#and I rewatched Shazam recently

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt

Jason’s return to Gotham as the crime lord Red Hood is significantly hampered when he saves two kids from being trafficked and suddenly finds himself nagging the two to eat their vegetables and do homework on time and, dear lord, your names are Freeman and… Batson? Yeah that’s it, Jason is not waiting this one out until they’re both suddenly dressed in traffic light colors and swinging around the city with an overgrown furry.

Freddy and Billy are a bit confused by the flash adoption via menacing Gotham guy, but it certainly helps that he’s not threatening to send them into the system and that he cooks them meals every day . And also “Billy, I think he might be the new vigilante! That is so cool!” “… do you mean the new crime lord?” “Same thing! Isn’t the helmet awesome!?”

Batman and Robin are… not sure what to make of the new crime lord that, on one hand, keeps antagonizing them to no end, and on the other hand was recently spotted at a meeting with his lieutenants where two masked kids burst into the room to scream about the kitchen being on fire and pointing at each other yelling “It’s all his fault!”

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 3, The Girls Practice for the Challenge Mission

My dear friends who anxiously await my Produce 48 Recap Things! I forgot to post this -- sorry! This is the post that is supposed to go after this post but before this post. Sigh. I'll fix it sooner or later. So yeah, this post describes most of the second half of episode 3, where the girls begin practicing for their challenge mission.

So, this is the part of the episode where we see each group as it begins to assign parts and stuff like that.

Because MNET is *the worst* the girls clearly don’t have any translators working with them, so they can barely talk to each other if they don’t have a bilingual girl on their team. Great. Thanks, MNET Producers. Thmrucers.

PEEKABOO TEAMS 

The song:

Peekaboo came out in November of 2017, so it was the most recently released song among the eight at the time of filming. It peeked at #2 in the Kpop Hot 100 and was a critical darling. It’s also, in my opinion, just a great fucking song. I still remember being at Cafe Bene in K-town having some coffee when I first heard this song. I had to shazam it to find out what it was, and was surprised that it was Red Velvet. I had heard of Red Velvet, but as a fan of f(x), I had felt weird about getting into them. Seems dumb now! Anyway, this song was too good to deny and after that I was full on Reve-luv. The song is little bit trop house, a little bit pop, and 100% melodic, and the lyrics -- which compare love to a game played by children -- are fun and intriguing. The concept, too, was a lot of fun -- kind of mysterious, almost horror, but playful at the same time. Not totally sexy, but a little sexy; not totally cute, but a little cute; not girl crush, but the kind of girls you get a crush on. And catchy as all get out. It’s a great song to choose in the sense that it’s a great song, but it would be tricky to perform well, because the concept is so nebulous and mature. I mean, who else but Irene can make the word “Peekaboo” sound so elegant and cryptic? 

Team 2:

At 57:07, we have a super quick visit with Peekaboo 2.

Left to right: Yujeong, Yeji, Yubin, Yuuka, Miu, and Dahye

Hong Yeji, 16, one of the CNC girls, the one who fell down in her video evaluation and then fell from B to F, is ranked 76thth.

Kato Yuuka, 20, who auditioned with Funny People and rose from C to B, is ranked 73rd.

Kim Da Hye, who auditioned with I Don't Like Your Girlfriend and fell from A to C, is ranked 89th.

Kim Yu Bin, 16, one of the CNC girls, fell from B to D and is currently ranked a very low 93rd. OUCH.

Lee Yu Jeong, 14, future Lightsum member and C-class mainstay, is ranked 48th.

Shitao Miu, 17, who wore the hat on her waistband in her Mister audition, stayed in D and is ranked 45

Kim Yubin was the chooser, so it makes sense she would have chosen Yeji, her labelmate. Yubin has somehow been made both leader and center, and the team seems focused on what their team name should be. You guys, I never remember the names that they come up with for these teams. I don’t remember the names of most performance teams I’ve actually been on! I’m not sure they matter. They begin to rehearse, and we find out that Kim Da Hye is actually half Korean and half Japanese and speaks both languages fluently. What a VIP! The whole team is grateful to her. 

It’s weird, but this is all we see of this team! Slightly less than a minute. I’m sure the fact that this group has the lowest average ranking of all 16 groups (70.6, when the other groups range from 16.8 to 63.6) has no connection to their lack of screen time, right? It’s just a coincidence. 

Left to right: Jurina, Gyuri, AleXa, Gaeun, Yiren, Eunyeong

Peekaboo 1 (58:00):

Then we hop over to  Peekaboo 1. Jurina was the captain/chooser for the group, and they got their choice of song. The group was formed fifth, which means that Jurina had a decent talent pool to choose from. 

The members:

Bae Eunyeong, the mint Chewing Gum girl, who landed in B and was most recently ranked 30th

Jang Gyuri, the pink Chewing Gum girl and Fromis9 member, who landed in F and was most recently ranked 14th

Lee Gaeun, our Pledis queen, who was always an A+ girl and was most recently ranked 1st place

Matsui Jurina, queen Jurina, who stayed in B and was most recently ranked 12th

Wang Yiren, future Everglow visual, who landed in C and was most recently ranked 7th 

AleXa, who landed in C and was most recently ranked 86th place (ouch!)

Fun side note: Peekaboo was written by Swedish DJ/songwriter Cazzi Opeia, who later on wrote a bunch of songs for AleXa, including Back in Vogue! 

The group dynamic:

This group has a bit more language challenge than some, because AleXa is American, Yiren is Chinese, Jurina is Japanese, and the other three are Korean. Yiren speaks some Korean, and a few girls speak Japanese, but there are certainly layers of difficulty. 

It’s kind of interesting that Jurina chose AleXa -- they probably met when they were both in group B -- and also kind of interesting that she didn’t choose any Japanese trainees. I’m not sure what to make of that. Jurina also would have met Jang Gyuri and Wang Yiren in B group, so maybe she just mostly picked friends. Well, some Very Pretty friends! 

Eunyeong and Gyuri are labelmates and went through Idol School together before they came on this show. But there is definitely some tension between them, which might have something to do with the fact that Gyuri won Idol School and still came on this show.

The storyline:

First, Eunyeong volunteers to be leader since she already knows the choreo to Peekaboo. It doesn’t hurt that she also speaks Japanese. Then they start talking about who should be center -- The Inevitable Center Discussion, henceforth known as the ICD --  and Gaeun says that although all of the girls are suitable, she thinks that the center should be either Yiren or Gyuri. To me that seems like a good idea, as they are both “the prettiest ones” (per Korean standards). After a quick conversation, the group is starting to settle on the very highly ranked and popular Gyuri, but Eunyeoung interrupts and says that they should have both Yiren and Gyuri “audition” to be center. 

LTR: Jurina, Gyuri, AleXa, Gaeun, Yiren, Eunyeoung

They both do well, but Gyuri giggles a little at the end and I think that loses it. After seeing each of them try the ending pose, the team votes for Yiren. Yiren is overjoyed, and Gyuri does her best to accept it, but man, that had to hurt, having a labelmate do that. You really have to wonder what is going on between Gyuri and Eunyoung. Was there actual animosity, or were they such good friends that Eunyoung went overboard in being “fair”? 

Look, if I ran things, I’d have put Gauen in the center, because I think she might be the only one on the team who can do the Irene-esque mysterious gravitas. But failing that, I'd choose Gyuri, because (a) the popularity issue and (b) Yiren doesn’t sparkle in more girl-crush concepts. I know that’s what she does now in Everglow, and um, yeah. I said what I said. 

Lingering question: Did the team make the right choice putting Yiren in the center instead of Gyuri? Will getting 4x the screen time give these girls an advantage in the at-home vote, rendering the issue of the performance win kind of moot either way?

LIKE OOH AHH

The song:

Ok, I can’t help but love this song. It’s among my favorite Twice songs, actually. The lyrics should bother me -- bragging about how pretty they are and all that -- but am I bovvered? I also love the choreo -- it’s not particularly difficult, but it’s cute and varied, with fun little details like the air flute and the little choo-choo-train.  No surprise this song is great -- it was written and produced by Black Eyed Pilseung, a production duo that is also behind a ton of huge Kpop hits, including Twice songs "TT", "Likey", and  "Fancy"; Apink's "I'm So Sick" and "Eung Eung (%)"; Got7’s “If You Do,” ; Chung-ha’s “Roller Coaster” and “Gotta Go,”; StayC’s “ASAP” “Run 2 U” and “Beautiful Monster,” and Itzy’s “Cake,” which I really like so fight me I guess. Also “Beep Beep” by Ruann, which if you don’t know, you should check out. 

Like Ooh Ah was Twice’s debut, and it had a bit of a slow burn, entering the charts at 22 and hanging out for a while before eventually hitting 10th place. It has since, of course, grown into an enduring and well loved hit, with almost 500 million views on Youtube. 

This group will be performing the song in Japanese, but I still think that this was a smart choice for a song. The choreo is cute but not outrageously difficult. The tune isn’t too hard either. It would be completely familiar to the audience, and given Twice’s popularity, it’s hard to imagine many viewers who actually dislike it. And since the concept of the song was that the individual members were all dressed a little bit differently from one another, group coherence would be a lot less important here than it would be in other songs. 

Like Ooh Ahh 1 (1:02:00)

LTR: Moe, Soyeon, Doah, Chaewon, Riina, and Haeyoon

The next group we visit is Like Ooh Ah 1. The captain was Soyeon, and my best guess based on the evidence is that, as improbable as it sounds, this group was formed 9th or 10th. It’s a pretty stacked team, though. They got their choice of song -- in fact, from what we could see in the editing, this was their first choice. 

The members:

Goto Moe, the laryngitis girl, who moved from F to C and was most recently ranked 8th.

Hwang Soyeon, the flat tummied “little Sunmi” who stayed in A and was ranked 46th. 

Kim Chaewon, future Le Sserafim, who stayed in B class and was ranked 21st.

