Text
Tumblr fuckin ate this post the first time so let's try it again
Finally had time to watch the new season! Opinions and spoilers under the cut
Ok so overall I liked the season. Nothing really special or that stood out to me but it's still a very enjoyable experience, and I'm very excited for part 2. Now for some more specific thoughts in a non specific order
Lloyd being super tired at the beginning is so funny. He's such an eepy little man please let him sleep (preferably not on the floor)
Fugidove in a tree
Big Riyu! He's such a cutie pie <3 he's got big ol toe beans!
I wanted to punch Egalt. I really wanted to punch Egalt. I'm sorry but his attitude is so infuriating I do not like it. I do however love how Wyldfyre annoys him into liking her. 10/10 exactly how I made friends.
Don't care much for the other teacher dragon and I already forgot her name but I hate how small her wings are. Several of the new dragons have problems like this but hers are extra bad. You cannot convince me she can fly with those
Overall I don't know how I feel about the new dragon lore. These random ass not even source dragons just being able to talk is so weird, and it's weird that dragons can do spinjitzu. The more we get into DR the more it feels like they're just ignoring all the previous dragon lore and doing their own thing (ok I know they are but consistency would have been nice)
Geo, Cole and the kids are so cute <3 the dads and their childeren <3 this silly little found family (heheh pun) means so much to me. Absolutely love seeing more of Bonzle and her character, she's very fun
There should have been more Euphrasia content
The sorceress! I forgot her name sorry but I love her. She's so silly and perfect and such a good supportive mom to her magic skeleton trans daughter. Wonderful character fuck Janet
The administration is wonderful and I hope they continue to be a minor nuisance that can be thwarted by their own rules
When Kai, Wyldfyre and Sora put on the wolf masks I got so nervous/excited and I was honestly pretty dissapointed it didn't go anywhere interesting
Is it just me or do the forbidden five have Kung-fu Panda vibes
Really don't care for the villain situation or the overarching plot. Not to say i don't like it but it's kinda just there to me. Cinder is silly but I don't care about him nearly as much as everyone else. Like I said, I just don't care about it.
Jordana's probably fine don't worry about it
And finally:
PUPPY COLE PUPPY COLE PUPPY COLE PUPPY COLE!!! 5,000,000/10 BEST PART OF THE ENTIRE SEASON. I only wish we got to see more of him because oh my god he is so cute and perfect.
#ninjago#lego ninjago#ninjago dragons rising#dragons rising#ninjago dragons rising season 2#ninjago dr s2#ninjago spoilers#ninjago dr spoilers#dragons rising spoilers#ninjago dragons rising spoilers#ninjago cole
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
Kermit and Friends: Welcome Back, Dr. Rajeev Fernando Featuring Stuttering John
Kermit and Friends was blessed to have two superb special guests yesterday that couldn’t have been more different from one another.
The first was Dr. Rajeev Fernando, an infectious disease doctor making his second appearance on Kermit and Friends.
Dubbed by Elisa Jordana as the sexiest doctor in the World (what a compliment!), Dr. Fernando since his last interview on KAF in February has continued to travel all around the World to research COVID-19 and help COVID-19 patients get better. Dr. Fernando admitted he’s seen some horrible things throughout his travels, which has led to many sleepless nights and him crying quite often. You could tell this is a man who cares deeply about humanity.
Dr. Fernando, like 99% of doctors, is very pro-vaccination. What separates him from most pro-vaxxers is that he’s very conscientious about not insulting people with a different viewpoint from him. He believes, rightly so, by insulting someone’s beliefs is not a way to get them to change their mind on that topic. If only more people could conduct themselves this way, humans would be a much more pleasant species.
