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popculturebuffet · 2 years

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Sonic Month: The Tails Adventure aka Trouble in Paradise (Sonic Universe 17-20) (Comissioned by Emma Fici)

Hello all you happy hedgehogs! Sonic Month enters its final week and I have THREE sonic reviews hot and fresh coming for you! First up we have our second of two character spotlights. Last week we set our hearts free true with knuckles this week we fly high with Tails into my faviorite sonic continuity, Archie Comics.

And lucky me, since Emma isn’t the most familiar with this continuity, I get to go on about it a bit for her and for those of you less familiar with archie.

So it was 1993 and Sonic The Hedgehog had , as scientests would say “blown the fuck up”, with Sonic 2 being a MASSIVE hit and everyone was lining up to get a piece. One of these pieces i’ve covered on this blog before was DiC animation who created two cartoons for it: The wacky and zany Adventures and the more serious SATAM. And since the games had a story as deep and complex as “The flash but blue and a woodland creature and his sidekick whose a flying fox because it looks neat battle a fat man who stuffs animals inside robots because the environement.”,

The comic naturally took cues from the cartoons.. BOTH OF THEM.

As a result Archie’s sonic started with the dark setting of satam.. but with the madcap humor and lack of seriousness of Adventures, complete with your boys scratch and grounder. If they are not..

The comics would evolve with time both under writer Micheal Gallager, who easily transitioned from the comedy stories to drama having worked at Marvel, and under two chaps by the names of Kent Taylor.. and Ken Penders

Yeah at first Ken was actually helpful, helping give Archie a mythlogy of it’s own alongside gallagher, giving knuckles his own rich history, and creating several fan faviorite characters. As the first 50 issues went on it evolved from a simple gag a day story to what it was born to be: a fun but still tense epic about our heroes fighting robotnik with tons of extra sized specials, one shots, and mini series to help expand the world and give the bigger characters (Tails, Knuckles and Sally) spotlight. It worked... then issue 50 hit. While Endgame itself is kind of a mess and I may talk about it here someday, issue 50 was a glorious climax to the series, with Robotnik outright DYING thanks to snively after an utterly awesome clash with sonic, easily the best they’ve had in any medium thus far and certainly the most tense as the two finally went hand to hand after 50 issues of robotnik mostly using evil schemes.

Then it all got flip turned upside down: see with no games for a LONG time, Sega really didn’t care about the comic: they still let it exist but they had no promotional need for it. Meanwhile Archie, as long as it sold well enough, also did’nt care as long as it made them money. So we got things like the magic sword Sally’s family has, already kinda nuts, gaining sapience, sonic and friends being forced to go to school, ENDLESS drama with Sally’s asshole dad, Knuckles going green and joining with his enemies, it being revealed

Sonic finding his lost parents who it turned out weren’t dead, Sally finding out her mother and brother were not dead, Tails finding out his parents were not dead, Knuckles finding out his entire race was not dead, Sonic finding out his childhood FRIEND was not dead, Tails finding out the robot he made out with was based on a real person, Sonci making out with said real person and tails running away dramatically, sonic dying, sonic returning from space, robotnik returning but as his robot self from an alternate timeline we saw before, Sally hitting sonic for not giving up bein ga hero, Antoine and Bunnie breaking up, scourge trying to make out with everyone, shadow being outright evil despite having not even been that in canon, antoine having turned out to be his evil doppleganger, 80 years spent 20 years in the future wasting a godo conccept and titan tails

The comic was a mess going into the mid 2000′s and with Karl Bollers leaving because Ken Penders was a moron and Ken Penders being fired for causing most of this, Archie was desperate for someone willing to fix this mess.

Thankfully this is where Ian Flynn comes in. Lifelong sonic fan, former fan comic writer, and general encylopedia of all versions of the characters, Ian is one of THE most decorated sonic writers, writing the comic for the next decade till it was closed because Archie, Sega and Ken Penders all sucked in some way. And i’ts easy to see why: Ian clearly took a page from most superhero comic writers, taking past bits of clunky continuity and using them to craft good stories, while taking characters writers misued or forgot about and polishing them up into straight up bangers. Anti-Sonic went from “sonic from earth 3 but in a jacket”, to the evil counterpart he was born to be, Scourge, Fiona went from a flat love intrest to an intresting traiotr, mammoth mogul became the badass he was always supposed to be, and MANY more. His run on sonic is one of my faviorite runs of all time and DEFINTELY somnething i’m going to cover some day, possibly soon given how much you guys have liked this retrospective.

So i’m pleased as punch to cover a bit of it. Today’s tale comes from Sonic Universe. Ian had turned the comic around so well by this point he got a SECOND book, which he used to tell all kinds of stories: while two featured sonic (one dealing with the 25 years later future and the othe rbefore this handling some stuff for the main plot), most focused around his friends, enemies , and other denziens of his world, allowing ian to expland it and cover crucial plot points or just tell smaller stories he coudln’t tell in the main book.

Case in point this one, the fourth story and one of the funnest. So join me under the cut as I give out even MORE exposition

And dive into some fun in the sun as Tails takes Bunnie and Antoine on their honeymon and they all fight some birds. Because you know this is thier lives.

Tails, Antoine and Bunnie in Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog:

This is a VERY accessible story: you could pick it up with only some sonic knowledge and likely enjoy it, much like a marvel comic if your doing the job: you may have questions but they’ll only make you want to read more.

As i’m recapping this story though, it’s easier to just give you an idea who these three are from the top. Fun too.

So first up is our headliners: Tails in archie started out much like SATAM and Adventures: he was sonic’s doting kid sidekick who rarely went on missions and was there more “because game”, only taking part in things when they were direct attacks. Micheal Gallagher found a clever way to use this though, with tails slowly gaining confidence and competence... but everyone else, sally most of all, babying him.

This incident lead to tails first full solo adventure as thanks to an oil soaked seagull, he was able to power the seafox, fought an octobot underboss with the help of the forty fathom freedom fighters, and headed off for an island adventure where he smooched a robut, based on a real lif efox named fiona (the basis thing was a later retcon as the robot was unsuprisingly popular), and nearly got robtocized, beating robotink’s scheme on his own and ending up in mobius australia. So a normal week in this comic basically.

With this Tails soon got upgraded to full fledged freedom fighter, with his inventive aspects eventually being added from the games, and was also the chosen one in a convluted prophecy involving a mammoth and ..

Yeah so we’re glossing right over that. His primary role from here was mostly serving as sonic’s best friend and most trusted partner, the one he’d call on more than anyone. Then tragedy struck when everyone thought sonic was dead after some aliens who mutated Mobius back when it was earth attacked and he got warped away stopp ing them while knuckles came back much like jesus...

So Tails was left Grieving his best friend as they struggled along without him and things got all angsty. Sonic came back of course, he was just zipped across the universe and also found out tails parents were alive. This will be important in a moment. So tails was happy.. but the unvierse couldn’t have that so this happened.

Yup. The real fiona showed up but having aged a few years.. she wasn’t intrested in him the way he was with her... soooo

This has rightfullly gone down as one of the more infamous moments in the comics history, one I saw as a kid in scans, but as an adult thought “This might not be as bad as my memory made it out out to be. “ Nope, even worse. Whlie the IDEA isn’t terrible, sonic dates someone Tails has feelings for but is too old for him and it creates some issues in their freindship, the over the top half assed art, seriously tails angst makes sonic’s QUILLS blow back, and how utterly rushed the romance between Sonic and Fiona was made it fall flat. It comes out of nowhere and seems there JUST to give sonic someone to date other than bunnie after they decided to drop that storyline and get her and antoine back together.

We’ll get back to that in a moment. So instead we got this which no fan really liked as Fiona had no real character since coming back. Bringing her back itself wasn’t a bad idea, the execution was just flawed.

Thankfully 5 issues later Ian took over and spent a YEAR

Yes a year cleaning up the remaning storylines while slowly setting up his own stuff. And Fiona was one of his first orders of buisness, the other being a character she’d become entertwined with in both senses of the word: Scourge. Scrouge was originally anti-sonic, an evil greaser sonci from another dimension that sadly failed to be an actual threat, and who recently ahd made out with everyone in town while pretending to be sonic and then teamed up with Rogue. Ian saw an opportunity in this plot cul de sac and in his first issue anti turned green, got a wicked awesome scar from knuckles abusive dad and became scrouge, a TRUE evil counterpart to sonic who replaces sonics need for freedom with anarchy, his flrity nature with being a horndog jackass, and his caring nature with being a cruel destrecutive bastard. Naturally he was awesome.

He used said previous making out with everyone to explain Fiona and Sonic’s weird relationship.. from her side at least: Fiona was in love with SCOURGE, and really wasn’t happy being a straight edge freedom fighter. She tried dating sonic because they looke dthe same but it just didn’t work, with ian setting up not only her disastifaction but her defectoin, cleverly using all this past stuff to remake fiona from an entirely boring character to an intresting villainess and partner for scourge. Tails naturally didn’t get out of this unscathed now she didn’t have to play nice with the poor boy anymore

So as you can imagine he didn’t exactly take.. any of this well. He put on a face seeming to be okay... but he wasn’t, and an arc later we’d dig into that with the House of Cards two parter.

Since Ian had came on board , he’d brought Tails parents Amedeaus and Rosemary back from outer space via some teleporters and stuff. But their return, while happy at first, soon caused strife int he kingdom as Amedeaus, having both seen democracy work out in the stars and seen the monarchy of acorn fail time and time again.

He wanted to abollish it. The current king, Sally’s aformentioned long lost brother elias who, while an excellent character, is WAY too much to unpack, refused partly out of wanting to keep the kingdom’s tradition in tact.. and partly because of his daddy issues and not wanting to let down his asshole dad, aka the very reason I sided with the prowers on this one. He even arrested Amedeaus.. which lead to his wife and child breaking him out.. and naturally Nicole made the BRILLIANT decision to call sonic for this despite pointing out tails resentment earlier. It went.. as well as you’d expect

God that was cathartic. Ian did maybe TOO good a job showing just how ignorant sonic was of how much pain he was causing his best friend. So naturally next issue is full of punching as Tails lays out how he resents sonic: For not talking him along on missions earlier on, for not beliving Tails stories about his own adventures, and for locking his dad up. But as you can probably guess... while all of that’s bothered him.. most of this comes from exactly what you expected it to be.

Aside, Sonic’s apology is geninely heartfelt.

I REALLY need to cover this run in full at some point. So that’s where Tails leaves by this point: stronger, his relationship with sonic repaired and having slowly gone from kid sidekick to a full fleged freedom fighter and genius, with this arc FULLY showing off what that means.

Bunnie and Antoine

The Archie Versions of Bunnie and Antoine are easily some of my faviorite sonic characters and comic book characters period, living up to the potetial their satam counterparts had by way of character development.. even if like most characters it took till ian for them to really florish.

