A few words about The Old Guard

I'll be honest, I didn't have big expectations for this movie. And good for me, because it didn't deliver much. This movie, beside of Charlize Theron, some good healing CGI and a few fun t watch fighting scenes. But after all, I don't many movies and especially less Netflix originals, but this one was based on a comic book and it looked fine, so I decided to do it anyway. Plus, Charlize is great in whatever she's in.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The story is pretty linear. The immortals, that hid for so many ages, have been discovered and an evil man, running a big, pharmaceutical company wants to catch them and use as lab rats. Oh, in the meantime, they find another immortal and the oldest one of them lost her gift. I know, I have a thing for making a summary, but it helps me think. And helps explain my point of view a little. It just came down to another Netflix action original, with no soul. That's really disappointing. Especially, that, from what I heard, the comic is pretty good. But that's probably the most we can hope for at this time. A quick, budget looking Netflix Original, with a known face. Fits their tacting perfectly.

As for the characters, I liked some of them. Not much tho, because, like the storyline, they were notably one-dimensional. The most important, Andy, was probably the best written, or just Charlize got the most out of her. Charlize's character had the most background and motivations, explaining her actions. The rest, especially Booker, had just a few words about their past, which is a bad idea if you make a movie based on a team. A new addition to their collection, Nile, was pretty fun to watch and it was entertaining, to track her story. But on the other hand, she had the most common character ark, that I have seen in a while. Of course, in that case, we have to ignore the fact, that most of them had much fewer screentime, to tell the audience, who they are. And I didn't even talk about their future sidekick, Copley, who's job was just to tell the viewers, that they did a lot of good. (I'll get to it later) The villain was even poorly written. I at least hoped for a thrilling boss fight at the end, but sadly even his death scene was longer. Who would have thought, that they'll cheap a little on this? Heh. The most disappointing villain since... Probably Suicide Squad (2016).

The action was fine. It had to be because the movie stands mostly on it. The few things I have to point out tho. I'm not a fan of the shacky action camera. I hate it and hope this trend will die soon, because of such great action movies like John Wick (2014) and, you know, the sequels. But it's probably cheaper, then hiring a good choreograph. Not all of the fight scenes were like that, fortunately, but still too many. And in my opinion, it lacked some ax action. For a weapon, that is in the shape of the symbol, that's on the poster, it didn't get much love, as it deserved.

Overall there were some things, that I liked. Some even a lot. I think that the guys responsible for the soundtrack made a pretty good job. But I only, if we count it as a separate being. I listen to it from time to time and even favorited some of the songs. The downside to it is, that this didn't go with some of the scenes. Yeah, fine, you showed a minute long fighting scene and a minute cut from an awesome song. So what? It does not make the scene great, it should just make it better. Spice won't fix your chicken, of you, undercook it. I also appreciated, how they worked Copley's character. Yes, he was poorly written and underused, and overall pretty useless. But the scene, where he explained some of the things, the immortals did too help humanity was cool. I've enjoyed it. It fitted well with the climate of this movie. And the last thing, what I want to point out, is the end credits scene. I don't know why, but I hoped, that for the sequel they'll change dramatically the direction and go for an action-adventure movie, where they give another chance to finding Andy's long lost friend. But she surprisingly appeared in a scene with Brooker. Shame. I think an action-adventure would be better, then an evil-corporation, uptight Netflix Original action movie.

Soiler free :3

I'm gonna end it with the phrase I send my friends after watching it: "Not bad, but pretty boring." Some cool fighting scenes. A few catchy songs. Charlize Theron. And it's on Netflix when there aren't as many new movies. If you're bored, I'd probably gave it a shot and hoped, that the sequel will be better. Seriously, great to watch, forget, and move on to the next one.

Out of this World #1: Barbarella (1968)

So I watched this movie yesterday. A bizarre sci-fi movie with Jane Fonda in the title role. It was such a new and amazing experience, that I wanted to do it again. Not with this specific movie, but still. Shows, like Community (2009-2015) injected with some kind of love to b-class movies, but I never actually watched even a few if any. After this film, I got an idea, to make it kind of a series, where I watch funny, so-bad-that-its-good kind of movies, maybe even try to choose old ones and specifically sci-fi or fantasy. We'll see because the old ones are probably hard to find legally. If I'm not into buying digitals on Amazon tho and yeah, that's not really an option, since I pay for four streaming services, so we'll have to be satisfied with mostly newer movies. For now, we got Barbarella (1968) and I want to talk about it with someone. 

Also, I'm gonna get into *SPOILERS* here, so if you ever plan to watch this movie, which is currently available on Amazon Prime Video.

I'm gonna start with the story because there isn't much to say here. The main character goes on a mission to find a lost person. She gets in some trouble, gets out of them, that is repeated two or three times. The lost person turns bad and dies. That's the whole thing I thing. I don't want to shit all over this movie because it isn't that bad, just the story is very basic. It has 73% of positive reviews from critics, which was a bit of a surprise for me. At least half of the jokes were funny for me, but there were so many opened threads and plot holes, that if it wasn't for the humor, crazy world, and unrealistic characters, I would be bored in 10 minutes. 

Barbarella, played by Jane Fonda, is the main character and the movie stands mostly on her shoulders. She's the best agent on a mission to save one guy, which eventually turns out to be a hero saving a whole city. She's also the eye candy, which is shown from the beginning, with the a-little-too-long intro. She's also a damsel in distress, that needs saving all the time. It's a weird mix, that isn't that popular, at least not now, where most of the female protagonists like Captain Marvel or Cecilia from Invisible Man (2020) could at least mostly handle themselves. 

