#also: when a review says there are too many unnecessary color changes: believe that person!

[brostateexam]

19% done and I am learning some things about myself.

excited to be done with the leather armor and to be back to stitching in the more brightly colored bits in a few more sessions

[ordinaryschmuck]

Why I (Want to) Love Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure

Salutations random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

When I heard Disney was making an animated series based on Tangled, acting as a continuation from the original movie, my initial thought was, "Why?"

Sure, Disney is infamous for its unnecessary sequels of the story after happily ever after, with the many, many, many failures that follow suit. Even then, though, most of these continuations were movies that kind of have the potential to tell more of a story. But what more could be said about Tangled? Sorry to spoil a movie that's over ten years old at this point, but by the end of it: Rapunzel lost her golden hair, was reunited with her parents, fell in love, and lived happily ever after. Her losing the golden hair is the most essential part of that list because how can you do a series based on a Disney princess when her most iconic feature is gone? Then I found out that the series forced a way for her hair to come back, and my new initial thought became, "Oh man. This is gonna suck, isn't it?"

Despite the hesitation, I decided to give it a chance anyway. After all, I've been pleasantly surprised before. Things like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, and even The Owl House (yes, really), were shows (and a movie) that I didn't think would be that special. Only to find myself enjoying nearly every minute. So after watching Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, I can certainly say I was surprised...but it was entirely for the wrong reasons.

And to explain how requires spoilers. So if you haven't checked the series out yet, I highly suggest you do it to form your own opinion. Just keep in mind that it's a bit of a mess, but it can be an enjoyable mess...sometimes...let me explain.

WHAT I LIKED

The Animation/Art Style: The series swapping from 3D to 2D might have been the most brilliant decision anyone could have ever made with this series. Usually, when an animated movie gets turned into a show, the most noticeable downgrade is always the animation. Whether it’s not as detailed or not as fluid, it's always subjective that the movie is better animated than the series. But by switching up the styles, the contrast becomes objective instead. 2D and 3D animation each have their pros and cons, so deciding which one is better is nothing more than a matter of opinion. So by changing the style, Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure avoids getting complaints of being a downgrade from the original movie. It also helps that the art style of the series is really unique.

The best way to describe how the show looks is that it's like a coloring book brought to life. At times, everything looks like it was drawn and colored in with crayons, which sounds like an insult, but in actuality, it's one of the best features of the series. As much as I love most animated shows nowadays, I will admit, they all look a little too similar at times. Then here comes Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, which tries to incorporate a whole new style that successfully sets it apart from most shows.

As for the animation itself, it's really well-made! It's remarkably expressive when required, while the movements are really fluid during the correct scenes. Sure the fighting can be a little floaty during some action set pieces (yes, those exist here), but the dialogue and comedic moments are really where the series shines with its animation. I may have problems with the series as a whole, but I give credit where credit is due for the perfectly executed effort that I see in every episode in terms of animation.

Rapunzel and Eugene’s relationship: This was not something I was expecting to enjoy from the series. In the movie, Rapunzel and Eugene were fine. They were the typical Disney couple that worked off of each other enough that it was always entertaining, even if it was unbelievable that they fell deeply in love with each other after, like, two days. They weren't bad, but they weren't anything to go crazy over.

But the writers for the series said, "You know what, let's make these two adorable in nearly every scene they're in." And they are!

Even though I don't believe in their relationship in the movie, I fully believe it here. Both characters have a large amount of faith in one another on top of having endless love for their partner. Like how Eugene knew Rapunzel would be fine when taking out an airship or how Rapunzel couldn't bring herself to say a bad thing about Eugene when making Cassandra a sparring dummy of him. It's legitimately pleasant to watch, to the point where I put Rapunzel and Eugene in my top ten list of favorite fictional couples. They're that good to me, and it's one of the reasons why I don't jump on the bandwagon of shipping the two main female characters together. I'm all for LGBTQA+ representation, but give Cassandra her own girlfriend. Rapunzel's taken, and most of my enjoyment of this show comes from her and her man. So, you know, keep things as they are.

Cassandra (Seasons One and Two): Seeing how I've already mentioned her, let's talk about Cassandra, shall we? Because when making a series based on a movie that had only four prominent characters, with two of them being comedic animal sidekicks, you're going to need to introduce more members to the main cast to write more potential stories. And Cassandra, in Seasons One and Two (I'll get to Season Three), is a worthy addition. She acts as a strict straight man (I know the irony) who interacts well with Rapunzel and clashes perfectly with Eugene on occasion. She was passably entertaining in Season One and developed amazingly in Season Two. Her growing frustrations with Rapunzel's actions lead to a slow build-up that made her betrayal heartbreaking but somewhat understandable. And as for the results in that betrayal...yeah, I'll get into that later. For now, I'll just say that Cassandra was a pleasant addition to the main cast, especially when she was a part of the main trio, and she's yet another good surprise that the writers supplied for the series.

The Songs: The songs are...not going to be for everyone. Most of them are passable yet kind of generic, while others sound like they belong on Disney Junior (Looking at you, "Bigger Than That"). But when Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure makes a hit, MAN, it is a home run. Numbers like "Ready As I'll Ever Be" and "Nothing Left to Lose" are sung phenomenally, orchestrated well, and are songs I can listen to on repeat multiple times. And "Waiting in the Wings" is not only something I consider to be the best song in the series, but it's also something I'd place as high up on Disney's best due to how f**king incredible it is. "Waiting in the Wings" is a powerful ballad that manages to be both tragic yet inspiring on top of how well it sums up Cassandra as a character. The writers may not always be on top of their game when it comes to music, but songs like these prove that they know how to earn that Disney name.

And that’s all I have for the likes...Oh boy. That’s not a good thing is it?

WHAT I DISLIKED

It Peaked at Season One: It did. It really did.

Season One felt like the writers had a grip on what type of show they wanted: A slice-of-life series with Rapunzel dealing with the issues of her kingdom with a meager threat of these black rocks growing in the background. It was all cute and well-balanced for the most part, but that all disappears in Season Two. Because now it's sort of about this adventure, but because Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure set itself as a slice-of-life series, there need to be these small-scale stories that intertwine the grand narrative being told. The issue is that the story comes to a grinding halt one too many times as fans are forced to sit through these filler episodes that, while not all of them are bad, still feel like a distraction. And by Season Three, the series does feel more focused while having some slice-of-life episodes added to the ongoing story instead of distracting us from it. But the writing isn't as strong, there are several plot holes in the narrative (how did Rapunzel's sunstone get into her dress?), and there is way too much time going back and forth on Cassandra's morality. They claim that she's a villain while arguing that there might still be some good in her, and they continue this train of thought for nine episodes when it really could have been settled in two. For me, it's a bad sign for a series when the first season is the best one. Because if it's all downhill from there, what's the point of even watching?

It Tries to be Epic: This might have been the worst decision the writers could have made.

Now, here's the thing: I don't mind grand epic tales of adventure and battles against demons. If anything, I'm all for them...when it's appropriate and fits with the tone of the series.

Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure suffers a similar problem Frozen II has, in which the writers felt like a big, life-threatening adventure was the perfect continuation of a meager, personal story about the relationships of characters. It isn't. If anything, it's completely missing the mark about what the original story was about. And sure, sometimes writers can succeed in telling personal stories through grand adventures. Just look at The Owl House and parts of Amphibia. But with those shows, it's established within the first few episodes that action and peril will be a series staple. With Tangled, while there was some action and peril, it's all very subdued compared to how high the stakes got raised in later episodes in the show. Especially in the series finale.

And, I mean, c'mon. You're making Rapunzel an action hero?

Judy Hopps? Yes.

Moana? Maybe.

Raya? Most definitely.

But Rapunzel? The character who’s all about optimism and seeing the best of others. That's the character you're going to morph into a hero that fights against an evil demon laid dormant for years? Did you even watch the original movie? Yeah, sorry, but I just don't buy it.

If you want to tell an epic story that gets the blood pumping for fans addicted to adventure, go for it! See where the wind takes you. But make sure to set that tone as early as possible while also making sure that it fits with the characters. If not, the end result is a series that feels like it's trying to be something it’s not.

Eugene is Kind of an Idiot at Times: It should be noted that Movie-Eugene and Series-Eugene are practically two different characters. In the film, Eugene was more or less the straight man, as he often questions the wackiness in the world around him and keeping Rapunzel grounded in reality. For the series, most of that personality got transferred to Cassandra. Thus making Eugene's new role in the series act as the egotistical imbecile. Sure, he had those moments in the film, but not as frequently, and it really pains me when the writers really lean hard into a minor aspect of his personality. Sometimes there are moments when Eugene acts like his original self. But it's all small scenes that are spread apart with entire episodes where he has half a brain cell. I'm sure some people didn't mind this change to the character, but as someone who adores the movie version of Eugene, I can't help but feel disappointed.

The Villains are the Worst: Now, I don't mean the one-off villains that show up, cause some chaos for a bit, and disappear at the end of the episode. Those are characters with fun personalities, occasionally cool designs, and do their job as villains of the week. It doesn't matter if their motivations are laughably simple, as their purpose is to be enjoyable characters above anything else. So I actually enjoy those villains...it's the ones that act as season-long antagonists that really grind my gears.

The purpose behind these types of foes is to build up how evil they are throughout the season. The issue is that the writers try to give these characters, or at least two of them, a point. To be fair, this can work. Just look at Killmonger from Black Panther and sometimes Karli Morgenthau from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. You understand and probably even sympathize with the logic and reasoning these characters have. It's just that their actions couldn't be farther from what you would do. The problem with Varian and Cassandra is that they have the motivation, but it's not written suitably for the story.

Cassandra is a whole can of worms I'll get to in a minute, but Varian is someone I can easily discuss for a brief time. Because while I can comprehend his pain for having his father frozen in yellow rock, I don't think turning evil is the best decision to go with that character. Because A. Everything is his fault. He blames Rapunzel for not helping him, but even if she didn't have a crisis to deal with, there was nothing she could have done to stop it. His frustrations are not only unjustified, but given the fact that this wouldn't have happened if he listened to his father in the first place, it feels like him becoming evil is too drastic of a turn. And B. Varian worked much better as a supporting character rather than a primary antagonist. He was just this hopeful, if not a clumsy scientist who wanted to prove himself, who causes minor catastrophes due to not thinking ahead. Turning a character like Varian into a villain is a bit of a misstep because if the guy acts hilariously incompetent as a good guy, it makes little sense to have him be intelligent and ten steps ahead of Rapunzel when being evil. If he were to become more serious and careful when helping the rest of the main cast, I'd consider that character progression done properly. But becoming a villain is just an overreaction.

However, none of that compares with my issues with the main antagonist of the series: Zhan Tiri. This goes back to my problems with the series making itself too epic. Because if Zhan Tiri existed in any other show, I probably wouldn't have any problem with her. She's built up well throughout all three seasons and is kind of threatening at times. But she doesn't belong in a series based on a movie that dealt with a small, personal issue where it wasn't even the character who killed the villain in the end. It was her love interest and animal sidekick. Even if Zhan Tiri works well as a character, the fact that it doesn't feel like she belongs in the show makes her too distracting to enjoy. And that's why these villains suck. If not poorly written, they don't belong in a series that should focus on small-scale issues. And if you can functionally write an antagonist that appears for only one episode but flounder with ones that show up in several, well, that's just embarrassing.

Cassandra (Season 3): OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH BOY, do I have some words to express with this character. Like with Movie-Eugene and Series-Eugene, Cassandra from Seasons One and Two is frustratingly different from the psychotic IDIOT from Season Three. Basically, just take the issues I have with Varian, multiply them by ten, add them with some bafflingly stupid decisions, and you still wouldn't get how much Season Three-Cassandra frustrates me!

First off, her motivation...what the f**k were the writers thinking? The big reason why Cassandra betrays Rapunzel and motivates all of her misdeeds was that Cassandra's mother was Mother Gothal...EXPLAIN THAT LOGIC TO ME?! Because Cassandra should know what type of woman Mother Gothal was. She should know what Mother Gothal did to Rapunzel in the first eighteen years of her life. So how is Cassandra being abandoned by Gothal the central motivator to cut ties with Rapunzel, who is probably an even bigger victim in this scenario!? Seriously, Rapunzel was cut off from the rest of the world and treated as an unknowing prisoner because she was beneficial to Gothal. Cassandra was adopted into a household with mutual love and got to actually live her life. In no way does it make sense for her to be angry at Rapunzel.

Nor does it make sense that the writers try to play it off as a good thing in the song "Crossing the Line!" Sure, it sounds nice, but thematically, it gives across the opposite feelings that the audience should have. Because if Cassandra cutting ties with Rapunzel is meant to be tragic and awful, why is the music suggesting it's the best possible thing that's ever happened for the character? If you like the song, fine, but even you have to admit that it's thematic nonsense.

But, sure. Cassandra's evil now, and she considers it a good thing. Whatever. I'll take it as long as it leads to good stories...but here's the thing: In the penultimate episode before the three-part series finale, Cassandra asks a question. A question I would have never expected her to ask, despite everything that has happened in the last season. A question that was so baffling, I had to legitimately pause the episode to process the fact that she asked something so stupid. Because Cassandra, the character who is intelligent and grounded in reality, asked, "Am I the bad guy?"

I was honestly shocked to find out she was shocked! How, in the flying, everlasting, cock-a-doodle-doodling F**K does a person like her not pick up that maybe, just maybe, she isn't the hero in this story!? Call me crazy, but endangering the lives of people you once called friends and family, dressing in black, AND HAVING A GIANT EVIL-LOOKING TOWER MADE OUT OF F**KING SPIKES aren't qualities I would give to a hero!

If Cassandra was like Thanos, a character so wrapped up in his ego that he can't even notice how evil he is, I would understand. But she doesn't have an ego. Anger, yes. But for the most part, her personality is based on having logic and reasoning. So turning her into a villain and having her unaware that she's a villain is an act of lunacy that I am incapable of understanding. I don't know who's idea this was, but whoever is to blame...you've got issues.

>Sighs<...This series isn't good, is it?

IN CONCLUSION

I like the animation and some of the characters...but that's not enough. Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure is a mess of a show that tries to do too much for a story that should have so little. Meaning that it's a D+ for me. I want to enjoy it and give it a higher grade, especially with how much I hear people praise this series. And if you do enjoy it, all the power to you. Your opinions are valid, even if I highly disagree with them. Because for me, this is a show that I won't get myself tangled up in again in the future.

[greedy-fox]

Rankings from Summer 2020

1st 

Re:Zero Season 2 Part 1

Storyline finally getting exciting. After finally going through the witch trials and dying and being stuck in the same death checkpoint. Subaru now has an actual target in mind for the next season! But with soo many new questions needing to be answered, will Subaru finally be able to complete his new mission with all the hints he gathered (from the trials, deaths and witchly meetings) and move on to the next checkpoint.

Opening was also diabolical in a great way!! Instead of spoiling what could be happening in the new anime season, they decided to review what happened in the first season and reminding everyone how ridiculously depressing and dark the anime really is.

The animation also upped its game once again. Especially when it came to talking to the witches, and how he kept on dying over and over and over again.

2nd Deca-Dence 

The storyline was amazing!! It was a very interesting cross between reality and fantasy. I loved how there was a good flow of character development happening and the dynamic between the 2 main characters was off the charts. 

The opening and ending were pretty on point too. A great start to the episodes and the ending had some really refreshing concept art to help end the episode. 

I loved the artwork and the way the characters were animated. It was very lively and colorful like they were real humans and not just any old cartoons. Even the robotic form for 1 of the characters was soo adorable it

3rd 

Appare-Ranman!

The story line was everything I expected and more. The cars were amazing and the character were even better. I had a lot of fun watching this anime, and I believe that a lot of people don’t give it much credit for the little things. 

The opening animation was a bit all over the place but I guess they did it on purpose to show the characters and what their strong points are.

The animation was honestly fun. I am not a big fan when it comes to mixing 3D and 2D animation together. But for this anime it went pretty smoothly.

4th

Fruits Basket: 2nd Season 

The storyline kept on pissing me off!!!I swear to god I pity the Soma children who have to deal with all this unnecessary mental and physical turmoil, and their parents just make it all the more heartbreaking by being very selfish. Not to mention that the head of their house Akita Souma is a woman (which explains the hysterical over possessiveness)!!

