OUAT vs. Other Fairy Tales: Compare & Contrast

[tennisgurl]

The ending of Once made me think about a Discworld book I read ages ago called Witches Abroad. In it, the titular witches go off to visit the great city of Genua, because they hear theres trouble afoot that they need to try to help with. Turns out, the city is a happy perfect place running according to the laws of fairy tales...and anyone who doesn't follow those rules suffers the consequences. It turns out, the whole city is under the tyrannical rule of a twisted "Good Witch" who wants everything to run according to a fairy tale, and is obsessed with creating "happy endings" even if those happy endings actually ruin countless lives in the process of getting that serving girl to marry that prince. She uses her magic to warp reality to force things into the correct fairy tale (giving a normal wolf sentience to become the Big Bad Wolf, except the wolf is miserable as a human/animal, and begs for death) and stages public executions and tortures for minor offenses (everything from petty theft to a toy maker not whistling while he worked) and everyone must smile and clap or else. Its a really good book, especially if your interesting in deconstructing the ideas of fairy tales and Happy Endings, but with clear affection for the genre. 

Not sure why that has been in my head so much the last few days...

[Shanna Marie]

I absolutely LOVE the Terry Pratchett Witches book. Witches Abroad is brilliant, but I love them all, and I intend to be Granny Weatherwax when I grow up.

[Camera One]

I'm 30 minutes into "The Last Jedi" and I'm more bored than I was in "Flower Child".  Enough with "hope".  Must that word permeate everything I watch?  Hopefully, it gets better.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Camera One

[Camera One]

I finally finished it, and I found it really disappointing.  I'm kind of glad I didn't watch it in the theatres.  At its most basic level, a lot of it was just really boring and unengaging.  The first hour was tedious, from the main ship to the villains' subplot, to the island.  It felt so formulaic.  Of course they had to find a code breaker in a casino on an exotic planet, though I think the only subplot that interested me was Finn and Rose's mission (though it was really out-of-nowhere soap opera-ish at the end when she kissed him).  I liked "The Force Awakens" and having Rey off on her own subplot for the entire movie wasn't a good call.  As it got near the climax, it really dragged again.  A lot of the reviews I read said there were great moments, but I don't think I can think of a single scene I really liked. 

The whole movie felt like a series of suicide missions and failed missions, mixed in with some speeches about hope and darkness and light (hmm, wonder where I've heard that from).  I just didn't find a bunch of people dying entertaining or inspiring or whatever the hell it was supposed to be.  Kylo and Snoke were so cartoonish.  I know Kylo was supposed to be all hurt and conflicted but are we supposed to understand why he was so intent on having his mother killed?  Was it all because he wanted to erase the past because it was soooooo painful or was it just because he was power hungry?  The tantrum with him ordering all the guns to shoot Luke was laughable.  I can't say I was even that impressed with the "twist" that he was fighting a hologram. 

I'm not sure I want to see sequels for good movies, if their only purpose is to drag a story out and kill off one original character at a time.  I'm not a huge Star Wars fan and I've only seen each of the movies once, but it felt like a mindless summer action flick to me and nothing more than that.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Camera One

[daxx]

17 hours ago, Camera One said:

I finally finished it, and I found it really disappointing.  I'm kind of glad I didn't watch it in the theatres.  At its most basic level, a lot of it was just really boring and unengaging.  The first hour was tedious, from the main ship to the villains' subplot, to the island.  It felt so formulaic.  Of course they had to find a code breaker in a casino on an exotic planet, though I think the only subplot that interested me was Finn and Rose's mission (though it was really out-of-nowhere soap opera-ish at the end when she kissed him).  I liked "The Force Awakens" and having Rey off on her own subplot for the entire movie wasn't a good call.  As it got near the climax, it really dragged again.  A lot of the reviews I read said there were great moments, but I don't think I can think of a single scene I really liked. 

The whole movie felt like a series of suicide missions and failed missions, mixed in with some speeches about hope and darkness and light (hmm, wonder where I've heard that from).  I just didn't find a bunch of people dying entertaining or inspiring or whatever the hell it was supposed to be.  Kylo and Snoke were so cartoonish.  I know Kylo was supposed to be all hurt and conflicted but are we supposed to understand why he was so intent on having his mother killed?  Was it all because he wanted to erase the past because it was soooooo painful or was it just because he was power hungry?  The tantrum with him ordering all the guns to shoot Luke was laughable.  I can't say I was even that impressed with the "twist" that he was fighting a hologram. 

