#i don't even go here but in 3 years the visuals of this trailer | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

geekyhistoriansunite · 2 months

Text

Man Suang is a pretty good and solid movie!

Ok, putting out there. I got involved in Thai drama due to Kinnporsche the Series, no I have no shame about it. It was fun, it had good looking dudes, and even though it initially seemed over the top in acting effort, the actors started to flow into their characters better and it was a fun show. Kinnporsche had amazing behind the sceens stuff that actually got me interested in the actors, especially Apo and Mile, who are freaking cute together. But all good things must end and so did the series.

But then there was a ray of hope! A glorious teaser was released.

youtube

Please note: Absolutely none of this teaser was in the movie, which I find both exasperating because I love every bit of it and the music, but also hilarious, because they caught your attention.

Please note pt. : All the BL lovers from Kinnporsche were salivating hard and if they said they weren't they're lying liars who lie.

So attention was given. And it took a long while, but then they released on official trailer at the Cannes Film Festival! Oh shnap, we got some extreme legitimacy here. This was not going to be cheap film, this was going to be quality. And all the BL lovers are still crying in anticipation at seeing their boys back together again.

youtube

Please note pt. 3: We still have NO idea what this movie is about. Just have the visual, which are gorgeous and a couple written lines teasing, but still no actual plotline. That's ok, the interest is still strong.

And one thing Be On Cloud does VERY well, is know how to advertise and keep people's interests. And it finally releases almost a year later. And lots of people cry. Not because it's a bad movie, but because there's no blatant BL storyline. There are hints, teases, looks, but that is not the main storyline. People are crying online, they've been deceived, there's no BL!

Please note pt. 4 (I'm having way to many please notes): Be On Cloud NEVER said it was BL. It was inferred since both Apo and Mile were pared in a movie together and the fact that Bo On Cloud only had the one series with mega BL plotlines.

The only reviews I could read (In English, which is all I read. I know, I should try other languages but I legit have tried 4 languages and I just can't) mostly complained about the lack of BL storyline and that it was slow at times. No synopsis, no breakdowns. Full stop. I was sad. I kept checking on my tried and true Tumblr, which normally doesn't disappoint, but nada, bupkis. I was sad. Again. There was no release date I could find with English subtitles. Again, sadness ensued.

But finally, glory be, it was announced that Man Suang release on Netflix. Today. Yay! And after work I sat and watch it all, and here is my review...finally.

Man Suang is actually a pretty good movie. Most of my knowledge of Thai culture comes from BL shows, which helped a little but I did have to pause occasionally to look something up (the betal nuts for example) and I'm sure I missed a lot of things, but I got a pretty good understanding of everything. The pacing was a bit different from movies in the US, and that could be jarring, but I got used to it. Overall it was a good movie. I'd watch it again (which is a big deal for me, I watch once and then remind myself with fanfiction).

Thoughts (spoilers below):

Everyone was in a fucked up position. Except, Tiang, fuck him.

Khem: Sweetheart, just trying to take care of his friend. The finale probably fucked him up a bit. I like to consider Chatra comes back and gives him some comfort.

Please note (Please don't ask me what number this is): There's now going to be a BL series called Shine which is going to follow their relationship. See? Just had to be patient.

Chatra: Yeah, I'd be concerned if my father was a traitor and my whole family was going to pay for it. (On a side note: What is the Thai repercussions for that? Ancient China had death of the whole family for so many generations, but I'm not sure what they are in Siam.)

Wan: Baby...honey...that was fucked up. I get where you were coming from with your severe PTSD but trying to blow everyone up is not the answer. But I do hate that he felt betrayed by Khem.

Hong: Look at my sheltered little man turn into a Bossman! I see good things in his future.

All the aunties and women in the show: Couldn't have done it without you and I love seeing all of you. Especially auntie who put the mean boss in his place while trying to feed the two newcomers. (Boss: Don't flirt with my woman! Auntie: I flirt with who I want to, go sit in the corner until you're repentant! Boss: Yes, ma'am).

And finally: Absolutely gorgeous set design and costumes. Like, super wow. Loved it all! It was interesting to see the crossover of Thai and western design, like Chatra's suit and cravat top/traditional pants combo at the end. Jarring, but I imagine that time period was jarring with all the different influences happening as well. Much like the differences in hairstyles which helped you identify Chinese descent from Thai descent (using the Queue hairstyle instead of fully or partially grown out hair).

Overall, solid job on Man Suang, I recommend it to anyone who is interested in new cultures, pretty people, and just an interesting storyline.

#man suang #man suang review #for what one person's opinion is worth #Youtube #mansuang

10 notes · View notes

13eyond13 · 1 month

Note

For book ask game, no. 13, 14, 18, 25, 26. Thx :D

Ooh thanks for sending me more book asks!

13. Name a book with a really bad movie/tv adaptation:

Watchmen (2009) by Zack Snyder was a pretty mediocre adaptation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore, from what I remember of both of them (haven't revisited either of them in a long time, but distinctly remember having this opinion back when I first read it... like oh ok, so THIS is what it's actually supposed to be like).

I feel like as a director Zack Snyder is very good at creating epic movie trailer moments or music videos with stylish visuals (this trailer for it looked pretty exciting to me at the time it was new):

youtube

BUT then once you go to the theater and try to sit through one of his movies they usually just end up being just the most soulless drawn-out superficial and boring stuff, like watching a 3 hour long commercial. From what I remember a lot of the creative and innovative storytelling and the depth in the original Watchmen comic comes entirely from how it is presented to the reader on the page, too (with stuff like the layout of the panels and the stories-within-stories "Black Freighter" chapters that were cut out of the film entirely that cleverly parallel the present-day action, etc). Definitely recommend reading the graphic novel over watching this movie!

14. Name a book where the movie/tv adaptation is better than the original: Requiem for a Dream (2000) was a better experience as a crazy edgy depressing movie than it was as a novel by Hubert Selby Jr. to me:

youtube

I first saw this movie without having any idea what to expect when I was about 16, and even though it's pretty shocking in parts and upsetting to watch I remember really loving it back then and thinking of it as one of my favourite films at the time (I think I had a higher tolerance for certain kinds of edgelord stuff in my stories back in those days sometimes too, haha). This movie has always felt bit like a comic or a live action horror cartoon to me somehow? I think that it kinda goes too far a bit and nearly verges on comedy instead of tragedy at the end due to just how absurd and nightmarish it gets, but perhaps that almost unbelievable heightenedness of it all is kind of why it often feels a bit like a comic or a cartoon to me, too. And I still think there's quite a bit here to enjoy even despite the edginess as well. I think the acting is often very good, the soundtrack and the sound effects and the stylish visuals are great, and that the whole thing effectively creates a lot of very strong emotions like tension and dread and tenderness and wistfulness and loneliness and horror. It's maybe the only Darren Aronofsky film I actually like?

HOWEVER whenever I read the book that it was based on a few years ago I could barely get past the stylistic choices of the writer to enjoy what was being said (he wrote it in the 70s in sort of a dated stream-of-consciousness type writing style without many paragraph breaks or any quotation marks for separating the dialogue or the inner monologue from the prose, which I just found really annoying and off-putting to read). And the part about the book I liked the best, which was the colourful and extremely memorable dialogue and the slang that the characters use, was taken almost verbatim from the book and brought to life well on the screen too, so the whole time I was reading it I was just wanting to hear it said by the movie characters again instead. idk, I think it's a movie I'd definitely watch again sometime, but not a book I'd ever read again. Just more entertaining and less of a slog that way.

18. Which character from a book is the most like you?

Oh, very good question! Hmm... there are certain characters I relate to a lot for various reasons, but i don't know if anybody would say I'm extremely like them, probably? Of the books I've read more recently I feel like I'm sort of a bit of a Frodo character or something, maybe... his personality and his peaceful lifestyle before he gets sent on his adventure just feel very much like how I'd probably be living and socializing with everybody in the Shire myself, and the way he handles stuff like the burden of the ring on him and his reasons for doing things and how he worries about his friends who insist on sticking by his side and acts sort of secretive and more reserved feels relatable to me as well.

