#the beginning of the first spider-man movie and the end of the last one.......... poetic cinema | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ssentiwsavonej · 5 years

Text

Game of Thrones: Battle of Winterfell Dead Pool

*mostly conjecture, but spoiler warning to cover bases*

Ok, so: after watching 8.02, I’ve been thinking a lot about the looming largest battle sequence out to film, and obviously given the happy moments in the lead-up, a lot of our faves are gonna bite it next week. So I wanted to put my thoughts to paper, as it were, and talk about the major players, where they’ll be, and what could happen to them.

Jon Snow

Location: atop Winterfell battlements, then eventually in the thick of it, because Jon

Outcome: ALIVE. C’mon, I barely have to say anything here. Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen is far to pivotal to the titular game to die here. Plus he’s gotta sort things out with his girlfriend/aunt Daenerys. Speaking of...

Daenerys Targaryen

Location: based on previews, she’s gonna be all over Winterfell: atop the battlements, viewing the battle from afar in the nearby hills, and even in the TOTALLY 100% SAFE NOT-AT-ALL DANGEROUS CRYPTS

Outcome: ALIVE. Literally same reasons above. She’s key to the Game and she’s gotta deal with Jon’s poorly timed bomb drop. Plus she’s gotta survive here to potentially become a villain herself down the way as the Mad Queen/Night Queen

Ghost

Location: probably three feet from Jon at any given moment

Outcome: DEAD. “Whaaaat? You mean they’d really bring Ghost back for five seconds this week, just to kill him next week???” You’re goddamn right they would! And for a very utilitarian reason that every major crew member has said many times over: those Direwolves are hella expensive to make (somehow more so than dragons? I’m guessing because they still have to use live wolves, so getting the animal to behave just so, and then enlarge them in post is likely a bigger pain than straight CGI? Anywho...) so Ghost is gonna be badass and rip some throats out, probably save some asses, and then get the shit wrecked out of him like Summer did.

Sansa Stark

Location: She’s gonna be in an interesting spot, too bold to hide in the crypts, but not a fighter. So she’s gonna probably try (and fail) to stay high and dry.

Outcome: ALIVE. I don’t have as strong an argument for her survival, but I just have a feeling. She didn’t have any serious revelations or resolutions in 8.02, aside from flirting/fighting with Dany, so her death wouldn’t be AS heartbreaking as some others.

Arya Stark

Location: in the battle with her new weapon, though also from previews she ends up in the crypts (and looking fucking terrified)

Outcome: DEAD. It hurts to say this, but Arya is very likely going to be done saying “Not today” to the God of Death. She banged the hell out of Gendry KNOWING THIS COULD BE HER LAST NIGHT ON THIS PLANET, and ignoring that cardinal cliche, something in the crypts is going to scare her shitless, and to do that to Arya, it’s gotta be something BAD (more on that later) **EDIT: I also think her death next week would go down as the ultimate prank, because when she went on Jimmy Fallon and “accidentally” let loose a spoiler as an April Fool’s joke, the (supposedly) fake spoiler was that Arya died in episode 3. What greater troll could there be than her fake spoiler not being fake at all?

Bran Stark

Location: in the Godswood, seated in the perfect spot to make awkward eye contact with the Night King

Outcome: ALIVE? The situation with Bran and the Night King is interesting, and undoubtedly won’t be as cut-and-dry as “two men enter, one man leaves.” Like, obvious the Night King ain’t going down here, but I feel like the Three-Eyed Raven is too cosmically important to not survive this. So I feel like if/when these two meet, it may not end in death, but change of some sort. (If the Night King even shows! Speaking of...)

Night King

Location: outside Winterfell *MAYBE*

Outcome: ALIVE (generally speaking). As I said before, the Night King is too big a deal to go down here without more of Westeros dealing with him first. So if Bran’s plan works, something more nuanced is gonna go down in the Godswood. But here’s the thing: what if the Night King isn’t even here? In the preview we see a line of White Walkers on horseback, seemingly in the lead position of the army. But no Night King, no Viserion. He knows where Bran is, so he’s in no rush; what if he’s taken his dragon (and some of the army) on past Winterfell, marching instead directly on King’s Landing? Bran had previously seen a vision of a dragon’s shadow darkening the skies of King’s Landing - what if this was the Night King, not Daenerys?

Theon Greyjoy

Location: in the Godswood with Bran and the Ironborn (aka the bait)

Outcome: DEAD. Theon has had a very very strong arc over this show: we’ve liked him, hated him, felt beyond bad for him, and then grew to care for him again. But with this week and Sanaa’s hug, his arc is complete. Plus, if the Night King does show, he’s at GROUND. ZERO. He’s fucking toast mate.

Jaime Lannister

Location: on the flank with Brienne and Podrick

Outcome: ALIVE. Our second-favorite Lannister has had a lot of character development (which usually means a tombstone), and he’s not a super capable fighter on a dangerous fucking part of the field with Brienne. Despite all of that, the Kingslayer’s probably gonna see the other side of this battle, because he’s gotta A) deal with Bronn coming for him and Tyrion, and B) fulfill the prophecy Cersei has obsessed over and be the “little brother” that kills her.

Tyrion Lannister

Location: In the completely ironclad safe crypts

Outcome: ALIVE. I’m gonna talk more about the crypts later on separately, because it’s gonna get a bit contradictory. Obviously the crypts aren’t safe, but there are a solid couple of charcters down there that I think will make it out. Tyrion’s safety is twofold: A) they made all that fuss of everyone, especially Jorah, telling Dany that Tyrion should remain her Hand. That would be a lot of wasted runtime if he dies here, and B) like his brother, Tyrion currently has a former traveling buddy coming for him with a crossbow, and Game of Thrones is known for many things, anticlimax not being one of them.

Samwell Tarly

Location: on the battlements, ready to go balls-out, apparently.

Outcome: ALIVE. Despite Sam being a not-at-all capable fighter, I think he’s going to live by simple fact that somebody has to finish that book at the Citadel about the history of Westeros to present day (and totally title it A Song of Ice and Fire), but he’s also gonna have to do some mourning of his own...

Gillie

Location: those ironclad crypts of solitude

Outcome: DEAD. Gillie and Sam has their happy moment, and frankly, Sam is more important than her. So she’s gonna die, and to distract himself from the grieving process, Sam is gonna lock himself away in the Citadel to finish that damn book.

Jorah Mormont

Location: probably protecting Dany, then breaking off at some point when it goes to shit

Outcome: DEAD. Jorah’s has quite a ride, in and out of the friend zone with Dany from the beginning, and as of now he’s accepted his place and even gone to bat for Tyrion as the better man for his job. Couple that with his reunion with his family, and Sam passing on his family sword to him, and Jorah is going down swinging (and those swings are probably gonna save Sam’s ass, because it would be poetic to save the man who gave him the sword)

Sandor “The Hound” Clegane

Location: in battle somewhere (ideally far from fire, if he had his way)

Outcome: ALIVE. Though the Hound has solid development and actual dimension as a character this week, he’s gonna see it through for one simple reason: CLEGANEBOWL! This is something book fans AND show fans have been teased with for years, and this battle is likely the last hurdle between the Hound and burning his undead brother right the fuck back.

Varys

Location: the crypts, because lol at the idea of Varys fighting and not hedging his bets

Outcome: DEAD? I was more certain of his survival initially, because come onnn it’s Varys! The Spider played things in the shadows better than Littlefinger, and always knows how to avoid the God of Death. However, since my first thoughts, I was reminded that Melisandre mysteriously told him he would die in Westeros. So, the crypts could likely become his tomb.

Gendry

Location: swinging a big ass hammer somewhere, no doubt.

Outcome: ALIVE. I debated on Gendry’s survival for a bit, considering he was recruit to smith, and he did his smithing (not to mention the horror movie trope of “you fuck, you’re fucked.”) However, I think he’ll see it through just because he’s still Robert Baratheon’s son, and could therefore complicate the line of succession for the Iron Throne once Cersei is finally knocked off.

SER Brienne of Tarth

Location: on the flank with Jaime and Podrick

Outcome: DEAD. Also painful, but after this week, the writing is on the wall is tears and giant’s milk for our favorite honorable knight. She is officially a knight of the seven kingdoms, saved Jaime’s ass from a barbecue, and noted that she’s fulfilled all of her oaths. She’s going down, but she’s not gonna go down easy (probably going to be the reason Jaime survives).

Podrick Payne

Location: on the flank with Brienne

Outcome: DEAD. Pod’s golden pipes and magic cock can’t save him here. He’s noticeably better with a sword now, but even Brienne said he’s not there yet. Plus he got to sing that song to the drunk sharing circle. Pod’s going down, and I’m betting he’ll be one of the first.

Grey Worm

Location: in the battlefield somewhere nasty

Outcome: DEAD. Not much to say here: Grey Worm promised to take Missandei away after the battle, wherever she wanted, and they can be happy on a beach. He may as well have said he’s two weeks from retirement.

