#I'm crying the visuals in this movie is gorgeous

[silverlombaxwitch]

And who let you out of your grave?

Can anyone see this or am I just tripping?

[theoneprecioustome]

Disconnected | Aikoto Thoughts

Someone at Atlus decided to gift us an opening dedicated to Aikoto and it's filled with gorgeous symbolism and foreshadowing, so I'm here to sing it the praises it deserves

Warning: This post will contain BIG spoilers for The Answer (Episode Aigis).

The opening starts with a blue butterfly which, in The Answer lore, is meant to symbolize Aigis' Papillon Heart. Meanwhile, Makoto is walking through a field of spider lilies which, in Japan, symbolize death and are believed to guide souls to the afterlife.

In other words: the opening starts with Aigis' heart chasing after Makoto, who has passed on 😭 But that's not all.

I love how they have Makoto heading towards a door engulfed in light, because it perfectly foreshadows the Desert of Doors. Makoto is gone and Aigis doesn't quite know what happened to him exactly, and the answer to that question lies behind the door that Aigis will eventually choose to open. So through Episode Aigis, Aigis is doing just that: chasing after Makoto.

This opening sequence is even built to reference Aigis' recurrent dream where she runs after Makoto's back but can never catch up to him. As such, even when the camera shows us Makoto's profile, we can't see his face.

After this, we see Aigis waking up from her dream, crying. She turns behind her, almost like she's hoping to see Makoto, but of course, he isn't there.

There's also a big contrast between the way Aigis' eye is drawn here and the way it's drawn in the P3R Opening. While the P3R opening emphasizes Aigis' robotic origins by showing the mechanisms therein, Disconnected does no such thing and instead emphasizes Aigis' human emotions in the form of her tears.

This contrast alone shows Aigis' development beautifully, but there's yet another contrast to be made. In the P3R opening, Aigis fell into a long sleep from which she would only awaken after feeling Makoto's presence on Yakushima. In Episode Aigis, we see her waking up and crying after losing him 😭

We momentarily leave Aigis to be shown SEES with an overlaid Fool card which ends up shattering. The SEES Social Link is represented by the Fool, so the card shattering at the end perfectly encapsulates how the bonds they forged in P3R are put to the test by the loss of their Leader, Makoto.

After this we get one of my favorite sequences in the Opening, because the way the lyrics are cleverly matched to the visuals is just too good.

Aigis' is shown running through the desert of doors—the desert that was drawn to the dorms because of her pain.

“時の狭間”はアイギスに起こったさまざまな変化と繋がった、いわばアイギス自身が原因となって生まれた空間である。 The ‘Abyss of Time’ is connected to the various changes that have occurred in Aigis, so it's a space that was created by Aigis herself, so to speak. Source: Persona 3 x Persona 4 World Analyze Book

She is, literally and figuratively, lost in that desert. In her own pain.

My heart fell and I can't find it, the lyrics say, and right after we're shown... Metis. The physical manifestation of Aigis' very own heart. She even pulls down her butterfly-shaped visor, symbolizing the mystery of her identity while simultaneously giving us the answer.

Aigis' key falls and so does Aigis, and here comes the heart and soul of the opening.

Makoto and Aigis juxtaposed just like in the Episode Aigis Key Art.

Just like in the key art, Makoto is looking at Aigis and smiling at her. Unlike the key art, here we can notice that Makoto is meant to be within the sea of souls. When Aigis parts her lips in surprise, bubbles of air come out, but there are none around Makoto.

This is quite literally Makoto's soul watching over Aigis, who feels like she's drowning without him 😭 She even looks lifeless until she notices him.

Aigis tries reaching out to him to no avail, just like in the movies.

But Makoto simply fades away, his smile being the last thing we see. The way they show Aigis' hand losing its strength felt like a kick to the heart 😭

As someone on Twitter pointed out, to make this even more painful, Makoto is smiling fully, looking happy and at peace. But since Aigis is looking at him upside down, his expression is less clear to her, to the point that it could even pass for a frown.

This ambiguity once again highlights that since Aigis doesn't know nor understand what exactly happened to Makoto, she can't be at ease.

Then we're treated to another masterclass in symbolism. We see some of Makoto's life flash before our eyes; that fateful night Death was sealed inside him, followed by the moment he chose to meet his fate to protect his friends and the world. These two moments are shown within his Evoker, representing his duty. His fight.

The montage ends with Makoto's lasts moments—spent with Aigis with a peaceful smile on his face. The rooftop scene isn't shown within his Evoker though, but within Makoto's MP3 player. The one thing he never did without.

So within just a few frames, we get to see the beginning and end of Makoto's journey superimposed on his two most meaningful objects. The Evoker—his fight—which passes onto Aigis, and his MP3 Player—his heart—which is synchronized with Aigis' (as evidenced by she inheriting Orpheus), showing their last moments together.

I won't go into the sequence foreshadowing the Colosseum fights (and Erebus!), but it's worth mentioning that Metis' entrance is yet another nod to the fact that she is a part of Aigis. When we see Metis charge, we're clearly shown that there's no one but Fuuka behind her, yet Aigis appears behind her soon after as if she was always there.

After this, we get another shot that was masterfully synchronized with the lyrics.

I'm so numb, so lost without you.

And right as we hear that "you", Aigis summons Orpheus. Makoto's signature Persona, which comes straight from the sea within his soul.

Orpheus being there is proof that Makoto's soul is still connected to Aigis', that he has never left her, which is why he was shown earlier looking after her in the sea of souls. And as if to further draw that home, when Makoto fades into the sea of souls, they add a breaking shards effect.

The same effect that appears when Aigis summons Orpheus.

The opening then shows us a shot of the Empyrean Door, the door which shows the moment Aigis awakens to the Wild Card as well as Metis' own birth. As if on cue, we see the blue butterfly catch up to Aigis like a light in the dark, taking us full-circle to the beginning of the opening where the butterfly flies past Makoto's profile.

The opening ends with a single cherry blossom petal falling, a callback to the rooftop scene and to that last moment Makoto and Aigis spent together.

And also, an homage to the ending of the original The Answer, which also featured the cherry blossoms for a split second.

TL;DR The Opening not only beautifully foreshadows Metis' origins and Aigis' own journey through Episode Aigis, it also highlights the connection between Makoto's soul and Aigis' and the fact that he will never leave her.

And this is all without getting into the lyrics which make all of this even more heartbreaking 😭 as soon as the official lyrics drop I'll revisit this post to properly match everything!

[lozchi]

I was looking around and I was wondering. What if Taehun had a loser girlfriend who's literally the complete opposite of him. Like she's wayyy nicer then him (too nice), probably a push over, and not that smart. But she's the comfort he wants ykyk I'M SORRY I'M THAT LOSER GF I JS WANT A MAN LIKE TAEHOON

Dummy!

A/N: worry not, anon. I'm that loser GF too. 😭 This'll be shorter than my usual, forgive me. I loved writing this so much though. 🫀🥹

Pairing: Taehoon Seong x F!Reader

Themes: reader being an idiot. if you're familiar with my writing, there is always swearing.

To some, it’s baffling how one could fall for Taehoon Seong out of all people. He’s a pretty guy with captivating eyes and graceful movements, nghhh~ he's undeniably irresistible, isn't he? Every girl around him would think the same, swooning left and right due to his insane visuals -- Tsk! He's gorgeous! And you weren’t any different. In fact, you were his biggest simp.

It was a curious pairing, to say the least—Mr. Bad Boy and Miss Too-Good-For-Your-Own-Good.

Taehoon strode into the room with the kind of attitude that made people step aside. His arrogance and aggression were palpable. “Do I look like a fuckin’ bank to ya? I ain’t lending 7000, got it? Now scram before I beat the shit outta ya.”

You, on the other hand, were the epitome of kindness and generosity. “Sure! You can borrow 200,000 won from me! Just pay it as soon as you can!” Yeah, incredibly dumb too, unfortunately.

Taehoon had an uncanny ability to read people like an open book. “You think I’m stupid enough to fall for that?” He’d snap, seeing through deceptions with ease.

