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#it was so thrown together and this story really deserved more… sure the cinematography was great til the end but the STORY LINE is vital
romanogers-lyrics · 3 years
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TFAWS Ep 5: finally some good fucking ✨vindication✨
Scratch that rewind what I said- this is the best episode (maybe in comic book tv history). Closure, growth, and redemption 🙌 just when I was worried they wouldn’t be able to tie things up they fucking give me this 😩🤩👏✊🏽
Holy hell my poor heart died and ascended to the moon to hang out with Steve and Natasha. ✨Goddamn the mastery of storytelling in this episode is why I love the MCU so much ✨
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The opening fight between Walker, Bucky, and Sam had me on the edge of my seat. Like in most fights you know the stakes are low because the main heroes always win but this fight... whew it was consequential and more personal than the civil war fight imo. I genuinely was worried about the outcome for Sam and Bucky physically and emotionally. Every beat was character driven! This was cathartic. 🙌 the stunt coordinators knocked it out of the park lovelovelove 💕.
“I am captain America” homie you giving me Gollum vibes. “It’s (the shield) MINE!” Like-
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So many creative stunts with the wings!!!
Bucky and Sam working TOGETHER
BUCKY DROPPING THE SHIELD AT SAM’S FEET 😭
The golden light seeping into the frame at the end of the fight 🤌🏼
Sam wiping the blood off the shield. 🥲 I can’t even articulate but it makes me feel-
Sammy’s wings got snapped off and he eventually left them with Torres (passing the mantle?) which symbolizes Sam growing out of his old super hero role. It was cleansing. He’s ready to be more. He’s ready to take action rather than let things happen to him 👏
Baby boy Torres trying to talk to Mr Bucky 🥺. You have both sleeves today Mr Bucky sir 💕
I want no I NEED 😫Torres to fly in with the wings next episode.
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How we feeling about Walker?? On the one hand I feel him. Us gov did him dirty but at the same time he made the choices he made. Maybe there is room for redemption? Idk... 🙃 or will he continue to get worse?
I am SO glad that Sam went back to talk to isaiah. He needed to know the full story. He needed closure. I could ramble on and on but the writers made the points so much better than I could but just-
Steve did the exact same thing as Isaiah in the first avenger. He went behind enemy lines to rescue Bucky- without permission! He was a hero for it. And Isaiah was thrown in jail? The double standard is so frustrating
I think Isiah’s point that “no self respecting black man” would use the shield makes sense with his background and story. It makes me sick what was done to him. Things really haven’t changed 😞. At this point I honestly wasn’t sure what Sam was going to do. More later on about this-
Zemo’s theme is so beautiful every time I hear it. 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼
What a beautiful scene. Cinematography 💯 Such a great moment between Bucky and Zemo. Zemo fully expects to die and then Bucky does the one thing zemo didn’t expect- the one thing he wasn’t “programmed” to do. Fuuuuuckcjfkekxn
“I crossed my name off in your book” 😭. He obviously grew to respect Bucky and wants him to have peace at last with all the civil war stuff.
Ayo back to calling Bucky white wolf 🐺 love to see it.
The kids playing with the shield and tracing the star has me CRYING. Kids are our hope and they still see something special in the shield. They still believe in it. 😭 such a small moment completely floored me.
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Wholesome boat fix up 🥺. I feel like this is the montage where SamBucky fall in love 😂
When Sarah and Sam are talking about the boat- how it is their history- I think again of Isaiah. His history was erased. Sam has to preserve his history ✊🏽
Sarah is a goddamn queen and I Stan 🤌🏼✨
The montage was just a sip of cool water in the desert of trauma that is the MCU.
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OKEEEE the conversation between Sam and Bucky where they’re tossing the shield is great on so many levels 😍:
Physically the shield matches the dynamic of the convo. Someone makes a point and throws it. Someone accepts what that person said and catches the shield. Bucky physically offers the shield when he says “I’m sorry” and Sam accepts the shield AND the apology.
The difference between avenging and amending. I was surprised they even used that word bc it calls out the avengers for maybe not doing the emotional work involved in being a hero. Healing is part of the hero job now. #phase4
A small detail but as a person of color I valued it; when Bucky said I’m sorry Sam did not say “it’s okay” or “no worries” because he didn’t have to, I feel like as a POC I’m always making white people feel better and for once I’d like to be confident enough to just accept someone’s apology outright and know I deserve it.
Pivotal when Sam said “it doesn’t matter what Steve thought” at first I was like biiiihhh??! 😠 but he had a point. Both Sam and Bucky have been trying to do hold onto another person who is gone. They gotta heal but more importantly they have to find their own reasons to keep fighting.