Kim Doah, future member of Fanatics and visitor to GP999, who moved from A to C and was ranked 25th. 

Lee Seunghyeon, aka H1-Key’s Riina, who moved from B to C and was ranked 60th.

Park Haeyoon, my new Cherry Bullet bias, who moved from A down to D and was ranked 35th. 

The group dynamic:

Soyeon was the captain and group chooser, and she chose two former A-group members, whose skills she would have been familiar with.  It’s possible that she’d been talking to her labelmate Damin, who was in group B, and would have met Chaewon and Riina and known what they were capable of. And Moe has a compelling story that would make her stand out among the Japanese trainees. So really, I think Soyeon did a great job choosing this team. 

Looks like they have chosen Haeyoon, the oldest in the group and a Japanese speaker, to be the leader. 

The storyline:

Of course, they dive immediately into the ICD. Riina and Moe are the only two who raise their hands as wanting to be in the center, and they each audition. Riina’s energy wins her the part. 

They dive into choreo, and Moe hits a bit of a wall with the classic “ooh-ah, ooh-ah” butt wiggle. Haeyoon kindly talks Moe through it. It's a cute scene -- I just don't have much to say about it.

Lingering questions: Is Riina the correct center? Will Moe be able to wiggle her butt? 

Like Ooh Ahh 2 (1:05:03)

LTR: Park Seo Young, Naiki Kokoro, Park Jinny, Cho Kahyeon, Choi Yeon Soo

Next, we visit Like Ooh Ahh 2. The captain and chooser was Naiki Kokoro, and was probably formed 10th, 11th, or 12th, something in there. 

The members: 

Park Seo Young, age 19, the blonde who sat in Chair 1, fell from C to D and was ranked 26th at this point.

Naiki Kokoro, age 20, auditioned with Funny People, rose from D to C, and was ranked 82nd.

Park Jinny, age 20,  is the other “individual trainee” who auditioned with Seoyoung. She fell from C to F and was ranked 49th.

Cho Kahyeon, age 14,  is the Starship girl who isn’t Wonyoung or Yujin. She held steady in B and was ranked 36th. 

Lee Ha Eun, age 13,  is the “mini Chung-ha” girl who held steady in A, and was ranked 58th.

Choi Yeonsoo, age 19,  is one of the YGK+ models, the one who fell from D to F, and was ranked 52nd.

The group dynamic:

There’s only one Japanese speaker here, the captain Kokoro. Looks like she picked Park Jinny first, then Cho Kahyeon, then Haeun, then Yeonsoo, and Seoyoung last. I really can’t figure out her plan. She may have gotten friendly with Yeonsoo when they were in D together, but her reasons for picking the others aren’t obvious to me. 

The storyline:

Turns out that this group thought that Seoyoung should be both leader and center, so they sidestepped the ICD. They’re trying to start to learn the choreography, but they’re in a huge room with a ton of other other people, no dedicated soundsystem, and no mirror, so it’s hard. It’s just the first few minutes of their rehearsal -- you can see that in the background, the other Like Ooh Ah team is still distributing the parts -- so it really doesn’t matter if they can’t get it on the first try. But even so, the scary background music lets us know that THEY ARE HAVING A PROBLEM. 

Model Choi Yeon Soo interviews, “Haeun was in Class A.  And nobody else in the group is in A. She was put in that group because she’s talented. So it almost felt like Haeun was the real leader…. Both of them were subconsciously competing. They gave different commands. Meanwhile, I just stood off from the side. It’s stressing me out, to be honest.” 

It’s awkward because Haeun is the youngest and the tiniest, but she’s also obviously the best. And Seoyoung seems to be losing more and more confidence by the minute. It’s not usually a great thing when someone is topping from the bottom. I get it, though. I am one of those people who can’t take it when the person who is supposed to be leading just isn’t doing it right. I try so hard to bite my tongue and hang back but… sooner or later, if the shit has to get done, then… I do it. 

Lingering question: Will they ever be able to have a smooth practice without stressing out Yeonsoo?

BOOMBAYAH

The song: I’m going to go ahead and assume you know this song, so I don’t need to tell you that it was one of Blackpink’s two debut songs and all that. It’s not my favorite Blackpink song of all time -- that’s Whistle, if you’re wondering-- but of course I like this one too. It’s hard to imagine a world where I had never heard of Blackpink at this point, but that time once existed. I remember hearing Boombayah playing in another room (I had left a playlist of new songs playing) and hearing it and wondering, who is that? Weird, right? Anyway, despite this song not really being about anything, it’s a pretty great song, with really hard choreo and a lot of fast rapping, and it’s going to be difficult for whatever team tries to do it. It’s got super low notes in the chorus (it’s hard to sing lower notes when you’re dancing), it requires a ton of swag, a lot of it is intentionally not synchronized, I mean, this is hard. 

Hell, it’s too hard for Blackpink these days. Yep, I said what I said. 

Boombayah 1 (1:06:51)

Left to right: Won Soyeon, Ko Yujin, Lee Chaejeong, Park Changju, Kim Sohee

We visit first with Boombayah team 1. Lee Chaejeong was the chooser, and the group was formed 9th or later. 

Won Seoyeon, age 18, who auditioned to Heroine by Sunmi, fell from C to F and was ranked 77th at this point. 

Ko Yujin, age 17, the “Hyuna lookalike” who auditioned with Lip and Hip and rose from C to A. She was ranked 34th.

Lee Chaejeong, age 18, future member of Alice, stayed in C and was ranked 94th at this point. Ouch!!

Park Chanju, age 19, label mate of Chaejeong’s, fell from C to D and was ranked 69th. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kim Sohee, age 14, future member of Rocket Punch, rose from C to B and was ranked 44th.

The group dynamic: Chaejeong probably picked Chanju because they’re label mates, and also, all five of them were together in C class initially, and they probably became friendly then. I think it’s smart to pick people who all get along with each other, since often the team that gets along better is the one that ends up winning. 

You may have noticed that there were only five of them, not six -- that’s due to the Japanese girls who dropped out. I scoured the footage and couldn’t find any shots in which there were six of them at any point. I can’t figure out why a team would volunteer to have only five members, but I can’t find any info to shed any light on this, so we’ll have to just sort of accept that something happened behind the scenes here. 

The storyline: 

To the strains of the Knight Rider theme song (possibly the best tv theme song of all time), we find out that Chaejeong picked the group with Boombayah in mind. Guess it’s a good thing that they got it! She thought Yujin would suit the song, that Chanju would learn it quickly, and that she needed Soyeon to sing. She added Sohee on purpose to provide cuteness. Naturally, given that she had a whole plan in mind, the team elects her leader immediately. 

Lingering question: 

Everything’s going so perfectly... Is it maybe too perfect? 

Boombayah 2 (1:08:47)

LTR: Asai Nanami, Asai Yuka ?, Kang Hyewon, Han Chowon, Sato Manami, and Chiba Erii

Then we visit with the miserable leftovers team, forced to do Boombayah as well. Weirdly enough, despite being the leftovers team, they have a higher average ranking than Boombayah 1 -- 57.3 compared to 63.6. They’re also more popular than Love Whisper 2 or Mamma Mia 2. And everyone is more popular than Peekaboo 2. So yeah, while the leftovers team might lack skills, they don't lack popularity, exactly.

The members:

Asai Nanami, age 18, aka Sailor Venus, who rose from F to D and was ranked 41st.

Asai Yuuka, age 14, who auditioned with Knock Knock, rose from F to D and was ranked 80th. 

Kang Hyewon, age 18, Miss Purity herself, consistent F class girl ranked 40th. 

Han Chowon, age 15, future Lightsum member who rose from D to B, ranked 79th. 

Chiba Erii, age 14, aka Sailor Mercury, consistent F class girl ranked 38th.

Sato Minami, age 14, aka Sailor Mars, fell from D to F and was ranked 66th.

The group dynamic:

Poor leftovers group. It’s interesting that all three members of the Blow Him a Kiss group ended up here -- all three sailor scouts. It seems clear how most of these girls ended up in the leftovers team; they were all F or D class, and most of them were on the younger side. I can only guess that Chowon was left behind primarily because she doesn’t fit Korean beauty standards, with her darker skin, stronger features, and larger body. She’s beautiful, of course, but the standards are so narrow and so specific… sigh. Lookism is such a thing in Kpop but it's still gross and I hate it. 

The storyline:

The girls are mostly pretty hopeless. This was the song that they had most wanted to avoid. Yuuka interviews, “I knew that there was no use in crying, but the tears just wouldn’t stop.”

But luckily for them, and for all posterity, they had Chowon. 

This 15 year old girl steps up to be both leader and center (and ultimately, main vocal) of this group, this group comprising one (1) perpetually bewildered Korean girl and four (4) terrified Japanese girls who she has trouble communicating with. The girls are scared to even sing for each other, and when Chowon brings up rapping, they say, “we’re even worse at rapping.” WHY ARE YOU ON THIS SHOW, THEN? Hyewon mumbles in a voice over, “I, um, was, um, gra..ateful or something? But, also um, sorry also? Too?”  After all, she wants to embody purity and innocence, which clashes with this song.

Chowon is like, “SOMEONE HAS TO RAP, YOU GUYS, BECAUSE THIS SONG CONTAINS RAP PARTS, HOW MUCH MORE SIMPLE CAN I MAKE THIS, THERE IS NO ONE ELSE WHO WILL STEP UP, SO IT HAS TO BE ONE OF US, HOLY SHIT” and Hyewon, bless her heart, volunteers to be main rapper. I’ll hand it to the girl -- at least she isn’t just sort of “avoid the teacher’s gaze”-ing her way through all this. She's doing the damn thing. Good for you, Hyewon.

She interviews that her parents had teased her that she might end up having to rap, adding, “that’s why you shouldn’t make jokes like that -- they might come true.” 

Lingering question: What will become of Boombayah team 2? Truly, what will become of us all? 

