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quinintheclouds · 3 years

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YES YES YES YES YES

Spoilers for RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 6

THAT WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN I HAD EVEN LET MYSELF HOPE FOR

It really looks like this is the Volume the writers realized how many answers we’ve needed for years and years, and is answering them now. I wish it’d come sooner, of course, but since they can’t go back and fix the pacing or writing, I’m really impressed and optimistic about how Volume 8 is going!

BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY

I would like to GUSH about how they handled the Oscar and Ozpin scenes. We have needed, nay, BEGGED for this sort of development, and it’s finally here. There’s too much I want to rave about so bullet point time!

[Note: I love the farmboy so this wound up longer than expected -- have a read more for your scrolling convenience -- TL;DR at the end]

We got confirmation that Ozpin has been pleading with Oscar to let him take over so he can burden the pain and torture instead. Oscar is the one refusing, choosing to take it himself because he knows Salem and Hazel will be much harsher on Oz. I thought that was the case, but I’m so glad they addressed it because otherwise we’d be wondering why Oz hasn’t offered. It does make me wonder, is Oz still able to take control without asking? Oscar was able to fight it in vol 6, and he’s come a long way.

Hazel is holding back -- at least, Oscar says he can tell that he is. This would keep in line with the battle at Haven, when Hazel was suspiciously playing defense and stalling by letting Ozpin monologue, then letting Oscar give a little protagonist speech... I mean, it sure doesn’t LOOK like he’s holding back. Look at this kid:

moving on before I cry,

Ozpin suggests he take over and try to escape.

Oscar says no, he has a better idea. “This is our chance.”

Oz: “Hm. Maybe you’ve taken one too many hits.” I like this for two reasons: one, because it gives us a taste of the ol’ lighthearted Ozpin humor we’ve missed since he’s been gone, and two, because it shows that he and Oscar think differently. They have different thought processes, ideas, etc. Oz didn’t immediately know what Oscar was planning.

Oscar explains that Salem can’t take on everyone at once, and thus has been sending people to infiltrate all of remnant first, to attack from within.

I LOVE that they had Oscar come up with this, because it is so in line with his character development in Volume 7. Not to mention how in volume 6 he was the one to figure out how to defeat Cordovin’s mecha. It’s cool to see him as a strategist, because while he’s a sweet kid from the middle of nowhere, he’s proven to be really smart and quick.

Plus, this gives him agency. People wanted Ozpin to return and save Oscar, but this is so, so much better. Oscar’s idea, Oscar’s choice, and Oz gets right on board. They’re agreeing to work together, despite their unresolved conflict. “Ozma learned the importance of living with the souls with which he’d been paired.”

AND THEN, A MOMENT I CANNOT THANK RT ENOUGH FOR:

The captions don’t show it, but Oscar AND Ozpin said this in unison. Now, this and the few seconds that follow were a rollercoaster of emotions. Let’s break it down:

When they said this together, I was positively GIDDY with excitement: they’re leaning into the “like-minded souls” thing and calling attention to the situation! Surely this must be a sign that Oscar and Ozpin will indeed both exist when their souls are one, as they are both equally parts of the combination of lives that is Ozma. Well, maybe not equally (yet?).

Then, my elation was replaced with dread. What if this was actually an indication of them “merging” in the way some of the FNDM interpret it will go, rather than how I think it does? Or what if that’s not what RT is doing, but what if the FNDM takes it as a sign Ozpin is taking over?? I can’t last the whole break without knowing!

AND THEN!!! Ugh, this made me so relieved. Ozpin says, in a slightly amused tone of voice with a trace of a laugh, “We certainly are similar, you and I.” YESSSSS more references to them being like-minded souls!! But still having differences!!

“Maybe we have been presented with an opportunity.” I’m really glad they went the route where Oscar is changing Ozpin’s mind on things. Oz no longer thinks he knows best, and is allowing Oscar to come into his own. Now he’s seeing how far Oscar’s come and the person he is.

Related note: The commentary for the vol 7 finale said that it was Oscar’s speeches to Ironwood about fear and trust that made Oz realize he’s been keeping secrets and hiding out of fear, and inspired him to come back. This is so promising for Oscar’s character going forward.

[Side note: Would love more info on what Oscar meant in volume 7 when he said “these memories... you’re back, aren’t you?” because? Is he just referring to the scenes with things like how he talked about Atlas’ history as if he were there, or does he have access to Oz’s memories now? 2 chapters ago we saw that he doesn’t yet know the location of the Beacon Relic. So unless he was lying really well, he doesn’t have ALL the memories yet. So which ones does he have? RT EXPLAIN]

Next,

I would like to call attention to the fact that Oscar smiled here. After Ozpin said they were similar, I was worried Oscar would react the way he has in the past: sad and conflicted about his identity, worried he’s becoming less of himself. But no. Like we saw in Volume 7, THIS is who Oscar Pine is. His development was his own, and we get to see that when Ozpin returned because Oscar had made him rethink his choices. Oscar Pine is more himself now than he’s been at any other point in the series.

It’s really brilliant how the writers have used these last 2 volumes to show that Penny, the robot, is one of the most human characters on the show; and Oscar, the boy cursed to death and rebirth with a soul that was not his own, is one of the most individualistic ones. It’s just really cool how they’re playing with our expectations of the characters. (They’re doing great with Salem, too!)

[Side note: Penny’s soul/aura was given to her by Pietro, and they still have distinct personalities and identities. It’s possible that’s a parallel to Oscar’s situation, but I do feel the merge’s completion will result in one remaining soul/identity - just not a “taking over” situation]

Okay, that’s the last of that rollercoaster I mentioned.

Time to get on a new one!

At long last, this episode finally gave us something we haven’t had since chapter 4 of volume SIX*:

*(I am not counting the one second of "Oscar." *glowy eyes* *Oscar blinks and is back in control* in the vol 7 finale)

OZPIN IS BACK!!!!

First, HELL YES I WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN!!!

Second, wow, they can change really quickly now. At first it took effort and was super visible, then just shook Oscar up a bit with the glowy eyes, and now it seems almost effortless, seamless. The eyes glow and the transition is smooth. I like it.

We didn’t get to hear Oscar’s thoughts after Oz said “Oscar, please,” begging him again to let him take control. So we don’t know whether Oscar allowed it out of pain, exhaustion, their plan, or a decision to trust Oz and work together here. Alternatively, Ozpin may have simply taken over of his own accord. I wish the writers would give us more insight to Oscar’s thoughts, because those scenes already have him talking inside/to his own head, so leaving some of his thoughts out can seem intentional and open-ended, which could mean more dragging out answers, but I think this was fine. Not the worst case of this by far lol

WHEN! HE! SPOKE!

I was hoping for this with all my heart. Over the course of volume 7 in particular, we saw Oscar’s voice, mannerisms, and speech patters start to resemble Ozpin’s. However, he still sounds and feels like Oscar. Going back to Volume 5, heck, even Volume 6 (which is when we last saw Ozpin in control), the voice of Ozpin speaking through Oscar is similar, but distinctly different from how Oscar’s speaking now. So I’ve been theorizing and hoping, and it CAME TRUE! Ozpin sounds more like Oscar now, while still managing to clearly be Ozpin.

Right from the first “Hello,” it was noticeable. It sounded almost like Oscar. I know it’s the same voice actor when one of them is in control (same body, same vocal cords), but that just makes it even more impressive. This is the first time we’ve heard Ozpin’s voice speaking through Oscar since QRWBY yelled at him in the snow in vol 6. And I was NOT disappointed.

“Why do you follow her?” I’ll keep saying it, but he sounds so much like Oscar confronting Ironwood.

“I know how you see me. But her? Look at what she does, how is she the answer, why not stop her??” This gives me serious deja vu to Oscar’s speech towards Hazel in the Battle of Haven (and his speech towards Ironwood in v7′s finale). That speech had given Hazel pause then, and this one does as well, now. Ozpin sounds angrier, though, more aware of just how far gone these people are, but knowing they can change.

Hazel calls Ozpin out for the same thing the FNDM has been, and honestly, it’s been a long time coming. Hazel’s motivations are extremely misguided, Oscar was right to stand up for Oz/Gretchen at Haven, and the show really needed to reinforce the Ozpin-isn’t-bad-actually thing. Now it’s all out in the open. But it’s Ozpin’s response to this that elevated this scene even more:

That’s it. Ozma has spent countless lives fighting a war that may be impossible to win. But if no one tries, no one will survive. The gods will destroy all of Remnant. Still, every single lifetime, he chooses to try. Like Oscar said in volume 5 (about Hazel’s sister but writing-wise also kinda about Pyrrha), “She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself. So do I.” Like-minded souls.

AND THIS!!! Good gods I’m glad he said this. The show went way too long before anyone even questioned the “You can’t” answer from Jinn. Nora mentioned it in passing earlier, which I liked a lot (though this really should’ve been discussed in volume 6, but better late than never). But here? We see that Oz never gave up, never planned on losing, not sending people to a battle he “knows they can’t win.” While Salem is immortal, she is not infallible. Not even the gods were. Salem can be fought. Even Hazel has a moment of hesitation, perhaps even realization, before Salem enters.

Salem manipulates Cinder, offering her the maiden powers she wants so badly, and Ozpin interjects. “You’ll only be helping her bring about the end, for all of you!”

I just wanted to show these shots because again, just as we’ve seen Oscar’s mannerisms become increasingly similar to Ozpin’s, now that he’s back, we get to see the other way around. Look at the surprise and fear on his face. Look at how he widens his eyes and raises his eyebrows instead of narrowing/furrowing them now. Listen to the sounds he makes when tortured or thrown about. Listen to the desperation and earnest passion held in his pleas. He’s no longer hiding -- he’s being honest with the people who scare him most, and truly trying to help them see the light.

[Side note: Cinder is not showing remorse in this scene, but I wonder how she’d react to Oscar, not Ozpin, being tortured. In the same episode, we have Cinder being tortured with a shock collar, AND we have Oscar decide to try to appeal to the humanity left in these villains. Last time we saw Oscar, Salem was torturing him with intense, almost electric magic. She might not care, but I wonder...]

ANYWAY I’m done for now. Have a TL;DR that wound up being long too

TL;DR:

Basically, I’m super happy with the writers for the detail put into these scenes:

they confirmed Oz has been begging to take over and bear the torture instead

had Oscar come up with an idea himself instead of getting rescued or immediately escaping

had Oscar view his dire situation as an opportunity, reminding us of his optimism and capabilities as a strategist

had Ozpin not know what Oscar’s plan was before he explained it (this might change as the souls become one, but it at least shows they think differently)

Oscar’s plan to appeal to the villains’ humanity and infiltrate Salem’s forces from within lining up with his volume 7 character development

had Oz trust Oscar and put his faith in him, which is progress for Oz

Oz and Oscar speaking in unison and agreeing to work together

Ozpin’s comment about them being similar, not the same

had Ozpin take control to speak to Hazel

Ozpin’s speech to Hazel and Cinder as parallels to Oscar’s speeches to Hazel and Ironwood, which CRWBY said were the reason Oz realized his secrecy is out of fear of trust, and Oscar’s points are what inspired him to come back.

Ozpin sounding and acting more like Oscar just like we’ve seen happen the other way around (though with Oscar, he’s holding true to his own ideas/morals, with Oz meeting him there)

established hope for some of our villains to defect, setting it in motion.

#oscar pine #professor ozpin #rwby ozma #the merge #rwby ozcar #hate calling them that lol but it's a useful tag #rwby8 #rwby #quinpost

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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With respect, Ironwood brought an army to deal with a covert threat. In his FIRST appearance he'd had ozpin removed from the tournament staff with secret meetings. He was told many times his embargo was hurting the city, he kept a woman on life support prisoner and his treatment of Robyn convinced a technically legal protest into an outright criminal. Not to mention he abandons the best defense humanity has against the Grimm to keep some control. Shooting a dissenter seem very in character

“Ironwood brought an army to deal with a covert threat” - For which he was suitably chastised by Ozpin. It’s a whole conversation in “Welcome to Beacon” and, back when RWBY was doing a better job of handling these complex issues, that conversation gives weight to both sides. Ironwood isn’t trying to, idk, take over Beacon or something with his army. He wants to be prepared in order to help people. “I’m just being cautious.” Ozpin points out that scaring everyone won’t help, but notably the story acknowledges that Ozpin’s preferences are far from full-proof. “Do you really believe your children can win a war?” Can you prove to me that the kids we’re training will be enough when the shit hits the fan? Ozpin doesn’t have an answer. He dodges answering by saying only that he hopes his kids won’t have to fight, not that he has unwavering faith that they will win. Then Beacon falls. Ozpin dies. Ironwood is left alone with an entire kingdom to keep safe and I think it’s worth acknowledging that he did that. Mantle is far from perfect, there’s a lot there to fix, but the people are alive and that’s in part thanks to the soldiers that keep the grimm from eating them all. The rest? That’s due to Penny, a symbol of hope that Ironwood gave to the people. He learned that from this conversation with Ozpin.

“In his FIRST appearance he'd had ozpin removed from the tournament staff with secret meetings.” - It’s not Ironwood’s first appearance. He meets with the inner circle, has his talk with Ozpin, introduces his Atlesian knights to the public, attends the Beacon dance, discovers Ruby fighting Cinder, later compliments Ruby for her initiative in Ozpin’s office, confides in Glynda that night, and helps defend Vale against Roman’s attack. So your implication that as his “first” appearance this tells us he’s really an irredeemable person is not accurate.

Second, I’ve seen this claim a lot the last couple of months and I finally went back to find/watch the scene for myself (it’s in “Breach”). These were not secret meetings. Ironwood “reported” to the council which I assume is what he’s supposed to do. Given that he is a Headmaster. And this is the council overseeing the schools. Keeping updated is their entire deal. Were these reports fair to Ozpin? We don’t know. You might assume they’re full of lies and horrible misrepresentations, but that’s not what the text tells us. Ironwood told the council Ozpin’s plans, then the council said, ‘No way are you holding the Vytal festival with those precautions alone.’ Then the council asked Ironwood to provide troops for additional security. Did Ironwood manipulate the council and paint Ozpin as a villain to get what he wanted? Maybe. Did Ironwood objectively say precisely what’s going on - Ozpin thinks his huntsmen are enough to keep everyone safe in the event of an attack - and the council, independent of him, came to the conclusion that it wasn’t enough? Maybe. Again, we don’t know. What we do know is that Ironwood is doing all this because he honestly believes it will help others. He begs Ozpin to understand that: “This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise I will keep our people safe. You have to trust me.” And you know what? He wasn’t entirely wrong. No one could have predicted that Salem’s minions would take control of his army. Ironwood did, however, predict that there would be an attack too large for a bunch of students to handle... and he was right. Beacon fell because a those half-trained kids weren’t enough to hold off a major attack, but Ironwood did everything he could to try and prevent that. In a slightly better world where his army wasn’t unexpectedly taken advantage of, that could have easily been what turned the tide of battle and saved Beacon instead. The world where everyone views Ironwood as a hero for providing those extra forces is just a smidge away from the world where everyone views Ironwood as a villain for inadvertently providing the enemy with those extra forces... but the forces themselves are not a black and white bad thing to have. Not in a world where your festivities are interrupted by the giant bird trying to eat the audience.

