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ashpentagram · 3 years ago

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how many of these am I gonna do fr

I’ve been mulling over wasting my time trying to give a whole speech as a decade-long writer about experiencing growth and gaining inspiration from various medias and go into a small dive into how refusing to grow by creating a fervent echo chamber will only harm your process and ruin a pretty feasible creation and turn it into a battlefield that just leaves everybody miserable, as well as leave you as a stunted writer from the early 2010s.

I basically wanna say that Viv has the potential and the resources to grow as a writer. Animator, designer, world-builder — set all of those aside and focus solely on the writing aspect.

Personally, Viv has astounding concepts. Her world creation, introducing these ideas and offering a different perspective are fantastic.

Her execution is piss-poor, to be blunt.

As a small contextual tangent — there’s a sad situation that any sort of critique on her writing is seen as an attack (both by her, and her fans) and anybody who wants to offer any sort of advice or feedback are shunned and written off as haters or nihilistic assholes. Don’t get me wrong, I feel as if there’s an annoying amount of people out there who just really hate Viv and all she is, and that’s stupid. The parasocial breech on both sides of the anti and stan spectrum is so absurd, because you have her crew (I understand they do not fall under parasocial due to actually working / communicating / “knowing” her) claiming her as innocent as a lamb, and her fans praising her like she’s the second-coming of Christ, and then you have antis who attempt to doxx her and send her incessant death threats and slander her name. Neither of these things are appropriate, even if one side is technically positive.

I don’t think Viv is a saint. I don’t think she’s the most atrocious person on the planet. I am simply a fellow writer and creator who is looking at her work and pointing out places where improvement can be made. I would be much more lenient and understanding if she was a beginner or an amateur, but she’s working professionally and has been working professionally for quite some time now. People who act like she’s some helpless writer because she doesn’t have the experience don’t understand she has been making overarching worlds and stories for a decade. As have I.

So, with that preamble aside, I wanna discuss the aforementioned echo chamber Viv has locked herself into. It’s relatively well-known by now that Viv cannot handle criticism. Most amateurs can’t — it’s hard to hear that somebody doesn’t like your work, or experience the initial feeling of not being good enough. I myself for the longest time hid away from criticism and wrote rather harsh responses to people when I got it. That was wrong of me, however I was also only somewhere between 11-15. Viv was 19 or 20 when zoophobia began to release, which to some people would still consider exceptionally young. However it’s been ten years since Zoophobia, and the same writing flaws are apparent.

We’re given a premise — be it simple or not — of a show or a comic that really digs in the interest of the audience. That’s how hooks work, and hooks are not always solid in the sense of being anything more to grab your audience and sit them down to invest in your story — however, when you look at your premise for the story as the hook, and treat it as all that it is, it’s much harder to stray from it and explore different ideas and perspectives without the audience feeling confused as to why so much has changed. In Zoophobia’s case, while yes, it was a hastily dropped project for the sake of Hazbin, it fell rather fast from its initial premise of following Cameron as she navigated her job as a councilor for creatures she was petrified of (hence the name). It was handed to us under the guise of us following her journey as she learned to sympathize with something she feared, as well as aid them despite her wariness and confusion. Granted, it was present throughout most of the comic, which is probably why I enjoyed it more than I currently enjoy Helluva Boss, but it had its moments of teetering away from Cameron — her story was essentially done within the first 7 chapters of the first book. She was warming up to the animals around her, and while she was still tentative, she handled her first counseling case with almost no discomfort. I feel like in the sense her growth was rushed, because Viv really wanted to move on and look to the other cast of the comic, and that’s completely valid. It’s hard not to rush to important parts, but that’s an amateur mistake.

The problem is this mistake never corrected itself due to the filtering of criticism under the pretense of it being nothing more than mindless hate. There is a subtlety to refinement, sure, don’t fix what isn’t broken, but don’t just let it sit and get old and worn either. In Zoophobia the hook was the story. By the end of the released content, the hook was abandoned for the additives, and I do personally enjoy Damian’s moments and learning more about the world, I won’t deny that it strayed very quickly from what grabbed us in the first place. In Helluva Boss, the book was little lowborn demons going to earth and killing people already-dead people wanted offed, as well as the boss of the ragtag team being tied down by the royal he outsmarted. It was an excellent idea, and I was beyond excited to be invested in it. I was invested until about episode 4, with the cracks growing cavernous the longer I mulled over the story and the actual implications and portrayals they were giving us.

I won’t deny that I was perhaps the harshest on episode 4 due to the angels being downright disappointing, but I also recognize that introducing heaven to us in any capacity in Helluva Boss instead of keeping those cards close to the chest for Hazbin was a drastically horrible choice in a writing aspect. Yes, I know there’s an appeal of showing the opposite side of the universe and how there’s an opposite to our main cast, but it shouldn’t have been on the table in the first place. Heaven was securely wrapped in intrigue and mystery for an explicit reason of “demons don’t know angels” hence Charlie’s naïveté. Showing us, and IMP experience angels and heaven was… terrible. It has completely isolated Heaven as a joke of pastel softness instead of a force to be reckoned with. Those exterminators gave us everything we needed to know about heaven and all that should have been given — giving us the CHERUBs in episode 4 has demolished Heaven into a ridiculous joke of “oh well they have these super cool murder angels, but there’s also stupid babies who get bested by Hell’s canonical lowest-born demons :)”

This is poor writing. This is jumping forward and abandoning your hook as easily as it was brought to the audience. Technically episode 2 was the first drop of IMP, but episode 4 really kicked us down.

Another episode that comes to mind with writing issues is episode 7. Episode 7 showed us that Stolas was so depressed and in love with Blitzø after the entire season showed us he exclusively fetishized him. So much as calling him the plaything Striker assumed Blitzø to be in episode 5. Stolas was never portrayed as being in love except for outside the “grey-area instagrams”. Relying on non-canonical posts to build a relationship where canon actively fights it has the same tonal dissonance of the merchandise showing Blitzø and Stolas perfectly happy and enjoying each others company when Blitzø has smiled a total of three times around Stolas in the entire season (two of which were Blitzø being cheeky, not genuine). Episode 7 felt as if it took place 20 episodes in and not 7, and relied so heavy on Stolas being a lovesick puppy that they made all the progress and context of the literal episode prior just jump down the drain head-first. Blitzø realizing his emotions towards Stolas are negative and he feels like he’s being used? Moxxie and Blitzø seemingly becoming more attuned to one another with newfound respect? Gone. It’s all gone. Blitzø is back to stalking Moxxie and Millie and ignoring their gripes, and the crew decide “oh well we’re gonna make it Blitzø’s fault that Stolas thinks it’s a date, because Blitzø’s growth is gone and we need him and the plot to roll along.”

Then we meet a spineless king of Hell Asmodeus, with his imp, Fizzarolli who is also Blitzø’s childhood friend. You can say whatever you want about these two, I don’t care, but their relationship in any capacity is really out of nowhere. They are a foil for Stolitz, and while they work, they also make no sense. I have a long-winded tangent for Fizz and Oz, I’ll really need to organize my thoughts on them because a lot of my gripes are built out of frustration of taking an easy-way out instead of really giving us the “dark” in dark comedy.

To be short, episode 7 did not feel connected to the series. It felt like it should have come much later, and acted as if it was hot shit when in reality it was flat and hamfisted. It was so desperate to give Stolitz an episode where their relationship was put on a pedestal, and then break it back down, but the fact they were building with rubble just made the thing a disaster.

Going into season two, the writing fell harder than it ever had. Somehow, somewhere, Viv decided making these two disasters into childhood friends, or at least, force them to meet as children. As to add insult to injury, they crumpled Stella’s character, they made Paimon a joke, and they made Blitzø subjected to literally being sold by his father and bought by Stolas’s. Idk about you but even if I was capable of loving somebody romantically, if I knew my parents bought them to spend time with me, I’d instantly lose all attraction because of how disgusting that situation would be perceived as. Also as I’m writing this, I’m wondering where the hell Stolas was when Paimon was talking to Cash, since Paimon left Cash’s tent with his butler but like. Where’s the kid. Did they just forget Paimon had gone with Stolas? It could’ve been as simple as showing Stolas sneaking off to see Blitzø after the show and him, Blitzø and Fizz interacting with each other.

Anyway. Episode 1 of s2 was a mess. It single-handedly tore down everything coherent in the prior season. I don’t know how you manage to do that, but I guess when you’re stuck in an echo-chamber and hellbent on forcing every imaginable trope into your favorite ship, Viv is sacrificing quality for self indulgence. And yes, doing what you want to do is completely valid, and you don’t have to care what people think, but the fact you play it for excellency and perfection and astounding ground-breaking storytelling when in reality it’s just glorified yaoi fanfiction is disastrous. Add all of these with a rabid fan base that white-knights Viv at every chance because during a time period where she was genuinely being harassed over long-old issues she’s consistently apologized and grown from, the fan base has this weird conditioning that everything that goes against her is an intent to destroy their “perfect queer demon show.”

I don’t even have the energy for discussing season 2 episode 2, since it’s basically just digging its grave as hard as it can. It had a great moment with showing us Loona’s backstory and finally giving me a crumb of dark content, but other than that, it was a flat and boring episode. The writing was subpar since it couldn’t decide what it wanted to do, and bloated itself when it literally didn’t need to.

I’ve been writing this post over the course of three or two days now, I can’t remember but just recently Erin Frost made another post about Viv and while this isn’t the place I want to discuss it, the fandom has been saying some truly disgusting things towards a victim and I think y’all need to think about what you’re saying to people. What if all of these allegations are true? What if Viv really did say these things and really was harming her workers? Would you like these things said to you if you were in Erin’s place? What happened to you all preaching kindness and being a welcoming community? Seriously. Just sit and think for once before you say something so abysmally cruel. Viv is not gonna give you a one-way ticket to exclusive content just because you called somebody a slur.

