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kandi-pendragon · 3 years

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I was planning on making a YouTube video for this but I’ve got my hands full and I’m too lazy so here we go:

I’ve seen a lot of fellow Merlinites begging for a season 6 of Merlin, probably hoping for it to follow the script that three young women came up with (look them up on YouTube under the name 3RingsLeft. I love them and their songs own my whole heart) in the absence of closure from the Merlin finale. Now personally, I don’t want that to progress further than a script, but that’s only because I’m a sad pathetic excuse for a human who’s only purpose in life is to roll around in her misery and enjoy not getting any closure whatsoever from a show. And I doubt that I’m the only Merlinite out there who feels this way. That open ending is precisely what hooks you at the very end, it’s exactly what makes you so obsessed. The acting, the plot, and the characters keep you watching, but the finale keeps you thinking about it long after you moved onto other shows. And I’m too much of a coward to put that feeling of obsession on the line by rooting for closure, because my obsession is about the only thing I have going for me right now :)

Anyway, back to my point. I have been thinking about this for several months, and I wanted to get it out there. I know it might never happen but like I said. I’m pathetic. I cling to hope until the devil comes along so I can sell my soul to make my dreams come true. What have I been thinking about, you ask? Simple: BBC Knights.

Here’s a little information I wrote down ahead of time to organize my thoughts on the matter:

What is it?

Exactly what it sounds like. The idea of BBC Knights would be a spin-off of BBC Merlin, featuring the Knights of the Round Table, set in the time jump between season 3 and season 4. During this time, Lancelot is still alive, as is Uther. Arthur is newly appointed regent, and Morgana has quieted down for the time being. We get to explore so many things that we never got to before. Nothing would interfere with the finale of season five, of course. This would only be a filler, to give more content for the fandom, as well as more information, to better understand some of the characters.

Because you can’t have the Knights of the Round Table without also having Arthur and Merlin, the two of them would still be included in the show. However, they would no longer be the main focus. This would excuse some things too, for instance, not having to use Kilgarrah anymore. If the show is not focused on Merlin, we don’t have to find our way around not including Kilgarrah, because his voice actor, John Hurt, is no longer alive. (Rest In Peace, Mr. Hurt)

Focusing on the knights and this time frame would let us see more of Lancelot being a knight of Camelot, too — something he had been working towards his whole life — while BBC Merlin only granted us 2 episodes of that before killing him off. He had an entire year of being what he had strived to become since he was a child, and we never got to see it.

It would also give us the chance to better understand some characters’ backstories, something that the actor Eoin Macken said he wanted to do in the original show, had the last two seasons not been solely focused on the plot, and achieving the finale. Gwaine once mentions that he has a sister: “Well my sister is an evil old toad, so I’d be eternally grateful.” But we never even learn her name, much less what she did to make Gwaine hate her. We know that Lancelot met Percival before the others did, but we know none of the details. We know Elyan traveled around on his own for years, but we don’t know what he did, where he went, or who he met. We know Leon has been a knight for some time, but we don’t know anything about his childhood with Arthur, nor his friendship with Gwen and Elyan. There is so much potential for backstories, not to mention character development.

Of course, this all might be hard to achieve, since it’s been 8 years since Merlin ended, and the cast has aged (though not noticeably. I swear they’re immortal.) There have been hairstyle changes, beards grown, muscle mass gained. However, it’s shouldn’t be too hard to pass off. Maybe Arthur wears a crown or circlet to cover up the fact that he doesn’t have bangs anymore, Maybe Gwaine’s hair grows like a weed, Maybe Lancelot hasn’t shaved in a while, that sort of thing. Plus, it’s the fans. Merlin’s skin could be blue and we would just be grateful to have new content to analyze and cry over.

Things to include??? This is not obligatory, however, just some of my ideas. Obviously BBC Merlin changes some of the legends that they use. The Cup of Life instead of the Holy Grail, Leon instead of Galahad, the Afanc not collaborating with how it’s described in Welsh folklore, not to mention they used characters from Arthurian legend and made them their own, like Gwaine. (Gawain) Obviously if we included more adventures that the legends speak about, we would have to change the version of those legends, to better suit the characters as the show made them. However, the legends are still worth looking into, because I believe they would make for interesting episodes if done right, and they might also provide inspiration.

* Gwaine & The Green Knight * New Characters (Yvain, Drudwas, Sir Kay, Sir Bors etc.) * Yvain & His Lion * Drudwas ap Tryffin and his Adar Llwch Gwin (his griffins) * Agravaine coming to Camelot (and everyone’s first impression of him) * Explanation of Morgause’s Injury (why did it look like half her face had been paralyzed/burned off when all Merlin did was throw her into a wall?? Idk maybe I’m just stupid) * Agravaine Meeting Morgana and Morgause * Sir Kay and the Cath Palug (Palug’s Cat) * More insight to the Knights views on Magic * More detailed and fleshed out backstories for the knights (Gwaine’s sister, How Percival met Lancelot, More depth on why Elyan left Camelot, embarrassing baby Arthur stories from Leon, etc.) * Character development * New Opening Titles (main actors will change, and it wouldn’t make sense to use scenes from the original show. Also it would make more sense to keep Kilgarrah out, since he most likely won’t have a presence in the spin-off. Music could stay the same, but the scenes and names in the opening titles would probably change, as well as the whole “The destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name… Merlin” would be replaced, since the focus is no longer on the young Warlock.) * Meliodas the Demon King ._. * More POC representation, more POC in the cast. * Maybe queer rep? Casual, passing mentions of a mlm fling in the knighthood (doesn’t have to be someone we know) a character going by they/them pronouns without explanation and without making it a big thing, etc. Small, but noticeable things. It’s 2021 we deserve the bare minimum. * Tavern scenes! We know they spend a lot of time in there, but only get to see a few moments and hear about a couple more. * Maybe a first mission with all the main knights. Them working as a small team for the first time. Bonding around the campfire. This would give an excuse to create some insight into the characters while also sticking to the plot * Arthur struggling with the responsibilities of being regent (brief scenes or mentions, him leaning on his knights for support, them having to go on adventures without him) * More Gwen and Elyan!!! Being siblings!!! Please!!! * Introductions of characters we’ve already met: King Bayard, Elena, Vivian (seriously wtf happened to her?? Is she still in love with Arthur??) * Training scenes!!! When Arthur’s busy!!! Give me Leon teaching Elyan some sword moves and laughing about something from when they were kids! Give me Percy and Gwaine sparing only a few feet away! Give me Merlin helping Lance with his armor and Gwen watching her brother from across the field! Give me insight into each characters fighting style, skills, and weapon of choice! D e t a i l s!!! * More mythical welsh creatures, like the welsh cousin of the Kelpie who’s name I can’t remember but translates to water horse. So much opportunities for cool magical creature encounters! * And more!!!!

Now that we have a director in our cast, (who was rooting for this kind of characterization chance btw) I think maybe, if we’re lucky enough, we might have a chance. Idk, maybe I’m too late, but Eoin already said that he was working on a Pseudo Merlin project (whatever the hell that means) and I just. I love entertaining this idea. Who knows, maybe the spn fandom can help us summon a daemon and we can all collectively sell what little fragments of our soul we have left.

Those who still want a season 6, I get it! And I don’t blame you! And guess what— this would not interfere with that at all. Maybe we can both get what we want :)

But right now I’ve accidentally hyped myself up and made a petition so uh. Feel free to sign? If I get enough people on board I might do something about it and message Eoin, as soon as I know he’s done with his Merlin project and it would all work out 👉👈

If you have anything to add onto this post, go ahead! What would you want out of a spin-off?

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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ST: TNG S4 Watchthrough Episodes 6-9

Legacy: We have ended up on the home planet of Tasha Yar… and wow it’s not a nice place. We also find out that she has a sister, welp. So… it was alright. Ishara is very similar to Tasha in demeanor, but also very different. I tilt my head at the crew being so willing to trust and accept Ishara into their midst when they know nothing about this woman. I could see the ‘she’s using them’ plot a mile away. But to be fair, the episode addresses it. They wanted to see Tasha. They wanted to see the brave, loyal, strong-willed Security Chief that they lost so callously in her sister… and in the end, that took over. While I can see why Ishara acted as she did, she didn’t know these people and hasn’t seen Tasha in years so she’s under no obligation to care about them, it really has to hurt that she used them and almost committed mass murder and make them take the lame. Her world is a hellhole so her actions make sense, but that doens’t change the betrayal. Especially for Data. Riker sums it up well, with trust comes betrayal… but without trust, there is no friendship. That’s just the cruel truth. Anyways, it was a fine episode. I like that we have a pot-mortem for Tasha even if late… but it just makes me wish that tasha herself didn’t get killed sos he could have had her own plot and feeligns focused on. It still pisse sme off and is just a reminder of so much wasted potential. But ah well, for what they had to work with, they did it welll. 3/5.

Reunion: K’Ehleyr is back… and with a child. Worf’s child, to be exact. Huh. have been waiting very patiently for a follow-up to Sins of the Father and this was an excellent one! Back in K’Ehleyr’s first episode, she was unwilling to take the Oath and Worf wanted to so much and follow the Klingon traditions. Here? K’Ehleyr is ready and doens’t care that he was discommendated… but now Worf can’t. he’s been dishonored and even if it means nothing to K’Ehleyr, it means a great deal to him. He can’t let her or his son bear that shame. It’s so hard to watch him here. How anguished he feels, the way the other Klingons treat him despite it being their damn fault that he accepted it, to begin with, just knowing that he did nothing wrong… but for the greater good, he has to bear it. He doesn’t even want Alexander to be known as his son not because he’s unwilling to accept parental responsibility but to spare him of the dishonor. Just… freakin’ ouch. I was so happy to see K’Ehleyr back and her character is just so freakin’ good and her wanting to allow Alexander to find his life path? Excellent parenting. So… needless to say, her being killed off pisses me off. They at least allowed her character to shine, but… it feels like they only did it to make Worf suffer more. It was well-executed, I was about ready to tear up and Worf being driven to kill Duras for all the suffering that he put him through and now killing the woman he loved (which btw the romantic chemistry was MUCH better here than last time)? I can’t blame him at all. I get why he got reprimanded since Duras was a political figure and this can cause a whole host of problems and clearly Picard was sympathetic… but I just felt so bad for Worf. At least he admitted that he was Aexander’s father and hopefully the poor kid will have a good life with Worf’s parents, bu… yeah. K’Ehleyr’s death stops me form giving this a perfect score, very least I wish we had gotten to see her fight instead of goign to commerical and them walking in on her bloody corpse… but at least they got the tone down. I just hope that one day, Worf and his brother can truly expose the conspiracy because Worf deserves a Hell of a lot better. 4.5/5.

Future Imperfect: Let’s perform a thought experiment, shall we? Imagine going on assignment on your birthday, business as usual… then some kind of mishap happens. You wake up… and discover that you have lost sixteen years' worth of your memory. You can’t remember significant life changes, special moments for yourself and your loved ones, or even your spouse and child. Then just as you begin getting used to things and accepting this new life… you find out that it was all a lie and you were in an illusion all along. You were captured and tricked… and then you find out that was also a lie and it was all due to a lonely alien child left on a barren planet/within a highly advanced Holodeck system that can give him anything that he wants, everyone he knew had died and he did all of this just to have a friend. Congratulations folks, you have now experienced what Riker went through this episode! Yeah, this episode was crazy. I feel bad for the poor kid, while he shouldn’t have done what he did we’re talking about a lonely child essentially forced to live in a Holodeck and just wanted to interact with someone real. Also, I loved how Riker got clued in on how the future word was fake, excellent call-back to Season One! Not much else to say, but good episode! It was wild, that’s for sure~ 3.5/5.

Final Mission: Well folks, this is the curtain call for Wesley Crusher. I know that he pops back up once or twice, but this will be his final episode as a main character as he finally enters the Academy. We’ll get to my final thoughts on Wesley here in a bit, but l focus on the episode itself first. And… it was fine. We have Picard, Wesley, and some third guy crash land on a desert planet, the Enterprise unaware of if they’re alive or not. Thus the three struggle to survive which not only is the third guy essentially a paranoid asshole… but a cave-in seriosuly injures Picard. Thus Wesley is more or less on his own and has to keep Picard alive. Thankfully we avoid killing him off, and thus they make sure to give Wesley a proper send-off. They let him showcase his strengths with his intellegence, fast thinking, and compared to in the beginning he’s much more mature and capable of handling an Away Mission. This convinced me that yes, Wesley is ready for the Academy and that he will be a great Starfleet Officer someday. Meanwhile the Enterprise are dealing with their own issues because of course they are. Nothing can ever just go easy for these people. can it? It’s fine. The Enterprise plot didn’t have me invested aside form worrying about Dr. Crusher. The poor woman just burris herself in her work to deal with her worry about Wesley and evades Troi when she tries to assure her Otherwise the plot is there sot hat it can be a solo Picard and Wesley adventure without hem interfering. Which while I havn’t been the biggest fan of their dynamic, it’s clear how much Welsey admires Picard such as recounting their Samaritan Snare adventure, and Picard admititng that he brought him along because he was going to miss the kid. It’s a nice moment between the characters and allows Wesley to truly open up… though I wish it focused more on him and his mother since that’s been seriously lacking, but ah well. It was still a good send-off episode for Wesley and that’s how you want to treat your characters, whether they stay ont he show or not. 3/5.

