#not villain championship II

[villain-championship]

daily form link to submit guys so i get enough for the tourney

said link

[snowlessknitter]

The Masked Singer: S8 E1 Running Commentary

I know my Tumblr’s been light on the Masked Singer updates this off-season (okay, actually nonexistent), but I’m back with the new season.

From what I understand, there are gonna be something like 20 or 22 competitors this season and will feature a bunch of double eliminations. I’ve only seen one preview performance this preseason, and that Mask is one of the ones competing tonight. Four Masks take to the stage tonight, and I’ll be writing down my thoughts on the clues as to who they actually are, with my guesses in bold. I am watching on a slight delay tonight, but I will still be writing down my thoughts and guesses in real time. And as always, I post commentaries on here before I see any unmaskings, and these guesses are not to be taken as spoilers.

Only one Mask will be moving on from this round. The other three will be unmasked tonight.

Harp 🎶: Okay…this was the one whose preview performance I saw, and the fans were already guessing! She apparently auditioned for American Idol, but was turned down. I see a witch’s hat, a bouquet of roses, and 3D glasses. Both Colbie Caillat and Maren Morris auditioned for American Idol as teens, but this doesn’t sound like either of them. The fans on YouTube seemed to suggest that this is Amber Riley from Glee, and it does sound like her. As for the witch’s hat, she was in both The Wiz Live and Wicked in Concert, both of which are based off of The Wizard of Oz (with the Wicked Witch of the West being the villain in the story). Amber also auditioned for American Idol all the way back in season 2 (she was 17 at the time, well before she rose to fame on Glee), but didn’t make it past the open call stage. With these clues and what I remember of Amber’s voice, I’m going to go with the YouTube consensus and say that this is indeed Amber Riley.

Hedgehog 🦔: A hedgehog in a bowler hat…how cute! Double decker bus and a snake. Has been in Playboy and was part of a hugely popular group. Performed for a Queen (possibly Elizabeth II?). Sounds like they may be from England? I don’t think this Paul McCartney, that’s for sure. To be backed by the USC Marching Trojans sounds like a dream come true. Has won a Tony and a Grammy. I thought I heard more of an American accent, but i think Robin’s guess of Eric Idle might fit here. He has a Tony for Spamalot, although I couldn’t immediately see if he had a Grammy. He has, however, taken part in the Royal Variety Performance, an annual variety show that raises money for a charity of which the current British monarch, King Charles III (still a little strange writing that), is a patron (and of which his mother Elizabeth II was also a patron). It would tickle me greatly to see Eric under that mask.

Hummingbird 🐦: Football field, might come from a famous sports family, we saw a speaker being handed to Hummingbird, and referenced a “patriotic” team. So, did he play for the New England Patriots? It’s not Rob Gronkowski, he was White Tiger in a previous season. Score on the scoreboard is 71-0. Could reference either his birth year or perhaps his jersey number. In American football, jersey numbers typically correspond to specific positions. In the National Football League (NFL), jersey number 71 falls within the range of numbers used for linemen, both offensive linemen and defensive linemen. So, if this theory is correct, then this player may not have been a quarterback, tight end, wide receiver, or running back, but would have been responsible for protecting those players (if he was an offensive lineman) or blocking them (if he was a defensive lineman). The Man in Black was wearing two Ring Pops, which could indicate that this player was part of two Super Bowl championship teams. Does sound on the younger side. I’m stumped. But I think we’ll probably find out who he is soon, because I’d be shocked if Harp doesn’t make it past this round.

Knight 🗡: His first clue is “Space Cadet”. Made a joke about Nick Cannon having a bunch of kids. Mentioned George Lucas. I think I also caught that he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Never sold a body part for profit…it was a charitable donation.” Maybe he’s donated a kidney or bone marrow? A cassette tape labeled “Covers”. My initial guess is that this is Mark Hamill from Star Wars, especially since he’s kind of known on social media for poking fun at himself. He’s not exactly known for his singing skills, and Knight’s voice does sound like it could realistically belong to Mark Hamill. And don’t forget that Jedis are referred to in the Star Wars universe as Jedi Knights.

[laresearchette]

Friday, June 03, 2022 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: WHITE ELEPHANT (AMC +) PHYSICAL (Season 2) (Apple TV+) TRIXIE MOTEL (discovery +) FIRE ISLAND (Disney + Star) HOLLYWOOD STARGIRL (Disney + Star)   THE VILLAINS OF VALLEY VIEW (Disney Canada) 8:00pm ULTRA VIOLET & BLACK SCORPION (Disney Canada) 9:00pm P-VALLEY (Starz Canada) 10:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT GUY'S ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP (Premiering on June 04 on Food Network Canada at 9:00pm) HERE KILLS THE BRIDE  (TBD - Lifetime Canada)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA THE BOYS (Season 3) PRIME REWIND: INSIDE THE BOYS (Season 2) WHY WOMEN KILL (Season 2)

CBC GEM THE DRY (Season 1) THE QUEEN AND CANADA SARAH PREFERS TO RUN THE STRANGE CHORES (Season 2)

CRAVE TV BOYS ON THE SIDE COPYCAT EMPIRE RECORDS HAIL, CEASAR! MASS THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES P-VALLEY (Season 2, Episode 1) SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE GREAT ESCAPE SMOKE SIGNALS

DISNEY + STAR FIRE ISLAND HOLLYWOOD STARGIRL

NETFLIX CANADA ACTION PACK (Season 2) AS THE CROW FLIES INTERCEPTOR MR. GOOD: COP OR CROOK? THE PERFECT MOTHER SURVIVING SUMMER TWO SUMMERS

HER MAJESTY: THE QUEEN (Global) 1:00pm: The triumphs and turbulence surrounding Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, how she has moved her family and country forward and how painful events of her private life have impacted her.

WOMEN'S US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF: (TSN4) 1:00pm: Second Round - Part 1 (TSN4) 3:00pm: Second Round - Part 2

MLB BASEBALL (SN1) 7:00pm: Twins vs. Jays (SN Now) 9:30pm: Red Sox vs. A’s

CFL FOOTBALL PRE-SEASON (TSN/TSN4/TSN5) 7:00pm: Redblacks vs. Alouettes (TSN/TSN3/TSN5) 10:00pm: Roughriders vs. Lions

BULL'S EYE (APTN) 7:00pm: Exploring the amazing thrill of sports; the contestants try to bring out their competitive sides in order to win the game.

NHL HOCKEY PLAYOFFS (CBC/SN) 8:00pm: Lightning vs. Rangers - Game #2

HEART OF THE MATTER (W Network) 8:00pm:  Andie is devastated by the accidental death of a patient, but as she and the grieving mother overcome their sorrow through forgiveness, they soon learn that acceptance leads to hope.

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: THE VOWS WE HAVE MADE (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm:  As Shane and Oliver prepare to wed, the team helps an unwell boy reunite with a lost friend. A new employee may deliver the answer for Rita and Norman to start a family.

MASS (Crave) 9:00pm:  Two couples meet for a painful and raw conversation in the aftermath of a violent tragedy.

CRIME BEAT (Global) 10:00pm: Awaking to a Nightmare: The Rhoderie Estrada Murder

[aimmyarrowshigh]

Dark Greetings this Spooky Season Ms. V. Can we get a list of your favorite Halloween movies and specials? I know you have seen *everything* and I am trying to go beyond my usual rewatches this holiday month.

V. AIMMYARROWSHIGH’S CRITERIA FOR HALLOWEEN EPISODES

Does the Halloween element combine convincingly with the usual universe of the show (ex: Lizzie McGuire 2x09 “Those Freaky McGuires” is not good as a Halloween episode because it changes the rules of the Lizzie McGuire universe, whereas Community 2x06 “Epidemiology” is a GREAT Halloween episode because it manages to logically introduce zombies to the regular Community universe)?

Does the Halloween element advance the plot of the episode/series (ex: the reason Boy Meets World 5x17 “And Then There Was Shawn” is literally the best Halloween episode ever made is that it uses the horror movie tropes it satirizes to provide a CRUCIAL turning-point to the plot of the show)?

Is the Halloween episode in the forefront enough that it’s clearly a holiday episode (ex: HAVING ONE JACK-O’LANTERN ON A DESK DOES NOT A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL MAKE, LAW & ORDER 16x03 “GHOSTS”! You gotta go ALL-IN, like Bob’s Burgers 3x02 “Full Bars”!)?

Does the Halloween theme balance well between spooky and warm-n-fuzzy (ex: Criminal Minds 11x21 “Mr. Scratch” is too fucking bleak, but Criminal Minds 12x06 “Elliott’s Pond” has a joyous/celebratory tone to the ending despite being a genuinely scary episode)?

Is it generally a well-written, acted, and designed episode of television (ex: Saved by the Bell! 3x26 “Mystery Weekend” is seriously, not exaggerating, the worst thing I’ve ever watched in my life; Psych 1x15 “Scary Sherry, Or Bianca’s Toast” is a triumph of the medium)?

THE BEST, bar none, Halloween special ever made is Boy Meets World 5x17, “And Then There Was Shawn.” Period. There can be no argument, except MAYBE Community 3x06, “Epidemiology,” but I like “And Then There Was Shawn” better because the parody and homage as less… biting? And because I think it continues and addresses the emotional core of the regular BMW season better than “Epidemiology” does for Community s3. “Epi” DOES plant the seed (…heh) for the Season 3B major plot arc of Shirley’s pregnancy and Chang Deciding To Murder, but it gets some major minus points for mocking Yvette Nicole Brown’s weight with other characters’ responses to her costume, tbh. And “And Then There Was Shawn” is just fucking iconic. It is THE Halloween episode manual, IMO, if there were to be a textbook on how to write a perfect Halloween episode for your sitcom.

HOWEVER, I also have to give major props to Bob’s Burgers and Psych, as complete series, for their CONSISTENTLY excellent Halloween episodes. A lot of series that have multiple Halloween eps really phone it in after one or two, because they don’t have any more ideas for how to incorporate Halloween pastiches while maintaining the overall feeling of the series (tbh B99, while the Halloween Heists are excellent in general, is/has been coming very close to this line, and I think that if they HADN’T had to switch out the Heist to Cinco de Mayo in s6, they would have jumped their Heist Shark [and I think they know it, too, because it was lampshaded in the episode itself]) or they just straight-up don’t have any more ideas for what or how to have the characters they’re bound to parody or pay homage to a Halloween thing after they’ve already done one or two. And let’s be real: those one or two have probably been either The Shining or Rear Window, because those are pretty much the two that every show starts with.

Bob’s manages to make every Halloween episode feel very fresh and organic to the series, which I think they do have some leeway to do because of the nature of cartoons keeping the Belchers living a kind of loop of never aging, yk, but amazingly they’ve only done the “Tina feels too old to trick or treat, maybe? Nope, she’s not 14 yet, so there’s still time!” thing in a way that felt tropey once (in 3x02 Full Bars). They’ve been able to address Tina being 13/in 8th grade, and worrying about it being almost too late for her to keep trick or treating, in ways that were in-character and added to the overall episode in 4x02 Fort Night, 5x02 Tina and the Real Ghost, and 9x04 Nightmare on Ocean Avenue Street, without me rolling my eyes at the screen and going “TINA, EVERY SINGLE SHOW WITH A TWEEN IN IT HAS ALREADY DECIDED THAT THE AGE AT WHICH YOU MUST STOP TRICK OR TREATING IS FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, COME ON NOW” which… at this point, is a Feat. Because like, I’ve POSTED over a thousand Halloween episodes, right? But I’ve watched and screencapped ::checks folder:: 3,905 Halloween episodes since 2014. Which is, um, a. lot. The ACTUAL BEST Bob’s Burgers Halloween episode is 6x03, “The Hauntening,” which is just… achingly perfect television. I know I’ve posted about it before (probably a couple times tbh) but the way that it aired originally back-to-back with The Simpsons 27x04, “Halloween of Horror,” so that the evening of Sunday cartoons juxtaposed eight-year-old Louise whose family worked so hard to scare her like she wanted with nine-year-old Lisa’s family working so hard to keep her from being too scared and make sure that she felt safe… reader, I FUCKIN CRIED. Little girls being deeply loved while also Spoopy Things!!!!!! IS WHAT HALLOWEEN SPECIALS ARE!!! FUCKIN!!!!!! ABOUT!!!!!!!

