#I might have covid and this is a perfect time to rewatch my favorite war criminals

[hotd-brainrot]

Started rewatching hotd, thoughts of the first episode are as follows:

God, Rhaenyra is so gay for Alicent, she keeps making eyes at her. Also Alicent laughing at Rhaenyra's "fuck the septa" was so cute

I cannot believe I ever thought Daemon was scary. How can I take this man seriously when he, despite maiming half of the city, shows up at the Small Council looking all like 🥺 "surely you see benefits of me killing and maiming, don't you Viserys?" While also giving dirty looks to Otto. And then he goes to fuck Mysaria and can't even finish bc he is too scared he'll be replaced LMAO. Bestie, what are you doing??

Viserys is so fucking shitty. I used to still think he was a good guy in ep one(until Aemma scene) but with context, I fucking hate him. He obviously neglects Rhaenyra the same way he later neglects green kids and I'm sick of him already.

I fine the contrast between Daemon-Criston style of fighting fascinating. I have seen many people talk about Cole attacking Daemon when his back is turned but Daemon unhorsing Gwayne Hightower by hitting his horse's legs is something I forgot. Also love the contrast between how they treat people who give them their weapons, especially in context that we know how their character development goes. Cole is pretty controlled here, while Daemon rages. It seems that by later in the season, Cole grows more angry and Daemon slight less, which gets them to a very similar level of unhinged. Idk, I just thought that was a cool narrative choice.

Viserys should burn in hell for what he did to Aemma. Absolutely fucking brutal. Disgusting. Especially now with knowing he started knocking her up at age 13, against maesters' advice.

Not Daemon looking so caught when Viserys calls him up for "heir for the day" comment PLS 😂. This is a comedy. Also the first time I watched this, I thought Daemon was full of shit, but now, knowing what Otto is capable of...yikes, he was right. Viserys is weak.

Viserys cut himself on the throne when he sent him away? Damn, I forgot about that detail.

Rhaenyra being furious because Viserys didn't talk to her since the funeral and then asking her about fucking dragons is accurate. She should have dragged his ass more. He didn't even look at her during a funeral. Disgusting piece of shit.

The whole being named heir ceremony was so bittersweet. I don't even think Rhaenyra wants it as this point. It's just another burden she has to wear rn. If she knew what Viserys had done to Aemma...jesus.

[heretherebedork]

The Battle is back! And the Pining is back too! This time, the contestants are reshuffled and you, will decide who pines better and meets your standard. And the contestants are:

Kongpob vs. Bbomb

Mhok vs. Fiat

Kaeng vs. Mon

Kurosawa vs. Na

Third vs. Aey

Un vs. Chon

Mark vs. Pok

Puth vs. Tue

Kim Taehyung (Ryu's Wedding) vs. Sanha (Mr. Heart)

Pete (DBK) vs. Tann

Sarawat vs. Cairo

Mork vs. Fighter

Haoting vs. YongJie

Mek vs. Wayo (2moons2)

Forth vs. Thanu

Tri vs. Prab

Yu Hao (CTL) vs. Lichen

Shide vs. Nubsib

Ae vs. Tew (SOTUS S)

Kao (Oxygen) vs. Solo

Ming (2moons2) vs. Tum

Mes vs. In (UWMA)

Ram vs. Boss

Jedi (Close Friend) vs. Zon

Blue vs. Team (Y-Destiny)

Pi vs. Tsuge

Yeon Woo (Color Rush) vs. Jack (Trapped)

Man vs. Shin (3willbeFree)

Kang Gook vs. Ryu Ho Seon (Ryu's Wedding)

Tin vs. Kengkla

Mark (En of Love) vs. Wayu (Gen Y)

Phai (Gen Y) vs. Hin (LBC2)

Goodluck!!

Kongpob vs. Bbomb

This is a cruel, cruel choice. I love both of these boys so much and they have such similar stories and they work so well in their shows and I just love them so much. But I had to go with Kongpob in the end because, honestly, he had more room to pine because he's had so much more show to work with. But Bbomb is catching up quick with this last episode.

Mhok vs. Fiat

Fiat is just so good at pining. I just can't. Mhok got better in the special but he wasn't a good piner before that. He was much more toxic then Fiat ever was because Fiat was just going to hide away and never, ever talk about his feelings instead. So Fiat has to win. I love a piner who's willing to pine themselves away.

Kaeng vs. Mon

How do I choose?!? They're both so different at pining and so adorable and I love them both deeply in their own way. I think I have to go with Kaeng based on my four pillars of pining because he really does the best of filling them... sort of? They're both adorable, damnit.

