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astroismypassion · 2 years

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Composite chart real life experience part 3

Credit goes to my blog @astroismypassion

Mentions of s*x, mas*ur*a**on

🧡 Composite Cancer Mercury: aw very sweet. Though, we were much like emotional crybabies around each other. You know how teenagers are sensitive about everything? But veryyy comforting and reassuring of each other through words. We definitel had mum and daddy, sorry dad theme going on😂😅. Calling “golden boy” too came natural.

🧡 Composite Gemini Moon: people constantly said we look similar. Similar clothing, style, hairstyle, hair colour etc. We were constantly talking, but were often interrupted by other people. We only hang for short time periods at once. We would hang for 3 hours and then don’t see each other for a month and a half, only talking through instant messaging.

🧡 Composite Aquarius Sun: love from a distance at first. I was very scared to approach him (he seemed so in his own landed, unapproachable and detached/cold) and tried to be a flirty friend first. Lovely, but seriously calling him weirdo as a nickname from the start until end. Roles were pretty much reversed. I could’ve have crushed this softer, feminine side he had, but this was such pure, naive, quirky human being that was socially awkward that we rather became misfits together. Again, he was very in tune with his feminine side. I had to constantly be the initiator, the one that is straight-forward.

🧡 Composite Pisces Moon: it can get a bit dellusional at times. I was not a huge fan of this placement, because of projections of ideas, feelings and ideals. But I will also try to focus on the positive. You will read books, poems, interviews to each other. But you will also tell each other a lot of STORIES, even those from your own personal lives.

🧡 Composite Scorpio Rising: people you have Scorpio Rising with might move close to you at some point. They will literally be “in your face”. Like they could move to your neighbourhood, area.

🧡 Composite Aries Moon: so like you imagine this was reallyy NOT platonic. It was funny, because people usually perceived me with other romantic partners before as the more passive one. But NOT with this Composite Aries Moon. From the outside it seemed like I’m very much in charge of the relationship. Pretty much other women were very jealous of this connection with this guy too. However, from my personal point of view, it definitely felt like we are equals and both very own strong individuals (Aries Moon). Yet, those around us still saw ME as the one in charge and would often disregard him or his opinion. He was also more in touch with his feminine side than me, so I was kind of “the defender” in the relationship. It definitely felt like roles was a bit reversed at time, but he was a strong women supporter and I also bought HIM flowers and tried to fight for his “equality” in some situation. I was more playfully, childlike and childish than my usual self with him, because I was so comfortable emotionally. Though, this might be also because we was younger.

🧡 Composite Chiron in the 1st house: ehh yea, I’m still trying to gather more positives with this one. But this one can leave you drained. You will feel physical pain whenever you see them or run into them again and I think this is because it’s connected to its 1st house. You will struggle finding confidence to even continue talking to them. Sometimes they can seem so out of your league or just really different or in their own world.

🧡 Libra Venus: in wore A LOT of dresses and skirts in that relationship. It’s like I changed my wardrobe to only summer dressed and skirts. I can’t explain enough or even properly put it into words how WOMANLY this man made me feel like. I was ready to throw all feminism away😂. No, but really, I felt so feminine, accepted as a woman around him. I even became more soft-spoken. Also this Composite placement reminds me of Lana del Rey and her “You can be the boss” song.

🧡 Composite Capricorn Sun: I kinda really liked that! It was with a really good friend of mine and we met in school and have known each other for years. It was really more of a romantic, soft connection at times. HOWEVER, one thing that was really present and obvious was that he was a traditionalist. He believed that men shouldn’t be so preoccupied with their physical appearance and found being too good-looking as a man a bit ridiciolous. I definitely sensed some double standards too. He really had clear ideas as to what women should be doing. He was very thrifty and NOT a spender. He prefered piling up money or spend it on big investments, like cars (especially old cars). All in all, he was really mindful of the COMMUNITY and society as a whole and really cared about people. Lack of ego too. He tried to treat everyone as equally as possible. He saw his father as someone who is not good with words or doesn’t have anything interesting to add.

🧡 Composite Scorpio Moon: ahh yess, the sexual awakening✨ Or if you are not feeling it for the first time, at least you will be overflowing with totally new feelings of lust, strong sexual desire and deep emotions. You might mastrubate to this person’s image. Sometimes as simple as thinking of this person you will have strong urges of lust and longing. So obviously your desire to touch this person will be strong. Not always sexual though, I’m talking wanting to hold their hand, suck 🤭lol I meant caress their fingers, hug them from behind, hold them tight. Handshake was probably already transformative and electric when you first met them. You will often want to be in their physical proximity.

Credit goes to my blog @astroismypassion

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unlikely-alliance · 1 year

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finished s1 of smallville today, took some miscellaneous notes / reactions throughout the season & posting below the cut mostly for me but also it’s possible someone may get a good laugh

101

how tf old are these people??? clark is a hs freshman? lana was 3 when the meteor struck and lex was 9?

clark and lana are so stelena coded

clark and lex… 👀

this soundtrack SLAPS… everything by life house????? I’m alive

102

I didn’t know lex/lana were gonna have scenes so early 😭 I love them I fear

the soundtrack continues to slap

not the bug boy having a papa roach poster in his room—

103

lex telling lana his coffee is perfect when it’s not even remotely close to what he ordered 🥹

104

lizzy caplan????

it’s giving katherine impersonating elena

105

just read that people thought chloe was gonna eventually be lois lane (pen name) and this looks like a chloe/clark episode… inch resting

lex walking right up to martha while she’s using a chainsaw askdjsjhkska DUMBASS

lex to lana: I think you’re with the wrong guy (I know he means clark but STILL 😏)

106

ERIC CHRISTIAN OLSEN??!!!?!!)!()(??????!!!?

does… does jonathan kent die at some point?

clark telling lex to drive slower because he could get hurt 🥺

“I think that’s your destiny clark, to help people, to save them from fear and darkness”

drowning in the corn tank… very a quiet place of them

107

AMY ADAMS??!!???!!?! what is going AWN

I have to admit I do see the appeal of clark/chloe and if I was watching this in 2001 I def would have shipped them

I can’t believe clark, lana, chloe and crew are genuinely supposed to be 14/15 right now and lex is like 20 asgjgkkf

clark making a drive in movie for lana at the kent farm for her bday— I’m not crying you are !!!

108

the candyman????? who was casting this show

awfully convenient that the next time clark had to save lex he was being affected by kryptonite… lucky this time

109

wow they’re really making chloe/clark/lana a triangle huh

110

clark interrogating lex about his new girlfriend saying ‘she doesn’t seem like your type’ and lex smirking at him for 5 seconds straight… what are they doinggggggg

I can’t even be mad at amy because I too would have an obsessive crush on lex if my mom was his housekeeper

111

clark liking chloe’s kiss… now they’re just taunting the chlark shippers

112

hellooooo shawn ashmore 😏

oh shit he absorbed clark’s powers

113

chloe interviewing lex & giving him shit… it’s giving 50 shades of gray I’m sorry

oh the clark/chloe angst… ‘I should’ve gotten to her’ while watching her in the hospital… it’s so good 😩🤌

whitney has powers now… inch resting

lex to clark: a man is measured by the quality of his friends

lana making lex proud with her business proposal 🥰🥰🥰

lex telling lana “this will be the beginning of an interesting partnership” in the same building where her parents met… that’s endgame ish right there

114

more clark/chloe angst with chloe prying into clark’s past and him telling her he’s not some mystery for her to solve… I’m sorry but they’re serving

lex working overtime to do damage control (mostly with the kents) every episode is so funny, give that boy a break

115

honest to god some of the special effects on this show are better than ones nowadays

jonathan belching directly into lex’s face… absolutely the highlight of the season

pete and chloe were carryingggg the walk n talk scenes on this show… west wing who??

this episode is fun (except for the creepy sexualization of 15 year old lana part, very riverdale of them)

this lex/lana scene ooooh they have the SPICE and lex seeing right through her act 🥺🥺

116

ryan outing chloe’s crush on clark we love to see it

117

this is a good episode idk what imdb is talking about rating it in the low 7s… the jonathan/clark (+lex/whitney) father/son drama is so good

