my thoughts on guardians of the galaxy vol. 3 (part two!)

spoilers ahoy!

At the end of part one, I began discussing the humor, which I'll continue to do so here. As I said before, the guardians just kept arguing but it wasn't funny. It felt serious. And there definitely should be times when they have serious arguments, they're under a lot of stress what with Rocket dying and all. But like, a lot of their interactions felt like this. Even their attempts to be funny kinda felt like annoying incompetence at times. There were few jokes that made me laugh, whereas with the first two I'm usually cackling. Vol. 1 and 2 are hilarious in my book. Yondu at the jewelry shop. Rocket's obsession with stealing mechanical limbs from people. "I'm gonna die here surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." The dance battle at the end of Vol. 1. The whole bit with Taserface! And the iconic "I'M MARY POPPINS, Y'ALL!"

I think the humor struggles in Vol. 3 because all the funny moments are put on Drax and Mantis. They make for some great comedy, as we've seen in Vol. 2 and the Christmas Special. But they can't be the only ones who carry the comedy, even if they're very likeable. Quill is mostly working through his issues with Gamora's semi-death, which I am glad is treated seriously. But that means he has less funny bits. Gamora is.... low-key annoying because she is a lot more rude than I was expecting. Sometimes I thought she hated the guardians (I understand why she's hostile towards Quill, with him insisting they were once madly in love). It felt a little out of character for her to be this mean, as she's supposed to be Gamora from Vol. 1. Idk, I guess the Ravagers rubbed off on her lol. Sadly, Gamora wasn't very likeable for me, but she did improve as the film went on. Groot exists. He does some cool stuff but mostly sits in the background waiting for the next battle.

Later I realized why the humor felt off is because Rocket isn't present. In the first two films, he's often the one who instigates a lot of the comedy. He bounces off of each guardian really well and is just a fun character. It's no wonder why he's a fan favorite! I understand why he's stuck in a coma, it's the whole point of the story for guardians to save his life, but I'm bummed out he was in it for so long. My sister suggested the idea of him being awake while his kill switch is slowly shutting his body down. There could still be that urgency, but also Rocket funny moments. I think the heist at OrgoCorp would've been a lot funnier if he was around. It could also make for some more drama. It would be interesting to see more and more of his past being dredged up against his will, as he tries to brush it off like it's no big deal, all while trying to ignore the increasingly unstable state of his body. He's not okay, but he's trying so hard to be. Until he finally collapses when the guardians make for Counter-Earth. I love the scene where Rocket reunites with Lylla. It's so powerful, and if I hadn't been watching with my family I probably would've cried hehe. All the flashbacks of Rocket's past was heart wrenchingly well done, holy cow. Props to Bradley Cooper for letting out one of the most primal screams I've ever heard in my life. Baby Rocket is such a tender soul that I wanted to go into the TV, beat up the High Evolutionary and take Rocket and Batch 89 home with me. My maternal instincts were going haywire lol.

I think the third act of the movie is the best part because Rocket's back and the guardians are kicking bad guy butt and saving people (in this case, clone kids and animals!). The High Evolutionary is such a slimy, horrendously vile villain that it feels so good when the guardians beat the crap outta him. We also get genuinely sweet Dad Drax moments ("You weren't meant to be a destroyer. You were meant to be a dad.") as he takes the kids under his wing. And we get some great Rocket moments as he discovers he really is a raccoon and lovingly carries the baby raccoons (ouuughhh my heart!!!). "The name's Rocket. Rocket Raccoon." is such a powerful line. All this time he thought he was a monster, but now he's embracing what and who he truly is!!!! I like how he insists the guardians save the animals too, and they do. And most of all, I love that Rocket lives. I'd read an out of context spoiler when Vol. 3 first came out back in May that Rocket dies. How unsatisfying would it be if he did? It honestly would feel like the High Evolutionary wins if Rocket dies. Movies nowadays kill off main characters for the shock and drama (even if it doesn't make sense). I'm so glad that Rocket is alive and he gets to flourish leading a new team. I'm honestly very satisfied with each guardian's ending. Quill reunites with his grandfather, Mantis goes on a journey of self-discovery, Drax becomes a father again, Nebula builds the home she never had, Gamora finds a new home with the Ravagers, and Groot and Rocket guide the next generation of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Overall, I rate this movie a 8/10. It has its rough patches, but the final act wraps it up nicely.