On the way, she meets three men, who help her on her journey. Mark Hand, who saved from the flesh-eating robot babies and his plot, are mostly a fill out because the movie is just one and a half-hour long. She has sex with him and he never comes back. The next one, Pygar, with a bigger role in the story. He does not just save her, he's also used as a transport and she has sex with him. The last of his kind angel is blind, which makes for some interesting interactions between him, Barbarella, and the big Villain. We lose him, to meet the third hero and he comes back at the end. The last important for the story protagonist, Dildano, my favorite character in this movie, also saves our heroine, this time from birds. He's portraited as a comic relief mostly, but you can see, how much fun the actor has playing him and how he loosens every break. Oh, yeah, they also have sex. But this time through the pills, she mentioned earlier, because he's not a savage, duh.

The villain of this story, The Tyrant, Black Queen of the city, that Barbarella is supposed to save, isn't actually that bad. If I read her actions correctly, she just wanted to have sex with the heroine, like most of the characters. The movie doesn't show us how she rules, or how she uses the living, thinking fluids to control the masses, or how the fluid is somehow working on her mind. It's weird and lazy, but somehow it works for a moment. 

Why did I mention sex so many times? Because there's a lot of it and it makes this movie kind of a softcore porn, which I realized after when I searched for other movies like this one. It's weird and funny at the same time, that every time Barbarella gets in trouble, just to be then saved by a man, so she can have sex with him as a thank you. And after checking for the source (on Wikipedia), I found out, that it's an old, french comic book series. And yes, this happens a lot.

"Barbarella: a young woman who travels from planet to planet and has numerous adventures, often involving sex." - Wikipedia 

Although, in my opinion, the last sex scene, with Dildano, was great and made for a good joke. 

As I found out, Jean-Claude Forest, the creator of Barbarella, was an advisor, when the created the scenery. It looks kind of awesome. It makes you think "what drugs were they on?" every time you look closely at the background. This creativity mixed with a low budget (9 million dollars in total) turns out to make an original and psychedelic world. Which, you know, is good, if someone likes such things. I'm normally not in contact with such creations, but it's something, that I might change soon. Also a few words about the special effects. No CGI, just practical effects, and some cutting and pasting. I don't know if CGI was an answer back then, probably not, and even if, then not with this budget, but still. Seriously, using half-naked people as props to make parts of the walls in the labyrinth, was a bizarre idea, but turned out to add to the climate of the world. 

Spoiler-free zone from now on.

Barbarella is one of those characters, who are long forgotten by pop culture. Yes, a 12-issue comic series came out in 2017, and yes, Robert Rodriges wanted to do a remake a few years ago, but this doesn't change much. The original comic series ended in 1964, the movie is far from hitting for big masses. This movie made an interesting watch-once-and-forget experience, which I very much appreciate sometimes. It made me laugh and sometimes even amazed. Probably not on what the creators intended me to laugh, but still. It's also boring, with a lazy story and many plotholes, but makes partly up with the bizarre, colorful world and funny written characters. I liked it and it's the reason I want to watch more low budget, b-class, sci-fi or fantasy movies. I'm satisfied.

Favorite outfit:

Favorite quote:

Barbarella: But, eh, couldn't we do it your way? Eh, I don't want to change your traditions.

Dildano: I'm not a savage! The pill!

Look who’s back

It's been a while and I was busy with some stuff. And I think, that I rested for a while and I'm ready to come back and write posts again. Which overall game me some fun and was something, that kept me writing and kept me doing it regularly. Trust me, I don't do many productive things these days, especially not so often. In the meantime of studying, I'm turning some ideas into things. Which, you know, I don't want to talk about, because I've got a straw enthusiasm. But I'm still gonna tell, that I'm writing an RPG for my friends and thinking, just thinking, about making a stupid ass, no-budget movie with, you guessed it, my friends. Like "Threat Level Midnight". Of course, I plan to bring the little music posts and tv shows weekly back, so don't worry. Yeah, because HBO is giving me some good TV series to watch, which I'm happy about. With that in mind, everything should go back to normal within a few days. Some news, in the end, I'm also starting to blog on Wordpress on the site pwp.art.blog . Go and visit it maybe in a few days (I created it yesterday, so it's a work in progress). That should be all for now. Have a happy evening :3

I'm taking a break. Maybe for a week, maybe for a month, maybe longer. I'm too tired of everything.

TV Shows Weekly 10/20 (06)

Wow. A big slip this week. Yeah, sorry for that. But I made it. Watched everything I promised to watch and covered it all. I caught up with The Walking Dead (2010-), which was hard, I watched like 4 ep a day. And with my working hours it was a challenge. Also sorry to say, that I won't cover Supernatural (2005-) next week. Just to episodes, to watch. And I have too much to do, outside TV Series.