25. If you could be a character from a book for just one day who would you be and why? (Bonus: any specific day in the story?)

I want to be Wilbur the pig from Charlotte's Web getting a buttermilk bath and then eating the trough full of leftovers he gets (as a kid I remember thinking the lengthy descriptions of all the table scraps he was eating sounded really good for some reason, and the buttermilk bath sounded delicious to me as well lol).

26. If you could be a character from a book for their entire life who would you be and why?

I think it'd be pretty fun to be Lestat from the Vampire Chronicles because from what I remember he never feels guilty or angsty about much for too long, and he just knows how to have a good time no matter what. Even when he gets super bored or super depressed and then goes catatonic for a while he always eventually manages to bounce back and find something or someone new and interesting to get enthusiastic about and involved with again. He experiences things deeply and in an open-minded way while still never getting too burnt out by it or jaded about it either. If ever I were cursed to become immortal then I think his is the kind of personality that would make it the most enjoyable, anyway.

[bookish asks]

#ask #anon #books #movies #p

7 notes · View notes

ingravinoveritas · 11 months

Note

Why is Anna suddenly coming out with new headshot photos on the day of the good omens trailer release? Girl your desperation for attention is showing immensely if you think choosing to post on today of all days will make anyone forget about the husbands and focus on you instead. Also, wtf re: Georgias insta stories? One question; WHY? Another question; Why are you always talking about and thinking about vaginas and penis’s?? Why do these two always have to be competing for attention whenever the boys have anything? Why can’t they just be normal partners and be supportive without trying to undercut them?

Holy wow, okay...my inbox blew up. Yes indeed, lots of goings on today, most notably the amazing GO 2 trailer, which I've watched several times and has filled my heart with unbridled homosexual glee.

As for the rest of today's happenings, well...oof. First off, for those who haven't seen, let's get the visuals up, starting with AL's new headshots that she posted and Georgia calling her Barbie:

And here is the video/screenshots from Georgia's Insta stories:

...Quite a bit to unpack here, it seems. In terms of AL's headshots, some of you mentioned this (as have other folks who DMed me privately about them), and I agree that they were purposely posted on the same day as the GO 2 trailer release. It's just flagrantly transparent at this point, given the number of times this has happened with previous GO 2 news, and so yes, I do think Anna was trying to capitalize on the news stories and social media chatter around GO 2 to bring attention to herself.

That being said...I'm really not sure who told her that these were good head shots, but they were not at all being honest. The lighting is terrible, her hair looks dull, and the pictures for whatever reason seem...flat, to me. There's no life in them, no spark, which is not helped by her seemingly vacant expression. (Why is her mouth hanging open in disgust in the first picture? Why is she staring into the abyss in the second? I'm so confused...) The pictures are reminiscent of a photo shoot she did last year that inexplicably involved sitting on a radiator while she was pregnant, and the common thread between the two seems to be that either the photographers did not give her good directions, or she just doesn't know how to "relate" to the camera, which...is probably not a good thing, given her chosen profession of acting.

But what really was striking to me was the caption on this new post. The disingenuous tone of "I will admit, not the biggest fan of having pictures taken" coupled with the fact that these pictures were deliberately posted on the day of the GO 2 trailer release makes it seem like she is fishing for compliments/praise. Add to that Georgia sharing the post and referring to AL as "my very own Barbie" (which comes across as incredibly fake) and it becomes clear that this was again coordinated, this time not only to gain attention via the GO 2 trailer, but also Staged 3's impending release on the BBC.

Which then brings us to Georgia's Insta stories. Lord help me, I don't even know where to start. Well, it's been brought to my attention that "Would you rather" is a game, one that is often played on long car rides/road trips and used by parents to entertain restless children. I don't think I ever played it myself as a kid, but the basic gist seems easy enough to understand. What's less easy for me to understand, however, is (as several of you pointed out) Georgia using said game to talk about penises and vaginas.

I'm the first one to acknowledge that I talk about sex a lot. It's part of the work that I do as an autism sexuality advocate, and I'm all in favor of using correct anatomical terms and teaching people about human sexuality/development, and therefore not at all one to begrudge someone talking about genitalia. But with Georgia's stories, I get the sense that she is doing it for shock value more than anything else...and when you talk about penises/vaginas as much as she does, after a while it starts to come across as crass instead of shocking.

By her own admission, Georgia has said she needs content, and so logically, talking about something spicy would be a good way to drum up engagement/generate content. Yet I couldn't help thinking of the fact that Georgia has numerous trans and/or gender non-conforming followers, and given the current climate around transgender issues in the UK (and US)--especially things like "bathroom checks" and the despicable obsession GCs have with trans people's genitals--her stories just edge too close to something unsettling for me. I'm not saying this was necessarily intentional on Georgia's part, but the fact that she then shared people's responses without knowing (or caring) whether people were okay with it made it even weirder and more disquieting.

Both Georgia and AL posted the trailer to their Insta stories after posting the things above, and again this seems calculated because then you have to view the stories about them before getting to the GO 2 trailer. But as @phantomstars24 said, the focus was swiftly pulled off of them (rightfully so) once that trailer was out. They absolutely could have chosen to depict themselves as supportive partners, but chose to come across as opportunistic and self-serving instead. I can't begin to fathom why, but...there it is.

So yes, there was quite a bizarre incongruity between what was happening on Instagram vs. Twitter/Tumblr today, and the fact that it came from Michael and David's own partners makes it even stranger. I'm sure Georgia and AL have been tapped to help with the promotion for GO 2 (and Staged 3), but it really does seem like they missed the mark here. Cringe for days...

#anonymous #phantomstars24 #reply post #good omens 2 #michael sheen #welsh seduction machine #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #georgia tennant #also Georgia calling AL Barbie is strange to me because I've always thought of Barbie as having a personality #interpret that how you will #why do i always end up talking about penises on my blog #oh well #anna lundberg #discourse

25 notes · View notes

tiredgeekgirl · 4 months

Text

trolls 3 reviewww

so i've kind of had an off and on obsession with the trolls franchise since i saw the first film in 2016 as an almost 12-year-old who thought it was going to be the worst movie ever, and then after i watched it I was very pleasantly surprised, and it became one of my favorite films at the time

like I said the obsession's been on and off and while my opinion of the first movie has changed and I don't love it nearly as much as I did before, the franchise still holds a special place in my heart and makes me very happy, and I was so excited to see the third movie after I saw the trailers for it in theaters

anyway here are my overall thoughts:

• BRANCH-CENTRIC STORYLINE!!! Branch is my favorite character in this franchise and I loved seeing a plotline focused on him and his backstory. the "singing killed my grandma" line from the first film is still very funny, but honestly this movie actually made me a little emotional with the flashbacks we got, and said flashbacks shed some light on how sad his backstory actually is

• this movie was shockingly funny, of course there was some typical potty humor and a few questionable jokes, but overall a lot of the visual gags and jokes in this film were actually pretty hilarious, especially the scenes with Bruce/Spruce's family

• one of my main reasons for loving this franchise is Branch and Poppy's relationship, and they were SO freaking cute in this film, idc I'm a hopeless romantic and I loved seeing moments of these two as a canon couple

• I literally had a new favorite character every 5 seconds, from Branch's brothers to the new villains to a lot of the little background characters, and ofc it was also super fun to see this movie bring the Bergens back, it's super weird that the second movie kind of just ignored their existence entirely when they were one of the main plot points in the first film (at least that's what I've heard, I've never actually seen trolls world tour and I do not plan on it)