MAMMA MIA

The song:

I don’t remember a lot about my first watch through of Produce 48, as I’ve said, but I do remember that I discovered the song Mamma Mia through it, and I’ve liked it ever since. It’s just one of those classic kpop songs where it sounds sort of retro but from no specific time, so it could kind of be from any time. If you don’t really know it, definitely give it a shot. It’s catchy AF. Hit the lights let’s GO! 

The song was produced by Duble Sidekick, who also produced Mr. Chu by A*pink, Pepe by CLC (underrated bop), You’re the Best by Mamamoo, Give It To Me by Sistar, and Thumbs Up by Momoland. Kara had debuted in 2007, so they were a well known senior group by 2014, when Mamma Mia was released. At the time of filming, the song would have been almost four years old, making it the oldest of the eight songs selected, but it was a pretty huge hit in 2014 and would probably have still been familiar to most of the audience at the time. 

Mamma Mia isn’t known for it’s extremely difficult choreography -- it’s more about being confident and sexy. But the vocals might be a bit challenging, with a lot of high notes. Also, I should mention that for Produce48, they’ll be performing the song in Japanese. 

Mamma Mia Group 1 (1:12:04)

LTR: Park Minji, Kim Hyunah, Chiyori, Park Ji Eun, Murase Sae 

We first visit with Mamma Mia, group 1. This one was formed 9th or later. 

The members:

Kim Hyunah, age 23, who I call husky voiced Hyunah, from B class, ranked a sad 72. 😣

Murase Sae, 21, who auditioned with Funny People, rose from D to C and is currently ranked 43. 

Nakanishi Chiyori, 23,  who auditioned with What's Your Name?, rose from D to C, and is ranked 37. 

Park Jieun, 20,  future ex-Purple Kiss, who fell from C to F and was ranked 70th. 

Park Minji, age 19, PD101 trainee and future Secret Number member, from B class, ranked 56. 

The storyline:

We learn that Chiyori is apparently a master of hilarious facial expressions and that at the auditions she even did quick impressions of several of the judges.  It’s nice to get a peek into her funny personality. From now on I’ll call her “wacky Chiyori.” That’s about all we get, but it’s actually a fun segment. We also learn that Hyunah is chosen as center.

Lingering questions: Will Kim Hyunah make a good center?

Mamma Mia 2 (1:14:23)

LTR: Ayana, Miho, Bibian, Suhyun, Soeun, Sarang 

Then we visit with the other Mamma Mia team.

The members:

Cho Sarang, 14, who sang Tomorrow at the audition, fell from B to F (ouch!) and is currently ranked 90th (ouch again!). She has an eyepatch on, and I did some digging but didn’t find out why. 

Choi Soeun, 16, who did Question Mark at the audition, fell from B to C and is currently ranked 92 (oh no!)

Miyazaki Miho, 24, our multilingual queen, who has stayed in D and is currently ranked 16th place

Murakawa Bibian, 18 but looks like a baby doll, firmly stationed in F class and ranked 31st

Shin Suhyun, 22, the show’s favorite punching bag, who fell from D to F and is ranked 57th 

Shinozaki Ayana, 22, one of the What's Your Name? group, with the beauty mark under her lip, firmly stationed in F class and ranked 87th

The group dynamic:

Bibian was the chooser for this group, and it was formed 9th or later. My best guess is that she picked people she knew or was friendly with, which at some point is just as good a reason to pick someone as any. 

The storyline:

We find out that Mamma Mia was on their “black list” -- a song they didn’t want to do since they didn’t know it. Sarang especially doesn’t know it -- well, sure, she would have been 9 or 10 when it came out. So they weren’t thrilled to get chosen to face off against Chiyori’s team and do this song. 

At the song chosing ceremony, as Miho's team walks over to stand next to Chiyori's team, Chiyori apologizes to her senpai/sunbae Miho, and host Lee Seungki asks, “Any words of warning to her as her sunbae?” 

And Miho replies, with (mock?) seriousness: “All I have is confidence! I definitely don’t want to lose against them!” 

Miho and Chiyori are both on AKB48, and they are 24 and 23 years old respectively, so they have probably known each other for a really long time. It makes sense that they would have a friendly rivalry. 

The team makes Miho the leader -- she’s the oldest in the group and apparently bilingual, so she’s ideal. I don’t know, gang, I just really like Miho! She just seems cool as shit.

We don’t see the choosing or any of the ICD, but Choi Soeun has been made center. 

We hear Sarang singing a little bit of the song, and she sounds great. She’s an obvious choice for main vocal. 

We glance back over at Mamma Mia team 1, where Park Minji is listening to Sarang’s singing a bit nervously. “Sarang-chingu is their main vocal,” Minji interviews, “and she hits the high notes well. I’m a bit conscious of her. In season 1, I got sent home when I was the main vocalist.” 

We get a flashback to PD101 Season 1, when Minji performed a different song by Kara -- Break It, another bop -- and fucking smashed it. Here’s a link -- she’s the one in the gray shirt that says “Babe”. Like, no question, she was amazing. Proof that these shows are dumb. Sigh. 

Lingering question: Which main vocalist will reign supreme?

LOVE WHISPER

The song:

This is one of those songs that if I’m not actually listening to it, I can’t remember how it goes. And when I am actually listening to it, I don’t know which Gfriend song it is in specific -- I just know it’s one of their earlier songs that all blend together. Is this Rough? Glass Bead? Me Gustas Tu? I don’t know. I don’t hate cute songs -- I love Secret Garden by OMG, for example -- but most classic Gfriend songs do nothing for me. (Exception: Navillera, which is a Never-skip for me. What can I say? It’s a bop.)

Even if it's not my personal favorite, Love Whisper was a big hit, and came out in August of 2017, making it pretty recent at time of filming. Like all Gfriend songs, the actual vocals required are quite challenging, and the dancing is tough too. Gfriend songs are no joke, no matter how cutesy they are. It’s not a bad choice for a team that can do it, but not everyone can.

LTR: Nako, Nayoung, Damin, Sae, Misaki, and Eunbin.

At 1:16:07, we visit with both Love Whispers, starting with Team 2, a team chosen by Nako. 

The members:

Aramaki Misaki, 17, who auditioned with the blighted Never Ending Ferris Wheel group, has been stationed in F class, and is ranked 61st.

Kang Damin, 14, the cute future member of Queenzeye, went from B to A, and is ranked 74th.

Kim Nayoung, 15, future member of Lightsum who auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend, went from C to A, and is now in 63rd place. 

Kurihara Sae, 21, who had the great bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who went from D to F and is now ranked 84th.

Yabuki Nako, 16, who moved up from F to A, is currently ranked 27th.

Yoon Eunbin, 14, one of the CNC girls, stayed in B, and is ranked 68th.

The group dynamic:

They were actually the third team formed, and Nako had a plan -- to choose kawaii girls. MNET brings out the good ol’ “cutey pie” music to celebrate -- you know, the “la la la” music they play. Nako must have known Sae and Misaki from being in HKT48 together. I don’t think she would have known the other girls, but Damin and Eunbin were in class B together, and they’re about the same age, so they probably got friendly with each other. Not sure if anyone knew Nayoung specifically, but they all live together in big dorms and probably meet each other around.  Regardless of exactly how Nako picked them, I must say,  if there’s a group that can knock Love Whisper out of the park, it’s this one. 

Almost immediately after we meet the Kawaii Avengers, we go over to visit with Love Whisper Team 1, so let’s get the roster up:

Left to right: Motu Tomu, Serika, Manami, Wang Ke, Noe, and Eun Chae

Ichikawa Manami, 18, with the shorter hair, from What's Your Name?, rose from F to C, currently ranked 83

Muto Tomu, 23, who we are about to get to know better, a D class mainstay and ranked 28th. 

Nagano Serika, 17, who auditioned with Mister by Kara, has lived in F class and is ranked 81st.

Son Eun Chae, 18, future member of Bugaboo, who moved up from C to B and is ranked 85th.

Wang Ke, 17, a Chinese girl who had the red polka dots in Celeb Five, moved down from B to D and is ranked 33rd.

Yamada Noe, 18, with her gravelly voice, moved from C down to F and is ranked quite high in 9th place. 

We learn that our friend the palindrome, Muto Tomu, was the chooser for this team. This is kind of an interesting team in that it’s the only team with only 1 Korean trainee, and it’s one of two teams with four Japanese members. (All the other teams have 3 Japanese trainees or fewer.) Three of the Japanese members -- Manami, Tomu, and Serika -- are from AKB48, so Tomu may have chosen friends, but most of them haven’t really worked together much on the show. Tomu also chose a team without a decent vocalist. 

Having formed such a team, they decided that the only song that they absolutely could not do was Love Whisper. However, Tomu wasn’t the fastest runner, and by the time she got to the far wall during the race, the only song left was Love Whisper. She tried to just not win by not putting the sign in the sign holder, but somehow she was forced to “win” the race anyway. (Maybe both girls who grabbed Love Whisper refused to put the sign in the holder, so production had to intervene? It’s not clear.) Then because she came in second to last in the race, she had second to last choice of groups to face up against, and had a choice between the Cute Avengers or Sakura’s team, and chose the Cute Avengers. It was just not a good day for Tomu.

The storyline:

Tomu’s team all try to sing, but many of them cannot make sounds come out of their mouth. Of the group, it seems that Manami is actually the best singer -- she physically can hit the high notes. She doesn’t really want to be stuck with main vocal, but she’s the best option the team has. 

Meanwhile, over in the Cute Avengers, they’re choosing their main vocal, but they’re having the opposite problem -- they have a a few too many decent vocalists and have to choose the best one. Nayoung can sing -- well, she has “stable” vocals -- but so can Nako, who manages to sing while holding her mouth in a full, unmoving smile. 

This girl is currently singing.  

She’s not making an “eee” sound, more like an “uhh” sound. It’s wild. It’s like some kind of ventriloquist trick the way she can sing while keeping her mouth firmly in a smile. She ends up winning main vocal. I’d give it to her, too. What other spells can she cast if she can do this kind of witchcraft? 

