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ramblingsrantsreviews · 4 years

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‘On My Block’s’ Controversial Season 3 Ending Makes Total Sense

Last week Netflix released the third season of On My Block, a coming-of-age dramedy that follows a group of friends in South Central Los Angeles as they navigate everyday teenage life with the challenges that their neighborhood brings on.

The third season picks up right where season 2 left off, with the four friends (Monse, Cesar, Ruby, and Jamal) being kidnapped on their walk home from school. Once their kidnapper is revealed the four friends are roped into tracking down a former Santos gang member, Lil’ Ricky, who has been presumed dead for decades. The remaining seven episodes follow their struggles to find Lil’ Ricky while navigating their changing friendships and trying to have fun on their summer break.

Fans were shocked during the finale episode when all seemed fine until the show decided to give us a glimpse into these characters’ futures by jumping two years into the future. Many of them took to Twitter and other social media websites to vent their confusion and disappointment with the season 3 finale episode.

While I’ll admit the ending was shocking and tears were shed I completely see where the writers were coming from and am going to defend their decision. After all, if you watch the series closely enough you will see that the characters’ outcomes aren’t that shocking at all.

Don’t believe me? Keep reading and you will.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Monsé Finnie

From the very beginning of On My Block, Monsé has been the de facto leader of the core four and the glue that holds them all together. As the only girl of the group she also takes over the reins as the “mom friend” who is forced to worry about her three best friends who are constantly getting themselves into trouble.

At the start of this season, she’s caught in the middle of wanting to get out of Freeridge to attend a boarding school and staying to keep her friend group together. Over the course of the season, we see her exhaustingly try to keep Cesar, Ruby, and Jamal together. She’s consonantly refereeing the boys and their countless arguments that sometimes get too personal.

On top of that, she’s trying to move on from her own grudges including forgiving Cesar for sleeping with someone else while she was away during season 2. And she also has to deal with the loss of her estranged mother this season which brings up and interesting array of feelings for her.

By the end of the season, Monsé is generally scared about what her future holds. On one hand, she’s just gone through an extremely traumatic experience with her friends and she’s seen them fight and nearly leave each other for dead. On the other hand, she’s mended her relationship with Cesar and finally has a girlfriend she can confide in. And yet, she has to give it all away to go to this new boarding school.

After everything is said and done, Monsé texts the core four asking when they can hang out again. We see each of the characters look at the message but no one answers. This is the beginning of the end of their ride or die friendship. Fearing this, Monsé begs her dad to let her stay in Freeridge but her dad and Cesar stand firm. Monsé was destined to get out of this place and this is her ticket out. We watch as Ruby, Jamal, and them on the curb to say one last goodbye.

Jasmine hands Monsé a homemade frame with her face decorating the edges and a picture of the core 4 inside. Monsé looks at it dearly and promises that she’s going to display it prominently in her new dorm room. The core four plus Jasmine share a group hug and for a moment everything is right in the world. But if you look close enough you can sense the tension and strain this is going through.

Eventually, Monsé gets in the car and drives off with her dad, the core four has officially split. And even though Cesar, Jamal, Ruby, and Jasmine watch Monsé’s car disappear together that sense of “everything is going to be okay” is lost now that the glue to their friend group has left.

And then the writers stab us in the hearts by showing Monsé two years later in her new dorm having a movie night with her new friends. The camera slowly pans to her nightstand and we see the beloved picture frame has been pushed to the back of her nightstand, overshadowed by pictures of her new friends and her new life.

Some might say it’s a classic case of teenagers growing apart and I think that’s part of the reason. After all, not everyone is destined to be best friends forever with their childhood friends. I think the other reason they grow apart is that Monsé can’t play her role as the mediator from towns apart. She isn’t there for the day to day arguments, to calm everyone’s nerves and remind each other why they’re all friends. In addition, she’s now living a very different life than her friends are. They don’t have the same problems anymore which means Monsé doesn’t have all the answers anymore.

More importantly, maybe she’s flat out tired playing that mediator role and with her new friends, she doesn’t have to. These new girls don’t force her to fix their problems, they don’t expect her to be the one constantly reaching out and checking in on them. Perhaps, they actually support her unconditionally which is something Monsé desperately needed not too long ago.

In the end, Monsé’s worst fear did come true — the core four disbanded but instead of being sad by it she almost seems relieved. And fans felt that was out of character for Monsé but is it? I don’t think it is. Monsé has spent years defusing arguments and we can see that’s she’s really fed up this time. She’s broken the vicious cycle of forgiving her friends (at least for now).

Of course, I don’t think Monsé purposely forgot about her friends, I do think they drifted away. And I don’t think this rift is permanent; after all, that’s what season 4 is for.

Cesar Diaz

Cesar has had a very tumultuous ride over the course of On My Block. In the first season is was forced into the Santos gang by his older brother and was instructed to kill a member of the rival gang. Unable to pull the trigger, the ramifications of his actions hurt those closest to him and jeopardized his future with the Santos. We saw those ramifications play out in the second season as Cesar struggled to live on the street and get back in his brother and his friends’ good graces. And by the end of season 2, he had succeeded.

Season 3 opens with Cesar being pulled back into the Santos life by the leader of the Santos herself. He and his friends are left with no choice but to help Cuchillos get what she wants or else their life is on the line — something Cesar is accustomed too but his friends are not. On top of that, Cesar’s estranged father, Ray, gets out of jail and wanders back into Cesar’s life. Having never had a relationship with him, Cesar jumps at the opportunity to get to know his father despite his brother’s warnings.

As time goes on Cesar begins to realize the severity of the situation he and his friends are in. After realizing how much Cuchillos has hurt his family, Cesar decides the only way he and his friends can win this war is if they kill her. As we get closer and closer to the end goal, we see Cesar tap into those gang mentality thoughts he fought so hard against in prior seasons.

After everything is said and done, we see the Cesar from prior seasons emerge as he comforts Monsé and pushes her to leave Freeridge. The old Cesar isn’t long for this world though. In fact, when we jump two years into the future we see Cesar’s worst fear has come true, he is now the leader of the Santos wreaking havoc on the rival gangs.

Out of all the time jump scenes, Cesar’s was the most jarring and the most heartbreaking. In fact, it’s the scene that got the fans most riled up because they felt it was wrong and uncalled for. Once again, though, if you watch the season closely enough you can see Cesar undergo this transformation from a teenager who wanted nothing to do with the Santos to a teenager who is ready to join them.

Cesar’s father returning is the first catalyst in his transformation from anti-Santos to Santos leader. That might seem silly since Ray is a new man after prison and is trying to have a better life now, but it’s the truth. Cesar has always known his father was part of the Santos but seeing him for the first time reinforces this idea that Cesar’s family lives, breathes, and dies because of the Santos gang. It’s their way of life. And even though Ray praises him for getting out and being smart, there’s still this undertone that Cesar is meant to be a Santos because it’s all they know.

If Cesar’s dad’s presence is the first catalyst to his transformation, his dad leaving is the final push Cesar needs. Why? Because it fills Cesar with rage and resentment and as Oscar said rage is how he survived in Freeridge for so long. Instead of channeling his rage into something positive, Cesar does what his family does best, turn their rage into violence.

When Cesar finds out Ray has left he tries to fight Oscar. He puts the blame for his shitty life on Oscar’s decisions. In fact, he utters the same exact words to Oscar that Oscar screams at Ray. One would think this would make him want to break the cycle of violence and his family’s need to be in the Santos gang but it only drives him closer to it.

We really see his transformation begin when the core four and Oscar decided its time to take Cuchillos down. After three days of not hearing from Oscar, Cesar begins to get worried and jumps into the action. The only problem is, he doesn’t want to put his friends in more danger than they already are so he turns to the only other family he has, the Santos. Cesar gets extremely agitated when he realizes the Santos aren’t looking for him. Worried that they’ve turned on him, Cesar confronts them and is ready to fight them but luckily he doesn’t have to. Oscar’s right-hand man steps up and defends Cesar’s wishes sending the Santos to the streets to find their leader. In doing so, Oscar’s right-hand man tells Cesar “We got you, Little Spooky,” which is the first time Cesar has ever seen the Santos truly protect him — and he likes it.

