#and Phoenix can’t take a decent selfie

[unepersonnelouche]

The sillies :)

[medea10]

Medea Plays Pokemon Sword: Part III

The NO BEDE episode!

I do like these random campsites on the different routes. You can tinker with different curry recipes and see their different pokemon. So far, the Eeveelution tent is my favorite.

I got a cute shot of Umbreon and Espeon. And then I visited an all-cat tent!

Oh dear God.

Okay, these are some judgey-ass cat pokemon. They don’t like me making the curry.

Time for Circhester. I’ll check out the hotel first.

Don’t worry, it wasn’t a murder. Apparently some berries went missing.

True culprit.

You sir, are no Phoenix Wright.

Let’s head to the gym.

A trap? Are we talking about pitfalls or landmines? Because I really don’t want a, “SURPRISE! Your leg just blew off”.

Fuck this gym.

Like seriously, fuck this gym.

Melony’s gym in Pokemon Shield is going to be just as screwy as this one, isn’t it? I’ll find out when I play Shield.

Thankfully I made it through Gordie’s challenge with my limbs in functioning order.

Let’s head off to Route 9.

These guys again! They’re crazy fucks, but I love them.

This is the part of the game where you get the bike upgrade that allows you to ride on water. Just heads up if you’re going to retrace your steps in earlier parts of the game, on the other side of those waters lays some pretty powerful pokemon (level 50+). Just FYI.

So the Yell twats shut up all of Spkemuth so Marnie and I have to go in through the back entrance.

At least this place isn’t like Po Town in Alola. I have to pay to get my pokemon healed at their center. This center thankfully has a Nurse Joy.

Okay time to meet the gym leader Piers...oh God.

I already have a severe distrust for this guy if he’s British and has the name of Piers. And you can all blame Piers Morgan for that! Because Piers Morgan has the likability of a chapped ass-crack.

So what’s this guy like?

OH MY VARIOUS DEITIES!

It’s like if David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, and Sid Vicious all puked on a pentagram made of Hot Topic gear and this fucker emerges.

I fucking love this.

Can I get tickets to your next show?

Can I officially join Team Yell?

But first, gotta get past the tossers in the gym challenge.

Okay...this feels like I’m walking in Downtown Oakland...AT NIGHT.

Why is there a Kanto Mr. Mime he...oh, who the hell cares?

I have a feeling that I’m about to be yelled at from these blokes in the window.

Fucking psychic!

Oh my God, these fuckers are insane.

*snorts*

Marnie is officially best girl.

Okay 7th gym battle time (no Dynamax).

Needless to say, I got my badge.

And I made Team Yell cry (even the pokemon).

Then we get a brother/sister moment between Piers and Marnie. Yeah, they’re siblings.

No Gym Leader Marnie for now.

Also, I say Piers is trans, try to change my mind.

I’m already tinkering with story ideas now!

Immediately after winning the 7th gym, an incident happens.

And Champion Hammy comes in to save the day!

See what I mean?

I’m gonna take a break from gyms and go back to the wild area to...

You know what? I’m sick of you fat squrrelys coming unannounced when I’m trying to get rare berries. For fuck’s sake, fat squirrely looks like the Gilbert Grape mother squirrel from that one American Dad episode.

Anyways...made some new dishes with some rare items.

I feel bad for that last one. We’re gleefully eating Slowpoke tails. Why does this seem so wrong?

And now ladies and gentlemen, fucked up Pokedex entries!

The last several games have given us some pretty messed up entries. Let’s see if Sword continues the tradition.

O____O

What in the actual shit?!

I know this one’s on my team and I nicknamed her Hepburn. Now I’m wondering if I should rename her...

Yuno Gasai

So it purposely aims for someone’s face? What a dick!

Oh ghost type pokemon, don’t ever stop being fucked up!

Uhhhhh...if I remember correctly, Haunter licked Ash’s Charmander in season one.

In fact, this moment was shown in the first OP theme FOR OVER 80 EPISODES! That’s the second time Charmander almost died if that’s the case!

So Gourgeist’s body gives off sounds of wailing souls in Hell? Mind if I steal from the Nostalgia Critic?

“A FAMILY PICTURE GAME”

These children you’re guiding, are they alive or dead?

It eats about 8 lbs of sugar a day? Do pokemon develop Diabetes?

This...makes sense.

I mean Galarian Darmanitan kinda resembeles Stinky Wizzleteats and he’s been known to steal food from people around this time of year.

Oh yeah...I made it happen...

Winston evolved.

And I immediately had regrets. Especially after watching Pokemon this morning and seeing this little breadloaf!

Koharu, never evolve the thunder-butt.

Another evolution happened.

Congratulations! Your Assistant Sonia has evolved into Professor Sonia.

Final gym time.

God, I hope that isn’t an ad for male enhancement drugs.

I defeated Raihan and his double battle challenge.

This dude took a selfie while Dynamaxing.

You and Leon seem to be more than just friends.

I think I found the cog in the Leon x Sonia ship.

More like an 8 inch dick-wrench, eh? Nudge Nudge, wink wink, say no more!

Now that I have all 8 badges, I can capture all those nuclear strength pokemon in the wild parts. Like...

No way!

Oh, fuck naw!

Get away from me you floating rice balls!

I’m looking for Ditto, not you fast mother fuckers!

I did manage to get a few decent catches like Gallade and Glaceon. As long as I don’t run into anymore surprises...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

Nope, still can’t handle Mr. Mime.

To be continued.

