Ravenya003
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Posts posted by Ravenya003
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Knowing it was already cancelled, I tried not to get invested. Oh how I tried. But when Rosaline and Benvolio were staring at each other with tears in their eyes and the cell bars between them I yelled: "Kiss - it's your last chance!" Gonna miss those two.
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Whoa, excellent stuff. I've been a little ho-hum about this season, but they certainly brought it this week. Everyone else has pretty much nailed the nuances of Rachel's character: it's no wonder she is what she is.
Honestly though my favourite bit was when Kira saw Rachel picking her nails and said: "my mum does that." Now, Kira may have been telling the truth, or the comment may have been part of her "hustle" (because Kira was laying it on thick with the friendship bracelet and so on) but it was a genius move, and taps right back into the "nature vs nurture" part of the show. Whether Rachel likes it or not, Sarah is her sister. They come from the same source, and Kira's simple observation that they share a habit drove that straight home.
I'm glad they gave time and space to Cosima/Scott's reunion, and Charlotte looked so cute on the bed with the blanket and the hot drink. Like others, I'm wondering where she's going to end up. With Susan dead and Rachel disinterested, who's gonna raise her? (As has been pointed out, Marion was killed off-screen a couple of seasons ago).
Nice that they found a way to reintroduce Rachel's cybernetic eye, and Westmoreland using it to spy on her was suitably creepy. Honestly though, couldn't watch the scene in which she digs it out without squinting.
Leekie in flashbacks and a return from Mark/Gracie? They're clearly bringing back what cast they can before the final credits roll. Still holding out hope we'll see Cal one more time.
Overall, a fantastic episode. I feel like the show is back on track.
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Wow, does anyone on this show ever stay dead? (Apart from Paul?) I'll be annoyed if the final season sees return appearances from every random character they've ever introduced (Coady, Adele, Susan) but never bothers to explain what the heck happened to Kira's father.
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I'm wracking my brains, but I don't think I've ever cried with joy before ... until now. Thanks to all the fans for making this happen!
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Regarding the ambiguity of the Mad Sweeney/Laura relationship (especially since so many people are shipping it), this interview had an interesting exchange between the actors:
Pablo S: [The reveal of Mad Sweeney's involvement in Laura's death] really colours and effects the entire relationship between these two for every episode that's come before this. Without that secret [that I killed her] it can easily become this antagonistic relationship between these two people who just hate each other and are just screaming at each other, and without the depth of that guilt that he's feeling, it colours the reason why he has so much feeling for her, and wants to right this wrong that he did.
Emily B: And it's the only explanation for why he would put the coin back in her chest. I think if he hadn't killed her in the first place he would have been just "good riddance." He probably would have just left her there, because she's not particularly friendly to him.
Pablo S: And there's another .... no she hasn't. But some people really like ... some people are really into that. Maybe he's into ... he's clearly into torture.
He's not explicit, but it definitely felt like Pablo was suggesting Mad Sweeney has a crush.
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13 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:
Somebody explain this to me: All gods old and new seem to think Shadow was special if not downright important. HOWEVER, Sweeney told Laura that Shadow was just a guy and did not matter. Should we pay attention to this????
As a book reader, and without giving anything away, I can say the inconsistency does make sense from a certain point of view (to quote Obi Wan). There's an undercurrent to the proceedings that the writers are keeping surprisingly low-key, but by the time the show is over, viewers are definitely going to want to schedule a re-watch in order to pick up all the little clues that are being subtly sown.
On an unrelated note, there's a lovely line from Mad Sweeney during his first meeting with Laura in which he describes his coin as special, "the kind you'd give to the King of America." Later (or earlier in the chronology) it's Essie who tells him he should go to America and "deliver gold to their king." Which suggests that either a) he's remembered Essie's instructions all these centuries later, b) he subconsciously connected Laura to Essie via the coin, or c) both. There are actually a lot of interesting little echoes in the dialogue, not just with these two, but across all the characters.
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24 minutes ago, WaltersHair said:
This is a non PC question, but is Mr. Nancy called that as in a nancy boy?
No, it's an abbreviated take on Anansi, the African spider god.
Edit: Scarynikki beat me to it!
