The Letter Grades Strike Back aka Cookie's Corner Y5

[cookie]

Top 10 #4

Spoiler

24 Hours

 

by @4815162342

 

 

Some of the Y5 movies ending up here may ultimately be due to the freshness factor. I did go back and re-read the entries on this list, but the Y5 ones still remain the freshest in memory.

 

With that said, 24 Hours would be on my list either way. It's a @4815162342 crime movie, one with perhaps the most effective ending out of all of them. And if you deliver on your final punches, that's sort of all that matters in the end.

 

For real, before Carrie Coon led Miles Teller to that grave site, I legit had no idea what it was going to take to get Teller on her side. It really seemed like she was going to lose this one, but she had one hell of a final card up her sleeve. Teller throughout the entire movie has been depicted as sort of a boisterous coward, someone who thinks of himself as great but when push comes to shove would fold like a stack of cards. All Coon actually needed to do was find the one card that kept everything else standing.

 

But even aside gushing about the ending, 24 Hours is very different from other @4815162342 crime movies. This one is about corruption in far high places, about powerful men and corporations using the little guy to do their dirty work, and how if it weren't for a few strokes of fate they most certainly would have gotten away with it - it's just powerful storytelling that rings true to the world we live in today but doesn't hold back on creating compelling cinematic drama while it has the opportunity.

 

Simply short, it's awesome.

 

 

Personal Favorite #2

Spoiler

The Number One Dime

 

 

 

This is the most fun I've had writing anything in CAYOM.

 

Yes, it's big. Yes, it's long. Yes, it goes pretty dark in its last third. But... I don't really mind any of that.

 

I had a blast writing it and it was a blast for me to relive it. It's the kind of unrestrained indulgence I felt I needed at the time, and it was still good enough to net me a second Best Picture nomination.

 

Part of what's so fun with writing a Scrooge McDuck film is that it allows me a surprising amount of freedom I don't feel like I'm getting with other adaptations, not just from the big questions like story and themes but down to the minute details like what joke I feel like telling at that particular moment or what character beat I want to play around with. Perhaps it's because the history of the Duck universe is so rich (everyone knows the DuckTales series and most are at least aware of its reboot, but I highly recommend checking out the comics - mostly the Carl Barks and Don Rosa runs - if you have the chance) and the interpretations of the characters are so many that you can go whichever direction you like with them, within certain perimeters of course.

 

Sometimes it's more fun to just do whatever you want, and take the story wherever you feel like it should go. Does it make for the most coherent piece or one that will satisfy everyone? Probably not, but it's fun to do all the same. If you want an example of my writing spirit at its fullest, don't read The Scavenger Wars or Voltron or Ripper or whichever, read The Number One Dime. You may or may not like it, but... it's definitely a window into me as a writer.

 

I guess what just makes me so happy with it is that unlike several other films I've written it's as close to what my original vision was as possible. I've often felt I had to compromise on this or that thing and it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but The Number One Dime it's so close it's almost perfect. Disagree with the vision itself all you want, but it feels really good to have something live up to what you set out to do once in a while.

 

If I had to bring up one negative is that it's a bit haphazardly written at times, in part because I had other stuff to get to after finishing it and so I never really did any proper polishing, so it's a bit messy in spots, I will admit. Full disclosure: like The Scavenger Wars, I've made a revised version of The Number One Dime that's about 1k shorter while keeping the story intact, so hopefully the issues should be fixed and it's a bit smoother of a read. I think of publishing it when The Argonaut of White Agony Creek and A Crackle in Time both come out.

 

@Spaghetti called this series "controlled chaos" in his write-up of my work, and I couldn't really disagree with that description. It's pretty apt, actually. The Number One Dime may not be perfect, but it's my kind of "controlled chaos", and for that it holds a special place for me.

 

 

Top 10 #3

Spoiler

The Counsel of the Dead

by @Rorschach

 

 

 

Jumping from one Y3 sequel nominated for Best Picture to another (I guess that year was just friendly to blockbusters because the Oscar bait was crap, but aside from Spark: Homeward all nominees were in my top five, so... I don't really care?) we have what I think is the defining chapter of the greatest trilogy written in CAYOM 3.0 so far. Yes, more so than Homecoming, which kinda just missed this list.

 

The Counsel of the Dead is everything a period fantasy sequel should be: It's deeper, it's darker, and not everything ends on a triumphant note - in fact it's quite opposite. It's like Pillars of Eternity: Never Far From the Queen, only slightly better and leaves its protagonists (we'll get to that) in some pretty dark places at the end.