[marirable]

Interview with James McAvoy, Cosmopolitan Russia (May 2019)

AN X PROBLEM 

In the movie “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” McAvoy takes on the mantle of Charles Xavier for the fourth time. He shaves his head, reads minds and rolls around in a wheelchair.

James McAvoy told Cosmo why he’s saying goodbye to the X-Men yet isn’t in a hurry to leave the vanity fair.

(x)

Translation by @marirable​

On June 6th the final film of the X-Men tetralogy, “Dark Phoenix” is hitting the theatres. Are you certain this is the last time you’re playing Professor X?

It looks that way. Next X-Men movies will be made by Marvel (Disney bought the 20th Century Fox), and they haven’t reached out to me yet. But I said goodbye to Professor, just in case.

You and Michael Fassbender are a fantastic duo. Surely, you’ll miss him?

Can’t wait to tell him, “So long!” Well, in truth, we obviously loved working together.

You know each other almost since the “Band of Brothers” TV series, where you played one of your first roles.

Yes, it’s been 19 years already, blimey! Michael was in the regular cast while I was only reccurring. It was just like the army: you enter the room, everyone already knows each other, and you’re a newbie. And everyone realizes that you’ll be the one to get hell. Although Michael later told me that I arrived with so much attitude and unprompted insolence, they decided not to push me around. But that was just a defence mechanism – that’s how I coped with fear.

Suppose, you had to stand out, make yourself be noticed? Is it as important now?

Of course, how else you’ll get recognized? How can you build a career when nobody knows you? But back then it was important to me to stay true to myself. Then I realized that the most important thing is to able to tell the story.

For the last two years, Michael was busy racing instead of filming. Is there something you are as passionate about, that you would prefer it over work?

I don’t have anything I’d dedicate as much of my time to. After work, I come home, sit in my underpants and stare at the wall. I also play football and raise my son. But that’s it! I’m gonna be 40 in April, that’s a huge chunk of life. I’m trying to rethink my priorities and don’t work myself to death. Though I’m also not ready to die behind the wheel of a race car!

What did X-Men give you?

A lot of freedom. And a lot of money, which I spent on a new house. I was a part of the franchise for ten years, and when you have such a dependable project to your name, you can take risks and sign up on some wild ideas in your free time.

Does it disappoint you, being Professor X for most people, while you’ve played so many other decent roles?

Why would it disappoint me? It’s not the lamest character. The majority of my fanbase is the X-Men fans. And I’m thankful because I get recognized by them all around the globe.

What do they do when they recognize you, ask for an autograph?

Autographs are fine, I don’t mind them, but sometimes they try to do a selfie and you’re not prepared: haven’t finished your burger and haven’t brushed your eyebrows. You’re lucky if they ask you first because some just snap you secretly, and that’s it – your shaggy brows are viral now.

You’re vain then!

Guilty as charged! Even though it’s weird. In my twenty years of acting, I kind of got used to being embarrassed for myself. But sometimes I'd look at the photo of myself and sweat over how much I don’t like it. Who cares, if I already exhausted myself half-naked on stage and embarrassed myself enough? Sometimes I think that I’m not vain at all, and then something resurfaces – and I have to take off my shining armour and clean them all over again.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior Home Edition May 1, 2020 – THE WRETCHED, VANILLA, DEERSKIN, BULL

Just think...  this weekend would have been the start of the summer box office with Marvel’s Black Widow before COVID came along. Now, we’re waiting for anywhere from two to three months or longer for the next big studio release in movie theaters with so many other “big” movies already being dumped to digital.

This is yet another week with no movies in theaters unless you’re in driving distance to a drive-in (i.e. you have a car), but at least we have some great stuff to watch at home, including a few virtual film festivals and virtual cinemas.

The first major disaster brought on by the advent of COVID-19 was the cancellation of the annual SXSW Festival in Austin. The movie that was supposed to open the fest, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island, starring Pete Davidson, was supposed to open SXSW in March and then play Tribeca earlier this month, but Universal reported earlier this week that it was going to release it via digital download on June 12, the same day it was going to get a theatrical release.

Amazon has teamed with SXSW to screen 39 projects, including seven features, that will screen free of charge on Amazon from April 27 through May 6. The four narrative features available are the British-Bulgarian dramedy Cat in the Wall from Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova, which is being compared to Ken Loch’s I, Daniel Blake. There’s also the Guatemalan romance Gunpowder Heart, the French period film Le Choc du Futur and the French sci-fi anthology, Selfie.  The docs being offered are Karen Bernstein’s I’m Gonna Make You Love Me is described as “Fellini meets Motown” about one man’s search for self-acceptance, while Matt Riddlehoover’s My Darling Vivian about Johnny Cash’s first wife, Vivian Liberto, who gave the country singer four daughters. Last up is Alex Lee Moyer’s TFW no GW, a doc about the state of isolation, rejection and alienation that we all seemed to be feeling these days. There will also be a ton of shorts available that you can learn more about at The Hollywood Reporter.

The second weekend of the Virtual Oxford Film Festival will launch a few more feature premieres, as well as a virtual panel and the Fest Forward collection of experimental films. First up, on Friday, May 1 is a panel called “Creating Black Stories in Mississippi” at noon central time, and if you’re interested in that, you may want to check out the Mississippi Shorts, Getting to the Root and 70 Years of Blackness, which will now run through May 8, giving you more time to see them. Friday will also see the premieres of Daniel Lafrentz’s crime-drama The Long Shadow, preceded by Will Goss’ short, Sweet Steel. (Hey! I know Will Goss!) There will be a Zoom Q&A for the two movies on Wednesday, May 6, at 6pm Central. Also available Friday is Travis Beard’s doc, Rockabul, which is about the Afghan band District Unknown who fought against the USA’s counter-culture campaign by challenging freedom of expression and youth identify in Kabul with a QnA on May 8 at 8pm central. The Fest Forward Collection includes 8 international animated films from places like Estonia and Egypt, and those will have a virtual QnA on Saturday, May 2, at 1pm Central. (All of these Oxford QnAs and panels are recorded and available to watch for as long as the films are available to watch.)  You can get tickets for all these movies and events on Eventive.

