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monicalorandavis · 4 years

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I saw ‘Knives Out’ a week ago and I’m still reeling

I saw ‘Knives Out’ a week ago and I’m still reeling. This movie is fun and I simply won’t talk to anyone who disagrees! I don’t want to argue about its merits. It’s good.

Your issue is, I presume, an issue with what the film says about the upper class. Go on, sympathize for the horrible, rich family that represents all that is ugly with America. Feel bad for the racist gargoyles who are equal parts human and checking account. These people are snobs. They are snob dumpster fires and if you didn’t have fun roasting them then you and I are on different sides of the war.

What war you ask? I guess I’ll call it the culture war (though that’s not really it). I’m talking about the current (unannounced) civil war between those who think Trump is getting unfairly maligned and us, the ones who are looking back on this shameful era ten years down the line, explaining to our kids what the fuck happened in 2019. This is bad. Art should make fun of us. Our obsession with fame and fortune has gotten us into global laughing stock territory. So let’s allow for art to poke fun as the bullshit of America. Art should be a reflection of our ugly parts. We all must look in the mirror when we try on a bathing suit. This is that. I choose not to place blame on the world for my muffin top. It’s funny. I’m gonna still have fun with this muffin, and this film, even if it doesn’t make me feel amazing. Laughing at yourself exorcises the demons. We still need art to encourage our spiritual progress. Don’t be such a stick in the mud.

So, now that I’ve sorted that out, the film...

It’s good.

Now let’s focus on the acting which is, arguably, always my favorite part of any movie.

Didn’t we all revel in the Yosemite Sam impression Daniel Craig was doing with New Orleans private investigator, Benoit Blanc? Wasn’t Lakeith Stanfield playing the slightly oblivious police detective while his partner fangirled over Christopher Plummer a treat?

It was.

In a society so obsessed with celebrity, it was especially delightful to watch the investigators reckon with people who simply did not believe they had to play by the rules. They don’t have to partake in police questioning. They have people for that!

Only, they do have to partake in police questioning and their lack of experience in dealing with authority figures, like the police, made them particularly horrible witnesses. They quite enjoyed a wonderfully anonymous type of wealth, free from press and the quotidian boredom of bosses, day jobs, rules...you get it. The Thrombey’s do not handle inconvenience very well.

As a result, we delight in their misfortune. This move dripped with Agatha Christie meets Succession realness. Plus subtle notes of Rupaul’s Drag Race camp.

Yes, I admit, Benoit Blanc is no Hercule Poirot. All these mystery purists coming for ‘Knives Out’ best fall back with those comparisons because it’s simply unfair. Christie’s number one Belgian is too good for mere mortals to emulate. And Daniel Craig tried very, very hard to give you an iconic detective character. Was it goofy and weird? Yes. Let’s all agree to move on.

And the moving on is a larger lesson here. Because only when you surrender to this film does it reveal all its gifts to you. Once you stop comparing it to all the other stories you hold so dear does it grow into its own animal. It’s a mystery for the age in which we find ourselves. I will not slander the p.c. police because, hell, I’m sort of one of them. Social justice warrior is not an insult that rustles my feathers. Interestingly, this film joins the SJW’s alongside the Stephen Miller’s of the world. White privilege is white privilege. And, unfortunately, the Thrombey’s, both young and old, liberal and conservative, are victims of their privilege. So blind to the plight of others, they can not help but make themselves the heroes of their own story. And people don’t like the thought that they, like the film’s youngest SJW of the family, Katherine Langford, could be part of the problem. And yet, she is. She so is.

Langford delivers a knockout performance of Taylor Swift-level white feminism that is so 2019 and clueless that I imagine many people even missed the joke.

Along those same lines, Chris Evans is the playboy, black sheep of the family who seems misunderstood and sexy but, spoiler alert, is just conniving and sexy.

Both performances were stellar and so deeply entrenched in modern white identity politics that if you’re not paying attention you might assume that their characters are just your standard rich villains. Nay. These are the “good white people” who are behaving badly. These are the white people who donate to charities and hire undocumented workers like Ana de Armas’ character, Marta. They are people who listen to rap music and love ‘Insecure’ and took an African-American studies class in college. And yet, they demand attention and emotional labor from the (employed) people around them. They distort proximity with closeness and try to lure Marta into their world. But she always knows better. For whatever reason, she can not trust these people, even before Harlan’s death.

