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renyen808 · 1 year

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The Little Mermaid Remake Deserves to Exist

Hello everyone!! I don’t say this often, but I adored the live action remake of the Little Mermaid, which was released late May.

(Credit: IMDb)

Now, I know how the internet itself feels about these remakes, so before we go into the review, I want to be transparent about my feelings when it comes to the live action remakes.

My feelings are mixed about it. I sometimes don’t think they’re that bad. I can hear the booing as I write this, but I don’t believe they’re that bad. I think they’re bad when they don’t tell a new story. For instance, the 2017 Beauty and the Beast, although it did a lot from the animated version, gave Belle’s mom some sort of story and made Beast a bit more sympathetic. The 2019 The Lion King told the story word for word, so in turn, the magic is gone. I watched both of these in the theater by the way, and may I just say, the Lion King is my favorite animated movie ever, so you can sense my disappointment.

The Little Mermaid is another favorite of mine. I loved the original, just the idea of being a mermaid amazed me. Especially living in Hawaii, I loved the water. Ariel’s voice was also incredible, being the best singer of all of the princesses. While Jodi Benson’s Ariel is timeless and will live on to inspire other girls to dream, Halle Bailey’s Ariel will do exactly the same thing, but for even more girls, girls that never saw the original and thought, that’s me.

(Credit: Digital Spy)

Halle Bailey as Ariel is the best part of the movie and it shows that director Rob Marshall made the best choice when it comes choosing our mermaid. She embodied Ariel so well, as this infectious, curious, adventurous girl who wanted to explore the above world. I love more so how the romance aspect was second to her true passion for the above world, exploration. Bailey did, in my opinion, the best job of elevating Ariel for newer audiences, showing that it is okay to explore on your own, take risks, and that you never need a man’s hand to be successful. In many ways, I prefer this interpretation of Ariel as opposed to the original because of its amazing message.

The other characters are all great! Daveed Diggs as Sebastian was amazing! I already love Diggs as it is, so I was not surprised that he was great here too. I also loved Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. I know people were skeptical about her and I’m still on the side of she should have been played by a drag queen, but McCarthy did a phenomenal job. By the way, for my choice of performer for Ursula, it would have to be Ginger Minj. Awkwafina was good as Scuttle, though I have to say I would not feel comfortable if they made Scuttle the same way as the original. Jacob Tremblay as Flounder was okay, I was a little put off by his design still, but it didn’t ruin the experience for me. I was happy to see Javier Bardem in a role where he wasn’t the villain. I saw people say he was too strict on Ariel, but he’s the same way in the animated version. Jonah Hauer-King is incredible as Eric, taking a mid-tier prince into the top-tier charming man that Ariel deserves. Overall, all of the side and villain characters are incredible!

Established in my first movie review post, I rate things on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the absolute best, and 1 being the absolute worst. I don’t do 1 to 5 because I am afraid I will do some dumb rating like 3.3 out of 5. So, for consistency, I will only use whole numbers to rate things.

(Credit: CNN)

For me, The Little Mermaid remake gets an 8 out of 10. The entire movie is magical, especially Halle Bailey as Ariel. From the minor characters to the changes to the story, and the timeless classics reimagined here, you will not have a bad time here. I will discuss some of my criticisms below, but it is mainly flow issues and drastic changes in character (*cough* Eric *cough), but I will share that with you later. Overall, it is a great watch for families and especially young girls and women, you will not regret it.

This is the end of my review, which means I am moving onto my spoiler summary below. For the remakes from Disney (and possibly DreamWorks), I will be doing something a little bit different. For these, I will be doing a Compare and Contrast with the original work. I want to do this because many argue that Disney doesn’t need to be making these remakes if the originals are still there. However, I believe that when we look at them side by side, sometimes the meaning is different, and in a way, they deserve to exist next to their animated counterpart. I know there will always be people that complain about not wanting to compare it to the original, but, this way I won’t be just retelling the whole story (since I am sure we all know the story) and that way, you can clearly see the differences between the two. So, with that, I am done with my explanation. If this is where you will be leaving us, I hope you enjoyed reading my review of The Little Mermaid remake. If you enjoyed reading it, share it with a friend who may also enjoy it. Comments are always welcome, but keep it nice. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and shouldn’t be attacked because of them. Thank you for reading! See you in the next post!

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

So, for our first difference, the remake starts out with a quote from the original story written by Hans Christian Anderson. It states “But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more”. This quote opening the movie gives us an insight as to why Ariel’s suffering throughout the movie is much more emotional than it was in the original. Benson’s Ariel was crying throughout the movie, and while you are upset for her, it never really showed how much it affected her because she was always crying. Bailey’s Ariel, however, never could cry, until the very end, when she was finally human. She suffered so much throughout, making her pain even more upsetting, showing that even though she feels heartbreak, she cannot show it, like a mask. In the end, she was able to shed a tear, and finally express her sadness. The movie also has Eric in the beginning as well, sailing the seas and stopping the men on board from killing an innocent dolphin.

(Credit: YouLoveIt.com)

The movie is pretty much the same up until Ariel’s sisters and Triton show up. The sisters’ names are different from the original sisters. In the original, all their names started with A: Attina, Alana, Adela, Aquata, Arista, and Andrina. They were, honestly, kinda snobbish. I didn’t really care for them in the original. I mean, they acted like sisters, but I don’t have any sisters. I am one, just I don’t have any myself, if that makes sense. Okay, moving on. In the remake, we have Perla, Indira, Karina, Caspia, Mala, and Tamika. Each mermaid has a different ethnicity and rules a different ocean, so they are not home in Atlantica all the time, unlike Ariel. The reason they are all there is different too, as in the original, Sebastian held a concert with all of Triton’s daughters, minus Ariel since she never showed up. Here, there is no concert, but they are there for the Coral Moon meeting. Ariel misses this as well.

Bailey’s rendition of Part of Your World is fantastic here as well. It shows off her playful spirit while also holding a sense of longing that Ariel desperately has for the above world. I cannot gush about her enough, she was just the best choice! If you have not listened to it before, DO IT! Everything is the same, she saves Eric and she climbs the rock while singing the reprise, but it is actually a bit different from the original. See, in the original, Eric was reviving while Ariel was just admiring him. In the remake, Ariel had to use her siren song to revive him, ultimately saving Eric from drowning.

(Credit: Classic FM)

Afterwards, we reach one of the most recognizable sequences from the original movie. The Under the Sea portion is one I had a few issues with. First off, the lyrics should have been changed here. We will see later that some of the original songs had their lyrics changed, so it was possible. However, here, they just chose to leave it in when none of it was happening. There is a part of the song, where Sebastian is listing off sea creatures playing instruments (i.e. newt play the flute, carp play the harp). None of that was happening on the screen though, and it was just Ariel riding a sea turtle’s shell. You could have done one of two things here: either replace the lyrics with something else, or you show the animals playing the instruments. We are not looking for realistic storytelling here, it is a story about a mermaid, nothing is realistic. Another thing is Ariel singing here. I know Bailey has an amazing voice, and I love hearing her, but this song is about trying to convince Ariel to stay, why would she just be singing along? It was just a weird character choice that I did not agree with.

(Credit: Digital Spy)

Eric, however, is one that made me very happy. He gets a huge expansion in the remake, and I love these changes. First off, Eric is not just some dull prince that is eye candy for Ariel. Here, he wants to help the people he is ruling over, wanting to make things better. He also has a sense of adventure and exploration, wanting to sail more than be a royal. He also has a mother here, an adopted mom, Queen Selina, played by Noma Dumezweni. His mother actually forbids him from sailing after the accident and in his dismay, he sings the first original song Wild Uncharted Waters. This song, on first listen, was just a mid tier song for me, but after listening to it more and more, it actually helps to see and understand Eric. With Ariel’s voice stuck in his head, he cannot seem to shake her and return to the life he once knew. He has a control over him that is unlike anything he has experienced before, it’s new and it is the key to him escaping this life he feels trapped in. Hauer-King’s performance as Eric is another great casting choice, he not only played Eric perfectly, he exceeded expectations.

During the scene with Ariel and her sisters, instead of them getting ready, they’re all clear debris from a fallen ship. Ariel’s absent mindedness is apparent to her sisters, and this plays out like in the original, except after Triton destroys Ariel’s stuff, the remake Ariel does not cry, though she is clearly in despair.

Ursula in the remake is also different. Here, it is clear from the get go that Triton and Ursula are related, and that she was banished from Atlantica for fifteen years. McCarthy’s rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls lives up to the original’s sung by the late Pat Carroll. This rendition, however, is not as sexualized and demeaning as the original was, with the remake choosing to omit that entire portion about men not wanting to hear women talk, or the importance of body language, which I was fine with. That is not the story they are trying to tell, and I can respect choosing to leave that out. Also, instead of signing a contract, Ariel was forced to pick a scale from her tail and throw it into Ursula’s cauldron. Another thing that was sneaky but also an intelligent way to get Ariel to not try to kiss Eric all the time was to give her a spell to make her forget. I love this twist because Ariel wasn’t just trying to kiss Eric the entire time, which I enjoyed, but it was aggravating at times to see her not try to kiss him.

When she gets her legs, Ariel is actually caught in the net of a local fisherman and taken to the castle as she sings an original song in her head called For the First Time. This song is an adventurous one, one that shows Ariel’s curiosity of this world that she has just been thrown into. She is getting ready to meet Eric, who has been frantically searching for the woman who saved him (i.e. Ariel), but when they finally meet, he is initially turned away due to her lack of voice. She is shown being upset, again not shedding a tear, and is initially heartbroken. Later on, she explores the castle and runs into Eric in his room full of items he himself has collected over the years, and they spend time together, with Eric explaining everything and Ariel showing him the secrets hidden underneath some of his collection.

(Credit: Empire Online)

She and Eric go out, like in the original, where Ariel steers a carriage, and they make it to a market, where Jodi Benson ‘passes the torch’ to Halle herself. This scene made me tear up a bit, I am not going to lie. They also buy Eric a hat, and they dance with people in the courtyard. As they were making their way back, Scuttle steals Eric’s hat and leads them to a boat, where they row as Sebastian sings Kiss the Girl. Due to the forgetting spell, Sebastian is trying to convince Eric to kiss Ariel without Ariel realizing what is going on. We all know what happens here, and this is where I begin to have some issues. I know Scuttlebutt is here, and it is fine. That’s all I will say.

First off, before I talk about Vanessa, Ariel sings another reprise of Part of Your World here, and I think this is placed in the wrong part of the movie. I get that this song is supposed to show her heartbreak since she is seeing the guy she likes about to be engaged to someone else, but I honestly think it would have been better at the very end, when she was a mermaid watching Eric from afar. The lyrics fit better, it seems more sad because more than ever they are separated, and it just fits better here than right after learning about Vanessa. All in all, this was a misstep, and I feel it should be moved to where I suggested.

Vanessa here is played by the wonderful Jessica Alexander, who makes herself very memorable for such little screen time. However, I am confused for so many reasons with her inclusion. First off, we have already seen how much Eric enjoyed having Ariel with him, and it is very clear that he is off put by this. I don’t really buy that he is hypnotized. In fact, I think when he first sees her, he is initially confused. I mean, I can relate bro so don’t worry. Secondly, her skin tone is nothing like Bailey’s skin tone, and I know he did not get a good look at her, but why couldn’t they choose an actress with a similar tone? I know it is cruel, but Halle has a sister. Overall, I felt Vanessa was way more forced here than in the original, and it just does not fit this story.

(Credit: Twitter User @aficianad0__)

I just have to bring up how much a king Hauer-King (ha!) is in this one compared to the original. As Ariel transformed back, he held her in his arms and tried to protect her, while the animated one just stood and looked at her, like what the heck dude? Protect her! You just found out she saved you and you just look at her like, Oh snap! You a fish, girl? What should I do?” Animated Ariel deserved better, ugh.

(Credit: The Canberra Times)

Anyway, everything happens the same from here on out, except, Ariel is the one to kill Ursula, not Eric. She is actually on the boat while Eric is being shot at from below, and I really enjoy this change. Remember, Ariel has her tail now, so she has to think of a way to use the momentum around her being out of the water to try and steer the boat. By the way, this sequence and Ariel saving Eric earlier was very hard for me to watch due to the strobing lightning effects.

Everything happens the same, and my disappointment cannot be measured when I saw they did not give Ariel a new DRESS!! What the heck?! She only gets one dress from the movie when the animated one got three?! Ugh, I was so disappointed, but this ending did not disappoint. In fact, I’d argue it is better than the original.

In the original, we all know that she marries Eric and lives close to home in Eric’s castle. In the remake, however, I am not sure if they get married, I have no idea, but there is a ceremony, before Eric and Ariel begin to explore the world together. As they board the boat, Triton and Ariel’s sisters breach the surface to say goodbye, and I love this line from Javier Bardem, which says “You shouldn’t have had to give up your voice to be heard.” And at that moment, I cried. I cried so hard. Ariel finally sheds a tear, saddened about leaving her home and her family behind, but grateful that her father is on her side now. She embraces Triton before he pushes the boat away from them towards their ship, and that is the end. I love that they ended the remake this way as opposed to the wedding. The wedding would have actually been an insult to this rendition of Ariel and Eric and I really enjoyed that they get to explore now and live life the way they want to instead of living the ways of their parents.

(Credit: DeviantArt User mintmovi3)

All in all, The Little Mermaid remake deserves to exist amongst the others. I have seen many people for different reasons trying to boycott this movie, whether that be for racist reasons, hating the remakes, and so forth. I will not tolerate racism in any fashion, and to everyone hating on the remakes, let’s not die on this hill where a fantastic actress of color just performed the best live action Disney Princess performance ever. Let’s not die on this hill, alright? Support this film, support Halle Bailey, support the amazing story they have made here! It is better than the rest, I promise!

With that, it is the end of my comparison and I thank you for reading this far! If you enjoyed reading my stuff, share it with a friend who may also like it as well. Comments are always welcome, but keep it nice. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and shouldn’t be attacked because of them. Thank you for reading! See you in the next post!

