#I have strayed from the prompt a bit. you can see me shoehorning it back in at the end there

[adhd-merlin]

vacancies

For @merlinmicrofic. Prompt: Throne. Gwen & Merlin, Post-Camlann, Gen. Words: 497

Gwen remembers Arthur’s delighted confession after her coronation so clearly.

“When you walked up those steps and sat next to me, I thought: at last she is where she belongs.”

“On the throne?” she had asked, laughing, amused at the thought. Only the day before she was a servant. Even with the crown sitting heavy on her head it all felt like a dream.

Arthur had looked into her eyes, solemn. “That, too. But I meant at my side.”

When Gwen looks at her side now there’s an empty throne. Every now and then it feels like a stab to the heart.

She could have it removed, but she chose not to. She wants to remember, even if it pains her.

She suspects Gwaine’s seat at the Round Table remains unoccupied for the same reason.

Sometimes she catches Merlin looking at it – vacant eyes on a vacant seat.

He sits at Gwen’s side, and she misses him. Arthur died after Camlann, but the Merlin she knew never returned either.

“Merlin?” she calls him, genty. He’s gathering some scrolls from the table, absent-mindedly. The knights have left, they’re the only people in the council chamber now, apart from the guards posted at the doors.

The sound of his name seems to bring him back to reality. Where were you? she’d like to ask him. Where do you go when you’re not here?

Instead, she says: “Will you come to my chambers later? I’ve amended my speech for tomorrow and I would like you to review it. If you have the time.”

Merlin gives her an empty smile. “Of course.”

Of course. He always has the time for Gwen, and he’s always perfectly polite. It's like he’s trying to atone for the unforgivable sin of not saving Arthur’s life. She wonders how long it will take him to feel like he has done sufficient penance. Perhaps one day he’ll realise it will never happen, and he will feel free to go.

He’s not staying. She knows it, even if Merlin doesn't. It may be a matter of weeks, or months, or even a few years, but one day the tether binding Merlin to Camelot will snap. It grows more frail by the day.

“Thank you,” she says.

Merlin dips his head and leaves, the bundle of scrolls tucked under his arm.

She looks at Arthur’s throne. Tomorrow she will address the people of Camelot and declare magic no longer unlawful.

“I wish you were here to see it,” she murmurs.

One day she’ll start living for the present and for what is yet to come, and not for the memory of the man she loved. But today she allows herself to dwell on the past, and to take some comfort in it.

As she brushes a tear away, the clouds in the grey sky part, and golden sunlight floods the chamber. It touches the red velvet of the thrones like a caress.

It feels like an answer.

Gwen smiles.

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Well, Sh*t, Diana

I’m not a fan of the DCEU. I think they make capeflicks the wrong way. Sure, i absolutely understand there is artistic merit in he creation process and i do love a different interpretation of a character but there are certain elements that absolutely have to hit in order to make your version of the character, true to the core character. Spider-Man is a geek, Iron Man is an arrogant asshole with a heart of gold, and cap is a roided out boy scout. Unless the character has some nebulous history, like Donna Troy or Captain Marvel, the blue print for creating the characters is right there. Someone needs to be in charge to make sure you follow the plan. someone needs to be the one to reel you in when you stray too far from what’s been established before you go from Batman to Rorschach I know it sounds like i don’t like DC but that’s not true. I love them. Not as much as Marvel but i still dig their stories. Mostly. Hell, The Dark Knight is one of my all-time favorite films. I’m not saying they need to be as good as that but at least give me recognizable version of the characters, especially when there are excellent adaptions like this out there for comparison. Just because you CALL your movie a Superman movie, doesn’t mean it IS a Superman movie, ya dig? With that in mind, here’s hat i thought of Wonder Woman 1984.

