#they say that cinematography in that one is on another level
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WHO WAS GONNA TELL ME THAT TOM HARDY PLAYED HEATHCLIFF IN 2009 ADAPTATION AND THAT THEY MADE HIM WEAR A TERRIBLE WIG
#puddle babble#currently reading#wuthering heights#The article I got this from says that he is one of the top versions of Heathcliff on screen#so I might subject myself to it#And I kinda want to check out 2011 adaptation as well#they say that cinematography in that one is on another level#but that's all for after i finish the book
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Light & Framing in WWDITS: Nandermo Edition
I really have to give props to whoever does the lighting and cinematography for What We Do In The Shadows. They took what could easily have been an excuse to cheap out on those things--the show's format as a half-hour comedy mockumentary--and said a resounding fuck that.
Every frame of this show is gorgeously and thoughtfully lit and shot and colored, and not just the big pivotal moments. Truly every shot. The sets and the costumes also do a lot of heavy lifting here, but still everything is framed so carefully and intentionally. And considering this show is at least 55% fucking improv? That is seriously impressive. I've seen big budget network cornerstone series take less care with their most pivotal moments than this show takes with like...any random moment (I know, I know, it's okay, I can say Game of Thrones).
Take this shot for example (thanks to @indashadows!):
Now bear in mind, this is ONE shot in ONE scene in an episode. An important scene, but not a long one. And yet in this scene, every single detail--from the actors' body language to the framing to the lighting to their fucking outfits--reinforces the underpinning context and subtext of the scene.
Look at Nandor. His posture is so open and vulnerable. He's facing directly toward Guillermo, looking slightly up at him actually instead of down at him like he usually would be. They're almost eye level but not quite. His face is fully lit, and his body is more in light than shadow, with the parts facing Guillermo lit and the parts facing away from him in deep shadow.
Nandor is being very open, honest, and vulnerable with Guillermo in this scene, probably more so than he's ever been before! All the pretense, the aloofness he usually hides behind is now shoved to the back. They're also on nearly equal footing compared to their usual situation, with Guillermo possibly having a slight upper hand due to how thrown everyone, including Nandor, is by the revelation that he's a vampire slayer.
(I know Nandor knew he killed Carol and the Baron, but given those were both accidents I think it's reasonable to say Nandor was still surprised about the slayer from a long line of notorious slayers aspect of the revelation.)
Another way to read this is that Nandor is at a disadvantage because of what he doesn't know in this scene, i.e. that Guillermo can leave any time he wants, that Guillermo has been listening to their conversations, and that Guillermo is using that information now to manipulate him. It's left somewhat up to interpretation whether Nandor actually knows any of this or not, so YMMV there. But the point stands that in either interpretation, Nandor is on his back foot here a bit and the framing and lighting of the scene reflects that.
Now contrast that with Guillermo. His posture is closed off, he's hunched in on himself. He's leaning toward Nandor, but he's not facing him or looking at him directly. His eyes are downcast. He's positioned a little above Nandor, but he's not acknowledging or reveling in that change of position in any way; in fact, he seems to be minimizing it with the way he's standing. Almost his entire body including his face is in shadow, with only the parts facing away from Nandor receiving any light.
Guillermo is not being vulnerable, open, or honest with Nandor in this moment. Whether Nandor knows everything or not, Guillermo thinks he's playing Nandor here. He thinks he has information Nandor isn't privy to (the hole in the cage and the hidden cameras) and knows things Nandor doesn't know he knows (the conversations he's overheard). Guillermo is normally much more open and vulnerable with Nandor, which often results in him getting his feelings (at the very least) hurt. But this is one time when he's consciously choosing to push his care for Nandor to the backburner in order to take care of himself for once.
(I also have FEELINGS about light representing emotional honesty and vulnerability between these two characters in the show about vampires and what they do in the shadows. Maybe I'll scream about them later.)
And here's the real kicker: they are so in odds with their approach here, their usual roles in the relationship are being reversed in ways neither is fully comfortable with...and yet they're still on the same damn page.
They both have the same ultimate goal in this scene: to get Guillermo out of the cage and have the other vampires in the house accept him and stop insisting on killing him. They are both trying to take care of Guillermo in their own ways. And as the show often does, it underscores this in part via the similarities in their outfits (but that is a WHOLE other fucking massive meta-post currently sitting in my drafts).
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feyd/irulan analysis 1/?
• the dynamic of irulan and feyd would be so very interesting if they had gotten married. she can’t be manipulated and he would be hard to manipulate without supernatural abilities involved. but i feel like that feyd seemed kinda intrigued or curious about her when he stared at her in their scene. and we all know that dennis is so very purposeful with his editing and cinematography, so them showing irulan’s reaction to something with feyd’s reaction/input afterwards probably hinted at a broader picture: these two have a far better grasp at what is going on that their arguing kin.
• and given that irulan was also displaying a level of morbid curiosity about feyd in the scene of margot’s return. the scene always showing her reaction as she listened to the results of margot’s coercive seduction, which in itself, the fact that she wanted to be present to hear about it is an indication enough. and her perking up to ask about feyd’s mother, even when the conversation didn’t concern her input, another indication. and the careful placement of showing her reaction to the knowledge that he is sexually vulnerable and maleable to the bene gesserit’s ways was interesting as well.
• i feel like everything that dennis chooses to show via editing and close-up is so significant, as if this was his way of acknowledging their ghost of a possible marital alliance as it was described to be as such in the book material. i will say i wish they had more scenes, but it seemed both characters were very limited in their scenes and i do hope to find out if there are deleted ones of them outside of each other, just for character establishment purposes.
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Okay so while most of ongoing BLs come to an end and anticipated new GMMTV projects only started production, guys, make sure to check out LOVE FOR LOVE'S SAKE. I'm begging you, it's so good and it's underrated as hell.
It only has 8 episodes and the story is both soft and fun - and also deep and meaningful. The chemistry is amazing and dialogues are chef's kiss. Also Korean cinematography here is by levels better than Thai one. Just dive into it without any spoilers (!) and watch right till the end! And then you'll probably want to rewatch it because the hidden details unravel itself beautifully in the ending.
