#but otherwise it's like a) for the most part it's been that often rian may as well be taylor's only employee cuz winston doesn't get to

[unproduciblesmackdown]

already pondering "what if there's even less of a boundary b/w tmc & the larger fund at the end of the season" whether via a choice entirely in taylor's hands, entirely out of it, or in between; and also noting things like "specific winston & tuk moment last episode & next episode's production pics ft. winston standing with tuk & ben in a scene in which taylor & rian are present but also standing separately?" like it probably wouldn't happen but considering at this point, along the lines of how at any given point it would make sense for winston to just walk out (he can leave), that Just Winston could just slide over to the general zone vs being in tmc specifically b/c it's both like, as hard as [rian & winston also hang out outside of work by now] indicates some kind of friendship, it's still never even clear cut / a Non Mixed Bag of rian acting like she doesn't consider him a friend in earnest; And you've got taylor interacting seriously nigh exclusively with rian since 5x08 & sure not having a sidebar with winston where he assures them he'll back them (we can probably assume he will like we & they could always assume winston won't just quit on them, but it'd probably only help to act like you care about it / Don't take him entirely for granted) like idk shrug yeah i support you taylor but you seem to have it covered working w/rian & not especially want or claim to need me around soooo probably neither of you should care if i scoot over here, right.....and who knows if they would lol

[iamnmbr3]

Some of the other Loki Series interviews have concerned me but this latest interview was the first one to legitimately upset me because not only did it disappoint me in terms of how they plan to handle the character, but some of what was said had really harmful real world implications. 

1) “Due to the trauma in Loki’s life, I would even [accept a story] in which he is committed to being all bad.”

Regardless of what you think of the show, saying that is not ok. Basically what he’s saying here is trauma makes you evil. Now, trauma absolutely can affect people deeply and can make them act in ways that are destructive to themselves or even to others and can make people lash out or behave in ways that may seem irrational or strange to those who haven’t been through trauma. But that doesn’t mean that trauma makes anyone evil. It just doesn’t. The idea that being a victim somehow “breaks” you or makes you “go bad” is an extremely harmful one that has been perpetuated in media and that Waldron continues to perpetuate here. He’s moved from blaming fictional victims to full-on victim blaming. Ironically, in the real world acts of evil are far more often carried out by people like Mobius, who Waldron is quick to praise. Mobius is not driven to desperation by trauma but is simply a smug bureaucrat who is complicit in furthering the aims of a deeply harmful organization and who seems to enjoy having power over others, feels perfectly entitled to behave in the way he does, and who apparently never questions his own world view. That’s a realistic villain. 

If you look around today or at history, that’s the kind of person and personality that is responsible for most actual villainy. It’s not the Lokis of the world. It’s the Mobiuses. And that’s something Mike Waldron utterly fails to understand. 

2) “He is on his own, so, he is forced to reflect in a way he hasn’t. He can no longer blame everything on Thor or Odin [Loki’s father]."

This quote is completely bizarre. Because Loki has had to fend for himself during most of his screen time. It’s an especially odd thing to say since this show picks up before TDW and whether or not you think Loki is a villain he is most definitely the main antagonist of Thor 2011 and Avengers, the movies this show is supposed to follow, and as the antagonist he is very much on his own since he’s in opposition to the other characters. Was he not on his own in Thor 2011 when he plotted in secret to delay Thor’s coronation and then discovered the truth of his heritage and told no one and then fought Thor in the end on the Bifrost? Was he not on his own when he fell and was captured and tortured by Thanos? Was he not on his own in Avengers 2012 when he had the Other’s claws in his mind and also battled the Avengers and Thor???

As for the second part of this quote. I don’t even know where to begin. Talk about victim blaming. Basically Waldron’s take on Loki’s character seems to be that he’s a whiny, spoiled crybaby who just unfairly blames all his problems on his father and brother and now for the first time he has to man up and take responsibility. This is utterly unreflective of canon, promotes harmful attitudes irl, and also is just plain boring. It’s not new. We’ve already had that story. Thor 2011 was supposed to be about Thor being irresponsible and rash and then learning to take responsibility for his actions. We’ve the same sort of trope many times before. We don’t need it here.

3) “Tom’s soulfulness, charm and honesty is evident in the character. So, even when Loki is being mean or deceitful, people see the goodness of Tom in the character.”

Huh??? Yes. Tom seems like a lovely person although of course I don’t know him, but that’s not why I like Loki. Waldron seems to be saying here that people who like Loki can’t distinguish between the actor and the character, and yet ironically he seems to be the one who has that problem. He’s saying that Loki’s only charm or goodness comes from the actor playing him, rather than anything about the character. It’s not because Tom and the writing portrayed Loki with vulnerability and sympathy. It’s not because Loki’s motivations were understandable or complex. It’s not because wanting to prevent a war or being devastated that your family lied to you are sympathetic. It’s not because Loki has ever done anything good. No. It’s just because Tom is nice. That’s a huge disservice to Tom’s acting by implying that his portrayal of Loki as sympathetic was not a conscious acting choice but rather his real personality showing through. It’s also a huge disservice to Loki’s character and to his fans. 

4) “Loki is an ass, and that makes my life as a writer, easy.”

*Sigh* Really? That’s all you have to say about this character? He’s an ass? No fanfic writer would dismiss him that way or describe him as easy to write. Maybe he seemed easy to write because you weren’t giving him any nuance or complexity. Loki has reasons for doing what he does. Often his actions are the product of many conflicting and contradictory impulses. If you reduce it to just “he’s being an ass” then not only is it out of character. It’s also boring. What a flat and uninteresting motivation. 

5) “Just like the shape-shifting character that Loki is, we wanted the show to be [unpredictable] as well”

I mean. Surprising plot twists are fine. But this sounds like Loki’s characterization will be all over the place and they’re trying to pass it off as a good thing. Also surprising the audience isn’t everything. I’d rather have a good plot and compelling character arcs than just something unpredictable. Otherwise you just get Rian Johnson’s Star Wars.... 

6) “Owen is amazing. His character is opposite to that of Loki. He calls him out, and knows when he’s lying. That enforces Loki to be more honest.”

Really?! Seriously??? Mobius literally works for an organization that murders and enslaves people and that specifically chose to create a timeline in which Nazism and the Snap happened. Also he has not said a single correct thing about Loki in the trailers thus far. This better be the show being “unpredictable” by presenting Mobius as a friend only for him to turn out to be a villain. Bc otherwise. WTF?!?! Also why does he say that Loki needs to be more honest. He’s not a habitual liar. When he tricks people it’s for a specific reason. That’s why his lies work. Because they’re unexpected. It’s like this show completely disregards the movie canon it’s supposed to follow on from. 

[ooops-i-arted]

Child development/Dad-thoughts for Season 2 Episode 8???

Poor little guy.  He has to be so terrified and traumatized by the time we see him again - ripped away from his father by scary bad droids, threatened by Gideon and his scary black sword, weakened from using his powers and blood loss, and we don’t even know if he was awake for any medical procedures that surely would have involved his autonomy, personhood, and fears being completely ignored let alone scary ouchy needles/medical tools.  It’s hard to gauge how he’s doing since we don’t have the entire picture of what he experienced, although we can assume it had to be terrifying.  But when we see him again, he’s patiently sitting by Gideon, apparently having complete faith that Dad will come save him and defeat the bad guy.

I do feel this episode hugely dropped the ball by not showing us Grogu being reunited with Din once Gideon is defeated and Din unshackles him.  It’s such an important missing piece - last we saw Grogu was so terrified he was giving in the Dark Side and harming stormtroopers, then he’s sitting (I infer) paralyzed with fear/scared enough to be quiet and still because of Gideon, and next we see he’s tucked in Din’s arms again.  How was he feeling to be reunited with his dad?  Did Din comfort and reassure him (it would be ooc for Din not to at this point imo)?  Did he feel better knowing that Dad came for him after all?  Sure, we can infer all that, but it’s a big emotional beat that should’ve been present because it impacts The Big Grogu Moment we get later:  Grogu choosing to go with Luke.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really surprised the show went this direction since it seemed like they were setting up Din choosing to keep Grogu as his own and I have my reservations about the story going this way tbh.  But I think Luke taking Grogu (for now) does work.

Season 2 Grogu is a much happier, well-adjusted, and more mature child than Season 1 Grogu.  Season 1 Grogu was quiet, subdued; he had moments of comfort or testing limits but overall generally made himself less noticeable and was hesitant to indicate his needs or wants to anyone, even Din.  Season 2 Grogu is a much more average child; he knows he can indicate what he needs to Din and it will be provided for, even something as the simple emotional comfort of uppies; he chatters more often and isn’t afraid to be more curious, more defiant, and just express himself.  In Season 1 Grogu didn’t even ask for food - probably thinking he’d be ignored - he just caught that frog by himself; Season 2 Grogu has a loving dad who tells him “I see you’re hungry, we’ll get you some food.”  Season 1 Grogu generally just follows Din around, not wanting him out of his sight but rarely requesting interaction until the end of the season but waiting for it to be offered instead; Season 2 Grogu is always running to Din the second he needs anything.  Does trauma magically go away?  No, Grogu is still affected.  But he’s clearly healing and growing under Din’s care, and having a stable adult in the child’s life is one of the biggest things that can reduce a child being affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Grogu seems to know who Luke is, or at least recognize him as a Jedi.  My guess is he did connect with Luke during the Scotty Beam Me Up scene.  So it’s not like a stranger showed up to take him away, this is someone he has “met” and “talked to”.  And since Grogu has the Force, he can sense for sure that this is a nice person and someone who truly can teach him, which eliminates some of the guesswork you usually get when a kid meets their new teacher/a stranger.  So while it looks to Din like some random guy just showed up for his kid, there was more stuff going on below the surface that Din (and the audience) didn’t really see because It’s The Force.  So it isn’t like Grogu is being sent off with the first strange Jedi who rolls up (like on Corvus).

