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monkey-network · 4 years

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Good Stuff's Best of 2019

WARNING: Just wanted to say cheers to you for making it through another year. I send you best wishes for next year to be fruitful. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy. (Best of 2017) (Best of 2018)

Dedicated to Russi Taylor, John Witherspoon, Rip Torn, Tartar Sauce, Caroll Spinney, Peter Matthews, and the many of KyoAni lost in the arson incident. You all did wonderful; rest in peace.

Welp, I figured the last year of this decade would be the most chaotic one by far, then again everything peak after 2012. As for now, I am counting down the best cartoons/animations/comics I’ve seen and loved this year in no particular order other than #1. Same rules apply: No sneak previews of future projects, no repeats, and this time anything goes.

Runner Ups: Superman Smashes the Klan, Marvel’s Aero, Infinity Train, Enter the Florpus, Amphibia, Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Helluva Boss, Meta Runner, Lego Movie 2, Forky Asks a Question

Anyways, Badda boom bang whiz, let’s do this shizz...

10. Super Mario Bros GT

Nostalgia can be quite a mystery, especially one that can come out of nowhere. Super Mario Bros Z kicked so much ass as a kid that now, it still frustrates me to this that it got a cease & desist from Nintendo, even the reboot from the same person couldn’t last long. But the gods have offered a slight miracle in the form of this new spiritual successor that has heart and soul put into every pixelated frame. There is much to celebrate with Youtube animation, where many say it’s dying due to the algorithm and all of the site’s corporate bullshit, but it’s stuff like this which helps me understand why we should celebrate. Against all odds, channels like Smasher Block willfully put their works out their for the people and continues to because on top of getting a little dough, it’s what they want to do.

9. DC SUPER HERO GIRLS (2019)

Awwwwww yeah, this is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power done right. Diverse female squad, each given a quality screen time to truly shine (Beecher especially) on their which makes the episodes where they’re all together feel earned and joyous to watch. Certainly reminds me of Friendship is Magic, which is coincidental since they were created by the same woman. I’d like to think this and MLP G4 were the answers to Faust’s cancelled project Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls where multiple personalities collide to one extraordinary superhero team of girls capable great feats that are lifted from their insecurities or drawbacks. And on top of this being a fun series to kick back to all around, it’s a comforting, somewhat aspiring thought to consider.

8. JOKER

I am somebody that rarely goes to the theaters to watch a film; you have to hook my tight just for me to even think of buying a ticket, no less plan to. But honestly, Joker was worth the hype, the ticket, and the fact that it wasn’t the incel uprising that buttfuck normies tried to make it out as. It’s lower on the list because in thought, there definitely could’ve been some tweaks to the dialogue and a couple scenes that I felt didn’t work in the long run. But really, this movie to me worked because of the escalation that leads to a cathartic climax and ending that left me in actual tears. I don’t give a shit if it “doesn’t fit”, having Frank Sinatra sing the film's credits put me in shambles. Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal as Arthur, and this movie felt authentic in its many details. This is definitely up there with my favorite comic book films of all time. Good thing, too, Spider-Man was taking up most of that shelf.

7. TUCA & BERTIE

This series being what I can’t help but say is a spin-off to Bojack Horseman, a show I respect, was enough to pull me into watching it. But it being like Bojack where it’s tight-roping between a bouncy comedy and a grounded drama was what kept me around for more. It is a damn shame this was cancelled after one season (while 13 Reasons Why gets FOUR seasons like what the fuck), because while this did feel enough like a complete series, I was certainly interested for more because I really enjoyed it all. I have my issue with a couple choices in the show, but I am sure this series would’ve addressed them later down the line. I can see why some women would find this personally endearing, it felt like the personal stories of actual people, and it deserved better. Either way, I enjoyed this series and I recommend it just as much as Bojack.