It's about second chances, about finding your love in another reality, about being kind and accepting love in return. It's also about little happiness in the shape of an ice cream, about standing up against homophobic bullies with sickest burns, about family - found and not, about running through time and space to your happiness because you're endlessly tired but you still have hope and don't want to give up.
I don't want to spoil anything. This show was released in 2 weeks and that's why it slipped the tumblr community's eyes but trust me when I say it'll be easily on top of my favourite BLs in 2024. I'd love to see any other series come close.
Just take a leap of faith and dive deep in Love for Love's Sake (Love Supremacy Zone)<3
Bonus: one dude in this show straight up embraced his new sexual orientation and was coming out on the spot only so he can punch another dude for saying slurs. What a king.
#me and my never ending hyperfixation is back#love for love's sake#love supremacy zone#korean bl#kbl#dropthemeta#dropthemeta lfls#love for love's sake comments
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SPOILERS FOR SALTBURN
I haven’t seen Promising Young Woman but I did just see Saltburn and now I’m so dubious about Fennell’s politics that I’m basically obligated to see PYW to confirm my suspicions. It’s not that I think she’s conservative necessarily, but more that she’s so upper class London nepo baby rich that she could aspire to socialist feminism as much as she likes but it’ll never land because her background precludes her from ever having anything relevant to say about class.
There were things I liked about Saltburn. The editing, performances, black humour, costumes, sets, cinematography (NOT the aspect ratio - will explain) and the ballsiness of certain “transgressive” scenes I did appreciate. This is what makes it so frustrating and disappointing as a film. If you turn your brain off, it’s a wild ride, quite hypnotic and lovely to look at in that specific dreamy way that the dark, cool interiors of a house get on the hottest days of the summer. I hated the 4:3 aspect ratio though, it was POINTLESS. Why was it used? Surely it would have made more sense to capture the grand expansiveness of the titular estate in widescreen? It just felt twee for twee’s sake, like it was shot to produce compositions ready-cropped for big gifs on tumblr.
The “shocking” “transgressive” “erotic” stuff is not particularly any of those things. I mean, for me anyway. It might titillate the type of new-puritan gen z-ers who self censor it to “seggs”, but there was only one sequence that felt really “wow, I haven’t seen that in movie before!” levels of Going There. And even then these scenes always felt self-consciously affected, like Fennell only included them because she wanted to write a movie with fReAkY stuff, as opposed to the freaky stuff coming organically from the characters. I remember sitting in the cinema to see Call Me By Your Name feeling like I was burning to a crisp at the scene where Elio huffs a pair of a man’s used swim trunks - because it felt so authentic to this expression of a character who is at critical levels of desperate teenage horniness. In Saltburn, when Oliver gets down on his knees and slurps Felix’s jizzy bath water, it’s like… okay? Why? What does he want? We saw him lie about knowledge of the fancy plates to ingratiate himself to the dad, we already have reason to distrust anything he says, so it’s hard to believe he has any authentic desire for Felix. And that’s the main problem with the whole movie - the writing is fairly atrocious.
There’s no mystery. There’s no ANYTHING. There’s a tiny quick-cut flash montage of future events in the movie right at the start of the thing, so already we’re going in with no doubts that Oliver is gonna go nuts. So we know that bad shit is gonna happen, and yet the movie pulls out a big Twist Ending reveal like we… weren’t supposed to know that he’s been bad from the beginning? We don’t need all these flashbacks to show us he’d planned his dastardly deeds offscreen the whole time when we’ve already seen him commit OTHER dastardly deeds ONSCREEN. He’s given zero motivation. He tells us he did what he did because he hates this rich family, starting with Jacob Elordi’s Felix, but he had planned the whole thing from before they ever even met, or saw how the family treats the other two main victims of class in the film, Pamela and Farleigh. When Oliver starts spinning his web, Felix has never been anything but genuinely kind to him. Felix never did him any personal wrong except being born handsome, popular, and rich.
That’s the other glaring issue. Fennell has said this is supposed be another one of these “eat the rich” satires, but…. beyond the usual foot-in-mouth clueless social blunders, the movie portrays none of the rich family as even all that bad. Oliver isn’t even all that poor! His family are revealed to be extremely comfortably upper-middle class! This is not Parasite!!! The worst ethical thing they do is cut off Farleigh from family money - but it’s obvious to the audience that this is actually Oliver’s fault. So all we’re left with is this main character who’s the worst of the lot, with no reason to do what he’s doing except for being an asocial loser creep. If you’re making a class satire in Britain and your message at the end of the film is “those creepy disgusting middle class will pervert and mutate themselves to have what the beautiful victimised rich people do” you’ve… uhh. Failed. Somewhere along the line.
It wants to be The Talented Mr Ripley, but it is confused and stupid. Given Fennell’s background and social circle, is it any wonder? It’s like she’s looked around at her fellow Eton Oxford lot and thought “so the poors hate us because we’re a bit silly and old fashioned, right? no wonder they’re jealous, we’re all so sexy and our houses are so nice! Of course they’d do anything to have this!” She hasn’t seemed to conceive of the fact that the working class in Britain hate the upper class because millions live in genuine poverty while they get to obstruct social change because of archaic birthright. That many people in Britain don’t actually want to be the upper class, they want an end to them.
The thing is, I had fun watching it. I laughed a lot, and then left the cinema distinctly unimpressed, as one often does after interacting with people who go to private school and are perfectly charming but clearly still think they’re better/smarter than you because they have generational land, or multiple houses. I worked for 6 years as the stable groom for the heiress to a publishing fortune, I’ve met plenty of these people, believe me. All this to say, that this is deeply frustrating because I would like to turn my brain off from the dodgy politics and just appreciate a movie that goes out of its way to be visually stylish and includes a scene where a sobbing Barry Keoghan gets naked and fucks the fresh grave of his boy best friend. Now that’s entertainment
#I love freaky weird stuff in movies that’s my favourite stuff#but not when it thinks it’s cool and clever for being freaky and weird#that’s being a tryhard#your movie should be freaky and weird because you are freaky and weird
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So one of my contentious Watchmen opinions is that I actually think it was a good decision in the movie to have it showcase everyone’s incredibly badass fighting skills; thinking particularly of the scene where Rorschach fights like ten cops before finally being overwhelmed. There’s a cynical level on which I hold this opinion; I sincerely like fictionalized flashy violence and I thought the choreography/cinematography on those sequences were very fun to watch. It made for a more enjoyable movie.
