#also i think starring as your iconic character in a parody is a bit of a power move. ngl. go linda blair | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gunterfan1992 · 3 years

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Episode Review: ‘Wizard City’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 4)

Airdate: September 2, 2021

Story by: Adam Muto, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, & Charley Feldman

Storyboarded by: Maya Petersen, Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, & Aleks Sennwald, & Haewon Lee

Directed by: Miki Brewster & Jeff Liu (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

An episode focusing on Peppermint Butler’s dark side is something that the fandom has craved ever since the little guy demanded Finn and Jake’s flesh in season two’s “Death in Bloom.” While installments like season five’s “The Suitor” and season six’s “Nemesis” did much to scratch that itch, the story of the Dark One remained mostly unknown…

And after “Wizard City,” it still remains largely unknown. But that’s OK, because instead of focusing on the character’s history, this special focuses on Peps’ quest to relearn magic at a magic school. Put most simply, this special is largely a fun excuse for the show to riff on Harry Potter and The Owl House-style “magic school hijinks,” and it mostly all works.

The special follows Peps quest to go to WizArts (a definite play on CalArts, the school that Pen Ward and Adam Muto, among many others, went to) so that he can relearn magic and once again become one of the greatest dark wizards of his time. Initially, Peps tries to make friends with cool kid Spader and his posse, but once they learn that Peps is not as talented at magic as they had initially thought, they kick him to the curb. It is at this point that Cadebra, Abracadaniel’s adorkable niece who is fascinated with stage magic, enters the picture. Cadebra tries everything in her power to befriend Peps, but Peps pushes back, since she’s not “cool.” It does not matter, though, because both Peps and Cadebra are sorted into the same “house”—the “Skink House—and are forced to work together.

While Peps and his cohort begin learning more and more complex magic, a secret cult of school professors, led by the otherwise caring Dr. Caledonius, are scheming to resurrect Coconteppi, a powerful dark wizard whose putrid heart has been discovered underneath the school excreting a very powerful ichor. The school cult kidnaps Spader and gives him some of the ichor to drink; they hope that because of his talent, he will be able to house the spirit of Coconteppi. This does not go as planned, and Spader is graphically killed (albeit off screen). (In a more humorous moment, Bufo, the scam wizard from season one’s “Wizard,” also ingests some of the ichor, believing himself powerful enough to handle it, but it kills him.)

Eventually Peps and Cadebra learn what is going on. Dr. Caledonius welcomes Peps, believing that he is strong enough to handle the ichor. When Cadebra’s life is put in danger, Peps reluctantly gives the putrid fluid a swig, which infuses him with the power of Coconteppi. Coconteppi-Peps then kills all the cult members before Cadebra manages to remove the ichor from Peps body. For uncovering a heinous plot, Peps is promoted to the highest house, “Salamander,” but he decides to remain a Skink and learn magic “the hard way” with Cadebra as his friend.

As I mentioned near the start of this review, “Wizard City” spends most of its time riffing on the “magic boarding school” trope, with much of the episode feeling like a light-hearted parody of Harry Potter: The characters, after all, are “sorted” into “houses,” they learn various types of magic from skilled “professors,” and they bunk in different parts of a large castle-like campus. Of course, Harry Potter didn’t invent the idea of a boarding school, but when setting your story in a school for magic, it is very hard not to lean at least somewhat into the Hogwarts relation. And this really is a double-edged sword, for while Harry Potter references can be fun here and there, they can also make the overall story feel like a fanfic parody. This special does a good job focusing more so on the characters rather than the setting, but I won’t lie, at times it did feel as if they show was really trying to make you realize it was making a Harry Potter joke.

Of all the characters introduced in the special, the breakout star is easily Cadebra, voiced by Chloe Coleman. Radiating a sort of Mabel Pines energy, Cadebra is the beam of optimism who shines brightly in an otherwise macabre special. There is something about her plucky personality and sense of wacky individualism that charms the viewer. I appreciate how the show compared and contrasted her with her uncle, the one and only Abracadaniel: like her uncle, Cadebra is a good person who wants to help others, but unlike Abracadaniel, she has a sense of courage and fortitude that results in her taking on a Coconteppi-possessed Peps at the episode’s climax. (Say what you will, Abracadaniel stans, but our favorite custodian would never have done that!) Thanks to her bravery and dedication to Peps, Cadebra is easily the heart of the special.

The episode throws an interesting little curveball into the mix by having the ‘ghost’ of Past Peppermint Butler constantly haunt Peps in the here-and-now. Past Peppermint, it seems, was so determined to become a great wizard, he cursed himself, so that if anything were to go awry, his Past self could materialize and set him straight. It’s confusing, but I do think that mixing the “overbearing parent” trope with a curse is a clever idea; it gives the whole special some dramatic heft. The whole setup is made even funnier by the special’s conclusion: After Future Peppermint Butler is ‘defeated’ and the day is saved, Peps reveals to Cadebra that he still wants to be a great and powerful dark wizard… but he wants to earn that power through hard work and determination. (Peppermint Butler might commune with demons, but he would never sell his soul to one for power; Glob helps those who help themselves, ya know?)

One of the special’s strongest points is its background art. Adventure Time always had some beautiful set pieces, and this special goes above and beyond to give WizArts an ancient sense of grandeur and mystery. Ghostshrimp, a freelance artist who was the show’s lead background designer during seasons 1-4, return for this special as a “visual developer”—basically, he mocked up a bunch of rough designs for the locales, and then the episode’s background artists worked up the final pieces in his style. On his podcast, Ghostshrimp mentioned how hectic he found Adventure Time to be, because he was used to taking his time on pieces. As such, the decision to bring him on for just development was smart, as it allowed him to still come up with iconic background designs while also playing fast and loose with everything. Hopefully the show will continue this approach with the Fionna and Cake miniseries that is coming up. After all, Ghosthsrimp’s style is the look of Adventure Time.

Another strong point for the episode is its voice acting. For one thing, you have your regulars like Tom Kenny and Dana Snyder, and Duncan Trussell, who all give a solid performance. But to voice many of the special’s new characters, the show brought on a bevy of fun actors: Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader, for instance, is now voicing Bufo, and he does a solid job hamming up his role as the old fogey. And then there’s Toks Olagundoye, whose British accent gives Dr. Caledonius a sense of knowledge and expertise. To my delight and surprise, SungWon Cho, an internet personality and voice actor perhaps better known as ProZD, was tapped to voice Brain Wizard, and he does an excellent job. And finally, Anthony Stewart Head, a very talented actor who I know best as Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, voices Con Wizard, and is even given a fun little ditty to sing. I can safely say that the voice acting in this special is likely the best of the bunch, and it’s obvious that the actors were all having a great time playing their parts.

What drags the whole thing down, in my opinion is the excessive murder. (I joked on Twitter that during the climax of “Wizard City,” it felt like I was watching an Adventure Time-ified version of Invincible!) Infused with the power of Coconteppi, Peps goes on a brutal killing spree, boiling Potable Wizard into steam, zapping Dimension Wizard into another plane of existence, smashing Berdzerd, and—perhaps most graphically—excerebrates (had to look that word up!) Brain Wiz. On Twitter, @sometipsygnostalgic argued that while, yes, the scene is startling, it does wonders to transmute “a poor Summer Camp Island knockoff [into] Adventure Time chaos.” The more I think about it, the more I think that’s a fair point; after all, this is hardly the first dark thing that has happened in Adventure Time. But the part that I cannot really stomach is the fact that Spader was murdered for no real reason, and the special ends without anyone really expressing their horror at the situation. Sure, Spader was a schoolyard bully, but he was also a child. And killing a child—either for the drama or the lulz—feels decidedly out of place in an Adventure Time episode. It’s hard to express, but it just felt unnecessarily nihilistic and mean-spirited.

All things considered, I think this was a fun episode, but it was somewhat underwhelming for a ‘finale.’ Much of this is because it had to air after the perfection that was the back-to-back “Obsidian”/”Together Again” wombo combo. But I can’t help but feel like this special just felt a little... off. A little too meanspirited, and it leaned a bit too much on standard tropes. Still, it was a fun spin, and I know that I’ll rewatch it.

Mushroom War Evidence: As Peps rides the bus to school, he passes a bunch of abandoned houses, some of which are buried in the ground. There is an unexploded bomb above the fossilized elephant in the school. Cadebra has a dream that takes place in the ruins of a city.

Final Grade: B+

#adventure time #atimers #atdl #distant lands #adventure time distant lands #wizard city #peps #peppermint butler #abracadaniel #Cadebra #Ghostshrimp #Adam Muto #Hanna K #ProZD

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sage-nebula · 3 years

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Game Review — Neo: The World Ends With You

In 2008 I played a JRPG unlike any other I had played before, or have played since. It was a self-contained story and for the most part I was okay for it to stay that way, though I was always curious what more could be done in the world, and hated how Square-Enix kept teasing us with the promise of a sequel that it seemed would never come. But now, 13 years later, that sequel has finally arrived.

Overall Score: 9/10

My personal feelings on the story and characters aside, overall Neo: The World Ends With You lives up to its predecessor in terms of gameplay, writing, music, and presentation. Unlike other sequels which fall woefully short of their predecessors, Neo does a fantastic job of staying true to the spirit of the original so that older fans can enjoy it just as much as new fans do. For more detailed thoughts, head under the cut (and onto my blog for formatting purposes).

The Pros:

The writing, for the most part, is excellent. Again, I have more personal takes on the story and character beats that I’ll delve into on a different post, but in terms of how the dialogue and flavor text are written throughout the game, Neo has shown that the writing staff hasn’t forgotten what makes The World Ends With You spectacular despite it being 13 years. The humor is on point, the character of the fictionalized version of Shibuya that was created is on point. Even just playing the demo I could tell that the charm was still there despite this being written over a decade later and I couldn’t be happier with that fact.

The music is, of course, phenomenal. There are remixes of tracks from the original game that are great, because I’ll never say no to a version of “Transformation” or “The One Star” or “Someday”. But there are also original tracks that are just absolutely beyond fantastic, such as “Kill the Itch” or “Last Call” or “Bird in the Hand”. One of the things that sets The World Ends With You apart from other JRPGs is its music, and how it’s composed to be music comparable with what you could hear on a radio versus being very identifiable as video game music, and Neo delivered on that front yet again with both the remixes and the original tracks.

The gameplay is another area in which Neo shines. It would be impossible to replicate the battle system of the original game, something Square-Enix showed time and time again with their numerous ports and remasters of it. The original game was meant to be played on the Nintendo DS, and specifically the Nintendo DS, in that it was created with the dual screens in mind. As a result, the two partner system just didn’t work on the numerous ports and re-releases, and it wouldn’t be able to work in Neo either due to the fact that none of the platforms it’s releasing on have dual screens. As a result, Neo’s battle system is very different, but also very, very good. The battles are still real time, and you still control all of the characters at once (I don’t think there’s a way to let the AI take over like with the partner in the original game, but I could be wrong on that), but this time they’re all in the same plane of existence and you juggle up to six of them at a time. Instead of passing a light puck to power up a sync fusion, you’re instead bouncing combos in order to work up a Groove, which in turn lets you Beat Drop in what is essentially a version of the sync fusions, albeit not nearly as specific to the characters as the sync fusions were. There were times while playing that having to balance so many characters at once got a bit much, especially when trying out new pins with different reboot times, but overall the battle experience is incredibly smooth and is a perfect rendition of what TWEWY battling should be like on a single screen. Battles aside, there are numerous other areas in which the gameplay shined as well. Starting in Week 2 you gain the ability to move around the map more quickly in a way which integrates the BGM as well (which is important given how much thematic importance is given to music in these games), and in Week 3 you get an even faster method of travel via telewarping around the map. Pins are back, and with a story explanation given for why the characters can use any pins they please, you get different pins to use and elemental affinities to consider when picking out your decks. A new Social Network feature not only gives you additional information on various characters, but also grants you new abilities and can help you keep track of who is who, as well as who has a relation to whom. Little features like this definitely add to the experience of the game and make playing it feel fun, which is always of paramount importance when it comes to video games.

There is a ton of content, which again, is pretty important when you consider that this is a $60 game. Like the original game, there are three weeks of seven days apiece for the main story. In a way, this can make it seem like the game goes by too fast (especially if you binge play it like I did), but also like the original game, there is plenty of post-game content to do as well. For one, we once again get a light-hearted parody bonus chapter in the form of “Another Day”. For another, there are Secret Reports unlocked by completing special missions in each chapter that provide extra background information, as well as an unlockable secret ending as well. So although the main story can go by fast (especially if, again, you just can’t put it down), there is still plenty to do once the main campaign is completed and that’s always the mark of a brilliant game as well.

Speaking of, the game really is difficult to put down. Five hours passed by in a blink for me while I was playing, not only because the gameplay was fun, but because I just had to know what was going to happen next. There were times when I figured I would just start the next day and then put it down, but the next day began with something crazy happening and I had to follow up on it. For a heavily story-based game, this is yet another necessary strength and the developers pulled it off fabulously.

For the most part, the characters were all fantastic as well, newcomers and returning vets alike. The original game shined in how unique it made its characters, and Neo does this as well. The returning cast is (again for the most part) IC but with notable growth in their personalities and demeanors, and the new cast is equally as lovable (or detestable for those that are meant to be detested). Again, since this is a story-based game, having strong characters is a necessary requirement and Neo pulls that off just as splendidly as the original did, with few exceptions.

The game is also beautiful to look at, much like (at risk of sounding like a broken record) the original. The comic book art style has always been incredibly unique and charming, and they integrated the 3D graphics seamlessly with the art style to create a truly beautiful marvel to look at while playing. The character design is also worthy of a chef’s kiss, especially when wise decisions were made behind the scenes to swap the designs of certain characters (namely, Ayano and Kanon originally had each other’s appearance, before a smart decision was made to swap how they looked). All in all, this is a game you never get tired of looking at.

The Neutrals:

Despite there being a wide variety of pins to use (especially since any character can use any pin), there actually isn’t that much of a variety in terms of what the pins actually do. This is partially due to hardware restrictions; in the original game they could have sound based pins because the DS had a microphone, and the touch screen also allowed for different types of inputs as well. But current consoles don’t offer as much in terms of gameplay ingenuity, and as a result you get a lot of pins that are basically just clones of each other, which is a little bit disappointing when you compare it to the original (especially since I haven’t discovered many iconic sets yet, a la Darklit Planets or Brainy Cat etc).

While there are a ton of characters in this game, there is much, much less emphasis put on the citizens of Shibuya who aren’t involved in the Game, which in turn makes it feel like there are less memorable side characters than the last game. For the most part, the citizens of Shibuya are basically relegated to just being possessed by Noise, and that’s it. Whereas we saw their lives carry out over three weeks in the last game (such as Makoto’s evolution in both his social and professional life), here we don’t really get to see that, which is a bit disappointing as well.

The battle gameplay, while very fun and smooth, does feel a little less deep at times than it did in the original game. While in the original you had to learn to balance Neku’s pins with his partner’s psychs, here you’re basically button mashing in a rhythm in order to get the gauge up, which can get a bit tiring if you do a bunch of battles in a row. The fact that the Beat Drops aren’t unique to the characters like the Fusions were is another thing that, while not a huge detriment, still feels a little less special than the Fusions did in the original game.

Neo is a lot more plot-focused than the original, which was more character-driven. Don’t get me wrong, the original definitely had a plot as well, and Neo does care about its characters. But while the deeper aspects of the plot were discovered post-game through the Secret Reports in the original, here the plot intricacies are front and center. And while the first game spent way more time developing its characters and focusing on their inner struggles, here the character issues are mostly pushed to late game in order to focus on the plot. It’s not bad, but it is noticeably different.