Take Dr. Fernando’s handling of Trumpster Bob, for example. Bob appeared on KAF to tell the doctor that because of a special gene he has from his Norwegian ancestry, Bob is incapable of catching viruses. Dr. Fernando seemed quite baffled by this but he didn’t disrespect or patronize Bob in any way. The sexy doctor instead listened carefully and even offered his personal email address so Bob could send him information about the nonsense Bob was spewing. This is a great way to handle people who throw weird fallacies at you.
We also learned that Dr. Fernando is much more than just a doctor... he’s also a filmmaker and fashion designer! Click here to read up on Dr. Fernando’s upcoming documentary Smugglers and Refugees, and click here to check out his fashion line called Equality, where the proceeds go towards charities promoting love and fighting against hatred.
Try not to underestimate how impressive this is. Dr. Fernando works 7 days a week, literally. He doesn’t even have a home right now; he just lives out of his suitcases in different hotels where ever he travels to, yet he still manages to get passion projects out there like fashion designing and filmmaking. I truly, sincerely admire this man’s work ethic and who he is as a human being. Dr. Fernando is one of the greatest friends Kermit could ever have and I’m looking forward to him gracing the show with his presence once again in the near future.
The second big guest of the show couldn’t be any more different from Dr. Rajeev Fernando... it was none other than “Stuttering” John Melendez.
John Melendez is best known for his years working on The Howard Stern Show and for being the announcer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. These days John hosts his own podcast on Youtube and gains attention on Twitter for his incessant anti-Trump tweets.
John actually has a history with Kermit and Friends. He made a couple of appearances on the old KAF, one where John helped a young man overcome his stutter and another where John hurt a young man’s feelings and Elisa obliterated John for it.
John and Elisa have since made up. Elisa kindly appeared on John’s podcast multiple times over the last few years. Unfortunately, it took a lot for Elisa to get John to come back on Kermit and Friends. First he backed out many months ago when Elisa didn’t go hiking with him, and then when Elisa asked him again recently to be a guest on KAF, John said only if Elisa would go to dinner with him first....
Well, John’s mistake was not including the word ‘alone’ in his proposal, which of course led to Elisa inviting a few of her friends, including Kleenex!
You read that right, Elisa and Kleenex met in person. No one has made more threats towards Elisa or cursed her out more times than Kleenex, yet she found a fun way to meet him with John’s bribe. Brilliant move on her part. Credit to Kleenex though, he was a perfect gentleman and a beam of joy from everything Elisa had to say. Good for him.
Kleenex didn’t have nice things to say about John, however. Apparently John ditched Kleenex with the bill and was in a miserable mood all night. Elisa said as soon as she walked in that John started complaining and throwing a hissy fit.
To make things worse, John cancelled his KAF appearance before the show began! He was doing a fantasy football draft and because it was running late, John texted Elisa that he wouldn’t be able to come on. That was so infuriating but in the end, John did show up and let me tell you... he put on quite a show.
John was very candor all afternoon long as he broke down his lawsuit against SiriusXM, he told stories about a crazed fan who sent him nude pictures and a gun pointing at him, he fought with Kermit’s friend SaiyanZ (now known as Yew Neek), etc. It was quite the interview between he and Elisa.
Surprisingly, a lot of people fell for John’s stories and were on his side. Arf Arf Bark Bark is a huge Stuttering John fan and admires his “honesty.” Kleenex, who started off the show hating John, was a big John fan by the end of the episode, calling in multiple times to kiss John’s rear end. Elisa remained pretty impartial, while Yew Neek wouldn’t budge an inch in his disdain for John.
John knew so much about Yew Neek it was unbelievable. This Yew Neek guy, aka Kyle, has a Youtube channel where he commentates on different things in the podcasting World, including John. Kyle isn’t a huge Youtuber by any means but he’s fairly well known with the Howard Stern fanbase because of his videos on Stern and the people associated with that show.
That said, I never heard of Kyle until he first made his debut on Kermit and Friends 10 months ago or so. I like him - he has a funny voice and his opinions are his own, he doesn’t follow the crowd (plus he’s complimentary towards Elisa and even donates to her, which is the quickest way win me over).
