So I actually saw this episode out of curiosity since people were going crazy over it, and I got to say, Hooty needs to be in jail.
Serio… moreusly, he kidnapped a girl and hid her in his basement, attacked King, drugged a woman into unconsciousness, caused a ton of property damage, almost committed manslaughter, and I’m pretty sure that tunnel wasn’t up to code and he didn’t have the proper permits for its construction. He’s going to prison for a long time.
So along with the police, let's call up the IRS and the Postal Service. This thing is a menace and he needs to be stopped before he commits more atrocities.
Hey man, to be fair, he is the property so the only damage he’s causing is to himself.
Okay you got me with the rest of them, and don’t forget him destroying mail. He also probably doesn’t pay taxes.
I watched Centaurworld, a Netflix animated musical series about a horse named Horse from a gritty dark fantasy world ravaged by a ruthless horde of invading warriors, who is transported to a bright and vibrant world filled with a colourful collection of singing and dancing half-animal-half-man things called Centaurs. With the help of her new Centaur friends, she begins a journey to find her way back home to her desolate world and her human, Rider. It’s really good.
The music’s really fun and catchy for the most part, with each episode having about three songs that range from pretty darn good to absolute bangers, the characters are funny, charming and weird, there are some pretty standout sequences with the animation particularly in episode 7 which has a pretty wild dance number with Horse, and it’s also my favourite genre of cartoon where things start off nice and happy before getting darker and darker as it goes on. Horse and Wammawink are my favourite characters easily, since they’re by far the most developed, with the rest of the cast mostly staying in the lane they start out in. Horses exasperated and horrified reactions to the absurd and often horrific aspects of Centaurworld are hilarious and Wammawink’s a really fun overly protective mother figure to the cast.
I will say that the Centaur cast starts off a bit grating. Though that’s almost certainly purposeful as Horse feels the same way about them in the beginning before eventually warming up to them. There are also a few too many fart and butt jokes, at the start at least, for my liking, though those do mellow out as the plot starts taking over.
Overall it’s another win for Netflix’s animation department. If you like musicals, zany but lovable characters and covertly dark animated shows aimed at children like me then you’ll probably enjoy it. The ending leaves things open for a second season so I’d like to see this get renewed.
I don't think I ever talked about season 2, so here's here's lightning round: I liked how dark it got with getting deeper into Scarlemagne's character. The TheaOtters were the stand-out awesome characters of the season, and the whole plot of helping Kipo find her anchor and reconnect with her mother was nice.
As for the final season; It was really great.
Dr. Emilia was very menacing as a villain, and her plan was a great mix of scary 'loss of sentience' with some cute 'look at the adorable, normal animals'. Great idea for a kids show.
The plot for the season was pretty high-stakes throughout, with Kipo having to wrangle her human friends from joining the villain's team. The lead up to Prahm was particularly fun, and the finale was awesome.
I thought it kinda skipped over like half a season of development for Scarlemagne however. He goes from being all evil at the end of the last season, to being captured, to being completely trusted by Kipo and very quickly shifts into a "yes, I'll definitely help all these animal people" with no hesitation or ulterior motives. I felt like it was a bit too quick and sudden, given his situation.
The Treasure Squirrels side plot was the weirdest and most un-interesting thing of the show, near the end. It felt like padding for the sake of delaying Kipo, since the rest of the episode turned out fine and all relevant. Benson and Troy kiss, HMUFA comes together, Scarlemagne and Wolf go on an adventure together... it felt really out of place and not needed.
The ending to the series was also super fun. The double-twist of Kipo continuing to trust Emilia, then Emilia literally trying to murder her one last time... then there's Hugo's noble sacrifice, the five year time skip, and seeing everyone come together.
Great show, I think She-Ra was a bit better (though it did get like 4 more seasons) ahhh now I gotta find another animated show to fill in my watch list. I've got a couple choices, just need to decide on one Hahaha.
Alright, (double post here oops).
Netflix animated kids film: Arlo the Alligator Boy. Saw it last night.
Mmmmm this is a nice, fun movie.
Yeah, the plot is kinda standard, the implications of Arlo's parentage is pretty weird (but gets resolved nicely at the end), it does feel like a pilot for a show at times, but the movie's got such an endearing heart, style, and songs. So, so many catchy songs.
Michael J Woodward does a fantastic job as Arlo. He's only 23 (and he's been on American Idol a few years ago) but he conveys this adorable childlike innocence to the character, and such a smooth voice singing through the songs.
The villains are pretty forgettable.
Also there's this "found family" theme/moral that gets dumped at the end, when really I didn't feel like they spent enough time together or overcame some sort of adversity together to get that honour. They're a bunch of misfits though, so I guess it tracks out.
Also, the characters in the Bus Group are nice. Some fun character designs for many, but a lot of them feel underbaked, personality/backstory-wise. Arlo, Bertie, Tiny Tony and Alia are cute, Marcellus is, uh, kinda weird but interesting and I have no idea what to think of Furlecia. What the heck is he?
It's fun, it's catchy, I don't think I'd be interested in watching the Series planned (since the movie has such cinematic flair), but the film on its own is fine. This one's particularly cool
The Owl House has released its mid-season finale and the show is now on hiatus until the rest of the season is ready to be aired, probably early next year.
I thought the episode was great and might actually be my favourite episode of the season so far. It had some really great character moments, interaction, world building, neat visuals and a pretty emotional ending. Very impressed with the second season so far and I feel that every new episode has been better than the last. Very much looking forward to whenever it is the rest of the season will be released.
Kipo Season 3 is in the bag.
I don't think I ever talked about season 2, so here's here's lightning round: I liked how dark it got with g… moreetting deeper into Scarlemagne's character. The TheaOtters were the stand-out awesome characters of the season, and the whole plot of helping Kipo find her anchor and reconnect with her mother was nice.
As for the final season; It was really great.
(Spoiler)
Great show, I think She-Ra was a bit better (though it did get like 4 more seasons)
ahhh now I gotta find another animated show to fill in my watch list. I've got a couple choices, just need to decide on one Hahaha.
Weeeell, here's what I'm going between. Not sure if I want to focus on what might be the shortest or not.
Infinity Train Season 2. (I'd binge it, but since I know it ends abruptly, I want to savour it)
Kid Cosmic.
Bojack Horseman Season 4 (this one is just so depressing I keep having to take hiatuses between seasons. It's been a good couple months.)
Korra Season 3+4.
Centaurworld (though your review above looks fine)
Or, uh, @dojo32161 can probably help me more with this one: Anime.
Tried something that just popped up on Netflix, an old show called Darwin's Game. Pretty violent, pretty gory, not my kinda style right now. So instead I can decide between
Aggretsuko Season 3. Somehow overlooked this release.
BNA: Brand New Animal. Some action-animal focused anime? Visual style looks dope.
Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? The cover character looks like the ultimate cinnamon roll and I must absorb his cute-ness.
ahhh now I gotta find another animated show to fill in my watch list. I've got a couple choices, just need to decide on one Hahaha.
What are those choices? :0
Toradora's a pretty well loved slice of life romantic comedy, though I've yet to watch it, good chance you'll enjoy it if you like that. If you already watched the previous Aggetsuko seasons, you'll probably like the third one. BNA's a fun action romp from Studio Trigger (studio behind Kill La Kill, Promare, Little Witch Academia), it's probably good for a fun binge. Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? is one I have not seen or know much of, so not sure if I can help there.
Weeeell, here's what I'm going between. Not sure if I want to focus on what might be the shortest or not.
* Infinity Train Season 2. (I… more'd binge it, but since I know it ends abruptly, I want to savour it)
* Kid Cosmic.
* Bojack Horseman Season 4 (this one is just so depressing I keep having to take hiatuses between seasons. It's been a good couple months.)
* Korra Season 3+4.
* Centaurworld (though your review above looks fine)
Or, uh, @dojo32161 can probably help me more with this one: Anime.
Tried something that just popped up on Netflix, an old show called Darwin's Game. Pretty violent, pretty gory, not my kinda style right now. So instead I can decide between
* Aggretsuko Season 3. Somehow overlooked this release.
* BNA: Brand New Animal. Some action-animal focused anime? Visual style looks dope.
* Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? The cover character looks like the ultimate cinnamon roll and I must absorb his cute-ness.
* Toradora. I've heard it's a comedy.
Toradora's a pretty well loved slice of life romantic comedy, though I've yet to watch it, good chance you'll enjoy it if you like that. If … moreyou already watched the previous Aggetsuko seasons, you'll probably like the third one. BNA's a fun action romp from Studio Trigger (studio behind Kill La Kill, Promare, Little Witch Academia), it's probably good for a fun binge. Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? is one I have not seen or know much of, so not sure if I can help there.
Artists be like: I hate drawing hands, they're so hard.
Jérémy Clapin be like: I'm gonna make an animated movie all about a hand!
I saw the French film "I Lost My Body". It's licensed by Netflix, so you can watch it there.
It's a surreal animated film about a disembodied hand who goes on a quest to find its owner. As the film progresses, the hand reminisces about its previous life of love and loss.
Gosh, it's really good, especially from a cinematic standpoint. The animation is made in 3D, but looks 2D, and at times it's so detailed and fluid, it looks rotoscoped (drawn over real footage) -- but it's not! It's all original.
The story is told through many flashbacks of Naoufel, the owner's life -- As a child, and as a young man struggling to get by -- and also as the hand's journey across Paris to find him.
There are a lot of scenes that have minimal dialogue, great artistic flair, and use of a classical/electronic soundtrack.
Edit: I should note that the movie is pretty macabre at times (it's a film about a chopped-off hand, what do you expect?) with some animal violence and hand-violence that can be pretty unsettling. There's some serious stakes in this film, and you really feel for the hand's well-being.
The ending is a bit abrupt and doesn't have much finality to it, but if you think about it in the way that Naoufel described fate earlier in the movie, it makes a bit more sense, to me at least.
He had a really shitty series of events, and decided to do something irrational and impulsive, to get some sort of victory and control over his life. I think that's nice.
Mmm wow this show is special.
This season actually got pretty dark at times, like jaw-droppingly, even... They really tore open the lore gates at the end and dove headfirst into Sci-Fi mystery... I love it!
The central conflict of Jesse needing to help others in need and be more assertive for himself was a nice angle to the story, and I really enjoyed how his main problem was that he hung out with bullies and ended up tormenting his little brother to gain some cred. Yikes, that's depressing, I haven't seen that kind of moral in a show for a while.
This show also gets pretty violent at times. It's not too action-based, but sometimes the animation and writing really shine in how lenient they can be. Jesse got whipped up against a glass screen near the end! Ouch!! thought it was really interesting how they were allowed to show the Chrome Cops lose limbs, leak "chrome blood" and even get torn to shreds in pretty gruesome ways... but I guess they're not humans with blood so CN allowed it? Cool.
Alan Dracula is the chaotic good we need in this world. Such a random, entertaining character. You'll never know what he'll do next!
I was a bit sad to see One One relegated to a few video infomercials in this season, but he showed up at the end and that was neat.
Judging by the cover of Season 3, we'll be following the Apex guys and some kid next. Okay, I wonder how they'll get me to sympathise with those characters since they really didn't seem trustworthy or morally good at all in this season. (And I like how each anthology Season might pick up from elements in the last one... first MT and now the Apex. Ooh.)
Kid Cosmic season 2 is great. I love the fact that the show never resets to a status quo and constantly changes and evolves as the series goes on. Funnily enough, Kid Cosmic himself takes a backseat this season for Jo as she takes on a larger role in the Local Heroes, which I don't have a problem with since she was my favourite character in the previous season. The pressure on the crew having to save the galaxy gets to her which leads to some great drama and self destructive tendencies which is always a neat thing to see.
This season introduces the new villain Fantos, who is a huge nerd and fanboy of the shows big bad which leads into some pretty funny dialogue. He's pretty much Thanos who wants to collect all the Cosmic Stones of Power in order to destroy the world. He's pretty great but by the end his fanboyism did get a little grating, though I feel that's purposeful. The garage band soundtrack continues to be great as well.
Overall I really enjoyed it, probably more so than the first season which I also really liked. The third season's the last one so I'm looking forward to see how things escalate.
You're gonna laugh, but...
Out of curiosity I checked out the incredibly popular kids' show Bluey, as it's currently housed on Disney Plus.
Gosh, this show is gonna become my comfort food. It's cheered me up tonight.
The kids are adorable, the playfulness of the Dad is so heartwarming, the show exudes positive vibes, co-operation between the two siblings, and playful, imaginative fun. What a fantastic Australian export...
I watched all nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions and really enjoyed them! Each episode is pretty different from one another so there's a nice variety of different genres and stories going on. I particularly liked The Ninth Jedi which I think is really damn good, followed by The Village Bride and The Elder. These three in my opinion are the best of the season by far and I'd love to see Ninth Jedi and Village Bride get some sort of continuation in the future, along with Lop & Ocho, that while I didn't like as much, I could see it being expanded upon but with hopefully better dialogue. The rest of the season, for the most part, work very well as standalone stories.
My ranking from best to worst:
1. The Ninth Jedi
2. The Village Bride
3. The Elder
4. Akakiri
5. The Duel
6. Lop & Ocho
7. The Twins
8. T0-B1
9. Tatooine Rhapsody
While I do think that T0-B1 and Tatooine Rhapsody are the weakest entries of the season, I did like certain elements from these two, specifically the art and animation, writing and character wise I just didn't connect with these two. I don't think they're necessarily bad, just kind of okay or mediocre.
I really enjoyed the season overall and I'd love for there to be a second season.
So I watched the new My Little Pony movie (A New Generation) on Netflix and uhh...