Kurosawa vs. Na

Sorry, Na. Love you! But Kurosawa pretty much always wins. I cannot deny him anything. He always wins because he's the cutest and the softest and the most loving ever. So he wins without hesitation. Sorry! Love Na, though.

Third vs. Aey

This was hard but for the opposite reason of most of the others. Ugh. I went with Third because, I mean, pining? All the boy did was pine and cry in showers uselessly. Aey might have been pining but he was also too severely damaged to really pine in an enjoyable or healthy way.

Un vs. Chon

DAMN. This choice is interesting. I really do like Un's small and soft pining. But Chon. CHON. I love Chon so much and his tiny relationship trajectory and his adorableness. Plus, his pining is just fantastic.

Mark vs. Pok

Mark went more with pursuit than pining so I'm gonna give this to Pok. Pok gets to fuck Tong AND pine and it's absolutely fascinating honestly. I love him. Please let Gen Y season 2 exist sooner rather than later. I just want more of their mess!

Puth vs. Tue

... This is a rough choice because, honestly, I'm not sure how good either of their pining is. I went with Puth because he was pretty cute with Payu but it was still barely pining, honestly. And Tue is just... man, they were basically together in like 5 minutes y'all.

Kim Taehyung (Ryu's Wedding) vs. Sanha (Mr. Heart)

I gotta give it to Sanha. That boy's the happiest piner I've ever seen and he deserved all the joy in the world when he finally got his man. Taehyung was adorable and historical himbo beauty and he really was grand... but Sanha, yo, Sanha.

Pete (DBK) vs. Tann

Gotta give it to Tann. I gotta! He met him in university, never said anything and then managed to fall into him a second time. And got his adorable happy ending but with the perfect drama. Love a man who gets his man.

Sarawat vs. Cairo

I just don't like Sarawat that much. I also don't buy his pining. Sorry, y'all. Cairo was at least cute and I believed all of his emotions and all his feelings and his wants and needs and such. But Wat? Nope.

Mork vs. Fighter

No one loses to Mork. No one, ever, loses to Mork. It's impossible to lose a pining battle to a cardboard cutout. I would pick a character I didn't know over Mork. But I don't have to because I got Fighter! And I love Fighter! And Fighter's relationship with Tutor and his desperate pining and his need to get closer while still avoiding his feelings at all cost... I love him so much.

Haoting vs. YongJie

I am going with HaoTing despite my poor memory re: MODC because I remember adoring him and, frankly, YongJie made a better pursuer than piner because he was going to Get What He Wanted no matter what.

Mek vs. Wayo (2moons2)

I love Mek. I love Mek more than I should ever be allowed. Mek wins. Mek wins and I will miss him forever and ever and ever and ever and I love him. Sorry, Wayo. Also, Wayo, you're just a biiiit too much for my taste in the useless department. Sorry.

Forth vs. Thanu

Thanu can go to hell. At least Forth was cute and ended up happy. Thanu is just obnoxious.

Tri vs. Prab The Twins (Mab and Mob)

Ughhhhhh, do I have to chose? They both suck. The twins were the best piners in Brothers. So I declare them the winners instead! Sorry. Twins win!!!

Yu Hao (CTL) vs. Lichen

This one is close. But Lichen's soft and sad acceptance that he was just going to pine after Muren wins this for me. Yu Hao was adorable and wonderful, no denials. But Lichen's soft acceptance of his rejection? Was so good.

Shide vs. Nubsib

Another hard one! I wnet with ShiDe because his pining included a willingness to never have anything while Nubsib was like 'mine, this is going to be MINE and I will never give it up'. And I love pining that's willing to be unreciprocated.

Ae vs. Tew (SOTUS S)

I had to do Ae because, honestly, I don't remember Tew at all. SOTUS S is on my rewatch list for summer, okay? Promise! Also I love Ae and his feral demisexuality.

Kao (Oxygen) vs. Solo

I had to go with Kao. Kao's pining and pursuit are my favorite in the show. He learns to love bunnies! Come on! Solo was adorable and I love him and Gui deeply but Kao and Phu became my favorite.

Ming (2moons2) vs. Tum

Ming wins. Mings so hard it almost hurts. I love Ming, I love MingKit, I love boys who can melt a tsundere heart and I love a melted tsundere so much it almost hurts. Plus, Ming does a great job of pining and flirting.

Mes vs. In (UWMA)

In is not a piner. In is the opposite of a piner. In does not pine. In walks up to a guy everyone says is dangerous and asks him out on a date. Anyone wins over In because In doesn't pine. But Mes is also adorable.

