#i review music

[iodotsys]

For the music ask game thingie:

-Vaudeville Villain by MF Doom

-Sway by Michael Buble

-Come as you Are by Nirvana

-Me and your Mama by the GOAT himself Childish Gambino

-Kick Back by Kenshi Yonezu

(Addition of Kaikai Kitan by Eve in a followup ask)

Vaudeville Villain by MF Doom

The backtrack to this was really pleasent and had my head bopping. It was enjoyable to listen to. I loved the bassy sound to it, it tickled my ears. 6/10, wouldn't listen again out of my way, but it was a very enjoyable song. If it ever came on again, I'd be bopping my head to it.

Sway by Michael Buble

The key the vocals are in was very interesting and kept my attention the entire time. The tonal resolution was extremely satisfiying at the end of the verses (?). Made me sway (SERIOUSLY NO PUN INTENDED. I JUST noticed the song was named Sway) from side to side. The song absolutely provided the feeling it intended to. The vocalist has a hell of a voice. The horns hurt my ears a tiny bit though. 6/10. Would have given it s 7/10 but the horns were too much for my ears.

Come as you Are by Nirvana

Alright, I've gotta say something. Nirvana is one of my favorite bands. In Utero is in my top 5 albums (also happy 30th to In Utero!) and they are an inspiration for me as a musician. I am going to judge this SOLELY based on the song as if this wasn't Nirvana. The opening bass is very nice and I love the effects pedal they're using. I think its a phaser? The chorusing on Kurt's voice is nice and smooth (well, its multiple vocal takes instead of chorusing but ya know). Gives it an interesting texture. Really good driving beat. The guitar solo in the middle was a nice aside form the rest of the song, mimicking the vocals. Overall kinda boring, not much happening with the song. Sorta repetitive. 7/10, good effects, nice and crunchy but really boring. Wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it.

Me and your Mama by Childish Gambino

Very chill opening. Reminds me of older Gorillaz stuff. Actually reminds me a lot of The Fall stuff. The transition into the meat of the song was very well done. SUPER funky in the best of ways. Had me close my eyes and really listening. Made me go "DAMN". The vocalist is incredible. Had my whole body moving to the music. Super interesting melodically. There was so much going on, but every instrument and vocal had its place. Amazing song, 8.5/10. I'd give it a 9/10 but I don't think I'd go out of my way to listen to it. But damn I'm glad I was recommended it.

Kick Back by Kenshi Yonezu

The electronic back track to this was pretty good, but I feel like the vocalist was all over the place. REALLY liked the refrain with the melodic singing. Was very loud in ways I didn't like. Wasn't a pleasant listening experience. Everything was too loud, like it was heavily sustained. It felt like the instruments were screeching at me without much of a bass to fill the low end. 5/10, too bright of a song for my tastes but I don't regret listening to it.

Kaikai Kitan by Eve

The bass reminds me of Castlevania music. The vocalist has a really nice singing voice and I enjoyed the chorusing on it. Didn't feel like too much was going on or that it was too loud in any part. The distortion effect that was put on the vocalist's voice in the middle of the song was super pleasant to the ears and fit the song well. 6/10, still a little too bright for me.

These were some good song recs! Thank you for sending them over!

[thelailasblog]

[partymess]

Odysseus is the worst uber driver in history

[madbard]

Listening to Epic is this intense battle between “they’re a very bad person, they’ve done awful things, they’re DOING awful things” and “damn their voice is hot.”

[aimseytv]

wait have u listened to los camps! new album

yeah. big fan. they need a letterbox for albums that is good and fun because i would never stop using it

[i-didnt-hate-it]

The fact that all the reviews that popped up when I searched "I Saw The TV Glow" on YouTube are cis white men with cynical/puzzled 🤔 expressions tells you everything you need to know about the movie.

As Emma Stone would say, "It's not for you! Everything is for you, let them have this one thing!"

[real-odark]

i think tumblr would appreciate my review....

[bigbigtruck]

The Songs that Got Me Through 2023

Jedi512, "Big Texas" (summer 2023)

Use my craft to get some singles, everybody get a slice This was the tune that carried me on gentle hands through a blazing, endless summer.

Peter Gabriel, "The Road To Joy" (from i/o, 2023)

Heard this on release and liked it; saw him perform it live in October and loved it. Hope and defiance and pulsing life at a time I needed it most.