#the little mermaid #disney live action #halle bailey #jonah hauer king

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kevinsreviewcatalogue · 8 months

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Review: The Mummy (1932)

The Mummy (1932)

Approved by the Production Code Administration of the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America

Score: 4 out of 5

The second classic Universal monster movie I was able to check out at Cinema Salem this October, The Mummy is one of the few such films where the classic 1930s version isn't the definitive example these days. In 1999, Universal remade it as an Indiana Jones-style action/adventure flick starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, and if I'm being perfectly honest, having now seen both movies I kinda prefer the '90s version. The original still has a lot going for it even more than ninety years later, but the remake's pulpy, two-fisted throwback style is just nostalgic for me in ways that hit my sweet spot. That said, I will argue that this was a better and more self-assured film than The Invisible Man, having a monster and effects just as memorable but also remembering to keep a consistent tone and, more importantly, have a compelling non-villainous character for me to root for in the form of its female lead. It is, shall we say, of its time in its depiction of Egypt and its people, but there's a reason why Boris Karloff is a horror legend, and here, he made Imhotep into a multilayered villain and a compelling presence on screen -- rather appropriately given how he's presented here as ominously seductive. At the very least, both it and the Fraser version are a damn sight better than the 2017 Tom Cruise version.

The film starts in 1921 with a tale as old as the first exhibit at the British Museum of ancient Egyptian artifacts, as an archaeological expedition in Egypt led by Sir Joseph Whemple discovers the tomb of a man named Imhotep. Studying his remains and his final resting place, they find that a) he was buried alive, and b) a separate casket was buried with him with a curse inscribed on it threatening doom to whoever opened it. Sure enough, Joseph's assistant opens that casket, reads from the scroll inside, and proceeds to go mad at the sight of Imhotep's mummified body getting up and walking out of the tomb. Fast-forward to the present day of 1932, and Joseph's son Frank is now following in his father's footsteps. A mysterious Egyptian historian named Ardeth Bey offers to assist Frank and his team in locating another tomb, that of the princess Ankh-es-en-amun. It doesn't take much for either the viewer or the characters to figure out who "Ardeth Bey" really is, especially once he starts taking an interest in Helen Grosvenor, a half-Egyptian woman and Frank's lover who bears a striking resemblance to the ancient drawings of Ankh-es-en-amun.

Let's get one thing out of the way right now. Lots of modern retellings of classic monster stories, from Interview with the Vampire to this film's own 2017 remake, often throw in the twist of making their monsters handsome, even sexy, as a way to lend them a dark edge of sorts. In the case of the Mummy, however, doing so is fairly redundant, because Karloff's Imhotep is already the "sexy mummy", if not in appearance than certainly in personality. He is threatening and creepy-looking, yes, but he is also alluring and erudite, his hypnosis of Helen presented as seduction and Frank becoming one of his targets because he sees him as competition. He may be under heavy makeup in the opening scene to look like a mummified corpse, but afterwards, Karloff plays him as an intimidating yet attractive older gentleman, the famous shot of him staring into the camera with darkened eyes looking equal parts like him peering into your soul and him undressing you with his eyes. And if it wasn't obvious when it was just him on screen, his relationship with Helen feels like that of a predatory playboy, especially in the third act when she's clad in a skimpy outfit that would likely have never flown just a couple of years later once they started enforcing the Hays Code. He's a proto-Hugh Hefner as a Universal monster. I couldn't help but wonder if Karloff was trying to do his own take on Bela Lugosi's Dracula here, perhaps as a way to make this character stand out from Frankenstein's monster; if he was, then he certainly pulled it off.

Zita Johann's Helen, too, made for a surprisingly interesting female lead. As she's increasingly possessed by the spirit of Ankh-es-en-amun over the course of the film, she's the one who directly challenges Imhotep on what he's doing to her, pointing out that, even by the standards of his own ancient Egyptian morality, his attempt to resurrect his lost love is evil and in violation of the laws of his gods, reminding him why he was entombed alive in the first place. It's she who ultimately saves herself, the male heroes only arriving after everything is all said and done, which was well and good in my book given that I wasn't particularly fond of them. Not only was the romanticization of British imperialism in their characters kind of weird watching this now (the fact that they can't take the artifacts they collected to the British Museum and have to settle for the Cairo Museum is presented as lamentable), but they didn't really have much character to them beyond being your typical 1930s movie protagonists. Frank is the young boyfriend, Joseph and Muller are the older scholars, the Nubian servant is... a whole 'nuther can of worms, and there's not much to them beyond stock archetypes. This was one area where the Fraser movie excelled, and the biggest reason why I prefer that film to this one.

Beyond the characters, the direction by Karl Freund was suitably creepy and atmospheric. I was able to tell that I wasn't looking at Egypt so much as I was looking at southern California playing such, but the film made good use of its settings, and had quite a few creative tricks up its sleeve as we see Imhotep both assaulting the main characters and observing them from afar. The direction and makeup did as much as Karloff's performance to make me afraid of Imhotep; while this wasn't a film with big jump scare moments, it did excel at creeping dread and making the most of what it had. The reaction of the poor assistant who watched Imhotep get up and walk away from his tomb struck the perfect note early on, letting you know that you're about to witness seemingly ludicrous things but at the same time making you believe in them despite your better judgment. This very much felt like the kind of classiness that we now associate with the original Universal monster movies, a slow burn even with its short runtime as "Ardeth Bey" spends his time doing his dirty work in the background, either skulking around or manipulating people from his home through sorcery.

The Bottom Line

The original 1932 version of The Mummy still stands as one of the finest classic horror movies. Not all of it has aged gracefully, but Boris Karloff's mummy is still a terrifying and compelling villain, and the rest of the film too has enough going for it to hold up.

#the mummy #1932 #1932 movies #universal monsters #monster movie #horror #horror movies #supernatural horror #boris karloff #zita johann #karl freund

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tinseltine · 1 year

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Overall I enjoyed the film and thought this fresh take on the Flashpoint event was creative. Just not as creative as the 2013 film, which still had meta-humans and heroes, with each of them in different roles than what they are in the traditional DC’s Earth-Prime version. For instance, Bruce Wayne was killed in the alley that famous night instead of his parents; turning his father into Batman and his mother into the Joker. Superman is captured and nowhere to be found. Cyborg is a resistance leader, giving America a fighting chance within a war between Aquaman’s Atlanteans and Wonder Woman’s Amazonians. Aquaman cheated on his wife Mera with Diana and it led to this major war.

This time around, in Warner Bros THE FLASH, the Flashpoint isn’t that inventive, but the changes to the world give us a chance to see Keaton as Batman again and see the spotlight on a different Kryptonian. Keaton fits right back into his suit. The movie’s stunt team was able to pull off fight scenes that were believable despite Keaton now reaching his 70s. His acting is up to snuff, as expected. Calle acts fine too, though her character is stern and dull, not in a bad way, unless one prefers the spunky and upbeat version of Kara from the show and comics. She plays the role that Superman usually does, which isn’t terrible, because it still shows a woman in a powerful way than typically presented.

Miller’s dual roles are both relatable and funny. His doppelgänger has more of that comedic attitude that we’re familiar with from 2017’s Justice League, however they’re both pretty humorous. Some of Barry #2’s personality could come off as annoying or extra, but it’s a younger take than that of main Barry. Barry 2 hasn’t had any tragedy in his life, so he’s more laid back. Main Barry has gone through the hardship that many of us know all too well – loss. So except for when he puts on his running boots, he doesn’t like to mess around. Miller is convincing in both personas... https://tinseltine.com/contributor-enrico-versace-the-flash/

#movie review #the flash #barry allen #superheroes

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wits-writing · 3 years

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What’s so Funny About Vengeance, the Night, and Batman? – Two Superhero Parodies in Conversation

Back in 2016, the first trailers for Director Chris McKay’s The Lego Batman Movie hit. A spinoff of the take on the iconic hero, voiced by Will Arnett, from 2014’s The Lego Movie. Those trailers spelled out a plot covering how Batman’s life of crimefighting is turned upside down when Robin unexpectedly enters the picture. It was a funny trailer, promising another insightful comedy from the crew behind The Lego Movie. A promise it handily delivered on when it came out in February 2017 with an animated feature steeped wall-to-wall jokes for the sake of mocking Bruce Wayne’s angst filled crusade that can only come from understanding what’s made the character withstand the test of time.

But there was a thought I and others had from seeing that trailer up to watching the actual movie:

“This seems… familiar.”

Holy Musical B@man! is a 2012 fan-made stage production parody of DC Comics’ biggest cash cow. It was produced as the fifth musical from YouTube-based cult phenomenon Starkid Productions, from a book by Matt and Nick Lang, music by Nick Gage and Scott Lamp with lyrics by Gage. The story of the musical details how Robin’s unexpected entrance ends up turning Batman’s (Joe Walker) life of crimefighting upside down. Among Starkids’ fandom derived projects in their early existence, as they’ve mainly moved on to well-received original material in recent years, Holy Musical B@man! is my personal favorite. I go back to it frequently, appreciating it as a fan of both superheroes and musicals. (Especially since good material that touches on both of those isn’t exactly easy to come by. Right, Spider-Man?)

While I glibly summarized the similarities between them by oversimplifying their plots, there’s a lot in the details, both major and minor, that separates how they explore themes like solitude, friendship, love, and what superhero stories mean. It’s something I’ve wanted to dig into for a while and I found a lot in both of them I hadn’t considered before by putting them in conversation. I definitely recommend watching both of them, because of how in-depth this piece goes including discussing their endings. However, nothing I can say will replace the experience of watching them and if I had included everything I could’ve commented on in both of them, this already massive piece would easily be twice as long minimum.

Up front, I want to say this isn’t about comparing The Lego Batman Movie and Holy Musical B@man in terms of quality. Not only are they shaped for vastly different mediums with different needs/expectations, animation versus stagecraft, but they also had different resources at their disposal. Even if both are in some ways riffing on the aesthetic of the 1990s Batman movies and the Adam West TV show, Lego Batman does it with the ability to make gorgeously animated frames packed to the brim with detail while Holy Musical often leans into its low-fi aesthetic of characters miming props and sets to add extra humor. They’re also for different audiences, Lego Batman clearly for all-ages while Holy Musical has the characters cursing for emphasis on a regular basis. On top of those factors, after picking through each of these for everything worth commenting on that I could find, I can’t say which I wholly prefer thanks in part to these fundamental differences.

This piece is more about digging through the details to explore the commonalities, differences, and what makes them effective mocking love letters to one of the biggest superheroes in existence.

(Also, since I’m going to be using the word “Batman” a lot, I’ll be calling Lego Batman just “Batman” and referring to the version from Holy Musical as “B@man”, with the exception of quoted dialogue.)

[Full Piece Under the Cut]

Setting the Tone

The beginning is, in fact, a very good place to start when discussing how these parodies frame their versions of the caped crusader. Each one uses a song about lavishing their respective Batmen with praise about how they are the best superheroes ever and play over sequences of the title hero kicking wholesale ass. A key distinction comes in who’s singing each song. Holy Musical B@man’s self-titled opening number is sung from the perspective of an omniscient narrator recounting B@man’s origin and later a chorus made up of the Gotham citizenry. Meanwhile, “Who’s the (Bat) Man” from Lego Batman is a brag-tacular song written by Batman about himself, even playing diegetically for all his villains to hear as he beats them up.

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Holy Musical opens on a quick recap of Batman’s origin:

“One shot, Two shots in the night and they’re gone And he’s all left alone He’s just one boy Two dead at his feet and their blood stains the street And there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can do!”

We then get a Bat-dance break as the music goes from slow and moody to energetic to reflect Batman turning that tragedy into the driving force behind his one-man war on crime. Assured by the narrator that he’s “the baddest man that there’s ever been!” and “Now there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can’t do!” flipping the last lyric of the first verse. For the rest of the opening scene the lyrics matter less than what’s happening to establish both this fan-parody’s version of Batman and how the people of Gotham (“he’ll never refuse ‘em”) view him.

Lego Batman skips the origin recap, and in general talks around the death of the Waynes to keep the light tone going since it’s still a kids movie about a popular toy even if there are deeper themes at play. Instead, it continues a trend The Lego Movie began for this version of the character writing music about how he’s an edgy, dark, awesome, cool guy. While that movie kept it to Batman angry-whiteboy-rapping about “Darkness! NO PARENTS!”, this one expands to more elaborate boasts in the song “Who’s the (Bat) Man” by Patrick Stump:

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“In the darkest night I make the bad guys fall There’s a million heroes But I’m the best of them all!”

Batman singing this song about himself, as opposed to having it sung by others aims the crosshairs of parody squarely on the hero’s ego. His abilities make fighting his villains effortless, like this opening battle is more an opportunity to perform the song than a life-or-death struggle. Even Joker’s aware of that as he shouts, “Stop him before he starts singing!” This Batman doesn’t see himself as missing out on anything in life, even if he still feels that deep down. Being Batman is the coolest thing in the world that anyone would envy. He’s Batman, therefore everyone should envy him.

The songs aren’t only part of the equation for how these two works’ opening scenes establish their leading hero. While both songs are about Batman being cool, they’re separated by the accompanying scenes. Lego Batman keep the opening within the Joker’s perspective until Batman shows up and the action kicks in. Once it does, we’re shown a Batman at the top of his solo-hero game. Meanwhile, Holy Musical’s opening is about B@man building his reputation and by the end of the song he has all the citizens of Gotham singing his praises with the titular lyrics. Both are about being in awe of the title hero, one framed by Joker’s frustration at Batman’s ease in foiling his schemes yet again and the other about the people of Gotham growing to love their city’s hero (probably against their better judgement.)

That’s woven into the fabric of what kind of schemes Batman is foiling in each of these. Joker’s plan to bomb Gotham with the help of every supervillain in Batman’s Rogues Gallery is hilariously high stakes and the type of plan most Batman stories, even parodies, would save for the climax. Neatly exemplified by how that’s almost the exact structure of Holy Musical’s final showdown. Starting with these stakes works as an extension of this Batman’s nature as a living children’s toy and therefore the embodiment of a child’s idea of what makes Batman cool, his ability to wipe the floor with anyone that gets in his way “because he’s Batman.” It also emphasizes Joker as the only member of the Rogues Gallery that matters to Lego Batman’s story, every other Bat-villain is either a purely visual cameo or only gets a couple lines maximum.

