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stenka-razin · 1 year

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Generations is bad though. Like it’s not so much of a movie as it is a movie that has a bunch of loose ends grafted onto it. And the core movie isn’t very great. Thematically Kirk didn’t need to come back of course, but this movie actively hurts his character arc from the previous films. Those were all about him rediscovering what he loved about exploration (and for us the audience, rediscovering what we love about the show). Here he seems to regret his whole career and the missed life he could have had with... lady we never meet.

Malcolm McDowell (forgot his character) is a weak villain. His cutting marks to Picard are really just coincidences. He doesn’t know shit about Picard so when he says “Time is a fire in which we all burn” to Picard (whose nephew burnt to death off screen which btw wtf it’s so horrific but the way it’s just mentioned is kind of hilarious) it’s more akin to saying “well I should kill myself lmao” to a casual acquaintance then learning their brother just committed suicide last month. It’s more of a faux pas than villainy. As for his core conceit... he doesn’t want to die? Like that’s Malcolm McDowell’s whole motivation. It’s relatable I guess, but I mean, like, tough shit? No reason to destroy planets and shit.

Most of the remaining cast is wasted. Data finishes an arc introduced by the show and is annoying. That’s the closest to a b-plot. Meanwhile Guinan has more to do than the rest of the regulars (except Geordie who gets to be tortured to set up an action set piece). I honestly can’t remember anything Crusher does besides getting pushed into water.

Oh also also also. The climax is stupid. They need to stop McDowell from blowing up a planet and throwing them into the Nexus. But when you’re in the Nexus you can exit the Nexus to any point in time? So if they fail... they can just leave the Nexus and try again. And if they fail... they can just leave the Nexus and try again. And if they fail....

Oh also it’s BORING. Like the third act is over 40 minutes long and most of that is Kirk and Picard’s cabin vacation. These two? No chemistry. Just putzing around until the final action set piece which is famously anti-climactic.

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Insurrection is bad though. Like it’s a solid first draft of a script that rather than work out some inconsistencies to, they just through in a bunch of kid friendly scenes and action schlock to keep asses in seats. Like Federation doing something unethical for their own benefit, forcing the gang to rise up? Great idea. In fact it’s stuff Star Trek trades in on the reg. But here it’s so hackneyed, because they go out of their way not to have stakes. 600 Baku are being forcibly removed to save BILLIONS of lives. That’s BILLIONS plural. And here’s the kicker which drives me insane. Yeah, forcing people off their land is wrong and you can’t ends justify the means that. BUT. No one in the film just asks the Baku to leave. Because if they did and the Baku said no... that kind of makes the Baku look like the biggest dicks in the galaxy, right? And let’s be equally clear. This is not some ancestral homeland of the Baku. They migrated here within the lifetime of a living generation. And if they really wouldn’t want to share their entire PLANET to save the lives of BILLIONS, they’re assholes. And if they say yes... no movie. It’s a bad script.

Data is once again terrible here, though it’s the storyline more so than Spiner’s acting. This is the kind of dumb kiddie fair that I’m pretty sure kids never liked. “Don’t forget to play!” is so dumb, especially considering its coming from what is essentially a space Amish. And like, this plotline develops after the kid witnesses his family screaming as their abducted. Like if I just ran for my life and have no idea if my family is safe I am not investing time in teaching the Tin Man hide and seak.

Picard’s romance plot... like ok. So your polling shows audiences like romance subplots so you gotta do one I guess. Fine. Didn’t need to happen but let’s accept it. Here’s what drives me nuts though. The crux of this is the adage that “one perfect moment can last a life time” which kind of runs counter to the fact that the Baku are hogging life extending magic to themselves at the expense of BILLIONS of people (like the villain in generations!). But even accepting this adage is true...it makes no sense in the film when it becomes explicitly literal. Lady survives a life threatening wound because she’s so hot for Jean-Luc that time slows down and she doesn’t bleed out?????????? The fuck????

Oh you know what else sucks. This would have been a perfect opportunity to actually use the supporting cast. Make them fight over whether or not it really is worth abandoning the (600) Baku to save BILLIONS of lives. It could get pretty heated and personal. As long as we’re insurrecting, let’s insurrect against characters we care about rather than Admirals we don’t give two shits about. But nah, we get boobs firming up and Klingon pimples. But I’m not even gonna lie, I actually love the Gilbert and Sullivan scene. Especially when Picard acts like Worf is the biggest idiot alive for not knowing two relatively popular composers from another planet that are 5+ centuries dead.

#star trek #a very very long TNG post

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touchmycoat · 2 years

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Are there any media or books that do good whump? I know you said you were not satisfied with the level in 成化。I feel spoiled by fanfic, especially if the whump cones with plenty of comfort, since pro media doesn't spend much time on comfort. Are there any novels or dramas that you think does a good job of whump?

oh boy yeah, I keep the last arc of 無雙 open in a phone tab for easy access at any moment specifically for whump food lmfao. I know what you mean, fic does such a phenomenal job of really indulging in both sides of the h/c. Yeah my primary complaint with 成化 was that it 1) didn't have enough whump, but 2) for the whump it did have it never leaned into it in a satisfying enough way.

But Peerless does!!! And Thousand Autumns for sure. The stabbing scene in Peerless is also really fucking good (with the escape-from-the-cave followup), so is the FX-tries-to-White-Fang-CBQ arm breaking scene. Thousand Autumns' whump is more specifically flavored with rapey vibes which I also appreciate a lot lmao. I know I reread the Mu Tipo bit, the Yu Ai reunion bit, the [REDACTED] bit, and all the noncon kissing a lot. All these specifically felt like Meng Xi Shi handfeeding me good food and winking, ykwim?

Along those lines, SQ's VA in the Thousand Autumns audio drama famously got lightheaded at the end of filming every day for the first good bit because he had to do so much breathless panting and noises of pain. So I highly recommend that too lmfao.

水千丞 is pretty famous for having 渣攻 characters, if you're into the emotional "he's into me but he's a dick to me" whump. I gave 娘娘腔 a try once upon a time but it wasn't really my thing. My mom recommends it tho!

OH OH OH NOT A DANMEI REC but one of my fav whumpy female lead romance hijinks novels is 桃花折江山 by 白鷺成雙. It's hot and sexy and I cried at the end. Novel begins with MC realizing ML is trying to kill her and it's about how she repeatedly survives his attempts by figuring out all the political impetus behind them and resolving it. 春日宴 is another really good novel by the same author, also whumpy and hilarious in the same way. 桃花折江山 is conniving man falls for clever woman, 春日宴 is grumpy babyboy has misunderstood his sexy indulgent jiejie this whole time. There is also ofc 春閨夢裏人 with its I'm-supposed-to-hate-you-but-you're-so-politically-savvy-and-capable-that-you've-become-the-only-one-I-trust-to-survive-my-love story. Also whump, but a lot more of it is the MC bearing it herself (though husband does try to repent for this for the entire last arc). Choose your fighter.

薄霧 has arcs that are whumpier than others (the world-falling-apart-running-on-the-train bit and the rubik's cube puzzle come to mind) bc the MC's got a special ability that pains him.

劍名不奈何 also definitely has a 好可憐的男主啊 plot, plenty of physical and emotional whump, and canon comfort!! (funny enough, I think canon kind of went to excess on the comfort, where it kind of felt like the MC just stopped doing anything after the ML realized the extent of MC's hurt. But it's still a good read!)

I NEARLY FORGOT 天涯客 but ig it's pretty well-known now 'cause of WOH. I reread the Puppet Manor scene where they sleep in the same bed and WKX realizes for the first time just how punishing nights are for ZZS. But also it has my favorite vibe when it comes to whumpees. My favorite passage:

那日周子舒在溫客行懷裡縮了半宿，以至於溫客行第二日都有些誠惶誠恐——他知道身上有傷肯定要受罪，卻不知道要受這麼大的罪，這一心疼起來，便將周子舒當成個瓷人似的，再不敢動手動腳地跟他瞎鬧了。

可誰知他誠惶誠恐地觀察了兩天，發現這周瓷人簡直沒心沒肺到了一定的境界，是個記吃不記打的，每天破曉，疼勁過去了，他就也好像撂爪就忘一般，該打趣打趣，該罵娘罵娘，洗把臉便能洗去一臉憔悴，早飯的時候繼續下箸如飛神采奕奕，絲毫不客氣，發揮完全正常。

心裡就明白，有些人天生不是嬌貴的命，憐惜他還不如去憐惜頭豬，真是浪費感情。

My coworker sent me this thread for physical whump reference hahahah. There's a handful of recs on there too.

#unfortunately i don't really watch dramas so i can't rec those TTTTT #these are the only books i've...read #kdsjfnkjsdf #long post #hope this helps....!!! and you haven't already read all of them lmfao #anon #danmei #chinese novels

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fallindomino · 3 years

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how i would have changed s2 of hsmtmts

obvious disclaimer but im not a screenwriter or anyth so im not claiming what i want is best, this is just for fun lololol

okay so first of all nini would still have dropped out of yac but she wouldn’t have gone back to east, she would have transferred to north bc she was too ashamed to tell anyone she left at first and maybe she still wants to explore who she is away from ricky and the others

nini could join north’s batb and this way maybe we could have some playful rivalry with lily and nini and more scenes with antoine shdhdjdj also it could have been a great opportunity to flesh out lily’s character so those scenes where she reaches out to ricky and her confession at the end of the season actually make sense lol

speaking of ricky ,,, i think he should have left the play at some point hear me out. he only joined in the first place because of nini and barely wanted to do it at all once he realized he wasn’t gonna be able to perform with her. he could have joined crew and been a manager with natalie or smth considering he rlly does see the theater gang as a second family. also this would leave so much room for ej and ricky development and bants since ej joined the av club and began to pursue film. they could have some convos where idk ricky asks ej how he figured out what he wanted to do after duke didn’t work out and ricky could actually develop some interests that arent the play or nini ,,, maybe fucking art club i mean he did p good on that centerpiece for carlos’ quinceañera.

with ricky not being the beast anymore i think seb should take his place that would be soooo good. and since seb isn’t chip anymore carlos won’t make those snide comments about chip being a small unimportant role and we can just cut that whole fight bc it was dumb and bad. we could still have seb being insecure that carlos is only dating him bc there aren’t really any other gay guys at school. in a heartbeat is great and i did like ricky being supportive in the background it was kinda funny too idk dhdjdjfj

ooh i almost forgot abt rini ahshdj okay so i still think they should break up. but in my version there’s no ricky pulling an ej 1.0 and deleting comments off of nini’s insta, cause with ricky in art club and nini at north trying to figure out what she wants i think one of them would realize that they’re going in different directions and only got back tgt because they made each other feel safe cause what they had was familiar. this could be triggered by ricky mentioning smth abt nini at yac and then nini breaks down and tells him that she dropped out and is at north and doesn’t know where she’s going. and then they can both realize they aren’t good for each other rn and have a less tragic mutual break up.

honestly i really liked the scene of nini taking charge after miss jenn freaked out cause with the character detail of nini giving every person in the cast of productions she’s in a thank you note she just seems really like someone who is suited to lifting others up. this could still be explored at north, maybe she could help lily through her issues that were briefly implied in ep 11 and nini realizes she wants to be a drama teacher and encourage kids to go off book and put themselves into their acting, something she couldn’t have at yac.

okay now ej ,,, so like i said in ricky’s section, more bants between them cause i feel like friendships kinda fell by the wayside due to all the relationships so more friendship !!!! also the scene where ej tells his dad he’s not going to duke shouldn’t have been an ending scene, it should have been fleshed out with his dad pushing back saying how he pulled all these strings to get him in and ej saying he doesn’t wanna go if his own hard work couldn’t get him there. and also more scenes of ej doing av club things !!! and realizing he rlly likes film and wants to do it OMG IT WOULD BE SO COOL IF HE BROKE THE FOURTH WALL AND ASKED THE DOCUMENTARY CREW ABT THE FILM INDUSTRY god i would love that. the only scene we rlly got of ej doing film things was at the quinceañera which made me kinda sad. uhhh also i just wanted to specifically mention how ej got mr mazzara that job at cal tech bc it really showed how he wanted to be there for people not just for gina, who he had a crush on, but for mr mazzara who supported him outside of romance, so i wanna keep that for sure.

gina !!! okay so i mostly liked her arc in this season, the only changes i would make would be to flesh it out a teeny bit (god this hypothetical s2 would have to be like 22 eps at least shdjdjdjfj) anyways besides ashlyn singing home to get gina to stay i think there should be a scene where they actually talk in her room abt how gina feels safer when shes on the run (second chance reference ilysm) hhhh and also a scene of her and carlos actually working out compromises for their choreo cause i liked that bit of development too and fleshing that out would make gina an even better foil for lily, who felt a need to hog the spotlight like gina used to. with gina’s own arc fleshed out her character would feel more whole independently from romance and portwell would be even more rewarding than it is in the current s2. the only thing i would really change abt portwell is that they would kiss !!! in the finale but thats bc im biased.

ashlyn should have gotten a more fleshed out storyline about being insecure about not being a good enough belle or the typical belle. there were some throwaway lines when north did their typical dramatics but the only two real scenes that showed it were when ash talked to big red about it and when she was telling nini she wanted to do a run in “home” bc lily did it. ashlyn should get more screen time where she has to grapple with the reasons she doesn’t feel good enough and big red can still support her but also gina too bc i would like more roommate besties interaction.