You still don’t get to actually see the characters in the clothes you dress them in. While this makes sense (it would be way too much to program in), it’s still a bit of a letdown.

The fashion brands don’t really feature into the plot or world at all, with the exception of Gatto Nero because of who created it. Again, it’s not a huge deal, but I enjoyed how you could see which brands were most popular in different areas of Shibuya in the original, and how you sometimes had to boost the popularity of the brands via doing battle with those pins or clothes equipped in the original in order to clear missions. It made the brands you were wearing actually matter, versus just being fun flavor text.

The Cons:

The time travel mechanic, Replay, is probably the biggest con this game has to offer. While it does have consequences that I won’t spoil here in the very final act of the game, for the most part it completely negated the stakes for the vast majority of the game, because you knew that even if something terrible happened, Rindo would be able to go back in time and fix it. I was never worried about what the characters would encounter as a result of this, except for in a few instances where something bad happened after Rindo had already used his power for the day. This is a noticeable downgrade from the original game, where there were no Do Overs and Neku and the others had to live with whatever consequences the Game had in store for them, which made everything feel that much more dire. In addition to lowering the stakes, though, Replay also loses points for the fact that having to do the same events with slight changes over and over felt like padding. In particular, in the endgame there is a segment you have to go through about six different times, and it felt maddening. While I do feel like Replay was a homage to the Zero Escape games in that it works remarkably similar to Sigma and Phi’s SHIFTing ability (and Fret even calls the Game “the escape room from hell” which again calls to Zero Escape), for some reason it felt far more like a chore here than it did there, possibly because you couldn’t Jump at will here like you can in Virtue’s Last Reward.

I’m personally not wild about the adult/teen romances that were implied in the game, even though thankfully neither of them seemed reciprocated. Namely, Kanon viewed Fret as a kid given that she’s an adult and he’s a teenager, and Shoka never really thought about her relationship with Ayano that deeply even though Ayano seemed pretty in love with Shoka. But even though these relationships weren’t reciprocated, the fact that they were present at all is still something that I’m really just not wild about, and made me feel a bit uncomfortable while playing. (And yes, I know that Ayano and Shoka are said to be sisters in “Another Day”, but the subtext surrounding Ayano’s feelings in specific in the main story is so blatant it’s essentially overt text. I don’t want to get into it here since that delves more into spoiler territory, but I really just was not wild about it at all, especially since that’s the most blatant lesbian rep this series has given us thus far, which is disappointing to me, a lesbian.)

I don’t want to dive too much into this here because of spoilers, but: Neku. From his English voice acting to his writing, he was disrespected up and down in this game. Truly a massive disappointment in every sense of the word, and so he deserves a Con point all to himself.

There is a noticeable lack of minigames in Neo, as well as a lack of variety in the wall missions. We only had one instance of Reaper Review (that I encountered at least). There was no Reaper Creeper, nor was there Tin Pin Slammer, though both were mentioned. As someone who loved Tin Pin Slammer, I was so sad to see it not present at all in this game, and there wasn’t even a suitable replacement for it that we could play on the side, either. As mentioned above, the battles can get a bit boring after a while, so the fact that there weren’t minigames to help break them up truly feels like a detriment to what is otherwise a very fun game to play.

Fret’s Remind ability was a chore every time I had to use it. You had to hold the joysticks at certain positions and if you couldn’t solve it fast enough, you had to reposition them all over again. Maybe it’s just the Switch version that was having the issue, I don’t know, but I found it incredibly finicky and hard to control, which made me dislike every time I had to do it despite loving the little drawings that Fret conjured up when he used his ability.

In cases where Noise could interrupt your entire party at once, I found that I was unable to use pins a second or two before the interruption came. This was most notable with the elephant noise (fuck those elephants, me and all my homies hate those elephants, there were TOO MANY ELEPHANTS in this game) and the final final boss. Again, this could be a bug exclusive to the Switch version, I’m not sure, but it was annoying as heck regardless.

All in all, whatever complaints I may have, this game is extraordinarily fun and a wonderful sequel to an even more wonderful game. I’m incredibly happy with it and I’m glad that it lived up to expectations, particularly considering how long it took to arrive. Now we just need to wait 13 years for a third game. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready.

#neo: the world ends with you #neo twewy #neo the world ends with you #2021 game reviews #minor spoilers contained within though I tried to keep it as spoiler-free as possible

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monkey-network · 3 years

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Why Shrek IS The Best

Tastes can change, you know? And it’s less about “What’s good about this now compared to before”, more of “Why would you like this now as opposed to before”? Unless allergic, you didn’t get why dark cola or hot chips tasted bad to you as a child, but when you grow up you can come to understand and appreciate it. Shouldn’t pressure yourself, that makes things worse, but things can certainly align in helping this newfound respect you get for something you’d believe you would never want again. That really is where I stand with Dreamworks’ Shrek. As a kid, while Toy Story left me traumatized for a while, Shrek left me side-eyeing with how crass and ugly it looked and I never wanted to think of it. But, as I grew up to respect animation a lot more, 2018 was where I looked back at Shrek and soon come to understand how wrong I was and how much greatness it has that I now consider it an all time great. And with it getting inducted into the Library of Congress, I thought it was finally time to present what I see in this film. Let’s do this right with...

The SOMEBODY

Now this frame has been meme’d to death. If there’s anything iconic about this film, ‘bout the franchise as a whole, it’s the exact moment when our main character charges out of his outhouse as Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’ gets going. But this honestly just says a lot about Dreamworks’ direction from its previous films where compared to Disney that’ll take their time making the setup before getting into the hype point for its lead, Shrek gets going in one minute if we don’t count the logo intro. Not even The Emperor’s New Groove, which was going for the same tone before Shrek even released, took more of it’s time with the fairy tale aspect of it in its intro. Shrek literally wipes his ass with the fairy tale aspect before giving us the SOMEBODY, all around a minute. This frame really shows that this is sticking to the Disney formula in some way because it’s wasting no time getting into it. It represents the more brisk pace Shrek has with pulling you into what it’s gonna be about. This overall frame works in its thematic and parody aspect and I’ve yet to see anything top this exact moment, not even the greatest films I’ll ever remember.

But enough about the fact that I made a whole paragraph about this one frame of the movie. Let’s dive into what I say is a piece of the heart for this film.

The Earnestness

Speaking of Disney, you probably notice that their films have some cushioning in their presentation, like they generally don’t show things with a straightforward lens; there’s some theatrics in the way their best movies present themselves. That’s not a problem, mind you, but that helped me understand how Shrek does things very differently whether you consider it parody or not. While it throws mockery at the played out conventions associated with fairy tales, especially its most subtle jab at copyright, it doesn’t full on say fairy tales are annoying and bad. Hell, the film IS a fairy tale adapted from a fairy tale about a fookin’ OGRE that can eat lightning and kills with farts. But, it’s an accurate and earnest way to view a fairy tale from a somewhat realistic lens. Let’s take Shrek’s journey for instance.

Typically, the main character would want to experience something more; explore new horizons, prove themselves, find their calling. Shrek off the bat doesn’t need or desire any of that. He’s content with his life, beside the angry mob he casually scares off, and throughout the film he’s not interested in anything else outside getting the squatters out his swamp. He happily makes a deal with the villain of the film to exile those innocent refugees off his land so he could then build a wall to keep everybody out. Bringing up Emperor’s New Groove again, Shrek and Kuzco are the few characters I know that are actively antagonistic even when they’re forced into their situation from outside forces. However unlike Kuzco that gets to be emperor again but learns humility, Shrek is in the same spot as before but learns that there are people out here that can love him for who he is. I can’t say there’s anything grand about that, but it doesn’t need to be unlike the many Disney or any film that tries to shower you with the grandest themes. The relationships Shrek has with Donkey and Fiona are the most grounded I’ve ever seen because they’re not only natural, they’re hardly dolled up with the bells and whistles made to either drum up the biggest laughs or tug the heart strings viciously. When I think about it, I honestly could see myself in Shrek. He isn’t made to be a legend, he isn’t some secret genius or lost prince, he’s just an every-man ogre that wants to live peacefully or meet SOMEBODY that doesn’t treat as someone to be feared or disgusted at. Everything Shrek says is something anybody could or would say if they were his shoes because he, and the film in general, is the most grounded without making it all distractedly meta or genre-savvy. This is generally helped by...

The Dounkaey

Everyone’s talked about how Donkey is the best confidant for Shrek and Fiona. How he’s most true to himself to where he’s the most openly musical character in the film, and how he’s the most balanced here with his comedic vs serious moments. But I gotta say it too: Donkey is one of the greatest sidekicks ever. He’s a motormouth, but is never annoying to where you wish he left the film. The couple times he is purposefully annoying, not for a joke, is when he knows Shrek isn’t being truthful. He truly gets to know Shrek on this journey, and is the character Shrek gets to capacity to actually loosen up to, so it’s fitting that he’d be the one to push Shrek when the ogre’s sounding more vague than usual. Even when he’s harshly insulted, Donkey doesn’t take it as bad as when Shrek kept trying to shut him out again in the 3rd act after the Hallejulah sequence which is the scene in every Shrek movie where’s there a super sad song because Shrek is alone and yadda ya. I’ll get to it in a bit, but he is as much responsible in providing Fiona that seed of doubt that Shrek wouldn’t love her as the ogre she is. Donkey is the greatest friend because he wants to be there for those who are okay with him being around, and while you could give and take sidekick animals in your notable films with them in it, this film really wouldn’t have happened without him. Speaking of Fiona, I won’t retread what’s been said before like with Donkey but I did want to bring up something I haven’t seen many talk about,,,

The Love for An Ogre

I’ve seen many say the scene where Shrek overhears Fiona talk about “Who could love an ugly beast?” and misinterprets that as her talking about him as a cliched or contrived downside to the film, but I feel that a defense can be made. It personally makes sense that Shrek would misinterpret that and take it personally because 1) Who else would Fiona be talking about? 2) How would he know she was talking with Donkey? 3) Why would he just barge in on her? 4) Has no one considered that this moment is parallel to when Fiona overhears Shrek’s conversation with Donkey the night before?

Fiona is very much the antithesis to Shrek’s character where she can very much be open about what she wants but is scared at the idea of anyone figuring out who she really is. She’ll gladly be gross, kick ass, eat the young of a bird she let explode, but won’t let anyone see her true face. That’s why her curse makes sense, and why Shrek would take a fondness to her despite her initial disdain of him rescuing her. Fiona’s a character where the surface level beauty is her weakness as opposed to Shrek where it’s internal. Which is why when she overhears Shrek open up to Donkey about his societal isolation, she’s soon more comfortable around him. And it’s why when she opens up to Donkey about her looks, Shrek would unfortunately take it personal enough. I ask again, why would Shrek barge in on a conversation he wasn’t aware of or who she was talking about to not take it about anything else but him when what he heard such a cut so deep, especially from a character that bears his similar issues? It also helps that Donkey was in on it, as Shrek feels reasonably betrayed by the only other person he’s come to appreciate in his life. Contrived as it seems, it’s thematically important and appropriate to the conflict of Shrek’s character and the film overall. Don’t know how this could be conveyed any other way because it adds up at least.

I just wanna know how Shrek got to Faarquard’s and back by sunrise like did he run cuz that looked like a huge distance to travel on foot but anyways...

I’m sure things could’ve worked out if Shrek knew, either by barging in that night or through Donkey, but I think it’s fitting that the climax takes place at the wedding. After Shrek and Donkey understand their friendship, after Donkey reciprocates the Dragon’s love (more ways than one), and when Shrek grasps the mistake he made to charge over to Fuccquad’s chapel, we get to...

The End

After everything, we get to the moment where Shrek and Fiona get to share their first kiss, Fiona permanently transforms into an ogre, and we get this exchange. One of my favorite exchanges in the whole film:

Shrek: “Are you all right?” Fiona: “Well yes. But I don’t understand... I’m supposed to be beautiful.”

Shrek: “But you ARE beautiful”

We don’t need any other vows to understand their relationship was built up to this. This moment where Shrek can reaffirm Fiona’s feelings of being able to be herself in every way, because she allowed him to be himself in every way before. That’s that mutual love, baby, that just gets me every time and makes this film one of the best romance stories I know as well, even when it isn’t solely about the romance. This is Shrek’s story, and there’s nothing more touching than seeing this outcast not only get another to view him as a friend, not only someone to love, but people, if only a couple, to actually wanted to get to know him. I know Shrek 2 expands on this more, and it’s considered a golden sequel, but I will always cherish the first movie for how much it tells us off the bat while appearing as a “Take That” to Disney films. This is the genesis of Shrek feeling more accepted for himself and society and it just bears so much good commentary while being a good adventure nonetheless. Like you could say this film indeed has... dimensions? “You were trying to meme about la-”

The Conclusion

Mentioning it, I always had this thought with the conversation Shrek and Donkey had of why Shrek didn’t just “be an ogre” and pillage Fuccnut’s fortress. It’s possible Shrek could’ve taken out Faarquid himself, but that would mean being the beast he knows people have shunned him for, grabbed the torches and pitchfolks for, made him feel worse for. Shrek enjoys being an ogre, but he doesn’t like how society makes him feel lesser as an ogre. That really is what the four films have been about for him and what I’ve come to appreciate about these films personally. It can be easy to love yourself even when there are others out here that stand against you, but it’s hard to consider that anyone else could love you for who you are in spite of how you try to present yourself. But if there’s anything Shrek showed me, it’s that it’s possible. There can/will be people out here who appreciate the real you, will be there as much as you want to for them, and can help you realize more about yourself as opposed to suffering to silence eternally. Generally ideal, I know, but this film in the least offered me that thought in the most balanced way possible. It’s incredible how much of a tightrope this film has in its parody and sincerity and that makes its induction in the National Film Registry and being the first ever Best Animated Award winner pretty justified all things considered.

I know this film, the character, has been a meme over the years. As Schaffrillas mentions in his video, the direction Dreamworks made because of Shrek’s success kinda turned it into a heel people clowned on because, in theory, it was nothing but a joke with the onions and the swamp and IT’S NEVER OGRE. Then again, like I said in the beginning, tastes change. I’d say with Schaff’s masterful analyses on the film series and 3GI’s Shrek Retold and Shrekfest, the perception of the film sure enough shifted like the perception of Megamind. It’s one thing for a movie to blow people away or leave them thinking it’s horrible beyond belief, it’s another to take the time to then look back and see how those feelings have changed. For Shrek, it’s a film that was able to trudge out of the meme era to be a film many consider a strong, rewatchable, and unique. Like the beauty of Spongebob, Shrek is a considered a classic because as in the times as it appeared when it released, this film actually stood on its own with the most enjoyable and meaningful timelessness, exploring the desired love for the self, that deserves to be recognized. What else can I say, people?

