#comparing it to rocketman

[dogearedfriends]

rewatched bohemian rhapsody with my partner and sorry but why did it suck worse than i remembered? why did they make this?

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Elton John - I'm Still Standing 1983

"I'm Still Standing" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, from Elton's seventeenth studio album Too Low for Zero. The album marked a comeback for Elton, whose previous four albums had failed to yield many enduring international hit singles, and had disappointing sales compared to his string of hit records released during the first half of the 1970s. Helped by a video promoting the song on MTV, "I'm Still Standing" became a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at number 1 in Canada and Switzerland, number 4 in the UK, and number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In 2019, the original 16mm film negatives were re-scanned and the computer graphics were recreated, forming a newer remastered version of the promotional video. This version of the video serves as the ending to the 2019 biopic Rocketman, with welsh actor Taron Egerton rotoscoped in to recreate memorable scenes from the original music video. It was also re-released standalone on Elton's Youtube channel. Taron Egerton has recorded this song two times in separate occasions. The first time was for the 2016 animated feature Sing as teenage gorilla Johnny; the second was for the 2019 biopic Rocketman where he played the titular role of Elton John himself. Elton and Egerton also acted together in the 2017 film Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

"I'm Still Standing" received a total of 92,5% yes votes! 🥳 Previous Elton John polls: #22 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", #240 "I Want Love" (and as the writer of #6 "Hakuna Matata")

[kryptonbabe]

Japanese Superman?

No, a common mistake - this is actually Rocketman, Kitaro Mizuki's 1958 brain child, his debut manga with cover art by Koji Kata (against Mizuki's will, which I get it, the character on the original cover - 2nd image - barely resembles the one in the book). If you look at the inside panels Rocketman is obviously a Superman ripoff, but his story is way different than Clark's origin. Although buying a copy of this would cost me a small fortune where I live, I managed to find some versions of the book synopsis online.

Dr. Uetsuto departs via rocket to investigate a second moon that appeared in the night sky, but the rocket is sabotaged by his rival Dr. Dorai, so it crashes and Uetsuto's corpse sinks to the bottom of the sea. However, right before the crash, Uetsuto came into contact with a mysterious being named Guraya who enters his body like a parasite, causing Uetsuto to later resurrect and with superpowers. Uetsuto becomes the mysterious hero Rocketman and battles against Dr. Dorai's giant robot Neo-Dorai.

The "powers through parasite infection" concept reminded me of Venom, a character I'm not really knledgeble about, but I do know his creation happened in the early 1980s, which means Rocketman super-powered parasite pre-dates Marvel's symbiote by 20 years or so... and I mean nothing by this, ideas come and go, Mizuki himself was no stranger to ripping off occidental comics (which I don't get nearly as mad as when it's occidental companies ripping off artists from other countries, I admit I'm a biased person).

On the other hand, another synopsis online doesn't even mention Superman Rocketman, and the plot seems to revolve strongly around the two opposing scientists and a giant jellyfish creature, described as the Guraya/Dr. Uetsuto creature (below).

My main sources were blog entries translated from Japanese and fan made wiki pages, so it's really hard to know for sure the details of the story that were not lost in translation or omitted (to avoid spoilers maybe - although there's no translation of the book in any western language that I managed to find). I wish I had the source material to write a more accurate description of this oddity, for now that's all I know.

Below it's Mizuki Shigeru's intended and unused cover art for Rocketman, inspired by Fritz Lang's film Metropolis (two Metropolis for the price of one) and H.G. Wells' Space War, a far superior art compared to the one they used.

[chasingshadowsblog]

Review: Better Man - Something Beautiful

Title: Better Man Directed by: Michael Gracey Written by: Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey Starring: Robbie Williams, Alison Steadman, Jonno Davies, Stephen Pemberton, Kate Mulvaney, Carter J Murphy, Raechelle Banno, Frazer Hadfield Music by: Robbie Williams Choreography: Ashley Wallen Visual Effects Team: Wētā FX Visual Effects Supervisor: Luke Millar Production Design by: Joel Chang 

"It might be cabaret but it's world class cabaret and I'm the fucking best at it. Fuck yourselves."

There are fair comparisons to be made between Better Man and Elton John's Rocketman. Both draw on fantastical elements to depict the experience of sudden and extreme fame. Rocketman does so through colourful, high-octance musical sequences and the image of the singer shooting up into the sky like the rocket man he sings about; Better Man is more rooted in reality but depicts its subject matter - the musician Robbie Williams - as a CGI chimpanzee.

Williams has spent his life, it seems, hiding his anxieties behind a 'cheeky monkey' persona but it is not to this that the ape-suit refers, i in his own terms Williams has always viewed himself as "unevolved" compared to those around him and it is this idea that saves the the CGI chimp from being a gimmick and makes it a unique and engaging stylistic choice. It takes all of ten minutes to get used to the CGI chimp and after that ten minutes it's difficult to imagine a human face and body in the same role and it is not so difficult to see the human being behind the chimpanzee eyes. After that ten minutes, the effect is almost invisible. It helps that none of the other characters allude to the fact that they are talking to a chimp. There is no wink and nudge; Williams' story is told with sincerity, making his presence as a chimpanzee and the film's energetic musical numbers - a Take That montage that jumps and flips around Regent Street, a delicate sequence in which he falls in love with Nicole Appleton, and an unexpectedly violent scene in which Knebworth Stadium is turned into a gladiatorial arena where Williams battles past versions of himself - seem utterly natural.

