#cuthbert cringeworthy

[caardvark]

Another little comic I made, this time a fusion between classic British anthology comic The Beano and the hit video game Bloodborne!

Proud of how this one turned out! The Beano was a big part of my childhood and I spend a lot of time thinking about the kinds of stories that were told in it…

Also if you think this comic is pretty neat, I am in fact available for commissions! Get in touch if interested :)

[beanotowncomic]

BEANOTOWN #3: UNO, DOS, TRES!

Pencils, inks and lettering by Jude! Script and colours by Nia (niasnook)!

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

EAT WHEATIES! (2021)

Starring Tony Hale, Elisha Cuthbert, Danielle Brooks, David Walton, Sarah Burns, Alan Tudyk, Sarah Chalke, Paul Walter Hauser, Lamorne Morris, Sarah Goldberg, Sugar Lynn Beard, Robbie Amell, Kylie Bunbury, Hayden Szeto, Rizwan Manji, Mimi Kennedy, Phil Reeves, Kristian Bruun, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Gita Ready and the voice of Elizabeth Banks.

Screenplay by Scott Abramovitch.

Directed by Scott Abramovitch.

Distributed by Screen Media. 88 minutes. Not Rated.

It’s not easy to make a sweet comedy about cyber-stalking but Eat Wheaties! sort of pulls it off.

More than that, it is about the cult of personality and celebrity worship, which is particularly timely now. Specifically, it is about a man who starts to obsess about actress Elizabeth Banks.

Banks doesn’t physically appear in Eat Wheaties! but she does good-naturedly allow her life and work history and her social media to be scrutinized and she even does a brief voiceover cameo as herself on voicemail.

However, even if Banks herself doesn’t appear in Eat Wheaties!, the film basically revolves around her. Also, the film has attracted a strong cast of TV actors like Tony Hale, Elisha Cushbert, Sarah Chalke, Paul Walter Hauser, Lamorne Morris and Alan Tudyk.

Eat Wheaties! is based on a 2003 novel called The Locklear Letters by Michael Kun. The actress being followed in the book was Heather Locklear, but nearly 20 years later the film picked someone a bit more current and updated the story to the world of social media.

Hale plays an Arizona-based loser named Sid Straw. (Am I the only one who wondered if his character name was an affectionate nod at 80s-90s female alt-rock singer Syd Straw?) He works in a dead-end marketing job, doesn’t have many friends, has a terrible dating history and tries way too hard to ingratiate himself to people.

He’s the type of guy that people will cross the room – or the street – to avoid. His inability to pick up on social cues and his total disregard of boundaries is a big reason for his unpopularity. Even his brother, who is also probably also his best friend, and certainly his biggest apologist, pulls him aside at one point to try to get him to dial things down a bit.

Straw had gone to The University of Pennsylvania with Elizabeth Banks and slightly knew her there. (He briefly dated one of her sorority sisters and was on a volleyball team with her.) Years later, he is one of the co-chairs of a Penn west coast reunion and starts obsessing about getting the class’ Hollywood celeb to come to the party.

He also wonders, rather insecurely, if she remembers him at all, and is determined to find out. He becomes even more determined when no one that he tells that he knew Banks – and for a while he tells just about everyone – believes that they had really met. (The awkward film title comes from a story Straw tells about Banks using that term as a farewell in college.)

Therefore, he joins Facebook (and I’m not sure I buy the fact that such a desperate-to-be-hip dweeb wouldn’t have already been all over social media). He starts writing weirdly personal notes to Banks on Facebook, not quite realizing that these aren’t private correspondences, but he is posting on the wall of her fan page. Not surprisingly, the notes go viral.

He also contacts her overprotective agent (Sarah Chalke) a few times. Eventually the agent takes a restraining order out against him, leading to Straw losing his job, his home and his position on the reunion committee.

The role of Straw is not a huge stretch for Hale. He has specialized in similarly cringeworthy and needy nerds in Veep and Arrested Development. However, Hale throws himself into the character and makes Sid somewhat likable even when the audience wants to slap him in the face and tell him to think about what he is doing before jumping into everything headfirst.

Even though Sid is sort of technically stalking Banks, he is not really doing it with any kind of malicious intent. Most of it is much more pathetic than threatening. He’s just a bit too dense to recognize how completely inappropriate he is being. Still, with the seriousness of the subject of cyber-stalking, the movie seems to be just slightly romanticizing its anti-hero and soft-pedaling the problem.

Still, even if it was sometimes a little inappropriate and is treading in a slightly gray area, morality wise, I must admit I mostly rather enjoyed Eat Wheaties! Taken for what it is – a light character study of a slightly clueless dweeb – it is sweet and funny and mostly has its heart in the right place.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2021 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: May 1, 2021.