Meanwhile, “Always happy to help!” You remained blissfully unaware of how people took advantage of you.

Taehoon lived by his own rules, always favoring his own brand of logic. “I’m doing this my way. It’s more efficient.” he would declare, unyielding in his methods.

And then there was you, grappling with concepts that seemed beyond your grasp. “Fuck this shit, I don’t understand a thing!”

“It’s math.” He'd say, almost bemused.

“I hate it.” you’d retort, your frustration evident.

“Those are just numbers.” he would explain.

“Fuck numbers, bruh!” you’d respond, exasperated.

“USE THE THEOREMS, GOD DAMN IT!”

“WHAT THEOREMS!?!” you’d cry out in desperation.

In physical prowess, he was unmatched, while you... Uhh... “How many more laps? It’s been ages!” you’d complain during your grueling training sessions.

“It’s been 5 fucking minutes, y/n,” he’d respond, barely breaking a sweat.

You were expressive, a fucking drama queen. While he remained, well, Taehoon.

When you’d proclaim, “I love you!” your heart on your sleeve, he’d respond with a gruff, “Of course I feel the same, dummy.”

A small injury would elicit your dramatic reaction: “Ouch! That stings!” while he’d barely bat an eye and say, “Be careful next time, you dimwit.”

You might sob over a movie, your emotions spilled out loud, and he’d- “Boooo. 0 stars. Too many plot holes. ”

Sometimes, vulnerability hits you, “Ugly crying in my bed right now,” and he’d cut through the sadness with an - “Alright, who the fuck hurt you?”

Happiness flowed from you like a river when you were with him. “I’m so happy when I’m with you~” To which he’d retort, “Same-- Ugh! Will you wipe that grin off?”

When you voiced how something hurt you, he’d reply bluntly, “Sometimes we just have to suck it up.”

“Can’t you be a little more sensitive?” But he'd always try. “I’m trying to understand where you’re coming from.”

And in the wake of betrayal, you’d lament, “Aughh, I just didn’t expect her to backstab me like that, I’m so stupid!” He’d offer a rough kind of comfort, “Want me to kick her in the ass?”

But beneath all these differences—your gentleness against his toughness, your warmth melting through his cold exterior—there was balance.

There was love.

There was harmony.

If it wasn’t already clear, he needed you just as much as you needed him.

From time to time, Taehoon shows his vulnerable side. You have to remember, he's just a human being and he can't always keep up his tough guy persona.

He grapples with uncertainties, worried that without caution, he could distance himself from you and ultimately be left alone.

He carries a burden of past mistakes that weighs heavily on his shoulders. It's an injury he seldom recognizes, yet it impacts all his decisions in a subtle way.

The thought of his previous mistakes coming back to trouble him and harming his loved ones worries him deeply.

However, despite feeling clearly insecure, Taehoon, being Taehoon, decides to never address it openly.

These ideas, though, are simply possibilities. He always puts in the effort to avoid making mistakes.

You understand there’s more beneath the surface and always offer him gentle reassurance.

“Taehoon, you’re here now, and that’s what matters. I’m with you, no matter what.”

In his own way, he cherishes the balance you bring to his life.

After all, even a bad boy needs a good girl to keep him grounded.

As you look at him, with all his imperfections and flaws, you smile and say, “I love you.”

And he looks back at you with a rare, genuine smile and replies, “Yeah, I love you too, dummy.”

[mistyheartrbs]

another thing about i saw the tv glow that fascinates me is the like...movement (transgression?) across mediums in that to begin with it's a theatrical feature film about a tv show. and when you think about it, while there are lots of tv shows about tv (30 rock, showtime's episodes) and lots of movies about the movies (singin' in the rain, la la land) there isn't as much crossover between the two as you would expect - few if any tv shows about movies, even less in the realm of movies about tv.

when isttvg came out in theaters, brigette lundy-paine made an instagram post with this caption:

which is a direct reference to a line their character says in the film - that the pink opaque airs on the young adult network right before they switch over to black and white movies for old people. (i'll have to double check if maddy says "movies" or "reruns" in the actual scene; i remember it as "movies" EDIT: it's reruns but my point still stands) and, for much of isttvg's runtime, it both operates in tandem with and against this notion - it's a cinematic spectacle, visually gorgeous to be sure, but the scale is very small, almost claustrophobic at times, in a way that says that the experience of watching this movie wouldn't be incredibly diminished if you played it on a boxy television in the middle of the night on basic cable (so long as you had somebody to watch it with)

but maddy's line is said with a surprising and youthful sort of disdain - the pink opaque is so different from the dumb nostalgia of their forebearers (with the same winking-at-the-camera irony with which a comic period piece notes the record-breakingly fast ten-mile-an-hour horse carriage or what have you - what they see as progress already obsolete in the eye of the modern viewer), and moreover it's in the exact medium it's meant to be viewed in. it's a tv show they're watching on tv (and in fact the impetus for owen and maddy to grow closer is owen specifically saying "i want to watch it live") - versus black and white movies, the original filmic spectacle, being thusly reduced to something smaller and lesser than they were meant to be. but of course that would never happen to our favorite Brand New television show, the pink opaque, which is super cool and is going to be relevant forever! nothing like that stuff for "old people." it's indicative of how prickly maddy is but it's one of the least sentimental sentiments of what is otherwise very much a love letter to the screen. it stands out!

(and we get even more of that with the streaming version of tpo later, but i'm getting ahead of myself here)

and it's further complicated by the fact that owen views the majority of the show via home-recorded vhs tapes, handmade gifts from maddy, forbidden things. the way you watch it matters too. the way you construct your relationship with this story. which in a way queers the viewing model too; he's literally watching the show out of order!

and now getting back into the horrendously depressing streaming scene, in which schoenbrun does the impossible and makes the phrase "soup party" upsetting, the convenience is what makes it wrong. transgression in the wrong direction. anybody can watch it. you don't even need a disc, owen/isabel says in voiceover, numbly. but instead of maddy's tapes, born out of connection/love (to a degree that neither of them even fully recognize yet), this version of non-normative/alternative access is something dictated by capitalism (it's also worth noting that the streaming scene is the only moment of overt product placement in the whole film, with the new flatscreen with the LG logo all but shoved in front of the viewer). owen/isabel flicks through the episodes lazily and languidly, landing in the middle on the mr. sprinkly episode. there is no effort involved anymore, none of the personal element present in maddy's handwritten notes ("season 2 finale: guaranteed to make you cry!"), just picking and choosing.

all this culminating in a movie about television, with a pseudo-wide release and enough buzz that it did moderately well as far as indie flicks go.

yet - inserting myself into the supposedly distant third-person analytical essay, as queer theorists are wont to do - i don't really think i would have been nearly as affected by this movie if i'd just watched it on like. netflix. if it'd had commercial breaks on late-night cable ("past curfew," as owen's parents repeatedly note) that's one thing, but the modern streaming paradigm doesn't really allow for that. seeing this movie in theaters forces you to go to the theaters. it forces you to sit with other people and view it together/separately. to walk out mid-credits and talk it through with your friend and look at each other and joke "(gasp)............we're secretly in another world where that dunkin donuts is two blocks away!" when the google maps app glitches out. you have to sit with it. you can't not sit with it. it took effort to get here, and you cannot so easily get it out of your head. it's a movie about tv. the medium doesn't fit like a glove. it barely fits at all. and you are left feeling like it's been much longer than a hundred minutes.

(i'd love to see if a24 has fun with merchandising once it gets a home release - if they sell a novelty vhs tape or what)

i think a lot of that is really something to look at. much like the film itself i do not have a conclusion to this essay.

[twwings]

Big Festivids Recs Post!

Last weekend was the big Festivids GoLive, which meant the release into the wild of 160 brand new small fandom vids (aka fanvids, edits, etc.) Right now the collection's anonymous, but tomorrow is vidder reveals, so I wanted to write up a recs post for some of my absolute favourites from this year's collection. If you know Yuletide, well, Festivids is like Yuletide, celebrating small/weird/underappreciated fandoms! It's an exchange fest, so people ask for the small fandom vids of their heart and, then, receive one.