At the start the two were exactly what they were in SATAM: Bunnie was given a proper origin, ending up in a roboticzier and barely being saved by Sonic and Rotor, hence her being the way she is, as well as a shortlived dream of being a hairdresser once the war was over, but otherwise she was largely the same: a kind, badass cyborg who hated being half roboticized but still used it to her best to help her friends. While, much like SATAM she ended up sidelined a good bit during the 50 issue war, she still got to do much more and got spotlight stories once in a while, in general being treated like the big deal she shoudl’ve been anyway, with one of the most heartbrekaing being having a nightmare of her roboticization slowly finishing.. showing just what the poor woman fears most.

Antoine was largely the same: A comical coward who wasn’t really good for anything and you questioned why he was kept on the main team, especially once sally started training new recruits. He didn’t really change as a character to the point that while Bunnie got an utterly awesome showing in mecha madness, loosing to a roboticized sonic but at least putting up a decent fight first... Antoine.. put sonic on trial afterwords in one of the dumbest moments of the comic’s history.

Though he did get an intresting spotlight where, to prove a point, he did a solo mission... and Bunnie worried about him is shown, subtley at that, to have tagged along and made sure he didn’t die or get roboticized. And when going back to tails, Antoine not only admonishes himself for how stupid his actions was.. but once the child is gone he geninely thanks his savior

Yup this little backup is also where the comics best romance, with all due respect to sonic and sally and knuckles and julie su of course, begins, with a simple innocuous peck on the cheek that, seemingly was just a fun thing.. but come issue 46, just before endgame the writers picked it up in a great way.

Said issue is also where Antoine finally gets character development as well as an explination for why he sucks dirty ass in thunderstorms. For starters when local asshole and one of the worst characters in archie sonic, Geoffery St. John, wants to kill sonic both due to not liking him and being in his way to wooing sally (who by the way was a minor while Geoffery very much isn’t so...)

Antoine steps in and punches the asshole batman style

He also calls out Geoffery in a variety of ways, which is oh so statisfying after putting up with this prick. And look if your a fan of his: fine, your opinon is valid, i’m not knocking you. But I will knock this selfish, entitled, useless, egotistical, predatory, brownosing, faux-australian prick all I want. He spent all his screen time trying to woo a teenager, getting in the way of the guy who was doing most of the ACTUAL legwork for the war, and in general putting his dick measuring contest with a war hero over his actual duties, and that’s not even getting into the later retcon he was working for an evil wizard this whole time.

Story for another day. ... we were talking about antoine right? Anyways this confrontation also leads to bunnie , who he saved early in his career giving out his backstory... he WAS a good hero and freedom fighter when he started, wearing his father’s uniform to honor him.. but then

It’s a great character pivot showing WHY he was so hooked on sally... and that he never had a shot, and deconstructing it: he hopelessly chased a dream that had no chacne of becoming true, with Sally never once giving him the indication she was interested.. and had to watch as he lost it. It dosen’t make it OKAY he fell apart like this but given he’s only a teenager, it’s at least understandable. Thankfully.. he finds something better

And thus the romance began. So with robotnik beat soon after, surely there were some juicy developments with these two right? A first date, some fighting together something Right?

Yeah for some damn reason post issue 50, outside of the ocasoinal moment, most of the main cast ceased to be all that important. Antoine was only used as part of Sally’s dad’s attempts to force them to marry, yes really, and aside from a story in one of the specials where Bunnie had to upgrade her cybernetics in a way where she could NEVER get them undone, something Antoine supported her with the two were just kinda there and didn’t get to do a whole lot of note. The only exception I can think of is Antoine finding out his dad was still roboticized, and once his brainwashing was removed reuniting with the guy, who then made peace with his former arch enemy, amy’s robin hood themed cousin. Amy had a robin hood themed cousin btw.

This changed after sonic got shot up into space and was thought dead and we got a time skip out of the deal. And not for the better: The two broke up , with Bollers intending for Antione to do a heel turn, before his leaving meant that thankfully didn’t happen. Antoine also wore an eyepatch now because time skip. Bunnie ended up dating sonic breifly, that thankfully didn’t last, that unthankfully lead to the mess described above and no one liked it whatsoever. Thankfully it was undone just before Ian’s run: turns out Antoine was his evil twin from another dimension, the same one as anti sonic, patch. Who wears an eyepatch. Which antoine suspciously started wearing after suddenly changing in demeanour. You know guys maybe there’s a reason you never beat robotnik.

Patch poisoned the king, which sadly was not fatal, and sonic bringing elias back as well as finding antoine helped save it. The two happily reunited, and this farce finally ended.

With Ian’s run Ian not only treated the two like main characters again, but decided to deepen the relationship.. and it started with something Sad as Antoine’s dad passed, with Patch having also poisoned him because apparently poisoning old men is like pringles, you can’t just stop at one. But he told him he loved him and that he approved of his relationship.

So with that on his mind, and the fiasco with fiona clinching it.. antoine decided to do something bold

Yup. Just before the milestone 175th issue, Antoine popped the question and the two soon married after that, in one of the most heartwarming moments in the comics’ history and one that felt earned: while the twos romance hadn’t been focused on outside of the doppleganger incident, the two had remained steady, faithful and in love thorughout this war as it ended, rekindled and got so much worse. Ian took the two from merley a couple.. to a well written one with the marriage feeling meant to be and truly heartwarming. They were wed, Robotnik attacked and killed a bunch of people afterwords, as is their life, they also had to fight off an invasion... so while they were happy they didnt’ have a chance to really honeymoon,a nd tails, having both fought his best friend and then had to go overseas to help with the efforts against the iron dominon, longer story for later, all three could really use a break. which FINALLY brings us to today’s comic. Sometimes being a wordy bastard who can’t help but gush about things he likes sucks folks.

The Tails Adventure! or Trouble in Paradise

As you can probably guess by the title, this arc’s a long overdue adaptation of Tails Adventure, a metroidvania style spinoff for the game gear. I.. have not played a ton of it as whilie a great concept in execution it’s a bit

Though it’s mostly just it’s age, having to clumisly enter and exit levels and guess as what to do next without a guide. I might give it another whirl after this honestly. It’s still not a bad game and with an eshop card you CAN still get it on the 2ds as of this writing until august and for only 6 dollry doos, so if your curious, there you go.

As for why it wasn’t adapted back in the comic’s heyday I WAS confused at first. Archie had a habit of adapting most sonic releases from the obvious ones, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, and Sonic CD, to others like Sonic Spinball, Sonic Triple Trouble and Knuckles Chaotix, the latter presumibly because they added more characters to play with. But weirdly depsite giving them a whole new villian faction in the battle Kuku’s and tails solo adventures and eventual mini showing fans wanted more of the little guy, it never happened. But after looking at the specials release dates, it became obvious: There just wasn’t room. In the year the game came out we also got the triple trouble and chaotix specails, with his mini coming out at the same time the chaotix special did. And while next year would still work... we then got Super Sonic vs Hyper Knuckles, which while tying into nothing and really not being necessary... was still pure sugar to any ten year old seeing it on the stands, and after that was the special finishing up mecha madness.. well kinda finishing it up. We had that moronic trial issue after but I can grouse about that some other day. So I get archies priorties being “finishign up the story of the year” and

Respectively. Why they didn’t during the years AFTER this.. is because Bollers and Penders prefered making their own characters. And archie DID have great characters like Mina, Julie Su, Lien-Da, Enerjak, the various branches of freedom fighters, Larry, Mammoth Mogul, Knick the weasel and more, a lot of whom needed ian to truly shine btu were still great in concept. The problem was a LOT of those characters got sidelined for whatever reason, and we got focus on characters like knuckles stupid abusive grandpas and dad, horse sean connery, a lost tribe of knuckles people who live in a utopia and do fuck all except their leader trying to kill knuckles that one time, spider ninja lady, tails wizard uncle, the dingoes, sluth doggy dog, that wolf jackass who kicked off endgame, robotnik’s non snively realtives with the exception of his niece, any other overlander and of course Kodos, aka the worst villian in archie’s history and again

I’ve probably even missed a few but the point is they can’t all be winners and the two were more obsessed with making things more convluted or in penders case making knuckles mythlogy EVEN MORE DENSE, than actually carring about the games. Even one the games did come back, the adventure adaptation ended up a huge mess thanks to said mythlogy, while the adventure 2 adaptation was a foot note with the versions of Rogue and Shadow we got not remotely resembling the ones on screen, which was fine for the genisis days given the stories were relegated entirely to manuals, but not so great when you had a FULL GAME telling you who these people were and had time to play it or at least read a synopsis by the time both became relevant.

Ian however did actually care: while he loved archie dearly and it showed, he also loves the games just as much, and as a result made sure to put as much of them that had been neglected in as he could: Rogue was quickly put in line with her game counterpart, as was Shadow as soon as he could, Gamma and Big both made come backs and Ian introduced Omega and as soon as he could cream (He coudln’t use her at first because Sega woudln’t let him.. because shut up), he consolidated the GIANT pile of chaos emeralds into 7 resembling the games that now had to be won via the specail zone, adapted most games that came out while he was writing in fully canon backups up until that stopped being fesable with unleashed, and even brought game characters that had been utterly underutlizied like Big and Gamma. Granted gamma died like.. right after, but it was in service of a story at least? I dunno. Point is it was clear Ian loved the games and while some fans chaffed at him adding so much of the games.. I think ti’s great. He didn’t overwrite the series own mythlogy and worked them in as much as he could, with aformetieond robotnik niece, hope JOINING team dark who were itegrated into statoin square , making it actually relevant and doing actual work with Big’s people.

Ian got that the primary demographcis were kids and hardcore sonic fans, most of whom probably DID enjoy getting to see these characters adapated at a time when the only other adaptatoin was sonic x. To see how they fit into archie and what ian would do with them, given how much great stuff he was doing with the Archie cast. It’s not a crime for an adaptatoin to actually resemble the source materail.

And it wasn’t just modern stuff as this adaptation and his AWESOME versions of bean and bark (which have carried over to idw’s classic continuity), show. Ian loves all of sonic, to the point the reboot continuity, while heavily games based, still kept the freedom fighters and compensated for all the original stuf lost by cramming in as much stuff from the shows as he could. Ian is the greatest sonic fan and no one loves this franchise more than he does or cares about it the way he does and yes i’m VERY much included sega.

