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natalie-k-pan · 3 years

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10 Ways the Loki show Disappointed Me

part two

6) The trailer was misleading advertising. Marvel’s done it in the past with little to no backlash:

Iron Man 3 presenting the Mandarin as the ultimate foe for Tony to defeat, only to find out he’s a charlatan in a minor role.

Falcon and Winter Soldier was presented as a light-hearted buddy adventure, only to tackle darker themes about nationalism and racism. (Not saying that those themes were bad, just that the TFAWS’s trailer was not truthful to the story).

In the case of Loki, the trailer presented the plot as Loki making time-traveling shenanigans and being captured for breaking the timeline. They included the D.B Cooper clip, and the scenes of Loki in New York and as king in Asgard. These clips never show up in season 1. The D.B Cooper scene was a off-the-cuff moment, and the highly-anticipated (imo) President Loki was around for five minutes.

The trailer shows the storyline being about Loki breaking the timeline, with Mobius saying in a voiceover, “You picked up the tesseract, breaking reality. I want you to help us fix it.”

Marvel’s publicity team knew what story we would want to see from the character. And that’s not what we got: it was a mix of Loki tagging along with Sylvie to take down the Timekeepers, and detective-esque scenes of trying to overthrow the TimeKeepers.

It was never about Loki having an adventure, breaking the timeline, and having to fix it.

There’s a difference between having scenes that don’t make it into the final product, between not revealing enough of the story to spoil plot twists...and deliberately choosing certain scenes and quotes to present a false version of the story.

I guess Marvel was worried that no one would watch it if they showed us the real product.

7) Loki’s powers were wildly inconsistent, especially compared to what we’ve seen before.

In the past, we’ve seen Loki do illusions, duplication casting and in Thor 2, some very light telekinesis. After hearing of his mother’s death, he throws several pieces of furniture in into the cell walls with his mind. This is after losing the person who probably mattered most to him at the time, and feeling responsible for her death--it’s a powerful move showing his magical capabilities.

In the show, in Episode 3 we see him pull a Roomba towards himself in order to use it as a shield during a fight--pretty in-line with what we saw in the Dark World.

One episode later, an entire flipping tower is falling towards them, and he reverses it with his mind alone.

It was in the face of death, you say. Of course he was going to pull some cool new magical move.

Sure. In the face of death, I could see him jumping from throwing chairs to something heavier, like maybe a crumbling wall or a fruit stand.

BUT A TOWER?

WHY?

HOW??

He’s never done anything on that scale magically. In episode 2, he got tossed around by a (human) Alabama man. Why would he not use that move to bring the roof crumbling down if he was fighting for his life then?

So he’s got massive telepathic power when a building is falling but can’t use it in a fight against regular people.... okay?

Honestly, due to the fact that they’ve weakened him so much, and when Loki said, “I think we’re stronger than we realize”, I’m betting Season 2 will include Loki discovering the extent of his magical powers.

I don’t like this idea because again, it contradicts the previous canon. In Thor 1, Hogun literally calls Loki a “master of magic”. He went toe-to-toe with Thor and the Avengers and now can’t beat regular humans. A thousand+ year old being unaware of his own untapped potential doesn’t seem correct (yeah, they did that with Thor in Ragnarok, I know).

This Loki’s power levels jump up and down according to the plot, trying to make us believe that due to his spoiled past, Loki needs to apply himself to learn more about his powers.

8) Loki was out of character.

His lying and scheming was way too obvious. I was incredibly confused the first couple of episodes because it would be strange how he would be a pathetic buffoon one minute and yet The only moment I was sold on his competence as a liar was episode 2 at the renaissance fair where he attempts to fool the TVA. He was actually competent for once, but he gets caught, and goes into apologizing and sucking up 30 seconds later.

He gets drunk when they’re on the mission on Lamentis. This didn’t make sense--when he was trying to conquer Earth, he had the opportunity to also goof off and he’s always been shown to take things seriously, with the exception of Ragnarok.

The “I’m a narcissist” scene. While Loki is the type to crave attention--in Avengers, Tony calls him a diva who wants his name plastered to the skies--it comes from a place of feeling overshadowed, never able to match his brother Thor. Which we can see has some basis:

In Thor 1, his adopted parents raised him to hate his race,

lied to him about it,

and when he was hanging over an wormhole, his father finally rejected him.

In Avengers, Thor tells him in that his slights are “imagined”.

Thor 2, his adopted father told him his “birthright was to die”.

While it doesn’t excuse his actions in Thor and Avengers, it’s pretty clear that his family, particularly his father, have let him down.

So to make him experience character development and understand why he does what he does...the writers took him back to Asgard, and had Sif beat him up repeatedly until he admits he does terrible things because he’s a...narcissist.

It was pretty hard to watch that scene, especially because I related to Loki as someone who felt overshadowed and overlooked. He tried too hard to be what his family wanted, to show that he was “the worthy son”.

But here in the fantastic year of 2021, this show decided to throw away all of that emotional nuance away.

9) The costumes were bad.

The brown variant jacket with its ugly orange block letters.

The guard suit on Lamentis looked like a cross between a purple sweater and a plague doctor mask. honestly makes me shuder to see it

Loki’s green-and-gold costumes are some of the most distinct, instantly recognizable outfits of the MCU. And he almost immediately loses it in the first episode. It ends being given to Sylvie, (like most of Loki’s better characteristics) and he stays in a detective skinny-tie suit instead. The costume is okay, but it lacks the flair and style he’s had previously, and he never gains it back.

10) The season finale really did showcase this show in the best way-- ig hype followed by disappointment.

For five episodes, we rushed towards the ultimate villain, the mastermind behind it all. Episode 6 was like...being handed a pack of bubble wrap, swinging your hand hard, expecting that satisfying pop! only to have it slowly putter out with a sad little sound.

First, Kang looked like he got his costume from Party City. The purple cape isn’t doing him any favors. Then, the man sat there and monologued for forty minutes, making jokes, telling us how he set the plot up, and how the multiverse worked.

I know Marvel gets flack for there always being an CGI climactic action scene, but…they had 6 episodes leading up to the Big Bad, and for it to end that anticlimactically with a man in a Party City purple cape was a letdown. The finale had no menace, no teeth. In the words of Mobius, it was just…talkie-talkie.

All in all, this show really suffered from ignoring Loki’s past, where he would realistically be emotionally-wise, and a lack of focus on its title character’s development. Settings and costumes being better/unique would be also be nice, especially given its popularity. At the end of the day, I don’t see the character I empathized so strongly with in this show.

#loki disney+#loki negativity #loki critical #loki #loki review #wish it was better

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crazyyfilmyfreak · 3 years

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OKAY THIS IS A SAFE PLACE AND HERE IS MY NO SPOILERS REVIEW ( not exactly a review but my feelings after i have seen The Film )

Before Speaking about how i felt i wanted to say this i was like not at all interested in Shang-Chi because this is an origin story and i have never read any shang-Chi comics before i mean i do know him from Spiderman cross overs and other crossovers in marvel also lets be honest its Simu liu he's not like Jackie chan or sth 😭 So i was obviously not at all excited but since i am shameless mcu slut since ironman1 i just fucking couldn't stop myself from Watching Shang-Chi on sep3rd and damn God i was spell Bound After watching the Film 😳🙌🏻 and i want to kick myself very badly for underestimating Simu Liu , He was so fucking good and Every cast member in the Film did a Marvellous Job by bringing the Characters to life and creating this epic of a cinema .

The Film starts in such a great note and the opening sequence itself is something out of the world and something that we all have never seen in a Mcu film and the director Daniel Cretton did not waste a single second once the film has started he took the audience straight into the story and even the visuals were too good to be true during the first 10 - 15 mins 👀 if you see the movie i will understand what i mean , it was Epic .

Simu Liu and Awkwafina's Chemistry was really refreshing to watch it on screen and it worked really great for me and i can't wait to see more of them 😏❤ ( i actually thought Awkwafina would ruin the atmosphere of the film when i saw her on screen but she was one of the best parts of the film 🤗 )

Considering This is Meng Zhang's first big role in a movie i think she did a phenomenal job not only she's insanely hot and pretty i loved her a lot in the action Sequences , she did a fine and perfect job and i am actually scared if Marvel is gonna Ruin her character in the future with silly Jokes and stuff 😭 Because i don't want that as the character has a very big potential and a lots of untapped Trauma behind her and i want the makers to explore more of that side and want them to showcase her bad-assery in the future i would even go further and Say more than Shang-Chi i could able to relate more with Xialing and i loved her more 👀❤

THE FIRST ACT WAS GREAT

The second act kinda Flat but

THE THIRD ACT WAS FUCKING MAGICAL , BAT SHIT CRAZY AND EPIC which makes up for the flat second act and the visuals , the CGI , the action scenes , The war , the battle and emotional moments in the end everything worked fucking fine and perfect for me and i think you can just watch Shang-Chi alone only for the last 30-40 mins , IT WAS THAT EPIC

i don't really have anything to complain except a very few things

1. i expected some real-Time action choreography sequences like in Hong kong action movies that we regularly see without too many cuts i mean come on i know its a cbm and its a mcu film but atleast one single take action sequence should have been there in the movie anyways its not a big deal this is sth personal for me and what i expected but other than that action sequences were incredible in the film and may be the best action choreography so far in the Mcu ?

2. SIMU LIU AKA SHANG-CHI WAS FUCKING UNDER-USED is what i think , This is His Fucking Film , His origin so i Hope they will make it for this mistake in the next sequal

3. Just like 80% of The Mcu Films The villain characterisation was so bad , dumb and ridiculous .

and That's it i have nothing else to complain or point my fingers at .

Finally The acting was great , visuals were top-notch, even tho it is a pretty simple origin story the story telling was good and entertaining and the Film has a lot of heart and you can fucking feel it when you are watching it on screen , i will not say The makers did something out of the world Shang-Chi is Basically A Regular Epic Action Drama we all see in Chinese movies but the Director Daniel Cretton has Presented it in a completely new way by adding some elements to fit both the western and universal appeal in a very stylish manner and he fucking knew what he was doing and he did it with most respectable manner .

so i guess i gave you guys enough reasons to watch the Film and please fucking watch it if it is released in cinemas near you PLEASE DON'T MISS IT coz this is a type of Film which you are supposed to only WATCH IN CINEMAS and if you scared and if the pandemic situation still sucks in your place then its fine i can understand so don't pirate it better watch it on disney plus when it gets released which is either october 17th or sth and if you are vaccinated and if Shang-Chi released in cinemas near you then PLEASE FUCKING WATCH IT ASAP , trust me you will love the movie and take all the necessary precautions even if you are vaccinated coz you will still catch the covid even if you are fully vaccinated , the vaccine only reduces the severity .

also some of you might think Marvel made this movie to target China but that's not fucking true Marvel already dominates the China Market and has been dominating it since Avengers ( 2012 ) and most of you don't know this but Shang-Chi maynot release in China coz apparently according to the government rules they don't accept to release a foreign movie where Villain is a chinese guy and the protagonist is someone who's Mixed ( Half-Chinese ) and some of the dweebs infact many in Chinese community thing Simu liu is not attractive enough to lead Shang-chi and they have been harassing him and making fun of him in internet since he was casted ... these mother fucking incompetent chinese government couldn't Stop the spread of covid from their country and entire world is suffering because of them but have these weird absurd directorshippy Rules when it comes to cinema ? mfs even cut the gay scenes from foreign films or entirely ban the film in their country huh so guess we have to fucking support this movie please watch it if you have the chance to watch it and the film requires 375M$ for the break even which is kind of very hard right now considering the pandemic and all but is definitely possible coz the word of mouth is really great and you guys also need to watch it with your families if Shang-Chi becomes a Hit then the eternals gets released on time and so will SPIDER-MAN NO WAY HOME 👀 so please go and watch it asap

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sk1fanfiction · 3 years

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the many faces of tom riddle, part 5

- more myth than man... or not? the mortality of tom riddle and the anatomy of a villain-

That leaves us with Ralph Fiennes’ portrayal of adult Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort in movies 4-8.

I generally find adult Tom Riddle disappointing, even in the books, in terms of character depth. Instead of delving into his motivations and the inner psychology of a villain, we get... slight body horror? And in the movies, it’s even more egregious.

If a story is as good as its villain, adult Tom Riddle is a bit of a let-down, especially on-screen.

“I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost . . . but still, I was alive.”

Perhaps the very first time I watched it, I found this scary, but I must confess that nowadays, Voldemort’s resurrection is more funny to me than anything else. The forked tongue and the nose slits, yes, are supposed to allude to Tom Riddle’s loss of humanity, but I don’t think it...worked out that way in practice.

I know that’s how it is in the books, but ugly equals evil (and vice versa) is a tired trope. not only that, but under the CGI, Lord Voldemort is so difficult to relate to, so inhuman, that it’s hard to (1) see his true depravity (2) connect with him emotionally (3) at least for me, not laugh at him flapping around the graveyard in GOF like an oversized crow.

Now, the reason I’m going on about this is not (just) me being petty. Lord Voldemort is the Boggart for most of the characters in the HP universe, meaning their greatest fear is Lord Voldemort. He represents Fear; as such, he should be utterly terrifying. Now, I don’t mean horrifying in that sense, but Voldemort’s grand entrance should at least feel somewhat unsettling, have some sort of a Gothic atmosphere...

"But then, through the mist in front of him, he saw, with an icy surge of terror, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron."

Visually, this looks great. But it’s not scary. And I’m not a purist by any means, but the words are scarier than the book. Darkness induces fear.

“The lack of any kind of visual stimuli increases anxiety, uncertainty, and tension.”

So, having Voldemort’s pale body materialize isn’t as scary as it could be.

Furthermore, I think Fiennes’ overexaggerated expressions would actually come across as properly horrifying/threatening rather than funny if they just left his face alone. Yes, Fiennes does manage to emote the fear and the anger through the CGI, but it’s like he’s too alien to be scary, at least to me. The amount of memes with Voldemort suggest I’m not the only one this way inclined.

I think there’s probably a problem going on with the uncanny valley. (Images from the Mori essay linked).

[When things are still]

[Creepy things are creepier when moving]

Now, I assume Voldemort is meant to be zombie-creepy, or at least that how Harry describes him in the books.

"The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry...and Harry stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for three years. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake's but with slits for nostrils...."

Now, we can’t get Harry’s experience of being haunted by Voldemort in his dreams, because what I think makes Voldemort’s countenance so truly frightening to the other characters isn’t his snake-like nose or his red eyes, but the potential. Voldemort is, in essence, the Grim Reaper. You are at his mercy, and you’re probably going to be dead.

“This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour.“

And yes, Voldemort can be quite funny and witty, but..

“I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of my followers will give their right hands to perform.” (To Peter Pettigrew)

...it’s still incredibly dark, sadistic humour. Whereas the teenage Tom Riddle we’ve been discussing has just barely dipped his toes into evil, Voldemort is, well... swimming in it. At this point, he think he undeniably enjoys causing pain.

And much of what makes Voldemort scary is subtle.

For example, what I personally consider haunting is the fact that he’s got a cave full of Inferi. A cave full of reanimated dead bodies.

Either he dug them up, which is unlikely... or perhaps, a twenty-seven-or-so-year-old Tom Riddle would lie in wait like a bird of prey, very quietly and patiently, perhaps reading a book, waiting for an unsuspecting Muggle to wander past. Maybe killing is a game to him at this point, when it’s not so personal as killing Harry Potter. Maybe it’s a whispered Avada Kedavra, and then he carries the dead body away to his cave. Maybe he Imperiuses them to walk off the cliff. Maybe he tortures them first.

Shudder.

And I don’t think you can show that kind of horror through any CGI or make-up, so...

You know what is terrifying? Revolting? True crime; real-life people who do unspeakably horrible things. And I think a lot was missed out on, in stripping Tom Riddle physically of his humanity. Yes, Riddle is a monster...

But, as we’ve seen, he’s a human monster, not some eldritch horror from the seventh level of hell or something.

I just think it would be interesting to have this perfectly normal-looking human do all the horrific things Voldemort does. I want to see that sick joy in a human face and feel disgusted. I want to see fear make his bottom lip tremble, and feel a misplaced sense of empathy. (Think President Snow from the Hunger Games -- now, that’s a sick, twisted villain who we can relate to as a human being, but still love to hate -- or what about The Joker?).

And out of everything they chose to CGI, why on earth did they not make his eyes scarlet? That might have made him look at least somewhat menacing, rather than a failed lab experiment.

(Don’t even get me started on his and Bellatrix’s death scenes in the movies-)

Here’s President Snow. He’s got a cute little granddaughter, he sends kiddies to kill each other Battle Royale-style every year, and he poisons all his political opponents. He’s also a master manipulator and has a penchant for white roses. They cover up the smell of the sores in his mouth from eating the poison too, to conceal his treachery.

Heath Ledger as the Joker in Dark Knight (2008), who is, according to NYT (which I totally agree with), the best Joker. Now this is a villain done right, with many Voldemort-like traits. On a scale of one-to-ten, he’s absolutely terrifying. Why? He’s (unlike Voldemort in the movies) incredibly intelligent, shows young-Tom-Riddle-like skills for charm and manipulation, plays with humans like they’re his own personal psychology experiment (and to hell with the Institutional Review Board), and has one, single, very clear goal -- chaos. Like Voldemort, he wears an inhuman mask that’s not horrifying in its own right; but unlike Voldemort, the human is all there -- terrifying, real, and with a bottomless, obsessive desire to destroy. His disordered thinking is all out there for the audience to see. The Joker’s motivation is to enjoy himself; whereas Voldemort seems to lack drive. Why does he want to take over the world -- who knows, with Voldemort? The Joker wants to see it burn.

Let’s try to do the same with Lord Voldemort:

[SLIGHT FLASH WARNING]

I had to go with this because Voldemort isn’t legitimately terrifying in many scenes. And yes, this unrefined anger somewhat speaks to Tom’s immaturity

By this point, seventy-one year old Tom Riddle is a hollowed-out shell of a human being. After decades of building his power, he was defeated by a one-year-old, and ended up slumming it as a spirit for a decade, got defeated again, was a shrivelled-up baby for a year, then finally got his body back.

He’s angry, okay! And Fiennes does a great job of portraying the sheer, destructive, unbridled rage of this character.

The body language. again, since his face is inhuman, this is super important. and Fiennes’ body language is great. Voldemort/Riddle commits to his actions. He is very emotionally-driven.

But yet, he doesn’t feel capable, in the way that the Joker or President Snow do. Yeah, we know anecdotally that he’s incredibly evil, sadistic, and second only to Dumbledore in terms of power, but he loses to a baby, and then that same baby as a teenager. So, we really could have done with seeing Voldemort’s power, cruelty, and evil firsthand a lot more often.

Voldemort is not well-characterized. I don’t understand his motives, and the ones that I do understand are not compelling.

Not to die? Well, he’s already made several Horcruxes. Why not sit back and relax? Why start a war and risk himself?

JKR said that Voldemort’s great desire was to become all-powerful and eternal. But that’s... boring! It does little to tell us about Voldemort, other than that he’s a villain and a wannabe dictator.

Furthermore, the charm, manipulation, and cunning that are hallmarks of younger Tom Riddle’s personality are gone.

Is Voldemort (to return to Jungian terms) all shadow? An empty creature of simple creation and destruction, perhaps? We’ll discuss this further down...

And this isn’t a problem of having a fantastical world with magic and the like. Grindelwald’s quiet, self-possessed, almost coy “So you think you can hold me?” was infinitely scarier than anything that has ever come out of Voldemort’s mouth. It was chilling.

OOTP is my favorite book, and the Ministry sequence is one of my favourite in the films.

This scene where he psyches out Harry, talking so quietly that he could just be a little voice inside his head (and again, during the possession scene)? Absolute perfection.

Why? Because this showcases what’s truly scary about him. Voldemort can get into your head. He can make you do things. And perhaps, if we had seen that more often, we’d understand how scary he is.

I wish this had been his grand entrance, and not whatever that scene in GOF was. Somehow, him screeching “I WANT TO SEE THE LIGHT LEAVE YOUR EYES!” is not menacing. At all.

But, I can’t help but think how much greater the emotional affect would be if he had more human features (think the burned-and-blurred, waxy features from Dumbledore’s memory).

Just imagine these scenes if Voldemort looked human, and spoke as quietly as he did in this one.

Because of the reason that I have little to go on in terms of characterization that I haven’t already covered, we’ll discuss the myth and legend of Lord Voldemort.

I can’t decide if the statue in the films is supposed to be the Angel of Death or the Grim Reaper. He has a skeleton and carries a scythe, but he also has wings. There are so many different interpretations, attitudes towards, and personifications of Death across the world that I don’t want to draw any one conclusion. But I must wonder if Lord Voldemort, with his yew-and-phoenix wand (which carries heavy symbolism of immortality and rebirth) and almost deified figure is meant to be a personification of Death himself? His name, Lord Voldemort, is a shade close to Lord Death.

For years, it has stumped me that wizards and witches are afraid to utter Voldemort’s name, especially since we only see the Taboo in the middle of the last book. It didn’t make sense just based on fear; in the real world, we don’t circumvent Hitler’s name, for example.

Perhaps this may have been obvious to others, but it wasn’t to me.

Here’s a counterargument to myself; why Voldemort shouldn’t look human.

Voldemort, in the Wizarding World, is seen as a literal deity.

I promised to attempt to answer this question in Part 3:

And so, I can’t help but wonder if the opposite is true… if Tom Riddle creates Horcruxes, would that grant him additional magic powers?

In Part 3, I likened Tom Riddle to a sorcerer in Russian folklore, Koschei the Deathless, also famous for sequestering his soul in objects. This source suggests that Koschei was considered not an ordinary magician, but a representative of the ‘other’ world, the world of death.

So, what if... creating Horcruxes makes you... more than human? Now, I could definitely see god-like status being appealing to sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle. Perhaps, even appealing enough to kill for. Now, his proclivity for Avada Kedavra makes sense. We know it’s an incredibly sinister spell, but at the same time, it’s a very humane way to kill. Why might it be so horrifying?