It’s The Best

#Shrek #dreamworks #dreamworks animation #animation #movies #cartoons #reviews #analysis #long post #Good Stuff

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ducktracy · 3 years

Text

185. porky’s hero agency (1937)

release date: december 4th, 1937

series: looney tunes

director: bob clampett

starring: mel blanc (porky, emperor jones), tedd pierce (gorgon, assistant), sara berner (porky’s mom)

the final porky cartoon for 1937, and what a busy year it’s been for him! hard to believe he had an entirely different voice, look, and demeanor just 8 months prior. even then, his character still had much to explore, as we see here—in this cartoon, he’s cast as a child again. curiously, bob clampett is often credited as the one who refined his personality into the one we know today (he did give him his iconic suit and tie), but, like everything else, it was more of a collaborative exploration by all of the directors.

the title card is one of the more interesting title cards in the warner bros. repertoire—it’s a photo of a porky statuette! bob clampett would make several statues during his time at WB and distribute them to his top animators. while the statue in the credits is painted over, you can view an unpainted model here!

here, porky dreams of the wonders of ancient greece, prancing around as the mythological messenger parkykarkus. however, a gorgon has her sights set on turning him into stone, and it requires some quick thinking from porky to weasel his way out of this mess.

bobe cannon animates the expositional sequence, with porky propped up in bed, sucked into a giant book full of greek myths. his mother (offscreen) tells him it’s time to go to sleep, but porky objects, protesting that he was just at the exciting part. cannon’s animation is easy to spot with his trademark buck teeth, yet the gestures he gives porky--finger points, turning the page, etc.--give him a nice dose of youthful energy as he recaps the story, telling tales of gorgons and “great great great” greek heroes.

nevertheless, a disembodied hand turns out the light, dismissing porky’s protests. he heaves a resigned sigh, lamenting how he wishes he could be a great greek hero.

the cartoon doesn’t make any attempts to keep the dream sequence a surprise--instead, the face of the book’s cover takes up the entire screen, the pillars emblazoned on the front melting to life as we fade into ancient greece. and, as to be expected, our favorite porcine hero proudly stands in front of the building, proudly advertising “HERO FOR HIRE AGENCY -- PORKYKARKUS PROP.”

porkykarkus is a play on parkykarkus (”park your carcass”), a character on eddie cantor’s radio show “the chase & sanborn hour”. truck into porky’s services as he narrates over the specials:

“has anybody any eh-deh-deah-deah-dragons you want seh-seh-sleh-slay-slaye--rubbed out? or maybe ya have some, uh, fair meh-mai-meh-maide--honeys ya want rescued! it’s a peh-pleasure. is your daughter safe? phone eh-peh-porkykarkus at olympia 2222!”

porky’s narration, as always, is fun to listen to, and the physical advertisement has its own charm and appeal, with discounts and deals on certain rescues. not only that, but it’s a damn smart way to save money, having just the narration over the still frame. smart thinking!

conveniently, porky gets a phone call, sparking the tried and true “gear up for a big sprint but merely tinker on over to your destination” gag. as porky answers the phone, filling us in by repeating the hidden dialogue from the other line, we find out it’s the emperor--he wants one hero to go.

chuck jones’ layouts stick out quite strongly throughout this cartoon, especially in the human designs. porky’s statue of mercury is no exception--the bulbous nose and rounded body construction are all surefire trademarks of his work. porky grabs the messenger’s hat and winged shoes from the statue, never once taking a beat to stop as he hobbles along, dressing as he prepares to head out. woodblock sounds simulate the sound of his hooves clopping, but also add an extra jaunty jive to the merry score of “have you got any castles?” in the background, the cartoon’s motif. it would also be a merry melody courtesy of frank tashlin not even a year later.

with that, porky takes off, soaring in the skies like a pro with his winged shoes. if the scene wasn’t appealing enough with the overhead layouts, the animation of porky steadying himself is wonderfully smooth and fun--the cherry on top. he circles the palace where the emperor is located, swooping down to his destination. complete with airplane sound effects, of course.

“howdy, empy!” another bulbous-nosed jones character silences porky from behind his armchair. emperor jones (boy, who could that name reference, i wonder?) speaks in a ridiculously hilarious dialect, completed with a thick accent: “shh! i’m making a fireside chat with my sheeps!” his voice then slips into a rooseveltian draw as he coos “my friends, grecians and customers, this is emperor jones speaking...”

pan to the audience, which consists of a sea of smiling statues. this entire speech sequence is wonderful--not only is his terrible grammar terribly amusing, (”statistics show... what last season at this time was population in greece from 6,000 with 500 with 54 people, with 17 statues.”) but little touches such as one of the audience statues roasting marshmallows and later a hotdog over the fireplace, the emperor making his audience clap by pulling on ropes tied to their arms, and so forth make the entire charade highly amusing with lots of details to look out for. porky standing idly in the background, awkwardly fidgeting as he tries not to intrude is a great little piece of character animation as well.

the emperor gives the skinny, all while chowing down on a hotdog: a gorgon has been turning more and more people into statues, and they need a hero to steal her life-restoring needle in order to turn all of the statues back into humans again. the hero he has in mind is, of course, porky, who bashfully accepts the offer. when the emperor asks those in favor to raise their right hand, he pulls on a lever that causes all of the statues to raise their hands in unison, including a hand on a nearby clock. with a handshake, empy concludes “it’s a deal!”

one of the most impressive pieces of animation in the cartoon (i actually dedicated an entire drawing to it!) is when the emperor sends porky on his way, who waves goodbye as he flies through the air with his winged shoes. just as he tips his hat, he knocks into a pillar, which sends him tumbling upside down, but still airborne. the wings on his shoes form hands as they shake their fists in the glory of the good landing, with porky flashing a cheeky grin to the audience before spiraling lower in the air, regaining his balance, and barreling onward towards a smoldering volcano. the animation is full of life and character--though porky is consistently jolly in the B&W clampett cartoons, the grin towards the camera as he prides himself in his save is a great little touch of personality. slowly but surely, bits of character are now becoming more defined.

a gag that took me just now to recognize it--porky swoops into the heart of the volcano, where we spot the source of the black fumes pouring out the top: the gorgon statue factory. a merry score of “you’ve got something there” serves as some easy listening as we’re treated to a sign gag:

outside of the factory is a human picket fence, comprised of familiar faces: statues of bobe cannon, norm mccabe, john carey, bob clampett himself and chuck jones surround the area. directly outside of the factory is the frozen statue of a salesman with his foot in the door--the joke is not only amusing, but the pose is quite strong and readable, too. though nowhere near the dynamism of frank tashlin’s poses in the mid ‘40s, clampett’s poses in this cartoon are quite defined and exaggerated for the time period. this is especially sharp in the scenes with the emperor.

porky knocks on the door held ajar by the ceramic statue’s foot, holding out an envelope. “telegram for the guh-geh-gee-geh-gee-gor-geh--” a hand snags the envelope out of porky’s grip, causing him to mutter “aww, nuh-neh-nee-nuh-neh-neh-nut--shucks,” a phrase he echoed in clampett’s previous entry, rover’s rival.

we transition to the inside of the factory, where we see the gorgon herself, positioned in front of a camera, awaiting to take “pictures” of her models. tedd pierce voices the gorgon, whose vocal stylings are a parody of tizzie lish, bill comstock’s character on al pearce and his gang. interestingly, the cartoon before this, the woods are full of cuckoos, featured a caricature of lish as well, also voiced by pierce.

clampett and pierce’s comedic timing is sharp--not nearly as sharp as tashlin’s timing in the woods are full of cuckoos, but abundantly amusing nonetheless. the gorgon asks for a boy--”a sorta young-ish one”--and in comes a decrepit old man who can hardly hold himself up. the gorgon waits for the man to assume his position on the podium where his picture will be taken, singing a pitchy rendition of “am i in love?“, another homage to the characteristics displayed by lish’s character on the radio.

the gorgon snaps her photo, which turns the shaky old man into a stone statue at once, cheekily labeled “ANTIQUE -- $60,000 (P.S.: 000,000)” before he’s yanked off of the podium with a cane.

“now let’s try a group picture.” you know it’s a ‘30s cartoon if the three stooges come waddling in--they made their caricatured, cartoon debut in the 1934 film the miller’s daughter, notorious for being chuck jones’ first animation credit. as expected, they all beat the tar out of each other while on the podium, rendered immobile only through the power of medusa’s camera. they turn into the three wise monkeys, labeled “3 MONKEYS OF JAPAN -- MADE IN GREECE”.

norm mccabe’s animation is easy to spot in the next scene with porky, characterized by his signature double eyebrows. porky knocks on a door, parroting a favorite catchphrase from the al pearce show that frequented many a clampett cartoon: “i hope she’s eh-eh-at home, i hope, i hope, i hope, i hope, i hope...”

porky shakes the hand of the assistant, unfortunately a blackface caricature (save for the voice, who is just tedd pierce speaking in a deep, suave voice) as he greets “welcome, stranger. won’t you come in?” before porky has time to answer, he’s yanked through the iron bars of the door and placed neatly in line for the photoshoot, where he peeks through the door to see the action inside.

a pile of men form a pyramid, where the camera turns them into a literal statue of a pyramid, with some slight imperfections. “aw, shucks!” laments the gorgon. “you moved!” she approaches them with her life restoring needle, allowing the men to form into the proper position, maintaining good balance. she gets her “genuine egyptian statue”, quipping “ought to make a handy paperweight!”

the assistant informs porky that he’s next. porky backs up anxiously, echoing a short-lived catchphrase of his from the joe dougherty era: “nuh-neh-no! eh-nn-nee-no! a-a thousand times no!” the decision to make his thoughts visible (his head is slapped onto that of a piggy bank’s) is playful, and also reflects just how big of an influence comics had on bob clampett’s work: comic artists such as milt gross and george lichty have been cited by clampett as inspirations. the george lichty influence is definitely noticeable in rod scribner’s animation under bob clampett, as we’ll discover in the coming years.

in the midst of his panic, porky backs into a statue of "dick a. powello” (dick powell and apollo), causing it to break. but, rather than fuss over the mess, porky uses the opportunity to hatch an idea instead.

in comes strolling porky, concealed by powello’s upper body and a blankett hiding his hooves. the triumphant score of “he was her man” and the gorgon’s smitten woos makes the scene hilarious as is, but the blanket falling off and revealing porky’s pudgy little hooves is the icing on the comedic cake.

porky perches himself on a conveniently placed couch, where the gorgon approaches him. “pardon me, is this seat taken?” she doesn’t wait a wink before snuggling right up to him, a heart symbolizing her affections popping in the air. though clampett would play with typography at times and maintain an overarchingly jovial mood to his cartoons, it’s an odd thing to see him play with comic-like visuals in this manner, such as porky physically envisioning himself as a piggy bank or the heart from the gorgon. i wish he had done it more in this nature!

with the gorgon too close for comfort, porky uses this as an opportunity to grab the gorgon’s life-restoring needle, dangling from her neck and lying against her body. it wouldn’t be a clampett cartoon without sexual innuendos--porky reaches aimlessly around for the needle, prompting the gorgon to let out a shriek, cooing “why, mr. a POWELLo!”

she smothers the ceramic head in kisses, giving him a nice lipstick finish to boot as she pretends the statue has given her a ring. her ecstasy is hilarious and WONDERFULLY conveyed through strong, rubbery poses worth freeze-framing. picturing porky’s befuddlement is another humor within itself.

finally, porky’s disguise is revealed when the gorgon literally crushes the statue in an embrace, stone crumbling around him as he desperately slips out of her grip. as the gorgon makes threats to call the cops, reciting the WB favorite catchphrase of “calling all cars! calling all cars!”, porky makes with the needle and jabs it in various statues, warning them “uh-geh-uh-get goin’! i-i-eh-it’s the guh-geh-geh-eh-geh-gorgon!”

as the gorgon chases porky with her camera, he continues to revive a barrage of statues: the antique, the famed discus thrower (who throws himself out of the scene rather than the discus), the man from the end of the trail statue, who exits riding his horse like a merry go round (a nod to friz freleng’s sweet sioux), a woman who marches off with popeye’s forearms--note the bobe cannon statue in the back here--and a mermaid who unzips her fin and makes a run for it. the highlight of the entire montage is when porky approaches two temples (the two of them together labeled “shirley temple”) and injects the needle into them, prompting the temples to use their pillars as legs and run for the hills.

the chase reaches its climax as the gorgon pursues porky with a movie camera, turning the crank ferociously as she runs. her plan works--porky slows down, freezing in mid-air as the gorgon cries “hold it!” thus, the gorgon pins porky to the ground, who tries his hardest to fight back, but ultimately flailing around as she commands him to open his eyes.

we melt into the present, where we find porky’s mother in place of the gorgon, telling him softly to wake up. he does so, after she pries one of his eyes opens. relieved that it was all a dream, he embraces his mother, prompting a happy end and an iris out.

this cartoon has a soft spot in my heart--it was one of the first LT cartoons i saw on this whole venture. i thought i was the smartest person alive, understanding the three stooges, popeye, and shirley temple references. who knew just how much i had (and still have!) to learn! though even without my sentimental biases, this still stands as a very good cartoon.

as i mentioned previously, the poses in this are full of elasticity and energy, especially in the emperor and the gorgon. porky does a very nice job as well--little pieces of animation such as him fidgeting awkwardly while the emperor rambles on, swinging from side to side as he’s offered the job to be a hero, etc. etc. are full of charm and character. while his personality isn’t the most electric in comparison to characters like bugs and daffy, it’s the little things like these that really make porky stand out. with him, a little subtlety goes a long way, and that’s why he’s one of my favorites. he’s so reserved in comparison to such a wild cast of characters that his timidness actually shines through and sets him apart! (though, on the other hand, he can still have quite the personality, as we’ll discover!)

personally, the only gripes i have with this cartoon is the blackface caricatured assistant (which, in comparison to some cartoons we’ve seen and still have yet to see, is relatively mild, but uncomfortable nonetheless). the jokes, while corny at times, still hit, the animation is full of life and vigor, and the short as a whole has a lot of charm, whimsy, and personality. it has my seal of approval! go check it out!

link!

#lt #porky’s hero agency #clampett #looney tunes #reviews #long post #A REVIEW!!! of one of my favorite cartoons! it's a christmas miracle!#well favorite for this era anyway

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runolllo-fanboygirl · 3 years

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is mizuki still a queen when murata sexualises her to the bone?

Short answer: Yes, Mizuki is still a Queen in those cases. I will continue to tag her as #Queen, consider her an icon, and continue to like her even if I hate the couple of so called “sexualized Mizuki to the bone” drawings Murata made of her (which I never posted here in the first place). A couple of sexy pics don’t erase what a legitimately great character she is. It’s kind of rude to come rain on my parade with whatever point you wanted to make when I was so excited to see her again in today’s chapter and being completely innocent about it.

Long answer: (someone help me write a tl;dr please OTL)

I’m too tired, the whole “bla bla sexualization” thing is very complex, I don’t have the time or energy to answer properly... and I don’t like trap questions like this because there is no right answer and I feel put on the spot. Maybe that wasn’t your intention, so I’ll answer in good faith.

In the context of official OPM things, it’s my opinion that a few instances of her being sexualized don’t change the fact that she’s still very amazing, fun, hilarious, corageous and powerful. You’re allowed to dislike her, but it’s not fair to invalidate the rest of her character and her fans because you didn’t like the author making certain decisions here and there. We fans have a right to like characters even if later the author does things with them that we don’t agree with. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, but characters are just that, characters, and it’s up to the author’s intentions AND the point of view of the fans to give meaning to them.

We’re still allowed to love Mizuki and see her as an iconic character, in special fellow women, I feel. We’re starved for variety and representation and Mizuki is a super good hearted, strong gal. It’s not every day you get a 2m tall sportwoman character like her, in special in contrast to Gearsper who is instead a tiny guy with noodle arms. I’m very excited about all the different kinds of ladies that OPM has now, YES EVEN IF most of them have been put in a bikini at this point, which is kind of sad and ridiculous.