Psych, though, has the benefit of not really having any, like… central tone to the series? Beyond “friendship” and “having fun with joking,” tbh? So it’s able to do what a lot of series get docked “points” for in my Foolproof Halloween Special Ratings System That Is Completely Subjective To My Tastes And Mood, which is really just run full-tilt into parody and homage without really worrying about overall tonal connection to the rest of the season or series. 1x15, “Scary Sherry, or, Bianca’s Toast,” while it DOES fall victim to the way-too-common Halloween episode trap of making mental hospitals into a Scary Thing (they are a medical normality and a necessary thing for health for many people and should not be feared), is delightful Spooky Fun AND has the benefit of having Shannon Woodward in it.* We all know by now that if an episode of any show has Shannon Woodward as the guest star, it will by default end up being one of the best, if not THE best, episodes of that series. It’s just how having Shannon Woodward as your guest star rolls. I also really like, with Psych’s Halloween episodes, that quite a few of them understand the underlying thematic scope of Horror, which is “The Monstrous Feminine Is A Thing And All Horror Tropes Are Actually About Women’s Interior Lives Because Men Can’t Write Women And Fear Women Always,” yk, in a way that is neither TOO Actual Horror, which I am too afraid of to Do, or too trite and demeaning, which is the other basic trap that Halloween stuff falls into A Lot. Like, Scary Sherry is very much about women villainizing other women, avenging other women, and being in very specifically-female pain, even though Shawn & Gus are still the lens through which we solve the mystery, and so are 4x04 The Devil Is In The Details And The Upstairs Bedroom and 6x03 This Episode Sucks. But they give their Monstrous Females dignity and breadth, which is impressive, ESPECIALLY since they’re one-off guest characters. Also, 3x15 Tuesday the 17th is just plain funny and well-done, like, just give it props for the title alone.

*(Speaking of Shannon Woodward, another amazingly good Halloween episode is Raising Hope 4x07, “Murder, She Hoped,” which is among my very favorite Rear Window homage episodes and has probably the funniest gag in ANY Rear Window ep, in Martha Plimpton floating across the screen in the Grace Kelly silk nightgown and peignoir and announcing that it was on sale at Walmart, can you believe?! and honestly, yes. Perfection.)

Also excellent:

• The Addams Family (1991) + Addams Family Values (1993) • Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WERE GAY FOR SIBELLA AS A CHILD!) • Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE GAY BECAUSE THE HEX GIRLS!) • Halloweentown + Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge • Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire! • Z•O•M•B•I•E•S (to a lesser extent, Z•O•M•B•I•E•S 2) • Clue (1985) • Coraline • Corpse Bride • 6teen 2x00 Dude of the Dead • Arthur 21x00 Arthur and the Haunted Treehouse • Lamb-Chop in the Haunted Studio • Arthur 8x04A Fern-kenstein's Monster • Arthur 10x02 The Squirrels • WandaVision 1x06 The All-New Halloween Spooktacular (I KNOW YOU, SPECIFICALLY, DEAR @plavoptice, HATE MCU!WANDA AND I DON'T BLAME YOU, YOUR REASONS ARE VERY VALID! But this is a good Halloween special so I'm putting it on my list In General.) • Boy Meets World 2x06 Who's Afraid of Cory Wolf? • Ghostbusters (2016) • Gravity Falls 1x12 Summerween • Leverage 4x02 Ten L'il Grifters Job • The Loud House 2x40 Tricked! • Mockingbird Lane 1x00 Unaired Pilot • It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! (Classic, etc.)

I'm SURE I'm forgetting some that I'll rewatch this year myself. I'm a big Halloween Baking Championship fan, tbh, which is on Discovery+ now so I recommend that if you like mostly-relaxing nice people baking cakes that look like bats and such.

I'm also IMMENSELY INTENSELY EXCITED for The Muppets' Haunted Mansion on Disney+ next week!!!

[keulixeutin]

Knockout!

A/N: Previously - Part I >> Part II >> Part III

Later, at dinner, Bakugou finally told Kirishima that he had seen you again in the park — twice — which he then immediately regretted because Ashido, who had been eavesdropping from her room, burst out the door with Sero, Kaminari, and even fucking Jirou on speaker phone.  Rather than having only one person to harass him about details, he had five nosy-ass people yelling for details.

Bakugou told them about your punch that caught him by surprise and your unwillingness for a rematch, which he attributed to you having a premonition that he would’ve beat you down on the second round, but he kept to himself the fact that he had seen stars after the punch.  He didn’t tell them that he had almost fallen to the ground either, and that no one without a quirk had ever been able to do that to him before — hell, there were plenty of people with quirks who hadn’t ever done that to him.  Most importantly, he didn’t tell them about trying to ask you out or the fact that your thighs were much thicker and much better in person.  When Sero and Mineta, who Sero had apparently dialed in for whatever fucking reason, had asked for a visual representation for comparison (“Like watermelons?  Two watermelons?  Three watermelons!?”), he snapped at them to shut up and focus on what mattered.

(“Bakugou just doesn’t want to share with us the juicy details… He’s seen a piece of heaven and now he’s leaving the rest of us to pine in the dirt like savages... You selfish bastard.”  Despite the fury behind his words, Mineta quickly hung up when Bakugou asked him to repeat his goddamn self.)

He did remark that you had mentioned something about two months later, though he didn’t give much detail on what the context of the conversation had been for you to bring it up.  Still, Kirishima was able to figure out with some googling: in two months, Japan was hosting the final rounds for the K2 Asia Women’s Lightweight Championship. Semifinals had just finished a little over two weeks ago; when Bakugou saw the date, he realized it had been two days before the convenience store robbery, meaning you had probably been healing and jet-lagged when you had knocked out that villain.  He shook his head.

“[Name] won last year, taking it from the two-time reigning champ, Zhang Changying,” Kirishima said.  “She’s gotta defend her title this year, dude — keep it in Japan!  My girl’s trying to keep her head in the game and freaking Bakugou goes all stalker mode and harasses her.  Let the lady focus!”

His eye twitched at my girl, but he knew what Kirishima meant by that — though, it didn’t make it any less aggravating.

“We gotta get tickets,” Ashido exclaimed, punching the air.

“Uh, about that — looks like they’re all sold out.”

Kaminar’s voice buzzed through the phone, saying, “I bet they have it on pay-per-view, though; we can invite the others.”

“We should ask Yaoyorozu to host,” Ashido suggested, “since her place is a lot bigger than ours.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, grunting at their excited chatter about putting the invite in the group chat with their old classmates.

“Stop scowling,” Kirishima said, laughing.  “It’ll be fun!  It’ll be good to get everyone together again.”

“Do whatever the hell you want,” Bakugou said.  “Like I fucking care.”  He made a point to take a large bite out of his burger, chewing noisily to show that he definitely didn’t care and that he definitely wasn’t making a mental list for who was going to bring what.

&&

Bakugou went back to the park a week later to jog.

And, well, to see you.

Right before he had left the apartment, Kirishima had caught him and called him out on it, yelling that he needed to leave you alone and let you do what you needed to do to defend the title.  Rather than agree or dwell on the possibility that he should, perhaps, leave you to your training, he yelled back that that was the stupidest thing that had ever come out of his shitty mouth with his shitty hair, and then he slammed the door on Kirishima’s annoying, dumbass, smirking face.

He had felt confident of it that morning, but when he saw you under the same trees, fiercely fighting your invisible opponent, he thought that maybe Kirishima was onto something.

Anyways, you had also erroneously accused him of being your newest fanboy; he didn’t want to give you any more ammunition.

So, against his first instinct to head over to you, he stayed back and watched you shadowbox from afar, mesmerized by the way you shifted between punches and kicks. Even though no one was there against your attacks, he could still see that you were hitting vitals and knockouts every time.

After a few minutes, Bakugou pulled his eyes away with an intense self-restraint that his old professors would’ve been so proud of and started his jog, reluctantly getting farther and farther away from you.

When he had finished his 10k run and was jogging back to his starting point, his head immediately turned to check if you were still there — and you were.  Bakugou was about to leave the park, but you were still there under green leaves, starting a new workout routine.  He paused to watch you kick against the thick tree trunks for a few seconds before walking off, internally shaking his head in awe at the discipline of a quirkless fighter.

&&

The third time he showed up for his Sunday jog, you waved him over.  Without even thinking, he looked around his immediate vicinity as though he couldn’t quite believe that you had meant him, and when he looked back to you for confirmation, he saw that you were laughing and pointing, shouting, “Yeah, you, you weirdo!”

His chest suddenly felt warm, as did the back of his neck.  He spat in the grass beside him as he walked, trying to keep his lips from quirking up into any sort of traitorous grin.  He reached you with his hands in his pocket and his expression irritably indifferent.

“Finally agreeing to a fuckin’ rematch?” he asked.

“Nope!” you said.  “Just checking on my newest fanboy and why he’s been ignoring me three weeks in a row.”

Unfortunately, Bakugou’s now skyrocketing blood pressure had nothing to do with the fact that you had short red shorts and a cropped t-shirt that showed your smooth abdomen every time you shifted, and everything to do with the fact that you already knew how to get under his skin.

“I’m not a fucking fanboy!” he yelled.

“Anyways,” you said, ignoring his outburst, “I expected you to harass me about a rematch every Sunday for the next five years of my life, Bakugou.  You lost that fire already?”

He scowled.  “I try to do something nice and I still get nagged at,” he grumbled.  At your curious tilt of the head, he rolled his eyes and continued, saying, “I know you’re training for the K2 Asia finals so I wasn’t gonna fucking distract you.  You’re fucking welcome, shitty woman.”

You pursed your lips, nodding in surprise.  “Wow, okay, well — no offense, but, there’s no way in hell you came up with that on your own.  Even I know that, and I’ve known you for a total of ten minutes.”  There was a sudden grin on your face, teasing and blush-inducing, as you said, “You been talking about me to your friends, hmm?”

“Fuck no,” he fumed, but there was only hot air behind his words.

“It’s fine,” you said, chuckling.  “You can come say hi, you know.  It’s no big deal.”

“Whatever,” Bakugou muttered.  “If you’re not gonna say yes to a rematch, then there’s no reason to waste my breath.”

“Ah, okay, so you’re holding my greetings hostage, hmm?” you said.  “Gonna ignore me until I whoop your ass again, huh?”

“I told you, I’d fucking kill you in the rematch.”

“Oh, big words for someone who left their entire head unguarded five seconds into the first match.”

He scowled.  “Whatever! That won’t fucking happen again!”

“Guess we’ll see about that.”

Bakugou stared at you as you stretched out your arms and legs, unsure if you were suggesting a continuation or if you were just spewing random bullshit to keep the conversation.  

“Six rounds,” you told him.  “I could use a sparring partner for a bit.  You ready to get your ass handed to you by a quirkless Pro-Fighter, Pro-Hero?”

An excited wave of bloodlust washed over his grin.

&&

This time, Bakugou got a good one in.

He was able to force an opening in your defenses with a sly feint, swinging with his right fist as though he were going to punch you in the body only to swing sharply toward your jaw instead.  He put his entire weight and Pro-Hero career into that hit, and it sent you flying backwards.

You were on the ground, holding your throbbing jaw as he towered over you with the smuggest smirk of his life.

“Told you I’d kick your ass,” he sneered.

You were neither mad nor surprised as you looked up at him.  There was a simple grin growing on your lips, a spark of something in your eyes — competition, perhaps?  Your eyes flickered from his legs to his torso to his arms, and then to his barbarian smirk and wild hair.  He unconsciously straightened his back and folded his arms against his chest, puffing out to be bigger.  Maybe you were seeing him in a different light.  Maybe you would take him seriously now, now that you knew firsthand how powerful he could punch and how quickly he could learn.

“Take a good look, Pro-Hero,” you remarked.  “Because you’re not gonna get this chance again.”

Bakugou did take a good look, but maybe not for the same reason you were thinking.

&&

Also — you were right.

It was the first, the only, and the last time he knocked you down.

He realized a little too late that the something in your eyes he had mistook for competition was actually amusement.

&&

The rest of the five rounds were almost a blur, a mixed memory of your hits rather than his.

Your body shots were harrowing; one punch would have an amateur passed out, and though Bakugou wasn’t new to fighting, he was still breathless.  With the first hit to his diaphragm, he thought that he could handle whatever you sent his way — and then one punch turned into three which turned into five which turned into ten, all in the exact same spot and none with weakening power behind it.  The pained hiss of fuck scraped through his mind quickly after.

And it wasn’t just the punches, either.

Bakugou had erroneously thought he was out of your reach for only a mere two seconds; that was how long it took for you to kick his temple almost clean off his head at the start of the next round.  He had fallen to the ground hearing constellations, something he hadn’t known was possible and couldn’t even begin to explain exactly what it felt like.

Later, you paid him back for his feint with one of your own: what looked to be a left kick switched to a right kick in the blink of an eye, almost mid-air it seemed, and then the ground was rushing forward to meet him.

The difference in technique showed.  It was the deciding factor of the fight, which only lasted a minute and a half.  Bakugou’s punches were stronger (he guessed that he had maybe forty or so pounds on you), but it didn’t matter, not when you could twist to soften the impact or ebb out of the way.  You counter-attacked before his body could react, and your fists were always up against your face, guarding your weak spot while his often lulled and dropped to his sides, too used to having a barrage of fire against his palms.

At one point, you used your knee, a wild jump that didn’t look like it could be controlled but, in reality, was as deadly accurate as it was fiercely fast.  He had thought his diaphragm had cracked, but, seconds later, realized that you hadn’t been hitting him at full power.

The thought that you were fucking phenomenal returned — and then the thought was immediately steamrolled over by a rapid-fire left hook that connected to his jaw as if it had been magnetized.  