• THE MUSIC!!! I'm low-key kind of obsessed with white girl music from the early 2000s, so seeing the NSYNC reference at the end made me very happy, and I also just loved all the music in general in this film, Better Place (that song's been on repeat for me for about a week now LOL)

there were a few things I didn't love, namely Tiny Diamond's role in the film, I hate him and if you had taken him out of the film entirely the plot would not have changed whatsoever. luckily he wasn't even actually in it that much and some of his lines were actually kind of funny, but even when he was being his typical annoying self he didn't take away from the plot too much, which was nice. still, he's one of the main reasons I don't want to watch the second movie. and of course, like I mentioned earlier, there's some potty humor and suggestive jokes I didn't care for, but honestly the positives way outweigh the negatives with this film.

overall, i absolutely adored this movie! as a long-time fan I think it's the best piece of trolls media we've ever gotten, and even if you hate the franchise (which I completely understand regardless of my love for it), I feel like you would still enjoy this film, even if just for the visuals and character designs. solid 9/10 movie, would definitely recommend. think I'm going to go watch it again honestly LOL

#trolls band together #trolls #dreamworks

8 notes · View notes

7grandmel · 6 months

Text

Todays rip: 19/10/2023

Take Me Home, Country Snow

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: E3 2019 Press Kit

Ripped by Smoky

youtube

For as many memes as SiIva creates or helps popularize, be it Grand Dad, We Are Number One, Totino's Mania, and so on - there's just as many, if not more jokes that wholly eclipse SiIva in terms of popularity. A meme legend in the gaming community, shitposts of Todd Howard have been around long before SiIva's creation, yet only truly took off in 2015 thanks to his presence at Bethesda's E3 show. E3 in general is a holiday of sorts for the gaming community, not just because its home to a bevvy of announcements and trailers for upcoming games, but also for its unavoidable memetic quality - there's just so much SILLY shit that happens at E3, be it awkward live speeches, technical mishaps, ill-timed reveals, or the inevitable barrage of Phil Spence saying the word "gamer". The SiIvaGunner team are not ones to leave such fresh meme produce out to rot, and are always immensely quick on the draw when it comes to each year's E3 highlights.

But lets be real - out of all memes and jokes that spawn out of E3, I don't think there are any that even come close to being as timeless and eternally funny as Toddposting. Year after year, Bethesda show after Bethesda show, Todd is always there, always pushing and promising that THIS time will be different, THIS time the game will truly let you do all of those things that were promised last time. Coupled with the company's insistence on having you purchase Skyrim over and over, and its no wonder his name is so well known. And though Todd took over the entire channel for a brief bit in Season 3, it would take yet one more year for the magnum opus to be released.

Take Me Home, Country Snow is such a perfect instillation of everything SiIvaGunner is capable of doing, and of everything that SiIvaGunner IS. 2018 already solidified Fallout 76 as a complete catastrophy of a game, a symbol for just how many empty promises Todd Howard will do in order to get his game sold. By E3 next year, Todd's infamy was put front and center as he was made to step out on stage and admit the faults of his game. Take Me Home, Country Roads, as the anthem to Fallout 76, became laced in a sort of ironic melancholy, the realization that its idealized game was never going to truly happen...and yet here, its celebrated - mashed up with Snow Halation of all things. I discussed in Snow halocean that much of what makes Snow Halation rips so special is that they feel like a sort of inauguration ceremony for individual memes - a seal of approval that a meme has truly "made it" on the SiIvaGunner channel. The ever-consistent visuals, the insistence of having them only feature one joke at a time, and of course the per-rip "speeches" each joke provides near the last quarter of the runtime - it all gives these rips a sort of celebratory vibe. By this point, Todd Howard's meme status was wholly, unavoidably, cemented as part of SiIvaGunner.

All of this isn't even to mention the quality of the rip itself - the self-titled "Nuclear Winter" mix of American country vocals paired with cheerful, snow-clad idol pop creates a vibe wholly unique to this rip - Take Me Home, Country Snow creates an image of optimism and celebration that otherwise seems so foreign to Bethesda games within the wider gaming sphere. Yet that's just the thing - Todd Howard isn't on this stage for his achievements as a game developer, but for his legendary status within online shitposting. This rip celebrates everything we love about E3, and at this point feels like a farewell to the event as a whole.

Todd's indirectly put smiles on so many faces all over the world, even if it most definitely wasn't in the way he ever intended. Take Me Home, Country Snow.

9 notes · View notes

ghenry · 6 months

Note

Was recently replaying some of the No More Heroes games on Switch, and remembered the hype leading up to No More Heroes III. Do you remember any speculation or theories about the game leading up to it's release? I remember the big one was a leaked screenshot from one of the visual novel segments showing what seemed to be Young Harman Smith.

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for No More Heroes 3 as well as Flower, Sun, and Rain.

I remember that! I don't blame folks for thinking that.

I recall thinking it might be Aramata from Moonlight Syndrome, not that it would make much sense if it was.

Anyway, I recall a few other theories. A lot of people--including myself--were expecting appearances by the likes of Kusabi or Kuroyanagi. This speculation came from the end of the first NMH3 trailer from E3 2019 when Sylvia was calling out codenames at the end.

"The Tiger has awakened . . . red, green, dark, black, blood."

In The 25th Ward remake, as well as a few other stories Suda has written recently, many characters were given color codenames to represent them. Midori Midorikawa, a boss in NMH3, went by Green. Kuroyanagi goes by Black, etc. Of course, perhaps people--including myself-- just jumped the gun because now this can basically be a way of describing the alien goons and the multi-colored blood they tend to spill out.

A lot of us were also giving credence to Travis Strikes Again and how so many characters appeared in the visual novel segments, thinking everything was going to merge even more-so in NMH3. Although, Suda has said that he originally was going to have more connections, before they got cut.

I like to think is mostly because Suda can't retain rights to NMH so he'd probably rather wait for an IP he actually owns to encompass what he's established before. Either way, not a lot of this world-merging stuff really makes sense, so these days I'll take it or leave it. Suda has also stated he considers TSA a 'commemorative' title to Grasshopper, hence having so many characters invited to make cameos and such.

Here's one possible example of a removed cameo, the fine folks at believeinthe.net data-mined NMH3 and found a lot of unused emails. Here's one of them;

People that played Flower, Sun, and Rain can think of one particular talking alligator!

Screenshot from AdrianVG's dual-playthrough of FSR

I recall another theory, while not directly related to games outside of NMH, that Travis was going to essentially make amends with past villains like Destroyman and Kimmy in order to form his own team to take on Fu and his cronies. And not only that, but every new friend he'd make would utilize the NMH motel as their home base. This came from early previews showing Bad Girl and Shinobu had their own rooms there as well.

We thought this because one of the taglines from an earlier trailer;

From the first NMH3 Nintendo Direct Trailer, October 2020

"The Hood" as in people from Santa Destroy. Travis' hood. Didn't really happen, as Travis primarily fought everyone by himself. There was no real team-up until the near-end of the game.

I just remembered one last theory, that Tokio Morishima was in the game. This came from the very first piece of gameplay we saw all the way back in 2019.

From the NMH3 trailer first shown at The Game Awards 2019

I understand why people thought this, the spiky hair did remind me of Tokio.

Of course, what people didn't know at the time was that it was Henry, who was redesigned by Takashi Miyamoto, lead artist for The Silver Case and The 25th Ward.

At the very least, we did get to see previously established characters appear in NMH3, such as Midori Midorikawa, who Suda first wrote about back in 2018. Although the first time she was visually depicted was in the manga adapting that original story he wrote about 3 years later, but several months before No More Heroes 3 released.

And Kamui! At least a version of him, that whole thing is kind of finnicky. Also Notorious, from the Fire Pro Wrestling World DLC on PS4/PC.

These were the only theories I could recall myself. There could be more, but these were the ones I was most privy to. Thanks for your question!