“He was told many times his embargo was hurting the city” - Yes, the embargo hurts the city financially. Ironwood is attempting to keep it from being hurt in the ‘everyone is wiped out’ kind of way. Post the Fall of Beacon he’s unsure if the other Kingdoms will declare war against Atlas or not, so it’s not wise to continue giving them one of the easiest means of attack. That’s the official story, but Ironwood (and the audience) know that Salem has also been collecting dust for a while now... so how about we stop giving her any more? Was this the right move to make? Are short-term economic difficulties worth avoiding the risk of potentially supplying enemies with the means of destroying you? I can’t answer that, but it’s not a clear-cut bad decision like you’re making it out to be. Retroactively we can say that no one attacked Atlas and Salem seems to have stopped collecting dust because the writers forgot about it... but Ironwood doesn’t get to see into the future. He didn’t know things would turn out this way. Once again, he’s trying to prevent tragedies, not just survive them when they come along. The balance between short-term sacrifice and long-term protection is far from an easy thing to strike and a character’s failure to achieve perfection despite their best efforts says more about their luck than their morals. Ironwood is an incredibly flawed man, but those flaws have always shown throw via his attempts to help others.

“He kept a woman on life support prisoner” - Are we talking abut Amber of Fria here? Either way that’s a gross misrepresentation of what happened and, frankly, does little to make me receptive to your other arguments. Amber was attacked, Qrow brought her back to the inner circle, Ironwood kept her alive so that the rest of the power wouldn’t immediately pass to Cinder (and, I would think, because this group isn’t in the habit of just letting friends die if at all possible). Fria was the Winter Maiden, she got dementia, and Ironwood had her live out the rest of her days in a facility so that a) no one murdered her, b) a Maiden with dementia didn’t wreak havoc on the city (we saw her powers go wild during the fight), and c) the power passed to an ally when she finally died. How do you know Fria was a prisoner? Was there a scene I missed where she said as much or, just as likely, might she have agreed to these precautions once her memory started to fade? Amber, meanwhile, was in a coma and unable to consent to anything. Ironwood did not kidnap her for nefarious experimentation, nor do we have any evidence that he held Fria hostage. That sort of thinking only makes “sense” when we’re already inclined to paint a character’s every action as morally corrupt. Is a 80 year old who keeps wandering into the street held prisoner because they were put in a home where they could be taken care of? That’s this with the added complications of “The 80 year old could kill everyone with magic. Or reveal to the world that magic exists” and “A lot of people want to kill this 80 year old” and “If they succeed the world is #screwed.”

“His treatment of Robyn convinced a technically legal protest into an outright criminal” - Robyn is a criminal. Ironwood never stopped her from protesting. He required that she a) not spy on a classified project, b) not keep his men from working on that project, and c) not steal supplies meant for that project... all actions that are illegal. Honestly I’m not entirely sure what this phrase is saying. That Ironwood forced Robyn to become a criminal? If so, we once again need to discuss agency and how Character A doing something that Character B doesn’t like does not give Character B blanket justification for every horrible choice they might make.

“Not to mention he abandons the best defense humanity has against the Grimm to keep some control” - I’m not sure what this is referring to either. What defense? The wall? Amity? Mantle? “To keep control”? That’s another incredibly simplified and subjective view of events. I’ve already done enough work on this blog to explain why, based on the group’s current knowledge, Ironwood’s plan is horrifying but also the best they’ve currently got. It’s not a grab at power, no matter how easy it is to paint it as that and move along. The morality of these actions is absolutely in question, but the motivation is not. We’ve seen no evidence - and a great deal of evidence against it - that Ironwood is simply out to maintain power.

Nothing here proves that Ironwood would be willing to shoot an allied kid. “Ironwood did controversial things in the name of protecting others” does not equal “Ironwood is willing to murder an ally.” Rather, these things contradict because we’ve spent six volumes with Ironwood pushing every limit possible to help others, not attack them. Lists like these likewise ignore everything that Ironwood did which doesn’t support shooting Oscar: every conversation he’s ever had where he didn’t attack someone for disagreeing with him, every action he’s taken being in the service of helping others (even if there’s disagreement about how to best go about that), him flipping his gun around when Qrow (presumably) attacked him, reassuring the Vytal students that there’s no shame in running from the fight, confiding in Glynda, standing up for Weiss, sending Yang her arm, being overjoyed to (he thinks) see Ozpin again, willingly training Oscar, choosing to trust RWBYJNR with both his plan and the relic, listening to them later about Robyn and telling the council about Salem, destroying his arm to protect the people, choosing arrest rather than, I don’t know, just trying to straight up kill Team RWBY for daring to say no to him. Because isn’t that the Ironwood you’ve described above? Someone who won’t hesitate to do anything to get what he wants, even murder? It’s a compelling character, but I don’t think we’ve seen that character anywhere prior to Volume 7′s finale. That character is the opposite of who we had before. When things get tough, stressful, and traumatic the show has said, time and time again, that this is how Ironwood treats his allies

So it’s a bit jarring to suddenly go, “Never mind. He shoots them now.”

#rwby #rwde #mymetas #Anonymous

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nclkafilms · 3 years

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My 2021 Oscar Predictions

It seems like it was a decade ago, that I cheered for and celebrated a historic night for Parasite as Bong Joon-Ho first surprised by taking home the Best Directing Oscar ahead of Sam Mendes only for the film itself to surprise even further by taking home the biggest of them all. What a film, what a night! And what a year it has been since then; the film industry - as anything else in our lives - has been turned on its head by the global pandemic that continues to redefine our reality. Many big films and award contenders have been postponed. But where one could have feared that this would have given us a lacklustre group of nominees, this is in no way the case. Instead the lack of the big budget films has granted space for smaller, indie films treating us to interesting visions, stellar performances and new cinematic experiences. The biggest loss of course being the lack of cinema experiences; out of all the 56 nominees I have shockingly and sadly only seen 2 in the cinema: Tenet and Mank. I did, however, manage to see ALL nominated films before the show for the first time ever.

So who will win? Here are my predictions: (In paranthesis are my personal ratings of the films from 1-5)

Best Picture

The Father (4,5)

Judas and the Black Messiah (4,5)

Mank (3,5)

Minari (4,5)

Nomadland (5,0)

Promising Young Woman (5,0)

Sound of Metal (4,5)

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (4,0)

The biggest of them all seems likely to be one of the most predictable of them all. Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, which triumphantly transcends the boundaries between documentary and fiction, has taken home close to every major award possible. The story of Fran, who’s lost everything and embarks on a spiritual journey through the America of the modern day nomads, is an awe-inspiring achievement and will be a deserved winner. The only films that might have a slight chance of causing upset seems to be my personal favourite, Promising Young Woman, the wonderful Minari, that could continue the Korean triumph of last year, and Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-bait ensemble hit, The Trial of the Chicago 7, which could end up as the Green Book of this year. It is amazing to see films such as The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah and Sound of Metal be acknowledged with this particular nomination, but I don’t see them winning. Mank seems like an easy film to like, but a hard film to love and as such, I don’t see it winning - especially taking the preferential ballot system into consideration. I would have loved to see Soul continue the tradition of nominating animated features for its beautiful take on life.

Who will win: Nomadland

Potential spoiler: The Trial of the Chicago 7

Personal favourite: Promising Young Woman

Should have been there: Soul

Actor in a Leading Role

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal (4,5)

Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (3,5)

Anthony Hopkins, The Father (4,5)

Gary Oldman, Mank (3,5)

Steven Yeun, Minari (4,5)

Chadwick Boseman is the only actor here, whose film is not nominated in the Best Picture race, but yet, he is the one on everyone’s lips before the big night. Sadly, this - of course - is partly due to his tragic and way to early death. The entire narrative surrounding his death and the fact that only he knew about the illness, while filming Ma Rainey, adds a truly tragic nuance to his powerhouse performance. To me, he does, however, balance on the edge of being too theatrical (goes for everything concerning that film) and it is mostly in his more subtle scenes that he surprised and impressed me the most. The performance of the year is undoubtedly Anthony Hopkins in The Father in my opinion; he manages to capture all the little nuances, confusions and frustrations of growing dementia. A truly ruthless performance! I also have tons of gratitude for Ahmed’s deeply moving and involving work in Sound of Metal, and Steven Yeun’s subtle performance in Minari. Gary Oldman is good as always in Mank, but yet, I see him as the one who could have been snubbed. I would have liked to see the likes of Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods) or Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) here.

Who will win: Chadwick Boseman

Potential spoiler: Anthony Hopkins

Personal favourite: Anthony Hopkins

Should have been there: Delroy Lindo/Mads Mikkelsen

Actor in a Supporting Role

Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (4,0)

Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah (4,5)

Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami… (4,0)

Paul Raci, Sound of Metal (4,5)

Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah (4,5)

This one is Daniel Kaluuya’s to lose. And he will not be doing that. While you can argue that he might close to a leading role in Judas, but that does not take anything from his truly stunning performance. Such an interesting actor creating such an interesting character! His closest competitors seem to be Cohen for a role that hopefully can open up more dramatic chances for him and Paul Raci, who creates an endearing character in Sound of Metal. Oh, I would also love for him to win! Leslie Odom Jr. will probably have more open doors in Hollywood after his deserved nomination and Lakeith Stanfield will be asking himself how come he ends up as a supporting role for a film in which he was clearly the leading force of the story. His performance, however, is brilliant and impressed me further upon a recent rewatch of Judas. Could have been great to see Bo Burnham here for Promising Young Woman, but honestly I do not see who he should have replaced apart from Stanfield, who - as said - belongs in another category.

Who will win: Daniel Kaluuya

Potential spoiler: Sacha Baron Cohen

Personal Favourite: Daniel Kaluuya / Paul Raci

Could have been there: Bo Burnham

Actress in a Leading Role

Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (3,5)

Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2,0)

Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman (3,5)

Frances McDormand, Nomadland (5,0)

Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman (5,0)

Perhaps the most unpredictable race of the evening! Everyone except Kirby has taken home a major award in the run-in to the Oscars. For that reason, I am having a hard time seeing Kirby take home the win for her otherwise stunning and powerful turn in mediocre Pieces of a Woman. Andra Day took home the Golden Globe, but I think the questionable quality (nicely put) of the film will make it hard for her to repeat that victory here. McDormand is beautifully subtle in Nomadland and could easily deserve the award, but the narrative is against her as she has already won two Oscars and took one just a couple of years ago. With this in mind, I think this is between Davis and Mulligan. Davis’ performance - not unlike Boseman’s in the same film - is close to being overdone, although it is a truly transformative performance. I will, however, say it should have been nominated as a supporting role. She took home the SAG and has a strong narrative for a win. Mulligan, in Promising Young Woman, is the best performance in my opinion and a minor favourite to win; she surprises with something completely new and risk-taking while still delivering the quality and nuance we have come to expect from her. A cheeky bid for who I would have liked to see, would be Jasna Duricic of Quo Vadis, Aida?, who I think carried that film on her shoulders with an intense performance.

Who will win: Carey Mulligan

Potential spoiler: Viola Davis

Personal favourite: Carey Mulligan

Could have been there: Jasna Duricic

Actress in a Supporting Role

Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (3,5)

Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy (1,5)

Oliva Colman, The Father (4,5)

Amanda Seyfried, Mank (3,5)

Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari (4,5)

For a long time, Seyfried seemed like the one to beat here with a lot of buzz before Mank was released. While her performance is delightful, her role is, however, extremely limited and I actually ended up being surprised she was even there on nomination morning. Colman and Close famously battled for the leading actress award two years ago with Colman surprisingly (yet, deservedly) taking home the award. That left Close Oscar-less still, but while the narrative might be with her, it would be a shame to give her the award for this performance in this film. Bakalova is the surprise: raunchy and ruthless, she is not only the rare comedic nomination, but also one of the most daring performances of the year. I would love for her to win, and should she win it will not just be because of THAT hotel room scene. Her turn in Borat is surprisingly funny and layered. I do - however - think that everyone has been as charmed by Youn as I have been. Her grandmother in Minari is the heart of the film and she creates one of the most memorable on-screen grandmothers in recent time. I would have loved to see Dominique Fishback from Judas, although her role was also quite small.

Who will win: Yuh-Jung Youn

Potential spoiler: Maria Bakalova / Glenn Close

Personal favourite: Yuh-Jung Youn

Should have been there: Dominique Fishback

Animated Feature Film

Onward (3,5)

Over the Moon (3,0)

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (3,5)

Soul (4,5)

Wolfwalkers (4,0)

Soul is winning this one with no real competitor. It is an amazing film by Pixar - both storywise, philosophically and in particular technically. But it is also daring as it is close to being there first truly film MAINLY for adults. Pixar competes against themselves, as Onward is also here. Netflix joins the animation race with the charming Over the Moon, while Aardman Studios are here with Farmageddon, which is a simply delightful children’s film. Wolfwalkers is perhaps the most interesting when it comes to animation style as the handdrawn animation follows the emotions of the characters.

Who will win: Soul

Potential spoiler: Wolfwalkers

Personal favourite: Soul

Cinematography

Sean Bobbitt, Judas and the Black Messiah (4,5)

Erik Messerschmidt, Mank (3,5)

Dariusz Wolski, News of the World (3,0)

Joshua James Richards, Nomadland (5,0)

Phedon Papamichael, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (4,0)

I was happy to see Judas being recognised here, but it hardly stands a chance, despite its great work with depth. The same can be said about Papamichael, whose nomination I honestly do not understand, and Wolski, who produces some stunning vistas in the otherwise disappointing News of the World. Messerschmidt’s black and white work on Mank is a joy to behold, and while the Academy typically love black and white cinematography, I only see it as a potential spoiler. Joshua James Richards manages the otherwise small Nomadland into a grand and stunning film with some of the most beautiful images that I cannot wait to enjoy in a cinema. I would have loved to see Hoyte van Hoytema be nominated for his work on the otherwise faulty Tenet.