Honestly the collection this year is SO high quality, you should really go and browse the works yourself in their entirety; there are so many vids that I absolutely loved that I didn't put on this recs list, because I was trying not to get carried away (and also trying to get it done). But just to get you started, here are a smattering of my favourites. I tried to represent a bunch of vid genres and source types here, but ultimately it's just my taste.

RECS RECS RECS!

Andor: Level Up

AHHHH this is a vid about Andor and fascism and collective action and One Way Out and it's so gorgeously done. Perfect song choice, perfect vid, makes me cry and I will rewatch it many times.

Andor: be ready and be brave

Focusing on Ferrix, its history, its people, and its revolution. Absolute chills. Also I'm SO happy whenever I get to watch a vid to a Mountain Goats song.

Mosquita y Mari: como siempre soñé

Such a sweet, soft, slow romance vid. I ACHED for these two. Like reading a 300k slowburn but in three and a half minutes.

Dropout TV: Nothing in my Head

The Dropout TV vid of my DREAAAAAMS! (largely Game Changer but with lots of stuff in there!)

Taskmaster UK: Blood in the Cut

UHHHH. IT'S AMAZING??? It's hot and raw and kinky and hardcore. the vidder has the delicate, precise touch of a bloody scalpel. Yes, this is a vid for Taskmaster, the UK show where comedians do silly tasks. Because yeah, it's that show, but it's also this show.

Slash/Back: Uja

This vidder KNOWS how to vid horror. The way this vid cuts the most terrible images to make them barely-there, more horrifying for being rough slaps against my consciousness . . . yikes. Amazing vidding, super cool and scary, while also maintaining the uplifting, kickass, hopeful tone you want from a collective-action horror movie.

Janelle Monae: I Like That

Glorious, joyful, sexy celebration of being a free-ass motherfucker.

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Hard Times

Boimler vid about how he's essentially a redshirt who is just slightly too sweet to actually die. Absolutely adorable and hilarious.

Woman King: Upside Down

Absolute BANGER of a vid, great cuts, great movement, great character arc and great Dahomey women being amazing.

Romeo + Juliet: Magnetic

We all agree Harold Perrineau is the best Mercutio, SO, with that in mind, here is a flawless celebration of the best Mercutio.

Knives Out/Glass Onion: 'Til You Hit a Nerve

Brilliant comparison vid putting Marta from the first film together with Helen and Andi from the second one, drawing out the similarities and dissimilarities in a visual feast and with a badass powerwalk. Nothing not to love!

David Cronenberg's Films: body

This one is phenomenal. It takes David Cronenberg's entire filmography and condenses it into a vid about all the sexualized body horror. It is deeply horny and deeply disturbing and deeply fascinated by every single finger going into a hole in a body that shouldn't be there. It's soft and tentative and it's very graphic and violent, all at once.

The Wheel of Time: Velodrome

Tower politics and circularity and being bound to one another in every good way and every bad way; what a beautiful vid. I love how this is about a place, and about how that place draws these people together over and over in their shared experience and love and trauma.

The Midnight Sky: The Laughing Heart

Absolutely gorgeous vid of the film to a spoken word + music rendition of Charles Bukowski's "The Laughing Heart" (there is a light somewhere). I have not seen this film but I found this vid deeply moving.

Moby Dick: Queequeg and I

There are four (FOUR!!!) Moby Dick vids at Festivids this year, and they are all amazing combinations of a huge smorgasboard of sources, I heartily recommend them all, but I'll specifically rec two. This one is Queequeg and Ishmael to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and it is the sweetest queerest thing ever. Queequeg and Ishmael get a happy ending shhhhh they do shhhhh yes this is how it happened they came out of the water they're fine

Moby Dick: a vulture feeds upon the heart forever

This vid is a fucking masterpiece. It is a huge archival multisource Moby Dick vid that weaves all these incredibly different visual together to make a coherent, tragic narrative. And like. The BOOK is not a coherent narrative! This is such gorgeous and amazing fanwork. Don't miss out on it.

Women's 100m Sprinting: Didn't Come to Play

This is GORGEOUS, I don't know anything about sprinting but I know I love these beautiful joyful powerful women running really fast and hugging each other and being amazing. The editing on this is so tight; the vid never stops for a second. Like a sprint?!?!?!

The Golem and the Jinni: סיפור הגולם

This is another book vid, but since this book doesn't have any adaptations, it's using entirely archival source and probably some documentaries and films to construct the story - or, really, construct the vibe of the book, construct the metaphors of the book, and the result is beautiful and powerful and meditative. It's about survival, and making life.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Hope on Fire

This is another umbrella vid, where the vidder is taking a bunch of different productions of the play and mashing them together. This vid focuses on Judas and Jesus/Judas, and it all feels so inevitable and tragic and real and cruel. I really loved it.

Jordan Peele's Films: Goodbye, Honey, You Call That Gone

This is such a wonderful mashup of Jordan Peele's three films, exploring all the parallels and differences and just the rich tapestry of his imagery.

猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin: Put It On Me

I don't know this source but this was just so gorgeously put together; there's a focus on art and art objects, on hands moving and creating, that's just mesmerizing.

[bestanimatedmovie]

Choose your favorite!

Vote in the other polls!

What fans say:

Beauty and the Beast:

This is the only animated film ever to be nominated for regular best-picture*. It literally is responsible for the creation of the best-animated-feature category. It was Howard Ashman’s last work and his biggest passion project, and I would argue that there’s a strong reading of the film as a metaphor about the stigma and shame of aides and Visual Queerness that Ashman was experiencing at the time. It’s also one of the best works of hand animation that’s ever been committed to film before or since. In the ballroom scene you can watch the dynamic camera angles they move through and the way that all those ruffles on Bell’s dress swirl so perfectly and naturally. That shit is so complicated, most animators wouldn’t even bother, but it was all hand-drawn(!!), cell-by-cell by James Baxter, yet another absolute titan of the industry that had his hands on this film.**

Soundtrack fucks and the animation pussy is poppin

*Mod note: it was the first but two others have been nominated since (Up and Toy Story 3)

**Mod note 2: I'm leaving the videos for next round, but because submitter wrote so much about the scene, I'll leave the link here

The Prince of Egypt:

First of all, don't let the fact that it's a religious film put you off, because there is SO much to love about it. Gorgeous animation? Check. Amazing soundtrack (composed by Hans Zimmer)? Check. Wonderful scene composition? Check. A compelling take on the classic religious story that does much to humanize and expound on the characters in a way that brings them to life? Check. Powerful scenes that will take your breath away and can be appreciated regardless of whether you're religious or not? Check. Dreamworks' passion project at the time with a lot of obvious effort and love poured into it through all stages of the production process? Check. The Prince of Egypt has done so much to rewire the brains of 2-3 generations of children who grew up in religious families, myself included, and damn it all if it doesn't go hard with it. Vote for the Prince of Egypt.

The animation is GORGEOUS! The music is FANTASTIC! It makes you want to CRY!

The first time I watched it, the opening theme was playing ("Deliver Us") and I realized it was the first time I'd ever heard my culture's music in a major film. Also, the animation is simply beautiful.

It's a thoughtful adaptation of one of mankind's oldest stories. The music slaps.

The music? The script? The animation? Everything? How they blended the 2D and the CGI, how they animated the water and fire, the songs, the 3D sequence where Moses becomes a hieroglyphic carving on the wall, the imagery matching the gods invoked in "Playing with the big boys" sequence, the last plague being animated as mist that gets bigger the more lives it takes, how they managed to make the featureless desert SO pretty, the parting of the red sea animation that took 2 years to make (and looks amazing!), how it's a very respectful adaptation of (the first part of) the book of Exodus, how they managed to have ALL the people consulted for its religious importance agreed on at least one thing (Moses saving a random person rather than Miriam), Tzipporah (all of her), how Miriam has her timbrel on her last scene (and it's even Miriam's song playing!), how they researched how blood was slathered on the doorposts (hyssop) and how the script on the tablets for the 10 commandments would look, how it doesn't shy away from the blood and death. That part on the bridge of When you believe where the children start singing in Hebrew (Mi chamocha)? 11/10, no notes, fantastic, amazing, showstopper!