In the same episode, the core four is pulled together by Ruby after he receives a text from Cuchillos. This leads them to believe that Oscar has failed and forces Cesar to make the decision that he needs to be the one, now, to take Cuchillos down. Before the core four arrive at the hotel, Oscar’s right-hand man meets with Cesar to give him a gun. He promises to ride with Cesar no matter what, another hint that the Santos are willing to accept Cesar as their new leader if and when the time comes.

If you’re still not convinced that Cesar is beginning to accept his Santos lineage, the scene between him and Monsé should have you convinced. Monsé looks at Cesar holding the gun and asks him straight out, “this is just a one-time thing right? Because you have to.” Cesar has to pull his attention away from the gun to look at Monsé but his reaction doesn’t scream “one-time thing.” In fact, this really isn’t a one-time thing considering Cesar has held a gun to someone twice before. The difference is this time Cesar has the rage and motive to pull the trigger — and perhaps, he likes that power.

Because that’s the thing, being in the Santos means power. It means belonging. It means mattering. In the earlier scene with Cesar and Ray, Ray tells Cesar that he’s never needed anyone that he’s always known who he is and that Ray is jealous of that. But it’s not the truth. Cesar has struggled with his identity from the very beginning of the series. He’s struggled with finding acceptance within the core four because of his ties to the Santos. And for the first time, he’s seeing that maybe his place really is in the Santos where he can’t put his friends in danger anymore. Where he can be in control and be powerful instead of scared and helpless.

As if deciding to kill someone isn’t proof enough that Cesar is becoming a Santos, his willingness to fight Ruby when Ruby speaks the truth and “disrespects” Cesar. It only escalates when Jamal chimes in that being Cesar’s friend is a “liability.” Cesar’s fears have come true his friends have turned on him and the only one left for him once Monsé leaves is the Santos.

And the final knife into old Cesar happens when we watches Oscar make a deal with 19th Street to end the senseless violence and make things better for themselves. Instead of praising Oscar for this groundbreaking deal, Cesar tells Oscar he’s soft and that it’ll never work. As he watches Oscar give up his position in the Santos, Cesar sees this as his opportunity to take over.

Because even though everyone in Cesar’s life tells him that they’ve made them a better person and that he has the ability to be different and be better, Cesar doesn’t see it. He’s filled with rage. And the only way to take out that rage is to be the new leader of the Santos.

Jamal Turner

Jamal’s journey to the two-year time jump is a bit less intense than Monsé’s and definitely not nearly as intense as Cesar’s, but it was still a shocking twist for fans.

When we first met Jamal in the first season of the show he was the core fours goofy friend who was always up to something. He spent most of the first season trying to figure out a way to get out of playing football because he was afraid of getting hurt. After he finally quits the team, Jamal spends his time trying to find the rumored Rollerworld money. At the end of the first season, he does, in fact, find the money which is great considering the money becomes a key component of the second season.

The third season opens with the Rollerworld money gone and no puzzle for Jamal to solve, though that’s fixed rather quickly once Cuchillos gives them their new mission to find Lil’ Ricky. Jamal spends the rest of the season trying to be the leader of the group which is harder than he thinks given Jasmine’s new presence in the core four. In addition, he gets his first glimpse at high school romance thanks to a strange homeschooled girl who has taken to stalking him.

Jamal goes through a very emotional journey as he struggles to come to terms with his new role amongst his friends and how to juggle his new relationship with the rest of his life. In addition, he’s stuck trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle.

By the time the two-year time jump happens, Jamal has accepted he’s not the leader, fought with his friends, broken up with his girlfriend, and realizes that he doesn’t have a mystery to solve anymore. In turn, when we see him two years later he is now laughing and enjoying his life while wearing a football jersey. As Ruby passes Jamal and him share a look so many of us can relate to — they’ve grown apart.

A lot of fans were caught off guard that Jamal, who actively spent an entire season trying to avoid playing football, would suddenly join the football team again. But it’s not that shocking.

Think about it, the only reason Jamal was against playing football was that he was afraid of being hurt. By the end of the season, he’s literally been threatened by a powerful gang leader and cheated death on more than one occasion. He’s faced his biggest fear of getting hurt and being dead and now, with that fear gone he can enjoy the game of football without worrying what’s going to happen to him.

It’s not just his newfound bravery that makes football the perfect fit for him though, it’s also the fact that Jamal loves puzzles. He spent three seasons tracking down money, missing people, and trying to figure out how to get his friends out of trouble and he loved it. When you think about it football is a great place for someone who loves to solve puzzles because plays are puzzles. He would actually be a great asset to the team if he was able to dissever the opponent’s plays.

On top of that, Jamal’s always wanted to be a leader and yet, his friends have never taken him seriously. He’s never been a leader in the core four’s eyes and its something that has frustrated him for years. In that time jump, he has the undivided attention of the team, he’s the one telling the story that’s making everyone laugh with him and not at him. Jamal finally found a place where he could be a respected leader.

The most jarring thing for fans to come to terms with in regards to Jamal’s time jump scene was the fact that he and Ruby don’t talk. While I agree that we don’t see Jamal and Ruby growing apart from each other as much as we do with some of the other characters this season, the tensions in their relationship are still there. The fact of the matter is while Ruby was desperately trying to help his parents pay off his medical bills this season, Jamal was prioritizing finding Lil’ Ricky. So yeah, maybe they did just grow apart organically or maybe they truly needed time apart because they weren’t on the same page anymore.

Ruben “Ruby” Martinez Jr

Out of the core four Ruby has the most heartwarming transformation.

When we first meet Ruby he’s a hopeless romantic who’s a little too obsessed with girls. He’s often the one friend who gets the core four out of trouble and he truly is ride or die even if he doesn’t always show it.

At the end of season one, Ruby ends up getting shot at a family friend’s quince which leaves the family friend dead. Ruby spends much of season 2 juggling his intense PTSD while also trying to help his friends get Cesar out of harms way yet again.

By the time season three rolls around, Ruby is somewhat better but he still suffers from survivor’s guilt and is a bit numb to the world. His one wish at the start of the season is to just be a normal teenager but of course, that’s impossible given the world he lives in and his friends.

He begins to have feelings for Jasmine, a girl who’s been obsessed with him since childhood that the core four have often brushed off as crazy. On top of that, Ruby learns that his parents are going through marital problems partly due to Ruby’s growing medical bills after being shot.

Ruby spends much of the third season trying to figure out a way to help their friends while also trying to survive his impending death for a second time. On a positive note, he’s also trying to discover if his new feelings for Jasmine are permanent or if they’re a stress reliever given their current life or death situation.

Ruby once again takes charge of the core four after Cuchillos leaves him a burner phone that allows her to communicate with the core four. He’s the one who pulls the group together after they realize that Oscar is probably dead and he’s the one who devises the plan on how to take down Cuchillos together. Even though his actions make him appear as the leader of the group, he doesn’t feel like that.

In fact, he feels alone even when he’s with his friends. Jamal is too caught up in his first relationship and the newest puzzle to help Ruby with his financial trouble. Ruby tries to bond with Monsé after her mother passes but even she ends up pushing him away by expressing her fear of being numb to pain and loss — something he has first-hand experience with. And he nearly comes to blows with Cesar after finally admitting that everything that’s wrong with him is because of Cesar.

After he utters those words, there’s no going back. It’s the crack in their foundation that makes Ruby distance from the core four make sense in the time jump.

Even though Ruby losing his friends is sad and not what viewers wanted, it’s what he needed to finally live a normal teenage life. And the time jump is the proof of that since we see Ruby and Jasmine walking the halls of their high school happy and in love for the first time in a long time.

Oscar “Spooky” Diaz

Oscar, or Spooky as he’s known for most of the series, has the most positive drastic change during the two-year time jump. And it’s the one fans welcomed the most.

When we first meet Oscar he’s fresh out of jail and back to reclaim his seat as the leader of the Santos. His first mission is to innate Cesar into the gang life which isn’t an easy task given Cesar’s hesitance. The two have a very tumultuous relationship in season one but they do manage to share a few heartfelt moments together. Most memorable is the scene on the beach where they both fantasize about what their life could be if they weren’t stuck in Freeridge and had parents who were actually capable of being parents.

Unfortunately, that closeness doesn’t last long and in season two, Oscar is forced to turn his back on Cesar after he puts the Santos lives in jeopardy after not killing a member of the rival gang at the end of season one. It takes the entire season for Cesar to prove himself to Oscar but eventually the two reunite and take down the Prophets once and for all.