Grogu certainly doesn’t act afraid of Luke or anything other than friendly.  The only issue is separating from his beloved dad.  Grogu will not go unless the person he loves and trusts most in the entire world says it’s okay for him to do so.  He goes up to the screen and almost seems like he wants Din to look and show him “This is an okay guy.  Look he kills things just like you, Dad.” before pointing and trying to get the adults to open the door.  And I definitely got the impression Grogu is calling or otherwise trying to commune with Luke through the Force, telling him “Hey we’re on the bridge, come save us and meet my Dad.”  So Grogu is open and willing to start interacting with Luke - as long as it’s okay with Din.  (And Din in turn trusts Grogu enough to open the doors when Grogu says it’s cool, this guy is okay.)

The #1 thing that makes Luke taking Grogu work for me is that everyone’s consent is involved.  Grogu may be a small child who still needs an adult guardian and guidance in his life but that doesn’t mean he should be carted around without taking his feelings into consideration.  This isn’t like a few episodes ago, where Din tried to hand Grogu over without really seeing if Grogu or Ahsoka were okay with it.  Luke addresses Grogu directly and treats him like a person, accepting that Grogu needs to be involved in this decision; Luke also addresses Din’s worries and even speaks up on Grogu’s behalf (”He wants your permission”).  Grogu is clearly open to the idea of going with Luke - if he didn’t want to, Luke would certainly say so - but also wants to make sure Din is okay with it.  And while Din balks at first, once he realizes that Luke can offer Grogu the training he can’t, he gives Grogu permission to go and even gives him a special good-bye so that Grogu knows how much he means to Din.  And the face-touch seemed to me, at least, to be Grogu saying, Don’t worry Dad, it’s okay to try and reassure him.  And Din tells him in turn “Don’t be afraid.”  The separation is hard, but Din and Grogu both realize that Grogu needs to be trained to use his powers safely.  They’re willing to do what’s right, even when it’s hard, which takes a lot of emotional maturity.  Grogu has certainly grown indeed.

Realistically this probably should’ve taken a lot more time - Din going with Luke to help transition Grogu - but 1. this is a tv show and 2. this is still better than small children usually get in media anyway, since people tend to lump anyone under age 5 as “cute and/or annoying prop for the adult characters.”  Also, we the audience know Luke (the real one, not the OOC Rian Jackoff version).  We know Luke is compassionate and kind and will take good care of Grogu.  If Grogu is troubled by leaving his beloved dad, Luke will do his best to guide Grogu through it, and I personally think that if Grogu ultimately decided this wasn’t for him and wanted Dad?  Luke would pack him up in the X-wing and fly him right to Din.  So ymmv but Luke training Grogu works for me and I think Grogu is in good hands.

I don’t wanna super go into The Discourse but since I know it’s gonna come up in the fandom and since I am a big Jedi fan, I’ll briefly address the whole No Attachments/Jedi Attitudes thing:

No Attachments refers to No Possessiveness, not You Can’t Love Anyone.  The Jedi don’t discourage compassion and love and even family ties, just the whole I’d Commit Genocide For My Loved One (looking at you, Anakin).  This post specifically refutes the comments Filoni made in the Making the Mandalorian show and goes into it way better than I could, if you’re interested.  I’ll just pull out this George Lucas quote: “But [Anakin] has become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padme and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation.”  So Grogu loving and caring about Din isn’t an issue - it’s only an issue when he’s willing to harm and endanger others over it (like choking Cara) or when he becomes so afraid he lashes out without thinking (the stormtrooper free-for-all).

Which is why it’s so important Grogu be trained by someone who knows and understands the power he has.  Even if Grogu still decides not to be a Jedi, he needs to know how to control himself and his power so he doesn’t hurt anyone.

Jedi are allowed contact with family and embrace their original cultures as shown throughout Star Wars media.  There’s no reason to think Luke will snatch Grogu and never let him and Din see each other again even if Luke did follow the prequel Jedi completely (which he didn’t in Legends anyway, which honestly makes more sense to me since so much Jedi knowledge was lost/destroyed by the Empire).

People have always been allowed to leave the Jedi Order.  If Grogu or Din decide “Nope, can’t do this, I want him back” Luke would 100% support them making a decision that works for both of them.

We follow Anakin and Revan because they’re interesting characters and because conflict makes good stories.  The Jedi Order didn’t work for them but most Jedi seem pretty well-adjusted so... I don’t tend to think Anakin is really the baseline we should be going by, y’know?  Grogu has past trauma but he’s been with people who care for him and listen to him.  And not to knock Din at all, but Luke being able to communicate with Grogu is a huge advantage and will actually probably be really good for Grogu.  So I think Grogu is in good hands and won’t be Ruined Forever by training as a Jedi.

And of course Din says they’ll meet again.  He promised.  (And Din & Grogu are Disney’s chief moneymaking duo these days, you want to make your audience worry about your dream team, not break them up permanently.)  So I think Grogu will be reunited with his beloved dad.  And while the parting was certainly heartbreaking, for now he’s in good hands who will help him continue to grow and thrive.

[serelia-evensong]

All Possible Truths

Serelia’s head pounds.  Pounding isn’t the right word.  It throbs.  It squirms and twists.  In her several hundred years of life, the woman who was once Quel’dorei, then Sin’dorei, now Ren’dorei, has experienced many sorts of headaches.  The minor aches and pains of every day life.  The withdrawal of caffeine.  The dull ache of too much to drink, and waking with a dehydrated body.

Nothing ever felt the way the Void feels.  Headaches can be described in so many ways, but the one she experiences today feels like a nest of worms writhing and squirming at the base of her neck, where spine meets skull.  The kind of pulsing moving ache that makes a person want to dig nails into their skin and attempt to rip out whatever can be found beneath.

It’s controlled, most days.  Since she lost her natural sight, since the Void ‘augmented’ the woman it claims as its own, she has focused her life on strict structure.  When you can see every possible reality all at once, it becomes difficult beyond measure to know what is true.  So she walks the same paths.  Trains the same places.  Drinks at the same seat in the bar.  She keeps eyes squeezed shut often, when the magic in her glasses can’t filter out the truths the Void wishes to show her.

In these ways, she stays sane, keeps the headaches and confusion at bay.  The Mage District.  The Canals.  The Golden Keg.  The Brawlpub hidden beneath it.  Old Town.  Training grounds.  The stall at the market that sells baking supplies.  She has an acute mental map that keeps her stable, filled with immutable facts that hold the Void’s madness at bay.

Today, she is in Westfall, a place she hasn’t been since she fought Percival what feels like a lifetime ago.  In truth, in her long lived life, it was barely a flicker, two years, give or take.  It feels longer, but regardless, Westfall is not a part of her mental map, so the headache writhes.

Going through her flows, the methods of control of body, mind, and spirit taught by the Panderan helps.  At least until a voice calls out, breaking through the meditative calm of her practice.

“Well, and here I thought I had come across something valuable,” the voice is echoed and metallic, altered by the metal mask the Warlock wears.  “Instead, it’s just one of the filthy pets of the crown who had the stupid idea to come after me.  On another bounty hunt to reclaim something that now belongs to me?”

In the space between where Serelia moves from pose to pose, eyes squeezed shut, and the Warlock calls out to her, she can tell there are Demons.  The pair of stalkers makin space between them, perhaps just his defense, or perhaps meant to menace.

She finishes her current sequence, a series of strikes at the air meant to keep an opponent off guard and off balance, before she lets her body ease.  She turns towards him, empty eyes opening, feet slightly apart, hands clasping at her mid back as she adopts a Military parade rest and takes in Percival.  “Come after you to reclaim something?  No, and of the crown?  Not in years.  I left my service to the Holts long ago,” a smile curves on her unpainted lips.  “Not many noble houses with a lot of need for a blind guard, though it turns out, even when you can see every possible reality, you’re still the scum at the bottom of a barrel in all of them.”  A hand leaves her back, moving to glide fingertips along the right arm of her glasses, dialing in the magic that helps focus her vision.

“Ha,” the barked laugh reverberates and echos with Percival’s mask.  He makes a gesture, any number of gestures, and the hounds, imps, succubi, eyes, whatever demons escort him, enter a state of rest.

“Blind as you may be, seems you finally see the truth of Stormwind; of humanity.  Once they see your darkness, you’re something to be thrown away and forgotten.  It’s almost poetic.”  He too adopts a position of comfort, one of either bravado or ease with hands behind his back.

What she tries not to let show is how badly she’s trembling.  The shudder in her body, the pain at the back of her head.  Having eyes open and putting on this little show of bravado is exposing herself to chaos.  She sees the man in the metal mask.  An old man.  A young man.  A shambling corpse.  A Nathrezim.  He walks amongst lush fields of wheat.  Of dead and dying grasslands.  Amidst bowing and adoring followers.  Amidst the dead and dying, bodies on stakes.  Her trembling hand continues its movement along the arm of glasses, attempting to dial in the things she knows are true.  The man in the metal mask.  Golden dying fields.  The pain at the back of her head squirms in protest.