#suda51 #grasshopper manufacture #nmh3 #no more heroes #no more heroes 3 #kill the past #The Silver Case #flower sun and rain #the 25th ward #Red Blue Green

15 notes · View notes

itsclydebitches · 2 years

Note

Your point about the Arc's and Salem's symbol relates to something that bugs me about RWBY, how it feels like the show rarely ever has anything we can analyze and theorize over in terms of it's visuals. That lack of 'theory bait', for lack of a better word, lessens a lot of reveals and results in the world and/or the characters being a little more shallow, as that 'bait' could lead to interesting quirks/details to either.

"the show rarely ever has anything we can analyze and theorize over in terms of it's visual"—this exactly! Yeah, to be honest I don't think RWBY was always like this. Many of the early visual hints weren't exactly subtle, but it was still satisfying to eventually learn that our assumptions were right. Wow, Blake wears a prominent bow on her head while being focused on the faunus civil rights movement? Turns out she has cat ears! Penny struggles with social interactions and has cool, energy-like designs on her legs and dress? She's a robot! There's a black bird with red eyes showing up near our protagonists? Turns out that's their uncle! Ozpin literally uses the first episode to point out that Ruby has a rare eye color? Hmm, I wonder if that will be important later. As someone who utterly despises the trend of swerving away from reveals because the audience realized what was up ahead of time, early RWBY remains satisfying to me in its commitment to following up on hints—obvious or otherwise—in its animation. There's foreshadowing that makes you rethink the entire story once you realize the twist with a gasp of shock, and there's foreshadowing that clues you into the twist early, setting up a fun anticipation of being rewarded for your attention to detail by saying, "You were right." Both are good.

Though I'd want to rewatch the show in its entirety to really commit to this claim, right now I want to say that RWBY probably started getting into trouble at the end of Volume 2 with the whole "Yang meets with Raven! ... wait never mind, we don't want to do that anymore. It was just a dream." Things flip-flopped for a while in Volumes 3-5—hence good reveals like Qrow's bird firm, the fandom assuming Tyrian's comment to Jaune meant something, etc.—but as the retcons piled up and the show grew more inconsistent, it became harder and harder to trust what we saw on screen. Even now, going into Volume 9, we're starting from a place of ambiguity that severely undermines how we read the characters' emotional journey this season. Meaning, Volume 8 showed us a slow-mo death scene where Blake was able to just miss saving Yang. The Ruby POV trailer for Volume 9 shows a super fast death scene that, in my mind, tries to erase criticism about the other characters' reactions by saying, "See? It all happened way too fast for anyone to react to, or process"... even though that's the opposite implication of the original scene: that there was time, but only one character responded. Fans literally can't theorize (confidently) about the canon anymore because at any point we might be told that something is retconned now, or a motivation has suddenly changed, a new perspective says something totally different from what was implied before, the scene portrayed as VITALLY important hasn't been mentioned in several years. Toss in the waning commitment to fairy tale inspirations and you've got a show that has no stability to theorize from. How many fans thought that Emerald would use the Lamp because she's Aladdin? That Ironwood's lost body would be explained because that's how he became the Tin Man? That Ruby would have an epic face-off against the Hound because she's Little Red Riding Hood and he's the Wolf? In fairness, I suppose that face-off did occur... if you count a single, Silver Eye blast and then the Schnees getting the killing blow. But every time RWBY introduces a foundation for us to work from—here are the rules of the universe, here are our inspirations, here are visual cues to hint at a later reveal, here are additions to the franchise that cover information we don't have time for in the webseries—RWBY inevitably comes back with, "The rule has changed now, we're following this inspiration but not that one, the visual cue is meaningless, that story isn't really canon." RWBY theories are like gambling nowadays. It might feel like you know what you're doing based on your own expectations and assumptions, but it's really just a rigged, randomized system.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

27 notes · View notes

wack-ashimself · 4 months

Text

'Silent Night' (2023) is one of the worst movies I have seen in years.

I literally had it on 2x the speed till almost an hour in. And still turned it on more times than off.

Because the first hour is literally a montage (the longest fucking one ever made) trying to act like it is artsy because no one talks (literally, no one. Radio noise in background at most).

The first hour is the long way around to tell you the story of the movie you got ENTIRELY from the trailer. Yes: I am saying there is practically NO action in the first hour. FOR AN ACTION MOVIE.

Oh, and it's racist as fuck, with a solid white hero complex bull shit (with a nice blue lives matter after taste). This was the most basic of stories, stereotypes, and the only benefit is they didn't bog you down with even dumber lines.

Not joking, skip to about 50 minutes in. Here's what you'll watch otherwise: 50 minutes of showing his kid got killed in a driveby because of those damn non whites (sarcasm for the thick), the cops didn't do anything, so he's taking the law into his own hands. BUT if he saves some good, innocent, hard working cops along the way, so be it. Oh yeah all this happens...

AFTER A YEAR. So if you keep watching...

You get his highs and lows of the year, including being bad at something then not being bad at it, his wife being so left alone she leaves him (how original!), and remembering the dead kid in the most bland scenarios (cuz, again, no dialogue) where you WILL fast forward thru most of this movie because even fucking vanilla yogurt is looking exciting. Even some of the action was lame; going in circles in a car & missing a bunch of shots isn't as cool as you think. I know it was trying the whole move of playing it straight; what IF a nobody trained over a year to become a killer, and you had to watch step by step his struggle? But...WE DO NOT CARE. IT-HAS-BEEN-DONE-AND-BETTER! We didn't come for the bad cakes you burnt; we came the good one. <ha. that's what she said.>

It just feels like this is the order the director/writer (or both) went with: 1-ART. Great shots, scenery. Sets a tone; NO DIALOGUE. All visual communication. 2-Emotional. This man lost his son, his voice, his wife, his will to live. FEEL HIS PAIN! 3-Oh yeah, it's an action movie. And because they sold it as action, AND action is overall the only worthwhile parts of this movie, BUT since action only takes up....1/3 of the movie, it fails in all 3. If it would have done by the books basics action movie, like Bruce Willis's like last 30, they could've at least been average....

Update: It's one of the worst movies I ever saw. I went from 3 to 2 to 1 just in the last 20 minutes. Cuz not only did his mad knife skills look cooler with the DUMMIE at the beginning of the movie, but, the last big boss was THE WORST ACTION SCENE IN THE MOVIE. You made the last scene the WORST!? HOW DO YOU OPT IN FOR THAT WITHOUT ANY THOUGHT?

'Silent Night' (2023): 1/10. I'd give it a 0 but I sadly probably have seen worse.

ps-best part? It's violent, and I usually don't like those parts the best, but when he pinned 2 bad guys with his car against the building on his drivers side, and stabbed one before he knew it? Never seen that in an action film. Thought it was smart. And for a second, looked semi inconspicuous. Still glad I went double speed on 80% of this movie. FUCK it's bad.

#silent night #movie #movies #movie review #movie reviews #action

1 note · View note

anam3ii · 5 months

Text

-Stream Update-

Dec.2,2023,

First of all, thank you for the notes, follows and blazes? Incase you don't know. I'm pretty new here so I appreciate it. I'm not sure how everything works, yet, but I'm assuming it's all good things lol 😅

Moving on..

I ended up streaming Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. I forgot that it has some mature content, like blood. It's not too graphic, so far. I have yet to finish the game, but the little that I did play, the game didn't show too much.

Haha. Yes, I suck at Ninja Gaiden. I streamed some of that, but that's not what I wanted to share about today. I'll be honest, I don't know anything about KF: Pillars of the Earth besides the little that I have experienced so far. Since, I had planned to post and update. I decided to do research and then share it with you.

