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purplealmonds · 4 months

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Continuing to fire on all cylinders to make this Sky 🤝Mononoke collab a reality! 🐲⚖️🌊

Process GIFs and artist commentary below the cut. ⬇️

Left: Process GIF Middle: Just the background, cos I really like how it looks! Right: Illustration without the collab logo

And here are my notes on my inspirations and references. There's a lot of 'em, so instead of embedding relevant images one by one I put them in a callout sheet! For accessibility, I also included transcript (with bonus ramblings) below each sheet.

Ofuda circle modeled in Google Sketchup 2017, then lightly transformed in Photoshop to flare out. I tried my best to hand-draw these, but it the results came out really clunky and stiff. I figured if Mononoke shamelessly utilizes 3D in their show, I can too!

Krill and sky kid composition roughly inspired by the Ayakashi DVD cover illustration. On the surface level, the krill's black-and-red color scheme mirrored that of the bake-neko. Not to mention, in the world of Sky, the krill would be the best fit of a mononoke-like entity. The red background is also a nod to the red skies seen during a shard eruption in Sky.

Sky kid gesture based on the Festival Spin Dancer's Tier 3 poses and the Medicine Seller's iconic pose in the Zakishiwarahi episode as inspiration. This was the idea which springboarded this illustration into existence. I wanted to do my take of the Medicine Seller's pose, but in a more dynamic manner: rotate the pose to a profile position and set the ofuda in a diagonal, flared out arrangement.

Cape inspired by tenbin design featured in the 2024 Mononoke movie. This one's an interesting one - I wanted the cape to be a stiff material that doesn't "flap" when in flight - similar to the Aurora wing capes. It ended up looking like a kite of sorts, which I'm not entirely opposed to! I haven't had the opportunity to showcase the back view of this cape design, but I envision it having some mechanical aspects to it - the "wing" which are flared out in this illustration fold in like moth wings, and a little bell is attached to the "tail" part and it jingles a little whenever the sky kid flaps!

Bandana is based on the Scaredy Cadet's hairstyle from the Season of Assembly. Mask design utilizes the 2023 Days of Style mask and the Nintendo Pack mask as bases. Pretty self-explanatory. I basically went onto the Sky wiki and found the cosmetics that most closely matched what I was looking for. Then if necessary, I went to the Office space to do photoshoots to get the appropriate camera angles for them all.

Seasonal pendant inspired by the classic Medicine Seller's necklace and the eye motif featured in the 2024 Mononoke movie. Possibly the only one-to-one homage to the classic Medicine Seller design here, but his garnet necklace was too good of a match to the seasonal pendant. A side tangent: does the new Medicine Seller possess a necklace, let alone a mirror? So far all the shots of him don't feature it. Fascinating.

Dark dragon krill anatomy references a custom figurine crafted by @/escaflowne_n07 on Twitter. Until I found this, I was honestly at a loss finding reference for this - be it on the internet or during in-game photoshoots. The lighting on the krill in-game focused on its menacing silhouette rather than its structure. And not to mention, getting a close-up shot almost always set off the dark creature's aggro. I have no idea how this guy found the references to put this model together - well done!

Mantas, elder constellations, and sun dog references murals in the Cave of Prophecy. Krill aside, the overall illustration was leaning a little too much towards Mononoke so I tried finding opportunities to insert more Sky into it. Added bonus is that now there's storytelling in the background: during a shard eruption, a giant krill rises from the frothing waves of dark water to hunt down a flock of mantas.

Clouds behind the sun dog reference the ones featuring heavily in the Umibozu episode. This illustration has a lot of ocean theming, so I figured this would be appropriate.

Rendering style of the background is lightly inspired by the 2007 Mononoke illustration. Mainly having a 2D inked style to contrast with the more polished render of the sky kid. Funnily enough, this was a tertiary inspiration, which lead to the discovery in the next point!

Dark water waves and sun dog composition heavily references Hokusai's "The Great Wave". The waves were modified to be bottle-green of the Golden Wasteland's dark waters. The sun dog is in the spot where Mt. Fuji is in the original composition. these were all hand-drawn by the way! I merely emulated the style of the source material. As a side note, I also borrowed the spotted sea spray rendering for the krill's red spotlight.

Background pattern taken from the ofuda design featured in the 2024 Mononoke movie poster. Mainly to add some gritty texture to the sky. I worked pretty hard to replicate this ofuda design as a high-res asset so I wanted to use it more!

#モノノ怪 #mononoke 2024 #mononoke 2007 #kusuriuri #medicine seller #thatskygame #sky cotl #sky children of the light #thatgamecompany #thatskygame fanart #sky cotl fanart #crossover #purplealmonds #2023

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cvm-jpfilm · 2 months

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Morita - The Family Game

This movie is awesome. When I saw that it was a dark comedy, I was expecting a much more grim and satirical piece in line with the previous films, but this tops it. It has a nice mix of somber scenes which rapidly switch to humorous or nonsensical scenes. A lot of it rides along the line of slapstick comedy, but I find the dumb humor to be much better at pointing out "Look at how stupid this is" than snarky satirical pieces.

I think The Family Game is a critique of the traditional Japanese family and education system. Through the use of comedy, sound, and camerawork the film frames both an ignorant family and an obtuse education.

The comedy takes the form of Mr. Yoshimoto, a.k.a. THE GOAT, as an external force peering in and also the one that starts the movie's plot. Yoshimoto is often not only separated from the family through demeanor, but also through the camera. He's not here to take any of the family's shit, he'll do his job and get out. And it's important that Yoshimoto is this voice of reason because it establishes two points important to the overall theme: 1. The standard family as introduced in the beginning of the film is DUMB, they may be the SOCIETAL standard but Yoshimoto is the film's moral compass that is there to establish a critique of the family. 2. Yoshimoto is also the audience stand-in, here is there to reassure that whenever something odd happens in the family, it is a result of some arbitrary or dumb societal standard. However, it is equally important to recognize that Yoshimoto is himself ridiculed, as he is his own critique of tutors.

Sound design in this movie is absolutely gross, in a good way. There is a large emphasis on every single action. The eating is slimy, moving around is loud, and every minute action is at the center stage. This is because sound is a breaks silence, and silence in this movie is the standard. A good example of this is the fight at the start of the film:

The scene starts super quiet with the students studying as it establishes Tsuchiya and Shigeyuki. Suddenly, when Shigeyuki runs out of graphite lead to write with, he pulls back his chair and it makes a screeching sound. He raises his voice and it's deafening. The rest of the scene, and the movie by extension, features moments like this where sound breaks apart the normal and expected situation. It is abrasive and uncomfortable for the audience, but it is meant to call attention to that oppressive normality of silence.

Cinematography follows a similar motif. The movie is usually shot very close to the subject of a scene. If it's the family, the shot is just the family, or if it is Yoshimoto, then it is just Yoshimoto. Again, the audience should feel constrained and awkward at this rigidity, the societal standard, which the movie then breaks apart by moving the camera away. It might be a zoom out, a tracking shot, or a perspective change through rotating the camera angle. It is meant to call attention to the fact the characters are placed in roles, the shot is like the supposed frames.

P.S. I wanted to talk a lot about how the table symbolizes how the family avoids confrontation, but that would take too long. I love this movie.

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qu-film-history-to-1968 · 6 months

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The first film that I watched was Salesman (1969), this documentary was directed by David Maysles and released by Maysles Films Inc. When I first started watching this documentary a few things stood out to me. The first being that I knew when going into it that it fell into the “documentary” category but when I first started watching it did not strike me as a traditional documentary. However, I think that it was an old school documentary and camera angle and quality in documentaries these days is much higher quality than it was back then. I felt like that in Salesman the style was much more conversational and less traditional, for example the camera angles were a lot of tracking shots that followed the salesman around. The shot made the scene feel a little more blurry and less clear and I think that’s one of the biggest differences from this documentary and a traditional movie. The idea of using the camera angles to tell the story deliberately is something that the Maysles brothers thought about: “We are shooting very long continuous shots and moving in and out of them without stopping the camera. There 11 be almost no cutting to it. Godard said that he didn’t expect a lot of editing. If you do a lot of editing to foot- age, the editing takes place two times, in a way” (Haleff) they discussed in an interview.

I was surprised that this documentary was in black and white because that is not something that I have seen in other documentaries that I have watched. I feel like salesman represents a lack of faith overall in the social institution that is the church and religion. I think this because I think the whole idea of having four salesman who have to sell people the bible shows that people have to be convinced to buy into the church and be religious. I think that if people had confidence in the church that they would not have to be persuaded into purchasing a bible and that they would already have one.

The second documentary that I watched was Don’t look back (1967), this film was directed by D.A. Pennebaker and released by Leacock-Pennebaker. This documentary was a documentary about the singer Bob Dylan, and unlike the other documentary it really only focused and was centered around one person. I think that this documentary is similar to Salesman in the sense that they are both black and white and use close up camera shots that make it feel very intimate and feel close to the subject. I think that Don’t look back provides a different look into Bob Dylan a singer of that magnitude, I also think that he was one of the first people of his time to create a documentary on tour. I think these documentaries of musicians on tour have become more and more popular recently which can be seen with Taylor Swift’s documentaries from her different tours.

The documentary was not planned out necessarily which meant it that it just followed Dylan along and developed on the screen as it was shown. The documentary was also different than other ones that I have seen because it did not feature any interviews which is something that I previously associated with documentaries. “I don't think he completely understood what we were doing. It didn't seem to interest him much. I never interviewed him or asked him any questions—except in perfectly normal conversations. And I hung out with Dylan, [Bob] Neuwirth, and whoever else was around. I just became accepted as part of the little group” (Pennebaker).

The documentary also does not highlight any specific political issues but touches on certain issues. “That's probably true. Dylan is different from almost any other person in our culture. It's not philosophical, it's not religious. He's a rarity and people don't quite understand why. They just know he's unique and occupies a special place in our culture. It's amazing; there are many good songwriters. There aren't many songwriters who have lasted so long” (Pennebaker).

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dilirebas · 2 years

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My review of Luoyang / 风起洛阳

An informant is murdered in the imperial capital of Luoyang. This sets off an investigation, in which three unlikely allies join forces to uncover a deadly conspiracy.

The set-up is similar to the plot of The Longest Day in Chang’an because these two dramas are based on novels by the same author. However, the dramas feel very different. I consider Luoyang a slightly stronger drama overall. The Longest Day in Chang’an had stronger acting performances and artistic choices, but the script and pacing were a mess. Luoyang is more average across different aspects, so the overall viewing experience is better.

The writing in Luoyang is more plot-driven than character-driven. The plot is coherent and moves at a decent pace, but many of the characters feel like a collection of tropes rather than actual people. You slowly learn more about their backgrounds and motivations throughout the drama, but it’s no substitute for organic character development.

The sets are incredibly detailed and realistic. I think they did a great job creating the busy and vibrant city of Luoyang. It’s quite movie-like in that sense.

The costumes, hair, and makeup looked great as well, except for whatever they were trying to do with Song Qian’s hair.

