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hopeymchope · 3 months

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"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" might've had a lot less kaiju action than the previous attempt to translate Godzilla into a TV series, but it more than made up for that in quality storytelling!

My sundry observations, gripes, praises and questions:

They really went out of their way to honor the Japanese roots of the source material, didn't they? We're in Japan for a ton of the show, dealing with Japanese and/or Japanese-descended characters for the majority of it, and have a surprising amount of Japanese dialogue throughout — it's nice.

I know Wyatt Russell is a Nepo Baby, but he's honestly still very good at what he does. I don't think the series has any bad acting... but the two Russells (because Kurt Russell is, ofc, amazing), Mari Yamamota (Keiko Miura) and Joe Tippett (Tim) are still the absolute highlights for most of the run, IMO. The Russells and Yamamota do the emotional heavy lifting with aplomb, whereas Tippett is so naturalistic and likable that it's hard not to find him engaging.

Cate starts off the series being such an asshole who doesn't show any empathy for people going through the EXACT SAME SHIT that she is, but I think the later reveal of her trauma on "G-Day" somewhat explains her attitude problem. She then manages to pivot to being much more likable JUUUUST in time for the episode where we get the flashbacks revealing she was a shitty person even BEFORE G-Day. LOL.

May ALSO swings between being likable and being a total ass, and while that sounds like a complaint, I actually sort of appreciate it. We're seeing the main female characters get the kind of nuance and depth to them that they aren't often afforde in mass-market media, and that's cool.

On the flip side, there's Kentaro. The fact that both Cate and May get to act both likable and dickishreally me expect the same thing for Kentaro. They're the trio of young people who make up the titular "Legacy," right? (Well, I guess that's mostly meant to refer to Cate/Kentaro.) So... I was shocked when Kentaro's chance to be a total prick never came around. He's pretty likable and understandable throughout! Even when he's being SUPER harsh on Hiroshi, I still understand it in light of what Hiroshi's done to their families. I feel like maybe Kentaro got something of a short shrift on this front. He gets adequate backstory, mind you, but he also never gets either A) as much focus time as May and Cate, nor B) a chance to come off like kind of a dick like May and Cate sometimes do? It's a little tempting to say that making him the more "pure" of the trio comes off as sexist, but... the way that he gradually is shoved into the background of the story's focus and doesn't even get to go on the big final adventure makes it pretty clear that this ISN'T because the producers favor Kentaro. More like the opposite....

In fact, take particular note of how nobody really gives him credit for how he was the ENTIRE REASON THEY SURVIVED Episode 4. They diss him and don't believe him, and when he's ultimately proven right in a way that saves all their asses? May gives the credit for her survival to Cate for some inexplicable reason. (Except for ONE later moment when neither Kentaro or Cate can know or hear her admit Kentaro saved them.) WTF. I found that frustrating.

That episode was the start of Cate and May becoming incredibly tight-knight with one another, and I'm still not clear on how/why that happened. Is it just because they both vascillate between being chlidish assholes and likable adults?? By the halfway point of the show, I was really getting strong shippy vibes off them. Which would be super cute and sweet if it wasn't also, y'know... kinda shitty. Because May used to be with her brother? Who clearly still had feelings for her when the series starts, just a few days prior? MMM.... not cool, May. To be fair, however, not always caring about their own hurtful/sketchy behavior is actually pretty in-character for them both, so maybe it works. And I suppose you gotta take that happiness where you can get it in this crazy, now-kaiju-laden world.

The character who shows up at the end of Episode 9 completely shocked me. They got me there. And in light of that twist — that character who disappears near the end of the finale? Perhaps this goes without saying, but there's no way we've seen the last of them. ZERO chance... unless the person portraying them doesn't renew their contract for season 2 or something. :P

This is, of course, a "Monsterverse" series. But the logic of how the Hollow Earth works in this show doesn't seem to REMOTELY align with how it was portrayed in Godzilla vs Kong, does it? Not even KIND OF. I wonder if Godzilla x Kong will get that disconnect to retroactively make sense.

At least one returning actor from the Monsterverse films shows up to provide a link... for one scene.

And speaking of the Monsterverse, that's hardly the only Continuity Sketchiness going on here! Serizawa only gets name-dropped ONCE in this series despite the fact that he's still presumably the HEAD DUDE IN CHARGE over there. They keep calling Verdugo the Deputy Director because Serizawa is the director, right?? Though Verdugo sure does make unilateral decisions about the whole-ass organizations multiple times in this show.

All of my prior point is especially goofy when the idea of HELPING Godzilla is treated as this shocking, bizarre concept ..... despite the fact that it's Serizawa's entire fucking philosophy since BEFORE this takes place???

Okay, let's shift back to positives: Takehiro Hira doesn't get as much screen time as many cast members, but his performances over the last two episodes are friggin' emotionally devastating. Fantastic.

The lack of more Toho monsters in the Monsterverse has been something of a downer for me personally, but they still do pull out some really cool original designs. That Frost Vark is pretty badass.

#godzilla #monsterverse #monarch #monarch: legacy of monsters #kaiju

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hinugundam · 7 months

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now that the dust has settled: my full thoughts on ff16. obvious spoilers ahead. writing this so i can stop having all these things pinball around in my brain

despite all marketing and me believing it'd be a good game in the end, i wasn't exactly faithful to 16. i didn't expect it to be perfect, and i believe that saved me from feeling deeply disappointed by it. before i even delve into specifics, i wanna say that i still think it's not a bad game and that it has strengths (though mainly in production value and its boss fights) so it's not a whole flop, but at the end of the day it didn't succeed in impressing me. it can shock, but it couldn't impress.