Now, of course, we’re not stupid. It’s not like you can’t tell when Murata is using literal p0rn as reference to draw, lmao. It’s not like we don’t know he’s h0rny as f*ck. Still, OPM is a seinen series and we should expect adult content. It’s also true that for being the kind of seinen it is (parodying shonen series and all) it’s quite the surprise that we get a fair amount of male eye candy as well, even though lately I don’t think it’s balanced with the ladies fanservice anymore (but it used to be).

Also, I’m a woman who likes other women, so what do you want me to tell you? I loved that cover of Mizuki taking her shirt of /// THIS ONE /// I’m a big fan of soft fanservice like that! Although, I personally prefer just a bit of eye candy occasionally... I DON’T want fanservice to be all over the place for no reason, in special of the ladies, because it just looks unprofessional and stupid when the point of this series is not to be some h0rny har3m anime. Sexy drawings can be very interesting and appealing from time to time but I don’t want Murata to use so much time on them instead of on other more interesting stuff, and it also creates bad vibes when a whole a s s chapter is about two guys bonding but the cover is another Fubuki with her Fub00bs out. Don’t think I don’t get disappointed (even angry) at this kind of bullshit. I do, friend. I would lie if I said I don’t love the Fub00bs... but we don’t need them all over the place all the time in special in chapters where she’s not even present otherwise.

On the same note, I actually hate the uncomfortably-close-to-p0rn kind of fanservice like that disgusting sequence where Mizuki squishes that watermelon head monster with her inner thighs (which, on the other hand, was HILARIOUS and empowering in its own way, except that I know Murata was not drawing those scenes with empowerment in mind, of course... but still, all the more power to fellow ladies who find that empowering, reclaim it from the h0rny boys!). But anyway, I can only consider Mizuki to have been “sexualized to the bone”, like you put it, that one time with the watermelon. Everything else has been very tame fanservice.

It really depends on what you think is “too much” for an adult series like this that doesn’t focus on romance or s3x. The only other instance in which I felt like it went too far, is when Psykos seemed to be starring some weird tentacle p0rn as Orochi tried to absorb her ;P and I personally dislike Monster Princess a lot because everything about her is just Murata being h0rny and there is literally nothing else about her character, her “personality” is being a representation of Murata’s kinks, but even then, many fans find her legitimately empowering too.

Lastly, I just want to quickly say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with sexy things in general, the problem is the context in which they are usually created and presented, and that’s when sexy goes into “sexualization turned objetification” territory, which is what can get really wrong. Otherwise, you can find someone sexy and still appreciate everything else about them, it’s just one more thing you like about them.

Anyway, it’s all a lot more complex than this, but that’s my answer for today. Now, if I may ask: are Flash, Sonic and Garou, who are sexualized through the whole series A LOT, not amazing anymore just because we get a lot of blatant fanservice of them? Have you ever thought about them in the same terms you are asking me about Mizuki?

#one punch man #opm #captain mizuki #blizzard of hell #psykos #fubuki #Anonymous #lunamaria on the phone

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glupshittosupremacy · 4 years

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New Hope Rewatch Thoughts:

i knew that luke was whiny but i forgot just just how much

once again, knew luke was dramatic but this hoe literally stares angstily at the sunset with the wind in his hair

every luke and obi-wan interaction is so iconic

it’s literally just old gay teaches young gay how to be overly dramatic

also imagine what’s going in obi-wan’s mind at this point: the kid of your ex-best friend turned sith lord who you’ve been keeping an eye on for most of his life rocks up one day with both of his fathers droids, one of which has a message on it from his sister

i don’t ship skysolo but i am also not blind. they literally just check each other out every five seconds

ok so its the scene with Jabba and I feel like the cgi is really good for the late 70s

the chaotic dumbass disaster bi energy han radiates is so powerful. there is not a single brain cell in his head.

whenever i see moff tarkin all i can think about is ANI: a parody

i know the lightsaber battle of the death is like that because of the graphics but i just find it so funny in context with their last fight on mustafar.

seeing the storm troopers just reminded me how pissed i am that they’re essentially slaves who are brainwashed by the empire/first order and in the sequels we had a ‘main character’ who was an ex-storm trooper and liberating them was just never discussed

after obi-wan dies luke is sad for like one minute and then gets to blow something up and suddenly he’s fine

seeing luke’s weird crush of leia makes me so uncomfortable

watching the dogfight scene where they try to blow up the death star and seeing darth vader shoot r2d2 hurt my heart a bit

every luke look in the this movie is so soft

where is chewbacca’s medal??

#star wars #original trilogy #star wars original trilogy #lule skywalker #han solo #leia organa #darth vader #r2d2 #obi wan kenobi #obi-wan kenobi #a new hope

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him-e · 3 years

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Could you give some recommendations of TV shows that are, in your opinion, good/interesting/fun to watch/etc.? They can be recent or older ones, and pretty much of any genre (also, the more recommendations, the better).

disclaimer: I haven’t been in the *right* mood to really get into anything for a LONG WHILE, so my feelings about tv and movies at the moment exist in a spectrum that goes from “ok I guess” to “this somehow sucks even more than my life does and I want to crawl into a hole and rot in it”. So don’t expect lots of flailing and squeeing, lol. THAT SAID, I’m going to focus on the stuff I’ve seen recently:

bridgerton. mildly fun. very cw-ish but with occasional sexplosions. a mix between reign and gossip girl set in regency era. no mr darcy equivalent, unfortunately (the duke of hastings is 100% a chad). also don’t expect historical accuracy or anything like actual jane austen vibes. the main couple is quite shippable and has some decent banter and slow burn until it suddenly escalates into marriage and the sexplosion I mentioned above. the best part, though, is that i’m apparently shipping in*cest again

the undoing. nicole kidman is married to hugh grant, who is, shockingly, an asshole. but before you think “typecasting”, more on the creepy than pathetic side. the mystery is kinda underwhelming imo bc it leads you to think there’s much to the story than what you originally thought, but no, it really is that simple.

the crown. what can i say? very well written and acted. It’s also super slow and analytical, and can be occasionally boring, if you’re not in the mood. I’m being super slow at catching up because I’m watching it with my mother, and I’m still at season 3 and feeling inappropriately (but also predictably) sympathetic towards Charles (but I’m looking forward to the Diana episodes). This is also a good show if you wanna play “drink every time you recognize a Game of Thrones/Being Human/*insert iconic franchise starring predominantly british folks* actor”. Speaking of royals...

the queen’s gambit. 10/10. Singlehandedly cured my depression for a week. absolutely perfect in every aspect (almost---the lack of a main romance with HEA was a bit of a bummer, but there’s shipping material nonetheless): only one season, “strong” heroine in the sense that she’s a character with an actual PERSONALITY who falls and has genuine flaws and---despite being “inexplicably” a genius (the show gives the context of how she learns to play chess but doesn’t go out of its way to *justify* her talent or how she managed to pulverize guys older and better trained than her)---falls, and loses, sometimes badly, actually at one point slips into a pit of depression and self destruction but only to eventually rise again. I also somehow didn’t come out of this show hating the entire male gender any more than I already do, even though it’s a story about a woman in a male-dominated field who often has to face sexism and patronising attitudes from her peers. but almost everyone she meets is, actually, a quite decent guy? even those who initially challenge her or treat her condescendingly. It’s also a lesson about writing stories with very definite ANTAGONISTS who, however, are NOT villains (but obviously this wouldn’t work for every genre, this one is a fairytale-ish coming of age, a female power fantasy set in the real world, it actually reminded me of 80′s spokon/shoujo anime like Attacker You)

a discovery of witches. I’ve seen only season one so far, and let me say I didn’t expect a main romance between a VAMPIRE and a WITCH to be such a SNOOZEFEST. dear god. I swear they’re giving me Bill/Sookie vibes (and I like Matthew Goode). but aside from this, it’s sorta watchable, and there’s an *evil* finnish witch who’s in a sorta kinda enemies-to-friends dynamic with the protagonist

his dark materials. Still have to catch up on season 2 because I feel rather lukewarm about it. I haven’t read the books so I can’t tell if it’s a good adaptation or not. From what I can see, everything is in the right place to make it a good story, but somehow, I’m not vibing with it? Maybe I’m just too old to care about stories with child protagonists lol.

cursed. watch it for the weeping monk. YES he’s Medieval Kylo Ren.

the boys. pretty much the most FUN (and plot-heavy) shit I’ve seen recently, but also the only good take about marvel-style superheroes and their whole fake-deep, dishonest, intensely capitalistic rhetorics i can stomach anymore (beyond the on the nose parody and obvious--a bit insufferable actually--genre-subverting intent, try looking at Homelander & co. through the lens of this post). oh yeah I also ship Frenchie and Kimiko btw, which just proves how a mediocre show can become good, and a good show can turn into AMAZING if there’s something I can ship in it.

now quite out of character for me but here’s a couple Netflix rom com movie recs:

holidate. yeah I know christmas time is over but this somehow became my new comfort movie. Fake dating at its finest. Hot, fun, not insufferably cheesy, definitely not a Hallmark Xmas movie (you know those movies where as a set up the female protagonist breaks up with her long term fiance and she’s like, “oh.”, and proceeds to be sad for 0,5 seconds? This is not one of those), it’s an actual slow burn, and there’s a part where the heroine has a diarrhea emergency which a) is not played as a gross joke and b) somehow leads to hot, romantic sex??

leap year. a 2010 movie with Matthew Goode (who is sexier here than in vampire form) and Amy Adams, it’s a road trip in Ireland (!!!!) with a shitton of belligerent romantic tension and fanfic tropes, 10/10

#anon #asks #*#recs*#show recs #movie recs

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wisteria-lodge · 4 years

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10 Favorite Characters

Okay @missbrunettebarbie, I’ll bite.

1. Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle) Those books always feel like a loving portrait of a real person. What to say? You’ve been a neurodivergent icon for the last 100+ years. Personally I think you’re ace. Started up my interest in all things Victorian. I’ve met a lot of real good people because of you. All my love always. (my first Holmes & Watson will always be the 1950s Sir John Gielgud / Sir Ralph Richardson radio show. Couldn’t recommend it more. It’s got Orson Welles as Moriarty)

2. Myrddin “Merlin” Emrys (Mary Stewart) Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy gets no love. because it has never EVER had a good cover.

You’d never know it, but this is one of the most beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking things I’ve ever read. It ruined me for any other King Arthur retelling. It is the reason I studied Post-Roman Britain. And Merlin himself is the first introvert hero I ever came across. His brand of quiet strength was the first that ever seemed accessible. And magic is treated as analogous with artistic inspiration, and it’s so subtle that sometimes he doesn’t even know if he’s using it or not, ah it’s good. This is one I re-read every year or two.

3. Esmeralda (Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame) My lady, who taught me about questioning authority, who can be a sexy pole dancer type and a spiritual earth mother and a white-hot revolutionary turning the mood of a crowd by not standing for cruelty. She’s wise enough to fall for the guy who thinks she’s funny and a pretty cool chick, and not the one who sees her as an angel. She’ll always be aspirational, but I wear headscarves a lot, and think of her.

4. Hermione Granger (JK Rowling) My prickly, difficult girl. So brilliant. So insecure. You were there for me when I was studying too much, had no interest in being pretty, and was a little too stick-in-the-mud. You just had to realize that you were cool, and you *had* been cool, the whole time. At which point you basically leveled up into Batman. And the movies did you dirty. Sorry about that.

5. Captain Jack Sparrow (Curse of the Black Pearl) This guy taught me about freedom, and happy nihilism, and how sometimes you’ve got to let go. Be suspicious of rules. He never wanted that much, really, and I respect that. Also got to give a nod to the ahead-of-the-curve gender nonconforming, and that fun way he’s got of mixing crazy SAT words with slang. “Bring me that horizon” is darn good motto. Also, can directly trace all my interest in sexy age of sail stuff back to him.

6. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) Hands down one of the most complex, fleshed out characters I’ve ever come across, star of the first romance novel I ever read where I was like... yeah. I *get it.* This is the lady who just point blank, flat out refuses to think of herself as a victim ever. (and in retrospect, that did get you in a little bit of trouble. Let people help you, Jane.) Reading this book, it felt essential to my happiness that things turned out well for Jane Eyre. If she couldn’t figure it out, there sure as hell wasn’t hope for me.

7. V (V for Vendetta, film) While this movie absolutely got me reading everything Alan Moore ever wrote, I’ve got to give a shout-out to the Wachowskis, who are charming cloud-people and I love everything they do. This is the movie that blew my mind when I was 15. I possibly was not supposed to find V as sexy as I did. But I was highly influenced by his decorating style, and memorized his cool v alliteration speech and started making eggs the same way he did. Also I read The Count of Monte Cristo because he was into it. And I’m so glad I got into Alexandre Dumas.

8. Elim Garak (Deep Space Nine) Still trying to figure out what what is is about this one hit me between the eyes. Guess I love me a complex assassin/spy who refuses categorization, and who I can just talk about for hours. Not going to overlook all the wonderful queer aspects to his character either. Anyway, this one sent me on a kick researching interrogators and secret policemen, because when I love things I just want to write essays about them, dammit. (Also I read actor Andrew Robinson’s in-character memoir A Stitch in Time. Adorable.)

9. Commissar Ciaphas Cain (Warhammer 40K) I know Sandy Mitchell’s Ciaphas Cain novels are parody entries in an already silly franchise. I love them. They’re hilarious, they’re clever, I love the meta conceit that they’ve been corrected, organized, and redacted by an in-universe Inquisition agent who is a character in the novels. And I like Cain’s energy. I like how he survives this bleak universe by carving out a happy little pocket for himself. I like his management style. I like that he’s got his insane imposter syndrome, but just kind of shrugs and goes with it. They’re happy little novels that feel like nice big exhales. It’s good energy to lean on.

10. Iago (William Shakespeare) I wanted to put in at least one one villain, because a good character is one who is complex - and galvanizes me into some kind of project/intense internal recalibration. And dear god if a good Iago doesn’t stare into your soul. Othello is my favorite Shakespeare play, and here’s this villain who is not cool, not redeemable, who is just every weakness of humanity put in front of you in a way that is way too easy to understand. He’s petty. He’s insecure. Othello was his life, and now Othello is gone, and he’s been passed over for promotion in favor of the younger, prettier, posher, more educated option. I put in some aspirational characters, so I’ll just leave this one here as a warning for myself.

HONORABLE MENTION - I did not mention either my favorite television show, Supernatural OR my favorite film, Lawrence of Arabia. They both have such complex, such tight ecosystems of characters that pulling out just *one* to talk about didn’t seem even a little bit doable.

I’m tagging @awinterrain @nocakesformissedith @ameliahcrowley @fromthemouthofkings @headless-horsepossum @the-phoenix-heart @persefoneshalott @hedonistbyheart @niche-pastiche @shadowsonasphalt

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wellthatwasaletdown · 3 years

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“It’s a fake article apparently.” The quotes from the parody account are fake, but there is real article about Harry Lambert in The Times.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-harry-lambert-the-a-lists-secret-style-weapon-8ml3q06jl

Meet Harry Lambert, The A List’s Secret Style Weapon

Whether it’s Harry Styles’s internet‑breaking cardigan or Emma Corrin in head‑to‑toe Miu Miu, he’s the stylist responsible for the hottest celeb looks of the moment. So how did a former River Island shopboy become the man influencing the way we dress today?