As for Wesley himself… it’s been a bumpy road. Do I agree with the consensus that Wesley is an annoying child character that even his actor agrees with (albeit I think jokingly but still)? No. Wesley isn't a bad character. He’s a smart young kid, tries his best, makes mistakes but tries to do his best, and he grew. He’s a perfectly likable kid and this episode especially shows the best of him. Do I agree that the character's role and execution were annoying and contributed to his reputation? Yes. That is ultimately what it boils down to decent character, poor execution. In S1 Wesley was elevated far more than he needed to be. He was given privileges that no other character his age would have been granted no matter the competency level that borders on blatant favoritism. Whenever he made a serious error, he got praise for fixing it, never scolded for his actions with The Naked Now being the worst example. He still had good episodes like Coming of Age, but alas. I think having a kid character who aspires to be in Starfleet, has a parent who is a prominent crew member, and being able to use his skills to help was a perfectly fine idea… but there were just issues with how they did it. S2 and 3 were. While I disliked him at the end of The Dauphin and he still got showed some blatant favoritism, it was better balanced. I didn't feel he earned to be an Ensign until this episode… y’know, the one that shipped him off to The Academy. Crusher being written out in S2 and then brought back in S3 also really killed any and all potential that their dynamic could have truly brought which also hurt. It really feels like by S3 they just didn’t know what to do with the character anymore, limiting him to mainly Helmsman duty. He wasn't being elevated anymore… but he wasn't adding anything anymore either. Maybe promoting him was to help give him something… but Wil Wheaton decided to go, and that ended that. I can’t say I’m sad to see Wesley go because his potential just got squandered to the point that keeping him just felt pointless, and having him go to the Academy feels like the best natural end-point for him, so might as well be now. Nevertheless, Wesley was still part of the crew and for all that I criticized, he certainly didn’t deserve the hate that he got. If people like or even relate to the character, that’s great! He just didn’t work for me unfortunateley. Wil Wheaton obviously moved on to bigger, better things and is well-liked in the fandom, so that’s good cause he certainly did the best that he could. He just wasn’t given a lot of good material. Hopefully Welsey’s later guest appearances will give him somethingg ood and heck maybe they’ll convince Wheaton to come back in Picard one day, but for now… farewell Wesley. Can’t say I’ll miss you, but it wasn’t the worst ride either.

#st watchthrough

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madamebaggio · 3 years

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Notes: Previously...

BTW, I’m not saying this is what happened to the RBD’s members. I don’t know their lives enough to even guess.

As I said, their return just gave me the idea for this story, but I’m in no way saying this is how things went down.

Also, I wasn’t sure about the legal terms and correct words to discuss copyright and stuff related to that. So please, correct me if something is wrong!

***

Chapter 3

Olenna was, as usual, ready to go straight to business. The boys, on the other hand, had a tradition to uphold.

Arthur started taking a knee, and Theon and Robb were quick to follow suit.

“All hail Queen Olenna Tyrell.” Arthur called.

The woman gave them a look. “Oh you three. It’s been a while.”

They got up grinning. “I missed you too, Olenna, my girl.” Arthur said. “Thank you for saying so.”

Her look made it clear she wasn’t amused by his antics. “Sit.” She ordered them all.

Sansa had to control the urge to act like a scared 15-year-old, desperate to impress Olenna.

She had a lot of thoughts about what had happened to the show and the band. When she was first called to work on the show with Robb, she’d been beyond excited. Her father hadn’t liked the idea very much, but her mother had been delighted.

Robb was supposed to just keep an eye on her. They’d played twins on screen, even though he was two years older than her. He wasn’t going to be part of the band at all -neither was Maggie, for that matter -but Olenna had liked him and he did sing well.

Sansa couldn’t blame Olenna for most of the things that happened to her. Despite all their jokes, Olenna wasn’t a cruel woman. She’d given them an opportunity and she’d expected them to work to show they’d deserved it. She was demanding, but she wasn’t abusive.

The only thing that Olenna had taken from her in fact was… No. Sansa couldn’t even blame her for that.

She’d chosen to give up on Arthur.

Olenna didn’t tell her to do it. She just said it was a bad idea and Sansa accepted it.

“It’s good to see all your faces.” Olenna finally said. “I’ve been watching all your careers with great interest.”

“It’s good to see you too, Olenna.” Sansa called from her place. “It’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has, Sansa.”

“I feel like you’re about to ask for our souls or something.” Theon observed. “I think I don’t have mine anymore.”

Arthur snorted.

“Nothing so dramatic, Mr. Greyjoy.” Olenna made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “There are some businesses I’d like to discuss with you all.” She turned to Margaery. “Have you taken a picture together?”

“We barely had time to say hi before you arrived, grandma.”

She hummed. “Make sure you take a picture and post it later.” She snapped her fingers, and an assistant that had been quietly in the back came around and started passing folders to them.

“The show’s 15th anniversary is coming up soon.” She told them all. “I don’t know if you know, but it’s on Netflix now.”

“Catia was watching it.” Arthur commented. “I was shocked to see how young I was in it.”

“I saw the first episodes yesterday.” Maggie admitted. “It’s been a while.”

Olenna nodded. “This is the first part of our plan for the anniversary.”

“By ‘our’ you mean ‘your’ plan, don’t you, Olenna?” Arthur teased.

“Exactly.” She admitted easily. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but I own all the rights to everything; from the show to the songs.”

Sansa knew it very well. Even if she’d wanted at some point to sing songs from that time, she couldn’t because of all the copyright around them.

Robb often joked that he was worried that if he put on a pair of checked pants he’d have to pay Olenna for the right to use them in public.

“If you take a look at the contracts in front of you, you’ll see that I’m giving all of you enough rights over the songs that I can’t do anything with them without your agreement. Actually, no one in this room will be able to do anything with them without the consent of the others.”

Margaery was the only one who wasn’t surprised by the news. Robb was looking at Olenna in shock, and Arthur and Maggie seemed to be already reading the contracts.

“You can take that to your lawyers before signing it.” She seemed convinced they’d sign it eventually. “After you do that, I want all of you to agree with the release of all previous albums on Spotify.”

“Hold your horses.” Theon closed the contract and pushed it away from him. “This isn’t the final part of your plan. You didn’t bring us here to give us this and have a selfie. This isn’t about our songs on Spotify.”

“No.” She once again agreed easily. “It’s about a band reunion.”

“Fuck no.” Arthur laughed at the same time Maggie stood up.

“I’m going with her.” Theon decided.

“Wait!” Marge got up and hurried after them. “Listen her out.”

“For fuck’s sake, Margaery.” Theon glared at her. “You knew what this was about?”

“Of course I did.”

“We would’ve appreciated a heads-up.” Robb protested.

“All of us would’ve, Robb. But not all of us are close to the source.” Arthur pointed out.

“Oh god, are you still on that?” Robb wanted to know.

“You all always had preferential treatment.” Maggie pointed out. “I don’t even know why I’m here.”

“Sit down.” Olenna hissed, without raising her voice. “Now.”

There was this tense moment, when they all seemed to question Theon and Maggie, wondering if they were really leaving. Sansa wished they would, so she could be brave enough to go after them.

Maggie sat down first. “I have a career. I’m not leaving it to go back to the band.”

“You don’t have to.” Olenna told her directly. “It’s only one concert.”

“Even if it’s one concert.” Maggie turned to Arthur.” Do you want to do this?”

“Me? It took me all this time to be taken seriously as an actor after leaving the show. Do you think I want to go back to that?”

“I’ll tell you all why you’ll sign the contract and why you’ll do this concert.” Olenna informed them, always so arrogant, so certain. “And why you’ll thank me for it.”

#madame baggio #crackship #CrossOver #Crossover Pairings #IMAGES NOT MINE #au #band au #rbd au #game of thrones #king arthur legend of the sword #Robb Stark #Theon Greyjoy #olenna tyrell #Arthur Pendragon #Sansa Stark #margaery tyrell #maggie #robb x margaery #Sansa x Arthur

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teenybeanielinguine · 5 years

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Outlander S4 - A Reflection

With that explosive finale behind us and a long Droughtlander ahead, I’m taking a moment to look back on this season and reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly.

(I’ve had some time to unpack and process, so be warned: this is a LONG review, with mild spoilers for The Fiery Cross.)

The Good:

I understand that this was a divisive season for many fans, but I personally loved it! I could write a whole book about everything I loved, but for the sake of time, I’ll confine my praise to the best part of this season: the amazing cast of actors who bring my favorite characters to life.

Caitriona Balfe reprised her role as Claire Fraser with stunning success, and really sparkled when she shared the screen with her fellow cast members; her most powerful moments this season were definitely the mother/daughter conversations she had with Bree and Marsali. Though she handles tragic scenes with ease, I hope she is given a chance to enact lighter, happier sequences in Season 5; Jamie and Claire need more laughter and teasing, less heart-felt speeches and drama.

As our leading man, Sam Heughan played Jamie to perfection; he managed to tell entire stories with his eyes alone. Same as with Balfe, he captures tragedy easily, but I want him to stretch out a little and show off his acting chops. There will always be drama in Claire and Jamie’s lives, but please sprinkle in some more fluffy moments, so we can see Heughan laugh! Jamie’s roles as patriarch and leader are also going to be significantly expanded in the next season (the last few moments of the finale teased that a bit), and I can’t wait to see Heughan tackle that challenge.

I’ve been tentative about Sophie Skelton in the past; after all, Brianna is one of my favorite characters, despite her polarizing nature, and I was worried about her portrayal. But Skelton nailed everything (the rape scene and its aftermath, in particular, were deeply chilling), and I have complete confidence that Bree is in safe hands. In the finale, we saw Bree finally become a mother and reunite with her husband (not gonna lie, I’ve had that reunion on a loop ever since it aired); these two events are going to play major roles in her character growth (so excited for next season!).

Richard Rankin was a tour-de-force as Roger; I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen every time he appeared. Any issues I had with his character were purely a result of writing and production choices, and despite those issues, Rankin still managed to make the character wonderfully, emotionally, lovably human (for further evidence, please refer to the idiot hut). Roger’s journey is one of the most difficult transformations in the series, and next season will be challenging for Rankin; I’m particularly interested to see how he handles Roger’s growing relationship with Jamie.

All the leads were supported by a strong set of secondary characters, from Duncan Lacroix as the miraculously resurrected Murtagh to David Berry as the fabulous Lord John Grey. John Bell was one of my absolute favorites, with his spot-on portrayal of Young Ian (that proposal! the emotional goodbye!! running the gauntlet!!!). Ed Speelers played Stephen Bonnet in a way that brought back shivery memories of Black Jack. Honestly, there was no weak link in this cast. Special shoutout to Braeden Clarke (Kaheroton) and Tantoo Cardinal (Adawehi/Nayawenne in the books); hopefully we’ll be able to see even more powerful and complex First Nations characters in the coming season (to this effect, may I humbly suggest showing Young Ian’s time among the Mohawk? Would love to see that first-hand rather than having the character describe it after the fact; also, you can never have too much John Bell).

This Season’s MVPs: Lauren Lyle and César Domboy. Marsali and Fergus are never more than side characters in the books; you never hear the story from their POV. Thankfully, the show saw a chance to expand their roles and took it. And oh boy, did Domboy and Lyle deliver! Their nuanced performances just blew me away (”If Not For Hope” comes to mind). I hope that we see even more of them going forward.

The Bad:

No adaptation is perfect (although if you have found one that is, please message me immediately). It is especially difficult when the adaptation in question has to fit an 880-page book into a mere 13 hours; to put it into perspective, the audiobook version of Drums of Autumn is a whopping 45 hours long! Though I like to nitpick and criticize, I am not so arrogant as to think that I could have done a better job, and I am very grateful to the writing and production teams who tackle this impossible task. I am also strangely content with most of the deviations they’ve made from the source material (Murtagh as a regulator is particularly genius, with really interesting implications for next season).

That being said, there is some room for improvement. And one area that definitely needs some fine tuning is Claire and Jamie. This year, some very vocal fans found issue with the fact that we didn’t see our main lovebirds enough, and there weren’t enough sex scenes, and why weren’t they in this episode?! For me, none of those things were an issue, especially given that we saw Jamie and Claire way more than any other characters this season. I don’t think we need more J/C time; I think we need better J/C time.

I wish the show would stop beating us over the head with Jamie and Claire’s epic love; we know their love is deep and everlasting, that’s why we keep coming back! (That, and the kilts.) But we need to move on from soap-operatic speeches and tender love-making; those were more interesting in the early days of their marriage, when their love was a new, fragile thing. Show me instead the easy comfort of a long-married couple: the teasing, the laughter, the bone-deep happiness. Balfe and Heughan have such great chemistry when it comes to that kind of thing, but we’ve only gotten snippets of it this season! Rather than another over-the-top, tear-jerking scene where Jamie and Claire reassure each other and reaffirm their love (again), give me Claire cuddling up to Jamie under a snowbank after his back gives out and telling him stories. Or exchanging amused looks with him when Young Ian does/says something silly. Or Jamie teasing Claire about that time she hit him in the head with a fish while he was trying to fight off a bear (true story). Or Claire teasing Jamie with her new breeches (I’m not going to say no to sex scenes entirely). Get rid of the excessive drama (this couple already has more drama than they know what to do with); bring on the fluff!