Here’s a weird theory.

To the best of my knowledge, no one but Voldemort is seen using the Killing Curse more than once or twice.

Perhaps, ordinary mortals can only cast Avada Kedavra a few times, but Tom, having split his soul and having become in some way a non-human instrument of Death, can cast it however many times as he likes, and that is part of what serves to make him so terrifying.

This makes the idea of Voldemort tossing around Avada Kedavras actually incredibly terrifying, if you take into account what that might mean.

The collective cultural fear of speaking Voldemort’s name supports this theory.

Take the chthonic (underworld) deities of Greek mythology; most notably, Hades and Persephone, the king and queen of the underworld.

Hades, the god of the dead, was feared.

So feared that the word ‘Hades’ (”the unseen one”) was so frightening, that people came up with all sorts of euphemisms to circumvent actually saying it and he was rarely even depicted in art. For example, they would refer to him as Pluto (”the rich one”), Clymenus ("notorious"), Polydegmon ("who receives many"), and perhaps Eubuleus ("good counsel" or "well-intentioned"), amongst many other names.

However, he was not seen as evil; just stern, cruel, and fair. Like most Greek gods, he had an associated cult (the Death Eaters, anyone?)

Another interesting connection between Hades and Voldemort is that Hades was associated with snakes.

Persephone (suggested to have a pre-Greek origin and probably pre-dates Hades), who was also a vegetation/fertility/spring goddess, similarly, was referred to as Despoina (”the mistress”), Kore (”the maiden”), etc, because as the terrible Queen of the Dead, it was considered unsafe to speak her name aloud. In mythology and literature, she is sometimes referred to as ‘dread Persephone.’

--Just like how Lord Voldemort is referred to as The Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who... (and if you’re Dumbledore, ‘Tom’.)

Her central myth served as the context for the secret rites of regeneration at Eleusis (which was basically a mystery cult devoted to her and her mother, Demeter), which promised immortality to initiates.

We don’t know for certain what exactly went on, because, mystery cult -- the members were sworn to secrecy -- but it revolved around immortality and rebirth and possibly psychoactive drugs.

Perhaps ironically, in comparison to the Death Eaters, anyone could join, as long as they could speak Greek and had never committed murder.

And that concludes my assessment!

#tom riddle #the many faces of #tom marvolo riddle #character analysis #lord voldemort #character study #tw: murder #the body horror was 1/10 #don't make your character design hilarious if you want him to be scary #i'm not saying voldemort is a vegetation deity #but i'm not-not saying it either

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jackdawyt · 3 years

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youtube

Well, punch me in the teeth and call me the Dread Wolf! BioWare have already revealed another trailer for the next Dragon Age this year! The Game Awards 2020 premiered a beautiful-cinematic trailer that showcased many locations, factions, characters and foes we’ll witness in the next instalment. As per usual, we have many thoughts, theories and tinfoils on everything this trailer revealed!

However, before we break down the trailer, we have two descriptions of the next Dragon Age game shared separately on YouTube and Twitter.

On YouTube, the trailer’s description said:

“The world of Dragon Age needs a new hero – someone who can take on the evil forces threatening Thedas. Get a first look at some of the new locations you’ll discover and the factions fighting by your side in the next chapter of Dragon Age.”

And shared on Twitter, the post said:

“The world of Thedas needs you, a new hero. The next #DragonAge will see the return of Solas… and an old friend.”

https://twitter.com/dragonage/status/1337198092957839365

Of course, the old friend no doubt refers to Varric who narrated this brand-new cinematic trailer. That’s right, the one, the only, our storytelling-chest-haired dwarf is coming back in the next Dragon Age, so we’re already going to have some familiarity in the next adventure.

With that said, let’s breakdown the entire contents of this new trailer and what it means for the next Dragon Age!

Meredith & Corypheus

The trailer started by revealing the first piece of a brand-new stone-etched mural.

Knight-Commander Meredith was shown, infused with red lyrium, holding her sword “Certainty”.

Followed up with Corypheus holding Solas’s orb towards the heavens. During this point, Varric said: “I’ve faced tyrants and would-be gods.”

These two shots clearly showcase the previous events of Dragon Age that have somehow circulated towards Solas’s scheme to destroy the Veil and deal with the Evanuris.

Meredith took the Red Lyrium Idol and forged it into a sword, the idol itself apparently belongs to Solas, and he cares for it and recognises its depiction. Meredith was turned into a thawed red lyrium statue, and the red lyrium idol was found and retrieved inside her statued body. The idol’s current whereabouts are unknown.

"The Dread Wolf wants that idol, and he’s not afraid to get his hands bloody to get it." (The Dread Wolf Take You, Page 490). “He intends something for the Fade, and if he wants the idol, then whatever he intends will be terrible.” (The Dread Wolf Take You, Page 498).

Whereas Corypheus intended on using Solas’s orb to usurp the throne of the gods for himself. Solas, banking on the magister’s failure, sought out to regain his orb after Corypheus unlocked it, and died doing so. In this ideal situation, Solas would then use his orb and destroy the veil.

However, that didn’t happen. Instead Solas’s orb was destroyed by crumbling rocks with Corypheus’s defeat. The elven god strives to find alternative ways to destroy the veil.

Both these foes at the start of Solas’s new mural show that what’s coming next will be much worse than any catastrophe in Thedas and that these events have always been set in stone for the Dread Wolf. It’s like he’s drawn Corypheus and said, you thought he was tough, wait till you see what I can do.

Two Evil Gods

The trailer continued with the next pieces in this mural, two carvings of very enigmatic figures. The first engraving has an arched headpiece, red eyes, a spiky torso, and wavy lines coming from their head, with a haloed sun or moon behind them.

Immediately, this spooky figure reminds us of the evil god shown in BioWare’s Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development. However, we believe the figure shown in this book resembles the elven goddess “Ghilan'nain, the Mother of the Halla” who created giants, monsters, and beasts that spanned across the sky, water, and earth.

While this depiction of an evil god is concept art, there is one key difference between the two figures - the evil god in the concept art has four arms, whereas the mural figure has two arms. So, are they depicting the same god? We’ll certainly come back to this figure later on.

The next figure has a very curved headpiece, elven ears, and clawed-looking shoulder pieces. With another haloed sun behind their head, this leads us to believe this is yet another evil god.

Personally, this figure reminds us of Dirthamen’s statue we saw in Inquisition, but this could honestly be anyone... And we’ll touch on that when we get to the finished mural.

While these two figures are shown, Varric said: “Seen friends lose life and limb, but there’s always someone bent on breaking the world.”

Obviously referring to allies previously lost, like potentially Hawke, and even the Inquisitor’s anchor. However, the enemies bent on breaking the world paint the figures shown as evil and malevolent. Of course, it’s not Dragon Age without someone trying to destroy the world.

BioWare Logo

In the next sequence, a golden BioWare logo appears with a sun behind it, perhaps this relates the previous figure to Elgar’nan considering Elgar’nan was said to be born of the sun?

Anderfels/Grey Warden

Taking our minds away from the mural for a moment, the trailer began to explore iconic locations and factions that are going to feature heavily in the next Dragon Age.

The first location is a blazing desert with rough sands, cobblestone, and huge puddles. We think this is the Anderfels, Thedas’s blighted western lands. Over the horizon are multiple, huge reptile creatures. They look like turtle monsters similar to the Ankylosaurs, which is a kind of armoured dinosaur with a clubtail.

During this sequence, Varric said: “It’s time for a new hero.” As grey boots entered the shot. No doubt, referring to the next protagonist. The boots are instantly recognisable as a Grey Warden’s. You can see a dark blue tint on their leggings, as grey and blue are the Warden’s colours.

Not to mention, the biggest indicator that this character is a Warden, is the location. A Grey Warden being in The Anderfels makes complete sense considering Weisshaupt, the Warden’s headquarters are located there.

More importantly, the fact that Varric said: “it’s time for a new hero” while showing this Grey Warden, and the trailer continued to show different factions, while still talking about the idea of a new hero. We think this indicates to the overall message of this trailer, being that perhaps this time around we can choose the faction our new hero belongs to. Like origin stories, our hero can choose between at least 4 or more different factions within Thedas.

While the Grey Wardens and many other factions will join our fight as key roles in the story like “Davrin” who was hinted at in the Gamescom trailer, having the choice to choose where your hero is from would make for an epic RPG, and a great callback to the series' roots.

Antiva/Antivan Crow

The next location revealed the most elegant nation of Antiva, looking absolutely stunning with its gold accents, and regal aesthetic. When compared to the Behind-the-Scenes concepts, we can certainly see the similarities between the early concepts and the CGI reveal. Most notably, the Disney-like palace that encompasses every shot.

Still sharing about our new hero, Varic said: “No magic hand, no ancient prophecy.” As a zoom-in shot of Antiva City revealed an Antivan Crow stirring a goblet of wine. The palace behind the goblet had magical energy emerging into the skies.

The shot pulled back, and revealed an Antivan Crow sat on the rooftops of Antiva, looking over the city. With Varric talking about the next hero being a nobody, with no magical anchor, and no ancient prophecy, can we choose to play as an Antivan Crow?

If this Crow is not showcasing the option of a new hero, then perhaps this is a Crow who will join our journey, like one of the Antivan Crow Talons. I see a lot of similarities with this cinematic shot and the recent short story - “The Wake,” which was all about the Talons mourning their lost friend.

Antiva as a whole, looks astonishing, from the rivers flowing through the city, to the picturesque sky, the city looks like a delightful place to take a love interest. However, we’re most curious about the magical energy emerging from the palace. Perhaps Antiva City prepares for the imminent Qunari Antaam invasion?

Tevinter Imperium/Siccari

The next location revealed the most prideful, gothic nation known as the Tevinter Imperium. This beautifully macabre shot is most likely showcasing Tevinter’s capital city, Minrathous.

Once the motherland of the ancient elves before the veil’s creation, Tevinter was founded on the ruins of the elven kingdom, we can see many magical marvels and wonders in this cinematic shot. For instance, we have magical neon lighting guiding you through the city and the floating structure that stands in the centre.

Perhaps this haunting structure is the Magisterium, or Minrathous’s Circle Tower? Regardless, the ferocious architecture and dark themes truly define Tevinter as a remarkable, and otherworldly nation. A lot of these undertones look similar to one of the concept art pieces shown at Gamescom.

Followed with this shot, Varric said: “The kind of person they will never see coming.” As a new hooded-character was revealed pulling out a winged-dagger ready to attack a blurred figure in a Tevinter alleyway. Not to sound like a broken record, but again, Varric is mentioning the new hero, so is this character one of the potential factions we can choose, and if so, what faction?

Well, because it seems like we’re in the streets of Tevinter, we think this character represents the Tevinter Siccari. This faction was recently introduced in Tevinter Nights, they are the Imperium’s best shadow network, made of highly skilled and secretive agents who each come from slave families, they are formidable and honourable warriors.

“I have heard many things of the Tevinter Siccari,” the Mortalitasi added, “but I have never heard them called cowards or traitors. Most of them come from slave families, and those families are kept safe as both promise and threat, ensuring the Siccari never flinch from their duties. (The Dread Wolf Take You, page 503). ““Tevinter’s intelligence network declined to answer our request.” (The Dread Wolf Take You, page 485).

This hooded-figure has what-looks like keys on their chest, along with a very golden logo on their shoulder, which looks like an owl? The dagger also looks to have a winged bird on its helm.

If this figure doesn’t represent a faction the player can choose between, then perhaps they’re a shadowy Tevinter character from an unknown faction, or they could be someone like Neve, who was introduced in Tevinter Nights as a private investigator working out of Minrathous. However, we feel like Tevinter Siccari is the best bet, because they’re literally the Imperium’s spies.

Executor/Ancient Elf?

Followed by that, a most intriguing character appeared walking through a snowy forest. The figure has a three-horned headpiece, with trims of red on their outfit, holding a bow made of floating triangles.

The location of this area is the exact same as the sexy tree we witnessed at EA Play, the gloomy, midnight snow graveyard, with infected red lyrium and Ferelden architecture. The tree appeared on the right, as this mysterious character shot their enigmatic bow. With the location being the same as the tree, it can be anywhere close to the equator where it can snow, like southern Tevinter, northern Nevarra, or it could literally be anywhere in the mountains. The Ferelden architecture really throws us off though.

This new character is also a mystery, who exactly are they, and what faction do they represent? Well, we've never seen anyone like this before, so they could totally be something brand-new.

However, we can piece a few things together, like the magical, triangle bow. We saw this exact design in a concept piece at Gamescom, with many thinking that this design was ancient elven. On top of that, in the “Ruins of Reality” short story art piece that featured the Starkhaven elf known as Strife, he wore a red cloak with floating triangles on it.

However, even more intriguing, his cloak had the Executor’s logo on it - “a downward-pointed triangle with two wavy lines drawn through it.”

So, does this new character represent either The Executors, or an ancient elven clan? The Executors are mysterious beings who come from beyond the sea, they’ve been described to wear “dark robes of Vyrantium samite, with a thin mesh dropping down to cover the hood.”

I see a gold trim covering their face, but I don’t know if that headpiece constitutes as a hood? Even so, we don’t know what Executors look like.

If this character represents an ancient elven clan faction, that would explain why they have this magical bow that fires as if projected with Fade magic, also illustrating the more alien look to this character.

Regardless, we think this character is quite the enigma, they could just as easily represent a Tal-Vashoth clan, a new Nevarran faction, or something brand-new that hasn’t been explored in the games yet.

Varric Tethras

During this entire sequence, Varric said: “We’ve got your back, I’ve got your back.” By, “we’ve got your back” we assume he’s speaking on behalf of the Inquisition’s remnants like the Divine, Scout Harding, Charter and company, who’re pursuing after the Dread Wolf. However, even more than that, Varric said, he’s got our back. So, Varric is coming back in the next game as a pivotal role it seems, hopefully, this time around we can romance our chest-haired friend, please?

Fen’Harel

Varric followed that up and said: “Demons, dragons, darkspawn, even the Dread Wolf.” As the next sequence revealed a very familiar Fen’Harel...

Solas is pressing one of his hands on this fresco that depicts him as the Dread Wolf rising. He’s touching the mouth of the Dread Wolf, as the beast’s teeth appear red, most likely to resemble red lyrium? Does Solas’s plan involve ingesting red lyrium? The substance does weaken the veil after all, so is Solas going to become blighted in order to fulfill his scheme?

As Solas approached, we can see he has clothed himself in ancient elven robe-like armour with varying tints of green. He looks very stoic, but also a little bit sad.

New Mural

The cinematic mural that featured behind Solas was posted as a painting on the Dragon Age website, so we can take a greater look at it, and decipher its meaning.

https://twitter.com/Nthornborrow/status/1337521623084093440

Straight up, we can see the Dread Wolf with six blazing blue eyes, previously the Dread Wolf was depicted with red blazing eyes, however, this time around, his eyes are blue? This clearly has something to do with lyrium Maybe the Dread Wolf’s eyes will turn red once he has become tainted? Or Perhaps there’s a chance we could stop him from becoming tainted before it’s too late?

As stated, the Dread Wolf has six eyes, exactly like his description in Tevinter Nights. A Mortalitasi mage witnessing the Dread Wolf explained the description of a lupine, monstrous six-eyed Wolf the size of a High Dragon.

“Lupine in appearance, but the size of a high dragon, with shaggy spiked hide and six burning eyes like a pride demon.” (The Dread Wolf Take You, Page 496).

With the proportion of his eyes, there could be some significance to them, or it could honestly just be an art style. However, I wouldn’t deny anything relating to Old God souls or the amount of Evanuris left. But we feel the size of each eye shows us that the Dread Wolf is dealing with some sort of distortion with his appearance, like absorbing Mythal’s power metamorphosing him to become more draconic.

The Dread Wolf is bursting through the Black City which is imbued in red lyrium.

We can see the Dread Wolf has destroyed the Veil by the representation of the spheres that have exploded with a roaring fire. With its destruction, the Fade and the waking world of Thedas have become one. With the world burning in the raw chaos, Solas could then restore the time of the elves.

Two Evil Gods Identity

These statues are old. Better shape than anything I've seen on the surface. Many of them are for Mythal, though. And Fen'Harel. Not in a spot of honor, but guarding, attending.

Protector and All-Mother, why are you honored here, so far from the light of the sun? And why was the Dread Wolf at your side? — Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads

The two evil figures on the left and right side look like the eluvians and statues from the Vir Dirthara, the ancient elvhen Library. And according to Tevinter Nights, there are many elvhen libraries throughout the land of Thedas like the one near the Imperial Highway. These ‘headpieces’ the figures have are slightly different and differentiate each member of the Pantheon from one another.

it’s honestly hard to tell who these figures could be Pantheon-wise, but here are some of our tinfoil bits that can correlate to their appearance:

When we reacted to this trailer live, we stated that these two figures could resemble the elvhen twins Falon’Din and Dirthamen. Their statues look very similar to these figures, but now that we have studied it, the figure on the left looks more feminine with long hair so this could be Ghilan’nain who has been mentioned a lot recently in the Dragon Age’s short stories and Tevinter Nights. If that figure on the left is Ghilan’nan, then the right still has to be Dirthamen who we know has a closer relationship with Ghilan’nain through Dalish and ancient elvhen legends.

"His crime is high treason. He took on a form reserved for the gods and their chosen, and dared to fly in the shape of the divine. The sinner belongs to Dirthamen; he claims he took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain, and begs protection from Mythal. She does not show him favor, and will let Elgar'nan judge him." — Old Elvhen Writing

On the other hand, these figures could represent Elgar’nan and Mythal, who are closely related to Fen’Harel’s redemption to break the Veil.

“Long ago, when time itself was young, the only things in existence were the sun and the land. The sun, curious about the land, bowed his head close to her body, and Elgar'nan was born in the place where they touched.” — Codex entry: Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance.

“And that night, when the sun had gone to sleep, Mythal gathered the glowing earth around his bed, and formed it into a sphere to be placed in the sky, a pale reflection of the sun's true glory.” — Codex entry: Mythal: the Great Protector.

We could say that the masculine figure represents Elgar’nan who is represented as a sun. And Mythal, who represents the moon. If these two gods are side by side with Fen’Harel, then the Emergent Compendium’s reference could come true:

‘Two shadowed spheres among stars, an eclipse as Fen’Harel stirred’

However, this could be a stretch knowing that Solas already has the remaining power of Flemeth, and Elgar’nan also has barely been mentioned, it is worth knowing that these figures have a similar reference to these gods either way...

Another connection these figures could resemble are the remaining old gods that bring forth the blights.

In our Dread Wolf Rises mural breakdown back in 2018, we talked about the centrepiece of the artwork, with the massive moon that had two golden circles still lit, while 5 of them were greyed out. Most certainly referring to the past and future blights.

In our new mural, behind these two figures there are the same golden circles. If we are comparing these two murals together these figures could be the two remaining Old Gods left who aren’t blighted, Razikale and Lusacan.

According to Solas, if there is any chaotic event in Thedas, spirits will pull against the Veil, weakening its forces. So, if Razikale and Lusacan were to become Archdemons at the same time, that could potentially tear the Veil hence the Dread Wolf rising in the moment to change the world once again.

Razikale is the only Old God to be confirmed female, so according to the mural, this theory might not be far off from this depiction. These Gods have not been tainted and have been left somewhere sleeping for centuries, to awaken them will require most of Thedas to become blighted in order to escalate the timing of two Blights happening at once.

However, that’s just a theory, as we know, evil gods have Thedas in their sights, it really just depends which gods we’re talking about. We lean more to the Evanuris in this mural, however, the old gods are not out of the picture yet, as shown in The Dread Wolf Rises mural. We feel a double blight is in store for the future of Thedas.

Dragon Age New Font

Anyhow, the trailer ends with a new Dragon Age font and colour, I wonder if gold is going to be the main tone of the next game.

Varric ended the trailer, and said: “This is your story.” No doubt referring to the fact that the narrative will be shaped by your choices and consequences.

Regardless, this trailer was amazing, and we’re so happy we actually had another look at the next Dragon Age game! We want to know all of your thoughts and speculation down below, how excited are you knowing that Varric is coming back?

#dragon age 4 #next dragon age game #next dragon age #dragon age game awards 2020 #dragon age next #The next Dragon Age #antiva #tevinter #anderfels #grey warden #tevinter siccari #Darkspawn #dragon age spy #dread wolf #mural #solas #solas next game #solas cgi

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47pictures · 3 years

Text

“All-Star”

Link to original r/nosleep post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/mv9j9a/for_my_blog_i_toured_a_movie_studio_to_find_the/

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I finally made it to Hollywood… at least, I suppose that’s what I’d say if I were trying to make it big. That wasn’t exactly the case, though. On the contrary, my old hometown friend was the one who I’d say ‘made it big,' and she was the only reason I managed to get there. No way in hell I could just stroll through these Hollywood gates without some sort of reputation associated with my name.

I’m currently pursuing a degree in journalism, and right now I’ve got a pretty successful status as a blogger, and hopefully podcaster in the near future. My topics typically cover things involving entertainment, specifically movies, television, some celebrity gossip here-and-there, the ins and outs of the film and occasionally music industry, nerd topics about comic books or comic book movies, and I could go on. Essentially, all the things you’d expect from an entertainment blogger.

I don’t have a secret or special tip for how I grew a mass following. It just sort of happened. I did it since I was in high school - sophomore year, to be exact, and it started mainly as a hobby. Most people are surprised to hear that I was such a good writer and articulate for my age when they look back on the articles I’d put up during that time, speaking on topics such as the ‘downfall of blockbuster films,’ and the ‘toxicity of media's body standards on the youth.’ Truthfully, I didn’t know all of what I was saying half the time. Writing was sort of just my natural gift that I honed to where I could essentially bullshit anything well enough to make a great story. However, being ethical always remained my moral code.

