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rebelsofshield · 1 year

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Star Wars Andor: “Rix Road” - Review

Andor concludes its first season with a rousing and emotional finale that cements the series as a franchise classic.

(Yes, yes, I know this is hella late. There were holidays, family events, work intensity, all that stuff. Sometimes life unfortunately must take away from Star Wars.)

The people of Ferrix prepare to lay Maarva Andor to rest in the custom of their people. In the shadows, the Empire readies its trap and Luthen Rael looks to close up loose ends. Everyone knows that Cassian Andor won’t be able to stay away from his mother’s burial, but nobody expects what is about to happen.

For a series as sprawling as this, it’s impressive that so many of Andor’s disparate plot threads are as expertly interwoven into “Rix Road” as they are. Sure, we barely get to see Mon Mothma’s familial struggle on Coruscant, but almost every other supporting and ensemble character sees their arcs organically heading towards an explosive climax on the brick streets of Ferrix. It feels like a proper conclusion to twelve episodes of storytelling while also functioning on its own as a key stepping stone in its title character’s march towards rebellion.

It helps to have the long wake of Cassian’s mistakes at the series’ start so clearly boil over into the tension filled opening of “Rix Road.” The Empire tightens its grip on a people that endangered themselves to protect one of their own, all in order to find a single man that might help in their search for another. That same man, Luthen Rael, and his agents, Cinta Kaz and Vel Sartha, look to kill Cassian to ensure the safety of their own operation. Syril Karn is on planet to get his revenge on the man he sees as having ruined his career. And meanwhile, the people of Ferrix, stuck under the boot of oppression, reach a tipping point.

We open up with several compounding moments of tension. Wilmon Pak constructs a bomb while the holographic ghost of his father looks on. Dedra Meero arrives on Ferrix and prepares to use Maarva Andor’s funeral processions as a trap. Double crosses are planned and schemes are laid out.

It’s to Andor’s credit then that in the long, nail biting lead up to the episode’s climax that it never once loses sight of intimacy and character. Vel and Cinta, even as they prepare for the violence that is sure to follow, finally get a quiet moment of intimacy. Cassian gets to stop by his adoptive father Clem’s own brick to pay his respects in a moment that organically bleeds into a tender flashback of parenthood. Later, Brassos delivers Maarva’s final words to her son, reminding Cassian that Ferrix’s plight is not his fault and that he at his core is a fundamentally good man and that he has the ability to change the galaxy.

Because if there is any point that Andor is trying to make in its finale, it’s that hope and change are absolutely possible and present even in the darkest times, but it requires you to take hold of it. To try. To fight back. In “Rix Road” we see Cassian and his community inspired by two deceased revolutionaries, Nemik (whose manifesto we finally get to hear a bit from) and Maarva herself. After a brilliantly suspenseful funeral procession (not enough has been said about Nicholas Britell’s phenomenal musical score this season), B2EMO projects a giant shining image of Maarva and her final words.

Fiona Shaw, who was a standout from the series’ first episode, delivers an absolutely stirring and impassioned speech. It’s the sort of moment that with lesser writing or direction could’ve easily slipped into something overly sentimental or reductive, but Shaw, Gilroy, and director Benjamin Caron instead spin it into a moment of defiance and inspiration that is undoubtedly moving. There’s also just a certain profound sadness in that it was at the end of the day Cassian who was the unknowing catalyst of Maarva’s shift towards revolution. His actions on Aldhani inspired a woman who inspired his home planet to rise up against their oppressors. For a show that has often been marked by its bleak and naturalistic tone, Maarva’s call to fight for freedom is a passionate and emotionally frank moment of hope.

And that moment of rebellion arrives and it is both cathartic and horrific. Sure, there’s absolutely power and inspiration in seeing the ordinary people of Ferrix fight back against rows of stormtroopers and Imperial security. How can you not cheer as Brassos smashes down an attacker with the brick of Maarva Andor’s ashes? And as wonderful as it is to see the normal people of Ferrix finally fight back against their enemies, there’s a knowing paranoia in the back of our minds that this won’t end well. Resistance is necessary but it’s never easy, especially when you are facing a galaxy spanning Empire. And as the revolt turns to smoke, blaster fire, and chaos, the reality of revolution becomes clear. It’s bloody. Horrific. Necessary.

And Andor has built such a tense narrative landscape that we know very little is off the table. Characters large and small are at risk. It’s a phenomenally directed sequence and the necessary climax that this season of television needed. And even if we don’t lose any principal cast members in the mayhem that unfolds on Rix Road, the possibility is always on the table. This is a down in the trenches, messy reality of warfare and our ensemble aren’t made of magical space samurai or armor glad warrior nomads. They’re just people. Fighting and dying for a better day.

It’s fitting that we don’t see the full aftermath of this revolt, we check in our principal cast members on both sides as they flee the carnage, but we don’t witness what comes of Ferrix. Syril and Dedra Meero have an awkward shakey reunion in a crowded garage. (What a delightfully bizarre and messy pairing these two are.) Cassian bids goodbye to his family and allies as they fly off for a safer, hidden world. (If you didn’t tear up at B2EMO and Cass’s goodbye, then I don’t think you have a soul.)

We instead close the season out with Cassian making a firm decision to end his running. He faces Luthen Rael and lets him know that he is done looking out for himself. He’s accepted death or a life dedicated fighting evil, because what other path could he take at this point. It’s an acknowledgement of reality, but it doesn’t come from a place of fatalism. Instead, we see a Cassian who is prepared to do the selfless thing as far as it will take him. It’s a wonderfully executed conclusion to his seasonal arc.

And in that moment of both decision and indecision, we close out the first season of Andor. Tony Gilroy, the rest of the creative team, and a superb ensemble of performances have made this season truly one of the best Star Wars stories of all time. It’s thoughtful, stirring, and emotionally layered in ways that easily stand alongside franchise classics. It has raised the bar for Star Wars television but also for Disney’s streaming division as a whole. Andor is a reminder that Star Wars is at its best when it isn’t just about itself, but has a story to tell and a reason to tell it. The next two years are going to feel like an eternity.

Score: A+

#Star Wars #Star Wars Andor #review #reviews #Andor

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popo-licious · 2 years

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Thoughts on FRESH

This morning I went to the online premier of FRESH at Sundance Film Festival 2022. I know a lot of Sebastian Stan fans weren't able to secure tickets, especially international fans, so I'm sharing some of my thoughts on his performance and the movie below.

Feel free to ask me anything you want to about the movie in the comments and I'll do my best to answer. I’ve also included some tips at the bottom about how you can still enjoy the movie even if you aren't a fan of the genre.

Spoilers below the cut. :)

Plot

There's a really good plot synopsis already posted by @hutchhitched so if you just want the broad strokes of the story, check out their post.

Overall Thoughts

- Horror is not a genre that I'm usually a fan of. In fact, I typically avoid horror movies all together because I don't have a very strong tolerance for violence or gore. I also don't have the breadth of experience to say whether FRESH was a solid entry into the horror genre or not. I can tell you that I enjoyed it and would recommend it though!

- There are some great comedic moments that really caught me off-guard and they added some much needed levity. The fact that the film doesn't take itself too seriously kinda of made me respect it more, if that makes sense.

Sebastian

- I can assure you that you've never seen this kind of character from Seb. Occasionally you can see shades of Seb's previous roles bleeding into each other, either because he's playing a type or working with similar material. (Frank and Mickey, TJ and Jack, etc.) I don't have a point of reference from anywhere else in his filmography that I can tie back to this film. Steve is a brand new beast.

- Related to the above, I don't think we've seen this style of acting from him before. His character oozes casual confidence, from the easy way he carries himself to the cadence of his speech. Again, I don't have a previous performance I can relate back to this role. There's so much physicality in this movie that we just haven't really seen from Seb before, and all of it feels extremely self-assured and fluid, natural even. We see Steve playfully dancing around his kitchen, sliding across the floor in his socks, throwing a captive over his shoulder and carrying her away like a sack of potatoes. Everything feels purposeful and without hesitation, which really sells the character.

- He might be a cannibal in this movie, but he's also a certified A+ Soft Boi. Soft hair, soft sweaters, soft smiles, soft lighting. Basically my favorite Seb look.

All aboard the Soft Boi Express. Just make sure you get off before Cannibal Station lol. Thanks to @rainbowkisses31 for the screenshot.

- There's a scene where Seb's hair is neatly styled and he's wearing a high collar navy blue turtleneck, and for one brief moment I got 40's-Bucky-in-his-blue-pea-coat vibes.

- The Q&A wasn't anything to write home about. Seb was pretty quite and let the ladies do most of the talking. You can watch it HERE on YouTube.

He's earned that drink after carrying so many damn movies on his back lol. Thanks @buckysbarnes for the beautiful gifs!

Production

- Everyone is talking about the title card drop that happens 38 minutes into the film, and honestly, it's worth the hype. It felt earned and did a good job of shifting the tone of the film.

- This movie is gorgeous and stylish as hell. I'm a massive fan of warm lighting and this film delivers for sure. My only slight critique (and it may have been a streaming issue) is that some scenes were very dark. Like, Game-of-Thrones-I-can't-see-what's-happening dark.

- I really liked the eclectic mix of music -- it wasn't distracting and was always fully in service of setting the tone for the scene. Obsession is now stuck in my head.

Other Observations

- Daisy Edgar-Jones was phenomenal and I'm excited to see her in other productions. She plays Noa as endearing and sweet but also cunning and empowered. There's one scene in particular that really resonated with me. Noa wakes up and realizes that she's now Steve's prisoner, and understandably has a complete meltdown. Her reaction in this moment -- genuine terror, anguish, betrayal -- felt incredibly real and relatable, and it's thanks largely to Daisy's acting.

Criticism

- I thought this movie was fantastic. If I had to make one critical comment however, I will admit that the ending was a little messy. The biggest drawback is that they introduce a side plot with an accomplice to Steve’s business 3/4 of the way through the movie. Sadly, we never get quite enough information about this character’s motivations to really understand how they fit into Steve’s world, so their resulting scenes feel a bit wasted and drag down the pacing. You can infer how they got wrapped up in his machinations, but this character is so one-dimensional and underdeveloped that it feels like precious screen time is wasted on them during the finale of the film. Removing this character all together would have trimmed down the long runtime (which I didn’t mind but others have noted), or it would have allowed more screen time to create a stronger ending for Noa and her allies.