This week’s Featured Film is the Pierce Brothers’ (Brett and Drew Pierce) horror flick, THE WRETCHED (IFC Midnight), which was a nice surprise since I’m not as easy a lay when it comes to horror flicks as other “horror fan” movie writers. The film involves a somewhat quizzical premise that isn’t too apparent as it begins, as we’re not exactly sure what is going on as it begins. It stars John Paul Howard as Ben, a young man living with his father (Jamison Jones), who has separated from Ben’s mother, as the two of them work at the nearby marina over the summer. Ben is immediately picked on and bullied by the locals, but he’s more distracted by the odd behavior of the woman next door (played by Madelyn Stunenkel). I’m not going to go too far into spoiler territory but the premise does involve witchcraft and an ancient evil that’s cropped up in the small town and is causing the disappearance of many small children… maybe… most of their parents seem to forget they have kids as they follow under the spell of the evil Ben’s discovered.

This is just a fantastic little scarer that at times reminded me of the original Fright Night, and I was really impressed with what the Pierce Brothers, first of all by working with a cast of great lesser-known actors, but the visual FX are fantastic and every aspect of the film’s mood and tone is just about perfect. I guess I’ve seen so much low budget horror that doesn’t really match the standards or production values of even some of the smaller-budget Blumhouse movies.

While you may not be near any of the scattered drive-in across the country that will probably be playing the movie, I definitely recommend downloading and/or renting it if you’re a fan of quality horror. The Pierces are extremely talented filmmakers who I’m sure will be doing better things down the road. For me, this is right up there with The Invisible Man, as far as this year’s stronger horror films.

Out now on VOD and Digital is Will Dennis’ quirky road comedy VANILLA (Gravitas Ventures) about a comedian (Kelsea Bauman) who goes on a three-day road trip from New York to New Orleans with an ice cream entrepreneur (Dennis), to sell his van with a questionable past to his ex-girlfriend. Both of them see the trip as a date, of sorts, but they set up a number of rules and boundaries to make the trip work.  It’s a pretty simple premise that’s made more fun by the unique elements Dennis introduces. Vanilla is a sweet, cute romantic movie with two actors appearing in their first movie that reminds me a little of the early work of the Duplass Brothers or Joe Swanberg where there’s a simplicity to the storytelling, but it’s really driven by the wonderful chemistry between the two leads.  It’s kind of amazing how enjoyable this movie is considering the inexperience of both actors, and I hope this gets seen by more people.  This is a wonderful discovery film that I was told played at the Lighthouse International Film Festival in Jersey and the Phoenix Film Festival, just a reminder why film festivals are so important!

Also on VOD and Digital this Friday is Annie Silverstein’s BULL (Samuel Goldwyn), starring Rob Morgan from Mudbound, Just Mercy and Netflix’s Daredevil. Amber Havard plays 14-year-old Kristal, a young troubled girl who is on her way to ending up in jail like her mother. After an incident where Kristal is in danger of going to juvie, she’s given a choice instead to help her next door neighbor, Morgan’s bull rider Abe Turner, with errands around his home. Kris soon discovers her own love for bull riding, as this unlikely relationship grows. I’m a big fan of Rob Morgan as an actor, because his work is highly-underrated, and I do have to say that Bull is a great vehicle for Morgan to have more of a leading role than he normally gets. He shines in that capacity, and Havard does a decent job in their scenes together, even though it’s a far lower key role. Then again, I thought this was a moderately decent indie that covered topics very similar to other movies, including Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s The Mustang last year and Chloé Zhao’s The Rider a year earlier.  Unfortunately, the material and especially Silverstein’s writing isn’t up to par with those movies, and it took me a little longer to get into this vs. those other films. Oddly, this will probably be seen by more people due to its VOD release, and that’s fine since I’d love movies like this to find more of an audience even with its pacing issues.

Back in the VOD/digital world, we have a handful of new releases including Quentin (Rubber) Dupieux’s DEERSKIN (“Le Daim”) (Greenwich), which I got a chance to see at Rendezvous with French Cinema back in February before the world came to a screeching halt, and that series ended up also being sidelined. The movie stars Oscar winner Jean Dujardin from The Artist whose obsession with a designer deerskin jacket leads him into a life of crime as he tries to complete his all-deerskin wardrobe. I generally like Dupieux’s weird sense of humor, and though this is less of a genre film than Rubber, it’s an entertaining film as we watch Dujardin’s character get further and further into trouble as he becomes obsessed with making a movie… as well as abolishing the world of all other jackets besides his own. If that sounds weird like a strange premise, then you clearly don’t know Dupieux’s work, and maybe it’s not for you. Deerskin is a movie I fully appreciated, because it was so weird and you never know where it was going, even going into the realm of American Psycho as it went along. Dujardin’s expressive performance was quite fun to watch, plus it it also co-stars Adèle Haenel from Portrait of a Lady on Fire, for those who loved that movie. Again, not for everyone, but if you enjoy Dupieux’s strange filmmaking ethos then Deerskin is another highly original offering.