Anyway I’m talking way too much about Kyle - the point is, John knew Kyle’s real information, his arrest history, stuff about his family, all about Kyle’s videos... how in the World does John know all this stuff about this guy unless he’s completely enamored with him? John claims people send him the vids/info, but that’s most likely untrue and even if they do, John still reads and watches it all. A random Youtuber like Kyle shouldn’t be a blip on the radar for a self-proclaimed comedy headliner with hundreds of mind-blowing accomplishments John had ready to list off.
Gonzo also got under John’s skin with a phone call after John said he paid $300 for his kids college tuition. John meant to say he paid $300 a month for years in child support but because he misspoke, Gonzo asked a fair question and John went off the rails about it.
John has to be the most thin-skinned individual in Kermit and Friends history, but you know what? That’s what makes him AWESOME! And the perfect Kermitarian. When an anonymous chatter with one little troll comment can send you on a 5 minute tirade... you’re pretty unique when you also believe you’re a mega celebrity.
Honestly, I could make this the longest blog I’ve ever written breaking down everything Stuttering John and Dr. Fernando had to say because it was all so entertaining and intriguing, but I’ll keep it to this point. Both guys were terrific in their own way. What makes Kermit and Friends so special is the contrast of having two very different guests like that and how Elisa perfectly handles them both.
If you’re reading this as a true KAF fan, Welcome Back, Dr. Fernando Featuring Stuttering John is the absolute perfect episode for you to show a friend if you want them to be one of Kermit’s friends along with you. Please do it!
youtube
0 notes
Text
I rank the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise because I just watched the eighth (EIGHTH!) one.
I recently watched Fate of the Furious, which I liked but also actually took a few issues with -- and look, don’t feed me the nonsense about checking my brain at the door. Yes, this is a fun, action-packed franchise but that we expect at least some competence in our action-driven narratives is the difference between Marvel/John Wick/Fast & Furious-tier action movies, and Transformers/Anything Asylum has ever done.
For a side character, I never liked how this franchise treated Elena (played by Elsa Pataky), the Brazilian cop character who debuted in Fast Five and sort of hung around in Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7. To say she plays a pivotal role in Fate of the Furious feels like a stretch, because said pivotal role is, for all intents and purposes, the “woman in the fridge” role to give Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) some personal stakes since Brian (the late Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are retired, and his plot thread with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) wrapped up in Furious 7. She was basically a “seat-filler” for Dom until he and Letty could overcome their obstacles and then is Hobbs’ (Dwayne Johnson) sidekick for a brief two minutes before she takes the stage here and everything plays out like it does.
I’m also curious how the franchise handles the whole “Hey the family is cool with the Shaw boys” thing moving forward--and you know Universal has had meetings about a Shaw brothers spin-off film.
Anyway the rest of the movie was as ridiculous as one would expect and it was mostly fun. And with that, I’m going to rank the series from worst to best because why not:
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
2 Fast 2 Furious is absolutely the lowest point of the franchise, but still watchable as a “hangover movie” (thanks, We Hate Movies!). It’s not as interesting as what the rest of the franchise puts forward, but I think its biggest crime in hindsight is that it follows up on the wrong character. Although the dynamic between Paul Walker and Vin Diesel became a big part of the series’ appeal, when The Fast and the Furious came out, it was very much a Vin Diesel vehicle/break-out moment for him, and the way that film ends very much opens up an opportunity to follow up on Dominic Toretto in a second film. Without doing any searching and going off my memory, and through no fault of the film, I believe Diesel felt he could use that first movie to launch his career outside of it, which he sort of did, and thus did not come back for part two. As for the movie itself, it introduces Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson), but the villain is somehow a LAME Miami drug kingpin (Cole Hauser) and so much of the movie retreads part one too much to stand out.