Warnings

- It's a film about cannibalism, so yes, there's a fair amount of gore. It mostly takes the form meat. When I found myself hitting my threshold in the scenes where human was on the menu, I kept telling myself that the characters were just eating cow/pork/etc. (It's going to be a tough watch if you're not a meat eater though.) There are a few scenes with very clearly severed human limbs, and those are pretty visceral. What's interesting though in hindsight is that there isn't actually all that much blood (at least not until the finale). It's mostly just... meat lol.

How to Watch if You Hate Horror Movies

- Seb's character meets a pretty gruesome end, so be warned if you hate the idea of seeing him absolutely wrecked. (GSW to the face.) I mentioned earlier that the lighting was pretty dark for my showing, so on the one hand you could definitely tell what was happening to his character, but on the other hand, the brutality was sort of obscured. There's a similar scene with his accomplice -- you can tell what's happening and it's gruesome, but there's not a lot of super visible detail due to the lighting.

- If you're dying to see Seb in a nice, normal romcom, this movie is for you! (Kind of!) Watch the film through the first 30-35 minutes, and turn the movie off when Steve and Noa pull into the driveway of Steve's house. There is (almost) nothing horror related prior to this point in the movie, and once you turn the movie off, you can pretend that Steve and Noa simply had a nice, normal weekend together.

The scene above is a good place to start thinking about turning off the movie. Thank you @rainbowkisses31 for the above gif!

#sebastian stan #freshmovie #fresh spoilers #fresh #sundance 2022 #steve kemp

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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Starkid Musicals Ranked from Worst to Best

Salutations to you, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Welp. I finally did it. I've watched the entire Starkid musical library, and I must say, most of these plays fit my writing style perfectly:

Humor that is cynical yet random

Leaning in with comedy while sprinkling in some well-executed drama

An understanding that any type of story works as long as the cast of varying personalities of characters is dynamic enough to result in some phenomenal chemistry.

This is in almost all of their plays, excelled through fantastic writing and stellar performances driving the overall quality. And it inspired me not only to review each musical, but also ranking them all from worst to best. Or, more accurately, least good to most good. Because even at their "worst," Starkid still provides a funny, enjoyable experience that will keep you laughing with its comedy and your toes tapping with its catchy music. So strap in as I go in-depth into how Starkid proves how they are the masters of humor and melody.

(I'll also provide links to each musical, which is all for free on YouTube, so you can check them out yourselves. Just know that their early work is impossible to enjoy without subtitles, so you might want to have Closed Captions on when watching.)

#12-Holy Musical B@man-Everything about this play makes it seem like it's the weakest to me. The jokes, songs, and characters in Holy Musical B@tman just don't hit as hard as Starkid's other plays. It's still good, but compared to their best, the cracks show a lot more. That is, except for the ending. Not only is there a great speech that shows what makes superheroes so beloved, but "Super Friends" might just be my favorite finale song Starkid has ever put out. Holy Musical B@tman may not be the best, but it's at least worth the time.

#11-Firebringer-This was stupid. Really stupid. Funny as f**k, but still pretty stupid. Although I will give credit to one of the central pairings being LGBTQA+...Even though it makes little to no sense based on the characters' previous interactions. But in fairness, Starkid really sucks at writing good romantic relationships, so at least Firebringer has the benefit of being gay. And as we all know: The gayer, the better. The play is still stupid, though.

#10-Me and My Dick-The world in this musical makes little to no sense. Penises and vaginas are sentient and can communicate with their humans. And yet the penises and vaginas can also talk with each other, form relationships, leave their humans, and reinsert themselves into others--Yeah, it makes no sense...But, DAMN, is it funny! Every joke and innuendo Me and My Dick has about human anatomy works, and I could not stop laughing at each of them. Especially the names that were given to the vaginas, which are just...I mean, I'm laughing just by thinking about them. That should tell you how funny they are. This play might be illogical in every way, but if you turn your brain off and watch it for the humor, you'll definitely be in for something fun.

#9-ANI: A Parody-What's weird about ANI is that its best qualities are also weaknesses. A good chunk of the jokes are hilarious and expertly delivered. The issue is that most of them are about taking potshots at the Star Wars prequels, which might be the laziest jokes to make in a Star Wars parody. Then there's the soundtrack, having several songs that are a bop to listen to. The problem is that ANI suffers from the same issues as Tarzan and Brother Bear: Yes, technically, it is a musical, but it's one where none of the characters sing, and some people in the background do all the singing instead. It's all an odd balancing act of quality content made through questionable choices. ANI is still an entertaining play, but the force isn't as strong with this one.

#8-Black Friday-This might be the least funny play that Starkid has ever put out. Not just because it leans extra hard into drama, which was pretty effective during certain scenes. It's just when there are jokes in Black Friday, they tend to fall flatter more here than they did in other plays. Also, the plot of Black Friday might not be the best one to play straight. The serious moments work best when focusing on the characters and their personal struggles, but through the big bad that's supposed to be threatening? Not so much. Even if it was meant to be funny, well, I wasn't laughing. And believe it or not, I consider that to be the best judge of whether or not something is funny. That being said, while Black Friday isn't the most humorous Starkid musical, it's still pretty good. The characters are excellent, the songs are awesome, and the story is somewhat easy to follow. I would have appreciated a few more laughs, but I can respect these talented people wanting to challenge their strengths.

#7-Starship-This play feels very...Disney. It follows a familiar formula we've seen several times: The main character wants more than what he has in his crappy life, miraculously gets the exact thing he wants, falls in love with a girl in a short amount of time, faces off against a campy/over the top villain, realizes the hand he's been dealt isn't so bad, and in the end, gets what he wants anyway. Starship is still pretty entertaining through its jokes, characters, and songs, but it also feels weird that Starkid leans into these tropes when they would eventually make a much better play by making fun of them. The end result is not bad in the slightest, but it's also nowhere near their best.

#6-A Very Potter Musical-Starkid's first production, and boy, what a start to something wonderful. Every one of their gimmicks and motifs is present in A Very Potter Musical. The use of parody to playfully mock characters and stories they love, making songs that are as funny as they are emotional, and creating characters that work because of their lines and the actors' performances. Oh, and also, it's funny. And it’s not just through a parody angle, like making Cedric be a perfect boy who's always smiling. It's also funny through its jokes that work, even if you ignore the fact that it’s a parody altogether. Case in point, there are these two bits, one involving Voldemort and Beatrix with the other involving Ron and Hermoine, that are written and delivered so well that I was in tears much more than with any other Starkid play. When watching A Very Potter Musical, you'll not only understand how parody works, but you'll also gain an understanding of why Starkid turned out as successful as they did.

#5-The Trail to Oregon-What can I say? I'm a sucker for comedic dysfunctional families. And seeing a family of idiots make their way to Oregon via The Oregon Trail parody? Yeah, that's a win for me. The play may be another family road trip narrative, which some people might get sick of at this point. But because the dynamics and comedic chemistry everyone has with each other are on point, the end result proves that you don't need an original story to tell an entertaining one. Although I will say that out of all of Starkid's productions, The Trail to Oregon has by far the worst ending. Without giving anything away, the play spends way too much time on this one stupid joke that any of the characters could make. Comedy is defined by personalities, as are most things, so making the joke work for anyone is a bad move when this one, in particular, doesn't fit as well for some characters as it would for others. Plus, the finale song "Naked in a Lake" is a really poor choice to cap off this musical. It's catchy, but to me, a finale song should encapsulate everything about the story, characters, and themes. Not paying off a joke that I honestly wouldn't want the payoff for. So while the ending could have used a lot more polish, that doesn't change how The Trail to Oregon is a pretty funny play that I won't mind revisiting when I have the chance.

#4-A Very Potter Sequel-Hey, sometimes a sequel is better than the original. Sure some jokes don't land, and some story beats aren't as impactful as they thought they were (Serious Black's introduction, for example), but there are far more improvements to this play than the last one. The performances are stronger, the jokes are funnier, the music is catchier, and the characters are much more entertaining in this play than in A Very Potter Musical. Especially new additions like Lupin and Lucious Malfoy, who provide great comedy and sublime drama at times. And Umbridge. Sweet Mother of all that is holy, Umbridge. While A Very Potter Sequel never made me laugh to tears as the first play did, twice, Professor Umbridge carries the comedy so well that she surpasses all of that. Plus, on top of it all, this play nails its ending through a bittersweet note that really captures what makes Hogwarts so special to these characters. I always feel like Starkid's plays tend to lose steam during the last few minutes, but A Very Potter Sequel is one of the few instances that it just builds and builds to a perfect ending. A Very Potter Sequel might not always hit the right marks, but the results are just magical when it does get it right.

#3-The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals-This one is pretty clever. The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is one of those stories that manages to be explicitly hilarious yet implicitly disturbing. For instance, people suddenly bursting into perfectly choreographed musical numbers in a world where songs are exclusively diegetic is pretty funny (especially through the characters' reactions to it). However, knowing what happens to these people and why they sing and dance so expertly helps make the whole situation pretty dire. It's an excellent balancing act that not many stories can accomplish. And while The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals leans one way or the other at times, it's still all handled really well. Oh, and also, you know how most people say the villain song is the best one in any musical? Well, technically speaking, nearly every song in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is the villain song. Including the finale, which is just too brilliant for me not to give a round of applause. If you're a person who unfortunately doesn't like musicals either, I'd say be more than willing to give this one a chance. It's funny, catchy, and if you think of the implications, pretty damn disturbing.

#2-A Very Potter Senior Year-...You know how Avengers: Endgame is a bit of a mess, yet people still love it for how much of a perfect (sort of) finale it is? It's the same regard with A Very Potter Senior Year in my eyes. It's far from a masterpiece, but the many, many solid scenes that cap off this series help make me willing to overlook the mistakes. The characters, callbacks, and overall message about how things end was done so expertly well that I physically can’t hate this one. I can understand how it's more of an ok play when compared to the rest of Starkid's productions, but sometimes, ok is wonderful.