The Good

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman hits it out of the ark. This is the best I've ever seen her act in her short career. Look, i know she’s been doing it for a while now, but it's be honest; Wonder Woman is literally the strongest role she’s had to date. The emotional complexity of Diana Prince is easily the most nuanced character Gadot has ever played to this point and it took a while for her to really nail that as a reality. WW84 really demonstrates how Gadot has finally found a happy medium between her acting ability and the strengths of the character. I was a little sus when she was cast originally but immediately got on board when it turned out that she as the best thing about BvS. Since then, shes continued to grow with the character and seeing the ultimate version of her interpretation was a joy to watch.

Chris Pine as Steve Trevor was Chris Pine. Look, he’s great at his job. Dude knows his range and he stays in that lane perfectly. This makes his characters kind of same-t, you’d be hard-pressed to tell me the difference between Trevor and his version of Kirk, but I'm not mad either way. It’s always a delight seeing he show up to steal a few scenes then disappearing before overstaying his welcome.

I legitimately love the chemistry between Gadot and Pine. They are great together onscreen and it really lends a bit of authenticity to their relationship in the film. The way Trevor returns is wonky as f*ck and I'll get into that in a minute, but it was good to see him up there with Diana, for sure.

Pedro Pascal as this version of Maxwell Lord was pretty okay. I generally enjoy Pascal’s work, specifically on The Mandalorian and GoT, and he executes here to that inspired degree. He does an able job being a different kind of foil to Diana’s different kind of hero and it all works. Even if this version of the character does not.

Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Minerva was delightful. Look, i love Wiig, man. She’s great in everything she’s in. There is a charisma to her that only the very best SNL alumni can claim to have and it makes it really difficult not to root for Wiig in her projects. I mean, i paid money to see her version of Ghostbusters! Legit disappointed with that nonsense but i went because i like Wiig and she was the star. I was not disappointed in her performance as Minerva. No, she was exceptional as that character. I was, however, put off by her version of Cheetah but I'll get to that, too...

This movie is gorgeous. I’m an Eighties baby so seeing that whole aesthetic is always fun. Takes me back to when i was young. Part of the reason i love Stranger Things is because of that nostalgia. WW84 doesn’t execute as thoroughly as that show in their Reagan era retro run, but it’s serviceable. Big hair, big shoulders, big colors; It’s all there and it’s fantastic.

The effects are a little hit or miss but, overall, they’re okay. Certain aspects of this film’s super abilities, that fantastical sh*t which makes this a capeflick, could have been visualized better but i get why they weren’t. Most of my gripes with this type of stuff are nitpicks and you get over them pretty quickly. Most, not all.

Patty Jenkins is getting more and more comfortable behind the camera in films like this. The action in WW84 is much more detailed, much better shot, than in it’s predecessor. Free from Snyder’s grimdark influence, we have a relatively bright, relatively light, take on Wondy akin to the old camp from the Seventies show and i kind of dig it. It’ a choice and i commend Jenkins for making it.

The score is great. I mean, it’s Hans Zimmer, man. When does he ever drop the ball on sh*t like this? His score is actually incredibly important to this flick. There’s not a lot of action in it, thing is almost a character study or morality parable dressed up as a capeflick, so you need that extra impact to get you over the expository hump. Simmer delivers this with a delicate and powerful companion soundtrack. One could make the argument that this score is the best thing about Wonder Woman 84. I’m not, but one could.

The Monkey's Paw effect was executed pretty well in this flick. I was surprised by the level of escalation and how it all kind of made sense. I'd say that the writing was great because of that but it really isn't, just this one aspect.

That Lynda Carter cameo, tho.

The Bad

I hate this plot so much, man. The overall narrative is goddamn convoluted and a little inept. The primary conflict seems incredibly forced and the absolute hurdles this thing had to do in order to shoehorn Trevor back into the story is f*cking disappointing. It’s effectively Heaven Can Wait with Amazons, magic wishes, furry nudity, and Eighties excess. This sounds like a dope ass anime but it’s not. It’s a wonky, uneven, adequate time spent with contrived nonsense.

This is easily some of the weakest dialogue I've ever heard in my life. I cannot stress enough that I absolutely understand this is a capeflick so I'm not expecting Shakespeare but at least give me something better than this.