Yard Act, "100% Endurance" (from The Overload, 2022)

Rang in the only cool day of summer with this; bid farewell to 2023 and hello to 2024 with this. Hearing this song is hearing my buddy Jamie knocking some perspective into me when I'm spiraling.

Sbassbear, "Forklift Simulator" (2023)

This is fucking stupid as hell but god help me it's a bop and I love it. How to obliterate a bad mood in 3 minutes 13 seconds.

This has been sitting in my drafts since January, oops. Here's the post for 2022.

[vimbry]

I'm impressed by how many angles tmbg can approach the theme of 'work sucks' and have it not feel like they're retreading old ground. every single one of them has something new to say, which becomes very depressing if you think about that for too long.

"put your hand inside the puppet head": thinking about a terrible job in hindsight rather than being in the thick of one, and the importance of keeping some perspective instead of falling afoul of romanticising the past, once the bad memories wane with time.

"snowball in hell": the lament of a tedious job that doesn't suit your needs. the past tense makes me think of it as the narrator reflecting on the day after clocking out for the night, and how pretty soon they'll have to face the monotony all over again tomorrow, just to stay afloat.

"someone keeps moving my chair": I dunno how accurate this is, but I've kinda been interpreting this one as illustrating the rigmarole of office politics. all the tasks and busywork and even worse higher-ups to answer to, all new ideas that get brought in and go nowhere - yet somehow, it's the most petty of annoyances that bother mr. horrible.

"hearing aid": there's an almost zen-like attitude towards the managerial pecking order here, which is also alluded to in "puppet head". both narrators mention fleeting sympathy for their awful bosses, knowing they're just as much a victim of a flawed system as they are, but not excusing their actions. I guess it's a vent about not letting the pressure get to you and doing nothing more than your set responsibilities, if even that. real "go out there and give it your 60%" type song from a totally checked-out character.

"minimum wage": a mockery of these types of jobs treating you like a mule (not only from the 'hyah' and whip noise, but the lyric being sung in the style of "mule train"), but oddly playful in a somewhat bitter way. it gives me the same kind of vibe as someone working an early student job they can afford to treat with a bit of levity, because they know they won't be here long enough to care.

"sleeping in the flowers": focuses more on the fantasy of being with a crush than work, but it's in there. the narrator would much sooner ditch their job, regardless of consequences, and spend that time with the woman they're in love with. this is the second song to mention an infatuation with someone working at a copy shop after "snowball in hell"; you could probably theorise that it's the same person.

"memo to human resources": their most serious and haunting song on the matter. the references to an attempt aren't subtle. the lyrics seem to function as both a metaphor of the narrator's state of mind and their plan, and a literal description of the day-to-day tasks that exacerbated their spiral. another double-meaning I like in its title is how it's a report of the incident, as well as a note.

[bugglia]

some edgar art and a design of what I kinda picture him as :3

[gowns]

ok listen i have been exposed to a lot of music theory and a lot of it has flown over my head -- i understood major and minor and etc and how to play easy chords and how to sing a pitch and all that, but any time people started talking about the circle of fifths and modalities i spaced out. i found this video last week and i was like whoa WHOOAAAAAAA holy shit... i understand now. and i printed out a big color picture of the circle of fifths and put it by my piano.

[iodotsys]

The music suggestions thing sounds fun! I might try some time to diversify my listening... anyways here's my picks:

Pathetic by Blame Candy

Tenebre Rosso Sangue by Keygen Church

Sleepwalk by Forrest Day

The Spy and the Liar by Puddles Pity Party

The Garden by The Crane Wives

Queen of Nothing by The Crane Wives

Pathetic by Blame Candy

Very funky. The effects on the vocalist's voice are nicely balanced between heavy reverb and chorusing. Their falsetto voice is really nice. The beat is nice and groovy, very nice beat. The guitar solo was a nice deviation from the main song. The random extra beat into the last chorus threw me off, though. But honestly, that's nitpicking. I even do that in my songs sometimes to change things up. Reminds me of newer Red Vox music a tiny bit. 7.5/10 would listen again if I were in the mood for a song like this.

Tenebre Rosso Sangue by Keygen Church

I like this. A lot. The coupling of church organ and metal is excellent. Sounds like a cross between Doom and Castlevania in the best of ways. Made me want to play Castlevania. The drop is excellent, but I do wish it wasn't so suppressed. They could have made the synth louder. Added to my liked song, 9/10. Would listen again. As an added bonus, We've Got Hostiles from Half Life came on afterwards on Spotify.