Just like the very first time, Bakugou forced himself to tilt forward in an attempt to save the embarrassment of falling back to the ground.  Again.

As he crouched, trying to minimize the gasps and throbbing with soft intakes of breath, he heard a little voice in his head: things could’ve been different if he could’ve used his quirk — no, things would’ve been different if he had.

But that was why he was weaker, he thought.  When he looked up to you still standing under all the weight of his punches, he understood that he wasn’t at 100% without his quirk, but you were always operating at 115% at any given moment.

You didn’t have anything else; you never did, while Bakugou, on the other hand, had once thought that his quirk was all he had and was everything he had.

He was furious.  

And he was excited.

Shame and indignation gave way to exhilaration at another path opening up before him.

You tilted your head back and breathed in the air of the blue sky.  The glowing rays of the sun lit up the lines of scarring on your skin.  Underneath the frenzy and buzz of new ambitions, there was a little feeling of awe, too, and reverence, and maybe a prickle of adoration, a warmth he never thought anyone could ever stoke in him in this wide, wide universe.

&&

“You left-handed?”

“Nah, I’m a righty,” you replied.  “You’re talking about my stance, right?  It’s called the Southpaw Stance.”

He watched as you repositioned yourself with your right fist and foot leading.  Now that you were breaking it down for him, he did notice that the positioning had thrown him off during your fight as he wasn’t used to seeing a mirror image.

“My dad was a Southpaw so I favor it.  It trips up a lot of Orthodox users,” you explained, “but I can switch between the stances if I feel like it.”

“What the hell are Orthodox users?”

“The opposite.”  You repositioned yourself with your left foot and left fist forward and explained, “The usual stance for righties.”

He pocketed that information later for further analysis.  Last night, he had stumbled upon Top 10 Something or Another videos that had featured you, but he hadn’t thought to go through kickboxing terminology.  This was an obvious lapse of reason which he blamed on your thoroughly enticing thighs.

“You catch on quick, Bakugou,” you said, looking down at him with an impressed grin.  “Go to Nasukawa’s next to Matsuya station.  Drop my name and he’ll help you out.  He’s a good guy — got a real technical eye that makes him a hardass for a coach, but I think it’d help you a lot, especially since it seems like you’re not trying to specialize so much as clean up some of what you’re already working with.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.”

“What, you mad that I kicked your ass?” you teased.  “I gave you fair warning.”

“I’m not fucking mad,” he grumbled stiffly.  “…It was badass.”

He ignored your stare by standing up and patting off the dust and dirt clinging to his pants and shirt, but it was hard to ignore his stomach doing annoying flips and the back of his neck heating up.

“Oh, wow, was that a compliment?”  You snickered at him, but the sound was airy and sweet.  It was odd; he didn’t mind you laughing.  He almost wanted to keep making you laugh.

It was an awful feeling, truly, but it was an awful feeling that he couldn’t get rid of.  If anything, it seemed to make the heat from his neck crawl further up his jaw and cheeks, which only made him scowl deeper and wonder what the point of all of this was.

(Were you the point?  Did you, perhaps, have the answer?)

Bakugou scratched the back of his head, frowning at you because he didn’t know what else to do with his hands or his face or the constant narrowing of his eyes.  

“What are you doing later?” he asked, almost berating himself immediately after.  It was supposed to come off a little more lightly, but it came off brusque and abrupt and with his normal amount of incivility.

“Hmm?”

He gritted his teeth.  “I said, what the hell are you doing later, you shitty woman…”

“Bakugou,” you began, scratching your cheek where there was a newly blooming purple mark as though it were a mosquito bite and not the remnants of his punching.  “Has anyone ever told you that it’s really confusing when you cuss them out but then also ask about dinner plans?”

“I ain’t asking about dinner plans,” he snapped.  “I’m asking in general.”

There was a beat of silence in which he thought he had finally scared you off or pissed you off, but then you once again said, “Hmm,” and stretched your arms up behind you casually.  Your cropped shirt rode further up and showing more of your smooth skin.

“Nothing much,” you said a second later.  “Clean my apartment, work my punching bag…. Nothing too exciting.”

Christ, were you going home to continue training?

Your eyes narrowed at him into a look of suspicion.  Bakugou didn’t sense any true distrust or condescension, but something curious and dizzying and — he didn’t want to get his hopes up and say flirty, but the look you gave him definitely had goosebumps lining up his arm.

“Why?” you asked.  “What would you rather have me do?”  

Well, he was originally going to ask you for drinks — which wasn’t dinner, so ha! — but upon hearing that you were going to go back home and train, he wilted internally.  You were working hard for the K2 finals; probably every waking moment and every sleeping second was spent obsessing over the championships and preparing yourself for it.  He knew what it felt like to pour every drop of sweat and blood into bringing this desire birthed from your chest, from your dreams, to reality.  He didn’t want to be the one to distract you.

Bakugou averted his eyes and did a half shrug, saying, “Nothing.  I was just asking in general.”

“Uh huh…”  You didn’t look convinced.

“Anyone ever told you not to overanalyze every little damn thing?” Bakugou retorted.  “I was making conversation, shit.”

You still didn’t buy it.  “Whatever, you weirdo,” you said.  “Okay, but really, that’s enough dilly-dallying for me.  Gotta get back to it.”

Bakugou pushed the disappointment down and made a grunting noise of agreement.  He watched you scratch the bruise on your cheek again.  There were small blooms of blue and purple sprouting in a few areas of your body, the number of them a lot less and a lot lighter than he had expected, another testament to your power.  He could feel parts of his own face and body starting to turn blue and purple, too, but it was a welcome change from the pink and red that had been dusting his cheeks and neck in your presence.

“Did I fuck up your training?” he asked, gesturing to the mark on your face and arm

“Nah,” you assured him, grinning.  “Barely felt a thing.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a fucking champion.  We fucking get it, [Name].”

When you threw your head back to laugh, you gave him the best view of your supple neck.  He licked his dry lips, stifling the urge to press his mouth to that little nook calling his name and suck.

“Hey, so, you gonna watch my matches?” you asked.

The smugness in Bakugou’s abrupt beam at the implication of your question rivaled that of when he had knocked you to the ground.  You were definitely asking because you wanted him to watch; there was no other way to take that question.

“You want me to?” he pressed.  “I might consider it — maybe if there’s some begging, an offer of another rematch —”

“ — I’m just trying to see how diligent my newest fan is.”

And as quick as the mean smile had arrived on Bakugou’s face, an aggravated frown curled on his lips even faster, accompanied by a strong double eye twitch.  Maybe he had been going about this the wrong way the entire time.  He should’ve pretended not to know you and just ran at you swinging, and then let everything resolve out organically that way.  Every mention of fanboy brought him closer and closer to Deku — and what the fuck was worse than that?

“I’m not your — whatever!” he yelled, annoyed and exasperated; but you continued to smile at him, waiting, and he gave in as though it were another knockout.  “…My friends and I are streaming it on fuckin’ pay-per-view, happy?  They wanna do some stupid watching event with booze and shit.”

“Aww, cute.  That sounds like fun,” you remarked wistfully.  “I haven’t had booze in months.  Or cake.  Or anything yummy.  Ah, well, maybe after all of this is done… Okay, Bakugou, I really do have to go.  Good hanging with you again!  Make sure to say hi next time, weirdo.”

You reached out to pat him on the shoulder, but he grabbed your wrist and held it in his hand.

“Give me your number first,” he said.  He had told himself to make it sound like a question, or end the sentence on a pitch of a request, so that it wouldn’t sound so harsh, but it, instead, came out gruff and crabby.

“I don’t date fans,” you said cheerfully.

“I already told you, you shitty, big-headed woman: I’m not your fucking fan.  And who the hell said anything about dating?  I asked for a damn cell phone number!”

You gently twisted your hand out of his grip, though he hadn’t been holding on tightly.  It almost felt as if you had lingered, your skin touching his for longer it should’ve taken to pull your hand from his grasp.  He wondered if that meant something.

“Bakugou, what year did I win my first championship?”

He glared at you.  “…Who the fuck cares.”

— 2172.

Despite his answer, you still had the same casual smile on your face.  He wasn’t much for social interaction, or flirting, or whatever the fuck this was, but he was pretty sure smiling and hand-sort-of-holding was, more or less, a good sign.

In the end, no matter the buzzing in the air between the two of you (god, he hoped he wasn’t the only one feeling that in the air), you still had your championship to train for and he still had some hangry roommates who he had promised crepes for.

“If you don’t ask me to dinner again in a month, I’m gonna assume that you’re a poser,” you said.

His chest was suddenly throbbing; the uncomfortable flipping in his stomach was now an all-out rollercoaster, twisting and turning against his ribs in the worst of ways.

“Are you gonna fuckin’ say yes?” he argued.  “‘Cause why the hell would I ask again if you’re just gonna fuckin’ say no?”

You shrugged, your hands in the air.  “Who knows what’ll happen in a month,” you told him.  “Maybe you’ll find another kickboxer to fawn over; maybe I lose the Asia Championships; maybe a meteor hits and I retire early.  Anything could happen!”

As you turned around, about to start your jog, he yelled, “If you don’t win, I’m not fucking asking you, you hear me, you shitty woman!”

You shouted back, “Oh, no, you best believe I’m gonna fucking win it!  You and your friends should bet money on me!”

It wasn’t until you were fading into the horizon that he realized he had spent that time staring at your ass instead of getting your goddamn fucking phone number.

“Goddammit…” he muttered.

[aion-rsa]

The Karate Kid: The Real Martial Arts History Behind the Movies

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When it comes to martial arts films, The Karate Kid was a game changer when it came out in 1984. Its lasting cultural impact was a landmark advancement for the western understanding of the martial arts. But was it a genuine representation of Karate?

Den of Geek consulted Dr. Hermann Bayer, an expert authority on Okinawan Karate and the author of the upcoming book Analysis of Genuine Karate―Misconceptions, Origin, Development, and True Purpose. Dr. Bayer remembers firsthand how The Karate Kid stimulated the Karate boom in the mid-eighties because he was a practicing Karateka then. But as a martial scholar, he’s pragmatic about his opinions.

“First and foremost, we have to bear in mind that we are talking about a movie, not about a documentation or a piece of research,” says Bayer. “This means that we need to concede that fascinating viewers by something pretty, amazing, or spectacular to look at is more important than authenticity.”

The Year That The Karate Kid Premiered

When we reflect upon the original, we must remind ourselves that the landscape of martial arts films in the west was vastly different in 1984. There just weren’t that many martial arts movies in western pop culture back then.

Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon came out over a decade before The Karate Kid, and tragically, Lee didn’t live to see it succeed. Many B-movies coat-tailed on Enter the Dragon‘s success, especially in the subgenres of Bruceploitation and Blaxploitation. This comprised the bulk of martial arts for western audiences. Beyond the imported niches of Hong Kong Kung Fu and Japanese samurai movies, there just weren’t that many other martial arts films available. And those were limited to showings in second- and third-run theaters or midnight “Kung Fu Theater” TV broadcasts. Consequently, the genre was considered low-brow entertainment with minimal impact on the box office. 

When The Karate Kid debuted, most of today’s martial arts superstars had no Hollywood presence. Despite starring in dozens of Hong Kong films, Jackie Chan had only led one Hollywood production by that point. That was Battle Creek Brawl, made by the same filmmakers who did Enter the Dragon, however it under-performed and was deemed a failure. His other Hollywood credits in 1984 included a cameo in the sequel ensemble comedy The Cannonball Run II. With only three minor Hollywood appearances, he was still virtually unknown to the Western audience.

Chuck Norris was more prominent having starred in more than a half dozen B-action flicks by then. His 1984 entry was Missing in Action in which Jean-Claude Van Damme had an uncredited role. JCVD didn’t grab any limelight until four years after The Karate Kid, when he starred in his breakout lead role for Bloodsport. Jet Li was only on his second film that year, Kids From Shaolin, but that wasn’t shown outside of Chinatowns in the U.S. It would be another 14 years after The Karate Kid before Jet made his first Hollywood appearance as the villain in Lethal Weapon 4. 

The Karate Kid changed the way martial arts films were perceived. It demonstrated that the martial arts genre could deliver wholesome family entertainment, as well as good box office returns. It ranked fifth among the highest grossing films of 1984, behind Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Gremlins. The Karate Kid was the sleeper hit of the year, and it made Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) into crane-kicking icons. 

The Limitations of the Karate Kid Trilogy

The Karate Kid was a Hollywood adaptation of a common plot device of Kung Fu movies – the training trope. Many of Jackie Chan’s late seventies films were “martial training” stories. Those narratives can be distilled down to three acts as seen in The Karate Kid: the hero suffers an injustice — like the murder of his family (or in Daniel’s case, just getting bullied) — then the hero finds a quirky master who uses obscure, almost non-nonsensical training methods, and finally the hero, armed with these hard-earned skills, takes revenge.