Anyways 80 years later we’re onto the actual comic which opens with Tails taking Bunnie and Antoine to his private island via the sea fox so the two can have their long overdue honeymoon, since it’s been several arcs since their wedding and the day after wedding involved mass kidnapping and mass murder from robotnik. So buisness as usual

Also yes tails has a private island now

Ian does his best to explain WHY tails suddenly seems to know about an out of the way island that would’ve been relaly useful a long time ago not long into the issue: He found Cocoa Island, and the two island surrounding it on his way back from his mini series. As for why he never brought up you know, a whole freaking island they could use as a base or something, my guess is, while not so far Tails can’t get there from knothole and later new mobotropolis and back on one can of fuel, it’s still far enough that it’s not relaly conveint to use as a base, as robotnik would likely just create shark bots or pirahnatrons or sic a giant telepathic whale on them like he does later. It’s good as a worst case scenario backup, and they were VERY close to worst case recently. It’s still weird to suddenly patch this in and it would’ve made more sense to be discovered at the same time Tails is said to have really used the island: when sonic was thought dead for a year. I told you I had a reason for all of this. That way it’s more recent in the comics memory and makes more sense why it hadn’t come up in a strory till now. Still that little bit of continuity with the death is why I love ian’s writing on this: again like any great comic book writer, he takes history and uses it to give something as simple as “why tails has a workshop out here and mapped this whole place”, weight: it was his refuge during the worst time in his life and thus a place of comfort, and it also shows how he’s grown: he’s gone form using this as an escape to doing that.. but letting his friends do the same, no longer holding in his old resitments and truly growing.

So the plan is for them to split up gang: Tails is going to work in his workshop and get some private time, while Bunnie and Antoine also get some.. if in a diffrent way

I just want to take a minute to acknowledge that Sally not only knew these three were taking this trip, but that her, sonic , rotor , amy and anyone else knew they were singing off on two young newlyweds getting into some werid shit on a child’s prviate island. I get why alternate future tails dosen’t talk to sonci much anymore.

The trio are watched by Junior of the battle kuku empire and two stooges, with Junior not moved to do anything.. till he notices tails flying and has murder in his eyes.

We do get a nice montage though of the D’Colette-Rabbots enjoying their honeymoon and Tails enjoying his solo time as he builds his sidekick t-pup. T-pup is okay.. it’s neat he has a little robot buddy btu the design has never wowed me and the fact he later outright joins the freedom fighter annoys me. I don’t think robots can’t, Shard is one of the best there ever was, i’m more saying that maybe tiny robot dog foxes with little sapience shoudln’t. I don’t hate him but I never really warmed to the little guy either.

We then get a fantastic scene with the happy couple where Antoine asks Bunnie if she thinks they married too early. And after teasing him, she admits she gets it: that many will say they married way too young.. but offers a valid reason why: the two have been through war together, their still going through it technically. They’ve had to grow up fast and that’s how antoine felt too.. he just wanted to be sure she was happy.. which she is

I do love this couple: while as I said there wasn’t really a lot done with them as a couple till now, they come off as a real one with real chemistry: she helped him get out of his shell and self loathing and he helped her accept who she is. Their better together than they were alone and that’s all you can ask from a couple.

So as tends to happen to our heroes, their peace is interupted by a bunch of assholes with robots, with Antoine and Bunnie fighting some basic troops quite easily as you’d expect. The Battle Kuku’s have mech walkers. Tails likewise springs into action even getting a truly badass moment as he muses on just how far he’s come

The issue wins with Bunnie and antoine getting suckered by a giant mech set up for the finale of the arc, and Tails , while doing well against grunts, finding himself up against Speedy, son of the grand battle kuku, hot head and speedster and master flier, making a character whose design has him looking like he wears a diaper (it’s supposed to be an egg but like.. look at him)

Geninely terrifying. Granted I have no idea WHY Ian left the diaper on his design but still props to making it work.

As you can see by the next one tails simply stalls long enough for t pup to bite his backside and to super run away, as i’ts clear speedy has him beat in speed and power. Tails only barely hides away and ONLY gets to hide because Speedy’s dad recalls him. We also get a nice moment having him contrast sonic: Tails points out his best buddy would barge in, save Bunnie and Antoine (who speedy revealed had been captured), and go full speed.. but that’s not who tails is. He’s a thinker, he’s tired and he needs a second, and trusts that his friends will be okay long enough for him to do something.

Speaking of the happy couple, Bunnie is soon grabbed by the kuku’s from her cell while Antoine swipes a key to escape. Bunnie also lucks out as it turns out the battle lord thinks she’s with the dark egg legion. This.. is going to take some explaning.. yes even more. See Knuckles arch enemies were the Dark Egg legion, a group of echidnas who split off from the rest due to favoring the high tech they used to have and thus were all cyborgs. This came to an end when Knuckles was tricked into becoming a mad god for a while, and stripped them of their cybernetics. Horrified and desperatley wanting that part of them back, the Legion’s leader Lien Da struck a bargin with Eggman: restore their cybernetics and they work fo rhim. So now robotniks been setting up chapters all over with new bosses, and naturally put bombs in the cybernetics so if someone turns on him he can just blow them the fuck up. Bunnie uses this and finds out some valuable intel about their new foes: the battle bird armada is a centuries old empire that simply wants to rule the skies and is only eggman empire adjacent: they aren’t fully part of it but the two live in mutual agreement not to kill each other, likely since eggman has no intrest in the skies of this world and the empire is more intrestied in finding the ancient weapons of their past. We also find out in this continuity the Bablyon Rogues, those birds on hoverboards what showed up in the riders games, are former members who broke off. This would get elaborated more on in a future arc of universe following up on this one, and is a clever bit of world building, tying two groups of brids together. Ian would do this AGAIN later with th eformerly unrelated character predator hawk, because three’s the magic number I guess

Anyways, while Bunnie schmoozes, Tails awakens and amos u p, getting his bombs from the game to help take back the t-sub as the battle kukus stupidly left his workshop unguarded. He heads for the third island nearbye, one that wasn’t on his maps and is naturally the kuku’s base. He soon end sup in an underwater dog fight though and adorably geeks out over the kuku’s stealth tech. While i’m not bringing it up a lot I do like how ian found a way to integrate bit sections of the game: the fire to start us off, the underwate rportion the bombs, all while makign it feel seamless.

Meanwhile Antoine breaks out.. but Speedy finds him

And he improvises an escape once Bunnie comes back, seemingly mistaking her for a trailer and dramatically diving to his death, ending part 2. Oh there’s also a nice little nod to the margrine gag from satam when Antoine escapes. Ian REALLY loves his mythlogy gags and their always hilarous

Bunnie is naturally upset but notices something that makes her smile and bluffs speedy when he points out how upset she was about her supposedly fake deep cover husabnd dying by noting all that work is gone.. it dosen’t work, but props to her for recovering.

Ant is of course fine, having landed on the sea fox, and reunited with tails. Not only that we see juts how much trust the two have in one another: I wasn’t kitting abotu the feint: Antoine picked up Bunnie was pulling a deep cover infiiltration and was simply playing along confident they’ll reunite later. Awww.

Having found some tunnels last issue and with the sea fox not suited for underwater, Tails burrows them into said tunnels and they disembark on the island. Granted he’s not much help as while having grown a lot ant is still very capable of making someone want to strangle him with only a few words and the sound of his voice

So while they go into a tunnel, and Antoine asks the understandable question of “why are we going underground to fight birds”, Speedy visits doctor Fukruov... which people keep misprouncing in unfunny way. Let a pro show you how it’s done Ian. So doctor Fuck Right Off is mad Speedy’s invading his perosnal bubble but allows him to use his computer, with Speedy finding out Bunnie is a freedom fighter and deciding to handle this using the spooky mech we saw earlier, aka the final boss of tails adventure.

Tails and Antoine storm the gate, stealthily taking out some troops before using their own bombs to blast their way in and wrekcing up the place. And I do like how this shows just HOW skilled our heroes are. Against robotnik it usually dosen’t show as while their good, he’s used to them. He’s fought them for years and in his home reality outright beat them. But the Battle Kuku’s have ZERO idea , so their far less effective, as they have no way to counter them and our heroes have fought way better. IT nicely scales them as a threat: they aren’t NOT one, i’ve seen many media make that mistake such as warden wrath with owl house or wapol and hody jones with one piece, but they also just simply arent ready for our heroes, so they aren’t doing as good as someone whose not only killed them before but spent a decade fighting them before that and years after that doing it now.

Bunnie naturally joins the fracas as the emproro, of course, sent her righ tto them, and the happy couple reunite, with bunnie having grabbed her husband a gift

As usual their adorable.. btu something I hadn’t conciously thought about that makes Ant even more badass: the fact he’s been fighting BARE HANDED. Keep in mind his specialty is swordplay and he dosen’t have any powers like most of the freedom fighters. This sabre is also notable as it’s the one ant would use till his tragic comaing towards the end of this continuity, and looks dope. So our heroes regroup, with tails finding out thanks to bunnie snagging him some data that this entire island is a battle ship, and just where to go to wreck up the place, heading there with an awesome team shot

Tails has truly arrived, going from kid sidekick, to leading his own former mentors and big sibling figures in the freedom fight. It’s another strength of ians: taking years of unrelated and sometimes downright bad storeis and makign them FEEL like they were all building to this. If this man wasn’t already happily married i’d propose to him right now. His wife is also kick ass at writing sonic comics by the way, just saying.

Anyways, our heroes face their final boss: the mole mech which makes short work of them once they get into the inner workings of things, with doctor forget-me-not bragging about it as we enter the final issue.

This one isn’t much to recap but it’s utterly awesome, most of it being a long actoin scene as tails SOLOS the mole mech in a truly awesome fight while the d’colette-rabbots hit the weak points in the airship. The fight is crisply drawn, and shows off tails smarts: he uses his brain to beat the thing simply having it either hit itself or having had t-pup fire on it just right, letting it beat itself so by the time it does get a hit in .. it shorts out right after, leaving doctor fuck this is hard to refrence princess bride. Also turns out speedy was inside and he refuses help like any good villian while our heroes are forced to flee as things go straight to hell. Our heroes cleverly escape out the bottom since the fortress is taking off

So it’s time for the wrap up. the grand battle kuku betrates speedy becuase he’s not good at his job, and has the doctor get to repairs.. while the babylon rogues prepare for their arc and to take advantage of the armada flagship being barely operational, while Tails and the honeyooners head back to his cabin, the three toasting their vacation and finally getting their well earned respitel

The Tails Adventure or Trouble in Paradise is a REALLY fun arc. It shows off not only ian’s love of the games, giving us a fun adaptation of tails adventure, but his masterful storytelling: he ties it into the main plot, not only giving us a new threat but one giving a past one context for being in this unvierse now, while also debuting tails getting his own sidekick and giving antoine a sword. Nothing EARTHSHATTERINGLY huge to the future of the comic, but still intresting little things to add to the overall continuity. And he ties it all in their history, from Bunnie and Antoine getting a honeymoon after it beign delayed for a ton of arcs, to Tails showing just how far he’s come. It’s a fun arc and evne if you haven’t read a ton of archie you can really enjoy it and I HIGHLY recommend seeking out ian’s run however you can.

Next Time: MORE ARCHIE.. thankfully this time without an 80 year history lesson as we visit the first group of freedom fighters! Thanks for reading!