I'm not sure I want to see sequels for good movies, if their only purpose is to drag a story out and kill off one original character at a time.  I'm not a huge Star Wars fan and I've only seen each of the movies once, but it felt like a mindless summer action flick to me and nothing more than that.

I despised what they did to Luke’s character. I’m a huge, I mean real huge Star Wars fan and I haven’t bought The Last Jedi and I won’t, nor will I watch it again, likely ever.

[Rumsy4]

I decided to not watch The Last Jedi. From all the reviews I read, I felt it would only frustrate me. I'll watch the next one if it seems like Abrams manages to salvage it. 

[KingOfHearts]

1 hour ago, Rumsy4 said:

I decided to not watch The Last Jedi. From all the reviews I read, I felt it would only frustrate me. I'll watch the next one if it seems like Abrams manages to salvage it. 

Good call.

I hate The Last Jedi. I'm not a Star Wars fan, but The Force Awakens piqued my interest for the franchise. I enjoyed that movie. Then Last Jedi comes in and destroys all hope, pushing me back into my dark corner with all the other Trekkies.

Also, I was one of the Kylo Ren apologists and The Last Jedi totally ruined his character for me beyond repair. It's kind of like with Regina (a very similar counterpart), where you think she's going to wise up, but instead she retreads the same ground you thought she would've gotten over. There's a difference between being not knowing any better and rejecting an extended hand. It just made her and Kylo look like idiots.

Edited May 23, 2018 by KingOfHearts

[Rumsy4]

Don't judge me. I haven't seen any of the Marvel movies beyond Iron Man 2. But I watched Thor: Ragnarok today. I enjoyed it. I didn't feel any strong emotional investment in the story or the characters, but it was a lot of fun. I wondering if it was different for people who have watched all the movies leading up to this one, but I'm sure there are others like me who jump in watch just some of the movies. 

The whole lightning thing seemed like a copy of Wonder Woman. Did Thor always have the "sparkles" or did he inherit Odin's lightning powers when he died? Why is the lord god of thunder's power--lightning? 

[Camera One]

1 hour ago, Rumsy4 said:

Don't judge me. I haven't seen any of the Marvel movies beyond Iron Man 2.

Me neither.  I liked "Iron Man" but the second movie was so bad I lost all interest.  But I don't read comic books so I don't actually know most of the characters, except Spiderman and The Hulk, but both of those have been recast and I watched the older film adaptations before the new Marvel universe movies.

Maybe I'll try out Thor as well.

I wish they'd do some team-up movies for fairy-tale heroes without making them all into boring warriors and witch hunters or props for misunderstood villains.  I think that's why "Once" appealed to me so much.  Most mash-ups are comedy like "Shrek".  "Once" actually wrote fairy tale characters meeting each other like they were real people (at least for a season and a half).  I'm sad that we won't get another fairy tale mash-up like that for a very long time.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Camera One

[CCTC]

Thor Ragnarok did not take itself too seriously, and because of that it was more fun than a lot of the other recent superhero movies.  Somewhere along the way, Hemsworth developed some comedic timing.  The most recent Ghostbusters was not great (or good), but he was actually pretty good with his comic relief role.

I would also say Black Panther is one of the better recent hero movies.

I liked The Last Jedi, but it was not great and definitely had some flaws.  It never would have gotten the great reviews and all the adoring press it did if it was not part of the Star Wars franchise.  In someways each new movie further dilutes the greatness of the original trilogy (not that they were flawless themselves).

[KingOfHearts]

12 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

But I watched Thor: Ragnarok today. I enjoyed it. I didn't feel any strong emotional investment in the story or the characters, but it was a lot of fun. I wondering if it was different for people who have watched all the movies leading up to this one, but I'm sure there are others like me who jump in watch just some of the movies. 

Thor: Ragnarok in particularly doesn't require being familiar with the MCU, imo. The only thing that confused me was how the Hulk got abducted, since I hadn't seen Avengers: Age of Ultron. The after credits scene with Loki and Thor arriving at Earth with all the Asgarians is really depressing after you've seen Avengers: Infinity War.