Missandei

Location: the danged ol’ crypts man. Can’t say much else here without repetition.

Outcome: ALIVE. This is by a razor-thin margin in my head, but everyone’s favorite translator is going to live for one reason and one reason alone: she’s the perfect candidate to cry over Grey Worm’s body after the dust settles. Because let’s be honest: they made the cardinal mistake of talking about their futures, so (at least) one of them gotta die, and Grey Worm is a soldier on the field.

Dolorous Edd

Location: atop the battlements, for now anyway.

Outcome: Edd’s DEAD, baby. He survived the wall coming down, made it back to warn his friends, and hugged it out. Jon said it himself: the Night’s Watch has no purpose now, meaning Edd has nothing to be Lord Commander of. His watch is ending next week.

Tormund Giantsbane

Location: somewhere in the thick of it, with a belly full of giant’s milk

Outcome: WILD CARD. Honestly, I couldn’t peg down Tormund, and it’s just because he’s so damn bonkers. Like, he survived the wall, and we got more insight to his (alleged) upbringing, and his surprisingly liberal ideals when it came to Brienne’s status, which could spell death. But he’s just such a crazy bastard that if anyone could defy the writing on the wall, it’s him.

Davos Seaworth

Location: on the battlefield, giving everyone a good what for

Outcome: DEAD. He’s had a good run, but it’s time to say goodbye to our dear Onion Knight. He said it himself: he’s been through a lot of battles and he’s not even sure how he’s made it. He’s been a mentor, but they’ve all gotta spread their wings, plus he had those moments with the reluctant militiamen and the adorable Shireen stand-in. He’s going out like a damn champ.

Beric Dondarrion

Location: somewhere out there with his medieval lightsaber

Outcome: WILD CARD. I couldn’t pin down Beric because he’s in a very unique position: Rhllor the Lord of Light has brought him back from the dead 13 times. Despite his weapon being covered in something very effective against the undead, there’s no doubt he’ll fall in battle. My question is: which side will he fight for when he gets back up? The Lord of Light could bring him back, but the White Walkers also have a knack for putting corpses back on their feet. Or even crazier, will he become some sort of halfbreed, with tht eyepatch covering a glowing blue eye? (Probably not, but it’s a fun idea)

Lyanna Mormont

Location: the front? The crypts? I don’t know, she does what she wants.

Outcome: WILD CARD. I’m leaning slightly towards the dead end of the scale with Lyanna, because despite how sharp her tongue is and how big her balls are, she’s still a small child fighting an army of zombies. She’s a badass and could make it, but she’s a child and could just as easily eat it.

Bronn

Location: somewhere between King’s Landing and Winterfell

Outcome: WILD CARD. I can’t even say if Bronn will show up for this battle, but we do know he’s on his way with a big ass crossbow called “poetic justice” (according to Cersei). So he totally could show up and off one or both Lannister brothers while they’re distracted by zombies, or he could learn the true meaning of friendship and forsake the money to help out. And possibly die saving them. Or he won’t even make it there until afterwards. Who knows here man.

Now, a little more on the crypts, and why they gave me problems. So, they put the non-combatants and the children in the crypts, because it’s underground and by all accounts, safe. However, sollowing cinematic rules of foreshadowing, repetition is the surest sign that something’s important. EVERYBODY said the crypts are safe, repeatedly. Couple that with the shots of a very frightened Arya running from something, and it’s shaping up to be bad news bears down there. Many have guessed it, but for the sake of thoroughness, here’s the issue: the crypt is full of DEAD STARKS, and we all know how fond the White Walkers are of raising the dead. Provided they’ve got the range, Arya could be facing down the dead wearing the faces of her family. And given that, we could figure who it’s likely going to be. Ned is headless (plus it’s been mentioned that his bones were returned, implying there’s not much to bury), Robb is also headless and possibly not even buried in the family crypt, considering his body was paraded around on horseback with his wolf stitched onto his neck, so aside from ancient Starks, that leaves two candidates: Rickon (which, let’s be real, nobody cares about him and he’s not that intimidating either), and Catelyn. We don’t know if she made it to the crypts either (because Red Wedding), but she’s the strongest candidate for a truly unsettling foe for Arya, as well as an in-point for the TV show to introduce a skewed and twisted interpretation of Lady Stoneheart from the books into the show.

So yeah, with this information the Crypts could have a much higher principle death toll, but I think Arya being in the crypts sets up a heroic sacrifice scenario where she can ensure the other (important) people get out alive.

With a score of 11 - 11 - 4 the Battle of Winterfell is shaping up to be a potential Thanos Snap for our cast of characters next week. I can’t say how right or wrong I am on this, but this is the most thought I’ve put into predicting character deaths since Negan whistled his way onto the Walking Dead. So regardless, I’m excited to revisit this after the episode goes up on Sunday!

#game of thrones #winterfell #got spoilers #spoilers #dead pool #got s8 #got predictions #battle of winterfell

16 notes · View notes

raybizzle · 3 years

Link

0 notes

tigerlover16-uk · 6 years

Text

Goodbye, GT

This is a very personal post written mostly for the sake of posterity and closure. You're free to read it if you really want, but I'd rather nobody comment or make a big deal out of anything I say here, I just needed to get my thoughts written out for the sake of moving on. So I'd rather people just scroll past.

Well, I finally finished watching Dragon Ball GT subbed. Thank goodness.

I have a lot of complex thoughts on GT, many of them very negative. I've made it no secret that I hate this series, and I have a lot of reasons why I hate it. The complete refusal to do anything meaningful with the vast majority of the supporting cast (With the things they actually do end up being very minor stuff, or downright insulting), especially the complete mishandling of Pan and Uub's characters. The boring stories, the bad designs and the general aesthetic of the show. The unengaging fights, and that utterly STUPID ending!

There were a few things I liked here and there, but in general I have a lot to complain about. And maybe if people ask me I will talk more about the show, but since this will likely be the last time I ever watch it, I felt now was a good time to really wax poetic about why I really feel so negatively about it.

Because after really thinking everything over and my experiences with GT and the franchise in general, I think I've found a more deep-seated reason besides it's own admittedly poor quality as a show. And I just wanted to get it all out for posterity's sake and so I can really move on.

I watched GT as it was airing on Welsh television as a kid, the Blue Water Dub specifically. It aired right after Dragon Ball Z finished, and the original Dragon Ball started airing after GT wrapped up. Like with DBZ, I watched every episode as it aired, and in general my childhood self enjoyed it. I was too young and stupid to really think critically about most of the media I consumed, so I never tended to notice any flaws in the shows I watched.

And Dragon Ball Z was my favourite growing up, alongside Spider-man The Animated series, so naturally I was inclined to think of everything GT did as being amazing and cool. And to be fair, yeah there is some cool stuff here, I can see why I enjoyed it. Even though now that I look back, a lot of it didn't stick with me the same way the stories, action and characters of DBZ and later Dragon Ball did.

I was confused and uncertain about the ending, but given that the original Dragon Ball started airing soon after I was never much concerned with it. Dragon Ball couldn't really be over, here was more of it showing me all that backstory and stuff that was always hinted at or flashbacked to in Z but I never saw for some reason. I quickly fell in love with OG Dragon Ball the same way i did with it's sequel series.

It was soon after that series finished airing, however, and I came to accept that Dragon Ball was over... that a powerful, uneasy feeling started to set in. While I know I hadn't actually been watching it for ALL of my life, it really did feel like Dragon Ball had always been there. A constant, welcoming, wonderful presence in my life that made everything feel so much cooler and life in general so much more fulfilling. Something to always look forward to...

I didn't dwell on it too hard at the time, but as time passed, and life generally got harder and more miserable as time went on (I'm pretty sure I was in secondary school when Dragon Ball finished, and that was one of the worst parts of my life, let me tell you!), I started to feel very alone and wistful.

To give an idea of what I was going through without giving too much away, I was losing friends, with my longest friendship ending in a great personal betrayal, my home life was an utter mess right up to and through my parents divorcing.

And between school work, undiagnosed aspergers that my teachers refused to acknowledge might be a possibility, and just realising how harsh, cruel and kind of miserable the world really was... let's just say that I became a pretty closed off, miserable person for a while.

I got better when I started going to college and life in general became more stable, but through all of that, and for the next several years after it even... the thing that made it especially unbearable, was that through it all, I felt like something was missing.

Something important, something grounding. Something that had helped carry me through life prior to all that, and give me something to always look forward to and find comfort in whenever things seemed rough.

It felt like a part of my soul had been missing for a long time, and I never understood why.

I think it was during my later years in secondary school that my family got a computer for the first time. I can clearly remember spending so many hours of my life browsing through wiki's of all sorts of shows, games and movies I liked.

One day, I inevitably started looking up Dragon Ball stuff.