Season 3 should have been an amazing season for these two brothers who are finally starting to heal but instead, their father, Ray, comes back into the picture and drives a wedge between them. See, Cesar doesn’t remember what his father’s presence is like but Oscar does and Oscar doesn’t want Cesar to go through any more shit than he’s already had to deal with. But Oscar can’t protect Cesar from himself — and that’s an important thing to remember as the season continues.

If season 3 for Cesar is about Cesar’s transformation into a Santo, then Oscars season 3 is about his transformation away from the Santos.

This shift becomes clear halfway through the season when Oscar confronts Ray about all the shit that he did to Oscar. Oscar blames Ray for everything that’s wrong with Oscar’s life. He blames Ray for forcing him to grow up and be the leader of the Santos even though it’s not what he wanted. Ray tells him he needs to let go of his rage and move on because he can’t fix the past. In a pivotal move, Oscar tells Ray that he can’t let go of the rage because it’s the only thing that’s kept him alive in Freeridge for so long.

The ironic thing is, in telling his father off, Oscar has let go of his rage. And from that moment on, we see Oscar take steps to distance himself from the Santos. The first move comes when he helps the core four plan to take Cuchillos down by sacrificing himself for them. For the first time, Oscar realizes that the Santos aren’t his family and that they don’t have his back the way he might have thought they had.

By sacrificing himself for Cesar and his friends, it’s the first step Oscar makes against the Santos. Thankfully, his mission pays off and he’s able to make a deal with 19th Street that would allow both gangs to live in peace without fear of being shot over meaningless issues. This scene is Oscar’s final act as a Santo and in turn, it’s the turning point Cesar needs to step into his brother’s role.

When Cesar confronts Oscar about being soft and being played Oscar can’t bring himself to care. He even goes as far as telling Cesar that he wants “adult problems” and that he’s done with this way of life. That he’s done living his life with resentment and missed opportunities. Instead of agreeing with Oscar, Cesar asks him “what if someone takes your power?” To which Oscar responds “let him.” And in that moment, it’s clear that while Oscar is done with the Santos life, Cesar is just beginning.

And so the two-year time jump shows the drastic reality that Cesar has taken over the Santos; while Oscar has finally gotten what he’s always wanted — a wife, a kid, and a normal life.

Now, many have criticized Oscar’s happy ending wondering why he didn’t get Cesar out of Freeridge too. They’ve been vocal about their issues with him leaving his baby brother to run a gang he knows will ruin his life.

But here’s the thing. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. Oscar knows this.

He knows Cesar is still full of rage and resentment, especially towards Oscar. And at the end of the day, Oscar doesn’t want to be in charge of his baby brother anymore. He never wanted to in the first place. And even though we’ve seen Oscar be a good brother over the course of the season, we can’t forget the fact that he literally forced Cesar to sleep on the streets for nearly an entire season.

Oscar finally chose family over the Santos, but unfortunately, Cesar didn’t make that same choice and that’s no one’s fault but Cesar’s.

And that concludes my long rambling essay on why I stand by the writer’s finale decisions. Even though I support them, I know that this is not the end of the core four. And I can’t wait to see what season four has in store for us because I’m certain we’re going to get one.

Even though the season 3 ending might be realistic, it doesn’t match the positive tone On My Block has always given us. Which is why I know this is not the end of the core four’s journey.

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introvertguide · 5 years

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Swing Time (1936); AFI #90

The next film on the AFI list that we watched was the dance classic Swing Time (1936) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The movie was nominated for two Oscars and won Best Song for “The Way You Look Tonight.” The film was rather recently recognized by the US Congress and inducted into the American Film Registry in 2003. The film is mainly known for the dancing and the music, but I want to do a brief overview of the plot:

SPOILER ALERT!!! BTW, these are not even good spoilers because the movie is 80 years old and the plot is a little light. I did my best.

John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire) is a gambler (apparently a viable profession in the 30s?) and dancer who is engaged to marry a woman named Margaret (Betty Furness), but his friends make him late for the wedding with a rouse about cuffed trousers (I guess...) and the bride’s father phones to call the whole thing off. His friends get the message but don’t pass on the information and instead bet Lucky that he will not be getting married, and he agrees to the bet. Margaret's father tells Lucky that he must earn $25,000 to demonstrate his good intentions. (Why? Not sure. If it was my daughter, I would either accept his apology or tell him to get lost and never return. There would be no bartering over my child’s happiness. Instead, the father makes it into a bidding war and is suddenly OK with this man standing up his daughter because he might have good financial prospects)

Lucky and his friend "Pop" Cardetti (Victor Moore) try to buy train tickets, but his friends take his money due to the rigged bet over the marriage. Lucky and Pop do their best hobo routine and hitch the first freight train to New York. Broke, they wander around the city and eventually run into Penny (Ginger Rogers), a dance school instructor, when Lucky asks for change for a quarter. It's his lucky quarter and Pop feels bad that Lucky had to exchange it. They attempt to get it back, but Penny is in no mood to deal with them. When she drops her things, Pop sneaks the quarter out of her purse, but she blames Lucky. Quick note, there are screwball romantic comedy beats throughout the film because there are constant mistakes and misunderstandings that are “whacky” and simultaneously move the plot along. They are cute but often make no sense.

The two follow Penny back to her work so that Lucky can apologize, but he has to take a dancing lesson from her for an opportunity to talk to her. She's still furious and, after a disastrous lesson, Penny tells him to "save his money" since he will never learn to dance. Her boss, Mr. Gordon (Eric Blore), overhears her comment and fires her. Lucky dances with Penny to "prove" how much she's taught him. The dance that the two are able to do “spontaneously” is blatantly choreographed and perfect in every way. For the purpose of the movie, however, it is meant to be improvised. Not only does Mr. Gordon give Penny her job back, he sets up an audition with the owner of a local venue to showcase his new student and his talented teacher.

Lucky and Pops check into the same hotel where Penny is staying for the audition. Lucky does not have a tuxedo to wear to the audition so he tries to get a tuxedo off a drunk man, but he ends up losing his own clothes instead. Like I said, not everything makes sense so you just have to roll with it sometimes. The pair end up missing their audition and Penny gets mad at Lucky all over again. Lucky is able to arrange another audition then he and Pop picket (literally with sandwich boards) in front of Penny's door until she gives in and forgives him. Also, Penny’s friend Mable and Pops seem to be in a relationship even though they don’t seem to really like each other. Also, Pops always sounds drunk. I don’t know why, it just is.

In the strangest plot twist yet, it turns out that they cannot audition because the club has lost their band leader, Ricardo Romero (Georges Metaxa), to a casino. They go to Club Raymond where Lucky gambles to win enough to get Ricky back. Meanwhile, it turns out that Ricky Romero has been hitting on Penny for a long time and wants to marry her. Lucky is about to win enough to marry Margaret, but he takes his last bet off in time... proving he is no longer interested in her, but in Penny, instead. This is rather strange because there is nothing forcing Lucky to go back if he makes enough money since the father of Margaret never comes back, but it is seems to be a driving force to prove that he loves Penny. He is willing to remain somewhat poor for her. The owner of Club Raymond bets Lucky on a single card cut and the wager is all of Lucky’s winnings versus the contract of the band leader. Upon seeing that the club owner intends to cheat, Pop cheats as well, and Lucky wins the contract. I am not exactly sure how all this happens, but I see why Lucky is a considered a professional gambler since he is consistently betting in an attempt to win people.

Lucky and Penny dance at the club and it is beautiful. They are dancing together all the time, but Lucky does not trust himself around Penny because he feels guilty about not telling her about Margaret. He's avoiding her, which Penny notices, so she and her friend Mabel Anderson (Helen Broderick) conspire to get Lucky and Pop out to the country. There is a most awkward number when Pop lets slip the information about Lucky and Margaret and a very flirty Penny becomes very cold as it seems that the two cannot be in love at the same time.

Mabel basically dares Penny to go in and confess to Lucky that she loves him and they finally have a moment. But as these movies tend to go, Margaret shows up and ruins everything. Penny decides to marry Ricardo and Lucky will go back and marry Margaret. It turns out the Margaret has decided she wants to marry somebody else so Lucky runs out and breaks up the wedding using the same trouser cuff gag that was used on him at the beginning of the movie.

Ricardo is without pants so Penny says that she guesses she is going to marry Lucky and then Ricardo plays a song with his band celebrating Lucky and what a great guy he is. Lucky and Penny finally have an on screen kiss and that is the end of the movie.