Speaking of moving on, the show needs to let Frank Randall go. By this point in the series, he’s been dead for a few years, and quite frankly, good riddance (pardon the pun). His character was cast in a sympathetic light for narrative purposes; the producers wanted to make him the antithesis of his ancestor, Black Jack Randall, so they carefully omitted the fact that he was at times a racist ass with a string of mistresses (my apologies to any Frank fans; as you can see, he’s not one of my favorite characters). The problem is that they took it too far, painting Frank as a martyr and putting first Claire, then Jamie, at a big disadvantage. Despite this mistake, I’m fine with using Frank to flesh out Brianna’s character (his only redeeming quality is his aptitude for fatherhood), but that should have happened very early on in the season, before Bree makes the journey through the stones. That journey is a pivotal point for Bree; she is driven not only by a need to save her mother, but also by a deep curiosity and longing for this birth father that she’s never met. In the book, she even goes so far as to abandon the name “Randall” and adopt “Fraser” for the journey. But that sentiment was lost entirely by the decision to have Frank accompany her on the voyage, narratively speaking. We no longer get the feeling that she’s eager to meet/bond with Jamie; even worse, the writers had her casually dropping Frank’s name into every conversation! No matter how great Tobias Menzies is, we have neither the time nor the will to keep devoting so much energy to a deceased character (who isn’t that critical to the future story, btw). Heading into Season 5, we need to make our final, belated goodbyes to Frank Randall.

One 20th century man we should have seen more of instead was Roger Mackenzie. As we dove into Season 4, I was so excited to see his developing relationship with Brianna; remember when they were super cute together, a million years ago in Season 3? But too much focus on exposition meant that we didn’t see them until three episodes in, and instead of the slow burn I had anticipated, we got a lot of unnecessary drama. Why on Earth is Roger a misogynist all of a sudden? What happened to the sweet proposal where they both decide they’re not yet ready for marriage? The lack of screen time meant that Bree and Roger’s entire relationship development was crammed into one episode; coupled with poor writing choices, the result was a shaky romance that was hard to root for. I was lucky enough to have the books as a safety net; I know exactly how deeply they love and respect each other, despite the mayhem onscreen. But the fans who hadn’t read the series (and even some who had) didn’t understand why these two were an endgame couple, and I don’t blame them. That last reunion scene helped cement their relationship a little, but not enough; unfortunately, Season 5 is going to have to waste some of its precious time rectifying this misstep.

Which brings me to my last point: the pacing. With so many new characters and so little time, it is more important than ever that the show learn to juggle all the storylines more smoothly. The pacing of this season was so uneven, it gave me whiplash. Gone are the days when Claire and Jamie were the only focus; from now on, their ever-growing family is going to continue complicating matters. Outlander needs to evolve to meet this need if it wants to keep up. (Also, could we revert back to a 16-episode format, like in Season 1? Please and thank you.)

The Ugly:

I will readily admit that I am new to this fandom. I got hooked on the show during summer 2018 and devoured the books shortly thereafter. When I joined Tumblr in the fall, it was because I wanted to celebrate this story with likeminded people and geek out over the upcoming season.

The actual experience was a bit more jarring (suffice it to say, I didn’t know hate-watching was a real thing that people did). I don’t want to chastise or implore certain fans to adopt a more positive outlook; I’ve seen a lot of posts about that already, and I’m not inclined to add to them. Instead, I’d like to share some of the guidelines I impose on myself when I contribute to any fandom (I’m not saying these will or should work for everyone, but they have worked for me):

Love, not hate. To me, a fandom is a community that comes together out of love. Knowing this, I try my best not to express any feelings of hate within that community; I don’t think it’s an appropriate place to share those feelings, and I don’t want to diminish the fandom experience for anyone else. If I find that I no longer love or even like the show/book/movie that the fandom is centered on, I disengage from the community entirely, because I no longer consider myself a fan. And that’s perfectly fine; there is no rule that says that once you’re in a fandom, you’re in it for life.

If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Despite the fact that I love the subject matter, it is not an absolute, unconditional sort of love. I often find myself disliking certain aspects or getting frustrated by opposing views (this is doubly true when it comes to adaptations). I let myself express these dislikes and frustrations only if I can see the silver lining; in other words, I allow myself to say a few negative things about a character/scene only if I can supplement them with a good dose of positivity as well. Too much uninterrupted negativity borders on hate.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I’m a very anxious person with self-confidence issues, so I have a hard time expressing my opinion online, even anonymously. That’s why I’m never going to tear anyone else down for doing so. I may disagree with you, or dislike the way you expressed yourself, but I’m going to be respectful even if it kills me, because that’s how I would want other people to interact with me. Even with the Internet as a buffer, I think it’s important to remember that we are all human, and all equally capable of hurting others and being hurt ourselves.

Again, these guidelines work for me, but it’s completely subjective. And even though my experience in the OL fandom hasn’t been a bed of roses so far, I’ve still met some amazing people with incredible things to say. My favorite fandom moments of the season? @futurelounging‘s beautiful thoughts on episode 12 and @breefraser‘s hilarious criticism of Roger’s sartorial choices.

I’d love to hear from other fans! What worked for you this season? What would you have changed? Favorite fandom moments? If you choose to reply, please be kind and respectful.

#just a few thousand thoughts #i'm rambling a bit over here #feel free to stop me #or come ramble with me #Outlander #outlander season 4 #drums of autumn

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i-got-that-fandom-kinda-love · 5 years

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A to Z favourite TV show challenge! Or # to Z?

# - 30 Rock (Liz Lemmon! This is just all kinds of hilarity).

A - Ally McBeal (there's not enough of this on Tumblr btw. I loved it before I understood it - my brother watched and I followed. And then I watched again and I loved it more) / Arrow (so years ago I started watching this because of Tumblr. You guys were obsessed with Olicity and I was too even though I hadn't watched the show. So I watched it. Thank you for ruining my life btw) / Accidentally in Love (Asian Series, sup, @netflix - thanks for getting me addicted to Asian series - I liked them before but now it's just there and begging to be watched AND I CAN'T HELP MYSELF - YOU'VE ADDICTED MY MOTHER TOO).

B - Brooklyn Nine Nine (best thing to happen to me, thank you Tumblr - the nine nine fandom. Also started it a couple years ago and fell in love hard. This show makes me laugh no matter what and it's pure and I love it so much. It's really a show I needed because when I watch series I get really emotionally involved and certain shows leave me so stressed that I have to take a break and all I can watch is comedies for a few weeks. Or months. Depends on how big my heart break was. B99 always makes me laugh and feel lighter). / Buffy the Vampire Slayer (another one from my childhood, you know when you're too young to really understand but old enough to remember it? So yeah, my brother got me hooked at a young age and the addiction stuck. Because I've never been able to forget Buffy. And I've recently been rewatching it with my mother - she too is a bit addicted).

C - Charmed (Original series, not reboot - I haven't even watched the reboot. But yes, Charmed. I remember being up til 10PM on a Monday while I was in primary (middle) school just to watch it. Halliwell sisters are another drug I never could kick - Leo was one of my first ever crushes - my very first crush was Shahrukh Khan and if we're ever talking Bollywood movies he'll be all over that post).

D - Doctor Who (Okay! I only started watching from season 5, again cos NETFLIX - the Doctor and Amy Pond - man, just lock me up in the TARDIS and take me away already. ALSO one of the series that broke my heart enough that rendered me incapable of watching any other series except comedy).

E - Ek Hazaroon Mein Meri Behna Hai (Hindi series; my sister is one in a thousand - I assume it's the name because that sounds better in Hindi than one in a million or billion. There's something about Hindi series that sucks you in and tortures you until you're on the brick of exploding from suspense - the build up is both infuriating and renders you unable to tear your eyes away).

F - Friends ('Cause it's been there for me and how can I not? Again, childhood. Also. Heroes get remembered but legends never die. And I've watched every episode like a gazillion times and laugh just the same - I think even more 'cause I know what's gonna happen. I'm one of those people). / Fairy Tail (Anime. Magic. Friendship. Friendship. Friendship. It's one of those rare shows that has a lot of characters and manages to make you love each one of them. I found it after high school but I love it to bits).

G - Gilmore Girls (I remember the first time I watched this as a kid, Rory and Lorelei were sitting at Luke's diner and chatting about something and I though they were sisters. I was at my cousin's house and I just couldn't stop watching them. Loved it ever since. And it's strange how a randomly watching TV can just change your life - 'cause you know, I obsess) / Gossip Girl (at first, I'd watched it because Kristen Bell was the voice of Gossip Girl. And I needed anything related to anything Veronica Mars. And then I naturally loved it like everybody else. Also disappointed at who GG really was. So yeah.)

H - How I Met Your Mother (At first I really, really loved it, now though it's not so high on my favourite list but it does still make me laugh - cos Barney. The final episode was so disappointing). / Hannah Montana (because if I was 13 or 16 this would have made the list. And I still love the show. My heart swells everytime my bestie sings True Friend to me. I still love Hannah Montana music okay).

I - iZombie (Rob Thomas. He's the reason I tried it out. Liv is the reason I stayed. Also Ravi. And also Major. Okay, dude, characters and plot is right on point) / Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon (Hindi series; what name do I give to this love? Its unnecessarily complicated but gosh those complications kept me on edge, staring at the screen, waiting for those idiots to realise the truth. Opposites attract. Hate to love to hate to love. They did it so well).

J - Joan of Arcadia (okay so I remember really loving this when I was younger - I haven't rewatched it as an adult but I feel like I'll still love it. I mean, come on, what if God was one of us?)

K - Kim Possible (Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me? Ultimate cartoon. Hands down. Second best is The Life and Times of Juniper Lee - she's basically the cartoon Buffy - the Chosen One - though it's hereditary instead of random? And also more fun and less heartache 'cause it's a cartoon).

L - Lucifer (Man, Lucifer. You got the guy telling everyone he's the devil and they think he's talking in metaphors? It's just hilarious to me. Detective. Romance. Snark. Supernatural. Also, Hello, Adult Tom Welling - can I even describe how excited I was to see him? Smallville, man).

M - Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir (One of the few new cartoons that I watch and love. This is just so cute and the love square is just so cute and everything is just so cute. And like we need cute stuff in our lives. Frustrating cos how oblivious can one be but also why you so cute Marinette Dupain Chang and Adrian Agreste aka Ladybug and Cat Noir)/ Malcolm in the Middle (Childhood. Childhood. Childhood. I'm not the middle child but I relate).

N - Naruto (Anime. Okay, childhood yes, also teenagehood and adulthood. Guy's been with me through everything, believe it. This show just means so much to me and I'm thankful that I got to grow up with him. Thank you, Kishimoto).

O - One Day At a Time (THANK YOU, NETFLIX! This is just one of the greatest shows on right now. I love comedy. I didn't expect it to be so emotional too. But damn it gets you right in the feels. My brother claims I'm exactly like Elena and our nephew is like Alex. I honestly don't mind. Elena is badass and strong as hell.)

P - Psych (It's just awesome? It's clever, it's funny, Shawn and Gus. The dramatics in extremely serious situations will never not make grin like a mad woman. Also private investigation shows seem to a weakness of mine. ) / Parks and Recreation (okay I never thought I'd like a mockumentary kind of series but this happened and proved me wrong and I just love this show and it's characters). / Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyara Pyara (Hindi Series; the pain of love is sweet and loveable. When your parents set you up with someone and you're like no way in hell and they're like okay but they you become best friends and fall in love and yeah. The name says it all, really). / Pinocchio (Asian series - one of the more complicated ones but I simply just loved these characters and actors to bits after watching it).

Q - Quantico (it's not really one of my favourites but I couldn't think of anything else and I do enjoy it. Priyanka Chopra has always been a fav since forever - Bollywood was life before I was even old enough to understand English - but it's because of this that I can understand Hindi without needing subtitles).

R - Rizzoli & Isles (who wouldn't love a show with two best friends kicking ass in the work place). / Revenge (I watched it cos I liked Emily from Everwood but the story was so intriguing and I just got addicted. It wasn't like anything I've ever seen). / Refresh Man (Asian series - officially my favourite Asian series of all time - again, thank you Netflix. Also ever since I've loved both Aaron Yan and Joanna Tseng and I'm on a mission to watch everything they've ever acted in - do you see my obsessing tenancies?).

S - Supergirl / Supernatural / Suits / Smallville (Okay! There's too many shows that start with an S. Smallville was my gateway into the superhero show - movie - comic obsession. And also I'm getting tired of commenting on everything).

T - The Good Place / The Office (US) / The Flash/ Teen Wolf (also too many with a T!)

U - Ugly Betty

V - Veronica Mars (of all time!! Man, again, random TV viewing = life changing TV show that sticks with you forever and Veronica Mars has definitely affected me way more than any other show. I couldn't get it out of my head ever since 2007! I waited for every Thursday just to watch it and naturally Thursday became my favourite day of the week - not Friday like normal scholars - nope. I think it's the way that it ended that contributed to my obsession - so much questions left unanswered and to a 12 year old girl the most important thing is of course that LoVe hadn't officially gotten back together. My mind wrote and rewrote endings and scenarios. Then I discovered fanfiction. And then I started writing. Veronica Mars made me a junkie but also helped me discover my passion. It's not just the show that makes it my #1 but the journey it's taken me on while it was on air and especially when it was off air. ALSO THE SHOW IS SIMPLY AMAZING EVEN WITHOUT ALL MY EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT - also one of the shows that I started watching and then my brother got hooked onto it).