Film at Lincoln Center’s Virtual Cinema will also be playing Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra’s new film Liberté (Cinema Guild), following it being a selection at the 57th New York Film Festival last year. This one takes place in the 18th century where a group of “bewigged libertines” engage in “pansexual games of pain, torture, humiliation and other dissolute, Sadean pleasure.” Sounds like something that would never play in Middle America if not for being available across the country thanks to this Virtual Cinema. I can’t remember if I saw Serra’s other film, The Death of Louis XIV, but this doesn’t sound like something I would watch unless I had free time at a festival, and clearly, I didn’t have time for this one at least year’s NYFF.

Another foreign film to look out for via virtual cinema is César Diaz’s Belgian-Guatemalan film, Our Mothers (Nuestras Madres) (Outside Pictures), which will be available via Virtual Cinema Friday. Besides being the Belgian entry for the 92nd Academy Awards, it also won the Caméra d’Or at last year’s Cannes, where it premiered during Cannes International Critics Week. It stars Armando Espitia as young anthropologist Ernesto who works for the Forensic Foundation in Guatemala as the country is in the middle of trying the soldiers who began the country’s civil war. Ernesto’s job is to identify the bodies of the missing, including possibly his father whose went missing during the war. The project began as a documentary and then became a narrative film.

Semi-related to the above, Cinema Tropical will be releasing three new genre-breaking films from a new generation of Brazilian directors, the “Cinema Tropical Collection” also done in conjunction with Lincoln Center, beginning with Gabriel Martins and Maurílio’s In the Heart of the World on Thursday, April 30.

Another movie getting a “Virtual Cinema” release (i.e. VOD/Digital) is Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra’s “docu-thriller” THE INFILTRATORS (Oscilloscope), which tells the true story of two immigrants who are thrown into a detention center. Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of young DREAMers who want to put a stop to unjust deportations by being put in detention themselves, a plan that doesn’t go the way they planned. The film cuts between documentary footage of the real “infiltrators” with reenactments of the events inside the detention story, so it’s part documentary and part drama.

Also, Kino Lorber will be releasing Beanpole director Kantemir Balagov’s 2017 debut film, Tesnota (Closeness), virtually on Friday to help assist New York arthouse, Anthology Film Archives. This one is set in 1998 Nalchik in the North Caucasus of Russia and focuses on 24-year-old Jewish girl Ilana who works in her father’s garage, and while celebrating her young brother David’s engagement, he and his fiancée are kidnapped, but the Jewish community won’t go to the police to pay the ransom, so Ilana and her parents have to figure out a way to save them on their own.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Lots of stuff on Netflix this week, including THE HALF OF IT, the new film from Alice Wu, her first movie as as director since her terrific 2004 debut, Saving Face! This one stars Leah Lewis as Ellie Chu, a cash-strapped teen who writes a love to the school’s jock but ends up becoming friends with him and falling for the girl he has a crush on. I haven’t watched it yet to review, but I’m looking forward to it being a nice twist on Netflix’s other teen-oriented romance films.

Ryan Murphy’s second series for Netflix, Hollywood, will debut its first season on Friday, this one co-created with Ian Brennan (Glee, Scream Queens). It takes place in a post-WWII Hollywood and tells the story of a group of actors and filmmakers trying to make it. The cast includes Darren Criss, Patti Lupone, Mira Sorvino, Rob Reiner, Samara Weaving AND Michelle Krusiec, who starred in Alice Wu’s Saving Face! (See how it’s all connecting together?)

Chris Bolan’s documentary A Secret Love, which premieres on Netflix Wednesday, about two women, Pat Henschel and pro baseball player Terry Donahue, who fell in love in 1947 but had to keep that love a secret for 65 years due to the prejudice against lesbians they would have had to face.

Starting on Amazon this Friday is Upload, the new series from Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation), with the first season being made up of ten episodes.  It stars Robbie Amell, who I got to interview last year for a small indie sci-fi film called Code 8. This is another dealing with life, death and the afterlife which seems to be a running theme through many series in recent years (such as Miracle Workers and The Good Place). In this one, Amell plays Nathan, a spoiled rich guy who ends up at Upload after a horrifying accident that takes his place, while Andy Allo plays the Upload “angel” assigned to Nathan who has to get him acclimated to his new afterlife. I’ve only watched the first episode of this so far, and it’s okay. I’m curious to see where it goes since it’s not a straight comedy perse like some of Daniels’ other work, and a lot is put on Amell’s shoulders to be funny, and Daniels is working with a lot of lesser-known actors for this one.

On Sunday, Showtime will launch the season debuts of Billions (Season 5) and the first season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.

Also, Lionsgate’s free movie offering this Friday is Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, my #1 movie of that year… thanks for nothing, #Schmoonlight!

Next week, more movies and shows not in theaters!

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/poco-x2-review/

Poco X2 Review

Like many of its competitors, Xiaomi has spun the Poco sub-brand off into its own company, just in time for the launch of the Poco X2. The brand is of course well known because of the iconic Poco F1, but it has been well over a year since that model was launched. Poco is now on its own, though it will likely share many resources with Xiaomi for the foreseeable future. The new Poco X2 is sure to be noticed, however fans should be clear that this is not the next version of the Poco F1, and doesn’t follow the same formula at all. The Poco X2 is much more conventional and somewhat less path-breaking than its illustrious predecessor.

This phone isn’t made of plain plastic and isn’t trying to prioritise core specifications and raw power over everything else. Of course people are still expecting Poco to take the lead in terms of pricing, and to an extent, it does. Starting at just Rs. 15,999, the Poco X2 takes the Realme X2 (Review) on and somewhat overshadows the Redmi K20 (Review) as well as the Redmi Note 8 Pro (Review).