I’ve strayed really far from the initial topic of this post which was the lack of letting yourself hearing criticism will only harm you and leave you ignorant. Viv should know by now how to write something coherent, yet she fails to do so. She should know that criticism is an excellent gateway to growth and understanding your work and how to create. Criticism is not going to go away just because you block it out. You will grow in certain areas but you will always remain stunted if you don’t let yourself be vulnerable to the views others may have. Forcing yourself into a room where all you hear and process is praise and worship, you will become so so deaf to those with genuine desire to share their views on how you could not only create something better, but create something that would flow beautifully with the rest of the creation. Right now, the writing is swimming against the current. The composition and the animation (while not perfect) are astounding in their own rights. The backgrounds are beautiful, even when in an episode where the cast is stuck for the majority in one room. The music, while not adhering to my personal tastes, is passable to the majority. I suppose the writing can be viewed that way, but most of the time I can’t tell if people are actually enjoying the show, if they’re fetishizing gay people, or if they’re just so desperate for anything queer-run and queer-oriented they lose all sense of self and devour and obsess over it because it’s content that we have been starved of for generations.

I don’t want to come off negative. These are my thoughts as a writer. These are my thoughts of a once die-hard fan who would and has white-knighted Viv before. This is coming from a place of concern and a desire to share my thoughts on how writing can grow. Just because Viv has matured from writing “wuz” to “was” doesn’t mean the piece has grown from a half-assed stick figure attempt you don’t put any soul into to Leonardo Da Vinci or Picasso. Art is supposed to be about continual growth, and when you force yourself into a box you will not be able to branch out in the ways you want. You will be forced to live in that box unless you yourself allow others to nurture in your growth. You do not have to create and grow on your own, you can allow others with conflicting inputs to interact with you.

#helluva boss #long post #helluva boss critical

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akumadeshitsumon · 6 years ago

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[[Hey everyone, I’d like to drop a quick side note about Grell Sutcliffe, as I’ve had a couple of questions about her by now. This is not in any way aimed at anyone who asked said questions, so please don’t worry! This is for future reference.

TL;DR: Grell Sutcliffe is a woman. If you don’t like that, please keep your opinion to yourself. I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone. If you can’t keep it to yourself, you know where the unfollow button is. I do not tolerate transphobia or identity policing on my blog. At all. If you want to talk to me about this post, my PMs are open, but any sort of transphobic or aggressive rhetoric WILL get your ass blocked and removed.

Please DO NOT start a debate under this post.

If you comment on this post cannot reply to you, as this is a side blog which cannot be used to post comments. Please PM me instead if you want to talk.

Detailed version: Perceptive readers might note that I have not once used any pronouns for Grell while playing Sebastian on my blog. The reason for this is that I (Admin) am well aware that Grell is a transgender woman* and would thus use she/her pronouns when talking about her. However, Sebastian does not know this, and even if he did, I doubt he’d do her the kindness of referring to her by the pronouns she uses for herself, especially given the fact that he first met her when she was disguised as a man. As misgendering is something I personally have a lot of trouble doing even in fiction, I try to avoid pronouns for her in my posts altogether (which kind of works, as Sebastian seems to regard Grell as some kind of creature who is far beneath him anyway - he refers to her as ‘that shinigami’ a lot in the manga, for example). I shall continue to do so as much as I can, and add disclaimers to any future posts in which I might be unable to do so. I know that Grell’s identity is hotly debated in this fandom, but let me make this abundantly clear: Grell’s identity is not a subject I want to debate on this blog. If you think you cannot keep yourself from sending me asks or questions debating this topic, please see yourself out now. Contrary to popular belief, debate about Grell’s identity is not merely a theoretical debate about the content of this manga that we all love (or in some cases, the anime/musicals that we love). When people debate the identity of a transgender person, even a fictional one, they are saying that this person’s identity is not an indisputable fact, but an opinion that is up for debate. In doing so, they are sending a signal to transgender people in the real world that this is the case for them too. This sort of attitude has far-reaching and very real consequences for the transgender people in our fandom and in the rest of the world, and to be perfectly frank: the feelings of transgender people far more to me than the feelings of transphobes who think they know better than author of the manga herself. I have provided evidence below for those who would like to see it, either because they would like to see Toboso-sensei’s thoughts on the matter, or because they feel entitled to ‘evidence’ for my statements.

Confirmation about Grell being a transgender woman from Toboso-sensei herself.

“[We~ell, Sebastian is one hell of a butler. A demon. That is why his signature phrase is something like ‘I am one hell of a butler.’] [Shinigami all wear black suits and glasses, and they all have green eyes. Their weapons are all agricultural tools, such as very long pruning scissors.] [In truth, William is Grell’s favourite. Sebastian is more what one might call an ‘idol’. Yes, Grell is a man, but has the heart of a maiden.] If you explain it like this, female creators will usually say ‘ah, amazing! I understand!]. Women understand that sort of thing, right~ Grell is a boy, but has the heart of a maiden (laughs).” (Toboso Yana’s old blog, Devil’s 6th day. 24-04-2010) Archived here: https://web.archive.org/web/20160408165816/http://d-6th.com/blog/2010/04/index_2.php Note: this was in 2010, and by her own admission at a later date, Toboso-sensei did not know the “correct” terminology with which to refer to transgender women in those days. In Japanese this statement quite unambiguously means to say that Grell is ‘a woman’s soul born into a man’s body**’ --> a.k.a. a transgender woman. (More info on terminology under ‘keep reading’ below).

“Lycoris. This is a nostalgic scribble of Madame and Grell that I drew at the time of the first performance [of Lycoris]. They are like sisters, like partners in crime, a lady and her servant. The second one is a rare image of off-duty Grell, who is wearing round glasses even though her hair is not black.” - Toboso Yana’s official twitter, 7-1-2018. https://twitter.com/toboso_official/status/949993443601690625

“Ah, but this time after the script was completed, I asked the following of Mr. Uehara, who plays Grell. “Please make her like a strong woman” (laughs). Since the Grell from the original work has not made an appearance between the red butler arc and the luxury liner arc, people often think she is a person who cannot do her job. I asked him [Uehara] to please portray her as a career woman in front of her younger colleague.” Toboso Yana’s Twitter, 1-6-2018. https://twitter.com/toboso_official/status/1002533687508910080 As for Grell herself, this is in the 2009 character guide: https://kuroshitsuji.fandom.com/wiki/File:Grell%27s_Confessional_Highlighted.png

**Note: I am aware that this terminology is outdated in English. However, we cannot deny that this way of referring to transgender people was used for a long time, and that this is likely to have been the phrasing people in Japan would have come into contact with in 2010. I also invite you to consider that in Japanese language context, language surrounding transgender people evolved differently than in English, and we can not measure Japanese language by English standards. What is considered to be ‘correct’ language in Japan is different from what is ‘correct’ language in English to this day, and this was also the case in 2010. Do not make the mistake of assuming that this is not a real statement because the terminology we use these days is different. Language evolves quickly, just as the field of LGBTQIA+ studies evolves very quickly. Just because a word was not yet available does not mean that the concept it refers to did not yet exist!

#OOC post #OOC #information post #Grell Sutcliffe #Grelle Sutcliffe #I'm not going to make a habit out of OOC posts that are miles long #but this one is important #transgender people's identities are not a subject for debate

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filmbutch · 7 years ago

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honestly if u got good gay movie recs... i would totally appreciate them! i’ve seen most of the popular good ones but i’d love to hear abt more

Just in case you or other people have missed one of the more popular ones, I want to start by saying But I’m a Cheerleader is my favorite and is at the top of most lesbian movie lists for a good reason. A lot of other lists have included the movies Imagine Me & You, Carol, and The Handmaiden, which are also all great. Almost everyone has heard of Blue is the Warmest Color, which I’ve only seen once a long time ago but would not recommend because of the way the director treated the actresses especially during the filming of the sex scene.

Anyways this list became more detailed than I originally intended so I’m just gonna put my recs below the cut lol

Movies that aren’t sad (or are only partially sad):

Desert Hearts (1985) - one of the first (if not the first) movies about a romantic relationship between women that doesn’t end in one or both of them dying or leaving the other to be with a man. Directed by Donna Deitch who is gay.

D.E.B.S. (2004) - probably the most fun/light hearted movie I’ve seen that’s centered around a romance between two women. It’s a cheesy movie about a spy who falls in love with a villain and is written and directed by Angela Robinson who is bi.

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls In Love (1995) - cute and kinda cheesy teen rom com written and directed by Maria Maggenti who is bi.

The Watermelon Woman (1996) - a lesbian filmmaker works on a documentary about a black actress from the 1930s. The film explores themes of how there are gaps in recorded history, and how race effects relationships. It was written and directed by Cheryl Dunye, making it the first (known/more popular) feature film directed by a black lesbian.

If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) - explores the lives of three lesbian couples who happened to live in the same house at different periods of time. The first part takes place in 1961 and is sad, the second part takes place in 1972 and is the part all those butch Chloe Sevigny gifs are from, and the last part takes place in 2000 and stars Ellen.

Saving Face (2004) - super cute and good rom com about a Chinese American lesbian and her traditionalist mother written and directed by Alice Wu who is a lesbian.

The Runaways (2010) - if ur gay for rock n roll please watch this. I love bicon Joan Jett

Cloudburst (2011) - about an older lesbian couple who go on a road trip to get married and the ending is kind of sad but it’s worth watching imo.

Pariah (2011) - about a butch lesbian teenager growing up in Brooklyn. It’s really sad in some parts but by the end she’s very at peace with herself. Written and directed by Dee Rees who is a lesbian.

Life Partners (2014) - cute movie about the friendship between a straight woman and a lesbian and how their friendship changes when the straight woman gets married

Boy Meets Girl (2015) - about a bisexual trans girl (played by a trans actress) who wants to go to college be a fashion designerGrandma (2015) - Lily Tomlin plays a lesbian grandma who helps her granddaughter get money to have an abortion

Dope (2015) - tbh the lesbian isn’t even the main character, but it’s a cute movie and Kiersey Clemons is hot so it’s on here anyway

The Intervention (2016) - Clea DuVall and Natasha Lyonne play a couple again, Melanie Lynskey and Alia Shawkat are also in it. Written and directed by Clea DuVall who is a lesbianProfessor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017) - probably not super historically accurate tbh but it’s about the polyamorous relationship between the creator of Wonder Woman, his wife, and their lover. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie focused just as much if not more on the relationship between the two women as it did on their relationship to the man. It is written and directed by Angela Robinson, a bi woman.

Battle of the Sexes (2017) - I know people on here don’t like Emma Stone but Billie Jean King is cool as fuck, the scenes between her and Marilyn were beautiful, and this movie was underrated

Movies that are pretty sad throughout but good:

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) - not as gay as the book and the ending (and other parts) are sad, but I would die for the main character (and butch icon) Idgie.