118

clark kent 4 president <3

no but I love this girl who’s running against him

I’m sorry but clark/chloe have soooo much chemistry I’m so mad asdhhdd

how many people in this show are gonna be straight up murdered???? jesus

not clark telling chloe that she’s been the only constant in his life 🥺🥺

lex being proud of lana scheming 🥰

lana: I enjoyed being underhanded clark: lana lang being seduced by the dark side? <— foreshadowing? 👀

119

helloooo adam brody 🥰

air force recruiter to clark: I see you in a uniform flying 💀

chloe using adam brody to make clark jealous… she’s living my dream

CLARK ADMITTING HE WAS JEALOUS 🆘🆘🆘🆘

THE PRINCIPAL HIT ADAM BRODY???????

not this lex/pamela family drama making me cry—

the oc showrunners probably saw adam brody with chloe and said ‘get a blonde with short spiky hair for him STAT’ and brought anna in

clark grabbing chloe’s hand !!!!!!!!!! I’M GONNA SPIRAL

120

damn they really loved making chloe a damsel in distress huh

chloe was clark’s first kiss 😭😭😭

ok so someone was def trying to lure clark out huh

I liked lex’s line about the stars’ light reaching them now even though they died a thousand years ago / the past always having an effect on the present

the way clark says “hey 😐 … HEY 🥰😊” every time he sees chloe

not this john mayer song during this clark/chloe scene——— they were made for me I fear

121

clark’s truck blowing up ahdhshshsh my jaw DROPPED

I’ll say it… clark and chloe are steroline coded

why is this lana/whitney goodbye scene making me tear up 🫣

REMY ZERO PERFORMING AT THE DANCE !!!! and he looks just like lex lmfao

oh the drama!!! they simply don’t do season finales like this anymore

lex not saving his father… that shit was scury

+ misc tweets of mine throughout the season:

I hope the music supervisor of smallville s1 has a cold pillow every night and they have everything they ever wanted in life

really struggling with the fact that I ship lex/lana so much already and it’s only s1 and he’s supposed to be 20 while she’s 15???? this is horrible. like how have smallville fans coped with this over the years? I can suspend disbelief to a certain point but damn. this show is the worst case of casting 20+ year olds to play high schoolers I’ve ever seen no doubt

smallville 1x07 just ended with hero by enrique iglesias and then 1x08 opened with pacific coast party by smash mouth… yeah this show officially has the best soundtrack of all time

I’m only on ep 3 of smallville but clark/lana/lex is feeling very much like stefan/elena/damon

no one told me the smallville soundtrack was gonna slap this hard

#natalie watches smallville #I’m having so much fun #but also they absolutely do not seem like high school freshman and I just cannot get over it #smallville

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anxiety-trademark · 3 years

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The week in review:

Raw 10/19 NXT 10/21 NXT UK 10/22 Smackdown 10/23 Hell in a Cell 10/25

Raw:

I’m here to give Alexa credit once more for making me give a shit about the Fiend. I do like his entrance, especially without a live crowd.

What a visual... them standing together hand in hand.

I love that they kept the monitors set on the graphics for this segment. No offense to the audience, but seeing them would’ve ruined this.

Amazing transition from Fiend and Alexa to the next segment/match. Major points.

Still a vicious elimination to Lacey by Natalya.

I intend to take this title match as seriously as wwe has - not within a football field of giving a shit. I know how this entire angle ends anyway (preemptive welcome back, Queen) but let’s watch it through. See how this face turn worked out for Lana.

Asuka really is insanely fast, I’ll give her that.

Great rollup attempt by Lana (shades of Nattie/Alexa), great counter by Asuka into the Asuka Lock, and great job to Lana for grabbing the ropes. Points.

I’m sure this is all rehearsed, but Lana obviously puts in the work. Do I think she’ll ever be a singles champion? Absolutely not, but at least she isn’t complacent.

Is it the tables? Is that what led to Lana turning face?

This was good for Asuka. This was good booking. She didn’t look like a chump giving Lana offense, and she looked both strong and smart post-match. Solid.

By that logic, ShaNia owns NXT’s division as well. Just saying.

Really wish they’d nix the “Mandy” intro.

Stop I never wanna hear Peyton’s theme again, plz.

So they really never did explain why Peyton and Lacey became a thing? Mk. They seem like genuine friends, it’s just too bad they aren’t a compelling tag team in the ring. Would much rather watch Sexy Muscle Friends, ngl.

Hi I like Riott Squad and have no problems with them theoretically being in this match, but why the fuck are they still here lmao. Go to SD.

This better get longer than 10 mins, there are way too many women here for y’all to rob them of time.

It’s nice to see more women give a shit about tag team wrestling/becoming a cohesive unit.

Lacey just cuz you can do a moonsault off the apron, doesn’t mean you should. That was dicey. Fine, but dicey. There’s a reason Charlotte goes up to the top turnbuckle when she does it to the outside (not that I’m suggesting that incredibly high risk spot but I’m js)

Wish Lacey wasn’t so wooden. Wish she was more trusting and flexible like Charlotte.

I’d bet anything Mandy and Dana actually could suplex Nia. Let them try.

Good break up by Shayna. Protect Dana and Mandy’s finisher. Also that was a WICKED knee strike by Mandy.

Everyone’s gonna get a move in now huh. Le sigh.

NICE interrupt again by Shayna, girl with the good timing.

Fair ending. How long was that? 5 mins to the second lmao. Mk, wwe. Mk.

Welp Alexa is officially on Firefly funhouse. Good. Now we get to blur some lines and have a bit more fun with her character.

Highlight: Asuka looking like a dominant champ without squashing Lana

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NXT:

Rhea Ripley #1 in nxt, these are the facts. She’s literally gone through them all. Throw her up to the MR, lesgo.

Watching her handle Charlotte and Piper is so impressive. Beast.

“Gone against Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler,” so got squashed by Bianca and Shayna lmao. Hey, everyone’s got a role I guess. I remember when Alexa was enhancement talent that did a 450 splash and blew glitter all over the stage.

I don’t understand how Ember was wiped out after doing a mere roll off the ropes. It seems like a work since Jessi didn’t react and continued on as if she scored some offense (she didn’t) but that was a nasty landing on Ember’s lower back. Weird.

One count off an uppercut bahahaha

“You done messed up now,” Ember exclaims, after flipping off a fucking snapmare. I liked her better when she had no personality and just wrestled amazingly.

Is Ember a heel now? She’s acting like a heel. Why is she doing submissions? Why is she talking so much trash? Why is she so arrogant? Not a fan.

A springboard back elbow drop? Intriguing, Jessi. Intriguing. Points.

Jessi was too quick for Ember’s (now slow) setup into her codebreaker out of the corner. I’m gonna watch Charlotte vs Ember from 2019 after this, Ember was a lot quicker and cleaner - also cuz I miss Charlotte.

Yeahhh Ember used Jessi’s hair to pull her head back so she could do a crossface. She’s either a garbage babyface, or a heel.

Welp Dakota just turned babyface. Jeeze she be looking fine too. 10 points.

Dakota should be mad. She bumps like a motherfucker for every person she faces, and she made Ember’s botchy moves look amazing. Sucks she had such a stinker against Io, but there’s no way Ember should be rated higher than Dakota rn.

Interesting to note that Dakota came out on her own, as opposed to bringing - or even sending - Raquel.

Why does Xia have to win? Is there a kf contract that’s riding on her victory? Why is a random ass match against Kacy the biggest match of her career lol

Also this interviewer is gorgeous. Eyebrows on fleek, beautiful eyes and flawless hair.

*The Garganos prepare to Spin the Wheel* No.

Love Kacy’s speed. Always a joy to watch in the midcard.

Oh holy shit Kacy won, I did not see that coming. Where we going with this Xia stuff?

Xia gonna single handedly wreck both Kacy and Kayden?

WHY IS RAQUEL OUT HERE? What the fuck did Kacy and Kayden do to Raquel lmaooo

Commentator said Raquel sees Rhea Ripley in everyone she looks at. I say that’s the weakest explanation ever. Y’all just trying to find any reason to give her screen time, and this ain’t it.

