#cringy reviews by cringy people

[vibin-in-the-void]

having imposter syndrome on tumblr is like not wanting to be recognised in a masquerade ball, you forget no one else want's to be recognised either

[darlingofdots]

I know that it won't change anybody's mind but I do think it's interesting that when we're talking about the discourse around romance novels and "spicy" books, it's people on social media who are sooooo concerned about the potential impact while people who study this stuff academically just roll their eyes whenever somebody goes all Think Of The Children about it

What really gets me in this conversation (and I've talked to fellow romance scholars about this!) is the oh-so-sincere concern that women will somehow get the wrong idea and be more vulnerable to domestic abuse because they read the wrong books. It shows such a disregard for women's intelligence! Why do you think women are so impressionable that they can't separate their entertainment preferences from their life experiences and more importantly, why do you think this is somehow a novel argument? People have been claiming that romance novels Give Women The Wrong Ideas for centuries, and we had to spend several decades just disputing that nonsense so we could finally get to some real scholarship.

The Flame and the Flower came out in 1974 and was hugely popular, and one of the most common answers to "how did you get into romance novels" is "I found my mum's/grandma's stash when I was a teenager." There’s not even any good data on whether romance readership has significantly increased in the last decade* and yet you would think that a wave of romance reading swept the globe and turned every woman into a mindless spice addict. I am so so willing to critique the romance genre for its continued heteronormativity, the racism perpetuated by prominent industry organisations, and even cringy covers. I have in fact published two articles* in that direction and am currently working on a PhD thesis. But if your only contribution to the conversation is "but what if women read The Wrong Books," you need to seriously re-evaluate your opinions.

*You should generally be skeptical of any specific numbers about readership or market share because a lot of the info you see floating around does not come with methodology or data sets attached to back it up. Preliminary data suggests a slight uptick in romance readership during and after the pandemic.

**I will not share the details because I am practicing separation of church and state on this blog but I highly recommend checking out the Journal of Popular Romance Studies, which is an online, open access, peer reviewed journal focusing on popular romance media.

[quinton-reviews]

I just finished rewatching all of your Garfield videos, and it got me thinking. Do you plan on making a review of the new Garfield movie?

Also, Arbuckle is easily one of my favorite short films. The writing is witty and feels true to the characters, while feeling like a new and interesting take on the story. I rewatch it often! Also, Liz's makeup is just perfect in it, I appreciate how you recreated her original look for the film.

Is there any behind-the-scenes scenes stuff that you've wanted to talk about for Arbuckle, but haven't had the chance to yet? I'd love to hear your thoughts about it all these years later!

It's always so sweet to hear people praise stuff like Arbuckle. You have to understand that for every person who loves one of my creative things, there are like 15 people who think it's the worst, most cringy, try-hard thing ever made. I had a lot of fun on that one but I simply NEVER rewatch it - I think I'd only find faults.

The one thing about Arbuckle is it was filmed in about four different apartments, I had to film at an old friend's house because she had an orange cat. The cat was absolutely terrified of me, which is why he barely sits still if I'm not holding him.

As for the new Garfield Movie... I do want to do a video on it, but it would be a few months before I could get to it. So the question is if people would still want a video reviewing it in, say, October? If so, then I think I probably will do a quick video on all the Garfield movies.

[uninformedartist]

So just finished watching the ep so review. Spoils ahead:

So the episode was ok to me, solid 6/10 one of the better episodes which since this was supposed to be an "extravagant" ep why does it got better quality than the main eps, idk Viv has her moments like this ep and other eps its a train wreck in writing ect.

Mammon worked on my nerves, from design to his movements, personality ALL of him was annoying, which props for an annoying Villian but its Villian I never want to see back again and he's hinted for some sort of return.

Side tangent: Mammon is like the how many-ith Villian to get a return ep/hint at one. It was 1st cherubs, then dorks, then stella/ice twink, striker/crimson now Mammon & according to the leaked storyboards a ghost guy that tries to talk IMP into off-ing themselves... its a flipping lot and cherubs & dorks seem to be forgotten dispite dorks knowing & having hard evidence they exist, flip Viv chill it with your Villian of the week cos its way too many now.

Anyway, Blitz didn't need to be in this ep besides the flashback. Ozzie got him to talk Fizz out of being Mammon's puppet but ultimately Ozzie spoke him out of it & gave him courage to quit/confront Mammon. Even Blitz being a bodyguard/killing people for Fizz could've been any imp. Blitz is starting to feel like Steven from SU, in every ep even tho the ep doesn't need him/ the episode surrounds topics a wee child shouldn't be in (i.e Lapis trauma dumping on Steven & he a child isn't really equipped to handle that situation).

My fave part of this ep was Ozzie and Fizz. Ya'll I legit prayed Viv wouldn't mess these two up and my prayers were answered. Absolutely a joy these two were. Fizz especially what a darling. Loved that small scenes with him and the deaf imp child, l dont know sign language but it looked genuine animated and was just sweet moments.

From their interactions, Fizz's panic attacks/self doubt felt & were genuine... I felt that as someone that has panic attacks from high stress on my studies/life. It was just handled well. Fizz feeling less than and needing to prove himself from 1. his past 2. his appearance, that accident affected his self image/worth so much (why I felt him forgiving Blitz was too hastily done but I digress) & 3. him doing this Mammon contest still to gain/earn Ozzie's love for him cos Fizz believes Ozzie only sticks around because of this fame Mammon gave Fizz. Ozzie finally saying what he loves about Fizz was lovely, wanted that in the 1st ep but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Their song was... I didn't like it BUT the message in it was beautiful. Lastly Fizz saying fuck you to Mammon from the courage/strength Ozzie gave him was a nice send off... also Ozzie saying he loves Fizz ah ngl that made me smile agh I just love them. I want to see them more than the Stolitz show but thats only a wish. Props Viv, you get 1 brownie point not messing this up.

Last findings, the ep was bloated as hell my soul Viv please stop cramming so much in an ep, this one is 30 mins long & yet still felt bloated. Pacing was a motherfuka damn it was bad & the swearing was jarring (its a Viv written ep I don't expect any less but still gonna point it out) and the comedy wasn't so prominent in this ep, Blitz/Mammon gave some comic relief but in the best and worst ways:

The way the VA delivered this line "to be fucked" made me laugh, the line is cringy but the delivery lol gold

Aand Blitz, my soul shut the fuck up & get out this ep. Last ep & this one he said something so agonizingly cringe I pulled my face

The world of HB is legit American hell or earth just painted red since Fizz named all these places in America just "hellified" where his fans come from.

And very last, congratulations Salem glad you got the cathartic send off you deserve from working under Viv, truly fuck you "Mammon" indeed :) also glad they credited you this time.

