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soundsof71 · 3 years

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Hey! Album: 'Fleetwood Mac' (1975) - Fleetwood Mac

Hey! Great to hear from you! You (and your previous blog) were my original inspiration for trying to raise my tumblr game to something intentionally curated, and more than that, personally creative. Sorry to have let you down. LOL

What a pleasure to talk about this one, though, an album I think is -- strangely enough -- one of the most underrated albums in the classic rock pantheon!

What’s that you say? An album with “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” underrated?!?! Well it’s true, seriously underrated, at least partly because those two stellar, nay, legendary songs are the first ones that most people think of. There's so much more! It's definitely my favorite Fleetwood Mac album!

My perspective is a little different than the standard rap that Fleetwood Mac didn't properly begin until those two California kids joined the band in 1975, because to me, they started taking off when their first American joined the band, Bob Welch in 1971 for Future Games, which I wrote about at some length here.

(For the record, Future Games is my second favorite Fleetwood Mac album. Anyone who hasn't checked it out really needs to.)

I’ll leave it at that for now, except to observe that to most of my music nerd friends at the time, I was a latecomer to Fleetwood Mac the band, having completely missed their earlier, bluesier lineups. Indeed, the 1971 lineup was their 8th! And they'd come to #9 in 1972, before landing on lineup #10 in 1975.

They had a bunch of hits on the five albums in this 71-74 range (”Hypnotized” is one that still slays me) that I think hold up as among their best ever. While the album before Fleetwood Mac, Heroes Are Hard to Find didn’t have a hit single, it rose to #34 on the US charts, and got plenty of attention.

My point is that Fleetwood Mac didn’t spring into existence out of nowhere in 1975. Nor was 1975 necessarily ground zero for the millions of people who bought the album Fleetwood Mac. It came out in the summer of ‘75, but took 15 months to hit #1 in the US! (It peaked at #11 in the UK.) This was a far bigger album in 1976 when all the singles came out, and the band was touring like crazy to support it.

They basically dragged the album to the top of the charts kicking and screaming by the end of THAT year with relentless touring, setting the stage for their true commercial breakthrough with Rumours in 1977, but artistically? I prefer everything about 1975′s Fleetwood Mac.

btw, the music nerds know that Fleetwood Mac was recorded at Sound City Studios, which makes all the difference in the telling of the tale. In 1974, the band had located to Los Angeles, and following the departure of Bob Welch in December, Mick Fleetwood went looking for both a recording studio and a guitarist.

While getting to know producer Keith Olsen at Sound City (a studio legendary for its drum sound, among other things), Keith played Mick some tracks from an album he’d recorded here a couple of years earlier with a local guitarist and his girlfriend singer, both of whom were also songwriters.

Mick said, I’ll book the studio to record my next album, I’ll book you to produce, and I’ll hire the guitarist....who famously informed Mick that he and his girlfriend were a package deal. All of this happened because of Sound City Studios.

(Here's Mick recording this very album in this very studio.)

Your friend and mine Dave Grohl directed a FANTASTIC documentary about Sound City Studios, a kind of a dump to be honest, but where tons of phenomenal records were made, from After The Gold Rush to Caribou, Damn The Torpedoes, Nevermind, Rage Against The Machine, and most recently, Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher. Lots and lots of stories about the making of Fleetwood Mac in this movie, and much more.

Here’s the trailer. The whole movie is available on YT, too! And Amazon Prime, and a bunch of other places. HIGHLY recommended!

youtube

So here we go taking directly about Fleetwood Mac.....

the first song from the album i heard: "Over My Head". This was the first single released in the US, remarkably, four months after the album was released! I dunno, did the label not want to sell any albums? Or did they just not get how catchy these tunes were? I have no idea.

And ironically, the band didn't like the choice of "Over My Head" at all, ranking it dead-last in their own considerations of likely singles! I think that this is evidence that they were using heavy drugs much earlier than we thought. LOL

"Over My Head" peaked at #20 in the US, their highest to date by far, although, in some defense of the band's reservations, didn't chart at all in the UK. Saying that it rose to "only" 20 in the charts doesn't begin to describe how heavily it was played, though. A LOT.

do i own the album: Did then, Spotify now. The answer for most of the albums in this round of Asks. :-)

my favorite song: "Over My Head". Look, I admit that this is insane when Fleetwood Mac also includes "Landslide" and "Rhiannon." "Landslide" in particular is maybe one of the greatest songs anyone has ever written, and every single person reading this knows somebody named Rhiannon because of that song. (I've met two.) And hey, "Say You Love Me" was a MUCH bigger hit at the time too... but I'm tellin' ya, "Over My Head" fucks.

It's the single version that fucks hardest, though, no doubt about it. I was disappointed when I finally bought the album that the version there fades in (NO! THIS IS WRONG) and has a wide mix that diffuses the impact. The radio version is so tight that it's practically mono, and it punches you right upside the head.

One of my favorite things about listening to "Over My Head" in the past couple of weeks for this Ask is that it's Old School Fleetwood Mac. Chris on piano, Mick on drums, and John McVie with what might be the best bassline that anyone stroked out in 1975. My god, it's a fucking monster, and it just gets hotter as the song progresses. By the end, it's on fire, and you hear it so much better in this tight single mix.

The new guy adds a nice little solo on top of a nice rhythm lick, and he and Stevie add background vocals, but they're not front and center. "Over My Head" is really Christine McVie's showcase, although Fleetwood and Mac really shine too. This would have been a monster hit without the new kids, as indeed it pretty much was. You could say the same thing about "Say You Love Me", which is also all about Christine's songcraft, and a voice like no other, then or now.

Here's my edit of a lovely Mick Putland photo of Christine McVie from a couple of years earlier.

I guarantee that it's been way too long since you heard the in-your-face single version of "Over My Head". On Spotify, you can find it on the couple of Deluxe Editions of Fleetwood Mac (here's one), and it's also on the anthology, The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, which I've embedded here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-lIt1ILzk

youtube

least favorite song: "I'm So Afraid." I'm so afraid not. LOL

a song I didn’t like at first, but now do: Hmm, I might put "Sugar Daddy" in that category, but honestly, the main thing I don't like about this song is the title. LOL But it's the 4th best Christine McVie song on an album where the best three of hers were all released as singles, so I guess it all works out.

a song I used to like, but now don’t: Anything by the new guy. I'm not going to go into detail here because what I love about this album, I still love. At the time, I dug two of his songs here (you can guess which two, surely), but I started to really despise this guy a few years later. Now, I can't listen to anything where he's prominent at all, on any Fleetwood Mac records.

Fortunately there are more than enough Christine and Stevie songs, and Mick and John's playing, plus all those earlier albums like Future Games, to keep Fleetwood Mac in the rock good pantheon. I'd have fired the new guy 30 years earlier than he was.

favorite lyric:

Mirror in the sky

What is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Well, I've been afraid of changin'

'Cause I've built my life around you

But time makes you bolder

Even children get older

And I'm getting older too

Like I said, the two Stevie Nicks tracks on Fleetwood Mac deserve every bit of the love they've gotten over the years. You can also see with just a quick glance around my blog that she's one of my most-posted artists. Please don't take me repping Christine as any disrespect for Stevie!

Do I like "Landslide" a little more than I otherwise might because it's specifically about outgrowing the aforementioned new guy? Maybe. Or do I like it a little less than I otherwise might because I can't hear it without thinking of him? Maybe that too.

overall rating out of 10: Then: 9.4. Now: 9. The new guy went 2-for-4 for my money at the time, and the two that he whiffed on are genuinely terrible...but as bad as those two clunkers were, the rest of the album seemed perfect to me. Certainly among my most-played mainstream rock records into the early 80s. I was perfectly fine skipping one song on each side.

Even though nowadays I can't stand any of the songs he sings lead on, you take those off, and you STILL have "Landslide", "Rhiannon", "Say You Love Me", "Over My Head", and "Warm Ways". No album with ALL THOSE on them gets less than an 8.5, right?

I'm adding a few tenths each for how tightly Fleetwood and Mac are locked into each other and these songs on rythm (easily the most underrated duo of the era, sez me), and Keith Olsen's immaculate production. The score of 9 is therefore objectively correct and mathematically unassailable. LOL

I'm going to end where I began, by talking about Christine McVie. Instead of listening to this first and foremost as an album with a couple of giant Stevie Nicks songs, listen again to Fleetwood Mac as Christine McVie really lighting things up. She deserves so much more credit for the band's success than she gets, and seriously, "Over My Head" fucks.

Now looky here, @aluacrescente . I know that YOU have strong feelings about this record, so spill! And the rest of you, too! I don't intend to have the last word on the albums in any of these Asks! Just the first one. :-) So lemme know what YOU think!

PS. Apologies for any formatting weirdness! I started this on desktop, where I do all my writing, saved the first few paragraphs to come back to later, only to be told by tumblr that I'd stated this on the app (DID NOT) and could only edit there. Grrr. Not cool, @staff. I've spent another day just tweaking to make it somewhat readable and wondering how these people can be so bad at their jobs. LOL

My crackpot opinions and wobbly writing are my own of course, and I'm aware that they have a larger negative impact on readability than tumblr's incompetence by far. LOL

#aluacrescente #ask #Fleetwood Mac #christine mcvie #women in rock #stevie nicks #Landslide #over my head #john mcvie #dave grohl #sound city #youtube #essay #me #recording studio

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bythebigcoolingtower · 4 years

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Eye on Springfield - An Interview with Raymie Muzquiz

Since working on eighteen episodes of seasons two and three of the Simpsons, Raymie Muzquiz has enjoyed a strong, thirty plus years career in the animation industry, including directing eight episodes of Futurama’s second run. Here, Raymie talks about his spell on both shows, his other projects and the industry itself.

Let’s start at the start, how did you get into animation and end up at Klasky-Csupo?

In 1988-89, I was working for a movie trailer company. I was a production assistant and then a post coordinator for about 2 years. I learned a lot about film post production and worked on a flatbed editor, dubbing machines, etc. (all pre-digital). However, it was nonetheless a miserable, unartistic, poorly-paying job that laid bare all those awful “Swimming With Sharks”, fear-and-loathing tropes of the movie business. My boss was a horror. He’d yell at me about the dressing in his salad, or the variety of bread on the sandwich. I was his presumed personal assistant to deride. Yet he would shamelessly “lick the boots” of celebs and execs higher up the food chain. To this day, I cannot watch movie trailers. On the rare trip to a theater, I sit in the lobby and have my wife text me when the feature starts.

During this awful period I would look daily through the trades for another job. One day in the Hollywood Reporter there was an ad that included a picture of Marge (I think). Klasky-Csupo (just blocks from my apartment!) was looking to staff for Season 2 of The Simpsons. Since I storyboarded all my student films and some action sequences in live-action low-budget features at Roger Corman’s Concorde/New Horizons in the late 80’s. I applied for a storyboard position. What happened next gave me whiplash. I was given a test. Hours after turning the in the test I hired as a staff storyboard artist to start two weeks hence and immediately given a freelance assignment.

How did I get this plum position with zero experience? This requires some context. The Simpsons was an unexpected TV-animation phoenix rising from the ashes of a poverty-row industry. It is little exaggeration to say that the TV animation talent pool (as opposed to feature animation) consisted largely of old, alcoholic and broken-spirited artists doing Saturday-morning hack-work, subsuming their talent to low budgets and low cel counts. The necessary talent were simply nonexistent for this new, hip renaissance. The doors opened to the young, the students and the inexperienced like me; someone who didn’t go to art school nor drew for a living. It was a singular event for me. I was ignorant that there was even a difference between animation and live action storyboards. I was even naive about my drawing ability. Imagine my reaction when I saw trained artists draw in a professional environment. It blew my mind! My only saving grace was that as a live-action film graduate, I knew film language. I could stage without “crossing the line”. Scenes “cut” together and “hooked up” and I was staging in depth rather than in the traditional “proscenium” cartoon style. My acting was restrained, not broad or cartoony.

I did my first storyboard freelance while still at the trailer company. It was for Jim Reardon; his first directing assignment: Itchy & Scratchy & Marge in 1989.

Can you explain the work you did on the Simpsons?

Everybody probably knows what storyboarding is, so I’ll keep it short. It’s the visualisation of the script/story. It’s TV animation’s biggest step from script to screen. You are staging the characters in space and acting them out and breaking it up into separate scenes that informs the entire rest of the process. Design, layout, key posing, action and timing build off the storyboard.

When you were assigned to work on the show what were your thoughts? It was a phenomenon by that point.

The first season’s episodes of the Simpsons were being re-runned to death. I remember doubting if they’d successfully make more before the buzz died off. When I was hired I couldn’t believe my luck. The Simpsons was THE hip show of the moment. To actually be a creative team member on something fresh and original AND get paid more than beggar’s wages was like winning the lottery.

How closely did you work with the directors and writers, what kind of notes and feedback did you receive?

When I arrived for my first meeting, Mark Kirkland and Jim Reardon were crowded in a small room with folding tables, right off of reception. I believe they were both directing for the first time. Although I was already hired to work in-house, I had to give two weeks to my current, satanic employer, so I was assigned work as a freelancer. It was to board an act of Itchy & Scratchy & Marge by its director, Jim Reardon. Little did I know what I was getting into.

I never had to draw so much in my life! My drawing hand (left) was killing me in those early months. I had to develop a callous on the middle finger. They gave me the “radio-play;” an audio cassette of the recorded dialog to draw to and tons of model sheets.

I remember being overwhelmed by the volume. And you had to draw in these tiny boxes of the formatted storyboard page. I didn’t have that kind of discipline (I never did: I eventually developed a style of drawing on blank pages, then fielding and formatting them onto a page. Sometimes I scaled my drawings down on the xerox machine. I also drew on post-its (the greatest invention in animation after cels) and taped them onto the formatted sheet.

As this was freelance, I actually only met with Jim twice: Once for the hand-out and then again to show him my roughs. I vaguely remember him asking for changes that I thought were off-show (I’d seen all extant episodes multiple times on TV by then). Plus this was my first time and really had no expectations of what the process was.

But--he was the director--I addressed his notes and turned in the storyboard to the receptionist without further feedback. This almost became my undoing. In future, I would know the director should go over the storyboard and decide if it was ready, needed further revision or even just check the “bookkeeping”; the placement of dialog, notes and scene and page numbering before releasing it to the producers (all the Executives at Gracie Films across town). However--for whatever reason--this didn’t happen. It went directly from reception to Gracie. And evidently the executives didn’t react well. I was ignorant of all of this for years; until Mark Kirkland told me what happened...

The Executives were displeased with the storyboard and demanded to know what happened. Someone blamed it on the new guy (me!). So it was decided I had to be fired (before I even started my first day on staff)!

Did I get thrown under the bus? I can’t say. I wasn’t there. I am only relating events second hand.

Anyway, Mark Kirkland, who shared the room with Jim Reardon and was present during my meetings came to my rescue (again, completely unbeknownst to me). He vouched for my character and said I was worthy of rescue and rather than firing me, I could work with him.

So I have Mark to thank for my career. If I was fired, it would have been crushing and I think it’s safe to say I would never have become the artist I’ve become in the thirty plus years of my career.

What was the pressure like working on the show and at the studios during that time?

Because of my lack of experience, I found it difficult judging deadlines and the necessary labor (and just pencil mileage) to succeed. Plus I was traumatised by my previous job; I was conditioned to fear punishment and humiliation at anytime for something I did or didn’t do.

The climate at Klasky/Csupo couldn’t be more starkly different; so egalitarian! Everyone was socialising and goofing around. Gabor Csupo couldn’t be a more laid-back boss! Long lunches with side-trips for comic books and toys! Nerf guns in the hall. I shared a tiny room with two other board artists, Peter Avanzino and Steve Moore. They would both have to vacate the room for me to reach my desk in the far corner. We bantered and laughed more than worked. Celebrities would drop by (Most memorable was meeting Frank Zappa). There were events always going on; bowling, screenings and parties. And yet, a ton of thought and drawing was necessary; especially for me. I worried I couldn’t work as fast as other artists. I often had to work nights and weekends to meet my deadlines. However, there always were other artists doing the same thing; they may have been more experienced than me, but they were young and not so disciplined; so I was never alone. Plus, you never knew how off the mark your roughs could be and after a meeting with the director and Brad Bird, you might suddenly be looking at a ton of revision work. I also remember that Brad was busy weekdays and meetings could sometimes only be done on Saturdays. I simply had a lot to learn and time to put in to build my proficiency. And Brad Bird was very important influence in those days: I could be nervous and exhausted preparing for a meeting with him, but he’d so infect you with his enthusiasm and creative vision that you’d end up re-doing the whole thing but be excited about doing it. He emphasized the cinematic aspects and empowered us to be bold and push the limits of traditional animation staging.

You worked on some of the show’s early classics, could you tell from your position how the episodes would come out?

My next episode for Jim Reardon was “When Flanders Failed”. Because of the kerfuffle of the first episode I did for him, I was anxious to be as professional and impressive as possible. I thought the act I did showed improvement. However, the episode seemed to languish at some point (after animation?) and word got around that it was a bust and wouldn’t reach air. My memory is hazy about this, but I was bummed at the time; thinking my working relationship with Jim was snake-bit.

A season later, it eventually did air. I’m not giving a very good account of this, sorry.

“Flaming Moe’s” was an episode I was excited about. I remember Brad Bird suggesting some very exciting staging that turned my head around. Especially the part where Homer ends up--“Phantom of the Opera-ish”--in the rafters. I think that was a turning point for me; I was going to be a Brad disciple and determined to push the staging from then on.

“Stark Raving Dad”, is memorable to me, but not for a good reason. It was one of the last episodes I worked on; only doing an act. I remember being scandalized that Michael Jackson was the subject of the episode. Being a Simpsons purist, I believed that the show existed in a parallel universe and celebrities were parodied for laughs; it was too hip to be a shill for celebrity. There was no Arnold Swarzenegger, there was McBain. There was no Hal Fishman (our local channel 5 anchor), there was Kent Brockman. Dr. Hibbert was a parody of Bill Cosby. Mayor Quimby was a parody of Ted Kennedy. Even Nick Riviera was supposed to be Gabor Csupo! Having Michael Jackson exist in this universe and embodied in a sympathetic character (rather than a target of ridicule) was seriously “jumping the shark” in my opinion. I believed the show had done the unthinkable and it would prove fatal to the series.

Of course I was wrong. The Simpsons goes on like a perpetual motion machine. But I couldn’t abide watching this wise and subversive show trample over its principles to star-fuck. Now of course, which celebrity HASN’T been on the Simpsons. As you may well know, “Stark Raving Dad” has been pulled from the series since the premiere of the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland”, giving some credence to my long ago objection: sometimes it bites you on the ass.

“Black Widower” was my swan song. I remember meeting Kelsey Grammer at the table read and being mesmerized by his voice. He sounded just like Orson Welles. The act I boarded included Bob and Selma’s honeymoon. I wanted to give the staging a Hitchcockian influence with deep-focus, Z-axis compositions (like looking out of the fireplace, across the gas burner to Selma and Bob) and my first-ever use of DX (double exposed) shadows to provide menace. I thought that was my best work of the series.