45 minutes ago, rozen said:Laura is The Worst, but I love how she rapid fires through all the connections with minimal fuss. Her figuring out who murdered her could take all season on a lesser show. Instead she figures it out instantly and pays Mad Sweeney back what he's owed in good measure. When she asked what would hurt Wednesday, I feel like Mad Sweeney 100% fell in love with her. She's got a proper fighter's spirit.
I loved this too. Sweeney keeps trying too hard to downplay what he's doing for her (last week it was: "I'm only taking this detour for you... and that coin in your belly," and this week it was: "I want her resurrected ... for selfish reasons") but she well and truly got his attention when she declared a one-person war on Wednesday. I think it was telling that final shot had him flanking Laura, eyes on her (as opposed to Wednesday). He's definitely switched teams, and I love what the showrunners have done with both characters.
As for the rest, it was pretty overwhelming. I think I'm going to have to watch it a second time before commenting further.
QuoteDemeter and Isis had the most popular religious cults in classical Greece and Rome respectively and no doubt want to return to that glory as much as Odin.
I think it would be cool to have Isis complain about how her name has been tainted by terrorists, especially since real-life businesses have been targeted by idiots assuming they're linked to terror networks (as opposed to naming themselves after an Egyptian goddess). Heck, didn't they have to kill off the dog in Downton Abbey because people started complaining it was called Isis?
In fact, you could name quite a few goddesses whose identities and names have been co-opted. How does Nike feel about being identified more with footwear than with victory?
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One minor thing occurred to me: throughout the first half of the episode I found myself wondering why they'd made the pretty obvious decision to have Laura/Emily Browning go bra-less; but of course, once the ice cream truck crashed and she ended up on the roadside, the sight of her exposed guts relied on the fact she didn't have a bra to ... well, hold herself together. It would have gotten in the way of the entire visual.
QuoteNot that I'm looking for spoilers, but I'm curious who he is addressing; do the gods have gods? Fate itself? The universe?
Personally I think he was screaming his frustration at Wednesday (or rather Wednesday's orders; it didn't matter whether or not Wednesday could actually hear him) though I expect it was deliberately left ambiguous.
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Loved it. Definitely my favourite episode so far. And count me down as someone also surprised at vaguely shipping Laura/Mad Sweeney. That tiny smile on his face as she impatiently honks her horn at him ... gah.
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2 hours ago, doram said:
I didn't describe it as a dangling thread, just a piece of the puzzle that isn't as important as we're led to believe. And that (to me anyway) doesn't make for a totally satisfying resolution.
I suppose for me
Spoilerthe story is limited because once you know the solution, nothing about the mystery (all those clues and hints) are particularly clever, just a bunch of red herrings that the suspects desperately throw around the train in order to get Poirot hopelessly confused. During my first read, I was trying to find the logic in them, only to finally be told there wasn't any. It's not a dealbreaker in terms of enjoying the story, but when compared to Endless Night or And Then There Were None, in which all the clues point to the killer and the solution in ingenious ways, it's not Christie at her best.
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6 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:
Did anybody else catch a vibe in the trailer between Daisy Ridley's governess and Leslie Odom, Jr.'s doctor?
Definitely. Which would make sense if they've combined Doctor Constantine with Colonel Arbuthnot. (According to IMDB, he's credited as "Doctor Arbuthnot".
Adaptations have cut out/combined characters in the past: the ITV version also made Doctor Constantine one of the twelve main suspects in order to cut out Hardman (and then gave Hardman's backstory to Foscarelli).
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I'm in. Strangely enough, Murder on the Orient Express isn't my favourite Christie film. The atmosphere is wonderful, but once you know the solution, there's little in the way of re-readability.
Book spoiler (vague, but avoid if you want to be completely unspoiled)
QuoteSpoilerMost of the "clues" are just red herrings, which feels a bit like a cheat. I remember on my first read I was fascinated by the woman in the kimono. Who was she? Why did the kimono get left on Poirot's case? Who put it there? We never get answers, because it's all irrelevant anyway.
That said, I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll handle the morass of clues and character interactions. Already the promise of a Ratchett/Mrs Hubbard encounter and the pointed absence of the Countess in that extended POV shot speaks volumes.