I feel a bit lukewarm about the casting. Huang Xuan’s acting is fantastic and convincing, but he interpreted the character in a way that made it difficult to sympathize with him. Song Qian’s acting shows significant improvement, and though it sometimes feels too deliberate, there are some very impressive moments. Song Yi is a lovely actress but she somehow doesn’t fit the simplicity of her character. On the other hand, Wang Yibo’s acting seemed too simple for his character. But no one was terrible. Song Qian was probably the high point for me.

Both of the two romances felt a bit forced to me, and I didn’t think they were necessary to the story. Even the relationship between Si Yue and Li Bei Qi was developed better than the romances.

Another drawback in the writing is that supporting characters don’t really have minds of their own. I’m starting to think that this is a problem in the source material of the original author.

Stylistically, something feels “off”. It almost feels like the director couldn’t pick a single vibe and therefore tried to do too many styles at once. Although the sets and colours are movie-like, the acting is more in the style of a typical idol drama, and this makes the acting feel flat. The dialogue is serious and plain, but the plot doesn’t have the same type of realism and it requires some suspension of disbelief. The action choreography is like a video game, with exaggerated movements and NPC-like enemies. Flashbacks are sometimes blurry, a bit like the Mr. Krabs meme. When you put it all together, the drama lacks a coherent tone.

The cinematography is probably the strangest part. Action scenes have sudden cuts to unhelpful angles, which makes it difficult for viewers to map out what’s going on spatially. The composition of every shot feels too busy. Way too much of the drama is shot by handheld cameras (or uneven panning?), even during still shots. I honestly wish they had just kept it simple.

In the end, I had mixed feelings about the drama. It was clearly shot with a big budget but they made some strange choices with that budget. You can see the problems in the filming techniques, the writing, and the acting, but everything was still good enough that I continued watching to the end.

I won’t spoil it, but you can actually figure out the ending before the characters do!

#Luoyang #风起洛阳 #cdrama #review #my thoughts

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kellerose · 3 years

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Holistic Analysis of ‘Volver’ by Pedro Almodovar

tw// mentions of child abuse, pedophilia, death, blood, and sharp objects

Conduct a holistic of the film Volver by Pedro Almodovar. Be sure to integrate terminologies and concepts from course discussions on both photography and film in your analysis. Cite all borrowed materials.

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‘Volver’ by Pedro Almodovar is a 2006 Spanish film set in Madrid, Spain as well as a small village in the La Mancha Region. Upon further research, it’s noted that La Mancha is where Almodovar grew up, which indicates that this film highlights the essence of his childhood.

‘Volver’, which is Spanish for ‘to come back,’ beautifully captures the importance of women’s lives and what comes of life after death. The film is compacted with stunning architecture, camera angles, color, music and sounds, and visual images that all fit into the film’s overall message.

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Composition: I have noticed throughout the film that Almodovar chose interesting and compelling camera angles for different situations. When people walk through big doors-- mostly with the windy village in La Mancha-- the camera would be at a one-point perspective. The center of the door would be the ‘vanishing point’ of the frame so that you’ll see the rest of the hallway that the characters will soon walk down. When Almodovar films the characters going up a flight of spiral staircases, he puts the camera on the ground facing upwards in the center to show the movement of the characters. When his characters are going down the set of stairs, he changes the angle so that the camera is at the top facing downwards. When characters are walking down or off onto the street, the camera tends to follow their movement in a single shot; either in front of the characters for more intense scenes and dialogue or on the side of the characters in a distance shot to move along the plot. I also noticed his choice of car scenes. He would usually show the red car driving down a dirt road of wind turbines in a distance shot. If there were people in the back seat, the camera would shoot from the front of the car, and if it’s only one person or two they would shoot their side profiles. I also noticed that certain frames had significance to the plot as an angle would be used for multiple shots; one with Raimunda cleaning the knife before and after the murder of Paco, and when Raimunda was standing by the tree by the river after burying Paco then later that same angle was used when Raimunda and Paula visited the same spot.

Visual Cues:

Color- The main color of the film-- as well as any Almodovar film-- is red. The color symbolizes death as well as womanhood-- the passion, empowerment, and life that goes with women. The film was full of bright colors, which is a usual touch that the director loves to add to all of his films. Almodovar chooses his color precisely by the setting, as he stated in his interview with Jennifer Merin about the film. He chose to use a lot of black and white because of the location and social environment of La Mancha. Those colors, he says, aren’t ones he typically uses but were the best choice for those certain parts of the film.

Gestalt Laws:

Proximity- The closeness between Raimunda and Paula throughout the entirety of the film shows that the two are related in some way. The fact that the two characters are inseparable and are seen living together, an individual can assume that they’re mother and daughter. Paco getting constantly pushed away and being distant from the characters symbolizes the dysfunctional relationship he had with Raimunda and Paula. When Sole ran away screaming from Irene upon first meeting her, one can assume that the relationship is unwanted by the forcible distance. However, we see about 20 minutes later, Sole allows Irene into her home and ends up sleeping next to her in the night. The sudden closeness indicates the love and comfortableness between a parent and child.

Common fate- The people of Madrid and La Mancha always kissed each other’s cheeks as a form of greeting. Raimunda and Irene both had their partners murdered for doing something taboo. Irene’s husband was having an affair and sexually abused and impregnated their daughter Raimunda. Raimunda’s partner, Paco, was stabbed by her daughter Paula for sexually assaulting her. Another common fate is that Raimunda and Paula were both sexually assaulted by their fathers/father figures.

Semiotic Signs and codes:

Indexical Sign- The abundance of people are dressed in minimal amounts of clothing which indicates that the weather must be quite warm. When the characters are in the La Mancha village, the character’s clothes and hair move rapidly indicating that the area has harsh winds.

Symbolic Sign- The use of red in the women’s clothing, on and in buildings, on the furniture, vehicles, and close-ups on vegetables and blood certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. However, an individual who notices may not understand its significance. Therefore, the color red is an example of a symbolic sign in this film. It emphasizes the meaning of life after death and the importance of womanhood. Another example of a symbolic sign is the song sung by Raimunda within the film. The title of the music is the same as the movie’s title, ‘Volver’. The song is about the need for one’s life to come back, especially a mother’s, in order to move forward in life, which is an addition to the film’s message. One final example is at the very beginning of the film. The women of the La Mancha village are seen cleaning off the gravestones in the local cemetery. The way the women talked with one another made the audience indicated that this was a common practice. This scene set up the meaning of life beyond death and womanhood because only women were standing over the dead.

Purpose of the Work: A main purpose of the work was for the director to pay homage to his childhood as the movie filmed in the place he grew up and the characters were similar to the women who raised him.

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Personal Perspective:

As usual, when films start, I need to take some time to get into it. This is the same with any kind of story, even with books. But, unlike books, I can stay focused and entertained by good cinematography. The Spanish film ‘Volver’ did just that for me. The stunning single-point shots and frames kept me wanting more. I completely adored the close-up shots of characters doing simple tasks. For example, when Raimunda was putting away Tupperware, washing the dishes, and grabbing paper towels-- just to name a few-- I absolutely adored how they were shot. When the plot began to thicken, however, it was more than just the cinematography that left me breathless. The acting was incredible that I was convinced I was watching someone else’s life right before my eyes. There were many surprises that I didn’t see coming that left me on the edge of my seat the whole time. When the film ended, I had felt satisfied and unsatisfied. I wanted to know more of the story, it felt like the conclusion was only starting when the credits began to roll. But, at the same time, I was okay with how it ended because I can make up my own conclusions about how I feel the story will continue. I really enjoyed how the visuals throughout the whole film were chosen carefully to match the overall message.

Cultural Perspective:

Almodovar uses a lot of past and present aspects of the Spanish culture in his films. As he grew up in Spain, it’s something he knows well and feels most inspired from. The director is obsessed with the media of Spanish culture-- such as telenovelas, magazine stories, infomercials. Almodovar adds Spanish media to his films quite often. For example, in ‘Volver,’ he uses the idea of a film-within-a-film aspect near the end of the movie. Another example is when Paco was watching soccer on the television in the earlier shots of the film. Almodovar claims that the brightness and intenseness of the colors match the drama that Spanish films have, which is why he tends to this culture more to satisfy his creativity. A quote from a 2006 interview mentioned in an Amuse article by Colin Crummy, Almodovar states, “It is something very Spanish but it is hardly used in Spain. It corresponds both to my personality and the baroque behaviour of my fictional characters. Explosions of colour fit in very well with high drama.”

Critical Perspective:

There were multiple mentions of child abuse and pedophilia within the film. One example is that Raimunda’s father abused and raped her as a child that led to the birth of Paula. Near the beginning of the film, there was an up-close shot of the fourteen-year-old girl’s private spot indicating that Paco-- the supposed father-- was looking at it, and he was creeping on her while she got undressed in her room. After a few scenes roll by, we see Paula waiting for her mother at the bus stop in the rain looking petrified. After Paula didn’t give a clear answer, we see Raimunda finding Paco’s dead body on the kitchen floor. Paula began to explain the whole event of the assault that led to her stabbing him in detail. The aspect of child abuse and murder is enough to provoke a strong response from the viewer. The whole event is extremely traumatizing that will make people talk about it afterward. A major theme throughout this film is death and the afterlife. The superstitions of spirits visiting you before you pass on overflowed the village. Irene was thought to have passed in a fire four years prior to the story’s timeline. So, when she had visited her sister who was dying, many suspected that it was her spirit helping the living pass on. The idea of death and the afterlife is a difficult topic to bring up in conversation, so it wouldn’t be unusual if someone had felt uncomfortable. There were many ways death occurred within the film; stabbing, old-age, a house fire(that was intentional), and cancer. Each death-- and the reason it happened-- can provoke an emotional response from the audience. The running themes and cultures of the film will leave anyone’s mind wondering: what’s next?

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References

Merin, Jennifer. “Jennifer Merin Interviews Pedro Almodovar Re ‘Volver.’” ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS, 13 Dec. 2006, awfj.org/blog/2006/12/13/jennifer-merin-interviews-pedro-almodovar-re-volver/.

Team, Amuse. “A Musical Tour of Ibiza.” Amuse, 24 Mar. 2021, amuse.vice.com/en_us/article/bvg3p4/a-musical-tour-of-ibiza.

Lester, Paul Martin. Visual Communication: Images with Messages. Sixth ed., Michael Rosenberg, 2014.

Almodóvar, Pedro, Agustin Almodóvar, Esther García, Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Antonio . Torre, Carlos Blanco, José L. Alcaine, and Alberto Iglesias. Volver. , 2006.

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dorizardthewizard · 3 years

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Galactik Football: Season 1

I completely forgot that I wrote a load of ramble as I rewatched GF during lockdown, so uh here’s a sort of review for season 1!

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First of all, the concept and setting is just so unique and wild I mean, football in space against aliens but with magical powers too? Epic. Superpowers are pretty common in sports cartoons and anime but here there’s actually an explanation for them, and they have significance for the world of the show. The concept of the flux sets up for an entire sub-plot of wars with weapons of mass destruction, corrupt mega-corporations ruling the galaxy, space pirates… the world feels very lived in, and makes you want to know more about the goings-on outside of the football games.