One of my favourite early episodes is ‘Homer at the Bat’ which you storyboarded. What are your recollections on working on it? Did you get any specific notes when it came to the players?

“Homer” was my third “at bat” (pardon the pun) with Jim. He’s a baseball fan as I am, but he also PLAYED Chicago-Style Softball (baseball with a huge, soft ball). I’m a baseball fan too, but I felt I’d be exposed a dilettante due to my terminal lack of athleticism. I was assigned all three acts of the show as well! I really had to be on my game (again, pardon) and not miss any of the references. I reluctantly took him up on his offer playing in one of the Chicago-Style games one Saturday in Burbank. It was a sacrifice as I had to work weekends to keep up with the workload of this episode. I went with a fellow board artist, who’ll remain unnamed (to remain friends).

It went terribly. At bat, I whiffed three pitches in a row, and Jim kept pitching more and more out of pity. I missed them all. He finally had to tell me to just give the bat to the next guy. In the outfield, I stunk just as badly. The piece-de-resistance was when my fellow board artist was at bat and swung hard on a pitch. He missed the ball AND dislocated his knee. I ran to him as he plopped down in agony onto home plate with his knee, shin and foot pointed in the wrong direction. “If my leg stays like this much longer, I think I’m gonna start crying,” he said through the pain. After a terribly long moment, his shin and foot rotated snapped back into place. We hobbled off the field as Jim and his pals resumed the game. Could things have gone any worse? I was certain that Jim had no faith in me by that time. If so, he never said it. He was a laconic guy.

I worked on it a hundred years ago so I don’t feel the pride I objectively should. The episode went against The Cosby Show and beat it in the ratings! There’s even an exhibit in The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, that I wasn’t aware of until I went there. No artist other than Matt is mentioned. It’s all about the writers and the players who voiced the show.

I still have the storyboards of Jose Canseco in the bathtub with Ms. Krabappel that Jose objected to and we had to cut. I’ll post them someday.

How do you reflect on your time working on the show? Do you ever watch those seasons and episodes back?

See below for details; but no. I haven’t watched the episodes I worked on or those seasons for decades. I haven’t watched any episodes after the 3rd season at all. I did see the movie.

The relationship between Klasky-Csupo and Gracie Films finished at the end of the third season, when Gracie decided to move production to Film Roman, what was your view of that situation?

With the handwriting on the wall that Fox might pull The Simpsons from Klasky-Csupo, the in-house producer Sherry Gunther countered by getting all us artists to sign a document tying us exclusively to Klasky-Csupo in an effort to block Fox access to the crew. That gambit didn’t dissuade Fox. They pulled the show anyway and took it to Film Roman. At the time, I wanted desperately to follow the show, but naively thought I couldn’t because I was bound by Sherry’s contract. Virtually everyone left Klasky-Csupo for Film Roman anyways; contract be damned.

The studio became a ghost town. I stayed, distressed that I had to work on Rugrats. However, I eventually concluded that being torn away from The Simpsons was the best thing for my creative growth. Wherein The Simpsons was written so well, closely supervised and finding its stride, The Rugrats scripts were mediocre and the gags not funny. Rugrats was a vacuum to fill and I was empowered to add gags and exercise Gabor’s mandate to really push the staging into warped and low-angled baby POVs that defined the series. It lacked the regimentation of The Simpsons and I exposed to all the other processes in making cartoons. On the Chanukah special I directed, I timed the animation, I even helped direct the voice talent and supervise animatic and final edit.

The Simpsons, like many prime-time animated shows, are dominated by writer/producers who closely control the creative aspects and the artists are more or less staying in their lanes.

After the Simpsons you were assigned to work on ‘Duckman’ where you directed eight episodes, what was the step up to direction like?

I didn’t go directly to Duckman. There was a period of boarding on Rugrats and assistant directing on two Edith-Ann specials for ABC. It was a sad time, something like being in purgatory, but one which I believe was necessary in retrospect.

Speaking of being in purgatory, here’s an anecdote. Klasky-Csupo was a bunch of empty rooms after the Simpsons left. I was working on Edith Ann one day and Gabor was walking a tour of potential clients through. I showed them what I was doing and then Gabor directed them to the next room; opening a door to usher them in, various large and small auto parts suddenly tumbled noisily out onto the floor. A car bumper, pieces of trim, a fender and hub-caps.

You may ask why auto parts were in there? I’ll tell you: When Rich Moore worked there, his office overlooked the corner of Highland and Fountain avenues. Over time, he and his crew witnessed a lot of auto collisions on that corner. They would go and retrieve the parts left behind and hang them on the wall. Rich obviously left without taking his collection and somebody decided to hide them all in this room. Suffice to say, it didn’t look professional and I felt terrible for Gabor at that moment.

When I did become director, there was many moments of panic. I was used to storyboarding to my personal standard and quality that defined my aesthetic. Paradoxically, being a director meant losing close control. I had to depend on clearly communicating to the storyboard artists, quickly learning you can only tell artists so much before they “top-off” and forget what you said. No one took notes! It was all by memory! I always took notes as a board artist. A good board artist makes a director look good. There are far more mediocre storyboard artists than good ones; mainly because the good ones are promoted to directors (I feel the quality has improved over time). And I had to deal with freelancers for the first time. They are the guys that fill-in when there’s not enough staff artists. These people were usually moonlighting for extra money and end up storyboarding your show in the style of the show they were working on during the day. There just wasn’t enough time in the schedule to fix everything without working crazy hours. The Simpsons had layout. So storyboards didn’t have to be so precise and if something wasn’t staged right or acting out in storyboard, you could work with a layout artist in shorthand to correct it. Virtually my entire career has been absent layouts. They are very rare for TV nowadays. This makes the storyboard all the more important. The bar must be high; we call them “layout storyboards”; they need to be closer to model and the acting must be spot on.

Animation timing was also something I had to get control of; At first, Duckman didn’t have a supervising timing director, who could maintain the quality and the timing aesthetics particular to the show. It was up to the director to check timing. I had almost no experience and it was a new show. No one person had the answers. I could review the timer’s work (so often a dreaded freelancer) and I could see it wasn’t at all right and I’d wholesale erase it, but then I panicked that I might have done more damage than good; suddenly in over my head. It took time, but I got it.

I believe that the director who masters his x-sheets is true master of his show. I could add quality and personal aesthetics in a new dimension.

Does you background as a storyboard artist influence the way in which you direct?

Absolutely. In animation history, there were directors who didn’t storyboard or even draw. There were a few of these “dinosaurs” on Rugrats. They sat and read the paper when we boarded their shows. But because of the overseas process of animation and the loss of layouts here at home, if you are going to direct at all, you have to be comfortable drawing a detailed, informed layout storyboard. It is literally the blueprint of your show.

That said, I had to mature as a director who storyboarded. It was insane to try and board all my episodes personally, though directors will put some work aside for themselves, especially if its a sequence that would be too hard to delegate to another artist. If a sequence involves a new character, location or prop integral to the story, it may not be designed yet, so I’ll take it on and “feel it out;” designing as I board.

I had to learn how to be a good delegator and a clear communicator. I pitch sequences to the board artist before they begin and give them roughs of designs, poses or staging I think is important for the sequence. From my boarding experience, I don’t like directors who don’t tell you what they want until after you’ve drawn the storyboard. That wastes time and effort. And morale. I want the artists to know my take and hopefully that will inform the storyboard they do. I also know from my board experience that you should balance criticism with praise. Communicate what you like about how they do this and that before you go through critiquing the parts that aren’t working. Ultimately, you want to help the board artists be successful in storyboarding it their way, not my way. If it works, don’t change it just because it isn’t the way you’d do it. Lean into and support what they’ve done.

‘Duckman’ had a cavalcade of guest stars throughout the shows run, did you ever get to meet any of them, and if so, do you have a favourite encounter?

I was always of two minds regarding using live-action stars for animation. Yeah, it’s fun to meet them and some like Jason Alexander can knock-it-out-of-the-park, but sometimes this kind of “stunt casting” backfires. In my first episode, we used Crispin Glover in a stunt role as a crazed maniac with only one line. He showed up brandishing an eight inch hunting knife acting like a REAL maniac. Maybe it was method acting, but we were scared of him and got him in and out as fast as we could. His delivery didn’t work for the line and it spoiled the joke in my opinion, but it remained in the episode. If we used one of the legion of professional voice actors available, we could have worked with them for the perfect “voice” and delivery and nailed it.

We also used Teri Garr for an episode (not one I was directing) and I attended because I was a huge fan of hers. I got to see her behind the mike as she looked over her pages and said acidly, “This isn’t exactly Tolstoy, is it.” That is the opposite attitude you should have when you’re hired. She was soon pitching underwear afterwards...obviously not Tolstoy either.

So I’ll say it again: using celebrities can bite you on the ass.

Performances aside, I certainly did enjoy meeting legends. Carl Reiner played a priest in Noir Gang. Mind you we recorded in a small studio that was in the back of the Rugrats building that was essentially a cavernous storage room. Ed Asner looked visibly uncomfortable when we huddled around him in there. I’ll never forget the look on Marina Sirtis’ face when she arrived to record an episode. Me and a couple of other guys were laying in wait in this sketchy storage area eating our lunches. She was concerned: “is this the right place?” I felt like a lech and stopped going to records that I didn’t have to be at.

Overall, if the celebrity you’ve cast for a voice roll has theater experience, you are more likely to get a good vocal performance. Especially musical theater experience. They are more aware of their voice and have the tools. This goes for Jason and others like Tim Curry and Bebe Neuwirth; all great voice talent to have behind the mic.

You worked on the second run of Futurama, had you been a fan of the original seasons?

No. I didn’t watch the show before. I had to catch up and learn the “canon” when I was hired.

How did you get involved in working on Futurama?

The animating studio, Rough Draft, was something of a clique. They didn’t just hire “anybody” and unlike most studios, they maintain a staff of lifers who usually have the choice positions. I knew Peter Avanzino from our Simpsons days doing storyboards together, so he vouched for me. I was hired to direct on the 2nd season of Drawn Together. So they had a taste of what they could expect from me. I was no longer an unknown quantity when Futurama came around.

One of the eight episodes you directed was, ‘The Mutants are Revolting’, the shows hundredth episode. How special was it to work on such a landmark episode?

It had the most visibility of my episodes, at least internally. They made T-shirts and some publicity art and even the script had a nicer cover. But it was the episode with the most headaches. The scope of the story was huge with multiple set pieces. The opening newsreel, movie in a movie of the Land-Titanic, the asteroid delivery, the party at Planet Express, the riot in the sewers and the flood and “parting of the red sea” climax all required a ton of designs and characters; plus more hand-drawn and CG effects. That’s a lot to manage and marshall for a TV show. Most episodes don’t require the director to do this kind of heavy lifting. I find that when a show demands this much visually, the story ends up being more superficial, gag driven and episodic feeling. Such is the case for this episode. It was visually pumped up because it was representing the 100th episode; meaning I was saddled with managing lots of logistics rather than the usual character-based comedy and emotion of say, Tip of The Zoidberg, which is a relationship story that--as a director--I feel I give more time to flourish and shine with.

‘The Mutants are Revolting’ features some fantastic animation, most notably a brief sequence of Bender standing perfectly still as the Planet Express ship moves around him. Can you explain the challenges of a sequence like that?

That’s a good, insightful question. A shot like this shows off the resources Rough Draft has that aren’t available at just any other studio doing TV animation. The interior of the Planet Express Ship was built and animated in CG. At it’s gimbal point was a CG version of a stationary Bender; locked to field, but who’s feet move with the CG ship. Once the CG elements were approved, they were printed out as wire frame drawings printed onto pegged paper. My Assistant Director drew key poses of the characters on a separate layer in register with the CG print outs, old school on a light box animation disc. This all was sent to our overseas studio Rough Draft Korea for inbetweening and color of the characters only. That came back as an alpha-channeled digital file and layered over the CG animation in our digital compositing department.

Scott Vanzo runs the department and directs all the CG animation effects. I can’t remember who exactly built the interior of the PE ship and animated it, so I’ll rely on IMDb: Don Kim and Jason Plapp. But all the guys in the digital department do tremendous work and allowed us to fine tune a lot of animation (that doesn’t have CG in it); giving us the ability that raises the quality and takes the curse off of overseas animation limitations.

‘The Tip of the Zoidberg’ was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, how proud were you of that achievement and the episode itself?

The episode was one of my favorites; it was character focused and elaborating on canon so a director couldn’t ask for more. As for the Emmy nomination, it’s one of those show business awards that I realized early I can’t get emotionally vested in. The Futurama guys have a formula for figuring out which episode will be submitted. I think it has something to do with each writer getting a shot at the statue. And then from then on it’s just politics.

You’ve also done work on ‘Disenchantment’, giving you the distinction of having worked on all three of Matt Groening’s shows. What’s your relationship like with him?

I can’t help but laugh at this question. I’ve run into him twice out in public over the years and he didn’t recognize me. Once at the Moscow Cat Circus! But that humbling fact aside, he’s a genuinely nice, funny person devoid of pretence and he’s said some very complementary things about my work. However, it’s all business. Like virtually all primetime shows, he’s with the writers at their separate production office. Animation production takes place in a different geographical location. My face time is limited to usually 2-3 meeting points in a show’s schedule. Anything in between are fielded via emails routed through coordinators and assistants.

As well as short form animation you’ve been involved with several feature length productions, including ‘The Rugrats Movie’ and ‘Despicable Me’, what are the key differences between long from and short form animated projects?

I don’t think I’ve ever had a purely feature production experience. The Rugrats Movie(s) were spin-offs from TV series so some processes were grandfathered in from TV production. Despicable Me was truly off-the-wall in that the storyboard artists were working remotely from literally all over the world. No one met each other. I met with Chris Renaud once. I was not allowed to see the entire script, only pages here and there. It was called “Evil Me” at the time. I was truly working in the dark and ultimately, they didn’t use anything I drew. Which to me seemed par-for-the-course: this was one harebrained, inefficient, right-hand-doesn’t-know-what-the-left-hand-is-doing way to make a show. Again, I predicted it would fail. Again, I was wrong.

At the time I was working on Despicable Me, Gru looked like Snape from Harry Potter and there were no minions yet, just an “Igor” kind of 2nd banana that was a shorter version of the final Gru design.

So my takeaway from those experiences is that I prefer TV production. You don’t have the luxury of a feature schedule, but there is less time for executives to get replaced, sundry monkey-business and creatives pulling the rug out from under you. However, TV is catching up in those regards. See below.

Do you have a scene or episode you’re particularly proud of working on?

I feel fulfilled and proud of directing and being supervising producer on Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie. I was empowered to work in every aspect of the process and benefit from my experience to make it the smoothest running ship and happiest crew ever. Only at the very end did the executives get into overdrive meddling. But it ran well and looked good. It may not be as funny as my prime time stuff, but I think we elevated the material across the board; writing, design, animation quality. And it was a project put in mothballs 15 years before being resurrected. So it completes me in a way.

Ultimately, I believe work is about relationships and quality of life. The shows where you were empowered and respected and not overworked due to inefficiency are the shows I’m proud to work on. As Jim Duffy would always say, “It’s only a cartoon.”

Often sequences are cut or revised before broadcast. Do you have any favourites that didn’t make it in?

If I had, I’ve forgotten them.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry over your time and what do you think the next big change will be?

The trend seems to be as I get better and more efficient at my job, creators and writers (especially in streaming prime-time) are becoming more entitled, indecisive, mecurial and demanding. As processes have evolved in digital technology, we’ve opened the door for those in power indulging in more rewrites, revisions, reviews, etc. Despite the technical advancements, animation remains expensive and time intensive and good artists (especially in TV) have to work intelligently and diligently on tight schedules to produce funny, inspired, detail-oriented work. Rewrites and revisions burn out artists and make us feel like office machines and though our overlords pay for the last minute re-dos, they are often throwing out higher quality work for patchwork revisions that lower the overall quality of a show.

Who inspired you as a young animator and who do you look to now?

Ironically, I never saw myself becoming an animator. I did do some stop-motion on Super 8 as a kid. But that was because I didn’t have access to peers to act and help. What inspired me were live action directors with strong, individual styles: Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Peter Greenaway and Terry Gilliam. I think of these guys in essence as “live-action-animation directors”. The stylization in their sequence planning, shot selection and composition as well as how production design integrates in their storytelling reminds me of how background design and art direction naturally occur in animation production.

I’m sure there are new visionaries out there, but I’ve become so disenchanted with modern cinema, I rarely see new movies anymore. I find streaming TV much more interesting. Current movies strike me as self-consciously mannered and hyperactive. I find it endlessly fascinating looking back into cinema history before movies had to begin with three or four production company logos whooshing noisily about.

What advice would you give to people looking to break into the animation industry?

I’ve seen an improvement in the college educated animation students over the years. They seem to be of a higher intellectual standard than before. They aren’t as thrown by the rigors of schedule and they ALL can draw circles around me.

Be original in your own work, but also be a craftsman (as opposed to purely an artist) who can take criticism neutrally and have the tools to fit in the grand scheme of a show that might challenge your personal aesthetics.

Denis Sanders, a directing teacher I had in college said the director’s job is to be “an expert at all things”. In animation, that translates into intellegently knowing what to draw. If a character is looking under the hood of a car, know what an internal combustion engine looks like and what reasonable pieces you can have your character toss out of said engine. The distributor, the carburettor. Find and use reference! Go that extra step and inform your work with the texture of reality.

Don’t regurgitate old tropes. A trite example of what I’m talking about: If a character is peeking at another, avoid the obvious keyhole in the door trope. Keyholes aren’t in doors anymore. It’s been a cliche from the beginning of cinema. Rather, crack the door open, slide your cellphone under the door, look through a window or punch a hole in the door and look in. Like I said, this is a trite example, but making non-obvious choices rather than knee-jerk non-choices makes cartoons fresh and funnier.

What animated shows do you currently watch and what’s your opinion on the current state of animation?

It’s a terrible admission, but I’m not watching anything in animation. There’s a lot of animation that seems to be just writer-driven, animated live-action sit-coms. There isn’t a reason for them to be animated. Those are the kind of jobs I get offered a lot. It seems like a more trouble than it’s worth.

Who are some young animators you think we should be looking out for?

Gosh, I don’t know.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m productively unemployed at the moment.

Where can people follow you on social media?