[tennisgurl]

15 hours ago, Camera One said:

I wish they'd do some team-up movies for fairy-tale heroes without making them all into boring warriors and witch hunters or props for misunderstood villains.  I think that's why "Once" appealed to me so much. 

That was one of the things I loved about Infinity War was how, while all the characters are from the broad umbrella of Superhero, they were all from very different kinds of superhero stories, and watching them interact was really interesting. It was a huge crossover, so you had magician Doctor Strange teaming up with the alien Guardians of the Galaxy, alien god with weather powers Thor hanging with trigger happy talking raccoon Rocket, unfrozen super soldier usually associated with political thrillers Captain American meeting sentient alien tree Groot, it was a good time. 

I am, of course, a huge comic book dork who has seen basically every comic movie ever (even the terrible ones) and I adore the MCU, so I might be biased to say how much I love their movies, and how impressed I am that they've managed to create such a huge, sprawling universe, and keep things fresh, while keeping continuity more or less straight. For the record, Iron Man 2 is the worst movie in the whole MCU. And even that isnt as bad as other comic book movies I've seen in general, I think everyone can find at least a few MCU movies to like, as they have so many different genres and styles to choose from. 

[Inquirer]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

For the record, Iron Man 2 is the worst movie in the whole MCU.

It's got competition with "The Incredible Hulk" and "Thor: The Dark World". 

[KingOfHearts]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I am, of course, a huge comic book dork who has seen basically every comic movie ever (even the terrible ones) and I adore the MCU, so I might be biased to say how much I love their movies, and how impressed I am that they've managed to create such a huge, sprawling universe, and keep things fresh, while keeping continuity more or less straight. For the record, Iron Man 2 is the worst movie in the whole MCU. And even that isnt as bad as other comic book movies I've seen in general, I think everyone can find at least a few MCU movies to like, as they have so many different genres and styles to choose from. 

Some MCU movies have more mass appeal than others, such as the original Avengers movie or Captain America. I wouldn't recommend Infinity War to anybody who isn't engaged in the universe or comics, since it's built for fans. You can't appreciate it without having some grasp of who the characters are and what the plot has been leading up to through 19 movies.

[Camera One]

I was watching the trailer to "Christopher Robin", and that storyline could have been adapted for a half-season of "Once". I can imagine a grown-up Christopher Robin befriending Emma and they travel through the tree portal to save Winnie the Pooh's friends.

[Camera One]

I happened to rewatch the first episode of "Charmed", which I haven't watched in years.  In the first episode, there was serial killer who targeted women.  There were two detectives investigating the case.  One believed the killer was targeting witches while the other was skeptical.  They find a murder victim who was a nurse at the hospital.  She had a distinctive tattoo with a circle in it.  Sounds familiar?  

[scarynikki12]

Regarding Thor, he’s always had the lightning power but he typically channels it through a weapon. Ragnarok was the first time he’s used it without one. 

[Rumsy4]

22 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

Regarding Thor, he’s always had the lightning power but he typically channels it through a weapon. Ragnarok was the first time he’s used it without one. 

Ah. thank you. I was curious if he'd acquired it after the death of Odin.

Edited May 26, 2018 by Rumsy4

[scarynikki12]

Also the first Thor movie, while objectivity not great, is 100% worth watching for the fish out of water stuff like him walking into a pet store and demanding a horse. 

[Inquirer]

19 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

Also the first Thor movie, while objectivity not great, is 100% worth watching for the fish out of water stuff like him walking into a pet store and demanding a horse. 

I actually enjoy the first Thor movie more than Thor: Ragnarok.  Although most can agree that they are both light-years ahead of Thor: The Dark World. 

[KingOfHearts]

20 hours ago, Camera One said:

I was watching the trailer to "Christopher Robin", and that storyline could have been adapted for a half-season of "Once". I can imagine a grown-up Christopher Robin befriending Emma and they travel through the tree portal to save Winnie the Pooh's friends.

The Heffalumps are just misunderstood. They need a redemption arc.

[Camera One]

I rewatched the second episode of "Charmed" and I had to laugh with the nondescript building with the sign POLICE outside.  I'm surprised they didn't do a real-life Seattle cop catching Roni and the fairytale folk doing weird things and becoming suspicious (which seems to be where "Charmed" was going with Prue and the police detective).  Roni could even date this "normal guy" and her happy ending could have been a love true, instead of Queen of Everything.

