#sophia also deserved more than to play a token character

[cocomoraine]

And kids, that's why you don't hire ✨white men✨, to write shows they don't understand.

[therealtsk]

tsk i’m DYING to hear your play-by-play on which worm characters have dumb fanon interpretations

UH OH YOU JUST OPENED THE FLOODGATES so the short answer is pretty much every major character but I am a high-effort bitch so let's do this: Taylor Hebert: jfc, I could probably hit a word count limit talking about Taylor alone. First you have the dumb as shit TINO (Taylor In Name Only) phenomenon where people just straight up SI as Taylor but pretend it's her and she's basically a different person wearing Taylor's skin like an ill-fitting suit. Then there's the Memetic Escalator Taylor interpretation where Taylor's Warlord era characterization is flanderized so hard that she turns into her world's version of Doomguy where her response to literally everything is ultra violence, mutilation and torture and she can totally beat up anyone you guys hahah coin sock goes brrrrr you go brutalize those totally deserving victims queen. And then there's shy, stuttering, soft spoken "useless lesbian" Taylor which is not as common but still, fuckin straight men and the way they infantize gay women. Taylor is perhaps the most consistently inconsistent characterization I've seen in fandom, it's fucking wild Lisa Wilbourn: Has two fanon settings. Taylor's best friend who exists solely to give exposition and get the "Stop Coil" subplot rolling (occasional gay subtext will be added in a way that feels fetishy) Or, the evil bitchy blonde who is first target of the SI. I constantly wonder if the people who write the frankly masturbatory SI's are aware that we can tell they're still bitter about girls not dating them in highschool. Brian: basically does not exist in fic aside from the occasional joke cause racism and also because of how popular wlw ships are in Worm fandom. you deserve better dude Alec: has a few token appearances in wormfic fandom that usually have him as the comic relief alongside Aisha, which might actually be for the best considering he's a rapist and the Worm fandom's uhhhh tendencies. Moving on- Aisha: prankster girl that alt!Taylor will adopt as a younger sibling. hopefully is not part of the totally-not-a-harem considering she's even younger then the rest of these teens Bitch: Another girl to fall into alt!Taylor's definitely-not-a-harem, but with more butch tendencies. Basically has no personality in fanon outside of her dogs Parian: SHE DOESN'T HAVE A SHOP FFS also another member of Taylor's totally-not-a-harem Flechette: yeah it's a harem Sophia: holy shit you think Brian's bad? The racism in pretty much every fanon depiction of Sophia is off the charts. Hyper-violent, super edgy, "predator/prey" speech inbound, will get humilated/killed in some new, supposedly satisfying but actually just deeply uncomfortable way, probably throw in some E88 shit too just because Emma: again, do the writers know we can tell they're still malding over the fact that the pretty girls in highschool didn't date them? fanon emma is pretty much a cardboard cut out of whoever was mean to the author. something something bitches three Madison: in fanon has a C53 fetish, occasionally is also Browbeat. don't ask why Victoria: gets hit with the blonde stereotypes even harder then Lisa, "Collateral Damage Barbie" is one of the phrases that activates my flight or fight responses. she basically is an entirely different character in fanon. bubbly dumb blonde girl with a massive temper and well other sexist bullshiit Amy: I hate even touching this character with a ten foot pole but basically is hit with the "soft useless lesbian" trope hard enough to make her into a completely separate person from her canon self. whether or not this is a good thing is still up for debate Carol: in fanon, an evil bitch who exists solely to bully Amy Mark: who? The rest of New Wave: cannon fodder for Leviathan Danny Hebert: literally stale milk instead of a personality, will probably die before the fic is over but we won't care because the author did not care either Armsmaster: hahaha robotman go brrrr or is an arrogant self-aggrandizing shit, can't interact with people without Dragon helping him 24/7 Miss Militia: fanon bat'd into team mom,