“She’s sending a message to Ripley,” RHEA DON’T FUCKING CARE ABOUT THESE BITCHES. Also she’s like 3x the size of all of them lmao what?

“And next week? At Halloween? Havoc?” Girl stay backstage with your promos.

I don’t know wtf the wheel is, but I absolutely loved that segment with Io.

She’s such a special attraction to me. I miss her when she’s not on, and she’s so under saturated that I never get tired of seeing her.

Highlight: Segment with Io

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NXT UK:

Man I really like Nina’s theme song.

After seeing last week’s fucking wrist lock marathon, this aggression is such a breath of fresh air. Not really much of a match, as it a brawl... but that’s perfectly fine lol.

Ahh Nina’s a runner? Interesting, I wouldn’t have guessed that.

Not a fan of Amale’s boots with her gear. Pressing stuff, I know.

Lol thought Nina was about to do a dis-arm-her. Man, I miss Becky.

Nina is a bit awkward with her transitions, I’m noticing.

Beautiful landing of the back body drop by Nina. Practically a swan dive.

Amale did such a lackadaisical pin attempt, and then could barely muster the strength to kick out of one. Ma’am isn’t the worst, but with as green as she is, she should be limited to 3 min sprints.

Seems to be a popular complaint I have with UK, they get gassed insanely easy. wwe needs to build a pc over there or something.

Final Act is a really weak finisher, but considering the speed, I will give points for the way Nina holds her opponent’s neck forward. We like to see performers protecting their partners from getting whiplash.

Love Nina’s voice. Love her whole shtick tbh.

She wants Piper? *sigh* okay. Should’ve just done a tournament to determine KLR’s next opponent, but whatever.

Highlight: Nina’s backstage interview

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Smackdown:

lmfao Bianca’s reaction to being slapped. Ahhhh she’s funny.

Jeeze fucking tossed Zelina across the ring.

oof that speed by Bianca after flipping out of the hurricanrana. Whew.

Bianca straight threw Zelina into the air just to punch her in the throat lmao.

So this match was literally just “watch [Bianca] shine now” aye rep those lyrics, girl.

Confession: sometimes I fangirl over Bayley’s demeanor. She got BDE and you know what? Good for her, good for her.

Points for the chair, Bayley.

“[Sasha is] an ungrateful brat” you know... kind of accurate.

Tbf Bayley, Sasha’s name kind of is bigger than your title, cuz she’s kept herself as an A+ superstar for like 4 years without holding gold. That deserves respect and recognition. That’s a woman keeping solely her name relevant without even being champion. Now in all fairness, I think all 4 of the horsewomen are up to that standing now, but let’s give credit where it’s due.

Sasha deserves to be champion in a meta sense, this is a fact, but man her character is so unlikeable. Like Bayley is a coward and an absolute tool but she still comes off as more genuine. A face turn for Bayley will be so easy. Not asking y’all to rush it wwe, but I’m just saying.

“Just give me the title back and we’ll talk about it,” Bayley says, as if she won’t grab that shit and bolt out of the arena.

Oh that was such a good set up to the spot with Bayley caught upright in the chair. I saw that screenshot months ago, but watching it be set up makes it so much better.

Ma’am I feel like being physically forced and coerced into signing a contract automatically makes it null and void, but hey this is your universe, what do I know.

Vicious - Bayley falling over with a fucking chair wrapped around her neck. Whew what a bump.

“Go help her Cole” LMFAO legit the last person in the company that would come to Bayley’s aid. Good line, Corey. That was a great promo and segment. Mega points.

Highlight: Go home segment for Bayley & Sasha

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Hell in a Cell:

Kind of a weak video package for this feud, ngl. They didn’t bother with the Raw women’s championship, didn’t bother with 2019, Raw 2016/2017, nxt... Closest we got were a couple 2 second clips/screenshots.

By definition, this feud has to be one of the biggest disappointments in recent memory. It had the potential to blow Becky/Charlotte out of the water, and didn’t even enter the same stratosphere. Shame. This is a perfectly fine feud in a vacuum... until you remember it’s fucking Sasha and Bayley. Okay I’ll stop beating a dead horse.

If Sasha were a real babyface, she’d drop that awful Snoop remix.

Sasha looks amazing. Love the contrast of Sasha wearing white and Bayley wearing black. Gonna miss Bayley’s old gear though.

Love Bayley spray painting 1-0 on the chair, since we all obsessed over Sasha’s shitty record ahead of this match lmao.

This feud just never picked up that mountain of tension Becky and Charlotte had at Evolution I’M SORRY.

Why can’t everyone do a headscissors takedown as fast as Sasha can.

Such an innovative way of utilizing a table and the cell to deliver a meteora. POINTS FOR SASHA *applause*

So I like the concept of Sasha rolling under the table and pushing it up into Bayley, but the landing of the table near Sasha’s head made me uneasy. I like the concept of Sasha rotating her body on the apron before jumping straight into a meteora against the cell, but the way she landed against the LED was awkward. The ideas are there though.

Cool watching Sasha jump from the apron to scale the cell, then back to the apron, then jumping over Bayley onto the floor. She’s like a rabbit. I’m underselling this tbh, like 95% of the women in the company can’t do the things Sasha can do.

OOF at Bayley being dropkicked into the steps. What a landing.

At this point, I don’t even want to see a women’s hiac match unless Sasha’s in it, or at the very least has a hand in producing it. Ugh she’d be an amazing match producer, whew.

Ugly landing through the kendo stick onto the steps by Sasha. That’s a spot that would’ve received an audible gasp from a live crowd.

OOF a sunset flip powerbomb into the fucking cell. oof. rip Bayley.

OOF a sunset flip into the fucking chair. oof. rip Sasha.

Positive on Bayley’s botched kendo stick/tape spot: lends credence to how inexperienced Bayley is with handling weapons in kf, and Bayley did a great job vocally improvising - probably earned herself points backstage. A negative: what a disaster of a spot lmfao. Should’ve had it already created and ready to go beneath the ring, or used a broomstick/crutch for the spot instead. Having people handle tape mid match is stupid. Wasn’t Bayley’s fault, but the crowd would’ve shit all over that lesbireal.

If you’re a specified Sasha fan, you’ll probably deem this the greatest match of Sasha’s career, cuz my god did she look amazing in it (and she actually won) but if you’re not, I’ll tell you, they did not do a good job making Bayley shine at the end of her historic reign imo.

Sasha bout to have a breakdown. Good acting.

This match lacks cohesion. Very spotty, but most of the spots are fucking incredible, so it gets a pass.

I like the ladder on the chairs.

Sasha jumping off the set up ladder to do a meteora in the corner was nice. Sasha using a fucking Bayley to Belly onto the ladder was beautiful.

Sasha looking like she wants to cry. Man she’s amazing.

BEAUTIFUL counter out of the Bayley to Belly by Sasha; dropped Bayley into the chair to set up her Bank Statement inside the chair.

Mega points for that single chair being the center of their entire feud, as the rivalry began and ended with that chair. Bravo there.

That’s it, Bayley’s reign is finally over. This match’s review was hella long, but deservedly so. Extremely happy for Sasha. Took her 4 years on the MR giving people banger after banger before wwe trusted her with a legitimate title reign, but we’ve finally made it.

Highlight(s): Both sunset flips by Bayley & Sasha against the chair & cell, respectively

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*hiac blew everything else out of the water by default thanks to Bayley vs Sasha, but both Raw & SD were very enjoyable to me this week as well.

#wwe #issa review #feel free to ignore these #cuz who tf cares lesbihonest #today's props goes to:#sasha banks

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rosarios-thoughts-blog · 4 years

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Queer Aesthetics

Queer cinema consists of lgbtq+ films made for and by queer people. They use queer visual style in an effort to further push for representation in the movie industry. It is no secret that Hollywood is made for cis straight white people. In movies, the lead is often played by a white straight person with a person of color as their best friend. Queer cinema allows members of the lgbtq+ community to relate to the stories being told on the big screen.