I hate this version of Maxwell Lord. Look, in the book, this dude was evil Batman. He bested the entire Justice league, every last one of them, with his sheer brilliance and terrifying capability. He achieved absolute victory over DC’s heroes prompting Diana to literally break his neck to rob him of his triumph. It’s wild to see. She actually thinks about it. Wonder Woman pauses, contemplates her options, and them murders Lord in cold blood, in front of Superman, and just walks away from dude’s corpse! It was brutal and understand. Maxwell Lord was a f*cking problem and he was only going to get worse. WW84′s version is not a problem and could have been much, much, better.

Full-blown Cheetah is gross looking. The effects for her wholly CG body are f*cking terrible, man. Obviously, they frame this “fight” at night to hide all of that but it’s still really, really, bad. I understand that there’s a budget that you have to hit but, f*ck, you couldn’t give me Rebirth version of Cheetah with two hundred million dollars? Word? I shouldn’t be surprised about this, all of the DCEU CG villains look like sh*t, but how hard is it to execute Cheetah properly? The Mortal Kombat guys did it for a game but you can’t do it for a movie? Really?

This feels like a throwback capeflick and i have a real issue with that. Of course, i like the old versions of superhero movies. Donner’s Superman and Burton’s Batman will always mean a great deal to me but we are beyond that now. We have a better understanding of how to do this now. It’s a legitimate film genre with prestige pieces and everything. Why the f*ck are we looking back instead of forward with this movie? I imagine the cartoonish nature of this movie was a conscious choice by Jenkins but it definitely feels like a miscalculation on her part.

There are a great many plot holes and loose threads left unexplored. Why didn't Barbara lose her powers when Maxwell lost his? That convoy really didn't see them f*cking kids in the road? How and why did she go full Cheetah for that matter? Why does Steve look like himself to Diana when he doesn't even look like himself to himself? How the f*ck did Barbara just walk into the whole ass White House like that? While on the the subject of Barbara, what the f*ck was the cost of her wish? Was the the Cheetah thing? None of that was very clear. Will Stagg get out of prison for the tax fraud thing in the beginning? I get that I shouldn't b e analyzing this movie to the extent that I am but it's so loose with its own internal logic, I can't help it.

Two and a half hours is a real big ask, man. This flick did not need this run time. You could easily trim thirty to forty minutes off this thing and still have a really compelling watch. As it is, there's too much time for the pacing to get dumb and, boy, does it get dumb.

The Verdict

Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t a Wondy flick. It’s a generic superhero vehicle that happens to have Diana slotted in the pole position. You could have put any character and their main love interest in these roles and it would have worked out fine with little to no tweaking. This sequel feels uninspired in a lot of ways. It’s completely devoid of the emotional weight that first run carried. I can’t say it’s terrible, though, because i know what else is in the catalog to this point. WW84 is still one of the best in the DCEU and that says way more about the franchise than it does this flick. It’s not all bad, however. I did enjoy Gadot as Wondy. She’s come a long way and you can see just how comfortable she is as Diana. Chris Pine is going to Chris Pine. His Steve Trevor is, once again, the best thing about this movie. Rather, his and Gadot’s chemistry is the best thing about this movie. The newcomers are pretty okay as well.

I always enjoy Pedro Pascal and this version of Maxwell Lord ain’t terrible but it is way too different from the core character for me to really get on board Just write a different character, you know? Nothing on the page about this version of Lord, come anywhere near the violent mastermind from the books and i think that’s a very real missed opportunity. I was a little sus of the Kristen Wiig casting for Barbara Minerva but she pulled it off. I really enjoyed her as Cheetah literally until she actually be Cheetah. i was curious why the marketing refused to show her in full-blown Cheetara mode and, when i saw it, i understood. They should have let those effects cook a little longer. That’s the theme of this entire flick, though, wen i think about it; Sh*t should have cooked a little longer.