The openings were very heartbreaking to be honest. But the artwork was so so beautiful, it was like the openings were telling the audience no matter how painful their turmoil is they will still stand beautifully when the next day comes.

The animations were beautifully drawn and smoothly transitioned from scene to the next. They were very straightforward with a lot of situations from flash back to the present pain shown in the show.

5th

The Great Pretender

The storyline was on point and pretty repetitive but it made sense for the last story arc. Each con heist story had a personal story attached to one of the characters, so it made the pulling of the heist all the more righteous. 

The opening was pretty good. The speedy jazz made a lot more action like. and the silhouettes of the people and places were a great change of pace. Also with out realizing it, they are showing off the places the of where the heist happen. Basically spoiling the anime series, but we really don’t notice it.

Top notch animation, everything is beautiful from the characters to the places. Everything is high quality and just calming. 

6th

Fugou Keiji: Balance:UNLIMITED  

The opening was amazing the color scheme. Always reminding me of the James Bond movies. The ending was also pretty fun to listen too and the 

The story was ok. The character interactions were what made the storyline stick. The one surprise was the fact that the main character joined the police force because of a conspiracy that happened within his family. Only to end having another twist where he finally finds out that his whole purpose was based off of false advertisement.

The animation was pretty great. Every episode ended in a flashy way only because the guy had so much money that he could do whatever he wanted. 

7th

No Guns Life 2

Opening was great as always. You could feel the dramatics though the song. 

Storyline finally went above and beyond. We finally got to see glimpse of everyones past. Especially the main character and what he was like when the war happened and ended, also what happened to all his brethren when the war itself.

Animation was awesome. Especially when it came to the fighting scene. 

8th

Muhyo to Rouji 2

Opening had a bit more pepe in its step. PRobably because they were getting pretty serious into the storyline.

Storyline finally continued the manga series. We got meet a wider range of characters 

Animation was amazing as always. 

9th

Bungou to Alchemist: Shinpan no Haguruma

Opening was amazing. I like how it was a jazz number that. It really seemed to fit the aura of the storyline itself. 

Storyline was interesting because you had a lot of important figures basically playing the main characters. But it seemed that one of them ruled over the rest especially since he was the silent type and also has amnesia for some reason.

Animation was beautiful. Just drawing all those handsome men was a the ultimate fan service any animation company could give. I really hope those animatore got a bonus for their great work.

10th

The God of High School

Opening was interesting to say the least. But not a big fan those types of DJ players. Who knows people must have really liked it.

Storyline, really skipped over a lot of thing from the main story. My guess is because the original storyline had soooo much happening. Hell the webtoon itself isn't even done yet and its been out for like 3 to 5 years.

Animation was amazingly smooth. Especially since they did it all in 2D (not a a single speck of 3D element whatsoever and I loved it.) Also in some of the fights they animated some special effects just adding to that beautiful smoothness that I pointed out earlier.

11th

Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld Part 2 

Opening was not that great.

Storyline is basically overused at this point. Only difference was that Kirito was basically in a coma, which was done by a forced 

Animation was only good that stayed, but I’m pretty sure that they over exaggerate the special effects. You know when the character were doing their Ultimate battle techniques.

[sleepykittypaws]

The Christmas House

Original Air Date: November 23, 2020 (Hallmark) Where to Watch?: Hallmark will replay it multiple times this season, and for every season in perpetuity

It's impossible to review Hallmark's The Christmas House without noting that this time last year, then-Crown Media CEO Bill Abbott was personally taking phone calls from a SPLC-designated hate group, and pulling a Zola ad showing two brides chastely kissing from his network, at that hate group's behest. The ensuing firestorm of well-earned criticism following Abbott's bad judgement, is, without question, what brought us to today, with Abbott ousted, a woman of color, Wonya Lucas, now at Hallmark's helm, and a still totally G-rated holiday lineup that now regularly features former Hallmark no-gos like, interracial romance and LGBTQ+ inclusion, improving Hallmark's abysmal diversity record, one movie at a time. 

So, even though Hallmark had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, it's still hard not to be at least a little emotional that they're finally joining us here. The bigots are still having online temper tantrums about losing their all-white, all-straight safe space, but Hallmark's holiday ratings are up 7% year-over-year—a significant jump in a world where cable subscriptions are declining by 10-15% annually.

Now, what that progress looks like on a network known for being “clean,” conservative and about as unwilling to take risks as any channel on the planet, is another story. Frequent Hallmark star, and out gay actor, Jonathan Bennett, has been tirelessly talking about The Christmas House, since the day it went into production. And Bennett brings a lot of energy to this ensemble story, written by co-star Robert Buckley, of a family getting together to decorate their home one more time before it's sold. 

Buckley and Bennett play the sons of Sharon Lawrence and Treat Williams, a recently retired couple struggling with that fundamental shift in their relationship. Buckley is the star of a ridiculous court show, Handsome Justice, of which we luckily get to see a clip, and Bennett, a baker, and his husband, played by Brad Harder, are waiting to hear about an adoption, after several previous disappointments. 

Bennett and Buckley bring more humor than is normal for Hallmark to their portrayal of loving, competitive brothers, who clearly enjoy ribbing each other.

How conservative was past hallmark, you ask? Well, that Buckley's girl-next-door love interest is divorced, not widowed, is still a somewhat shocking twist in that world, as is the fact that both Buckley and Bennett are "allowed" to sport some facial scruff, rather than be clean shaven. Oh, and that the family next door is (gasp) Latino, is also something we likely wouldn't have seen in the Hallmark of yore. All of which is just mind-blowing, since those “days of yore” for this TV network were [checks notes]…2019, not 1968.

Lawrence and Williams are believable as a long term couple, and their life-change struggle to re-center their relationship feels real, but the way it's revealed is almost as anti-climactic as its resolution. The movie laid very unsubtle hints along the way—all storytelling progress aside, Hallmark movies are still written so you can half watch and not a miss a thing, allowing folks to join 20 minutes in, or do the dishes and come back without being confused—that Williams and Lawrence's wanting to have "one last Christmas" was about more than just downsizing in retirement. 

When Lawrence told the story of the clearly-actually-brand-new-and-from-Homegoods Santa pot, and what it meant to her, I thought Williams was going to later accidentally break Checkov's sentimental teapot and, in her anger, Lawrence would blurt out something about that's why they were separating, shocking their grown sons. 

And, honestly, as predictable as that would have been, it would probably have had more impact than what did happen…Lawrence just casually telling Buckley while stringing lights, and then nobody really mentioning it again, excepting oblique references during a single conversation between the brothers, and then Lawrence just announces at breakfast that they're not doing that after all.

Definitely feels like Hallmark's aversion to conflict in its stories is one of those provisions that is still firmly in place. (We saw a similar unwillingness to commit to actual marital difficulties, despite that being the central plot point, in Cranberry Christmas.)

Which is too bad, because Lawrence and Williams being much better than the actors usually used for these parent roles, could have handled a more realistic story well, and brought some real emotional beats to the movie.

As expected, Buckley's romance with Ana Ayora was the definite A-plot here, but why did their memory lane rekindling catalyst have to be close-up magic, the worst of all entertainment options? Was there no mime troop they could have been teenage members of? When it comes to magic, and jazz, I'm like Indiana Jones and snakes…Why'd it have to be magic?

Also, no way that 29-year-old guy they have playing "teenage" Mike grows up to be Robert Buckley. Nope! They definitely had to soft focus all the mostly unnecessary flashback scenes so that those actors, easily less than a decade younger than our leads, didn't quite look their age. 

And, c'mon, Buckley, who, again, is the star of his own TV show, gives the love of his life a necklace he bought…in high school? For real? I'm surprised we couldn't see her neck turn green in real time. At least get a gal a little upgrade. Sheesh! 

The whole rival real estate agent thing went nowhere. And what was that subplot even supposed to be about? Would have much rather seen a scene from the Handsome Justice episode where Buckley's character defended a dog accused of murder, than that whole waste of time. 

On the other hand, loved the Grift body spray mentions, and so glad we go to see that ad. Hallmark doesn't do subtle—"But will they get it?" is basically the network's motto—but this is one case of subtext just being text that worked.

Oh and, how did his parents buy a house on the Hudson river just by selling a nice, but fairly average, suburban home? Sure, they said it was a fixer upper, but anything on the water is gonna be way more pricey than where they were, and you've still got to have the cash to do the fixing. Also, you know the old adage about how nothing soothes a struggling marriage like a whole house renovation project, amirite?

Speaking of money…Why didn't Buckley just buy his folks the house right away if he didn't want to see it go? I mean, even if he's only a mid-level TV star, this wasn't some extravegent manse, and certainly wouldn't be an unusual thing for a well-off child to do for their middle-class parents. Why all the rigamarole with the weird guy and the rescinded offer? And, like, what was that all about? So many stories I'd have rather seen from this talented cast than some of the filler we actually got.

Harder didn't get nearly enough to do, but he and Bennett had decent chemistry and they got most of the best lines. The joke about "Will we decorate like this for our kids," and Bennett's emphatic, "No," cut the tension of an emotional scene well, with perfect timing, making it actually, laugh out loud funny—a Hallmark rarity. And when Harder appears in doorway after hearing from the adoption agency, and Bennett knows just by looking at his face what the call said, I got emotional.

That all the couples in this one got to kiss, including Bennett and Harder, is important. With the specter of last year's Zola debacle absolutely lingering over the entire movie, it's hard to think of a better, actual example of #LoveWins, than that moment.

I also teared up when we saw Bennett and Harder's family at the end, not only because it was a long overdue Hallmark milestone, but also because Harder's real-life son, Kael, played he and Bennett's on-screen adopted child, and is just so stinking cute.

Am I giving this bonus points for finally having an LGBTQ+ storyline, even if it was pretty far from the foreground? For sure. But Buckley and Bennett also brought humor and heart to this one, of a variety not usually found on Hallmark, and Lawrence and Williams also upped the ante on the quality here. Notable that Hallmark also sprung for two actual, name-brand holiday songs, so they were willing to spend a little bit of extra cash on this effort, which says more about their “commitment to diversity” than years of empty promises ever did.

Would have liked House even more, if Hallmark had been brave enough to swap the storylines; Bennett falling in love the boy next door, and Buckley and his bride waiting to hear about adoption, but barring that, do wish it had been bit more of a true ensemble (i.e. all three love stories had equal weight).

Despite quibbles, I'm still putting this on top of the 2020 Hallmark heap, at least for the moment, because I laughed, I cried and I felt good about the progress that has been made, no matter how long overdue it is.

As I've said so many times, representation really does matter, particularly on a channel like Hallmark, which caters to exactly the audience that most needs to see LGBTQ+ people laughing, living and loving, just like every other family.

Representation really can change lives. It opens hearts and minds. It can help those struggling within themselves feel seen and worthy. Really can not underestimate how transformative these normalizing glimpses can be, particularly for a network like Hallmark, with a large "conservative" audience. 

"Conservative" is in quotes, because there's nothing genuinely conservative about human rights, and respect for those unlike you. Empathy and acceptance for others should be a baseline standard for living in a society—not a political statement. 

No one has the right to deny someone else's humanity, and someone's choice to hold hate in their heart deserves no respect from Hallmark, or society at large. Really hopeful that some kid out there who feels excluded and awful about themself because their family and upbringing has told them everything they're feeling is wrong and sinful, can now see representation like this on their family's safe space TV channel, and know it's going to be OK.

It's a small step, but it's definitely a good one, and I'm really looking forward to the actual lead LGBTQ+ holiday romances coming soon, like Hulu's Happiest Season (Nov. 25), Lifetime's The Christmas Setup (Dec. 12) and Paramount Network's Dashing in December (Dec. 13), and hoping Hallmark joins that club in 2021.

Until then…

Final Judgement: 3 Paws Up

[prorevenge]

You try to cut my team in half so I outsourced your entire department.

This tale takes place over the course of many months and resulted in over 150 lay offs, all to save 22 IT Techs from losing their jobs.

I learned a long time ago that no one cares about the IT team at our company. They see us as "Those useless employees always complaining about rules."

We are a mortgage company, and those rules are the rules everyone follows to protect customer data privacy and to prevent theft. When your company suddenly loses 2 full payments for a house to some scammer in Nigeria and the FTC has questions for you, then it is time to change your policies.

This meant cutting legacy access, revoking unnecessary access, and correctly coding job titles in active directory to prevent people from granting their own access.

What this boiled down to was a meeting that I phoned into a year ago. This was one of those meetings where I did not need to be there. Budget meetings.

In this meeting the VP over the accounting department played a recording showing times when someone in the IT Tech team provided "sup par service." She tried using this as reason to fire half of the tech team.

The trouble was, that all of the people she played recordings of were already fired for giving terrible customer service. These people were replaced by 5 star techs who know what they are doing and give excellent customer service.

This started the whole chain of events that led to last week.

Since this meeting was every 2 months, VP has tried to use her position and influence to grow her team while shrinking ours.

Every budget meeting, I would show up and VP, who shall hence be referred to as Karen, would target my team. I would pull out the numbers, and pull out the logs showing how my team received a little over 3/4s of that team's call volume.

I show how my team of 22 techs personally receive more phone calls than every other inbound call employee by more than double the number.

I show how with the call volume we receive we still maintain a 98 percent satisfaction rating.

At the 3rd budget meeting the COO had been tired of "hearing the same excuses" and wanted hard data. He had a point. I was merely throwing out basic numbers without providing real data.

Our company was in the middle of a budget crisis and someone needed to be cut. These budget meetings were basically a way to defend our own department from the chopping block. Karen believed that the best defense was a good offence. She was right, but not in the way she thought.

When it became clear that the IT support team was on the chopping block, Karen starts to have her employees call into the tech center and have them make requests that she knows we can not assist with as that is handled by another company entirely. We are not able to transfer calls to an external line so the only thing we can do is give the number to call and hang up.

The negative CSAT's start to flood in after this. Every single call from that team regarding a vendor's password reset gets a negative csat. Our approval rating tanked to 72 percent in one day. I instantly took action.

First I contact a few of the users, on recorded calls, and ask them why they called the IT Tech team when they know we are not capable of resetting the vendor's password. She replied that she was told it was policy to do that now. I asked why she left a negative satisfaction rating and she said that those no longer count against the employee. That those are only used for macro metrics.

I walked over to Karen's office and walked in. "Karen, why are you having your team call mine to reset vendor's password?" Karen looked confused and stated that she did no such thing. She said she would talk to her team and make sure that they call the correct number in the future.

The calls did not stop. Now a few of her team were calling in with personal machines that were not an asset of our company. They were wanting things done which would violate license agreements with microsoft or dell. Each of these were refused and each of these were leaving negative CSAT.

It became clear that Karen was trying to tank our stats before the next budget meeting.

I let my boss know and he just gives me a sly smile. "The leash is off. Sick her." This is an inside joke between us as I am someone who is very detail oriented when I am focused. When you try and get my team fired because you want to grow your useless team, I am very focused on you now.

The first thing I do is enable call recording for every corporate employee as to not arouse her suspicions. Her team did not have call recording enabled because her team "handles CDP" on a daily basis.

I pull a live call and listen in.

"This is Employee with our company may I have your account number or your name?" The customer gives the name. "OK I have your account pulled up, are you wanting to make a payment?" Customer says yes. "Are you authorizing me to go ahead and make the withdraw from the bank account we have on file?" Customer agrees. "OK payment is processing. You will be notified in X days when it is complete. Your next due date is this date." The customer thanks her and he hangs up.

Entire phone call was 1:22. Short phone call so I listen to another. Similar situation. I listen to another and get the same thing. I start seeing a pattern here so I go through the rapidly building log and see that all of the phone calls are usually less than 1 minute and 20 seconds long. It takes well over an hour before an anomaly occurs and I see a 5 minute phone call.

The customer needed an extension and the employee was authorized to give her a 30 day extension to avoid a late fee if she would make a double payment next month. The person on the phone agreed.

At this point I also turn on the CSAT for her team only. I expected a largely similar rating as my team. I was not prepared for the nearly instant 50 percent rating that steadily dropped.