Ram vs. Boss

This one is hard. I don't actually consider Boss to be a good piner. I feel like he missed the mark, especially in comparision to Mek. But Ram also isn't the most pining of characters. Though he definitely does better than Boss. So Ram it is!

Jedi (Close Friend) vs. Zon

I had to go with Jedi because Zon is more pursued than pining. He does do some, no denial. But Jedi is the best and adorable about his whole pining and every time he sees Ray he turns into a tiny incoherent creature of nothing but want and need. Love. LOVE>

Blue vs. Team (Y-Destiny)

I miss Blue. I wish we'd gotten a special for that couple as well as the SaifanZon special, honestly. Because they deserved so much better than COVID gave them. Also, Team

Pi vs. Tsuge

Tsuge wins. He was so adorable and useless. Just adorable. And his love of cats and delivery boys and awkwardness and the fact that, in the end, he learned how to communicate... I love him so much, okay?

Yeon Woo (Color Rush) vs. Jack (Trapped)

Gotta go with Color Rush every time. Jack is adorable but Yeon Woo wins all pining wars. Ugh, the pining in that show. So good. Such a god show.

Man vs. Shin (3willbeFree)

Nearly impossible choice. But I love and miss Shin, okay? He deserves this. He was so soft and so in love and so unsure and he deserved in in every way.

Kang Gook vs. Ryu Ho Seon (Ryu's Wedding)

I gotta give it to Kang Gook. He was willing to give up so much and so willing to just keep going and just... yeah. Sorry. I gotta give it to him.

Tin vs. Kengkla

KENGKLA IS CANCELED FOREVER. Tin wins because he is both adorable and absolutely useless. I mean, breaking Can's phone just to get his phone number? SO GOOD. So stupid. I love it so much. Also, Kengkla can burn in hell.

Mark (En of Love) vs. Wayu (Gen Y)

This was hard. But I had to go with Wayu. I just... I had to give this to him, okay? He's cute and he's soft and he might be useless and their relationship was never that great but like... he's cute? And healthier than Mark. I dunno, I never loved Mark.

Phai (Gen Y) vs. Hin (LBC2)

This one was rough. But I gotta give to Hin. I mean, damn. DAMN. I love Hin. And I love his story. And Phai just ended up in such a mess... Oof. At least Hin came to his adorable pining senses.

[doomtodivide]

Imagining The Future: Bastille's New Era Analysis

Hello all! The following is taken from the first of my new era update posts on r/Bastillecult. I highly reccomend reading all the posts on there!

Last time I had a few solid guesses with the whole Goosebumps EP transition period, so I figured I would try my luck with this new era. I've broken everything down into a few categories that should hopefully flesh out a sketch of possibilities

Aesthetic: The new logo has a very sleek design. This complete change in aesthetics is very noticable. Bad Blood was filled with literature references, a cozy and nerdy looking dan, and more earthy looking tones. Wild World focused on nihilism, movie references, and an all too realistic dystopian city aesthetic. Doom Days focused on escapism, partying, fucking, and a red and home-y vibes. The lack of color and the clean and sleek look points towards it being a more future oriented era.

Triangle: For a deeper background, I highly recommend reading u/casperwyomingrex 'spost.

The WW era triangle and this new triangle are technically called deltas. While I am by no means a geometry person, I’ve been told by a few math nerds that these triangles are technically not possible in certain plains and spaces, making them impossible. While it is likely that Bastille just needed to explore just slightly outside the normal definition of a triangle to match this aesthetic, the impossible triangle t-shirts hint that there is significance to having “impossible” triangles. This hints that there may be more in common between the WW Era and the Future Era, ie. a dystopian society.

Dystopia: Bastille created an entire dystopian corporation for WW. I remember them saying somewhere they hated the promo and touring process for this album, leading them to switch up the process for DD and the Goosebumps EP. With the record label change and covid shaking up the world, this opens up the opportunity for them to have a redo with this era, especially considering it is a fan favorite era. Many people have pointed out that hint has a vibe similar to black mirror, a sci-fi dystopian show, which would fully support a sci-fi dystopian aesthetic era.

Sound: Though the clip is only 8 seconds long, it gives us some hints about the new era. Bastille once again uses synths for sound, creating a reference to Sci Fi sound effects. The clip mirrors the effect of oscillators to create things like laser sound effects, teleportation, warping, and other “space” noises. I find the juxtaposition of Sci-fi interesting; it was most popular in the early 1900s, meaning Bastille is referencing the past, yet it focuses on the future, which in the lense of Sci-fi, would mean the 2000s and beyond.