kourtney could still date howie, that harry potter shit was cute but there needs to be smth else for kourtney’s arc. idk she’s still into fashion so maybe she could be out here trying to create her own line or smth? this doesn’t have to be resolved in s2 like making a wholeass line takes time and she could work on it into a potential s3. kourtney just didnt get much outside of howie and the stuff at the beginning of the season where she said nini inspired her to be independent and that's why she got a job was just dropped?? so i think that fashion could fill that for her if she’s still dating howie cause like having her whole arc just be the pizza place kinda overlaps w big red’s mini arc abt how he wasn’t settling for hospitality, its what he wants to do with his life.

ik what ur thinking. anna, even if you added more episodes, where would u find the room to add all these plotlines?? well first we cut (most of) the seblos fight, so thats some time saved. honestly most of the time that we r going to gain is going to be from cutting ms jenn’s time. things like ms jenn’s and nini’s car ride would get cut, but mostly all of ms jenn’s romances would get cut down. considering she’s the teacher and isn’t actually a character with an arc how does she have THREE love interests this season?? like all of the weird tension between her and zack can be cut, like just some short scenes of them being competitive can stay. all of the stuff with ricky’s dad can go bye bye we don’t need it. i did like her w mr mazzara so most of that can stay i just didn’t like how he said he would give up cal tech for her, ew no that would be gone.

the MENKIES !!!! this is the last thing im gonna address cause in a perfect world every character would get a long fleshed out arc but then the season would be waaay too long and also im mostly trying to work within material the show gave so this is mostly made up of “realistic” deviations from what actually happened. lol idk what that even means it just makes sense to me. but anyways!! uhhh bro idk i thought them dropping the menkies was funny but it also made the finale really BAD lmao. in this finale, seb is the beast, east still had to deal w the fact that they’re underfunded compared to north but no one is injured, lily is less of a poorly written character and maybe ppl are even rooting for her, and wow i just realized i never actually said what role i think nini should have in north’s show. OOH she could be student director instead of lily cause lily both being in the play while also directing was weird considering omg i just checked and according to her wiki page shes a FRESHMAN?? and they let her be student director? lol hell nah. okay so with all that in mind ,,, the menkies should have been the season cliffhanger instead of portwell. east and north should both be nominated, both schools perform at the menkies, and then the award winner is about to be announced and THATS when it cuts to natalie and the end of the season.

one, this actually gives more tension for a summer s3 as we would be waiting to see the consequences of whichever school won. also i bet people would be wondering if nini’s gonna be transferring back to east or staying at north. people would also prob wonder if ej would be getting the scholarship if east won and what that would mean for his interest in film.

lmao that got longggg and idk if anyone’s even gonna read this but it was fun to do :D

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masqueradeball · 3 years

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How about number 3? Like, tell us all about it if you want :)

Oh my gosh 🥺 thank you so much for giving me my first ask! 💖 I'm eternally grateful I get to spill all my pheels out.

3. What is my favorite Phantom tv/film adaptation?

My absolute favorite Phantom is the 1925 Lon Chaney silent film. He just embodies everything that I like about Gaston Leroux's Erik for me and he is both horrifying and pitiable. I dislike the ending but I can live with it given it's what test audiences wanted at the time. I truly love his Red Death costume. You can find it on Youtube and the Tubi app for free.

My first runner up would be Claude Raines in the 1943 because his Erique so soft and tragic in that film I cannot help but love him. This was one was my grandma's favorite 'classic monster' movies that she loved, so I have a special place in my heart for this one. I love his hair and appreciate that he was one fine silver fox before the revenge and jealousy issues set in. The opera parts are a little boring, but the costumes and the sassy diva rival to Christine are worth the watch. We get 2 handsome Raouls who end up going to dinner together at the end of the movie and a Christine who gets to bask in the limelight of her career while not choosing any suitor, which is the best possible outcome for her. Double play for the win in my book! You can watch it for free on the Peacock app.

My next runner up is a 3 way tie between Robert Englund, Gerard Butler, and Charles Dance.

I honestly enjoy all their performances because they each bring something unique to the role.

I cannot stress enough how violent the Robert Englund version is if you want to give it a go, but Erik Destler is insane, twisted, and fabulously murdertastic in this. I love the creepy, evil vibes the man gives off. Think of this film as a time travel AU of the original novel. I feel like he nailed Leroux Erik's darker, snarky personality that some people tend to forget he had and the gothic horror parts of the original novel are there. Bonus: they keep the Faust parallels like in the novel!

I'm gonna say it: I love the Charles Dance miniseries. I know it's not the best, but damn, he is so dry and sarcastic I cannot help but enjoy his performance. I want to pinch his cheeks and smother Cherik with the love his father never gave him everytime I see him. Again, this one focuses on the operas a lot, and for me it's a bit boring. But the backgrounds, settings, and props in this thing are fantastic and the costumes are wonderful too.

That leaves Gerard Butler in the 2004 movie. No he is not the world's greatest singing Phantom, but I don't care. I absolutely love his facial expressions and body language. The Phantom is an emotional, expressive dude and the Red Death costume scene is pretty good. I love how kind and sincere Emmy feels in this film and I appreciate she's not overracting and doesn't feel fake compared to some other Christines *coughSierracough* Being the film version of the ALW musical, this Phantom story focuses on the romance and Gerard excels at that. When he and Christine are singing Past the Point of no Return, I FEEL THEIR PASSION! And that's what counts more so than hitting the same notes we've all heard a million times before.

Now for the versions in the 'I will eternally like this' category 😊 :

The Phantom of the Paradise from 1974. This is also a very violent and dark film so fair warning if you haven't seen it. It's a bizarre rock musical, but if you're weird like me and enjoy Rock & Rule or the Rocky Horror Picture Show, this might be a film you'd like too. I don't want to spoil it too much but the Faust/devil parallels are here too, as is various pop culture references. His teeth and mask are terrifyingly cool, and so is the electronic voice box he uses. It makes sense Daft Punk was inspired by this film. Maybe G1 Soundwave was inspired by this film too, but that's a debate for another day 😉

Next is the animated 1988 film. This one features animation on par with other 80s tv cartoons of the time. I love that they kept the Persian and the torture chamber from the novel. The Phantom's death scene is pretty damn epic. Christine is kind of a flake, but animated Leroux Erik is hilariously insane and terribly charming, especially when he calls himself a Don Juan. It's worth watching just for his antics and his dialouge.

You might not expect a Goosebumps episode to do a Phantom story any justice, but here we are: 1995, The Phantom of the Auditorium is a spooky fun take on the story and honestly, I'd like to see the full play the kids at that school are putting on cause it looks better than some of the live Phantom stage scenes I've seen. Both young boys playing the Phantom are fantastic actors and the plot twist at the end is great.

I absolutely have to give a shout out to Wishbone's Pantin at the Opera. He is the best, cutest, most adorable Raoul de Chagney ever and I will fight you if you dare talk smack about this version. I'm not even a Raoul stan by any means but like, this dog is precious and I enjoy this episode so much.

Also in the animated category and cute dog category is Scooby Doo Stage Fright made back in 2013. This movie is one of my fave Scooby Doo films (yes I own almost all of them on dvd) and there are multiple Phantoms, a reality tv show contest, and Fred and Daphne finally kiss each other! Lots and lots of hidden Phantom references in the background and lots of voice acting talent for those of us who appreciate that.

Now for the versions I intensely dislike 😏

The 1962 Herbert Lom version. UGH where to start. The sets are so small and everything looks dirty and of the wrong time period. The color in the film looks washed out. The clothes look too modern somehow (maybe it's their hairstyles?) and it bothers me. It feels low budget in a bad way and it shows. This phantom is not likeable or pitiable even though his backstory is similar to the Claude Raines version. He has no romantic interest in Christine, so it feels off. This guy is such an old a$$ piece of sh*t, he literally slaps Christine as she's singing for him for no damn reason. His paper mache mask looks like a Kindergartener's botched art class project. His personality is like somebody locked up cranky grandpa in the basement and he's PMS-ing because y'all forgot to give him his daily prune juice. This squatter's lair lacks creepiness, and his bizarre sidekick is annoying and yet somehow more interesting than the Phantom. The pervert manager trying to bang Christine aggravated me and simultaneously made me want to vomit. Raoul is the only likeable character in the whole damn movie. The Joan of Arc opera scene makes up for some of the film, but it's still terrible.

Next on my meh list is the 1983 made for tv movie starring Micheal York and Jane Seymour. Now, this one has some likeable and applaudable scenes: the various murders and general creepiness of the Phantom, and the lair scene when she wakes up in his bed and the Phantom gets all up in her face is so intense and so Leroux I absolutely love it. The rest of the film is a jumbled hot mess at best, but Jane Seymour is 🔥 and she gets some damn good sex, so hell yeah to that!

And lastly, I do not like the Royal Albert Hall 25th anniversary recording. I should preface this by saying it is Sierra I don't like. I like Ramin, I love Hadley, everyone else is wonderful but I cannot stand Sierra. She tries too hard to make Christine a Disney Princess- and that doesn't fly with me. It comes off as insincere or mocking the source material at best, and at worst it makes Christine look like an airheaded ditz. Apparently Sierra played Ariel at one point which is hilarious because of all the Disney princesses, I dislike her the most. But that's a different rant for another day.

And finally, the one I hate most of all:

The 1998 Argento film. This is the worst Phantom adaptation I've ever seen. It is a whole lotta nope for me. Between the rats, the unecessary and pointless telepathy, the r*pe scene, and the unfunny weird vibe from the murder going on in this film it's a disaster from start to finish. Honestly, it's the rats and his hair that bother me from a visual standpoint alone and it's beyond disgusting the way this a$$🤡 treats Christine. I don't like any of the characters in here and for good reason. It's not worth watching and if you do, be ready to bleach your brain afterwards.

💖 Sorry if this was a long read! Thanks again for giving me an ask and I will cherish it forver!!!! 💖

#phantom of the opera #poto film adaptations

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khorkina-na-na · 3 years

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How I would fix Moulin Rouge the musical: an essay/rant by me. Spoilers ahead of you haven’t seen the full play or the movie.

But first a few things - I don’t think any of the actors are particularly bad (though some bad choices were made by them or the team). I don’t want anyone to think I’m spreading hate. One of the saving graces of the whole show is the casts commitment to the show and general acting/singing talent. I also understand that some songs probably couldn’t be afforded by the show and that getting rights presents a limitation but in all of the music ever written telling me they couldn’t get the rights to something similar or with the same message is stupid. There is no excuse for the inclusion of Firework in this musical.

Moving on to how I would fix the show in my inexperienced unqualified way- NUMBER 1 - Fix satines character arc. .Firework is the moment where we are introduced to the “real Satine” not “show Satine” in the movie they do this with One Day I’ll Fly Away and it’s beautiful. Kidman does a great job of showing Satine as a trapped yet hopeful woman. This sets up nicely for her romance with Christian and the ultimate tragedy of the show - she was never able to get away from this life but Christian/true love brings her a brief glimmer of hope and respite. Note that in ODIFA she’s not longing for love or anything fancy, just wanting more of a life for herself. But the musical team thought this sounded “like a princess locked in a tower”. They wanted their Satine to be a powerful character with agency? Satine in the film is NOT a hopeless romantic but the writers seem to think Kidman’s version is weak so they give Olivio Firework. The big problem is that firework is a song about overcoming adversity which is weirdly wrong if it’s supposed to set up Satines character arc. It doesn’t tell us anything about Satine or her motives, only that she already knows how to beat adversity. I would start by removing FW all together or putting it into the second act which brings me to part 2 - Olivos arc - she doesn’t have one. In the film version Kidman sings a reprise of ODIFA where she loses her hope and resigns herself to what she must do, which is finish the show for her Rouge family and so that christians music can be heard. This is where we get “the show must go on” in all its powerful glory. The moment Kidman’s Satine shows her strength by choosing to go on. In the Broadway version This moment happens sometime between scenes in the mess of a second act of the musical. There’s a moment where Olivo reveals she’s dying and the moment she breaks Christians heart but it all means nothing when there’s no opportunity to hear how Satine is feeling musically. Instead she breaks up with Christian then immediately tells the duke to go away then saves Christian all in the span of one song. Then she’s dead and it makes no sense. I would solve this by bringing in a song where Satine sings about overcoming adversity *cough cough* like firework or the show must go on, hearing her amp herself up for a big finish now THATS powerful.

NUMBER 2. The side characters- they are underused and deserve better. Half of them basically have no role after bad romance. (Except for Le trecs crush on Satine which again is out of place and kind of creepy). My gripe here is that in act one “So exciting!” Is comical, theatrical and holds so much promise and then we never see that style used again. Personally I think the ending could be greatly improved with a similar comic/theatre approach. In the film they revisited this style at the end as well to foil the duke. All of the side-characters are included and it’s funny. The musical ending is rushed and underwhelming.

Speaking of which NUMBER 3 - the ending. For a Musical about theatrics and excess they sure do choose to go out with a fizzle. I kept expecting to hear some big finish number and instead I got Christian is Sad part 1, 2 and 3. It feels like in their urgency to write in Roxanne and their Crazy/Rolling in the deep mashup they forgot to include a big finish. This is moulin Rouge not Hamilton. You don’t just kill off the main character and go “well... life goes on”. Honestly the parallel between ‘Who tells your story’ and ‘the not even given a title finale’ of MR are tragic. They had an opportunity for a big finish and instead it feels like they ran out of money and energy.

NUMBER 4- the duke. I’m not one of these people who hates Tam Mutus hot version of the duke. He does a good job with what he’s given and with the exception of the facial hair looks cool doing it. What I don’t like is that he doesn’t get any commupence for his actions. In the play Satine shouts “you don’t own me” and he just goes away. The same guy who tossed acid on a woman just strolls off? WHAT?!? Here’s where like I already wrote I want to see the duke foiled comically. Have him arrested or murdered or something. At the end of the play he still owns the Rouge and there’s nothing to suggest he’ll change. It makes no sense, at least let someone kick him in the balls. (Maybe the new and improved powerful Satine could do it- it’d give her a satisfying character arc anyway).