W - What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? / Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo/ W: two worlds apart (all Asian series - OKAY, NETFLIX IS BLAMED FOR ALL OF THIS)

X - Is there anything but X-Men? I wouldn't really put the series on my favourite list but I do watch the X-Men cartoons and I have enjoyed it so imma let it be.

Y - Young Sheldon (Too smart for his own good Cooper.) / Yankee-kun to Megane-chan (Asian series - okay, this one can't be put on Netflix. It's the first Asian drama series I'd watched because of a manga that I loved).

Z - Zoey101 ('Cause there's nothing else I can think off and I enjoyed it when I was younger. I remember putting 101 after all of my usernames for everything).

So when I thought of this I thought I'd put one name for each alphabet but it didn't work out that way 'cause I obsess over everything.

I would love to get to know more about everyone's favourite shows. I'm tagging based on the Tumblr likes thing (also on my @marshmallowatheart account) and also urls I remember seeing often on the activity cos I wanted to tag as much people as possible. I'd have been cool if I could have went with the a - z for tagging but it's not working out like I wanted so next best. (Also if I didn't tag you and you wanna do it, please go for it, I'm really into this).

Anyone who wants to do this can and whoever doesn't want to it's cool! It takes time to think especially when you have to pick between things so if you want to, add as many as you like. You don't have to add comments on it if you don't want to, I just got carried away! And then got tired.

@poppy-in-the-woods @risssaar @stephaniecatlover @ihaveathingformeninwaistcoats @write-to-feel @mediocre-mee @jenilyn2000 @lalacristina18 @cainc3 @mrskissytaylor @anilcadz91 @elliebear75 @troublescout @hanitjemars @susanmichelin @cheshirecatstrut @firedragonmon

#a to z tv show challenge #get to know you meme #okay apparently theres a 30 tag limit so okay #about me #tv shows #favourite tv shows #explanations no one asked for #tag me id really love to read all your favs

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ashleyomidi · 5 years

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So..

Today at work I had another opportunity to share what God is calling me to do in my life and my coworker gave me this wonderful idea to write a blog after I told her that He led me to book a one-way ticket to LA on my birthday. (S/O to Alison Shine 🤗)

But let’s backtrack a little.

A month ago -April 4th to be exact- is where I got to have more of a 1-on-1 convo on set with Noah Centineo since they had us standing right next to each other. Before this day, we had a few interactions on set but never did I get a chance to actually get to know him a bit.

Funny enough, I actually wanted to hate him after this day because I personally get to know people by asking them questions and he didn’t ask me ANYTHING back to do the same ☹️ I was so upset because I see everyone, no matter how big of a platform you have, as regular people. I refuse to be seen as less than just because of how many people know you 😭 like dang. Anyways, I just wish he saw me as a regular girl but I can’t blame him because if I was famous, I wouldn’t know if people genuinely cared about me either.

BUT THEN, I think the Lord did this- at home I was on YouTube and an interview of Noah popped up on my home page and I clicked “not interested” so it could leave my screen lol 💀 and it did, BUT THEN the audio played in the background somehow so I had no choice but to watch it 🙄😒.

It’s a good thing I did though because in the interview I learned that 1: he said as he gets more famous he needs to be more guarded (which I totally understand bc ppl be fake) 2: he would never date a fan, and 3: he said ppl wouldn’t talk to him if he wasn’t in movies.

So tryna be in his shoes and look at his POV, I understood why he acted the way he did with me even tho (idk if he felt the same) but I felt mad chemistry 😩 (the other background actors beside me said he kept looking at me when I was looking down as he was telling everyone riddles but who knows really 🤷🏾‍♀️).

If he was just a regular guy I would totally hit him up and ask him to chill w me 😭💔 (and y’all are probably like who wouldn’t 🙄😒 tru tho 😑) but ugh he’s everything I look for in a boy. He is SO humble (best trait in a human being ever btw ✨ but v rare), genuine, and wise (I get bored reAL QUICK if you don’t stimulate my mind haha 💀 my last 2 bfs were potheads so ya lol smh 🤦🏾‍♀️)

After watching several more of his interviews on YouTube, I was totally in love ahahaha 🙃🙂🙃🙂. Maaan . I was like Ash chill 🙄 you haven’t even had a real convo w this boy loolol.

During my quiet times with the Lord all I could think about was Noah. Which was very weird to me because I was in a season where it was just me and God and I was honestly so content with dying and not getting married bc I just couldn’t see myself with any guy. There was no one that I knew that could stimulate my mind nor loved God as much as I did. (Idk if Noah is saved and knows Jesus personally himself but he says he’s spiritual -idk what that means yet- and I love the fact that he makes sure he doesn’t conform to the rest of the immorality of this world. He keeps to himself by spending a lot of time alone, making sure he doesn’t change who he is- like society does and wants everyone else to do).

Everyday, Noah was constantly on my heart and consumed the majority of my mind. I just wanted one more day to get to know him or even ask him out 😭. Bc this was so unsual for me to have someone I barely knew to be on my mind, I did keep asking God if Noah was an idol and if I was no longer keeping Him first. But He led me to read Debi Pearl’s “Preparing to Be a Help Meet” and from that point on, I knew God was calling me to be Noah’s help meet.

In mid April, I assumed I was going to meet Noah on set again since God revealed to me that this was what He saw was right.. but no. Instead, it’s been almost a month and a half now since that day we interacted on set and I’ve been completely antsyYyy y’all 🙃. I’d say it’s been horrible but He’s been teaching me so so much. About myself, about people, life, and even potential obstacles I may face if He was calling me to be Noah’s wife especially at this young age. Like what.. thinking of marriage at 20 years old ?? Excuse me. That ain’t me .

Last Friday, on May 10th I booked a one-way ticket to LA for my birthday on May 26th and I don’t even know how to feel about it even though it’s always been my dream place to live and breathe 😭😩💕.

As of now, I have way too many concerns. 1) Noah had told me that they’d be here filming until probably mid May and it’s now May 15th and I still haven’t been called to set ever since April 4th- the last time I saw him. 2) I’ve been waiting to meet him again and ask him out on a date ever since then so why would I go to LA if I’m not going there to spend time with him 😭 3) I have yet to book accomodations because God did not tell me to do so.. I think He wants me to stay with Noah since He’s already calling us into marriage.. and 4) this means I have 11 more days to wait on God and watch Him orchestrate something so good that only His Hand can do. I’m SO scared yet excited at the same time 😭😭😭😩.

Updates coming soon 🌊

Made a new tumblr account today (May 15th) for this reason and I pray that more people come to Christ because of being witnesses of what the wonderful God is doing in my life. May You be given all the glory Father 😊💖 Amen.

P.S. i didn’t mean to reblog my own post idk how to undo it 💀

#noah centineo

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a-splash-of-stucky · 6 years

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my thoughts on: I, Tonya

So ya girl finally got the chance to watch I, Tonya and ooooh damn, I’ve got some things to say about it. Spoilers and general ramblings under the cut.

So first and foremost, I’m gonna be straight with y’all and say that my opinions on I, Tonya are probably biased, because Seb is in it. Bear this in mind, as it’s a point I’ll return to later on. Also, I’m not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to acting technique and etc, so like…I don’t really know what I’m talking about here.

I’m gonna say this first, because it doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the ramble: the music had me living y’all. It wasn’t really my usual ‘taste’, but it was well-suited to the film, in my opinion. Also, I liked the structure of the film, the way they shot it as if it were multiple interviews. I’ve never seen that done before and to me, it was novel and well executed.

Every single member of this cast was OUTSTANDING. Yes, I’m probably biased, as I’ve been rooting for this film ever since TIFF, but nonetheless, I had high expectations for this movie and they were EXCEEDED™. Before I talk about the main cast, let me kick things off with a short spiel about—

McKenna. She made me tear up. She has a rather minor part in all this, but the few minutes she has on screen are BRILLIANT. Truly, honestly, impactful. The part when she cried as her dad was leaving? Lord help me, I wanted to give that little girl a hug. I feel that this is a significant moment in the movie, because…I get the sense that Tonya’s been abandoned. She’s alone. And no child should ever have to feel that way.

Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan)

Now. Sebastian. Y’all know that he’s 80% of the reason why I wanted to see this movie so bad. Warning: this part basically consists of me gushing over him. No, not in that way. If you’re not interested in reading about that, skip ahead, y’all.

Seb was funny and cute and an asshole, all at the same time. I kinda loved the moustache (le gasp). Also: HIS VOICE. It was…fucking hell, the accent and the way he speaks (when he’s not shouting) was so cute, I think my heart stopped a couple of times. And you know how Seb’s really good at being kinda bashful and dorky in interviews? Well, that comes across here, too. He pulls off that side of his character really well.

He was also really good at being a controlling, selfish maniac. Seb’s rage reminded me of a lion. Also, he says ‘fuck’ a lot, and for whatever reason, I have a thing for hearing him swear, so that part of me was satisfied.

Seb looked good. I, like most people, wasn’t a fan of the ‘stache when I first saw pics of it. But…it grew on me, over the course of the movie. Seb makes it work. There’s something about it that I kinda like. I was also impressed by the extent to which he transformed himself physically for this role. Like, there was no Beef™ in sight.

I will admit, my first thought when I saw Seb playing young Jeff was: damn he’s cute.

I think this is important, because I, as an audience member, could empathise with Tonya - like I can see how she could have fallen for Jeff. As the viewer, you (or at least, I) experience the same emotions that she does. But then again, that’s just my personal experience and could be due to the fact that I already have a deep-rooted love for Seb in general.

Now, I’m not gonna deny it - his character was a fucked-up asshole. But, if we separate Seb and Jeff for a moment, I think that Seb portrayed Jeff in a conscientious manner. Obviously, I don’t know Jeff personally, but you’d have to be blind to not notice the little mannerisms that Seb throws in. He’s so damn good at conveying emotions through body language and through nothing but his expression alone. I know that Seb will forever be known for his role as Bucky, but I think this film (and some of his other works, I’m sure), truly capture his capabilities as an actor.

Also - did we get a flash of the booty? For like, 0.3 seconds? I mean, I ain’t complaining about it, if we did — but the situation in which we got the booty flash wasn’t the nicest, I agree.

Having gushed about Seb - let’s now move onto the star of the show.

Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie)

Margot was PHENOMENAL™

‘nuff said.

Seriously. How did she not get any nominations from this? She was robbed. Cheated, I tell you — just like the character she was playing, funnily enough.

She made me cry, which is saying a lot because I don’t usually cry when watching movies. Now, I will admit: Tonya isn’t the most likeable person. Like, she isn’t the kind of person that I would necessarily want as a friend — but that’s kinda the point of the film, I think. To show you that she never quite fit in, that she was always kinda going on her own, isolated from people her age. It was hard on her.

That being said, there are qualities about Tonya that I loved. Her stubbornness, her fierceness of character, her ‘I take no bullshit’ attitude. Was she rough around the edges, untactful and crass at times? Yes. I do think that’s a product of her upbringing, however.

Margot played her beautifully. You see her grow up in the film, really see it. Tonya is a complicated character to play — she’s vulnerable and strong, weak and empowered, and the fact that Margot was able to tread the balance between the two amazes me.

At the end, when Tonya was told that she could no longer skate? My cheeks were wet, man. Margot should have been nominated on the basis of that alone.

Her character’s entire life revolved around skating. All the sacrifices she had to make to live her dream! When she said that not being able to skate would be “like a life sentence”? Augh, my heart broke. I wholeheartedly agree with her. Whether she was responsible, or had part in, the assault or not, I do believe that that was a harsh verdict.

LaVona (Allison Janney)

Imma quickly talk about Allison, before I delve back into Seb and Margot.

I hated LaVona. Like, I disliked Jeff and Tonya at times, but I truly Hated™ LaVona. I think that’s the point, though. She was, to me, the true villain in all this (no matter what she says about making ‘sacrifices’ for her daughter). Do I think that she was a villain born out of a particular context? Definitely. She’s unstable, but that instability and questionable parenting method is, I believe, a symptom of some underlying issue.

Is she a monster?

Meh. I honestly can’t tell you.

Allison was fabulous. She won an award and she deserved it. She deserves a million awards. Like I said, I hated LaVona, but I would not feel this strongly opinionated about this particular character if Allison hadn’t played her so well.

A short spiel on the Jeff/Tonya chemistry

So: Seb and Margot, Jeff and Tonya.

I can’t even imagine the amount of trust that was involved in filming those domestic violence scenes. Like, they were intense. There was no fucking around with the fighting, man — like, the hits and punches looked authentic. Though they were portraying a dysfunctional couple, I think that as a pair, Seb and Margot really worked well together.

That scene where Tonya was making her costume and Jeff was telling her his Wizard of Oz story? I loved that scene. The little neck kisses melted my heart. I loved that scene because it was them being playful and happy — and it really serves a purpose. Because both of them fell in love with a version of the other person. But the thing with love is that — you have to take it all. You want the good? You gotta take some of the bad. Sometimes, it gets to a point where you wonder if the good really is worth all this bad.

You wonder why she came back to him. Tonya, I mean. She came back to him after the divorce because her career meant that much to her. She was willing to risk her life so that she could skate. She came back for love — not her love for Jeff, obviously, but for her career. The sacrifices she made were unreal. I don’t necessarily agree with her decision, but I am impressed by the fact that she had the balls to go through with it.