The topic I was covering now involved my own personal ‘investigation’ of a famous movie studio known as Gemini Films. They’ve put out several flicks now that have garnered what most would consider moderate success (they're no Warner Bros. or Paramount, that's for sure). They deal mostly in the thriller/horror genre, sort of like Blumhouse. I’m a bit more in the sci-fi, comedy realm when it comes to my tastes, but really, I’m a bit of a pussy when it comes to scary stuff.

So why am I 'investigating' them? Well, as it turns out, it's their amazing use of special effects. Yep, that’s it. Special effects, that thing we fell for as children we called ‘movie magic,' and growing up learned that some of it were all the crafty work of well-put CGI. Though that’s usually the case, this time, something about Gemini Films seemed different. They’ve always been praised for their ‘hyperrealistic’ visual effects and pulling off stunts that would otherwise seem impossible. I was watching one of their action/horror films titled Last Thorn, and in a particular scene, a character’s on-screen death is, well, very lightly put, gruesome. I’ve seen my share of on-screen gore and played plenty of Mortal Kombat growing up, but I gotta say, I found the scene hard to watch. To clarify, it involved a character literally exploding before the camera, and from the way it was shot and the lack of cuts and edits typically required to create the illusion of a scene, it seemed quite real. A little too real…

They’ve done other things aside from their special effects department that some people on internet discussion forums found a bit too impressive. Take the actors, for instance. In their dramatic scenes, especially the horror flicks, I’m almost always convinced that the actors are actually going to die on screen. I’m surprised all of them haven’t been given Oscars yet, ‘cause goddamn, you’d think the director was holding them at gunpoint. We all saw just how amazing the acting was in films like Hereditary and The Babadook were, but I gotta say, after watching these films, they make those two look like child’s play (no pun intended to the Chucky series). I was so impressed with the actors that I had to look them up and see what other work they’d done, but from what I did find, their resumes didn’t seem that much greater than the work they’d done for GF. It was almost as if that was the peak of their careers unless they decided to further their contracts to star in any more of their movies. Anything else they did pale in comparison that showcased their acting chops.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jamie Douglas.

It had somewhat of household name potential, I thought. She was the next rising star. She’d just won a Golden Globe for her leading role in a TV series I’m sure no one had high hopes for in the beginning, and her name was now attached to an Academy Award-winning film for Best Original Screenplay, all at the age of 22. Her acting was stellar, always had been even growing up back in high school when we did theater together. I was never for the acting side of things; I always preferred the technical realm and behind-the-scenes work. She, however, had the ‘it’ factor. I never once doubted that she’d be famous. It was destined for her.

The taxi driver dropped me off in front of a luxurious one-story home in the Beverly Hills neighborhood, surrounded by other similar houses with a property value larger than what I’d probably make in my lifetime if I was being honest. From the outside, her home reminded me of that gilded, golden age of Hollywood back in the 60s, with a slanted roof and art deco-styled exaggerated features. It was nice and simple. But that’s how Jamie was. Nice and simple.

I could see her peeking through the curtains of her window before she came running out the door to meet me in the front yard. That big beautiful smile and those joyous eyes came rushing at me with open arms.

“Christian!” she screamed my name with excitement, as she gave me a big, suffocating hug.

I hugged her back with my free arm, as my other one was still carrying my trolley bag and she had that one pinned in her grip.

“I’m so glad you made it,” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, I made it to Hollywood, right?” I dryly humored.

Jamie giggled as she began to pull back from her hug and put both her hands on my shoulders.

“Yes we did,” she said with a big smile, flashing her perfectly straight, white teeth. “We sure did.”

She led me inside the house and gave me a tour. Compared to the outside, the inside was the complete opposite in regards to the decorative era. Whereas the exterior was ‘groovy’, the inside was a bit more with the times. Wide-open spaces, tan or beige-colored furniture and walls, a wide sliding door for the backyard where you can see the pool. Jamie recently moved into the house, so I figured there wouldn’t be a lot of things to fill it up with just yet.

“Someone said Bette Davis used to live in this house, which I knew was bullshit, otherwise the value on this home woulda been way outta my league,” Jamie commented.

I chuckled. “Oh, I think you’re well on your way, trust me,” I reassured.

I was going to be staying with her for a week while I did my journaling/blogging. We did tons of catching up. She gave me all the inside scoop of what goes on in Hollywood - or ‘Hollyweird’ as I liked to call it - and even some of her other famous neighbors you might recognize living double lives on the down-low. She said she’d been to a couple of big mansion parties as well, where you’ll see all sorts of celebs from different categories of entertainment. Actors, athletes, musicians, models, influencers, you name it. But Jamie insists that she doesn’t attend those very often, if hardly at all. She prefers to be a homebody when she’s not seeking work through her agent, and her extraversion mostly comes to play when it involves networking.

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The rest of the night we stayed up watching TV and YouTube videos. One that fascinated both of us was a video explaining how scientists managed to find a way to make a perfectly cooked steak from a cow, but without actually harming or slaughtering it. Instead, they extracted a small sample of the cow’s cells and took it to a lab where the cells would essentially grow into muscle for it to be cooked later.

“I’d consider that over going vegan,” Jamie said.

But I grimaced at the thought. “I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem right,” I remarked.

"What, are you vegan?"

"No, not that. Just the thought of cloning animals, ya know?"

“I mean, it’s not like they’re killing the cow or anything. They said it’s perfectly unharmed.”

“I know, but still…”

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The next morning was day one for me. Jamie had the right connections to get me an on-set tour of the studio lots associated with Gemini Films. I was greeted and led by the third assistant director (or AD as they’re commonly referred to).

“Hi, I’m Tiffany, nice to meet you,” she said, with a rather forced smile and handshake.

She carried a clipboard in her other arm, as well as a hand-held radio clipped to the pocket of her jeans, and I saw that she also had an earpiece nestled in her right ear. I could tell she was about her business and probably didn’t have time to be overly nice or talk too much.

I got a sneak peek of their most current production under the production title *"*Cold Silence", which required me to sign an NDA beforehand, of course. That wasn't actually their final name for the movie, but it's a common thing for them to do when shooting a film when either they haven't decided on a name yet or to keep the nature of the project a secret. It sort of took me back to my theater tech days with all the set designs and props lying around, except these were much more detailed and intricate thanks to their higher budget than what my high school had at the time. Here, there was limitless potential. Tiffany also introduced me to the other ADs, PAs, boom operators, cameramen, make-up artists, and then last but certainly not least, the director.

“Jeffrey?” Tiffany called to the man sitting in the director’s chair. The man turned to face her and then me. “This is Christian Watkins. He’s the man we’re giving a behind-the-scenes scoop for his… blog?” She looked to me for confirmation, to which I nodded. “Yeah, for his blog.”

The man in the big chair stood up with a cool smile and classy charm and extended his hand for me to shake.

“Christian, nice to meet you,” the man spoke in a tenor pitch. “Jeffrey Bachmann,” he introduced himself.

I didn’t take too much time last night trying to read up on his bio, but from what I could tell at first glance I knew that he was about in his mid to late fifties, as his hair was greying and skin was starting to wrinkle, and I could see that he had a surprisingly calm and laid-back demeanor. Surprising to me, at least. I always thought directing was a high-paced, chaotic mess that never ceased to present a myriad of complications onset that’d make any man want to pull their hair out. But Jeffrey seemed calm, collected, and very personable.

“Hi, thank you for having me,” I replied. “Seriously, this is like a really cool opportunity for me and my blog.”

“Hey man, it’s my pleasure,” Jeffrey said. “I heard you got a big following behind your name. Props to you. I respect the work ethic, especially giving your readers what they really want to see, ya know?”

I shrugged modestly. “Well thank you, but this time was mostly in my own interest to seek out this idea for my current blog,” I said.

“Ah, an interest in GF, huh?” Jeffrey replied. “Well, what would you like to know? We’ve got nothing but time today. In fact, we’re just getting ready to shoot the mangle scene for today and then we’ll wrap it up before we review the dailies.”

“Mangle scene?”

“Oh yeah, if you’ve got a weak stomach or aren’t into gore you don’t have to watch.”

At least he gave me discretion. “Hmm, I think I’ll tough this one out,” I said. “For the blog.”

Jeffrey gave me a sincere but slightly unsettling grin. “That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.”

He was a nice guy so far, but you know how you just meet certain people that for whatever reason, out of their control, their aura seems off? Maybe it was my preconceived notion and warranted cynicism I had of people working in Hollywood. Just a bunch of sharks in a pool with hungry eyes for desperate young talents eager to take a dive in the spotlight. But as I’d imagine with any field, there had to be a decent share of lambs among the many wolves.

Suddenly, one of the makeup artists scampered over to us, their attention directly at Jeffrey.

“Hey,” they said to him with a noticeably fake inflection.

“Hey, what's up?” Jeffrey returned.

“Savannah? She’s losing it back there. Said she wants to talk to you and only you.”

Jeffrey nodded. “Don’t worry, I got it,” he said, as he patted his hand on the MUAs shoulder. He then gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Christian, duty calls, but hey, Tiffany?” he looked to the stern AD. “Make sure he gets a front-row view for the martini shot.”

“Yes sir,” Tiffany replied.

Jeffrey and the MUA stepped off to handle whatever business needed handling regarding one of the actresses backstage in the dressing room.

“Martini shot?” I asked.

“Last shot for the day,” Tiffany explained. “For me, that’s a term I like to take literally.”

She seemed so serious all this time that I found the joke almost funny.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There was now quiet on the set. Shooting was about to start shortly. At this point in the movie, the main character has a stand-off that turns into a big fight scene with the main bad guy at a warehouse factory building. At first, there’s a gunfight, then eventually they both run out of ammo and it comes down to a fistfight before finally having a standstill on top of a rail just over a giant industrial shredder.

Right now, the actor playing the bad guy, Will, is hanging on for his life over the rail above the shredder, while Thomas, the main good guy, is standing over him victoriously. My question was, is the shredder real? ‘Cause it sure as hell looks like it. It wasn’t turned on yet, but just from a glance it seemed legit enough that if I dropped something as sturdy as a microwave in there, it’d come out jelly on the other end.

For the blog, I told myself. For the blog…

Suddenly, my suspicions were confirmed once Jeffrey called to have the shredder turned on. The machine roared to life, the inverting sharp metal gears rotating past each other being a black hole eating everything that passes through it with no escape. Holy shit. It was actually fucking real.

Jeffrey gave the nod to the 1st AD, and the AD returned the same.

“Action!” the AD called.

Based on what Jeffrey showed me from the script, Thomas is supposed to stomp on Will’s hand that’s gripping onto the edge of the rail, causing him to fall to his death into the shredder. The camera was now rolling, yet, I didn’t see Thomas do the deed. Was he pausing for dramatic effect? Was he acting for the camera? I wasn’t quite sure why he was hesitating.

I peaked over to notice that Jeffrey, the once calm and collected man I met backstage earlier, was now beginning to seem noticeably impatient and about to snap at any moment. There was now that dark edge I noticed about him from before but couldn’t quite put a finger on that I could see now coming to light.

Hesitation filled Thomas’ veins, about to raise his foot, then not, dragging on the scene longer than intended. From this distance, I tried to see Will’s own expression, and I regret ever doing so. Surely he was acting, but I’ll be damned, it was too good. Whatever fear he portrayed transmuted itself into me now. It was the kind of fear that I didn’t think could be replicated on command. Jeffrey stood up from his seat, but just before he could say anything or call ‘cut’, Thomas stomped his foot down on Will’s hand, and we all watched as his fingers slip from the railing. Will sent out a bloodcurdling scream as he plummeted to his ‘death’. What followed will haunt me forever.

Do you know what it sounds like to have a person’s body mangled to death? Have you bitten into the bone of any sort of meat? Heard and felt the crunch? Or maybe even the crunch of celery? I myself have never broken a single bone in my body, but imagining what it might sound like other than what I’d heard in movies or video games all seemed elementary now. At first, I had to look away, but what forced me out of my seat to leave was Will’s horrifying screams. He’d fallen feet first into the shredder, so his lower body had to suffer first before reaching his upper body and finally silencing him at the head.

I ran to find the nearest trashcan and hurled. I guess I really didn’t have the stomach for gore, at least, not to this degree. Will’s screams kept looping in my head. It was a new primal sound that evoked a dread within me that I wish I never discovered. The sound of torment. One thing was for sure, Will was one fucking hell of an actor - if this was acting. But the shredder…

It seemed so real. And there was no greenscreen besides the ones to be used for the background later in post-production. I saw him fall right into the damn thing. With my own eyes. In living color. There were no edits, no crazy tricks, no lighting effects. There couldn’t be. It just wasn’t possible.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was sitting down trying to recuperate, as everyone else around me was wrapping up set for the day. Tiffany came over and handed me a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” I said, taking it.

“You feelin’ better?” she asked.

“Hmm,” I answered with a scoff, raising both my eyebrows and taking a sip from the bottle.

“I’m surprised you stuck around if you had such a weak stomach. I mean, he at least warned you.”

“I usually don’t. But that?” I shook my head. “How do you guys do it? It looked so real.”

“I’m just pulling your leg. I almost vomited too my first time. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

If it was a shame to flinch at something so vile, I don’t wanna know what goes on in Jeffrey’s mind to even come up with such a scene. Speaking of which, I still didn’t get a one-on-one interview with him as I’d hoped. All I had was the end result of his ‘movie magic’, but not how he did it. At this point, I'm not sure I really wanna know.

I went to go get my belongings, which were left in one of the dressing rooms, and was stopped by the sound sniffling from the one a couple doors ahead of mine. I looked on the door to read whose room it belonged to. It read: SAVANNAH YOUNG. She was one of the lead actresses in the movie, or rather I should say the only actress in the whole film. With the makeup artist and Jeffrey thing that happened earlier, it was evident to me that something sour had gone on behind the scenes I didn’t know about.

The door was cracked open and I couldn’t see her face entirely from my view, but I knew she was sobbing. She looked to be sitting in front of her mirror. I was about to just ignore it and go on about my business.

I lightly knocked on the door. “You okay in there?” I asked.

She stopped and I could hear her get up and approach the door. She pulled it back just enough to where I could see her whole face. She was beautiful, just like Jamie, even if she had been crying.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Savannah said. “Thank you.”

There was a brief awkward moment of silence between us. Clearly, she wasn’t fine, but I didn’t wish to pry any further than that.

“Are you one of the new PAs?” she asked. I arched a brow. “Production assistant?” she clarified.

“Oh, no, I’m just a visitor,” I assured. “Writing for my blog. I was supposed to be writing about behind-the-scenes things and how it all works around here, but I bitched out from the ‘mangling scene’.”

Savannah gave a short nod. “I see,” she said. “Well… I don’t blame you.”

I wasn’t sure if it was the way she said it or just from the state that I was in, but her words gave me chills.

“I should get going,” I told her. “Nice meeting you.”

“Likewise,” she replied, and then shut the door.

I got my stuff from the dressing room and got ready to head out. I wonder what could’ve made Savannah so down to where the director had to get involved and set her straight. Jeffrey seemed pleasant to work with at first glance, but who knows, maybe he had a mean streak to him after all, especially the way he looked during the shooting of the scene. God, I just wanted to forget about it. I can’t unhear the sounds. The bones crunching, the blood splattering, and the screaming. The fucking screaming…

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As I was leaving the studio lot, I noticed the cleaning crew of two men dump a large amount of black bags in the dumpster. From the way they swung the bags over into the bin, the shit didn’t seem light. The bags were in several different sizes, some small, some big, some disproportionate. I stood there and watched as the two men finished disposing of the junk and walked away to go about their other duties.

Regular, common sense me would’ve just picked up the phone, called Jamie to let her know I’m ready to get picked up, and go about my day. But the nosy blogger me kept itching…

I made sure the coast was clear and made my way over to the bin. I can’t believe I was actually dumpster diving, and for what? What did I really expect to find? In my head, I knew the answer, but was avoiding it, either out of how ridiculous it may sound or, God forbid, I was right.

The trash wasn’t stacked high enough from the bottom for me to simply reach, so I had to literally get in there myself. I climbed over on the other end, raised the lid, and jumped down on the piles of plastic bags, holding the lid up with my arm and my breath so I didn’t get a huge whiff of the smell. Though, if I did need to puke again, I supposed this would be the place to do it.

I immediately noticed the bags the men threw away, but in order for me to check what was inside, I’d have to crouch down and let the lid close on me. Fine. That’s what the flashlight on my phone was for. Surrounded in darkness and garbage now, I turned the flash on, illuminating the four dirty walls around me and I pulled back one of the bags. I felt around to try and see what sort of contents might be inside. Mush. It felt all mushy with chunks of solid and a little bit of liquid.

This was stupid, I thought. I realized how stupid I probably looked right then and there, sitting in a bin full of filth looking for clues like some sort of private detective. My followers have no idea how far I’d go, but this was ridiculous. Oh well, I’m too deep in it now, no pun intended.

I held my phone in my mouth as I used my hands to rip open the plastic. My heart began pounding as I slowly pried the bag open. Once I got a peek inside, shame and embarrassment came over me.

Food.

I should’ve just called Jamie to come get me. Had I really become that desperate? I threw the bag over and out of my way. Then I noticed the bag underneath had trickles of fluid. Curious, I shined the light down on it. They were red trickles. Considering how I’d just overreacted only to find a bag full of thrown out lunch, I wasn’t about to get all up in arms about finding red drops behind a Hollywood studio lot. I didn’t know the full recipe for fake blood, but if I recall correctly, Alfred Hitchcock used chocolate when they filmed the shower scene from Psycho.

I tried to follow the small trail and see if it led to another bag. I slowly pointed the light further up and it led me to the bag just behind the one I tossed to the side. Looks like it had a small bust that caused it to leak. When I pulled this one over, a very noticeable smell filled my nostrils and erased any other scent of the trash that surrounded me. It was a metallic, rusty sort of odor, like copper from a penny. However, that smell also belonged to something else…

I ripped open the bag, and with the shine of my light beaming down, I was welcomed to a bright crimson sight of mashed blood and guts. It had to be fake, I thought. It had to… but the way I recoiled from the putrid metallic fresh scent of carnage, my primal instincts told me that wasn’t the case. I innately knew that it was real. I was staring at Will’s mangled body.

Frozen from fear, I sat there for who-knows-how-long. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I’d call the cops first, of course, but they would need evidence, and even then they’d probably dismiss me after I told them I dove into the dumpster of a movie set where fake blood is a common prop. I’d tell Jamie the same, but she’d look at me crazy, too.

I unlocked my phone and started snapping pictures. As much as I could. I even opened some other bags and did the same. I tried to snap every bit of remains that was left of Will and saved them into my phone. It felt like a sick test to see how long I could hold my breath so I wouldn’t gag, and I think I broke a new record that day.

I snapped probably about 47 pictures on my phone before I finally shot up and threw open the bin. The wave of fresh air hit me like a truck, and enjoyed it for only a brief second before turning to see Jeffrey, Tiffany, and the other AD standing by his side. My soul left my body right then and there.

“Christian?” Jeffrey said, sounding concerned.

Fucking say something, I told myself. I did my best not to stutter and look stupid.

“Hey, Jeff,” I said, raising the inflection of my voice, probably sounding dumb.

“Going for a swim there?” Jeffrey joked.

I fake laughed, then put on my best acting skills. “I cannot for the life of me find my ring.”

“Your ring?”

“Yeah, my mom’s ring?”

Then, with the slick subtle motion, I hid my hands to where they couldn’t see them behind the walls of the bin, and with careful coordination used my fingers on my right hand to pull the ring I already had on and flicked it down onto the trash below. I shuffled my feet over the bags I stood on to make noise so they wouldn’t hear the ring drop. Please God, don’t let the ring hit the hard bottom floor or one of the rusty walls, I thought. To my relief, it didn’t.

“Oh man, I’m sorry, Christian, I haven’t seen it,” Jeffrey said, as he looked at the other two as they also shook their heads. “But we can definitely look around again and let you know if we find anything.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” I said, trying not to make my voice tremble with anxiety.

“Now, c’mon, let’s get you outta there,” Jeffrey said, waving his hand over.

I nodded and shot a quick timid smile. I climbed out of the bin and faced the three before me, wiping myself down.

“Hands a little messy there,” Jeffrey said.

Anxiety raced through me again, but adrenaline had my back to make sure I didn’t fuck up by saying anything dumb.

“Oh, the fake blood?” I chortled. “Yeah, you guys lots of that shit in there. Smells like a chocolate factory.”

Jeffrey fell for it, and laughed. Good. But he could just as easily be playing me right now.

“Given how you ran off earlier back there I’m surprised you can stand to look at it, better yet, touch it,” he remarked.

“I’m sorry about that,” I stammered but stayed on track. “It’s just… I now see for myself, no one does it like GF.”

“Haha, you don’t have to flatter me to get back my respect. Don’t sweat it. I totally understand.”

Is that so? I thought.

“You could use that martini shot right about now, huh?” Tiffany joked.

Definitely not with her any time soon. Or any of them, for that matter.

“Well we’re just heading out for the day, you got a ride?” said Jeffrey.

“Yeah, I should probably call Jamie now and let her know I’m done,” I replied.

“It’s no problem, man, I can give you a lift. I can drop you off wherever you need me to.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Seriously, I insist-”

“Jamie and I got a spa appointment to catch in a bit. Otherwise I appreciate the offer.”

Jeffrey had a brief look in his eyes, a glint of what I could only compare to a wolf’s gaze hiding behind that sheep’s clothing he carried himself around as, and then smiled and nodded.

“Okay, Christian,” he said. “Once again, nice to meet you and I hoped you enjoyed the tour, and hopefully make some good content for your blog.”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Thank you so much again. Seriously, I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s nothing, Chris,” Jeffrey said, throwing me off a bit. “Can I call you, Chris?’

I shrugged. “Sure. I mean, I called you Jeff by accident,” I said.

“It’s fine. Chris and Jeff it is.”