Will Poco set off another firestorm in the Indian market, and does this mark the beginning of a new era of competitiveness? We can’t wait to get started on our review to find out.

  Poco X2 design

While the Poco F1 (Review) is unapologetically plain-looking and made of simple plastic in order to remain affordable, Poco is trying a different approach here. What we have is a bright, colourful glass rear with a gradient tone and an unusual circular design around the vertical camera strip. Our Atlantis Blue unit was lighter on the top and darker going down, but you can also choose Phoenix Red or Matrix Purple. There’s a Poco logo towards the bottom, and no “by Xiaomi” tag like the F1 had. The frame of the phone matches the colour of the lower one-third of the rear panel.

The main bit of design flair is the circular patch. You might think at first that Poco has gone with a raised camera module like what we’ve seen on the OnePlus 7T (Review) and Nokia 7.2 (Review), but it’s just a patch with a smooth finish while the glass around it looks frosted. Also, despite the fact that it’s quite flat, Poco has managed to make this patch reflective like a convex mirror, and we were somewhat able to frame a selfie taken with the rear camera. The vertical strip that actually houses the four cameras sticks out quite a bit and has slightly rough edges.

With a 6.67-inch screen, this is undoubtedly a large phone. The tall 20:9 aspect ratio helps with reachability and the non-slippery rear makes for a decent grip. It’s still difficult to get to all parts of the screen with a thumb though, making one-handed use potentially awkward. Your eye will be drawn to the wide dual-camera cutout in the upper right corner of the screen – it isn’t too noticeable in ordinary use, but definitely is a distraction when watching full-screen video.

The wide dual-camera cutout in the screen is quite noticeable

The power button on the right doubles as a fingerprint sensor, but it’s long and thin, which isn’t ideal. The fingerprint registration process took longer than usual, since the Poco X2 has to make sure it can work with just a narrow slice of your fingerprint. Left-handed users will find this placement awkward, and you’ll need to enrol at least two or three fingers so you can unlock the phone when it’s in your hand and on a table. The sensor is flush with the side of the phone which also meant we didn’t always line our fingers up with it perfectly.

The volume buttons are above the power button, which puts them slightly out of reach. There’s an infrared emitter on the top, like with many Xiaomi phones. Sadly, the tray on the left is of the hybrid variety so you’ll have to sacrifice a second SIM if you need a microSD card, and vice versa. There’s a 3.5mm audio socket, USB Type-C port, and speaker on the bottom.

Poco says it has used Gorilla Glass 5 for the front as well as rear of the X2. A clear transparent case comes with this phone and we’re glad to see there’s no pre-applied screen protector. You also get a SIM eject pin, a 27W charger, and a USB Type-C cable. The charger is one of the bulkiest we’ve ever seen.

Overall, it seems as though Poco wanted to create a distinct identity for the X2 and for itself as a brand. We’re not sure that all the design choices here are for the best, but this phone is at least unique and recognisable from the front as well as the back. We would have liked a neutral colour option, though.

The Poco X2 is available in three vibrant colour options

Poco X2 specifications and software

As we stated earlier, the Poco X2 should not be seen as the successor to the Poco F1, and as such it isn’t trying to offer a flagship-grade SoC at mid-range prices. You do get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, which is pretty much the next best thing. This is the same chip that powers this phone’s primary competitor, the Realme X2, so we can assume that gaming and general-purpose performance will be solid.

You can buy the Poco X2 with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for Rs. 15,999; 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for Rs. 16,999; or 8GB of RAM and a whopping 256GB of storage for Rs. 19,999. We have the top-end variant with us for review and if you choose this one, the hybrid dual-SIM tray won’t be much of a problem.

The 6.67-inch 2340×1080-pixel display has a killer feature to boast of – a 120Hz refresh rate. This is a subtle feature but it really does improve the quality of the usage experience, making the Android UI feel smooth and responsive. Poco calls this feature “RealityFlow” and it isn’t hard to see why. Games will benefit the most from this, but they have to explicitly support it and not a lot do yet. HDR-10 is also on the spec sheet.

There’s also a 4500mAh battery, dual VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS, FM radio, and all the standard sensors. Interestingly, the design and specifications of the Poco X2 are practically identical to those of the Redmi K30 being sold in China. It will be interesting to see how the two brands segment and differentiate themselves if the Redmi K30 is launched here.

You’ll find a USB Type-C port, 3.5mm audio socket, and speaker on the bottom

Poco’s UI is identifed as Poco Launcher as well as MIUI 11.0.3 in different parts of the UI. It looks and feels like what we’ve seen recently on the Redmi K20 (Review) and Redmi K20 Pro (Review). It’s based on Android 10, and we have the December 2019 security update which is good to see.

Xiaomi’s software strategy has always been a point of contention and now Poco has inherited the same issues. There’s a lot of preloaded bloatware and we saw multiple annoying notifications each day asking us to download more through the company’s own GetApps store, or watch random celebrity-themed videos. There are also promotional messages on the lock screen, which you can disable. You’ll see ads and promoted content in many of the default apps. On the whole though, we noted that all this seems to have been toned down a little compared to what we’ve dealt with in the past.

Among the many preinstalled apps, you’ll find Mi Pay and Mi Credit, Xiaomi’s apps for UPI transactions and personal loans respectively. There’s are of course several redundant Mi apps including a Web browser, photo gallery and calendar, but some others such as Mi Remote, Themes, and Screen Recorder are useful. The third-party selection, including Helo, Gaana, Amazon Shopping, Dailyhunt, Opera, and more, are removable. The GetApps store will try to make you download plenty more, so be sure to look for the ‘Skip’ option.