The pirate business doesn’t overshadow the Snow Kids though, because their personal drama and journey to becoming a better team together is interesting enough. Basically, this is a space opera with football sprinkled in. For such a big cast, most get good development and there’s no clear main character. This leads into me rambling about each character, because I never really appreciated the diversity of arcs when I first watched it as a kid :’P

Rocket:

He starts out pretty timid, doesn’t fight for his dreams, and has a habit of running away from confrontation (like when the others found out he was Aarch’s nephew) that follows him into season 2. He’s stuck tending to flowers (ironic, since he himself isn’t allowed to grow and bloom), but by the end of the season, he’s more authoritative and confident enough to suggest strategies to the team. Also has a habit of hiding his feelings and underestimating his importance to others, which he works on in season 2.

Tia:

You’d expect her to be more calm and similar to Rocket, and sure they bond over being out of the inner circle of the Snow Kids, and also both having emotionally unavailable parents, but she’s actually far more headstrong than she seems. I mean, she was willing to do anything to be in Aarch’s team, even faking her parents’ consent and almost dying when her ship crashed! (Plus that scene where she uses the breath is epic, that music? Chef’s kiss) She’s not perfect though – she’s very empathetic (like when they arrived on the Ryker’s planet and she was the most upset by the conditions there), and relates to Rocket, so she wants to give him the happy family she didn’t have, by reuniting him with his mother. Although well-intentioned, it’s preeetty invasive, and though it turned out okay in the end, she really should have consulted with Rocket first, especially after finding out his mother wasn’t dead, but had left them. For all Tia knew, she could have been a really shitty person.

D’jok:

Very clear ego problems :P He doesn’t know his past and doesn’t have much of a future on Akillian, so he pushes himself to achieve some great destiny, then feels like everyone else isn’t on the same level as him if they don’t do the same. He gets more than he bargained for when it turns out that Sonny Blackbones is his dad, and he realises what’s really important to him in the final match. Namely, he realises that the reason he found it so difficult to sabotage the match isn’t because he wanted to win at all costs, but because he doesn’t want to betray his team – he wants to win together with them.

Althooough, I was never entirely sure about him scoring the penalty before knowing Sonny was safe, like sure he didn’t know Sonny that well yet so maybe felt closer to the SK but dude, you just sentenced a man to death. I think the life-and-death situation by itself was enough to get him to rethink his priorities. Maybe they could have made him more aware that the whole galaxy was at stake if he lost the match, but that motive for scoring the penalty isn’t as satisfying for his arc I guess.

Micro-Ice:

To this day, I have no idea why he was named that :’P He’s the first Snow Kid we meet, which makes for a fun start to the show since he’s such a smart-ass and a joker that keeps getting in trouble. He could have easily been nothing but comic relief, but he isn’t. He’s actually pretty pessimistic and doubtful about his skills, and covers it up with jokes and fake confidence. He didn’t even want to go to the try-outs, to avoid disappointment if he didn’t get chosen.

The self-confidence issue keeps building up with things like being put as substitute initially, being the last person to get the Breath, and D’jok and Mei getting together, finally driving him to run off with the pirates thinking he isn’t really needed on the team. He also lets jealousy get the better of him, souring his friendship with D’jok and forgetting that Mei is free to choose whoever she likes. He eventually realises he’s wrong though, and comes back. I also love his friendship with Artie :’D

Mei:

She starts out ambitious, which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but she’s willing to throw others under the bus for personal gains. Then you start to see it’s because of her mother’s influence – always pushing her to do better. When Mei starts to actually have feelings for D’jok, she starts to care about him and regrets breaking up his friendship with Micro-Ice. Eventually, she manages to stand up to her mum and is happy playing the position she’s best at.

The execution cooould be a little better because at times it leaned a bit into the “overambitious woman who needs to be put in her place” trope. It only really comes down to little details, like why did Aarch refuse to let her try out as an attacker when he was forming the team? Back then he had no idea who she was or what her skills were?? He didn’t even want to consider the idea later when Micro-Ice left, which felt more like an emotional reaction than a tactical one. But anyway, it’s alright overall and I love that she got to score the winning goal despite not being an attacker.

Thran and Ahito:

Having a narcoleptic goalkeeper is just genius, and makes for some fun last-minute saves. Also love how despite being asleep half the time, Ahito’s the one that knows what’s up :’P Thran is also really underrated but there’s more to talk about with these two in season 2.

Also wanted to throw in some appreciation for how the older characters are written – usually the adults in kids shows are more on the side-lines, but in Galactik Football, they’re also pretty flawed and interesting. For example, Aarch isn’t the perfect, wise mentor – whether he did it for glory, to escape bad memories or a combination of both, he still left his brother and planet behind when they needed him most, and now he’s trying to make up for it. Norata’s not perfect either – he denies Rocket his dreams partly to protect him, but also out of bitterness towards Aarch and fear of being left alone again. Also, there’s a variety of different families being represented in the show – single parents, adopted parents, rich, not so rich, neglectful, supportive, ambitious, non-existent… and with some of them, this plays a key role in the Snow Kids’ characters.

The show might not be the most technically amazing, okay, the 2D animation is not the best, but the designs are pretty diverse and I miss that 2000’s style with the outfits :’P There are lots of locations with pretty backgrounds, and very varied planets that reflect the people living there. I also like the comfortable sci-fi design – it’s futuristic-looking enough, but more colourful than some of the CGI bores we get in movies these days.

The 3D animation is better – they reuse motions a lot but at least they shake it up a bit by using different characters and camera angles. Speaking of camera angles, there’s some really interesting ones and camera movements that really make the matches dynamic. Honestly, having CGI in the 2000’s that doesn’t look super ugly and dated now is great, partly because they transferred their designs to 3D really well and partly because they didn’t try to do much rendering on the models.

ALSO THE SOUNDTRACK SLAPS THEY DID NOT HAVE TO GO THAT HARD ON THE OPENING THEME AND THE SCORE SOUNDS SO EPIC ALL THE TIME

I don’t know how to end this so if you actually got this far, I’ll just say season 1 was the best one for me! There’s some parts and characters I left out but that’s for another time. Sinedd and D’jok’s rivalry deserves its own post :’P

#galactik football #jetix #cartoon review #i practicaly liveblogged s2 so i guess i'll post those thoughts later #my posts

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kainetestament · 3 years

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Pietro, no Fietro could still possibly be Peter from X-Men Universe… Maybe?

So as revealed in Episode 9 of WandaVision, the identity of Fietro is none other than Ralph Bohner, the husband Agness always mention, and a possible real resident of Westview. WV director Matt Shakman already clarified that the “Bohner” is actually a reference to his 80’s sitcom Growing Pains. But for many fans of Evan Peters, this “Bohner” joke didn’t play well and at the same time, let us breakdown everything that is wrong with this identity of Ralph Bohner and why he’s suspicious despite the claim of WandaVision writers/director that Evan Peters has nothing to do with the mutants or X-Men Universe, after all they always deny everything. They even mentioned that they had no idea that Evan Peters appearance will cause so many theories and everything, which I highly doubt, I mean come on, they made him play QuickSilver in WandaVision when he is QuickSilver himself only of another universe. I don’t dissed ATJ, I love this guy too from his Kickass, Godzilla movie (this is where I first encounter ATJ before his QS role in Avengers), but as a QS, Evan Peters top him, on my opinion at least, he even has his own QS commercials. Also, Evan Peters have more cool QS moments, the Kitchen scene VS the Age of Ultron overall, at least for me, I prefer the kitchen scene and the whiplash part. Anyhow, let us begin:

Note: I edited this post to make this article more easier to read and added additional info.

1. Speculations roaming around that Ralph Bohner could be an aspiring actor because the picture is actually his headshot (which actually looks like his earlier AHS photos). I’m not going to debunk this possibility, but I do not believe it’s a headshot nor he’s an aspiring actor. Although true enough, the image does looks like of Evan Peters early AHS photos (kind of like Tate Langdon) – which is probably a reference to that, who knows.

2. The pile of papers on the side table. It is questionable why would your papers, a bill (a very old bill even - not folded or inside one of those envelopes) and your photos in plain sight where Monica – an outsider can see it? Almost as if you planned it all along and he wanted Monica to see it.

3. Necromancy vs Crystallum Possession. Necromancy is a dark arts of when the person (the Necromancer) can manipulate the dead body of the person, or summoning their spirit. Crystallum Possession however is also part of the dark arts but this time you are using an object (like crystals, gems, stones etc) that is embodied with the user’s spells to manipulate the wearer.

Agatha had told Wanda that what she does is a crystallum possession since necromancy is a no-no due to his brother’s body is on another continent, and since this Pietro died in 2014, it should now be bones, I think the “full of holes” remark is nothing more than a mocking remark, because if it’s not, then Marvel will probably have their own interpretation of Necromancy and Crystallum Possession, and this could probably go darker. And Ralph is wearing a bead necklace that is embedded with Agatha’s power. But is Agatha really in full control of Ralph? Honestly, I don’t think so. Why? Because in Episode 6, Peter said about Wanda’s costume “Worse than the costume mom made us the year we got typhus”, then she reminisced “that year”, and told him “That’s not exactly how I remember it.” because in her universe, she isn’t wearing Halloween costume she thinks is worse and she didn’t deny about them getting typhus, so what are the odds of Agatha/Fietro getting that info if he is not Peter? Also, we don’t know how MARVEL will tell the story multiverse/alternate timelines (the Russo Brothers already claimed that they have their own way of telling this story), but if we are looking for a one generic rule, major life events will occur but will be told uniquely as per their universe, on this case Peter and Wanda did had a typhus, but in Peter’s world, his Wanda and him are probably wearing whatever cosplay outfit their mom made and in Wanda and Pietro are just wearing something simple, or it could be that Peter really just have a weird sense of style.

4. The WATER BILL. Now, this is a real bill, it is not part of Wanda’s illusion, this is Ralph’s actual water bill, because Ralph’s house was under Agatha’s spell, which makes it exempted from Wanda’s spell. Also, if you go frame by frame, you can actually see the word “Water”, “PAST DUE” on the right column part of the bill, before it totally goes out of focus and you can only read the left side part, that also says “YOUR MONTHLY USAGE (1,000 GAL INCREMENTS)”, which further validates it’s a water bill, not a phone bill nor electricity bill as others actually claim. And here is the tricky part, the bill’s date. On the right side under the STATEMENT is the Account Information (using Arial font), it’s a bit hard to make out of it, but it’s actually an old bill. Before it becomes totally blurry, you can read the right part of the bill that says:

STATEMENT

ACCOUNT INFORMATION

ACCOUNT: 09-3476-12

SERVICE ADDRESS: 2804 SHERWOOD DRIVE

BILL DATE: 10/01/2020

DUE DATE: 10/31/2020

If we go back to Infinity War, it takes place in June 2018. So that means that this Ralph Bohner survived the SNAP, but what could happen to him in year 2019-2020? Who knows, I don’t even know if I should care or not.