Lingering question: Is Nako the right choice of main vocal? Will Tomu’s team be able to pull it off? 

HIGH TENSION

The song: 

Ok, I have to admit it -- this song is charming AF. It’s not super complex, and I think it would get old pretty fast, but it’s so cute and peppy that I can fully imagine playing it at my cousin’s wedding next May and having everyone get up and start dancing even though they’ve never heard it before. 

For the record, the title is an example of what my Japanese prof in college would have called “Japanese English” -- when they use an English phrase in a way that English speakers don’t use. You’re already familiar with this idea if you know the way that Koreans say “fighting!” In "Japanese English," “Tension” is supposed to mean something more like “excitement”, not stress.

[My favorite example of “Japanese English” is the word “viking” (pronounced more like “biking”)  which is the Japanese word for “all you can eat buffet.” Isn’t that great? I think we should just all start calling all you can eat buffets “Viking buffets” instead.] 

Team 1 (1:19:55)

Top row, team 1, LTR:  Nakano Ikumi, Mogi Shinobu, Iwate Saho, Cho Yeoungin, Kim Dayeon, Yoon Haesol

Bottom row, team 2: Takeuchi Miyu, Cho Ahyoung, Huh Yunjin, Kim Suyun, Oda Erina

Team 1:

Cho Yeongin, 16, who auditioned alongside Lee Chaeyeong, moved from B to C and is ranked 62.

Iwatate Saho, 23, who auditioned with Miyu to Dancing Hero, moved from B to D and is ranked 24th.

Kim Dayeon, 15, future Kep1er, B class mainstay and ranked 65

Mogi Shinobu, 21, the living meme, who moved up from F to D and is ranked 59

Nakano Ikumi, 17, “known for her dancing”, who moved up from D to B and is ranked 53rd.

Yoon Haesol, 20, who auditioned with Question Mark, moved down from B to D, and is ranked 50th.

Group dynamic: Saho was the chooser for this team, and picked some girls that she would have known from B class (Yeongin, Dayeon, Haesol) and a few girls she knew from AKB48 (Shinobu, Ikumi). I think this group was formed 9th or later.  They’ve chosen Youngin as the leader, which is kind of interesting since she’s definitely not the oldest, nor is she the highest ranked, but I *think* she might speak a bit of Japanese so that might explain it. 

We see a flashback of the trainees all watching a live performance of the song, which of course means that many AKB-48 girls who are on the show would be visible in the performance. Sakura, Juri, and Jurina are all clearly visible, and everyone squeals when they see them. But Iwate Saho is like, “I was there too for that performance -- where was I?” She’s barely visible in the crowd.

What if she were center this time??? Would something be different????????

Saho trying to charm the other girls into letting her be center. 

She auditions and, to her delight, gets chosen as the center kind of quickly, ending the ICD, and they begin practicing. She sighs happily, pats her “center” sticker, and says “Ganbarimasu!” (That’s the Japanese version of “fighting!”)

Meanwhile, over in team 2, they’re deep in the middle of the ICD…. 

Team 2 (1:21:56)

Takeuchi Miyu, 22, the one who auditioned in the awesome orange bulls eye dress, fell from A to B but is still ranked pretty high at 11th place. 

Cho Ahyeong, 16, who auditioned with future Cherry Bullet Haeyoon, rose from C to B and is ranked 78th. 

Huh Yunjin, 16, future Le Sserafim, who somehow fell from C to F, was ranked 15th

Kim Suyun, 17, future Rocket Punch badass, has lived in class C and is ranked 51.

Oda Erina, 21, who was supposedly known for her singing, fell from C to F and was ranked 67th.

This group was formed 6th, and the chooser was Oda Erina. She picked a few Korean girls she knew from class C and a talented Japanese trainee she probably knew personally. 

Miyu wants the center, but meets opposition from Erina, who says that “having a Japanese person as the center would be too predictable.”  Miyu and Erina talk about it in Japanese, and then Miyu says, “New High Tension hago shipayo-- hangul chingu wa jowayo  ” -- a mixture of English, Korean, and Japanese used to indicate they want to make a new style of High Tension, and a Korean chingu would be good center. The other trainees all say “ahhh!” in understanding -- and the editors play that over and over in case you miss it.  So the Korean trainees leave it up to Erina and Miyu to pick the center. Miyu eventually says, in Korean so basic and slow that even I understand: “We think… giraffe-chan.” Meaning, of course, our very own Huh Yunjin! These are girls who know quality when they see it. They like her “giraffe” image. Yunjin gives a cute, happy smile that was the image at the beginning of this post.

Meanwhile, Team 1 center, Saho, looks over and notices that Team 2 has chosen a Korean trainee to be the center. She wonders if that was a smart choice, given that the Japanese trainees know this song so well. 

Lingering question: Who will make the better center -- an AKB girl, or Huh Yunjin? My money is on Yunjin because, um, she’s Yunjin. But I don’t remember who wins! This will be interesting!

SHORT HAIR

The song: I wouldn’t call myself an AOA stan exactly, but I do like them a lot. I love Jimin’s “hey hey”s, I love Choa’s vocals -- check out her song with Primary, Don’t Be Shy, an enduring top-100-of-all-time song for me -- and I love Chanmi/Dohwa’s swag. They always have this laid back, casual confidence that is weirdly charming -- very like “you can look but will never touch!” -- and their song Like a Cat is a Never Skip for me. 

That said, Short Hair isn’t my absolute favorite song of theirs, and was probably one of the least well known songs in the mix. It came out in June of 2014, so even though it was a pretty big hit, by 2018, it would have been old hat. Also, by 2018, AOA was sort of on the way out; Choa quit for mental health reasons (good for her!!!) in 2017, and the group hadn’t had an actual hit since 2016. 

1:23:45 Team 2

We start off visiting Short Hair Team 2.

Group Dynamics: I’m not sure who chose this group, but I assume it was formed 9th or later. They’ve chosen Sian to be their leader, and it seems like Mina is using a bit of pigeon Korean to be the group’s interpreter.

clockwise/left to right: Rena (in gray), Miku, Mina, Natsumi, Sian, and Yewon 

Ahn Yewon, 17, model , stuck in F, ranked 88

Hasegawa Rena, 17, who auditioned alongside Noe, fell from D to F, ranked 54th. 

Imada Mina, 21, the tall one with no bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who rose from D to C and is ranked 64th.

Lee Sian, 19, one of the Idol School girls who fell from C to D, is ranked 18th.

Matsuoka Natsumi, 21, with the sort of distinctive face from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, rose from F to C and is ranked 55th. 

Takana Miku, currently ranked C, was initially in this group -- she was one of the girls who auditioned with the Banana song. More on her later. 

They are, of course, mired in the ICD. 

Mina, Natusumi, and Sian all want to be center. They aren’t sure how to decide who the center should be, since none of them really know the song yet. 

Sian suggests using facial expressions at a key point as the audition piece. Natsumi says, in Japanese, “I don’t think I can win if that’s how we choose,” and then, half-seriously, suggests rock paper scissors to decide (!!). Sian’s reaction is priceless.

Like, seriously, guys, did you seriously just suggest that we choose the center for this with Rock Paper Scissors? Do you want to win the challenge? What the fuck? Is this a game for you? Are you out of your minds? OMG. OMG. What. The. Fuck.

Sian politely points out that this is way too serious to decide that way. Since the decision is to be made based on merits, Natsumi bows out. All of this is making me not really like Natsumi that much, so I have to kind of take a breath and remind myself that they’re all pretty stressed out and exhausted. 

That leaves just Mina and Sian running for center. Sian’s audition is charming and lively, with just the right tone for the song. Mina’s is more muted, though still decent. It seems obvious to my eyes that Sian’s look and style are better suited to the Korean palette, and that they should choose her, but the girls vote on country lines, giving Mina the center. Natsumi says in an interview, “we thought that if we made Sian the center, we’d be Sian and the Girls.” Which… is almost like admitting that you know she’s better than you at this particular thing. It means you should make her the center and step up your own game. You know? 

Sian is frustrated. She says she realized that there’s a difference of opinion among countries. The editors play the trouble music to let us know that it isn’t just opinion at stake. 

Lingering question: Will Mina make a good center?

Short Hair 1 (1:25:33)

LTR: Mako, Juri, Minyoung, Minseo, Sihyeon, Yuri

Kojima Mako, 21, auditioned with Playing With Fire, rose from C to B and currently ranked 23rd. 

Takahashi Juri, 20, future member of Rocket Punch who auditioned with Mako, rose from B to A and is ranked 29th.

Yu Minyoung, 18, the always squinting mint polka dots wearer in Celeb Five who moved from A to B, is ranked 32

Kim Minseo, 15, yellow polka dots in Celeb Five, stayed in C, ranked 39th

Kim Sihyeon, 18, future member of Everglow who rose from B to A and is ranked 13th.

Jo Yuri, 16, future soloist, the one who fell from A to F, ranked 19th. 

Group Dynamic: Mako was the chooser of this group, and it was the fifth group formed, so Mako had a decent pool to pick from. She would have met Minseo in group C, and would have known Juri from the AKB franchise. I’m not sure how she picked the others, though I assume she picked Yuri and Sihyeon based on their reputations. Looks like they made Sihyeon the leader -- she’s certainly the most experienced, having been on the show in season 1. 

Storyline: They, of course, are in their ICD. But the contrast between this group and Short Hair 2 couldn’t be more stark. Sihyeon thinks the center should be either Juri or Yuri, and they both sing to audition. It’s hard for us to hear their voices since they’re singing over the track, but the girls can hear and decide that Juri should be the center.  Juri tries to explain, in a mixture of Korean and Japanese, that since it’s a group battle, she wouldn’t want to cause any harm for the group, so maybe Yuri should do it. But the whole team tells her that she’ll be great. They all like her and want her to be the center -- it seems like even Yuri is on board. Both Sihyeon and Yuri offer to help her, using a hilarious and random mixture of Japanese and Korean. 