But, on another level, I hold this in my heart of hearts about superhero deconstructions; the best ones do make the heroes they’re criticizing effacious, dare I say badass, and then go from there in picking apart what it would mean if that were true, in a “Yes, and?” kinda way. I find this important on both a thematic and world-building/suspension of disbelief level. In reference to Watchmen in particular, you need to justify why every superhero didn’t end up like Dollar Bill on their very first outing; you need to paint a picture of a class of people so genuinely good at superheroism that they enraptured the public with it for thirty or forty years before the public went, “Hey, wait a minute. This sucks.” And a sequence in which Rorschach, caught with his pants down, still manages to put the hurt on a breach and clear riot team before being overrun goes a long way towards explaining that. A sequence where Dan and Laurie, fresh out of an eight-year retirement, beat up an entire prison wing, goes a long way towards explaining that. This is a setting where a superhero, even an ostensibly unpowered one, is a genuinely very powerful kind of person. These are abnormally agentic 600-pound elephants who can sit wherever they want. These are people who I can see having shaped history in the way they’re described as having done.
And- crucially- if they are good at fighting, if there is a level of authentic glamourous competence to these people- I don’t view this as disjointed with the overall message. Grant that they were good at being superheroes. Grant that they are uniquely and specifically unstoppable in a fight. What does that change? You still can’t punch nuclear tensions to death. You still can’t punch the underlying societal rot or the childhood trauma. You maybe could punch out the Nixon Administration but if anything you’re either patsies or co-conspirators.
All my favorite superhero things- Invincible, Worm, Irredeemable- they don’t criticize or otherwise examine the superhero by making the superhero a paper tiger. They lend the superhero all the power the genre typically lends the superhero, and then they ask, not whether superheroes would actually be all that, but whether it would be a good thing for superheroes to be all that, whether superheroes being all that would even matter outside the narrow purview of superheroism. Watchmen- the original comic- also does do this to a degree; the one-time competence of the superheroic cast is referenced, but deliberately not centered for fear of making them look cool instead of fundamentally pathetic. But I gotta say, I kinda liked the horrific dissonance of watching The Comedian lay into a group of civilian protesters in a choreographed fight scene, and having the “oh! Cool fight scene!” neural pathways fire for a split second before I abruptly recognize that the genre-typical cool violence is being directed towards civilian protesters. Not sure how much intentionality to lend that choice, or how much goodwill I should extend the filmmakers, but I thought it was additive!
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now that i have recovered from the emotional shock of seeing *that* akutagawa scene from chapter 88 animated in HD 4K (i thought i’d have another week to emotionally prepare myself LMAO), i just wanna be a little bit of a nerd and say that i really liked the cinematography/composition this episode.
in particular, i really enjoyed the anime’s decision to draw visual parallels between this fight and previous fights (in particular, the fight against francis, which is important because it is the first time they worked together).
after all, this fight is the culmination of everything they’ve done together. from the combining of their abilities, coming to an understanding with each other, realising the potential of beast-beneath the moonlight-rashoumon… bringing back similar shots that were used in previous fights is SUPER effective at highlighting the parallels and how far they’ve come, in my humble opinion.
here are a few things i noticed:
- first of all, both of them activating their abilities one after another is an explicit nod to S2’s fight;
- the confrontation/conversation in the hallway from S2 (to an extent! they’re on the same sides, which caught my eye);
- akutagawa blowing up the engine room on the ship, and kyouka doing the same during the first fight between him and atsushi (S1);
- and a similar angle being used for black tiger claws / koukko zessou as a nod to the fight in the S3 finale.
the parallels — though maybe less explicit, *are* still there in the manga? like, the entire “structure” of the fight so to speak is very similar to the francis fight in S2 — akutagawa finding atsushi, taking place on a(n air)ship, breaking away from the fight to strategise before confronting the final boss (then, francis, and now, fukuchi) is undeniably a nod to that fight? i love that this is given its due in the anime as well.
another thing about the cinematography this episode i loved was them using the clock as being the indicator of fukuchi’s fuckass space-time sword doing its thing. that was a really nice touch, in my opinion; the cuts in between were jarring and disorienting and really helped put us into sskk’s shoes.
and as for the background design alongside the clock itself — there were a couple of things about them i enjoyed:
- the number of floors / levels of the ship in the back (5, as a nod to the five ways an angel decays, the DOA)
- the blue of the clock is meant to be reminiscent of fukuchi’s sword, i’d argue, with the way both of them pops out of the sunset/orangey-red lighting
- the clock’s design being super ornate and gold plated reminds me a *bit* of a tabernacle (where they keep unused eucharist in a church) — and thus brings up connotations of sacrifice. that white bridge-thing beneath the clock as well reminds me a lot of an altar, too (see the image above the last to see what exactly i’m referring to, because image limit)
okay, yeah, that one might be a bit of a stretch, sure. but its placement as being above them, combined with the two tables/boxes to the left and right of the ship’s bow (which looks very much like a cross, btw) gives it a distinctly religious, altar-kinda feel, i’d argue. and crosses have been used in S4 as symbolism as well!
(tbh, there could even be a bit more imagery i’m missing, because — the angels of the DOA refers specifically to the buddhist conception of an angel. i’m not too familiar with buddhist imagery, but i thought that this was worth pointing out regardless!)
the last thing i want to say is that the red and blue symbolism went CRAZY this episode. i don’t have much else to say because it was super obvious — they even reused the same “black tiger claws” shot from S3, after all — but i do wanna point out that the symbolism even went into the carpets. the fucking carpets.
like, the shift: it’s red when akutagawa’s leading the conversation but changes to blue after atsushi’s suggesting of the submersible as a strategy? i mean, i don’t know if this (or anything i’ve said, to be fair) was intentional or not, but it’s a cool detail anyway!