Lovesong (2016) - two women are probably in love with each other go on a road trip but one of them is getting married to a man :( the other one is played by Jenna Malone though who I’ve been wanting to play gay since she played Johanna in the Hunger Games so :) ?

Novitiate (2017) - lesbian nuns, Catholic guilt, idk it’s good though

Movies that didn’t necessarily fit into the other categories because they are either intense, weird, and/or involve murder:

Born in Flames (1983) - I wasn’t really sure what category to put this movie in since its style is so different from the others, but it’s about activists fighting for women’s liberation in a fictional version of the US where there has been a socialist revolution that promised to make things better, but put off women’s rights in the process. Anyone interested in feminism and leftist politics should check it out. It was made by Lizzie Borden, who is bisexual.

Heavenly Creatures (1994) - a movie about a super intense childhood friendship that gets pretty dark, which I know it’s a trope, but I liked this movie anyway idk

Mulholland Drive (2001) - the most real thing in this movie about surrealist Hollywood was the relationship between the two women

Monster (2003) - based on the life of serial killer Aileen Wuornos. It’s super violent/depressing/disturbing, but worth the watch imo. Directed by Patty Jenkins who directed Wonder Woman.

Jennifer’s Body (2009) - some people like to argue over whether they were actually gay or not but like…they were…it was also directed and written by women.

Addicted to Fresno (2015) - two sisters accidentally murder someone and try to cover it up. Written by Karey Dornetto who is gay and directed by Jamie Babbit who is a lesbian and also wrote/directed But I’m a Cheerleader.

Women Who Kill (2016) - about exes who are true crime podcasters. One of them starts dating someone and the other thinks her new girlfriend might be a murderer. Super interesting and can be interpreted as a metaphor for internalized homophobia. Written and directed by Ingrid Jungermann who is gay.

Atomic Blonde (2017) - bisexual spy Charlize Theron. I am gay. It falls into some bad tropes but I. Am. Gay.

Thelma (2017) - a Norwegian movie about a lesbian with supernatural abilities. It might be my favorite movie of 2017 tbh.

Documentaries:

Out in the Night (2014) - a really depressing and frustrating doc about a group of black lesbians who were unfairly imprisoned after fighting back against their attacker

Gender Troubles: The Butches (2016) - a doc about butches and gender presentation

Movies that are coming out soon that I wanna see:

Colette

Duck Butter

Hearts Beat Loud

Lizzie

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Tully

Vita and Virginia

Wild Nights With Emily

#soaplesbian

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knifeonmars · 7 years ago

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Desert Island Comics, Part 1

I'm moving this month, for the fairly exciting reason of attending graduate school, and one of the stranger and more distressing things in the lead up to that is that I've had to put the vast majority of my unnecessarily sprawling library of comics into storage. I have been able to fit a small amount into my luggage to take with me, so I thought that I might write about what I've taken with me and why. The comics I chose to save also probably say something about my tastes and who I am as a person, so there's that. In paring things down I was primarily concerned with stuff that I could read over and over as well as lend to anyone who might be interested. Sexcastle - Kyle Starks I'm a huge fan of Kyle Starks, and while I had a few options to choose from, I went with Sexcastle for the reason that it was his first big book and as such is a great encapsulation of his whole approach. Silliness and violence masking deep introspection and a genuine unironic appreciation of action tropes. Through the Woods - Emily Carroll Emily Carroll is a complete rockstar and this book is gorgeous and creepy and endlessly engrossing. I love revisiting it and it's a great book to give to someone who doesn't have much interest in comics as most people know them. HP Lovecraft's The Hound and Other Stories - Adapted by Gou Tanabe I'll be honest, this one isn't here so much for any personal connection, more that I've only read it once and I think it could merits rereading. Also, as my Masters program is English, it's somewhat pertinent to my interests. Godzilla: The Half Century War - James Stokoe I just love James Stokoe's work so much. I had a few of his books to choose from, but I went with The Half-Century War because while it's a licensed work, it still feels passionate and personal, and unlike the awesome but sadly incomplete Orc Stain, it's a complete story. It's also a pretty easy sell to lend to someone, which while unlikely, is something I consider important. Superman: Secret Identity - Kurt Busiek, Stuart Immonen, Todd Klein Probably the second best Superman story ever in my opinion, even though Secret Identity, strictly speaking, isn't really about "Superman" at all. But it so beautifully gets to the heart of the character, the humanity and the responsibility of it, that it's very much a definitive take on the character for me. It's also a largely relaxing read, free from misery and angst, and despite what the rest of this list may suggest, I do actually like a nice comforting read once in a while. Batman: Year One - Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Todd Klein, Richmond Lewis Of Frank Miller's much vaunted Batman work, Year One holds up best. It's gorgeous, human, and oh so memorable despite, or perhaps because of, how low key it is. There's no big name supervillains or anything, but this is the ur-example of a pseudo-realistic Batman and also the best execution of that premise. It's such a classic that it barely needs elaboration, so I couldn't leave it behind. Extremity - Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, Rus Wooton Daniel Warren Johnson's recently concluded creator owned series might not be on everyone's radar, but it certainly should be. Described by critics as Mad Max meets Naussica in the Valley of the Wind, it's a bold, brutal, and lavishly drawn epic with an instantly compelling world and characters. It might not be for everyone, but it's also a book which I know I'm going to be revisiting and thinking over for quite a while, and given how it wears its influence on its sleeve, it's a great series to loan out. Batman: Superheavy, Batman: Bloom, Detective Comics: Blood of Heroes I wrote about this before in my 2017 roundup, but these Batman vols 8 and 9, and Detective Comics vol 8, are a great character reinvention which I warmed to somewhat slowly but now love. Jim Gordon as an in over his head version of Batman who's largely cut off from the somewhat unwieldy mythology of the Bat-Family was a great and totally unexpected concept. I often wish there had been more of this era, but as it is it's a fun if short read that I like to revisit because it reminds me of how fun superhero comics can be. Moon Knight - Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire, Chris Eliopoulos This shot in the arm reinvention of Moon Knight is one of the 2010's greatest revamps, and I wanted to bring it along purely as an all time great popcorn read. That's the thing about the revamp, despite how drastically it revises things, the six issues of From the Dead are in substance compulsively readable action comics. It's the kind of book that I find gratifying to take down from the shelf and revisit once in a while for the pure joy of it rather than any emotional resonance. All-Star Superman - Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, and Jamie Grant What can I say? All-Star Superman is potentially the greatest Superman story ever told, and it's a personal favorite, so I had to bring it along. I considered getting a smaller version since I only have the giant Absolute edition, but even I have limits when it comes to frivolous purchases. Anyway, Morrison, Quitely, and Grant's opus was a formative read for me, possibly one that I read earlier in my relationship to comics than is necessarily recommended given how much it riffs on continuity and deep cuts, but nonetheless one that I've always connected with and which is something of a gold standard for me. American Barbarian - Tom Scioli Tom Scioli's a beast, and American Barbarian is an incredibly fun and weird comic that I like revisiting. It's also pretty long as these things go, a veritable epic, and I love the various phases and sections of the story. Nowhere Men - Eric Stephenson, Nate Bellegarde, Jodie Bellaire, Fonografiks I'm continuously aggrieved that Nowhere Men has slid into permanent hiatus one issue sort of completing a second volume, but as it stands volume 1 is one of the best superhero adjacent comics out there. It reads something like a stylish update of the Fantastic Four concept with a group of doomed astronauts developing bizarre, at times horrifying powers, but it's so much more than that. It's a strange alternate universe when science is placed alongside popular culture, with rogue celebrity scientists and text pieces throughout expanding on the strange world. It's a ride, one I'm always eager to finally see more of, but even with just the single volume it tells a satisfying story which I like to revisit with some regularity. I also decided to pack a couple of monthly comics, just stuff that's currently ongoing and I want to be able to read as a whole. Mister Miracle I wrote elsewhere about having mixed feelings on this book, but I decided to bring it along because I do enjoy Tom King's writing and I have a hankering to read it in one shot once it's wrapped. I've actually just been sitting on the issues since around #4 for that very purpose. Batman: Creature of the Night Superman: Secret Identity is on this list, so I don't think it ought to be much of a surprise that its companion series made it as well. I've been loving Creature of the Night, though it's a very different beast from Secret Identity, and I can't wait to see where the conclusion takes us.

#comics #moving #personal #words

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nightmareonfilmstreet · 7 years ago

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Pioneer of the Plot Twist: Ranking M. Night Shyamalan’s 10 Best Films On His Birthday

Surprise! Happy Birthday, M. Night Shyamalan

Here at Nightmare on Film Street, we love to celebrate the most influential creators in the world of genre film. Today is no different as we celebrate the birth of one of the most innovative, and polarizing, directors in modern cinema: M. Night Shyamalan.

Born August 6th 1970, Shyamalan burst on to the scene in 1999 with the success of his third film, the supernatural mystery The Sixth Sense. The film was both a critical and commercial success, earning 6 Oscar nominations and a whopping $672 million at the box office. The Sixth Sense also changed the landscape of genre cinema with it’s mind-scrambling twist. A surprise ending that would eventually become Shyamalan’s signature style. Over the years, Shyamalan’s name has even become a pop culture reference, used as a verb when a movie or life reveals a perspective altering twist. Example: “My best friend is actually my reincarnated Iguana from 4th grade, I just got Shyamalaned!

But M. Night Shyamalan’s career isn’t based solely off twists. The writer/director’s filmography is substantially unique, combining his inventive story premises with a myriad of different film genres from pseudo-superhero to found footage. It would also be an understatement to say M. Night’s career has been unpredictable. Two films on his resumé are often regarded the best in their respective genres, while others have been called “the worst movie of all time”. So as we celebrate M. Night Shyamalan’s birthday, let’s break it down by ranking his filmography! NOTE: I’m not including his first two films since they are so small and not really genre-driven. Also watch out for spoilers, duh. It’s a Shyamalan list.

10. The Last Airbender (2010)

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Oof, this thing is bad. I’d say not by coincidence, Shyamalan’s only non-original property ends up at the bottom of the list. Some will say because of the white-washing, some will say the wonky 3D effects, but I say it boils down to not following the source material. Shyamalan claimed to be a big fan of the show, but character and plot inconsistencies in the film seem to say otherwise. Don’t agree? That’s absolutely fine. Let us here all about it in the comments below!