NUMBER 5 - casting. Don’t come for me Tveit stans I think Aaron does a great job- he essentially carry’s the show in the second half with his acting and singing. But as many have mentioned there is absolutely ZERO chemistry between Aaron and Karen. It’s painfully clear they’re acting and while they are both mega talkented whoever cast the show and then didn’t checking the leads actually worked together is an idiot. My gut says to recast Karen partly because I wish they had more dancing from the two leads and Karen is the one doing most of the park & singing while Tveit can clearly do both. (She looks slow and clunky around the strength and intensity of the ensemble in diamonds tbh) But I’d also be up for seeing what Karen could do with a costar she had chemistry with and better writing because damn the woman can sing and act better than most Broadway divas I’ve ever met. I’d also maybe recast the duke as someone with a little more energy and humour to add some spice to the role.

And done- I think. If I have more grievances illl air them here again. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

#Aaron Tveit #karen olivo #moulin rogue broadway #moulin rouge #ricky rojas #danny burstein #robyn hurder #Broadway #opinion #playbill #christian x satine #christian #lautrec #harold zidler

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keyofjetwolf · 4 years

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Hi would you like some rage about She-Ra season 5?

If the answer is no, please don’t click below. For real. Really for real. I’m not looking to piss in anyone’s Cheerios. I think if you were satisfied (or better!) with the show, that’s fantastic and I envy you. As I have always said, love what you love. My opinion is mine and means precisely nothing beyond that. If you think you may be even a little bummed reading about how someone didn’t like it, skip this post and go on with your day, I promise you’re not missing anything worthwhile.

IN A SIMILAR VEIN: If -- before, during, or after reading -- you feel inclined to argue with me, I am begging you to please not. I cannot begin to tell you how much I don’t want to be argued with on this right now. I’m still extremely disappointed and cranky, and I’m not much in the mood to have a measured, reasoned debate about my feelings. Much as my opinion has no bearing on you, your opinion has no bearing on me, and as I’m giving you the option to opt out, I’d appreciate the same courtesy. If you want to write your own post on your own blog, go nuts! Just please leave me out of it. I PREFER TO BE CRANKY AT TELEVISION SHOWS THAN PEOPLE.

The rest of you, come on down. I don’t promise coherency, but I DO promise a lot of stuff said in all-caps!

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Hello! Thank you for joining me! We watched the remaining few episodes of She-Ra last night! I hated them! Yaaay!

What did I hate? OH HO HO MANY THINGS FRIENDS MANY THINGS. It’s not just stuff from the final couple of episodes either, I want to clarify. It’s the entire final season, settling on last few episodes like the freshly fallen snow on your front lawn that some frat boys decide to pee their names into. By the time we’d gotten to these last episodes, there was really nothing left for me but confirmation of all the shit I’d come to hate. SO THANKS I GUESS FOR PROVING ME RIGHT

Which isn’t to say there was nothing to enjoy in the final episodes! There was!

5. She-Ra’s Triceps. GET BUFF GIRL. I LOVE how Adora and She-Ra look similar, but very much not identical. Adora’s no slouch when it comes to physical stuff, but they go the extra mile to show us how She-Ra is that much more. HOW RARELY DO YOU GET TO SEE A WOMAN WITH MUSCLES. I’ve been nothing but impressed by the ways the show drew the line between Adora and She-Ra, and however I felt about its handling of other elements, it didn’t let me down here.

4. Sometimes A Family Is A Twink, A Lizard, And Their Imp Baby. I don’t have further commentary on this, and I need none.

3. Welcome Home, Daddy. THIS WAS SO SPECTACULAR. Glimmer had, I would argue, the most realized arc in the story. It was so gratifying to see this as a culmination, not just of her own struggle with her magical power and ability to harness it, but her willingness to do what needs doing, however personally difficult. That was a stumbling point Angelica could never overcome, continually trying to micromanage and protect Glimmer rather than trusting her and recognizing her for the asset she was. Also though, more succinctly: YESSSS BITCH

2. A Shanty! THIS WHOLE SCENE WAS PERFECT NO NOTES. Just the right blend of silly and sincere, a genuine delight as even brainwashed Mermista had had enough of Sea Hawk’s shit, AND so much more clever than it seemed at first glance. THIS IS THE ONLY VALID HETEROSEXUAL RELATIONSHIP IN SHE-RA I AM NOT TAKING QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME

1. Shadow Weaver. SHADOW FUCKING WEAVER. What a complicated, fascinating character, bar none the most interesting in the entire series. I do think they pulled their punch right at the very end with her, but I AM capable of remembering I’m watching a kid’s show, so I can only get so disappointed about it. Mostly, she remained a beautifully morally complex character, and she was one of my greatest personal delights from beginning to end*.

(*) Boy did this show have one single solution for mommy issues though.

THAT WAS ABOUT IT. So let’s get to why we’re all really here, and that is MY SCREAMING OH MY GOD WHERE DO I BEGIN

Nah, I know exactly where to begin.

GLIMMER AND BO JESUS MCTRISKET I AM GOING TO EXPLODE AND SHOWER THE UNIVERSE IN THE SHRAPNEL OF MY HATE

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING

WHERE DID IT COME FROM

HOW CAN I SHOVE IT BACK IN THE HATEFUL SPEWHOLE THAT SIRED THIS BULLSHIT

WHY WHY IS THIS HERE WHY IS THIS IN MY FACE WHERE MY EYES HAVE TO SEE IT FUCK ME SIDEWAYS THIS IS THE MOST UNNECESSARY SHOEHORNED IN HET ROMANCE FUCK A DOODLE NONSENSE I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO BEAR WITNESS WHAT IS IT DOING IN THIS OTHERWISE EXPONENTIALLY GAY CARTOON

WERE YOU PANDERING TO THE STRAIGHTS

WHY ARE YOU PANDERING TO THE STRAIGHTS I ASSURE YOU WE ARE COVERED BOTH HISTORICALLY AND FICTIONALLY

ALSO NEED I REMIND YOU THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY ACHIEVED HETEROSEXUAL PERFECTION

NO MERMISTA NO WE ARE NOT ALL JUST LIKE OKAY WITH THIS

Oh my FUCKSTICKS, I could’ve rolled with so much more that angers/disappoints me about She-Ra’s ending if every single thing I feared about this hadn’t proved true.

AND. IT. WAS. SO. UNNECESSARY.

What exactly did pairing off Glimmer and Bo do for the story? For their characters? THIS IS THE PART THAT’S STABBING ME IN THE DELICATE WEBBING OF MY TOES. Because -- COME WITH ME A MOMENT SWEET ANGELS -- because I was under the impression that, oohhhh, I dunno, FRIENDSHIP WAS A HUGE FUCKING IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PASTEL HELLSCAPE

Is it, She-Ra? IS IT REALLY???? When not one but BOTH of your childhood friendship pairings end in romance? When you close out your five seasons with romantic relationships so painfully and specifically sown across the character landscape like an overzealous gardener turned loose on the world?

You know what you have at the end? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID

THIS ISN’T A BEST FRIENDS SQUAD IT’S A DOUBLE DATE THAT NEVER MERCIFULLY ENDS

And again I ask, Why?? What was it about Glimmer and Bo’s relationship that needed them to become romantic? What was LACKING that this was the solution?

THIS IS WHAT MAKES ME LOSE MY GODDAMN SHITTING MIND I AM SO FUCKING DONE WITH THIS INSIPID MYOPIC TRASHBAG OF A CONCEPT

I believed She-Ra’s entire premise about friendship, I believed it wholeheartedly, and I’m so PISSED that at the close of day, narratively, it swept it all the bin. AND YES, YES IT DID, otherwise, WHY IS IT THERE. It serves no story-based need, it serves no character-based need, it has no NEED at all. So is it meant to be a “reward” to Bo and Glimmer for winning the war, as if their lifelong friendship were not reward enough? Is it meant to show they’ve walked through the flames and emerged with stronger, deeper bonds, because of course a relationship can only go SO deep without fucking. There’s no avenue to Romantic Relationship that doesn’t simultaneously point to something lacking in Platonic Relationship, AND I AM FURY PERSONIFIED

I am so tired of this. I’m SO TIRED of this.

And it didn’t need to be there. They didn’t even TRY to give us a good reason. That may be the part that makes me the angriest. Of COURSE they hook up romantically, of COURSE their platonic love would grow into “more”.

Fuck YOU, She-Ra. I thought you were better than that. YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO BETTER THAN THAT

THEN THERE WAS CATRA

I get it, I guess. I mean, I think it’s shittily written, but I GUESS. Honestly, end of day, I just don’t care about Catra enough to really get too angry about it, particularly when as I’m so fucking incendiary over something much more important to me. But it’s also the show’s greatest creative failure, and even if I HADN’T gotten angrier at other choices, it would’ve still cut its own legs out from under it.

Catra’s “redemption” was weak and sad and did a disservice to her and everyone involved. She started self-centered and shitty, and she ended just as self-centered and shitty, only we’re fine with that now. She learned nothing and changed nothing, but also nobody ever demanded it of her, so I can only lay so much at the character’s feet. The problem is ultimately creative, where I think Noelle Stevenson got lost in her own love of the character, and somewhere along the way forgot that if you take them out that far, you have to be willing to walk them the long road back. Compare to poor Glimmer, for fuck’s sake, whose greatest sin was being desperate enough to be manipulated by the character whose entire fucking DEAL is being THE manipulator. How much shit did she get for that? How long was she punished? Meanwhile Catra becomes THE Big Bad for a while, nearly unravels all of reality in a fit of supreme lesbian angst and self-pity, directly leads to the death of the planet’s ruling monarch who also happens to be GLITTER’S MUM and DIRECT FRIEND TO THE SHOW’S HEROES, but that’s fine, you did one sorta good thing one time and even though it was also wrapped in a thick film of self-pity and a final fuck-you at Adora, all is forgiven!

Speaking of, Adora suffers just as much from stunted growth. From the beginning, her thing was control, unable to free herself from the responsibility of everything and everyone. What did we have at the end? Adora as the only one who could save everything and everyone. Yeah, they kept asking what it was SHE wanted, BUT THEN SHE NEVER ACTUALLY GOT TO CHOOSE. NOT activating the failsafe wasn’t an option for her, and while she wound up not having to die to do it, even that wasn’t her choice in the end, it was Catra’s. (Don’t even get me started on her nth hour “You love me?” fuckery when it wasn’t once for one single second shown to be a question of such life-turning importance.)

All of which could be interesting! That Catra and Adora went through all this, came so far to wind up right where they started? AWESOME. LOVE IT. FUND IT. But really all that happens is nobody minds now that Catra’s a self-involved little shit and tee-hee another Best Friends Squad Mission being bullrushed by Adora within five minutes of ending the last one isn’t that funny?

I can’t even dig much enjoyment out of Adora and Catra as a trope subversion (if one of them was a male, their romantic involvement wouldn’t have even been a QUESTION), because the show lost its fucking mind with romantically pairing everybody off in the final five minutes. WHICH BRINGS ME RIGHT BACK TO MY PREVIOUS SCREAMING SO I’LL STOP THERE.

There was other stuff, of course. I think it was a TERRIBLE decision to spend the last season with the focus split between the two groups of rebels, and writing half the cast into brainwashing. I think the Nettossa and Spinnerella stuff was wasted and lacked any punch at all because the show for some reason or another couldn’t be bothered to let us spend any time with them to care. The waste of Scorpia and Mermista especially (to people named Jet Wolf who are me) was fucking CRIMINAL. Speaking of Scorpia, wouldn’t her showdown with Bo have been so much more poignant if they’d had really any kind of interaction before that moment to build from? (Sure, it’s Scorpia, so if you’re going to sell the lack of context with anyone it’s her, BUT ALSO.) Hey, remember Huntara? No? NEITHER DID THE SHOW.

All my details aside though, MY MANY MANY MANY DETAILS, what kills/rages me most about She-Ra was how so much potential from the first four seasons was just flushed away. Whether it was the creative team shooting itself in the foot or corporate pressure and rushing from Netflix, I don’t know. I don’t CARE. This is the show I was given, so this is the show I have, and that kind of fall after that kind of potential doesn’t just irritate me, it makes me SAD. I wouldn’t be this disappointed if I didn’t think it could have been -- WAS -- so much more.

Time will tell if I can separate out the final season from how much I loved those that came before it. I like to hope so, because I did love it intensely and loved whenever I got the chance to really dig in and talk about it.

WHATEVER ELSE I SUPPOSE I WILL ALWAYS HAVE THIS

Again please remember that I am not at present looking to argue or debate my feelings and opinions. I get to just be angry and disappointed, as a treat!

#jet wolf watches she ra #a novel by jet wolf #ANYWAY THAT'S ENOUGH ENERGY SPENT ON THIS CHILD'S CARTOON FOR ONE 24 HOUR PERIOD

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stina-is-a-punk-rocker · 3 years

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‘always and forever, lara jean’: a bungled mess of my thoughts while watching the movie

Alright, cards on the table: I never finished reading the book. I got bored a couple of pages in, so I just read up the summary on Wikipedia and called it a day.

Not gonna lie, I expected better from the movies. I loved the first movie; it was cute, it was fun, it hit all the right places. The second movie was… eh. Jordan Fisher is cute, so that’s a plus.

And then we got the third movie; the final in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy.

And it was somehow even worse.