If we check on the usage chart – which is “not blurred” (it’s also in increments of 12 – 12/24/36/48/60), and I’ll just speculate on the numbers on the meter chart, so don’t take my word for it. Also, I don’t know what Marvel is planning or hinting by showing this insignificant 2020 bill, which also has confusing usage. (I’ll just use term like pcm – per cubic meter, so that it won’t just be plain numbers beside the month).

January - 6 pcm

February – 18 pcm

March – 6 pcm

April – 6 pcm

June – 6 pcm

July – 9 pcm

August – 13 pcm

September – 22 pcm

October – 34 pcm

(November and December have gray shade - similar to the one in month of Jan-May).

Again, I don’t know what’s the significance of not blurring this part of the bill while the right side column is properly blurred. And the confusing part of this bill, is the bill date is of 10/01/2020 – meaning Ralph had received this bill during the first week of October, but why is there already a usage for the full month of October, when usage should be only show up to the month of September? After the Account Information, there’s the

METER INFORMATION (WATER)

USAGE PREVIOUS DATE CURRENT DATE

4 1963 (?) 09/01/20 *- - - -* *- - - -*

The PREVIOUS actually looks like either 1063 or 1963, and oddly enough the first Avengers Comics was published on September 1, 1963, I don’t know if that’s a reference to that, but from my pov, it shouldn’t be because this series is inspired of House of M and a bit touch of West Coast Avengers, which was already reference by the SUV plate number in Episode 7. The CURRENT and DATE are both unreadable, I can only identify _ _ _ 2 in CURRENT and 0_/_ _/20 for the DATE after.

And let’s also not forget that outside the HEX, it is August 2023 and as per Episode 8, inside the HEX is currently year 2013 as shown in the auditorium behind the lighting after it explained how Wanda created Vision. I don’t know if this is a reference to something from the past MCU projects (X-Men even) or future franchise like Falcon and Winter Soldier, who knows, really. I just find it weird why they didn’t blurry the meter chart while the rest are. But why year 2020? Why isn’t this bill thrown out yet? Didn’t Monica notice that billing date of the bill?

5. The man-cave. The staff really transformed Fietro’s man-cave into very, very Peter-like (if he really is not Peter). I will list thing that are present and similar to what Peter of X-Men Universe room have. I’ll reference * (single asterisk) for Days of Future Past, ** (double asterisk) for Apocalypse, and *** (triple asterisk) for both films.

❀ comfortable couch***

❀ guitar***

❀ headphones***

❀ balls*

❀ lots of posters***

❀ bike***

❀ a bar**

❀ shoes on the floor**

❀ different types of drinks (non alcoholic)***

Also, lots of silver/metallic items such as:

❀ silver lamp**

❀ silver TV

❀ silver house ventilation tubes

❀ silver pillowcases (looks gray on other angles)

❀ silver mini fridge

❀ silver microwave oven

❀ silver rack (where TV and speaker stands)

❀ silver wristwatch*

❀ video games*** (both PS & XBox)

and even something that looks like a stolen goods like the Tiki Bar plaque, Tiger head.

This Fietro is basically just missing the goggles, I did my best to look for it (like on those detective games that instructs you to find this and that *lol*), but there’s really none *laugh*. Also, I just noticed the arrangement of his man-cave – single-seat couch** > small side table with a lamp** > 3-seater couch (the Apocalypse has an L-shape couch though) > a middle coffee table**, this arrangement is similar to Peter’s man-cave in Apocalypse which can be slightly seen when his mom came down saying “Just checking on you” (you can watch it at starting point 1:02:55, at least on my copy), you just need to look for proper timing because a few of those shots are out of focus probably due to her obviously looking somewhere reading her lines that are raised besides the camera, which became even more obvious when she did a close up shot when she told him “But trust me, this won’t end well. Nothing does with him.”

Also, in Episode 5, when Peter first made an appearance, the leather jacket he’s wearing is eerily similar to the one he’s wearing in his cameo appearance in Deadpool 2 (we only got the glimpse of the front of the jacket in Deadpool but the front side of his jacket in WandaVision is identical). Though I find it weird too that his hair color switch from silver to light ash blonde.

6. Ralph is the guy under witness protection? I doubt it, although honestly at first I considered maybe he is, but after a few thinking, it doesn’t lead to it, because if he’s in witness protection, and the person who is managing him forgets him because of Wanda, FBI database should still at least have a photo of him to be able to identify him, and Jimmy in episode 7 saw Peter and never commented about him being their missing guy. As we all know, the house is under the name Ralph Bohner, who we can assume survived the SNAP and possibly left that house in September 2020. If he had left the house way back in 2020, why does Agent Woo or FBI rather only checked it now? Also, if Ralph Boner is indeed the guy under witness protection, it is the FBI that pays off their bill, on this case, the Water Bill was past due even if it was an old bill, so I don’t think he is.

7. Does Ralph Boner really exist? This is actually something that I have given some thought. Because if we think of QuickSilver, one of his abilities as per comics is his Quick Intelligence. His mind process a lot of things much faster than an average person. Peter spying on everyone and pretending to be someone else in an unknown world is not surprising, let alone using everything he can take advantage of. It can be that the bill is fake and there is really no Ralph Bohner, or just like what I mentioned in #7, he could’ve possibly left in September 2020 and hasn’t returned yet, and Peter assumes this identity to avoid suspicion.

If we are to assume he really is Peter Maximoff of X-Men Universe (Earth-TRN414) and crossed over to Earth-616, I did consider this could also be the house where he lives as per his universe and just so happens that Ralph Bohner is the current owner of the house in this MCU. Also, Xavier Institute is located in NY and in Days of Future Past, they only drove from NY to his house via rental car, which we can assume that he doesn’t live that far from NY, after all NY and NJ are neighbors.

8. Also this has nothing to do with Ralph/Fietro, but something I noticed, that the outside anomaly or outside of Westview – about the selective amnesia has yet to be answered. It only explained that Wanda is manipulating the people INSIDE, but not the ones outside the HEX. What actually come to mind when I think about it is that it can be a work by a TELEPATH which can be either Charles Xavier or Emma Frost (no Jean Grey? Yes I excluded her). What I am actually thinking is that the person under witness protection is a spy sent by Charles or possibly working with him. He could have implanted false memory to the so called “family and friends”, so when the HEX was established, the strings got cut off hence no one could remember this “missing person” anymore, and Jimmy who has nothing to do with this “missing person” is not affected by the selective amnesia and assumes the responsibility of looking for him. And assuming Charles is the telepath who altered their memories of the people outside of Westview, he probably has done it as a precaution since he couldn’t contact his spy or “missing person” and wouldn’t take the risk of endangering the resident who were happened to be outside the HEX when Wanda establishes it.

These are just some of the things I find that doesn’t make sense with Ralph’s identity. But we’ll just leave it at that. I still really want James McAvoy back as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Magneto, since both Sir Ian McKKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart did mention they’re done with their role. And I feel that it’s too risky to use them since they are in their 80’s now, I don’t know them personally but it gives me some sorts of paranoia *laughs* thinking they might get injured.

#PeterMaximoff #PietroMaximoff #Fietro #RalphBohner #X-Men #Multiverse

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ichliebeanimalcrackers · 4 years

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Secret Love Affair

Yes, I’ve watched another Kdrama and this one is definitely getting added to the “My Favorites” list. I’d describe it like this: if the Palme d’Or could be awarded to a television show, then this one would definitely be in the running (and it would most likely win it). There are 16 episodes but it feels more like a movie and that’s one of the things that makes this drama stand out. I’m not sure where to begin, so I’d like to apologize in advance if this particular opinion piece is all over the place and has no respect for proper punctuation. I had a lot of feelings after watching this drama, and one simply needs to let all of that energy out. With that said, I’m just going to do bullet points because that seems to make sense in this situation lol

Since music is always an essential part of any show/ movie (especially in this case), I have to start with the soundtrack because it’s magnificent. It really is. It fits well with the theme and constantly adds an extra layer of emotion to what’s already happening on the screen. Whenever you hear the end credits waltz, you know something is about to happen and it makes you feel a bit uneasy. “Four Hands” is full of longing and “Affair” is cautious but steady. More often than not, this show uses music to convey emotion in place of a dialogue. One needs to simply listen and look at the characters expressions to understand what’s happening. One of the great things about music is that on some awesome, cosmic level it’s alive and has the power to make us feel and understand things without any words.

Whenever I watch a show, I like to read the comment section because there are always interesting opinions out there. I was surprised to see that some people thought that the pace of the show was too slow. I certainly respect other people’s opinions, but I personally think that it wouldn’t have made sense if the story kept on jumping from one thing to the next. There was plenty of intrigue throughout the entire series, and I was already feeling nervous 10 minutes into the first episode. It’s a difficult situation to be in, but Sun Jae/ Hye Won met their soulmate. They have finally met their match. They both see each other for who they are and that’s more than enough to fall in love. What’s even more awesome is that something was already there even before they officially met. He briefly saw her at the concert hall and she saw a video of him playing piano (just his hands). Talent recognized talent and the rest is history.

Honestly, I was surprised with her friends. Pleasantly surprised. They already seemed like pretty cool people from the beginning and it was made even more evident as the show progressed. I expected them to scold and alienate her, but they didn’t. They were there for her and even comforted Lee Sun Jae when he had no one else to turn to. I bet they were shocked to learn about the relationship between the two (and the other stuff), but they tried to understand the situation from her point of view and didn’t leave her side when things really went downhill. We can only guess what happened after the events in episode 16, but I really hope that Professor Jo got appointed as the next Dean instead of Oh Hye Won’s husband (Professor Kang)...The man is obviously more qualified, has a good personality, the students respect him and he’s simply a chill guy.

Speaking of Oh Hye Won’s husband...I feel bad for saying this but that man is just pathetic. Don’t get me wrong, they all have their own flaws but in this case there was nothing that set him apart other than him being totally indifferent unless it had to do with his position in the school hierarchy. He, along with the others, was ready to throw her under the bus for the “greater good” if the situation called for it. At some point in the show, I believe they do mention that they didn’t marry for love and that it was more of a comradeship. This means that they’ve been married for at least 10 or more years and you would think that during that time people would become each other’s support system. Nope, not in this case because the man never cared to begin with and it seems that she’s the one who has always carried the relationship. She definitely works more, she’s a better musician and she’s kind of a legend in this school/ foundation and perhaps that’s why (subconsciously) her husband always felt inferior. Yes, it must hurt to find out that your spouse is having an affair, BUT I don’t think that’s what bothered him so much. I think he was more scared of losing his chance of becoming the next Dean and not being able to mentor Sun Jae (who would definitely further solidify his credibility as a professor). I might be wrong, however, that’s how it seemed to me. There were a couple of other instances when he should’ve taken her side. For example, that scene when she comes back home with a bandaid on her forehead because the psycho lady threw game pieces at her and it cut her skin. A normal person would've been concerned that someone would do that, but he simply brushed it off as if it’s OK that they treated her like that. Ugh, just thinking about it annoys me.

The cinematography was great. It’s a different style and it stands out from the ones that one would normally see in other dramas. It fits well with the mood of the show. The camera shots from different perspectives, the color and how some of the angles repeat but at different pivotal moments throughout the show added an extra oomph to the overall viewing experience.