There are plenty of UI customisation options. Not only is there now an app drawer, but it has tabs that filter various categories of apps for easy access. Nice touches include a search bar at the bottom of the drawer so you don’t have to stretch, and neatly grouped “Special features” in the Settings app. These features include the Game Turbo optimisation mode, Quick Reply panels for messaging apps, and Second Space for privacy.

There’s a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button on the left

Poco X2 performance and battery life

The Snapdragon 730G is no slouch, and the Poco X2 breezed through all our apps and usage scenarios. We did see some very slight stuttering in UI once or twice but it was only momentary. Multitasking was not a problem at all. Of course, this experience applies to the top-end variant that we are testing, which has 8GB of RAM. The only problem we had was stretching our thumbs to reach all parts of the screen. The phone didn’t get too hot in use either, and we only felt a mild warmth when playing games or using the cameras for a while.

The screen isn’t the most vivid or crisp, but it is fairly bright and engaging, and viewing angles are great. Whether or not the wide dual-camera hole annoys you will be a subjective matter – we found ourselves largely forgetting it was there when watching videos, but then suddenly being distracted by it when a bright scene came on. We also noticed a bit of backlight unevenness around the cutout.

You only get a single speaker on the bottom of this phone but it’s very loud and the sound is impressively deep and rich. Music distorts if the volume level is above 60 percent or so, but anything less than that is fine for personal listening.

A few of our benchmark tests were restricted from running on our pre-release review unit, but we do have some numbers to share. AnTuTu gave us a score of 2,80,912 which is very good. The Geekbench 5 single-core and multi-core scores were 548 and 1,759. 3DMark and GFXBench were both unable to run so we don’t have graphics scores, but we did run some of today’s more demanding games and got some real-world experience with the Poco X2.

PUBG Mobile defaulted to the High preset. The game was enjoyable and ran without any lag. Asphalt 9: Legends also worked very well, not stuttering even when we smashed headlong into other cars, which is typically a stressful visual effect.

We found the Poco X2’s battery life to be decent, and we didn’t feel any anxiety about getting through a full day, from morning to night. During that time we used the cameras quite a lot, played a few rounds of PUBG Mobile, streamed about an hour of video, and spent some time on social media apps. Our HD video loop test ran for 13 hours, 43 minutes, which is not a great result but might be influenced by how large the screen is.

The Poco X2 has four rear cameras including a 64-megapixel primary camera

Poco X2 cameras

The Poco X2 has four rear and two front cameras. The primary 64-megapixel rear camera has an f/1.89 aperture and uses the Sony IMX686 sensor which succeeds the widely used IMX586. There’s also an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera with a 2cm-10cm focal range as well as autofocus, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The primary selfie camera has a 20-megapixel resolution and is accompanied by a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Poco’s camera app takes a little time to get used to. You have to use the zoom control to switch to the wide-angle camera (marked only as 0.6x) but going the other way to 2x performs a digital zoom since there’s no optical zoom capability. There’s a separate toggle button at the top for the macro camera. It’s a bit tedious to swipe through the mode selector which has a lot of options including 64-megapixel, Pro, Portait, Night, Short Video, and Slow Motion. Unfortunately, photos are branded with a Poco watermark by default, and we wish all manufacturers would stop doing this.

Poco X2 daytime camera samples (top: primary camera; bottom: ultra-wide camera), tap to see full-size

We very occasionally had trouble getting the primary camera to lock focus perfectly, and stepping back from our subject a bit often helped. Photos came out very well exposed with vibrant colours. When the composition allowed, there was very natural-looking depth of field. Fine details on objects such as flower petals came out well, as long as there was good natural light and they were in the centre of the frame. In shadowy areas and at the edges of daylight shots, details were somewhat lost and we did start seeing some grain.

Poco X2 daytime camera samples, tap to see full-size

The wide-angle camera takes poorer quality shots, as expected, but were were happy to see that warping at the sides is minimal. Macros were completely washed-out and it was often hard to take a shot without the phone itself casting a shadow on our subjects.

Low-light shots were also relatively impressive though of course detail is not as well defined as during the day. You can get usable shots as long as there’s a little lighting around, whether indoors or out. The night mode does make a considerable difference and you don’t have to stand still too long. Using this brightens frames and shows details that would have been lost in the shadows.

Poco X2 low-light camera samples (top: primary camera; middle: Night Mode; bottom: ultra-wide camera), tap to see full-size

You can take portrait selfies and adjust a virtual aperture to vary the intensity of the depth effect. Edge detection is quite good too. However, the overall quality of photo taken with the front camera isn’t as impressive as we would have liked. Backgrounds were overblown in the daytime and details looked a bit artificial. It also takes too many taps and swipes to disable the default beautification.

As for video, we liked what the Poco X2 managed to capture in the daytime when recording at 1920×1080. Video was crisp with smooth motion tracking and reasonable stabilisation. Sadly, when we switched to 4K, colours became overexaggerated and there was a warm cast to the clips we recorded. At night, even mild motion caused severe shimmer and motion was quite jerky. Objects weren’t clearly discernible and bright lights caused exposure issues. 4K video shot at night was barely usable.

Poco X2 selfie camera samples (top: standard; bottom: Portrait mode), tap to see full-size

Verdict

Offering high-end specifications at rock-bottom prices is the simplest way to succeed in the Indian market, and Xiaomi has been one of the biggest forces here for years now. The Chinese giant constantly pushes out new models that raise the bar in terms of value, whether the focus is on style, battery life, cameras, specifications, or attention-grabbing features.