Rian Johnson directs with a certain je ne sais quoi. Call it a ‘BDE’ that I would not expect from such a dweeby looking dweeb. Yes, ‘Knives Out’ has a fun enough story. But it really shows the fuck out is with its performances. Holy moly. No small roles, only small actors, as the saying goes. Yet in the case of ‘Knives Out’ you will find neither. Everybody is a god damn star. You should know that I stan Chris Evans but, as it turns out, this film begs you to worship its entire cast. So I did.

‘Knives Out’ is a star-making performance for Ana de Armas. If you hadn’t heard, de Armas garnered a Golden Globe nod and it is well-deserved. Armas’ Marta is a nuanced, funny, sensitive, conspirator in a plot that could’ve isolated the audience but instead put us smack dab in the middle of a moral quagmire.

Only the best actors can pull this off. Lesser actors have us turn against them while they flounder. Marta’s role in the family drama is as an outsider. In spite of their insistence that she is one of them, she keeps her distance, only clinging to Harlan. She fell for Chris Evans’ charms briefly, and I applaud Rian Johnson for avoiding a romance between the two (we didn’t need it) and focusing instead on the emotional betrayal. Marta was a woman with her head screwed on straight. In spite of her, possible, nursing fumbles she was the only kind person Harlan had in his life. She would never risk her loyalty to him by engaging in some foolishness with Chris Evans’ hunky ass.

And I repeat, I don’t care about your thoughts regarding inheritance. It is silly to contest that Marta deserved nothing less than the full sum of the fortune (*spoiler*). She deserved everything. She deserved an existence in this country free from citizenship anxiety. She deserved a partner who loved her. She deserved a friend who didn’t kill himself to save her ass. Least of all, she deserved Chris Evans’ character to be better. But, he was a product of his shitty family. How could he be better?

Three names: Jamie. Lee. Curtis. I need her in at least seven to twelve projects in the coming year. She is a stand out among stand outs. She serves up the quintessential performance of a cold-hearted bitch that is so likeable that I will patiently await the spin-off. I need to know where her Linda Drysdale is now. If anyone in the family was able to land on their feet it was Linda. We all know it.

Linda was the only Thrombey child who had the guts to make it without a handout. Her loser husband, played by the ever-handsomer Don Johnson, was practically useless. Her loser brother, played by the unusually diminutive Michael Shannon, was the same. Her sister in law, played by the illustrious Toni Collette, had her head so far up her own ass that even Gwyneth Paltrow would blush.

Poor Linda. She was surrounded by idiots. I hope she’s doing ok.

And now, we’re at the end. I’ve tried my best to avoid any horrible spoilers. But I’ve also taken a deep dive into SJW’s so I might’ve gotten off track along the way...

In any event, this movie is good. And I can’t wait to see it again.

#knives out #christopher plummer #ana de armas #jamie lee curtis #don johnson #rian johnson #lakeith stanfield #mystery #agatha christie #hercule poirot #daniel craig

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xivu-arath · 6 years

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do clariel and shiro and knockout!

clariel

How I feel about this character: problematic fave!! as much as I hate the use of problematic in most cases here it’s literally true, she’s v much a... sasuke-like character, and that’s really refreshing for a female protagonist in a ya series? you see how her focus and stubbornness and grief collide with what’s happening to make things absolutely awful and it’s so sad but so... idk, inevitable? I’m regularly upset about her and her fate tbh

All the people I ship romantically with this character: she’s canon aro ace and I love it

My non-romantic OTP for this character: it says a lot that there’s not really... much to go on from her book. I wouldn’t even call her and belatiel a platonic otp bc he had a doleful puppy crush the entire time?? so her and trish, her and mike and... idk maybe her and tigerclan eventually???