Hand drops from the arm of glasses, settling back into Parade Rest.  There’s nothing more she can do to focus her vision, settling for occasionally closing her eyes to quiet the void.  "I was surprised when Stormwind took us in at all in the first place...but then, they needed soldiers for the fight they wanted to spin up for the Horde. Our so called leaders seemed eager enough to give them that so...smart move."

None of this banter is why she’s here.

“It’s been a long time Percival, though not nearly long enough in my years.”

“Not long enough, and yet you’ve come back to the last place we crossed paths.  So either it’s mere coincidence that we happen to be in this wasteland of a region at the same time.  Or you’ve come lookin for me.  As a gambling man, my money is on the latter.  What do you want?”  Percival sees through Serelia.  It’s true, there’s no reason for the blind mother to be in a place like this, other than to seek the man who still hunts it.

“You’re right, I sought you out.  Much as I hate you...and in particular the...little gifts you had sent my way over the last few years.”  She shudders a little, though tries not to show it, thinking on the parts that arrived on her doorstep.  The man has a sick sense of humor.  “I still think you might have value to me.”

“And here I was worried they’d be lost in the mail,” Percival’s reply is marked with another laugh reverberating from within the metallic mask that hides his face.  “At least Stormwind’s postal service is reliable!”  The laugh becomes a veritable cackle.  

It cuts off abruptly though like a switch shut off, all seriousness retaking him as his mask focuses squarely on Serelia.  “So then.  What do you want?”

“Knowledge,” Serelia replies, remaining at comfortable ease, even as she trembles and writhes inside.  Her headache squirms.  “The rumors say that on top of whisking away innocents, and stealing the journals of young maidens,” as if anyone would actually call Rian that, “that you amass knowledge of all sorts of magic.   You’re not my first choice, but where others have failed, maybe you won’t.”

“The rumors are true,” Percival confirms as he closes the distance.  No longer wishing to shout, or perhaps continuing to show bravado in the face of one of the few people on this world who have gotten close enough to do him real physical harm.  “Unlike some wizards you might have spoken with, I learn about all magics.  Taboo or otherwise.”  The hounds part to flak the Ren’dorei, pincering her, creating a half circle of danger around the woman, but conspicuously leaving her rear free.  Perhaps a push to make her flee, to test her resolve.

“What makes you think I’d share anything with the woman who stabbed me?  You say I’m of value to you.  What value are you to me?”  The words don’t surprise Serelia.  She was prepared for him to try to make a deal of this.  It doesn’t stop a hint of a smirk at the memory of her hand razors sinking beneath his armour.

“If you have the knowledge that helps me control this,” Sere briefly lifts a hand from her back once more, indicating her eyes as they open wide again, revealing in full the dark endless nothing like bottomless wells in her face, “I would be willing to consider sharing my sight with you.  The Void shows reality in its fullness.  I see through illusions, through disguises, through hidden things both magic and mundane.”

Her hand returns to her back, and she ignores the threats around her, holding her ground.  Serelia has lived a long and dangerous life, survived every War that has hit Azeroth in the last two hundred years.  “I’m sure someone of your means and breadth could find a use for that.”

“Clairvoyance in exchange for control, an interesting proposition.”  Percival nods, seeming to truly consider the offer on the table.  “Well I can tell you now.  I don’t have the answer you’re after with me.  I may be a polymath of magic, but I’m still a summoner first.  But I may have something of value that could help you gain some sense of control over your dark powers.”

There’s every impression the man must be hiding something, but whatever it is isn’t visual, not on any spectrum the Void sighted woman can see.  It doesn’t matter, she always knew this deal would come with strings and complications.  It’s why he’s a last resort.

“You have your deal with this devil, Miss Evensong,” Percival proclaims, extending a hand out to her to shake and bind it.

For the briefest moment, Serelia considers attacking.  It would be easy to take advantage of their proximity.  Her vision shows it to her too.  She sees her hand lunge out, razors snapping into her palm.  Sees the spurt of blood fountaining in her vision as it slips beneath his jaw.  Into an armpit, through a weak joint at the hip.  None of it is real, and she doesn’t act on it, at the end of the day while she might kill him, there’s no assurance she wouldn’t get herself hurt in the process, and she won’t risk denying Zara of her mother.

“I don’t see that we can ever be allies,” her hand clasps with his, firm and calloused from a lifetime of combat, “but the knowledge I need comes from darker places than I have access to, and I’m comfortable paying for it in service.  So we have our deal.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Percival’s words are curt, and he turns on his heel, giving her his back.  She doesn't act on it.  “I’ll meet you here, at this exact spot, in two days time,” his voice carries back towards her, he holds up a hand and what she can guess is two fingers, in spite of the magical tuning of her glasses starting to lose further focus as possible realities splinter off.  “And feel free to bring a bodyguard or two.  I certainly shall!”

A sharp whistle pierces the air, and the demons that follow Percival rustle the dried grasses of Westfall as they heel to his side, and he walks from view.

Serelia sees him leaving too, and in every possible way.  Dozens on dozens of Percivals in different shapes and sizes and forms mount, and portal, and sprint, and walk.  Multitudes on multitudes, but in common...all of them leave.  None turn and attack, none stay to kill her.  The void doesn’t seem to consider that that reality existed in this moment.  Interesting.

“Two days,” spoken quietly to herself as she turns from the spot to head up the road towards Elwynn, and home.  

One card has been lain on the table.  There’s still another to pursue during the two day wait.  A name whispered and rumored amidst underground fighters and illegal combat rings.  A woman who fights unlike any other, who whispers say fights like she has precognition, like every movement of her opponents is visible and known to her before they even make them.  ‘Darah’.  It’s not much to go on, and legends rarely prove to be as true and as large as stories make them.  Serelia though, is sure her time is limited, and wild rumors make firm allies of the desperate.

Her headache squirms.

[ Written alongside @thalsianiii; vague allusions to @kat-hawke​ ]

[tirednotflirting]

but it’s clear when it hits me

vaguely inspired by the story of the pretty venom writing as told by alex on the genius page for the song lol

you can read on ao3 here

It’s close to 3 AM when the four of them spill out of an Uber. Alex has somehow ended up the most sober of the group for the night and therefore has the keys to the house tucked into the pocket of his jeans. He shouts a thank you to their driver while chasing after the other three who have somehow made it to the front door already.

“Alex, I will throw up in this plant pot if you don’t open this door in the next six seconds,” Rian threatens as he teeters back and forth on his heels. 

“We are renting this place,” Alex says while fishing the keychain from his pocket. “Don’t kill their plants with your low tolerance.” He shoves the key into the lock and swings the door open. Rian runs in the direction of the stairs toward the bedrooms while Zack slowly meanders across the room in the same direction. 

He watches Zack make it to the top of the staircase before realizing he’s missing one of his boys. He’s thinking maybe Jack went in search of snacks and is about to cross into the kitchen when he hears Rian calling for him up the stairs and jogs back in his direction. He’s sure Jack can make do finding the Pizza Rolls in the freezer on his own. 

(Though for a moment he does worry about him using the oven in his drunken state but he waves it away when he realizes there’s no way Jack doesn’t opt for the microwave directions.)

Soon enough, Rian is cleaned up and asleep in bed, a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin waiting on the bedside table for him for the morning. As he shuts the door gently behind him, Alex starts in the direction of his own room when he hears a quiet melody being plucked out somewhere down on the first floor. And despite his exhaustion and the swimming of his thoughts around his mind from the alcohol, Alex finds himself heading in the direction of the stairs.

Jack is on the couch facing away from him when Alex wanders back into the living room. The lights are dimmed to a dull yellow, something Alex remembers setting before they left so they could find their way around after getting back from the night out. Jack is playing through the melody Alex had heard from upstairs another time as he makes his way around the couch to take a seat beside him.

“What’s that?” Alex asks in a whisper as he turns to face Jack, his hand resting on the back of the couch reaching to tuck the tag from Jack’s sweater back before moving absent-midedly to play with his hair. 

“Kinda heard a bit of it in my head on the drive back,” Jack mumbles as he focuses on playing through the pattern again. “Wanted to try to play it out before I go to sleep otherwise I’ll lose it. And this one feels like one I shouldn’t lose maybe.”

Alex smiles fondly while reaching into his pocket with his free hand, his thumb swiping to find his voice note app. He hits the record button and leans forward to let the phone sit on the coffee table. Jack looks up from the strings at the action and then turns to Alex, a light blush on his cheeks just barely visible in the dim lights. 

He shakes his head then and drops his hand from the neck of the guitar to fall into Alex’s lap. “It’s probably nothing. I haven’t been able to come up with anything for days, I’m sure it’s not anything any good.”

“No, come on,” Alex frowns. He lets his hand fall to rest over Jack’s to get his attention. His eyes turn up to meet Alex’s, obvious hesitation mixed into the dark brown. “Play it again. I think it might fit alright with something I was thinking about tonight too.”

Jack makes a face like he’s trying to decide if he should go along with the plan but then he shifts their hands so he can squeeze their palms together before lifting his hand back up to the instrument. Alex lets a small smile pull at his lips while he reaches into his pocket for the receipt he scribbled out some passing thoughts on earlier in the night.