Better Call Saul (s05e03) Another great episode, from start to finish. First the action with Mike, I loved it, I just can't get enough of him. How great is it for a man like Mike, to live up to his name, his legend, like this, just by little things like that. Jimmy did, what he always does, gets what he needs to have done. This time he messed up big tho. And with his fault of course. If he didn't get mixed with them earlier, he wouldn't be, where he is now. What we also got, is out favorite DEA Agent back, in some ways. It's great, to see him again, especially with his partner and especially digging where he needs to dig, to be longer and more often in the series. I haven't seen that actor in a long time and he may not be the best, but his the best Hank we got, so let's stick with that. And lastly, to sum up, the biggest highlight, in my opinion, Kim Waxler, who is probably the best character right now, with "the best" I meant, the noblest. She is doing the best she can, trying to help people and no one can say otherwise. She knows, how important the law is and she nows, how to get around it when it's necessary. Like with Mike, I can't get enough of her, I hope she'll be okay soon. We can all see, what she's going through and what impact does it have on her. I'm sorry for her. I almost forgot. Saul mode: 65% - The way, he fed Hank, how he made that scenario, it was very impressive. I can't say it was better, then what he did in the last episode, but I'm impressed.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (s02e06) The second half of the season has just started and it's looking pretty solid. This episode was even a bit good. Not so funny, as usual, but it'll do. I like the road, the creator chose to go with Prince Chauncley. Really. I think it's a big step forward, to not show him as a moron anymore, but to grow, understand, empathize. His crush took a bit off guard, but it's okay when you think about it. When they showed the King, I had a big smile on my face, but he turned as psychotic as in the last episode. Maybe a little less. Fine, less. That skull crush and a bag full of skulls was a great idea. I hope it comes back.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (s07e06) Sometimes the episodes have arcs more mature than funny and although the writers did their best, I haven't laughed that much. But I can say, that this was a really good episode. The arc with Jake and Amy trying to have a baby was a bit sad at times, but it's okay because comedy works well with drama. Their ways were entertaining to watch, but hard to swallow because none of it didn't work. And it was summed up with a sad ending. As for the other parts: Hitchocs wedding was okay, but the guinea pigs were funny at times. I like it when Rosa and Charles how something to do. They have a weirdly fun relationship, witch, in the end, is pretty exciting to watch. I hope to see more of them working together soon.  The best arc tho was with Holt tho. Short, funny, about a growing character. Just great.

The Walking Dead (s10e11) Yes. I did it. I caught up. It was hard, but I made it. I'm not gonna go to the details this time tho, it was a good, but disappointing episode, also there were too many arcs in this episode, to cover all of them. The biggest ones tho, starting with Eugene. I like him in this state of mind. Kind of. I'm not sure, I liked, how he ran after Rosita, but I think their friendship is better and I like seeing it just better. I don't know about that woman tho, Stephanie. I didn't read the comics, so I can't say, I think she's good. I hope she's good. This is the second new community, they discovered (not yet, but you know, what I mean) this season, to assume of course, that Stephanie and that guy in Oceanside aren't from the same community. Which is huge. The last new community they discovered was Oceanside, excluding The Whisperers. And that was a while ago. The second arc I want to cover is The Whisperers and Negan. I'm sorry to see, that two times, he tried to do something good, it always turned out worse, than it was. And I'm sorry, that this fucking kid broke him, and he started working with the bad guys. I love this character, the way he's written and the relationship he has with everyone around Rick, I don't want to see him go. My theory is, that he turned good and is working against The Whisperers from the inside. I know, it doesn't look that way, but I believe it. I mean, come on, he wouldn't do anything to hurt Michone or Judith. Especially Judith. She's probably his best friend right now. And I want more Judith/Negan scenes, 'cause they were just the best. After Alpha "turning down" his idea, about the main characters to join them, I think, he's gonna do something special and will try to save them. And the third and last arc, I'll call it "The Horde". The attack was pretty short. 8 minutes. That was the most disappointing thing about this episode. It was entertaining to watch, but nothing special, which is, what I'm expecting from TWD. Something amazing, some great action to watch, heartbreaking moments, killing off some characters I like (I don't want that, but I'm so used to it, that it's starting to get a bit boring when everyone stays alive) and I got 1/3 of that. And that's disappointing. But the cliffhanger's great. I can't wait for the next episode. I miss binge-watching this show. Also, I discovered, that most of the episodes have people just wandering alone someplace and then others trying to help them, so I created anther fun bonus. TEW (This Episodes Wanderer): no one - but believe me, this happens a lot! Maybe it's because of the action. Yeah, it's definitely, to show more action.

TV Shows Weekly 09/20 (05)

The circle is going, the fifth week in a row. It's weird to do something so regular for me, that isn't working or playing games. I didn't even watch that much TV Series regularly till now. It's crazy, it's fun, I want more. If I haven't two months left before my exams, it would be better, but hey, I promised The Walking Dead (2010-) next week and I'm gonna keep it. Also, I want to catch up Supernatural (2005-) before they start to emit the last episodes. Sad to see this show go...

Better Call Saul (s05e02)

This episode was great! Like every episode lately. Starting at the beginning, I'm so sorry for Kim. She's one of the best characters lately and she has so much on her head right now, Jimmy including, who is doing more things to disappoint her, than not too. Which is sad. I hope they stay together for at least this season, but I'm not sure, how it'll go. Disadvantages of a prequel, we know something. Nacho is on fire! I love Michael Mando (Vaas <3) and I'm happy every time, he gets paid. This episode he showed, how much he can give to this character. For example how silently he got Jimmy to get to the car. He showed us that before, but man, do I like tough, silent times as villains. The scene, where he got the drugs from the house was awesome. So much adrenaline so much will power. I loved every second of it. And Lalo's commentary. Sad old Mike, being sad. That was sad. I can't really say, his granddaughter did something wrong, it just was too much for him. I can't wait for him, to get back to business tho. And last, Saul has his Saul mode (a thing I came up with, it's measured in percent after every episode) turned on full time now, even, when he's with Kim, which is sad for Kim, but very entertaining for the viewer. He is the second biggest mastermind after Gus here. No point to argue with that. Not much to say tho, he did the same as always, but with more people.