in the first playthrough, that whole beginning portion of the game is near perfect. id say that 1/3 to the whole first half of the game are very strong and had me thinking it'd be great all the way through, but once you make it past that point small issues in writing and pacing become larger and harder to look away from. the ambition and grand scale of everything gets so big that it feels like the game is locking you in a car and driving past it all way too fast. when they said the game was almost 2 disc's and that it was a "rollercoaster" of a ride, they were right. but not the way i thought. i think if it was stretched out and paced better, maybe even being a two part game or a trilogy like 13, the story could've been handled better with less hiccups. events and shit just kinda get away from you, and it doesn't help that side quests are timed weirdly and sometimes awfully, so much so to the point where i felt more engaged in side quests than the main story. at first it seemed to have a solid system: 2 to 3 main story beats, and then some side quests to slow it down a bit. after a certain point the story slows down and almost grinds to a halt and every like 2 main story beats you have oodles upon oodles of side quests go through, and these will all take you longer than the next few main story beats. rinse and repeat. it just kinda sucked ass and by the end i just became so detached from what was going on. the pacing struggles so bad. this isn't to say i didn't like the side quests as a whole; some aren't so great but some i felt touched me more than what was happening in the main story, and that was also kinda. weird.

when it comes to characters i feel like i have a lot of gripes. clive himself bothers me a lot because pre timeskip he's a very nuanced and troubled man, with layers to his character and lots of room for development and growth. you see his low lows and his grips on being a murderer, feeling guilty and alone, and pondering what it means to be a man or a monster, something that's very briefly shown in jill too, but it just kinda. goes away post timeskip. in fact, the feeling of being alone in his suffering and sudden martyrdom is very occasionally touched on by other characters who attempt to convince him it isn't so, but then the game just kinda..makes it obsolete? cause he's alright and he doesn't exactly think on that stuff anymore. he's the man and he can do it all. you don't see clive hit rock bottom again. you don't see him question himself or the things he's learning. at first i thought that maybe his hubris would lead him to make bad decisions, giving rise to more growth, but nah. story just goes on. this is all my own opinion obviously but the fact that it feels like clive changes off screen wasn't good. wanted to see more and feel closer to him. in the beginning you literally see him contemplating suicide..i know years pass between that but i was disappointed by his character the most. for a protag he felt okay, but nothing great. lots of other characters in game suffer from weird writing and being sidelined by plot yet he's the biggest issue for me personally.

my biggest gripe? the entire end of the game. no i don't just mean clive dying on the beach. i mean the entire final act. what the fuck was that. 86 sidequests into the final act that barely takes an hour, and it begins with a qte "fight", dion dies in the most lackluster way after being on the other side of the game the entire time and never even getting to be a party member, and then a 1 minute walking scene which felt so useless, into the final boss with the most cheesy shit. no final dungeon. no classic boss rush. you know what felt like the actual final dungeon? fuckin odin. and even that was super fast. there being no final dungeon straight up pissed me off so bad i don't think ill ever get over that lmao. not to mention ultima was honestly lame, and finding out his truth at literally the end where only clive and joshua are there to know felt shitty. hated it tbh! one of the most boring end sequences in a game ive played in a minute. that ending was clearly catered to a certain audience, and i respect that and the audience, but it wasn't for me and it only made me feel like the game couldn't hold onto its serious nature. having the main character say final fantasy and do a 9999 punch was too goofy for the source material. ff is known for its blend of both but that shit came out of nowhere and was huge whiplash. i wasn't a fan im afraid

there are many little things i could say. ive had a lot of time to sit and ruminate but i didn't walk away caring all that much. gameplay was fun, but even then it still lacked depth. once again feels like an almost great game. i don't hate the game and i don't exactly feel wholly negative about it, but it didn't impact me and didn't stick. after 2 months i was done and i haven't looked back. don't care to platinum and don't personally care for the dlcs but i will play them when they come out. it was a game! they tried hard but it had a lot of bumps and problems. didn't have to be perfect but could have been much better than the final result. would honestly give it a solid 7/10. cheers and onto the next

#if you read then i love u but remember #its mostly subjective and im not shitting on anybody elses feelings #dont hate 16 or its fans at all #sometimes i have to leave my opinions in my little internet journal to feel sated

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afklancelot · 1 year

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despite everything, i still read new scp articles every now and then (tho much less than before) and now i have Criticisms on an article per usual, this time being SCP-7454

to summarize: SCP-7454 is a humanoid entity whose name used to be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. The Foundation became aware of them when they disrupted a feast dedicated to said goddess, "calling out" those at the feast, and agents were sent to contain them. anyways after a few conversations between the entity and a researcher, the entity releases they identify as a male instead of female, and with some encouragement from the researcher that the Foundation will help them with gender-affirming treatment. it ends with the entity deciding his new name will be Issac. The end

of course, the article was posted last week, so im trying to be nice. that said, the writing feels almost juvenile, especially with how the entity, Issac, acts and speaks. He doesn't sound like a (former) Greek Goddess who's been around for a loooooooong time at all, he sounds more like a rebellious teenager who's familiar with social media. look, im not saying Gods can't act "modern" and whatnot, but it's kinda hard to take Issac and the article as a whole seriously (when it needs to be) when he's using cuss words like "fucknut" and urinating over a statue of his former self. in addition, when the researcher speculates out loud that Issac is transgender, it just feels like the researcher is just saying it to our face; there are zero attempts at being subtle at that part, or even Issac figuring out himself. more of a personal gripe on my end, given i like it when themes and main ideas are more subtle rather then in your face.

another thing: there were posts on here that were like "i'm tired of feminist/queer retelling of storytales/mythologies because they refuse to engage with the source material in the first place". While those posts were mostly aimed towards YA novels and the like, i feel like it sorta applies to this article as well. the readers are told the skip was, or at least claimed to be, Aphrodite, but as I said before, he barely even acts like a proper God at all beyond complaining about his divine family and his worshippers and whatnot (and even then his family is only mentioned). when Issac complains about having been known as the "Goddess of motherhood", i genuinely got confused cuz I've also seen Hera as the goddess of motherhood. this ended up being half right on my end; Hera is known as the goddess of childbirth, marriage, and women, and there are two websites that associate motherhood to Aphrodite (albeit one of them was because Aphrodite threatening her son with a sandal ended up being a tradition for mothers around the world), so I'll give the author that.

point is Aphrodite, or Issac as he goes by at the end of the article, doesn't feel like a God at all. Different interpretations of the Greek Gods exist in other media, and whether they're accurate or not, they do tend to be decent interpretations, even Rick Riordan's. SCP-7454 feels less like the (former) Goddess of Love and Beauty from Greek culture and more like a regular guy with identity issues and an oppressive family who happened to have the name "Aphrodite" slapped onto them.

now, i admit i know jackshit bout writing, but i do have Ideas. For this scp article, if i were to change anything bout it, i would have there be a revelation that Issac isn't actually Aphrodite, but rather a child of Aphrodite. then all that would need to be added is that Issac confesses they came from a family that had expectations thrown onto him because his mother is the Most Beautiful Woman, and that gives him gender dysphoria. Even if everything else stays the same in the article, I would've ended up liking it better. Hell, if you want to do a transgender Greek God, you could always use Hera: make Hera want to break away from being a Goddess of Woman + motherhood as they release they might identify as male, but Zeus forbids it, so Hera runs away for the Foundation to find them, and agrees on the condition they shield Hera from Zeus.