(Brandon and his girlfriend Lana)

In the film Boys Don’t Cry, queer visual style consists of capturing pain and overcoming obstacles that cis straight people will never understand. A majority of the film is shot in a dark setting. When Brandon is being his true self (a man) he is in dark settings because he is keeping the secret of having female body parts from his friends. When Brandon starts his period, it is during the day. This type of editing reminds the audience that Brandon is living a sort of double life. He sees himself as a boy but the rest of the world (that knows the truth about his birth gender) sees him as a girl. I consider this a part of queer visual style because most lgbtq+ people often find themselves living double lives when they are not out of the closet yet. The put on a mask to fit in with the rest of the world and it is only at night or in dark places that they can truly be themselves.

(Amy and a girl she was sleeping with)

Queer visual style can also be found in the film Chasing Amy which was produced by cis male filmmaker Kevin Smith. What gives this film a queer visual style is the main characters love interest who identified as a lesbian woman until she met her “mister right” (which I found to be offensive but that’s a story for another day). When the film wants to portray the character Alyssa as a lesbian woman she is shown as a wild party girl, who is also a womanizer. There is a scene where Alyssa serenades a girl she does not love with a song in a club with low lighting and this is similar to other shows or films I have seen in the past. When straight people make a film or show they tend to have same-sex couples kiss in low lighting compared to opposite-sex couples who kiss proudly in broad daylight. When Alyssa is with Holden romantically, the main character of the film, they are in settings that have good lighting like outside at the part or hanging out in Holden’s apartment by the window, where the sun shines through.

Visual style can be affected by a film makers race, gender, or sexual identity. Each characteristic allows them to interpret stories differently because they share different experiences. The film Boys Don’t Cry was produced by a lesbian filmmaker in the 90’s and this may have affected the films visual style positively. After I finished watching the film Boys Don’t Cry which was directed by Kimberly Peirce, I did some light research on her reasons for wanting to share the tragic story of Brandon Teena. I found an article that I highly recommend reading, called “Boys Don’t Cry” Turns 20: Kimberly Peirce on Her Battle to Make a Controversial Trans Classic’ written by Steven Blum. In the article, Blum interviews Peirce as she tells the tale of her reasons for producing this film. Peirce tells Blum how a queer friend of her showed her the article of Brandon Teena’s tragic death and how Peirce said after reading that article by The Village Voice she adopted Brandon and wanted to share his story.

(director Kimberly Peirce)

Pierce and Brandon were both a part of the lgbtq+ community and this may have been why she sympathizes with him. If you read the article by Blum, it’s clear that Peirce is passionate about the film and it reflects in her work through the visual style. Peirce may understand the struggles Brandon went through as people repeated told him to identify himself as a woman because he was born with female body parts. Many lgbtq+ people have faced this same issue. Peirce’s connection to Brandon through their lgbtq+ community may have been what helped her visual style feel like real life. The setting of the movie is in an ordinary small town that doesn’t really have anything special about. Brandon had friends and they hung out almost everyday like most people do. The visual style shifts between light and dark as Peirce attempts to show the double life Brandon was appeared to be leading according to society.

(director Kevin Smith)

The film Chasing Amy, as I previously stated, was directed by a cis straight white man named Kevin Smith. Smith’s background in being a straight man definitely affected his visual style in the film. The film Chasing Amy is categorized as a comedy and Smith’s visual style reflects that when he portrays Alyssa as a womanizer and shows the flash backs of her crazy one-night stands. Smith also portrays Hooper as a sassy gay man which can be seen in the way he stands, speaks, and dresses. Because Smith is straight, he portrayed gay character’s as one dimensional. Lesbians looked either butch or feme in Smiths film. His lack of queer knowledge and queer visual style made his movie somewhat offensive as he portrayed lgbtq+ people as stereotypical.

I saw a Tik Tok once of this girl asking “how can people ask if gay movies and media have the power to turn people gay?” she then stopped and said “I don’t know, they might because straight movies and media convinced me I was straight for 20 years” Although she made that Tik Tok for a comedic effect she did have something important to say, and that is that there was a lack of representation for lgbtq+ people in the film industry. A queer movie cannot turn someone queer who isn’t already. It may help them realize if they are queer and it may normalize the sigma that being queer isn’t strange or that being queer doesn’t makes someone different. When I see a tv show, movie or commercial I sometimes analyze them and determine if I found them interesting, funny or cool. If I find that I didn’t like what I had been exposed to I tell myself it’s probably because I not the target audience. Because I could not relate to this media it did not affect the way I felt about a particular thing. The same could be said for queer films, if a straight person watched a queer film, they may not identify themselves with the characters for that reason but they could still identify themselves with the characters if they both get bullied at school or have older siblings. The film however, will never have the power to turn a straight person queer.

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND February 15, 2019 - HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 U, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, ISN’T IT ROMANTIC

Well, it looks like I’ve already gotten myself into a bind trying to write two movie columns a week, and unfortunately, this one can only be written as my time allows. It’s President’s Day weekend, incorporating Valentine’s Day on Thursday, with three new wide releases hitting theatres either on Weds or Thursday hoping to grab some early biz before the long weekend.

Also, a reminder that if you want to read my box office analysis and predictions, you can find those over at The Beat later today. (My box office preview column will post around 9:30AM on Weds.)

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 U (Universal)

Written and directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day,Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) Cast: Jessica Rothe, Rudy Modine, Israel Broussard, Rachel Matthews, Suraj Sharma, Phi Vu, Charles Aitken MPAA Rating: PG-13

The movie with the best bet of succeeding this weekend is the sequel to Universal and Blumhouse Pictures’ 2017 hit Happy Death Day with director Christopher Landon, Jessica Rothe and the rest of the cast returning… and returning… and returning. The horror version of Bill Murray’s Groundhog’s Day featured a mostly-unknown cast of young actors, including Jessica Rothe, who is destined to be a superstar, and all of them return for this sequel, which ups the ante on the original’s high-concept premise. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to see the movie before opening – I plan on going Wednesday afternoon – but I really enjoyed the first movie, and I expect the sequel to be more of the same i.e. obvious but funny and not necessarily as gory as a slasher movie like this might normally be.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL (20thCentury Fox)

Directed by Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City, Predators, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Desperado and many more) Written by James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis, Robert Rodriguez Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keann Johnson, Lana Condor, Eiza Gonzalez MPAA Rating: PG-13

Next up is an adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s popular Manga series which premiered way back in 1990 and has been a passion project for Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron to make for almost as long. It’s definitely interesting to see Cameron work with a young upstart (by comparison) like Rodriguez, who has built quite a solid industry out of his Austin-based Troublemaker Studios, but I’m not sure if American moviegoers are nearly as gung-ho about the collaboration. The cast is generally solid with The Maze Runner star Rosa Salazar getting the title role, joined by Oscar-caliber actors like Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali, as well as newcomer Keann Johnson. Blink and you might miss the heavily CG-ed Ed Skrein, Lana Condor, Eiza Gonzalez and Jackie Earle Haley – I think he plays the Dogmaster. Reviews have generally been mixed but I really didn’t like it much at all (see my review below) and I’m not sure if moviegoers will feel too differently, as this is going to be a divisive movie. I’m not even sure if and how fans of the Manga will enjoy seeing it brought to life, but that’s really going to be seen for sure after its extended opening weekend that runs from Thursday through Monday.

My Review of Alita

Another Piece I Wrote About Alita

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (New Line/WB)

Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson (The Final Girls, A VeryHarold and Kumar 3D Christmas) Written by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, Katie Silberman Cast: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Jennifer Saunders, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Jennifer Saunders MPAA Rating: PG-13

Last but not least, especially with this week’s Valentine’s Hallmark Holiday on Thursday, is this unconventional romantic comedy that acts almost as a satire of the medium without going into Date Movie territory. It’s another chance for the very funny Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine, both from the Pitch Perfect movies, to break out on their own after mainly playing supporting roles in other comedies. Devine at least has a fanbase from his Comedy Central show Workaholics, and he’s had more featured roles in movies like Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, but this movie has more of an opportunity to reach young lovers and the date night crowd than the other two movies. I probably won’t review this, but I generally liked it quite a bit. I thought it was quite clever and funny in a snarky way that the kids seem to like and really its only straight competition is last week’s What Men Want.