Who will win: Nomadland

Potential spoiler: Mank

Personal favourite: Nomadland

Should have been there: Tenet

Costume Design

Emma (3,0)

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (3,5)

Mank (3,5)

Mulan (3,0)

Pinocchio (1,5)

This is Ma Rainey’s to lose with all of its broadway costumes. Personally I rate the costumes in both Pinocchio higher and I would have liked to see Promising Young Woman nominated, although I know how rarely contemporary nominees are in this category.

Who will win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Potential spoiler: Mank

Personal favourite: Pinocchio

Could have been there: Promising Young Woman

Directing

Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round (5,0)

David Fincher, Mank (3,5)

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari (4,5)

Chloé Zhao, Nomadland (5,0)

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman (5,0)

It is a historic year for this category; the first time that two female directors are nominated in the same year. Chloé Zhao will also find her way into the history books as the only second female winner of the category for her work with Nomadland; a film which would never have existed without her. Fennell and Chung are her closest competitors, but despite their deeply personal and commited work they do not stand a chance. Mank is as Fincher as it gets, but the films is just not very good in the end. Finally, as a Dane, I am of course ecstatic to see Vinterberg here for his masterful work on Another Round. I would have loved to see Florian Zeller for The Father, though!

Who will win: Chloé Zhao

Potential spoiler: Lee Isaac Chung

Personal favourite: Chloé Zhao

Could have been there: Florian Zeller

Documentary (Feature)

Collective (4,5)

Crip Camp (4,0)

The Mole Agent (3,0)

My Octopus Teacher (4,0)

Time (5,0)

For a long time, Time or Collective seemed to be the ones to beat here. While Time, which I reckon to be one of the best, most impactful films of the year, remains my favourite, I think it might be too slow for some people. Collective shares the same issue as the entertaining The Mole Agent; they are in a foreign language. Thus, we end up with Crip Camp and My Octopus Teacher. The first is undoubtedly the most important of the two, but I do think that the heart-warming and surprisingly effective story of man and nature in Octopus Teacher will charm its way to a surprising Oscar! The fascinating micro-cosmos of American politics portrayed in Boys State was snubbed here!

Who will win: My Octopus Teacher

Potential spoiler: Crip Camp

Personal favourite: Time

Should have been there: Boys State

Documentary (Short Subject)

Colette (3,5)

A Concerto is a Conversation (3,5)

Do Not Split (4,5)

Hunger Ward (3,5)

A Love Song for Latasha (4,0)

Notoriously difficult to predict, this years documentary shorts are no exception. Four of them are mainly journalistic, with A Love Song for Latasha standing out with its artistic aspects. I think that will tip the votes in its favour.

Who will win: A Love Song for Latasha

Potential spoiler: A Concerto is a Conversation

Personal Favourite: Do Not Split

Film Editing

The Father (4,5)

Nomadland (5,0)

Promising Young Woman (5,0)

Sound of Metal (4,5)

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (4,0)

Traditionally the film featuring the most and the most clear cuts will take home this Oscar, making Trial the traditional favourite here. However, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen’s close collaboration with the sound designers of Sound of Metal seems to have pushed that film closer to a suprising yet deserved award. For me, however, the confusing, unstructured work of Yorgos Lamprinos in The Father is the best of the year. Mank would have liked to have this on nomination morning.

Who will win: Sound of Metal

Potential spoiler: The Trial of the Chicago 7

Personal favourite: The Father

International Feature Film

Another Round (5,0)

Better Days (3,5)

Collective (4,5)

The Man Who Sold His Skin (3,5)

Quo Vadis, Aida? (4,5)

Collective follows Honeyland’s example from last year with a double nomination for international and documentary, but it will not win despite its high quality. The Man Who Sold His Skin is an interesting and thought-provoking take on the refugee crisis and Better Days is a surprisingly effective YA adaptation with some criticism of the Chinese school system - they will be happy just be there. Quo Vadis, Aida? Is a really good film with a towering lead performance about one of the most gruesome historical events post WWII. However, and this is not just because I am Danish, Another Round will take this home. The film that grew from initially being a celebration of the Danish alcohol culture organically grew into a celebration of life in the shadows of a personal tragedy for director Vinterberg. At its heart is a beautiful performance from Mads Mikkelsen and a fascinating study of the Danish alcohol culture in the universally recognisable struggle of life. Its take on the built in paradox of our teenagers being stressed out in order to gain access to the same life that the film’s four protagonists desperately try to escape, is thought-provoking and well-portrayed.

Who will win: Another Round

Potential spoiler: Quo Vadis, Aida?

Personal favourite: Another Round

Makeup and Hairstyling

Emma (3,0)

Hillbilly Elegy (2,0)

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (3,5)

Mank (3,5)

Pinocchio (1,5)

Despite being a horrible film, the makeup and prosthetic work in Pinocchio ought to secure it an Oscar here. However, this will be given to the theatre makeup work in Ma Rainey.

Who will win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Potential spoiler: Hillbilly Elegy

Personal favourite: Pinocchio

Music (Original Score)

Da 5 Bloods (3,5)

Mank (3,5)

Minari (4,5)

News of the World (3,0)

Soul (4,5)

News of the World is a good yet classic western score, Da 5 Bloods is a nice score to listen to but does not fit in the film and Emile Mosseri’s brilliant score in Minari might be a bit too simple for some people. This means that this a battle between Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and themselves for their buzzing 40’s score in Mank and amazing collaboration with Jon Batiste in Soul. Reznor and Ross will be taking the stage along with Batiste! It is close to robbery that Ludwig Göransson is not nominated for his towering Tenet score!!

Who will win: Soul

Potential spoiler: Mank

Personal favourite: Soul

Should have been there: Tenet

Music (Original Song)

“Fight for You”, Judas and the Black Messiah (4,5)

“Hear My Voice”, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (4,0)

“Husavik”, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (3,0)

“Io Si (Seen”), The Life Ahead (3,0)

“Speak Now”, One Night in Miami… (4,0)

“Husavik” is a great song and is the only of the songs to truly play a part in the film rather than just being a credits song and I think that should always be a factor! However, this is Leslie Odom Jr.’s for the beautifully subtle “Speak Now” - he is an amazing singer! “Green” from Sound of Metal should have been here, I have to say.

Who will win: “Speak Now”

Potential spoiler: “Husavik”

Personal favourite: “Husavik”

Should have been there: “Green”

Production Design

The Father (4,5)

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (3,5)

Mank (3,5)

News of the World (3,0)

Tenet (3,0)

The wonderfully simple, yet effective production design of The Father really should be winning this. However, The Academy always love representations of Hollywood and - to be fair - the work in Mank is incredibly detailed and beautiful to look at. Honestly, I would have loved to see Emma - that film was one of the most beautiful of the year!

Who will win: Mank

Potential spoiler: The Father / Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Personal favourite: The Father

Could have been there: Emma

Short Film (Animation)

Burrow (4,0)

Genius Loci (3,0)

If Anything Happens I Love You (4,5)

Opera (5,0)

Yes-People (3,0)

Yes-People is funny but uninteresting. Genius Loci is visually fascinating but also very abstract. Burrow is classic Pixar charm. If Anything Happens I Love You is an emotional gut-punch. Opera is transcending the film media being more of an art installation rather than an actual shortfilm; it is however both visually and visionary in a league of its own. So obviously, it will not win. Disappointing not to see Out here!

Who will win: If Anything Happens I Love You

Potential spoiler: Burrow

Personal favourite: Opera

Should have been there: Out

Short Film (Live Action)

Feeling Through (4,0)

The Letter Room (3,5)

The Present (4,0)

Two Distant Strangers (2,0)

White Eye (3,0)

Two Distant Strangers seems like a late frontrunner here, and while it is impossible to disasgree with the importance of the film’s topic, I simply did not like the film. I found it both exploitative and overly symbolic leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth; difficult opinions to have regarding a film about such an important topic. None of the other four truly stand out, but I would love to see the inclusive and touching Feeling Through receive the Oscar.

Who will win: Two Distant Strangers

Potential spoiler: The Letter Room

Personal favourite: Feeling Through

Sound

Greyhound (2,0)

Mank (3,5)

News of the World (3,0)

Soul (4,5)

Sound of Metal (4,5)

Rarely has a film been so defined by its sound as Sound of Metal. It is not only groundbreaking but also deeply fascinating, impressive and involving; a main factor in the film’s success. It is difficult to predict as this is the first year the two awards (Editing/Mixing) have been combined. Greyhound might have been able to grab an editing award had they been separated still…

Who will win: Sound of Metal

Potential spoiler: Soul

Personal favourite: Sound of Metal

Visual Effects

Love and Monsters (3,0)

The Midnight Sky (2,5)

Mulan (3,0)

The One and Only Ivan (3,0)

Tenet (3,0)

A category that would probably have been dominated by films such as Godzilla vs. Kong, Dune and Black Widow in a normal 2020, has now granted space for the charming animals of The One and Only Ivan and the surprisingly entertaining and heartfelt Love and Monsters. It does, however, seem like an obvious opportunity to give the supposed “saviour of cinema” Tenet one award.

Who will win: Tenet

Potential spoiler: The Midnight Sky

Personal favourite: Tenet

Should have been there: Soul

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (3,5)

The Father (4,5)

Nomadland (5,0)

One Night in Miami… (4,0)

The White Tiger (3,0)

The White Tiger is the odd one out here with its overly told and clumsy voice-over, whereas Borat is another example of the weird definition. While the main character is not new, the film is obviously an original story. One Night in Miami… is a much better adaption than Ma Rainey, but The Father is even more successful in its journey from stage to silver screen. Zeller’s screenplay is masterful and daring in its ruthless depiction of dementia. However, it faces stern competition from Chloé Zhao who might add her first of many Oscars of the evening with this award for a rare adaptation of a non-fiction work into a fictional story.

Who will win: The Father

Potential spoiler: Nomadland

Personal favourite: The Father

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Judas and the Black Messiah (4,5)

Minari (4,5)

Promising Young Woman (5,0)

Sound of Metal (4,5)

The Trial of Chicago 7 (4,0)

I was immensely happy to see Judas and Sound of Metal here as they told well-structured and well-paced stories, while this was the biggest nail in the coffin for Mank as David Fincher’s father missed out on a nomination for the film about one of history’s best screenplays. The battle is seems to be between the king of screenplays Aaron Sorkin and a certain promising young woman, Emerald Fennell, who has written the best screenplay of the year in my opinion. Look out for Lee Isaac Chung as he will be ready to pounce with his deeply personal screenplay for Minari, should the battle between Fennell and Sorkin fall flat. The extremely charming and funny Palm Springs should have been here!

Who will win: Promising Young Woman

Potential spoiler: The Trial of the Chicago 7

Personal favourite: Promising Young Woman

Should have been there: Palm Springs

I wish everyone the best of Oscar nights! May the best films win!

#Oscars #Oscars 2021 #Oscars Warm Up #My Oscar Predictions #Oscar Predictions #Academy Awards #Academy Awards Predictions #Nomadland #The Father #The Trial of The Chicago 7 #Sound of Metal #Judas and the Black Messiah #Minari #Mank #Promising Young Woman

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claudia1829things · 3 years

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“LITTLE WOMEN” (2019) Review

"LITTLE WOMEN" (2019) Review Ever since its release in movie theaters back December 2019, many moviegoers have been in rapture over "LITTLE WOMEN", filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel. The movie did acquire several acclaims, including Oscar nominations for two of the film’s actresses, Best Adapted Screenplay and an actual Oscar for costume design. I never got the chance to see it in theaters. I finally managed to see it on the HULU streaming service.

Anyone familiar with Alcott’s novel knows that it conveyed the tale of four sisters from a Massachusetts family and their development from adolescence and childhood to adulthood during the 1860s. The first half of Alcott’s tale covered the March sisters’ experiences during the U.S. Civil War. In fact, Alcott had based the March family on herself and her three sisters. Unlike previous adaptations, Gerwig incorporated a nonlinear timeline for this version of "LITTLE WOMEN". There were aspects of "LITTLE WOMEN" I truly admired. I did enjoy most of the performances. Or some of them. I thought Saoirse Ronan gave an excellent performance as the movie’s leading character Josephine "Jo" March. I thought she did a pretty good job of recapturing Jo’s extroverted personality and artistic ambitions. I do wish that Gerwig had allowed Jo to convey some of the less pleasant sides to her personality. Do I believe she deserved her Oscar nomination? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Although I thought she gave an excellent performance, I do not know if I would have considered her for an acting nomination. But I was more than impressed by Eliza Scanlen, who portrayed third sister Elizabeth "Beth" March. Although her story more or less played out in a series of vignettes that switched back and forth between the period in which she first caught the scarlet fever and her death a few years later; Scanlen did a superb job in recapturing the pathos and barely submerged emotions of Beth’s fate. It seemed a pity that she had failed to acquire any acting nominations. One last performance that really impressed me came from Meryl Streep. I have always regarded the temperamental Aunt March as a difficult role for any actress. And although I do not regard Streep’s interpretation of the aging matriarch as the best I have seen, I must admit that for me, she gave one of the best performances in the film. The movie also featured solid performances from the likes of Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Chris Cooper, Tracy Letts, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Bob Odenkirk and Florence Pugh, who also received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the youngest March sister, Amy. About the latter . . . I really admired her portrayal of the older Amy March. But I found her performance as the younger Amy rather exaggerated. And a part of me cannot help but wonder why she had received an Oscar nomination in the first place. Jacqueline Durran won the film's only Academy Award – namely for Best Costume Design. Did she deserve it? I honestly do not believe she did. I did enjoy some of her designs, especially for the older Amy March, as shown below:

I found the costumes worn by Pugh, Streep and many extras in the Paris sequences very attractive and an elegant expression of fashion from the late 1860s. Otherwise, I found Durran’s costumes for this film rather questionable. I realize both she and Gerwig were attempting to portray the March family as some kind of 19th century version of "hippies". But even non-traditional types like the Marches would not wear their clothing in such a slap-dash manner with petticoat hems hanging below the skirts, along with bloomers showing, cuts and styles in clothing that almost seemed anachronistic, and wearing no corsets. The latter would be the equivalent of not wearing bras underneath one’s clothing in the 20th and 21st centuries. Someone had pointed out that many of today’s costume designers try to put a "modern twist" to their work in period dramas in order to appeal to modern moviegoers and television viewers. I really wish they would not. The attempt tends to come off as lazy costuming in my eyes. And this tactic usually draws a good deal of criticism from fans of period dramas. So . . . how on earth did Durran win an Oscar for her work in the first place? I understand that "LITTLE WOMEN" was filmed in various locations around Massachusetts, including Boston and Cambridge. A part of me felt a sense of satisfaction by this news, considering the story’s setting of Concord, Massachusetts. I was surprised to learn that even the Paris sequences were filmed in Ipswich, Massachusetts. However, I must admit that I was not particularly blown away by Yorick Le Saux's cinematography. Then again, I can say that for just about every adaptation of Alcott’s novel I have ever seen. There were scenes from "LITTLE WOMEN" that I found memorable. Those include Jo March’s initial meeting with her publisher Mr. Dashwood; Amy March’s conflict with Theodore "Laurie" Laurence over his behavior in Paris; Jo’s rejection of Laurie’s marriage proposal, and especially the montage featuring Beth March’s bout with scarlet fever and its consequences. However . . . I had some problems with Gerwig’s screenplay. As I have stated earlier, "LITTLE WOMEN" is not the first movie I have seen that utilized the non-linear plot technique. I have seen at least two adaptations of Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel, "Jane Eyre". Two more famous examples of this plot device were the 1995 film, "12 MONKEYS" and two of Christopher Nolan’s movies – 2000’s "MEMENTO" and 2017’s "DUNKIRK". How can I put this? I feel that Greta Gerwig’s use of non-linear writing had failed the film’s narrative. It simply did not work for me. Except for the brilliant montage featuring Beth’s fate, it seemed as if Gerwig’s writing had scattered all over the place without any real semblance of following Alcott’s plot. If I had not been already familiar with Alcott’s story, I would have found “LITTLE WOMEN” totally confusing. I also feel that because of Gerwig’s use of the non-linear technique, she managed to inflict a little damage on Alcott’s plot. Despite the excellent scene featuring Laurie’s marriage proposal, I felt that Gerwig had robbed the development of his relationship with Jo. I also believe that Gerwig had diminished Jo’s relationship with Professor Bhaer. In the film, Bhaer had expressed harsh criticism of Jo’s earlier writing . . . without explaining his opinion. But he never added that Jo had the potential to write better stories than her usual melodrama crap. Why did Gerwig deleted this aspect of Professor Bhaer’s criticism? In order to make him look bad? To set up the idea of Jo ending the story as a single woman, because that was Alcott’s original intent? Did Gerwig consider the original version of this scene a detriment to feminist empowerment? I am also confused as to why Gerwig allowed the March family to push her into considering Professor Bhaer as a potential mate for Jo? This never happened in the novel. Jo had come to her decision to marry the professor on her own prerogative. She did not have to be pushed into this decision. Come to think of it, how exactly did Jo’s fate end in the movie? I am confused. Did she marry Bhaer after rushing to the train station in order to stop him from leaving for California? Or did she remain single? Whatever. And why on earth did she position Amy and Laurie’s first meeting after the former’s hand had been caned by her school teacher? Gerwig had transformed an incident that had taught Amy a lesson about self-respect and generated the Marches’ righteous anger against a schoolteacher’s abuse to one of comic relief and a cute rom.com meet for Amy and Laurie. What the hell? Someone had once complained that Gerwig may have assumed that everyone was familiar with Alcott’s story when she wrote this screenplay. And I agree with that person. Earlier I had questioned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ decision to award the Best Costume Design statuette to Jacqueline Durran and nominate Florence Pugh for Best Supporting Actress. But I also have to question the organization’s decision to nominate Gerwig’s writing for Best Adapted Screenplay. I honestly believe she did not deserve it. There were aspects of "LITTLE WOMEN" that I found admirable. I was certainly impressed by some of the film’s dramatic moments. And there were a handful of performances from the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen and Meryl Streep that truly impressed me. But I cannot deny that the other members of the cast gave either first-rate or solid performances. In the end, I did not like the movie. I believe "LITTLE WOMEN" should have never been nominated for Best Picture. Greta Gerwig’s use of the nonlinear technique did not serve Louisa May Alcott’s plot very well. If I had not been familiar with the novel’s plot, I would have found this movie confusing. Aside from Ronan’s Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, I feel that the other nominations and Best Costume Design win were undeserved. And a part of me feels a sense of relief that Gerwig had never received a nomination for Best Director.

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ryanmeft · 4 years

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Ryan’s Favorite Films of 2019

A stuttering detective,

A top hat-wearing vamp

A forced-perspective war,

A bit of Blaxploitation camp

Prisoners on a space ship

Having sex with bears

A writer goes remembering

Whenever his pain flares

A prancing, dancing Hitler

A gambler high on strife

Here will go cavorting with

A mom who becomes a wife

A family plot with many threads

Three men against their own

A stuntman and his actor

A mobster now quite alone

Doubles under the earth

Two men in a tall house

Are here to watch a woman who

Is battling with her spouse

A family’s plans for their strong son

Go awry one night

A man rejects his country

Which is spoiling for a fight

A house built by his grandpa

(Maybe; we’re not sure)

Looks out upon three prisoners

Whose passions are a lure

All these are on my list this year

It’s longer than before

Because picking only ten this time

Was too great of a chore

What are limits anyway?

They’re just things we invented

I don’t really find them useful

So, this year, I’ve dissented

You may have noticed this time out

That numbers, I did grant

Promise they’ll stay in this order, though?

Now that, I just can’t

I’m always changing my mind

Because, after all, you see

Good film is about the heart

And mine’s rather finicky

There are a lot more I could name

(And I’ll change my mind at any time)

For now, though, consider these

The ones I found sublime

20. Motherless Brooklyn

I’ve got a (hard-boiled) soft spot for 90’s neo-noirs like L.A. Confidential, Red Rock West and Seven, and Edward Norton’s ‘50’s take on Jonathan Lethem’s 90’s -set novel can stand firmly in that company.

19. Doctor Sleep

There’s something about Stephen King’s best writing that transcends mere popularity; his work may not be fine literature, but it is immune to the fads of the moment. So, too, are the best movies based on that work. This one, an engaging adventure-horror, deserved better than it got from audiences.

18. Jojo Rabbit

There was a time when the anything-goes satire of Mel Brooks could produce a major box office hit. Disney’s prudish refusal to market the film coupled with the dominance of franchises means that’s no longer the case. If you bothered to give Jojo a shot, though, you got the strange-but-rewarding experience of guffawing one moment and being horrified the next.

17. By The Grace of God

I’d venture this is the least-seen film on my list; even among us brie-eating, wine-sniffing art house snobs, I rarely hear it mentioned. Focusing on the perspectives of three men dealing with a particularly heinous and unrepentant abusive priest and the hierarchy that protects him, it’s every bit as disquieting and infuriating as 2015’s Oscar-winning Spotlight.

16. Waves

You think Trey Edward Shultz’s Waves will be one thing---a domestic drama about an affluent African-American family (and that in and of itself is a rarity). Then it becomes something else entirely. It addresses something movies often avoid: that as life goes on, the person telling the story will always change.

15. Transit

You’re better off not questioning exactly where and when the film is set (it is based on a book about Nazi Germany but has been changed to be a more generalized Fascist state). The central theme here is identity, as three people change theirs back and forth based on need and desire.

14. American Woman

Movies about regular, working class, small-town American usually focus on men. This one is about a much-too-young mother and grandmother, played brilliantly by Sierra Miller, dealing with unexpected loss and the attendant responsibilities she isn’t ready for.

13. Marriage Story

There is an argument between a married couple in here that is as true a human moment as ever was on screen---free of trumped-up screenplay drama and accurate to how angry people really argue. The entire movie strives to be about the kind of realistic divorce you don’t see on-screen. It is oddly refreshing.

12. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to 70’s Tinseltown is essentially a question: What if the murder that changed the industry forever had gone down differently? Along the way, it also manages to be a clever and insightful study of fame and fulfillment, or lack thereof.

11. High Life

Claire Denis is damned determined not to be boring. Your reaction to her latest film will probably depend on how receptive you are to that as the driving force of a film. Myself, I’m very receptive. I want to see the personal struggles of convicts unwittingly shipped into space, told without Action-Adventure tropes, in a movie that sometimes misfires but is never dull.

10. Dolemite Is My Name

And fuckin’ up motherfuckers is my game! Look, if you don’t like naughty words, you probably shouldn’t be reading my columns---and you definitely shouldn’t be watching this movie. Eddie Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, the ambitious, irrepressible and endlessly optimistic creator of Blaxpoitation character Dolemite. Have you seen the 1975 film? It’s either terrible and wonderful, or wonderful and terrible, and the jury’s still out. Either way, Moore in the film is a self-made comic who establishes himself by talking in a unique rhyming style that speaks to black Americans at a time when black pop culture (and not just the white rendition of it) was finally beginning to pierce the American consciousness. What The Disaster Artist did for The Room, this movie does for Dolemite---with the difference being I felt like I learned something I didn’t know here.

9. 1917

Breathless, nerve-wracking and somehow intensely personal even though it almost never takes time to slow down, it is fair to call Sam Mendes’s film a thrill ride---but it’s one that enlightens us on a fading historical time, rather than simply being empty calories. Filmed in such a way as to make it seem like one continuous, two-hour take, for which some critics dismissed it as a gimmick, the technique is used to lock us in with the soldiers whose mission it is to save an entire division from disaster. We are given no information or perspective that the two central soldiers---merely two, in a countless multitude---do not have, and so we are with them at every moment, deprived of the relief of omniscience. I freely admit I tend to give anything about World War I the benefit of the doubt, but there’s no doubt that the movie earns my trust.

8. Ash Is Purest White

Known by the much less cool-sounding name Sons and Daughters of Jianghu in China, here is a story that starts off ostensibly about crime---a young woman and her boyfriend are powerful in the small-potatoes mob scene of a dying industrial town---but after the surprising first act becomes a meditation on life, perseverance and exactly how much power is worth, anyway, when it is so fleeting and so easily lost. What do you do when everything that defined you is gone? You go on living. This is my first exposure to writer-director Jia Zhangke, an oversight I must strive hard to correct in future.

7. Knives Out

The whodunit is a lost art, a standard genre belonging to a time when mass audiences could appreciate a picture even if someone didn’t run, yell or explode while running and yelling every ten minutes. Rian Johnson and an all-star cast rescued it from the brink of cinematic extinction and gave it just enough of a modern injection to keep it relevant. Every second of the film is engaging; Johnson even manages to have a character whose central trait is throwing up when asked to lie, and he makes it seem sympathetic rather than juvenile. The fantastic cast of characters is backed up with all the qualities of “true” cinema: perfect camerawork, an effective score, mesmerizing production design. As someone who didn’t much care for Johnson’s Star Wars outing, I’m honestly put out this didn’t do better at the box office than it did.

6. A Hidden Life

After a few questionable efforts and completely losing the thread with the execrable vanity project Song to Song, Terence Malick returns to his bread and butter: meditative dramas on the nature of faith, family, and being on the outside looking in, which encompass a healthy dose of nature, philosophy and people talking without moving their lips. That last is a little dig, but it’s true: Malick does Malick, and if you don’t like his thing, this true story about a German dissenter in World War II will not change your mind. For me, what Malick has done is that rarest of things: he had made a movie about faith, and about a character who is faithful, without proselytizing. That the closeness and repressiveness of the Nazi regime is characterized against Malick’s typical soaring backdrops is a masterstroke, and the best-ever use of his visual style.

5. The Lighthouse

Robert Eggers is a different kind of horror filmmaker. After redefining what was possible with traditional horror monsters in The Witch, he returned with something that couldn’t be more different: an exploration of madness more in the vein of European film than American. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are two men stranded in a lighthouse together slowly losing their minds, or what is left of them. The haunting score and stark, black-and-white photography evoke a nightmare caught on tape, something we’re not supposed to be seeing. It’s not satisfying in a traditional way, but for those craving something more cerebral from horror, Eggers has it covered.

4. Us

I have become slightly notorious in my own little circle for not thinking Get Out was the greatest film ever made, and now I’ve become rather known for thinking Us just might be. Ok, so that’s definite hyperbole: “greatest” is a tall claim for almost any horror movie. Yet here Jordan Peele shows that he can command an audience’s attention even when not benefiting from a popular cultural zeitgeist in terms of subject matter. It’s a movie with no easy or clear message, one that specializes in simply unsettling us with the idea that the world is fundamentally Not Right. I firmly believe that if Peele becomes a force in the genre, 50 years from now when he and all of us are gone, his first film will be remembered as a competent start, while this will be remembered as the beginning of his greatness.

3. The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Ostensibly about urban gentrification, this story of a young black man trying to save his ancestral home from the grasping reach of white encroachment is a flower with many petals to reveal. Don’t let my political-sounding description turn you off: the movie is not a polemic in the slightest, but rather a wry, sensitive look at people, their personalities and how those personalities are intertwined with the places they call home. Though the movie is the directorial debut of Joe Talbot, it is based loosely on the memories and feelings of his friend Jimmie Falls, who also plays one of the two central characters. If you’ve ever watched a place you love fall to the ravages of time and change, this movie may strike quite a chord with you.

2. Uncut Gems

When asked why this movie is great, I usually say that it was unbelievably stressful and caused me great anxiety. This description is not usually successful in selling it. The Safdie Brothers have essentially filmed chaos: a man self-destructing in slow-motion, if you can call it slow. Howard Ratner has probably been gradually exploding all his life; he strikes you as someone who came out of the womb throwing punches. He’s an addictive gambler who loves the risk much more than the reward, and can’t gain anything good in life without risking it on a proverbial roll of the dice. His behavior is destructive. His attitude is toxic. Why do we root for him? Perhaps because, as played by Adam Sandler, he never has any doubt as to who he is---something few of us can say. He’s an asshole, but he’s a genuine asshole, and somehow that’s appealing even when you’re in his line of fire.