In February 2020 Harry Lambert was helping Harry Styles get ready to perform on NBC’s Today show. Lambert, an affable, bright-eyed 34-year-old, had been Styles’s stylist for a good five years by then, helping the One Directioner develop a distinct visual brand — and yet Styles still wasn’t quite sure why Lambert was so insistent that he wear a bright, multicoloured patchwork cardigan by JW Anderson.“I remember him saying, ‘OK, I love it, I just don’t know why we’re wearing it for rehearsals,’” Lambert relays from his east London studio. But the stylist had “a weird feeling”, he says with a little smile. “I was like, ‘Wear it for rehearsal — I promise you.’”The choice of the garment, and the knowledge of when and where to wear it, sums up Lambert’s gifts neatly. Pictures of Styles promptly went viral, so much so that the cardigan became a TikTok craze, with fans trying to replicate the knit at home. By the end of the year the V&A had announced it was buying the original, since it said so much about fashion in 2020. “It makes me a bit giddy, I guess,” says Lambert, to think that this moment he concocted will sit in a national collection for ever.

Right now Lambert can lay claim to being one of the most influential stylists in the world. The Styles collaboration is of course his calling card: a parade of eye-raising and/or mouthwatering outfits that have progressed from a much-memed floral suit at the American Music awards in 2015 to a couple of feather boas at this year’s Grammys and a Gucci women’s handbag at the Brit awards last month. His few other celebrity clients (it’s an elite bunch) include Emma Corrin, who, in the absence of any awards ceremony red carpets to be seen on following her star turn as Princess Diana in The Crown last November, took to Instagram to showcase a series of exciting, adventurous looks; and also her Crown co-star Josh O’Connor. It’s no surprise that, along the way, Lambert has become a name in his own right: his Instagram account boasts more than half a million followers. And to think — the Topman in his hometown of Norwich turned him down for a job as a teenager because “I wasn’t cool enough”, he giggles. He got one instead at River Island, where he was occasionally allowed to style the mannequins in cardigans of a somewhat less avant-garde calibre.Lambert, dressed in shorts, T-shirt and a plaid shirt, is sitting in his whitewashed studio surrounded by clothes racks for each client and mementoes from friends. He was an up-and-coming stylist, with lots of edgy editorial work and a long stint working for Topman’s head office on his CV (the brand did eventually hire him), when industry insiders introduced him to Styles in 2014. The 1D megastar was setting out his solo stall (1D would officially split in 2015) and Lambert brought racks filled with pieces by JW Anderson, Saint Laurent and future long-term collaborator Gucci on the hangers. He got the job the next day.“Harry has always been interested in fashion essentially,” Lambert says. “You could kind of tell already from the way he was dressing and the decisions that he was making with brands. So there’s never been, like, a battle. Everything with Harry is super-collaborative and it’s always been, it sounds cheesy to say, heavenly, but … !”

The two are clearly mates — they call each other Susan and Sue (Lambert is Susan), and a poster from Styles, signed “To Lamby” (his other nickname), has pride of place on Lambert’s desk. From the way he tells it, neither has blinked when it comes to the sexy, campy, gender-twisting work that has made Styles stand out from his peers. Indeed, other boy band veterans — Robbie Williams or Justin Timberlake — never tried anything this visually brave. But Lambert is clear that this isn’t just him dressing a marionette: “I think it’s part of his, you know, part of his character — it’s part of him. I never want it to feel like he’s wearing a costume, I never want to feel like something is wearing him. We’re not doing it for lols — it should feel like part of the performance or part of the whole, you know?”Lambert admits to finding online critique culture overwhelming, but he points out, slightly apologetically, that most them, for him, have been good (no doubt partly thanks to the millions of Styles superfans). “I’m lucky that I have a lot of positive feedback. But when I see something that is negative, you remember that so much more than the positive things. I used to be like, ‘Social media doesn’t bother me,’ but it does kind of f*** with your head.” Still, he’s all for it: “What’s worse — being so boring that nobody talks about you?” As for Corrin, they actually met at a Styles gig and the two became friends before she asked him to work with her for the media blitz for The Crown. “There’s something about her energy that’s just so infectious,” he raves today. Many have loved her appearances in fashion-forward London brands such as Knwls (a stringy black sheer party number, showcased in a lift), or more eccentric insiders like new-era Schiaparelli and Miu Miu. For Lambert, who loves to champion up-and-coming British brands such as Maximilian, SS Daley or his good friend Harris Reed, it was a no-brainer. “There’s a tendency sometimes for young actresses or young talent to make them look older or more ‘mature’. People are trying to hurry them along.” Corrin may be a leading lady already, “but she’s young too, and cool”, he reasons. “We didn’t want it to feel stuffy.”

Being a stylist is a star turn in itself now. In the glory days of the Noughties Rachel Zoe styled the likes of Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan in a very Zoe way (big sunglasses, bigger bags, gladiator sandals and anything boho). She has been followed by the likes of Karla Welch, who has put clients such as Tracee Ellis Ross and Elisabeth Moss in considered yet still fashion-forward choices, and the other current hot favourite Law Roach, who earned the respect of the entire world for decking out Céline Dion in Vetements. Lambert’s contribution is to blur not only genders, a bit, but also the distinction between “editorial” (traditionally edgy, fashy) and “red carpet” (which is to say glossy, a bit staid).Lambert finds most red-carpet dressing fearsomely dull, to be clear: “I really cannot see another black tie! Just no. No, thank you.” The last “iconic” red-carpet moment was, he thinks, Rihanna’s omelette dress at the Met Ball, and that was 2015. In fact what has really got him buzzing is RiRi’s latest series of outfits papped as “she comes out of restaurants, goes up escalators … it looks so good”, he says. “It’s better than most of what’s on the red carpet!” Back in Norwich, Lambert had no clue what a stylist was when he was growing up. The child of a policeman dad and a nurse mum, he had an extensive interest in clothes but no knowledge of fashion per se. It was only when he went to study photography at the University for the Creative Arts Rochester, in Kent, that he was alerted to it. He interned at fashion magazines during his summer holidays, then started working for a senior menswear stylist, and then the position at Topman came up. He speaks fondly of home — he says his dad is quite a “flamboyant” dresser, actually — but admits it took everyone a minute to suss out what he does. “Even up until five years ago my parents would tell people, ‘He’s a stylist,’ and they’d say, ‘Oh, he does hair?’

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 4 years

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Psycho Analysis: Jack Torrance

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

“HEEEEERE’S JOHNNY!”

Jack Nicholson has played many crazy guys over the years, but perhaps his best and craziest character is the one where you actually get to watch as he slides into and succumbs to madness – Jack Torrance. Jack is the guy we spend the most time with in The Shining, and it’s a good thing we do, because it ends up turning him into a pretty rich and engaging character in his own right beyond just being a great villain.

Motivation/Goals: Jack just wants to bounce back by doing a good job maintaining the Overlook Hotel… is that too much to ask? It might be, because Jack was an alcoholic and a rather bitter person even before the hotel by all accounts, at one point even hurting his own son (and if you take Doctor Sleep at face value, his ghost outright states he just couldn’t stand his wife and kid). So really, it’s not too shocking when after the constant suspicion and shakiness with his wife and the numerous strange incidents around the hotel, Jack slowly but surely slides into madness.

Really though, his character isn’t particularly driven by motivations or goals like other villains, because for much of the movie he’s technically a dark protagonist. We’re following Jack as we see the hotel latch onto the darkness in his heart and victimize him, turning him into its agent. His ultimate goal after he has finally snapped is to kill his wife and child, which is a chilling goal to be sure, but with Jack it’s really about the journey and not the destination. Frankly, the Overlook is the villain of the film with a goal in mind, though what exactly that is doesn’t became totally evident until Doctor Sleep; in The Shining, it’s all about the harrowing ambiguity of the haunting that pushes Jack over the edge.

Performance: This was apparently one of the things Stephen King hated about the movie; he thought casting Nicholson was basically a spoiler in and of itself, that Nicholson and his eyebrows were just way too sinister to sell the idea of a good man driven to madness. As much as I love King and his work, I think Kubrick made the right call for the story he wanted to tell; Nicholson’s performance is easily his definitive villain portrayal. Even before the hotel’s influence really kicks in, he portrays Jack as a man who always seems on edge, who feels like he’s moments away from snapping to begin with, and that the hotel’s influence was the little push he needed to let loose. It’s a really fascinating portrayal of a likable yet somewhat unsympathetic jerk slowly going insane… and then when he does finally lose it, all bets are off, and Nicholson finally gives you exactly what you would want to see out of him. The laughing, the faces, the snarling, the ax craziness… Jack in the final act is truly a murderous, raging lunatic for the ages.

Final Fate: In the end, the Overlook Hotel wins, as Jack freezes to death in the maze, unable to kill his family, and then joins the ghosts in the hotel. This is a bit vague in The Shining and even more vague in Doctor Sleep; whether he really ends up as a ghost or his appearance as the bartender to annoy Danny was just the hotel trying to get to him in the latter is open for interpretation. What is clear is that Jack is most definitely dead.

Best Scene: Hmmm, I wonder… could it be the scene that is plastered on several DVD covers for the film and also has been referenced and parodied relentlessly ever since the film was released? The scene where Jack axes the door to get at his wife and utters the immortal reference plastered at the top of this review is so utterly famous that even if you’ve never seen the film, there’s a high chance you’d recognize this scene.

Best Quote: Yeah, yeah, everyone always points to the whole “Here’s Johnny!” thing but quite frankly I don’t think a pop culture reference should be considered his best quote, Especially thanks to the following quote he delivers to his wife right after she finally discovers her husband has well and truly lost it:

“Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in! Gonna bash 'em right the fuck in!”

What really makes it good is how Jack is moving up the stairs towards Wendy, the looks on his face, the evil laugh before he drops that last sentence with its beautiful precision F-strike… in fact, the whole framing of this moment is so good that Rose the Hat pulled it off herself in Doctor Sleep. I would have honestly put this as the best moment, but sadly it never really gets the acknowledgment it deserves compared to the most iconic scene mentioned above.

Final Thoughts & Score: Jack Torrance is truly a villain for the ages, and yet as a villain he hardly accomplishes anything. Yes, he killed Halloran, but that is basically the only thing he accomplished before he himself died. But despite all of that, he has managed to worm his way into the cultural consciousness in a way few villains can ever claim to have, and it’s all because of the simple fact that we are with him as he becomes the villain.

The “protagonist journey to villain” plot is not new or groundbreaking, but it is usually interesting. The entire Star Wars prequels were a three-part saga showing this sort of journey for a reason; showing how a good person could become so corrupted they commit great evil is fascinating. But Jack represents something a bit rarer: he is a protagonist who is NOT good. He is flawed, he is bitter, he is abrasive, and yet when he is finally driven to madness it’s still sad and pitiable. Of course, this mostly comes from his attempts to drag his wife and child down with him, but I think a tear can be shed for Jack. If there was a bit of good in him and the ghost in Doctor Sleep was merely lying, it can be hard to see a broken man who was trying to be better fall back into his old ways and not only return to being bad, but actually end up worse. Being an alcoholic is one thing, attempting to chop up your family is pretty much a whole different story.

Jack easily scores himself a 10/10 because not only is he a fantastic character and pretty much the definitive Jack Nicholson performance, it’s hard to argue that Jack has had a pretty profound cultural impact. You’d be hard-pressed to find a work where a door is axed down in a visual medium since 1980 that doesn’t reference his attempted murder of his wife in some way. Of course, it was never done quite as well as the original; you just can’t beat good ol’ Jack, can ya?

#Psycho Analysis #Jack Torrance #The Shining #Jack Nicholson

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redtutel · 4 years

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Rewatching Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Although I have vague memories of the Episode III promotional material, this is the Star Wars movie where I truly was a part of the hype. December 2015 was a magical time where everyone was just...loved Star Wars. And it created a meme and parody culture that was just as wholesome as the original trilogies. None of that cynical and nitpicky, or in extreme cases sexist and racist, Star Wars fan culture we’re dealing with today.

So much like the first Avengers movie, the magic surrounding its release will make it impossible for me to judge this movie fairy. But I don’t care. I’m still very attached to it. Will this be the viewing where the magic wares off? Or will I find myself considering this better then the film it pays homage to. I’m excited to find out.

Seeing a brand new “A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far, Away” and an opening crawl in theaters was just awesome.

“Will not rest until, Skywalker, The Last Jedi, has been destroyed,” Hey, Foreshadowing! I know there’s a ton of debate as to what was or wasn’t planned in advance for this trilogy, but still.

The First Order is Space ISIS/Neo-Nazis, and Leia leads an army to fight it. Pretty simple. I don’t get why people get so up in arms about how little the politics are explored in this movie. It’s probably a side effect of just how lore heavy Star Wars got after the original trilogy.

The opening shot of a space ship completely covering a moon. A new take on ironic Star Wars imagers. A pretty good summary of this movie. But I feel like such new takes make up for just how many recycled plot points this movie has.

The opening action sequence is the first time in years Storm Troopers have been intimidating (Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers are two different things). It’s pretty impressive. It’s a great way to establish how evil the First Order is.

Finn’s introduction is so impressive. A Stormtrooper who in his first fight, completely looses the will to participate in war. We may never know about his friend he saw die, but despite that, we still understand why he lost his will to fight. It might be a bit awkward for Finn and Poe’s friendship if they ever find out Poe shot Finn’s old Stormtrooper friend.

Kylo Ren stopping a laser with the Force. An awesome new way to use the Force. And I love Poe’s quip “So who talks first?” It establishes Poe as a fun, jokey character, which is why I don’t get why people got upset about his sense of humor in Last Jedi. He’s the sort of character that uses humor to relieve the tension of any situation he’s in.

J.J Abrams made this movie to be watched blind, and I really wish I could (but I saw spoilers before I watched it). Where is Luke? Who is this new Sith? What’s the backstory the old man hits at? There’s a good Stormtrooper? He talks off his helmet? Who’s this girl in the desert? I’d love to discover these things for the first time all over again.

I’m found of robot characters that go against their programming. Finn’s not a robot, but the beginning of his character arc has that concept. He does not believe in this cause, and he fights war terrifying. And he wants to escape.

Anakin was a slave, Luke was a farmboy, and now we have Rey, a scavenger, all alone in the world, just tying to service. She quickly establishes herself as incredibly tough, but also a bit cute.

Of all the protagonists Rey’s backstory is the saddest in my eyes. While Luke had a happy but boring life with his aunt and uncle, and Anakin had a hard life but a living mother, Rey has had to fend for herself since she was a child, holding onto hope that one day her parents will come. She was all alone in the world. But now that’s going to change.

I don’t take any sides in the CGI/Puppets debate, but seeing puppets in a big Hollywood blockbuster again is pretty nice.

BB-8′s so cute. I have too much R2-D2 nostalgia to consider him my favorite Skywalker Saga droid though.

Rey’s relationship with BB-8 establishes that although she’s a survivor, she hasn’t let it harden her heart. She’s willing to help BB-8, and although she wants him to be on his way, she still won’t sell him off (despite being tempted to)

...Poe’s technically the Leia archetype in this movie. This tough rebel who got captured by the villains, and who sent a droid with something important.

The Finn and Poe escape scene has a lot of great dialogue. I’d argue some of the best banter in the series. It’s a pretty good action scene too.

Of all the characters, I like how Finn’s take on his archetype the most. He’s the Han Solo, the deuteragonist who wants nothing to do with the battle, and joins for selfish reasons, but in the end proves to be a loyal friend and hero. But unlike cool and collated Solo, Finn is nervous and cowardly. But that makes his eventual bravery and loyalty all the more satisfying.

