#great first theater experience of 2025

[cas-poisoning]

Just saw Nosferatu and I’m still in a state of shock to write any actual, meaningful thoughts about the movie, so all I can say is, why did they give him a huge mustache??

Movie was amazing though.

[alethianightsong]

I fully expected Sinners (2025) to be overhyped and was glad to see it was fresh and original. It also remembered that vampires have to be invited in which leads to some great scenes.

So I'm black and am bone tired of historical black films being either about slavery or the civil rights era. This film is very much a period drama that just so happens to have vampires in it. Like Dusk Till Dawn, it starts as one genre before the second genre (horror) starts bleeding in little by little until you're watching Depression-era gangsters going toe-to-toe with a vampire and his thralls.

Both Smoke and Stack (played by Michael B. Jordan in dual roles) have love interests who exist in different worlds from them. Smoke's estranged wife is a practitioner of folk medicine and believes in the supernatural while Stack's love interest Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) is a white-passing black woman who he broke things off with so she could live a white life. They're both still deeply in love with them but left their wife and lover to live a life of crime in a bid to get ahead in a racist world.

To summarize the first half of the film, the brothers buy an old saw mill to turn into a juke joint. They enlist their cousin Sammi to play at it and when he plays, he plays so well that his music summons the ancestors and descendants which dance alongside the living. Enter the vampire Remmick who wants Sammi's gift. As a vampire, he's cut off from both the living and dead and hasn't been able to commune with his people in centuries so he wants Sammi to join him and summon his ancestors too. Remmick quickly turns the patrons of the juke joint into vampires so he can have a "community" of his own but it's a pale imitation of what Sammi can do. With only 7 survivors left inside the juke joint, they have to hold out until sunrise while Remmick taunts them from outside.

My favorite moment is obviously the scene where the ancestors and descendants dance with the living but my 2nd-favorite scene is when 1 of the newly turned vampires tries to trick his way back inside. At this point, everyone is slowly realizing they're in a horror movie (except for Smoke's hoodoo wife who figured it out quick) so while the vampire keeps trying to get someone in the juke joint to let him in, they're asking why they must VERBALLY give consent and he can't say it outright. It's a great scene because the audience knows he's a vampire but the characters don't know what he is, they just know something's amiss.

Overall, SINNERS was an experience worthy of the $11.80 I spent on the ticket. My theater was barely half full (perks of living in a rural area) so it was an immersive experience. Shoutout to Grace Chow's actor for understanding the assignment cuz she had me convinced that she owned a grocery store in the Mississippi Delta.

[scratchpad-sagas]

Thoughts on Superman (2025)

TL;DR? 6 out of 10. Overall, it was a decent experience, but I'm afraid the negatives overshadow the positives. Still, I'm ready to see what comes next!

How is James Gunn's Superman? It's ok! It's not amazing, but it's not terrible, either. You can VERY MUCH tell it's a James Gunn film, though! His signature style shows off with flying colors throughout his first big foray into the DCU, from music choices to camerawork and comedic bits. The world is realistic yet vibrant and full of life! Passionate supporting elements brighten the setting, however, the main points just don't hit like they should. Clark Kent and Superman feel steamrolled into one flat personality, while side characters demonstrate a far wider range of dynamism. Details about the world are presented as clear-cut and obvious, but there's hardly any exposition to explain... anything.

Basically, Superman 2025 has the vibe of a good sequel, but it did NOT earn that distinction. As a movie intended to kick off a new era in DC films, that's not a good thing. On a surface level, I'm very much entertained! The film is both pretty and flashy, but it needs more fleshing out.

All that being said, though, while there IS a lot more to be desired, I'm far more hopeful for the DCU in James Gunn's hands. I'll definitely be giving this cinematic universe a chance, but maybe not in theaters...

[!!!Spoilers below!!! Read on if you dare...]

The concepts, designs, and set-ups in Superman are all fantastic, but too many bit-parts and poor writing muck up what might have otherwise been a <solid> starting point.

As a whole, the writing wasn't actually that bad! I can't tell if it's the script or the acting that's the problem, because Lois, Jimmy Olson, Guy Gardner... every other part worked their role wonderfully, but somehow it's Superman himself that falls short. To me, both Supes and Clark Kent sound as though they're both just reading off of a paper rather than truly acting the part. There IS emotion in David Corenswet's voice, yet it lacks a certain something, and that really doesn't help when thematic, emotional moments come up. This problem is most clear when Superman gives his big speech to Lex Luthor near the end of the film. He makes a beautiful, impactful point, yet it feels as though he's parroting a teleprompter. Previously, when Superman and Lois are chatting after Lex leaked his parents' "full" message to the world, the sentiment of the scene gets lost behind the events in the background. A supposedly stirring dialogue is smothered by the blur of the world around them, because outside the apartment, the Justice Gang are fighting some inter-dimensional entity and...

I didn't know what to focus on! Pick a thing. Either let the sentiment of the chat between Lois and Clark take the stage, or let the dynamics of the Justice Gang steal the show. One or the other.

This leads me to another point: too much. A LOT of things went on throughout Superman 2025, and in large part, I think that's because they went with the "you already know this story" idea. We weren't retold the story of Superman's origins because <we already know> that story! Great! Yes! Respect the audience and our knowledge of the subject. Unfortunately, that extra time is packed with things that catch the eye and never get <any> amount of explanation whatsoever. I have more questions than I do answers! The answers don't need to be long or complicated, just like not all exposition has to be long-winded dialogue! Given the purpose of the movie, I expected <something>, not... nothing. Again, I assume there was so little explanation because "we already know", right?

That's all I've got for major criticisms, really. As for the smaller details...

I'm not a fan of Krypto. I don't dislike him, but I don't <like> him either. He just seems like another one of too many, primarily comedic bits. However, the Super Bots? Super Robots? The robot dudes from the Fortress of Solitude were okay! They're definitely an interesting original detail to bring to the table. I can't help but feel as though they're just being ripped off from The Fantastic Four movie coming out in 2 weeks, what with their retro style and purpose echoing H.E.R.B.I.E. a LOT.

Oh, and one of the COOLEST details about the Fortress of Solitude [in my opinion] HAD to be the solar focusing lenses! To be able to fine point and almost strengthen sunlight, what a genius idea for a guy who literally recharges via the sun! I'm curious if it "came with" the Fortress, or if it was added later...

Also, why can the Fortress of Solitude retreat into the ground and come back out? What even is that?

On a different note, I KNEW something was up with that Hammer of Boravia guy! When articles started flooding the internet about how Gunn's Superman is "weak", I knew it had to be clickbait garbage... everyone knows it takes a LOT to damage Superman that badly, so there are only so many possibilities. Magic? Maybe. Supergirl? Might be. Secret Kryptonite embedded in the armor somewhere? Likely.

I think the best play of the movie is when the Hammer of Boravia, AKA Ultraman, is revealed to be a clone of Supes. <That> is the kind of long-term cunning I know Lex Luthor to be capable of, and it explains how thoroughly it managed to thrash Superman AND open the Fortress of Solitude (if I'm remembering correctly, it has been a few days). Actually, after that reveal, I had hoped that might be a clue towards Super Boy, who, in Young Justice, was also a clone of the Man of Steel... then, Ultraman is obliterated in a black hole and my hopes went with him.

That moment made me kinda sad. Hawkgirl's thing about not being Superman, then proceeding to drop the president of Boravia to his death would have been a nice parallel to Clark simply defeating Ultraman (not killing him). I suppose Ultraman is one of those bad guys that you know just <won't> stop, EVER, but still, it's a nice thought.

Back to Hawkgirl. Since my days watching Justice League Unlimited with my mom and dad as a child, Hawkgirl has been in my top 5 favorite heroes of DC, if not the #1. The wings, the confidence and attitude, the backstory, (her romance/triangle with John Stewart and Vixen 👀), all of it just enthralls me! Of course, when she was revealed to be in Superman 2025, I got very excited, but also very nervous. I did NOT want them to do my girl dirty. I have to say, having seen the movie, they did her rather well considering her part in the film. I do have some questions and criticisms though.

Firstly, YESSS!!! The screeching!!! The way she shrieks as she dive-bombs to attack? She sounds like a freaking Night Fury!! I never thought of that detail before! However, I think it becomes a little too much, especially during the climactic final fight. Initially I thought the screeching was more a flavor thing, like an ambient sound, something her wings naturally did on their own or something... then there's that terrible closeup shot of her flying through the halls of the president's office, and I just cringed. Again, too much.

Second, are her wings real in this universe? Is this Shyera Hol or someone else? Everything seemed fine with her until the scene inside the Hall of Justice, where Lois confronts the Justice Gang. There, it looked like Hawkgirl didn't have her wings?? My assumption here is that maybe she has some tech or magic that hides them? Or maybe they're mechanical themselves, part of her harness that she just wasn't wearing...? I have no idea.

I'm very interested to see this version of Lex Luthor develop. While there's just something that doesn't sit quite right with me, I think I can give it a pass. This is the first we've seen of this world, of THIS Luthor. He, like all the characters, need time to grow and evolve. I'm very much used to a Lex that's quietly cunning and clever, a mastermind that takes calculated risks and is more than willing to use anyone in his way to get what he wants. He made a very risky decision during the climactic final act when he chose to overload the portal/boom tube thingy, but everything else felt really weird for Lex. As if he was too focused on the surface of his plans, rather than any true goal. His reliance on grunts surprised me, especially because I know he'd only ever rely on grunts for the most menial of labor, but again, I digress. He needs more time to grow, and it will be exciting to see him do so, given how well established he seems already!

Side tangent: what is WITH the amount of... um. Trashy looking ladies? Women with risqué taste? I don't want to say "hookers," but there were so many! I'm not judging, I just think it's a weird lil detail! Eve, the blonde woman who works with Lois at the Daily Planet, the whole street of women that Jimmy Olson walked past on his way to meet with Eve. It's not a lot, but it's weird that it happened... 6 times?

Oh. One last gripe.

I get it. He was likely playing up the truth of the matter to get the world on his side, but... how could even the world's leading experts on language both decipher AND confirm the contents of Superman's parents' message? It's in an essentially dead alien language that no one has ever seen (or heard) before! Regardless, I also understand that a majority of people probably would believe what Lex and his "experts" said, but Mr. Terrific too? It doesn't make any sense!

Gah. Again. I digress.

Although, I did just realize something. I assume Lex made up the last part of that message for his own benefit, and on that assumption, technically, no one actually knows what the last portion of that message says. Clark might believe the lie Lex came up with! And that's kinda worse... separately, though, I freaking love that the "message" they play for Clark at the very end of the movie isn't his biological parents... it's the Kents. That made me smile :)

Something about family don't end in blood...

(P.S. Recently, I saw an article that sums up my thoughts on Superman 2025 rather nicely, with just the title alone. "James Gunn's Superman launches a universe, not a character". It's totally accurate. The movie really should have been titled something else, but hey, they had to pick the name that would get the most fans into theaters, right?)

[ordinaryschmuck]

Just saw Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman (2025) (In that order)

Fantastic Four: First Steps is REALLY good. Could have used a FEW more minutes on Earth before going straight to Galactus, would have sold me MORE to these characters and this new world, but the movie just kept getting better and better with every minute. The cast is the definitive Four for me, Silver Surfer is perfectly adapted, and Galactus is EVERYTHING he should have been in the early 2000s, and is overall a GREAT time. I can't WAIT to see these characters, I HOPE that the Russos don't FUCK THEM by Doomsday, and I am beyond happy to have seen it.

As for Superman...I had the biggest, fucking smile on my face the whole time through. David Corenswet IS Superman, down to his voice and mannerisms, being everything the character NEEDS to be in this world. Nicholos Holt's Lex Luthor is PERFECT, having the exact hater energy that the character needs, proving that Lex being a whimpy loser isn't the reason that BvS's Luthor Jr. failed. It's the attitude, and this Lex had it in SPADES. I wish we focused MORE on the Superman stuff other than bringing these OTHER characters for future movies and shows, because everything about him and his corner of the world is amazing. Jon and Martha are sweet as all hell, Lois is perfect as well, Jimmy Olson is all kinds of dorky, and Krypto is the best boy in the world, yes he is. But even then, everything involving the Justice Gang IS well-done, and Mr. Terrific stole the frickin' SHOW with that one fight scene. I'm willing to say it's well done...but I need to watch it a few more times before making a full review--Which I AM going to do, trust me. Just...gonna take a minute as I wait for it to come onto HBOmax.