#miles tails prower #antoine d'coolette #bunnie rabbot #ian flyn #archie sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic universe #battle kuku #speedy #tails adventure #game gear #comics #adaptatoin s #tie-in #sonic month

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 1 year

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COCAINE BEAR (2023)

Starring Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Margo Martindale, Ray Liotta, Aaron Holliday, Matthew Rhys, Scott Seiss, Kahyun Kim, Ayoola Smart, Chloe Harris, Shane Connellan, Conor Lambert and J.B. Moore.

Screenplay by Jimmy Warden.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks.

Distributed by Universal Pictures. 95 minutes. Rated R.

Cocaine Bear. The title alone is so crazy and cheesy that you would be excused for thinking this film is going to be a total car wreck before even entering the theater. Also the fact that it is loosely (very loosely!) based on the true story of a black bear which stumbled upon a stash of coke which was tossed from a crashing plane by a bumbling drug runner in the mid-80s.

Add to that the fact that the corpse of the “cocaine bear” somehow ended up being a tourist attraction in a Kentucky mall, and most audiences may be excused for wanting to high tail it out of the woods to avoid Cocaine Bear.

It seems like an odd subject for comic actress Elizabeth Banks to choose for her third film as a director – then again her first two choices were kind of offbeat, too, Pitch Perfect 2 (which she also was one of the co-stars of) and the 2019 failed reboot of Charlie’s Angels.

It turns out – who’d’ve thunk? – that perhaps Banks was the ideal choice to helm the surprisingly wacky adventures of the cocaine bear and the unlucky humans who stray into her path, because Cocaine Bear is much funnier than it had any right to be.

Fair warning, it’s also very graphically violent – Banks and her cast lean into the imagined situation and turn the mayhem up to 11. (The real cocaine bear did not kill multiple people like her cinematic counterpart, she just died of an overdose.)

It is actually very tricky tonally to mix horror and humor, although Hollywood keeps (mostly unsuccessfully) trying. However, Cocaine Bear mostly hits the sweet spot, the violence is so cartoonish and the humor often so unexpectedly off-the-wall that Cocaine Bear, while far from a great film, is surprisingly engaging.

When I was a little kid, the movie that scared me more than any other I ever saw was a Jaws rip-off called Grizzly about a killer bear running wild in a national park. I have no doubt that film was not nearly as scary as little me remembers it (I have not seen it since the theatrical release in 1976), but oddly Cocaine Bear is sort of like Grizzly with drugs and jokes. And rather than triggering me, Cocaine Bear makes me oddly nostalgic for the older film.

And nostalgia is a huge part of Cocaine Bear’s allure, from a soundtrack made up of pop hits of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s to some wonderfully specific ‘80s references. Beyond the film’s similarity to Grizzly, it also feels like it was mashed up with a cult favorite comedy about camping in the 1980s called Wet Hot American Summer. (Which, maybe not coincidentally, featured one of Elizabeth Banks’ earliest major roles as an actor.)

Cocaine Bear has a surprisingly smart and game cast going over-the-top (in a good way) including Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson, Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and one of Ray Liotta’s final performances.

And while personally I found the comedy more interesting than the bloody parts, the whole film went down surprisingly easily, and I laughed a whole lot more than I would have ever imagined from the title.

The biggest surprise of all is that you don’t have to “just say no” to Cocaine Bear.

Jay S. Jacobs

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#Cocaine Bear #2023 #Movie Reviews #Keri Russell #Elizabeth Banks #Jay S. Jacobs

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b-movie-mondays · 2 years

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B Movie Mondays

Mac and Me (PG, 1988) DVD - Tubi Run Time: 1h 39m Watches: 2 IMDb Rating: 3.3/10 My Rating: 🦈🦈🦈 Word Count: 745

I honestly like this movie. Is it so cheesy it’s bad? Yes. Is it a good family watch together? Also yes.

Mac and Me was a film produced by McDonald’s. Yes, that McDonald’s. That being said, this is a fairly solid 80’s family movie. As all do, this has its flaws. The characters are flat, the story line is a little boring, and the aliens are the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life…but all of these things make this movie so charming. You’d think this film would feel soulless and dull because it's more or less 99 minutes of product placement, but it doesn’t. There are moments, of course, where this is a ridiculous commercial rather than a movie, but overall I enjoyed watching this.

Now, I only gave it a 3 for a few main reasons. The characterizations, the plot, and the design choices. If that seems nitpicky it’s because it is. Starting with the characterizations, I didn’t really expect much. This is a failed Mickey D’s cash grab family film, so I didn’t think there was going to be any good or interesting character growth. That being said, the character development was so bland, and damn near non-existent, that it was hard to actually like anyone in this movie.

Small side tangent, I do enjoy the way that they incorporated Eric’s wheelchair. As a disabled person myself, it means a lot to me that they were so casual about it. Of course this movie is from 1988, so the representation isn’t flawless, but it’s still pretty good for its time. Something that bothers me a lot about other reviews of this film is people making fun of the wheelchair for simply existing. Was the wheelchair needed for plot development? No, it wasn’t, and that’s what makes it good. Now bear in mind that I cringe every time I watch the wheelchair-falling-off-a-cliff scene, but seeing as that was the only major flaw, I don’t have much to say about it.

Moving on to the plot, it was just…boring. Nothing very notable was happening in the story that impressed me. I’m okay with this, and I wasn’t expecting a groundbreaking script and writing, but I wanted something a little more exciting. I found myself on my phone a lot while watching this movie. Long story short, this is an E.T. rip off; boy finds alien, boy befriends alien, boy goes on a wacky adventure to return alien to family, and boom, happy ending. But the difference between Mac and Me and E.T. is that E.T. was good. Don’t get me wrong, I like Mac and Me, but it’s not original. It doesn’t have anything special going for it.

There are a few moments where I couldn’t help but laugh, whether that was because a joke they made actually landed or because a scene was so bad it was funny. More of the latter than the former, but there are a lot of good one-liners here and there. None of their visual gags were that funny, but the jokes were pretty good for a kid’s comedy.

Last but not least, let's talk about the design choices, because oh boy, choices were made. These aliens, man. They are so goddamn ugly. E.T. was kind of ugly too, but in a cute way. The aliens in Mac and Me do not have that going for them. The baby aliens look better than the adults, but even they’re scary. I think if I were a small child watching this I might’ve cried. The way these things move is so surreal that it triggers my fight or flight, and the weird whistling they use is so grating that I had to mute it at times. They tried too hard to make a cute alien with big eyes that didn’t look like E.T. and they ended up re-inventing El Chupacabra instead.

The sets were lack-luster and didn't feel memorable, but I thought the costuming was nice. The only time I really thought “Wait, what?” about a set was in the McDonald’s scene, where they are in some sort of Mega McDonnies with a massive dining room and full service waitstaff. Also people were singing and dancing. I thought I was having a fever dream. Do not watch this movie while high. Or do, whatever makes you happy.

All in all, this is a mediocre movie. It’s good for what it is, but it’s not particularly special in any way.

#b movie #b movie mondays #b movies #mac and me #80s movies #bad movies #1980s movies #movie review

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aviculor · 2 years

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Fuck it, I'm going to order Chinese and watch an 80's slasher. Blood Rage (1987).

A woman brought her twin sons with her on a date to the drive-in theater and while she's distracted making out, the kids wake up and sneak out the back of the car. What sort of wacky hijinks do they get up to? Well, one finds and axe and kills someone. Then he smears blood on his brother's face and hands him the axe right before everyone shows up. So the innocent one is committed to an asylum because he? Never said anything? While the killer one goes on to become a college-aged American Psycho.

I guess the killing spree is because Terry wants to frame Todd and make him look like a Michael Myers "escaped mental patient came home to kill" situation. And Todd escaped in the first place because he...wanted to be home on Thanksgiving, or something? The plot and character motivations aren't really that important, it's a slasher. Everything is just a vehicle for us to see the kills. The side characters might as well not even have names, that's the kind of territory this is.

When they cut away from the doctor being attacked, I knew we were going to cut back to her and that was going to be where the effects budget went. Gnarly shit. That was the money shot right there.

There's definitely something funny about a naked couple getting told "You stop that." by the killer before he kills them. And later, when he's chasing someone else and looks in the sauna where he hid their bodies, he says "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

Slashers generally aren't cinematic masterpieces, and I knew what I was getting into. The biggest change of formula was that it wasn't a Big Twist Reveal that Terry was the killer but instead we knew this from the start. Instead there was a lot of dramatic irony regarding Terry's friends-turned-victims. And I suppose it is a little early in the genre to be subverting tropes like "the homicidal escaped mental patient", so kudos to that too. And there were some genuinely funny moments after Terry dropped the act. This film actually understands dark humor a lot better than some of the horror comedies I've seen. And that fucking ending. So mmm yeah I had a good enough time with this. Plot didn't make sense, but we had fun here.

Theory time: Todd is on the spectrum. That's why he just stood there while Terry framed him, why his social skills were so poor (they blamed the institutionalization, but come on), and why his mom was so content to let him rot in the asylum and pretend Terry was her only child. Which would cast an additional light on that ending. She was...really not a good mother haha

#horror #blood rage

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fancoloredglasses · 2 years

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The Monkees (The adventures of “the Pre-Fab Four”)

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(Thanks to nosense66)

[All images are owned by Sony. Please don’t sue me]

In the 60s Beatlemania was running wild all over he world. Naturally, someone would want to ride those coattails for all they’re worth. While there were a few bands that were clones of the “Fab Four”, some TV executive saw the Beatles films and decided to base a TV series on them. This wasn’t the first time someone decided to base a TV show on the Beatles...

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(Thanks to Christina S.)

...but it was the first live-action one. Naturally, hiring John, Paul, George, and Ringo would be prohibitively expensive (well, maybe not hiring Ringo), so a casting call went out for musicians with acting chops and comic timing (or, at the very least, comedic actors who could play) What they found were what the critics would call the “Pre-Fab Four” (I mean, they even misspelled Monkeys the way the boys from Liverpool misspelled Beetles)...

First we have Davey Jones, who was cast in the role of “Pretty boy”. If there was going to be a romantic entanglement, odds are it would involve Davey. Davey was primarily a singer, though he also played the minor percussion instruments such as tambourines and maracas (as well as bass and drums in the studio, though not on camera)

Next up is Peter Tork, who was cast as the comic relief (and given this was a comedy show, that mainly meant he either told or was the punchline for a number of the gags) and was also the innocent babe in the woods. Peter was one of three (two on camera) guitarists, and also played banjo and keyboards.

The other on-camera guitarist was Michael Nesmith (who the writers wanted to call Michael Woolhat due to his always-present headgear, which he wore to his audition to keep the hair out of his eyes) He was cast in the role of the smarter of the four.

Mike left the show near the end of its two-season run due to wanting the band to have more creative control over their music. Don’t despair too much, as Nesmith founded the production company Pacific Arts and was one of the pioneers of the music video. Additionally, Nesmith’s mother was the inventor of Liquid Paper (more commonly known as White-Out) and he got a sizable inheritance in the 80s.