The training montage 🤌🏼🙌🤩🥲🥺😭✊🏽. Like FEED ME YEs WE ARE EATiNG. Sammy deserves it all
Sam’s cap theme music is similar to Steve’s but still different. Goddamn so beautiful 💕💕😩
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Sam has been pretty passive in this show- almost wanting confirmation he did the right thing. Isaiah didn’t give Sam that comfort but neither did Bucky at first. Sam had to make his own choice 😤✊🏽
It’s a heavy burden to be cap knowing all the shit that has come before but Sam is the only one who can make that decision to be or not to be. And he’s seen the alternative now. In life taking action and taking control of our situation is empowering but always harder than doing nothing. He says it best- what’s the point of all that struggle if you’re not going keep on fighting ✊🏽🥺 I love and respect Sam so much 😭 spoken like captain America! 👏
Show me the suit you COWARDS I WANNA SEe
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Goddamnit damnit to hell... I need to SEE IT
Is Sharon setting a trap for Karli???
🚨 end credit: I’m not sure if they are making an iron man comparison. What do you guys think?
Ready for the showdown throwdown next week 👀
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All in all it was fucking wild ya’ll and I felt catharsis watching this and so fucking hopeful. I cry 😭
Please feel free to share any thoughts you have about this episode💕
there’s so much in this show that is world building within mcu but also in greater conversations about heroism and power. It is a moral re evaluation of the superhero. Malcom Spellman being head writer you know this shit is not happenstance it is intentional. The took the long road and it totally paid off in this episode 😭
🙇🏻‍♀️ I am emotionally manipulated by this show 🙇🏻‍♀️
Huge shout out to all the cast and crew for making something both respectful to the lore but also challenging it to be better 🙌
My ep 4 review:
Tag list: @soliloquy-of-nemo
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dappercritter · 3 years
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Godzilla vs Kong: Brutally Honest Thoughts
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(Took me long enough, eh? Depending on home video releases be like that.)
So first things first, I have a confession to make: I spoiled the movie before I watched it. I was impatient and they had only announced an HBO Max premiere in the states and a theatrical run in Canada at the time. Afterward, I got heads-up from a friend and immersed myself in the opinions of those lucky enough to see it early. I’m just saying that I have some preconceived opinions that I’m sticking to.
That said, Godzilla vs Kong turned out to be more fun than I expected! But you already knew that. Everyone did. The two kings of movie monsters had their rematch and this time it was with glorious Hollywood SFX powering it this time.
The human story was fun but it’s clear they stopped trying at this point. Team Kong stole my heart, especially Jia. Team Godzilla (although the Conspiracy Crew would be a more fitting term since they spend more time chasing down mysteries than trying to back or understand Godzilla) was more fun than I expected and their dynamic was surprisingly enjoyable. Bernie is actually kind of funny, it's nice to see Madison acting more assertive, and Josh was fine--he was the only sane man of the bunch but he was also the butt of the jokes. Still, all the hardcore conspiracy jokes got old fast and it feels off seeing the daughter of two scientists turn into an edgy conspiracy crackpot. Why not an edgy science major?
Team Apex are fun villains, especially Walter Simmons who's a great megalomaniacal CEO type, but Ren Serizawa is a joke. I like his actor's performance but he's just another footnote. Nobody bats an eye at his last name, although the only heroes he interacts with are Nathan Lind and he just misses Team Godzilla. He really could have just been any other villain, but instead, they had to sully Serizawa’s legacy further while robbing a good actor of some interesting material. (As is, it turns out he was just an egotistical jerk with daddy issues--an easy puzzle to solve on day one--after all...)
However, I still cannot and will not approve of the fact that somebody thought it would be a good idea to make the heroes of a sci-fi story into hardcore conspiracy theorists in this day and age. Likewise, I’m not a huge fan of how they essentially made the Hollow Earth into its own universe complete with a crazy portal and an environment with its own laws of physics, nor am I totally crazy about the huge leap in technology that was made between this and KOTM, or G’14 for that matter.
The monsters as awesome as they are, are the biggest mixed bag in the show.
Kong is at his best in ages, and while I am all for the new heroic warrior character that Legendary have crafted and I acknowledge that making him a worthy opponent for their god-tier Godzilla was going to be a hurdle, I think they did a splendid job. Seeing Kong using agility and acrobatics was a glorious sight to behold, and something about Kong becoming a tool-user and weapon wielder just feels right. It’s a far better demonstration of Kong as a “thinking animal” (*wink, wink*).
I’m much less thrilled about their treatment of his greatest opponent ever. After everything they’ve done to build up Godzilla as the incredible force of neutral good fighting to maintain balance and all the build up to ancient rivalry debating back to a great Titan war--even going as far as putting his name in front Kong’s this time!-- they’ve reduced Godzilla back to glorified bully for Kong. He only gets the minimum amount of sympathy from the cast of his movie before they go off to deal with the conspiracy plot or focus on Kong and the Hollow Earth. Worse still, he is somehow more powerful and more aggressive than ever for a good chunk of the movie which leads to an outcome I’m sorry to say we all saw coming. Somehow, I suspect that the reason behind this was how Wingard cited Godzilla vs. Mothra, vs. Destoryah, and Shin-Godzilla as influences for the monsters scale and story, which while cool and all, are all movies where he was played up as a mostly stoic antagonist rather than a three-dimensional character like Kong. (Though ironically vs. Destoroyah and Shin did a better job of making Godzilla feel more sympathetic and in both of them he was a walking nuclear reactor meltdown.)