My point is: their relationship was not simple. There is no good guy, there is no bad guy. Partly, I think this is because each person has their version of the truth. But also, I think this is a relationship where both individuals fluctuate between good and bad, on a ‘continuum’ of sorts. I…felt for them. I truly wanted them to be happy.

fuck, I’m rambling. Let’s wrap it up with a few more bits and bobs.

Some profound thoughts:

The story is still unsolved, at the end of it (or maybe…I was just too spaced out to truly understand it???). You’re still not exactly sure who was behind the incident. You don’t know who knew what info, because the facts keep changing. Everyone’s tryna sell someone else out and pin the blame on another person and I’m just like ??? But, I will say that I didn’t know anything about the Harding/Kerrigan incident, but having watched this movie — I am very intrigued.

I also find it interesting that they didn’t include Nancy’s views on her supposed friendship with Tonya. There could’ve been any number of reasons why this wasn’t done, but I think that that would’ve added another element to the story.

As I left the cinema, my thoughts turned to a lecture I had recently. My lecturer (I love him, btw, great guy), said something that I thought was pretty funny, at the time. Now, in hindsight, and especially after watching this movie, I do believe that his statement is SO FUCKING TRUE.

He said: Objectivity is in the eye of the beholder.

And that’s basically what this movie is trying to get at. “There’s no such thing as truth.”

Everyone has their own version of the events that happened, and everyone is influenced by their own unconscious bias. Out histories, our social context, our economic situations — so many things influence how we perceive the world. That doesn’t mean that our perception or interpretation is wrong, however. Each one of us is probably right, to some degree, but the important thing is that “true facts” should never be taken at face value.

I think that that’s a message that is really central to the entire film.

Remember what I said at the start? My opinions on this film are heavily influenced by the fact that I love Seb, and I’ve been hyped up by the positive reviews I’ve seen floating around the internet. You’ll notice that there’s barely any negativity in this piece, which in itself says something. Don’t take my “facts” at face value. Sprinkle on a pinch of salt.

So should you watch it?

Like I said, this film extensively features (kinda graphic) scenes of domestic violence. I, as someone who has been fortunate enough to never experience any of that sort of thin, found the movie uncomfortable, but watchable. I also don’t have any triggers or mental health issues, so that’s something to bear in mind.

If the domestic violence has been something that’s been putting you off, I say…it’s worth your time. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed myself, as I feel that’s inappropriate, given the context of the film, but I think that it was a couple of hours well spent. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

#i tonya #i tonya spoilers #sebastian stan #margot robbie #allison janney #mckenna grace #seb #elsa rambles #long post #my thoughts #i loved this film

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acharlescoleman · 3 years

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My movie weekend.

I saw Plan B at home in the wee hours of...Saturday morning, around 1am? maybe 12:30?

Went to the Autry Museum to see Gas Food Lodging at like 1:30 in the afternoon. The director was there and the Q&A was really good. The fairly packed crowd, all wearing masks consistently which was nice, asked good questions! So it was a neat Q&A. Learned that in the original novel that there were three kids in the story and the writer-director was like gotta lose one of the kids lol. And recommended to screenwriters in the audience that like triangle situations are good for drama, like for this movie, the dynamics between the lead character the young middle teen girl, her slightly older sister, and her mother was the crux of the movie. \

I really liked the movie btw, it wasn’t like a strict Hollywood narrative movie but it also wasn’t totally like overly arty experimental either, very handheld and raw and funny at times. I remember complaining about Plan B that the parents were way too understanding and there wasn’t enough yelling between the teens and parents in that movie, I got my fill with this movie. There was like one scene where the slightly teen girl came home late, the mother isn’t happy, there’s a bit of a back and forth, then the older teen goes to in the restroom, and they’re still arguing! I felt at home in this world lol. The scene awkwardly in a good way went longer than most of those kind of scenes usually go on for which I appreciated!

Like that scene took me back to all the bickering I had had with my parents, along with the ones I overheard my sis had had with my parents. Good times! Like you start arguing about the initial thing of being late but then other stuff sometimes comes out too, especially if you have teens with tongues like me and my sis, like man, sometimes looking back, we just weren’t kids that would accept just getting yelled at lol. At some point, around 11 maybe? I think kids start talking back and it’s rarely good because as an older person reflecting, like you’re not experienced enough to really fight back with your folks but if you’re also young and reactive so you gotta say something and hope it sticks and hurts lol.

I don’t know why I’m harping on this but I remember in Plan B, there was like a classic 90′s TV show scene where a girl came home late (that’s the whole movie!) and she’s sort of confronted by the mom when she got home, there’s not much of a back and forth and at the end, the girl is more upset at her mom and she gets in the last word and walks away. The mother just stood there for a while until the next scene where she goes to her her daughter’s bedroom and they hash it out. I don’t know, I’m not a parent lol but I’m still not convinced a mother, especially an immigrant mother, would let their daughter do that do them, get the last word and walk away from them. I also don’t see how that’s a good thing, like shouldn’t the more ideal thing be that they just talk it out then there? idk. Gas Food Lodging does a bit of it too, as my parents and many others, where you do let the parties calm down after a fight and then talk it out better. idk. That whole bit just seemed too rush and that so bothered me that the mom just stood there.

Anyways, I liked Gas Food Lodging!

After the movie, I decided to get my iPhone fixed, I needed a new battery and a glass replacement and I found a dude in Los Feliz who gave me a deal to do both for a really good price. And he was fast about it too which was neat. I really might give that dude a yelp review and I don’t think I’ve done that before, as of day 2, the service was really that good. I think I’ll wait a week though to make sure the phone keeps working. (Knock on wood it is so far)

I had planned to get something to eat then go to the Landmark in West LA to see Language Lessons, but I wound up just going straight to the Landmark from Los Feliz and eating there which was alright because they had like Hebrew Nationals. Pretty good dog imo. Popcorn was so-so but whatever, that’s fine.

I liked Language Lessons even though I could see why other people wouldn’t like it, the whole movie is done by zoom chats and like phone video messages by the two lead characters. A guy gets signed up for like online Spanish lessons and because and he and his Spanish teacher are vibing each other, the lessons don’t go in a formal way, they have like more free forming conversations in mostly Spanish and she corrects his Spanish when she feels needed, or when he asks if he’s saying something correctly. It’s neat, the whole first part was pretty long which was nice, to just have scenes play themselves out. Then as the movie goes on rough stuff happens to each character and they continue with their Spanish lessons thing.

The dramatic stakes just keep getting raised as the movie goes on which teetered on going overboard with trying to make a clear story out of the film but I was fine with it and obviously, I won’t spoil the ending but I totally dug that ending too even though it’s kind of hokey. Sometimes I’m fine with hoke and schmaltz!

At the Q&A, the writer-director Natalie Morales, who was also the Spanish teacher, said the film was shot last year, had some improv but not too much and interestingly she said she was kind of inspired by some of the bad directors she had worked with (didn’t name) throughout her acting career. She was like if they can do it, she could certainly do it too and she encouraged other artists to like to press on with their passions because even if you suck, you might inspire good work too. Something like that. I appreciated that honestly I feel like that’s a real thing being inspired by stuff that doesn’t impress you where you think you could do it better.

So that was neat.

Then, I walked to the blue line on Pico, took the blue line train to the red line in downtown LA and that lead me to Hollywood and my last two movies of Saturday/Sunday.

It was a part of a film festival and the movies started after midnight, my first midnight movie in like over two years!

The first movie was a short film that was a sci fi experimental satire thing that got into social media influencers (I think?) and I couldn’t get into it. It was a little too offbeat for me but I did think it was neat that the movie was shot by iPhones and it looked alright.

The second movie was the Alternate, a sci fi thriller feature that I really dug. A would-be young filmmaker finds out about like a loop thing from his computer, that allows him, if he goes into the loop thing to go into an “alternate” world where “he’s” a successful filmmaker and his girlfriend is now his wife, they have a nice home and a daughter. A pretty good life. It’s not entirely clear early on why the young filmmaker keeps wanting to go back into this “alternate” world but as the movie goes on that becomes clearer and darker. It’s a really good trippy movie.

At the Q&A, I didn’t think of my question until near the end of the sessions and I didn’t get to ask my question which stunk lol.

So that was that, then the real fun happened which was me trying to get home at 2am. I missed my first bus which stunk because the subway was closed so I couldn’t do subway then Lyft. And Lyft/Uber from Hollywood to home was out of the question because that would’ve costed like $70+! So I spent most of my time, waiting for the bus and walking back and forth to the closest 7-11′s that I knew in Hollywood and they were both closed! I didn’t know they did that!

Anyways, that was a wild time, almost everyone I encountered was not sober in some way or another. I was also surprised at how many people were awake at almost 3am too. Just wild, wild stuff.

I finally made it home at like just before 4am. One cute thing that happened as I went to my room was the yorkie left his bed to see me. I didn’t pet him, I don’t know why but I was tired and he was probably tired too, I had thought he needed to pee but I think he was concerned that I was gone for so long. It was so funny, he saw me, shook his tail, did a little stretch, then I asked him if he needed to pee and he didn’t even acknowledge I had said something, and he just walked back to his bed to go to sleep. Love that dog.

AND THEN, on Sunday, yesterday, I went to the Grove to meet up with friends to see Shang-Chi which I thought was barely okay. I liked the actors but the story just reminded me of too many other Marvel movies plus the movie was insistent on popping in flashbacks almost every 15 minutes or so. That reminded me of Captain Marvel in particular! (although to be fair, to that movie they spread out of the flashbacks more but it was still annoying). Non-marvel movie, Aquaman did that too in possibly the most annoying way. I laughed a few times during the movie BUT there were at least two times where there was an attempt at a funny moment when it was so not needed at all. Marvel loves to pull shit like that. One I will spoil is Shang-Chi is basically doing the first part of his explaining who he really is Awkwafina’s character and like 3/4′s of the way into the flashback, the flashback stops because a stewardess asks them if they wanted to order food. Beef or vegan. They both say vegan. Stewardess says they’re out of a vegan so they say fine, they’ll get beef. And then, I think Shang-Chi went back to his story but to me, that was so unneeded.

The action was mostly fine but there was also tons of CGI too and it got excessive especially the ending where Shang-Chi almost has nothing to do because of CGI circumstances and I was like lost at what was going on at times. That was so poorly executed.

Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh were great though. Newcomer Meng'er Zhang was solid. Shang-Chi himself was alright considering like he spends a lot of the movie, telling stories and kicking ass. He’s very good at the latter. Okay at the other which I mostly blame on the script and story, he had to do so much exposition yeesh.

Anyways, so that was my movie weekend.

Today, I might go with my sister to the Raiders game in Vegas. She’s a Raiders fan and just instantly got the tickets. The funny thing is like three weeks ago or so she got buyers remorse so she’s tried to sell the pair of tickets on some profit and it’s been a challenge because the Raiders are only letting ticket holders who have proof of vaccination to inside the stadium to see the game. I think they’re the only team in the league doing that, it’s like a step above of admission for even most businesses in Los Angeles too including movie theaters. None of the places I went to the movies at required that.

And if you can believe it, some football fans are not all-in on getting vaccinated yet so even though, it’s a home opening game, it looks like it’s not going to be a guarantee that it’ll be a packed stadium. As of now they haven’t changed that policy which is interesting to me, obviously my sis would prefer to sell the tickets and make some money off it instead of go, she said she even went under value BUT there still weren’t any takers so it looks like we’re going to the game! Weird stuff. I have the day off and I don’t go into work tomorrow until like 11:45pm. Fun times.

If you’ve made this far, hope you’re well and have a good week! (if not, that’s cool too no biggie!)

#what I did this past weekend #what I might do tonight

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polis-fandom · 6 years

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The Last Jedi thoughts

It’s been a week and I’m still on the fence with this movie. Everytime I think I’m getting over the disappointment and starting to enjoy what was good there, I come across some review that’s like “THIS IS THE GREATEST STAR WARS MOVIE EVERRRR!!! ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!” and it flares up again. I feel like I’m in the Gombrowicz’s tale, “how is it breathtaking, when it’s not breathtaking?! how is it beautiful, when it’s not beautiful? how is Rian Johnson a great director, when he’s the worst one since George Lucas?”. I need to get away from any discourse about this movie, or I’ll end up hating it. And it doesn’t deserve my hatred, because it’s not really a bad movie.

Bitter Me: *whispers* Luke Skywalker.

Me:

So I’ll just put my feelings here and move on. Under the cut, ‘cause lots of spoilers and overhelming bitterness, tho nothing new, others said all that already, so ignore as you wish.

“Star Wars: A New Hope” was the first movie I watched in cinema. No, I mean the remastered version from 1997, I’m not that old. But, yeah, Star Wars were the movies of my childhood, and are still among my favourite stories ever. After surviving the rocky Prequel Trilogy during my teenage years, I was excited to be brought back to the universe, and while The Force Awakens was redundant as far as the storyline goes, it won me over with the visuals. I made a conscious decision not to get attached to any of the new characters, because I felt there wasn’t enough to know about them. Besides, in the past Luke Skywalker didn’t became my favourite character until the second movie, so I figured I had the time to fall in love with them until I saw more.

Nice Me: Look at this one, he’s played by your favourite actor.

Bitter Me: That one is garbage.

Bitter Me: I’ll just wait to see the whole story. Maybe others will do something extra.

Nice Me: Like what? Blow up the Starkiller Base? Risk their life to save friends? Talk to Darth Vader’s helmet?

Bitter Me: Lose a limb.