 

One thing I said about its predecessor, The Spoils of War (which I may have overhyped originally but I think still holds up in some respects), is that it's a movie where there's one great character - Hugh Jackman as Odysseus in a turn as defining to CAYOM as his turn as Logan was to the real world - in a crowd of good. Hugh Jackman devoured every frame he was in from beginning to end, but as far as great players go, that was about it. 

 

The Counsel of the Dead is a little bit similar, but with one key exception; Dacre Montgomery, who I had barely even heard of up to that point, really kills it as Odysseus’s son Telemachus. Part of it is the brilliantly woven parallell storylines between Odysseus and Telemachus, who feel strongly connected despite being hundreds of miles apart. Each tale is one of downfall, but one done in an attempt to do what it is right, even if it just wasn't enough.

 

All of that reaches a fever pitch in what I honestly still think is the best third act written in CAYOM. It's kinda hard to describe really, but it's a prime case where editing and pacing really is key, on top of great storytelling and engaging writing. I've been on board with whatever @Rorschach does from the beginning, and even in missteps like One Punch Man you can tell he is giving it his all, and he is one that learns from his mistakes and knows how to reapply them into something great. That kind of dedication should not go unrewarded in my estimation.

 

Don't know what else to say, really. The Counsel of the Dead is sort of the perfect blockbuster, and since @Rorschach's returning to the Matt Reeves well fairly soon I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by cookie

[Reddroast]

38 minutes ago, cookie said:

Top 10 #4

  Hide contents

24 Hours

 

by @4815162342

 

 

Some of the Y5 movies ending up here may ultimately be due to the freshness factor. I did go back and re-read the entries on this list, but the Y5 ones still remain the freshest in memory.

 

With that said, 24 Hours would be on my list either way. It's a @4815162342 crime movie, one with perhaps the most effective ending out of all of them. And if you deliver on your final punches, that's sort of all that matters in the end.

 

For real, before Carrie Coon led Miles Teller to that grave site, I legit had no idea what it was going to take to get Teller on her side. It really seemed like she was going to lose this one, but she had one hell of a final card up her sleeve. Teller throughout the entire movie has been depicted as sort of a boisterous coward, someone who thinks of himself as great but when push comes to shove would fold like a stack of cards. All Coon actually needed to do was find the one card that kept everything else standing.

 

But even aside gushing about the ending, 24 Hours is very different from other @4815162342 crime movies. This one is about corruption in far high places, about powerful men and corporations using the little guy to do their dirty work, and how if it weren't for a few strokes of fate they most certainly would have gotten away with it - it's just powerful storytelling that rings true to the world we live in today but doesn't hold back on creating compelling cinematic drama while it has the opportunity.

 

Simply short, it's awesome.

 

 

Personal Favorite #2

  Reveal hidden contents

The Number One Dime

 

 

 

This is the most fun I've had writing anything in CAYOM.

 

Yes, it's big. Yes, it's long. Yes, it goes pretty dark in its last third. But... I don't really mind any of that.

 

I had a blast writing it and it was a blast for me to relive it. It's the kind of unrestrained indulgence I felt I needed at the time, and it was still good enough to net me a second Best Picture nomination.

 

Part of what's so fun with writing a Scrooge McDuck film is that it allows me a surprising amount of freedom I don't feel like I'm getting with other adaptations, not just from the big questions like story and themes but down to the minute details like what joke I feel like telling at that particular moment or what character beat I want to play around with. Perhaps it's because the history of the Duck universe is so rich (everyone knows the DuckTales series and most are at least aware of its reboot, but I highly recommend checking out the comics - mostly the Carl Barks and Don Rosa runs - if you have the chance) and the interpretations of the characters are so many that you can go whichever direction you like with them, within certain perimeters of course.

 

Sometimes it's more fun to just do whatever you want, and take the story wherever you feel like it should go. Does it make for the most coherent piece or one that will satisfy everyone? Probably not, but it's fun to do all the same. If you want an example of my writing spirit at its fullest, don't read The Scavenger Wars or Voltron or Ripper or whichever, read The Number One Dime. You may or may not like it, but... it's definitely a window into me as a writer.

 

I guess what just makes me so happy with it is that unlike several other films I've written it's as close to what my original vision was as possible. I've often felt I had to compromise on this or that thing and it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but The Number One Dime it's so close it's almost perfect. Disagree with the vision itself all you want, but it feels really good to have something live up to what you set out to do once in a while.

