Whenever I'm angry I think about getting physically restrained by all of mcr and ig makes me feel better some times

same vibes. 8.5/10

The Golden Forest

Plot : 9.5/10

The yandere : 8.5/10

Artwork : 9/10

Author and artist : Yun Sori

If you love fantasy romance, then this one is a must read. I was surprised to see the quality of the story and art, especially the story. The plot is so coherent, from the beginning to end (from what I gathered via novel spoiler), with a lot of foreshadowings that makes sense when the twist is revealed in the end.

The characters are all compelling and written with depth and motivation. The author cleverly invented a myth and built a lore that is original and interesting. In fact, it is so good that the manhwa is the one rare case where I don’t mind if the FL does not end up with the yandere.

The yandere here is one of the ML. He is manipulative and obsessive. I see that he loves the FL, but his distorted view on life purpose and sense of duty always clashed with his desire to be with his love/ obsession. His duality makes him a tragic villain that I can sympathise with. But after what he’s done and willing to sacrifice just so he can ascend, I can see that his love and obsession for FL is not enough. Hey many of us love yandere men because of their undying devotion, right? But as a character, I love that he is not just a one note, instead, he is absolutely flawed and human.

If the above is not enough to convince you reading this one, perhaps the artwork could do the job? I mean look at how pretty the design is:

Or this:

This manhwa is based on a novel, however it is not translated yet. I wish we could have EN translation too, because from what I heard, the novel is more rich in nuance and subtleties. Hope someone will pick it up!

The manhwa is still ongoing, but the amount of chapter is quite meaty. You definitely can start now!

- Agnezz

if you're still rating music, Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me! ?

its funny, i had thought i had tried this album before but when i looked lastfm said i only have one of God's pairs of plays on the whole thing so i dont know what i was really listening to lol. but it really blew me away listening to it this time. basically every song is really cool i can see why its so revered on top of ofc being about transgender stuff. thanks for giving me a chance to try it out for real :)

Ran (1985). In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.

King Lear adaptations, my beloved. This is genuinely such a staggering feat of cinema - visually sublime and full of tension, texture and complexity. The use of colour and the environment just sings, and I really wish I'd gotten to see it on the big screen. Magic stuff. 8.5/10.

Wow... that was amazing! I completely understand why One Piece fans won't shut up about how good the series is.

Hope Netflix greenlights Season 2 (and stops being stupid and agree to the new demands of the writers and actors unions) because out of everything that got a S2 on there, this definitely deserves it.

Voodood

Voodood is a magic core from Spyro’s Adventure. His primary attack is to simply slash in front of him with his axe, while his secondary is to launch his axe blade on a chain and reel in himself or enemies. My favorite is his tertiary; laying down a magical tripwire that closes on and shocks any enemy caught by it, and it can catch multiple. His upgrade paths boost his magical abilities (top) and his axe proficiency (bottom). I prefer his top path, because I feel without it, he's not a very magical skylander. His top paths boost multiple abilities, modifying his tripwire and giving his axe strikes more damage. It also gives an upgrade that makes him shock anything that hits him, similar to the thorns enchantment in Minecraft. His lower path grants combos, if you like that sort of thing. I really enjoyed playing him, I think Voodood is a fun mixed-melee skylander, and he's one of the more novel skylanders I've played. Overall 8.5/10, grab him if you want some novelty.

If you want to play as a similar skylander, Voodood plays similarly to Dino-Rang and Ghost Roaster (both of Spyro's Adventure), and Sprocket (of Giants)

If you want to play co-op, Voodood would pair well with another versatile skylander, like the dragons, or a charging longranger, like Gill Grunt (of Spyro's Adventure)

crowd vs. critic single take // EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022)

Photo credits: IMDb.com

What do you do when everything in your life is dissatisfying everywhere you look?

For Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh), there’s little she loves about her life above the laundromat. For her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), there’s little love left in the marriage he staked his whole life on. For their daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu), there’s little in her life to inspire her namesake. Their days are filled with laundry, taxes, and family tension, all dipped in a glaze of aching malaise. But everything changes during a meeting with the IRS when a man who looks like Waymond—but acts nothing like him—warns Evelyn of a battle to save the multiverse only she can win. 