[thehollowwriter]

If I really think about it, watching all those Mary Sue oc videos as a kid really ruined my ocs at the time for me. Like listening to these grown adults with cool art and a big channel trashing ocs that were probably just made by kids my age and ranting about how stupid and awful and overpowered they were made me hate my own ocs so much. I felt embarrassed that I even made them, and I was like... 11? 12?

Looking back it's a pretty common part of the process if you make ocs from young to have overpowered ocs. That's just how little kids are. "Yeah, you might be superman, but I've got a magic kryptonite sword!" "Oh yeah? Well my oc can break the time barrier with their speed!" "(That second one was brought to you by smol Quinn copying the flash)

They're just having fun and want to come out on top. Losing isn't very fun. And they just want their characters to be like all the other cool characters they've seen!

Even today too many people act like ocs made for fun should be like a fucking masterpiece that is perfectly written and not "weird" in any way. Like people try to act like times have changed and callkng things cringe is dead, but even under oc positivity posts you get people that are like "Well yeah BUT (random complaint)"

There's something so hateful and mean about taking the time to make long posts or videos (which you have to set and edit!) to trash some ocs you don't like for the crime of... being made for fun and not being realistic enough for you. Like these people put the creators of the ocs' accounts and their art in their video and just bash them.

The comments were just filled with people like "thanks this helped me realise how terrible my ocs were" "people who make characters all love their ocs are narcisstic/some other ableist nonsense" "imagine being so immature you want your oc to be the best and most powerful of all time" etc etc

"Cringey ocs" are listed as a sign a of a toxic fandom. It's so fucking ridiculous. Imagine hating ocs so much you consider it be on the same level as shit like bullying and death threats.

It made me feel so stupid and uncreative. Like I was a bad, dumb person who couldn't even make OCs the correct way. I was utterly ashamed of some of my ocs and either completely changed them or scapped them wntirely.

Even now, I worry about making my ocs "too powerful" even though I know that I'm free to do what I want, and if someone has a problem, they can screw off. I've also come to realise through listening to bool reviews ans critiques that the difference between a "cringy oc" and a "character written by an established author" can sometimes literally just be that the author is published and you're not.

Make your ocs as powerful as you want. Make the entire cast of characters fall head over heels for your ocs. Make them the most important people ever. Make them a magic goth part demon part vampire part werewolf. Make them a rainbow magic princess or a gothic dark magic queen.

Just have fun.

[pseudophan]

Nora can I be so fr with you I’ve been scrolling peoples letterboxd reviews of WAD and I get SO irrationally annoyed when people give like serious 1-3 star reviews. “The jokes were cringy and millennial” like okay and??? Give my babygirl his five stars and go oh my god. Like ik ik it’s SUCH an irrational stupid thing to be annoyed at but I’m like why are you here writing an essay on how cringe it is to like Dan and Phil in 2024 just go homeeee

LMAO no me too. i fully respect people's right to earnestly review it and give their opinions but i am also fiercely protective of this man and some people are being mean!!! yes he's kinda cringe but can't you just clap for him... can't you just throw confetti and cheer for how adorable he is.....

[ajthebumblebee]

The internet has this really "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" attitude with any kind of drama.

If you fuck up, and you never address it or apologize, people will continue to hold it over you.

If you fuck up, and you do address it and apologize, and are clearly sincere, you get mocked for being fake and "backpedaling."

If you never fucked up, and are just kinda cringy, (or God help you, in a marginalized group) people will make up rumors why you're terrible.

Whenever I see backlash of any kind, and long after, some people are still writing walls of text about how awful they are, I just have to wonder... What do you even want from them?

I saw someone talk about finding a positive review about a show they didn't like, from a critic they didn't like, and they bitched about how the critic was too harsh to another show, and... What do you want? You already think this show, and this critic sucked. Why do you care? If they gave a negative review, you would go "Damn, rare W for them."

This is what I think of when people complain about detached irony. You have no idea how to handle something online that isn't trying to mock the target in some way. Even people doing what you want them to do is still bad because it's them doing it.

[avelera]

"The Regime" (starring Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts) Episode 2 Review

So last week I gave my review of this first episode of this.... rather perplexing show. And this week, mostly out of morbid curiosity, I tried out episode 2 and thought I'd share my impressions of it.

Once again, let's start with the good:

Matthias Schoenaerts (aka, Booker from The Old Guard) is acting his face off in this. So is Kate Winslet.

That said, they are acting their faces off in completely different shows.

But it kinda works?

Hold on, wait a minute, let me start again, because like this show, I'm immediately completely muddled by how I feel about all this or what the fuck is going on.

Let me put it this way. I thought I was signing up for a sort of "Death of Stalin" political satire, with fictionalized object lessons that clearly applied as cautionary tales to modern political issues like Trump, or Putin, or the Royal Family or whatever, using a heaping side helping of comedy.

That's not quite what we got. And I think the people who signed up for that are going to be... at least a little disappointed. The comedy is absurdist and definitely relies on the cringiness of the big personalities involved. But for me, at least, there wasn't quite enough comedy to say this is, well, a comedy.

If you have historical familiarity with various historical regimes and dictators, you'll definitely get a "Where's Waldo" of traits and idiosyncrasies of various dictators all blended together into Kate Winslet's character as she portrays this fictionalized regime head. You'll get your standard cast of various Political Advisors all tutting over her actions and which way this fictional country should go.

But since it is fictional (it seems based heavily on Moldova as of this episode?) a lot of the political clout, to me, didn't exactly land because again, it's not based on real events so I really don't know where any of this is going or which decisions are actually good or bad in the long run.

And if the show was just going to be about that, I definitely would have quit out of it by now, pending good reviews of the finale somehow pulling everything together.

But now for the really unexpected bit.

Because if you signed up for a dark romance between an absurd, psychologically irregular, frankly bizarre would-be dictator who has the occasional moment of pathos, as played by the stunning and talented Kate Winslet, and her psychosexual relationship with her violently masculine, brooding, and supremely fucked-up self-appointed guard dog with the occasional moment of pathos, as played with dark and terrifying intensity by Matthias Schoenaerts, holy fuck do I think you're about to have the time of your life.

Like, I think the show wants to resonate with Veep audiences who are here for a cringey absurd political comedy, but I think the people who are actually going to be absolutely frothing-at-the-mouth obsessed with this show are like... your Reylo shipping Dark Fucked Up Romance people and Tumblr fandom in general who would really enjoy Villain/Sidekick or Villain/Bodyguard romances as seen when this Possibly Evil Dictator and her Possibly Evil Guard Dog/Advisor are being completely obsessed with each other, all with a rather small side of absurdist comedy as things continue to spiral and get gradually more fucked up.