The crime’s being stopped by B@man are more in the “Year One” gangster/organized crime category rather than anything spectacle heavy. Though said crimes are comically exaggerated:

Gangster 1: Take these here drugs, put ‘em into them there guns, and then hand ‘em out to those gamblin’ prostitutes! Gangster 2: Should we really be doing these illegal activities? In a children’s hospital for orphans?

These fit into that model of crime the Dark Knight fights in his early days and add tiny humanizing moments between the crooks (“Oh, Matches! You make me laugh like nobody else!”) in turn making the arrival of B@man and the violence he deals out a stronger punchline. Further emphasized by the hero calling out the exact physical damage he does with each hit before warning them to never do crime again saying, “Support your families like the rest of us! Be born billionaires!” Later in the song his techniques get more extreme and violence more indiscriminate, as he uses his Bat-plane to patrol and gun down whoever he sees as a criminal, including a storeowner accidentally taking a single dollar from his own register. (“God’s not up here! Only Batman!”)

A commonality between these two openings is how Commissioner Jim Gordon gets portrayed. Both are hapless goofs at their core, playing more on the portrayal of the character in the 60s TV show and 90s Burton/Schumacher movies than the serious-minded character present in comics, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and other adaptations. Lauren Lopez’s portrayal in Holy Musical gets overwhelmed by everything thrown at him, eventually giving up and getting out of B@man’s way (“I’m not gonna tell Batman what to do! He’s Batman!”) Hector Elizondo’s Gordon in Lego Batman clearly reached the “stay out of Batman’s way” point a long time ago, happy to have “the guy who flips on the Bat-signal” be his sole defining trait. While the characterizations are close, their roles do end up differing. Lopez’s Gordon sticks around to have a few more comedic scenes as the play goes on, where Elizondo’s exist to set up a contrast with his daughter Barbara and her way of approaching Batman when she becomes Police Commissioner.

These opening sequences both end in similar manners as well; the citizens of Gotham lavishing praise on their respective Batmen and a confrontation between Batman and the Joker. Praise from the citizenry in Holy Musical comes on the heels of a letter from B@man read out on the news about how much they and the city of Gotham suck. They praise B@man for his angsty nature as a “dark hero” and how they “wouldn’t want him any other way!”, establishing the motif of Gotham’s citizens in Holy Musical as stand-ins for the Batman fandom. Lego Batman uses the praise of the Gotham citizens after Batman’s victory in the opening scene as a lead in to contrast their certainty that Batman must have an exciting private life with the reality we’re shown. Which makes sense since Lego-Batman’s relationship to the people of Gotham is never presented as something at stake.

Greater contrast comes in how the confrontations with the Joker are handled, Lego Batman has an argument between the hero and villain that’s intentionally coded as relationship drama, Batman saying “There is no ‘us’” when Joker declares himself Batman’s greatest enemy. The confrontation in Holy Musical gets purposefully underplayed as an offstage encounter narrated to the audience as a Vicki Vale news report. This takes Joker off the board for the rest of the play in contrast to the Batman/Joker relationship drama that forms one of Lego Batman’s key pillars. While they take different forms, the respective citizenry praise and villain confrontation parts of these openings lead directly into the number one common thematic element between these Bat-parodies: Batman’s loneliness.

One is the Darkest, Saddest, Loneliest Number

Batman as an isolated hero forms one of the core tenants of the most popular understanding of the character. Each of these parodies picks at that beyond the broody posturing. There’s no dedicated segment in this piece about how these works’ versions of the title character function bleeds into every other aspect of them, but each starts from the idea of Batman as a man-child with trouble communicating his emotions. Time’s taken to give the audience a view of where their attitudes have left them early in the story.

Both heroes show their loneliness through interactions with their respective Alfreds. Holy Musical has the stalwart butler, played by Chris Allen, try to comfort B@man by asking if he has any friends he enjoys being around. When B@man cites Lucius Fox as a friend he calls him right away, only to discover Lucius Fox is Alfred’s true identity and Alfred Pennyworth was an elaborate ruse he came up with to protect Bruce on his father’s wishes. Ironically, finding out his closest friend was living a double life causes Bruce to push Alfred away (the play keeps referring to him as Alfred after this, so that’s what I’m going to do as well.) After he’s fired he immediately comes back in a new disguise as “O’Malley the Irish Butler” (same outfit he wore before but with a Party City Leprechaun hat.) That’s unfortunately the start of a running gag in Holy Musical that ends up at the worst joke in the play, when Alfred disguises himself as “Quon Li the Chinese Butler” doing an incredibly cringeworthy “substituting L’s for R’s” bit with his voice. It’s been my least favorite bit in the play since I first saw it in 2012 and legitimately makes me hesitate at times to recommend it. Even if it’s relatively small bit and the rest holds ups.

That disclaimer out of the way, that conversation between B@man and Alfred leads into the title hero reflecting on his sadness through the musical’s I Want Song, “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight.” The song’s split into two halves, the first Alfred reflecting on whether he played a part in Bruce’s current condition and the second B@man longing for a connection. The song does a good job balancing between the sincerity over the hero’s sadness and getting good laughs out of it:

“Think of the children Next time you gun down the mama and papa Their only mama and papa Because they probably don’t have another mama and papa!”

The “I Want” portion of the song coming in the end with the repetition of the lryics “I want to be somebody’s buddy.”

Rather than another song number, Lego Batman covers Batman’s sadness through a pair of montages and visual humor. The first comes after the opening battle, where we see Batman taking off all his costume except for the mask hanging out alone in Wayne Manor, showing how little separation he puts between identities. Compared to Holy Musical where the equivalent scene is the first we see of Bruce without the mask on, which may come down to practicality since anyone who’s worn a mask like that knows they get hot and sweaty fast. Batman is constantly made to appear small among the giant empty rooms of his estate as he eats dinner, jams on his guitar, and watches romantic movies alone.

Ralph Fienne’s Alfred coming in at the end of this sequence witnessing Batman looking at a photo of himself as a boy with his parents for the last time. Alfred outlines Batman’s fear of being part of a family again only to be met with Batman denying he has any feelings ever. Pennyworth’s role as a surrogate father gets put into greater focus here than in Holy Musical, as we get glimpses of Alfred reading a book titled “How to Deal with Your Out-of-Control Child.” Also shown in smaller scenes of Alfred dealing with Batman’s insistent terminology for his crime fighting equipment, like calling his cowl an “armored face disguise.”

Batman’s denial of his pain contrasts how B@man wallows in it. Though he’s forced to confront it a little as the Joker’s plan ends up leaving him with no crimefighting to fall back on to ignore his issues. This montage gets set to the song “One” by Harry Nilsson and details Batman, unable to express his true feelings, eventually letting them out in the form of tempter tantrums. There’s also some humor through juxtaposition as Batman walks solemnly through the streets of Gotham City, rendered black and white, as the citizens chant “No more crime!” in celebration, while flipping over cars and firing guns into the air.

A disruption to their loneliness eventually comes in the form of a sensational character find.

Robin – The Son/BFF Wonder

Between both Bat-parodies, the two Robins’ characterizations are as close as anyone’s between them. Each is nominally Dick Grayson but are ultimately more representative of the idea of Robin as the original superhero sidekick and his influence on Batman’s life. The play and movie also both make the obvious jokes about Dick’s name and the classic Robin costume’s lack of pants at different points. Dick’s origin also gets sidestepped in each version to skip ahead to the part where he starts being an influence in Batman’s life.

Robin’s introduction to the comics in Detective Comics #38 in 1940, marking the start of Batman’s literal “Year Two” as a character, predating the introduction of Joker, Catwoman, and Alfred, among others. Making him Batman’s longest lasting ally in the character’s history. His presence and acrobatics shift the tone by adding a dash of swashbuckling to Batman’s adventures, inspired by the character’s namesake Robin Hood, though both parodies take a page out of Batman Forever and associate the name with the bird for the sake of a joke. Robin is as core to Batman as his origin, but more self-serious adaptations (i.e., the mainstream cinematic ones that were happening around the times both Holy Musical and Lego Batman came out) tend to avoid the character’s inclusion. These two works being parody, therefore anything but self-serious, give themselves permission to examine why Robin matters and how different characters react to his presence. Rejection of Robin as a character and concept comes out in some form in each of these works, from Batman himself in Lego Batman and the Gotham citizens in Holy Musical.

The chain of events that lead to Dick becoming Robin in Lego Batman are a string of consequences for Batman’s self-absorption. A scene of Bruce barely listening as Dick asks for advice on getting adopted escalating to absentmindedly signing the adoption paperwork. Batman doesn’t realize he has a son until after his sadness montage. Alfred forces Batman to start interacting with Dick against his will. The broody loner wanting nothing to do with the cheery kid, played to “golly gee gosh” perfection by Michael Cera, until he sees the utility of him. Batman doesn’t even have the idea to give Robin a costume or codename because he clearly views the sidekick’s presence as a temporary measure for breaking into Superman’s fortress, made clear by how he lists “expendable” as a quality Dick needs if he wants to go on a mission.

This makes Robin the catalyst for Batman’s shifting perspective throughout Lego Batman. When Robin succeeds in his first mission, the Dark Knight is hesitant to truly compliment him and chalks up his ward’s feats to “unbelievable obeying.” Other moments have Robin’s presence poke holes in Batman’s tough guy demeanor, like the first time Batman and Robin ride in the Bat-mobile together, Robin asks where the seatbelts are and Batman growls “Life doesn’t give you seatbelts!”, only for Batman to make a sudden stop causing Robin to hit his head on the windshield and Batman genuinely apologizes. They share more genuine moments together as the film goes, like Batman suggesting they beatbox together to keeps their spirits up after they’ve been imprisoned for breaking into Arkham Asylum. Robin’s representative of Batman gradually letting people in throughout these moments.

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, B@man needs zero extra prompting to let Robin into his life. Nick Lang’s Robin (henceforth called “Rob!n” to keep with this arbitrary naming scheme I’ve concocted) does get brought into his life by Alfred thanks to a personal ad (“‘Dog for sale’? No… ‘Orphan for sale’! Even better!”) but it’s a short path to B@man deciding to let Dick fight alongside him. The briefest hesitance on the hero’s part, “To be Batman… is to be alone”, is quelled by Rob!n saying “We could be alone… together.” Their first scene together quickly establishing the absurd sincerity exemplified by this incarnation of the Dynamic Duo. An energy carried directly into the Act 1 closing number, “The Dynamic Duet”, a joyful ode between the heroes about how they’re “Long lost brothers who found each other” sung as they beat up supervillains (and the occasional random civilian.)

That song also ties into the contrast between the Batman/Robin dynamic and the B@man/Rob!n one. While Holy Musical is portraying a brotherly/BFF bond between the two heroes, Lego Batman leans into the surrogate son angle. While both are mainly about their stories’ Batman being able to connect with others, the son angle of Lego Batman adds an additional layer of “Batman needs to take responsibility for himself and others” and a parallel to Alfred as Batman’s own surrogate father. It also adds to the queer-coding of Batman in Lego Batman as Batman’s excuse to Robin for why he can go on missions is that Bruce and he are sharing custody, Robin even calling Batman’s dual identities “dads” before he knows the truth.

In the absence of the accepting personal responsibility through fatherhood element, the conflict Rob!n brings out in Holy Musical forms between B@man and the citizens of Gotham. “Citizens as stand-ins for fandom” is at it’s clearest here as the Act 2 opener is called “Robin Sucks!” featuring the citizens singing about how… well, you read the title. Their objections to Rob!n’s existence has nothing to do with what the young hero has done or failed to do, but come from arguments purely about the aesthetic of Rob!n fighting alongside B@man. Most blatantly shown by one of the citizens wearing a Heath Ledger Joker t-shirt saying Rob!n’s presence “ruins the gritty realism of a man who fights crime dressed as a bat.” It works as the Act 2 opener by establishing that B@man and the citizens conflicting opinions on his sidekick end up driving that half of the story, exemplified in B@man’s complete confusion about why people hate Rob!n (“Robin ruined Batman? But that’s not true… Robin make Batman happy.”)

Both Robins play into the internal conflict their respective mentors are going through, but what would a superhero story, even a parody, be without some colorful characters to provide that sweet external conflict.

Going Rogue

Both works have the threat comes from an army of villains assembled under a ringleader, Zach Galifianakis’s Joker in Lego Batman and Jeff Blim as Sweet Tooth in Holy Musical. Both lead the full ensemble of Batman’s classic (and not so classic) Rogues at different points. As mentioned before Joker starts Lego Batman with “assemble the Rogues, blow up Gotham” as his plan, while Sweet Tooth with his candy prop comedy becoming the ringleader of Gotham’s villains is a key turning point in Act 1 of the play. Part of this comes down to how their connections to their respective heroes and environments are framed, Sweet Tooth as a new player on the scene and Joker as Batman’s romantic foil.

Lego Batman demonstrates Batman and Joker are on “finishing each other’s sentences” levels of intimate that Batman refuses to acknowledge. Shown best in how Joker’s plan only works because he can predict exactly how Batman will act once he starts playing hard to get. When he surrenders the entire Rogues Gallery (without telling them) and himself to police custody, he describes it as him being “off the market.” He knows Batman won’t settle for things ending on these terms and tricks the hero into stealing Superman’s Phantom Zone projector so he can recruit a new, better team of villains for a take two of his masterplan from the start. Going through all this trouble to get Batman to say those three magic words; “I love hate you.” Joker as the significant other wanting his partner to finally reciprocate his feelings and commit works both as a play on how the Batman/Joker relationship often gets approached and an extension of the central theme. Batman is so closed off to interpersonal connections he can’t even properly hate his villains.

Sweet Tooth, while clearly being a riff Heath Ledger and Caesar Romero’s Jokers fused with a dash of Willy Wonka, doesn’t have that kind of connection with B@man. Though there are hints that B@man and his recently deceased Joker may have had one on that level. He laments “[Joker]’s in heaven with mom and dad. Making them laugh, I know it!” when recalling how the Clown Prince of Crime was the one person he enjoyed being around. This makes Joker’s death one of the key triggers to B@man reflecting on his solitude at the start of the play.