LIMITED RELEASES

Not a ton of limited releases this weekend thankfully, but one of the big ones is the New York and L.A. release of Stephen Merchant’s FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY (MGM), a comedic biopic about WWE Superstar Paige, as played by Florence Pugh (Lady MacBeth) and also starring Jack Lowden, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn and Dwayne Johnson, who also produced the film along with WWE Films. It follows the story of how Paige and her brother Zak (Lowden) have dreams of becoming WWE superstars, coming from a family of wrestlers, and Paige’s struggles to fit in at the NXT training camp with Vaughn playing her tough coach. Johnson produced the film along with WWE Films, and he makes a couple brief apperances as himself. It’s a fun movie that I really enjoyed. You can read my full review below, and then look for my interview with Paige over at VitalThrills.com.

https://weekendwarriorblog.tumblr.com/post/182726024603/fighting-with-my-family-eds-very-important

Another pleasant surprise for the weekend is RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR (Sony Pictures Classics), Slovenian filmmaker Milorad Krstic’s amazing animated feature centered around the title character, Ruben Brandt, a psychotherapist who has been having nightmares involving 13 famous paintings, so he puts together a band of art thieves (actual pieces of art who are also criminals) to steal some of the greatest artworks in the world. He quickly earns a reputation as “The Collector,” and a group of insurance companies hire private detective Mike Kowalski to get the art back. I didn’t really know what to expect when I saw this movie a few weeks back, and the premise and characters are so bizarre, that it took me some time to adjust to the pace, but there’s some really cool stuff on display here including a number of action setpieces right out of Mission: Impossible or The Fast and the Furious, but all animated with a unique style that reminded me about what I loved about Terry Gilliam’s animation on Monty Python’s Flying Circus. If you’re a fan of animation and/or looking for something different this weekend, this is what I recommend.

Opening in New York Friday at the Quad Cinema and on VOD is Tim Sutton’s DONNYBROOK (IFC Films), based on the novel by Frank Bill, in which Jamie Bell plays Jarhead Earl, who wants to keep his family together, so he robs a gun shop and goes on the road with his son to enter a legendary bare-knuckle brawl called Donnybrook, in which the winner gets $100,000. On his trail is drugdealer Chainsaw Angus, played by Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Angus’ sister (Margaret Qualley). (FYI, Sutton will be at select screenings at the Quad.)

Opening on Weds at New York’s Film Forum and at several L.A. theaters on Friday is BIRDS OF PASSAGE (The Orchard), Colombia’s Oscar entry directed by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra (Embrace of the Serpent). It’s an amazing story set in the rural Colombian drug trade over the course of several decades. The winner of three Colombian Fenix Film Awards, Birds of Passageopened the Directors’ Fortnight at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and has played a number of major festivals since then. It’s a really strong film that showcases the indigenous Wayuu tribe based in the rural area of Colombia who get involved with the drug trade as a way to survive financially. It focuses primarily on the growing feud between two families and the plight of a young man named Rapayet to get out of the drug trade once he’s pulled into it in order to afford the dowry for his beautiful bride. It’s another great-looking film but one that feels a little more contemporary than Guerra’s previous film even though it takes place between the ‘60s and ‘80s and could actually be viewed as a companion film to Tom Cruise’s American Madein the sense that it shows the very beginnings of the drug journey to the States.

Opening Friday at Lincoln Center is Hong Sang-soo’s Hotel by the River (Cinema Guild), which played at the New York Film Festival last year. It involves two intersecting tales, one about an old poet who calls his estranged sons to be by his side as he reaches the end, and the other about a young woman with a broken heart.

Ryan Reynolds narrates the IMAX documentary Great Bear Rainforest: Land of the Spirit Bear, which opens solely in IMAX screens on Friday. It’s a movie about the Great Bear Rainforest in Canada where resides the rare all-white spirit bear, and the indigenous First Nations tribe.

Dog lovers who didn’t get enough canine cuteness with A Dog’s Way Home can also catch the dog movie Patrick (Screen Media), written and directed by Mandy Fletcher (Absolutely Fabulous), which will open in select cities and VOD Friday. It revolves around a young woman named Sarah Francis (Beattie Edmonson) whose life is a mess even before her grandmother (played by her real-life mother Jennifer Saunders, who is also in Isn’t It Romantic) bequeathes her spoiled pug Patrick to her. It also stars Ed Skrein (also in Alita), Gemma Jones and Emily Atack.

STREAMING

The only new movie streaming on Netflix this Friday is the New Zealand comedy The Breaker Upperers, written and directed by Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek, who also star as BFFs Jen and Mel who get paid for ending romances, although their own relationship is put to the test when one of gets a conscience about what they’re doing.

As far as series, Netflix is debuting the new series The Umbrella Academy, based on the comic series by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba, this Friday. Meanwhile, on DC Universe’s streaming platform, the new Doom Patrol will premiere, and that’s a pretty crazy bit of counter-programming.

Not exactly “streaming” but Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler’s doc United Skates will premiere on HBO on Monday the 18th. I saw this at the Tribeca Film Festival last year where it won the Audience Award for documentary, and it’s won many other festival audience awards. It looks at the vanishing world of roller rinks and the “adult nights” that brought many of the African-American communities together in cities in North Carolina and California, but one that’s quickly fading away.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Valentine’s Day at the Metrograph is always a fun time, and this year is no exception with screenings of Casablanca (1942), Ernst Lubisch’s Heaven Can Wait (1943), Werner Fassbinder’s Querelle (1982), David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), Claire Denis’ Trouble All Day (2001) and even Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning Moonlight. (These are all playing on Valentine’s Day and a couple screenings before/after.) Produced by David O. Selznick ends this weekend with screenings of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and George Cukor’sWhat Price Hollywood? (1932). This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is the Chinese crime film Black Coal Thin Ice (2014) on Thursday night and Trouble All Day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matineesis the beloved 2017 family film Paddington 2, directed by Paul King.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Not to be outdone by that young upstart Metrograph, Tarantino’s rep theater will screen the late great Burt Reynolds’ Deliverance (1972) and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997), also starring Reynolds, on Weds. and Thursday, then continuing their Reynolds tribute with double features of White Lightning (1973) and 1974’s The Longest Yard (one of my personal favorites). Saturday night’s midnight screening is D.A. Pannebaker’s classic concert film Monterey Pop from 1968, featuring performances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix and more, while the weekend’s Kiddee Matinee on Saturday and Sunday is Ralph Nelson’s 1971 film Flight of the Doves. Sunday and Monday night are double features of Laurel and Hardy’s Flying Deuces (1939) and Mel Brooks’ The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977), starring the wonderful Marty Feldman. There’s also a screening on Sunday afternoon of Carl Franklin’s 1995 film Devil with a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Opening on Friday is the exclusive premiere of Milestone Films’ 4k rerelease of Mikhail Kalatozov’s 1964 documentary I Am Cuba, presented by Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, which features amazing footage of Havana in the late ‘50s. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. offering is a new 4k restoration of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (1956)

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Other than Valentine’s Day screenings of Hal Ashby’s 1971 dark comedy Harold and Maude (another personal favorite of mine) and Ivan Nagy’s Skinner (1993) starring Ted Raimi, the Egyptian is mainly focusing on making sure Oscar voters have a chance to see some of this year’s Best Picture nominees like Roma and Bohemian Rhapsody.

AERO (LA):

The Aero is also showing the 1942 classic Casablanca on Valentine’s Day, but mostly, the entire weekend is dedicated to screening Jean Luc Godard’s most recent effort, The Image Book.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The Goldblum Variations, celebrating the great Jeff Goldblum, continues this weekend with screenings of Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Fly, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Thank God It’s Friday, Into the Night and more.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: The Feds presents a 35mm print of Sandra Bullock’s Miss Congeniality from 2000, this weekend’s Weekend Classics: Early Godard is Vivre Sa Vie from 1962, which is playing Friday through Monday at 11AM. Late Night Favorites has two movies running over the weekend, David Lynch’s Blue Velvetand Dario Argento’s Suspiria.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday night’s midnight movie is Blood Diner from 1987!