Saul mode: 70% - It's still pretty high tho. As for now, the season finally of last season would be 100%, unless he could go any bigger. Can't wait for that to happen.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (s07e05)

That was a good episode. Although I liked the last one better. Before I watched this, I thought about Debbie's character and how easy it is, to make her annoying and the writers did a phenomenal job in the two episodes she was in, but they kind of took it a bit too far here. This could be explained because of the cocaine, but nah, I don't buy it. I don't know if they were bored with her so quickly or they brought a character, that some people liked and they didn't have any new ideas for her. I think she'll be back for an episode or two, but I don't think she'll be the new addition to the team like some people hoped. Nothing much happened in between all of that, no special relationships, like with Rosa and Holt in the last episode. A little disappointing, but still good. Just make the next one more entertaining.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (s02e05)

It was okay again! Good strike Miracle Workers (2019-). It wasn't that funny, but less unfunny jokes, then in the first four episodes, so that's a good way. Also, they starting (finally, it's the mid-season) to build bigger relationships with each other, which is also good. It was fun. Just that. I haven't so much fun with the King this time, a little more psychotic, than though and silent, so... And please give me more Vexler, he's just the best. BTW, those this mean, that this kingdom will become bigger? This season has so much lore potential, that I can't even. I mean, how was the King's sister black? We'll probably never know. Sad. It looks like an interesting story.

TV Shows Weekly 08/20 (04)

It's that time it the week again. A happy week this time because we're getting a new season of the great prequel of Breaking Bad (2008-2013), so it's not just Miracle Workers (2018-) this time. I'm catching up with Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-) this week and I'm planning to catch up with The Walking Dead (2009-) next week. Wish me luck.

Better Call Saul (s05e01)

The Magic Man is back! And I'm happy because I ended watching the fourth season last night, so I didn't have to wait a year. Just quick about last season finale, because it was so, so good. Breaking Bad level good in my opinion. Jimmy finally turning full Saul mode and Mike just being badass. Okay, back to the new episode. As always, I just love the camera work. These people are doing they're best and it's paying off. Jimmy isn't stopping with full Saul mode. It was a really good episode for him. You can see that in like four scenes, where he takes what he wants and everyone is eating of his hand. That's crazy. Because of his, kind of slippy behavior, he has a bad impact on Kim. Yes, she was using "their power" for good, but this isn't her, it's Jimmy, Kim is the good one! Now turning to the other side of the coin. Mike is still mourning his friend inside and it's hard to watch. Mostly because they show you the human side of Mike, who is mostly portrayed like a machine. And that's great, he isn't a robot, he's Mike. And you know that shit is about to begin, again, when Gus tells, that he is gonna deal with someone. I'm just wondering if they gonna leave it for the finale, or it's gonna happen in the midseason and for the finale, we get something even more incredible! Let's just wait and see then. And one last word about the beginning. I love how they slowly building up his "after Breaking Bad" story, every season a little more. If I'm correct, this isn't the last season, so the real ending probably won't be soon enough, but I know it's gonna be a damn good one. And what is he gonna do with that guy?

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (s02e04)

It got better. It clearly got better. No more shit jokes. That's just what I asked for. Edward's character got a bit better, at least less dumb. Like the jokes, I think they got a bit less dumb. As in the last story, there one fun story to watch and one meh. And as in the last episode, the fun one involves Vexler and the prince. I like, how the creator includes today's things and turns them through the medieval filter. And it works mostly, but the gang was a bit unfunny. I didn't like it. Like involving Mikey, I don't like his character, I can't see any development here. As it goes for the Prince, yes I didn't like the ending from the last episode, but he's developing, clearly, a step forward with that spoon. It's fine for now. And more Vexler, please. Also more of the King. I love these characters.

Bordelands movie is in the works

Which is a bit weird to say. I never expected this game to land on the big screen, but it will and even sooner than I would expect. 

A day ago (20.02) Variety wrote an article about it, here is the full link because I'm gonna allude a lot from it:

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/borderlands-movie-eli-roth-lionsgate-1203509333/maz/

So Lionsgate announced this movie in 2015, which I didn't know, but lately, they settled a new director, Eli Roth. A guy who is mostly known for directing gory horror movies. And they also announced the (new?) writer, who is Craig Mazin, known for latest hit Chernobyl (2019), but he also wrote the scripts to The Hangover II, III (2011, 2013) and Scary Movie 3, 4 (2003, 2006), which in this four movies he wasn't the only writer. 

As for now, from this information that we got, for me, it sounds like a disaster. I'll start from the procuders, Avi and Ari Arad because there isn't much to say. Avi Arad produced more movies, which include e.g. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018) but also both Ghost Rider and both Hulk movies. So, I can't draw any conclusions from this. The same goes for Ari Arad, executive producer of Iron-man (2008) and both Ghost Rider movies.

Next coming to the for the writer, which I think has a weird situation. I think, that Lionsgate seeing the latest success of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019) and latest Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) decided to push the game movie, that was sitting on the shelf for the last five or more years and asked someone to write quickly a new draft of the movie. And for some reason, it was Craig Mazin. I think it's because of money. I think that Lionsgate isn't trusting in the movie and gives it a low budget and money will be the villain of this story. Yes, Craig is the creator of one of the best TV Shows of last year, but he's also a co-writer of some pretty awful movies. I haven't seen this tv show, but Borderlands stands big time on its crazy, dark humor. Good humor. And as far as I know, Chernobyl (2019) wasn't funny, like at all. As for the sequels of The Hangover (2009), I've seen these movies a few years back, before I really shaped my taste and chose my kind of humor, so I'm not gonna talk about it (let Rotten Tomatoes tell you, 33% for the second and 20% for the third), but I've also seen Scary Movie 4 (2006) and it was awful, even for me, even then, so... And if my predictions are true, if they trowed him some money and told to quickly write anything, then... oh boy...