1. Pain and Glory

When I realized I would, for the first time, have the chance to see a Pedro Almodovar film on the screen, I was overjoyed. His movies aren’t always great, but that was of little concern: he’s one of the handful of directors on the planet who can fairly call back to the avant-garde traditions of Bergman or Truffaut, making the movies he wants to make about the things he want to make them about, and I’d never seen one of his films when it was new and fresh, only months or years later on DVD.

It seems I picked right, as his latest has been almost universally hailed as one of the best of his long career. An aging, aching filmmaker spends his days in his apartment, ignoring the fans of his original hit film and most of his own acquaintances, alive or dead---he tries hard to put his memories away. Throughout the course of the movie, he re-engages with most of them in one way or another, coming to terms with who he is and where he’s been, though not in a Hallmark-movie-of-the-week way. Antonio Banderas plays him in the role that was always denied him by his stud status in Hollywood. It isn’t simply him, though: every person we meet is engaging and, we sense, has their own story outside of how they intersect with his. Most engaging is that of his deceased mother, who in her youth was played vivaciously by a sun-toughened Penelope Cruz. Perhaps Almodovar will tell us some of their stories some day. Perhaps not. I would read an entire book of short fiction all about them. This is the year’s best film.

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megashadowdragon · 4 years

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itsclydebitches

sent by anonymous

“In his FIRST appearance he’d had ozpin removed from the tournament staff with secret meetings.” - It’s not Ironwood’s first appearance. He meets with the inner circle, has his talk with Ozpin, introduces his Atlesian knights to the public, attends the Beacon dance, discovers Ruby fighting Cinder, later compliments Ruby for her initiative in Ozpin’s office, confides in Glynda that night, and helps defend Vale against Roman’s attack. So your implication that as his “first” appearance this tells us he’s really an irredeemable person is not accurate.

Second, I’ve seen this claim a lot the last couple of months and I finally went back to find/watch the scene for myself (it’s in “Breach”). These were not secret meetings. Ironwood “reported” to the council which I assume is what he’s supposed to do. Given that he is a Headmaster. And this is the council overseeing the schools. Keeping updated is their entire deal. Were these reports fair to Ozpin? We don’t know. You might assume they’re full of lies and horrible misrepresentations, but that’s not what the text tells us. Ironwood told the council Ozpin’s plans, then the council said, ‘No way are you holding the Vytal festival with those precautions alone.’ Then the council asked Ironwood to provide troops for additional security. Did Ironwood manipulate the council and paint Ozpin as a villain to get what he wanted? Maybe. Did Ironwood objectively say precisely what’s going on - Ozpin thinks his huntsmen are enough to keep everyone safe in the event of an attack - and the council, independent of him, came to the conclusion that it wasn’t enough? Maybe. Again, we don’t know. What we do know is that Ironwood is doing all this because he honestly believes it will help others. He begs Ozpin to understand that: “This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise I will keep our people safe. You have to trust me.” And you know what? He wasn’t entirely wrong. No one could have predicted that Salem’s minions would take control of his army. Ironwood did, however, predict that there would be an attack too large for a bunch of students to handle… and he was right. Beacon fell because a those half-trained kids weren’t enough to hold off a major attack, but Ironwood did everything he could to try and prevent that. In a slightly better world where his army wasn’t unexpectedly taken advantage of, that could have easily been what turned the tide of battle and saved Beacon instead. The world where everyone views Ironwood as a hero for providing those extra forces is just a smidge away from the world where everyone views Ironwood as a villain for inadvertently providing the enemy with those extra forces… but the forces themselves are not a black and white bad thing to have. Not in a world where your festivities are interrupted by the giant bird trying to eat the audience.

“He was told many times his embargo was hurting the city” - Yes, the embargo hurts the city financially. Ironwood is attempting to keep it from being hurt in the ‘everyone is wiped out’ kind of way. Post the Fall of Beacon he’s unsure if the other Kingdoms will declare war against Atlas or not, so it’s not wise to continue giving them one of the easiest means of attack. That’s the official story, but Ironwood (and the audience) know that Salem has also been collecting dust for a while now… so how about we stop giving her any more? Was this the right move to make? Are short-term economic difficulties worth avoiding the risk of potentially supplying enemies with the means of destroying you? I can’t answer that, but it’s not a clear-cut bad decision like you’re making it out to be. Retroactively we can say that no one attacked Atlas and Salem seems to have stopped collecting dust because the writers forgot about it… but Ironwood doesn’t get to see into the future. He didn’t know things would turn out this way. Once again, he’s trying to prevent tragedies, not just survive them when they come along. The balance between short-term sacrifice and long-term protection is far from an easy thing to strike and a character’s failure to achieve perfection despite their best efforts says more about their luck than their morals. Ironwood is an incredibly flawed man, but those flaws have always shown throw via his attempts to help others.

iron-and-ice I never thought I’d see people referring to Ironwood providing comfortable protected residence to an elderly woman in possession of magical WMD powers as ‘imprisonment’. Fria, unlike other ‘good guys’, understood what her duty was. Vol 7 MVP, undisputed.

#rwby #rwby fria #rwby ironwood #james ironwood #general ironwood #ironwood rwby #itsclydebitches

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blackcatmanor · 4 years

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RWBY V7 Ch11 Photo review (spoilers)

A really great episode showing a lot of good strides made by the crew as storytellers! Pictures below

Story stuff that was good:

Fights- Both action and the fighting in Ironwood’s office was well done. So much, in fact they deserve their own mini-breakdowns:

Combat fights:

Ironwood vs Watts- I appreciated the apparent disparity between their combat styles. Ironwood was clearly a stronger, more aggressive, and overall better fighter, but Watts used his smarts and ability to manipulate the anti-gravity fields to help gain an advantage (I called that- yay!). I am really glad how this fight played out because it shows that the crew really thought about it and didn’t just make it a generic match between two opponents. The setting and dynamics of the anti-gravity field were also great and I think this will end up being one of the top fights of all time in RWBY. 10/10

I hated watching the end, though but for the right reasons: Watching Ironwood peel his skin off to get free from the shield was excruciating and awful to watch, which really matches the tone of the scene. Watts just sort of standing there flabbergasted was even kind of appropriate, because you could tell he expected to trap Ironwood and did not expect the lengths Ironwood would go to in order to free himself. Some of the dialogue was a bit hammy, such as “You don’t want even MORE parts of your body made of metal,” and Ironwoods “I will sacrifice WHATEVER IT TAKES to stop her” but it wasn’t too distracting.

Tyrian vs the Qrow, Clover, and Robyn (aka the throuple).

This fight was very well choreographed but it was overall a bit of a mixed bag, mostly good but unexpected when considering what was teased in the opening cinematic. The opening cinematic promised a lot more interaction of Qrow and Robyn, with Robyn engaging Tyrian hand-to-hand, but Robyn literally stayed on the sidelines taking pot-shots and just got the final takedown by chance. If Tyrian had just dodged that last arrow, she wouldn’t have had the takedown and cool one-liner moment at all. Clover similarly was somewhat sidelined but he definitely had way more involvement in the fight than Robyn.

However, despite my criticism that Robyn and Clover were somewhat sidelined, I actually liked how Qrow was the main force behind the fight, because it gave him a chance to get revenge for his poisoning in Vol. 4, and he landed a lot of really good punches and kicks. It’s a nice callback even though the fight was slightly muddled by the different tone previewed by the opening cinematic, which promised a lot more cooperation rather than a Qrow vs Tyrian re-match.

Fights (verbal)

The fight in Ironwood’s office was great. Some of the dialogue was a bit wonky at times but overall it had the perfect impact: I felt re-invigorated in rooting for our girls and I wanted to punch the Ace Ops in the face! The clash of ideals was awesome and shows a great juxtaposition between our idealistic huntresses who never back down from a fight even if they may not win and the Military/Strategic and Tactical style from Atlas, with Huntsmen and Huntresses willing to sacrifice lives for a greater victory (losing the battle to win the war).

I think they did a good job of showing subtle differences in Ace Ops, as Vine and Harriet seem more in-line with Ironwood, Marrow seemed super conflicted (bordering on miserable), and Elm was somewhat in the middle. However, as they are the military, all of them fell in line at the end, showing a possible struggle between RWBY and the Ace Ops.

The conflict between ideologies carried into the Throuple as well, and it was a great show vs tell moment where Qrow and Robyn are allied in the idealistic paradigm, with Clover literally on the opposite side.

Basically:

Ruby is Captain America, Yang is the Hulk, Weiss is Ironman, Blake is Spiderman.

Cliffhangers

The cliffhanger in this volume is much more natural than volumes 5 and 6. In the previous two volumes, the last few episodes simply chopped up existing fights and stretched them out, pausing the combat to just resume a week later. This episodes’ cliffhanger was spectacularly done. The two main combat fights of the chapter are finished, but there is still plenty of conflict set up for later, and the ideological battles seem like they will escalate naturally in the next part. I expect the next part to have a Cinder vs Winter fight, and Neo vs Oscar/his team, but I am honestly more excited to see how the ideological conflicts escalate, with RWBY/Qrow/Robyn conflicting with the Ace Ops.

Interestingly, this style of cliffhanger also fits well with the Military style of combat, which ties into Atlas as our setting: The battles of this chapter are over and won, but it’s clear a greater war is still raging, and the next batch of battles are just around the corner.

Story stuff that was bad not as well-executed:

Overall I have a few minor complaints- one larger than the other

Oscar’s shopping spree: Oscar has a serious addiction to take out that many robots just to disappear and go shopping again. In all seriousness though, it would have been nice to see Oscar fooled and taken, since it was teased that Neo would use her semblance to disguise as Ruby to get to him. We already knew explicitly that Neo was going after him, so the “reveal” of him being gone at the end wasn’t a reason to skip the cool part of Neo tricking him and overwhelming all the robot guards. The amount of stuff that happens with Oscar off-screen is maddening.

Ironwood’s plan has a pretty big hole in it: This one is my larger complaint. Ironwood wants to take Atlas into the sky, but everyone knows Cinder is there on campus, and Ironwood even explicitly says “For all we know Hazel’s here too.” So, why would you try to get yourself high away from Salem’s forces when possibly two of the strongest foes are hanging out right there? (ok from what we’ve seen Cinder is not the strongest, but in-canon with the Maiden powers she is supposed to be one of the strongest).

I suppose Ironwood wants to get them high enough before reinforcements can arrive, because it’s better to deal with a few saboteurs in your city than wait for Salem to show up, but the fact that they don’t address this is kind of odd. You have an unknown number of people who are actively trying to interfere with your plans and you know they are in your school- so how are you going to mitigate that threat?

Character stuff that was good

Ironwood- This volume has done a much better job of establishing a morally gray character, whereas the Writers totally face-planted with Ozpin in the past. You feel for Ironwood because he has good intentions, but he has been driven nearly-mad with PTSD, which has given him a hair-trigger and causes him to make irrational and objectively bad decisions. I think the story can go further with his character, with his development arc being his struggle to reign-in his fear and paranoia and redeem himself. Ironwood’s V/A is also one of the strongest, so I think he can handle the possible complexity of the character’s arc going forward.

Ruby- Ruby was really good this episode. The episode had her trying to be a confident leader by telling Salem she will fail, but her speech wasn’t cheesy or ham-fisted. It was also great to see her confidence immediately crumble seconds later with the reveal that Salem was behind Summer’s death. Ruby’s anguish was a highlight of the episode, as it was well animated and pretty well acted (the animation carried most of the weight. Lindsay’s performance was pretty good, but I think it was hard for her to play Ruby’s kid-like voice in anguish. This is another reason why I hope the Ruby kid-voice thing becomes less prevalent in the future).

I was also super stoked on getting a better idea of what happened to Summer. This scene was great and I hope it will have a huge impact on Ruby going forward as she learns to cope with this information and overcome her grief.

Character stuff that was bad:

Watts, we hardly knew ye- RIP To Watts. It was nice to hear Watt’s somewhat deranged motivations, but I’m bummed he’s gone. I think he was an interesting character and it would have been great to delve into his madness more- maybe a conversation with Pietro once they knew Watts was still alive. Pietro could have been a great vessel to explain Watts’ past to the group, and establish his villainy even more. Overall, it’s unfortunate the interesting villains keep getting killed off or sidelined (Hazel where art thou?). That being said I don’t think Tyrian is done yet. I think that Salem coming means she will spring Tyrian out of custody once again, as a poetic reference to his backstory we got earlier in the chapter.

Overall 9/10. The episode was really good with a few minor issues. The fights between people are becoming a lot more thoughtful again, with efforts to showcase individual strengths and weaknesses. Ironwood’s extreme measures are a good way to paint someone with good intentions making the worst decisions, something they failed to do in the past. The cliffhangers are much more thought-out and organic rather than just slicing big fights into chunks.

Is her model’s giant head pasted onto a smoke body? >,< I kind of lol’d when Salem first appeared because of her floaty head but it becomes less distracting as her dialogue goes on.

#rwby spoilers #rwby vol7 #ruby rose #james ironwood #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #oscar pine #rwby salem #arthur watts #tyrian callows #clover ebi #ace ops #this episode was great #rwby #marrow amin #harriet bree

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paulieshore · 4 years

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The Dynamic Duo

Thank you @anxiousdork for the ask/idea, thoughts keep flowing with this so I think I’m going to turn this into a five-part mini story of mystery-drama/fierce friendship/growing romance/bromance.

Warnings: none

Word count: 1593

Characters: Mc, Minor, Victor, Gavin, mention of Kiki

Brief summary: Mc is presented with an opportunity by Victor to collaborate with a well-known production company from America (Barner Wors), thinking this to be a perfect opening to show just how well she can do; she immediately takes on the job with a small hand selected group from her team. However, it seems someone is sabotaging this joint production costing a bit of money in setbacks. Without knowing who, and why, fingers and accusations start flying back and forth. Victor is then involved when production comes to a halt, considering the reputation in America, Victor seems persuaded that the fault falls to you and your team. With no evidence to claim your innocence, you find yourself in an embarrassing confrontation with your biggest investor and boss. Minor steps in to support you, and then Gavin? Not knowing how Gavin knew the situation exactly, but touched none the less when he too joined in with Minor to defend your honour as a producer against the ruthless/annoyed Victor and solve this conundrum. You bear witness to a growing bromance between hero and sidekick, Gavin and Minor. They set forth to unravel if there is more too these unfortunate events as of late, you cooperate with Gavin and allow him to really use his power of authority in and around the studio. Seeing Gavin in yet another new way you find your heart beating more and more by the mere sight of him. Minor becoming possibly more of an opponent then a friend for Gavin’s affection, only later to find out Minor’s sort of digging you!