Let's just say it started strong, but ended wrong.
So, I wouldn't consider myself a huge MLP fan, but I've definitely watched the show and knew enough about the lore to assume I could watch the new movie. It's animation is in 3d, which off the bat I had a slight problem with since every character almost looks and expresses the same, but I digressed and tried to focus more on the story and see if anything mentioned in the movie adds up with anything established from the show. And there was nothing.
The beginning was pretty good and for the rest of the movie, I assumed it was going to take the old world of MLP and expound on it while integrating new elements and characters. But it felt as if they took what was established from the show and threw it right out the window by leaving me with a ton of questions.
I also got serious Raya and the Last Dragon vibes from the entire premise of the plot (e.g Single dad and daughter thinking the world can come together, gets proven wrong, but then by the end everyone gets together anyway)
Not to mention a plot convenience crystal that was separated and has to be put back together to bring the world together.
Had this movie actually be an alternate timeline, I might've forgiven it for this. Oh yeah, and I can't forget the abundance of unnecessary product placement puns in one bit, references to livestreaming/TikTok, and yet ANOTHER rap solo I've seen in new age movies to date.
I sound a lot more mad at the movie than I actually am though. All in all, its not too terrible of a movie, but it is VERY cliche and predictable and I feel a little bit bad for the hard-core MLP fans...
I know they're not all going to match this level of quality and style, but maaaaan the premiere episode of Star Wars Visions is fantastic and really gets you hyped for the rest of the series!
I adore the black-and-white look, only highlighting lights and lazers with colour.
The Japanese Dub really helps sell the old samurai film aesthetic.
Seeing feudal Japanese costumes and environments mixed with high-tech sci-fi elements of lightsabers and vehicles was a great stylistic elements.
The over-the-top umbrella saber was a cool addition, as was the idea of a Sith Ronin.
I think I need to see more Kamikaze Douga projects because it's clear they have an eye for talent.
This is definitely the better, more enjoyable of the SS movies. I have no idea if they share any canon or relation to one another apart from a few returning actors, or if it even relates to other DC movies that have come out -- I remembered the existence of the Birds of Prey film while watching this, haven't seen it -- but doesn't seem like any outside knowledge is required, so that's good.
Gosh, this movie has great style. Sometimes I think it's a bit much and is just for the sake of "cool transition/playing around" but it's got more of an identity and memorable-ness than the... dark, gritty, seen-a-million times 2016 style of film?
The smash-cuts to title cards, demarcating chapters of the film is nice, and lets some VFX artists blend it into environments in nice ways. Plenty of scenes that play with colour and epic lighting, mmm it's fun all around.
Lots of use of music, which James Gunn loves to use if the GOTG films are any indication. They fit scenes pretty well, especially a Harley Quinn fight sequence near the end.
I really liked how the team under Amanda Waller was showcased a lot more in this film, showing that they have some sort of agency and personal stake in their jobs and the relation to the Suicide Squad they try to keep in check.
There's gore galore in this film. Dear god. Great work. But dear god.
The main cast of 5 that the film mostly follows is such a fun bunch of people. Ratcatcher 2, King Shark, Polka-Dot-Man, are superbly strange characters that Gunn has dug up, but they have great moments of calm and reflection, and really nice running jokes throughout the film. Specifically the ones involving Sebastian the Rat and Polk's mother. Former was adorable, latter was hilariously goofy.
Also have to give props to Idris Elba, and especially John Cena and Margot Robbie. Idris is the nice head-strong "leader" of the team, though his childish spats with Peacemaker (Cena) are fun. John Cena has a great role as Peacemaker, someone supremely violent but with the most pacifist name and silly costume. He's really embraced comedy roles lately and it's great. Margot Robbie -- she's so good as Harley, as always, so that's fun. The outfit later in the film is soooo cool.
As spoilers go, I found that the gimmick of "people will die in the Suicide Squad" was a bit too overused in the marketing, given that the majority of the shocking deaths happen in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. The rest of the cast rolls on by pretty smoothly.
The part where Peacemaker was about to shoot Ratcatcher, then it cuts to "8 minutes ago" felt a bit cheap. It was such a tense series of events, I guess we needed the breather, but I would have liked them to be swapped. Would have felt less like tension was ripped away.
Harley murdering all the compound guards with animated animals and flowers appearing everywhere was such a nice scene, stylistically. Mmmm I have no words other than "oh yeahhh".
Finally finished the last two episodes of The Walking Dead Season 2 and I gotta say that it was pretty good for something part of me still doesn't intrinsically like(though that's also what Netflix's pause and "peak" feature is for ).
Knowing certain things from the mutters that were had years ago made a select few things interesting to count down to and the surprising amount of what or how that I didn't know stick out more. I have to say there were probably a few things that I wasn't too agreeable on and the gore in particular is still something I get a tad squeamish about at times, though I am thankfully at a point where I can sorta handle it(also what Netflix's pause and "peak" feature is for ).
I realize I probably didn't follow up on my thoughts on Season 1, so perhaps I can mix it in with my thoughts on Season 2 if necessary. As for right now though, I did make another tier list for how I generally felt about the characters (if there is a much fuller one out there limited to these two seasons, feel free to let me know.
Finished Kid Cosmic Season One. Great little show, glad to see that this is some multi-season plan given how it ended. And look at that! Season 2 already out to watch.
I really hope Tom Kenny's character gets a voice modulator again in the next season, because I don't really like his raspy alien-english.
But before I do that...
I'm doing it -- I'm gonna start Infinity Train Season 3! This is the super dark season, according to literally everyone. I think I already know a few heavy spoilers, but I'm trying not to think about it and just forget!
Two episodes in today, and it's a cool shift in tone.
The silly, nonsensical train cars with fun sentient beings meet carnage and violence. I did not expect to care for a living stage light when I started this show, but now? Ooh it's unsettling.
What's also unsettling is how the show can somehow still retain its humorous and cheery tone at times. Simon and Grace are good friends, making each other laugh and having fun together -- It's just not so fun to see them do it in spite of other random creatures and environments.
The end of the second episode really seals the deal that this season is gonna be something else, thematically and tonally. Auuuuugh, they're trying to brainwash Hazel already! But I love Hazel already! And Tuba! Ahhh this show has such cute characters and such uncomfortable scenarios! It's so weird seeing these "villains" as the main characters. And I fear they're too far gone in their "Null" philosophy already.
To be honest I’ve been busy watching Netflix series like Brand New cherry flavor and some foreign films quick A classic horror story etc not to mention finished The Walking Dead season 10 but World clock forward to season 11 .
It’s been an ok year for me , I’m just glad it’s October because that’s my favorite month of the year.
The finale to Infinity Train Season 3 is an emotional rollercoaster and full of "Cartoon Network, what the hell?" moments. It's dark. You are not prepared for how dark it gets.
After a season that balances the typical goofy antics of the train's denizens with a big new injection of tension with the Apex, it comes to a head with some shocking imagery.