WW84 is a decent watch, if a little long in the tooth. It;s mad campy, saccharine sweet at points, and is definitely a capeflick envisioned through the eyes of a woman. It’s not bad, mind you, it’s just not that good, either. Everything seems almost but not quite. The villains are almost compelling but not quite. Diana’s entire arc in this seems almost cathartic but not quite. The necessity of Steve Trevor seems justified but not quite. This thing just misses the mark and yet, somehow, it’s still one of the best in the DCEU catalog. hat sh*t just boggles my mind, man. If you know your Amazonian lore like i do, this film can be frustrating at time. If you’re a fan of the DCEU, you’ll probably enjoy this flick. If you’re a fan of this version of the Wondy myths, then 84 is definitely for you. There is enough other stuff here to entertain and distract so it’s an okay time overall. The first one is still the best out of the lot, though.

[jurassicparkpodcast]

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Delivers A Jurassic Experience You Won’t Want To Miss | NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous represents an exciting moment in the Jurassic World franchise, as it provides us with our first adventure within the universe which takes place entirely on our television screens.

The show is set primarily during the 2015 Jurassic World incident, and allows us to explore Jurassic World (both pre and post Indominus Rex breakout) through their eyes. Whilst this is a kid-friendly look at the Jurassic World universe, the show by no means pulls it punches, and provides a fun and exciting experience which I think will resonate with long-time fans of the franchise as much as it will with the young people who it has been created for.

The story of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous is refreshingly slow. Rather than rushing to the large dinosaur set-pieces which we have all come to know and expect from the franchise, the show takes it’s time to explore the Camp setting, allowing us to experience some of the activities the kids get to experience as a part of their normal camping experience. A big concern of mine coming into the show was that we may not get the time to explore Jurassic World as much as many of us would like, so I was glad to see that I was wrong, and that the show did take the time to build upon the wider-established canon of the world.  I also appreciated that the story found ways to connect to moments from Jurassic World without making them feel shoehorned in. The events, as they unfold, felt logical – and whilst there were some moments where I questioned the concurrence with the events of the film, these moments were few and far between. The advantage of eight episodes in the first season is that they provides the writers with ample time to build a connection with audiences – developing a story which has real depth to it, and which only further helps to enrich the franchise moving forwards. I was surprised to see that the story here is not self-contained, but rather, may have ramifications for the franchise moving forwards – even in a post-Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom world. The story overall does a good job of juggling action and character development with world building, and that is something which I am incredibly glad to see.

Of course no story is complete without a strong and competent cast of characters, and Camp Cretaceous brings us a cohort of six Campers, plus two Camp Counsellors, as recurring characters throughout the eight episode run. I was impressed with how diverse the selection of characters was. Each of the kids has a well-fleshed out personality, with the series gradually unpicking each character and their tropes as it progresses. I like how we get a mixed bag of kids from different backgrounds here as I feel it will make it a lot easier for young people to connect with the show, and resonate with the experiences these young people have. The characters see good growth and development across the eight episodes, with some forming into natural leaders, whilst others concur the emotions which may have prevented them from achieving their full potential earlier in the series. Even the adult characters here feel well written – with a good dynamic between the two counsellors which doesn’t feel like a far stray from the dynamics we see between many of the main characters in the Jurassic World films. I was pleasantly surprised by just how well developed the array of Campers we spend the show with were.

Whilst the humans are big characters within their own regard, I think it would be remiss to also not count the Dinosaurs as characters – and there is a fantastic variety here who really help to breath depth into the show whilst also adding a sense of impending danger to the adventures the characters undertake. The trailers have already shown characters like the Indominus Rex and Bumpy, as these dinosaurs have moments and set pieces which help them to shine. I also appreciate how some additional work has been put into the show to integrate other animals, like the Sinoceratops, helping to create a more coherent universe which connects the dots between both Jurassic World and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. This is a small detail, but one which helps to fully immerse viewers in the wider Jurassic universe. I also appreciated how the show felt consistent in terms of the confines of Jurassic World dinosaurs. It is well established, at this point, that there were certain dinosaurs who were present on Isla Nublar, and the show is respectful of that pre-established canon, something which I think long-term fans of the franchise will really appreciate.