Maybe I’m exaggerating. Despite its shortcomings in the plot and character development-related departments (the fact that Lara Jean wrote addresses for letters she never meant to send is something that will bother me on my deathbed), the movies have their merits. They’re cutesy and charming and enjoyable, overall; movie-LJ is sweet and unashamedly a girly-girl, which is a refreshing change from the #NotLikeOtherGirls, pick-me girls and bruh girls we had in loads of other YA movies growing up. Peter’s pretty cute, too; he’s not a possessive freak like so many other love interests (The Kissing Booth, After, Anna and the French Kiss), and his and Lara Jean’s dynamic is cute, too. Not to mention- we finally have an Asian lead whose Asian-ness isn’t the whole focus of the story!

Again, maybe I’m being extra with all this. The series is, at its core, solely for entertainment purposes. Not every piece of media has to have an underlying message and you shouldn’t need to read between every goddamn line to find something worthy of enjoying. They’re certainly helpful for whiling away a couple of hours; perfect for bingeing with a pint of ice cream in hand, and all of this is in good fun.

Also, it goes without saying, but: spoilers ahead.

The film beings with Lara Jean scribbling a postcard to Peter while she’s in Korea with her family. The inclusion of that little snapshot of Asian culture made me so happy- seriously, fuck everyone who says diversity in media doesn’t matter. I’m not even Korean, and I was overjoyed at seeing a couple of scenes just from the same continent I’m on. The K-pop music in the background was a fun touch, too (although all Korean music isn’t K-pop, but that’s a rant for another day).

(Also: Blackpink has so many more suitable songs than Pretty Savage that go with the theme of the movies. Kill This Love in the second movie while Lara Jean is getting ready to go to her boyfriend’s match is bad enough- they’re supposed to be in love in that scene, goddammit.)

One thing that bothered me throughout the movies is how obviously non-Korean Lara Jean and Margot look. It’s like whoever chose the cast went for any random Asian- Lana’s Vietnamese and Janel Parrish is half-Chinese, and it’s so obvious. You seriously couldn’t find two Korean-Americans who even vaguely resembled each other so they could pass for sisters? The actresses do a stunning job and I don’t want to shit on them, but I just wish they didn’t go with the ‘all Asians look the same, what’s the difference?’ mindset.

Also, a nitpicky thing I’ve noticed in movies with characters who read a lot: no one holds their books up while they’re reading. Your arms start to cramp, which is why you keep your book in your lap while you’re reading, or you rest on your belly and hold the book in front of you. My spine and shoulders didn’t suffer years of torture as a chronic reader for you to include characters who hold their books up while reading.

A major gripe I have with Always and Forever, Lara Jean is how the characters are almost jarringly out of character- not from the books, but from the two previous movies, too. Lara Jean didn’t have much of a character to begin with, so I can’t say much about her (she dissed Oasis at one point; it’s okay for me to be mean to her), but the rest of them are either caricatures of themselves or just totally different people.

Movie Peter >>> Book Peter. He’s almost too perfect (except for the fact that he unironically loves The Fast and the Furious, which… ew), almost too much of the ideal boyfriend. Not that my perpetually single arse would know. How do boyfriends even work? I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with one; how often should you feed it? Do you need to take it on walks?

(In the notes I’ve written towards the end of the film, I’ve complained about Peter being immature and making Lara Jean feel bad about following her dream to go to NYU. He confuses me.)

Not to mention how distractingly adorable Noah Centineo is from some angles and under certain lighting conditions (other times, he reminds me of the human version of Shrek and that bothered me). King of weird Tweets and Instagram captions though he may be, he’s got a really nice smile, and his gravelly voice is both parts sexy and disturbing.

But I digress.

I’ll never forgive the directors for what they did to Kitty and Chris- two of my favorite characters, from both the books and the movies. Kitty’s annoying to the point of being borderline unlikeable- gone is the occasionally snarky comic relief we all came to love; in her place is an annoying brat whose every line comes out forced. Also, making soap is fun; fuck you, Kitty.

Chris is essentially Dixie D’Amelio’s character from that TikToker Grey’s Anatomy ripoff; the main character in One Direction fanfiction from 2012 who doesn’t want to go to the concert but her best friend gets a ticket for her so she can’t bail but Harry Styles sees her in the crowd and falls in love at first sight and 50k of mutual pining and misunderstandings late, they get together. She’s cynical and snarky and hates capitalism and consumerism and prom (because of course she does), but secretly, she’s into it (because of course she is). My guess is that she’s there to appease all the arseholes (including myself) who accused the characters of being too one-dimensional, but it seems too out of place in a movie that doesn’t have much plot to begin with.

I really, really hate how Lucas was done dirty- throughout every single movie. Of course, it’s Lara Jean’s story so not every side character has to be fully fleshed out- but you’d think three. entire. movies. would be enough to give Lucas a bigger role than the GBF and the token black guy for the diversity brownie points. Every single time Lucas shows up, it’s to push Lara Jean and Peter’s story forward. I would’ve liked to see a romance for him pushed forward instead one for Chris- especially because he says, at one point in a previous movie, that it’s hard to find other gay boys, so it would’ve been sweet to see him find love- and Chris’s character arc could’ve been focused on reconciling with Genevieve. Instead, we see the OG Reggie from Riverdale be the one to show Chris the bright side of monogamy, and Lucas gets a date to prom as an afterthought (another darkskin black dude, so no one thinks the film is racist).

Genevieve’s character in this movie gives me whiplash. Look, I’m all for girls supporting girls- healthy female relationships are something way too many YA movies lack- but she goes from bitch queen extraordinaire to friendly the moment the next scene calls for it. Her character isn’t consistent. A redemption arc should be executed cleanly and believably; you can’t have a character be a total prick one moment and then suddenly be, “Hey, if you get into NYU, let me know,” the next.

And Genevieve’s still an arsehole to Chris; at one point, in NYC, while they’re at the NYU campus grounds (I knew that Lara Jean was going to go to NYU the moment she saw all the banners; I fucking called it), Genevieve tells Chris, “University is for people who actually have a future,” and I recoiled. I’m not the nicest of people and yet that was going too far. Chris doesn’t hesitate to shoot back a, “You peaked in high school,”, but still. Y i k e s. You can’t convince me someone’s turned over a new leaf when they say something like that.

Lara Jean’s dad (forgot his name; gonna call him Dr. Covey) is as unremarkable as ever, and his new wife (forgot her name, too… Trisha? Trina? Eh, something like that) is… unsettling. I mean, I get that they’re all loved up and twitterpatted, but there’s something about all the smiling they’ve got going on that chills me to the bone.

Also, Trisha/Trina kinda looks like TikTok’s ThatVeganTeacher and it bothers me.

Another huge problem with this movie even being made is that the series never had enough plot to continue onto a trilogy. Lara Jean’s letters are what the plots of the first and second movies revolve around; the third only mentions them in passing. The final love letter from Peter was a cute callback, but there’s a massive continuity issue with the first two movies and this last one- both character and plot-wise.

Maybe I’m not articulating this clearly enough, so I’ll use an example: take Harry Potter, for example. Harry’s main goal throughout the series is defeating Voldemort. And it takes all seven books for him to get there, to finally achieve this.

Lara Jean’s goal in the first movie changes midway; from keeping up the façade with Peter so she can avoid the crap with the rest of the letters getting out, to making her fake relationship real. It forms a bridge with the second movie; the letter that went out to John Ambrose, and her dithering between Peter and perfection (I’m not sorry). But what does the third movie have to do with any of this?

There were way too many music montages. You couldn’t go five minutes without a random pop song playing in the background, and it was annoying as hell. Don’t Look Back in Anger was w a s t e d on this stupid film. The artsy scenery shots were even worse- no, I don’t give a fuck about the New York skyline or a bird’s eye view of whatever vehicle Lara Jean is in. A few shots of Seoul would’ve sufficed; the rest was overkill. This movie is way too damn long already (almost 2 entire hours!!!); cut out a couple of those. No one cares.

I thought they’d pull the whole Aladdin trope with character-A-keeps-trying-to-tell-character-B-the-truth-about-a-lie-B-believes-in-about-A-but-B-keeps-interrupting, but Lara Jean (typing her name out is annoying, why couldn’t she have a single name, like both of her sisters?) comes clean earlier than I expected. Peter’s reaction about LJ not getting into Stanford is… uncharacteristically mature? No “Why did you lie to me?”, no accusations, not an ounce of betrayal. Which I did not expect from a guy who’s a little bitch for the greater part of book one (I really don’t like Book Peter, in case you couldn’t tell). I know fuck-all about book three’s Peter, so I can’t tell if he really did adopt this mature, well-adjusted persona, or the movie did it to make Peter seem like less of a dick (like they did it with the sextape-that-wasn’t-a-sextape in the first installment).

On a sidenote, how do these main characters in YA books get into really good colleges with zero to no visible effort? These arseholes fuck around for the entirety of the story and have way too much going on to actually do schoolwork, but they waltz into Ivy Leagues at the end. And apparently, I’m not the only one bothered by this.

There’s something to be said about how the movies don’t really sexualize minors (characters who are minors, to be fair. None of the MCs look anything like teenagers), though. It’s almost weird to see them not getting drunk and partying and having sex all the time. Maybe that’s why Lara Jean trying to get her hand on Peter’s dick felt so stilted and awkward (I cringed so hard when she kept trying to touch him and he kept pushing her hand away, holy shit).

And the kissing. It’s to be expected from a romance film, but there was so. Much. Kissing.

The amount of product placements (… actually, I could count only two: Apple and a pair of Beats headphones Lara Jean puts on at one point, but the movie shoved so many iPhones in my face that I’m obligated to exaggerate) would’ve made anti-capitalist Chris mad.

I’m guessing this all takes place in a parallel universe, sans the coronavirus. Still, being in quarantine this past year and being socially awkward for every other one, it was agonizing seeing everyone so close together in NYC. When Peter kissed the ball (lol) (I have the sense of humor of a straight boy in middle school, don’t judge me) when him and Lara Jean go bowling, I had a visceral reaction. And what are the odds of Peter meeting his estranged dad at the very same bowling alley?

Speaking of Peter’s daddy issues (I’ve written “Hardin but diluted” in my notes; I watched this movie at, like, 1 AM; I’m not entirely sure what was going through my head at that point)- I hated how they guilt-tripped Peter into giving his father another chance. In the wise words of Hannah Montana, everybody makes mistakes- but leaving your wife and two kids for another woman is pretty far from a little oopsie on Mr. Kavinsky’s part. I don’t blame Peter for hating him, and I’m not in a place to judge whether Mr. Kavinsky (does he get a first name?) should be forgiven or not, but I feel like they let him off too easy and made Peter seem like a misunderstood teenager with anger issues for not accepting Mr. Kavinsky’s (crappy) apology at once.

And it adds nothing to the story at all; Mr. Kavinsky peaces out after having one (01) coffee with his firstborn, and he’s never seen again. If you’re going to introduce a subplot, make it tie into the main storyline- the very least you could do is make it an important enough part of the story to have more than 10 minutes of the run time. It makes no sense as to why they’d bring up Peter’s dad in this last film, when he’s already gone through two perfectly fine. I guess it was a ‘tying everything up’ part… even though no one cared.

Lara Jean’s handwriting is surprisingly ugly for someone who’s written that many love letters. And her styling took a definite nosedive; her outfits in the first movie were so effing cute, but now they’re just… meh.

There are so many conversations and lines that the writers must’ve thought sounded good enough for someone to type out the quote in curly font and slap it on a screenshot from the movie to post on Instagram, but when it comes to the actual delivery, they just sounded… weird.

Peter says one time near the beginning of the film, “You know what I’m looking forward to the most in college? Never having to say goodnight,” because he expects him and Lara Jean to get into the same college.

But I guess the word they should’ve used was ‘good-bye’, because this just makes him sound stupid.

At one point, Lara Jean asks Kitty how much Kitty’s gonna miss her when she goes off to college, and Kitty says, “A four.” Later on, she confesses, “I’m gonna miss you a twelve, Lara Jean,” and all I could think was, “But we’re endgame, Archie!”

(In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t let people know I’ve watched Riverdale; it lessons my credibility.)

Still, there remains some good to be found: all the baked goods looked very delicious and made me crave chocolate chip cookies. Peter wearing the socks Lara Jean gifted him at the beginning of the movie was a cute gesture, and Lara Jean giving Peter her teal hatbox? The one she kept her love letters in? Was so? Cute? Help?

And hey, it’s a cliché that’s been done to death, but I’m always a sucker for that part in movies where the girl walks down the stairs in a pretty dress with her hand on the banister and the boy turns around and his mouth falls open and all he can say is, “Wow,”- and this film did not disappoint! Not to mention how cute both Lara Jean’s and Chris’s prom dresses were.

Dr. Covey and Trisha/Trina’s wedding was cute, too- I struggled to decide whether Kitty wearing a necklace that says ‘feminist’ and a tux is a bit too on-the-nose, but I’ve decided that it’s nothing to get my knickers all in a twist about (for clarification: it’s not the necklace or the crossdressing that made me debate this; I just wish they didn’t make a big deal out of it- I wish they didn’t have Kitty and Lara Jean get into an argument about her not wearing a dress, if that makes sense?).

And the final letter- the one from Peter to Lara Jean- I ate that shit up; it was so, so, so cute.

In conclusion (why is it so easy for me to crank out 3k about my thoughts on a Netflix movie and yet when it comes to English Lit. at school, I’d stare at a blank sheet of foolscap for ages?), did I enjoy the movie? Not really. There were parts of it that I liked, but it was overall too boring and I kept wishing I’d watched the new SKZ Code episode instead every few minutes.

But that doesn’t mean that it was bad. I kinda feel a little sad, actually, now that Lara Jean and Peter’s story has come to a close; To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the first movie, is one of my favorites, and bitch though I might about them, the kinda grew on me… like an innocent plant, at first, but then like a fungus. Not a parasitic fungus, just not mutualistic, either… kind of like a commensal.