And now for the director, which scares me the most. I love the Borderlands series, I played most of the games, I wish it the best and this guy isn't it. Yeah, sure, I haven't seen any of his movies, so who am I to say? I have a right, to write my opionion (which in this particular case is based on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDb), so here it is. He directed e.g.:

Cabin Fever (2002) (62% Rotten Tomatoes, 55 Metacritic)

Hostel (2005) (61%, 55)

Death Wish (2018) (18%, 31)

The Hause with Clocks in Its Walls (2018) (66%,57)

You can see, where my concerns are coming from. I'm afraid but also a bit interested in this whole mess. Maybe I'll watch two or three movies he directed but can't promise anything. It's just a shame, that for now, just Werner Bros decided to live a risk a little and drop more coins in a game movie with Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019), which was a fine movie, but had great worldbuilding and some good looking CGI Pokemon. I'm sure, that someday, movies based on games will be a hard ground to step on like superhero movies are right now. For now, we just have to wait, see and hope, that this adaptation won't be a disaster, but at least an enjoyable movie.

Weekly TV Shows 07/20 (03)

I know I made a stupid promise again, that I didn't keep. Happens. But I'll try to catch up with Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-) in the next two weeks. For now, more important for me is Better Call Saul (2015-), because the fifth season is starting next week and I haven't even seen the fourth one. So, for now, enjoy what I cooked up just for this week.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (s02e03)

It was an okay episode. Compared to the first two it might be even good. The opening, I have to say, was great. I like it more when the smarter characters play as the main characters. We got a bit more of the king and I think he's great, with Vexler they might even be the two best characters and I hope to see more of them. The shitcon arc didn't land for me mostly. There were hidden some okay jokes, but nothing good even. I hope they drop the shit jokes at some point because they're getting pretty boring, pretty fast. Also, I liked, that they enlarged the world a bit. That tribe (or was it part of a small kingdom?) was fine. A little refreshing. And id made Daniel Redcliff a little justice because his character is awful. Justice till the king's audience of course. Such a shame, you almost got it Rich...

A few words about Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey

I know right? they changed the title after almost a week of screening. What a plot twist.

I was pretty hyped about this movie. No mather the trailers, they were just fine, but the cast and what I was hearing about this, made me very excited. After changing the head of DCEU (or The Worlds of DC (what a weird name)) every movie coming out with the DC logo was remarkably good. Aquaman (2018) was a lot of entertainment, Shazam (2019) was fun, Joker (2019) was great and emotional at times, it didn't win two Oscars for nothing (but I'm still #teamdriver). So what about Birds of Prey: And the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)? (I like the old title better)

Now we get to the good stuff, so watch out for *SPOILERS*.

The characters, especially the main one, are the best thing about this movie, so we are gonna start with the One and Only Harley Quinn. This is one of the greatest character redemptions in the last few years. She was an awful character Suicide Squad (2016), her only two roles were to look sexy and try to be crazy. That's no way to treat such a wonderful antiheroine. But this movie changed it completely. She finally got some depth. She finally doesn't like she's from a teenager's dream and she finally is funny. About her depth, they added Harley a good between movies' midstory. Which is good, but not great, because I still want to see, how the Joker sents Harley to space, she would be saved of course, but it would be entertaining. No one said this can't be done in future movies tho... Coming back, the few scenes, where she tells Black Canary drunk, that the Joker broke with her, or when she destroys the Laboratory, or when she watches TV with the kid, it shows, that she's human, not just a 1-dimensional disappointment. And combined with Margot Robbie's acting talent and her love for the character, she plays, it makes the movie great of itself. But she's not the only great thing in this picture and that's the best part. Seriously, I can't talk about her enough, so just one more thing, the costumes, wow, wonderful. More of that, please.

She's not alone tho! Not in the third act at least. I mean the Birds of Prey. Because they fight with her. You know. I'm pretty satisfied, how they have written these characters. Although they have a lesser role, then the original (better) title would say, but, that's not really a problem. Black Canary (my Injustice 2 main BTW) is great. I haven't seen that character anywhere else then Injustice 2 and Young Justice (2010-), so I can't say much about it, but I heard she's different here. I don't care tho, she's great, a very well written, after Harley, probably the best-written character here and the second with most screen time. She's badass but also warmhearted. It took me a bit, to get used to the design, but the actress does such a wonderful job, I can't be less mad about it. Montoya isn't the best, but she's still fun. Who cares about the age, when the actress plays as well as she can and does a great job? She's based on detectives from 80's cop shows, so not much to say about here. She's just good. The Huntress, I haven't seen such a badass character made fun off so much, without hurting her image. Such great work from the writers' side. Just explicit.

The humor is the third-best part of this movie. We'll talk about the second-best in a second. The jokes mostly got me. I'm not a big fan of in-your-face humor, I like more the background jokes, but I have to say, I found most of them really, really funny. The sandwich scene was for me a little too much, but for example, the part in the police station was just the best. Or at the carnival.

The choreography during combat is just amazing. As I remember correctly, people from the John Wick team were hired, to do the stunts, so it looks astonishing. Each of the main characters has a different combat style, which just adds to the visual madness of the fight scenes. And the R category adds even more to it. Watching so many legs brake in so many directions, hurt even me.