idk where this came from considering her first instinct upon seeing children is to pull out a gun holy shit wait is she actually Taylor's true mom- Velocity: canon fodder for levi Battery & Assault: sitcom wife, sitcom husband! please ignore how fucked up this relationship is if you look at it for more than two seconds Dauntless: haha armsy is JEALOUS also cannon fodder for levi Triumph: who? The BB wards in general tend to be incredibly bland, the only ones who have fanon personalities of note are Clockblocker and Vista. The former being such a huge prankster that every other line is a joke- or him complaining about how BULLSHIT Alt!Taylor's powers are. Vista is an angry kiddo who says that Shadow Stalker doesn't count as being a girl on the team The E88: no personality for any of them except that Kaiser is noble and really isn't that bad and also Purity did nothing wrong totally she's just a hot mom trying to do her best, please ignore how she exclusively targets characters of color and literally calls white criminals more civilized than miniorities- the worm fandom has something of a nazi problem i hate it here The ABB: racism and honorable samurai lung even though that has no canon basis so again, racist stereotypes The Slaughterhouse 9: This one makes me just as sad as the Lisa shit because dear god this is such a good cast of villains that fanon completely flattens to bowling pins for the Alt!Taylor of the week to mow down, why does this fandom suck so much. Anyway Jack is just the Joker, Crawler is masochistic, etc i'm moving on now The PRT/Protectorate as a whole: They are an evil paramilitary organization that pressgangs kids into signing up to become child soldiers, and somehow at the same time, they are a bunch of idiots who listen to the PR department and have stupid things like RULES that prevent capes from COMMITTING VIOLENCE. Being called "the biggest gang of all" is common and some shit like "at least the criminals are honest" is a likely statement. Cauldron: whoo boy this one really boils my blood but fanon Cauldron are just a bunch of evil idiots who can't even tie their shoelaces. basically a bunch of dudebros are upset that women run the world and that two of them essentially have "I win" powers so they have to make them lose to their SI- er, Taylor in fics so they can assuage their masculinity, which totally isn't pathetic Scion: Is at once the end all be all of worm you can't write a wormfic without scion or else it's TOTALLY MEANINGLESS because what is the point of a story if all the characters are going to DIE in a few years anyway, and at the same time is incredibly easy to defeat- this ties into how Cauldron is stupid. Scion Truthers pls shut up and go read something else okay I think that's everyone I would apologize but the only thing I'm sorry for is how messy this is

[thelanguageoflovers]

so you’re trying to understand sophia and i’s jatp universe

@localspacelesbian​​ and I never intended for this to get so out of hand, but then it did, so here we are. We’ve got a few wips going, so I figured it was about time to get around to one of these.

it’s okay if you’re lost, because so are we! here’s a little guide to help you out (:

CHARACTERS:

The Lacrosse Team:

Spencer Montgomery-Wright: Our pride and joy. He’s on the lacrosse team, and can be seen being bewildered with Nick when the guys show up during ‘Bright’. Some have referred to him as the guy who is called ‘Letterman Jacket Guy’ on IMDb - these people are wrong. Letterman Jacket Guy is a white blonde guy. Spencer is black. He’s in the design program at their school and designs costumes for all the ballets. 

He and Nick have been best friends since they were little, and have exchanged stuffed animals (Nick gave Spencer a stuffed penguin named Texas, and Spencer returned the favor with a stuffed elephant named Oklahoma). They’re total astronomy dorks (Spencer calls Nick ‘Tor’ after Copernicus, and Nick calls Spencer ‘Cass’ after Cassini). They’re also in love, but they’re still working through that. 

Connor Nesbitt: The aforementioned ‘Letterman Jacket Guy’. He’s the captain of the lacrosse team, the very definition of a himbo. He’s in the cinematic arts program, but, like, really likes history.

Nick Danforth-Evans: Pretty self-explanatory, but the Danforth-Evans theory is canon in the SACU (Sophia and Adalie Cinematic Universe).

Chris McMillan: Chris is a sweetheart. He’s in the theater program but wants to be a farmer and raise sheep when he grows up. He just really likes farm animals, okay?

Barry O’Hara: A good dude! He’s in the dance program, and his Special Interest is linguistics and communication.

Rasheed Bakir: Rasheed!! He’s a bit of a running joke in our work, as he constantly hurts his legs and feet. He’s been known to ride in Connor’s car with a broken ankle hanging out the window. It’s fine. He’s in the theater program, hates Shakespeare more than anything, and is dating Ari Price.