My unpopular opinion about this character: she’s not boring or flat!! her story takes a lot of predictable, often used beats in ya fantasy and plays them out in a really tragic way and honestly if you don’t see the appeal of “forest hermit who gets angry and suplexes demons” you can’t talk to me

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: a happy ending garth nix p l s

shiro

How I feel about this character: shiro was one of Those Characters where even with not engaging in the series yet, and just seeing fanart or people talking... I could tell I would like him? and god I was r i g h t, like he’s so good and tries so hard and is!! such a mess!! and idk he has so much compassion and a need to do the right thing despite how his own issues can interfere with that and man do I really connect with that??

All the people I ship romantically with this character: listen you couldn’t pay me to have an opinion on voltron shipping, I like to not be doxxed

My non-romantic OTP for this character: shiro and the rest of voltron!! shiro and matt!

My unpopular opinion about this character: either post-s2 shiro is not a clone or if he is he is not evil or malicious and shows the same personality as before except with more fresh trauma reactions!! wanting kuron to die bc he’s not the original shiro is Not Great okay

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I know the new episodes might give more clarification on what’s going on but I need a n s w e r s about the s2 finale

knock out

How I feel about this character: knock out is such a fun character like... from the start all the tfp decepticons stand out and he is such an atypical addition? he dabbles in human culture because it’s interesting, he enjoys himself and has hobbies beyond his orders, he has someone he unequivocally cares about and considers his equal... he’s always witty, and fun, and often competent and sometimes downright menacing and that’s the Goal in a regular villain

All the people I ship romantically with this character: knock out/breakdown

My non-romantic OTP for this character: it’s not an otp bc they’re not particularly good for each other imo but knock out and starscream def have a fun dynamic... on denny, knock out and izzie gave me so much life

My unpopular opinion about this character: wow I genuinely don’t have one here, I think the fandom is... relatively unpolarized about knock out

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: ngl I wish we had more info on all the decepticons and what they did before the war, bc we mainly know about... well, megatron and soundwave I think? I’d love to hear about knock out’s reasons for joining up and when it happened

#thanks!!!#character asks #not the ghost denny #jougletmann

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iameveryonesmom · 7 years

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Canelo Alvarez’s 5 Most Important Fights Ahead of GGG Clash

New Post has been published on http://bestboxingshoes.net/canelo-alvarezs-5-most-important-fights-ahead-of-ggg-clash/

Canelo Alvarez’s 5 Most Important Fights Ahead of GGG Clash

Photo Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

In just a few days’ time a true super fight will be upon us and for disciples of the sweet science across the globe, September 16 can’t come fast enough.

While the Middleweight combatants train for the most anticipated fight of the year, boxing fans and scribes alike have been dissecting and analyzing the matchup from every conceivable angle like it was a geometry problem.

Undefeated 160 pound Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) has been the division’s Boogieman since winning the interim WBA Middleweight championship via knockout in 58 seconds over Milton Nunez in 2010. Nunez was victim number six in what would be a streak of 23 consecutive stoppage victories for GGG.

In the meantime, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) was cutting a swath through the Welterweight and Super Welterweight divisions, winning belts and gaining legions of fans in the process.

Canelo dipped his toe into the Middleweight pool in 2015 against the oft avoided, slick Cuban boxer Erislandy Lara. The non-title affair was contracted as Super Welterweight, however the fighters came in a pound over the limit.

After nearly decapitating the durable James Kirkland in three rounds, Alvarez outpointed veteran Miguel Cotto for the WBC Middleweight strap.

Interestingly enough, when pressure mounted for Canelo and GGG to meet in a unification match, Alvarez elected to vacate his championship instead.

There was much speculation as to the reasons behind this decision. Some believe it was boxing politics, others feel that Team Alvarez was intimidated by the Middleweight destroyer.

Still others surmised that the decision was made at the insistence of Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya to increase the already huge demand for the two adversaries to clash in the biggest fight in their respective careers.

Alvarez began his professional pugilistic education at 15 years old and has since engaged in 51 fights. Let’s slip between the ropes and take a look at the young warrior’s five most important fights leading up to the September 16 melee for the universally recognized world Middleweight championship.