#1-Twisted: An Untold Story of a Royal Vizier-...It's Twisted. Everyone loves Twisted! And how could they not? Everything about this play just screams Starkid at their best. The comedy is uproarious, added with the fantastic delivery of the actors and the characters' personalities. Everyone feels as though they have one step in reality and the other in insanity. This, to me, seems like the best type of character work when going for the parody angle. Parody is about giving slight yet snide remarks toward the work you're mocking, which I feel works best when characters drop the suspension of disbelief audiences have when enjoying such a story. And Twisted definitely nails its satire in not only poking fun at Aladdin but also making jokes towards Disney as a brand. From their movies to their inside jokes to their formulas to even their corporate dealings with Pixar, nothing about Disney is sacred in Twisted. But on top of being funny, Twisted might just be the most successful Starkid has been with telling some really compelling drama. The jokes allow themselves to take a back seat to let serious moments play out, and even comedy is added, it provides more for the experience rather than taking anything away. You see this not only through the actors giving it their all but even through some really gorgeous and heart wrenching musical numbers. Oh, and also, Twisted has the best Starkid soundtrack, featuring songs that are epic, funny, and, as I said, heartbreaking. You cannot get better than this and, if you want to get a friend interested in Starkid as a whole, this might be the play for them. Scheherazade may have a thousand tales, but his one is a tale I wouldn't mind hearing for a thousand nights.

And that's about how I feel about Starkid and each and every one of their plays. Odds are your ranking would be much different from mine, and I'm all for that differing opinions. Feel free to make your own ranking if you want because I'm honestly curious where fans would place these plays above or below others. I'm relatively new to enjoying their work, so I have no idea what the consensus is. I do know one thing, though: If Starkid can still be incredibly entertaining through over ten years of content, then I am excited to see what they can accomplish next in another ten years.

#starkid #holy musical b@man #firebringer #me and my dick #ani: a parody #black friday #a very potter trilogy #the trail to oregon #the guy who didn't like musicals #twisted: the untold story of a royal vizier

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oosteven-universe · 3 years

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Saxon’s Second-Hand Books #1

Saxon’s Second-Hand Books #1 Mad Robot Comics 2021 Written by Ash Deadman Illustrated by Gustaffo Vargas Lettered by Rob Jones Donald Arthur Saxon operates a second-hand bookshop in an "up and coming" area of London in the 1870s. He doesn't sell many books, but he has a nice side-line solving supernatural mysteries. Thanks to a secret he is keeping, he has an unmatched insight into the paranormal. This was a Kickstarter that I supported. All it took was one look at the campaign and I knew I had to be a part of it. When the book came I read it for the first time I knew I’d made a smart choice in backing this. This introductory issue really sets the tone for the series beautifully and it does this amazing job of showing us who Donald Arthur Saxon is, what he’s about and not necessarily giving away his secret but makes the reader question and wonder what that’s about. It also kind of guarantees that you’ll want to come back to learn more about that. Plus the book is solid, it’s well written and has some absolutely killer interiors so that they go along with the whole era that is set in it generates the right amount of interest, intrigue and excitement factors. I absolutely love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter. I love how we see the characterisation and how in the time period we see the speech patterns it’s really rather quite effective. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, introducing the characters and this world they live in makes you want to stay for an extended visit. How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge, grow and strengthen are magnificently rendered. I love seeing the layers and how they open up the avenues for exploration and while some will be explored others won’t be, regardless, they all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved. I am blown away by the level of quality work in the interiors. First of all kudos on the way we see the prolific use of backgrounds and they aren’t just utilised but they are as detailed as everything else is a huge bonus to me. They enhance and expand the moments as well as work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The linework is clean, crisp and strong with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this phenomenal detail work throughout the book enhances the reading experience exponentially. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for how colour works. A perfect example of why you should support kickstarters and these creators at conventions, once they are back in full swing of course, because it’s the kind of storytelling that piques your interest and then you come to find it is so much better than any of the expectations that you had for it. Personally I was expecting a lot based on the campaign and not only does this deliver but it makes me excited that it’s so much better than I was hoping for and has created a new series I need to keep track of. With smart intelligent writing and strong witty characterisation wrapped up in these spectacular interiors you’ll find yourself loving this the same way I am.

#Comic Books #Comics Reviews #Indie Comics #Mad Robot Comics

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less--beans · 4 years

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lihn asks: 2, 9, 14, 19, 20, 22, 27, 28, 39, 40, 47

2. Fav scenes?

can i just say the whole musical? i really want to just say the whole musical. i’ll not mention any scenes with songs, bc that’s a whole other thing, but i’ll pick a few (i said a few but it’s a lot more than that, i’m very sorry) top scenes. i’m pretty sure most ppl answer this with like 3 scenes but i’ve never been very good at picking so here, have 10. i’m going to make a list bc if i just put it all in a paragraph it would be way too long.

-i love sheila and susannah’s first actual conversation. it’s funny how nervous and awkward susannah is, and how many questions she asks and weird things she says. i love how sheila just rolls with it, answering her questions and ignoring the weirdness. francis’ little interludes are funny and it makes my heart melt when sheila goes ‘but in the good way,’ especially after seeing that susannah believes francis and everyone else when they tell her she’s weird in the bad way, and i can’t help but die when i remember that sheila is probably the first person who saw how weird susannah was and didn’t insult her or act like it was a bad thing but instead just rolled with it.

-it’s a short scene but i love when they’re teaching susannah how to smoke and she visualizes francis being torn apart. it’s the funniest thing. so short and yet so good.

-another short yet awesome scene is right before the other one, when sheila spends a solid 20-30 seconds just staring at susannah and listening to her write songs. very gay. also, in the same scene, sheila listing what she likes and then adding that susannah’s interests weren’t too bad either. her acting like she usually does and just kind of putting down the other person’s interests a little before letting her walls drop and acknowledging susannah as a person was amazing. again with the walls dropped thing is her respecting susannah’s boundaries and not demanding to know who the letter was from. we love character growth.

-yet another short scene is right before oh well when sheila’s kind of teasing her about the morse code thing and being like ‘you’re obsessed.’ it was hilarious. and then it kind of clicked in their heads with the nonsense syllables and the secret code and it was like they were finally on the same wave length. it was very very sweet.

- i loved the scene where sheila got taken to solitary. phenomenal acting. my heart broke. i’ve watched it so many times and i love looking at various reactions of the girls (judith being victorious, sheila being hurt and scared and angry, dorothy in shock and still trying to comfort others, ya-ya collasping, kitty being angry and disappointed, rat just watching concerned and scared from the sidelines) as it all goes down. it’s painful and it was such a different ending to act 1 than i thought would happen just two minutes prior, and it’s a majorly emotional scene.

-in the beginning of act 2, she’s like ‘no, this is my fault!’ and all the girls just agree with her, and then judith tells the history of harriet. i did not see her backstory coming at all. that part made me physically sick and very horrified. i didn’t necessarily like that scene, but i respect it bc of the acting, and the effect it had on me is proof that it was good. also, when kitty comes from judith and reveals that sheila took out her eye? that was the second huge revelation in the same scene and i had to pause it to process. plus, that was a sick burn. go kitty.

-the scene with kitty and susannah before masochist!! powerful, emotional, had me in tears. I adore kitty so much. some real stuff was said there, and i, as someone who is part of the lgbtq+ community, was really affected by that scene. also masochist, but again, we’re not going into songs right now. that’s a whole other thing.

-i died when the music was building up and susannah was on the steps and she was giving her whole rousing speech and she finally admitted that she loved sheila. the music stopped, susannah stopped, my heart stopped, and the girls gave a wonderfully funny fake gasp. the girls’ reactions in that scene were impeccable and so hilarious to me, and there’s of course the fact that susannah, after stumbling over her words and feelings the entire show, finally admitted out loud that she loved sheila. not only that, but she did it in front of everyone. very big character growth, plus the growth of my heart as it swelled and burst in my chest. i loved it.

-the transition of judith being like ‘there’s no way she just thinks the plumbing sucks’ to sheila loudly complaining about her hatred of the sucky plumbing was perfect. also, i can’t watch sheila’s slow realization of what’s happening without laughing. she’s such an idiot and i love her. her slamming her head into the pillow and slowly raising it up again as it sinks in? comedic genius. just the parallels of susannah being like ‘she’ll figure it out soon’ at the exact same moment sheila figures it out is amazing. judith going ‘i will happily eat my own sh-’ and then being cut off by sheila knocking back was hilarious, and kitty’s ‘do you want fries with that judith?’ was so iconic.

-them being like ‘how are we going to do this??’ in the middle of the song and everything going dark and quiet for a few seconds other than that sign of ‘four minutes and 38 seconds later’ before going ‘that’s a great plan’ was so freaking funny. we’re going to skip the moment where sheila and susannah reunite for now bc i’m probably going to make another post about it and this post is already so long. also, i love how they outlined the plan as they put it into action. it was poetic cinema. perfect execution of one of my fav tropes and i really enjoyed it.

9. Fav lighting moments?

I love the beginning transition where the lights flash and show the silhouettes of the girls, it’s so powerful. I also love the emphasis the lighting gives when it changes in the pre-reprise of teenage delinquent and also in susannah’s song reprise (basically whenever everything stops and susannah has a gay moment). the lights shining through the smoke to give the illusion of fire? amazing. that was exactly what the scene needed to take it from incredible to literal perfection. on that note, i liked the ghostly feel the lights gave as they shone through the windows once the girls were outside. lastly, i loved the lights in the end of teenage delinquent. that was a very emotional moment and the lights just added to it.

14. A major(s) character you love?

I love sheila a lot. she’s so tough and yet so sweet. i first met her and i was kind of worried about if she was going to be one of the stereotypical mean tough girls, but she managed to be strong and kind, and it’s amazing. i love how she’s a little aloof and yet totally willing to take down anyone who hurts the people she cares about. she fights asp, buzz, and even judith, all bc they hurt her family. plus, that girl’s been through a lot. i’ve made a few other posts just based on what i got from the three failed escape attempts but i really feel sad for her and all that she’s been through.

19. Fav (pre)reprise?

So we obviously have the oh well reprise when susannah is delivering the esp to sheila and that’s such an amazing one that always gets me. i’ve cried a lot at that scene. sheila smiling and trying to hide it while half-heartedly trying to get susannah to stop playing by warning her that she would get in trouble... ugh. my heart. another one that i really like, however, is when sheila and susannah first met. the pre-reprise of teenage delinquent gets me almost as much as the oh well reprise does. it’s so short, only a few lines, but we see susannah immediately fall for her. it’s so sweet and it sets everything up so perfectly, and i especially love the percussion. in the last line the drums kick in and crescendo and it’s just a masterpiece.