Ari Price: Just a lil visual arts program kid. Constantly so worried about Rasheed. The Ultimate mom friend; his backpack is the equivalent of Alex’s fanny pack, and he makes a very good soup when one of the guys is sick.

Leo Montgomery: He’s Spencer’s cousin! Very buff and a little bit scary but is a whole teddy bear. He’s in the music program, and is so tired of watching Nick and Spencer pine. He’s a science nerd, except for biology. Fuck biology. All his homies hate biology.

Percy Mayer: We love Percy so much. He’s a Ballet Boy, and he’s fake dating a girl in ballet named Constance Hansen. He’s probably aro, but is still a little confused about that.

Oren Summers: Oren is a freshman in the visual arts program. Kind of just one of those nice guys you meet in school who are just cool to be around.

Grayson Radcliffe: Grayson plays the french horn in the music program, and is in our token heterosexual relationship with Jennifer Brickaday.

Dirty Candi

Kayla Lavelle: Y’all know Kayla. We named her ‘Lavelle’ because we went with a color based system and, yk, lavender.

Jennifer Brickaday: Yellow Candi! Dating Grayson, and we just don’t deserve her. Brickaday is a reference to the yellow brick road.

Andrea Turkis: Miss Turquoise Candi! Probably our favorite candi - she’s a lesbian and just gives the best hugs. (Turkis means turquoise in several languages.)

Velma Williams: Orange Candi! Straight up the coolest person alive. She’s aro, and helps Percy sort out his sexuality. Just really likes dinosaurs, you know? (Williams is for William of Orange)

Mary Brooks: Not a member of Dirty Candi, but their manager. Totally not in love with Julie what are you talking about that’s bananas (Mary - marron (brown) and Brooks is just a slightly less on-the-nose version of Brown).

Those Done Dirty:

Flynn Chadwick: Chat means cat in french, but we wanted Chadwick because it sounded neat.

Willie Greenwood: He just gives us green vibes I don’t know what to tell you

The Families:

The Danforth-Evans Family: Nick, Ryan, and Chad are a given. Nick also has a little sister named Phoebe Danforth-Evans. Phoebe is a gymnast and general rascal.

The Montgomery-Wright Family: Buckle up, y’all. Spencer has seven pets. - Laura Montgomery: Mom #1. Very chill, but very protective. - Francesca ‘Franny’ Wright: Mom #2. Just the sweetest, but is willing to cause harm to a bitch if necessary. - Dog: Herbert Fitzhoover (the light of all of our lives) - Cats: Tongs, Spoon, and Spatula. They’re just like old gay men. No further comment. - Bird: Chicken the parakeet. Spencer found him at the airport and just... brought him home. - Roomba: BoBo. Very Good Boy. - Kinda Penguin: Texas (a lesbian icon, married to Oklahoma)

The Chadwick Family:  - Dad: Nico Chadwick. Just, like, a really good dad. Living the life. - Older Brother: Andrew Chadwick. Absolute nerd, away at university, drinks his respecting women juice every day. - Younger Sisters: Rachel & Eliza Chadwick. Twins - they love tormenting Flynn. - Cat: Snoopy. The love of my life.

The Wilson Family:  - Cat: Peanut!! love him

The Mercer Family: - Alex’s Younger Sister: Annabelle ‘Annie’ Mercer. Deaf, has a bright pink hearing aid. Wants to be just like her big brother (is already halfway there, being that she is wildly queer).

RUNNING AND INSIDE JOKES:

Octoslashers III: Octoslashers shows up as some form of media in every fic we write. Every single one.

Twister: Alex is a GOD at Twister, and there’s no debating this.

Rasheed’s Leg: Rasheed breaks his leg, foot, or ankle somehow in every fic. He’s trying.

The Caleb Chew-Out: Let’s just say I’m making it my mission to write a scene into every fic of ours where a character yells at Caleb, and everyone is going to get their turn. 

Oklahomas: Oklahoma and Texas are soulmates in every universe. 

questions? let me know! i’ll add the answers (:

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Black Panther (2018)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, nine times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Six (40% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine.