9. After Earth (2013)

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Ironically, the word on the street is that Will Smith convinced Shyamalan to do this movie when texting him on his birthday. BE ON ALERT TODAY SHYAMALAN! After Earth is a particular low point because after this, the world was wondering if M. Night had anything left in him. He had a string of underwhelming films leading up to this one and After Earth is the equivalent of a very long sigh. There is just no energy or life in this film, with a twist that doesn’t help since he pretty much recycled it from The Village. BUT! A twist none the less. And who doesn’t like a 3rd act twist??

8. Lady in the Water (2006)

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It’s hard to defend a movie involving a “Narf” named Story looking for The Author while trying to get home and avoid being killed by a Scrunt (yes, that is indeed the real plot), but I give this movie a little more slack than others. Some call it Shyamalan’s most pretentious and self-indulgent film, I call it ambition. Which is always respectable, even if it doesn’t fully execute because at least he was definitely trying to tell an interesting story. Also, Paul Giamatti was pretty solid as usual.

7. The Happening (2008)

The Happening isn’t exactly what one would call a “good movie”, however: it’s a very fun movie. Sporting a low 14% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the only critics that seemed to enjoy this film viewed it as a B-Film, almost a “so bad it’s good” movie. So if you think of it that way and buy into the idea of Mark Wahlberg as a scientist trying to survive killer plants, you can easily have a great time watching this movie. Invite some friends and crack open a few beers for optimal viewing!

6. Signs (2002)

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At the time of release, Signs was pretty well received. Lately, it’s been the subject of debate to whether it hold up or not, specifically the “twist”. But all in all, Signs is a pretty good movie. I loved the idea of telling a family drama with the added element of aliens. The film is also a masterclass in suspense, with multiple scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat. The scene showing the birthday party footage of the alien still gives me chills just thinking about it.

5. The Village (2004)

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I guess this is my controversial ranking for this list. When people complain about The Village, it’s literally only criticism of the twist. The whole time we are invested in the monsters surrounding the woods, it turned out to be The Elders doing it to convince the villagers to stay in and not discover we were in present times the whole time. To me, that’s terrifying in itself and I also commend Shyamalan on convincing the audience we were watching a period piece. The film also features a fantastic score, fun creature designs (even if they were fake), and a supremely eerie trailer.

4. The Visit (2015)

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May be a bit high for this one, but seeing this in theaters was an absolute blast. Not sure if it was from the low expectations I had going in or the effective use of found footage, but The Visit is just good ol’ creepy fun. We saw M. Night go back to his roots, where he had to get inventive to overcome the small budget. Some theories even speculate that the film was satire of himself and his career to an extent. Loved the premise and the movie is filled with genuinely unsettling moments, including one involving an old person diaper. The Visit was a return to form for Shyamalan, even easing up on his usual twist ending (it’s not even a twist, really).

3. The Sixth Sense (1999)

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Probably gonna get some flack for the placement of (debatably) Shyamalan’s best film, but I still appreciate The Sixth Sense immensely. This movie not only blasted off M. Night’s career, it would be the one to make his name synonymous with plot twists. And though it’s almost become a meme, it can’t be understated how monumental this movie was to cinema in the way he pulled off the twist. Only reason it’s at #3 is because past the second or third viewing, you’re not nearly as invested in the film because the twist really did change the scope of the entire film (In my opinion). The Sixth Sense is still fantastic th

ough, held together by a tight script and Oscar-nominated performances from Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette.

2. Unbreakable (2000)

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Another film that could be argued as his best, especially for reasons I’ll get to in a second, Unbreakable is one of the most unique of all his films. Coming out the same year as X-Men and 8 years before Iron Man really kicked off the superhero craze, Shyamalan broke into the comic book movie genre with one of his own. Even more fascinating, was disguising it and grounding it in reality. It’s not even til the final 15 minutes that you discover what you’re actually watching. Unbreakable creates an interesting world, with top notch performances from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, respectively. Shyamalan tapped into what it really means to be a hero and overcoming adversity, something he would have to do himself many years later. Luckily, Shymalan would do just that when he eventually returned to this world…

1. Split (2017)

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Are you shocked to see this movie at #1? Just like you were surprised at the end of Split to find out it was a secret sequel to Unbreakable? Probably so! Not the fan favorite for the top spot, but it’s definitely the film that got you back on board with Shyamalan if The Visit didn’t do so already. Even before the twist, I already loved everything about Split. Anchored by a powerhouse performance by James McAvoy, the movie is intense thriller filled to the brim with tension.

The premise behind getting kidnapped by someone with 23 personalities was already horrifying, but then what the hell is The Beast!? Split keeps you guessing the entire film until you figure out what’s going on, but then the reveal just takes it to entirely new level. On top of that, this movie probably has the best production of any of his previous films. The dread-filled score and cinematography complimented Shyamalan’s story nicely. Top to bottom, a great piece of horror. I remember feeling so proud that after years of defending him, M. Night Shyamalan was officially back and created a cinematic universe right under our noses. But it’s still not his best contribution to cinema…

What!? This isn’t the end of the list!!!

In 1999, the same year Shyamalan was soaring to new heights with the success of The Sixth Sense, M. Night was secretly working on another project that would go on to shape a generation…Stuart Little. Before he was a household name, Shyamalan served as a ghostwriter on a few projects in the late 90s. Yes, that’s right, M. Night Shyamalan co-wrote the movie that would spawn 2 sequels, an animated series, and the career of Jonathan Lipnicki. Sure he wasn’t around around for any later installments, but Shyamalan’s contributions laid the foundation to the franchise that would momentarily steal the hearts of America. This was an achievement for Shyamalan, being a ghost and writing a successful family film. It not only broke the stigma around ghostwriters, but reanimated Shyamalan back to life so he could have a successful directing career. Which, if you think about it, makes M. Night Shyamalan a zombie. Boom, you’ve just been Shyamalaned!

There you have it people, my ranking of M. Night Shyamalan’s films. I can’t wait so see where Glass ends up on here. But enough about my list, what about you? How do you rank his filmography? Does the fact that he’s a zombie change your list? Tell us living un-dead folks here at Nightmare on Film Street your rankings on Twitter or our super cool Facebook group!

The post Pioneer of the Plot Twist: Ranking M. Night Shyamalan’s 10 Best Films On His Birthday appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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techouspeaks · 8 years ago

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Classic Reviews: Storm Hawks

Since it celebrated it’s 10th anniversary this year, I’m counting it as a Classic Review. Gosh darn I feel old....

Anyway, here is my review of Storm Hawks! Does it take to the sky as high as their airships or does it fall down like a fat wallop? Let’s find out!

During the late 2000s (least before the 2010s), kids media entertainment went through another “extreme phase” in which shows with lots of action and “coolness” came out like hotcakes. This is how Storm Hawks came to be. It was released May of 2007 on Cartoon Network and ended it’s first season at the end of that year. (Though, in some regions, it did show up earlier on Kids WB.) Then in September of 2008 a second season was released that ended in April 2009. I was actually able to watch it on Jetix sometime then.

Setting: Storm Hawks takes place in Atmos, a series of lands called “Terras” are scattered around. The Terras are kinda like other countries, each having their own culture. Each culture is very different in terms of even species, as there are anthropomorphic creatures such as Wallops, which resemble anthro rhinos and Blizzarians, which resemble dog like people. (with Canadian accents for whatever reason...) Below the Terras are the dangerous Wastelands, so called because there are fiery pits, nothing grows there, it’s miserable and the only creatures that manage to live there aremonsters. (so literal hell pretty much)

The Terras are scattered around up high on mountainous regions, so the only way to get around is by flying, thus people fly motorcycles that can also double as flying machines and of course, large airships. The energy that powers the machinery and even weapons are crystals, which have stranger kinda magical energies. It’s not exactly magic but they just somehow possess the energies and each do different things, depending on the crystal.

Each Terra is also guarded by a Squadron with the leader of each squadron called a Sky Knight.

Story: An evil ruler named Master Cyclonis and her servants, the Cyclonians, threatened Atmos. The original Storm Hawks led the Squadrons in a war against them, but were betrayed and defeated by one of their own (later known as The Dark Ace). Ten years later, a boy name Aerrow and his friends Piper, Radar and Finn live together as orphans, until a Cyclonian Youth Squad threatened them. One of the members was a wallop name Junko. Three men approach Aerrow and give him a key and map to the Condor, stating that he is the last descendant of Lightning Strike, leader of the Storm Hawks, and thus inherits leadership. However, because of them Aerrow and his friends are captured.

The leader of the Youth Squad radios Snipe and is told to throw them into the Wastelands. Junko volunteers to do it, but lets them go when the others are not looking, as he does not want to be a bad guy. They manage to find the Condor in the Wastelands, and it has already been repaired by Stork, who has lived there for years trying to find the key. Stork had escape from Terra Merbia after the Cyclonians attacked. They give Stork the key and eventually agrees to be their carrier pilot. Eventually Junko joins them and all of them become an unofficial Storm Hawks.

They try to join in as a official squadron but fail because they’re too young to be according to the books. However, as their adventures and helping to fight the Cyclonians continues on, they are at least recognized as a squadron by the other terra squadrons.

So how does this series hold up? Well, it actually is a fairly decent series. Yes, it does try to be “extreme” here and there, but in some ways, it kinda also makes fun of it, mainly through Finn. They do have the “cool music” that sounds more like James Bond music and the tricks with the skimmers (the flying motorcycles) and shoot, even the hair styles say “I’m extreme!”. However, as far as that goes, it doesn’t always smack you in the face with it, least not all the time. There is some charm to the series as well as the characters and the world they live in.

The characters themselves in someways, are kinda stereotypical but are fleshed out and will feel like real characters than just types more often than not. They do develop and they do act out of their usual tropes. Aerrow (lead guy) acts like a kind hearted character. There really isn’t that much to him, he’s just nice, adventurous and yet cautious at the same time. Compared to his friends, he may seem bland at times but I think he kinda brings a little bit more balance. He’s the average joe of the group, that keeps everyone grounded.

Piper is very smart and is the one that comes up with all the plans and strategies, as well as gathering crystals, studying them and building them into anything that can be of use. She’s also very tough though again, has her own insecurities that make her feel balance and real. She does take pride of herself but does get scorn and when this happens it does hurt her, though she never stays sad for too long. She actually is my favorite character with Stork coming in as second. Speaking of which there is a thing in the fandom where some people will pair her up with Aerrow and some will pair her up with Stork. I’ll get to that in the moment.