I went all in trying to find as much information as possible about this series. I read all up about the behind the scenes information and Akira Toriyama's writing process. I read up on all the characters, the manga prototypes of Dragon Ball, and the reasons for why Toriyama wrote a lot of things the way he did.

I learned about all of the dub changes, and the various dubs that were out there for that matter. I used to have a laugh about some of them. Learned about a lot of the movies, games, Specials and other stuff I hadn't been aware of because I'd never seen them before.

While I didn't have any DVD's for the series available for a while and felt uncomfortable pirating the show (Didn't stop me from looking at some other things on YouTube, I notice though... I'm a weirdo :p), but I did frequently refamiliarize myself with stuff that had happened.

And when Dragon Ball Z Kai became a thing, I watched that, and I kept up with animated specials like the Yo! Son Goku and his friends return! special or Episode of Bardock (Which I actually watched before I even watched Bardock: Father of Goku, despite knowing about that special and everything that happened in it for a while, for some reason...).

I remember hearing about Dragon Ball Online and all the stuff about it's lore, and being utterly fascinated by the prospect, since I had never imagined another take on the series post-EoZ other than GT actually being presented, even though I REALLY did wish we had more.

Over time as I was doing this, the feeling of wonder and fun that I had always felt watching Dragon Ball as a kid started to come back, and I remembered why I loved this series so much. How much it meant to me... and how sad it made me that it seemed the series would never come back.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I appreciated that we had stuff like the video games, or the occasional specials, and even the SD manga when that became a thing was something I frequently read synopsis for since I didn't know where to actually read the manga for a while. I was glad there was content being made... but it was never nearly the same thing as having a proper continuation, you know.

And a lot of the stuff we got, like the YO! special, was pretty mediocre fluff in the long run. It was fun, but it didn't fill the void. And I thought nothing ever would.

I had begun to realize what that missing part of my soul had been.

I was excited when I heard about Battle of Gods being released, but I also assumed it would just be a one-off thing, something that would be great to pass the time and give me another chance to see all those characters I loved again, but it wouldn't lead to anything bigger. And despite stuff like the hints of there being multiple different universes, I was still certain by the time Resurrection F was announced that an occasional mostly self-contained movie would be the best we could ask for in terms of new Dragon Ball content.

I can't even begin to tell you how shocked... and how darn HAPPY I was when Super was announced. I never expected it to happen... I couldn't believe it was. For the first time in years... a new Dragon Ball series. One that ignored GT's continuity, and thus it's definitive ending, and opened up the possibility of more new Dragon Ball stories for many years to come.

I wanted to cry.

I didn't start watching the show until it was part-way through the Champa saga... mostly because there weren't legal ways to view it until part-way through the Future Trunks saga, and I thought I'd wait for the dub at first. but keeping up with news and spoilers about what was happening, and browsing the tv tropes pages for Super every day and watching clips on YouTube, I just couldn't control myself and started looking up episodes of the Champa saga myself.

And oh God... I felt at home. I mean, it wasn't a perfect story, really, but... it was good. And it was new Dragon Ball. Watching things unfold was such a magical experience, and when it got to the Hit fight... HOLY COW, was my mind blown. THAT... that was Dragon Ball, through and through! And then we got the Baby Pan episode, and dear God that was adorably perfect and I love it to bits. And then we found out that Future Trunks was coming back for a saga, and the new villain for it and, OH GOD THE EXCITEMENT!

Having Dragon Ball back in my life again was just... it felt just so... right. The missing part of my soul was restored. I had my childhood... I had my best friend back.

I suppose by now you're wondering about how all of this relates to GT. You're probably thinking "Oh well then, you only hate it because you blame it for ending Dragon Ball for so long!" and... well, okay, that's kind of on point. But I didn't hate it for that until after I actually re-watched the series not too long ago.

Truth is, I've always defended GT. I mean, I knew it had problems just listening to people talk about it, and remembering it for myself. I definitely agreed the ending was wrong. But... I remembered liking it as a kid. Even loving it.

I remembered there were ideas and a few characters I really liked. People complain about a lot of things in DBZ as well, yet whenever I re-watch that and the original Dragon Ball, they both hold up exceptionally well despite some issues. Better than so many things from my childhood.

So, why shouldn't GT hold up the same? I always told people that GT was okay, that a lot of people overreacted and that it wasn't anything offensive. People were just overreacting.

I strongly believed that for years. I was glad it was non-canon, because that meant there was another chance for another, better post-EoZ series that utilized the next gen characters (And the long standing supporting cast, for that matter) better, and I didn't want Dragon Ball to have a definitive ending. But I stubbornly refused to have negative feelings about GT.

I started re-watching GT when Super was about half-way through, out of curiosity and because I wanted to have an actually up to date, informed opinion on it. Especially where comparisons to Super came up.

I didn't go into the series intending to be negative, I went in with the intention of DEFENDING IT. I knew there would be stuff that would annoy me or that would be frustrating, but I wanted to enjoy it like I had as a child. I wanted to be able to say with confidence that despite it's faults, GT was a worthwhile addition to the Dragon Ball franchise and that I liked it.

And for the first two to five episodes, I did kind of enjoy it, despite some things I took issue with...

But the more I watched and was bored of the first saga, and the more I started looking ahead and really dwelling on what went on in the show. How it used the characters, how the stories were written and how it ended... after a while, I started to doubt it. I started to dislike it more and more.

While I had made up my mind about GT not being a good continuation of Dragon Ball Z by the time I finished the Baby saga, I still mostly enjoyed that saga at least, despite some glaring issues that bothered me. I was willing to say that was mostly fine. I hated the Super 17 saga a lot, but even going into the Shadow Dragons saga, I expected to like that. I tried very hard to be positive going into it... and then it kept spitting in my face.

And by the time I got to the penultimate episode, I was sick of the show and glad to stop watching it. I did something I never expected myself to do, and declared it horrible, a blight on the franchise! And I meant it, because after experiencing such a disappointing let down, and especially after that insulting final episode when I did watch it... I felt betrayed.

THIS was the show I had been defending all these years?! It was trash! People were right, GT WAS an insult to the franchise... it was an insult to me as a fan, as someone who loves this series.

And I feel this way because it feels like the series is specifically designed to annoy me. The first saga is a boring slog where it feels like nothing of actual value happens after our heroes leave earth, all for a stupid contrived premise. The only really notable episode is episode 15, and for ALL the wrong reasons! Goku is turned into a kid for no reason, which just feels wrong at this point in the series, Pan is derailed into an annoying brat for no good reason, and the only other character that comes along for the journey is Trunks. Who is one of the few characters I don't really care that much about, and he's blander here than he was in DBZ.

We get one half-decent story after that, one horrible trainwreck of an arc that did NOTHING right apart from a funny gag with Chichi and Videl, and a saga that sounds on paper like it should be the greatest thing in the world... but everything apart from Nuova and Eis Shenron's episodes was handled in the WORST WAY POSSIBLE.

The fights range from passable, occasionally good, to just BORING. While there were good jokes sometimes, the humour was usually dull. The many characters I loved either barely showed up and then only to get fodderised, have a lot of their personality drained away so they're just kind of dull, or in the cases of Piccolo and Majin Buu, get POINTLESSLY KILLED OFF! And in Piccolo's case he got shoved into freaking Hell for his troubles and never got out! What were you thinking, writers! That is NOT how you treat one of the greatest anime characters ever created!

Everything I felt could have potential to be interesting felt like it was deliberately sabotaged. Uub was shoved aside in the first episode and didn't show up until it was half over, and then despite getting a transformation all he does is have a fight with Baby that's way too short and anti-climactic and then stall the villain later on in the saga, otherwise he's so insignificant to the show he might as well never show up.

I always thought his character was very interesting and I wanted to see him be at least the co-protagonist and actually do stuff... and GT just bent over backwards to make him irrelevent, give him almost no personality or real purpose, and just generally undermine the entire point of the ending of Z...

Pan got off almost worse. She was never allowed to go super saiyan, only useful a few times throughout the show and didn't defeat anyone that mattered on her own. She got no real character development, and was mostly just a damsel in distress... because the writers LITERALLY ADMITTED that they only kept her around so she could get beat up by the villains so Goku could look better by comparison. But oh I've already made some long posts on how badly Pan was used, so I won't go on now.

Bulla and Marron barely existed as far as the show was concerned. Krillin was basically a prop that was there to be a butt monkey who disappoints his family in the Baby saga, and his only notable contribution to the story was to DIE to move the plot along.

Android 17... oh God, the poor guy. He barely had any personality left when he showed up inexplicably under Dr Gero and Myuu's mind control, that whole Super 17 fusion was stupid as all heck, and then they senselessly killed his character off for real without ever doing ANYTHING of interest with him in a really insulting manner.

Despite the brilliant premise of having all the past villains invade from hell, the show did NOTHING with ANY of them, apart from turning Frieza, my favourite villain of all time, and Cell, into a couple of jokes who are defeated in an embarrassing way.