And Alex knows he shouldn’t be surprised, that he should be used to the way their minds work so in sync like this, but he can’t help the joy that spreads further across his face when the words he thought up a couple hours earlier after a few vodka sodas fits so perfectly against the melody Jack plucks out another time. He mumbles through the half finished thoughts he reads off of the receipt paper while his eyes strain against the low light to decipher his messy words. It’s an action Alex is used to at this point since it had become a habit over the years to pull his passing thoughts onto any scrap of paper he could find when the right words struck. He’s learned the hard way that they don’t always stick when he catches them in an inebriated state.

He stops his quiet singing when he reaches the end of what feels like it could be a verse, and he’s waiting for Jack to loop around to the beginning of the pattern again when Alex watches his hand pull away from the strings. He’s ready to question why Jack’s stopped playing but the words get stuck in his throat when he feels a gentle hand cup his cheek. He looks up, the confusion on his face likely obvious but Jack speaks before he gets the chance. “How do you do that?”

Alex feels himself lean into Jack’s touch as he raises his brows. “What do you mean?”

“You always have the words for what I can only say with this,” he says while lifting the guitar slightly from the neck to gesture to what he means. “Like sometimes I wanna say something but I can’t figure out the words and you always have something that says it so perfectly.”

Alex sighs and lifts a hand to rest over Jack’s on his cheek. “We make a pretty good team, huh?”

Jack’s eyes soften as a small smile pulls at his lips. “It’s crazy, yeah. We should make a band or something.”

“Now there’s an idea.”

Jack laughs and shakes his head at Alex a little before his hand reaches around to the back of his neck and he pulls him closer to brush their lips together. There’s words in the action that neither of them really know how to say out loud yet. Like the ones that pass through Alex’s mind while he stands at the bar waiting for his receipt, when he sees Jack laughing and dancing and glowing like a sun across the crowded room. Words he’ll probably never know exactly how to capture in a song but he knows he never wants to stop trying. 

Alex pulls back, his forehead resting against Jack’s and his eyes closed while he focuses on the gentle dancing of fingertips drawing patterns against the back of his neck. He knows they need to find the words for it, to talk about it, whatever it may be. But for now, they have a song to finish.

He pulls back with a deep breath and leans forward to pick up one of the journals on the table and finds an empty page. Alex clicks a pen he finds on the floor beside his foot and looks up to Jack’s eyes, ignoring the way they glitter a little bit under the light. That’s a song for another day.

“Okay, play that again.”

*

“Ready to call it a night?” Alex asks through a yawn as he lets his head fall to rest against Jack’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Jack agrees while gently setting the guitar back on the coffee table, careful not to move too much and let Alex’s sleepy head fall from it’s resting place. “We can play around with it again in the morning. See if there’s anything there.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Alex moves to stand but Jack drops a hand to his knee and their eyes meet, Alex’s holding a question. He parts his lips to ask it but Jack beats him to it again. “Can I stay with you tonight? This tune’s kinda put me in a weird mood now and I just,” he pauses and his eyes drift from Alex’s. “Just want to stay with you.”

He picks up Jack’s hand and lets their fingers tangle together before lifting them up to press his lips to Jack’s knuckles. “Always.”

They head in the direction of the stairs, leaving the guitar and journal resting out since the living room was already in a state of musical chaos. Jack’s exhaustion is obvious from his shuffled motions as they move up the steps and Alex laughs softly, these hours not unfamiliar to his racing thoughts, though he knows that obviously can’t be the norm for everyone. He lets a hand move to press against the bottom of Jack’s back and guides them in the direction of his room once they hit the top step.

They part ways once inside the bedroom, Jack toward the bed and Alex heads to the bathroom to dig around in his suitcase for a couple of pairs of sweats. He changes out of his jeans before heading back to the bedroom and tossing the extra pair at Jack. He thanks him and mumbles something that sounds like toothbrush before sliding off the bed and heading into the bathroom himself.

Alex slides under the sheets before reaching for his phone on the bedside table and sends a quick text with one of the voice notes with the most complete version of what they worked on attached to the group message. He has a good feeling about this one, he tells them with a few emojis trailing the end of his words.

He’s leaning back over to plug his phone in when a pair of arms wrap around his waist and Jack drops his head into Alex’s lap. He can’t help but giggle at the action as his hand moves to card through Jack’s mussed up hair. Jack’s face shifts then and it’s obvious he’s started thinking about something. It’s the face he pulls when he wants to say something but is worried about what the response will end up being. It’s a face he doesn’t make all that often around Alex. 

Alex uses his free hand to find one of Jack’s and he adjusts so his fingers rest in the spaces between his. “Hey, what’s with the face?”

“We won’t be able to use that song on the album, will we?”

Jack’s expression looks defeated, and it pulls at Alex’s heart a bit. “Why do you say that? I think it’s gonna be a good song. Just sent it to the guys and everything. I’m sure we can work on it some more again tomorrow, fine-tune and stuff.”

“No like,” Jack pauses and his eyes drift around, like he’s looking around for the right words to say. “Don’t you think it’s the wrong vibe?”

“No, I think it’s just a different kind of feeling maybe. Like a piece of the puzzle we were missing or something.”

“You think so?” Jack asks hesitantly. His eyes look up to meet Alex’s as he gnaws at his bottom lip. 

“I do, yes,” Alex says with a sigh before winking down at him. “And I’ll prove it to you tomorrow when everyone else loves it just as much as I do. Now, come on, it’s time to rest, sleepy boy.”

Jack seems satisfied with that answer as he only thinks on it for a second before nodding and sitting up to allow Alex to get more comfortable. He waits a moment before resting his head against Alex’s chest, Jack’s face pressing just above his heart in a practiced manner. It’s then that Alex feels the lateness of the hour and the remnants of the drinks from their night out settle over him as he fights his eyes to stay open. He moves to trace his finger across Jack’s back, his boy cuddling impossibly closer to his chest as he writes out the words to a song he has yet to get the guts to say out loud across his skin.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Adam Watches the 92nd Academy Awards

The 92nd Academy Awards have come and gone. As always, there’s plenty to be happy about and plenty that’ll make you wonder what the heck the voters were thinking. I watched the ceremony and while I may say that I don’t care… I do. Those awards are a big deal. Legions of people who would’ve otherwise dismissed Parasite as some movie that requires them to read subtitles saw it because it was nominated. One of those golden statues can make a career and let’s face it, you like to hear your love for something validated by people who have even the semblance of authority on the subject.

But here’s what you may not know: most of the voters really don’t know what they’re doing. While cinematographers NOMINATE what films are up for that Best Cinematography Award, EVERYONE in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gets to vote for the winner and there’s no guarantee they’ve actually seen every nominee, know what the technical terms mean or are voting because what they saw is what they actually believe was “the best”. Once you take into account the dollars required to produce a nomination campaign, the stigma many genre films face, the prejudices against certain types of roles and/or actors, and how popularity influences votes, a win hardly means more than a bunch of people you don’t know saying they liked a movie.

If you want a better idea of which of 2019’s films were “the best”, you’re better off asking someone you know and trust, someone who can prove they’ve done their homework and aren’t just voting for their friends, the one they’ve heard is good from their kid, or got a special gift basket from. I may not be a paid professional, but I have put in the time and effort to see EVERYTHING nominated (with a few exceptions I’ll detail below). Reviews for some of these (The Irishman, Judy) are coming to the blog in a couple of days. If it were up to me the list of nominees would be different but we’ll get to that later. Without further ado, here’s who SHOULD’VE won. 

Best Visual Effects

1917 – Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, and Dominic Tuohy The best special effects are the kind you don’t even notice. I couldn’t tell you where the explosions, sets, and actors in 1917 begin, and where the computer-generated imagery takes over. It’s seamless.

Best Film Editing

Parasite – Yang Jin-mo Got to hand it to Parasite for its amazing use of montage and the way it stitched its footage together. Some shots I initially thought initially were one take I realized under carefully scrutiny - and by that I mean frame-by-frame examination - were actually two melded together. The scenes showing how the Kim family infiltrate the Park’s household should be shown in film class to demonstrate how the art of montage is at its best should be done to maximum effect.

Best Costume Design

Little Women – Jacqueline Durran Funny how every single film nominated at the 92nd Academy Awards was a period piece. My vote goes to Little Women not because it was necessarily the most accurate (I couldn’t tell you what people wore in 1868) but because of the way the costumes were used. You can tell a lot about the characters from the multiple outfits they wear throughout the film - check out that purple bonnet adorned by Aunt Marsh (Meryl Streep).

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Bombshell – Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan, and Vivian Baker I called it when I reviewed the film. The makeup used to transform John Lithgow was nothing short of incredible. It was an easy pick.

Best Cinematography

1917 – Roger Deakins I’m glad to see The Lighthouse on this list but I have to hand it to 1917. The one-shot motif adds so much to the story. Then, there are the individual shots I remember so vividly. The quiet meadow just outside of No Man’s Land, the raging inferno Schofield sees when he wakes up, the trench he must run in front of to reach the Colonel are all shots that permanently imprint themselves into your memory.

Best Production Design

1917 – Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales Tempted to hand it to Parasite for the house they constructed for the movie but I’m give it to 1917. The trenches, the blasted landscape of No Man’s Land still haunt me. When you see the craters, it’s jarring. Then, as your eyes become adjusted, you notice the rats. Then, the chunks of bone and charred meat that have now become part of the landscape. It’s horrific.

Best Sound Mixing

Ford v Ferrari – Paul Massey, David Giammarco, and Steven A. Morrow What you remember most from Ford v Ferrari is that big race at the end. The climax wouldn’t have been the same without the sounds we heard. The roar of the engines, the clacking and grinding as the pedals are pushed and gears are switched… the air rushing by. Out of the nominees, it’s the one whose sounds I most remember.