Also- Issac? there are at least ten names out there, and the former god chose Issac of all names?

#scp foundation #this ended up being a lot longer than intended #again im not trying to be too mean but i also do like complaining/criticizing every now and then #i wanna make a positive post about scps soon too #also i had to jump between this tab and the scp article bc i genuinely kept forgetting the main details

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chaoskirin · 4 months

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Book Review of Birthright--Impavidus Cycle Book 1 by M.A. Vice.

This was a really great book! There's so much about it I love, and the story is suuuuper engaging. I especially liked the beginning because it's unlike any book I've ever read before. The main character, Albtraum (which I pronounce Alb-tray-um. Not sure if it's supposed to be pronounced that way or not, but it sounds cool so I went with it. And it also kinda looks like "I'll b-tray 'em" which is one of the main character's worries so I really liked that) …. er, anyway. Albtraum "wakes" and discovers he's the son of a daemon. He doesn't remember anything before that point, but his dad (who lives in his mind at the moment) wants him to do lots of murders to increase his power. And it's… Cool. You have this main character who is the antagonist for EVERYONE ELSE in the world for a hot minute (the span of 4 years, I think) until the seeds of doubt are planted and he starts to wonder if maybe killing everyone isn't the best thing to do.

The characters all have unique, interesting voices and are clearly defined through their actions, hobbies, and preferences. I feel for them. I like some and distrust others. I am shocked by revelations and irritated (in a good way!) by certain decisions. The author knows how to write and develop characters for sure.

I also liked the epic feel of this story. I don't know what you would really call this, because it's not URBAN fantasy, but it does take place on an alternate reality version of our own earth, although it's really impossible to tell if it's in the past or a post-dystopian future. I like that. It really could be either. Or neither! Maybe it's just an alternate universe where daemons exist.

Awesome setting, perfect amount of description, great, believable dialogue.

There are a few issues I had, but they were only enough for me to take off one star, 'cuz I liked the story so much.

Especially in the first few chapters, there are a lot of words repeated. Even though they're common words, them being used within one line of each other made things a little repetitive.

My own gripe: I'm not a fan of love triangles. This one is relatively short, but I just don't personally like them.

Almost everyone seems to love Albtraum immediately. It works with the setting, for the most part, but the fawning can get a little uncomfortable.

There's a part of the book I can't really talk about because of spoilers, but it involves the relationship between Mianna and Albtraum. I feel as if it moved too fast.

The end of the book seems really long after the climax. After I finished what felt like the most exciting part of the book, I still had 40 minutes left to read, and I'm a fast reader.

Other than that, I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to book 2!

#book review #impavidus cycle #writing #writeblr

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xxtha-blog · 2 years

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Hhhm, let's say Killer, Horror, Dust and Cross working for Nightmare BUT canon wise. Like, they all fighting each other daily every minute and every hour to prove their loyalty and use to Nightmare. Because they know, that if Nightmare feels like one of them is not up to his standards, they will be discarded in the worst possible way. So they're cruel to anyone including each other, so Nightmare doesn't kill them. Is that even close to an example of what you meant about something canon about them? I'm curious.

See, saying all of those characters working for Nightmare but canon is kind of contradiction for many many many reasons:

Nightmare would never put a team like that together. Despite the fact he doesn't engage in direct conflict much, he doesn't need a specific group doing work for him. Everyone in that group is practically useless except maybe Killer.

Cross is not a bad guy, he only agreed to do what Nightmare asked in Underverse under very specific circumstances that have now long since passed. He wouldn't do it again willingly, he CANT do it again unwillingly (he lost his overwrite ability) and again, going for my point that when Nightmare wants a specific person to do something he thinks will help him, he can just get almost ANY person to do that based on the situation.

Horror is unstable and useless. Of all the people in the multiverse to bring out of their universe why choose Horror? He literally fucked up his own au enough to make it one of the worst in the multiverse, one Dream doesn’t try to enter. As it is, that au practically needs him there to stay negative. And why would he work for Nightmare anyways? What’s Nightmare going to bargain for? The AU is negative, he wouldn’t want to kill everyone. Horror doesn’t seem to have self preservation. He wouldn’t leave his AU without his brother. He’d have to be held against his will and I’m not convinced there’s much that would make him stay there for long.

Dust wouldn't work willingly, he only cares about HIS au. he has no business with any other au or any other timeline. One of the creators has gone on record to say though Dust could conceivably work with Nightmare, but he'd only do it to go back to his au. If that wasn't happening, there'd be no point in working for Nightmare, and he'd rather just off himself. Like, this character would rather DIE than work with Nightmare. You can't look me in the eyes and tell me we could do this canonly unless they are being held at gunpoint. https://ask-dusttale.tumblr.com/post/645181783573446656/indeed-i-like-asking-a-lot-of-question-about-this

Killer is the only person who has any inclination toward helping Nightmare because once he takes control of his au, his main goal is just staying emotionless. Extreme negativity drives his soul to change stages, Nightmare gives that negativity, killer has no gripes doing what is asked.

The only downside to Killer is dead people do not help Nightmare. And Killer isn't exactly a man of non-lethal tactics. None of them can travel AUs either, if you’re going to make a team of negative creating evil guys why choose a bunch of unstable murderous shits that can’t even jump a timeline by themselves, that’s so much more work.

But back to the other ones, Nightmare's aura would destroy Horror and Dust. They would not be able to handle it. Do you really think putting 2 emotionally unstable people next to the man who EMITS INTENSE NEGATIVITY is a recipe for a good team? When Nightmare is around them they'd both lose their shit.