The game is a point-and-click adventure developed and published by the German studio Daedalic Entertainment. It's based on Ken Follett's award-winning 1989 novel of the same name, which was adapted as a video game across 21 playable chapters. The story takes place in the 12th century in England: In a time of poverty and war. A small town begins the construction of a cathedral to claim wealth and safety for its people. In their struggle to survive, lives and destinies intertwine. Which tells me it's going to have some sad moments. It retells the story of the village Kingsbridge in a whole new interactive way. Play as Jack, Aliena and Philip and change the events of the book through exploration, decision-making and dialogues. Philip ,the monk, becomes prior of the small abbey of Kingsbridge. At the same time, a boy called Jack is raised in the woods by his outlawed mother. His apprenticeship as a stonemason paves his way to become a gifted master builder. Together with the disgraced noblewoman Aliena, Jack and Philip begin the construction of one of the greatest cathedrals England will ever see.

Now, I got this information from Wiki so I'm not sure how accurate it is. Book 1 of the game was released on August 2017, then Book 2 in Dec of that same year, after that was Book 3 on March 2018. The game has been around for a few years.

I also came across this website that talks about something I usually don't ever think about but will be keeping in mind next time I'm doing research. The link mentions that the game is about 14 1/2 hours in length when you focus on main objectives BUT if you're a gamer that strives to see all the aspects of the game then you'll spend about 19 hours to obtain 100% completion. Which ,to me, sounds like the game is very well worth what I paid. Although, the thing I noticed is that the website doesn't include are the stats for the switch version even though it says it was updated 1 day ago. Speaking of the switch version. You can get achievements and view them in the menu. Go to the menu you scroll down to Options->Extras->Achievements.

What drew me to this interesting medieval adventure story was the trailer itself. I think they did an awesome job. The game does have voice over with the special appearance by Ken. Which I think it's cool I'd love to do voice acting.

A story for another day...

I was able to immerse myself because it's such a beautiful game with an amazing story but it does seem like it is more of a visual novel than an adventure game. So far it doesn't have any puzzles which honestly I'm totally ok with. The voice acting was great! I do wonder how much of the story can be changed or if at all.

I'm sure the pc version is much better. Damn, I knew I should've waited and checked on steam first. Oh well, I got the game while it was on sale for like $2. I haven't had any issues per se but the one thing that has stood out to me,so far, is that their mouths at times move first before you hear the character talk or they continue to move after they are done talking. I'm not sure if it's on my end that the character's voice is out of sync or not.

I'm going to guess and say no only because I know via other reviews I've watched on youtube say that certain games are just not great on the switch. Mineko's Night Market game for example. The loading time was pretty bad. I'm not 100% sure if it still is or not, sorry. If you are thinking of getting the game, do what I should've done and do some research first and go from there.

Anyway, the out of sync is not a deal breaker for me but how do I describe this..it's a little annoying or weird? It's just hard to ignore at times, you now? lol In my research I found out that there is also a board game, and a 8 part miniseries that premiered back in 2011. It starred Eddie Redmayne, Hayley Attwell and Donald Sutherland.I wonder if it's good? Not going to lie,I am curious about the story. As you know, the books are usually different compared to their adaptations. We'll see once I'm done with the game.

I'll update this post once I have fully completed the game. Til next time! Happy gaming! <3

-A

0 notes

dreamaze · 1 year

Note

trailer nonnie here, it probably won’t change your interpretation but I think it’s good info to know anyways; during the part of the bts where the projection is clearly and vibrantly blue and green, when they’re still setting things up but the projection is being actively broadcast behind the members, Hyuka points at it and says, quote, “how long is that cat gonna chase us? that cat’s been at it for four years.” so it seems the members view it as the cat/the same character. that could be because of the eye colors in that moment or because they were told them in a creative briefing, we can’t really know for sure.

my guess is that they had that second file with the orange and purple in case they didn’t like how much the blue and the green stood out, and they wanted colors that matched the video. it just kind of personally bums me out ‘cause one of my favorite things is piecing together all the visual references to the blue and green eyes across all their media—since there’s so many, and several in the BU too. I just know that I would’ve freaked out had they kept the blue and the green, in a different, more excited and a less confused way than the route they went with. I just kind of wish they had chosen to desaturate the blue and green instead of outright changing the colors

that’s really my only sadness about the trailer—other than that, I’m speechless at how amazing it was, and I really recommend the bts because I had assumed they filmed some things certain ways but they were so dedicated and creative and I’m so impressed

(for reference: in the bts video the orange and purple file is at 1:53, where it’s clearly showing a profile file with those colors rather than it being projected—adding this ‘cause when I first saw the blue and green at the start, I thought “oh, they color graded it in post” and not “oh, they had an alternate file”)

ah, thank you for the additional info! i guess personally... i don't really expect them (the members) to keep up with the story in great detail (since they are not involved with the comic & prose) or to even necessarily distinguish between what is canon & what is referential, & i tend to take any offhand comments they make about it with a grain of salt, but... yeah, we don't know what they're briefed on beforehand unless they tell us. i was also a little disappointed, at least initially, that the eye colors weren't the same, but it is what it is & i decided not to perceive it as a "lesser" version of a reference just because they didn't go with blue & green (because again, the trailer itself is not part of the canon).

i have seen a few clips from the behind the scenes & was also impressed by how much was done with practical effects <3 they did a great job!

#asks

0 notes

liyazaki · 2 years

Text

Reveal Your Watch & Rewatch Drama List

thank you @billlkin @itoldsunset @villaneelle & @spicyvampire the tag! 💖 I was watching seven shows at once (help) until a bunch wrapped in the last week or two, so don't be fooled by the short list.

currently watching

Cutie Pie- I'm just having so much fun watching Cutie Pie... they're giving me everything I wanted & I'm loving every minute.

Cherry Blossoms After Winter- too many people are sleeping on this sweet, gorgeous little show. The romance is so tender & I would lay down my life for the precious baby boy that is Haebom- just look at him (& no- the mains aren't actually stepbrothers).

starting soon

KinnPorsche- I felt pretty neutral about the show, then that trailer dropped & hello, insta-feral. I'm beyond ready for a dark, twisty BL clearly made for the grown sluts out there with nary a university campus or engineering gear in sight. (Apr. 2nd)

Gameboys S2- I was starting to lose hope we were ever going to get a second season (fun fact: they shot the movie & S2 at the same time), so I'm feeling blessed that I even get to write that. (May 22nd)

Cherry Magic: The Movie- *insert high-pitched 'eeeeeee' squealing ad nauseam* (Apr. 8th)

GAP- this blog's about to be one big sapphic free-for-all when this starts. abandon all (non-wlw) hope, ye who enter here. (start date: ??)

Oh! My Sunshine Night- I'm so excited to see OhmFluke my beloveds in a drama that was quite literally made for them. (start date: ??)

To My Star S2- another one I'm vibrating with anticipation for- we are truly being blessed in the year of our BL Lord 2022. (start date: ??)

Between Us- excited we finally got a release date (Nov. 2022) & it's going to be long- as in UWMA long (16 eps!)

rewatching

I've only had one 'true' rewatch recently (i.e. watching a show all the way through) so except for #1 & #2, these are just go-to comfort shows I'll sporadically watch an ep or two of for my mental health.

I just finished a random Gameboys rewatch, ironically on the same day IdeaFirst announced S2. I'm not saying I single-handedly manifested this; I'm just saying stranger things have happened.

@flukenatouch & I will be starting our own little UWMA rewatch soon involving Thai desserts, bingo cards- the works ✨

Love By Chance (AePete/some Tin/Can scenes only)- I have no clue how many times I've rewatched LBC for the mind-melting sweetness that is AePete...honestly, I don’t want to know.

History 3: Trapped- another one I have rewatch amnesia for (ignorance = bliss), mainly for the Jack & Zhao Li scenes.

Cherry Magic- CM is the visual equivalent of a warm hug for your soul & I will never not want to rewatch it.