6. PRIMAL

Genndy Tartakovsky is that kind of cartoon creator where you feel he’ll go beyond if you give him the right amount of space. He’s not a perfectionist like John “Dirty Diddler” Kricfalusi, but with things like Hotel Transylvania and Samurai Jack, he certainly has proven to have the range in animation where you know how he plays. Primal showcasing his noted skill in dialogue-less storytelling and dynamic action scenes, able to convey everything clear with its ruthless yet careful protagonist and his dinosaur friend, all on top of the most luscious backgrounds. This is a series that definitely feels like Genndy’s taken what he’s used from his previous works and putting it together for a brutal yet passionate look at the prehistoric life. He truly brought us an adult series to enjoy and to look forward to more in the coming year.

5. SPINEL

Bet you didn’t expect a character to be on this list, eh? Spinel is the best thing to come out of Steven Universe in general; makes me wish she was in a better movie. The crew certainly did their darndest to make her not only an enjoyable and connectable character through and through, but a very versatile character that the fandom could take in any which way. Call it corny, but Spinel perfectly represents SU as a whole: a lovable goof that can certainly mean business but deep down is deserved of a hug because of what she’s gone through. Wish she had a more satisfying resolution in her respective debut, but really it’s the balance between those three elements mentioned that makes Spinel almost eternally wonderful.

4. MOB PSYCHO 100 II

As someone that doesn’t like reading, I’m a firm believer that the best animations or visual medias elevate the writing to a memorable degree; the visuals hook to the point where you want to think about what you saw and how it was conveyed. Mob Psycho 100, for two seasons now, does this in spades where Studio Bones throw them bones in animating one of the most dynamic animes of the modern era, providing the writing and characters a proper chance to flex its muscles. The characters are especially what makes this and MP100 as a whole work so well, the story being about a boy learning to be more sociable as well as emotionally stronger all while helping others understand maturity and empathy. For more on this, I recommend Hiding in Public’s video(s) on Mob. But with the animation, Bones was able to provide a sense of impact and immersion to the moments that matter, not making it an overstimulating mess, and putting some respect on ONE’s webcomic art style.

3. KLAUS

Hands down, this is a great Christmas movie. Take away the animation and you have a charming, wanna say ground and authentic, story about the makings of Santa Claus. With memorable and likable characters, a nice escalation in terms of the plot, and moments that are/can be so satisfying, they can bring you to tears. A couple overdone tropes in the road that doesn’t make this the most perfected story, but those sincerely minor compared to everything else that makes this story the best. Now. Add in the animation, and you have a gold, nay a platinum animated story of the year where the visuals definitely enhance the story to a degree where they’re undoubtedly inseparable. The visuals alone is enough to check this movie out and it’s eye-opening when you learn of how it’s all done. Klaus is a film that did it’s job and then some, and I hope this will be well remembered as a classic holiday film for it deserves that status.

2. BEASTARS

I’ll be fair, I’m mostly referring to the manga and not the anime but since the anime premiered this fall, it counts. Because be it the anime or the series overall, Beastars has such well intricate world building all while offering a little something for everyone (violence, romance, slice of life). The story is well paced and even when we aren’t focusing on the main characters momentarily, Itagaki is surprisingly able to make every supporting/side character we come across memorable in their own way; like I said before, the city is much a character in this story. Oh yeah, and the mangaka is the daughter of Keisuke “Grappler Baki” Itagaki, that in itself is a treasuring bit of trivia for this. Everything about Beastars is enticing and Studio Orange certainly helped in giving this series more of a following.

1. GREEN EGGS & HAM

Well, well, well. Guess Netflix is three for three in terms of bringing its best foot forward among its few steps back each year. The best term to describe this series is surprising. Surprising that this is a Dr. Seuss story that got expanded a 13 episode series, that has fleshed out characters, fun hijinks, an easy story, lovely emotional, more quieter moments... on top of being 2D hand drawn animated. I mean, what else is there to say? Green Eggs and Ham is to Dr. Seuss what Seven was for Final Fantasy, what Friendship is Magic was for MLP, what watermelon was before a nice menthol cigarette. This definitely took the top spot because to me, it was able to bring many good elements from the previous entries and knot it all together into a well kept bow that I never knew I wanted until now. I’m genuinely glad this show got to exist the way it is and I am hoping, praying, that the second season keeps that momentum up.

