Jump to content

cookie

Cookie Does Requests or Whatever (Cookie's Corner Y6) - Unlike Garfield, this thread doesn't hate Mondays

Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

Do I have to request a film of my own?

 

Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet

The Neon Psalms

You're free not to. As long as the number of requested films that are your own is < 2 your request will be accepted.

Edited by cookie
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites



Current queue:

  1. Lumberjanes
  2. LucIId
  3. The Feminist
  4. De Blob
  5. Super Mario Bros
  6. Colony
  7. Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet
  8. The Neon Psalms

 

Requests are open until Monday at 23:59 P.M Eastern.

Edited by cookie
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@cookie

 

You've already read the film of course, but while it percolates in your mind just wanted to let you know that for audiovisual effect that a good deal of the music for The Most Wanted Man in Great Britain is meant to have a similar tone and emotion to this soundtrack

 

Spoiler



 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites





Current queue:

  1. Lumberjanes
  2. LucIId
  3. The Feminist
  4. De Blob
  5. Super Mario Bros
  6. Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet
  7. The Neon Psalms
  8. Chuck Norris and Liam Neeson vs. The Current Hollywood Landscape
  9. Live2ream
  10. XJ-9: Rebirth

 

Requests will be closed 17 hours from now.

Edited by cookie
Link to comment
Share on other sites



Update:

  1. Lumberjanes
  2. The Feminist
  3. De Blob
  4. Super Mario Bros
  5. Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet
  6. The Neon Psalms
  7. Chuck Norris and Liam Neeson vs. The Current Hollywood Landscape
  8. Live2ream
  9. XJ-9: Rebirth
  10. Thirsty

 

Also adding Mass Effect 2 to the no-request list.

Edited by cookie
Link to comment
Share on other sites





  1. Lumberjanes
  2. The Feminist
  3. De Blob
  4. Super Mario Bros
  5. Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet
  6. The Neon Psalms
  7. Chuck Norris and Liam Neeson vs. The Current Hollywood Landscape
  8. Live2ream
  9. XJ-9: Rebirth
  10. Thirsty
  11. Duck Hunt
  12. Fiesta Loca

 

Requests close in six hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites





Apologies in advance to you in particular cookie: PLUS ONE was written in such a rush that it really should be edited in a format with dialogue breaks but sadly it is not. I wish you luck with it since I know you’ve had a problem with my formatting in the past 😕

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites



3 hours ago, Blankments said:

Apologies in advance to you in particular cookie: PLUS ONE was written in such a rush that it really should be edited in a format with dialogue breaks but sadly it is not. I wish you luck with it since I know you’ve had a problem with my formatting in the past 😕

Well, at least it’s been acknowledged in advance.

 

The final queue is:

  1. Lumberjanes
  2. The Feminist
  3. De Blob
  4. Super Mario Bros
  5. Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet
  6. The Neon Psalms
  7. Chuck Norris and Liam Neeson vs. The Current Hollywood Landscape
  8. Live2ream
  9. Plus One
  10. Thirsty
  11. Duck Hunt
  12. Fiesta Loca
  13. Voicemail
  14. Facepaint
  15. Hired Guns

 

Note to everyone: Since I have no stakes involved with anything of my own this year, I’m going to refrain from reading anyone else’s review until I’m finished with all the requests, just so my grading is as free from influence as possible.

 

That’ll also make me a bit more unpredictable, so take that as you will :ph34r:

Edited by cookie
Link to comment
Share on other sites



Gonna drop one this morning and a few more later today.

 

The Ancient Magus' Bride and the King of Cats

Spoiler
 
 
 
1
Spoiler

This is definitely an example of what I'm now going to dub as a "pilot movie", a film that's more about introducing the characters and setting up future events than it is about a self-contained story — even if there are some minor arcs that, while they don't get that much development, wraps them up so we can get to what I assume is going to be juicy stuff further down the road.