Part One: Incompetent

You just couldn’t quite wrap your head around the situation, none of it made sense, and even worse the most rational of people you thought for sure could help, didn’t! Victor only seemed to have looked down on you even further, “Are you so incompetent? Can you not hold down your team and manage them as a boss should do?” You honestly didn’t know how to respond, Victor seemed so sure this was all your fault.

A fort night ago he came to you and gave you an opportunity to work with Barner Wors, they were shooting some episodes in Loveland for their newly hyped tv show. Being able to collaborate with such a famous company was beyond a dream come true. Victor may be a stern boss but occasionally gave you way to really show your potential.

The first couple of days of shooting were fine, you made introductions with all crew and actors and got things started off right. After the dust had settled, things started to go downhill after a camera ‘malfunctioned’ on set during an outside shooting. The following days, numerous of insignificant things started happening, such as props you’d provided being faulty and nearly hurting the actors. The chosen areas around Loveland for shooting becoming too wet or vandalized when coming into work, you made the decision to film what scenes you could in studio thinking weather/bratty kids had a part to play. Minor and Kiki were being suspicious during one lunch break, they couldn’t help but feel as though someone was sabotaging this collaboration. Things that only staff/crew knew were leaked to the public causing a complication. On top of that gossip about Barner Wors, some of the actors and your own team seemed to be going around. You dismissed their outward thoughts and did your best to keep everyone on track and away from criticism, sometimes bad things just happen.

One late afternoon, tension seemed to have reached its peak. Minor appeared to have had enough with the supporting actress in the scene, she was messing up her lines and making subtle hints about how ‘your team’ was to blame for all the unwanted stress and misfortune. The supporting actress was the renowned Nicole Kissman, famous for her dominating Oscar winning roles in huge box offices. She was also known for her diva like attitude off screen, with a quick revise of lines before the dramatic scene, Minor encourage her to ‘break a leg’. Well, as Nicole laid on the floor weeping in the shot, one of the spotlights above came crashing down close to her leg. This was the final straw on both sides, everyone seemed eager to pass blame, leaving you no choice but to call Victor when the lead of the production halted everything due to liability. The phone call with Victor was brief and he arrived not to long after you told him one of the actresses was involved in a near miss.

Here you were now, standing in front of everyone as Victor pressured you for an answer, “WELL?!” It was rare for Victor to raise his voice, but today everyone felt the impact it truly had.

This was beyond frustrating and further more embarrassing, you wanted to scream at him, but you didn’t want to prove any truth to the gossip lingering that you couldn’t ‘handle things.’ You wanted to cry; Minor could see the tears threatening to fall whilst your face contorted with angry.

“Handle her team? Incompetent? Mc has been ‘handling’ us and their team, during this soap opera drama of its own!” Minor pointed as he stepped forward towards Victor, placing himself between you two. “I understand you’re the big boss here, but isn’t it a little premature to lay blame on her when no one seems to have any idea what’s going on?!” Minors voice was raised in the slightest, you wanted to clamp his mouth shut. As lovely as it was for him to stick up for you, Victor was of all people someone you didn’t want to be up against.

“Excuse me, and who exactly are you, executive producer? I suggest you get back to work and let the ‘bosses’ continue talking.” Victor gave Minor a quick analyse head to toe; scowling, before looking back at you.

Minor stepped sideways, obstructing his view before pressing on, “No, you were judging, passing verdict without even hearing anyone’s side!”

Fear took hold of you, worried perhaps Minor was over stepping and possibly going to get himself fired or have Victors investment revoked, you were about to pipe in. Just then, a light calming breeze swept through the studio, moving your attention to the direction it carried. Walking through the studio doors was Gavin, announcing himself as he approached face as stoic as ever.

“Afternoon, I do apologies for the intrusion. I’m Police officer Gavin, I was called in to take statements for an incident that’s occurred to rule out…”

** scanning the studio to every one present before continuing **

“possible criminal intent.”

Everyone went stiff, Gavin was in full uniform, wait…

did he say he was called??? Your gaze drifted then to Minor who was gleaming with pride at his hero friend from high school walked in.

Victor then approached Gavin, “I apologise for wasting the time and efforts of our police services, may I ask exactly why you suspect such malice?” Victor as usual, cut straight to the point.

“Miss Mc, one of your notable employees, filed a concern the other day with worries and suspicion of something not quite right within her company’s environment. Now for the safety and liability of everyone here, I will have to open up an investigation.” Though he spoke calmly and affirmative, he made eye contact with you - his eyes were saying it’s alright, I’m here now.

Victor turned to you next, “You didn’t say you called the police?” eyebrow raised.

“You didn’t exactly give her a chance before chastising her.” Minors boost of confidence to talk back to Victor, made it clear to you who called and informed Gavin of the events.

You faced Victor and simply stated, “We had to do what’s right for everyone and take account their safety.” Adding *we* in there made you feel better then taking the credit for Minors quick thinking. That didn’t stop the stress you felt for everything to come, and the guilt you had for Gavin, he was always busy with his own work and now he had ‘your work’.

Gavin walked straight passed Victor not even giving him a second glance, proceeding forward, “Id like statements from every one of today’s events leading up to my involvement, please. No one is to leave until I have received statements and should I have any further questions I advise you stay until further noticed.”

“Mc, with me now! You and I will continue our discussion as the officer here starts his investigation.” Victors says dryly as he starts walking towards the exit.

“Excuse me, Sir. You cannot leave.”

Victor stopped dead in his tracks, wiping around quickly.

“Neither of you are leaving, until I have confirmed no foul play and if there is, that you, are not involved in anyway.” Gavin was quick to speak before you could follow Victor out, he spoke boldly to the scary CEO. Throwing his authority towards Victor just like Victor had previously to you, this gave you a funny sense of pulsing in your lower pelvis, and slight heat to rise to your cheeks. Seeing Gavin assert his authority to the ‘not so easily bullied’ Victor really turned you on! You shook your head from your drifting thoughts, now of all times was not the time to swoon over Gavin’s out right bravery.

Victor and Gavin stood 8 metres apart staring at each other with such coldness in their eyes… Oh boy what a soap opera this was becoming indeed…

To Be Continued.

Like, reblog and follow for future posts, if youd like to be tagged in the next part please let me know. Thank you for reading and Thank you again anxiousdork for the inspiration to write this!

Master-List for Parts

#mlqc #mlqc victor #mlqc gavin #mlqc minor #mr love queen's choice #mr love gavin #mr love victor #mr love minor #minor needs more credit #bring on the bromance #battle for gavin #love and producer #minor #hero and sidekick #mystery

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praphit · 4 years

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Another Year, Another Recap - “Have a Coke and a smile... :)”

So, we're getting to the end, people. We're about to finish off another year. Personally, this year has been immensely better than the last.

I didn't even want to stay up and do any celebrating at the end of 2018. I just wanted to go to bed and be done with that bleepin year. This year has been a hell of a lot better. I hope that all of you can say something similar, but if not, there's always going to bed early, and putting your hope in the next year.

This past Christmas (and all Christmas', really) I spent time doing a lot of hating on Christmas music; it's a valued tradition of mine. I am, however, always surprised to find a few songs each year that don't bother me all that much. This year, one of them was John Legend's "Baby, It's cold outside" ft Kelly Clarkson

- a rewritten, sans rapey vibe rendition to boot its 1940's something predecessor.

In this version (at least how I interpret it), both people wanted some action that night. John says all of the right stuff ("I'll call you a car", "maybe you SHOULD go"), creating a safe environment, and most importantly, not coming off as sleazy and rapey. He's also protecting himself with this recording:) But, let's be clear... he wants some, and he wants it bad! While Kelly, also wants some, but doesn't want to come off as being a hoe. Nobody wants to be labeled a hoe. So, she says all of the right things as well ("My dad and brother are waiting for me", "I've gotta visit my sick grandma", "Gotta get home to the KIDS") But, at the end of the night, they both make a decision to sing to one another "Baby, It's cold outside, so let's stay in and BLEEP." That's how you do it! No guilt! No #METOO! No wife and kids around. All is well:) Divorces are still rising, and more older people (as well as old as bleep people) are on dating apps than ever before. Consider this song a Christmas gift from John & Kelly to you.

Sexiest man alive in 2019 btw

Congrats. Classic coming-up-out-of-the-water sexy.

There has been some good music in 2019. Good stuff happening. Also some sad and weird stuff happening in music - all things balance out, I suppose.

GOOD:

Lizzo

I am here for all things Lizzo.

SAD & WEIRD:

Maroon 5's Super Bowl performance. It wasn't even really M5's fault; they simply did what they always do. It was more a poor choice by the NFL. A boring and awkward performance. There was a time when all anybody wanted was a shirtless Adam Levine- both women AND men. Even times when he wasn't performing, he would show up places, some random person would announce to everyone "Don't worry, Adam WILL be taking off his shirt tonight." Talk about ME TOO. It was so bad that the old, white, slaveowners of the NFL hired Jay-Z (one of the blackest icons we have) to come and save them. We'll see how that turns out.

GOOD & WEIRD:

Tyler, The Creator - "IGOR"

One of my fav projects of the year. Tyler, the Creator is an odd dude - I mean this as a compliment. I love how Hip-Hop has evolved. There's a lot more room nowadays to be yourself, no matter how outsiders might deem your behavior as weird (sometimes, others NOT saying this as a compliment). I love his creativity, and hope he continues to inspire other artists (especially in hip-hop) to be creative. Heeeee also says stuff like this "I like girls, but I have sex with their brothers." But, also uses the word "gay" as an insult. Who knows?? There's a lot to unpack there.

SAD:

In other news, Camila Cabello might be a racist. Y'all can look it up if you'd like, but some posts of hers resurfaced. I'm a fan of hers, and checked out the posts for myself, thinking "People are prob just overreacting" - they're not, it's bad. She has apologized, saying the whole "I'm older and wiser now" thing. The prob with that is she's only 22.

GOOD & BAD, I GUESS:

ADELE

It's always good to see Adele out and about. These holiday pics show that's she's still alive (I get concerned, cuz she tends to disappear for a while) and apparently a lot thinner. This of course stirs men to say men type things, women to go on the attack, and all genuine compliments towards her to get lost. The good news is, Adele seems to be getting pretty chummy with Santa, and everyone knows that St. Nick is a heartbreaker. Adele should be spurned and back in the studio writing amazing tunes soon enough.

WEIRD:

Kanye

These pics say it all.

... that being said, I love his new music (which is how I stamp all of my conversations about Ye).

GOOD:

Billie Eilish!

Now (like many), one of my fav artists.

BAD:

She just turned 18, so of course, us men being ourselves again say things like "She's 18 now. You know what that means." Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what that means. Nothing says crossing-over into womanhood quite like being objectified.

Speaking of 2019 pervs - R.KELLY!

We can throw MJ and... what the hell, I'll just throw Spacey in there as well (his documentary is coming soon enough, I'm sure).

We were all enthralled by these two docuseries. It's interesting how different races respond to MJ. Both see him as... you know, but most black people are still listening to his music. White people on the other hand are ready to riot every time someone plays one of his songs... except around Halloween - gotta have "Thriller".

We love depressing television.

There was "Chernobyl" as well as "When they see us"

Movies too -

"Joker"

I love this movie, but it's about a homicidal clown, struggling with mental illness.

"Us"

I love this movie, but it's about classism and marginalization.

"Endgame"

It's largely about grief.

It's the best movie of the year, as far as I'm concerned!

It should win all awards!

ALL OF THEM!

Best Horror

Best Comedy

Best Romance

Remember when he sent the message to his wife? Cute, right?

Personally, I think he and Nebula were banging in each other.

... I think that story is going to come out some day. C’mon... they were up in space, alone... they both thought they were going to die. She was like “OMG, I’ve always wanted to bang Robert Downey Jr.

He was like “I don’t blame you.”

But, afterwards, he was like

- you know? He felt all bad, because he’d never get to do that again (that was the last of his energy). Annnnd also because he cheated. Which led to that cute recording for his wife. SEE, it’s all connected!

Best actor in Josh Brolin (Thanos) - the range of emotions (satisfaction, terror, humility, revenge, arrogance, beatin ass, defeat) Leo and Brad Pitt ain't have to do all of that!

Best Actress... hmm.. idk about this one. Many say J.Lo deserves an Oscar for her performance in "Hustlers" - a movie made for strippers, by strippers.

Exotic dancers are making a comeback! Maybe one day, stripping will be going in the same direction marijuana is - just something people do. No more shame! You can actually make a decent living at it - ain't that right, Stormy?

And who can forget this J.Lo quote "This city, this whole country, is a strip club. You've got people tossing the money. and people doing the dance."

There have also been plenty of things in 2019 that I have not understood:

1) Hatin on Greta

Greta - trying hard to do what she believes will make this world a better place for us all.

Certain people - "Shut that bitch up! She's crazy!"

2) Hatin on Megan Rapinoe

MP - leading a soccer team to a World Cup victory, being outspoken for women's rights and gay rights, having awesome purple hair, and trying to be the best leader and athlete she can be.

Certain people - "Shut that bitch up! She's Crazy! Equal pay my ass!"

3) Popeyes Chicken Sandwich

- the gov't test for a new crack epidemic. Sadly, I never got to partake.

4) Allison Mack

- This whole story began being unveiled in 2018, but continued through this year. I still don’t understand how this story has not gotten more attention. Some of y’all don’t even know what I’m talking about.... google it, and be horrified.

5) BTS (and K-pop in general)

-I love them, but... our country's K-Pop fetish has gotten kinda out of hand. All kinds of artists are trying to share the spotlight with them. Next, we're going to see them team up with Kendrick Lamar.

6) TikTok - I just don't get it. What’s the difference?

7) Cancel Culture

To me all cancel culture is silenced by Trump being our president. Where was all of this righteous indignation when we voted him into office? You might say "I didn't vote for him." Yeah, but, WE did - Idk what that says about us, but it's prob not good.

It doesn't even really work - Louis CK is currently selling out venues for an unapologetic tour. I'm not even saying that it SHOULD work (in SOME cases). I'm simply saying that it doesn't work (in most cases). But, perhaps the fear of it working is enough. Or perhaps we should think through how we spend our anger.

BUT, enough of that! It's time to pass out this year's PRAPHIE AWARD!