As cool as the Shadow Dragons are in concept, not only does their explanation and build up make no sense, but only Nuova and Eis are worthwhile characters. Haze and Rage Shenron were absolutely pathetic, Oceanus Shenron felt like a monster of the week from an earlier point in the series and not suitable endgame villain material, Naturon Shenron was annoying and lost because he was the BIGGEST IDIOT in the entire franchise, and Omega Shenron was the most disappointing final boss possible with no personality beyond "Evil bad guy" and a dull final fight that just poorly rips off stuff that happened in the Buu Saga, as well as that one episode that was just pointless padding that existed to tease people who liked Nuova Shenron by bringing him back only to have his contribution mean nothing (Kind of like how Vegeta going super saiyan 4 meant nothing thanks to Gogeta being a time wasting idiot and Vegeta not even putting up a half-decent fight against Omega).

And besides that, there were only two new characters in the show besides Nuova (Who was killed off way too soon, IMO) and Eis (The only character used as well as he could have been, probably) that were any good, them being Baby and General Rilldo. And Baby devolves into discount Frieza with none of the charm halfway through his saga, and Rilldo only gets a mediocre at best fight and then gets a bridge unceremoniously dropped on him.

And apart from them? Giru/Gill was an occasional nuisance and as interesting as drying paint. Valese was awkward and pointless, Dolltaki was the WORST character in the franchise, Dr Myuu/Mu was a boring dollar store Dr Gero with a stupider moustache and nothing interesting to him at all, and none of the other few characters were anything worthwhile.

And it's not like the show did a lot of interesting stuff with the characters it already had, half the characters are barely around, with several being only silent cameos, and they don't get any development from when we last saw them. Even 18's highly touted contribution in the Super 17 saga just involved her conveniently showing up to shoot energy blasts at Super 17, allowing Goku to then do all the hard work necessary to defeat him. It was kinda cool, but it was barely anything and it still comes at the expense of wasting 17 completely.

And then that ending... that above all insulted me, because after the show went out of it's way to wreck up so many of the characters, and treat us to mediocre to horrible stories, destroy any of the potential that Dragon Ball Z left open for future stories... after all that, it had the GALL to offer up what it intended to be the definitive, no going back ending for the ENTIRE series... an ending that was out of nowhere, depressing, and overall just kind of pointless... I was so angry.

THIS SHOW... this show is the reason we went so long without another Dragon Ball series for almost two decades, outside of Kai being just a re-cut of Z. And it went out of it's way to be the worst possible send off for the franchise imaginable, and try to cut off all avenues for future series.

I was so angry over this! All those years wistfully longing to have Dragon Ball come back... all those years that I felt incomplete, like I'd lost my anchor to make life feel more bearable when things got bad... like I didn't have a lot to look forward to... all of that was GT's fault, and it was TERRIBLE to boot!

And I DEFENDED this show all that time, because I was just so clueless... I felt sick.

And yes, I know I can't blame GT for how bad life got for me, that's childish... but I really do feel like having a little hope that Dragon Ball would continue with more series would have helped through it.

Dragon Ball is not just a show or manga to me. It is my favourite media franchise of all time. The series, it's characters and it's world resonate with me like nothing else. Nothing makes me happier than watching Dragon Ball, nothing else gets me more excited. The magic I felt watching the show as a kid is something I have yet to experience from any other work of fiction, despite trying my hardest to find it elsewhere in the time since. Maybe Pokemon comes close, but it's not quite there.

Dragon Ball is an integral part of my life. And GT tried to rip it away from me. To torch the franchise and run, as tv tropes would put it.

That is why I was so happy to have Super come into my life.

Dragon Ball Super is not a perfect series, as I have stated many times before. It has plot holes, inconsistent animation quality, especially earlier on. It occasionally screws up writing certain characters like Vegeta or Goku (Even though I don't think the latter's portrayal overall is anywhere near as bad as people blow it out of proportion to be), and there are plenty of missed opportunities. The Future Trunks Saga's ending was a complete mess, some of the things it introduced didn't really pay off. It has problems...

But at the same time, it's given me more joy than any other series of the past decade. Because when Super is good... oh my God, is it good.

The best fights from Super are honestly some of my favourites in the entire franchise. Goku vs Hit, the big fight with Goku Black and Future Zamasu in episode 57, Gohan vs Lavender, Gokus first fight with Jiren, Android 18 beating Ribrianne... there are SO many good ones, and the best are so much better than any of GT's action scenes. Heck, just watching the clip of the last bout of the fight between Goku, Frieza and Android 17 against Jiren did more for me than the entire final battle against Omega Shenron did.

There are so many good jokes and funny episodes, I think I've laughed more watching Super than any other Dragon Ball series. The slice of life episodes and moments scattered throughout are wonderful, and give me such an unbelievably pleasant feeling. We see so much more of the supporting cast too, and while the show struggles with a lot of characters especially early on, they all ended up getting so much good character moments over the course of the show and especially in the final arc. It was so wonderful just to spend more time with everyone.

There were so many cool new concepts thrown in. The 12 universes, the integration of the Galactic Patrol from the Jaco manga, the super dragon balls.

And there were so many new characters that I'm actually interested in.

Obviously we have Beerus, Whis and Jaco carrying on from the recent movies, and I love them so much. But in Super we got to meet Hit, Champa, Vados, Cabba, Frost, Magetta, Goku Black, Caulifla, Toppo, Ribrianne, and so many awesome and intersting new characters, many of whom I desperately want to see fleshed out and get to do more in future series. I didn't care about anyone from GT NEARLY as much as I care about half of these new characters, except maybe Nuova.

There's just so many amazing things that have happened that I never dreamed I would experience.

I never thought Android 17 would not only come back and be developed more, but that he'd go on to be one of the best characters in the show and one of my new favourites. I never thought Frieza would make a big comeback either, but oh God was he so perfect in the Universe Survival Saga and I think I love him even more now than I already did! I never thought I'd see Master Roshi getting to be cool again and have what felt like an even better send off to his time as a martial artist than the original Dragon ball gave him, but oh lord was episode 105 so good and got me emotional.

I never even knew I wanted Pan the adorable super baby to be a thing, but oh God is she wonderful and perfect in every way and I just love her so much! Ahhh!

Already I have so many fond memories of watching Super. Sure, it's done things to upset me from time to time, but when it's good, and it is most of the time, it does more for me than most other shows I watch. When Super is at it's best, I feel the same magic that Dragon Ball Z made me feel as a child.

A feeling I never once got from watching GT.

And as much as I panicked when I heard the show was ending, we got confirmation soon after that Super would continue through the upcoming movie, and all signs pointed to a new Dragon Ball series being produced in the near future. When the final episode aired, I felt a great sense of satisfaction in how it concluded... and also excitement and hope for the future, because that last episode made it so clear that there was much more to come.

Dragon Ball GT's ending threw me out of the house, slammed the door in my face and flushed the keys down the toilet. But Super left the door open.

It wasn't a goodbye this time. It was a "See you later"

A promise from my oldest, most dear friend that we would meet again.

It was such a beautiful feeling. And I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Dragon Ball. I'm sure there'll be bad stories now and again, every franchise has those from time to time, but Toei seem to be making all the right moves to get things stable to better produce future dragon ball works. The movie seems like it's having a ton of effort put into it, at least. So I have faith. Now my dream where Dragon Ball can go on forever might finally be coming true, and I couldn't be happier.

And after all is said and done, looking back on GT... I can't help but resent it for trying to deny me that.

I can't help but hold GT responsible for all of the years where there were no new Dragon Ball series. All the years it felt like Dragon Ball would never come back for real. And for all the loneliness that caused me deep in my heart.

It had some good points. Bad as it truly was, I can't say it was the worst sequel or show ever produced, there are many works of fiction that are objectively far worse than GT, and stuff that has caused actual harm to the world.

It'll never be One More Day or Holy Terror levels of bad... but on a strictly personal level, GT causes me more anger than any other fictional work I have encountered.

Why did I bother watching it again? That was a question I found myself asking as I was binging the subbed version. Obviously the reason I started doing that was because I have a personal goal of watching each Dragon Ball series both dubbed and subbed, and I thought I might as well get GT out of the way since I'd watched it all dubbed not too long ago... but why did I keep going as quickly as I did, when watching it just caused me so much frustration to the point of feeling actually painful?

I don't fully know, but maybe deep down I just really wanted to convince myself that I was being too harsh. That it wasn't all that bad, that I could go back to liking it somewhat. Because I really didn't want to resent it so much.

Guess that didn't work out, since honestly I think the only thing it accomplished is making me all the more aware of why I dislike it.

But you know what... whatever. I could keep being angry about GT until I'm blue in the face, but it's really not worth it. Because it's not relevant anymore. As much as it still bothers me we don't have another series set post-EoZ yet, GT has officially been replaced regardless by Super. It's clear that the franchise is back, and here to stay. Hopefully for good, this time. So really, what do I have left to be worried about?