personally, i enjoyed this episode, the action was great, and all of this too was a really neat addition as well! and now… uh. we wait for the chaos to get worse i suppose !? (laughs nervously)
#while i haven’t been enjoying S5 as much as i did S4 i think they still did pretty good w this episode#there was a lot i really enjoyed about this episode!!#studio bones will always deliver on the action. we can count on that bit at least LMAO#next week though…. it’s shin soukokover#bsd#jem rambles#bsd s5#bungo stray dogs#bsd spoilers#atsushi#akutagawa#shin soukoku#bsd atsushi#bsd akutagawa#bsd sskk#sskk#i do mourn the loss of some of the nuance of their characters but. they did say at the panel the anime focuses more on action sooo 🥴#you win some you lose some i guess#only reason i was able to make this post btw is because ive watched bsd so many times to the point shit’s literally engraved into my brain#it’s bad for me NDLDGAJ#bsd analysis#bsd anime analysis#bungo stray dogs season 5#bsd season 5
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A blessing in disguised; CW: Destined
I wasn't really planning on watching this. I saw it in my homepage while scrolling for dramas to watch. I didn't even read the synopsis nor did I see any trailers prior to watching the 1st ep. I simply clicked on it because I saw it was starring Bai Jing Ting and that is enough of a reason. 12 eps later and I am really enjoying this. You can say I was destined to watch this.
God-Sent Marriage
Destined is 40-ep historical romance Cdrama starring Bai Jing Ting and Song Yi. It's about two unlikely people who got married because of a misunderstanding. Now, they have to embark this crazy journey together called marriage while also solving family, business, and political issues. I've actually only seen this trailer first and I thought this was simply going to be a light-hearted drama. However, this exists, so angst will also be involved in this series.
Bai Jing Ting's character Gu Jiu Si and Song Yi's character Liu Yu Ru are polar opposites. Gu Jiu Si is so chaotic and childish, and doesn't really have many worries as he is the only son of wealthy merchants. Liu Yu Ru, on the other hand, has endured many hardships since she was young because of this she has developed a calm and level-headed personality. Together, they are a match-made in heaven.
This drama is a feast to the eyes. The cinematography is great.
I am a sucker for dramas were the leads get married first and then they fall in love much later on. The first 12 eps are literally an embodiment of this trope. You get to see how their dynamics change from being strangers, to friends, and then to sworn brothers (iykyk). I like how they compromise and at least try to make their marriage work. Liu Yu Ru was supposed to marry her first love, but because of a misunderstanding, she married Gu Jiu Si. She lamented over the what ifs with her first love for one episode and then moved on because she knows there's nothing that could be done, and it's better to try to get along with her husband (which is fair and logical).
The romance is great as leads are both nice to each other. I also enjoy that for the first time in a long time, I actually see a family in a drama that enjoys each other's company. Gu Jiu Si's parents have a great relationship with each other, they love their son, and dotes on their daughter-in-law. It's refreshing to see this.
Another aspect of this show which I enjoy is the different views on marriage. Historically, marriage is a life sentence. At a time when women were mostly at a disadvantage this could be a death sentence. This is exactly what Liu Yu Ru's mother is facing. She has no choice but to be under her husband's whims. But Liu Yu Ru is different because she married into a family that respects the women's contribution in the household. Her mother-in-law holds an influential position in their family business, and even takes Liu Yu Ru under her wing. She guides her and introduces her to the world of trade. Gu Jiu Su is also supportive and encourages her to have her own dreams and ambitions, and not to be shackled in their marriage.
The biggest criticism I have towards this show is the villain. He's your typical villain with a sad backstory who hates the male lead because he wishes to have the life he has. I spoiled myself as to what his motivations are and I am simply annoyed. I wish he would go away but alas, this is not a drama without annoying characters.
But overall, this drama is everything I want in a romance drama. I've seen the trailers for the upcoming episodes and the angst fest will begin. Hopefully, it will still be as good as the 1st 12 eps.
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there’s already so much discourse about john, and the roles barry and sally have adopted as new parents, and i’m almost certainly echoing what so many of you are already saying… but the very fact that he exists is like, undoubtedly the most disturbing aspect of the show thus far and it’s not even close??? in spite of their shared delusion, they made a conscious decision to have a CHILD, and thereby codify this devastatingly toxic and indulgent arrangement they call love. and i think that, historically, shows about anti-heroes can shy away from exploring the trauma their children inherit as a result of their actions for the sake of maintaining their role as sympathetic perpetrator. breaking bad, for example. flynn’s unawareness regarding his father’s criminality leaves room for a devastating and undeniably brilliant narrative turn in their series’ final few episodes. but it also conveniently reserves the emotional violence for the adult characters. on some subconscious level, perhaps, we believe them more equipped to handle such things; but how might the average viewer’s perception of walt have changed if we had been FORCED to watch the sins of the father torment flynn as explicitly as they did… say….. anthony jr. of the sopranos? i guess my point is that barry is doing just that—it’s forcing you to step into the shoes of a boy named john, and you just want to play baseball with the other kids, and instead must endure a grossly manufactured existence consisting of a father who manipulates your every waking moment and a mother who can barely stand to touch you. and it’s all because of what you represent. the product of two hopeless people pretending they are anything but, who can’t help but recognize one another and choose to call it love... who gaze out over lone and level sands, and insist that it’s a paradise….. who wear hair over their hair and hide guns in the drywall and sleep curled up in the bathtub and maintain that this is the picture of contentment.
violence corrupts and corrodes everything that it touches, even children. in a media landscape flush with anti-heroes, it’s a sentiment with which we’re all familiar. and yet so many shows stop just short of examining how that really manifests. because it is so hard to watch, and because it effectively eradicates any sympathy viewers may have left for the protagonist. barry crosses that line and it does so confidently, and despite those fleeting moments of comedy or the astounding elegance of the cinematography, i can’t help but think it’s one of the most disturbing, upsetting examinations of violence i’ve seen put to screen.
#let the record reflect: this is NOT!!! a brba diss#i do wish flynn’s trauma had been examined more thoroughly#but the show is not lesser for failing to do so#iykwim#likewise… i don’t think the sopranos is superior simply because it examined aj’s trauma / mental health#with respect to tony’s actions#but those father / son relationships have an undeniable impact on how the audience sympathizes with the perpetrator#i’m rambling 😶 ENOUGH ALREADY#barry#barry spoilers#brba#the sopranos#k.txt#100
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I mentioned this briefly over on MDL yesterday, but since I'm back from my theatre trip I figured I'd say a little something about the Shōgun finale here too.
I've seen quite the divide in how people felt about the ending; some hated it whilst others, myself included, loved it.