While the ups and downs of Williams' career aren't so different to sudden fame and cocaine blues depicted in many a musician's biopic, the commitment to the stylistic punt pays off totally and utterly. The schtick will - hopefully - put curious bums in cinema seats but the heart-felt sincerity in which the story is told will keep them there. Williams and director Michael Gracey took a massive risk and it absolutely works. There is a magic in Better Man, in Williams' words and Gracey's committed directing, that somehow, combined, make the emotions in the film more heartfelt and stronger than they would have been had Willimas been merely a man.

Other bits:

I've only written two reviews so far this year and they both reference Elton John and Rocketman so I think I should be expecting a cheque in the post soon

Good evening everybody! My name is Robbie Williams. This is my band, and for the next two hours, YOUR ASS IS MINE!" - bruh

all the song and dance sequences were outstanding - it needs to be said, it needs to be SHOUTED

that She's the One number was so beautiful

again, the absolute commitment to the bit that this film did is really what made it for me. I kept expecting, after his rehab, that he'd turn into a man, but I like the insinuation that even after sorting himself out, Robbie Williams still sees himself as a chimpanzee

"I'm gonna be fucking famous!" "Shut up, you tit." "Oh, fuck off Glenn."

Alex Godfrey's review is brilliant and captures everything that was so brilliant about the movie: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/better-man/

I wasn't a huge fan of Robbie Williams when I went to see this - I liked some of his songs but his peak as a musician was somewhat before my time - I enjoy music biopics and this one caught my interest as a bold and cool way to tell this kind of story, but consider me converted I'm absolutely sold on his music now

the Relight My Fire setting was so good and effective in conveying how overwhelming it must be as a musician to face that scale of an audience and venue

I realise that it is probably not his story to tell, but I would have liked if the film had been more explicit bout the fact that Nicole had to get an abortion because her producer wouldn't let her have a baby. It made me think of Sinéad O'Connor, who refused to get an abortion and how she is probably a minority among the many women who have been treated this way. I think it would have been a good opportunity to at least shine a light on the issue in a conversation or argument about it, even if they didn't want to dwell on it for the entire film

fucking Oasis

[mouthlessmaiden]

i haven’t seen rocketman cause idrc about elton john but i need to watch it just to compare it to bohemian rhapsody

[fuuuckyeahtomfisher]

Hi!! What are your thoughts on a hypothetical Graham Chapman biopic, starring Tom Fisher (as Graham)?

Ooooh this is a cool ASF question frfr!! Thank you for the ask @knoxoverstreet16 !!

Obviously, Tom Fisher as Graham was absolutely great in “Holy Flying Circus” (2011), everything from his jackets to his gay quotes to his wiseness and gayness in general was just….ABSOLUTELY PERFECTO *mwah* and in short his portrayal was and is absolutely amazing!!

Now, a biopic starring Tom as Graham? That’d be unironically a MASTERPIECE FOR. REAL.

Personally, I think Tom Fisher would honestly be an awesome pick as Graham, especially for a hypothetical biopic! Especially the fact that Tom can bring that vulnerability to some of his characters really really well fr, and I think he’d bring the emotional pathos of Graham exceptionally for sure!! I’d fr recommend you go watch this lil indie film starring Tom (in the main role ofc) called “Treacle Jr” (2010), as he’s absolutely great in that fr, as well as the fact that his character in that film really brings that vulnerability and emotional pathos, and ngl Tom’s character in TJ does remind me of Brian Cohen from “Life of Brian” (1979) in a way too (idk why but Tom’s character in TJ deffo has “Brian Cohen” vibes frfr) ! The whole film’s on YouTube so do check it out!

Ok, so in terms of how the hypothetical biopic starring Tom Fisher as Gray would be like? Mmmmm…..if we are to assume that it’d be a (mostly) live action film with some animation bits in there (aka a live action/animated hybrid film), then it’d be fr interesting! I’m thinking it could be like the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” (2019) in a way, where in that it is a fantastical reimagining of Elton John’s life (with some musical numbers ofc), and I can see the hypothetical Tom Fisher/Gray biopic going along that route!

Idk why, maybe it’s because I really love the animated biopic “A Liar’s Autobiography” (2012) (aka the animated biopic about Graham), but I think a surreal animated film (or in the case of the hypothetical Tom Fisher/Gray biopic, a live action/animated hybrid film) deffo fits with Graham’s vibes a lot more than if it was a traditional and conventional biopic (in which Graham was neither traditional nor conventional lol) as Graham was truly bonkers and wacky which was disguised under the fact that he mostly played the “straight” (badum tush) roles, aka he played the somewhat more “normal” character roles compared to the other Pythons most of the time, with some exceptions here and there ofc. Oh and also, despite playing the “straight” leading man, Graham was, ironically, NOT straight (he was a gay-leaning bisexual ofc). I think it would be further interesting if the biopic had a live action Tom Fisher/Gray intersect with the animated people of the scene(s) or smth like that? Like the bridge between reality and (animated) fantasy becomes more and more thinner and blurred by the minute, ya’know?