20. Headcanon(s) for what happens before the show?

i’m very sorry to announce that i forgot who the creator of this (if anyone knows please message me!) but some created this amazing timeline. it’s phenomenal. i’ve pretty much accepted everything on that list as canon.

22. Headcanon(s) for what happens between Teenage Delinquent and Finale?

judith definitely became a chill therapist. 100%. she keeps in touch with ya-ya and they try to arrange meetings every now and then. sometimes they see certain plays together. ya-ya went to hollywood with dorothy. she made it big in special effects, and dorothy prefers to act in smaller gigs in underground places. ya-ya helps out with dorothy’s plays sometimes. they share an apartment together. sometimes dorothy sees rat in the audience of her shows. she doesn’t question how rat knew where she’d be performing and she doesn’t question the money and cigarettes that are pushed into her hands after. she also doesn’t question it if rat ever shows up in need to stay for a few days. it happens every few months, and dorothy just makes sure there’s good food in the house and slips some money into rat’s things when she’s sleeping. kitty keeps in touch with susannah, and she attends all of susannah’s performances she can. susannah goes on tour with her band, and she could’ve sworn in their tour in hollywood she saw three familiar faces in the crowd. she’ll never know for sure though. sheila stays in mexico for a while before deciding to go back to the states. she doesn’t know what happened to francis. at the border she told him he was lucky she didn’t kill him and left on his bike, never to see him again. she traveled around the us with that bike, eventually deciding to visit hollywood. she saw a familiar name in an underground club and immediately went to the next showing available, watching with barely held back tears as dorothy starred in a play. she saw rat in the audience and ya-ya’s name credited in special effects, and she had to leave at intermission to keep herself together. she wasn’t sure how to approach them or what she would do or say, so she took off that night to keep the temptation away. she went all the way across the country to nyc, figuring it was about time she visited some old friends from mexico. she walked into a record shop to ask for directions and caught a thief stealing from the store a few minutes later. she walked in to return the record.

27. Teenage Delinquent or Revolution Song?

how am i supposed to choose?? from the moment i heard teenage delinquent pre-reprise i loved both versions. it’s such a pretty tune, and it’s so meaningful, and the emotion in it is so powerful. it makes me cry every time, and the end... wow. they’re gay and in love and i get very emotional about it. i absolutely love teenage delinquent. revolution song, however, was one of the first ones i ever heard and probably the one that made me watch the show. it’s so energetic and so great, and i cannot listen to it without wanting to start my own rebellion and take down some terrible patriarchal system. it’s constantly in my head and it’s so catchy and fun. plus, i love watching it in the show, and the girls throwing things and burning down the building is one of my fav things. i love both of these songs so much and i physically can’t choose which one is my favorite.

28. Something you like/have noticed about the show that you haven’t seen anyone else mention yet?

both of these things are only briefly mentioned in the show but i’ve still never seen anyone talk about them. this show takes place over the span of only 17 days (excluding the finale, obviously). in the beginning, when susannah had just arrived, asp got the call about the interview and she mentioned it being in 17 days. a lot happened in 17 days, especially since they were locked up for 8 of them. all of the events of act 1 took place over 9 days at most, and probably less, bc we know sheila didn’t respond right away in solitary and we’re not sure of how much time passed until she did. that feels like such a short time span to me. another thing is that they’re on the fifth floor. i don’t know why this stood out to me, but it’s probably something to do with the fire. they would have lit the fire and gotten out really quickly. i feel like imagining them on the first or second floor is different than imagining them on the fifth floor for some reason, and i just felt like pointing it out.

39. What got you interested in LIHN?

I was bored in between classes and so i watched a random youtube video of musical clips. there were three clips of lihn in there, and they interested me enough that i watched the entire musical a few days later. i immediately fell in love and i’ve watched it almost every day since.

40. What does LIHN mean to you?

love in hate nation means so much to me. i absolutely love this show. there’s so much to think about and so much to build on. musicals are amazing bc there’s choreography and lighting and lyrics and sets and so many things with hundreds of little hidden messages, and deciphering potential meanings for those messages is so fun. this show is no different. there’s so many things to analyse, and it’s such a good show that i want to analyse everything about it. i can’t put into words how much i love this show. just know it’s a lot.

47. A single wish for the future of the show?

it says a single wish, but i have three, so i’m going to list them all. if i could only have one it would for sure be the first one. first and foremost, i want a cast album. goodness gracious, i want a cast album. so bad. second, i really want this to get to broadway. more people need to know about this show. it’s so good and it’s worth everything. i want this to get big. third, i believe joe posted something about a potential proshoot? i could be wrong but that would be amazing to have.

my grammar is terrible and this is so much longer than it should’ve been, so i’m sorry about that. thank you so much for asking!! it was really fun to answer these. if anyone wants to ask more questions, the link to the asks is here

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isitandwonder · 5 years

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Okay, as I’m back from London I think I can write down my thoughts about The King. Spoilers, and I would use a cut but being pixelled that doesn’t work. If you don’t want to know anything, don’t read on.

I liked it so much!

Okay, at first, I was kinda worried how Tim would hold up between all these veteran actors in a totally different genre than what he’s done before.

But he’s so good.

Yet, I would advice anyone who isn’t familiar with the times the film is set in to at least read the Wikipedia page about Henry IV because we start right in medias res and there isn’t much explaining happening.

In the beginning, Hal is a somewhat sulky boy with wild hair and I feared seeing Elio but that didn’t happen. But I saw Tim a few times. There’s a scene where he walks up a street that is basically Tim walking.

He’s half-naked in bed a lot in the beginning which is nice. He’s all flat, pale planes and lean muscle which is very nice.

The sex scenes through-out the movie are with ladies... well, there actually is only one sex scene if you want to call it that because it’s just some making out (kinda) and not for the sake of making out but to show that Hal is stopping messing about.

As for the accent, I’m not English myself. And there are a lot of different English accents in the movie. You hear that Tim is talking different from the others but if you don’t know that he’s not English you couldn’t tell imo. And you really get into his way of speaking, so after about 20 minutes you don’t even care (well, at least I didn’t). He doesn’t stick out. His voice is great.

Some said he mumbles a lot and you don’t get every word he’s saying and that watching with subtitles is so much better. For me, it was fine :)

He only laughs once in the movie, in that scene from the trailer with Falstaff. Afterwards, he doesn’t have much to laugh about. He doesn’t even smile anymore I think.

But he cries. Once. And I feared I would be reminded of a teenager in an Italian villa but I wasn’t.

Because Tim truly transforms over the course of the movie. He starts as a wayward teenager but grows into a man. It’s subtle, his gestures and mimic are very controlled but there is something underneath his expression, you sense what’s going on without him screaming and yelling. He’s just very good at that. Some mannerisms reminded me a bit of what he did in One & Two but that isn’t a bad thing.

He gives a speech before the battle of Agencourt that really throws you. I’ve never seen him like this. No idea where he takes that strength, that energy from? He knocks it out of the metaphorical park. THAT is character growth. It’s not Shakespeare’s words but it’s their essence he delivers. I would have taken up my sowrd and fought for him afterwards.

Robert Pattinson is funny at first, but then he turns psychopath. For me, that French accent wasn’t too much, yet you sense some true disturbance beneath his words so you might choke at your laugh. (There’s a lot of talk about balls and now I want Armie take revenge on Tim and discuss his on a French talk show...)

There are some rather brutal scenes, not just during the battle. But the Agencourt scenes with Tim are phenomenal. Great camera work and I truly think it’s him all the time at least then, no stunt double. Not sure in the scenes where he wears a helmet. The fights are never perfectly choreographed, you see the men struggle with the heavy armor, the terrain, how exhausting and physical demanding fighting was.

It really shows how medieval warfare was conducted. It’s not fighting on a massive scale, no one could afford huge armies back then. The longer the campaign drags on, the more gaunt everyone looks. Tim’s face looks sometimes even thinner than in BB. He looks exhausted and that’s how it would have been because the occupied land had to feed the army. And as they lay in siege for long their supplies ran low. We are not only told that but we also see it.

LRD has a small but vital role in the movie. The end is rather clever, not a blind admiration of our hero king. Quite contrary. And we truly see how things changed him, how he only in the end truly understands what he has become and that there’s no way back. That what he tried to achive my have been built on quicksand and that even a king is never free in his decisions.

We stay with Henry all the time. There is no scene with the common soldiers for example. In the end, we hear the people demand to see their king but we never see them. This movie is truly about Henry alone and what power does to him and if he has power at all...

The soundtrack is great, very descriptive. The costumes are true to the time, it’s not too much, mostly gray and brown with only the occasional colorful apparel for ceremonial purposes.

I truly liked the coronation (and no only because Henry is half-naked again) because it encompasses what medieval kingship meant. A king was channeling god and his rule had a religious component which helps you to understand hy insulting him was not just rude but blasphemous.

The bowlcut looks better and better the longer the movie runs.

The movie entertains, keeps you on your toes and never bores - even when you know the whole story and how it will end. But the film succeeds in keeping you hooked because of the how we’ll end up there. And why.

The movie might not give super new insight into what power means and does to people and how it can be misused and instrumentalized, if bad deeds lead to good things or vice versa, but I can totally understand why Tim chose the project. It is absolutely different from what he did before. And isn’t it the privilege of acting to explore worlds you’ll never visit for real? That’s what’s happening here. I wasn’t bored one second and I so look forward to watch it again. And again.

I also find it kind of ironic that this movie about an English king fighting a huge war and sacrificing English lives to keep his estates on the European continent will drop on November 1st on Netflix worldwide, a day after the United Kingdom will crash out of the EU. What would king Henry, who always sought peace, have thought of that, I wonder?

#timothee chalamet #the king #spoiler #review

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daleisgreat · 4 years

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WrestleMania 35

As of this writing, WrestleMania 36 is set to air in two days, and due to the fallout from the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, will be airing taped from an empty arena a couple weeks prior, and over two nights. I have been advocating for two night ‘Manias since the WWE Network era of PPVs have caused WrestleManias having bloated cards and lasting nearly SEVEN hours when factoring in the pre-show matches. Since it is WrestleMania week, I am here to continue my annual tradition of watching the previous year’s installment on BluRay and break it all down here. I broke up watching the nine-ish hours of BluRay content over a few days, which lead for a more non-overkill experience, and I ended up enjoying the overall show exponentially more this way as you will soon read on. Now even though the BluRay has around nine hours of content on the disc, the cumulative total of content the BluRay unlocked for me was about 12 hours by including a digital copy of not only the PPV, but also a digital only copy of the Hall of Fame ceremony that preceded WrestleMania a couple days prior. For the second straight WrestleMania BluRay, the Hall of Fame is not included on the disc, and is instead replaced with the following night’s RAW in its entirety, which here is just over two hours when taking out all the ad breaks.