Now, this is just my review as of 1.02. I have no idea if that's where this show is going because the problem I have with this episode is kinda just a slightly lesser version of the problem I had with 1.01, which could be a matter of taste, in that I really have no fucking clue what this show is going for or what it's trying to accomplish. It's not really laugh out loud funny. It hasn't really said anything political yet. We can't really tell yet what cautionary tales we're supposed to take away, if any?

But in the meantime, there's Winslet and Schoenaerts performing in completely different genres being darkly obsessed with each other and, y'know what, I might stick around just for the slow-motion-trainwreck fascination with whatever the fuck they've got going on.

[bridgerteon]

This is going to be an extremely long thread of my opinion about Bridgerton S3, especially Polin (and comparing Polin to a certain ATLA ship). So, good luck reading it.

I knew there are a lot of mixed opinions about Bridgerton S3; I have too. Around 50-60% from the book, Romancing Mr Bridgerton, has adapted to the show, which I, as a book reader, am happy to see. I also love the changes from the book that showcases Penelope (and Nicola Coughlan) to shine with awesomeness and deserves a lot of love and recognition after what she's been through.

I can understand why Netflix split into two parts. Part 1 is entertaining, pining and rom-com. While Part 2 is anxiety, emotional and romantic drama. Probably to let viewers breathe. But please don't do that again; I like to binge the whole thing without waiting.

There are:

- Great scenes -> Portia reconciling to Pen and being supportive (thanks Colin!) and Pen having the confidence to reveal herself as Lady Whistledown (LW), instead of letting Colin steal the spotlight for her. Also the Francesca/John romance as they "match their freak". There's actually a lot of great scenes, from Keeping Up With The Featheringtons to Peneloise reconciliation.

- Revenge scenes I like -> Penelope telling off Colin for being an asshole. Also, Lord Debling courting Penelope, making Colin jealous. The Vindication™ for Pen because that's how she feels.

- Some I groaned -> a threesome? Like really? I find it funny, but cringy.

- Some I am suspicious -> Michael Stirling [man] is gender-swapped to Michaela Stirling [woman], but I'm more cautious than angry about the change. Michaela is so goddamn pretty though, heh. I don't mind inclusivity, but it should be addressed with care if it's done for a main Bridgerton character. Besides, I like Francesca's story from the book, When He Was Wicked, and how it explains about infertility. My opinion is that the showrunner should just keep the characters and important parts of the storyline as it is. But I'll see how it goes and hope for the best.

- And others that make no sense -> the lack of Kanthony, like where are they!? And why do they disappear all the time!? This is not them as they are always attentive. They were excellent in managing the Bridgertons and their mess. I love Kanthony so bring them back!!!

What I will analyse and defend is Show Polin.

When I read negative reviews about them, I shake my head in disappointment because the fans didn't understand it. It's like some people have a lack of media literacy. I'm open-minded and I like to analyse critically how and why it happens rather than comparing with other seasons of Bridgerton; I see the show as a separate entity from the books and I still enjoy it as it is. Therefore, I have better comprehension. I also read an article where Luke Newton explains why Colin is Jelly, as shown below. His insight justifies my point.

Since I read RMB, it does give me first-hand insight on the up-and-down relationship between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington-Bridgerton. I also included a favourite ship of mine from Avatar: the Last Airbender (ATLA) for comparison and how Polin's dynamics makes sense to me. (There's no need to have knowledge of ATLA).

So here's my opinion about Polin:

To be honest, I was expecting Katara/Aang tropes in Polin, as they are both friends-to-lovers ships obviously. What I don't expect is that show Polin is more related to Katara/Zuko (Zutara) instead, which is awesome (as an unfortunate Zutara shipper)!

I find Polin's love story to be as realistic as possible, knowing that a love story is not all sunshines, lollipops and rainbows. There will be disputes, doubts and secrets; I'm satisfied that they are addressed. However, there are some scenes from Polin that I am mad about or feeling something is missing.

Also, I DON'T CARE that Polin does not have the CHEMISTRY similar to Kanthony or Saphne(?) (Simon/Daphne). They have the CONNECTION with each other. Friends-to-lovers don't need chemistry; it rarely exists in real life. Friends-to-lovers stories are messy, awkward and full of disagreements, but the connection and their love for each other is always there between them. They are there since Season 1, are always seeking each other and are always themselves around each other. That's as real as it gets.

Themes I like from Polin and how it compares to Zutara:

1. Hiding their true self: Colin having some swag, being impassive, nonchalant mood, and goes to brothels; I find it weird. However, someone analysed that it's a facade because Penelope doesn't write to him, so he went on a teen girl phase and lost his damn mind, heh. Eloise, Pen and Violet know that that is not the Real Colin, who is a soft boi. He mentions that he is yearning for home and wants to feel like he belongs somewhere and to be seen for who he truly is.

This is similar to Zuko when he was sad/mad that he was banished and his father didn't love him, so his personality became antagonistic. Iroh knew that's not the Real Zuko, who was a gentle boi. Therefore, Iroh planned to nudge Zuko to a different side rather than following Ozai's goals.

Additionally, Penelope disguises herself as Lady Whistledown, Katara as The Painted Lady, Zuko as The Blue Spirit, and Colin as The Travelling Englishman/Pirate.

2. BETRAYAL: (I can't emphasise this enough because this theme let's me understand and love Polin). Penelope is anguished about Colin's comments that he don't give a 💩 about her and will never court her (Le Asshole 101 😒). Colin is heartbroken that Pen is LW*. Katara and Iroh were shattered that Zuko joined Azula to fight against Aang in Ba Sing Se. All of these events are unforgivable.

*(The fact that Luke Newton cried in the LW reveal scene as well as angry portrays Colin as heartbroken than enraged, which makes the scene more heartwrenching. I like that so much better than Colin having a temper like in the books and Katara just enraged when Zuko attacked her in Ba Sing Se. Thanks, Luke Newton, for making me feel sorry for Colin 😏).

Another one is that Colin argues with Penelope that she wrote negative comments on LW about his family, Marina Thompson (in my opinion, she deserved it for being deceptive), himself, herself and everyone else. He also feels that she has a "planned entrapment" for him to marry her, even though I knew he didn't mean it; he is devastated that she is not who she seems to be. Colin wants to feel needed and really yearns to love her fully because he wants to provide everything for her. But he doesn't think he's enough or unworthy for Pen and that he's not sure he'll ever accept Pen as LW, which makes me sad. Also... he's envious that she's more successful than him since she's rich as hell, an experienced writer and got her 💩 together; something he wants to achieve. But dude, you married a Sugar Mama! Similarly, Katara argued with Zuko after the Ba Sing Se fiasco and told him to bring her mother back; I found it absurd too, but I knew she was upset for being deceived and hurt as well, like Colin.