I think one of the things that some people feel disappointed by is the fact we never got to see the battle of Sekigahara that the show was building up to. Yet the truth is that Shōgun was never going to show it, because in terms of the story the viewer didn't need to see the battle to know the outcome.
The story was always about Toranaga and the journey he takes towards becoming Shōgun. He is a master strategist, and has been playing the game of war from the very start, just silently and through methods of politics rather than by the sword. He uses every person to his advantage, moving them like pieces on a board for his endgame, even those who he is closest to. Sure, there are moments he likely doesn't account for - the death of his son and the appearance of Blackthorne, for instance - but like any strategist of his level he either adapts them into his plans, or finds a way to use the moment in his advantage. That's what strategists do.
We don't need to see the battle of Sekigahara, because by the end of the show Toranaga has already won. This is what he tries to tell Yabushige before his death. Toranaga's explanation here reminds me to the moment he's talking to his son, with this quote:
'Why is it that only those who have never fought in battle are so eager to be in one?'
War is inevitable, but Toranaga is trying to minimize the number of those who have to die because of it. After all, his goal is for a peaceful era for Japan.
Mariko's death was the final act of Crimson Sky. Her death shakes the foundations enough to cause action to happen, because her death should not have been allowed to happen. Ishido knows this, which is why he sends his ronin to capture, not kill. Mariko's death, while tragic, is the final nail that sparks change. Ochiba, mourning the death of her childhood friend, decides to tell Toranaga in secret not to send the Heir's army to aid Ishido in battle, meaning that without his banner Ishido's war is no longer a lawful one.
While Mariko's death is a tragic one, it is not a meaningless one. It does not feel cheap, and the finale episode allows the viewers to mourn with those who knew and loved or respected her. I thought this was quite beautifully done, as even though she wasn't present in the episode, her spirit was still there, so she was still very much there. Some of the cinematography beautifully alluded to this, especially in moments like when Blackthorne and Fuji are sitting together in silence, yet there's one seat left -- Mariko's. Blackthorne even says then, 'no translator', because once Mariko had been a bridge of communication and understanding between them.
Another thing which I see a lot of confusion upon is Blackthrone's flash-forward scenes -- did he ever return to England? The answer, in my opinion, is told in the finale episode too. No, he didn't. Toranaga tells Yabushige that Blackthorne will never leave Japan, and in the scenes with an older Blackthorne, we see he's holding Mariko's cross. Yet he drops it into the water, showing that he lets it go. The episode title is 'a dream of a dream', and that's what Blackthorne's flash-forwards are: dreams. Another life, another path - but not this one.
The characters of Shōgun are based on real-life people in history -- it's actually really fascinating, and I've been learning more and more about their real-life counterparts whilst following this gem of a show. If you're interested in learning more, look up names like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Miura Anjin (William Adams) and Hosokawa Gracia (Akechi Tama).
All in all, Shōgun to me leaned more into the political intrique side of war, which for some people will be fascinating, and for others, not so much. But this show has so many layers and so much hidden within it, I can see it being one that's analysed for years to come.
#off topic chatter#shōgun#shōgun finale spoilers#i for one personally loved the series!#but then again i am the type of person who enjoys watching / listening / reading thrawn in star wars#and who spent an entire summer in college once binging the 80's version of legend of galactic heroes#so i've always been a big fan for strategists in media and more political scheming
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Here’s a handful of cautious optimism as a treat, my brothers in byler
I think there’s a huge misconception about the state of this ship atp. You guys do realize we’ve always been 10 steps ahead of the general audience, right? We knew Will was gay as early as in 2017, some were aware of this back when the first season released too. If I’m not mistaken, the idea that Will might be in love with Mike was around and going strong especially post-season 2, and especially after that one line in the script “Will isn’t looking at the cute girl, he’s looking at… Mike”
Most of us expected explicit byler in season 3, needless to say we were morbidly disappointed. What we did get, however, was yet another hint at Will being gay, and the number of articles with speculation about Will’s sexuality started increasing exponentially. Any way you break it down, we really only got evidence of Will being gay, and there was little indication of him having feelings for Mike.
Season 4 brought the plot line of Will being in love with Mike to the table in canon. We got to see how strong his feelings for Mike are, how they are absolutely eating him up and yet he’s still putting the happiness of his sister and the person he’s in love with above his own, even if that means he suffers. We saw both him being in love with Mike, being absolutely selfless about it AND beating the homewrecker allegations. Personally, I’d call this a W.
Now I understand why we had our expectations regarding byler so high up, Noah’s comments were only stirring the pot. I don’t know if he was truly trolling, and all this buildup amounts to nothing, but he did say “they can’t end it there”, and on some level, he’s aware of the outline for season 5.
If this is indeed gaybaiting, I by no means want to defend that but we have to acknowledge that his idea of “building up byler” pretty much matches that of the general audience’s. We’re only getting groundwork as of right now. As much as we like to joke about him having a secret account on here, a couple of years ago he was, on some level even hostile about the prospect of Mike and Will being gay.
The fallout of what vol.2 turned out to be hit hard, there’s no denying that. Most of us were shocked they actually ended up fueling midleven even more, despite the fact that we were so convinced that going that route would essentially be anticlimactic and bad writing. There was a lot of dissatisfaction with using Will’s feelings as a prop for the straight ship (understandably so.)
But the thing is, the general audience is now for the first time properly aware of the possibility of byler being canon, and a lot of people are picking up on just how bad the lead-up with the monologue was. A lot of people agree that midleven is getting repetitive, and that the monologue was mediocre at best. Is it really indicative of delusion to assume that this ship is being set up for doom? Meanwhile byler’s popularity is skyrocketing and the tag has gained yet another thousand followers after the release of Vol.2 alone.
We don’t know what’s going through the Duffers’ heads. Oh I wish we did. But we really don’t. We do know for a fact though that they don’t really rewatch their show (albeit I hope they’ve learned their lesson after this) which drastically diminishes their credibility as skilled writers. In terms of cinematography and soundtrack, Vol.2 was absolute peak, but the narrative, however, was a mess. They left a lot of loose ends untied, and they’re going to have a shit ton of exposition to do next season.
So either they’re really shit writers, or midleven was anticlimactic and mediocre on purpose.