Anyway uhh tangent over, what was I talking about? Oh yes yes ofc, the hypothetical Tom Fisher/Gray biopic!!

Another thing that I think would be interesting in the hypothetical biopic would be Tom Fisher/Gray breaking the 4th Wall and talking directly to the audience (maybe in a sorta “Fleabag”-style 4th Wall breaking kinda way?) and there’s some characters in the film who are like “Gray….who the hell are you talking to?” and Tom Fisher/Gray is like “oh uhh…I’m talking to the ceiling” or smth like that, with Tom Fisher/Gray acknowledging that “it’s hard to talk with you when other people start noticing that I’m talking with you, ya’know?” or smth like that!

Some more things that would be interesting in the hypothetical biopic :

-It would be cool seeing Tom Fisher/Gray in Graham’s outfits from the different decades (like the 1960s, early-mid 70s, early-mid-late 80s, etc!)

-If David Sherlock (Graham’s partner and technically husband really) were in the biopic, then I’d think Peter Sandys-Clarke would great as David fr! Because yes. (Also they both look so so similar fr ngl)

-Tom Fisher/Gray singing “Medical Love Song” would unironically be awesome actually, fr.

-Also, ofc it obviously has to be unambiguously, UNAPOLOGETICALLY gay/queer AS FUCK. It’s what Gray would’ve wanted ofc <33

-ALSO also, it has to be in bad taste (by that I mean “good bad taste” not “Jesus Christ this is so horrifically homophobic and unnecessarily cruel and mean to Graham wtaf were they doing??!!???! bad taste”, as in “bad taste” like what Graham would’ve wanted it to be <33 as he is ofc “The Prince of Bad Taste” 😉)

-Tom Fisher/Gray as Baby Gray, Child Gray and Teenage Gray would be very adorable fr <33 🥰🥰

Anyway hoped you enjoyed reading this elongated answer by me @knoxoverstreet16 !! Again, thank you for the ask and I deffo had fun having a think about this cool asf idea frfr!! 🙏😊

[skamdotcom]

discussion question for any other fans after viewing the RWRB movie:

i liked the movie overall, but why was there basically no big kisses or romantic/passionate moments in the second half of the movie? after they go to austin, they basically just sit/stand next to each other and peck now and then, even tho there’s all these HUGE dramatic moments where, in my mind, there would be a big kiss or some closeness at minimum. it just seems that the passion gets put aside when they struggle the most, even though i’d think that’s when they would feel the most passion and heightened emotions. it gets weirdly pragmatic and tones down passion to almost nothing.

times i thought they would have moments but didn’t: when he arrives in the rain in london after the austin trip? in the museum? in the hallway before claremont wins (he says “i’m so glad you’re here” and they just hug, which would be fine if they had kissed at all in the last 45-60 minutes)? when they announce claremont wins? and when we got none of those, i was expecting at least one to close out the movie outside the house in austin?

but the movie becomes kind of…prude? after the end of the second act….

the only reason i can think of as to WHY they did this is that the rating system in the US is really homophobic, and so they shot more kisses but they had to be cut so that the movie didn’t get an X rating (which is not unprecedented; they threatened to do it to Rocketman even tho it was like the tamest gay sex scene ever, especially when compared to much raunchier straight sex scenes in PG13 movies). and the earlier intimate scenes are arguably more important to the plot than the later ones, i guess. plus it’s on a streaming service, don’t they have the same rules as premium tv like HBO? so why would it matter? is it the difference between film and tv rating systems? i just found it odd both story-wise and tonally.

overall i still liked the movie, how it was shot and blocked like a stage play, the great acting performances, the casting, etc. — but the lack of any real romantic scenes in the second half kinda rubbed me the wrong way, especially when they weren’t afraid to go all out in the first half. the lack of intimacy in the second half felt less like a deliberate choice and more like something was missing that was intended to be there, but was cut.

thoughts?

[oldbutchdanielcraig]

my school did an unrehearsed staged reading of gnomeo and juliet. i still haven’t seen the movie. as a g+j expert, do you think i should watch it?

okay first of all. scream. oh to have been a fly on the wall/audience member at your school's unrehearsed staged reading of gnomeo and juliet.

second of all. if i had a time machine i would go back to tell my 6th grade ish self and say "someday a stranger will refer to you as a gnomeo and juliet expert. and everything will have been worth it."

finally i hate to say it but it has been so long since i've seen it (though i feel a rewatch is imminent) so i can't give a fresh take on the quality. nor can i speak to its merit among shakespeare adaptations though i know it very much doesn't take itself seriously. which i like. actually the hyperfixation on g+j accompanied a very sprawling and more longlasting love of elton john which i think is the real merit. the original song is really good and the crocodile rock re-record with nelly furtado is also very catchy and fun. his music is also included in really clever and fun ways. so in that sense i think it makes a great movie musical of sorts, more comparable with a project like rocketman than a shakespeare adaptation. so unless this staged reading also incorporated some of that sweet and beautiful music i would ultimately say yes it is worth a watch. plus the character designs are very fun