That leads us to the actual number one which is

1. STEVEN UNIVERSE FUT-

Total Dramarama is now the two time World Heavyweight Champion, babey. Will 2020 give us a quality contender? Will the streak last another year?

Stay tuned, and always seek out the Good Stuff.

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your-friendly-neighborhood-sc00t · 5 years

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Star vs. The Forces of Evil: Thoughts on the Series Finale

SvtFoE just concluded a few days ago, and to be perfectly honest, Im incredibly conflicted.

I've been putting this off for a little while now, since I've needed to time to gather all my thoughts and criticisms of everything that happened in the finale.

Firstly, I don't think they needed a full hour or so to properly wrap things up, like other people have stated.

Instead, more time should have been devoted to the plot and Star in general.

The very strange thing is, despite how much of a threat Mina is, and clearly was in the past few episodes, the writers decided to severely downplay her in favor of revolving mostly around Star and Marco's relationship.

I'm sorry, but in a show as engaging as SvtFoE, romance shouldn't really be the priority in the FINALE, the SERIES finale mind you.

Alot of time gets wasted on the two obsessing over being with each other and it's honestly sickening.

Like, I never cared for Starco, but I really feel like they shouldn't have wasted time with Marco/Jackie Tom/Star, if these two were obviously gonna be endgame.

Had they gotten together waaaay earlier, as they should've, let's say, Season 2, I probably would've felt more about them supposedly being forcibly separated after just getting together.

Another thing that really bothered me was that Star literally just broke up with Tom a few episodes ago, so basically, the relationship was entirely one-sided, and Star was forcing herself to cry during the breakup, and forcing herself to simply be in the relationship with Tom, since she was absolutely, head-over-heels for Marco at that point.

Just feels so rushed and forced, but whatever.

Something that really urked me, was the fact that there was no final battle between Star and Mina, y'know, one last confrontation between Star and the primary antagonist of the season.

No, she just, convienetly is out of the picture thanks to one of the stupid corrupted milhorses, and that's it. She can't even postpone the destruction of Magic or anything.

In my opinion, two, actually cool situations could have played out here.

So, y'know being in the Realm of Magic and all, this should've powered up Mina even further, and Star as well, they're surrounded by pure Magic, so, why shouldn't it empower them?

And then there's some epic final battle between them, maybe Moon and Eclipsa fight alongside Star, Hell, maybe even Tom and Marco get in on the action, and maybe Mina's so powerful here, that they just barely stop her, and while she's temporarily incapacitated, bam, they destroy magic, y'know? Something cool like that.

The other scenario that could play out, is the one that would've been FIRE.

So, the show established a Multiverse exists within the show's universe.

This is seen in Mathmagic, where we get a glimpse of various versions of Star in different universes and timelines.

Now, IMAGINE, if in the Realm of Magic when Mina shows up, Star tries to fight her, but she's too strong or whatever, so she opens up several portals to enlist the help of herselves to help her battle Mina, that would've been so cool, and would have killed two birds with one stone.

1. A proper final confrontation that is epic and different from all the other battles in the show.

2. The show has it's first and only "Multiverse Episode"

Just feels like a missed opportunity to me.

But what do we get?

Oh boy! More Starco drama!

Well, not before they successfully destroy Magic.

I did think it was really nice to see Solaria's spirit, or whatever it was, finally accept Meteora, she just kind of touches her cheek and smiles, it's a pretty sweet moment.

And Glossaryck's last (actual) line is kind of sad to be honest.

Something that really freaking bothered me was the fact that both Star and Marco chose each other over their friends, FAMILY, and HOMES.

Sorry, but I'm just not buying into this whole

"uwu we belong together forever uwu" crap

Like, they should've been together ALOT longer than a few episodes if dialogue like that was to be warranted and for non-Starco viewers to even care about them being separated.

Wait, there was one thing I forgot to mention that happens during this RoM part.