Overall, these are two GREAT movies that I was so glad to see together. They compliment each other perfectly as films made for people who KNOW these characters, LOVE these characters, and gave them all the love and attention they deserve. It was the pure joy I've been needing after a...rough, rough year. I know I probably made a mountain out of a mole hill over not seeing them last week, but you need to understand that...this was the ONE THING that was keeping me together through every bit of bad news and worse luck I faced personally. I NEEDED this experience badly, and I'm glad to have had it. I stepped out of the theater and things felt...brighter. Like, despite everything that happened, I still got to experience this one moment. I made it to this one moment, and I couldn't be happier for it. Maybe the dopamine will drop sometime, but for now...I'm better.

I'm better...But what the fuck was up with Baby Joey? Seriously, me and my sister saw Superman in 3D, and that thing got right up to my face a LOT. Like, NO! NO!

[oimoitalaina]

What might be learned from this box office bomb?

So it's no secret that I hated Thunderbolts. And for that reason I’m generally glad that the movie performed so poorly in theaters. This is mostly because, as a fan of the MCU who wants to see it make good movies and succeed long-term, I want the performance of Thunderbolts to be a teaching experience for Disney. Because while I’m aware that Disney has put out plenty of movies that have lost them money, it's not something they want to make a habit out of. Especially for the MCU, which is typically a consistent money maker. I’m sure that there are some extensive meetings happening, maybe even now, analyzing just how Thunderbolts did so badly and how the same thing can be avoided in the future. So I’m going to go over all the possible explanations for Thunderbolts bombing at the box office, starting with things that aren’t directly connected to the movie’s quality, and ending with actual issues with the movie that I hope will not be repeated in the future. 

First off, I think it's important to remember that there is a general state of economic anxiety in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Seeing a movie in the theater is ultimately a luxury compared to essentials like gas, groceries, medicine, and the like. Many people are skipping out on watching movies in theaters for this reason. Especially since many theaters are getting more expensive while also providing a worse experience due to low staffing, way too many ads before movies, and aging equipment. All of these issues are exacerbated by the presence of streaming services which make it less important to watch a movie in theaters immediately. I’m going to go more into streaming a bit later.

Somewhat related to this issue is the fact that 2025 has been a great year for movies. Especially this spring and summer. Ironically enough, shunting Brave New World into a February release date, which is not usually a great time to release movies, ultimately seemed to have helped the film. Since there weren’t that many other movies coming out at the time, Brave New World didn’t have to share with anything else in theaters. Meanwhile, releasing Thunderbolts during the more optimal spring/summer release time meant that the movie had a lot of competition. And the competitors were really good - as I discussed before, Thunderbolts had the misfortune of being released right after Sinners of all movies, which was basically impossible to follow up. I think audiences were more likely to watch Sinners twice in theaters than to watch Thunderbolts once. 

But there have been other great movies released around the same time as Thunderbolts. For example, Thunderbolts was a superhero movie sandwiched between a Captain America movie, the new rebooted Superman, and the new rebooted MCU Fantastic Four. By comparison, Thunderbolts was a barely known team from the comics composed of barely known MCU characters (and Bucky in a bad wig). I could see some fans on a budget go to watch Captain America, Superman, and Fantastic Four in theaters and save their money by waiting to watch Thunderbolts on streaming later. But even the elements that were supposed to set Thunderbolts apart from these particular movies were done way better in other recent releases. Thunderbolts was advertised as having impressive practical stunts, but it was followed up by a Mission Impossible movie, the series that wrote the book on extreme stuntwork! Thunderbolts was supposed to be the gritty, woman-led action movie, but it was followed up by a John Wick movie with a new woman lead. There is more creative action in a single minute of Ballerina than in the entirety of Thunderbolts. I’m talking about the gun-knife, the bit with the plates, the part with the ice skates, the grenade bundle sequence, I could go on.

Essentially, Thunderbolts came out during a time of heavy competition, which would have messed with the performance of any movie regardless of quality. But now I’m going to go more into how Thunderbolts’ actual issues as a movie could also explain its poor performance. To begin, I’m going to delve more into the matter of streaming. For a movie to do well in theaters nowadays, it needs to do something to make it worthwhile to watch on the big screen. And we’ve seen plenty of movies lean into that. Top Gun: Maverick for example was one of those movies that was really meant to be seen in theaters because of its impressive dogfights. Sinners obviously motivated audiences to not only watch the movie in theaters, but to specifically seek it out in IMAX. Even looking at other superhero movies, Brave New World made good use of the big screen. That movie features an incredible aerial battle and a finale where Captain America fights the red hulk. Add the creative use of color and other visuals throughout the film and you get a movie that is best watched, at least for the first time, on the big screen. 

By comparison, Thunderbolts doesn’t have much in the way of visuals that would be enhanced by the theater experience. As I’ve gone into before, the colors and direction choices make it pretty unappealing to look at. The main action sequences - Bucky on his bike and the Void taking over New York, are fun. But they aren’t necessarily made better with a big screen, there’s nothing about them that make watching it at home a less satisfying experience. Now, on its own, the fact that a movie’s action sequences look just as good at home doesn’t ultimately mean that people will wait to watch it on streaming. It may have contributed, but I wouldn’t say it was the smoking gun so to speak.

Now I *do* believe that the last-minute marketing of Thunderbolts in which it literally spoiled the “new Avengers” reveal absolutely convinced a good deal of potential theater viewers to wait to watch it at home. Because another motivation to watch a movie in theaters is the fear of missing out, the desire to be part of the conversation about the movie, to be “in the know”. If there’s some big twist at the end, people who watch it as soon as they can rather than waiting for streaming can participate in exclusive conversations. And people waiting to stream the movie have to avoid spoilers online, which can be rather difficult in this age of the internet and social media. This can motivate more people to watch it in theaters just to avoid getting the experience spoiled for them.

Which is why Disney’s decision to spend more money on billboards and bring out the actors to do promo stunts all to deliberately spoil the ending of the movie is probably the first thing I’ll cite as being a huge mistake that probably helped this movie bomb in the box office. Because now the motivation for audiences to watch the movie to avoid spoilers is gone. So now Thunderbolts is a movie that isn’t visually impressive enough to want to watch in theaters on its own merits, and there’s no reason to watch it to avoid spoilers because they decided to spoil the ending on purpose! So it's only reasonable that potential theater viewers who couldn’t watch Thunderbolts on its opening weekend saw that reveal and decided to just wait to watch it at home in a few months. And this isn’t even covering whether the ending that got spoiled was good and exciting or not.

But since you have probably read the many, many words I’ve written about the ending of Thunderbolts, you’re aware that I think it's trash. So now it's time to get into the main takeaway that I hope Disney gets from Thunderbolts losing so much money. The movie performed poorly because it was a bad movie. The movie was ugly to look at, the story only happened because practically every character was being actively stupid, and almost everyone we knew from previous movies was out of character. The actors had little to no chemistry, most of the characters in what was supposed to be an ensemble movie had little to nothing to do and hardly spoke to one another. The movie felt detached from everything that led up to it and the well-established world it was supposed to be a part of. The themes and messaging were shallow and trite, and as I’ve written before, the ending ruins any semblance of meaning the movie tried to have. The ending which Disney decided for whatever inane reason to spoil *on purpose* almost as soon as the move came out!

So I would hope that there is a meeting behind the scenes at Disney where they are somehow able to come to the straightforward conclusion that Thunderbolts did poorly because it was a bad movie! And while issues like the rise of streaming, competition with a healthy summer movie schedule, and the general reduced traffic at movie theaters certainly didn’t help Thunderbolts’ performance, those factors shouldn’t be the focus of the discussion. Mostly because those aren’t things that Disney could change, and there is so much about Thunderbolts’ poor performance that absolutely was Disney’s fault.

While I primarily want Thunderbolts to serve as a teaching moment about quality control and not spoiling your terrible ending on purpose as soon as the movie comes out, there is another takeaway I want Disney to receive from this loss of money. Another reason I think it's important that Thunderbolts bombed, and it's because I think Disney basically pulled a Target with this movie. What is “pulling a Target”? Well, a few months back, in response to the 2024 election in the United States, Target, a homegoods store, decided to repeal its DEI policies as well as agreements specifically in support of Black artists. This came as a surprise to the store’s regular customers since Target was well known for being a company that marketed itself towards a more diverse customer base. It sold clothing and other items geared to queer and BIPOC customers. It partnered with designers who were often Black, queer, or POC. Target was by no means a revolutionary company, it was obvious that the store made these decisions for profit motivated reasons. But even so, it was nice to see. That’s why it came as quite the shock when Target was one of the first companies to publicly see and follow the tide turning towards reactionary values upon the 2024 election. In response, multiple Black organizers including Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant and Nekima Levy Armstrong, multiple Black churches as well as other organizations and many individuals called for a boycott of Target. That boycott has continued at the time of me writing this, and it seems to be working quite well. Target is feeling significant financial losses because of its decision to capitulate to racists.

So what does this have to do with Disney and Thunderbolts? Well, in addition to Thunderbolts just being a bad movie in general, I think it's important to shine a light on the ways in which this movie feels like a huge step back in terms of representation. Representation which has been a clear focus of projects in the MCU in the last few years. These are examples that have been brought up by plenty of other people here, and I’m going to give a non-exhaustive list. The marketing of this movie described it as a departure from recent projects, saying that it heralded a new direction for the MCU. Implying that the previous movies were somehow not up to standard, which was not true. The implication that previous movies centering around Black and POC characters were being somehow “in the wrong direction” while Thunderbolts, with a majority white cast was now “the right direction” is telling. It is implicitly racist messaging that Disney signed off on when using this as a way to promote the film. Thunderbolts also got a bigger promotional rollout in terms of trailers, billboards, and finally its red carpet premiere compared to that of Brave New World, a film with a Black lead, Black writer, Black director, and majority Black and POC cast. This also feels like an act of implicit racial discrimination.

Now onto the actual film itself. Much of this movie can be seen as a step back in terms of representation. I’ve touched on some of this before, but it might be useful to see a good deal of it all listed out here. This movie treats its Black characters terribly - Ava, who is supposedly a lead character, is hardly given any lines or anything to do. As for side characters, first of all there are very few of them, and second of all they are all treated terribly by the narrative. The senator Bucky is supposed to be working with in order to take down Val is ultimately betrayed with the “new Avengers” ending. Walker’s ex-wife Olivia and her child are mistreated so greatly by John that she feels the need to leave their marriage for the sake of her safety. Mel, Val’s assistant, is convinced by Bucky to help take down Val. But, again, she is also betrayed despite taking a huge risk by the “new Avengers” ending. And while the treatment of Mel’s character isn’t specifically anti-Black, she is also a woman of color who is disrespected by the narrative. But Mel was originally going to be played by national treasure Ayo Edebiri, meaning that this movie was aiming to be an anti-Black sweep. 

This movie also disrespects Black characters who aren’t even on screen. Despite being the reason Bucky is even alive, the Wakandans who were threatened by Val in Wakanda Forever are essentially forgotten about in this movie, especially with the “new Avengers” ending. Sam, Captain fucking America, is actively erased in this movie even though Bucky, his partner who canonically *loves* him, is one of the main characters. The only references made regarding Sam are Val talking about the red hulk fight in Brave New World while deliberately not mentioning the person who saved the day and John saying “on your left”. A moment which is so agonizingly awful that I wrote a separate rant all about it. I also already wrote about how John’s treatment as some kind of morally grey anti-hero in this movie rather than actually addressing his racist behavior towards Sam feels like a way of capitulating to his racist stans. Sam is only explicitly mentioned in a post credits scene where he is openly mocked. Overall, Thunderbolts feels like a movie that capitulates to the anti-Black backlash that more recent MCU projects have received. 

But I’d argue that Thunderbolts isn’t just a step back in terms of racism. It also has plenty of moments that feel explicitly sexist and ableist. I’ve already covered the ableism in Thunderbolts before, as have plenty of others. But essentially a lot of the messaging around mental health in this movie feels ultimately very shallow and patronizing. As if someone’s problems can be solved with a group hug of all things. Also, the choice of which characters get their mental health explored falls into typical troubling patterns. Again, we see the rooms of John and Yelena but not Ava. This matches disappointing narratives in which white mental health is addressed while the mental health of Black and POC individuals is largely ignored. Finally, Bucky’s prosthetic arm gets removed and used as a prop for a cheap joke *multiple times* in this movie. While Bucky has lost his prosthesis in previous projects, the way in which it is treated has never felt so gross as it does in this movie.

Onto the sexism. Now, yes, it is cool that this is a movie where the main character, Yelena, is a woman. And the Thunderbolts team has *two* women, yay! But, as I covered before, only *white* Yelena receives any actual attention in this story. Now this team could have had three women on it, if Antonia hadn’t been immediately fridged at the start of the movie. Fridging is a sexist narrative trope in which a woman character is killed brutally to provide shock value and motivate another character. What’s even worse in this case is that Antonia’s death doesn’t even motivate anyone, so it is only there for shock value! Not only that, but she dies in a way that mimics her original trauma of being blown up as a child. She gets to say one line, she is not mourned and is instead barely acknowledged. And it seems that she was killed off because fans didn’t like how she was Taskmaster in Black Widow. So, in a movie that is purportedly about redeeming characters and giving them a chance to shine, they kill off a woman because men online didn’t like her. Yikes! And they destroy the suit as well, so now nobody gets to be Taskmaster!

While killing off Antonia feels like the most deliberately sexist story decision in Thunderbolts, there are more. And these are admittedly more my own rather cynical opinions, but this is my essay so whatever. I feel that the way this teamup even happened feels sexist. Because Ava, Yelena, and John are all introduced as working for Val and doing objectively bad things on her behalf. Yelena is literally blowing up buildings, for instance. And in the case of Ava and Yelena, this feels like a departure from their previously established characters. Even when Yelena is working for Val in Hawkeye, she is shown to have an explicit moral compass. She is going after Clint because she was told he was responsible for Natasha’s death, and because he was actually someone who killed a lot of people. And when she realizes that she was misled at the end, she stops trying to kill him. Yelena spares Kate every time she fights her because she understands that she’s ultimately innocent. She even goes as far as to share information about who actually hired her to kill Clint just because she respected Kate enough to let her know. Yelena’s certainly not portrayed as purely good in this appearance, but she’s certainly a long way from her characterization in Thunderbolts. 

Ava receives similar treatment to Yelena. In Ant man and the Wasp, Ava shares how she worked for SHIELD (implied to actually be HYDRA) doing covert assassinations in order to get help treating her debilitating condition. But she also reveals that, once she realized that she was getting led on with no actual concrete help, she left. She understood that what she did was wrong, and while leaving only when she realized they weren’t going to help her wasn’t evidence of her being an especially *good* person, she clearly wasn't explicitly evil. She ends the movie acknowledging that she did the wrong thing and hurt people, implying she wanted to fix things. There is little to explain why she would want to work for Val in Thunderbolts.

And my issue with Ava and Yelena murdering people for Val isn’t simply the fact that they’re doing a bad thing. My issue is more so that there is little explanation for why precisely they are doing this, other than the fact that they are apparently pretty awful people. There could have been plenty of good motivations for these two to be working for Val that would feel more in character. Maybe they could need the money for something specific - Yelena might feel the need to financially support her other widows who can’t work. Ava might have some device she’s saving up for that could cure her condition (because that whole element of her character seems to have been dropped). Or they could be victims of coercion - Val could blackmail Yelena with threats to get all the ex-widows arrested. And she could also have been threatening Ava’s science dad Bill Foster. But instead Ava and Yelena are working for Val simply because they like having a job? Even though there’s no reason they couldn’t just have a different form of employment?

Ultimately, what *I* think makes this decision sexist is that it puts Ava and Yelena - women who were forced into enacting violence because they were victims of trafficking and manipulation - into the same box as John. Meanwhile, John did all of his awful shit of his own accord! Adding Alexei into the mix makes it even worse, because it paints a picture where the child trafficker *and* his victim are somehow both bad guys who need to redeem themselves. And while I know that the decision to not really go into Ava and Yelena’s motivations for working for Val was a result of lazy writing, the result is that it feels very sexist. I might even go so far as saying it dips into some victim blaming. Thunderbolts basically says “these women who had to compromise their moral values in order to survive their terrible circumstances turned out to actually be bad people because, when given the opportunity, they decided to just do the same thing for a living. And they’re just as bad as the men who did terrible things despite having no history of manipulation or coercion.” Now, was this messaging intentional? I have no idea. But this is what happens when writers don’t put the proper care into what they’re writing. Impact is more important than intent after all.

Other bits of sexism that I’ll just go ahead and throw in there is to reiterate the miserable treatment of Olivia. She is of course the victim of both sexism and anti-Black racism in the form of misogynoir. Her pain of losing her relationship with her high school sweetheart husband who revealed himself to both her and the world as a monster. Of losing Lamar, who was also clearly her friend as well as John’s. Of enduring harassment because of her husband’s actions, being neglected after giving birth to her child. Feeling unsafe enough that she had to leave their marriage. None of that is covered at all, and instead all of this is treated as reasons to feel bad for John of all people. That is textbook misogynoir because Olivia is receiving a lack of empathy because of her status as a woman and a Black person. 

Even Val’s treatment feels like sexism. In previous projects, Val was teased as a threatening and compelling villain. She was coming after Wakanda, the most powerful nation in the world. She was recruiting all sorts of people for some nefarious end. And the fact that she was a villainess was cool! The MCU really hasn’t had a good list of women antagonists, let alone villains. But in Thunderbolts, we don’t even learn what Val’s ultimate goal with her hirelings even was. What ever happened to her “when things really hit the fan” line towards John in Falcon in the Winter Soldier? In Thunderbolts, Val is ultimately a bumbling fool who creates all of her problems. She fails to kill off Yelena, Ava, and John. She accidentally unleashes Sentry, and her “new Avengers” idea was a really dumb choice that shouldn’t have worked. She only got away with things because everyone else was somehow even stupider than her. She’s just not a compelling villain anymore which is really disappointing! After Wakanda Forever, I was looking forward to seeing her be a thorn in our hero's side for multiple movies. But now there’s just no good way to take her seriously.

I might even say that Yelena and Bob’s relationship feels pretty shaky in this regard. Now if their dynamic had occurred in a better movie, I think I would have maybe given it more grace. However, in this particular movie, I just can’t bring myself to provide a more generous interpretation. It feels like the movie is saying “you know what every depressed woman needs? Some grown ass man to take care of!” Because as Nicque Marina has said multiple times, Bob is barely a character. He is a sad white man who the fandom can’t wait to infantilize more than the narrative already does. And Yelena’s story now seems to be tied to some random guy we know nothing about. This relationship seems to supersede any others she could have had with other much better defined women like Kate or Antonia. It feels like they took a well realized woman character and just *had to* tie her story to some guy. Again, if this had been done better or been in a better movie I wouldn’t have minded it, but on top of everything else this movie has done I just can’t help but see this move as cynically, casually sexist.

And *finally* I’m going to tear into the “new Avengers” ending once more, this time from a political angle. Because if people are out there calling Sam conservative for having the audacity to visit the White House as Captain motherfucking America, I can talk about the *actual* conservative messaging in Thunderbolts. Because this team of “loveable” misfits end the story working for the actual CIA. The United States Central Intelligence Agency. The government agency responsible for some of the country's most egregious acts of imperialism. I’m talking about deposing democratically elected governments and political assassinations. And that’s just in real life. In-universe, Val was actively heading the CIA when she tried to overthrow the sovereign African nation of Wakanda, when she hired the members of the Thunderbolts to assassinate people and blow up buildings, and when she experimented on Bob to turn him into a living weapon. And the conclusion of this movie argues that, by going along with Val’s plan and working for her publicly, calling themselves the “new Avengers”, the Thunderbolts are doing a good thing. This is a win for them. Even if people in-universe don’t necessarily like it, they just don’t know the whole story! What matters is it makes Yelena and all of her dumbass friends she just met happy! See, Thunderbolts says that it doesn’t matter if you are helping your employer commit terrible crimes. All that matters is that you are personally fulfilled. This is a deeply conservative message, essentially saying “fuck you, got mine!”. The CIA deposes governments and experiments on US civilians? Who cares as long as it doesn’t affect you personally, says Thunderbolts!

Now if only a few of these things had happened in Thunderbolts, I wouldn’t have gone this hard on the movie. But the sum total of all of these parts paints a pretty dark picture. It feels socially and politically conservative on all fronts, in a way that feels like an active step back from the messaging that was prioritised in multiple years worth of movies and shows. And it's conveyed in a pretty insidious way. We aren’t having characters saying sexist jokes or racial slurs. Instead we’re seeing erasure, narrative mistreatment, and unfortunate implications that simply were ignored or actively encouraged by the writers. So when people notice these problems they can’t easily point to one obvious thing to convey their point. That makes these obviously regressive narrative issues harder to call out and discuss at large.

Now when I say “pulling a Target”, I’m not trying to imply that Thunderbolts bombing is exactly like the situation with Target. The Target boycott is the result of many people putting a lot of effort into organizing, while Thunderbolts flopping doesn’t seem to be the result of any intentional boycott. Target is also losing way more money for a longer period of time, while Disney making one poorly performing movie is probably not going to hurt the company’s bottom line for very long. When I use the term “pulling a Target” I am more referencing the general pattern - a company learns that appealing to a more diverse customer base makes it more money, so it features more representation to appeal to that audience. This works well for years, which is why it is surprising that this particular company used the regressive societal implications of the 2024 election as an opportunity to roll back their progressive policies and representation. This rollback then backfires terribly, losing the customer base they were cultivating while also failing to gain the reactionary customer base that they were capitulating to, since those kinds of customers had already written off that company years ago. Cue executive panic behind the scenes, line goes down, ect. Turns out there’s no “go woke, go broke” there’s just “be racist cowards, get fucked assholes”.

So that’s my likely idealistic wish for what executives take away from the poor performance of Thunderbolts. That this sudden turn away from diverse representation is not only craven and cowardly behavior, but ultimately is also financially disastrous. Because the kinds of viewers who would be pleased by such a reactionary decision aren’t watching Thunderbolts because it has a woman lead. And because those kinds of viewers have written off all of the MCU as woke trash years ago. And the weird loud online John Walker stans didn’t actually equate to actual tickets purchased! So these kinds of decisions only served to alienate the fanbase that Disney has been actively cultivating for the last few years. Add the fact that these regressive narrative decisions seem to have also had a negative impact on the overall quality of the story, and you get a clear message. Thunderbolts was a genuine, multilevel fuck up that should never be repeated!

I do think it's completely possible that the executives behind the scenes might not learn the right lessons from this movie at all. They could just chalk it up to bad luck, with the movie coming out during a summer of back to back blockbusters. Or it could be brushed off because the characters were too obscure. But as someone who genuinely wants to see the MCU continue to make good movies and shows, to last long enough to give us the stories they’ve been setting up for this diverse array of characters, I want them to take away actual actionable lessons. Lessons about the importance of cooperation between projects, quality control, respecting established characterization, valuing diversity and putting the proper care into representation. A reminder that it takes years to build trust in an audience, but it only takes one big mistake to ruin it.

[laniakeasky]

Muse at Tons of Rock 2025

It took me a day to recover from my emotions. I’m feeling so down right now and I need to talk about how great the boys were. Like, the energy they have, it’s absolutely mind blowing. And they looked so happy to be there ! I mean, I probably shouldn’t compare bands, but honestly, I’m going to anyway, because Dream Theater was on before Muse and. And. I don’t know much about them, except their reputation of being technically gifted (which from what I could see is definitely true) but their singer, James LaBrie, seemed miserable the whole time he was on stage. I don’t know if he’s always like this but woah. I almost felt bad for him. The rest of the band seemed happy though !

But then, here comes Matt with his happy skipping, his goofy dances, his smile and just. He lit up the stage with his presence. I’m so in love with him. Dom being the sweetheart he is and Chris and his quiet strength. They were so beautiful. Being at the barrier is really a different experience. I was so close. This band could turn me into a poet, I swear to god.

Unravelling live sounds so good. I got to hear Stockholm Syndrome and New Born live and it will live in my body forever. Also I talked to a few Musers there and it felt incredibly good to be surrounded by other fans who are just as passionate as I am. I heard that the crowd was a bit dead but obviously the first few rows were on fire. Now I just want to go back and live in that moment forever.

(And also just a quick shoutout to Electric Callboy for being amazing showmen, because that was incredible and I won’t forget it either wow)

[twinkle-talks]

Back in 2018 I made this little gingerbread cookie of a Handmaid 🤭 let me tell you more about it…

I lived in Lille, in the north of France at the time. In 2018 there was a TV show festival in the city called Series Mania and because I had a YT channel where I talked about TV shows, I managed to get a press pass and I was able to go to conferences, screenings, ask questions at panels and even interview directors and actors.

During an HBO panel, Jeremy Podeswa who was both a director for GoT and THT, was having a Q&A. At the time, The Handmaid’s Tale was not very popular in France but I had been a huge fan of the book since college and had already watched the first season twice, and season 2 was not out yet. I was very nervous about season 2 being too overly dramatic or over the top and not staying true to Atwood’s work.

Of all the questions he received during the panel, only mine was about The Handmaid’s Tale. Since it was an HBO panel, everyone was more interested in Game of Thrones.

He was surprised by my question but was kind and answered it. This is loosely based on my memory:

“My question is about The Handmaid’s Tale, since it’s my favorite show.”

“Season 1 is based on the only book by Margaret Atwood, so how are you going to approach creating more seasons without any more source material?”

“This is more a question for the writers, but in season two we will highlight some other characters and how they go there, focusing on their backgrounds with flashbacks and understanding more about their life before Gilead. The spirit of the book will remain.”

Let me tell you, I rode that high for a long time. The festival was in the summer, and around Christmas time I was still so invested that I made a Handmaid cookie at the cafe I worked at downtown.

Fast forward to 2019, the second edition of the festival.

It was shortly before season 3 came out, so the festival hosted an early screening of the first episode at a local movie theater.

Groups of women dressed as Handmaids were walking down the aisle of the theater before the show started. The room was packed, as more people now watched the show and the festival grew in popularity. The “Handmaids” walked down each aisle of the theater and got to the stage where someone made a brief speech before the screening. The entire theater was buzzing with excitement because we got to watch S3 Ep1 weeks before it came out. It was a surreal feeling, I was emotional and I felt so lucky to be apart of the experience.

Now we’re in 2025, and the show is over.

I think back to the times where I was worried they would not do the book or even the first season justice, when I told myself to just trust the writers and see what happens. That I was never going to be in the writers room anyway and all I could do was sit back and wait for seasons to come. I wish I could tell my younger self “you were right.”

It’s so bittersweet to invest time, energy and even money into a piece of media so dear to you, and have it end the way The Handmaid’s Tale ended.

I am conflicted about The Testaments and unsure I want to watch it. I have felt let down by season 6 in a way no other show had let me down before. Not because things were not wrapped up in a bow or my favorite character died or because there was no happy ending. I’m sad because I have loved it with my whole heart and that love and dedication was taken for granted and tossed aside, like many other fans.

Reckless directing, gaping plot holes, out of character lines, continuity issues and so much more are only briefly veiled by great cinematography and music, but they’re still apparent. Learning more about the behind the scenes and the actors’ inputs on their characters arc has ruined things even more. The writers and even directors violated the sacred pact of story telling by giving in to egos, political agendas and toxic tropes.

[putschki1969]

2025/04/14 Blog post by Wakana 『Wakana Spring Live 2025〜Little Dance〜』ありがとうございました！！＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／〜ヒューリックホール東京ともののけ姫〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Thank You 『Wakana Spring Live 2025〜Little Dance〜』！！＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／〜Hulic Hall Tokyo and Princess Mononoke〜

Here's a picture taken just after the end of my concert "Wakana Spring Live 2025 ~Little Dance~" from the other day! 🎤♪

Lots of minor happenings😂 There were many times when I felt quite nervous, but…everyone in the audience was so kind, understanding and warm so I am truly grateful for that😭✨The sense of unity throughout the entire venue was incredible, I was truly moved😭✨Once again, thank you so much to everyone‼ ︎😿✨

The name "Little Dance" that I chose as title for the concert contains the meaning of small joys and little moments of happiness, everything you feel when spring arrives. There are gentle and warm moments in the smallest things, the happiness I feel when I experience these moments is like sunlight filtering through the trees in spring. At times like that, my heart is dancing a little😊I think that if we can always find such moments for ourselves, they will bring us great joy. I want to always cherish the spirit of "Little Dance" and never forget that feeling☺️Hulic Hall Tokyo was a wonderful venue😊

It was originally a movie theater (formerly TOHO Cinemas Nichigeki)🎥In 2018, it closed after a 85-year history and was repuposed as Hulic Hall Tokyo. I found out later that the last film shown was "Princess Mononoke"😂😂I had no idea about that!! I wish I had known about it before the concert. But I feel a strange connection now and I am super happy that I sang "Princess Mononoke" as part of my setlist. 😊

All right, now let's introduce my dresses. First up is the dress for the main performance 👗💕The big flower print on the white fabric is very cute 😍🌸I also like the hairstyle ♡ It's a little sparkly, and I had two ponytail-like braids for a change ✌️

During the encore, I wore this orange dress! This one is so fluffy and cute ♡ Look at my big smile!☺️☺️🌟

Here's a series of photos of us forming our regular circle before the show started 📸 (We did it twice because the tempo was off just like last year *laughs*)

↓An excellent photo where everyone is putting their whole body into it and expressing their emotions (Grand Prize 🏅) Here we look like we are already finished even though the show hasn't even started yet 😂Some beautifully dynamic photos 😂

It was a very nice venue 😊Thank you everyone!! !!! !!!

Some time later...My wish… came true…!! !!! !!! Sushizanmai‼️＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／🍣🍣🍣🍣💕

Toro Taku and a 3-piece seared set (fatty tuna, salmon, and flounder)🍣It was the best…😭♡I had the best time…😭♡ I did a big dance, not a little one🎶🕺💃🕺💃🎶

So, that's it for today! Until next time~☆( '▽')/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

『Wakana Spring Live 2025 ～Little Dance～』 Live Photos

Source

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

medialog august-december 2k24

i was like, should i just abandon this and start fresh in 2025... but no. also i'm putting this behind a cut bc it is long but it's shorter than it sounds bc LOL working 7 days a week is not conducive towards having the brain space to interact with a bunch of new art!!

watched

ponyo - THIS IS THE CUTEST MOVIE IN THE WORLD!!! miyazaki/ghibli is a big blind spot for me bc as a kid i was like "but i want anime to be pretty, like sailor moon..." so i never got into kiki or totoro (very stupid but again i was: A Child) and then as an adult, this is embarrassing, i tried to watch spirited away and just literally didn't get it. i was like, i am so confused about what is happening and what emotions i am supposed to be feelings. and i know that spirited away is a movie for children and this makes me stupid. but i have never pretended not to be stupid. anyway i would die for just about every character in this movie and when i watched it a second time to make nick watch it i was so full of tenderness for how lovingly it captures what it's like to be a small child who has a small creature to take care of that i felt like i could explode!

deadpool & wolverine - i think if i had been in a better mood when i saw this movie i would have disliked it more but as it was i was in a HORRENDOUS mood and, basically, had a good time. funny to watch this, the Superhero Movies Isabel Has Never Watched Cameo Show (literally i had never watched an x-men other than first class, in which wolverine only appears to say fuck off, or either of the two deadpools), and still get to experience the same OMG IT'S HIM rush as everyone else did, but for matthew mcfadyen. the guy next to me was like "i love channing tatum" when channing tatum showed up and like, same.

trap - great movie to see with a group of like 10 people with whom to giggle the whole time. josh hartnett understood the assignment and his dad-vibe era is soooo much hotter to me than his twink years ever were (not always the case for me! but between this and how hot he was in oppenheimer i've really warmed to him...). i think it's nice that m. night shyamalan loves his daughter so much. ladyraven has a ballad with the line "faustian trade-offs" which caused me and no one else in the theater to laugh real loud. her music is pretty bad but tbh in an era when people want to put chappell roan on the A-list i'm not even mad. it was funny trying to figure out her niche though because like the vibes are obviously supposed to be taylorish (the cabin onstage... lmao) but the music was giving... idk, ariana? also it's just inherently funny to make a movie premised on the fact that it would be really easy to narrow down who the serial killer is by identifying the adult men at a pop girl concert + this movie REALLY captures the vibe during the opening act no one gaf about a pop event concert, like i saw 5SOS open for 1D and that's exactly what it felt like

popstar: never stop never stopping - rewatch, duh. is this the funniest movie of all time? it's gotta be up there, right?

josie and the pussycats - also a rewatch, duh. love everything about this but most of all the soundtrack, the songs are legit incredible, no fictional band has ever had better music (rip adam schlesinger who contributed some songwriting!!!). first time rewatching this movie since figuring out some Stuff and understand now that rachel leigh cook needs to be on the Oh Those Were Gay Feelings. That's What That Was list. (rosario dawson too, but i already got there with her.)

vice - really incredible to think it would be possible to fuck up a movie about how dick cheney is basically satan but somehow mckay managed. christian bale is a professional though, i feel like we don't appreciate enough that no matter how bad the movie or how stupid the writing he's out there giving an absolute top tier performance every single time.

aliens - sorta half-watched this one but idk i feel like me and james cameron just don't vibe. not as incredible-looking or cool as the first one.

godzilla minus one - really really cute!!!!!!

jurassic park - rewatch on the big screen, still slaps the hardest of almost any movie ever

twentieth century - this is i guess nominally a screwball comedy (howard hawks, 1934, for those of you for whom that means something) but it's about these two toxic theater people who are horrible for and obsessed with each other and it's... darker... than my experience of that genre has usually been. in a way that sort of works in its favor partly because it just gives it a certain interest and partly because the gender politics of screwballs can be so dark themselves so it's kind of a relief that this one lacks the cognitive dissonance of pretending this all isn't horrible? idk. it's a weird one. but i liked it, on balance. there's a (pretty funny tbh) running gag about suicide threats and a really bananas third act plot that comes out of nowhere... great performances across the board and some real bangers dropped into the screenplay!

the substance - i didn't, like, love this, and i think a lot of common criticisms of it are right, but some are also very silly (guys i think the director knows nothing about the morning exercise show makes sense... i don't think she was going for a realistic depiction of 21st century celebrity...), and i did have a good time for the most part (the last 30 minutes is gross in a way that doesn't do it for me... but i know it does it for some people and those people deserve movies too...) and respected its commitment to its own bit, as well as the fact that it's basically a fairy tale (a woman who lives in a tower makes a bargain with a force she doesn't really understand to regain her beauty...). oh also i liked that the thing that drives the back half of the plot is essentially the idea that you simply cannot have a 22 year old's body without also having to contend with a 22 year old's dumb dumb stupid ass piece of shit idiot brain. haven't seen a lot of people comment on that aspect of it but it was like my favorite part!

female trouble - people throw out the word iconic a lot but like what else is there to say? rude, disgusting, occasionally genuinely offensive, mostly (for me) delightfully so... really great to watch with a crowd that would whoop and cheer for I'M SO GLAD I HAD AN ABORTION and THE WORLD OF THE HETEROSEXUAL IS A SICK AND BORING LIFE... also like it's really key for the way this movie functions that divine is a fat drag queen that most people do not consider the pinnacle of beauty but it's incredibly clear that john waters and this movie does... like divine's constant proclamations of her own gorgeousness are in a kind of inherent tension with the average american's disagreement with that sentiment but in a way where it's like, if you disagree you are an idiot and this movie is not yours. she's so hot in this it's crazy!!

michael clayton - i wanted to watch a talky thriller-ish movie and the men of the ringer podcast network literally never shut up about this one so i gave it a shot and it delivered! clooney predictably great but i had no idea tilda swinton & tom wilkinson were in it and they are both also awesome, as is merrit weaver in a small but very well cast role

venom - you can sort of glimpse the movie this movie would be if it weren't shackled to What A Superhero Movie Is Now / loosely to the MCU even though it pretends it's not, and i bet that movie would be a lot of fun!

black christmas (1974) - perfectly done urban legend horror with an interesting little pro choice streak, great cast, camera work so perfectly spooky and tense even i noticed how well it was done, makes good use of the cinematic potential of christmas lights. i really liked that this movie is short and a slasher but all the characters in it feel very well drawn even though we don't spend much time with almost any of them... reminded me that this is actually possible to do and i should be harder on movies that don't do it!

black christmas (2006) - nowhere near as good as the first one, but it is, uh, absolutely bugfuck crazyass bananapants start to end. my favorite of many deranged writing choices in this movie is that the sorority mother makes them all open their secret santa every year with a gift for the murderer who killed his family years ago in this house and then when one of the girls' townie boyfriend is like "this is the house that used to freak us out when we were kids" the sorority mother is like, "why?" ?????????? ok!!!!!

heretic - hugh grant is a fucking movie star. i love sophie turner and the other girl was good too. sort of loses steam once the "actually" scary stuff happens because horror movie shenanigans are hard to make as scary as the situation of two young and not very experienced girls slowly realizing they are trapped in a house with a man who just keeps pushing the boundaries of the social contract a little further, but i had fun

the apprentice - not a good movie but a great viewing experience for those of us who have reblogged in our lifetimes approx. 1 million combined gifsets of sebstan and jerbear... like yeah those are my guys and my guys did great :) i think my favorite thing about it as a movie (other than the way the "look" of it updates with technology, which is a cooler idea i wish had been used for a... better movie?) is that it really beats home the aspect of trmp wherein he has no social skills at all and has never felt authentically comfortable in a group of people in his entire life, which is something i think we should culturally be meaner to him about

gladiator - dumb (affectionate) movie magic. russell crowe has so much movie star charisma while looking so much like Just Some Guy it's literally crazy. when he kisses the little dolly of his wife who's about to die ;_;

raising arizona - miracle movie, can't believe i'd never watched this before. the coens' control of their tone is so incredible to see so early in their work (still gotta watch barton fink one of these day). incredible cast, gorgeous colors, so funny, so weirdly sweet, when it finished i felt like i'd watched a magic trick

erin brokovich - watched this for the first time since high school and like what else is there to say but Queen Icon Legend Slay? i am speaking of course about steven soderbergh but julia is pretty fucking incredible too.

conclave - i'm gonna be real i feel like the hype got to me a lil with this one because it's not as bitchy and fun as i feel like i was led to believe... also requires more buy-in re: the moral direction of the catholic church than i anticipated. however it does have its moments and it's nice to see some of our best actors being good at their jobs and it looks great!

the philadelphia story - i found this movie so delightful to watch that for a moment i really thought she might run off with jimmy stewart at the end and not get back tamed with her abusive ex..... but such was the power of the hepburn/stewart chemistry in that one drunk garden scene that i found myself totally incapable of actually integrating the gender politics of this one into my feelings towards it... like i just couldn't be mad at a movie that gave me a scene that made me want to scream JUST KISS!!!! the most anything has since the first time i watched "cooler"... do you know what that is? for me to bust out "cooler" as a comp? my god... i understand why my friend has been like that about hepburn our whole lives and am also now fully baby jimmy stewart pilled

gladiator ii - the consensus is right on this one: not as good as the first, paul mescal is no russell crowe, but denzel really ate. my friends and i laughed out loud at almost every single denzel scene. we're so lucky to have him.

wicked - bad movie of a bad musical, fundamentally misunderstands the function of songs in a musical and thus shoots every single musical number abominably, as ugly as you've heard, we are not advanced enough technologically for me to emotionally invest in CGI Goat Voiced By Peter Dinklage, but ariana deserves an oscar. the prettyboy was pretty good too. orivo can really sing but her acting was kinda giving Distressed Pixar Mom for me although i'm happy to add this to john m chu's many crimes.

out of sight - the romantic premise of this movie is CRAZY but george clooney kinds of sells it actually because and not in spite of the fact that he's one of those curious Incredibly Handsome But Not Very Sexy actors... like you believe that she wouldn't really hold a grudge against him locking her in a trunk with him, because, what, clooney's gonna act untoward? no... not him... j. lo joins andie macdowell as an actress out of whom soderbergh somehow coaxes a much better performance than experience would lead you to believe she is capable of. shockingly stacked cast of pros doing great, INCREDIBLE production design - banner movie for characters costumed to match or complement their interiors!!!

burlesque - dr. sam from new girl fucks stanley tucci in this movie... i literally can't stop thinking about that. xtina maybe has the all time highest ratio of vocal chops to charisma, she has the screen presence of a recurring character on a cancelled WB drama and then she opens her mouth and you're like, damn. i would watch an 8 season HBO sitcom of cher and stanley tucci running a failing burlesque club. at one point i said out loud "chekhov's air rights." great time

logan lucky - "what if steven soderbergh made a heist movie but decided to put his coen brothers hat on and, also, cast channing tatum as a divorced dad who wants to support his daughter's dreams but is seriously wigged out by pageant culture?" yes please. absolutely. adam driver almost never acts in movies i actually want to see but he really is one of the real ones.

babygirl - one of those movies where i can understand lots of things that didn't work for people but i, personally, was completely rapturous the entire time because i wanted a movie where i could walk out saying "nicole kidman did that" and i got that AND ALSO (a) a story about a perfectionist who hates herself and (b) sex scenes that are funny and weird and awkward and warm and human. that's so many things i love happening at once, i will happily forgive and overlook any flaws. i really just loved how much the two of them are actively figuring this thing out as they go and how that's embarrassing and goofy and also sweet and fun. plus nicole kidman really did do that, i mean, like, my god... my god....

fantasmas - you have to watch fantasmas... why haven't you watched fantasmas yet... i really struggle to imagine the person who would follow My Dumb Blog but not be into fantasmas... "the gay ones don't draw dicks, they draw eyes"... julio torres is the voice of a generation

the franchise - not quite as much of a banger as i wanted to be but likable enough, & i'm a sucker for showbiz jokes (jokes about insecure actors, etc.), although i think chris ryan had a point on the watch pod when he was like, the thing about the satire elements of this show are that if you know anything about the actual production stuff on superhero/franchise movies it's hard to satirize because like, the real stuff is actually just that crazy... there's a running thread about the overworked VFX guy and it's kinda funny but also like, well this lines up more or less with what those teams have actually said... anyway. i want to say i'm a lil bummed it didn't get renewed nonetheless but also i forgot until i was typing up the list of things to document here that i had never gotten around to the season finale, so i guess i can't really honestly claim to be that bummed lol. (watched it while washing dishes - pretty good!) did love daniel bruhl as a sensitive artiste director being soul-crushed by the studio machine though! that guy's great.

read

r. o. kwon, exhibit - this one's tough. ultimately, there were actually a lot of things i liked about this book. it had some moments that felt really human and well observed (when the protagonist says something about how usually orgasms aren't worth the guilt and then says she knows she's letting us down and her paramour says who's us and the protagonist says all women... that's funny and real and not unrelateable to me for different reasons!). the bones of it were i think ultimately solid - like yeah she's terrible at communicating but ultimately the book is about her running away from the hard fact that her husband wants a baby and she doesn't and the psychology holds water throughout, i think. (also a funny paragraph about how she knows how to cook but mostly subsists on like handfuls of nuts and bread dipped into olive oil or whatever and then she's like "and you thought i could raise a child?"... also relateable...) i REALLY related to the idea of being a person who simultaneously has the memory of experiencing the loss of faith in god as genuinely, actually traumatic and also being like "btw my family might be cursed by vengeful spirit, it's a whole thing, but i gotta try to talk to her before i do this because she kind of gave me the idea," and i really liked that the book didn't spend any effort on reconciling these two things because... i mean iykyk, like i really can't explain beyond "sometimes that's what it's like" - AND i also liked the ultimate reveal of that storyline and how it tied into the core character work of the main plot. plus the whole thing is like the "trying stuff out sexually as a vehicle/metaphor for owning your whole self" thing that i (a) have enjoyed writing in fanfiction and (b) really loved watching in babygirl lmao. unfortunately the writing was the most annoying tryhard I Get It You Have An MFA ass prose i have ever encountered... i complained about this at the time but it's craaazyyyy to use the word "mirific" three times in a ~200 page novel lmao. deranged. calm yourself. i also felt like the dialogue was really bad although i guess i can't totally rule out that this is a book about artists and artists actually are that annoying? idk though... it didn't feel stylized it just felt weird... who says "tippled"... so, ultimately i couldn't say that i "liked" this even though it had elements i admired or enjoyed.

naomi klein, the shock doctrine: the rise of disaster capitalism - as i mentioned at the time, very enamored of its framing device in a very popular nonfiction/thomas friedman lite kinda way, but when it's not doing that (which luckily is most of the time), this is an informative and well explicated accounting of the horrors milton friedman has unleashed upon the world. i liked her fundamental argument that you can't politicize along economic grounds horrors committed under communism but not do that for capitalism, which has sort of seeped into general internet leftist thought (a testament to the success of this book) but which i appreciate more having seen how she builds her case.

the red nation, the red deal: indigenous action to save our earth - read this for a mutual aid book club that never happened lol. at the end of this book they're like "well probably none of this is new in the climate justice conversation but we don't think things have to be new to be valuable" and like... on the one hand true... on the other hand if you're even vaguely aware of climate justice discourse... not a lot here is new. i also, perhaps unpopularly, have become kind of a... idk... i mean when people are like "we can't solve climate collapse without dismantling capitalism" these days my reaction is basically "well one of those things might happen in the next two hundred years and it's not dismantling capitalism." i'm not like a tech-zealot but a... tech-realist? idk. this is not what i want to be true but it is my honest accounting of the situation. so, any argument that's like "step one: dismantle capitalism" is... it's just not where i'm at these days.

patrick radden keefe, say nothing: a true story of murder and memory in northern ireland - there are no doubt quibbles or political issues to be had with this book, a story of the troubles focused largely on a particular group of IRA members operating in west belfast in the early 70s - as an idiot coming into this subject basically cold, i would have appreciated slightly more grounding in the political situation leading up to the swelling of violence in this period - but, damn, this book is fucking mesmerizing. keefe really brings the people involved to life, particularly the young IRA members at the heart of his chronicle, and while it's clear he doesn't condone all their actions, my own sense was that he was more interested in truly understanding and making clear their own understandings of their motivations & understanding of themselves & ethical framework than he was in passing judgment (and i also definitely felt like he had a certain admiration for the integrity of someone like brandon hughes or dolours price, who were always willing to own what they did and why they did it, and a genuine disdain for how fucking crazy it is for gerry adams to rebrand as a peacenik when literally everybody knows he spent the early 70s telling people to plant bombs lmao). (also having read empire of pain... he definitely holds the sacklers in lower esteem than the IRA, lol.) the final chapters of the book also touch on the really fascinating difficult question of how you morally reckon with the revolutionary violence you did if the revolution you did it for never came to pass - this is the heart of why his fellow ex-IRA comrades feel so betrayed by adams, who has left them to shoulder the burden of that guilt alone while pivoting to the compromise they once agreed would not suffice which was part of the reason for all the violence, and it is something i think about a lot as someone who would not self identify as a pacifist and thinks the historical record leaves no doubt that sometimes violence is necessary for change but nonetheless feels very reluctant to endorse specific acts of revolutionary violence in theory. thrilling and thorny, ultimately i would say deserving of all the accolades i learned after reading it has apparently received lol.

patrick radden keefe, the snakehead: an epic tale of the chinatown underworld and the american dream - not quite as tremendous-feeling as say nothing, but that's mostly because that's a crazy high bar; this is a really fascinating look at the human smuggling trade (& other organized-ish crime) in NYC's chinatown in the 80s/90s, including the middle aged woman who was at the heart of much of it. contains: some totally deranged gang warfare stories; a really fascinating look at the weirdness of chinese immigration policy in the 90s, when china's one-child policy pushed normally anti-immigration republicans to switch on this issue for pro-life reasons (the one child policy... maybe the one thing every american politician shares the same view on, for different reasons?); interesting background on fujian, the high-outmigration region of china from whence many of the principles in this story came; an accounting of an insane boat journey gone so wrong that at one point after the would-be migrants have been trapped in a harbor off the coast of africa (i forget which country), when they finally leave, two of them decide to stay because the chinese restaurant they've opened is doing so well. i keep thinking about the fact keefe highlights that of the hundreds of doomed migrants on this hugely traumatic journey who wound up deported after crash-landing, nearly all of them eventually made their way back to the US.

kazuo ishiguro, nocturnes - my first ishiguro since my teen ishiguro phase (a concept that should really be regarded the way that teens getting into heavy metal and grunge is in pop culture e.g. a sign to check in on their mental health lmao). didn't love these but i can't tell if that's because i prefer ishiguro as a novelist or because i'm just bad at reading short stories... also to be fair there were at least 2 ishiguro novels i read back then and was like "the fuck was that" lol. some very funny moments and a lot of like, amusing portraits of unlikable people, and i do love his style, which is like, a pathologically conversational first person that years of reading since has taught me is much more technically difficult than it looks, but ultimately it felt pretty slight.

naomi klein, doppleganger: a trip into the mirror world - klein takes on, like, "the wellness to alt right pipeline" is an oversimplification but topics in that neck of the woods, inspired by the wack ass shit constantly being tweeted by Other Naomi (wolf), with whom klein is frequently confused on twitter. this is an inherently very funny premise for a book and a lot of what klein says is in my view pretty accurate, and some of her literary/theoretical musings on dopplegangers as a Thing are interesting to read, plus the whole thing is on topics of interest to me, aka Alt Right Derangement And Weird Shit People Are Up To Online. however..... so klein says that she herself was very offline until covid happened, basically, and so if you have been online longer, and especially if you have been actively reading stuff about Weird Shit People Are Up To Online, then this book is basically a smart person catching up with topics you yourself already know a lot about. so in a funny way i found this a more enjoyable read than the shock doctrine, because it's less of an unrelenting fucking bummer about human evil and suffering, but it was also less enriching, because she didn't really bring any new insight to topics that, again, are probably in the top 5 of Post Headlines I'm Most Likely To Click On. like yeah, deranged alt right types are using the language of social justice and inequality and bodily autonomy to further their various causes... tru... i mean it is tru... i also think the fact that her default is a Not Online person who only changed her vibe after covid makes her a bit more of an internet doomer bc she doesn't viscerally get the nontoxic value possible to find in Online through diligent curation lol. but i do think it was a solid accounting of the subcultures and and ideologies she explores so like i said i basically liked it and if you're less tuned into weird internet radicalization currents than i am you will probably find it informative!

suzanna clarke, piranesi - i don't even know what to say about this one, probably tied with tender as my favorite book i read last year (strong fantasy year for me i guess). it's so crazy that suzanna clarke wrote jonathan strange & mr. norrell, the most perfect book of all time, and then did this, which is also the most perfect book of all time, in a completely different way. her gift for atmosphere and voice is second to none and in this one she uses it to draw us into caring so deeply for a narrator who can't even remember his own past - the book in some ways is a mystery and the doling out of information is perfectly paced but the reason it works is because we just love this guy because of how much he loves the universe. the final chapter expresses something about survival & upheaval & change (&, sure, trauma, if you want) that, as i said before & will come as no surprise, is so so so precisely keyed into an idea so deeply important to me... ahh! just sublime!

v. c. andrews, flowers in the attic - book club!! this book is CRAZY but there's only two real things i want to say about it: (1) a lot of what's totally deranged about it is that on the one hand, it has the most gothic novel ass set-up ever - horrible incest house of dark secrets and shame, children literally living in an attic, physical decay, etc. etc. - and on the other hand in all other respects its sensibilities are the most american 70s suburban ass thing, so that it's like, a gothic novel where the evil mother goes to secretary school and the kids watch sitcoms and cut construction paper in the secret attic... like, the tonal clash is soooo crazy, it's incredible; and (2) ok so like by the time it happens you 100% want those siblings to fuck. like. you just do.

suzanna clarke, jonathan strange and mr. norrell - counting this as last year even though i read the second half in january lol. ummm best book in the world. third time through and i genuinely think it gets better every time. most purely pleasurable reading experience of all time.

stephanie mccurry, confederate reckoning: power and politics in the civil war south - ditto re timing (technically i have like a couple pages of this one left and a few more quotes to post lol). i picked this back up as a comfort reread after the election and it slaps so hard it's crazy. love to read about how a bunch of war-losing loser traitors lost in no small part because it's hard to wage war as a modern state committed to resisting the tides of modernity!!!! sucks 2 suck!!!!!

listened

maude latour, sugar water - i'm kind of obsessed with maude latour not in terms of being obsessively in love with her music, although i think she's very good, but because she's my go-to example of someone out here doing girlpop toiling away in the spotify minds unremuneratively who i would easily and even gladly swap fame-wise with basically any of the pop girls in our current rising class (thinking of olivia/chappell/sabrina... none of whom are like terrible - well ok i have yet to hear a chappell roan song i think is actually good lol but i guess she can sing and it's nice that she's gay - but also alleged newcomers like tate mcrae? addison whoever? madison beer? these are not real people stop trying to act like they're real people! ladyraven ass pop girls...). she just makes really solid, well written, inventive but still catchy pop. i returned to this short album a lot more than i expected to, often thinking i wanted to hear just the first song (a standout) and then realizing i was happy to let the rest play through. also gay stuff, if you care about that.

sabrina carpenter, short n sweet - like it's all very competent and espresso deserves its flowers but who cares? who could possibly ever care? i've been SUCH an antonoff apologist and please please please is the first song where i felt like i was hearing him as his haters hear him, it sounds like shit. there are better moments and worse moments, some ok lines, she can sing, etc., but where's the vision? where's the personality? nothing to grab on to.

beabadoobee, this is how tomorrow moves - beabadoobee is obviously talented and intelligent and her music sounds enough like a kind of music i like that i always feel like i should like her more... but i think she's a little too stripped down and sophisticated for me. that said "ever seen" was one of my top songs of 2024, total absolute BANGER

charly bliss, forever - doesn't quite live up to the heights of young enough, but given that young enough is a strong contender for my favorite album of the past decade, i'm not really sure it could. this one is pop-punkier and very hooky lots of fun, and i just love eva's taffy-pull voice and wanna listen to her sing anything. also it has a song that sounds so much like a pop punk version of a kesha song it's legit uncanny to me.

pom pom squad, mirror starts moving without me - big step up from their last album, IMO, and i liked that a lot too! ambitious in an interesting way but also lots of fun. this one also has a song that at points sounds so much like a kesha song it's crazy, as does a 2023 album i was recently listening to by underscores... i feel like we're living in a big post-kesha moment and i don't know if anyone is appreciating it enough...

pale waves, smitten - i agree with pale waves that "what if avril lavigne got really into shoegaze and was also gay" is a great idea for an album. really pretty production on this one!

070 shake, petrichor - my friend dave was like "this album might be bad but i'm obsessed with it" and i listened out of solidarity and was like, i don't like this but i can understand why you specifically would. friendship!

charli xcx, brat and it's completely different but it's still brat - i never really listen to enough albums to justify having an album of the year but something about the release of the remix album really opened up the whole project to me and i was completely obsessed with it for a while and still love it. track by track most of the remixes are not quite as good as the original track (although some, like caroline polacheck's gorgeous turn on everything is romantic, are definite upgrades), but something about the spirit of generosity that infuses the project, the way it makes it all feel like a project more than an album, the sense that charli has thrown this party and she's invited up and coming spanish rapper bbtrix alongside ariana grande, the way it's less disciplined than the album proper but more expansive, at some points grimier and clubbier and at other points more emotive and romantic... idk. feels like a whole world. the so i remix alone, like - releasing a sad song about your friend who died, and then releasing a faster song about all the fun shit you used to do, that sounds more like a song your dead friend would have produced, is one of the most loving acts i have ever seen committed through art and it made me cry even though i never connected with SOPHIE's music bc i'm not really cool enough to be into hyperpop. rooting for charli at the grammies even though i know it's not gonna happen lmao.

other

jenny holzer at the guggenheim - there was a jenny holzer installation at the guggenheim!! it was really cool!! i finally understood something @rgr-pop said years ago about how it matters that she is a visual artist and her words (incredible as they often are as words) appear physically in a space. it is in fact Different, to see them in a space. in addition to The Classics (i got so fannishly excited spotting IT IS IN YOUR SELF INTEREST TO FIND A WAY TO BE VERY TENDER lmao), the installation also included a lot of her more recent and more overtly political stuff, some of which engaged specifically with the bush ii administration & iraq/afghanistan, which made for intense viewing given that i happened to go right around the time i read the shock doctrine (as did spotting the one about how mothers who have a reason to cry should do so in public....). jenny holzer is great! so glad i could experience that!

[batgirlsay]

Phoenix Fan Fusion 2025 feels post!

I had a different con experience this year since we tried meeting and seeing actors and even with all the scheduling issues, we worked it out!

My favorite TV show of all time is The Good Place and both Manny Jacinto and Eugene Cordero were there!

This was my first time attending an actor panel and it was awesome!! Arrived at the panel room early and got great seats! After signing the phoenix, Eugene tried to ride it LOL

Recounting as much of the panel as I can to help refresh my memory:

Someone asked about the particular cadence of their characters voices, and Manny said he was thinking about boys at his high school and Eugene was just dropping words out of sentences to make them sound dumber!

Someone from the Facebook Shirtposting group asked a question and they mentioned that they use the "we both it" meme so much. I love the Shirtposting group, so many great memes, highly recommend!

There were some appreciative Filipino fans who asked questions and they discussed how Eugene made his character in Star Trek canonically Filipino, so cool!

Eugene was hilarious and we were laughing so hard the whole time! You can tell he is an amazing improviser and he was giving tips to some panel questions about how to improvise. There were also questions about being on a Mike Schur show and how there was not much room for improvising on a perfect script. We all know Mike Schur shows are the best and that The Good Place is the perfect positive show!

Someone also asked how many of their characters from their other shows would go to the bad place and Eugene said his characters would be OK, but Manny wasn't so sure (Qimir reference lol).

Someone asked how they thought Pillboi would have died and Eugene said likely accidental overdose lol like he knows his stuff but he would still be mixing things.

Most questions were great, except there was a kid who asked a wierd question about which actor they would replace on The Good Place (which is none! The casting is perfect!). They of course said they wouldn't replace anyone and then Eugene deflected by going back to his long running murder joke.

There was also a question about the relationship between Jason and Janet and Manny mentioned how great D'Arcy is!

One of the best questions was about what Good Place flavor of frozen yogurt they would like to try and Manny said his SO just finished a marathon so he would like to experience that feeling. Eugene continued his murder reference by saying he would like to try the Phoenix Fan Fusion phoenix with all the flavors of everyone that signed it LOL

Next time I attend a panel I might prepare a question, but I also didn't want to leave my great seat to sit on the floor in line while they answer questions...

After the panel, I went to get my signature from Manny and I think I was the only Good Place fan besides someone dressed as Chidi Janet who got an ethics book signed. I'm glad they had a good picture of both Jason and Pillboi to get signed!

When I got my signature from Eugene, I told him that I was going to put the signed picture next to the Jeremy Bearimy clock that I won from a trivia contest at a local movie theater showing of the series finale. He responded with “oh so you’re a big fan then” and didn’t know that they had something like that. I had gotten the Eugene signature the day before and I felt kinda bad that he didn’t have a big line when I was waiting for Manny the following day, but Manny only had one day of signings and it looked like Eugene had a lot of Star Trek fans coming up to talk to him while he was waiting. It was neat that Eugene wrote "you both it!" on the picture also!

Before my signature with Manny, my friend shared her beautiful painting of Qimir to get signed and his face lit up!

I saw Manny writing a lot on my picture but I was distracted because I was also explaining to him how it was going to go next to the Jeremy Bearimy clock. I didn't notice he was writing "you got the dopest soul" until I looked at it again later and freaked out.