[dustydreamsanddirtyscars]

Things about 13x08 “The Scorpion and the Frog”

Alright, since I am awfully late with watching the episode and I don’t think anyone really needs a ton of my rambles on my live watch, I figured - also since I didn’t find much noteworthy to meta or talk about while watching - I’d just make one bigger “impression” post on the episode.

Overall, I have to say - while this wasn’t one of the best episodes ever written - I did not mind the episode. I can’t say I adored it or liked it massively, but I certainly didn’t dislike it as I did with the previous two. I actually found the episode entertaining somewhat. The pacing was alright and I did enjoy the characters introduced in the episode - even though they felt too close to certain other beloved already deceased characters, which kind of left a bad aftertaste imo. In general though and despite it’s silliness, I think the episode worked as a true one off and filler (and I usually tend to say fillers don’t exist, but with this one to me it truly felt like filler - and yes, despite the fact some of the big themes were worked into the episode - but I’ll go into that in a bit).

Alright, here are some aspects I feel like commenting on a bit more.

First of all there is the title - one I think worked pretty well in relation to the context of the episode, because the fable the title is inspired by, I suppose, is explored directly within the episode by the characters and all their “deal making with the natural enemy” that like Dean said right in the beginning usually never works out for them. And of course we saw that ending up being the case with Alice (though in the end she was freed), but most of all Barthamus (who I did enjoy - he was kind of cross between Balthazar and Crowley to me - though tbh seeing him just made me miss Crowley so much more than anything else) and Luthor Shrike as well. More than how the title related to the episode’s arc however it is important to see it in relation to the overarching theme of the season of “nature vs. nurture” especially considering it was the lead up episode to the mid season finale which features Jack heavily, who is the main character through with the whole “fighting against your ~nature”-theme is explored by. If the fable is anything to go by and it’s dark moral then it would allude to Jack going dark side (even though he has been taught and socialized differently) as this is simply part of his “nature” as Lucifer’s son. In this regard it feels also noteworthy that Aesop (which Dean has read) wrote a similar tale about a “Farmer and a viper” where a farmer finds a snake freezing to death and takes pity on it and warms it in his coat - revitalized by that the snake ends up biting the farmer and kills him), which feels even more fitting in relation to SPN lore and how Lucifer is seen as the “serpent”.

Then there is the whole talk on Solomon and him keeping tabs on the Queen of Sheba, which reminded me that earlier this season we had a scene featuring the “Song of Solomon”, which makes interesting, if Solomon ends up popping up a third time this season I’‘d call it a pattern and it’s probably interesing to di into all of that history a bit further.

As for the episode’s characters. I actually liked Grab, he was a kind of “one off”-demon - he wasn’t plain stupid or over the top cringeworthy evil like demons (and angels as well tbh) have been portrayed a lot on SPN the past seasons. I wouldn’t have needed to see him again as a character, but he was enjoyable for the time of the episode. I also liked Barthamus and how the actor played him, but in general to me just no one can in any way replace Mark Sheppard and Crowley so that’s that. And lastly there’s Alice. She was alright (the actress did an okay job), though tbh, to me she felt too much like a clichè and too much like Charlie 3.0 (seriously, they even had to give her a line featuring “Charlie”? Sorry, but… meeeh, I’m not a fan). Hell, they even sent her off with a bus scene and her showing the “victory”-sign. I mean…. how much more blatant can you be?

Now let’s move on to Luthor Shrike. I personally felt reminded of Magnus/Cuthbert Sinclair a bit with his collection of artifacts and such (forever disappointed they never picked Magnus as a big bad, that guy would have worked as that imo). Especially as he was described as “doing anything and everything to add to his collection”. Tbh though I did find him a bit stupid tbh. I fully believe he has his entrance video trapped (he just seemed like that kind of guy) so he must have seen Sam walking in an out of the devil’s trap and then when he hands Sam a shot of gin he hadn’t mixed holy water into that to test him? Seriously? That just seems to me awfully stupid for a 200 year old immortal being. Which brings me to the other character I had to think of aside from Magnus with how he lived secludedly: Cain. Like Cain, Luthor also seems to have drawn away from socitey after losing a loved one. And yes, of course the parallel to John giving his life for Dean and Dean then later dying was prettyy apparent, but I suppose it was alos meant as a possible moment of foreshadowing for Lucifer and Jack’s story. Will Lucifer in the end maybe sacrifice himself to save his son? While I really don’t need or want a Lucifer redemption arc, I’d take it if that meant we’d finally be rid of that character lol. In visuals also to me Luthor was aligned with Cain who was also immortal and got stabbed by the demon killing knife and then later died like Magnus by beheading.

