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My Opinions on Umbrella Academy Netflix Original *SLIGHT SPOILERS*

If you haven’t heard of Umbrella Academy, I definitely recommend watching the show on Netflix and reading the comic books by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá. Umbrella Academy is best described as a dysfunctional family of superheroes; the family 6 siblings (and 1 dead brother and father) Pogo, the chimpanzee and a robot mother named Grace. The story starts off with siblings finding out their ‘father’ Reginald Hargreeves is dead. As someone who was extremely excited for Umbrella Academy coming to Netflix, I was not disappointed with the show at all.  At first, I was a little scared to what Netflix would do to the original comic’s story, which I found chaotic in the best possible way, however I love the direction Jeremy Slater and Steve Blackman decided for the story.

The original Umbrella Academy comic provides the audience complex characters that don’t cleanly fall in a category of good or evil, but the show builds upon that even more. The show clearly shows both the good and bad sides of each and further develops the effects of Hargreeves’ so-called parenting had on them. The show displays the different ways that growing up in the Umbrella Academy had on the such as Vanya’s need to be loved and constant apologies, or Klaus’ dependence on drugs and alcohol to feel numb, or even Luther’s inability to communicate his feelings to others properly. The show does a wonderful job of not only telling the original story but also building upon it and touching on subjects like mental illness, abusive relationships and addiction.

The show slowly establishes the toxic nature nature Vanya and Leonard’s relationship by making Leonard continuously point out to Vayna that he is the only one who truly loves her and Umbrella Academy shows how Leonard makes Vanya dependent upon him and how he isolates her from her family. The progression of Leonard’s personality from kind and dorky to manipulative and angry is chilling. I think it really plays on Vanya’s insecurities and develops that fact that all the siblings have stunted emotional growth because of their childhood. Although the original comic glazed over the nature of Allison and Luther’s relationship, the show points out the toxic nature of their relationship. Not only is it incest, but Luther’s obsession over Allison and possessiveness clearly shows that their relationship is not a healthy relationship. I love the way the show handles many of the relationships and shows how many of them are not healthy in some way or another.

Overall I really liked the show and I felt as though it really built upon Way and Bá’s existing world. Umbrella Academy not only has a killer soundtrack but it represents many issues that are not frequently talked about in mainstream media. As someone who really isn’t into superheroes, this is the one superhero story that I have truly enjoyed. What are your thoughts?

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My Opinions on Be More Chill: The Musical

If you have never heard of Be More Chill, then I definitely suggest listening to it because I love the music and the story. Basically, Be More Chill is the story of Jeremy Heere, a junior in high school who is hopelessly in love with Christine Canigula. However, Jeremy and his best friend, Michael Mell, are the school’s biggest losers. When the popular clique (comprised of Chloe Valentine, Jake Dillinger, Brooke Lohst, Rich Goranski and Jenna Rolan) join the school play, Jeremy loses his only chance to bond with Christine. Rich decides to tell Jeremy how he became popular using a Japanese pill called a SQUIP. (It stands for Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor.) The SQUIP implants itself in the user’s brain and tells them how to act. Later, Jeremy decides to take the pill and it has a few side effects. The SQUIP blocks Michael out of Jeremy’s life, makes him date Brooke and shocks him if he doesn’t comply. This all leads up to Jake’s party where Rich sets a fire trying to destroy his SQUIP, Chloe almost forces Jeremy to have sex with her, and Michael has a panic attack after Jeremy ends their friendship. The SQUIP convinces Jeremy to give SQUIPs the whole school, but Jeremy backs out when Christine rejects the SQUIP pill. Jeremy tries to stop the SQUIP, but Jenna has already given the entire cast of the school play SQUIPs. Michael ends up saving the day and everyone who had SQUIPs become friends. Jeremy also gets a date with Christine in the end. Of course there are things about this musical that I would change, but there are so many things that I love about it. 