[screampied]

ok finally got home, so i can resend the fucking shit ass big ass rant/answer i made for you.

so, first, hello my sweet vegas, how was your day? mine was extremely tiring and i was starving for most part of it, good thing is i managed to have for dinner what i was craving the most: street food. except it was at home. except it was industrial and not home made. fucking incredible either way.

i met lad through random scenes people uploaded on tik tok, at first i was hooked on zayne, but then somehow sylus got tied on a chair and there was a whip passing over his chest. i was doomed.

i love being a squirtling, can’t wait till i become a certified one (that’s for non anons right?)

see, me personally i like knives, because i am a scream fan. but, when i used to role play, there was this one character with this whole bad boy killer vibe and i compared him with this emoji 🪓, so how tf do i explain that this thing gets me giggling and blushing and wanting to be manhandled? no way, one can’t do that. unless one is me, sending an anon to you. honestly, the only thing toji would never be allowed to put near my coochie is that one worm is his. i have phobia with those types of animals, and it took me months to even think toji looked attractive because every time i saw him, i saw that ugly bitch hanging on him. nowadays, however, i would like to exchange places. i mean i can hang on his big muscles pretty easily and i can swallow whatever he wants me to, hihi.

my favorite thing about the 70’s and 80’s style is the fluffy hair. i have natural curly hair, it goes up and wild but unfortunate after too much bullying i put chemicals. i miss it, but the process of getting it back is so ugly that i just do heartless curls and brush them. last month i did for a birthday party of a friend and everyone was enchanted by it, i felt really cute!!

i’ve never seen rocketman either, don’t think i will, because…as i said, i’m a little shit younger sibling and they love elton john, so i’m bound to not like him. i secretly do. i have seen bohemian rhapsody, i fell even more in love with ben hardy, he was so delicious in it. rami malek was presente in my childhood (the museum movie idk the name in english), early teens (twilight!!! one of my favs characters) and full teens (bohemian), so i’m always going to love him. he is very dedicated, passionate, i so loved his perfomance and i’m sure freddie would’ve as well.

scotland is a dream of mine, as well. something about cozy, something about their accent, something about the lands. i like it very much. if i were to go to the usa i would love to go to oregon or washington. i like cold weather, big dark trees and feeling like not doing nothing but stare at the rain and forest through a fogged window. i would also fucking die to go to new orleans.

you need to go to vegas and take a pic under the welcome to las vegas. hm, actually that gave me an idea, you should do a theme like that. it would be fun and cool. about you going to vegas, just open up a venmo and your squirts will get you there, first class and all.

omg your blog birthday is near my birthday, that’s so cool. i’m going to add a print of your acc on my cake and make everyone celebrate it. my favorite season’s aesthetic is fall, but my country’s fall is not that nice so i rather go with spring, because is my birthday time and i love the end of the year, there is just something so beautiful and dazing about it.

questions for the day is, what pronouns you feel more comfortable being addressed or is both fine? and what would you take with you in case a zombie apocalypse happened? would you go through if the zombies were like zombieland or tlof?

the pronouns question is because just like you i use two (she!him) and it’s been such a long time since people addressed me by him, i think they just kinda of forgot. which is totally fine because i use she!her and i’m mostly fem presenting, but sometimes i want to be called handsome and have a tall ass gorgeous baby calling me good boy? is that too much to ask? oh wait, nanami came into my mind being the one saying that. oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..

nutty anon.

NUTTY MCNUT POOK 🙂‍↕️💓.

hello my beautiful nut anon <3. my day was pretty okay, it was sooooo cold n i was jus staying warm with my lil doggies. i have sm work to do tmrw which sucks 🤒🤒. i hope u get some good rest !! ouuugh street food sounds so yum.

PAHAHAH yeah lads is pretty popular on tik tik. especially sylus since he’s a fairly new character. yeah that scene was very !!!!!!!! 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️. i only have his shower scene n it kills me everytime

IMGLAD YOU LOVE BEING A SQUIRTLING 💓🎀. oooh no, anon or not you’re all squirtlings to me :))) so technically you are one the day you started sending me asks cxxx

bye ur so real about toji being ugly ????? i just couldn’t see it for MONTHS. i guess the ‘bum’ and ‘oh he lives in a cardboard box’ really turned me away from him but now that i read the manga and actually read ab his lore / character that’s not !!!!!!!!! like he’s a freeloader sure but 💔💔💔. he’s handsome, the scar only adds to it omg. LMAO NOT THE WORM i always found it kinda cute is it just me 😿😿. i wanna poke it n see what happens.