Then you have Finn, who is the “cool kid” of the group. However, he is funny to watch and I never found him annoying surprisingly. He does get over the top and sometimes endangers the crew but he does realize his mistakes and does show he cares for others.

Junko is the big guy with a big heart. Much like Toru from Jackie Chan Adventures, he’s small for a wallop. I would say I would hug him because of how sweet he can be, but I would get crushed as all wallops are very strong and even for being smaller than most, is still pretty capable of doing damage. Junko gets his name probably because he has a stomach that can withstand anything, including things that may not be edible to most people. Though, this maybe a thing with wallops as a whole.

Radarr is well...a monkey rat thing. I dunno. He’s like a cross between a Merb and a Blizzarian. He basically is what Abu is to Aladdin in the Disney movie for Aerrow. He’s usually with him on his shoulder or beside him. Radarr is not exactly a pet but acts like a character despite not being able to speak. I don’t think too much of him. Again with Aerrow, there’s not much to him, though he is intelligent and is able to actually fix things with Piper and fight, so there’s that.

Than you have Stork. Stork was the first emo before emo was a thing. He’s got the hair, the attitude and everything. He’s paranoid of everything (according to the creators it’s because his home Merbia is constantly attacked by storms and natural disasters every given second) and thinks of every horrible way that could happen to him and the crew. However, this is rather funny and he does calm down as the series progresses. He’s also very smart and knows anything about engineering and surprisingly useful facts about animals and the world around them. A running gag is that his inventions are never used the way he intends for them to use, but are surprisingly useful in that way.

His design is also very interesting. He’s kinda mix between cute, creepy weird and slightly handsome at the same time. I know that’s kinda weird to say but that’s the best way I can describe him. He’s definitely original looking, kinda.

Now the thing with PiperXStork and AerrowXPiper. The latter is obvious because there are moments where it seems they do care about each other, especially towards the end of the series.

The PiperXStork thing I can see where people may get the idea. There are times where Piper outright expresses concern for Stork verbally or just by facial expression. Though I honestly think what’s going on with the expressions is that she questions where Stork’s loyalty lies. There’s times, mainly earlier in the first series where he acts like he doesn’t like them at all. In first episode, he wanted to leave with the Condor while his friends were in the Wastelands battling Cyclonians. It kinda made me wonder if he would betray them. However, he does show acts of selflessness and comes to their aid right away on his own.

Put it short, Stork’s a coward but not a big jerk. He does have a heart and even tries to be comforting or show concern when he thinks his friends are hurt or endanger. Piper just questioned where his friendship stood at first. After that, her concern is understandable as Stork does stress himself to the point of being crazy, on some occasions.This is why I like him and just see the two as good friends. Besides, it’s revealed that he’s actually in his 20s. O.O Yeah, no thanks.

As for AerrowXPiper I don’t ship em. Like I don’t hate the ship but I don’t hold strong feelings for em. They’re cute at times, but I think it was just best left hinted and not a real thing.

That’s not what this series is about. It’s about heroes forming and connecting a bond with others and defeating evil for the greater good. It’s an adventure with great characters in a world that is amazing actually. As well as a mix of slapstick and dry humor that matches my tastes. The animation can be choppy with the characters at times and the anatomy can be distracting sometimes, but the backgrounds and the world they live in is really interesting to look at.

Some of the backgrounds and effects are really nice and the details they are willing to put in the series is fascinating at times. This series does have a bit more passion than a lot of action shows out at the time

As for the villains, they’re also pretty good and memorable. The only one I don’t like is Ace, mainly because he’s just not interesting to me and the rival between Aerrow and Ace gets old fast.

Overall, Storm Hawks is a great action series with charm, adventure, good humor including some slapstick and fun loving characters. The series can get a little too much with the extreme thing, but does tone it down when it’s time to focus on the story and characters.

I rate Storm Hawks an 8 out of 10 stars. Form your own squadron, park your skimmers somewhere and give it a watch!

8 Stars

Level: Great!

#storm hawks #jetix #fox kids #abc #cartoon network #Classic Reviews

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justanothercinemaniac · 8 years ago

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #130 - Veronica Mars

Spoilers below (for the TV show too).

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes!

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #283.

Format: Blu-ray

This post is dedicated to @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer, the best Marshmallow I know.

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

1) Veronica Mars - this film - exists because of a Kickstarter campaign that went live on March 13, 2013. The series ran for three seasons before being cancelled but gained an incredible cult following. Series creator Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell, and the rest of the cast had been hopeful about a movie being made for years before turning to Kickstarter. Their goal was 2 million dollars, they got that in less than 24 hours (breaking most of Kickstarter’s records at the time). They ended up with five million total dollars by the end of their campaign (which was broke the REST of Kickstarter’s records at the time). This movie is made by the fans, for the fans basically, and that’s awesome.

2) I first started watching “Veronica Mars” on Netflix DVDs AFTER the Kickstarter had come and gone, meaning I did not have to wait the seven years many fans did for a resolution to the series’ cliffhanger ending. I fell in love with the show instantly. I binged it as quickly as I could with Netflix DVDs (ie: not very quickly but passionately) and love almost every twist and turn. It is an excellent show and my love for it definitely in part fuels my love for the film.

3) The opening, “I need your help Veronica,” montage is a great way of starting off the film. For fans of the original series it reminds us of everything we’ve been missing for a while, and for people who have never seen a single episode it gives them enough info to understand the movie and its characters. And it has this wink to the fans of the show:

Veronica: “New me? People say I’m a Marshmallow.”

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

For all you newbies, fans of “Veronica Mars” refer to themselves as Marshmallows because of this line from the pilot. It was either that or “twinkies” and you can spell “Marshmallows” without “Mars”.

4) Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars.

It’s difficult for me to talk about Veronica as a character because most of my understanding of her as a character comes from both the film AND the TV Show. A lot of what I have to say is really going to be echoes of what @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer has said in her fantastic recaps for the series. Veronica is strong willed, fiercely loyal, but she’s got some blinders on. If she decides you’re guilty or innocent, it is fact. That is just the way it is and she will not recognize the notion otherwise. But see, that does not come into effect in as huge a way in the film as it has in the show in the past.

Veronica is incredibly sharp. I will speak later on how physical strength is not one of her greatest attributes, but she more than makes up with it in wit and the ability to think on her feet. Tough as nails, with an incredible sense of humor (which in and of itself is probably a defense mechanism of some sort), Veronica is amazing. And Veronica would not be the Veronica we know and love if it were not for the truly perfect Kristen Bell.

There are some character who are just defined as much by the actors who play them as the writers who craft them. Veronica Mars is one of those characters. Kristen Bell inhabits all of Veronica’s qualities perfectly. Her contradictions, her strengths, her weakness, her love, her aggression, her need for intimacy with some people, her ability to be independent with others. Honestly in the same sense that Sarah Michelle Gellar IS Buffy or that Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man, Kristen Bell IS Veronica Mars and no other actress could ever play her with the same perfection as Bell.

5) Jamie Lee Curtis.

Understand that even though this film made more than twice what it was asking for in the Kickstarter campaign, five million bucks to make a movie these days is close to nothing. Comparatively speaking at least (although recent best picture winner Moonlight only cost 1.5 million so...). Most of the famous faces in this film - the small bits here and there like Jamie Lee Curtis in the very beginning - have some sort of working relationship with those involved in the movie (usually the actors). For example: Curtis worked with Bell in 2010′s You Again. I’m sure this most be some sort of favor to her.

6) This flip off is very Veronica. You can tell a lot about her way of handling jackasses and her sense of humor from this moment.

Gayle: Fifteen separate articles or briefs in cases ranging from multiple homicides to dognapping.

The season one episode “Hot Dogs” involves Veronica helping what was one of the kindest and most sincerely uncorrupted characters on the show (Mandy) help find her missing dog which she loved so much. I like to tell myself that is Veronica thinking fondly on this case which means little to others (especially when compared to multiple homicides) but one where she helped this really kind girl with something that really mattered to her.

8) Let’s talk briefly about the film’s “sex tape” references. Towards the end of season 3 a “sex tape” was released of Veronica and her then-boyfriend (and current boyfriend, at the start of this film) Piz. Except Veronica said she and Piz were just fooling around and didn’t actually have sex. We see the sex tape very clearly later on in the film, that has clearly been retconned. Painfully, too, as Piz is not exactly the most loved of Veronica’s boyfriends.

9) On that note...Piz.

I cannot get into the intense dislike people have for Piz without getting into how he was written and portrayed in the final season of the TV show (which was the season he was introduced in). In a nutshell, Piz was the Nice Guy™. As in the character who in reality isn’t really a nice guy, but is sort of a privileged manipulative white dude bro who thinks he deserves to be with a woman he basically sees as the female lead in his own personal romantic comedy. But the writers still write him as the “nice guy”. The movie does not have as much of that Nice Guy™ vibe to Piz though. It’s definitely still there though. He tells Veronica that he oversold her to his parents. That, “They cannot believe I landed a creature such as the one I’ve described.” But mostly Piz is kinda sorta not an awful dude. He seems to have some genuine feelings for Veronica but you can tell Veronica is with him just because he’s the safe choice. Because this is the clean life she wants. And that’s never who she was and so Piz isn’t dating the REAL Veronica. Piz is not interested in the REAL Veronica just the kind of girl he expects her to be and wants her to be. Even if he’s not a total dick about it in the film, that’s still what their relationship is.

HOWEVER I will say even though I may have issues with Piz as a character I do truly enjoy Chris Lowell as an actor. My distaste for how Piz has been written in the past is not a reflection on his performance.

10) Veronica talks about how Bonnie DeVille used to be known as Carrie Bishop. Carrie Bishop was featured in a few season one episodes of the show played by “Gossip Girl” actress Leighton Meester. Meester had scheduling conflicts with the show so they recast her part.

11) Never ever think too hard about the timeline or continuity in the Veronica Mars universe. Like...Logan is supposed to be a different age than her but they were still in the same graduating class or his dead girlfriend was a different age because she went to school with her brother who was...just, it’s confusing to think about it too hard. Just know that this film - while released in 2014 - takes place in 2016. Because the characters graduated high school in 2006 and their ten year reunion is featured in the film.