Positive Content Rating:

Three (though it’s worth reminding that this rating is based on the positivity of the content in relation to the female characters, not in general - there’s some real top-shelf content in here, otherwise. Still a very happy three for the ladies anyway, for that matter).

General Film Quality:

High-end. The commitment to nuanced storytelling is impeccable, grappling with all angles of a complex hypothetical far better than could have been anticipated. This is a movie which never loses sight of its own importance, while also never getting too bogged down in it to be entertaining. Earns every ounce of the hype.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Nakia gives her condolences to the Queen Mother. The Queen chastises Shuri. Nakia compliments Okoye’s wig. Nakia negotiates entrance to the club with Sophia. Nakia and Okoye conflict over loyalties. Nakia passes with the Queen Mother after Killmonger takes over, twice. Shuri and Nakia go into battle. They pass together later.

Female characters:

Okoye.

Nakia.

The Queen Mother (technically not a name, but I’m allowing it as a title).

Shuri.

Sophia.

Ayo.

Male characters:

Erik ‘Killmoger’ Stevens/N’Jadaka.

N’Jobu.

Zuri.

T’Chaka.

T’Challa.

Ulysses Klaue.

M’Baku.

W’Kabi.

Everett Ross.

OTHER NOTES:

I’m not sure if T’Challa ruining Nakia’s anti-HUMAN TRAFFICKING mission because he wants her around for emotional support is a very endearing intro for his character in this film...I mean, sure, they rescue the people in the convoy, but presumably there was more to the mission (otherwise Nakia wouldn’t complain that it was ruined), and T’Challa prioritises his feelings over both Nakia’s work, and the lives of all the people it effects. Coulda avoided the negative implications there with just a little fine-tuning in the dialogue.

“Nah, I’m just feelin’ it.” Michael B Jordan has such a great energy about him; he’s very, very convincing, in a role which could have broken the film if it were poorly cast.

But you know what? I fucking LOVE M’Baku, he’s my personal fave for the movie. That presence. This is an excruciatingly well-cast film (among other virtues).

I’m Hella into that Lion King vibe when communing with the spirit realm, too.

Erik shoots his unnamed girlfriend for nothing more than the drama of it, and that is not one of this film’s virtues.

Shuri calling Ross ‘coloniser’ is just...so good. There’s a lot about this film that is a reclamation, in big and obvious in-text ways, but there are also these kinds of little impactful choices which contextualise Wakanda’s relationship to the world and its history, and that kind of detailing is the difference between posturing, and playing for real.

The music in this movie? Also great. Traditional African and modern African-American, representing the interweave of themes and ideologies in-story? Fucking gold. They did not skimp on details in putting this movie together with intelligent design, and I am Hella into it.

M’Baku just fucking BARKING at Ross when he dares speak before him is the highlight of the whole film. It’s perfect. 

A friend of mine has suggested that there must be a missing scene or two in this movie, wherein the Queen Mother convinces M’Baku to go into battle after all, since as-is he just kinda...changes his mind off-screen and she serves no narrative purpose at all. It’s unfortunate such a linking scene is missing, as it would have significantly enhanced both characters and helped to emotionally underpin the final act of the film, which is comparatively weak. 

But anyway, M’Baku is my best dude in this movie. I love a huge man in a grass skirt.

The whole idea that W’Kabi and Okoye have a relationship at all is kinda nonexistent; we wouldn’t know about it at all if she hadn’t called him ‘my love’ that one time. Coulda beefed that up better, i.e. at all.

“Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew that death was better than bondage.” Michael B Jordan delivered every aspect of this character with such raw power and sincerity, y’all. He hits it straight home.

It goes without saying that there was a lot of pressure for this film to be good: a big-budget superhero action movie, part of the most lucrative cinema franchise in the world right now, taking on an afro-futuristic setting with an almost exclusively black cast? The potential for Black Panther to come off as little more than lip service paid to representation, ‘too PC’, lacking the guts to acknowledge the breadth of the racism that inevitably informs it, perhaps even falling dangerously toward racist cliches of its own...there is no other film of its kind, and as such, Black Panther could not escape being judged as more than an individual story on its own, as a representation of an entire continent’s worth of people and culture and what they could bring to an industry which has made an aggressive point of shutting them out in the past. The pressure was well and truly on to provide not only financial success put also critical acclaim, and boy oh boy, did they rise to the occasion or what?