Sleepwalk by Forrest Day

This catch to this got stuck in my head 100%. I love the pizzicato done throughout the song on the violin. I really love the use of the violin, or maybe its a fiddle? I felt like I should like this more, but something didn't get me with it. I don't think I would go out of my way to listen to this, but it was an enjoyable song. 8/10 loved the fiddle and made me want to go out and buy one.

The Spy and the Liar by Puddles Pity Party

A beautiful song. The vocalist has some serious talent. Surprised the song was so short. The ending was extremely satisfying with that note the vocalist sustained. It had a very good resolution melodically as most songs of these type do. It isn't my style of music, but I'll be damned if I don't appreciate a good set of lungs when I hear them. 7/10.

The Garden by The Crane Wives

Again, wonderful vocalist. Love the tremolo they did with their voice. They were the one carrying most of the melody as opposed the the guitar, which is pretty impressive when bands can do that. It made me feel like a cowboy though, 5/10.

Queen of Nothing by The Crane Wives

Again, vocalist has amazing vocals. They've got that feminine country grit. The fadeout in the end was a nice touch to the song, with only the vocalist singing. It gave the lyrics more impact. 5/10, I wouldn't listen to this again.

You should try it out, Melody! Its pretty cool being able to listen to new music~ Thanks for sending me over these songs~!

[thelailasblog]

[isogenderskitty]

it's so weird that we finally got a musical without any real romance yet you immediately need to ship the strong female lead who's happy on her own.

maybe something to think about

yeah ok let’s get into this! i understand where you’re coming from anon but i actually did have a more nuanced take on this i just hadn’t posted about yet so here it is

i really do appreciate the fact that they kept the nature of their relationship vague, and people can read it as romantic or platonic if they want. to me it read very flirty but i can see how others might not subscribe to that too!

plus it’s less of a “need” to do that and more the fact that shipping and romance are just what i happen to be passionate about?? and what i have the most fun with?? i’m not gonna Not Do the thing that’s most fun for me just because other people might not engage with the play the same way, that’s ludicrous.

also as if people immediately stop being able to be strong or their own people once they enter romantic relationships?? as if tadius would impede her in that?? her story is still about her becoming The Queen. i very much doubt that she would suddenly become “weaker” or less able to live her own life just because they were together, nor did i ever insinuate that

basically you can engage with it however you want anon and i agree that it’s important and worth celebrating that we have a play with a female lead where she doesn’t explicitly end up with anyone romantically!! that’s great and i really do love that!!

but also i just like romance and maybe it’s fine that that was the first very brief thing i said about the play on this one particular platform, because i never said it was my only feeling or thought about it 🙄

[justanotherwriter140]

Kung Fu Panda 4 - The Movie

The last really, really long discussion post (for now).

Major spoilers ahead!

This review is full of spoilers, so please refrain from reading through it until you've watched KFP4. I would highly suggest doing so, as I want everyone to form their own opinions without my influence. The movie has its flaws (some of which admittedly being a bit distracting), but it's a fun film that has things to offer.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is a fun movie (take that as you will) that takes its audience on an action-packed, surprisingly funny, yet relatively contained adventure on which Po doesn't really do much. It's an inconsequential, safe sequel that doesn't really hurt the franchise but adds close to nothing.

I had a good time watching the movie. It was obviously produced with its theater experience in mind and the action scenes especially reflected that priority. The humor was actually funny sometimes and I enjoyed Po and Zhen's dynamic. During the film, I was able to put most (most!) of my grievances aside and take the movie for what it is. I've discovered that the best way to watch KFP4 is with low expectations and an open mind.

I have a lot of things to say about KFP4, both complaints and compliments (though the former might be taking the forefront in this review), and I hope this review can help those of you who have seen the movie organize your thoughts. I've been having a lot of trouble with that specific aspect of things myself. Those who get it get it.

With that said, let's get into my full review of KFP4! I've been waiting for nearly 2 years to write this and I'm so excited to share every single thought.

I'm going to follow the format of my first discussion post and curate a bulleted list of my thoughts, followed by an analysis of each of these points. Keep in mind that everything I say is IMO and this is more of a rant post than anything else.

Here are my main points:

The Furious Five's role is comically minuscule in the context of the film. Their actions are inconsequential and add nothing to the plot (a confirmed last-minute add), and they have 30~ seconds of screen time. Shifu is also largely irrelevant.