I needed to get away from here. Now and as fast as possible. But I still needed to do one more thing.

“Any chance I can wash these off inside?” I said, raising my bloodied hands.

“Oh of course,” Jeff said.

“I can lead him back,” Tiffany said, ready to go with, but Jeffrey stopped her.

“Ah, he knows his way in, right?” Jeff looked to me for reassurance.

“Yeah,” I answered confidently.

“Good, well hopefully I’ll see you around, Chris, and you enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Thank you, Jeff. And you all do the same.”

As I walked past them and towards the studio lot, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was being set up. Why hadn’t he let Tiffany escort me back inside? I’d think that would be customary for them to do for visitors entering and exiting the building. But I felt that they were watching me from behind, and with every step, I grew more and more anxious.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’d made it inside and the lot was now nearly empty and quieter. I didn’t see a single person in sight, and only a few lights remained on, making it mostly dark. I hurried the fuck up and did what I came to do, as I didn’t wanna be here any longer and didn’t feel safe.

Down the hall where the dressing rooms were, I rushed over to Savannah’s door, and saw that it was closed. I tried opening it only to see it was locked. Looking down, there was no light shining through the cracks either, meaning there was no one inside. She wasn’t there. Shit.

I washed my hands in the bathroom, scrubbing the dried blood off as thoroughly as possible, getting under nails and all, cringing at the thought of it being Will’s. Suddenly, I heard a noise from outside the hall leading to the bathroom. Petrified, my heart sank into my chest, and I froze. I shut the water off, and carefully approached the door. I listened for any other sounds as I placed my ear closer. After a few moments, I heard the noise again, but then realized that it seemed to be coming from one of the dressing rooms just outside in the hall.

Since I carry a notebook around most of the time for jotting down notes, I certainly always carry a pen. What most people don’t know is that I carry a military tactical pen for a variety of uses, and in times like these, it can be used as a subtle but effective weapon. I switched the tip from an ink ball to a small slick blade.

I opened the bathroom door and crept through the hall over to the dressing room door that made the noise, holding the pen underneath the breast pocket of my sweater. On the outside of the door, it read, “WILL BANKS.”

Confused, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Common sense me once again kept barking in my brain telling me to GTFO, but I had to be sure. I gave three shy knocks and waited. There was definitely someone in there because whatever noise I thought I heard from behind came to an utter halt. I could hear faint whispers of someone’s voice, and then another. There was more than one. My hand trembled as it tightly gripped the pen underneath with sweat as I heard whoever it was on the other end of the door approach.

It swung open, and there stood Will Banks, the man whose blood was just on my hands moments ago, alive and well, in the flesh. It couldn’t be, I thought to myself.

“Can I help you?” he said.

I just stood there, baffled, without answering. Behind him, I saw Savannah, who instantly recognized me and came over.

“Hi,” she said. “I thought everyone left.” She looked to Will. “He was visiting the set today for his vlog, or I’m sorry, blog.”

Will nodded, understanding now. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t get to meet you. Will Banks,” he said, pointing at his name on the door. “As you can see.” Savannah chuckled, and Will extended his hand for me to shake.

“Christian, or Chris,” I said, releasing the pen from inside my sweater and reaching my own hand out to take his. "Whichever you please."

He had a firm shake, and it felt uncanny considering what I’d just witnessed. I was touching him, feeling his skin and bone underneath, the warmth of his body temperature through the flesh. He was real. He was alive and breathing. That couldn’t be faked. That couldn’t be a visual effect. This was real. After we let go, suddenly my hand went cold. Everything about this seemed off and downright strange.

“Did you stick around for the shoot?” Will asked.

“I did, as a matter of fact.”

“Well, what’d you think?”

I wanted to say so many things right then and there, he had no idea.

“Um... y’all are some damn good actors,” I said.

Will laughed a bit, accepting my sham form of flattery, but Savannah, not so much. She gave one of those forced gestures as to not make it feel awkward, though, I noticed it right away.

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“I would give you some artistic bullshit answer like ‘study your craft’ or ‘years of training,' things like that, but honestly… it just kinda clicks, ya know?”

I fake chuckled. “No, I don’t. It looked kinda real from my end. Too real, I might add. Care to go into detail how you guys pulled it off?”

“Well, uh-”

Savannah interrupted. “Wait, you know what Jeffrey would say,” she whispered to him.

“I know, but it’s for his blog,” Will argued.

“But still.”

“I mean, Jeffrey’s not here, right?” I chimed in.

They both looked at me, then at each other. There seemed to be some sort of nonverbal understanding between them, and Will looked back at me.

“All right, for the sake of your blog, I’ll give you what I can to the best of my wording, that sound good?” Will proposed.

I took the pen back out from inside, switching it to the ink ball with a short click, and whipped out my small notebook. “Hit me,” I said.

“Get ready for this one. Basically, we’ve been using a new thing in the biz lately sort of like mocap but it’s not exactly. It’s also kinda like hologram sort of tech?”

“Really?” I said, eyes widened with interest as I wrote words down.

“Yep. That’s how we did it. What you saw, was as real as the hologram thingamajig allowed you to.”

“Hmm.”

“The shredder, too.”

“What?”

“The shredder. That was a hologram also.”

“Really? Okay…”

I finished writing on my notepad then turned it so that Will could read it.

BITE ME, I wrote with a big circle around it.

He laughed. Savannah did, too, but, again, in a strange nervous and restrained demeanor.

“That’s a nice story,” I said. “So if you’re ready to quit bullshitting with me, and tell the truth, I’m ready,” I spoke in a playful yet no-nonsense tone. “How’d you do it?”

“You’re good, man,” Will said with a smile, pointing his finger at me. “Like a true journalist.”

Any other day I’d be pleased to hear that, but I was serious. I needed to know, so much that I’d forgotten how long I’d actually been here. I told myself I was gonna leave as soon as I could, but now, for some reason after talking with Will and seeing how personable and genuine he came off, he put me a bit at ease. Maybe I was blowing this out of proportion. But then the screams echoed in my head again, and the smell...

“You’re not gonna tell me, are you?” I said.

“Look, I wish I could, honestly, but if I did, Jeffrey may not be too happy with either of us,” Will responded sincerely. That much was true, I could tell.

“All right, I think I tortured you enough,” I said, then immediately regretted my choice of words.

“No worries, man. Nice meetin’ ya. Good luck with the blog.”

“Thanks.”

I looked at Savannah one last time, and she looked back with a serious and almost scary gaze as though she needed to tell me something very bad. That’s who I came back for anyways. But that opportunity was a lost cause now, as I left with nothing and still no understanding of how Gemini Films did their visual effects? And I lost my mother’s ring. Fuck, I didn’t have time to go get it right now. I didn’t wanna risk being seen again. Hopefully, Jeffrey keeps his word and they somehow manage to give it back. That being said, I'd be fine with not having to see him ever again.

Whose blood was that? Whose body was that in the dumpster? Was it real? Was it actually just that well made to where the average person could be fooled into thinking it was actual flesh? Who’d go through the trouble of all that?

The screams of losing your life inch by inch, the sounds that would haunt me forever. And the smell of what was inside that bag. That instinctual gut feeling… how was it not real?

#writing #story #horror #nosleep #horror stories

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black-is-no-colour · 4 years

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John Galliano’s Plans for the Future? ‘I Will Fight Till the End for the Freedom to Create’

By Steff Yotka, Vogue Magazine, on 06 May 2020

“I will fight till the end for the freedom to create and the creative process,” John Galliano boldly declared during today’s Vogue Global Conversations. The legendary designer, currently at the helm of Maison Margiela, was calling in on Zoom from Paris, and speaking with his friend Anna Wintour, the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue and Artistic Director and Global Content Advisor of Condé Nast.

Thousands of viewers tuned in for the conversation between two of fashion’s most influential thinkers. What is most exciting about hearing Galliano speak is that even with decades of fashion history written in his name, he refuses to rest on his laurels. More than ever, the designer is passionate about shaping fashion’s future and participating in new dialogues with Millennial and Gen Z customers and fans. How’s he doing that? By dreaming up new ways of communicating virtually. “Isn’t it the time to propose a new way of presenting collections and how we sell them?” he asked.

“I love producing a show,” the designer continued, “[but] I just had to get over that, and accept reality, and look forward.” Currently, he is designing the Maison Margiela Artisanal collection with members of his team over Zoom—he noted one of his designers is currently as far away as Australia—and using these new technologies to inspire a new methodology for showcasing fashion. “What I will embrace is how I record this story, this collection, and work with all the technology that is at hand. Through that I can show the authenticity of the garment—that I’m a dressmaker.”

So will a virtual Margiela show be 3D, CGI, AR—or something we’ve never even seen before? “It is an adventure; I’ve never done it before!” the designer demurred, suggesting that he hopes to combine the physical and digital. “You know I like doing smaller shows, much more intimate, where everyone gets a front row [seat], and then maybe have some cyber invitees who sit there, a writer, an actor, a poet—something new.”

Two things Maison Margiela’s presentations won’t be lacking is passion and artistry. “What [this time has] inspired me to do is maybe show some of the process work. So many of our Y and Z Generations don’t get to see that. … [For Artisanal, in July] I’ll be showing the essence, le parfum, the top of the pyramid. That’s what I’m showing, that’s what I want people to understand. Come September, the influence and how that’s inspired the ready-to-wear lines, the co-ed, the accessories—I’m seeing it as a long term idea, and let’s see how that goes. I’m super excited, really.”

Designing for an IRL or a digital audience won’t change the manner in which Galliano works “The creative process will be the creative process. I’m lucky, or sensitive enough to tune into those things,” he said. He’s been staying plugged-in with his younger colleagues over the internet, joining Zoom parties and taking note of what everyone is weaning. “Have you seen the Zoom parties? I saw Steven Klein’s the other day, it was major!” he exclaimed. “[Younger people are] still going to throw on a red lip, they’re still going to want to be seductive—even if it is online. Honestly I think what people wear will be inspired by how the de-confinement kicks in. I’m keeping my eyes and ears open, for sure.”

As Wintour noted, technology isn’t the only realm in which Galliano has been pushing fashion’s potential forward. He has also been a leader in both sustainable practices and the destruction of antiquated gender norms. “We just felt that we wanted to speak the grammar of today and recycling and upcycling gave us Recicla,” he said, referencing the new collection of upcycled garments shown as a part of the fall 2020 Maison Margiela runway show. The upcycling doesn’t end there. A collection of accessories made of high-end leather scraps was produced and sold in a sort of made-to-measure capacity, with different regions of the world receiving one-of-a-kind products. “I love the idea that something like that has actually made our merchandisers, marketing, [and] the commercial team creative as well,” he said.

Regarding the continued blurring of gender lines, Galliano spoke passionately about how he hopes this pause in the fashion system can break down the barriers between genders. “If showrooms, boy’s and girl’s could merge, it would cut down a lot of travel, a lot of waste—and it’s a much more exciting way of buying collections too,” he began. “Beyond that you can start to create newer shapes [by working across genders]. You can chill out the cut of the dress. Also, it’s inspired me to take what’s synonymous with a very feminine way of cutting, the bias cut dresses—you know my dresses—but taking that idea and proposing that in the boy genre of clothes: a suit, a caban, a trench. Trying to cut that on a bias, it just makes it so gorgeous, it gives it this illustrated line, there’s this louche look. It’s comfortable, it’s as easy as wearing a string vest, but this liquid mercurial satin—and boys and girls can buy into that too.”

As the conversation came to a close, Galliano reflected on what keeps him motivated during this strange time: “Passion. I’m a dressmaker. I’m driven by the craft and the dedication of my team and the freedom to create. It’s really important for me. I think you can be anything in this world, and if you can be anything, can we just try being kinder to each other and kinder to our planet?”

Taken from Vogue.com

#Maison Margiela #Margiela #Maison Margiela by John Galliano #John Galliano #Galliano #Anna Wintour #fashion #Vogue #Vogue US #American Vogue #Vogue Global Conversations #designer #fashion designer #interview

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 4 years

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Psycho Analysis: General Hux

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Oh boy.

I think that Hux is a character who, more than anything, is emblematic of every single problem the prequel trilogy had. He had a great setup and first appearance, followed by one where he was just made a complete ass of, and then finally haphazardly thrown into a story where his entire character was betrayed for no apparent reason other than the writers just seemed to forget what the hell they were gonna do with him.

Motivation/Goals: This is where Hux really falls apart, and why he utterly fails as a villain. Ostensibly, Hux should be the loyal space military man we’ve seen done well before in characters like Tarkin. It’s a simple character type we’ve seen a lot in the franchise, but it’s tried and true. And to his credit, he seems to follow that in The Force Awakens, where he is actually set up extremely well, as most things in that movie were.

But then came The Last Jedi. This film marked the bumpy slide downward for the sequel trilogy, but Hux had smooth sailing all the way into the pit. In this film, he is treated less like the high-ranking official e is, and more like a complete and utter JOKE. He gets dragged across the floor and just belittled by his superiors at every turn, and by the film’s end it is abundantly clear he hates Kylo Ren. So this is going to set up some awesome internal power struggle in the First Order, right? WRONG. All that ends up happening is there are a few scenes where Hux looks pissy at Kylo, then it’s revealed he’s betraying the First Order to the rebels because he hates Kylo Ren that much, and then he is unceremoniously blasted away in the very next scene.

Literally nothing about his betrayal makes any sense because if nothing else, Hux has been established as loyal to the First Order. Much like everything in The Rise of Skywalker, they might have been able to pull this off if they bothered to explain anything, but his pouty, whiny little bitch-boy response of “I don’t care who wins, I just want Kylo Ren to LOSE!” is such an utterly demeaning and pathetic excuse that it just tanks his entire character and makes it a relief when he is blasted away.

Performance: Domhnall Gleeson is a good actor, and at least in The Force Awakens he’s really giving it his all, bringing a terrifying intensity to that scene where he gives a speech to the gathered First Order before Starkiller Base is activated. But after that first film, his performance just feels… almost phoned in. Hux is just a very dull, worthless character after that.

Final Fate: Hux’s death is fitting, seeing as he is a cowardly bastard with no dignity whatsoever; Pryde just immediately executes him on the spot without a second thought a single scene after Hux has revealed he is the mole in the First Order. It honestly saved the Resistance the trouble, because there’s no doubt Hux would be executed for war crimes after the war was over anyway. Kinda makes you wonder what the point of him being a mole was in the first place, to be honest.

Oh, right, there was no point.

Best Scene: The solitary moment where Hux manages to achieve greatness is during his terrifying Nazi-esque First Order speech in The Force Awakens as he revs up the Starkiller Base to blow up the Hosnian system. In fact, Hux really is only as bad as I think he is as a character because not a single film afterwards even attempts to try and emulate or match how Hux is portrayed in this scene. If they had ran with this characterization, we could have had someone on the level of Tarkin, Pryde, or Krennic instead of the idiotic slapstick punching bag who gets crapped on by his superiors every scene.

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Best Quote: Just turn the subtitles on for his speech up there, that’s his unironic best quote. In an ironic sense, his petulant, whiny little reasoning for betraying literally everything he stands for despite being an unrepentant war criminal who would be executed at war’s end is hilarious for how absolutely stupid, awful, and juvenile it is: “I don't care if you win. I need Kylo Ren to lose!”

Final Thoughts & Score: Hux is, without a doubt, one of the worst villains ever, and unlike Palpatine he doesn’t have much to fall back on. Yes, Domhnall Gleeson is a good actor, but he is no Ian McDiarmid, that’s for sure, and he is entirely unable to salvage the character when things go south. It doesn’t help that, unlike Palpatine, who has three or four movies under his belt where he was hilarious and awesome as well as several other appearances in stuff like the animated shows or that one Kinect game where he straight up gets off his throne and busts a move (which is totally canon, I promise), Hux really just has three films where he just steadily gets worse as the series progresses, culminating in a third appearance that just cements him as one of the most dumbass characters conceived for this franchise.

It’s really baffling to think what they were trying to do with him. They set him up as a really cool and threatening military villain in the first film, then have him survive unlike his betters Tarkin and Krennic, and then just spend an entire film treating him like a complete and utter joke only to have him, in his final film, pull an utterly nonsensical and counterintuitive betrayal out of his ass that completely spits in the face of everything that was established about the guy up until that point. A 1/10 almost seems too nice for him, but let me tell you something: a 1 isn’t merely for a villain who sucks, that’s what 2 is for.

No, a 1 is a villain who has utterly botched potential AND ALSO sucks. Malekith could have been cool, as his comic counterpart shows, but they squandered him; Dudepeel could have been an awesome cinematic Deadpool as the Ryan Reynolds performance earlier in the film showed, but the character was intentionally sabotaged; Rowan from Ghostbusters could have been an actual fun and funny villain while still being a jab at whiny entitled dudebros if the writing was any better; and Hux could have been a cool and threatening military villain if they didn’t just turn him into an utter joke and then totally mischaracterize him for no good reason. It really just is a fact that everyone who went in to The Rise of Skywalker came out infinitely worse; maybe I should be glad that Phasma was killed in The Last Jedi, because instead of being disappointing wasted potential she could have ended up like Hux.

But hey, while we’re here, let’s talk about the character in The Rise of Skywalker who is Hux done right:

Psycho Analysis: Allegiant General Enric Pryde

He’s ruthless. He’s efficient. He sees through lies and he gets things done. Enric Pryde is an utter badass and the exact sort of evil military commander Star Wars deserves as a villain.

Motivation/Goals: The Rise of Skywalker keeps things really vague since it is a film incapable of expanding on any idea, no matter how good it is, in a satisfying way, but what we do get is that Pryde is as loyal as they come, having served the Empire back in the day under Palpatine. He is just here to execute the will of the First Order and then the Final Order, no matter what, be it under Kylo Ren or Palpatine. Sweet, simple, effective, and never once betrayed by the story. Take that, Hux!

Performance: Richard E. Grant portrays Pryde, and he is just completely and utterly dead serious. There’s no jokes at his expense, nothing to mock, he is completely and utterly committed to his evil actions. I really don’t think I could possibly say it better than TVTropes did:

Final Fate: Of course, he gets blown up when that whole random CGI fleet that showed up with Lando comes in. Characters either went into The Rise of Skywalker and came out crappy or they died. There’s really no in between.

Best Scene: When he kills Hux, of course! It’s just a perfect showcase of his character, and it rids us of one of the sequel trilogy’s biggest embarrassments.

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Final Thoughts & Score: Pryde is not the most deep or complex villain, nor is he utilized to his fullest potential; his past with Palpatine is largely unexplored, and he was just created for this movie, meaning he had absolutely no buildup whatsoever. Despite all that, though, he still manages to be cooler, more efficient, and more ruthless than any other villain in the whole sequel trilogy. He’s got limited screentime, was made entirely for this film, and is pretty much the bare minimum for what a great evil general should be in the franchise, but Richard E. Grant’s stoic and dead serious performance combined with the character’s crowning achievement – killing Hux – makes him a 7/10 in my book.

The sad thing is that he’s probably the best major antagonist in the sequel trilogy, which is frankly kind of pathetic. And even more sad is how utterly he outdoes Hux, simply by being what Hux should have been all along and what The Force Awakens was clearly building him up as.

#Psycho Analysis #Star Wars #Sequel trilogy #General Hux #domhnall gleeson #Enric Pryde #richard e. grant

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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It’s Time We Finally See More of Elden Ring at Tomorrow’s Xbox Series X Event

May 6, 2020 3:30 PM EST

After nearly a year of silence following its reveal, it feels like it’s time for FromSoftware and Bandai Namco to show us more of Elden Ring.

Of all the reveals that occurred last year during Microsoft’s E3 2019 presentation, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco’s latest collaboration with Elden Ring proved to be one of the most intriguing announcements in the showcase. While the latest game from the studio behind Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is surely enough to get many fans excited, Elden Ring also features a crossover with Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin which makes it all the more interesting.

However, in the nearly 12 months since Elden Ring was unveiled to the public via a CGI trailer, no substantial news on the project has come about at all. Gameplay still hasn’t been shown, a release window has yet to be divulged, and perhaps most importantly, we aren’t even sure if the project is planned to come to next-gen platforms in PS5 and Xbox Series X. In fact, news on the title has been so sparse that the initial community surrounding the game over on Reddit has basically just devolved into one big meme zone.

So when might all of these questions be answered? When will the silence surrounding Elden Ring finally break? Well, I really think tomorrow’s Inside Xbox event would be a fantastic place for the game to show back up.

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We already asked you earlier today what you’d like to see appear during tomorrow’s Xbox Series X gameplay reveal event, and I’m here to tell you right now that Elden Ring is personally what I’m holding out hope to see the most. If you know me at all, you know that FromSoftware is essentially my favorite developer in the industry at this point. Despite knowing next-to-nothing about Elden Ring, it’s still one of my most-anticipated games at the moment purely because of who is making it. And if you don’t think I love FromSoftware, you can watch this dumb video of me marking out as Sekiro wins Game of the Year at The Game Awards last year.

So yeah, I want Elden Ring to show up tomorrow just because I want to see more of this game. It’s as simple as that. But even setting aside my FromSoft fanboy side for a moment, now just seems like the right time for us to start learning more about this game. Again, there are way too many unanswered questions surrounding Elden Ring for us to not definitively hear more somewhat soon (you would imagine). If the team over at Xbox is going to open up its platform to showcase third-party titles that are coming to Xbox Series X, why wouldn’t Bandai Namco and FromSoftware potentially jump at that opportunity? There should be quite a few eyes on this showcase tomorrow, after all.

Well, there are a few caveats with this whole notion. For starters, tomorrow’s Inside Xbox event is going to focus solely on games that are primarily coming to the Xbox Series X. As mentioned previously, Elden Ring isn’t confirmed to be heading to next-gen consoles just yet. It’s only said to be releasing on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. And while you might think that a game of this type is a shoo-in to get ported to PS5 and Xbox Series X since the release of both new platforms are coming up so soon, well, you might be wrong there.