 

If I had to bring up one negative is that it's a bit haphazardly written at times, in part because I had other stuff to get to after finishing it and so I never really did any proper polishing, so it's a bit messy in spots, I will admit. Full disclosure: like The Scavenger Wars, I've made a revised version of The Number One Dime that's about 1k shorter while keeping the story intact, so hopefully the issues should be fixed and it's a bit smoother of a read. I think of publishing it when The Argonaut of White Agony Creek and A Crackle in Time both come out.

 

@Spaghetti called this series "controlled chaos" in his write-up of my work, and I couldn't really disagree with that description. It's pretty apt, actually. The Number One Dime may not be perfect, but it's my kind of "controlled chaos", and for that it holds a special place for me.

 

 

Top 10 #3

  Reveal hidden contents

The Counsel of the Dead

by @Rorschach

 

 

 

Jumping from one Y3 sequel nominated for Best Picture to another (I guess that year was just friendly to blockbusters because the Oscar bait was crap, but aside from Spark: Homeward all nominees were in my top five, so... I don't really care?) we have what I think is the defining chapter of the greatest trilogy written in CAYOM 3.0 so far. Yes, more so than Homecoming, which kinda just missed this list.

 

The Counsel of the Dead is everything a period fantasy sequel should be: It's deeper, it's darker, and not everything ends on a triumphant note - in fact it's quite opposite. It's like Pillars of Eternity: Never Far From the Queen, only slightly better and leaves its protagonists (we'll get to that) in some pretty dark places at the end.

 

One thing I said about its predecessor, The Spoils of War (which I may have overhyped originally but I think still holds up in some respects), is that it's a movie where there's one great character - Hugh Jackman as Odysseus in a turn as defining to CAYOM as his turn as Logan was to the real world - in a crowd of good. Hugh Jackman devoured every frame he was in from beginning to end, but as far as great players go, that was about it. 

 

The Counsel of the Dead is a little bit similar, but with one key exception; Dacre Montgomery, who I had barely even heard of up to that point, really kills it as Odysseus’s son Telemachus. Part of it is the brilliantly woven parallell storylines between Odysseus and Telemachus, who feel strongly connected despite being hundreds of miles apart. Each tale is one of downfall, but one done in an attempt to do what it is right, even if it just wasn't enough.

 

All of that reaches a fever pitch in what I honestly still think is the best third act written in CAYOM. It's kinda hard to describe really, but it's a prime case where editing and pacing really is key, on top of great storytelling and engaging writing. I've been on board with whatever @Rorschach does from the beginning, and even in missteps like One Punch Man you can tell he is giving it his all, and he is one that learns from his mistakes and knows how to reapply them into something great. That kind of dedication should not go unrewarded in my estimation.

 

Don't know what else to say, really. The Counsel of the Dead is sort of the perfect blockbuster, and since @Rorschach's returning to the Matt Reeves well fairly soon I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

 

The reason that 24 hours is effective imo is how @4815162342 got Miles Teller's to break.

[SLAM!]

15 minutes ago, Reddroast said:

The reason that 24 hours is effective imo is how @4815162342 got Miles Teller's to break.

 

The best films that star Miles Teller are the films that break Miles Teller (Whiplash, Only The Brave).

[Ezen Baklattan]

1 minute ago, Slambros said:

 

The best films that star Miles Teller are the films that break Miles Teller (Whiplash, Only The Brave).

I feel like @cookie got a good bit of wish fulfillment out of this movie.

[Ethan Hunt]

Miles teller is great you all suck

[Rorschach]

1 hour ago, cookie said:

Top 10 #4

  Reveal hidden contents

24 Hours

 

by @4815162342

 

 

Some of the Y5 movies ending up here may ultimately be due to the freshness factor. I did go back and re-read the entries on this list, but the Y5 ones still remain the freshest in memory.

 

With that said, 24 Hours would be on my list either way. It's a @4815162342 crime movie, one with perhaps the most effective ending out of all of them. And if you deliver on your final punches, that's sort of all that matters in the end.

 

For real, before Carrie Coon led Miles Teller to that grave site, I legit had no idea what it was going to take to get Teller on her side. It really seemed like she was going to lose this one, but she had one hell of a final card up her sleeve. Teller throughout the entire movie has been depicted as sort of a boisterous coward, someone who thinks of himself as great but when push comes to shove would fold like a stack of cards. All Coon actually needed to do was find the one card that kept everything else standing.