(Btw, did you notice the advancement of the medical treatment in Last Jedi? The guy gets slashed through the back and wakes up mere days later just fine, other barely gets a scar…

Bitter Me: at least they are consistent with that.)

So, going in to see the Last Jedi, I had open mind, no expectations for the story, because Star Wars - aka the series that always makes it to the top of the lists of biggest plot twists ever - and I knew nothing besides what was shown in the trailer. And yet, I made one mistake. I saw someone’s tweet about how it’s the best Star Wars movie since the Empire…

Bitter Me: …and then I spent first hour trying to understand, where did this guy saw that greatness, because it just wasn’t there.

I’ve got the biggest gripes with the editing, cinematography, and directing in general. You see, this series, however bad the movies were, they at least were visually stunning. They had certain style and flow - despite all the action, there were always slower scenes, a bit more nostalgic, giving you time to soak up the visuals and feel the emotion. Johnson fails at that repeatedly. The edit at the beging is very rushed, the scenes chopped, and set-up of some could’ve been better. Even Ahch-too, which was amazingly shot in previous film, here becomes a more of clustered and claustrophobic set.

Nice Me: But there are some magnificient shots. The admiral Holdo launching into hyperspace - absolutely beautiful. The pretorian guards fight - one of the best lightsabers fights. The Crait scenes with crystals and everything.

Bitter Me: which just angers me more, because if he’s capable of pulling of shots like that, why the whole movie isn’t equally beautiful???

Nice Me: But the Leia in vacuum scene starts beautiful too. I’m ecstatic that we finally have an undisputed proof that Leia is not only force sensitive, but she actually mastered the use of it. It would have been really interesting to see more of her in the next movie, might she have become a teacher Rey needs...

Nice Me:…but then the latter half of that scene is shot in such a way, it comes of as silly and utterly dumb. The guy is just bad at showing visions.

Nice Me: Breath. Just breath.

Bitter Me: …that one was horribly edited.

Nice Me: But the scene at dark place at AhchToo was impressive…

Bitter Me: …as a trick shot with no substance that leads to nowhere. He could have used some of that creative visuals for the Force Skype scenes, they were edited in such bland manner…

Nice Me: …you’re complaining about that because it reminded you of Alina and Darkling having identical force bond in Grisha, down to the shirtless scene…

Bitter Me:… as bad as that was, Bardugo at least gave a good explanation of how it was possible.

Nice Me: Snoke did it.

Bitter Me: I recognize the narrative need to create such connection between them, I just think it could have been done in a more artistic way visually.

Bitter Me: Rian is praised for the daring and innovative writing of this movie. And yet the main plot can be summed as: they are evacuating the rebel resistance base, escape - but not far, cause they can’t enter hyperspace, so they sneak into evil ship and try to turn off tracking beam, and then seek hidding on a nearby planet. Yep, I’ve never seen a star wars movie with a plot like that.

Bitter Me: So what’s so daring here? destroying all the symbols of the star wars franchise? Making Luke grumpy and acting against his very core?

Bitter Me: Look, I’m not so much against making Luke a space hobo hermit, who no longer wants to train Jedi, it‘s possible to have such turn after you tried and failed. But I have everything against Luke trying to murder Ben, because he’s too powerful and tempted to the dark side. Luke did everything he could to save his father, who was far deeper on the Dark side. Luke was himself tempted by it, and resisted it. Luke would have done everything to save Ben, but he would not draw a lightsaber on him…

Nice Me: But he says it was a flitting feeling, just a moment of weakness, he regrets deeply…

Bitter Me: What exactly young Ben Solo had done to lead Luke to even consider such an act? We are only told the dark side was rising in him, and that’s sounds vague as hell.

Look, The Star Wars at it’s core were a story about hope - that there’s good even in a bad person, about redemption, and unwavering familial love. Luke was the embodiment of that, and that scene goes directly against it.

If he so insist on having such a drastic turn for Luke, he should’ve made us understand, how did it happen. We should’ve seen more of young Ben Solo, and their dynamic prior to the break. It would serve both their characters and story overall better than this cheap shot for the shock value, so we, like Rey, would cry: You have created Kylo Ren???

But, honestly, if Rian is oh-so-clever and daring writer, he could’ve come up with a better, more complex backstory for Luke and Ben’s breakdown.

Bitter Me: and besides Luke’s arc here? The big lesson he learns? „the real great master let’s his students grow beyond him.” That’s such a simple one, so obvious, it’s dumb and annoying, not worthy to be Luke’s final arc. He was wiser than that. Luke was never about being great and powerful, he rejected offers to became such through dark side, he left his jedi training because his friends were more important to him. Why would he be afraid of his student becoming more powerful than him?

Nice Me: But Luke is great. Like when he says „what do you expect me to do? show up and wave my lightsaber, and they will all run off scared?”, he might be mocking the heroic ways and everyone’s expectations, but if you look back, he achieved his biggest win in the Original Trilogy by tossing asside the lightsaber and refusing to fight.

Bitter Me: …and then he goes and does excatly, what he mocked: shows up, wave the lightsaber and scare off the pesky First Order.

Nice Me: And it was EPIC! And the shoulder brush! hilarious!

Bitter Me: yeah, yeah. Btw, was that their first meeting since Luke tried to murder Ben? so he just like that, shows up, mocks Kylo’s powerlessness, fights him and then promises to forceghost hunt him for eternity?

Nice Me: What do you want him to do?

Bitter Me: …I don’t know, APOLOGIZE for trying to murder him?

Nice Me: fine, but this is still about redemption and love and hope. Rose says: That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love. It’s a great quote.

Bitter Me: Then who is saving Kylo? whose there left to love him? Rey, walking off on him, closing door on him? Leia, giving up on him, saying we need to kill him? What mother would say something like that? Leia would say something like that? The princess who was always compassionate, and hugging everyone around? Who spent all the previous film insisting on bringing Ben back?

Nice Me: She says it in a tone that suggests she’s not believing it herself. like she’s trying to convince herself, because others expect that of her, because he’s a threat to them all. And Luke counters it immedietly.

Bitter Me: …It’s still there.

Nice Me: …and there’s still third movie. The story is in progress.

Nice Me: At least Snoke is dead. That was GREAT. He always felt like this unnecessary ouside evil force, that people can conveniently blame for all the bad things done, just kill him and everythings gonna be bright and shiny again. By removing him so early, they made way and time to explore more complex evil inside us, err, characters, or harder to spot like the riches benefiting from the ongoing war. That’s a nice storytelling turn.

Nice Me: And Rey as a random nobody is a joy for my heart, because I’m a bit done with Chosen One trope, where hero’s been destinated for heroics on the qualms of being born a prince or noble or someone powerful. I’ve had hard times connecting with such characters, because I myself never felt born special.

(Bitter Me: Then how did you end up liking Luke, the very icon of Chosen One trope?

Nice Me: Loss of the limb.)

Bitter Me: okay, but that was only told to us, just like Rey’s vision of Kylo’s future. Told, not shown. I mean, given how bad Rian is at visions, it would be cringey, but still it’s a movie, use the visuals to convey the information. Not everything needs to be telegraphed, did we really need that guy liking the rocks on Crait to know it’s salt? Who cares it’s salt? That was distracting.

Nice Me: …that was to bring the attention to the footprint…

Bitter Me: …the big zoom on it did that just fine. The joke was unnecesary.

Bitter Me: Actually half the jokes were unnecessary. The humour was crude, often misplaced and under cutting the drama of the scenes. They say it was needed to balance out the dark themes this movie deals with, but in my opinion the previous movies dealt with the same dark drama, and yet used humour in a less forced nor cynical way. Some say it felt more like a Marvel movie, and true, that’s how it felt.

Nice Me:…but you loved Thor Ragnarok - for it’s humour exactly.

Bitter Me: one, Thor used humour with better placement and sense of purpose, didn’t try to undercut the emotional impact of the scenes with it. Two, it was a Marvel movie - you expect such humour, because that’s their style. Going to the Star Wars you expect Star Wars - great visuals, action scenes, emotions, feelings, not disgusting alien cow. It’s anti-climatic.

Besides, why are we so ashemed of pure emotions and drama, that we need to undercut it with gags and jokes? why there must be a wink, „yeah, we did this serious scene, but we’re not sure we got it good enough, people might mock us for it, better mock ourselves first.” For gods sake, dare to be honest. If it’s serious, heroic, epic, let it be such!

Nice Me: The latter half of the movie was great, tho. Rey using force in non-combat way to move rocks and save friends, nice way to turn joke around into something beautiful. All of them coming together on Millenium Falcon board. Luke’s death with the suns setting, making nice parallel to the sunset at Tatooine long ago at the begining of his journey. That last scene about the power of storytelling, I cried a little, it was so moving…

Bitter Me: … the storytelling about what? Self-righteous jedi deciding who is worthy of forgivness or chance for redemption, and who to finish off while they’re still a kid and asleep? About mothers giving up on their sons? About destroying everything that once was sacred, stripping it of the value? It’s all clever writting, but without understanding the soul of the Star Wars, without keeping it’s core sacred, it came of shallow.

Nice Me: shhh, calm down. It’s just a movie.

Bitter Me: How did we come to the Star Wars being just a movie? just a story? quite ironic, in the context of that ending scene.

Magic is gone.

Nice Me: Come on, Let’s watch it again, maybe you’ll like it better. There’s a cute orange murderball...

Bitter Me: …and my fave actor gets trashed around. Fine, let’s watch it again.

#ps star wars #star wars: the last jedi #tlj spoilers #star wars spoilers #spoilers

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pachathegreat · 7 years

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Day 19: The Wolfman (2010)

“Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night; May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.“

Welcome back to A New Beginning (Famous Monsters). This is our 5th entry for the week and we take a look at the 2010 remake of The Wolfman.

So Hollow Man wasn’t necessarily a remake of The Invisible Man, but a reimagining of the H.G. Wells story in a contemporary setting.

FUCK OFF KEVIN BACON! BEGONE WITH YOU, FUCK NUGGET!

This movie however is a full remake, done by Universal so we see a lot of recurring themes from the original, and some of the characters of the original.

The film apparently had a rocky production with director Joe Johnston joining a little under a month before principal photography and a score by Danny Elfman that was rejected, then re-used.

The film still follows Lawrence Talbot, but he is no longer an every-man, but a famed Shakespearean actor from England. Benicio del Toro plays our wolfman this time.

Let me just say that Lon Chaney Jr. was supposed to be welsh in the original, that’s why Claude Rains played his dad. Dude, did not remotely sound British, at all. Dick Van Dyke did a better job convincing me he was British. Del Toro does very well to do a good accent, it’s a bit Americanized, but they explain that away as having an education over in America. Also coincidentally, Anthony Hopkins who plays Del Toro’s father in the film is Welsh in real life.

The film changes the year it takes place, no longer in 1941, and it takes us to the 1890′s where Victorian Goths run amok, and people say things like GIVE US A KISS THEN, GUVNAH! as they die from not brushing their teeth or whatever.

ANYWAYS! The setting it is a nice change, and it feels like the director was really challenging himself. For those that don’t know Joe Johnston worked on the first Captain America movie, The Rocketeer, and Jumanji. He’s usually done American period pieces, but this feels like he was testing himself. I think this might be his first R rated movie too.

The lighting and whole aesthetic of the film is gothic, kinda what I expected from the Hammer films. It looks amazing and helps the vibe of the whole film. The color within the film is usually on the cooler side with the candles providing warmth and aiding in the deep shadows of the film. Usually I get to this stuff last, but it’s a really nice movie to look at.

While I did like the 1941 version, the setting was usually a generic looking manor and a heavily fogged induced forest with some trees thrown in.

On second thought...

There’s a great shot when Lawrence reaches the Talbot estate and you can see the entire countryside and it’s this huge sprawling thing. It looks really good, I swear.

So the original movie dealt with an everyday man afflicted with this curse, struggling to find a cure before anything bad happens. He doesn’t and his father beats him to death with a silver cane.

Our 2010 films sets the story up as a suspense thriller with eruptions of violence. Lawrence is asked by his brother’s fiance, Gwen (Emily Blunt) to help find him as he’s gone missing. Lawrence goes back home to begin the search, but as soon as he arrives, he meets with his estranged father who tells him he’s been found dead. Upon seeing the state in which his brother died, Lawrence will not leave until whatever or whoever mutilated his brother is found. Along the way Lawrence is haunted by his mother’s apparent suicide when he was a young boy. Eventually he goes to a Romani camp to find answers to his brother’s death, the camp is attacked, and while Lawrence is saving someone he’s bit by the creature attacking the camp. Having survived the attack, he’s now cursed to become a werewolf. Lawrence begins to uncover the truth until his first transformation and is taken in by the locals the morning after. He’s committed to an asylum. While there, his father reveals the truth, he is the werewolf that bit him, and his mother didn’t commit suicide, he had killed her. After her death, Lord Talbot didn’t see the need to fight his curse and began to embrace it. Lawrence vows to kill his father and escapes when he transforms. He has a climatic battle with his dad, and chases down Gwen in his wolf form. Before he can do anything, she shoots him with a silver bullet, putting Lawrence peacefully to rest. I might’ve left some things out to save time.