Fast & Furious (2009)
When the Giant Beast crew recorded commentaries for every film up to Furious 7, that meant I would have to revisit the fourth one that laid the foundations of what the series would reinvent itself into. I remember really disliking Fast & Furious when I first saw it, and revisiting it, I feel like it has the same problems I had with 2 Fast 2 Furious: outside of the racing, this is a generic “agent is after drug kingpin” movie, but it does reunite Brian, Dom, Mia, and Letty (who is central to the plot) and that’s about where it succeeds, along with introducing us to Gisele (Gal Gadot), which is a plus. We actually also meet Rico and Tego, played by Puerto Rican superstars Don Omar and Tego Calderon, who are like the comic sidekicks of the franchise, but help Dom and the crew out in Fast Five and Fate of the Furious. It is more watchable than 2 Fast 2 Furious.
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Brian and Mia are happily settled and not fasting or furious-ing, and it seemed like Dom and Letty were happy just livin’ it up in Cuba until Cipher came knocking at their door. I honestly think Charlize Theron is GREAT as the film’s villain although the writer is all over the place with her and tries too much to make her Bane. The movie outdoes Furious 7′s insane setpieces with the New York and Russia sequences (I think I had to change brains during the whole third act) almost to a fault -- the movies try to outdo themselves each time, which in terms of blockbuster filmmaking is understandable, but there’s a point where you have to know when to rein it in a bit too. In fact, my favorite sequence is the prison break scene, which involves zero cars. While I appreciate the movie treating me with respect and gets the why of “Dom goes rogue” very quickly out of the way, I just can’t get behind how the movie treats Elena, Roman and Tej fighting for Ramsey like cartoon characters, and how it arguably muddles the impact of Han’s death with how they handle the Shaw brothers (though they are in some fun scenes). Great Helen Mirren cameo!
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Fast & Furious 6 is a perfectly fine, if not really good action movie and builds on the reinvention of Fast Five. The crew is somewhere past being a heist crew but under the level of superheroes they become by Furious 7. Luke Evans as Owen Shaw is fun because you always want to love to hate a sneering English/British/Welsh antagonist and this is about when the series’ villains become really, mysteriously well-financed supervillains. I liked how they were always one step ahead of Dom and the crew. There are some great emotional beats here, especially between Han (Sung Kang) and Gisele. Gina Carano is having fun in it, and this film, before Fate of the Furious, had the most ridiculous, but still enjoyable, climactic setpiece in this franchise.
The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
The third installment in the franchise is director Justin Lin’s first stab at it, and he would helm that ship for three more movies. Tokyo Drift also seems among the most divisive. It might feature the best soundtrack of the franchise, first of all. Secondly, this is still in the era when the street racing wasn’t an anomaly and still played a major role in the plot. I’m actually not sure what makes it so divisive outside of it just not really following up on either Brian or Dom, though I suppose if you squint hard you’ll be surprised this wasn’t direct-to-DVD. On its own, it’s a pretty fun look (and exaggeration?) at Japanese street racing culture with a fun yakuza plot and “gaijin-out-of-water” stuff thrown in. Even the philosophy of the racing is different, less about the finish line and more about the art of drifting. It’s hysterical how much this movie puts drifting on a pedestal as someone who’s watched so much Initial D. Sean (Lucas Black) is an okay character (and we actually see him again in Furious 7 in one awkward scene), but more importantly this is the film that introduced series favorite Han, who is incredibly chill about everything. The dynamic of the two characters isn’t as strong as Brian and Dom, but considering we follow Han to two more sequels in cinema’s most insane timeline ret-con, that’s perfectly fine. Oh, and Sonny Chiba is in it!