 

But even aside gushing about the ending, 24 Hours is very different from other @4815162342 crime movies. This one is about corruption in far high places, about powerful men and corporations using the little guy to do their dirty work, and how if it weren't for a few strokes of fate they most certainly would have gotten away with it - it's just powerful storytelling that rings true to the world we live in today but doesn't hold back on creating compelling cinematic drama while it has the opportunity.

 

Simply short, it's awesome.

 

 

Personal Favorite #2

  Reveal hidden contents

The Number One Dime

 

 

 

This is the most fun I've had writing anything in CAYOM.

 

Yes, it's big. Yes, it's long. Yes, it goes pretty dark in its last third. But... I don't really mind any of that.

 

I had a blast writing it and it was a blast for me to relive it. It's the kind of unrestrained indulgence I felt I needed at the time, and it was still good enough to net me a second Best Picture nomination.

 

Part of what's so fun with writing a Scrooge McDuck film is that it allows me a surprising amount of freedom I don't feel like I'm getting with other adaptations, not just from the big questions like story and themes but down to the minute details like what joke I feel like telling at that particular moment or what character beat I want to play around with. Perhaps it's because the history of the Duck universe is so rich (everyone knows the DuckTales series and most are at least aware of its reboot, but I highly recommend checking out the comics - mostly the Carl Barks and Don Rosa runs - if you have the chance) and the interpretations of the characters are so many that you can go whichever direction you like with them, within certain perimeters of course.

 

Sometimes it's more fun to just do whatever you want, and take the story wherever you feel like it should go. Does it make for the most coherent piece or one that will satisfy everyone? Probably not, but it's fun to do all the same. If you want an example of my writing spirit at its fullest, don't read The Scavenger Wars or Voltron or Ripper or whichever, read The Number One Dime. You may or may not like it, but... it's definitely a window into me as a writer.

 

I guess what just makes me so happy with it is that unlike several other films I've written it's as close to what my original vision was as possible. I've often felt I had to compromise on this or that thing and it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but The Number One Dime it's so close it's almost perfect. Disagree with the vision itself all you want, but it feels really good to have something live up to what you set out to do once in a while.

 

If I had to bring up one negative is that it's a bit haphazardly written at times, in part because I had other stuff to get to after finishing it and so I never really did any proper polishing, so it's a bit messy in spots, I will admit. Full disclosure: like The Scavenger Wars, I've made a revised version of The Number One Dime that's about 1k shorter while keeping the story intact, so hopefully the issues should be fixed and it's a bit smoother of a read. I think of publishing it when The Argonaut of White Agony Creek and A Crackle in Time both come out.

 

@Spaghetti called this series "controlled chaos" in his write-up of my work, and I couldn't really disagree with that description. It's pretty apt, actually. The Number One Dime may not be perfect, but it's my kind of "controlled chaos", and for that it holds a special place for me.

 

 

Top 10 #3

  Reveal hidden contents

The Counsel of the Dead

by @Rorschach

 

 

 

Jumping from one Y3 sequel nominated for Best Picture to another (I guess that year was just friendly to blockbusters because the Oscar bait was crap, but aside from Spark: Homeward all nominees were in my top five, so... I don't really care?) we have what I think is the defining chapter of the greatest trilogy written in CAYOM 3.0 so far. Yes, more so than Homecoming, which kinda just missed this list.

 

The Counsel of the Dead is everything a period fantasy sequel should be: It's deeper, it's darker, and not everything ends on a triumphant note - in fact it's quite opposite. It's like Pillars of Eternity: Never Far From the Queen, only slightly better and leaves its protagonists (we'll get to that) in some pretty dark places at the end.

 

One thing I said about its predecessor, The Spoils of War (which I may have overhyped originally but I think still holds up in some respects), is that it's a movie where there's one great character - Hugh Jackman as Odysseus in a turn as defining to CAYOM as his turn as Logan was to the real world - in a crowd of good. Hugh Jackman devoured every frame he was in from beginning to end, but as far as great players go, that was about it. 

 

The Counsel of the Dead is a little bit similar, but with one key exception; Dacre Montgomery, who I had barely even heard of up to that point, really kills it as Odysseus’s son Telemachus. Part of it is the brilliantly woven parallell storylines between Odysseus and Telemachus, who feel strongly connected despite being hundreds of miles apart. Each tale is one of downfall, but one done in an attempt to do what it is right, even if it just wasn't enough.

 

All of that reaches a fever pitch in what I honestly still think is the best third act written in CAYOM. It's kinda hard to describe really, but it's a prime case where editing and pacing really is key, on top of great storytelling and engaging writing. I've been on board with whatever @Rorschach does from the beginning, and even in missteps like One Punch Man you can tell he is giving it his all, and he is one that learns from his mistakes and knows how to reapply them into something great. That kind of dedication should not go unrewarded in my estimation.