If anything, this show should give people an appreciation for classical music or at least they’ll be able to recognize it whenever they hear it again. I was listening to songs on YouTube Music the other day and a song popped up in the “recommended” category and it was the Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody On A Theme of Paganini, and I immediately thought “Omg! That’s the piece that he plays during the recital!” If it wasn't for this show, I would’ve never known the title of this piece.

The way Sun Jae treats Oh Hye Won. We really do need to take a minute to talk about this because certain details were too precious. Everything was always done with sincerity and without trying to show off in front of the person that he loves. First of all, the way he started mopping the floor when she came to his apartment for the first time. He didn’t let her step onto the floor until it was clean (it already looked pretty clean) and he gave her a towel to clean her hands after she touched the staircase railing that leads to his apartment. How he makes sure that her head doesn’t hit the pipe when they are walking through a construction site/ abandoned building. How he went on a full cleaning/ home improvement mode when she sent him her confession because he wanted this to be a safe place. He changed the lightbulb outside, so it wouldn’t be as dark in the stairwell and he power-washed the concrete stairs. He treats her like she’s the most treasured being he’s ever encountered in his entire life. These actions might not be heroic or grand, but there’s a lot of warmth/ love within them. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the shoes. They way he constantly places and rearranges her shoes. Bonus: the fact that Oh Hye Won listed him in her phone as “Home” and when he sees that...Ahhh! My heart is so full!

All of the actors were great. The age difference between the two main lead actors is similar to the one of their characters and it made this story more authentic/ believable. I don’t think it would’ve been the same if the actors in real life were the same age but one of them tried to play someone younger/ older. Their chemistry was on point too and they simply look great together.

The fact that they both knew the severity of the situation and the repercussions that might come with it will surely send chills down your spine. It is an extremely risky situation and perhaps more for her than for him but it’s still dangerous. I’ve read a comment where someone mentioned that up until 2015 adultery was punishable by law in SK. After reading that, it certainly put things in perspective. I think they both felt the spark from the very beginning, but Sun Jae was bold enough to be the first one to say that he has feelings for Oh Hye Won. And how difficult it must have been for her to take a chance on something that she wasn’t expecting. The characters know and we as the audience know that there’s no turning back once they take this leap of faith. I mean *shivers* it’s impossible not to feel nervous for these two! Bonus: their first night together. Great choice by the director to only let us hear their conversation while showing spaces in the apartment. It’s their moment and theirs alone.

Something else that I like about this show is that Sun Jae never let others influence his opinion/ stance on the matter at hand. For the most part, he based his opinions on what he was experiencing and what he was able to observe. Of course there were things that he didn’t understand due to his age and perhaps in certain aspects it’s good that he didn’t fully understand, but he certainly wasn’t oblivious. Also, I like that Oh Hye Won didn’t treat him like a child. She’s older, that’s true, but she wasn’t constantly reminding him of it. Even with the age difference, they are equals and understand each other in a way that’s unique to them. When they had moments of frustration, it wasn’t because one of them felt inferior. It was because they saw the other person hurting and felt helpless for not being able to make it better.

The horrible people that she had to work for. Oh Hye Won is a smart individual, and I’m sure she knew exactly who she was dealing with and the things that they were capable of. Nevertheless, she carried on while keeping her head high without letting things get to her. The thing that frustrates me the most is that this diligent, intelligent, talented person took most of the beating for something that the other party was equally guilty of but most of them were able to walk away unharmed. At the end of the day, they regarded her as a disposable tool and didn’t think anything of it. It’s just unfair. I was glad that at least some of the others who were involved got what they deserved. One must have nerves of steel in order to endure what her character had to go through and not lose one’s dignity in the process. You can’t help but have respect for someone like that.

As much as I wanted a more Hollywood type ending, I think the writers gave us the most realistic and logical ending. Even though she had to go through all these hardships, she’s finally free from the grasp of those who have never truly valued her. There are still challenges to conquer, but at least she will be in control of her life and all future decisions will be hers. I suppose that in the end she was indeed the true winner.

Sun Jae’s soliloquy at the end *sigh* If that’s not one of the most romantic and heartfelt speeches of all time, then I don’t even know anymore. They’ve always had their own way of communicating, especially through music/ music references, and this one is perfect. I can’t figure out if it’s the same piece that he wrote about in his journal as a kid or if it’s the one that Professor Jo recommends to him or could it be the one that’s listed by Oh Hye Won’s name in the program? In any case, it’s extremely fitting that he would compare her to a classical piece of music. She’s the physical embodiment of that music. He will play it every day regardless of the weather or his mood. They have to be apart for the time being, but this will be his way of keeping her close. Once again, I think this goes to show that their connection goes beyond the ordinary. It’s on a cosmic level and just like music it has no boundaries.

The show has an open ending and I truly like to believe that everything turned out OK. I’d like to believe that he did win the competition. I’d like to believe that she was released sooner than expected. I’d like to believe that they lived a long and happy life together. That’s what I believe and I’m going to stick with it.

Moral of this long post: this is a great show and it’s worth it.

#secret love affair #kdrama #kim hee ae #yoo ah in #another one #viki #6 years too late #but that's okay #ahn pan seok #jung sung joo

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majorshiraharu · 3 years

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Discussion of Limitations in Live Action & Style Choices

This will be all spoilers for the new episode of the Mandalorian. I’m putting it under a cut so no one accidentally gets spoiled. Fair warning it is long af, I tried doing a mix of my opinions and information from the show, films, etc. I tried putting the more opinion parts in italic, might have forgotten some parts tho. I spent way too long on this lmao

--------------SPOILERS BELOW------------------

I'm putting my thoughts for each time I watched it. That way, you can see how rewatching changed my mind some. I also had almost a whole day to process the episode before I watched it again, then I had a few hours to think about it and add to this, and then now I've watched it for the third time. This will be a mix of my reactions and opinions and then some information about The Mandalorian and things I think many people are overlooking. Especially in a time when we have major blockbuster films with pretty amazing CGI and people have come to expect that level of detail in everything. If you don’t want to read my reaction/opinion parts, skip down past “3rd Viewing” (the sectioned area)

1st Viewing When It Dropped; Right After Watching: — Okay honestly not the biggest fan of this Ahsoka, I feel like they could have done a bit better with her lekku, montrals, and the contacts because they kinda took me out of it a few times. She didn't move a lot like Ahsoka, but then again she does move and act more like the Rebels version, so if you haven't seen that I can see how this would be more off-putting. She's much older at this point and probably can't move as well as she used to. Also, I know we've come to expect the effects of high-budget films and their fancy CGI, but this show is not that and I think they truly did the best they could with what they had. I'm too tired now, but will write about that stuff in my second viewing section. Overall, I think in the scenes where she interacted with Mando and the child were very well done and felt like how I thought Ahsoka would be after the journey she had over the past years. Those moments felt like Ahsoka to me, and I really enjoyed. 2nd Viewing; About 16 Hours After First Viewing: — So I took some time today to think about last night's episode, I also decided to hop on social media and see what people's reactions were. I was surprised how on Twitter and Reddit I hardly found anyone who disliked this version, longtime fans, new fans, people who didn't know Ahsoka. It seemed like most people really loved it and were extremely happy to see her in live-action. Some people didn't like the way her lekku & montral looked but otherwise enjoyed it, and then there were a few people who said it didn't feel like Ahsoka to them. Now here's my opinion on the second viewing, I liked her more after watching it again. As mentioned above she's definitely more like her Rebels version, and we have a few years when she and Sabine were out searching for Ezra and Thrawn. We don't know what she's been through but clearly, she's much calmer and wiser, which I think fits, it's not like how she was in Clone Wars but it's been like 25+ ish years, so she's had a lot of time to grow and shouldn’t be the same. The actress who played her was pretty stiff and monotone during more scenes than I would have liked, but all her scenes with Din and the Child were excellent, and felt pretty close to Ahsoka, really liked her in those. The action scenes were very cool at the start. Her fighting style was more like her fighting in Rebels. I would have liked a few more shots of her with her signature lightsaber hold, but they included them during the right moments, so that doesn't really bother me that much. Now for the mostly on Tumblr infamous lekku & montral, on second viewing I didn't mind them as much because it wasn't as shocking. The length should have been longer imho, and they definitely needed to change the montral, that's what I have the only real problem with. The montral just looked too short, was angled back quite far, and yeah, just didn't look like any animated version, concepts, or even any cosplays I've seen. This was the only thing about her that I really just didn't like and bothered me some. 3rd Viewing; Most of my opinions stayed the same, I watched it this time with some of my friends who love Star Wars and one who loves Ahsoka as much as me, so I wanted to see their reaction. They all loved her, tho they agreed the length should have been longer and the top should have been different. But they all really loved the episode and her.

--------------------- Now all that said, here are some counterpoints and information because I thought it was important to look into why it might be that way, and I will also include ways that I think it could have been done better. Besides having some cosplay experience of my own, I have no idea what they went through to pick or make this look, and it could have been always ended up a lot worse. First off they need to consider the actress, the material, how it moves, how heavy it is, how it looks in movement, fight scenes, etc. - There is concept art that shows many types of looks for her, and while I think they picked my least favorite of them, people need to understand that there was a reason. We don't know and may never know, but it was a choice made. Concept art from the end of the episode:

It could have also been that it looked better in person, or that they wanted a distinct look for it in live-action to make it feel more realistic or unique. Here is other concept art of Ahsoka from Rebels and The Clone Wars, Link Here

----------------- Also, many people aren't aware of this, but the Mandalorian is made to look a lot like the OG movies. They specifically try to only use camera angles/ movements from that time. They try to do action that fits the original films style and also is similar to old westerns. They have a very specific look they're going for, and a lot of people don't know this. This also includes the use of miniatures, puppets, and as many realistic things as they can for costumes and the interactive parts of the set. They use CGI and new tech too, but aside from the large screen they use for scenery they seem to only use CGI when it's really needed and not for everything like blockbuster movies or even some shows do, aka they don’t overuse it.

Here are two links for more info on this. They are long but have a lot of cool insight into the show: link for filming style here — link for the tech they use for filming here They have the tech and probably money to have made Ahsoka's lekku & montral CGI, but it was a deliberate choice in style not to do this. Was it a good idea, maybe yes, maybe no, maybe a mix? In Season 1 Chapter 6 of The Mandalorian when they had the Twi’lek Xi’an and I saw how her lekku moved I was concerned for if they ever included lekku in a more prominent role.

As you can kind of see in the above gif, they didn't have enough weight to them and were too foamy/rubbery in their movement. It seems like the same stuff was used for Ahsoka's, which resulted in the same problem. Since we've only known her in animation where they can change things to a much more finite degree, it's off-putting in live-action, and it kinda falls into the uncanny valley which I think is why it's slightly weird to see. If we had seen her in live-action first this probably wouldn't have bothered people as much.