It was noted by my parents that the music and dance numbers are not evenly dispersed through the movie, but are instead bunched up in the later two-thirds of the film. It is a good 20-25 minutes before the first song while musicals at the time normally had a big opening number (along the lines of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in The Wizard of Oz). This was apparently due to the first number, ironically named “It’s Not in the Cards,” to be cut from the film as it was judged as being not up to the standard of the other songs.

A cinematography note (or lack of one, really) concerning the dance skill of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, many of the dance sequences have 3-5 minute uncut shots in which the camera barely moves. Astaire famously said on many occasions that he was doing the dancing, not the camera. With his perfectionism and the general toughness of Rogers, the two would do dozens of takes for these complicated dance numbers to the point that the high heels would rub in Ginger’s feet causing them to bleed. Every dance scene is a testament to both actor’s dedication to their art.

The movie was similar to painting a room in that it took much less time to complete the aspect that people would actually see than the time it took to prepare. Months of developing the choreography and rehearsing was filmed over weeks despite the multiple takes insisted on by both director George Stevens and Fred Astaire. Dance director Hermes Pan was a very creative choreographer that developed highly technical and extremely complicated dance numbers and Astaire insisted they were done flawlessly. Ginger was a talented dancer that brought the best out of Fred because she continued on take after take and was able to keep up with Astaire’s almost manic work ethic.

The number that Astaire performs when Margaret shows up to see him in a tribute to Jim “Bojangles” Robinson and involves Lucky being in black face. The number is a little weird and he goes through a good five minutes of shenanigans following the number still in black face. It is just weird. I just kept thinking he needed to wash off his face already, but he deals with both of the club owners and again loses Ricardo’s contract. I has awkward moments with Penny meeting Margaret and it is just so much more so since Lucky is still in black face. It is pretty uncomfortable in today’s society

Although I personally like the simple sound of his voice, Astaire has never been recognized as a very good singer. He also is not known for his acting, especially in his younger years. He was a world recognized phenomenal dancer from age 10 when he danced with his sister to the day he died. He was also not a classically good looking man being oddly proportioned with large facial features (especially the ears). All this being said, he successfully plays a suave gambler, sings beautifully, dances spectacularly, and truly embodies a confident man that makes women swoon. This was a perfect movie for Astaire in that it challenged his dancing skill and he was able to play off Ginger for his acting. He was not given much to sing but a very simple little piece that worked well his voice. He was dressed well with a top hat throughout the film. The film is truly the all around best of Fred Astaire (at least I think so).

So would I recommend the film? Absolutely, but I would mention the Bojangles in Harlem number because the blackface is a little off-putting. I think most people will either just skip it, watch it and not care, or watch it and think the 30s was a very different time. Everybody is different, though, so keep it in mind. Should this film be on the AFI 100 list? I think that the way that Astaire was filmed due to his talent and perfectionism is something that has been lost to film trickery so something like this which highlights the best of Fred Astaire should surely be searched at and ranked as one of the best parts of American cinematic history. A great film that is a lot of fun to watch.

#fred astaire #ginger rogers #swing time #dance #musicals #film critique #AFI movies #introvert #introverts #1930s movies #vintage film #black and white #choreography

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itsclydebitches · 5 years

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RWBY Recaps: Volume 6. Argus Limited

This is a re-posting from Oct. 27th, 2018 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

Volume Six is here, folks! I am so very, stupidly excited for this season. Heartfelt thanks go out to my friend who was all, “lol yeah sure” when I begged to use their FIRST account to watch. There are heroes in this world and they’re one of them.

A quick note about recaps from here on out: they will (my productivity willing) be uploaded sometime on Thursday or Friday proceeding the new episode. This is partly so that I’m not scrambling to post immediately afterwards—stress and bad writing all around—and partly so that, you know, we can actually recap stuff before the next episode airs. So yeah, that’s the goal.

Let’s do it!

We open on a gorgeous, snowy scene with ROOSTER TEETH PRESENTS smack dab in the middle. You know that feeling you get when you hear the Harry Potter theme at the beginning of a new film and the whole theater loses their shit? Same with Doctor Who and Star Wars? Whatever your preferred fandom, the point is I get the same chills when RWBY comes back and it’s excellent.

The animation really is gorgeous though and I sigh happily whenever I see it, thinking back to the days when cookies disappeared directly into Ruby’s mouth. There’s nostalgia, sure, but it doesn’t beat this detail.

We hear the distant sound of a train and then we’re thrown into exactly what we’ve wanted for literal years now: Team RWBY back together again, fighting not creepy adults but just some good, old fashioned grimm. They’re chimeras and… griffins? Ngl I’m not entirely sure, but they’re big, flying, fire-breathing nasties, so that’s really all we need to know. Luckily everyone falls back into old habits, easily supporting one another and executing perfect attacks (a contrast to the residual tension we’ll see in just a bit). Ruby is so busy posing after a successful kill that she misses the grimm coming at her from behind. Weiss saves her ass with a cheeky, “Thank me later!” At the end of the fight we get a reversal wherein a hit nearly sends Weiss tumbling off the side of the train, though Ruby grabs her at the last second with her own, “Thank me later!” It’s a fun little exchange made better when we think back to the Vytal Tournament. Weiss still “had her back” then too, but was more resistant to Ruby’s proclamation that they’re BFFs. Now the teasing is on both ends.

Notably, Ruby saves Weiss by taking her into her semblance, creating a cloud of rose petals that are half red, half white. Now combined with the old team-ups and some shots in the new opening, this has led a number of fans (myself included) to wonder if a WhiteRose pairing is in our future. Which also means that the ship wars are in full swing. Needless to say I’m not about that nonsense and I’ll only point out here what I said episodes back: if it’s a queer relationship with one of our main girls, and not a random side character who was previously out to murder a whole family? I’m on board.

Back in the fight though. The rest of team RNJR appears with Nora exclaiming, “Why is it always something?” God that’s a mood. Welcome to adulthood, kid. It’s just one crisis after another—except in your case the crises are objectively more dangerous. Sorry about that. We get to see Jaune’s improved reflexes as he fends off all the fireballs with his shield while Ren and Nora team up to knock some of the monsters out.

Honestly, I love this trope in action stories. Where—as Nora does here—a character just shouts out a friend’s name to get their attention and they immediately know what kind of move they’re about to pull off. It’s made more hilarious to me given that RWBY once had attack names and Jaune at least made the attempt with JNPR...but apparently they're not needed anymore. So unrealistic, yet so very cool when used.

So yeah, things are going pretty smoothly… up until Oscar yells out “Tunnel!” Ruby saves Weiss from falling, they manage to get over or between the cars, and in the sudden darkness we transition to what we only realize later is a flashback. At least, I didn’t realize it until later. Totally thought we’d had a time skip and they were just hopping another train…

My stupidity aside, before we hit the train station we actually see a familiar hallway filled with angry voices discussing the disaster at Haven—one of which is Adam’s. I really enjoyed this technique, wherein we slowly pan across the room as the voices grow more frantic and the sounds of fighting break out, the camera revealing bodies scattered across the floor. By the time we reach the throne—and Adam on it— we realize that the fight occurred prior to this moment, something that Adam is now remembering. He goes all skyward scream on us as he howls menacingly. Okay, dude. Compared to Cinder and Salem you’re really not all that.

Now we’re at the train station where Qrow is narrating a letter to Ironwood. Hell yes, please bring back the badass, protective Ironwood who defended the students at Beacon and stood up for Weiss. I’d be very pleased if he joins the RWBY gang by the Volume’s end. Qrow’s optimistic about the trip—they’ve plans to reach Ironwood before the letter does, which says either good things about Remnant’s transportation or bad things about its mail—though of course we as the audience know it’s not going to be nearly that simple. We learn that only two weeks have passed since the battle, but people are still reeling from all the implications. Lionheart tragically lost his life defending the school and oh, some students coincidentally were there and did some stuff. Excellent choice in showing us the mindless crowds while we hear this, the naive masses who, yes, would absolutely believe a story like this.

It’s easy to criticize no one supposedly noticing Salem, magic, the finger Ozpin has in every pie, etc. but ultimately people believe what they’re told—especially when it’s much easier to swallow than the truth.

Enough of the doom and gloom though. Ruby is having the time of her life.