Despite everything, there’s still the fact that one of those loose ends is Will’s lying about El commissioning the painting. It’s evident in the letter in episode 1 and as far as we know, she’s never really played D&D. If they’re really as good at constructing stories as they’re hailed, we should expect this to go somewhere. Because the Steve and Nancy stuff was left unresolved as well. Same with Max’s letters. If they really decide to leave all of that unaddressed, it simply won’t be a look good for the show.
Bottom line is, they did say they wanted to write an authentic story, and I really hope they realize that having the main guy and main girl end up together is the most overused trope ever. We should all sit on the fact that we did get a fairly good amount of content to advance byler, and that they could’ve just left this storyline about Will’s feelings for Mike out altogether. They made a conscious choice not to. Now I don’t think that half of the shit presented in the byler slides was intentional, but I do think that there still is a chance that they’re heading towards a midleven breakup and byler endgame. I could be wrong, but this is just how I see it now that I’ve let it simmer for a while. We’re still in for an entire season, jopper’s development spanned over 4 seasons and jancy got together in the span of one, so realistically, anything is possible.
#idk if this dissertation of mine makes sense at all it’s 2am and i’m rendering an edit as we speak & i’m really tired so sorry if it’s#incoherent#byler#stranger things#will byers#mike wheeler#stranger things season 4#stranger things theory
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hey! if you're looking for a sign NOT to watch the rings of power, this can be it if you want 🥰 film-lover's psa incoming:
(this was originally a drop-down message on my the beauty of: lotr amv, which i deleted and copied here instead!)
lotr was created out of earnest love for the source material and the magic of filmmaking. the films took a total of 8 years to produce, including pick-up shots. they shot all three films continuously, well over a year, because peter jackson knew exactly what his vision would entail. the fellowship cast got matching tattoos after the experience because of how bonded they were by the end of production (john rhys-davies was the only one not to get one bc he said his stunt double, who does have a matching tattoo, did most of the hard work for him! ha!). the films put new zealand on the map and jackson opened the door for kiwi filmmakers of his generation and beyond in a way the world had never seen before. fun fact! the films also employed a huge number of Māori actors and you can actually hear and watch them doing the haka during specific battle scenes.
lotr is the perfect marriage of both 20th and 21st century filmmaking, expertly utilizing award winning practical and special effects mixed with cgi to create something wholly unique and almost timeless. compared to the two towers and return of the king being colour graded digitally, fellowship was still physically graded via colour timing (colourizing film in a lab, traditionally how all colour films were developed before the digital age), a prime example of just how new digital colour grading was in the industry. gollum was also a big first for the film industry: andy serkis shot his scenes in a motion capture suit (opposite elijah wood and sean astin), and the level of work weta digital put in to bring gollum to life resulting in such a sheer level realism was unprecedented. gollum still stands the test of time today and has aged incredibly well. the ai software, massive, was also developed for the first time for lotr to create large crowds and armies via visual effects, and changed the visual effects and 3d animation game forever. every single (computer generated) battle and crowd sequence you see in film & tv today is thanks to this software and lotr. the first time it was used was for the battle at helm's deep sequence during the two towers - and even then, that scene took over 100 days to film! the lord of the rings trilogy has been nominated 30 times and won 17 academy awards, honouring their revolutionary work in cinematography, score, visual effects, sound and picture editing, costume design, adapted screenplay, and more, and the return of the king was the first fantasy film ever to win best picture. the return of the king also accumulated eleven (!!) oscar wins, a record tied with titanic and ben-hur. aside from academy awards, the films, crew and cast have been nominated and awarded by countless guilds, boards and various awards ceremonies alike.
the rings of power however is a soulless cash grab that actively shits on tolkien's work, which is only loosely based on the novels at best. there are countless tolkien experts that can explain this much better than me, if you're interested in learning more i highly recommend reading up on it. the portrayal of galadriel alone is so severely out of character (just from the trailers!), i would argue these characters we know and love from the lotr books and films may as well be from an alternate reality of middle-earth. peter jackson and fran walsh are not affiliated with the rings of power. much like the house of the dragon, this is yet another attempt at attracting streams through the promise of nostalgia-bait, and it's riding the success of what came before it. and no, this is not because im a racist, woman-hating, anti-progressive, and elitist tolkienist, and the people who say this are performative and dont actually understand the underlying issue. the rings of power was funded because of jeff bezos personally involving himself in negotiations, and the series was created because he wanted it to be after obtaining the rights to develop a tv show. showrunners will label people like me criticizing and asking people not to support the series as anti-progressive until the cows come home because it makes them look good. if you still care about boycotting amazon, boycott this show. it's directly tied to bezos and his rotten money. if you must watch it purely for entertainment, fine, but this is a gentle reminder that pirating is easy and free <3
#this was a reply to my own post but linds pointed out most people would overlook a 'read more' so ty linds <3#anyway copy + pasting my tags here:#guess i cant shut up about lotr! :)#please dont watch the rings of power for the love of GOD#before anyone comes for me about the show also being filmed in nz well guess what :) they're filming the next season in london :)#which means it will be shot almost entirely on blue/green screen#so do with that what you will !#lotr#lord of the rings#lotr trilogy#the lord of the rings#jrr tolkien#the rings of power#amazon#jeff bezos#sammy.txt
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Heyyy girl! Not sure if you’ve answered this before but what are your fave non gmmtv bls/Thai dramas?🪷💗
hi anon! I don't think I actually have, all in the same post! let's go <3
I TOLD SUNSET ABOUT YOU
I've talked about this show about a thousand times already, so I'll keep it short: this is the only show I consider truly perfect, from its writing, cinematography, acting, chemistry, storyline, soundtrack, etc. it's not for everyone bc it's VERY angsty but it's deffo my cup of tea & I'm gonna be honest teh's coming out storyline was extremely important to me as it came right before I also finally accepted my bisexuality. overall just my favorite show, so important & beautiful with deeply flawed characters <3
PROJECT S: SKATE OUR SOULS
this show is the only other one with itsay I've rated a 10/10 in my life, even though it's not perfect, because it literally changed my life. the last sentence of the show literally helped me get over the worst depressive episode of my life, which is a pretty goddamn beautiful result for a show about depression. even though it's not entirely perfect, it's still an extremely well written show, has a gorgeous cinematography full of neons, incredible performances & a story that was so important to tell. I couldn't recommend it more!