Simon is too far gone. Off the deep end of bigotry, righteousness and pretty evil behaviour, he manages to brainwash the kids into nearly killing Grace, then gets into a fight with her, and when given the chance -- tries to boot her into the train's wheels.
She survives, thankfully, but at the cost of Simon really losing it! In this awesome voice-acting take, where Simon goes through like 5 different emotions at once, he gets caught off guard by one of the Cronenberg Dogs, who you'd expect to just suck his soul up, but no! It vaporizes him completely. Bones and all! You see each layer of him melting!
Cartoon Network, what the hell?!
I've heard that next season is supposed to be a breather for what Season 5 was planned to be -- but too bad CN cancelled it before that. This is a really interesting PG series that somehow really skirts those guidelines.
The finale to Infinity Train Season 3 is an emotional rollercoaster and full of "Cartoon Network, what the hell?" moments. It's dark. You are not prepared for how dark it gets.
(Spoiler)
Tuba's death was pretty shocking, since I half-believed Simon was on the mend.
Plenty of "she died" and "you killed her"s were thrown around afterwards, which surprised me, since animated shows usually lightly mention things like death before moving on entirely.
That funeral brought me to tears as well. It was such an unexpected moment, and when it clicked that the song Hazel kept singing at the beginning of the show was actually Tuba's song for her children, damn that was heartbreaking.
...at least Season 4 has two happy Canadians r-right??
Tons of Isekai anime...
How a Realist Rebuilt the Kingdom,Mushoku Tensei(watched the first season days apart from the part 2 release awesome surprise),Tsukimichi Moonlight fantasy etc.
Also historical series that I had piled up not being able to watch them before like:Thieves of the Wood,Barbarians and waiting eagerly for the last season of The Last Kingdom.
It’s got lots of cookie-cutter hallmarks of what’s in popular blockbusters – just feels like there was a list of tropes and character parodies someone wanted to cover and they went through it one by one – and definitely feels like a movie we’ve seen a hundred times before, but there’s a nugget of interesting writing in the middle that’s just so… out of its genre.
This film gets all sci-fi philosophical-existential and I did not expect that at all.
Too understand the each contestant had different back stories like player 457 the main character wanted the money for his mom who had diabetes and play some debt and child support follow by the his brother who wanted the cash prize because he lost a bet and a North Korean defector and that one detective who investigated the strange activity the protagonist was telling him and found out latter that the front man was his brother which I did expect as the plot twist in the show ,hell it was worth watching and hope for a second season.
I also can’t belive the Squid Game story canceled several times in the last decades back in 2009 but here we are now and it’s a hit.
I watched Netflix's Maya and the Three, by Jorge R. Gutierrez, the creator of El Tigre and The Book of Life. I started off the show being kind of lukewarm on it. It wasn't bad by any means just kinda average with some notable issues such as some clunky, almost unnatural dialogue, and a shockingly severe underreaction to a tragic event being my biggest gripes as well as some odd delivery here and there. Though that's not to say it didn't have its moments. However by episode four, I could feel myself getting really into it, and my appreciation for it elevated from there, even managing to draw out a few tears at one point. By its definitive end, I can confidently say that this is one of those animated shows that pushes the boundaries of storytelling in animation, despite the stumbles in its first half.
The show is a visual feast with a lot of gorgeous environments and creative and fun character designs all around, along with Jorge R. Gutierrez's signature pretty ugly. The Mesoamerican setting and designs really help the show standout, and I love the unevenness of the architecture and objects. It's got that perfect imperfection down to a tee. Visually and animation-wise, it feels like a big budget movie. In fact, with the nine episodes ranging from 30 to 40 minutes in length, you could probably stitch the episodes into a trilogy of movies. The action and combat is top notch, particularly in its finale, and it's also pretty violent. There isn't any blood but the show has a bodycount, which caught me by surprise.
The voice acting is good for the most part, with some pretty standout moments here and there, particularly by Zoe Saldana, who plays Maya. She does a great job with the emotional beats and I love the guttural war cries she does during fight scenes and certain tense moments throughout the season (especially towards the end). I also have to praise Gabriel Iglesias for his surprisingly great performance. He does a wonderful job with the character Picchu and brings a lot of heart to the show. I didn't even realise it was him until after I was done watching and looked up the cast. Alfred Molina is also fantastic as the main antagonist of the series, Lord Mictlan (AKA The God of War).
As I previously mentioned, the first few episodes have some really odd dialogue and delivery in certain spots. It's not present throughout these episodes but when they appear it feels a little jarring. Also the emotional moments early in the season struggled to really effect me. There's also some romance in it that didn't really click with me, again at the start, but as it went on I was alright with it.
While Maya and the Three takes a bit for it to find its footing, I really enjoyed the series overall and I think it's a fantastic show with a lot of heart that legitimately pushes the boundaries of storytelling in animation.
Biggest missed opportunity ever, especially when you realise that Flash is played by Yuri Lowenthal. You can't have a fantastic Marvel voice actor (Spider-Man PS4) jump from there to DC like that.
Yuri Lowenthal's actually already done a ton of more prominent roles for DC in the past so it's not too surprising that he's in this. But yeah, he's pretty much wasted in this.
Biggest missed opportunity ever, especially when you realise that Flash is played by Yuri Lowenthal. You can't have a fantastic Marvel voice actor (Spider-Man PS4) jump from there to DC like that.
Just watched Halloween Kills.
Great beginning and great ending. Middle gets a bit lost, sort of turns into Dee Snider's Strangeland for a bit, then comes back great.
I watched the first three released episodes of Netflix's Arcane, an animated series set in the world of League of Legends. It'll be nine episodes total with every three episodes being an act. I've never played LoL before and I've never really watched any gameplay of it because of my lack of interest in MOBA's but the visuals from the trailers and sneak peeks alone made me want to give it a watch. If the rest of the series is as good as the first three episodes then this might be, in my humble opinion, the best animated series of the year. It's absolutely incredible in a lot of ways, especially it's visuals, voice acting and writing. The worst thing I can say is that one of the side plots which involves a lot of world building wasn't as interesting to me as the main plot which revolves around character development. I was still entertained by it but I kept wanting the story to go back to the main story with Powder and Vi.
The show is absolutely fucking gorgeous. From it's characters, to the environment all down to the littlest detail. I love the oil painting look that feels very very reminiscent of Dishonored. Every single frame in this series is a painting ready to be framed. The animation is also really damn good, particularly the stellar facial animation that manages to display every tic, scrunch and spasm in a way that feels real. Characters are incredibly expressive in a way that gets the point across without being over the top which especially helps during really dramatic or emotional scenes. It's gonna sound a little odd but this has the best crying I've ever seen or heard in animation. They really go for that realistic ugly crying and it is absolutely heartbreaking and uncomfortable whenever it happens.