What about interrelationships? Well, Dust and Killer certainly wouldn't like each other. Dust's entire au centres around him trying to get rid of the human for good, trusting them so little he'll still ruin their 'murder route' when they do pacifist. Killer is a different timeline of Dust (alternate timelines and all) that JOINED the human. He wouldn't attack him directly because, well it's Killer and that probably wouldn't end well, but he'd fight him if Killer attacked him first. https://ask-dusttale.tumblr.com/post/645177670348472321/what-would-be-murdersanss-opinion-and-reaction He would hate Killer if he found out who he is and what he did, and Killer would probably taunt him for being a failure at getting rid of his own human. Cross wouldn’t like any of them. Again, he’s not a bad guy, why would he want to be lumped with the murder gang here, the man only killed his au to try to save everyone from XGaster, he’s literally just traumatized. He wants to do better, he wants his old au back, but it’s not like Nightmare can bring the au back. What would Nightmare want from him and what would Nightmare be able to give him that would make Cross actually work for him other than threatening his life?

Killer, let's talk Killer. The man can go into stage 4 from strong reminders of his past. What's stage 4 you ask? Oh, just him losing mind and trying to kill everything and everyone in sight brutally. So don't ever leave him in a room with the others I guess. He’s certainly not stable enough for that one. I don’t even know what to say about Horror, a lot of people think he shouldn’t be in it because ‘he’s not evil’ which just obviously isn’t true, the man straight up murdered a guard and then doomed the entire underground lmao. I guess he’d be more useful than Dust over there, but none of his goals really align with any of the others and I can’t see him giving a shit about any one of them.

The entire group is just a bunch of not-really-that-useful-to-Nightmare murderers (or just Cross? for some reason) that can’t jump timelines by themselves, that wouldn’t want to work for Nightmare and would have to be severely threatened to do it, one of which may just off themselves if their end of the deal isn’t coming through, one of which can and will try to kill all of them if he’s randomly set off, one of which causes negativity ALREADY and does a damn good job of it, and one of which ISN’T EVIL??? all most whom are emotionally unstable being headed up by a man who radiates emotional instability from his very being. And no, Nightmare doesn’t really have reason kill any of them, even if he did ‘threaten it’. He’d only do it as a last last resort, it’s so much better to make people suffer. But this team is such a god damn disaster that the ONLY way people make it work is by throwing out EVERY SINGLE TEAM MEMBER’S MOTIVES, PERSONALITY, AND POWERS out a window. And I get that people love their found family villains turned good trope, I’m not saying it’s bad.

I’m saying good god good lord is it overdone, I would love it if someone could actually give me something that’s vaguely canon ever. Someone needs to be more creative here

#nightmare gang #bad sanses

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that-shamrock-vibe · 3 years

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Movie Review: Cinderella (Spoilers)

Disclaimer: I am posting this review the day after the movie airs on Amazon Prime, so if you haven't yet seen it don't read on until you do.

General Reaction:

It is slightly weird to think of another movie studio taking on one of the classic fairy-tales that isn't Disney, because, as I am sure is the case for a large portion of the mainstream audience, Disney have almost claimed fairytale adaptations as their own.

However, as identified, Cinderella, is a fairy tale and one created long before Disney came about. As such, other studios are allowed to put across their own interpretation of these classic stories that we have seen a lot of times adapted at this point.

That being said, we have seen many different adaptations of Cinderella at this point from the classis Disney Animation version and it's live-action counterpart, to modern-day reworkings like A Cinderella Story of the mid-noughties starring Hilary Duff.

It's quite an easy story to tell and adapt to a variety of different settings, and what this 2021 retelling does with the story blends the old-fashioned with the modern. Does that mean it is set apart from the others? Well in my opinion yes and no.

While this is a Sony movie, it plays a lot like a Disney Channel Original Movie. From the comedy to the settings to the costuming and the music, it plays like the best of those types of movies. I'm talking the High School Musical franchise and the Descendants franchise. It is by no means bad or corny, but it isn't even on the level of the 2016 live-action Cinderella.

While that version was pretty much a straightforward live-action version of the original animated version, the style of the movie outweighed the substance.

Here however, there is a great blend of both style and substance. The story takes the classic elements of the original Cinderella fairy tale but tries to inject a modern and feministic twist that the recent live-action Beauty and the Beast tried to do.

In terms of whether this version of Cinderella stands out in the crowd of Cinderella movies, I would say it does. Not only is the titular character race-bent and the setting she is in seemingly plays into that, but the reworking of the Fairy Godmother as the Fab G as well as giving the Stepmother a more humanised backstory allows for a more compelling take on a classic.

Cast:

Because this is just the one all-in review I'm not going to do an in-depth character analysis and instead group the characters as who were my favourites, who did a passable job, who was bad and who were for some reason just there.

Favourites:

I have a top 3/4 favourite characters in this movie. Idina Menzel's Stepmother Vivian, Billy Porter's Fab G, Minnie Driver's Queen Beatrice and additionally Beverly Knight's Queen Tatiana.

Idina Menzel was always going to be fantastic in this movie, but to see her portray what is traditionally the villain character in the movie as a sympathetic character as part of the movie's feminist agenda was an interesting twist. No cat for a start, I don't know if Lucifer was a part of the original fairy tale but of course in the Disney adaptations Lady Tremaine is always accompanied by her faithful feline, but also the fact that her backstory parallels Ella's current story and the fact Vivian was so willing to have Ella reject her passion to do what is expected of her just as was forced on her was actually great motivation.

In truth I have only ever seen Billy Porter in one other thing aside from this movie and that was American Horror Story: Apocalypse. I have never seen Pose though I have heard good things, but from what I understand, Billy Porter only really has one speed. However, as the character's name states, that speed is fabulous. I loved Fab G in this movie, the fairy godmother is usually one of my favourite characters in the movie and every interpretation I have seen has brought something different and memorable. If this version of Cinderella is remembered for anything it will be for this very modernised take on the Fairy Godmother, not only gender-bending and race-bending a traditionally white female character, but with Porter choosing to make the character non-binary and that outfit speaks for itself, Fab G was simply a fabulous character.