I'm really missing my Light On Me boys lately & the most perfectly-executed love triangle of all time. maybe a rewatch this week- before even more new shows kick off- is in order (she says like she isn't a working professional with 10,000 obligations).

I will rewatch ITSAY & IPYTM until my dying day- that being said, I've got to be in the right headspace to rewatch (i.e. in the mood for total mental-emotional-spiritual annihilation #angstwhore).

no-pressure tagging @nanons @jaehwany @rose-nebulijia @lettucebeshrimp @icouldhyperfixatehim @suzukibeanes @snimeat @aheartandashirt @ommited-miscellaneously @rashfcrd @absolutebl @negrowhat & anyone else who wants to join in!

#tag games #tag you're it #cutie pie the series #cherry blossoms after winter #kinnporsche #gameboys #cherry magic the movie #gap the series #oh my sunshine night #to my star season 2 #between us the series #love by chance #history 3: trapped #light on me the series #itsay #ipytm

25 notes · View notes

leighlim · 3 years

Text

One of the biggest challenges of parenting is knowing when to let go.

Hopefully by this point you’ve finished ‘A Summer's End - Hong Kong 1986’ as well as 'Saving Face', the kind of person who isn’t bothered by spoilers, or are just deciding to gather more ammo before purchasing the film or the game.

I heard about the game from a viewer of 'Saving Face', and initially thought it was a game released in 1986. It wasn't until I saw the trailer from the studio (and read the reviews!) that I realised the game was released in 2020.

I know! I didn't play the game but watched the whole thing (the one that included the ending that had Michelle and Sam end up together) and one thought I had was: Whoa...that's amazing that the recording comes out as clear as this!

(Of course...it didn't occur to me that I was looking at a widescreen version of the game...and not a letterbox version....which was prevalent during that time period)

I did notice mention of the comparison to 'Saving Face'. I guess there is a bit of a parallel, in a sense that the Protagonist is not so assertive compared to her love interest? Plus, there's the fact that Wil doesn't deliver any low blows (except that cheeky dig about heels during the first Planet China scene). The biggest difference is this one is more drama.

(Though I do recognise that I'm once again...choosing the moment of levity during a certain part of the climax as the highlight for this post. But I think once Michelle's mother had the clarity that it was Sam...she still would ask the same thing: pertinent information about the person so she can relax and know that her daughter will be safe and cared for.)

Another thing the two titles have in common is the moral of: leading with the truth.

The dialogue for this game is probably the weakest point (You'll see it even clearer if you compare it side-by-side with 'Saving Face'). Even then...somehow the visuals, story structure, and score make it easy for it to not stick out as much. For example: The biggest surprise for me was when we got the reveal (1:04:43) Sam actually stayed. Now that's good story structure (in terms of set-up and payoff)! Because it makes sense...yet it was unexpected (at least for me...since I rarely try to predict what's going to happen next...unless a specific thought pops up when I put together timestamp commentaries.).

PS: While I might have gone with different choices, I didn't feel like I could invest the time in exploring the game (I mean...I already watched more than 5 hours of gameplay! Now that's a LOT!), so I don't think I would be playing it in the future (unless its specifically for research...)

PPS: If you want to watch the same gameplay I did...head here:

Part 1 (Act 1 - Inciting Incident)

Part 2 (First clash between Protagonist and Antagonist)

Part 3 (The boundaries of the Protagonist are tested)

Part 4 (Michelle tries to understand Sam's actions)

Part 5 (Michelle plans to end contact with Sam)

Part 6 (

Part 7 (

Part 8 (

Part 9 (

Part 10 (

Part 11 (Climax and Resolution)

PPPS: If you're wanting to make sure that this game is appropriate for your kids, then I must tell you. There is definitely 'MA' content. Could it be more on the 'R' side? Not sure...I'll leave that for you to decide.

(The good news is...apparently those sections of the game are available as an add-on. I like this! It would be great if there would be a possibility to filter out specific content. So...if I wanted a 'G' film...I'd be interested to see what scenes are left! But I guess that would be challenging...because again...it's a matter of perspective)

As for discussion? There's something to be said about consent. If you've seen the 90-10 rule applied in 'Hitch', then you'll be scratching your head (or maybe having an interesting discussion with other parents who have either played the game or watched most of the story). Maybe it's also a nod to the year the game was set in?

The good news though...is....Sam does pivot in the PG sections but in the 'MA' ....well....lets just say my biggest worry was that Michelle would see the whole thing as something she doesn't have a say in.

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

HIGHLIGHT:

Michelle: How can you use my father to guilt me like this?

Mrs. Cheung: Guilt you? Isn't it the truth?

Michelle: I've always been a good daughter. I've been diligent in my studies and I've always given my best effort at my work. I've done everything to make you and father proud of me. How can I be happy when you're like this? When you're suspiscious of everything I do?

Mrs. Cheung: Your happiness? Why should you be unhappy? I'm the one hurt by you. You're still hiding something from me right now.

Michelle: Why can't you just trust me? Why do you have to control what I do?

Mrs. Cheung: Not when you're behaving like this.

Michelle: The way you are is suffocating me.

Mrs. Cheung: Huh? Suffocating? How dare you talk back to me! You think by being with a man for a night you can suddenly talk back to your mother?

Michelle: What!? Why do you keep insinuating this? If you want to know so badly, yes! I was with someone!

Mrs. Cheung: Tell me. Who is he? What's he like? Is he educated?

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

My verdict of the film: 6/10 (The humour was a surprise, as well as the writing not veering into melodrama)

Link to the timestamp commentary: Maybe? (Not sure how I could do a timestamp commentary on a game...)

A Formal Review of the game: None (You can request sure! But I feel like there is more than enough content about what makes it special)

My Thoughts about the creation and development of the game: None (I do have links to the Cambridge/SF/Toronto startup scene...but...unless I'm specifically asked to weigh in on the writing...)

More of my comments about the game: None (Though you are certainly welcome to DM me ideas!)

Instagram Entries: TBA? (Not really sure how this would fit in my Instagram feed...Maybe if Tida gave me the go-ahead to use a number of her high resolution images she made for the game that didn't make the cut...so I could put music in the background as the images cycle through)

#Video Games #Gaming #A Summers End #A Summers End Hong Kong 1986 #Tida Kietsungden #Drama #Romance #Visual Novel #Crystal Cola #Stevia Sphere #Period Video Games #Period Games #Charissa So #Oracle And Bone Studio #Dana Jean Phoenix #Visual Novels

4 notes · View notes

doctorstrangeaskblog · 6 years

Text

Venom Review (No spoilers) (for people who are afraid to go watch it)

All the info here was in the trailers. No spoilers.

REMEMBER THIS IS MY OPINION AND THAT YOU SHOULD TAKE YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS.

If you wanted to go to the movies but the first critiques demotivated you, just ignore it and go watch it, specially if you're a Venom fan. The movie was really cool, both the villain and the protagonist were interesting to see, the "love interest" people said that was useless in the movie actually had a really important plot and character development, even in the final battle. Of course the movie isn't the best movie of the year and it's not as fun as Iron Man or Spider Man Homecoming, but even so to me the movie is fun to watch and totally worth the time and money. The 3D wasn't sooo relevant, just in a scene where there were drones, but all the rest, 2D would have done just fine too. The visual effects were very good, the actors too, there was a lot of realism, the suspense was awesome, the relationship between Venom and Eddie is the best of the movie. The only bad things (which aren't so bad) is that the movie from the mid act to the final act speed up a lot and the battles are a bit dark, but at the same time, the vibe is great. Venom even without gore and blood still gave us the impression of his/her/it violent brutal nature, it was a surprisingly light movie, even when Venom attacks and eats people still isn't gory but we also get the realism of the thing, so it is FUN.