Maybe I should stop with the biology similes.

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thegeminisage · 4 years

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hey liz i've been thinking a lot about story structure lately and i wanted your take on how you decide what structure your stories will have? i know there's that "you have to do what your story needs and tells you to do" thing but these bitches dont ever tell me anything they just multiply so. thoughts? - bma

(as an aside, i don't know whether involving medium would change many things but it may be worth considering. mainly i think medium is just a matter of arrangement and that the story would be for most intents and purposes the same no matter how you choose to tell it. i guess you could argue that structure is arrangement in itself and intrinsically tied to medium but i sort of feel like it is secondary arrangement, if at all? like if you consider time as an element to outline -- the time IN the story (how things happen to your characters) is not necessarily the time you’re telling the story IN (how you are telling your reader that things are happening) aka internal chronology doesnt equal your work’s pacing? or should it??? does this make sense? i dont think so. i am sorry.) - bma :|

NOOO dont be sorry ur making total sense

i think there’s 3 thots to unpack here (medium, structure, & chronology) & i’m gonna start with medium bc it’s easier. im also putting it behind a cut bc it’s gonna get just stupidly long and rambly. i’m sorry in advance if it’s not helpful to you, i have a lot to say for someone who has never taken even one single class on writing and as a result doesn’t know jack shit (there’s a tl;dr at the end dont worry)

about MEDIUM:

so like ok i’m just some goof-off with a HS degree who writes fanfiction but In My Very Super Qualified Personal Opinion, i don’t think that most of the time medium is intrinsically tied to STRUCTURE of the main storytelling arc...i think the art of storytelling itself is distinct from the medium you choose to tell the story IN. this post puts it better than i ever could but basically for me, i feel like the story itself is sort of the raw, malleable concept, and the medium you choose to tell it in is how you convey the information??

like in a book, you can say “she forgot her keys” and in a film you have to show her smacking her forehead, heading back into the house, and swiping her keeps off the counter. you can’t TELL in film, you have to show. similarly i regret every day i cannot perfectly describe a facial expression with words when i see it so clearly in my head. for audio-only podcasts that are dialogue heavy out of necessity you have different limitations than you would for, say, animated music videos with no dialogue at all. games allow for more interactivity and exploration while sacrificing accessibility, tv shows allow for more length while sacrificing, uh, a big hollywood budget...medium affects the kind of story you can reasonably tell which is why some stories are better suited to one medium than another. i think trying things in other mediums is a good way to stretch your storytelling muscles but with enough skill nearly any story could be told in any medium. i think when trying to decide on a medium you just gotta weigh the pros & cons and what you feel comfortable with/what you think would be most effective/what would evoke the strongest reaction

re: structure:

firstly “do what the story tells u to do” is a little silly like...the story isn’t sentient. come on. that’s like “i can only write when the writing gods inspire me” there are no writing gods! inspire yourself! it’s all in our weird messed up brains! ok anyway.

this is, again, just how i do things, and i am 700% self-taught so take it with a grain of salt, but when i sit down and start blocking out a story from scratch i don’t...actually consider the big structure at all! sorry if that’s not helpful to you. i like to make a list of everything i want to happen, and then put it together in a few different orders to see what looks best. and when i’m finished, whatever i have just like...IS the structure i go with, with perhaps minor tinkering to make it flow more smoothly. (i think this might be in the same spirit as “do what the story tells you” with less bullshit and more Agency Of The Writer.)

for long and more complex projects, i actually usually have several lists - one list of stuff that is, for example, the Action Plot (the kingdom has been cursed, i’m tracking down my serial killer sister to bring her to justice, i’m running from djinn who wanna kill my dad, i’m trying to bring my dead not-boyfriend back to life). then i have another list for Character A & Character B’s romance or whatever. and maybe a even another one for solo character development (magicphobic prince learns to love magic, former werewolf hunter figures out his family is a cult, half-demon learns to embrace his own nature). and as many lists as we need for however many Main Characters and or Plots/Sideplots

how i order the lists: individually first. don’t mix them together to start with. when deciding the order of an individual list i like to, for example in a romance arc, use escalating intimacy. “A and B have dinner together” is naturally gonna go way sooner than “A and B kiss” or “A and B talk about A’s angsty backstory” because that’s more satisfying. draw it out, good/important stuff last, dangle that carrot so we have a reason to keep reading! for singular character development, it’s basically a straightforward point A to point B...if i want my guy to start hating magic with everything he is and end up being very comfortable with it, i have to put “reluctantly uses magic to save his own life” WAYYY before “casually using magic to light torches and reheat his cold stew.”

the tricky part for me is when i’m done with these lists and then i need to mix them together To Pace My Whole Story. (this is usually why i wind up with a rainbow colored spreadsheet.) i don’t like to put too many things too close together because then the pace feels uneven. even if my Action Plot is only a thinly veiled excuse for romance and character development, i still don’t want to focus on a romance for 30,000 words and then go “and oh yeah in case you forgot Serial Killing Sister is still coming for your asses.” the more sideplots and major character arcs you’re juggling the harder it is to get an even distribution, which is my main concern always

and like, generally, whatever i have when i’m finished...is my structure. (sorry.)

i don’t know much about the classic 3-act or anything like that, but i usually can divide them up into 3-5 big arcs based on story turning points. sometimes i take a scene out of one arc and put it in another because it fits better and i like for my shit to be organized, but usually by the time i’m finished with all that, that’s what the final story is mostly gonna look like. (there have been a few exceptions when i realized i needed extra scenes/changes while i was MID-DRAFT and let me tell you that murders me EVERY time. it happened on the merlin fic i’m currently posting and that was like my own personal hell.)

this is also where thots about chronology come in:

i think time CAN be an element of this if you WANT it to be, but it doesn’t HAVE to be. if you want it to be, i would consider it just another “list” like character development or the romance arc.

i usually plot without considering Time very much...to me, it’s all down to the events you want to show, and however much time it takes is the byproduct. if you want to show something from a character’s chilhood but then tell the bulk of it when they’re adults, that’s one thing. if you want to show a scene from their childhood, teenhood, young adulthood, etc, that’s a different kind of pacing?? i usually do it this way so i can regard time like wordcount: it takes as long as it takes. 3 days or 3 years, a 1.5k drabble or a 100k epic...overall, my LARGEST CONCERN is that even distribution. in the same way that i don’t want one chapter to be 30,000 words when the rest are 10,000 words, i personally am not a fan of huge timeskips offscreen

(because this where i think someone’s own internal chronology DOES matter...this is just a personal preference, as a reader i have a hard time really comprehending, say, a year timeskip or a 10yr timeskip when all i did was turn one page. like, a year is such a long time. i can’t even begin to describe how different i am now to how i was a year ago. it’s the same for character development. time IS development and as a writer i’m not really comfortable having that take place offscreen - for main characters, at least. it’s just too jarring. a little prologue with something happening 10 or 20 years ago is usually fine, but for the most part, i’m not a fan. ...i can do one chapter per year a lot easier than i can do two chapters in childhood and the other 8 in adulthood. of course you can play with this a LOT with nonlinear storytelling, which is a whole other very cool thing, and someone skilled in their work can keep me sucked in no matter what, but imo if you don’t want to risk throwing your reader out of your work it’s better to keep things steady)

HOWEVER sometimes time IS an element u wanna consider outside of just making sure your shit is evenly distributed...if your heart is moved to tell a story in a specific timeframe, over a year, or from solstice to solstice (this was almost the timeline for my merlin fic and then i changed it), for the first six months of a friendship, or even a huge journey in the span of a single day (toby fox had a lot of success with this one lol).

i think it can help to choose a start and end point for your chronology the same way you do for character development (prince goes from hating magic to being ok with it, story takes place from ages 8 to 25, or from new year’s eve 2038 to 2039, whatever) - that way you can keep your distribution even, if that’s a thing you want to do...even if you have a lot of skips you can still note what happens offscreen to make it work better in your head? like, if you just make it another List, another column on your spreadsheet, when you’re in the early stages of organizing you can be conscious of it and make sure it’s playing into the story the way you want it to

anyway these r my thots im SOOOO SORRY this is so long lmao. brain machine broke today which is why i had to ramble more to explain myself. the tl;dr in case ur brain is melting out of ur ears & u didn’t sign up for an essay:

imo medium is totally distinct from storytelling tho ofc some stories are better suited to some mediums

structure? i don’t know her. i plot w/o regard to structure and then if it looks funny i mush it into a more structurally sound shape

my main concern when structuring anything, including time, is an even distribution of Events and a steady rate of escalation

structure to me is just what i have when i’m finished plotting. i’m sorry one day i’m gonna take a writing class

internal chronology matters to me personally because i have a little bit of time blindness but maybe not to everyone, i know many very successful stories where they disregarded that entirely to no ill effect

writer’s block isn’t real! everyone just needs more rainbow spreadsheets

thank u for asking I HOPE i didn’t make you regret it too badly lmao and that at least a little of it was helpful!!

#personal #liz loves writing #liz answers asks #brit marling anon #i couldn't figure out how to answer u without walking u thru my entire process #so that's what i did and that's why it's so long. very sorry.#im gonna set this up to reblog itself at the time u sent ur ask so that ur sure to see it!!#edit: there was SUPPOSED to be a cut on this but tumblr put it in the ASK?? i can't seem to fix it. rip

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msawesomegeek · 4 years

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Avengers Infinity war/end game review

A/N: So quarantine happened, and I finally got around to watching movies again, now including giving the MCU one last chance. And spoiler alert... It didn’t truly deserve it. Also spoiler alert, and also this is two three hour reviews crammed into one, so it is gonna be a little while.

Also also, while I have seen most of the movies in the marvel cinematic universe, I have not seen Dr. strange, guardians 2, into dark world and Captain marvel.

So let’s start off with Infinity war, it had some genuinely good moments. The only plot and character arc that was outright annoying was Bruce’s. It was good it had real character developments, and a lot of relationships that were great. I thought it was funny to the right extent, and serious when it needed to be. Honestly I could have done without a lot of scenes but I understood the fact that all characters needed some screen time to be fully developed. But like, did we honestly care that much about the romance with Vision and Wanda to need the scene before them being attacked more than just a quick establishment of them kissing? I enjoyed the emotional scene genuinely, the Peter and Gamora scene was heart wrenching, and showed Thanos devotion to his goal. I had a little hard time believing he loved her enough to it being enough of a sacrifice, but it still worked.

The big scale battle was kind of annoying but I will get into that later.

The cinematography was fine, I enjoyed how colourful they allowed space to be, and that the lighting for the most part was not grey and gritty.

There were a lot of plot holes in this movie, like why did Thanos forget all the crazy powers he had in the Gamora Peter scene and not use it in the battle later? The problem with this is also that power differences is so weird, and non consistent. Like in the battle with Thanos, strange, Spidey and Tony, how do any of the three heroes have a chance against someone who can manipulate the rules of reality? Like Strange, maybe, but the two others? Not a chance!

The stones themselves raise a lot of questions. Like if he can control time and space, why not bring Gamora back the second the gets the soul stone? Or go back to a time when the rule that you have to do that does not apply. And in End Game, why not just kill baby Thanos? Why doesn't he go back in time to make sure the avengers do not get in his way in the first place?

The Loke death in the beginning felt so... Pointless? Seriously? Why has Loke been apart of anything in the MCU up until now? His arc has been pointless, and when he dies it is within the first 10 minutes, so it’s like: Oh, Loke is in this. And he is dead again. But because he has been “Dead” before, it does not resonate! And that is a general annoyance I have with these two movies, the stakes are non-existent. We know which characters have movies coming up, so we know who is going to survive in the end and who doesn't. So when they die, it doesn't have any impact!

So the movie is pretty good, it has some real emotional hits and some genuinely funny scenes, but it also leave you confused during some scenes. The thing I enjoyed the most about this movie, is the fact that Thanos won. The fact that the good guys lost, is amazing! Because after seeing them win challenge after challenge over 20 films, it was great to actually see our heroes lose, actually lose.

Onto End Game, to say that this is the worse of the two is correct. The movie for a two parter movie does hold up as movies on their own, which is great considering how all other movies split into two parts are as stand alone movies.

The colour grading in this movie is just weird, and a lot of times, it is weird looking at and clear that it was shot on a green screen, and usually an unnecessary green screen, for my taste. This combined with lack of playing with colour in this movie, everything just visually seemed gray and boring. No shots were interesting, they never played with the pacing of anything, it was all just regular film making, which is okay, but honestly bland. Even the composition of the everyone avengers assemble shot is so messy it does not evoke the amazing comic book front page style it could have been.

End game has a lot of big problems, and I might go into more of a ranting terrortory than actual reviewing, and for that I am sorry. But it has a lot of problems. The character arcs are so rushed and you never get time to absorb anything emotionally or care about anything that is going on, because then we immediately cut to another character, and we have to be completely invested in them. Thanos role in this movie was weird, while the first half of it was earned the rest of his part in the movie seemed forced. But what I think both movies got wrong about Thanos, is that they cut out death. Which is a shame, because a big part of his character and motivation is his love affair with mistress death. Hell they even put it in as an easter egg the first time we ever see Thanos! And his philosophy combined with his love and romance with death, would make sense, but they completely missed that opportunity. Which would also give more impact to him killing people more than just morals, and make him a more dimensional character.