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

On Friday, the Film Society will show Sergey Bondarchuk’s four-part War and Peace (1969), presented by Mosfilm Cinema Concern, an epic that runs for seven ours over the four parts, each which will run two or three times over the weekend.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Starting Thursday, the Brooklyn Arts Museum will begin Programmer’s Note: On Love, a series that will include romantic films such as Love & Basketball on Thursday, Pedro Almodovar’s Bad Education on Friday, and much more all running over the course of the next week.

MOMA (NYC):

Modern Matinees: Sir Sidney PoitierscreensTo Sir with Love (1967) on Weds, Lillies of the Field (1963) on Thursday, and Stanley Kramer’s Guessing Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967) on Friday.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The Derek Jarman-Humphrey Jennings retrospective continues with Sebastiane (1976) on Friday, preceded by the short The Silent Village, plus two more films on Saturday and Sunday nights. MOMI is also screening Roman Holiday (1953) on Saturday as part of the Edith Head series.

That’s it for this week, but next week is a bit lighter with DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Fighting with My Family expands natiowide. Don’t forget to check out my weekly box office column at The Beat, which you can read right here.

#WhatToWatchthisWeekend TheWeekendWarrior AlitaBattleAngel Reviews Movies Repertory Streaming HappyDeathDay2U IsntItRomantic

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dreamspeardreams · 7 years

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RAWcap 23/01/17

This week I’m going to try and analyze RAW through a focus on storytelling. Wrestling will be mentioned, mostly if it’s outstanding one way or another, but otherwise I’ll mainly criticize and compliment the storytelling aspect of the show.

We open with a recap of JeriKO saying they’ve ‘Taken over RAW’ for the past few weeks, and this really speaks to why the Main Event scene has been boring for the past month and a half. These guys are all great (Roman is merely fine), but the plot hasn’t gone anywhere since the Title match was announced for the Royal Rumble. And now Roman opens the go-home RAW.

Roman’s promo this week feels a little arrogant, which is a good thing. Better for Roman to be arrogant than to be a blank slate of Superman power. Kevin Owens and Jericho come out and cut a promo on Roman, which is fairly standard, but Chris Jericho being completely silent and miming actions to go along with KO’s promo is fantastic. Also, Jericho is rocking double scarves this week. Jericho has gone completely mean and arrogant, swerving away from his more comedic stuff, trying to get pops. Now he’s funny because he’s completely serious when he refers to himself as a sexy pinata. KO accepts a rematch from Roman for the US Title, which Jericho is not happy about, and that match is set up for the main event.

Next up is Cesaro vs. Luke Gallows (w) Before the match it’s announced that there will be a Tag-title match on the Royal Rumble Pre-Show in a ‘Two refs are present’ match. Personally, I think this is a good kind of stupid match, it makes a lot of sense with where the story has been going, however I think this should be on the main card. Have it open the show, since Cesaro and Sheamus are going to lose, and then enter the Rumble, but this just isn’t a good way to sell the pre-show and it devalues the tag titles. During a commercial Karl Anderson gets chased away from ringside by Sheamus after kicking Cesaro, and in response Luke Gallows’ beard turns more evil in protest; styling into a pointed shape at it’s end, which compliments Gallows’ face fantastically. Sheamus nearly interferes before Cesaro and the ref stop him, and then as the ref turns to shout at Cesaro he interferes anyway. Here the announce desk mentions this is the reason why there needs to be two refs present, and this is just a good example of a small piece of storytelling that helps the PPV match feel more justified. Karl Anderson returns to knock out Sheamus at ringside and prevent the ref from seeing Gallows tapping out to Cesaro, and so Gallows can pick up the win. Fairly decent match for a go home, it furthers the gimmick of the PPV match well, and made both Sheamus and Gallows look strong.

Next is a backstage segment with Mick on the phone with Stephanie where he repeats the gag of remembering the place he’s in by writing it on his hand. Sami interrupts and announces he wants to enter the Rumble, but Stephanie interrupts and says he’ll have to defeat Seth Rollins tonight in order to enter the Rumble.

To hype up the Women’s match Bayley has an interview with Corey Graves. Both Bayley and Corey Graves are pretty good here, although Corey is a little stiff, unlike his commentary. I still find Bayley’s character very endearing, and the promo’s she cuts are very good at embracing that character wholly. At the end of the segment Charlotte’s PPV winning streak is brought up again, which always makes me wonder when they’re going to pull the trigger.

Mick tells Seth Rollins about his match, and clarifies that if Sami wins, he doesn’t just get a spot in the Rumble, he gets Seth’s spot, so their match isn’t a Fingerpoke of Doom situation. This leads straight into the match, where the commentators announce that The Big Show has entered the match.

Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn(w) During Sami’s entrance the Camera finds a small kid cheering Sami, and quickly cuts away since the man behind him is wearing a Kenny omega shirt. Seth throws a punch that knocks off his wrist tape, and the announcers mention both guys are fighting dirty. While this was probably completely accidental, it’s a nice accident, that gives this match a little more weight. Sami lands a fantastic looking Blue Thunder Bomb, but Seth Rollins kicks out. RAWs are at their best when they have a throughline story, and not something that is just based on the title. I wish they would do something like Sami fighting three or four matches throughout the night for a spot in the Rumble, which fits his character of never giving up perfectly too. He could fight Seth, then Cesaro, then Kofi, and lose since he is getting more tired, then finally fight somebody who the crowd doesn’t want to see in the Rumble, such as one of the Shining Stars, and although it might be a little strange tonally, it could make for a really compelling small story, which ends with Sami making it into the Rumble, or if he fought Braun last would make him look good and continue his feud. Seth Rollins teases a pedigree from the top rope, before Sami reverses it into a great looking sunset flip, which Seth manages to kick out of. Sami goes for a Helluva kick on the apron, which Seth reverses into a pedigree (also on the apron), but before he can cover Sami Triple H’s music hits. Triple H doesn’t appear, but Sami Zayn steals a rollup and the lower third reads “Sami Zayn: Officially in the Royal Rumble match”.

The announcers let us know that Shawn Micheals will be on the Pre-Show, which satisfies his requirement to show up at a Big 4 PPV in his hometown, and probably confirms he won’t be a surprise entrant. Along with this is another promo spotlightinga Royal Rumble from history, and I really like how they’ve done these. They’ve been tangentially tied to the 2017 Rumble, and it’s nice for fans like me to be able to see some of the Rumble matches from history, and for longer time fans to relive some Rumble matches from the past.

We cut to Seth backstage, where he finds Mick Foley who doesn’t know anything and blames production. Seth doesn’t believe him and storms off to find answers.

Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese and Drew Gulak vs. Jack Gallagher, T.J. Perkins and Mustafa Ali (w) Mustafa Ali gets a promo package, who has a great looking face, and looks pretty competent as a wrestler. Jack Gallagher comes out with an umbrella so I guess he just always has one now. They mention that Jack Gallagher won the I Forfeit match against Ariya Daivari, however I don’t know if this was the blowoff or if this is leading to something bigger, and honestly I don’t much care for this story, Jack Gallagher has outstayed his welcome. Mustafa Ali picks up the win with an impressive inverted 450 splash from the top rope. This match, simply due to the cirtue of it being a 6-man tag ends up working a faster pace than a lot of the Cruiserweight matches have been of late, which is good. It allows these guys to show off their faster, higher-flying moves, and nothing gets compromised here.

The New Day are coming out to the ring next, but first Big E scares a stagehand backstage by hiding in a small cart covered with T-Shirts and boxes of Booty-O’s. They are interrupted by Enzo and Cass while talking about their entry into the Rumble, however they end up dancing to Enzo and Cass’ music, and mimicking the opening lines of their promo, which is just really fun to watch. Big Cass announces his entry into the Royal Rumble, but Rusev interrupts Cass before he can describe the New Day as SAWFT. Rusev criticizes Big E and Big Cass for needing to describe themselves as big, stating he doesn’t need to call himself Handsome Rusev for people to know he’s handsome; personally I want to see Handsome Rusev shirts. Rusev announces his entry into the Rumble, before Titus comes down. Xavier Woods looks appalled that their segment got so hijacked. Titus annoys The New Day and they cut him off, but eventually he tells them that there’s an 8-man match scheduled; New Day and Enzo and Cass vs. “The Four of us” (Rusev, Jinder Mahal, Titus and Lana.). Xavier points out that although the crowd wants to see Lana wrestle, this can’t be and Braun Strowman comes down.