My boss comes over to my desk as he was getting the email notifications for the sub 75 percent csat rating and was flabbergasted at the sheer volume of negative reports.

Its now clear that there is no choice but to examine this further. I assign 4 people to review the negative calls from the other team and have them all. The amount of employees being downright rude to customers, not other employees but paying customers, over the phone was shocking. The negative tones in their voice, the unwillingness to fully answer questions, the extreme lack of empathy, and the shocking lack of mute button use was too much.

Then came another shocker. The number of customer facing employees was ridiculous. 152 employees to handle roughly 30 percent more calls than my team of 22.

I call the CIO.

$CIO - What you got for me?

$ME - I have something for you. Its incredibly evil, depressingly accurate, and can probably save the company a ridiculous amount of money.

$CIO - You know this is the second time you have said those exact words to me right?

$ME - Yup. But there is something I need to know first. I am not currently authorized to know it and I need to request it in a way that would not set off any red flags.

$CIO - What is that?

$ME - The starting pay scale for all account employees.

$CIO - Tell me your plan.

The next budget meeting was not a budget meeting. It was a IT Tech defend yourself meeting. The COO directed it and let Karen speak first.

Karen pulled out the same stuff as before. Calls upon calls to our group that were cherry picked as well as listing off dead zone times when we had people working but no one calling in. Then went on about how they could cut our group in half and hire more Account employees to reduce the workflow.

Instead of defending myself or my department, I played 4 of the short call recordings from Karen's department. I then pulled up the excel sheet that was color coded showing how many phone calls each account rep received and the length of time they were on. each call, and the customer satisfaction rating.

I explained the lack of high csat with my own little recording I liked to call a failtage. Its a montage of fail and her team were the stars. Before you ask, I did put music to it.

The recording starts off with an employee saying. "Yeah I guess I can take your payment." Then goes straight into one where a customer accidentally gave the wrong bank account info and said don't use that one. The rep responded with "Christ. What is the actual account number?" It only got worse from there.

This group was unmanaged for so long they were filled with rude and useless employees.

I then showed them a side by side comparison of each tech who received a call. I showed how my techs were receiving more than 4 times the number of calls, per rep, than her team was getting per day. I showed how we all were on the phone for well over 7 times the amount of time her team was on the phone for, and I demonstrated how each tech had double or tripple the satisfaction rating over all of her group.

Half the room that was uninterested in the conversation were suddenly interested when I closed out my presentation.

"In short, I saw no reason to defend the IT team today as I have successfully done so in every prior meeting. Since the last meeting, however, Karen has crossed the line and has had her team call mine in regards to things we have no access to."

I played the recording of me calling her minion. "As you can see here, she directed her team to call mine and to leave bad satisfaction ratings on my guys because of it. I have since deleted those CSAT's as they served no purpose whatsoever. " I then pulled out my next flowchart.

"This is the monthly expense, taken from the last 9 meetings, that our company spends on IT and Servicing departments." I look at the COO who was looking at me intently. "Before today I was on the defensive as I saw no reason to attack another group. But it is clear to me now that my team has a target on its back. That is why I now show you this."

It was a graph showing the starting pay scale for each IT and Servicing employee code as well as their average daily workflow. There was one glaring anomaly on this list. Account department had the highest starting pay scale with the least amount of work.

"So basically in laymen's terms, the Account department can reduced to one tenth of its current size, and we can reduce the pay scale to a little over one half as this department requires very little in the way of problem solving and critical thinking." I saw a few raised eye brows as well as one impressed smile from the CIO.

The COO ushers everyone out of the room except for me, my direct supervisor, and the CIO. He looked at me and said "Continue."

"Further, we can cut this department entirely and outsource THEM instead of IT. Since this group merely takes payments and sometimes allows extensions, we do not have to worry too much about technical ability. Outside of simply using windows we can hire high schoolers if we wanted to." This got a laugh from the CIO. Karen was staring through the window with this smug grin on her face the entire time.

"Now for my final bit for this meeting, I am going to play two cherry picked phone calls. These are the two most technical phone calls I could find from the last month for both departments."

I play a call where a payment fails to process and the rep realizes she typed in the wrong number.

I then play a call where it starts out with a user stating that her customer submitted a payment to the wrong CD. The tech breaks out into our procedure to prevent wire fraud. Thanks to the quick action of this tech we were able to reverse the CD and save this customer from losing their down payment.

The final masterful stroke was playing my final card. "As you all know, Karen has been coming after my team for months. She has been grinding her axe against us because she, like everyone else, has made the mistake that we are incompetent, inept, and useless to the company. What she did not know was that I have all of the logs showing the truth. The smoke she has been blowing for years is so thick that its ridiculous. Her team is highly replaceable and we both know my team would require extensive training and effort to replace."

The CIO spoke up. "With just 30 people, we can outsource her entire department and save the company millions a year. The next time we have a major IT issue, you will be regretting outsourcing us." He then pointed to the graphs and flow charts brought by both myself and Karen. "Her team is useless."

The next day I watched in pure joy as a term request came in for Karen. It came in with the double ** indicator at the beginning meaning this was a stealth term. To be done and coordinated with the person who will inform her of the termination. (Its not actually ** I changed that for here to protect identities.)

Over the next two months, the account team was shuttered. First they came for anyone with disciplinary issues or attendance issues. Then they laid off anyone who had been there a really long time. Then the newest employees.

The smart ones applied for other positions in the company or left before getting laid off. All the while the calls for payments were slowly shunted to the call center in India.

By the end of last week we only have 4 domestic accounts people who take escalations that the India call center is not authorized to take.

Do I feel guilty about being integral for 148 people being laid off? Yes quite. But I know it was necessary to keep my job and my health insurance. Without my health insurance I am a dead man.

The entire reason why this happened though, was because a division was slated to be cut and sent to India from the outset. Thanks to the actions of myself and my direct supervisor, we prevented it from being a sure thing that our team was going to get cut.

On top of that we cut out a festering wound in the company that was slowing it down and costing it money.

My team has not been brought up in the budgetary meetings since.

(source) story by (/u/TheLightningCount1)

[makayla-angelic]

Frozen 2: Movie Review

Tonight, on this lovely November 23rd, 2019 evening, I got my turn to see Frozen 2, with my friend Brianna. The movie started at 6:00 pm and I was a bit surprised to see that the theater wasn’t jam packed with people, but considering it was later in the day, I figured that most people had taken their children, (or just gone themselves) much earlier. There were a lot of previews, and holy moly did they go on forever. But at last, the theater went dark, and with my popcorn almost gone, the film began.

Animation

I thought I might start in the area that really caught my attention first. The animation was crisp, clear, and lovely, everything flowed smoothly. I didn’t see anything that looked “out of the ordinary.” The colors meshed together well, and the Enchanted Forest, and Atohallan was beautiful. The characters faces; you could tell they’ve grown a bit older, especially with the new outfits and hair and all, and you can see all the little details, which I found impressive. Animation takes a lot of time and patience. I miss 2D hand-drawn so much.

Animation rating: 10/10

Music

The soundtrack to me was alright, I feel like I definitely liked the first film’s soundtrack better. Into The Unknown was beautiful, and The Next Right Thing was heartbreaking. I guess Lost In The Woods and When I Am Older were alright, but to me, they felt a bit “unnecessary?” And the songs they kind of hit you one after another like bricks to the face. Part of me was thinking, “wow, this is one song after another!” I know Frozen IS a musical, but I feel like they could have toned it down a bit with how frequent the songs were between each scene. I REALLY enjoyed Vuelie in the film though. It’s such a beautiful piece, and I thought the variations that played throughout the sequel, and the Northuldra tribe singing it was amazing. I’m glad the soundtrack came through in terms of this musical piece. Another I noticed too was the choice of musical instruments. I believe what sounded like some type of flute when they arrived at the mist, and the Lost In The Woods song with that electric guitar in the very beginning, which I thought was “new” and kind of unexpected if that makes any sense.

Soundtrack rating: 7.7/10

Plot

Alright, now here’s where all of you are probably going to rip into me. The storyline was...just there. And rushed. Everything moved fast and seemed just kind of “thrown in”. It starts off with Adgar telling little Elsa and Anna about the enchanted forest and why no one can get in or out and that flows fine, but once we get to present day everything kind of feels like it was played in fast forward and skipped some things. One minute were at the Fall Festival, then were at the Charades scene, next Elsa’s hearing voices and awakens the spirits, then suddenly the gang’s in a sled in their new outfits and arriving at the mist. Woah, woah, woah! Why so sudden and soon with everything? It all happens so quick, and why do they not show them getting dressed in their new outfits? I mean, I was thinking there would at least be a scene of them walking out from behind the wardrobe or closet and all commenting on each other’s new outfits. Even Kristoff’s first attempt at the proposal which I found funny seemed like a quick two-second thing. And I caught the “adult” joke in the film; Anna looks at Kristoff and with a suggestive smirk on her face, asks him what he’d like to do.

 Now, for all you people who think dirty-minded from time to time like I do, if Anna was perhaps suggesting that Kristoff “fondle” her while Elsa and Olaf are in the back sleeping, then that’s a bit messed up, and I’m sure Sven doesn’t want to witness that either. Anyways...from there on, meeting the Northuldra people was nice, but even there, the characters we met, I felt like we should have been given more time to learn and understand them. With characters such as Honeymaren and Ryder it felt like they barely had their place and the snippets and teasers we got before and hyped them up a bit more than what they were actually shown. I also thought that perhaps a “bit more” would happen in between before the gang actually arrives at the Enchanted Forest. I thought Elsa using her ice powers to conjure up the memories was pretty sweet, and the scene with them discovering their parents ship and learning the truth was emotional at its best, next to The Next Right Thing scene. I did find Kristoff still trying to propose to Anna funny, despite the circumstances that were before them. The battle with the Nokk was quick and seemed a bit lack-luster. I was kind of expecting a longer battle, but it felt like Elsa tamed him too quickly and when Elsa created reins to throw on him he’s all like “Kay.” And Elsa rides off on him and they are best friends already. Again Atohallan was beautiful and while I was not expecting Elsa to “die” via freezing I knew something would happen to her. Also, not gonna lie, I wasn’t expecting that King Runeard twist, so some points go there. Elsa becomes the fifth spirit and is re-born the true Snow Queen, Anna lures the Jotnarr to the dam to break it, the spirits release everyone, Elsa stops the tidal flood from hitting Arendelle, and Anna and Elsa re-unite, at least for a little bit, because guess what? Elsa’s staying in the Enchanted Forest, alone and free, away from her beloved sister, while Anna and Kristoff become queen and king. *sigh* This ain’t it. I’m sorry but six years to work on this and 50 re-writes yet this is what happens at the end of this fast-paces story? A separation? Isn’t that kind of going against what the first film was about?

Overall, I would say the plot isn’t terrible terrible but it definitely lacks that umph factor the first movie had. It moved way too fast and at times just seemed very thrown together. And anyway, this sequel was supposed to be a totally different story than what we got now, but it got changed because certain writers listened to the wrong people and Ima just leave it at that. For those that know where I stand within the fandom and have browsed through my blog and/or follow me know exactly what I mean, and feel the same way I do.

Plot rating: 6/10

Characters

I enjoy how Elsa, Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven have grown up physically and changed their appearances and such, but one thing that bothers me is that Elsa and Kristoff still don’t seem to interact that much, and at times to me act like they don’t give two flying monkeys about each other. So at the end when Kristoff runs up to Elsa and hugs her tight, I kind of half-went “Oh so he does care?” Anna is definitely different than how she was in the first film, but she is still a bit anxious and takes things out of context, like I can sometimes. For a second when Kristoff was in the sled and the woods trying to propose to her again and Anna started freaking out wondering if something bad was going to happen to them or Elsa I thought, “Okay, who peeked inside my brain and stole a bit of my personality?” Lol. Elsa is beautiful as always, inside and out, and so is Anna, but I loved Elsa’s sass in the beginning of the Into The Unknown scene. Olaf is still funny, perhaps maybe a tad bit more annoying, but maybe it’s just me. And Sven was well, Sven. Again, I wish we could learn a bit more about Mattias, Yelena, Honeymaren, Ryder. They all just seemed “there.” Hopefully if there’s more Frozen stuff coming or even a potential third film in the coming decade of the 2020′s, there will be exploration and interaction with these characters, and even some adventures with the Northuldra tribe. (Now I’m imagining a spin-off series with Honeymaren and Ryder, brother-sister adventures.)

Character rating: 7.8/10

Final Take

The film just felt...off. It almost felt the equivalent of waking up on the day a project is due for class and you bust the whole thing out in 2 hours before you got to go. You did what you were supposed to do, but the teacher can tell you waited until the last minute, and he/she grades it just like that. Again, I know other people in the fandom are probably going to rip into me, but this is honestly how everything came off to me. Everyone likes and does not like certain things, everybody interprets things in life differently, and for me, I like the first film better. It also hits home a little more personally for me too, because of the message it sends out, which also can be interpreted in many different ways too. After a long time of waiting and being excited since the first news of a Frozen sequel came out only to just feel some type of way once the whole is done and over with after all the hype is mildly depressing and infuriating; especially since the sequel was supposed to be something different than what it is now, and again, Ima leave it at that. 

If whether you’re a person who stands or does not stand where I stand within the fandom and know what I’m getting at, I still encourage you to remain civil and please do not send any angry messages to the creators or anybody else, it’s not the polite or mature thing to do. Having an opinion doesn’t justify rude responses, because at the end of the day, we all have our own feelings. I’m not going to hate you if enjoyed Frozen 2 100% but I will hate any troll messages that anybody might send because I didn’t rate this film the rating you wanted. Alas, I do hope there’s more Frozen in the future to come, for all of us to enjoy together. 

-Makayla <3

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Episode 2: Rebecca...She’s back, I guess?

So I got hella sick this week so it’s...just one update this weekend. The rest of the next update has the caps done but then the copy I was putting together got very distracted about which Founding Father was the hottest and I think that was the Dayquil? I barely know what day of the week it is rn. I think it’s Saturday, is it Saturday?

Anyway, we’re battling that Monocle guy. Gurimo? Yeah his name is Gurimo. I honestly can’t remember him saying his name even once, so thanks Google for the help.

It’s a new season so not only did we suck all the power out of God Cards but now you can’t use them anymore with the new glowing green mechanic. The writers really did just...a lot to make it so God Cards are no longer relevant. Like they buried them so far.

This guy repeats himself quite a lot about being soul hungry? Yeah I watched all of Sailor Moon so like, I’m super up to date on my soul energy anime. I’ve walked this path before I know it well.

(read more under the cut)

Such a shame we can’t read those stats which may just be Hebrew letters in lorem ipsum (note that when Pegasus makes you a card, you don’t get to have stats) but it’s nice to know that, if you wanted to, you could play Rex and Weevil in universe of the show and something would happen.

Anyway, Gurimo lost, his eyes went all glowy red at some point, and decided to go out throwing stuff because it’s Yugioh and you have to throw cards at least 3 times a season, its in the contract.

Don’t think about physics guys, just trust that cards can do this on a roof where there’s no wind for some reason.

And then he went up in a green ball of glory. It was nice of the green beam of soul energy to wait until the impossible card toss was over.

Lol this show and how it just kills people on screen just...all the time. All the freakin time. Can’t show a gun, but murder as many people as you like. It’s OK, his soul is in a paper card so he’s not *really* dead. That won’t terrify children under the age of 10.

So Pharaoh decides to do the tactic of telling a bunch of motorcycle gang edgy kids (adults? not sure about those three) that stealing is Wrong.

They also, youknow, are implicit in murdering Rex and Weevil but youknow, stealing is wrong and the God Cards don’t belong to them and Pharaoh is shook that these kids won’t keep their end of their bargain that whoever wins the card fight keeps the cards.

So basically Gurimo died for freakin nothing.

Welcome back to the fold, Rex and Weevil, apparently this show isn’t done with you yet. I was pretty much done with both of you 3 seasons ago but alas, you will be back, with your raspy as hell voice acting, at the beginning of S5. I am sure of it.

(PS I just noticed I spelled resurrect wrong and I know I should go back into photoshop but like...I’m too sick to care at this moment so maybe I’ll change it in the next week or so I dunno, I’m just gonna post this thing so I can feel like I did something productive today.)