5. Austin Trout – 4/20/2013

AP Photo

Coming into this fight, Austin “No Doubt” Trout was undefeated in 26 fights and coming off his career best win, which was his fourth successful defense of the WBA Light Middleweight title, via unanimous 12-round decision over Miguel Cotto.

Canelo Alvarez stepped into the ring for the sixth defense of the WBC Super Welterweight strap that he won against Matthew Hatton in March of 2011.

So competitive was the matchup that Alvarez had a rematch clause in his contract, while Trout did not. In a razor-close match, Canelo caught the slick Trout and left no doubt about his punching power, dropping him in the seventh round for the first time in his career.

Ultimately it goes down in history as a clear unanimous-decision victory, but the scores do not tell how close the fight was in actuality. In fact, two veteran boxing scribes had it 114-113 (Dan Rafael) and 114-114 (Al Bernstein).

The bout with Trout certainly was a building block in the already growing foundation of the young Alvarez.

4. Shane Mosley – 5/5/2012

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

“Sugar” Shane Mosley had certainly passed his best days when he ducked through the ropes to face Canelo Alvarez, who was 19 years his junior.

The fight took place in front of an excellent crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto.

Mosley in fact was coming off a 12-round thrashing at the hands of an all-time great Welterweight named Manny Pacquiao.

While being 40 years of age, Mosley was still only four fights removed from a turn-back-the-clock, scintillating knockout of the now infamous, hard punching* villain Antonio Margarito.

Mosley, who is also a future Hall of Fame inductee, had almost as many knockouts as Alvarez had total bouts when the bell sounded for the opening round.

Sugar Shane moved well in the opening stanza and played it fairly safe behind his jab. Alvarez on the other hand started slow and stalked the former champion for most of the round.

Calling on his experience, Mosley continued boxing wisely against his young rival in the second round. In the final minute Alvarez started finding his rhythm, catching Sugar with several hooks just prior to the bell.

An accidental clash of heads opened a deep cut on Canelo’s left eyelid in Round 3 and Mosley likely did enough to capture Round 4 on the judges’ cards.

From this point forward, Canelo doggedly pursued Mosley, consistently banking rounds with crisp hooks and solid right hands.

The result was never in question and Alvarez was announced the winner by a wide unanimous decision, garnering the young phenom his first Hall of Fame scalp.

*Margarito was discovered to have a plaster-like substance in his gloves just prior to entering the ring against Mosley. It is generally believed that he had been doing so for quite some time, including his brutal stoppage against Miguel Cotto.

3. Erislandy Lara – 7/12/2014

Hogan Photos

Following a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and target practice against popular and rugged, but limited Alfredo Angulo, Canelo Alvarez elected to take on the often avoided Cuban slickster, Erislandy Lara.

Lara was in fact coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Austin “No Doubt” Trout, who gave Canelo a stern test in their bout just over a year prior.

At this point, Lara’s sole defeat had come at the hands of Paul Williams via a disputed 12-round majority decision. HBO’s unofficial judge Harold Letterman scored the bout 117-111 in favor of Lara.

This was not just a Mexican vs. Cuban fight, but also the quintessential boxer vs. puncher matchup.

The Cuban southpaw stand out used slick footwork, sharp angles and counterpunching to sweep the first few rounds as Alvarez continued to invest his energy to Lara’s body in an effort to slow him down.

In the middle rounds it was a very close fight and Canelo launched an uppercut that found its mark, cutting Lara over his right eye.

At the end of 12 rounds it was in the hands of the judges who scored it a split decision in favor of Canelo.

Fans and pundits alike were also split in their reaction to the decision. It was most certainly a case of to what an individual gives the heavier weight, superb boxing and countering or effective aggression.

“I wanted to take the Lara fight because you guys said that I wouldn’t, and because he talked too much about me,” said Canelo. “He said he’d take me to school, well guess what? I don’t think anybody wants to go to that school.”

Fights such as this push the pugilist out of his comfort zone and forces him to grow and learn. It is safe to say that Alvarez walked out of the ring that night with a higher ring IQ than when he entered and is a better rounded fighter for his effort.