New Day and Enzo & Cass vs. Rusev, Jinder Mahal, Titus O’Neil and Braun Strowman(w) Titus gets tossed out of the ring by Kofi, and Braun Strowman hops off the apron, saunters over and picks him up to throw him back into the ring, so Jinder can make the tag. Enzo ends up in the ring with braun and Corey Graves exclaims “all my dreams are finally coming true”. Enzo pumps up the crowd before being decked by one hit from Braun. He then picks up Enzo for a running powerslam to win the match. Just as Braun is celebrating the Big Show interrupts, appearing for the first time since the Draft back in July. He and Braun have a staredown in the ring. For the first time pretty much ever, Braun looks a little apprehensive, before stepping out of the ring. He shouts he does ‘what i want, when i want, how i want’, further proving Braun Strowman is one of the best big guys WWE has ever had. The Big Show and the New Day come to talk to the announcers after their ad for the network, and the announcers look genuinely surprised. Michael Cole exclaims “he is huge’ as Big Show leaves and looks distracted.

There’s a recap of the opening segment, and at the end Byron Saxton mentions Romans quest to become a Dual Champion. I might be reading into it a little too much, but I really hope this isn’t foreshadowing or spoilers, because if it is then this will be a program probably until Mania. I doubt he’ll take the US Title back, but I really hope they don’t as that would be very boring to watch. The recap leads into the next match.

Chris Jericho(w) vs. Roman Reigns(w) for the US Title After a commercial, Kevin Owens joins the commentary table, and now I’m very excited for this match, KO is great on commentary. Jericho shouts a conversation to Kevin on the announce table about how good he is in the ring, and then Air-fives him. Owens shouts at the ref from the table after Roman kicks out, however the move that leads to it makes me think Chris might win clean. Owens becomes too worried about Jericho, and leaves the announce table to beat up Roman, disqualifying him and leaving him the winner. Owens calls for the Shark Cage (which is suspended above the ring for some reason) to be lowered, and for some reason Production complies. Corey mentions that if Roman is left in the shark cage, he might not even make it to the Royal Rumble, which is a hilarious mental image, however Roman breaks out before KO can lock the cage, and throws Owens inside, before the cage gets re-raised. Owens grabs Jericho’s hand and Jericho gets reaised with the cage, before Roman Superman punches him down. Just as we come back from commercial, Kevin’s cage is lowered and Kevin is let out, before the ring announcer informs him that his match against Roman at the Rumble will be a No-DQ match. This is the first inkling I’ve had since the match was announced that Roman isn’t 100% locked to win, because there’s a chance Jericho can interfere and help KO. It’s still very unlikely, but it’s a possibility.

Now to match the Bayley interview, Corey Graves interview Charlotte. Mostly this is just a good promo, but Charlotte is fantastic at everything she does, and it’s a treat to watch her get fired up. The angle of Genes vs. Hard Work is a little strange to me, but it works okay to make the match happen.

Nia Jax(w) vs. Ray Lyn This is a nothing match, it’s over in under two minutes. After the match, Nia dedicates her victory to Sasha’s dead career, but Sasha has other ideas, coming down to the ring walking with a crutch. Sasha attacks Nia with the crutch, and gets her out of the ring, before landing double knees.

Another Emmalina promo, although reportedly she’s going to debut at RAW after the Rumble, so finally we’ll see where this is heading.

Rich Swann(w) vs. Noam Dar w/ Alicia Fox They mention Rich Swann vs. Neville at the Rumble, which should be a very entertaining match in the ring at least. Noam Dar uses Alicia Fox to protect himself from a suicide dive by Rich Swann, but Rich Swann still picks up a fairly easy win. Swann calls out Neville, and jumps him out of the ring, standing tall at the end.

Backstage Noam Dar and Alicia Fox confront Cedric Alexander, and the only take away I have is that Alicia Fox has an impressively high=pitched and annoying voice.

Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks is announced for the Royal Rumble Pre-Show, which is a fine fit for it.

Next it’s time for Goldberg. He leaves his dressing room with his head and shirt absolutely drenched for some reason, and a small cut on his head. One audience member rips his shirt open during Goldberg’s entrance, which just made me laugh. Goldberg messes up his promo big time, but takes it in his stride and turns it around very well by lampshading it. At this point he has a thick line of blood on his forehead, and he looks badass. Paul Heyman interrupts him to introduce Brock Lesnar. Everybody acts surprised that Brock Lesnar is here, although I thought he had been advertised previously. Goldberg is still great on promo’s, and he calls Brock down to the ring before suddenly, the Undertaker’s gong hits, the lights go down and Taker is magically in the ring as the crowd goes crazy. At this point RAW goes off-air, and apparently after the camera’s stopped, the three simply left the ring with no altercation. That’s a fun stare-down to end RAW with, but it felt a little cut short, like they should have held on the three in the ring for at least a minute or so.

Overall, I think this was a fairly entertaining RAW compared to recent weeks, but something of a weak Go-Home show, as nothing much happened to further major storylines. I’d give it an 8/10 for RAW and 6.5/10 for go-home RAW.

There was some good examples of minor storytelling helping to fill out the broader strokes this week, and though I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see Triple H, I think it’s okay since he’ll likely appear at the Rumble. Tomorrow I’ll do a Smackdown recap, and later in the week I’ll bring a predictions post for the Rumble and NXT TakeOver, possibly with a quick NXT recap thrown in there as well. Then on Monday will be a recap of both TakeOver and the Royal Rumble, which will be more feelings based than analytical, as I will be watching with friends and not in a position to take notes.

Thanks if you have been reading, and if this is your first RAWcap, I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave me any feedback.

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anxiety-trademark · 3 years

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The week in review:

Raw 11/23 NXT 11/25 NXT UK 11/26 Smackdown 11/27

Raw:

Such a hollow promo by Lana tbh. “I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up.” ??? You were the sole survivor by proxy, it’s not like you did anything. Like good for you, but come on now.

I mean sure, hand out a title shot to fucking Lana, not like anyone else in the entire company cares about that belt. God I miss Becky.

“You may go home Raw women’s champion” HAHAHAHAHAAHHA sure.

“Nikki Cross blames herself for what Alexa Bliss has become,” she should, she straight up threw her hissy fit cuz she didn’t win the title, and then she bailed.

Now don’t get me wrong, I get that Alexa has been... possessed, if you will, by Fiend... but I’m not seeing any signs of Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to her and Bray. Aren’t they both trapped by Fiend in lore? Bray seems to genuinely care about Alexa. Am I off the mark here??

Oh my god this moment of silence for the fucking frog, I--

Topped with them laughing about his death, oooookay. I’m left speechless once again.

Commentators come back with, “Is Alexa Bliss too far gone...” LMFAO bye.

See I love this bullying Lana storyline cuz Nia and Shayna have no real reason to despise her 1/8th as much as they do. It simply boils down to ‘fuck Lana’ and like your typical high school bullies, they seethe when their victim succeeds at anything. It’s old school, believable, and doesn’t cross any lines that would upset parents or sponsors.

Also don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that this title match is just a vehicle to advance the feud while involving Asuka, I simply wish the creation of the title match itself had been a bit more interesting. Lana’s dialogue ahead of it with both Sarah and Asuka just fell flat for me.

Omfg Asuka threw water on Nia and Shayna, bahahahah I can’t breathe. That might be the highlight of her entire reign, holy shit.

Negative points for her being floored by one punch though.

Well at least the segment ends with both Asuka and Lana standing, that’s not the worst.

Not much to say about this match, it’s really just Nia and Shayna bullying Lana lol.