I only do tumblr: mashymilkiesinc.tumblr.com

#The Simpsons #Futurama #Eye on Springfield #Raymie Muzquiz #Not tall or wide

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butchfingers · 3 years

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Six Questions On Car Detailing

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murderborn-of-vengeance · 3 years

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Czarna Wdowa 2021 Cały Film Online

Welcome back everyone this is going to be my new marvel black widow movie video there's a bunch of announcements about what disney is going to be doing disney and marvel with the actual release of the movie people been asking about them putting it on disney plus apparently there's some news about that now so i'll explain what's going on and a lot of it has to do with what warner brothers is doing with their movies in 2021 and what's happening right now

The world just in general with movie theaters so if you're new to the channel be sure to subscribe to get all the videos we're obviously in the middle of Wandavision i'm doing episode videos for all that we're going to have falcon and winter soldiers starting in march so there's a lot of really really cool marvel stuff coming up we're doing that disney plus memberships giveaway all you have to do to enter is be a subscriber and just leave all your predictions about the black widow movie on the video so if you didn't see the news in the past week there's a new report from variety's insights team which is a very insidery business report that they publish about the movie and tv financials studio politics them releasing movies and tv shows and in it they talk about how disney is making some changes to their plans for the black widow movie release date because of what's been happening the last couple of months and now at the beginning of 2021 in january you may have seen that a lot of studios just delayed all their big movies pretty much up through april and last week kevin feige was doing a bunch of interviews to hype up the wand division episodes during those he talked about everything from deadpool 3 to the fantastic four movie to their new rebooted x-men movies they're doing in the mcu but he also talked about what's happening with the Czarna wdowa film online because now everybody's wondering if they're going to have to delay it again you probably saw when all the movie delays were happening people were making jokes

In their timelines like just wait for it disney's going to announce they're going to delay that black widow movie one more time it's already been delayed almost as many times as the new mutants movie last year when a lot of things got delayed they figured that by this time and by march april 2021 things would be better theaters would be open but so far that has not been the case the uk is ��currently under a big lockdown the u.s has been under a big lockdown there's still a lot of other places around the world where theaters are not open and won't be open for a while that's why warner brothers came up with their real grand plan to release all their 2021 movies on hbo max last year like we need subscriptions and it doesn't look like things are going to get better so why don't we just put all of our movies on hbo max and in some theaters on the same day for all of 2021 but in terms of the Czarna Wdowa film right now just nothing beyond april has been delayed again so there's still a chance that they could hit that may release date

But the big problem that marvel has that a lot of other studios don't have with their movies is that if they delay black widow again they have to delay every other marvel movie into like 2023 like pretty much every future marvel movie one of marvel's biggest strengths the connected nature of its movies also becomes a big problem too like we're at the beginning of marvel phase 4 right now all the movies happen in a certain order for a reason because each one tells a little of the overarching infinity saga style story that helps connect everything building up to avengers 5 it's like you're watching a tv show that's serialized and each of the episodes cost 200 million dollars so they delay black widow again it means they'd have to delay the shang chi movie which is coming this summer the eternals movie then spider-man 3 doctor strange 2 thor 4 love and thunder and so on the dominoes keep following well into 2023 most of you who are still in school right now if they kept delaying movies you would probably be married with children by the time avengers 5 rolls around but back last year in 2020 when the lockdowns first started happening after the first few movie delays everyone just started asking why don't you just put black widow on disney plus why not put the movies on disney plus disney pretty much has infinite money and they can just take it on the chin a little bit for a couple movieswhat do we have here there's also that extra thirty dollars that they charge for some of their disney premier movies like the mulan movie where you get it on disney plus but you have to pay an extra thirty dollars to get it early they're also doing that again with another movie raya in the last dragon in march so i'll talk about that in a second too that's another quote-unquote hybrid

Release movie that they're doing and apparently the reason why marvel did not do that with the black widow movie last year because originally they were going to release it in november didn't have anything to do with them being worried about losing money because yeah they'd lose a little bit of money according to the rumor it had more to do with the specific clauses in scarlett johansson's contract that prevented disney and marvel from releasing it on disney plus like apparently scarlett johansson's contract for the czarna wdowa movie has some special terms in it about how they're allowed to release the movie and how she earns a ton more money from a theatrical release from the box office earnings than from streaming earnings so apparently disney and marvel were legally obligated under the terms of her contract

To have to release the movie in theaters in some way they couldn't just put it on disney plus even if they wanted to what's changed recently though why there's all this renewed talk about a hybrid release for black widow then putting it on disney plus and in theaters on the same day has more to do with what happened with the wonder woman 1984 movie that was the first real big comic book movie this past year to do the hybrid release this last christmas releasing the movie on streaming on hbo max the same day that they release it in theaters where theaters are open around the world because there are some places where theaters are open so warner brothers is doing this hybrid release strategy for all of its movies in 2021 the big difference between what warner brothers is doing and what disney is doing is that warner brothers isn't charging the extra 30 dollars premier access money that disney is charging for some of its films but per this variety insights report disney and marvel are starting to feel like delaying the black widow movie straight up will just cause more problems than it will solve so they're thinking about a hybrid release strategy to fix everything they get to release the movie with no more delays meaning we get to see shang qi this summer and eternals in november no more delays for marvel movies because right now just based on the rate of how fast the virus situation is resolving itself most summer movies seem like they're going to be fine like theaters will mostly be open by later this summer and per this hybrid release strategy because they'd be releasing black widow in some theaters

Even if it's not a ton it would be enough to keep scarlett johansson from suing disney for the tens of millions of dollars she would potentially lose out on also on the side they'll probably pass her some extra change like here please take a couple extra million dollars don't sue us warner brothers kind of had to do that with gal gadot and patty jenkins when they released wonder woman 1984 on hbo max they gave him a bunch of extra money up front because they weren't going to be earning a lot of extra money on the back end you probably saw patty jenkins making a huge stink about all this christopher nolan got really pissed off about this too when they announced their big 2021 movies plan in fun fact 2 all the newer marvel phase

5 movies that they've announced like the fantastic four reboot movie the deadpool 3 movies ryan reynolds marvel is apparently also altering all their standard movie contracts with everyone to allow for streaming releases if things like this happen in the future so actors directors producers can't sue them if a big problem comes up or another big pandemic and they have to release movies on streaming so if you're wondering why you didn't see a lot of disney movies on disney plus last year it's not so much about them losing money it's more about lawsuits from people in studio contracts the next big disney plus test that they're running is for the raya in the last dragon movie is basically disney's version of avatar the last airbender they just released a new trailer for that this morning as i'm posting this video that's going to be released the first week in march so we won't have to wait too long to see what happens with that but they're charging the extra 30 dollars for the disney premier access just like they did with the mulan movie so if they're doing that for a pixar movie then you can bet that they're going to charge an extra 30 for the black widow movie this may if they also go with the hybrid release strategy like variety is saying they will what will probably happen you'll see in the next couple of months

Is marvel will wait till the last possible second that they have to before committing to an actual release strategy like they'll just wait till april to see if things get better and they don't have to worry about it and they can just release it normally in theaters like they originally wanted to right now everyone's assuming that things will mostly be back to normal by the summer so may is just sort of that in-between period like kevin feige himself is hopeful that things will be fine but he also said that he's trying not to make too many assumptions before we actually get to may so let me know in the comments if you think that marvel is going to pull the rip cord and do a hybrid release strategy for black widow in may or if you think the theaters will be fine by then thank you so much for wriging everyone stay safe and i'll see you in the next post!

You can see this video here:

https://myfilmyonline.pl/caly-film/czarna-wdowa-2021-film-online/

#Czarna wdowa #Czarna Wdowa online #Czarna Wdowa film

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amphtaminedreams · 4 years

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Film Tier Ranking 2019: A Bad Year for Bird Films

Hi to anyone reading,

I’ve finally put it together: my 2019 film tier ranking! I know tier rankings are a bit 6 months ago but seeing British crisps sorted into god, good, mid and shit tier all over Twitter, the format really resonated with me and I was like I MUST USE THIS AT SOME POINT! And I guess since there probably isn’t much of an audience for crisp tier rankings on Tumblr, it makes more sense for me to do it with films instead, especially as doing a 2019 year in film review was something I previously claimed I would do; here’s to 2020 and following through on my proposals.

I think 2019 in general was an okay year for film, with the end of the year definitely outselling the beginning. One thing to bear in mind is that a lot of films that I would’ve been able to see in 2019, I.E Little Women and Parasite, didn’t come out until 2020 in the UK so they won’t make it onto this year’s list. It’s not a snub by any means. I more fall in line with the Elsie Fisher Film Awards school of thought than the Oscars, which have yet again disregarded several incredible performances this year: Florence Pugh in Midsommar, Taron Egerton in Rocketman, Lupita Nyongo in Us, and of course, Greta Gerwig’s direction of Little Women. I’m sure there are many more but those are the first few that come to mind. Oh to be in 2017 when nominations made fractionally more sense.

This list also includes films that weren’t necessarily released this year, but that I just got around to watching; there were a couple of disappointments but also a lot of films I can’t believe it took me this long to finally watch and have definitely made their way into my favourites. My goal for this year is to get through even more of the films on my verrrry long Letterboxd watchlist, and more specifically, watch said films without going on my phone, which is a really bad habit of mine. I find it hard to sit still! Let me live!

I also want to try and put aside my prejudices about visual quality and watch more pre-2000s movies this year; it’s really bad but I never managed to get more than half an hour into Psycho, of all films, solely because I couldn’t deal with the black and white. In 2020, I am going to stop being a whiney Gen Z/cusp millenial-er and give older films the chance they deserve.

So, without further ado, here is my film tier ranking of everything I watched in 2019! If you make it til the end and have any thoughts or disagreements, let me know. I love to hear other’s opinions and get new perspectives on things and am totally open to any criticism. Happy reading:-)

God Tier

Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019)

Knives Out. What a film.

I feel like I waited forever to see this at the cinema. They must have started showing trailers for it in, like, August, and I had to wait til mid-November to see it. How are you gonna just dangle a film with Toni Colette and Lakeith Stanfield in my face and then make me wait 3 months? Totally unethical.

But that being said, when it finally came around and I did see it, as much as I love Toni and Lakeith, there was one stand out and it wasn’t either of them: ANA DE ARMAS. I have to admit I’d never heard of her before but she acted the shit out of a role I feel I’d ordinarily find irritating and gimmicky. Daniel Craig, whose character seemed annoying as fuck in the trailer, was actually surprisingly funny.

Stylistically, it was a very cool film and I liked the subtle commentary on class that was running throughout. Also, I thought the ending was very clever. My issue with a lot of whodunnits is that they just pick someone who doesn’t make sense for shock factor *cough, Bobby Beale in Eastenders, cough* but the shocks here were more in the details.

Hustlers (Lorene Scafaria, 2019)

There wasn’t one single moment of Hustlers I didn’t enjoy and it’s quite amazing that there wasn’t one single point in this film about strippers that I felt gratuitously sexualised women. THAT is why you fund female directors. It made the whole thing look like a calculated art form, which I think the unsexy amongst us can all agree that it is. Constance Wu was a fantastic lead, J-Lo was kind of robbed for a supporting actress nom, and Keke Palmer and Lili Reinhart were hilarious too.

Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019)

Midsommar was such an experience that it took me a good few days afterwards to decide whether I actually liked it. I saw it the day it came out because I loved Hereditary so much and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I kind of had an idea of the way it was going to go, we could all kind of guess evil cult was the route that was being taken from the trailer, but I just didn’t realise quite how weird it’d get.

The gore was great, the visuals were stunning and the character arcs were surprising and for that reason, I think this is another game changer for horror from Ari Aster. I didn’t love it like I loved Hereditary but it continues to play on my mind and 7 months later I still can’t resist a good “Things you Missed in Hereditary” or “Hereditary Themes Explained” Youtube video essay. That’s how you know a film fucked with you and that’s the ultimate goal of going into a horror for me. Put that on my headstone after I inevitably get myself into some mortally dangerous conflict because I want to “get fucked with” a little bit.

Booksmart (Olivia Wilde, 2019)

So here’s the thing with Booksmart: I was getting progressively more and more drunk throughout it so I might be a little biased when I say I loved it. That being said, worth revere seems to be a commonly held opinion so I’ll stick to my guns. Plus, movies like this, which just focus on girls living their lives, are few and far between. Why have we had to wait THIS long for the female Superbad?

IDK. But Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein and Billie Lourd proved it’s definitely a genre worth investing in so hopefully we see more lighthearted female-led coming of age comedies. One Ladybird per year isn’t enough for me.

The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018)

I included The Favourite in my 50 Films You’ve Got to Watch that I made earlier this year so I don’t have all that much to say about it that I haven’t said already. To summarise, it’s an instant classic: the cinematography, the cast, the lines, it’s all perfection.

Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino, 2018)

I also included Suspiria in my 50 Films You’ve Got to Watch list so sorry if I’m repeating myself, but I adored everything about it. If I had to sum it up in one sentence I’d say divine feminine energy, but inverted. Plus ballet. That dancing scene in the mirrored room will probably never leave my mind (if you’ve watched it, trust me, you’ll know the one I'm talking about), and if there were awards given out for creepy montages in horror, this would win all of them. It still blows my mind that Tilda Swinton played 3 characters in this film; 2 of them are so distinctly different, if anyone put two and two together without prior knowledge of this fact then I’ll blow my own head up too. This is why I got so mad when there was all that discussion around her being the new female Doctor Who and there were people asking who she was. How can you not know who Tilda fucking Swinton is!? She’s a legend!

Sorry, is the wannabe film snob in me showing?

Annihilation (Alex Garland, 2018)

Though I initially watched it because it’s branded as a horror, Annihilation ended up being a surprisingly introspective take on human nature and our self-destructive tendencies. Nothing really went the way I expected it to, even though I was constantly trying to guess that trajectory from beginning to end.

Visually, Annihilation is magnificent. Like, it’s tense, and where exactly the plot is going is shrouded in mystery, but most importantly, it’s super fucking pretty. Sure, the only thing that was mildly horrifying was the *SPOILER* end result of that bear scene but I didn’t mind too much because there was always that edge-of-your-seat possibility something like that would happen again.

Also I realised that Gina Roduriguez is really hot in this! I would just say in general but that video of her saying the n-word kind of took away shot at real world magnetism. WHY SUCH A SHITTY APOLOGY VIDEO!? WHY?!

Assassination Nation (Sam Levinson, 2018)

So I didn’t clock until I was looking up directors that Sam Levinson, Euphoria director, also directed this, and suddenly everything makes sense in the world. They both have that dreamlike, exaggerated feel that perfectly captures the emotional rollercoaster that is being a teenager, only in Assassination Nation obviously the threats are a bit more...tangible. As in its actually other people trying to kill our protagonists this time round, not just angst.

Not gonna lie, it’s not a patch on Euphoria because that show is probably the best thing I watched all year, but I did thoroughly enjoy it, even if I did feel the social commentary, despite how in your face it was, got a bit lost in translation at times. I think it’s the kind of film that, once again, would’ve felt more genuine coming from a female director, however that’s not to take away from how witty, modern, and completely relevant it still is as we move into 2020.

Sorry To Bother You (Boots Riley, 2018)

Right. WHAT THE FUCK!?

Why don’t more people talk about this film? Like it has Tessa Thompson and the world’s best earrings! Lakeith Stanfield getting more than 10 cumulative minutes of screen time! Armie Hammer being that bitch we all knew he was irl (probably)! Scathing critiques of late stage capitalism! It’s insane, in the absolute best way.

SPOILERS AHEAD: I had a mini paragraph written about the last hour of the film and the descent into pure unadulterated chaos, and how it’s like, the internet’s best kept secret, because ordinarily you lot can’t keep your mouths shut about a film or TV’s shows most crucial reveals for more than 5 minutes and THEN...My FBI agent must be feeling real cheeky because THIS tweet pops up on my Twitter timeline.

Fuck this shit, I’m out. Onto the next film. MI5 stop peeping my drafts.

Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham, 2018)

I don’t want to repeat what I said about Eighth Grade in my 50 Films you Should Watch list but Elsie Fisher’s performance in this is why I wish the Oscars also had some kind of rising star award category à la the BAFTAs. Honestly, every 13/14 year old should watch this; it’s a reminder that although feeling like an outsider is by its nature quite isolating, it’s prolific enough that a 29 year old man, 10 years out of “high school”, gets it.

American Animals (Bart Layton, 2018)

My sister and I absolutely loved this film so you can image our disappointment when we turned round to our parents at the end and our enthusiasm wasn’t matched...as in, I’m pretty sure they were both asleep for a lot of it. WHICH I DON’T GET. Because to me, there wasn’t a dull moment. American Animals is what happens when a group of university age boys with the finesse of the American Vandal Turd Burglar try and apply that to an Evil Genius stye heist, part Netflix, talking head abundant documentary, part live-action film. Splicing a stylistic reenactment with interview footage of the men who really attempted to commit the crime elevated what I probably would have put in the Good Tier™ to the God Tier™; seeing the guy Evan Peters is playing alongside Evan Peters playing him, now only the remnants of the arrogance we see in the reenactment left behind, sharply reminds you of the fall from grace these boys deservedly went through. Plus Barry Keoghan from The Killing of a Sacred Deer is in it, proving that unsettlingly stiff is NOT in fact his natural state.

Gerald’s Game (Mike Flanagan, 2017)

I wish there was a shorthand way to say I wrote about this in my 50 Films You Should Watch list so I’m gonna keep it short but here we are! This was great! If The Haunting of Hill House isn’t proof enough, Gerald’s Game (not to take away any credit from Stephen King) is a reminder that Mike Flanagan is the king of subtle, niggling sensation in your stomach that something is about to go very wrong horror. I hear he and Ari Aster have a timeshare situation going on with the crown.

The Ritual (David Bruckner, 2017)

Okay, so this is the film that made me realise we should all be very scared of forests. Nope, all the documentaries into the Aokigahara Forest weren’t enough, apparently. I subjected myself to this too, as if my unfit, cold-blooded, bug-fearing, scared of the dark ass doesn’t already have enough concerns about my survival odds in the great outdoors.

Really though, setting aside, this film maintains the sense of dread throughout and keeps you guessing what’s going on until the very end. Much like The Descent, the group dynamic and characters are realistic enough that it adds to the believability of a scenario I, in principle, know would never happen to the extent that I might keep away from vast, wooded spaces for a while just in case.

Dumbo (Tim Burton, 2019)

If film Twitter came across this post and saw I’d placed Dumbo in a higher tier than If Beale Street Could Talk I can only imagine the outrage. And sure, the latter is probably a much higher quality film. But sometimes a movie, for reasons you can’t quite put your finger on, gets you right in the sweet spot, and Dumbo did that for me. Maybe it was that the CGI elephant reminded me of my cat (I know, leave me alone), maybe I was emotional that day, I don’t know, all I know is that I cried like 5 times and was smiling for the rest of it-to be fair, the exploitation of animals for our entertainment is something that is still very much going on and that was something that was playing on my mind a lot whilst I was watching it. IRL Dumbos should be free too. Dumbo rights.

The VVitch (Robert Eggers, 2016)

This film taught me that there’s nothing wrong with joining a coven of young witches and getting naked and levitating around a fire. And that’s an important life lesson. Plus it gave us the quote “wouldst thou like to live deliciously?”, which is not only so perfectly creepy and simultaneously empowering that I had to get it tattooed but also, created ASMR. I just made that last bit up obviously but Black Philip getting his own ASMR Youtube channel?

The Descent (Neil Marshall, 2006)

For me, much like The Ritual, The Descent is a perfect horror film: it’s got the ghouls but the situation the characters find themselves in is also terrifying by its own merit. The reason The Descent made it onto my 50 Films list and the Ritual didn’t is because, let’s be honest, it’s 2020 and you can get mobile signal in most places. You could probably at least make a 999 call if you got lost in a forest. If you DID get stuck in an underground cave and it collapsed in on itself, you’d be pretty fucked; the idea of it makes me shudder and I will never set foot in an underground tunnel at any point in my life for any amount of money EVER after seeing this. Also, the women in this are great and the creatures in this are genuinely quite terrifying, especially the first time you see them.

Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2003)

Ah, Chicago, the last film on the God Tier™, proving that this list is in no particular order. Because WHAT A FIM. WHY DON’T PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THIS MORE?! Like don’t get me wrong, I know it deservedly won Best Picture in 2003 but I’m talking about right now! I mean, fucking Titanic is still out here getting referenced left, right and centre and yet Chicago gets paid dust! Can you tell I’m mad and that I think Titanic is hugely overrated?! Is that maybe coming across?!

ALL the songs are bops, Catherine Zeta-Jones is hot (I saw someone on Letterboxd say that Catherine Zeta-Jones in this film was their bisexual awakening and honestly, if I hadn’t already known I was a raging bisexual, same, because I FELT things in that All That Jazz opening) and Cell Block Tango is the revenge fantasy anthem I never knew I needed. Smart, tongue in cheek, beautifully shot and makes men look like little bitches which is probably why my dad hated it but what did I expect.

Good Tier

Zombieland: Double Tap (Ruben Fleischer, 2019)

Onto the first film of the good tier, Zombieland: Double Tap definitely exceeded my expectations. I was super worried about the prospect of a sequel as I love the first one so much and assumed it would be crap. Obviously, it doesn’t match up to the original because the original WAS so original, but it was still a fun, easy, witty ride. And I was SO glad they didn’t *SPOILERS AHEAD* kill off Tallahassee at the end because I really thought that was coming and it seemed so predictable and unnecessary. Highlight was the introduction of the lookalikes at Graceland.

Judy (Rupert Goold, 2019)

So, this is the first of two consecutive rants I’m about to go on about Oscar nominations and people’s reactions online. Prepare yourself.

I’ll start with the underlying message: just because you think something else deserves the praise more, doesn’t mean the film/album/*insert whatever artistic medium you wish here* that IS getting the praise is shit.

Like people are angry that Lupita Nyongo wasn’t nominated for best actress for her performance in Us which is COMPLETELY valid as she carried that film on her back. In the same vein, people are also angry that more women of colour haven’t been nominated for best actress. Also valid; I’ve yet to see The Farewell but I’ve heard great things about Akwafina’s performance and I love her so even though I haven’t seen it, I’m gonna take the general consensus that she should’ve been nominated too. The Oscars definitely has a problem with recognising the work of POC. BUT, because of this, people are angry that Renee Zellweger has been nominated for her performance in Judy, saying that it’s typical “Oscar bait”. I agree, it is typical Oscar bait. However, a lot of the people saying this will in the same breath say (or tweet rather) that they haven’t actually SEEN Judy.

How can you possibly say that Renee Zellweger doesn’t deserve any of the praise she’s getting when you haven’t even seen the film? Don’t get me wrong, the film itself is good but not outstanding (hence its place in this tier), but you can see Renee genuinely put her heart and soul into this film; it was powerful, and it was sympathetic but it was also nuanced and subtle where they could’ve just capitalised on all the sensationalised stories of the actions of a woman clearly deeply suffering in her final years and had it be full of shouting and screaming. The Wizard of Oz has always kind of felt like home to me because of the childhood nostalgia factor and so I’ve always been interested in Judy and I think Renee captured her heart and her spirit in a way she would be deeply honoured by. Maybe the film itself doesn’t deserve the acclaim it’s getting but I think Zellweger definitely deserves the nom and I think most people who’ve actually seen it wouldn’t contest that.

Joker (Todd Philipps, 2019)

Okay so second rant. I’m sorry. I have a lot of feelings. Most of them aimed at the annoying tendency of internet users, Film Twitter™ and Letterboxd users I’m looking at you in particular, to be wildly exaggerative.

There just seems to be no nuance online. It’s not just yeah, I didn’t like the film personally and the message could be perceived in a certain way by certain individuals, it’s I HATE THIS FILM AND IT’S DANGEROUS AND THE DIRECTOR FUCKING SUCKS. I noticed this trend when La La Land came out (which if I had watched last year would certainly be in God tier for me). It’s like, if a film initially receives a lot of praise and buzz, there’s almost this wave of compensatory vehement criticism in response that’s usually disproportionate to how controversial the film actually is. People didn’t like that Joker was popular because they didn’t like Joker so suddenly it’s the worst film ever and the possibility of it getting any critical acclaim is wrong. I even saw people berating Todd Philipps for channelling Martin Scorsese as he’s the only person to ever be influenced and take direction from one of the most dominant figures in film of the 20th and 21st century. I mean, what’s wrong with that?! If it was any other director, it’d be called homage. But because everything has to be seen through this malicious lens, its copying.

I think one of the few very valid criticisms about Joker was that it further perpetuates the idea that psychotic people are dangerous, and I can totally see where they’re coming from. At the same time, we have to accept that whilst the majority of people who are psychotic aren’t a danger to anyone apart from themselves, most “dangerous” people don’t just become dangerous because they thought, fuck it, why not? A lot of people in the prison system ARE suffering with some kind of mental illness. The character’s psychosis doesn’t make him dangerous, it’s his underlying resentment and sense of entitlement that grows throughout the film that makes him dangerous, and I think a lot of people seem to miss this point. They say that the way the film ends implies Philipps is justifying the actions of the films protagonist. However, we KNOW the Joker is an unreliable narrator, he’s one of pop culture’s most infamous villains and that being said, both in film and in the real world, few villains see themselves as the villain. Joker is about why HE thinks he’s justified in doing what he does, not why he IS justified in doing what he does because he’s not, and that’s pretty clear from the moment he shoots someone in the head on live TV. Honestly, I think there’s a bit of wilful misinterpretation going on because people don’t like that film

I liked Joker. It was gritty, it was interesting, and sufficiently dark. I didn’t think it was the best film of the year but I understand why it got the praise it did. Obviously, it’s okay that people disagree and DON’T like it. But can we please get a bit more well-acquainted with the middle ground?

It: Chapter Two (Andres Muschietti, 2019)

Okay, essays over. Back to regular scheduled programming of less impassioned reviews. Though I will say I deserved better than my Letterboxd comment of “so you can just fucking roast Pennwyise to death?” getting absolutely 0 traction. One day my grand total of 5 followers, one of which is my sister, will recognise my brilliance (lol).

It’s hard to say how much I really liked this as I think my perspective of how much I did enjoy it is warped by how much I disliked the first one. Child actors really aren’t my thing and the only cast members I warmed to in the first one were Finn Wolfhard and Jack Dylan Grazer whereas the cast here were a lot more likeable, imo. Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain and James Ransone were all great, with the only let down being James Mcavoy; I love him, don’t get me wrong, but I just think he was really miscast in this role.

Another thing I enjoyed a lot more about this instalment was that due to the more episodic/anthology-like/Creepshow-esque structure with each character conquering different monsters from their past individually, the narrative felt like it had a lot more direction, and it didn’t drag as much despite it having a significantly longer runtime. I haven’t read the Stephen King novels and I don’t know much of the pacing issues are down to them so this is me coming at it from a screenwriting angle but it felt as if the climax of the first film just kept going on and on. Every time I thought it had finished there’d be another confrontation between the kids and Pennywise whereas Chapter 2 seemed to have a more definitive third act and I appreciated that.

Rocketman (Dexter Fletcher, 2019)

So, here’s one where I WILL agree with the general online consensus: if Rami Malek got nominated for playing Freddie Mercury last year and Renee got nominated for playing Judy Garland, why the fuck didn’t Taron Egerton get one for playing Elton John? Why didn’t Rocketman itself get a nomination when Judy did? Though I personally preferred Judy because I’m more interested in her story, technically and narratively Rocketman is the better film in my opinion. This was so cleverly edited and sequenced and told with such a brutal honesty on Elton John’s part (it was co-produced by his husband David Furnish and he was heavily involved in everything from the set to the script), that I can only come to the conclusion that the obligatory biopic nomination only comes when the focus of said biopic is no longer with us as a kind of honorary thing. Whilst something like Bohemian Rhapsody was much more of an easy watch (which just goes to show how glossed over Freddie Mercury’s life was in the film), the way the story was told, by the time we got to I’m Still Standing that happy ending felt so earned.

Aladdin (Guy Ritchie, 2019)

You can hate all you want, Prince Ali and Never Had a Friend Like Me are fucking bops and somehow they were even better in this incarnation of the film. I was initially hesitant about Will Smith being cast but rather than trying to impersonate Robin Williams he went his own route and it really worked. He was the highlight of the film. It was undeniably visually stunning too. Madonna’s ex did good.

Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)

Ah, I feel so conflicted when it comes to Us. Like, there were some really strong points and it’s definitely a good standalone horror movie. It’s just you can’t help but compare it to Get Out, and with that unsatisfactory exposition dump ending, I left feeling so disappointed. It seemed to me that Jordan Peele got in a bit over his head here with trying to tie such a vague social metaphor and the actual in-universe plot together, and so ended up leaving both a bit half-baked. He tried to OutPeele himself and for me, it didn’t work.

The doppelgängers were so scary as this ambiguous, vaguely threatening presence that if you are gonna give us a full blown, sit down explanation of why they exist it needs to be really bloody good. And this explanation didn’t make much sense. For example, *SPOILERS AHEAD* I imagine that the tethered just not being able to walk up the escalator into the “real world” was supposed to be some kind of metaphor for social mobility but it’s not fleshed out enough to work. In our world, there are REASONS why the idea of social mobility is flawed. In the film, it’s just like gee, if they chose to just walk up the escalator and go on this murderous rampage now, why couldn't they have decided to do it years ago back before they all lost their fucking minds? Why were they just copying the originals for all those years? HOW did they know what they were doing? See, the metaphor as I understand it is supposed to be that we depend on the oppression of others like us in order to maintain our social status, but not only is this kind of too general a statement to try and use a feature length film to make, I don’t really understand how this dynamic works within the narrative of the film. Technically, there's nothing to stop the tethered and the originals co-existing apart from the tethered deciding not to walk up the fucking escalator. We’re not talking a bourgeoisie-proletariat relationship here. The explanation of it all just being a “government project gone wrong” was too vague seeing as the plot working seemed prior to this to hinge onto something vaguely supernatural and the eventual plan of the doppelgängers seemingly had no purpose or application to the real world like the climax of Get Out did. It just left me feeling kind of like...why? Why did this all happen? When the ending and the twist was that predictable (the old Pretty Little Liars finale style twin switcheroo was blatantly obvious from the mother’s “it’s like she’s a different person” line near the beginning, let’s be real), I was expecting some final revelation that flipped my expectation on its head or at least felt helped things click into place. Instead, it seemed a bit hamfisted and like I was supposed to feel things were deeper and more significant than they actually were.

All that being said, I appreciate that if anyone other than the writer of Get Out had come out with this movie, I probably wouldn’t have these issues. Us was funny, it was fresh, and the concept of doppelgängers is something I’m so glad to see brought back into our modern pop culture database. The people are right, Lupita was incredible in this and it is a travesty that she didn’t get nominated. My sister, who was so creeped out by her vocal performance that she had her fingers in her ears every time Red spoke, still won’t let me attempt an impression of it. And that Fuck the Police sequence? Iconic.

On the Basis of Sex (Mimi Leder, 2019)

I apologise in advance for the shittiest “review” I’ll ever write, but honestly I can’t remember all too much about this film other than it being good. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I’m sorry. You’re a cool lady.

If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins, 2019)

EURGH, THIS WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL FIM. The score, the shots, the rawness. I imagine it’s devastatingly real. Like, *SPOILERS AHEAD* you think there’s going to be a happy ending but there’s not. It should be disappointing but it’s an honest choice. And side note: fuck those annoying middle aged white ladies in the seats behind me and my friend who lost their shit and started giggling every time the N-word was used, JFC. I hate living in a Tory stronghold.

Cam (Daniel Goldhaber, 2018)

So, as I said, I’m a fan of the whole doppelgänger thing. It freaks me out. The point in this film where the protagonist is approaching her bedroom door whilst she watches HERSELF livestreaming from inside that same bedroom had my heart in my mouth wondering what she was going to encounter on the other side. And you see, the ending of this was a lot more ambiguous than the ending of Us, so I should’ve had less questions. Whilst I’ve seen other people saying it WAS unsatisfactory and that they felt like we were owed more of an explanation, I liked the simplicity of the answer we got and the wiggle room it leaves for our own interpretation. The way I see it, given that we were told by the fan the protagonist meets with in the motel room that *SPOILERS AHEAD* it was a case of some kind of software copying these women’s likenesses to steal their viewers and thus their profits, is that Cam is a kind of a commentary on the capitalist exploitation of women’s bodies and the demand for (and desensitisation towards) sexually violent content; we don't necessarily need to know who is behind the virtual cloning, which is terrifyingly believable given how realistic some of the deepfakes I’ve seen are, because it doesn’t matter. We're basically told money is the motive and we know the kind of lengths some people will go, and someone DID go to in Cam, to in order to make a shitload of money and that’s as true in real life as it is scary. On the other hand, if you want to believe there’s a more supernatural presence behind the events of the film, there’s enough left to the imagination that you can go down that route too. Some films are better left un-exposition dumped and this is the proof. My one criticism, is that, like many films, it would be even better if directed by a woman; I’ve seen people say that its portrayal of online sex work isn’t entirely accurate and though I can’t say with certainty that women working in this industry weren’t consulted in the first place, I imagine a female director would not only be more likely to listen to their concerns but could translate the confusion and fear that comes with being expected to makes oneself sexually desirable to get ahead in the world but then shamed and used for doing so even more viscerally. A few tweaks and it’d be God Tier.

Colette (Wash Westmoreland, 2019)

The costumes, sets, and Keira were so, so stunning. Also it was just an inspiring, beautiful story. The navigation of womanhood, so called “deviant” sexuality and self-expression against the backdrop of early 20th century Paris with a load of Edwardian era tailoring thrown in, it’s everything I could possibly want and more; 10/10 moodboard content.

The Boy (William Brent Bell, 2016)

I can’t believe this film was made in 2016, and it almost makes me move it down to mid tier based on the fact that a lot of the allowances I made for cheese factor I made on the assumption it came out earlier in the decade. BUT, that being said, I was creeped out for a good portion of this film. Most horrors I watch and I’m probably a bit too chilled (a head comes off or some witchy ass ghost screams into the camera and my only thought is some kind of judgement of the SFX), and yet I felt like watching this behind my hands. I don’t know what it is about dolls and puppets, Chucky was my childhood fear even though I never actually watched the film, but something about the uncanny valley of it all makes me just spend the whole time they’re on screen silently praying they don’t start moving or talking. So in a way, given the resolution of the film *SPOILERS AHEAD*, the premise of The Boy was actually a lot scarier to me than the reveal of what was really going on. Someone hiding in my walls? NBD. That demons are real and that they live inside creepy old dolls? Terrifying. Why does everybody I debate this with disagree!? You can't call the police on a demon! At least with a human being you can stick them with the pointy ending of something! Regardless, I enjoyed the journey and trying to work out how things would end and if there IS anybody secretly living inside my house right now, even if you are a supposedly dead murderous family member (last time I checked I didn’t have any of those so I should be all good), kindly vacate. Thanks.

Oprhan (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2009)

So the fact that this film is based on a real life case makes this all the more terrifying. It was a bit campy and tacky at times but the shot of *SPOILERS AHEAD* Esther taking off her makeup in the mirror and revealing her true age will always be iconic. Plus I love Vera Farmiga, even though I did struggle to see her as anyone other than Norma Bates.

First Reformed (Paul Schrader, 2018)

A hauntingly beautiful film with a lot of room for interpretation. There were so many gorgeous shots and so much subtext, this is proper 10/10 media studies essay material.

The Invitation (Karyn Kusama, 2015)

I would say the concept and implications of this film, which don’t fully hit you til the final shots, are a lot better than the film itself. It feels very realistic though and is definitely tense.

As Above, So Below (John Erick Dowdle, 2014)

I was so stoned when I watched this that a lot of the allegory and Dante’s inferno references went straight over my head, and it just seemed absolutely balls to the wall wild. I couldn’t buy that the characters would just KEEP GOING either when things began to get terrifying, like people in horror films really out here making the most nonsensical decisions and it drives me mad. But anyway, it was definitely entertaining and there’s a lot more to it in terms of plot and mythology than most similar quality horrors and I appreciate that

Climax (Gaspar Noe, 2018)

Climax is an interesting one that I think I’ll have to watch again to judge how much I truly like it. As with Us, I know it’s a good film, but I think my expectations of what it was going to be left me slightly disappointed. See, when I read about the premise I assumed that the horror was going to come from seeing the perspective of the characters on said acid trip and that leaves so much room for any kind of terrifying visuals you want whether that be something based in realism or fucked up creatures of the imagination. Buuuuut, it wasn’t that at all; at no point does Climax take place from the first person perspective of any of the characters. Similar to Darren Aronofsky’s Mother, the horror comes from not being able to do anything but watch as everyone starts losing their minds and the situation gets increasingly more dire. It’s pure stress; the acting is so unnervingly good that you really do feel like you’re watching some unintentionally horrific incident take place. That’s not a bad thing-I like it when films make me feel something intense, whether that emotion be positive or negative. It was just a different viewing experience to the one I had precipitated.

Mid Tier

Nativity (Debbie Isitt, 2009)

I find Mr.Poppy hilarious. Does that make me a child? Probably. I’m not really one for Christmas movies but this one’s alright.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (André Øvredal, 2019)

I get that it’s based off a book so it’s not exactly like the “monsters” were a secret in the first place, but for those of us who didn’t read the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books as a kid, my main beef with this film was that they basically revealed all of said monsters in the trailer. Like how It: Chapter 2 spoiled the scene with Beverly in the old lady’s apartment but with EVERY. SINGLE. CREATURE. The only one that wasn’t was the “jangly man” and the only takeaway I have from him is the “jangly in the streets, but is he jangly in the sheets?” Letterboxd comment I read afterwards. Like the creature designs are the selling point of this film and by showing us them all before we’ve even seen it, any anticipation that would’ve built up from their reveal was kind of gone. Plus, it definitely felt like the writers were trying to ride on the hype train of “It” when they wrote this-only they made it even more childish. I mean, I know it was classed as PG-13 in the US which is maybe part of the reason it was so tame but the Woman in Black was a 12 when it was released here and it could be the bias of my 13 year old brain but I remember that being terrifying to watch in the cinema.

Also, I found it weird how *SPOILERS AHEAD* a couple of the main characters died and there didn’t really seem to be any consequences? Idk, maybe that’s because I found them all a bit one dimensional but I’ve seen others make the same criticism so I don’t think so.

Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a BAD film. It just wasn’t super good.

Charlie’s Angels (Elizabeth Banks, 2019)

I’ve never seen the 2000s Charlie’s Angels so I really don’t have anything to compare to, but I don’t think this was THAT bad. I was fairly entertained throughout and I enjoyed Naomi Scott and Kristen Stewart’s characters. My main issue was the unnecessary inclusion of Noah Centineo, and that weird ass montage at the beginning of stock video shots of girls just...doing miscellaneous things. Why, Elizabeth Banks, why!?