I've got what I wanted all this time. GT's attempt to end Dragon Ball failed, the story goes on. And now that I've watched it both ways, I have no reason to ever come back to GT, or worry about it ever again. I have closure.

The show is still there for people who do enjoy it, for whatever reasons I'll never be able to relate to again. But I'm free from having to worry about it getting in the way of more Dragon Ball stories.

Now I have hope again, hope that a new Dragon ball series where Uub and Pan are treated with respect will happen down the line. Hope that I'll get to see more good character development and cool moments from all the characters I love. Hope that Launch might come back, or that underdeveloped characters might get to come back and be made a thousand times better like Android 17 was.

Here's to a bright future for Dragon Ball, the story that never ends.

And so, with all that out of the way... I guess it's time to say goodbye.

GT, you were a frustrating experience. I will admit, a part of me will always cherish those good childhood memories you gave me, even if they've been somewhat tainted. I will always love Super saiyan 4, and Nuova Shenron, and there's probably some good moments I might watch again through clips if I'm bored. I'll certainly listen to that english opening song again.

As bad as I make you out to be, in the end you weren't a complete disaster, since Dragon Ball ended up coming back anyway. And while I can never say I enjoyed watching you, part of me is glad there are others who feel differently, because people do deserve to be happy, even if I can't share the experience.

Because I'm not coming back. Because unless some exceptional circumstances happen, like I somehow become a big-name internet critic and I decide to review you for views, I highly doubt our paths will ever cross again. And I think that's for the best. I am sorry we grew apart so much, but I'm much happier where things are now.

Goodbye, GT. May your memory fade with time.

#personal

3 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Got its Own Pandemic from the Blip

https://ift.tt/2Lng5BE

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been besieged by supervillains, bombarded by extraterrestrial invaders and—in a deed so dastardly it’s unlikely to be topped—saw half the population of its entire universe dusted away. However, one thing that the continuity will not have to endure is the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, that is not to say that that the MCU won’t be defined by the aftermath of a worldwide-affected tragedy going into its Phase Four slate of films and television shows.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reveals to Variety that parallels to the pandemic are, coincidentally, planned to permeate throughout the MCU by way of “The Blip,” which was the collective term attributed to what occurred after Thanos’s universe-halving Infinity Gauntlet snap in Avengers: Infinity War and Bruce Banner/Hulk’s reversive snap—using Tony Stark’s Nano Gauntlet—in Avengers: Endgame. Feige discusses how Marvel’s pre-pandemic plans to weave the Blip and its fallout throughout the MCU was given a sad bit of serendipity by way of the ongoing real-world tragedy of the pandemic, which is currently closing in on 2 million deaths worldwide.

Feige—who will soon juggle involvement with a mysterious Star Wars movie—explains of the long-gestating post-Blip plans, “[A]bout a year and a half ago, as we were developing all these things—maybe two years ago, I don’t remember—I started to say the Blip, the Thanos event that radically changed everything between Infinity War and Endgame, that gave this global universal galactic experience to people, would only serve us so well, that we need to just keep looking ahead and keep going into new places.” Expressing initial reservations about the MCU possibly repeating itself, Feige goes on to say, “I was wary of it becoming like the Battle of New York, which was the third act of Avengers one, which ended up being referenced as an event kind of constantly, and some times better than others. I was wary of that.”

WandaVision: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Story Details, and News

By Joseph Baxter

Movies

Kang the Conqueror: What the New Villain Means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe

By Gavin Jasper

Indeed, the 11-year-spanning, unprecedentedly elaborate buildup to Avengers: Endgame was an investment ultimately rewarded by global audiences with a $2.8 billion take that made it the all-time box office topper. Seemingly, the only place to go after having reached such stratospheric heights is downward; something that made Feige hesitant about setting the next goal line of a universe-encompassing crisis (long-rumored to be an adaptation of iconic Marvel miniseries Secret Wars). Yet, as the pandemic ended up redefining the existence of just about everyone around the real world, its effect would naturally alter the context of Marvel’s post-Blip plans after numerous delays ended up pushing back the entire studio slate. Interestingly, the poetic parallels of the post-Blip MCU with the eventual pandemic were on display in advance back in 2019 with Scott Lang/Ant-Man’s visit to a massive memorial for snap victims in the beginning of Endgame and later that year in Spider-Man: Far from Home, in which expositional dialogue coined the very term, “The Blip,” revealing that Peter Parker (and most of his classmates), as part of the population of restored snap victims, has been retaking his junior year of high school five years later; a small example of the widespread surreal fallout we’ll eventually see throughout Phase Four.

“As we started getting into a global pandemic last March and April and May, we started to go, holy mackerel, the Blip this universal experience—this experience that affected every human on Earth—now has a direct parallel between what people who live in the MCU had encountered, and what all of us in the real world have encountered.” As Feige states, further explaining, “It has been quite interesting, as you will see, in a number of our upcoming projects, the parallels where it will very much seem like people are talking about the COVID pandemic. Within the context of the MCU, they’re talking about the Blip.”

This phenomenon will soon be exemplified when Phase Four of the MCU is ushered in by Disney+ series WandaVision (which premieres Friday, Jan. 15), representing a radical change from the studio’s original plan to have Scarlett Johansson-starring solo feature Black Widow kick things off in May 2020. Yet, the unconventional nature of both would-be Phase Four-launchers in Black Widow (a movie centered on a character who was last seen dead in Endgame) and WandaVision (a reality-altered TV series featuring a character in Vision who was killed in Infinity War and wasn’t restored by the Blip,) seemingly reflects Feige’s ambivalence about the MCU’s next steps, since they don’t seem destined to take any major continuity-defining steps for the overall franchise. In essence, they are safe starters for a Phase that is thus-far defined by uncertain logistical variables.

Nevertheless, Feige is ready to embrace the MCU’s impending accidental pandemic poeticism in a somber, but lemonade-out-of-lemons manner, stating, “[I]t really revitalized that notion [of the Blip] in a way that made it substantive. My nervousness was it just being an event that we reference constantly between things. I wanted it to have more meaning behind it. And if that meant leaving it behind and coming up with new things, that was it. Of course, we always come up with new things as well from the comics, but the real-world connotations are shockingly and somewhat depressingly relevant now between our worlds.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Feige is obviously remaining mum on any further potential pandemic parallels as the MCU moves toward more immediately-imminent 2021 Phase Four offerings such as TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (March 19), Sony-produced Spider-Man cold spinoff movie Morbius (March 19), the aforementioned Black Widow (May 7), TV series Loki (May) and Sony movie sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage (June 25), with many more to come. Yet, the quasi-pandemic energy of a post-Blip MCU might just forge profoundly personal connections with audiences, especially as the COVID vaccines continue their distribution and the world works on finally putting this chapter in the past.

The post How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Got its Own Pandemic from the Blip appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/39kBu6t

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

0 notes

martiansubset · 6 years

Text

An Ode to Teresa

I met someone. Teresa is white with midnight black. She remains dirty, from trips down dirt roads, hunting ghosts, or heading to houses where roads say, “You’re on your own.” There are four cylinders, matching the four doors of the car, equaling five friends, enemies, or loved ones that could be in those seats. Teresa has some dirt inside, the trash kind that is, wrappers, recipes, an occasional muffin wrapper to remind me of something, I can’t remember what. It stays clean, but the mats get dirty when we hit the beach together, go down in the dirt together. The particles that collect on the mats remind me what adventure we last had, a reminder that we should do that again. Hanging on my rear view mirror, are two ceramic chickens, Beelzebub and Michael, Devil and Archangel, evil and good respectively. They twist and turn, sometimes knocking into one another when I hit a U too hard. They remind me of a long time past when the world seemed doubly expansive, when I could go absolutely anywhere and do anything. A new crack has appeared from the smallest of pebbles, likely from some sort of gravel truck. It struck with such a hard and precise blow, there was nothing I could do. Now, the crack grows and grows, going from one end to another, spreading like a virus. It’s remained dormant for now, but I know if it continues spider webbing, I won’t be able to see ahead towards the future that I know lies ahead. Needs to be fixed. Sometimes the journeys one takes can tear at you, take parts of you, change you beyond what you were before.

Smell is a powerful thing within a car. The smell of chlorine lingers during swim season within my vehicle. A sweaty person can turn any car from a clean vehicle, into a frat boy mobile. I know these smells well. The smell of New Car lingers there within the leather seats, a testament to how well kept it is, but it lingers with the scent of my old spice deodorant and the cologne I occasionally wear. The smell of the last person who sat next to me also lingers, perfume, bonfire smoke, salt of the sea, earthy tones, it’s all there. I remember Calvin Klein whispering in my ear she’ll be implored by his branded cologne, how the first time I saw her, I did my best to impress. She wore a perfume that smelled like cherry blossoms and honey, that melted me a way to a paradise where anything appeared to be possible for us.