PROJECT S: SIDE BY SIDE
in also a near flawless show, we have this show. it's a very touching story that will make you cry, tries to understand all of its characters, with stunning acting performances from everyone, and it's just the kind of shows I don't see anyone disliking tbh. very well executed & definitely an all time favorite of mine :)
THE REVENGE
probably the most underrated show on this list, this is actually the show I'm the most upset about being underrated lol, bc it's literally SO GOOD. if it was a korean show it'd go viral type of good. this is a very fucked up story so not for the faint of heart but it's executed extremely well, and honestly I don't have much negative to say about this show. flawless performances, an extremely impactful show, and forever one of my favorite thai dramas ever made!
SLEEPLESS SOCIETY: INSOMNIA
another highly underrated thai drama that no one has watched. this is female-led, touches on politics & corruption, has a very different setting from usual & a great plot through and through. the ending is also super iconic & stays on my mind to this day. I really encourage anyone to watch it!
MY RIDE
if you like love sick or my school president, I think my ride will be your cup of tea. it's a pretty simple story but with such lovable characters & a beautiful healthy ship that it immediately became one of my favorite comfort shows. it's the ultimate proof that even a more simple story can be beautiful if given enough soul, quirkiness & love :)
IN FAMILY WE TRUST
in family we trust is a lakorn, but it doesn't feel like a lakorn. apart from the obviously beyond iconic cast at every level, the writing & cinematography are leagues above any other lakorns. for a murder story that should be pretty straightforward, they managed to weave in the interpersonal relationships of the characters perfectly, and this is the kind of show that you can put down once you start. if you've never watched lakorns before, I'd recommend this one to start with since it's quite similar to regular series.
TO SIR, WITH LOVE
another lakorn, another slay! this one is way more lakorn-y so I don't think it's for everyone, but it's literally the only lakorn that treats its queer characters fairly lol & it's such a beautiful love story. it's very dramatic bc 1) lakorn & 2) historical drama with repressed queer characters, but everything in this drama just HITS. you care for the characters so much, and the brother relationship is also so supportive & beautiful and I'm so glad the show never compromised it for some petty drama. overall this show put me through all the emotions & I loved it so much for it lol
GREAT MEN ACADEMY
this show is the proof of the kind of imagination thai film makers have when they get a good budget. the world building of that show is so vibrant & fun, but more than that the writing is really good with endearing characters, good interpersonal relationships, and a really beautiful love story & plot. this is just such a nice show to watch, even with its kind of childish aspect, and once again the cast is great since it's the same as in in family we trust lol. watch both shows back to back & be shook at how drastically different yet so good they both are :)
THE DEBUT
another super underrated show that no one has watched but fucking slaps. not only is it female-led with amazing performances (and a great cast!), but this show really is so well written, with a mystery & a plot twist that will pull you in and make you bingewatch it. the cinematography & colors also slap, and overall it's such a good show that I wish more people would watch.
xxx
#answers#I told sunset about you#project s: skate our souls#project s: side by side#the revenge#sleepless society: insomnia#my ride#to sir with love#great men academy#in family we trust#the debut#this is making me realize how much most of my faves are all from gmmtv lmao#them & nadao
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For the past two years, my partner and I have spent October watching horror movies. Some are films we know, others are new to us. Each year, we try to theme the movies; 2021 had Undead October (all vampires, zombies, and ghosts), and 2022 had Otherworldly October (all threats from space or other planes of reality).
2023’s theme? Kingtober - all movies based on stories by Stephen King.
We try to watch a movie everyday, but sometimes life gets in the way. The last two years, we’ve ended up with around 21 movies watched. We’re just shy of three weeks in, and up to 14 movies.
Our reviews so far:
(Note: these reviews are our opinions. As always, your mileage and tastes may vary.)
Movie 1: Carrie (1976). Stephen King’s first published novel, the first film adaptation of his work, and one of the best. The direction and cinematography is fantastic, and while maybe not scary, it tells a tragic tale of a girl victimized on all sides. Highly recommended. A.
Movie 2: The Shining (1980). I’m a fan of the book, and… I have notes. I’m with King on this one - Kubrick did not make a good adaptation. He has a great sense of framing shots, but no sense of humanity. Jack’s slide into madness feels more like a facade cracking. C at best.
(Yeah, that one’s going to be controversial. I know it’s a very famous film, and Kubrick is a director with vision, but I don’t feel like he gets people well. Also knowing what he did to Shelley Duvall makes it hard to watch her scenes.)
Movie 3: Doctor Sleep (2019). An intriguing sequel to The Shining, and you definitely need to have seen that film to appreciate the visuals in this one. Better characters, but a far more complex plot that doesn’t quite fire on all cylinders. Decent use of Chekov’s boxes, though. A high B-.
Movie 4: Silver Bullet (1985). A passable popcorn werewolf movie. Good story (Cycle of the Werewolf is a good novella) marred by some rough acting, uneven pacing, and some really bad effects. I’m guessing they didn’t have Rick Baker werewolf money. A solid C+, and very watchable.
Movie 5: Cat’s Eye (1985). A perfectly serviceable anthology with two thrillers based on short stories, and one new kid’s fantasy/horror story. Really only marred by horrible synth music. It would get a B, but Drew Barrymore gets flipped off by a troll, so it gets an automatic A+.
Movie 6: The Dead Zone (1983). One of the best King adaptations so far, easily up there with Carrie. David Cronenberg is a fantastic director, and he and Christopher Walken tell Johnny Smith’s tragic story of unwanted psychic visions with craft and grace. This one gets a solid A.
Movie 7: Creepshow (1982). George Romero and Stephen King’s homage to old EC horror comics. It’s intentionally campy and wonderfully stylish, with vivid colors and dark comedy throughout. Good use of animated interludes, which really drives home the comic book feel. A fun B+.
Movie 8: Christine (1983). The tale of a boy and his evil, possessed, regenerating murder car. John Carpenter does a great job adapting the book to film, and has some fantastic shots, the best of which is Christine in flames chasing a bully down like the devil itself. Another solid A.