yesssyeys !!! i loved the fluffy hair era in the 70s & 80s too !!!!! everyone had such good style, ugh i wish i could have experienced it. same i have naturally curly hair too but i think m gonna cut it for my birthday 🧎‍♀️. im srry u got bullied into putting chemical in it :(( but AHHH THATS NICEE i bet you looked so pretty / handsome

trust when i go to vegas m gonna do a whole ass vlog 🤞🏽. omg that’ll be so silly. me pointing at the welcoming sign n being like “yoh omg guys that’s me.” STOPPPP A VEGAS THEMEEEE. i kinda did one when i first started but it only lasted for like a week 🧍🏽‍♀️. no one rly remembers bc i didn’t post back then but it was more casino themed it was sooooo fetch

ur gonna put a print of my blog on ur cake that’s so adorable STOP 🤒🤒🤒. but omg it is. it’s craaaazy to think i’ve been here for almost a year? pheeewww time goes by so quick.

i use they/them pronouns but everyone addresses me by she / her accept some close moots which is fine !!!!! so now i don’t mind any, im okay with they, him, or she. 🎀 what would i take in a zombie apocalypse hmmmm. water, my phone, socks, lotion, vaseline, and errrm lots of clothes.

NANAMI YOU SAAAAAY 🌞🌞. he’s so fine i wanna have his blond babies

[taletheoldcrowtold]

Pride 2024 - Day 13

Movie: Rocketman

Made in: 2019 – Set in: 1950s – 1980s

Starring: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Steven Mackintosh, Kit Conner, Stephen Graham, Charlie Rowe

Rated R for: Drug use, sexual content, language, attempted suicide

A musical biopic following the life of Elton John from when he was a boy named Reginald Dwight to when he met Bernie Taupin and became a big star.

A story that shows how someone quiet and simple can be rocketed into drugs and glam by someone else. It’s a heartbreaking story that shows neglect of a more subtle kind and how it shapes someone in seemingly little ways. Also be sure to stick around for the credits where they show clips from the movie and compare them to the events/outfits they are based off (which I missed when I watched this with my mom).

Spoilers under Keep Reading Line

No one dies in the movie and it has an uplifting ending

Since biofics have a tendency to change facts and events for the sake of the story, and I don’t know Elton John enough to know what isn’t true, I’m just going to separate the film from reality and judge it as a movie. It’s a tragic story, showing a young Elton John being neglected by his father and emotionally abused by his mother. His one good person in his life is his grandmother, who always encourages him to follow his dreams. There is a lot of songs throughout the film but they tell a story when they show up (which is probably why they might be sung before they were historically written) and it’s nice to see them serve a purpose besides just having the singer stand on a stage and sing it. There were moments of surrealism, which I feel was the imagination of Elton John and they aren’t too strange that they stick out in the movie. It is sad to see the path of drugs and alcohol Elton goes down but looking at his childhood, it is almost expected as he has no real idea what is love and what is just tolerance. I liked the friendship between Elton and Bernie and thought the acting and singing was nicely done. And I liked toward the end when Elton, in his head, spoke to all the people in his life and stood up to those who hurt him. Then in the end hugging his child self, who never got such a gesture from his father.

Mom: If you are an Elton John fan, you’re in for a treat. The movie has a number of his more recognizable songs (“Rocketman”, “Tiny Dancer”, to name a couple) and could be classified more or less as a musical. A reoccurring theme with many of the people in the LGBTQ+ movies we have watched so far is that they each had at least one crappy, unloving parent (with the possible exception of Simon in Love Simon and Ellio in Call Me By Your Name) who make their childhood miserable. Elton John is no exception. Both of his parents criticized him and seemed to not be able to love him unconditionally. When he became famous and a multimillionaire, his mother seemed only interested in what he could give her monetarily and his father showed more love to the two sons of his second marriage than he’d ever shown toward Elton. One of the things I liked about the movie was when Elton said he was tired of having to be someone he wasn’t and told his parents he was not going to let them speak to him anymore with disrespect. The movie has an uplifting ending with a note that Elton was able to find someone who loved him properly, something his mother told him at one point he would never have.

[butchfalin]

um can i please read your seven page paper on velvet goldmine? i was obsessed with it when i was like 15

okay to be more accurate it's an analysis of queerness in movie musicals through the lens of velvet goldmine, rent, and rocketman and compares how queer stories written by queer people will always feel more authentic than queer stories written by cishet people but if that's still something you're interested in absolutely

[novaksluna]

The villain of bohemian rhapsody (2018) vs the villain of rocketman (2019)

In bohemian rhapsody the villain is paul prenter, Freddie mercury's manager. And the problem with this character is that he is truly portrayed as a disney villain, sitting in the background twirling his moustache hatching his evil plan to destroy Freddie mercury's life.

My problem with this is that paul prenter in this biopic is portrayed as an incredibly flat character.

Really he is only there to be a scapegoat for all the problems that queen and Freddie mercury faced, influenced by the input of may and taylor who are admittedly biased against prenter, who were happy to villanize prenter in a movie that glossed over their own flaws.

And I cast a hex over every person who villainized him for being a gay man with aids and claims he killed Freddie mercury when their only source is the fanfic of bohemian rhapsody (2018)

Conversely the villain of rocketman is john Reid, elton John's manager who he had a romantic relationship with.