FromSoftware and Bandai Namco have a track record of not bringing their most recent projects to next-gen hardware near launch and we’ve seen as much at the start of this console generation. Back when Dark Souls II released in 2014, the game only came to PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, despite the fact that the PS4 and Xbox One were already on the market. While the game did eventually come to these platforms in the form of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, it took a year after the original release of DS2 for this to come about. That’s not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but the point still stands.

There’s also the fact that, based on what we know now, most of the titles that are being shown off tomorrow in this edition of Inside Xbox are entirely new to the Xbox stage. How do we know this? Well, Xbox Head Phil Spencer said as much earlier today on Twitter. Considering Elden Ring appeared on Xbox’s stage last year at E3, this would seemingly eliminate the game from contention when it comes to showing up tomorrow.

However, Spencer did clarify on Twitter that there might be one game in particular that “has been on our stage before” which seems to leave the door open ever so slightly for Elden Ring. The odds definitely don’t seem to be in the game’s favor, but hey, it’s not outside the realm of possibility just yet.

OK, ok, yes AC has been on our stage before but not this one! And maybe one other game has been on our stage before but a lot of new games showing up which I find cool.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) May 6, 2020

Look, the bottom line is that this void of news surrounding Elden Ring has to break at some point. Even if the game doesn’t rear its head tomorrow at Inside Xbox, there’s a decent chance we should start to learn more somewhat soon. With a multitude of gaming events said to be coming up this summer, most notably with Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest which is lasting from May until August, it seems pretty likely that we’ll hear about Elden Ring soon enough. That said, hearing about it sooner rather than later and getting confirmation that it will be releasing on next-gen platforms like Xbox Series X would truly be wonderful. Here’s hoping that we’re less than 24 hours away from seeing what FromSoftware has cooking up next.

Tomorrow’s Xbox Series X iteration of Inside Xbox is set to take place at 8:00am PST/11:00am EST. If anything related to Elden Ring does end up appearing, you can bet your britches that we’ll be talking about it here on DualShockers.

May 6, 2020 3:30 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/its-time-we-finally-see-more-of-elden-ring-at-tomorrows-xbox-series-x-event/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=its-time-we-finally-see-more-of-elden-ring-at-tomorrows-xbox-series-x-event

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ahnmin · 6 years

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12 Favorite Films of 2017

12. mother!

One of the things I admire most in filmmakers is a fearless commitment to realize their vision, no matter how deranged. During this movie’s apeshit third act, I kept wondering how the hell Aronofsky pulled it off. It becomes more and more unhinged, continually toppling my expectations. And all in service of a singular message howling across the movie theatre. Some people love it, others loathe it, but the reason why reactions have been so strong is because the filmmaker straight up went for it.

11. War for the Planet of the Apes A striking portrait of a leader during crisis and how the surrounding conflicts and responsibilities shape them. I love how it’s a journeying western that flows into a prison break. The fact that Caesar is fully CGI is worth noting for how invisible it is. For once, CGI is not concealer, it is the brush stroke.

10. On the Beach at Night Alone Is it possible to be nakedly brave and selfishly vain at the same time? Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee decide to go so far and so deep into their personal lives as to be wildly radical both in Korea’s lynch mob celebrity culture and in the boundaries of traditional storytelling.

9. Graduation Moral quandaries are to Cristian Mungiu as salmon is to a master sushi chef. He slices the morality into perfect slabs, cutting against the grain to release maximum ambiguity and dissecting them into their smallest possible components. Here, he sharpens his knife against parenting, governing systems, and the rules involved. Many long unbroken takes of two people verbally jousting along with well-paced editing tell a story of how rules, though meant to maintain order, cannot be blindly followed.

8. Get Out This movie is not just an intellectual exercise aimed to impale the fraudulent do-gooder majority. Though as proven by now, it is magnificently that. I think what makes it so successful in its execution and atomic bomb reception is that it is a haphazard napalm strike straight from the gut of Jordan Peele. Of course it is encased in a genius strategy, but I believe the emotional battle cry is what drives it all the way into the skulls and sternums of people everywhere who need to wake the fuck up.

7. Dunkirk Yes, I saw this in IMAX 70mm. Twice. The sheer size of the image was all engulfing. But that conceit alone isn’t enough to cover a feature narrative. It’s the virtuosic filmmaking—the impossible agility of the elephantine IMAX camera, the clarity of time-space editing between Land, Sea, and Air, the concisely written and staged wordless sequences—that maximizes this survival story into a visceral and unforgettable experience.

6. After the Storm “Did you become who you wanted to be?” a son asks his father. He contemplates the question, wondering what to say to his son while unable to pay child support, unsuccessful in winning back his ex-wife, and finding himself penniless just like his own late father. Are we bound to make the same mistakes as our parents or can we break free and become who we want to be? This movie doesn’t have any simple answers but it dares to wrestle with those complicated questions.

5. The Shape of Water This movie doesn’t just highlight flaws, it unashamedly celebrates them. Through a restlessly floating camera, a magnificent use of color, and a shimmering performance by Sally Hawkins, it lifts those flaws until the things we find embarrassing and the things we hide in fear ultimately transcend their “limitations” and elevate to what they truly are: signs of unexplainable beauty.

4. Phantom Thread Speaking of flaws, we are as much drawn to each other in relationships by our annoying quirks as we are by our admirable strengths. With a dizzyingly well-placed camera, a gorgeous score, and a powerhouse trifecta of performances, Phantom Thread showcases the complex nature of romance and how sometimes, more than our kindness and vulnerability, it is our longing to be needed and taken care of that messily glue us together.

3. Okja Just like Ahn Seo-hyun sprinting relentlessly through the running time, the movie follows suit in a rocket launch of mayhem, bizarre humor, political satire, and most precious of all, familial love. With pristine creature effects, Okja is given the proper heft and tangibility to deeply express all the nuances and specificity of her sisterhood with Mija. Taking a cue from Spielberg, Bong Joon-ho uses that sacred relationship to ground this zany globe-trotting (pun intended) adventure, and that is what I love about all his films. In whatever mode or tone they’re in, the beating heart is full of warmth and intimacy, and then on top of that he layers the exciting genre elements and excellent filmmaking craft. Okja is no different because the camera swings around like a beautifully controlled acrobat, the blocking/staging is always sensational and adroitly choreographed, and the wildly fluctuating tones are well managed and coalesced into a single piece. Finally, shout-out to Steven Yeun for being the perfect embodiment of the clash of East and West in a role that only someone with his distinct upbringing and Hollywood clout could play.

2. Mudbound With the cascade of different narrators weaving throughout, this movie is about equality—not just equal rights, but an equal depth of pain and an equal potential to love. Everyone is given a moment to shine or be humiliated without any judgement or bias. The characters collide and harmonize in deft handheld camerawork and dug-from-the-earth production design. And it’s in that egalitarian landscape that makes the horrific inequality all the more devastating. Also there’s a reunion scene with a son coming back home from war and being embraced by his father that made me cry harder than anything I watched this year.

1. Blade Runner 2049 I love the extremely impressionistic photography, the glorious production design, the deliberate pacing, and the wild abandon of Denis Villenueve to take a beloved franchise and make it his own. But it’s my favorite of the year because for me, it’s about sacrifice. Everyone has a Messianic complex and wants to save the world. But being Christlike doesn’t mean to be spotlit as the Chosen One—that is the dream of the Narcissist. Genuine transcendence and generosity come from giving up that position and downgrading yourself so that another could be given that seat of honor. And in today’s climate of megalomania and self-aggrandizing fanaticism, a little bit of selfless sacrifice could be of use. ----------------------------------------

Honorable Mentions:

20. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) - One of the funniest movies of the year. Baumbach shows a new level of confidence in his bombardment of dialogue and exploration of ridiculous family dynamics.

19. Gerald’s Game - Well-crafted, well-written intimate terrifying single room thriller. 18. I don't feel at home in this world anymore. - Well-crafted, well-written intimate quirky comedic thriller. 17. Split - Shyamalan continues to get his groove back.

16. Gook - Stunning debut film filled with tons of heart in under-seen contexts.

15. The Lost City of Z - The tension between chasing your dreams and fulfilling your duties.

14. Baby Driver - An unhinged musical made with a stunning command of craft.

13. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Rian Johnson crafts a meta narrative out of the most famous film franchise in history, infusing his own anxious ambition to leave the past behind in order to become a trailblazer.

#best films of 2017 #year end list

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june2734 · 6 years

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Superhero Films and The Importance of Small Acts

(I originally wrote this back when Thor Ragnarok came out but I just didn't feel right posting it at the time. There was just something missing that I couldn't put my finger on but in truth I think it's a part of my larger struggles with writing for the past few months. Since I'm most likely just going to continue unproductively obsessing over it I've decided to just post this little essay since I don't think I'm going to put my feelings on this topic into better words than I already have, at least right now anyway.)

So I’ve seen Thor Ragnarok about three times over now, I really like the film a lot and I’d probably place it in the lower half of my top 10 marvel films of all time. But unfortunately it, as well as most Marvel and DC films, stand as examples of films that depict one particular kind of heroism. Now this isn’t a knock against those films for what they do, I think the formula Marvel’s created for their films is fine if a little predictable at this point, but I feel like they could be doing so much more. Particularly, I feel like these films put so much emphasis on spectacularly grandiose and larger than life acts of heroism that they completely ignore or put extremely little emphasis on more down to earth and realistic acts of kindness, humility and empathy. I would argue that these smaller acts of heroism are far more important to depict on the big screen than grand CGI filled action scenes, especially given the fact that hundreds of kids go to see these films and come to understand, form their opinions about, and look up too these heroes primarily through their films. I think it’s far more important for a child to see their favorite hero help someone in some small but meaningful way that they could possible see themselves doing rather than seeing that hero save the world from yet another world ending disaster. Now I’ve held up All Star Superman previously as a prime example of the importance of a hero showing kindness and empathy but another good example of the small but meaningful acts I’m talking about can be seen in the last episode of the 2004 series Justice League Unlimited when Batman, a character who most, especially the average film going individual, wouldn’t associate with acts of empathy and kindness decides to sit quietly with a young frightened super villain and hold their hand as they slowly die because he knows how afraid they are of being alone in their last moments. The fact that many big budget depictions of this character choose to primarily focus on how tortured, intelligent, or what a great fighter he is a bit of a disservice to the character since it completely ignores how, despite his emotional trauma, he is also an extremely emotionally intelligent person who deeply understands and cares from the emotional pain of others.

To ignore showcasing these these acts on the big screen in favor of the typical grandiose acts that have become so commonplace in this current golden age of superhero films, in my opinion, is a disservice to the characters themselves and people who created them. I think it’s important for people, especially children, to see characters like Superman not only save the planet from a giant meteorite but also ask someone who might be going through something difficult if they’re doing alright or volunteer to help the homeless or something of the like. These films have the power to really press upon the importance of these small but meaningful acts to people, letting them know that you don’t have to be able to lift a car over your head to to have an impact on someones life. Now I’m not looking for a full movie of this but I would like to see somewhat of an emphasis put on things like this in big blockbuster films. And maybe these are themes that are more suited to the small screen due to television or a streaming services ability to engage in more long-form storytelling but I feel that they must be pressed upon in some fashion or what’s the point of having all these heroes running around? Look, I love a good battle scene as much as the next person but I feel that these films have the potential to convey messages that are much more complex than “who can punch whom the hardest”. Again, I feel that failing to show these acts only dilutes depictions of who these characters really are and what they truly represent.

#MCU #DCCU #superhero films

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furederiko · 7 years

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9 MARVEL CHARACTERS I WANT TO SEE IN THE CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Just spitballing for fun here!

To celebrate September 9th, here are 9 Marvel Heroes I would like to see making their debut in the next phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe. By MCU, that means for the movies... NOT for TV. I'm not saying because the TV side is... bad (even if I do lean towards that conclusion, it would be a subjective opinion), but I just don't think TV would be able to do justice with these characters due to various constraints (budget, VFX quality, etc).

It's already widely reported that the 2019 "UNTITLED Avengers" will serve as the culmination of MCU since 2008. That means, the door to welcome new characters and IPs would be wide open. So these are the names I would like to see getting the spotlight, and perhaps, assemble into a new set of Avengers. One might easily notice that the names I'm including here are characters from the animated "Avengers Assemble" series. That's actually... INTENTIONAL. One, because that means Marvel Studios obviously has the rights to use them (or at least partially, like the Spider-Man characters). And two, because I want this post to have a similar look and feel. But I'm NOT leaving behind other characters who have yet to show up in that series. That's why there's a special 'Bonus' section afterwards... (^^)v

Now that the explanation is out of the way, let's start right away! Here they are, in alphabetical order:

Agent Venom

Coincidentally, the first one is already a tricky situation. Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a Spider-Man character, so the rights to him is owned by SONY. That company is already working on a "Venom" movie that might not (or might?) be part of the MCU, with Tom Hardy as the lead. On the other hand, a modern-bully version of Flash has already debuted in the MCU via this year's "Spider-Man: Homecoming", as brought to life by Tony Revolori. Of course, the prospect of seeing a talented actor like Revolori becoming a headlining hero, is just too good to ignore. Mind you, it might take him a very long time (until after the high school characters graduate?) before arriving in a possible bittersweet situation (in the comics, Flash had to lose his legs first). But overall, Marvel Studios has already sown the seed for Agent Venom's debut. I can only hope this idea will be realized somewhere in the future...

Hercules

Odd choice, huh? But hear me out. We haven't had a great Hercules movie for a long time (my favorite was still Disney's animated-musical version, and it differed massively from the mythology). So why not leave it to Marvel Studios to do justice for the figure, and make a HUGE name out of him? The comic version of Hercules Panhellenios is a struggling, washed-out, unemployed hero, who spends his time slacking around and being a disappointment to others. True to his metaphorical title as a fierce male lion, huh? This situation and condition would carry massive potentials to explore in the movies. He can also take over Thor Odinson's position to expand the MCU towards more Greek-based mythological stories. Would you like to see Herc fighting Cerberus or Hydra (the monster, not the NAZI organization) in live action? I sure do. Good ol' Herc has seen a return to spotlight recently, with his own solo comic series. So what an excellent time to promote him for his own movie too! Since Chris Hemsworth and Pratt are already in the MCU (IMO, both are giving off a strong Hercules vibe!), perhaps Marvel Studios can hire... I don't know, Joe Manganiello as the lead actor?

Hyperion

Another mythological-esque hero! Unlike Hercules though, Marcus Milton has a completely different origin, being descendant of... the Eternals. Yes, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie series have already introduced this powerful race, which means, the route to Hyperion's debut is more or less smooth sailing. Interestingly, Hyperion is well known as part of the superhero team "Squadron Supreme". That means, if ever Marvel Studios needs a 'replacement' for the Avengers, this group is a good candidate. Just like Herc, Hyperion has returned to the limelight with a new comic series lately, eventhough it was cancelled after a few volumes. I admit, being a copy/parody of a certain DC hero, the character doesn't really have deep potentials. But that's why I trust Marvel Studios to give him the push he needed! As for the actor, for some reason, I would love to see John Krasinski in the role. Dude was considered to be Captain America before, right? And he's not another Chris. LOL.

Inferno

We're back to another tricky business. Dante Pertuz is a relatively new character, a modern version of Human Torch that FOX doesn't own. LOL. He's introduced in the recent years with the NuHumans storyline, which exactly leads to THE tricky situation. Yes, he's an Inhuman, and his origin story is deeply connected to the Inhumans Royal Family (specifically Gorgon). We all know that Marvel TV had taken over the Inhumans IP and turn it into a TV series (complete with bad writing, bad design, bad reviews *smh*). I'm VERY concerned the division would also want to capitalize on Inferno to boost the show's appeal, and I personally don't think that's a wise decision. Visual-effect wise, Mark Kolpack has admitted that creating Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider's flaming head and chains for the 4th season of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." was taxing and demanding. It's basically a movie-level VFX that required extra hours and patience, not something that can usually be rushed in a TV deadline. Now imagine doing that with Inferno, who emits flame from all over his body! But there's a bigger stake, here. You see, Dante's clearly a latino hero, and we haven't had one headlining an MCU movie until now. With his visual powers and relatable storyline (struggling with being Inhumans, a minority, rock star, and all), a movie would privilege Dante with the justice he deserve. I'm aware that highly likely Marvel Studios will be going with a cosmic Sam Alexander's Nova instead, and that's okay. But Inferno would be more current, if not more likeable choice.

Ka-Zar

Kevin Plunder came in to this list, with the same reason to Hercules. Because he's Marvel version of Tarzan! Hollywood has been trying to create a good Tarzan movie over and over again, and they're either an okay hit or a sad miss. As far as I know, none of them were ever able to please every audience, not even Disney's animated version. But Ka-Zar is different, because he carries more 'fantasy' than just trying to ape the King of the Jungle. The setting of his adventures, the "Savage Land" that's hidden deep in Antarctica, would be something magnificent to feature in the big screen. We've got Asgard, Kamar-Taj, Wakanda, why not add Savage Land too! Don't forget Zabu, his saber-toothed best friend, which would require massive CGI work. Suffice to say, the things I'm reading and hearing about Ka-Zar only leads to one conclusion: I want to see him in a live action movie! Now, who can portray him? Hmmm... a natural blond Brit like Charlie Hunnam, perhaps?

Ms. Marvel

All concerns I had for Dante, goes for Kamala Khan as well. Being a fellow Inhumans, there's been a rampant rumor recently that she'll be getting a TV series (supposedly the one John Ridley is working on). For me, that's a HUUUGE NOOOO. And due to THREE major reasons. ONE, similar to Inferno, TV budget won't be able to handle the VFX required to showcase her Inhuman ability with the right look and feel. Look no further than that underwhelming looking "Inhumans" series as example! Would you like to see an iconic figure like Kamala being reduced to a 'disaster' with the excuse of making her 'grounded'? You know, like what Marvel TV have already done to Medusa? I certainly DON'T. Kamala is basically the modern version of Mr. Fantastic, and we all know that even FOX have tried to do Reed Richards right in the movies several times, but still couldn't perfectly nail it. Downgrading this situation to a TV level would only make it worse. TWO, Kamala is a genuinely likeable and well-beloved character that easily captures the heart and attention of many readers throughout the world. If the 60s-90s had Peter Parker, Kamala's the youth representative for the modern world. Hip, cool, and current (being a social media freak and all), but also kind and caring... eventhough she's a triple-decker minority (Female, South Asian heritage, and Moslem) living in a racist country. Which leads me to the final reason. THREE, her story will have a MUCH BIGGER impact to the world as a movie. Releasing a Marvel Studios movie with her as the lead in an international market (including countries with Moslem as majority), would not only bank a great amount of money, but also sends the right messages: one, unlike its current government, Hollywood is NOT racist; two, that everyone can be a hero, regardless of their gender, race, and religion! Relegating a character this HUGE to a small-scoped TV series that not everyone can gain access to, would be a massive disservice. Kamala is the hero the world currently needs, so please don't undermine her into disappointments.

She-Hulk

Another tricky situation, though in this case, due to the confusing copyrights. Actor Mark Ruffalo has repeatedly said, that a Hulk solo movie won't be coming along the road because Universal has the distribution rights. What about his super-powered cousin, Jennifer Walters? It's unclear, but I can only assume that she has the same legal limitation. Thankfully, it also doesn't mean that she can't be used in a Marvel Studios movies. She just need to be included as part of an ensemble, that's all. The great thing about Jen, is that she's a lawyer and later a judge. Not only she's strong physically, but also academically. Won't that be a strong role model for young women and girls all around the world? We haven't really had a law angle in the superhero movies until now, with Daredevil occupying the Netflix universe. So bringing Jen into the light would be fresh and promising. As for who should play him, I don't have a particular choice, but someone with Award prestige like Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron, and/or Jennifer Lawrence would be a great get...

Songbird

Former villain turned Avengers? Yep, that premise alone would make a great story. Melissa Gold started off as a troubled woman, with broken family and harsh situation. Giving in to the world of crime (known as Screaming Mimi) was clearly her way to stay alive. Eventually she stumbled into the road of heroism with the Songbird moniker, and ended up becoming a full-time member of the Avengers. Just like the other characters I've included here, Melissa would be a great role model, especially for troubled teenagers. Her path of redemption proves that anyone, regardless of their past and issues, can be a hero too. An inspiring message that Marvel Studios need to share to the world. She doesn't sell enough as a solo movie? Well, then debuting her as part of the "Thunderbolts" would be equally okay for me. All the ingredients are already in the MCU anyway (Thunderbolt Ross, Helmut Zemo?). As for the actress, for some reason, I want to see Anna Kendrick in this role. Yeah, basically I just want to see her in a Marvel Studios movie, but I believe she would really bring justice to the gorgeous-designed Songbird.

White Tiger

We've already gotten an African "Black Panther", now it's time for a hispanic White Tiger! Her powers come from the mystical side, and since "Doctor Strange" has opened up the gateway to supernatural, we can have more heroes with this kind of origin story! I'm personally going with Ava Ayala, and not Angela del Toro, eventhough either of them would be wonderful. Why White Tiger? Same reason to Dante, and in a way, Kamala. Sure, the MCU have included numerous Latino actors who either got lost in the background (Jonathan Pangborn?), or turned out to be a scene stealer (looking at you Luis!!!), but we haven't really had a major hispanic hero in the MCU until now. More importantly, a female one! Debuting Ava in the MCU would also, once again, sends off a great message. The US government have been really discriminative about immigrants lately, including the hispanics. Putting Ava in the spotlight would remind everyone that South Americans CAN be heroes, and not criminals like what they're being wrongfully accused for. We truly need characters like this right away! As for who should play her, I'm currently setting my eyes on Gina Rodriquez of the hit series "Jane the Virgin".