Qrow: “What’s with the running?”

Ruby: “What’s with the standing?!”

I love this girl so very much and it’s wonderful when we get to see her acting like the kid she is. She uses her semblance with abandon because yeah, if I could turn into rose petals I’d be doing that all the time too. Ruby teases Yang with something from the gift shop and I really hope we get to see what that is. Yes, we end the episode with everyone left stranded in the wilderness, but if Yang’s bike can survive then so can Ruby’s souvenirs.

(Seriously though they presumably lost all their luggage that sucks.)

Everyone else is in top, feel-good form too. Nora daydreams about hitting the beach, complete with a thought bubble of topless Ren and a beachball. Weiss quips about how she spent all last Volume getting out of Atlas, thanks, but Ruby reassures her that at least she’s back with the team now. When two jokers arrive boasting about how they’ll be the ones keeping the train safe from grimm, Ruby and Yang act exactly as nieces should when your cool uncle is telling them off. AKA, making fun of them behind his back.

God they must have been terrors as toddlers. I mean we already know Yang carted Ruby off into the woods one day so yeah, I’m pretty confident in expressing my surprise that Tai doesn’t have a full head of gray hair.

The two Nice Guys go on to specify that they’ll provide extra protection for a “generous tip,” which—while essentially a throwaway line—reminds us how most of the world functions outside of our close-knit cast. Money, and more specifically Schnee money, quite literally dictates who lives and who dies. Not everything about RWBY is fantasy oriented…

We learn that everyone is just waiting on Blake— “as usual”—and we cut to her with Ilia as the two of them say their goodbyes. Ilia will be helping Ghira lead the Faunus in a “new movement” and is supposedly 100% on the straight and narrow now. Cool? I guess? To be honest I’m fine with her taking a back seat for this Volume. There’s a moment where we get a shot of Ilia and Blake’s feet, the former’s angled forward in a classic kiss pose, and I was super glad to see that they were just sharing a hug. I really don’t want the first LGBTQIA kiss on RWBY to be iffy on consent, considering that Ilia knows Blake isn’t interested. Hug though? That was super sweet.

Sun and Neptune show up to say their goodbyes too. They’re heading to Vacuo to meet up with the rest of their team because, in Sun’s words, he’s the “worst leader” ever. You kinda are, dude? I loved Sun up until they had him following Blake without her permission and continuing to do so after she asked for space, all in the name of the guy supposedly knowing what the girl really needs. The reminder that Sun abandoned his team to do this just reinforces how much I dislike that plot-line.

Sun gets the kiss—on the cheek—and after leaving Neptune lectures him on “letting [Blake] go.” Except it’s not about you? Blake is off to quite literally save the world and the fact that these guys view that as a threat to any potential relationship is… icky. Ugh. Oh well. They’re presumably gonna be offscreen for a while.

The train finally arrives and everyone piles in. We’re back to bunk beds! And of course Team RWBY is situated exactly as they were in Beacon’s dorms. Weiss gets annoyed with Ruby’s cloak hanging down over the side. Blake has a book in her lap. Ruby challenges Yang to a video game. Cue nostalgia. I fully expect fluffy AU fics where they ride the train all the way to Atlas and treat the trip as one giant, dramatic sleepover. This is non-negotiable.

Tension seeps back in though when Yang moves to pull her luggage from the rack and Blake immediately hops up to help her. In a super guilty “I know I fucked up and now I’m gonna smother you” way. Really excellent voice acting here. Yang ends up reassuring her. No, things aren’t perfect between them yet… but they’re definitely improving.

While short, for me this scene was perfectly balanced between acknowledging the girls’ complicated relationship without totally undermining the happy mood. Nicely done.

Then Qrow shows up with a drink. A drink with a slice of orange on the side. I have never enjoyed a moment more and I was so surprised I didn't take a screenshot of it. Clearly I was too distracted and am I too lazy to go back for one now? You betcha. The point is everything is fine, dandy, and filled with alcohol.

So of course RT goes and ruins it for me. Something hits the train and in a split second everyone is on high alert. A quick peek out the window reveals grimm and Blake mutters darkly that it’s “just my luck.”

Qrow: “Not yours.”

Are they gonna leave the safety of the train to those bozos from before? Hell no. Especially when one guy is grabbed right when the fight starts. I mean, poor dude, but he also kinda sucked as a Huntsmen. He wouldn’t have even made it past Beacon’s initiation, let alone graduated.

…I guess he’s kind of like early Jaune? Useless, wannabe hero who acts more confident than he actually is? Aw, now I really do feel bad.

He’s grimm food though. Gotta move on with our lives.

The other dude isn’t doing too well either, though RWBY and NJR + Oscar quickly show up, coming full circle to where we began the episode. Oscar insists that he’s got this fight under control which tells me (hopefully) that in the past two weeks they’ve had serious conversations about if and when Ozpin gets to have control. That’s super great, though I do wish we could have seen it. Flashbacks, maybe?

As the fight begins Ruby announces that the plan amounts to “don’t let anyone else die.” Uh...Ruby? Buddy. Pal. This is why people die. Because they didn’t have plans! Pyrrha—god rest her reckless soul—went off after a freaking Maiden by herself. Jaune got Amber killed because he didn’t obey the plan of watching the door. Lionheart frantically calls Salem with no real plan for what he’s going to offer her in exchange for his life! Plans are important, Ruby. You’re the team strategist. It was a badass line, I grant you, but please do not.

Luckily, no one (else) dies. That would have been pretty brutal for a premier. +1 point for world building where we see that trains like this have built in defenses to fight off grimm. -2 points for how useless it ends up being. As Qrow quickly points out, the turrets are drawing all the grimm to the front of the train where the passengers are. So, not good. Oscar is charged with telling the surviving goon to knock it off already while Qrow faces off against the super fierce chimera grimm. Not gonna lie though, when its tail first started up I thought Qrow was getting attacked by a dove…

This time when we hit the tunnel everyone makes it back safely inside with the exception of Goon #2 who gets his arm injured in the scramble. He’s literally crying on the ground when, in a pretty harsh move, Qrow drags him up and demands to know what the hell all that was. Civility and benefit of the doubt? Not Qrow’s strong points. It allows Ruby to take control of the situation though. How do you make sure that your cast of kids is continually calling the shots? A) isolate them and B) when you can’t do that have the adults act like children instead. We see that a fair bit in RWBY.

Jaune steps in to heal the guy’s arm, which is an unexpected surprise. I honestly thought we'd get a whole Volume’s worth of him figuring out how to access and control his semblance, though I suppose once it manifests you’ve got the basics down. We’ve seen that semblances can be improved upon—Ruby turning other people she carries into petals; Ren dampening the emotions of a whole train—so presumably Jaune will be able to heal more complex and life-threatening things in the future. We also hear in the ensuing conversation that he can amplify someone else’s aura…to be decided what exactly that means, how it connects to healing, and what the limits of the skill is.

During some theorizing about the attack Ozpin brings up that grimm are attracted to the relic they’re carrying and… oh boy. Here we go. Is it tradition that every recap the fandom goes for Ozpin’s throat while I stand here defending him? Might be. Let’s create a (semi) comprehensive list:

This might have been less of a secret and more of a slip. The guy is thousands of years old and the forces they’re dealing with are stupidly complicated. He can’t info dump every detail of a multi-century war in one sitting. So—

He might have thought this was one of those innocuous things that shouldn’t take precedent right now. Not the sort of thing he needs to worry them with. He claims in the promo that he didn't lie to the group and he quite possibly didn't. There's a big difference between lying and not telling someone every single possible thing that might be pertinent. Especially when—

We know that grimm are already attracted to people/negative emotion and they’re sequestered within a whole train full of presumably stressed travelers. There’s no reason to think the artifact would put them in more danger than they already are and therefore isn't at the top of the list of revelations to dole out. Especially with—

Qrow and his bad luck semblance. He literally just implied that the grimm were there because of him. There’s a reason he didn’t want Ruby near him during the fight with Tyrian and now they’re all stuck together in close quarters. The grimm were coming anyway. Even if we didn't have Qrow's semblance and big crowds we can also assume as much because of—

Those turrets. They weren’t there for a fashion statement. The whole train was crazy armored. They’re clearly very used to getting attacked on this route. It's a normal thing.