Rounding out the band was their on-screen drummer Micky Dolenz who, along with Davey, sang the majority of the band’s hits. Micky played the role of the oddball. Not that he acted any stranger than the rest of the band, but most of the visual gags involved him (including having one outfit at the beginning of a scene, only to suddenly have a new one after the camera cuts away for a second) and he tended to have a number of funny voices.

The show was mostly slapstick-style humor in the same vein as the Marx Brothers (but not nearly that highbrow) that usually involved trying to find, going to, or coming from a paying gig (during which some improbable event happens and the band is swept up in it, such as Davey thwarting an assassination attempt on foreign royalty). During the show, one of the band’s studio hits would play as the wacky on-screen action happened...

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(Thanks to themonkeesrule12345)

The band had a huge following (even after it was learned that most of the songs did not feature the band playing their own instruments in the studio) Even the Beatles were fans (the two bands got together when the Monkees went to England). The band (without Mike) remained an entity for two years after the show ended (though he did rejoin the band in 1989 and sporadically appeared in studio and on tour with the band until 2016)

To “celebrate” the Monkees’ 20th anniversary, someone tried to capture lightning in a bottle twice...

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(Thanks to Internet Lurker)

It failed miserably, as The New Monkees lasted all of 13 episodes (judging by the intro, I’m surprised it lasted that long!)

As always, if you would like to see an episode (of The Monkees, NOT The New Monkees!) let me know!

#the monkees #davey jones #micky dolenz #peter tork #michael nesmith #Fan Colored Glasses

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simplylove101 · 6 months

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2023 Horror Challenge: [63/?]

↳“They took your wife away in a balloon? Well you don't need the police, pal, you need a psychiatrist!” Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) dir. Stephen Chiodo

Plot: Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.

Starring: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, Royal Dano & John Vernon

Last day of the challenge!! As always it's a little sad because I mostly have fun with it and there's always at least some movies that I never get around to watching even tho I mean to (but in a way that's actually a good thing since it always means I'll have something left for next year's) Originally I was gonna keep it to maybe 2 or 3 watches later in the evening today but since I woke up early enough and I have the whole day off, I decided that I was gonna movie marathon what I can outside of my planned Halloween watches. And I decided to start with this! I've finally watched this cult classic!! If nothing else, I really wanted to because I needed to see if this horror comedies was my jam or not. Verdict: It was wacky fun just as I expected it be right from the start and I liked it. lol 80's cheesiness in the best kind of way. I was impressed with what they did with such a small budget in terms of effects and visuals cuz I've seen worse. The clowns don't look like your typical creepy clowns (and yet the look is quite creepy at the same time imo) but I like that considering they're meant to be aliens. It feels right for the aesthetic. The music was great too. The kills are kinda outrageous. Considering it's supposed to be an underrated gem I did expect the rating to be a little higher on IMDB but I get it's not for everyone. It is very much a B movie so it's not without its flaws like anything but I did have a good time. I'm glad I finally watched it. Silly fun to start off the Halloween watches on a light note.

#killer klowns from outer space #horrorchallenge2023

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greensparty · 9 months

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RIP Paul Reubens 1952-2023

I've been out sick this past week, so less time blogging. I briefly wrote about the passing of comic genius and gifted actor Paul Reubens at the age of 70, but here is my expanded remembrance.

Reubens

Paul Reubens came up in the 1970s comedy scene in L.A. as a member of the The Groundlings. He and fellow Groundling, the late great Phil Hartman, worked on a lot of characters together. In 1978, Reubens created the character of Pee-Wee Herman, a man-child dressed in a suit and bowtie. It slowly started to catch on and soon enough he got an early HBO special in 1981's The Pee-Wee Herman Show. I rented it years later and it was wildly entertaining. Reubens himself had small roles in The Blues Brothers, an episode of Mork & Mindy, Cheech & Chong movies, and more.

Hartman and Reubens on Pee-Wee's Playhouse

In the 80s, there were a lot of comedians who created characters who were celebrities in and of themselves and the comedian was rarely seen outside of that character, i.e. Cassandra Peterson (a fellow Groundling of Reubens) as Elvira or Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell. Pee-Wee Herman was among the biggest of those comedic characters. When he appeared on MTV, hosted SNL, or was a guest on talk shows, it was Pee-Wee Herman who was the guest, not Reubens. But the character of Pee-Wee was so engaging: he was childish and but was wildly funny with physical comedy, and there was a real heart to him and had a moral compass that was admirable (i.e. running into a burning pet shop to save all of the animals). The 1980s was an era of comedians who had a unique voice literally and figuratively, i.e. Sam Kinison, Bobcat Goldthwaite, Emo Phillips, Gilbert Gottfried, and Judy Tenuta just to name a few. But Reubens was possibly the most unique voice of all of them.

Reubens in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

In Summer 1985, my Dad took me to the movies to see Pee-wee's Big Adventure , which was a true meeting of the minds of young director Tim Burton making his debut and Reubens. The plot was so simple, but yet it worked: Pee-Wee's bike gets stolen so he has to go across country to find it and along the way there's loads of hijinks and LOL scenes. To this day visitors of the Alamo ask where the basement is! The film is highly quotable and it's also a movie that everyone I knew my age also knew and loved. In the years that followed Pee-Wee had cameos in a number of films including Back to the Beach, Moonwalker, and Flight of the Navigator, which technically wasn't Pee-Wee it was Paul under the pseudonym Paul Mall, but the voice was obviously Pee-Wee. The follow-up movie was Big Top Pee-wee, in which Pee-Wee has a small farm and the circus comes to town, shaking up his relationship. The movie wasn't as bad as a lot of people thought, but it lacked the pure artifice of the last movie. I think people also didn't want to see a movie where Pee-Wee cheats on his fiancee for a acrobat...just not what you expect from a Pee-Wee movie and Tim Burton not directing hurt.

Pee-Wee and friends

But the Pee-Wee character really shined on TV, in the Saturday morning kids' show Pee-wee's Playhouse (CBS 1986-1991). I was still of the age of loving Saturday morning cartoons and shows when it premiered and it was loads of fun: Pee-Wee's wacky and fun playhouse surrounded with various friends, screaming the secret word, being imaginative, and learning from each other was worth tuning in each week. I loved the show and in 1988, I even began buying some episodes as they were released on VHS. I also began buying the toys, talking doll and memorabilia (sometime in the mid-00s I sold my collection to a friend). The genius in the show was that it was super funny, but without being hurtful or mean-spirited. So many talents got their start on the show too: Lawrence Fishburne as Cowboy Curtis, Natasha Lyonne, and behind the scenes you had music by Mark Mothersbaugh, and before-they-were-famous production assistants John Singleton and Rob Zombie. The series became so popular that in 1988, they even did a primetime special Christmas at Pee-wee's Playhouse.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse toys I had as a kid

It's impossible to talk about Reubens without his controversies and run-ins with the law. In 1991, he was arrested for indecent exposure during an undercover police raid of an adult theater in Sarasota, FL. CBS pulled the remaining reruns of Playhouse, toys were pulled from Toys R Us, his voice was pulled from rides at Disney. He was cancelled way before there was cancel culture. True, he was a children's show host on TV at that time. But he wasn't in character or costume and he was inappropriate in, well, an inappropriate place...which in a strange way made it kind of appropriate given the inappropriate location. Whatever your opinion is, he got a raw deal. As a TV host and on the set of his show, he was very good with kids and had really positive lessons. What he did was private and separate from the Pee-Wee character. But Reubens had the last laugh when he presented the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards to uproarious applause and asked "heard any good jokes lately?".

Denis Leary, Ted Demme and Reubens at the Blow premiere in 2001

Reubens did slowly return in some supporting roles separate from Pee-Wee and many of them were scene-stealers: as Penguin's father in Batman Returns, as a vampire in the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer (one of the greatest vampire deaths ever), the voice of Lock in The Nightmare Before Christmas, as Spleen in the underrated Mystery Men, and as Derek Foreal in Ted Demme's Blow. As Derek, he was the comic relief in the crime biopic, but he also showed off his dramatic skills too. A few years prior to the 2001 release, I was an intern at Demme’s production company Spanky Pictures and the book it was based on was in development. I was blown away by Reubens' performance when I saw the movie.

In 2002 as Reubens' second act was in full swing, another arrest was made, this time it was child pornography charges. Reubens had a apparently purchased bulk collectible magazines of kitsch muscle magazines from the 1920s and some he didn't order were slipped in. I am not defending him, but I think there is an extreme difference between this type of thing and actual criminals like Kevin Spacey or R. Kelly. In 2004, the charges were dropped in exchange for a lesser obscenity charge.

Apatow and Reubens

In the years that followed, Reubens continued to have some small supporting roles including The Raconteurs' music video for "Steady as She Goes", as well as episodes of 30 Rock and Portlandia. Then something happened in the 2010s: Pee-Wee came back! First in some Funny or Die videos Pee-Wee Gets an iPad! and Pee-wee Goes to Sturgis. He, then, did a Pee-Wee live show in L.A. and then Broadway and one of the last ones became the live HBO special The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway. There was also the funny SNL sketch with Andy Samberg where they got drunk on the town together. Interest in Pee-Wee continued and in 2016, there was the Netflix special Pee-wee's Big Holiday, produced by Judd Apatow. I can't say that was bad, but the bar was quite high and it was hard to live up to the nostalgia.

Reubens himself was a comic genius. That's a term I rarely use, but it is fitting for him. He understood comedy and in the last week people who knew comedy have praised him. He had a lot to do with my early interest in comedy. His films, TV and wacky (almost drug-induced) style will be remembered. Between MTV News shutting down and the deaths of Andy Rourke of The Smiths, Sinead O'Connor and now Paul Reubens it is a bad year for nostalgic Gen-Xers like me. But fortunately Reubens' work will live on!

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remainseatedatalltimes · 1 year

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2022...The Cinematic Renaissance (almost)...

2022 was a year overflowing with expectation. After 2 years of release delays, border closures, lockdowns, cancellations and my most loathed term - “direct to streaming” - recreation was back. And with it, a more stable cinema release schedule. But with pent up demand comes expectation. So how did 2022’s movie releases hold up to the anticipation?

Myeh.

Okay Okay. So I might be being a little harsh here. But the reality is, whilst 2022 skewed more positively than past years with quite a few surprising gems – and only one downright travesty – for me, I ended the year feeling a little bereft of any real stand-out. Whilst I awarded 11 x 4-star reviews this year, not a single film surpassed this point to take a coveted 4.5, or rare 5-star perfect score. Still, there were a few that shone much brighter than others.

Starting with the bizarre, bold, and wildly entertaining alternative reality film – no, it’s most certainly not the ho-hum Doctor Strange sequel, nor the fan favourite Everything, Everywhere All At Once (which I also awarded 4-star) – but instead, the second film in the Nicolas Cage resurgence – The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent. Led by colourful performances from both Pedro Pascal and Cage, this hilarious film was captivating from go to woe – not to mention completely nuts. And in a year of ho-hum, hilarious and wacky is sometimes enough.