Honorable Ment... SPECIAL ADDITIONS

The next characters are those who (as far as my memory serves) haven't made their debut in the "Avengers Assemble" series. So they sort of... didn't fulfill the basic requirement for my initial list. But it'd be unfair leaving them behind like that, right? That's why they are special 'Bonus' additions. Without further ado, in alphabetical order:

Brother Voodoo

For the record, I'm not being racist by sidelining the only black character to this section. The reason I put him here, is because his debut in the MCU movies is pretty much confirmed. Daniel Drumm, big brother to Jericho Drumm, has already made his appearance in "Doctor Strange" as the original protector of New York Sanctum Santorum. And director Scott Derrickson has already hinted that his death would lead to consequences, including the arrival of Jericho. Debuting Jericho as a sort of sidekick to Stephen Strange would be nice, but it would be much better if he gets his own movie too. Yes, there's an issue regarding his name, because using Voodoo might... well, attract criticsm. But titles can be tweaked, right? Considering Jericho ends up becoming a Sorcerer Supreme too, I believe he'll be perfect as the next black hero to headline his own movie.

Shang-Chi

I've already repeatedly mentioned that Marvel Studios NEED a major hero representing minorities, and this is another great candidate. Marvel Studios have brought several prominent Asian characters into the MCU, like Wong, Mantis (eventhough she's an alien), and Helen Cho. Yet they all share similar characteristic: they are all supporting cast. If Marvel Studios want to play it 'safe' and headline an East Asian lead character, then Shang-Chi is the go-to-guy. Nope, I'm not undermining him, but just pointing out how easy he would appeal to the audience. Shang-Chi is in a way, Marvel Comics' response to Bruce Lee. We all know that the world LOVES some Bruce Lee. And Shang is more than just a Bruce Lee copy, he's also a master of espionage who's determined to take down his own father's criminal empire. Pretty much a solid recipe for a James Bond-styled wuxia blockbuster hit, am I right! "Doctor Strange" has teased the use of martial arts to support magic, a hero like Shang would put it upfront as the star of the party. Marvel TV might have taken the stamp on Iron Fist (with mixed response), so Shang is the opportunity for Marvel Studios to do it RIGHT! Jon Woo, Ang Lee, or Jacky Chan can direct this, and as for the actor, Godfrey Gao is my top pick. But Ludi Lin, Philip Ng (star of the fictional Bruce Lee biopic "Birth of the Dragon"), or even Yoshi Sudarso (who is Chinese-Indonesian) would be fantastic nonetheless.

Spider-Woman

The last tricky affair of the day! Jessica Drew is called Spider-Woman, but she uses the 'Spider' moniker by name only, and unrelated to Spider-Man. That's why until now, it's currently unclear whether her movie rights is owned by SONY or not. She's actually one of the superheroine I've been itching to see in the MCU, but admittedly, these questions surrounding her place always put me on a weird crossroad. Drew is connected to Hydra, the High Evolutionary, and has always been a full-blown Avengers. And all of those screams MCU. She's also the best friend of Carol Danvers, so I honestly want to see her show up in "Captain Marvel". Her comic origin story sort of fits with "Captain Marvel" 90s setting too. Have Jessica encounter Carol when she was a child, then Jessica was put into stasis for years, only to wake up as a superpowered woman in the present day. And then she meets Carol again, and team up as the new Avengers. All's well ends well! I personally want to see Tatiana Maslany of the famous "Orphan Black" for this character, but Marvel Studios can always cast an Asian actress (like Constance Wu or Celina Jade) due to Drew's ambiguous background.

Young Avengers

This one initially started off with just William "Billy" Kaplan and partner Theodore "Teddy" Altman. A sweet pairing more famously known as Wiccan and Hulkling. My way of thinking was, it'd be rude and unfair to name just one of them, right? If Marvel Studios wants to go ahead and feature an LGBT representation, these guys are the one they should use. Is it possible? There's a hint that we'll be seeing Vision and Wanda Maximoff's relationship evolve in "Avengers: Infinity War". Perhaps somehow they end up bending reality, and Billy is magically conceived? Meanwhile, "Captain Marvel" confirmed that the alien race Skrull CAN be used in the MCU, so a half Kree-Skrull (his biological father is the original/male Captain Marvel) like Teddy is more than just possible. Basically, that movie is the only gateway needed for his debut in the MCU.

But then I began thinking. Why am I leaving behind Billy's twin brother Thomas "Tommy" Shepherd? Poor Pietro Maximoff was killed off in just one movie, why am I sidelining another Speed-ster? That's NOT right. Then the more I think of it, the bigger the scope gets. We have a Hawkeye and Ant-Man who are both fathers in the MCU. Why not include their protege/child? Katherine "Kate" Bishop might not be Clint Barton's daughter, but the two shared a special connection that would be great to depict on the big screen. And then there's Cassandra "Cassie" Lang who looks up to her father Scott, and aspires to be a size-shifting heroine of her own. Cassie has already debuted in the MCU as played by Abby Ryder Fortson, why not promote her into a hero too? And how could I miss out the lesbian latina America Chavez? Fitting in comfortably to all the diversity talk I've stated above, America is not only female, latina, she's also an LGBT representative. Another triple-decker like Kamala. JACKPOT!

So yeah, that's how I ended up with Young Avengers instead. If Marvel TV has "The Runaways", then Marvel Studios can have these equally (if not more prospective) young heroes! If we assume that we will no longer see the Avengers following the 2019 movie, then introducing the Young Avengers would be the most logical continuation. This movie doesn't even to take place in the present time, but a bit further in the future, or even in an alternate reality. That's the function of Reality Stone and Multi-verse, right? This team represents youth, fun, and diversity, sending all the right messages to the world. And at the same, enabling older actors like Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch and others to serve briefly as mentor figures. There's also one other reason why this special team ends up being the last entry on this post (which is unintentional, to be honest): because I REALLY want them to show up in the MCU! \(*v*)/

So there you have it, the 9 (plus 4+) Marvel Heroes I want to see coming to the big screen. In the end though, this is nothing more than a personal opinion. It's obviously a very subjective thinkpiece, so anyone else might not have the same idea (if you do have your take, then do post them, I'd gladly read it!). I do however, hope that someone, anyone from Marvel Studios would somehow stumble upon this, read it, and put these names into considerations. I sincerely feel they will bring something NEW to the MCU, while continue conveying message of hope, inspiration, kindness, and good. After all, that's what Marvel Studios movies are for, right? Thanks for reading... enjoy your September 9th! Even if it might be just a regular day for most of us... XD

#Just for Fun #movie #random #marvel #Marvel Studios

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jesterlady · 5 years

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Avengers Endgame Review

So it's finally time, I am about to give the world my review and feelings of Endgame. I've had this swirling around in my head for weeks but am finally ready to give it voice. I've seen the movie twice and there are obviously massive spoilers ahead so read at your own risk.

First off, I like this movie. It's a good movie despite the sadness and the stupid time travel, so when I criticize it, know I still enjoyed it. I think it's a beautiful crowning achievement, the end of an era of the MCU. In many ways I wish it was the end of the MCU, it would be fitting and sometimes things should end. I laughed and cried and cheered with everyone and seeing it opening weekend was absolutely an amazing experience. For a full time fan it had some amazing fanservice and callbacks.

I also want to point out that I am usually incredibly good at liking a movie on its own terms. Even if something doesn't make sense or doesn't make sense in our world, so long as that universe has claimed it as its own, I'll put on my suspension of disbelief and shrug my shoulders and say, 'whatever you say, squire.' So really I'm the type of person who should be okay with the way they handled time travel in this movie. Spoiler, I'm not. I'll go into all of that.

Let's get the generals out of the way. Visually it's fantastic, acting its ass off, I'm okay with the writing, I laughed at all the funny bits, it's heartwarming and gives all the feels. Love the music, love the cinematography, all that jazz.

Character looks changes since, wow, there were a lot:

Steve: Thank you, Cap, for shaving the beard. Chrevans is a fine looking man with a beard but it does not scream clean linen and fresh apple pie and I need my Cap that way.

Natasha: I'm actually a fan of the red ombre look, Katniss braid and all. It's pretty and I need her red because the blonde was not good, not good at all. I know people complain about hair not growing out that slow, but I think it's a good symbol, Natasha caught between two worlds, the old and the new, becoming more herself, but unable to let go of the past. And it's red and it's pretty.

Clint: Yeah, the mohawk grew on me. I actually think when you see it moving and in action, it works, it's only in the pictures and promos that it just looks weird. I feel like the tattoo sleeve was a bit much. (That can't come off so easy post-snap, Clint!) His Ronin suit was cool; I would have liked to have seen more of it.

Carol: I don't like the haircut. That's it; I just don't like the look. But whatever. I think it's kind of pointless other than to emphasize again time has passed, but they were hammering that point in hard enough without that reminder. But honestly, I don't care.

Bruce: So, this is more about my feelings on Bruce in the movie than his look, but it's all tied up in his look so I'll put it here. I am leery of Professor Hulk. I'm gonna go with Valkyrie, better either of the other ways. The CGI was really cool, but I think it says something alarming about how Bruce is handling his situation and his solution…is not good. We'll skip over how he magically invented a Gammatron thing to accomplish this and go into how it directly goes against what had been happening in the MCU so far and how Bruce/Hulk is handled in the comics. The best way is when Bruce and Hulk both develop as individuals and come to a symbiotic understanding, two beings sharing a body. Eddie and Venom style. Hulk had been given his own story in Ragnarok and had his own path as evidenced by him hiding in IW. Now, there is no Hulk. It's Bruce wearing a Hulk suit, just like him wearing Tony's armor. That almost feels like murder to me. My mom said she thought Bruce had more Hulkish characteristics now, okay, maybe, but I think it's more like him acting a part now that he's Professor Hulk and feels like he beat the beast. My theory is supported by the fact that when the Ancient One astral planes him, it's only Bruce that comes out of the body. Now, I'm happy he's happy, but I think they went the wrong way on this one.

Thor: Loving the long hair again, though I wish he'd brush it a bit, hate the beard. The lightning makeover made it very cool with the Viking look, but otherwise, please shave immediately! You know, it was funny for him to be so out of shape, it was also sad because it showed how depressed he really was. I am okay with the jokes and don't think it was wrong for us to think it funny because we're conditioned to think that Chris Hemsworth with his shirt off is supposed to be the latest in hunk. Did they have to joke about it as much as they did? Probably not, but I don't think it was horrendous and body shaming and he clearly does need to get more healthy in body and mind. I fully expect and will be fine with, if we see him again, him being unmelted ice cream.

Superficial out of the way, let's walk through the movie and then dive into the time travel issues.

Okay, Tony and Nebula dynamic is the best and I would have wanted so much more of that. Tony leaving the message for Pepper is all the feels.

Did Carol go looking for them or just find them? It doesn't really matter, but I'd still like to know. With Pepper being at the compound I'm thinking yes.

Poor Steve and Tony, that was not a good reunion, and I don't like Tony yelling at Steve, but I can understand it in his frame of mind.

Going off to kill Thanos, yay! Okay, so all along I've been pulling for Nebula to kill Thanos and honestly, she deserves it. Second in line, Thor. So I was glad Thor did that, but poor Nebula. She's such a beautiful character and so tragic and I just wish there had been a bit more catharsis for her other than the potential of acceptance and pride she didn't need and blood splattering her face. I mean, ouch! My ultimate version of a Thanos death in this movie would have been both Nebulas and past Gamora killing him with help from Thor.

And Five Years Later. Lol, the audience was all what! I'm all, duh!

So yeah, a rat really did save the world, you guys. I mean, come on! Poor Scott. Though I am thinking, okay, the world is clearly a trashpile now and yet we had the resources to create giant monument graveyards presumably all over the world? Also, his reunion with Cassie was sweet, but I'm sorry, I can't help but mourn the loss of the munchkin. That actress was super adorbz and now we'll never see her again and I am not okay with that. Also, I really feel like that new Cassie was way too old looking. (Guys, I'm not good with ages, but little Cassie was like 6, 5 years makes her 11, that girl was clearly 15 or 16. Though again...seeing as how Harley looks way too old to me as well and that's the actual actor, what do I know?)

Love the team effort spread out over the globe and universe. It's also a good way to handle Carol. Over-powered characters are so difficult to handle because then there is no conflict, so it was good to show her off saving the whole universe (honestly just like she's apparently been doing this whole time).

Oh Nat. Her and her sandwich. Her and Clint! Finally this movie gives me the Clint/Natasha content I deserve and then rips my heart from me. She's handling this burden but her partner is lost and that's what's breaking her and I can't handle it!

Her and Steve's friendship has always been aces and I loved that scene.

Scott there to save the world and he's so refreshing and then on to Tony and it's so precious he has little Morgan and they did a good job showcasing that he is handling this the best of anyone and honestly deserves to.

Nat is wearing the arrow necklace again!!!!

I'm glad Tony said no, but honestly, it's so like him to have a problem and need to fix it. And Pepper is such a queen, such an amazing giver, and the world doesn't deserve her.

We've gone over my feelings on Bruce (the joke with him and Scott went on way too long and was not funny. Also, thank you for only doing the barest of alluding to a Bruce/Nat romance.)

Tony and Steve scenes are the best and I love them rebuilding something and Steve getting the shield back.

Tokyo in the rain kills me. Okay, so let's talk a bit about Clint here. I am not a fan of the farm, I wish the farm had never happened and I like to live in a world where it didn't. In fact that gifset where Clint introduces Laura as his sister is my preferred canon and I think would have done the trick in his grief spiral. Personally, I don't have any issues with a Ronin lifestyle and my only worry is what it's doing to his psyche. Oh, but them in the rain, my feels, my feels, my feels. Honestly, the world is chaotic now and needs a bit of vigilante justice.

Thor and New Asgard. My first thought is that while obviously the most decimated people in the universe, the Asgardians really lucked out coming to earth when they did, because at what other time would we have accepted an alien race landing on earth to come and live with us without freaking out? I don't even know how there are any left anyway because clearly so many died in Ragnarok and then half of them were wiped out by Thanos (pre-snap, remember, so did they come back?! Not likely unless Bruce (who was there) included them, but still unlikely.) Then the half that were left...were on a ship that got completely destroyed and left Thor floating in space. So all I'm saying is they did not take care of continuity for this people and they were the real victims of the MCU.

But clearly some escaped and I find it hilarious Thor is a depressed bum playing video games and it's so so sad at the same time and I just want to wrap him up and let him rest. Honestly, Thor has lost everything and it's no wonder he's a giant mess and he deserves to be. I'm also glad he didn't magically buck up, because honestly no one would.

The PLAN:

Them all planning together is so cute and a bit smart and good times apart from their ridiculous time travel premise we'll get into later. I do want to be very clear here, Nebula did not know about the price for the soul stone or she would have told them. There's no way she could have known.

Let's go over each era individually.

2012

You remember 2012 right? It was glorious. I don't care what you think about Joss Whedon or the rest of the MCU, 2012 was magic. In fact right after watching Endgame, I went home and read all my fave gen domestic team tower fic and I needed it. So the fanservice was lovely and seeing behind the scenes almost of what we loved was the best. Everyone was perfect. Hulk and the stairs, Thor and his hammer, Tony giving himself a heart attack, Cap in the elevator, America's ass, Loki and the tesseract, even being reminded that Hydra was in SHIELD at the time. Apart from the time travel issues, it was all wonderful.

I’ve seen a lot of people point out how they didn’t like Steve in 2012 and how Endgame Steve was annoyed at himself, but I don’t see it. 2012 Steve is perfection, fight me.

I liked seeing the Ancient One as well, knowing they would have been there. Seeing how much she knew about Strange ahead of time is good and her knowing what he meant by giving it up. I'll go into the Stones and their conversation later as well.

2014 Asgard.

Poor Thor, but having him talk to his mom, that was beautiful and just what he needed. I know some people were mad he didn't spend more time being sad about Loki but honestly, Frigga was what he needed right then. And not to have to be reminded of Jane and how annoyingly that ended up for no reason whatsoever other than Natalie Portman deciding not to come back. What if Gwyneth Paltrow had felt that way! I shudder to think. But that’s part of my ongoing saga of how horribly the Thor saga in particular, yes, even Ragnarok, especially Ragnarok, treats its characters and continuity.

2014 Morag

Seeing the opening of Guardians was so funny and I loved it. But I got super annoyed at Rhodey saying Quill was an idiot for it. Rude! Do you know how often I dance around my house lip syncing to music only I can hear? We adore it when people do that in the movies. There was nothing idiotic about it and I resented the way people looked down on Quill in the movie. For instance, I’m super mad about how his reunion with Gamora went. He reacted beautifully and I also understand her reacting the way she did if she didn’t know him, but Nebula had told her about him and that was just mean and condescending. In fact, I also get annoyed about the whole rivalry between him and Thor. I mean, just let Quill alone. Having his own team, his own family, be so cavalier is annoying, especially when they’ve all lost Gamora and Peter has lost a lot of people very important to him in a very short period of time. Yes, he is insecure, but he’s also lost a lot and I’m a fan of loyalty.

There not being traps is so funny and then 2014 Thanos happens. Ugh. It was the way to bring Gamora into the film and Thanos honestly. But ugh. I do think the network with the Nebulas was clever, though very convenient, memories just project themselves out and happen to be the ones that would clue Thanos in to what happened! I hate for Nebula to be subject to that again after being free for 5 years. More really. Poor 2014 Nebula as well.

Switching the Nebulas was clever as well (though why on earth wouldn’t anyone wonder why Nebula wasn’t with them when they tried the snap?)

Also, let’s not get into it too deeply yet but they are very clear, so clear, that Pym Particles are the only way you get through the quantum realm and they ONLY had enough for ONE round trip per person. It’s why we had to go to the 70s in the first place, remember? When 2014 Nebula presents herself to Thanos, she hands him the vial of particles, we never see him hand it back. Now, either she was just showing it to him and he gave it back and that’s how she came to the future, (which is most likely), or she gave it to him so he could come to the future with their evil plan (but then how did she get back with the others?) But either way, someone shouldn’t have been able to get to the future. No matter what Nebula did to the Quantum tunnel, (so convenient she just plugged in and did all these science/mechanic/time travel things) there were no Pym particles that could have brought Thanos, our Nebula, 2014 Gamora, and all of his vast armies and armada to the present. IT LITERALLY COMPLETELY FALLS APART AND MAKES NO SENSE AND GOES AGAINST THEIR OWN RULES!

2014 Vormir

Oh my heart. I’m actually ashamed, I didn’t see it coming until they were headed to Vormir and then I knew, I knew one would die and I was so unhappy the whole scene. I didn’t go into this movie fearing for either one of them so it was a big shock. I’d been expecting Steve and/or Tony to die.

So like I said, I’ve been a Clint/Natasha shipper since day one. Honestly, I didn’t even care if they were together so long as they were always the most important people to each other and were together. The MCU tore that from me with Ultron, but also with their cavalier treatment of Clint in general. Say what you will about Natasha’s arc, it’s hella better than Clint’s. So don’t give me that. Clint is my favorite character so naturally I’m biased in his favor, I accept that. But I love him and Natasha and so it was going to devastate me either way. (I also love Natasha). Remember the early version of Winter Soldier when Clint and Nat were in it and he stayed with Hydra to fool everyone while she went off with Steve and Sam and they were secret partners just like I’m convinced they were in Civil War? Jeremy Renner wasn’t available as I recall, oh sadness.

Anyway, so this scene just slayed me. They were so pure together, each trying to die for the other. Oh, it was awful and visually stunning and I am so annoyed at how it ended. How deep a contrast between the parallel scene with Thanos and Gamora, each just as sad though. But no matter what the end result was, it brought Clint and Natasha back to each other, back to their rightful spots at each other’s sides and uppermost in each other’s hearts. It was always them and if they’d killed one or the other without letting the other one be there, I would have been so furious.

And I’ve seen a lot of hate about letting Natasha die this way. For a man, no funeral, but I don’t agree. I don’t want her to have died and I’m so sad, but I think it was a glorious death and I think it did close out her arc beautifully. Clint tried his darndest but she was better than him and she chose it and she saved everyone. You want the credit in this film, it goes…rat, Scott, Natasha, Tony. As for her not being mourned, heck yeah she was. Clint clearly is mourning and that funeral was absolutely for her just as much as Tony. It’s a movie structure thing, and I have no issues with that. There’s no way she wasn’t heralded just as much as he was to the people who matter if not to the world.

I did read that the writers/directors didn’t know there was a Black Widow movie in the works and if that’s true, it both proves and illustrates my two points that Marvel really is the deciding force in everything if the individual movies are so sure that they’ll get stopped if they’re wrong they don’t even bother to check on things, and that the MCU has gotten too big for its britches and doesn’t bother to take care of the characters they have in their insane rush to bring in new stories and characters.

1970s

Goodbye Stan Lee cameo, we miss you already. And look at Community sneaking into the MCU one bit at a time. And Jarvis! You know, that’s the first character from one of the shows who’s been allowed to be in a movie rather than the other way around. Way to validate, Marvel. It’s scary how the technology works to make younger versions of people these days (provided the actors are still alive to play underneath the CGI). And Peggy, glorious Peggy, that was an important moment for Steve and I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I’m not overly fond of old Howard Stark but if Tony got to see him, I’m glad. I’m so glad for his sake. He deserves validation he was loved.

Back to our present. A mourning scene for Natasha is appropriate and, boy, would I hate to be Clint.

The second snap. Appropriate in many ways for it to be Bruce and the snap worked! Everyone came back. Question: did everyone come back in the same place they left just 5 years forward in time? It seems that way from what Peter said. So…what about the people who came back in planes that were no longer in the same space in the sky or in space or underwater or in buildings long gone? For that matter, did Thanos consider all those things when he wiped out half the universe? Did the accidents resulting from people being gone get considered in his numbers? I know these are more IW questions, but they’re valid. And like I said, Asgardians? The people who died as a result of people being snapped, did Bruce bring them back as well? And we can also talk about how a sudden influx of people like that will likely cause quite a lot of chaos and issues.

But then explosions and Thanos attacks even though it makes no sense for him to be there and people are drowning and the compound is destroyed!