Marco literally is impaled around his stomach by Tom's corrupted Milhorse, and the crazy thing is, he just WALKS it off.

Like, I understand that after Magic is destroyed, the wound disappears, since that's obviously a magical wound, but, he walked around for a good long while BEFORE Star successfully destroyed Magic, so... He just, walks it off???

There's no logical reason for Marco to be able to endure a wound like this, he's fifteen, he's a CHILD for crying out loud.

So, that was shown in the trailer specifically to clickbait everyone, but there's actual pay-off at all.

Marco is able to literally flip one of these horses by the freaking horn, AFTER HE IS WOUNDED.

I feel like, obviously Marco shouldn't just fall over and die after being impaled, but I feel like he should've had to lean on Tom for the rest of the time here, like, there's no plausible explanation as to why he is able to walk this off like nothing happened.

But that isn't the only thing that has no logical explanation.

I know I'm covering most of the negatives so far, but just so you know, I actually was digging this episode for the most part, up until the last two minutes.

Moon and Eclipsa helping Star destroy the Magic was nice and dandy, and finally seeing Eclipsa's and even Meteora's Butterfly forms was pretty sweet.

Finally discovering why Glossaryck loves pudding was actually kinda funny, and served for the plot.

I've hated Ponyhead for a really long time, but she actually made me smile for the first time when she was comforting Star, telling all these stories to assure her, her friends were all well.

And Janna had a similar moment with Marco, where the two, for what seems like the first time, genuinely acknowledge eachother as friends, which was actually really nice.

But then, something has to happen to ruin EVERYTHING.

For a literally entirely unexplained reason, a portal opens between Mewni and Earth, then it explodes, and then Mewni and Earth have merged...?

Oh HEY, Star and Marco can be together at last!

Oh wait, none of this makes any fucking sense.

Is this show honestly trying to tell me, that a MAGICAL PORTAL opened up, despite the fact that Magic was literally destroyed five minutes ago???

There's no logical, rationale, reasonable REASON for this to have happened.

It's all just deus ex machina bullshit Daron came up with just so Star and Marco could be together, great.

Aside from that, there's some very concerning implications as a result of Star's actions that doesn't seem to be acknowledged at all by the characters.

The first thing being, the destruction of Magic means that all magically-based entities will be wiped from existence.

Meaning that entire species have just been wiped off the face of the Multiverse.

Meaning that Star has committed mass-genocide on a Multiversal scale.

And yet no one in the show seems to acknowledge that.

What they should have done, in my opinion, was simply depower all magically-based entities, leaving them to learn how to live without utilizing Magic on a day-to-day basis, that would have been interesting, and far-less scary.

The only one who would justifiably be gone is Glossaryck, who clearly has strong ties to Magic.

I'm surprised a show that is marketed towards children includes a protagonist who commits mass-genocide, and still gets smoochies from her boyfriend.

Woooow.

Another thing is, the Cleaving of Earth and Mewni, isn't exactly beneficial to ANYONE except Star and Marco.

Are humans, mewmans, and monsters, etc going to be able to live together in harmony?

I mean, I highly doubt everything is gonna be all peaches and cream, especially at first.

This probably is going to result in a whole slew of problems, but remember, it was worth it, so Star and Marco could be uwu'ing.

Props to a friend of mine for bringing this to my attention, but Star destroying Magic should've technically erased Meteora as well.

Think about it, Meteora was pretty much reborn through Magic, which would probably make her fall under that magically-based area.

Same thing with Star to be perfectly honest, her original body was destroyed during The Battle for Mewni, and her new body was entirely reconstructed from Magic, meaning that she should've been erased as well.

Which would have made for a hell of an interesting conflict in the finale, but oh well.

Seems like the rules are being ignored if you ask me.

The show unfortunately follows in the footsteps of the Legend of Korra, in which it's final shot and lines are dedicated to shipping, and not the series as a whole.

Which is incredibly disappointing, but oh well.

And then Mina, man oh man...