I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve heard Poe was originally going to die, but Oscar Isaac was so great they kept the character alive. I do believe keeping them separated is for the best, seeing how it makes sure Finn stays around for as long has he does.

Early on we establish that Kylo Ren is abnormally obsessed with Luke Skywalker, to the point where Gnearl Hux questions him.

Finn and Rey’s friendship stars off pretty rocky, but even then they have some good chemistry. At one point Finn’s all beat up, and he asked Rey if she’s okay. He may not be very good at it, but he’s trying to be a gentleman.

I love how the Millennium Falcon gets called garbage. It’s a funny bit of irony, concerning just how sacred everything else from classic Star Wars gets treated.

The first Millennium Falcon chase is another great action sequence. Rey and Finn are figuring things out as they go along, and BB-8′s being cute. And in the end they’re very impressed with each other. Characters becoming friends tough action sequences is a favorite troupe of mine.

Everything from Finn and Poe’s escape to meeting Maz Katana has nothing to do with a New Hope, and thus is a very underrated part of the movie. Although the tentacle monster scene is kind of forgettable.

Both Finn and Rey have no last name. They’ve never had any sort of family before. Heck, Finn didn’t even have a real name until just a few hours ago. They’re nobodies trying to find themselves, which sets of their arc that carries over into the next film

Kylo Ren destroying the console establishes him as short tempered for the first time. He drops his stoic facade and shows his true colors. Kylo looks indimiateing, but deep down he’s an insecure manchild trying his best to inhert a dark legacy. I’m found of this character, as well as similar characters like Berkut and Shiguraki

Did BB-8 give a thumbs up or a bird? The world will never know.

Rey keeps her guard up around people she doesn’t know to well, but she has a very soft and kind side as well. She’s pretty aggrieve to Finn early on, which is probably why....certain people, dislike her. Women and aggression tends to lead to backlash, after all.

I love how Finn slips in a bit of Stormtrooper knowledge. It comes in handy a few times in this movie. Some could say it should come up a bit more, but I think it’s used enough.

“Chewie, We’re Home” What an iconic line. I can still hear the applause.

Seeing Han become the Obi Wan archetype is a very unique direction for the character to take. And he handles the role very well. Harrison Ford may have been sick of this character, but he still brought his A-game. I love that Rey admires Han more for his smuggling than for his war heroics. And it’s very sweet seeing Han admiring just how much Rey knows about piloting. It’s a very sweet father/daughter relationship. In hindsight, Rey and Han don’t even need to be related for this relationship to be this good. Rey lost her parents and Han lost his son, and they can’t help but see each other as a means to fill those voids, even if they deny it to themselves.

The events of the original trilogy are legendary to these characters, which make the “It’s True, All of it” line so cool. It’s pretty interesting how chronologically, the events of one trilogy are legends to the characters of the next one.

Seeing Han be exactly how people remember his is pretty cleverly deconstructed. In-Univse it happened because he needed to escape from the pain of what happened to his son. And now he’s at the point where there’s nobody left to swindle.

Whenever Rey’s in trouble, she’s always the one to get herself out of it. This is definitely meant as pushback to the fact that in so many things, women always need help while men can aways get out of a situation by themselves. And I’m all for it. It’s great to see a woman be this strong, but she’s not flawless. After all, she shuts people out and is struggling to accept the fact her parents are never coming back.

Snoke even says “Last Jedi.” Even in this movie, Snoke is convinced that Luke is the hero of this story, and will stop and nothing to stop him. It is interesting that they introduced the Emperor archetype in this first movie, although maybe it was a sign that he wasn’t actually the big bad of this trilogy.

“It the hands of your father: Han Solo.” And the audience gasped (unless they got spoiled first. It’s one of those things we can never un-know). Although if I have to nitpick, I’d be nice if we found out alongside Finn and Rey.

I love that the space chess still looks like stop motion.

Rey doesn’t see herself as the hero. Just the delivery girl. Even Luke saw himself as trying to save a damsel in distress. But though this journy, she becomes a hero.

"Luke felt responsible. He just, walked away from everything.” This was established in this movie? Why did it take until Last Jedi for people to react to that plot point?

“I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy” I love that line. It’s so endearing!

Finn reminds me of Usopp. A liar and a coward, but someone who will always do the right thin in the end. He’s my personal favorite sequel character

“Women always find out.” Han has a ton of great lines in this movie.

“I’ve already been away too long” She’s so convinced her parents will come back she won’t even leave her planet for a few hours.

With Maz Katana, we’re back in a New Hope. I’m found of this character. It’s fascinating to see someone who’s Force Sensitive but not a Jedi. And she offers some great advice to Rey and Finn. I’d love to see her in the next season of Clone Wars.

Kylo Ren sees Darth Vader as the hero, the dark as good, and the light as bad. But he has regrets, and lakes the discipline and fidelity of Darth Vader. Of all the characters, he’s the one most desperate to fulfill his archetype.

“Though the ages I have seen evil take on many forms. The Sith, the Empire, today it’s the First Order.” “If you live long enough, you see the same eyes in many different people.” Of the the sequel’s trilogy’s biggest themes is that history repeats itself. But despite that, it’s still important to fight evil whenever it arises, instead of just sitting back and letting it happen.

It never occurred to me before, but Finn’s cowardliness might be the lingering effects of his brainwashing. Although he does not believe in the First Order’s Ways, he was still convinced all his life that they’re unstoppable, which is why he wants to run instead of fight. I also like how he’s admits the truth, instead of there being this “liar revealed” thing.

Finn and Rey have truly become friends at this point. Instead of just running away, now Finn wants Rey to come with him. As far as he knows, she’s the only friend he has, and he doesn’t want anything to happen to her. Meanwhile, Rey doesn’t want Finn to leave, because he’s one of the few people in her life to stick with her for this long. If he leaves, he might end of like her parents, who never came back.

Wait...how come nobody was demanding to know Finn’s parents. He was taken from a family he’ll never know after all. How come people accept that Finn’s parents don’t matter, but insist that Rey’s does?

Seeing Rey connect to the force for the first time (outside of the piloting and scavenging skills I assume she she used them for subcoinsously before the events of this movie) is really impressive. We get flashes of her past, as well as Luke’s past and Kylo’s past, and even hear the voices of Yoda and Obi Wan. ok She’s getting her first glimpse at the Force that binds everything together, and she’s terrified of it. It’s also yet another divination from the New Hope plot, which is very welcome.

I forgot that Rey being Force sensitive was once a spoiler. How time flys.

I really hope Obi-Wan appears in Rise of Skywalker. He spoke to Rey when she connected to the Force for the first time, and I’d love to see that expanded upon.

“They’re never coming back.” A lesson Rey, and the audience, finds difficulty accepting.

“The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.” Such a great line. It’s a great summery of Rey’s arc, and I imagine people with difficult pasts can relate to it.

Maz tells Rey and Finn exactly what they need. Rey need to learn to move forward, and Finn needs to learn to fight for what’s right.

Why does the lightsaber choose Rey? I guess her midichlorian count is just right or something. It doesn’t really matter, and I personally find the idea that the next hero can come from anywhere inspiring.

...Come to think of it, Luke’s the only protagonist who isn’t just some rando.

“Why is Maz so interested in Rey” Probably because of her strong connection to the Force.

Rey rejects the saber. Classic rejection of the call. Can you blame her, after that vision?

The First Order sees the Republic as weak and dishonest. Seems straightforward to me. Maybe people were underwhelmed because Neo-Nazism didn’t get as much attention as it did just a few months later.

Starkiller Base. It’s cool looking power-creep. On one hand, since we don’t know anyone from those planets, it’s not as impactful as what happened to Alderan. But then again, we actually see people on that planet die. So It’s a bit of a mixed bag overall.

Finn’s not going to leave until he knows Rey is safe. How touching.

TR-8R. I miss that meme.

Seeing Poe’s triumphant return is pretty great.

Seing Rey’s trying to fight off Kylo Ren with a gun is very tense. This the the first time she looses a fight in this movie. Seeing someone so strong get captured really raises the stakes. This is where they first meet. Their relationship is standard Hero vs Villain in this movie, but things are going to change a LOT in the next one.

Despite how scared he is, Finn still rushes in to try and stop Rey from being capture.

Seeing General Leia for the first time is awesome. Han and Leia’s reuinon is so touching as well. C-3PO’s back to disturbing Han and Leia moments as well, which is pretty funny.

Seeing BB-8 and Finn get reunited with Poe is also very touching.

Finn is helping the Resistance for the sake of Rey. He’s not quite a hero yet, but he’s getting there.

So the movie did established R2-D2 had the map in his back-up data in the actual movie.

Han and Leia went back to what they know best after the loss of their son. It’s such a tragic moment.

Kylo almost has the depth in one movie that took Vader two or three movies to get. I feel like that should be discussed more often.

Kylo’s face is removed to reveal...a normal person. Ben didn’t get any external injuries to turn him into Kylo Ren. It was all manipulation

Rey takes on the Leia role when capture, and Finn briefly takes on the Luke role, But when she frees herself they go back to being Luke and Han, respectively.

Even in this movie, Rey and Kylo are using the force to get to know each other, although mainly on accident. Maybe that’s where Snoke got the idea in the next movie.

After seeing Kylo using the Force, Rey decides to use it in order to escape, although she’s a bit hesitant to do so. It takes her three tires to do the Jedi mind trick, after all. I do wonder where she heard about it. Maybe she figured that if you can read minds, you can change minds.

Rey is a very fast learner in any situation, be it piloting, shooting or using the force. Maybe it’s her midichlorian count.

Starkill base makes very little logical sense, but its still a very cool concept, and seeing day turn into night serving as a ticking clock is a very cool visual.

“No matter how much we fought, I always hated watching you leave” “That’s why I did it, so you’d miss me.” All these years later, and that still have such great chemistry.

“That’s not how the Force works.” I love that line, but people misuse it.

Finn is doing something very heroic, putting himself on the frontlines and disabling the shield. But he’s only doing this for Rey. Despite that, he stays true to his word and disables the shields. I love seeing him stick it to his old boss. It’s a fun moment.

The Rouge One “Womp” is even in this movie! How did I never notice it until after Rouge One?

“As Long as there’s light, we’ve got a chance” A classic symbol, but one that still works.

Seeing Rey and Finn reunited is just another very touching moment. “We came back for you.” For the first time in Rey’s life, somebody actually came back for her. I love how Rey describes how using the force to escape was “Something I can’t explain, you wouldn’t believe it.” In general I love how the Force is depicted in this movie.

“We’ll meet back here” No! That was their last moment together!

Ben and Han’s confrontation is another utterly fantastic moment. Ben is tempted to go back to his father, but he’s too devoted to Snoke’s teachings. On top of that, he feels like it’s too late to go this far. He figures that to get rid of these regrets, he has to kill Han Solo. I love how the sky gets dark, leaving red as the only light source. It really makes Ben’s lightsaber stick out when he kills Han. And yet, Han still touchings the check of his son, showing that even despite this, he still loves him. Instead of letting the past die by killing his father, Kylo is left more conflicted than ever.

Meanwhile, Rey lost a chance to have a father yet again.

The snowy forest at night is such a great setting, and leads to an awesome lightsaber fight. Rey gets knocked out, so Finn has to protect her with a lightsaber duel. Kylo is beating himself, increasing his pain to increase his dark power. Finn puts up a valiant effort, but in the end, he gets knocked out, and Rey has to save him. But still, he bought her time, and gave her the strength to use the force to stop Kylo. Seeing Rey grab the lightsaber for the first time using the Force is just awesome. She’s barely holding her own, but true to the character, she’s a fast learning. Meanwhile Kylo is still injured, and maybe a bit worn out from fighting Finn. At the cliffside, Rey is at the ends of her seat, but when she trusts in the force, she manages to beat Kylo after he overpowered her during the rest of the movie.

Finn ends with the movie more devoted to Rey than the Resistance, but he still proves himself to be a loyal friend and a hero. I was worried about him for the two years between Force Awakens and Last Jedi

There’s no words between Leia and Rey. They both just know, Han is dead, and they both loved him. And that’s enough for them to mourn him together.

But in the midts of dealing with the loss of Han, there’s is hope. Specifically, the New Hope.

Seeing Luke for the first time in this movie is such a fantastic cliffhanger.

Overall, I still love this movie as much as when I first saw it. It’s got great action and effects, the new characters are some of my favorites in the series, and the old characters give some of their best performances of all time. Sure it messed with a happy ending, but I’m still investing in seeing how characters old and new are going to try and get that happy ending back.

#star wars #star wars rewatch

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vanilla-blessing · 5 years

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qb anime-watching list for Summer 2019

Hey I know how much all you folks love uninformed digest predictions off limited information so here are some - qb

Definitely Watching:

Vinland Saga

You know what this is and who the author is since the manga’s been going forever, the animation looks pretty alright and this portion of the story they could cover is tightly paced, strong seinen. Even if they mess that up, there’s no way they could mess up the first chapter, so at a minimum I expect the pilot to be memorable and for a hundred gifs of Vikings to grace my twitter feed. Not much else to say about it, people might be expecting too much from the production, but it could also live up to those expectations.

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Carole & Tuesday (continuing)

Carole and Tuesday’s great, has had some of the best musical performances of any anime already, and all the singing being in English makes it very easy to listen to. The parts that aren’t explicitly a musical performance are less memorable, but those are also pretty good sometimes. I’m not dropping this anytime soon.

Star☆Twinkle PreCure (continuing)

Star☆Twinkle PreCure is a more or less normal season of modern Precure, which is fine. It's not lighting the rulebook on fire and hurling it out the window like Hugtto Precure, but it is taking some risks, like acknowledging Japan's problems with accepting interracial couples and emphasizing that integrating with other cultures is not only good but desperately needed in all levels of a functional contemporary society. The way it’s tackling these complex issues is sometimes a bit too simplistic and indirect, but the diversity of the planets, people, and themes in this season is refreshing in its own way, and probably was only possible because Hugtto blew open the doors first. It’s also one of the funniest seasons and that’s what we all probably need right now.

Kiratto Pri☆Chan (continuing)

Pretty Rhythm’s second major reboot spent a year being relatively grounded for the franchise, but has slowly loosened its grip on reality and now it’s almost fully back in weird, self-referential madcap pseudo-idol garbage. Characters from other seasons are just showing up now on the regular and the iconic bizarre inhuman pupils have come back stronger than ever (see above and below). It’s a lot more like an unrestrained cartoon now, which is where Pretty Rhythm is most entertaining, because it wasn’t cutting it by normal means.

Maybe Watching list:

Symphogear XV

Symphogear’s generally watchable but I wasn’t too hot on the last season, and watching it on any regular schedule has been made problematic by the sudden unexplained lack of licensing overseas. I don’t have faith that Crunchyroll will skip or pick up AXZ and license this one out of order, so it may be more prudent to wait to marathon this season all at once at a later date, which I feel is the best way to experience a season with as much raw momentum as this series.

Whatever Lerche’s Music anime is

Frankly, it’s been a long time since Scum’s Wish and School-Live, and every season I feel less hype for Lerche’s mediocre-sounding output. This one also sounds mediocre.

Ensemble Stars!

David Production anime adaptation of an idol raising game only this one is boys. It has the same director as the current anime of King of Prism and they might have hinted at a connection between the two shows so I’m gonna watch it for Lore Reasons. If there’s no Lore I’ll probably drop it.