So there were like two villains. One side villain, but we're gonna talk about him first. I like Victor Zsasz from the Gotham (2014-2019) tv series and that's really the only expression that I saw of him till now. He's different, from what I can remember, less of a silent type and more of a talking psychopath, but he's still enjoyable to watch. He got nothing on the Black Mask tho. Ewan McGregor was a great casting decision. I haven't seen him earlier playing a villain, just the good guys, mostly Obi-Wan, but the job he does here is amazing. You can see, he has so much fun, like it was his childhood dream, to play a face-cutting gangster. My only problem with him was, that he's a little underused.

But that gets into the "bad stuff" category. The movie is great, but the is no movie without flaws. And the biggest is probably the plot. It's basic. it's just a race after a diamond. The backstories of the protagonists were much better. But it's not a big problem tho. The characters, action, and humor are on such a high level, that that doesn't even bother much. The saddest thing for me is the underuse of Black Mask and Bruce (the hyena named after that hunky millionaire Bruce Wayne (I wrote it with a smile on my face)).  After a while and a lot of thinking about it, I got to an impression, that the underuse of Black Mask in the third act (or the final fight for the most part) was that to show, that he's not the unstoppable, evil monster, that his describing himself as, but just a guy. So I let myself to turn a blind eye on that. But WTF writers! You have a fucking hyena, that we see in like two scenes and doesn't even rip two guys into pieces. I'm mad about it. And why one and not two? The more hyenas, the better.

You probably heard from the internet trolls, that that's just a big budget propaganda movie. It hates guys. Another Charlie's Angels (2019). Yeah... No. It doesn't. Showing strong female characters isn't a propaganda. It does not tell you, that man are the worst and you should hate them. I can't understand why someone would even think that. I saw the 1-stars wave on IMDb and got a little affraid, but don't worry. It's a wonderful movie, not for everyone, but definietly not like the basement trolls descibe it.

The SPOILER FREE zone is active from now on.

So to sum up. It's a great movie, with funny jokes and action like from a John Wick movie. It's not for everybody, but it's just better because of it. Because it is its own movie. And that's a not seen very often in blockbuster superhero movies. (Can we even call it that? It's not that big bugdet and it's about antiheroins) If you haven't yet, go and watch it. It deserves a little boxoffice boost.

Weekly TV Shows: 06/20 (02)

This week isn't looking good. For me at least, because I'm only watching one tv show and SNL. But I hope to catch up with Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-) this week, so we can talk about it next week :3

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (s02e02) This is not looking good. The story is... There's no real story here, just a quick one for this episode. The humor, in my opinion, got so much lower since the last episode and it's just the second one! The creator stands still by making three smart people and a bunch of idiots surrounding them. Yeah... That's really not that fun to watch... I hoped, that they will learn from the first season, point out it's stronger and weaker parts, and just make it better, but they didn't. Or just Simon Rich didn't. Come on TBS, you have two great actors on board, change the showrunner from next season and make it at least a little above average, and not below it. Of course, for now, I can't even see a next season. We'll have to wait and see I guess.

Oscars 2020: Actress in a Leading Role

This one is a little bit tough. It's definitely harder for me, to order them, then the actors. Many talented actresses this year. And hey, that's great. We should get that strong squad every year.

I'm gonna start the same way, as the list from the Oscars site says. Cynthia Erivo in Harriet (2019). I think the movie was good and that she was the highlight of it. She's a very talented actress, with a beautiful voice. She brought depth to the character, making a normal person, as the script told her probably, as a catholic superhero in "real life". I dig that. Moses. She was one of the best things in Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and she is the best thing about this movie, that keeps you by the screen. Yes, the movie has some good written and well-played side characters, but Cynthia, she carries the movie on her barks and without her talent, it wouldn't be that good. Plus for that.

Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story (2019). Oh my Cthulhu. She is the greatest ever. I love her. She made a great Black Widow, a wonderful german mother and now she's just the best as an in-the-middle-of-a-divorce wife. This is the same case as with Adam Driver, well kind of. I root for her and I hope she gets two Oscars this year because she fucking deserves it. <3

Saoirse Ronan in Little Woman (2019). She's wonderful. Like two years ago in Lady Bird (2017) she shows her talent. She's just two years older than me and she already got two Oscars nominations. And think she deserved them. And in this movie her very, very charismatic characters was aside other very talented actresses (from which two of them also got a nominee this year) and Bob Odenkirk for the second half of the movie. Jo was fun to watch, as time went by, especially for me, when I'm trying to be a writer. I can't have enough of her and I'd love to see her next projects.

Charlize Theron in Bombshell (2019). A very empowering story about very empowering woman. I liked the movie. Not a lot, but it was good. For me, it was mostly like: "Oh, oh! You played in Barry! And you played in HIMYM!". A lot of faces I know, which is always fun. Although for me, the best part of this movie was the bad guy. How John Lithgow, a comedic actor, played such a convincing molester is a riddle for me. But to the case, I thought her performance was great. At least during and after the movie, but now, a few days, when I thought about the nominees, I could not remember, that Charlize Theron was nominated. I'm glad, she's a great actress, but she doesn't show too much of her talent in this movie. I'm not an actor (yet hopefully, I have dreams), so correct me if I'm wrong, but playing such character isn't that hard. I think. I have to say, a bad actress would destroy the role, but a great one didn't add too much to it. I don't know, maybe it was just the script.

Renée Zellweger in Judy (2019). I liked that movie, but it has the same problem, that Harriet has, but bigger. It's put entirely on the barks of one actress. A great actress. Without her talent, I think that the movie would be complete, boring garbage. The charisma and talent were almost spilling of her. She did a great job, the best she could. (Although I don't know if she's so talented, or if she's just playing herself, so let's assume that it's the talent) I don't know if I'm too tired, to write more about her role, or there is just nothing more to add here...