Battle commences and the three of them pounding on Thanos like that is pretty cool. Unfortunately, guys, remember how unbeatable Thanos was with the Stones in IW, and how it almost seemed like Thor by himself would get him? Here, he doesn’t have the Stones and our three main guys are not able to beat him. That’s a little contrived, just saying.

Okay, but Steve with the hammer, how cool is that? And how cool is it for Thor not to be jealous? We all cheered so loud and it was awesome. Love it, love it, love it. Don’t break the shield though!!! (Never mind, pop back to the PAST store and pick up a replacement.) Good fighting, good visuals, yay.

And the image of Steve standing by himself, ready to take on a whole army…it’s so him. He is willing to fight to his last breath always (so stop hating on him finally getting to rest himself, guys). It was glorious.

And then…on your left. Oh my heart, oh we all cheered for every portal opening. That music, it was the best. Such awesome moments, everyone was there. And extra sorcerers and Wakandans and Asgardians because like it or not our superheroes are not an army. Epic battle!

Okay, and remember how people complain about Natasha not being there in the all woman power move (which I am totally fine with and it was a cool throwback and tribute), that’s sad and all, but you know who deserves to be there who wasn’t? Maria frikking Hill! No reason her and Fury couldn’t have been there and if you’re going to bring Hope, you might as well bring Hank and Janet. And frankly, I wish Sif had shown up and the SHIELD folks and all the other people who weren’t there, Nakia anyone? Strange clearly gathered more people than he knew about with his knowledge of the future. Heck, let’s remember Betty Ross exists since her dad clearly does.

So anyway, fabulous battle. I just want to point out that Wanda could have beaten Thanos on her own (poor Wanda) and so could have Carol.

Peter and Tony reunion brought my cold dead heart back to life. He’s learned a little bit about being a Dad and he did this mainly for Peter.

Nebula has to shoot herself, like how messed up is that. Also, makes no sense, but it’s very sad. Thought maybe that’s her catharsis, she puts the past literally behind her and moves on with her new family. She was so tragic in this movie and I love her.

T’Challa knows Clint’s name.

Peter and the Gauntlet clutching.

It’s nice to know why Strange saved Tony’s life by giving up the Gauntlet and that was a horrible one finger to have to lift up and condemn a man’s life.

Tony and Pepper fighting together

AvengersAssemble one more time

For heaven’s sake, where did the flying horse come from?

And then the culmination of eleven years of our lives and full circle I am Iron Man. Oh brave Tony, I love you, sir, you are aces and I respect the heck out of you and I’m so thankful for you and it was very fitting.

Oh and having Rhodey and Peter and Pepper say goodbye. Oh Pepper, you brave soul, you queen of the MCU, you absolute giver. Ugh, being the one left behind sucks.

And then everyone is fine and together and better and Tony gives us a voice over and there’s a funeral and we see everyone there, Tony Stark has a heart, and when Happy starts talking about cheeseburgers, I lost it.

I didn’t recognize Harley, but I love he was there. Ross doesn’t deserve to be there.

Clint and Wanda’s moment gives me life and is the only remembrance for poor Vision. Let’s remember folks, that I called it. Everyone who was snapped came back. Those that died apart from that, didn’t. Heimdell, Loki, Gamora, and Vision are still dead.

No one saw what happened to 2014 Gamora, did they? A mystery likely to be unanswered until Guardians 3. But Peter searching for her made me sad. And it made me sad for everyone to gang up on him though I do like the idea of Thor joining the Guardians.

Scott, Hope, and Cassie together is so sweet.

And Steve…

I am a fan, I don’t think it’s OOC, I don’t think it’s lazy writing, I think Captain Frikking America deserves to dance and love his lady and not have to fight a battle anymore. It’s a fitting end to Chris Evans and it was beautiful. I would have been happy with either Bucky or Sam getting the shield and so that’s lovely. As for people being upset about Steve just leaving and then Bucky not talking to Old Cap along with Sam. Come on, guys. Watch that scene. Bucky knew what Steve was going to do and they had their goodbye there. Also, Old Cap didn’t drop dead the second the camera left, guys. There was plenty of time for him to talk to Bucky. It was just was more important for Sam to get his proper goodbye and to pass the baton.

Them ending it all on a happy Steve and Peggy, well, one of the couples deserves a happy ending, geesh. Nobody else got one! (I don’t count Clint and Laura!) Granted, the next phase of lovers, T’Challa and Nakia, Strange and Christine, Scott and Hope, I guess, they could make it. But Steve and Peggy living a life together, Steve learned how to let it go, and Tony learned how to give it up, and both are valid paths for their characters. Sad either way, but ultimately right in my opinion.

The credits were so cool and I was so happy they did the OG6 at the end like that. They are the reason we love this and they deserve all the glory for the first few phases of the MCU. They’re now passing the baton and that’s always why it was good and final for there not to be an end credit scene.

So time travel…I don’t pretend to know anything about quantum physics, but I know a lot about science fiction time travel. The quantum tunnel being how they did it, that was the part that I could accept as being their rules of how they want to play it. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t science, it’s their science. Pym particles necessary to nagivate? Okay, if that’s what you want to do. Everyone always back at the exact same time with no time having passed no matter when you push your button to come back? Okay, whatever.

There’s a lot of ways to do time travel. Closed loops, paradoxes, alternate timelines, whatever happened happened. LOST does the latter and it makes logical sense. The past happened the way it did because you always had gone back to the past and affected it, you just didn’t know it at the time.

But there’s always a certain amount of hand waving in time travel, okay? It’s not easy to make it make sense. Back to the Future is very solid, but there’s a certain amount you just have to accept. Doctor Who does it really well, because it uses practically every type of time travel in its timey wimey way and manages for it to mostly make sense. (River Song’s creator and his glorious power mad timeline aside. Had to write two different fics to fix that!) So like I said, you can go with a different version and have it make sci fi sense, but there are two incredibly important things to remember about time travel. 1. Ethics. 2. Stick to your own rules.

The Russos have confirmed alternate timelines were created with every change our peeps made in the past. According to their version of time travel, it didn’t change their own pasts and can’t affect their future, but it does create alternate timelines.

Just to be clear, alternate realities and alternate timelines are different. The multi-verse theory allows for completely different realities to be stacked alongside each other where every possibility is played out. You can cross between them, sometimes the rules are that you can’t function in that dimension or sometimes you can take the place of that version of you and live there, either way. It’s a whole separate place apart from your reality. Generally, it’s not good form to interfere too much, but if you do, best to get back to your reality quickly. You being there and making changes doesn’t change that world though any more than you switching jobs or meeting someone does in your own timeline. Too much crossing could destroy all realities though!

Alternate timelines are different though. They are deliberate changes stemming from a cause and affect everything from that point on. Most of the time if you jump back to the future from a past where you changed something, then you’re jumping back to the future that change created. Endgame doesn’t do that. Which is very convenient and again, they can make their own rules even if they’re not logical and I’ll believe them, so long as they follow the two main things I said up above.

However, they don’t.

1. Ethically, do they have the right to create other timelines and affect those people’s lives without knowledge of the consequences? There’s now a timeline where a 2012 Loki is loose with the Tesseract. Folks, that’s not a good thing considering his mindset at the time. There’s a 2014 Asgard Thor that doesn’t have his hammer (although when Steve took it back with him in time, I’m unsure whether he returned that as well as the Stones) and whatever Hank was going to use those Pym particles for, he now can’t. 2012 Steve knows about Bucky being alive. 2012 Hydra thinks Steve is on their side. 2014 Thanos and Gamora and Nebula and all his children are gone from that year and now the Guardians will never form in that timeline.

Sure, maybe Frigga doesn’t die now, but the point is there are now numerous different timelines where billions of people’s lives will be different for better or for worse simply because our heroes decided to change their own timeline. How selfish is that? Generally, it’s even a huge question when you’re trying to fix something that’s already been changed, ala SG1 Continuum. Beau Bridges calls Cam, Daniel, and Sam arrogant for assuming that he’ll change billions of people’s lives because they insist the world was supposed to be different. All any of us know is the reality we’re presented with. Anya asks in Buffy how Giles knows the other world (the timeline Buffy came to Sunnydale) is any better. He didn’t. We did, but that’s another story. We should consider how our actions changing time affects things other than the one thing we’re trying to fix.

2. We’ve already been over how they gloss over the need for Pym Particles when it’s convenient for them so I won’t rehash that, but let’s talk about the Stones. Why the heck is it all right to take any person or object you want from the past so long as it’s not the Stones? Just because they make up the fabric of time? Well, if that’s the case, when Thanos destroyed them, all time should have stopped or the universe exploded or something. Honestly, I could have handled their way of doing time travel a lot more if they hadn’t made such a big deal about needing to restore the Stones to the exact moment in time they were left in order to avoid these dark branches. The Ancient One is just arguing for the logic of all the sci fi time travel that Endgame is saying is so wrong. They should have just cut that part out. Of course, that gave Steve an excuse to go back in time…so maybe it was all in the name of his ending, but that’s the poor writing part of that.

How do they get from one timeline to the other? When they jump to the past, they always conveniently end up back in their own present but Old Cap had to jump from his alternate timeline to this one (specified by the Russos, mind you) to give Sam the shield. How did he do that? If he had just used his wrist device at the time he wanted to use it basically as long as it takes for him to accomplish his goal as Bruce says (according to their logic of time travel), he would have appeared on the platform when they expected him to, just old. Of course, that’s not as nice of an aesthetic as Old Cap sitting on a bench, so I’ll give them artistic license on that.

It’s awfully convenient that Steve jumping back to the past and replacing all the Stones is so easy to do. He never runs into any problems jumping into an alternate timeline, but they’ve created so many different ones, I feel like it should be easy to. For instance because they changed things in 2012 and the 1970s, if he jumps into the 2012 one first, couldn’t he possibly jump back to the wrong one? Tony sure made time travel infallible when he fixed it on the fly in his house with his only a genius on earth brain…

But one of my biggest issues is that the past has now become a get out of jail free card. Provided they have enough Pym Particles (which he’s alive now to make), they can fix anything they want in their own timeline (screwing all others) whenever they want. Guys, no one ever has to die again! Because here’s the thing, you can grab anyone from the past seconds before their death and it’s fine.

All of the pathos and feels from Endgame have become meaningless. Let’s go back and get Yinsen from Iron Man, we’re definitely saving Pietro. What about Stanley Tucci? I’m definitely saving Yondu. T’Chaka? Odin, Frigga, Loki, Heimdell, the Warriors Three, and most definitely Vision, Gamora, Natasha, and Tony. See, you can’t bring them back in the snap, but if you grab them before they die, then their timeline suffers, but yours doesn’t and as we’ve already established, apparently that doesn’t matter.

So, guys, we never have to cry again. Everybody lives, Rose, everybody lives! That’s what’s so dangerous and illogical about Endgame and time travel in my opinion.

Yeah, I know that was a novel, but there’s probably actually more I’ve forgotten which is ridiculous. Kudos if you actually read that.

#avengers #marvel #spoilers #text post

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ahouseoflies · 5 years

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The Best Films of 2018, Part IV

Scroll down for Parts I, II, and III. VERY GOOD MOVIES THAT STILL AREN’T TECHNICALLY GREAT--SEE, I LIED, NEW CATEGORY, WHICH REALLY SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TIER IN 2018 AND MAYBE HINTS THAT THERE WEREN’T MANY MOVIES THAT I GENUINELY LOVED

44. Hotel Artemis (Drew Pearce)- It should be illegal to watch this movie before midnight because it is an exploitation flick to its core. Is it a problem that it's shaped like a triangle, that it starts wrapping up its answers the minute we understand what the questions were? Yes. Is that a problem that Jeff Goldblum, playing the Wolf King, wearing a double-breasted camel's hair coat like a shawl, can't fix? No.

43. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (Stefano Sollima)- Considering how much I liked Sicario, I'm impressed by how close its sequel came to its chilly hardness. Strangely enough, the craft suffers more from the absence of Jóhann Jóhannsson than it does from the absence of Denis Villeneuve. Aside from a lull at the two-thirds mark and the pulling of exactly one punch, this entry feels as vital and astute as the last one.

Which means the real auteur must be Taylor Sheridan. His script mimics the structure of the original while twisting its characters just askew enough to breathe new life into the material. His screenplays just sort of unfold in a way that I find organic--it's hard to even say what the conflict is until halfway through most of the time. And if he wants to write five more of these, I'll gladly take them.

42. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)- Like almost anyone else, I'm grateful that The Other Side of the Wind exists at all. The fact that it's so more personal and experimental than I expected is a bonus. It's kind of a mess until it congeals at the drive-in, but every choice still seems labored over. (The claustrophobic nature of the party versus the wide open spaces of the film-within-the-film, for example.) Nonetheless, it's hard to go to bat for a movie whose backstory is more captivating than the final product.

41. The Mule (Clint Eastwood)- Besides the breezy glide of the pacing, the performances stand out. Eastwood's is the type that we haven't seen from him in a while. He smiles a lot. He sings and dances and flirts. He's generally carefree and loopy. And he's contrasted with* a nervy Bradley Cooper in one of those humongous-star-taking-the-back-seat performances, sprinkling charisma the way Sean Connery did in The Untouchables.

But there is no elegance at all. Besides Chekhov's cough and the cheesy elbowing of "If only somebody had $25,000 to save the VFW Hall," we get the messy racial politics of Eastwood once again. Whereas Gran Torino worked for me because it's aware of its own racism, this one thinks that it's doing some good. The subtext is that an old White man would never catch trouble from police, but the text is a Hispanic man getting pulled over and nearly pissing himself for laughs. Hard to argue this isn't a fun time at the movies though, despite the fact that it's almost entirely about regret.

40. If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)- Too theatrical and outre for my taste, but it's easy to get lost in its cosmetic pleasures: the lush colors, the lavish costumes, the immaculate close-ups, the best score of the year. I liked it, especially the Brian Tyree Henry tangent, but as the movie is swooning over itself, it's easy to catch yourself thinking, "What is this even about?"

39. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller)- Can You Ever Forgive Me? hits every beat you would expect from an "in over her head" crime movie, but the time that the film dedicates to the central relationship creates a rare intimacy. If you stopwatched it, I imagine the majority of the film would be McCarthy and Grant talking to each other. That focus, along with a resistance to smoothing over the characters' rougher edges, elevates a kind of boilerplate story.

38. Blockers (Kay Cannon)- Even if the ending is kind of exhausting, desperate to give each character his or her moment, this is hilarious. Not so much in the setpieces showcased in the commercials but frequently in an expression or line reading. The Blu-Ray has a line-o-rama gag reel that is funnier than some entire movies. It's pretty progressive and fair in its portrayal of young female sexuality too.

37. Game Night (John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein)- It gets a little tidy and full circle for my taste, but this movie has some great laughs while being a good example of a film that nails both the characters' "want" and the characters' "need." Rachel McAdams is winning, and Jesse Plemons steals all of his scenes.

Game Night also has way more of a filmic identity than one might expect, since it doubles as a sort of Fincher parody. Besides Cliff Martinez's insistent electronic score and some CGI-for-no-reason establishing shots, Daley and Goldstein borrow the auteur's desaturated palette, locked-down camera, and narrow light range. There's even an elaborate one-r. The visuals elevated a premise that had the potential to be really dopey.

36. First Man (Damien Chazzelle)- I think this is exactly the movie Chazelle wanted to make, but, to match my expectations or his filmography, it's not quite good enough. Cool to the touch, though anything else would be antithetical to who Armstrong was. In the shape of suspense, but with an outcome that is obviously never in doubt. Flipping to the IMAX ratio the second the crew docks onto the moon is a cool trick, but it's as innovative as things get.

The cast is game. Gosling's fastidious brooding resists any of his Movie Star charm but still holds every scene, and the framing of Armstrong's motivation works very well. Foy's reading of "a bunch of boys" is about to become a t-shirt. Kyle Chandler and Jason Clarke and the suddenly mature Patrick Fugit all get their moments. The final scene places the film into the Chazelle tradition of people whose calling is greater than even their most transcendent relationships, and a protest sequence is a welcome break from the eraser-streaked perfectionism.

I'm sorry that I wanted Apollo 13 instead of a hipper Apollo 13.

35. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman)- Within the course of one year, we got two possible solutions for the "problem" of inspiring but self-serious origin stories. At the beginning of the year, Black Panther mastered the form and presented it so solidly that it couldn't be argued against. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse goes the other way, so impressionistic that the final sequence is people flying through abstract shapes and colors, so irreverent that a character cuts someone off mid-sentence as he says, "With great power comes..." Though I would have trouble explaining the film, all of the dimensional comings-and-goings make sense in the moment, and it's easily the funniest Marvel movie ever made.

Maybe purposefully, it is overstuffed though. Six different iterations of Spider-Man is enough to juggle; I definitely didn't need a cadre of villains that was even less defined. I have to admit, even though I couldn't tell you what to cut, I was exhausted by the end, even if I was huffing and puffing fresh air.

34. Boy Erased (Joel Edgerton)- Many characters do bad things in this movie, but they're people trying to help and doing their best, justifying the pain that they're causing. This is a film that easily could have been drawn in caricature, and it never is. It does, however, draw the characters as fairly as they deserve, so the Joel Edgerton gay conversion therapist does wear bad ties and pronounce some words incorrectly. The Russell Crowe character, especially in the powerhouse final scene, is more complex and real, at least if I'm to judge by my own father, who has disturbingly similar moral authority and power moves k thx bai.

33. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Morgan Neville)- This one is more cohesive than 30 Feet From Stardom, but these Morgan Neville docs are sometimes too slick for their own good. If you've never made the "jerking-off motion" with your hand, then you'll be tested when he asks his subjects to close their eyes and imagine someone special to them.

That's not to say that the nearly pornographic reverence of Fred Rogers is not deserved or effective. And one of the most daring notes of the film is the suggestion that, in our hostile times, Rogers's message might not have stuck. The jabs at Trump aren't overplayed, but the president is sort of a pall over the entire film. When Rogers says, "The most essential things in life are invisible," it's hard not to imagine the person on our TV daily who is the antithesis of that idea.

32. Hearts Beat Loud (Brett Haley)- This is a heartwarming movie that ends on a high note with solid music. (Important because, if the music that the father and daughter made had been bad, the whole thing would have fallen apart.) Occasionally, it falls into that ensemble problem of "Good news: We got Ted Danson. Bad news: We have to find something for him to do." And it's a weird sideways ad for Spotify. But if I gave Begin Again three stars, then I have to kick this Once-core entry up to three-and-a-half.

If I may, though, I would like to analyze a recommendation that Offerman's record store owner makes to Collette's character. Since she's buying Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney, he puts her on to Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, an album she has not heard of. Which is absurd. Forget that Animal Collective should not be recommended to any woman ever. Any person who knows Sleater-Kinney also knows Animal Collective. She would have heard of them if only because they would be a bad match for someone who likes Sleater-Kinney. But here he is all like, "Check out 'My Girls'--killer song." You're going to recommend the lead single, fam? You're not even going to go out on a limb and push "Bluish"? No wonder your store is shutting down if you're pushing free folk/art-punk onto riot grrls.

31. Western (Valesta Grisebach)- While I was watching Western, I can't say I was having too much fun. It seemed like an adequate story told in a patient, austere way. But in the days since then, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. The way that Grisebach gets so much out of non-professional actors, the way that each character seems to exist not so much as a person but as a totem for something like aggression or labor or exploitation or occupation. Like few other movies--though Beau Travail comes to mind--it's a portrait of masculinity that seems really resigned about its conclusions. 30. American Animals (Bart Layton)- I worry about the potential Boondock Saints effect of this movie: Do I want to be in the same number as the college dorm crew attracted to it only for its style? Is it only style? I don't think it adds up to much ultimately.

But it does have style, and it's way too fun of a caper flick to resist. It presents an interesting bridge in Bart Layton's career, from non-fiction that is a bit too fictional to fiction that is a bit too factual. The segments with the real people involved in the heist serve as decisive punctuation to the florid sentences of the narrative. I also appreciated that the film didn't dwell too much on the trial, since we know exactly where the boys faltered and what evidence did them in.

29. The Land of Steady Habits (Nicole Holofcener)- I loved the rich characterization of the first half, which resists hand-holding as it plops the viewer into a post-divorce setting that is familiar but specific. The film bounces off into tangents from there, some of which are great, but Edie Falco seems to draw the short straw. There are three actors on the poster--weird-voiced Ben Mendelsohn, Thomas Mann, and Falco--but her character is left undeveloped, a bit unfairly, as the proceedings favor the men. The film is still another ground-rule double for Holofcener, a filmmaker who gives the impression that she has no idea what a ground-rule double is.

28. Private Life (Tamara Jenkins)- I don't know anything about Tamara Jenkins's personal life, but there's no way that the details and emotion of the central couple's infertility don't come from her own pain. That frustration and obsession take center stage, and we get filled in with the rest of the details patiently as the film goes on. I don't think we even know what Giamatti's character does for a living until forty-five minutes in, and that's okay. The movie cares more about the supporting characters than I did, but I appreciated the lived-in realism of an apartment with books filling up the fireplace.

27. Flower (Max Winkler)- Although I didn't believe Zoey Deutch as a seventeen-year-old, I was impressed by this script, which moves slowly until it doesn't. I guess "Flower" is good branding since there doesn't appear to be a movie called that already, but I kind of wish this had just been called "Erica." It builds that character carefully, plants her in an impossible situation, then unleashes hell upon her.

An advantage of a movie with teenage characters is that they don't necessarily have to make the most logical decision in a given moment, so even when these characters are being dumb, they're being true to themselves. As the most prominent Zoey Deutch stockholder in North America, I actually thought about bumping this up an extra half-star.

26. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)- Leave No Trace is partly about how existing outside of society can be as much of a contrivance as buying in, but the way the movie delivers that message is less ham-fisted than my description due to the intense performances at the center. Ben Foster, uncharacteristically restrained here, reportedly worked with Debra Granik to excise 40% of his dialogue, and that choice speaks volumes about the trust the film has for the audience in limiting the exposition.