I first watched this movie when it came out and I remember really liking it.Watching it again, it felt a little long this time around. Then I realized that I had just watched the director’s cut. While I did enjoy the mystery of the story, I think the theatrical cut is the best way to go. Those extra 17 minutes can be felt. It takes a while before we see the first transformation, and as good as a story is, sometimes we wanna watch cool shit happen. Case in point: this scene

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while this isn’t the first transformation in the movie, it’s the one that stands out. The first transformation is good btw. Much better than doing a cross dissolve from bare feet to uggs like the original. The design and make up of the wolfman in this were done by Rick Baker who did the work for An American Werewolf in London. This movie has the type of effects I like, the use of both practical and CGI. Though the movie does rely on it for a lot of the moon shots. I mean, a lot of them. The transformations are impressive and even the way they show Victorian London looks good.

🎶HawoooOOOOOoooo werewolves of London 🎶

Baker was inspired as a kid watching the original Wolfman and asked specifically to work on this one when he heard it was being done. His work on the film is so nice. Look at the detail between these two photos and see what I mean.

We don’t see Anthony Hopkins in his wolf form for long, but you can see a lot of work had been put into what’s essentially one scene (though it is the big climatic battle).

It feels like such a good update of the original. It doesn’t deviate too far from the feel of the 1941 version, but adds contemporary elements to bring it to the 21st century.

I’ve mentioned Anthony Hopkins so I guess we should talk about performances! Del Toro brings a weight into his rendition of Talbot. Even before he’s bitten, he’s a man whose haunted and hurt. He’s unsure if he should return home at all, if his brother’s death means anything to him. The Lawrence of this movie initially channels that pain by playing tortured characters like Macbeth before being made to confront his past and the trauma he’s witnessed and suffered as a child and now being blamed for the gruesome murders happening.

Emily Blunt’s performance is good. To be honest, she’s just kinda there. I always have a hard time recognizing her sometimes.

Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John Talbot, and at first he’s this kinda eccentric and emotionally distant character, but as Lawrence gets closer to understanding what’s happening to him, Hopkins begins to show this subdued ferocity to the character with a kind of matter of fact malevolence when he reveals he killed Lawrence’s mother and brother with this add sense of pride in his son.

Hugo Weaving also plays Francis Aberline based on the main inspector after Jack the Ripper. I found Weaving’s performance to be pretty good, but wondered why he was there to begin with. He does get bit at the end of the film and survives. Maybe they were hoping to capitalize on a sequel? We’ll never know.

Box office wise this was considered a bomb, and while it didn’t make as much money as was spent. I don’t think “bomb” would be a good description. It cost $150 million to make, but only made around $140 million and was thrashed by critics. Now I personally don’t like critics (ironic given that I am at this very moment critiquing) cause they’ll usually just shit on things and beat a movie down unfairly. Being on @filmaweekpodcast I’ve noticed a trend of decent to even good movies being just eviscerated unjustly by critics.

Not that this is a perfect movie, watching the director’s cut stretched out the plot more than it needed to be. The effects in this are great, and Johnston did a good job coming in so late into production for this film. This a good remake. For me it delivers on what the original kinda missed out on, and that was more wolfman.

This film does not shy away from gore either, and that was surprising given Johnston’s previous films, but again, I think he was challenging himself.

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I think I’m done with this now. I enjoyed the movie, but stick with the theatrical cut and I think you guys would dig it too.

Oh! Before I go, check out this sweet werewolf on werewolf action!

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Alright that about does it, tomorrow

Play me out Warren Zevon!

#the wolfman #the wolfman (2010)#werewolves #werewolf #benicio del toro #anthony hopkins #universal horror #universal monsters #universal studios #halloween #halloween movies #filmcinema #joe johnston #the shinning (2017)

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honeyedmilks · 7 years

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strong woman do bong soon- the tumbly review

this is gonna come out as a straight up hate post from a tired soul, about a show that could’ve been everything but wasn’t, and i make no apologies for that. it’s messy and unkind (not as unkind as i could be) but... i’m fairly honest.

what i’ll be talking about:

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)

a biased summary by :

Do Bong Soon, our female lead (played by Park Bo Young), is super strong- thanks to a power that’s been passed down the ladies of her family for years. there’s a serial woman hater in her neighbourhood terrorising everyone, and she gotta stop that asshole! there’s also some good looking men in this show with like four love lines too keep things interesting, and some flailing gangsters who are out there too that she beats up now and then, drinking feces wine. And if this sounds like an awful mess then good, i’m doing the show great justice then.

a general statement and warning about this show:

it’s not good. if you’ve not seen it then please do not waste your time and instead watch literally anything else. i say this out of love for you. if you want a female lead who’s cool and cute and punches things then watch legend of the blue sea. it may not be perfect but it’s better than this.

the production:

the show is visually very pretty in some sense. stylish wardrobe choices, nice landscape shots, cool sets, and a whole showcase of good looking people.

the directing and special effects, the tone of the show, it can all border cheesy, but the intent is to come off quirky, funny and energetic seeing as this a story about a woman with super human strength.

it’s a bit comic bookish, which again makes sense due to the nature of the show and it’s characters. except it doesn’t work all the time. especially not when the bad guy of your show is hardly a comic book character. he’s a misogynistic guy who likes beating up woman and kidnapping them for his own twisted pleasures.

the directing and writing of this show fails to balance out the light and the dark in this show, by downplaying Bong Soon’s powers and by diluting the story with meaningless backstories and characters we didn’t need.

the performances of our leads vary. but the main cast are well known actors, and carry a lot of talent.

Bo Young manages to make our heroine likeable and relatable for a while. She’s believable and gives the show some spark.

Ji Soo who plays our muddled in the heart copper Guk Doo, can be painful to watch in the first half, you end up not liking him and his harshness, but Ji Soo brings a likeable softness to him in the later half.

Park Hyung Sik, much adored and admired by fans, takes on the role of our lonely chaebol, but he’s not just rich and sad guys, he’s also a video game creator, spy man and tech genius, with flawless skin, who goes by the name Ahn MInhyuk. Hyung Sik’s performance starts off lovably eccentric, bouncing between suave and smart, only to slowly dissipate into boring and even annoying. I’ll talk more about him later.

our side characters are even harder to digest- mostly unlikable, with the funnies wearing off far too early in the long run of the show, we don’t care much for them- except from the woman, held hostage by the shitty but uninteresting serial villain.

there were so many plot points that were awful that just slashed the quality of the show too pieces, and i can’t even begin to talk about them.

the soundtrack is nice. it matches the zany inside of the show for the most part. it’s noticeably more fun when we get to Bong Soon’s super hero antics.

the show is bright, bubbly and cleanly set on the outside when it’s a cutesy office rom com, but turns bleak and even mesier when it tries to get serious.

the romance:

loads of people say that they only finished this show for otp loveliness but i couldn’t relate.

people made gif sets with epic romantic quotes... you know those quotes where it’s like “that one guy who looks at this super strong woman and they’re awesome and shit and he loves her strength and shit...” you know those kind? yeah that’s nonsense. here’s why i think so:

Minhyuk sucks as a romantic lead and a partner well mostly when you ship him with Bong Soon. i’m not gonna lie. i was really excited for them at the start, i was head over heels for those moments when he called her sexy for calling him out on being useless and such. i liked their friendly interactions together, but... when you add her strength in the mix, everything turns sour for me.

Ah Minhyuk... i’m not saying that he should love her for her powers, or because she’s someone who has them. he just saw her as Bong Soon, which i mean.. i guess you can call sentimental? but when he says stuff like “yeah ya strong but your just Bong Soon.” like that’s not... romantic?

he doesn’t trust her when she’s like a million trillion times stronger and powerful than him. i don’t see why she had to go to this guy to “control” her powers. i don’t like how he doesn’t think highly of her powers- he’s just shocked and “shook” but not ever in an admiring way. maybe on the surface, it seems like it but... if you look really closely at the way he says things... it’s not like that.

he sucked at helping her when she lots her powers, didn’t comfort in the way you would have hoped.

he underestimates her when she’s A THOUSAND TIMES STRONGER THAN ANYONE ON THIS EARTH- I mean almost everyone has seen a super here movie right? mary jane admire spider man, but also loves peter, but trusts him, he’s always doing the saving but she doesn’t think she’s better than him. lous lane and superman? pepper potts (a cool ass woman btw who’s honestly a bit like min hyuk when it comes to some of her skills) and iron man? thor and jane? yet... swdbs... minhyuk is still the super hero. and there’s no one relying on Bong Soon to save the day because ... she’s just a woman... we need to protect her... we can’t let her endanger herself to save some people when... she’s the only one who possibly could.

this thing in their relationship where he loved Bong Soon with or without her strengths could’ve worked if they had done it well. like if he actually saw how much of a loss she felt when she lost her powers(which she lost for... what reason again?)- instead... it was so underwhelming. he didn’t see her powers as special and heroic... he didn’t see something so amazing like that to be a great loss to her.

i mean, he’s always down playing her powers- loads of people do, but it’s worse when he does. he’s asked her if she was actually a man and then an alien, like you believe a man could spin a car with their bare hands, but not a woman? so obviously she’s an alien if not a man? how am i supposed to enjoy a female superhero when all anyone does is try erase the fact that she’s a woman?

there’s no empowerment that makes you feel anything for them. that’s usually something you sense but it’s just not there. it’s normal to be worried for your partner but there’s literally no sense of trust and admiration. it’s been a while since i watched swdbs, but i’m pretty sure when Bong Soon saves those women Minhyuk isn’t even happy about it... did she not apologise? that’s nonsense.

it’s not just that aspect of their relationship that bothers me- it’s how whiny and annoying Minhyuk can be. people romanticised his “won’t you love me?” line but it’s not a good line. it’s not a romantic line that’s makes me swoon or makes me feel like Bong Soon should like him. he comes off as clingy and pining and like she’s got to be with her because he likes her so much.

he made his bodyguard make him meals... i don’t care how sentimental and sad he is over his mother. he literally moaned on at her.

he kept a tracking device on her?

he gave her a desk in his office. it was a cute desk alright, but he did it to keep her close and he didn’t even take her video game designing game serious; everything about their relationship is so flat.

if he was such a skilled fighter, did he really need to have Bong Soon as his bodyguard? (she was also a terrible bodyguard but you know).

i know i’m nit picking, but i could over look some of these things if there weren’t so many things that made no sense to me. if only half of these things weren’t based on weakening Bong Soon and her relationship with her super strength.

i blame a lot of this on crappy writing because this could’ve been about Bong Soon and her journey to being a hero but it was just nonsensical.

it was all done so crudely that... i just don’t find anything solid about it.

i felt no chemistry- i liked them best when they were bickering or just being friendly.

like Bong Soon saw her powers as some kind of hardship? something she couldn’t show Guk Du, who she was in love with for so long, but sure Minhyuk sees them and accepts them, but he’s not there to help her realise all the things she can do, or admire and respect her. NOTHING MAKES SENSE.

i don’t even know if i’m right in thinking that Minhyuk could’ve been someone to help her harness her powers and be supportive and help her on her way of becoming a superhero- because does a man who loves you have to be the one to make you see your worth as a hero? but he didn’t even not do that, instead, he just felt like an obstacle telling her that she may have powers but she’s still just Bong Soon.

It just seems like a confusing jumble to me.

were the writers trying to normalise her powers in their relationship? because i could watch any other crappy show with a strong woman who’s human talents are put under her to save the man’s fragile masculinity. but she’s got super hero powers... super heroes are admired and thought of as freaking cool and shit- it’s supposed to be awesome and all that jazz. it’s not much fun otherwise

all these things just annoy me. because if they wanted to make Bong Soon’s journey with her powers be her own, then why was Minhyuk such a useless involvement in them? why did he have to come save her from getting stabbed... why... if they’re gonna add romance in with the story line with her powers... why are the writers so scared of making her powerful... why does she need this mediocre mans help?

i don’t care if he’s a ceo... or a tech genius... he used the lgbt identity as some kind of publicity thing, he’s not nearly as zany and cool as he could've been as he just ended up as another person telling Bong Soon she’s not a superhero.

this ain’t the avengers- it should’ve been Bong Soon’s story as a badass super hero, why do i have to see Guk Do and Minhyuk devise some genius dumb ass plan at the end? why not let Bong Soon defeat the asshole on her own?

why are people scared of a woman being mighty? and a man being there for it without having to to larger than her? while caring for her safety at the same time? it’s just so poorly done. all these things shadow over any cuteness and softness these two had.

Bong Soon, I see why she would fall for him, but in the end, I really didn’t care about them.

it’s almost like her powers are a plot device for their romance. it wasn’t an epic story about a girl with out of this world strength.

i guess their is a development that can be viewed as nice at that point where Minhyuk has to process the discovery of our leading lady being the same mysterious girl that saved his life. he has to love Bong Soon but also separate his idolisation for this hooded girl from his image of Bong Soon and then combine it all at once so what he feels is real love for Bong Soon as he had known her before. so it’s not some twisted sort of mess that’s him loving but then also being with someone he imagined as an angel sent from above by his mother.

it can be seen as romantic that he would take a knife wound for Bong Soon and call people to take her wild drunk videos offline, but it comes at the expense of Bong Soon and her image as a strong women. like she can be weak at points in the story, it’s called character development, but to be constantly pulled under him isn’t what i would call pro female superhero story telling. it’s not feminist and it’s not a romantic dynamic i want to root for.

his heroic acts kept climbing higher than Bong Soon’s, and when we got to hers he was still there, apparently doing half the work.

the characters:

Minhyuk: some final ranting about him. i’ve noticed that Hyung Sik has a pattern when it comes to acting out his male characters; no matter how soft and cute they are, they always have this brimming masculine toxicity to them. in swdbs it’s really unbalanced (even worse in hwarang). i honestly tried feeling sympathy for him, with his messed up family and his dead mum and all that but he was honesty no fun to watch. he wasn’t offbeat and interesting. he was saturated down to some rich ceo manly man who said that he was a “healthy man” instead of gay.

like he could’ve been so much interesting if he actually were bisexual or a supporter of lgbt rights, if he weren’t making Bong Soon do this and that, asking if she were a man and pining here and there- honestly these characters are such a waste of potential.