What Sweet Tooth provides the story is a threat to B@man’s new bond with Rob!n. Disrupting that connection forms the delicious center of the Candy King of Crime’s plan in Act 2. He holds Rob!n and Gotham’s people hostage and asks the citizens to decide via Facebook poll if the sidekick lives or dies (in reference to the infamous phone hotline vote from the comic book story A Death in the Family where readers could decide the Jason Todd Robin’s fate.)

With the rest of the villains under the leadership of the respective works’ main antagonists, there’s commentary on their perceived quality as threats. When Holy Musical has Superman talking to Green Lantern about how much B@man’s popularity frustrates him, he comes down especially hard on the Caped Crusader’s villains. Talking about how they all coast by on simple gimmicks with especially harsh attention given to Two Face’s being “the number two.” Saying they’re only famous because B@man screws up and they get to do more damage. Which he compares to his own relationship with his villains:

Superman: You ever heard of Mr. Mxyzptlk? Green Lantern: No. Superman: No, that’s right! That’s because I do my job!

Lego Batman has commentary on the other villains come from Joker, recognizing that even all together they can never beat Batman, because that’s how a Batman story goes. The other villains get portrayed as generally buffoonish, struggling to even build a couch together and described by Joker as “losers dressed in cosplay.” Tricking Batman into sending him to the Phantom Zone provides him the opportunity to gather villains from outside Batman’s mythos and outside DC Comics in general. Recruiting the likes of Sauron, King Kong, Daleks, Agent Smith from The Matrix, and the Wicked Witch of the West, among others. When I first saw and reviewed The Lego Batman Movie, this bugged me because it felt like a missed opportunity to feature lesser-known villains from other DC heroes’ Rogues Galleries. Now, considering the whole movie as meta-commentary on the status of this Batman as a children’s toy, it makes perfect sense that Joker would need to go outside of comics to break the rules of a typical Batman story and have a shot at winning.

The Rogues of Holy Musical get slightly more of a chance to shine, if only because their song “Rogues are We” is one of the catchier tracks from the play. They’re all still more cameo than character when all’s said and done, but Sweet Tooth entering the picture is about him recognizing their potential to operate as a unit, takeover Gotham, and kill B@man. The candy-pun flinging villain wants all of them together, no matter their perceived quality.

Sweet Tooth: “We need every villain in Gotham. Cool themes, lame themes, themes that don’t match their powers, even the villains that take their names from public domain stories.” (Two Face’s “broke ass” still being the exception.)

Both Joker and Sweet Tooth provide extensions of the shared theme of Batman dealing with the new connections in his life, especially with regards to Robin. However, Robin isn’t the only other ally (or potential ally) these Dark Knights have on their side.

Super Friends(?)

The internal crisis of these Caped Crusaders come as much from how they react to other heroic figures as it does from supervillainous machinations. In both cases how Batman views and is viewed by fellow heroes gets centered on a specific figure, Superman in Holy Musical and Commissioner Barbara Gordon (later Batgirl) in Lego Batman. Each serves a vastly different purpose in the larger picture of their stories and relationship to their respective Batmen. Superman reflecting B@man’s loneliness and Barbara symbolizing a new path forward for Batman’s hero work.

Superman’s role in Holy Musical runs more parallel to Lego Batman’s Joker than Barbara. Brian Holden’s performance as the Man of Tomorrow plays into a projected confidence covering anxiety that nobody likes him. Besting the Bat-plane in a race during B@man’s Key to the City ceremony establishes a one upmanship between the two heroes, like Joker’s description of his relationship with Batman at the end of Lego Batman’s opening battle. Though instead of that romantically coded relationship from Lego Batman, this relationship is more connected to childish jealousy. (But if you do want to read the former into Holy Musical B@man, neither hero has an onstage relationship with any woman and part of their eventual fight consist of spanking each other.)

B@man and Superman’s first real interaction is arguing over who’s the cooler hero until it degrades into yelling “Fuck you!” at each other. B@man storming off in the aftermath of that gets topped off by Superman suggesting he should get the Key to the City instead, citing his strength and longer tenure as a hero (“The first hero, by the way”) as justifications. This only results in the Gotham citizens turning on him for suggesting their city’s hero is anything less than the best, which serves both as a Sam Raimi Spider-Man reference (“You mess with one of us! You mess with all of us!”) and another example of the citizens as stand-ins for fandom. Superman’s veil of cocksureness comes off quickly after that and stays off for the rest of the play. Starting with his conversation with Green Lantern where a civilian comes across them, but barely acts like Superman’s there.

One of the play’s running gags is Superman calling B@man’s number and leaving messages, showing a desperation to reach out and connect with his fellow hero despite initial smugness. Even before the first phone call scene, we see Superman joining B@man to sing “I want to be somebody’s buddy” during “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight” hinting at what’s to come. The note it consistently comes back to is that Superman’s jealousy stems from Batman’s popularity over him. This is a complete flip of what Lego Batman does with the glimpse at a Batman/Superman dynamic we see when Batman goes to the Superman’s fortress to steal the Phantom Zone projector. The rivalry dynamic there exists solely in Batman’s head, Lego-Superman quickly saying “I would crush you” when Batman suggests the idea of them fighting. Superman’s status among the other DC heroes is also night and day between these works. Where Lego-Superman’s only scene in the movie shows him hosting the Justice League Anniversary Party and explaining he “forgot” to invite Batman, Superman in Holy Musical consistently lies about having friends over (“All night long I’m busy partying with my friends at the Fortress… of Solitude.”)

Superman’s relationship to B@man in Holy Musical develops into larger antagonism thanks to lack of communication with B@man brushing off Supes’ invitations to hang out and fight bad guys (“Where were you for the Solomon Grundy thing? Ended up smaller than I thought, just a couple of cool guys. Me and… Solomon Grundy.”) His own loneliness gets put into stronger focus when he sees the news of Rob!n’s debut as a crimefighter, which makes him reflect on how he misses having Krypto the Super-Dog around. (The explanation for why he doesn’t have his dog anymore is one of my favorite jokes in the play and I won’t ruin it here.)

Where Superman’s a reflection of B@man’s loneliness, Rosario Dawson as Barbara in Lego Batman is a confrontation of Batman’s go it alone attitude. Her job in the story is to be the one poking holes in the foundation of Batman as an idea, starting with her speech at Jim Gordon’s retirement banquet and her instatement as commissioner. She has a by-the-book outlook on crimefighting with the omnicompetence to back it up, thanks to her training at “Harvard for Police.” Babs sees Batman’s current way of operating as ineffectual and wants him to be an official agent of the law. An idea that dumps a bucket of cold water on Batman’s crush he developed immediately upon seeing her, though that never fully goes away.

Her main point is that Batman “karate chopping poor people” hasn’t made Gotham better in his 80 years of operating. A contrast to Holy Musical’s Jim Gordon announcing that B@man has brought Gotham’s crime rates to an all-time low (“Still the highest in the world, but we’re working on it.”) She wants to see a Batman willing to work with other people. A hope dashed constantly dealing with his childish stubbornness as he tries to foil Joker’s schemes on his own, culminating in her arresting Batman and Robin for breaking into Arkham to send Joker to the Phantom Zone.

Barbara’s role as the one bringing grown-up attitudes and reality into Batman’s world does leave her in the role of comedic straight woman. Humor in her scenes comes from how she reacts to everyone else’s absurdity rather than anything she does to be funny. This works for the role she plays in Lego Batman, since she’s not there to have an arc the way Superman does in Holy Musical. She’s another catalyst for Batman’s to start letting people in as another character he grows to care about. Which starts after she lets the Dynamic Duo out of prison to fight Joker’s new army of Phantom Zone villains on the condition that he plays it by her rules. Leading to a stronger bond between Batman, Robin, Alfred, and her as they start working together.

The two Batmen’s relationships to other heroes, their villains, Robin, and their own solitude each culminate in their own way as their stories reach their conclusions.

Dark Knights & Dawning Realizations

As everything comes down to the final showdowns in these Bat-parodies, the two Caped Crusaders each confront their failures to be there for others and allow themselves to be vulnerable to someone they’ve been antagonizing throughout the story. Each climax has all of Gotham threatened by a bomb and the main villains’ plans coming to fruition only to come undone.

Holy Musical has Sweet Tooth’s kidnapping of Rob!n and forcing Gotham to choose themselves or the sidekick they hate sends B@man into his most exaggerated state in the entire play. It’s the classic superhero movie climax conundrum, duty as a hero versus personal attachment. Alfred, having revealed himself as the “other butlers”, even lampshades how these stories usually go only for that possibility to get shot down by Bruce:

Alfred: A true hero, Master Wayne, finds a way to choose both. B@man: You’re right, Alfred. I know what I have to do… Fuck Gotham, I’m saving Robin!

B@man’s selfishness effectively makes him the real villain of Holy Musical’s second act. Lego Batman has shades of that aspect as well, where Batman gets sent to the Phantom Zone by Joker for his repeated refusal to acknowledge their relationship. Where the AI running the interdimensional prison, Phyllis voiced by Ellie Kemper, confronts him with the way he’s treated Robin, Alfred, Barbara, and even Joker:

Phyllis: You’re not a traditional bad guy, but you’re not exactly a good guy either. You even abandoned your friends. Batman: No! I was trying to protect them! Phyllis: By pushing them away? Batman: Well… yeah. Phyllis: Are they really the ones you’re protecting?

Batman watches what’s happening back in Gotham and sees Robin emulate his grim and gritty tendencies to save the day in his absence makes him desperately scream, “Don’t do what I would do!” It’s the universe rubbing what a jerk he’s been in his face. He’s forced to take a look at himself and make a change. B@man’s not made to do that kind of self-reflection until after he’s defeated Sweet Tooth but failed to stop the villain’s bomb. He’s ready to give up on Gotham forever and leave with Rob!n, until his sidekick pulls up Sweet Tooth’s poll and it shows the unanimous result in favor of saving the Boy Wonder. Despite everything they said at the start of Act 2, the people want to help their hero in return for all the times he helped them. All of them calling back to the Raimi Spider-Man reference from Act 1, “You mess with one of us. You mess with all of us.”

Both heroes’ chance at redemption and self-improvement comes from opening themselves up to the people they pushed out and dismissed earlier in their stories. Batman takes on the role he reduced the Commissioner down to at the beginning of the movie and flips on signals for Barbara, Alfred, and Robin to show how he’s truly prepared to work as a team, not just with his friends and family but with the villains of Gotham the Joker pushed aside as well. Teamwork makes the dream work and they’re all able to work together to get Joker’s army back into the Phantom Zone but like in Holy Musical they fail to stop the bomb threatening Gotham. Which he can only prevent from destroying the city by confessing his true feeling to Joker

Batman: If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have learned how connected I am with all of these people and you. So, if you help me save Gotham, you’ll help me save us. Joker: You just said “us?” Batman: Yeah, Batman and the Joker. So, what do you say? Joker: You had me at “shut up!”

The equivalent moment from Holy Musical comes from B@man needing to put aside his pride and encourage a disheartened Superman to save Gotham for him. This happens in the aftermath of a fight the two heroes had where Superman tried to stop B@man before he faced Sweet Tooth, B@man winning out through use of kryptonite. That fight doesn’t fit into any direct parallel with Lego Batman, but it is important context for how Superman’s feeling about B@man before Superman finally gets his long-awaited phone call from the Dark Knight. Also, the song accompanying the fight, “To Be a Man”, is one of the funniest scenes in the play. What this speech from B@man does is bring the idea of Holy Musical B@man as a commentary on fandom full circle:

B@man: I forgot what it means to be a superhero. But we’re really not that different, you and me, at our heart. I mean really all superheroes are pretty much the same… Something bad happened to us once when we were young, so we dedicated our whole lives to doing a little bit of good. That’s why we got into this crazy superhero business. Not to be the most popular, or even the most powerful. Because if that were the case, hell, you’d have the rest of us put out of a job!

This speech extends into an exchange between the heroes about how superheroes are cool, not despite anything superficially silly but because of it. Bringing it back to the “Robin Sucks!” theme that started Act 2, saying “Some people think Robin is stupid. But those people are pretentious douchebags. Because, literally, the only difference between Robin and me is our costumes.” The speech culminates in what I genuinely think is one of the best Batman lines ever written, as B@man’s final plea to Superman is “Where’s that man who’s faster than a gun?” calling back to the trauma that created Batman across all versions and what he can see in someone like Superman. So, B@man sacrificing his pride and fully trusting in another hero saves Gotham, the way Batman letting Joker know what their relationship means to him did in Lego Batman.

Each of these parodies ends by delivering a Batman willing to open himself up to a new team of heroes fighting at his side, the newly minted Bat-Family in Lego Batman and the league for justice known as the Super Friends in Holy Musical. Putting them side by side like this shows how creators don’t need the resources of a Hollywood studio to make something exactly as meaningful and how the best parodies come from love of the material no matter who’s behind them.

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ddarker-dreams · 3 years

Note

SR Ask: Aww, Makeup Night was pretty cute! It makes me think, what kind of movies do Fugo and Reader watch when they do come to an agreement? I guess adaptations of literary works or classics would be the easy answer, but I’d suppose Reader would push him out of his comfort zone with other genres. Heck, I’d argue that if you subjected Fugo to a movie like Loving Vincent he’d be genuinely interested about it (even though that movie came out in 2017, but oh well). Have a good day!

WOO SR ASKS 💖💖

honestly?? if reader asks cutely enough, fugo will end up relenting and watching literally anything. the problem is that he will make his every issue with the movie known. he’s kind of like the human version of cinema sins and it’s well... it takes a lot of patience to sit through a film with that. you’ll be watching your favorite movie and he’s pointing out every possible plot hole, or a cut where the character’s outfits don’t stay consistent. you have to admit he has an incredibly sharp eye?? perhaps even sharper than the team’s gunslinger, mista. though fugo will not take being compared to mista as a compliment.

a movie both sr reader and fugo would like... fugo has a lot of respect for animation, he’d see it as a respectable art form. so he’d be softer on animated movies. if you put on the iron giant, spirited away, or paprika, he’d be a content boy. no complaints there. in fact, he’d be excited to talk about all the symbolism and imagery utilized in each of the movies. you’d think he was preparing to write a paper with how detailed he gets.

the easiest person to watch a movie with is mista. he’s so chill that he’d watch anything with you. during scary scenes number five clings to your shoulder <333 🥺

SR Ask: I’m movie anon, I just wanted to make a follow up to the ask! Would Reader unironically enjoy Bee Movie (I mean, I do)? Because that’d be hilarious. Also, thanks for letting me ask you more SR stuff, I’m really interested in the series (I’m originally the comfort ask anon). Good day!

the bee movie is a punishment for if the other members are acting up. for example, if narancia ate reader’s leftovers, she’d make him repent by having him sit through it with her. narancia prefers SUPER high action sequences, think fast and furious. so he’d be struggling to stay awake. it’s even worse that he has to read subtitles, unless there’s an italian dub reader can find out there. that’ll be enough to ensure no one ever messes with sr reader’s leftovers ever again. although, narancia kind of makes the most of it by sitting as close as he can to reader on the couch >:) so he’s still a happy boy.