The three biggest problems this movie has is pacing, tone and character arcs. Along the same lines of infinity war, the pacing is a little better in the first movie, but all over the place in End game. And the problem is because the pacing is so quick and everything needs to progress so quickly, everything just seems so rushed, and everything that was supposed to be an obstacle was basically solved in a super easy barely an inconvenience kind of way. The problem with the pacing is also that it rushes the characters. Meaning every time something happens to any character, any tension and character development, hell even emotional impact that could have had is cut short to cut to another characters arc. And even if it is not like that, the harsh editing in the movie ensures that any emotion any scenes hold is immediately undercut by something. Like, wow Hawkeye has lost all sense of morals and Natascha can't talk sense into him, but his surface is beginning to crack, that is interesting, let’s immediately cut from that to Thor opening a beer!

The only things that were actually given any kind of consideration to the pacing in this movie was when Scott came back, and the funeral scene, and maybe the fight scene in the end. Every thing else in this entire movie is so weirdly paced! Like, oh boy the stakes are high, I wonder if we will ever be able to figure out this time travel thing. 5 minutes later, Iron man comes out of a car and deus ex machina’s the entire thing. Like why? This should be a bigger issue? Oh no, we lost the one infinity stone, but we don’t have enough Pim particles to travel back anymore times. Simple just travel back to world war two, steal them as you conveniently get into a heavily guarded area while remembering that the love of your life exists while also without much trouble steals and have a cathartic moment with your father who dont know its you, so you can conveniently get back. That whole sequence is pretty cool, but is undermined so many times by being resolved too quickly, making you wonder what the point of it being a conflict at all was?

Which brings me to its second biggest problem, tone. This movie unlike the first one that balanced things pretty amazingly, cannot decide whether it wants to be dramatic action or a comedy, and it ends up being neither. I cannot stress enough how much I hate the jokes in this movie! The jokes are good, hell they are funny (though the Thor got fat jokes needs to leave and never come back. (although that big Labowski reference can stay, but it is on thin f*cking ice.) The other movies had fun moments, this genuinely felt like I was watching a parody movie half of the time. Yes the jokes are funny, I laughed out loud at the america’s ass jokes, but that joke felt like a meme that was somehow left in the final cut. The problem is, whereas the other movies, usually only used the comedy as a relief in certain scenes, it allowed other scenes to be genuinely emotional. It knew when it was appropriate to joke around. It did actually get it right a few times, the whole “hi peter” introduction between cap marvel and Spidey, was in character and genuinely appropriate to the situation, and funny, that scene worked. Where it did not work, was when Tony got back from space, part of that scene was amazing! It was a broken Tony confronting people he did not agree with about the fact that they lost and that he was traumatised and that he told them something like this could happen but they did not listen to him! And it just cuts in-between him being mad as hell and sad as he should be, to be cracking jokes two seconds later. And I hate that scene! Because it did not understand that it was not the time that it needed to break the tension it could have been an amazing and heartwrenching scene that eventually led to Tony giving up his super hero career and setting Tony and Steve on the path to forgiving each other. But no, it was constantly undercut by comedy. It was like they forgot that scenes were allowed to be emotional and not have any quick wit in it and still be good. The tone was just messy all the way through and seemed like I was watching two movies that had been mashed together into one.

The last problem this movie has is character arcs. Besides the undercutting of the emotions of its character in order to make jokes. This movie also seemed to forget who these characters were. It has a problem that many films like it has had, which is too many characters in one film. Every character is never given proper time, we like them because we know them, but this movie does nothing to further their relationships or own growth. The time jump, screws a lot of things up. Like I did not mind but why give Hulk the power to control Hulk then? (His arc through the entire MCU) and not right as he grabbed the stones, him through them being given the knowledge that Hulk isn’t the disease but the cure. Why not make his arc matter to the plot?! (like it did in the first avengers which was though a pretty deus ex machina, solution still a development that coincided with the plot!) The whole Natascha, Hawkeye fight was good, it meant something and it reminded me of their fight in the first Avengers that showed how good friends they were. But the quick editing ruins Nats death so much. This plays into pacing as well, but we are never given any kind of time to be sad about Nats death. Yes she was a minor character, but she was a character we cared about. If they could only have spent a few more seconds at Hawkeye realising what is happening, and being sad about Nats sacrifice in the soul world, and then picking up the stone and being like, I will finish this for you Natascha. That was all the writers needed to do, it would take two minutes more, but it would have allowed her death to mean something more. Hell Coulsons death was given more screen time in the first avengers than someone we have spent so many movies seeing and caring about!

I honestly wished that they had followed the comics version more, and in infinity wars, introduced Thanos, then wrapped up all the original avengers character arcs in that film. Let the snap happen and let Thanos also kill the original Avengers. Then let End Game be about the devastating loss, and the second squad (Black Panther, Scarlett, vision, Captain Marvel, Peter, Strange and part of Guardians & Ant-man) Struggle with their personal grief about losing their friends and mentors, finding the courage to band together and fight to go and defeat Thanos. I would have loved that so much more, mostly because it would give them a chance to lose and have these newer avengers actually mourn them all properly, while also being able to properly process it, and then decide to pick up their torch and finish what the original avengers started. But sadly we got this mess.

Also, I really need to rant about one particular thing in both movies, and honestly it has been a long time coming, but if I have to look at one more giant CGI henceman battle, I will walk out of the movie theatre! This is in both infinity war and End game! I do not care! I hate those big CGI lord of the ring type battles. Why? Because, yes it makes it all look grand, but it also make it look pointless. I don’t care about any of the people they are fighting I care about the villains and the heroes, characters I have spent time with. Why does Thanos send, wizard what's his face and other CGI dude in the first place? I do not care about his henchmen! I do not care about their meaningless fights with their meaningless goons. Why not instead of this giant battle in Wakanda and on the planet in End game ending battle, have all of our previously established villains, such as Loke, Hella, Thanos, that dude from guardians, whoever is the villain in captain marvel and doctor strange. Be the people they fight? Why not make it a few villains that we actually care about be the villains they are fighting, and instead of them punching random fools they could actually fight people who pose an actual challenge to them. Giving everything more meaning and not just, look how many CGI extras we can afford. It is not fun anymore! I have had it! Fight fewer but harder bad guys! That way the fight has some actual stakes and meaning!

If you have made it this far, wow, impressive. I also imagine that it is very clear that I thought there was a lot of problems with these two movies. I will not say I hated them. They were not flaming piles of garbage like suicide squad, but they are also not anywhere near as good as the first guardians movie. In the end, they were entertaining. Were they, I am willing to sit through these six hours ever again entertaining? Abso-f*cking-lutely not.

I have before given up on the cinematic univers and come back to it and this was me actually hoping it would be great movies that everyone said they were, so I could get back into Marvel super hero movies, but sadly, they were visually pretty stale, tonally, pacing and characterly a mess, and not the finale to 22 films I had hoped for.

I give infinity war 8/10 stars

And End game 3/10 stars.

Send me a message if you agree, disagree or just wanna talk about movies (or have any recs for what I should see next) Until then

- Geek out.

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pwnyta · 5 years

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Full Endgame spoilers/review:

(TL;DR: It was really fucking good. Theres some bad obviously but overall worth it. Even after reading the spoilers and feeling like I may not like it as much as I thought I would... I actually liked it more.)

- - So as I said I loved the movie I had some gripes but overall I thought it was one hell of a fun, entertaining movie. I'll go by each characters story in my review saving Cap and Tony for last.

Natasha- Honestly? Though I think the MCU dropped the ball on the 0G6 being a believable family... I think Nats role in this movie was sweet. I really like the scene where Tony Nat and Bruce were laying down talking about Strange and the stones. It was really cute but it really made me wish we got to see this earlier. Joss dropped the ball hard in AoU. Ive said it one and I'll say it again. AoU should have been the movie where the Avengers were a solid unit throughout the movie.Nats death was... heroic but honestly her and Clint beating the shit out of each other because neither could stand the thought of the other being sacrificed was kinda funny and cute which is jarring to the story. It kinda sucks that she was fridged before the final battle though.

Clint- What are the fucking odds that every one of his family was dusted? But w/e. Clint having a wild sword battle in Japan... it was ridiculous and weird and IDK what they were thinking with that scene but it was played really dramatically but I laughed? Cuz it was so over the top and silly... even though he just slit that guys throat and Nats like :c Clint~ honey no its fine... and they hold hands over the guys warm corpse. LMFAO WHAT!? Im at least happy his kids got him back if nothing else.

Bruce- ... Bruce with Hulks big green body? NICE. Thats gonna have some interesting fanart I can already tell and I lift my glass to you. I once tried to draw a little comic where Bruce and Hulk separated but also had swapped bodies.... so Bruce had Hulks body but I never did finish it I wonder if I still have it saved somewhere. Anyways. Honestly? I found Bruce in this movie to be equal parts funny and annoying? Like it was a bit jarring sometimes that he was so lighthearted despite everything.

Thor- When I read the spoilers I thought I was gonna really dislike Thor but watching it I understood where Thor was coming from and I couldnt really blame him for spiraling and its not like anyone close to him seemed to even check up on him despite clearly knowing where he was. Im really sad that it took all those years and only until he was needed for someone to try and talk Thor through what he was going through. Im not annoyed with Thor. Im annoyed with the rest of them (minus Tony and I guess Clint? Considering.). Bruce was his friend in Ragnarok, Nat keeps talking about them being family, and Steve is their leader where the hell were they? Unless im missing something... I guess Valkyrie too but shes been picking up his slack as a leader and was holding the Asgardians together so I can cut her some slack. ANYWAYS. Thor was kinda funny in the movie but it was kind of hard to enjoy his goofiness. It kind felt like Tony in IM2. Speaking of Im glad Tony seemed really tolerant of Thors drunk behavior... I was sure he would throw a lot of shots like Rocket did. I wish they had a moment to talk about Thor self medicating with booze... Tonys been there. I get why they couldnt really but.. His scene with Frigga was really nice. Frigga is a bad bitch raised by witches and shit.... she knows all~ A wise woman that Frigga.

Scott- HOLY SHIT Did I love Scott in this movie. He was soo funny and cute... and bullied a lot. You know I have a thing for easily bulliable character. And Scott just got spanked left and right. His helpless goofiness reminded me of Harry from KKBB a little. He bounced off everyone well and it makes me kinda wish he was one of the OG6 instead of Clint. He was more of the heart that kept the Avengers together than anyone. Also him and Tony talking about Caps ass? HILARIOUS. Bisexual icons honestly. 'That suit did nothing for your ass.' 'No one asked you to look!' 'I think you look great Cap as far as Im concerned thats Americas ass!' and then later Caps all 'That IS Americas ass.' Unbelievable. But his best scene is still him reuniting with Cassie. She was so big! Im so happy she got her dad back... but Bruces failed time travel machine scene.... that was a close second. 'Somebody peed my pants... idk if it was baby me or old me........ or me me.' Also the 'whats up regular sized man' scene is longer and more hilarious than the preview showed. FUCK YOUR TACO SCOTT. At least Bruce is nice to him. I ship GreenAnt a little. Rocket petting Scott and mockingly calling him a puppy. SAME.

Rhodey- JESUS RHODEY. Speaking of hilarious idiots. Im glad he got a bigger roll in this movie but he didnt hug Tony when he got back so whats the point? BUT W/E... He was hilarious and amazing. It was nice to see him step up as one of the sorta leaders after the snappening. But he was also A HUGE FUCKING DORK THE ENTIRE WAY THROUGH. Thinking that a secret cavern with a spooky name would be boobytrapped like in Indiana Jones and trying to convince Nebula to be careful. Naming a bunch of shitty time travel movies to prove a point about time travel (with Scotts help) and going back in time to kill baby Thanos...and Bruce was like 'yeah... no...' and him fucking TRASHING the magic of the iconic opening scene of the first GotG where Quill is dancing.... 'so hes an idiot?' RHODEY PLEEEEAAASSSEEEE have mercy. Him and Nebula are a trip. Also I made a note to mention Don Cheadles BEAUTIFUL soft voice. So here it is. I love Don Cheadles beautiful soft voice. He had too few scenes with Tony but their first scene when Tony starts freaking out and hes trying to get Tony to calm down was pretty good... and god that ending.... ;-; How come Rhodey got NO lines while Tony was dying? But also in the same position I dont think Id have any words either. I too would just cry. And did... for Tony. But yeah besides his lack of scenes with Tony I really loved Rhodeys scenes. I usually do. Hes adorable.

Nebula: Sweetie... You are just amazing. Shes legit one of the best most solid characters in the movie. The opening scenes between her and Tony? FUCKING adorable. Im sad we dont see more of them after the time skip. I also wish we got a longer scene of Neb and Rocket talking when she gets to earth... I guess just seeing them sit together sadly was enough to portray the emotions but.... I MEAN. More Nebula wouldnt hurt anyone. Having to see two tortured versions of Nebula was upsetting. Future Nebula who lost so much and past Nebula still under Thanos' thumb. 'You can change!' 'He wont let me' OOF. Im sad that past Nebula was killed... but appreciate that even in that moment past Gamora was upset to see her be killed. Im glad with Present Neb, Gamora was so easily heel-face turned. She loves her sister. Also their moment after past Gamora beats up present Quill was hilarious 'Really? This is the guy?' 'The choices were him or a tree.' WHAT ABOUT DRAX, NEBULA?! I know I said I may not watch any MCU movies after this but I might tune in for GotG3 for Nebula (and Thor).