I hear the roar of the engine as she comes to life once again. Followed by the beep beep warning me to put on my seat belt, followed by the click securing me in place, a nylon fastener is what keeps me from Death's waiting arms. The tap tap as I type my desired song into my phone. J.Cole, Kendrick, Drake, Logic, Frank Ocean, Ninja Sex Party, TWRP, The Blanks, Arctic Monkeys, RHCP, and John Mayer all flood my car’s speakers as I jam my way to school, the beach, or a home. I hear the, “I love you man,” from a friend as I take them home, an ass beating awaiting them if I didn’t. The simple, “I love you,” from someone special. I hear the steps she takes to her porch, she turns around and says, “bye,” I play it cool, nod, smile, before she can see the giddy excitement dancing on my lips. I call my parents telling them I’ll be home soon. Then, I play the song I always play for a late night drive. Frank tells me about the Pyramids, Cleo, and Nikes.

The taste, I don’t eat my car. The taste of a power bar for breakfast mingling with my minty teeth. I don’t typically eat in my car, but it was cold and rainy out, why we planned to go to the beach I don’t remember, nor do I care. In the backseat, we lay together, eating Double Doubles, hold the onions, extra spread. The pitter patter of raindrops on the hood as we lay together talking about how IN-N-OUT needs to step up their fry game. Salt and potatoes is what we taste, ketchup is unheard of. Her long hair is always in the way when we kiss.

I feel the fistbumb of a nice friend, as I play Bye Bye Bye, him opening the door to his destination. I feel the leather of my steering wheel lingering with the feeling of someone’s lips on mine, someone I feel deeply about, her hand on me. I feel the pain and as she leaves too. This time, she’s not coming back. I feel the hug of my best friend, consoling me as I heave my heart out. So many nostalgic memories here. Finally, I feel myself turning off the ignition as I arrive at my destination, the memories of rushing to school at eighty miles per hour fly by in my head. My parents tell me she’ll last long, it’s in her nature. A Toyota does, that’s what they tell me. Unlike a Volks her innerworkings aren’t foreign. She won’t run out like a dodge traveling with all six cylinders. I wonder if she’s all that reliable. Will she be there for me in my darkest hour, about to drive off a cliff into the sunset? Will she be there in the best times, when I’m with my wife as her belly is swollen as our newborn is on it’s way.

You’re probably wondering why her name is Teresa huh? Well, Teresa the Toyota of course, it’s a cute name. The biblical reference to Mother Teresa. My favorite quote of hers is, “Peace begins with a smile.” But let me tell you about the Teresa I know. There once was a boy and a girl, they met pretty early in their days and more than that. There love was real. At fourteen, they fell for each other and their love was deeper than words. They wanted to live for each other and talk about the innermost questions that hung at the back of their minds. The only thing was, they couldn’t last. The girl was very sick, until their dates went from the amusement parks, to dog parks, then to hospital waiting areas. I don’t eat in my car mostly because of the drive in movie theatres. I find popcorn under the seat and suddenly i’m that boy in love again. When her parents told me that she was passing soon, I visited her everyday. Her hair was all gone, but she still made my heart stop as I walked into room 331. Her hazel eyes looked at me with crystal clearness, still aware, still happy to see me. A pain chart on the front of her bed had been marked with a nine. I stood by her bedside, holding her hand, and hoping to whatever God there is that the doctor’s are wrong. I looked up to see her looking at me, with those soft, beautiful, eyes. She used both her hands to pull me close and parted her lips to say something deeply profound and beautifully poetic. But while she was talking, I was just trying to capture every detail of her face. Something liked water started to fall, in that hospital room. It was cold, but in their the liquid falling down my face was warm, at the funeral, the water was cold.

Teresa will always be there, to go to our next destination, together. I wish my memory wasn’t full of her, but we had a lot of memories here, both good and bad. But like all wounds, they heal and I can begin to feel whole once again. New memories are created, the crack in my windshield is no longer there, it has become clear again, my future is there ahead of me, and it’s finally time for me to take the wheel once again.

0 notes

thesoundofsimple · 6 years

Text

It took me a while to compile these. Maybe I was busy, maybe I didn’t want the closure. I’m not always so great with closure. I think it was more that i tried and failed to post this several times and it was starting to become too much work. Anyway, I’ve finished the series. This story has consumed me for the last two years. Hey, I’m not a fast reader ok - don’t you judge me. But it’s a nice thing to have something in your life like that for so long, what’s the rush. I’ve compiled a bunch of my fav moments from the book below along with some commentary on some of them. Where to begin... I read this series because of two people. Either in high school or early college my friend Matt insisted that I start reading the Gunslinger series. He was obsessed with it. I was not a king fan at the time and chalked his interest Up to the other weirdo fantasy books he would read about kings and queens and warriors and big bears and those fantasy books you would see in the bookstores with the girls with the big boobs and they are riding a wolf or something from other dimensions and such (you know the ones right?) Sometimes he’d plead with me anyway about how I was missing out. I ignored this but regardless, the seed was planted. As I was reading this, i realized how lucky i was to be able to just keep reading this series unencumbered by the wait for publication. I was never having to wait YEARS for the next book to come out, or wondering if it ever would come out. I kinda got the Netflix treatment on this, i could binge read. I had the sad realization that as obsessed as Matt was with the series, he only got through three. He died a few months before Wizard and Glass which i realize is a small tragedy in comparison to the whole "he died" part but its a tragedy nonetheless. I wish Matt could have been able to finish the series. That would have made him happy. He was a nice person and one of my best friends, I realize writing this, I miss him. The other person implicated here as getting me interested was my friend Amy. She'd been a big King fan since she was a kid. A little kid. A weird little kid according to her, reading fukin Pet Cemetery at age 11 and such. My own 11 year old would have to be committed to a mental institution if she read that book. Amy liked reading in general and I hadn't really been reading any books in a long time and I was embarrassed about that when it came to her so i tried to start reading a bit not to seem like a total degenerate. that kid had a way of making me do things that were good, things i should be doing - nice quality really. She had a way of picking out things for me that, well, I really liked. She was my taste-maker for a few years with stuff like this and I came to believe if she said i would like it, well it was a done deal because she was always right about what i'd like. That said, she was also a little self conscious sometimes about her interests. She'd go on a whole rant about something sorta esoteric and then suddenly become self aware and look embarrassed, say something like "yeah, your girl's a real weirdo, sorry" but I loved listening and learning about lots of stuff (great stuff) i just had been oblivious to. Roland and his friends were among Amy's favorite stories. So a few years later when we, well, didn't talk anymore, and I missed her... quite a lot, I started picking up some of the books she told me about. While Matt put the idea in my head to read these books, I know that the real reason i finally did was to have a tiny part of her around, a one way connection but a connection regardless (now who's the weirdo) And it was nice to be honest. I would have liked to have talked to her about these books, or just say Thankya for putting the idea in my head.

It’s amazing to me how much the world changed for King from the first book to the last. Or since Matt left. Or since Amy left. Or shall I say, the world has moved on, if it do ya. That the first book was started before I was born and before the last, Harry Potter appeared in the world of Roland. This was an almost uncomprehendingly amazing story. I cant believe it came from one brain. its staggering to me really, truly staggering. Thank you Mr. King. August 1, 2018.

—————————— My comments in bold You needn’t die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied"

“That smell of cooking meat wafting through the air was not pork.”

“sköldpadda tumbled to the red rug, bounced beneath one of the tables, and there (like a certain paper boat some of you may remember) passes out of this tale forever” Loved this reference to IT

“A man can’t pull himself up by his own bootstraps no matter how hard he tries” agreed. reflective of my continuing shift to the left of the political spectrum

“Roland nodded, which wasn’t good enough for Eddie. “Let me hear you say it.”“Hoggie.”“Hoagie.”“HOOG-gie.” Philly! “always tuned to the oldies on WCBS” my mom always had this on growing up. cousin brucie.

“Anyone who doesn’t think the imagination can kill is a fool” it can. it can make your day or ruin your life

“He leaned forward through the fragrant pipe-smoke. “Son,” he said, “tell your tale. And don’tcha skip a goddam word.”” you knew he was going to believe, i loved this.

“And she kept the secret. I was the only one she ever told.” Eddie, perhaps remembering that post-coital confidence in the dark of night, was smiling painful” keeping each other secrets... i know that painful smile while remembering

“John offered them a smile that augured well for his future as a dirty trickster: bemused on the surface, sly beneath. well, i just liked this

“Do any of us, except in our dreams, truly expect to be reunited with our hearts’ deepest loves, even when they leave us only for minutes, and on the most mundane of errands? No, not at all. Each time they go from our sight we in our secret hearts count them as dead. Having been given so much, we reason, how could we expect not to be brought as low as Lucifer for the staggering presumption of our love?” and sometimes, they leave, and indeed, are gone. “and so will the world end, I think, a victim of love rather than hate. For love’s ever been the more destructive weapon, sure.” aye

“To a wide-eyed lad, the tacky tricks of the world’s most ham-fisted prestidigitator look like miracles. ”

“Steek-Tete in Thunder-clap, thinking just briefly of Mr. C. S. Lewis, and the wonderful wardrobe that took you to Narnia. They did not come out in Narnia.”