(also sorry I forgot about Adam. he's neat. I wish he got more screentime. Everytime I see him I think of Eustace lol)

Sandman rambling by someone who was shaped by the comics growing up

I've been into the comics since I was a bullied, lonely 12 year old who was handed Endless Nights because someone didn't want it in their library anymore. I understood nothing. Yet, I devoured it in a few days and a few weeks later I had the first issue of the comic. Since then, it has been a major, if not the biggest, part of my fictional life. There's few characters that are as dear to me as Death and Morpheus, as Rose and Hob are to me. Sandman, to me, is my ultimate escapist medium. It's where I go to when everything else fails me.

Cut for Length. Bc I rambled.

The show I expected nothing from. I didn't like the casting at announcement, I didn't like the setting change into the 2020s (which to me has only been a hurtful, horrible decade with no style), and I definitely did not like that they did not give Morpheus his signature eyes.

I mellowed out as I watched my way through the show. The casting is good, really good. The only one I actively dislike is Jenna Coleman's Johanna but that might also be because I find her character to be flatly written and have never been a fan of hers (no offense to Jenna! She's great! I just didn't like her at this instance). The others - especially Mason Alexander Park I have to give special credit here - are doing a great job.

It's a slow show (my dad fell asleep multiple times through it), and it takes time. Which it should. This isn't the story of great action-rich battles, this is the story of someone who is millenia old, meeting humans who have less than a fraction of this time and being forced to change their ways. It's a beautiful looking show. It hits hard when it should, it has great acting performances. Especially John Dee, who has been greatly humanised (for better and for worse) and Roderick Burgess have been played with such grand epicness by two actors I personally enjoy.

Now to my downsides. Because over all, to me, this is a mixed bag. -> death's character design. I loved Kirby. What I didn't love is.... how basic she looked. I know, this is the death look, the iconic one, but it did not hit that hard when you're in the 2020s and a black tank top and black jeans are just... normal wear. I was robbed of Goth Icon Death and that I did not get her and Dream to look like they were attending a Cure concert. I know it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation (who would like to change her iconic look?!) but dang it, I really hope that IF we get a season 2, we get a Death in a more fancy outfit with some more nods to subculture fashion. (Egirl Death would be really funny to me tbh) -> I feel like a lot got sanitised. Non of the deep, gut wrenching punches of the comics (Constantine's girlfriend with the Sand, 24 hours as a whole...) felt... impactful. The show is rated 18 and yet I felt neither scared nor unsettled once while watching it. Hell, my mother who can't even stand Supernatural was nothing but fine with it. I guess, it's because this is not the time for gruesomeness on TV and maybe it is the wrong show, but I feel the 18 rating (in my country at least) was so not justified. Bad shit happened. I guess. It didn't feel like it was *that* bad, because, oh well, next episode the world is normal! Nothing ever happened. We never got the chaos that Dream's absence caused - and what his artefacts did - in the waking world, apart from being alluded to in 24/7 and like, the sleeping sickness?? -> What I call the "tumblrfication of the Corinthian". He's not scary. Hell, he's not even THAT creepy. If this was any other show he wouldn't even be that bad of a guy (considering shows like hannibal here). He's the bad guy because the plot needs him to be. How many people are happily excusing him being a literal walking nightmare because they are horny.... idk. I'm really happy for you (not sarcasm!). For me personally, I would have liked him to be genuinely, really scary. He's a waking nightmare. His comic version is one of the best villains I've ever seen and he's genuinely, bad pun, nightmare inducing. The humanisation of his - and John Dee's to an extend - character happens so you have more to write about. And so you can make your audience somewhat like them. I personally did not enjoy that at all.