The only thing holding me back was how exclusively internal the father-daughter story is. Unlike Granik's Winter's Bone, which functions as both a (similarly compassionate) coming-of-age story and a race-against-the-clock thriller, Leave No Trace is tracking only emotional growth. Will and Tom aren't headed anywhere in particular, which is part of the survival-versus-living point. But, you know, get you a Debra Granik movie that can do both.

25. Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham)- Socially terrifying when it isn't being effortlessly funny. Sometimes the protagonist is downright frustrating, which the film doesn't shy away from, but the vulnerability of Elsie Fisher's performance grounds everything around it. Besides nailing adult condescension, Burnham's script works because the big social disaster is always averted until it suddenly isn't, and that's when the moment hits the hardest. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, I kept thinking that perceptive realism is easy to do if that's your only goal. To quote the kids: "Some shade."

I spent most of the movie thanking God that YouTube channels didn't exist when I was thirteen.

24. Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wardle)- I'll be the millionth person to write "truth is stranger than fiction" with regard to this movie. And sometimes having no idea where a movie will go is enough. 23. Green Book (Peter Farrelly)- When a dramatic director makes a comedy, it often feels self-conscious and overt. I'm thinking about Von Trier's The Boss of It All, in which the technique is more important than any audience joy or release. Or Michael Haneke explaining tirelessly why he thinks Happy End is "actually a comedy." Unsurprisingly, the results work a lot better when a comedy director of twenty years decides to go more serious. He knows what audiences want, he already understands how to wring tension out of each scene, and all he needs is the right subject.

The last item is where Green Book suffers. In the end, this is still a movie in which a White guy learns not to be racist. The first third, there seemingly to insist that Tony is the main character, is shaggy. I would wager the men don't get into the car inside of forty minutes. But once we're on the tour? Man, is this a crowd pleaser. The men's respect for each other grows gracefully, and the film's proud sentimentality powers its best moments as they fly by at a clipped pace. I had given up on Farrelly after Hall Pass, which felt amateurish, so a work of such professionally manicured (manufactured?) emotion was a shock.

On a different note, are any of you interested in a thousand words on Linda Cardellini's posture?

22. Den of Thieves (Christian Gudegast)- Despite the February release date, a director with no track record, and the most #basic studio lead there is, Den of Thieves is a caper film as sprawling as it is humane. Even Potato-face Butler is perfect for his role.

I watched the unrated version, which should be called the "depressing version," since I know exactly what was cut. (Hint: The wordless scene of Butler's jilted family ignoring him when he sees them in the grocery store, not anything from the shoot-out.) There's a spot where I would end the movie, and it's way before the Keyser Soze epilogue, but this was a welcome surprise for me. The movie seems to find its star in O'Shea Jackson, Jr. as it goes, and I completely agree. Many more like this please.

21. The Front Runner (Jason Reitman)- Reitman starts with a complicated oner that cranes up and down, zooms in and out of new characters, and times itself perfectly to catch snatches of conversations about "how can you even lay this much cable?" And in all of its Altman-esque indulgence, it's kind of the movie in a nutshell. Something simple--a scene shot with one take--commenting on how damned hard it is. What seems like a straightforward thesis moves at a breakneck pace with a game ensemble until you realize that it was all more complicated than it seemed.

Hugh Jackman has the challenge of playing someone essentially unknowable, but he has an amazing moment in the first third. On the chartered boat called Monkey Business--such a bad look, dude--Gary Hart is composed and dignified until a woman we don't see* sits down across from him, and his whole affect changes. His guard drops, and he seems absorbed by her, giggly. We can't hear what he's saying, but he's asking her about herself and joking about himself. Both or one or neither of those personalities is the real guy. The Front Runner is a movie about a tragic Great Man, and they're always described as if they can't help themselves, as if they're fighting their demons until the magic moment when they aren't. Jackman made that magic real for me when Hart's personality fell out.

20. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen)- Patently uneven and bizarrely sequenced, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs doesn't stack up to the Coens' major works--though it demands another viewing. I did think, in all of its bleak absurdism, that it belongs in their neighborhood. To me, there's a dichotomy that most of the brothers' films trace. We're all doomed, but the force that does us in is sometimes fate (A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Hudsucker Proxy, No Country for Old Men) and sometimes the stupidity of other people (The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, Burn After Reading, Miller's Crossing). This new movie seems to start with the latter, waver sometimes in the more interesting middle stories when Zoe Kazan and Tom Waits break my heart, then end up at the former. Tracking such a thing in miniature can be really instructive.

19. The Tale (Jennifer Fox)- If you can look past Common's goofy voice and the more afterschool special aspects of this movie, then you can realize that it should actually, as disturbing as it is, be an afterschool special. It spins its wheels sometimes, but the questions that this movie asks about memory and abuse are invaluable. Presenting a downright shocking portrayal of grooming and secrecy, it avoids easy answers and over-sympathizing with the protagonist all the way through. (Especially notable because the character is "Jennifer Fox," and the director is Jennifer Fox.)

Laura Dern remains Laura Dern, but I loved Jason Ritter in this. Exactly because he has been in a hundred failed sitcoms, he is terrifying here as a devilish knock-off of the type of guy approachable enough to be on TV.

18. Paddington 2 (Paul King)- At first, during the extended introduction, I was worried that Paddington 2 was falling prey to the curse of the sequel: more, not better. But as each family member pays off what we learned about him or her in the introduction during a sprightly train setpiece that owes more than a little to Keaton, I realized that I shouldn't have doubted the Paddington empathy machine. This one carries over the humor and sweetness but goes even harder on the pathos in its attempt to convince us to have good manners and care about the people around us. I'm not sure any other movie this year hit me harder than when the Browns don't show up for their weekly meeting at the jail.

Hugh Grant, an actor who always seems to be having fun, has never seemed as if he is having more fun.

17. Set It Up (Claire Scanlon)- I guess I believe in true love now.

16. Blindspotting (Carlos Lopez Estrada)- The stylized climax is going to be polarizing, but I thought it was a heightened, artful moment whose seeds had been sown throughout. The film meanders, but its angles on subjects like gentrification and probation and identity show tenderness and openness, and Estrada's visual energy recalls early Spike Lee or Jarmusch or Aronofsky. It's worth seeing if only for its fresh sense of place.

The two leads play off each other especially well. If Daveed Diggs is the fourth lead or whatever of Hamilton, then I guess I finally have to see it.

15. Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird)- Incredibles 2 is a good example of a sequel rhyming with the original in a way that doesn’t feel like a retread. Accidentally topical in its subtext about just rule of law, the film hits upon some of Brad Bird’s ideas of exceptionalism and hope for the future while being slightly more cogent in that messaging than the original. (Slightly. The villain problem is still there. If superheroes are already illegal, then why employ and promote them at all if your goal is to make them even more illegal?)

This entry is a bit more overstuffed, less timeless, and less funny than the original. There’s nothing on the level of “Honey, where is my super suit?” which I still say to my wife fourteen years later. But the fight choreography and the textural animation take advantage of the gap in between films. The Paar family dynamic is altered only slightly, but it’s enough to re-invent the proceedings. Violet has more confidence in herself, Dash is more in control of his powers, and it’s the, yes, thicc Elastigirl who is working solo this time. Especially in the opening sequence, we see how each character’s skills complement the others’. If Finding Dory is the bar for “sequels to Pixar movies that didn’t need sequels,” then Incredibles 2 leaps over that bar.

14. Chappaquiddick (John Curran)- "We need to tell the truth. Or at least our version of it."

After the Kennedy Curse claimed JFK Jr., it seemed as if the culture reached a saturation point with Kennedy coverage. Aside from the occasional "Look who's dating Taylor Swift," we gave them their space. Who would have thought that twenty years later would be the perfect time to dust off the coldest case in the dossier?

See, now that we're having a national conversation about who gets the breaks, there's a little bit of extra weight lent to a scene of Ted Kennedy waiting for a sheriff he summoned as he drafts a statement at that absent sheriff's desk. A sheriff who then helps Kennedy to escape through a backdoor lest he answer any untoward question about his manslaughter. The film is delivered with an even pitch--especially the Jason Clarke performance that could have been overdone--but it makes no mistake about its real subject: privilege.

The attempts to keep Kennedy safe become more brazen as the film goes on, and each dodged consequence--getting Teddy's driver's license renewed on the low, for example--is balanced by Ed Helms's desperate performance as a voice of integrity. In all of the best tragedies, we know what's going to happen in the end. All along, the Kennedy Curse was that they are not like the rest of us.

13. Love, Simon (Greg Berlanti)- Can we all agree that an anonymous gossip web site for a high school is a bad idea? And that, though the film doesn't pursue this angle, the vice principal is the one maintaining it?

This propulsive, observant, and witty movie is an outright pleasure from beginning to end. Hocking spitballs at its PG-13 rating, its greatest strengths are having the courage to get dark and having the wisdom to give every supporting character his or her own moment.

#film #lists #movie reviews

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nathanneedsausername · 5 years

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2018 Film Retrospective

This is my retrospective of all the movies I saw in 2018. This is based on UK release dates so films such as The Favourite, Vice or Eighth Grade will not appear on this list despite technically being 2018 movies as I have not yet been able to see these yet. There are also many movies that I have missed in 2018.

I will still be updating this list throughout 2019 here: https://letterboxd.com/nathan_r_l/list/2018-from-best-to-worst-3/

If you want to see where these movies fall on this list as I see them.

So, anyway here from the worst of the year to my personal favourite are all the films I saw in 2018:

37. The Queen and I (Dan Zeff):

I only saw this film a few days ago as of writing so it may seem a little harsh to call it the worst of the year as it hasn’t had any time to grow on me yet. Although I don’t see this getting any better with age. Sky intended this new David Walliams’s TV movie as a sort of Christmas present, but this must be one of the very few films I have ever seen that has actually made me angry. Nothing more than royalist propaganda that manages to completely miss the potential of the concept as well as missing the point of the sequence from Les Miserable that it decides to “pay homage too”.

36. Death on the Tyne (Ed Bye):

Not much to say here. Really it isn’t a surprise that UKTV made a bad comedy.

35. Fahrenheit 451 (Ramin Bahrani):

I promise that I saw more than just TV movies this year, it just so happens that most of them were really bad. All of the changes that were added to the story were stupid and when they actually tell the story it is painfully boring.

34. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (J. A. Bayona):

Let’s be real, despite ranging in quality none of the Jurassic Park sequels have warranted their own existence. That being said Fallen Kingdom might be worth watching just to see how hilariously bad these films can get. Despite having the same director as The Orphanage and A Monster Calls no amount of good tracking shots can fix a script that is this ridiculous. The script comes across like two different ideas for new Jurassic Park movies were awkwardly stitched together when the best treatment for both would have been not to make either of them. Through in an incredibly stupid and unneeded twist and the most underwhelming Jeff Goldblum cameo in cinema history.

33. Grandpa’s Great Escape (Elliot Hegarty):

Oh, look another bad TV movie. Davis Walliams consistently finds himself attached to these boring BBC productions never quite capture the heart and care of his writing. Walliams is a good children’s author, but the small screen adaptations of his work always feel rushed and unfocused.

32. Venom (Ruben Fleischer):

The biggest disappointment of 2018. Venom is corny, bland and forgettable. According to IMDB, Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer is behind this mess but judging by Tom Hardy’s performance and the incomprehensible CGI finale no-one directed this.

31. Solo: A Star Wars Story (Ron Howard):

A soulless, lifeless film that stinks of studio interference. All of the cast feel as if they are just playing the type of character they are expected to (especially Phoebe Waller-Bridge as L3-37). There are moments in this film where it feels like there is supposed to be a joke that has awkwardly been edited or written out after Lord and Miller left the project, these moments haunt the film and make me feel like this could have been great, but alas.

30. Death Wish (Eli Roth):

At this point it might be time to consider that Eli Roth might be making bad movies on purpose. I went into Death Wish expecting something needlessly graphic and entertainingly violent and stupid but that’s not what this is. For the most part the gun violence in this film is pretty tame and the dialogue is far to generic and boring to be funny. There is one scene in a garage that showcases what usually makes Roth’s films memorable, but it comes too late to bring this movie into guilty pleasure territory. I do believe that Roth is a good filmmaker but the more he releases these mindless, generic thrillers the harder it is to defend him.

29. The Meg (Jon Turteltaub):

Half of this movie is a self-aware special effects movie that is genuinely entertaining. The other half is a boring and cliché. It should be good but never quite manages to keep up any momentum that it builds.

28. Tomb Raider (Roar Uthaug):

Technically better than the 2001 Lara Croft film although I know which one I would rather watch. Some interesting set pieces and homages to the newer tomb Raider games mixed with bland dialogue and an uninteresting plot.

27. Deadpool 2 (David Leitch):

Not as funny as the first movie but has better action. Deadpool 2 is mixed bag, the satire falls short when the movie insists on upping the stakes and having its audience feel emotionally connected to the story. David Leitch is a good action director and I look forward to seeing what he does next, but I can’t say that I’m all to exited about the next instalments in the Deadpool franchise.

26. Tag (Jeff Tomsic):

I don’t think that this film deserves the hate it seems to have gotten. Tag is a pretty funny movie with memorable characters and good camera work. It’s a little corny and the ending gets way to soppy but it’s a good film to watch with a group of friends if not just for some good Hannibal Buress quotes.

25. Click & Collect (Ben Palmer):

Hey, a TV movie that didn’t suck! Airing on BBC 1 on Christmas Eve this is an example of cringe comedy done well, the plot doesn’t always make sense but that doesn’t stop the comedy from really working.

24. Outlaw King (David Mackenzie):

A pretty good historical drama about Robert the Bruce. That’s all this is really a serviceable movie about an interesting topic. Not bad by any means all though a little forgettable, the performances and fight choreography are great but the writing lacks any real direction.

23. Aquaman (James Wan):

A list of other movies scenes from Aquaman made me think of:

Ratatouille

Splash

Raiders of the Lost Arc

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Black Panther

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Wonder Woman

Full review coming next

22. Ant-Man and the Wasp (Peyton Reed):

Not as funny or engaging as 2015’s Ant-Man. This is a decent blockbuster with some good special effects and funny moments. A lower tier Marvel film for sure that gets completely overshadowed by the other two movies that the studio brought out in 2018 but still a fun watch.

21. Ocean’s Eight (Gary Ross):

About as good as Ocean’s 13. All of the hallmarks of the Ocean’s trilogy are present. The last 15 minuets begin to over explain what we have already seen and the name of the movie spoils and reveal at the end of the movie. A well-directed heist movie none-the-less that should be enjoyable for any Ocean’s fan

20. Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg):

This movie is at its best when it is at its most Spielberg. There is a really great car chase and a plot that revolves around kids standing against authority. It goes on for way to long and some of the references are on the nose. It certainly needs to be cut down but it’s a movie worth seeing if you know your pop-culture.

19. Searching (Aneesh Chaganty):

By far the best example of found-footage to be released in years. Having the entire film appear from the perspective of computer screens and phone calls makes the experience feel far more real and personal as if you are right there figuring out the mystery with the character. The story itself separated from its gimmick has been seen before and the twist is a bit of a reach but with its unique style it feels completely fresh. If you hated Unfriended there is a high chance that you will love this.

18. My Dinner with Hervé (Sacha Gervasi):

A HBO movie featuring a fantastic performance from Peter Dinklage. The life story of French actor Hervé Villechaize is told through a crazy interview based on the one that the actor had with the director in the early 90’s. It’s a small film but one that has been made with a lot of passion from its director and star. Absolutely look this one out if you can.

17. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson):

Wes Anderson is responsible for some of my favourite films of all time. While his latest may not be his best work to date it is a beautiful and insanely well-crafted film full of life and wonder. Anderson has a particular style and this movie sums up exactly what makes that style work so well with every shot working perfectly.

16. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (David Slade):

It’s hard to tell at this point whether or not this will start a new craze for choose your own adventure movies the way that Avatar started a craze for 3D. Honestly I don’t think Charlie Brooker has left anywhere to really be explored with the this concept as he dives head first into a meta-narrative all about free-will. Certainly, an ambitious endeavour for the crew of Black Mirror that has taken over the cinematic discussion for a little while. I saw this with a group of friends trying to uncover as much of the story as we could in one sitting and I highly recommend that experience if you haven’t seen/played this yet.

15. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler):

A Marvel movie that appears to have nudged its way into Oscar conversations, regardless of whether or not I think that it deserves that acclaim this is a great film. Black Panther has some of the smartest writing of any MCU movie and one of the best villains to ever appear in a superhero movie. This is a film that will be talked about for years because of what it means for representation, it also helps that it is a really good movie.

14. Game Night (John Francis, Jonathan M. Goldstein):

The biggest surprise of the year is that the two guys behind 2015’s awful Vacation reboot managed to make one of the funniest and well-made comedies of 2018. The camerawork in this film is brilliant, one long take in particular has to be one of my favourite scenes of the year. The plot takes some logical jumps but who cares when the film is this good.

13. A Quiet Place (John Kransinski):

Sure, it doesn’t all make sense when you analyse it but watching A Quiet Place on the big screen is one of the tensest experiences I have ever had. When the credits rolled after the first time I saw this film I noticed that for the past 90 minuets, that’s the sign of some effective tension.

12. First Man (Damien Chazelle):

Chazelle has proven himself to be one of the best directors working today. While I may not love his latest as much as his previous work on La La Land and Whiplash it has to be said that First Man is a solid base hit for a great filmmaker. The third act of this film features some of the best special effects of the year mixed with one of the most emotional sequences of the year. Gosling and Foy are both brilliant and both deserve nominations as does Chazelle.

11. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh):

Slightly twisted and very enjoyable Three Billboards is a strange film. McDonagh is able to find humour in the darkest of places but never undermines the serious nature of the subject matter.

10. Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird):

Going into the top 10 it feels important to restate that these rankings are based purely on my own personal opinions on each film. Incredibles 2 is objectively not as good as the 2004 original, but it doesn’t have to be, this is a very fun movie featuring some great animation, fantastically directed action sequences that only Brad Bird could pull off and do I even have to mention the Jack-Jack scenes? Brad Bird is one of the greatest filmmakers to ever work in animation and this feels like his victory lap, not his best film but absolutely one that showcases just how great he is.

9. The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro):

Best picture winner, The Shape of Water deserves all the acclaim that it has gotten. This “adult fairy-tale” features a wonderful score, fantastic performances, beautiful set-design and characteristically excellent direction from one of the world’s greatest directors! Everyone has already lumped praise on this film and so I am not left with too much else to say other than see this film.

8. The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (Judd Apatow):

I hear that 2018 was a great year for documentaries, I wouldn't know because I only saw this one but if Three Identical Strangers and Won’t you be my Neighbour are better than this then I need to see them. Judd Apatow looks into the life of his friend and fellow comedian Garry Shandling only 2 years after his tragic death. His approach leaves no stone unturned as he dives head first into the late comedian’s mind using his own diaries and interviews with his closest friends and collaborators. As a stand-up comedy fan it is absolutely fascinating to get a look the real life of an often misunderstood legend like Shandling for it to be as neatly put together and wonderfully entertaining as this is a welcome bonus.

7. Avengers: Infinity War (Joe Russo, Anthony Russo):

For the technical achievement alone Infinity War deserves a place in my top 10. The Russo brothers managed to pull off a stunt that just a year ago I was ready to call impossible, bringing together 10 years worth of character arcs and plot points while still making an enjoyable film. Even though it has been 9 months I still don’t know what to say about this film and my lack of words may be the best compliment I can give it.

6. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie):

If you asked me in June I would have said that the Mission: Impossible franchise had peaked with Brad Bird’s Ghost Protocol in 2014, I also would have been dead wrong. Fallout is not just the best film in the franchise but an absolute high point in action cinema. Seeing this on the big screen was one of the most visceral and intense movie going experiences I have ever had, every stunt is a nail-biter and the whole time I was on the edge of my seat.

5. Thoroughbreds (Cory Finley):

This is the movie that I saw alone and have yet to properly have a conversation with someone about. This film slipped under almost everyone’s radar and then disappeared. I am telling you now find this movie it is a fantastic, quaint little film with the power to make you uncomfortable and make you laugh at the same time. Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor Joy are both brilliant and the ending has one of my best moments of the year with a single long shot and the power of suggestion. If you missed it, which you probably did, go look it out.

4. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee):

Loud, funny, unapologetic, stylish and controversial. Those are the five words that describe all of Spike Lee’s best movies and BlacKkKlansman is no exception. With multiple Oscar worthy performances, a great score and a screenplay that shows Spike at his angriest and smartest in a long time, this film will get under some peoples skin, as great cinema should.

3. I, Toyna (Craig Gillespie):

Every now and then a movie comes along that perfectly sums up why I love this art form, I Tonya is one of those movies. Deeply impactfull on an emotional level while remaining hyper stylised, Gillespie manages to make the audience feel sympathy for characters that would be the villains in any other story by taking you on an emotional roller coaster through the life of Tonya Harding that leaves the viewer feeling just as broken as the titular character by the conclusion.

This film is so good I watched it twice in two days.

2. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig):

I fell hard for this film. Greta Gerwig’s painfully honest look at growing up feels like watching a selection of incredibly well shot home movies from a real person. The real achievement of Gerwig’s directorial debut is how it manages to feel relatable even if you aren’t in the same situation as the protagonist. When the credits role it’s hard to feel slightly disappointed that you can’t keep watching what is going to happen to this character next and when the only criticism you have is that you didn't want it to end, the film must have been pretty good.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman):

I’m just as surprised as you are.

Somehow and for whatever reason this is the movie that resonated with me the most in 2018, this is the film I see myself going back to the most. Sometimes the best film is the most entertaining one, this film had me hooked instantly and kept me in a near trance-like state during its run-time. In don’t have anything to profound to say about this film it’s just really a great film that everyone can enjoy. If this is still playing near you and you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out you won’t be disappointed.

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