Mr. Ping and Li's presence has little to no effect on the movie (though I won't complain too much because they were pretty fun to watch and this movie has bigger problems). In almost any scenario, I am adamantly against having characters present that don't add anything to the narrative; however, Mr. Ping is an exception. I love Mr. Ping. James Hong is a gem.

Zhen's screen time is not utilized well and her character is underdeveloped. She definitely wasn't annoying, but I didn't find her either compelling or funny enough to warrant the screen time she was given, especially considering it wasn't used to establish a backstory/strong motives. This makes me feel bad for the character because the movie kind of screwed her out of any substantial development.

The Chameleon, while complimented greatly by Viola Davis, is an underwhelming villain. Viola Davis is amazing in this film and I would suggest watching it for her performance if for nothing else, but the Chameleon is underwhelming considering the super cool concept behind the character.

The film feels very rushed. Apologies to those who disagree, but I think the pacing is atrocious and the final fight is anticlimactic. The movie felt like a word-vomit with no discernible intermissions that stops abruptly when the film ends.

I felt as though Po didn't change/grow as a person and the audience never had a chance to either bond with or relate to his character. His internal struggle is kept to a minimum and we don't spend a moment alone with him as an audience, which is disorienting and distracting. Watching the film felt like running into an old friend at the store who's too in a rush to have a real conversation.

The action scenes were strong with few exceptions. Creative art direction was utilized and I thought the martial arts choreography was entertaining and dynamic. I love the color palette of the film and many scenes were very impressive visually.

With my main points established, I do believe it's ranting time. Strap in, folks.

Let's start strong with the Furious Five: I'm gutted. Chagrined, despondent, crestfallen, etc.

The lack of the Furious Five negatively affects KFP4 so much, because not only does their absence hurt the atmospheric integrity of KFP as a franchise, it also forces KFP4 to bring in a slew of different characters—all while still noncommittally including the FF at the very end because I believe the marketing team required it—that clog up the cast a bit. It all goes to show how important strong, established side characters are.

The Furious Five are side characters, but the role of "side character" does not equate to being irrelevant, expendable, or exchangeable. I recognize that the Furious Five aren't super developed as characters beyond a handful of lines that allude to traits sprinkled sparingly among the members; however, I believe that the tiny bits of development we have been given have proved impactful in the past. Tigress's development in KFP2 is a prime example of how much narratively conscious changes (however small they may be) can positively affect these movies.

Because of limited runtimes, the Furious Five often operate as more of a singular unit than five individuals. Even so, I don't think discarding them is valid. They're so important to the KFP universe (to Po's universe!) and not having them with him feels so wrong. The Furious Five are fully integral to the heart of Kung Fu Panda, which is why I believe a lot of those who have seen the new movie have expressed something feeling "off" or something being missing.

I agree with this sentiment. To me, KFP4 didn't feel like a KFP movie. I don't need a Furious Five spin-off movie and I can be fully content with a KFP5 centered around Po's journey as an individual as was intended from the beginning, but he can't carry an entire movie on his back. As strong as he is in every sense of the word, he is only one character. He's the centerpiece of the franchise, but a centerpiece can only go so far without the rest of the design, so to speak.

For me, the Furious Five's absence is one of this film's biggest faults. It's huge and glaring. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, either, because the friends with whom I saw the film refused to talk about any other aspect of the movie after seeing it. Seeing them at the end was better than nothing, of course, but it was a disappointing culmination after eight years of waiting.

That all is to say I feel robbed. Despite all of this, though, I understand that there were reasons why the Furious Five weren't included in the movie. I don't believe the production team would exclude the Furious Five unless they weren't given a choice.

Shifu and Po's dynamic continues to be thoroughly delightful but their interactions are short and simplified. I would have loved to see more of them in this film, especially considering the extreme relevance of teacher-student relationships in KFP4. I (somewhat) digress, though, because the idea of Shifu having to live at the Jade Palace with only Po for an extended period of time is hilarious enough on its own. Maybe that's what the short film is about!

The comedy is odd but has some jokes that stand out. Po maintains a healthy relationship with his inner sass, which I think makes him more fun to watch and kind of eradicates the man-child verdict. Some jokes don't land, of course, but I genuinely thought KFP4 had some funny moments. Mr. Ping was consistently awesome and Po had some good lines sprinkled throughout the film.