#jjba x reader #narancia x reader #mista x reader #fugo x reader #my stuff #answered #Anonymous #scarlet ribbons #scarlet ribbons lore

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alice-morgue · 3 years

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Fanfic Rules & Regulations

could also be seen as terms & conditions ig.

anyway, for starters, don't worry. i'll use proper punctuation and capitalization for fics 'n stuff. i just type like this for aesthetic purposes.

Requests: OPEN!

Types of Fanfics

~ Headcanons

~ Oneshots

~ Reactions

~ Imagines

~ Requests

~ Short Fics (about 1k-2k words)

~ Match-Ups

What I'll Write

~ Just about anything, really. I have a really weird and broad-spectrum. I won't do incest or p*dophilia. Will do r*pe/dubcon and angst (though it won't be very good)

~ I'll pretty much do most any kink

What I Won't Write

~ Incest

~ P*dophilia

Characters

It is recommended you take a gander at the Notes section after this to see misc. things about how I write. Also, you may ask for anyone off of either roster or ask for everyone from one roster or anyone from the other. OR! You may ask for everyone from both in one ask. I want you to know that it may take me a while but I am happy to do so.

My Standard Slasher Roster:

~ Michael Myers (RZ Version For The Time Being)

~ Jason Voorhees

~ Freddy Krueger

~ Ghostface (Billy + Stu)

~ Pinhead

~ Other Cenobites (Chatterer, Butterball, Deepthroat, etc)

~ Thomas Hewitt

~ Bubba Sawyer

~ Chop Top Sawyer

~ Nubbins Sawyer

~ Drayton Sawyer (Both Original + 2017!Drayton)

~ Tex Sawyer

~ Tinker Sawyer

~ Alfredo Sawyer

~ Hannibal Lector

~ Jesse Cromeans/Chromeskull

~ Asa Emory/The Collector

~ The Sinclair Brothers

~ Otis Driftwood

~ Brahms Heelshire

~ Chucky

~ Tiffany Valentine

~ Billy Lenz

My Standard Creepypasta Roster:

~ Slenderman

~ Trenderman

~ Splendorman

~ Offenderman (Will Be Referred to As Smexy)

~ Jeff The Killer

~ Masky

~ Hoodie

~ Ticci Toby

~ Eyeless Jack

~ Laughing Jack

~ BEN Drowned

~ Herobrine

~ The Puppeteer

~ Happy Appy

~ Mr. Widemouth

***NOTES:

- I write RZ!Michael Myers because it's been too long since I've seen the original. Plus RZ!Myers has more of a background.

- Ghostface is only Billy & Stu because I've only ever seen the first Scream movie. I prefer writing them poly because...c'mon. We all know.

- As much as I love our adorable newer Lector I feel more comfortable writing for the older Hannibal.

- As much as I hate Asa Emory I will write for him but it may seem odd how I write him. I just really wanna push him down a flight of stairs, okay?

- Offenderman/Smexy will be written as a hopeless romantic who fully believes in consent (technically, he's considered a succubus/incubus and those types of demons get energy from pleasure and there is nothing at all pleasurable from noncon/dubcon).

- I will be writing all Pastas as I have grown up reading. Meaning Masky, Hoodie, and Toby are all Slenderman proxies within my writing (despite them actually being proxies of The Operator), Eyeless Jack is still a kidney eating cannibal that most definitely listens to Korn and Lana Del Rey on repeat, Jeff The Killer is a loveable asshole, etc.

- Don't ask why some of these characters are on the list (*cough* Happy Appy *cough*). I cater to many walks of life at I remember at some point I had tried to find Happy Appy fanfiction just because. Happy Appy is another character I wish to shove down a flight of stairs.

This list may updated in the future but for the time being: Here ya go!

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dossi-io · 3 years

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An introduction to DeVita

Do you want to learn all about the AOMG artist DeVita? This article will cover everything you need to know about the third female member to join the labels roster.

The content of this article is also available in video format, embedded at the bottom of this article.

Prelude

In early April of 2020, the Korean hip-hop label AOMG ambiguously announced that a new artist was signing onto the label. This label was grounded by the Korean-American triple-threat; Jay Park, who’s also one of its executives. This is a label with a very organic feel and artist-oriented nature, which stands out compared to many other music labels.

On April 3rd, the label’s official Instagram account posted a video. It was titled, “Who’s The Next AOMG?” where fellow AOMG members talked about this upcoming recruit. They sprinkled small hints and details by sharing their thoughts on the artist without mentioning who.

Around the world, fans immediately began speculating on who this could be. The major consensus was that it had to be the solo artist Lee Hi, due to reporting like this: “AOMG responds ‘nothing is confirmed’ to reports of Lee Hi signing on with the label”

A few other names got thrown in fan speculations like Hanbin (B.I), previous member of IKON, Jvcki Wai, and MOON (문) aka Moon Sujin. This despite a few of these already being signed to other labels.

On April 6th, three days later, the account was updated with a part two. This time dropping more hints, which would exclude many names from fan speculations.

On the 7th of April, the label’s official Instagram account posted a short teaser. The video sported an 80’s retrofuturistic setting, with a woman turned from the camera, dressed in all black, rocking braids, and some glistening high-heels. As it seemed to be a female, some were now certain that it had to be Lee Hi. A small few actually guessed correctly that the one who would be joining AOMG would be Ms DeVita.

Finally on April 9th, it was official! She debuted with the music video, from which the teaser clips was taken from, EVITA!, which accompanied the release of her EP, CRÈME.

What does the name DeVita mean?

The name DeVita, draws inspiration and meaning from two things. Firstly, Eva Perón – also known as Evita – who was Argentina’s former First Lady. When Chloe was learning about Eva’s life, it inspired her to combine “Devil” and “Evita”, thus creating “DeVita”. The name signifies the duality of how both Eva Perón and DeVita could be perceived. Either being a devil, or an angel depending on the eye of the beholder. Secondly, Salvatore Di Vita, a character from Cinema Paradiso, was also a source of inspiration.

An introduction to DeVita

Chloe Cho – now known under the artist name DeVita – was born and raised in South Korea, until the age of eleven. In 2009, she moved to Chicago, where she would learn English.

In 2013, she went back to Korea and participated in the third season of the show; K-pop Star. A talent show, where the “big three” (the three largest music labels in Korea) hosts auditions to find the next big k-pop star. However she didn’t win, therefore neither got signed.

Later on, she returned to Chicago and graduated high school. After reflecting on what she wanted to do next, she decided to make music. In 2014, her pursuit to become an artist brought her to the talent show Kollaboration. On this show, she performed covers and actually ended up being a finalist. Despite her talents, she did not triumph as the winner of the show.

Not letting these losses stop her, she started releasing music on Soundcloud. The earliest release I could find, Halfway Love (Ruff), was from 2016. Her catalogue consisted of both covers and original music.

One day, Kirin, an artist and CEO of the music label 8balltown Records, was introduced to DeVita’s music. He liked what he heard and the two linked up. In May of 2018, WEKEYZ, one of 8balltown’s producer duos released a track titled Sugar. This track featured both DeVita, and the AOMG rapper Ugly Duck. This was the beginning of many collaborations to come.

On August 28th of 2018, just a few months later, AOMG released Sugar (Puff Daehee Mix).

This was a remix done by Puff Daehee, the alter ego of Kirin. Along with this track, it was accompanied by a music video starring Kirin, DeVita, and Ugly Duck. For most people, this was their first time seeing DeVita.

DeVita continued doing features on many songs by Korean artists while creating a little buzz for herself. There’s one notable feature, which could be seen as an important milestone in her career. That is her feature on the track Noise, from AOMG artist Woo Won Jae’s project, titled af.

In a tweet a few days after the release of CRÈME, she shared the significance of this moment.

“I was still making minimum wage working at a restaurant back when Noise dropped- I wrote my part during my shift on the back of this receipt paper. This was about a year and a half ago. A little bit after that I got a call from Pumpkin at 3am Chicago time. He said Jay wanted to meet in Philly in 4 hours. They put me on a plane and the rest is history.”

The phone call she mentioned in her tweet, about Jay wanting to meet, must have been made around September 2018. Jay was performing in Philadelphia at the time. The moment they met in Philadelphia was actually captured through a photo of the two. However, this picture ended up getting removed later on.

Fast forward a few months and Jay had just released his Ask About Me EP. The project focused on a western audience, so he went to the States on a promo run. During his visit, he also met up with DeVita once again, as can be seen here.

Finally, on April 9th, her being signed to AOMG was officially announced and she debuted with her EP titled CRÈME. Her joining AOMG, looked like something that happened pretty naturally. The vast majority of artists she had collaborated on tracks with happened to be AOMG members. Getting comfortable with the AOMG family, likely made the decision to join crystal clear.

Artistically

Just a quick look at her body of work thus far, a majority of it is in English. However, she has no issues singing in Korean, as proven by her feature on Code Kunst’s; Let u in. The tone in her voice has this sort of mixture of many singers, a melting pot of sorts. It reminds me of Audrey Nuna, SAAY, H.E.R, some vocal riffs from Dinah Jane, and at times, just a tiny bit of Ariana Grande.

As an artist, she’s still in the early stages of carving out her own unique sound and style. There’s incredible potential here, but her distinct identity is not completely there yet. I see before me a caterpillar that within a couple years, will transform into a butterfly, with its own identifiable pattern to spread its wings out on.

From what she’s shown so far, I would say she seems most comfortable doing R&B and soul music. However, beyond a quick description I prefer to refrain from categorizing her. Mostly because artists generally feel limited when categorized. More importantly, because we have no idea what she has in store for the future.

Debut EP: CRÈME

CRÈME is DeVita’s “crème de la crème”. She constantly modified the tracklist to present her debut project in a way that held her personal standard; essentially presenting us her best tracks. The result is CRÈME, which consists of five tracks, with a runtime of fourteen minutes altogether.

This EP showcases the fact that she is a competent songwriter, able to write some soulful, emotional ballads. It is completely in English and all the tracks are written by her, telling both life stories of her own and that of others. A majority of the production was handled by her “musical soulmate”; TE RIM, but other notable names, like Code Kunst show up as well.

Tracks:

Movies, introduces the project in a very gentle manner. In the track, DeVita paints a picture of a criminal couple, getting a rush, by committing crimes together. The lyrics feel inspired by movies like Bonnie and Clyde. My initial thoughts were that, for some ears, it could possibly be “too” calm as an opener. It doesn’t demand attention the way EVITA! does. Simply put, it’s not a bad track. I would just have put this track later on in the EP.

EVITA!, is something different compared to what I hear from others in the K-R&B lane. I love the 80’s aesthetic in both the track and music video. Sonically, the nostalgic saxophone riffs, warm lush synth pads, thumping bass line, results in a trip back to the 80s. With this recipe, topped with DeVita’s “current” contemporary soul and R&B voice makes for an interesting combination. The music video had that futuristic 80’s look with the neon colors, and I loved how the guns she played around with looked a lot like the “Needlers” from the Halo franchise. The title is once again just like DeVita’s name, an ode to the controversial Eva Perón. The instrumental was originally used by TE RIM, the producer of the track in 2017. His version has the same title as DeVita’s version and I recommend giving that one a listen as well, as it has a different feel to it. This track was definitely one of the highlights of the EP.

All About You, is a simple yet beautiful piano love ballad. Originating from her own tales of love, her vocals effortlessly capture what she felt during these moments.

1974 Live, is yet another ballad, but this time, with a calm guitar backing, playing a poppier R&B chord progression. DeVita’s voice is given a lot of space to be in the center of the track. As soon as I heard this track I became curious. What was the significance of this year, which would have her title the track as such? My questions were left unanswered… until the EP had marinated a while, when she tweeted: “1974 Live is about Christine Chubbuck”. In case you’re unfamiliar, Christine Chubbuck was a television news reporter, who made history in 1974. She was the first person to commit suicide live on air. According to her mother Christine’s suicide would on paper be due to an unfullfilling personal life. All throughout her life, she had experienced unreciprocated love. With this information tying back to the track, it becomes a lot less ambiguous and reveals a more cohesive narrative.

Show Me, is the final track of the EP, featuring immaculate production from the talented CODE KUNST. The sound is very moody, which fits her voice like a glove. This is my favorite performance on the entire EP, both lyrically and vocally. The lyrics present someone who’s fed up dealing with men, who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Now she’s looking for love with someone who’s honest and “real”.

With the project being a year old now, it has already gotten her nominated for both Rookie of the Year along with EVITA being nominated for Best R&B & Soul Track in the 18th iteration of the Korean Music Awards.

A majority of listeners seemed to enjoy the project. Many seem to be in love with her voice judging by the endless amounts of praise she has received, often described as painfully addicting, soothing, smooth, and so on.

I also asked a friend who’s a huge fan of Korean music, especially the hiphop and r&b scene to share her thoughts on the project. Here’s what she said:

"This whole project is empowering, in particular the tracks Show Me and EVITA! DeVita being a new artist, managed to impress me and many more listeners through this EP. As mentioned earlier, empowering lyrics with unique melodies and beats. Especially with the track EVITA! The fact that 1974 Live and EVITA! was referring to, two historically important women, is something that I love. This is one of my favorite EP:s of 2020 and DeVita is now included in my list of favorite artists." @Haonsmom

From what I’ve seen, only a few have been vocal about not really being too fond of the project. Some were left a bit disappointed, as they were expecting more hip-hop and R&B from an AOMG artist. The lack of “danceable” tracks was also a concern to some. Despite these criticisms, one thing was always mentioned; the girl has a beautiful voice and is obviously talented.