Toy Story 4 (Josh Cooley, 2019)

In some ways, I see why Toy Story 4 was narratively necessary: co-dependency had been a running theme throughout and we needed to see Woody (I feel stupid saying this considering he’s a fucking toy but allow it) realise that he can exist independently of Andy, and that there’s more to life than pleasing somebody else. The way Toy Story 4 ended felt like a satisfying conclusion to his character arc, and as well as the animation being top tier, Forky was a hilarious addition to the cast. However, I don’t think it carried the emotional weight of the 3rd Toy Story, which I think people had accepted as the last instalment and had used to say goodbye to the franchise, and therefore the sceptic in me thinks that the obvious purpose of this addition was a cash grab. I don’t doubt that a lot of people worked incredibly hard on it-I’m just saying that the propelling force behind the film probably wasn’t “the people need to see Woody’s character growth” and that was quite apparent throughout.

Doctor Sleep (Mike Flanagan, 2019)

There were some really beautiful scenes in Doctor Sleep; the astral projection sequences in particular were magnificent and I loved Rebecca Ferguson as the villain. Stylistically, though I didn’t find out he was the director until I was writing this up, you can definitely tell it’s Mike Flanagan, and like I’ve said, he does horror very tastefully. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t all that interested in the premise and I wasn’t hugely invested in grown up Danny Torrance either. The execution was great and the return to the Overlook was brilliant, of course, but the story just wasn’t for me and nothing much sticks out as being a particularly intriguing plot point.

Mary Queen of Scots (Josie Rourke, 2019)

What to say about Mary Queen of Scots other than...yeah, it was alright. I mean, I really should’ve liked it more than I did, because these specific events were part of the Edexcel A-Level history curriculum (Can I get some Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors students representation up in here!?) and I usually love seeing history translated onto screen, plus it centred around Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan. It was just very...meh. I feel like there’s so much more complex a story here than was told. Both women were undoubtedly a lot more complicated than this film made them out to be and I think to reduce Mary Queen of Scots to a Mary Sue-ish heroine was a disappointing choice. Plus, if we’re gonna talk historical accuracy (which all the racists came out of their caves to discuss at the time), Mary and Elizabeth never actually met; I’m sure there was a more creative way to explore their dynamic than by forcing an interaction that never actually happened.

Apostle (Gareth Evans, 2018)

There were elements of this film I really liked; the mythology behind the cult, I.E what the townsfolk actually worshipped when you stripped away all the secrecy was pretty interesting. However, I felt it depended too much on atmosphere and not enough on plot, and I didn’t warm to any of the characters.

Searching (Aneesh Chaganty, 2018)

It’s difficult because technically, Searching is obviously an ingenious film. My issue is the way it ended, which was imo, super anti-climatic, and honestly pretty predictable in that it seemed like the writers just went out of their way *SPOILERS AHEAD* to make the culprit the person viewers would’ve ruled out by default for shock value, and then work out WHY that person was the culprit from there. I was expecting something a lot darker to be behind the protagonist’s daughter’s disappearance-irl, these situations usually are-and so maybe it’s just me being a bit of a sadist but I was disappointed by how things resolved themselves.

Deliver Us from Evil (Scott Derrickson, 2014)

So, this isn’t boring. It’s interesting to have a horror navigated through the lens of something as procedural as a police investigation. But ultimately, the acting isn’t great, there’s very few scary moments, and it’s a little cheesy. As horrors go, it’s pretty shallow-it is what it says on the tin.

Dumplin’ (Anne Fletcher, 2018)

I watched this right at the beginning of the year and I can’t remember all too much about it, but I remember not hating it? See, looking at the cast, Odeya Rush and Dove Cameron are both in it which would suggest I’d come away hating MYSELF instead but yeah...I got nothing.

Lights Out (David F.Sandberg, 2016)

The concept is very scary, the execution not so much, and the actual storyline is a little cheesy. I found myself just being like OH MY GOD, IT’S BELLA’S DAD FROM TWILIGHT! And then *SPOILERS AHEAD* getting mad that they did Charlie Swan dirty like that by killing him off in the first 10/15 minutes.

The Goldfinch (John Crowley, 2019)

So I LOVED the book of The Goldfinch. I read it after the Secret History and even though most people seem to prefer the latter, the former hit me right in the sweet spot. The length was almost one of my favourite things about it; I felt by the end that I came to know the character so well he felt like someone I knew in real life. When I heard Ansel Elgort was cast as Theo, I was really happy; I’m not necessarily a huge fan of him as an actor, I've only ever seen him in shitty teen-y dramas which I forced myself to like at the time E.G. The Fault in Our Stars and Divergent, but he looks kind of exactly how I pictured Theo looking. Almost like an Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood situation. And then honestly, the actual film came around, and I found myself much preferring the young Theo sections. I get that Theo is quite a muted character and I hate to properly slate anyone’s performance, but Ansel as him felt a bit flat. The casting in general was pretty whack; I love Nicole Kidman but she didn’t feel right as Mrs.Barbour and it seemed that they added a lot to her character to the detriment of Hobie’s character who was a much bigger part of Theo’s life in the book. Also, can we talk about Finn Wolfhard as Boris? I’m sorry, but that accent was godawful. Really bad. Boris’ accent was always supposed to be kind of ambiguous but this was just butchered Russian. Another gripe that my friend and I, who also read the book, had with the Vegas section of the film (which was otherwise probably the best part) was that they never properly explored the complexity of Boris and Theo’s relationship. Obviously I’m not saying that I want 2 minors to shoot a sex scene but it could have been referenced when they reunite as adults because the kiss on the head when they part in Vegas seemed misleadingly platonic. It was heavily implied in the book that there was some kind of love that went beyond friendship between the two and I didn’t get that in the film at all.

Ultimately, when you try and adapt a book as long as the Goldfinch, you’re always going to have some pacing issues and people complaining that things were left out or that X or Y character didn’t have enough screen time. But in ways, I think the fault here was trying to stay TOO faithful in the limited time available. They definitely could have focussed less on certain relationships and more on others, and when it comes down to it, I think we lost a lot of the grittiness of the original book for the sake of pretty visuals.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)

Don’t get me wrong, this would 100% be in shit tier if it wasn’t for the last hour or so of the film and all the Manson lore which is so disappointing because I love Tarantino films and I love that era. As for the first couple of hours, I loved the vibe and I love Margot Robbie, and I think it was very respectful towards the Tate family (if anything radiated through the screen more than anything else it was Sharon Tate’s sweetness), but I just wasn’t that invested in Leo or Brad’s characters-it all just felt a bit pointless. I really like Brad Pitt and even that couldn’t really save it for me. Maybe if you took away the remaining 2 hours and 20 minutes of Leo DiCaprio making vague allusions to his own career to a girl only slightly younger than the combined age of all girlfriends past I’d enjoy it more but then I don’t think there’d be much footage left. I guess we should just be grateful that Tarantino managed to refrain from unnecessarily sprinkling the N-word into every other line of his script this time, right?

Also.

SO. MANY. FEET.

But then again, this did result in Brad publicly mocking Tarantino’s foot fetish during his speech at the SAG awards so...I’ll allow it. Sometimes kink shaming is okay. Especially when it’s this guy:

Isn’t it Romantic (Todd Strauss-Schulson, 2019)

I guess as romantic comedies go it wasn’t AWFUL because it was self-aware but still just not my cup of tea and it didn’t really make me laugh. Plus, I feel like it did just follow the plot of a conventional rom-com in the end so...what was it all for, you know?

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier, 2016)

I think my disappointment with this film was a case of too high expectations. It wasn’t as gory as I hoped, in fact, there was very little on screen gore at all. I was just expecting something very messed up and I didn’t get that. But then again we did get Maeby from Arrested Development singing a fuck Nazis song so I guess that was a nice surprise?

Shit Tier

Birdbox (Susanne Bier, 2018)

First the disappointment of the Goldfinch, and now Birdbox (although they were chronologically the other way round but for the sake of this review, let’s just ignore that). It really is a bad year for bird films.

It’s weird because when this first came out I remember everyone hyping it up and making memes about it and stuff and then I actually watched it and dear god, it was boring. Honestly, who paid you lot to pretend you cared enough about it enough to make content? And where can I get in on this action?

I mean it didn’t start off terribly but then they killed off SARAH FUCKING PAULSON and somehow managed to make SANDRA FUCKING BULLOCK unlikeable. How does one do that? The mind baffles.

Pet Sematary (Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Widmyer, 2019)

The kid acting was bad, the leads were meh and there wasn’t one creepy moment. This should be SO MUCH MORE hard hitting than it actually was given the subject matter and it just fell completely flat. I will say, though, *SPOILERS AHEAD* that the ending was appropriately doom and gloom and even though I’ve seen lots of others say they hate it it was probably the only thing I actually liked.

The Lion King (Jon Favreau, 2019)

Seth Rogen and Billie Eichner were the only good things about this which is sad because I fucking love Donald Glover and I was so excited when he was cast as Simba. Like, it was pretty but empty and unnecessary and I’m not one of these people who think CGI remakes always have to be this way-I loved Dumbo and I liked the live-action Jungle Book too! I just think the people who made this cared too much about good CGI and realism and less about heart. There was no personality whatsoever and it’s such a waste when you think about the fact that they had Donald and Beyonce on board.

Red Sparrow (Francis Lawrence, 2018)

Eurgh, I hated this. I think Jennifer Lawrence is stunning and I usually love her films but every shot of her in this felt so male-gaze oriented, even the ones which were sexually violent, which I found to be completely unnecessary in the first place. At times it felt almost torture-porn-y which was not what I expected at all seeing as the marketing made it seem like some kind of female empowerment movie.

It Comes at Night (Trey Edward Shults, 2017)

I literally can’t remember fucking anything from this film. Clearly there is a very, very fine line between atmospheric and boring.

Warm Bodies (Jonathan Levine, 2013)

Maybe it’s because I watched this about 6 years too late and the whole human-girl-falls-in-love-with-supernatural-creature hype train has long since left the station but I couldn’t even finish it. Cutesy necrophilia ain’t for me, sorry Nicholas Hoult. Still love ya. You’ll always be Tony Stonem to me xoxo

Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2005)

I’m pretty sure this movie won a lot of awards so I’m sure this is a very unpopular opinion but the way this film ended was so...depressing. SO depressing. Did it have to be THAT depressing? The Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode outsold.

This is the range Oscar winning actress Hilary Swank wishes she had.

Would You Rather (David Guy Levy, 2013)

Started off well but became cheesy and predictable as it went on. The acting wasn’t great either plus there was another unnecessary attempted rape scene here too.

Christmas with the Kranks (Joe Roth, 2004)

So I watched this movie in the run up to Christmas because my best friend and her mum were referencing it like it was this cult classic (which I guess for some reason it is?) and I’m sorry to her and her mum but what the hell is this shit?! It’s not even so bad it’s good. It’s just bad.

The plot, the characters, EVERYTHING, it’s ridiculous on every level. I wasn’t into it enough to suspend my disbelief that anyone’s neighbours would actually care THAT much that they weren’t celebrating Christmas. Go on your damn cruise, take me with you whilst you're at it, ease my seasonal depression! I wouldn’t mind so much if it was funny or if the protagonists were likeable but it wasn’t and they’re not. Nobody’s actions made any sense. It didn’t put me in the Christmas spirit at all it just made me angry that Jamie Lee Curtis’ agent made her do this shit. She’s a scream queen goddess and she deserves better.

ANYWAY.

I’m now realising that I should have started on shit tier and worked my way up to god tier because now this post has ended on the rather sour note of me getting worked up over Christmas with the Kranks, lol. As always, these are just my opinions and I love to hear other people’s; when it comes to something like this, it’s all a matter of preference and there really isn’t a right or wrong answer, so I’m open to discussion!

With the Oscars less than a week away now I rushed a little to get this out on time, so apologies in advance if anything doesn’t make any sense or there’s any typos, I will look back over it at some point over the next couple of days to check.

But if you read to the end thank you! And stay tuned for my overview of Paris Haute Couture Week S/S 2020 if that’s something you’re interested in as that will most likely be next post!

Lauren x

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yumeka36 · 5 years

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Frozen 2: the crossroads of a fandom

This post has been several days in the making but I felt it’s something I had to write now that the supposed final trailer for Frozen 2 has been released and, as stated in my previous post, we’re less than a week away from spoiler-filled merchandise becoming readily available. I’m of course beyond excited that we’ve made it this far after years of waiting…but at the same time, I’m apprehensive on a personal level because Frozen is not like any of the major fandoms I’ve been into. I apologize in advance for the length of this post – I just wanted to get all my thoughts out there so thanks for bearing with me!

While I’ve been a part of many fandoms throughout my life (mostly games and anime), there’s only been a handful that I’d say have been major ones – as in, they lasted for many years, a day never went by where I didn’t think of them, and they made up the majority of what I spent my time and money on. But thinking back, every major fandom I’ve been into was for a series. Probably my biggest three fandoms besides Frozen are/were Pokemon (game series), Inuyasha (anime and manga series), and Haruhi Suzumiya (anime and light novel series). Leaving Pokemon aside for the moment because I’m still very much into it, I was obsessed with Inuyasha during my high school and early college years (around 2003 to 2007) and Haruhi for some years after (around 2007 to 2013). I’d say a big part of the reason I was into them for so long (besides adoring the characters, story, and writing of course) is precisely because they were series: their stories were ongoing for the many years I was into them so I always had new content to look forward to and could indulge in thoughts of “I would love to see this scenario play out in future stories, maybe it will in the next chapter/novel release!”

So why am I not nearly as into them as I used to be? Inuyasha simply finished its story, with the manga finally ending in 2008 (and unfortunately the last year or so of chapters wasn’t all that great in my opinion), and Haruhi’s creator pretty much just abandoned the series, releasing a great 12th novel in 2011 and then never releasing another one since, leaving the series without a proper conclusion. So the reason I eventually left these fandoms is simple: there was no new content to look forward to and thus no hope that any story scenarios I wanted to see will eventually play out in future releases.

On the other hand, why have I been part of the Pokemon fandom for so long, never leaving it since I played the first games in 1999? Again, the answer is simple: Pokemon is a franchise that shows no signs of ever ending – in fact, its become the highest grossing media franchise, so of course Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and others who profit from it will never let it end. There will always be new games, new anime episodes and movies, new merchandise, and new gimmicks like Pokemon GO. It also helps that the games, anime, comics, etc., are only loosely connected to one another so it doesn’t involve a single narrative that will eventually have to end – each new game takes place in the same world but with a different story and characters, which I suppose has its advantages in terms of freshness and longevity over franchises that involve the same characters and plot dependent on the mind and motivation of a single author (like many manga and books series).

So why is Frozen so different from these other fandoms of mine? Firstly, as I mentioned before, it’s not a series and so doesn’t guarantee new content will be released at set intervals: it was originally just a single movie in Disney’s canon of (mostly) standalone stories. Probably the main reason I’ve been into it for so long despite this is because we did, eventually, get new content that continued the canon story (not just a spin-off like that lame Lego cartoon or a retelling of the original story like the Broadway show). In 2015 we got Frozen Fever, in 2017 we got Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, and of course, we got hints of a full-fledged sequel in 2015-2016 before the date was officially announced in 2017. But the difference is that none of this content was ever certain. Unlike a manga series that guarantees a new chapter every week or month, or a book or game series that gets a new release every 2-3 years, new content for Frozen was really just random and up to Disney as to whether they wanted to give it special treatment for being their highest grossing animated film. Thankfully for us fans they did, with an animated short every 2 years and now an official sequel. To be honest, the hope of a sequel is a big part of what’s kept me into Frozen for so many years despite there being such limited content (the original movie plus the shorts is only, like, 2 and a half hours of content!) The shorts helped but I knew they wouldn’t give me the kind of dramatic stories I wanted to see play out in the franchise. Before we knew of any content beyond the original movie, I wrote a post in 2014 about why I wanted to see a Frozen sequel so badly. And here we are, nearly 6 years later and that hope is finally becoming reality…

…I’ve been looking forward to it more than anything for so long, but now that we’re so close, I’m kinda sad and worried. After years of pondering and daydreaming about what Frozen 2 would be like and whether it would give me what I want to see with the characters I love, what if it ends up not being everything I hoped for? What if this movie that’s been on my mind everyday for years just doesn’t leave me satisfied in the end? Again, if this was a series we’re talking about, I’d just say “okay, so the most recent manga chapter, game release, etc, wasn’t very good, we’ll see what the next one brings!” But there is no “next one” for Frozen. Well, I can’t say for sure there won’t ever be a Frozen 3 or more animated shorts, but from the information I’ve heard/read, it really seems like Disney planned this as a closing point for the story that, as of now, has no plans to be opened again. My fear isn’t that I won’t like Frozen 2 – I’m 95% certain I’ll love it – but will it give me what I want to see in the story and characters to the extent that I won’t feel a constant yearning for more should it be the last canon installment for the franchise. I’m sure we’ll see a live-action remake somewhere down the line or other things Disney likes to do to revive their popular franchises here and there, but as far as continuing the canon story through animated shorts and sequels, that’s completely uncertain. And before anyone tells me “that’s what fanfiction is for,” I personally never had much interest. I’ve always strictly been into canon material and I don’t like stories that I feel are out-of-character, with scenarios that would definitely never happen in the official franchise, which is what a lot of fanfiction caters to. I’m sure there are fics out there that I’d like, but I don’t have the time and motivation to try and find them among many others I probably won’t care for. Also, another reason I love Frozen is the animated movie medium itself – near life-like animation, music, voice acting, colors, etc. – so going from that to just reading the stories is too much of a difference to satisfy me.

I know it’s silly of me to fret about this as only one of two possibilities will happen, neither of which are terrible: 1) we never get more canon Frozen movies, so regardless of whether I end up being satisfied with Frozen 2 or not, the lack of new content to look forward to causes me to lose interest and eventually move onto other fandoms, or 2) Disney does announce Frozen 3 and/or more canon animated shorts so that hope keeps my Frozen obsession going indefinitely! (as a side note, Disney seems to be creating more canon TV series for its movies like Tangled and Big Hero 6, but personally I’m not too keen on a TV series for Frozen – I can’t speak for Big Hero 6 but I’ve watched all of Tangled the Series and think it’s good, but it just doesn’t have the high-standards and consistent writing quality and characterization that a full-length animated film has, and I wouldn’t want anything but the best for Frozen!)

Well, whatever happens in the years to come, I’m sure I’ll still love Frozen even if it doesn’t stay among my top fandoms. Every anime, game, movie, etc., I’ve been a fan of has served its purpose in my life, inspiring my thoughts, leading me to great friends, enhancing my appreciation for creative stories, and bringing me many hours of joy, and Frozen will be no different, whether my obsession ends soon after Frozen 2 or continues on into the unknown (see what I did there :P)

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

#disney frozen #frozen #frozen 2

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gothamundernightlight · 5 years

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Endgame Theory

Okay, so it’s been a couple days now, and a lot of people have seen these posters that Marvel dropped for the « 1 month left » countdown to the cinematic release.

And they had me thinking about color vs black and white, and I realized something.