John Reid relationship with elton john is initially an exciting one, we are shown positive intimacy between the two, there is a whole sequence of them happily living in a relationship together.

It then turns sour and we see how that relationship effects elton john negatively. But the movie never shies away from eltons faults or tries blame them wholly on john ried, in fact elton John's problems expand way beyond kohn Reid influence.

Additionally, the fact that john Reid is initially viewed in a positive light, rounds the character of Reid more, and it helps us understand why Elton John got stuck in the relationship in the first place.

Compared with Prenter in Bohemian Rhapsody, who was always flatly nothing more than a bad person, which begged the question the question in the narrative of 'why in hell did Freddie Mercury ever put up with him'

Therefore so too we can only conclude that rocketman is superior

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 17: Live Shows 3

11: XOMG POP. Catchy, yet...annoying...I can have a soft spot when it comes to girly bubble-gum pop, but with an already-established pop star managing them, they do come off as...manufactured...

10: Mia Morris. This girl is very talented, and she has the means of recording a good track...But live, it is quite the mess...Also, maybe she should move away from 2002, since I don't think she was even born yet back then...

9: Jojo and Bri. (I wonder if Jojo went into the audience to meet the other Jojo managing XOMG POP...) Once again, a very cute chemistry and strong harmony...I suppose Bri would make a good solo singer as well, but for now, they were mostly just nice and somewhat forgettable...

8: Cline Twins. Again, some impressive tricks, but not much that stood out from their audition...They felt rather swallowed up by the stage...It's a shame, because I did have some ideas in my head on how they could expand the act for the live stage...Still, gotta give them credit for not dropping the pucks (or the sticks) once...

7: Funkanometry. From one young male Canadian duo to another...These guys pretty much suffered the same problem as the last entry, in that they didn't take full advantage of the big stage or production...But they still have an amusing personality that said previous entry severely lacks...It makes for a fun high school talent show performance, but it's not a Vegas act...

6: Amanda Mammana. I'd say this was a decent step up from her audition, but still not enough to bowl me over...That said, I like her passion and nice, soothing voice (that again works through a disability).

5: MPLUSPLUS. While this was far from the best light-up act I've seen on this show, I feel that they deserved more credit than Howie gave them...There were still enough unique effects to keep me both interested and entertained...

4: Hayden Kristal. Something about this lady gave me a fairly hearty chuckle this time! Best of all, it wasn't ENTIRELY about her condition, and still managed to be relatable (even for someone like me who never even owned a dog...)

3: Sara James. I'd probably go out on a limb and say that Sara is the best overall vocalist of the season! What's more, she has a great stage presence! And she took the Angelina Jordan approach by doing such a unique take on an Elton John song! (Best cover of “Rocketman” since William Shatner!)

2: Nicolas Ribs. Is he the BEST magician we've seen on this show...? Not really...I thought Yu Hojin's trick last week was a little more slick and compelling...(And let's not even GET into comparing with Shin Lim!) But it IS telling that I consider this trick at the same LEVEL as the one last week! Once again, he used a little table projection, which concerned me as I wasn't that impressed by it last time...But he seemed to up the sleight-of-hand, along with an animation that reminds me of the classic Flash animation with the stick-figure battling the cursor! I actually kinda forgot about the thing with Terry's card, and like Heidi said, his accent was a little hard to understand...BUT! (I'm giving quite a few “buts” in here...) BUT! ...It was cool, slick and well-presented! It's ironic that after last season I felt just about done with magicians...Because I actually wouldn't mind having TWO in the Finals this year! (Just PLEASE, don't let either of them win! They've been great and all, but I want to see something DIFFERENT win this year!)

1: Celia Munoz. Well, I knew we would be hearing this song sooner or later this season to pay tribute to ONJ...But I certainly wasn't expecting it to be sung THIS way! This lady...is brilliant! I never imagined that watching a woman just sitting down and eating popcorn could be so funny and entertaining! I think she may be a real contender in this game, and I REALLY hope she makes it through tomorrow!

For all of my criticisms, this WAS a strong show! Everyone in here had SOMETHING enjoyable to their performance! ...Blah, blah, blah, two acts, blah, blah, blah, terrible format, blah, blah, blah...

So let's guess how they'll rank tomorrow...

Ranking Prediction:

11: XOMG POP

10: Mia Morris

9: MPLUSPLUS

8: Jojo and Bri

7: Cline Twins

6: Funkanometry

5: Amanda Mammana

4: Hayden Kristal

3: Nicolas Ribs

2: Celia Munoz

1: Sara James

Tomorrow, Kodi Lee returns with yet more musicians that only HE could rise to perform with!

---

Well, I must say, the whole results show was pretty much going EXACTLY as I had mapped out in my head...I called it with the Top 5, I called it with the Top 3, and I called who would get sent through first...But I guess I got my hopes up that Celia would be sent through over Nicolas...I suppose it WAS naive of me to think the magician wouldn't be in the Top 2...At the end of the day, America still has its obvious draws to certain kinds of acts that it always votes through WITHOUT FAIL!