In both Disney adaptations, I have never heard mention or reference to Prince Charming having a living mother...or a dead one for that matter. So to not only have the Queen being in a chunk of this movie, but also having her own story branch tying into the feminist agenda running through the movie and being portrayed by Minnie Driver, I was in love with this character.

Pretty much similar to the Fab G, if you've seen Beverly Knight's one second in the trailers you've pretty much seen her in the movie. She contributes to Ella's story in the movie and only appears in the latter half of the movie in 2 maybe 3 scenes but she makes an impact because she's Beverly Knight. My only gripe with her is she does not sing in the movie, you have Beverly Knight with not even a solo in a group number?

Passable:

Unfortunately the star of the movie Camilla Cabello is just passable in this movie as Cinderella. She does have some humour about her and her singing is great despite maybe being autotuned because I know how she can sing, but she doesn't feel like Cinderella to me, it actually feels more like a version of what Emma Watson was doing with Belle in the live-action Beauty and the Beast rather than Cinderella but at least she tried.

As for Nicholas Galitzine, he's definitely more engaging as a modern-day Prince Charming, Robert is definitely more engaging a character than Ella unfortunately, which to be fair is still good as the 2015 Cinderella is the only other adaptation to really make the Prince interesting, but I can't quite put my finger on exactly which movie it is but there is another movie I have seen where the Prince Regent doesn't want to be king but the Princess does and has to fight for her right to be it...that's pretty much this story for them.

Also Pierce Brosnan as the King, despite jokingly singing towards the end, did a great job at being the archetype of old-fashioned values with his on-screen wife Minnie Driver's queen pushing him into a modern-day thinking.

Bad:

As for who's bad, I have to say it pains but the British comic relief characters really let the side down in this movie.

In the three mice defence, Romesh Ranganathan and James Acaster are somewhat funny but unnecessary. James Corden however is abismal in this movie. I get he produces it, but particularly after Cats I do not understand 1) Why he'd want to portray another CG animal or 2) Ever think that one shot of him changing back from human to mouse with his head on a mouse body was funny...it was terrifying.

Also this movie is supposedly a family-audience movie...so why include a crass joke of Corden's character talking about peeing out of his front tail?

Additionally to the three mice, Rob Beckett has a surprising role in this movie as a potential suitor for Vivian's daughters, but he simply portrays such a creepy, cringe-worthy character it's almost uncomfortable to watch.

New Additions:

So as well as the two queens and the British comic relief there is also the addition of Princess Gwen to the movie who is the sister of the Prince and the one who wants to be ruler. It's kind of the same story as Jasmine's in the live-action Aladdin as wanting to be Sultan but being a woman isn't taken seriously, however here it is treated more comedically as every time there is a serious moment with the King trying to force Robert to grow up and be King, she always tries to interject with "Would this be a bad time to tell you about an actual real reason why I would be a good ruler" and they make sense but she's always dismissed until the very end.

Then there's a town crier, who is also inserted as a musical number while he's reading his proclamations but as a rap. Honestly I don't know Doc Brown as an artist but I did happen to enjoy what he contributed.

Music:

Which brings us on nicely to the music of the movie as this is a musical and I usually break down the songs. Again this time I will be doing groupings of best to worse.

Honestly my favourite number is probably "Shining Star" mostly performed by Billy Porter with verses by Camilla Cabello and, unfortunately, James Corden.

I also enjoyed the two original songs of the movie, "Million to One" which is Cabello's "I Want" song of the movie and used a lot through the movie, and then also "Dream Girl" which is Idina's main other song but also sung by basically the women of the movie, it's Idina Menzel if you don't give her an original song it's an insult.

Idina's other song is a cover of "Material Girl" and honestly it is a lot of fun, Nicholas Galitzine's rendition of "Somebody to Love" was also fun and surprising as I did not think this guy could sing that well.

The group numbers were fun and well choreographed but they are also somewhat forgettable. The song at the ball of "Whatta Man/Seven Nation Army" was probably the most memorable but still just mediocre.

Recommendation:

So with all that said, would I recommend watching Sony's Cinderella? Honestly I would say it is worth at least one viewing, and I do recommend watching all the way through just to get the full experience. I do think it will do better as a streaming movie than it would have done as a theatrical release, but I cannot pinpoint a market for this movie.

I don't think this will go down as one of the great adaptations, but there are moments and aspects of the movie that sets it apart from the crowd.

Overall I rate this movie a 7/10, it's not as fantastic as I feel the trailers were making it out to be, but having seen the movie twice there are definitely elements of the movie I looked forward to watching the second time around.

So that's my review of Sony's Cinderella, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

#cinderella #cinderella 2021 #camilla cabello #nicholas galitzine #pierce brosnan #idina menzel #minnie driver #romesh ranganathan #james corden #james acaster #billy porter #rob beckett

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azurlaneincorrectquotes · 2 years

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Ranking every shardbearer boss in elden ring from worst to best

7: Rennala

The only boss on this list I hate. First phase is really similar to royal rat Vanguard from Dark Souls 2, which is a pretty shit fight. Phase 2, though takes place in a gorgeous arena, is somehow even more mindless than phase one. Due to how dull and lackluster the fight is, it drops all the way down

6: Godrick

The first Great Rune most people will get, Godrick the Grafted is a pretty decent first bout. The cutscene where he grafts himself is metal, his mechanics are simple yet engaging, and you can never really get comfy. My issue is that he goes from daunting to complete joke once you have a decent weapon.

5: Melania

The infamous Blade of Miquella lands here. The atmosphere of the fight is tranquil, but Malenia is anything but. She's fast strong, and dear GOD waterfoul dance. And her second phase reminds me of a certain classic painting. My main complaints are the fact that her heal isn't proportional to her damage output, making a shield a liability, her inability to stagger unless she wants to, and some technical bugs

4: Mohg

Just outside the top 3 is this creepy fuck. His phase 1 theme is one of my favorites, and his voice is great. His "TRES!" will stick with me for a long time. His moves look pretty cool and varied, and the fire keeps you guessing. I'm not a large fan of the fact you either take 0 damage or 2 heals worth of damage from his phase 2 buff, and I feel the second phase is a downgrade

3: Morgott

You mother fucker, why are you so sick? Fast, flashy, combos, big hits, and sick sword rain. I figured I'd meet him again after the Margit fight, but never figured he was the King. My only gripe with this fight is he's not durable enough. It's always over a bit before I want it to be.