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Trash List

That Mom Isekai

Also known as Tsuujou Kougeki ga Zentai Kougeki de Nikai Kougeki no Okaasan wa Suki desu ka. I was gonna trash-watch this one out of curiosity and an expectation that it would reach new depths of anime garbage but the first volume of the manga I saw in a bookstore was enough to turn me off of this series permanently even as a joke. I will admit the central conceit of “you can’t leave the virtual world until you get along with your mommy” is kind of funny but in practice the author couldn’t make it 5 minutes without crossing the line of utilizing the mother for harem fanservice and that gets exactly as weird as you’re thinking.

The official twitter is called “https://twitter.com/okaasan_online” which is hysterical so I will give props to whatever PA managed to get that @.

Machikado Mazoku

It’s an adult-oriented gag magical girl parody anime. The last one went so good they just had to make another. It gives off a selling hug pillows energy and every single entry in this subgenre is cursed so that’s why I put it here. I have to watch one episode because of my death pact but I don’t expect much.

Re:Stage! Dream Days♪

This has a strong chance of being the worst anime of the season. the phone game’s twitter was nothing but middle schoolers in wedding dresses as an event for an idol raising rhythm game and its all red flags. Most likely don’t watch this

#summer 2019 anime #forecasting #there's really not much #no surprises all isekai

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narkinafive · 5 years

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more essay updates, not much new content but filling out the structure a little bit. i can’t believe it’s only 1500 words right now. it feels simultaneously way too long and way too short

Few franchises can match the breadth of Star Wars, and fewer still can claim to be as iconic. Not only have the characters, dialogues, settings, and aesthetics been directly referenced and lovingly parodied across all genres, so too has John Williams’ music. Yet Williams’ music is perhaps most referenced, riffed on, and remixed within the franchise itself; it is difficult to find a piece of Star Wars media which does not contain any number of Williams’ leitmotifs, such as the bombastic “Main Title” fanfare, the sweeping majesty of the Force theme, or the foreboding, villainous “Imperial March.” Within the many, many Star Wars related properties, composers for the franchise’s “lower tier” [properties], i.e. any property outside of the nine-film “Skywalker Saga,” are presented with a difficult challenge: how does one emulate and reference Williams’ original, titanic score, keeping a coherent sonic aesthetic, without copying him directly, and allowing space for the composer’s own musical language?

The larger Star Wars chronology can be broken into three general eras: the Original Trilogy era (OT), which focuses on the time represented by the films A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Rogue One, the Sequel Trilogy era (ST), which is comprised of the films The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, as well as the TV series Star Wars: Resistance, and the Prequel Trilogy era (PT), as represented by the films The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and Solo, as well as the TV series The Clone Wars. Of these properties, Williams has obviously scored the lion’s share of the films; Rogue One’s soundtrack was composed by Michael Giacchino, Resistance by Michael Tavera, Solo by John Powell, and The Clone Wars by Kevin Kiner.

Kiner’s other work for Star Wars was the score of another TV series, Star Wars Rebels. Rebels occupies an interesting place within the greater Star Wars chronology, qualifying as a prequel due to taking place before the events of A New Hope, yet both aesthetically and narratively more aligned with the OT, rather than the PT. [Though Rebels is nominally a prequel, Kiner’s musical language sets it firmly within the OT era, with frequent sonic callbacks to Williams’ score, with each aesthetic connection serving not only to link the viewer to the OT era, but highlight the narrative differences between Rebels and the original films. This is particularly exemplified in the parallels and contrasts between the heroes of Rebels and the OT, Ezra Bridger, and Luke Skywalker.] -fixxx

From the outset, several parallels can be drawn between Ezra Bridger and Luke Skywalker: both are orphans from provincial areas of the galaxy, both are accidentally caught up in insurrectionist rebel activity against the Empire, and both discover that they can wield the powers of the Force. They are even roughly the same age, born within days of each other. Contrasts do abound, however. Ezra receives several years of Jedi training from a former Jedi, while Luke receives very little; Ezra is actively involved with the Rebel Alliance from the very beginning, while Luke has to be drawn into it due to personal tragedy; Ezra’s primary motif is connected to the twin moons of his home planet of Lothal - this, in contrast to the famous scene of Luke Skywalker gazing into the twin sunset of his planet of Tatooine; and so on. [more parallels]

Set five years before the events of A New Hope, the backdrop of Rebels depicts the formal declaration of the Galactic Alliance, the establishment of the famous rebel base on the planet of Yavin IV, and numerous references to the secret construction of the Death Star, alongside several integral character cameos, including Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia, and Obi-wan Kenobi, while the main thrust of the story centers on the crew of the Ghost, an early cell of the as-yet-undeclared Rebel Alliance, and the journey of its newest crew member, Ezra Bridger. Described by Dave Filoni, [title] and creator of Rebels, as a con artist, and Taylor Gray, the character’s actor, as a [street smart thief], Ezra happens upon the crew of the Ghost as they commit a minor act of terrorism against the Galactic Empire, stealing several crates of supplies. Rather than pick a side in the conflict, Ezra elects to steal a crate of the same supplies for himself, outrunning the comedically incompetent Imperial police force, and dodging the members of the Ghost crew as they try to get the supplies back, until Ezra is forced to seek refuge on the Ghost to escape the marginally more competent TIE figher pilots. After helping the crew in distributing the supplies - namely, food - to a nearby refugee camp, Ezra is convinced by the Ghost’s pilot and leader, Hera Syndulla, to assist in a rescue mission. Despite his initial capture and subsequent escape from Imperial custody, Ezra chooses to see the rescue mission through to the end, and witnesses the Ghost’s second-in-command, Kanan Jarrus, wield a lightsaber, revealing himself as a survivor of the presumed-distinct and quasi-legendary Jedi Order. Recognizing that Ezra has the same gift, Kanan offers to train him to wield the Force in order to continue fighting against the Empire, dispelling any notion that the Jedi are gone with a triumphant declaration, “Not all of us.” Filoni states [need src] that Ezra decides to join the Ghost not only to learn how to use a lightsaber, but because he is in need of a family, having lost his own parents at the age of seven, when they were arrested for their underground, anti-establishment radio broadcasts. Initially, Ezra joins the Rebellion not because it is the right thing to do, but because it is convenient to him at the time; the Ghost functions as a roof over his head, its crew members as a new set of parents and siblings, and its missions as a source of food and income, along with the added bonus of learning how to use an incredibly powerful, specialized weapon, despite the target it paints on his back. Part of Ezra’s journey over the course of Rebels is re-learning how to think beyond himself, and sacrificing himself for the greater good of everyone, and not just the good of his family and friends, but, as one would expect, at the very beginning of this story, he is far more selfish than selfless. It is halfway into the first season before Ezra begins to grok the Jedi lessons Kanan has attempted to teach him, beyond lifting rocks with his mind, as he [tearfully] admits his fears while in the middle of a vision quest (presided over by the disembodied voice of Master Yoda). Over the course of the show, Ezra has frequent, deep brushes with the “Dark Side” of the Force, becoming more inclined to hurt, [something], or even kill in the name of pragmatism and getting victories for the Rebel Alliance.

Luke’s introduction to the Rebel Alliance is equally accidental, though arguably far more heroic. When his uncle and adoptive father Owen purchases a pair of droids for the farm, Luke discovers a secret message hidden within one of them: Princess Leia’s plea to a mysterious Obi-wan Kenobi for aid. Luke’s first instinct is to help her. [more]

These parallels are further underscored by their respective musical motifs. Consider Luke’s theme, the “Main Title” fanfare. [GL quote, SWO 2, 20 min in]. Comprised primarily of perfect intervals, the theme begins with an ascending major fifth, an opening salvo so famous that music students everywhere, yours truly included, use it to identify perfect fifths in other contexts. As Lucas notes, the principal instrumentation is in the brass section, immediately conferring an old-world heroic air to Luke. [SWO hero’s journey quote]. [insert sheet music here, recap] As a theme, it is punchy, energetic, deliberately and intrinsically tied up in the “Rebel Fanfare,” and generally underscores moments of onscreen heroism and valiant derring-do [explain] [example] [example] [example]

By contrast, while Ezra’s theme is also played by the horns, they are muted, thinner, ringing out more softly over shimmering, sustained strings. [insert sheet music here, recap] Ezra’s theme mostly serves to underscore the character’s moments of emotional reflection, rather than his superhuman action. [example] [example] [example]

#essay tag #read and critique at ur leisure 🤟❤💯

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britesparc · 5 years

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Weekend Top Ten #388

Top Ten Things Tim Burton’s Batman Films Did Right

Thirty years ago, give or take, the first Tim Burton Batman movie was released in cinemas (according to Google, its UK release date was 11th August 1989). Everyone knows the story; it was a phenomenon, a marketing juggernaut, a hit probably beyond what anyone was reasonably expecting. I was too young to understand or appreciate what was going on, but for twenty years or more the image of Batman in the public consciousness was intertwined with Adam West and pop-art frivolity. Suddenly superheroes were “dark” and “grown-up”; suddenly we had multi-million-dollar-grossing properties, franchises, and studios rummaging through their back catalogues of acquired IPs to land the next four-quadrant hit. Throughout the rest of the nineties we got a slew of pulp comic adaptations – The Spirit, The Phantom, Dick Tracy – before the tangled web of Marvel licenses became slightly easier to unpick, and we segued into the millennium on the backs of Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man. Flash-forward to a super-successful Batman reboot, then we hit the MCU with Iron Man, and we all know where that goes. And it all began with Batman!

Except, of course, that’s not quite the whole story. Studios were trying to adapt superheroes and comic books for a number of years, not least because Richard Donner’s Superman had been such a huge hit a decade before Batman. And the Batman films themselves began to deteriorate in quality pretty rapidly. Plus, when viewed from the distance of a couple of decades or more, the supposed dark, gritty, adult storytelling in Burton’s films quickly evaporates. They’re just as camp, silly, and nonsensical as the 1960s show, they’re just visually darker and with more dry ice. Characters strut around in PVC bodysuits; the plots make little to no sense; characterisation is secondary to archetype; and Batman himself is quite divorced from his comic incarnation, killing enemies often capriciously and being much less of a martial artist or detective than he appeared on the page (in fact, Adam West’s Batman does a lot more old-school deducing than any of the cinematic Batmen).

I think a lot of people of my generation, who grew up with Adam West, went through a period of disowning the series because it was light, bright, campy and, essentially, for children; then we grow up and appreciate it all the more for being those things, and also for being a pure and delightful distillation of one aspect of the comics (seriously, there’s nothing in the series that’s not plausibly from a 1950s Batman comic). And I think the same is true of Burton’s films. for all their importance in terms of “legitimising” superhero movies, they have come in for a lot of legitimate criticism, and in the aftermath of Christopher Nolan’s superlative trilogy they began to look very old-fashioned and a much poorer representation of the character. But then, again, we all grow up a little bit and can look back on them as a version of Batman that’s just as valid; they don’t have to be perfect, they don’t have to be definitive, but we can enjoy them for what they are: macabre delights, camp gothic comedies, delightfully stylised adventure stories. They might lack the visual pizazz of a Nolan fight scene or, well, anything in any MCU movie, but they’re very much of a type, even if that type was aped, imitated, and parodied for a full decade following Batman’s release. There’s much to love about Burton’s two bites of the Bat-cherry, and here – at last – I will list my ten favourite aspects of the films (that’s both films, Batman and Batman Returns).

Tim Burton’s Batman isn’t quite my Batman (but, for the record, neither is Christopher Nolan’s), but whatever other criticisms I may have of the films, here are ten things that Burton and his collaborators got absolutely right.

Great Design: seriously, from an aesthetic point of view, they’re gorgeous. The beautiful Anton Furst Gotham, all gothic towers and industrial pipework, is a thing of beauty, and in terms of live-action the design of all of Batman’s vehicles and gadgets has never been bettered. It gives Batman, and his world, a gorgeously distinctive style all its own.

Wonderful Toys: it’s not just the design of the Batmobile and Batwing that impresses (big, bulbous round bits, sweeping curves, spiky wings); its how they’re used. Burton really revels in the gadgets, making Batman a serious tech-head with all manner of grappling hooks, hidden bombs, and secret doo-dahs to give him an upper hand in a fight. It makes up for the wooden combat (a ninja Michael Keaton is not), suggesting this Batman is a smarter fighter than a physical one. Plus all those gadgets could get turned into literal wonderful toys. Ker-ching.

He is the Night: Adam West’s Batman ran around during the day, in light grey spandex with a bright blue cape. Michael Keaton’s Batman only ever came out at night, dressed entirely in thick black body armour, and usually managed to be enveloped in smoke. From his first appearance, beating up two muggers on a Gotham rooftop, he is a threatening, scary, sinister presence. It totally sold the idea of Batman as part-urban legend, part-monster. Burton is fascinated with freaks, and in making his Batman freaky, he made him iconic.

You Wanna Get Nuts?: added to this was Michael Keaton’s performance as Bruce Wayne. Controversial casting due to his comedy background and, frankly, lack of an intimidating physique, he nevertheless utterly convinced. Grimly robotic as Batman, he presented a charming but secretive Bruce Wayne, one who was kind and heartfelt in private, but also serious, determined, and very, very smart. But he also excellently portrayed a dark anger beneath the surface, a mania that Bruce clearly had under control, but which he used to fuel his campaign, and which he allowed out in the divisive but (in my opinion) utterly brilliant “Let’s get nuts!” scene. To this date, the definitive screen Bruce Wayne.

Dance with the Devil: The counterpoint to this was Jack Nicholson’s Joker. Cashing a phenomenal cheque for his troubles, he nevertheless delivered; his Joker is wild, over-the-top, cartoonish but also terrifying. In my late teens I was turned off by the performance, feeling it a pantomime and not reflective of the quiet menace and casual cruelty of, say, Mark Hamill’s Joker; but now I see the majesty of it. You need someone this big to be a believable threat to Batman. No wonder that, with Joker dead, they essentially had to have three villains to replace him in the sequel.

Family: Bruce’s relationship with Alfred is one of the cornerstones of the comic, but really only existed in that capacity since the mid-80s and Year One (which established Alfred as having raised Bruce following his parents’ deaths). So in many ways the very close familial relationship in Batman is a watershed, and certainly the first time many people would have seen that depicted. Michael Gough’s Alfred is benign, charming, very witty, and utterly capable as a co-conspirator. One of the few people to stick around through the Schumacher years, he maintained stability even when everything else was going (rubber) tits up.

Meow: I’ve mostly focussed on Batman here, but by jeebies Batman Returns has a lot going for it too. Max Shreck, the Penguin, “mistletoe is deadly if you eat it”… but pride of place goes to Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. An utterly bonkers origin but a perfectly pitched character, she was a credible threat, a believable love interest, and an anti-hero worth rooting for, in a tour-de-force performance. Also came along at just the right time for me to experience puberty. If you’re interested. Plus – and this can’t be overstated – she put a live bird into her mouth. For real. I mean, Christ.

Believably Unreal: I used to criticise Batman for being unrealistic, just as campy in its own way as the ‘60s show. But that’s missing the point. It’s a stylised world, clearly not our own thanks to the Furst-stylings. And Burton uses that to his advantage. The gothic stylings help sell the idea of a retro-futuristic rocket-car barrelling through city streets; the mishmash of 80s technology and 40s aesthetics gives us carte blanche for a zoot-suited Joker and his tracksuited henchmen to tear up a museum to a Prince soundtrack. It’s a world where Max Shreck, looking like Christopher Walken was electrocuted in a flour factory, can believably run a campaign to get Penguin elected mayor, even after he nearly bites someone’s nose off. It’s crazy but it works.