After listening to this EP, I hear a lot of potential. Being an EP with just five tracks, it definitely avoids overstaying its welcome. It’s brief enough to allow a listen through the entire project, no matter what you’re doing. My favorite tracks would have to be Show Me and EVITA!, but I found the whole project to be enjoyable. This EP is sprinkled with lovely vocal performances and simple but captivating production. I do still stand by my opinion that Movies would have fit better later in the tracklist if you’re chasing that mainstream ear.

I think the way EVITA! kicks you in the face, demanding attention, would’ve been a better fit as the opening track. In contrast to the other tracks, the energy level is unique, making the placement feel odd as the rest of the tracks have a chill vibe. All in all, this project gave me a taste of the “crème” but left me with a curious yearning for what this chef will whip up for dessert.

Bright future ahead

The addition of more female artists to the AOMG roster was much needed. Hoody was the first and only female member for about four years. This was the case up until late 2019, where she was then joined by sogumm, who had just won AOMG’s audition program called SignHere. Now funnily enough after DeVita, Lee Hi actually did end up officially signing with AOMG on July 22, last year.

Based on what I’ve heard during Devita’s Kollaboration days, she has improved immensely. This topped with her leaving the impression of someone passionate about their craft, bodes well for what's to come. She seems to be someone who'll constantly evolve.

Following an artist, at the early stages of their career, is something that I always find exciting. With such a lovely debut, I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for DeVita.

To view the content of this article in video format simply play the video embedded below.

youtube

Thanks for reading, watching. If you enjoyed this content feel free to follow my socials to stay up to date on when new content is posted.

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Credits:

The first image in article: Original photo, pre-edit from @jinveun

Gif from the Sugar Puff Daehee MV: @moxiepoints

#devita #krnb #jay park #aomg #h1ghrmusic #8balltown #kpop #review #korea #uglyduck #chloe devita #chloe cho #kirin #evita!#crème #moon sujin #khh #korean hip hop #krap

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fuckyeaharthuriana · 3 years

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All the arthurian movies I watched from best to worst (imho)

Regarding my opinions and my taste: I am okay with low budget, bad special effects and even bad/weird acting, I prefer enjoyment over any kind of historical accuracy. I also enjoy cheesy movies, and I prefer characters over plot, and plot over the rest (pace, acting etc.).I tend to prefer movies that uses characters with a reason (ex. using Morgause as Arthur's sister versus using a random guy and calling him Gaheris just because it's an arthurian sounding name). I am also a bit Mordred fan.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Camelot (musical, 1982 or the Vanessa Redgrave version) - this musical is one of my favorite musicals and one of my favorite arthurian adaptations. It makes Arthur a true protagonist and really put a lot of effort into showing how complex and important his dream is (also I love movies where a character has to renounce to something to protect an ideal)

Excalibur Kid (1999) - best trashy Connecticut Yankee movie, with Morgause as Arthur's sister and focusing on the protagonist convincing Arthur to be a king

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (cartoon) - the best adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sire Gauvain et le Chevalier Vert (French short) - the best non animated Gawain story at the moment

The Sword in the Stone

Sword of Lancelot (1963) - a classic Lancelot and Guinevere story, but probably because of the hawk-bearing Mordred and his plotting I really enjoyed it

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1988) - a great adaptation of the book with a girl as the protagonist. It has nothing too different from usual, but the protagonist is great and Guinevere has a much bigger role than usual

Morte d'Arthur (1984) - a movie of just scenes and an external narrator, but it is so well done and some of the scene (Mordred's betrayal!) are amazing

Excalibur (1981)

Merlin and Arthur the Lion King - a cartoon, so expects it to be very kids-friendly, but it still manages to be fun and also one of the two movies with a Mordred redemption

Dragons of Camelot - extra trashy, but has a very thigh pace and gives a lot of depth to the characters, mostly Guinevere, Morgana, Lancelot and Galahad. It's so bad that it's good.

Merlin and the Sword - an extra trashy movie, but there are so many plot points (Nimue and Merlin, Ragnelle and Gawain, Lancelot and Guinevere, Morgana) that it ends up being entertaining

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword - pretty fun, a lot of strange humorous pacing, but using Kay as a random name, and not enough arthurian elements, it was clearly made to be the first of a series and kept a lot of elements for the future that never happened

A Knight in Camelot - another good Connecticut Yankee adaptation, with an interesting twist at the end

Arthur and Merlin (2015) - historical based, very nice visuals but Arthur and Merlin are the only real characters in the movie (and the only arthurian characters) and it seems more like it is setting the scene for a bright future that never comes, also very slow

New adventures of a Connecticut Yankee - this is so low because it's in Russian and I don't know Russian, but the visuals are AMAZING

The Knights of the Round Table (1953)

King Arthur: Knights of the Round Table (2017) - not really arthurian characters just strange reincarnations, a lot of absurd plot points, but pretty fun and one of the two movies in existence to have a Mordred redemption. Also, aliens. Far too long.

Percival 2007 - it was in Portoguese so I could understand little, but it looked very dramatic?

Quest for Camelot - the cartoon! Probably this is my nostalgia bias

King Arthur - good actors, not boring, but also nothing special and mostly focused on Lancelot and Arthur

Merlin and the Book of Beasts - classic 'Arthur's daughter has to reclaim the kingdom', but it glossed over the whole Mordred thing.

Arthur's Quest - a classic modern reincarnated Arthur fighting Morgana

A young connecticut yankee in King Arthur's court - a bad movie but so so fun. It also has evil Galahad and an amazing Morgana

Prince Valiant -classic Valiant adventure with more Gawain

Prince Valiant (1997) - classic Valiant adventure

Merlin and the War of Dragons - the plot is all over the place, but it manages to put together Igraine and Uther with Merlin's backstory. The only interesting part is the whole Nimue vs Viviane.

Avalon High (2010) - this low for having butchered the novel and ending up with confusing the plot and the whole sense of the novel. Still, definitely fun to watch for the right public.

First Knight - not too bad, but a bit boring and a story already seen. A classic Lancelot/Guinevere.

Guinevere (1994) - this is a mediocre movie about Guinevere and a loose adaptation of Persia Woolley's books.

Merlin the Return - so bad but also weirdly fun, a part for extra sexist Gawain

A kid in King Arthur's Court - my least favorite Connecticut Yankee movie, mostly because I really disliked the protagonist and the pace

King Arthur: Excalibur Rising - very slow pacing, focusing on Owain (here Arthur's son) vs Mordred, but spends little time on the characters themselves and mostly on setting Owain's big sword revelation and stuff

Lancelot du Lac (Lancelot and Guinevere) - I hate this movie. It's the classic Mordred finds out about Guinevere and Lancelot, but all the characters appear pretty boring with the exception of Gawain.

The Spaceman and King Arthur - this is so high in the list because it adds something new to the usual Connecticut Yankee story. But it's bad and pretty sexist.

Camelot The Legend cartoon - they sing and it's very bad

Sword of the Valiant - which is this low for the absurd way the butchered Gawain and the Green Knight

Merlin of the Crystal Cave - mostly focused on child Merlin and his mother

Merlin (1993) - not really an arthurian movie, as it's a modern times reincarnated lady of the lake stopping a prophecy. Nothing too exciting

Un espanol en la corte del rey Artur - a musical

Arthur and Merlin: Knights of Camelot - takes itself too seriously, Merlin is in it just for 10 minutes, focusing on Arthur's self angst, a lot of plot-points that makes little sense

Lancelot: Guardian of Time - this movie is weirdly fun, but the bad outweighs everything else, especially the sexism

The Sorcerer's Apprentice 2010 and 2002 - just bad, I hated both this movies but I preferred the 2020 one.

Pendragon: Sword of his Father - worst movie EVER. This is not an arthurian movie, just Christian propaganda with Arthur in it. It also makes no sense arthurian-wise.

Movies not in the list because they are not out yet:

Kaamelott part 1

Green Knight

Green Knight: The Movie

The Legend of Sir Mordred

Fate Grand/Order the movie

Movies not in the list because I could not find them to watch them or had no time to watch yet:

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves (not watched yet)

The Kid who would be King (not watched yet, SORRY)

Kids of the Round Table (I watched it but I remember nothing)

Merlin's Magic 2013 (never found)

Gawain and the Green Knight (1991, to watch soon)

Connemara (not watched yet)

Gawain and the Green Knight (1973) (watched it but so boring that I remember nothing)

Perceval le Gallois (I've watched it too long ago to remember)

Studio One: Connecticut Yankee (I've watched it too long ago to remember)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court (the 1949 a d the 1931 ones)

Lancleot du Lac 1970 (it's pretty, but only in French so I did not watch it)

Camelot cartoon 1999 (I've watched but I remember nothing of it)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (cartoon that I watched but don't remember)

Merlin: The Quest (never found it!)

the 9 movies pre 1921 because I could not find them or were in languages I could not understand

#king arthur #arthurian #camelot #arthurian legend

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artofdying1970 · 3 years

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music tag time :)

thank you for the tag fiona @odearjohn mwah

Who was your first favourite artist? katy perry 100%!! i remember me and my cousin would watch her music videos on her ipad when we were around seven :)

Who are your current favourite artists? phoebe bridgers, mitski, taylor swift and simon & garfunkel ! and the beatles .. i guess 🙄

Are you into musicals? Which ones?/Why not? not really. back in 2016-2017 i was your stereotypical Theatre Kid that liked hamilton, heathers, dear evan hansen etc etc all of those with notoriously bad fandoms lol. i guess it was really cathartic for me because i haven't bothered getting into musicals again, but i'm open for suggestions !! :)

Are there songs you consider so special you only listen to them very rarely? i think 'a burning hill' by mitski is such an intimate and fragile song for me that makes it hard for me to listen to it whenever. i have to be in a certain headspace if that makes any sense LOL

What's your preferred way of listening to music? (time of day, medium, situation) while i do homework ! but the music i like just makes me want to get up and sing at the top of my lungs so sometimes i have to stop lol

What would you say is the most niche music you listen to? this band/duo/thing called girlpool ! they haven't dropped anything since last year but i'm holding out for a new album soon :) i don't think their stuff is for everyone, especially their earlier projects (the delivery on their vocals and harmonies can be kind of annoying) but i think you should check them out if you like the sort of music they play in indie coming-of-age films where nothing happens lol

What's your favourite music related movie/TV show that's not a musical? almost famous !

Albums or playlists? both ! but tbh i tend to lean towards the first. most of the playlists i have up on my profile i don't actually like use? they're mostly just for show i don't trust myself to know what songs go well together lol. but sometimes listening to an album on loop can be quite boring if it has a Very Cohesive Sound so i'll put something on shuffle

Favourite albums? revolver (1966), bookends (1968), the idler wheel... (2012), bury me at makeout creek (2014), be the cowboy (2018), punisher (2020)

Is there an artist you're trying to get into? frank ocean ! would appreciate some song recs/albums to start :)

Whose music do you find overhyped? hngnghh ed sheeran ik it's trendy to hate on him nowadays so it's not really an unpopular opinion but i just. Don't See The Appeal

What's an underrated song? remember my name by mitski .. stream <3

What's a thing a bunch of songs do that you love every time? i don't know any like. music terms but i love love love it when a song starts out relatively calmly and it slowly builds up until it reaches a MASSIVE climax it makes go !!!! (ex. i know the end, bridge over the trouble water etc etc)

What song is better acoustic? does while my guitar gently weeps count?? the album version is obviously iconic but the demo version hits a little harder idk

What's the worst song of all time? achy breaky heart

Do you put individual songs on repeat? If so, for how long and how often? i do it pretty often! mostly for about an hour or so, more if i really like it. i really should stop because i'm going to make myself hate a song i really like (semi-related story: my friend and i were obsessed with 'hard times' by paramore back in eight grade and i played it so much it's STILL my most streamed song of all time accordijg to my spotify stats even though i haven't listened to it in like a year. yeah)

Do you make your own playlists? If so, what's your most entertaining playlist title? i do, but they don't really have fun titles or anything. they're mostly from poems or song lyrics that fit the theme :/ pretentious much ?

Headphones or earbuds? not opposed to either ! but you can't go wrong with the classic wired girlies :^)

Do you always sing the lead vocal or do you harmonize sometimes? If you harmonize, do you ever invent your own harmony? i do a mixture of both . it's a bit of a mess ☹

A music confession jack antonoff isn't that bad of a producer imo. he has a really inconsistent output but that doesn't necessarily mean he ruins everything his production touches :* (this year has been rough for him though lol like chemicals over the country club + solar power were both So underwhelming) i will admit that yeah. he tends to recycle stuff quite a bit lol

tagging the besties (no pressure obviously !!) @mithranqueer @belldog @aerialballet1968 @runofthemilldemo :)

#tag game #this was so fun i love music sm lol

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crystallhamptonhersheykiss · 3 years

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I've been rewatching Ducktales 2017 on Disney plus, and since the series finale is on March 15th. I thought it would be fun to go back and review the first two seasons. I've already did a review of season one, this is my review of season two.

Some of the positives of season two

* I liked that when the season opened up you knew what louies character arc was going to be this season, and I think it made a lot of sense. In the first season you saw the family always teasing Louie that he always messed things up, and in the second season he realized what his place in the family was and how he learned to be more humble when it came to money.

*while I wished he had actually apologized, I liked that Scrooge told Webby that she was family in The most dangerous game...Night. I think that might have been the easiest way for Scrooge to apologize to her after what he said in The last crash of the Sunchasher about how she wasn't family, even after telling her to call him Uncle Scrooge a few episodes before. But I think him calling her family would probably mean more to her instead of him just saying "I'm sorry."

* I liked that we got an entire episode focusing on Glomgold as a character and seeing how his rivalry with Scrooge started.

*Della's reunion with her family was really emotional and I think the show handled it well. I liked that the boys all reacted differently to meeting Della, while they were all happy to meet her I think Louie's reaction was the most realistic.

*The fact that Della had to slow down and figure out how she was going to fit into the family now. The show could have had everyone act like that Della suddenly show up wasn't a big deal. But it was, the family admitted that it was going to be hard getting used to her living there now, and Louie admitting he didn't know how to feel that he suddenly had a mother when he never had one before.