“What do you know about what it’s like to spend your whole life on the outside, to be the butt of the joke every time, to always be Carrie at the fuckin prom?”

“It was a simple and perfect bit of wordless communication, the sort people who love each other take for granted.”

“My grandfather had a proverb,” Pimli said. “‘You don’t worry about dropping the eggs until you’re almost home.’” “Was it Emily Dickinson who called hope the thing with feathers? I can’t remember” had a friend, she liked this one.

“Because the only thing talent wants is to be used.””

“Yet he is content enough. The food is good, and although his sexual appetites have subsided quite a bit over the years, he’s not a bit averse to the odd bonk, just reminding himself”“very time that sim sex is really nothing but accessorized masturbation” I cant help but think this is my future. at least it will be accessorized!

If there’s any movie the Breakers never get enough of, it’s Star Wars.” was this a dig a starwars? “Roland smiled. “A man who can’t bear to share his habits is a man who needs to quit them.” “Yet still I love you and would serve you and even bring the magic again, if you would allow me, for that is how my heart was cast when I rose from the Prim”

“Even if the torture stops, I’ll die. And you’ll die too, for when love leaves the world, all hearts are still. Tell them of my love and tell them of my pain and tell them of my hope, which still lives.”

“Nerves, he thought, were for people who still hadn’t entirely made up their minds.”

“the rest of the tale will be short and brutal compared to all that’s gone before. Because when katet breaks the end always comes quickly.Say sorry” = king does this thing where he makes a statement like this and you start worrying and reading faster and faster “All is forgotten in the stone halls of the dead. These are the rooms of ruin where the spiders spin and the great circuits fall quiet, one by one”

“He used to tell me that never’s the word God listens for when he needs a laugh.”” “Hush,” he whispered, and she did. The hand caught in her hair pulled. She brought her face to his willingly and kissed his living lips one last time. “I . . . will . . . wait for you,” he said, forcing each word out with immense effort.”

“I probably know more about D-cups than D-lines, and I think that’s true of everyone here” i take the D line home, D cups are more fun.

“on order from Viking Motors (“The Boys with the Toys”) in Oxford himself.” i think i stopped into this store last fall

“It was also a stick shift, and she had never driven one of those.”

“Roland and Jake were now bracing their hands against the dusty metal dashboard, where a faded sticker proclaimed AMERICA! LOVE IT OR LEAVE! in red white and blue” was once in a bar in south boston and they have this big sign up that says this. i agreed at the time 15 years ago, now i realize it’s against everything i believe in

“You’re in one hell of a hurry, mister—like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. What very important date are you almost too late for?” I believe this is what is known as The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon

“Despite his sorrow, there were no tears yet; his eyes felt like hot stones in his head. Perhaps the tears would come later, when the truth of what had happened here had a chance to sink in a little”

“He knelt a moment longer with his hands clasped between his knees, thinking he had not understood the true power of sorrow, nor the pain of regret, until this moment.I cannot bear to let him go.”

“It’s what we call poetic license, Roland.”He nodded, showing unexpected (to her, at least) understanding. “Pretty lies,” he said” =pretty lies, i liked that

“If she had trimmed her bush, maybe she would have taken them off. If she’d known, getting up that morning“

“You wouldn’t dump me without at least . . .” She shrugged one shoulder. The gesture made her look very young. “Without at least saying goodbye?”

“The George Washington,” Marian Carver said. “Or just the GWB, if you’re a native.” i used to listen to the traffic reports as a kid and know all these abbreviations, GWB, BQE, LIE, etc

That man had some hard bark on him

“He opened it and slipped inside with no look back. That, he had found, was ever the easiest way.”

“There were photographs of Eddie and Jake in the folders that were simply too painful to look at. Memories were better.” “nothing so glamorous, just a retreaded adman from upstate New York”

“Then she screamed. There were no words in it, nor could there have been. Our greatest moments of triumph are always inarticulate.”

“Because the body had a way of forgetting the worst things, she supposed, and without the body’s cooperation, all the brain had were memories like faded snapshots.”

“Good boys go to heaven, and all my friends be in t’other place, toastin marshmallows”

“It felt strange to laugh, but it was a good feeling, like finding something of value long after you were sure it was lost forever.” this resonated with me

“Oy had decided to live. It was a small thing, but it was a good thing.” It was a good choice. it always is. no matter what.

“not Sheemie, he’s gone into the clearing at the end of the path, say sorry” thought sheemie deserved a better more dramatic end. “After today she’d see him no more. And that was for the best. Still, she would have given anything in her life to have him make love to her again. You could stay at the apartment for a couple of days and rest up,” she said. “I’d stay with you.” And fuck thy brains out, do it please ya, she thought” sex with an ex? yes please.

““Bet your bottom dollar,” Roland answered”“and was sorry immediately. He’d learned the phrase from Eddie, and saying it hurt.” has this happened to me, using a phases of a departed only to find is satisfying but satisfying at the same time? i think so...

“In the dark, such visions had a horrible persuasiveness, but luckily she was too tired for them to keep her awake long.”

““It hasn’t been a bad life,” Joe was saying. “Not the life I expected, not by any manner or means, but I got a theory—the folks who end up living the lives they expected are more often than not the ones who end up takin sleepin pills or sticking the barrel of a gun in their mouths and pullin the trigger.”

“Laughter, Susannah would reflect later, is like a hurricane: once it reaches a certain point, it becomes self-feeding, self-supporting. You laugh not because the jokes are funny but because your own condition is funny.”

“But what Roland and Susannah and Patrick heard in a major key, Mordred heard in a minor” i liked this. i have this really really smart friend but he cant understand the difference between major and minor even when i played him some stuff in piano, hes like “i dont get it”

“Beneath a picture of Roland in profile, he had printed: BEATLES, not Beetles.” WOW i never NEVER realized this! im in IDIOT

“She wondered why everything had to be so damn hard, so damn”“riddle-de-dum) mysterious, and knew that was a question to which she would never find a satisfactory answer . . . except it was the human condition, wasn’t it? The answers that mattered never came easily.”

“where she’d learned the art of murder and fallen in love and been left bereaved?”

1. “More important than that, it was unworthy of how much he had come to love and respect her. It broke what remained of his heart to think of bidding her goodbye, but if it was what she wanted, what she needed, then he must do it.

2. “No,” said he, and she saw he truly was not. She believed she had never seen such sadness and such loneliness on a human face. “Never” 3. “For a moment she thought he would make it easy on her, just agree and let her go. Then his anger—no, his despair—broke in a painful burst. “But you can’t be sure! ” 4. “She took him by the arm and pulled him down and put her lips on his. When she inhaled, she took in the breath of a thousand years and ten thousand miles. And yes, she tasted death.” 5. “He put his face in his hands. It occurred to him that if he had never loved them, he would never have felt so alone as this. Yet of all his many regrets, the re-opening of his heart was not among them, even now. She had brought grace to his life. It wasn’t a word that had occurred to him until she was gone.” this whole section where suzanne leaves roland was kinda hard for me to read, a little to close to home. even tho they were just friends, it was very familiar.

“A hard rain made for queer bedfellows at the inn; had Roland never heard that saying?”

“Or what if he does know her, somewhere far back in his mind, yet still denies her as completely as Peter denied Jesus, because remembering is just too hurtful?”

“She tosses Roland’s revolver into this litter barrel. Doing it hurts her heart, but she never hesitates.” id never be able to do this.

“His touch is electric, and she sees that he feels it, too. It occurs to her that he is going to kiss her again for the first time, and sleep with her again for the first time, and fall in love with her again for the first time. He may know those things because voices have told him, but she knows them for a far better reason: because those things have”“already happened. Ka is a wheel, Roland said, and now she knows it’s true. This was a sweet part of the book. Reminded me of a lyric “i get the joy of rediscovering you...”

“And will I tell you that these three lived happily ever after? I will not, for no one ever does. But there was happiness.”

“One taste of the old times sets all to rights”

“All right. I go. Long days and pleasant nights. May we meet in the clearing at the end of the path when all worlds end.” Thank you.

0 notes

classicfilmfreak · 7 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://www.classicfilmfreak.com/2017/08/10/big-sleep-1946-starring-humphrey-bogart-lauren-bacall/

The Big Sleep (1946) starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

“Let me do the talking, angel. I don’t know yet what I’m going to tell them. It’ll be pretty close to the truth.”-Philip Marlowe

Seven bodies! At least that’s the rumored total in Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep. When William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett were working on the film’s screenplay and couldn’t discern who had murdered one character, they called the author. Chandler told them his identity was in the book, to read it. After checking his own novel, Chandler called back sometime later and told the writers that he didn’t know, that they could designate the killer as they liked.

