overall, what an amazing end to the trilogy! With MCU projects lately being kind of subpar, it was great to finally have an entry that delivers. We now have another entry in great MCU trilogies with Captain America, Tom Holland's Spiderman and now Guardians of the Galaxy. I don't know what is going to happen with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies now that James Gunn is done and moving to DC. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to what James does as head of DC and I can't wait to see what new direction the Guardians go in.

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#movies #films #Movie Reviews #Film Review #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #MCU #Guardians of the Galaxy #guardians of the galaxy 3 #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #The Guardians of the Galaxy #dc

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astromechs · 1 year

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I finally saw vol 3 and have the ability to add to all the great discussions I've seen. First of all I loved seeing the team really fighting to help one of their own. It showed how far they have come. I also enjoyed how each character got an arc or at least there was an attempt at one. The music choices were fantastic and that one hallway fight scene was the trilogies best!

on the other side there was something about this movie that felt like two separate films that didn't quite mesh. You have everything with Rocket and then this almost subplot with Gamora that doesn't quite feel formed enough to really be called a plot. But it's there enough to count as something. I went into vol 3 hoping it would explore the brutality of what happened to Gamora. Not just her death but the fact that her abuser got to destroy so much of her life even after her death. He stole her childhood. He stole her freedom with a found family she helped start. He even stole her soul. If that wasn't bad enough his actions in Endgame prevented her from getting to reconnect with what was stolen in the way originally intended. Not a single other character in gotg got this kind of treatment and not a single one of them has any part of the story suggesting we should sympathize with the person who harmed them.

I know vol 3 needed to be Rocket's story and I respect that. But I think once they chose that type of death for her they needed to focus on her more not less, because as Peter said she formed the guardians. Looking back this is so true. She was the one who originally wanted to do the right thing in vol 1 even if it meant giving up her freedom. She's the one who genuinely loved having a purpose that was a life of serivce helping others. Endgame showed us Gamora had the same potential. She extended a hand to Nebula, went to take on her abuser and prevent further harm. It feels like there was a whole story here for Gamora that needed to be told after that and vol 3 did a decent job with some of it but, imo, made choices that undermined Gamora to conveniently make sure she didn't distract from everything going on. Which would have been fine if what happened with her was some minor incident. But she was killed and so much of vol 3 was about how your abuser shouldn't get to kill you after you have finally grasped hold of happiness and healing. I felt like there was a glaring problem where the film is screaming abusers don't get to win while a character whose abuser did get to win is standing right there and nobody is saying anything about it.

I did love the end though with Gamora seeming to get the thrill of what the guardians could accomplish together and she looked happier and lighter. Her final conversation with Groot was heartwarming. So it's not like I didn't see the good the film did. I really did enjoy it. But something isn't working for me. It also bugs me that I have run across some comments where people are cheering on the themes in vol 3 while also veering into making excuses for Gamora's death or saying she can no longer be accepted as family to the guardians. It feels like some disconnect is going on that's a little troubling.

i'm totally with you on all of this! there were gamora moments that were really great (i liked her last conversations with groot and peter a lot, in particular), but i definitely think her story merited more focus, especially after what happened in infinity war/endgame — and the fact that we didn't get that focus made the overall narrative feel incomplete to me. it makes a major character's arc as a whole feel disjointed, which makes it all wobble a bit for me, personal feelings about the choices made in infinity war/endgame aside.

and it really does make that "the abusers don't get to win" story gunn was going for here not quite feel like it hits, with the shadow of what happened to gamora hanging over the whole thing and no real focus given to addressing really much of anything there. also agreed with you on that.

all of these things contribute to me feeling that while vol 3 was a solid movie, there's some glaring stuff surrounding the handling of gamora's story holding it back.

#asks #anonymous #gotg spoilers #people can miss me with that 'gamora doesn't get to be a guardian now' bs tho

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nerdhall · 1 year

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From Page to Screen: The Irreverent, Intergalactic Evolution of The Guardians of the Galaxy

The Comic Book Origins

The Guardians of the Galaxy first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #18, published in 1969. Created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, the original team featured an entirely different lineup, including Vance Astro, Martinex T'Naga, Yondu Udonta, and Charlie-27. Set in the 31st century, this group of heroes fought to protect the universe from various threats.

Over the years, the Guardians underwent numerous changes in both lineups and storylines. It wasn't until 2008 when writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning introduced a new team that closely resembles the one we know today. Comprised of Peter Quill (Star-Lord), Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot, this new lineup was defined by their humor, individuality, and offbeat approach to superheroics.

An Unexpected Cinematic Adventure

In 2014, Marvel Studios and director James Gunn brought the Guardians to life on the silver screen, with Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel starring in the respective roles. The film was a risky move, as the Guardians were relatively obscure characters within the Marvel Universe. However, the risk paid off, as the movie grossed over $770 million at the worldwide box office and received widespread acclaim for its wit, charm, and visual spectacle.

The Rise of an Unlikely Franchise

The success of the first film led to a sequel, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," released in 2017. With the return of the original cast and James Gunn at the helm, the sequel delved deeper into the characters' relationships and explored the concept of family. While the film received mixed reviews, it still achieved box-office success, earning over $860 million worldwide.

The Guardians' popularity also led to their inclusion in the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the characters playing significant roles in "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019).

Guardians of the Galaxy: Beyond the Movies

The Guardians' influence has stretched beyond films, with the characters appearing in animated TV series, video games, and theme park attractions. Their catchy mixtape soundtracks, inspired by the films, have also garnered a massive following, with songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s introducing younger generations to classic tunes.

The Legacy Continues

The Guardians' story is far from over, with a third film, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," is in theaters soon. James Gunn is set to return as director, and fans eagerly await the next chapter in the team's intergalactic adventures.

The Guardians of the Galaxy have defied the odds, transforming from a relatively unknown comic book property to a beloved franchise. Their combination of humor, heart, and cosmic action has resonated with audiences worldwide, and their journey is a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring appeal of the underdog.

#guardians of the galaxy

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