Edit: I accidentally posted the spoiler as a quote; now it's stuck as a spoiler inside a quote. Carry on...
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12 hours ago, Rinaldo said:
Maybe my age is showing: The whole idea that a proper finale is mandatory for a complete TV series experience is a relatively recent one.
Granted, there are considerations that have to be taken into account when it comes to TV shows: budget, actor availability, time restraints, viewer figures, etc. But I'm not talking necessarily about TV series, but stories in their purest form. A story must have a beginning, middle and end or else it's not a story - or sure as hell not a satisfying one.
Sense8 is a television show that got cancelled. At some point, I'll have to make do with the fact that "shit happens". But I think it's reasonable to expect that every story will have an ending. This doesn't.
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I HATE it when this happens. So much crap on television, and something truly beautiful and unique and inclusive gets cancelled well before the plots are resolved. I'm not ready to say goodbye to these characters. Is Dectective Mun okay? Will they rescue Wolfgang? What was up with the secondary clusters? SO DISAPPOINTING.
And honestly, we may be living in the Golden Age of Television, but I'm sick to death of tuning into shows, letting myself get invested, and then having the plug get pulled. Instead of greenlighting five hundred or so pilots, network executives should pick their projects and COMMIT to them.
This sort of policy is only going to bite Netflix (and other networks) in the ass. No one wants to risk starting a story that'll never get finished.
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My feelings can be summed up with a post I saw on Tumblr (paraphasing):
Me: Hey writers, you can literally chose to write about anything!
Writers: Hmmm... how about the billionth reiteration of sadman deadwife? Genius!
Not sure I'll be back for season three. When every character backstabs and betrays every other character with wild abandon, and one half of the only two people that had genuine devotion to each other is killed off, what's there to care about?
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3 hours ago, Joe said:
While Leia and Han are pronounced differently to normal, Luke and Ben are as usual.
Sure, but Luke was the original trilogy's "gateway character"; the normal guy that the audience would use as a surrogate in their introduction to a strange new galaxy. It makes sense he would have an ordinary name. And Ben was technically the alias to a much stranger real name.
5 minutes ago, Perfect Xero said:They have ducks on Naboo, so why not a rose?
But were they called ducks, or something else, in the same way "children" were inexplicably called "younglings"?
Okay, I don't really want to get into a huge debate about this; it's just a name after all, but Rose still strikes me as an odd choice.
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Someone upthread was concerned about the lack of a last name for Rose. Vanity Fair has revealed it's Rose Tico, so we can lay to rest any fears that there'll be another parental mystery.
That said, I find the name "Rose" a little curious. Presuming that she's named after the flower, it's a very earthly name to give her - are we meant to suppose roses grow in a galaxy far, far away? Perhaps they'll pronounce it differently (Roz or Ro-say maybe).
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Whew, that was one heck of a ride. As much as I enjoy this show, I'm not yet entirely sold on how they've handled its finale.
First of all, kudos on the twist involving Rajan. We've been led to believe all season that he's not as perfect as he first appeared (thereby giving Kala an out) but it turns out that he's engaged in an investigation that makes him even MORE noble than before. Good twist, with the side-effect that Kala is slipping into morally questionable circumstances. I like the concept of her character, of someone who has every reason to be good and happy, but feels a discontented darkness within herself.
Loved the sequence involving Sun's movement against my brother. The brother himself was pretty funny, what with him blaming the shooting on his sister and then realizing that she was ACTUALLY there, and later with his reaction to Nomi at the carpark gate and his "my sister is the Terminator!" comment. It's always great to see the sensates working together, and Kala and Capheus in particular got their chance to shine.
I also love (here and in other episodes) that Will, Wolfgang and Sun are the unspoken muscle of the gang. Every time things get violent it's these three that end up flanking the others. Also Wolfgang's casual insistence that Sun should kill her brother is amusing, along with everyone else getting on board once they see what he's truly capable of.
Cried out "NO!" when Detective Mun was shot; was relieved when the news report said he was still alive.
Dirty-minded Australian with the Riley-hair turning up out of the blue was an unexpected twist, and there seems to be a lot more going on with other sensates in the world than our cluster realize.