Due to the unfortunate time constraints of the three-way deal between Toho, WB, and Universal at the time this was in production, Kong was unable to secure a proper sequel that could develop his skillset like Godzilla’s did. Nevermind the fact the filmmakers completely surrendered to the “nothing matters but the monsters” mentality that a chunk of the fanbase has been spouting since this universe unofficially kicked off almost 10 years ago. (Sidenote: Oh god, I’m turning in an old fart already.) As a result, the movie trips over itself trying to set up Godzilla and Kong’s rivalry as well as building up Kong as a worthy opponent to Godzilla while expanding on their shared lore, and as a result countless plot points set up in in the previous movie and tie-in movie are thrown out the window. I’m sorry to say but in spite of all hopes and illusions of grandeur, it’s safe to this damn thing is a Kong movie with Godzilla as the bad guy.
...at least until HE shows up. Yup, Mechagodzilla. The biggest spoiled twist of the centuries steals the show so the movie can pull a Dawn of Justice. But! It does it much better than the fractured DCEU’s most controversial entry ever could. Mechagodzilla’s inclusion gets a decent amount of build up thanks to Team Godzilla/the Conspiracy Crew, and when he shows up, does he make an impression! At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel about his inclusion or his design, but I’ve come to like this one. He’s basically a kaiju terminator built in Godzilla’s image made purely out of heavy machinery piloted by the best Ghidorah head. It’s a jarring change of pace compared to previous MechaG’s but it grows on you after a while. With the abundance of weaponry stuffed into him, he feels like a fitting update of the original killing machine, and even if his inclusion feels like an easy way out of the big showdown, it’s fun to see him played as a literal colossal heel for the kings to team up against. Not to mention he looks shockingly good with those red highlights. However, one still can’t help but wonder how and why he was made in this universe, or how he feels like pure heavy machinery one minute and then an extra-large Ultron unit the next.
As for the the big throwdowns we’ve all been waiting for... well, we’re still in the mixed bag deparment. While the fights are all exciting and excellently choreographed, and benefit from some more eclectic lighting and cinematograph, I’m sorry to say that as far as the rematch of the century goes they dropped the ball on this one.
Don’t get me wrong, the fights are all great in their own ways, but there’s a drastic change in the feeling of weight and power with the monsters. Godzilla, Kong, and even Mechagodzilla all feel strangely floaty in most of their fights. One moments they feel like true behemoths shaking the very earth with every movement and then it’s like they’re in Godzilla Unleashed, running, jumping, and throwing each other around with speed that feels that almost makes you wonder if the Hollow Earth’s gravity inversion stuff is leaking out into the world. While it’s all perfectly cool, you can’t help but wonder how Kong is able to leap between aircraft carriers and buildings, when Godzilla got the ability to blow a hole through the Earth itself, or how a colossal machine is able to move so nimbly or why it has to be flashing blue all the time.
It’s fascinating and fun but you just can’t help but wonder how we got from almost posthuman disaster and war movies exploring how we’re at the mercy of the ancient almost mythical forces beyond our comprehension, we’ve found ourselves smack dab in the middle of Bayformers meets Jurassic World levels of Hollywood absurdity where anything and everything can and will happen in the name of getting to the monster fights. Although I can’t say I’m surprised given the director’s take on Death Note made some questionable choices with it’s take on the infamous cast while still coming up with some genuinely inspired choices. Still, all things considered we could have gotten worse compared to ther cinematic universes made by WB and Universal.
As for some misc. thoughts to close up this rambling mess:
-The soundtrack is fantastic. A great continuation of the feel of Skull Island’s mixtape with some truly wonderful picks. Special mention goes to the opening and ending songs, and they GOT AN ELVIS PRESLEY SONG IN HERE! YES!!! The three kings of pop culture together at last!
-While this movie didn’t need to be any more overstuffed, it would have been nice if the rest of the Titans didn’t disappear entirely from this movie. I get that Godzilla: Dominion already explained what happened to them all more or less, but it really is a missed oppurtunity that we never got to see another Titan war. Or Rodan attacking Kong to avenge his pterosaur bretheren from days long past. Speaking of which...
-“Save Mothra” jokes be damned, Mothra would have been a welcome gues star, not just to help break up the big fight, but to show off Godzilla’s softer, more protective side. And yes, I want more Mothzilla. Shut up, we deserve it.
-Boy, Monarch sure does a whole lot of nothing up-top, huh?
-The cinematography is a great update but there’s a little too much neon lighting, especially in the Apex HQ and the Hollow Earth throne room. It feels like they’re trying just a little too hard to sell the more futuristic, Hollywood sci-fi feel.
-The score is... great but not that great. Of course, I’ve always had mixed feelings about Tom Holkenburg (AKA Junkie XL)’s music. I liked Kong’s themes, but they REALLY dropped the ball with Godzilla’s theme. Mechagodzilla’s works really well as long you ignore that it’s just Godzilla’s theme in this movie with an ominious choir added in.
-The new Hollow Earth creatures are all perfectly fine. Actually, I thought they were another highlight! Especially the Warbats, Hellhawks, and Doug the Titanus Foetodon Man.