Marvel plans a lot of things in advance, and the order the movies come out in is no different, but after Endgame, there isn’t a particular rush for MCU content. But ALL of the content that has been leaked (Spider-Man: Far From Home, GotG Vol 3, Doctor Strange 2, Black Panther 2, and the new Marvel Loki mini-series) is about people who are black and white.

On top of that, the major players in color aren’t due to make further appearances after Endgame. Both Downey Jr and Chris Evans have finished their contracts post this film, and I believe Chris Hemsworth does as well. While this further contributes to fan fears about character deaths, I can’t help but notice that all of the color character players that are original Avengers have no plans to make reappearances.

Side characters like Okoye, Wong, and Happy are expected to make future appearances. That’s expected because of the Far From Home trailer, but here’s the deal. Marvel plans ahead, and they LOVE screwing over their fans. They admitted to putting false footage in the trailers, they did it with Infinity War, Captain Marvel, and they have done it with Endgame. So I wonder if Happy in the Far From Home trailer is another example.

You see, I think the color scheme is flipped. What if the characters in color are the ones that end up being the fallen, the ones to be avenged? What if Marvel pulled a big ole’ switcharoo on us? What if the characters in black and white come back (duh?) and most of the characters in color die?

I think the black and white characters are the new generation of Avengers, and I think most of our characters in color will pass on/leave/die. So, what if Tony’s nightmare in Age of Ultron comes true, and the Avengers die in space?

The vision Wanda gives Tony sees all of the original Avengers dead. Cap, Clint, Natasha, Thor, and Bruce. Guess who are all in color. Tony might also be among that number if fan theories are correct, but if that group goes, there aren’t many color poster people left. Rhodey, Happy, and Pepper will leave with Tony. If Valkyrie survived, then other people might have too, so Thor will leave to take care of them, and she’ll probably go with him. Clint and Bruce have both been written out of the MCU before, and could be written out again. This leaves Wong, Scott, and Okoye.

With Black Panther 2 in the works, Okoye will obviously not become an intergral part of the Avengers. She’s too loyal to Wakanda for that. Wong is confirmed to be in Doctor Strange 2, but also is not likely to join the Avengers. He’s dedicated to the Sanctums and the Mystic Arts. And then there’s Scott.

Scott is interesting to me because it seems like he will have a much bigger role to play in Endgame compared to Civil War. The theories regarding the Quantum Realm and time-travel will probably be Scott’s pitch, since he’s the only one who’s been there done that, and seeing him take on a larger role is indicative of the fact and Ant-Man is finally becoming an Avenger. But there’s a big plot point we can’t forget about. Cassie Lang means more to Scott than being Ant-Man. And so, like Clint, I could see him also being written out of the story because of family.

And then, just to revisit our black and white characters real quick. The Guardians, all projected to come back for Volume 3. Spider-Man: Far From Home wouldn’t be very good without Spider-Man. Doctor Strange is set to return to theaters in 2021 I believe, and T’Challa, Shuri and Bucky are likely to reappear in Black Panther’s sequel as well. Loki is confirmed to show up by multiple people in Endgame, and we all know better than to believe he’ll stay dead, plus the Loki mini-series with Tom Hiddleston is already in the works. Nick Fury simply will not stay dead either, Carol will make sure of that, which leaves Sam and Hope.

Sam I could totally see taking up the mantle of Captain America. He does it in the comics, he can do it in the movies, and since he’s so much like Cap, he’d be a natural fit for the leadership vaccum left behind by Tony and Steve.

Hope is a different story. Hope did not evolve well in Ant Man and the Wasp. Yeah, she got her suit and she got her mom, but what does Hope want exactly? She lost her job/career after Civil War because of Scott, so her life is in tatters, and other than fight with her dad, her character didn’t exactly point towards any specific direction. So now that she’s achieved the goal of her family unit is back together, what would Hope want? Would Hope want to join the Avengers, or would she want to stay with her family that she’s desired for so long?

Anyways, that’s all I’ve got on this, but feel free to add on if y’all have some theories as to what’s going on here.

#avengers endgame #avengers infinity war #avengers #marvel #endgame #iron man #tony stark #captain america #black panther #ant man #black widow #hawkeye #avenge the fallen #theory #steve rodgers #bucky barnes #wakanda

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leapingtitan · 5 years

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Promare Original Soundtrack Review

Alright, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these and this is the perfect candidate. I have waited for this Sawano OST for almost 8 months, ever since Sawano was confirmed to compose for Promare, and now it’s finally here.

A little side note to my followers who aren’t aware: Promare is an anime film by the duo behind Kill la Kill (Hiroyuki Imaishi and Kazuki Nakashima) and the 2nd time they got Sawano to compose for their project. And boy, was it worth it. I have been hyped about Promare since I first saw the announcement after finishing KLK and before Sawano was confirmed as the composer. And at long last, it’s here. The movie is still gonna take a while to come out internationally, be it at the movies or as a disc release, but the soundtrack is out and that’s what I’ll be talking about today.

This marks the first original, non-sequel Sawano anime work since Re:CREATORS which was... almost 2 years ago. That’s a lot of time, and 2018 was a... questionable year for Sawano’s discography filled with average and low-effort sequel works and an abundance of Jpop songs as part of the [nZk] project. But anyway, here is the review to the soundtrack of Promare, composed by Hiroyuki Sawano! As usual, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each track individually before discussing the soundtrack as a whole. Let’s get right into it!

01. Inferno (vocal: Benjamin, mpi)

Here is what I like to call the “sub-theme vocal track” of Sawano OSTs that follow this pattern. This is basically the “Track #1 that’s a vocal song that could be the main theme but actually comes before the main theme” (similar to God of ink from R:C and Perfect Time from NnT), and a pretty neat one at that. I was looking forward to this track ever since I heard it in the OST CM and it’s honestly very pleasant. Ben and mpi have a lot of synergy as vocalists and the lyrics, plus overall tone and production are very good.

I am generally not a fan of more bright, upbeat and playful vocal songs but this one doesn’t really come off to me as that kind of track. It’s very “everyday” especially the verse and the chorus is super catchy and memorable. Overall, a very solid track. I also really like how Ben and mpi alternate now and then especially with the first and second verse/chorus instead of just having them all sing the same thing. They do that, but only in the last chorus and it sounds like a nice ending to it. The choir in some of the parts (which Sawano himself is part of) is also very nice.

I have two complaints about this track, however. The first one is that outside of the guitar chords and drums, the instruments are barely audible in the mix because of the percussion. You can make out some of the guitars but overall it sounds a bit drowned out. That, and it ends a bit suddenly without a proper outro to tone down the last chorus. Those are still very much nitpicks though, great track otherwise but not my favorite vocal song on this soundtrack.

02. PRO//MARE

And now we come to the actual instrumental main theme of the movie. I have genuinely missed original Sawano works because most of the modern ones have this thing where he names the main theme after the show it’s made for, and it’s just a really cool pattern that never gets old to me.

PRO//MARE is the newest entry to this category and it’s the orchestral track that was heard in the first half of the 2nd trailer. Part of it was also showcased at AnimeJapan at the Promare section. Personally, this is one of my favorite tracks in the album. I love how unpredictable the structure is and the subtle synths and guitar give it a unique flavor that make it stand out from the typical Sawano orchestral tracks. The strings part at 1:55 is my favorite part and it’s just amazing. The main melody is also very nice and overall, it’s a very solid main theme that gets its purpose across. On top of that, this has to be one of the best uses of fake choir Sawano has integrated into an orchestral track.

On top of that, it also does not have a 2nd half and has a pretty good length for an instrumental track. This actually makes it more solid and doesn’t give the feeling of Sawano not knowing how to make a track longer without a 2nd slow half. Overall, very good and again, a big highlight on the album for me.

03. GAL-OTHY-MOS

After 3 years of no woodwinds, it was time to go home.

Okay, here is an absolute banger. Galo (the protagonist)’s theme marks the return of woodwinds in Sawano’s works which is something we didn’t think would happen at this point. And oh boy, this one is big.

Right off the bat, the flute establishes itself very nicely alongside the overall Japanese/ethnic sound the track is going for, which I need to talk about on its own. It’s so freaking cool how unique this theme sounds like with the whole ethnic soundscape mostly because of how appropriate it is for Galo as a character. A side note about Promare, the movie is basically about firefighters who use mechs called “MATOI” which, aside from being a cheesy Kill la Kill reference, are banners used by Firefighters in the Edo period. It’s just so sweet how the overall sound comes together as a character theme.

The track itself is dope. Aside from the ethnic melodic elements it focuses on standard band percussion and orchestra, which is pretty nicely mixed if I might add. The arrangement of the strings stands out among Sawano orchestral tracks and I love the ostinatos throughout the track. Structure and melody iis also very strong.

The 2nd half leaves a bit to be desired as it’s basically a slower version with some instrumental changes, but other than that it’s not that interesting. Still, overall very nice and another highlight for me.

04. Λsʜᴇs (vocal: Gemie)

Another vocal song, and this time it’s Lio’s theme... well, of them. I like to think of this as the main theme among all the other tracks that use the same leitmotif. Anyway, right off the bat, Λsʜᴇs instantly reminds me of RE:3343 and ABYSSwaltz from Re:CREATORS. This also marks the return of a very nice vocal technique that I’ve missed in Sawano works which is layering a whispering of a vocal line alongside the main vocal line with both lines being the same. Adds a very interesting “ethereal” sound to the vocals in a track that is already pretty ethereal on its own.

The strings here are nice but of course, Gemie’s voice is the highlight and boy did I not know she can sing this high. The wailing/non-lyrical part after the chorus is very powerful and personally this is one of the best Gemie songs for me. There is another version of this song later on which I prefer more, but this one is also very nice.

Lyrics are also quite interesting, as expected of cAnON. and her particular choice of vocabulary.

05. WORLDBIGFLAMEUP

Say hello to the track with the best song name on the OST and one that perfectly describes the Sawano fans’ reaction to the soundtrack dropping. This is the initial teaser track that played all the way back then and our first sample of Sawano’s work for Promare. (Well, technically it was the strings part in GAL-OTHY-MOS but we just assumed it was the same track).

WORLDBIGFLAMEUP is, to put it short, awesome. Instead of an all-out bombastic orchestral Sawano track, it’s more of a tense, emergency and action type of piece that goes at a fast pace and overall delivers a feeling of uneasiness and chaos, which perfectly captures the whole “Fire” aspect of the movie’s concept.

Instrumentally, I have to say this is one of my favorite instrument choices Sawano has done for an orchestral track outside of the usual strings and brass. It partially has some ethic elements here and there with the dulcimer which adds a whole new layer to the rhythm of the piece.

And then there is the gamelan which is probably my favorite instrument in this entire track and what makes the whole track what it is for me. It’s so cool and the little quiet sections where it’s more audible are probably my favorite. That’s just all I have to say. It’s awesome.

The 2nd half of the track was a thing I had a problem with initially because it’s another “2nd slow half” to fill up track space, except this one has grown on me. I like the piano addition though overall it sounds like the track was slowed down in Audacity or something... I just think the overall arrangement makes it a better fit for the fast pace of the first half and not the way it’s presented in the 2nd half.. that is until it gets to the main part with the band percussion. This is where I would make a PotS/<X9> joke, but this one is actually pretty cool and pure headbang material, especially the last part. I mostly have to thank @shifter-lines for getting me to like this as much as I do now, haha. Yet another highlight for me and a very good track.

06. PROMARETHEME

So, GAL-OTHY-MOS was the first of two tracks to have woodwinds return and that’s something we’ve known about since the initial recording tweet. This is the 2nd, except it’s a tin whistle instead of a flute and boy does it sound good.

PROMARETHEME legitimately sounds like Sawano went full Zimmer/Powell and made a Kung Fu Panda track because it’s so awesome with the tin whistle it’s hard to put it into words. Oh yeah, and it’s an orchestral version of Inferno that was actually made before Inferno itself. This is one of Imaishi (the director)’s favorite tracks as far as my knowledge goes and one of the sub-themes for the movie.

Overall, it has a very powerful start with, again, the tin whistle and the choir part after the main chorus is equally awesome. I initially thought it was going to go into a 2nd half after that pause but it was just that, a pause. Overall, a pretty neat track... again, that tin whistle.

07. BangBangBUR!...n?

Hoho boy, here it is. I am not ashamed to use this joke for the 10000th time since this OST released last week, but this piece is an absolute Banger. It’s pure fire and is my favorite instrumental track on the Promare OST.

This was initially first played in a very obscure CM in Japan that came out around the same time as the initial teaser and didn’t show any new footage, but it had a bit of this track playing and I loved it.

BangBangBUR!...n? is one of those tracks that don’t need a good and powerful lead melody to stand out. The overall sound design and instrument choice for this piece is freaking amazing and I highly recommend listening with headphones for the full experience. The bass, the beat, the synths and the guitars, plus the synth ostinato and combination of electronic kicks with additional distorted drums to add to the rhythm is absolutely incredible. It’s an awesome track in every way.

The strings portion makes it even more awesome by adding a melody to it and repeating the previous part, essentially building onto the foundation it sets for itself beforehand.

The 2nd half is probably the best 2nd half Sawano has ever done if we count slow arrangements in the same piece. Instead of just slowing down the first half, it changes up the arrangement a bit and sounds like a semi-ambient dark piece while maintaining the coolness factor of the first half. The strings are equally awesome. By the way, this is the director’s other favorite track and he loved the demo Sawano initially showed him. Of course he did.

Overall, absolute banger and again, best instrumental track on the OST for me. Go listen to it, and if you haven’t seen the first 5 minutes of the movie online yet, go do that as well. This track is used perfectly as an establishing piece for Promare and what it is.

08. NEXUS (vocal: Laco)

We come to the first original Sawano Laco song to be officially released! (Because Zero Eclipse is taking forever). NEXUS initially gave me a much different impression than the one I have right now. When I heard it in the OST CM, I didn’t really like it to be honest.

Like I’ve said in the past, I generally dislike “happy”, playful vocal songs because it doesn’t feel like they have any emotional impact for me while I’m listening to them and this is pretty much what I expected.

Instead, I get a 90s pop song that has one of the sickest drum productions I’ve ever seen. Seriously, those drums are insanely good. It sounds like typical four on the floor type of beat at first, and that’s what it mostly is in the chorus, but the drums in the verse are insane. You can, to quote someone else here, internally feel the rhythm and it’s amazing.

The synths are super catchy and compliment the vocal line really good and, again, sound straight out of a 90s pop song. Laco’s singing itself is also pretty good and I think she stands out as an OST Sawano vocalist with a different tone to her voice than Gemie, Eliana and... someone else whose name I can’t remember. Weird.

Anyway, the vocal effect in the intro with the reverb/semi-choir sounds dope. The lyrics for the song itself are kind of weird, though.. and from what I’ve heard, this track was kinda overused as a battle theme in the movie. And, although I think it can fit under said circumstances, I don’t think using it for every battle scene would benefit it, especially the chorus which is my least favorite part compared to the rest of the tracks. It just sounds... but overall, the track is great, Laco’s singing is great and the production quality is very high. Great piece overall.

09. BAR2tsuSH

We come to the big baddies (well, some of them) villain theme. This and WORLDBIGFLAMEUP are the closest to being a KLK-esque track on this OST and this one is pretty good. It’s the “group villain theme” for the Mad Burnish, also part of the song name and it’s a pretty neat one at that.

Instrumentally, it goes ham with the scratchy synths and the edgy guitar chugs around the middle of the first half. Also, the rhythms of this song are sick. I like how it goes into a different drumming pattern after the first two measures in the synth portion and the main part is also a nice Sawano orchestral vocal track. Great alternating melody between the synths and brass with a nice ending to it.

The 2nd half is unfortunately a bit weak and doesn’t really do anything interesting with the first half other than the typical “slow it down, change up the instruments” thing. It’s not bad, just nothing outstanding either. Overall, a nice piece. That’s all I have to say.

10. DeusPRO召す

Next up we come to the theme of a character who is so important to the plot, they have barely shown anything about him and his last name, Prometh, literally has the name of the movie in it.

Deus’ theme is super cool and unique. Right off the bat it establishes a unique soundscape with some interesting synth ostinatos that make you think you are listening to a factory/laboratory theme in a video game. The rhythm elements with the brass coming on later on are also very nice and this is another like I think can hold its own without a powerful lead melody in a similar matter to BangBangBUR!...n?. Not quite as good at it but still very good nonetheless. I can totally lay back and listen to this.

The 2nd half gets interesting because it brings up the PRO//MARE (main theme) melody and does some interesting things by layering the synths and drums from the first half over it and it works pretty well.

I mean... you know you’re an important character when your character theme rearranges the main theme of the movie you’re in.

Overall, this is a dope track. Wish I could say more but I’d be repeating myself.

11. fanFAREpiZZA

Next up is the track with the most questionable song name for someone who hasn’t listened to it. The first half is exactly what it says. A fanfare sort of victory theme and a pretty good one with some cool synth over it that almost sounds like it’s a continuation from DeusPRO召す. The only thing that’s weird is that the brass here is sampled... not entirely sure why when all the other orchestral tracks have actual brass recordings. It’s a bit weird but it doesn’t really sound that bad. It’s a pretty nice track. Can’t say anything else.

...Except about the 2nd half. “piZZA” is in the title as well and... it’s a comedic track. Harmonica, catchy beat and nice guitar going on in the left channel. I love it. It’s the only comedic/everyday laid back track on the OST and a pretty good one at that. Watch the 11-minute prequel to the movie if you want to see how it’s used. It’s pretty darn sweet. Again, I want to say more but.. that’s about it.

12. Λsʜᴇs ～RETURNS～ (vocal: Gemie)

And here is the better version of Λsʜᴇs, in my opinion at least. At the cost of the ethereal feel of the original, this one slaps on distorted drums and some really cool synths over it and makes it more like an orchestral bombastic track, and a really tragic but good one at that.

One thing that I absolutely love about this one is how the strings and especially Gemie’s vocals are re-recorded instead of reused from the original track. You can tell by the tone of her voice and especially in the chorus where she sings louder and the wailing part which is completely different. Overall, this is a much more chaotic version of the original and an excellent arrangement. I love 6/8 orchestral Sawano tracks and this one in particular reminds me of Ω from Guilty Crown which is one of my all-time favorite orchestral Sawano pieces.

Very good piece and yet another highlight of the soundtrack.

13. 燃焼ING-RES9

The Burning Rescue theme is yet another arrangement of Inferno which I guess fits-context wise. Anyway, on my first listen-through, this was my least favorite track because unlike PROMARETHEME it didn’t do anything interesting with the Inferno melody. At least, those were my thoughts at the beginning. Also, it kinda sounds like it borrows the drumline from Before my body is dry in some parts.

Regardless, like NEXUS, this track has grown on me and I think the guitars in the start make the whole thing a lot better for me. It also has a nice little outro section going on there which I also like.

Overall, I don’t have that much to say about this one apart from what I wrote above. I prefer Inferno and PROMARETHEME more to this one but it’s still alright.

14. BAR2NG4女14yoN

Next up we come to yet another absolute banger and a highlight for me. When I first saw the teaser visual for Promare and informed myself about what it was and from who it was after watching Kill la Kill, this track is very close to the kind of music I initially imagined for Promare. A fast, electronic, upbeat sort of battle theme that’s super uplifting. Also, another one I recommend listening to with headphones.