The centrepiece of Black Panther’s success is Michael B Jordan as Erik Killmonger, striking a precise balance between the heat of well-deserved fury, and the chilling calculation of his revenge. Killmonger’s rhetoric is compelling, and it is the meeting point of the film’s threads, of Wakandan tradition, of the country’s privilege in the midst of colonial oppression and the dire morality of its secrecy, of the call of the wider world and the determining of one’s place within it. It’s vitally important that Killmonger makes sense, right up until he doesn’t - a good villain should always feel like someone you could almost follow, if only they weren’t taking things that one step too far - narratively, this is in an important pitch, but it’s also vital for the context of the viewing audience, the acknowledgement and the validation of that rage at injustice (without which, the film would come off as pandering to white guilt), but without the promotion of violent eye-for-an-eye solutions. Killmonger’s anger is never condemned, only the actions he perpetrates in the name of that anger; the viewer is forced to acknowledge the reality that made Killmonger what he is, but without being encouraged to forgive; only to understand.

I am hardly the first to observe that it is Nakia, not T’Challa, who represents the foil to Killmonger’s ideology, recognising and stirring to action at the injustice’s wrought upon the African people, but seeing in Wakanda the potential to offer unprecedented assistance rather than the opportunity for the oppressed to become the oppressor. The film is populated with character counter-balances, and it validates each perspective (while also illuminating shortcomings) to enhance the overall narrative, rather than equivocating too strenuously to make any point; Nakia values people like Okoye values her country, and while Nakia is right that blind patriotism fails the country if it allows tyranny, the strength of Okoye’s conviction is exactly what inspires the loyalty of those who follow her in the protection of Wakandan values; while Shuri ‘scoffs at tradition’ and leans entirely on the unending machine of technological progress, M’Baku and his people are safeguarding traditional practices and keeping ancient knowledge alive, which saves T’Challa when there’s no tech around - by the same token, without the protective blanket of technological progress, the Jabari would not be free to live as they do. There is good sense in the perspective which every character brings, and all of them are required in symbiosis to achieve a full picture of cultural identity. 

In that broad conversation of identity and place in the world, if there’s one weak link, it’s the Black Panther himself, T’Challa. Not that he’s a weak character or that Chadwick Boseman is a weak actor - it’s just that he’s being thoroughly outplayed by all around him. It’s a good thing in regards to how well-cast the movie is and how it fleshes out its supporting players (in spite of the missing pieces pointed out in the notes above); in an overall-lesser film, the lead being the least compelling character - and especially with such a powerfully-constructed antagonist opposite him - could be a crippling flaw, but as-is Black Panther is pulling out enough stops to get away with having an under-sold Black Panther at its head. That, really, is a testament to the power of the story, and the work being done by everyone involved to tell the tale with tact, with dynamism, with all the colour and flavour the white-washed film industry has been denying all this time. We could talk about its flaws, sure, but there doesn’t seem to be much point - none of them are fatal, none are even particularly egregious, and the achievements of the movie far outweigh any quality blips along the way. Black Panther is a measured, sensitive triumph, and there’s a part of me that - in the best of ways - almost forgets that I’m watching a Marvel movie, a cash-grab - sure, they want to make money out of it, but this feels above all like a passion project. Passion like this, so fully-realised, I am not inclined to fault.

[its-a-queer-thing]

There is a shortage of trans actors tho. I get what you're saying but trans people are in society a very small group. I've looked it up recently and I saw a number between 0.1% and 0.5% of the population. Of course there are also just few trans actors. but personally while I watch a movie I wanna see a great performance, feelings, introspection. I know EF and Laverne and both are just not great. If in an audition a cis actor is better, the part should go to him. It's meritocracy. (1)

(2) To me it’s like saying we should let people with MI play characters with MI. What Cam knows about being manic or super depressed or how meds affect your mind/body? He doesn’t. It’s the art of acting. As a woman I would love to get a job because I deserve it not because I’m a woman. If a trans actor is really good, I’m happy if he gets the job. But, no, I dont think trans actors should be the only ones playing trans characters. The same way I dont have problems with trans actors playing cis.