To my surprise the writing is also pretty good. I love the relationship between Vi and Powder, and whenever their relationship is put to the test it can be pretty damn agonising. The side characters are also pretty fun and there's some really interesting stuff with the antagonist that I hope gets explored in further episodes. The voice acting is really damn good, and I have to especially give praise to Mia Sinclair Jenness who plays Powder. She does an absolutely phenomenal job bringing the character to life and brings a lot of weight to the more emotional scenes of the show. Hailee Steinfeld of course also does a wonderful job as Vi and does especially well during the more intense action-y moments., though that's not to say she doesn't also bring it during the more dramatic and emotional scenes.
This might very well end up being the best video game adaption I've ever seen, though it's not like there's much competition going around. If they manage to stick the landing, I really hope they plan to make more shows like this in the future because I want more of this injected straight into my veins.
I haven't watched the movie yet but the lore for that video game is absolute garbage imo. It does the whole "What if Superman was evil!" plot that's so overdone, but extremely graphic for literally no purpose other than to be edgy. Like, I get that it is a combat game so there are gonna be a few deaths but jesus christ. Literally none of it makes sense.
Oh yeah, on the topics of deaths in this series...
In the Injustice: Year One comic, they kill off Nightwing in possibly the dumbest way ever. Damian literally gets mad and throws a Baton at Dick's neck and it kills him, and it just happens. There's other really weird deaths in the series, but this was probably the dumbest imo. DC loves fucking over Dick for some reason.
I haven't watched the movie yet but the lore for that video game is absolute garbage imo. It does the whole "What if Superman was evil!" plot that's so overdone, but extremely graphic for literally no purpose other than to be edgy. Like, I get that it is a combat game so there are gonna be a few deaths but jesus christ. Literally none of it makes sense.
The Injustice comic does it better(ish) but it definitely still has its extremely rough moments.
In the Injustice: Year One comic, they kill off Nightwing in possibly the dumbest way ever. Damian literally gets mad and throws a Baton at Dick's neck and it kills him, and it just happens. There's other really weird deaths in the series, but this was probably the dumbest imo. DC loves fucking over Dick for some reason.
Don't worry, they changed it for the movie, but also made it worse and someone else gets an even dumber death that makes no sense.
I haven't watched the movie yet but the lore for that video game is absolute garbage imo. It does the whole "What if Superman was evil!" plo… moret that's so overdone, but extremely graphic for literally no purpose other than to be edgy. Like, I get that it is a combat game so there are gonna be a few deaths but jesus christ. Literally none of it makes sense.
Oh yeah, on the topics of deaths in this series...
(Spoiler)
Comments
Hey man, to be fair, he is the property so the only damage he’s causing is to himself.
Okay you got me with the rest of them, and don’t forget him destroying mail. He also probably doesn’t pay taxes.
So along with the police, let's call up the IRS and the Postal Service. This thing is a menace and he needs to be stopped before he commits more atrocities.
I watched Centaurworld, a Netflix animated musical series about a horse named Horse from a gritty dark fantasy world ravaged by a ruthless horde of invading warriors, who is transported to a bright and vibrant world filled with a colourful collection of singing and dancing half-animal-half-man things called Centaurs. With the help of her new Centaur friends, she begins a journey to find her way back home to her desolate world and her human, Rider. It’s really good.
The music’s really fun and catchy for the most part, with each episode having about three songs that range from pretty darn good to absolute bangers, the characters are funny, charming and weird, there are some pretty standout sequences with the animation particularly in episode 7 which has a pretty wild dance number with Horse, and it’s also my favourite genre of cartoon where things start off nice and happy before getting darker and darker as it goes on. Horse and Wammawink are my favourite characters easily, since they’re by far the most developed, with the rest of the cast mostly staying in the lane they start out in. Horses exasperated and horrified reactions to the absurd and often horrific aspects of Centaurworld are hilarious and Wammawink’s a really fun overly protective mother figure to the cast.
I will say that the Centaur cast starts off a bit grating. Though that’s almost certainly purposeful as Horse feels the same way about them in the beginning before eventually warming up to them. There are also a few too many fart and butt jokes, at the start at least, for my liking, though those do mellow out as the plot starts taking over.
Overall it’s another win for Netflix’s animation department. If you like musicals, zany but lovable characters and covertly dark animated shows aimed at children like me then you’ll probably enjoy it. The ending leaves things open for a second season so I’d like to see this get renewed.
Kipo Season 3 is in the bag.
I don't think I ever talked about season 2, so here's here's lightning round: I liked how dark it got with getting deeper into Scarlemagne's character. The TheaOtters were the stand-out awesome characters of the season, and the whole plot of helping Kipo find her anchor and reconnect with her mother was nice.
As for the final season; It was really great.
Great show, I think She-Ra was a bit better (though it did get like 4 more seasons)
ahhh now I gotta find another animated show to fill in my watch list. I've got a couple choices, just need to decide on one Hahaha.
Alright, (double post here oops).
Netflix animated kids film: Arlo the Alligator Boy. Saw it last night.
Mmmmm this is a nice, fun movie.
Yeah, the plot is kinda standard, the implications of Arlo's parentage is pretty weird (but gets resolved nicely at the end), it does feel like a pilot for a show at times, but the movie's got such an endearing heart, style, and songs. So, so many catchy songs.
It's fun, it's catchy, I don't think I'd be interested in watching the Series planned (since the movie has such cinematic flair), but the film on its own is fine. This one's particularly cool
The Owl House has released its mid-season finale and the show is now on hiatus until the rest of the season is ready to be aired, probably early next year.
I thought the episode was great and might actually be my favourite episode of the season so far. It had some really great character moments, interaction, world building, neat visuals and a pretty emotional ending. Very impressed with the second season so far and I feel that every new episode has been better than the last. Very much looking forward to whenever it is the rest of the season will be released.
What are those choices? :0
Weeeell, here's what I'm going between. Not sure if I want to focus on what might be the shortest or not.
Or, uh, @dojo32161 can probably help me more with this one: Anime.
Tried something that just popped up on Netflix, an old show called Darwin's Game. Pretty violent, pretty gory, not my kinda style right now. So instead I can decide between
Toradora's a pretty well loved slice of life romantic comedy, though I've yet to watch it, good chance you'll enjoy it if you like that. If you already watched the previous Aggetsuko seasons, you'll probably like the third one. BNA's a fun action romp from Studio Trigger (studio behind Kill La Kill, Promare, Little Witch Academia), it's probably good for a fun binge. Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? is one I have not seen or know much of, so not sure if I can help there.
Mmm, Studio Trigger, eh?
LWA was adorable and fantastic in terms of animation (apparently the latter's their staple) so that sounds great for BNA.
I saw the French film "I Lost My Body". It's licensed by Netflix, so you can watch it there.
It's a surreal animated film about a disembodied hand who goes on a quest to find its owner. As the film progresses, the hand reminisces about its previous life of love and loss.