The Hall of Fame ceremony this year saw Jerry Lawler replaced as the host with Corey Graves & Renee Young, complete with grimace-caliber jokes of the stereotypical award show variety. The 2019 ceremony also saw a different setup with a ring in the center of the arena where all the speeches were delivered, and while it provided a nice visual, it also made it easier for an overzealous fan to run in and attack cancer and stroke survivor, Bret Hart during his speech. I recall getting the faintest look at the guy before cameras cut away and at first thinking because of the goofy hair that it was Enzo again up to shenanigans a few months after dancing in the front rows of the crowd at Survivor Series, but was then further perplexed to find out minutes later that Enzo and Cass did a worked shoot run-in at the G1 Supercard concurrently taking place. It turned out it was a fan with mental health issues, and obviously WWE cut out the run-in on the final Hall of Fame video cut, and the only thing apparent of something happening is that after a cut to the crowd, Bret Hart’s hair is suddenly tangled up. If you have not witnessed that brazen fan run-in, click or press here for fan-phone footage of proceeding to get pounced by countless wrestlers almost instantly. Bizarre fan attack aside, it was a much brisker ceremony (only three and a half hours!) thanks in part to no Hillbilly Jim speech this year (which was deservingly poked at this year), and a couple inductees not having inductions either, and the ones that did must have had strict time limits because I do not recall an inductor going longer than five minutes. Honkey Tonk Man set the stage with the fun-gimmick from the Rock ‘n Wrestling years, with a groovy entrance and exit, complete by singing his song on the way out and doing a noticeably better performance than Double J the year prior. Torrie Wilson’s speech felt more of a Ted Talk, but still heartwarming and inspirational and I will give her all the benefit of the doubt considering her father and former on-screen talent and Dawn Marie love interest, Al Wilson passed away two days prior. Also pleasant was seeing Stacy Kiebler break her 13-year WWE absence by inducting her.

The legacy class of 2019 had another ten inductees with brief 20-30 second video pieces on each. Most of them are more classic pre-cable TV era wrestlers, but some are more recently noteworthy and remembered like SD Jones, Bruiser Brody and Luna Vachon and in my opinion more deserving of traditional inductions. I hope if WWE keeps this up they will at least have a family member do a separate video induction and include it on their website for a more proper way to remember these legacy stars. The Hart Foundation was the next inductee, with Natalya accepting for her father, The Anvil. Bret and Naddie gave the successful Rock ‘n Wrestling era tag team a fitting induction, filled with classic stories from their days in one of the most successful periods of tag teams in WWE history. Brutus Beefcake gave a surprisingly good speech for his induction, as did the Hulkster for inducting him as he laid out how he broke Brutus into the business. Kind of surprising it happened considering the recent disparaging comments between the two with Brutus’s tell-all biography from a couple years earlier, but maybe it ‘was all a work brother!’ Props to Brutus for giving the Doctors who saved him from his terrible parasailing accident their kudos, and for calling out Shawn Michaels for still owing him for his barbershop window! The Warrior Award went to Sue Ajtheson, a backstage WWE official who is largely responsible for their Make-a-Wish efforts. Dana Warrior and John Cena gave heartfelt, genuine inductions for her, and Sue was a gem enlightening us about her philanthropic accomplishments.

Harlem Heat got inducted next, and after Booker T gave his brother Stevie Ray an outstanding tribute, it was then time for Stevie Ray sharing several stories of the trials of Harlem Heat breaking in before they finally found success in WCW. D-Generation X headlined the Hall of Fame, and as expected it was lengthy with X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, Shawn Michaels and Triple H all giving speeches. They unleashed some vintage DX humor to start off with. Other highlights include giving Chyna her proper acknowledgement, Billy Gunn getting razzed for being with the new competition in AEW, X-Pac getting super jittery in his sea of notes and all of them busting out Super Soakers and dousing their colleagues in the crowd, especially Baron Corbin. Now onto the 16 match WrestleMania 35 card (guys….I am sorry, thank you so much for sticking with me!). If you have yet to watch WrestleMania 35 then before reading this recap, I recommend breaking it up into a two part watch, and give this strong recommendation of preferred matches for each night to make for a better experience that I guarantee you will not struggle to stay awake through: WrestleMania 35 – Day 1 Watch Order: Tony Nese vs Buddy Murphy, WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar, SmackDown Tag Titles Fatal Four Way, Miz vs. Shane McMahon, Triple H vs. Batista, Elias/John Cena ‘Concert’, Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan WrestleMania 35 – Day 2 Watch Order: Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins vs. Revival, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton, Women’s Tag Titles Fatal Four Way, Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre, Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin, Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch Four of those matches were on the pre-show and are included on the BluRay as extras. In a rare move, WWE had the local have a feel good moment with Tony Nese winning the Cruiserweight Title from Buddy Murphy in a nice hybrid of strong style and high-flying that got the crowd hot by the end. In the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, Carmella played the surprise last second sneak-in card to eliminate Sarah Logan and win the ‘prestigious’ hip/leg trophy. In a surprising second feel good hometown hero story, Curt Hawkins snapped his 269 match losing streak when him and his fellow bro-ski, Zack Ryder won the RAW tag titles from The Revival when Hawkins got the surprise inside cradle for the electric pop! In the final pre-show match, Braun Strowman won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by eliminating celebrity entrants, SNL’s Colin Jost & Michael Che. A lot of hype on RAW built up the SNL stars, but the two hid under the ring until the end of the match in their failed efforts to surprise eliminate Braun.

In the official WrestleMania opener, Seth Rollins won the Universal Title from Brock Lesnar. Their follow-up match at SummerSlam is leagues better, because all there is to this is Brock getting an early attack on Seth and brutalizing him outside the ring for a few minutes, and then only a couple minutes into the actual match Seth low blows Brock and hits a few stomps for the victory. Last few years something about Randy Orton has made his stock rise higher for me. I appreciate his ring IQ and psychology that allows matches to breathe, and Orton’s skills blended perfectly with AJ Styles with some convincing sequences before Styles hit a Phenomenal Forearm for the win. The first of two four way tag title matches occurred next with the Usos, The Bar, Rusev & Shinske Nakamura and Aleistar Black & Ricochet vying for the SmackDown straps. All four teams brought it, and did not appear they were there for an easy payday with the creative spots they unleashed with an innovative tower of doom spot and Cesaro’s countless swings to the crowd’s approval until the Usos hit their double top turnbuckle splash on Sheamus for the W. I loved the buildup for The Miz and Shane McMahon’s Falls Count Anywhere match. Miz gradually won over Shane’s trust all in the name to win his dad’s precious approval, only to then see Shane turn on Miz and attack Miz’s dad! I was not disappointed with how they got Miz’s dad involved in the match with Shane shaming Miz’s dad’s ability to fight. The two had a pretty solid brawl all over the arena that ultimately saw Miz deliver a suplex from the tech area scaffolding onto a crash pad, but saw Shane conveniently laid out barely over Miz to nudge out a three count for the fluke upset. The newly established Women’s tag titles were on the line with Sasha Banks & Bayley defending against the Iconics, Nia Jax & Tamina and Natalya & Beth Phoenix. A lot of controversy was reported on the champs throwing a tantrum backstage hearing they were losing the titles, which happened when Billie Kay stole a pin with a blind tag on Beth Phoenix after she hit a top rope Glam Slam. Minus a handful of moments, Sasha and Bayley’s main roster runs have been beyond disastrous compared to their rise up the ranks in NXT.

‘KofiMania’ emerged when Kofi Kingston vanquished that vile do-gooder, Daniel Bryan to become the first full blooded African American to win the WWE title in its near 60 year history. There were a couple of extended hold sequences in the front half that overstayed their welcome, but the back half amped up big time with some creative reversals, near-falls and clever use of the New Day and Erik Rowan on the outside. I was just as happy as the WWE locker room shown celebrating for Kofi after he hit the Trouble in Paradise to win the championship. He had a killer half year run as champ….until Brock Lesnar waffled him in seven seconds for the gold and Kofi immediately went right back to the midcard in his happy-go-lucky pancake thrower days of yore and acted like his championship run never happened. Samoa Joe finally got his overdue WrestleMania debut match against a recently returned Rey Mysterio. I presumed the two had an epic match lined up, but Rey got hurt the RAW before and was only capable of performing for about a minute before Joe locked in his trademark Kokina Clutch for the submission victory. Roman Reigns was up next in his first singles match coming back after overcoming a second bout of Leukemia for the heartwarming win against Drew McIntyre. I recall dreading the buildup for this because Drew had a variety of ‘you may have conquered cancer…’ type promos and hyped himself up as deadlier than cancer, when naturally everyone knew Roman was going to win, and that is exactly what we got in a formula Roman match. The read in the ardent fan crowd throughout the match was readily apparent, they were no longer booing Roman out of the building like they normally would, because what kind of person can boo a cancer survivor (please do not answer that)? However, there was no overwhelming crowd going wild reaction either, but more of a tempered, altruistic applause instead. That has primarily been Roman’s reception for coming back since, and that is kind of how I feel too.

Elias performed a one man ‘concert’ next complete with other hologram Elias projections playing in conjunction with him until John Cena interrupted. John came out in throwback Dr. Thugganomics form and laid down some rhymes before hitting a F-U to the crowd’s approval. The presumption going in by most was that Undertaker would make his requisite WrestleMania appearance here, but 2019 marked the first time since 2000 that Undertaker did not appear or wrestle in any form on a WrestleMania. Strangely enough, Undertaker did interrupt another Elias performance the next day on RAW. Triple H and Batista squared off in a No Holds Barred brawl next, and I recall being burnt out by this point in the card and nodding off throughout it. Match held up incredibly better on second viewing with the two busting out a wide variety of weaponry in too many gruesome spots to dissect, other than that grotesque nose ring spot that reverberated throughout everyone in the crowd. The finish saw Triple H hitting probably the slickest looking sledgehammer shot ever with some added trajectory by leaping off the stairs, and following it up with the Pedigree for the pin. Kurt Angle hit the end of the line in a few months of ‘farewell tour’ matches against Baron Corbin here. I was worried for Angle as his previous few matches saw him struggling to go through the motions, but a few weeks of added rest benefitted him here with him looking remarkably better and capable of several of his vintage suplexes and throws, and even busting out an impressive moonsault….that missed and lead him walking into an End of Days that netted Corbin the pinfall. Finn Balor faced Bobby Lashley in the penultimate match of the night, and the two delivered a short, but high energy match to help inject some energy into the understandably deflated crown by this point. Balor hit his Coup de Gras for the pin.