Jackie’s groundbreaking 1978 Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow is a perfect example of this. That was a turning point for Jackie, the launch of his unique style of comedy Kung Fu, back when he was in his physical prime. In that same year, the Kung Fu grindhouse Shaw Brothers studios delivered the timeless classic film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which is a perfect example of the same formula. “Martial training” stories are even retold in animated films like Mulan and Kung Fu Panda. The Karate Kid just had the ingenuity to set it at West Valley High School in San Fernando, California. 

Today, Daniel-san is enjoying a revitalization through Netflix’s hit series Cobra Kai. Packed with more easter eggs that an April bunny basket, Cobra Kai has been rectifying flaws from the original films with a subtle, yet effective elegance. Despite its time-honored success, the original films fell under tremendous scrutiny from genuine Karatekas who were quick to point out inaccuracies. Frankly, for such a flagship film of the martial arts genre, the martial arts weren’t that good. The main cast of the original film had little or no martial arts background. Kreese (Martin Kove) was the only cast member who studied Karate prior to the films. 

Part of this adds to the charm. Despite being the All Valley Karate Champ twice in a row, Daniel is a newbie to the art. In fact, the original trilogy happens in a little over a year. The Karate Kid takes place in 1984. The Karate Kid III, despite premiering in 1989, depicts events at the following All Valley Karate Championships. Daniel goes from zero to hero in an alarmingly short time.

How could Daniel genuinely master Karate with so little training time? Is “wax on, wax off” deck sanding and fence painting truly that effective? Of course not. If it were, the MMA cage would be dominated by car washers, carpenters, and house painters. That’s the magic of movies. Movie martial arts are no more realistic than movie car chases. 

This still begs the question – how much of Miyagi’s weird training really works?

“Whole floor. Right circle, left circle.”

Traditional martial arts training can take many forms, and the spirit of Mr. Miyagi’s esoteric lessons isn’t too far off the mark. Although few practitioners today carry water up mountains like the Shaolin monks, mundane chores like cleaning and repairing are still implemented in training within a traditional Dojo. Frankly, the repetitive nature of martial arts practice is boring so any way to invigorate enthusiasm is welcome. And the efficiency of multi-tasking is always appreciated, even in modern strip mall Dojos. 

A common training ritual is cleaning the floor before class. This is extremely important because most Dojos practice barefoot. Many old school Dojos require that students push damp rags across the floor with their hands in a low crouch. As anyone who has done it knows, this is harder than it looks and serves as an excellent warm-up exercise. When the Dojo needs repairs, students pitch in where they can because a good Dojo fosters community that way, and variations on training emerge within those tasks akin to Miyagi’s painting and sanding. And if there’s a Dojo fundraising carwash, you know there will be plenty of “wax on, wax off” practice. 

But beyond the waxing, sanding, and painting, how real is Miyagi-Do? 

“Only root Karate come from Miyagi.”

There are two styles of martial arts represented in The Karate Kid, Okinawan Karate and Korean Tang Soo Do. Kreese’s Karate is Tang Soo Do mostly because the choreographer for the original films was Grandmaster Pat E. Johnson, a leading proponent of that style. Although most likely the product of coincidence, it fit Kreese’s character perfectly. Many U.S. soldiers who served in Korea brought Tang Soo Do back to the states when they returned, just like Kreese, including Johnson and his martial comrade, Chuck Norris. 

In Season 3 of Cobra Kai, Kreese’s backstory confirms what martial arts fans have always suspected – that his style of Karate is in fact, Tang Soo Do. Calling it “Karate” was not inaccurate. Few Americans know Tang Soo Do, so even today, some schools market themselves as “Korean Karate.” Tang Soo Do is a predecessor of Taekwondo. Taekwondo is the other Asian martial art in the Olympics alongside Judo, but this is soon to change. 

Read more

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Cobra Kai Season 4: What to Expect

By Gene Ching

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Cobra Kai and the Debate Around Cultural Appropriation

By Gene Ching

Miyagi-Do is derived from a branch of Karate known as of Goju-Ryu. Writer Robert Mark Kamen had learned some Goju-Ryu which inspired him to create Mr. Miyagi. He even poached the name of the founder of Goju-Ryu, Chojun Miyagi, and adapted the history to fit the Miyagi family history for The Karate Kid II where they travel to Okinawa. Goju means “hard-soft.”

“Karate legend Miyagi Chojun gave the name ‘hard-soft’ to the style in the mid-1930s,” explains Bayer.

Bayer finds the contrast between Miyagi’s and Kreese’s philosophies more intriguing than their difference of styles. “I see the first movie of the trilogy as the most important in terms of establishing the two contrasting mindsets of Mr. Miyagi’s ‘Karate approach to life in general’ and John Kreese’s ‘No mercy’ combat-specific attitude. However, both mindsets are essential to and part of genuine Karate.” Bayer claims that fighting in genuine Karate is exclusively reserved for life-threatening situations. “Karateka never start a fight; they always end a fight―and to end a fight ‘no mercy’ is essential.”

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The All Valley Karate Championships and the Olympics

The most unrealistic story element in The Karate Kid is the All Valley Karate Championships. Beyond the controversy about whether Daniel-san’s crane kick win was illegal, Karate tournaments didn’t have the level of production value in the eighties depicted in the movie. Even today, they seldom get that elaborate. A hexagonal ring is hard to make out of the square puzzle mats typically used for local tournaments nowadays. And that spectacular tournament table backdrop was way beyond the budget of tournament promoters. However, Karate will soon be showcased on the global stage, replete with a grand pageantry far beyond what the All Valley Championships imagined.

The Tokyo Olympics will introduce Karate as one of the five new sports in 2021. This will be divided into two categories: Kata, which is a solo form recital akin to gymnastics floor routines but with kicks and punches instead of leaps and flips, and Kumite, which is sparring. Here, Dr. Bayer draws an important distinction between authentic Karate and sport. It’s a critical distinction for what plays out in The Karate Kid. “As long as any kind of rules are implemented, combat changes into some kind of game,” says Bayer. “Life-protecting fighting is pure violence, pitiless full-power action, and has no place in a sport setting.”

Here also is where Bayer sees Kreese’s villainy. A symptom of his wartime PTSD, Kreese is unable to make the distinction between self-defense and sport. “The ‘No Mercy’ combat approach in competition and sports is inexcusably misplaced and represents an ‘Americanized’ misconception of Karate, characterized by ‘winning at all costs’ in combination with the importance of fancy uniforms, of ranks, and of other attributes in an attention-seeking culture.”

According to Bayer, this is also where the authenticity of Miyagi’s contrasting Karate approach shines. “This is the exact opposite of Mr. Miyagi’s humble Karate-Do mindset, where ranks, belts, and other visible signs of competency are irrelevant. His answer to the question what belt he wears was ‘Canvas. JC Penny. Three ninety-eight. You like?’ In spite of its lethality, the purpose of authentic Karate training is not the use of violence, it is gaining self-control, especially in situations loaded with threats and aggression, and where blood pressure and adrenaline levels are off the chart.” 

Despite this separation of killing art and sport, Bayer still sees the role of sport Karate as extremely important, and he can’t wait to see what happens at the Olympics. “Sports Karate canalizes aggression into fun and competition activities, and its training practices are perfect for physical education, for health and fitness purposes. Under a responsible coach, students grow mentally and are guided towards positive values―reflected in modern physical education learning outcomes and their according training designs.” 

“Karate here. Karate here. Karate never here.”

Despite its martial shortcomings, The Karate Kid succeeds in revealing the heart of Karate. The hardships Daniel endures, his loyalty to his sensei, Miyagi’s humility, and the distinctions between the street fights and the championships all play out with an uncommon sincerity, and perhaps that is the secret of its longevity. Even if Miyagi-Do is entirely by Kamen’s design, it’s a clever homage to Okinawan Karate. And even in the martial world, that’s hard to find.

“Authentic Okinawan Karate’s genuine purpose was exclusively self-protection and the protection of someone’s life,” says Bayer. “This genuine Okinawan Karate is hardly to be found in today’s worldwide Karate practice.”

The Karate Kid trilogy is streaming on Netflix now.

The post The Karate Kid: The Real Martial Arts History Behind the Movies appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[themeatlife]

the Meat Life Stay-At-Home Watchlist

Chronicling what I have watched or rewatched through the pandemic so far

The world has changed around us the last few months, particularly in the United States since March 11.  With the lack of events to hit up, like most Americans I’ve been catching up on some watching through the various streaming services and my own digital copies of movies and shows.

I didn’t really think of keeping up with what I have been watching until just recently, but here is what I can remember hitting up so far since I’ve spent the majority of the time at home.  Some are favorites that I would have watched anyway.  Some were unfinished until I got a chance to get back to them.  And others just became available.

Here’s what I remember of the watchlist:

The Office (Netfilx) This is a favorite of me and the wife.  We watch this on the regular though.  My wife uses The Office as her lullaby of sorts, putting it on in the evening as she gets ready for bed and is in bed to fall asleep.  I did a post on the 15th anniversary, so I won’t really deep-dive.

Gossip Girl (Netflix) Another one that my wife rotates with The Office as her lullaby.  The series is not bad, it’s basically The OC in Manhattan (both are created and developed by Josh Schwartz).  It also takes on a new perspective when you think about star Penn Badgley is the creep in You.  So Dan Humphrey gets this weird creeper Joe Goldberg vibe at times.

Parks and Recreation (Netflix) I never got into Parks and Rec on its original run.  I was encouraged to check it out by some coworkers since I liked The Office.  It is a great show, very funny, and poignant in a way.  It feels like a throwback to when people could disagree politically and still get along.  There is a lot less of that nowadays.  We might need more Parks and Rec in real life.  I started this right before the pandemic and finished around the beginning of things getting locked down.

Frozen II (Disney+) The sequel debuted on Disney+ early on in the quarantine period.  My family enjoyed it.  I thought it was entertaining, but I felt like it was weighted down a bit by the mythology explaining.  It seemed too busy explaining a lot of things.  Still an enjoyable movie, but the first is better.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness (Netflix) Intriguing.  The series debuted early in the quarantine period and became a staple of stay-at-home viewing and a runaway hit.  Lots of WTF moments.  It was like the train wreck analogy to the Nth degree.  But you can tell it was made in a way that leans in favor of Joe Exotic, making him look like a victim in the last couple episodes.  Also gave way to memorable memes ever since.

The Rocketeer (Disney+) I haven’t watched this movie since I was a kid.  Looking back, you can see a lot of The Rocketeer in Captain America - The First Avenger.  Easy to see though, since they share the same director Joe Johnston.  Prior to America’s involvement in World War II, a movie star Nazi goes after an experimental rocket pack developed by Howard Hughes.  The rocket pack is retrieved by accident from a down on luck stunt pilot.  Fun movie.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney+) I should have watched the entire Skywalker saga leading up to it, but I figured I have a ton of time to do that later.  This was a May the 4th watch.  I haven’t watched the Skywalker saga finale since it was in theaters.  It’s not a bad movie, I just feel it could have been a lot better with some modifications here and there.  Also, I believe this was going to be the Leia movie.  The Force Awakens was Han’s swan song, as was The Last Jedi for Luke.  I feel like this would have been great for Leia but obviously they were limited due to the untimely death of Carrie Fisher.  The scene where Ren/Ben speaks with Han after battling Rey would have hit harder with Leia instead of Han.

Trolls: World Tour (VOD) Cute kid movie.  Was nice to hear a lot of familiar music.  Sucks that rock was the villain in the first couple acts.  Seeing it once was enough, though.  Like the first Trolls, I am glad my kids enjoyed it but did not participate in excessive multiple viewings.

Onward (Disney+) Didn’t get a chance to catch this at the theater before they closed them down.  Great movie, but gosh.  Why does Pixar always pull at the heart strings like that?  I was quietly crying to myself at the end.  I’m glad we made our living room dark theater-style, otherwise my kids would have seen me all torn up.

Fast and Furious 5-7 (Fast Five - HBO, The Fast and the Furious 6/Furious 7 - Digital) I ended up not watching the entire series.  There is a great trilogy within the series, 5-7 was that trilogy.  Fast Five was the best of the FF franchise and where it perfected their movie formula.  It was like an action Ocean’s Eleven with cars.  6 and 7 expanded on that formula, upping the humor and ridiculousness factor.  6 had the exits of the Han and Gisele characters (they found a way to tie in Tokyo Drift to the rest of the series, Gal Gadot was on her way to becoming Wonder Woman for DC).  And 7 had that great ending with the tribute to Paul Walker to the sounds of Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.

Toy Story 4 (Disney+) Another Pixar hit.  Didn’t hit me quite as hard as Onward or Toy Story 3 did emotionally, thank goodness.  I thought this story was over the way Toy Story 3 ended.  But Pixar did a good job adapting to prolong these characters stories.  It did feel like it was a bit of two and three combined looking back.  Still very good, Pixar knows what it’s doing.