2: Radahn

This fight is just cool. Charging through a ruined war zone to fight it's commander with your allies is like the Burnt Ivory King, but you actually know who your allies are. His attacks are the right mix of flashy and deadly that you feel sick dodging them, he's easily able to hit everyone around him at once no matter his target, and his roars are awesome. And he literally dips from the call only to become a meteor phase 2. If I had to nitpick, I hate his rock attack because it's a bitch to dodge, but this is one of the best fights. Except...

1: Rykard

It's like Yhorm, but a real boss fight. The Serpent Hunter feels good to use, The God Devouring Serpent has a good mix of melee and ranged. Its fast enough to punish mistakes, but slow enough to let you Rev up the weapon and let her rip. And then comes phase 2, and JESUS CHRIST CALM DOWN. My greatest achievement in Elden Ring was dodging the skull rain, his Mega sword swing, and then landing the Skill right to the face. Rykard's moves are a mix of fast and staggered, keeping you from spam rolling. And his design is horrific.

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alastanor · 3 years

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youtube

To start, I would like to thank @cis-het-angel-kinnie for bringing this video to my attention, even if it was to praise the video rather than to point out it's flawed arguments against Charlie for main character.

If you have not seen the video yet, I recommend giving it a watch prior to reading this or you may be confused.

Click to read more...

What Is A Protagonist?

I am not bringing up this question because I think the source used was incorrect. However, the statement that "protagonists ask questions and antagonists make arguments" is an oversimplification of both roles. And I am going to explain why.

The trope of protagonist vs antagonist is an age old theme which has been used countless times throughout storytelling's history in books, plays, films, and story-driven video games. As such, the definition of both roles has continued to flourish and evolve over time. It is no longer good vs evil.

While @diregentleman used books written by, I assume, published writers for his argument, I am going to use Creative Writing and Literary Experts from a Masterclass article.

In the article, a protagonist is described as this:

"In storytelling, a protagonist is the main character or principal character or group of characters in a story."

More than one character is capable of being an antagonist in this story. Given that demons are meant to be redeemed, fitting the theme of the story, it is fair to surmise that all (or the majority of) the demons surrounding Charlie are protagonists in some form.

The article goes on to state that the protagonist's goals reflect the overall story goals and the plot moves forward based on their decisions.

This being said, Charlie's overall goal reflects the premise of the story, that being that Hazbin Hotel is a story about redemption. This is a goal that Angel Dust does not have.

In DireGentleman's video, he claims Angel Dust joined the Happy Hotel with the intention of being redeemed, albeit skeptical whether it could actually be done. This is actually inaccurate, and we see this in both the pilot and the comic.

Angel does display skepticism straight from the gate, but when they explain their reason for approaching him (that no one else has agreed), he makes this face:

Does that really look like someone who believes redemption may be possible? But for further establishment of just how little Angel believes redemption is possible, Angel also laughs them off and calls their goal "lame."

The only reason Angel agrees to Charlie and Vaggie's proposition is because it is a rent free place to stay. He admits as much just a bit further into the comic. By the end, Angel says "Redemption, it's silly. Huh, Nuggs."

The tone we are led to believe he uses is one of contemplation and relief. Relief due likely to the fact that there is some light at the end of the tunnel to the shit situation he was in.

This is just comic evidence, of course. If we go to the pilot, when Angel is engaging in the turf war with Cherri Bomb, he explains that he is using Charlie and Vaggie for free rent. Further exemplified when he later asks if participating in the turf war meant he didn't have a free room anymore. But also in his conversation with Cherri, he also admits that he is still taking some drugs behind Charlie and Vaggie's back. Something that we see immediately toward the opening of the pilot when Angel buys a bag of Angel Dust.

Character Dynamic

I cannot emphasize this enough, the Hunicast is NOT a good exemplifier for character dynamics. Every single "character interaction" is based on fanon, not canon, and they are prompted by the fans themselves. Only Viv really knows exactly how Angel and Alastor would canonically interact. It is no better a source for character dynamic than the wiki is for accurate information. IE, some things may hold true, but the majority of it is not and it is better just to wait until it is confirmed canon.

Moving on...

There is a lot of focus on Valentino as a main antagonist, based entirely too much on the hope that Angel will be the main protagonist. And this is really just disingenuous when you consider there are two other implied Overlords, as well as several other sources of strife within the world of Hazbin Hotel.

An Antagonist is someone working against the protagonist to prevent them from achieving their goal. Alastor would not meet this criteria, as he is a self-professed observer and conflict creator. But he is not a main antagonist. Someone working against the goal of redemption could be anyone from the Overlords (which, far as we know, would include Valentino), Lucifer, or even Heaven itself.

Where antagonists come into play, quoting Masterlist once again, I think these two types of antagonists were overlooked:

A conflict-creator. An antagonist doesn’t have to be a “bad guy.” Sometimes, they’re just a character whose goals are in direct conflict with the protagonist’s, like Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice or Javert working to arrest Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

The protagonist themselves. The main source of conflict in a story can be from within the protagonist themselves—their shortcomings or insecurities are keeping them from reaching their goal. A prime example of this is Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. While Holden comes into conflict with many characters in the novel, the ever-present antagonizing conflict comes from his own obsessions and insecurities.

Now, why did I bring up these two types? Well! I'm glad you asked! You see, where conflict-creator comes into play would line up more with Alastor. He isn't really the bad guy, but he does create some friction where his goals meet with Charlie's. He is a professed observer, but it is strongly believed that there is something else, another goal, that he has omitted.

As for the Protagonist themselves, this lines up pretty strongly where Charlie is concerned. You could argue that it does for Angel too, but Angel's goal, as mentioned before, is not Redemption. That goal is Charlie's, and hers alone. Yet it is her naivety, inexperience, and insecurities surrounding her failures as a princess that are holding her back from achieving her goal. Going by this, not only do we have multiple protagonists, but we also have multiple antagonists.