These ingredients – along with another stunning Mediterranean setting – were also fundamentals in my next favourite film of the year, the second instalment in the burgeoning Knives Out franchise – Glass Onion. It’s rare for a me to enjoy a movie where the characters are so loathsome, but Rian Johnson shrewdly crafted characters that both represented and challenged today’s self-aggrandising social media and start-up tech company culture. To the point where this movie served as not just a fiercely clever murder mystery, but as a brilliant social satire as well. Coupled with a genius script that didn’t leave a line of dialogue hanging, it’s no wonder this film series has fast cemented itself as one that you need to jump on board of if you haven’t already.

And speaking of film series, rounding out my top three films of the year was the long-awaited return to the Danger Zone – Top Gun: Maverick. Now, to confess, I went into this film with very low expectations compared to most. I had no affinity with the original film as I only watched it for the first time about 1 week before the sequels release (I know, I know…I’m sorry (I’m not really)). But that possibly makes this films presence in my top 3 even more surprising. Sure, there’s no doubt this film was an action packed and nostalgic return to one of cinemas most beloved stories, and the characters that inhabit it, but as someone who didn’t have those nostalgic ties to the original, I still found myself sentimentally drawn to this film. Why? Because in many ways it didn’t just embody the characters and charm of the original Top Gun, but it was a reflection of 80s and 90s cinema in general: a big, glorious, character driven blend of action, romance, comedy, suspense and drama we rarely see anymore. And it was wonderful to see once again – particularly as the flagship film of the post-Covid cinematic renaissance.

Some other highlights of 2022 included the blisteringly funny Bros with the incredible Billy Eichner, the near-perfect cinematic conversion of Tim Minchin’s beloved musical Matilda, the behind the scenes re-telling of the journalists who broke Harvey Weinstein’s criminal acts, She Said, and Steven Spielberg’s heartfelt tribute to his childhood and movie making, The Fabelmans.

Another favourite for me was the poignant Black Panther sequel – Wakanda Forever. This stirring and deeply personal depiction of strength and grief set amidst Marvel’s larger than life world of superheroes, helped bring the studio back from a string of misfires including the entertaining, but somehow hollow, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, and the frustratingly bland (and repetitive) Thor: Love and Thunder. All that being said, Marvel certainly seems to be a little creatively stalled right now, so here’s hoping the studio that’s dominated the last decade finds its way again in 2023.

The same can also be said for Pixar. This year’s original Pixar film, Lightyear, was for me, one of the worst films in the studio’s stellar history. And much like the Mouse House’s lazy Raya And The Last Dragon story crafting the year prior, this film fell short for me purely based on the fact that it caused a hole to appear in the near perfect Toy Story franchise. Why? It’s simple. If Lightyear really was the film that “launched” the Buzz Lightyear toy, then how have we never seen a SOX toy in the entire Toy Story universe to date? This may seem like a small detail – but for a studio that’s prided itself for so long on its precision and care, this error did not sit well with me, and ultimately took me out of the world the movie was trying to create.

But this error paled when compared to the biggest atrocity of the year. That dishonour firmly sits with the epically awful conclusion to the Jurassic saga – Jurassic World: Dominion. I had such high hopes that the return of the original characters would help save this dwindling franchise in its final outing, but I could not have been more wrong. Between a ridiculous plot, irritating characters, and illogical character choices, this film delivered something truly abysmal. A film that was both cringe-worthily bad, and tediously boring. In fact, if it wasn’t for my hope that the original characters might get the send off they deserved, I possibly would have left the film half way through. Because unlike the visually breathtaking Avatar sequel (with a plot that also left a lot to be desired), somehow not even the visuals for Dominion could save it. Is it just me, or did the special effects look better in the 1993 original than they did some 29 odd years later?

So that’s a wrap on 2022. A year that may not have reached the lofty highs that we’d hoped for post-pandemic, but for the most part delivered a string of strong films, many of which were entertaining to watch, but sadly in this content heavy world, will be mostly forgotten the minute the cinema door swings open again. Until next year…

#2022 #movie review #movies #best movies #movie list #best films #best of 2022 #Film Review #film #year in review #Movies of the Year

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gazellefamily · 1 year

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STEWARDESS SCHOOL (1986) “Shed a tear for the dumb horniness in the air during our youth. 70′s sessual liberation overlapping with 80s AIDS Crisis. No wonder we’re so weird. This movie is about airlines but features a motorcycle on the poster. It’s a warning for intellectuals to run. All-star cast of 80s hornballs: Ralph Malph of HAPPY DAYS, Betty from REVENGE OF THE NERDS, Gazelle Queen CorBohr, the sensuous Dralien, and good sport Wendy Jo Sperber (the butt of fat jokes in so many movies I'm embarrassed to immediately be able to list). Starts off with what seems like a 9/11 prophecy, and from there its just wacky coked-out facial expressions and innuendo. One of the all-time ‘scumbags crash a preppie party’ sequence. Climactic trial-by-fire is definitely hard to get through. Oh yeah Sherman Helmsley too.” -Sonny Gazelle

“Standard POLICE ACADEMY lite-horniness. I was unaware that Brett Cullen, most recently seen as Batman’s daddy in JOKER, had actually been around this early Possible this set his career back by a decade? He’s sort of a beta Matthew Modine in this, and there are many jokes about him wearing glasses. Pilots can’t wear glasses? News to me. Our mistress CorBohr achieves erotic escape velocity in new wave fashions and grouchiness and I have never wanted her more. This sort of was almost TOO high quality? Like lacked that outlaw thrill that say a Roger Corman production of similar vintage would? But it wasn’t a waste of my time. I will literally watch any 80s tittie comedy. I don’t care.” -Tommy Gazelle

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sinsin1016 · 2 years

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SinSin1016@Tumblr

SinSin1016@TikTok

#wacky packages #lol #80’s nostalgia #lmao #humor comedy #twisted humor #humor #funny #haha #laugh #retro humor

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discotreque · 3 years

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LwD 2.05: An Embarrassment of Dooplers

So I was a little nervous about this one! I hadn’t heard any spoiler-spoilers, but screeners have been out for weeks now, and I’d heard a bunch of individual, vague, non-spoilery hints about (1) big character moments, on the scale of a mid-season finale even though the show’s not taking a mid-season break; and (2) an ending that would make me cry.

I guess I imagined something relatively serious and dramatic, like “No Small Parts”? This show makes me cackle with laughter and giggle with nerdy glee and “d’awww!” at heartwarming friendships every week, but it’s only ever made me cry once—and then I was impressed that they were going to get there from the wacky hijinks we saw in the brief teaser.

The lack of a cold open made me apprehensive too—in my experience, that’s typically a sign that there’s so much plot in the rest of the episode that they need that extra scene—but after ~21.5 minutes of aforementioned hijinks, I was having so much fun that I’d completely forgotten about the alleged tear-jerker at the end…

…and they were not the tears I was expecting.

I didn’t think I’d be smiling and crying!!!! That was wholesome as SHIT!!!!!

I almost can’t believe they earned that—but they totally did.

After a Mariner–Tendi episode and a Boimler–Rutherford episode, we’re back to the “usual” Season 1 pairings… except the relationships between these characters have changed since Season 1. Mariner still feels thwacked in the abandonment issues by Boimler bailing for the Titan, and Rutherford’s having a tiny little existential crisis about losing an entire year of his life.

Both of which are extremely understandable and very heavy situations—and both of those situations get resolved because everyone in them is vulnerable with each other and honest about their feelings—AND that honesty and vulnerability brings both pairs of friends closer together. Are you kidding me?? I would watch SEVENTY seasons of that shit. Put it in my veins.

Onto the notes:

So basically Dooplers are Tribbles, but for cringe comedy instead of slapstick? Ohhhhh boy.

Look at Ransom the diplomat, tossing his own fork on the floor! I like that he’s actually a pretty competent Starfleet officer, despite also being a completely ridiculous person.

Wait a second, is that—OH HOLY SHIT, THE DOOPLERS ARE VOICED BY RICHARD KIND.

It makes sense that B. Boimler would find William annoying—who likes seeing their own flaws reflected back at them? And who could be a better reflection of one’s flaws than one’s literal duplicate?—but most interesting to me is that it implies on some level, Bradward knows the stick up his butt is a flaw. (Does William?)

Why does the Cerritos model have working phasers?!?!

I’m loving hot pink as the currently en-vogue colour for “dangerous sci-fi energy” in animation (cf. almost every previous episode of this show; Into the Spider-Verse; other stuff I can’t remember right now). As a former child of the 80’s, I’m living for it… but as a former teenager of the 90’s, I can’t help but wonder if it’s going to age as poorly as the harsh neon green of The Matrix, every Borg appearance on Voyager, and like 80% of the websites I made in high school…

SKANTS! SKANTS! SKANTS!

That fake-out joke with the fly-by over the Cerritos model was in the season trailer weeks ago, and I was so enthralled by that handsome lady that the sticker coming into frame still got me good 😂😂😂

BECKY Mariner????? omg yes

Some top-quality Boimler screams in this one. Poor Jack Quaid must drink gallons of throat-coat tea when he records.

One of the great things about Star Trek to me is that you never know what you’re going to get from any random episode. A murder mystery? A road trip? A spooky thriller? A cheesy romance? Broad comedy? Body horror? Didactic political screeds shrouded in tissue-thin science-fiction metaphors? Brain and brain, what is brain??? And after this many years of watching, you’d think I’d be hard to surprise. But if I ever told you I thought I’d see a Blues Brothers–style car chase through a frickin’ shopping mall on an episode of Star Trek, I would have been straight-up lying to you. I loved it, it worked for me, my jaw was on the floor and I was clapping with joy—but I’m definitely comfortable calling this one “unexpected.”

It’s CAPTAIN SHELBY!!! And an ancient babydyke crush rose from the depths of my childhood subconscious… (Also I think her Number One is based on the original makeup—eventually deemed too complicated—for Saru? Now that’s a deep cut.)

In 20th-century Trek, you almost never got to see what was going on inside a starship from the outside. Even after they switched from physical models (where it was next to impossible on a single episode’s budget) to CGI (which was still in its infancy, still not exactly cheap, and still broadcast in SD anyway), it was a rare thrill to see any meaningful interior details in an exterior shot. Disco’s modern VFX have given us some tasty, tasty treats in that department, but nothing quite as sublime as all the pink Doopler light glittering through the Cerritos’s windows.

Mariner says she’ll take her contact Malvus down with her, and threatens that they’ll end up “in the same cell.” Malvus is a Mizarian, a species introduced in TNG’s “Allegiance,” in which Captain Picard is held in a mysterious prison with one. I think I see what you did there, McMahan?