The 16th and final match of the night saw the women headline WrestleMania for the first time ever with the Women’s titles for both RAW and SmackDown on the line in a triple threat between Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. All three laid it in strong style in easily one of the hardest hitting women matches I have ever seen. All three were decorated with battle scars, especially Ronda’s leg! However, one significant botch tarnished the match, and unfortunately it happened right at the finish when Lynch countered Rousey’s Piper’s Pit slam with a crucifix for the pin. Rousey inadvertently popped her shoulder up during the pin, and the ref did not restart his count and continued with the controversial three count. Even the announcers did not turn a blind eye to it and questioned the ref’s call, and it turned out the ref was later fined for blowing the call. I am not going to recap the following night’s RAW, but I did watch it and will give a couple key takeaways since the RAW after WrestleManias are notorious for returns, and unpredictable fan reactions suffering from wrestling burnout. Rollins and Kofi teased a winner takes all title match, but it quickly morphed into a tag match after The Bar interfered to the crowd’s rightful disgust! The controversial Lars Sullivan debuted on the main roster, Sami Zayn returned and turned heel after nearly a year away from double rotator cuff surgery. Dana Brooke and Mojo Rawley both deliver bizarre backstage promos. There was the aforementioned Undertaker attack on Elias and finally Dean Ambrose’s final televised WWE match that did not officially get started because he brawled outside the ring with Bobby Lashley before getting sent through a table. There is one last BluRay bonus that has footage from after RAW went off the air, where Rollins called out Roman and Dean and brought them to the ring for one last curtain call from The Shield.

That puts a wrap on the yearly monstrous WrestleMania recap. Once again I give my heartfelt gratitude for sticking with me the whole way through this. It was a chore to get through the whole show live in one shot, but it definitely helped spacing it over a few days this second time around. Again, if there is any upside with WWE having to switch up their WrestleMania plans with the global pandemic currently happening, it is that them having WrestleMania transpire over two days will make it vastly more watchable, and decrease the burnout of trying to watch wrestling for seven hours straight. Throw in the wild cards of the empty arena and undisclosed filming locations for the gimmick matches, and well….check back with me here next year to see how it all played out.

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bettsfic · 5 years

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It's gonna be real funny when the lords of westeros (whoever they are now idk) all team up to do what the night king and his entire army couldn't. Like, ok, the other three eyed raven was heavily involved in the realm, but he had hustle, he was a spymaster and a king slayer whenever he wanted, bran is literally a wheeling target. The realm is fucked.

also emilia and kit seem incredibly sweet but are two of the weakest links on the show w/ little chemistry which combined w/ terrible writing = disaster (even tho they did improve in s8 and tried to do the best with the shit writing they got) but having the final climax hinge on them was so?anti-climactic? there was nothing in that throne room scene? was dany even really acting THAT crazy lmao like give me more! this is the mad queen! where is the insanity simmering under the surface like HELLO

even peter dinklage one of their most capable actors delivering being so apathetic and dull and dead inside with those dumbass speeches they gave tyrion & sophie turner who was phenomenal in her KL storyline when she was like 12 has not been allowed to show half an emotion other than the same :/ face since escaping WF bc oh well she isn’t a little bird no more!! lmfao also when i read the leaks about bran becoming king i was like "this is dumb" but when i visualized the scene i thought maybe he

he would finally say more than 2 words and give a great speech and show a single A SINGLE leadership quality that would shock everyone and convince them to elect him as king and then made it would made 1/2 a sense but he. he didn’t say anything?? he didn’t SAY A SINGLE THING HE JUST SAT THERE AS TYRION SAID RANDOM SHIT & all of these lords who have never heard of him suddenly were like ya ok you are def the one capable of leading us out of this time of murder and chaos... time 2 rly cancel men

also.. the only person who actually wanted jon punished and exiled was greyworm who left immediately? the moment he got on the ship couldn't they have all just been like jon man u good! even brienne being in KL made so little sense. i guess i get the whole she has jaime's old powerful job or w/e but sansa is queen? what possible loyalty could she have to KL when she could be head of queensguard etc. even her just being like "im done w/ all y'all" and leaving to rule tarth wouldve made more sense

the realm is SO fucked like bran went to a meeting for half a minute and then noped out to find a dragon instead of getting anything done. and why tf is bronn master of coin?? i guess like a third of the population got decimated anyway so it doesn’t really matter. there are no people left to lead. the new lords are just playing house.

i cannot speak to kit and emilia’s chemistry because while i agree, i don’t see it at all, i know jonerys shippers feel very passionately about their ship, and they can see something there i don’t.

gotta agree to disagree on emilia’s interpretation of the mad queen. she was acting exactly how she always does (which is, in itself, a performance dany pus on), but she was completely dead behind the eyes. i thought her stoicism and conviction was very true to form of a mad queen.

i thought peter’s performance was really good other than weeping over jaime and cersei. i just never buy when characters weep. i think it’s tacky. pushing back a flood of tears is nearly always more effective, and moreover, when a loved one dies, it is VERY difficult to process it right away, even if you’re expecting it. so characters just LOSING IT the moment they learn of someone’s death just always gives me secondhand embarrassment.

to me sansa looked completely CGI in that last scene? like sophie noped out of the final episode so they had to hand-draw her or something. what was up with that. am i the only one who thought she looked animated?

i mean i do kind of get why they chose bran. he has basically the internet in his brain, and wouldn’t you elect a sentient internet to be a leader? i just don’t get why he went from “i’m not bran” to being like “lol hell yea bran the KING fuck yes”

also i forgot to point out in my last post -- what happened to “there must always be a stark in winterfell?” THE STARKS ALL LEFT WINTERFELL TO GO TO A MEETING.

jon returning to the night’s watch...........smh. and bran made the call, and jon was still all “yeah u right” what the FUCK. the logic was like, the people must be pleased, but one of the fatal errors of this show is NEVER SHOWING THE PEOPLE OR THE EFFECT OF THE RULING CLASS ON THE PEOPLE. who is even left to give a fuck about jon fucking snow?

cannot believe brienne BROKE HER OATH and it wasn’t even a PLOT POINT. her oath is to SERVE AND PROTECT SANSA STARK. even if she was dismissed! it happened off screen! what the FUCK

this show is so broken. so utterly, horribly broken. the worst series finale in the history of television.

#got spoilers #Anonymous

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riveralwaysknew · 5 years

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I quite enjoyed Doctor Who: Resolution! It’s my second favourite episode of the season. Rosa being the first.

I still hope 13 will snap one of these days ( come on female rage!) but overall, I laughed, I cried, got spooked by the Dalek inside... haha. No but that was proper scary. And the dalek actress was phenomenal. I felt the fury and the hatred. What a freaky fresh use of the dalek squish, that they can attach themselves to any life form if they loose their casing. NIGHTMARES!

Now, real talk: After an entire season, do I think Jodie Whittaker makes a good Doctor?

No. A dozen scronch faces just aren’t enough for me, sorry. Matt Smith played the puppy card well, but he also brought the ferocity and the severity when needed. Jodie cannot do that. I can’t even say it’s the writing anymore because she’s been given some lovely speeches and doesn’t deliver.

Does it mean I hate her? Also BIG NO. I still love the Doctor. And THIS is her Doctor. So I’ll just reassess my expectations. That’s ok. I have no alternative. It’s just, it makes me sad. Because the implication here is 1. she’s “too nice” she isn’t “mean” so she doesn’t get angry or loose control and 2. she constantly shares power, like graham said, it’s a very flat team structure. meaning she’s not the boss, doesn’t aggressively takes control. All things I’ve seen in past doctors, and especially wanted to see in a female doctor, gone.

o boi

There are a lot of things she does do well, and i will endeavour to focus on those.

#resolution #doctor who #doctor who spoilers #dw spoilers #Jodie Whittaker #new year's special #dw: resolution #ep:resolution #wank for ts #wank for t's #you know what i wonder? if most of the men i follow on twitter are so pleased by 13 #because she's so palatable #she's not gone off #idk man #i have thoughts

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aseel-alrazem-blog · 5 years

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The fault in our stars

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings," said Shakespeare. Inspired by the quote, the outstanding author who never failed to grab the attention of the readers, with his knack of writing fictional stories, with splendid wise themes, and a hidden message to be delivered, John Green, released his award-winning work of art, the stupendous, remarkable and phenomenal novel "The fault in our stars", which tells a brave story of young lovers fighting the tragic events of life, and wishing upon the stars for a miracle to save them, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters creating their little beautiful infinity amidst the heartbreak.

Cancer, a fatal illness, to cause two lovers' paths to cross, and then to be the harsh ending that separates them. Hazel, a 16 year-old girl, got diagnosed with lung cancer at 13, and she's been living with cancer ever since, her mother suggests joining a cancer patient support group, in hopes of helping Hazel to retain her hope and fun personality, which got affected by the illness. At first, Hazel refuses to go, little does she know, her whole life is going to be changed forever after attending the group. One time, she meets a cancer survivor, a 17 year-old boy, who lost his leg in his battle against cancer and that was Augustus. The two meet after the session, and begin to talk, they click right away and become friends, the two agree to read each other's favorite novels, Hazel recommends "An Imperial Affliction", a novel written by Peter Van Houten, who lives in Amsterdam, about a cancer-stricken girl named Anna that parallels Hazel's own experience. After Augustus finishes reading the book, he is frustrated upon learning that the novel ends abruptly without a conclusion. The novel ends in the middle of a sentence, which means she either died or became too sick to continue telling the story. Hazel explains the novel's author had retreated following the novel's publication and has not been heard from since.