"So far, no one else's past is wrought with tension like Angel Dust's."

Even if this wasn't a sweeping, dismissive statement made with limited information, it would still be incorrect. Why? Because each and every character in Hazbin Hotel is going to have their own story to tell. Stories that will each be as relatable and wrought with tension, the only reason we know Angel so extensively is because Viv put the most work into him. She has admitted that Alastor and Angel were characters she wrote based on past dealings and experiences she had. Let those implications sink in a bit.

Now, to further this, people don't need to empathize with a character to like them. They can sympathize as well, even if they personally cannot relate to the emotions the character is feeling.

And where Angel is concerned, he is not addicted to drugs. Angel has used drugs to escape the pain of his trauma. His response in the pilot to having his drugs stolen from him is not one of a typical addict. Which leads us to believe the drugs are simply a coping mechanism more than they are an addiction.

Real Audience for Hazbin is 12 to 16

I would really fucking hope you are joking. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this was said by someone who isn't a parent. While yes, kids will be sneaky and watch or play things they're not supposed to, a show with drug use/abuse, rape, sex, physical/mental/emotional abuse, and suicide is as much for them as Rick and Morty.

Further, it is not just these themes that make the show for adults. It is the format of the storytelling. Yes, you can complain about what you consider issues with the pilot. But at the end of the day, it did it's job. It established the story premise, introduced important characters (Fat Nuggets does not fall in that category, calm down), gave a basic understanding of their relationships to each other, and get the audience interested in continuing the series. Considering the views for the pilot and the resulting disproportionate growth of the fandom, I would say it did that in spades.

Hazbin Hotel is not Steven Universe. I cannot say this enough times, and the reason I cannot is because I cannot tell you how many times I have come into contact with the underage side of the fandom griping about lack of lore, griping about lack of production information, and overall being exceedingly impatient. At the risk of sounding like an old miser, the underage side of the fandom has never had to wait for additions to a series. Like waiting for Homestuck updates, or the new release of a Harry Potter novel. They have had a steady schedule of content, along with shows that give exposition dumps "in the first 3 minutes."

So don't look at Hazbin Hotel through the lens of kids' show fandoms. It has so much more to offer than that.

Alastor vs Valentino

No, this is not about whether Alastor could beat up Valentino. In the video, DireGentleman pulled a huge pet peeve of mine and lumped Valentino and Alastor together, labeling them both "monsters." Which is opening a huge can of worms for me. So, I will give a brief summary of why that is wrong, and provide a link to one of my other posts for deeper diving.

So, there is a reason why Valentino is more hated than Alastor is. Lumping them together is a mistake.

Valentino is a pimp that abuses and manipulates his victims through intimidation and (implied through) some kind of addiction to the red smoke (whether that is real or symbolism is yet unknown). He takes who and what he wants, be damned the consequences or who gets hurt. He is incredibly self-serving, with no consideration for anyone else. He uses people like pawns, and when those pawns refuse to do what he wants, what does he do? He forces them to do it anyway.

By comparison, while Alastor may use his people like pawns, he also has more consideration for them and doesn't abuse them (far as we can tell). The evidence to support this is the attitude of those serving under Valentino vs those under Alastor. Niffty and Husk both seem to not have a problem with Alastor, and where Husk is concerned it seems that his attitude toward Alastor is their typical banter. But definitely nothing that displays abuse. In fact, when Husker is hesitant or even refusing to do as Alastor asks, Alastor doesn't force Husker. He offers payment in the form of something Husker genuinely likes.

Now, while some might argue this is also manipulating through addiction, one could look at it this way. However, Alastor didn't make Husker an alcoholic. That was Husker's vice to begin with, Alastor simply has no intention of fixing it. After all, Alastor has said he doesn't think anything can change a sinner.

For further explanation and delving into Alastor, click here.

Parents don't 'get' Charlie = Disney Princess

Once again, we fall upon the slippery slope of disinformed statements. While the joke was made that the princess of hell expresses herself best through song, parent issues do not equate to being something that is relatable primarily or only to kids and teens. It's kind of offensive that there is a sort or implication in this statement that adults don't have issues like insecurities surrounding their own failures, or parent issues like what Charlie has or worse. And once again, we fall into the empathize vs sympathize realm and I once again will say that the audience does not need to empathize with the protagonist to make them a good protagonist.

Charlie is a failed princess, her people don't respect her and didn't even prior to her hotel announcement. Yes, she is sheltered and naive. Likely due to how little she was able or allowed to interact with sinners. After all, her ex-boyfriend was from another hellborn family. One that, from what we can surmise, interacts rather frequently with the Magne family.

And it is because of this naivety and inexperience that her method to redeem sinners will not work.

In the video, DireGentleman states that we can pretty much assume that Charlie's redemption methods will work. But her methods, as we see in her song, is to inject demons with meds and take away/burn their vices. She is seeking immediate resolutions to problems that require therapy and a long process that should be making sinners want to change. All Charlie is currently accomplishing is earning the ire and scrutiny of her people. This is why I previously mentioned that Charlie is both protagonist and antagonist, as she is getting in her own way to accomplishing the goal of redemption. And this is where we find that Charlie meets the "starts out being wrong" requirement mentioned in the video as well as "admiring a character for trying."

Charlie is also in a perfect position to be the tour guide for us, the audience, as we observe the metamorphosis of every demon who needs to be redeemed. She is, once again, surrounded by those who need to be redeemed which means we will witness every character arc. This includes Angel, who does not need to be the central focus for us to witness his story.

Finally...

It was stated, or at least implied, that Hazbin Hotel's pilot is no longer relevant. This is a statement that pretty much leaves me puzzled. The only way it would be irrelevant is if Hazbin went in a completely different direction, and we have no reason to believe it will. Vivziepop is still creative director for Hazbin Hotel, and A24 is notorious for giving creators their creative freedom. What A24 is doing is animating, making VA regulations, and ensuring there is an air tight lid kept on the project. Especially given it's popularity in such a short amount of time.

Contrary to what DireGentleman said, Hazbin Hotel will definitely live up to it's hype. Being picked up by A24 will not compromise the show simply because it's not in the same realm of indie production that Helluva Boss is. And it's a bit unfair to Vivziepop to imply as much.