The two screenwriters, even with the talents of a third, Jules Furthman, remained confused by the already confusing first novel of Chandler, and generally retained that murkiness, which might be one of the film’s charms. The Big Sleep is the best of the few detective films Warner Bros. made after The Maltese Falcon during the 1940s. If not plot, then, the big pluses include the tight direction of Howard Hawks, the sharp-edged dialogue—there’s a lot of talking—and the romantic repartee between its two stars, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Despite Bacall’s come-hither, deep-voiced overtures to her leading man, anyone who has seen the first scene will be astounded by the schoolgirl teasings, no less provocative, of Martha Vickers as a precocious nymph, Bacall’s sister in the film, and wonder why she’s not seen more.

In fact, Vickers’ sexy chemistry was so threatening to the studio’s new discovery—this only Bacall’s fourth film after her sensational début in To Have and Have Not (1944)—that most of the younger (by about eight months) star’s scenes were cut. A major overhaul of Bacall’s part by the studio and director ensued, with reshoots, new scenes and added sexual innuendos between her and Bogart.

Filming was further complicated by the tension of Bogart’s impending divorce from his third wife and the affair he was conducting on the set with Bacall. Rumor had it that Bacall was so nervous over the divorce, and, from some sources, that the actor was still debating whether to proceed with the divorce, that during filming her hands shook when she poured a drink or lighted a cigarette.

Bacall had written in her autobiography, By Myself, that, despite the anxiety over the divorce, much fun was had on the set, which prompted a cautionary memo from studio head Jack L. Warner. And when the most famous of the screenwriters, William Faulkner, author of The Sound and the Fury and other stories of the South, asked Hawks if he could write “from home,” since the studio atmosphere unnerved him, Hawks okayed the request, assuming the writer meant his office at the studio. The director was quite displeased when he learned that Faulkner was writing from“home” all right—in Oxford, Mississippi.

Some brave souls have tried to condense the impenetrable plot into a nutshell, though, at best, it’s of minimum importance. Let’s see, how does it go, or appears to go. . . .

Private detective Philip Marlowe (Bogart) visits a decaying old man, General Sternwood (Charles Waldron, who died before the film was released), who sits, wheelchair-bound, shawl-enshrouded, in his putrefying greenhouse. (In the 1978 remake, James Stewart’s portrayal of the role seems more a copy of Waldron’s performance than any original approach of his own.) The dialogue in this one scene, and coming so early in the film, can be seen as setting the ethical tone of the movie and the nature of the characters, the private eye included.

The General says to Marlowe:

“You may smoke, too. I can still enjoy the smell of it. Hum, nice state of affairs when a man has to indulge his vices by proxy. You’re looking, sir, at a very dull survival of a very gaudy life—crippled, paralyzed in both legs, barely I eat and my sleep is so near waking it’s hardly worth the name. I seem to exist largely on heat, like a newborn spider.”

He tells Marlowe that he’s being blackmailed, again, and asks him to check on the gambling debts his younger daughter, Carmen (Vickers), owes to a book dealer named Geiger (Theodore von Eltz). (Carmen is a nymphomaniac in Chandler’s novel, but the Hollywood censors would permit no more than what is seen; any inferences otherwise must be the viewer’s own.)

As Marlowe is leaving, the butler (Charles D. Brown) tells him Mrs. Vivian Rutledge (Bacall) would like to see him. In trying to feel him out, she confides that she believes her father has asked him to search for his friend Sean Regan, who has been missing for a month.

Next scene, Marlowe visits Geiger’s rare bookstore (a source for pornography in Chandler’s novel). With the front of his hat turned up, he assumes a clipped speech and eccentric manner, asking for specific editions of two books. The proprietor (Sonia Darrin) says she doesn’t have them.

He then goes across the street to another book store run by a proprietress (Dorothy Malone) who comes on to Marlowe, and he to her. He asks her for the same editions of the books and she rightly tells him there are none. “The girl in Geiger’s bookstore,” he says, “didn’t know that.”

He asks her if she knows Geiger on sight, she describes him down to his glass eye and he requests she let him know when he comes out of the bookstore. (The three-and-a-half-minute scene is one of the best in the film, and, interesting, like Marlowe’s scene with Sternwood, it exudes rapport and chemistry without Bacall.)

When Geiger does emerge, Marlowe follows him to a house. Hearing a woman’s scream and a gunshot, he enters to find a dead Geiger, a drugged Carmen and a hidden camera, without any film. After taking Carmen home, he returns to the house, only to find . . . the body is gone.

It’s just the beginning, and from here on it’s nothing but a convoluted, indecipherable mess, first and most prominent, murder, then gambling, blackmail, car chases (not the apoplectic ones of today), love triangles, red herrings, organized crime, subtle suggestions of pornography and general mayhem.

Although no threat to the overwhelming charisma between Bogart and Bacall, the dialogue has its own fascination, often poetic and occasionally unforgettable, however “written” it may sometimes sound. This is true of General Sternwood’s lines in his one scene and in some of Marlowe’s, particularly this retort during his first scene with Vivian, when she says she deplores his manners:

“And I’m not crazy about yours. I didn’t ask to see you. I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. I don’t like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long, winter evenings. I don’t mind you ritzing me or drinking your lunch out of a bottle, but don’t waste your time trying to cross-examine me.”

These lines, some given at a fast, breathless pace, are reminiscent of a Bogart scene in The Maltese Falcon—the address to the district attorney about “the only chance I’ve got of catching them [the murderers], and tying them up, and bringing them in, is by staying as far away as possible from you and the police . . . ”

The most famous dialogue exchange, with its sexual innuendos, is between Bogart and Bacall, sitting across from each other at a nightclub table:

“Speaking of horses,” she says, “I like to play them myself. But I like to see them work out a little first, see if they’re front runners or come from behind, find out what their hole card is, what makes them run. . . . I’d say you don’t like to be rated. You like to get out in front, open up a little lead, take a little breather in the backstretch and then come home free.”

“You don’t like to be rated yourself,” he says.

“I haven’t met any one yet who can do it. Any suggestions?”

“Well, I can’t tell till I’ve seen you over a distance of ground. You’ve got a touch of class, but I don’t know how far you can go.”

“A lot depends on who’s in the saddle.”

This scene doesn’t need, and doesn’t receive, any underpinning music. Max Steiner’s musical score is one of his more problematic, containing both the strong and weak points of his style. The main title is something of a nondescript blur, noisy and tuneless, serving, if nothing else, as a foretaste of the impervious plot and unsavory characters.

In the insouciant motif for Philip Marlowe, Steiner captures the detective’s sluggish, yet quixotic nature, which serves to brighten the predominantly dark music. The slowly ascending notes at the start of the main love theme suggest, perhaps—assuming Steiner’s thinking was this nuanced—the hostile beginning of Marlowe and Vivian’s relationship, the rest of the theme infused with a kind of smothered passion their love would become by the end.

In scoring for two similar settings, it is interesting to compare the disparate approaches to the greenhouse scene, with all its tropical trees and ferns, and Violet Venable’s (Katharine Hepburn) jungle garden in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). For whatever the reason, Steiner elects to ignore representing the humid atmosphere General Sternwood has prepared for his orchids, while composers Malcolm Arnold and Buxton Orr convey almost breathable damp and mildew for Violet’s steamy surroundings.

The Big Sleep is a film where everyone except General Sternwood—perhaps he, too, if he had another scene—carries a gun, and when guns are unavailable, then fists do quite well. With the moral slant of the film, that is, with less than admirable characters and their ugly motives, it’s hard to like any of them.

Truth is, you’re not supposed to like the characters in a film noir, sympathize with them maybe.. But the actors you can like. It’s hard not to like Bogart and Bacall—not as accomplished actors, but as personalities of the screen, as stars were viewed in the ’30s and ’40. Then movie-goers didn’t go to see Philip Marlowe or Vivian Rutledge, not that any one coming out of the theater would remember her last name; they went to see Bogart and Bacall.

Bogart, like Cagney and Flynn, is a personality, a man who always, or generally always, plays himself. Bacall, who still hadn’t learned to act at the time of The Big Sleep, would have been easily overshadowed by Vickers had her original scenes been left intact, and Dorothy Malone has all the charisma and magic of Bacall, just another kind of charm.

Bosley Crowther, one of the most famous movie critics of the 1940s, warned in his New York Times review of August 24, 1946, that the film would be confusing and unsatisfying. And apparently in all sincerity, he asked, “[W]ould somebody also tell us the meaning of that title . . . ” Why, it’s what seems obvious, that which at least seven of the characters in The Big Sleep experienced . . . DEATH.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-K49CUaeto

#Howard Hawks #Humphrey Bogart #Lauren Bacall

0 notes