As with last season, it ends with one of the sensates taken hostage (first Riley, now Wolfgang) and I think it was telling that unlike last season they DON'T successfully rescue him. For the most part the sensates got the upper hand, but the bad guys still have someone to use against them.
The reveal at the end didn't really work for me, though that may change with later viewings. Like everyone else, I feel robbed of a scene in which the sensates gets to meet each other in the flesh (especially when you consider how big a deal Will/Riley's first physical meeting was) so I'll have my fingers crossed for some flashbacks next season. Not only that, but everything happened so quickly that I didn't really understand what was happening between Whispers/Will until halfway through the scene (ie, that Will was physically there). That's the cost of the Unspoken Plan Guarantee: if a plan is going to go smoothly, then the audience can't know about it otherwise it'll become a spoiler. Only in this case, I wasn't entirely sure what was going on ANYWAY.
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I get that Nomi's parents are awful, but they kinda had a point about Nomi making everything about Nomi because... she kinda did. That wedding speech was pretty much all about her. Ditto the ceremony.
Loved Wolfgang popping in to say "I will find you" to the hubby.
What's in the package creepy dude brought to Kala? My crazy imagination says a bomb or a decapitated head, though it's probably something he wants Kala to see in front of Rajan so that her husband can't deny its existence.
My opinion of Daniela went up - that was a great scene.
Edit: I typed this before reading everyone else's opinions - it would appear we're all on the same page!
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Ditto everyone's sentiments about the clusters popping up behind Wolfgang/Lila - I just wish the scene had gone on longer (and that it hadn't been spoiled in the trailers). Fantastic moment though, especially the lead-up with Amanita/Bug pinging the phones of the assassins at the restaurant. And Amanita meeting Riley was great!
So Lila's play is that she wants to take over Berlin as a city for their particular species? Not necessarily an ignoble goal, but I guess the whole sex kitten act made her evil.
I like how we're exploring some new dynamics among the sensates: Lito/Sun was a standout in this particular episode, and it cracked me up that (of course!) Lito would deal with his depression by dropping in on the others and acting mopey. Him watching the Rajan/Kala scene with a bowl of popcorn was great!
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I have to admit I'm struggling to follow the BPO storyline, though I always get excited when we get glimpses of the bigger picture at work beyond our own cluster. When Old Man Hoy sent his message around the world, or when Lila started talking to someone in her own cluster, it sent shivers down my spine. This show is great at making the world seem really big AND really small at the same time.
Wolfgang/Kala - whew, I think I need a cold shower. Does it count as cheating if it's all in your head? Also, Rajan seemed pretty happy the next morning, so was he somehow experiencing it too? I think he said something about how "last night was amazing." Awkward.
That said, I'm kinda disappointed that they're starting to signal that Rajan might be a villain. It gives Kala an easy out when her infidelity and psychological questions about being a good person is what makes her story interesting.
I'm trying really hard to like Dani, but for fuck's sake girl STOP TAKING PICTURES OF GAY MEN WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION. It's really gross that she still has no concept of boundaries or privacy, especially after the hell she put Lito through in the first season.
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Anonymous! Hah, I laughed so hard, even as it completely threw me for a loop! I wonder what the real Anonymous thinks of his/her/their guest appearance.
Loved seeing Sun reunited with her dog, though why is she always in her underwear? It's not sexualised or anything, but honestly - get the poor woman some clothes!
Chuckled at the Indian dinner party: every time the men stopped for a breath, the women immediately started up with loud: "PASS THE ...., PLEASE! IT'S DELICIOUS." It's these little human touches that really elevate the show: you can tell it's a celebration of humanity.
I really appreciate this show having so many positive, nurturing father-figures. Daddy Issues is such a lazy way of building character, yet here Riley and Kala's father are so warm and loving. Obviously Will's father has some issues, but he's still firmly on his son's side. Mothers are nicely represented as well: Sara's mother was open-minded and Lito's mother supportive, ditto Amanita's mother in the first season. Haven't seen Capheus's mother yet this season, but it was pretty clear that he adores her. More of this!
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I saw the Korean cop and thought: "dammit, he's cute - why does he have to be bad guy?" And then he turns out to be Sun's first love! Well played, show.