Sad to see Celia go, but I said I wouldn't mind Nicolas joining Yu in the Finals, and I stick by it! Both of them truly have performed neat tricks that rival Shin Lim...As for Celia, I'd say she's the most fitting choice so far as the wildcard act for the Finals...

Kodi is always great, though I'd probably say the other singer (who kinda looked like a bald Post Malone) overshadowed him here...Didn't get to hear much from Journey's guitarist either...

(Current Edit: Reading "bald post malone", I had to look up who it actually was, and sure enough, it was Teddy Swims before he hit it big!)

So this is the part where I WOULD make my early predictions for next week, except they didn't show who was gonna be ON next week...And since I still can't access the proper resources to see who to expect, I guess I'm not gonna know until then...

So I'll see you then!

[consistentsquash]

Movie recs for 2024!!!

This year had a lot of movies I loved <3

The Brutalist - seriously brilliant. Super relevant. Definitely check the content warnings before watching it if you have any triggers for dark themes. I feel this is a must watch for everyone because of the real world problems now.

Anora - My fav movie of the year!!! <3 I really love this one so much. Super emotionally connected. Beautiful acting, script, directing everything <3

Conclave - The screenplay is super witty. If you are an old man yaoi shipper this is for you. Really really shippable character dynamics. Last part of the movie didn't have good payoff for the suspense because the plot ending was predictable.

Wicked - the best movie experience for me this year :D I knew the songs so singing along was a lot of fun. Really high energy movie <3 This won't be good for you if you don't like musicals. Also if you get distracted by A.G's face which is really uncanny valley in this one.

A Real Pain - I loved Kieran Culkin's work in this one. Super emotionally connected!!

The Substance - OMG!!! This is so good! Super clever. Demi Moore is amazing in this <3 But also really dark and definitely niche. I am a big bodyhorror fan so this one was perfect for me.

Queer - Scarlet would have loved this one :/ Daniel Craig is amazing. Super vulnerable. Really dreamy. If you have read the book some of the choices in directing are going to make more sense. Definitely a more complicated movie. Probably the most complicated movie in this list.

Nosferatu - I love Robert Eggers' work so this one was great for me. Love the research accuracy + the performances. The script was kind of weak compared to VVitch/Lighthouse/Northman. Definitely the most beautiful cinematography of the movies in this list.

Dune 2 - Emotionally didn't feel connected especially compared to Dune 1. Beautiful cinematography/set design.

Challengers - I really wanted to love this movie but for whatever reason I didn't feel emotionally connected. Guadagnino movies are hit or miss for me. I really love Queer which also has the same director. This one gave me Bones and All vibes. It's super clever in terms of script/themes but I felt some emotional disconnect.

Flow - CAT! <3

A Complete Unknown - I love Rocketman which is really good and underrated. This wasn't the same level for me but definitely better than Bohemian Rhapsody.

Emilia Pérez - Oof! Roma was robbed :/ :/

[harocat]

Fun old post! I’d like to see how the BV for Nathan’s Pyeongchang and Milano Worlds free skates compared as well, as they had six quads.

Of course, the scoring system changed after 2018, so we can’t really compare past that point. Ilia’s GPF Succession and Nathan’s Rocketman would lead the pack on that front, but remember, post 2018 there is one less jumping pass. Ilia’s yet to nail his planned program content when he has over four quads, but certain to say if he can, the TES will be bonkers.

And Nathan did eventually get stronger in backloading some of those combos. For example, the 4t1eu3f at the end of his free, and the 4lz3t at the end of his SP. He also got that missing quad loop under his belt. And Ilia has all six like the mad lad he is. Looking back is so interesting.

Nathan Chen vs. Victor Nikiforov

Kubo has made some comments recently about how when YOI was being created she wanted it to be a ‘little ahead of where skating is right now’. It’s not as if they had the characters doing quintuples or something. She just, jump content wise, had the characters somewhat ahead of the standard of the top skaters in competition. Victor’s program in the first episode stood out to a lot of people. It seemed a bit fantastic! 

He performed four different quads. No one had done that before. Jin Boyang had first done four quads in a program before, almost a year previous to YOI’s premiere. But… they weren’t four different quads. It did still seem a bit fanciful, although yes, it was inevitable that it would occur within a couple years. There were skaters, multiple ones, who we knew probably had the capability to do it. There was a lot of talk about a trio of teenagers nicknamed the ‘quad squad’ and which one would be first to pull it off. These three young men are Jin Boyang of China, Shoma Uno of Japan, and Nathan Chen of USA. 

Anyway, the ‘first to pull it off’ ended up being Nathan Chen of the USA, and not only did he ‘pull off’ Victor Nikiforov’s jump layout, but he did him one over and completed a more difficult one. There’s no quad toe triple toe in there, but instead the harder combination the quad lutz + triple toe loop. However, he did do four different quads, and on top of that, one more, for a total of five quads. He’s now done this twice in two months, once at US Nationals and once at Four Continents. 

Even Kubo-sensei herself expressed amusement at this. She meant to make the show a little bit in the future, but within a month of the series ending, actual figure skating surpassed it! 