Bong Soon: i’ve not talked enough about her. i like how she can be brash and i like how she can be caring with her friends, and i know she’s not a genius of any kind but she can be a bit thick. the writing sacrificed Bong Soon’s intelligence for plot points- like she wouldn’t be that careless to send her friend out on her own when their’s a kidnapper out there would she? and then be so mad that she had to catch the guy?

she has like three interests. Guk Do, video games and cooking. i just wish she were more developed, i wish this story was about her and not a thousand other things.

i really loved how feminine she was at the same time as being strong. you can be powerful and kick ass, unashamedly girly and womanly and sensitive all at once, without erasing any of the other things to make way for the other. but lazy sloppy writing didn’t let these aspects of her character shine.

i liked how Bong Soon, for the most part, was very unlike her mother. her mother was abusive and mean and even though the show tried to redeem her, she still should've been called out for her behaviour because if you’re gonna write how woman can be just as horrible as men who are domestic abusers then you better hold them to the same standard and let your viewers know that it’s wrong.

Bong Soon was flawed, and i’m not going to lie about that- but her flaws were used for comedy. and i don’t know if i like that or not.

i wasn’t a fan of how she favoured people over the other- like the case with sleeping Guk Doo and Minhyuk but now that i think about it... i don’t care if she treated Minhyuk meanly or cursed him behind his back.

the way she viewed her powers and the way she handled them... was a convoluted tangle. she wanted to keep her powers secret and couldn’t hurt people but ended up making a mess almost everywhere, she said she never used her powers to help people and we were supposed to see this decision she made to step up and use her powers for good as a turning point but we know she’d been doing kind things with her powers for a while by helping old grannies up streets and saving people from the fate of a broken bus. her relationship with her family gift is not clear. there is no clear arc in this story

she’s not a fantastic female lead, which should’ve been the case since, well, THE SHOW IS NAMED AFTER HER AND HER STRENGTH. so that’s disappointing.

but again, in the hands of capable writers, she could’ve been an audience favourite.

Guk Doo: at first, we all pretty much hated him. whenever he came on screen i felt like i was suffering for some sin i committed in the past week.

but in the end, as we got to see how he felt about Bong Soon and when he found out about her powers- i really liked him. i liked him when he told his (not great) girlfriend about how he felt about someone else. in fact, i liked Guk Doo because he was never short of caring. even though he was busy and forgetful, he always tried to make up for it. he still cared about her. okay so maybe the whole bit where he realised he loved Bong Soon was a mess but again there’s the case of rubbish writing.

he didn’t think Bong Soon was fragile and needed protecting because she’s a small women. he didn’t say his type of woman has to be small and flowery and fragile out of vanity or misogyny... he says it because that’s what he thought Bong Soon was, as she led him to believe. I phrased that badly but in short i’m saying he loved Bong Soon as he thought she was, and loved her still and as much with her powers in a way that felt sweet and sad (because as that moment rolled around when he found out about her powers, her heart was already somewhere else).

dramabeans said it better and i’ll paraphrase: this image of his ideal women that he painted out loud was based around Bong Soon and when he find out about her powers and how she’s not as weak as she led him to believe, that feeling of love didn’t change.

he was also mature and almost gentle while he handled the discovery of her secret, fairly well might i add, as he realised all the things he missed as they were growing up.

the villain: awful, who’s crimes on screen could potentially hurt people who’ve been abused in the past as they watch. the fact that the point in this was to have a women hater be defeated by a powerful woman was not driven home well. it could’ve been so good but instead we got a noodley thin version of this premise.

side characters: they were tiring. we didn’t need half of them. some stayed too long and the joke soon turned stale. some where offensive. Guk Doo’s girlfriend all i can say is... at least she talked to him and was honest in the end (after doing things behind his back).

in conclusion:

i’m tired of people saying that the main pair are a power couple and that they’re the otp of all otp’s.

the show is so overrated. it deserves the harsh comments that come it’s way. it was rampant with offensive bits for laughs and maybe we could let this show slide if it weren’t for these rubbish jokes, and how serious it took it’s main themes of women and power only to botch it completely.

other people's posts have been much more concise and articulate as they describe what i’ve talked about. these are just the thought’s i had to get out of my sore head.

here is a post that is very clear about what’s wrong with this show, in a much quicker way. and i whole heatedly agree with it.

anyways. yeah this was rubbish and if you have high hopes for this like most of us did, then you’ll be sorely disappointed.

#strong woman do bong soon #swdbs #kdramanetwork #kdrama review #tumbly reviews #sorry for any typos!! this is basically a hate post i really couldn't be bothered being objective lmfaooo

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nalyra-dreaming · 7 years

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HannibalCon RDC3 - day 1. Personal recap

So yesterday was the day that so many of us feverishly anticipated and dreaded :), the actual possibility of meeting Bryan Fuller, Hugh Dancy, Aaron Abrams, Scott Thompson, Demore Barnes and Ellen Muth! I mean. What -are- the chances? I flew over Friday morning (having dreaded flying in that storm but it did die down that night, fortunately) with Alex and we made our way over to arrive at 10 am, to photos of other Fannibals on Twitter already, though the hotel was still very much empty. Good to take photographs :) I got upgraded to the next room level (which is why I can now drink coffee while writing this at 5:30 am (thank goodness)). By afternoon the lobby was filling slowly, flowercrowns everywhere. A truly elevating atmosphere, because even though I'm not really a flowers and frilly stuff kind of gal, it just is incredible to watch. Btw the bloody flowercrown @idontfindyouthatinteresting made for me drew many compliments (thank you, again!) Registration openend a bit early and people went queuing until the main ceremony started. Incredible, there were soooo many people there, so many beautiful cosplays already. @lovecrimecat came by and we distributed the flyers for @radiance-anthology flyers to those standing in line, managed to meet so many of those who signed up (yay), got little gifts in exchange from so many people (and everybody just gave me a second one when I asked so I could give them to Katrina who couldn't come - so awesome of you guys, thank you again!). I met so many people 'from' Twitter and it' so nice to recognize some from last time, to put name and face to the @s. *hugs at all* Opening ceremony. I have a gold ticket this year so I went up front and sat next to SpiceyScorpion, only to realize that -that- was way to much in front for my nerves .... *rolls eyes at self*. I went a few rows back and to the side, which was a good decision for later^^. "They" came in a few minutes to late, we saw Aaron and Scott do shadow theatre behind the scenes and Sean called them out one after the other. Demore seemed honestly happy to be there, addressing us with such kind words, upping the applause and calling backstage that that could not possibly be topped*fg*. Aaron came out and asked us to clap for Hugh because he was supposedly afraid he wouldn't get any ^^^^^, Scott said something along these lines as well, I think. Both very funny. Ellen was there^^ and addressed us with a few kind ords and then Sean announced Bryan next and the room (not in any way quiet before) went -wild-. And Bryan.... Bryan went "crowdsurfing". Meaning he ran through the aisles and high-fived us. You know that sitting to the side decision? Yeah.... What a moment, there's lots of pictures in the Tag #HannibalCon, go and look, it was.... incredible. God bless. Anyway Hugh came out last, announced by Sean as one of the best british actors, and boy, that was applause^^. He seemed a bit overwhelmed with the energy there^^ and honestly, I can't quite remember what he actually said but it was something along the lines that he was looking forward to a wonderful weekend. They came out together after that and we held up the signs that @the-winnowing-wind distributed - "Fannibals Forever".... They took videos and photos of us. Bryan posted some of it later. Incredible moment to have been part of. I'm even in Bryans video (yay^^ (and if you know where to look^^)). The gold ticket holders went across the hall next, to a slightly smaller room with tables set up and we were seated by group/friends. And then we waited, because they got something to eat first.... (darn^^^). Colleen got out some booze and we talked a lot and proverbially bit our nails a lot *g*. When they finally got in they were sent to the various tables for 4-minute-meet-ups. Only the meet-ups didn't stay at 4 minutes :P. Demore was first and I was soooooo nervous. (The seat next to me was free btw, and so the -all- ended up sitting right next to me (*still screaming about that*. .... ) I shook my hands in the air in an effort to get rid of some of the energy and he put his hand on my shoulder asking me why I was nervous and I brabbled something unintelligible and shook my head. Very sweet. We talked a bit about his fight scene with Mads and that we would have liked to see more of him^^ and I told him I can't wait to see him in American Gods and he rubbed my back when he left. *float* Next was Scott, who brought his pizza and drank some mooneshine with us^^, played Tarot with us and was generally just this very kind and interesting person. I wasn't -quite- that nervous anymore by then (thanks Demore (and Colleen for the prosecco)), meaning I actually talked a bit, though I can't quite remember what^^. Ellen was next and she was also very nice, we talked about the fact that her scenes are imho some of the most scary in Hannibal. She also wore some of the coolest jeans I'd ever seen^^. Ok. Next? BRYAN. He saw the Will!Faun scarf of @flying-rotten we had put on the table cloth and chuckled that he knew who -we- are waiting for and that he couldn't blame us^^. He asked us, if push came to shove, if we would prefer Will & Hannibal S4 or SotL. Our table was Hannigram, though there was apparently one that was 'done' with it.... He told us about it a bit, much the same that Hugh has said before as well, that it would be an inversion of S1 etc. I.... hope that push does not come to shove, because he told us a bit about how much he loves the lyric of Thomas Harris books and I would really love for him to be able to fully lay out his vision. I hope he gets to do this (we have to continue to fight, guys!!!). He also told us, that Thomas Harris apparently writes a new book and he.... poked Martha to get the rights to it already, without quite knowing what it was about yet *g*. I.... took all my courage then and showed him one of the Radiance-Flyers and explained a bit and we asked if he wanted to do a little something like a foreword for it. And guys - HE DOES! He asked when it would need to be done and I said May 1st and he looked at the flyer and indicated the twitter @ there and asked if he should send it there and I was like (you know this situation, where, once you start, your mouth kind of runs away with you?! At least mine did^^^) "Oh well, yes, or you know you follow me on twitter, you can just send it there if you want" and he looked at me (directly) and said "yes, I know." Well, RIP me. I answered with a very intelligent "ah" if I recall correctly and ducked my head and then Romina and I emphasized that it would be awesome if he actually wants to do that and finds the time. He asked us after what drew us to Hannibal, as he got feedback from a lot of the other young women (I thanked him for 'young', you know, once you're in it doesn't matter anyhow *another eye roll at self*) and we said that its not only beauty and connection, but also intelligence. You have to think with Hannibal. He recommended 'Legion' to us and asked if we'd seen it before and I said that some stuff hasn't made it across the big pond yet. And then Bryan went and .... not ranted directly.... but expressed his lack of understanding of the fact that things take so long to be legal and why series were not streamed worldwide because people would just go and pirate it anyway -because- it was not available legally. He went and made a (imho) very fitting anology with the conservative stance on abortions in contrast to piracy, meaning just because it's forbidden it doesn't stop people from doing so, it just gets unsafer and illegal. Oh and he took photos of our table and @dr3piecesuit s and another girls tattoo, because he loves them. :) And he told us that he brought something for Hugh to wear for the Cosplay contest. Can't wait *g* He was called away then, way past the 4 minutes^^ and .... he is such a precious human being?! Exuding so much warmth and honesty and exuberance. I feel honored that I got to sit there. A propos honored... Hugh was next and there I was again - nervous. Awesome. *third eyeroll* He complimented Camilles Will!Faun, saying it was very beautiful and then laughing that that was maybe a bit weird^^, and then telling us about all the gifts he gets and that he keeps the little plush Wills, giving them to his son to play with, even the bloody ones..... *fg*. The girl next to me (@OnTheVerger) talked to him about how much Adam means to her because she has Aspergers and then broke into tears and Hugh comforted and hugged her and it was sooo sweet. We showed him the Radiance flyers as well and he said "blood fueled embraces, indeed" *g*. Bryan ran by then and left a bitten off Babybel for Hugh. IDK if Hugh bit off that piece or if Bryan did but it was hilarious^^. Hugh had to leave then and Aaron came to our table last, I told him I backed him and he told us about the film he and Scott are in (Scott came by and set down next to him^^) and we talked about how much we would all want to see more of Hannibal. Oh and Scott said (before) that he was supposed to teach Clarice Starling - how awesome would team Sassy Science be doing that in SotL? Seriously? Anyway, I remember I touched Aarons shoulder in the spur of the moment talking about -something- but I can't remember what exactly and the panicking about that. ;)) I went to my room at 1:15am, got into bed by 2am and was wide awake again at 5:15 am. What. a. rush. PS: This is no photos because my cameras not that good - check the Hashtag on Twitter, there's TONS of them ;). Already ;)

#hannibalcon #hannibal #rdc3 #bryan fuller #hugh dancy #aaron abrams #scott thompson #ellen muth #recap #first day #fannibals #what a rush

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