Video Link to show it better

I included the older Clone Wars version of Ahsoka in here because I believe they mixed her looks together to come up with the live-action design. - We saw Shaak Ti in live-action years ago and many people are pointing to that as what they should have gone with for Ahsoka. A reminder that was done for a film, not a TV show, so there will be differences in quality and style. I do think they could have used that as a model to base Ahsoka on, they should have access to old headpiece unless it just deteriorated with time. Here’s a video that includes behind the scenes looks of Shaak Ti, Youtube Link Here

Also here’s a look of Ayla from the Prequels and from the original trilogy of the Jaba palace Twi’lek to compare how they look with the Twi’lek in the Mandalorian.

I think the original trilogy looked better than the lekku in The Mandalorian so if they’re using similar material to keep it more fitting to that time, maybe they need to make them longer to hold more weight and look like actual flesh and not foamy rubber.

They could have also gone the route of making different headpieces with other material depending on what they were being used for. Again it's a TV show, not sure if they have the time or money to do this or think it's worth it for just one episode. But they could have had one made of that foamy material for action scenes, and then one that looked more like Shaak Ti's for scenes where she just talked or moved some. Honestly, this would have been their best option, and as far as I can tell, that wasn't done. I see people mention they could have done no action or less action and made better lekku, but there are already people complaining that there wasn't enough action or movement in her action scenes. You can't please everyone, and I think they struck a good balance.

----------------

Other opinions of mine on her live-action version. I think Ashley Eckstein should have been the one to play Ahsoka in live-action, or I think they should have dubbed the voice. The actress playing her in this wasn't bad, but honestly, she brought nothing new to the role and didn't do enough to capture the smaller nuances of Ahsoka's character. Some of these problems could have been fixed by dubbing her voice, even if she didn't move or look like how people wanted Ahsoka to in live-action, having her voice would have made a big difference. I don't know if Ashley was brought in on this; she hasn't mentioned anything as far as I have seen. I would find it strange if she wasn't involved since Dave and her are friends. Both really love the character, but he doesn't have full control over the show and maybe she wasn't made a part of it for one reason or another. But if she wasn’t, I think that was a bad choice, she’s the one who brought her to life in the Clone Wars. - I also think that we don't always need a big name or famous person playing a character, we could have a dubbed voice and had someone performing it who was a stunt woman or an actor who isn't as well known, this has been done in Star Wars before.

Also look at this cute cosplay of Ashley as Ahsoka:

--------------------- TLDR: Lekku and Montral are not easy to make or look real, I think the creators did the best they could with the style they try to achieve (again we don’t know behind the scenes stuff or their choices), there is stuff that could have maybe improved the look. Many people don’t understand the amount of work that goes into something like this and that sometimes choices are made for a design that you may not like, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Art is a creative thing which includes taking risks, putting a unique spin on something that exists, and sometimes making choices that not everyone will like.

--------------------

But still I’m happy we got to see live action Ahsoka and I’m glad she was able to bring joy to so many people. I’ve watched the Clone Wars since I was a kid and have always loved Ahsoka and while I have my nitpicks about her live action version, overall, I think they did a good job. I was disappointed at first, but now not so much, and instead I just view her as a different version and that she’s unique in her own ways. I remember when Rebels Ahsoka came out a lot of people hated that version, personally I loved it, there are aspects of her design I didn’t like as much tho.

I also feel this was her only appearance in The Mandalorian, I don’t think she will return again, as far as the story goes, I don’t think there is a need for her to return either. I personally would prefer to have Ahsoka stay as an animated character if she got her own show, animation suits her better and has fewer limitations for the creators.

#enjoy my long info dump #about the new episode of the mandalorian #also spoilers below the cut #sorry info dumping is a thing i like doing lol #i spent way too long on this and should actually be sleeping #whoops #the mandalorian spoilers #manod spoilers #mandalorian spoilers #mandalorian season 2 #mando s2 #the mandalorian #spoilers #ahsoka tano #live action ahsoka tano #shira info dumps #at 2 am lmao

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ggyppt · 3 years

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In my 373rd review I take a look at Kung Fu 1x01 "Pilot"

Spoilers Below

This show has honestly surprised me, taking the incredibly simple yet focused premise, a young woman returning home after three years away, and already making a strong mythology to it that they can span out into a show that could last without a lot of the functional issues that plague productions with as focused premises as this one. This opening episode gives a clear hook, sets up the world, and a lot of characters beautifully, while also telling a full story. In that way, this episode ends up ticks all the boxes that a pilot needs to, though the most impressive element of it ends up being the pacing. Pilots are notoriously difficult to pace because of just how much needs to be crammed in next to the single episode plots the create memorable viewing. This episode, in contrast, flowed by, being a breezy and enjoyable affair, and the consistent forward momentum of the pacing ends up being much of the cause of that.

The action scenes, much in the same way, have a good sense of pacing to them, and each of the many that fill this episode, have their own flavor to them feel unique and distinct. From the opening scene that had great use of close-up camera angles to create of sense of claustrophobia that serves to convey the tension of the scene as whole, being a beautiful example of how camera technique can convey emotion. This scene also works as a presentation of actress Olivia Liang (known for being Alyssa in Legacies and Wendy in Dating After College) who, from what I can tell, was doing her own stunts, as she as of writing this review, does not have a stunt double listed in either the episode credits or online. While that is not a certainty yet, if it is true, that is an impressive feat. Then we have the first fight scene in San Francisco, which is treated both as a presentation of Nicky’s abilities, both to the audience and her family, and as a showcase of the instant connection Henry Yan (played by Eddie Liu), the character they are setting up as her love interest. Finally, we have the climatic fight scene, which acts as a nice bit of catharsis for the episode, tying in the larger plot of the episode into the fight scene in a way that allows for the conveying of emotions, something that some of the best fight scenes ever made do well. While it doesn’t quite live up to that quality, this is at least a showcase of ability for the crew behind this show, meaning that when they get to a climactic fight that has more than 20 ish minutes of build, they could potentially come close to some of the greats. In these fight scenes, we also get this show pulling on the history of the Kung Fu movies of the 70s, between the long takes that allow the action to actually be show off, to the slight bits of wirework in the opening and closing fights. Most of this praise must be levied on Stunt Director and Fight Choreographer Brett Chan (who worked as stunt choreographer for Iron Fist and stunt coordinator for the 2020 Snowpiercer TV show).

Now, as much as the action has shown its chops, which is important in an action show, the characters around the action pulled their weight this episode as well. While a lot of this episode is set up work, establishing these characters and the relationships between them, this episode does that masterfully. In a single scene, they establish the majority of the main cast in such a beautiful way, and the rest of the important characters end up falling into the story without much issue soon after. The dynamics that are on display between these characters work really well as well. Specifically the familial bond between the majority of the characters gets shown off exceptionally well in this episode, illustrating the full gamut of emotions that those familial connections create, especially when they are put under the type of stress that Nicky put her family under. This episode is so deft at establishing the characters that the second half of the episode is basically just used for the singular story of the episode, having already established all that it needed to by that point, which is not something that many pilots can claim to. A special shout out has to go to the character of Jin (played by the always dependable Tzi Ma, who has credits all the way from The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. to Arrival) who is Nicky’s father, and is already coming into contention for one of the best on screen dads in tv. He has such a kind and gentle presence that works so well to calm Nicky and keep her involved in this place she hasn’t been to for so long.

Now, this is not an impeccable cast, with the major weak point being Evan. He is played fine by Gavin Stenhouse (from Allegiance and Iconicles) but the character that he is given to portray is a sadly quite dull character that is only there to create a third point in a love triangle. That though ends up being the main point of fault with Gavin’s performance, as he does not have the needed chemistry with Olivia to make it feel like the relationship has any sparks left in the tank. That makes this love triangle feel rather lopsided, at least out of the gate, and likely to crumple as soon as they put any dramatic pressure onto it.

The other thing of note that I have to talk about with this episode is its tone. There’s this fantastical element to the whole regard that I imagine will be a little silly for some people, but worked well for me. This episode, and specifically the world build that it has created, ends up drawing a good comparisons in my mind to the show Jackie Chan Adventures from my childhood. Both of them play with the mystical sides of the cultures they are pulling from in similar ways that end up giving strong through lines to these shows as a whole. That is a great well to pull from, and ends up creating a very comforting atmosphere from the starting line, which is impressive.

Overall, this is just trying to be comfort food tv, and it does well in that regard, being a breezy 45 minutes of show with a cast of warm and inviting character. Pulling on a strong history of both shows an TV, this seems like a fun and solid presentation of what it’s trying to do, though it does have a singular bad tent poll in its cast that will need to be sorted out if this show is going to ever rise above being just comfort food. 7.5/10

#ggyppt reviews #spoilers #kung fu cw

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cbspams · 3 years

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ONF - New World (Performance MV)

The last one. Ahhh, when I first committed to watching RTK, I wasn't sure what to expect and I didn't know anything about the other groups. I'd seen TBZ's Reveal (Catching Fire) which lured me in and I'm grateful for it because I got to see all the other amazing performances everyone pulled off. Beyond just the performances, it was really heartwarming to get little glimpses of the hard work everyone puts into each stage and how they're always supporting each other, within their own teams and outside of it. I would definitely recommend watching RTK if you're interested in getting into any of the groups featured, and even if not I would still recommend watching the performances because they're all so unique in their arrangements and stages. It's the kind of thing that can only happen on a competition show.

Thanks for putting up with all my ranting and know that I love you if you've read all my different thought posts. I hope you all look forward to Kingdom: Legendary War as well, it's gonna be HYPE!

Alright dudes let's get down to it.

Admittedly I did not love ONF for a lot of RTK. They're a great group, but I felt like their stages didn't favor the same kind of theatricality other groups had. And when they were ranked highly for We Must Love + Moscow Moscow (2nd round, My Song) stage, I was frankly a little miffed.

I adored their stage for It's Raining though, and all throughout RTK even if I didn't love them I still thought they were wonderful. Their reactions were so entertaining to watch and their stages were all fun and well executed.

I struggled watching New World a bit because I couldn't get over the fact they went back to more simple performances when It's Raining had been so elaborate.

The performance MV for New World is amazing. I understand the live performance had to be filmed indoors and that because it's indoors and because the stage is black and the stairs are black and the bleachers are black, the impact is different. But I'm really sad about that because the open air film location they did for the performance MV fit the song's vibes so much better. The kind of controlled sunlight, the open air lattices of the building they were standing on, the contrast between the dark outfits the members had and the bright cream of the building's plaster. All of those contributed to such a different vibe for the song, which is so bright and fun.

The opening to the light performance is a short film, similar to ONEUS and Pentagon. I'm not too sure about this but it seems to start with fast cuts from their previous MVs? And then slows down marginally to give a bit of storyline that seems to be a combination of pre and post apocalypse/societal collapse in a fantasy/cyberpunk mix world? Yeah, I dunno I've watched it 4 times and that's the best I could come up with. Especially because the ending shot is several very large meteors crashing through the atmosphere and like, those are pretty deadly so...?

In the pre-performance bit with the ONF members, they had discussed a theme of Pandora's box. Most people know that Pandora's box is a symbol of curses and tragedy, often tied to themes of humanity's greed versus humanity's innocence in listening to the gods. On opening the box, all the diseases and negativity inside flooded out to torment humanity but Hope remains in the box to allow humanity to maintain light in the darkness, and only humanity can give up hope.