It's the only religious movie I've ever enjoyed. The creators consulted with multiple leaders of different religions to make sure it was as accurate and representative as possible

It's a well knwon classic that tells the story of the Exodus without being fucking boring and has legendary songs. Literally it's the Prince of Egypt. My favorite scene is the one where he parts the sea obv

The perfect storytelling structure, the voice acting, how you can tell what a character is thinking by their facial expressions alone (not everything must be said aloud), how very much HUMAN each character is, the use of color and lighting, the music and incredible lyrics, the style of animation...favorite scene impossible to choose! Yocheved's lullaby when she sets him adrift in a basket? When Moses meets Miriam again as adults, and she sings the lullaby, the same lullaby he always hums, triggering his memories and causing him to remember? The song Through Heaven's Eyes as he fits in with Tzipporah's people and falls in love with her? The PLAGUES?! Btw. This is based on the Exodus story with artistic liberation used to stay true to the message, but you can be of any faith (or lack of faith; I myself am agnostic) to enjoy the movie. In the end, it is simply a compelling ans human story.

That opening, god the song “deliver us” goes so hard it immediately hooked me. The scene of crossing the red sea is universally loved and iconic because of how beautiful it is but the rest of the movie goes so hard too, especially with the wall paintings depicting children being killed like.

I love the scene with the plagues song

Oh my god it's such a gorgeous film and a wonderful retelling oh my god and the music is also amazing

Banger music. Banger animation. Jewish. What can't she do? I feel so strongly about this.

Combined 2D animation with early 3D animation beautifully, and has an amazing soundtrack. Also the Plagues song slaps.

[billboard-hotties-tourney]

Diahann Carroll (1935-2019) solo - primarily an actress Songs: "Falling in Love Again, Can't Help It," "No Strings" Defeated Opponents: Dinah Washington Propaganda: "by my count she's currently in the movie and TV brackets so SHE NEEDS TO BE IN THIS TOO!!!!!! diahann baby we're getting you through to the finals"

Julie London (1926-2000) solo - additionally an actress Songs: "Cry Me a River," "Desafinado" Defeated Opponents: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey Propaganda: "I think her voice and the way she sings are so incredibly, mind-numbingly hot -- the sultry, low tones, the warmth, the way she carries notes as if she's caressing them... Just thinking of her voice makes me lightheaded honestly. And then those gorgeous eyes, the *power* in that stare, those cheekbones, that soft-but-knowing smile, and actually I may have to stop here because I'm losing my coherence at this point sorry I'm off to listen to more of her songs"

Visual Propaganda for Diahann Carroll:

Audio Propaganda for Julie London: 1

Visual Propaganda for Julie London:

[aliveandfullofjoy]

Review: Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992)

(I haven't posted a review on Tumblr in a hot minute -- I've been keeping those to Letterboxd -- but I tried to get a few words out about this movie and wanted to share here as well. I love it a lot. Those are always hard to write about for me. This is embarrassing. Thanks for reading. Or not! Consider watching Unforgiven if you haven't!)

"It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have."

Unforgiven is just one of those movies for me. It hits me like a bolt of lightning every time I watch it. I first watched it when I was in high school, when I was first getting into movies by way of poring over Oscar history. I didn't think of myself as a westerns guy at the time -- I'm honestly not even sure how many I'd seen by that point -- but Unforgiven almost immediately made me fall in love with the genre as a whole. It was a little bit like discovering my first Stephen Sondheim musical: "Oh, that's what this can be?"

Admittedly, I've been way less rabid about consuming westerns than I have been with musical theatre (and I'm certainly not a Clint Eastwood megafan). Still, it's a genre I find endlessly fascinating, and it's almost entirely because of how deeply literary they often feel. More than any other genre, individual characters in westerns seem to represent so much more than just themselves. I'm sure there's a great thesis to be written about the ideologies represented in Unforgiven in just the characters of William Munny and Little Bill Daggett alone, to say nothing of Ned Logan or the Schofield Kid or Strawberry Alice or English Bob or W. W. Beauchamp or Delilah.

(My God, what a cast of characters. What a script.)

And then there's the beautiful prologue and epilogue, perfectly bookending the film -- the cruelty, the loss, the violence -- with a bittersweet sense of poetry. Maybe cinema was invented so Eastwood could match Jack N. Green's cinematography with David Webb Peoples' words and accompany them with an aching guitar (the gorgeous "Claudia's Theme," which Eastwood wrote himself). All I have to do is think about the final words of the epilogue, to visualize Mrs. Ansonia Feathers visiting her daughter's grave, and I feel my eyes begin to well up.

I think that love story is what keeps me coming back to Unforgiven. We never see Munny's wife, just like we never see Munny before his marriage, that "man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition." To us, he's just a widower -- an aging man with a surprising gentleness who can barely take care of his hogs. Eastwood, it should be said, gives a gorgeous performance.

I love everything about this movie, even the parts that make me feel queasy. I love the Munny/Ned dynamic (Morgan Freeman is great in his short screen time). I love how vile of a bad guy Little Bill is (Gene Hackman's second Oscar was well-earned). I love getting heady about it and thinking about it as a deconstruction and an elegy for the westerns of Eastwood's youth. I even love how almost fatalistic the film gets near the end ("I'll see you in Hell." "Yeah.").

But it's the entirely offscreen love story that lingers with me. On this watch, the following exchange Munny has with Delilah, the brutalized sex worker at the center of Unforgiven's conflict, caught me completely off-guard and made me start crying almost immediately. Munny's wife, a woman we never meet, is a symbol of hope and redemption in a vicious world. Their love for one another is the heart of the film.

"Is she back in Kansas?" "Yeah, she's watching over my young ones."

[ablatheringblatherskite]

my thoughts on ep 1 and 2 of the live action ATLA series!

So it is absolutely GORGEOUS. like the visuals??? the costumes?? THE VFX??? OUTSTANDING. CHEF'S KISS. INCREDIBLE. the worst thing is Zuko's scar and like ok whatever nothing we can do about that.

Episode one was fantastic we actually see a lot of great additions, which is COOL! like more of Monk Gyatso, and the actual attack on the Air Nomads... 😭

I'd say writing wise it's not as great as I want it to be. A touch too many monologues for my taste, especially in the first episode, but nothing too bad. Could've been better, but definitely DEFINITELY could've been worse *eyes the movie that will not be named*

You can tell they're trying to squish important plot points together instead of spacing it out across more episodes I mean especially since Netflix decided everything has to be EIGHT EPISODES. but the pacing is actually good considering that LOL

but oh the EMOTIONS. THE EMOTIONS?!?!!

the actor of Aang oh my gosh, Gordon Cormier, OMG. DUDE I NEARLY BAWLED MULTIPLE TIMES BASED ON HIS PERFORMANCE ALONE. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING 😭 HE'S SO GOOD 😭 and he's so cute too he's so baby I'm wjrhwhrhwhdhwhdhwh

I love the actors of Sokka and Zuko whdhwhdhshdsjjdhsjd. Ian Ousley and Dallas Liu? DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

SOKKA WAS HILARIOUS we BURST out laughing SO MANY TIMES, he was so GOOD 😭 the jokes he cracked were genuinely funny wwhdhwhgd and the SARCASM especially. and HIS ACTING THE ACTING HE NAILED IT?? It was so natural and THE EXPRESSIONS HE'D MAKE AND JUST. ALL HIS ACTING CHOICES IN GENERAL WERE SO GOOD. HE WAS HILARIOUS. and other than the funny parts in general he was just so good! HE GETS IT. HE IS SOKKA.

and Zuko was so good too like, we haven't gotten to all the juicy angst yet so I can't fully judge, but so far he's done SO well. Like especially the moments he'd get really angry and also HE'S SO GOOD AT MARTIAL ARTS. SO.