Here are the noms:

Jordan Peele

Pedro the turtle

(no need for context, just know he’s awesome)

Baby Yoda

(btw - studies show that if you have access to "The Mandalorian" and you AREN'T watching it, you're an asshole. This is not ME talking, this is science)

Megan Rapinoe (who I’ve already mentioned)

Flying Elbow Guy (Again, this requires no context. It’s Flying Elbow Guy! There is a baseball player who’s name I can’t remember. He took on a whole team, and... you know what - that’s too much exposition. It’s Flying Elbow Guy!

Keanu Reeves

Annnnnnnd! It’s...

...

KEANU!

This year:

Of course JW, Toy Story 4, Cyberpunk 2077, “Always be my Maybe”, plus we found out that he’s down for The Matrix 4, John Wick 4, and Bill & Ted. CRAZY!

Also my BAMF of the year (see previous post)!

We love Keanu Reeves so much, that he's allowed to murder as many people as he wants (as John Wick).

We'll get mad if an actor who's not handicapped is playing someone who is, we'll get mad about whitewashing (as we should), we'll get mad if things are too sexualized, we GOT MAD at "Joker" for predicted violence. But, Keanu can murder all he wants:)

(See the scene above? - that was a McDonald’s before he showed up)

He found love as well. Women are loving that he chose someone closer to his age. Honestly, Idk why it matters. I'd still love this man, even if he were dating 22 year old, racist ass Camila Cabello.

But, he's viewed by some as the perfect man. I disagree. I don’t think that he’s merely the perfect man, but the perfect human.

His career and popularity paths are unique. No one would call him a... GOOD actor, but look at him! And he seems like a genuinely, awesomely, good person. And whatever "good person" means to you, he's at the top! We should all (men and women) be a lil more like Keanu in 2020.

Let's all be as lovable as we can, so we may all get away with as much as we can:)

With each new year, I challenge myself with a slogan to live by. In 2020, it's going to be this -

From Eddie Murphy’s “Raw”- Richard Pryor’s advice to Eddie, concerning Bill Cosby

Telling certain people in my way "To have a Coke and a smile, and shut the bleep up." Sometimes, I might need to be the one to do this, rather than say it - we'll see.

Here was the runner-up slogan (his response)

Magical.

Happy New Year, Everyone! Enjoy yourselves. Be less of an asshole. And be safe... enough to at least make it TO 2020.

Much love!

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topkoality · 5 years

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here’s my oscar winners review that absolutely no one asked for (keep reading)

have i seen enough films of 2018 to actually be doing this? am i an actual film critic? no, of course not, but i’ve got lots of opinions and that’s why i’m posting this! in bold are the winners, in italics are my pick of what should’ve won, and if there was a category that i really knew nothing about, it will not be included. also we’re saving the best for last so if you want my hottest and fully developed takes you might as well go to the end of this post

Best Animated Short: Bao, Animal Behaviour, Late Afternoon, One Small Step, Weekends

i did not see any of the other animated shorts on this list but bao, which maybe says something, but i remember seeing this in theaters along with many other trailers/adverts while waiting to see bohemian rhapsody (wow...) and it was so, very emotional. perhaps it even took the spotlight of that whole movie experience? the animation was beautiful, the story was heart-wrenching, and i believe every parent and those who want to become a parent one day should take the time to watch this.

Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Mirai, Ralph Breaks the Internet

well deserved, the animation in this movie was— and i’m being very serious when i say this— groundbreaking. in the least, it has shown animators that realism is not always the goal, and being experimental can certainly pay off. the concept this movie has with all the inter-dimensional spidermans joining our protagonist miles was genius, and when i realized that there would be multiples of them due to the multiple sets of intros we were given, it was hilarious and perfectly entertaining. i don’t think anyone can go into this movie and not enjoy it. i honestly thought incredibles 2 was going to win, just simply due to my lack of faith in the academy, but thankfully that did not happen. as far as the others, they were all definitely deserving of their oscar nomination, but the oscar win had to go to spider-verse.

Best Film Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody, BlacKkKlansman, The Favourite, Green Book, Vice

i mean... bohemian rhapsody? surely there’s something else... that was maybe even a little bit more deserving... than that. surely academy, surely you can do better. or can you? bohemian rhapsody had some of the worst editing in a major film that i’ve seen. i mean, did you just like how the movie made you FEEL, academy?! be honest you can say it. i loved we will rock you. but that’s not editing! i mean, this alone made me seasick: https://twitter.com/jesssetaylor/status/1097712834643984390. i would’ve loved to see the favourite win, as the editing in that movie represented it so well. the editing created a fully immersive experience, and the short, witty, snappy quips that were highlighted by the editing made the viewing experience all the more hilarious. the title sequences alone that were edited in gave me a purpose to watch the scenes a bit more closer than i initially would’ve; searching for the line that was given the status of the title for that section. i haven’t seen blacKkKlansman but if that had won, i wouldn’t have been mad about it, as i’ve heard great things. but ultimately, the favourite deserved this oscar.

Best Visual Effects: First Man, Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, Ready Player One, Solo: A Star Wars Story

i’m just glad avengers didn’t get this

Best Sound Mixing: Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, First Man, Roma, A Star Is Born

now best sound mixing, i suppose i can understand. the sound in this movie WAS the movie. i felt like i was actually in concert, experiencing queen live, so i understand. it was very good. i could have seen ASIB taking this oscar as well, due to everyone raving about the music, but perhaps this was the one oscar that bohemian rhapsody actually deserved.

Best Sound Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, First Man, A Quiet Place, Roma

nope, nope, nope. again, mixing i understand, but editing? all they did was edit in the songs mate... roma should have won this. the sounds in that movie made me feel like i was actually there, experiencing the water dripping down from the buildings, creating a puddle. washing the floor, witnessing a protest, being outside when i’m actually inside— watching the movie with my family. it was so realistic; i was completely taken. dissatisfied completely with this one!

Best Original Score: Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, If Beale Street Could Talk, Isle of Dogs, Mary Poppins Returns

nicholas britell i’m so, so sorry. everyone was talking about how great the score was for black panther, and while there were some good songs, i don’t think it deserved the oscar win. definitely deserved a nomination, but a win? i’m not so sure. if beale street could talk, now that was a score that was truly deserving of this. very disappointed that if beale street could talk’s only win was for regina king’s performance. it definitely at least deserved this oscar as well.

Best Production Design: Black Panther, The Favourite, First Man, Mary Poppins Returns, Roma

i definitely understand this win, black panther was breathtaking in terms of the beauty of the production. congratulations hannah beachler and jay hart! i would’ve been happy to see the favourite also win this category, but black panther deserved it!

Best Foreign-Language Film: Roma, Capernaum, Cold War, Never Look Away, Shoplifters

now, at first, BEFORE best picture was announced, i was confused as to why roma was even in this category. should a foreign-language film that is also nominated for best picture even be in this category? i mean, obviously it would win! and it did. i fully expected roma to win best picture (more on that later) but due to it not winning best picture, i’m very glad that it at least won best foreign-language film. but cuarón, just go ahead and give the oscar to yalitza aparicio!

Best Costume Design: Black Panther, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Favourite, Mary Poppins Returns, Mary Queen of Scots

again, the costume design was amazing in black panther, and this was a win that was very deserving. but would i have liked to see the favourite win? yeah, but that’s just my own selfish gay opinion— black panther winning was definitely the right choice

Best Cinematography: Roma, The Favourite, Never Look Away, A Star Is Born, Cold War

roma deserved this, period! the cinematography was immersive, it was emotional, it was everything that it needed to be. do i even need to say more?

Best Original Screenplay: Green Book, The Favourite, First Reformed, Roma, Vice

okay, i didn’t even see first reformed and i know that it should’ve won. i mean, first reformed should have been nominated for best picture. i also would have been completely happy with the favourite winning. roma, i should mention, i would not have wanted to win because cuarón really just stole a woman’s story and made it his own, completely disregarding the feelings of the woman it was based on

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman), Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Sam Rockwell (Vice)

i mean, best supporting actor? mahershala ali? he should be considered the lead actor of green book, but due to the movie just being terrible and racist and inaccurate, i guess he’s the supporting actor! other than that, i love mahershala ali so i’m just glad he got an oscar.

Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), Amy Adams (Vice), Marina de Tavira (Roma), Emma Stone (The Favourite), Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)

well deserved! i would have loved to also see stone or weisz take this as well, but i think the fact that they were both nominated from the same movie just goes to show that this movie had amazing acting, which makes me happy. i’m glad if beale street could talk and regina king’s superb acting abilities are being recognized, as well, therefore i’m pretty happy with this.

Best Actor: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Christian Bale (Vice), Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born), Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate), Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)

willem dafoe... maybe next year, huh? i don’t understand the appeal for rami malek winning. i used to love the man, but things he has done has shown his arrogance, so i’m a bit unsure of him recently. i’m not mad that he won, and it’s a great win for the MENA community (that i am apart of), so for that reason i’m satisfied.

Best Actress: Olivia Colman (The Favourite), Glenn Close (The Wife), Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born), Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

olivia colman you earned it, fair and square. this was the big win for the favourite last night. as the night got closer to this announcment, i was losing faith and just expected gaga or aparicio to go ahead and take it. and as it got even closer, i just thought aparicio would win. but olivia colman, whew. her acting was stunning in the favourite. her character consumed the movie, as she should have, and she depicted queen anne’s tragedy perfectly. yalitza aparicio’s performance in roma was very good, but i did not feel the emotion from her character as viscerally as i did from olivia colman’s performance. i really thought the night would go on with the favourite winning absolutely nothing, so thank god that they got this, because olivia colman was the clear choice! that film was fantastic, and i’m glad it got a least a little bit of recognition, even though it definitely deserved at least one other oscar (cough) best flim editing (cough). queen anne was hilarious, she was maddening, she was infuriating, she was miserable, she was everything. also sorry glenn close... maybe next time?

Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman), Adam McKay (Vice), Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War)

okay cuarón, just give your oscar to yalitza aparicio. no? okay. well then, yorgos lanthimos you deserved it. the favourite was edited perfectly. the delivery of the lines was perfect. the panning from one character to the next, everything about it was done with eloquence. and don’t get me started on the music— every time viola d’amore concerto in a minor, rv. 397 i. vivace started playing just as weisz or stone did something to piss off the other, it was SO SATISFYING! of course i was only rooting for only one of them (especially by the end), but either way i felt what they were feeling in those moments. the music, the editing, the camerawork, the acting, the script... it all worked harmoniously in order to create the masterpiece that was the favourite. also, from a viola player, thank you for making the main theme a viola concerto, yorgos. also in a minor? that’s taste. this directing deserved an oscar win, not just a nomination.

Best Picture: Green Book, Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Roma, A Star Is Born, Vice

okay here we go... here we go. green book? GREEN BOOK? no. nope. literally any film besides this one please. okay let’s get started... green book is inaccurate, it’s a white savior story, it was a movie that was supposed to be about don shirley, the world class pianist, but instead is about this random fucking cab driver? and don shirley’s family have said that it was inaccurate and that it poorly represented actual events of shirley’s life. as a piano player... i am disgusted. also if you were going to give the oscar to a flim depicting racism... why not give it to blacKkKlansman? you know, the movie talking about racism that was actually created by black people and not just a team of white men? fuck you, green book! i fully expected roma to win, and oh, how wrong was i. roma deserved best picture. green book is a joke. i obviously would have liked to see the favourite win, because a gay movie about GIRLS! would have been nice to actually get some recognition. roma, the favourite, blacKkKlansman. these were the choices that should have gotten best picture. the others, eh. also why was black panther even in the nominations? like, seriously... that should have been replaced with if beale street could talk. and also, since they had ten slots anyway, first reformed should have gotten a nomination as well. this was by far the most disappointing win of the night AND confusing, for me personally (more confusing than bohemian rhapsody winning best film editing, which says something). just a terrible choice. this movie should not have even been nominated, but the academy is dumb. seriously though, NOT roma?

okay that’s it folks, those are my opinions. all in all, not a great oscars. some really good wins, though, like olivia colman’s win and spider-verse. also roma for best foreign. basically everything that was bolded and italics on this post were pretty good wins. but despite that, there were some VERY bad ones.

#oscars 2019 #i'm not sure that even one of my followers will care about this but i had to post it just to get my feelings out fhdjksg #it's fine. i don't care #but like where else was i going to post this if not my BLOG. you know?#also it's not like i had nothing better to do... i definitely should have been doing homework but also i just love movies #and have strong opinions #i did NOT proof read this by the way #memory

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bittersweet-disney-blog · 5 years

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Pocahontas (1995)

So, to start this project off, I have decided to watch Pocahontas. I think this is the first film that I've told a few people about where they have said "Huh... I don't remember much about Pocahontas." That's because Disney messed up and made it pretty forgettable. Let me break it down;

First and foremost, in the movie she is shown as an adult woman whom later falls in love with an adult Englishman named Captain John Smith (who could easily look like he is in his mid twenties). Real life? She was ALMOST TWELVE and he was TWENTY-SEVEN! Let that sink in a little bit. Thankfully, there was no loving/sexual relationship between the two. It seemed that she was just looking out for him.

There are some scenes in the movie that do match up history (a few examples are of how Jamestown came to be, when his head was on the stone and she uses her body to save him and the main characters' names are pretty accurate) but since its Disney, we gotta add some magical things, don't we? So let's throw in a few animal sidekicks and a talking tree. That'll REALLY bring the audience in.

Let's get to the meeting of the two in the movie. Pocahontas speaks to John Smith in her native tongue and he doesn't even bother to use body language to communicate. Suddenly and magically, she listens to the wind and now she knows the English language perfectly??

In reality, she was so curious that she actually took the time to learn and understand the English language to better communicate with John Smith that they (her tribe and the colonists) thought of her as an emissary and peacemaker between the two.

Half way into the movie I actually chuckled at this part. Governor Ratcliffe is in his tent having a full on panic attack because he hasn't struck/found any gold yet. He turns to his personal assistant (honestly, I'm not sure what this poor man was even doing there) named Wiggins and asks (I'm paraphrasing here): "Want to know why the hell we haven't found any gold yet and those Indians tried attacking us?!" And Wiggins? He lays down some REAL truth. Word for word, he said: "Because we invaded their land and cut down their trees and dug up their Earth?"

YES!