Augustus reveals to Hazel that he tracked down Van Houten's assistant, Lidewij, and through her he's managed to start an email correspondence with the author of the novel, and that he has invited them both to his house in Amsterdam in order to answer any questions they have concerning the novel. Later on, Augustus invites Hazel to a picnic in which he re veals that a charitable foundation that grants the wishes of kids with cancer has agreed to grant his; he's taking the two of them to Amsterdam to meet Van Houten. Over time Hazel realizes that she likes Augustus, but she also thinks that she can't let him in, that she can't love him, because she will hurt him if cancer killed her, she says she's a grenade. Several days later, Hazel wakes up from sleep with a heavy feeling in her chest, and a disability of breathing even with the tube in her nose, it's because of her lungs filling up with fluid, she goes to the hospital and stays there for days. After she's released she learns that Augustus never actually left her side, he stayed in the waiting room. After what happened, her parents think she shouldn't travel to Amsterdam in case something happened and she needs to go to the hospital. Fortunately, one of the doctors convinces Hazel's mother that Hazel needs to travel, because she needs to live her life like girls her age, her mother agrees, but insists on going with her, for her own safety. Everything goes as planned and the three, Hazel, her mother and Augustus, fly to Amsterdam. Hazel and Augustus meet Van Houten, expecting to find a gentleman, and to leave with answers, however, they leave with disappointment, because Van Houten turned out to be a drunk mean old man, and refuses to answer any of the questions, as well as being rude to the two about their illness, and that's when they leave, outraged and utterly disappointed. Lidewij, takes them to tour Anne Frank's house as welcoming tour and an apology for what Van Houten did, and that's when the two share their first kiss, and realize that they have fallen in love.

But life isn't a wish granting factory, is it? Augustus confesses to Hazel that cancer has returned and spread everywhere in his body, "I lit up like a Christmas tree" he said. Hazel now realizes that he is the grenade. His condition worsens as the days go on, he becomes vulnerable and fragile, he keeps on trying to take responsibility and take care of himself, and this obviously isn't an option, his health deteriorates more day by day. In his last days, he arranges a pre-funeral, which Hazel and Isaac, his friend, attend and give their speeches. Hazel says how much she loves him, and that she's happy for knowing him, and that she won't trade their little infinity of time with anything in the world. Augustus' story comes to an end, as his body gave up to the illness, and cancer got the best of him, he dies eight days later. Hazel tries to live with the grief and agony of losing Augustus who gave her the world in the very short time she got to know him, at the funeral, she is surprised to find Van Houten who reveals that Augustus maintained correspondence, and asked him to make up for the trip he ruined for them by attending his funeral, Hazel says she's not interested and doesn't even listen when he tries to answer her questions about the novel. Later on, she finds that Augustus had been trying to write her something, a sequel for the novel. Van Houten sends her what Augustus had sent him, He says getting hurt in this world is inevitable, but we do get to choose who we allow to hurt us, and that he is happy with his choice. He hopes she likes her choice too. And Hazel ends the story saying that she does too.

This novel is my personally favorite, being the first novel I read, and one of the few ones that affected me, and hit me hard with the emotions and feelings held in them, a breathtaking masterpiece with an extraordinary theme, in a plot twist that tells a tragedy that is mixed with love. I recommend reading this novel for everyone who enjoys a good time with a book in hand, as it will change the way you think of life and its events, as well as your beloved ones, it will teach you how to appreciate the little things, and to love the people you know, and to notice the hidden beauty of life in the moments you live.

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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What I Thought About "What If...T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" from Marvel Studios' What If...

Salutations, random people on the internet who already scrolled past this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

You know, a lot of people lost so much when Chadwick Boseman died. His family has lost a husband and a father, his fans lost an inspiration, and to fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we lost both a hero and a king. His performance as T'Challa/Black Panther is by far the best the character has ever had, nailing the essence of the character while delivering so much more. So with the second episode of Marvel Studios' What If... one has to ask: Was Chadwick Boseman's final performance his best, or did the series failed to honor his legacy? Only spoilers can answer that question, so be wary as we analyze the second entry into Marvel's most ambitious series.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

T’Challa himself: I enjoy that because his story has changed, so did T'Challa's personality. There's this sly cockiness that we've never seen from the character before, showing how much influence Yondu and his Ravagers had on him. And it's actually pretty fun seeing a character who was so calm and collected now act so...not that. With that said, just T'Challa is now Star-Lord, that doesn't mean he's a copy of Peter Quill.

The major differences lie in the impact that T'Challa left on the galaxy. Instead of stealing for himself, he chose to steal for planets in need as his own version of Robin Hood. And that, in turn, is a way more intriguing and compelling character to me than Peter Quill ever could be. There's just something about the nobleness of choosing to be a heroic outlaw instead of being strictly an outlaw. It proves that despite having his history altered drastically, there is no erasing that perfect and intelligent King that we all know and dearly miss. It sucks that we'll probably never see him again, but at least the last time we did it was to leave one epic impression for the fans.

Korath is T’Challa’s #1 Fan: Not what I would have expected, primarily since the character never acted so goofy, but I appreciate this change nonetheless. Because it's oddly wholesome seeing how much Korath admires T'Challa, to the point where he honestly believes that they're best friends. Also, it's funny. Like, really funny. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this version of Korath is the funniest character in this episode. He's just too good.

It’s All Funny: Hey, we're on the Guardians of the Galaxy side of the universe. I'd personally be offended if it didn't have a sense of humor.

Yondu: Yondu seems to be the only one who hasn't changed that much through T'Challa's presence. Sure, he went straight because of it, but personality-wise, he's still the same. He still gives off the energy as this king of the idiots when dealing with his Ravagers, and you how he's this thief with a heart of gold. It's just that only T'Challa brought it out more than Peter did. Other than that, I personally don't mind that not much has changed. Yondu was already a fun character, to begin with, so I'm more than alright seeing him unaltered if it means we get to witness more of him.

The Galaxy is Better Because of T’Challa’s Influence: No, really, it is. Drax still has his family, Thanos renounced his genocidal ways, and Nebula not only remained in one piece but even has hair...somehow. It's impressive to see just how better everything turned out, and, in a way, it's also kind of funny when you think about it. Like, I wouldn't go so far as to say that the universe was in shambles because of Peter's existence...but it wasn't really better either, and I can't help my chuckles when witnessing how better off things were because he stayed on Earth.

Thanos: Not much to say here. It's fun seeing how chilled out Thanos is when he's not hellbent on wiping out half the universe. And I definitely chuckled a couple times when people called him out on his genocidal bulls**t. It's pretty enjoyable and made me glad we got to see his very surprising return.

Nebula: But this shocked me more. Korath becoming a T'Challa stan? Sure. Thanos acting as a respectful ally? Whatever. But Nebula becoming T'Challa's sexy thieve-in-arms girlfriend?! I don't think anybody in their right mind would have predicted that!

But putting aside the shock, this version of Nebula was surprisingly entertaining. It's nice seeing what she would've acted like without the tragedy as she acts like she's free as a bird but still a little devious. Although, despite having a much better life, that doesn't mean there isn't animosity between her and Thanos. He may not have torn Nebula apart as much as he did in the universe we know, but take notice of how she still has cybernetics in her left eye. That shows that T'Challa didn't get to fix everything, and I appreciate that the writers hadn't glossed over how much of a bad father the Mad Titan is, just because he's all sunshine and rainbows now. It allows a chance for Thanos to prove he really did change and gives Nebula an arc to forgive him. And while the pacing for that could have been better, it's still somewhat believable for me to get behind it. Thus surprising me even more with how not only did Nebula make a phenomenal appearance, but one that left quite the impact on the story.

The Collector: It's not just better heroes that T'Challa created. The Collector, for example, somehow became a genuine threat in this timeline instead of that pathetic dweeb in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War. This again amazes me with how T'Challa miraculously created a buff-supervillain in his universe, where Peter did jack all. Maybe the galaxy really would have been better off without him...

Howard the Duck: This is the best way to utilize Howard the Duck if you ask me. He's a character that doesn't really scream "leading character" to me (unless given the correct type of writers), so it's better to let him stick to brief cameos and occasional supporting roles. It allows a goofy type of character to shine without causing audiences to roll their eyes over the idea of a talking duck saving the day.

Wakanda Theme Playing when T’Challa Found the Ship: It's just a cool callback. That's all.

Yondu Lying About Wakanda’s Destruction: A pretty solid reveal that shows how even though Yondu loves the kids he steals, he doesn't have the best intentions. What more can I add?

The Collector’s Wall of Weapons: The callbacks are nice, but I like implications from seeing Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer on that wall. It could mean that while the universe is a better place from T'Challa's influence, not everybody made it out alright.

Yondu’s Speech to T’Challa: I'm sure these beautiful and sentimental words have some implications toward Chadwick Boseman as an actor, but I was too busy being emotional to notice them. Well done.

What Happened to Peter Quill: Ok...I think we can just stop beating Peter down for dooming half the universe. Because how much lower can you get when finding out that this other guy practically saved everything with very little effort, only for you to end up as a worker at Dairy Queen? I'd honestly feel bad if I kept doing it at this point. The poor bastard…

(Sidenote: Love the implications that the world is still in danger because Ego still gets to Peter. It shows that despite the more interesting changes, not everything turns out all hunky-dory.)

The Tribute to Chadwick Boseman: A well-appreciated sentiment to cap off a perfect episode...or what would've been a perfect episode. 'Cause ya boy's got some nitpicks!

WHAT I DISLIKED

T’Challa Being Called Star-Lord: A small thing, but the reason why Peter called himself Star-Lord was because it was a nickname his mom called him. What's even the reasoning here? Because it makes no sense when you sit down and think.

The Black Order are still Boring: Out of all the improvements we've seen, it is still disappointing that these four remain as nothing more than cannon fodder for our heroes to go through before fighting the main boss. And pathetic. Immensely pathetic. I mean, for f**ks sake, THE MAW GOT KILLED BY THE PINK GIRL FROM GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY! Psychic powers and he still goes out like a b**ch!

Thanos Got Nerfed: The guy nearly killed the Avengers, with and without Infinity Stones, yet he can barely hold his own against these people who worked for him. C'MON NOW!

IN CONCLUSION

But those were just nitpicks. Despite them, I'd still consider this episode a solid A with 9.5/10. It was fun getting to see the changes T'Challa made to the galaxy, added with some pretty entertaining moments with other iconic characters. You couldn't have asked for a better final performance from Chadwick Boseman, and here's hoping that wherever he is, he knows that he shined brighter than any star in the galaxy.