While the Poco X2 doesn’t have quite the impact that the Poco F1 did, it still does everything it needs to, and pricing is its main advantage. The Realme X2 (Review) and Redmi K20 (Review) have dominated the sub-Rs. 20,000 market of late and many recent models, such as the Oppo F15 (Review) and Vivo S1 Pro (Review) have simply not been able to match them in terms of power and features. Now, the Poco X2 makes all of them look a little worse in comparison.

The processor, RAM, storage, battery, and cameras are all strong, and there’s nothing to complain about in terms of build quality or the included accessories. We do, however, wish that the UI eased up on the bloatware and nagging notifications much more, and frankly the rear of the Poco X2 is a little too garish for our taste. Some people will also struggle with the sheer size of this device.

If cost is your main motivator, then the Poco X2 is the new obvious choice in its segment. That doesn’t mean that it’s a clear winner over the Realme X2 though, especially if you can find it at a discount, or if flash sales make the Poco X2 difficult to buy. If you’re undecided between these two models, you can expect a head-to-head comparison coming up on Gadgets 360 very soon.

[celestediqqory-blog]

heyyoo! i’m jo ( 24. est. she/her) I’ll be playing Celeste Diggory here! I’m quite horrible with these sorts of things as they tend to get rambley and i misspell things LOL but this is her intro! If you’d like plot something out, ust come yell at me and i’ll do my best to get back to you asap !! <3

BAE JOOHYUN ( IRENE )? No, that’s actually CELESTE DIGGORY from the NEXT GENERATION ERA. You know, the child of AUGUST DIGGORY and ANNETTE HWANG?About to begin SIXTH YEAR, this GRYFFINDOR student is sided with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. SHE identifies as CIS-FEMALE and is a ONE-QUARTER VEELA who is known to be RECKLESS, DIRECT, and SLY but also BRIGHT, TENACIOUS, and CONFIDENT. 

Tiggers: death mention

stats page <3

( also here is her pinterest because i think it shows a lot about her personality )

her mother ( ½ veela ) and father ( pureblood ) had resolved themselves of the wizarding worlds issues, almost deciding to give up magic in order to keep their growing family safe and sound after the death of August’s younger brother, Cedric Diggory. ( Celeste’s biological uncle. ) However, her father’s talent within the ministry made it far too difficult for him to quite and her mother’s passion for giving advice in the columns of the Daily Prophet led to even more difficulties of separating themselves from the magical world. So they settled in Nice, France -- their ‘summer home/getaway house’ -- and made home in Dublin, Ireland during the school year.

the diggs are a pretty conservative family. her older siblings are well mannered and then there’s…celeste lmfao the youngest of three and probably the most spoiled out of her siblings. she has quite the charm – even though you don’t like what she’s doing you end up following her anyways. nothing could stop her curiosity and her tendency to always get herself into trouble. she had a bad habit of disappearing from sight. no, not from magic but a tenacity that would even to this day land her right where she wanted even if it took some time.

And now– lmfao spoiled and with just as much talent for slipping off into trouble as ever. she has quite the charm though – even if you don’t like what she’s doing you somehow end up following her anyways.

if there’s an adventure, she’ll find it. honestly she has bright eyes and knack for finding all of those hidden treasures the world has to offer. there is no ‘i can’t do it’. it’s always I WILL DO IT. which a lot of the times gets her in a lot of trouble ( like say climbing up but not knowing how to get back down?? )

she cares more about ^^ exploring and friends than her grades. it’s not that she’s ‘dumb’ or lacks the effort. she just has a lot of trouble staying awake and concentrating while reading those terrible ( her words, not mine LOL ) textbooks. her best subjects are potions and dada only because they are more hands on – anything else is just not enough to keep her attention so her grades suffer a lot.

she has had a lot of broken bones and injuries in her past due to her diving into things without having a plan how to get back out – but even that doesn’t stop her.

famous last words: “IT’LL BE FINEE~~~”

she’s extremely determined and tenacious. once she grabs onto something be it a project, bungee jumping, an argument, you name it – she won’t let go until she has the last word in it. she does play quidditch, more to have an excuse for a bit of morning yoga on the pitch, but she’s pretty decent at flying -- hence her being Gryffindor’s seeker

she’s also honest, brutally so. no matter who you are if you don’t want to hear the truth – the blunt truth at that – you should just not ask. she’ll tell it as it is. if you don’t look good in something, she’ll tell you. if she thinks what you did was stupid, she’ll tell you. if she likes you, you’ll know it. she doesn’t spare feelings when it comes to telling the truth or pointing out what went wrong. dat sass doe

she’s also quite the trickster/prankster? in more of an….effortless way. she finds a lot of things funny and just like everything else grabs onto it and won’t let go. she likes to tease, in a friendly way, and honestly if she finds a meme in something you’ll be hearing about it untill you are 100 LOL she’s good at finding your buttons and pushing them 

even so she’s really friendly and open minded. she has a bright personality and a knack for extreme sports and makeup. she’s flirty and full of herself – so good luck hogwarts lmfao honestly sometimes she comes off as flirty but she really could careless about dating? Like obvious she’d find it fun but like if you’re cute, you’re cute. to her that’s a fact lmfao i think when it comes to romantic relationships she’d only date someone who could keep up with her in her adventures but also help her slow down and look at the world around her -- not someone who’s only cute.

she’s best friends with lily luna and...literally everyone??? So if you want to plot out a friendship, anything tbh etc. HIT ME UP <3

the recent event is hilarious to her? not so much about the death eaters but seeing her parents her age is exciting and she just honestly wants to be their best friend? take selfies? talk like sixteen year olds do. IDK she’s pretty stoked!!