The drums in this track, like NEXUS, have insanely good sound in the mix and are basically the main instrument of this piece. Overall, it’s a more rhythm-focused track rather than a melodic one. Also has some sick guitars going on there that remind me of bL∞dy f8 a little bit. Then comes Gemie with the (uncredited) vocals that add a sweet layer to the already upbeat piece and a melody so it’s not purely rhythmic. Overall, very uplifting and an absolute banger.

I can mostly say the same about the 2nd half which is also quick and synth-focused but doesn’t have vocals. It’s more neutral/concentrated in terms of sound and less “playful” than the first half and imagine some high-altitude, high-speed fight scene happening in the movie with this playing in the background. The synths add to the overall mood of the piece and it’s great. Again, great drums and great rhythm all around. Definitely a highlight in the OST.

15. 904SITE

...I don’t know guys, he still might not be the villain.

Okay seriously. There was a point before the Promare premiere where they stopped trying to hide the fact that Kray was the antagonist of the movie and this theme playing in the OST PV was basically like “nah nah fam what are you talking about.”

Anyway, right off the bat, this is my least favorite track on the soundtrack. It’s not bad, I just prefer everything else over it. And the track itself is a bit...well... it’s an arrangement of BAR2tsuSH and a slow one at that... and that track already has a 2nd slow half.

Thing is, this is more of a mood-setter made for a certain scene in the movie. Personally, I don’t enjoy it that much as a standalone track because it just feels very raw and weak, especially since I had the expectations it would be a full-length character theme like GAL-OTHY-MOS, which it isn’t, and it’s not even an original melody for the most part. Overall, it’s not a bad piece, just underwhelming, but regardless, was probably important and used well for the movie, which is what’s important on its own at the end of the day.

16. REG-GIRT

The track that spells “Trigger” backwards. Classic Sawano.

Okay, so for the record I had much lower expectations for this track based on what I heard in the OST PV. Because it’s literally PRO//MARE with synths, drums and guitars layered over it which screams 2018 Sawano and we don’t talk about that here.

But anyway, that’s not entirely what it is. For once, said synths, guitars and drums are actually pretty great even when you do hear that it arranges the main theme instead of being an original track. On top of that, some of the string sections are new and not in PRO//MARE. The main part is probably the weakest for me since it’s very much the original track with the drums over it. This was played in the 3rd PV and honestly, this part in particular is just uninteresting.

The outro itself is cool but for goodness sake... remember my complaint about Inferno ending suddenly? This one ends so suddenly it sounds like it immediately cuts off into silence which is just weird... at least let the instruments echo/fade out. Makes me think it was made for a scene which ends on an unexpected note... wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

17. RE:0

No, this is not a Re:Zero reference.

Judging from how Sawano names character themes after the character themselves, you’d assume this would be Lio’s theme but for me... that’s Λsʜᴇs, and this is the piano version of it. Yep, classic Sawano making a piano arrangement of an existing track. And this one is really good.

I don’t have that much to say about piano solos in general but this one is definitely up there with the likes of omake-pfadlib for me and overall perfectly executes the emotion for me and is a great rendition of Λsʜᴇs. Favorite out of the piano solos on the OST.

18. PIROMARE

The last arrangement of Inferno on the album and a pretty good one at that! It’s another piano solo with some nice touches to the original track, especially towards the ending. Really like it, but I wish it was more of a medley that included more melodies like PRO//MARE rather than just Inferno, but it’s still a very pleasant piece to listen to. Again, not much else to say.

19. Gallant Ones (vocal: Benjamin, mpi)

And here it is. This is the Holy Grail of the Promare Original Soundtrack and the one song I have been most looking forward to ever since hearing the instrumental in the 2nd half of the 2nd PV.

Gallant Ones is, without a doubt, my favorite song on this entire album and by default my favorite vocal song. It’s also straight-up one of the best vocal songs Sawano has ever written for a soundtrack work and I would easily put it up there with the likes of theDOGS. Not quite too close to it but still a huge favorite for me.

This track borrows some of the percussion from BangBangBUR!...n?, as well as the ostinato pattern, except it changes the key and makes a freaking guitar play it. And speaking of guitars, this is without a doubt some of the best guitars Sawano has written in ages, mostly because of the fact that there are more melodic elements than rhythmic ones and that’s something you just don’t see Sawano do with electric guitars nowadays.

Going into the guitars again, one of my favorite production techniques when writing guitar parts is writing two semi-improv lines with one on each side of the panning (channels). And when played together, it sounds like pure fire. Gallant Ones does this with the verse guitars which were originally showcased in the 2nd half of PV2. It’s pure groove.

The percussion is another thing that makes the track what it is. It has a bunch of stuff going on that’s very similar to BangBangBUR!...n? like I already said, but the beat itself is dope and I love it so much.

Vocal-wise, this is far better than Inferno and Suck your blood from Kill la Kill for me. Ben and mpi make an even better duo here, combined with sick lyrics and absolutely lit chorus/vocal melody, this track is amazing in every sense.

If there is one thing I had to mention it would be my initial complaint about the length of Gallant Ones. The track is a few seconds short of being 3 minutes long which is pretty short for a vocal song that starts off like this. However, the more listen to this track (I’ve heard this well over a few dozen times at the time I’m writing this) the less it bothers me. If it had the standard structure of Sawano vocal songs where it repeats the chorus two or three times, it would have gotten repetitive really quick so I think the length is actually a plus here.

Despite all of that, if it was up to me I would have given it an extra 40 seconds or so by adding in the parts from the PV, specifically an instrumental version of the chorus where the guitar ostinato can be heard clearly, or the guitar outro which is better than the actual outro in this song. However, even now those are just nitpicks. Gallant Ones is incredible. Go listen to it.

“YOU ARE THE ENGINE AND THE POWER, LET’S FIGHT THIS TRUTH AND NAIL”

“I AM THE PILOT IN THIS GAME AND THIS TEAM WILL NEVER FAIL!”

...Had to get that out.

20. stRE:0ings

This is another one of those tracks like 904SITE where I don’t doubt that it was used well in the movie but still find its position in the OST a bit meh. It’s basically exactly what it says... a strings + piano version of RE:0 which is a piano version of Λsʜᴇs, which... also has strings and piano. What.

Okay seriously, I don’t mind it on its own, I just think it’s a bit too similar to Λsʜᴇs for me to fullly enjoy it, but it’s nice regardless. Don’t have that much else to say.

21. 火-YO!人

At last we come to the final track, which is the 3rd piano solo on the Promare OST and a pretty interesting one. It’s very dissonant and sounds like it’s from a Guilty Crown Another Side album. Overall, I think it’s nice. Really like how it sounds like it’s gonna go off into a melody then abruptly stops, and the closing section is nice.

Overall, a nice finisher to a great OST.

Conclusion

As a whole, this soundtrack is amazing. This is the kind of music Sawano can make when given proper direction. Of course, he’s worked with Imaishi before on Kill la Kill, and that OST turned out great. This one did as well. It’s a very fresh Sawano soundtrack with a lot of interesting elements, amazing vocal songs and diverse instrumental tracks.

Since KLK is a 2-cour anime show with more music, the music itself is all over the place and there’s a lot of tracks. Promare, on the other hand, likes to keep thinks in flavor but also concentrate on certain aspects, since it’s a movie and has to have a higher level of consistency.

Anyways, after a tough year of average low-effort sequel OSTs, getting this originality back again was very welcome and was well-worth the wait. I highly recommend checking this out if you haven’t listened to it already.

Also, I made a poll for the soundtrack! Make sure to check it out if you do get around to listening to it. Always like hearing what other people think!

Favorite vocal song: Gallant Ones

Favorite instrumental track: BangBangBUR!...n?

Favorite piano solo: RE:0

Favorite song name: WORLDBIGFLAMEUP

Least favorite track: 904SITE

Other highlights: PRO//MARE, GAL-OTHY-MOS, WORLDBIGFLAMEUP, NEXUS, DeusPRO召す, Λsʜᴇs ～RETURNS～, BAR2NG4女14yoN

Overall Album Rating: 9/10

#hiroyuki sawano #music review #promare

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sharperthewriter · 4 years

Text

Chapter 14 of SFV

Chapter 14: Day 1: The Bumblebees Incident

(4:45pm)

The van finally reached the exit to North Platte, NE, but not without suffering more damage. The right side of the van had a couple more dents and scrapes, the hubcap on the right rear wheel was gone, the rear windshield was cracked in the rear, half of the front grille was gone, and the front bumper coming loose and flapping. The car was also covered in syrup, dirt, and prairie grass. This was in addition to the damage of the driver side mirror and the scraping of the left side of the vehicle against the SUV at the Bueno Nacho from earlier. The trailer also had dents on the top and both sides as well.

The clouds, in the meantime, were starting to gather.

"And here we are, Stoppables, North Platte, Nebraska!" Ron exclaimed. "Remind me never to say that phrase 'And nothing will go wrong' ever again!"

Rufus groaned over his owner's poor driving and trashing of the car. Though...the worst was yet to come.

Kim observed the place and said, "Looks like a smaller version of Middleton."

"So now that it's close to five pm, what do you want to do?" Ron asked.

"We'll check into the hotel first and get two rooms. A suite for us and the kids and a room for Mary and Canna" Kim insisted, . "And then we'll get ready to eat at the Bumblebees here."

"I'm right with ya on that strategy, KS!" Ron replied before turning to Rufus. "Now Rufus, watch the kids while Kim and I check in the hotel."

Rufus saluted while his owners went into the hotel lobby.

"We're here for our room." Ron said.

The hotel clerk said to them. "It's room 296, on the other end of the property. As for your other room it's going to be room 294 right next door"

Kim grabbed the hotel key and said, "Thanks! It's so not the drama!"

They parked the van right at the end of the property. Mary and Canna got out of the camper. They also got their suitcases out and, like Kim, they were filled with long denim overalls.

(6:45pm)

The room was actually a suite in which there was a pull-out couch and the kitchenette in one room and the bedroom in the other. The kids were going to occupy the couch while the Stoppable parents had the bedroom. Mary and Canna had a normal hotel room with two twin beds.

Ron and Kim chose the suite for more extra...privacy. As for Rufus, they brought along a small naked mole rat bed for him. Rufus got a little apron bib ready to take on the nachos.

"Okay, Ron." Kim called out from the bathroom. "I'm going to make some changes to my button-down shirt and then we'll go with the kids to the restaurant."

"Alright, KS! Let's see what you look like!" Ron said with anticipation.

Kim loosened the top two buttons to show off a little more cleavage and a b. She also added a couple of long gold and silver chain necklaces to her jewelry and replaced her teardrop earrings with gold hoops. She also swapped out her flats for black booties with a heel on them.

Kim also removed the top side buttons on both side to the leather overalls she was wearing.

Rufus gave a wolf-whistle as well.

"Ooooo! Very nicey! Me like!" Ron grinned devilishly, "The looks are just one thing of your complete package, KS!"

"Why thanks, Ron! Round up the kids and get to the van!" Kim replied "We're going to head to Bumblebees!"

Alexa and Justin were watching Baloney on the TV on their side of the suite before Kim instructed them to turn it off.

Mary and Canna also came out of their hotel room next door. They were in the same outfits as before, but decided together that they were going to wear their dark denim overalls with the bib down but straps attached route and a belt to hold them up and wear simple white tennis shoes.

"You know..." Kim remarked at the way the two women were wearing the overalls. "...I could go for that look on one of the days."

"As long as the belt doesn't fail on you, Kim, you should be good!" Mary remarked.

(15 minutes later)

The sky above them was slowly growing more dark and ominous. The storms were going to appear within a matter of hours.

Kim was at the drivers' seat of the Stoppable-mobile, starting up the engine.

The NWS broadcast was on the radio, informing the two heroes of what was to come.

The National Weather Service of Hastings Nebraska, has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the eastern portion of Nebraska until 2:30am. Wind gusts of up to 70 mph, rain up to 2-3 inches, and hail up to the size of golf balls is expected with this line of system of storms. Stay weather-alert.

"I think we still should head on over to Bumblebees!." Kim said, "The kids are starting to get cranky for their food."

"As long as they have a vegan menu, we'll be good!" Canna replied.

"Vegan and gluten-free too!" Mary agreed.

(7:15pm)

The Stoppables, Mary and Canna entered into the restaurant. Kim's overall strap was barely hanging onto her shoulder.

She asked the waitress, "Do you have a table for six?"

"Plus one naked mole rat?" Ron asked with Rufus popping out of his pocket.

"Food!" he squeaked.

"We do, Mrs. Stoppable, yes!" the waitress said, "Would you like a table or booth?"

"We prefer the booth!" Kim replied.

"Right this way." the waitress replied to them while getting coloring books and crayons for both Alexa and Justin. She then escorted them to a booth in the middle of the restaurant.

Kim, Ron, and Justin sat on the left side of the booth while Mary, Canna, and Alexa sat on the right.

"Here we are! Your server will be out in a few minutes!" she said before leaving the Stoppables.

(5 more minutes later)

"So what's the general game plan that you're suggesting, Ron?" Kim asked her husband.

"I'd say that once we get to Rapid City, we're going to go for Mt. Rushmore first." Ron replied, pulling up the map of South Dakota on his smart phone.

"But that is a good almost-ten-hour round-trip across almost the entire state!" Kim countered. "Justin and Alexa really do want to see the bears at Bear Country USA.

"Don't worry, KS. We'll stop and get some food and gas on the way there." Ron said as the waitress came to their table.

"Welcome to Bumblebees! What can I get you two to drink?"

"I'll have a cola and my bon-diggety wife here will have a diet tea." Ron said, "The oldest one will have a fruity soda as well."

"Okay, I'll be right out there with your drinks!" the server said.

"So where is the Oh Boyz concert going to be at?" Mary asked.

"Sanford Premiere Center in Sioux Falls!" Kim replied, "It's even got a wine bar!"

"So that's another reason why you wanna go to the concert!" Ron slyly replied.

"Who was your favorite Oh Boyz member?" Canna questioned.

"Hands down, Dexter for his...smarts!" Kim recalled. "It was the time that we saved them from the Senors and that weasel of a manager of theirs."

(10 more minutes later)

"Oooh, it seems that Sheila has sent me a text!" Kim said when she felt a buzz on her phone. She went through her handbag and as she did so, her overalls strap slipped off her shoulder.

It read the following:

Princess,

I found something on PictoGram that you may would want to see. The directors of that live-action movie about you is going to drop some big news tomorrow.

Your friend

Sheila.

"Hmm...it's about time someone released something for that live-action movie." she said, "It's been three months since there was any news about it."

"Maybe they'll keep her plasma powers intact." Ron wondered.

"I think they'll maybe keep the blue skin of Drakken." Kim laughed as the strap was now on her elbow. "Ah, here are our drinks right now!"

The server came to their table and awaited their orders.

"My husband would have the nachos supreme, same with our naked mole rat here, and I would like a Caesar salad." Kim said, "The kids would like to have two grilled cheese sandwiches. As for Canna and Mary, they'll both have the casesar salad too."

"Coming right up." the server said, leaving the table.

"So what else do you wanna talk about?" she asked, pulling the overalls strap back up.

"Maybe the weather?" Ron said while looking out the window.

"That's so the oldest conversation starter in the book!" Kim chuckled.

"No, KS. The weather's gonna go south in a few hours." Ron exclaimed while pointing it out on the doppler. He could see a lot of red associated with the storm, which meant really heavy rainfall. "A really bad storm's headed our way! With big hail and everything! That's what the NWS says!"

"It's so not the drama!" Kim said, blowing off the storm.

"What about the Stoppable-mobile?" Ron asked.

"Rest assured, Ron." Kim reassured him, "The van will make it to the Lipskys!"

(30 more minutes later)

"Oh man... I am stuffed!" Ron exclaimed, holding his stomach. He had already paid for the food.

"I'm glad that I brought along my baggy overalls for the trip." Kim said. "That'll offset whatever pounds I'll put on at the Lipskys."

Kim added as she was standing up. "I'm going to use the ladies' room, Ron. You and Rufus watch the kids!"

"Sure do, KS!" Ron replied.

"Uh-huh!" Rufus squeaked.

Kim left the booth, grabbed her purse, and headed towards the ladies restroom.

(4 more minutes later)

Kim got out of the restroom and she was somewhere between the borderline of angry and embarassed. The rest of the restaurant's patrons were laughing and pointing at her. The servers couldn't help but chortle at her predictament. Even worse was that some of the said patrons were holding up their smartphones, taking pictures and video.

Three of the waiters were then tripped by one occupant of the restaurant near where the Stoppables were at. This resulted in her being drenched with soda and covered in ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, barbecue ribs, chocolate and ice cream all over the front of her one-strap black leather overalls.

"Oh hey...uhm...KS! You look more scrumptious than usual." Ron chuckled nervously.

"Ron...this is so the most embarassing moment of my life!" Kim growled. "I want you to cover my back!"

"Covering your back? I thought you only said that on missions!" Ron said.

Kim groaned and turned her back to Ron to point out the reason why. The right back pocket of the overalls was torn out, showing off Kim's Pandaroo panties and a bit of her back leg.

Rufus, Justin and Alexa couldn't help but laugh. Mary and Canna also joined in on the fun by also taking pictures and video.

"Why couldn't we do that?" Justin asked.

"You're doing what Daddy does!" Alexa giggled.

Ron gasped and asked, "How did that happen?"

"Bathroom door lever got caught against my pocket and...this happened!" Kim grunted with all the chocolate syrup and ice cream dripping off of her.

Rufus was even taking video of this too on his very small smartphone. Ron sighed at his mole rat and said "Why do they even sell small smartphones to mole rats is even beyond me."

"Let's just get out of here before I make a bigger joke of myself!" Kim insisted.

Ron covered up the damaged part of her overalls by him grabbing her behind with his left hand.

Kim sighed, "Why do I even bother?"

"Sorry, show's over! Turn off your smartphones! Nothing to see here!" Ron exclaimed.

Justin, Mary, Canna, Alexa and Rufus followed them out of the restaurant.

"Do you have any duct tape, Ron?" Kim asked when they got in the van.

"I do, in the glove compartment." Ron replied while going to the glove compartment and pulling out the duct tape.

"These overalls cost me $800 from Country CB and now they're ruined!" Kim complained, "I'll have to sew them when we get back home..."

Kim then applied the duct tape to her behind and started the car. The damaged van crept out of the parking lot and headed back to the hotel.

Flashes of lightning were seen in the distance as the storms were heading this way to make the family's night even worse.

The man who tripped over the waiters grinned and spoke through a microphone.

"My Queen, the show has just begun!"

About 200 miles away, Bonnie was enjoying the misery of the Stoppable through her big screen at her mansion.

"Good! Very good!" the Queen snickered, "We'll let the Vacation Curse take its full effect on the family!

"What of the Stoppable-mobile, though?" the man asked.

"We'll put that piece of shit of a minivan through the coals soon enough!" Bonnie grinned, "Now, you will await further orders for the next phase of my plan!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the man obeyed.

#kim possible #fanfiction #stoppable family vacation

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joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 5 years

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Top 10 Toonami Ad’s of the [adult swim] Era.

