#avillananalysis2024

[avillanappears]

godzilla x kong: the new empire

"For most of human civilization, we believed that life could only exist on the surface of our planet. What else were we wrong about?"

okay, I kind of fell off doing this, but we’re back! the best ever tumblr review series that’s written by avillanappears.tumblr.com! I came in not expecting much, but it turns out I really, really liked it, actually! I’m more pleasantly surprised than anyone, godzilla vs kong rubbed me very much the wrong way. godzilla and kong beating the ever-loving tar out of each other was fun, sure, but I have WORDS for the human stuff. I could fill a whole post with those, probably, but we’re not talking about that! we’re thinking good thoughts, about the one I liked!

it’s definitely a fun adventure film. hollow earth was a much more fleshed out setting this time, I loved the varieties of locales and creatures. giant, flying flamingo fish that shoot electricity? kong crossing a rickety bridge made out of the spine of a monster so massive, that it’s kaiju sized compared to him? this is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to see! it was fascinating seeing kaiju sort of “on their level”, in a whole giant sized ecosystem made for them. we got some of that in the atomic time of monsters by @tyrantisterror, and I think it’s such fertile ground to explore. godzilla’s flirted with the idea before in both its netflix animes, but this is them really committing to it. it makes my worldbuilding and specbio freak heart happy. we even got to see more hellhawks! I love those guys.

lookit that face

okay this is going pretty long, but anyhoo, I liked the character stuff too. kong was as lovable as always, you really feel for the big lug. even though he’s a living god the size of a mountain, there’s a real vulnerability to him. he’s just a sad, lonely guy who wants purpose and belonging.

he and suko had some kind of fast, but still very nice bonding. the human side was fun too, they fixed a lot about what I didn’t like from the last movie. jia had more of an arc going instead of just being “the one kong talks to”, bernie was a lot more enjoyable since they cut out the weird conspiracy theorist stuff, trapper was a fun guy. it was nice just seeing someone who loves monsters and weird nature stuff.

skar king surprised me with how personal of a threat he is, they really let him feel like a horrid, nasty piece of work. he’s more than just a big evil overlord, he’s a bullying control freak who wants everything his way, and it makes his wretchedness more tangible in a way.

shimo didn’t get all that much, but I love shimo. I love her, and I can barely even tell why, there’s just some kind of Vibe to her I resonate with. I think it’s how mythical she feels. the oldest of a line of gods, a great being of ice, controlled by a wicked devil….in fact it all felt very mythic. I appreciate that, I love it when kaiju works play out like weird mythological epics.

probably the most tangible complaint I can think of right now is that the godzilla stuff was pretty underwritten. it honestly felt like he was just….doing video game sidequests or something. like, it didn’t have Impact up until the very end when he finally meets kong and SPOILERS SPOILERS. and it feels a shame to kill scylla and tiamat off this early, I liked those two as unpredictable wildcards. with rodan and the others still mia, and two titans unceremoniously dead, it’s starting to feel like the monsterverse is sorta….flattening itself? now that kongs arc is done, I think we need to get back to a godzilla solo or two, flesh things back out a bit. but that’s for future peter to talk about, today we’re leaving things off on a high note. fun characters, dynamic locales, some great monster brawling, this one was a good’un!

godzilla cast monkeys into hell for their sins

[avillanappears]

Pokemon Concierge

"I'm happy when you're happy."

oh, what a treat! this was such an interesting new look at the pokemon world in a way no other media can show. haru's such an interesting protagonist for a pokemon series, an anxious young adult makes for such a unique viewpoint for a mons setting. they finally let the elemental monkeys be cute after so long. and the aesthetic is so wonderful, the human character designs are so distinct and expressive, and the whole thing is so wonderfully handmade. the textures alone are a feast without the lovely animation. and it has so much heart and love, it's a lovely little series if you want to kick back and relax.

[avillanappears]

moominpappa at sea

"This island of mine is a complete world of its own, it has everything and is just the right size."

oh, this one was fascinating. this is the kind of book you can FEEL, the emotions are so well thought out and conveyed. it’s a book about longing, about how it feels to be lost and unsure of how to live the life you want. the groke absolutely stole the show for me, she was already my favorite moomin character but this was the icing on the cake. her whole subplot with moomintroll was absolutely fascinating and heart warming, two lonely people growing to truly care for each other by complete accident. all the other characters were in top form too, taking them out of their comfort zone makes for some of the most interesting character moments in the series. moominpappa and moominmama especially benefited, we got to examine their flaws and desires more than when their role is “moomintroll’s parents”. well, little my was pretty much the same, but we love her for it. she’s little my, she always manages.

moomintroll fell in love with a horse

[avillanappears]

The Boy and the Heron

"A Gray Heron once told me that all Gray Herons are liars. So, is that the truth, or a lie?"

hoo boy. here we see the weakness of this format, because how I am I supposed to to sum up all my feelings in this little dashed out post? this was a movie with so much to chew on, viscerally real and emotional at the same time as it is whimsical and fantastical, in the exact same way I want to make my own work someday. the animation was absolutely breathtaking, I know that sounds obvious from a ghibli movie but wow, this one was next level. the characters are all so fun, the heron himself is like, probably one of my favorite movie characters ever? and I'm not going to spoil the semi-antagonists, but they were so engaging and horrible but also so human. and the themes......life is so hard, but it's worth living, in all its ups and downs. I want to revisit this one someday, there's so much to think and say about it.

I liked the butch woman.

[avillanappears]

The Curse of Kazuo Umezu

"I begin with a warning: do not, under any circumstances, toy with the supernatural."

warnings if you want to watch this yourself: body horror, blood, harm towards children, character feeling unsafe and believing something’s breaking into her room

I’m always down to see animated horror, I’ve had this on my to watch list since about last Halloween I think. it was generally focused on long stretches of character interaction leading up to a big, climactic horror event, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed it. the horror was detailed and visceral, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the climax of the first segment. I genuinely didn’t see it coming, it was a horrific burst that really left an impact. I enjoyed it overall, if you want some straightforward supernatural horror with a twist or two this makes a nice viewing.

[avillanappears]

this year, I want to make a list and little reviews of every piece of media I experience. or well, as much as I can! they’ll be tagged avillananalysis2024, so watch this space if you want to see more