I’ll give them this, there is absolutely nothing about neither Nia nor Shayna that is even remotely likeable. They play mean really well, and not ‘annoying yet funny’ mean like Bayley, just straight mean.

It’s not that I hate this submission ‘hold’ by Shayna, where she steps on the back of their neck while pulling a leg back, but I’m curious why she switched legs lmao. Awkward.

What a knee strike by Shayna to Asuka, whew that looked nasty.

Lmfao Nia took herself out by charging into the announce desk. I cannot. What a bump. Comedic bump, but a bump. Points.

Haha Shayna ate a rollup. A happy ending indeed. Lana sold that ending well, but it was a weird choice to have her and Asuka on the opposite ends of the ramp.

It’s been like 2 years and I’m still shocked Alexa never turned on Nikki.

This video is kind of just skipping over Nikki throwing her tantrum huh? Alexa played backseat cheerleader just to watch Nikki lose against Bayley 16 times and what did she get in return? Disrespect. Tsk.

Great package though. Points.

Nikki is so inconsistent. Internal conflict is valid, but she’s standing here claiming Alexa gave up on their friendship. First of all, this was initially instigated by Nikki. Second of all, she did nothing but trash Alexa’s boyfriend(?) when Alexa was nothing but kind to her after Nikki was a douche. She was confused so she gave Alexa an ultimatum, and now she’s pissy cuz Alexa chose him. This is toxic, I honestly have no sympathy for Nikki.

“I’m going to beat the Fiend out of Alexa Bliss” that’s... that’s not how this works... alright well you’re a shitty friend so, anyway.

Alexa slaps the back of Nikki’s hands and claims she won. I fucking can’t, she’s such a treat.

Lol Alexa’s just laughing at her.

My first introduction to Alexa was her as a master manipulator. Not a damn thing has changed.

Alexa has lost her god damn mind rofl.

*Bonus* online exclusive: victim Nikki, everyone. Why wasn’t this on Raw? Jesus they fill Raw with so many garbage replays while meaningful interviews to fill plot holes are put online. Dumb.

Lacey’s really running around calling Peyton “PeyPey” good lord.

I mean she’s right, Peyton was the weakest link. Just saying.

“10 sizes too big” shot at Uncle Melted Cheese.

I fucking love how Lacey pronounces “opportun-tit-ies” lmao. I thought it was an accident at first but honestly it’s great.

They have zero chemistry in the ring but at least they’re fun outside of it.

Highlight: I know I say Alexa every single week but shrug it’s Alexa

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NXT:

Alright Ember’s theme is wearing on me. She just has awesome theme songs.

Indi is really pretty and I love how she does her hair.

All nxt heels are the same; cowardly run from fights, slow methodical wrestling in the ring, recruiting muscle optional. It’s tired. At least be a good promo. Dakota is a good promo. She’s buyable. Actually where’s Dakota, I wanna see Dakota wrestle. No more Candice.

Holy shit that fall away slam onto Candice. Fucking THREW her ass across the ring. Whew everyone wave bye to Candice.

The setup to that step up senton by Candice was way too obvious.

Candice is too whiny.

Ah just as I’m beginning to get bored, Dakota comes out. It’s like nxt knows me.

Haha KO correcting Vic being a bad commentator.

See Candice isn’t even a bad wrestler, her style as heel just fucking blows.

Peeped that call by Ember.

Such a stupid setup to have Indi push Candice out of the way to take an Eclipse herself. It’s not like jumping in front of a bus. There was time. Whatever. I hate Candice matches 9 times out of 10 so there’s that lol.

...so is Toni a heel yet??? I’m guessing they’re going for “badass loner babyface-leaning tweener” for Ember, but Toni is not a tweener. She could’ve been, alas she is not.

Haha Toni is funny. Good, let her be heel. Maybe she’ll show some personality.

Alright but hear me out, what if we had a War Games team without Candice???

You did say we’d see a whole new side of you, Toni. Been waiting to see it though.

Wait back up, didn’t Toni attack Candice after their match recently?? Okay anyway.

“Rhea Ripley/Io Shirai? Doesn’t get any bigger than that.” True Rhea, now move up to the main roster plz.

Oh man Io’s basement dropkick fucking nailed Rhea in the face lol, oof.

“Where do I go from here?” TO THE MAIN ROSTER.

I don’t hate the tank and I don’t hate the idea of wearing a helmet, but those horns are super pointless.

Shotzi “pyromaniac” Blackheart. Stealing one of Alexa’s gimmicks.

It’s gonna be Shotzi, Io, Rhea and Ember, right? Who else would it be??

Rhea says she’s there to stay. Ma’am I stg if I have to wait til after wm to see you on the MR...

Me: super invested in Rhea cutting a fantastic promo and seeing how far she’s progressed as a well-rounded talent; Candice: “lol fuck you”

I hate Candice. I will fill this review with vitriol for Candice, I don’t care.

How... how did Io “steal” any victories from Candice? What help did she have? Is it drugs? Is Candice on drugs?? Candice you haven’t even held the title, shut the fuck up. Also all of y’all can sit down cuz only one woman on that entire brand has had a singles match at wm.

Oh shit they laid Io out. That’s a yikes.

In kf, the only threat to Rhea on that entire team is Toni.

I mean sure 4 people was way too much for Rhea to handle, but man they let her look pretty fucking good. The way she immediately slid out to give Raquel the high boot was smart as hell.

Dakota looks good. She gets style points.

Soooo Xia gets acting points, but what in the fuck is going on with her and Boa’s story...

Why do I have to see or hear Candice again? Jesus lord.

There’s someone else masked? *sigh* I don’t care, goodbye.

Highlight: Rhea’s promo that Candice ruined

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NXT UK:

I enjoy watching neither of these women wrestle, but at least Jinny’s persona is appealing and she has solid character work. She’s easy to dislike, so she gets heel-potential points.

Did they say Isla’s mentor is Nikki Cross? That’s... interesting...

So is this match gonna be interrupted by Piper? Probably not.

“This is an aggressive Isla Dawn,” well hey, maybe she actually started working on her stamina.

Jinny is vicious lmao.

Probably Isla’s best showing tbh.

I hate it when people jump off the top turnbuckle and then break into a slow, clunky roll, just to stand up and act as if their knee is tweaked. It’s so messy to me. Be smoother or don’t aimlessly jump off the turnbuckle.

Whole lotta yelling in the match.

Really don’t give a shit about a future Jinny/Piper match but okay.

Highlight: Jinny comes off as a vicious bitch, so that’s nice

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Smackdown:

Oh snap Bianca’s graphic has some real potential.

Ayyyeeee it’s Captain Bayley. We starting our Bianca/Bayley feud?

oof Nattie straight outsmarted Bianca as the vet, there. Bianca friggin speared that ringpost.

“I think I did the world a favor, we got to see Bianca Belair shine,” she’s not wrong, Bianca was absolutely my mvp from SvS. In hindsight speaking from current day, Bayley really set up Bianca to be the upcoming star of this division, starting with SvS.

Oh snap did Bianca just call Nattie a bitch? How dare she, that’s Nattie’s only patented insult!

“You don’t want to get counted out again,” lmfao Bayley’s so annoying.

pppffffftttt Bayley inadvertently getting her ass whooped tonight.

Yeah somehow this is all Cole’s fault lol.

No, stop, no more “them” promos. Bayley cut this promo literally a year prior, we don’t need to hear it from Carmella, too. Besides, she was never necessarily a fan favorite that the crowd gradually turned against like Bayley was. It’s different.

WHAT SHOTS ARE YOU CALLING?? Is this about Reggie? Has he even appeared on screen yet?

Lmao Sasha beating her ass. Good for her. Looking good while she does it, too. Sasha in shiny silver... whew.

The wwe shop ad with the Riott Squad was worth a mention. They entertain me and they deserve tag titles. Not sure why wwe is still dragging their feet, but commit to them already, damn it.

Highlight: Bianca/Bayley seeds being planted

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*Smackdown shined the brightest this week. Short, simple, straight to the point. Left me wanting to throw on next week’s episode, which no other show accomplished.

#wwe #issa review #feel free to ignore these #cuz who tf cares lesbihonest #today's props goes to:#bayley

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