 

Don't know what else to say, really. The Counsel of the Dead is sort of the perfect blockbuster, and since @Rorschach's returning to the Matt Reeves well fairly soon I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

 

I think writing that the climax for that film was honestly the most fun I've ever had writing something in CAYOM so far. I think it's gonna be a long time before I get a similar feeling as I did with that. 

[cookie]

Top 10 #2

Spoiler

 

Bambi

A Life in the Woods

 

by @Rorschach

 

 

I've made my case with this one when I named it my #1 film of Year 5.

 

But even several days later, I'm still fascinated by it - and as much as I adore the ending to Bambi: A Life in the Woods, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

 

Yes, this is going to be an extended dissection of the ending to Bambi: A Life in the Woods. Spoiler warning for those who have not read it.

 

So throughout the movie the hunter, the one lone human in the story much like the Disney version, has no name - nor is he ever really seen until the very end. He is only ever referred to as, well... He.

 

He is not of the world Bambi inhabits, but he is very much a part of it at the same time. He does not live or interact with the animals on a regular basis, but he has the power to change and end lives at will.

 

He, in this case, is a malevolent force, one that takes everything away from Bambi when his mother vanishes without a trace, one that lures an unsuspecting Gobo into a trap and raises him only in service of being his pawn. He has a legion of hounds that will do whatever he commands, and his arrival is marked by a loud CRASH - when that crash comes, all you can really do is run, and pray for your own survival. Survival, not incidentally, is the key theme of the story.

 

But then at the end something happens. Something I did not expect.

 

After the twentieth or so time The Old Stag - who frankly is just a grade A asshole at this point - delivers cryptic lessons to Bambi, he drops a major bomb on both him and the audience. Before Bambi lies a dead body in the snow.

 

The body of He.

 

Turns out He is not as all-powerful as the story would've led you to believe. He is susceptible to the wills of nature like the rest of the animals in the forest. No being is above a cruel fate.

 

And if someone as seemingly all-powerful as He could not escape a tragic end, Bambi sure as hell does not have a chance either - unless he keeps his head low, he takes caution, he does not attach himself to anyone and he looks after himself before he looks after anyone else.

 

Every character that prioritized others above themselves eventually lost - Bambi's mother died trying to protect him. Faline, we can assume, died trying to protect her children in the epilogue. The forest is a beautiful place but it does not reward love or any other impulsive emotion. It only rewards survival instincts.

 

The epilogue, where Bambi comes across Faline's fawns and simply tells them to look after themselves because at this point their mother sure as hell won't, is the most cynical closing statement I've come across in CAYOM. More so than By the Balls even. It is straight up nihilism.

 

And it is brilliant.

 

I'm not sure if that's something that was taken directly from the book, but it is very beautifully translated here anyhow. @Rorschach's writing has reached a fever pitch with Bambi: A Life in the Woods and I frankly don't know what he could do to top it. It's a lightning in a bottle, the kind of film that doesn't happen every game year, or every other game year, or maybe every other other game year if you're generous. But I am glad it did.

 

So why is Bambi: A Life in the Woods not #1? I think you know the answer to that.

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by cookie

[Rorschach]

@cookie that was such a beautiful analysis man. If you loved the film, I definitely recommend the book to you, and to everyone else for that matter. The writing in that book is so damn beautiful, I feel dirty for having even tried to steal its thunder. Honestly, its so damn good.

 

This video I have linked below is what got me so fascinated in the source material to begin with. Hearing the differences between the novel and the Disney honestly blew my mind the first time I watched it.

 

(you can skip to 2:57)

 

One other thing...

Spoiler

Faline, we can assume, died trying to protect her children in the epilogue. 

 

Spoiler

She doesn't. Similar to Bambi's mother in the first third of the film, she leaves her children to their own devices as they start getting bigger. I don't fault the interpretation though.

 

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Rorschach

[Ezen Baklattan]

If I’m the reason you’re going to get all personal, I apologize sincerely.

[cookie]

6 minutes ago, Spaghetti said:

 

  Hide contents

If I’m the reason you’re going to get all personal, I apologize sincerely.

 

Spoiler

It’s something you had no control over and arrived after you had made the film, so no need to apologize 

 

[cookie]

The final post is coming in... maybe two hours. This is gonna be a beefy one.