Those are the three big ones. Lyta Hall's story being changed, I give them, fair. Though it again wasn't scary. "Being 8 months pregnant forever" vs "being in labor within a few days" just does not pack the same punch. I give them the gender-bending of Lucifer bc I love Gwendolyne Christie, but a comic accurate Lucifer ONCE would have been nice. At least, it's not Tom Ellis. The man gave me the creeps.

I'd be excited - IF there is a season 2 - to see more family members. Especially Delirium holds a place in my heart that's very dear to me. I want more of Despair, I want Destruction (even though I know Brief Lifes is definitely not season 2 material when there's Seasons of Mist and A Game of you and all that...) and I want awkward, stupid family diners.

So over all, I rate Sandman a solid 6.5/10 depressed Dreams. I had fun. It felt familiar. But it wasn't "show me your dreams and I'll show you horror in a handful of dust". But maybe, that's okay.

Tom Surridge speaks in black speech bubbles. I just have to mention that.

Review: The Batman (2022)

So I got around to watching The Batman last night and I honestly believe that this has got to be the best Batman movie I've ever seen.

I was a bit skeptical when Robert Pattinson was cast as Batman, but he's easily in my top three favorite Batman actors now. The same goes for basically everyone cast in the movie, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and John Turturro Falcone. That's not to say everyone was perfectly cast though.

I didn't mind Jeffrey Wright as Gordon, but this portrayal of Jim was not that enjoyable to me personally. It was a different one we've seen from any movie or even TV show so far. For a lot of the movie he was right there alongside Batman instead of with the other police. It's an interesting idea and could work, but something about it just didn't work for me. Then we have Colin Farrell as the Penguin. This one is a bit of a win-lose for me. I absolutely loved this portrayal of the Penguin. Not really a "villain", more just a guy that works along with the others and still operated the Iceberg Lounge. One of the best versions I've seen. But I hated his design.

At least it's a better design than what we got in Gotham.

The main villain of the movie is The Riddler. I didn't much care for his design either, but I understand why it was changed. A guy running around in a green tuxedo covered in question marks wouldn't really fit the vibe they were going for.

The fight scenes in this were incredible. Especially the very first one that happens about 10 minutes into the movie. It genuinely makes you feel like Bruce is still inexperienced at the whole "Batman" thing since this is pretty early on in his "career", but also still shows that he can take out an entire group of people pretty easily.

The soundtrack is also incredible, with the theme song being one of the best, especially with the way it's used in the movie.

I also really love the way Batman is treated in this movie. In a lot of movies Batman is always told to be this scary figure that lurks in the darkness, but we never really see that, but this movie does a great job at showing just how scary and intimidating he is. He literally hides in the shadows, he walks a lot towards people and for an added touch they added boot sound effects almost like what you would hear in a cowboy movie with spurs and everything. Explaining it doesn't do it justice, it's really something you need to see for yourself.

The movie as a whole is amazing, I do hope we get to see more in the near future, especially with how this movie ended I think it sets up a great sequel that could possibly be a great way to bring in someone like Killer Croc.

