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cruddyborderlandstheories · 6 years ago

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Athenas Masterpost

This is going to cover everything Athenas, like the official page and trailer, both new trailers, the art book preview, and some stuff shown in the ign trailers. It’s a lot.

There will NOT be endgame spoilers in this post. If there’s anything that comes up that I want to discuss, you can find it in a spoiler post I’ll be making soon :) I DO discuss a thing that occurs during the first 3 hours of BL3, though I think that’s pretty okay with y’all lol

tl;dr: there’s too much to summarize. 13 days until bl3. lmao im screaming on the inside.

“A misty, tranquil planet that has recently attracted the wrong kind of attention. Athenas is mostly uninhabited, save for a sect of monks known as the Order of the Impending Storm who have made their home in the high peaks of the mountains. What secrets do they guard here, inside ancient walls that were built long before humans set foot on Athenas?”

We definitely got a lot less info for Athenas than the other planets, and I can see why. They want to keep it mysterious.

Also, I’m not saying I totally called it that the pyramid was Eridian, but I totally called it. I am surprised it’s implying that the entire area was built by them, but what can ya do 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, since this post is long overdue, let’s just jump right in!

The Athenas video is nearly half the time of the Eden-6 one, so there’s not a lot to cover unfortunately:

We’ve seen this shot multiple times before

also the emphasis that Athenas is ‘tranquil’ and ‘peaceful’ ahahahaha no it’s not.

i love these dudes! Order of the Impending Storm!!! I wonder if their funky goggle things have anything to do with Sirens, like how they have Siren-trackers. I also really love their outfits. lowkey want one of these robes.

a great overview look of the area leading up to the pyramid. I got more to say about this... but it’s probably best if i leave it for later on in the post after we get more info

also, note the water and the rocks and stuff on the left there. This will come into play later... not even in this post. a later post.

also i totally called this being an ancient aliens reference lol

Vault logo on the flag there. definitely shows how much these guys worship the Vaults

This!!! I have so much to talk about here!

alright so now that we know what the vault keys look like.... this doesn’t appear to be part of any of the Vault Keys we’ve seen. especially not the Promethean one. not even the pyramid shaped one.

im mostly interested in this because this is obviously a monk, her robes match the ones we saw above with the hood. she doesn’t appear to be Eridian because we’ve seen the Watcher and the other Guardians, who are built in the image of the Eridians, and she looks wayyy too human. We’ve also seen statues of the Eridians in that one shot of the Pandora temple.

so it seems like the monks have gone inside the pyramid before and... built this statue? for some reason??? It’s interesting that she has an extra pair of arms as well. I wonder if she is like the Siren ancestor of Amara. which could prove my theory that the next successor of Amara would have another set of arms... it might also explain why Amara’s tattoos are everywhere on the buildings (outside of her being the Tiger)

it would also explain this shot, the skeleton with the book, which we now know we’ve seen before with Maya:

so even though they’re protecting the pyramid/temple, i don’t think they’ve been avoiding it entirely- at least not for the first time after discovering it. maybe they stopped going in after they discovered something bad, somethin like iunno... the Rampagers?

it would be Really Weird if the Eridians built that statue, especially when they probably didn’t know what humans looked like at the time. unless of course they helped shape humanity or smth. meaning they probably personally created Sirens. oh that’d be wild... i wonder if we’re going to learn about how early Sirens shaped humanity in that case. discovering fire could be entirely different lol

“hallowed land”

i wonder if this is where we’ll have anointed gear explained to us... i imagine the order is still worshipping Eridian/Siren stuff, so them having all sorta knowledge of this stuff would make sense

more Maliwan. you guys notice we see cultists purely on Eden-6 (outside of the crashed ship), but Maliwan purely on Athenas? a mix on Promethea, tho that’s bc we’ve actually gotten gameplay.

So my guess is Maliwan has joined up with the cult (be it through whatever means: Maliwan is in) and they’re looking for the Promethea key. which makes sense. they’re attacking Rhys on Promethea, so when he helps us out, word probably gets back to Maliwan (somehow) and they swap from wanting to take over Atlas (either by defeating them w/ Zer0/that giant space laser/whatever or just changing priorities) to wanting to open that fuckin Vault. Teaming up with the CoV is the best way to ensure that happens. I’m sure there will oodles of betrayal going on between the two parties.

I LOVE THESE THINGS

THEY’RE AMAZING

GOOD BOYS

in all seriousness, actually, im curious why we don’t see these good boys on Promethea. maybe they’re only for the top-tier squads? (mechanically, probably higher-level enemies) they look super high tech, so i would not be surprised if Maliwan thought Atlas would be an easy takeover so they didn’t send everything they could have

Nog! not much to say here tbqh

“Protect Athenas Before It’s Too Late”

I imagine before Maliwan gets the Vault Key or some other wild power, like power over the Rampagers. seriously, in the We Are Mayhem trailer, there’s a rampager are fighting on the side of Maliwan (altho if this is The One Rampager, or just One of Many is hard to tell. it could morph depending on which element it is. we just don’t know. personally i think there’s 1 per planet... i’ll explain later)

From the Art Book Preview:

Alright yes. “Maliwan forces have already seized control of the monastery, where part of the Promethean Vault Key has been located, turning a simply recovery mission into a vicious firefight...... A large and foreboding crypt built into the side of the mountain was also designed, and might perhaps have housed the Vault Key fragment deep within its gloomy interiors”

i don’t think this means the crypt is like an actual area. it would be interesting to discover that the pyramid is a giant crypt because... jesus. it would fit with the whole pyramid theme, at least. altho im wondering if this is more like a labyrinth situation where they’re trying to keep a Rampager inside as well as the treasure... which MAY be a Vault Key Fragment

Actually, this brings up a great point: did Atlas spread the Vault Key out throughout the planets? Is this where Typhon originally found that Key fragment? wtf was in the Vault that Atlas needed to disassemble the Key and return its fragments? oh boy i hope it’s something scary

From the Moze Eden-6 E3 Gameplay:

oh ye this. okay so this is definitely 100% Eridian. I’m guessing we get this from Athenas because this seems like a fairly important object and, well, Athenas is all about Eridian stuff. When we go through the next few videos, keep an eye out for the temples. You’ll see the glowing red diamond shape constantly reappearing there.

one of the devs admitted that there are hunks of Eridian Writing left around the world that will ‘open up’ things for the players, so I imagine this is exactly what we’ll use to get to it. If this IS only for endgame stuff I’ll be slightly disappointed. I know we have access to this before Eden-6, since there are gameplay videos that show the player breaking the Eridium chunks with this thing. the above one is from the Moze Eden-6 gameplay, tho I’ve also seen newer footage from the Balex gameplay with this same tool

The following clips can be found in this video:

im mostly interested in the wall art here

what looks like a sun or a planet

this symbol which makes an appearance elsewhere

these two are the same area, im imagining this is the fight up to the pyramid, with Maliwan forces and barricades everywhere

the sun again in the background (middle top)

this cool piece (bottom left of the above pic) which looks like a hand covered in glowing blue. i imagine this is some sorta representation of Phaselock? mainly because of the blue orb in the palm of her hand

not much to say about this area tbh. looks like a residential area to me, so possibly not in the residential district

writing on the top mid-right.

idk why i just noticed these trees are green and not red but yeah, that’s interesting. so probably a different area from Amara’s trailer aka: not Partali

and yet we see amara’s tattoos on the building in the back right. sorry for such terrible quality btw, tumblr ate these images and spit them back out

These clips can be found in the Borderlands are Yours trailer:

looks like the small building we see directly next to Maya and Ava

altho very clearly not the same exact area so im curious what these are supposed to represent. tbh im kinda reminded of graveyards. i really hope there aren’t corpses in those omg

another better look at the two pieces of art. i imagine the one on the right has something to do with the eridians given its in a diamond shape, which we know has something to do with the eridians now

also im not playing amara first (possibly last. depending on how i feel fl4k may go last) but HOLY SHIT her action skills are beautiful

THIS FUCKER

i know he’s probably a vault monster but like...

idk i feel its kinda sad gearbox is showing off a VAULT MONSTER of all things in so much promo material. like why is he fighting with Maliwan/the cult in the We are Mayhem trailer??

sup with that?

does he have multiple stages?? is that’s why he changes elements? goes from two heads to wings to extended necks. like wtf is up with this guy?? he definitely looks like he can be elementally charged given his eye sockets aren’t glowing when he emerges like they do

here but then

this dude looks like he has an entirely different skull like...

this dude is a corrosive one who also seems to be working with Maya (who i guess IS probably the corrosive aligned siren)

and we’re guessing the nuclear charged one is the one from Athenas... for reasons i’ll explain below

AND honestly i've been thinking and maybe the fire one is actually from Promethea? and maybe there’s another that’s on Eden-6 and another on Pandora?

alright so i have 2 reasons for this. one involves spoiler talk with the cloth map, so that won’t be discussed here (but if you see the map and the planets, you’ll understand what i’m alluding to here, most likely). the other is that in this screenshot of all the quests from the Eden-6 demo:

we see immediately after “hostile takeover” is the quest “the impending storm”. which is, indeedy, a reference to the Order of the Impending Storm. We know they’re on Athenas, so I imagine we run over to Athenas to get part of the Vault Key. We’ve established from the art book that’s where it is.

but then after The Impending Storm, Space-Laser Tag (which we all know is that giant-ass laser thing in the asteroid belt), and Atlas, at Last, there’s a quest called Beneath the Meridian.

And we know this area... is definitely underground. we’ve seen with the fire-y boy that the ceiling is just rocks

then we see this shot with the nuclear (?) one where the window outside is clearly showing off mountains/sky, which we know is kinda Athenas’s deal

and we know these two areas are the same v ^

since there’s the same ‘Vault’ in the background

so my only problem with this entire theory that there’s multiple rampagers is that

we see the twins killing/absorbing the red/fire one’s power which is also on athenas since the background is the same as the vault area from the above two pictures. unless there’s a similar vault-thing on promethea and eden-6. we know there’s one on Pandora, but that one is outside so.

so i guess they are the same beasty boy but... why why why show us one of the vault monsters

it’s so cool going in blind and not knowing what you’re going to get out of it.

so im going to say this is a minor vault monster (especially given it’s not exactly the same rock-like design as the other vault monsters) and the ‘vaults’ are actually something smaller. maybe they hold keys, or the pieces of the keys, or they’re part of that teleportation network i keep talking about (and i guess i should just make a seperate post about it) but i don’t know if these are actual Big Boy Vaults. especially when the Rampager doesn’t match actual Eridian-created Vault Monsters

that said given we see a bunch of dead guardians on the floor, its possible the rampager killed them? but i get the feeling we might actually be the ones to pull the trigger cause... combat is fun

so. yeah. if the rampager is guarding something that’s fine. i wanna believe teleportation network. i’d love to see the twins come in, walk out of that vault, absorb the rampager’s powers, and then walk out after locking us in like ‘peace’ and we have to use the teleportation system to make it back to promethea with the vault key fragment or whatever

[im here after the cloth map reveal like... uh huh. i see. u dumb bitchard.]

idk i just thought this was a fun screenshot lol

BoRdErLaNdS

ah yes

that’s eridium

this also appears to be in the temple, but, like, again if there’s more than one temple this could also be on Pandora or even Eden-6. Kinda leaning towards Pandora. HOWEVER since we only know for certain this sort of temple area is on Athenas (from that one statue shot), we’re gonna analyze this bad boy right now (also lowkey think this is Pandora because of the varkid nests but shhh)

what do i actually have to say about it? uhhh not much tbh. i think i’ve said all that needs to be said concerning the twins mutating cultists with slag/eridium.

i will say im pretty shocked at, like, the eridium HORNS and shit. so maybe this is just some cool little miniboss. (okay not mini because look how big he’s gotten!! just like Bloodwing :D)

you know what, it looks like he’s standing on one of these

floor tile things, and now im super curious. is the fire part of a trap? is it powering this lad up? i definitely know he’s a cultist because he’s got the neon light tubes on his shoulder pad

see here

you can see these on other cultists like goliaths and such and such

also this is pretty similar to what we’ve seen in the LLE (especially the powersuits) given their bodies also form eridium crystals when they’ve ascended

i feel like its powering him up

you know during the fight with bloodwing when Jack powers up bloodwing using the elemental flamethrower things? would be interesting if this is similar to that.

like dis

yeahhh

the radiation boy is back and he’s actually elementally charged this time

huzzah

also i love the chest mouth lmao

has anyone here seen stretch armstrong? like that one episode where Gabe (crostini man) gets turned into a bunch of flexarium monster chunks

but yeah, awesome mouth my guy.

im curious if it’s being elementally charged to cryo or if it’s stopped being charged. if this is like a cutscene between different stages in the fight, etc etc.

this also looks fairly similar to this area here

but red this time. which... may tie into the elemental stages. which maaaaay tie into those floor platforms elementally charging that demon baby up above. bloodwing 2.0!

You can find the following clips in the Official Guide to the Borderlands:

god i keep telling myself to be on the lookout for athenas clips but i get so distracted by the gorgeousness of this fucking game i forget and have to keep going back

if that dude in the back floating was t-posing i would have lost my shit

new Siren tattoos!!! we haven’t seen these before. they’re very flowy, i love them. i hope we get to meet the siren with them!

i also loooooove this area in the back. i hope we get to climb it and explore. i would love to just be able to climb to high up areas in bl3 and look down and see the area i just came from. it’s possible! we have the technology! thousand cuts / bnk3r ascension 2.0!!!

more of amara’s awesome looking powers

zane has 2 trans pride skins im so happy 😄

also look at how teeny tiny that ‘Vault’ is in the back!!! it’s only like 2x the size of Iron Bear!!! gimme BIG vaults!! GIANT VAULTS

also also

the VOID vault

i get a feeling these are connected somehow.

sniper spoooot

not much to say about this tbh. zane’s claw things look fucking dope tho. i want one irl.

we’ve seen this shot a few times before already

alright before you get mad, let me explain why i think this is athenas

you see this picture

this maliwan jackass. the building to his left is 100% athenas architecture.

the rocks in the top picture look identical to the ones next to him. plus we’ve seen water in the distance of some of the areas of Athenas

it could also be Eden-6 (which honestly i would not be surprised if it is instead) but given the ivy and the rocks i felt it was worthwhile to put in. plus the moving eridian structures are so cool looking. i feel like that’s going to be a puzzle.

oh oh also

maybe that area leads into/exits from here? because they’re both underground in cavern-like areas

but like... it could also be eden-6... because of that one shot of the temple area in the side of the cliff ASDFHDGJFJGFHSD

still radiation charged.

also seriously this ‘Vault’ is wayyyy smaller than a regular Vault. like... the one in BL2 that you can walk right up to... huge. and nothing even comes out of it. the Warrior climbs up from over the edge

the bl1 is much bigger than this one, too. also the vault of the traveller, i would argue is the biggest out of all of them but eh

for the Vault of the Sentinel, the actual arch we see... i’ve already gone over why i don’t think that’s a ‘real’ vault and that its all more of a simulation, but you can read that whole thing here bc i am trying my damndest to not get off topic for this post because holy fucking shit. this got long.

Alright so. Onto the website pictures

another cool shot of the academic district, really showing off the pyramid in the background. god i wanna know what that is. could be the temple (underground things notwithstanding). it’s probably holding that statue with the vault keys in either arm

you know the one, it’s at the beginning of this post. but damn that thing is huge!! i am hoping it holds more than just the promethean vault key.

did i already talk about how there are siren tattoos written along the edges of this area??? because... damn.

also the symbol for what is probably Vault Key sitting right smack dab in the middle??

also sorry i just noticed those blue shapes are moving. like a fountain or something?? weird light.

i mean... the trees are also warping in the background. wonder wtf is going on here...

anyway whatever she’s holding actually doesn’t match up with any of the vault keys we’ve seen so... wtf are you???

a very nice shot overlooking the water. also a wind turbine in the background. i think the area on the left is where we’ve seen ava and maya? but dont hold me to that lol

definitely looks the same. even has the tree

another shot of that area i think we’ve seen Amara fighting in

big shot of the pyramid with the vault symbol everywhere. and the planet with the beams coming out of it. which in retrospect...

anyway that’s spoiler talk so let’s talk in another post.

another shot of athenas from a slightly different angle, we’ve seen this one before, too, and i remember because i complemented the road signs

annnnd im tired. good night everybody.

#borderlands #bl3 #borderlands 3 #athenas

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catwithbenefits · 7 years ago

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WARNING!! It's leaked the Megaman: Fully Charged trailer and preview of the first episode. What do you think about the designs and plot? Too much action?

youtube

well let’s watch here

I guess I’ll get the nit-picky stuff out of the way. the pixel art is an interesting choice but... not great. they could have contracted so many people who would have been excited to do it and really understand how game pixel art is supposed to look.

the humor kind of falls flat. I was hoping it would have a little more of the self-aware sass of something like Sonic Boom. but it’s also a short clip so I dunno if it’s really indicative of the entire show.

and then I wouldn’t say too much action, but... the action seems really slow. why do their shots move so floaty? why does Mega Man take so long to copy a weapon? they don’t even show him getting the weapon in the clip. is it supposed to be something he has to learn to do?

on the other hand, the voice acting seems pretty good (except the one short clip from Sgt Night sounded awkward). I kinda liked the personality Fire Man showed, and it implies that some of the Robot Masters may become allies later on (I’d like to see that). the overall look of the show is really nice, if not, I dunno... maybe too... clean? I feel like the characters move like from a CG show from the early 2000s, and their movements don’t show a lot of life.

of course, I LOVE the chip tune music, and I’m honestly surprised they are sampling actual music from the games. it’s definitely something meant to appeal to older fans I think, which is curious since I think older fans mostly don’t seem to like how this show is presenting so far.

ultimately I don’t think the show looks amazing. but then, I don’t think it really has to be for me. if it inspires interest in Mega Man in a new, younger audience, then that’s a big win. I love Mega Man but I am fine with this being not for me. I just hope it’s a success ‘cause, if it’s not then it doesn’t reflect well on Mega Man period. and they’re only making 10 episodes so far, and airing them at 6:30 AM on Sundays which is like... not prime air time. so I really hope it gets a decent chance to succeed.

#midorisays #mega man fully charged #mega man #cartoon #robertozampari

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thefilmjournal · 7 years ago

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Hereditary (2018)

Writer & Director: Ari Aster

Starring: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne

Rating: R (horror violence, disturbing images, drug use, and brief graphic nudity)

I had been very much looking forward to seeing Hereditary. I like to call myself a fan of horror, though it seems almost rare for me to actually like one categorized as such. I’m a bit picky, and I think that’s a common thing within the genre--everyone having their own elements they look for in a ‘good’ horror movie.

I look for horror that will leave a psychological mark. I want something that makes me think about it well after I’ve walked out of the theater. Each A24 film I’ve seen so far has given me something to think about. Though those that I have in mind aren’t categorized as horror. Ex Machina is one that was thought-provoking for me. A more recent one, The Florida Project, and especially its ending, gave me something to think about. I thought if Hereditary could give me that, I would be satisfied.

Based on its trailer, Hereditary definitely seemed to fit the description of the type of horror film I look for. The miniatures, as well as the actress playing Toni Collette’s daughter, Milly Shapiro, were instantly interesting and attention-grabbing. The trailer also includes a great quote from Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair that really sold me: “An unsettling look at what demons we may have inherited from our parents.”

If you haven’t seen the trailer, you can check it out below!

youtube

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend an advanced screening of Hereditary a couple of nights ago. I’d never been to one before, and you know what? They don’t show previews! Or, at least they didn’t that night. That was slightly uncomfortable for me. In any case, here’s what I’ll say before I get into some spoilers:

It got a good reaction out of me: my eyes would widen in shock and fear, my jaw dropped, and my hands glued themselves to my face for lengthy periods of time. I think it’s worth mentioning that some of the critics in the audience were vocal throughout. I gotta say, especially after watching the movie, that it was marketed very well. By the time the movie had finished, I was very taken aback by everything I had seen and was so affected even after I had already returned home from the theater. Hereditary doesn’t rely on cheap tricks the way tons of modern horror movies tend to do--it’s more bothersome and dark. So, I did not leave let down. While Toni Collette was incredible in the leading role and truly deserves an Oscar (I don’t say that lightly at all), I think we need to give more praise to Alex Wolff than he is currently receiving.

Spoilers beyond this point! Thanks for reading!

(Image from IMDb)

The Element of Surprise

Earlier when I said Hereditary was marketed very well, I meant that I expected the plot to go a certain way and it didn’t. Coming into the screening, I assumed that because we were shown a clip in the trailer of Charlie cutting a bird’s head off with scissors, we would follow a story about a disturbed child. Presumably, this behavior would be something you could trace back to Toni Collette’s character or her mother, or both of them--something hereditary! I predicted we would maybe see Charlie go on a killing spree, even if it was more animals.

The fact that Charlie dies so early on came as a huge shock. You’re set up to consider her a main focus of the movie and instead, she is brutally decapitated. And actually, the movie still revolves around her character. She just isn’t the focus the way most people would expect, which was not only surprising but refreshing.

While there is plenty of disturbing content within the storyline, one of the more unsettling things the movie does for the viewer experience is kill the expectations the audience came in with. After Charlie’s death, I found that I was uncomfortable not knowing what to expect. Throughout the movie I would make guesses as to what would happen next or what something meant, and after enough wrong guesses, I had to surrender. There are plenty of horror movies that seem to follow a formula. So, eventually, you come to have certain expectations when watching them. Here, you become as unaware as the Graham family, and that’s truly the most frightening thing of all: the unknown.

(Image from Google)

Fear of the Dark

We can’t see as well in the dark and even if we know what’s usually there, things can begin to take on another form and our imaginations roll with it. For myself, I’ll see a pile of clothing or my backpack in the dark and my mind will tend to morphe those things into a human-like figure. I'll sometimes anticipate that happening as I lay down for bed and not want to look into my bathroom or at the hallway because I am afraid of even imagining a figure standing there. Hereditary includes a scene involving that scenario. It takes place in Peter’s bedroom, playing on a fear a lot of us share: seeing something or someone that isn’t supposed to be there.

I think we can all agree that darkness tends to be a necessary element to include in a horror movie. It is tailored nicely into this storyline and expands on that notion of fear of the unknown. Annie sleepwalks, and evidently, according to one of her miniatures, so did Annie’s recently deceased mother. We are given the information that Annie has almost killed herself and her children while in that state. Knowing that history leaves holding your breath during all subsequent sleepwalking scenes. And, of course, we have the seance scenes that give us more scary time in the dark.

While darkness is a tool used to make the film scarier, it did not feel forced in its use here nor did it come across as an obvious device. Something that horror movies like to do, in reference to that second point, is give us jump scares that end up being false alarms. Just when you think the story and action will progress, the scare ends up being some goofy friend or an animal in a bush.

(Image from Google)

The Use of Color

I read an article recently that pointed out the use of the color red in a shot. It said that red was meant to indicate danger to the audience. It seems obvious, but it was not something I necessarily paid attention to in the past. Having just learned this, I made sure to look for red in the movie.

I noticed that most, if not all, of the examples given in the article signaled immediate danger. I cannot recall the exact examples given, but a similar one I noticed today was in The Force Awakens when Kylo Ren kills Han Solo. The main source of red in Hereditary came from the heaters inside of the tree house. Naturally, I expected that something would happen to Annie while she slept in there or that something sinister would manifest itself. Red in this case was not signaling an immediate danger but was hinting at the evil that would take place there at the end.

The heats display orange twice. Once in the beginning when we know Charlie is inside the tree house and once at the end. During the end scene, people are in the tree house ready to receive Charlie who is now, or has just found out she is, King Paimon. Although the orange color was a result of candlelight that time around, I am inclined to believe that because the ceremony was being held in her honor, the choice to have Charlie wear an orange hoodie while she was alive was purposeful. In West Side Story, as an example, the gangs are assigned a color or color palettes. Charlie’s been assigned orange. Using the orange in the tree house at the end signaled Charlie’s return.

Like I said, I can be picky with horror. There are not a whole lot of recent horror films I am into, they are mostly from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Hereditary, however, is one I am eager to see again. I am hearing a lot of praise for the score, and I usually pay close attention to scores, but I must admit that for this, I was so wrapped up in what was going on that I can’t remember what the music must have sounded like, I was that hooked.

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swordsandparasols · 7 years ago

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I watched the first 2 episodes of Mr. Sunshine (I see certain people sideeyeing me, but would like to point out that it’s a bit of a wasteland these days for sageuks and sageuk lovers, after the youth-fusion romance subgenre imploded due to oversaturation), first of TVN new sageuks, set in pre-colonial Joseon.

It’s either dreaded or anticipated, depending on who you ask, for a variety of reasons (mostly having to do with Kim Eun Sook, the casting of Lee Byung Hoon, and a lead romantic pairing with an age difference large enough that he could quite literally be her father, to the point that contextless scenes in trailers almost look like it could be just that.) It...was actually pretty good? Not perfect, and so far Lee Byung Hoon is, IMO, by far the weak link in the acting. Admittedly, he didn’t feature much in the first 2 episodes, but the rest of the cast is putting everything into their portrayals, and he’s walking around like “yeah, lets see if this will make South Korean women forget about that little thing called my sex scandal about cheating on my wife with girls half my age, back to the movies if this doesn’t work.

So there was that.

Some stuff, in no real order:

1.On a technical, visual level, the show is borderline perfect. Some of the CGI is so good that you can’t quite tell it’s CGI, even with parts you know perfectly well are CGI. Unfortunately, that makes the bits where the CGI isn’t as good stand out more. Being fully preproduced and having a huge budget (all that Netflix money is being used wisely so far) means it can do a lot more on-location stuff with a lot more locations than most sageuks with liveshoots can. The end result is that the first 2 episodes look like a big budget movie. We can only hope that it manages to maintain the quality. (Imagine if Saimdang had had a similar budget and level of network faith. I weep.)

2. Kim Eun Sook is obviously very, very interested in this period of history, not that anyone can blame her. The end of Joseon, the banning of slavery, and both Japan and America (and others, but mostly those 2 in the first 2 episodes) trying to get their footholds so permanently solidified that they get the whole country (with the audience knowing that one ends up succeeding at that for a time) not to mention all the advances in technology and the visual contrast with that and the clothing,architecture and way of life that have remained relatively (as compared to western standards) unchanged to the casual eye for centuries. If we’re lucky, KES’s history nerd side will win out over her tendency to get caught up in certain (very dated) romance tropes and generally fizzle out around mid-way through. While the use of Goryeo in Goblin was almost incidental-window dressing history because it was the time period that fit into the story she wanted (to be fair “window dressing history to fit my plot” was something that could be applied to most sageuks around that time, even if the sageuk parts of Goblin were fairly sparse) the plot and characters of Mr. Sunshine seem to be built up around the setting, and are very specifically products of that setting. It’s probably futile, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

3. CALM DOWN YOUR DRAMATIC WALKS KES. SHEESH. DID WE REALLY NEED, LIKE, 8 SHOTS OF EUGENE WALKING IN FRONT OF THAT BRIDGE FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES? And here I thought she got a bit carried away with that before...

4. If Yoo Jin/Eugene were played by someone else, I’d be really into his arc. A slave who escapes and eventually joins the American army returns in a position of authority after slavery ends? So much potential there, and I’m sure KES does intend to follow through with it, but it’s with LBH. (There’s also something to be said about his falling for a noblewoman who grew up as slavery was coming to an end, but that brings up back to the 20 year age difference and the unavoidable romance.)

5. I preferred it when the previews made some of the contextless scenes look more like “secret daughter” than “future lover.” I mean, it’s a kdrama by an author who loves her ahjusshi/young agasshi pairings, so I know better, but I feel that actually could have been more interesting if they could make the timeline work.

6. Kim Tae Ri is...wow. I’ve seen clips of her before so I knew she was good, but I haven’t seen any of her movies (No, I haven’t seen The Handmaiden yet. Stop looking at me like that! I will one day!) but I wasn’t prepared for HOW good. The difference between Ae-Shin the rebellious intellectual and would be freedom fighter, and Ae-Shin, the haughty privileged noblewoman known to everyone is so much that it could almost be a different actress, and this is without any noticeable changes to makeup like dramatic character shifts usually get. She acts circles around LBH so far.

7. Between Kim Ji Won, Lee Shi Ah and Jin Goo, I feel my favorite cameos in the show have already come and gone as Tragically Dead parents in the first episode. Well, aside from the little girl who played the tiniest Jeongmyung in Hwajung. I understand she will be playing a younger Ae-Shin at some point, and it’ll be interesting to see how she’s progressed the last few years. (The kid who played Gil Dong in Rebel improved enormously in the year between that and Lawless Lawyer.)

7a. You cast Kim Ji Won and Jin Goo as marrieds because they played a popular couple in a previous drama by the writer, and then don’t even give them a scene together? Hmph.

8. We technically didn’t see Lee Shi Ah’s body. I know better but am still going to be eyeing any 60+ year old lady who shows up in the main story.

And that’s pretty much it. Will it stay good enough to overcome my reservations the whole 24 episodes? Who knows. (Ok, I have one friend who is very strongly of the opinion that it will crash and burn in the ways I fear pretty fast, but allow me to hold out some hope.)

#mr sunshine #mr. sunshine #kdrama #sageuk #kdramanetwork

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murphystartedthefire · 7 years ago

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Agree w/ u about t100 cast! Where were the rest of them this SDCC? Like was there an official reason it was just Eliza and Bob?

I don’t know what was behind the decision honestly. As you can see from that gif set, every other season CW has sent several cast members (and Jason) for a panel. This year there was no official 100 panel, only a screening of “The Dark Year” that they dumped on Wednesday preview night.

However, TV Guide stepped in and included Eliza and Bob in their Fan Favorites panel (which is unusual because they don’t normally feature two people from the same show). It’s very possible the CW had a behind-the-scenes hand in this, or at least quickly capitalized on it and got them a handful of other interviews while they were there, even though they weren’t doing the usual press room. It’s clear they didn’t want The 100 to have no presence at SDCC this year, but it was not the big Ballroom 20 cast panel and related press & lottery signings they’ve had the last few years.

Sooo nothing is official but I do have some theories about how this happened. I think timing is a big part of it. The 100 is a summer show now. In 2017, season 4 had ended and they were promoting season 5, which at the time they’d JUST gotten the first script for. The teaser trailer, if you remember, was all clips from previous seasons and the narration from Madi. Nothing new had been shot yet, and I don’t even think the scheduling decision to premiere it so late in the spring/summer had even been made.

Now, season 5 is still going and all they have to promote are the final three episodes – they’re even FURTHER away from starting production on season 6 than they were last year. And the network’s using Comic Con mostly to hype their upcoming Fall shows. SDCC is more of a marketing event than most cons are – it’s not just actors choosing to go and collect money for pics/autographs – and the studios/networks tend to be very strategic in how they use it.

So basically, that is 90% of my theory of why they didn’t send the whole cast there.

(There is one more consideration here – I want to say with the caveat that I do NOT buy certain rumors floating around of specific cast members not returning. But I do think it’s really possible that one or more major characters will die, and therefore they’re not under contract with the show anymore, and it may or may not have been obvious if they weren’t on the panel. /REMOVES CONSPIRACY TIN HAT)

Basically, I think one thing that (I fear) might happen is that now that The 100′s a summer show, they will NEVER get the kind of push at SDCC that they used to, even if they get more seasons. But a less-pessimistic theory is they’re only budgeted to do SDCC once per season, and this is still kinda the same season they were in a year ago.

#the 100 #man that was such a long-winded way of saying I DON'T KNOW BUT I'M GONNA SPEAK WITH AUTHORITY ABOUT IT ANYWAY

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aion-rsa · 5 years ago

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The Beatles: Peter Jackson’s Get Back is a More Harmonious Take on Let it Be

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

During their time together, and the years apart, The Beatles consistently wrapped up their holiday sessions with gifts for avid and casual listeners alike. The band even worked out timing with the Rolling Stones’ releases so they didn’t step on each others’ shoes. This year, a year which really needs it, we’re getting two year-end gifts. Paul McCartney dropped his true-solo album McCartney III, following in the tradition of the first two albums by playing every instrument.

But the group left it to Peter Jackson to bring an ornament: the sneak peek at his upcoming documentary, The Beatles: Get Back. It’s as happy and silly as any of the annual Beatles’ Christmas greetings the band released when they were together.

Peter Jackson has released an exclusive sneak peek of his upcoming documentary “@TheBeatles: Get Back” for fans everywhere to enjoy. The Beatles: Get Back Opens in Theatres August 27, 2021 #TheBeatlesGetBack pic.twitter.com/df5RjID56Z

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) December 21, 2020

“Peter Jackson has released an exclusive sneak peek of his upcoming documentary “@TheBeatles: Get Back” for fans everywhere to enjoy,” McCartney wrote as he hung out a five-minute clip on his Twitter.

The footage presents a very different image of the Beatles’ Let It Be film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and album session. The band was supposed to get back to the way they used to play, and the original film made it look like an arduous trek through a long cold lonely winter. It was somber, serious, and U.S. manager of Apple Records Ken Mansfield had to keep a steady stream of lit cigarettes for George Harrison to use to defrost his fingers during the rooftop sessions on London’s Savile Row. Jackson’s footage is unseasonably warm.

For the upcoming film, Jackson’s team worked with the same digital restoration techniques they used for They Shall Not Grow Old, a World War I documentary told with masterfully restored footage. Not only is the captured celluloid brighter, we have happier Beatles.

In an early press conference, when asked if the band continued to rehearse while touring, John Lennon laughed and asked the room, “rehearse what,” pointing out how the group’s performances stand on thousands of hours of stage time. “Smiling, that’s all we rehearse,” he jokes, and one of the clips in the montage appears to capture exactly what that might look like: During a run-through of the song “Two of Us,” Lennon and McCartney harmonize through frozen smiles. It looks like one of them dared the other to see who could sing longest without moving their lips.

The less-than-two-second snippet is hysterical, but not as funny as seeing Lennon bouncing around with his t-shirt wrapped around his knees. That looks like it could have come out of the film Help! or even conceivably fit into one of the Beatles cartoons.

“There were hours and hours of us just laughing and playing music, not at all like the version that came out,” Ringo Starr, whose new EP, Zoom In, is scheduled for release in March 2021, said in a release via Rolling Stone. “There was a lot of joy and I think Peter will show that. I think this version will be a lot more peace and loving, like we really were.”

The rest of the footage, mostly sync’d to a rehearsal take of the title song, “Get Back,” is equally happy and flies in the face of how the sessions of the album have been portrayed. John and Paul dance. Ringo juggles and plays bass. George lets the band turn bad French press into a percolating backing track. Billy Preston grooves in the playback studio. Linda and Yoko chat grinningly. John and Ringo walk about arm in arm. There are wardrobe changes. The volume meter dips into the red. Everyone plays drums.

The short film opens with Jackson’s introduction, and explanation that the film would have been in theaters by now if it weren’t for the COVID Pandemic. The Lord of the Rings director assures us he’s halfway done with the editing, which he cuts down from 56 hours of never-before-seen footage, and more than 150 hours of previously-unheard audio.

The Beatles: Get Back will include the entire rooftop session, the Beatles’ last live performance, for the first time. Jackson is quick to say this isn’t a trailer. “Those will be coming out next year,” he assures us. The montage is just a sample of what he’s turned up. “Because you’ve been so patient and the film’s been delayed until 2021, we thought it was a good time to give you a little a sneaky preview of what we’ve been working on and the sort of vibe and energy the film will have,” he says in the clip. “Hopefully it’ll put a smile on your face in these rather bleak times that we’re in.”

Shot in early 1969, the cameras were supposed to catch a “fly on the wall” look at the musicians creating an album and preparing a show. The added footage of the weeks of rehearsals and recordings fills in many gaps. “It’s like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together,” Jackson said in a statement via Rolling Stone.

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

The Beatles: Get Back release date is Aug. 27, 2021.

The post The Beatles: Peter Jackson’s Get Back is a More Harmonious Take on Let it Be appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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maxtaro · 8 years ago

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Day 11, the greatest and most surprisingly female-centric day of the festival yet. In terms of what I saw, at least.

Much of my festival selections haven’t exactly been, you know, fun. Well, except for Mutafukaz, but even that begun with a woman getting shot while her baby is taken care of by a dog with a loose eye. Friday the 13th wasn’t much help either, as I sat through a sweet-turned-ugly-turned-sweet-again drama about brain damage and a wonderful actress put in a shockingly outdated role that was so stereotypical that it ended up depressing, despite the film in question being a comedy. So thank the heavens I walked into a screening of Lu Over the Wall where not even the constant latecomers got in the way of my experience and there were no chatterboxes or moths like there would be at Showcase, because of the three human-smooches-fish films I have seen at this festival, this is easily the best one.

The first family film from the Clampett of modern anime artists, which is just as batcrap and ambitious as it sounds, it won’t be for everyone, obviously, but for me and anime hardcores it’s a rollercoaster of pure, absurd, imaginative joy, like Masaaki Yuasa’s crack-addled spittake on Miyazaki. It’s fun, fun, FUN. No in-your-face politics, no deep existential crisis, just pure, unabashed, effortless, ludicrous, heartfelt, escapist FUN. Lu is the most precious aqua-haired cartoon character to grace the screen this year since D.D. Danger. When she first encounters Kai, she is dancing around and acting like his little sister, all dressed up in a little yellow raincoat, dancing around, swinging to and fro, hugging him and learning about smooching. HNNNNNG. This is my kind of kawaii.

My favourite of all the characters, however, has to be Lu’s dad, a giant, roly-poly shark man first seen in a casual, light blue suit complete with a bowler hat and monocle. The clip already online, of which he stocks up the nation’s seafood but with fish that turn into charismatic zombies when eaten, doesn’t do his presence justice. As these mermaids/men are practically alternative vampires, he has to stand in the middle of the street away from sunlight, perfectly still for hours and hours, until it’s safe for him to pass through the shade to a conference. Only Masaaki Yuasa can execute this gag so well.

Yuasa utilises Flash animation for this project as it was impossible to use the traditional technique at the same time as production on The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, in which its three protagonists make an unsubtle five-second cameo, and the result doesn’t cause a diminishing effect on hand-drawn animation whatsoever. Just what I want out of a family cartoon and more, especially this year when animation has otherwise at a creative standstill, and not without its less obvious and pandering moral on prejudice than Zootopiaropolis, it’s the most musical fun I’ve had in 2017 since Baby Driver, and a far more consistently absurd and thoughtful aquatic relationship story than The Shape of Water.

And yes, the fish kisses him.

Not sexually, you monster.

Lu Over the Wall previews in the UK 6th December.

The best way to experience the fabulously artsy and gritty You Were Never Really Here is with little expectation of what you’re about to witness. I’m not too familiar with the craft of Lynne Ramsay beyond the title “We Need to Talk About Kevin”. I restricted myself from watching the trailer, and I suggest you do too because it’s spoilery as holy fuck. All you need to know is that seeing Joaquin Phoenix constantly damaged by his past is a harrowing experience, and it’s the rare film that takes its mostly obscured depiction of violence to a level that it eventually plays tricks on your expectation. It’s one of the most riveting things I’ve seen this year and you’ll probably see next year. Joaquin Phoenix is a Best Actor bar none. Jonny Greenwood is a slayer. Thomas Townend and Joe Bini are a deadly combo. Lynne Ramsay is a queen.

So it’s a shame that the audience were just as bad as they were during La La Land and Downsizing. But afterwards, as I was sitting in the bar nearby, it all started to make sense - they carry alcohol on trays before every gala premiere at OLS, so because there are toilets on each corner it’s no wonder everyone in the Stalls continuously gets up off their seats one by one without sparing a shred of thought for anybody behind, sometimes more than once. It provided a major distraction from the rest of the film’s plot beyond Phoenix’s. Why is this the choice premiere screen? Why the hell is this the choice premiere screen?!

You Were Never Really Here opens in the US 23rd February and the UK 9th March, same day as Thoroughbreds.

The BFI not always making a remarkable choice for the big reveal, last year’s being Sully, I assumed that the surprise would be Darkest Hour. It premiered early enough for the BFI to recognise it, it represents an important era for this country and considering how the last two were around 90 minutes long and the last three were edged as close toward 11pm as possible, there’s no reason it wouldn’t be. Better case scenario is that it could be I, Tonya. As good as some films this year were supposed to be, there was hardly any way it was going to be anything shorter than two hours. They can’t fit everything in their programme.

To save myself from any more distraction, I moved to the front of the upstairs Circle for the surprise film, and just when I thought that the experience couldn’t get any better and just when I thought this festival wouldn’t offer me a new favourite film of the year for a change, the number of premieres directed by women were brought up. Holy hell, two potentially great female-driven films in one evening? The Universal and Focus logos did play as expected, but given their international distribution of A24’s productions, I knew what I was in for. And it was much, much, MUCH x100 better. Never, Tumblr, have I been so happy to be so wrong, especially when my surprise is something like Lady Bird.

NO QUESTIONS. AMERICA, JUST SEE LADY BIRD RIGHT GODDAMN NOW AND FEEL GRETA GERWIG TOUCH YOUR SOUL IN WAYS YOU NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. SAOIRSE RONAN IS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL AND BEANIE FELDSTEIN IS (APPROPRIATELY) AN ANGEL. THIS IS FOR ALL THOSE WHO’VE STRUGGLED TO LIVE UP TO THEIR PARENTS’ TRUST OR STUDIED IN A CHURCH SCHOOL AND FELT MISPLACED BOTH IN FAITH AND SOCIETY OR FAILED IN MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS, LOVE OR OTHERWISE. EVERYONE LOVES THIS FILM EXCEPT FOR WHOEVER IN THE UK OR AUSTRALIA’S GOING TO SPOIL THAT TOMATOMETER NEXT YEAR BUT IT’S THAT GOOD. IT’S HILARIOUS AND DEVASTATING AND SINCERE AS HOLY HECK AND THE ABORTION ROAST IS SOLID GOLD. THE BEST COMING-OF-AGE COMEDY I’VE SEEN AND MY FAVOURITE FILM OF THE YEAR IS DIRECTED SOLELY BY A WOMAN, NO LESS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE ACTRESSES OF TODAY.

And about goddamn time, too.

Lady Bird is out in the US now and was initially scheduled to open here 1st December, but following this screening the date was pushed to the same February date already taken by Lean on Pete, Shape of Water and Journeyman. And if that wasn’t unholy enough, they just pushed it a week further. Goodness gracious, this screening was pure luck.

In the top photo are You Were Never Really Here producers Rosa Attab and Jim Wilson, director Lynne Ramsay and Joaquin Phoenix. Ramsay felt a bit tipsy and I haven’t seen enough of her work to tell if she’s just being Lynne Ramsay, but Joaquin Phoenix was DEFINITELY being Joaquin Phoenix. Below them are the equally fabulous Greta Gerwig and Saorise Ronan courtesy of Lady Bird.

The guesses for the potential surprise film were of a wider variety than last year. Clare pointed out that The Square wasn’t going to be it considering it already had its London premiere in August, so those curious would have to wait until March. Well, Clare, have I got a surprise for you...

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qveenpoppy · 7 years ago

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fall tv preview review: cbs edition

let me preface this by saying i'm not a huge fan of cbs. only show i seriously watched on the network was limitless, which they sadly cancelled. i've watched about twelve episodes of madam secretary too. otherwise, nada. in my mind, it's the Old People Channel. but i'll try to keep an open mind as i go into these trailers. i liked some from cbs last year (me, myself, and i and 9jkl, both of which were ironically and officially cancelled just last week). fingers crossed!

the neighborhood - pretty funny! i laughed a few times at this one. the sitcom format feels outdated now, but there are still some good new ones on their way. (i probably am saying that here in particular because there was some bad green screen for the sky in the background when the leads went to greet their neighbors.) also, the neighbors having the last name "johnson" - isn't that the last name of the family on black-ish? no wonder grows into a running gag in the trailer that they're a white family named "johnson". one thing i don't like, though, is the mild racist feel to it? not racist against blacks, of course, but racist against whites. the main family just felt a little wrongfully hateful towards their neighbors. but i guess this is something i dislike because, as a white person, it's not something i've ever dealt with before, being prejudiced against! the johnsons also feel and act like a very stereotypical white family, like a black writer attempting to write about the white experience, but again, maybe i'm just not used to white people being written in such a way. while i did still find this funny, i just don't know how well it'll do on the network. but we'll see!

happy together - hey, it's the girlfriend from the carmichael show! man, that cast is everywhere now. and is that one of the wayans boys? not as funny a trailer as the last (despite my critiques, i did laugh a lot and overall really like it!), but still fun. not to be one of Those people but this pop star cooper guy is cute. i can tell he's australian (look, ma, i finally know the difference between aussies and brits!), but he feels like a harry styles parody? especially with the joke about him borrowing from the girl's (claire, i think her name is?) closet. still funny, and he seems nice, but meh, more lazy writing, i guess. (tied with the white stereotypes, i'm kinda disappointed in cbs right now.) still looks like a cute show. probably harmless. if i get into it, i can see me poly-shipping the main couple and cooper together, bc i'm just like that.

god friended me - mmm this feels like religious propaganda. atheist guy experiences coincidences and miracles so now he believes in god. hmm. i don't like it. interesting premise, but meh. too preachy. but hey, it's jesse quick! and that's the guy from the mayor, right? glad he's still working! but this is set in new york? or filmed in canada??? i don't know, but a ton of the scenes are in, like, EXACT spots from limitless. god, i miss limitless.

fbi - a dick wolf show on cbs? unheard of! wonder why he went to cbs with this show instead of nbc. maybe he doesn't want to own the network. also, "wonderwall", really? what year is this? i like the cover, though. i was honestly kind of distracted by it throughout the trailer. it's a visually pretty show, though! but shit, the nazi twist. yikes. that guy is sinister. NOW i'm hooked. i'm probably gonna have too much to watch in the fall, but maybe i'll give this a try on netflix.

magnum p.i. - this feels like such a guys show. like, it's so geared towards men, it's noticeable. they did pan to the women with a brief shirtless scene of the male lead, but otherwise? so obnoxiously masculine. why is there one woman here? why? it offends me. "from the director of fast & furious" this feels like just another f&f movie. this probably would have made a fun summer popcorn movie. but a tv show? meh. i'm sure it'll do well, though. people love their shitty tv. (how many years was csi: miami on, again?)

murphy brown - last but certainly not least. yes, i saved this for last because HI JAKE MCDORMAN! it's brian finch, y'all! my son! my beautiful baby boy! oh wait, i typed all that too soon, he's not even in this trailer. well, that's disappointing. i guess they haven't actually shot any episodes yet. still pretty funny, though! i like the current commentary. and they're anti-trump? how refreshing! reboot more shows with people who hate trump! less with those who voted for him! wow there's like a whole minute of old clips. but they're still super relevant, i love it! i never watched the original show (obviously), nor did my parents, i think, but i might give this a try. (mostly because of jake. i love him! i hope tom degnan - ike/jason on limitless - guest stars as his boyfriend to give us the canon brianike we were deprived of.)

will i watch?

the neighborhood: maybe

happy together: maybe

god friended me: no

fbi: maybe

magnum p.i.: hell no

murphy brown: yes

pleasantly surprised by cbs’ trailers overall. chances are i won’t have time to watch those series i’m considering, but they do look good!

#cbs #tv #the neighborhood #happy together #god friended me #fbi #magnum p.i.#murphy brown

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