As for Mr. Ping, he and Li Shan are the subjects of the film's B-plot as they follow Po to Juniper City out of shared concern for their son's safety. In my mind, they don't add anything to the story that couldn't have been brought about by other characters, but they had their moments of being entertaining. I enjoyed their silliness and thought they had a cute dynamic if nothing else.

Speaking of other characters, I want to discuss KFP4's deuteragonist and why I genuinely feel bad about the way her character was treated.

I want to let it be known that I'm still not on board with Po passing the Dragon Warrior torch to another character. While I agree that his arc is now calling for him to have a student, I disagree with the notion of him retiring from his DW role.

As I stated in my first discussion post:

Didn’t the initial significance and nuance of the title come from the fact that there is only one person who can be the Dragon Warrior, because the concept of the “Dragon Warrior” isn’t so much a title as it is Po himself? The universe (Oogway) must choose the Dragon Warrior because they are a singular being of legend. It is one person, and that person is Po. Wasn’t the point of the first film that the title ultimately doesn’t really matter because there is no “secret ingredient,” so to speak? The title doesn’t actually give Po anything. “It’s just you,” Po says, and that was the resolution.

When it comes to Zhen as a character, contrary to what I predicted I would think of her, I thought she was okay. While I was still a bit distracted by how out-of-place her design looks, I wasn't truly annoyed by her at any point and she and Po had some cute moments. Even so, I think their relationship could have been a bit more refined and developed.

While it's evident that Po and Zhen are meant to have a teacher-student/mentor-apprentice dynamic, I think their relationship feels half-baked. There were parallels that contradicted one another and ended up being confusing come the film's conclusion, and the nature of their relationship seems to vacillate depending on the scene. Additionally, the strength of their bond goes from zero to one hundred within thirty-ish minutes and left me with a bit of whiplash.

We're shown that Po and Zhen care about one another, but we're never shown why. They have a brief conversation during which they bond over being orphans, and Zhen says at one point, "You're actually a good guy," but that's it. This obvious lack of development is a bit disorienting because we're later led to believe that Zhen and Po care very deeply for one another when there's almost nothing to back it up.

A scene that sticks out to me when discussing this is when Zhen attack-hugs Po in a way that explicitly mirrors Tigress's hug from KFP2. This happens around the beginning of the third act, and while it had the potential to be an endearing moment, I think it fell flat.

The impact of Tigress's hug was brought on by her character's hardcore nature and reputation of being heartless, further strengthened with the knowledge that she was hugging Po (which was obviously way outside her comfort zone) as a show of companionship and fundamental understanding. Tigress hugged Po because he needed someone to recognize his strive for closure.

Zhen's hug had little to no impact because she had no reason to do it and it didn't indicate growth. She hugs Po because she's sorry for betraying him and doesn't want him to be killed by the Chameleon, but neither of these things are newly-established via this hug; we have already gathered by now that Zhen regrets betraying Po and doesn't want him to get hurt.

The hug is far from the movie's weakest point, but I think it's unnecessary given the context. I'm big on hugs in movies (an underutilized form of platonic affection, in my opinion), but it didn't fit here. I don't hate it, and I see it as an honest effort to bring emotionality to Po and Zhen's relationship, but it seems arbitrary.

Zhen and Po's relationship has a lot of potential and I'd be open to seeing more of them in the future, but I think some more thoughtful development needs to occur before I can humor it further. Even so, I can see myself featuring Zhen in some future post-KFP4 one-shots—sparingly, of course, because we have a lot of Furious Five content to compensate for.

Overall, they had a cute dynamic and some sweet moments but I'm not attached. I'm on board with Po having a student but I think their relationship needs a lot more development, something that this film unfortunately didn't give them time to either accomplish or earn.

Now, onto the Chameleon!

The concept of the Chameleon's character is admittedly super interesting. She's the deuteragonist's fastidious mother figure who feels that Zhen owes her a debt and as a result holds her to an impossible standard. That dynamic had the potential to be so interesting but I didn't think it was explored at all. There is no indication of Zhen having any internal conflict about fighting the Chameleon, no emotional complexity between them at all; it's disappointing because I think it would've added a bit of earnestness to the film.

Additionally, the idea of a shape-shifting villain is versatile. A shape-shifting villain gives those telling the story a lot of room to experiment with the protagonist and different ways in which the main character can be challenged and tested. It's yet another good idea utilized poorly. Just one idea: the Chameleon could have disguised herself as one (or several) of Po's family, friends, etc. and brought to fruition a new arc with his character (seeing as he arguably doesn't have one in this film), but she only disguises herself as Zhen very briefly in the movie.