12) The theme of addiction is heavily featured throughout the movie, mainly throughout Veronica’s internal monologue. She constantly mentions her alcoholic mother while comparing her return to Neptune and the world of a PI to that idea. Not to mention Veronica described her past self as a, “possible adrenaline junkie,” within the first five minutes of the film. It’s a neat idea that gives the film a unique arc and helps it feel more than an extended episode.

13) Logan Echolls, ladies and gentlemen.

(GIF originally posted by @veronicaneptunes)

With most of (if not all of) these characters, it is difficult for me to talk about them ONLY as they are presented in the film. Logan is someone who throughout the TV show had a very troubled life. His father beat him, his mother committed suicide, his girlfriend was murdered, the murderer turned out to be his father, he had been manipulated by many people he considered family, but he was good to Veronica (for the most part) when they started dating. He cared for her, truly. There was an honesty to their relationship, an ability to be himself, which he lost when she left. I think the second Veronica Mars book Mr. Kiss & Tell goes into this more (I read it two years ago), but Logan needed to get his life together post-Veronica. So he joined the freaking Navy. That first image of Logan already sets him up as a clean cut, mostly kept together man that is FAR different from the, “obligatory psychotic jackass,” we met in the pilot of the show.

Much like Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring gives Logan a lot of depth. The reason the character was given such a prominent role and more layers - initially - was because of Dohring’s skill as an actor. He is able to present Logan as mostly collected but still vulnerable. Still with a deep sorrow in his soul, still with a darkness to him. But we as an audience are invested in him as a character. We understand Veronica’s trust for him because we see just who he is around Veronica. The chemistry between Dohring and Bell is incredible. It is not just hot steamy chemistry (although it can be, more on that later). It’s a trust, it’s friendship, it’s an ability for these two to truly be themselves around each other in a way they can’t be with pretty much everyone else.

It is a truly wonderful performance and character we get to see in the film and I think the entire franchise of Veronica Mars would be far less without Jason Dohring and Logan Echolls.

14) It is fun how to see how easily Veronica slips into her old routine at her dad’s office. Also it goes into the idea of how an addict is more easy to fall into their addiction when they get into a certain habit. Veronica was addicted to being a PI when she was in Neptune, working with Logan, and helping at her dad’s office. Is it any wonder she can’t fight off the need to go back to that life when she’s in the town for less than a day and all these things have happened already?

15) Keith’s face when he sees Veronica!

We don’t get AS good a look as Keith’s relationship with daughter Veronica in the film as we did in the TV show (we got three seasons to examine it, after all), but it is still one of the best parent/child relationships to ever grace screens and the chemistry between Enrico Colantoni and Kristen Bell is great.

16) Although the film only had a budget from Kickstarter of about five million dollars, Warner Brothers studio was comfortable enough with the film that they paid an extra million (I think it was a million) for some reshoots to help make the story more understandable. The most noteworthy of these reshoots is the scene where Keith and Veronica are driving through town and discover a bunch of kids being framed up by the police, tazzed, basically abused for being “riff raff” and Keith being able to extort the police into letting the kids go by taking a video of them abusing their power. This was all told to the audience in the original shoot at the office scene, but the use of “show don’t tell” not only paints a grim picture of what kind off corrupt place Neptune is but also what kind of man Keith is. He really is - as his daughter says - the George Bailey of Neptune.

17) Mac & Wallace!

Again, if you like what you see of these two in the movie and want more...GO WATCH THE TV SHOW! The friendship Veronica forges with Wallace is one of the strongest in her life, second only to her father and even ahead of her relationship with Logan I think. He is there through it all. Through all the boyfriends, all the drama, all the times she’s a pariah, he is there for her. He helps her out, he does favors with her, and it is just such a beautiful and loving friendship.

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

The relationship Veronica has with Mac - while not necessarily as strong - is still great. Tina Majorino breathed such life into this character from season 1 who could’ve easily been a one off but ended up being second only to Wallace when it came to Veronica’s friends. The trio of them are great, and they’ve always got each other’s backs.

18) Dick Casablancas.

(GIF originally posted by @veronicaneptunes)

Otherwise known as: your problematic fave! Man, I don’t even know where to start with Dick. He’s...well...he’s a dick! But like a likable dick! Somehow Rob Thomas gets away with Dick doing some really awful shit in the show and still have him be Logan’s best friend. Dick in this film is - I think - mostly comedic relief (and, at one point, a suspect) and Hansen is just a lot of fun in the role.

A little note about Dick though. This line has way more significance than you would think:

Dick [after Logan’s potential lawyer makes a remark about his pot brownies]: “Medicine, man. I got my card. Chronic depression. You wouldn’t think, huh?”

That’s actually very telling about Dick. Season two ended with his younger brother being revealed as a mass murderer before killing himself, and there was some fair amount of time devoted in early season three to examining how Dick dealt with this.

19) This scene alone shows a lot of fun back and forth between Veronica, Logan, and the idiots of Neptune.

Logan [after these two Canadian drunks call a girl a crazy bitch at karaoke night]:

(GIFs originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

20) Again with the theme of addiction:

Veronica [internal monologue]: “You know what? It’s a one time deal. A farewell tour, if you will. [Sees hot as fuck Logan] Then again, you ever hear the one about the junkie who was satisfied with just one more taste of the good stuff?”

(GIF originally posted by @veronicaneptunes)

Veronica: “Neither have I.”

21) Chekov’s random trucker hat line...

Veronica [about being able to hide cameras in anything]: “My dad has a trucker hat that’s rigged with a camera -”

22) There’s this rule Pixar has with writing: a coincidence that gets the character into trouble is plot. A coincidence that gets them out of trouble is cheating. The fact that Veronica is able to get into someone’s house by saying she’s doing a location scout for a Clint Eastwood movie only for that person to have a connection to Clint Eastwood falls into the former of those two categories.

23) This film THRIVES on fan service which also serves the plot. For example, Veronica - like she did all the way back in season one - calls Wallace for a favor.

Veronica: “Hey Buddy! I need a favor. Can you get me a student’s permanent file?”

Wallace: “You do realize that I’m a teacher now, Veronica? An educator? This is a position of responsibility.”

Veronica: “So you’re saying it’s gonna be super easy. Good. I did NOT want to put you out.”

The theater I saw this in - with quite a few Marshmallows - all found this scene hysterical.

24) The inclusion of Deputy Sacks is a nice way of bringing in even what some would call the smaller characters into the film. AND it ends up working out really well.

25) Jerry O’Connell as Sheriff Dan Lamb.

The perfect personification of slime and corruption in Neptune. Lamb’s brother Don Lamb was the incompetent (and assholish prick of a) sheriff throughout most of the show, and somehow they made his brother even worse. At least Don Lamb would OCCASIONALLY do his job if presented with enough compelling evidence. Meanwhile Dan is even more egotistical, even says at one point he doesn’t care if Logan is innocent or not, and later in all likelihood tries to have Keith killed. Jerry O’Connell plays Lamb as wonderfully vile. A villain you love to hat.

26) I love that this film brings in so many memorable characters from the TV show, even though some are limited to one scene. But that one scene is enough for us to remember why we love them. This is very true for Daran Norris as Cliff McCormack, Neptune’s resident public appointed attorney.

27) It is interesting seeing how these characters have grown in the seven years since the TV show ended. For example, Veronica is able to show off QUITE clearly that she spent a considerable amount of time at law school when she’s defending herself at the police station.

28) The whole scene at the 09er is very entertaining, if for no other reason than a trio of fun cameos we get. We see exactly the stupidity of the “cool kids” at Neptune, we get the series’ first use of the word, “fuck,” AND we get Veronica’s trademark sass. Also we get this nice moment between husband & wife:

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29) But the 09er scene is NOTHING compared to the reunion at Neptune High.

The entire graduation scene perfectly shows off the film’s ability to balance out fan service AND move the plot forward. It brings back almost all the memorable characters from the TV show, friends and enemies a like. And for you who haven’t seen the show, we get a very clear picture of just how much Veronica “enjoyed” high school.

Veronica: “In a lesser known epic poem, ‘Dante’s Inferno 2: Hell Freezes Over,’ ten years after escaping the nine circles, Dante returns. You know, for old times’ sake. Have a couple shots, catch up with the gang...”

Madison [as Veronica approaches]: “Name?”

Veronica: “See if Lucifer’s still a bitch.”

We get a see of characters in this scene.

Madison Sinclair is still an entitled, judgmental, condescending asshole.

Gia Goodman (played by the incredible Krysten Ritter of “Jessica Jones” fame) is REMARKABLY different from the last time we saw her. Back then she was a chipper, positive (if a little naive) young woman. Then Veronica exposed her dad as a pedophile to the world, he was killed by Dick’s brother in a plane explosion, and some really awful psychotic shit went down where she is basically owned by a man named Cobb (Martin Starr). Gia is likely the most changed character since the TV show and Ritter’s amazing range supports that.

Eli ‘Weevil’ Navarro has gotten his life together, which is an incredible thing to see from the former member of a bike gang. He has a daughter, he has a wife, he is reformed! But of course Neptune is gonna tear him back down.

We even get a chance to see Horny, the recurring comic relief and nice dude from the show, in a little moment which I as a fan appreciate.

Edit: I have had it pointed out to me that the character’s name is Corny, not Horny is I’ve thought for four years. You can find the reply in notes, but I’m going to leave the name as I originally thought so you all know my shame.

30) The high school reunion also serves as a turning point for the story. Veronica realizes that Carrie’s death is tied to the death of her friend Susan Knight YEARS ago on Carrie’s father’s boat. And now her investigation has some more direction.

31) When you watch the works of Rob Thomas (the writer, not the singer) you find he is wonderfully aware of his famous name-twin.

Piz [about talking about some 2006 music]: “Maybe some SOLO Rob Thomas.”

That’s nothing compared to what we got on “iZombie” though.

32) I love this.

(GIFs originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

33) A great peek at how Veronica is not as alone as she may think is after Madison (asshole) shows Veronica’s sex tape at the family reunion. For one thing Wallace is immediately at Veronica’s side, running to turn it off. Then Wallace, Logan, Weevil, Dick, and Piz (at least. Maybe Horny too, I’m not sure.) all jump into a fight with the assholes who want to put the tape back on. A great recall from this line:

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

34) Principal Clemmons is another example of a great supporting character from the show making a brief but appreciate appearance in the film.