3. Self-confidence and accountability: Pen has brought her own voice to address the whole Ton that she is LW and to let them judge her. Nicola Coughlan has done it perfectly in that, as a shy but confident woman. She understands that people are hurt from her comments, but she wants to have a purpose - not as a spy though, heh. She wants the world where women, especially shy wallflowers, are seen and shine brighter as well in a patriarchy world. Also she understands that Colin is upset that she is LW, but she's adamant that she is and nothing will separate LW from her. LW is power and it helps women like Penelope earn her place in society, besides dilly-dally.

Also, Colin pushes Lord Debling away so that Colin can have a moment with Pen to change her mind and make her pick him, choose him and love him. He doesn't care that the Ton sees them, he just sees Pen. Also the way "he ran!" (thanks Dallas Liu 😏) to Pen's carriage just to confess to her. He is confident of his feelings for her, but respectful if she rejects him.

Same goes with Katara that she wanted a world where women can choose to learn waterbending to fight and men to learn healing, or both. And to Zuko that he had redeemed himself and wanted to end the war as the Firelord with ideals that brought all nations together in peace and harmony.

4. Accepting flaws and empathy: Colin accepts that Pen is LW, because he finally realises why while begging to Cressida: the isolation, the bullying, being ostracised and unappreciated, and the anger that no one will ever recognise, listen or stand up to her. But he knows she's not heartless and does regret her words that are published. Also, her letters to him amplifies that she is a great writer and that her and LW are the same person. After Pen reveals herself to the Ton that she is LW, apologises for it and explains why, Colin is more proud and in love with her.

Zuko saw Katara bloodbending (manipulating bodies through their blood). He was surprised. He didn't question it. He didn't chastise her that it's bad or that she's not herself. He accepted it as part of herself. He just wanted her to face her past and let her choose her fate. The End.

5. Conflict: Colin and Pen love each other so much, despite a Great Wall of Anger and Doubt separating them. Katara knew Zuko was not evil, but had to separate Zuko the Fire Prince with Zuko the Awkward, Caring, Flawed Boi.

Also, Katara and Zuko saw each other as legit rivals during the 100-year war. Meanwhile... well... Colin does see Pen as a rival... indirectly though as she's LW, while he is... just a Bridgerton... with no accomplishments... and a loser, heh.

6. Partnership: Pen agrees with Colin that he'll help her find a husband (even though he hired himself as one, heh). Also, Colin and Pen become writers together, as an author and columnist respectively. All hail Lord and Lady Whistledown! 🙇‍♀️ Meanwhile, Katara and Zuko became partners to find the one who killed her mother, fought together side-by-side during training and trusted each other to defeat Azula.

Extra: There's also a lot of love confessions and moments from Polin that made me giddy with joy, sad and amused (and jealousy for being single). Especially... That carriage scene, heh.

Now for the things I'm disappointed about Polin:

1. Colin doesn't tell Penelope that he forgives her verbally. Like since when did he forgive her? Katara told Zuko verbally that she forgave him, so why doesn't Colin say it to Pen? Same applies to Pen: where's her forgiveness to Colin? Unless I forget.

2. There's a quote from the book I like that Colin says “I love you. I love you with my past, and I love you for my future. I love you for the children we'll have and for the years we'll have together. I love you for every one of my smiles, and even more, for every one of your smiles” to Pen before he leaves to beg Cressida as Pen's distressed about Cressida blackmailing her. I'm sad that one is excluded.

3. Colin being an asshole for not allowing Penelope to let her fix her mess nor asking for his support at the start. Saying that "it is not up to you what we do", probably because he wants to be a hero. Dude, calm down, listen to your wife and compromise. Penelope can handle herself and does not need him to fix it for her, like she said "I do not need you to save me, I just need you to stand by me." I think it makes him feel useless as he likes to help and being needed 24/7. Besides, he makes it worse after begging Cressida, heh. Zuko survived listening to Katara's rants and threats against him, and he still wanted to make it up to her, so Colin should do the same.

4. Colin being a Drama Queen™ for not sleeping with Pen because he's an idiota; he reminds me of both Katara and Zuko since they were both Drama Queens™ as well, heh. However, it broke my heart for Pen; she deserves better and deserves to have a wedding night full of love, not doubt. Fortunately, he does sleep near their room - like Zuko waited for Katara outside her tent - because Colin still deeply loves Pen and wants to feel closer to her, despite being pissy with her. Also, he sleeps on a chaise lounge where they made love because it reminds him of the happiness they have shared before the LW mess. Additionally, he ignores his lust for her while pissed, but I think it's a good idea not to have angry sex as it's just not healthy emotionally and mentally for them.

5. It would be nice if Colin allows Pen to read or discuss his journals more, like in the books. I want to hear his thoughts more. Or maybe the backstory of how Penelope becomes LW.

6. I really want to see more of the lovey-dovey happy Polin moments without any doubts or lies between them; it's not enough. Where's the Polin sex?! Gimme more happy Polin!!!

So that's my long analysis about S3 and why I like Polin, the good and bad. Also, Polin did change my whole opinion about friends-to-lovers stories after I had a sour taste of it from a ship I'm not supportive to, but that is for another story to tell. 

[pokeshadow]

I won't have a chance to talk about it in a fic for ages and ages, but wanted to share my thought with other people.

In a universe where Randy lives, either through Billy and Stu never going through with that night or Randy just not getting murked in 2, I think he'd 100% become a youtuber. Specifically, I think he'd end up basically being Dead Meat. He gets his film study degree and other film related things in collage, but hadn't quite found where to break into the scene yet by the time youtube started to become a thing. He saw things like early Nostalgia Critic, AVGN, and other TGWTG reviewers, noticed no one was doing horror content, and taking up that mantle himself. Just as a hobby between work and finding a job in the film field. First few videos were cringie NC knock off type humor with skits, but they never took off. Then he did a Kill Count video, and that really took off. That became his main series on youtube people know him for, but I think he'd do essays from time to time on the median, like talking about queer horror or how world events effect the type of horror that comes out.

In my specific au where Billy and Stu don't go through with the murders and live, I think from time to time Randy would get Stu in a video with him. He's not a youtuber, but he's got that natural screen charisma and works in horror movie practical effects so can give cool behind the scenes looks at how it all works. The viewers start somewhat shipping them, and it drives Randy crazy because he's still single and desperate to find a GF. The happily (not legal yet) married Stu thinks it's hilarious and plays into it so much. Especially since they DO hook up sometimes when Randy's in town, so the denial of it on screen it the funniest thing in the world to him. (Don't worry, Billy is totally cool with this. This is way into their mid to late 20's and Billy has escaped his family situation and selfhatred, he's happy and doing ok now thanks to Stu)

[imakemywings]

A+ Library Review: "Loveless" by Alice Oseman

This is not technically the first installment of this, but it is the first time I'm making it A Thing. A+ Library is my new segment where I review books with asexual and/or aromantic characters.