 One of my favorite things about this musical is the ending song, Voices In My Head. The song starts off with all the characters telling Jeremy different ways to ask Christine out, but Jeremy decides to do it in his own awkward way. The song can be used as a metaphor for dealing with voices that constantly make you doubt yourself and the SQUIP is the personification of all of Jeremy’s anxieties and doubts. And at the end of the song the SQUIP comes back and tell Jeremy that he can’t get rid of it that easily, but Jeremy continues to sing over it and try to ignore it. Throughout the musical, you can see different characters dealing with their own forms of anxiety and I absolutely love the fact that the writers decided to acknowledge the fact that mental illness won’t just go away with one action and that coping with mental illness is an every day challenge. Although the concept of changing yourself drastically to fit it is cliche, the musical tells the story in such a strange and interesting way that I have been in love with it since the first listen. 

 Another thing I love about this musical is that every single character has their own problems and that they're all flawed in ways that Jeremy fails to notice. For example, Jeremy sees Jake Dillinger as the perfect guy: academically and physically gifted, good at talking with girls, and rich. However, in the musical all of these qualities are turned on their head. Jake is completely awkward talking with Christine and their relationship was strained and often times sort of uncomfortable. In the song 'Upgrade,' Jake mentions to Christine that his parents won't be home because they laundered money and are on the run. Despite the fact that he has lots of money, it clearly came at the cost of having his parents live with him and having anyone take care of him. Although Jake is both academically and physically gifted, he continously bounces around from different extracurricular activities. Throughout the musical, we learn that Jake does Frisbee-Golf Club, Archery Club, Model UN and he was doing the play as well. A lot of fans have speculated that going from club to club is probably due to an inability to commit to something (or a fear of doing so). This is further proved by the fact that he and Chloe have an on-again-off-again relationship. Honestly, I completely love the fact that we are presented the characters through Jeremy's eyes in the beginning of the musical because Jeremy has a flawed view of all the characters- specifically Christine. Each character, even Jeremy himself, starts off as a cliche, but what the writers decided to do with each character breaks them out of that mold. 

 One thing that I would like to change about the musical is the portrayal of the girls in the musical. We don't get to learn as much about many of the girls as we do the boys in the musical. Christine is established to be an independent person who wants to discover themselves and doesn't really care what other people think. This is re-established later when she rejects the SQUIP pill and tells Jeremy that there is nothing wrong with her the way she is. However, we don't really get to see much of the other girls apart from Jeremy’s more skewed perspective of girls. Jeremy does romanticize the idea of dating a girl and it's shown by his obsession with Christine and the things he does to date her. I wish that they would have done more to develop the girls as more than just potential girlfriends. The writers did give the girls depth beyond just pretty popular girls but it still feels lacking when compared to the boys. I also wish that they had ended with Jeremy not dating Christine as I feel that would have given more depth to both characters. Despite these flaws, I love this musical and the message it brings. It constantly makes me question what I would do in a situation like Jeremy’s and it makes me wonder if I can even judge Jeremy for what he does. This musical blurs the line between hero and villian while also providing commentary about modern life and high school. Not only does this musical have a talented diverse cast and has some LGBTQ+ representation, but it also brings awareness to mental illness and the different ways in manifests in people. I think it's a great musical and I can't wait for its Broadway debut. If you've seen or heard Be More Chill, what are your thoughts?

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The reason I didn’t like Ralph breaks the internet is because it’s an insult to people who were hurt in the past who are clingy to their friends because of it. Disney doesn’t like mentally ill people we are always the monsters. Ralph clearly has BPD

I really wish they had developed Ralph's issues and actually addressed them instead of making fun of them. I'm so tired of mental illness being used as a gag.

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so i'm currently in the process for writing a review of a musical but i have family over so it will probably be posted tomorrow. anyway happy new year!!

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My Opinions on Ralph Breaks the Internet *SPOILERS*

So I recently saw Ralph Breaks the Internet and it was an experience to say the least. It was definitely entertaining, but it was kind of unnecessary. Ralph was just a one note character. Instead the original complexity of his character, Disney made Ralph into a clingy and needy best friend that has the intelligence of a toddler. While Vanellope had some character development, Ralph only reflected on his behavior at the very end of the movie. Not only does his redemption feel hollow and slightly rushed, the plot is lacking as well. Unfortunately, all the potential the movie could have had is wasted with characters who have no personality and a plot that felt way too drawn out.