Furious 7 (2015)
Furious 7’s rank on the list feels like a bit of a cheat. That isn’t to say it’s an underwhelming movie. Outside of Tokyo Drift and The Fast and the Furious, Furious 7 may be the one I’ve seen the most. The elephant in the room that is Paul Walker’s untimely passing surrounds this movie, and it’s actually exceptional how director James Wan and co. handle it. The second the first few keys of “See You Again” start, I can’t help but feel a lump in my throat and get a bit misty-eyed. Furious 7’s issues really mostly lie in how bloated it is and how much it wants to top itself each and every turn. But the dynamic between the cast is my favorite in the bunch, and the action scenes themselves may be my favorite in the franchise, and then there’s just that ending. This is also the film we meet Ramsey, who joins the crew and comes back for Fate of the Furious.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Once upon a time, this series was based on a Vibe article about street racing in New York. Although the first installment boils down to a rehash of Point Break set in East Los Angeles, I’m so damned fascinated by the first movie as a time capsule. It came out the summer of 2001 (I remember the trailers blasting Limp Bizkit’s “My Way” with clips of the truck hijacking) and damn if it isn’t the most 2001 (pre-9/11), late ‘90s holdover movie I’ve ever seen. We have raves, frosted hair tips, Ja Rule, the works! In terms of actual strengths, I find this movie the most tightly packed of the bunch, fairly simple, and low stakes in a way I appreciate though it’s not like they planned on them taking on a Russian nuclear submarine then. It’s pretty perfectly paced. In spite of not being a direct antagonist to Brian (who is at this point infiltrating Dom’s crew), Johnny Tran remains one of my favorite characters in this franchise in the short time we get to know him. The first film also has my favorite collection of vehicles in the franchise and I’m a sucker for how the movie ends: Brian hands Dom the keys to his Toyota Supra to make his getaway, Brian walks slowly, and the synth to Ja Rule’s theme song for the film starts. It’s badass in the most 2001 way.
Fast Five (2011)
Fast Five is often a lot of people’s favorite entry of the franchise and for me it’s not hard to understand why. You couldn’t really gauge the fate of the franchise after Tokyo Drift. I mean, I didn’t even catch that movie in theaters and it wasn’t like I was itching for more Fast & Furious when the fourth movie released. Fast & Furious sort of reboots things reuniting the three core characters and laying the groundwork for the series’ future. Fast Five doesn’t just build off the fourth film, it skyrockets into something on its own and achieves that perfect blockbuster formula where we’re not taking it seriously but the movie completely respects you for that. I feel like a lot of the film’s success is owed to Han’s return, and bringing these characters together (and introduces with an astoundingly impressive dynamic, and who doesn’t love a heist? A heist in Brazil, no less! (something something “The Brazillian Job”) We get to watch the plans in motion, the tests, and the execution for probably the most popular third act in the franchise since part one.
It also hits the ground running in an incredible sequence involving a bus and a train. Just like the first film, it’s also near perfectly paced and isn’t bloated like its sequels. Joaquim de Almeida is the villain Reyes in this one, and while Reyes doesn’t feel like a major threat to our heroes, it’s fun watching the crew rip his empire down. In fact, the real antagonist to Dom and the crew is probably the second reason the movie succeeds and became what it is now: Luke Hobbs as played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, coming in on a helicopter to rescue your franchise! If not for Furious 7, Fast Five would take the crown for best finale of the series in which you can’t help but smile along with Dom and the crew as they successfully steal Reyes’ safe and play both him AND Hobbs while “Danza Kuduro” plays.
DAMN. I’ve seen EIGHT of these now! Here’s to The Fine and the Furious, or The Fast Nine, or Furious 9, or whatever!
0 notes
Text
KAF Review - We Love Corey
youtube
We Love Corey solely showcases everything I adore about Elisa Jordana and her old show Kermit and Friends.
The episode kicks off with Elisa declaring a new show policy that cleavage is no longer allowed on the program. This of course was met with some chagrin from certain members of the audience, but if female beauty was the main reason a person tuned into KAF, then they still had nothing to complain about since Elisa looked absolutely stunning in her pink t-shirt and beautiful make-up to match.