In the lens of broadcasting, short interludes are used throughout advertising to the point where many people don’t even think about this. A lot of them are used to hook us in and signify a certain company or thing. In advertisements they are used to signify the company’s presence and to worm the product into our brain. In casinos they are used as a dopamine reward. News stations use them to signify the station. This especially could be relevant in a dystopian society. I’m mentioning this because the clip doesn’t sound full enough to be a song, rather an intro to a news station segment. I find this especially notable considering WW had a news anchor. Looking back, a few videos from wild world could hold significance. This video

has a sci-fi esc clip in the intro.

In Previous Context: In the context of ReOrchestrated, Bastille is no longer letting imposter syndrome or shitty opinions stop them from what they want to do. Meaning they are going full force into the future. There's one specific time during the ReOrch doc where the boys talk about how ReOrch made them realize they could try new shit, even if management thinks it will fail. Dan has spoken in a few interviews now about being excited about collabing (and mentioning relinquishing control to others in the ReOrch doc), a few artists have come forward about working with Dan. While it’s unlikely that every collab we’ve theorized about will go through, Dan Wilson and Ryan Tedder seem to be confirmed in the roster based off of their interviews

When considering the past, a lot of previous songs focus on nostalgia; for example, in Fake it “We can never go back / We can only do our best to recreate.” Post ReOrch and DD, Bastille has worked up enough confidence to push into making their own future, one unlimited by nostalgia and fear.

In the Context of the Goosebumps EP, Inception and Vanilla Sky are both referenced. Both of these movies mark the first time* (to my knowledge

) that futuristic sci-fi has been referenced in Bastille. There is significant overlap with dreaming and time travel, something that could definitely be applied to this era. While it could be coincidental, Bastille has been quite purposeful with using references to add to the era’s aesthetic (see Aesthetic section). Referencing them during a transition period points towards both the literal future (new era) and a new aesthetic.

*Cosmos: War of the Planets and twilight zone have both been referenced but fall into a different category of sci-fi than Vanilla Sky and Inception

In Regards to Distraction Tactics Space Week and WW, alot of it holds very similar aesthetics. This video

from WW also holds a similar aesthetic. Considering DT is linked through space and WW is linked through dystopian this might MIGHT be related.

Hints: It wouldn’t be a new Era without Dan “Soon” Smith teasing us a bit, so here are a few highlights. In this interview

, Dan says “I want to tell you but I can’t! We just want to reflect on the future…” The No Bad Days tweet and the #ToTheSky post likely plays a part in the new era, but the 8 second clip does not have any immediate hints. The art installation in the #ToTheSky post originally caught my interest when it was posted. James Turrel, the artist that created the installation, uses light as a medium to create art. The installation, called the Space That Sees, is described as an “allegory of light that we generate from inside and light that comes from outside: the emergence into space where light comes forth as in a dream." While I have no fucking clue how to interprete this allegory, I imagine space, light, and dreaming will become key players in the new era. A few other notable works of his are the Raethro Pink and Alta Pink, both of which are pinkish purplish white triangles light projections surrounded by inky blackness. The use of Bastille’s triangle logo and a flash of light purple light means there are likely deep ties between the new era and James Turrel’s creations; furthermore, he also acquired a dormant cinder cone volcano to turn into an a museum/observatory using light apertures to observe the solar system, adding further ties to the space and light themes.

Meaning: "You Don't Predict The Future. You Imagine It" I have purposely not used predict in this analysis so I don’t jinx this era. I’ve found a few variations of this saying (You Can’t Predict The Future. But You Can Create It), but all of them seem to point towards creating the future instead of guessing. I imagine not many of my predictions of this era will not be accurate because I am not the one imagining it. I feel like this might also point towards being conscious about what you want out of the future instead of merely guessing where the tides will take you. This could also be like that one story of a kid's drawings turning into real creatures because of the kid imagining it. I feel like “future” and “imagine” point deeply towards sci-fi because of the creative inventions that will take us there. This could also connect to the theory that the survivin’ coin is linked to A.A., and this statement being a motto to help someone escape addiction. Personally, I feel like this clip is the beginning of some sci-fi choose your own adventure video game, but that's my own opinion.

My Personal Crazy Conclusion: It wouldn’t be a post from me without me shooting out some crazy theories. A Light Cult Utopia. That's right. It would be the opposite of WW, meaning it would be new territory for Bastille and it would break a mold (ReOrch doc). It would also give Dan the ability to be more positive then he has been in the past, while also allowing for his normal cynical undertones. Bastille is purposeful with their references, meaning the Jonestown reference in DD might have a bit more purpose behind it. The lighter colors used in the clip would point to happiness. Considering utopias are “imagined” it would fit the phrase in the clip. Sci-fi would also fit into this as being imagined. Considering there are a few space references, I imagine that humans have imagined perfect spacecraft, further fitting sci-fi and a utopian society. Also, Dan collabed with Future Utopia on the track “What’s In A Name?” That's right, what’s in a name? The name being Future Utopia? An entire new era being the name? That right cultists, Dan ”Soon” Smith snuck this under our noses the entire time that bastard.