Gosh, it's really good, especially from a cinematic standpoint. The animation is made in 3D, but looks 2D, and at times it's so detailed and fluid, it looks rotoscoped (drawn over real footage) -- but it's not! It's all original.
The story is told through many flashbacks of Naoufel, the owner's life -- As a child, and as a young man struggling to get by -- and also as the hand's journey across Paris to find him.
There are a lot of scenes that have minimal dialogue, great artistic flair, and use of a classical/electronic soundtrack.
Edit: I should note that the movie is pretty macabre at times (it's a film about a chopped-off hand, what do you expect?) with some animal violence and hand-violence that can be pretty unsettling. There's some serious stakes in this film, and you really feel for the hand's well-being.
The ending is a bit abrupt and doesn't have much finality to it, but if you think about it in the way that Naoufel described fate earlier in the movie, it makes a bit more sense, to me at least.
He had a really shitty series of events, and decided to do something irrational and impulsive, to get some sort of victory and control over his life. I think that's nice.
Binged Infinity Train Season 2!
Mmm wow this show is special.
This season actually got pretty dark at times, like jaw-droppingly, even... They really tore open the lore gates at the end and dove headfirst into Sci-Fi mystery... I love it!
The central conflict of Jesse needing to help others in need and be more assertive for himself was a nice angle to the story, and I really enjoyed how his main problem was that he hung out with bullies and ended up tormenting his little brother to gain some cred. Yikes, that's depressing, I haven't seen that kind of moral in a show for a while.
This show also gets pretty violent at times. It's not too action-based, but sometimes the animation and writing really shine in how lenient they can be. Jesse got whipped up against a glass screen near the end! Ouch!! thought it was really interesting how they were allowed to show the Chrome Cops lose limbs, leak "chrome blood" and even get torn to shreds in pretty gruesome ways... but I guess they're not humans with blood so CN allowed it? Cool.
Alan Dracula is the chaotic good we need in this world. Such a random, entertaining character. You'll never know what he'll do next!
I was a bit sad to see One One relegated to a few video infomercials in this season, but he showed up at the end and that was neat.
Judging by the cover of Season 3, we'll be following the Apex guys and some kid next. Okay, I wonder how they'll get me to sympathise with those characters since they really didn't seem trustworthy or morally good at all in this season. (And I like how each anthology Season might pick up from elements in the last one... first MT and now the Apex. Ooh.)
Kid Cosmic season 2 is great. I love the fact that the show never resets to a status quo and constantly changes and evolves as the series goes on. Funnily enough, Kid Cosmic himself takes a backseat this season for Jo as she takes on a larger role in the Local Heroes, which I don't have a problem with since she was my favourite character in the previous season. The pressure on the crew having to save the galaxy gets to her which leads to some great drama and self destructive tendencies which is always a neat thing to see.
This season introduces the new villain Fantos, who is a huge nerd and fanboy of the shows big bad which leads into some pretty funny dialogue. He's pretty much Thanos who wants to collect all the Cosmic Stones of Power in order to destroy the world. He's pretty great but by the end his fanboyism did get a little grating, though I feel that's purposeful. The garage band soundtrack continues to be great as well.
Overall I really enjoyed it, probably more so than the first season which I also really liked. The third season's the last one so I'm looking forward to see how things escalate.
You're gonna laugh, but...
Out of curiosity I checked out the incredibly popular kids' show Bluey, as it's currently housed on Disney Plus.
Gosh, this show is gonna become my comfort food. It's cheered me up tonight.
The kids are adorable, the playfulness of the Dad is so heartwarming, the show exudes positive vibes, co-operation between the two siblings, and playful, imaginative fun. What a fantastic Australian export...
Found a nice article on it too just now
How Bluey Became the Best Kids' Show of Our Time
I watched all nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions and really enjoyed them! Each episode is pretty different from one another so there's a nice variety of different genres and stories going on. I particularly liked The Ninth Jedi which I think is really damn good, followed by The Village Bride and The Elder. These three in my opinion are the best of the season by far and I'd love to see Ninth Jedi and Village Bride get some sort of continuation in the future, along with Lop & Ocho, that while I didn't like as much, I could see it being expanded upon but with hopefully better dialogue. The rest of the season, for the most part, work very well as standalone stories.
My ranking from best to worst:
1. The Ninth Jedi
2. The Village Bride
3. The Elder
4. Akakiri
5. The Duel
6. Lop & Ocho
7. The Twins
8. T0-B1
9. Tatooine Rhapsody
While I do think that T0-B1 and Tatooine Rhapsody are the weakest entries of the season, I did like certain elements from these two, specifically the art and animation, writing and character wise I just didn't connect with these two. I don't think they're necessarily bad, just kind of okay or mediocre.
I really enjoyed the season overall and I'd love for there to be a second season.
So I watched the new My Little Pony movie (A New Generation) on Netflix and uhh...
Let's just say it started strong, but ended wrong.
So, I wouldn't consider myself a huge MLP fan, but I've definitely watched the show and knew enough about the lore to assume I could watch the new movie. It's animation is in 3d, which off the bat I had a slight problem with since every character almost looks and expresses the same, but I digressed and tried to focus more on the story and see if anything mentioned in the movie adds up with anything established from the show. And there was nothing.
The beginning was pretty good and for the rest of the movie, I assumed it was going to take the old world of MLP and expound on it while integrating new elements and characters. But it felt as if they took what was established from the show and threw it right out the window by leaving me with a ton of questions.
I also got serious Raya and the Last Dragon vibes from the entire premise of the plot (e.g Single dad and daughter thinking the world can come together, gets proven wrong, but then by the end everyone gets together anyway)
Not to mention a plot convenience crystal that was separated and has to be put back together to bring the world together.
Had this movie actually be an alternate timeline, I might've forgiven it for this. Oh yeah, and I can't forget the abundance of unnecessary product placement puns in one bit, references to livestreaming/TikTok, and yet ANOTHER rap solo I've seen in new age movies to date.
I sound a lot more mad at the movie than I actually am though. All in all, its not too terrible of a movie, but it is VERY cliche and predictable and I feel a little bit bad for the hard-core MLP fans...
I know they're not all going to match this level of quality and style, but maaaaan the premiere episode of Star Wars Visions is fantastic and really gets you hyped for the rest of the series!
I adore the black-and-white look, only highlighting lights and lazers with colour.
The Japanese Dub really helps sell the old samurai film aesthetic.
Seeing feudal Japanese costumes and environments mixed with high-tech sci-fi elements of lightsabers and vehicles was a great stylistic elements.
The over-the-top umbrella saber was a cool addition, as was the idea of a Sith Ronin.
I think I need to see more Kamikaze Douga projects because it's clear they have an eye for talent.
I saw James Gunn's THE Suicide Squad tonight.
This is definitely the better, more enjoyable of the SS movies. I have no idea if they share any canon or relation to one another apart from a few returning actors, or if it even relates to other DC movies that have come out -- I remembered the existence of the Birds of Prey film while watching this, haven't seen it -- but doesn't seem like any outside knowledge is required, so that's good.