If my tone here comes off rude or attacking, I swear I don’t mean it. I’m just really passionate about EVERYTHING xD

I’m actually willing to bet that there isn’t a shortage of trans actors but that casting directors aren’t looking for/at them. There just aren’t very many trans characters being written  in general and then of those a good portion of these roles are being given to cis people–which is the problem that we are talking about. How can we estimate if there is a shortage of trans actors or not if there are a shortage of trans roles and most of those roles are being played by cis people? In example, the Danish Girl: Eddie Redmayne was basically cast immediately and the second choice was Nicole Kidman–two cis actors were the first thought for a trans character based on a HISTORIC trans figure; and yes, I have a problem with that. The director said he considered a trans actor for the role, but considering there was no actual effort to find a trans actor I’m not sure how much I believe that. I may be a little critical in saying, but I think he was covering his ass after he got backlash. Just calling that one for how I see it. Now, that’s not to say that Eddie didn’t do a phenomenal job! He did his absolute best and people loved it! I myself can’t vouch for the performance because I unfortunately have still not had the chance to watch it–so I’m going to assume he did a kickass job because that’s all I heard. It just goes to show that Hollywood isn’t exactly going the extra mile to look for trans actors to play these roles to even audition against cis actors. Which, at least if there is a pool of cis and trans actors in a casting call and a cis person gets it, at least there was an effort made. I guarantee there are plenty of trans actors trying to make it but aren’t being seen or promoted. To be clear: no one is saying that cis actors are INCAPABLE of playing trans characters. They are. The problem is about trans visibility. How are we supposed to make social progress by showing trans characters through a cis perspective/body? It’ll make SOME progress but it’s time to push the envelope and give trans people their own distinct voice.

Sidenote: completely disagree with you on Laverne. Sophia is effing amazing not just in how she’s written but in how Laverne plays her. And I’ve seen some other scenes from other parts she’s had and Laverne has always rocked the show.

Also, keep in mind that you’re offering percentages and the US has a population of well over 325 million. There is an estimated 1.4 million ADULTS who identify as trans just in the USA. That’s 1. an estimation because there may be a significant number of adults who won’t even report that they are trans and 2. not even including adolescents under the age of 18 but still identify as trans. My point being the trans community is much bigger than you may realize and just because they make up a small percentage of a massive population, that doesn’t translate to a small number of actual people and doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to be well represented in media and respected. On a grand scale, they aren’t understood, well represented, or respected in media–and that’s a problem. They are frequently misunderstood and are still more likely than just about any minority group to suffer discrimination and violence. They NEED media exposure because that is how to spread awareness and educate.

Finally, I already said that it was a good move to start out hiring cis actors to play trans characters because in the beginning there was no way that uneducated audiences would go to a major film about trans issues starring a new actor who is also a trans person without some resistance. We are beyond that phase now, though, where trans actors can absolutely start telling their own stories with a more accepting audience where any haters are more likely to be educated. Also, no where did I say that a cis part should go to a trans actor/actress just because they are trans. That’s ridiculous. That’s token minority at it’s finest and that’s bullshit because all that does is make it harder for the minority community to be taken seriously or to be fully understood. The most talented actor or actress should get the role every single time regardless of gender identity/expression, race/color, or sexual orientation. If they fit what the casting directors are calling for, or CAN fit that type, and they are the most talented person to show up, they should get it. Also, you completely lost me with the mental illness argument. I already said that cis actors who played trans characters are probably doing their best and are doing a great job. My point isn’t about ability. The problem is that true trans people don’t have a voice in hollywood and that needs to change. True trans people have the right to share their experiences, their stories, and explain  their stance.

I’m also not saying it needs to be this way forever. In fact, I’m saying the opposite. I’m saying for now, let the trans actors have their turn, work on integrating more trans actors into cis roles, and eventually it won’t even matter anyway. Eventually we will get to the point where we don’t have to be up in arms about who is playing what. We just aren’t there yet.