Best Sound Editing

Ford v Ferrari – Donald Sylvester This year, the Best Sound Editing award goes hand-in-hand with the sound mixing. Obviously, the actors were never moving at the kind of speeds depicted in Ford v Ferrari but you wouldn’t be able to tell because of the foley and sound design.

Best Original Song

Stand Up from Harriet – Music and Lyrics by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo Stand Up plays during the end credits of Harriet and it perfectly caps the film. Whenever I hear its lyrics, I’m transported back to that moment. It’s the most memorable and emotional song on this list.

Best Original Score

Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir I chose the best song for its ability to stand out. In this category, Joker wins because its music doesn’t stand out… at least not at first. While you’re watching, those notes don’t draw attention to themselves. They subconsciously build the mood, augmenting the performance by Joaquin Phoenix, the visuals, and the story. You don’t notice how much of an effect it has on you until you see isolated clips. When you do, it’s shocking.

Best Animated Short Film

Abstaining (I’ve only seen Hair Love)

Best Live Action Short Film

Abstaining

Best Documentary Short Subject

Abstaining

Best Documentary Feature

Abstaining

Best International Feature Film

Abstaining, as I’ve only seen 2 films (Pain and Glory and Parasite)

Best Animated Feature Film

I Lost My Body – Jérémy Clapin and Marc du Pontavice I Lost My Body is the most audacious and inspired of the animated films nominated. The only movie among these to be aimed at adults, it often tells its story through visuals alone but when you get to the end, you realize it’s about more than just what was on-screen.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Little Women – Greta Gerwig based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott Greta Gerwig does more than merely adapt the classic novel, she breathes new life into it, makes it her own, makes it feel wholly new and modern. This version of the film surpasses all others we’ve seen before because of the changes she’s made to the story’s structure. 

Best Original Screenplay

Knives Out – Rian Johnson What a ride Knives Out was. It’s got so many twists and turns, so many delightful characters you want to re-watch it the second it’s over so that you are no longer distracted by its central mystery and can simply step back and admire the handiwork by Rian Johnson. A sequel’s been announced and I can’t wait to see it.

Best Supporting Actress

Laura Dern – Marriage Story as Nora Fanshaw Laura Dern was also in Little Women and her two roles couldn’t be more different. Here, she’s loathsome and captivating. As soon as I saw Nora take off her shoes before she kneeled down on the couch to console Nicole, I knew there was a whole lot more to her character than what we were told. The more you see her, the more you want.

Best Supporting Actor

Al Pacino – The Irishman as Jimmy Hoffa Al Pacino has the advantage of getting A LOT of screen time as Jimmy Hoffa. The Irishman clocks in at over 3,5 hours and he isn’t in the whole movie but when he is, the seasoned performer gives us so much. At different periods of the story, you’ll feel differently about him. There’s no point comparing him to the real-life person. He takes the meaty role and makes it his own. His voice, his mannerisms, I can’t think of anyone who could’ve done it better.

Best Actress

Renée Zellweger – Judy as Judy Garland Judy was the very last movie on my list to watch, having missed it when it came to theatres. When I think back to Zellweger’s performance, I don’t see her. All I see is her character, a rich, complex person you sometimes hate, sometimes love and feel sorry for. The movie is not going to be on my “Best of” list but she is.

Best Actor

Joaquin Phoenix – Joker as Arthur Fleck / Joker To me, there was no question Joaquin Phoenix would take this one. I saw Joker three times and each time, I found something new in his performance.

Best Director

Sam Mendes – 1917 With this award, I’m awarding Sam Mendes for the craft he displayed in 1917. It’s such a visceral experience that when people asked me how it compared to Dunkirk, it felt weird to lump both together. This is coming from someone who gave both pictures a 5-star review, who put both on their respective “best of the year” lists. It’s a movie I’m going to go back to and wondering “how did they do that?!

Best Picture

Little Women – Amy Pascal It’s a tough call for me this year, partially because I loved Parasite, 1917, Joker, and others so much. I’m planning on adding those three films to my collection so I can pop them into my Blu-ray player any times I feel like it. That said, I would’ve given the Best Picture Award to Little Women. You’re so emotionally invested in this little story that telling you why with merely words is impossible. You fall in love over and over. It made me cry and every time I think back to that scene at Christmas, I tear up again. I’m choosing it because of all the things it does differently from the other films. At the end of the day, it isn’t a big story. It isn’t about people with guns, corruption, war, a turning point in history or even necessarily the biggest event in the lives of the characters but it feels like it is. That’s exactly why it’s so good. 

Disagree with my choices? I don’t blame you. What kind of idiot finds a way to leave out Marriage Story from their list? You let me know where it should’ve gone. Hopefully, commenting keep you warm until MY Best of 2019 list gets posted in the next few days.

[thecartoonuniverse]

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Review

So I am uploading the script for the review here for everyone to see simply because I don't think I can get a video for this out before the show comes out. I spent all weekend at a convention and this is a huge script so I just haven't had the time/energy to make a full video. That being said, enjoy the review!

In 1982, audiences everywhere were introduced to the awe inspiring world of Thra in the Jim Henson film: The Dark Crystal. It was a beautiful tale of an alien world that begged for more development! Plans for a sequel were made, but ultimately it never got around to happening in movie form.

Now, after 37 long years, The Dark Crystal is finally returning in the form of a new series, albeit as a prequel called The Dark Crystal: Age of resistance, which is arriving on Netflix on August 30th.

I might say this a lot in this review, but I cannot believe that this show exists. I couldn’t even believe the original film existed when I first saw it. The Beauty of this world is really hard to summarize… so I won’t. You’re going to get the full story (and you’re gonna like it).

Imagine, if you will, 17-year-old me watching TV one day to see a show called Jim Henson’s creature shop challenge. Every week contestants had to face a different challenge where they made puppets based off of the given theme. The episode I happened to watch tasked the participants with making a skeksis. Of course I was like, what the heck is a skeksis? So, I googled it (not sponsored) and what I found blew. My. Mind.

The Skeksis were one of just many many many many many… many insane creatures that exist in the film ‘The Dark Crystal’. The film itself was an eerily dark children’s tale following two human-like creatures known as ‘Gelflings’ as they travel the lands of Thra with the hope of healing their world. From there I quickly invested in the expanded lore: books, comics, and pretty much anything else I could find.

The stories were amazing, but nothing ever came quite close to the beauty that the movies captured. You see, this stunning alien planet was brought to us using nothing but puppetry. From the smallest little buggy boy, to the tallest long-legged-larry, everything that dazzled our senses was done using ground breaking puppetry from the Master himself: Jim Henson.

While I enjoyed the outside material, comics and prose never quite captured the marvel of advanced puppetry. When the new show was announced, I was a bit worried. Practical effects have been replaced by Digital ones in almost every corner of the industry, and it seemed certain that a return to the screen would mean embracing 3D animation.

But then they showed us the trailer… (show flash of the amazing action in the trailer).

And I was stunned.

Everything looked so amazing. The Action was insane, the cinematography was beautiful, and the puppetry… oh my god they did the whole thing with puppets! I couldn’t wait to see it.

Literally. I couldn’t wait. But thankfully I was sent all the episodes before they aired and now, I get to tell you guys what to expect and why you should watch. Because trust me, for the sake of all things beautiful and good in this world, you need to watch this.

There is so much I want to say, but this WILL be a spoiler free review!

Now there is much more to the story of the Dark Crystal than just two little elves saving the world! The story at its core are about the Urskeks, a group of higher dimensional beings sent to thra through the power of the dark crystal. When trying to return home, the Urskeks accidentally divide themselves in half, with each one becoming two new creatures, the Skeksis, and the Mystics. The skeksis are essentially pure evil and want to live forever. They increase their lifespan by draining the Crystal of its power and then using it to drain the life essence of other creatures. When a prophecy foretells of their downfall at the hand of gelflings, they set out to annihilate the entire species, but miss two infant gelflings who manage to find safety. These two gelflings, Jen and Kira, grow up, discover one another, and heal the crystal, which allows for the skeksis and mytics to merge into their true forms once again, and bring peace to thra.

That was basically the Spark Notes version of the Dark Crystal, but Gizmodo has an article that does a good job of summarizing the rest of the lore… though you can also just watch the movie!

Now if you are wondering what happens next then this show… ISNT going to be helpful. Instead, the age of resistance is a ‘prequel’ which flashes back to the time when the Skeksis could no longer rely on the crystal alone for life energy, and turn to sucking the life out of other creatures instead. This prompts the gelflings to fight back against the skeksis, forming, as the title suggest, the resistance!

The choice to make to make this a prequel series is something I was always ecstatic about. Unlike with any sequels, a prequel would allow us to get a view into what Gelfling were actually like as a species, and let me tell you the show does not disappoint on this front.

As we learn, 7 different clans existed, each with their own customs and unique physical appearance. In particular, the Vapra, Stonewood, and Grottan clans are featured the most in the series, although we do meet members from the other clans as well.

our three main characters each hail from one of these clans. Brea is a Vapran princess, Rian is a Stonewood guard to the skeksis, and Deet is the most adorable Grottan to ever exist.

I learned about all the clans in the recent Dark Crystal novels, but it was still amazing to see what they officially looked like.

And as for the main characters themselves, they are all pretty great.