35) Veronica at the reunion’s after-party is very much her being in her natural environment. The scene where she’s dancing and it cuts to slow mo is very predatory to me. She is a lion ready to pounce on its prey. This is her in her element and its great to watch.

36) Martin Starr as Cobb is a...unique new character in the film. He was not in the show at all and now he’s part of the group of established characters. In hindsight it’s obvious that he’s the evil mastermind of it all (spoiler alert).

37) Veronica impersonating Martina Vasquez to get info out of Lamb is as nice callback to the series while also showing new viewers just how crafty she can be.

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

38) Leo!!!!

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

Leo was like the best boyfriend Veronica had on the show who wasn’t Logan, an actual nice guy and not Nice Guy™. Max Greenfield has gotten a lot more recognition lately for his memorable turn as Schmidt on “New Girl” but he’s GREAT on the show and in this film. He only has one scene but it’s a bit bigger than say Cliff’s scene or Clemmons’ scene, and him screwing with Veronica by pretending to not remember her is a lot of fun.

39)

Leo: “By the way, I didn’t know the FBI was looking into the Bonnie DeVille case.”

Veronica: “I’m not with the FBI.”

Leo: “You sure? I could’ve SWORN I heard somewhere that you were in the FBI.”

Veronica: “Another life maybe.”

Rob Thomas pitched a drastically altered version of the show which would have seen Veronica join the FBI in season 4. I’m kinda glad it didn’t work it, but they shot this pitch:

youtube

40) So James Franco is in this movie.

Rob Thomas said in an interview:

"My producing partner, Danielle Stokdyk, her husband is an Academy Award-winning visual effects artist who happened to have just done 'Oz the Great and Powerful.' He had become friendly with James, and it really was easy as this: I emailed a script and said we'd love you for this part and honestly five minutes later, five minutes later, he emailed me back and said, 'sounds fun, I'm in.'"

41) Add Vinnie Van Lowe to the list of fun appearances from the show!

42) According to IMDb:

In one of the shots, a man dressed like a gorilla was needed to dance in the foreground while Kristen Bell and Ken Marino played a scene on a bench. Ryan Hansen had just wrapped his last scene in the film a few hours earlier and was hanging out on set and agreed to do the scene. Rob Thomas and Ryan then decided to prank Kristen and Ken, who didn't know it was Ryan in the gorilla suit. The stint made the DVD bloopers reel.

43) Veronica cannot say, “I know what happened,” without me thinking of this:

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

44) Chekov’s random trucker hat line.

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

45) This line that Deputy Sacks has is very telling about who he is as a character, his conflict, and what is up in Neptune.

Sacks: “I saw this thing on, uh, YouTube a few weeks ago, Keith. It’s a funny video. A...uh...two nazi they’re uh...looking at the skulls on their insignias and the piles of dead bodies. And they have this moment of clarity. Wait a minute...we’re the bad guys.”

46) Deputy Sacks’ death is a surprisingly powerful moment. This is a character who has been around since the pilot in 2004. Someone who was always there and who Veronica or anyone else never got super close to. But he was always there, always a good cop, and the sorrow of his loss is seen in one simple unanswered question:

Doctor: “Was he a friend of yours?”

47) The following LoVe love scene (LoVe is the ship name for Logan + Veronica) really shows off how these two not only have a chemistry built on being able to be themselves, but also the fact they’re each INCREDIBLY attracted to each other and just have this raw sexy passion. There is a tenderness, a connection, a heat to them that is just unmatched by any of her other boyfriends.

48) Remember how Veronica is sort of an addict?

Veronica: “The only way I’m not going to spend the day obsessing about my dad is by nailing Gia and Luke to the wall.”

49) One of Veronica’s most defining character traits is that when she decides a person is guilty, they are guilty. And it takes a lot for her to alter her theory or her idea of what is going on. This is seen when she is watching Gia and Cobb hook up, and she comments...

Veronica: “Gia seduced her lap dog into killing Carrie.”

There is NOTHING about that scene that shows Gia initiating sex with Cobb, it’s totally Cobb doing it. But Veronica can’t see that, she only sees what supports her theory. And then there’s this line that shows what she thinks of Gia.

Veronica [after Logan warns her to be careful]: “Child please, it’s Gia Goodman. The day I can’t handle Gia Goodman...”

This is very much a line that would be applied to high school Gia, not this new Gia. Veronica has little to no idea who this new Gia is.

50) The following scene between Veronica and Gia is a great character moment for Gia. Krysten Ritter’s skills as an actor show us just how tortured and trapped this once kindhearted and positive girl was, and it’s heartbreaking.

51) The entire climax (where Cobb has Veronica trapped in Gia’s apartment building) is very tense. Cobb has the upper hand physically and Veronica knows that. She has to play this confrontation by hiding, being patient, and outsmarting Cobb. And she does! It is wonderfully paced and choreographed and just a great moment of tension.

52) My biggest criticism of this film is that I’m always surprised by how quickly it wraps up, but it’s also something I’ve gotten more comfortable with in repeat viewings.

53) The metaphor of Veronica as an addict has never been clearer than her last lines of the film (an internal monologue).

Veronica: “My name is Veronica, and I’m an addict. Hello Veronica.”

54) Logan often had inspirational messages on his voice mail in the show. This message which plays over the end credits is very nice.

Logan: “This is Logan reminding you: if you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask which seat, just get on. Sheryl Sandberg said that. So don’t leave a message. Go get on that rocket ship. Or, leave a message. Your call. Your decision will tell me a lot about you.”

That - to me - seems very telling about the film. They took a chance on asking fans to finance it and it turned out wonderfully! They got on their rocket.

This recap ended up being much longer than I intended. And there’s still a lot here I can talk about which I haven’t. And that is very telling of the film. There is a lot to dissect, a lot that works and is going on in the movie. The writing is incredible, with a good balance of fan service and plot. The acting is as good as it ever was on the show, Rob Thomas’ direction is great, and it is just what fans who were waiting seven years for closure deserved. A great, great film and a fantastic potential finale to the series.

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andybondurant · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on Andy Bondurant

New Post has been published on http://andybondurant.com/2019/01/11/from-nothing-to-something/

From Nothing to Something

Close your eyes…

No seriously, participate in this little action with me. You can’t close your eyes (and still read this) but imagine nothing. Okay, I know that’s hard, but as best you can imagine empty space, no creation, vast blankness.

Now to this empty space, add a light (someplace, somewhere, somehow). Now add a little bit of water (or a lot of water, this is your imagination). Find a spot to add a plant or two. Finally, add some sort of creature.

Congratulations, you just created a world with nothing more than your imagination…and words. You took words on this screen, and you transformed them into a world in your head. The power of words, or even more specifically, the power of a word is really quite amazing.

Let me show you.

In the beginning

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ‘ Genesis 1:1-3

Let me back up for a moment. Before I go on to words, let me say something about God. It’s really more important than words or where I’m headed – the Word of the Year project.

It begins with God.

Not just the world, the universe, your life, but everything begins and ends with God. Too many times in my life, I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking perfection will lead me to what I want or need. If I can get this right or choose the right word, idea, wife, car, house, job, dog, then God can work.

That makes God too small. God isn’t someone I can reduce to my size (or quite honestly smaller). He’s vast. He’s omnipresent. He’s the creator. He existed before everything.

In the beginning, God.

My attempt to choose a word, a job, a spouse is secondary to allowing God to use the word or job or (fill in the blank). His work within my life (word, job, wife, etc) is what creates anything close to perfection.

youtube

Nothing

In the beginning God…looked upon nothing. We can’t truly comprehend the first few lines of Genesis. All we’ve ever known is something. We’ve only lived a world consisting of things – both natural and man-made. We were born into a world of trees and grass and birds and animals (lots of somethings). As children of the 20th and 21st centuries, we know lots of technology – from refrigerators and air conditioners to computers, video game consoles, televisions, and cell phones

The closest we’ve ever experienced nothing is those amazing pictures of Mars and beyond from NASA. Even then, it’s difficult for us to comprehend a world 3 billion miles away.

Then God goes from difficult to understand to flat-out impossible.

Something from Nothing

Into this vast amount of nothing, God speaks a word. Light.

And into this nothing, God creates something. Not only does God create something from nothing, but He designs massively complex things with a word. Google “what does light consist of” and you’ll find articles on something called the Quantum Theory of Light. I skimmed through it, and it went way over my head.

God created light…with a word.

If we can’t understand “nothing,” we really struggle to create something vast and complex from it. On my best day, I can take two lesser materials to create something bigger, better. God did it with nothing.

We know the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” is not true. Words inherently carry power. But I wonder if we really understand how powerful a single word can have in our lives.

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Word of the Year | 2011

I began to understand the power of a word in my own life in 2011. Like many people, 2009 was a difficult year. The economy tanked, and with it the family business I worked began an abrupt decline. If you’ve ever worked in a family business, you know the strain that comes with working with family. Add on top of that extreme financial pressure, and it’s a flammable situation.

Financial strain. Relational strain. These can lead to other issues – emotional, physical, spiritual. For me, I asked God a lot of questions. Questions like, “Where are you? I thought You had more for me than this? Why did you let this happen?” This continued through 2010, even as we worked through some of the financial issues, the pressure was still intense.

If you would have asked me at that time, “What is it you’re feeling?” I couldn’t have put it into words. Looking back now, it’s easy to see. I was bound. I was locked up by fear and brokenness and confusion and hurt. Those emotional and spiritual chains were keeping me from the place God was calling me.

I needed freedom.

In late 2010, my wife met an old college friend. Over coffee, they decided to choose one word for the entire year. It wasn’t a resolution or even a goal. I was a personal project for growth. There was no blueprint or structure…just choose a word, commit it to God and see what happens.

Let me remind you of that phrase from Genesis 1, “In the beginning God…” I didn’t know what I needed, but I knew I something needed to be different. I had no idea what it was or how to get it. God did. He was chasing me, and into my darkness, brokenness, and pain He spoke a word.

Freedom.

Kia (my wife) came home from her coffee date, shared with me their project, and I did the most abnormal thing I could have done. I immediately jumped in. I didn’t hesitate; I didn’t ask questions. I just joined in.

I chose the word FREEDOM. Again, in the beginning, God. He knew what I needed, and I believe He guided my steps at that moment. In all of my questioning of Him, in all His quietness, this is how He spoke…a word.

2011 changed my life, and it started with a word.