Sihyeon: If there’s anything wakarimasen[Japanese for “don’t understand”], please ask.

Yuri: Watashi-wa (“I” in Japanese)…. towajesoyo (“will help” in Korean).  

We end on this split frame…

…Group 1 already beginning to work together, while Group 2’s Japanese contingent sitting down while Sian is up and practicing. I mean, this shot was cherry picked and who knows the context, but it’s hard not to be swayed a little by it. MNET editors!!! Why are you so evil?

VERY VERY VERY 

The song:

Aww, who doesn’t love nomu nomu nomu? Nomu nomu nomu nomu? Nomunomumnomunomnomnomo nomnonomnonomomnomono mnomnomunomunomunom..

It’s catchy and iconic and all the good things. I mean, JYP might be creepy and weird but he can write a hit. Bad Girl Good Girl by Miss A, Nobody by Wonder Girls, ADTOY by 2pm, A by Got7, Icy by Itzy, Feel Special and More & More by Twice, the guy’s a genius. And at least he’s not as overtly gross as YG. 

So yeah, Very Very Very was a monster hit and in a way it was responsible for the success of IOI. Their first few singles didn’t exactly set the world on fire, and they needed a hit to cement their status as a hit group. If IOI had never done Very Very Very, there might not have been a season 2 of PD101. Imagine a world without Wanna One or IZ*one! Wild, right? So yeah. We all have to be grateful to JYP for giving this song to IOI, because otherwise you might not be reading these words right now. 

In terms of difficulty, I’d say that this song isn’t super hard to perform. It may have originally been intended for Twice -- can’t you imagine it as a Twice song? -- and it has that kind of upbeat, cute-but-confident vibe that Twice has. I don’t think it’s an outrageously difficult concept to rock. The tune is easy to sing -- even the adlibs are easy --  and the choreography is more about cuteness than anything else. Any team would be smart to want to perform this one. 

So, let’s check in with the teams who will be performing this iconic hit.

At 1:27:10 we peek in with Sakura and friends. Sakura is learning the Korean word for water -- mul (pronounced more like bul) -- and sharing the Japanese word -- mizu. The other trainees think that Sakura’s team is the team to beat. 

An Yujin laments her situation. Everything else was great! She was chosen to pick the first team after Sakura! She got great teammates! But then she had to go up against Sakura’s team. “I thought we were absolutely doomed,” Yujin says. Park Minji speaks for everyone as she interviews: “Sakura’s teem is more popular, but Yujin’s team fits the song better. It’s like Captain America versus Iron Man.” 

It’s Spiderman versus Ant Man. It’s Cake versus Ice Cream. It’s Shark versus Tornado. It’s IVE versus Le Sserafim. Winner? All of us!

Let’s take a look at the two rosters. This is a juggernaut lineup. More than half the future lineup of IZ*one is represented between these two teams!

Yujin’s team, which was formed second: 

An Yujin, 14, future member of  IVE who rose from B to A and is currently ranked 2nd overall. Wow! And she’s 14, you guys. I always forget how young she is here. 

Choi Yena, 18, friendly Yena from Yuehua who kept us company for a lot of episode 1, fell from A to B, and is currently ranked 6th. 

Honda Hitomi, 16, the super cutey who worked her way up from C to A and is currently ranked 47th.

Jang Wonyoung, future Wonyoung, known for being Wonyoung, who has stayed in B and is ranked 4th.

Na Goeun, 18, future Purplekiss, A class and ranked 20th. 

Shiroma Miru, 20, future visitor to Queendom Puzzle, who fell from B to D but is ranked 22nd. 

Sakura’s team, which was formed first: 

Kim Choyeon, 16, fire-eyes girl and future Bugaboo, fell from A to C, ranked 75 

Kim Minju, 17, a Very Pretty Girl, rose from D to C, ranked 17 

Kwon Eunbi, 22, future soloist, fell from A to C, is currently ranked 3rd

Lee Chaeyeon, 18, future soloist, famous older sister and dancing machine, who stayed in A and is ranked 10th.

Miyawaki Sakura, 20, THE SAKURA, future member of Le Sserafim who stayed in A and is ranked 5th. 

Motomura Aoi,  21, sweet faced Aoi from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who rose from D to B and is ranked 42nd. 

(Because “Choyeon” and “Chaeyeon” are such similar names, I’ll call them Kim Choyeon and Lee Chaeyeon throughout this discussion to help you keep track of who is who.)

Fun fact: Though it was implied that Sakura’s team is more popular, Yujin’s team actually has a higher average ranking -- 16.8 versus 25.3. Sakura’s team is dragged way down by Kim Choyeon, though; without her, their average ranking would be 15! 

LTR: Yujin, Hitomi, Miyu, Gaeun, Yena, Wonyoung

We hang out with Yujin’s team for a bit. They’ve elected Na Gaeun leader, which seems smart; she’s one of the older members and is the only one who has been rated A the whole time. 

Naturally, they dive right into the ICD. It’s Yujin versus Wonyoung, and Wonyoung obviously suits being a center more for this particular song. (If it had been Boombayah or Peekaboo, I would have said Yujin.) 

Meanwhile, on Sakura’s team, they’re in their own ICD. 

Kim Choyeon has the AUDACITY to say she wants to be center. 

Sakura CANNOT BELIEVE IT.

After all she is THE SAKURA whose smile is completely natural and beautiful and not at all strained or weird. And she can be the ONLY CENTER. She raises her hand to say she also wants to be center, and you can almost hear Kim Choyeon's hopes shattering. 

Look, if I were on this team, obviously I’d be ok with making Sakura center, but given that she’s already THE CENTER of the whole show, it might be smart to let someone else be center here, like maybe Minju or Eunbi. However, as much as I feel for Kim Choyeon, I just don’t see a reason to make her center. The judges would yell at the team if they did. Honestly, the judges will probably yell if they make anyone but Sakura center. And they'll probably yell at you even if you do, to make more TV content starring Sakura. I think it’s just part of being within Sakura’s gravity well. You’re blessed, but you’re fucked, too. 

Lee Chaeyeon, who is a smartie-pants, recommends Minju. I see why -- she’s super pretty, she’s fairly popular, she makes a great center, and she help offset Sakura’s power a little. I know that for Lee Sian’s team, I said that they should just make Sian the center and step up their game, but in this case, Sakura’s overpowering popularity is not actually matched by her charisma, and it would just be smart to balance things out a bit with another girl who will do just as good a job in center and has the ability to be just as popular.

Sweet-faced Aoi unexpectedly backs Minju -- maybe she’s a little sick of the Sakura train? -- and so does Kwon Eunbi. And thus, both Sakura and Kim Choyeon are shut out; Minju is chosen. 

Minju is super flattered, but says, “I don’t think I deserve to be center.” 

And Sakura and Choyeon are like, What’s that, you say? You want one of US to be center? Well, if you absolutely insist…. 

So, each of the two candidates auditions, and Choyeon wins.

With the centers both chosen, we take a peek at each team as they start to try to learn the choreo.

Over on Yujin's team, Yujin is already a bit confused, but many members of Sakura’s team already know the choreo (notably Eunbi and Lee Chaeyeon, who are known for their dancing skills). Then Hitomi reveals herself as choreo learning machine, and the team starts following her. 

And that’s the end of this segment! 

So yeah I made this scatterplot to show you the rough correlation between average rank of a team and the screentime they get. You're welcome.

It’s slightly thrown off by the fact that some teams were sort of approached together, like the two Love Whispers and the two Avengers teams, and other editing decisions like that, but the trend is pretty clear -- the higher the average rank of the team, the more screentime they get.

The two biggest outliers are Short Hair 1 -- Juri and Yuri’s team -- which didn’t get a ton of screentime despite their high rank because they were getting along so well, and Boombayah 2, the leftovers team, which got a lot of screentime relative to their kind of low rank because their situation is so pathetic. 

Ok, thanks for reading (or skimming) this! I hope you enjoyed it. Things are heating up! Next we’ll actually be seeing some performances!! Wild. 

[adhoption]

the thing about all of the superhero dross is that these people are capable of making excellent films. they know what a good story looks like. WW was good. Shazam was fine. there was no inherent reason that they couldn't succeed. but then they tried to force a shared universe before it was ready, with a bunch of other films with bad writing, no charisma between the actors, and awful CGI monsters for them to fight. surely somebody recognised that those were bad.

I rewatched season one of Loki recently and it's still just really good television. it stands on its own feet as a genuinely interesting sci-fi show with an intriguing, layered plot that seems to deepen each episode, coherent set and costume design, atmospheric music, and lots of clever camerawork.

they had a boring premise - to make a Loki spin-off, which seemed to be an unnecessary money-grab like the rest - and they went out and made it bold and interesting. but the same studio are pumping out bland, pointless shows about other characters where nothing really happens (because they can't upset the main continuity) and nobody really seems interested in anything but getting paid.

interestingly it's often the least anticipated titles which end up being the best. WandaVision sounded like an awful concept but they made something unique out of it, and it was better than the big names which tend to rest on their laurels. James Gunn's The Suicide Squad took a bunch of misfit characters and made their film more entertaining than Superman v Batman through simple good writing. it's like only those properties feel the need to actually make something good, because they can't rely on name recognition alone, whereas those that can tend to phone it in.

[goddesspharo]

Tagged by @antiquitea.

3 ships: This changes like...all the time. Wave something shiny and pretty and vaguely antagonistic at me and I'm pretty much yours.

I rewatched Top Gun Maverick over the weekend and even though the point of The Hard Deck intro was to establish that they all knew each other carnally, I'm feeling very into Hangman/Phoenix at the moment because who doesn't love a pairing with two extremely attractive people being shitheads to each other while secretly wanting to bone?

I feel a flare up of "why didn't Grace and Daniel make out in Ready Or Not?" at least once a month so that's still a thing, I guess. Adam Brody deserves better than being a second tier character in those dumb Shazam movies.