BUT HE'S ALSO RLLY FUNNY TOO??? especially when he gets annoyed with Uncle Iroh LIKE THE BODY LANGUAGE WAS SO SUBTLE BUT IT WAS HILARIOUS. and YES UNCLE IROH WAS GREAT TOO, I LOVE HIM SO FAR. HE IS ALSO HILARIOUS and does seem like Uncle Iroh to me so far!!

Katara hasn't had much to do yet and much like. acting stuff or much to do with her character yet but like that's okay, I'm pretty confident they're still building it up. They haven't gotten to the JUICY bits yet. But she was already so good too.

I'm really interested in some changes, like how they focus more on the Avatar State as a plot point? It's interesting LOL. There was also a shot that showed that in this universe, Katara actually saw her mom die?!?? like omg, that's so gruesome I'm crying.

and it's true that they cut out the sexism arc of Sokka 😭 BUT BUT BUT. IAN OUSLEY. OH HE GETS IT. Like you can see he's really doing his best to keep it a part of the story, like in his acting choices, he's still trying to include the more sexist aspect of his character even if the script isn't supporting it. Like he really truly did his best with what he had and he nailed it, it's the script's fault

And I will say I'm not crazy about some of the stuff they added to Suki? like, I wasn't crazy about the whole "thank you for bringing the world to me" thing, but it's just okay LOL. She's frickin GORGEOUS tho

(also I was really hoping we'd get the scene of Sokka wearing the Kyoshi warrior outfit and makeup but sadly they didn't put it in but it's okay)

OH BUT THE CRUMBS. THE SOKKA AND SUKI CRUMBS. OH THEY'RE SO CUTE. ESPECIALLY THE SCENE IN THE DOJO WHERE SHE'S TEACHING HIM?? OH IT WAS SO CUTE. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. you can tell they're doubling down a bit more on their romance, especially since we know it's already gonna be endgame, but it's making me wonder how they'll tackle Yue 🤔

but yeah. Sokka and Suki stinking adorable I was SQUEALING MULTIPLE TIMES, I LOVE IT I LOVE IT

and the BENDING. THE BENDING IS KRIFFING GORGEOUS. IT'S SO GOOD. THE STUNTS?? THE MARTIAL ARTS?? BEAUTIFUL!! MAGNIFICENT!! PERFECTION!! and the VFX?? HECK YES. AUGH!! I'm definitely not disappointed about it. And I love how dangerous the bending legitimately feels?? like it feels so LETHAL. And there were some really shocking bending moments that were done incredibly well. I loved it.

so YEAH. IN CONCLUSION. so far, judging from just the FIRST TWO episodes... I rate it a 7.5/10

The writing is maybe a 6.5/10, but the acting for sure a solid 9/10. DEFINITELY worth the watch imo, BUT so much more enjoyable with an open mind and acceptance that it's not supposed to be a carbon copy of the show.

[thebearemoji]

I had some thoughts today about why I still gravitate to children's media as an adult. Why i still have opinions on them. And why they still maintain at least a small plot of real estate in my heart to this day. I realized that many of the cartoons I consider to be classics from my childhood (avatar the last Airbender, Danny phantom, teen titans, and later in life, star wars clone wars as a few noteworthy mentions) are a coincidental combination of the things I seek most when searching for media.

Much of a medias first impression can be tied to aesthetics. The appearance/tone/setting of a show can determine whether someone stops watching halfway through the first episode, or remembers the content for life. So what was it about those shows that stuck with me?

The least helpful description I can give of my aesthetic preferences is "escapism". I want to engage with a universe that is so compelling that it distracts me from the reality of day to day life. It can be enormous fantasy, fascinating sci fi, or just a place more fun than reality.

In addition to that, I like character designs and scenery that are colorful. There are so many drab live action shows that you can take a still image, and it would be completely indistinguishable from a thousand other shows. Good cartoons don't have that problem, they are loud to the point of iconic. It makes sense, designs from children's media are meant to sell toys. But it turns out that designs that are marketable are also often memorable. If only shows like succession were pitched with the intention to sell a line of action figures with different vibrantly colored suits /s

Looks alone don't make a series memorable. I assume I'm not alone in knowing I've watched a few GORGEOUS anime or other properties because I liked the art style, and yet when I reflect on them, I remember few if any details of the actual content. What the shows I listed above do is two-fold. Both retaining my goldfish level attention span with their visuals and entertaining me with the stories they tell.

As I said previously, I engage with media to forget my troubles. And as a result, I don't enjoy watching properties that take themselves too seriously. I need time to breathe, relax, and sometimes laugh when watching content. And cartoons have humor baked into their DNA. A bunch of silly lil guys doing animated things very naturally becomes amusing. So funny (or at the very least light-hearted), and colorful. That can describe plenty of cartoons, but the final trait is what makes my favorite truly exceptional to me.

Nothing invests me in a media like in depth character examination. I want to see those little shits emotions on full display as they face impossible odds. I want to see them scream and cry and struggle, in a way the toxic masculinity that has infested Hollywood won't allow a lot of popular properties to do. I want to take a break from marvel one liners and block buster explosions and silent dark brooding that fills every movie and every show to LOUDLY FEEL SOMETHING!

I often see people imply that continuing to hold affection for cartoons as an adult is immature. And you know what? If that's what I have to be to enjoy what I enjoy, then that's alright. There's worse things I can be then immature.

I wanna laugh and cry and forget for a little while. That's all. I mentioned clone wars above specifically because I didn't watch that show until i was in my 20's, but during its best episodes it made me feel the same way i did watching the cartoons from my youth. There's also the spiderverse movies, which are in a league of their own as far as exceptional animated content, I was captivated watching them. So I dont think nostalgia is a factor for me, i think i just... like good cartoons. And I'm done allowing other people to decide for me that I shouldn't.

[splitting-infinities]

ok i'm just gonna slap some post-crying-spurred ramblings about The Makanai here because i need to shout from the rooftops:

this show good

i'm so stuffed with emotions and visual imagery of food and art. what a triumphant, wholesome masterpiece. this show means so much to me.

basically if you adore shows about the power of true friendship, platonic love, strong female-led stories, beautiful depictions of tradition and culture in a modern era, found family, one (1) hilarious zombie episode, and gorgeous shots of cooking food, you will love this.

unhinged spoilered ramblings below

hnnnnggggh momohana only ate the sandwiches made by kiyo because she promised. her father's character arc in the last episode. the zombie skit. azusa's blossoming love story. the way momoko is so refined and dedicated to her art, and she also loves super gross horror movies and inflicts them on other people with delight. momoko's breakup and how satisfying it is to see when things just don't work out but it's okay. how kiyo makes tsuru the same meal her grandmother made her in the first ep because it's a meal of sending off travelers on a journey. the way chiyo and her long lost actor man got to have their moment. that one jump cut of hiroshi and his dad drinking coffee and reading in the exact same way - hilarious. the soft and kind of melancholy mother daughter relationship we get with azusa and ryoko? lovable characters like Ren the adorable bartender and the photographer who makes tsuru her photo album?

I think the part that got me choked up the most was when sumire goes out to fancy dinner and sees fried oysters on the menu but it's just not the same and when she gets home kiyo has that exact dish waiting for her? totally captures the feeling of food being better when you're with people you love. it's👏about👏the👏love👏!

[darthpastry]

Incorrect Quotes of the Kingdom Pt. 5 ( ft. FNaF but now also AtLA)

Link: Your kneecaps are a privilege, not a right!

Ganondorf: *laying on the ground sobbing* All I said was your hat looks stupid.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Ganondorf: No.

Judge: Wait.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Link: Good morning to everyone except those who talk to introverts who clearly want to be left alone. I hope your ankles spontaneously combust.

Yunobo: ... I just asked if you wanted coffee.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Sokka: What if time zones were divided up into minutes instead of hours?

Vanessa: That'd be so annoying.

Link: What if they were divided up into seconds?