[Inquirer]

4 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

The Heffalumps are just misunderstood. They need a redemption arc.

You joke, but that's literally been done. (To be fair, Heffalumps originated in a nightmare sequence, so it's not like there was any solid proof of them being bad in reality.)

[CCTC]

6 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

Also the first Thor movie, while objectivity not great, is 100% worth watching for the fish out of water stuff like him walking into a pet store and demanding a horse. 

I think Josh Dallas would prefer people watched first movie.

[Camera One]

I was reading about "Lost" and how the original plan was to have Jack, the main character, die at the end of the pilot episode, but ABC told the producers they could not kill off the main character so early.  And then A&E went and decided Prince Charming should die at the end of the pilot and had to be told the same thing.  

Edited May 27, 2018 by Camera One

[Camera One]

There was a deleted scene from "The Last Jedi" that I found.  It's near the end of the movie, so beware spoilers.

SCENE: Rebel cave

KAYDEL CONNIX: Our distress signal has been received at multiple points, but no response. 

LARMA D'ACY: They've heard us, but no one's coming.

Suddenly, in front of them, a portal appears!  Holy cow!  Out walks Emma, Hook, Snow, Charming, Regina, Henry, Jacinda, Lucy, Zelena, Robyn, Alice, Granny, the  Dwarves, Archie and Blue.

SNOW:  Is there a round table here?  I need to speak.

LEIA: Who are you?

SNOW: We're your only HOPE, even though I don't have purple hair.  Listen everyone.  I know we're surrounded and there's no way out of this cave except the portal we came through.  The First Order thinks they can defeat us, but I refuse to believe that.  With love in our hearts, with hope, we will succeed!

The FAIRYTALE CHARACTERS start setting up tables and bringing out plates and utensils.

LEIA: What's all this?

SNOW: It's Granny's lasagna.  It's time to eat what might be your last meal together and hope that you won't die.  Hope is a very powerful thing!

YODA: Powerful, it is.  Magic sapling of true love there is, in this cave.  

BLUE: Great idea, Yoda!  Light sabers are no match for The Sapling of True Love.  Great sages think alike and make such a difference in these epic moments!

REGINA: I have another suggestion.  Leia, from mother to mother, I think you should go out there and hug Kylo Ren and he'll stop this nonsense.

WISH HENRY: Yeah, it worked great with me.

EMMA: No need, everyone.  I think I feel a song coming!  "Once I lived in DARKNESS, out there on my own, left to brave the world alone..."  I think I'm mind-melding with Kylo!  I feel a very special EX-SAVIOR connection!

Suddenly a burst of energy is unleashed.  The Curse is broken!  The LOVE in the Cave sends a FORCE field throughout the entire planet and obliterates the enemy ships!

KYLO REN walks through the cave and hugs LEIA.

KYLO: I forgive you.

HEROES bow down, to the new KING OF THE UNIVERSE.

Closing montage as evil beings and heroes enjoy dinner together.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

1 hour ago, Camera One said:

HEROES bow down, to the new KING OF THE UNIVERSE.

Don't you mean Queen of the Universe, Regina?? Don't forget she's the most important character in any story or universe, even if she was uterly irrelevant to anything that happened before! 

[Camera One]

17 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

Don't you mean Queen of the Universe, Regina?? Don't forget she's the most important character in any story or universe, even if she was uterly irrelevant to anything that happened before! 

Kylo was in love with Regina "many years ago" so they would co-rule.

[KingOfHearts]

@Camera One, your deleted scenes give me life.

[Rumsy4]

17 hours ago, Camera One said:

Kylo was in love with Regina "many years ago" so they would co-rule.

It happened in the gap year between meeting Facilier and casting the Dark Curse in a pocket dimension that could only be reached via the Last Magic Bean dipped in midichlorian dust. 

Edited May 28, 2018 by Rumsy4

[Mabinogia]

On ‎5‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 9:48 PM, KingOfHearts said:

I wouldn't recommend Infinity War to anybody who isn't engaged in the universe or comics, since it's built for fans. You can't appreciate it without having some grasp of who the characters are and what the plot has been leading up to through 19 movies.

I don't really care for the Avengers but I love Guardian's of the Galaxy, so I went to see Infinity War since she said it was Guardian's heavy. I enjoyed it a lot and I could tell there were some moments that would have been more powerful had I known the back story, but I had no problem figuring out most of the relationships and what was going on and really enjoyed it. 