Much love, anon.

[ajnerdess]

Long post warning and possible spoilers ahead but I saw IT last night and honestly...... it was perfect.

It was like the perfect cross between Stand by Me, the Goonies and old fashioned, well put together, scary not just gory horror films. Beyond that, there were so many references to the original mini-series and the book without looking cheesy, obvious or thrown in last minute, every single one of the child actors was amazing. It’s no secret that I cannot abide children in the slightest but this film has actually made me want to not just love and protect the characters but also the cast. The film was as hilarious as it was creepy, Finn Wolfhard and Jack Grazer stole the show as Richie and Eddie.

 Bill NAILED the role of Pennywise and I mean nailed it. I had only seen a few episodes of Hemlock Grove and tbh, wasn’t impressed, the dialogue was terrible and a lot of it seemed cheesy and Bill didn’t really stand out much to me personally but dammit if he wasn’t perfect as Pennywise. The perfect creepy character with aspects of a playful clown he worked in enough to make it even creepier. The cinematography was stunning, literally stunning, for a film that’s set in such a small town with the sewers being the setting for a large portion of it, every single frame was beautiful and captured my imagination. I think the film captured the dark elements of the book without including some of King’s really over the top, too weird parts (stuff like the kid orgy and the animal abuse etc). 

Sophia Lillis was perfect as Bev, and to all the people saying they reduced her part to a damsel in distress, look again, she was the toughest of them all by far. People complaining about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father need to realise that shying away from those kinds of topics is worse. They approached it, as they should do because real people go through this shit and in the end, yes she suffered a lot of crap but she came through the other side as the toughest and literally only 10 minutes of the film was spent with her out of action, the rest of the film not only included her but made her a focal part of the film. Besides all of that, people need to be real, the book was written in the 80′s and there’s only so much the film can stray from the source material. King isn’t the writer to read/watch if you want something easy and innocent, I for one, would hate it if we didn’t have writers like him, he’s unafraid of the nitty gritty stuff and personally, there are things of his that I can’t read or watch because they disturbed me too much i.e. Pet Semetary, the mist etc. But I do my research before and avoid those things instead of spending forever ranting at the people who do enjoy it, like some tumblr users do to people who enjoyed this particular remake. 

I LOVE anything that is set in the 80′s, Breakfast club, stranger things, stand by me, st elmo’s fire etc etc so for me, this film perfectly encompassed everything 80′s that i love, the clothes, music, aesthetics, humour. I thought it was brilliant that the kids used swear words and made crude sex jokes, call me immature but that shit was hilarious and again, it’s realistic, 13 year old boys DO make jokes about that kind of stuff and especially in the novel.

Honestly, the only aspects of the film i thought could be improved on were the characterisation of Mike. The dude just seemed like he had less of a personality than the others and that was purely down to the script seeing as the actor was just as strong as the others. They should have given him a little bit more focus, especially considering that the bullies targeted him because they were racist, homophobic redneck fucks. The bullies did again seem a little one dimensional but then, they were in the miniseries too and King has a habit of making bullies dicks for the sake of it (one of the big reasons why Nostalgia Critic always calls out King).I also didn’t like that they pied off the Bev/Ben ‘romance’ for a Bev/Bill ‘romance’ just because it was almost like Ben, the token ‘fat kid’ was never going to be taken seriously as the love interest. At one point, i thought him getting the girl would be am interesting angle to go with but the film sadly decided to play it safe by fixing her up with the obvious choice. Made me feel way more for poor Ben though, which i guess is the up side to it. The parents being dicks and ignoring the kids also seemed a little patchy but i’m pretty sure a lot of these issues will be cleared up in the sequel, which i now, literally cannot wait for. I’m more excited for it than infinity war at this point. 

This remake is a perfect, perfect example of how a remake SHOULD be done, and I got shivers over how busy the cinema was, it’s amazing to think how many people went to go see a film that wouldn’t be considered a big cash cow like Marvel, DC, Harry Potter etc. I love it when cult films get the recognition they deserve.