Summary Statement: This new era will likely bring collabs from an entirely new approach. A Sci-fi dystopian (or utopian) world, one focused on dreaming, light, and space will likely be the aesthetic for this era.

Loose ends: I am only one human, meaning I physically could not rewatch Inception and Vanilla Sky while also researching James Turrel, so there might be a few things I missed in my brief look at them. If anyone would like to read 1984 by George Orwell through the whole dystopian thing, there might be a few connections there.

Based on some things I’ve heard from a little birdy, expect some big non-album projects that tie in with this era and other things….

Special thanks to u/0verjoyed and @ ja9zimm on twitter

[themeatlife]

the Meat Life Stay-At-Home Watchlist

Chronicling what I have watched or rewatched through the pandemic so far

The world has changed around us the last few months, particularly in the United States since March 11.  With the lack of events to hit up, like most Americans I’ve been catching up on some watching through the various streaming services and my own digital copies of movies and shows.

I didn’t really think of keeping up with what I have been watching until just recently, but here is what I can remember hitting up so far since I’ve spent the majority of the time at home.  Some are favorites that I would have watched anyway.  Some were unfinished until I got a chance to get back to them.  And others just became available.

Here’s what I remember of the watchlist:

The Office (Netfilx) This is a favorite of me and the wife.  We watch this on the regular though.  My wife uses The Office as her lullaby of sorts, putting it on in the evening as she gets ready for bed and is in bed to fall asleep.  I did a post on the 15th anniversary, so I won’t really deep-dive.

Gossip Girl (Netflix) Another one that my wife rotates with The Office as her lullaby.  The series is not bad, it’s basically The OC in Manhattan (both are created and developed by Josh Schwartz).  It also takes on a new perspective when you think about star Penn Badgley is the creep in You.  So Dan Humphrey gets this weird creeper Joe Goldberg vibe at times.

Parks and Recreation (Netflix) I never got into Parks and Rec on its original run.  I was encouraged to check it out by some coworkers since I liked The Office.  It is a great show, very funny, and poignant in a way.  It feels like a throwback to when people could disagree politically and still get along.  There is a lot less of that nowadays.  We might need more Parks and Rec in real life.  I started this right before the pandemic and finished around the beginning of things getting locked down.

Frozen II (Disney+) The sequel debuted on Disney+ early on in the quarantine period.  My family enjoyed it.  I thought it was entertaining, but I felt like it was weighted down a bit by the mythology explaining.  It seemed too busy explaining a lot of things.  Still an enjoyable movie, but the first is better.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness (Netflix) Intriguing.  The series debuted early in the quarantine period and became a staple of stay-at-home viewing and a runaway hit.  Lots of WTF moments.  It was like the train wreck analogy to the Nth degree.  But you can tell it was made in a way that leans in favor of Joe Exotic, making him look like a victim in the last couple episodes.  Also gave way to memorable memes ever since.

The Rocketeer (Disney+) I haven’t watched this movie since I was a kid.  Looking back, you can see a lot of The Rocketeer in Captain America - The First Avenger.  Easy to see though, since they share the same director Joe Johnston.  Prior to America’s involvement in World War II, a movie star Nazi goes after an experimental rocket pack developed by Howard Hughes.  The rocket pack is retrieved by accident from a down on luck stunt pilot.  Fun movie.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney+) I should have watched the entire Skywalker saga leading up to it, but I figured I have a ton of time to do that later.  This was a May the 4th watch.  I haven’t watched the Skywalker saga finale since it was in theaters.  It’s not a bad movie, I just feel it could have been a lot better with some modifications here and there.  Also, I believe this was going to be the Leia movie.  The Force Awakens was Han’s swan song, as was The Last Jedi for Luke.  I feel like this would have been great for Leia but obviously they were limited due to the untimely death of Carrie Fisher.  The scene where Ren/Ben speaks with Han after battling Rey would have hit harder with Leia instead of Han.

Trolls: World Tour (VOD) Cute kid movie.  Was nice to hear a lot of familiar music.  Sucks that rock was the villain in the first couple acts.  Seeing it once was enough, though.  Like the first Trolls, I am glad my kids enjoyed it but did not participate in excessive multiple viewings.