So Mina is depowered, and Moon offers to rehabilitate her, truly pitying her, and apologizing for using her, (although technically Mina was using her but, whatever)

And instead of Mina finally regaining a bit of her sanity, instead of finally showing some kind of development, instead of finally ending her conquest against monsters, instead of accepting that offer.

Mina just, basically says her racist ideas will always linger in the minds of others, and she walks off into the woods.

Her dialogue and the way she does this is just an absolute joke, like, the writers just downplay her at every possible moment.

The dialogue is clearly supposed to be funny, despite how mentally fractured this woman is, and it just feels disrespectful to the character in general.

Do you want her to be a psychotic, deranged soldier, stuck in her ways, who knows nothing but war and bigotry?

Or do you want her to be a clown, which is it, Daron?

I can't really say I'm satisfied with this ending.

There's too scary and/or concerning implications, unsatisfying resolutions, and questions for this to be a truly good finale.

I think more time should've been dedicated Mina, considering she's the main antagonist of the season, and it's the series finale, and the merging of Mewni and Earth should have never have been a thing.

Star and Marco should've went on with their lives.

The last we see of Marco should have been him going back to school.

And the last we see of Star should have been her giving a speech to the people of Mewni.

I don't know, I was just hoping for alot more, but the end result was just kind of rushed and unfulfilling.

However, when all is set and done,

Star vs. The Forces of Evil was a hell of a four-year ride, I had a blast watching it for all it's 4 seasons, and I'm really gonna miss it.

#star vs. the forces of evil #my thoughts #might edit later if i have more thoughts

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sciencevsromance · 5 years

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2018 Index: Film

I usually hold off on these for a couple weeks into the year to allow myself time to catch up, but it turns out that I saw almost everything I needed to before the end of the December. Since then, with few exceptions, my ranked list remained very stable since about mid-November.

In general, I think 2018 was a very good film year. I saw and liked a whole lot of movies. However, it might speak less to the quality of 2018 than to the exceptional slate of movies in 2017 to say that I honestly don’t know how many of this year’s favorites would’ve found a spot in last year’s top twelve.

Below, lightly edited versions of things I’d previously written, posted, or tweeted about the dozen films at the top of my charts.

Roma: Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical recollection of his nanny in a well-off home in the titular district of Mexico City is shot-for-shot the most cinematically gorgeous movie of the year. Although this is one of Netflix’s showiest acquisitions and may soon be available on your televisions, it deserves to be seen and heard on the biggest screen and most exceptional sound system you can find. Working without his usual cinematography collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki, Cuarón shot the film himself in lustrous black and white. Each frame bursts with life, both from the compositions and from the tremendous performances, in particular from newcomer Yalitza Aparicio. I’ve seen this twice and feel like I could watch it dozens of times. In that respect, I guess that it’s nice that it’s sitting there on Netflix waiting for me whenever I want to dip back into these rich waters.

The Rider: I can’t begin comprehend how this movie is so good. Chloé Zhao found something truly special out west with Brady, his family, the horses and the gobsmackingly beautiful landscapes. Elegiac, yet vibrating with life, sorrow, and hope. By the end, the confrontation with these real lives and their tough choices was deeply moving; and I’m not even that much of a horse- (or people-) person.

Free Solo: Free Solo captures, in vertiginous detail, Alex Honnold’s superhuman attempt to summit Yosemite’s legendary El Capitan. Walking into this movie at Telluride, I naively imagined that climbing a 500-foot summit was itself the impossible challenge. But I quickly came to understand that Honnold was going to try it alone. Without any climbing ropes. Panic and stress weeping ensued, with the following 90 minutes among the most anxious I have ever been in a movie theater. The only things that kept me from fleeing the scene to avoid a massive anxiety attack were a beer and the knowledge that (spoiler) Alex at least survived to be in town to promote the film. Aside from the stunning footage documenting his preparations and climbs, co-directors Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi also document his budding relationship, friendships with other climbers, and interrogate the ways he weighs the very serious risk of certain death that would result from one missed foothold. It is an utterly thrilling film and deeply satisfying to watch with a crowd.