I think the movie did an amazing job of weaving all these superheroes together, mixing unusual combos, it's what I had hoped OUAT was going to be. In Infinity War it felt effortless and the pairings were fun and weird. On Once they felt forced a lot of the time and the reasons felt clunky and forced. 

And with Infinity War, no one seemed to vanish off the face of the earth/universe with no explanation at all. It still annoys me how many Once characters just vanished with little to no explanation, some right in the middle of their storylines, or before their storylines even began *cough*Will Scarlett*cough*.

[Camera One]

I remembered "Grimm" debuted the same year as "Once Upon a Time".  I was going to watch both since I love fairy tales, but I saw a promo for "Grimm" and was really turned off by the Buffy-like vampire face, and the promo with innocent women wearing red hoods being the victims of gory murders, and it totally turned me off.

I noticed it was in my streaming service (only the first 5 seasons, unfortunately), so I watched the "Pilot" tonight.  It was a decent first episode, and it convinced me to watch more.  But it felt very much like "Buffy" or "Angel", like a by-the-numbers hunting-monster-of-the-week show, so it didn't feel very original.  I did like the main guy Nick and his police partner and the Wolf friend, so that's what is drawing me back.  Of course, the aunt has to be conveniently in a coma.  And the boring "twist" that his boss was evil.  *groan*

I did find the similarities with "Once" amusing.  Having the aunt say practically the same words "The stories are real.  What they wrote about really happened."  But what a big difference from the way it's delivered in "Once Upon a Time".  I was reminded of A&E idiotic words, how their stories are dark but never bleak.  "Grimm" did feel rather bleak and I didn't feel any HOPE.  

Talk about coincidence with Nick wearing a red leather jacket and stumbling upon a house with a Yellow bug.  

Anyway, I'll be avoiding spoilers of "Grimm" while I watch.  I can't believe it ran for 6 seasons and it's been 7 years... it seems like yesterday the show was new.  From the pilot, I really can't see myself liking it anywhere near "Once", but it might eventually become an entertaining diversion.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Camera One

[daxx]

@Camera One I watched a handful of episodes then became bored. If it holds up for you I might try it again.

[KingOfHearts]

I never finished watching BTVS, stopping at the beginning of S6. I don't know if I should continue since nothing appeals to me about that season or the next. From I hear, there's nothing to look forward to other than the musical episode.

Like @Camera One, Grimm appeared to be too... um... grim to me. I'm not into gritty supernatural cop dramas. In all honesty, I hate the procedural format outside of very specific circumstances.

[Rumsy4]

31 minutes ago, daxx said:

I watched a handful of episodes then became bored. 

Same. Especially since it was airing the same time as Fringe.

[Camera One]

3 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

Same. Especially since it was airing the same time as Fringe.

I didn't watch "Fringe" for a long time, for the same reason (aversion to violent gory procedural shows), but I'm glad I eventually tried the series because I ended up loving the characters and the worldbuilding.  The gory aspect prevents me from ever re-watching, though.

I did just view the second episode of "Grimm" and even though each episode does seem to play with a different fairy tale, it doesn't really stray very far from the Buffy/Angel/Charmed formula, because of the focus on monsters.  "Grimm" also lacks the human aspect of a show like "Fringe", at least at this early stage.  I'm only really invested in the lead guy in "Grimm".  He's likeable and seems open to cooperation with the reformed "monsters"... he seems to be handling his "destiny" relatively well.  Frankly, I'm not too intrigued with the concept of inherited monster genes or monster hunters, so even if the worldbuilding is really good, it doesn't capture my imagination the way "Once Upon a Time" did.  

Edited June 3, 2018 by Camera One

[scarynikki12]

I loved Grimm but, like Once, it loses its way after a couple seasons.  I suggest watching just the first few and then quitting rather than getting to the point where

Spoiler

Nick gets raped by the Grimm version of a witch (she's wearing his girlfriend's face), girlfriend acts like Nick cheated on her, witch gets knocked up, and then Nick and witch turn out to be endgame because she had his baby.

Better to end it before any of that insanity occurs.