In my opinion, this is how I would sort out this category, from best to good:

Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story (2019) 👑

Saoirse Ronan in Little Woman (2019)

Cynthia Erivo in Harriet (2019)

Renée Zellweger in Judy (2019)

Charlize Theron in Bombshell (2019)

A few words about Klaus

This is weird. A promise, that I actually kept. Huh. As I said in the post about I Lost My Body (2019), I'm gonna watch Netflix 2D movies, because I love 2D movies and I want to support them. But I'm talked about it there and I don't want to repeat myself. And it's here if you want to read it: A few words about I Lost My Body

I can finally say, that I watched Klaus (2019) and I loved it. Yes, I watched it, because it was nominated for the Oscars, which makes me smile every time I think about it. This movie is beautiful and very original, which is hard to say when it comes to Christmas animations.

Also, that review gonna contain *SPOILERS*, so watch out.

I'm gonna start with the world created for this story. It's wow. It's scary and fun in its way. You can see, they took inspiration from some classics. Probably. I can feel some Grinch vibe, but a slight one. It's bad and that's great because it makes it more fun, to see this world, people, turn good. And it's commenting race war in some way, I don't know, don't quote me on this one. I'm just gonna point quickly what I liked about it: big post-school, a big, old fella living on the other end of the island and having a warehouse full of toys, and a town full of grinches.

About the characters, they are likable. I loved Klaus (voiced by J. K. Simons himself! what is this?), his like Hagrid, a big, old, lovely, giant guy, but with toys instead of magic. It was wonderful to watch him change Jesper's whole perception of the world. And Jesper, I liked him, not a lot, but still. He was a good pick for the main character. He reminded me of Kuzco, a lot actually. And last, but not least, the third "main" character, Alva. She was less fun in the first half and then she got more and more likable, throughout the whole movie. It's especially great, to watch them three working together in the third act before Jespers almost ruins everything... Ans the not-speaking-english girl, she was so cute. It was heartwarming to see her get a toy finally, after that kind of determination.

The story tho, I think it's great. Despite many inspirations, intentional or not, that I pointed out, that story is very original. I could even say, the movie has that magical vibe of storytelling, that Brave (2012) had. And that's also great. Because watching a Christmas animation, that isn't two the same movies remade every year is great. And, I think another "inspiration" it got, was from Solo: The Star Wars Story (2018), which is made better. You know, what I'm talking about. I had fun picking out everything from the Santa Claus legend in this movie. Which is actually an origin story. And a very well done. Okay, it got a bit boring after a while, but it was still fun.

The animation was so, so beautiful. It's like my eyes got an orgasm. I watched Toy Story 4 the day before and I was amazed because of the quality of the CGI, but this 2D animation is one small step further with its art style. It looks perfect and I really hope to see more projects from that studio on Netflix. Because they fucking deserve this money and a lot more attention. (I just looked it up, they made more 3D then 2D animations, like, SPA Studios, I love you, make more 2D movies. Maybe for Netflix? It will be easier for me to get to them)

One thing I didn't like. Small thing from the story. The arc, where Jesper was accused of selfness at the end and he almost got of the Island, it was unnecessary. It's hackneyed.

Spoiler-free from now on.

But that's all. Except that, the movie fulfilled all of my expectations. It's gorgeous for the eye, it has lovable characters, great voice acting (again J. K. Simons and Rashida Jones), an interesting world and an entertaining and original story. Keep up the good work SPA Studios.

I just started a Twitter account. Come and say 'hi', if you'd like. I'm the Princess with Pancakes ^^

https://twitter.com/pancakes_with?s=09

Weekly TV Shows: Week 05/20 (01)

I thought about it and planed this a lot of times. But now, finally, I feel, that I have more will power to write and watch more. This makes it a good opportunity, to talk weekly, about the newest episodes of some tv shows, that I'll be watching week by week. As always, I'm lazy and I don't promise, that it will be regularly, but I promise, that I will try.

Only one problem tho, I'm behind in a lot of popular tv shows (like Vikings (2013-), Riverdale (2017-), Doctor Who (2005) or any other, that you can imagine), so for now, please don't expect much from me. I'm gonna watch them someday, maybe.

I almost forgot to say this, but I'm gonna talk about these episodes with *SPOILERS*. You've been warned.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (s02e01)

It's... weird. I mean, it took me a little by surprise, because I didn't expect this show to be an anthology. If I remember correctly, this was supposed to be a miniseries. I guess the numbers were bigger than we thought and that's fine. I'm ready for it. Hopefully.

The cast returned. That's a big plus (yeah, I didn't even watch the trailer, so don't expect me, to know anything about any of this). There are some very talented people on board. It doesn't make the show goodo it's own and it didn't make the first season very good, but I'll gladly watch, what will come of it. As important, as it was in the first season, is the humor. And it's mostly on the same level, as the first season. A little too quirky for me tho, as it was in the first season because I'm more of a "Friends" humor kind of a guy. I guess the story looks a little more promising than in the first season. Yes, there will be a lot compering to the first season. I mostly like just too characters, Alexandra and The King (hey, Peter, what are you doing here?) because these two aren't made into complete idiots. Yeah, okay, maybe Maggie too. That's the problem with the series tho. It makes some characters into idiots, witch just isn't that fun to watch, as it could be, because this story has a lot of potential, or it could have if they had a better writer. I don't know. I'm gonna still watch it, because I'm curious, what's gonna happen next. Please don't disappoint me. I had to add this, Peter Serafinowicz, you badass, keep up the good work.