CROWD // Nothing is not weird about Everything Everywhere All at Once. Fanny pack kung fu? Hot dog fingers? Center-of-the-multiverse bagels? I swear I’m not just squishing random words together. Though comic book heroes have leaned into multiverses for some time, it’s not the stuff of movies that want awards or even ones that want to branch out beyond sci-fi genre tropes. Everything throws you into its complicated plotting and its (at times) puerile humor with little explanation, and it gives you precious few moments to catch your breath. I have watched it three times, and I still can’t explain everything back to you.

Everything can be indiscriminately loud for its own sake, but it also feels like the brain child of a cast and crew obsessed with finding afflatus in every moment, which is makes it hard not to give them credit even if they don’t always achieve it. (What does achieve it: Raccacoonie!) The movie cares equally about dazzling the audience with fun ideas and about creating a catharsis for its characters, which come together in the symbol of an everything bagel of all things. In the bagel: joy, pain, compassion, loneliness, loyalty, nihilism, choice, fate, pride, fear, and…googly eyes? It may be literalizing the Second Law of Thermodynamics, but if you're willing to go for the ride, you'll have a blast.

POPCORN POTENTIAL: 8.5/10

CRITIC // Nothing is weirder about Everything Everywhere All at Once than the fact that it won Best Picture—except maybe that it’s the third most-decorated Best Picture winner of the 21st century after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (11 wins) and Slumdog Millionaire (8 wins). (2013’s Gravity didn’t win the top prize, but its seven wins are tied with Everything’s total.) Individually, its 11 nominations all make sense. Yeoh and Quan are undeniable, and Best Supporting Actress winner Jamie Lee Curtis is as delightful as ever. The script has no comparison in film history, the editing feels like watching a flawless Simone Biles routine, and good luck keeping track of all the changes in costumes and musical style. Somehow the Daniels directed it all into one package—that’s no easy feat!

If only the sum of Everything was as great as its parts. The line, “In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you,” is one of the most romantic lines in modern cinema, but the film’s shambolic energy lacks the focus and maturity to fully develop its ideas or world building. Like the title suggests, this film cares more about quantity than quality.

ARTISTIC TASTE: 8.5/10

Twelve Thoughts About Laws of Attraction

 

These people brutally and bloodily killed a kid and a dog in the first 3 episodes...damn! And look, I love a hot, service top bodyguard and his bratty misunderstood charge story as much as the next person but Tan? Had a dog killed so, he’s not getting that much sympathy from me here. 

Maya and Rose are so hot I want to cry. The very specific vibes they are giving, Maya -Pink and Rose -Gemma Atherton in St Trinians, push all my buttons. Sorry Charn and Tinn but every time they are on the screen my brain melts and I don’t know what else is happening. 

Charn needs to be on Game of Thrones, House of Cards, or Succession(I have watched none of these shows but I assume he would fit right in)something fitting his wicked grin and scheming soul. Like the show tells me he was a sweet and naïve do-gooder until the big bad thing happened, but that was clearly his good twin who died in the woods. His mother might be ashamed but Jimmy Ford would buy him an ice cream. (Found out his nickname is Chaos Gremlin and I can’t think of anything more suitable than that.)

The shirt game in this series is fire.

Also fire? The chemistry. 4A fire. Like I get now why people are obsessed with acting pairs(I hate the toxicity involved but I get the love). It’s like fanfic. I would watch these two as a couple in a 100 different a/u stories as long as Rose and Maya (and Nawin) were along for the ride.  

Between this and The Sign, I realized that every story needs a grandmother(or more than one) to tell these characters to get their ish together. KP desperately needed a grandmother. 