So how does Victor’s (record breaking in the YOI universe) Stammi Vicino free skate compare with Nathan Chen’s (history making in our universe) Polovtsian Dances free skate? Let’s take a look! 

As a note, I don’t really have a way to know exactly the levels and base values of Victor’s step sequences and spins, so this will be based on jumps only. Also this is based on Nathan’s jump layout at US Nationals. His jump layout at Four Continents was slightly different. :)

Nathan Chen:

Quad Lutz + Triple Toe loop

Quad Flip

Quad Toeloop + Double Toe loop + Double Loop

Quad Toeloop

Triple Axel

Quad Salchow

Triple Lutz

Triple Flip + Triple Toe loop

Base Value of jumps alone 91.96

I pulled these base values directly off icenetwork’s official scoring sheets, so if there’s anything wrong, blame them not me. 

Victor Nikiforov

Quad Lutz 

Quad Flip 

Triple Axel 

Quadruple Salchow

Triple Axel + Triple Loop + Double Loop 

Triple Lutz

Triple Flip

Quadruple Toe Loop + Triple Toe Loop

Base Value of jumps alone: 88.79 

If there’s a mistake in these though, it’s my fault. 

Why is Victor’s so close to Nathan’s despite having one less quad? It’s mostly because his program is a little more backloaded with jumps than Nathan’s is. He puts his quad/triple as his last jump element, and he even squishes that three jump combination in his latter half of the program.  Remember that jumps in the latter part of your program get a 10% bonus on scores. This is emphasized in YOI especially with Yuuri’s character, as his stamina allows him to put the most difficult elements of his program near the end of his programs to take advantage of that. A quad flip within mere moments of your program ending is absolutely balls to the wall nuts, but Yuuri does it in both his short and long programs at the GPF. 

Nathan Chen’s original program plan at US Nationals was a triple loop where the last quad salchow is. If he had done that, he would have had four quads and his base value would have been: 85.51, which is a little below Victor’s (despite the fact that Nathan’s quadruple jump combo, the 4 lutz/3 toe is more difficult than Victor’s choice of a 4 toe/3 toe. In fact, at Four Continents it broke a record for the highest score on an individual element!). The power of those latter half bonuses is strong! 

Anyway, the scores being close w/ four quads all makes sense, as the quads Victor and Nathan have in their competitive arsenal are identical. The one quad they both don’t do is the loop (Victor apparently can but has only done it in exhibition, so perhaps it’s not something he’s consistent enough on? And of course no one does the axel). 

I wouldn’t call Nathan’s program particularly front loaded. However, if he does want his sky high base scores to be even higher, he can try to move some more of those jumps to the latter half. He is still only seventeen though, so he may not have developed the stamina for it yet. Victor on the other hand, has been working on this forever. That being said, that also proves what an athlete Victor is, because he’s twenty-seven years old and still doing this, which is incredible. Twenty-seven is still very young, but figure skating, like gymnastics, is known as a sport with a mayfly life span for a lot of athletes. It’s very hard on the body. Thus, Victor slamming out those quads at the end of his program at twenty-seven is pretty darn amazing. 

But yes Nathan is an absolutely stunning (and non-fictional!) athlete. It’s wonderful what he’s done. I’d be interested to see how Victor’s short program layout compares to his, but we don’t have any info on that, although I could do a comparison to JJ’s Rostelecom layout or Yuuri’s (planned) GPF one! 

[rosecreer]

Rocketman, the Animated Music Video

'In his own interpretation of Elton John’s iconic hit, Iranian filmmaker and refugee Majid Adin reimagines “Rocket Man” to tell a new story of adventure, loneliness and hope.'

This music video is beautiful and perfectly depicts the mood the artist wanted to display. With a limited colour pallet and watercolour-esc painted transitions and an animated character on top of a painted background, the animation is easy to consume and easy to read emotionally. The transitions of shots and bursts of animation are translated perfectly in time with the music, allowing an easily consumable visual accompaniment to the sound. Nothing is jarring, as it is in time with the music. Even the movement of the characters and background are rhythmic which immerse the viewer and allow them to focus on both the lyrics and visuals of the music video.

When the music picks up at the chorus, so does the video. A story of a refugee who tells his children the reason he is going away for so long is because he is an astronaut, for their comfort. Every time Elton John exclaims 'I'm a rocketman!' the animation reflects this with a more ethereal, colourful and ambiguous appearance, clearly reflecting on how the refugee has no idea what it is like to be an astronaut in space and it is all make belief. The reassurance he gives his children is also a reassurance to himself, we as an audience feel relaxed whenever the colourful and lightweight space section is on screen but are brought back down to reality with the change of colour palette as the next verse comes on. The blank shadows and unmoving figures of the people surrounding the man show how detached their lives are compared to his, but also allow focus on what is really important; him and his family. The simplicity of the environments like buildings and cars are almost as if we are looking at it through a child's perspective, what their kids are imagining their dad doing. It could also represent how he is taking everything in and hasn't quite absorbed the details just yet because he is so overwhelmed with his new environment.

It is important to reflect and use the music to our advantage when animating to it, the music tells a story to us without visuals and if we worked against the music, it would be like consuming two stories at once.