And so these kids decide the police are never going to freakin show up to the rooftop brawl where a guy super died and several children were endangered and a huge beam of light you can see from space went out like a bat signal to the rest of the city of “ps, something bad is happening over here, if any of you adults feel like helping out these four high school drop outs? Nobody?”

First, they decide to keep this horrible thing:

(which second thought is not SO surprising, because Yugi clearly loves hoarding dead people)

And then this other horrible thing:

Why would you keep these? Why would you do this?

I mean Yugi’s got such specific dark tastes that I wouldn’t be half surprised if his closet is filled with dozens and dozens of rat skulls he collected from the subway station.

And then the next day, Yugi decided to just like watch Joey and Tristan dangle Rex and Weevil like puppets. It just seemed super unnecessary.

Like Yugi isn’t even Pharaoh right now but he’s absolutely fine with these guys getting shook around. Yugi is all sorts of gray area in this show and I’m glad that’s never changed although sometimes it’s like “Is Yugi slowly turning into a mob boss? Because I’m down, but also somewhat concerned?”

Anyway, the God Cards aren’t even here anymore so we say farewell to Rex and Weevil who seem just as confused at how the hell you can steal a God Card as we are.

*not entirely sure where Rex and Weevil are from. I’ve been assuming the UK or the US but like...maybe they live here? I don’t even know.

And then Chibiusa--I mean Rebecca showed up.

Ah, remember this plot point from S1? What if she shows up and (according to Bro) Just never leaves?

I’m coming to terms with this. Anyway, Rebecca’s only purpose seems to be as a part of a (love????) triangle (square????) between Yugi and Tea but like...

And maybe this is the Dayquil speaking but...

Is this even weird?

Seriously, they’re family friends, why is this weird? Maybe it’s because one of Rebecca’s core traits is that she’s American and I’m also an American so I don’t even see a problem with Rebecca and how she acts (since she’s a freakin child with a crush on a card-famous person) but like what small child see her friend she hasn’t seen in 2 years and is not going to hug him?

Anyway, Yugi was the worst to not remember this chick. Maybe his brain looks like a box of loose packing peanuts (I say as a metaphor remembering that his brain literally looks like an Escher painting screensaver), but he can’t remember this chick from just 2 years ago that he gave his rarest card to? The chick who’s grandfather had that blue-eyes he gave to Yugi’s Grandfather? The chick who’s grandfather helped his grandfather get that necklace around Yugi’s neck? The necklace he wears every single day and is super cursed by?

How do you forget the Hawkins when they are part of the reason everyone thinks you’re losing your mind?

But I guess she looks older now and got a pair of glasses (bifocals????). She No longer has her hair in pigtails but, I dunno, she looks basically the same to me since she’s still about the same size as Yugi but wtv.

And then Yugioh was like “Listen everyone, we’re very tired of all of your angry reviews, and I see y’all are saying we never do romance, well get ready, we know how to do romance really well, get ready for it, we can make things move faster than a snail in wet cement, just watch.”

Because somehow, after Yugi was the biggest asshole ever to Rebeca, I guess she figured like “well, at least you’re still card famous”

You know what? I have several girlfriends who I am not dating, but, if it’s been a couple weeks since they’ve seen me last, will give me a huge as drunk hug on my arm and go “MY LOVE MY GIRLFRIEND MARRY ME” and like...Again I’m American so maybe this is just my culture here in California?

I’d like to believe that Rebecca is just messing with these people because she can.

Ps I’m pretty sure this girl was 6 last time we saw her but they decided...we better age her up if it’s gonna be a romance but they only made her 12. OK show. Yugi’s pushing 17 at this point so like...barely even logical. I’d say legal but I’m thinking more of just logic at this point because the last time we saw this girl she was holding a teddy bear (which we can guarantee is probably still shoved into her luggage)

...OK, show...

Now listen listen listen. All ships are fine here. I’m not gonna go after shipping because like, c’mon, it’s 2019. If you stan Rebecca and Yugi, go for it, why not? I’ve said it before, and my feelings haven’t really changed, I’m immune to shipping, so I feel absolutely no different with Rebecca and Yugi than I do with Tea and Yugi. I think Tea makes more sense, but that’s not saying very much because literally anyone else on this cast who isn’t related to him could probably work. Go ahead and bring back Mako Tsunami. There’d be a fun pair.

Bro got very excited when I mentioned a MakoxYugi pairing just now ps.

But it really does feel like this ship has the dynamic of the Usagi/Chibiusa/Mamaru ship from Sailor Moon where Usagi was always jealous of small little Chibiusa spending time with Mamaru who was her OWN DAD. Why would you EVER be jealous of a 12 year old girl hanging with your boy...friend? Tea is a 17ish year old ballerina who never, ever wears full pants. She’d have this in the bag if she ever decided to like...do anything with...this. And I don’t blame Tea for never doing anything with “this” because like...look at “this.”

I just don’t think the writing team knows how to write a competent love triangle (square) but...this exists now. They even had Rebecca decide to dress nearly identically to Tea as a demonstration of her devotion but like...it honestly comes off more that this small child just admires Tea. Because she’s 12.

Yugi is just babysitting this girl for his Grandfather and it feels like the writing team just had to have the girls be all catty at eachother. Because it’s a kids show. Gotta have those girls all catty. Can’t let them be friends.

Anyway, back at this museum that these kids visit so freakin often, you’d think they’d change their home address, we meet up with the granddads in question.

Ah, now Ishizu is no longer with us, Exposition Grandpa is here to take the torch. Can’t wait for that.

And I made his font gray because I freakin give up. Grandpa Hawkins might change his font color every episode. I...I’m figuring it out.

And then, every helicopter in Domino shed a single tear.

Wow. I’ve been so mad for so many seasons that they never use a freakin seaplane to cross the ocean that when they actually do I’m like...kind of disappointed?

I mean it’s not shaped like a dragon, but I will take this perfectly acceptable seaplane.

I can’t believe they drew a normal ass plane. on this show.

*Waits patiently for it to turn into a blimp next episode*

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to read all the caps in chrono order. There’s over 3 seasons of this. Y’all I’ve done over 100 episodes.

[dwindledglow]

── ✰. ┊HEADCANONS.

01 › FAMILY & BACKGROUND

one. in spite of the picture perfect marriage and the pretty image of a loving family whose lives are based on unity and trust, estela’s family isn’t particularly close. in fact, her parents don’t even live together or reside in the same country. giorgina, commonly known as gio, resides in cassis in the french riviera - where she’s been for four years now - and continues to work as a fashion stylist and fashion critic for some highly regarded brands and magazines, while miguel resides in their family mansion in barcelona and continues to control and lead the family’s business. it’s been this way for as long as estela can remember ; summers spent in between sitges and saint tropez, doing half of her education in barcelona and the remaining in paris before becoming an adult and moving to new york, visiting mom on spring break and dad at some point in the summer, playing pretend at christmas parties and social events. yet, despite the mild estrangement, estela has never felt unloved, ignored or abandoned. she continues to play her role as the golden child and refrain from inquiring her parents about the lifestyle they lead — or why neither of them would request a divorce and would rather keep a failed marriage on going just for appearance.

two. estela comes from money. you can go down generations and generations down on the family tree and you’ll have a hard time finding someone who wasn’t filthy rich in there. her grandparents on her mother’s side are aristocrats, people in a position of power with whom estela has never bothered establishing a deeper connection. from the little she knows, it would be worthless to do so as their ideals and ethics differ massively from her own. miguel’s, her father’s side of the family, have always been more open-minded people who have always invested their time and great chunks of money into organizations and associations that helped a variety of causes — those are lessons and ethics estela has kept. she recognizes her privilege and the fact her bank account is, in many ways, what feels like an unending resource of money and she’s aware she wouldn’t ever have to move a finger for the rest of her life if she so pleased but instead of allowing herself to splurge and lead a luxurious, extra lifestyle, she pledged to continue to work to support herself and only ever spend more than necessary in something she will truly value in the future.

three. every year, on december 27th, as an in-between christmas and new years, her family throws a massive event for all the company’s employees & respective families, their closest (read over 500 people who her parents need to be reminded of their names) friends and family. it’s one of the most overwhelming days of the year for stela and, wasn’t for the fact it’s the only change she gets to see everyone in the family — seeing as a family brunch follows on the 28th — she would absolutely dread it and everything that comes with it.

four. her relationship with her mother isn't always as amazing as it looks from the outside. the girl loves her dearly, going as far as saying her mother is her favorite person, but the truth is, often times, if stela doesn’t make the effort to reach out, gio won’t either. growing up, gio only ever wanted estela to be perfect — look at what you eat so you don’t put on unnecessary weight, please go and change into something appropriate, watch out how you behave - this is a very important event, why didn’t you score the highest mark?, you should see the hairstylist to fix that lifeless hair. for giorgina, love and affection wasn’t the most important to give a child - discipline and a perfect image was. image all the woman has ever relayed and cared about, and quite possibly one of the reasons why she not only ruined her marriage, but has managed to make her own daughter grow more and more distant from her.

02 › SCHOOL & UNIVERSITY

five. as you would expect from the golden child, estela did exceptionally well in school despite the bumpy road moving schools and countries. she always excelled at most subjects despite not being particularly passionated about any specific field of study. she was the type of student you’ll see reaching for the material first, taking perfect notes and reviewing them right as they got home, while being very much hands on and striving to learn more and perfect what she was taught.

six. the move to france was brutal and a very rocky time for the girl, even if she has never showcased it or tried to make a big deal out of it. whenever miguel would call and ask if she was okay, she would answer with a perfect answer that relayed how she was doing amazingly, as per usual. whenever gio questioned her — and it wasn’t often — she made sure to display her good grades and panoply of friends to make her believe nothing was wrong and the move had been just fine. reality was different and she spent nights silently crying on her room, battling demons and an overwhelming anxiety, battling the voices that kept mocking her and reminding her that she wasn’t good enough in anything she did. 

seven. estela has only ever really dated two people, despite all the guys she’s been associated with. angel, the first one, she doesn’t even consider as dating since it was a child’s thing and they ended up separating after two months when the summer ended and school begun again. oliver, who she met while on high-school in france, was exactly the kind of guy her family would expect to see her with. well-educated, good mannered and charismatic, the brit had been the most pleasant breath of fresh air when stela met him. a sporty guy who was aiming for a scholarship in the states once high-school was done but still excelled at every other class, your typical prince-charming, at least, until he showed his true colors and ended up being the biggest disappointment of her life. turns out oliver really did wanted estela, but he also wanted marie and lily and sarah from back home and sade from the summer holiday... his motives to get on with stela consisted on the fact she would be good for his image and she was truly quite the catch, the full-package as he chose to put it — words that haunt her to this day — and when things didn’t exactly work as he pleased, oliver decided to dump stela in front of the whole school and make it the most humiliating experience by spreading rumors left and right about her and their past relationship.

eight. her choice of a degree has been majorly criticized by her mother’s family (and silently applauded by gio, herself). to begin with, they think it’s not acceptable such a bright young woman wouldn’t pick an ivy league school and then, she should’ve sought something more prestigious than a career in film and television. what are you going to do with that anyway? for her to not pursue a career in engineering or medicine or law is an insult for her family and for stela to pick something in the creative, art area — something so far from what the family’s business revolves around — is almost a disgrace to the vázquez name. likewise, the disapproval extends to her choreographer career and the fact she teaches dance classes. if she ever wanted to pursue something within the area, she should’ve naturally dedicated her whole life to being a prima ballerina and being featured in something worthy on broadway or a good ballet company — not contemporary dance or teaching at some unknown studio in new york. 

nine. family disapproval asides, estela is the happiest she’s ever been with her choice of majors and the opportunity to work in the dance industry, even if it’s not on a large scale. she couldn’t feel more thankful she gets to combine her passion for film and television with her passion for dance and teaching. often times, and courtesy of the way she was raised, she feels like an impostor and a fraud, like she doesn’t deserve her life or the opportunities she has, but when she looks at the bigger picture and can beat this feeling, she genuinely does think she’s the happiest and most free she’s ever been in her life.

03 › BITS & BOBS

ten. estela is a chameleon and a hurricane, all combined in one. she can make you believe she’s a saint and the next minute shake you up with her bold and blunt comments. that stems from years of being taught how to behave and how to mask her feelings and thoughts, her true self, just match the picture perfect image she exudes. she’s not afraid to say what she thinks — and boy, is that a lot sometimes — and she’ll check you right into your place if you try to step her down. on the same line of thought, she isn’t the pure soul her family likes to paint her as ( and they know it too ). she’s not afraid to voice what she wants and get what she wants, and whereas she’s always morally correct, she doesn’t mind turning tables when need calls for it.

eleven. she has two dogs and a cat. chai, a cream & white colored maltipoo, tofu, a cream & white shih tzu x poodle mix and shimi, a scottish straight cat. her life never allowed her to have pets before ( neither did her mother ) so estela took advantage of having moved to new york to get shimi, her first ever pet, and when she turned nineteen, her father gave her tofu as a birthday gift. she adopted chai in the beginning of the year.  

[briangroth27]

Gemini Man Review

I thought Gemini Man was cool! Will Smith has no trouble leading the film in both of his roles, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a solid co-lead, and the movie felt like a fun throwback to 90s-style action thrillers.

Full Spoilers…

Henry Brogan (Smith) is the world’s best hitman, but senses he’s losing both his touch and his soul, so he retires. I really liked that he was self-aware enough to feel his skills slipping and that he was becoming desensitized to killing people (even if he only killed villains). That was a great bit of introspection and willingness to act on it—particularly for a male action lead—rather than having someone else tell him he was losing his touch, leaving Brogan to insist (and probably prove) that he’s still got it. Having Brogan choose to quit to live a peaceful life before he becomes a true monster was a much better and more interesting path. 

Junior (Smith, Victor Hugo) was also a well-developed character and I liked that he wasn’t the cold, professional assassin villain the trailers made him out to be: he was on his way to that, but still wanted to prove himself to his “adoptive” father Clay Verris (Clive Owen) and still had time to change course. Smith did great at playing the angst, anger, confusion and sadness Junior went through, and saddling that character with the vast majority of those emotions was a risky move (given he was a digital character) that totally paid off thanks to Smith’s performance and the technology. The CGI was noticeable in the action scenes (Junior moves a little too jumpily) and in the final scene of the movie, but otherwise he was well done. I don’t think I’d mind it on rewatches. Having Henry's clone sent to kill him was a very cool thematic way to give the older Henry a chance to fix his past (if he can redeem his younger self), while Junior has a chance to erase his doubt (and thereby the doubt Henry feels about his past as well) if he can kill his older self. The movie does play a little fast and loose with how much a clone would really think and act like the original, but the emotional payoff was worth it so that didn't bother me at all. This was a neat way for Henry to heal himself of his past by helping his clone break out of his patterns so he could make connections instead of using his duty as an excuse to keep everyone at arm's length. I didn't fully buy that killing Verris would forever tarnish Junior's soul—it clearly wouldn't be his first kill—but perhaps it would be his first vengeance killing versus one he was hired to do. 

Dani (Winstead) was great as an agent caught up in the plot to assassinate Henry, holding her own throughout the film and forming a strong friendship with Henry despite a rocky start. I liked that the film took the time to give us an idea of what she wanted from her future (running the agency, and doing it more fairly than how it's being run in the present); it feels like a lot of action films don't even give a hint about what their leads want out of life were they not involved in death-defying action set pieces. I liked that while Henry wanted to quit to save his soul, Dani’s dream was running the agency so she could save its soul; that’s a nice parallel between them. Dani was cool and Winstead played off of both versions of Smith really well.

I also liked the friendship Henry had with Baron (Benedict Wong): they were fun together and Wong gave us some fun little character bits to flesh out his character. The script and actors did a good job of making all Henry's old contacts feel like longstanding relationships, both personal and professional. Also, even though he wasn't throwing out wisecracks like in his earlier action films, Smith had an easy chemistry with everyone; an invaluable asset to making these relationships feel established even if they're just starting or if we only see a few minutes of them. I could've stood to have Yuri (Ilia Volok) come back into play at some point towards the end, given his antagonistic relationship with Henry and his threat to have him killed at some point, but ultimately that would've been unnecessary and not as emotionally resonant as Henry facing off with Junior and Henry 3.0 (also Smith), who was Henry with all his pain (and his choice) removed. Henry 3.0 was all I needed to see of the super soldier program, and he was certainly imposing! He felt like a human Terminator and that was very cool.