Furthermore, the Chameleon completely relies on the powers of previous villains to pose any sort of threat to the main characters. She summons Po's former nemeses from the Spirit Realm (despite there being little logic in doing so considering Kai's literal evisceration) and takes their kung fu abilities for herself.

An excerpt from my first KFP4 discussion post that I think is relevant to the point I'm trying to make:

I don’t think it would be in the best interest of anyone if the past villains were to come back in any way that’s not a flashback (even then, I’m not sure I’d see the point). In all honesty, I thought that the whole point of the villains was that they died and stayed dead. They were defeated by Po once and for all as a testament to the idea of establishing Po's character growth and journey as a person through the bad things he’s able to overcome. It’d be highly contradictory to the messages of the other films if these villains were to suddenly come back.

While there was an honest effort made to portray the Chameleon as intimidating, I never felt as though any of the characters were endangered by either her or her army of lizard henchman. She's a visually appealing character (aside from her eyes, which I thought more resembled those of a gecko than a chameleon) and I greatly enjoyed Davis's performance, but overall I don't see the Chameleon as a notable villain.

The return of Tai Lung (had he been on his own) had the makings to be an excellent story, especially considering the importance of teacher-student dynamics in KFP4. To see him interacting with Shifu would have been incredible and could have led to further closure on Tai Lung's end (because I think that's kind of what the team was going for anyway), but it didn't happen.

It was nice to see Ian McShane reprise his role, but I wish Tai Lung's characterization had been more reminiscent of the way he was in the first film and more complimentary of his overall character arc. Tai Lung isn't a one-dimensional villain with a singular goal and motivation, and I couldn't help but feel as though the complexity of his character was simplified for the sake of KFP4's narrative.

Tai Lung's presence in KFP4 may be odd, but Shen and Kai's appearances are even more so. Kai, if I remember correctly, was fully obliterated by Po, reduced to literal particles on screen (which is kind of wild now that I think about it). Shen being in the Spirit Realm makes sense all things considered; however, Po and Li had no visible reaction to his presence, which seemed a bit unlikely considering Shen's deeds. This plot hole can likely be attributed to the fact that Shen and Kai's cameos (to my knowledge) were last-minute additions to the movie.

I have to talk about the pacing. I have to. I'm sorry, bear with me.

To me, the film's pacing is erratic and disconcerting. While I can appreciate a quick-moving narrative that doesn't dawdle on storylines that aren't interesting/important, KFP4 kind of flings itself too far in the opposite direction and ends up being frighteningly fast-paced. Once the credits began, I felt like I had been holding my breath for the entire movie.

KFP4 is confusing because while the runtime is standard for a KFP movie, it feels incredibly short. At the same time, the film's story moves at a breakneck speed and leaves little time for heart and development. These things culminate into a barreling boulder of a movie that simply doesn't have time to let its characters, story, or audience take a breath.

A fast pace is not inherently negative, but I don't think it worked in the favor of KFP4. The KFP franchise has always been very emotionally grounded (and just very grounded in general), so to see a film in which emotion/heart takes an aggressive backseat in comparison to action and comedy is jarring. While I think it's unreasonable for fans to expect the same emotional integrity as the original films to be present in the current and upcoming ones, I still think there's room for Po to grow and I felt as though the notion of him developing further was brushed aside in this film.

As for Po's growth, I felt it was nearly nonexistent. The previous trilogy wrapped up his character's journey beautifully and I know that KFP4 was bound to struggle with this particular aspect of making another KFP film; however, just because the strongest pillars of Po's character are established doesn't serve as a valid excuse to reverse his development and repeat what he learned in KFP3.

In KFP3, Po learned firsthand that he is capable of spreading wisdom and teaching kung fu. He also learns that he is constantly growing and that change is inevitable; there is always something more to learn.

"If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now."

"I don't want to be anything more, I like who I am!"

In KFP4, Po pushes against this narrative despite fully accepting it in KFP3, actively reversing crucial parts of his character development achieved in the latter. KFP3 was non-ambiguously about learning to cope with change and responsibility, and I can't help but feel like KFP4 is simply copying this message while not adding anything to it.