Sidon: Why would you-

Toph: WHAT IF THEY WERE DIVIDED UP INTO MILLISECONDS?

Katara: Toph no.

Toph: Toph yes.

Gregory: ZEPTOSECONDS!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Link: ACHOO000!

Ghost Mipha: Bless you.

Link: *jumps and turns around* Hylia?

------------------------------------------------------------------

Midna: *sitting in court for murder* Wow. Hylia forbid women do anything.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Zelda: Everything is so funny when I ignore the dread.

*one hour later*

Zelda: NOT FUNNY NOT FUNNY THE DREAD IS HERE!

------------------------------------------------------------------

*in a bus Zelda rented and Vanessa is driving after watching the Barbie movie*

Link, Aang, and Sokka: *sitting in the back sobbing*

Toph: Don't worry guys, I did research. *tosses back 'I am Kenough hoodies to them*

Gregory: I don't get it, why are they crying over the pink existential crisis movie?

Sokka: BECAUSE SOME OF US HAVE FEELINGS!

Gregory: You guys are so weird.

Zuko: *silently pondering the movie and it's meaning*

Sidon: I thought it was a fantastic movie.

Yunobo: What if the patriarchy really is about horses?

Riju: You're an idiot. I thought it had fantastic casting and was visually gorgeous. Overall, all at least 4 stars.

Gregory: Boo. I still think we should've watched Oppenheimer.

Vanessa: And I still think you're too young for that.

Aang: Well I think that-

Tulin: We should all go watch Oppenheimer next week!

Zelda: Tulin, you're also pretty young...

Tulin: Hmph. Hey Gregory, wanna sneak out tomorrow night?

Gregory: Heck yeah!

Link: I can already guarantee you two won't be successful.

Katara: *listening to Aang talk about how the movie is important to society and the impact it will surely have.*

------------------------------------------------------------------

*in a bus after watching Oppenheimer (Gregory and Tulin pointed out they'd already been through traumatic events and the movie couldn't be worse)*

Gregory: So... that was not expected.

Vanessa: You wanted to see it.

Gregory: Yeah, but I didn't want to watch a bunch of people talk and think about how actions have consequences!

Zelda: Link, I'm sure you have takeaways.

Link: I do not.

Aang: Toph, I'm guessing you don't have any takeaways either?

Toph: I do not.

Zuko: It's interesting how we can learn from the past today.

Sokka: Meh, I thought Barbie was better.

------------------------------------------------------------------

*pulling up into restaurant in the bus*

Vanessa: Hey Link, can you go get us a table while I finish parking?

Zelda: Oh, I don't think-

Link: On it!

*five minutes later*

Link: *runs out* START THE ENGINE START THE ENGINE!

------------------------------------------------------------------

*at the next restaurant (they sent Zelda in with Link)*

Waiter: Would you like a table?

Zelda: Ye-

Link: No, not at all. We came here to eat the floor. Carpet for 13 please.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Revali: On my way. What should I bring?

Urbosa: A good mood. Nothing salty.

Revali: I'm not coming.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Link: Next step is to... beat three eggs?

Gregory: Probably in hand-to-hand combat

Link: Makes sense.

Toph: Pfft, I can solo them all.

Tulin: But like... what if we used weapons?

------------------------------------------------------------------

Vanessa: Where's Tulin, Link, Gregory, and Toph?

Zelda: Doing stuff.

Vanessa: That doesn't sound good. Where's Glamrock Freddy?

Zelda: Trying to stop them from doing stuff.

*Tulin, Link, Gregory, and Toph crash through a wall in a go-kart, all wearing 8-bit sunglasses*

All four: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!

Glamrock Freddy: *chasing them* COME BACK! THIS IS NOT A SAFE PLAY IDEA!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Tulin: Onions rings are vegetable doughnuts.

Gregory: Your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed.

Sokka: Your teeth are the only part of your skeleton you brush.

Link: Lasagna is spaghetti flavored cake.

Toph: Lobsters are mermaid scorpions.

Riju: Oh no. Now there's five of them.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Sokka: *on the phone* Um. Aang? We need your help?

Aang: Is the building on fire?

Sokka: Well no, but...

Aang: Then it's not an emergency. *hangs up*

Gregory: Well? What did he say?

Tulin: Yeah, what do we do about the portal to the spirit realm that opened up?

Sokka: *shrugs* He said it's not an emergency.

Link: *smacking a spirit with his sword* HOW IS THIS NOT AN EMERGENCY?!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Zelda: Has anyone seen Link and Tulin?

Purah: They went outside. Something about a very important conversation.

*outside*

Link: At my funeral you have to leave my casket closed and play Pop goes weasel-

Tulin: *nodding and writing it down* Sounds good. What else?

Link: Take the bouquet off my casket, throw it into the crowd, and whoever catches it you have to say you're next.

Tulin: Like the opposite of a wedding?

Link: Yep!

Tulin: Perfect.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Tulin: Okay. There are three ways. The legal way, the illegal way, and the Link way.

Toph: Isn't Link's way illegal?

Gregory: Yeah, but it's faster and he gets away with it.

[geekyhistoriansunite]

Man Suang is a pretty good and solid movie!

Ok, putting out there. I got involved in Thai drama due to Kinnporsche the Series, no I have no shame about it. It was fun, it had good looking dudes, and even though it initially seemed over the top in acting effort, the actors started to flow into their characters better and it was a fun show. Kinnporsche had amazing behind the sceens stuff that actually got me interested in the actors, especially Apo and Mile, who are freaking cute together. But all good things must end and so did the series.

But then there was a ray of hope! A glorious teaser was released.

Please note: Absolutely none of this teaser was in the movie, which I find both exasperating because I love every bit of it and the music, but also hilarious, because they caught your attention.

Please note pt. : All the BL lovers from Kinnporsche were salivating hard and if they said they weren't they're lying liars who lie.

So attention was given. And it took a long while, but then they released on official trailer at the Cannes Film Festival! Oh shnap, we got some extreme legitimacy here. This was not going to be cheap film, this was going to be quality. And all the BL lovers are still crying in anticipation at seeing their boys back together again.

Please note pt. 3: We still have NO idea what this movie is about. Just have the visual, which are gorgeous and a couple written lines teasing, but still no actual plotline. That's ok, the interest is still strong.

And one thing Be On Cloud does VERY well, is know how to advertise and keep people's interests. And it finally releases almost a year later. And lots of people cry. Not because it's a bad movie, but because there's no blatant BL storyline. There are hints, teases, looks, but that is not the main storyline. People are crying online, they've been deceived, there's no BL!

Please note pt. 4 (I'm having way to many please notes): Be On Cloud NEVER said it was BL. It was inferred since both Apo and Mile were pared in a movie together and the fact that Bo On Cloud only had the one series with mega BL plotlines.

The only reviews I could read (In English, which is all I read. I know, I should try other languages but I legit have tried 4 languages and I just can't) mostly complained about the lack of BL storyline and that it was slow at times. No synopsis, no breakdowns. Full stop. I was sad. I kept checking on my tried and true Tumblr, which normally doesn't disappoint, but nada, bupkis. I was sad. Again. There was no release date I could find with English subtitles. Again, sadness ensued.

But finally, glory be, it was announced that Man Suang release on Netflix. Today. Yay! And after work I sat and watch it all, and here is my review...finally.

Man Suang is actually a pretty good movie. Most of my knowledge of Thai culture comes from BL shows, which helped a little but I did have to pause occasionally to look something up (the betal nuts for example) and I'm sure I missed a lot of things, but I got a pretty good understanding of everything. The pacing was a bit different from movies in the US, and that could be jarring, but I got used to it. Overall it was a good movie. I'd watch it again (which is a big deal for me, I watch once and then remind myself with fanfiction).

Thoughts (spoilers below):

Everyone was in a fucked up position. Except, Tiang, fuck him.

Khem: Sweetheart, just trying to take care of his friend. The finale probably fucked him up a bit. I like to consider Chatra comes back and gives him some comfort.