[cookie]

(The following post contains spoilers for a Y5 film I know at least one person hasn't read yet. It also contains spoilers for a Y3 film I'm not sure if the same person has read either. Either way, spoilers ahead).

 

 

Cookie's Confession Time

 

or

 

Personal Favorite #1 and Top 10 #1

 

 

So let's begin. I think it's important both entries are digested because they're sort of connected.

 

 

Part I:

Spoiler

T H E  

S C A V E N G E R  

W A R S 

P A R T  I I

 

 

 

This project has had the highest stakes involved with any film I've published so far, and it's all a matter of circumstance.

 

And to understand that, we need to go back to the darkest day for me personally in this game. The day I wrote this post:

 

 

I had spent months upon months on end with Voltron 3. I had written so much. I had over 33,000+ words, and the goddamn thing was maybe just 60% finished. How the fuck I arrived there, I can't tell you. It was insanity and a half, and when things started to go wrong they went wrong fast. It all came like a speeding locomotive I could not dodge.

 

Even if I had by some miracle finished it, I had no confidence it was going to work. I don't think anyone was going to accept a 40,000+ script. I wasn't even going to accept it myself. I had to admit defeat, and that sullied my mood for far longer than I'm willing to admit.

 

And then in Year 5, the deadline was approaching, I had no confidence in finishing Voltron 3 again and there was no chance I could get The Argonaut of White Agony Creek finished in time even if I knew exactly what I wanted to do - and frankly, I'm very confident in it still, I hope people really enjoy it whenever it comes out.

 

But then there was The Scavenger Wars Part II. The second chapter in my then perhaps biggest achievement in CAYOM. It was so far along I could finish it.

 

In the final days, I seriously dreaded another Voltron 3 burnout. I could not accept another burnout. I may actually have decided to call it quits. Maybe not entirely, but I would've left for a year or two and given up my Year 7 privileges, because I thought if I couldn't do it in two years, I couldn't do it at all.

 

But I did it. I had to beg for a few extra hours in order to finish it, but I did it. And then there was the question of if it was going to work at all - I was afraid that if it didn't, I'd be burned out either way. There was always the pressure of delivering a sequel that lived up to expectations in the first place. I have a tendency to overhype and slightly underdeliver - or fail to deliver at all - and if I flopped with the second part of a story that was very important to me I would not feel good about myself afterwards. Not at all.

 

See, full disclosure: TSW2 was not supposed to end where it was. Not originally. The entire fall of Khouga/Ares attacks the H.F.F bit was supposed to be the end of the second act, and then a third act would follow it. But I realized some time ago that there was far too much I needed to set up to even get to that point, and there was no way the full story could fit in one movie. So I split it. The latter half of the story may not even be told now, at least not in the way it was originally intended, because plans have changed a bit.

 

The constraints are also why Sal (Sasha Lane's character, in case you forgot) ended up being the least developed out of the main five. She had a lot of scenes I had to cut, many of which were in the second half but some in the first - I have shown @Spaghetti and @YourMother the Edgelord a sequence involving her in the third act that was close to finish but I decided to cut out entirely because the movie was getting too long. A shame too, since I really liked that sequence and will probably do a variation of it later.

 

I almost did not put this as number one because I really don't want to jinx it, but even as the box office hasn't been counted and its Oscar potential hasn't been valued yet... I would still call it a very personal victory. One I frankly really needed.

 

I experimented a lot more with the writing on this one than I have done previously (granted, one element like the larger text and extremely generous paragraph breaks were done sort of out of personal necessity - I will get to that) and I think I found a formula that to me works. It's still wordy, but to me it works.

 

The top priority was always to rehabilitate Lucina (which I ironically think I could need to go through rehab lol) and if the feedback so far is any indication, I'm very glad I succeeded. Making sure Tamara lived up to her role in the original was always going to be the trickier part - I was actually afraid she was going to turn into T'Challa in Black Panther where he's upstaged by everyone around him the moment it became his story. I see the slight criticism that she's more reactive than active in this one, although it was sort of the point overall. I think her frustrations with her ways not working out the way she wanted and getting very upset over that played a lot into what'll be her future arc.

 

Then there's the two Pidges. And Kenneth "I Got a Rock" Branagh. And Sal. And Jarek. And Ares.

 

I was scared any of those could've nuked this movie. I do see the criticism and will freely admit I overplayed my hand with Ares. I guess I got caught up in his monologuing, which I really enjoyed writing even if as a villain he's somewhat underdeveloped too. I hope to instill far more layers into every single one of these characters down the line, so be assured the story is far from finished.