Additionally, I felt that KFP4's Po generally felt less personal than he has in the past. In every KFP movie up to the franchise's most recent addition, I felt very connected to Po as an audience member. I felt like I was truly seeing the world of KFP through his eyes. I consider this to be one of the franchise's most impressive feats; it's incredibly difficult to build a universe around a character without making the audience feel limited to one perspective and one part of the world.

With KFP4, I felt both limited and disconnected. The world didn't feel as vast and all-encompassing as it has in the past and Po didn't seem fully like himself. This could be me nitpicking (as I'm prone to do), but I can't recall a single moment in the movie in which Po was alone on screen. Scenes like these are crucial for me because I see them as a meet-cute between the character and the audience, a moment for us to cross the bridge into their world in a way that's silent and intuitive. These little bonding moments are absolutely integral to feeling connected to a character.

Po's dream sequence in the first KFP movie is one of the best examples of this. It presents his aspirations, alludes to his way of life up to the point of the movie, and showcases his personality. During Po's dream sequence, the audience is quite literally inside Po's mind; we're there with him, seeing what he sees, subsequently feeling what he feels. Po is a dreamer at heart and makes the audience feel like dreamers, too.

In KFP4, I felt like I little to no point of reference when it comes to how Po was feeling. I didn't feel immersed in him and his world.

I know I've been very "doom and gloom" throughout this post, which is an exhausting mindset for everyone involved. I want to end my critique with something positive because I think some praise is deserved. Let's just say the movie could have been a lot worse, the details of which I'm sure you're all well aware.

The color palette of the movie is beautiful and somewhat reminiscent of the first film. While the animation style of KFP4 is far more simplistic than its predecessors, I was very impressed with its use of shadow and light. Po's many faces were also hysterical, props to those who helped make him as expressive as he is.

Additionally, the movie's action sequences were clearly thought out and discussed in great detail. The experimentation with camera angles was really fun to watch and I enjoyed the majority of the film's fight scenes. They were fun, bouncy, and entertaining, and quite likely reinstated audiences's love of watching a cuddly panda kick butt.

Congratulations, you've reached the end! Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to read this unnecessarily long and detailed review. As long as I help someone translate their conflicted feelings into coherent thoughts, I'll call it a win.

I want to reiterate that I don't hate Kung Fu Panda 4 and I had fun while watching the film. It has its flaws and there are a lot of aspects that I dislike, but the effort of the crew is obvious and I greatly admire and respect the hard work put into the film by those who worked on it. This does not at all excuse my issues with the movie, but it's worth saying.

As for the future of the series, I only hope that the next installment is more considerate of the franchise's origins and why Po's story is being told in the first place. I fully believe that another sequel could be good given a strong, passionate crew with a great understanding of the characters and world (and I wouldn't be averse to some previous directors returning, just to put it out there).

Thanks again to those who took the time to read this crazy excuse for a movie review. Feel free to either disagree with me or add things in the replies/reblogs, I'm always looking for more thoughts to think.

Until next time!

[ettaevie]

It’s been a longstanding headcanon of mine for Piano Man’s real name to be Saburo Moroi, after the famous pianist/composer who was a close friend of the poet Chuuya Nakahara. 

But when I started researching Moroi a bit deeper for the sake of my Flags backstory fic (which I am still writing, shockingly) I learned a new piece of info that added some fuel to my cracked-out fire:

“During his third year at university, Moroi formed a music group “Surya” (the “sun god” in Sanskrit) with his friends. It served as an organization for performing his own works, and by 1931 seven concerts had been given there. His activities with “Surya” brought wider recognition, and it also became a society for young literary men and artists, including Tetsutaro Kawakami, Hideo Kobayashi, Chuya Nakahara, Tatsuji Miyoshi, Hidemi Kon, Shohei O’oka and Kenzo Nakajima, many of whom were later to become renowned literary critics, poets and novelists.”

So not only were Moroi and Chuuya friends and collaborators, they were also part of the same coterie of up-and-coming young men founded by Moroi himself, with a catchy symbolic name and everything.

So now I’m a little more convinced I was on the right track with the whole "Piano Man is Moroi” thing, and my crack theory has evolved into believing that the Flags are a sort of callback to Surya.

Anyway here’s the musical booklet I gleaned this from: https://www.chandos.net/chanimages/Booklets/NA7162.pdf 

P.S. The recording is on Spotify and I highly recommend the last three movements. They are Moroi’s magnum opus and they go HARD