I feel like many people exaggerated when they said the movie was bad, and a lot of people followed the vibe and repeated the same shit, but in my opinion all that negative reaction was just mass effect. Venom looks VERY realistic, the sound effects and the visual effects too. Side characters aren't explored much, but well, we don't want a 3 hour movie, right? I think Sony succeeded at adapting an origin story for Venom without Spider Man. Venom here is the hero of the story (with Eddie) despite being violent, brutal and with antagonistic morals, but well, he's an alien and Eddie is sort of teaching him the things.

The sensation I had from this movie was that it was the intro to the characters that will participate in an awesome trilogy yet to come. The movie lasted around 2 hours but I confess it was super fast, you really don't notice time passing as the parallel events start to unfold. The first act of the movie, despite being a bit long when compared to the total screentime, was very light and fun to see, I don't think it was a negative point at all as people were saying. We get to know Eddie, his life and what kind of person he is as we watch the villain build his way through as well. For people who just wanted to see Venom breaking things and killing people, the movie was halfway boring, but to people who want to hear a story and understand what is going on, get to know the characters and follow their development, the movie was super cool, super funny to watch.

I totally recommend, my mom isn't even a Venom fan and she enjoyed the movie, which was a typical action and fun super hero film, darker than usual Marvel movies are but not as dark as DC movies (I'm literally talking about the light.).

Eddie is totally not like Jim Carrey and the movie was way better than Cat Woman, I really REALLY think the critiques, specially the professionals missed a chance to do a great constructive analysis to just keep repeating "the story made no sense, it was a comedy movie", no, it wasn't. It was fun sarcastic humor, badass action scenes and scientific suspense. It left a "I want more of this".

Many of the critiques like "there were no cameras in the Life Foundation experimental area!" are just silly cause NO ONE WOULD PUT CAMERAS IN AN AREA WHERE FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENTS ARE TAKING PLACE!! THEY WOULDN'T BUILD PROOF AGAINST THEMSELVES ANY SECURITY GUARD COULD STEAL A TAPE AND RUIN THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION! Indeed, a lot of the critique makes no sense, specially the ones regarding Venom's choices, those guys really didn't read the comics and basically they assume Venom is just a heartless alien who wants to kill everyone. Any fan who read 1 chapter with Venom in it knows the alien is way more complex than that, he's sentimental too, he has his morals and yes he is hungry, but he isn't a dumb eating machine, we all know in the comics Venom hates Spider Man because HE WAS REJECTED and that Venom's relationship with Eddie is a super physical and emotional bond, and to me who wrote the critiques ignored all that aspect of the characters.

So yeah, if you had even just one sparkle of will to go watch the movie, go watch the movie and take your own conclusions, but be sure the movie totally wasn't the shit professional critiques are saying it was.

Conclusion

Totally recommend because it's fun to watch and respects the canon for the characters, even if Eddie was a bit "improved" when compared to the comics, I really like him and Venom in the movie. 3D really won't make much of a difference, there's no gore so if you're afraid it will be like horror movies, don't worry, it's not. The movie gives us exactly what the trailers promised and wait for the post credit scenes, specially the first one.

In my personal scale of fun...

I give it a 7,8 out of 10

Made me laugh, made me smile, I got home happy and satisfied, wanting more of it.

#venom #marvel #venom movie #venom sony #movies

45 notes · View notes

unrated-g · 7 years

Text

I don't want to reblog that long ass BoL vs Coco post

But the amount of misinformation on it is astounding. When Gutierrez opted his movie at Pixar, he was turned down because Pixar was already optioning Coco, they noted similar themes, and while in the past they’ve completely cancelled movies to allow similar sounding projects from other studios a chance to flourish (the whole Newt/Rio thing), I’m guessing they didn’t cancel Coco here because at this point neither project had been totally green lit. Part of the reason BoL eventually DID get greenlit was because Fox saw the whole trademark debacle go down, prior to Coco being formally announced (remember the first rumblings of the project started spreading when Toy Story 3 hit theaters) and Fox saw it as an opportunity to get a movie made that could beat Coco to the box office and establish mindshare specifically so that when Coco did finally get announced this exact dumb comparison stuff would happen. You guys are doing exactly what Fox hoped would happen. And speaking of the trademark debacle…

Disney/Pixar did not try to trademark Dia De Los Muertos as a way to own the holiday and merchandising and distribution rights etc. It was to register the then working title of Coco, and start the ball rolling on all the work and contracts necessary to get everything from trailers to posters to yes merchandise made. The backlash to the whole misunderstanding delayed the project and made them have to wait until it’s final title was nailed down to officially announce anything. Keep in mind that other holidays and yes even Dia De Los Muertos have already/since been trademarked for the purposes of film and short projects, just as Disney was attempting to do 5 years ago. It doesn’t mean any of the distributors of those films can sue someone for celebrating or that they can commodify the holiday in any way.

Also, in what way is Coco existing a bad thing? The Book of Life is great, I like it, but it’s not a transcendental film that means there’s no room for similar concepts to be explored ever again. It was forced to include a marketable but relatively inauthentic cast, referenced to contemporary music and humor that could make for a sellable trailer. It’s frame narrative is heavy handed and clunky. Visually it’s absolutely ace though, and frankly, I think Coco looks beautiful too from what little we’ve been given. The casting for Coco is promising, the crew is promising, the intent and the amount of research has been promising. Disney/Pixar also has the capital and the reach to make this a film that will be seen by a far wider audience than The Book of Life was able to, and that’s important! We should be encouraging this! Assuming the movie doesn’t turn out to be a terrible and offensive garbage heap, which even given Pixar’s worst output, seems highly unlikely, how is it a bad thing for this movie to be made? Oh, I guess because in 120 seconds of broad strokes the teaser seemed too similar to The Book of Life? Why not give this movie a chance to come out, see it, and THEN make your comparisons? I know a lot of people feel that whatever came first cannot be topped and should remain unchallenged, but as a Mexican, I whole heartedly welcome attempts to introduce audiences to stories and themes I grew up with. A movie like this taking off opens the door for more, and more stories about my family’s culture, about different aspects of that culture, beyond DotD. DotD is mainly the go to because the core of the celebration is universal and we encourage EVERYONE to participate. It’s an aspect of our culture that we openly share already, but here’s another chance for it to be presented with a voice that can reach further. I’m stoked, to be completely honest.

Plus, while a lot of people on here are trying to be scorned on behalf of Gutierrez, and pit these two films against each other instead of letting them complement each other, Gutierrez was tweeting how excited he is to see Coco.

#I'm so done with the constant us vs them mentality with games and animation on here #Coco #The Book of Life

306 notes · View notes

symbianosgames · 7 years

Link

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Emeric Thoa is Creative Director and Co-Founder at The Game Bakers, the studio behind Furi, Combo Crew, or the Squids games on console, PC and mobile. This post is reposted from The Game Bakers blog. Follow The Game Bakers: @TheGameBakers / @EmericThoa

Furi is a character action game for console and PC in which you fight only bosses. You can get an idea of what the game is about with this trailer: Furi Trailer.

*****

We launched Furi and received a truly incredible response from some players: they are crazy about the game, they love it more than I could have ever dreamt. In the meantime, other players, some reviewers didn't enjoy the game or felt rejected by it. And they criticized the game for that. That’s pretty fair, but here is a thing. Not every game is for you. That’s what is called diversity. That’s a good thing (Ken Wong explains it better than I would ever do).

Of course, there are games that are bad or average. They missed something and very few people actually love them. But I don't think it's the case for Furi. As it was very well summed up in some reviews, Furi is a love-hate kind of game. And believe it or not: it’s by design. It’s a game that was designed to create intense satisfaction, and it succeeded in doing so, even if it frustrated some along the way.

Furi is a Love-Hate game

In this article, I’ll explain how we came up with this intention, and how we made it happen.

PART ONE: On making a game that doesn’t try to please everyone.