Onward (Disney+) Didn’t get a chance to catch this at the theater before they closed them down.  Great movie, but gosh.  Why does Pixar always pull at the heart strings like that?  I was quietly crying to myself at the end.  I’m glad we made our living room dark theater-style, otherwise my kids would have seen me all torn up.

Fast and Furious 5-7 (Fast Five - HBO, The Fast and the Furious 6/Furious 7 - Digital) I ended up not watching the entire series.  There is a great trilogy within the series, 5-7 was that trilogy.  Fast Five was the best of the FF franchise and where it perfected their movie formula.  It was like an action Ocean’s Eleven with cars.  6 and 7 expanded on that formula, upping the humor and ridiculousness factor.  6 had the exits of the Han and Gisele characters (they found a way to tie in Tokyo Drift to the rest of the series, Gal Gadot was on her way to becoming Wonder Woman for DC).  And 7 had that great ending with the tribute to Paul Walker to the sounds of Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.

Toy Story 4 (Disney+) Another Pixar hit.  Didn’t hit me quite as hard as Onward or Toy Story 3 did emotionally, thank goodness.  I thought this story was over the way Toy Story 3 ended.  But Pixar did a good job adapting to prolong these characters stories.  It did feel like it was a bit of two and three combined looking back.  Still very good, Pixar knows what it’s doing.

The Marvel Infinity Saga (Disney+/Netflix/Digital) Leading up to the one-year anniversary of the release of Avengers: Endgame, I went through and rewatched all 23 MCU movies.  This time, I went in chronological story order by starting with Captain America - The First Avenger.  I chronicled the order I watched in my last post.  Even after viewing many of these movies multiple times, I’m still amazed at how much I enjoy them and the scope of what Marvel was able to achieve leading into the climax in Endgame.

Community (Netflix/Hulu) I loved Community on its initial run on NBC but never watched any of the episodes when it was on Yahoo for its sixth season.  It has been great to rewatch the meta-humor and sitcom trope parodies.  And since Ken Jeong and Joel McHale started their own podcast called The Darkest Timeline (half COVID-19, half Community pod), it has been a good companion viewing.

The Back to the Future Trilogy (Netflix) Recent add to Netflix for easy viewing, these movies have been a favorite of the Mitra boys since childhood.  Upon viewing as an adult, there is some humor that I didn’t recognize as a kid that is hilarious to me now.  It is also crazy how well this teen time-travel sci-fi comedy works.  Some of the effects in Part 2 are dated and 2015 didn’t quite end up the way it did in the movies.  But overall very enjoyable on the rewatch!

Extraction (Netflix) High budget action flick funded by Netflix?  Written by the Russo Brothers?  And staring Chris Hemsworth?  I’m in!  Directed by long-time stunt man and Russo Bros go-to stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave (you can tell the Russo influence).  It has an awesome 15ish minute one-shot action/chase sequence that is top notch.  Don’t think much about the plot or the controversy of cultural representation, just enjoy the action.

The Mighty Ducks Trilogy (HBO) Another childhood favorite of mine.  Nevermind that the hockey itself isn’t accurate.  This is about pure fun for an hour and a half at a time.  Come for the hi-jinx, stay for the heart.  Triple-deke, knuckle-puck, taking out the trash.  And leave it out on the ice!

The Harry Potter Series (Blu-Ray/Digital) This was not a go-to for me until Linda made me watch the entire series.  I guess when the first movie came out, it was too much of a kid movie for me (I was a high school senior at the time).  But from the second movie onward, it felt like the storytelling and movie making got better and better.  The Deathly Hallows was an epic ending, even if they did change the ending from the book.  I didn’t watch the newer Fantastic Beasts movies along with this though, my wife did.

Westworld - Season 3 (HBO) Recently got HBO back, so I caught up on Westworld Season 3.  I haven’t rewatched the previous seasons yet, but I may revisit it soon.  Season 1 was spectacular, Season 2 was confusing as hell but still entertaining.  Season 3 is somewhere in between, expanding on the ongoing storyline.  It was more straight-forward because its storyline is in the “real-world.”  For those of you that have watched, didn’t you think it was highly ironic that the Incite ball was basically the AT&T logo? (AT&T is the parent company for WarnerMedia and HBO)

The Last Dance (ESPN/ESPN+) The Michael Jordan docu-series has been a god-sent for sports fans devoid of live American sports for the past couple months.  Is it Jordan-biased?  Sure.  But it is full of drama and intrigue and full of nostalgia.  The NBA had commissioned a camera crew to follow the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls on their run for their sixth NBA championship.  Jordan owned the controlling rights to the footage and unlocked it after the 2016 NBA Finals.  So this documentary was years in the making and with the pandemic the release date was moved up.  Although it featured a lot of unseen footage, it also chronicled the years leading up to the 1998 Bulls title.  The last 5 Sundays have been awesome.