I miss seeing Kyle Valenti's face every week for two minutes an episode on Roswell, New Mexico so I am still extremely bitter that my garbage CW show got cancelled (except that I genuinely believe the first season was stellar and not just because every music cue was from the 90s) and after four seasons of wanting someone to love Kyle Valenti back, we fiiiiiiiinally got Kyle and Isobel getting together in the last episode after a season of secret and not so secret pining only so they could have...one minute of screen time together in which they...didn't even kiss? THANKS FOR DEPRIVING ME OF ALL THE NICE THINGS. Am I ever going to stop being bitter over not getting to see them date or make out or do all the things that Lily Cowles probably put up on her vision board? NO, I WILL NOT. Get them booked and busy!!!!

1st ever ship: I can't think that far back! I'm sure there were many before this but off the top of my head, my first thought after "I'm too ancient to remember this" was that Tommy and Kimberly in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers ruled. Remember the proverbial water cooler discussions in elementary school when they introduced the green ranger? SPECTACULAR. Ah, back in the days when we thought some dude using a flute to summon a robot dragon was the height of being a bad ass. (Side note: the Power Rangers movie with Dacre Montgomery and Naomi Scott doesn't get enough credit for being a really good time. They teased a sequel that will never happen because not enough people recognize a good reboot!!!)

last song: Last week, I was inexplicably listening to A LOT of Dave Matthews Band live performances. I guess the inexplicable bit is that last week Spotify's Discover Weekly decided to randomly put a Stevie Nicks cover of "Crash Into Me" on my playlist, which sent me into a DMB spiral - I know this is deeply uncool because anyone who was alive in the 90s heard that song at least once a day for YEARS on the radio so we are all hardwired to roll our eyes at them, but this spiral led me to this (in which the late great LeRoi Moore's sax solo is the closest I will ever come to understanding Damien Chazelle's obsession with jazz) and, even more spectacularly, this, which is worth even listening to in the background. But actually none of that is what I've been listening to more recently. I was on call the other night and the only thing that got me through 48 hours on 4 hours of sleep was Tina Turner, particularly "Nutbush City Limits."

currently reading: Patricia Highsmith's Strangers On A Train.

last movie: I watched Breathe (2014; dir. Mélanie Laurent) last night and it was SO GOOD! Highly recommend! It was also refreshing to watch a movie that wasn't two hours long. Bring back 90-100 minute movies!

currently consuming: I'm drinking black tea with milk.

currently watching: About to watch the pilot of Mayfair Witches even though Alexandra Daddario has the acting range of a beautiful block of wood, but I'm in the intersection of AMC's venn diagram of "bitches who miss Interview With The Vampire" and "bitches who miss Jack Huston's face."

currently craving: Lychees, but they're out of season :(

Tagging whoever wants to do it!

[sweetbitterbitten]

favorite color: most in my room is a sea green, crest of wave with roiling water under annnnnd clam shell/blush pink. currently reading: i just picked up a book at goodwill called ‘back when you were easier to love’. i’ve been in a bit of a reading drought and so this seemed a...sweet little lagoon to slip into for the time being. last song: on tiktok ‘familiar feeling’ by kate the dreamer has been rotating the damaged disc that’s my head (it’s not out officially but can be presaved). last shazam was ed sheeran’s ‘bad habits’ amrice remix. and last youtube/music video find was gracie abrams ‘mess it up’. last series: i’m in a three-way right now with only murders in the building season two, what we do in the shadows season four, and fx’s bette davis/joan crawford feud. last movie: jesus christ i’ve been so series hard on for months now...i know i’ve probably rewatched several old movies i’ve already seen but i think my most recent new movie watch was ‘last night in soho’. sweet/spicy/savory: bittersweet & savory. the heart and the pang. currently working on: myself skldjfl;kasjflks tagged by: @brassandblue tagging: all are welcome

[haljordangreenjedi]

I rewatched the 2011 green lantern (i am a masochist) and for all they got wrong (a lot) the casting of mark strong as sinestro was damn near perfect!!!

He captured the arrogance of sinestro, his frustration with the guardians, and his slow fall to the allure of fear.He was a way better character than that movie ever deserved!!

I would be open to having him return as sinestro. If Djimon hounsou can be both the wizard in. Shazam and the fisher king in aquaman, then mark strong can play both dr sivana and Sinestro in the Dceu!!

WHAT SAY YOU?!!

i have tried to form a good response to this but every time i think about this movie i think about ryan reynolds and how he’s done SO MANY movies that have a better portrayal of the kind of persona he was working with for Green Lantern and then it all went to hell in a hand basket with CGI so like. I’m inclined to give a number of people a second shot from the green lantern movie. (Also i just think it’s cute that he and blake lively met on that set and now have a ton of kids together, it warms my cold heart.) ANYWAY realistically, i guess it depends on how big of a role Mark Strong has as Dr. Sivana in the Shazam movies going forward to make that possible, bc like, Djimon Hounsou only technically had a small role as the wizard and more time to be the fisher king? Sadly we can’t warp time to have actors in two places at once, and Mark Strong has been in some big movie series/franchises recently. also i’m kind of convinced that if it were possible, Stanley Tucci could even do Sinestro’s role bc he morphs into literally whatever role he wants. We’re living in the Stanley Tucci-verse, actually. All this to say I don’t really have an opinion? and i have a love-hate relationship with green lantern 2011 that i typically refrain from sharing online because i don’t want people coming at me for liking a kinda bad movie.

[unhingedandunwell]

Ok also after seeing the new suicide squad I am less excited for the battinson movie. Cause what I’ve discovered with the recent DCEU films(ie Wonder Woman, justice league, shazam, bop, and both suicide squads) is that I like them best when they get a bit wacky and just have fun fun with the characters that are honestly kinda stupid in most cases. It’s just more entertaining. I couldn’t get through the fucking Snyder cut of justice league but I already wanna rewatch this suicide squad(and I will soon, if we’re honest). Idk maybe battinson will surprise me but right now i just feel iffy abt it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[purpleyin]

Tagged by @sophiainspace, thanks. :)

Favorite colour: Too hard to pick, I just like plenty of colour.

Currently reading: I’m not reading anything actively right now, though I’ve got Discworld’s Snuff technically in progress I should get back to reading now I’m on hols. I do have some interesting new audiobooks I mean to start too. I recently finished one “Set Boundaries, Find Peace” by Nedra Glover Tawwab that was useful, though I need to try some of the exercises still. I think the one I’m most excited to start next is “Come As You Are” by Emily Nagoski.

Last series:  Just finished Mare of Easttown which was good, I watched it while doing some jigsaws, but ep 5 made me want to seek out fix-it fic.

Last movie: Rewatched Shazam on Christmas day. I’m so excited for the next film whenever it comes out.

Sweet, savoury or spicy? Sweet, but also sweet and spicy can be fun.

Currently working on: Nothing ficwise as I spend probably too much time on fannish events lately since I’m organising stuff for 5 different blogs now - 3 Valentine’s event upcoming and 2 for Multiamory March too. In terms of moodboards, I’m gonna see about doing a few New Year’s ones and a few more Yule ones. I’m also working on art for a Stranger Things fic with Jonathan/Nancy/Steve right now.

Tagging: @battys-home, @frostygar @unwittingcatalyst (but only if you want!)

[kopikuestudies]

Tag 9 people to learn about their interests!

I was tagged by: @nr-studies <3

MUSIC

Fave genre? Loud

Fave artist? FALL OUT BOY

Fave song? Last of the Real Ones - Fall Out Boy,

Most listened song recently? Fahrradsattel - Pisse

Song currently stuck in your head? Cringe - Matt Maeson

5 fave lyrics? “I swear I’d burn this city down to show you the light” “I got your love letters. Corrected the grammar and sent them back” “We will grow old as friends. I’ve promised that before. So what’s one more?”

other lyrics are also available

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on

BOOKS

Fav book genre? Contemporary, romance

Fave writer? Alice Oseman

Fave book? Solitaire - Alice Oseman

Fave book series? Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard, Our Australian Girl - Various

Comfort book? Solitaire - Alice Oseman

Rainy day book? Bloom - Kevin Panetta

Fave characters? Tori Spring, Maven Calore, Francis Janiver

5 quotes from your fave books? “All I know is that I’m here. I’m alive. And I’m not alone” "You're not alone, you have your crown" "I could set the world on fire and call it rain" “You may be very small but you are all very important in the universe”

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

TV AND MOVIES

Fave tv/movie genre? Drama, Mystery, Crime

Fave movie? The Dressmaker

Comfort movie? Shazam, Scooby-Doo: Camp Scare,

Movie you watch every year? How to Train your Dragon

Fave tv show? Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Comfort tv show? M*A*S*H

Most rewatched tv show? Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

5 fave characters? Bert and Cec, Tilly Dunage, L Lawliet,

tv shows or movie | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or bingeing | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

Tagging (no pressure!): @0akdown-reblog @4ngel-studi3s @hoodiestudy @diaryofastemstudent @julystudying

[superbatson]

tagged by @madisonrooney

tag 9 people to know more about their interests, hobbies, etc. (no pressure!):

@sighmonhaynes @matt-murdok @favoriteliar @whitmore @brainwxves @buirs @taylorklaine @reallyhardy @koridick

MUSIC

fav genre? pop 😔

fav artist? bleh it changes a Lot but lately it's like: bastille, set it off, matthias schweighöfer (heh), anthony ramos, grandson, ajr

fav song? IT CHANGES SO MUCH but lately i do be vibing a lot to lauf by matthias schweighöfer

most listened song recently? according to spotify, it's stay alive by hidden citizens ft remmi (which checks out, i'm lowkey obsessed with that song)

song currently stuck in your head? lauf 🙈

fav lyrics? "it's kinda funny how you vote for someone / to vote for someone, to vote for someone / and you might end up with someone evil but you say that he means well / if i keep on talkin' politics, my friends will dip, they're over it / if i keep on talkin' politics, i'm hamilton, without the hits" (3 o'clock things by ajr)

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume (medium) | slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on

BOOKS

fav book genre? YA, romance, dystopian, contemporary, mystery, crime, modern fantasy (i'm not generally that into, like, the old kingdom stuff with all the made up names and shit)

fav writer? neal shusterman (my king)

fav book? unwind by neal shusterman, the giver by lois lowry, brave new world by aldous huxley

fav book series? UNWIND AKA THE GREATEST BOOK SERIES OF ALL TIME; CONNOR, RISA, LEV, AND CAM ARE MY CHILDREN

comfort book? a bear called paddington by michael bond (the paddington audiobooks are sooooo good to fall asleep to, i love them a lot)

perfect book to read on a rainy day? anything, really, reading on a rainy day is the shit, but i feel like it's especially fun to read really atmospheric, escapist stuff so i'll say her final words by brianna lasbuskes and sirens by joseph knox (both really excellent crime novels that make for wonderful rainy day reads)

fav characters? camus comprix (unwind), paddington bear (paddington), john the savage (brave new world), jonas (the giver), bayr (first girl child)

5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart?