Gosh, this movie has great style. Sometimes I think it's a bit much and is just for the sake of "cool transition/playing around" but it's got more of an identity and memorable-ness than the... dark, gritty, seen-a-million times 2016 style of film?
The smash-cuts to title cards, demarcating chapters of the film is nice, and lets some VFX artists blend it into environments in nice ways. Plenty of scenes that play with colour and epic lighting, mmm it's fun all around.
Lots of use of music, which James Gunn loves to use if the GOTG films are any indication. They fit scenes pretty well, especially a Harley Quinn fight sequence near the end.
I really liked how the team under Amanda Waller was showcased a lot more in this film, showing that they have some sort of agency and personal stake in their jobs and the relation to the Suicide Squad they try to keep in check.
There's gore galore in this film. Dear god. Great work. But dear god.
The main cast of 5 that the film mostly follows is such a fun bunch of people. Ratcatcher 2, King Shark, Polka-Dot-Man, are superbly strange characters that Gunn has dug up, but they have great moments of calm and reflection, and really nice running jokes throughout the film. Specifically the ones involving Sebastian the Rat and Polk's mother. Former was adorable, latter was hilariously goofy.
Also have to give props to Idris Elba, and especially John Cena and Margot Robbie. Idris is the nice head-strong "leader" of the team, though his childish spats with Peacemaker (Cena) are fun. John Cena has a great role as Peacemaker, someone supremely violent but with the most pacifist name and silly costume. He's really embraced comedy roles lately and it's great. Margot Robbie -- she's so good as Harley, as always, so that's fun. The outfit later in the film is soooo cool.
As spoilers go, I found that the gimmick of "people will die in the Suicide Squad" was a bit too overused in the marketing, given that the majority of the shocking deaths happen in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. The rest of the cast rolls on by pretty smoothly.
The part where Peacemaker was about to shoot Ratcatcher, then it cuts to "8 minutes ago" felt a bit cheap. It was such a tense series of events, I guess we needed the breather, but I would have liked them to be swapped. Would have felt less like tension was ripped away.
Harley murdering all the compound guards with animated animals and flowers appearing everywhere was such a nice scene, stylistically. Mmmm I have no words other than "oh yeahhh".
Finally finished the last two episodes of The Walking Dead Season 2 and I gotta say that it was pretty good for something part of me still doesn't intrinsically like(though that's also what Netflix's pause and "peak" feature is for
).
Knowing certain things from the mutters that were had years ago made a select few things interesting to count down to and the surprising amount of what or how that I didn't know stick out more. I have to say there were probably a few things that I wasn't too agreeable on and the gore in particular is still something I get a tad squeamish about at times, though I am thankfully at a point where I can sorta handle it(also what Netflix's pause and "peak" feature is for
).
I realize I probably didn't follow up on my thoughts on Season 1, so perhaps I can mix it in with my thoughts on Season 2 if necessary. As for right now though, I did make another tier list for how I generally felt about the characters (if there is a much fuller one out there limited to these two seasons, feel free to let me know.
.
..
Finished Kid Cosmic Season One. Great little show, glad to see that this is some multi-season plan given how it ended. And look at that! Season 2 already out to watch.
I really hope Tom Kenny's character gets a voice modulator again in the next season, because I don't really like his raspy alien-english.
But before I do that...
I'm doing it -- I'm gonna start Infinity Train Season 3! This is the super dark season, according to literally everyone. I think I already know a few heavy spoilers, but I'm trying not to think about it and just forget!
Two episodes in today, and it's a cool shift in tone.
The silly, nonsensical train cars with fun sentient beings meet carnage and violence. I did not expect to care for a living stage light when I started this show, but now? Ooh it's unsettling.
What's also unsettling is how the show can somehow still retain its humorous and cheery tone at times. Simon and Grace are good friends, making each other laugh and having fun together -- It's just not so fun to see them do it in spite of other random creatures and environments.
The end of the second episode really seals the deal that this season is gonna be something else, thematically and tonally. Auuuuugh, they're trying to brainwash Hazel already! But I love Hazel already! And Tuba! Ahhh this show has such cute characters and such uncomfortable scenarios! It's so weird seeing these "villains" as the main characters. And I fear they're too far gone in their "Null" philosophy already.
Watching last episode of Daybreak on Netflix .
To be honest I’ve been busy watching Netflix series like Brand New cherry flavor and some foreign films quick A classic horror story etc not to mention finished The Walking Dead season 10 but World clock forward to season 11 .
It’s been an ok year for me , I’m just glad it’s October because that’s my favorite month of the year.
Followed by December.
But any who I’m glad to-be back.
It feels like I’ve been gone for decades here.
Season 11 of TWD has been very enjoyable so far, and the 11A finale premieres on AMC plus tomorrow
Yee, thanks for reminding me that there's another 82% of the show that can be watched. 😲
Right now I’m watching The Squid Games on Netflix .
And after watching the pilot episode all I can say it was brutal.
A lot of headshots
The finale to Infinity Train Season 3 is an emotional rollercoaster and full of "Cartoon Network, what the hell?" moments. It's dark. You are not prepared for how dark it gets.
After a season that balances the typical goofy antics of the train's denizens with a big new injection of tension with the Apex, it comes to a head with some shocking imagery.
Simon is too far gone. Off the deep end of bigotry, righteousness and pretty evil behaviour, he manages to brainwash the kids into nearly killing Grace, then gets into a fight with her, and when given the chance -- tries to boot her into the train's wheels.
She survives, thankfully, but at the cost of Simon really losing it! In this awesome voice-acting take, where Simon goes through like 5 different emotions at once, he gets caught off guard by one of the Cronenberg Dogs, who you'd expect to just suck his soul up, but no! It vaporizes him completely. Bones and all! You see each layer of him melting!
Cartoon Network, what the hell?!
I've heard that next season is supposed to be a breather for what Season 5 was planned to be -- but too bad CN cancelled it before that. This is a really interesting PG series that somehow really skirts those guidelines.
What'd you think of Tuba's death and subsequent funeral?
I fuckin' balled like a baby when Hazel was singing that lullaby lmao
Aw, damn it, you just had to remind me of that...
Tuba's death was pretty shocking, since I half-believed Simon was on the mend.
Plenty of "she died" and "you killed her"s were thrown around afterwards, which surprised me, since animated shows usually lightly mention things like death before moving on entirely.
That funeral brought me to tears as well. It was such an unexpected moment, and when it clicked that the song Hazel kept singing at the beginning of the show was actually Tuba's song for her children, damn that was heartbreaking.
...at least Season 4 has two happy Canadians r-right??
Hehehehehehe
Tons of Isekai anime...
How a Realist Rebuilt the Kingdom,Mushoku Tensei(watched the first season days apart from the part 2 release awesome surprise),Tsukimichi Moonlight fantasy etc.