Please note (Please don't ask me what number this is): There's now going to be a BL series called Shine which is going to follow their relationship. See? Just had to be patient.

Chatra: Yeah, I'd be concerned if my father was a traitor and my whole family was going to pay for it. (On a side note: What is the Thai repercussions for that? Ancient China had death of the whole family for so many generations, but I'm not sure what they are in Siam.)

Wan: Baby...honey...that was fucked up. I get where you were coming from with your severe PTSD but trying to blow everyone up is not the answer. But I do hate that he felt betrayed by Khem.

Hong: Look at my sheltered little man turn into a Bossman! I see good things in his future.

All the aunties and women in the show: Couldn't have done it without you and I love seeing all of you. Especially auntie who put the mean boss in his place while trying to feed the two newcomers. (Boss: Don't flirt with my woman! Auntie: I flirt with who I want to, go sit in the corner until you're repentant! Boss: Yes, ma'am).

And finally: Absolutely gorgeous set design and costumes. Like, super wow. Loved it all! It was interesting to see the crossover of Thai and western design, like Chatra's suit and cravat top/traditional pants combo at the end. Jarring, but I imagine that time period was jarring with all the different influences happening as well. Much like the differences in hairstyles which helped you identify Chinese descent from Thai descent (using the Queue hairstyle instead of fully or partially grown out hair).

Overall, solid job on Man Suang, I recommend it to anyone who is interested in new cultures, pretty people, and just an interesting storyline.

[disregardcanon]

just got done watching the 50th anniversary touring production of jesus christ superstar. here are The Thoughts

i've watched either the movie or a different bootleg of jcs during the week of easter for the past 8 years. i LOVE jcs and am very familiar with the material, so this was not a first for me except for seeing it live

i'm not sure if the setup for the staging was unique, but there were 3 big parts: 2 two level bits that were set up towards the back (one that was used almost solely for the instruments) and then in the middle was a very large, elevated cross made of grated metal. it was where the smoke machine bits came through and it had bright lights that hugged the edges.

the way that the cross elevated a bit in the middle of the stage and bisected it was really cool. it let different actors (a lot of the time jesus pre-arrest) elevate themselves over the rest of the scene, and created a pretty clear divide between two different events/sides.

costumes- most of them were what i'd expect from a jcs production, but i was impressed by how lowkey and modern jesus's civilian clothes were (the khaki shorts, the loose white top, the light gray hoodie) and then the way that the leader guy of the I BELIEVE IN YOU AND GOD SO TELLLL ME THAT I'M SAVED! has jesus's exact same outfit but with the colors of the shirt and hoodie swapped. i dunno that worked for me. judas's look, of course, SLAYED in the don't you get me wrong number. sparkling like a star, with his hair all done up in this brilliant and gorgeous updo... *chefs kiss* and then pilot's crown was good and subtle and i love love loved herod and his gang. herod had a big goofy overcoat that gave him a cartoony frame and then he took it off and was in this straight up cabaret bright gold high boots outfit with french revolution aristocracy era face paint and get up. the lackeys had on these striped outfits and harem pants and the like, big circles that surround your head kinda like a dog cone? and at the very end of the number when he's encroaching in on jesus and about to kick him out he kicks the head of every single lackey who's on the ground in a line, like waiting for a beheading? and then it like SPEWS BLOOD along their neckline and the cone. visually appealing, horrifying, and interesting, especially with the french revolution imagery.

they did this really interesting thing with guitars and microphones with the actors. so jesus had a guitar that he carried around with him a lot and peter did too. jesus took it out during emotional moments and the way that they framed the gethsemane number to start with was him just working out his emotions through song? he plays the number himself (and he and peter were playing on pilot's first little number, which is interesting symbolism) and then as he finally builds to a point where he can't keep going he unplugs the guitar from the amp and goes to cry and finish the number with no mic.... just him.

additions on gethsemane- as he was winding up to the FIIINNNNEEEEE I'LLLLLL DIIIIIIEEEEE bit, the lights started flashing from all different directions. in the divine intensity. you will be doing this. you don't have a choice. then jesus, who's mainly performed in a much more.... traditional? style than neeley's jesus finally DOES take it into that piercing, 70s rocker falsetto belt.... and to have that happen right before he finally... does give up. just collapse into a little pile of just him, no more lighting anymore but this single spotlight on this sad, tired little man... the heart. it wrenches. then judas comes in from the Super Secret Suprise Entrance Cross and everything just keeps going.

super funny when we got all the apostles looking between each other when judas and jesus have their fight and judas leaves and then peter strums a cord and restarts" ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT I'D BE AN APOOOOSTTTLLLEEEEEE"

caiphas was, unfortunately, hot.

thinking about the shift of the ensemble so quickly from We Are The Sinful Temple Fuckers to We Are The Ailing of the Earth and how the ailing surround and overwhelm jesus and the way that it just. is visually even more in person

the use of the mics was also interesting. the high priests had mic stands that they always came in with as props and the dancing with them was cool and worked well, and then jesus/judas/mary passed around a mic some, both on the mic stand and without it. and especially when it was on the stand it gave this sense of... presence and importance. a lot of the judas-mary altercations were spent moving the mic back and forth and it was +++++ especially since we saw the microphone taken away from jesus when he was arrested (taking away his power along with his guitar, his ability to express himself). the mic's cord was ALSO used in really interesting ways. the first time it really comes up is when judas is realizing that he's been duped by the narrative and he's been left with the bag... and then he stretches the bright red cord out to its full length as he climbs up to the second story and threads the cord to stage the hanging... with the microphone. the lighting in this scene was great and just UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH watching judas send the microphone over the edge and leaving IT hanging as the symbol of judas's death. fucking. fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

the other time that the microphone cord itself comes up is in pilot's last number, when the crowd is getting increasingly YOU HAVE NO CHOICE CRUCIFY HIMCRUCIFY HIM! and pilot's like. uh. how about i beat him? will that satisfy your blood lust? and he fucking wraps his mic cord around jesus's hands and holds him in place with it??? like oh my god. that made me feel some kind of way.

peter brought his guitar back out when he and mary magdalene were singing about how jesus should probably make things stop sucking now, please? then them on the smaller, more cut off scene watching jesus get beaten and sentenced to crucifixion. the powerlessness of that staging

jesus spends most of that number physically on the ground. he falls off the cross to the ground. he's so bloody and broken looking and it was painful.

the way the crowd shifts from being the taunting crowd to the JESUS CHRIST! SUPERSTAR! background singers. but. this staging... it had jesus. out during this number. and the chorus kept on hurting him as they KEPT DEMANDING ANSWERS? just like the way that they made every character who did that a guard (they had different roman emperor heads, it was great) and then. jesus is still there. he is still broken and beaten and Not Yet Crucified. and they're passing him around like emma perkins in inevitable.

(and his horror keeps going on)

something about how they gave judas's actor bright white hands after touching the blood money to contrast against his dark brown skin. something about how in this show he gets both pilot and jesus's symbols of being doomed by fate (pilot's bloody hands, jesus's crown of thorns).

like. they do not crucify this poor motherfucker until after the entire staging of "don't you get me wrrrroooonnnngggggg". and then we have to watch him raised onto the cross and his painful cries and everything. a few murmured notes from the crowd. then it's just a few actors helping to take jesus down off the cross and judas sitting on the edge, looking forlorn and regretful and just. so lost.

and a tattered jesus manages to move to the spot across from him, and sends him a tiny smile. he takes the crown of thorns off his own head and passes it over to judas.

the lights go down and the show is over. judas is forgiven. he's elevated! he's trapped!!!!!!! he and jesus are here together in this story that neither of them can control. they share that knowledge, and then the lights go down.

i am no longer the same. i don't want to be

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Alright it's time to out myself in front of the entire HTTYD tumblr fandom. I like this movie. A lot. Ok? Like I think its really fucking great and I will not deny that. Is it as good as the first two entries in this franchise? No, but it's still damn solid in its own right. So let's get into it.