The Marvel Infinity Saga (Disney+/Netflix/Digital) Leading up to the one-year anniversary of the release of Avengers: Endgame, I went through and rewatched all 23 MCU movies.  This time, I went in chronological story order by starting with Captain America - The First Avenger.  I chronicled the order I watched in my last post.  Even after viewing many of these movies multiple times, I’m still amazed at how much I enjoy them and the scope of what Marvel was able to achieve leading into the climax in Endgame.

Community (Netflix/Hulu) I loved Community on its initial run on NBC but never watched any of the episodes when it was on Yahoo for its sixth season.  It has been great to rewatch the meta-humor and sitcom trope parodies.  And since Ken Jeong and Joel McHale started their own podcast called The Darkest Timeline (half COVID-19, half Community pod), it has been a good companion viewing.

The Back to the Future Trilogy (Netflix) Recent add to Netflix for easy viewing, these movies have been a favorite of the Mitra boys since childhood.  Upon viewing as an adult, there is some humor that I didn’t recognize as a kid that is hilarious to me now.  It is also crazy how well this teen time-travel sci-fi comedy works.  Some of the effects in Part 2 are dated and 2015 didn’t quite end up the way it did in the movies.  But overall very enjoyable on the rewatch!

Extraction (Netflix) High budget action flick funded by Netflix?  Written by the Russo Brothers?  And staring Chris Hemsworth?  I’m in!  Directed by long-time stunt man and Russo Bros go-to stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave (you can tell the Russo influence).  It has an awesome 15ish minute one-shot action/chase sequence that is top notch.  Don’t think much about the plot or the controversy of cultural representation, just enjoy the action.

The Mighty Ducks Trilogy (HBO) Another childhood favorite of mine.  Nevermind that the hockey itself isn’t accurate.  This is about pure fun for an hour and a half at a time.  Come for the hi-jinx, stay for the heart.  Triple-deke, knuckle-puck, taking out the trash.  And leave it out on the ice!

The Harry Potter Series (Blu-Ray/Digital) This was not a go-to for me until Linda made me watch the entire series.  I guess when the first movie came out, it was too much of a kid movie for me (I was a high school senior at the time).  But from the second movie onward, it felt like the storytelling and movie making got better and better.  The Deathly Hallows was an epic ending, even if they did change the ending from the book.  I didn’t watch the newer Fantastic Beasts movies along with this though, my wife did.

Westworld - Season 3 (HBO) Recently got HBO back, so I caught up on Westworld Season 3.  I haven’t rewatched the previous seasons yet, but I may revisit it soon.  Season 1 was spectacular, Season 2 was confusing as hell but still entertaining.  Season 3 is somewhere in between, expanding on the ongoing storyline.  It was more straight-forward because its storyline is in the “real-world.”  For those of you that have watched, didn’t you think it was highly ironic that the Incite ball was basically the AT&T logo? (AT&T is the parent company for WarnerMedia and HBO)

The Last Dance (ESPN/ESPN+) The Michael Jordan docu-series has been a god-sent for sports fans devoid of live American sports for the past couple months.  Is it Jordan-biased?  Sure.  But it is full of drama and intrigue and full of nostalgia.  The NBA had commissioned a camera crew to follow the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls on their run for their sixth NBA championship.  Jordan owned the controlling rights to the footage and unlocked it after the 2016 NBA Finals.  So this documentary was years in the making and with the pandemic the release date was moved up.  Although it featured a lot of unseen footage, it also chronicled the years leading up to the 1998 Bulls title.  The last 5 Sundays have been awesome.

The Princess Bride (Disney+) I haven’t watched this movie since I was a kid.  It wasn’t one of my recurring watches back then.  So this was actually my second viewing of this movie ever.  I found it quite enjoyable.  It was cheesy, but fun, and a good family watch.  One of the many older titles available on Disney+.

Scoob (VOD) My kids had some of the older Scooby Doo episodes on DVD and watched them when they were younger.  This was a fun revisit for them and for us as parents.  It was actually cool seeing a lot of the Hanna-Barbera characters in one movie.  We watched this shortly after finishing Community, and my kids recognized Ken Jeong’s voice as Dynomutt.  My daughter hilariously shouted “Senor Chang!” when she recognized him.

The Indiana Jones Series (Netflix) I introduced my son to Indiana Jones a few months ago watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.  He loved it.  He lost a little bit of interest during the Temple of Doom, I think the character Short Round lost it for him (character hasn’t aged well).  The Last Crusade reclaimed his interest.  Harrison Ford was at his natural apex playing Indiana Jones.  I did not watch the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  I didn’t feel the need to revisit that installment, while it was enjoyable the alien ending ruined the lead up to it.

The Dark Knight Trilogy (Batman Begins/The Dark Knight - Hulu, The Dark Knight Rises - Digital) Every few years I try to revisit this series.  It is the best thing DC has ever put out cinematically.  While Begins and Rises is more comic book, TDK is a straight crime drama set in the world of Batman.  My favorite is Rises, but the absolute best comic book movie remains The Dark Knight, even with the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Jurassic Park/Jurassic World Series (Jurassic Park/The Lost World: Jurassic Park - Blu-Ray, Jurassic World - Digital, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Cinemax) The original Jurassic Park is such a great movie.  Rewatching, it’s crazy how well the effects for the dinosaurs hold up.  Steven Spielberg, Stan Winston, and ILM did a great job mixing animatronic and CGI dino effects that stand the test of time.  The Lost World was enjoyable but not as good as the original.  I skipped JP III, such a bad movie.  Jurassic World was a good way to reboot the series, basically a remake of the original but incorporating a lot of references to it.  I just finished Fallen Kingdom today.  Although Fallen Kingdom was entertaining, it fails to recapture some of the magic of JP and JW.

I’m not sure what I will hit up next.  I might hit some Keanu Reeves movies like Speed, the Matrix Trilogy, and/or the John Wick Trilogy.  Maybe Top Gun.  Maybe rewatch Friends or How I Met Your Mother.  Maybe something on HBO Max when it comes out like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  Maybe Terminator.  Possibilities are endless, at least until some American sports return.

[meannacamargo]

A Wonder Women Night’s Dream: The recreation of Shakespeare’s amazon

Abstract

Wonder Woman, one of the most popular superhero in history, is a feminism symbol. She is the most known female character of comic books and together with Batman and Superman compound the three Gods of DC Comics. Diana’s origin reminds the Greek mythology, but it may be not only that. In this paper we compare the story of Wonder Woman origins with the Hippolyta character in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare.  We also discuss about the reasons why it can be based on Shakespeare’s play according the women social context at the 40’s.

Key Words: Wonder Woman, Comic book, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

An Introduction

Thirty eight million dollars. This was the number collected during the first Avengers weekend premiere in Brazil. It was only in Brazil. That’s huge. Superheroes are a global fever just like never before. They are everywhere: cinema, internet, television, games, music, art, clothes, objects and, their first platform, comic books. Marvel Studios and DC comics are the companies responsible for and both compound the empire of the mainly superhero circle: Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man, Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and so many others. It is noticeable the common idea of “These superheroes are children subject”; It’s is also common being said that Comic Books are just entertainment. However, the origins of superheroes are meaningful and history proves that.

The Golden Age

After Great Depression, the economic situation of United States (US) was a chaos. Unfortunately or not, some years later the world lived the event which had changed everything forever: the World War II. Adolf Hitler, his army and beliefs impacted directly art and culture. At the boundaries of war, US were raising his economy through selling weapons and basic supplies to others countries. A cheap option of entertainment and also a way to spread patriotism ideas and hope inside the country, in 1938 emerge the first superhero in history. Created by Jerry Siegel e Joe Shuster, Superman wears the nation colors while he fights against villains and still wanted to be a simple man, making people believe – in subjective way - which the Great Depression would end fine, II World War as well.  Clark Kent was the first of so many others – Captain Steve Rogers and Bruce Wayne for example – heros who were succeeded in sells and popularity. This emergency period of superheroes was known as Golden Age. The comic books heroes remained until the year of 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, the United States entered at the war and the first female superhero took the stage. One year later was born Wonder Woman.

Page 01 : A dream called Hippolyt

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a famous play wrote by William Shakespeare. The characters and places are based on Greek mythology and every aspect of the plot compound the theme of love, his obstacles and consequences to the human rational mind. Hippolyta is a secondary character; Theseus fiancé, her marriage is the event which unfolds the plot and the lovely triangle: Hermia, Demetrius and Lysander. Even located at the second level of the story, Hippolyta has some important characteristics for us to analyze. 

      First of all, her character is based at the Amazons Mythology. According to the original story, Hippolyta was the Amazon Queen, the best warrior already known at Paradise Island. The Amazons wouldn’t have relations with man, that’s why Hippolyta is forced to marriage with Theseus when he won the battle against her nation. But at the Shakespeare’s play it didn’t happened. 

    Hippolyta and Theseus wanted to marriage because of love, but a rational kind of, differently from Romeo and Juliet. We can suggest she left her land for him – the story happens in Athens. She also talked with Theseus at the same level of rationality; she was an obedient wife, but not a voiceless one – just like Catharine in The Taming of the Shrew.  The same image was reconstructed four centuries later in a female superhero.

Turning the page: Wonder Woman is coming

Created by William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman appeared for the first time at the edition number 8 of All American’s All Star Comic in December, 1941. According to her origin story, Hippolyta created a statue and after loved it, she asked to Aphrodite turns it to life. This was how Dianna was born and years later became an admired Amazon. Everything was fine at Paradise Island until one day a man called Steve Trevor, a pilot soldier of US inside war, flew his airplane there. He was completely lost and Amazons decide to help him chosen one between them to take his back to the US.  Dianna won the championship, but she falls in love for Steve and he falls in love for her. So, she decided to leave her land and help Steve and his country at war, adopting the identity of Diana Prince, the army nurse.

    Wonder Women, as well as others superheroes, had a big importance during war. Her image was created to send a message to women, because at that moment the nation needed them to leave their houses and help the army. Women also was needed to occupy men jobs inside society and do things that only men was able to do, because their husbands, sons, brothers were at the field and manufactures can not stop. The American way of life had changed. So, mostly men had to change their ideas, the “perfect woman” was not that  one who stayed at home waiting for her husband anymore. The “perfect woman” now was the one who didn't care leave her house and help the country for love. Women needed to be and feel empowered. That’s what Wonder Woman is about.

The recreation: Shakespeare and the POP culture

        Diana Prince and Hippolyta have more in common than simply being an Amazon of Paradise Island. They are mother and daughter, warriors whom love another warrior, but in different contexts. Both left her homes and take opposite sides of their own creation. The enemies – Theseus and Hippolyta – whom can just be together inside a dream in Shakespeare, to Marston starts to be a reality. Beyond two stories, Diana and Hippolyta are examples of how women, living at 16th ou 20th century and inside a masculine society, can be empowered. About how this women can have a voice. About how this women can exist, taking the control of their on lives.

Conclusion: This is not the end

Superheroes fever or not, each one of them represents an aspect of history. For us, women, Wonder Woman represents our past, our present and our brighter future. A future where women can be strong and own her on “Self”. This was impossible at English romanticism, it was more believable at last century. Today it is more closer than never Shakespeare dream become true.

“Of all people, you know who I am…who the world needs me to be. I’m Wonder Woman.” 

Infinity Crises – Number 01

Bibliography

CAIXETA S.P. A  Anos dourados: Amulher-maravilha e o papel da mulher norte-americana durante a 2a Guerra Mundial. <http://periodicos.ufpb.br/ojs2/index.php/tematica/article/view/23753> Available on june 29th , 2015.

COMICS, D. Wiki database <http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page> Available on june 29th 2015

COOGAN, P. Superhero: The secret origin of a genre <http://resources.desmet.org/bergman/a%20ink%20to%20screen/peter%20coogan%20webster%20university/4_Coogan-Superhero.pdf > Available on june 29th , 2015

SHAKESPEARE, W. A Midsummer Night's Dream <http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html>  Available on june 29th ,  2015.

WEEKLY, C. Fightin' Femmes: Unmasking Female Superheroes with Author Mike Madrid <http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/fightin-femmes-unmasking-female-superheroes-with-comic-book-historian-mike-madrid/> Available  on june 29th , 2015 

[hazyheel]

WWE NXT Takeover: Toronto II Predictions

We are headed back to Toronto for Summerslam weekend this year, which means that Takeover will be hosted from the same city. It is certainly an interesting card this time around, with every championship in NXT proper being defended, in addition to a non-title women’s match, which is nice. All of the matches look really good, so let’s just hop right into the list.