"I love you, Risa. Every last piece of me." (it's from undivided but w/e it's still the unwind series okay)

"In the distance, he thought he heard music. Perhaps it was only an echo." (the giver)

"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want goodness, I want sin." (brave new world)

"In a perfect world, everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is." (unwind)

"Nice socks." (unwind)

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence (white noise baby) | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator  | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

TV AND MOVIES

fav tv/movie genre? animation, comedy, musicals

fav movie? how to train your dragon

comfort movie? how to train your dragon, beauty and the beast (1991 & 2017), batman v superman: dawn of justice, zack snyder's justice league, tangled, shazam!, trolls, trolls world tour

movie you watch every year? probably something christmas-y, i'm trying to make it a tradition that i watch the 2018 grinch movie every year

fav tv show? friends

comfort tv show? friends, trollstopia, trolls: the beat goes on, spirit: riding free, any of the baking championships on food network, spongebob squarepants (old episodes though)

most rewatched tv show? friends

ultimate otp? branch/poppy, belle/beast, bruce/clark

5 fav characters? queen poppy, barry allen, billy batson, belle, chandler bing

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off (i find them distracting) | rewatching or watching just once 

[shadowy-multifandom]

was tagged by @jayseung to answer some questions, so here we go!!!! thanks for the tag joy ♡♡

5 songs you’ve had on repeat:

round and round - sf9

violet! - waterparks

i know i love you - txt

bye bye bye - wei

love race - machine gun kelly ft. kellin quinn

last movie:

shazam (it’s one of my feel-good movies and i rewatched it recently :D)

currently watching:

loki

hsmtmts

roswell, new mexico

currently reading:

gun island by amitav ghosh for uni

the hobbit by j.r.r. tolkien for myself

tagging @incorrect-pentagon, @seungssik, and, since we started talking recently, @dongkwan. as always, this isn’t obligatory, feel free to ignore this if you don’t wanna do it!!!

[qsdblogging]

10 More TV Shows You Need To See

This is the second installment of my recommendations of shows for you to add to your own lists. I watch a lot of television and I’ve got, what I consider to be at least, a wide variety of shows under my favorites. 

If you haven’t seen the first list, you don’t need to unless you want to see another list of ten shows you may want to check out if you’re looking for anything new to watch.

Warning, though, some of these don’t end the best way and may end up more as a disappointment. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

I. Warehouse 13.

Pete and Myka, U.S Secret Service Agents, are deployed to South Dakota’s Warehouse 13 with a new assignment from an authority above and outside the government. 

Intrigued?

With the Warehouse comes assignments regarding objects that hold some sort of abilities that can cause people to do wild and crazy things. It’s their job to find the artifacts (as they all hold significance to history) and bring them back to the Warehouse for safe keeping.

Things get wild and some serious topics get handled, but the show isn’t alone. It’s connected to another on this list, Eureka. More on that when you get to Eureka.

Some familiar faces are Eddie McClintock who played a part in Bones, one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Joanne Kelly who played a role in The Dresden Files television series, Allison Scagliotti who played roles in Stitchers, The Vampire Diaries, and Drake & Josh, Aaron Ashmore (twin brother to Shawn Ashmore, who has been in the X-Men movies alongside appearing in The Boys, and voicing Conrad in Man of Medan) from Killjoys, Lost Girl, and Smallville, and Jamie Murray from Castelvania, Gotham, The Originals, Once Upon a Time, Defiance, and Dexter.

I highly recommend, especially because the dynamic of the characters is really interesting and covers a lot. 

II. Eureka.

As mentioned above, this is connected to Warehouse 13. But only in the last two seasons of this show are the two connected. 

Eureka is a town full of geniuses and advanced technology that the government funds, and when a new sheriff comes to town, he’s exposed to all the daily occurrences the locals get up to. And maybe a couple instances of time travel that may or may not have to do with the connection.

The town is full of faces you may recognize. Colin Ferguson who has roles in Haven, The Vampire Diaries, and Maytag commercials, Erica Cerra who has roles in The 100, Supernatural, Deadly Class, and the first Percy Jackson film, Felicia Day who has roles in The Magicians, Supernatural, Con Man, The Guild, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Trevor Jackson who has roles in Grown-ish, and a couple Disney productions.

It’s a huge science fiction show and if you’re into that, give it a watch.

III. Alphas.

Now, like the two above is, Alphas is a science fiction packed drama. And it’s rumored to be connected, like be in the same universe, as Warehouse 13 and Eureka. It’s never been confirmed, but there is one character (same name and job) that plays a part in both Alphas and Warehouse 13, which is the stem for the theory. (Plus, some other ideas floating around). 

But Alphas focuses on a team that investigates people with supernatural abilities while they, themselves, have abilities. These powered people are referred to as Alphas, due to their nature.

Unfortunately, this show ends on a cliffhanger in its second season.

Yet, I still recommend giving it a shot because it truly is an interesting show and it’s got some people you may recognize. 

IV. Haven.

If you’re a fan of Stephen King’s “Colorado Kid”, you’ll most likely enjoy this show since it’s loosely based off of it. 

Set in the coastal town of Haven, Maine, FBI Agent Audrey Parker comes to town to find that the residents have dormant curses, or rather troubles, that can be triggered at any given moment. She, along with the Sheriff and the town’s black sheep, must deal with the troubles’ deadly effects. And a few things may be revealed about herself too along the way.

It’s pretty interesting and I enjoyed it quite a lot when I first watched it. I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen King, and the connection seems to barely be there, but I wouldn’t know given my dislike for King. 

I highly recommend giving Haven a shot, however, especially if you’re a crime and fantasy fan. 

V. Lost Girl.

Lost Girl focuses on the gorgeous and charismatic Bo, a supernatural being called a succubus who feeds on the energy of humans, sometimes with fatal results. Refusing to embrace her supernatural clan system and its rigid hierarchy, Bo is a renegade who takes up the fight for the underdog while searching for the truth of her own mysterious origins. (Taken from IMDB). 

Plus, there a lesbian romance or two. 

Now, the show itself is pretty strong holding in its own storyline and lore, but the last season does get a bit rocky feeling. It could’ve been better, and it definitely feels a little rushed, but it wasn’t too bad of an ending. However, it’s not a show that got cancelled before it could wrap things up and it leaves things pretty open-ended.

In my books, that’s a point. I highly recommend this is if you’re a fan of fantasy.

VI. Almost Human.

Unfortunately, this is one of the ones in the list that only has one season (that seems to be out of order and frankly I’m not entirely sure of the order myself, so rely on googling it yourself and hopefully you find the right order) and was cancelled not long after airing. 

BUT, it’s a good watch. It’s set in the distant future, where cops are assigned an android partner to protect and serve. Things get pretty wild and I’m quite sure there are some bombs involved at some point, but there’s a bonus to all the madness of Almost Human.

Minka Kelly and Karl Urban. Two incredibly beautiful human beings.

I highly recommend bingeing this single season show. 

VII. American Gods.

This shows feels very confusing. But it’s still a good watch. 

It centers on a recently released ex-con named Shadow Moon. He runs into a man full of mystery named Wednesday (and you’ll later come to find out who he really is, or you may already know given your knowledge on the book of the same name or just how well you know mythology) who seems to know more than Shadow about his own life and past. 

There are Gods, mischief, and a lot of crazy shit in this show. So far it’s on it’s third season as far as I know (I have to rewatch the first two before I pick it back up).

You should give it a shot, but I won’t blame you if you feel way too confused about the whole thing.

VIII. The Boys.

Now, there’s a lot of controversy regarding this Amazon Original Series, but honestly, I think everyone should at least give it a chance. I know a lot of Tumblr users were put off on trying to due to the advertisements on the site. 

If you don’t know what this series is about, it follows a group of vigilantes set on taking down the corrupt superheroes that are abusing their powers and status.

It covers a lot of ground. Murder, sabotage, terrorism, capitalism, and a lot more. Feminism and sexual harassment occur, but there are warning before each episode for what you may see in the contents.

Some familiar faces include Karl Urban, who’s known for his roles in Thor: Ragnarok, the newer Star Trek movies, Almost Human, Lord of the Rings, and more, Erin Moriarty from Jessica Jones, Laz Alonso from The Mysteries of Laura, Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl and The Covenant, and Jensen Ackles from Supernatural has been confirmed to be joining the cast for its third season.

The Boys is currently on it’s second season, being released on a weekly schedule. So, if you like superheroes and graphic content, this show might be it for you.

IX. Chuck.

Chuck is the result of when a twenty-eight year old computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. assign two agents to protect him and exploit the knowledge, turning Chuck Bartowski’s life upside down. (Taken from IMDB).

This is one of the shows I cannot recommend enough to people. It’s the right mixture of action and comedy, plus a little romance. Spies, love, and murder, oh my! What more could you want? 