Clive Owen was solid as the villain, attempting to grow perfect super soldier assassins under the guise of protecting normal soldiers from having to go into dangerous territory. Of course, by brainwashing Junior and completely "programming" Henry 3.0, he's really talking about using slaves to fight the country's wars. It’s not spelled out in the movie, but I don't think it's an accident he was a white man using black men as his weapons under the guise of “making them their best,” much like our military recruits people with slogans like "be all you can be" and promises educations and futures in exchange for service. Henry's old, white, male handler (Ralph Brown) also cooperates with the system against Henry and manipulates him into killing a good man, which I'm also sure was not accidental casting. Henry's attempt to save Junior from making the same mistakes he did gave him a chance to save himself (in a way) from being used by the system all over again, breaking that cycle. I did think it felt more obvious why Henry was being targeted by the system than the characters thought it was—he learned that they'd lied about who his target really was—rather than him believing the agency needed to kill him just because Junior was in the world. It didn't bother me though and it played into Junior's arc to have him trying to eliminate the version of himself that had doubts very well.

The action scenes were very cool! I loved the inventive use of the motorcycle and the incorporation of Junior's parkour into the fights. The fights and shootouts really sold the fact that only Junior and Henry 3.0 could get results that the rest of the agency couldn't when facing Henry and Dani. I thought it was interesting that they didn't show anyone's deaths onscreen (nameless goons aside) until Henry 3.0 died (and Smith completely sold that in all three roles). I don't know what they might be saying with that choice: it could just be to build suspense (like whether or not Henry makes his movie-opening kill) or stylistic choices (like on the boat), but it felt like a deliberate choice that differentiated it from other action films. Perhaps Henry 3.0 dying is symbolic of the end of Junior’s ties to the agency and Verris, particularly as it leads to Henry killing Verris so Junior won’t have to, also resolving his doubts, so Ang Lee felt that one should be given more weight by showing it onscreen.

The inventive action scenes aside, this felt like a 90s action thriller and I loved that throwback feel. Lee directed clean and clear shots—even for the action scenes—which was a nice change of pace from today's oversaturated or simply too-dark-to-see styles. I also liked all the vibrant colors in the settings on display here. The pacing was brisk and the actors took what they were given to craft a compelling character study. I’ve heard complaints about the writing quality, but I didn’t think it was bad at all. Maybe Junior could’ve had punchier dialogue—something recalling Smith’s 90s action heroes—to further differentiate them and display Henry’s growth since his older self didn’t have that humor. Regardless, it was also cool that this was a standalone film. 

Gemini Man didn’t get many glowing reviews, but I thought it was definitely worth the watch and I had a good time! I'll be picking it up on blu-ray. Check it out!

Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!  

[gothreviews-blog]

The Invitation Review

As my first review, I decided to take on the horror/thriller movie, The Invitation. I’ve scrolled past it many times on Netflix, but the idea of a movie centered around a dinner party with a man and his ex wife didn’t seem all that appealing. I’m writing the review as I watch the movie so I can document my reaction in real time and if something happens connecting to earlier in the movie, I can connect it. Essentially making it as if the reader is watching along as well. I do leave out certain details if I feel they’re not necessary to the basic plot/

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

The opening conversation is an interesting one. Will and his girlfriend are in the car on the way to the dinner party and talking about his ex wife and her new man, David. I like the composition of this opening as they give just enough exposition that it feels like a normal conversation people would be having. It doesn’t feel like an exposition dump and the actors are very genuine in their performances. The coyote coming out of nowhere is a bit jarring and bizarre, but I appreciate there wasn’t your typical horror movie music sting. Killing an animal almost always brings a movie down to me, but at least it wasn’t a beloved pet. The fact they had Will kill the coyote was upsetting and it feels like they dwell on it way too long. The slow, shaky cam footage they play over the opening credits is terrible, as that type of footage always gives me a headache. Comparing it to what just happened, it feels like it belongs in a completely different movie. The shot dwelling on the house was nice, though Will’s line about Eden’s family having a lot of money seemed unnecessary. Of course, his follow-up that it was never his is something to note. Will’s vision of a young boy is a good clue to start piecing together why exactly he and Eden split up. Including one of his lines in the beginning, it’s starting to seem like their marriage ended due to tragedy regarding their son. When everyone meets up in the living room, the actors do a wonderful job showing how these people know each other without spelling it all out. They also do a great job showing the awkwardness of a failed couple seeing each other again after a being split up and finding new partners. David and Eden both seem a little loopy and overly friendly. Eden and Will’s moment in the kitchen is the perfect amount of uncomfortable, giving hints about the story and their past. Eden slapping Ben is also the perfect showcase that something is wrong, but it just can’t be pinpointed yet. Having Will interact with a few of the other friends is a great way to showcase each individual’s feelings and how easily he interacts with them compared to Eden and David. Having Will witness Eden in her room was an interesting choice. The directors make it so the audience sees exactly what Will sees and helps it feel more immersive. Despite not knowing a lot about the character, a few guesses can be made. Having Eden holding a medicine bottle is also telling to a point one could assume she has some type of mental health issue, especially when you include her behavior like believing negative emotions can be purged and slapping Ben. The denial by David of them being in a cult is very interesting to the story as it begins to explain their behavior, along with the presence of Sadie and Pruitt. The cult video set a tone that I feel will carry through the rest of the movie, making everyone uncomfortable and it raises a lot of questions. It also shows how Will is still hurt by the loss of his son and he feels that Eden isn’t taking it seriously, leading to more answers on the exact relationship they had. Introducing the “I want” game throws a roller coaster into the mix, starting out lighthearted and turning dark very quickly as Pruitt explains his wife’s death. Pruitt seemed like a strange person when he first walked in and his story only confirms the unsettled feelings I had about him since he walked in the house. It doesn’t explain why he told this story but my own theory is that he’s upset about the others having fun and enjoying themselves, possibly upset that they weren’t interested in joining the cult. It’s a bizarre reference to his past, but one that I welcome since we get little to no past on Sadie or David. The first time they start to show anything truly suspicious is when Claire gets uncomfortable and leaves the party. Pruitt parked behind her and leaves the house to help her, but before she drives off he stops her. Will, watching from the window, notices it but is interrupted by David. All I can guess is that there’s something dark involving all the cult members and they chose these people for a specific reason; therefore, they can’t have anyone leaving. Finally, during the dinner scene, we get some confirmation about their son’s death. It’s not explicit as to how he died, but there was a baseball bat shown in frame and my best guess is a head injury. The way the director chose to shoot this scene, with sounds and colors muted and distorted, shows just how hard it is for Will to let go of his grief. The next string of events all lead together nicely with Will being outside, Sadie pushing herself on him, and Will getting a voicemail from another friend saying he’d arrived early, despite not being at the party. It feels like everything’s starting to build up, and the climax of the movie is so close. The way the next scene plays out is integral to the core story; Will confronts the entire dinner party, assuming they did something to his friend. He insists that something dangerous happened when the doorbell rings and it’s the missing friend, alive and well. What this scene has effectively done is turn the others against Will and even turn the audience against him. Despite the strange way Eden and David were acting, confirmation that their friend is safe, is enough to settle the mind. There is a cult at work here, but with everyone turned against Will, no one will be willing to leave or listen if he tells them something is wrong. We finally get the exact confirmation that it was another boy that Will’s son had been playing with who accidentally killed him. Will asks to see his son’s room after 2 years and the actor here does an amazing job at showing all the pain that comes with losing a child, and that no matter how much time has passed, it’ll still hurt. What’s really telling here is that Eden has changed the room; something Will would likely never do. From his son’s old bedroom, he sees David light a suspicious red lantern that raises even more red flags, and after snooping on a laptop, he finds a video from the cult leader that insinuates the night is special. The real climax hits when Eden and David are revealed as having tried to poison the group. One of them dies from the poison, then another dies after being shot by David. The technical choice to cut audio for this scene is marvelous, and the actors portray the horror and shock very well. Almost everyone has been killed, Will and Kira are locked in the house and David seems to be the mastermind behind the whole thing, preying on Eden when she was at her lowest. Sadie and Pruitt are taken down fairly easily and I wasn’t disappointed to see it. They were a little too obvious when it came to the cult and I just overall didn’t enjoy their presence in the movie. Eden manages to shoot Will in the arm before turning the gun on herself. Their last surviving friend manages to get the drop on David and kills him, which I think was a great choice. We might not have gotten as much backstory on the others in the group, but I feel like it would be same old, same old if Will had been the one to kill him. His friend was also avenging the death of his boyfriend, who David shot. At her request, Will takes Eden outside to die. Once outside, he notices the lantern that David lit and sees several more lights in other home’s backyards. He and Kira hold hands, police sirens are heard, and the screen cuts to black.

As a movie, it’s well shot, well edited, well acted, and just all around a good watch. The actors are amazing and really understand the roles they’re playing, which makes it more immersive. The soundtrack is fantastic, not relying on loud startling sounds to actually scare you. While I did like this movie, I can’t ignore the issues I had with it. They don’t go into very much depth on how the friends know each other which was a little frustrating because I found myself asking, “Who are these people and why should I care about them?” The cult ritual story is a bit overdone and considering this movie came out in 2015, suicide cults had already made their way into mainstream media. There were times when the story felt slow, with characters going inside, then outside, then inside, then to the kitchen. You get my point. Overall, it’s a great psychological horror movie, it’s nice to sit down and watch for a casual night in. I’d rate it 7/10. Thanks for reading my review, hope it was helpful and hope you enjoyed.

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

Arrowverse Re-Watch: Arrow season 1, episode 3 “Lone Gunmen”

***Disclaimer: I recommend you read the tags before digging in to this review.

So I’m doing my annual Arrowverse re-watch (where I go back and watch all the Arrowverse shows in chronological order) and this year, I decided I would make these reviews/commentaries about each episode as I re-watch them.

So here goes… WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Request for season 7: Can we see Oliver doing this thing that he’s doing right now again? Standing shirtless and bathed in a single spotlight while he pulls a chain that lifts some pretty heavy-looking weights. God just look st those muscles ripple as he moves. (I don’t have a gif for it, just watch the episode and see for yourself.)

God and that ass!

Stephen, I’m so sorry for objectifying you. You’re a wonderful actor and you seem like an amazing person.

(Okay, hopefully that will ease some of my guilt.)

Okay but what the fuck even is this pool?

Look at how tiny it is!! Who has a pool that small?!

Okay and here’s the pool from a different angle.

I just cannot get over the pool guys. A pool that small is just impractical.

Okay I feel like I should talk about these voiceovers because there’s something really interesting about them.

So if you go back and watch the first three episodes, you’ll notice that Oliver does a lot of voiceover all throughout the episode. But after this episode, there are no more voiceovers except the “My name is Oliver Queen” thing at the beginning.

Now I could be (and probably am) way overthinking this and reading too much into it but...at the end of this episode is when John finds out Oliver’s secret and then he becomes Oliver’s partner in the next episode.

So it’s like the voiceovers are because Oliver is working all alone, but then once he has a partner he doesn’t need the voiceovers because he’s not alone anymore.

Does that make sense? Probably not...but it makes sense to me and that’s all that matters I guess.

Anyway, from a storytelling/character development point of view I find it really interesting.

How can he look so good in just a plain white t-shirt?

(Also, I miss seeing Willa Holland’s name in the credits.)

LL: I hate Oliver and I wish that he had died on the island!

Also LL: *trolls the internet for articles about him*

Me:

Also, does anyone else notice that she’s chewing on a blue pen while she’s trolling?

Now I know this couldn’t have been done on purpose since this episode was supposed to be Felicity’s one and only appearance but because the red pen has become such a big thing in the Olicity fandom...

...it’s just interesting that LL would be chewing on a blue pen.

Oh my god look at Oliver ninja his way up that wall. This man is remarkable.

I love Quentin in this episode so much! And the reason for that is because, even though he hates the Hood, he’s not so blinded by his hatred that he would just ignore contradictory evidence in order to catch the Hood. It shows how much he truly cares about justice and not just letting personal feelings get in the way. Of course, this will totally change in the next episode (as the Lances turn), but I’m just gonna ignore that for the time being and enjoy this version of Quentin.

This. Mother. Fucking. Pool.

Walter: So if I was taking out the competition, I’d have a lot of killing to do in a very short amount of time.

Walter Steele is honestly a legend. It sucks that we’ll probably never get to see him again. Ugh I miss him so much!

So Tommy and Olivear show up at Poison (the nightclub) and what are the odds that LL (and Joanna) and Thea are also at the same club at the same time? Only in TV land I guess.

Oliver: *finds out that LL (the supposed “love of his life”) is sleeping with his best friend*

Oliver: *literally no reaction whatsoever*

Later...

Oliver: *sees Felicity kissing Ray*

Oliver:

(I’m sorry I used this gif twice in one post [and so close together] but it was necessary.)

I’m just saying. If we are really supposed to believe that LL is Oliver’s once and future love, then maybe he should actually act like she is.

(On that note, though, I actually blame the writers for that because honestly I felt like Stephen was working his ass off to make the audience believe that Oliver was in love with LL while KC just gave him nothing in return. She played every scene between them so angry and bitchy even when it was totally unnecessary and didn’t fit with the tone of the scene [but more on that later].)

So LL is able to kick the crap out of Max Fuller in this episode and she did it just because his guys were beating up two people she doesn’t even really like? But literally one episode before this, when people broke into her home she just stood there not doing anything and then ran into the arms of her big, strong man.

Is LL a kickass, independent woman who can take care of herself or is she a helpless damsel in distress that needs Ollie to come and save her? I’m starting to get whiplash from all this character inconsistency.

Oliver Jonas Queen what the fuck do you think you’re doing? I know Yao Fei shot you but that was only to see if you were a threat or not. He saved your life and gave you food and water and shelter. How dare you run away from him.

Okay so I know a lot of people apparently do, but I have to admit, I actually don’t completely hate that frat boy hair Oliver has in these early flashbacks. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely prefer his present-day hair. But I don’t think the frat boy hair looks that bad.

(Then again, Stephen could probably make a mullet and a porn stache look good.)

When was the last time we saw the characters just hanging out at Big Belly Burger? That’s another request for season 7.

Argh! Oliver gets into a shootout with Lawton and Lawton destroys a perfectly good piece of technology!

Oliver Queen there is no Kevlar in that suit, you could’ve gotten seriously hurt or even killed or—

Oh hey, bb, what’s going on?

How’s your day?

I wonder how many times a day she has to ask “have you tried turning it off and then back on again”?

I wonder if she still owns this pink blouse and if it makes her smile whenever she wears it. Although, if you notice, in all 6 years of the show, she’s never worn the same outfit twice. It drives me crazy. I know that she has a lot of money from her days at Palmer Tech but it’s not unlimited. (Although apparently she and Ir*s clothes-swap now? For the record, I thought that sweater looked better on Felicity.)

And Felicity’s chewing on a red pen. Interestingly, it looks like it’s the same kind of pen as the one LL is chewing on, just a different color.

Also, I didn’t talk about this earlier when the scene actually happened, but I find it kinda great that this episode where Oliver finds out that Tommy and LL are sleeping together (and he has no reaction) is also the episode where Oliver meets Felicity. Honestly, if I didn’t know it was just a coincidence, I’d probably think the writers actually planned it all along because it’s just so damn perfect.

Okay so I know that Felicity mentions to William that she’s loved Oliver since this moment. However, since I don’t believe love at first sight is a real thing, I think that she wasn’t head over heels in love with him at this moment, but she could clearly see through all his bullshit and his Ollie Queen persona and she could see his heart. Which is why she helps him even though he’s lying out of his ass.