The Princess Bride (Disney+) I haven’t watched this movie since I was a kid.  It wasn’t one of my recurring watches back then.  So this was actually my second viewing of this movie ever.  I found it quite enjoyable.  It was cheesy, but fun, and a good family watch.  One of the many older titles available on Disney+.

Scoob (VOD) My kids had some of the older Scooby Doo episodes on DVD and watched them when they were younger.  This was a fun revisit for them and for us as parents.  It was actually cool seeing a lot of the Hanna-Barbera characters in one movie.  We watched this shortly after finishing Community, and my kids recognized Ken Jeong’s voice as Dynomutt.  My daughter hilariously shouted “Senor Chang!” when she recognized him.

The Indiana Jones Series (Netflix) I introduced my son to Indiana Jones a few months ago watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.  He loved it.  He lost a little bit of interest during the Temple of Doom, I think the character Short Round lost it for him (character hasn’t aged well).  The Last Crusade reclaimed his interest.  Harrison Ford was at his natural apex playing Indiana Jones.  I did not watch the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  I didn’t feel the need to revisit that installment, while it was enjoyable the alien ending ruined the lead up to it.

The Dark Knight Trilogy (Batman Begins/The Dark Knight - Hulu, The Dark Knight Rises - Digital) Every few years I try to revisit this series.  It is the best thing DC has ever put out cinematically.  While Begins and Rises is more comic book, TDK is a straight crime drama set in the world of Batman.  My favorite is Rises, but the absolute best comic book movie remains The Dark Knight, even with the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Jurassic Park/Jurassic World Series (Jurassic Park/The Lost World: Jurassic Park - Blu-Ray, Jurassic World - Digital, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Cinemax) The original Jurassic Park is such a great movie.  Rewatching, it’s crazy how well the effects for the dinosaurs hold up.  Steven Spielberg, Stan Winston, and ILM did a great job mixing animatronic and CGI dino effects that stand the test of time.  The Lost World was enjoyable but not as good as the original.  I skipped JP III, such a bad movie.  Jurassic World was a good way to reboot the series, basically a remake of the original but incorporating a lot of references to it.  I just finished Fallen Kingdom today.  Although Fallen Kingdom was entertaining, it fails to recapture some of the magic of JP and JW.

I’m not sure what I will hit up next.  I might hit some Keanu Reeves movies like Speed, the Matrix Trilogy, and/or the John Wick Trilogy.  Maybe Top Gun.  Maybe rewatch Friends or How I Met Your Mother.  Maybe something on HBO Max when it comes out like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  Maybe Terminator.  Possibilities are endless, at least until some American sports return.

[mearnsblog]

The Disney Quarantine Binge

Hello friends.

What’s baseball? Who knows. I’ve never heard of it. Thanks to the awful COVID-19 pandemic, it’s basically not a thing anymore! The world needs to get a whole lot better before we can even remotely consider the return of any kind of sport, aside from re-broadcasts of “Slippery Stairs: College Tour” on ESPN 8: The Ocho (that really happened, bless it).

In its absence, Ali and I have turned to Disney+ to patch in many hours of the void. We had just watched “Ratatouille,” and I suggested that our next movie could be one of the Disney films I remembered from childhood. We thought about a few different options and ultimately came down on the decision to just watch them all, starting all the way back at the beginning with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” We’re going to have a lot of free time and we had just watched the “Imagineering” documentary as well as a slew of other YouTube videos detailing Disney’s wild history, so why not?

It’s hard to write much about baseball right now, so I’m writing about Disney. Specifically, I’m going to use this binge to compile my personal ranking of all 58 films that fall under the category of “Walt Disney Animation Studio films.” Look, the internet clearly needed another idiot throwing some dumb listicle of his own thoughts out there. No need to thank me personally.

I make no promises about how much I’m going to write about each of these movies, mainly because I’m mostly just shooting from the hip and some of these films really don’t require that much thought. Also, I’m just doing this because I want to, and sometimes, it helps to take your mind off serious things. But I will update this post with my rankings as I go, if not only for convenience.

Onward.

1. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)

The one that started it all. For all of Walt Disney’s personal faults, it’s hard not to admire the personal gumption that it took to pull this movie off. No one thought a full-length animated movie could work, and it went way over budget. Disney had to mortgage his house to pay for it all, but he and his team (including his always-overlooked financial expert of a brother, Roy) did it, and damn it if it wasn’t spectacular.