We mentioned Isla Nublar and the island itself is arguably one of Jurassic’s biggest characters at this point. The world we get to explore through Camp Cretaceous is both familiar and new, something which I think, again, will really allow viewers to connect with this show. The Camp itself feels like a nice blend between Jurassic Park and Jurassic World – hitting some of those key nostalgia beats whilst still presenting us with something which could have easily functioned as a part of the modern park. I have to admit – I love how some of the locations and vistas which we explore felt as though they may have taken prompts from Jurassic World Evolution and the Evolution of Claire. It helps to ground all of these properties as set within the same universe, and adds some great visual continuity for people who have had the opportunity to experience all of these different projects. It is also fun getting to re-visit some of the iconic locations you will know from both Jurassic World and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom – allowing us to see some of these locations in new and interesting ways. Whilst we aren’t going to talk spoilers just yet, I do want to add that ahead of the shows debut, I was adamant that I wanted to see more of the functional park – and we do get a taste of what that looks like in this show, which is very satisfying.

An important part of this show is the fact that it is animated – something which I feel had some people worried in terms of the cohesion between this show and other Jurassic World properties. I am happy to share that the animation here feels incredibly high quality overall, and it is able to find a balance between the unique style and flair that Dreamworks bring to all of their projects, whilst also maintaining the overall Jurassic World aesthetic you have come to know and expect. A Carnotaurus will look like a Carnotaurus, and will not stray too far from the pre-established visual identity we have from Fallen Kingdom, which is a great way to really double-down on grounding this as a canonical show set within the same universe. The dinosaur designs also feel as though they have had a lot of texture work put into them – with their assets feeling high quality, letting them pop on screen. There were moments where I was really impressed with the fluidity of the animation too – with some of Bumpy’s movements, in particular, feeling very dynamic and lifelike at times. If you were worried about how Jurassic would translate to the animated realm, it is safe to say that it translates pretty flawlessly.

The last thing I wanted to touch on within this review is the canon of the show – as this is something which I feel will be important to many Jurassic fans. We have heard on several occasions that this show will fit in within the wider Jurassic canon – and I am happy to say that for the most part, it is consistent with the pre-established events from the film. There are nods to moments from the first Jurassic World film at certain points which help to ground it within the canon, and there are a few fun little details which we will talk about later in the month which really help to call back to some older Jurassic Park projects – including one very unexpected nod to Jurassic Park III. The series doubles down on the Jurassic canon in ways which delighted me as a (arguably over-obsessed) fan, and even took the time out to officially add some details to the canon which had only been speculated about up until this point. I am very happy to see that the writers for this show clearly put a lot of time and energy into researching the wider world ahead of this show, as it is clear that they put a lot of work in to ensure that the sequences which we experience on screen can be placed within the pre-existing Jurassic World timeline without causing major inconsistencies.

I think that is enough gushing about the show for one review, but I am genuinely very delighted with the outcome of this show. Going into Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, I was a little bit cynical about the “kids” focus of the show. I was unsure as to whether there would be much that I would appreciate from a more mature standpoint, but actually, the show has a lot of subtle moments and extra details which have been crafted in specifically for people who are larger fans of the franchise. There is a lot of fun content woven into the very fabric of this show which is incredibly satisfying for long-term Jurassic fans. Whilst there is more that the show could have done in terms of exploring both the world and some of the dinosaurs who inhabit it, Season One is very much about focussing on bringing these characters together as they explore Jurassic World, and it does a fantastic job of grounding both the characters, and us as an audience, within that world. I am excited to hopefully see this show used as a catalyst for much more in the way of extended Jurassic media in the future.

That’s it for our advanced review of the show – and our big thanks to Universal Studios, Netflix and Dreamworks Animation for allowing us to check out the series in advance. Stay tuned to Netflix, where you can catch the full series on September the 18th.

Check out Tom’s mini review above and also find Brad & Tom’s full non-spoiler podcast below.

Written by: Tom Fishenden