Hello there, everybody. My name is JoyofCrimeArt and gosh darn it, if the Nostalgia Critic and Watchmojo is allowed to review advertisements and trailers then why can't I?! This list is not to niche, YOU'RE TO NICHE! Anyway, if you've read the title you know that this is my first every top ten list! Yay me! Every reviewers got to do one at some point, am I right? Now for those of you who do not know last Friday (March 17th, 2017) was a very special day. Besides from being St. Patrick's Day it was also the twentieth anniversary of a little known television block known as Toonami. In case your not in the know, Toonami is an action animation block that ran on Cartoon Network from 1997-2008. This block purpose was to bring action shows (primarily anime) to the television audience of the late nineties and early two thousands, and judging by how long the block ran I assume it did a pretty good job. Toonami was one of the main sources of anime entering the United States in the time before the internet was widely accessible. It introduced a young generation to action shows and anime, airing series like Dragonball Z, Naruto, One Piece, Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, and Justice League, just to name a few. But it wasn't just the shows that made the block last so long. It was the personality. Toonami had two things that a lot of other blocks at the time didn't possess. Aesthetic and Tone. The block started off being hosted by a Moltar, a character from the Cartoon Network original series Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. However in 1999 this changed when the block got it's new host, who was not connected to any other series. This robot's name was TOM, voiced by Sony Strait and later on (and more famously) the legendary Steve Blum. There was also SARA, an artificial A.I who would help TOM host. This is wear the block really began to gain it's identity. One of the greatest thing about the block were the way that it did it's promo's. All Toonami had to do was air the shows, but they did more than that. They had game review, where TOM would give his opinions on the hottest new releases. They would have speeches where TOM would talk to the viewer directly about topics like courage, anger, and individuality. They had what they called "Total Immersion Events" where we got to see some of the adventures of TOM and SARA, often leading to a new redesign of the block and characters. Not to mention just the promo's they had for the shows themselves which, using a combination of masterful editing, awesome music, and often times an epic announcer voice. They even had anime music video's that They were more then just ads, they were experiences in there own right. It's something that's hard thing to explain without seeing it but trust me, these ads knew how to build up hype. Toonami ended on Cartoon Network in 2008 after an eleven year run. But despite this the fan base was still there and in 2012 adult swim aired one last night of Toonami as part of there yearly April Fool's event. The fan support for this surprise marathon was so great that about two months later Toonami was brought back on adult swim. It stated small but since then the block has grown to heights that rival it's heights during the Cartoon Network days making it one of the only revival to actual be as good as it's original run. This adult swim era is the era that I am the most familiar with, because despite all my talk about the early days of Toonami I didn't really watch it all that much back then, and most of that stuff I mentioned was stuff that I learned about later. The adult swim era is the era of Toonami that I actually watched some of. So thus, to celebrate the blocks 20th anniversary (or 16th if you don't count the years it was off the air) I present you with the top ten Toonami ad's of the adult swim era. Because these ad's are so thought out and epic that they warrant discussion. Plus I want to show my love for one of the last great blocks on television. Why am I only doing the adult swim era ad's though? Well, a lot of the older ads are either hard to find online or in really poor "ripped from a VHS tape" level quality. (Plus I...I can't watch 11 years worth of ad's.) Also there will be some rules to this top ten list. 1.) I won't be counting game reviews or Total Immersion Events. Game reviews, while neat, aren't necessarily going to stand out that well in the "epic or thoughtful" category and Total Immersion Events don't count because there increased budget gives them an unfair advantage. 2.) I will be judging this by the quality of the ad, not by the quality of the show or film itself. Toonami's had some not so great shows that they were able to make look great with the use excellent editing. And they've also had some great shows with less than great ads. And 3.) If there are two or more ads that I like, but like for the exact same reason, only one get's to be on the list. I want to encourage diversity on my list, plus it be boring if I had to write two nearly identical explanations on why I like two different ads. Hope that makes sense. Also there might be a little bias for shows I like, because me having a connection to the show will make me more likely having a connection to the ad. But I'm still counting down the ad, and not the show, so keep that in mind. When your doing an opinionated top ten list, it's kinda inevitable that some person bias will leak through. Also keep in mine that this is just my opinion, so try not to take any of this to seriously. Also keep in mind that I'm the type of guy who's opinions change really often and thus sucks at ranking things. While the list is ranked this is more designed to simply show off the best of Toonami, and the exact numbers could change day to day with me. Anyway I hope you enjoy the list. And if you have no idea what Toonami is maybe this list will help show you why I and so many people love it so much. (Cause otherwise you'll just wonder why this weeb is so infatuated with advertisements.) Anyway, onto the list! Number 10: Akira Long Promo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpJvCbXH6Hw

This ad is a great representation of what makes Toonami promo's so special. While I haven't seen it yet, Akira is one of the most well known and critically acclaimed anime movie of all time. So it makes since that the people behind Toonami would want to put there all into the promo for it, out of respect for the film and it's legacy. And it shows. Everything about is this ad just screams "epic." The ad starts off silent with only the recurring noise of an explosion in the background, only for the actual dialogue to begin at the twenty four second mark. This allows the tension to build more and more as it creates a sense of impending danger. The promo continues to slowly show more and more of the action, but doesn't go all out until the one minute twenty second mark were the music get's ramped up as the ad reaches it's climax. It's interesting to note that the announcer for the ad calls this "one of the greatest animated films of all time." not "one of the best anime films of all time" but "one of the best animated films." period. Toonami's ad's don't usual say stuff like that, only doing it for really big series and films. That line makes it feel like this film is important! You have to see it, just to know why it's ranked up there as one of the best animated films. The ad closes on another quite moment causing the whole ad to sort of book end itself. This ad honestly feels more like a film trailer than a normal Toonami ad. This is likely due to the lack of many "Toonami" elements. The words at the end aren't in the standard blue and white text, which was common in Toonami ad's that came out around this time. The ad is able to make the film seem epic and important, while leaving a lot of mystery on what the plot is. That is why it earns the number ten slot. Number 9: The Bullies Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfjHN52SVhE

Stepping away from the super action heavy side of Toonami we have the Bullies Speech. Really this speech is tackles a very basic issue, and a issue that's been discussed by after school specials for decades. However what makes this speech stand out from those cliche specials is the sincerity and the realism of it. The speech doesn't feel like it's talking down to the viewer. Part of the reason for this is because unlike most of those after school specials, this speech is targeting adults. That alone brings up a point that many other things with a bulling moral doesn't point out. That bulling doesn't stop at high school. Also it takes a bit of a more realistic look at bulling by pointing out that A.) bullies are often victim of bulling themselves and not always the generically evil characters that they are often portrayed as being. and B.) Most of the time the only way to stop bulling is to stand up for yourself and not like other people decide how you live your life. It gives a valuable lesson about bulling in just one minute and doesn't come off as cheesy as all. That's hard to do. And for that it get's the number nine slot. Number Eight: Samurai Jack Final Season Long Promo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtgXDiXr-0M

This one is kinda cheating because this was originally made as a standard adult swim promo. However, they did make an updated version of it, with the only difference being at the end where they say "on Toonami" instead of "on adult swim" so it TECHNICALLY counts! Also in terms of editing, tone, and style it is much closer to a Toonami ad then an adult swim ad. Also this ad is great and I want to talk about it. This ad had a lot it had to do. It was the first real big look at the new season of Samurai Jack. And while hype would be there for this season regardless of the ad, people had been waiting thirteen years for this. And so the ad had to make it all seem like it was worth it, and get the show the hype it needed to justify adult swim taking a chance on it. This ad starts with long establishing shots and not a lot of action, much like the show itself. Pretty similar to the Akira promo in that regard. But then half way through the action picks up, all to Jack's narration which is a really nice touch. It manages to give hints about the plot of the season, while still leaving in the element of mystery. Like obviously it's showing that those female warriors are going to be our season big bads, but who are they? Why isn't Jack using his sword? Does he even have his sword? So many questions are brought up, that we know the answer to now, but not at the time when this trailer came out. It's in a way where it makes you excited to see where the show is going to go. There's also that bit at the end where Jack is speaking the intro to the theme song, and I can't decide if it's cool or just kinda cheesy. (Though I am leaning towards the cool side.) However, wouldn't it be great if after Jack says "Got to get back. Back to the past. Samurai Jack" we just heard Jack say "-Samurai Jack. Jack. Jack Jack Jack Jack-" in Phil Lamarr's stoic, deadpan Jack voice doing the will.i.am cover! Yeah...It not doing that is why it only get's the number eight slot.

Number Seven: Dragonball Z Kai Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlHQ3aCLB-M

Okay, how to do I "screaming and punching is really awesome" and make it come off as analytical and thought out.... It could be argued that Dragonball Z was the biggest show in Toonami's original run. You could make an argument for Naruto and a few others, but Dragonball Z was one of there big series. When Toonami came to adult swim EVERYBODY was waiting for them to announce that they would be airing DBZ again. And thus, when DBZ Kai did come to Toonami, it made sense for them to make a promo like this to hype people up even more. This ad does a lot of things well to encapsulate a lot of what people love about DBZ. From the slow build up as Goku charges up him famous Kamehameha attack, to the fact that we see clips from the Saiyan, Nemek, and the beginning of the Android saga. That's 64 episodes! Usually a Toonami ad will only use clips from the first couple of episodes. But, I guess since so many people have seen DBZ they didn't care about spoiling it. But the upside of this is that the ad can use clips from several of the series best fights, giving the ad an interesting dynamic compared to other Toonami ads. The ad is able to use different kinds of fights, from giant monster, ki battles, and hand to hand combat, allowing this ad to almost act as a "best of" for the series. The only part I'm not so sure about is the line where they say "and there kicking even more ass this time." To me it came off as a bit cheesy. Also there is this air of smugness when they say "The way it was meant to be seen. Right here. With us." You don't own Dragonball, Toonami. Dragonball belongs to the world! But yeah, the ad's ability to use such a massive array of clips is what gives it the edge in this countdown. They were able to highlight all the best points of the series, and show what it is that makes Dragonball Z so well known, and so beloved. ...But let's be real. The main reason it's on here is because of all the screaming and punching. Screaming and punching are just cool! That's a scientific fact! Number Six: Attack on Titan Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH1DH8jiy5A

With Attack on Titan being one of the biggest Ha! Ha ha ha, I'm going to go fu*king kill myself now- anime series to come out in recent history, this ad delivers in selling the show to people who may of heard of the show through word of mouth as "That zombie show, only the zombies are giant naked people without genitals cause anime is weird." This was one of the last ad's to have the announcer explain the plot of the show Some still do, like the Dimension W promo, but there a lot rarer now. It's really a shame because I really like the "voice of God" style trailers, and this ad is a perfect example of why it works. The announcer explains the plot perfectly, while describing the titans in such a sinister fashion that it almost makes you forget the fact that giant man eating naked people without genitals is kinda silly! Still though, this ad is great. It tells you everything you need to know to get the basic premise of the series in just a minute and a half long run time and really works on selling the show for any new comers. The orchestration in particular has the exact right combination of both epicness and dread to really set the tone. You instantly get the story, set up, and motivation of the main character all in one minute and a half long promo. And the ad concludes with Eren Jaeger screaming like a psychopath in that classic Eren Jaeger way. There's no way you can watch this and not get even a little pumped, right? I can't be alone on this. Hey, do you know that the voice of Eren Jaeger in the English dub of Attack on Titan is the same voice as Cat Noir in Miraculous Ladybug? Knowing that makes both shows a thousand times funnier. Anyway, onto number five.

Number Five: The Positivity Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbN6bqkfjc8 Positivity is something that I feel is something that is very easy for a lot of people to lose sight of. Especially recently, making this speech hold a lot of extra impact. So many people these days believe the cynicism or nihilism is the "smart" way of thinking. And while everybody has a right to there own personal philosophy it has never been something that I agreed with. Positivity, at least to me, has always been very important. And this ad helps show why. One thing that really sticks out to me with this ad is the music the plays throughout the first act. One thing that Toonami has always been good at, is the music. This track in particular really fits the tone of the ad. There's also some stand out moments with the clips. Like the part wear we see Eren Jaeger's face smash against the ground, only for us to see him gliding later in the ad. Symbolizing how life can sometimes feel like a giant obstacle, only for you to surpass it with the right amount of effort. This is my favorite Toonami speech, and I always feel in a good mood after watching this ad. It just has this nice feeling to it, that I just really appreciate. It's a great thing to watch when your down, to remind you to always look up. That's why it earns the number five spot.

Number Four: Space Dandy Long Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWP5_WKeuE Most of the time Toonami ad's do a great job at making a show seem epic. This ad, however, does not try to make this show look "epic" at all. Rather this ad tries to portray the show for what it is. A wacky, over the top, crazy good time. The difference in tone really helps the ad stand out from other Toonami promo's. There are also some other unique things about the ad, like how instead of having the standard Toonami narrator it has the narrator from Space Dandy. (For those who have not seen the show Space Dandy is a lot like Powerpuff Girls, in the since that the narrator is a character who interacts with the show.) Also this promo features the licensed song "I Turned into a Martian" by the band The Misfits. The songs fast pace really helps fit the wild and crazy feel of this ad and the show it's self. This is another promo that also does a good job explaining to the audience what the show is and what the basic premise is. (Basically It's Johnny Bravo in Space) My only criticism of this ad is at they end when they say "from the creators of Soul Eater, Full Metal Alchemist, and Cowboy Bebop" which I find a little misleading. It is from the creator of Cowboy Bebop but it's only from the animation studio that made Soul Eater and Full Metal. Not the creator. Space Dandy is my favorite show that I have seen on Toonami (Trust me, the show is smarter then the ad makes it looks. I promise!) So there is a bit of a bias there. At some point I'd love to make a review for the show proper so I can talk about it in more detail there. But either way, this is a great promo for it, and it get's the number three slot! Number Three: Moltar's Transmission

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJLDK8j_HnA

So as I mentioned previously Toonami was originally hosted by Moltar from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast before switching to TOM in 1999. Moltar was voiced by voice actor C. Martin Croker, who tragically died on September 17th, 2016 at the age of 54. Thus, in tribute to him, Toonami made this little bump to honor his legacy. The third and fourth season of Space Ghost Coast to Coast is one of my personal favorite seasons of television, so it was nice to see this tribute to him (I haven't seen much of the later seasons.) Also without him there may not of even been a Toonami in the first place, so it's nice for his impact to be acknowledge. Moltar was rarely mentioned after TOM took over, as the Toonami crew wanted to differentiate themselves from the "Coast to Coast" brand, and as such we never got to see any interaction between TOM and Moltar. This ad is really are only peak into there relationship and it's great to see. Toonami's Moltar was very difference from Space Ghost's Moltar, as the crew has stated they didn't really want to use Moltar in the first place, again because they wanted there own feel. But it's nice to hear from this Moltar, who seems a bit more of an in-between between the two interpretations. The lack of music also helps with the solemn and It's nice to hear that in-universe Moltar get's somewhat of a happy ending, and isn't imprisoned by Space Ghost. The only part that is a little jarring (And this is a small nitpick, please don't think I'm a jerk) is seeing the Moltar animation from 1997 next to the 2016 animation of TOM. (Although I acknowledge that it's the best they could do, as I wouldn't want them to cut the scene of us seeing Moltar.) Anyway this tribute is great, and could be argued to being the best Toonami ad. I simply made it number three because this type of thing isn't what you tend to think of when you say "Toonami." Anyway, on to number two! Number Two: Get Busy Living (Music Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT_tyeQMNr0

And speaking off death, that brings us to our next entry, the "Get Busy Living" music video. Probably the most unique Toonami ad there is, this music video provides us with some of the most interesting visuals that a Toonami ad has ever offered us. Most Toonami music videos just use clips from the show over some music as a well to tell some kind of story, or express some kind of theme. But this ad does something completely different by having the clips on top of other clips, and having different filters on top of those clips. This trick, which sadly hasn't been done since, adds layers to the visuals and the experience as a whole. Then there's the theme and message of the music video. A rather often talked about but still important message about human mortality, and making the most out of life. There have been Toonami ad's that have touched on this topic before, like the "Live Life to the Fullest" music video, but none has done it as well and as creatively. As someone who thinks about death a lot, this video is...oddly comforting, in a weird kinda way. Also I find it kinda weird that, for a video that tackles such a serious subject matter the show that most of the audio and visuals come from is...Space Dandy. (See, I told you the show wasn't as dumb as it looks!) At times some of the visuals seem like a bit "much" but for the most part this is an excellent music video. It's amazing to look at, has a deep message, and the clips do a great job reflecting the subject at hand. And for that it earns the number two spot. Now onto number one! Number One: There About To Warp (Music Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk7Q8RVL-CY

The "They're About to Warp" music video, in my personal opinion, is not only the best Toonami ad of the adult swim era but is also the ad that is most representative of Toonami as a whole. If I wanted to explain what Toonami was at it's core to somebody who had zero idea what it was, this would be the ad that I would show them. There are many, many ad's like this one. For example, the "Let's Fight." music video is very similar to this ad in terms of style and editing. In fact, "Let's Fight" would of made it onto this list, but I wanted to encourage diversity in my choices, and didn't want to pick two videos that I liked for the exact same reason, and so it was not included. (If it was included, I think it would be around number 5 or so.) This ad takes what ad's like "Let's Fight" or the "Better Cartoon Show" series ad's does right, but amps it up to eleven. I honestly don't really know what to say about this ad, if you watched the video above it should be pretty obvious why it has the number one spot. From the awesome build up of TOM opening the warp gate to just the onslaught of action scene after action scene, it is everything that makes Toonami epic wrapped up in one minute long ad. It is impossible to watch this ad without getting some kind of a boner! And yes...even if you are a girl. The ad's just that good! So that's my personal top ten favorite Toonami ad's of the adult swim era. I hope you all enjoyed it. And if you weren't a Toonami fan before reading this, hopefully I was able to show you why so many people really treasure this block, and maybe even convinced you to give it a look for yourself. As of the time of posting this review Toonami runs on Saturday nights from 11pm-3:30pm est. And if your interested and checking out any more of these bumpers check out Youtubers CabooseJr's page. He archieves most of the adult swim era ad's and was were I got the majority of these videos from. www.youtube.com/user/CabooseJr Also keep in mind, like I said earlier, I'm very indecisive when it comes to list like this, and even while editing this I considered changing some promo's placement on the list. So really the exact number placement doesn't really matter to much, as my opinion can change day to day. So really, the order doesn't really matter to much. I just wanted to showcase the best Toonami had to offer, because I thought it would be interesting. So keep that in mind. What's your favorite Toonami ad, adult swim era or otherwise? Are there any that I missed? Also what did you think of the top ten format? Tell me in the comments down bellow. I honestly enjoyed writing with that kind of format and I would love to do other top ten's in the future. It'll take some time before I get REALLY good at writing them, but I think there's some real potential here. Please, fav, follow, and comment if you enjoyed this review. I'd love to get a conversation started, even if you don't one hundred percent agree with me. Anyway, that's all I have for this time, so have a great day!

(I do not own any of the images or videos in this review all credit goes to there original owners.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#toonami pre-flight #toonami #Atack on Titan #Space Dandy #Dragonball Z Kai

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