Movie 9: Children of the Corn (1984). Wow, this movie was bad. Poor pacing, terrible effects, high-school-level acting, multiple characters making dumb decisions, and odd exposition kids ruin what is otherwise a neat concept. Such a letdown after the last two films. D-.
Movie 10: It (2017). This one was solid, a very good adaptation. It did a good job of ratcheting up the terror, making you want to see how It was going to mess with the members of the Losers Club, and had good character arcs too. Let’s hope Part 2 holds up as well. This one gets an A.
Movie 11: It Part 2 (2019). So, yeah, the follow-up was just about as good as the first one. Excellent pacing with moments to breathe and laugh between the horrors, and a surprising amount to say about trauma and healing. Maybe a bit overlong, but still good. B+.
Movie 12: Graveyard Shift (1990). A movie about an old textile mill with one hell of a rat problem. This one is both over- and under-acted at the same time, and the lead has zero presence or charisma. Mildly entertaining, though, in a campy way. Still better than Children of the Corn. C-.
Movie 13: 1408 (2007). One skeptical writer vs. the most evil room ever. Purely psychological/paranormal horror, and excellently written and acted. Lots of fake outs and mean-spirited twists in this smallest of haunted houses. Among the best we’ve watched so far, and an easy A.
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You have posts about building up relationships, but they're all about tv shows. Are there ways to build up couples from strangers to stelena level love without the benefit of multiple episodes without the relationship feeling contrived - like rose and jack. If they weren't teenagers I'd be harder to accept their id die for you status even though we've only known each three days.
Oh, I have posts about movies too, they're just less popular.
Cecilia and Robbie in Atonement. When I read this ask, my mind automatically went to them but I felt like I should do a list since I have so many ships and sometimes I forget a few, not because I don’t ship them, but just because I have so many but I don’t know there’s something about Cecila and Robbie … it’s not just that I find their story beautifully tragic because there are a lot of beautifully tragic ships on this list, it’s McAvoy and Knightley together and as actors unto themselves, the way they hold the emotion of their characters and their relationship in their bodies
and the cinematography, the certain directorial choices that reinforce the romance
and romance and period of the film
like the fact that Cecilia was in the fountain
and so just to get close to her, just to feel something that’s touched her, Robbie puts his hand atop the water
and they gave us this scene!
It’s a beautiful film and they’re a beautiful ship.
or
OK well first of all, it’s beautifully shot with the soft blue lighting and it’s extremely sensual with the waves crashing in the background mingling with Chiron’s sighs, the close ups of the hands grabbing at the sand and then smoothing the palm over the sand,
and then there’s the context of this being the single most vulnerable, single most intimate moment, connection Chiron’s had with another person
[I think what’s so great and so heartbreaking about this confession is the second line where it goes from “you’re the only man” to “you’re the only one” so it’s actually not just romantic, he hasn’t had that kind of connection or intimacy with anyone else in any other capacity, it’s just and always has been Kevin.]
and then there’s the fact that this is an intimate, gentle love scene between two Black boys/men. I just love this movie so much.
There is such a weight to this movie and to the dynamics portrayed in this movie and there’s almost this cosmic connection between Chiron [Black] and Kevin
that I think the actors portray really well
because it’s a movie with very little dialogue so they convey so much without speaking and obviously a lot of that is the acting but a lot of it is also having the chemistry to pull it off.
or
(I mean, granted, they have three movies but still) and with Willabeth I kind of talk about how they're a great ship in pieces/different posts
by the way, when mindy kaling says “you can’t write chemistry”
this is what she means because it’s written in the script that will catches elizabeth and presses her against the wall
but it didn’t state that it would be like this
this, though,
they brought that shit to life
like there’s this perception of passion as being carnal rather than sensual or like strong emotion that brings about an intensity or a kind of ‘i burn for you’ type deal but when I think of passion, I think of shit like this
and Elizabeth and Will’s intense need to protect each other and stay with each other
I don't even care for this couple but I broke down how cinematic language can reinforce a connection between two characters and help the romance along
Their dance scene — which is beautifully shot — is a good example of a scene that uses certain cinematic language to enhance tension in a scene without relying on those things to create it, like this [...]
and there are more.
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708 - Turning Points
(Gross ^)
What a great mid-season finale. Turning points on every level. The opening of Claire rescuing Jamie is a great adaptation of the book scene. I think Claire was just about scared to death. And after that, well, I always enjoy their banter.
Aren't Denzel and Rachel the sweetest?
Jamie keeps his finger and we still get their lovely conversation. It's a very agreeable compromise as I'd much rather budget be spent elsewhere than on making Jamie have four fingers for the remaining season and a half.
Roger and Brianna's storyline is just right. I really like them in the future. Brianna is truly "Louis's giraffe" in the past. I cannot wait to see if they include anything from "A Leaf in the Wind of All Hallows'" or a certain woman from season one in Roger and Buck's adventures to come. (Trying really hard to say this without spoilers here.)
Rachel and Ian seem to be progressing rather fast, but they are adorable so okay. And we finally get the little hand hold that I've been waiting for all season. <3
Welcome Benedict Arnold. Too bad you're so likable.
Another brutal and excellent battle. Jamie leading the charge, interesting cinematography, and point-of-view. You feel as if you are there. Not only that, but using the battle to highlight what General Fraser and William mean to Jamie elevates what could have been a simple action sequence. And finally, we get to see exactly why Rachel is worried about Ian as husband to a Quaker. Kudos. Roses. It is just wonderful.
The scenes around General Fraser's death are also lovely.
Mr. Bug, so creepy.
Oh goodness, the ending! The music, the emotion. It brought tears to my eyes. I want to dish out compliments but I am honestly just basking in it. Scotland!
And finally, one little shout out to the costume designer, Trisha Biggar. The costumes have such rich and varied textures this season. They are detailed and layered. I couldn't help but notice them.
I am honestly a little upset that we won't see the second half of the season until 2024. Can you really call such a long hiatus the same season? Whatever. I'm looking forward to it, and until then I have Men in Kilts to hold me over (yes, I know that was their diabolical plan).
Until then, I hope the back half of 2023 brings you lots of joy.
Love,
LadyWynneOutlander 🧡
#outlander#708#turning points#ladywynneoutlandersthoughts#jamie fraser#claire fraser#ian murray#young ian#rachel hunter#trisha biggar#diana gabaldon
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