The first match on the list is Candice LaRae vs. Io Sharai. During Sharai’s pursuit of the NXT Women’s championship, her and LaRae were best of friends. Sharai had a championship match at Takeover XXV, where Shayna Baszler’s lackey’s tried to get involved, but LaRae beat them down with a kendo stick. Still, Sharai tapped out to the kirifuda clutch, and lost. But after the match, she beat down Baszler and earned herself a rematch. That rematch was inside of a steel cage, and the two beat the hell out of each other. This time, Sharai looked like she was about to escape, when Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke came out again to cost her the match. LaRae ran out to support her friend, and helped to beat down the women. In the finish, Sharai was locked in the Kirifuda clutch right in the door frame of the cage as she tried to escape. To get out of the hold, she bashed Baszler’s head with the cage door, causing Baszler to fall out of the cage unconscious, but still winning the match. Afterwards, Sharai brutalized LaRae and blamed her for the loss. Since then, the two have brawled a couple of times, prompting Regal to make the match for Takeover. This is a bit of a tough one to predict, because LaRae is probably next in line for a title shot, but Sharai has had a recent heel turn. Both women need the win, but I would say that LaRae needs it more. It will propel her into the Women’s championship scene, and she can finally be the one to take the belt from Baszler. I doubt this will be the last time these two fight, and it is very possible that Sharai actually takes the women’s championship from LaRae, but right now, the babyface needs it more. This is LaRae’s Takeover debut, at least in a match, and it is the biggest stage that she has ever been on, so I think she will deliver in a big way. Sharai is great and has proved as such, so she is the perfect opponent for a debuting star. I’m excited for this match a lot, a sleeper great match for this card. 

Then, in the first of the championship matches, we have the Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championships. This is a pretty simple story. The Street Profits won the titles in a ladder match at Takeover XXV, and have proceeded to beat each of the other teams in that match since then. They beat Lorcan and Burch, and then the Forgotten Sons. Fish and O’Reilly are the last team on their list, but they are also probably the best tag team in NXT history. I found this one a bit tough too, considering that the Street Profits have been appearing on Raw lately, but something about their NXT promo makes me think that they are going to retain. The two are really good together, but they haven’t had a breakout tag match yet. They were awesome in the ladder match, but in that sort of environment, big spots are given more attention. So in a straight tag match, they can show all of their talent and establish themselves as good champions and a great team. Of course, we could also end up with the Undisputed Era with the championships, so that the team holds all the gold at the end of the night, but considering how common that is in WWE right now, I think they will hold off on that for a bit. I think the Street Profits will win in a match that will be very good, but maybe just shy of great. 

Then we have a triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong. This match was originally just going to be Dream vs. Strong, because Strong pinned Dream in a 6-man tag a few weeks ago. So he had a claim to the title, but Dunne made a shock return to NXT proper, and inserted himself directly into the title picture by virtue of his very long title reign as the WWE UK Champion. He also has a noted history with Roderick Strong, as the two were tag team partners for a couple months before Roddy betrayed him last year to join the Undisputed Era. So we had a triple threat on our hands. I don’t think that Dunne is going to win here, but I do think it is a toss up between Strong and Dream. The only reason I’m picking Dream to retain is that I doubt another stable will hold all the gold in WWE. But if there is any match that I’m going to be wrong about, it will most likely be this one. I think Dream will retain here, but then go on to lose the title to Cameron Grimes after he wins the breakout tournament. But I could definitely see Roddy winning too. This is a match that makes my mouth water, and I’m really excited to see three of the best talents in NXT square off. 

Next up is Shayna Baszler defending the NXT Women’s championship against Mia Yim. The two have had a very violent and personal rivalry, starting in a match where the two beat the hell out of each other for a short period. When Yim was granted this title shot, Baszler, Shafir and Duke all beat her down in the ring and left her laying, calling her gutter trash as they did. In response, Yim channeled her street smarts and put both Shafir and Duke on the shelf with attacks in the parking lot and locker room respectively, saying that now the field is even. Baszler insists that Yim doesn’t deserve a title shot and is not good enough to be on the gold brand, while Yim says that Baszler can’t win without her friends and can’t deal with an opponent who fights dirty. This is an easy pick, Baszler is going to retain. Yim just doesn’t have the star power to take it right now. She is a placeholder. Still, should be an interesting match. 

And in the main event, we have Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole three, for the NXT Championship, three stages of hell. It isn’t being billed as that, but it is a much cooler name for when the stipulation changes. This all started back at Takeover New York. The title was vacant, and Gargano was the most recent #1 contender, so he was guaranteed a spot. Cole won a fatal 5-way to be the other competitor, and it was a 2 out of 3 falls match to ensure a decisive winner. Cole won the first fall, but Gargano came back and won the match. Cole said that he would have won in any other match, so he was given a rematch in a straight singles match, and sure enough, he won. So now, Cole has been rubbing his championship in Gargano’s face. He paraded around with the title, going to his wrestling school and telling students to give up, and even showing up at his parent’s restaurant and pinning his picture on the wall. The two brawled several times, so Regal made the match official. He also added the 2 out of 3 falls stipulation, but with a twist. Gargano picks the stip for the first fall, Cole for the second, and regal picks for the third if it comes to that. Gargano picked a street fight, as he has been tapping into a darker side for about a year now, and he wants to embrace that here. Cole picked a straight singles match, as he said that he does not need anything special to win. Regal hasn’t revealed the third stipulation, which adds some intrigue into an otherwise predictable stipulation. And I know I’m picking every champion to retain here, but I really don’t think there is any point in putting the belt back on Gargano. He is better chasing, and he already had a fairytale moment. Cole is a great villain right now, and he should have the belt for a while. For it to mean anything, Gargano is going to need to beat a new foe for the NXT Championship, maybe even Tommaso Ciampa when he returns. Cole should have a nice run, because if he loses it now, then it will be way too much hot potatoing for my liking. The last two matches have been great, although I question the A+ I gave the second match in hindsight, and I have high hopes for this match. They killed it twice before, make it a hatrick.

So, those are my predictions. No title changes I don’t think, but anyone in the Undisputed Era can concievably win their match. It’s a toughy for a lot of them, which makes the pay per view that much more exciting. I can’t wait for tomorrow night. 

[dukereviewstv]

Duke Reviews Tv: Smallville 1x03 Hothead

Hi Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Tv Where Today We Continue Talking About Smallville By Talking About Episode 3 Of Season 1, Hothead...

This Episode Sees Smallville High's Football Coach, Walt Arnold (Played By The Wonder Years Dan Lauria) Gaining Pyrokinesis Abilities After Spending Time In A Meteor Rock Infused Sauna, Powers Which He Starts Using To Kill People, When The Principal Of The School Discovers Walt's Scam Of Giving Test Answers To Keep Them On The Team, Protecting His "Legacy" As He Calls It. Will Clark Stop This Hotheaded Coach ?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Hothead...

The Episode Starts On A Rainy Football Field As Smallville High Wins Another Game Which Is Not Only 1 Game Left To The State Championship But 1 Game Left To Coach Walt's 200th Win...

Yes, Everything Looks Good For The Smallville Crows, But As Coach Walt Spends Time In His Meteor Rock Sweat Box, Principal Kwan Comes In To Tell Him That Some Of His Players Have Been Cheating On Tests, Asking Kwan To Sweep It Under The Rug Till The End Of The Season, Kwan Tells Walt That He Won't Do That Just For A Game...

The Next Day At School, Clark, Chloe And Pete Walk Together While Reading The Latest Issue Of The Torch...

Hearing About The Cheating Scandal, Lana Is Furious With Whitney, Who Doesn't See What The Big Deal Is...

Watching The Cheating Jocks Walk Out, Chloe Starts Taking Pictures For The Torch Until One Of The Jocks Tries To Tries To Hit Chloe's Camera With A Football...

Watching Clark Throw That Football, Coach Walt Gets An Idea, An Awful Idea, A Wonderfully Awful Idea...

Going To Clark, Walt Asks Why Clark's Not On The Team? With Clark Saying That He's Needed Around The Farm...

Ok, That Line's Pretty Funny...

But Knowing That Clark Looks At His Dad's Football Picture, Old Walt Does Not Back Down...

Telling His Dad About Walt, He, Of Course, Tells Him To Quit But Clark Doesn't Want To Afraid Of Looking Like A Coward...

You're Grounded...

But, Dad...

Quit The Football Team Then We'll Talk...

Meanwhile At The Luthor Mansion, Lex Gets A Visit From His Father's Assistant, Dominic Salvatori Who Tells Lex That Lionel Wants Him To Cut His Workforce, However, Lex Tells Him Instead That He Plans On Increasing His Workforce By 20%...

Cutting To Lana's House, Lana Tells Aunt Nell That She Quit The Cheerleading Squad Because Of The Scandal...

Aunt Nell Tries To Convince Lana To Go Back Saying To Not Let A Few Bad Apples Spoil Cheerleading But Lana's Made Up Her Mind Saying That She Wants To Try Something New...

Meanwhile At School, Clark Attends His First Practice As Jonathan Watches In The Stands To Make Sure No One Gets Hurt...

Great Confidence, Dad!

After Practice, Coach Walt Watches A Playback Of Today's Practice When Principal Kwan Enters Saying That One Of The Players Told Him That Walt Supplied The Answers To Them...

Mad At Kwan, Walt Sets A Tv On Fire With His Powers. Following Kwan After The Incident, Walt Tries Channeling His Powers So He Can Set Kwan's Car On Fire...

But Luckily, Clark Saves Kwan From The Car Blaze Before It Blows Up...

Heading Back To The Farm, Martha Tells Clark That Kwan Will Be Fine But Despite That Jonathan's Concern Right Now Is If People Saw Clark Save Kwan, Which Nobody Did...

Now You're Grounded For 2 Weeks..

Come On!

Quit!

Talking With Jonathan, Martha Tries To Convince Him To Ease Up On Clark A Little...

That Night, Chloe, Pete And Clark Enter The Local Beanery To Find Lana Working There...

Over Hearing One Of The Jocks Named Trevor (Who's Played By David Paetkau, Who Would Return To Smallville In Season 8 Playing A DC Character Well Known In The Superman Mythos By The Name Of Dan Turpin) Says That Walt Is Holding A Meeting On The Field, Chloe Races To Watch Their Secret Meeting As Walt Asks Who It Was That Talked To Kwan...

The Next Day At The Luthor Mansion, Lionel Drops By To Talk With Lex About Not Cutting His Workforce...

Making Lex A Deal That If He Can Beat Him At A Fencing Match, He'll Let Him Go Through With His Plans, Lex Accepts...

That Night At The Big Pep Rally, Chloe Questions Trevor Only For Him To Tell Chloe To Back Off Before Chloe Shows Him Pictures He Took Of Last Night's Meeting Saying That He Can Give Her Answers Now Or Later But Either Way These Are Going On The Front Cover Of Tomorrow's Torch...

Thinking Trevor Was Spilling His Guts To Chloe, Trevor Tells Walt About The Pictures She Has Of Last Night, Which Leads Walt To Target The Torch And Chloe...

As The Torch Is Ablaze, Clark Sees The Fire As Chloe Calls For Help, Forcing Him To Superspeed In To Save Her...

Thinking That Coach Walt Is Behind This, Clark Doesn't Believe Her At First Which Leads Her To Ask Clark To Talk To Trevor...

Trying To Find Trevor, Clark Stops By The Beanery Running Into Lex (Who's Trying To Figure Out Who To Can From The Plant) And Lana (Who Can't Attend The Game Tomorrow Due To Her Job). Telling Lex About What's Going On Between Him And Jonathan And Lex Completely Understands As The Luthors Created The Book On Uncomfortable Silences...

If This Is A Revolution Then It's The Type That Ends With People Falling/Hanging From Buildings With Red Flags...

Visiting Trevor, Clark Finds Out That It Was Trevor That Told Kwan As He Shows Clark His Arm Which Was Burned By Walt, Using His Powers...

Visiting Walt In His Sauna, Clark Tells Him That He's Not Going Out On That Field...

Weakened By The Meteor Rocks In The Sauna, Walt Punches Clark Causing Clark To Knock All The Rocks On The Floor While Walt Locks Him Inside...

Arriving At The Game, Jonathan Takes To The Field To Try To Find Clark With Walt Lying Saying He Didn't Show When Chloe Realizes This Jonathan Checks The Locker Room Where He Finds Clark...

However As Jonathan Gets Clark Out Of The Meteor Rock Sauna, Walt Hits Him On The Head And Attempts To Attack Clark Only For Clark To Kick Him Right Out Of The Office Window....

Clark, Pushes Walt In The Shower Where Walt Uses His Powers To Unfortunately Kill Himself...

Walt Arnold RIP

Meanwhile At The Luthor Mansion To Talk With Lex About His New Proposal, Which Cuts The Operation Budget 20% WITHOUT Losing A Single Job...

Giving Lex A Break, Lionel Reminds Lex That Empires Are Not Built On Cleaver Bookkeeping...

Back At The School. Jonathan Talks With Clark As They Both Apologize For What They Said...

Walking On The Field, Lana (Who Has Been Fired From The Beanery) Goes Over To Talk To Clark...

Clark Rejoins The Football Team In Season 4, Thus Making This Entire Conversation, Totally Moot...

And That's Hothead And It's A Good Episode...

The Story Was Good, The Characters Were Good, The Villain Was Interesting It's Just All Around A Good Episode And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off

[irarelypostanything]

Unforgettable Scenes - Harry finds out the truth about Snape

I’ve had a lot to say about Harry Potter in the past, some things positive and some not, but one thing I think it does remarkably well is tone shift.  The third movie is so radically different from the first two in tone that they almost seem like separate arcs--instead of the fun escapism of broom flying, competitive chess tournaments, and two-faced soul fragment villains, we have creatures that literally consume souls and can only be repelled by a single burst of positive emotion.  I don’t completely recall the mechanics of the third movie, but I think Harry finds that memories of his dead parents are far more effective than memories of winning a sports championship.