#marvel studios' what if...?#marvel cinematic universe #mcu reviews #t'challa #t'challa star lord #yondu udonta #nebula #thanos #korath #what i thought about #what if reviews

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torestoreamends · 6 years

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Initial reactions to HPCC NYC Part One

Today was finally the day! We made it to New York and this evening I got to walk through the doors of the Lyric Theatre, which is such a beautiful space and a playground for Harry Potter nerds.

It’s difficult to have a lot of thoughts about the show, because I’m sitting in the balcony so losing a lot of the detail that I’d usually use to talk about the show, however I want to talk about some of my favourite bits from the evening.

Jamie Parker is every bit as wonderful as I remember him being. He’s such a phenomenal actor that everything with him feels completely natural. He makes every line work as if that’s the way it’s meant to be said (and he remains the only Harry to pronounce ‘contrary’ correctly).

I loved how the new lines in the script flowed with this cast, and you could tell they were the ones who’s workshopped them into the show. Especially of note (as always) is the Hospital Wing Scene, which I absolutely adore with cast three in London and was worried I might like less over here. Not a bit of it. It’s such a gorgeous scene, and this rendering of it with Jamie’s reactionary, overwhelmed Harry and James Romney’s Albus (more on that later) worked so well. The whole second timeline really took off for me, and that’s in large part to it being prefaced by this scene and containing Jamie’s Harry.

I think I could probably write about Jamie Parker forever. He’s such a perfect fit for Harry. I love his spikiness, the depth of his emotions, how he sinks into himself and is guided by fire and passion. He’s a Harry on the run from his past, skittish and hiding and fighting. He has the anger that boils over, the fear after his nightmares, and the introspective worry where he withdraws and broods, away from even those he loves most dearly.

A final note on Jamie is that I just can’t move on from him without mentioning his rendition of Scorpius. He has more of Anthony’s character and mannerisms than Anthony does. He came alive in that moment and it was so much fun to watch.

Another of my highlights was a nice surprise from Noma. I’d never really connected with her Hermione before, but tonight she went shooting up my rankings of favourite Hermiones. She has the perfect blend of authority and humanity, her humour perfectly matches her husband’s, and I truly enjoyed the initial scene with her and Harry in Harry’s office. She also had just the right wicked, over-the-edge tone in the defence against the dark arts scene. I can’t wait for more from her in Part Two, especially that Voldemort timeline. If I had to put money on it in advance I’d say that she and Paul will be my favourite things about that bit of the show.

A big shout out is deserved for tonight’s Baby or a Holiday scene, which brought back memories of the good old days of corpsing and idiocy. There’s something unrestrained and lovely about her and Paul’s interactions in this scene. You can feel their chemistry and rapport, and they really do work so beautifully together. They fit perfectly, and it was lovely to see that familiar, snappy relationship between them.

Edward James Hyland is my stand out from the American additions to the ensemble and other roles. I took an instant liking to his Amos — so much more frail than either of the ones we’ve had in London — and I loved how he sat in the wheelchair with the implication that it was more than just old age and tiredness that had put him there. You truly felt that this was a man approaching the end of his days.

As Dumbledore too, he was wonderful. There’s something incredibly Richard Harris about the way he speaks especially at the start of the Hospital Wing Scene. He has a similarity in his tone of voice, and there’s a certain twinkle there. He is a brilliant, believable Dumbledore who didn’t put a foot wrong in his portrayal. Nothing jarred at all. I’d happily see him again if it was an option.

And finally, perhaps my biggest surprise and delight of the night, was James Romney as Albus Severus. Some Albuses take me a while to warm to and understand, others I fall for in an instant, and he was absolutely in the latter group. I thought of him at one point as a sort of middle ground between Joe and Mackley. He has such openness in the way he plays the character — not vulnerability in the Theo vein but a warmth and kindness. He’s not shutting himself off at all. He’s not standoffish or angry. In the blanket scene he shrank into himself at the end, and throwing the blanket didn’t feel like an act of anger but an act of sadness. (I should point out that my favourite thing in the blanket scene came courtesy of Jamie — at the end of the initial part of the speech he got up to leave, like Harry wanted to deliver the blanket and then run away with something positive having been achieved, except he didn’t get very far before Albus called him back.)

I’ve already mentioned the Hospital Wing scene, but that was the gateway to a second timeline that is rapidly becoming my favourite section of the play from every cast. James was a perfect lost Albus: bewildered in the DADA scene, desperately reaching out in the staircase ballet, lashing out at the start of the library scene. His library scene apology was perfectly paced, his hands illustrating every point he was trying to make about how sorry he was, the different sections split apart in a way I’ve never seen before but which brought so much impact towards each bit. And then a mention has to go to his humour in the Myrtle scene too. I’m going to miss him greatly at the beginning of Part Two — he and Jamie are making the show for me.

I only wish that I could see James a. from close up, b. again, multiple times, and c. with the sort of Scorpius his warm, bold, sweet Albus deserves. He is what I’m most looking forward to about tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what he does with some of my favourite moments in the show.

Other things I liked:

-The Dementors interacting with the audience. When the auditorium Dementor flew up to the balcony it reached out with its hands and sort of jumped at the audience, which was very creepy and really fun.

-The beautiful columns decorated for the forest. The branches in the broadway version are so much more delicate and beautifully lit than the ones in London, architectural but natural, with flowing lines. They added to how aesthetically pleasing the show is.

-Seeing the show from above, which I haven’t done for a long time. Although the blocking and lighting is a little bit different from London at times, it’s lovely to see the patterns on the stage again.

-The theatre as a whole. It’s not my Hogwarts in the way the Palace is, but it’s a gorgeous, immersive space. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a theatre so closely tailored for the show it’s holding. It truly adds to the experience of coming to the theatre for the play. It makes it feel very special, and I had fun exploring the sweet shop and the Patronus room in particular.

-Did I mention before that I really loved James Romney? Because I did...

It’s super late here now so that’s all for tonight, but tomorrow after the show I’ll write some more thoughts. Let’s be honest, most of them will be about James and Jamie, but I’ll do my best to mention the others too.

#HPCC NYC #Jamie Parker #Noma Dumezweni #James Romney #Edward James Hyland #Albus Severus Potter #Harry Potter #Harry Potter and the Cursed Child #Cursed Child #Notes from the show #Keep The Secrets #Secret seven #minus one #Prickly cactus child #this one’s not so prickly but I adore him #can’t wait for tomorrow — that Cedric scene may slay me #and if that doesn’t get me then the final scene certainly will #these Albuses are going to be the death of me #(I’ve seen every single one of them now!)

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cerastes · 6 years

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Thinking about the rationale behind my being in utter love with the Cold Steel localization and considering it my favorite even above Echoes (which I will be using as an example for comparison throughout this post precisely because I love it and it’s excellent) made me realize it has all to do with what it is that I want to see in media, and the importance of that for each one of us.

This sounds obvious, and it is obvious, but the scope in which I am considering this now is from the presentation of the media in itself more than the content per se. It’s no news that Fire Emblem Echoes was a home run, it’s an excellent game, both mechanically and in presentation. The voice work is phenomenal, and the script only helps bring out the voice talent’s beauty even more. When it comes to Cold Steel, the script is also very well done (XSEED is notorious for their excellent localizations, especially as of late), and the voices, I find are great, all of which goes perfectly with the kind of story, setting, and atmosphere the game is trying to get across. You need to follow me for three seconds to know I am a huge Fire Emblem fan, and Echoes sent me into a frenzy from how good it was. But sitting down and thinking about it, I like the Cold Steel localization work more than the Echoes work, not because it’s objectively better (that is subject to debate and personal opinion; I definitely can see why one would prefer Echoes, and I do believe it’s one of the best localization works in the last decade, easily), but because it’s what I wanted to see.

Aside from being excellent and of high quality, the Cold Steel localization sounds like people talking (with the exception of Rean for half of his dialogue, since he is Passionate Shonen given a body in a charming way, but this is very heavily lampshaded and it’s kind of a Rean Thing to say cheesy things). The way the expressions are handled, the little puns here and there, the lexicon in general, is very urban and the kind of speech you’d hear on your way to the general store or in a meeting for a group project. It’s all natural and it flows well, especially when spices with the clever quips and the silly, funny jokes. That, for me, has its weight in gold. Echoes, as excellent as it is, ‘fails’ to deliver that to me, ‘fails’ in quotations because it never really set out to do that in the first place, and thus I can’t criticize it for it. Echoes takes place in a medieval fantasy, and thus, the dialogue is what you’d expect from a medieval fantasy. Which, if it’s your thing, it’s gonna be the damn best localization you’ll see. But it’s not my thing. I appreciate it, it’s fun, it’s well done, but it’s not really my thing. Not more than a good ol’ urban script with modern slang and wordplay.

I really enjoy the fact that they managed to bring a script of that size in such a flexible and smooth manner. You’ll find hook ups here and there, which is more than understandable given the sheer heft of the script, but it’s overall of a high quality and it makes me think of the real kind of conversations or dialogue that would be held between dudes and girls in a world with shotguns and swords, with armored tank divisions and spellcasters.

It helps everyone speaks according to their background: The high-ranking jaded noble speaks with much elegance and wit, but not any flourish, whereas the other high-ranking noble, proud of his lineage, does indulge in flourish to the point that it seems hyperbolic but not unbelievable for court social situations, and yet another noble, who was raised with humble values and martial arts first and foremost, simply speaks with manners and in a curt, formal manner without really indulging in the curtsies her bloodline would suggest she’d use. It’s a pretty nuanced script with nuanced characterization, because there three then interact with commoners of various backgrounds themselves who speak in completely different manners, some of them speaking just as you’d except someone from the actual world to talk like, which doesn’t contrast harshly, but rather, adds to the depth of the world when they interact with the previously mentioned nobles. It’s like, wow, this world is composed of so many different people! It feels like a world, basically, and the people feel like people.

If you’ve ever read what I write, I am all about serviceable and hopefully clever but not flourished dialogue. I like characters that talk the way people talk, with just a bit of spice added to it for literary fun. The more urban and modern the script, the more I like it. A craven here and a cur there are fun things to read, no doubt, but it’s really not what I am about, and not what I want more of. What I want more of is what Cold Steel offers in both its narrative, and the expected mannerisms and speech patterns of the characters that move within its narrative.

That, coupled with its unquestionable great quality, make it the best localization job I’ve ever seen.

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