If Beale Street Could Talk: No one films people looking at each other quite like Barry Jenkins. This adaptation of James Baldwin tries and does a whole lot, but mostly it just sings.

Paddington 2: Last year’s The Shape of Water left me cold. Throughout it’s Oscar run, I felt like a monster for never really finding myself invested in Sally Hawkins’s fishman relationship, but now I’ve seen her mother a bear and maybe everything’s OK with my internal emotions processing systems. This is nose-to-tail the most charming movie of the year. Hugh Grant is a delight with disguise work. No you’re crying through PADDINGTON 2. Who am I and how did this happen to me?

The Favorite: Like his previous films, this court drama is wickedly funny, off-kilter, visually arresting, strongly acted, but it’s also maybe the first Yorgos Lanthimos joint that I have felt comfortable recommend widely without fear of reprisal.

Shoplifters: Kore-eda Hirokazu won this year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes with a deeply compelling investigation of the meaning of family. The film opens with a father-son duo performing a cute-ish bit of supermarket thievery to supplement the menu for their very crowded multi-generational household on the outskirts of Tokyo. Things become more interesting when the group rescues an abandoned young girl from the neighborhood on a cold evening. In turns meditative, insightful, and surprising, the humanistic portrait is ultimately a revelatory achievement.

Cold War: Loosely about music shaping identity—traditional, national, personal, romantic—Cold War is a bit light on plot, but with images, songs, and performances this strong it really doesn’t matter. Pawlikowski’s camera sure adores Joanna Kulig; her ambitious rise through the state music system and romance with Tomasz Kot, spans decades and countries, all in ravishing black and white.

Eighth Grade: First time director Bo Burnham captures an early-teen sense of isolation and loneliness with such earnest specificity that I was squirming with recognition as breakout lead actress Elsie Fisher bravely forges her way through a last regret- and nostalgia-filled week of middle school, filming motivational YouTube videos for an audience of none (or rather, herself), constantly scrolling through Instagram, and navigating the minefield of a charity invitation to a popular kid’s pool party. This could’ve gone wrong in so many ways, but none of the (many) cringes are played for cruel laughs and the sincerity is brilliantly calibrated. I suppose all of that explains how I feel such residual fondness for something that made me want to chew off my own face out of sympathetic anxiety as the slim ninety minute running time felt like decades.

Leave No Trace: In her follow up to Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik again focuses her lens on families struggling to survive in the face of poverty. This time, it’s an ex-military father with PTSD (Ben Foster) and his daughter (outstanding newcomer, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) who have illegally set up camp in wild and wooded public park the outskirts of Portland like a realer, poorer, less insufferable version of Captain Fantastic. I expected something that would be hard, but rewarding, to watch. I was right, but not in the ways that I suspected. A story like this could’ve been filled with melodramatic external obstacles — creepy people in the park, cruel indifference of social workers, or any sorts of dire jeopardy. Instead, the wise and insightful script is one in which almost all of the conflict that they face is internal. The daughter is generally well cared for, incredibly smart, and as well-adjusted as you could ever expect from someone raised in the woods and always on the move. The people they encounter along the way are almost universally kind and generous within reason. All of this serves to emphasize the harsh reality of the utter insolvability of her father’s unspecified PTSD that has kept them essentially hidden from society for much of her life. The resolution is both heartbreaking and a tiny bit hopeful.

Support the Girls: Easily Andrew Bujalski’s very best film. Regina Hall is a wonder as an over-subscribed, too-invested, manager of a Hootersesque bar on a particularly rough day.

Burning: Of the films in my top 12, Burning is among one I saw (second) most recently. When I initially logged it on my ranked list, it was somewhere on the edge of my my top 40. Yet each time I tinkered with the ordering, it moved up little by little, the indelible images and mysterious plot refusing to let go, increasing my esteem for it with each passing week. I think I know what’s going on, but its a testament to Steven Yeun’s supporting performance that I may never know whether his character was just a wealthy chill techbro or Korea’s answer to Patrick Bateman.

#2018 annual report #film #best of 2018

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