Something like that.

By the final movie, the tone has evolved so tremendously that the opening sequence resembles Great Britain at the height of World War II.  Fascism is right at the front gate, and everyone is trying really hard not to panic.

I remember being satisfied with the “Snape reveal” in the last book, but it wasn’t until years later that I was able to fully appreciate what it all meant.

*Spoilers*

Snape’s character arc, at the end of the day, is one of the simplest in the series: Snape appeared to be an agent for Voldemort who was pretending to be an agent of Dumbledore, when in reality he was actually a triple agent pretending to pretend to serve Dumbledore when in reality he did serve Dumbledore.  Simple stuff.

I was a little disappointed that the final movie glossed over aspects of Dumbledore’s arc, but I really think it did Snape’s arc justice.  To better phrase the confusing paragraph above, Snape pretended to serve Voldemort when he always served Dumbledore.  Why?  Because he was friends with Harry’s mother and loved her for his entire life.  He accepted the judgment he got for seeming like a villain, because of someone he still loved after death.  He accepted all the blame for killing the man who trusted him, when in reality this trust was built on how faithfully he still loved someone after death.  He accepted death himself, dying for lost love like the mythical brother in Harry Potter’s self-contained fable, because of this.

The question I asked when I first read it at the age of 13 or so was...if that really was the case, why was he still such an ass?

Well, there are a few layers to explore here.  First of all, he and Dumbledore strongly disagreed on how they perceived Harry (at least in the beginning).  Dumbledore saw Harry’s mother: A sensitive, compassionate person who gave everything to those she loved.  Snape saw Harry’s father: A condescending, self-righteous bully.  Are either of these fair assessments of Harry’s parents, let alone Harry himself?  We have quite a few books to explore the character who is Harry Potter, but perhaps not enough Snape to fully explore how great these implications are.

One thing they don’t fully have time to explore in the movie is why Snape’s relationship to Lily became so strained.  It’s because Snape used the term mudblood, and this was just the tip of the iceberg.  He was starting to fall in line with a group of people who passionately believed in pure blood only, and from Lily’s point of view this was completely overshadowing who Snape was because of who he was becoming.  

Snape never had a chance for reconciliation with her, but he had plenty of time for redemption.  And he did redeem himself.  He risked his life time and time again to save Harry, he killed Dumbledore not just to solidify his hold as a spy but also to save Draco’s soul (in the universe of Harry Potter, an act of murder will literally split the soul), and he stood for Harry in the end even when it appeared that Dumbledore himself wanted Harry to be a sacrifice.  He cared so much for someone he lost that he gave everything to protect her son, and he cared so much for someone he lost that his patronus, an embodiment of all the positivity and happiness he new, was the same patronus Lily used.

And in the end, that’s what saved him.  He wasn’t Draco, born into privilege but with parents who were on the wrong side; he wasn’t James Potter, always on the right side but with his handful of mistakes...he was someone who seemed destined to be on the wrong side and give into the magical world equivalent of fascism and genocide and evil...and by his own free will and his love for another person, he freed himself from it and then saved a person who seemed to be following the same dark path as him.

He didn’t save one person, he saved many.  

And that’s why he’s the true badass of the series.

[gdwessel]

Best of the Super Juniors 26 Night 15 - 6/5/2019; NJPW’s Michael Craven Clarifies Status With AEW; Dominion on FITE TV; This Week’s NJPW on AXS

This is what it’s all built to: the Final of Best of the Super Juniors 26, in the biggest venue this show has ever been run in. We also get the return of Hiroshi Tanahashi, and the NJPW debut of Jon Moxley.

- 6/5/2019, Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

Dragon Lee [CMLL], Titan [CMLL] & Shota Umino d. Bandido [Lifeblood], Jonathan Gresham [ROH] & Ren Narita (Lee > Narita, Running Knee, 8:26)

Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Robbie Eagles [Bullet Club] d. Ryusuke Taguchi, SHO [CHAOS] & YOH [CHAOS] (Phantasmo > YOH, CR II, 9:09)

Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], Toru Yano [CHAOS], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV d. Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI [SZKG] (YOSHI-HASHI > DOUKI, Karma, 10:34)

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] d. Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare (EVIL > Henare, Magic Killer, 10:27)

Kazuchika Okada & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] d. Marty Scurll & Brody King [Villain Enterprises] (Okada > King, Rainmaker, 10:35)

Jay White [Bullet Club] d. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Neck Lock, 19:16)

IWGP US Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley [FREE] d. Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] © (Double-Arm DDT, 24:14) - Juice fails his 4th defense - Moxley is the 6th champion

Best of the Super Juniors 26 Final: Will Ospreay [CHAOS] d. Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] (Stormbreaker, 33:36) - Ospreay wins Best of the Super Juniors 26

Well, did I predict that or what yesterday. Will Ospreay hands Shingo Takagi his first (singles) loss in NJPW, and wins his 2nd Best of the Super Juniors, the first being in 2016. Ospreay is now tied with KUSHIDA, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Tiger Mask IV at two BOSJ wins (the record-holder is Koji Kanemoto at 3). Not a fan of this, gotta say. Yes, Ospreay has credentials to beat him, but Shingo v. Dragon Lee at Sunday would have been much better, given the banger they had earlier in the tournament, and would have made more storyline sense for Shingo to be there in Hiromu’s absence (which, incidentally, continued today). But Ospreay gets pushed and pushed, so here we are. Expect Ospreay to beat Dragon Lee at Dominion now.

Jon Moxley joins a very long list of gaijin debutants who win titles in NJPW, beating Juice with the now-denamed Dirty Deeds. Moxley wrestled this light hardcore style. Juice will get it back eventually, depending on the whole AEW contract situation (more on that below). Tanahashi loses in his return, with Jay White continuing to be a bogey to both him, and Okada.

Chris Jericho, like Hiromu, did not appear today but on a video, after which Okada cut a promo on him. All Hell broke loose after the Suzuki-gun tag match, with Liger going after Suzuki, Sabre going after YOSHI-HASHI, and naturally, Ishii and Taichi going at it in prep for their title match at Dominion. El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori challenged Roppongi 3K for the junior tag belts, whilst Robbie Eagles seemed to not give a shit about the challenge, or take part in it.

Moxley and Jericho’s participation this month have lead to a lot of questions about NJPW’s involvement with All Elite Wrestling, especially since both played a major part in the main event of AEW’s debut event Double or Nothing on 5/25/2019. Michael Craven, NJPW’s manager of the International Department, gave an interview to SI.com, ostensibly about the Western expansion, but also had a few paragraphs to say about AEW:

“NJPW has a long and rich history with our international partners, including CMLL in Mexico, Ring of Honor in America, and RevPro in the United Kingdom,” said Craven. “Loyalty is a big virtue, especially in Japanese culture. Loyalty to our partners is of utmost importance to us as we continue to foster the premiere network of wrestling talent in the world.”

Following the announcement that Jon Moxley, a talent signed with AEW, will make his New Japan debut on June 5, Craven provided this statement to Sports Illustrated on May 27: “New Japan and Jon Moxley came to terms on an agreement some time ago, completely independently of All Elite. Our understanding is that he is free to wrestle in Japan. We wish AEW well, but have no working relationship as of now.”

Chris Jericho, another top AEW star, also returns to New Japan on June 9 to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the Dominion show in Osaka.

“We wish everybody at All Elite Wrestling nothing but the best in their ongoing endeavors, though we must stress we have no working arrangement at this time,” said Craven. “Again, we think our partners seek and deserve loyalty and an appropriate amount of care. We want our relationships to be mutually beneficial over the long haul, rather than just thinking in the moment.”

So, as ever, officially, NJPW and AEW are not working together, but some of AEW’s biggest names are (still) coming over to NJPW. For now, anyway.

NJPW on AXS returns after a 2-week hiatus with... matches from the BOSJ 26 final I just wrote about above. So it’s definitely the Final, Juice v. Moxley and Tana v. Jay. Sorry to spoil it. It’s a 2-hour episode, too, starting at the usual time of 8pm EDT /  7pm CDT. 

The next show is, of course, Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-Jo Hall this Sunday. We still do not have the full card for that yet. It is probably coming later tonight knowing my luck. While it will be on NJPWWorld live, if you have $30 burning a hole in your pocket, you’re in luck, because FITE TV will also be showing this live as well. For $30. As opposed to less than $10/month for NJPWWorld. Anyway. It seems FITE will also be showing the Melbourne show for Southern Showdown later this month as well, so there’s that. 

[oscar-isaacs-number-one-bitch]

“Creed II” Movie Review

Creed II is the long-awaited sequel to the hit Rocky franchise spinoff, Creed (hard to believe, right?) and features Michael B. Jordan returning as our titular hero, Adonis Creed, on top of the world after winning the world championship and establishing his family name once again as the toughest in the ring. He’s training under the great Rocky Balboa (a returning Sylvester Stallone), and a fulfilling relationship with his girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson). Donny’s life is the best he could ever want it to be. But when Viktor Drago, the son of the man who killed his father, comes to challenge him for the belt, Adonis must decide (with the council of Rocky) whether he is going to let his personal ties to the Drago name cloud his judgement. And Rocky must decide whether 30 years is enough time to be okay stepping back into the ring with the old Russian boxer who killed his friend.

I went to see the first Creed film with my brother back in 2015 when it first came out; it was my first time watching a movie at all in the Rocky franchise, and I loved it. In fact, I loved it so much, that movie shot all the way to #6 on my top 10 list for 2015. It was an exhilarating experience infused with an energy I rarely saw in most movies, especially sports films, at the time; this, of course, was due to the inane talents of director Ryan Coogler, and the surprise of the 7th film in a franchise that barely found its footing only one movie ago, suddenly asserting itself as perhaps the best of them all. So I was a good deal nervous when Coogler was handed the job on Black Panther (so far still the largest box office earner of 2018), as that film was due to be released in February of this year, which meant the director would not be returning to helm Creed II. Instead, directing duties were handed to a new face in the crowd, short film director Steven Caple Jr., whose only other feature film, The Land, went on to show at the Sundance Film Festival. And I’m happy to report that (for the most part) my worries have been assuaged.

Steven Caple Jr. may not have the charismatic direction that made Coogler’s franchise debut such a success, but he more than proves himself a fully capable director when it comes to helming a film of this caliber. And you can tell that his direction of this movie comes from a place of genuine love for these characters; he has a heart for them, and you can tell with every scene that he’s almost in a Creed-like situation himself – trying to live up to the legacy set by his predecessor while staying true to who he is as a filmmaker. It’s no easy task, but Caple Jr. pulls it off adequately by showing the audience that he loves these characters just as much as we do. That does mean he plays it a tad in the safe zone when it comes challenging audience conceptions of the villains, but it doesn’t mean there are no challenges to be found. The challenges that he sets in the ways of both Adonis and Rocky are personal, gripping, and you feel them every step of the way. But you don’t only feel the challenges, or the hard moments; you also feel the triumphs, fully and completely. Every time Donny gets a win in life, you feel it, including in his relationships with Bianca and Rocky, and especially in a desert training montage that rivals the best of the entire franchise.

Speaking of feeling things, one of the other main concerns going into this film was whether or not Caple Jr. would be able to helm fight sequences anywhere near as interesting or engaging as those found in Coogler’s film, and while they’re no one-shot wonders, these fight sequences hit just as hard as those did, if not harder. Every punch is felt in the bones, every hit heard by way of brilliant sound design that truly makes you feel like part of the audience sitting outside the ring (not an easy thing to make someone feel). During the final fight, my audience and myself were all applauding Donny on, rooting for him through every round. But no one will root for someone they don’t like, and this is the section where we talk about the performances (or some of them).

Michel B. Jordan is quickly becoming one of the biggest household names synonymous with box office success, if he’s not one already. His sheer talent and charisma on screen is unmatched, and this film is no exception to his already exceptional filmography. As Adonis Creed, Jordan brings a vulnerability to his character that’s not just a requirement of sequel pictures, but an essential element. He’s asked to carry some of the larger moments given to Stallone in the previous film, and he shoulders them like these are what he uses to lift weights (also of note is the fact that he’s nearly three times as jacked as he was for the first Creed). Sylvester Stallone also returns as the lovable Rocky Balboa, and while he doesn’t play quite as big a role in the film as I personally would have liked, the impact he leaves is still achingly sincere. Stallone’s been playing this role since 1976, and yet it seems he’s still not tired of it, which is nice since he’s just so naturalistic in his performance here, and I would love to see him bring it home in a Creed III.

Time has been the kindest, however, to Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago. This just might be the best on-screen performance Lundgren has ever given, bringing springing back to life in a perfect encapsulation of a broken man who’s lost most of what he had before, even despite what he did 30 years prior. Lundgren is magnetic, particularly during a conversation he has with Stallone in Rocky’s diner, and it’s a near-chilling resurrection of an old villain with some beautifully added weight.