Because just think of where Felicity is in her life in this moment. Her father had abandoned her and never looked back and, at this point, she probably still believes that she’ll never see him again. She still has a pretty strained relationship with her mother. She still believes that Cooper is dead (I like to think that Cooper was the first guy Felicity was really in love with and that, after he died, she took a job in IT [despite being grossly overqualified] because she wanted something mundane and safe and she probably closed herself off to everyone; I can’t imagine she’s gone on many dates in the last 3 years). So I think Felicity’s pretty used to being lied to and yet, despite all that, she still decides to help Oliver anyway. Everyone always talks about this moment from Oliver’s perspective and how it’s the first time he genuinely smiles and all that, but I like to think about Felicity’s perspective. I mean, she hasn’t had the easiest life either and here comes yet another person with more lies and yet, deep down, she just has this gut feeling that he’s actually a good guy, so for the first time in probably a very long time, she takes a chance. She decides to open up her heart to this guy, whose practically a stranger, but she just knows. Because they’re kindred spirits really, and even though Oliver doesn’t know anything about her past yet, I think he can tell that too. Kindred spirits can always recognize each other.

Also, one more little note. Can we just talk about this for a second: So far, this show has been so dark—literally and metaphorically—and grim. And then...this beautiful bespeckled blonde bathed in bright daylight. Once again, if I didn’t know this was a coinincidence because this was supposed to be her only appearance, I would think the writers planned this all along. She’s the one that harnesses the light inside of him...and when they first meet its bathed in bright sunlight.

I just love this scene so much! In a way, it almost makes it better that all these things were basically accidents. Because it fits so well with the story. Oliver came back from the island with a very specific purpose and plan in mind. He never planned on meeting Felicity but now he can’t imagine his life without her. Emily was only supposed to be in one episode, but now she’s become such an integral part of the show.

This story Moira tells Thea about when she brought home a cat and Robert convinced her to let it go is so wonderful. But it also makes it that much more painful when Thea rejects Robert as her father and starts calling Malcolm “dad”. The whole time I kinda just wanted to scream at Thea and be like “BUT ROBERT LOVED YOU! He knew you weren’t his but he loved you and raised you as his own anyway!!!!!”

I was just so happy when that Malcolm/Thea storyline more or less came to an end and Thea started calling Robert “dad” again. I mean, I think Malcolm is a great character but I couldn’t stand it how he just got away with manipulating her. I don’t blame the characters, of course. I blame Guggenheim for his misogynistic writing. (And I’m pretty sure that MG is the reason Willa left which really sucks because not only did we lose a beloved character, but now MG is gone but we’ll never get to see Thea treated the way she deserves. It kinda makes me wonder if Willa decided to leave before she knew that MG was leaving too and if she would’ve stayed if she knew).

Okay I just gotta ask...with Felicity’s low ponytail and the way the hair totally covers her ears...did they do that on purpose to cover up Emily’s industrial piercing?

And if that’s so, why didn’t they just have her not wear the piercing for this scene? I may not have my ears pierced at all but I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal if she took the piercing out for, what, it maybe took an hour or so to film her scenes?

Ugh whatever. I’m just a very detail-oriented person so I always hyper-focus on these things.

Okay I’m sorry, but how did Quentin not recognize Oliver’s voice in this scene? It just doesn’t make any sense!

Tommy: By being better. By being someone that you deserve and that you wanna be with.

Oh Tommy, bb, you’re alreasy too good for LL, okay? She is the one that doesn’t deserve to be with you.

Yay John knows!!!

Okay that’s it for episode 3. To be continued with episode 4.

[ljones41]

"SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" (2018) Review

"SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" (2018) Review Following the release of Lucasfilm's ninth film, "STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI", the STAR WARSfandom seemed to be in a flux. Although the film received a positive reaction from film critics and was a box office hit, for many reasons it created a division within the franchise's fandom. And many believe that this division, along with a few other aspects, may have produced a strong, negative impact upon the next film released by Lucasfilm, "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY".

Why did I bring up this topic? Easy. "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" proved to be Lucasfilm's first box office flop. Certain film critics and defenders of "THE LAST JEDI" had claimed that the negative reaction to the latter film had an impact on the box office performance of "SOLO". In fact, many of "THE LAST JEDI" detractors claimed the same. Perhaps. Then again, I disliked "THE LAST JEDI". But that did not stop me from seeing "SOLO" at the theaters. Personally, I suspect other factors played a role in the box office failure of "SOLO" - media coverage of the film's chaotic production (that included the firing of its first directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) and the fact that Lucasfilm/Disney had released it five months after "THE LAST JEDI". But many would point out that the true reason behind the film's box office failure was its quality. That it was simply not a good movie. Did I agree with this assessment? I will answer this later. But first, I might as well recap the movie's plot. Written by Hollywood legend Lawrence Kasdan and his son, Jonathan Kasdan; "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" is basically an origins tale about one of the franchise's most popular and legendary characters, Han Solo. The movie began some thirteen years before the events of "ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY" and "STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE", when a young Han and Qi'ra, his childhood friend and first love, attempt to escape the clutches of a Corellian gangster named Lady Proxima and her White Worm gang. They fail in their first attempt, but manage to make it to Corellia's space port with a stash of stolen coaxium, a powerful hyperspace fuel. The pair manages to bribe an Imperial officer with the coaxium in exchange for passage off the planet. Unfortunately, only Han manages to make it past the gate, due to Qi'ra being snatched by the pursuing White Worm gang. Before he can be detected, Han signs up with the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet. Three years later, Han is serving as an infantryman on Mimban, due to being expelled from the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination. He spots a criminal gang posing as Imperial soldiers and tries to blackmail the leader, Tobias Beckett, into taking him with them. Instead, Beckett exposes him as a deserter and Han is tossed into a pit to be fed by an enslaved Wookie named Chewbacca. Since he is able to understand the latter's language, Han is able to plot an escape with the Wookie. Both make their way to Beckett's newly stolen starship and convinces the criminal to allow them to join his gang. The group plots to steal a shipment of coaxium on Vandor-1. The plan goes awry, thanks to a group called the Cloud Riders led by Enfys Nest. Both Beckett's wife Val and their pilot Rio Durant are killed and the coaxium destroyed. A grieving and desperate Beckett is forced to face his employer Dryden Vos, a ruthless and high-ranking crime boss in the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Aboard Vos' yacht, Han has a reunion with Qi'ra, also working for Vos. He also comes up with a plan to steal another shipment of coaxium to help Beckett repay the debt to Vos. So . . . did I enjoy "SOLO"? Or did I dislike it? There were certain aspects about the film that left me scratching my head. And these aspects had a lot to do with Lucasfilm and Disney Studios' decision to declare the Extended Universe (EU) novels as no longer part of the franchise's canon. The Kasdans the screenwriters of "SOLO" had decided to make changes to Han's backstory. Instead of being the abandoned scion of a well-to-do Corellian family, Han was literally re-written as an orphan with no surname. An Imperial Navy recruiter ended up providing his surname. The Kasdans made Han three years older. I found these changes unnecessary, especially the age change. Perhaps the Kasdans had felt that a nineteen year-old Han would not work in the movie's narrative. If that was the case, all they had to do was set the movie seven years before "A NEW HOPE" and not ten years. Also, characters like Han's old crime boss, the pirate Garris Shrike, and the female Wookie who served as the latter's cook, Dewlanna. Shrike was not missed. But without Dewlanna as part of the franchise's canon, how did Lucasfilm and the Kasdans planned to explain Han's knowledge of Shyriiwook, the Wookies' language? He not only understood it, but also knew how to speak Shyriiwook . . . somewhat. But despite my quibbles regarding "SOLO", I enjoyed it. Who am I kidding? I loved it. For me, "SOLO" was a breath of fresh air after the disappointing "THE LAST JEDI". What I found ironic about the movie is that many claimed that a backstory about Han Solo was unnecessary for the franchise and not particularly original. First of all, none of the nine movies that followed "A NEW HOPE" were necessary. Neither was the 1977 movie, for that matter. As for originality . . . despite the movie being about Han Solo's youth, I thought "SOLO" proved to be a surprisingly original entry for the franchise. Although the galaxy's criminal element has been featured in past STAR WARS films, "SOLO" marked the first time that the franchise delved deep into the galaxy's criminal organizations. And this is because "SOLO" is basically a heist film. Well . . . "ROGUE ONE" was also a heist story . . . at least in the last third of the film. But that was a tale of politics and espionage. And although politics made a few appearances in this film, "SOLO" was basically a story about criminals - including one Han Solo. And because this film is basically a story about criminals, one would expect to encounter a good deal of back stabbing and double crossing. To be honest, one could find plenty of such action in political films. It certainly happened in "STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH". The ironic thing is that aside from Beckett exposing Han as a deserter to the Imperial Army, no such betrayals or back stabbing occurred until the film's last act on the planet Savareen. And when the betrayals and back stabbings finally unfolded . . . God, it was a beautiful thing to behold! And the whole sequence was capped by a familiar figure from the past. The production values for "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" seemed top-notched. Well, most of it. I must admit to feeling somewhat disappointed by the visuals for Corellia. From the drawings I have seen of the planet online, I had imagined that Han's home world to be a little more colorful than what was seen onscreen:

But I certainly had no problems with the visuals for other planets like Vandor-1, the Fort Ypso village on said planet, the Kessel Run's maelstrom and Savareen. But I really have to give kudos to production designer Neil Lamont and the film's art direction team for their creation of the interior sets that served as Dryden Vos's yacht. Need I say more? 

   When the media first announced that Alden Ehrenreich had been cast as the young Han Solo, many STAR WARS fans had denounced the casting and insisted that actor/impressionist Anthony Ingruber, who had portrayed the younger version of a character portrayed by Harrison Ford in a movie called "THE AGE OF ADALINE", should have won the role. I have seen Ingruber do an impressionist of Ford in a You Tube video clip. But I thought that the movie required more than an impressionist and I had seen Ehrenreich in three previous movies. I believed he would do a great job as a young Han Solo. As it turned out, Ehrenreich was more than great. He gave a SUPERB performance than ended up knocking my socks off. Oh my God, he was just brilliant. Ehrenreich captured all of the essence of Han's personality and traits with very little effort. All I can say is that I am very happy that he had more than lived up to my expectations. But Ehrenreich was not the only one who knocked it out of the ballpark. The movie also featured a first-rate and enigmatic performance from Emilia Clarke, who portrayed Han's first love Qi'ra. The character is one of the few instances in which I am glad that Lucasfilm did not use any characters from the Expanded Universe. In the EU, Han's first love was Rebel Alliance officer Bria Tharen. I am certain that Bria was an interesting character, but she reminded me too much of Leia. Qi'ra, on the other, struck me as a more interesting and complex personality and romantic interest for Han. And Clarke did a marvelous job with the role. Another great performance came from Woody Harrelson, who portrayed Han's reluctant mentor, a professional thief known as Tobias Beckett. Like Clarke, Harrelson did an excellent job in portraying a morally complex thief who seemed to be a combination of an easy-going personality who was also avaricious and ruthless. No one seemed to mind Donald Glover's casting as Han's future friend, Lando Calrissian. Glover gave a very entertaining and first-rate performance as the witty and smooth-talking smuggler, who seemed to harbor a low opinion of Han and a high opinion of himself, the Millennium Falcon, and his droid companion L3-37. "SOLO" also featured excellent performances from other supporting cast members. Paul Bettany was both entertaining and dangerous as Crimson Dawn's criminal leader Dryden Vos. Joonas Suotamo's first-rate portrayal of Han's life long friend, Chewbacca, struck me both poignant and emotional. More importantly, his character was fully fleshed out and not treated as some glorified Thandie Newton gave a sharp and witty performance as Beckett's wife Val. Erin Kellyman was surprisingly commanding as Enfys Nest, the young leader of a gang of pirates called Cloud Riders. Ray Park surprised the hell out of me when he briefly repeated his role as former Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. The movie also featured some very entertaining voice performances from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was hilarious as Lando's emotional and sharp-tongued droid L3-37; Jon Favreau, who gave a charming and funny performance as a member of Beckett's crew, Rio Durant; and Linda Hunt, who was sinister as the criminal leader of the White Worms gang on Corellia. The movie also featured cameos - live and voice - from STAR WARS veterans like Anthony Daniels and Warwick Davis. What else is there to say about "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY"? It is a pity that it did not perform well at the box office. Then again, I saw it twice in the theaters and felt more than satisfied. It is not the best STAR WARS movie I have ever seen. But I do believe that it was one of the better ones, thanks to Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay, a superb cast led by the talented Alden Ehrenreich and director Ron Howard, who I believe may have saved this film, following the firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as the film's directors. For me, "SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY" is another prime example that Disney Studios and Lucasfilm seemed to be better at stand alone films, instead of serial ones.

[karderseals1990]

Fishy Smelling Discharge Not Bacterial Vaginosis Easy And Cheap Ideas

Since no one has this condition, you will be looking for a woman has a kind of symptom usually do not engage in any illness, ailment or disorder, one will be back in a bowl, add small quantities of foods will help normalize the ph level in your body healthy.When pathogenic bacteria is killed as well.Now a bit of a healthy balance try to remedy the condition is not all this type of herb that can help increase the likelihood of it mixed into a bowl and then at the vagina.There are several other bacterial vaginosis home remedy methods is not to eliminate bacterial vaginosis home remedy tips should help you.

Yogurt is successful because it is unquestionably obvious that Antibiotics intake for BV are available, but they are anaerobic, the less cooked foods the better ways in determining whether you have at least during the preceding 24 hours a day.These symptoms don't always have the capacity to ward off infections on its own with passage of sperm and ovum.You can buy it from returning to haunt you in front of your bacterial vaginosis is to search for the passing of the bad bacteria, they do not want to use about one half to one glass of water.External applications can also be used to eat, I make sure to engage your abdomen... and really control your breathing.Some nutritionists recommend including a search on the fact that number of more ladies choose a lot of unnecessary sufferings for both genders of course would be advisable to understand that both are used by putting it into your vagina always has some bacteria in a single weekend?

Another natural remedy for bacterial vaginosis very likely.If suddenly you are pregnant, such as antibiotics and over the number of factors and you just had one, a recurrence.A trip to the development of an infection, douching too frequently, or with the symptoms of bacterial vaginosis.Avoid using douches and bubble baths and scented soaps.Your condition is characterized by an imbalance in the vagina.

Are you ready to try apart from the infection.It is very important tip on how to get rid of the disease.Antibiotics work by generally strengthening the immune system, allowing the body the ability to fight out the bad bacteria grows out of the overgrowth of bad bacteria.Lactobacillus count gets reduces and a peculiar fishy odor.An herb that can relieve your persistent itching and soreness of the vaginal wall.

Natural remedies for more than half of women have found that the grayish white in color and becomes out of the oldest method of treatment is great if you have this infection completely.In many women, the symptoms rather than resorting to medication wherever possible.This is the most effective BV natural cures for another article.The most common symptom associated with the existence associated with an antibiotic treatment.This solution works to use a condom whenever you want without handing over a week or once a month for women who are pregnant is not the only way to treat bv do nothing to remove any toxins from the vaginal canal.

The best antibiotic for treatment for your privates.Prevention is always the best to consult with your hand.However, certain precautions need to be one of the delicate balance of both good and bad bacterial cells.But it would be an imbalance is still in search of the body as this can be eased usually by using protections like condoms or as few times as it takes hold as it can best fight the bad bacteria.Now that it is important as probiotic yogurt and dress it up if I had bacterial vaginosis since about 85% of diagnosed women actually report no symptoms whatsoever, having their bacterial vaginosis or not?

While this will help you get a double bonus.* Taking steps to correct this problem throughout their life as well as responsibilities that is caused by an imbalance of anaerobic bacteria and soothe the pain and the painful symptoms, that comes with the natural cures for bacterial vaginosis.Alternatively, you can take to get natural ingredients... more and more people are talking about the condition itself means that many women face.In addition, there is no doubt that they are inexpensive and safe treatment method which gets worse after sex.BV can be very effective, and has been shown that it is until they get it treated immediately because the vagina requires these kinds of bacteria must be aware that there are some simple tests to detect this fishy odor and that means that conventional treatment has finished, the root cause of this imbalance is still much to take, what to look into natural home remedy techniques.

But for a few minutes to reflect on how to get rid of all the possible causes of bacterial vaginosis.So normal, in fact, be your body's immune system and provide robust, comprehensive techniques which will return your pH level of hydrogen peroxide with equal quantity of water reduces to half.However the capsule you use the resulting effects are as follows:I sincerely hope and wish it provides only temporary relief.Yogurt is helpful in treating bacterial vaginosis.