-I want to do a release the extended cut campaign but I don’t think any of us have the energy for that s**t anymore.
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seosamhmooney · 7 years
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My Top 10 Favorite Musical Movies
I love top 10 lists for no legitimate reason, and I really don’t understand why they’re a thing other than the fact that they’re somewhat pleasing in some inexplicable way. So here’s one of my “Top 10s” lists. Enjoy
10. Into the Woods
Honestly, this one just makes this list because I enjoy shitting on it. Although it was decently cast, I’m still not sure what Johnny Depp was doing as the wolf (or even why the wolf was present? Does he actually serve a purpose to the ultimate story? Didn’t think so). Anna Kendrick is always charming, and frankly, her “On the Steps of the Palace” song was just fabulous. And sure, intertwining fairytales sounds like a cool or innovative idea, but seriously, it’s been done so many times (re: abc’s Once Upon a Time, Cornelia Funke’s Reckless books, etcetera)--and perhaps Sondheim did do it before it became a “thing”--but the movie comes across as tacky, boring, and generally pointless. Next.
9. Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Also known as, What Happens When Tim Burton Directs a Musical. It’s almost so gaudy it works, but not quite. Helena Bonham Carter does some good work in this one, but certainly not her best. It’s almost a shame to see someone who has done such beautiful movies as A Room with a View and The Wings of the Dove fall into this constant cycle of playing these borderline goofy characters (see Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Dark Shadows, etc.--none of which I did not enjoy, by the way; I absolutely loved all three of these mentioned films, but HBC plays such one-dimensional characters it’s f r u s t r a t i n g. Johnny Depp was actually nominated for a Golden Globe for this movie, which I don’t think was necessarily called for, but did he win? Nope. Wasn’t going to. When the kid and the mostly mute prison girl are the best parts of the cast, something isn’t working right. Plus, the movie was just so gray. I get it, London is no pretty city, but--oh, wait, yes it is. London’s beautiful, shut the fuck up.
8. La La Land
Oh, La La Land. So right, but so, so damn wrong! I adore this movie, although it took me three times to watch the full movie to get to this point of appreciation. When I first left the cinema, I was livid. I had gone with my aunt and uncle for my birthday, and we all left just frustrated. Damien Chazelle had given us such a visually stunning and cinematically innovative film, but he also gave us a shit excuse for a love story. Honestly, Mr. Chazelle, please don’t write another script. Leave that to actual writers. You stick with cinematic brilliance, hun. Thanks, x. Justin Horwitz, however, ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT. The music is astounding. Simply astounding. I had the privilege of seeing La La Land at the Hollywood Bowl with a live orchestra, and damn, it was good. It was so good. Ryan Gosling is nothing special (unfortunately!), and as much of a bitch as Emma Stone’s Mia is, she absolutely deserved that Oscar. Now about the singing: frankly, I didn’t mind it. I have friends who hated it (because they’re trained singers so they have a bit of a superiority complex about these kinds of things), but as someone who cannot particularly sing well myself, I enjoyed seeing two more realistic characters thrown into a musical world and pull it off more than adequately well. 
7. The Phantom of the Opera
I want to rank this higher. I really, really, really do. But for obvious reason, I cannot. The singing is mediocre, and the acting is even worse. I don’t know who cast Gerard Butler, but yikes. A lot of the editing is rather shoddy, and as much as I do love Minnie Driver as Carlotta, they should have chosen an actual opera singer instead of choosing a decently known Hollywood name. Also, the deformity is literal horse shit. Just horse shit. But now the good things: 1. Patrick Wilson; yes! I absolutely love his Raoul. He’s tragic and a little girly and a bit of a pussy but so in love that he steps up when he needs to. And his voice is arguably the best in comparison with his coworkers’. 2. The cinematography and set design are stunning, absolutely stunning. I get the chills every time the chandelier is raised during the “Overture”, and although the Phantom’s lair isn’t exactly a house on a lake, I thought it was very reminiscent of the stage production, which I appreciated greatly. 3. The costumes! Jesus! Although Christine’s “Think of Me” dress does not go with the time period of the opera she’s supposed to be performing and the Phantom’s last few costumes are waaaaay too hot, I thought the costume department did a fabulous job creating dazzling costumes that just worked with the whole “pretty” feel of the film. 4. They nail the story. I remember watching Phantom as a child and sobbing every time I finished it. The Phantom doesn’t deserve Christine, but he deserves to know what love is just like any other man, and in telling this, the story succeeds. 
6. Grease
I’m not one for teen movies, I’m just not. Clueless is nice, and Heathers has a special place in my heart, but I’ve never been into the whole high school drama film thing. Still, I must admit that I loved Grease. I refused to watch it for the longest time because I had a friend who literally based his entire look on Danny Zuko, and it was so obnoxious I refused to watch the film. Plus John Travolta has always sort of creeped me out. But I gave in, and I was so surprised. Olivia Newton-John is just darling as Sandra Dee, John Travolta isn’t unbearable as Danny Zuko, and Frenchy is such a charming character, but the one person I think gets so overlooked but could be such a show-stealer is Rizzo. Stockard Channing set the bar high for this character, as she does a fantastic job conveying the too-cool-for-school but has-a-heart-of-gold-kinda Rizzo. My favorite player on the Chicago Cubs is Anthony Rizzo because of this movie (Can you tell I’m not a huge sports fan?).