Believably Corrupt: despite the craziness and unreality, the first Batman at least does have a strong dose of realism running through it. The gangsters may be straight out of the 40s but they’ve adopted the gritty grimness of the intervening decades, with slobby cop Eckhart representing corrupt law enforcement. Basically, despite the surrealism on display, the sense of Gotham as a criminal cesspool is very well realised, and extends to such a high level that the only realistic way to combat any of it is for a sad rich man to dress up as Dracula and drive a rocket-car at a clown.

The Score: I’ve saved this for last because, despite everything, Danny Elfman’s Batman theme is clearly the greatest and strongest legacy of the Burton era. Don’t come at me with your “dinner-dinner-dinner-dinner-Batman” nonsense. Elfman’s Batman score is sublime. Like John Williams’ Superman theme, it’s iconic, it’s distinctive, and as far as I’m concerned it’s what the character should sound like. I have absolutely no time for directors who think you should ever make a Batman film with different music. It’s as intrinsically linked with the character as the Star Wars theme is with, well, Star Wars. It’s perfect and beautiful and the love-love-love the fact that they stuck it in the Animated Series too.

Whelp, there we are. The ten best things about Burton’s two Batman movies. I barely spoke about the subsequent films because, well, they’re both crap. No, seriously, they’re bad films. Even Batman Forever. Don’t start.

#top ten #batman #1989 #tim burton #Michael Keaton #batman returns #comics #movies

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padfootagain · 6 years

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Carole’s rec-list :

To start this new event, I will try to share with you some of my favourite French movies…

I cannot give you a list that will give you all the French that you should watch… even for me, who has not a thorough knowledge of French cinema, there would be way too many. But I can try to give you my favourites, and to find a balance between 'classics' and 'just the ones I love'. As you may have noticed, I LOVE cinema, so I will undoubtedly get carried away…

And as I cannot give you as much recs as I would like, I will first give you the names of a few directors that have shaped French cinema and that you should definitely check out, even if I won't recommend movies from all of them here, so if you want more French movies, you can check out their work :

- Jean-Luc Godard

- Jacques Tati

- François Truffaut

- Claude Lelouche

- Jacques Audiard

- Jean-Pierre Melville

- Jean Renoir

- Claude Chabrol

- Jacques Demy

Also, I can't recommend movies with all the actors I like, so here are a few names you should check out if you're interested in more French movies (obviously, the list isn't exhaustive, but I like these actors a lot :) ) :

- Guillaume Canet

- Lambert Wilson

- Albert Dupontel

- François Cluzet

- Mélanie Laurent

- Audrey Tautou

- Marion Cotillard

- Alain Delon

- Jean-Paul Belmondo

- Jean Gabin

- Catherine Deneuve

Alright, now, let's get to business! There's a bit of everything here, I have tried to put a bit of funny and sad movies to keep a balance and all can find something they like. There's no particular order.

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

1962 - Directed by Jacques Demy, starring Catherine Deneuve, Gene Kelly, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin, George Chakiris, Danielle Darrieux

Sum-up : For a few days, we follow the life of two twins sisters, living in the small town of Rochefort, who are both looking for love and to escape this tiny town to try to build a career as musician and dancer in Paris. During these few days, the town is shaken by two events : a murder and the arrival of a fair. Characters will walk through the town, and pass by each other, but will the two young women meet the right person?

Carole's critique : This is undoubtedly my favourite French movie of all time, along with my favourite musical movie. After LoTR, it is undoubtedly my favourite movie as well. It's happy, full of colours and characters that you can't help but love. The music, composed by Michel LeGrand, is amazing, and will make you want to dance through your home. The aesthetic of the movie is very representative of the 60's in France and its cinematography at the time: full of colours.

There aren't much musical movies in France, but Jacques Demy shaped the whole genre and gives, with this movie the best French musical movie you will find out there.

YOU MUST SEE IT!

If you like this movie, you should also watch : Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Peau d'Âne.

Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre

2002 - Directed by Alain Chabat, starring Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, Gérard Darmon, Jamel Debouze, Alain Chabat and Monica Bellucci

Sum-up: During Roman control, a single village resists to the military invasion of the powerful Caesar. Their secret: a magical potion brewed by their druid that gives them an extraordinary strength. When an old Egyptian friend needs help to build Cleopatra the most amazing palace, and knowing that he will be killed if he fails, a group of Gallic travels all the way to Egypt to give him a hand and save his project.

Carole's critique : Astérix and Obélix are very popular comic characters in France. Most of us have grown up reading the comic books as a child. There have been many adaptations on screen of the adventures of the two heroes, but this one is probably the most famous and the best. Directed by Alain Chabat, who started with a little group of friends as a comedy actor, he is known for his crazy but hilarious movies. And with this one, he doesn't disappoint us. It's completely mad, it's goofy and full of mad moments, but it is 100% hilarious. My entire generation knows this movie, and some scenes are now extremely famous. If you want to discover French crazy humour, watch this, you will spend a lovely time.

If you like this movie, you should also watch : La Cité de La peur, Astérix et Obélix aux Jeux Olympiques, Rrrrrr

Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis

2008 - Directed by Dany Boon, staring Danny Boon, Kad Merad.

Sum-up: A postman is transferred from the sunny south of France to the cold north of the country after trying to cheat to be transferred in the town his wife longed to live in. At his arrival in the new town, he has to adapt to the strange accent of his colleagues, along with their food and other habits.

Carole's critique : One of the funniest French movies here again, this film had a HUGE success here, pushing the actors of the movie to the rank of stars in the country. Dealing with the clichés told about the northern part of France (shaped by a lot of mining in the past century, it is often seen as one the poorest part of the country), Dany Boon signs a tender movie about his home. It's hilarious, it's tender, it's happy and will make you feel a bit dizzy. I just hope that the translations will be enough to carry the wordplays used in the movie, as most of the humour relies on that. Anyway, you should definitely watch it.

If you like this movie, you should also watch: Intouchables, Rien à declarer, Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément

Intouchables

2012 - Directed by Eric Toledano, starring François Cluzet, Omar Sy

Sum-up: After an accident, a wealthy man is paralyzed and needs constant help to get through his day. Looking for someone to help him, he encounters a strange man from the poorest part of town, looking for a job. On impulse, this wealthy man decides to hire him. The two men will soon become close friends, and change each other's life.

Carole's critique: I'm staying on funny movies, because, despite what the sum-up might let you think, this a comedy. Here again, huge success in France (I've also heard of an American reboot in preparation, but what is the point in watching a reboot when you can watch the original thing?). Actors are perfect and dosing perfectly the balance between humour and serious topics treated in this movie, from disability, poverty, racism and life in general. A beautiful movie, spiced with hilarious scenes.

If you like this movie, you should also watch : Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis

La Grande Vadrouille

1966 - Directed by Gérard Oury, starring Louis de Funès, Bourvil

Sum-up: While the country is under German occupation during the Second World War, a group of English soldiers are parachuted in Paris. But they are attacked during the operation, resulting in the scattering of the English soldiers throughout town. A French painter and a French conductor at the opera rescue two of the soldiers, and try to help them escape the German army.

Carole's critique : Here again, a comedy. This is one of the most beloved and famous French movies. Iconic actors De Funès and Bourvil share the screen to result in hilarious scenes that are now extremely famous. It's funny, it deals with the war but do not fear, you will not see anything shocking. The characters are loveable and utterly ridiculous and you will laugh a lot with this movie.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Corniaud, La 7ème Compagnie, Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez

Les Tontons Flingueurs

1963 – Directed by Georges Lautner, starring Lino Ventura, Jean Lefebvre, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche

Sum-up : An ancient mafia member has to take over the business of his oldest friend after he dies. But many envy the business of the dead man, and try to take away the control of the whole mafia.

Carole's critique : A classic. Everyone has watched, or at least heard about this movie. Clearly a parody of American movies, the movie is a very funny comedy. The last of three independent movies adapted from the same series of books, this movie has become over the years one of the most famous French films. And the actors will always be remembered mostly for their role in this masterpiece.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Touchez pas au grisbi, Le cave se rebiffe (the first two movies of the trilogie, even if the three movies are completely independent from one another), l'Aventure c'est l'aventure.

Mais où est donc passée la septième compagnie?

1973 - Directed by Robert Lamoureux, starring Pierre Mondy, Jean Lefebvre, Aldo Maccione, Erik Colin

Sum-up: During the Second World War, a group of soldiers is captured by the German troupes, at the exception of three soldiers, who were sent ahead as scouts, and escape the capture. Trying to run away from the German forces, they encounter a French pilot, whose plane has been shot down. Together, they try to establish communication with their hierarchy and hide from the German army.

Carole's critique : This is the first movie of a trilogy, undoubtedly the best movie of the series of movies, btw. In the same spirit as La Grande Vadrouille, the movie is hilarious, despite the theme and time where the story takes place. I used to watch these movies a lot as a kid.

If you like this movie, you should watch : On a retrouvé la septième companie (the second movie of the trilogy), La Grande Vadrouille, Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire, La Chèvre.

Fantômas

1964 – Directed by André Hunebelle, starring Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot

Sum-up : A famous burglar steals a series of precious jewels. In order to catch the criminal, a police officer and a journalist try to build a trap, but they will soon find out that Fantômas is more dangerous than what they thought.

Carole's critique : This is the first movie of a trilogy, inspired by a series of French novels. This is also my mother's favourite film, so I had to put it here. Once again, the movie is funny (yes, I like funny French movies, as you may have noticed). I also adore Jean Marais, who plays two different roles in this (Fantômas and the journalist). It's funny, and there's adventure, and I love this movie, that is all.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Fantômas se déchaîne, Fantômas contre Scotland Yard (the rest of the trilogy), le Corniaud, Arsène Lupin

L'Arnacoeur

2010 – Directed by Pascal Chaumeil, starring Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, François Damiens, Julie Ferrier

Sum-up : A man runs a surprising business : he is a professional 'couple breaker'. People can call him, and ask him to cause the break-up of a friend's or family member's couple. Everything was fine, until he was sent to this special mission, and falls for the woman he is supposed to convince to stop before she can get married.

Carole's critique : My personal favourite French romantic comedy. Because it's hilarious, and tender, and just sweet. If you want something funny and cute, watch this!

If you like this movie, you should watch : Jules et Jim, Paris-Manhattan, Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul, Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément, Jeux d'enfants

Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément

2015 – Directed by Clovis Cornillac, starring Clovis Cornillac, Mélanie Bernier, Lilou Fogli, Philippe Dequesne

Sum-up : A puzzles creator tries to get rid of his new neighbour, a pianist. Indeed, the wall between their two flats is so thin, they can hear everything happening in the other's apartment, and he can't focus when she plays. Failing at convincing her to leave, they try to find a way to live as neighbours despite this very thin wall.

Carole critique : Is this movie a classic? No. Is this the best movie ever? No. But hell, I love it. Because the characters are completely mad and I love them. The story is tender and soft and funny and just cute. A romantic comedy just the way I love them. I advise it if you need something to raise your spirit.

If you like this movie, you should watch : La Délicatesse, Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, l'Arnacoeur, Paris-Manhattan.

La Belle et La Bête

1946 – Directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais, Josette Day

Sum-up : An adaptation of the famous tale Beauty and The Beast.

Carole's critique: If Cocteau is very famous for his poetry and art, many tend to forget that he was also a film director, pouring poetry all over his projects. This is an old movie, so obviously the special effects are old, but the movie masters such a strange atmosphere and poetry, that it really doesn't matter at all. Jean Marais and Josette Day are outstanding, and the movie is basically the only adaptation of the tale that is worth being watched.

If you like this, you should also watch : Le Fabuleux destin D'Amélie Poulain, Au revoir là-haut, L'Ecume des jours

Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

2001 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz

Sum-up : We follow the life of a dreamer, Amélie Poulain, through her very peculiar world.

Carole's critique : The movie was and kind of still is an alien. The atmosphere is strange, and the movie is strange too, but full of a weird poetry as well. And when you stop watching it, you feel a bit dizzy, like the world around you isn't so real anymore.

If you like this movie, you should watch : L'écume des jours, La délicatesse

Au Revoir Là-Haut

2017 – Directed by Albert Dupontel, starring Albert Dupontel, Laurent Laffite, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart

Sum-up : After the First World War, two former soldiers decide to organize a fraud using the artistic talents of one of them to create fake war memorials.

Carole's critique : The topic of the movie is obviously not happy. But the movie is surprisingly poetic and tender, dealing with the aftermath of war and terrible injuries in a delicate manner. The atmosphere is poetic, sometimes barely real, owning the film and its strange aesthetic a soft side. Yes, you will probably cry a little bit, but the feeling that this movie leaves is not as sad as it is tender. The best movie about the conflict and its consequences I've watched so far.

If you like this movie, you should watch: Joyeux Noël, La Traversée de Paris, L'Ecume des jours

Le Samouraï

1967 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Natalie Delon, Cathy Rosier

Sum-up : An assassin kills his target, but it might be more difficult than planned to get out of it alive and free.

Carole's critique : A dark thriller that is undoubtedly one of Delon's best roles. Alain Delon is one of these icons of French cinema, and he is the best in the genre 'films noirs', that defies these dark thrillers that exploded in the 50s and 60s in France. It's one movie of a dark series of films that bloomed around that time in France. And it's a good one!

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Guépard, La piscine, Le Clan des Siciliens, Plein soleil, Borsalino, Peur sur la ville

L'Armée Des Ombres

1969 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel

Sum-up : A little group of people try to resist under the Occupation during World War II. But the Gestapo is closing on them.

Carole's critique : It's dark, but it's great! Depicting the resistance under the occupation with a vivid fear of getting caught, this movie is not a happy one. If you are interested in the topic, it's a brilliant movie to watch, but be careful, it's a dark one.

If you like this movie, you should watch : La traversée de Paris, Au revoir là-haut

Quai des brumes

1938 – Directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin, Michèle Morgan, Michel Simon, Pierre Brasseur

Sum-up : An army deserter meets a strange girl who is terrified by her godfather. To defend her, he will have many perils to overcome, and the price to pay may be higher than expected.

Carole's critique : A classic. The scenario, written by Jacques Prévert as an adaptation of the novel of the same name, gives a poetic touch to this 'film noir'. And well, it's a masterpiece, what else can I say, it's just a classic. It's also the movie that revealed both Gabin and Morgan, some of the best French actors.

Le Capitan

1960 – Directed by André Hunebelle, starring Jean Marais, Bourvil, Elsa Martinelli

Sum-up : A man tries to protect the interests of the King against powerful men who are scheming against him.

Carole's critique : I used to watch this movie a lot when I was a child. It's a good example of the genre 'Cape et d'épée', that boomed in the 50's and 60's in France. And to me, it's just a lot of memories from my childhood, so I had to put it on the list.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Bossu, Le masque de fer, Le capitaine Fracasse, Cartouche, Cyrano de Bergerac, Fanfan la tulipe.

Le cinquième élément

1997 – Directed by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich

Sum-up : To save the universe, the five elements must be brought together. But on the side of evil, many people try to capture in the fifth element, a perfect being.

Carole's critique : I mean, this movie is brilliant. It's completely crazy, but undoubtedly one of my favourite Sci-Fi movies! I know it's pretty famous worldwide, but if you haven't watched this, you must see this movie! Gary Oldman's performance is extraordinary, let's be honest.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Léon

Proposed by anon :

Les choristes

Directed by Christophe Barratier, starring Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Kad Merad

A new member of the team in a boarding school in 1949 introduces music and singing in the school. This will help the lives of the children there, even through hard times.

#event #recs #movie recs #movies event #movies recs

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