Also historical series that I had piled up not being able to watch them before like:Thieves of the Wood,Barbarians and waiting eagerly for the last season of The Last Kingdom.
Free Guy is a a halfway-decent movie.
It’s got lots of cookie-cutter hallmarks of what’s in popular blockbusters – just feels like there was a list of tropes and character parodies someone wanted to cover and they went through it one by one – and definitely feels like a movie we’ve seen a hundred times before, but there’s a nugget of interesting writing in the middle that’s just so… out of its genre.
This film gets all sci-fi philosophical-existential and I did not expect that at all.
Just finished the Squid Game
What I can say was a great experience.
Too understand the each contestant had different back stories like player 457 the main character wanted the money for his mom who had diabetes and play some debt and child support follow by the his brother who wanted the cash prize because he lost a bet and a North Korean defector and that one detective who investigated the strange activity the protagonist was telling him and found out latter that the front man was his brother which I did expect as the plot twist in the show ,hell it was worth watching and hope for a second season.
I also can’t belive the Squid Game story canceled several times in the last decades back in 2009 but here we are now and it’s a hit.
I watched the Injustice animated movie that's based on the comic book that's based on the game that's based on the comic books.
It's terrible.
I watched Netflix's Maya and the Three, by Jorge R. Gutierrez, the creator of El Tigre and The Book of Life. I started off the show being kind of lukewarm on it. It wasn't bad by any means just kinda average with some notable issues such as some clunky, almost unnatural dialogue, and a shockingly severe underreaction to a tragic event being my biggest gripes as well as some odd delivery here and there. Though that's not to say it didn't have its moments. However by episode four, I could feel myself getting really into it, and my appreciation for it elevated from there, even managing to draw out a few tears at one point. By its definitive end, I can confidently say that this is one of those animated shows that pushes the boundaries of storytelling in animation, despite the stumbles in its first half.
The show is a visual feast with a lot of gorgeous environments and creative and fun character designs all around, along with Jorge R. Gutierrez's signature pretty ugly. The Mesoamerican setting and designs really help the show standout, and I love the unevenness of the architecture and objects. It's got that perfect imperfection down to a tee. Visually and animation-wise, it feels like a big budget movie. In fact, with the nine episodes ranging from 30 to 40 minutes in length, you could probably stitch the episodes into a trilogy of movies. The action and combat is top notch, particularly in its finale, and it's also pretty violent. There isn't any blood but the show has a bodycount, which caught me by surprise.
The voice acting is good for the most part, with some pretty standout moments here and there, particularly by Zoe Saldana, who plays Maya. She does a great job with the emotional beats and I love the guttural war cries she does during fight scenes and certain tense moments throughout the season (especially towards the end). I also have to praise Gabriel Iglesias for his surprisingly great performance. He does a wonderful job with the character Picchu and brings a lot of heart to the show. I didn't even realise it was him until after I was done watching and looked up the cast. Alfred Molina is also fantastic as the main antagonist of the series, Lord Mictlan (AKA The God of War).
As I previously mentioned, the first few episodes have some really odd dialogue and delivery in certain spots. It's not present throughout these episodes but when they appear it feels a little jarring. Also the emotional moments early in the season struggled to really effect me. There's also some romance in it that didn't really click with me, again at the start, but as it went on I was alright with it.
While Maya and the Three takes a bit for it to find its footing, I really enjoyed the series overall and I think it's a fantastic show with a lot of heart that legitimately pushes the boundaries of storytelling in animation.
Biggest missed opportunity ever, especially when you realise that Flash is played by Yuri Lowenthal. You can't have a fantastic Marvel voice actor (Spider-Man PS4) jump from there to DC like that.
Yuri Lowenthal's actually already done a ton of more prominent roles for DC in the past so it's not too surprising that he's in this. But yeah, he's pretty much wasted in this.
Just watched Halloween Kills.
Great beginning and great ending. Middle gets a bit lost, sort of turns into Dee Snider's Strangeland for a bit, then comes back great.
I watched the first three released episodes of Netflix's Arcane, an animated series set in the world of League of Legends. It'll be nine episodes total with every three episodes being an act. I've never played LoL before and I've never really watched any gameplay of it because of my lack of interest in MOBA's but the visuals from the trailers and sneak peeks alone made me want to give it a watch. If the rest of the series is as good as the first three episodes then this might be, in my humble opinion, the best animated series of the year. It's absolutely incredible in a lot of ways, especially it's visuals, voice acting and writing. The worst thing I can say is that one of the side plots which involves a lot of world building wasn't as interesting to me as the main plot which revolves around character development. I was still entertained by it but I kept wanting the story to go back to the main story with Powder and Vi.
The show is absolutely fucking gorgeous. From it's characters, to the environment all down to the littlest detail. I love the oil painting look that feels very very reminiscent of Dishonored. Every single frame in this series is a painting ready to be framed. The animation is also really damn good, particularly the stellar facial animation that manages to display every tic, scrunch and spasm in a way that feels real. Characters are incredibly expressive in a way that gets the point across without being over the top which especially helps during really dramatic or emotional scenes. It's gonna sound a little odd but this has the best crying I've ever seen or heard in animation. They really go for that realistic ugly crying and it is absolutely heartbreaking and uncomfortable whenever it happens.
To my surprise the writing is also pretty good. I love the relationship between Vi and Powder, and whenever their relationship is put to the test it can be pretty damn agonising. The side characters are also pretty fun and there's some really interesting stuff with the antagonist that I hope gets explored in further episodes. The voice acting is really damn good, and I have to especially give praise to Mia Sinclair Jenness who plays Powder. She does an absolutely phenomenal job bringing the character to life and brings a lot of weight to the more emotional scenes of the show. Hailee Steinfeld of course also does a wonderful job as Vi and does especially well during the more intense action-y moments., though that's not to say she doesn't also bring it during the more dramatic and emotional scenes.
This might very well end up being the best video game adaption I've ever seen, though it's not like there's much competition going around. If they manage to stick the landing, I really hope they plan to make more shows like this in the future because I want more of this injected straight into my veins.
Dexter: New Blood
I haven't watched the movie yet but the lore for that video game is absolute garbage imo. It does the whole "What if Superman was evil!" plot that's so overdone, but extremely graphic for literally no purpose other than to be edgy. Like, I get that it is a combat game so there are gonna be a few deaths but jesus christ. Literally none of it makes sense.
Oh yeah, on the topics of deaths in this series...
In the Injustice: Year One comic, they kill off Nightwing in possibly the dumbest way ever. Damian literally gets mad and throws a Baton at Dick's neck and it kills him, and it just happens. There's other really weird deaths in the series, but this was probably the dumbest imo. DC loves fucking over Dick for some reason.
The Injustice comic does it better(ish) but it definitely still has its extremely rough moments.
Don't worry, they changed it for the movie, but also made it worse and someone else gets an even dumber death that makes no sense.