It is pretty clear that Rian is supposed to be our Jen stand-in, but his personality is very distinct, so I do not have a huge problem with this.

On the other hand we have Brea, who does have a resemblance to Kira but only because they likely hail from the same clan. Otherwise Brea is very studious and loves reading and drawing.

That brings me to the odd one out, Deet. She has never been on the surface of Thra before, meaning that her positive and cheerful way of thinking will be tested when she faces the challenges set before her.

However, there is one other character that has a huge role in the series that I have yet to mention. That is of course Aughra, who is more or less the personification of Thra. That being said, she is basically an old grumpy woman. Personally, I was not a huge fan of her in the original movie. She seemed very unhelpful and too cryptic in her responses. Yet, she is definitely a more proactive character in the series, and I actually really grew to like her. As a being born from the ground of Thra, she of course does not want to see the world become corrupted, so her actions in this season make sense.

But those are just the humanoid characters, which are really not what I’m here for.

Where the real excitement begins is looking at all the Skeksis. Look at them! They’re hideous! Just as they’re meant to be. And unlike in the movie they are younger and not quite on the edge of death. It’s just really nice to see the Emperor ruling the Skeksis as he was meant to. Chamerlain is up to no good as usual, and the rest of the skeksis are pretty terrible as well. I just need to take a moment to appreciate SkekMal. He is the only one who is not already decrepit, and he makes use of all four of his arms to hunt gelflings. He’s terrifying, but terrifyingly beautiful (don’t judge me).

Their counterparts the urRu don’t play the biggest part this time around, which is hard for me to forgive since they were my favorite creatures from the movie. But they have purposely hidden themselves from the outside world so their lack of presence makes sense.

And the rest of the animals in Thra are adorable. Llike with the original film, there are plenty of moments that will have you pausing your screen to get a better look at the amazing creatures inhabiting this world.

It really is indicative of the most important thing of all: The puppetry

For the most part, it is extremely well done. The Skeksis in particular have the best range of emotions, despite having just eyes and a beak to work with, and the other animals are really neat to look at, as I said.

I wish I could say the same for the gelfling, but the puppets are not quite there yet. In particular, their mouths just can’t provide the range of motion that human mouths can. This is due to their faces being made of latex, so their movement is limited. The eyes however are perfect.

That brings me to something many of you may be wondering about. Yes, CGI is used, and you can for the most part tell when it is because any of those elements move better than the rest of the world around them. For example, often the skeksis’s tongues were animated, and it is clear that some creatures are computer generated in their entirety. I mean I do understand, since making things fly or move in very precise ways is difficult with puppetry. Overall the show is beautiful and the CG is not that big of a deal.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about the story. While it was never like the reason to watch the Dark Crystal, the prequel really dives deep into the lore and expands on it. However, it also attempts to re-explain everything that was previously learned, meaning that there are occasionally long sequences of just explaining things. I enjoyed them, but this may not be the case for everyone.

With that there is also a boat load of characters. For more dedicated fans they may see a lot of familiar faces from the novels that have been releasing for the past few years. However I did feel like the introduction of some of these characters, such as Naia and Kylan, was rushed and kind of went unexplained as to how they got to meeting up with the main characters unless you have read the books. Not that they have the biggest roles in the show, I just feel like for more casual fans them being in the story will feel pointless.

But that being said, holy crap this show is dark. Ha ha, dark crystal, yeah of course it’s dark. But I mean this show is gruesome. Yes, the movie was pretty dark, but imagine that but brought to a whole new level. Both kids and adults alike are sure to get nightmares after this.

However, as someone who loves anything animated and hopes for more story-based shows, Age of Resistance is everything I could’ve hoped for and more. It doesn’t really pander to old fans in the way that some series revivals do. Some people may be mad at any small change, but I for one welcome them as they allow the new series to become something much greater than the movie could ever be.

And looking at the marketing for the show, it seems like both Netflix and the Jim Henson company want this to be a huge success. I’m talking funko pops, action figures, an extensive social media campaign, tie in books, a video game, a panel at the biggest stage at SDCC plus a whole booth, and even a comic which is a prequel to this prequel series.

And I don’t blame them. It took YEARS to get this made. There are so many different puppets that had to be made, I cannot believe this was actually pulled off. I’m talking dozens of gelflings, almost every skeksis, mystics, podling, other creatures, plus the environments had to be made by hand and be unique to each location.

Even if you aren’t a big fan of the story, I urge you to watch this show for the visuals alone. Trust me, it is worth it.

I also want to quickly mention, for the ten people that actually watch this that have gone head first into anything to do with the Dark Crystal, that I don’t really know if the books fit in perfectly with the series. This timeline released by Gizmodo does not include the novels at all despite what I heard about them being canon. Plus, from what I saw, unless I am totally wrong, certain things are retconned. This was kind of disappointing since I have been loving the novels, but it would definitely be hard to make everything work out since the main characters from the books are more like side characters in the series.

But still seriously read the books they’re amazing.

So that is pretty much what I thought about Age of Resistance without spoiling too much. I love this show a ton, so I hope everyone that watches this review gives it a chance, and then tells all their friends about it as well.

In an article, the creators said they have two more seasons planned, so we need to make sure they happen! I don’t want this to be another instance of a great show on Netflix being cancelled because not enough people watched it.

Do it for the puppets.

[rickrakontoys]

Star Wars - The Last Jedi

A wierd, different, unexpected, uneven, but ultimately satisfying episode in the franchise.