Previous review: The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong

The book description for Loveless is:

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush - but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she's sure she'll find her person one day. As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia's ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her 'teenage dream' is in sight. But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her.

The character: Georgia Warr, aro/ace

So let's get to it.

TL;DR: Thumbs up from me

Since Loveless centers entirely around the aroace experience, I will not be breaking the review into sections like last time.

Loveless is a coming-of-age story about Georgia's first year at college. It begins with her graduation party out of high school and ends with her establishing plans for her second year of college. It's very slice-of-life, with a focus pretty much exclusively on Georgia's interpersonal relationships and her personal growth.

Oof. Okay. Loveless was at times hard for me to read, and not because it's bad, but because it hit so close to so many of my own experiences at Georgia's age. There were so many times I felt myself going "Oh yeah, I remember that. Yep, there's that phase. Yep, I told myself that story too. Yep, yep, yep."

Just like Georgia, I considered myself someone with "high standards" who would inevitably break the romance and sex barrier when I got to college. This book hit on so many of my own insecurities from that phase, some of which I still struggle with at times, but I will try to be objective about this review nonetheless.

Loveless does a wonderful job of unfurling Georgia's journey, from the start where she considers herself "just like everyone else" but a bit slow on the romance front, to realizing she's Different, through the difficult process of starting to accept that difference as part of her.

Unlike my last review, Loveless earns its found family by showing how Georgia and her friends grow together and apart and back together--with additions. Everyone in Loveless is on their own journey--and at different stages of it. From Pip who's been out as lesbian since she was fifteen and eager for a first girlfriend, to Rooney who's long suspected she's not really straight, to Georgia who's only just grasping the words to describe her experience.

And sometimes they hurt each other! One of the complaints I had about One Last Stop was how all the relationships (protag's mom aside) are entirely fluffy feel-good. Loveless eschews that by showing how friends can hurt each other even when they don't mean to, and how people have competing needs, and how past struggles can impact your present. But in spite of that, it's clear how much all of the main cast grow to care for each other over the course of the book, such that the ending is truly heartwarming.

The prose suits Georgia's voice, which is to say it sounds like an 18/19 year old girl is speaking. That means it's not very eloquent, and it can be blunt and cringy, but in a very believable, realistic way to me.

Georgia's coming of age isn't limited to just her orientation. At the start of the book, she is painfully alien to herself. Georgia doesn't seem to know anything about herself, as if she's spent all her adolescence wrapped in a thick blanket glued to fanfic and refusing to interrogate any of her own feelings--which is probably what happened. It means that she has a very rough time when she enters college. Unlike many such stories, Georgia is not jumping at the bit to be on her own--in the moment when her parents dust off their hands and prepare to leave her with her boxes of stuff in her new dorm, Georgia contemplates begging them not to leave her.

Loveless really captures a sentiment I experienced with asexuality, which was the sense of being left behind by your peers, of feeling childish and immature. Desperate to shake the feeling, Georgia makes an admirable effort at "putting herself out there," doing all kinds of things she doesn't really think she'll like, but wants to give a try, just in case. In some cases, she bombs--but in others, like the Shakespeare Society, she really blossoms. I thought the book makes an excellent picture of a lost young person beginning their adult life with no real idea of who they are, and trying to solve that problem.

Perhaps most painful of all, Loveless captures Georgia's fear of not knowing what her future will look like now that whirlwind love affair-->marriage-->2.5 kids is off the table. It's particularly difficult for her because Georgia so desperately wants that romance--except that for her it's something of a mirage: as soon as it gets close--like when a boy tries to kiss her--all her interest is gone in a flash. Georgia wants to want romance and sex...but she doesn't, really. Even when she's accepted her orientation, she really struggles with what this means for the rest of her life, which also felt very relatable. Partnering up is seen as virtually inevitable, and as the book points out: life is scary! It's way less scary when you have a Person! Therefore, part of Georgia's insecurity and uncertainty focuses a lot on what her future is going to be, and it's not a question she's solved by the end of the book. But it is one she's becoming less afraid of.

There were a few things that struck me as odd, like Pip's claim she had never "fully connected" with friends who aren't Latina, a sentiment echoed by Sonil's refusal to accept his asexuality until he met other Indian people who also used the label...obviously there are certain things that friends who don't share your racial or cultural background may not fully understand, but the idea that you can't connect with anyone who doesn't share your same racial make-up is...uncomfortable, I think. But these remarks pass quickly.

Additionally, the way Rooney and Georgia berate themselves for "experimenting" comes off unnecessarily harsh to me...part of dating is learning whether you're compatible with that person. And yeah--sometimes that means figuring out if you are or are not attracted to them, or their gender more broadly. There's nothing inherently wrong with starting to date someone you're not sure you're into, and then realizing you aren't.

The book also beats Georgia's fanfic reading to death a little, in my view. It gets mentioned way more than it needs to, and citing specific ships and tropes a) is going to date the book like hell; and b) is irritatingly obtuse to anyone who doesn't know what "Stucky" or "flower shop AU" is.

If you're deep into the ace/aro online community, this book may come off as retreading a lot of well-trod ground for you. There's nothing especially ground-breaking in it. But if you're not so connected, or you're new to the aro/ace community, or you just want a book that still-coming-out you needed, I think this is a great pick.

Next review: The Bruising of Qilwa (TBP)

[ilovetomdaya]

🚨This is going to be my spoiler Dune Part Two review. It's going to be long so please bare with me. I loved Dune Part two and I would definitely watch it again.🚨