First of all, Disney really messed up Ralph’s personality in this movie. In the first movie, Ralph was a complex character who wanted more than just being a static video game villain, however, they reduce him to nothing more than an alarmingly codependent sidekick for Vanellope. Instead of building on the idea that both Ralph and Vanellope are unsatisfied with their arcade lives, Disney forces Ralph back into the role of a villain and make him unable to see that Vanellope is going through the same thing that he did. While Ralph Breaks the Internet does touch on the ideas of change, growing up and letting go, I feel it fails to show the true complexity of both Ralph and Vanellope.

Another thing that disappointed me was the fact that Ralph’s redemption arc was rushed and felt unauthentic. At the end of the movie, Ralph only realizes his possessive behavior when he sees a giant Ralph made of his insecurities. His immediate reaction is to be embarrassed and later he tells giant Ralph that he shouldn’t try to control Vanellope and that his behavior is wrong. But that is the only time any of Ralph’s issues are addressed. The movie makes a joke of Ralph’s insecurities about being left behind, while Vanellope has a heart to heart with a new character, Shank, about her fear of hurting Ralph and her dissatisfaction with her life in Sugar Rush. I think that truly talking about Ralph’s issues would have better established the overarching theme of growing apart and changing.

I appreciate everything the movie was trying to accomplish and I have to take a moment to appreciate the incredible animation and the dozens of animators who worked on the movie. Although it was entertaining, I am disappointed that Ralph’s character was practically erased. Overall the movie offered a lot of interesting commentary about internet culture and the idea of not feeling satisfied with your life; it was quite entertaining and I actually liked it quite a lot. If you’ve seen it, what do you think about it?

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so i may or may not be working on a review of Ralph Breaks the Internet,,

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does anyone have any suggestions on what i should review next?

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My Opinions On Pray For The Wicked

I decided to write this after talking about it with a friend during class. For many years I have enjoyed much of Panic! At The Disco’s music, but that doesn’t mean I love every single album. Pray For The Wicked was not the worst album of 2018, but it was certainly not the best.

The lyrics in the album were often overly repetitive and, personally, felt as though they lacked something to really give them the edge I typically hear from Panic! Most of the songs contain a swear and/or a reference to money, drug or sex. At some point the lyrics begin to just become lackluster. Songs like (Fuck A) Silver Lining, Say Amen (Saturday Night), and High Hopes just repeat the same lines over and over again. It was disappointing to compare the lyrics to albums like Vices & Virtues and TWTLTRTD. I do have to acknowledge that I absolutely love the lyrics in Roarings 20s, The Overpass, and Dying in LA. And I would love to hear more lyrics that more openly explore that side of Brendon Urie. I know that this album is considered his solo album but I feel like a lot of the potential this album has is hidden behind overly catchy pop tunes. The problem isn’t even that it’s more pop, but that Urie sacrifices lyrical mastery for repetitive verses that are almost guaranteed to gain Top 40 status. Each song had its moments, but the overall experience was underwhelming.

Brendon Urie has an undeniably wide vocal range. My problem, however, is constant usage of high notes for effect. Most of Pray For The Wicked has a high note in every chorus, but after awhile it loses its power. I would actually love to hear more of his lower range because it’s something we don’t really get to hear on the album and his voice is most likely strained from constantly have to reach and sustain high notes. I also would love to hear more songs that are stripped down. While I actually like the big band feel that he put in the album, I also think he could really create a beautiful song with just his voice and a piano or acoustic guitar. Another song like Impossible Year, Dying in La or This Is Gospel (Piano Version) would be a great break between dancey pop numbers like Dancing’s A Crime and Hey Look Ma, I Made It. This would also show more of Urie’s versatility as a artist and even allow him to give the album a more personal feel.

I liked Pray For The Wicked, but I also felt like there were things I wanted to see that were missing. I’m not saying that this album is trash and if you like it then you’re trash too, if anything tell me if you agree or disagree and why. This is just my own opinion as a huge music fan and I don’t want to disrespect anyone, especially Panic! I would love to know what you guys think.

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i think i’m gonna post music reviews on here so let’s hope i don’t get murdered by every fandom