In Conclusion...

Please do a bit more digging in regards to not only the show, but everything surrounding it. Don't lump fanon and canon together and expect them to be equal sources, and please do not claim an obviously adult-audience show is more fit for children and teens.

And lastly, please do more digging to better understand media and storytelling. Reading books is great, but what you were using as the foundation for your arguments were far too simplified and vague,, given the complexity of the protagonist and antagonist roles. Overall, the video just came across as one huge helping of Angel Dust bias with a side of strong dislike for Charlie.

#Youtube #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel angel dust #hazbin hotel husker #hazbin hotel video critical #video analysis #long post #diregentleman #counter argument

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poipoi1912 · 7 years

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I get that Barisi fans are hugely disappointed with this season, but I feel like it's presumptive of some Barisi fans to talk as if because *their* ship may not be as popular/getting new canon as previously, that the entire SVU fandom is "dying". That isn't so. There are still plenty of people actively creating content for and talking about other ships and characters, including ones who-*gasp*!-haven't even been on screen in an episode for 3-5 seasons or more! Barisi doesn't = all of SVU fandom.

Anon, I honestly wish I were only disappointed in this season for Barisi-related reasons. That would mean I’d still be able to find some excitement in the show, while being a little bummed out because my ship wasn’t getting any action. That’s a pretty standard fandom experience for shippers of non-canon or obscure pairings. Like, I still loved The X-Files, even after they killed off Krycek and, with him, my Krycek/Skinner fantasies. I still enjoyed Lost even after Jack and Juliet were toast. I still loved Person of Interest even after my two main ships (Carter/Reese and Shaw/Root) were literally killed. I wish that were the case with SVU.

I’ve made several posts about my issues with this season. I guess the main one would be this post, but you could also read any one of my episode analyses, none of which even mention Barisi. To reiterate some of my main issues, I find the messed up scheduling to be an added source of incoherence, because no character is allowed to have any type of growth, not when we’re watching episode 14 before we get to see episode 7. The supporting characters have all been reduced to cardboard cutouts.

And, the worst part is, even Benson, who is the protagonist, has regressed in terms of her personal story. We no longer see anything about her life. She’s front-and-center when it comes to working with cases or helping victims, but who is she? What does she do when she’s not working? We used to see her with boyfriends, with Barba, with Noah, with Lucy (though I think that actress is currently unavailable). When the main character has no personal growth, how can the rest of the characters expect any?

Admittedly, Sonny is my favorite character, so my main gripe with this season (and the main reason I loved Season 17 more than Season 16) is the fact his screentime has decreased and his character development has stalled. Completely. Barba fans could say the same, I’m sure. And they have. We used to get all those little hints about him, the drinking, the pills, the clenched fists, and this season there’s been nothing. And then, Fin fans have been experiencing this for decades, lol. And Amanda, who used to have a tumultuous but very rich backstory, because she thrived in the more melodramatic SVU seasons (14/15), much like Nick, well, she barely has anything to do, either.

But, characters aside, I also find the cases extremely troubling. I disagree with the “message” the writers are trying to send, almost every week. In previous seasons, my disagreements were far more rare. The mommy issues are especially glaring, and the “imperfect victim”/“flawed but relatable perpetrator” theme is getting old. So I can’t even enjoy SVU as a procedural anymore.

Now, when it comes to the SVU fandom dying out, my recent posts refer to tumblr, and the fandom as I experience it. I’m not active on twitter or other platforms (not when it comes to fandom stuff), so my only real exposure to the SVU fandom is tumblr itself. And, of course, I mostly engage with Barisi, Sonny and Barba fans, because that’s where my interests lie, lol. So I’m talking about my own experience, and the relative lack of interest that I’ve seen, at least compared to last season. I assume the people who send me asks about it are also Barisi/Sonny/Barba fans, and that’s why they come to me. To talk about the characters and/or the ship we all love.

I’ve never engaged much online with old school SVU fans (even though I’m actually one of them, and I’ve been watching the show from the very beginning), but I certainly understand they still exist (why wouldn’t they?). First of all, Benson is the constant, so the people who love her still get to enjoy their fave. But I’m sure that fans of older characters are still active when it comes to fic and edits, too. It’s true that people still create content for characters or ships like Benson/Stabler (of course) or Benson/Cabot (my second fave Olivia ship, after Benson/Amaro COME AT ME) or Fin/Munch, or Barba/Huang, or Casey/Chester Lake (pls send me links I love them). For characters they haven’t seen in years, as you said. Some of these fans have probably stopped watching the show altogether and i envy them.

Hell, Barisi itself is a very tiny part of the SVU fandom, and it’s still alive due to fan interest alone, because many of us still create salty content, even though the show is giving us nothing. The SVU fandom overall is also still very much alive, and it will probably never die.

That still doesn’t help me, though :D

I spoke of new fans in my previous posts, but a similar thought applies to old fans, as well. For a fan who has given up on the current content of the show and writes or reads fic for, like, Benson/Cabot (send links for that too, btw!) I can imagine why Season 18 would feel no different than Season 16. Because these fans may have lost their favorite character years ago, and they no longer care much about the ones who are still there. For me, a Sonny fan, well, I’m losing my fave while he’s still there. Same way Fin fans lost him, like, 8 years ago. And, to make matters worse, the show itself is no longer fun or even watchable, sometimes. That has caused a noticeable (at least on my dash) lack of interest.

Is this permanent? I hope not. For starters, this has all happened before. Season 18 is giving me Season 10 vibes. It feels like the start of a huge decline in quality, which will take a couple of years to be fixed. The thing is, the show just might have a couple of years still left in it, so maybe there’s still hope for improvement. A few new writers, a few new characters (which the show sorely needs!), and we’ll be good to go. Maybe :)

Lastly, in every post I mention the fact I’m sure there are plenty(? lol) of people who are still excited about the show. I’ll repeat it here. I do think the show itself is on its last legs, and the fandom has gotten less active overall, as is to be expected after 18 years, but of course people still care. So, those of you who still love SVU (or who no longer watch it but are still in love with Chester Lake or O'Halloran good taste btw!), keep doing you!

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