5. Chicago
Many people call this the best musical movie ever made, and really, it’s very, very well done. I mean, it is. A movie doesn’t get six Academy Awards just because. The dancing is actual fire, Richard Gere is one dazzling bastard, and Catherine Zeta-Jones absolutely steals the show as Velma Kelly. Sorry, Renée Zellweger. Zellweger's Roxie is charming, sure, but she comes off as so weak a character and a person that it’s difficult to even enjoy most of her scenes. The set designs are nothing spectacular, but what makes everything come together is the musical numbers (somewhat ironic, because almost every musical number physically departs from the story’s setting). “All That Jazz” is a killer opening, Queen Latifah’s “When You’re Good to Mama” is too much fun, “Cell Block Tango” practically changed the game for musical movie choreography, and where do I even begin with “Roxie”? Spoiler: it was Zellweger’s most convincing scene, but that’s almost completely due to the choreography and set design. Chicago will certainly be studied in film schools in years to come. As much as there is on the surface of the film, there is so much more than meets the eye, and for all these reasons, Chicago is a fabulous, fabulous film.
4. Les Misérables
I actually considered ranking this between Phantom and Chicago but ultimately decided to move it up. Victor Hugo’s novel is a challenge for a number of reasons, but chief among them being the massive span of time his novel covers. So a musical version obviously has to fit this all within three hours, and say what you will, I do believe Les Mis does a good job. The story is obviously cut down tremendously, but it really does not lose much (if any) of the message it has to offer. Now, the film is not perfect. For instance, I absolutely hated Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. I really did. A lot of people hated Amanda Seyfried, but I really loved her portrayal of Cosette (but maybe just the acting part, her singing is a bit shaky). Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne are class-acts, and HBC does a fine job as Mme. Thenardier. I almost have nothing to say about Anne Hathaway. Her performance speaks for itself. I sob every time Fantine dies. She is so, so, so, so good. And three cheers for Colm Wilkinson. He’s just a great guy and a great performer. The film’s direction is often debated, whether it is good or bad, but I really thought it was quite good and quite different from what others might have done. Tom Hooper took advantage of the screen in ways the stage cannot be taken advantage of, offering the audience a chance to look closely at the faces of the actors, to really appreciate the emotional tolls the characters endure.
3. Cabaret
Liza Minelli embodies Sally Bowles. I mean, never have I ever believed so strongly that an actor was born for a role, but Minelli was born for Sally, and as the soul of the show, she breathes life into the film and somehow manages to carry the story on her shoulders. Joel Grey is a fantastic Emcee, and the supporting characters are great as well. Although I don’t care for several of the subplots, I thought the primary storytelling was borderline flawless (except for the ghastly ending; Lord help me, I have so many qualms with the ending; the level of vague is off the charts and unnecessarily so). But the singing is splendid and the dancing is spectacular. The way the Kit Kat Club fits into the story almost as a character itself is subtle and brilliant, and just about every single set is exactly how I imagine it should be. Again, Liza Minelli was born for this, and she rightly won the Oscar for Best Actress. Go you, Liza. Lots of love, x. 
2. Moulin Rouge!
Usually, I would consider Moulin Rouge! my favorite movie of all time, but I’ll explain in the next entry why this is not the case for this list. Like I said, this is my favorite film of all time, and for a plethora of reasons. 1. It is unique and innovative; Moulin Rouge! made the 21st-century musical possible, and everything from Chicago to La La Land owes much to Baz Luhrmann. 2. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman’s chemistry is everything. They work well together, they sound good together, and they carry Luhrmann’s admittingly wild storytelling techniques with grace and fun. 3. The sets and general production design. This entire movie was filmed in a single room (granted, a very, very large room), but Luhrmann creates a world so vivid and so alive that it hardly feels claustrophobic. 4. The music is different but familiar and well-orchestrated. Luhrmann did something most people wouldn’t even think twice about doing because it’s “tacky” or “unoriginal”, but he instead takes familiar and beloved songs, sets them all to a beautiful story about love and loss, and creates a new musical so vibrant, it changed the face of the musical genre. 
1. The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music. Arguably the greatest musical of all time, The Sound of Music is a timeless story of faith, love, war, family, and hope. The only musical on this list based on the actual events of Maria Kutschera and her life as the governess and step-mother of the von Trapp children, The Sound of Music embodies everything a musical (and a good story!) should be. Life is no fairytale--it is full of hard times and beautiful times and times when it seems the whole world will collapse upon itself. Life is no fairytale, and as beautiful as this film is, it relates to its audience real life morals and real life messages that should be taken to heart by anyone in search of a happy life. Julie Andrews is the only person to embody a character more than Liza Minelli embodies Sally Bowles, and her Maria is a sweet, powerful, kind woman, who, though unsure of the direction her life will go, stands for what she believes in and positively changes the lives of so many along the way. Christopher Plummer is the perfect Captain von Trapp, and the children are perfectly cast as well. Actually, fuck it, the whole cast is perfect. Governess Elsa Schräder, Max Detweiler, and the Mother Abbess are flawless secondary characters, who come and go throughout the film flawlessly. I would also like to note how it stayed in cinemas for FOUR YEARS after its release. Now that’s a bloody good film. The sets and cinematography are fabulous, the script is so well done it’s unreal, and the songs--the songs!!!--are as good as they are iconic (and damn, are they iconic).