I dove deep into my word that year. Everywhere I looked – songs, videos, movies, books, scripture – I saw my word. I learned lessons like searching for open space (blue oceans), living intentionally, and learning to say, “No.”

It put me on the path to find purpose, hope, and true freedom.

God took all of my nothing’s (hurt, pain, brokenness, anxiety, anger, and shame), and He turned them into something. I believe He can do that for you too. I believe God can take all of your brokenness (your nothing) and use it to create something.

Are you ready?

3 Steps to Find and Grow from Your Word of the Year

That first year I had no guide on how to do a Word of the Year. Since then I’ve learned a lot on how to be successful with this project. I’ve also learned that some years bring amazing depth, but other years are disappointing. However, over the course of 8 years of doing this project, my life is richer for it.

Here are three steps to enrich your Word of the Year project:

Ask | Wait | Listen

Right now, I expect (if you’ve made it this far), you are in one of three places. You have a word. You don’t have a word but want one. You’re not even sure if this project is right for you. Here’s my encouragement for you…

Ask. Ask God (no matter which place you find yourself) for wisdom.

‘If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ‘ James 1:5

In the beginning God. Start there. Ask for wisdom. Ask questions like, “God, what is my word? God, what do you want me to learn? God, should I even try this?”

The second part of this step is a little harder – wait and listen.

‘Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.’ Psalms 25:4-5

My 2019 Word of the Year is COURAGE. I’m learning to wait can be the most courageous thing I can do. After you ask, wait. Wait and listen.

In the waiting, don’t overthink it. The actual word you choose isn’t the key. The key is God. If you choose to give whatever word you choose to God, allow Him to work through it, then you will find meaning and purpose in your word.

Listening is important because it’s a tool you’ll use throughout the year. Listening can take place in a multitude of ways. You may hear through a movie or YouTube video or book or online article or scripture.

One important skill to learn is hearing the “still small voice of God.” It’s very difficult to describe if you’ve never experienced it. It’s not an audible voice. It’s not even a voice in your head. The voice of God is a cross between a feeling and a loud thought. You feel it in your heart, but it’s thought in your head.

It’s in this way, I most often hear God speak to me. For any question you ask of God, it’s most often in the quiet place between your heart and head where you will find the answers. So wait for it.

Believe and Share

If you have your word, it’s time for some faith. First, you need to believe. Not a lot, just start with a mustard seed of faith.

‘“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”’ Matthew 17:20

For perspective, in our non-agrarian society, the mustard seed is one of the smaller seeds. It ends up growing to be a larger garden plant. Faith starts small. Many times it starts with a choice – even a small choice – a choice to believe.

Choose to believe God is in this. Make a choice to believe your word is from Him. Believe something good will come from this project. Take a small step of faith.

Then take a little larger step; share your word with someone. We don’t truly believe something until we share it. Saying a belief out loud puts validity to that belief within our hearts and heads. Telling someone else your word kicks off your process of growth from the word.

‘But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” ‘ 2 Corinthians 4:13

Share with someone your word, and how you hope to learn or grow from it this year. It could be over coffee or at the dinner table. If you are a person who enjoys writing, it could be a blog post or something on Facebook. It might be an image on Instagram.

Take this small step of faith. Put it out there.

Act.

This is the place where growth really happens. It’s time to put your faith into action. This is where you get to begin using your creativity.

‘But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ‘ James 1:22

How you act will look different than how I act, but here are a few ideas. Begin looking for your word in stores. One year, I found a set of oversized scrabble letters, so I spelled out my word, VISION, and put it in my office. Many years, I’ll design and print a t-shirt displaying my word. Kia found a set of 12″ raw wood letter in Target one year and hung her word, OPEN and my word, BOLD on our office wall.

You get the idea. But there are tons more. If you write, spend a day a month (or more) writing about your word. Some of you draw or paint, create images that depict what your word means to you. For those who love to read, find books and articles about your word.

One important reminder for me is to make sure I work in both the digital realm and the physical realm. I find I learn in both settings, but I see and hear differently depending on the medium I am using.

The last thing, I’ll say about taking action is to be consistent. I stated earlier, not every year has been a banner year with this project. I’ve found the most successful years are the years I am most consistent in working through my word on a regular basis. It doesn’t need to be daily or even weekly. However, it’s important to do something focused on your word at least monthly if you want to gain the most out of it.

The final word

God delights in taking the “nothing” of your life and creating something with it. It begins with Him, but it rests in you. Will you let Him in. Will you work with Him.

The Word of the Year project is like anything else. The more you put into it, the more you will receive from it. You must ask, wait and listen. You need to believe and share our words. It’s vital you act.

But remember, God.

In the beginning, God.

#dreams #freedom #Genesis #James #Kia Bondurant #life #Psalms #word of the year

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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Why God Never Answered My Prayer to Make Me Straight

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I knew I was attracted to the same sex when I was seven—in some capacity, anyway. I don’t think it’s physiologically possible to truly feel sexual attraction at such a young age. But I knew there was a drawing in me toward the same gender—and drawing that was more than what some would say is “natural” or “normal.”

As I grew up in a rural Louisiana town and teenage hormones began to surge throughout my body, my drawing toward the same gender intensified—sexually and emotionally. While I was definitely not engulfed in the life of a church during my adolescence, I was raised in close enough proximity to religious things—and religious people—that I knew the Bible referenced homosexuality as an abominable thing.

The Bible referenced to me as an abominable thing. That was my understanding anyway. And not only did the Bible paint people like me in the light of all that is grotesque, but so did the people around me. Family, friends, football coaches. Everyone. To be gay was to be gross. To be gay was to be wicked. To be gay was to be scum.

So I prayed. Oh. How. I. Prayed.

“God, make me normal.”

“God, make me straight.”

“God, make me like everyone else.”

But God didn’t answer those prayers. Why?

I hear my experience repeated by others all the time. Just yesterday, actually. A Christian friend of mine was conversing with a guy who is living a homosexual lifestyle. He pleaded with her to believe that he had prayed for years for God to make him straight…to no avail. She was speechless. She didn’t know how to respond.

“Matt, why didn’t God answer his prayer? I mean, he prayed God’s will? Why was there no answer?”

I’m not God, so I can’t know all the reasons why He wouldn’t have answered this guy’s prayers to be made attracted to women. But, I do know what He’s revealed in the Bible and I do know what I now, as a believer in Jesus, believe to be true of my own “unanswered prayers” experience.

Firstly, when I grew up pleading with God to make me straight, I had no real interest in God Himself. I wasn’t praying for God to do this because I loved Him or wanted to live my life for Him. I was actually pretty unconcerned about Him, to be honest. I wanted God to take away my same-sex desires for my own benefit—so that I could fit in, be normal, be one of the guys, and even so that I could just have sex with girls like all of my friends were. So I obviously wasn’t worried about being sexually moral. I just wanted to be sexually normal.

My desire to be made straight was all about me. I had no interest in being reconciled to God or having a relationship with Christ.

Which brings me to by second point. From what I see in the Bible, God is far more concerned with first fixing our hearts than he is with fixing other things in our lives. Same-sex attraction included. Yes, it’s true that God hates homosexuality. But more than that, He hates that our hearts are opposed to Him and that we long to live our lives separated from Him. God’s foremost desire is that we would come to Him through Christ to receive new hearts that love and adore Him.

In fact, nothing can even begin to be done as far as the untangling of our sexualities until we receive new hearts that love and adore God. How do I know that? Because Romans 1 says that the whole reason homosexual desire even exists is due to our rejection of God’s loving rule and authority over our lives.

Don’t skip over this passage of Scripture I’m about to paste under here. It’s vital that you read it.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” Romans 1:18-26.

Homosexual desire—and all other sinful desire—exists in the hearts of people because worship of God doesn’t.

In Adam, we corporately rejected the good rule of God over our lives. And in each of our hearts, we have all individually rejected the good rule of God over our lives. And what has been the result? God has given us over to ourselves. He gave us up to our sinful desire, and has allowed us to revel and further deteriorate in it.

So why didn’t God answer my prayer to rid me of my homosexual desires? Because homosexual desires were not my main problem. They were a problem, for sure. But the root of my problem was that I didn’t love God or worship Him, and my homosexual desires were just fruit of that, so to speak. God’s desire was to fix the root of my issues.

And in 2010, He did just that. He opened my eyes to see all that Jesus Christ is for those who will believe. I finally really saw Jesus as the Son of God who took on flesh and who in humility and incredible graciousness laid His life down for mine. He offered up His life to pay for my guilt in order that I could draw near to God and be given me a new heart; a new heart that loves, adores and worships the one true and incredibly good God.

Am I now straight? Am I now normal? Am I now free from same-sex desires and attracted solely to women?

No, no and no.

My heart was changed instantaneously when I trusted in Christ and began to follow Him, but my mind was not. I now have a heart that genuinely loves God and desires to worship Him, but at the same time, I’m still utterly messed up and damaged by sin. The Lord is working in me and renewing my mind day by day, shaping me more and more into the reflection of Him that I was created to be. But it’s been a process. And it will continue to be a process until I receive a new, perfect and sinless body in the age to come. When that day comes, the fullness of what Jesus purchased for me will be given to me: full freedom from every sinful thing that restrains my enjoyment and worship of God.

But even now, in this messed up damaged flesh, I have experienced some change in my sexuality over the past four years. I can’t deny that. And the shifting in my sexual desires is a direct result of my grace-given love for God. I’ve grown in my disgust of homosexual relations because I see what a twisting and perversion it is of the image of God. And I’ve grown in my desire for women (specifically, one woman…I wrote about it here), and maybe even in my desire for marriage, because I see how a one man + one woman marital covenant so beautifully reflects the image of God.

My growing desire for women is the overflow of a growing desire to see God’s glory manifested in my life. Plain and simple. I’m not saying that I’m definitely going to get married one day. I might not. I may be single and celibate for the remainder of my sojourning in this world. But either way, I will be fine and I will be joyful because my main problem has been fixed. I might not be “straight” or “normal,” but I have a new heart, I have Jesus and I have the Father. And that’s all I really need.

**This article originally appeared on moorematt.org.

About the Author: Matt Moore is a Christian writer living in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he moved in 2012 to help plant NOLA Baptist Church. Matt spends his days drinking way too much coffee and writing about a wide variety of topics at www.moorematt.org. Connect with him on Facebook or Twitter.

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