[myselfinserts]

❝ I never knew relationships were supposed to make you feel better about yourself. ❞

It hadn’t taken long for Marianne to get a job the moment she landed in Japan. As it turned out, the hospital near U.A. needed a good doctor in the children’s ward, and the hours were decent enough to where she could maintain a stable balance between work and social lives. 

As a result, she was able to take the day off and accept an invitation for a triple date with Phoenix, Lady L, and their current partners. To be honest, now was probably the best time to be going out with them all. She had to tell them something important. 

And important news meant she got to wear a white swing dress with red belt and matching shoes. Marianne didn’t want to brag, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel like the sexiest woman in the world at that moment. 

Checking her phone, she smiled fondly at the text she’d gotten from Mykolas. He’d just gotten his approval to perform Hero duties in Japan and was holding his licence in the selfie he’d sent. 

“Looks like I’ll have to wait to break this news then,” she sighed. “Maybe it’s for the best.”

“Excuse me. Could you direct me to the station?”

Marianne looked up from her phone, taken aback by the beautiful woman before her. Round almond brown eyes, hair of sunshine rolling against her back in the ponytail she had, and a lithe frame that resembled a fairy. She was like an angel. And the way her sheer shawl hung off her added to her naturally ethereal nature. 

She could have sworn the world stopped. 

“Which station?” Marianne asked. “Heading somewhere?”

The woman shrugged. “My ex is on his way this direction, and...I don’t know where he’ll be appearing from.” She twiddled her thumbs slightly. “I was really horrible toward him...took him for granted, cheated on him, called him so many terrible names. And I want to apologize. Treat him to coffee. Maybe talk to him...”

“I see...” Marianne nodded slowly. “It’s good that you recognized that you hurt him. But you know he’s not obligated to listen, right?”

“I know that,” she said. “But its still something I have to do. For closure. And it has to be in person.”

“Why in person?”

“Because over messaging is too hardhearted and isn’t sincere.” 

“Well, he’s certainly lucky to have an ex like you.” She paused. “I’m sorry, but I feel like I know you from somewhere...Are you a Hero or something?”

The woman smiled softly. “No, I’m a model. Mostly wedding dresses, if you can believe it.”

“I can. You have that look to you.”

“Thank you.” The woman tilted her head slightly. “You look like a woman in love. I take it you have a special someone?”

Marianne smiled fondly. “I do. Several someones. And I cherish them greatly.” She laughed a little. “It’s funny. I never knew relationships were supposed to make you feel better about yourself until I met them.”

“I’m glad you have people like that in your life.”

“Me too.” She blushed. “I’m supposed to meet them soon. With my boyfriend. And I need to tell them something important.” Marianne glanced down slightly. “Something really important. But it might have to wait until after we’re done with the date.”

The woman smiled, lightly poking her. “Congratulations. How far?”

“Not long. 4-6 weeks.”

“I wish you both well.”

“Thank you.”

“Marianne! Over here!”

“Hey Nemuri!” Marianne looked over at her friends, smiling at how Aizawa was trying so hard to bury his face in the civilian scarf. “Ready to go?”

“Pretty much,” Phoenix snickered. “So who’s ready to head to Wookieland?”

“Only if you and I get to right that tunnel ride, darling,” Nemuri teased. 

L shook her head, mask shining slightly in the sun. “You lovebirds need to be patient. We’re missing someone.” She turned her gaze towards the mystery woman. “And who’s your friend Marianne?”

Marianne knew L was probably giving this person the death stare. 

“I’m sorry,” the woman said. “My name is Vanessa Cariveau. I’m just-”

“Wait a minute!” Nemuri was bouncing on her toes. “The Wedding Angel Cariveau? The model? Oh, I love your work!”

Vanessa giggled. “Thank you.”

Phoenix and L exchanged a knowing look. “So what brings you to Japan?”

“I’m here to-”

“HEY MARIANNE!!! LOOKIE WHAT I GOT!!!”

Marianne turned around, letting out a squeal of delight as she skipped over to Myko, laughing as he gave her a quick spin. “Congrats, Myko!”

“I can’t wait to get to work. I start tomorrow at-” he paused, his cheer switching to confusion. “Vanessa?”

“Myko?” 

“Well,” Aizawa sighed. “This is awkward.”

Awkward was right. Marianne had just had a pleasant conversation with her boyfriend’s ex. And she was honestly a pretty nice person to talk to. She was pretty too. A model of all things. 

Suddenly all that confidence she had about herself started to deflate. 

“What are you doing here?” Mykolas asked. 

Vanessa simply smiled, walking over to the couple. Marianne could has sworn she saw L whisper to Phoenix about preparing the lava. 

“I came to talk to you,” she said. “But I see now that it might be best I don’t.” She looked between him and Marianne. “You two are very happy together.”

Mykolas smiled. “We are. At least...I know I am.” He looked at Marianne softly. “Are you happy?”

She smiled. “Very.”

“Then I’ll take my leave. You won’t see me anymore.” Vanessa nodded politely. “Take care of him, Marianne. He’s a bit of an airhead.”

“I know. But he’s my airhead.”

“Hey!” Mykolas squawked. 

“Ta-ta!”

Vanessa hurried off, her hair seemingly floating as she went. A small sparkle, and she vanished in a puff of starlight. 

Nemuri went slack jawed in confusion. “What...just happened?”

“Nothing of importance,” Phoenix assured. “Right?”

Marianne nodded. “Yeah. How about we head to the park now? I want to get some cotton candy.”