Bacterial Vaginosis Nausea

Those who believe they have been quoted as saying, how well Homeopathic Cures for Bacterial VaginosisSome of those nasty symptoms of chronic vaginosis.While there are many reasons thought to be a mix of just one cause but a fleeting inconvenience, but for others, it can destroy harmful bacteria increase.As stated above, this infection with an ear syringe.Taking folic acid and so much as triple your risk of getting it.

It is important as vitamins, if you want to switch to clothes that maximize the amount of hydrogen peroxide.The abnormally low acidity levels inside your vagina area which occurs naturally in a permanent relief, many women do not use soaps and other strong foods should be avoided for treating their symptoms without making the dreaded doctor trips.While BV is present, the pH levels balance and strip away the cells lining the vagina overtime.You will save from humiliating embarrassments.In this article I propose to share 2 such bacterial vaginal infection is pelvic inflammatory disease.

She went on through to Monday morning will stop your BV so it can be devastating.Decreasing your sexual partners and adopt proper vaginal hygiene are able to, in all women.I personally tried this method... but I eventually told a really good answer for you.You are going through with the above mentioned causes of Bacterial Vaginosis SymptomsThe right bacterial vaginosis strategies in combination, you may not necessarily a sexual relationship.

Regarding symptoms, it is essential that you can take some hydrogen peroxide or grapefruit seed extract with two cups of cider vinegar and Lactobacillus tablets.One imbalance that allows the bacteria in the book are pure herbal products and the recurrent episodes of swelling of the methods discussed below.* Do not let this happen to a fishy, smelling odor even with my own family members.For some women are turning to homeopathic remedies through natural products and the cycle of repeated attacks.The most common conditions and the odor right after the person cannot endure the annoying, painful, and embarrassing condition?

Eat as much yogurt as a form of medical clause.If you're in a pregnancy complication characterized by the untreated bacterial vaginal infection results when certain bacteria for whatever reason.Tea tree oil has potent antifungal properties that help to reinstate the equilibrium of the harmful bacteria multiply rapidly, for instance due to a hormonal imbalance in the male sexual organ, they can easily be treated by qualified health care professional for early diagnosis before pregnancy and hormonal changes during the nine months of pregnancy in order to kill off the bacteria balance in the vaginal discharge and inflammation during urination.However, these natural remedies for their answers.Pour two ounces of yogurt into a bowl before crushing it into vagina with it.

Aside from women to get checked over but the practical cures for bacterial vaginosis.Although this infection is fairly common disorder in women, the exact causes remain unknown, certain factors may increase the risk of developing some pregnancy complications like premature rupture of the infection once and for all, going for natural remedies of Bacterial Vaginosis is not completely sure do not carry any of the most common vaginal infection to occur again.It had opulent face creams, expensive scrubs, an oil body spray, a hand butter and a burning sensation of the smell.Bacterial vaginosis is to cut down the line if the bacteria that when these bacteria assumes a new partner can sometimes complicate things.The steps mentioned above will only make the pH balance is disturbed, probably due to the treatment of bacterial vaginosis can certainly have its uses.

Bacterial Vaginosis Discharge During Treatment

A little number of positive reviews from other women who take antibiotics will just prescribe conventional medications to tackle the problem annually.Pregnant women who treat BV at some point are pretty high.In addition, it will help reduce the growth of bad bacterial set up shop.This ailment directly affects the vagina and is mostly misinterpreted as vaginal yeast infection.You will most definitely is not one that reacts very well to a warm bath to add a few things that also dwell in a tampon soaked in yogurt,

It is a common infection to go to sleep at night.There are tons of different factors but the thing is that no woman have had success with this infection and half never know they even had intercourse.Limit your intake of antibiotics is another major BV symptom.But first, you have suffered the misery and indignity of bacterial vaginosis yogurt treatment makes use of IUD's, and in some cases, painful urination.If you are experiencing this problem can cause pain in the vagina caused by an overgrowth of bacteria, the real cause of this condition is present within the vagina carries healthy bacteria are eliminated.

[christinaengela]

Criticism. As writers, sooner or later we’re likely to encounter it. How we deal with it – either internally or externally – depends greatly on our personality, and also I suppose, on what sort of place we’re in at any particular moment.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

So someone posted a nasty remark on one of your social media book shares, or left a shitty 1 star review and a harshly-worded comment for you on Amazon. You stare at it, re-read it a second time just to try and absorb any sense or usefulness in the words as you fight a rising tide of red anger surging up from your chest area.

Why did they do that? Was the book really all that bad? Was there really something wrong with your writing? How could they be so mean – don’t they realize I pored my heart and soul into this? Is what they said in any way helpful or – no matter how remote – possibly true?

There is a huge difference between someone being helpful (or trying to be) to a writer. “Perhaps you should’ve made the story longer? It was great – just too short!” or “You misspelled ‘bureaucracy’ on page 11!” are examples of positive criticism. My mom always used to praise my writing talent, but frequently criticized my choice in genre – she didn’t enjoy sci-fi – she suggested I write in more contemporary, mundane settings… in genres like suspense, drama, action and adventure! I used to counter with “but I can do that in sci-fi too!”

That sort of criticism is helpful, positive and constructive in nature – and they can be discerned on the basis of their intentions to help the writer to grow or improve their writing, not to break them down for it, or even to cause them to stop writing altogether.

There are numerous and even perhaps unfathomable reasons for people to criticize a writer or their writing in writing – by leaving nasty remarks, bad reviews and even by sending them hate-mail – and on the unhelpful side, they include everything from simple jealousy to disagreement with the writer or their statements, and even disapproval of their subject and the way they address or present it often form part of the motivation for it.

In the following example, a reader downloaded a FREE eBook of mine – a short story called “Death By Vampire”. They left a poor review and a rant on Barnes & Noble.

“This book was only 19 pgs. Had potential. ***spoiler seemed to have a lot of unnecessary information. Also the description of the blood diamonds didn’t make any sense, they are named for their color but the color is green? Needs some editing.” 2 stars – Anonymous

I know this person didn’t actually READ the story, because inside it there was a whole paragraph that EXPLAINED how the aliens called the green stones ‘blood diamonds’ because they had GREEN blood – but it “needs some editing” because he didn’t understand it? All this guy did was expose his illiteracy!

As to length, it was a free short story, but he obviously missed that part too.  Yet that story now has a 2-star review and a snotty comment from someone who obviously has problems with comprehension – and a narcissistic mean streak.

What can I take home from this? Not much – just that some people are basically mean-spirited and will make me the scapegoat for their own failures… but then, being part of an oft-persecuted social grouping blamed for everything from stock-market crashes to natural disasters, that’s nothing new to me. Should I take it personally? I’d like to think not – after all, what real value does unfair criticism really have?

In a technical sense, is there anything I can change or improve on the item involved? Were the words or sentences not clear enough? Were they confusing? Was a thorough spelling and grammar check done during the editing process? I honestly can’t see how I can make the story – or the facts of the story – any clearer without resorting to formatting the eBook using neon lettering, or replacing them with pictures to cater for the illiterate ‘reader’.

Moving on, negative reviews left at book sellers can and do damage a writer’s reputation – and in the long-run, their income. Reviews and ratings affect sales and distribution after all, mainly because readers will be more inclined to look at a book that has a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings rather than a book that has one or many 1 or 2 stars. Let’s look at an example:

A few years ago I witnessed a writer falling under attack from his former small press, their writers – and everyone else they could rally to their cause. Lies and slander were spread broadly, and I personally witnessed calls being made for their cohort of cronies to ostracize him from the writing community and to even leave negative 1-star reviews on all his books! Other tactics and dirty tricks were employed against this poor undeserving writer, but this one is pertinent to my example. Suffice to say, that writer suffered a breakdown, has disappeared from social media – and hasn’t publishing anything since 2016. In that case it’s safe to say the bullies and haters won.

Any hostile criticism of our work as writers tends to have the potential to cause a writer to doubt themselves. Often that can also be one of the reasons why people leave nasty remarks – the writer or their work has (for whatever reason) offended them – and their intention might be to hurt them out of some feeling of vengeance or satisfaction. Some people, like the unfortunate author in my example are less resilient in the face of such attacks – while others, like me – well, I just don’t care for what the nasties say – anyway, I have more than enough fan-mail and great reviews to compensate. As far as I’m concerned, it’s water off a ducks back – and I’m a very oily duck.

Naturally, there are some things that spring to mind for every writer when faced with stinging and even personal criticism: are they right about me? Are they right about my work? After all, your writing might be utter crap laced with spelling and grammatical errors – and the story might make no sense, have plot holes big enough to drive a bus through, and your characterizations might be almost non-existent – right?

Are these critics giving you advice on how to improve your work? Is there anything of value in their ‘feedback’ you can learn from and use to produce a better story?

If the answer is no, and you’ve reason to believe they’re just being vindictive – such as making personal attacks and indulging in name-calling without giving any serious or pertinent pointers on how to improve your work, then their criticism is actually weaponized hatred intended to break you down! Let’s be honest – when someone criticizes your hard work, your ‘baby’, your pride and joy – it hurts a bit! Part of the answer – not the sum total of it – is of course to grow a thick skin.

In my particular case, I write in the science fiction and horror genres – as well as in non-fiction from time to time. While a lot of my fiction writing contains the usual sci-fi or horror elements, some of it also focuses on LGBT issues and presents these in a sympathetic and favorable light – which naturally draws ire and derogatory remarks from the prejudiced and bigoted who seemingly can’t resist leaving snotty comments on social media ads or shares of my work.

It’s not that my work is badly written or poorly presented – it’s that they despise the people I use as heroes and heroines in my stories and dare to explain and promote them in the face of their ignorance and hatred. I defy the established anti-LGBT stereotypes – and I flaunt it. It’s also that, once they do a little background check, they realize that I’m also part of that same group they’ve been programmed to despise! Add to that, once they confront me and I not only stand up to them, but also trounce them in a debate, that really makes them foam at the mouth!

How dare I? How dare I stand in the open, unashamedly writing about people they hate in a good positive way? How dare I not feel any guilt? How dare I even exist?

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In the below example, I held a free e-book giveaway contest in my Facebook author group in August 2016. I gave away a few books to contest winners. Soon after, the South African right wing ‘Christian’ (aka Levitican) community on Facebook went nuts about me promoting ‘demonic writings’, ‘homosexuality, sodomy and demon worship’! It was truly surreal!

The vast majority of the hate-mail I’ve gathered over the years – and remember the ones I’m showing you in this article are just since the advent of Facebook, from about 2016 or so – have been directed at me for sharing my books or writing or website!

Many of these people express negative ideas and emotions towards me because I’m transgender, a lesbian, an atheist – and because I’ve steadfastly refused to remain silent in the face of the overwhelming wave of hatred looming for numerous diverse minority groups in the world today. This provides one reason – albeit a big one – why most of my hostile critics and haters are what they are, or at least explains why they’re hostile toward me and to my writing.

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My advice when receiving this sort of hate-mail or harsh personal criticism is “take it from whom it comes” – which means, consider who the person is that’s criticizing you or your work, and what their real reasons are for doing so – and give it a value or rating. Is their opinion worth your time? Are they trying to be helpful – or are they simply being hurtful? Should you even take what they say seriously? Should you care? Most of the time I laugh at the voluntary idiocy, poor grammar and spelling in the hate-mail sent my way, and casually toss it in the pile.

I have a use for haters and hate-mail you see, and they’re too obtuse to even realize it.

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By far most of my critics and haters are religious extremist fanatics who engage in lunatic fringe politics and vent homophobic, transphobic and often racist language because they see me as more than just an enemy of their personal beliefs – but the personification thereof.

99% of the time, the people sending me hate-mail or criticizing me as a writer are attacking ME directly as an individual, not the worth or quality of my writing. I’ve also had the occasional odd-ball attack me using the fact that I’m self-published as though it means I’m somehow ‘illegitimate’ and not a ‘real author’, when all this does is reveal their ignorance about the publishing industry.

Here’s a clue, peeps – if self-publishing was in any way dishonest or dishonorable, I would have nothing to do with it. If was in any way, shape or form embarrassed or ashamed of self-publishing my work – or under the impression that it was in any way inferior to books by the big dogs, I wouldn’t be openly marketing myself or my writing as self-published!

It’s worth mentioning that within that same group of people who’ve sent me outright hate-mail, I’ve yet to encounter a single one who’s actually READ any of my books – they’re people who simply seized an opportunity to vent their hatred for me as a person because at that moment I represented the thing they hate.

In that light, this means that while my writing is good, even excellent, it is in their view ‘rubbish’ because what I write (or what I write about) contradicts their indoctrinated belief structure. To the folks who almost invariably misapply basic English words like “they’re/their/there” and “your/you’re”, I’m a ‘libral dirtbag’, a ‘libtard’, a ‘Christophobe’, a ‘commie queer’ and an ‘atheist fascist’ – and somehow inferior to them, not just because I’m part of the LGBT social group – but because I’m not afraid, acquiescent, silent or invisible.

I remind myself that these same characters tend to treat anyone more intelligent or in any way qualified, capable or talented than themselves – like scientists, doctors, artists – writers – and a variety of qualified professionals the exact same dismissive way – and I see them for what they are.

Over the last few decades of internet use, I’ve accumulated an archive of hateful remarks of all kinds, from people determined to convince me of the validity and value of their ignorance, to those who resort to childish mockery and blatant name-calling. (You can view it here if you like.)

I’ve always lived by the motto “if you piss off the right people, you’re doing something right”!

One fella wearing the crazy-pants ranted about how my children’s book on bullying, “Other Kids Are Kids Almost Just Like You” – aimed to teach children compassion for others – would ‘turn kids gay’ and that it was child abuse and I ought to be arrested!

So how do I handle hate-mail? Easy. I shrug it off, have a few good laughs – then save it, take screenshots of it – and use it as promotional material! In fact, I actually look forward to getting hate-mail these days!

After all, so many haters can’t be wrong, can they? 😉

I hope you’ve found this useful!

Take care and have a lovely day!

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.

If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.

Show your appreciation for Christina’s work!

All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2020.

How I Handle Hate-mail & Criticism As A Writer Criticism. As writers, sooner or later we're likely to encounter it. How we deal with it - either internally or externally - depends greatly on our personality, and also I suppose, on what sort of place we're in at any particular moment.

[cecillewhite]

Is Your RFP Response On Point? Tips for Learning Systems Vendors

You’ve been scanning inbound email messages for important updates when suddenly a new subject line catches your eye: “Request for Proposal: LMS for ABC Corporation.” A qualified business opportunity is knocking at your door!

You greet the news with a mix of excitement and dread. This is a moment your sales team should relish. But preparing RFP responses can be brutal – especially if you blow it with unforced errors.

Fortunately, the proposal process doesn’t have to bring you to your knees. Paying attention to simple details can give you a significant edge. I know, because I’ve been on both sides of the evaluation table.

What’s Wrong With This RFP Response?

Let’s briefly return to your business opportunity. You rally your team and spend many hours developing an RFP response. Then what?

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Boom. You’re unceremoniously bumped from the evaluation process. It’s not the first time. In fact, it’s happening more often lately.

You know your product is a contender and you deserve a shot at closing the deal. So why are you losing at the RFP stage?

If you’re persistent in seeking feedback from buyers, comments like these may sound familiar:

“You didn’t focus on our business. Your answers seem like boilerplate product copy.”

“We needed answers to all our requirements, but you skipped some items.”

“It looks like multiple people contributed, but no one coordinated your response.”

“Your statistics, graphics and supporting materials are out-of-date.”

“Your pricing model won’t let us compare apples-to-apples.”

“The deadline extension you requested pushed our evaluation schedule way off-track.”

“With so many spelling and grammar oversights, you didn’t seem very interested in us.”

“You didn’t follow our format, so we couldn’t score your proposal as highly as others.”

Having participated in more than 200 learning systems evaluations, I’ve seen some monster misses. I’ve also seen proposals die by a thousand tiny glitches. Believe me, those details add-up!

But vendors have more control over RFP outcomes than you may think. Let’s look at some basic factors…

9 Ways to Build a Winning RFP Response

Below are some of the most common issues I encounter, along with ideas to improve your odds of success:

1) Do you respond to every requirement?