Elisa’s first guest on the show on this night was OnlineDatingPimp. ODP comes on and is immediately very passive aggressive towards Elisa, having a repeated scrolling message on his camera that says, “Elisa needs psychiatric help.”
This is what separates Elisa from everyone else… instead of just kicking him off, she proceeds to have a very intriguing in-depth interview with the guy, trying to see what makes him tick and why he is the way he is. They talk about ODP’s dating life and his health issues. Elisa kindly offers sincere advice, and while ODP remains very insulting towards her throughout the entire discussion (including rapping a vicious song about her), she hangs tough, never shows any kind of weakness, is honest about her own life, and gets a pretty interesting interview out of the guy.
The highlight of the interview for me is when Elisa tries to help ODP write a love song, with her logic being that ODP’s hateful rap music is having a severe negative impact on his mental AND physical well being. This segment is the perfect example of Elisa’s comedic brilliance.
Once ODP leaves, a guy named Mac mics up with no camera enabled. Elisa is infatuated with Mac’s voice and believes he has to be extremely attractive because of his voice alone. When she’s texted a photo of Mac, she has a negative response and hurts the poor guy’s feelings. Elisa shows a ton of remorse and deeply regrets her reaction.
To be fair to Elisa here, I believe prior to this she heard this Mac guy trash her constantly on various Google Hangouts sessions, so he probably had it coming to him. And the fact that she felt so bad about it shows what kind of heart Elisa has.
It’s funny watching this now though with Elisa always bragging about how great her judgment is when it comes to voices. I guess no one exactly hits .1000 on anything ;)
The low point of the episode is Marc’s call-ins. He’s on some sort of trip with John M and he disrupts the flow of the show whenever he calls in or tries to cam up. Normally I wouldn’t mention this but Elisa’s sweet tone with Marc, despite the fact that I’m sure she is aware that he’s hurting the show with these calls, is a great example of what a caring sweetheart she truly is.
Anyway, after talking to Mac, Elisa invites Corey on, who of course starts berating her for no reason. She then brings on a guy named Step, who I believe is making his 2nd or 3rd appearance on Kermit and Friends.
Step is very critical of Elisa and asks her some very condescending questions, setting her off on a tirade against the man that leaves him completely bewildered. The tenacity Elisa displayed here was tremendous. And while, yes, it was mean, the fact is that you shouldn’t start a fire if you don’t want to get burned.
The funny thing about the KAF community though is that everyone is always very forgiving, including and especially Elisa. Despite the heinous insults thrown at one another, Elisa and Step would become friends after this and I’m sure they both think fondly of the other person to this day.
A huge highlight of the episode is the debut of the great Isme Boom, who in my opinion is the greatest talent ever associated with Kermit and Friends outside of Elisa herself. He hadn’t figured out the Spreecast controls yet so he doesn’t get to offer much in this episode, but still… it’s a historic moment for any KAF fan to remember the first time they laid their lucky eyes on the beautiful Isme Boom.
Elisa hilariously ends the show by camming down and letting the people who dislike her most at that moment (Corey, Step, and ODP) all criticize her for nearly ten minutes straight, which funny enough included a typical ODP rap song at the conclusion of the hate fest.
Like I said in the beginning of this review, this episode featured everything I adore about Elisa and KAF. Elisa’s self-respect is displayed right away with the no cleavage policy, her quirkiness is shown throughout the ODP interview, her comedic genius is showcased with the hilarious song she wrote for ODP, you can feel her kindness in handling Marc’s phone calls, her remorsefulness when she accidentally hurt Mac’s feelings, her strength when she went up against Step, and her ability to take criticism when she let those maniacs take over her show…
All of this make Elisa Jordana and her show Kermit and Friends truly one of a kind. It was a blast to revisit it. I thank Elisa for uploading this classic episode and I thank anyone who took the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed looking back at We Love Corey as much as I did.
0 notes