Pretty predictable plot (elevated way, way up by the performances) and toooooo many flashbacks. Seriously, please stop with the flashbacks, especially since they are mostly Charn’s dead mother or Tinn’s dead niece. Be more depressing, I dare you.  (I would pay good money to see Nawin meeting completely feral Charn for the first time and falling head over heels though --that’s  the flashback we need folks)

Rich kids with crappy parents need to learn how to hustle and embezzle money from them so they can get gone. Seriously, just buy a ton of jewelry and designer clothes and resell it all. Will they even notice? I’m guessing not. 

Look, I know the Senator is evil like the fru -ets of the devil but he reminds me of a young Temuera Morrison, so he’s also kind of hot? 

 I just really want a KP/LOA crossover where Charn and Vegas have a wardrobe and smirk off competition and Nawin brings all the violent himbo energy to visit the Threepanyakuls -- especially Tankhun. 

The goons did not sign up for all this relationship drama.

Okay, but I need a new Leverage international team with Charn, Rose, Maya, Tin, Thee, and Nawin. 

Bonus -genuine kudos to them for not going the “Charn is a completely redeemed angel now ” route and for not making that something that was required for Charn and Tin to work as a couple. Tin fell in love with chaos gremlin Charn, not the one he was before. 

Koi to Shinzou [Manga]

Yandere: Hirose Haruma

Personal Rating: 8.5/10

Author: Kaido Chitose

finished the giant robo ova and it’s clear they were setting up for a sequel or follow up that never happened and I can’t help but wonder why.

Here’s a tip. If you’re considering going to see Jacqueline Novak’s acclaimed comedy special, Get On Your Knees, which is a 90 minute monologue-spoken word piece that’s 90% about penises and blowjobs, specifically? If you have never interacted with a penis, let alone given a blowjob, and the words “toothy head” are strictly an abstract concept even if you DO understand it - don’t spend your money on the really good seats

[Updated]. 

“You think your illusions can stop me? Think again!”

DAY SHIFT 2022

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[Waveyreviews] 8.5

Maaan😂 the moment I saw the cast and a bit of the trailer I knew I was going to love it and maaaaaan I absolutely love it🔥🔥🔥

I love the fact that, honestly, as a vampire movie, they don't bother trying to explain a lot about how vampires work, or how they came about😂 we don't need that anymore. They're just there... Among us😂 we get like one scene where we get an explanation of the types of Vamps (and a bad guy that wasn't shown in the movie - which leads me to believe there will be a sequel).🤔

The action was incredible!! 😂😂 John Wick style fights, with incredible gunplay, knife-play, environment-play😂 all the fight scenes were a joy to watch.

There's wasn't anything visually "over-the-bar", no awesome camera moments (aside from some failed attempt to move a camera from a car into the air😂that looked terrible) but otherwise the camera work was great.

The Nezarian Brothers😭😭🔥🔥🔥😂😂 YES!! Aside from Jamie Foxx maintaining a comedic vibe (that didn't overshadow the intensity of the movie) The brothers are easily the best thing in this movie😂😂 The hive scene was an Action Masterpiece!! Not too much going on... But just enough to make things WOW and funny at the same time😂 I rewinded that scene a couple times.

The ending was awesome... Bringing us back to the roots of the vampire hunter🔥 masterful. All in all, this was an absolute joy to watch. I hope there's a sequel. Fully recommend.

8.5/10

just finished Pyramids! and i’ve got to say, even though there was no Rincewind and barely any Death, it’s my favourite book so far. it was just so fun and well written! absolutely loved it.

Defending Your Life (dir. Albert Brooks)