Bartender… so hot… lesbian circuits… overloading…

The Tendi and Rutherford C-story was, well, a C-story within a 22-minute episode, so there wasn’t much to it, but the one scene that mattered actually mattered a lot. I’m ambivalent on whether they should end up romantically involved—I’d prefer they don’t, but they’ll be one of the cutest couples in Trek history if they do—and as long as they keep that pure, sweet friendship between them at the heart of whatever else happens, I’m on board.

Carol Freeman was already one of my favourite captains before this season, and she’s been steadily moving up the list. The quiet throughline about her ambition to be on a better ship has been fascinating so far, and it’s starting to actually make me feel a little conflicted: I’m of course rooting for Captain Freeman to recognize her worth, make Starfleet recognize her worth, and become the ass-kicking captain of a hero ship that she’s clearly ready to be—but that almost surely means she’d be kicking ass off-screen, because LwD isn’t about those kind of adventures, and I’d be devastated not to have Dawnn Lewis on the show every week. So I’m kind of on the edge of my seat about this one!

I had so many favourite jokes this week I put them in a separate list:

“Even the replicated water on the Titan tasted better” is a low-key brilliant dunk on people who can’t shut the fuck up about the cooler places they used to live.

“Ooooh, they have a Quark’s now! That used to just be an empty lot where teens would make mistakes!” ← That’s literally me every time I go back to where I grew up. I felt so Seen™ I almost hid under a blanket.

“I would never go down the stairs!” (evil grin) (goes up the stairs)

The “well, shit” expressions from Mariner and Boimler as their crashed car sank right into the water… which started to bubble innocuously… and then the bottles of Data bubble-bath popped up, paying off a joke I thought had already been paid off—that was the one that woke up my poor cat this week. Just exquisite timing.

“YOUR PAGH IS WEAK, AND IT DISGUSTS ME!” “I don’t even know what that is, but I don’t like your tone!”

“Okona’s in there? He’s not even Starfleet! This is outrageous!” made me shout “NO!” at the screen like I was scolding my cat for scratching furniture. (She did not wake up that time.)

Best background joke: the neon sign at the dive bar advertising FREE SHOTS & BEERS. (Get it? Because they’re on a Federation starbase? Where nobody uses money?)

And of course Quark merchandised DS9.

This wasn’t just a standout episode of Lower Decks, this was a brilliant episode of Star Trek, period. The Dooplers, though extremely silly, are nevertheless also a clever sci-fi metaphor for real and relatable personal/interpersonal issues, and an effective plot catalyst for meaningful character growth from all four of our ensigns and the captain.

The jokes were hilarious, the action was kinetic, the A-, B-, and C-plots linked up thematically, the visuals were consistently and thoroughly gorgeous, the character beats—between Mariner and Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford, Mariner and Capt. Freeman—were all genuine, heartfelt and wholesome, and the references to other Trek canon were both deep and deeply affectionate.

Only 15 episodes in, and this series knows exactly what it is, exactly what it wants to do, and knows that it can knock our socks off doing it. Mike McMahan has said in recent interviews that the back half of S2 (and the apparently almost-fully-written S3) is a straight line uphill in quality from here—which surprised me at first, because McMahan seems like a pretty chill dude who doesn’t normally brag about his own work like that.

But then the Prophets sent me a vision of my space dad Ben Sisko, who reminded me of the words of 1930’s baseball player Dizzy Dean:

“If you can do it, it ain’t bragging.”

[Thanks to cygnus-x1.net for the screenshots this week—I was too lazy to do my own.]

#star trek #star trek lower decks #lower decks #lower decks spoilers #lwd spoilers #amy's episode notes

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elliotapricot · 3 years

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My Anime 9/10′s

With probably no spoilers cuz I don’t wanna talk too long about them zzz.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist

YALL ALREADY KNOW THIS A 9/10. The only real reason this show is not a 10/10 is because it’s just a story that I’d never rewatch. There’s like 70 episodes, which is way too long for my short attention span, especially since I’ve seen it already. But yeah, by all accounts, this story is a masterpiece and is one of the only “shounen” anime’s that I genuinely enjoyed. No random sexualization. No dumb filler. All the characters have an actual purpose and role in the plot and everyone has their own morals and ideals that interact to make the story interesting. I couldn’t bring myself to really hate anyone, even the villains, because everyone was pretty well written. Also super satisfying ending that ties up everything properly without leaving me confused or upset. If you only watch a few anime in your life, Fullmetal Alchemist is pretty much a MUST WATCH to see a beautiful example of a modern classic anime as an artform. Also I should say that I really don’t like Hunter x Hunter (AN EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL OPINION BTW) but I love Fullmetal Alchemist so take from that what you will.

2. Parasyte: The Maxim

Same kinda shit where you already know this a 9/10 for me. It’s just a very satisfying anime that doesn’t have random sexualization or random filler or anything like that. Ending is also very good and ties up the story in a way that doesn’t leave more questions but also allows the characters to have a “life” outside of the scope of the story. I think Parasyte, because of its more horror and psychological-esque vibes, counts as a seinen and not a shounen, so for more mature audiences. I also really liked how the story was successfully adapted to modern times since the manga is from the 80′s. I have actually rewatched this anime, but what stops me from giving it a 10/10 is a few things that I found kinda “stereotypical” that I don’t wanna discuss further too much cuz it’s spoilers. I still obviously really like this anime and highly recommend it.

3. Zankyou no Terror

TBH, this anime is pretty hard for me to properly describe in a lot of words as to why I like it. The art was really pretty as well as the music, which was just straight up amazing. The cinematography of this anime is excellent as well, and a lot of scenes have that sense of being acted out by real people, as opposed to feeling completely drawn/animated. I was a teenager when this anime came out and I think a lot of the themes presented in the show really related to me. The show does kinda have some leftover questions when it ends that prevents me from rating it a 10/10, but I have such a soft spot for this anime. It’s from the same creator as Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, and although those two animes are also very good, they did not impact me as much as this anime did. Recommended for people looking for idk something that gives off Inception vibes?? In the sense that it’s much more about its themes and its message more so than the believability of the events that occur.

4. Magic Kaito 1412

THIS IS JUST A PERSONAL PREFERENCE BTW LOLOL I DON’T KNOW ANYBODY WHO’D PUT THIS AS A 9/10 ANIME. I JUST REALLY LIKED IT OKAY. It’s made by the same person who does Detective Conan but I like this a lot more because it’s a much shorter series and slightly more mature (more for teens than just straight up kids). I really liked the main guy, I think he’s funny and charismatic. He’s a pervert at times but Imma forgive that cuz of the 90′s. Idk it’s just a really fun anime that I don’t have to take seriously and can just watch and enjoy.

5. Mob Psycho 100 (season 1 AND 2)

Imma put season two as slightly better than season one. So season one would be like a 9 and season two is like a 9.25 for me. Super super funny anime and I like it SO much more than One Punch Man. I liked that there was a good balance of serious moments, but you can definitely still count this anime as a comedy. I’m typically not the type to watch “comedy” but this anime genuinely had me laughing out loud, while also crying and freaking out right alongside the main character. The main guy is super great because he’s just this shy and sweet middle schooler, and it’s really interesting watching him balance trynna have a normal life while also using his powers for good and such. Apparently the anime was decently faithful to the manga and there’s apparently enough material for a third season so I’d be pretty stoked for a season 3, but season 2 ended on a pretty good spot and was satisfying. TBH, if I had the time, I’d probably rewatch both seasons and bump it up to a 10/10.

6. Vinland Saga

This anime is just the first season of what I hopes to be a whole series that will be stay beautifully and faithfully adapted from the manga. As someone who read very far into the manga (but quit like years ago simply because I hate slow updates lol), I actually didn’t enjoy watching the anime at first. I was impatient and kept waiting for when like the “major” events would happen. So I watched like three episodes and quit. But when I had some free time, I decided to get stuck in and commit to watching the whole series and I was so pleasantly surprised with just how good it was. I was impatient but I needed to realize that there is no “filler” or like “wasted time” in the entire anime. I hadn’t read the manga in years, so so many things were only vaguely familiar but I think this helped me stay surprised and excited throughout the anime. I’m looking forward to the rest of the manga being adapted because it’s just a good Viking saga lolol. Major themes of stuff like growing up, violence vs. peace, what it means to be a good person, etc. Lots of blood and LOTS of violence like a LOT they are VIKINGS CMON but tbh not really any gore which I liked cuz gore makes me ughhhh. A very good watch and only a taste of an excellent story.

7. Demon Slayer

It’s just Demon Slayer duhhh. Of course this a 9/10 for me. I don’t wanna write much just cuz the show is so popular. Just read a REAL review of this anime somewhere else lmaoooo. Also yes I did watch the movie in theaters and yes I liked it a lot as well mmkay. I’m mad hype for season two. My S/O doesn’t like Demon Slayer as much as me, but also has Hunter x Hunter as their all time favorite anime. Do with that information what you will lolol.

8. Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2

Same shit as Demon Slayer. Just go read someone else’s review about why it’s so good lol. Also, unlike Mob Psycho 100, I can’t include all of the seasons in this, because I have very various opinions about how good/bad the other seasons were. But this season 3 part 2, was just plain and simply amazing. While I might not like each season equally, as a whole Attack on Titan is also a modern masterpiece of storytelling. Read the manga if you can.

9. Great Pretender

I love this anime so much. Such a good and fun wild ride. The whole show is ridiculous but in a fun way. I’m a HUGE fan of heist films, so of course I absolutely enjoyed a heist anime. I’ve watched this show in sub AND dub, due to the fact that everyone is “technically” speaking English the entire time. If you’re a purist, just watch in sub OR dub cuz I did get confused here and there, especially when I would go back to compare language discrepancies. Because basically I did this super high maintenance thing where I switched back to Japanese whenever the main character had flashbacks, since he’s ya know, Japanese. The dub also has this confusing thing where the first five minutes or so are still in Japanese, but switches to English when a little cue card on the screen goes “For the Viewers sake, everything from now on will be translated to Japanese.” It’s cuz in the sub, the inverse obviously happens where the characters are initially speaking broken English to each other, but for convenience sake, everything from that point on will be in Japanese. It’s confusing at first but I liked it cuz it just proved the whole international vibe of the show. It’s funny either sub or dub when they joke about how bad the main guy speaks English, cuz in the dub he’s speaking perfect English, while the sub has him not speaking English at all. But anyway, great anime that WOULD have gotten a 10/10 if not for the last episode. Like without spoiling ... WTF WAS THAT LMAOOOO. The anime as a whole is super wacky and zany but at least I could try to think it’s real life, but that last episode was just so unbelievable and bizarre and pulled my suspension of disbelief into the STRATOSPHERE that I just had to convince myself that this show takes place in some improbable alternate reality where something like what happened in the last episode is at least 5 percent possible CUZ HOW DID ANY OF THAT WORK LMAOOO??? Once again, great show, one of my absolute favorites, BUT THAT ENDING THOUGH WTF.