*The conversation that Scrooge and Della had in the garage. Della being upset that Scrooge said she wasn't a Mom. Scrooge wasn't wrong when he said that. At the time, she wasn't a parent to the boys the same way Donald was. I also liked that Scrooge told her she couldn't make up 10 years of being gone in one night and needed to slow down and take the time to get to know the kids better and she did do that for the rest of the season.

*the origins and reveals of Drake Mallard/Darkwing and Negaduck. I liked that this version of Drake is a good person who wants to help and inspire people, the same time though he does have a lot of the same flaws as the original Darkwing. So he doesn't feel like a completely different character from the original show.

*The reveal that the fan/actor from the signing and the new Darkwing was actually Drake Mallard. I liked how they revealed his name when Launchpad let him sign the poster, and that Jim Starling wasn't Drake Mallard at all. (I saw a couple theories that Jim Starling was maybe just a stage name.)

*The set up and reveal that Jim Starling was going to become Negaduck. As I've seen others point out, Jim was never a nice guy even before he found out about the movie, he was rude to his fans and instead of appreciating the fans he had, he was complaing that he wasn't more popular.

I also really liked the ending of the episode when they revealed the purple dye coming off of the costume and it was actually the same colors as Negaduck's outfit. And also his last words being "they want grim and gritty huh, happy to play the part."

While we don't know much about him before he became Darkwing, I think Jim might be a good example of "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Not only that but the show proves that Darkwing needs Gosalyn and Launchpad so he doesn't become bitter like Jim did.

Even before the ending there was a lot of hints that Jim would become Negaduck. (the crazy eyes he had when he locked Drake up, the chainsaws and the red and yellow balloons at the signing are Negaducks colors)

*Donald's reaction to seeing Della's ship and their reunion. Donald's voice actor did a great job when he said Della's name for the first time and liked that the two of them were able to have a reunion and how even though they both wanted to be mad at each other, they missed each other too much to stay mad for long.

* The reveal of Fowl coming out of the shadows and coming for the family. I liked the reveals that Gandra Dee was a Fowl agent and that John D. Rockerduck was still alive.

Some mixed/negatives things about season two.

*I wish the season had focused more on Scrooge and Glomgold's bet. Considering what Louie's arc was this season, I think it would have made more sense if Glomgold was the main villain of the season and the season finale was about Scrooge losing the bet and trying to get his company back instead of moonvasion. Considering how important his fortune is to Scrooge, I thought that would have been a big focus this season. At times it felt like the show forgot about the bet.

*I didn't like how they tried to make it a joke in Nothing can stop Della Duck when every time they mentioned Donald's vacation we saw him screaming in the spaceship and being terrified the whole time. It wasn't funny at all. And that's one of my few negatives in that episode.

*Another thing I didn't like with Donald is that the family never realized that Donald was missing and being held on the moon. One of my biggest negatives with this show is how they treat Donald. If Lunaris was going after the Mcduck family I think it would have made sense if he told Della, "Not only am I coming to take over the earth but I also have your brother." I think instead of running away with the kids and hiding, I think Della should have spent part of the episode trying to rescue Donald.

*I honestly think The richest duck in the world would have made for a better season finale instead of Moonvasion.

Overall I really liked season two. I do prefer season two over season one. Again feel free to agree or disagree with anything that I said. I do want to review season three but I know I'll have to wait for it to come on Disney plus.

Some of my favorite episodes of the season are

The Duck knight returns

The most dangerous game...night

The Ballard of Duke Baloney

Nothing can stop Della Duck

Raiders of the doomsday vault

The 87 cent solution.

Treasure of the lost lamp.

#ducktales #ducktales 2017 #scrooge mcduck #donald duck #darkwing duck #della duck #drake mallard #jim starling #Negaduck #huey dewey and louie #ducktales season 2

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ask-the-barkerverse · 4 years

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MLP Headcanon Dump

Just realized that I never bothered to post this on here. Heads up, this is a VERY long post.

Svengallop's parents are Charity Kindheart and Bracer Britches. The two had a brief affair, but never officially dated and Sven was an accident. Charity loved her son, but passed away due to illness when he was a teenager, so Sven was sent to live with his father who never wanted him. This has a lot to do with Svengallop's attitude as an adult.

All pure blooded draconequui are able to become pregnant or impregnate a partner, regardless of gender.

Wind Rider is a womanizer and serial adulterer with several illegitimate children, including Helia, Lighting Dust and Cloudy Daze among others.

There are some ponies who eat meat, such as fish, pork and chicken (eating beef and venison would be considered immoral since bovines and deer in Equestria are sentient). It's not particularly common and is actually considered gross by the majority, not unlike humans who eat insects. Equestria also has plenty of vegan alternatives that exist in our world, such as tofu and artificial meat.

The comic arc "Siege of the Crystal Empire" was actually just a fanfic written by Mina the dragon.

Tree Hugger is a member of the Hooffield Family. She ran away from home as a teen because she was sick of the constant fighting with the McColts. After running away she ended up joining a hippie commune, which is how she became the mare she is today.

Ocellus is the daughter of Queen Chrysalis. She will be queen of Thorax's hive after he is gone.

It is a tradition in Equestria for nurses to add 'heart' to the end of their names once they graduate nursing school. For example, Nurse Redheart's birth name is Redlove and Nurse Sweetheart is Sweetcream. This is in honor of Nurse Cureheart, the nurse credited for curing Celestia's broken heart after Luna's banishment.

The baby brother Hoops mentions in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" is actually Spiral Notepad, who is now a trans filly.

Yaks speak Equestrian (aka English) so badly only because they have their own language and Equestrian is foreign to them.

The Kirin are thought to be the result of Asian unicorns interbreeding with dragons, but this has never been proven.

Derpy Hooves and Dinky Doo are mother and daughter, with Dinky having been born to Derpy when she was still in her teens. (I know it's an old headcanon, but I'll always have a soft spot for it.)

Quibble Pants is a natural blonde.

Derpy Hooves' real name is Ditzy Doo. "Derpy" was a childhood nickname that just kinda stuck.

Derpy has an eye condition called strabismus, hence the crooked eyes.

Crackle is a pseudodragon, a species of lizard that disguise themselves as dragons. Despite having twice as many limbs and gems growing out of them, they are accepted by dragons as one of their own.

Flash Sentry and Spearhead are brothers and are both descended from a pony that escaped the Crystal Empire during King Sombra's reign.

Sunset Shimmer and Sunburst are cousins.

Discord created Poison Joke.

Toe Tapper and Torch Song are the parents of Coco Pommel.

Hoity Toity is part mule, hence the long ears.

Celestia was born with an all-pink mane and tail and would have gained more shades of orange and yellow as she grew, but she instead gained hues of green and blue when she took over Luna's duty of raising the moon after Nightmare Moon's banishment.

Wind Sprint's original father died in a sports-related accident, which is why Clear Sky found comfort and common ground with Quibble Pants who was able to distract her from sports for a while. Unfortunately, as we all know from the episode, this had no effect on Wind Sprint's persistent love for sports.

Celestia was technically the first pony who managed to pull off a sonic rainboom, but it wasn't the same as Rainbow Dash's since she lacked the colors of a proper rainbow. Over time it was forgotten, but Celestia's "rainboom" was the basis of the sonic rainboom being a myth in the first place.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack's respective families are both descended from the children of Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie.

Orchard Blossom is an actual Apple family member that Big Mac was impersonating in "Brotherhooves Social".

Rainbow Blaze (the rainbow-maned stallion from "Games Ponies Play" who was confirmed is not Rainbow Dash's father) is Rainbow Dash's older brother.

The final alternate future seen in "The Cutie Remark-Part 2" where Equestria is nothing but an apocalyptic wasteland is a result of Daybreaker coming to life and burning everything to the ground into pure ash. It got so bad that it ultimately left Daybreaker with no kingdom to rule anymore. (As horrifying as it sounds, the dirt that Twilight and Starlight were standing on in that scene included the ashes of hundreds of dead ponies.)

Pear Butter and Bright Mac were killed by Timberwolves on a day trip. Sadly, Granny Smith considers herself responsible for this as she forgot to warn them about the Timberwolves that day. As a result, this is also why Applejack is so good at fighting them off.

Due to their godlike status, Celestia and Luna are the only immortal alicorns. Ordinary royalty like Twilight Sparkle, Cadance, and Flurry Heart have longer lifespans than normal ponies but can still die of old age.

Screwball is the daughter of Nurse Sweetheart and her eyes only become swirly when she's exposed to Poison Joke. The effect it has on her is that it makes her see weird stuff and she used to be addicted to it, but ended up quitting altogether as the last time she used it (around the time Discord returned) caused her to see some pretty nightmarish imagery.

The episode "Yakety Sax" was just a bad fever dream Pinkie Pie had after eating too much Yak cuisine one day.

All the changelings in Thorax's hive are siblings born from the same queen. Changelings do not interbreed with members of their own hive, though they may form family units with their siblings and adopt grubs to raise, hence the family of changelings Ocellus was seen with in "Hearths Warming Club".

Whoa Nelly's real name is Jelly Nelly Bean. Her large size is the result of a very rare pituitary disorder.

Fluttershy's human world counterpart is a vegan.

Aunt and Uncle Orange are both parental figures to Babs Seed. Whether they're her biological or adoptive parents in still unknown.

The hippocampus (aka the seaponies from the 2017 movie) once existed as a separate race, but are believed to have been driven to extinction because of the Sirens, who destroyed their homes, depleted their food sources, and even directly preyed on them. This was of course before Queen Novo fled into the sea and formed the seaponies we know from the 2017 movie.

Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood had Scootaloo later in life as they didn't really plan to have a foal, hence why they're such thoughtless parents.

Mane Allgood is actually a cousin of Daring Do.

Bulk Biceps is Featherweight's biological father. He was formerly married to an abusive, neglectful, and alcoholic wife, resulting in a divorce and Bulk and Featherweight moving to Ponyville and leaving her for good.

Cheese Sandwich is the younger brother of Marine Sandwich. The real reason he ran away from home and stumbled into Ponyville by chance is because he wanted to get away from his psychotic older sister. (Based off of this.)

Cheese Sandwich and Mudbriar are cousins.

Limestone Pie's talent is mixing drinks.

Burnt Oak is the father of the pony versions of Timber Spruce and Gloriosa Daisy.

Rumble is a trans colt.

Granny Smith's real name is Maria Ann Smith, or "Annie Smith" for short.

Fluttershy is the oldest of the Man Six, while Pinkie Pie is the youngest.

Trixie's full name is actually Bellatrix Lulamoon. She prefers to go by Trixie as it's easier to remember.

Tempest Shadow didn't receive her cutie mark until she was an adult, AFTER the events of the MLP movie where she started using her horn to make fireworks.

The draconequus were once a race of creatures that went to war against ponykind after their prince (aka Discord) was turned to stone. The war resulted in many of them being wiped out and it's currently unknown if any besides Discord still exist today.

Kirin shed and regrow their horns once a year, similar to deer antlers. Shed kirin horns make a powerful ingredient in potions.

#just wanted to let people know this blog isn't dead #my little pony friendship is magic #mlp: fim #world buliding #headcanon #death mention tw #drug mention tw #barkerverse

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wonhakwoon · 3 years

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Thank you very much for the tag @satans-helper

Who was your first favourite artist?

If I look at international artists, Michael Jackson was my first favorite artist basically. I still love him until this day... it’s been 12 years since I was introduced to his music.

Who are your current favourite artists?

Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, David Bowie, Queen, ABBA, Golden Earring, Doe Maar, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Metallica, Adam Lambert, 4Minute, 2NE1, A.C.E, The Cats, Nik Kershaw, Pink Floyd, Muse, UB40 & Madness

Are you into musicals?

Not really actually

Are there any songs you consider so special you only listen to them very rarely?

Time Stood Still by Bad English and One More Night by Phil Collins. Both are related to my dad. Time Stood Still reflects how it felt for me when my dad got a heartattack in 2017. As for the Phil Collins one, my dad once told me that he wants this song to be played on his funeral one day.

What’s your preferred way of listening to music? (Time of day, medium, situation)

I prefer to listen to music on Youtube when I’m on my laptop. I always have my earphones in, because no one needs to know what the hell I listen to. I listen to Spotify 3 times a week, as I work from home and I spend those hours in my room. Then, I use Spotify on my phone and I have the sound soft but loud enough for me to hear.

What would you say is the most niche music you listen to?

I don’t even know what the fuck it means lmao

What’s your favourite music-related movie/tv show that’s not a musical?

Streetdance 3D and the Step Up movies. These are labelled under music movies if I look at the spine of the dvds, so I’ll count those. Streetdance 3D is very underrated actually :(

Albums or playlists?

Depends where I listen to music. On Spotify, I only listen to playlists.

Favourite albums?

You have a moment?

Bad by Michael Jackson, Seven and the Ragged Tiger by Duran Duran, So Red The Rose by Arcadia, For Your Entertainment by Adam Lambert, Super Trouper by ABBA, Ride The Lightning by Metallica, Master Of Puppets by Metallica, Queen Forever by Queen, Nothing Has Changed (compilation) by David Bowie, The Riddle by Nik Kershaw & Mylo Xyloto by Coldplay

Is there an artist you’re trying to get into?

Iron Maiden, Creedence Clearwater Revival & Muse... the reason is just that I forget to give more songs a chance and that I’m lazy haha.

Whose music do you find overhyped?

As a former K-Pop fan, I’d say it has become very overhyped AND overrated as of today. I was a fan for 9 years and I left the fandom in July 2021. Other than K-Pop, I find Billie Eilish very overhyped. Like, why would people like her?

What’s an underrated song?

Twilight Zone by Iron Maiden. This is pre-Bruce Dickinson and I have never heard anyone talk about this song. It’s so good!

What’s a thing a bunch of songs do that you love every time?

Electric guitar... need to say more?

What song is better acoustic?

I don’t wanna say it’s better acoustic, but Nothing Else Matters by Metallica sounds great (I’m talking about the Elevator version here, which isn’t entirely acoustic. But I don’t care)

What’s the worst song of all time?

good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo... but it’s a close call with the whole discography of Billie Eilish. I mean, I can’t stand today’s artists a lot. I hate this song in particular, because she dissed BTS (when I liked them) and she comes across as an arrogant bitch. No wonder I stopped watching the Disney+ show she is in...