-Jere Pilapil- 8.5/10 While you fuckin plebs are out here living out your “Spooky Season” or whatever, I’m keeping CINEMA alive. Ok, Ok: My New Year’s Resolution had been to focus on physical media I’ve amassed over the years over chasing the new and shiny (or new to streaming). Things have been a mixed bag in that regard, but keeping in that spirit, my blu-ray queue is mostly Criterion movies, martial arts and a couple anime (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Paranoia Agent, specifically). Much of it is stuff I’ve already seen, and, wanting something new, a movie about a guy who dies was, actually, the closest-to-Halloween thing I had available last night. And of course, Albert Brooks’ Defending Your Life is not a spooky movie at all, but a bit of an existential comedy wherein Brooks plays Daniel, the man who dies and finds himself in the afterlife. His afterlife experience is Judgement City, an effective paradise where the deceased review key days in their lives and “move on” or get sent back to earth to hopefully improve. It’s a premise not entirely dissimilar to Groundhog Day, which came later but also finds its protagonist in an endless purgatory until he improves himself, finds love and is finally allowed to live the next day in his life. Defending Your Life differs most drastically by having Daniel be not an asshole and a narcissist but just an average guy. He’s timid, and the thing most concerning the beings judging him is that fear: the days they review are all major moments in Daniel’s life where he acted (or didn’t act) out of fear, leading to an average life when he could have strived for more. But the heart of the movie isn’t in the past, but the present: it’s an exploration of Daniel as he passes the time in Judgement City. He gets a glimpse into his past life, eats tons of meals, meets some eccentric folks, and meets Meryl Streep’s Julia. This movie kind of deserves a place in a Best of Meryl Streep collection, not because Julia is a particularly interesting character, but because she’s not. There’s more than a little Manic Pixie Dream Girl in how Julia is written a bit vaguely and perfectly, but Streep is just such a charismatic and appealing on-screen presence that I almost don’t mind and nearly didn’t notice. She has a gentle chemistry with Brooks that makes them a very easy couple to root for, despite the uncertainty of how Brooks’ judgement might go. Defending Your Life might be the definition of a comfort watch, actually. The conflict, despite the cosmic/existential implications, is very minor: it’s a bummer that Brooks might not “pass” his judgement, but he’s only being sent back to earth to live another life. Judgement City is gorgeous, resembling a warmer version of the city in Jacques Tati’s Playtime, but without the physical comedy. And Rip Torn is wonderful as Daniel’s defendant (everyone insists that it’s “not a trial” but it sure resembles one a lot), a burst of confident optimism ready to turn every one of Daniel’s foibles into a virtue. So yeah, not a particularly good October movie, but a really fun and kind one that I enjoyed immensely.

crowd // AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)

Note: This is a modified version of a review originally written for ZekeFilm. Photo credits: IMDb.com.

A review of An American in Paris from an American who was just in Paris! This musical-loving, Gene Kelly-crushing Oscars enthusiast has had plenty of reasons to watch this 1951 Best Picture winner, but falling in love with Paris in May finally moved it to the top of my watchlist.

Kelly stars (and choreographs) as expat Jerry, a World War II G.I. who stayed in Paris to pursue his dream of painting. Inspiration surrounds him, but he still starves like an artist. When the enchanting Milo (Nina Foch) discovers his work, his fortunes may change. She offers everything he’s dreamed of as his sponsor, and she’s hoping for more than a business relationship. But there’s a hiccup: He’s just fallen for Lise (Leslie Caron). From there it’s the classic conundrum every artist wrestles with: Do we live for love or money?

An American in Paris is a ‘50s musical all about the delights of falling in love in Paris—if that doesn’t appeal to you, are you…broken? It’s possible this movie is over-the-top compared to your usual movie palette with its patterned costumes and borderline-slapstick humor, but you can’t call this Best Picture winner pretentious. Part of my love for Kelly stems from his enthusiasm for literally anything he’s doing at that moment. When he dances, his eyes can get so wide he might remind you of the last frames of Psycho if he had any traces of menace in his persona. He’s extra but he’s sincere—if you make fun of his goody-goody vibes, the joke’s on you because he’ll still be having the best time. That energy is one of the reasons he is still one of the GOATs. Even if you’re not a musical enthusiast, Kelly’s athletic and Caron’s balletic moves will still wow you, and co-star Oscar Levant is around for comic relief—Kelly is sincere, but Paris has plenty of silliness.

Bottom line: Much has been written about how Americans tired of over-the-top musicals by the ‘60s, but it’s not because of ‘50s installments like this one.

CROWD: 8.5/10