Steve: I actually ENJOYED Steve in this movie for the most part. For the first time in any movie... even by himself I kind of enjoyed Steve. Especially the scene when hes fighting himself and his past self says 'I can do this all day' and hes like 'Tst... yeah I know... okay' Like he was sick of his own damn bullshit. And frankly? Same. Also him whispering 'Hail hydra' to get the scepter? Hilarious. I cant help but see it as a knock at that shitty Hydra Cap comic that everyone hated. But despite me enjoying Steve for most of the film... the MCUs inability to write a good romance and pretending like Steve and Peggys relationship was a peak or something completely undoes it all. It would still NOT BE GREAT regardless but the fact the RUSSOS are the ones who brought Sharon into TWS in the first place makes it SO MUCH WORSE that Steve dipped out. Steve should have moved on... even if it wasnt with Sharon. They could have at least MENTIONED HER but they knew they couldnt because then it would be too highlighted that Steve is a fucking FUCK BOY who used the niece of the woman he loved as a surrogate and that him going back to the past means hes gonna be meeting little Sharon at some point. Also? Really? Steve you have this whole new family you supposedly love and can live your life with but you rather go back in the past because the first woman who was nice to you was there? Move on. Its so fucking weird that hes so obsessed with her. You have your childhood friend and the rest of your new friends... and supposedly a girlfriend. IDK how anyone could be happy with that ending for him. But I guess its in character... remember the note he sent Tony 'I've been on my own since I was 18.' What about Bucky? He was there with you and you had family in the Avengers supposedly. Natasha seemed to think so. YOURE SUCH A FUCKIN SCUMBAG STEVE. Jesus.

Tony: First of all Id just LOVED his scenes with Nebula as I said. He sat there patiently teaching how to play paper football and held her win. It was REALLY cute. When he passed out she picked him up off the floor and sat him down on the chair and pat him. REAL CUTE. He nicknamed her 'The Blue Meanie' its cute and he tried to give her the last of their food but she insisted he eat it. Bobbos eyes never looked more gorgeous than in that scene where Carol finds them honestly. Tonys I told you so was really really sad. It had a lot of feeling like that scene in AoU when he laughs hysterically and starts ranting? Rhodey tried to calm him down but he just ripped into Cap. Also he yanked off his arc reactor and I FULLY JUMPED IN PANIC because I forgot it wasnt in him. I fully flinched. But he pulled his heart out and gave it to Steve and then passed out. Tony and Peppers daughter is ADORABLE. And her interactions with Tony are so sweet. Domestic Tony is lovely. I love that when Steve and the gang roll up on him Morgan runs out during their discussion and is like 'Mom told me to come and save you....' and hes like 'Well Ive been saved!' REAL CUTE. Also he swore and his daughter copied him and hes like NOOOOO!!!!!!! LMAO. LANGUAGE Tony. Tony is motivated to fix things seeing that pic of him and Peter. Hes such a softie. IM REALLY REALLY SAD that we finally see Pepper kinda GET Tonys need to be Iron Man and is like 'But could you rest?'. The one time she encourages him to go back to be Iron Man and he fucking DIES. Im so sad for Pepper. But that scene between them where shes like 'We'll be ok.... you can rest now.' FUCK. Im crying again. That scene between him and Steve- 'Someone shoula warned you~' 'You did...' 'Oh did I? Thank god Im here' has the same energy as 'Who taught you how to dance?' 'You did.' 'Well Ive done a marvelous job!' It was pretty great. Tonys nicknames for Scott are 'Pissant' and 'Thumbelina.' Im not OVERLY fond of his scenes with Howard. But honestly? My brother is the same way with our dad... he just chooses to forget the bad stuff and focus on the few good times. I cant do that but if it made Tony happier then VERY WELL. I wish Tony coulda talked to Jarvis too tho... just a word... anything? Best Tony scene is Peter babbling about how he musta passed out because Tony was gone and and and and Tony just hugs him so tightly and Peters hugs back and is like :D 'this is nice'! Though that STARK contrast of them after Tony uses the gauntlet... and Peter is like 'Mr Stark... we won... we did it... no Mr Stark...' Big Simba and Mufasa feels (and kind of Hughes and Elicia tbh). Not cool Disney. I was already crying. Rhodey was the first to reach Tony and Tony couldnt say ANYTHING to anyone and Rhodey just pets his cheek... Tony was just looking around as his family just has to watch helplessly as hes dying and Pepper tells him its ok. His funeral was really nice. He recorded a message for everyone kind of like his message for Pepper on the ship. Everyone was there... I think even Harley (Im really sad we didnt see them get reunited even once). The scene with Happy and Morgan was really sweet. 'I'll buy all the cheeseburgers you want....' It was cool to because... ya know.... Jon Favreau. He got a really beautiful end. I wish he could just retire and live with Pep and Morgan... but if he had to die... that was a really lovely sendoff. SO ALL IN ALL. Awesome movie. I didnt get to see past elderly Steve passing the shield off to Sam... I'll have to rewatch it again when theres a better version. Especially for that fucking STUNNING end battle. Even with the shitty cam I watched it looked AMAZING and I cant wait for it in HD.

#Endgame Spoilers

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sneakronicity · 5 years

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A few Endgame thoughts under the cut. SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

ALL THE SPOILERS!

LOTS OF SPOILERS!

I’ve been trying to sit down and put my feelings about Endgame into words, like work through all I’m feeling and going through, but I just can’t seem to do it. I’ve had some good conversations about it, but to try to make a post about it is too hard. But here goes,

There were a lot of parts I enjoyed:

~Natasha leading what was left of the Avengers, finally letting her guard down, calling them her family. That scene hurt my heart ~ Tony finally having peace with Pepper and their daughter ~ Scott. Just everything to do with Scott ~ The team shenanigans were fun ~ The final battle was well done. When the dusted people returned the whole theatre went crazy ~ Steve weilding Mjolnir also got a huge cheer, and it was pretty wicked ~ And as if I even have to say it, but the Clintasha scenes. omg the Clintasha scenes. This is what has been missing from these movies, and I’m so glad they finally reestablished their bond, that these two broken people love each other more than anyone or anything else in the world, that they would give their lives so the other could live. Just everything was so beautiful and heart wrenching and I will never be over this. There was more intimacy and chemistry in that forehead touch than anything else. Don’t try to sell me “he loves his wife!” after that shit, sorry. He might as well have been kissing cardboard at the end.

There’s more I’m sure, but that’s what’s jumping out now. Unfortunately, there was a lot of bad as well. When I left the theatre Thursday night, I was mostly okay. The hype of the audience had be pumped up, but the more I think about the movie the angrier and more disappointed I get. Friday I was in bad shape, I literally cried all day, so much I had a massive headache that lasted into Saturday. It’s a little better today, but not much. I never got over my hatred and anger at AoU, how am I supposed to get past this?

So that brings us to the bad:

~ Thor. At first I was okay with his story, because Bruce clearly really cared, and Thor was obviously going through so much, but when the took him back to the base his depression was turned into a joke. Like oh, look how he let himself go! and he keeps going off topic about the people he lost but it’s funny! And in the end it just felt like he went nowhere. They tore him completely down and then just left him there. No building him back up, nothing that felt hopeful. It felt like a huge disservice to his character. ~ I don’t really care about Bruce, but fixing his Hulk problem off screen was kinda weird, and he continued to feel dumbed down in this film. I swear the Bruce from the first Avengers film was a fluke and has never been the same since. ~ Steve. Civil War really put me off Steve as a character, and other fandom reasons as well, but when he picked up Mjolnir man I was rooting for him again. Then we got his ending, and it felt so selfish and counterproductive to his entire character. Even Peggy herself moved on and had along, happy life, and told him to do the same, but no. He couldn’t let go of this brief romance he had all those years ago despite her living a full life without him and had to go back, had to abandon his new friends, and live the life he was robbed of. I mean I get it, but it made me dislike him all over again. ~ Clint. Where do I even start? Y’all know my feelings on how dirty Clint has been done in the MCU, but this... they had the opportunity to fix him. There were so many ways they could have done his story in this film, so many unique and interesting directions they could have taken him, and they literally picked the more boring and predictable one possible. Who honestly didn’t believe his family was going to get dusted and then returned at the end? Everyone saw that coming. And he remains a completely undeveloped character, no different now than he was when first introduced, because yet again all the important character development was done entirely off screen. He had some great moments, don’t get me wrong, and Renner freaking knocked the acting out fo the park, but Clint is still so one dimensional and he never will be a fully developed character as long as the family exists, as they’re used as a magic fix it for everything. This is the third time there was a huge character altering moment that will be brushed aside off screen. Mind fucked by Loki? Fixed off screen. Lost the organization he trusted and devoted his life to, discovering some of his missions may have been for HYDRA? Fixed off screen. Spent five years on a murder spree? Fixed off screen. All fixed by spending time with his magic plot device family. I’m so angry, I hate everything about this, and I will never ever understand how anyone who loves Clint Barton can support that plot when all it has done is damage his character. ~ Natasha. Oh, my sweet baby girl, you deserved so much better. There is a great article out there by Vanity Fair that sums up a lot of what I’ve been raging about for years in regards to how Natasha has been handled in the MCU. I’ll link it at the end here. But basically I don’t feel like any writer has ever gotten her, has ever known what to do with her as her own character, and has always used her to service a dude’s plot. This is why I will always feel making her part of Cap’s supporting cast was a huge mistake. I’ve been saying for years that the Russo’s and M&M don’t really care about her character further than how he relates to Steve, and she basically became little more than an extension of Steve, his right hand, there to support him. He got to have deep relationships with other characters, while her most important relationship was stripped way and she only had Steve. Finally this movie we got away from that, but it became painfully obvious that he never cared about her as much as she did him. This team, this family, meant everything to her, but she didn’t mean everything to them, and that breaks my heart. Then we come to the end, and it’s clear Clint loves her with everything he is, and would have traded anything for her, but the narrative makes it feel like somehow he deserves to live more because of his stupid family and I hate that. I hate that she died so early, the final battle was lacking so much from her absence, and in the end Tony gets a whole ass funeral and nobody has anything for her. This was not a satisfying conclusion to her arc at all and I will be forever pissed. You know what would have been amazing? If her arc concluded with her weilding Mjolnir, therefore proving she was the best person she could be and worthy as all get out.

I know I didn’t mention Tony, but that’s the one arc I don’t know how to feel about. In some ways I count it in the good column because I always felt he was going to go out in a blaze of glory like that, and he got so much love and respect at the end, getting to die surrounded by everyone he loved, but at the same time he had found love and peace and lost it all. Why couldn’t he have a happy ending?

I should probably wrap this up now and save all my questions for another post, because man do I have a lot of questions and think a lot of this shit just didn’t make sense. Like honestly, just go back and grab Natasha from right before she died and bring her to the present. If changing the past doesn’t affect the future, and Past!Gamora can be running around and Nebula can kill her past self with no consequences then why isn’t this a no brainer? My head hurts, I hate time travel.

Anyways, more rambling some day when I can think again. If you read this whole thing I applaud you.

Edit: whoops, forgot the article I said I’d link: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/04/avengers-endgame-black-widow-death-scarlett-johansson

#endgame spoilers #spoilers #I am fangirl see me rant #avengers endgame spoilers

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anneboleyns · 6 years

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also no one asked (ok well someone asked me like a week ago on curiouscat but) but here are my hopes n dreams for the downton abbey movie:

1) it will never happen but i want a romance storyline for thomas lol, the whole shebang: meet cute, random misunderstandings/obstacles, obstacle(s) is/are overcome, happy ending and a motherfucking KISS, honestly we have edith/bertie, mary/matthew, mary/henry, carson/hughes, andy/daisy, isobel/merton, anna/bates, all following this pattern and i WANT IT. i know it’s different with a movie and he can’t get the episodes-long arcs those couples got, but they could pull smth off. i think if it happened to be jimmy or phillip that would be nice but obviously not gonna happen as neither ed or charlie are included in the cast lol, and also like i said since for a movie it would have to be a condensed plot it’s probably for the best it won’t be jimmy bec that storyline would deserve much more nuance, sensitivity, care, and explanation than the limited screentime available in a single film could give

2) not to be a bitch but i want michael gregson to be alive sdfhdsiukhsdfiusdfkdsf like can you IMAGINE, jesus it would be so frustrating but so satisfying bec of course that would happen to edith lmaoooooooo also i want marigold to meet him??? idk i adore edith and bertie but i really liked michael. like picture edith and bertie and marigold sitting in their drawing room in their castle having tea and there’s a fire and it’s cute and cozy and then their butler comes in like “there’s a man downstairs m’lady, insisting on seeing you” and edith going “let him in Jives” (or whatever the butlers name is) and she looks at bertie and says “i wonder what on earth this is about” and the door opens and it’s MICHAEL GREGSON and we see edith’s shocked face and then it cuts to like, violet and isobel arguing about violet’s cook’s views on sheep farming or something

3) can tom branson be happy jesus christ like, his entire storyline has always revolved around other ppl, he always felt like a side character in his own plots ?????????? and then he’s just a vehicle for mary’s happiness or robert’s success or downton’s issues for mary/robert/tom to solve, so rarely is it ever about HIM and HIS happiness, even with bunting that was about riling robert up so it was something for him and cora to argue about and so daisy could get an education. i just want him to get some attention i love one (1) irish socialist (bonus points if the movie opens with him burning the Abbey down while holding bundles of marxist literature)

4) mary and barrow’s relationship in the movie should mirror robert and carson’s relationship throughout the series.... likewise george and barrow should mirror mary and carson’s...... like. carson isn’t butler anymore. and carson was In Strum Mental in the running of that household, not an episode goes by without robert or cora or mary or someone talking to carson, and barrow is butler now, his role, literally, needs to be bigger, and his relationship with the upstairs crew should be more clearly defined and featured. u can’t change my mind. also he’s so fucking adorable with george and sybbie. slightly related: i want thomas to mention sybil, anna said herself he knew her better than any of the downstairs crew and esp bec he’s close with sybil’s daughter i want that MENTIONED. thomas being Soft and Fond ??? sign me tf up