And last but not least on to the Winchesters. I have to admit if Jensen wasn’t as good as an actor as he is the “compass hand thing” as well as the “paw thing” would not have worked. They were silly yes and once more Dean was used as comic relief, but Jensen delivered it. So I didn’t mind those a lot. What made me a bit moody was when the “Nerve damage”-scene rolled around, because it captured so much with nothing much said, but only “I lived off of that stuff when I was a kid, What is it like 10 times the legal amount of caffeine?”. Yeah, nice callback there to how Dean never was a child from 4 onwards and literally ran on coffeine to make it through. Like… how is that not yet another example of how friggin awful Dean’s life was and how much he had to shoulder at a way too young age? Aside from that I found it rather interesting that Grab called Dean a “hand puppet” - of course that as due to the spell he had cast on him, but I can’t help but rather think of that comment in a much broader sense with Dean as a vessel - yes, I am still stupidly hoping that someday Dean as Michael’s vessel will be rendered of import by the narrative again. Silly me…

And now truly lastly, the ending scene with the burning of Bart’s bones and the spell and how slow the Winchesters were there and how Bart just stands watching in slow mo almost when Alice patiently picks up the lighter after he just said he is sooooo quick was just… eye roll worthy imo. Also, lol, Bart saying Sam is the smart one? Apparently not when it comes to keep something from burning. ;P I mean, come on Sam, you blew on that? Really??? Bahaha.

Anyway… So yeah, that’s kind of all I have to say. Not much stuff for meta, but a few very pretty eye candy moments, so maybe I’ll try some editing. Anyway overall verdict: Alrightish irrelevant episode. Score: 6 out of 10.

[thecrossoverclasher]

dream details - somewhere between 2008 and 2014

ALRIGHT EVERYONE, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP BECAUSE I JUST REMEMBERED A DREAM I HAD WHEN I WAS YOUNGER. BUT FIRST, SOME HISTORY.

(ok calming down now)

Have you ever heard of the Beano? It’s a British comic featuring a variety of jackasses getting up to dubiously legal shenanigans. Among these jackasses was the Bash Street Kids, who will be our main characters in this dream. Enough fooling about, time for the JUICY details:

The main 9 (I think? I’m not up to date on my Beano lore) kids were selling canned apple juice, branded as “Puffle Apple” and featuring one of Club Penguin’s puffles on the label.

However, it became apparent that local teacher’s pet Cuthbert Cringeworthy was selling his own brand of orange juice, “Pavarotti Orange”. And yes, the opera singer was on the label.

War between the two factions seemed to be brewing, until someone (I think it may have been Danny or Toots) silenced everyone and suggested an alternate way of settling which drink was better: A fight.

Everyone was in the Water Dojo from Club Penguin all of a sudden, and a Super Smash Bros-style fight engaged. Also, Cuthbert was naked for some reason.

That’s about it

[fashiontrendin-blog]

Prince William's Japanese And Chinese Food Mixup Is Totally Cringeworthy

https://fashion-trendin.com/prince-williams-japanese-and-chinese-food-mixup-is-totally-cringeworthy/

Prince William's Japanese And Chinese Food Mixup Is Totally Cringeworthy

Prince William accidentally pulled a Prince Philip-worthy gaffe during a visit to Japan House London on Thursday. 

The 36-year-old, who was with Japan’s deputy prime minister, Taro Aso, asked children at the cultural center if they had tried “much Chinese food.” He quickly recognized his blooper and corrected himself, as Daily Mail correspondent Rebecca English captured on video.

“Um, Japanese food. Have you had much Japanese food?” William said as shook his head and recovered from his mixup. “No?”

Prince William’s gaffe is especially cringeworthy because Japanese and Chinese people ― and Asians in general ― have often been erroneously grouped together and deemed “all the same,” despite their many differences. Moreover, Japan and China have a history of tension.

Prince William was in great form at the opening of @japanhouseldn – charming & engaging. But even a royal diplomat can make the odd bloop. Such as asking local schoolchildren at the event to highlight Japanese culture if they had eaten much Chinese food! He quickly recovered tho! pic.twitter.com/72swlvNbk0

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) September 13, 2018

William is far from the only member of the royal family to make a cringeworthy blunder. 

At a Christmas luncheon that Meghan Markle, now Duchess of Sussex, attended, Princess Michael of Kent wore an offensive brooch depicting an African woman in the blackamoor style.

According to The Root, “Blackamoor imagery in general reflects trends in decorative arts that recall the history of slaves in Europe and the disturbing manner in which the European luxury culture objectified black bodies as mere ornament.” 

A spokeswoman later apologized on behalf of the princess, saying “Princess Michael is very sorry and distressed that it has caused offense.”

In 2004, Princess Michael told a table of fellow diners to “go back to the colonies” at a restaurant in New York City, The New York Times reported. 

Mark Cuthbert via Getty Images

Princess Michael of Kent attends a Christmas lunch for the extended royal family at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 20, 2017, in London.

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