Every time Sun gets hugged I start crying. There's something about her performance that projects a woman who's never had much physical affection before (slightly OT, but it's the same vibe Jyn/Cassian had in Rogue One: when they embrace on the beach, you can just tell it's the first time they've been hugged in years).
Nomi shouldn't be that worried about Bug telling anyone: he could shout it from the rooftops and no one's going to believe him.
Lito at the museum was hilarious.
Still miss the original Capheus actor - sorry new guy!
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Last week:
QuoteMy shot in the dark is that it's the cabby's son, simply because he's been noticeable, but flying under the radar all this time. He had easy access to all the material, a shitty home life (Freudian Excuse) and (if memory serves) is the one spreading the porn around school. He could be a sex addict of some kind.
Called it! Okay, I didn't guess the full context, but that kid definitely caught my attention. It was an ending that fit the general theme of the whole season: not just that rape leaves a deep mental/emotional toll, but that perpetrators have such messed-up ideas about sex and consent due to the rape culture that surrounds them. The chilling thing about Leo's confession was that you could tell on some level that he honestly didn't understand he'd done something wrong. Where were his parents during all this anyway?
I like that Ellie quickly shot down Hardy's musings on Ed's manpain at having heard the rape and not prevented it (sure it sucks for him, but it's worse for Trish and STILL doesn't give him the right to stalk her) though I call foul at him having withheld that information. He may not have been able to prove it, but it would have put him in the clear to some extent.
It was odd to see Cath sitting with her husband in the church. Please don't tell me that was a sign they were getting back together. (Though it probably had more to do with wanting to get the entire cast together for one panning group shot of all their pensive faces). Ditto Ian inviting himself round to Trish's house with Chinese food.
Sad that Mark and Beth decided to part ways, but not surprising. Few marriages survive the death of a child, and (as Beth said) theirs was already on shaky ground. It actually felt like a relief when he left.
I would have liked a bit more closure on Ellie and Tom, even if it was just Tom apologising for the porn and promising to do better. However, the final scene for Maggie and Paul (who didn't really have much purpose this season except to be sounding boards for other characters) was fitting. I'd watch Maggie's vlog.
If this is the end for Ellie and Hardy, then it ended on a high note. "Want to get a drink at the pub?" "No, see you tomorrow." HA. That was perfect.
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Anastasia (1997)
in Movies
· Edited by Ravenya003
It's so strange that this thread would pop up right when I'm having a resurgence of feelings about "Anastasia" (which came out when I was about twelve, and completely dominated my internal imaginative world for that entire year). Watching it again recently I'm SO happy that it's stood the test of time - and in fact, I've noticed so many more good things about it. Anya's character development in particular is beautifully drawn out through her physical journey from St Petersburg to Paris - you can see how much she grows and matures as she reclaims her memories, and motifs like the music box and dancing provide natural visual stepping stones for that internal/external voyage. With the exception of Belle, Tiana and (most recently) Moana, I prefer her to any other Disney Princess.
And the film doesn't stint on her love interest's character development either: Dimitri goes from a cynical con-artist to a true believer in love - when you look at Disney's fairytales most of their princes are complete cyphers. Only the Beast and Naveen come close to getting an arc like Dimitri's. And I read an article from Don Bluth recently in which he claims he deliberately tried to "normalize" Dimitri's character design by making his hair messy and his nose crooked - only for that to backfire spectacularly when it was combined with John Cusack's vocal talents. He was definitely the hottest animated dude of the 1990s.
What hasn't aged well? Rasputin, who feels like he belongs in a completely different film from everyone else. I think they could have cut him out entirely and focused solely on Anya's journey and her relationships with Dimitri and her grandmother, which is where all the emotional heft was anyway. Having listened to the Broadway soundtrack, I don't blame them for dropping his character.
And that final scene of Anya and Dimitri dancing together on the deck of the ship ... watching it again after so many years, I nearly cried. It's so joyful and pure, and knowing that the real Anastasia died with the rest of her family only makes it more heartbreaking. I know others upthread have said the story is a bit exploitative, but seeing a version of Anastasia - even a fictional one - getting the chance to escape the revolution and fall in love and move forward into the future ... I'd like to think the spirit of the real Anastasia would be okay with that.