 

Favorite scene? I honestly don't know. I like the monologues both the baddies and Tamara herself give out. I like the scene where Lucina threatens Sal. I like Jarek's introduction a lot, and I like the whole tree demon bit, even if it may be a little much. There's actually a lot I really like, even with the compromises taken into consideration.

 

But none of that's really important right now, and frankly I think what you came for was what the final entry in my Five-Year Top Ten was. I think the above context is somewhat necessary in order to fully grasp the next bit, though.

 

Because what connects The Scavenger Wars Part II and the next film is a single date: March 18th, 2019. The day I posted TSW2, and the day something else happened.

 

Part II:

Spoiler

 

Notes From The

OTHERSPACE

 

by @Spaghetti

 

 

I remember when @Spaghetti desperately wanted someone to pre-read this, and I remember when he said he was very afraid of how the depiction of someone with social anxiety would come across as. I think someone said it was a bit too generalized (key word I THINK, don't remember the exact sequence of events), and I defended it by saying that each individual's experience is very specific and that can be difficult to capture, drawing my own personal experience with social anxiety as a point of comparison.

 

Looking back I think this did a far better job than I first thought, almost scary in hindsight.

 

On March 18th, 2019, I was diagnosed with Autism. F84.5 to be exact. (which a few years ago was called Asperger's Syndrome and was its separate branch)

 

See, I've had struggles with this my whole life to one extent or another but I always got by in school (graduated with pretty good grades) but it was first in university where it started to get really difficult for me, and when trying to get out  in the job market at the same time. Having certain learning difficulties I don't think is all that important in relation to how @Spaghetti depicted Anna Kendrick's Meg Ellis, but the social part I think definitely does.

 

Meg is very scared to talk to people. Meg basically has to be supported at work and by her mom. Meg has had these problems since childhood, and she often tried to escape this by drawing a fantasy world which later came to life in her adulthood.

 

Before I continue, I will not claim I speak for any autistic person or anyone else with neurodevelopmental disorders. I speak only for myself.

 

Even if Meg isn't entering that world voluntarily, she finds comfort in it. It grants her confidence. It gives her an area where her fears can manifest and she can conquer them, but as it soon turns out it has negative consequences in the real world, and it led her to be exploited by an old flame (that last part hasn't happened to me, y'all can rest) while at the same time a malevolent manifestation appears in her fantasy world that taunts her every step of the way. With the help of others Meg realized she needed help, and she made some difficult choice which aided her in conquering her troubles both in reality and in fantasy.

 

And the movie ends on a very uplifting note, which is expected but welcome.

 

It's entirely possible Notes From the Otherspace is not as perfect as I'm making it seem. Maybe if I read it and Bambi back to back I would have decided that Bambi was the better movie. But Notes did something I don't think I've seen any other CAYOM film do, and one I'd be cautious to even try myself (I am thinking of making stories centering around my condition in the future but I want to make sure it doesn't come across as accidentally derogatory - no person is lesser because they have certain disorders. Some things they're even better at than "regular" people). It's another lightning in a bottle honestly, just a perfectly executed film that was somehow made even stronger with the benefit of hindsight.

 

I bash @Spaghetti's movies sometimes. That there's one movie of his every year I'm not so hot on is basically a meme at this point. But @Spaghetti is maybe the kindest and most respectful member of this community and when he puts his heart to it like with this and Spark: Rising then there's a certain magic to it you won't find anywhere else. I'm sorry everyone else, but when @Spaghetti's on top, he's goddamn on top. No offense meant.

 

It's approaching 4 A.M here so apologies if some of this is a bit scatterbrained. I need to be up in six hours to get Avengers Endgame tickets (they're not releasing them until the 10th in Copenhagen for some reason, which is where I'm going if I want to see it in IMAX) and so I may be cutting some of this a bit short.

 

But Notes From the Otherspace, for Cookie's Corner's money, is the best film of the last five years. It just is - I couldn't really think of any other answer to the question than that. Can a film in the next five years, if we get that far, upstage it? I have no idea, and I don't want to make any predictions.

 

But I think @Spaghetti can be safe on the throne for a little while longer.

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by cookie

[cookie]

I would like to personally thank

 

@4815162342

@Alpha

@Bastien

@Blankments

@ChD

@Ethan Hunt

@Hiccup23

@Reddroast

@Rorschach

@Slambros

@Spaghetti

@YourMother the Edgelord

@Xillix

 

and others I'm forgetting right now (sorry) for five years of CAYOM. Five years of stories, five years of reviews, five years and highs and lows... Here's hoping for another five.