10. BNA

Good super underrated anime that I don’t hear people talk about at all. If Beastars is anime Zootopia, then BNA is Disney Beastars lmaooo does that make sense? It’s a lot more fun and zany than Beastars and I liked it way more. Made by the same people who made Kill la Kill. I really like that more classic, animated “cheap” art style that the anime has, and I also really liked the plot of the story. Not a 10/10 cuz the show does leave a few unanswered questions at the end of it, but this show was such a fun and interesting ride. When I finished the last episode, I was left with a big smile on my face because I just genuinely enjoyed this anime. Recommended if you wanna watch something a little unique and more on the silly and wack side. Talks about some serious stuff, but luckily the show never takes itself TOO seriously, and remains overall lighthearted for a fun action/sci-fi show.

#bna #attack on titan #parasyte #anime review #myanimelist #great pretender #demon slayer #vinland saga #mob psycho 100 #anime #fullmetal alchemist #terror in resonance #magic kaito

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rpgsandbox · 3 years

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Part homage, all farce, the AWFULLY CHEERFUL ENGINE! is an irreverent, affectionate parody of pop-culture tropes and a love-letter to 80s roleplaying games in a new, modern comic-book sized format! It’s a wacky roleplaying game of action comedy!

Hardcover collector's omnibus, softcover rules and adventures, blank ID cards, monster cards, hero role cards, VTT tokens

Are you a fan of the Ghostbusters RPG from the 1980s? Danger Mouse or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Bill & Ted or Rick & Morty? Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, Dracula, or sci-fi adventures on the final frontier? Do you enjoy chortling at TV tropes or chuckling at pop-culture parodies? Then the Awfully Cheerful Engine! is here for you!

ACE! is brought to you by Russ 'Morrus' Morrissey (EN World, WOIN, Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD), Dave Chapman (Doctor Who, Star Trek Adventures), and Marc Langworthy (Hellboy, Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD). With a foreword by Sandy Petersen, co-author of the Ghostbusters RPG!

ACE! is designed for everybody! From talking animals to pulp heroes to eldritch horrors, kids and adults alike will find adventures to love with the Awfully Cheerful Engine!

This tabletop roleplaying game, which we’re calling ACE! with an exclamation point, is one of fast, cinematic, action comedy. To play you need a handful of six-sided dice, a pen, and some paper. Each player plays one Hero, except for one player who takes the role of the Director.

Think of ACE! as an irreverent, fun-packed movie. You might play as ghost hunters in New York City, a band of plucky galactic guardians, vampire slayers, or soldiers of fortune in the Los Angeles underground. Heck, you might even be cartoon animals. Good grief!

This is a multi-dimensional, time-hopping, genre-mashing, pan-galactic portal into any type of adventure you can imagine! Want to play in a fantasy world full of elves and orcs? Crew a starship as it explores the galaxy? Hunt vampires in Victorian London? Play as animal detectives, robot cowboys, wizards, ninjas, or time traveling bounty hunters?

The only limit is your imagination, and the requirement that you have fun.

This Kickstarter is for the full five-book set.

What? Five books, you say? Fear not -- they're pretty small books! They include the core rules, and four hilarious genre-hopping adventures. Each book is about 30 pages long. Except for one which is longer, but we wrote 'BUMPER SIZE ISSUE' on the front of that, so it's OK. If you’ve ever held a comic-book in your hand, the Awfully Cheerful Engine! will feel very familiar!

The core rulebook is just 30 pages in a bright, colorful comic-book sized format. We even gave it an issue number, like a comic-book! After that, each 'issue' is a standalone adventure, designed for one-shots or short campaigns with new characters each time. One week you might be fighting ghosts on the streets of Manhattan, and the next you might be exploring the frontiers of space in your trusty starship!

You don't have to play them all, or in order. The standalone format means you can fit them in whenever and however you feel like it. GM can't make your regular game? Go bust some ghosts instead! Pickup game at a convention? Investigate the strange goings-on in a small American town in the 1980s. Running a livestream? Board a starship and fight the Kulkan Empire! Play one of them, some of them, or all of them! It's up to you!

Are they comics? Or are they RPGs? (They're RPGs)

ACE #1: Introducing the Awfully Cheerful Engine! With a foreword by Ghostbusters RPG author Sandy Petersen, this book tells you the rules, how to create your Heroes, and gives you a bunch of Extras (NPCs & monsters) to use. By Russ Morrissey.

ACE #2: Spirits of Manhattan. Strap on your Anti-Plasm Particle Thrower, grab your Electromagnetic Field Detector, and jump into your Ghostmobile. New York City needs your help! By Dave Chapman and Russ Morrissey.

ACE #3: Montana Drones & The Raiders of the Cutty Sark. At the request of Army Intelligence, Montana Drones and her team travel the globe in search of lost or hidden artefacts, often exploring dangerous sites and racing against hostile enemy agents to keep the objects of their quests from falling into the wrong hands. Striking locations, exciting chases, dangerous enemies and monotonous classroom lectures await! By Marc Langworthy.

ACE #4: Strange Science. Welcome to Wilden Falls, your average American town in the heart of the country. Surrounded by trees, nature, and there’s a wonderful waterfall that brings the tourists. It’s a quaint little town. Until weird things start happening at the local research facility, people go missing, and there’s a sudden influx of fitness nuts in the town. That’s before we get to the time travel, bodysnatching, and portals to other dimensions. Maybe ‘strange’ isn’t strong enough a word for it! By Dave Chapman.

ACE #5: Beam Me Up! These are the voyages of the starship FSS Brazen. Its continuing mission: to recklessly go where plenty of people have probably been before… and hope a major interstellar incident isn’t sparked in the process. In this highly illogical adventure for the ACE! roleplaying game, you’ll explore frontiers you never thought you had. By Marc Langworthy.

We give you four adventures to start with, and we have plans for more, but there's also a free compatibility license so anybody can write and publish material powered by the Awfully Cheerful Engine!

Hardy Hobbit. Teenage Samurai. Cheerful Stuntman. Clumsy Vampire. Squeamish Ghost. Who knew you could say so much in just two words? The possibilities are endless.

It’s not just Awfully Cheerful! It’s fast and fun, too!

You won’t get bogged down in endless rules and character sheets that look like tax forms. Your ACE! ID Card contains everything you need to know, and it’s only about the size of a credit card! But don’t try to spend it. It’s not a real credit card. Honestly, we tried, and it didn't end well.

You can download blank ID cards from our website. Don’t worry, there’s a printer-friendly black-and-white version too!

Making your Hero takes about five minutes. And that includes a coffee break.

You can choose from an array of talking animals, alien and fantasy species, and occupations from a bunch of genres. Play a cat, a crow, or a turtle. An alien, an elf, a robot, or a vampire. A knight, a pirate, or a wizard. An astronaut, a burglar, a reporter, or a spy. The core book has dozens of Roles to get you started with, and each adventure book introduces more!

Even better, you can already use our online character builder and make a character in about 30 seconds! It's so quick! Give it a try! And if you felt like sharing your Hero on Twitter with the hashtag #awfullycheerful and a link to this page, well, we'd be most awfully grateful!

Build your Hero online!

Alternatively, each adventure comes with its own selection of pre-generated characters. If you don't want to make your own characters, you can simply use those - perfect for one-shots or new players!

Download the pre-gens for all four adventures from the official website!

In A.C.E! each Hero (that's you!) has a Role. Your Role gives you a special ability only you can use. Here's a quick look at some of the Roles you can play!

Talking animals like Ape, Cat, Crow, Dog, Kangaroo, and Turtle.

Species like Alien, Dwarf, Elf, Ghost, Goblin, Golem, Hobbit, Monster, Ogre, Robot, Vampire, and Werewolf.

Fantasy roles like Alchemist, Assassin, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Knight, Ninja, Outlaw, Pirate, Ranger, Samurai, Slayer, and Wizard.

Occupations like Actor, Archeologist, Astronaut, Athlete, Bounty Hunter, Boxer, Burglar, Chef, Con Artist, Cowboy, Detective, Doctor, Engineer, Gambler, Gangster, Hacker, Hermit, Inventor, Musician, Pilot, Priest, Professor, Reporter, Scientist, Smuggler, Soldier, Spy, Student, and Stuntman.

Even a couple of superheroes like Speedster and Vigilante!

Yep, you can play a Ghost. You don’t take damage unless its from a holy source or some special sci-fi ecto-gadget. But you also can’t pick things up. So there’s that.

Each of the adventures adds some more Roles (or recommends some old ones)!

Spirits of Manhattan adds Ghost, Demonologist, Doctor, Engineer, Exorcist, Inventor, Priest, Professor, Scientist, and Student.

Raiders of the Cutty Sark adds Botanist, Double-Agent, Socialite, and Witch.

Strange Science adds Brain, Cheerleader, Outsider, Protector, Radio Presenter, and Tycoon.

Beam Me Up adds Captain, Chief Engineer, Comms, Hologram, Gunner, Counsellor, and Pilot.

ACE! is a pretty fast, light game. If you played 1986's Ghostbusters RPG, you'll see the influence immediately.

Stats! The AWFULLY CHEERFUL ENGINE! is a d6 dice pool system*. You have four Stats -- Smarts, Moves, Style, and Brawn. If you have a Moves score of 3, you roll three six-sided dice when you try to jump a motorcycle over a ravine. If you roll high enough, you succeed. It's pretty simple!

Focuses! For each Stat you also have a Focus. For Smarts it might be a science, or chess, or history. For Style it might be bluffing, singing, or fashion, and for Brawn it might be brawling or swimming. You can choose from plenty of focuses. Foci. Focuses. Whatever. Anyway, if the thing you're trying to do relates to a Focus, you get to roll an extra two dice.

Trait! You choose a trait, like Angry or Cheerful or Rebellious or Despondent. This, combined with your Role, makes you a Gullible Vampire, a Brave Turtle, or a Squeamish Scientist.

Karma! Finally, you have a bunch of Karma points. These can be spent for extra dice or to absorb damage from attacks, and they're recovered by using your trait.

*Fun fact -- did you know that 1986's Ghostbusters RPG, by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis and Greg Stafford, was the first ever dice pool RPG? Also Sandy Petersen has written an awesome foreword for the AWFULLY CHEERFUL ENGINE!

What, I hear you ask, is a CALAMITY DIE?

The Calamity Die is how you find out that your friends really aren't your friends. You see, when you make a roll, one of those dice is a different color, and is called the Calamity Die. And if your roll fails, and also the Calamity Die rolls a 1, your so-called 'friends' decide what happens to you. It won't kill you or anything, but...

Well, we'll leave that thought with you.

Nooooo! And it was all going so well!

Kickstarter campaign ends: Fri, June 18 2021 10:00 PM BST

Website: [Awfully Cheerful Engine] [EN Publishing] [facebook] [twitter]

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