Well, they didn't REALLY attack first. The settlers did because they saw ONE GUY in the bushes just scoping the place and OF COURSE someone had to be the first to start something. But WHY DID NO ONE (or the majority of us) NOT CATCH THIS SOONER?!?! However, Ratcliffe decided it was the Indians' fault and this is where damn near bloodshed commenced.

I'm going to pause here and talk about the song "Colors of the Wind" I did enjoy the song and the artistic visionary of it all. How they would morph from animal to human and show the beauty of nature and Mother Earth. This song not only won a Grammy, an Oscar and Golden Globe awards for "Best Original Song" but it portrays how everything is connected in a spiritual and beautiful way.

Now we get to the "battle scene".

!!!WARNING!!! THIS PARAGRAPH CONTAINS DEROGATORY TERMS THAT I IN NO WAY WOULD EVER EXPRESS! What is posted is ALL quotes from a Disney song. If you want to skip this part, I would not blame you.

What is ANY good Disney movie without some kind of battle and some kind of song to go with it?

At this point, I should state that this movie was made in 1995 (or at least released around that time). During the 90's, that era was allowed to get away with almost anything.

Watching this movie again, after who knows how long, the battle song "Savages" is pretty gosh darn racist. I know Disney was trying to stick to the times that this happened, but there should've been a better way to go about it. There was a LOT of racist remarks on both parties of this song.

The word "savages" is used a LOT on both sides. One side claims/sings: "Their skin's a hellish red. They're only good when dead. They're vermin as I said, and worse!" <--- that hurt to type. And the other side? Just as bad: "The pale face is a demon. The only thing they feel at all is greed. Beneath that milky hide, there's emptiness inside. I wonder if they even bleed?!"

I, personally, feel that race and skin type should NOT have been brought into this under ANY circumstance. Again, I know it was during the times where one race hated another and when trying to be accurate, this is how they displayed their emotions. I just think that there could have been other ways for one side to fight about the other side through song and dance but just not this way (again, my personal opinion).

Now that we're past that, after the almost battle scene, we're at the (somewhat) accurate part where Pocahontas threw herself on top of John and demanded that her father not kill him. All almost ends well except for deranged Ratcliffe who aimed to shoot Chief Powhatan but shot John instead.

After seeing a few people be shot in this movie, I noticed that there was no blood in sight. That is another thing I will applaud about Disney. They can make a dark scene without having to show any kind of gore to know what has happened and still make it "family friendly" movie.

Now let's get back to reality. John Smith lead some of the settlers to get food and crossed the hunting party from the Powhatan tribe and the tribe killed them all BUT John. The brother of Pocahontas tied John up and brought him back to the village to make a spectacle out of him. According to John (in his own notes), his head was placed between two rocks and Pocahontas did come to his rescue and begged for him not to be killed.

Some historians believed that John was not entirely truthful because there was another time he claimed to have gotten kidnapped and a different "princess" came to his aide and saved him.

There was a second almost battle between the tribe and the settlers and unlike the movie (where John and Pocahontas warn each other about their sides wanting to fight), the tribe was going to come at night and fight the settlers but Pocahontas snuck off to warn John where he and the Chief met up to negotiate.

The movie ends when John got shot and gets put in a row boat to go back to the ship to be taken back to England to be treated for his injuries. I don't think they purposely set it up for a second movie, but they went with it and made Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World.

In this sequel, he is "missing" for treason (thanks to Ratcliffe) and she goes to find him but meets up with John Rolfe (her "guide") to help her. Now, I refuse to watch this movie because it is even MORE inaccurate than this one. What REALLY happened, you asked? John died from injuries that he got at the almost second battle. The British kidnapped Pocahontas for negotiation purposes and brought her to England. There, she met and married a man named John Rolfe at the age of 17, and together they had a son who they named Thomas. After a while, Pocahontas had her named changed to Rebecka Rolfe. In 1617, at the age of 22, Pocahontas (aka Rebecka Rolfe) passed away on British soil.

So what is my conclusion? There are probably great reasons why this movie gets forgotten a lot.

Maybe from its greatly historical inaccuracy (even though some good movies have that) or it's blatant racism or just forgetful songs that didn't win anything or simply some people just don't find this Disney movie as enjoyable as others.

Whatever the case may be, this movie is both liked and hated by a many Disney fan.

#Disney #pocahontas #disney movies #disney movie rewards #1995 #movies #bittersweet disney #bittersweet #golden globes #Oscar movies

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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I know people who've been calling Ren moody but honestly he has one of the more realistic reactions to everything that's happening. He knows they don't have an actual plan to fight Salem. He see's through Ruby's attempts at optimism and how she isn't even sure of whatever they are doing. Then you've got Nora who can't make up her damn mind on what she wants. (1/2)

I’m glad that he’s “moody.” In the sense that I’m glad the story is actually showing a legit reaction to all these events, especially after randomly dropping the group’s perspective that this war is doomed. As I’ve said before, it makes no sense for them to be furious at Ozpin for (supposedly) manipulating them into a fight they can’t win, then a volume and a half later risking a kingdom on the assumption that they can win the fight without showing us what changed their perspective so drastically. So at least someone seems to be having doubts and isn’t optimistic confidence 24/7. Ren wants to train rather than go to a party for an election Robyn hasn’t yet won. He worries about what they’re going to do about Salem if/when they tell Ironwood about her immortality. He can’t articulate in a few simple sentences what’s wrong to Nora. His focus is on things he already knows how to solve - save this person from a grimm, get these people warm - rather than the far shakier dream of uniting the entire world and doing today what Ozpin hasn’t managed in thousands of years. He seems annoyed at continually being called on to use his semblance and snaps at Jaune for the constant pep-talks. Honestly? I probably would too. Jaune doesn’t deserve the attitude, but I fully understand it. If the situation was the horrific I’d be annoyed at the Jaunes and the Rubys continually acting like things will obviously be just fine. There’s optimism, and then there’s letting people acknowledge that things are shit right now.

So we’ve got a lot of great stuff to work with, it just feels like RT... isn’t working with it? Ren is clearly fed up, yeah, but is it just at everything all at once? Because last Volume it felt (to me at least) like there was something in particular that he was bottling up and I’ve been waiting around to hear what it is. Now, so much in-world time has passed and so many bad things have happened since Ren’s change started - splitting from Nora, having the Lamp stolen, now watching Oscar getting kidnapped horribly - it feels like whatever the initial issue was is being buried. Was it his relationship with Nora? Disagreeing with how they treated Ironwood? Salem’s immortality? A combination of things? We simply haven’t been told and though interpretation can take us some of the way, at some point the story will have to say what the problem is in order to start working through it. We missed out on that initial opportunity when Nora kissed him instead of encouraging him to express himself and now no one is making time to ask any questions. Nora doesn’t ask him in the Happy Huntresses base why he was crying in the hallway. No one followed up on his “Yes, Sir!” even though they seemed surprised by it. Jaune isn’t inclined to call Ren out the snappish behavior. Granted, not every scene can our should do that - right then Ren had just said he needed to focus - but for a volume’s worth of episodes now we keep seeing symptoms of a problem without acknowledging what that problem is, let alone start doing something about it. Which, in RWBY, makes me worried. I feel like we’ll get an answer that doesn’t fit with all we’ve seen and/or we’ll spend so much time establishing Ren’s generic stress that it will then be solved in a single scene/even off screen. RWBY does have a habit of dropping things unexpectedly.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #wisedrow

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mcrololo · 5 years

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Did another one lads. Constructive criticism for So That’s How It Is under the cut.

So we start where we left off in the last episode, and I already have an issue with the lines. This could just be the characters being absolute idiots (a consistent theme for the last volumes), but when Ozpin asked Jinn his question, the specific words were “how do I destroy Salem?” Yang opens the new episode with “Salem can’t be killed”. And, you know, given Yang has been established as dense before I totally understand her giving this line. But literally no one corrects her on it. All of them straight up assume they can’t stop Salem simply because she can’t be ‘killed’ (destroyed, but who cares).

Ruby seems to be onto something when she asks how Ozpin is planning to defeat Salem, but none of the characters – not even Ruby herself – point out that there’s still a chance they can win. Everyone is just depressed about this truth bomb for the next couple of episodes. Now, I understand that taking all of this in is going to take a while, and after everything that has happened it’s more likely they see dread in everything. Except they already heard the solution! They were all there when the gods explained to Salem that until she learns the value of life, she will remain to live herself.

‘But how are they going to do that with a being as pure evil as Salem?’ I don’t know! That’s what I’d love to find out! Too bad the writers don’t take this opportunity!

Maria Calavera would have been the perfect character to point this out. She hasn’t been through the same shit QRWBY has, and she definitely fills up the ‘wise old mentor’ role (she reminds me of Toph Beifong, and I don’t know how to feel about that tbh). She takes no shit! All of this depressed crap is shit!

I just really can’t believe none of them are smart enough to pick up on this. I also can’t believe Ozma hasn’t come up with any solution in his many lives but I guess that’s just part of the story. There has to be a reason we started with RWBY (even though they have 0 reason for being there, other than sheer (bad) luck).

Before I talk about the punch in context I would like to say: can they please stop framing smacks and punches as if it’s comedic? Especially heavy loaded punches like these. The speed lines and background are one thing, but the pause on Oscar’s weird face when Qrow hits him DEFINITELY comes across as comical.

I’ve already seen a lot of people talk about the punch in general so I’m not going to go too in-depth on how morally right or wrong it is. All I’m going to say is that everyone has made mistakes up until now, so pointing fingers is just… Useless honestly.

I actually like Qrow punching Ozpin in Oscar’s body, because it creates conflict and you need conflict to drive your story. A story without conflict is just boring. The punch had so much potential! Unfortunately it is framed in a way that makes it seem like the narrative thinks Ozpin deserves it, and it’s never brought up again. That leaves a lot of room for a multitude of missed opportunities. First, we don’t see anyone react to the punch at all. The audience is just left to guess what the characters feel and think – especially team RWBY. At least one of the others should’ve pointed out that it was a rash and bad decision to punch Ozpin like that because of Oscar. They’re all hunters, they should have their morals in check. Even if they all feel whack because of an exposition dump.

Two: there’s friction between Ozpin and Qrow – automatically causing friction between Oscar and Qrow too. Yet, whenever these two are onscreen, it’s as if nothing has happened. Why? What’s the point of Qrow remarking they’re better than liars, if not to cause friction between the two? To show us how upset he is? We already know Qrow is upset because of the punch, and he takes a swig of his alcohol. We don’t need another reminder.

Three: It’s not very good to clearly lean towards one way with the narrative. Anime and cartoons always have a good & bad tropey kinda way of telling their story, but at least both sides get explored (even if it’s just a little). This is probably why the main hero is almost always portrayed as empathic; so the other party gets to tell their story as well. Framing Qrow’s punch as ‘Ozpin deserved it’ is bad, because it automatically makes the viewer think that punching someone you don’t agree with is okay, as long as they did something bad to you. It’s also a way of telling the viewer how to feel, and in writing that’s just… Bad. Let the consumer come to their own conclusions.

‘Meeting you was the worst luck of my life.’ One of the very few lines that actually not just show but also make you feel. You just feel the weight behind this one, and you either feel for Qrow or Ozpin or both. Might be an unpopular opinion, but I fucking love this line.

The next moment we see Oscar flinching in pain and I have to wonder, what is up with that? Shouldn’t aura protect him? He has unlocked his aura, right? Or does aura not extend to pain? If it doesn’t, then how do you explain Yang getting punched through a concrete wall and being able to walk as if it’s nothing? No, the rule of cool does not apply to this. It’s just another one of those small things that make the viewer/reader go ‘I’m not buying it’.

I’ve seen so many people compliment Barbara on her ‘bastard’ line, and I can hear why. There’s raw emotion in there. It’s just… It seems a little off? She’s been standing there the whole time, completely silent, and all of a sudden she’s yelling passionately? I think we’re missing a few frames here. We should’ve seen Yang look at Oscar, then shocked to hear what he says about Ozpin while she clenches her fists and THEN she can deliver this line. I think that would’ve helped convey this way better.

‘Every one of you is spewing negativity.’ Like that matters? Didn’t you hear them Maria? The relic attracts Grimm. Except they conveniently don’t encounter any Grimm from here on out. That’s bad writing and here is why: Miles & Kerry don’t care about the rules they set for their world. They just want to get from point A to B as fast as possible. But that’s not how writing works, because your story and characters won’t follow it organically! It’s just forced storytelling. Give your story and characters room to explore. Maybe you’ll get something that surprises even you. That’s the whole point of writing: explore and have fun.

Okay. I have to ask. Who’s steering the ship?

Maybe it’s my personal taste but I don’t like the line ‘Because you have failed our queen’. It would have felt more natural if he had left ‘because’ out of there. Now it feels more like an explanation, instead of a creepy moment. Completely takes me out of it. But I have to admit I can’t take Tyrian serious because they just… Yeah. This scene was pretty okay though. I finally had a grasp of his character for once.

I don’t even know where to begin with this scene. We open with Salem all calm and collected, giving me the impression that I should feel intimidated. Not even a full minute later she flings the table almost completely into the one subject who actually follows her out of loyalty. This is what I need to be intimidated by? I’m sorry, I can’t take a leader serious if they only think about their own interests. Why would her subjects follow her if she doesn’t treat them like friends or family? This whole ‘powerhungry evil guy’ trope is a hoax and I can’t believe for a single second that these guys actually help her. Why would they? Out of the goodness in their hearts? Besides Hazel, who has real motivation to stop Ozpin and kill everyone? Hazel doesn’t even want to kill anyone. He’s just in it for his revenge. The minute he has it, he can bolt the fuck out of there. Up your manipulation game Salem. I’m not buying it one bit.

This scene is so bad. I don’t even know why Salem keeps asking whose fault it was. It’s clear she already knows the answer, apparently it’s all Cinder’s fault. I don’t even get why it’s all Cinder’s fault but whatever I guess.

What is the POINT of this scene? We don’t learn anything new. Salem’s just stupid. Why follow this psycho? I really don’t understand.

Wait, how does Hazel know they’re taking the lamp to Atlas? Wasn’t he already gone by the time the good guys decided on this plan?

You know, the scene where she loses it would have been SO good if she hadn’t been shown like a temper tantrum throwing child earlier. This could have been the one thing that sets her on edge, her flaw in an otherwise very calm and mysterious outlook. But now it’s just… another one of those.

#rwde #i know im way behind but listen #im tired

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