All of which is to say that the relic is one of MANY reasons why they might have gotten a buttload of grimm on their tail. Ozpin mentions this as one possibility in a very “Here’s something else to consider” way and everyone (characters and fandom alike) jump on him like he’s solely responsible for this predicament. Besides, what would they have done differently? Not carry the relic? That’s not an option. Be more on guard? They’re already constantly on guard. None of their actions would have changed had they known.

Really though, it’s the keeping of secrets that people are mad about, not necessarily what the secret is. So if we ignore the possibility above that Ozpin legit didn’t think this was worth mentioning/even forgot about it, we have a) he withheld the information because it might have made them wary about traveling with others, but they need to get to Atlas as fast as possible and the train is the best way to do that. So yeah, that’s a possible change, though I agree with Ozpin’s theoretical logic here. It was worth the risk.

b) he didn’t tell them because—again—worry is a negative emotion and that might have just doubled their problem. Awful as it is, knowing you're carrying a thing that might attract more grimm is one of the best ways to make sure that you do, in fact, attract them. Knowing what the relic does is dangerous.

c) he doesn’t trust them with all the information about these super powerful relics that are going to decide the fate of their world. Which honestly? Kind of fair. Yeah, I know he promised them no more secrets, but this is a centuries old, god-like entity making a promise to a child. It’s not even really a matter of trust anymore. We’ve got a core group of nine here and everyone has someone else they’re close to. Ruby isn’t going to keep secrets from Tai. Blake will probably fill Sun in when she sees him again. Weiss is close to her sister. Etc. In short, as soon as this many people know a secret it isn't a secret anymore. Ozpin is no doubt aware that anything he tells to their now massive group is fair game and he has to carefully consider what he wants to risk going public/landing in Salem's hands. A general doesn't tell every lieutenant the details of every plan. That's a good way to lose the war. Fate of the world vs. a promise made to Yang? C’mon. There are priorities here.

d) finally, we’ve seen evidence—particularly after the iconic food fight—that Ozpin desperately wants his students to be kids as long as they can. He might keep information to himself simply because he doesn’t want to burden them. And given all the reasons listed above for why they'd be dealing with grimm anyway, what's the harm in giving them what little peace he can? It's not perfect reasoning and if this is the case the others have a right to be annoyed, but it's understandable. It certainly doesn't make Ozpin the monster I see countless posts painting him as.

Plus, Yang? I’m not sure you have the right to get indignant about keeping secrets right now. Granted, there’s some ambiguity surrounding whether she’s mentioned Raven as the Spring Maiden, but regardless we haven’t seen any evidence that she’s told the group the details of what happened down in the vault. That’s a pretty big thing to be keeping to yourself.

A lot bigger than, “Oh yeah this relic attracts the thing we’re attracting anyway. My bad.”

Why the relic attracts grimm is another question. Because it’s connected to the original brothers? Just because Salem wants it and she seems to be the grimms’ creator? We’ll have to see.

Ruby interrupts everyone’s fury to point out that they have bigger issues at the moment and Ozpin’s expression kind of kills me? He looks so shocked to have anyone standing up for him, even if it’s a defense of practicality instead of his actions. I wonder if this Volume is going to have the team starting to lose a little faith in Ruby. Given the clear divide here (angry Ren, Nora, Weiss, Yang, and Blake on one side; Ruby, Oscar, Ozpin on the other) this might be a major theme moving forward. It would make a lot of sense too given Ruby's past relationship with Ozpin. To Yang he's just her headmaster; to Ruby he's the headmaster that let her into her dream school early. To Blake he's someone who wanted information from her before she was ready to give it; to Ruby he's the adult who gave her advice at the dance and was emotionally open with her about committing more mistakes "than any man, woman, or child." No matter how far she's come, they'll always be a part of Weiss that sees Ozpin as the teacher who didn't give her the leadership position she thought she deserved; to Ruby he's the man that has put a staggering amount of trust in her: by letting her into his school, giving her a team, sending her to Mountain Glenn, etc.

Now, it might be time for Ruby to put her trust in Ozpin.

Fight temporarily averted, they decide to separate the teams… which felt a little forced to me. I mean I get it. As said, giant group. It’s hard to write and keep track of that many, so let’s knock three offstage for a while. Jaune, Ren, and Nora will see the people to safety while Ruby and the rest of the gang eventually catch up. We get a glimpse of Maria—the old lady with awesome glasses—clearly plotting something and then everyone heads back to the roof to finish the fight with the grimm.

Blake has a quick vision of Adam; the last time she separated a train car. Excellent touch there. Ruby tells Ren to use his semblance through the scroll, but we also get a glimpse of their signals getting weaker. Another nice touch considering how important we know the scrolls are throughout the RWBY universe: how the team keeps in contact during the Volume Four short, the damage that the fall of the CCT tower has caused, etc.

We get a final, epic showdown with a massive grimm where everyone’s teamwork proves to be some top tier stuff. Blake and Yang capture it using Blake’s ribbon. Weiss freezes off its wings. Then—in a fantastic split screen—Ruby and Qrow both use their scythes to cut the creature in two. I’m here for the power family moves.

Only problem is that a final fireball from the grimm hits the train, derailing their section. Weiss keeps them all from dying an awful death, but now they’re kind of stranded.

I mean, they already were stranded before, but I guess the hope was the back of the train would have carried them farther down the tracks before losing momentum?

In the final scene we have an unexpected voice happily proclaiming that they’re still alive but boy, that was a close one! Maria hobbles out, having clearly planned to be with this group when they went their own way.

My personal theory? She knows (and to some extent recognizes) Ozpin. I can’t believe he wasn’t involved in a conflict like the Great War. Hell, he was probably at the center of it and Maria looks very old by RWBY standards. We have no concept of how long people in this world can live so I don’t think it’s a stretch to put her in her 90s or well over 100—old enough to have fought in the War and potentially recognize one of the central figures, even in a new reincarnation depending on her instincts, knowledge, and semblance. Her name lends a bit of credence to her age, if nothing else. As far as I know “Maria” doesn’t mean/isn’t evocative of a color… though I’m far from an expert. Could totally be wrong about that.

Regardless, we’ll see. More info arrives next week!

Other Details of Note

The grimm are at a distance when we first spot them and they actually look a lot like crows. The same motif we’ve seen with Raven and Qrow’s entrances but, you know, bad.

I really liked Qrow’s line to Ironwood about how they’re bringing “more than bad news.” It’s appropriately vague—can’t go admitting that Oz is back with the group—and at the same time quite up-lifting.

I personally take Ozpin’s “I hope they’re not from Beacon” as more of a joke than a true worry. If you’re telling me that this old as balls control freak doesn’t remember every student that’s ever passed through those doors… I don’t believe you.

When Blake is saying goodbye to Ilia and Sun we have lots of animation for her ears, helping to express her emotions. It says a lot about her character development that she hasn’t re-adopted the bow in such a crowded, human packed space.

Neptune is pursuing the “wrong tree” okay lol that was good.

When Neptune and Sun discuss re-uniting the team we briefly hear the soundtrack from their Vytal Festival match. Excellent.

Interestingly, Oscar gives Ozpin control immediately during the conversation about the relic, almost like he already knew what was going to be revealed and understood that it was important… I wonder how much they’re sharing thoughts now, two weeks later.

Here, have a beach Ren and happy birb. Yes, I went back for the screenshots...

#rwby #rwby spoilers #mymetas #RWBY Recaps

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teamflby · 6 years

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RWBY Volume 6 Episode 3 Rundown

Spoilers below the cut as usual

So let me start out by saying one thing, and this is going to come off as extremely arrogant but I’m going to do it anyways:

I fucking called that Ozpin did nothing wrong, and his actions were dictated by years of experience and knowledge literally no one else had. The people that overreacted and wanted him burned at the stake for telling a few lies can go suck it, because he literally did nothing wrong.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get onto the main point of today, and that is simply this: 6-3 was probably the best episode in the series next to 3-12

Yes, you heard me of all people say this. 6-3 is by far the best episode of the series next to 3-12, and has been the episode fans like me have been waiting for since 3-12. Now I’m going to explain myself and talk about the good first, because I do want to talk about some things that I felt weren’t up to par. But just know that like 90% of this episode is either good-extremely well done and the other 10% is mediocre-subpar, but never actually delves into full on bad or anything.