[tennisgurl]

I really loved the first few seasons of Grimm, especially the later half of the first season and the second season. Its very procedural, but they do later build up some storylines that last awhile longer, and the character development for most of the characters (with a few exceptions) was quite good. I especially liked the episodes where they did modern versions of fairy tales, or explored different cultures, and their mythologies. They certainly did better than Once did on that many times. I even remember that Once and Grimm did Hansel and Gretel themed episodes around the same time, and the Grimm version if a lot better. It also had really good episodes based around the Pied Piper and Rumpelstiltskin. Of course, I dont really mind violence if it serves the story, and I know some people dislike it, so I can get if its not for everyone. I also always liked Nick, the main character, and I like how he handled becoming a Chosen One. He tries to treat all the supernatural people like he would any other person, and it works out really well for him in the long run, and leads to some good character stuff for him and the other Wessen (the animal/humans) that show up. 

Sadly, like @scarynikki12 said, it went down hill in the last few seasons, in a shockingly Once style manner. Still, the first few seasons are pretty fun, and the atmosphere is great. Its really does a great job making Portland seem like a magical fairyland that happens to have cars and cell phones.

[Shanna Marie]

I remember all the comparisons between Grimm and Once when they first started. They even had a comparison scorecard every week on the tor.com site. But I never thought there was any similarity between the two shows, other than the fairy tale origins. I watched Grimm to the end, but they lost me emotionally in the last few seasons for the reason cited above. One of the things I liked about the show was that Nick was allowed to be a good guy. Even at his darkest, he was still a fairly earnest good guy. That was part of the fun of the show, that this mild-mannered Boy Scout type who wasn't particularly large or imposing was the thing the monsters were utterly terrified of. They went with that "the good person is boring" thing with some of the other characters, but Nick was allowed to be a decent person throughout.

I loved their versions of the Pied Piper, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, and Rumpelstiltskin. The actual episode about Cinderella wasn't great, but I loved what they did with the fairy tale.

They were also good about going wide and deep for their folklore, going with not just the Grimms' stories, but a variety of cultures, and doing some fairly obscure stories.

Gee, now you've got me contemplating a Grimm rewatch.

On an entirely different note ... I got an advance copy of Naomi Novik's new book, which is coming out next month. It's not quite as obviously Once Upon a Time-inspired as Uprooted was (which was basically a rewrite of Rumpbelle), but still is a spin on the Rumpelstiltskin story, so I guess we know who her favorite character is. There is a character who's inhabited by a demon that's described as a Darkness, and without it he could be a decent man. That particular storyline does seem kind of Rumple-inspired, with maybe a touch of whitewashing if it is her way of working that in. The book is called Spinning Silver, and it's really good, I think possibly better than Uprooted.

[Camera One]

I just watched the third episode of "Grimm".  I must say it's not interesting enough for me to devote my full attention to it.  I have a lot of filing to do for work so "Grimm" thus far seems to be the type of show I could play in the background since it only gets my interest occasionally.  

This third episode was about bees, so I read "The Queen Bee" Grimm fairy tale, and this episode had nothing to do with it.  But it did make me sad that "Once" never bothered incorporating more of the little stories or using ideas from the Grimm stories.  The Grimm fairy tale had 3 brothers and the younger brother helped out ants, ducks and a bee, and he was rewarded.  Stuff like that could have been a fun flashback story on "Once".  

Watching this episode also made me sad that they didn't use Red and Granny's sense of smell more.  In "Grimm", the wolf character has been very helpful since he can sniff out clues for the hero.  They did use it for "Red Handed" but I had thought we would see Red (and eventually Granny) doing more investigation later on.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Camera One

[jhlipton]

On 5/21/2018 at 10:19 PM, Camera One said:

I'm 30 minutes into "The Last Jedi" and I'm more bored than I was in "Flower Child".  Enough with "hope".  Must that word permeate everything I watch?  Hopefully, it gets better.

Bwahahaha!!!

On 5/22/2018 at 12:55 AM, Camera One said:

The whole movie felt like a series of suicide missions and failed mission.  I just didn't find a bunch of people dying entertaining or inspiring or whatever the hell it was supposed to be.

But how could it not be about suicide missions and people dying?  You can't do a prequel to the first Star Wars movie and have anyone survive, or make much of an impact, or they would at least been mentioned in the the first one.  Solo works better because the only both Lando and Greedo survive.

On 5/24/2018 at 7:54 AM, CCTC said:

The most recent Ghostbusters was not great (or good), but he was actually pretty good with his comic relief role.