So let's start off with Chani. She's a total bada** and Zendaya did an amazing job playing her. She really seems to understand Chani and who Chani is. Her performance of Chani really blew me away. Chani is obviously a very strong believer in Fremen. She doesn't believe in what the other Fremen do. I love that she makes that very clear and she never let's anyone change her mind. Then she falls in love with Paul. He makes her all of these promises and says all of these things about fighting for Fremen. Chani is definitely a strong independent woman who gets sh** done, fights for her people but also seems to love hard. She has conflict with herself because she loves Paul but disagrees with him on some things. Over all Zendaya knocked it out of the park with Chani. I feel so bad for Chani because she sacrificed so much for Paul and got other Fremen to believe in him and treat him like family only for him to stab her in the back. Asking Irulan to marry him right in front of her. Just mere minutes after telling Chani "i will love you as long as I breathe." I'm glad she walked away from him but my heart hurts for her. She deserves better. I wonder what she'll do next? I'm so proud of Zendaya. Timmy did a great job playing Paul. He really dug into the deep dark part of Paul and brought that out. Paul felt and seemed so much more darker this movie and was power hungry. He became a character that I don't like. I'm glad that Chani slapped him. He deserved it. His hunger for power definitely came out when he went to the South for sure. He had a little bit more of a softer side in the North side. He doesn't truly love Chani the way he's suppose to. He wants power and will do anything to get it. Even if it means hurting Chani and people that he supposedly loves. Over all Timmy did a great job playing Paul. Okay so let's talk about Paulchani. One of the problems I had with this movie is how fast paced Paul and Chanis relationship was. They go from just meeting to all of the sudden telling each other I love you and being in love. It makes no sense. I also personally think that Zendaya and Timmy don't have the best on screen chemistry with each other. They obviously have okay onscreen chemistry but it's not the best. I found myself struggling to connect to their relationship/ love story. Their relationship just didn't make me feel anything really. I honestly think that's due to how fast paced it is/ was though. Another issue with the movie that I had (like others did) is the pacing. It started out slow but then it got really fast and it seemed like they were trying to fit in a lot of material in a short amount of time. Austin absolutely blew me away with his acting. Couldn't even tell it was Austin. All I saw and heard was Feyd. He portrayed the physcotic person Feyd is/ was amazingly. There were times where Feyd genuinely had me scared. Like other people have stated the accent he did for Feyd was cringy but the acting was great. Rebecca straight up bodied the role of Lady Jessica. She was terrifying. She had me scared asf sometimes. Especially when she became a Reverend Mother. The fact that she betrayed her own kid... has me saying "damn." That woman is ruthless and a bada**. You couldn't tell it was Rebecca. All you could see was Lady Jessica. Javier did an amazing job too. I loved that you could see how strongly Stillgar believed in what he did. Zendaya, Rebecca, Austin, and Timmy were the stand outs for me though. I definitely want to watch the movie again. So glad I got to experience it in theaters.

[thechaoticreader]

10 More Booktok Books I Refuse To Read

Why am I doing this again? Well, I'm a bitch and feel like I've been rating books very highly lately so I need an outlet for the hater energy. Trying to keep the blog chaotic neutral!

*Disclaimer: If you like any of these books, slay! I'm happy for you! These are just my own consumer choices, and imo negative book reviews are just as helpful as positive ones!*

1. Twisted Love (& Series)

will HATE the love intrest

heard its a little incelly

too straight for my gay ass

as an Anna, I cannot condone this spelling so out of principle I will not read her books <3

2. The Fine Print (& Series)

Crusty billionaires aren't sexy

I repeat its too straight for my gay ass

I was born on December 5th which is the same day Walt Disney died and idk I just feel weird about it

eat the rich

I've had another one of Lauren Ashers books on my TBR for like a year and I keep putting off reading it (even tho its about F1 and Im obsessed with F1) so theres no hope of me reading and enjoying one about something I dont care about

3. A Little Life

I have enough mental illness without reading this book

I have enough queer trauma without reading this book

I'm not okay enough to read this book

Seriously though, this would be way too triggering for me and im chosing to prioritize my mental health over reading popular and critically acclaimed works (you all should too <3)

4. One Of Us Is Lying

I don't typically like Y/A thrillers

generally doesnt intrest me -> im getting tired of thrillers and have started leaning towards straight up horror

I HATE the cover

5. Inheritance Games

I've been burnt out of this genre/type of book since the 2000s-2010s dystopian craze

my housemate hated it and I trust his opinion

6. Lightlark

...do I really need to say anything

7. House In The Cerulean Sea

white author profiting off of indigenous trauma

mishandling of indigenous genocide (i.e the 60's scoop)

paints the residential school system as "not that bad"

I know the above books haven't been that serious but this one absolutely is and I will link information and resources in the comments. I put this one so low because I know if it was first people would just skip this whole post and potentially not look into the history of why this book is problematic.

8. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

theres too much hype and i don't want to be dissapointed

9. The Love Hypothesis

galaxy leggings

I wont be able to overlook the cringy millenial humor

it will transport me back to 2016 (in a bad way...see above)

im too gay for that (I can be convinced to read bride tho👀)

10. From Blood and Ash

I have no good reasons tbh

the cover triggers my fight or flight

im not a series girlie (gender neutral) -> duologies are on thin ice

[6leggedhorse]

Loki and Sigyn:Lessons on Chaos, Laughter, & Loyalty from the Norse Gods by Lea SvendsenBook Review

So I’m currently in Uni, bored out of my wits. So why not do a book review? Go ahead, get comfy, grab your favorite snack and drink and grab your pet too and let’s hop to it.

About The Author

Lea Svendsen, comes from a line of heathens and has a long standing experience with the Norse Pantheon. According to her blog she is incredibly fond of Loki and has written the book I’m currently reviewing. She went on what I can only guess is a hiatus and has recently posted to her blog on the 22nd of August of this year. To give you an idea of how much experience, she’s not just a devotee to Loki but a priestess to Sigyn and is currently with Llewellyn. Lea has also hosted workshops about Loki and Sigyn which has earned her not just the respect and reputation she worked hard to maintain but also very close to Loki and Sigyn.

Book Review

So here it comes: the brain dump. So I genuinely think this book is pretty good, but it’s heavy with information; but what do you expect from someone who has years of experience and has a high status within the heathen community? I wouldn’t ask anything less than from Lea as she has made a point in her work that she does, in fact, 100% knows what the hell she’s talking about. This isn’t a light read, this is kinda heavy on the readings which has made it difficult for my neurodivergent brain to clasp onto and keep my attention on. This is one I should’ve definitely got as an audio book as I am a slow reader and this more likely one of those books I can listen to and tidy up my room or listen to while showering. I want to read this more, I really do and I’ve tried, but my brain needs some help (Luckily I have Olly Lazed Focus Gummy vitamins that I can use to see if they work better with my medication).

I think this book is for more experienced people who want a refresher or want more information from an experienced practitioner/devotee/priestess. I can however see this as a beginner friendly book if you have a much stronger attention span than I do (thanks ADHD-I *eye roll*). Overall it’s a pretty good book, just heavy on the information. Perfect if you enjoy books with tons of knowledge though. I also feel as though it could’ve possibly been condensed wording wise, and I really want to love this book but it’s so heavy that I do get bored. I firmly believe that the audiobook would be much better rather than reading it normally. So I gave it the rating I did because the book is just so heavy and wordy however I don’t ask for anything less from someone of Lea’s expertise. However the information in it is really good, it’s immaculate and juicy with information for starving brains craving knowledge. The book would probably be better as an audio book rather than an actual text.