The Good Place (s04e13)

Wow. This is probably the best ending there could be. I never thought that this show was a great show, for me it was always good, not much above average and probably that's why this ending took me off guard. The humor was good, but it's the characters, that I stood with. I like them, a lot after these four seasons and I got used to them being around. As is with most of the tv series, running longer than one season, but these are fun and compelling characters. That's why this ending hit the most. because most of them "died" and all of them had a beautiful ending, that they deserved. I know it because Jason was my least favorite (I still liked him, but not a lot) character of the original six and his ending (the first one) was, in my opinion, the best one. Of course, the second wasn't supposed to be there, it ruined it for me a little. But still, when Jason sat on the bench, a small tear dripped from my eyes. Also, I don't know how he (Michael Schur) did it, but he managed to put in here a cameo of every important character in this show, so hats off.  I won't go through every ending, cause there are five of them and still, every one of them is beautiful and filled with so much respect for the show, characters, and fans. Just great. When Chidi told Eleanor, that he was ready for a long time, but he stayed, that was it. It was 1 am and I was crying in my bad. This episode was such a tearjerker but in a good way. And don't know, what more there is to say here, you all saw that. Michael Schur, thank you for a fun show, great characters (especially Eleanor, I like when Kristen Bell has a job), and a wonderful ending. I couldn't imagen anything better.

Saturday Night Live: JJ Watt / Luke Combs (s45e12)

I just started to watch SNL last week, because of Adam Driver. And I'm no expert, but I think this one was just okay. I didn't know the Host, nor the music guest. The beginning wasn't as good as the beginning of last weeks episode, but it was fun, I enjoyed some of his jokes. The sketches were average as always I guess. Although the MADDEN sketch was my favorite, I always like, when someone is making fun of EA and even more if it's funny. Last week I discovered Halsey and the first song she performed got on my Spotify favorite list. As for Luke Combs, his songs aren't my climate, but I like his voice, he has a great voice. But, at least Halsey took part in some of the sketches and Luke didn't (as far as I know), but he could. He looks like a guy, that likes to have fun. So this episode was just okay.

That's it for this week sadly. I'm not watching anything big right now, as I said at the beginning of the post. So for more meat we have to wait for Rick and Morty (2013-) s04 part 2, or American Gods (2017-) s03, or Hunters (2020), it looks fun.

I was supposed to post it yesterday, but I was too lazy to watch the finale of The Good Place (2016-2020) a day earlier, so... sorry?

See you next week, If there'll anything interesting to write about.

Oscars 2020: Actor in a Leading Role

Personally, I watch the Oscars since 2017. The only movie I watched back then was Moonlight (2016) and I loved it and I'm happy, that it won (I didn't make up any of the other movies sadly, but maybe I'll do it in the future). I watch it since then and I plan to continue it also this year.

Two days ago I finally ended one of the few most important categories from the Oscars. Which (as you can guess from the title) is the "Actor in a Leading Role" category. And I'm one movie short from the "Actor in a Supporting Role" category. But let's talk about the important stuff. I'm gonna put out, how I liked the acting and the characters (from the script point of view).

First of all, I'm gonna put out, who I didn't like, which is Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory (2019). I didn't like the movie at all and no matter, how much I like Antonio, he didn't save it for me. I don't know If he's a great actor, because I didn't see him in a drama till now. I just think this character wasn't that hard to play. It was just a director addicted to a drug and *spoiler* he had a male partner once, and he meets him again. I think this wasn't neither a strong character, I think it seemed lazy because he didn't have any hard situations, to put him through. Because of that, the role wasn't so engaging, nor hard to play. That's it. This role is on the bottom of my list and I personally don't see it in the category.

Just quick about Jonathan Pryce and Leonardo Dicaprio, so we can get to the meat. I really enjoyed The Two Popes (2019). I like movies, where two or more characters just meet and talk the whole movie. And it was mostly that kind of a movie. The other scenes were really well done, I have to say, the backstory scenes were clear to read and told a lot of story in a short period of time, and the election scenes were quick and fun to watch. so much for the movie, I just had to put it out, since he does not appear in any major category anymore. Jonathan Pryce's performance was great and with Anthony Hopkins, they delivered a perfectly good and satisfying experience. As for Leo, I love him, seriously, it's always a pleasure for me to watch him, but no matter, how good his performance was, it just can't compete with the two next gentlemen in this category. Sorry, Leo. Maybe next time you get another Oscar.

Now to the big guns finally. In the part of the Internet, where I am, there was an argument about, which performance was better and what is harder to play: a sick psychopath, or an average person. And I agree with the mass, so I'm gonna start with Joaquin Phoenix. I liked Joker (2019) very, very much. I loved his performance, he was the highlight of the movie, without him, the movie just couldn't be as good, (I didn't watch any of his other movies, so I can easily say that) this even could be the best performance in his carrier, easy 10/10, but... there is always a bigger fish. And here comes Adam Driver in. The guy, who played a space emo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), such a wonderful acting second year in a row, but this time in a bigger role and on a much harder role. For me, it's 11/10, in my opinion, the best performance among these gentlemen and one of the best I've ever seen. I'll gladly talk more about this movie because I think Marriage Story (2019), should be this year's Oscar winner (I haven't seen all the movies yet, I know, but for now, the only two movies, which, I think, could change my mind, are Parasite (2019) and Jojo Rabbit (2019)).

So, to wrap it all up, this is, in my opinion, how I would sort out this category, from best to good, obviously:

Adam Driver in Marriage Story (2019) ����

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019)

Leonardo DiCaprio in Once upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Jonathan Price in The Two Popes (2019)

Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory (2019)