NGL I was really excited to see how they would execute that theme. But then?? They kind of treated the box as a time capsule? I could kind of see it like them put their hopes into the box, which is an interesting twist on the tale of Pandora's box but also Confusion because that's definitely not the theme of that story. I kind of let it go though, because maybe they were just borrowing inspiration from the story and not actually trying to represent it.

Moving onto the actual performance and song. The intro is so intense! It's a really interesting fit because the rest of the song is way more dance upbeat/electric. But as far as openings go, pretty impactful and very pleasing to watch the ripple effect with the backup dancers down the aisle.

Again with the colorful flashing lights. Cool? Yes. Contributing to the aesthetic? Not particularly. Productive to the storyline? No. Part of the performance? Yes. Shruggy on this one, I don't really have anything to add that I haven't mentioned in previous commentaries.

I do really like the song though. Just as a piece of music, it's so fun to listen to and has definitely joined the ranks of my usual kpop bops. The kind of light, fast electro beat is something to jam to. Wyatt's voice is just so good, especially as part of the pre-chorus. The contrast makes it delightful to go from verse one to chorus. The lyrics and message of the song are really well thought out and executed as well, talking about reaching a better world and turning away from hurting each other/the environment/generally being hurtful.

OKAY. So this part is actually something I really adored: the sort of robotic formation. Wherein the members stand in the center of several backup dancers who seem to place on pieces or armor or something onto the member's limbs. A very clean cut, fast paced dance sequence that really strongly reminded me of early iron man scenes in which the different parts of armor were installed on the body. Also lowkey reminiscent of magical girl transformation hahahaha. But it's done so cleanly and while the camera angles make it hard to focus, it's still such a treat to watch. AND THEN. The members come up to the shoulders of the backup dancers and for Wyatt's lines, they're just!! In control! If y'all have watched power rangers or Gundam or Aquarion or Neon Evangelion or like, any of those then you know what I'm talking about, in which the human character slides into some massive machine and controls them from the inside to fight monsters (kaiju) and stuff. And the next bit with J-US and the hands! Creative, interesting imagery, just a complete delight to watch. It's just sooooo fun and I love that for ONF, I really do.

I genuinely think that their theme doesn't make much sense without the context of the lyrics and even then it still feels clunky and sort of inspired by rather than actually embodying the concept. So I'd dock point for them for that personally because I think that when themes are introduced and performed, they should show up as more than just a simple prop. But also I acknowledge that dance and musical performances like this (not musicals) aren't necessarily intended to be storytelling, especially in 4th gen kpop. I do like their theme with the keys and opening, I feel like the performance would have been enhanced if instead of using pandora's box, they choose to use the gateway to the new world. A bit on the nose but a lot more impactful with the key turning bit after the second chorus.

On the key turning bit with the weird holographic box: Dude. Those backup dancers? So clean. Nice stiff steps that feel very robotic which goes wonderfully with the costumes. The keys they each take actually read RTK ONF if you go clockwise from the left (MK). Just a neato little fact. Attention to detail is so good. And the timing of the key turns, of course it was gonna be to the beat but like still! Satisfying af.

Why Wyatt grabs the box and slams it to the ground I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the line dive into new world.

The high notes. Again. Literally just. What the fuck guys, they're so good. I'm gonna cry. The stability, the pitch, just. (sobbing)

The LED screen in the back is interesting? Is it supposed to be a door into the new world? Probably?

Dance break!! Guitar solo!! The door tradition into the weird stripey LED screens that just feels so chaotic and kinda like I'm going through a movie warp portal. Somehow when combined together it all works lmao??

I love the bridge. There's no reason for it, I just love Wyatt's fast paced lines and the kind of dun dun dun fast tempo beat tapping.

The ending of running away from the camera, towards the little cliffs and the LED screen was a good choice because the last lines refer to how they'll never stop as long as they're alive. Not the most impactful ending but definitely satisfying given the song's lyrics and meaning. Again, that lack of pandora's box kind of haunts me?

Overall if I consider this ONF performance compared to their others it doesn't feel quite as thought out and executed. Similar to their We Must Love + Moscow Moscow performance where I couldn't really see the marionette theme, I couldn't really understand the idea of Pandora's box in this performance and I really wish they had chosen perhaps a gateway to the new world or some other theme instead because it would fit much better. It's also a little lackluster compared to the performance MV that had a lot of contrast which created more focus and contributed more to the atmosphere of the performance.

Still, as a performance on it's own, it does pretty well and I'm really happy for ONF to have performed it. Thank you RTK for introducing me to this song and to ONF in general, I hope they continue to release some really good stuff.

#admin talk #rtk commentary #rtk performance comments

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atopfourthwall · 5 years

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Did you cameo in Johnston’s latest video? Cus inside a crystal ball it looks like you but it’s so small it’s hard to tell

Typo in their Ask, supposed to be "JonTron" and yes that's me. No, I did not film it for him nor do I want anything to do with him. That clip of me running has been making the rounds for a few months now because it looks utterly ridiculous and stupid out of context. Mind you, it doesn't look any better IN-context, either. It's from the Nostalgia Critic crossover on Bloodrayne. Doug had Spoony and I summoned via him opening up a copy of the movie (it's a callback to our first crossover together - Alone in the Dark). Despite the fact that this is a review of a video game movie made by Uwe Boll, apparently he decided that our appearing to him had to be in the form of superpowers - me running really fast like the Flash and Spoony flying through the air. It makes no sense, but the shot of me running in front of a green screen like that has become semi-memetic. Really it just calls to mind memories of making that. Overall, I think the review turned out okay and funny... but if we had just stuck to the original script, it wouldn't have, because when he sent us the first draft of the script, it wasn't very good. Complaining about a movie CAN be funny, but that's all the script was - complaining. He didn't bring the funny. When we went to go film it with him, we had a quick session where we came up with a bunch of ideas that would actually be JOKES and funny bits - the "Michael Madsen gets increasingly bad things happen to him and he has no reaction" bit was one in particular I remember. I think the only bit that was actually in the original script and funny was the recurring gag of the Cinema Snob coming in increasingly bloodied and we are unimpressed by it. But yes, that fucking running sequence that makes no sense. I don't know why it suddenly became a thing again for people to reference and laugh at, but it has. Honestly while it's frustrating that THAT is what's getting more attention to me as opposed to something I did that I WANTED to do, really the more I think about it is in relation to how bad Doug is with green screen. He has this big green screen space (don't know what it's like at his new studio, but presumably a similar setup) - like, 15, 20-feet room of green screen that he could do a lot with - fully body shots in particular... and any time you see green screen on his show it's people either walking in place or walking towards the camera with him zooming in on it like it's a dramatic moment. The walking in place thing is really bad BECAUSE of all the space and range of movement he has. If you look at my tenth anniversary episode, you'll notice the scenes of Linksano and Linkara walking in the green-screened hallway doesn't really look all that convincing... but that's because I filmed it in my living room and I don't have the room to actually make shots like that that look convincing. The Game Show Reviewer did what he could - made the camera shake around more as if we were actually in motion and it helps the effect, but there's only so much you can do with it because of my limitations. Doug does not have those limitations, yet he's perfectly content to be lazy with it and make it look completely unconvincing in the slightest. Perhaps that's part of the joke, but it doesn't really help. Honestly, his cinematography has been bugging me for a while because he does the same camera tricks over and over. Someone enters unexpectedly and he zooms in on them and turns the camera slightly. He'll wide-angle lens shots or circle around people meant to be cool and it just... looks bad and amateurish. The green-screening is the same way. You can make a drinking game over the exact same kinds of shots he always does. It's supposed to make his productions look bigger and more complex, but in execution it's just dull and makes it seem like he takes himself more seriously than he does. Say what you will about my own cinematograph, which is much more static in places (hell, even screwed up the 180 rule in the latest storyline segment since Will and I were accidentally looking in the same direction as opposed to opposite ones), but I'm not randomly zooming the camera in each shot and panning the camera around to try to make a sequence seem more dramatic in EVERY. SINGLE. SHOT. Sorry about that tangent, but I decided to watch part of that review of the Wall and just skipping through it I noticed this crap so much and it was infuriating, so having people talk about that fucking shot of me running that even friggin' JonTron is using as a gag just made me think about a lot of this crap.

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cinemaocd · 4 years

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Hi, I know you've put out opinions on the new Emma movie through various posts, but I'd love to hear an overall review. I know you liked it but uhhh I always like to hear your thoughts. Especially on all the horniness/sexy stuff I've been hearing about (I have good priorities)

No problem. I’ll try to keep this shorter than my costume answer from yesterday!

I really liked Emma 2020 and it has fast become one of my favorite Austen adaptations, and my favorite adaptation of the novel. Emma was the first Austen I read and it has long held a place in my heart because of it. I remember sitting down to read the book and by page 10 I was saying aloud “where has Jane Austen been my whole life?” and by page 50 I knew I would end up reading everything she ever wrote.

So with that huge pile of emotional baggage, I set the bar as low as I possibly could going into the film. I had a number of concerns: 1) The casting of Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse (and certain clips from the trailer that made it look like he was going to be too spry and quirky to really play the character from the novel.) 2) The ability of the lead actors (unknown to me and very young) to actually handle the difficult dialog. The overlapping/shouting clip in the trailer was really worrying. 3) The difficulty of squeezing the entire novel into a two hour film.

But going into every adaptation of a Jane Austen novel, I always hope for one thing: the right tone. I think one of the failings of almost all of the adaptations, to a certain degree is to balance the satire and the romance. Certain adaptations favor the romance over the satire, but I confess I always prefer it when the satire is the main object of the film. I feel very strongly that social satire was the entire point of Austen’s writings. She wrote in this genre because she could. It was almost the only arena available to her as an artist, but going back to her juvenilia where she skewered the conventions of gothic romance novels, it’s clear that she understood the genre better than most from a young age.

And I have to say, that I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled actually that this adaptation managed to get this tone correct. The balance is perfect. The characters have their moments of being grotesques, exaggerations for comic purposes, but they also have moments of being human and real that I really enjoyed. I actually burst into tears when Mr. Knightley came to Harriet’s rescue at the ball. That is always my favorite moment, and an emotional high point, but Mia Goth just had my heart through the whole movie and her reaction in that scene was so perfect.

As for the sexiness, I think the thing to remember is that with a female director and writer, this is the first Austen adaptation filmed entirely through the female gaze. And they are not shy about it. Johnny Flynn is naked (tastefully so I think) in the first two minutes of the film and there is a parallel scene where Emma is warming her backside by the fire that has a similar earthy feel to it. The lighting and camera angles with Flynn remind one of classical painting, while the lighting and camera angle on Anya Taylor Joy are much more forgiving. It’s like a relatable moment of humanizing her. I think seeing Flynn naked and dressed by his servant humanizes him, but it also objectifies him. And honestly that’s what’s going to happen in an Austen adaptation anyway, and I like that the director got it out of the way, straight off the bat.