Rating

6.5-8.5/10

Epilogue

I’m still bored in Uni lol. I’ve been wanting to pump out a book review for a hot minute now but I’ve been busy as hell. I’m also on the pathway currently to burning out as well which sucks. I can feel it, and all I want to do is cry because of it. It’s hard having school, internship back 2 back, and then work on the weekends in the city hoping that traffic isn’t as cringy or even existent anyways, I hope everyone is doing better than I am! I hope you enjoyed this book review for today! I’ll post this upcoming Friday… hopefully lmao

References

[ecargmura]

Oshi No Ko Episode 17 Review - Melt's Redemption

This is the power of anime adaptations if given in the right hands. Doga Kobo really took their time and effort to creating an episode that gives both Melt a redemption arc and their studio into the limelight for that spectacular episode. I was so hooked and even shed some tears to see Melt finally getting that redemption he needed. You can say that I melted into the moment too.

Melt’s whole moment is for him to get people to see that he isn’t all looks and that he can take acting seriously! Before he got into acting, Melt was a bit of a conceited guy who knew he was hot and popular, but meeting Aqua and performing in Sweet Today gave him that reality check. It’s not just a battle within himself, but a battle against Sakuya and Yoriko, the two people who underestimated him the most. What I liked is that ever since the Sweet Today arc, Melt has been realizing that acting is serious business and that just because he’s all looks won’t get him anywhere and he won’t survive in the industry. That’s why he worked so hard. Even if he’s not as experienced as the others, he can still have his moment to shine—to have something to engrave into people’s minds. He gains Sakuya and Yoriko’s respect fully and Aqua is proud of him, giving him a genuine smile that he rarely gives others!

What I like is that he’s taking things seriously by taking in his surroundings. He’s listening to Aqua’s advice. He’s listening to his acting instructor’s words on gaining stamina. He was listening to Akane wondering about other characters and this caused him to try and understand his stage play character. He can’t take in everything and expect an instant level up, but he’s doing what he can with his capabilities and it paid off positively. Look at him now compared to his performance in Sweet Today. His line delivery became so good. He’s no longer that cringy actor from the past. Props to his voice actor Seiji Maeda for going above and beyond for this performance too! I am expecting his voice actor to get an influx of roles going forth after putting on that brilliant performance.

It’s not only Melt too, but everyone in this episode showed off their acting from what was shown in the episode and from the voice acting too! Koki Uchiyama shows off that he doesn’t always voice stoic emo boys and can do hot blooded perfectly well. Megumi Han shows off how versatile she is as a voice actress and it applies to Kana too! Yusuke Kobayashi also shows off how different he can sound when Sakuya is acting and his normal self. I feel like this episode was just a harmonious combination of well-animated scenes and well-voiced characters. This is why animation studios and voice actors are so important to elevate a manga adaptation. They’re the ones promoting this story hence why the audience has to be hooked and if things go well, those who basked in that spotlight will get lauded!

I wasn’t the only one who was crying. Mengo, who does the manga art for Oshi no Ko, revealed that they were crying as well! It was clearly a moving episode and it makes me wonder what will Doga Kobo animate for their future works. Were you moved by this episode as I was?

[littlealeta]

Ralph Breaks the Internet Review/Rant

When I first watched this film in 2018, I thought it was fairly decent. I was glad to finally see Wreck it Ralph again after 6 years. But even then, I still found it a disappointment from the first one. I hated how they did Ralph and Vanellope and I hated that Felix and Calhoun were barely in the film. Over the years, after reflecting more on this film, I realized that I might've been a bit too nice to it. So, I rewatched it again. And... yeah, it's pretty mediocre. It's still a fun time, especially for kids, but I wouldn't recommend it if you don't want it to ruin your love for the first one. I couldn't even watch the first one for years after watching this trainwreck.

This is going to be longer than some of my previous reviews because I have a LOT to say about this film, including spoilers. But you can always scroll down to the overall section if you want to see a concise version of this review.

Story

The film starts off nice. Ralph and Vanellope just hanging out in other games and talking. But, by the time the conflict comes around, the story becomes ass. Ralph and Vanellope break Sugar Rush by fucking around with a new race track Ralph created. They go through the Internet on a rollercoaster ride (using teleportation would make more sense). Then, they end up accidentally bidding 27,000 dollars for a new part at Ebay. So, now they have to gather up 27,000 dollars in 24 hours before the part expires when they could just wait for the item to expire and then re-bid. (Seriously, this whole movie wouldn't have happened if Ralph and Vanellope hadn't been idiots).

It doesn't matter, though, because Ralph somehow gets instant internet fame by making cringy youtube (called buzztube when youtube exists in that world for some reason) jokes and being a real life person somehow (that no one questions), ok. Why do we need a movie about the Internet with two characters from a movie about video games?

There are some cool concepts with the Internet, like the little avatars walking all over the place, the spamming, and Miranda Sings getting her ass kicked off by Ralph breaking her Internet. But then, there are also a lot of unnecessary Internet references. We see Google, Amazon, Twitter (with all the birds retweeting one post, like you could've had other posts instead of just retweets), Snapchat (which is an app), and Oh My Disney, which is just 5 unnecessary minutes of Disney kissing their own ass.

I will, however, say that the parody with the Disney princesses, the I Want songs, and how Vanellope interacts with the princesses (an atypical Disney princess, so you can imagine how well they bounce off of each other) is funny. The only problem is, they're just wrapped up in this terrible story. Like, if they kept the video game concept and they had something like Disney Infinity being one of the more wholesome games Ralph would send Vanellope to and then they meet the Disney princesses in there, that would be better.

The emotional scenes are just shit. Like, I can't NOT mention the contrived comment scene, the whole theme about friendship, and Vanellope glitching when she's insecure, how the fuck, lmao? The comment scene just came off like elementary school/middle school bullying instead of how people actually talk on the Internet. It gives me flashbacks of the 2011 film Cyberbully.

And the way the conflict gets resolved is shallow too, because everything is shallow in this film. I mean, "Don't read the comments"? I mean, it's kinda right for certain situations, but sometimes comments can be useful in helping you improve and seeing how other people see your videos. Sure, you should ignore bullies, trolls, and mean comments, but you shouldn't ignore every comment.

While the letting your friend go and follow their dreams message is a well-intentioned message to send to kids, the way they did it here is actually harmful and contradictory to the first film. I don't want to get too much into the characters because I have a special character section for them, so I'm just going to talk about the theme and how it relates to the world. Vanellope LITERALLY goes turbo. She ditches her Sugar Rush friends, players, and her game. Seemingly putting her friends and game in danger, yet no one questions it. I can't believe this was made by the same people who made the first.