****SPOILERS**** this is going to be looooong….

The Good - The filmmakers took a lot of chances and risks here and I am happy that they did. They showed us new things that we’ve never seen before, and presented a plot that subverts your expectations to lead the characters to new journeys and arcs. - Luke was terrific as a dejected former jedi master who’s past failure led him to exile. Some fans may have wanted him to remain some kind of power fantasy character who just uses the Force to… blow Star Destroyers up or some shit, but here he plays a believable interpretation of a teacher who failed his students and is suffering from deep regrets. He came to that isolated island “to die” as he says, but his arc here follows the theme of “learning to pick yourself up even in the face of terrible failure". Despite being an old curmudgeon now, he is still recognizably Luke Skywalker. Mark Hamill gives his best performance here. And his final “battle” at the end is badass, surprising and clever, not to mention showing us a new use of The Force (which in my mind totally makes some sense). If the dead can project their image through the force, why can’t a living jedi? That Luke acts quite dramatic when facing Kylo Ren as a “hologram” is just funny. Luke’s journey ended in ROTJ. Here he plays one final part in the story of this galaxy. “See you around kid” he says to Kylo. Perhaps he is saying it to us as well. - Leia has a lot of unexpected scenes here… namely, her use of the Force to save herself from what would have been a deadly experience! This felt at first like it came out of nowhere, but Leia has previously shown to possess some strong connection to the Force. Her character is out of commission for a chunk of the movie, but Carrie Fisher does give a very subtle and poignant performance here. How they will reconcile Fisher’s passing for Episode 9 will remain to be seen… - Rey and Kylo’s journeys here compliment each other and are amazing. You honestly don’t know how things will turn out, since they tease both of them being pulled away from their respective sides of the Force often here. Their direct connection to each other through the Force was new, and gave us some very interesting scenes where they talk and interact despite being worlds apart. Kylo gets much more development here, and does some rather unexpected things. He is both sympathetic, and detestable. He is still very much a tortured young man lashing out at the galaxy. Rey mostly plays the role of the student in search of a teacher. She goes looking for Luke, finds him, but he ain’t having it at all, and just lets her hang around for a bit to her disappointment. She eventually takes her own initiative and sort of earns Luke’s respect for it. - We perhaps learn who Rey’s parents are, and it was as I wished: they are nobodies who sold her off as a kid then died in a shallow grave on Jakku. I would have HATED if they were somehow someone we already knew… Rey’s importance isn’t through blood but through her own initiative. She even admits to knowing all along but being afraid to admit it. Daisy Ridley is still fantastic as Rey. I like her even more than before! Kylo can satisfy the Skywalker bloodline requirement of the series in this new trilogy. Let someone else be the hero for a change. - Kylo just straight up murders that silly CGI Supreme Leader Snoke and I love it. Snoke was just Palpatine-lite, and Kylo is clearly the more interesting villain the new series should focus on. Who cares who Snoke was… nobody really cared who Palpatine was in ROTJ… he too was just an evil overlord who gets killed by his apprentice (until Lucas devoted 3 movies to him…). This feels like Rain Johnson cleaning up after JJ Abrams. Snoke was silly and I’m glad he dies unclimactically after only 2 movies. - Poe is a lot more hot-headed here than in the first movie, though we didnt really spend much time with him in TFA. He gets an arc here too though, which also fits in with the themes of the film. His actions get a ton of people killed and essentially cripples the Resistance, but he learns from his mistakes eventually and becomes a better leader for it. - The general theme of the movie being moving past one’s failures is interesting here since it let the filmmakers subvert so many tropes. Most of the plans the Resistence people enact all lead to disaster. In fact, their desperate flight from impending doom through the entire movie felt quite harrowing. Unlike ESB where the rebels successfully escape Hoth to live and fight another day with minimal losses, the Resistance here is absolutely wrecked and continue to be destroyed through the entire runtime. How they will recover from this remains to be seen, and we now know nothing about where this story will go in Episode 9 because of how screwed they are by the end… Meanwhile the First Order suffers from their own failures, but appear too smug about themselves to see their own hubris. They could have easily wiped the Resistance out, but choose to slowly chase them, as if to let the rebels witness the loss of all hope. It doesn’t exactly backfire, but instead renews the rebels fire to fight back. - There is a lot about the Force here that evolves the Star Wars mythos a bit. From the old Jedi texts, to Luke admitting that the Jedi doomed themselves long ago in the prequels, we see Star Wars moving past Jedi and Sith and becoming something different. I’m glad they didnt rely so heavily on what only was shown before with respect to the capabilities of a Force user or the nature of the Force in general. People may not like this, but the change is welcome. Also… YODA!!!! Slightly crazed puppet Yoda!!! He’s still teaching Luke new things. Wished ghost Obi-wan also appeared somehow… but that may be going too far. - The battles and duels in this movie were spectacular. The lightsaber fight in Snoke’s throne room? One of the best fights in the series… it was exciting and realistically choreographed, flashy without being excessive (like the prequels). A good balance between the fights in the OT and prequels. Seeing Rey and Kylo battling Snoke’s guards in a long take, shot clearly with the static angle… magnificent. Plus we get to see Kylo at full strength as opposed to crippled in TFA. He takes on multiple enemies at once, while Rey struggles with one guard. - The cinematography here is in general quite lovely. Rian Johnson loves his wide shots, and fills them with a beauty not often seen in these movies. There are some gorgeous shots here… from Holdo’s weaponized Hyperspace maneuver, to Luke’s standoff against the AT-ATs, and his final scene looking to the twin sunset that recalls the similar shot on Tatooine long ago… the use of color throughout makes for a very pretty movie. - We get flashback scenes here oddly enough… which we never got in other episode films. Plus, Rian wasnt afraid to venture into other types of shots and scenes, like a minor use of slow motion. They let the filmmmakers inject their own style into the movie. - The porgs were thankfully not too obtrusive. They are just sorta there to annoy Chewie. Chewie roasting some for dinner while they watch horrified was great and rather morbid. - Seeing Luke on the Falcon again, and his scene with R2… very poignant, and melancholy. They somehow manage to use Leia’s old message to Obi Wan to further Luke’s character development. - The battle on the salt planet Crait was neat. They make you think there will be some Hoth style battle against the AT-ATs, but its ultimately subverted by having the Resistance not even have a remote chance at all of doing any damage due to their lack of useful weapons. Finn tries the heroic sacrifice but… eh… Rose saves him and ends up letting the First Order blast a hole in the base. The hopelessness is really driven far here. - It took until the ending for me to realize Poe never was introduced to Rey ever. Also, did Rey steal the Jedi texts from that tree Luke planned on torching? You see some books in a drawer that Finn takes a blanket out of on the Falcon. Perhaps Rey will use them to help revive the Jedi order? - The last scene of the movie was an odd one to close out on… some orphans talking about Luke Skywalker like some legendary hero… then one of them uses the force to grab a broom? The Force is alive in others! Hope always survives! A bit on the nose but it makes you contemplate the future beyond the current heroes. The Bad…. - Finn and Rose’s entire subplot was superfulous and kind of terrible… I could see how it ties into the theme of the movie (hatching a clever plan to fight the First Order that ultimately fails spectacularly, but they keep fighting anyways), but that didnt stop it from being rather dull. Canto Blight felt out of place… like you were watching Harry Potter or the Hunger Games. And the whole animal horse chase thing fell kinda flat… - Benicio del Toro is in this… he plays some wierdo hacker (slicer?) with a stutter. He ultimately amounts to very little. He’s played convincingly, but only added to the superfulousness of Finn and Rose’s subplot… - In fact… that whole subplot was what damaged this movie severely. It is clearly the weakest part of an otherwise interesting film. How they come up with the plan to infiltrate the First Order ship to disable their hyperspace tracking device thing felt halfbaked. Finn and Rose spout some technobabble that feels straight out of Star Trek, then decide to gungho this odd mission. They threw Maz Kanata in there for a moment for no reason… why would Finn and Poe ask her for help? Finn barely met her. Does Poe even know her at all? All of this coulda been avoided if Vice Admiral Holdo just told Poe about her and Leia’s secret plan at the start! - Rose is gonna be divisive…. she feels like a fan stand-in character. She fangirls over Finn, goes on an adventure with him, and is suddenly in love with him? Sure I guess… i suppose i could buy that, considering she was previously some unseen common worker for the Resistance meeting a “celebrity”. Finn didnt seem to react much to her kiss though. His heart seems out for Rey. - Rey just casually dropping herself off at Snoke’s ship felt a wee bit too convenient… then after the battle in the throne room she just… appears back on the Falcon. Jarring, despite the attempt to explain it. - Phasma is used so little i wonder why they bothered making her a unique character at all… to sell toys? She gets a badass fight where she dominates Finn, but then seemingly dies in a fiery pit. Maybe they will make it a running gag that she keeps coming back? I hope she survived and returns later anyways. We get to see Gwendolyn Christie’s… eye. Yay? - The music here plays off established themes from the OT and TFA, which is fine, but otherwise there really isnt anything new here. Rose gets a new leitmotif at least. They use Palpatine’s theme during some Snoke scenes too, but is it meant to suggest they are related? - Honestly, the middle of the film just drags too long, and its all due to the Finn and Rose scenes. I get they needed to have Finn do something, but was that Canto Blight stuff necessary? That they just fly off somewhere then return to the fleet chase later kinda trivialized the whole scenario. They also introduce an idea that weapons manufacturers are profitting off the perpetual war between empire and rebellion. Neat, but they don’t really explore it further… feels like that belongs in a different movie… - The beginning of the movie focused a lot on Rose’s sister despite us not knowing much about her. Just kinda an odd choice? Those rebel bombers that just drop bombs on top of the dreadnught are also kinda dumb… most of the rebel fighter craft are decimated right off the bat. Summary: It may take more viewings to see where this truly stands qualitywise in the series. The Force Awakens definitely flowed better and had better pacing, but this one was more inventive and introduced us to newer concepts and was less predictable. Apart from the weak Canto Blight subplot and some other plot goofery, the film works. For now, I think it can give it an 8.5/10.0. I respect the hell out of them for doing some ballsy things that they know will rile part of the fanbase. Franchise rankings (out of 10): ESB & ANH 9.0 (fresh and with a truly lasting legacy) TLJ 8.5 (for evolving the franchise) RotJ 8.25 (a good close to the OT but imperfect) TFA 8.0 (overly familiar beats but still fun) ROTS 7.0 (flawed but sort of gives more weight to what happens in ROTJ) Rogue One 6.5 (very flawed, kind of a mess) TPM & AOTC 5.0 (some parts of it i like, the rest is nonsensical or dull) People seem to forget how different ESB was from ANH. This is the case here compared to TFA. I think its neat how each trilogy has its own unique feel and energy. I only hope JJ Abrams grows beyond his shortcomings in Ep. 9 and gives us something also unique and fresh.

[thestarwarspost]

Rian's Challenge. Watch Six Classic Films On The Journey To Star Wars: The Last Jedi Part II "Letters Never Sent".

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Rian's Challenge. Watch Six Classic Films On The Journey To Star Wars: The Last Jedi Part II "Letters Never Sent".

During the future filmmaker’s panel at last’s year Star Wars Celebration London convention, Lucasfilm Executive Pablo Hidalgo asked the Director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson what films were his inspiration for the next chapter of our saga. That panel was one of the golden moments of the festivities during that week that educated and inspired attendees to think beyond Star Wars and dive into the art of storytelling. Rian responded with six films that he felt were so important for his vision of Star Wars: The Last Jedi that he encouraged the production staff to watch them as well before cameras started rolling. The films, Twelve O’Clock High (1949), 2. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Three Outlaw Samurai (1964), 4. Letter Never Sent (1960), Gunga Din (1939), Sahara (1943) was the challenge laid down by Rian Johnson, and one that we were eager to accept.

The goal of this challenge is to understand storytelling better so that I could be a better viewer and critic. Not only in its business and mechanics but in its different styles of prose and techniques used to elicit feelings from the audience. My aim is to learn and drown myself in the lessons of storytelling to be a better viewer and listener. I want to dive into the deep end of the pool and learn from the masters who craft the stories we love. If Rian Johnson believed these films are important enough for the production crew, then they are equally important for this blogger and his respectable readership.

So last year we embarked on Rian’s Challenge with our first review of “Twelve O’Clock High” (1949), a fantastic film that you can read here. We took a bit of a hiatus for Rian’s Challenge to focus on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It’s one of those decisions that had me on edge as I wanted to dive into these films and encourage my readers to do so as well. But with Felicity Jones and company looming large on the horizon it would have to wait till after Rogue One was out the door and the ramp up for Star Wars: The Last Jedi began. With only a week away from Star Wars Celebration Orlando, there is no perfect time to kick this challenge into high gear, and it’s my sincerest hope that you all join me in this endeavor.

Letter Never Sent (1960) Directed by MIKHAIL KALATOZOV

Finding this classic on any streaming medium wasn’t easy of course so it was off to Amazon to purchase the Blu-Ray copy and I’m glad I did. The reproduction was excellent and the sound delightful for a film delivered in a 4:3 format. If you are looking for it on Amazon, Netflix or Hulu, you will be out of luck.