Do you put individual songs on repeat?

On Youtube, hell yeah! On my phone (where I downloaded songs to), hell yeah! Recently, I have been doing this with Does Your Mother Know by ABBA, Ventura Highway by America and a few Metallica songs.

Do you make your own playlists?

All the time, I need to keep it organized. When it comes to Spotify, I only have playlists I created myself.

Headphones or earbuds?

Earbuds, not those Apple shitty things. Headphones look huge on my head and you barely see earbuds in my case.

Do you always sing the lead vocal or do you harmonize sometimes?

I have a horrible voice and I can’t sing, so harmonizing isn’t it for me. So I always go for the lead vocals.

A musical confession...

Metallica is the reason why I picked up guitar again after not touching it for 7 long years. I was close to selling my guitar. Their song ‘Fade To Black’ also saved me from suicidal thoughts, as I was battling those for a long time. This band is the reason why I’m still hanging on here.

Your turn! @ina90sstateofmind @doomcalls @oxymarine @electric-barbarella @tallica-inc @damage-incorp0rated @adlersrose @iobsessoverbands @hammett-obsession and anyone else who would love to do this :D

#tagged #i was tagged #thank you

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that-shamrock-vibe · 4 years

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Movie Review: The New Mutants (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the week following the movie first airing in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen The New Mutants do not read on until you have.

General Reaction:

A three year delay for the final instalment of a twenty-year franchise, was it ultimately worth it? Well as an X-Men fanatic I am always going to say yes, it wasn’t a swan song or a wrap up to the X-Men Cinematic Universe, far from as it was originally pitched as the start of a trilogy and does sew the seeds for that. However, while Dark Phoenix did feel like a sombre instalment not only for that “First Class” timeline but also the team movies as a whole, this had an air of sadness to it because this is the last time I will see anything X-Men related on the big screen for who knows how long.

In that sense, this was an emotional movie for me, more than just the fact that the emotion of fear is a running theme through the movie. However, in terms of my actual enjoyment of the movie, it was a very good movie for what it was.

When your very final movie is effectively an origin movie then there’s always going to be that sense of incompleteness, and what this movie teases both for these characters and who is the big bad behind all of this, it’s really frustrating to know it’s over before it truly starts.

With that in mind, The New Mutants is very slow to get started as there’s a lot of exposition and because it feels like it’s own branch of the X-Men Cinematic Franchise, similar to Deadpool, there is a level of “Beginner’s Guide to Mutants 101″ at play here with the explanation of what a Mutant is and when a young or “New Mutant” first discovers their powers that, to give this movie credit, I have never truly seen explored properly outside of the comics other than a quick explanation from Storm to Jubilee in the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series.

It’s also disappointing to know that unlike X-Men: The Last Stand or Dark Phoenix, there isn’t a sense of finality for these characters as we have just been introduced to them. Outside of Sunspot who has briefly appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past, this is the first cinematic appearance for all of these characters. The X-Men are briefly mentioned and Professor X is alluded to quite cleverly but every character outside of Sunspot is debuting here and to know they’re never going to be seen in this continuity again with a chance to develop is very sad.

In terms of the “horror” aspects of this movie I have to say this is very comic-book horror as in how Blade in the late 90s was horror. If you know the jump scares in this movie are coming then there are no jump scares, so basically if you’ve seen the trailers you know the jump scares.

As a horror movie, it felt very much like It-lite in terms of the theme of bringing nightmares into reality, only without the hard R-rating of the blood and gore because outside of one maybe two scenes there is nothing truly horrific to look at here.

There’s also a great parallel to the Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer shown from their episode in this movie and the Smiley Men who are Illyana’s nightmare brought to life. They’re creepy like them but they’re not as sinister as them...and that is a great choice of wording considering who the big bad behind the scenes of this movie is.

As an X-Men movie, which is what this is as the New Mutants in the comics are basically younger versions of the X-Men, as I say the first half of this movie isn’t that power heavy but is about introducing and establishing this team, the second half/last third on the other hand is power heavy. Not exactly Days of Future Past or Apocalypse heavy but still heavy for the powers this group of Mutants have.

Overall generally as both an X-Men movie and a comic-book movie, this was really a great movie particularly for the first new movie I have seen since lockdown.

Characters:

So this breakdown will be easy as there’s only really six characters to talk about but I’m going to make it a seven-character breakdown as the looming presence in the shadows of this movie deserves their own section.

Illyana Rasputin:

Alright so it is somewhat difficult to say if Illyana is my favourite or if Rahne is my favourite but I ultimately landed on Illyana for first as Anya Taylor-Joy is really in the spotlight the entire way through this movie. Every time she’s in a scene she commands the attention, and all five of the New Mutants have solo scenes so for Illyana to stand out the most, this is why she is #1 for me.

I’m not entirely sure where this movie takes place in terms of the overall X-Men timeline...but considering it’s supposedly in the revised timeline and Colossus is a member of the X-Men in the late noughties/early 2010s, I imagine this is either around the same time or can even be modern day (2017 or 2020).

Anya Taylor-Joy is as suited to the role of Magik as Channing Tatum would have been as Gambit in my opinion. Not only does she have a reasonable Russian accent but she just simply looks like how Magik looks in the comics.

I loved the rebel teen angst she had all the way through from when we first meet her to the very end, not only is it fitting for the movie but in my opinion it’s fitting for the character. This is a girl that literally goes through some resemblance of hell and is effectively a serial killer so of course she is going to have this icy dark exterior.

In terms of powers, I am slightly disappointed she never fully armoured up, it was always just her left arm that she had armoured complete with Soulsword, whereas in the comics her main look is her entire body. I guess the argument could be made the majority of it is simply a uniform and her arm is the only part armoured but I would have liked to have at least seen her crown.

But Magik’s powers for me here are an interesting combination of Zatanna and Nightcrawler which is a very good combination. The scene where she first appears through limbo fighting the Smiley Men was very impressive.

I would have also enjoyed it if we had spent more time in Limbo, given that we always saw cameo flashes of it whenever she manifested a portal, but we never actually had a full scene of her in her “special place”.

Not being too familiar with the comics however, I am almost completely unaware of Lockheed as a character. My only prior knowledge is his appearance in Pryde of the X-Men as a pest and I have to say I much prefer him here. The animation of both Lockheed and the Demon Bear were stellar.

As I say, I feel we have only just scratched the surface with where this version of Magik could go. I doubt very much Kevin Feige would bring Anya Taylor-Joy back if/when he does bring the character into the MCU because he doesn’t like playing with used toys but if ever there was an exception I would hope it would be her.

Rahne Sinclair:

It is slightly obvious to think of when Maisie Williams was filming for this movie as her hair, unless it’s a wig, is in that “Arry” phase of her Game of Thrones tenure.

Because of the current entertainment climate and the non-starting stance this movie finds itself released in, I think the lesbian romance between Rahne and Dani is going to go unnoticed. But considering this is the first major LGBT romance in a comic-book property I feel this movie will be cheated out of that representation in favour of what is to eventually come from Marvel.

Outside of the romance, I feel Rahne’s story rooted in her religion and mutation was fantastic. I love me some werewolf action and I feel I saw enough actual wolf to satisfy Rahne spending most of her time in “halfway form” as the character has been known to do in the comics.

The fact her nightmare was that religious leader branding her as a werewolf and thereby a monster, not only was it believable given her character but also the parallels to devout religious views on homosexuality were subtle but there.

I do feel the character spent way too much time screaming towards the end of the movie. This girl is a werewolf but spent most of the final battle as the screaming protector of her unconscious lover, I mean she was I guess helpful in waking Dani back up but never truly let rip like I feel the character could have.

I’m not entirely sure if Williams has any Scottish heritage about her but the slipping in and out of the accent was slightly distracting at times. When she was able to be loud the accent was often broken but in her quieter moments or longer dialogue scenes you could hear it.

I do appreciate keeping the nationality of the character from the comics, considering the mess they made of Banshee and Moira MacTaggert, and I do understand having an at the time name talent like Maisie Williams in the role, but there are surely Scottish actresses out there and the casting pool wasn’t exactly high for this movie.

Dani:

The main character in this movie, or focal character I guess as it’s an ensemble movie, is either Illyana or Dani, but because we start with Dani and are introduced to the other characters through Dani I guess she is the focal character.

Again, I give credit to the movie for keeping the nationality of the characters from the comics, but while Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams border on appropriation as they are not Russian or Scottish themselves, although Anya is of Scottish Argentine descent, Blu Hunt is at least Native-American as Dani is. I think they come from different tribes but I don’t think people are going to focus too much on that technicality.

Similarly to all these characters I don’t really know much about Dani so have no frame of reference to compare her to. I remember she appeared in one episode of X-Men: Evolution and I know her powers involve dreams, which similarly to the majority of the characters in this movie lends itself beautifully to a horror movie, but that’s about it.

I felt her relationship with Rahne was genuine and her own “survivors guilt” over being the only member of her family still alive after the Demon Bear attack was well explained.

I just didn’t understand why it was decided that Reyes had to kill Dani because of the severity of her powers, maybe it was the unpredictability of her powers because their limitations are literally the power of imagination, but I thought Reyes was responsible for sorting out those capable of being killers...surely the power to bring nightmares to life as many times as it takes to kill the person qualifies?

With the Demon Bear being tamed at the end of the movie, I kind of don’t see anywhere for Dani to go if they did continue, she still has the power to solidify nightmares, and I guess she can always call on the Demon Bear, but unlike Rahne or Magik I do not see any further development for her.

Sam:

Sam Guthrie aka Cannonball was an interesting one for me as I knew the character and I knew the actor, but hadn’t properly seen either one fully explored before. I have not watched Stranger Things so do not really know Charlie Heaton’s acting potential...but what I do know is he is from Yorkshire and cannot really do a Kentucky accent.

As for the character of Cannonball, I thought that early scene of him strapping himself to that weight while zooming through the air to either test himself or hurt himself was really well realised. There wasn’t enough of him going full cannonball throughout the movie, mostly it just came across as a sort of super speed which in a way I guess it is but projecting that force-field while he is zooming about is what makes the power set unique.

Similarly to Dani he had guilt over his nightmare which was him causing a mining accident which killed his co-workers and dad, but unlike Dani who never really developed the thought of it being her fault for her family’s death because of her conjuring the Demon Bear, Sam did at least hold a lot of guilt over what had happened...despite his nightmare being probably the weakest as the main effect it had was totalling a washing machine.

I also didn’t understand the back-to-back scenes of Sam suggesting he was meant to be in the hospital and felt he had to be there, but then in the next scene him trying to walk out saying he doesn’t belong there. Maybe it was the editing but it just seemed like a complete 180 from scenes that were literally back-to-back.

Roberto:

As I said this is Sunspot’s second cinematic appearance and I guess in the revised timeline he has gone from being portrayed by Mexican actor Adan Canto to now Brazilian actor Henry Zaga.

I didn’t feel the boys in this movie had that much to do, with both Sam and Berto it did feel like them simply coming to terms with their powers. I did like how both had that fear of hurting people and both had to learn I guess to push past that fear.

With Berto’s fear though, I do feel his power first manifesting in conjunction to him reaching sexual maturity was very well explored, because of course the combination of testosterone and becoming a living solar flare are not exactly two things anyone wants to mix. So when the result is burning your girlfriend to a crisp it is going to shake you.

Outside of his powers though there wasn’t a lot to the character and it is hard to remember a good line that he or Sam had that weren’t douchey, but for what we got he was a good character.

Reyes:

Wow this woman deserved to be eaten by the Demon Bear, which by the way I found almost as humorous as Katie McGrath being carried away by a pterodactyl in Jurassic World.

But yes, this doctor was the “villain” of the movie as she was the agent of the big bad Essex Corporation in charge of determining the new mutants’ powers and whether or not they’re worth progressing to their facility.

Outside of that I didn’t really think much of her as a character, she wasn’t a sympathetic character, she wasn’t believing to be doing this for the benefit of these young mutants, she was simply following orders.

It’s a deviance from the comics where Reyes is a hero and member of the X-Men, whereas here she is far from it.

Alice Braga is also regionally appropriately cast as she is Brazilian whereas the character is Puerto Rican, although whenever she spoke I kept thinking about Gal Gadot a lot, even looks wise there are similarities.

Sinister:

Now let’s talk about the looming big bad who I imagine would have been the major big bad of this supposed trilogy. Despite the new mutants believing the facility to be owned and run by the X-Men, it is in fact run by the Essex Corporation...Essex as in Dr. Nathaniel Essex, a biologist obsessed with evolution who became the Mutate supervillain Mister Sinister.

I want to see Mister Sinister in a live-action movie so badly it’s unreal, they’ve done Apocalypse so why they can’t do Sinister I don’t know.

This isn’t the first time Sinister has been alluded to as the Essex Corporation was in an end credits scene of X-Men: Apocalypse that acquired samples of Wolverine’s blood presumably to create X-23, but because those events took place in the 80s and these events take place in somewhat modern day it’s hard to correlate the two.

Obviously we are no longer going to get X-Men movies in this universe and continuity, but with the seeds being sown for Sinister more than once now, the baton has been laid down for Feige to finally bring this villain to life.

Reccomendation:

If like me you are more or less interested in just completing the twenty-year franchise because you love these characters and any interpretation of them then this is the movie for you. However, don’t expect wall to wall action, and I would recommend not getting too attached to these characters. It’s too late for me with Illyana I already love her and already feel Anya Taylor-Joy has set a high bar for whoever plays Magik next.

But for me personally, this franchise has been my favourite movie franchise and my favourite property. Even the bad movies I can at least find something good about them regardless of if the overall movies have been good or not. But just to reiterate, I do feel this is one of the good movies.

In a ranking of the 13 movies (not counting Once Upon a Deadpool), this ranks somewhere between #6-8 for me.

Overall I rate the movie a solid 8/10, by no means the best or a perfect X-Men movie but by no means one of the worst. The movie benefits from new characters (aside from Sunspot) but suffers due to the inevitability of this being the definitive end for the current franchise.

So what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

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