In the climax of the film, Ralph releases a virus to protect Vanellope from the dangers of Slaughter Race. But somehow, it ends up detecting and copying insecurities? I mean, it's a cool concept, but it doesn't make sense when that wasn't even Ralph's intention to begin with.

And like a lot of things in this film, the way they resolved that conflict is anticlimatic. Supposedly, it's a symbol of the theme of the movie which is about letting friends go, which is fine, but why does it need to be in the form of a literal antagonist? Also, I feel like this whole thing is kinda breaking the Show, Don't Tell rule.

The movie also suffers from a lack of subplots. One particular subplot involving Calhoun and Felix was teased but then gets completely thrown out the window. It isn't really an original concept, but it still feels disappointing that they fucked it over.

Characters

Established characters barely even act like themselves. They say and do a lot of stupid shit. Like that contrived joke with Tron having a glitch (no pun intended) and they assume it's already fixed, but it turns out it wasn't fixed. That could've easily been rewritten as Litwak announced it was fixed, but it turns out it wasn't.

Dialogue is pretty bad, too. There's a lot of unnecessary Internet references, laughably idiot dialogue (mostly from Ralph) and a few potty humor that aren't even funny. Oh, and this movie is weirdly fond of philosophies too.

Why would Ralph be interested in a book club?

Ralph is now an idiot loser. He spends the entire film whining and crying about how Vanellope doesn't love him and his hair, even when she's saying nothing about him, it almost comes off as sus (I don't think I can say the actual word I'm thinking of). He says stuff like this.

Bitch, you could've said, "Why are you angry at the rainbow." HOW HARD IS THAT TO REWRITE, WRITERS?!?!

If Ralph just stayed the overprotective father that didn't want Vanellope to wander into dangerous games like Slaughter Race and be around sus people, that would be fine. But no, he gets upset because he and Vanellope were inseparable for 6 fucking years. That is just problematic in more ways than one. Like, Vanellope's your only friend? FELIX IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE! WTF HAPPENED TO YOU, RALPH?!?!

As for Vanellope, I think the concept of Vanellope getting bored with her game is a good concept to explore and would've been a good catalyst for character development, but here's the thing: SHE NEVER LEARNS. At the end of the film, she gets what she wants and RALPH has to be the one to learn something. Don't get me wrong, Ralph is also in the wrong for being clingy and not wanting his friend to leave his side for 5 minutes. But Vanellope was also a selfish, insensitive b!tch for putting her own game in danger and hurting her friends and her players (by the first movie's logic).

Now, on the positive side, there are some decent characters. Spamley, Yesss, the creepy Slug, Shank, and Knowsmore. Any new character in the film is amusing to watch.

Spamley is the spam junk guy. He's shady and wants to help Ralph and Vanellope get rich by looting from video games. I feel like this character could've probably been the antagonist as I always felt like he was going to backstab Ralph and Vanellope.

Yesss is the world-weary, aloof Youtube Algorithm with a loving side if she cares about you. It's how I'd imagine an Algorithm would act like if it was a person.

Knowsmore (who weirdly enough isn't google) also acts like how I'd imagine a search engine would act like. Saying what they think the other person is typing into the search engine.

The slug (I don't know if they mention his name) is aggressively creepy. He's the guy that Ralph buys the virus from. Fitting for how I'd imagine someone with a virus would act like.

Shank is the weakest of the characters because she's the one encouraging Vanellope to go Turbo, but she does have a cool personality. She may look slightly reminiscent of Calhoun, but she's not stern and hot-headed like her. Instead, she's easy-going, charismatic, and has some badass moves. I still like Calhoun better overall.

Animation/Music/Voice Acting

You can clearly tell it's a step up from the first movie. It's more fluid and cleaner. However, one thing I would like to complain about the animation is the way that some of the 2D princesses are translated into 3D. Ariel, Cinderella, and I think that was Tiana, look unrecognizable as 3D. Especially, Pocahontas, uh.

I think the voice actors were amusing to watch and portrayed their characters decently well. Sarah Silverman, however, felt somehow off to me. Like her voice is pitched up and she didn't really have as much range as she did in the first one, but it might just be the bad script and directing. Bill Hader, I thought he was great as Flint Lockwood and Fear, but his voice is a bit off in this film. Most of the time, he uses his Flint Lockwood voice (which I don't think really fits the character) and other times, he sounds different.

There's only two songs in there, one of them only lasts a second and somehow, it sounds better than almost anything about the full-length one. A Place Called Slaughter Race is not only Vanellope being a piece of shit, but it also doesn't sound particularly catchy. The melodies change like every minute and it's not even in a good way like Bohemian Rhapsody, it just sounds weird.

Overall

Ralph Breaks the Internet is just The Emoji Movie but a bit better. It does actually offer some creative things with the Internet. But it also could've done better in its portrayal of the Internet and that includes making the world feel more natural and cutting down the amount of Internet references (and there's A LOT).

The entire film wouldn't have happened if Ralph and Vanellope hadn't goofed off during work hours and forfeit the bid, but no. We GOTTA HAVE MEMES AND INTERNET REFERENCES FOR THE ZOOMERS AND ALPHAS!

BuzzTube and Knowsmore existing while Google and Youtube exists is weird. I guess they had some weird contract disagreements with these products?

There is little tension to be found as most of the conflict is resolved through anticlimatic and shallow dialogue and scenes and lame Internet jokes. And conflict is often started or ending with inconsistencies with the previous worldbuilding or with how the Internet really is.

There are barely any subplots in the film. One is teased, but never expanded upon.

Jokes are hit-and-miss. A lot of the dialogue felt unnatural and disgusting, often for the sake of making little kids laugh. Yet, the movie even tries to be r/I'm14andthisisdeep for no reason a few times.

Vanellope and Ralph are now almost completely different from how they were in the first film and of the two, only Ralph learns something and it's a pretty harmful message in the context of the film. However, I do like the new side characters. I personally think they should've done more with Spamley, but they all have fun personalities and act like how I'd imagine the Internet in character form would act like. And the parody with the Disney princesses and the interactions between them and Vanellope is actually creative to watch.

Animation is a clear step up from the first film besides the designs of some of the Disney princesses looking off. Voice acting was mostly decent except for a few characters sounding weird at times. Vanellope's I Want song is disappointingly forgettable.

Ralph Breaks the Internet gets 5.3 bells out of 10.

Also, why is it called Ralph Breaks the Internet instead of Ralph Wrecks the Internet? Ugh, they couldn't even get the title right.

Sour Bill is also one of my favorites and I would've loved to see more of him, too.