So here is my first (second, actually) post on Tumblr. Cheers. x
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chucklingdevil · 4 years
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The Rise of Skywalker review
I will put the spoilers under the cut. So if you don't want to see any then don't read ahead of that. You've been warned.
Ok, I only just saw this today, so I'll give my honest opinion, based on the first viewing alone. I'll need to see it again to really understand how I feel about this latest Star Wars movie.
The first thing I noticed was the pacing. It is very rushed. That, coupled with the info dumping leaves it a bit scrambled. This movie gives you a lot of information in clumps. With hardly any time to adjust before pushing you through to the next scene. Seriously, the amount of cuts between scenes was almost ridiculous. Especially for a two hour film.
It didn't really feel like Star Wars to me? I don't know what it was but the whole tone of this film was very different to any of the other films. Slightly off.
The story itself was interesting. Nothing at all like I'd been expecting. Major changes to previously established canon, in some aspects. But it wasn't overly horrendous. A lot of good things that need more expanding on.
The character development was honestly a little stunted. Especially for some characters. There really isn't much more I can say without spoiling anything. So...
Spoilers below the cut:
General Hux
Look, I'll be honest, I went in to the movie only wanting to see more Hux content. There was very little of it. Which wasn't surprising. He's got a balance of TFA Hux and TLJ Hux going on, so that was nice enough to see. The main point of Hux in this film was to be the one leaking information to the Resistance. Now, if I hadn't been spoiled for this plot point already (because some people just don't seem to understand that others want to watch the film), then I might have genuinely been giddy with my surprise over Hux's declaration to being the spy. It's played as more of a comedy bit, unfortunately, but it was still something that held some weight to the film. If only for the first third or so of it. And it was nice to see Hux being the dramatic bitch for once.
There have been arguments and speculations over Hux's actions during the film, and they all have valid points. But, given the circumstances, it was probably the best the Hux fans would have gotten out of it. And I know that some of us are staunchly refusing to believe he is actually dead. Because, you know, it was never confirmed on screen. We'll know more when we get our books and comics.
Allegiant General Pryde
I had been expecting more. A waste of a good actor, really (like a lot of this film). He's stone-faced and one dimensional. Sure, we don't really want our space nazis to be overly likeable, but this character wasn't really fleshed out for the audience. He was just something severe for the film goers to look at. Something tacked in to make a connection with the Empire and the First Order. His character roll could have easily been filled in by Hux instead. Just a shame Richard E. Grant didn't get more to work with. He was still interesting to watch, for the most part. 
New characters
Look, it's a big wide galaxy, full of billions and trillions of life forms, but we don't need to be introduced to every single one of them. Yes, the point of the Resistance is to help these sentient beings and to fight for them, but having too many given to us at once is just asking too much of the audience. We get that it's a vast place, but do you think the audience will care overly much if the film focused on the characters that have already been established, rather than introduce, possibly, old flings of Poe Dameron, and countless other nameless sentients? Even those of the Resistance? For that matter, what about characters that had already been established but never got any proper characterisations? The Knights of Ren, for example? What happened to them? Nothing. They were faceless, nameless grunts that did the foot work, with little given to make them even remotely interesting. They were just there.
Rose doesn’t get much screen time at all. But it was good to see that her role in the Resistance played to her strengths.
The timing of Comedy and the dialogue
Like I said before, there was a lot of information and most of it was given to us through dialogue. About half the time the dialogue in this movie was clunky. Especially when it came to delivering the key points of the whole film. Nothing was visual. The only time we got a visual output of information it was later overly explained. We didn't need all the talking! It was too much noise in an already noisy franchise. And the dialogue for the comedy, what was that? It was very modern, is what it was. I get that you need to placate the audience in some ways and give them something they're familiar with, like stuff from The Office or any other current comedy show from America or Canada, but that really didn't hold well in this universe. It was awkward. Some of the running gags were alright (they fly!) but the main examples I can give would be the following:
'Be a little more positive' (I'm paraphrasing, my memory isn't that good). This is given in response to some bad news. The answering dialogue? 'Everything's going wonderfully'- or some such. To a situation that really shouldn't be joked about.
'You're relieved to see us.' 'Oh, yeah, so relieved. Thank god you're here.' Stormtroopers being Jedi mind tricked can defiantly lead to comedy, TFA showed us that. Here, it was just weird. There wasn't anything funny about it. It feels too much like a Marvel movie, with a joke being thrown in every ten minutes.
Having said that, Palpatine's dialogue was on point. There's no denying that.