2. Miguel Cotto – 11/21/15

Canelo Alvarez’s clash with Miguel Cotto just 18 months ago is key in terms of his mega-fight with Middleweight destroyer Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Canelo vs. Cotto marked the Mexican’s very first bout in the Middleweight division which was contested for Cotto’s WBC and lineal titles at 160 pounds.

Cotto is not a Middleweight by nature, but stepped up in 2014 to shock the champion, slick boxing Sergio Martinez, dropping him three times in the opening round and annexing the title from the proud, but injured Argentine in 10 rounds.

In the fight just prior to Canelo, Cotto came in at 153.5 to defend his newly minted WBC strap against long-time Middleweight Daniel Geale who he blew away in four rounds.

The classic rivalry of Mexico vs. Puerto Rico drew a sold out crowd of over 11,000 raucous fans to The Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Events Center in Las Vegas to view the title fight.

Alvarez was again facing a future Hall of Famer who also possesses a massive following of loyal devotees.

The 35-year-old Cotto has had his share of wars, but he wisely elected to box against his much younger, and naturally larger adversary.

Alvarez, 10 years his rival’s junior, characteristically pursued the Puerto Rican icon for 12 rounds and sought a knockout that would never come.

Cotto has gained championships in four weight classes during his storied career and garnered valuable experience that can only be attained through attrition. He used every ounce of this experience and showed Canelo different looks and veteran moves that kept him competitive to the final bell.

In the end, Canelo once again showed effective aggression and an excellent work ethic that resulted not only in a unanimous-decision victory, but the WBC Middleweight world championship.

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. 9-14-2013

Photo by Showtime

It has been said that one learns more from a loss than all of their wins. While that statement would be impossible to quantify, it surely wouldn’t have the same weight in every situation.

In Canelo Alvarez’s fight with defensive master Floyd Mayweather however, Canelo certainly went to school. With Mayweather guaranteed $41.5 million and Alvarez projected to receive a career high $12 million, perhaps both walked out with a minor degree in finance as well.

Anticipation for this unification fight was at a fevered pitch. Both fighters were undefeated with high fan profiles and polarizing personalities.

The education that WBC Super Welterweight champion Alvarez would gain courtesy of WBA Super Welterweight kingpin Floyd Mayweather Jr. would start long before they touched gloves prior to the opening bell.

When the fight was announced it sold out in 24 hours and kicked off a massive promotional tour that saw the competitors travel to an exhausting 11 cities over two countries in front of oceans of adoring and often rabid fans.

The evening saw a live crowd of over 16,000 generate a record gate in excess of $20 million dollars which was the largest in Nevada boxing history and set another record with 2.48 million PPV buys. The fight was also shown on Televisa, and also reached 22.1 million viewers in Alvarez’s native Mexico, the highest-rated television event in the nation’s history.

To say that Alvarez received an education prior to the opening bell would be an understatement and this would be the night Floyd “Money” Mayweather would tutor Canelo to his Masters.

Alvarez began with an intelligent strategy, try digging to the body in an attempt to slow Mayweather down. Mayweather had other plans however, and countered well with his patented shoulder roll followed by straight right hand and other crisp shots in return.

Canelo continued to press the attack, but the only punch that appeared to land flush was a low blow in the fourth round.

As the fight progressed Mayweather completely took charge and Canelo’s spirit and confidence was ebbing away, though he continued coming forward.

In the later rounds the proud, young Mexican star showed the effects of Mayweather’s slashing counter punching on his face while Money remained unmarked.

At the final bell it was announced that Mayweather was the winner by a majority decision. It was mysterious, that is until it is considered that infamously incompetent judge C.J. Ross cast the score of 114-114 while the other two judges saw it a much more realistic 116-111 and 120-108.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is more than a young veteran of 51 professional fights. He is a student of the game penning his thesis in blood on September 16 and a victory over GGG will see him universally recognized as valedictorian of the Middleweight division.

Fight fans around the world are anxiously waiting for the school bell to ring.

Header photo by Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

The post Canelo Alvarez’s 5 Most Important Fights Ahead of GGG Clash appeared first on Round By Round Boxing.

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mikepepi · 7 years