The episode focuses on Ozpin’s and Salem’s backstory, something I knew was coming sooner rather than later and something I was a bit fearful of when I saw it was happening this week. My biggest fear was that it was going to be generic and bland and the focus was going to be all over the place, rather than grounded in Ozpin as a whole. And... I was right about some of it. The backstory is relatively generic, BUT generic is not always a bad thing. There was genuine spice in this episode and story that made me happy, and a lot of Hoenheim vibes with it too for my Fullmetal fans. I’m going to give you guys an abridged version of it, and then talk about what I liked and what I didn’t.

So basically, Salem was Rapunzel’ed in a castle and Ozpin (who’s Ozma at this point) goes up to that castle and saves her because he believes in truth, justice and the American way. The two of them fall in love and have their magic together (since all humans have magic at the moment) and they live happily ever after until Ozpin dies from an illness. Salem doesn’t like that and goes to the god of light to get him to revive her, and he says no and Salem throws a hissy fit. She then goes to the god of destruction and asks him to do it, which he does until the GoL shows up and is like “she asked me first and I said no because reviving people from the dead is no bueno” and the GoD is like yeah you right and kills Ozma. The two make Salem immortal as punishment for being a bitch so she can never be with Ozma. Salem gets mad and pits the humans against the gods, until the gods Thanos snap everyone except Salem away and then leave the world and destroy the mood in the process. Salem hops into the GoD pit since she thinks it’ll kill her, but since she’s immortal it just makes her all Grimmy (pun 100% intended). The GoL revives Ozma and tells him to gather the relics and let the judge the humans once more, but Ozma goes back and finds Salem and they get it on and try and play God themselves. Then Ozma realizes this is a mistake and they can’t do this, so he gets killed and the cycle of reincarnation repeats itself over and over again. He gathers the relic of knowledge and asks his three questions, and he immediately finds out that he can’t defeat Salem at all and that it’s impossible, so ergo:

Ozpin is fighting a losing battle

So that’s kind of a lot to unpack, but not too much that I can’t talk about it all. For starters, let me just say that the fact that Salem was the one who was the obsessed, pseudo evil one here and not Ozpin. Let’s be real here, Ozpin was never the evil one, especially when you pit him up against literal evil incarnate. I expressed this last rundown, and I’m glad they doubled down on the fact that Ozpin himself is not evil. He’s quite literally a man that was forced into his own destiny, and while he did have the choice given to him by the GoL he’s just trying to do what he can to bring humanity together so that way he can show the Gods that humans are good and won’t get Thanos snapped again.

Also, speaking on the Gods I think they were handled relatively well. I thought that they reminded me of the Forest God from Princess Mononoke a little too much, but they weren’t harmful at all. I think they looked a little dumb, but they sounded nice and did their job well. Granted, I think that the way they destroyed the moon was stupid. Like, they just up and left the planet and destroyed the moon in the process. Some could argue that it’s symbolic now and whatever, but really? It’s not. It was just “look we answered that question you all wanted to know since the Red Trailer!” Not that there’s anything wrong with some fan service now and again, but like... this was one of the more poorly executed versions of it.

The real highlight of the episode for me was the cinematography and actual structure of the episode. The episode never takes focus off of the story and you’re constantly engaged with Ozpin and Salem the whole time, and that works extremely to its benefit. After 6-2, I was worried that this episode would cut back and forth between things, but it focuses entirely on Ozpin and Salem, and I think Ruby is the only other person in this episode outside of them and the Gods that even has a legit speaking role? It just works out extremely well at the end of the day, and I love that. Also the shot selection was just... mmmmmmm. There were a few standouts to me, like when Ozma gets told about his actual goal and why he’s being brought back, he falls onto his knees and behind him you see Oscar staring down at him in absolute fear and worry about this job being too big for him. There’s also the scene were you see in shadowy detail Salem trying to kill herself after first becoming immortal, and Ruby watches on is horror as it happens. There’s a few more that are also really good, but those two stood out the most to me. Another small part of me I really liked was how we only focused on the kids and not really Qrow when we saw them in the story, which gives me an indication that next time he’s going to play some big role because now he won’t be mad about trusting Ozpin, but how they’re fighting a losing battle. Which brings me to another thing I loved...

The fact that they can’t beat Salem. It’s made abundantly clear that Salem is immortal and cannot die, and it’s starting seem like there’s no way to do so. Personally, I think the silver eyes thing will be the bridge to that defeat of Salem (how I’m not sure), but at the moment there’s no way, and that’s a good thing. For the entire time of the show, we have this confidence that there’s a way, that Team RWBY can pull it together to do so, but then the episode ends with that resounding “No. You literally cannot.” and it just sets a tone that I love. All the girls look dejected as the camera pans out, and you’re left feeling that same dread Ozpin has felt for hundreds if not thousands of years. That’s what we felt at the end of 3-12, and that’s what we’ve needed to feel since then. This was the first time in my opinion that any type of real weight can be felt on the cast since then, and man does it feel good to finally feel it.

Now onto the smaller things I didn’t like: I think the score was kinda lame. RWBY music has always been an issue for me, and I think their scores are horrendous. The instrumentals that play in the back never entertain me, and I think they were somewhat of a mood killer here, but not enough to drag me away from what was happening on screen. I think the story as a whole was a little cheesy and campy, but honestly cheesy is good, especially for RWBY which kinda revels in it from time to time. This was a good kind of cheese, and while I think it could’ve been presented better, I still like.

Now, my final thing is a small worry that I won’t touch up upon too much: We are three episodes in, and we’ve gotten plot and lore and exposition that is Volume finale level. So that raises the question: Now what? Where do we go from here? I’m a bit worried that M&K metaphorically blew their load early and don’t have enough to keep up for the rest of the Volume since this is the trend, but for now I’m going to bite my tongue on it since it’s not too much concern. All in all, this was a great episode and did a masterful job at finally answering our questions about Ozpin and Salem (who might I add can certainly get it).

FINAL VERDICT: 9.5/10, A great story wrapped up in a RWBY-like charm that shows what Miles and Kerry are capable of when they’re on the top of their game.

#rwby volume 6 spoilers #discussion post

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biofunmy · 4 years

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Netflix, Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Goop Lab’ is delightfully wonderful, wacky

Prepare to be thrown for a Goop.

Netflix’s “The Goop Lab” (out Jan. 24) shows the staff of the lifestyle brand – including founder and Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow – exploring a wellness topic in each of its six episodes. .It is, at times, as eccentric as the docu-series’ poster, which seemingly depicts Paltrow inside a vagina, which caused a stir on Twitter.

Episodes explore psychedelic psychotherapy, Wim Hof’s mind over matter method, female pleasure, aging, energy fields and mediumship. Speaking to Goop’s mission, Paltrow recently told USA TODAY: “We help people get closer to themselves (and) open minds to ways (they) might get closer to themselves.”

In the series, Paltrow offers nuggets from her personal life, where the mom who honestly spoke about what jerks teenagers Apple and Moses can be really shines. For example, did you know Paltrow had a “very, very emotional” experience while trying MDMA in Mexico? Or that her cleanses are not kid-approved? “My kids are gonna bum out,” she says, examining a new diet plan. “Every time I do a cleanse they’re like, ‘Oh no!’ You get all grumpy.”

She apparently started Goop because she felt her calling to be “something else, besides, you know, making out with Matt Damon onscreen, or whatever.”

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Gwyneth Paltrow stars in and serves as executive producer for “The Goop Lab.” (Photo: Adam Rose/Netflix)

Early in each episode, onscreen text warns the content should be viewed as entertainment.

“The following series is designed to entertain and inform – not provide medical advice,” it reads. “You should always consult your doctor when it comes to your personal health, or before you start any treatment.” (Paltrow’s brand isn’t free from controversy. In 2018, the company paid $145,000 to settle a consumer protection case brought by California state officials over unsubstantiated health claims for a trio of products.)

The show is entertaining and engaging and thought-provoking. At times, it can also be puzzling and head-scratching. But that’s what we’ve come to expect from the brand (save for the disappointingly mundane “Sex Issue” book released in 2018).

Let’s give a woo-hoo for the woo-woo!

Among the series’ many Goop-y moments:

Chief content officer Elise Loehnen goes pescatarian for 21 days, in an effort to lower her biological age. While trying to figure out dinner, Loehnen says salmon and brown rice may be on the menu – which sounds a little skimpy, like it could be missing a vegetable, until the camera pans to the cost of the fish: $41.99 a pound. (We wouldn’t spend a dollar more on this dinner, either!)