I would also say Black Panther is one of the better recent hero movies.

I*'m one of the few who liked the "gender-bent" Ghostbusters (and I think at least some of the hate is that it is gender-bent..)

Black Panther is the best hero movie hands down.  It's not only a paean to feminism and the opposition of "toxic masculinity", it's also a fun and enjoyable movie.

17 hours ago, Camera One said:

And the boring "twist" that his boss was evil.  *groan*

That gets better.

7 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

I never finished watching BTVS, stopping at the beginning of S6. I don't know if I should continue since nothing appeals to me about that season or the next. From I hear, there's nothing to look forward to other than the musical episode.

I hated season Sux and Season SuxMore.  Depressing and dumb.  I blame bunnies.

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I especially liked the episodes where they did modern versions of fairy tales, or explored different cultures, and their mythologies. They certainly did better than Once did on that many times.

They brought in Native American, Latino and Asian myths and did so with care for the culture.  I don't recall any African myths though.

[Inquirer]

22 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

But how could it not be about suicide missions and people dying?  You can't do a prequel to the first Star Wars movie and have anyone survive, or make much of an impact, or they would at least been mentioned in the the first one.  Solo works better because the only both Lando and Greedo survive.

He was still talking about The Last Jedi there, not Rogue One.

[jhlipton]

15 minutes ago, Inquirer said:

He was still talking about The Last Jedi there, not Rogue One.

Ooops -- sorry!

[tennisgurl]

2 hours ago, jhlipton said:

They brought in Native American, Latino and Asian myths and did so with care for the culture.  I don't recall any African myths though.

I remember them doing an episode on Egyptian mythology, and I wanna say they did an Anansi the spider god episode, but I might not be remembering that right. They did definitely do some Wessen with African origins, and at least one was tied into some western African mythology I think. Its been awhile since I saw the show. I really liked how they didnt just do the well known stories from western cannon, just like the classic stories, but they did stories from cultures, and ones that are less well known, or actually came up with cool, modern takes on stories. I really liked their takes on Koschie the Deathless, and The Little Mermaid.

[Shanna Marie]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I really liked their takes on Koschie the Deathless, and The Little Mermaid.

As someone who frequently deals with naughty children, I was rather fond of their Krampus episode.

[KAOS Agent]

14 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

I never finished watching BTVS, stopping at the beginning of S6. I don't know if I should continue since nothing appeals to me about that season or the next. From I hear, there's nothing to look forward to other than the musical episode.

There was a brief glimmer of a potential return to good stuff with "Tabula Rasa" which followed the musical episode, but other than that, Buffy S6 was really depressing and not good. I think Tabula Rasa might make my list of top Buffy episodes actually because while it had some really dark undertones due to the season's plot, the actual episode really brought the fun back. "Joan" and "Randy" never cease to amuse me. It's the type of episode Once needed to have when it got so dark and depressing but never managed to do.

Edited June 4, 2018 by KAOS Agent

[Camera One]

I thought the first 1/3 of Season 6 had some good material (the last episode in the first 1/3 was "Tabula Rasa", actually).  After that, it was a steep decline all the way to the finale.

[KAOS Agent]

I think I remember that @KingOfHearts is not a Xander fan. That being the case, things like "Hells Bells" and his utterly dickish behavior in other ways in the latter part of the season would not make that part of the season appealing at all. 

[KingOfHearts]

37 minutes ago, KAOS Agent said:

I think I remember that @KingOfHearts is not a Xander fan. That being the case, things like "Hells Bells" and his utterly dickish behavior in other ways in the latter part of the season would not make that part of the season appealing at all. 

You remembered correctly. Xander can go jump off a cliff.

Watched Coco for the first time. I really liked how atmospheric it is. Such a gorgeous film. It subverts your expectations for the "follow your dreams" message set by predecessors like Ratatouille, which I appreciated. Things like family shouldn't be thrown away for someone's own pursuits. I'm actually a little insulted that OUAT tried to pay homage in 7x18, since the show didn't do the movie any justice. Coco's mythology is so interesting but let's toss that in favor of Picture!Belle's pleading voiceover. Ugh.

[daxx]

Just voted on some of the previouslies awards. How did ASoUE not make best cliffhanger? I mean seriously!

Spoiler

Since it was like the definition of cliffhangers, lol

Edited June 5, 2018 by daxx