5) i can’t stand carson or robert and if they both make it thru the movie alive ima be pissed. they function in the narrative as ties to the pre-wwi world and it’s past time one or both of those misogynist fuckwads are dispensed with. like any time one of them is onscreen i’m just Die Die Die Die DIe. i HATE

6) i really want scenes of george, sybbie, and marigold together. they are the next generation of crawleys and i want them to kind of be together, the 3 of them, as a group, the way edith, mary, and sybil were in the first season. we had The Crawley Sisters as a group, now it’s time for The Crawley Cousins. i want all 3 of them to have their own personalities and teasing of each other the way mary edith sybil did. i know they’re only children and the movie only takes place 2 yrs after the s6 finale so they’re still very young, but it’s enough to lay the groundwork and plant suggestions abt how the 3 of them’s relationship will be. it would be adorable and satisyfing

7) now u all know i adore thomas and i want him to be happy and i really am thrilled he’s developed and isn’t just the one-dimensional antagonist he was in season 1, i’m happy he’s allowed himself to become a bit softer and has a found family that he finally feels at home with. WITH THAT SAID........... there is next to no tension among the downstairs characters anymore. we need someone to come in, rustle some feathers, have hideous hair ringlets..... if you’ve guessed Sarah O’Brien u’ve guessed right. now listen i know she’s awful but i think it could be great. imagine her waltzing in and basically being like s1 thomas, just snarking at everything. i bet she’d be all saccharine and fake like “so thomas you’re butler now that’s sooooo nice!!! and look at the bates’ baby, i’m soooo happy for you!!!” and no one believes her and she’s just sneaking around causing trouble. she’d probably get into it w baxter bec she’s so soft and nice, but when obrien tries to fuck w molesley or thomas baxter becomes this image:

i can also imagine obrien being really nasty with andy and daisy bec they’re so young and cute and obrien.... isn’t, and barrow gets fed up and comes in like “SO SARAH, YOU DROPPED ANY SOAP LATELY?” and she goes pale and shuts up after that idfghdfiuhdyf

8) i want richard carlisle to come back bec iain glen is a fox. no other reason

9) i want madeleine allsopp to come back bec after the shannara chronicles i miss poppy drayton’s face on my screen. no other reason

10) omg i almost forgot, i want baby bates to be friendly with the upstairs children and i want baby bates to love thomas just like the other kids do, it would be great bec bates and thomas still hate each other but they would both love that kid and it would be super cute. i’ve also always loved thomas’ weird lil relationship w anna, like they’re not FRIENDS but i feel like there’s potential between the 2 of them to be friends. thomas noticed first when anna was bruised after her attack and asked what happened, anna noticed when thomas was sick during the conversion therapy s5 plotline and kept asking him if he was ok and telling him to rest. them in the hallway together after sybil died. thomas saying “no anna’s not an enemy. but she’s incorruptible so we have nothing in common” to edna. so i feel since he’s so good with kids and they seem to love him, it would make sense for the bates baby to be the same, and it would alter the bates/anna/thomas dynamic in a possibly interesting and satisfying way

11) I Want Anna Bates To Be Happy And Laugh And Smile And Also Have Her Hair Down. I Am Tired Of Watching Anna Bates Suffer. If Fellowes Hurts Any More Hair On Her Head I Will Burn ITV Studios Down Just Test Me Julian.

#downton abbey #thomas barrow #anna bates #mary crawley #tom branson #tp #this is so fucking long no one will read this dsifhduskfhsd

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notajinn · 5 years

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Thoughts on Avengers Endgame

I saw a movie on opening day for the first time. It's been about 24 hours and I want to jot down quick thoughts while I still have better memory of Avengers Endgame.

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW! If you don't want to be spoiled, turn away now.

A quick background to my lead up to this movie. I have always been into games, but I had limited experience with comics for most of my life outside of Sonic, Archie, and the occasional Donald Duck. I loved Batman and Spider-Man, but I didn't make the move to reading comics or really following their scenes beyond the mainstream movies and cartoons.

Which means I went into the MCU at first as someone with only a basic knowledge of comic worlds. Like most people, I was blown away by the first Iron Man. I wasn't invested enough to follow all the movies though, and didn't see another MCU movie until Avengers. I think this was the movie that really sparked my interest in the greater comic universe because it showed that Iron Man was not a one-off fluke, and it managed to balance a whole team of heroes better than many superhero films carried a single one.

The MCU has been with me from before I had much interest in comics, and this arc lasted to this point where I'm very invested in the genre (though more of that is attributed to Ms Marvel than the MCU). In that way, the fact that Endgame is such a celebration of the MCU makes it feel a lot heavier than it is as a film on its own.

That's probably the main takeaway from Endgame; it is extremely difficult to think of as a movie on its own as opposed to a anniversary special. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, however.

With that frame setting things up, here are various thoughts in no particular order I have about Endgame.

1. Valkyrie continues to be amazing. I loved seeing her as a Pegasus Knight in the big fight scene, and the idea of making her the new King of Asgard is something I never expected, but really love.

2. Because Loki wasn't killed by Thanos' snap, I assume this means he's still dead. So the Loki show is going to be about the alternate universe Loki who escaped with the Infinity Stone? Or a prequel featuring this universe Loki?

3. It was really 50/50 to me whether Sam or Bucky would become Cap (though I was 100% on both Cap and Iron Man leaving). I feel like in the real world, Sam is a better idea for the sake of representation. In-universe however, I feel Bucky and Steve were far closer and it would have made more sense to pass the Captain title to him. Though there's the question of whether Bucky really wanted it. Was Steve just planning to give it to whichever of the two approached first? If not, how awkward would it have been for Bucky to go up first, ask about the shield, and Steve to then give it to Sam?

4. I'm glad they mostly dropped the Bruce and Black Widow romance, because it felt really forced

5. Black Widow was at her best here, and I was surprised they killed off the original female member of the team. Also given she has a confirmed movie and Hawkeye has a confirmed show, real life knowledge did not really spoil which one lived during the Soul Stone encounter

6. The fight between Black Widow and Hawkeye was arguably the best action sequence

7. I feel like they had to forcibly make Thor a washed-up drunk just so we wouldn't immediately defeat no-stone Thanos in the final fight. Honestly it still felt crazy that Cap, Thor, and Iron Man together couldn't take down his non-stone form.

8. Spider-Man got to use kill mode!

9. So is half of Peter's school just 5 years older now? I assume that all the important characters will have conveniently been "snapped" so that they don't have to recast for future Spider-Man movies. Although I wouldn't mind this opportunity to have Cindy aged up for her own movie's sake. Especially since an older Cindy would have less of a chance of being put into an awful romance with teen Peter

10. They could make a whole movie or even series about the people who lived through the Thanos Years trying to adapt to the world being restored. Because that must be a mess.

11. I thought Carol's little flirting with Peter was kinda funny without being too much as a reference to their one-time relationship

12. During the funeral scene, there seemed to be another white kid who looked like Peter according to friends I saw it with. I didn't see the second one, so they might just be crazy, but if there's not I wonder who it was

13. I did not expect them to bring back Gamora though her past form. I'm really curious how this affect Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Will the plot be winning her back? Outside of losing the romance with Quill, how much character development will they say she regained off-screen between movies?

14. Steve looked great doing Devil May Cry combos with Mjolnir and his shield

15. This was Quill's first time back on Earth, wasn't it? If so, I would have loved one of the post-fight scenes actually giving that more weight. But instead he's already blasting off again. Maybe Guardians 3 will have a flashback about it

16. I really wish Quill wasn't treated as such a big joke in these bigger team up movies. I get that he's a comedic character who is severely outclassed, but I'd still like him to get thrown a better bone. I would have loved to see him talk to some of the other humans while on Earth too

17. I can't believe how quickly and cleanly they killed Thanos at the beginning. I especially love Thor using it as a chance to make up for his mistake

18. That initial Thanos kill did a great job at subverting expectations, and honestly made me disoriented

19. Carol was as strong as expected, but they didn't let her solo everything. That was probably the best way to deal with her without powering her down

20. Nebula was way more important than I expected her to be, which I appreciated

21. Did Nebula know the Soul Stone required a sacrifice? Is that why she sent Black Widow and Hawkeye? If not, what if that was where she and Sam went? Neither of their deaths would have led to a stone

22. Steve was so good at using future knowledge to his advantage with his "hail Hydra" remark, and his "Bucky's alive" to past-Cap. I also generally can't believe they reference Hydra Cap given how awfully he was received

23. Got really worried at the beginning that Hawkeye was going to call his daughter Kate to badly shoehorn Better Hawkeye into the MCU. She still has a chance to get in properly luckily

24. I forgot Pepper ever got an Iron Man suit. Also I vaguely thought the actress didn't want to return for some reason

25. I really didn't expect Jane to come back given the actress seems so indifferent to the MCU. If they do go the Jane-Thor route, here's hoping they cast a new actress

26. If everyone has shrinking/time-travel suits now, does that mean they can all super-size as well? If so, Scott completely lost his gimmick. But then we have characters like Quill who have no powers or real fighting gimmicks, but are still great

27. How did Thanos and crew so easily jump forward in time just because they had the Pym Particles?

28. I would have loved to see the full scene of Carol rescuing Iron Man and Nebula instead of jumping forward

29. Would similarly have loved to see even a flashback of how Bruce and Hulk got to their Professor Hulk state

30. Fury didn't even help in the big fight. Not even just shooting one guy, or talking to Carol!

31. After all these years, the music is still so incredibly average and forgettable. You could see the end credits trying SO hard with the main Avengers theme, but it's just so incredibly "okay"

32. Loved the quiet way they handled the opening

That's all I have right now. Feel free to pipe in if you have points to make about any of my thoughts.

#avengers endgame #spoilers #avengers spoilers #endgame spoilers

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peremadeleine · 5 years

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I know you’re probably all sick of me ranting about this dumb show (and I’m sick of doing it tbh) but I’m passionate about these characters and their story. I can’t help it.

it’s basically just highlighting the mindset of a lot of superwholock people who want to act like any of those shows are even remotely similar to NBC!Hannibal. Those shows all feature queerbaiting and generally treat female characters like shit, whereas in NBC!Hannibal, Hannigr*m is actually canon, the show is plot-driven, and the women are badasses for their own sake, not just plot points.

“actually canon”

“““canon”””

and about those female “badasses”...

a) I’ve never watched the show all the way through (I know I’d just get mad), but I have friends who have, and according to them, a lot of those female characters do get treated like shit by the narrative, probably because the focus was always supposed to be the nonsensical Hot Mess that is “Hannigr*m”

and never mind that a ton of the show’s fans either ignore or actively demean the canon female characters from the books/movies upon which the NBC show is based in the first place (again--just based on my own experience in fandoms in general--this probably happens because the very existence of Molly and Clarice poses a big problem for their favorite ridiculous, unhealthy af ship)

b) OP forgot to mention the fact that they erased both Clarice Starling and Ardelia Mapp*, two objectively “badass” female characters; one of them is certifiably Iconic and the other is a woman of color [and is also highly intelligent, capable, empowered, and just a wonderful friend/character]

OP also forgot to mention that one of those aforementioned female characters--Clarice, of course--has very nearly her entire narrative/character arc (not to mention her romance, which is in itself an integral part of her growth and development as a character) reassigned to other characters, one of whom is a throwaway female character who exists solely to be killed and one of whom is male

they could also easily have included Rachel DuBerry, who is only mentioned briefly but is at least a named, canonical female character with dialogue and a close relationship to Hannibal before his arrest and would be easy to flesh out and make entertaining! but no!!!

frankly the whole pitch of the show was...interesting...to begin with, because Red Dragon was a pretty open-and-shut, self-contained thriller, with Will Graham’s narrative ending tragically (RD is the parallel to Inferno in the trilogy, after all) and more or less definitively. it’s fine to explore his pre-RD narrative if you think you have more to say about it (though I’m not sure saying “only this time he has Asperger’s!” is constructive when two full-length movie adaptations of Red Dragon already exist), sure. but Thomas Harris moved on from Will Graham and didn’t think he was as interesting, as valuable, or had as important a story as his new hero, Clarice--and he was right.

“I also knew that the knowledge [of the Tooth Fairy’s identity] would be terribly, perhaps tragically, expensive to others in [Red Dragon]. And so it turned out. Years later when I started The Silence of the Lambs, I did not know that Dr. Lecter would return. I...wanted to do a novel with a strong woman as the central character. So I began with Clarice Starling... I admired Clarice Starling enormously.” (Thomas Harris, “Foreword to a Fatal Interview,” from the 2000 edition of Red Dragon)

tl;dr they chose to forget that two-thirds of the original Hannibal trilogy is very intentionally--among other things--a story about a fierce, ambitious woman’s struggle to find herself and achieve not only her dreams but also true freedom in the face of almost insurmountable institutional sexism (since Clarice, not Hannibal, is the protagonist). As one of the posts I linked to above points out, the reason there are relatively few prominent female characters in these books is to draw attention to these themes, which are also brilliantly represented in a visual medium in the Silence of the Lambs film. So choosing to make yet another show about Will’s type of character, shows which have frankly been done to death, instead of trying to maybe flesh out Clarice’s story (since the Ridley Scott movie didn’t in any way) was, well...a choice that they made. everything else (essentially erasing/replacing Clarice and pointlessly genderbending some of the worst book characters) only added to that first questionable decision.

*granted, Ardelia is not much of a character in Hannibal’s story--she’s Clarice’s best friend--but God knows they inserted plenty of canonical male characters who weren’t directly connected to Hannibal, and at least Ardelia isn’t some half-assed OC that Fuller and the writers aren’t actually interested in b/c of their “canon” ship!

#very ranty below the cut #anti NBC Hannibal wank as usual #do NOT tell me a show that actively erased Clarice Starling and her story had Badass Independent Female Characters

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