Plus, Zachery Levi plays Chuck. If you don’t know him by name, you probably would recognize him from some of his roles with the most recent being in Shazam!, Fandral in the second and third Thor films, voicing Eugene Fitzherbert (or Flynn Rider) in Tangled, and Heroes: Reborn. 

If Zachery Levi playing a lovable computer geek turned spy doesn’t interest you, maybe some more familiar faces will. 

Yvonne Strahovski from The Handmaid’s Tale, The Astronaut Wives Club, acting as Daenerys in a Princess Rap Battle on Youtube, and Dexter. Adam Baldwin from Firefly/Serenity, Bones, Angel, The Last Ship, and Independence Day. Brandon Routh who plays Ray Palmer from the DC Shows. Matt Bomer from Doom Patrol, American Horror Story, White Collar, Magic Mike, and True Calling.

X. Deadly Class.

Unfortunately, I have a truly bad streak with new shows. Deadly Class, like others that have been mentioned in these lists of mine, got cancelled and on a cliffhanger no less. However, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the action-packed coming-of-age story set in the 1980s. 

Following a new recruit for a high school training assassins, things get pretty wild when you pair death and teenagers. 

[d-stabilize]

how do you feel about the Shazam! movie? i rewatched it recently and it still holds up for me. also DC has a lot of animated movies, have you seen any of them or know which ones might be worth a watch?

I liked Shazam but also I haven't rewatched it since I saw it in theaters.

Also animated movies:

*grabs you* you will watch under the red hood. I dont give a shit about Jason but that movie is amazing and you will watch it

Superman/captain marvel return of black atom is really good especially if you like Billy Batson

You can watch dc showcase: Green arrow on youtuber here and its only 11 minutes but damn if it isnt an amazing short film even without the connection to dc its just very well made

Superman doomsday was pretty good from what I remember. That one technically isn't connected to the next movie on the list due to being made like a decade apart but they are the two halves of the comic arc they are based on

Reign of the supermen was pretty good and combines 90s superboy lore with 00s superboy lore really well. I did not watch the movie that came before in the series so just go here from doomsday I guess

Justice league: the new frontier is a classic. While some aspects haven't aged very well its still worth watching. It takes place in its own unique universe.

Justice league: Flashpoint paradox is the only piece of Flashpoint related media im willing to expose myself to. Don't read any of those comics just watch the movie and be done with it.

Justice league: gods and monsters is extremely weird but still fun

I like batman: dark knight returns movie trilogy but I also unironically like futures end and at this point on the list we are getting into my more questionable taste in media

Justice league: crisis on two earths is one of the.... better stories centered around earth 3 and honestly I'm desperate for good earth 3 content im willing to eat scraps so I cant say its good without admitting to bias

[deejadabbles]

Still catching up on some fun tag games my mutuals tagged me in awhile ago! This one was tagged for me to do by @readerinsertfanfiction thank you Rif ^o^

rules: tag people you’d like to get to know better or catch up with <3

last song: Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard

last movie: Shazam (it was honestly way better than I expected it to be, it’s a solid super hero movie)

currently watching: Avatar The Last Airbender (it’s my third rewatch of the series and MAN! the nostalgia still gets me...and may or may not be influencing some crossover headcanons I’ve been working on *wink*) 

currently reading: The Yugioh Manga, Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, and Rapture In Death by J.D. Robb (also like...17 different fanfics that are open tabs on my phone...)

currently craving: flippin fresh bakes cookies, been wanting them a lot recently, other than that not much.

So for my tags I’m going to do @ohyema @bruhhhhhhhhnuhhhh @bisexualmattholtstan @agirlinsearchof and @draconicmaw  Only if you guys want/have time to of course <3

[watchathon]

8th Day of Christmas

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I watch a movie or TV show and then write a review of what I watched.

Right now, I’m doing the 12 Days of Christmas, a 12-day-long Christmas special where each day is a different Christmas movie or special decided by a randomizer. And today... *clears throat*

On the 8th Day of Christmas, the randomizer gave to me~

Shazam! (Another one where the exclamation point is an actual part of the title.)

It is so absolutely a Christmas movie, and I don’t know why it got released in April while Aquaman got the winter release date. I mean, there’s Christmas songs and mall Santas! How does this do anything but scream “Christmas movie?!” fdvhfkjfdkvjdk *angry Donald Duck noises*

But enough ranting about how movie studios don’t know what seasons are. Time for me to rewatch Shazam! and give you my review:

(I haven’t really done this before, but: SPOILER WARNING! The TLDR is that I love this movie, I highly recommend it, and if you haven’t seen it before, then I think that going in with minimal spoilage is the best way to watch it)

Lemme say this to begin with: I’ve always thought the hero formerly known as Captain Marvel was severely underrated. Not my favorite superhero (that’d be Miles Morales) or even my favorite DC hero (that’d be Superman ‘cause I’m a basic bitch) but he has a universal, timeless appeal.

So when I heard news of a Shazam! movie I jumped with joy... For a moment. Until I remembered the tone of all recent (at that point) DC movies and became a bit skeptical. Really, dark superhero stories are very much not my thing. But then, once it did come out?

It was everything I hoped it would be, and more.

Let’s start with the tone. Like I said, dark superhero movies aren’t really my thing. Dark stories in general, but superheroes in particular. I adore ones that are (mostly) lighthearted and fun, as this film is.

And the thing is, a mostly light tone will lead to the dark/sad moments having more impact than if that was the default mode. Billy’s mom confessing that she abandoned him on purpose wouldn’t be as heartbreaking, Sivana killing everyone at the board meeting wouldn’t be as horrific...

And THIS wouldn’t have sent chills down my spine if Billy was some stoic badass hero from the very start.

Then there’s the story itself. Billy’s arc, from standoffish kid who’s just looking for his mom to considering his foster family his real family, is handled beautifully.

It can come off on first viewing like it comes out of nowhere, but in hindsight you can see his friendship develop with Freddy, leading to his acceptance of the foster family as a whole.

Sure, there could’ve been more scenes of Billy bonding with all the other foster kids, but I can’t imagine how that would work in the film without bringing it to a screeching halt at points.

And then there’s the perfect payoff at the climax where Billy uses the staff to share his powers with his family, and fight alongside them. He isn’t just not alone anymore as a kid, he’s not alone anymore as a hero.

Like I said in the spoiler warning, I love this movie. It’s a contender for my favorite superhero movie, and it’s something that I’ve tried to watch every Christmas season since it came out... Which, granted, is just last year and this year.

[loisfreakinglane]

@queenofattolia tagged me in a movie meme thank youuuu :) this will be very off the cuff I’m not gonna think too hard here lol

favorite movie: amelie

movie that makes you remember your childhood: so many but a little princess, spice world, and splash stand out

favorite tom hanks movie: splash

movie that makes you cry: hmmm quite a few have but the most recent was wendy in a happy emotional tears kind of way that had me randomly bursting into tears whenever I thought about the ending for days afterward (but honorary shoutout to mustang in a sad emotional tears kind of way)

favorite 80’s movie: clue

favorite comedy: uhhhhhhh so many but lets go with..... one cut of the dead. such a wonderful surprise of a movie lol (tho spy had me screaming a few days ago just fyi)

favorite sports movie: bend it like beckham?????? i guess??????? or fighting with my family hey that fits too

favorite courtroom movie: lol legally blonde is the only movie that springs to mind

favorite war movie: ??? does pan’s labyrinth count???

favorite animated movie: into the spiderverse

favorite horror movie: OH GOD SUCH A HARD CHOICE. today i choose the lure bc it is mermay and it IS the mermaid horror musical of my heart

most overrated movie: oh my god an impossible question there’s too many overrated movies, but today have the nolan batmovies yes including tdk which isn’t even my favorite in that trilogy ok bye

favorite gangster movie: idk that I’ve ever seen a gangster movie that I’ve liked, unless I can be loose with that term and say inside man bc I love inside man

movie you can watch over and over: ibiza, on a loop, forever and ever until i drop dead

movie with the best soundtrack: birds of prey easily

most embarrassing movie you love: I????? don’t know?????? I mean I love the fast and furious movies so I guess that

favorite christmas movie: shazam tbh IF I’M BEING FULLY HONEST HERE but honorary mention to love actually which i have finally actually seen now!!!!!!!!!

favorite halloween movie: trick’r treat

favorite sequel: the most gratifying sequel experience to me thus far has been the last jedi n g l. tho oh oh oh having finally watched the first painted skin, I can say definitively that painted skin the resurrection is a better movie in every possible conceivable fashion and is such an amazing sequel it has no need for the first one to exist at all (maybe that doesn’t define a great SEQUEL but whatever I do what I want)

favorite shakespeare movie: lol oh god uhhhhhh I haven’t rewatched it in a million years but I was big on romeo + juliet back in the day. I love aesthetics. but i remember much ado about nothing 1993 being tons of fun too

favorite austen film: pride and prejudice 05 for true austen but in my heart it is eternally clueless

favorite scifi film: pacific rim

favorite swashbuckling film: the princess bride

favorite romance: I’m gonna agree with lauren and say ever after.

favorite fantasy film: the mermaid!!!!!!!!!!!! 

favorite musical: cinderella 1997 or the muppets 2011

favorite noir: does john wick count

favorite thriller: hanna? if that counts? or ready or not

favorite mystery: knives out

favorite drama: hunt for the wilderpeople OR HUSTLERS

favorite western: ??? I don’t watch westerns typically and I haven’t been super into the ones I’ve seen. can I just say serenity

favorite romcom: crazy rich asians

favorite action movie: mad max fury road WITH A SIDE OF JOHN WICK MOVIES AND BIRDS OF PREY

AND NOW I SHALL TAG: @lexmurphy @bluetiefling @eleonoraditoledo @beavesaintmarie @karaazorel @iamgwenslongroadhome or if you want to do it say I tagged you I want to seeeee