Fire, misery, hopelessness and a dash of good ole’ fashion Russian propaganda make Letter Never Sent one of my favorite films. It’s simple, straightforward, flamed plastered hell in black and white. The music was in short, perfect. It’s dramatic, to the point and just plain fits. The cinematography and its complexity to create its claustrophobic feel is nothing short of genius. The plot is simple as it is powerful, like a locomotive barreling down a single track in the middle of nowhere. I sincerely hope Letter Never Sent lends lots of its elements to Star Wars: The Last Jedi and its story.

The picture starts with our four main characters, Sabinin, Tatiana, Andrey and Sergey, geologists searching the thick forests of Bolshaya Zemlya, Siberia in a hunt for diamonds. Their charge is simple enough, find veins of diamond deposits so that The Union Of Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) can begin a new Industrialist Age. The pursuit of these diamonds for our cast is not all for personal benefit and a life of riches. Instead, it’s for the State and its promise of leading the Space Race and a better tomorrow for the Soviet people. This film is dripping with that classic wrap yourself in the sickle and hammer propaganda films of the 1950’s and 60’s. But in this movie, there is a real honest desire to overcome the odds, and achieve success through bog muck thick despair.

Our five geologists are lead by Sabinin as they enter into the Siberian plateau which geologically mimics the famed African plateau that is steep in diamond deposits. Sabinin, who is now on his fourth expedition to find this elusive natural mineral resource is hopeful and inspired at the start of this film. The crew begins their work in the beautiful Boreal forests of Siberia during summer. Here the atmosphere is sunny with flowers blooming as they start their work digging and analyzing mineral samples. It’s during this time that a small separate thread in this story develops between the war veteran in the group, Sergey Stepanovich, becomes jealous of the romantic relationship between Tatiana Nikolayevna, the only woman in the group and her lover Andrey. Sergey, played by Actor Evgeniy Urbanskiy has this fantastic and authentic 1000-yard stare that inflict some veterans of war. Living here in the Nations Capital, I have seen my fair share of this loss of light in the eyes of friends and colleagues that have come back from conflicts abroad. In this film, Urbanskiy’s stare is mesmerizing and believable. It’s that same look that he gives Tatiana when he dreams of real love that he cannot have which turns Sergey into a man drained of any light.

This despondency begins to infect the team after many weeks of no success in finding the diamond deposits. Campsite after campsite and thousands of samples later they come up empty and defeated. The realization begins to sink into Sabinin that this expedition, his fourth, may be his last. To come up empty is non-negotiable when it comes to the Soviet State. Within these scenes of gloom, there is this beautiful and incredibly tense moment when Sergey, feeling supremely jealous of the thin framed scientist Andrey, confronts him while standing in a bog about Tatiana and how he is unworthy. He beats and pummels the man he calls a mosquito. Andrey’s only rebuttal is a calm, somber disagreement of Sergey’s bad behavior, and how his actions will never get him the love he desires. He doesn’t fight back and simply walks away.

This moment is heightened even more in the next scene as the group hits an all time low. In a newly dug trench, Tatian and Sergey work alongside each other searching for evidence of diamonds. With the drone of his pick axe slamming the ground over and over again, the thud builds to a tempo and tension that is just electric and frightening. Like a zombie drained of any emotion, Sergey stares at Tatiana in such a dramatic way that the audience can read it like a billboard. He is going to assault and rape her right here in this hole in the ground. Without even a hint of facial expression, Sergey telegraphs the horror that is about to unfold. Tatiana sees this as well and starts to buckle only to yell at him stop even before he has even moved a single centimeter. She knows what his next actions are, a man desperate and devoid of any checks and balances that would otherwise stop a person from doing the unthinkable. Sergey to his credit, stops gathers himself and then leaves the ditch.

Then it happens, the eureka moment when Tatiana scared and now crying with her lover Andrey now beside her sees the evidence they have all been working so hard for, diamonds! I can’t stress enough how as a viewer, this scene initially put me in place of terror only to end up in jubilation for our characters. It’s nuts, and I loved it.

Just as our heroes are celebrating their win, they decided to hit the sack for the night and soon find themselves in the second circle of hell. For the morning rise brought with it the antagonist of this film, a firestorm in the forest of Bolshaya Zemlya. The crew, now frantic to save the geological samples of evidence of their find and the priceless map of the location of the discovered diamond vein, loses one of their own. Sergey’s quick bout of heroism has him dive into the bog, beyond the brush to gather their materials and toss them over a burning tree to his comrades. In the act of saving all they worked for, the steely-eyed hero is crushed by a tree engulfed in flames. The three, Sabinin, Tatiana and Andrey now find themselves on a journey coiled in fire hundreds of miles long.

Here in the wilderness of Siberia, there are no roads; no internet cafe’s, no pay phones to make a call home. With the fire raging across the screen- a trick used by the Director often in this film, you are left with this fast building sense of worry. The 4:3 aspect ratio is such a dream in this movie. The limited view makes the fast trek through this forest fire feel like you are well and truly there. Sergey Urusevsky, the cinematographer for this film, is nothing but a pure genius. How he captured these shots though the thicket of this dense forest, which was literally on fire is the most amazing thing I have ever seen on film. Quite literally the cameraman puts himself in the fiery mess to deliver these stunning visuals. I sincerely doubt something like this could even be achieved practically today. The sheer danger and work protections from OSHA would make it impossible and for a good reason. The fast paced side scrolling fire infused imagery is something I will never forget, and for me, it brought back lots of memories when I was a boy visiting Portugal. There in the northern mountains of Portugal for a summer visit to my father’s picturesque town of Gorgoco, fires raged through the forest, and there were a couple of times where we thought we might be in trouble. The smell of fresh pine burning and the smoke it creates is unforgettable, and this film brought it all back in spades for me.

If the lust of Tatiana and that 1000-yard stare wasn’t good enough, the radio on Andrey’s back is one of the best-supporting actors of this film. The crew report back to base daily on their good, reliable shortwave backpack radio. These vital transmissions to base command detail their current whereabouts, the general mood and successes of the team. The radio is their only lifeline to the real world as it is their only means to call up a helicopter to go home. When the firestorm breaks out, the radio gets damaged in the best drama filled way possible. They can hear the transmissions, but they cannot send communications in return. Here through the march of desolate unbearable smoke, they listen to their masters on the radio, first celebrating their good news, then worry about their loss of transmissions. Soon after, the worst as the realization that the team is lost in a firestorm stretching across a thousand miles. The final direction from base command is deafening as they remind the survivors that they are well off their path and hope of rescue is slim. With little food and water, something that scorched Earth has little of, our trio begins their trek to the wide river. There they will find there only hope in a raft or boat and float their way to civilization.

Each frame is flame and dense forest in constant motion. Each step is scorched lungs and despair. Their panic compounds when Andrey injures his leg and must be carried by Tatiana and Sabinin. Exhausted both physically and mentally, they begin to collapse. So much so that Andrey in the dead of night decides that he must leave his compatriots and be lost to the flames to save his love Tatiana so that she might have a chance to survive. In this night scene lit by fires in every corner, she screams into the night searching for her love demanding “He has no right!”, Only to finally give up. Here Sabinin and Tatiana continue one, slow step by slow step until they hit the high peaks at the edge of the Siberian plateau where winter has come. Snow and cold with inadequate supplies food and water, we see our duo soon become one as Tatiana succumbs to the cold.

It is in the final scenes of this film that our beloved leader Sabinin carries on until he reaches the wide river and creates one of the coolest scenes I have ever seen in a movie. Walking in the snow in bare socks, riddled with frostbite, he builds a raft from a fallen frozen tree. Something akin to a mini ice float that he drops himself onto in bid to float to civilization. There he decides to build a campfire at its end of the raft as he gently floats downstream. The makeshift ice raft is so cold that the fire at it bow doesn’t even pose a problem. After a long drift, a savior in the way of a helicopter finds Sabinin, beached alongside the banks of the river. In face covered in frost in one of the best close-ups I have ever seen, Sabinin finally opens his eyes as the crew is checking for a heartbeat. In roaring musical tones we see his eyes open slowly defying fate and beating the odds for the people of Soviet Republic and his Wife of his precious letters.

I love this film. After two weeks of letting it sink in, I find myself drifting off thinking about it. Letters Never Sent is a simple story, but damn if it doesn’t have you wanting to come back for more. It’s superb and should be mandated viewing for anyone wanting to be a cinematographer. If this movie were filmed in cinemascope, it wouldn’t feel as claustrophobic, and it would lose its intensity. The close ups and look of this film by cinematographer Sergey Urusevsky are breathtaking and impactful.

Of course, this is a Star Wars blog, and a small part of Rian’s Challenge is how this film would provide some muse or inspiration for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. For me, the role of Sabinin and his journey through the fire instantly reminded me of Luke Skywalker and how his demeanor would culminate by the time we witness him on the deserted planet of AHCH-TO. A Jedi who has seen his share of optimism, despair, jubilation and horror mirrors what Sabinin has endured in Letters Never Sent. Men brought to their knees with the demands of the universe and wanting nothing of it anymore. Sabinin is looking for diamonds in the deserted forest of Siberia and Luke searching for enlightenment in the Force on the hidden Jedi temple on AHCH-TO.

Letters Never Sent reminds us to never give up for the causes that matter most. For Sabinin it was to return to his Wife and to enrich the lives of those of the Motherland. For me, the lesson remains to revel in the work of compelling storytellers and to endeavor to better understand their craft.

You can pick up “Letters Never Sent” on Amazon here; you will be glad you did. Special thanks to Director Rian Johnson and Pablo Hidalgo for their commitment to expanding our knowledge of storytelling.