#benoit blanc is the opposite of batman

[ednav]

Of course I love how Benoit Blanc is so shamelessly, fabulously, himself. How he’s gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide [GNU Terry Pratchett]. How he doesn’t hide that his brain is peculiar, for better or for worse. How he picks the cases he likes.

But I also love that in Glass Onion Rian Johnson shows us that Blanc can choose to be himself because he’s protected by his privilege of rich, upper-class, white man.

Which in turn leads me to notice how in both movies Blanc uses his privilege to protect a working-class woman and a Black woman, but he always refuses to be their saviour. He just creates the conditions in which they can choose to be themselves and save themselves—and punish their oppressors.

[Edit: A couple of people pointed out that Marta is actually white, even if the Thrombeys would probably disagree. I’d add that Helen isn’t exactly working-class, she’s simply less rich than the Disruptors shitheads. Anyway: I apologise—I’ve edited the post.]

[thegreatbigdetectivepolll]

ROUND ONE - RESULTS!

MATCHUPS: -Sam and Max (Sam and Max) VS Eddie Valiant (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

-Basil of Baker Street (The Great Mouse Detective) VS Kuruto Ryuki (AI The Somnium Files: Nirvana Initiative)

-Dick Gumshoe (Ace Attorney) VS Lynne (Ghost Trick)

-Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4) VS Hercule Poirot (Agathe Christie's Poirot)

-Professor Layton (Professor Layton) VS Erika Furudo (Umineko)

-Kim Kitsuragi (Disco Elysium) VS Benoit Blanc (Knives Out)

-Dex Dogtective (FoodFight) VS Columbo (Columbo)

-Herlock Sholmes (The Great Ace Attorney) VS Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks) Woo! This had quite a few surprises, but here's the results for Round One! I must say, I had a lot of expectations - and just about every single one was blown out of the water. I'm very excited to see the next part! Oh, and one more thing...

Here's the loser's bracket! Those empty spaces are for the next matchup these characters will face.

MATCHUPS:

-Detective Pikachu (Detective Pikachu) VS Batman (DC)

-Iris Archwell (Nintendo's StreetPass) VS Honor Mizrahi (Murder by Numbers)

-Goro Akechi (Persona 5) VS L (Death Note)

-Kyoko Kirigiri (Danganronpa) VS Tohru Adachi (Persona 4)

-Kaname Date (AI: The Somnium Files) VS Lady Love Dies (Paradise Killer)

-Shinichi Kudo (Detective Conan) VS Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew

-Hank Schrader (Breaking Bad) VS Inspector Gadget (Inspector Gadget)

-Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes) VS Amelia Watson (Hololive) and Kyle Hyde (Hotel Dusk) I am implementing a special rule - should a character have to face someone in Losers that they already lost to in Winners, they will swap with whoever is on the opposite side of the bracket. This may come into effect very soon depending on what happens! With that being said, you may notice Kyle and Amelia stacked together. This is because I have decided to keep Kyle, the two are now in a duo slot! No three-way polls, just duo slot for both of them. The three way rule was only ever meant for BBC Sherlock who has been destroyed. GOOD! With that, I'll be announcing the date for round 2 very shortly! Thank you all!

[mushiver]

I haven't been a movie nerd even ONCE on this account. Here's my top 10 movies in 2023

1. The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)

IT STILL COUNTS AS ONE

Can't go wrong here. There's fantasy, action scenes, friendship, romance, badass dialogue, comedy. There's refreshing masculinity where men are close friends, fight for each other, die for each other, kiss each other on the forehead, sing, etc. The Aragorn Arwen romance is sweet and isn't overblown, and the main theme is to fight for good. If you're tired of anti-heroes and want a clean good vs. evil, this is it. The downside is not having poc representation and only 3 important women, but they are extremely awesome and play pivotal roles. If you've heard about LOTR for forever but never actually seen it, here's your sign.

2. The Lego Movie

This movie sells itself, but I have seen it maybe. 40 times. And I could quote it from start to end as a kid. It's funny, has crossover characters along with the main ones (like Batman, Superman, Gandalf, Abraham Lincoln, Han Solo), lots of references, and the main message is that you're special in your own way. It's very autism coded, I think

3. Jaws

Classic man vs. monster, and it's great if you don't watch thrillers and need something "dip your toes in." While the majority of the town goes all rambo trying to kill the shark, the main characters are the opposite. The chief of police is ultimately empathetic and wants to stop more people from being hurt, Matt Hooper is a shark expert "city boy" coming along, and Quint has a boat that needs to be bigger

4. My Cousin Vinny

Vinny is a lawyer taking a case to prove his cousin didn't murder a clerk, but he's the worst lawyer in existence. He forgot everything he learned in law school, can't stop wearing a leather jacket to court, and his fiancée saves him most times. It has some of the most quotable lines and 10/10 I recommend to Alabamans for the southern jokes

5. Knives Out

A modern "whodunit" mystery that shines the most because it's a comedy. The main character Marta is the only one who thinks she knows what happened, but she pukes every time she tells a lie. Benoit Blanc is also the most iconic detective to me and one of my favorite characters ever

6. Tommy Boy

This has a very similar tone to My Cousin Vinny, but it's a road trip movie. After Tommy's dad dies, he and Richard (a jerk coworker) try to sell autoparts to save his company. They're the worst salesmen in existence, but ultimately are creative and pull some shenanigans (Tommy and Richard go from rivals to buddies). It's from the 90s and not very chill with the r-slur and some fat jokes, but it's ultimately a feel-good movie if that isn't a dealbreaker for you

7. Jurassic Park

Like Jaws, another classic pop culture movie. The score is so good, and they make a world full of dinosaurs have the same magic feel as the wizarding world. It's an adventure movie with great action scenes and characters. (This is a trope I love personally but) Alan Grant is a grump who doesn't like kids, but later he looks after them. Ellie Sattler is one of my favorite characters ever, and Jeff Goldblum lays on a table. Survival movies are fun 10/10

8. Joker (2019)

DROOLING OVER THE CINEMATOGRAPHY. It's such a well-made movie, and you never know entirely what's real with unreliable narrating. It makes you feel for Arthur and understand his actions while knowing he made the wrong decisions in the end. Some think it's negative for mental health representation, but it can be used as a cautionary tale for the ways mentally ill people are mistreated and how the events that led to the start of the film weren't his fault. Ultimately, I think it inspires more empathy, and it's a piece of art

9. Signs

I'm a sucker for the "everything makes sense in the end" trope. A lot of people didn't like the combo of two supernaturals (the existence of God and aliens), but I don't think it ruins the movie. It centers around a family struggling with the death of their mother (or sister or wife, depending on the character), and the ex-priest dad had lost connection with his faith. He happens to find it again because of an alien invasion. Normal Tuesday

10. Arsenic and Old Lace

From 1944, it's a weird movie and the acting is iconic. Mortimer is trying to get to his honeymoon, but when he visits his aunts, he finds a dead body in the house. It's a comedy involving shenanigans, avoiding the police, and an uncle who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt. (It's a bit outdated as far as mental illness goes, but Mortimer's goal is to put his family in the care of a mental institution rather than shipping them off or telling the police.) As a drama queen, I also appreciate Cary Grant being a drama queen

10 honorable mentions: Lego Batman, Napoleon Dynamite, The Goofy Movie, Clue, Psycho, Marriage Story, Into the Spiderverse, Avengers Endgame, Dead Poets Society, Muder on the Orient Express. Swag thanks for reading