Is “Snow White” dated? Of course it is, it came out before World War II. (It’s No. 1 as I’m writing this list now and only going through the early Disney flicks, but I can guarantee that it will not be No. 1 for terribly long.) Snow White herself is not very interesting, and the prince is a joke. That’s partially because the early Disney studio found it difficult to animate him much, so some potential storylines for the prince got cut. It is what it is.

The queen, though, is an elite Disney villain, and my grandma still remembers the thrill of being frightened by her when she saw “Snow White” for the first time. The animation is admirable, especially as Snow White scrambles for her life through the forest to whatever kind of safety she can find, and when the dwarfs join with the animals to chase down the witch. Speaking of the dwarfs, they are classic Disney sidekicks for a reason and quickly earn the audience’s love. Grumpy’s evolution in particular from being so misogynist that Disney himself referred to him as “Grumpy the woman hater” to openly weeping at Snow White’s apparent death is lovely.

It had been a long time since I revisited “Snow White,” and I probably won’t again for quite some time. Nonetheless, I’m glad I did.

Best song: “Heigh-Ho”

2. “Fantasia” (1940)

Every music teacher's favorite "concert's over and now we have to kill time until the semester ends" movie, aside from maybe "Mr. Holland's Opus." I was pumped to rewatch "Fantasia," and its peaks did not disappoint.

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is always incredible, and I always forget just how many familiar tunes are packed into "The Nutcracker Suite." That was a fun little delight. However, I also forgot just how much "Toccata and Fugue" and especially "Dance of the Hours" can feel like a drag. The visuals helped the former go by; the latter was a slog.

"Sorcerer's Apprentice" is a classic and that sequence is all over Disney lore for a reason. "Pastoral Symphony" almost suffers from the same drag as "Toccata and Fugue," but the Greek mythology nerd in me appreciates the effort of the visuals. (At the same time, centaurettes? Uh, okey dokey.)

Anyway, all these words have just been a preamble to this: I love everything about "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria." They could not have picked a better combination to end this feature. Everything about it is perfect, from the creepiness of the demon Chernabog to the monks' glowing lights restoring some calm to the chaos.

Without that one-two punch at the end, "Fantasia" might be forgotten as a feature and really only remembered for "Sorcerer's Apprentice." Thankfully, that's not the case, and the finale will keep bringing me back.

Best song: "Night on Bald Mountain"

3. “Pinocchio” (1940)

So. "Pinocchio." It's an experience.

I almost want to leave it there. It's so weird. I still adore "When You Wish Upon a Star" and just about everything to do with Jiminy Cricket. But it really just hustles through so many bizarre situations in the blink of an eye.

There's everything uncomfortable with Stromboli. There's everything to do with Pleasure Island, not the least of which involves some creepy old man that Honest John just happens to know. Pinocchio manages to escape yet again, only to have the climax of the movie take place inside a whale that ate Geppetto (and his poor cat and fish, who weren't initially involved with Geppetto's search).

Pinocchio's just not that likable. I know he's supposed to be a kid and kids can be annoying, but man. It's rough. Geppetto deserved better.

If this movie was released much later in the Disney pantheon, it would not be nearly as well-remembered. Oh well. Thankfully, the animation is stunningly beautiful for the time and Jiminy still rules. What a gem.

Best song: "When You Wish Upon a Star"

4. “Dumbo” (1941)

"Dumbo” is such a strange movie. It’s not even bad, and it’s over in the blink of an eye. (The run time is barely an hour, which is definitely appreciated.) It does have those same pacing problems as “Pinocchio” and “Bambi,” which also hit many of those early Disney movies. He shows up, he gets bullied, his mom freaks out, he gets bullied again, he gets drunk (!), he chats with the poorly-aged crows, and then he flies at the circus to end the movie. Hooray? There’s moving quickly though scenes, and then there’s slapping them all together with very few transitions. That’s the issue.

I have a love/hate relationship with “Elephants on Parade.” It’s such a crazy tangent for the movie to take in its short run time, but it’s entertaining as it is surreal. We were not a “Dumbo” household growing up, so for the longest time, the only things I knew about the movie were “When I See An Elephant Fly” and this sequence. I’ll probably still be thinking about it when I’m 80.

Timothy Mouse is a very nice not-quite Jiminy guide to the hero. He seems like a fine gent to share in some champagne-infused bucket water. That’s the good stuff. (Unlike the other elephants outside of Mrs. Jumbo. They’re awful and learn basically nothing.)

Anyway, at least it’s not the Tim Burton version. You couldn’t pay me to watch that.* I even forgot it was released last year until it popped up in my Disney+ suggestions.

*A lie. You could. I’m an out-of-work writer. what do you want?

Best song: “Elephants on Parade”