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

@cookie I’m out now, but I promise I’m going to give you a full response once I’m back at my computer.

[4815162342]

@cookie

 

[4815162342]

Spoiler

Quote

See, full disclosure: TSW2 was not supposed to end where it was. Not originally. The entire fall of Khouga/Ares attacks the H.F.F bit was supposed to be the end of the second act, and then a third act would follow it. But I realized some time ago that there was far too much I needed to set up to even get to that point, and there was no way the full story could fit in one movie.

 

 

This was the right call

[cookie]

14 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

  Hide contents

 

 

This was the right call

Spoiler

That was the mistake I made with Voltron 3. I didn’t realize I needed to start cutting things out until the last week before the deadline and so I had to set everything back just so I could adjust for the changes. The TSW2 split was made when I had only written a couple of scenes fortunately and so it was far easier to make the changes necessary.

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

Okay, so @cookie my phone was on death's edge but now I'm back on home on my laptop and ready to reply.

 

Spoiler

First off, let me say thank you so much. The success of this film astounded me as it came out, and it still makes me feel so warm today. This is an incredible honor, and even if I stopped reading at #1, I would feel so amazing.

 

First, let me back up. You'll notice that I go through points in order of your review.

 

This was a film that's been ruminating in my mind a long time before I started playing in 3.0, and it was personal to the point where I had to convince myself to make it. I began to outline it, and I began to put together something that I started to become really invested in. I wasn't sure if it was a home run, but even if it was pretty well liked, I would be happy. A month or so after I published it, I began to think of a crappy 2006 made for TV movie, Reanimated:

 

 

But it began to show me a case of what could have happened if I botched this movie. An extreme example, granted, but one that wouldn't just be beyond bad, but maybe even harmful to the people it was trying to help. Obviously Reanimated isn't a blight on mental illness, but maybe the dots were connected a bit overzealously. When the first reviews came in, and I could tweak it minimally (beyond a few of my typical first draft brain flatuence), it was a monumental relief.

 

Which then brings me to the film itself.

 

When I wrote Meg Hollis (you were close on her last name), I definitely had written her more under the lens of Anxiety and Depression, but I think with a lot that happens in the film, you could perhaps make the case that her symptoms display something on the autism spectrum. This is not to say that autism and anxiety/depression are mutually exclusive, just that you could argue for traces in the former as well.

 

I've remarked that this film was deeply personal for me, and much, but not all of what Meg goes through really happened to or connected with me. I had felt lonely at my workplace at the time (although writing this film almost helped me break out of my shell a bit more), and I had a relationship a bit like Meg had with Jake. Admittedly, we had reconciled since then, but some of the stuff that he did (prior to the events of the movie, think the movie theater scene) was slightly exaggerated from my own experiences. The real difference was the scene at the bar, which was almost a bit more inspired by Jason Sudekis' character in Colossal. (Sorry, I'm rambling a bit here) 

 

Spoiler

The firing scene also didn't happen in my life, but the leak issue was based on something that really happened at my workplace. I had a true blue panic attack the night I found out. I'm to this day relieved I didn't find out at work.

 

This leads me to my maybe bigger, more personal point.....I also have autism.

 

I guess my big difference is that it generally affected more of my childhood than my adult years, but I think as I got older, I think I did shift more towards having anxiety problems.

 

But ultimately...deciding to write this, let alone executing it all the way was maybe one of the best decisions I ever made in any of my creative endeavors. I felt less alone, I felt like I didn't have to be ashamed of myself, (and that I had NOTHING to be ashamed of) and I knew that I had something worth fighting for. That I was worth fighting for. And maybe, in a meta way, CAYOM is like the Otherspace in and of itself. I am on the road to becoming better each day, and telling this story gave me the courage to keep going, and I feel so cathartic that it connected with you so deeply.

 

@cookie I have immense respect for you, and I was really proud of you for getting out TSW2 this year. You too are another one of those players who can let a work SING when you put your heart into it. And I thank you for helping make these five years of CAYOM amazing. Here's to many more in the future. I'm not sure if I need to have a more cohesive conclusion, but thank you so much for this.

 

I want to know what love is.

 

I want you to show me.

 

And you did. ❤️ 

 

[4815162342]

11 hours ago, 4815162342 said:

@cookie

 

 

Applies to @Spaghetti now too

[Reddroast]

@Spaghetti @cookie you guys made me cry so much. I have an older brother and a couple of friends on the autism spectrum. I understand how difficult it can be. Keep doing what makes you happy