We pick up a year after the last movie, with the arrival of another new threat to Berk, the "Night Fury killer" Grimmel the Grisley. To protect his people and their dragons, Hiccup moves the entire tribe to a new island while in search for the Hidden World, an unreachable utopia for all dragonkind. Meanwhile, Toothless is allured by the arrival of a new, mysterious female dragon, the Light Fury, which complicates matters even further as Hiccup begins to worry that he and Toothless are growing apart.

So yeah still a pretty good plot, though not as solidly cohesive as the first two. Still, I enjoy the ride here a lot; we still get a lot of great scenes of the riders fighting their foes, lots of great flying scenes (especially that one between Toothless and the Light Fury, man that scene is just gorgeous), lots of action and strangely enough, a bit more of a focus on humor here than usual? I mean it's ok, but a little strange given this is the final entry in the franchise and the stakes are supposed to be higher than ever.

Speaking of stakes, let's talk about that. Grimmel is by in large the only real new character here (aside from the Light Fury I guess, and she's fine, I don't understand the hate towards her design, I think she's cute). And he is... probably the lamest fuckin villain in this franchise, there I said it. He's just... some dude. He's nowhere near as unhinged and intimidating as Drago, nowhere near as smart or interesting or even just fun to watch as any of the villains in the HTTYD shows, he's just... idk man, a really boring villain. Certainly not what I think the "ultimate" challenge for a protagonist as well developed and interesting as Hiccup should be imo.

I know there are plenty of complains thrown around about this movie, the other riders are poorly-characterized, Grimmel is a lame villain (as I just said, I agree with that one), and of course, it's biggest controversy, it's ending. But here's my take on the ending. I think it's actually pretty bold of them to have the dragons leave? Like yes, there is a heavy sense of finality to it, but that's sort of the point. There's a massive change to the status quo, it feels like a genuine ending with little in the way of Dreamworks doing what they always fucking do in trying to bait any unecessary sequels. And then of course, there's the epilogue, which may be one of my favorite scenes in the entire franchise. I literally cannot watch it without crying, I'm such a fucking wreck for this boy and his dragon oh my god.

As usual, visually and audibly, this movie is absolutely wonderful. The animation here is especially impressive, the lighting took my breath away in some spots with just how realistic some of it looked, while still maintaining the series' usual style. The Hidden World especially, we don't see it for very long, but it is so damn pretty to look at. The music is, of course, also absolutely lovely, once again drawing on familiar themes from throughout the series to send it off one last time.

There's lots of other little things I love about this movie too, like the flashbacks to Stoick and Hiccup when Hiccup was little (I cry), any cute Hicstrid moments, especially the wedding (I cry), Toothless being an absolute mess while trying to impress the Light Fury (I die laughing), just... god, it's more How to Train Your Dragon, man, I fucking love this franchise, how the hell can I possibly hate this movie when there's still so much of what I love about the first two in here?

I do understand, this movie is flawed in some pretty big ways. And yet... it's still so beautiful all the same. I adore it, even if others don't, and I think that's ok? We can all enjoy different things and I just so happen to enjoy this. No, it's certainly not the best this series can do, and maybe the HTTYD franchise does deserve a better conclusion. But for what we got, well... I think it's pretty damn great all the same.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Verdict: How to get your dragon some rizz bc gottdamn he needs some

Previous Review (Captain Underpants: The Epic First Movie)

Next Movie (Abominable)

[ufonaut]

Will you please share your black adam thoughts?? I was also very nervous about it and how it would handle the JSA but i actually really liked it! I actually work at a movie theater so i saw it twice already 😂

i'm putting these together because they're all related to my thoughts on black adam 2022 and i thought it'd be more convenient for everybody (even if they're wildly antithetic povs)! i absolutely loved black adam and i think i'm gonna see it again quite literally as soon as i can. given that i only got back approx ten minutes ago, here's some jumbled thoughts right off the bat:

i think what makes or breaks a superhero movie is whether the people involved think comic books are beneath them or not (as the folks over at the mcu often seem to do) and black adam certainly loves comic books with its entire heart and soul and you can tell. from various black reign panel recreations to carter's picture perfect thanagarian ship from hawkman 2002, this is a very sincere and earnest movie with none of the parodic tone i so often despise in superhero media.

VISUALLY GORGEOUS. SIMPLY GORGEOUS. the fact that 99.9% of the film takes place in daylight immediately resolves the lighting issue of all modern cinema but lawrence sher (of joker 2019 fame) as cinematographer simply changes the game with this one. in fact, i can say the same thing about the magnificent use of cgi -- cyclone's powers, in particular, are one of the most beautiful things i've ever had the pleasure of seeing in action.

while there are certainly a few things i disagree with, such as carter's estate and kent seemingly having a chauffeur/butler, i think most of the major changes were unavoidable either in a lost in translation sort of way or simply in order to make this movie palpable to average audiences used to marvel. over all, i felt the jsa's dynamic was captured perfectly and what drew me to the team in the first place is very much still there in a way that's definitely absent from stargirl, for example. they're still a horrible little family made up almost exclusively of weird uncles.

SPEAKING OF. AL PRATT? I SCREAMED.

i thought it was made clear that this isn't the entire team but rather just the members carter chose for this particular mission, which i also enjoyed. and while we're here, to touch on some of the points from the anon, i don't think any marvel-style humour was actually present? or at least, it didn't come across that way to me. i mean, it's a very funny film, i was laughing nearly the whole time (or tearing up! or simply absolutely on the edge of my seat!) but it all felt perfectly natural to me, especially in al's case where it's a clear consequence of powers he's obviously still unused to. the relationship between him & carter is actually exactly the element that made me feel a first spark of recognition like.... man i'm seeing my favourite lil comic book guys up there on the big screen.

ALSO THE LEGEND OF CARTER - KENT GAY HOMOSEXUALITY LIVES ON. OLD FRIEND? CARTER CRYING? YES OKAY OKAY I'M ON BOARD. IT'S NOT CARTER IF HE DOESN'T HAVE A BIZARRE WARRIOR BOND WITH SOMEBODY.

considering i was all set on hating this portrayal of kent, i also can't believe how much i ended up completely utterly loving him. the movie definitely has a knack for making you fall in love with its characters nearly instantly (maxine!!!!!!!!! oh maxine!!!!!!!) because it's so well written but kent's random outfit changes for no reason whatsoever, the bit where he's parading around in a dressing gown on carter's ship, "i'm not that kind of doctor", the entire scene in adrianna's apartment... yeah babey. actually i was losing my entire mind at "i remember the day i saw my first aeroplane...", the way pierce plays him might not have been intended to be hilarious but by god, giffen himself couldn't have done a better job. you can tell he's not all there (and i did also enjoy maxine calling him possessed by fate) and it's precisely how kent should be even in the absence of unnatural youth.

the narrative actually allowing carter to be his usual arrogant asshole self-appointed leader with a heart of gold self was also a welcome bonus, i loved seeing him the way he's always been written at his best and i loved that his sharp edges haven't been dulled any by a script that could've easily gone the sanitized route. his black and white thinking is also something that's always been a part of him and i don't think it's necessarily odd to have him say superheroes don't kill -- superheroes certainly don't kill as easily and indiscriminately as black adam does, not even the jsa.

on that point, the jsa's actions are clearly framed to be in the wrong? i loved black adam's arc, i thought mr the rock was acting his little heart out and succeeding like never before but we're also definitely pushed to be on his side to begin with. adrianna and amon are the moral centre of the movie and they certainly stand with black adam! the movie doesn't simply co-opt anti imperialist languages for the hell of it, the jsa is plainly told they're coming here with a us-centric pov and helping nothing & nobody in the name of some nebulous form of justice. i thought it was definitely abundantly clear that the conversation opened around a colonized kahndaq does not condemn adam's actions against intergang etc.

FINALLY, MY THOUGHTS ON THE FATE HELMET AT THE END? HERE'S HOW JARED STEVENS CAN STILL WIN.

this got long enough but god, i really did love it. i loved black adam. i loved the jsa. a respectful, loving, beautiful cinematic adaptation like i never thought we'd ever get.