After we made Combo Crew on mobile, my partner Audrey and myself started thinking about what our next game could be. We were in 2013. Indie gaming was already big, but we knew it would grow bigger. We knew the market would be even more saturated, even more fragmented. We knew that, by 2016, iOS and Google Play would be nothing like in 2010. Steam would be flooded by releases every day, and even the very young new consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) would have their stores full of games and sales of any kind.

We realized that, in order to be in the top 10 of the indie devs, we needed to make something « outstanding ». A game that stands out, in every possible way. A game with an edge. A game that I call a « Triple i » or “iii”.

This picture was in the very first document for Furi

Triple AAA games have the budget, the talents, the teams to achieve greatness with a huge scope. Story, visuals, characters, gameplay features, game modes, game length… they try to have everything in order to please everybody. Their aim is mass audience.

We believed that, in order to be competitive, smaller studios must go the opposite way. We are too small to be the best at everything, but we can aim to be the best at one thing. We can make something edgy. We can choose not to please everybody. We can choose to make something that most would actually dislike, in order to make sure a niche of gamers will find it truly memorable.

This was the foundation of our strategy for the three years to come.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

Every decision in Furi was made in order to make it memorable for a niche of gamers who were somewhat starved: the Japanese character action game fans. Every decision was made in order to make the game outstanding, unique and focused.

The art direction stands out, with colourful and surrealistic environments.

The character design is stylish and unique, as we can expect from Afro Samurai’s creator Takashi Okazaki.

The combat is (very) fast paced, inspired by Japanese game design.

Its use of both shoot’em up and beat’em up mechanics is totally unique.

The soundtrack is made up of original compositions from amazing electro and synthwave musicians.

If we compare with the direction taken by a recent mainstream beat’em up like God of War, it's clear to see we just went the opposite way. They go for realism, we opted for surrealism. They went for an orchestral soundtrack, we decided on electro. Let’s not fight head to head with these guys, right?

They aimed for mass appeal, we didn't. No compromises. No consensus. We developed a game for a niche audience, but with the intention on casting a spell on our fans forever.

PART TWO: On fighting half-measures. On making strong choices.

This is a bold strategy to start with, but it’s even harder to make it actually happen. Especially during two years of production where as a creative director you are constantly challenged, by the team, by the playtesters, by the press in previews, by trailers comments… by anyone who is slightly involved in the game really.

I remember, during the heat of the production, tweeting this:

Any designer who reads me knows what I’m talking about. This fight against consensus, against half-measures, was the key to succeeding with this initial strategy of not trying to please everyone. If you go soft, you lose the edge, and then it’s over.

Here are some examples of the controversial decisions I took. Even some players who loved the game still disagree with them. I hear them. I’m not saying it couldn’t have been done otherwise or better. If I could, I would improve lots of things in the game, like the tutorials or the promenade mode. But I would probably stick with some of the controversial decisions I took, they are part of what makes Furi what it is.

Spoilers ahead.

Paths

In Furi, in between each fight, there are walking sequences where you just get backstory and coaching by your rabbit-masked mysterious buddy. You discover a visually unique environment teasing the upcoming boss personality, and listen to the music. These sequences are important because they give a meaning to the game through the story, they build the tension, and they force the player to take a break in between two intense boss fights. I knew the most arcade-hardcore players wouldn’t like it, but for most of our audience, it took Furi from “a great game” to “a meaningful experience”. As a designer, we stood strong with the idea of having the player “walk” and even “autowalk” (there’s a button for that) for 3-4 minutes. No minions to fight. No experience points to grind. No loot. I bet you can imagine this was a tough call to keep for two years of development.

The secret ending that resets your save

At one point in the game, there is a disguised choice. You can basically stop fighting. Stop killing. Reach a status quo. There is no good ending in the game, they all are good and bad in some ways. There is no happy end. But at least, you can choose why you fight for, or if you want to fight at all. It was important to me to make it “a true ending”. Otherwise it would have been a simple “easter egg”. Another trophy to the list. So I stood with the decision to reset the save after the players get that ending. Some people are annoyed because it makes them replay half of the game. Some people are annoyed because they triggered the ending accidentally (they are right to be annoyed, they are collateral damage of a strong design choice). But this kind of moment: - “I found a hidden event”. - “Oh it’s an ending, a peaceful one in a game about duels”. - “F*** my save is erased, they are not kidding, it’s actually over”. It’s part of what Furi tries to deliver. Surprise, adrenalin, intense emotions. Some people ranted about it, but some understood and loved it.

No come back from Promenade difficulty level

The game has three difficulty levels. The default one (Furi level) is demanding, requires a lot of patience and perseverance, and delivers a great deal of satisfaction when beaten. The hard one (Furier) is an extremely difficult game mode with the patterns and boss fights redesigned. We know that players who finish this game mode love the game and understood it, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to beat it. We actually thank them for that.

The last one (Promenade) is an extremely easy and shorter difficulty level for players who just don’t want to invest as much effort in the gameplay. Some players complain they can’t switch to Promenade for one fight and then come back to Furi mode. The reason we don’t allow this is not to punish players, it’s the opposite. If we did allow that, players would be tempted to switch to Promenade as soon as they encounter a difficulty peak. They would be tempted to go back and forth between the difficulty levels and they would lose all the satisfaction they'd get of eventually overcoming a big challenge.

Dashing on the “release”, a.k.a. the false perception of delay

In the game, there is a very fast, satisfying dodge ability, that makes you basically invincible. Some players have complained it was laggy or they felt a delay. There is no delay at all, but the dash starts when you “release” the button, not when you “press”. The reason for that is that you can charge the dash to go further. Press and hold, you charge. Release, you dash. This charging dash gives tons of depth to the patterns we can create. The boss fights get a lot of variety from this feature. But even within the team, this decision was considered very controversial. We could have split the dash ability on two buttons (quick dash/charged dash), but it felt too complex. Once you are used to a quick press & release for a dash (and most players are after one or two bosses), you get both the simplicity of the controls AND the gameplay depth.

These are only a few of the decisions that were controversial but that I decided to stick with instead of looking for a compromise. Of course, I DID change a lot of the design when I got complaints or relevant comments. I’m not saying it’s good to be narrow-minded. But it’s good to take some risks in order to keep your edge. I’m very grateful to Audrey and the core team at The Game Bakers and our partners at Sony for understanding that. They all committed to this vision from the start of the project.

PART THREE: On creating intense satisfaction.

The reason I love video games is because they create emotions. Through their gameplay, story, visuals, music, they can deliver any emotion you can think of.

Uncharted 4 delivers great brainless distraction, P.T. freaks you out, Journey creates a bond, Monument Valley makes you feel smart and poetic. Furi creates intense satisfaction. And by necessity, it can also create intense frustration along the way.

But I believe it succeeded creating intense satisfaction.

People say the game is hard. I would argue it’s mostly from another time. It’s anachronic. It requires patience (definitively not a trendy trait) and it’s a game of counter attack (a game where you wait and punish instead of aggressively attacking with combos, as in most games of the 2000's to current era).

But players who are perseverant will get better each time they play. Furi is like a guitar and each bossfight is like a partition. You start playing and you suck at it, but you get better after each practice. This is not something everyone is willing to do, but it makes it extremely satisfying when you finally beat a boss. This satisfaction is actually proportional to the effort you put into the bossfight. In order to create intense satisfaction, you need to require efforts.

And when the game manages to trigger that into someone, when a player finally overcomes the frustration and pain to turn it into relief and satisfaction, you get this:

The industry has a tendency to reward games that don’t itch. Metacritic rules us all, and the formula to get a high Metacritic score is to make a game with one good feature and no flaw. We are prompted to make games that don’t displease, games that don’t frustrate. But recently, I have seen more and more games trying to be edgy. Trying to create intense emotions, even if it’s at the risk of segregating themselves from a larger audience. It’s exciting. Let’s welcome that.

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes