#//but i feel like cap himself especially the way he's portrayed in the films

[rookie-critic]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023, dir. James Gunn) - review by Rookie-Critic

The Guardians, to me, have always been the MCU's dark horse. James Gunn was odd choice for a Marvel movie back when he was announced for the original film in 2014. His style didn't really fit the mold and these characters were ones that absolutely nobody outside of hardcore comics fans really cared anything about. It was one of the MCU's first uncertainties; nobody was really sure how it would play or if it would be successful, but lo and behold, it took the world by storm. Not only the lovable characters, but also the film's soundtrack, which revitalized the popularity of almost every single song on it. The characters became so synonymous with Gunn that, even in team-up films not directed by him like Infinity War and Endgame, he was on set to direct specifically them. They're a phenomenon that no one saw coming and now, 9 years after their debut on the big screen, Gunn has brought their story to a close, and man was it glorious.

I haven't fully given up on the MCU, they've shown they're still capable of producing quality superhero films a few times post-Endgame (Wakanda Forever, Shang-Chi, and No Way Home spring to mind), but Guardians Vol. 3 is the first time I've felt, for lack of a better term, the magic of what the Infinity Saga films brought since Endgame. You can tell that Gunn was fully aware of the weight of what this movie meant to not only the fans, but to himself and the cast and crew of the previous Guardians films. He pulls from his entire bag of tricks, even bringing things stylistically from his catalogue that we haven't necessarily seen in his comic-book movie work. There were moments were I had completely forgotten I was watching a Marvel movie and just felt like I was watching a really good James Gunn film. Which I think worked in the film's favor, but also gave everything a much more serious tone than the previous two films. Even with that, though, it doesn't ever feel like you're not watching a Guardians film. The characters are still the ones you love, they've just been through a lot and are naturally changed by the things they've seen and survived. That and the story of this installment requires a bit more seriousness in tone than the first two did. I don't consider this a bad thing, again I believe it's actually one of the film's greatest qualities, and it shows to the masses that Gunn is capable of writing more than just quippy, humorous characters.

I've heard complaints that it is overlong and messy, but I really didn't get that from it. I never once felt like it was overstaying its welcome, especially compared to a couple of the other post-Endgame Marvel films, and the plot seemed like it moved a very even pace and everything made sense. The one complaint I can understand, and this is mainly coming from fans of the source material, is how Adam Warlock is handled. Adam Warlock is one of the most important figures in large scale Marvel Comics conflict. He was possibly the second most important figure in the Thanos conflict other than Thanos himself, and the decision to leave him out of the storyline in the films has always baffled me, and now that he is here I am definitely confused as to why this was his introduction. He's not a super important character and he is a far cry from anything the comics have ever portrayed him as. Now, there is an avenue for him to become the character the fans were expecting, and a reason is given as to why he is the way he is in the film, but it definitely felt like an odd choice to include him the way they did. However, ultimately, this isn't his story, it's the Guardians', and more specifically, it's Rocket's.

Bradley Cooper (and Sean Gunn, who has done the mo-cap and on-set acting for the character in all three films) act their asses off as Rocket in this, and the movie gives the spotlight to a character that was long overdue for it. The villain, the High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji (who I think is a massively underrated actor after seeing him in both this and Gunn's Peacemaker show on HBO Max), isn't going to win any awards for "Greatest MCU antagonist" or anything, but he's a far cry from the cookie-cutter, boring villains the MCU has begun to just copy and paste throughout their chronology. His motivations are vague and never really explored, but that almost brings a weight of severity and stakes to his character and his plans that make him feel like more of a threat. As always, I'm specifically talking around anything actually related to the plot, but I don't think it's any secret that we see Rocket's origin story in this, and the entire A-plot of the film puts him as the central focus.

As always, with my glowing reviews, I feel like I haven't really reviewed the film so much as just gushed about it for a few paragraphs, but for me it just succeeded. James Gunn succeeded in putting a beautiful endstamp on his trilogy, the cast succeeded in giving these characters wonderful life (even two of the cast members I've never been that impressed with, Karen Gillan as Nebula and Pom Klementieff as Mantis, gave terrific performances), and the film succeeded in making me believe that their is still some gas left in the 'ole MCU tank. It wasn't perfect, but it was really damn close. It's an amazing final act for the Guardians, an amazing entry into both the MCU and James Gunn filmographies, and it's an amazing story about moving forward and finding the beauty in all of our imperfections. I might be biased, but I absolutely loved it.

Score: 9/10 (but a 10/10 in my heart)

Only in theaters. "We'll all fly away together into the forever and beautiful sky." "I love you guys."

[thechildofstark]

The Problem With Civil War

Civil War was supposed to be a Captain America movie. It was not a Captain America movie.

However.......

The problem with it being a Cap film is that Steve (+ his team) are supposed to be the ultimate good guys. In all the previous Hero Title films (Iron Man Trilogy, Thor Trilogy, Etc.) the guy whose name is on the poster is the guy the audience is supposed to root for. However, because of CA:CW’s marketing and story arc, it was very much a Steve & Tony / Steve vs. Tony film, while trying to simultaneously portray Tony as a secondary character.

This post isn't about Team Cap or Team Iron Man.

The catalyst for the story of Civil War is...........interesting. (in the comics, its different. and a whole lot easier to understand the reasoning of both sides of the argument. but that's a post for another time.)

Tagging/registering/tracking every mutant/mutate/superhero/powered person is objectively a very bad idea. but so is running amok with no supervision in other countries and destroying property whilst literally wearing the American flag.

There are big problems on both sides.

The issue I find most people have with Tony is that they find him an entitled sellout who only cares about himself and that he committed war crimes, and the problems I find most people have with Steve is that he defended a baby Nazi and went on an violent international rampage in direct violation of the UN because his dead terrorist ex-boyfriend may or may not have murdered a whole bunch of people.

Ooof.

The main reason I think people get very annoyed/attached a specific side is because they are still projecting the characterisation from the earlier movies.

Iron Man 1 and The First Avenger? I love them. No notes.

Obviously yes there are issues in-universe but these are flawed characters with complicated issues and stories and so on, and I like them that way.

If I wanted a Nice Unproblematic Superhero I’d rewatch the Christopher Reeves Superman films. That is not why I am here today.

But by the time we get to Civil War, Tony and Steve have become caricatures of the ideals that they represented, so that the studio can make a movie.

Morally, Steve is  in the right. Legally, Tony is in the right.

Ethically? I don't fucking know, they both suck equally in that regard.

Okay to be fair, Tony does try to help Steve like.........so often in the film. Because Steve is the Protagonist and he is Right even though half his actions don't actually fit with his previous characterisation/character arcs/basic human logic.

CA:CW was supposed to be a movie about Steve Rogers. But it failed in the single regard that the story wasn't about him. Even other Hero Title movie, the main character either does something, or has something done to them, and then they react to the situations and there are gratuitous explosions and a life lesson and probably a kiss near the end. But this film had the kiss nearer to the middle ew Sharon why and while plenty of shit got blown up, plenty of civilians and local law enforcement also got mashed by/because of the title character.

That is not how the lead in a superhero movie is supposed to behave.

And the film also continues down the general path of giving Tony shittier and shittier character arcs. The war he behaves in his own movies vs the avengers films? it’s a complete values dissonance. It is literally not the same character. Probably the closest to consistency we get is Iron Man 3/Age of Ultron but even then the differences are pretty startling. At the beginning, Tony was, idk, a realistic if fictional person. But the time we get to CA:CW all we have is an avatar for the writers to manipulate, damn character consistency, damn reasonable behavior and logic and everything that the audience has been told about him in the past.

Same with Steve. Heck, same with everyone in the entire damn movie. Barely anyone acts or reacts in a way that either A) previous behavior would suggest, or B) an actual human person would act or react.

Yes. I know. It’s fiction. I can suspend my disbelief.

But like........damn they fucked Clint and Natasha over.

The creators were trying to recreate a well known and well liked comic book story arc, capitalize on the growing divide in parts of the fandom over preferred characters/character ideologies, and do so without using the expanded universe and added context which made the original comic book arc so fucking good.

They tried to split the Avengers in half, only to realize that they had split the Avengers in half, and then when Infinity War came along, they basically had to write a plot where both sides did their thing without sharing a single second of screen time together, because the whole -

S: you tried to kill my best friend 

T: he killed my mother       

S: actually he was brain washed                                         

T: but you knew and didn't tell me for years                          

S: well I was worried you would react badly                          

T: I wouldn't have                                                                      

S: you literally tried to kill him                                                         

T: yeah I'm sure you be totally fine if you saw your parents being violently murdered and the guy was right there and your teammate lied about it and you were very sleep deprived to boot

                                                           - drama would start up again.

ANYWAY

the point is, I used to really like both these characters - I still like the comic book versions tho - but then they got way fucked over. I'm extra salty about Steve, because this was supposed to be his movie but loads of the screen time was given over to other shit and he literally commits so much crime and murder and has absolutely zero moral or emotional consistency. especially when it comes to Bucky and Wanda vs. everyone else.

Also with Tony, there is so much of an issue with Telling vs Showing vs other characters in-universe opinions of him I genuinely don't even know what the creators want me to feel about him anymore.

uuuuururhrhrhrhrhrhrhghfjjhdhjf.

tl;dr -

I saw this movie like six years ago and the way I feel about it has changed a lot over time. I used to be team iron man, could you tell?    But the basics of it is this should have been an Avengers movie if it had to exist at all, there are so many cool Captain America stories worthy of being put to film, and this really wasn't the most perfect option. Civil War has so many problems, and I can even begin to try and list them here.

But I'm making this post because I just followed a really cool blog who happens to hate on Tony a bunch (I don't really mind consciously) but that annoyed me out of habit, so I started examining why I liked him as a character, and it mainly boiled down to A) some of the comics are cool, and B) CA:CW said I had to pick a side and Steve did so much dumb shit I just went with the easy option.

the blog doesn't seem to be a huge fan of Steve either.

my current stance is that they both got fucked over and if you want some solid positive Marvel content go read Runaways, or the Hawkeye comics.

The Hawkeye comics are the best.

[han-shinsuke]

Lately, I noticed some changes in Nishinoya's behaviour towards my brother's friends. He seemed to discern whatsoever I can't figure out myself by just looking at them. Those kids, well, they weren't kids anymore to begin with, are like siblings to me. Basically watched them grow and had good times with them.

"What?!" as long as I can, I will keep my cool even though the mist on the corner of my eyes are already on the edge, "undress." Yuu repeated, forcing me to back away againsts the cold wall of the bathroom. He came unannounced in the training hub and dragged me back home. Luckily, my parents and brother are not around, so there would be no witness. My man had broken his own phone by smashing it in the garage.

"Your room fucking smell like them especially that San Catalina dude! He has his scent all over you." To my dismay, Noya spat and slammed his built against my small ones. Constantly squeezing my body with his fury.

Jealousy has taken over. He was blinded by it and I couldn't do anything to calm him unless, I wear the dress he bought and completely obliged to everything he would have to say.

"I told you, Yuu! They used my room for their final defense and there's nothing amiss with giving them congratulatory hugs!" I pushed him with my hands and he responded by blasting the shower on, drowning our bodies with heavy splashes. "don't make me tell you twice, Rei. You wouldn't like it." He wrecked my clothes from the outer down to the inner pieces, murmuring words meant for hell.

"Fuck. Fuck. You stinks of his scent. I swear I will fucking cut his throat for leaving his stench on my property!" I chose not to speak or drop a comeback or we will both burn each other with our fire. Nishinoya operated me like a doll and washed me thoroughly until the scent that pissed him go away.

"You fucking wear the lilac dress, Rei. I want your legs spread for me when I join you on the bed." I was pushed out of the shower and I just sighed. He's taking a bath and I need to prep myself for him. I blower dry my hair, put on his favorite perfume and wear the damn thin dress that would make his rage diminish.

I sat on my bed and sighed again. The last time I had sex with him was almost a month ago. I remembered joking him to find someone he could get laid on but he bantered expertly and had me sobbing due to his rough movements at his apartment. Damn. Yuu is devilishly good in bed.

"Hmm... pretty," Yuu commented as he walks towards my spot. He was wearing a greyish robe when he situated beside me. "I want you to ride a goddamn pillow for me, Rei. You can do it. I know you can." 

Never imagined Yuu has this kind of fantasy in him. I have been a good girl for him and I have always do whatever he pleases to quench his thirst for sex. There were times when he urged me to watch an adult film with him and then, at the middle of it, he would attack and destroy me really bad. Nishinoya Yuu is an agressive one.

"Y-Yuu... I-I can't." And I'm really scared and it's kinda embarrassing to have a man watch me hump a pillow. 

"Ssshh..." He shushed me with his lips and bit and tugged my red ones between his teeth, "obey me, babe or I will find San Catalina and kill him for real."

The terror and bloodlust portrayed on his face are telling me that I should follow and calamity would be avoided. To be the cause of someone's death was never in my wishlist. Fidgeting, I climbed on the bed and kneel in the middle. Noya, handed me a pillow and sat on the foot of the bed, smirking.

“Part your knees, Rei.” The room temperature increased and so my heartbeats. The pillow was shoved between my thighs and it’s not only my knees that gone separated. My mouth honed an ‘O’ when my cunt came in contact with the edge of the pillow that surprisingly has vibrator inside, “alexa, full speed.” Nishinoya smirked as I trembled. A smart sex toy!

“Aah, gosh!” my hands couldn’t find where to hold or who to hold and that made me, even though it is embarrassing, I ended up gripping my left thigh and right bosom as I rode with the toy’s rhythm, “gosh~ so fast, Yuu aah!” Lust. That’s what he can see in my eyes. Lust and thirst and excitement. Sex is scary. It could turn someone into a complete different person when fed with pleasures and desires.

My eyes were closed but my hands were hard and tight. I gripped the soft flesh and gave little attention to the small pear on the centre, “you are so fucking hot, babe~” I opened my eyes and met his beaming orbs. Nishinoya pointed a finger on the wall and I couldn’t agree more. There’s a full length mirror appended on it. I saw and watched myself in delight. I looked hot while bouncing my cunt and ass against the vibrating pillow and to make the fire go wild, I let go of my breast and let it bounce with the waves that my body is creating.

I was closed but the toy suddenly put on a halt. I sighed and pouted my lips. He removed the pillow between my thighs and thrown it somewhere in my room. Nishinoya discased himself and set down on the bed. His erection was as proud as him. It really looks hard and fat and I couldn’t help but wish to ride it as soon as possible. But the man had other plans in mind. He asked me to sit on his face and I did, “ooohhh~ hold on, Yuu aaahh~ don’t lick me so quick shit.” It was just his tongue that poked my clit but I’m already quivering and humping my core against his warm mouth.

“Cum in my mouth, babe and let me do the work in juicing you dry,” the time he have given wasn’t that enough to grasp the situation fully. He inserted his long tongue into my cunt and swirled and flicked the sensitive muscles that lies in there, stroking the part that had me desperately gasping for air as I squirt in his mouth and filled it with my orgasm. Knowing him, it will take exactly twenty minutes to put Yuu on his high but when it was me, that won’t take long because I don’t have control over it.

“Shit, Yuu~ it feels good~” down on the land, I still hump my cunt against his mouth and he didn’t mind. Instead, he wet my folds and everything in it with his saliva. Licked my labia and sucked the clitoral hood to help me pick up on the another level of heat we were bound to cross.

Nishinoya moaned between his dirty motions and I interpreted it as a ‘go’ to hump and bounce further. Reaching for his hot palms, I put those on my bouncing breast and he grabbed them with needs as he ate and slurped my essence in silence.

The times I moaned and gasped his name couldn’t be measured through counting numerically. It doesn’t matter at this hour and at this fiery moment. He had a grin on his lips when he stopped. I stood on my feet and offered him a hand. Nishinoya eyed me proudly as he watches the juice drips down my thighs down to my ankles. I received a spank from him and I yelped from the sharp pain.

“Spread your legs for me, good girl,” I was put atop of my working desk and he rolled the hem of the lilac dress above my chest and squeezed my other sensitivity with force. I bit the inside of my tongue and wailed in my mind.

“Aahhh goshh~ what the fuck, Yuu!” he spat thrice on my folds and drenched my entrance with it and I have to admit that for a second, I thought it would be a help me accommodate his size but I was wrong. He grown an inch and probably, it gotten fat also or it’s just me loosing the familiarity of his possession. My head bent backwards and the veins on my neck became visible when he goes all the way down to my cervix, bruising it with his thick and hard cap, “Yuuu hhnnggg~” I sobbed at first and then cried afterwards while struggling to push him through his toned abdomen.

But he grabbed my both hands and pinned them above my head while his other hand gripped my neck.

“Yuu... pleaseee aahnnggg~” I was tight and he’s huge and he’s half-choking, half-caressing my neck as he pulls slowly but push harder and deeper.

He seemed to lack of sympathy so he just chuckled over the pain I was feeling by having his length inside me.

“Please, drill deeper and faster? You don’t have to ask, babe~ I always go deeper and faster and harder to make a point and instill the fact that you’re fucking mine alone.” Another hard thrust entered my core and I let out a long wail of pleasure and pain. My legs were trembling really hard with each rough drill and Yuu just laughed it over. Resuming his merciless waves against my hips and there, I realised, I had no choice but to moan, cry and gasp his name. With those, he would reach his peak and I will get a break.

The shaking and moaning didn’t stop even after he reached his orgasm. He unloads his semen and injects his head deeper against my cervix. The first round ended with me crying and shaking and pushing him off.

“Yu–Yuu, pl–please pull out...” and he didn’t. He goes vastly in depth of the place he loves to ruin, “no way.” He says, smirking.

[spooner-the-trinity]

How Infinity Train pulled from Infinity War’s Playbook for Doctor Who’s final curtain

Funding for Shaffrilas is provided by: Skillshare, the sponsor of today’s video. Stay tuned for a train ride to discountkosh at the end of the video.

O hai, Tetsuya Nomura. That’s a nice hole you’re digging with your Kingdom Hearts, what do you wanna do with it? Keep digging? Why thou? O for a production company? That’s great, whacha gonna do with it? Name and develop the town the Toy Story flicks take place in? Yeah, alright. Add the goofy jock from Glee as a best friend for Andy that the Triceratops assumes is just a Dinosaur Toy down the street? What a funny joke idea! Nix the final playtime they’ve hoped to cap off the film with and save it for a later project? A tad disappointing, but alright. Make Sora a vessel for Xehanort? Whoa, that sounds hella har- A sexy Genie of the Rose who grants a wish for every petal on that collar-mounted rose of hers? Unique concept, but I smell some Hans Christian Anderson shi- The genie’s life force is bound to the Rose so she croaks when the last petal falls ala Beauty and the Beast? And there it is, Color me unsurpri- The Genie finds Andy and drags him into a sex scene to the tune of Aladdin’s Friend Like Me? I don’t think the parents would be okay with their kids watchi- Toonami’s airing this show? Wait, isn’t it on a competing networ- Lewis from Meet the Robinsons is Deleted by DOR-15 Ala the Nanobots from Jimmy Neutron? Mister Enter would be insulted on how you did his favorite Disney flick dirty like thi- Andy is shot into a wormhole and is mutated into a photosensitive Beast? Guys, It’s starting to look like a bad ide- The Genie is an aged-up Bonnie and she’s pregnant with Shantae!? Get me off this crazy tr-

Infinity Train Productions is one of the boldest associates Disney has in its corner right now, from wrestling away ownership of three Gainax originals to collaborating with competing animation company Dreamworks, the IT guys are pretty renowned for their kooky crossovers and kookier cinematic universe. And they’ve made sure to make their acquired goods count towards that universe instead of burn it to the ground LUCASFILM. Starting off by stating this is a universe where Second Impact prevented the assassination of JFK by means of tanging up 13% of the world’s population and weaved a few stitches of train tracks across the globe, naturally the space race escalates exponentially and they begin to develop new technologies and elect Walt Disney himself to be the President of the United States with Nixon as his running mate. That alone resulted in a Sequel Show to Brigadoon where a 24-year-old Marin Asagi boards the Challenger and ends up cast into the future with Melan, a retelling of the first arc of Gurren Lagann that featured Yui Ikari as a supporting character that saves Kamina from death, a twenty-six episode miniseries featuring Andy from the Toy Story gaining a magical genie bound to an enchanted rose, and that’s just the first half of its initial decade. I could go on about its repertoire of shows both original and acquired: Twelve Forever, Evangelion, both Arcadia trilogies with the elder of the two being started by the aformentioned show with that genie of the rose titled, erm… Genie of the Rose, but the one I’m aiming my sights on is the latest acquisition, one that they made in secret. Doctor Who and how they pulled from the playbook of Infinity War to bring the story to its last stop. 

Now, quick recap on how Infinity War makes a powerfully heartfelt mass market appeal joyride out of a thoroughly depressing story about failure. Where most Marvel Villains are merely obstacles for the characters to overcome, Thanos acts and reacts as a real person. Where most conflict have certain factors that tip the scales in the favor of who’s tipping them, the conflict is one where either side could come out victorious, where the Comedy of the Last Farcebender ended with the good guys laughing off their failure, Infinity War ended with a content smile from Thanos and our heroes dead silent save for a minor peep of: “Oh, god.” Where the bad decisions in Farcebender are made from genuine stupidity, Infinity War’s stem from worrying whether or not certain sacrifices are worth it. With that crash course out of the way, let’s dig in.

First thing’s first, is the villain a compelling character? Well, although Sacha Dhawan has the same unhinged energy expected out of any incarnation of longtime enemy, the Master, complete with moments of geniuine affection to his former best beff, he’s ultimately not the main baddie of this piece, that honor goes to Alrick. Believed to be dead after a dirtbike accident, it turns out that he had been picked up by the train and has spent a good three decades or so fucking with the systems to construct an empire starting with the crazy world of Elmore all the way to the Lanes Between and yes, he has shown himself to be a caring father figure to Grace and Simon throughout the second half of Cracked Reflections which leads into the episode, he’s concerned for his future as he���s clearly not as lively as he was when he first climbed aboard and even expresses hope for Jesse returning to the train after taking the exit and getting seperated from MT. And oh, look! He returns after the big moment, that’s nice. 

So yeah, compelling villain, that’s one tick. Is there equal opportunity for either side to win? Well, MT and early on Jesse before his aformentioned exit have the additional assistance of the Watterson family, Banana Joe, and seemingly Penny for a scene only to reveal her in a new shell complete with mind-control and reflective surface to sick the Po-Po on MT. But despite being the protagonist of his show of origin, she’s not the opposing side to Alrick this time around, it’s the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey biatch herself and man, does it set up a curious comparison. Alrick is focusing his will into projecting his consciousness into the Doctor’s heart, an alien with countless eons worth of memories under her belt compared to Alrick’s measly sixtysomeodd laps around the sun. Not only that, but the Doctor is able to expel regeneration energy to fry the shit out of him if he feels the need to get a little messy. But with her locked up in the Time Lord Matrix which the Master has already skimmed through, there’s nowhere for the Doctor to run or even hide from Alrick. Throw in the Master’s ability to have his mind occupy two hearts at the same time whilst he’s chatting it up with the Lone Cyberman and the Doctor’s pretty pinned but still has a chance to outfox Alrick at the end of it all.

Bad decisions, the Doctor doesn’t trade lives so she keeps asking about the Timeless Child, what it’s supposed to be and why it drove the Master into absolutely butchering Galifrey after all the hard work each incarnation of the Doctor had. It turns out that this Timeless Child was a Pheonix Denizen created by Alrick to create a perfect world but One-One cast it out in hard-light beam form, striking Takeru and Ryou from This Ugly Yet Beautiful World from 2018. From the clipped wings came Hikari and Akari respectively whilst the main body crashed out of a wormhole into the sights of Tecteun who adopted the kid in time for a spaceship of highly-evolved snake people to crash land due to Kate and Leopold rules of time travel causing their machinery to get mucked up by Time Police in an episode of Rick and Morty of all shows, causing the child to fall to its doom and promptly regenerate, making her the first to do so in Galifreyan history. One of the survivors offers the gift of Time Travel in exchange for the power of Regeneration and Tecteun, scientist and explorer, jumps at the chance by means of tearing out the child’s soul for every three days that elapse. Obviously, she’s a fucking monster and she eventually does crack the code and test it on herself and the results allow the gift of time travel to bestowed upon the newly minted Timelords by Omega. Wow, all of this from a formally great show, (Doofenshmertz: what are the odds.) The Doctor is obviously unsurprised that Omega dangled the keys to time travel over the heads of the Shobagan race, but what horrifies her is that the very thing she and every other Time Lord we’ve seen had taken for granted was pilfered from a denizen that she learns after the life of abuse was created by some dude who hijacked some Train Car manufacturing equipment to build a perfect world. And it’s here where we see the main lynchpin of Alrick’s character: Perfection.

Those of you who’ve seen the whole series of Cracked Reflections will know that Alrick is an obsessive perfectionist first and foremost hence the plan to transform every Denizen of Elmore into full-blooded humans with leftover energy from this same Timeless Child. But not many of us recognize that this is only part of Alrick’s shtick. A simple man with complicated motives, a futurist in the trade of nostalgia, a conservative obsessed with progress, a gentle mentor with an impatient temper. These are just a handful of the ways to describe Walt Disney that were used by Ben Bouqulet, Mic Graves, and Owen Dennis to depict Alrick over the course of the last two seasons of Gumball leading into Cracked Reflections and Garrick Hagon truly gives his all portraying all the various shades of this man especially here when he is sharing his story of how he created a literal god only for One-One to cast it aside upon regaining control of the train from the very woman he spent the past 33 years building a perfect world for, a woman he cherishes like his older sister cherished his girlhood friend, a woman that even now still believes him to be ‘One-One: Gone forever?’ That is some next level tragic shit right there. 

Of course, the Doctor is still concerned for this child and it’s here where a familiar face crashes the party to let the cat out of the bag, Morbius from the Fourth Doctor Adventure Brain of Morbius outing himself as the infamous Timeless Child as well as harboring his disembodied heart in the Doctor after his ill-fated Mindbending Battle. This swerve may have served to provide added tension towards his motives, is he really wanting to go back to his home and views traveling with the Doctor as his only way there, or is he biding his time, waiting for his chance to overwhelm the Doctor when she’s not looking. As we see more of Morby’s checkered past in excruciating detail, slavery to the Division with everything down to his personality programmed and dictated into a mind-melded Morby by an enigmatic cult dubbed ‘The Master Writers’ An organization build solely and specifically for Infinity Train Productions to use in their portfolio of works. And when they were done with their enslaved progenetor, the Division in which they served lined him up for an execution from the Fugitive Doctor, during the 2nd Doctor’s orientation. Then they promptly merc poor Ruthie to regenerate her into the 3rd Doctor, closing the gap between Troughton and Pertwee. So yeah, The Division, they’re run by total assholes and Numero Dos only agrees to work there if his first assistant is longtime companion Jamie McCrimmon. But look at his face, does this look like the face of concent and tolerance to you? ‘Joe (Help, I’m a Fish!): Of course not!’ Props to Sam the Man with a Plan Troughton for filling his father’s shoes in this emotionally tense scene. And this ain’t the chilling twist that shocked the fandom. 

Alrick: “Whoever harbors the heart of the child is the child in of itself.“

Doctor: “Wot?”

Alrick: “It means that I will have my prize whether you like it or not!” (Punches through the Doctor’s Chest, crushes the Smash Ball within, causing the Doctor to turn into a pheonix before dissipating into Alrick’s body with the Smash Ball. Alrick’s Number skyrockets as his body regresses to his prime, the man laughing maniacally as the Timeless Child’s ultimate power rushes into him)

So yeah, Morby’s been reconstituting his powers over the centuries the Doctor had lived hence the golden energy during the later regenerations. How we find this out is by the titular character of the BBC’s last remaining reason towards that sweet TV Licence Money getting outright merced by Alrick in front of a guy that deep down still admires his childhood friend. This closes out An Untimely Caviat, the final episode in Doctor Who’s revived series, and leads us right into the finale of Cracked Reflection where he goes full on Disney Villain. Mercing the Master to make him a conduit to gijinkafy the entirety of Elmore, Co-Opting his Cybermaster drones as a mechanical army, ludiccrous speed incubating a pocket-dimension frog to house the Train Cars his empire had conquered via that same energy he channeled through the aformentioned Master, yeah, this does not sound like the man Amelia planned to marry if not had already married outright. Well, that’s the point. He’s drunk with power, it’s more likely that this is his ambition talking. No doubt he’s relishing in his own arrogance much to Marnie’s horror. Oh, yeah, Old Marnie’s doing her astral projection thing to react to her younger brother’s madness and watches on as MT gets roughed up by Super Alrick in front of an audience of his adopted children.

Of course, MT does find some santuary in the Number Car and re-unites with Jesse, resulting in the now sempailess Agent Sieve phasing through the glass screen whilst the train is figuring out how to solve Jesse’s seemingly unsolvable problem of getting a denizen off the train. But that just gives the Fleck some time to witness the madness of this rumored Apex fella as he ankleholds MT and gijinkafies Gumball and Darwin to demonstrate his final offer, her response is to break out a Denizen Ex Machina by prompting Alan Dracula to slice the monkeyfigher in half, causing him to regenerate into a pair of innocent, mindless little babies that will never bother anyone ever again… The Crown grieve for their master, Sieve calls off the manhunt for the rouge slither, the companions go their seperate ways with Graham staying on Earth to deliver the bad news the two youngest raising the two babies up to the Doctor’s standard… or at least one of them due to Yaz getting arrested by a Judoon Platoon before she could legally adopt Zarc. The expression of the companions are grim, and rightfully so, the one guy-or-gal that has kept the 21st century from falling into tyranny is no longer around to do the job they enjoyed doing whenever there was a sitch to see through. But after the wide shot of Yaz getting locked up in Shada we cut to MT, off the train and safe with Jesse in Arizona. Jesse’s brother Nate comes up to find his older brother with the very Chrome Girl he met on a magical train, Nate asks for the girl’s name and her answer?

Jesse: Dracula 2?

MT: (looks to the Lake, concerned that the Flecks would come after her but eases up when its clear that there are no Flecks coming.) I’m Lake.

We get a nice little callback to close out the series as the song Kibō plays in the credits, indicating that Hope is still out there in the cosmos, Doctor or No Doctor. And that is a powerful message to send to the audience and I have a pretty good feeling that whether or not the Doctor ends up getting revived in Kingdom Hearts III alongside all the absent heroes that Infinity Train productions had raked in over the years doesn’t quite matter, the studio does not need Doctor Who and its universe does not need the Doctor. And I have a pretty good feeling that the Doc may end up giving up their ticket back into the land of the living, leaving the universe to all the other champions of the cosmos that Toonami has flaunted over the decades. The Doctor has overcome many frightening, haunting, tyrannical, violent and downright Orwellian things in life and man, oh, man have we got a whole plate of them to overcome even now. Would I go back to this expansive world for further analysis, sure, if the views get gud. But the impact of the Doctor’s Death is a pretty big deal that actually caught a bunch of us by surprise despite the minor hints scattered throughout. (One-One: All aboard for emotional maturation on the finest freighter in all of Trenzalore) The Destiny of the Doctor News heard around the world, and the outpour of memories and grief rivalling even Mr. Peanut but unlike the legendary legume, our favorite timelord will probably be gone for a lot longer than just a couple of weeks and the time it takes will show how deep the rabbit hole goes. It will also show who’s willing to step up and find ways to make a difference in the lives of others, and they’re going to need to learn a thing or two to do so. (Cletus from the Simpsons Movie with the Skillshare Logo slapped onto his face in post: My time to shine.)

[amplesalty]

Christmas 2019: Day 7 - A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004)

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Seven dancing bankers!

This has always stood out as something of a sore thumb amongst the prospective Christmas Carol choices I could watch and, given some of other films on this year’s list, this is as good a time as any to look at it.

Directly comparing it to those, it doesn’t get close to that same feeling of a total tonal shift. But, it’s perhaps not massively out of place anyway given that there are moments of song and dance in a traditional Christmas Carol, be it Fezziwigg’s Christmas Ball or the fun and games at Fred’s house.

For a story all about instilling the Christmas spirit in one person in particular, it’s not just Scrooge lacking in it as the film begins; street urchins are pickpocketing the wealthy, kids are stealing from the cart of the rag and bone man and blind beggars are wilfully ignored.

Well, the joys of Christmas might be lost on the filthy but at least the filthy rich at the exchange are celebrating and enjoying the season. That is until that miserly old Scrooge turns up.

Whilst the casting of Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge is a good one, especially when it comes to the singing parts, it almost feels like his performance early on is bordering on parody. He just has this permanent sneer and eyes that seem to be welded nearly completely shut like this is Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol. Yeah, that’s still on the list somewhere...

Still, that sneer lends an extra layer to his interaction with the charity collectors who catch up with him much earlier in this version. Rather than just talk to him normally, they sing their intentions to collect for the needy and it makes me interpret his contemptuous look less as him not wanting to be philanthropic and more that he’s confused as to why these weirdoes are singing to him. No one in musicals ever seems aware that all their conversations seem to take place melodically.

It does take a bit of the sting out of some of Scrooge’s wicked remarks to hear him speak in rhyme. “I abhor how they whine, how they want whatever’s mine. Why should I give a thing for free? Let them beg til they’re blue, it has nothing to do with me. I say, let them die and decrease the surplus population.”

On the reverse though, the Marley scene is really strange and takes what is usually dramatic and adds some humour, mostly from the casting of Jason Alexander who brings comedic tone to the whole thing through his delivery and physical performance. There’s a degree of comic mischief going on as he summons these other spirits to scare Scrooge and the odd lyric that seem to poke fun at his fettered situation:

Stacking up my silver and my bits of gold, filling up my vault when day was done! Well, vaults are made of lead and cash is very cold! And around your neck they weigh a bloody ton!

Still, there’s some sense of humanity to it I’ve not seen in other versions. For instance, I think it’s the first time I think I’ve seen Marley actually hug Scrooge even if Scrooge isn’t receptive to it. It speaks to the friendship they had before and the relief that Marley must feel now that he’s been able to finally appear to Scrooge after his many attempts before.

It’s a fun song and perhaps one of the few standouts throughout the whole film. Maybe that’s just my tastes or maybe it’s that most of the other songs feel really generic talking about your standard happiness and festive cheer type of stuff.

Or, in the case of the Cratchit’s, a number about how Bob doesn’t need a fortune, all he needs is his family. Looking at Tiny Tim makes him feel as rich as a king and he means more to him than anything. And he sings this in front of his whole family! It’s like Bob Cratchit is just destined to say well intentioned things but ultimately demean the rest of his family.

I didn’t think it was possible to make Tiny Tim any more sympathetic but adding a leg brace manages to do the job.

They show him and his father head out to buy the bird for Christmas dinner, not the prize turkey in the poulterer’s window and not the traditional goose. Just a chicken, a small one. There’s something amusing about the fact that they actually took the time to foreshadow the turkey as if it’s not surprising enough just that Scrooge buys it for the Cratchit family come the end of the movie. They have to be teased by it first, shown what they could have had if only things were different before having to settle.

Jane Krakowski shows up as the Ghost of Christmas Past, I didn’t touch on this but she played the teacher in the Christmas Story musical so that’s just another link.

She’s really good and looks very glamorous here but is it weird that I find her more attractive in the newsie look she has when she shows up earlier in the movie, filling in for her sick husband in his job lighting all the street lamps in town? Maybe it’s the sense of coyness with her slightly obscured behind the brim of the cap or that whole women in men’s shirts sorta thing.

The gimmick here is that Scrooge runs into the spirits at the start of the movie in the everyday world, Present is advertising a show and Yet to Come is a blind beggar woman. To me, this throws in this shade of grey element to proceedings. It’s a very fantastical idea for some other worldly power to send these three spirits to help Scrooge redeem himself but having the three spirits be entirely different actors locks them into being that. But, Scrooge has always talked about how his run in with Marley might just be a trick of the mind; a crumb of mouldy cheese or an underdone turnip. Maybe the negative run ins Scrooge had with these three earlier in the day triggered something in his mind and it’s projecting their images in order to help him process these feelings of wanting to better himself.

For all the sweetness and light on the exterior of Past, she really goes in on showing Scrooge the trauma of his earlier life. It’s like an origin story of his miserly ways as we go all the way back to his childhood and a day in court as his father is sentenced to prison for failing to pay his debts. As he’s ushered away, he urges Scrooge to learn from his mistakes, to earn his fortune and to keep it.

Plus we actually get to see the death of Marley who complains of feeling faint and needing to retire early for the day but not even managing to make it to the front door of their offices before collapsing. Again, even in this morbid way, it brings some tenderness to see Scrooge’s sadness at having to relive the passing of who he describes as his only friend. Plus we can’t forget the one constant of these flashbacks, his fiancé calls off their impeding nuptuals due to him becoming obsessed only with money, a fiancé played by Jennifer Love Hewitt no less. Combine all these together and maybe Scrooge isn’t the way he is because he thinks only of himself and his own wealth, maybe he’s just scared to let anyone is because everyone he ever loves seems to leave him. Father in prison, Mother dies shortly after, separated from his sister and she dies too, fiancé ditches him and his only friend dies as well.

I always saw Present as the more uncharacteristically mean spirited one but Past is pretty cold here to show him all these things. But, as she points out as Scrooge extinguishes her light, these are only the shadows of things that once were, they are what they are, don’t blame her. Aside from his usual rant at the end, Present is a little more mischevious here, his links with the Christmas show coming into play as she shoves a hapless Scrooge on stage amongst a bunch of dancing nutcrackers.

Casting a black actor in this role is a bit of a departure from the norm though. Part of me kept thought it was someone in blackface at first.

Yet to Come is a strange one as well, seemingly playing against the usual shadowy, cloaked figure you normally see. If anything, that’s what she looks like normally before she transforms into some sort of white, raggedy affair. It’s like if you were dressing someone as a snowflake or something.

We go into a graveyard scene where a number of grave diggers are singing a warning of Scrooge’s future; the sounds of hammers on his coffin, the voices of the people he never tried to save and the footsteps of them dancing on his grave. Quite chilling lyrics combined with an almost ritualistic scene of all these gravediggers working in rhythm and hooded figures leading the coffin procession. Along with Marley’s song, it’s a highlight of the soundtrack but they’re both well staged as well with lots of interesting imagery.

That whole shared misery thing at the start comes back with a vengeance when Old Joe shows up to buy Scrooge’s bed curtains. Scrooge’s house keeper promptly has her earnings wrenched from her hand, truly there is no honour amongst thieves.

Not quite as miserable as seeing the whole Cratchit family around Tiny Tim’s freshly made grave. The Muppets version with Piggy and Kermit mourning their dead son is pretty grim but this might potentially top it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this portrayed in any of the other versions, you normally get Bob returning from visiting the grave himself.

Poor family can’t even afford the T on the cross marking his grave. Or is that just the name of the impeding Christmas Carol shared universe origin story of Bob Cratchit; I’m Cratchit.

And whilst it lacks the out of body experiences what Patrick Stewart and Alistair Sim went through upon awaking back in the real world, the lack of dancing can perhaps be forgiven in the face of what has been an hour and a half of singing and dancing. Instead, we reflect back on the start of the movie as Scrooge has now learned to keep Christmas in his heart and that ‘it all has to do with me!’. Having experienced similar in the Christmas Story musical, I guess this is traditional to reprise certain songs throughout the show but at times it gets a little tedious to me. That might just be some bad examples here though because in Christmas Story it was just adding to the feeling of it dragging and here it’s using songs that aren’t the best. This specific example I liked though, it wraps up the arc that Scrooge has gone through and underlines the change in his character.

With the musical aspect being it’s selling point and most of its musical numbers not being very entertaining, this probably ranks amongst the weaker of the Christmas Carol adaptations I’ve seen but as these things often do, it’s added its own little elements to the story that have made me look at Scrooge in a different way.

[pwnyta]

Full Endgame spoilers/review:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[amysgiantbees]

Avengers: Endgame Spoilers

Much like Avengers Infinity War, my feelings on this film can most succinctly be put that overall I found it average to infuriating but there were some truly wonderful parts in between that I’ll always enjoy. I’ll come to this later but here are some notes on my feelings on Avengers Endgame...

THE GOOD

Wanda and Captain Marvel (but I still needed more of them)

Wanda and Captain Marvel fighting Thanos

Steve wielding Mjölnir

Valkyrie on a pegasus

King Valkyrie

Carol’s haircut

Rhodney and Nebula bonding!

Nebula and Tony playing paper football!

Pepper fighting in an iron suit

Sam is Captain America! (He better be Cap in the films, not just this new show, I know the MCU has a history of keeping the TV shows and films separate but please not in this case!)

THE BAD

Bruce dabs. I just can’t.

Clint’s hair and tattoos

Thanos’ ecofascism being justified by the narrative in certain ways like with Cap’s look on the bright side about the environment line.

The time travel plotholes. I do not understand time travel at all in this, feel free to explain if you do. Also, Thanos not having knowledge of anyone due to time travel really took a lot of impact out of the climax for me. My biggest issue with the time travel logic in this though is how can Nebula kill her past self? 

The limited time given to emotional character arcs is a real issue for me. For a movie that goes on for so long, I felt like more attention would be given to this and less to action. Like having characters that had rivalries with members of Thano’s Children never confronting against them again.

Thor never mentions Loki. He never grieves him. He was meant to actually legitimately be dead in this one so it would have been nice if not only there was more emotion and time spent on the scene with his mother but if he said goodbye to Loki during it too. Or told Freya to check in on Loki for him, make sure to tell him he loves him form him. I know she is destined to die but if they’d come earlier in the day and let there be time to do all of this it would have been more emotionally satisfying I think at least.

I HATE fatsuits. The fat jokes and the jokes at the expense of Thor’s panic attacks and mental health are REVOLTING. It’s just sad and frustrating that they decided to throw out all of Thor’s character development from Ragnorok for a few cheap laughs. His fat suit doesn’t even look real. It doesn’t match his neck and face and he doesn’t move right. Shockingly enough you move easier when it’s your own skin. This article and the author sum up my thoughts on all of this really well: https://medium.com/@kivabay/the-centr-of-controversy-cba6f23c692e. Also, Bay has a really great quote unrelated to Thor but also sums up another issue I have with the film and I just want to highlight it here, “ I also couldn’t help but view the movie with the knowledge we pick up on the internet about who is leaving the MCU, making the character deaths feel melodramatically goofy and like executive-level calculations.“

Also, somewhat silly critique but doesn’t Thor need special Asgardian beer to get drunk not “mortal” beer in a can. Damn, Thor was just poorly thought through. And I could almost find him fighting against Thanos with zero weight loss aspiring if the whole idea of Chris Hemsworth portraying him and every other way he was handled wasn’t disgustingly terrible. Fat Thor as an idea is amazing. I’d love to see him portrayed as such in the comics as long as he’s treated with respect. 

They can’t just have the film be cathartically separate and contained they have to hint at more film’s with the “Where’s Gamora” mystery ready to go and Thor joining the Guardians. They have been advertising Homecoming for months and have the next few years of movies already planned, people aren’t under any illusions that there won’t be sequels. Just let it be self-contained. Especially since it’s already so long. 

Just personal taste thing here but the “Avengers Assemble” bit was too cheesy and the ruin of the Avengers mansion was a boring background for the battle.

Dr. Strange was wasted stopping that tsunami. Did they need that? It was such a boring use for him in the battle. This battle had so many heroes but it felt like it really used their powers significantly less creatively together than any other battle previously. 

Why weren't Fury, Carol and Maria all standing together at Tony’s funeral with their arms around each other like everyone else? It was really strange and took some of the emotion out of the scene, they’re close to each other. It could have been such a beautiful moment and tied the whole Captain Marvel “Where’s Fury?” scene together if they had them beside each other with her smiling sadly at him or leaning against him. They’re friends and it would be nice to see Fury further fleshed out and more three dimensional. 

I don’t mind that Loki is dead but it does make me retroactively annoyed that “You... will never be... a god” was seriously his last line. He had nothing nice to say to his brother before he dies? So he really did die trying to use a knife on someone who can take on the Hulk. I hope that at least in his show that’s coming soon he’s genderqueer and given the opportunity to properly show off his magic. I feel like his magic has never been displayed properly or used in particularly interesting ways so far.

I would have rewritten the scene where Banner and Rocket look for Thor. Banner, Thor and Valkyrie’s interactions are stale and strange. It would have been better (so as not to erase all of his character development) if he was still dealing with his PTSD or the loss of his people poorly but was at least trying to help the Asgardians. But then show Valkyrie having to help him and being the clearly stronger leader due to being able to deal with this grief better after having experience working through grief from losing her Valkyries. She could also be helping him with his alcoholism instead of judging him since she has been there! It would have shown her mentor abilities and kingly traits. You could still have him join the Guardians in the end but now he’s just less negligent. Then he isn’t passing a burden for convenience but because he recognizes Valkyrie was there for his people when he couldn’t be and is the better, more loved leader. Instead of what should be a great moment for Valkyrie that she’s shown as earnt and is deserving of it just seems like Thor was like “Well it turns out ruling was too hard for me I’m going to f*ck off to space now look after them for me.” Still, love that she gets to be king. 

Did I mishear her name or is Clint’s daughter not called Kate? Why aren’t we getting Kate Bishop? I know she isn’t Clint’s daughter in the comics but they’ve changed people’s backstories before and after seeing Clint training with a young girl in the trailer I was just really excited for her. I love her character in the comics, but maybe she has a name change here? 

Also, why does Clint go overseas to fight people? I’m sure there are more than enough bad people in America for him to fight for YEARS. There are Neo-Nazis for F*CKS SAKE. It just seems racist to imply he’d have to look in places predominantly occupied by POC to find bad people. Also, that Sword scene was strange. It felt really unnatural and fake like it belonged in a completely different movie. 

Also, little nitpick but I just found it to be a weird moment when that kid Ant-Man talks to didn’t say “What do you mean?” or “How do you not know?” I get not wanting to talk about the snap but how could he not be mildly curious or confused as to how someone seems to be ignorant to the biggest tragedy in world history.

Also, I really would have loved if the final battle had more consequences. More deaths and injuries. I think it would have been more realistic and added more to it. I especially really would have loved it if they had shown Clint getting injured in such a way that his hearing was permanently damaged. It would be nice to finally have him have that important comic book trait. 

Also, that scene where Joe Russo, a straight man, plays a gay man is bullshit. Let us have gay superheroes. That is such a pathetic attempt at representation. Make Loki Genderfluid, make Carol a wLw, Give Okoye and Valkyrie a girlfriend or acknowledge they’re wLw. 

Furthermore, I understand that the shot of all the women at the final battle was probably foreshadowing A-Team but I don’t think the creators realised that, One: it makes it look like they’re trying to hide that they killed the only original female member of the Avengers while giving all the men satisfying endings. Two: that there are A LOT fewer women than men but also that there’s enough of them that more of them really should have been featured before then and had more time spent on them. Just so many women yet so few films focussed on them. Furthermore, for those people who don’t know about A-Team it also just feels like a moment of pandering.  

Look, Black Widow has never been one of my favorite characters but she deserved better. As soon as she was proclaimed infertile in Age of Ultron it was a death sentence because what use is a woman who can’t reproduce. She didn’t even get a funeral. Clint should have died. The snap forced Natasha to fully commit to her found family and lead the Avengers for years. The snap sent Clint into a debatably racist murder rampage. Natasha did something good after the snap it gave her more purpose. Clint’s purpose was to bring his family back and he could still do that by sacrificing himself. It’s honestly far more satisfying to see Natasha get her happy ending than Clint because Clint’s ending is just far too similar to his story in Age of Ultron. It is just hilariously underwhelming when everyone else has an emotional ending just to have Clint’s be a regurgitated version of him retiring with his family in Ultron. Also, Natasha dying for guilt over some vague bad that’s she’s done in her past that we know nothing about is so unsatisfying. This video I feel also sums up a lot of my feelings on this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A81p1N2gnNY&t=649s. Also from a monetary standpoint, not that Disney needs more money, but there’s way more demand for Black Widow films than Hawkeye. Just why Hawkeye, no one gives a sh*t.

More so I’m not against Tony using the gauntlet but I think it got in the way of Nebula having a fully satisfying conclusion to her arc. At least one woman should have had a satisfying, fully realised arc. It would have been great if Nebula got to finally kill Thanos but honestly, I wouldn’t be as mad at it if she hadn’t got wrongfully blamed for doing it by Thanos or had her arc conclude in an otherwise satisfying way. She gets abused further by Thanos for something she never did and never gets an opportunity to even just face him and confront him about ANYTHING. 

Also, Vision is barely mentioned in the film. Which wouldn’t be so frustrating if he wasn’t the reason why an ENTIRE ARMY of predominantly black people was sacrificed in Infinity War. They had to save him because they all apparently cared so much about him but can’t remember to mention him more than once afterward. 

I really hate that they were so scared of spoilers that they didn’t let all of the actors read their scripts ahead of time and cut out massive chunks of their scripts and didn’t tell them who they were playing against. I would rather spoilers than poor acting that ruins the timelessness of a film. This is meant to be epic! 

[themattress]

“You don't have to kill anyone. You don’t go around killing people. It's not nice.”

This was said by George Lucas when developing Return of the Jedi, as justification as to why he axed Han Solo’s death even though Harrison Ford desperately wanted in (and as a result phoned in his performance throughout the movie), and why he didn’t even want to kill Yoda. 

What’s disheartening for me is that too many fans these days agree with him.

I am not arguing that all character deaths are good, because that is far from the truth. Character deaths that are done for shock value, for misogynistic reasons, for not being able to think of anything else to do with the character even when there are obvious creative paths available....those are all terrible and should be condemned.  But so many people these days just condemn any character death (or imperilment, troubles, or any kind of high-stakes conflict, really) as “BAD WRITING!” It’s a knee-jerk reaction just because they’re upset about the death or whatever, without actually taking time to think and analyze if it was earned or not, if it’s truly objectively bad writing or if it’s just writing that they personally don’t care for.

Which brings me to my main subject here: Anthony and Joe Russo.

The Russo Brothers have directed four hit Marvel movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Despite all of these movies being critical and financial successes, there remains a sizable constituent on the internet who hates these movies and the Russo Brothers because they dare to kill off characters, create difficult and challenging conflicts between characters, and raise the stakes to the highest personal extent possible, with a happy ending not always guaranteed for all.

Yet despite these fans’ constant accusations of the Russos being the definitive bad MCU directors and for their movies to be full of bad writing, when looked at objectively these just don’t hold any water. The S.H.I.E.L.D - HYDRA connection? That was set up in the previous Capain America movie and in The Avengers. The titular Civil War between the Avengers? Makes absolutely perfect sense not just when considering the Sokovian Accords and Bucky being framed but also when considering the pasts, characters and motivations of each individual Avenger, especially Cap and Iron Man. And then of course we have Infinity War and Endgame, which have gotten the majority of fan outrage. And why is that, exactly?

Well, mostly because characters died. Some temporarily, some permanently, some horribly, some peacefully, but there was a lot of death. And naturally the fans of those characters are angry about that. But is it bad writing? Were those deaths unearned and hold no deeper significance? No. All the temporary deaths had to happen because that’s literally how the story goes - this is a loose adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet, where half of all life in the universe is wiped out and then later restored, so of course that was going to happen here. 

Heimdall had to die in-universe as a sacrifice to get Bruce back to Earth and out of universe because Idris Elba didn’t want to play the role anymore. Loki had to die because a noble death for the sake of his family was always the trajectory of his arc in the whole MCU and it had to be done here after the original plan to do it in Thor: The Dark World fell through, plus it effectively establishes Thanos’ ruthlessness and kick-starts Thor’s arc in these two films. There are a lot of reasons for the death of the prime timeline’s Gamora and of alt!timeline’s Nebula later on which could fill a post of its own, but the bottom line is that they were narratively justified and well built up to. Vision had to die for obvious reasons and it’s nebulous at this point if it’s a permanent death anyway. And Tony Stark’s death was essential to closing out his overall character arc - I know that fans would love to see him live happily ever after with his wife and daughter, but when you put your feelings aside and look at him objectively you realize that this would be a betrayal of everything that had been established and developed about the character. As Doctor Strange put it, this was the only way.

The one death that I think is actually debatable is Natasha’s, and even then I feel that this is mitigated by the fact that they were also considering killing Clint instead: one of them had to die for the Soul Stone to be obtained and it was just a matter of which one would make the sacrifice play, which offers a brilliant thematic contrast between how Thanos obtained the Stone. While I’m sad it was Natasha, I admit that I do think it’s better off being her than Clint.

Some also take issue with how some characters got portrayed, chiefly Thor Odinson, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers. With Thor, it’s a complicated issue involving either fans loving what was done with him in Ragnarok and upset that so much of that was reversed (although I find that the most essential things from that film were followed up on), or taking offense to his fat, drunken portrayal in Endgame (something I think is more a matter of bad acting than bad writing). With Bruce, they don’t like the Professor Hulk angle they went with, even though by all means it’s the logical conclusion to the character’s struggle with his dual nature and pays off brilliantly when all the Infinity Stones are collected. And I don’t think the ending for Steve himself is bad per se, but I will admit that if anything in these films absolutely deserves to be called bad writing, it’s his ending due to the implications it has for both of the Carter women. But since it only comes at the end and only affects a few characters, it’s not too bad, IMO.

An Infinity War-specific complaint is Thanos, whom people say is either made too sympathetic or even heroic and not villainous enough (which is a damn lie: Thanos as a three-dimensional being who is framed as the hero in his own mind and as the “hero” of the movie in order to serve its gut-punch of an ending does not make him any less of a repulsively evil monster), is adequately villainous but the narrative takes his side or acts like he has a point (again, confusing the deliberately twisted framework of the movie’s story for authorial intent, when in reality the Russos expect their audience to be intelligent enough to know that Thanos is hopelessly deluded in his messiah complex, which is made much clearer in Endgame), or is a bad villain because his plan makes no logical sense (if his plan made logical sense, he wouldn’t be the MAD Titan or even the villain, his plan is meant to be insane because he’s insane, it’s supposed to be illogical because Thanos isn’t adhering to real logic but to his twisted view of what should have been done on his homeworld that he is applying to the rest of the universe as part of a narcissistic desire to validate himself to everyone.)

An Endgame-specific complaint is time travel, which is messy in any story and thus always has people confused about its shaky and often inconsistent rules. Complaining about that misses the point that this is both a character drama so that’s where the focus should be - on how the time travel shenanigans affect them and not on the shenanigans themselves - and a freaking comic book movie, and comic books are full of these nonsensical elements. They always have been and they always will be. If you’re going in expecting every fantastical element to always make sense or always be consistent, then you’re watching the wrong film.

And of course there are nitpicks everyone likes to make. And that is the death of cinema.

If you don’t like the Russos’ movies for any personal reason, then you’re free to do so and to admit that. But going on that they’re “badly written”, or that they somehow trashed the MCU’s story and characters, or whatever hyperbole you come off with based on your emotions rather than looking at things objectively is wrong. It’s not your cup of tea, and that’s OK. But the fact still stands that these movies are objectively well-written and well-directed movies, and that characters dying and high-stakes conflicts transpiring are sometimes necessary. 

[samcarpnter]

my endgame thoughts (MAJOR SPOILERS)

Alright so I saw Endgame last night and I have had time to process my feelings about it so be ready for my rant, and again this includes MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERS

I first want to say that I did really like the movie. After all of the spoilers got loose and people who hadn’t even seen the movie were just slandering it nonstop, I was really scared that I was gonna hate the entire thing. That definitely wasn’t the case. I hate a few of the decisions the Russo brothers made but overall I thought the movie was really good. It’s not going to be my favorite marvel movie, nor do I think it’s the best one, but I think it did have an overall good ending to the Infinity Saga, even if some of the character’s endings weren’t what I liked.

C A R O L. Fuck the Russo brothers for teasing her so much just for her to be in five minutes of it. I will say though, when she was in it, she was the goddess we knew from her own movie and she KICKED ASS. I’m looking forward to seeing her lead the rest of the next chapter of the MCU. And I am really shocked that we actually got Carol in her iconic pixie cut, definitely didn’t think the MCU was gonna give that to us.

I am LIVID at the Russo brothers for saying “oh yeah we have a gay character in the film whoohoo!” AND IT WAS FUCKING JOE RUSSO’S STUPID FACE TALKING ABOUT GOING ON A DATE WITH A MAN. OOH I’m mad, because number one that is QUEERBAITING because we thought it meant Carol but no the Russos don’t want us to have nice things.

Thor. My god that was awful. I knew about his awful hair but I did not know about the beer belly and his weight gain. That pisses me off so goddamn much. It wasn’t necessary, it really fucking wasn’t. There are many other ways they could have depicted his depression without that. As a plus size person, I was disgusted because everyone in the theater was dying of laughter just at the sight of Thor almost anytime he came on screen. He was there just to be a lazy source of humor because people love fat jokes. Obviously, there really isn’t plus size representation in the MCU and I am perfectly fine with that because I mean these are superheroes and aliens and literal gods, it makes sense that they aren’t, and sure there was a fat joke every once in a while but even I find the occasional one funny. When it is pretty much the biggest source of comedy for the movie minus Scott, that crosses a line. It really felt like the only reason Thor was there was to supply constant fat jokes, and honestly that’s just lazy writing on the Russo brother’s parts not that I expected much more let’s be honest

Nat’s death … I mean if you’ve followed me for a while I don’t think it’s a secret that I don’t like Scar Jo and I don’t like MCU Nat because the writers have screwed her over time and time again and then on top of that, Scar Jo just doesn’t … do anything ?? Like I do not see the appeal to her acting if that’s what you want to call it. Hell, I could probably do a better Nat. Honestly I’m pretty happy that they killed her off because that means Nat won’t have to be portrayed poorly anymore and I won’t have to see Scar Jo’s face for the rest of the movies, with the exception of maybe the Black Widow movie if that happens but it’ll probably be a prequel so I am all good with that. I am sad that any version of Natasha dies but I just don’t want to see one of my favorite characters get treated so badly anymore.

Nebula. I was really happy with how big of a part she played in this film, she has always been a favorite of mine and her development has just been amazing. Karen Gillan really did so well in this film and I’m happy she was given the chance to show how important of a character she is.

Where was Okoye ??? Why put her on the poster, why have Danai on this huge press tour, why do any of that if I saw her A TOTAL OF TWO MINUTES?!?! They just baited us the whole time ugh....

I was not a fan of Professor Hulk. I don’t know it was but I just ... it just felt like something was off about him the whole time, and I really hope that it’s the end for Hulk just because I don’t know if I could take that again.

Scott is a gem. Scott is perfect, no one hurt him, no one change him, he stays forever. 

The time travel plot wasn’t bad, I thought, it’s basically what we expected even without the spoilers. The little changes when they went back in time to get the stones were great, especially Loki. Like the Tesseract just appeared next to him and he said YEET and left.

The final battle was EPIC especially the moment when all the portals open and everyone appears oh my god that was magical, though I wish we got to see more reunions like Steve should have RAN to hug Bucky :( but Sam saying “on your left” to let him know they fixed the snap was incredible. And the Steve fucking WIELDING MJOLNIR !!! AMAZING. And that scene when all of the super ladies were helping Carol get the gauntlet to the van I mean GODDAMN that was breathtaking. Literally everyone in the theater was cheering and shouting during it which made it so much better too. And Pepper as Rescue, wow I’m so happy I was given that.

I was really happy that we got to see Gamora again, I mean seeing her kick Chris Pratt in the balls was one of the highlights of the movie for me. I hope that maybe they’ll find a way to bring her back but I’m a little hesitant because then that might mean Scar Jo would come back

Tony. As much as his death hurt me and as much as I love him and wish he didn’t die, I really do think that his death was the right way for him to go. We all know Tony, he could pull himself away for a while but he always went back to the fight, and he died to protect the family he found and that is the most Iron Man thing he could’ve done. And the fact that his last words were “I am Iron Man” ?? I mean come on that is how this whole thing started and we’re gonna end with that ?! Oof that was the most beautifully heartbreaking part of the movie. I love you x3000 Tony.

And now we get to the part that I’m most angry about … Steve Rogers. One of the best characters of the MCU (in my opinion) and the Russo brothers gave him That. I was seething when I saw it play out on screen, even though I had known it would happen from spoilers. There is no way, absolutely NO WAY Steve would have gone back and just lived a mundane life while KNOWING that Bucky was out there being brainwashed and tortured and he knew HYDRA was invading S.H.I.E.L.D the whole time, the place that Peggy, the person he went back for, built up and dedicated so much of herself to … and him leaving Bucky after Bucky had just gotten back to him? Nope, that is not the Steve Rogers that we have grown to love and I would rather he had died protecting those he loved than THAT. Yes, I think he deserves to be happy and Peggy is one of many sources of happiness for him, but he has so many more in the timeline he left behind that I just don’t see him risking all of that for Peggy. I really think this was the easiest way for Marvel to establish that Steve is heterosexual and that there is Nothing There with Bucky because they are cowards. And another thing, it just completely goes against literally everything Agent Carter was about. I love Peggy, and I always loved her with Steve, but she moved on and he needed too as well WITH BUCKY OR SAM OR TONY OR REALLY ANYONE ELSE. Agent Carter was basically all about Peggy proving herself to be more than just Captain America’s girlfriend, and Steve going back to disrupt all of that is just so wrong on so many levels. The only good thing that came out of this ending for Steve was that he gave Sam the shield, and I hope in the Falcon and Winter Soldier show we get to see Sam fulfill that role. I love Bucky (if you couldn’t tell from my URL) and I loved him as Cap in the comics and I would love to see him as Cap in the MCU, but I really think Sam should take the mantle from Steve, at least for right now just because Bucky is really still healing from his memories of HYDRA and everything that happened with Civil War, and my baby just needs to rest at least a little bit

I do like that Thor is partnering with the Guardians, I really think they will be a great new family for him. And we were fed well when he crowned Valkyrie the king of Asgard, which is what she deserves. It does worry me that maybe we won’t see her again unless there is another movie with Thor in it, but it’s not really confirmed if Hemsworth is done with the franchise, so if this was it for her, I’m glad she got that ending.

So I’m still pretty heated about Steve and Thor and the fucking Joe Russo queerbaiting cameo, but overall it was a really good movie, and I think a good ending for most of the characters. It was a crazy ride but I am very much looking forward to Far From Home and everything that is to come, I think we have a great lineup of superheroes to fulfill the next phase of the MCU. And also, the America’s ass line was the best thing that happened in the movie.

[embersofalily]

Avengers Endgame

With 10 years of story and film coming to an end, needless to say it was going to be epic.

Spoilers ahead.

Last Warning SPOILERS ahead!!

Ok, if you’re still reading, and haven’t seen Endgame, stop here.

All sorts of emotions happened during the film.

Be prepared to at least shed tears.

The start of the film was as expected with everyone in a devastation.

Little Kate being hinted as future Hawkeye (comics)! Or so I think. Mayo, wierd taste buds.

Clint’s family being dusted in the snap! I was expecting it from the trailers but it still made me feel dread and then pain for Client. The panic Jeremey Renner portrayed felt very real.

Some of my theories were off like how and who would be rescuing Tony and Nebula. Tony’s farewell message we saw in the trailer still made me feel for the character.

Heck yea to Ms. Marvel’s ( I can’t get use to Captain Marvel as her MCU name) appearance! I’d say I’m satisfied with her being their rescue.

Part of me wonders if Pepper or any of the Avengers staying at HQ we’re receiving the recordings.

It would have been moot since they rescued him, unless, the recordings were how they were able track where the Milano was drifting. If they were that deep in space, would explain why it took so long for Carol to find them. And enough time for Steve to finish shaving, haha.

It hurt to see Tony and Steve still not fully on the same side. I had forgotten momentarily, that, while they fought Thanos together, they were not fighting side by side. When Tony ripped his core out, it scared me out of concern.

That Lets Fight Thanos one more time to get the stones- plan could have been grief talking. With maybe Carol’s personality heh.

While having the stones destroyed in the current timeline was disheartening for the hearts, anyone who’s been theory crafting with the trailers probably expected Scott’s arrival and time travel.

5 years! I wasn’t expecting that amount of time to pass.

Scott’s actions of experiencing the after math was heartbreaking too; thank goodness Cassie wasn’t part of it. I wonder who was taking care of her those 5 years, perhaps Scott’s friends from Ant Man movie? Forgot their names...

Ooh, so it wasn’t Scott in the past like some were theorizing on the net, it was real time Scott ringing the front door.

Little Morgan was adorable! I wonder if her putting on that helmet means something for the future Marvel films? Or is that me looking too into it?

Time travel movie references HA. MCU time travel rules involves multiverse, like how the cartoons and comics have multiple Earths.

Ooh, Tony, you’re still an Avenger even if you want to protect the now (Pepper and Morgan).

Also, Tony should have pulled a “language!” at Morgan, bwahaha. “No, only Mommy can say that word. She coined it.” 

Wasn’t expecting Banner Hulk combo or his new found fame.

Time travel experiment was amusing since Banner wasn’t familiar enough with Quantum physics and Cap and Nat were concerned about Scott’s safety. Insert forced smile towards Scott and comedic time travel effects on Scott.

Tony and Steve make up! And aw, Tony gave Cap another Shield ~

New Asgard!

Oh gosh, I thought Thor with a beer belly was bad but Thor rambling, drunk?, about Aether and Jane. Rocket’s face and Hulk’s gesture said it all haha.

Time heist! Nice ring to it by the way.

Bwahah, Banner Hulk, Cap and Tony (2019) seeing Hulk (2014) smashing things and realizing the personality change. Insert fake punch car and weak throw bike, Bwahaha.

I knew the heist was going to have a hiccup somewhere, potentially more than once. Bruce talking to (2014) Ancient One and she realizes Strange had a plan! That was a sigh of relief there since it seemed like it was going to be full Nope not giving you the Time Stone - situation.

Cap 2019 getting in the elevator with 2014 SHIELD agents (hydra agents) was a nod off to Civil War!! I was prepared for the same beat down that happened in Civil War to happen again.

Cap 2019 meeting Cap 2014. “ I could do this all day” “oh I know you can. (Sigh)” was funny.

I’m assuming using the scepter on Cap 2014 erased the fact Cap 2019 told himself about Bucky being alive.

Pointing out Evans butt was amusing.

Tony 2019 getting hit by door+ annoyed by stairs Hulk (2014) had to hurt. Loki warped away with 2014 Teseract! That has to be something that’ll be touched on in future films, with how the Ancient One talking about branches of the timeline.

Tony meeting his dad and their interactions as fathers was sweet. And hey 1940s Jarvis!

Cap 2019 seeing Carter 2014 from another room was bittersweet.

Nat and Clint fighting each other to sacrifice for the Soul Stone was tense and then heartbreaking when Nat did sacrifice herself.

Nooooo I didn’t realize Nebula 2019 was connected to the system still in 2014 so Thanos got to see the future! Gamora 2014 def has some hint of switching side though.

When they all returned from their respective missions, their reactions finding out Nat sacrificed herself was saddening.

Execute plan to return the 50%! Was worried about damage to Banner Hulk’s body post Iron Man Gauntlet snap. Luckily it was only the arm and not full body and that his body could indeed take the toll.

Victory was short lived since Nebula 2014 brought Thanos, Order and army of 2014 to 2019 and oberlierated HQ.

So worried that when Nebula 2014 caught up to Clint that she’d kill him but luckily Nebula 2019 and Gamora 2014 caught up to Nebula 2014!

Surprised Nebula 2019 killing her 2014 self didn’t have any temporal backlash, but Marvel time travel meant it only caused a branch.

The 3 vs 1 fight between Cap, Tony and Thor vs Thanos!

Cap finally able to pick up and call Mlojnir!!!! Insert audience claps and cheers!

“I knew it!” -Thor

“On your left! “Insert audience cheer as all those who got snapped came back via Strange, Wong and other fellow mystical monks’ yellow portals.

Peter and Tony’s hug~ warm and fuzzy feels there :)

Carol just destroying the mother ship in her reentry to Earth. Oh yea~

The LaCucaracha car alarm ha! A nice comical break during the battle.

“Anyone see a brown van?”

The hot potatoing of the stones to try to bring it to the van.

All female hitters assisting Carol to the final goal, another heck yea~

Thanos’ headbutt to Carol doing nothing, mwahahaha, YES! 

Thanos destroying the van just as Carol was about to toss the stones in , nooooo!

Strange signaling Tony about the one chance.

Tony using the gauntlet to snap Thanos and his goons. Yes! But..!

Noooooooooooo! Peter’s and Pepper’s farewell to Tony was so sad! Tom Holland’s acting and voice really brought me to tears. It was a reversal of RDJ and Tom Holland’s scene in Infinity Wars. 

Tony’s recorded farewell was also sad to watch. Happy Hogan making his appearance to the funeral and interacting with Morgan was bittersweet.

I was surprised to see that boy from Iron Man 3 at his funeral but it was a good kind of surprise. I actually didn’t know who he was when I saw the scene but found out after I read an IGN article.

Cap’s choice to stay and live life naturally with Carter was sweet! I wonder if Bucky knew of Steve choice before Cap went back to return the stones to their natural place. It was a nice end to Cap’s story.

Sam gets his Shield!!! Nod off to comics Sam Wilson becoming next Cap!!

Thor going the Guardians and Valkyrie becoming next Ruler of Asgard were nice touches! I’m glad for Thor that he got to have a talk with his mother in 2014.

Clint reuniting with his family was nice especially since in the beginning it was so heartbreaking. I wonder if he’ll tell them about their Aunt Natasha though ):

Wonder what Banner Hulk’s future plans are? He’s pretty popular with the kids it seems, so it’s not like the Incredible Hulk where the Army was after him.

Young Avengers seems possible for future films. There was also news of a Black Widow movie, though I wonder if that’ll be a prequel type or another lady taking up the name???

Peter seems pretty learned with his powers, or at least the Iron Spider suit during the showdown. Well, I guess the suit is broken now and no one can repair it like Tony could ):

I wonder if Vision will return? If Shuri did indeed download all of his data, his body could be (or perhaps even is being??) remade and restored via Wakandan tech even. 

The metal clinks at the end of the credits made me wonder. Are they a nod to Tony Stark, for starting these 10 years? Or a hint of a future armor wearing hero? 

Now that Disney has bought Fox and X-Men back, I wonder what sort of stories will be coming up. I’m assuming with these hints of Young Avengers line up in Endgame, that they’ll be character movies in the future.

All in all, Endgame was a nearly definitive end to Phase 1, with only the questions of the branches to alternate Earths the Ancient One mentioned being questioned (Loki’s escape with Teseract 2014). The weaves of the story were pretty well done in my book, with nods off to past films in Endgame during the Time heist as well as closures for many of the original Avengers.

[hiddlesgirl]

SH 312: Original Sin

I loved this episode! The Malec training scene, Izzy and Simon’s adventures, Papa Wolf and Jace’s Clary Hunt and a Clace reunion. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t have a couple of small issues with the episode, but overall I really enjoyed it. While there was a lot going on it did not feel rushed, it actually felt really balanced because there was pretty much an even spread of screen time for all the story points. In the past, some episodes have felt focused on one or two characters/storylines which can sometimes be frustrating and doesn’t keep the entire story flowing. However, both of these 3B episodes have had a great balance of characters and storylines, with no one getting too little screen time.

Clary says that she has been thinking about if the way they were raised was reversed, and although she is saying this to win a little of Jonathan’s trust to get out of the apartment, I think that ever since she found out about his existence back in 2B she has been turning this situation over in her head. She knows how much her mother influenced the person she has become and that Valentine undoubtedly influenced Jonathan, as he did Jace; she knows that his demon blood is not solely to blame for his behaviour and understanding of the world. While she cannot forgive what he has done to her and those she loves I think that the question of nature or nurture definitely sticks in the back of her mind, how could it not?

The morning Malec scene, I adore this scene and it still makes me smile even after watching countless times since Freeform released it months ago. I love that we see Alec is clearly not a natural early riser and seems to prefer laying in, cuddling, with Magnus when he can; a little hint towards all the little domestic moments that we don’t get to see.

Magnus says that he hasn’t been sleeping, this is not surprising given the whole situation; not only is he having to deal with losing his magic and immortality but in the previous episode he had to face the reality of being less prepared to protect himself and those he loves; plus dealing with the grief of losing Clary. He is a whirlwind of so many different and even conflicting emotions right now that it is not surprising that he is struggling to relax enough to sleep.

I also cannot help laughing at Alec’s pout after he only gets a peck from Magnus instead of a proper kiss; he is so disgruntled at being denied not only his morning cuddles but a proper morning kiss too. I know I keep saying this, but we keep getting confirmation of it, that Alec has come so far from Season 1 and has developed so much; from someone who didn’t like physical contact from anyone who wasn’t family and being afraid of his connection with Magnus to the man he is now who craves and actively seeks physical contact and affection.

I sometimes want to cry when I think about his development; he is so important to me because I see a lot of myself in him in terms of being reserved especially with affection and thinking that I will never have that romantic connection with someone, and to see Alec open himself to Magnus and to have that connection really gives me hope that I may have that some day. I also know that Alec and his journey of self acceptance is so important to so many LGBTQ+ people around the world and to keep seeing these ways in which he has developed and grown is so wonderful and important.

THE TRAINING SCENE! I AM SCREAMING! YES IT DESERVES ALL CAPS!

Okay, calm down, deep breath.

Now, the training scene is absolutely amazing, everything I hoped for and more; it was 100% worth the year we had to wait for it (from the day we got the behind the scenes clip of Harry dancing while filming the training scene). I absolutely loved the playful and flirty tone of the scene, it reminded me so much of the pool scene from their first date; I love seeing these different sides to their relationship. It once again shows how brilliantly the show has done with Malec, that we see all parts of their relationship; the soft sweet moments, the tragic and heartbreaking, the domestic, the arguments, the constant emotional support and the flirty intimate moments.

The choreography of the scene was fantastic too, from the staff sparring to the hand to hand; it was so realistic and felt so fluid, there was no awkward or stilted moments. I love that Alec feel so comfortable with Magnus and with himself that he was confident enough to kiss his boyfriend in the middle of the Institute, to see that teasing and flirty side of Alec is wonderful because we don’t see it as often as we do Magnus’.

Also I think we all noticed that Alec didn’t have his stomach runes when Magnus lifted his shirt, while this is a little funny and also a bit annoying continuity wise, I actually like it because it shows that lifting Alec’s shirt was probably improvised by Harry and Matt in the moment. This improvising not only adds to the authenticity of the moment between these two characters, but it also shows how well Harry and Matt knows these characters (and how comfortable they are with them and each other) that they make these little decisions. Similarly to how Harry improvised the finger hovering Alec’s lips in 106 and the cheek brush in 201; and how Matt improvised Alec’s stumbling during Malec’s first time in 218. Every time we learn about these little improvisations it reinforces how well Matt and Harry know their characters, how much they want portray them authentically and how comfortable they are acting with each other.

Now, I just want to address something, I have seen quite a few things on Twitter about Magnus’ fighting skill and how he should not have ‘won’ the fight. Some seem to think that he should not have had that much skill, using his line ‘It’s time I learn to fight without my magic’ to say thatt he didn’t know how to fight at all. Firstly, it is ridiculous to think that someone of Magnus’ age (400-800 years old) would not have at least some fighting skills; especially when we know that he has fought in wars and battled Valentine the first time.

Secondly, that line in my opinion wasn’t saying that he didn’t know how to fight; in my opinion, he was saying that he needed to reacquaint himself with fighting and learn how to fight without relying on his magic. Even if he does know how to fight (which we know he does) he has still always fought with the reassurance that he has his magic and has probably never used physical fighting as his first defence, only as a backup. Whereas now he has to retrain himself to use physical defence when all his life his magic has been at the forefront.

Thirdly, in my opinion no one ‘won’ their fight; it was a draw. While Magnus did dominate their staff sparring Alec did disarm him, effectively making it a draw. Also, Magnus did succeed in restraining and pinning Alec but Alec broke those holds each time; he rolled to break the choke hold, so Magnus pinned him to the floor; Alec broke that by pulling with his arm and rolling, so Magnus pinned his arms with his legs which Alec again rolled out of. So, while it may have seemed like Magnus ‘won’ it was actually pretty much equal.

Jace apologises to Luke and thanks him for not giving up; he feels guilty for dismissing what Luke was saying about the apartment, too blinded by his grief to allow himself to hope Luke was right. He wants Luke to know how much he appreciates Luke’s never ending determination and hope that pushed him to look closer and put together the clues. We know that Luke did it all out of his own love for Clary, Jace knows this too but he wants to make sure Luke knows how much it means to him as well especially because he had already given up hope himself.

The vampire in the sewers is Cain! I absolutely did not see this coming and was completely surprised, it makes total sense that he is hiding in the sewers because he has the mark on his head. I have so much respect for Pasha Ebrahimi who plays Cain because he put so much emotion, depth and complexity into his portrayal that you get a feel of Cain’s age and the agony that he has experienced.   

 I think that meeting Cain has made Simon even more determined to get the mark removed because he has now faced what his reality will become if he doesn’t; Cain is so terrified of himself and the mark that he lives in the sewers and doesn’t interact with anyone because of that fear. Simon does not want that future for himself, he is so people orientated and his connections with people are so important to him that it would be agony for him to live away from others the way Cain does.

OH MY GOD! I don’t think a single person was expecting our next Malec scene would cut straight into the end of them having sex, I think I screamed. I really liked it because once again they are showing that they are a regular couple and portraying them in the same way a straight couple would be portrayed which includes sex scenes. I also laughed at Magnus’ line ‘miss my cat eyes?’ and Alec’s response of ‘I think it was pretty clear you were enjoying yourself’, once again reaffirming how comfortable Alec is in himself, in his relationship and with having sexual desires.

Once again Alec was denied his cuddles, and I really need a scene with them cuddling in bed because that is twice in one episode that we have seen that Alec likes post-coital and morning cuddles with his boyfriend. Alec is concerned with Magnus’ sudden planning but he also understands that Magnus needs time to adjust to his new reality. Magnus feels like he needs to make the most out of every moment, to always be doing something and that he doesn’t have time to be idle because he feels like his time is running out. I love seeing Alec being supportive of Magnus and once again seeing their healthy communication which is such an important part of healthy relationships and is often lacking on many tv shows.

We also noticed not only Magnus’ magically appearing necklace but also Alec’s disappearing runes. Now, I have no explanation for Magnus’ necklace that he wasn’t wearing in the training scene apart from that they thought it would look good in the scene and forgot about continuity but Alec’s lack of runes in the training scene is explicable if it was improvisation. However, when Alec sits up in bed in one frame he just has a black dot on his shoulder then in the next frame his rune (which is supposed to be the Accuracy rune but has been drawn as a cross between that and the Soundless Rune) has reappeared but definitely looks like it was drawn on while filming rather than properly applied by makeup. A bit of a whoops but we can laugh it off and over look it, we all make mistakes including our beloved crew.

Clary attacking that croissant is completely relatable and I also love her line ‘I didn’t have time to eat after I passed out in the Arctic’ plus her earlier line of ‘I don’t think we’re quite there yet’, I love sassy Clary. I really liked Jonathan opening up about meeting Sebastian and for him to describe Sebastian as beautiful and full of light; it makes you despair for not knowing the true Sebastian Verlac. When he describes Sebastian’s hate for him as he brought him his meals it really seems that he doesn’t realise what he was doing to him was wrong and that Sebastian was justified in his hatred; once again showing that Jonathan really does not have a good gauge of what is right or wrong.

When he talks about not wanting the Lightwoods and Clary to hate him because they took him in, you can see the yearning for acceptance in him; Jonathan is such a complex and contradicting character, you believe that he does want people to like him but that he is willing to do horrible things for his own gain. He is such an interesting character and I am really enjoying watching Luke unfold him.

My heart breaks for Clary when she talks about the Lightwoods and the possibility of never seeing them again; Izzy and Alec have become family to her and she cannot bear the thought of never reuniting. Izzy has been her friend and sister, supporting her through all she has gone through and while her relationship with Alec is rocky at times she knows that he means well and that she can always depend on him.

Alec, while understanding Magnus’ sudden need to experience as many things as he can, wants to make Magnus understand that they don’t have to always to out doing things to make moments matter. That sometimes just being with each other are the most meaningful moments of all and that in slowing down they can enjoy the little things; that when he’s 90 he isn’t going to remember the museums or fancy food, it’s looking into the eyes of the man he loves. I swear I am tearing up as I’m writing this right now because this is Alec casually saying that he absolutely sees himself living the rest of his life with Magnus, that Magnus is the love of his life and as he ages it is the memory of looking into his eyes that he will keep with him (and now I am crying).

Magnus understands where Alec is coming from and realises that he’s right, he doesn’t need to rush around and cram as much as he can into one day; that he also need to appreciate the quiet little moments with Alec and that they are just as, if not more, important. I am still crying because Magnus says ‘Everything I need is right here in front of me’, these two are so beautiful; always telling each other how much they mean and how much they love each other.

I love their exchange about ‘Pup’ and them both whispering ‘no’ as they lean in for a kiss, it is such a realistic and authentic little moment. Alec once again shows us how far he’s come as he initiates a kiss with his boyfriend in the middle of a busy street. I also like that this scene is a little parallel of the 206 scene when Magnus tells Alec that he has to take time to enjoy the things he cares about.

Now, before I go any further I want to address something else I was seeing on Twitter; some people being confused by Magnus behaviour and demeanour change between 311 and 312. In 311 he was more down, feeling helpless, humiliated, upset and hurt because of Iris and being unable to protect Madzie. In 312 he is flirty, playful, outgoing and happier. I think that with everything going on it is completely understandable and natural that he is going to experience some mood fluctuation as he is feeling a lot of different and even conflicting emotions; sometimes he is going to appear like he is dealing a lot better than at other times.

In 311 he did start out quite happy and relaxed which changed after Iris tries to take Madzie, so his behaviour change was completely understandable and was influenced by outside events. Also, he admitted that he hasn’t been sleeping which implies that he has been doing a lot of dwelling and thinking about his situation a lot, so in between 311 and 312 he probably decided to make the most of everyday and enjoy everything as much as possible. While he does want to refresh his fighting abilities he is not incapable so there was no harm in having fun and being playful. Plus he wanted Alec to relax and have fun too because he knows that Alec is worried about him, as well as others things. So, I don’t think the behaviour change was unrealistic at all and there are probably going to be more in the coming episodes; I am especially worried and looking forward to the scene where Magnus and another character are having an argument and break down (I’m thinking it’s either Alec or Catarina after he has his first seizure).

I have to say that I absolutely loved Meliorn saying to Izzy that they should hang out (meaning have sex) again and that she should bring Simon, not only did it make me laugh but it also gives us confirmation in the show that Meliorn is bisexual. Jade, who plays Meliorn, has said a few times before that the Seelies are bisexual but it is great to actually see it in the show.

The Seelie Queen definitely seems surprised that not only has Simon seen Cain but that Cain has given him the rock to perform the ritual; I get the feeling that she really does not want him to go through with it. Whether that be over concern for his safety or something else I don’t know.

I love that while making a plan to find Lilith’s apartment Alec and Magnus are subtlety flirting using their in joke about name dropping; I love that Alec is comfortable to be flirty with Magnus not only in front of Luke and Jace but in the middle of the command centre, I will be gushing over every little moment like this.

We find out that the Morning Star sword is a very powerful instrument that is capable of ripping open the boundaries of Hell, praise the demon for not wanting to give Jonathan that power. We are starting to see small glimpses of what Jonathan’s bigger plan maybe, he talks about the mistreatment of demons by the Clave and the Greater Demons and how he wants to change that; it seems that he wants to be a leader or commander for demon kind in a revolution. Which would begin with bring demons to Earth.

I absolutely love that Merrick is completely reluctant to help Jonathan and his line ‘That’s, to whom?’ is hilarious; sadly Jonathan kills him for it. But I love the visual effects, the blue sparks and smoke is looks visually beautiful.

While Clary is trying to send a fire message the hot French Shadowhunter tracks her down, Jonathan feels Clary’s pain at being restrained (am I the only one who noticed that Jonathan grabbed his right arm but the Shadowhunter was restraining Clary’s left arm?). Unfortunately the hot Shadowhunter gets killed by Jonathan, and the very unnerving thing is that Jonathan thinks that he was saving Clary and that he did the right thing.

I am already starting to tear up when Simon asks Izzy to keep an eye on Becky, his mum and Maia; he is scared of dying but his fear of hurting someone else that he loves is far greater. I absolutely adore Simon, he never wants to hurt anyone and having to live with the guilt that he killed his best friend is suffocating him and he would rather die himself then let someone else be hurt by him.

The ritual definitely looks painful but the visual effects, once again, are fantastic. This scene breaks my heart because you can feel how desperate Izzy is to help Simon, she has just lost Clary and she cannot bear to lose another friend especially if there is something she can do. She is so self sacrificing and I shatter when she tells Simon to bite her; they both know how dangerous this is for her but right now making sure that Simon lives takes precedence for her, and you can see the guilt in Simon’s eyes. It is a beautiful and heart breaking scene, and the Ruelle song only amplifies that.

However, I do have one little issue and that is how quickly Simon’s colour returns; he literally starts getting colour back into his face as soon as he bites her. It seems much too fast for how urgent and dramatic the Seelie Queen was saying the situation was; plus because of Izzy’s addiction I think that his colour returning that quickly made it seem unnecessary. Like, she could have just kept bleeding into his mouth for how quickly his colour returned; I just think that to justify him biting her, therefore risking her relapsing, it should have taken several more seconds for his colour to start to return.

Clary is appalled that Jonathan felt good in killing that Shadowhunter and that he thinks that it was a good thing he did, that is was justified. She is seeing first hand just how skewed his perception is and is perhaps beginning to understand him and how he thinks a bit better. Jonathan defends by saying he knows what she did to their father and he knows that it felt good for her; but they are completely different situations. Jonathan killed a Shadowhunter that posed no fatal threat to Clary and Clary killed Valentine who had just murdered Jace, had murdered many people before and was planning to murder millions more included three people she considers family.

When Jace, Alec and Luke appear Clary stabs herself in the leg showing Jonathan that she is prepared to hurt herself to hinder him now that she has people to help her and I must say that his outburst of ‘you little bitch’ surprised me. I understand it because he is lashing out in anger and hurt, it just surprised me that much that I laughed.

The Clace reunion is very sweet, to see the relief on both of their faces at seeing each other again and their obvious happiness and being in each other’s arms. They have not been together (without the Owl) since 302/303 I think, so it is really lovely to see them be together again especially when they both thought they wouldn’t see the other again.

I do have a few issues with this sequence. Firstly, you can clearly tell that while Dom is on location with Kat and Luke, Matt and Isaiah have clearly been added in with green screen; it’s understandable that they didn’t fly them to Paris for like 30 seconds of footage but in my opinion they should have done those shots of Jace, Alec and Luke completely on green screen the three of them, it would have looked much better because it wouldn’t have been so disjointed.

Secondly, there was no reason for Luke and Alec to run past Clary to get Jonathan because he was long gone before they even moved. It was just completely pointless and was one more way the scene looked disjointed, it would have been much better if they had made an aborted move to follow him then realising there was no way to catch him they had stayed where they had stood with Jace. Also, when they look back at Jace and Clary they are both looking in different directions. Plus, in the last long shot Alec and Luke have completely disappeared, which is because they didn’t add them in; I understand this was because it was Clace’s moment but it would have been better if they had stayed stood in their first position because that shot was out of shot anyway. This green screen work made the scene feel disjointed and I think that if they had done it the way I have described it would have felt smoother.

Thirdly, the magic Iratze rune apparently heals stab wounds in one second now; I don’t mind the use of the Iratze to heal absolutely everything, but at least give it 30 seconds to work. Clary’s line ‘somehow it’s better’ that this is how they came to be in Paris is a little like ‘what?!’ because how is coming to Paris because you were kidnapped by your crazy brother better than coming on holiday with your boyfriend, but okay.

I really did like this scene and I am happy that Clace had a wonderful and romantic reunion; I just wish that it had been executed a little better in terms of the green screen and without Jace’s delay in running to Clary.

Jonathan has an absolute break down in the apartment, he really does seem distraught by Clary’s betrayal and I have to give Luke kudos for how much emotion he put into this moment. It also seems that Jonathan is moving the apartment in those last moments which makes sense because Clary knows where it is right now.

So, overall I really loved this episode and the balanced feel of it; I did have a few issues but I am not going to let them get in the way of my enjoyment of the show.

In 313 Maia battles for Alpha status, Clace, Luke and Maryse, Izzy and Alec ask questions about the tortured prisoners and Magnus spends time with Izzy.

[luxury-loki]

Infinity War chat: Part 1

The time has come.

I’m sorry this is so long, please don’t unfollow, just scroll past and pretend it doesn't exist if you don't wanna read it lol.

Let’s talk about it. 

I thought it was truly incredible. Never left a cinema feeling the way I did after that film. So many emotions all in one go and I can't even begin to explain it properly but I'll try anyway.

PLEASE READ:

I reckon I'll sort each part by theme, one part going up each day. I think there will be 2 parts:

character developments

Storylines/plot events

Part one: Characters

I won't be going over all of them, just the few who really touched me. I may cover some important character development in part 2 tomorrow when I discuss story lines.

Loki

“You will never be a god.”

I know this is the one you're probably most interested in as he is the main focus of my blog so I'll start here.

I expected it. I had time to prepare myself and so although it was extremely sad, and obviously I am heartbroken at the loss of my favourite character, I did see his death coming, which I am extremely glad about. When writing this post I have seen the film twice, and I cried more at his death the second time because I think the first time I had less of a chance to fully process it for how mental the rest of the film was. 

I am so unbelievably pleased and relieved that he had a hero's death. He died trying to kill Thanos in order to protect his brother which is so incredible, and I loved the call back to the line “we have a hulk” which Stark uses on him in the first Avengers film. The fact he refers to himself as son of odin, and looks at Thor as he says it was truly incredible, it was showing his character has completed his character arc, accepting that he is both the rightful heir of Jotunheim and the prince of Asgard, he doesn't need to belong to just one place. His last line “you’ll never be a god” was also extremely touching, showing he always felt immense pride in being raised as a prince on Asgard, and being raised to be a ‘god’. 

Thor’s last moment with him, when he hugs his body and just cries out Loki’s name BROKE me. Such an incredibly touching moment.

I do truly believe he is dead, and I am inclined to agree with Thanos, “no resurrections this time”. He was an incredible character, and I do look forward to seeing him in the time jumps/flashbacks in avengers 4.

RIP Loki, you will be missed.

Thor

“What more could I lose?” 

I can't not talk about Thor. He stole the show. Both the character and Hemsworth.

Chris did and INCREDIBLE job at portraying this broken Thor that we have never seen before. The God of Thunder was completely stripped of everything he loved from the very beginning. Having just lost his father, and before that his mother, he had lost the life of half the Asgardians who he now ruled, and worst of all, had lost his brother. His brother who died infront of him, attempting to save his life, whilst he was completely helpless. His brother whom he’d grown up with, fought against, fought with, lost before, and now lost again.

It is very clear that vengeance, and pure hatred over Thanos has overtaken Thor. He no longer cares what happens, as long as he can defeat Thanos. He has completely given up, most likely believing that everything he’ll ever love will be brutally taken away from him as all else in his life has, meaning he no longer has anything stopping him from doing whatever he can to end Thanos’ his life. He takes this adventure to craft his new weapon, and then makes the most incredible entrance to a scene you’ll ever see. 

Even amongst all the hurt and pain he is drowning in, he still makes room for some light hearted, if slightly sad, humour. Commenting on family difficulties and the incredible line to Cap: “I see you’re copying me with the beard!” as just a few examples.

Thor is very much, for now, a Lone Ranger. although he has The Avengers, it’s very clear that at the moment he is feeling like the weight of he world rests on his shoulders alone, and I think it is a lot for him to handle. I hope he uses his anger and grief positively in the next film too, and I can’t wait to find out what he will do next. Thor’s entire character arc across all the films is so unbelievably impressive, and if we have to see him die, I will definitely be extremely upset. 

I reckon lots of people will leave Infinity war with a huge increase of love for this character, he has really proven himself as one of the strongest, most caring, and bravest Avengers yet. We started with Thor as this egotistical, over-emotional warrior, who was too childish to truly understand the effects of his actions, but we stand here now with a character who was able to look Gamora in the eye, the daughter of a guy who had murdered his brother, and forgive her. Now that is character development.

Banner

“Oh screw you, you big green asshole! I’ll have to do It myself.”

Anyone who knows me IRL will know I am a huge Mark Ruffalo stan. He is both an amazing person and a talented actor, and I was SO HAPPY to see Banner shine through in this film. Not Hulk, Banner.

This whole concept of Hulk being around for two years meant he’s learnt a few tricks, and when he doesn't want to come out, he won't. This gave Banner the perfect platform to prove himself. He showed he was strong, and brave without the hulk. He stepped forward to try and help even if it was scaring, going into battle as himself for the first time must have taken a lot of guts and I am SO proud of him. I am so glad after all these years Ruffalo has finally been able to show what this shy, adorable, strong, and intelligent scientist is really made of.

I really hope his character in Infinity War will make more people appreciate Bruce Banner in his own right, not just as Hulk. He is often overlooked I feel, but personally is one of my favourite MCU characters, and has given us some of the most touching moments across the MCU such as: his relationship with Natasha, his new friendship with Thor, and the sad secret he keeps about once trying to kill himself.

GO BANNER! You are truly an adorable gem, and I want to see more of him over coming his anxieties in the next film, and definitely more of his relationship with Nat.

I think over all the impressive thing is that Hulk wouldn’t come out because he was scared. He had been beaten up by Thanos once and no longer wanted to face him. This is completely different in Banner. Banner saw his friends being beaten and saw the danger that was coming, and instead of shying away, he stood up to it and fought with all he could give. He isn’t necessarily physically strong, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t one of the toughest emotionally.

Star Lord and Gamora

“I love you more than anything.”

These two come as a pair, and what we learnt about their relationship, and how it came to an end, was so unbelievably touching and incredibly heart breaking.

The moment they share when Gamora persuades Quill to promise to kill her was so sad. You would only ever ask that of someone you truly love, someone you know who will always do whatever they can to support you, someone who truly loves you. Their relationship has been well built, and constructed, and I felt was one I truly had gone the journey with, from start to end. When the two say they love each other I shed a tear, I had no clue that it would be the last time they spoke, and it still made me cry.

Thanos pushed Quill. He pushed him and pushed him until he broke and pulled the trigger on Gamora. Although it did not kill her due to reality tricks, the mental effect that would have on a person is astonishing, and Quill has already gone through so much. The anger he oozes when he discovers her death too is so raw and emotional, ruining the plan he had so carefully constructed from pure rage over the loss of his soul mate was torturing to watch. 

Gamora’s backstory was very sad too, discovering how she was manipulated as a child was disgusting, and to have her life ended by the one who had ruined her childhood filled me with such rage. I never thought marvel would kill her off as she was so strong and brave in the other films, but we saw a far more emotional version of her here, especially when she cried over Thanos when she first thought she’d murdered him. Showing she still felt compassion for this being who had utterly destroyed her life, made me feel so much sympathy for Gamora, and I will miss her strong female presence immensely. RIP G x

Vision and Wanda 

“I just feel you.”

I can't even think about these two without wanting to cry. Their whole relationship was squeezed into this film, yet felt like one I had been following for years. The love they feel for one another is immensely clear, and the connection they both have over the mind stone makes their bond even stronger. 

The fact Wanda had to murder Vision in the desperate hope of stopping Thanos, only to have time reversed to witness him die again but with no positives was agonising. Both Bettany and Olsen acted beautifully, conveying the pain each was feeling so well that it practically oozed out of the screen. That last moment before his death when Visions tells her he loves her had me sobbing, and I think “I just feel you” will go down as one of the most meaningful lines in MCU history.

I have such a new love for these two characters which previously I had not cared for all that much. Their relationship is definitely one of, if not the favourite, of mine in the whole MCU, and if they both don’t return in Avengers 4, catch me throwing myself off a bridge shortly after.

Thanos and The Black Order (last one)

Rest of this has been a bit emotional hasn't it Jesus. I’ll end on a less sad one.

“Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.”

Thanos was an INCREDIBLE villain. This whole concept of him being so horrifically evil, yet also truly believing what he was doing was good, made his character so complex. He believed he was saving half of humanity which was doomed to otherwise fall. We can probably safely assume he is wrong, and that there are other ways to accomplish this, but deciding if his intentions are truly bad or good is difficult. When we see him crying for Gamora it is extremely unsettling. This mad titan, who has done so much to make us hate him and feel no sympathy for, now stands before us, weeping for someone he loves, just like many characters before him have done. He is so tough, yet also clearly so broken and desperate. I do hate hm, I truly do, but I am seriously impressed by the level of complexity his character has developed in just a single film.

“Rejoice, for you are about to die at the hands of the children of Thanos.”

E B O N Y  M A W. Only gonna talk about him from TBO cus this post is proper long and he’s the only one who really jumped out at me.

I won't lie, I am kind of sad he died! He was so chilling, and not to mention extremely powerful. This whole concept of believing it was a blessing to die for Thanos, and his speech in many scenes, including on the New York street, on the Asgardian’s ship, and on Gamora’s planet gave such a dark atmosphere to the scenes, and really emphasised Thanos’ powerful character. The Russo Brothers stated he would be a fan favourite in an interview and I completely agree. A truly chilling character.

Thanks for reading! if you made it to the end come back tomorrow at 5pm for part 2 and make sure to comment and like x

Thanks,

Lara x

[moviessilently]

The title character (played by Cannes-honored director and onetime Queen of Mars Yulia Solntseva) is the object of affection for three very different men: a silly bookkeeper, a handsome cameraman and an American businessman in Russia.

Home Media Availability: Released on DVD.

No Smoking

Even if we know that Russian films were not strictly propaganda, many do incorporate political elements into non-political stories. For example, The Girl with the Hat Box and The House on Trubnaya dealt with housing shortages and unionizing domestic workers. The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom is different in that politics are left at the door and the story could have just as easily been set in New York or Paris or Berlin of the 1920s. Still, the film does manage to include some distinctly Russian flourishes.

And, of course, Lenin’s face on your sink’s backsplash.

Before starting, it’s worth mentioning that The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom uses the same lead performers and possibly even the same costume designer as Aelita, the iconic Soviet science-fiction hybrid. Aelita’s cinematographer, Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, takes the helm as director and the action remains decidedly earthbound.

(By the way, when you run into a Romanized name with the letter combination ZH, it stands for the Cyrillic letter Ж and is pronounced like the “s” in treasure or pleasure. All those Zs can look intimidating but it’s really quite easy when you break it down. If you can say “Frappuccino” then you can say “Zhelyabuzhsky”.)

If she sold candy, Nikodim would have diabetes in a week.

Everything in the film revolves around Zina (Yuliya Solntseva), a cigarette street vendor. Mosselprom was the Moscow Rural Cooperative Administration, which dealt in assorted consumer products including cigarettes. (Check out some vintage ads here.) By the way, the Mosselprom building still stands, though I don’t think it was quite finished when this film was made. (The construction was quite torturous, I believe.)

Zina quickly attracts the attention of three men. The first is Nikodim Mityushin played by popular Russian comedian Igor Ilyinsky, who specialized in playing silly little men given to panic and tantrums. Nikodim has been buying cigarettes from Zina daily—despite the fact that he does not smoke! He also does not notice that his co-worker Maria (Anna Dmokhovskaya) is madly in love with him.

MacBride attempts flirtation by translation.

The second man is Oliver MacBride (M. Tsybulsky), an American businessman who hopes to open a high end ready-to-wear fashion house in Moscow. He hopes to hire Zina as a clothing model and perhaps something more.

Finally, we have Latugin (Nikolai Tsereteli), a cameraman working on a major film. He immediately realizes that Zina is played by Yuliya Solntseva and pressures the reluctant director to hire her in a major role. Based on their shared love of cloth caps, Zina and Latugin fall head over heels in love and this is where the troubles begin.

Latugin is too distracted to actually shoot a picture. Nikodim, meanwhile, has decided to style himself a screenwriter in order to get Zina to notice him and that would be fine if he didn’t insist on acting out his eccentric scenarios in the bookkeeping office that employs him.

If there is one lesson to be found in The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom, it is that people in love are a pain in the rear and, also, never hire Nikodim as a translator if you hope to pitch woo to the woman he loves.

We’re making a film here!

I liked Nikodim a lot more than he probably deserved but, hey, I do love a nice helping of Ilyinsky, especially when he is this zany and fussy. The Guy Who Won’t Take No for an Answer is a pretty squicky trope under normal circumstances but that’s not really what’s going on here as Zina does continue to encourage him. And at least he is called out for his behavior here and even temporarily tries to mend his ways. And, again, the actor playing the character is so cute that it’s difficult to stay angry at him for his antics.

Latugin and Zina are caught in the old romance two-step in which the partners take turns being angry and feeling betrayed and instigating the breakup. Of course, the cameraman is the most dashing of the trio of suitors. I see what you did there, veteran-cameraman-turned-director Mr. Zhelyabuzhsky.

Putting your crush in pictures: the oldest love story in film.

MacBride, meanwhile, is really just a typical American mogul as portrayed in European films of the period. Compare him to Mr. Quaker in The Oyster Princess: corpulent, out of touch, smokes like a train, can’t make a move without an army of retainers. The image was most definitely fixed in the public mind thanks to real-life sybarites like Diamond Jim Brady.

Zina is pragmatic and refreshingly unconcerned with marriage (a common trait of Russian women in rom-coms of this era) and is just a interested in securing a more comfortable profession as she is in courtship with Latugin. And, of course, Yuliya Solntseva is both attractive and charismatic enough to make the feelings of her three suitors understandable even if their behavior is eccentric. (Oddly enough, MacBride, the character who runs closest to outright caricature, conducts himself most normally.)

MacBride makes his move.

Solntseva left acting a few years later to support the work of her husband, director Alexander Dovzhenko. She was honored in her own right at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival when she won Best Director, the first woman to do so and, until 2017 when she was joined by Sofia Coppola, the only woman to do so.

Zina’s costumes are one of the major draws of the picture. While audiences of the day likely delighted in her flowing frocks when she was an actress and her high fashion drama when she was a model, modern viewers (at least the ones I have discussed this with) are absolutely delighted by her simple, modern garb as a cigarette seller. Her Mosselprom cap with the short visor and her simple short-sleeved blouse could be the very next trend in ladies fashion. Somebody call Oliver MacBride.

10/10 would wear

Finally, I very much enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at a busy Russian film studio during the 1920s. The film also explores the politics of films with Latugin’s director going behind his back to get him fired and scheming to remove Zina as well.

Zhelyabuzhsky’s direction is pretty spot-on for 1924. It’s not as cutting-edge as what the Russian directors in Paris were accomplishing at the time but it gives the viewer a good taste of the flavor of 1924 Moscow and the film’s somewhat leisurely pace lets us take it all in.

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While this is a fine film and sure to entertain, it does miss that little mischievous wink that makes Boris Barnet comedies such delights. It is self-aware about the odd behavior of its characters but a few more pokes at their self-absorption would have done much.

The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom has a more, er, European pace than Barnet’s comedies but it does have plenty of pleasures, especially Ilyinsky and Solntseva. The screenplay also displays enough self-awareness to prevent the antics of its cast from wearing out their welcome. Further, the shots of Moscow are stunning and you will covet one or more hats from this production.

Where can I see it?

Released on DVD by Kino.

***

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The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom (1924) A Silent Film Review The title character (played by Cannes-honored director and onetime Queen of Mars Yulia Solntseva) is the object of affection for three very different men: a silly bookkeeper, a handsome cameraman and an American businessman in Russia.

[ljones41]

"SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" (2018) Review

"SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" (2018) Review Following the release of Lucasfilm's ninth film, "STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI", the STAR WARSfandom seemed to be in a flux. Although the film received a positive reaction from film critics and was a box office hit, for many reasons it created a division within the franchise's fandom. And many believe that this division, along with a few other aspects, may have produced a strong, negative impact upon the next film released by Lucasfilm, "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY".

Why did I bring up this topic? Easy. "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" proved to be Lucasfilm's first box office flop. Certain film critics and defenders of "THE LAST JEDI" had claimed that the negative reaction to the latter film had an impact on the box office performance of "SOLO". In fact, many of "THE LAST JEDI" detractors claimed the same. Perhaps. Then again, I disliked "THE LAST JEDI". But that did not stop me from seeing "SOLO" at the theaters. Personally, I suspect other factors played a role in the box office failure of "SOLO" - media coverage of the film's chaotic production (that included the firing of its first directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) and the fact that Lucasfilm/Disney had released it five months after "THE LAST JEDI". But many would point out that the true reason behind the film's box office failure was its quality. That it was simply not a good movie. Did I agree with this assessment? I will answer this later. But first, I might as well recap the movie's plot. Written by Hollywood legend Lawrence Kasdan and his son, Jonathan Kasdan; "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" is basically an origins tale about one of the franchise's most popular and legendary characters, Han Solo. The movie began some thirteen years before the events of "ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY" and "STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE", when a young Han and Qi'ra, his childhood friend and first love, attempt to escape the clutches of a Corellian gangster named Lady Proxima and her White Worm gang. They fail in their first attempt, but manage to make it to Corellia's space port with a stash of stolen coaxium, a powerful hyperspace fuel. The pair manages to bribe an Imperial officer with the coaxium in exchange for passage off the planet. Unfortunately, only Han manages to make it past the gate, due to Qi'ra being snatched by the pursuing White Worm gang. Before he can be detected, Han signs up with the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet. Three years later, Han is serving as an infantryman on Mimban, due to being expelled from the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination. He spots a criminal gang posing as Imperial soldiers and tries to blackmail the leader, Tobias Beckett, into taking him with them. Instead, Beckett exposes him as a deserter and Han is tossed into a pit to be fed by an enslaved Wookie named Chewbacca. Since he is able to understand the latter's language, Han is able to plot an escape with the Wookie. Both make their way to Beckett's newly stolen starship and convinces the criminal to allow them to join his gang. The group plots to steal a shipment of coaxium on Vandor-1. The plan goes awry, thanks to a group called the Cloud Riders led by Enfys Nest. Both Beckett's wife Val and their pilot Rio Durant are killed and the coaxium destroyed. A grieving and desperate Beckett is forced to face his employer Dryden Vos, a ruthless and high-ranking crime boss in the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Aboard Vos' yacht, Han has a reunion with Qi'ra, also working for Vos. He also comes up with a plan to steal another shipment of coaxium to help Beckett repay the debt to Vos. So . . . did I enjoy "SOLO"? Or did I dislike it? There were certain aspects about the film that left me scratching my head. And these aspects had a lot to do with Lucasfilm and Disney Studios' decision to declare the Extended Universe (EU) novels as no longer part of the franchise's canon. The Kasdans the screenwriters of "SOLO" had decided to make changes to Han's backstory. Instead of being the abandoned scion of a well-to-do Corellian family, Han was literally re-written as an orphan with no surname. An Imperial Navy recruiter ended up providing his surname. The Kasdans made Han three years older. I found these changes unnecessary, especially the age change. Perhaps the Kasdans had felt that a nineteen year-old Han would not work in the movie's narrative. If that was the case, all they had to do was set the movie seven years before "A NEW HOPE" and not ten years. Also, characters like Han's old crime boss, the pirate Garris Shrike, and the female Wookie who served as the latter's cook, Dewlanna. Shrike was not missed. But without Dewlanna as part of the franchise's canon, how did Lucasfilm and the Kasdans planned to explain Han's knowledge of Shyriiwook, the Wookies' language? He not only understood it, but also knew how to speak Shyriiwook . . . somewhat. But despite my quibbles regarding "SOLO", I enjoyed it. Who am I kidding? I loved it. For me, "SOLO" was a breath of fresh air after the disappointing "THE LAST JEDI". What I found ironic about the movie is that many claimed that a backstory about Han Solo was unnecessary for the franchise and not particularly original. First of all, none of the nine movies that followed "A NEW HOPE" were necessary. Neither was the 1977 movie, for that matter. As for originality . . . despite the movie being about Han Solo's youth, I thought "SOLO" proved to be a surprisingly original entry for the franchise. Although the galaxy's criminal element has been featured in past STAR WARS films, "SOLO" marked the first time that the franchise delved deep into the galaxy's criminal organizations. And this is because "SOLO" is basically a heist film. Well . . . "ROGUE ONE" was also a heist story . . . at least in the last third of the film. But that was a tale of politics and espionage. And although politics made a few appearances in this film, "SOLO" was basically a story about criminals - including one Han Solo. And because this film is basically a story about criminals, one would expect to encounter a good deal of back stabbing and double crossing. To be honest, one could find plenty of such action in political films. It certainly happened in "STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH". The ironic thing is that aside from Beckett exposing Han as a deserter to the Imperial Army, no such betrayals or back stabbing occurred until the film's last act on the planet Savareen. And when the betrayals and back stabbings finally unfolded . . . God, it was a beautiful thing to behold! And the whole sequence was capped by a familiar figure from the past. The production values for "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" seemed top-notched. Well, most of it. I must admit to feeling somewhat disappointed by the visuals for Corellia. From the drawings I have seen of the planet online, I had imagined that Han's home world to be a little more colorful than what was seen onscreen:

But I certainly had no problems with the visuals for other planets like Vandor-1, the Fort Ypso village on said planet, the Kessel Run's maelstrom and Savareen. But I really have to give kudos to production designer Neil Lamont and the film's art direction team for their creation of the interior sets that served as Dryden Vos's yacht. Need I say more? 

   When the media first announced that Alden Ehrenreich had been cast as the young Han Solo, many STAR WARS fans had denounced the casting and insisted that actor/impressionist Anthony Ingruber, who had portrayed the younger version of a character portrayed by Harrison Ford in a movie called "THE AGE OF ADALINE", should have won the role. I have seen Ingruber do an impressionist of Ford in a You Tube video clip. But I thought that the movie required more than an impressionist and I had seen Ehrenreich in three previous movies. I believed he would do a great job as a young Han Solo. As it turned out, Ehrenreich was more than great. He gave a SUPERB performance than ended up knocking my socks off. Oh my God, he was just brilliant. Ehrenreich captured all of the essence of Han's personality and traits with very little effort. All I can say is that I am very happy that he had more than lived up to my expectations. But Ehrenreich was not the only one who knocked it out of the ballpark. The movie also featured a first-rate and enigmatic performance from Emilia Clarke, who portrayed Han's first love Qi'ra. The character is one of the few instances in which I am glad that Lucasfilm did not use any characters from the Expanded Universe. In the EU, Han's first love was Rebel Alliance officer Bria Tharen. I am certain that Bria was an interesting character, but she reminded me too much of Leia. Qi'ra, on the other, struck me as a more interesting and complex personality and romantic interest for Han. And Clarke did a marvelous job with the role. Another great performance came from Woody Harrelson, who portrayed Han's reluctant mentor, a professional thief known as Tobias Beckett. Like Clarke, Harrelson did an excellent job in portraying a morally complex thief who seemed to be a combination of an easy-going personality who was also avaricious and ruthless. No one seemed to mind Donald Glover's casting as Han's future friend, Lando Calrissian. Glover gave a very entertaining and first-rate performance as the witty and smooth-talking smuggler, who seemed to harbor a low opinion of Han and a high opinion of himself, the Millennium Falcon, and his droid companion L3-37. "SOLO" also featured excellent performances from other supporting cast members. Paul Bettany was both entertaining and dangerous as Crimson Dawn's criminal leader Dryden Vos. Joonas Suotamo's first-rate portrayal of Han's life long friend, Chewbacca, struck me both poignant and emotional. More importantly, his character was fully fleshed out and not treated as some glorified Thandie Newton gave a sharp and witty performance as Beckett's wife Val. Erin Kellyman was surprisingly commanding as Enfys Nest, the young leader of a gang of pirates called Cloud Riders. Ray Park surprised the hell out of me when he briefly repeated his role as former Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. The movie also featured some very entertaining voice performances from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was hilarious as Lando's emotional and sharp-tongued droid L3-37; Jon Favreau, who gave a charming and funny performance as a member of Beckett's crew, Rio Durant; and Linda Hunt, who was sinister as the criminal leader of the White Worms gang on Corellia. The movie also featured cameos - live and voice - from STAR WARS veterans like Anthony Daniels and Warwick Davis. What else is there to say about "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY"? It is a pity that it did not perform well at the box office. Then again, I saw it twice in the theaters and felt more than satisfied. It is not the best STAR WARS movie I have ever seen. But I do believe that it was one of the better ones, thanks to Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay, a superb cast led by the talented Alden Ehrenreich and director Ron Howard, who I believe may have saved this film, following the firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as the film's directors. For me, "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" is another prime example that Disney Studios and Lucasfilm seemed to be better at stand alone films, instead of serial ones.

[alexanderessex3dstoryart]

Character Design - Mood Board Imagery Analysis

Working off some of the feedback Jon gave me as well as looking at the primary research folders, I thought I would help complete them by filing them up with relevant mood boards that I’ve still not covered yet in my research until now. 

This art deco mood board is very heavily inspired by the story that I’ve set out for my characters as it’s all to do with celebrity culture and the impact it has on us. A lot of promotional material promoting these idols are scattered literally everywhere in the city from top to bottom which is what makes the prop for my Hyde character all the more convenient. This is due because of the absolute scale of signage scattered everywhere which is why Hyde’s first instinct is to grab a really old sign post and start using it as weapon to defend himself. On the sign itself would be a colourfull art deco design to express the happiness and joy that these idols portray which is such a contrast when it’s attached to one of the deadliest things to roam the streets of my city. 

My major source of influence for the art deco mood board was the animated TV show ‘My Life as a Teenage Robot’ since the whole show is set in this art style. Being a huge fan of it show, a lot of the really cool art deco designs you see on in the mood board are all title cards before the animation begin which in themselves perfectly capture what kind of sequence your in for. Going back to the design aspect, the image on the very right of the mood board is proabley my favorite out of all the designs due to how patriotic it looks which would work really well with my themes.

After the art deco research, I went back to looking at my Jekyll character and looked at humanistic faces as well as real life virtual reality headsets as I now imagine him to always be glued with a headset on like it’s become a accustomed to his body. Whilst this covers a lot of eye research, it’s here just in case I end up not liking he headset idea anymore for Jekyll as a backup plan in images. But for the time being, I love how large and boxy these headsets are as I’ve always imagined if it would be possible to still see the real world yourself if you had a headset glue to your head.

Adding onto the research of eyes and faces for the Jekyll character, I also looked at some digital depictions of some of his previous wear he had like a welding mask. I think in terms of development with that character, I’m very much beyond the welding mask for usage on the character but still reference it especially for the virtual reality headset since they’re both masks you put on. However, I really love the cyberpunk girl that has colored lighting in her virtual reality googles as it really sets the tone of a cyberpunk looking film. 

Now coming back to the Hyde character again, the below mood board looks at his eyes but in a much different way you wouldn't expect. This is because this mood board looks at the aura that my Hyde character gives off when he transforms into the horrific beast. This green energy emits form my Jekyll character's body signifying that he’s about to transform into someone completely different. 

My main source of inspiration was between the northern lights and a specific Yu-Gi-Oh’ archetype called ‘Psy-frames’. These electronic monsters use green electricity to zip around the board like they’re the lighting itself and go into powerful monsters like dragons and harder machines to deal with. I feel this electricity could be coursing through Hyde’s veins to the point where you see little flickers of electricity every now and again. When he gets angry however is when he fully loses it and green lighting and smoke snortles out of his skeletal deer mask as the lighting starts to spar everywhere. 

On the opposite side of the spectrum, this mood board looks at the realistic depiction of the Hyde character's eyes as I imagine them to be these giant light bulbs and caps that you would see on a car. The only twist with these eyes is that they would be in green and luminescent just like the ones in the mood board above . As you can tell from this mood board, I’ve also included these really interesting robotic heads that I found. The reasoning for including them in this mood board was how wide their eyes were and how they see to have that same kind of headlights for eyes look which I really adore. Thinking it back to the Hyde character, I could imagine those style of eyes poking out of the skull and having mechanical parts flow all across the skull  making it all the more hyper-realistic

In terms of looking at how the Hyde character would be built body wise, his body structure is filled to the brim from junk you find at a junkyard like scrap metal and parts lying around to the actual earth itself that come to him tor create this mixture of different elements. However in terms of this mood board, it looks purely at the scrapyard aesthetic and what might you expect to see their. One part oft the final design would be to have old light bulbs and drink bootless decorated across Hyde’s shoulders along with broken pipes that are wonky looking to the eye. In addition, I would love pieces of car to be plastered onto him like the bonet of a car or a car door handle. 

Coming back to the Jekyll character, the bionic arm to him is probably the most important section of the character to me as it’s what makes him really stand out amongst the crowd and treated as a professional by his local peers. Through this mood board, there’s a lot of different digital prosthetic arms on offer her but I think continuing on from the post on ‘Cyberpunk 2077′, I’m really attached to the look of Johnny Silverhand’s silver Bionic Arm but much thicker adaptation like the bionic arm from ‘Bionic Commander in the bottom right hand side of the mood board. Although to be fair, I think every bionic arm here that I've chosen all serve a great influence to me as I've never made something like this for a character before let alone in CG. Because of this, the wide range of mechanical arms here is going to be really useful when it comes to modelling the characters out in Blender and Maya from how intricate the details are and I feel each arm here, provides an interesting material that will asst my modelling process.

The final bionic style of arm I looked aware real life bionic arms and hands being used today with arm disabilities. I find all these designs so fascinating to me as they all unique in design that specifically cater to the user making each prosthetic special. In terms for my character, the singular finger digits on these prosthetic arms and hands look the exact way I envision the fingers to look as they look technical and gentle at the same time from how thin they are despite being really strong. the gentle feature of them works well with the kind of role my Jekyll character is being an engineer where he needs his steady hands if he’s working on a person.

The final mood board here is more of a back-up if I find the Hyde character himself really tricky to model due to the amount of pieces I would need to model for him and how large he is. This mood board essentially boils down to a sheet of references for the character's face to help sculpt it so that it looks human and realistic enough to pass it off as a random person. 

Overall, I’m really happy with my mood board research as whilst I’ve analysed and explained why I chose the images i wanted here, I feel I’m still gonna come back to these slides fro reference especially when it comes to the really detailed features like the cybernetic arm prosthetic. in addition to this, I’m also really glad that I’m putting measures in for myself when it comes to the creation of the final model like having a backup mood board in case the Hyde character doesn't go well as it’s so easy for myself to get ahead of it all. 

[smokeybrand]

Left Cheek

I love Transformers. Love them. I'm old enough to have experienced half of Generation One, firsthand, and i cherish those memories. With the advent of videocassettes and the Video Rental Store, i was able to see the entirety of the series a few years after it concluded. As i got older, it was difficult to accept a lot of changes to the franchise going forward. Beast Wars came through and turned everything i knew about my beloved Cybertronians, right on it’s head. I hated that show at first but, over time, it became one of my favorites. I even gave Beast Machines a pass because it was a continuation. I tolerated Robots in Disguise and the f*cking Unicron Trilogy. Those were the worst but that was my first experience with Japanese Transformers. I didn’t get into Headmasters, Zone, and all of that until much later. Animated dropped and, while i didn’t care for it, i respected it’s gumption. It’s a great take on the franchise and deserves it’s place in the fandom. Prime is the show that wormed it’s way into my heart, though. Transformers Prime is the best adaption of the Cybertron mythos, since G1. It’s spectacular. I’m not going to get into the great games, outstanding comics, and newer franchises. If i did, we’d be here forever. No, suffice it to say, i adore Transformers. It’s one of the big three that defined my childhood; Spider-Man, Godzilla, and G1 Transformers. I cannot stress enough how much i absolutely adore these bots so, when i say i absolutely loathe Bayformers, you know my contempt is real.

Michael Bay makes sh*t films. I wrote an entire essay about why but that’s not what this is. This is strictly focused on his treatment of my beloved franchise. Bayformes is the absolute worst. That first film was decent. It had potential. Hell, i kind of like that one. I didn’t think it was very good, but there was a decent feel with it. It felt like a Transformers episode. A super dark, edgy-for-no-reason episode of Transformers. I didn’t care for the Transformers designs but i understood the logic behind why they looked like that. What i didn’t understand, and the first thing that gave me pause about Bay’s “vision”, is the fact that Hugo Weaving voices Megatron. Are you serious? He had Frank Welker audition for the role of Megatron and then passed on him because “He didn’t sound like MY Megatron.” What the f*ck? Frank Welker IS Megatron! That’s like telling Stan Lee he doesn't know how to properly write Spider-Man. Are you f*cking serious? It was at that point, i knew this franchise as in trouble and i would be proven right. There is a distinct decline in the quality of the Bayformers movies after the first. Overt sexism, toilet humor, aggressive racism, poor writing, complete lack of continuity, cookie cutter narrative, McGuffin of the week story structure, China pandering, uncomfortable serialization of minors; These f*cking films became a real problem, real fast. All of that sh*t is absolutely terrible, any one of them worth ire, but it’s the treatment of Mikaela Banes that really f*cks me up.

Michael Bay is bad at films. I cannot stress that enough. He has no understanding of story structure, characterization, plot progression, or character growth. That’s why I'm so surprised Mikaela Banes is such a complete character. Mikaela might as well be the main character of the franchise because she’s the only one that can be described as a proper character. She has agency, she has depth, and she’s brought to life with a real humanity by Megan Fox. I imagine if the script was better written and she had more to do, Fox could have delivered a great performance but, for what she was given, she still hits it out of the park. Her arc takes a backseat to Sam, of course, it’s his movie, but Mikaela is quietly awesome the entire time she’s ever onscreen. Mikaela is the best thing about these films and the fact that she got axed because Fox voiced her unhappiness about how horrible Bay is to work with, is absolutely ridiculous. She called him Hitler, i believe, which is an apt description about how Bay treats the women and those he deems less than himself, on set. I imagine he passed on Bad Boys for Life because he couldn’t get away with the same bullsh*t toward Smith and Lawrence he had before. If Bay can’t feed his ego, he’s not interested in the project and Fox bruised the f*ck out of that self-image when she criticized his tomfoolery. So, after firing her from the franchise she helped legitimize with a great performance and dope ass character, Bay poured glass into those wounds by creating Carly Spencer.

Carly is a direct slap to the legacy Fox left with Mikaela. Everything Carly did in Dark of the Moon, was supposed to be Mikaela. Everything. All of it.  That was the end to Mikaela’s story. That was the cap to her entire arc and it would have been a good way to go out. It wold have made Dark of the Moon adequate. It was a natural progression, the only progression, for the best character in the entire goddamn franchise. That sh*t was actual good writing, especially coming off the debacle that was Return of the Fallen. This was a great, real, actualized character in a Michael Bay film. That sh*t, alone, is rare as f*ck. This was Mikaela’s story. If you get rid of Mikaela, you have to get rid of the entire arc. You have to respect the journey and the work put into developing the character. If Fox gets fired, recast the Mikaela. Someone else could have closed out Banes’ story. It was hers to finish. She deserved it. She earned it. What does Bay do? F*cking not that! No, this motherf*cker decides to add an entirely new broad to the mix, at the end of the goddamn story! Motherf*cker doesn’t even change the script, he just GIVES all of Mikaela’s resolution, to Carly! Like, Bay changes nothing in the script. He does a search-and-replace for Mikaela with Carly, and just shoots it. Just like that. It’s bullsh*t! It smacks of pettiness and derails the narrative in such a jarring fashion that the movie starts off-kilter and never really gets it’s bearings.

Dark of the Moon had the potential to be the best film in the Bayformers franchise, especially with what came next, but that sh*t was thrown right out of the window over a petty grudge. I don’t have anything against Carly as a character. How can I? We, as the audience, don;t know her. I don’t have anything against Rosie Huntington-Whiteley portraying her. She actually does a decent job, even though she is basically relegated to “Barbie Doll Damsel.” Even that aspect, the whole “Always in danger” bullsh*t is a slight to Mikaela. Banes had been in several battles with this robotic giants. She was as experienced with these motherf*ckers as NEST. All of sudden, she just gets played for a chump? Really? Michael Bay has an opportunity with Dark of the Moon to do right by the fans. To do right by the Mikaela character. So the actress who played her hurt your feelings. So what? Cast someone else and finish the art. Instead, Bay did everything in his power to erase the best thing about the Bayformer franchise and I'll never forgive him for it.