so I somehow talked myself into watching a turkish drama, son yaz or the last summer to be exact (definitely not because I've been crushing on the main actor for quite some time now 😂), and let me tell you I have this weird love-hate relationship with turkish dramas due to the fact that where I come from, it's almost mandatory to find a random one broadcasted on every single TV channel ever, it's honestly annoying. Most of the dramas shown here are beyond mediocre, so I was kinda skeptical to start this one even because of the actor, but I did end up watching some of it nonetheless so yeah. I do love what I've seen so far, even though the show obviously has its own problems, from editing, to camera angles, to the TOO many inconsistencies in the plot, unlikable two dimensional characters and all that jazz. What saves it is the ABSOLUTE STELLAR performance by the main actor (😍) and I'm not saying this because I am so in love with him haha, but because this guy is literally ACTING THE SHIT OUT of this role OK? He's a poor little meow meow, a fucking wreck of a man, crying and having fits of anger all over the place, breaking shit, being irrational, making even more irrational decisions and suffering the consequences of them, yet beside all of that he's such a softie and an overall sunshine like I would give the world to him if I could OK? The chemistry between him and the main actress is also PALPABLE I love them together. Her character, despite being surprisingly clever and brave and somewhat of a breathe of fresh air compared to other female characters in turkish dramas (from what I've seen so far, don't know what happens to her after ep 10), falls flat and turns into the standard damsel in distress who's our main guy's ultimate rock, a shoulder to cry on and develops into his greatest weakness as well aka your usual cliche female protagonist that can be found in any drama regardless of the country. I don't feel obliged to write about the rest of the characters, the actors are great, I just don't feel any attachment to their characters whatsoever, especially those supporting ones like the aunt, the cousin, the annoying NPC boyfriend turned ex boyfriend, the cartoonish villain (?) Soner who seems to have a little crush our main guy, like the way he talks to him is diabolical sometimes, you can feel it despite the horrid Google translate subtitles. Like babe, time and place OK? He's hot I know, but still, chill. And don't even get me started on the mother! OH! Miss Gurl you KNEW WHAT YOU WERE GETTING YOURSELF INTO, AND YOU ALSO, BEING INTO A SIMILAR FIELD AS YOUR HUSBAND, SHOULD OUT OF ALL PEOPLE KNOW THAT HE'S GONNA MEET SOME UNSAVORY PEOPLE AND END UP IN SOME DANGEROUS SITUATIONS, why tf are you making a great deal out of it? I understand prosecutor daddy is a bit too involved into his job and often neglects his family, but still help the poor guy a little, have some understanding, he's under so much pressure and for God's sake don't pit his children against him, not when he's genuinely a decent human being and a good father (well as good as he can be, this guy isn't a saint at all let's be clear on that).

With all that being said I think I will continue watching this regardless, hopefully I can brave through the terrible subtitles, I swear it most of the meaning behind the dialogues is lost (like they mention poems, they sometimes say some deep and poignant things that, due to the bad subtitles are conveyed in a completely different way instead of what their meaning was intended to be by the writer), I'm sure the people subbing this did their best, no hate to them. I hope some major platform like netflix picks it up and I'll be able to watch it and actually understand everything.

Ahshdbdnnf can I ask for rebels for the character ask game

OFC YOU CAN rebels my most beloved ooh this one's gonna be tough!

blorbo (fave): sticking with the clone theme, rex - and ik, ik, that's a bit of a copout. but tbqh i have a very hard time picking a ghost crew fave bc i love them all equally and if there's one scene in that show that is guranteed to make me cry, it's my beloved captain's face at the end of season two. you know the scene. we ALL know the scene

scrunkly (my baby): chopper 🥰🥰🥰 he's a war criminal TO YOU! i get him though.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated fave): okay ik she isn't really underrated but idk i feel like in my personal experience, she and zeb are often forgotten in favor of ezra, kanan, and hera, so sabine! i love a mandalorian babes you know i do!

glup shitto (obscure fave): my other favorite captain, gregor!!! my king!!! everyone go apologize to gregor for Everything He's Been Through!!! do it right now!!!

poor little meow meow ("problematic" fave): i know he's generally beloved on here but agent kallus. i firmly believe he needed a slightly better/longer redemption arc amd yet??? he's my little meow meow. he and zeb are happily married. they've adopted a little lasat baby. they called her annka using the letters of kanan's name. kallus is a domestic lil king now and i love that for him

horse plinko (character i would torment for fun): THE GRAND INSQUITOR GIVE ME HIS TEMPLE GUARD BACKSTORY AND SUBSEQUENT FALL TO THE DARK SIDE GIVE IT TO ME NOWWWW

eeby deeby (character i would send to super hell): i'm copping out again but tarkin fuck the empire man i hate those wrinkly-faced HAGS