It was so funny when I finished signing with Manny and I showed Eugene that I got both signatures and told him I really liked the panel and he was all sorry about “all the talk about murder” LOL

I was heading to talk about environmental ethics at a science panel after the signatures, so I also have hella environmental ethics!

Hardly got to spend any time in artist alley this year but had some friends pick me up a few things while I was in line. I was especially looking forward to Frieren and Apothecary Diaries stuff so I'm glad I was able to get a few things. (You can see the common theme with the other merch I chose...)

(Stickers from momotin.studio and bookmark from @katthegoblin!)

Also tagged along with my friends to meet Hayden Christensen! It was a mess with miscommunications and lines running hours late but it was worth the wait!

[jgroffdaily]

Official press release

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

TONY AWARD WINNER JONATHAN GROFF IS BOBBY DARIN

IN

JUST IN TIME

under the Direction of Tony Award Winner Alex Timbers

BROADWAY'S CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO

AN INTIMATE, IMMERSIVE NIGHT CLUB featuring a live on-stage big band

Book by Tony Award Winner Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver

Music Supervision and Arrangements by Andrew Resnick

Choreography by Shannon Lewis

Developed and Directed by Tony Award Winner Alex Timbers

Opening at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Previews begin Friday, March 28, 2025

Priority Access Pre-Sale begins Monday, October 21, 2024

For Priority Access Visit www.JustInTimeBroadway.com

General on-sale begins Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Exclusive Night Club Floor Seating Available

(New York, NY, Wednesday, October 9, 2024) – Producers Tom Kirdahy, Robert Ahrens and John Frost announce Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff's (Merrily We Roll Along, Hamilton) return to Broadway as Bobby Darin in the world premiere of the new musical JUST IN TIME. Developed and directed by Tony Award winner Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge), Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre will be transformed into an intimate, immersive night club where the great American entertainer's meteoric journey - from soaring highs to crushing lows – is brought to life by Groff, a cast of 16, and features a live on-stage big band performing Bobby Darin's iconic hits including "Beyond the Sea," "Splish Splash," "Dream Lover," and "Mack the Knife." Full casting and creative team for JUST IN TIME to be announced soon.

JUST IN TIME has a book by Tony Award winner Warren Leight (Side Man) and Isaac Oliver (Intimacy Idiot, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"), music supervision and arrangements by Andrew Resnick (Parade), choreography by Shannon Lewis (Fosse–Performer/Radio City Music Hall–Choreographer), and is based on an original concept by Ted Chapin. JUST IN TIME will open Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street), with previews beginning Friday, March 28, 2025.

Producers Tom Kirdahy, Robert Ahrens and John Frost say, "We are honored to celebrate the legacy of the great Bobby Darin with the inimitable Jonathan Groff under the visionary direction of Alex Timbers. Just in time indeed!"

"Bobby Darin worked across many genres of music, but he was most alive performing in intimate nightclubs," says director Alex Timbers. "And so, it was vital to Jonathan and myself that we stage Just In Time at Circle in the Square. This is where we could build an environmental nightclub setting including a live, onstage big band that will allow the same sort of intimacy and electrifying audience connection that both Bobby and Jonathan are known for."

"Bobby Darin was a supernova. He blazed his way through every corner of the entertainment industry, but his enormous talent, charisma, and pure genius were most on display when he was letting it rip in front of a crowd. This primal passionate love affair he had with the audience was the inspiration for our show's conceit," says Groff, who is also serving as a producer on the project. "Alex Timber's distinctive ability to make going to the theater an unforgettable event and Bobby's signature musicality and explosive fleeting life make Broadway the perfect place to experience the story and essence of this once in a lifetime talent."

Last season Jonathan Groff won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance as Franklin Shepard in the Tony Award-winning production of Merrily We Roll Along. Other Broadway credits include Hamilton (Tony Nomination, Grammy Award), Spring Awakening (Tony Nomination), and In My Life. Off-Broadway credits include Merrily We Roll Along (Outer Critics Circle Award), Little Shop of Horrors (Outer Critics Circle Award), Hamilton, The Submission, The Bacchae, The Singing Forest, Prayer for My Enemy (Obie Award), Hair, and Spring Awakening. TV and film credits include "Mindhunter," "Looking," "Glee," Hamilton (Emmy Nomination), Frozen and Frozen II, The Matrix Resurrections, and Knock at the Cabin.

With performances beginning Friday, March 28, 2025, tickets for JUST IN TIME start at $99 and will be available at www.JustInTimeBroadway.com for performances through Sunday, July 27, 2025. JUST IN TIME Priority Access Pre-Sale begins Monday, October 21 at 10am, with general on-sale beginning Wednesday, October 23, at 10am. For JUST IN TIME Priority Access pre-sale code please visit www.JustInTimeBroadway.com. Exclusive Night Club floor seating available for an up close and personal experience. During previews the playing schedule for JUST IN TIME is as follows: Monday through Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Saturday at 2pm. Please note: There will be no performance on Thursday, April 24. Beginning April 25, the playing schedule for JUST IN TIME is as follows: Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2pm. Circle in the Square Theatre box office opening date, rush policy and other accessible pricing initiatives will be announced at a later date.

Look out, Jonathan's back! Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff returns to Broadway as Bobby Darin, the legendary singer whose short but remarkable life took him from teen idol to global sensation, inspiring generations of performers who followed. JUST IN TIME is an exhilarating new musical that immerses audiences into an intimate, swinging nightclub complete with a live big band, a stellar ensemble cast, and a parade of Bobby Darin's hits including "Beyond the Sea," "Mack the Knife," "Splish Splash," and "Dream Lover." Discover the man behind the music who pushed back against the record labels to chart a new course for himself on the charts – a once-in-a-lifetime talent who knew his time was limited and was determined to make a splash before it was too late.

For more information please visit: www.JustInTimeBroadway.com.

Follow us at @JUSTINTIMEBWAY.

[thecrownofflames]

2, 10, 18, and 41 for the movies/film ask 🩷🩷🩷

GIRL ILY and MISS YOU!!!! 💖💖💖

2. what movie do you wish you could unwatch?

Feel like this one could be read two different ways. Unwatch because it was terrible and a waste of your time or unwatch because you want to experience it for the first time again.

The one that was a waste of my time was the Adam Sandler movie Jack and Jill (2011) 🙄🙄🙄 my brother forced me to watch it.

For the second type, lowkey wish I could unwatch Dracula (1992) and then watch it again for the first time. I was really young when I saw it for the first time and my eyes were fucking glued to the screen. That shit was a formative experience.

10. most recent movie you saw in theaters?

Nosferatu (2024) I don't usually watch movies in theaters because I'd rather watch them at home. I do want to go watch Sinners 2025 though..... Exceptions will be made for vampire movies

18. favorite actor

I don't really have one single favorite actor I guess ?? I do watch things with Jason Momoa but that's because I think he's sooo good looking. Zendaya's done great things and come far from her Disney Channel days. Mia Wasikowska always pulls a great performance when I see any movie with her in it. Every movie I've watched with James Spader, I always think he does a great job being a freak.

Christopher Lee playing any villain is fucking fantastic all 6 ft 4 of him. Working through his hammer horror movies has been SO fun.

I'm sure there's more, but this is what's coming to mind rn

41. name three movies you consider “classics”

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Alien (1979)

Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope / the OG trilogy in general

Definitely more, but since I could only pick three

[blackr23]

Super Elle Korea p1

💬: While you were waiting for the recording for YouTube to start, were you whistling in your seat?

🥟: Ah, it's a habit. I like to whistle. It was a Frank Ocean song.

💬: What are you thinking about lately? Do you still read many books?

🥟: I try to read, but I don't focus on reading as much as before. Still, when I feel like I should read a little, I go to a bookstore. I like to read the first book that catches my attention right there. Curiously, the books I buy I hardly read.

💬: It's the dilemma of every reading lover (laughs). At the 2025 S/S collection show you attended last September, Donatella Versace mentioned that the role of fashion should be to promote 'positivity' (Positivity) and 'uplift spirits' (Spirits Up). Does Hyunjin also feel this positive function of fashion?

🥟: Of course. I love fashion, and I'm glad that someone can associate me with a characteristic image. Wearing nice clothes is something I find similar to cleaning. If my space is messy, I don't feel good, and if I leave it like that, it will stay the same. In the same way, if I just go back to the style I always wear, my mood will also stay the same. Styling is one of the elements that can bring variety to my mood.

💬 They say you also listen carefully to the music of the parades. If you created a playlist for a Versace show, what songs would you include?

🥟: Wouldn't it be wonderful if Lana Del Rey's song 'Young and Beautiful', from The Great Gatsby soundtrack, appeared in a presentation that maximizes Versace's elegant and regal charm?

💬 Hyunjin also gives people energy, right? Was there a time recently when you felt like you gave and received energy in a positive way?

🥟: Interaction exists in all relationships, right? As time has passed since debut, I have become more comfortable with fans, Stay sometimes feels like someone close to my environment. Especially because no matter what I do, they are a source of positive energy for me, and I can't help but enjoy that love too.

💬 I remembered the video where there were many Stays in Milan, and that made you feel safe (laughs)

🥟: That's right. I used to get nervous before, but if I think there are Stays in front of me, I can do anything with confidence. No worries!

💬 Milan not only went for the parade, but also to perform as headliners at the 'I-Days' music festival along with the other members. I also fondly remember the content that captured their time together after the performance. What is the most important thing you have learned through your relationship with the other members?

🥟: The very way of relating to people. I've learned about friendship, love, a sense of belonging and that feeling of deep connection... I've learned all of that. Stray Kids is something we are betting our lives on together, so we naturally learn a lot from each other and motivate each other as well. To the point that sometimes I think I wouldn't know how to live my life without the members

💬 They also declared that they would walk together for a long time

🥟: I think it's one of the warmest moments of this year. Although the word 'contract renewal' itself is a bit far from conveying warmth (laughs). However, as a team that has grown dreams together, the members know better than anyone about our strength and the value of fans. Seeing how we all managed to carry out the contract renewal process with the same heart, I felt a special warmth connected with the members.

💬 The <dominATE> tour is also in full swing. It is already the third large-scale world tour. What changes do you feel in yourself on stage?

🥟: This year, I deliberately attended a lot of concerts by other artists. Not only from K-pop artists, but also to performances in small theaters, where I learned about how to interact with fans and perform live. I think those experiences have influenced me a little. My mentality has also changed. I realized that whether it's mistakes or whatever, everything becomes a memory. I'm enjoying the tour more than ever

💬 In order not to exhaust yourself in the long term, you have to keep injecting energy constantly, right? There are also many performances at the stadium level

🥟: I love performing on stage. It is not common to have the opportunity to experience in so many countries in this way, and also to be able to perform performances that I love. It seems like there really are no 'flaws' to this. Touring makes me think, 'Is it really okay that I'm so happy?' Of course, there are times when it is physically exhausting.

💬 The second Japanese album "Giant" which includes 10 songs, was also released on November 13. It's surprising when they had time to prepare it?

🥟: It's the first Japanese album in 1 year and 9 months, and since fans in Japan always send so much love, I'm very excited. I can't forget the power we received the first time we did a dome tour in Japan.

💬 What is the moment in 2024 when you felt like you 'Ate/Devoured' (ATE)?

🥟: I haven't had it yet. But we are planning to release a new song in Korea, and above all, there are the year-end performances, right? We are planning to prepare well so that this time we can also show a performance that is memorable.

[pop-pop-pop-popculture]

Marketing Tactics for Films

Let's talk about it, shall we?

-> Rachel Zegler and the 7 Computer-Generated Imagery Dwarfs (2025)

0/10

"Weird, weird!"

No beauty, food/beverage or clothing company collaborated with Disney for this live-action re-imagined, subpar failure. The reason is self-explanatory.

There were no creative marketing tactics done to hype up this abomination and the reason is self-explanatory

-> Lilo & Stitch (2025)

10/10

This (Disney) film was a GREAT comeback from that flop™ in March!

To be honest, this may be the best live-action, reimagining film of an animated film so far. I liked Beauty and the Beast, but Emma [Watson] ruined the entire film with her inability act and sing.

The live-action reimagining Disney film posters featuring CGI!Stitch was a sweet nod to the animated film's marketing tactic.

Two videos I saw on TikTok and Instagram: (1) Stitch was at Santa Monica Pier and (2) Stitch literally drove a small pink car around a movie theater in Los Angeles (I don't remember which one). Both of those were so damn clever! My jaw honestly dropped.

There's a video of him getting a hold of someone's phone and taking selfies. Again, clever (and cute).

-> Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)

First and foremost: Jonathan Bailey

Dr. Henry Loomis' "slutty little glasses"

Jonathan Bailey wearing "slutty tiny little glasses" during the press tour, because him wearing them in the film has become a global phenomenon as well as a sexual awakening for people

This is not a marketing tactic but I still wanted to shed the light on this: The interviews with Jonathan and Scarlett [Johansson]. I'm not a fan of her, but those two were/are such a joy to watch together. Their chemistry (and, assumingly, friendship) is so cute! And strong. I haven't watched any of her previous interviews, but someone commented in one of the videos that she seemed the most genuinely happy during this entire press tour.

As far as interviews in general are concerned, I love that the interviewee of the company interviewing the stars were having just as much fun with them as the stars themselves were doing the interview. I feel that that's rare nowadays.

The interviews alone were really good!

I love when interviewees play games with the cast as well as the when the cast themselves play a game with each other. Those have been nothing but a pure, comedic joy to watch.

I don't know if this is classified as a marketing tactic, but did anyone see Jonathan's outfit at the London premiere? It was very 90s-esque and definitely looked like something Steven Spielberg would wear! Props to his stylist for that.

Jonathan Bailey

Wicked (2024)

Jonathan [Bailey] and Jeff [Goldblum] carried that ENTIRE press tour on their backs. Period.

This interview was highly unnecessary and incredibly cringeworthy. It was so painfully obvious that it was a forced PR stunt. Nothing was genuine and enjoyable. Idina clearly didn’t want to be there and I don’t blame her!

Dove Cameron should have been Galinda and an unknown 20-25 year-old should have been Elphaba. Fight me.

There were SO many brand collaborations! H&M, Forever 21, Lush, Funko, and Ulta Beauty to name a few.

That's all I have to say for this film.

Smurfs (2025)

The film looks very stupid. Why is there even another film? Were the three "live-action" ones not enough?

Rihanna’s beauty brand, Fenty Beauty, collaborating with the film is so tacky. The packaging is nice looking, though.

That’s all I have to say for this film.

Stranger Things (2016-2025, but specifically season four)

*I know this is not a film, but I still wanted to bring the show up

Stranger Things: The Experience (it was a let down in my city, but the concept was cool nonetheless)

Last year, there were quite a lot of collaborations... . A few to name are Bath & Body Works, ColourPop Cosmetics, and Build-A-Bear.

That's all I can think of for now.

🦴 July 15, 2025 🦴

(this was written on June 29, 2025)

[black-arcana]

DELAIN Announces 2025 North American Tour With XANDRIA

Melodic synth-metal greats DELAIN continue to grace stages around the world in support of their latest opus, "Dark Waters", out now via Napalm Records. The band is thrilled to announce their return to North American shores with a newly announced headline tour, set to take place in early 2025. The run will also feature support from special guests, symphonic metal patriots and Napalm labelmates XANDRIA, who are touring in support of their latest album, "The Wonders Still Awaiting".

Fans should expect to hear DELAIN and XANDRIA fan favorites, the latest hits, as well as brand new material from both bands during this tour, so don't miss out. Kicking off on March 7 in Phoenix, Arizona, the tour will visit several major cities across North America, ending in Austin, Texas on March 29. Tickets are on sale now. Visit www.delain.nl and get yours before they are gone.

DELAIN's Martijn Westerholt says: "After such a warm welcome and meeting so many amazing fans, performing new music and introducing our new members to the metal masses of North America last year, we are absolutely stoked to return to the United States and Canada to meet again. This time, we're thrilled to share this experience with our special guests and good friends XANDRIA. Each night will be stunning for all. Don't miss this one!"

XANDRIA's Marco Heubaum adds: "We are delighted to come back to the USA and Canada, and even better, with our good friends DELAIN! We are super excited to bring this package to the North American fans! This is going to be amazing!"

DELAIN with support from XANDRIA:

March 07 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Nile March 08 - Los Angeles, CA @ Whisky A Go Go March 09 - Sacramento, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post March 10 - Portland, OR @ The Bossanova Ballroom March 11 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon March 13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall March 14 - Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater March 16 - Joliet, IL @ The Forge March 17 - Detroit, MI @ The Token Lounge March 19 - Columbus, OH @ The King of Clubs March 20 - Toronto, ON @ Axis March 21 - Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre March 22 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East March 23 - New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre March 24 - Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage March 25 - Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligans March 26 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell) March 28 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater March 29 - Austin, TX @ Come and Take It Live

In a recent interview with FaceCulture, DELAIN founder, songwriter and keyboardist Martijn Westerholt spoke about the differences in the singing approach of the band's new frontwoman Diana Leah and that of her predecessor, Charlotte Wessels. He said: "Well, first of all, [Diana's] voice. I like her character. [She has] so much control, so much control… It's also a very friendly voice. And [when I first heard her singing], I could imagine that on DELAIN music. And then I got back the material later, and I was actually astonished and surprised how much it fitted. [Someone said] she has a very similar voice to Charlotte, and partially I totally agree with that; there are some characteristics that are similar. But I also think that people didn't… We have released three singles [with Diana so far], and [people] have not heard her complete capacity in singing. She's very good with soft versus power, [the] contrast [between the two]."

Elaborating on what sets the two vocalists apart, Martijn said: "Charlotte is more rough, which gives Charlotte a lot of character. It's a more rough voice, and that's not a negative thing; no, on the contrary, that gives it a certain quality and character. Diana is more refined. And that makes it different. So I'm totally not saying that, 'Oh, this one is better' or 'That one is better' — no — but it is different. And, of course, indeed, there are also similarities."

DELAIN's first album with Leah, "Dark Waters", arrived in February 2023 via Napalm Records.

In addition to Westerholt and Leah, the band's current lineup includes original guitarist Ronald Landa and drummer Sander Zoer, along with bassist Ludovico Cioffi.

The new DELAIN lineup made its official live debut in August 2022 at the Riverside festival in Aarburg, Switzerland.

Regarding how she joined the long-running Dutch metal act, Leah previously said: "It's really simple, actually. I knew they were looking for a singer so I just left a comment on their Instagram page. So a couple of days later I received an e-mail from Martijn, and we talked a bit about how I could audition and he sent me some material that I could sing on. And the rest is history."

Asked how she decided to sing in a metal band, the 33-year-old Diana said: "Well, I've always wanted to sing in a metal band. It was really my desire to do it. In fact, I did sing in a couple of rock bands, but it wasn't really heavy music, which I loved at the time. It was really hard to find the right people to form a band with and also to get along together and all that. But I've always wanted to be in a metal band. Always."

Leah also talked a bit about her background, saying: "I was born in Romania, in a city called Alba Iulia. It's in the middle of Transylvania. And then I moved to Italy when I was 15, and I lived in Italy for, I think, 10 years or something. And then I moved to Canada, in Ottawa, and I lived there for five years. And then I came back to Italy. And now I currently live in Italy, near Torino, so up north."

In February 2021, Westerholt announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. At the time, he explained: "For the last year or so, the collaboration within the band ceased to work as well as it once had. Some of us were no longer happy with the current roles in the band. We all tried very hard to find a solution for over a year, but sadly we were unable to find one. As a result, we will all be going our own ways and pursuing our own endeavors."

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

[thecitykeepsevolving]

Redwood Round 2 Recap - 5/17/2025 at 2pm

I'm not putting a spoiler alert for obvious reasons.

CAST: Idina Menzel (Jesse), De'Adre Aziza (Mel), Michael Park (Finn), Zachary Noah Piser (Spencer & others), Khalia Wilcoxon (Becca)

I saw Redwood for the second time on Saturday afternoon, and I had an even better experience than I did the first time. I was a lot less nervous, and able to enjoy it more! My seat was AMAZING, front mezzanine row D in the center. I didn't mind my seat the first time, but I'm glad I splurged a little this time around because I could see more things that I couldn't see as well last time.

Like my last recap, I'm just going to list some highlights!

This crowd was WILD. Since it was the last weekend of shows, a lot of diehard fans were in the audience and I could tell. People were clapping after almost every song, which didn't happen last time.

During the first song "Drive," I got a little worried because Idina's voice didn't sound as strong, but she got better after it and I think she was warming up. I'm probably just used to the OBCR and acting a know-it-all.

The scene where Jesse first sees the redwood trees was much more immersive while sitting in the center, and it felt like an IMAX theater. That was the only time I felt the effects, but it was really cool and felt magical!

Idina was LOOPY during this show. I don't know if she was overcompensating for it closing and trying to enjoy herself or just tired, but it was hilarious. She was in great spirits and I think this might be the happiest I've seen her? Not that she isn't happy other times I've seen her live, but this felt ELECTRIC. It only made her performance better, not worse!

Idina kept laughing and doing her Elphaba cackle, was drumming on a prop, and high-fived Michael Park after one of his songs. She also forgot a line during one of the parts, and just covered it up by saying, "I haven't gotten much sleep."

I was less annoyed by Becca this time. Khalia Wilcoxon was incredible and CRUSHED "Little Redwood." That's one of my favorite songs, so I was really happy to hear it live again. I also liked the character of Mel and wasn't as confused or irritated by the story. It was nice to be able to sit back and already be familiar with the show, while noticing new things I hadn't before. I felt the same way when I saw If/Then a second time!

My seat was also better this time because it felt like Idina was right in my line of sight and I could see the climbing scenes better during "In the Leaves" and "The Ascent."

I liked "Great Escape" a lot more too and I'm still in awe of the visuals even though I've seen them before. It's still not my favorite song but Idina sang the HELL out of it!

One of the best parts was still "In the Leaves." Idina was having SO MUCH FUN and said "COME ON!" at one point to get the audience excited. I don't remember her doing that last time. She also laughed a lot during the song, which was cute! Even though I'm sad Redwood closed, the woman is EXHAUSTED but still gave the show her all! If the run were longer, now would've been a good time to take some days off.

I broke my own record and cried TWICE this time!! The first time was during "No Repair." Idina cut through my soul with a knife when she sang that song!!!

My FAVORITE song, "The Fires" DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I swear there were a million times where I wanted to scream "YAAAASSS" out loud during this song (and many others) because Idina absolutely slayed with her vocals/acting/climbing/swinging/EVERYTHING!!! This song especially felt like such an out-of-body experience and I enjoyed every minute of it.

During Zach's song "Still," THE FIRE ALARM WENT OFF. It was most likely because of the smoke effects during "The Fires." I was shocked that neither Zach nor Idina broke character or said anything. I guess they're not allowed to stop the show or anything at that point? I expected to be more pissed off but I might've been more upset if it was during one of Idina's songs or if it was my first time seeing the show. I still felt badly for Zach but he was such a trooper! Idina hugged him at curtain call, which was so sweet. I'll be telling the story for years to come about how a fire alarm went off when I saw a Broadway show, which is surprisingly a first for me! It was so on-brand for the show, that I actually laugh when I think about it now!

My mom was crying at the end when Jesse says the quote about heartwood, and when I looked over at her, I started to cry too. We were most likely thinking about the same thing but I'm not sure. It was nice to share that cathartic moment with her. I literally handed over my tissue and shared it with her. It's such a minor thing, but I will never forget it.

Back to Idina - I loved the whole cast, but her performance was earth-shattering. Her personality really shinec in this role - she is sweet, kind, fierce, salty, and funny and it was beautiful to see. I'm glad that people who saw the show and might've never met her in person could see that.

UGH, I just fucking love Redwood. I'm so lucky to have seen it twice but I'm so sad that it closed! I will probably never see a show the day before it closes again because it's EMOTIONAL AS HELL.

On Saturday, I felt the happiest I've been in a LONG time. I'm so grateful to have had this show in my life and hope it has some kind of life after Broadway!

I didn't stagedoor because it was a matinee, and I'm happier for it!

PICS: [DO NOT REPOST OR REBLOG.]