My only real issues with Creed II are with two of the characters, not necessarily in how they’re portrayed, but in their development. Bianca (Tessa Thompson) gets all but pushed to the side in terms of development apart from dealing with her hearing loss and a newfound pregnancy, both things that can be used to develop character, but only one (the pregnancy) actually gets a legitimate amount of screen-time devoted to it, even then mostly being used to show the passage of time. There’s a lot of areas where the script could have emotionally challenged her, and those opportunities just don’t seem to be taken, at least not to the extent that they actually devote a section of time to them.

The other character who doesn’t get a ton of development is Viktor Drago. While I understand that we’re meant to root for the protagonist primarily, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of remorse for what kind of villain we almost got. He’s not one-dimensional by any means (and since Florian Munteanu isn’t an actor, it’s unlikely they were going to give him a ton of screen time), but where the script could have given him some emotional range to display, it barely scratches the surface. That’s unfortunate, given that from what I did see of the character, he has some real emotional challenges to overcome regarding his family and the life he lives.

Overall, while I don’t necessarily think it’s going to live up to the expectations set by the first film, Creed II is a worthy successor to Ryan Coogler’s smash hit. Every performer is either at the top of their game or coasting on a high road, and apart from some character development issues and missing energy in the beginning, it was a rousing good time watching Adonis get back in the ring. If they have enough material for just one more, I’ll gladly sit ringside.

I’m giving “Creed II” an 8.2/10

[thephantomprojectionist]

Review: Death Match (1994)

“Go ahead, if you and your friends want to look like Swiss cheese”

SOURCE

My opinion regarding kickboxer/actor/activist Ian Jacklin is a little more complicated than with most karate stars, but in a nutshell, I thought the guy was pretty cool until I realized that he spends his life promoting quackery to cancer patients. Nevertheless, I enjoy his acting career and see it as a microcosm of a successful B-movie trajectory, with Death Match being the climax. Created outside of the major video studios, it has an unambitious story but a good production with a huge amount of martial talent. It’s required watching for fans of the subgenre and easily the best of Jacklin’s film career.

The story: An ex-fighter (Jacklin) goes undercover in a deadly fighting circuit to rescue his kidnapped best friend (Nicholas Hill).

I need to emphasize the state of the production, even though it may seem odd to praise a film for looking average. Keep in mind how easy it is for indie movies to turn out like crud. By all rights, Death Match should’ve been interchangeable with a typical Cine Excel production (underpopulated vistas, dubbed dialogue, etc.) but it’s actually indistinguishable from most Pepin-Merhi or Shapiro-Glickenhaus actioneers. As a matter of fact, it would be pretty aspirant for a PM or SG production, given the impressive list of names in the cast. To be fair, we sometimes only get a little taste of them – cult stars Richard Lynch and Jorge Rivero have only one scene apiece as Mafia bosses – but the list of talent goes on. Martin Kove and Matthias Hues are good as the lead villains, with Kove supplying the drama and Hues most of the fighting. Steven Leigh, Eric Lee, and Benny Urquidez don’t have any fights but do well in their dramatic scenes. Michele Krasnoo, Butch Togisala, Randall Ideishi, Ed Neal and Peter Cunningham partake in some of the highlighted brawls, and many more show up elsewhere. If these names aren’t clicking, you haven’t been watching movies like this long enough. The sheer accumulation of performers with reputations in the genre is amazing, especially since your average PM production sometimes wouldn’t even spring for half.

Of course, presence isn’t as important as utilization. The real question is how good the 16 fight scenes are, and the answer is that they’re a mixed bag. On the bright side, there are no downright bad matches and the choreography is nicely varied – some street-fighting, some shoot boxing, and even a lone stick fight. There are some some surprisingly long shots highlighting lengthy exchanges, and a few performers have standout moments of action. (I really enjoyed the Matthias Hues-Dino Homsey bout.) However, for the most part, nobody performs the best work of their career. Michele Krasnoo is made the least of, being introduced as a fighter but then only engaging in half a match. I have the impression that the choreographers were simply stretched too thin by crafting this many fights on a limited schedule. If so, then I wish the number of brawls had been cut in half and the remaining ones given more flair.

Socially, the movie has good points and bad points. Where the latter is concerned, the fact that two women are cast in fighting roles is undermined by the female lead (Renee Allman) abandoning the sparks of characterization to play a formulaic love interest. Additionally, a sexual harasser (played by Bob Wyatt) is inexplicably made a supporting character. However, I like that the movie seems to be championing an anti-capitalist message, using organized crime and fighting as metaphors. The villains trap fighters in a system that depends on their toil while devaluing their lives, and the same villains consider theft against them to be the single greatest crime. Threatening their income by refusing to fight by their rules is likewise punishable. The protagonist sets himself apart from this system by having abandoned organized fighting and claiming to compete solely “for the competition” - not exactly a fair outlook in light of all the pro fighters in real life who earn their income via competition, but it’s nevertheless a repudiation of the metaphorical wage slavery in the feature. Death Match isn’t The Godfather when it comes to allegory, but it’s effective in delivering its message.

There’s a moment in the film when Jacklin’s character is weirded out by Martin Kove’s belief in the supernatural powers of crystals. Retrospectively, it’s funny to see Jacklin in the role of the skeptic (even though crystal power seems to be one of the few areas of nonsense that Ian hasn’t stated a belief in), but I have to admit that he does well enough as the lead. He doesn’t have quite the charisma of, say, Don Wilson, but that’s not to say he wouldn’t have made a good star in the long run. Indeed, I wish he would’ve been handed another top role before the end of the martial arts genre’s video golden age. Nevertheless, his undisputed high point here is worth hunting down if you’re a collector. Death Match encapsulates many of the essentials seen in movies like this and adds just enough of an inspired touch earn a recommendation from me. Check it out wherever you can.

SOURCE

Death Match (1994) Directed by Joe Coppoletta (The New Adventures of Robin Hood) Written by Curtis Gleaves (story & screenplay), Bob Wyatt, Steve Tymon (Ring of Fire II: Blood and Steel) Starring Ian Jacklin (Kickboxer 3), Martin Kove (The Karate Kid), Matthias Hues (Bounty Tracker), Renee Allman (The Stoned Age) Cool costars: Martial arts regulars Steven Vincent Leigh (Sword of Honor) and Eric Lee (Ring of Fire) appear in acting roles but don’t fight. Similarly, kickboxing hall of famer Benny Urquidez (Wheels on Meals) is limited to a training montage but offers his Jet Center studio as a filming location. Sexy pro wrestler Stevie “Puppet” Lee appears as the arena gong beater. Richard Lynch (Puppet Master III) and Jorge Rivero (Centennial) have one scene apiece as non-fighting Mafiosos. Onscreen fighters include Nicholas Hill (Bloodsport II), Michele Krasnoo (Kickboxer 4), Ed Neal (Breathing Fire), Butch Togisala (Firepower), Dino Homsey (Deadly Bet), Randall Shiro Ideishi (Black Scorpion), Debra “Madusa” Miceli (Shootfighter II), Jamie Krasnoo (Full Contact), and Nick Koga (Red Sun Rising). A performer called Hector Pena appears in a stick fight, but I’m not sure whether he’s the actual Hector “Aztec Warrior” Peña, world champion fighter. Also, kickboxing legend Peter Cunningham is inexplicably credited as “Peter ‘Sugarfoot’ London” - leading to a snafu on IMDb where the film credit goes to porn actor Peter London. Cool crew: Composer Marco Beltrani – who’d go on to earn two Oscar nominations for his work on The Hurt Locker (2008) and 3:10 to Yuma (2007) – makes his feature composition debut with this one. He is directly heard on the soundtrack playing guitar and keyboards. Content warning: Group violence, violence against women, violence against children, sexual harassment, sexual assault, ableist dialogue, graphic description of an execution Title refers to: Either the main attraction of the underground fight ring or the fights-to-the-death taking place at the end of the film. A “death match” also refers to a hardcore pro wrestling contest – a fact which may be relevant in light of stunt coordinator Brandon Pender’s history as a World Championship Wrestling producer. Cover accuracy: Different covers exist, but the most widely-distributed one is dominated by an image of Matthias Hues. Hues is one of the two lead villains, but relegating leading man Ian Jacklin to a teeny-tiny graphic is misleading. Heck, Jacklin can’t even get top billing, with Hues and Martin Kove claiming the large print. Number of full-length fight scenes: 16 Crazy credit: “No music by Giancomo Puccini was used in connection with this picture” - even though Richard Lynch’s character specifically mentions the composer’s works. Copyright Horseplay Productions, Inc.

[septemaria]

my thoughts on the all for the game series [spoilers ahead!]

so i actually finished the first book a while ago and then decided i was never going to go near the series again (i lied) but then i saw how cheap the books were on kindles so i picked up the series again! this post is going to be extremely text heavy and divided into three sections (one for each book)

i. the foxhole court

i’m not gonna lie, this book was my most disliked out of the whole series but i do have to say that it did capture my attention right away

there were so many unanswered mysteries at first (how did neil know kevin from childhood? who was neil’s father? why are aaron and andrew so loathing of each other?)

so honestly when matt, allison, renee, and dan were introduced i was literally ‘wow i love them so much if anything happened to any of them i’d kill everyone in this room and then myself’ but tbh that’s me with all of them at this point

i really hated the first time they went to columbia, i think it was my first real impression of andrew and honestly i wanted to push the monsters down a manhole

the whole televised interview part with kevin, neil, and riko was really intense and i wanted to backhand riko so hard gosh

seth just? died? i was really confused at first but he wasn’t really introduced and i guess his death came right after he was introduced but damn that got dark quickly

when andrew started to protect neil i liked him a bit more but we all know that he protected neil bc he likes him not because of kevin

ii. the raven king

the foxes are finally! freaking! cooperating! this took way too long ngl

every time neil trashtalks the ravens/moriyamas two years get added onto my lifespan

neil just kinda knocked kevin and aaron down from their personal ranks inside of the monsters and honestly? iconiqué

the whole drake scene during thanksgiving was kind of disgusting and uncomfortable for me so i just kinda skimmed through it and kept going so we’re not gonna talk a lot about that here

neil legitimately told riko to shut the fuck up and then later proceeded to hit riko i love my disaster son

and the foxes began climbing their way to championships and i actually hate sports but if exy was a real sport i would 12/10 watch it

iii. the king’s men

okay i just actually finished reading this book so you’re gonna get an actual review because i actually remember it lol

so the team is seeing through neil’s bullshit now and i just wanted neil to tell them the truth so bad

that whole christmas break section (did this happen in the second or third book? who knows) was so infuriating for me because i actually wanted to kick riko in the nose

so andrew and neil 👀 the sexual tension was getting way too much for me i just needed them to kiss

btw i like andrew now his character arc is the kind of arc i aspire my grades to have

the whole counting down texts neil kept getting were giving me anxiety because we KNEW that it had something to do with his father ugh

yeah anyways i literally screamed when lola started burning and cutting neil up okay i’m so upset

nathan sr. is actually such an asshole i can’t believe he only got two years in jail

i don’t even know how stuart hatford knew neil was in trouble but thank god he saved neil

neil! finally! told! the! team! i was so happy and they were so supportive i love my fox family

i don’t know when the team caught on to andrew/neil but that one remark aaron made to neil was not okay (you know the one i’m talking about)

okay neil striking a deal with ichirou was really unexpected but oh well i guess

we only got a glimpse towards jeremy but i would die for him he’s so sweet

kevin got his two tattoo coverup that’s my boy right there i’m so proud

the foxes! beat! the ravens! that will be the only time i will ever get excited about sports

andrew was not afraid to come at riko for even thinking of hurting his boyfriend and i gasped so hard at that scene like goddamn

coach tetsuji being fired and then ichirou murdering riko was. something. i was literally s h o o k and i was like? oh my god?

now for my thoughts on the series as a whole

so this series had a lot of triggering content and it was way darker than i expected and that was kind of a turn off but the way nora writes is really smooth and fun to read, the content was super interesting and capturing

the book is extremely plot heavy and even now i still have a difficult time remembering key events or even just significant internal drama that happened

it did bother me that the canonically asian characters were all villains or gangsters/mafia members, it put a negative light on the canon asians in the series as a whole

i did really like the way nora portrayed neil’s relationship with his mother, with her being abusive but neil still loving her, i think she did a really realistic portrayal of what that’s like

consent was a big part of this series and it makes me so happy that this is actually being shown in books nowadays

i kind of wanted more of kevin? we were shown his backstory and we had a vague idea of underneath kevin’s hard exterior there was something more and i feel like he had so much potential than being a character that was off to the side 

and while we’re at that, we know most of the team’s backstories but i think it’d be really cool to get shortstories on them growing up or being recruited to the team (matt, allison, renee, dan, nicky)

are we going to get more of the characters? i didn’t think i would fall in love with the characters and the series this much but boy was i wrong