The finale of Palpatine and Rey
Ok, look, I’m not really sure if I like the whole ‘Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter’ bit, but what can I really say on that? Their scenes together were still good. Rey is still Rey, and the Emperor is still his groovy self. 
Redemption
Look, the whole point of redemption isn’t whether someone deserves it or not, but still. Did Kylo Ren really need redeeming? Given his action, through all three movies, I don’t think it was the right direction for his character. The sudden change, brought on by the death of his mother, was a little much. (And I don’t even know what to think about the way Leia’s death was used in this). Yeah, he’s had a shock to the system, and he’s probably fed up with the constant push and pull from all sides, but I don’t think he actually was redeemed? It didn’t seem like it to me, anyway. He just threw away another aspect of his life he didn’t like and tried for something else. Does that make sense?
The Kiss (Capital 'K', to emphasis my dislike for it)
The Kiss. The. Kiss. Why? Just, why! It wasn’t needed (and apparently only put in in re-shoots?) Honestly, I knew it was coming (another spoiler, thanks for that guys) and I was dreading it the entire film. The only way I can logically see it playing out, Rey was just so relieved to be alive that she just had an impulse of sudden idiocy? Like, the whole film, the dialogue between them wasn’t romantic, in any sense. Not to me, and not to other people I’ve talked with about it. Seriously. I honestly think these two just wanted to be friends, but wouldn’t be because of their aversions to one another’s actions/ beliefs. ‘I offered you my hand’, that wasn’t at all like a marriage proposal. Every time Ren mentions Rey taking his hand it genuinely just feels like a desperate plea for friendship. Watching them kiss was disheartening. The fact that these two complex characters had been reduced to fan fodder like that, a decision made for some bizarre reason, just felt so disappointing. They worked well as a team, they could have worked well as partners, but a romantic relation between the two just never seemed feasible. The actors did the best they could, but you could tell they didn’t like the re-shoot.
Things I found interest:
There were actual female voices given to the stormtroopers this time. It's always been established that any stormtrooper could be anyone but this was the first time I could recall hearing different voices. You could actually tell them apart
D-O is adorable, end of discussion
The cinematography was amazing. Not quite as striking as what we were given in TLJ but still good. As always. I really enjoyed the Sith Throne Room and every scene in Exegol
Emperor Palpatine's final form outfit was beautiful. I want one. I will have one
The design of Sith Rey's lightsaber was wonderful. Good use of a double bladed saber that can fold. Pity we didn't get to see more of it
The whole scene of the festival, and the children, was just beautiful. Don't care that it took away form the plot a little. They were happy and grooving around
Better choreography for lightsaber battles
Hux's 'boardroom' scene
The fact that they actually took time and care to show that Chewie would grieve for Leia's death
There were other defector stormtroopers
Leia's lightsaber
Rey's lightsaber
Hux with a cane
The music. Oh, the way they spruced up Rey's Theme for this film was good. I distinctly remember it playing towards the end, as she's looking up at the stars, and hearing Jedi of the past bolstering her. Looking into her eyes and hearing her theme playing was really something
And probably some other stuff that I'll remember when I go and see it again
Rise of Skywalker wasn't really good or bad. I don't know what to think of it. I think it just needed to establish itself a little better in terms of the tone of the overall film. It just didn't sit quite right. Too many movies crammed in to one. If they had made two parts, it was have worked much better. But, of course, they couldn’t break the Trilogy Recipe.
Anyway, rant over. I’ve probably missed a lot, but these were just some of the things I remember now. The themes and messages are all muddled and I’ve never been very good in analysing those. So yeah.
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randomrichards · 7 years
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And so begins another year of Academy Award Predictions, starting with the sound and music categories. BEST SOUND EDITING: – ARRIVAL – DEEPWATER HORIZON – HACKSAW RIDGE – LA LA LAND – SULLY Who Will Win? For those who don’t know, this category involves the job of collecting sounds effects for a film. For the sound categories, I suspect La La Land will be facing competition with Hacksaw Ridge. Judging by the previous categories, this award will be more in favour of Hacksaw Ridge. This category seems to love war movies, with wins including American Sniper, Letters from Iwo Jima and The Hurt Locker. I believe the reason for this is because war movies depend on sound to immerse the audience into the battle scenes. While practical effects and great cinematography are needed provide realistic visuals, it’s the whistles of incoming torpedoes and thwack of a bullet that brings us into the trenches. Exhibit A: Hacksaw Ridge’s battle scenes. As he’s proven in Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, Mel Gibson’s unafraid to portray brutality; a trait needed to portray World War Two with honesty. Fortunately, his sound crew doesn’t fail him. For battle scenes, they capture the chaotic claustrophobia of battle with the deafening sounds of grenade explosions, flamethrowers and bullets swipes. But the sound crew’s performances really shine in the silent moments. As allied soldiers tiptoe across a quiet terrain, the lack of sound creates an unsettling sense of paranoia because we know any second you’re going to hear the thwack of a bullet. That unease especially rings true when our hero must hide from Japanese soldiers while he rescues wounded allies. That’s not including the rousing score by Rupert Gregson-Williams. But the film I feel most