The way Knightley and Emma’s dance is filmed at the ball is very different than I’ve ever seen done in an adaptation. There are a lot of closeups of their hands touching, his hand touching her body, the sound is pinpointed as well so that you hear their breath over the music. It’s very erotic.

After the ball, the filmmakers chose to change the story a bit, by revealing Mr Knightley’s feelings for Emma. The book keeps his feelings a secret much longer, but you have to remember it was written 200 years ago. People have seen this trope many, many times and they are going to guess, I think. So you sacrifice that surprise in order to have Mr. Knightley’s POV and I think it’s worth it. His pining is both funny and pretty hot. I think it’s kind of silly that he’s running all over Highbury on foot, but I’m willing to live with it.

OK this is already as long as the other post, so I’m going to leave off. I hope this helped answer your question. :D

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aniimvs · 4 years

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plots please!!!

subject plots please // not accepting : :

i'll respond with three or more potential relationships // connections // plots between our muses. a creative exercise with no pressure to follow up, but we can if you'd like!

𝐢. there's always something in the dark

so i haven't actually seen dark. but i looked up clips and read an overview of the plot. i probably don't know enough to verse the actual show but it sounds hella cool and doing something similar in a plot or playing around in that world would be amazing. from what i know, the show only has a wormhole and the apocalypse as its weird shit. but i want that and more? i want hellscape to be only a part of a whole world of hidden in the seams of waking reality.

so while i don't think it'd be fair to call what i have in mind to a dark verse so much as an urban science fiction horror-scape that a tumultuous pair of humans live in. i'm not sure how you'd see rey, whether she aware of this fanged parallel that she's walked beside her whole life or if she falls into it face-first by some unforeseen fuck up. meanwhile, ben is just a piece of a bitch that thrives in the monstrous edges.

i need to do more research, i came at this woefully unprepared but i love the aesthetics and i think it would be fun to either explore the parameters of dark, see what else such a world would be capable of.

𝐢𝐢. and on that note

paranormal investigators. i don't know what, i don't kow how, but paranormal investigators. they would be the best worst at it because everything that frustrates me about ghost hunting shows, they would be the opposite.

ben would be so fucking particular about cameras. have one at every angle, whether it's stationary cams and ones he carries. and if he sees something sinister or some preternatural thing interacts with him, his reaction is to calmly film because it's worth getting killed for e v i d e n c e.

rey? rey's probably estatic when shit happens to her. a poltergeist threatened her life by throwing a chair at her face? amazing. do it again. gives ben this high key happy face of awe because it doesn't matter how many x-file-esque adventures they have, the paranormal trying to kill her will never NOT be cool.

𝐢𝐢𝐢. the aftermath

a small storyline idea. but, dude, if benlo survived exegol, what would've happened? what would it have been like for these two enemies that fought blood-for-blood for two years to decide what happens next. like, one good act is not enough to erase the fact that he's a war criminal.

what would rey do? would they fight? would she insist he leaves or drag him back or convince him that it's something he has to do for not only himself but for his mother. because he has so much more to answer for than the movies actually show like tehar hell's bells kylo. meanwhile benlo is trapped between "it's time to face the music" and "that's not my jam" because letting someone else decide his fate is not something he's going to tolerate.

i wish i could offer something more in-depth, but a big part of this plotline would be rey's opinion of her enemy-turned-ally in not just that moment but overall. there's a strong undercurrent but each rey portrayal i've seen has nuance to how they approach ren. i don't want to assume and, honestly, i would love to see where this would develop naturally. this thread could lead to so many unexpected twists and reveals. especially since this would be their first interaction on friendlier-ish terms because they're not entirely enemies.

but like hell are they friends.

#⋞ queue ⋟ // i will always be with you.#⋞ answered ⋟ // the voices never stop.#awaekens #my dark-based idea is not as fleshed out as i would like !!#i'm sorry it feels lackluster but i saw how excited you've been about the show and i would totally explore it with you #if you were ever interested

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betweenfictionandfact · 4 years

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Virtual Museums in the Time of COVID-19

In these awful times, everyone is looking for something to keep themselves busy during self-isolation. The “virtual museum” has been offered as one from of edutainment, a way to enrich the mind and pass time when you become sick of binge-watching shows and movies.

Museums have been working to digitize collections and increase accessibility for a while now, designing them to be educational tools or a way for people to access the museum even if they can’t physically visit. Right now, that means all of us, so let’s become armchair museologists, exploring foreign museums from the comfort of our own homes.

The Book

The Pergamonmuseum in Berlin can be found on many lists of online exhibits to visit, and by happy chance I had only just reread a personal favorite that would fit perfectly with the ancient collections in the museum.

Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner is an epic journey told from the point of view of the runaway slave Kamet and the soldier Costis sent to save him as they escape through the fictional Mede Empire, culturally very like ancient Babylon. The book is the most recent in the series Queen’s Thief, following a thief who becomes king of the fictional world Attolia, heavily inspired by classical Greece.

Ever since I visited the Pergamonmuseum years ago, I will admit that I think of their displays every time I read this book. But how does the virtual experience compare to the physical?

Attolia and the Mede Empire

Historical Greece and Anatolia

The Museum

Run through Google Arts and Culture, the virtual Pergamonmuseum has a simple design and intuitive interactive layout. You are greeted first with a header image of the famous Ishtar gate and a few happily browsing visitors.

Click here to follow along

Underneath is a small introductory text, much like the type that would stand before the entrance to an exhibit. You can choose to read more of it by clicking a button, or you can continue scrolling down to the “stories” or exhibits, much like when a visitor chooses to stroll past the text panels. Scroll a bit further and you can see all 1,591 digitized objects, either organized by topics or pictured individually. At the very bottom is access to a “museum view,” a 360 scan of a room.

At any point you can, of course, share your experience on the social media platform of your choice.

The Pergamonmuseum actually houses three smaller museums, the Classical collections, the Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Museum of Islamic Art. I’m going to focus on the first two, as they would cover the cultures in Turner’s books.

The Virtual Tour

“Monumental: Highlights in the Pergamonmuseum” is the first exhibit, an overarching tour of the museum’s scope by focusing on a few of the most impressive parts of their collections – reconstructed monuments. These pieces are large enough to walk past or through in a way that lets the visitor truly experience the scale and aesthetics of these ancient cultures.

But how do these very large displays translate to a digital format?

Pergamon Altar is the highlight of the virtual museum. Most of the exhibits focus on it, using the high-quality photos and videos taken in anticipation of the exhibit closing for renovations. Google used a camera to create a 360 experience of the room, which the first exhibit uses to “walk” the visitor through the room, zooming in on details and providing context through pop up text. If you want to explore it yourself, you can take control of the view much as you would Google Streetview.

This high tech interactive gives a life-size sense of scale, allowing you to feel as if you are looking up at the tall steps and large friezes. The sculptures of gods, goddesses, and monsters are marvels of artistic talent, robust and detailed in a way that reminds me of a pivotal scene from the first book, The Thief, when Eugenides finds a room where his gods sit as still as statues, a held breath away from speaking.

“Moving” into the Museum of the Ancient Near East, the online exhibit brings the visitor to a more vibrantly colored reconstruction – the blue and yellow bricks of the Ishtar gate and processional way. The first “slide” has a video pop up with a video about the history of the gate and the city of Babylon. When I accessed the site, the full screen option wouldn’t work. Technological glitches are an interesting issue to consider in accessing the virtual museum. What if certain sections crash and interfere with the narrative of the exhibit?

Despite the small screen, the video recreated the experience of an audio guide. The narrators create a word picture of the gate while you look at pictures of it. They explain the meanings behind the symbols and emphasized that any visitor Nebuchanezzer’s Babylon would have understood at a glance. The symbolism of gods and goddesses are a reminder of a time when the pantheon of gods lived vividly in people lives as images and statues everywhere, just as in the classical world Turner builds in her series. These books feature gods and goddesses that step out of stories and into the plot to help or hinder her main characters. In Thick As Thieves, she drew from the mythology of the Ancient Near East and the Epic of Gilgamesh to create the heroes Immakuk and Ennikar that interfere throughout the plot.

The video and the close up photos afterwards show the details in the relief carvings of lions, a symbol of Ishtar, which made me realize that the seemingly ridiculous scene in the book when Kamet and Costis hide from soldiers in the den of a lioness might have actually been a hint that this ferocious goddess was another force protecting them.

Having been to this display in the actual museum, the experience is rather awe-inspiring. To walk through this massive gate and along a very long corridor, all lined with ancient tiles and then to find out that this was only a small portion of the entire structure is boggling. Especially impressive is to imagine the time conservators spent piecing together this mammoth puzzle. In the virtual museum, however, the scale of the piece isn’t as emphasized as the detail work. After some digging, I did find a 3D image of the gate on the page for the Berlin Museum Island page.

The Collections

Below the exhibits are thumbnails for all 1,591 objects that can be explored digitally. As a visitor, you can go through collections organizing the objects by cultural source (i.e. Iraq, Iran, Syria) or by theme (water, textiles, and lions, oh my!). My eye was drawn to the clay tablets. In Thick As Thieves, Kamet recites from the tablets of the epic of Immakuk and Ennikar. In ancient Mesopotamia, letters and important documents were written in cuneiform on clay. The ones highlighted at the virtual Pergamonmuseum were inventories of goods and horses or letters from kings, rather than poetry, unfortunately.

Collection of Clay Tablets

You can also go through all of the objects, choosing to organize them by viewer popularity, by time in an easily navigated timeline, or, bizarrely enough, by color. This allows the visitor to engage with the objects in a way quite unlike a usual museum visit. You view the objects in sometimes surprising combinations that cross cultural lines and the usual organizational categories.

I chose to see all chocolate brown objects together, which yielded a combination of detailed textiles and clay imprints from cylindrical signets. They are two very different mediums from different centuries, but you can see some similarities in the symmetry and angles on the textiles and carvings.

The details for the objects are, however, limited. Other than names and accession numbers, some objects didn’t have any other information while others had a paragraph or two. I wonder if the objects were chosen by the practicality that they were the best photographed. So, the important collections for a virtual museum become the ones that are the most visual.

Thoughts

The virtual museum was certainly an entertaining way to pass the time here in quarantine. The overall experience became meditative in the way walking through a museum becomes very quiet and calm, although I found after a while the same reading fatigue as hunching to look at text panels in person.

Trying to view the entirety of a museum through my laptop computer screen, the different cultures and topics encompassed within it began to blur together. Unlike a physical museum, where a visitor moves through discretely different rooms organized geographically or by clearly defined topic at a walking pace that allows the mind to shift gears, the virtual museum has a speed to it. You click through topics and it’s easy to switch between topics or go back to check. You can draw lines between displays that might otherwise be at other ends of the museum building.

These blurring of lines might not be what the website designers intended, as the exhibits are more neatly outlined, but the experience certainly fits with the world of the Queen’s Thief series, which is, after all, not a true historical fiction. Megan Whalen Turner drew from classical Greek, Near East, and other Mediterranean cultures to create her world, but she pulled details from several different centuries to do so. Viewing the virtual museum, where it is easier to hop across timelines, did help me understand the setting for the books better, and gave me an aesthetic language for imagining the Mede Empire.