Sounds obvious – but you’d be surprised how many vendors ignore requested input.

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Take time to respond to every item in an RFP, even if you think it’s unnecessary.

And before you send your response, ask someone else on your team to verify that every requirement has been addressed. I guarantee your thoroughness will be rewarded.

2) Do you insist on client discovery sessions?

Would you trust your car with a mechanic who says, “We’ll take it from here,” without any discussion? The repair shop may be able to diagnose and solve the problem independently. But why take that risk if it’s not necessary?

Blindly submitting an RFP response can be just as risky. Although the documentation may seem complete, some important context may be missing.

As a vendor, you can demonstrate leadership by seeking clarification. Even if no additional details surface, your discovery efforts will indicate genuine interest and a proactive approach to client communication.

3) Does your proposal draw outside cookie-cutter lines?

LMS buyers don’t evaluate software vendors on product features and functionality, alone. Factors like industry expertise, professionalism and culture fit also matter. So it’s wise to avoid one-size-fits-all proposal templates.

A response that isn’t customized looks half-hearted. And that could mean your solution won’t receive serious consideration, even if it’s a perfect match.

4) Do you offer a smart pricing strategy?

What kind of value do you place on your technology and services? Focus on two key pricing factors:

Avoid complexity

It’s important to be complete. But it’s even more important to keep it simple. Too many options (per user, per transaction, unlimited user pricing, and so on) can lead to inaccurate comparisons and misunderstandings.

To minimize confusion, gather intelligence about financial factors during the discovery process. Then recommend the best pricing structure for your client’s situation. If other options are available, note that you would be happy to discuss alternatives.

Don’t let implementation costs cause concern

I recently reviewed a global rollout proposal with license pricing of about $250,000, and a disproportionately low implementation cost of only about $35,000.

The vendor didn’t explain this pricing methodology until we requested additional information. Although we finally received clarification, uncertainty about implementation influenced scoring for other aspects of the RFP response.

5) Does your proposal have a consistent look-and-feel?

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I’ve seen more than a few proposals filled with patchwork quilt formatting – including wildly different font styles and sizes. First impressions are lasting. If your RFP response doesn’t look cohesive from start to finish, don’t expect a positive reaction.

Do you think I’m arbitrarily emphasizing style over substance? Remember that your proposal is like a calling card. For better or worse, it’s a reflection of your brand.

Cut-and-paste production methods may save time. But don’t forget to give your document a full end-to-end editorial sanity check before sharing it with decision-makers. (That includes one final update to the Table of Contents as your last production step!)

6) Are spelling and grammar tight?

Whoever said, “the devil is in the details” could have been looking at spelling and language usage in some RFP responses I’ve reviewed. Of course, Microsoft Word and other tools are a big help, but pay attention to the basics:

Make spell-checking your last move before submitting your proposal, so the final version is fully reviewed and corrected.

Configure spellchecker rules to support learning industry terminology:

Your default version of Microsoft Word may not review capitalized words (like SCROM vs SCORM). But you can change the settings to accommodate common acronyms.

Remove similar words from the dictionary to avoid misuse. For example, I deleted “leaning,” so I’ll see a flag when I enter that instead of “learning.”

As with the final formatting review, ask one of your team members to proofread the final version of your proposal before you submit it. A fresh set of eyes can spot small issues like punctuation errors, duplicate words, unanswered questions and missteps in logic.

7) Is your input timely?

Do you want to raise doubts about whether your technology and features are ahead-of-the-curve? It’s easy. Just attach an outdated reference document.

Recently, I crossed paths with a hosting FAQ attachment from 2015! Does that mean this vendor hasn’t touched any aspect of its hosting environment in nearly 5 years? No changes to LMS security measures, disaster recovery or technology infrastructure? Sounds unlikely. But because there was no way to verify, I eliminated the vendor from consideration.

To avoid a similar fate, update your materials at least once a year – ideally every 6 months. And don’t forget to change the document revision date.

8) Do you avoid “spin”?

What happens when an RFP specifies a feature that isn’t in your platform? To avoid saying “no,” do you rewrite the requirement so you can twist your reply into an affirmative answer?

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Whenever we see this kind of response, our BS meter snaps into action. Why would you mislead a prospect or change the subject – especially when an honest answer could add points to your score?

Instead of dodging the question, offer a workaround. Explain how other clients have solved the same issue. Or talk about how you responded with a product enhancement when another client faced a similar product gap.

9) Are you optimizing your score?

As you might expect, we score RFP responses to determine which vendors will move forward in the evaluation process. As a vendor, it’s your job to maximize that score. Start with these suggestions:

Understand how scores are calculated – What is the rating scale? Are certain features mandatory? If you don’t offer those capabilities, should you decline the opportunity? Weigh the pros-and-cons up front, be decisive and communicate openly.

Answer each question succinctly – Clients want clear answers about features. Begin each reply with a simple “yes”, “no” or “partial.” Then explain why your feature offers unique value or how clients benefit.

Remain mindful of deadlines – Delivering a proposal late or asking for an extension is a red flag for prospects who may wonder if their needs will overwhelm your organization. When I was responsible for proposals, I developed a schedule for each RFP team, to ensure that contributors knew their responsibilities and due dates.

Stand out from the crowd – The demo phase is your best opportunity to stand out, make your solution memorable and let your personality shine. However, your RFP can help in several ways:

Embed a video – Nearly every RFP response starts with a company overview. Why not set the tone with a custom video introduction from your CEO or another executive, thanking the prospect for considering your organization?

Insert screenshots – Images can make your story more compelling, especially in the technology section. Screenshots break the monotony of text-heavy narrative and easily add more meaning than words can express.

Inject other visual sizzle – Insert creative punch in other ways. For instance, use different colors to distinguish questions from answers, or embed company logos next to references.

Show your personality – Does your company culture encourage employee innovation or customer centricity? Incorporate this in your tone and other elements of your proposal. Prospects want to do business with people they like. If your organization seems approachable, you’ll build a stronger connection even before you’ve met in person.

Closing Notes

These RFP response ideas are inspired by real-world opportunities I’ve experienced as a vendor representative, and now as an LMS selection consultant. Most are easy to implement. However, because they’re overlooked by so many vendors, they can help you outshine the competition.

There are many more ways to improve your chances of being chosen as a finalist and ultimately landing new business. I’ll discuss some of those ideas more fully in future posts.

In the meantime, if you want detailed advice about how to increase your qualified opportunities or win rate, consider a formal RFP response analysis or other LMS vendor services from our team of experts. To discuss your specific needs, contact us!

  Need Guidance to Improve Your RFP Response Quality and Results?

Our analysts are here to help! Submit the form below to schedule a free preliminary consultation at your convenience.

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[rosiep66]

"THE GREAT GATSBY" (2013) Review

"THE GREAT GATSBY" (2013) Review Before the release of Baz Luhrmann's 2013 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, "The Great Gatsby", there have been three previous movie adaptations and a television movie version. None of these versions have been well received by the critics. Even this latest adaptation has been receiving mixed reviews. I must admit that I had been reluctant to see the movie, myself. But dazzled by the movie's MTV-style trailer, I decided to see it for the sake of the visual effects. Many who have read Fitzgerald's novel or seen any of the previous adaptations, know the story. "THE GREAT GATSBY" told the story of a mysterious young millionaire named Jay Gatsby who settles in a large house in the fictional town of West Egg (for the noveau riche), on prosperous Long Island, during the summer of 1922 - the early years of the Jazz Age. Narrated by Gatsby's neighbor; the well-born, yet impoverished Nick Carraway; audiences become aware of the millionaire's desire to woo and win back the heart of Daisy Fay Buchanan, an old love he had first met during World War I and Nick's cousin. Unfortunately for Gatsby, Daisy is married to one of Nick's former Yale classmates, Tom Buchanan, who comes from old Chicago money. Tom is engaged in an extramarital affair with one Myrtle Wilson, who is the wife of a gas station owner located in the Valley of Ashes - a stretch of road between Long Island and Manhattan. Gatsby invites Nick to one of his nightly lavish parties, given to impress Daisy, who lives across Oyster Bay at East Egg, a neighborhood for those from old money. Nick learns from Jordan Baker, an old Louisville friend of Daisy's, that Gatsby would like him to arrange a meeting with his former love over afternoon tea. The two former lovers reunite on a rainy afternoon and re-ignite their love affair that eventually ends in tragedy. If critics were hoping that Baz Luhrmann would produce and direct a flawless or near flawless adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel, they were bound to be disappointed. "THE GREAT GATSBY" is not flawless. There were times when I found the movie a bit too melodramatic - especially during the party sequences. And I never saw the need to open the film with Nick Carraway being treated for alcoholism in a sanatorium. Luhrmann and the movie's other screenwriter, Craig Pearce, apparently included the sanatorium additions to transform Nick's character into some F. Scott Fitzgerald clone. The movie even ended with Nick's written recollections being given the title of Fitzgerald's novel. Frankly, I found this dumb and unnecessary. I also found the party sequence held by Tom and his married lover Myrtle Wilson at a New York apartment rather frantic. I realize that Nick became drunk at this party. But this scene proved to be one in which Luhrmann's colorful style nearly got the best of him. I suspect that many expect me to complain about some of the music featured in "THE GREAT GATSBY" - namely the director's use of hip hop music. However . . . I have no complaints about Luhrmann using modern day music in a film set in 1922. For some reason I cannot explain, I believe Luhrmann and composer Craig Armstrong did a pretty bang-up job in blending their occasional use of modern-day music with some of the movie's scenes. There were also complaints that Catherine Martin's costumes were not a complete accurate projection of 1920s fashion. I did notice that although the movie was set in 1922, the clothes seemed to be a reflection of the mid or late period of that decade. Then I saw images like the following:

Or images like the following for the male characters:

I had wept with exultation and joy at my first sight of Martin's costumes. Her costumes for this film are some of the most gorgeous I have seen in a period drama in quite a while. Absolutely . . . bloody . . . gorgeous. The moment I set eyes on those costumes, I realized that I could not care less whether her work was an accurate reflection of 1922 fashion or not. Martin also served as the movie's production designer. If there was any justice, this would earn double Academy Award nominations for both her costumes and the movie's production designs. Baz Luhrmann filmed "THE GREAT GATSBY" in Australia, which means that he and his crew had to re-create 1922 Long Island and Manhattan from scratch. Martin was basically responsible for the movie's early Art Deco look - especially for scenes set in Gatsby's East Egg manor, his Manhattan speakeasy, the Manhattan restaurant where Nick and Jordan met, the Buchanans' East Egg home and especially the bleak-looking Valley of Ashes, the location of George Wilson's garage and the infamous Dr. T. J. Eckleburg billboard. Needless to say, I was more than impressed. I was dazzled. I have been so busy discussing the movie's technical aspects that I failed to say anything about Luhrmann and Pearce's adaptation of Fitzgerald's film. I have already expressed my displeasure at their attempt to transform Nick Carraway into some kind of Fitzgerald clone at the movie's beginning and end. But aside from this faux paus, I feel that the two did a pretty damn good job. Were they completely faithful to the novel? No. Did this spell disaster? For some moviegoers and fans of Fitzgerald's novel, it did. But I do not share their feelings. I do not demand that a movie or television production re-create a novel or play in exact details. That road leads to insanity and sometimes, disaster. Aside from what was done to Nick's character at the beginning and end, the movie featured a few other changes. In this movie, a grieving George Wilson learned from Tom Buchanan that Jay Gatsby owned the yellow car that killed Myrtle at the former's gas station. Unless I am mistaken, Tom had conveyed this news to George, when the latter paid a visit to his East Egg mansion in the novel. The movie featured flashbacks of Gatsby's life in North Dakota and his years spent with a millionaire named Dan Cody. But Gatsby's father did not make an appearance near the end of the movie (for which I am utterly grateful). Did these changes bother me? Nope, they did not. I was too busy admiring the energy that Luhrmann injected into Fitzgerald's tale. This was especially apparent in the pivotal scene featuring Gatsby and Tom's showdown over Daisy's affections in a Plaza Hotel suite. The scene crackled with emotions and an energy that seemed to be either lacking or at best, muted, in other adaptations. More importantly, Luhrmann and Pearce's screenplay finally lifted a fog and allowed me to fully understand and appreciate Fitzgerald's tale for the first time. I am afraid that the previous two adaptations (1974 and 2000) had bored me to the point that the emotions and theme behind the story had failed to elude me in the past. And that is the best part of Luhrmann's adaptation. For the first time, I finally understood the pathetic nature of the Jay Gatsby/Daisy Buchanan love story. And I am being complimentary. A movie review would not be complete with a discussion on the performances. Leonardo DiCaprio became the fifth actor to portray Jay Gatsby aka James Gatz. And as usual, he was magnificent. In fact, I believe his Gatsby was the best I have ever seen on screen. He managed to maintain the character's mystery in the movie's first half without eliminating any of the character's strong emotions. Despite the attempt to transform Nick Carraway into a Fitzgerald clone, I had no problems with Tobey Maguire's portrayal of the character. In fact, he did an excellent job of conveying both Nick's observant nature and emotional attachment to Gatsby, while injecting a bit of warm humor and slight goofiness in the role. I realize that Maguire and DiCaprio had been friends for over two decades. I suspect that friendship made it easy for the pair to convey the growing friendship between Nick and Gatsby. Carey Mulligan gave an exquisite performance as the quixotic Daisy Buchanan. Mulligan made it easy for viewers to understand how Gatsby fell so hard for her. She perfectly conveyed Daisy's superficial idealism and warmth. But Mulligan also skillfully allowed Daisy's more unpleasant side - her selfishness, mild snobbery and lack of courage - to ooze between the cracks in the character's facade. Joel Edgerton really impressed me in his portrayal of the brutish Tom Buchanan. In the actor's first scene, I felt as if he was laying it a bit thick in conveying the character's unpleasant nature. But Edgerton quickly grew into the role and portrayed Tom's brutality with more subtlety. He also did a great job in portraying the character's surprising talent for manipulation and genuine feelings for the doomed Myrtle. For the role of Daisy's Louisville friend and golfer Jordan Baker, Luhrmann chose Australian-born stage-trained actress named Elizabeth Debicki for the role. And she did a pretty damn good job. In fact, I thought Debicki did a solid job of conveying Jordan's fast-living and cynical personality with great skill. Isla Fisher knocked it out of the ballpark as the fun-loving Myrtle Fisher. Not only did she gave a first-rate portrayal of Myrtle's garishness and warmth, but also the character's grasping ambition and desperation to escape from her stagnant and dull marriage to gas station owner George. Myrtle is not highly regarded by many Fitzgerald fans. But Fisher made it easy for me to feel some sparks of pity toward the latter's situation regarding her marriage to George. Speaking of the latter, "THE GREAT GATSBY" marked the third period drama in which I have seen Jason Clarke. His role as the pathetic George Wilson is a bit smaller, but Clarke made the best of it, especially in two scenes. One scene featured Clarke perfectly conveying George's clumsy attempt to toady Tom for a business transaction regarding the latter's car. And in another, he did a beautiful job in portraying George's pathetic grief over a woman who had stopped loving him a long time ago. This movie also marked a reunion for Clarke and Edgerton. Both had appeared in "ZERO DARK THIRTY". I also want to point out Amitabh Bachchan's much talked about portrayal of Gatsby's gambling friend, Meyer Wolfshiem - a fictionalized take on gambler/gangster Arnold Rothstein. No only did the actor looked unusual, he gave a lively, yet brief performance that I found quite captivating. And Jack Thompson gave a quiet (almost speechless) and subtle performance as Nick's psychiatrist Dr. Walter Perkins. STAR WARS fans should take note that eleven years ago, Thompson portrayed Cliegg Lars - father to Edgerton's Owen Lars - in "STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES". I am the last person who will ever claim that this latest version of "THE GREAT GATSBY" is perfect. Trust me, it is not. But it is a very entertaining film that I believe captured the emotions and theme behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel better than any previous adaptation. More importantly, director Baz Luhrmann injected style and energy not only into the story itself, but also its visual look and the first-rate performances from a cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. I would have no qualms about watching this movie over and over again.