deserves this award is Deepwater Horizon. Peter Berg has a gift of making the audience feel like they in the middle of real life disasters and part of that must do with the sound. The film practically creates suspense just from the buildup of mud and rocks within the pipes. When the BP pipes explode, every sound creates a sense of terror from the pops of screws to the force of the explosion blowing every window. Whenever BP workers are thrown into walls, you can almost feel the impact. I can’t praise the sound crew enough. But it looks like the odds are in Hacksaw’s favour. BEST SOUND MIXING: – ARRIVAL – HACKSAW RIDGE – LA LA LAND – ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY – 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI Who Will Win? Now this category is about how the sounds are put together in the film. [1] Once again, it’s Hacksaw Ridge Vs. La La Land. Only this time, the odds are in La La Land’s favour. While the former category adores war movies, this category seems to prefer musicals, with modern wins including Les Miserables, Dreamgirls and Chicago. It’s already a challenge to blend dialogue, sound effects, background noise, and a music score into a scene in a natural way. Musicals have the added challenge of adding songs into the mix. Now there’s a strong emphasis of the music and the singing. Sound mixers also must figure out what sound to incorporate into a scene and how loud should it be. The perfect example is the opening number “Another Day of Sun.” As the camera travels across car after car in a freeway traffic jam, we hear song after song from each of their radios. Then we hear one woman hum to the tune of one song, until the music starts to consume the scene. Then she pops out of her car to sing the tune. Along with the music, we also hear the slamming of doors, the booms of a marching band and the honking horns. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: – Nicholas Britell for MOONLIGHT – Dustin O’ Halloran and Hauschka for LION – Justin Hurwitz for LA LA LAND – Mica Levi for JACKIE – Thomas Newman for PASSENGERS Who Will Win? It’s La La Land all the way for the music categories. Justin Hurwitz not only provides the songs for this musical, but he compliments dance numbers with the kind of jazzy score at home in a Gene Kelly film. When Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) stroll around the planetarium, Hurwitz brings on the romance with a grand tune. But music really shines in the closing dance number, which blends the tunes of each song into a medley of dreams. This number especially gets me when they bring in the flutes. But when it comes to storytelling, the score’s highpoint is the must subtle one. Throughout the film, Sebastian plays a little tune on his piano. This tune starts off as an act of defiance, but as the film progresses, it becomes a symbol of his artistic integrity. In time, this tune earworms itself into your head. BEST ORIGINAL SONG: – AUDITION (THE FOOLS WHO DREAM) from LA LA LAND Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Sung by Emma Stone – CAN’T STOP THE FEELING from TROLLS Music & Lyrics by Max Martin, Karl Johan Schuster and Justin Timberlake Sung by Justin Timberlake – CITY OF STARS from LA LA LAND Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Sung by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone – THE EMPTY CHAIR from JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY Music & Lyrics by J. Ralph & Sting Sung by Sting – HOW FAR I’LL GO from MOANA Music & Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda Sung by Auli’i Cravalho Who Will Win? This is La La Land’s award to lose. The question is which song will it be? On one hand, “City of Stars” seems to be the film’s theme song. With a little whistle and the strum of the piano, Gosling sings of his love for L.A., wondering if the stars are shining for him. This sure is a quiet song in contrast with grand songs like Another Day of Sun and Someone in the Crowd. Just as low key is the Audition song, which is a more personal song. While the trailers showcase City of Stars, I’ve seen posters of this film which says “Includes the Audition Song.” As it starts, Mia is telling a story at an audition. When the lights go out all around Emma Stone, it becomes a tribute to “the fools who dreams,” artists who face constant rejection, ridicule and financial instability for the sake of their art. It’s a subtle tune, accompanied by the hushed singing of Emma Stone. Simple yet powerful, I feel this song’s more deserving of the award. But there’s a chance this award could be stolen by Moana. First, Disney gets a lot of love from this award ever since Jiminy Cricket wished upon a star. While wasn’t the big winner it was in its 90s renaissance, it’s still a strong contender, especially after its recent win with Frozen’s Let It Go. While How Far I’ll Go isn’t has impactful or as addictive as Frozen’s magnum opus, it’s still a rousing and catchy tune. How Far I’ll Go is to Moana what Part of Your World is to The Little Mermaid; they’re the “I want” [2] song. In this point, our heroine (Auli’I Cravalho) longs to travel across the sea, but her chief father (Temuera Morrison) has a strict rule against his tribe travelling past the reefs of his island. The song does a great job capturing the internal conflict between the need to accept her future responsibility as chief of her tribe and her need to explore the outside world. Newcomer Cravalho does an excellent job bringing out the calling Moana feels inside of her. So, this film has a slight chance of beating the other musical. Plus, is Moana wins, songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda will be the youngest person to join EGOT [3]. Miranda’s already won an Emmy for the 67th Annual Tony Awards, and Tony’s for both In the Heights and his recent Broadway sensation Hamilton, which he also won a Grammy for. At 37 years old, he stands to win the Oscar for his film. But it looks like the winner will be City of Stars. [1] It seems like they got the titles and descriptions mixed up, but that’s my opinion.
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