Loehnen acknowledges the cost of her salmon – $48.71 – is “crazy.”

Gwyneth Paltrow shocks at Golden Globes in see-through dress that garnered mixed reactions

Why Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s teenage daughter Apple got mad at dad

Goop’s chief content officer Elise Loehnen at the goop Health Summit San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2019. (Photo: Ian Tuttle/Getty Images for goop)

In an effort to normalize the appearance of female genitalia, closeup shots seem shocking.

“You’d have to show more than one,” sex educator Betty Dodson advises in the episode. “Because if you only showed one, that would become the one. We’d all imitate it.” Cue a sequence of eight photographs. (A woman is also shown having an orgasm in this episode.)

While I couldn’t bring myself to watch a Goop staffer have tiny cones and thread inserted into her face in a quest to achieve a more youthful appearance, I couldn’t look away from the work of John Amaral, identified as a “body worker and chiropractor.” According to his website, he can “help people amplify their energy, expand their consciousness and upgrade their performance so they can experience mind-blowing levels of clarity and freedom.”

Amaral admits his sessions can look strange.

What exactly is he doing? “When I’m moving my hands in the air and I’m snapping my fingers, and I’m making sounds with my hands, I am putting energy into the field around somebody’s body, and I’m changing their energy system just by the way I interact with it.”

What it looks like is very interesting, to say the least.

Loehnen began making noises as her body lifted from the table she was lying on during her treatment. “I had an exorcism,” she joked.

After Loehnen gave her account of her session, Paltrow had some fun: “Could you like get any Goopier?” she asked. “She’s Goopier than I am!”

Contributing: Morgan Hines and Mike Snider

2020 TV premiere dates: When your favorite show returns, and your next one starts

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thefilmjournal · 7 years

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It (2017)

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Written by: Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga

Starring: Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs, and Bill Skarsgård

Rated: R (violence/horror, bloody images, and language)

Many of you, I’m sure, are familiar with the movie’s storyline as this is based on the popular Stephen King novel. Though I think everyone may be more familiar with the TV series starring Tim Curry as Pennywise. I would like to point out that I have never seen the series. I’ve always wanted to.

The film is based in a town called Derry. The story follows seven children who are all considered outcasts at their school. They all eventually come together through their shared experiences with being bullied. Over the summer, kids start to go missing. One of the kids, Bill, has a brother named Georgie, and Georgie is one of the kids that goes missing. Everyone thinks he’s dead. Either way, Bill is set on finding him.

Before I get into spoilers, I would like to say that I was not going to watch this movie. Initially, to me, Tim Curry’s Pennywise looked way scarier than Bill Skarsgård’s. Though, I’d also heard negative things from my mom (who loves horror) about the TV version. She said it wasn’t actually scary. She figured the movie would be similar to the TV show in that it would not necessarily be a horror movie in the way everyone expects it to be. The previews didn’t draw me in at first either. However, I ended up hearing really good things about the movie after its premiere and thought I should give it a shot. I’m always looking for a good horror movie.

It far exceeded my expectations. Not only is it scary, it also has very light-hearted moments, and a couple of the kids kept me laughing throughout. Initially, I wasn’t sure how I felt about watching an almost all kid cast. For some reason, I wasn’t confident that they could deliver. That was totally ageist. They acted their butts off. I can’t believe I ever assumed their age would be a negative thing. They were very genuine with it. Everyone in this cast is so talented.

Spoilers ahead!

I have no idea how the Georgie scene in the Tim Curry version went, but wow, they just had to find the cutest little kid to kill in such a brutal way! I don’t think I am alone when I say I hate when bad things happen to children! (Changeling, anyone? That shit made me sick to my stomach.) I knew the whole time that he would get sucked down into the sewer from what I heard about the series, but I kept hope alive, for whatever reason, that he would get up and walk away. At some point during that sewer scene, the camera pans over to a woman on her porch nearby. So I thought, you know, we would maybe hear him die, not see it it happening! His arm gets bitten off, we watch him suffer, and he gets dragged down into the sewer with blood everywhere. I’m assuming the arm thing didn’t happen in the show because my mom, who I watched the movie with, seemed just as surprised by the fact that they would show that.

Luckily, as I mentioned earlier, there were moments in the movie to balance out the horror. Undoubtedly, those were some of the audience’s favorite parts--Eddie and Richie’s banter! Eddie and his fanny packs, alone, were so great. He reminds me of a mini Eli Roth. Does anyone else see it? I hope he gets cast as grown-up Eddie in It Chapter Two.

I wanted to clap when freaking Henry died. Is that awful of me because he’s a kid? What an insanely messed up kid, unfortunately. You’d have to admit what a shame his living situation was. It seemed like his father molded that violent behavior. And I’m sorry, someone in the theater yelled, “Damn,” while Henry was falling down the well and I had to let out a laugh.

By the way, did anyone feel like Henry had a bit of a Pennywise look going on himself? I mean, sure the killing, but his physical features! I’m sure that was coincidental, I just couldn’t help but be intrigued by that thought.

It was interesting to learn that most of the parents were messed up. Those poor kids couldn’t catch a break. There was no better place to turn, really. Henry’s dad enjoys taunting his son, Beverly’s dad molests her (I strongly assume, anyway, or is at least highly weird with her), Eddie’s mom evidently brainwashed her son into believing he was ill, and Bill’s parents just seemed sort of absent. The one time we saw Bill’s mom, she was glued to her piano, and when we saw the dad, he was yelling at his young son saying that Georgie was dead. Harsh! He must have been suffering too, but he seemed to forget that Bill is a child.

I heard from a friend that Will Poulter was originally set to play Pennywise with Cary Fukunaga attached as director. I think the parents played big parts in the kids’ fears and the horror they experienced, so I’m glad Andy Muschietti picked someone a little older. Will Poulter seems a little young for a Pennywise, in my opinion. I guess he could be more of a representation of the bullies versus their parents, but to make the parents that source of fear is much more interesting and less typical, in my mind.

The movie had sweet moments too. I loved Ben's character and his crush on Beverly. Also, while we’re talking about Ben, why did he get sliced up so much in the movie? Jeez! The last time the group went to visit the well house I was joking to myself that Ben should have been wearing a chest of armor by that time. I thought the blood pact was a little crazy, though (and poor Ben, of course, got sliced for the last time in that moment).

If it were up to me, this film would absolutely get an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The story reminded me a lot of A Nightmare on Elm Street (which I love). I appreciated that plug-in on the kiosk of the movie theater in Derry. I want to add that I also appreciated the comedic parts because they were not cheesy the way you would normally expect from a horror movie. It was genuinely funny. I was absolutely engrossed despite occasionally hiding behind a napkin or my hands. I cannot stop thinking about it.

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biofunmy · 4 years

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Netflix, Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Goop Lab’ is delightfully wonderful, wacky

Prepare to be thrown for a Goop.

She apparently started Goop because she felt her calling to be “something else, besides, you know, making out with Matt Damon onscreen, or whatever.”

Exclusive: Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand, Goop, is going to sea with Celebrity Cruises

Gwyneth Paltrow on relationships with exes, from Brad Pitt to ‘lifelong commitment’ to Chris Martin

Gwyneth Paltrow stars in and serves as executive producer for “The Goop Lab.” (Photo: Adam Rose/Netflix)

Early in each episode, onscreen text warns the content should be viewed as entertainment.

Let’s give a woo-hoo for the woo-woo!

Among the series’ many Goop-y moments:

Loehnen acknowledges the cost of her salmon – $48.71 – is “crazy.”

Gwyneth Paltrow shocks at Golden Globes in see-through dress that garnered mixed reactions

Why Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s teenage daughter Apple got mad at dad

Goop’s chief content officer Elise Loehnen at the goop Health Summit San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2019. (Photo: Ian Tuttle/Getty Images for goop)

In an effort to normalize the appearance of female genitalia, closeup shots seem shocking.

Amaral admits his sessions can look strange.

What it looks like is very interesting, to say the least.

Loehnen began making noises as her body lifted from the table she was lying on during her treatment. “I had an exorcism,” she joked.

After Loehnen gave her account of her session, Paltrow had some fun: “Could you like get any Goopier?” she asked. “She’s Goopier than I am!”

Contributing: Morgan Hines and Mike Snider

2020 TV premiere dates: When your favorite show returns, and your next one starts

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