 

This isn't a damning criticism, more of an observation than anything. I think in CAYOM terms that's okay (and I've praised somewhat similar films in the past and next year will have a film that's from the ground up the first of two parts), provided what you set up delivers so the preceding films hold up in hindsight. Now, an example that goes too far with this would be last year's Psyren since that's barely a movie, more of a tech demo for whatever's supposedly going to happen in its sequels. Ancient Magus Bride is not on that level, that much's for sure, it actually has a three-act structure even if it's brief.

 

I think the larger contention, however, is that some things probably could've been explored differently in translation given the implications they abound; I'm referring specifically to the relationship between Elias and Chisele. When I say that, I'm not saying that conceit in itself is the problem (and @SLAM! changed it so Chisele is eighteen as opposed to fifteen in the original, which would've raised serious alarms), I just think the dynamic of their relationship could've been explored and, more importantly, challenged more, because it's something that just kinda lingers in the background for most of the film.

 

Elias buys Chisele to be his slave. There's no beating around the bush about that, even if the movie tries to save face by 1) saying that Chisele offered herself up for auction so she'd have a roof to sleep under, and 2) Elias claims she can refuse to work for him at any time.

 

My response to those two points would be:

  1. I understand Chisele's predicament, even it's a very risky plan given what anyone other than Elias could've bought her for. In the context of the character, it's not an uninteresting note to start off on. I'm just saying it doesn't actually negate the point I made earlier.
  2. He says she can refuse at any time. We never actually see Chisele attempt to refuse or really do much to challenge Elias's authority, so we don't know whether he'd actually grant her that freedom, especially when it's hammered in that she serves an important purpose to him. Until we do, the perception remains that he's the master of her fate.

 

And given that

Spoiler

the movie ends with a sort of a romance blossoming between the two,

the dynamic not really being addressed does leave things at a bit of an uneasy note — which, in the film's defense, a well thought out sequel that actually explores their relationship can save. That's why I'm not letting that aspect cripple my grade of the film even if I do hope it's rectified in hindsight.

 

Oh, there was a bunch of other stuff in there too, guess I should get to that...

 

It's a very mellow movie when you get past the central conceit since most of it is the two going to a few places and encountering these various magical creatures without much stakes or danger until the third act. That also is not a criticism, more of an observation. I kinda wish the supporting characters and the antagonists that show up in the last act didn't just exist to set up future movies, but at least CGI Obi-Wan and Lana Condor have chemistry that, again, make the experience flow by at a relatively good pace. What also helps is that the score and cinematography are stellar, and real effort was put into creating this somewhat bizarre world.

 

I think a lot of this movie is to be determined pending on how future movies make everything hang together. That does mean however that part two has work carved out ahead of itself, and I hope the filmmakers don't let me down on that front.

 

B

 

Edited by cookie
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites



It's time @Rorschach

 

Borrasca

 
 
 
1
Spoiler

Here's another one I'm a bit conflicted about, but for different reasons.

 

I've made my points in the discussion thread last weekend, and those who saw it probably expected this review.

 

Here's the thing: even if my feelings on the last 15-20 minutes are a bit negative, that doesn't negate that the first two hours, and especially the opening act with the kids, is among the best I've seen in CAYOM. Like, it's genuinely terrific, close to the level of a Numbers crime/history movie or Bambi: A Life in the Woods or Odyssey 2. If you need an example of how @Rorschach has grown and evolved exponentially as a writer... read Odyssey and Bambi first, but then come back to this.

 

It's a genuinely engaging mystery with the backdrop of growing up in a backwater town where everyone knows everyone, but the adults are keeping so much secret from our young protagonists. The adults in Borrasca aren't as much characters as they are these strange entities, controlling not just the fates and fortunes of the town's youth but also each other. It's definitely heavy lifting from the works of Stephen King but in a good way.

 

Its main trio are also well cast and likable enough that you're willing to root for them to solve the mystery. Sam is a pretty atypical straight man, but he gets the job done. Kimber and her relationship with her mother are also well delivered, but I do think the standout is Kyle since he's surprisingly the most layered of the three, plus he's the source of much of the movie's much-needed levity.

 

That's the thing, everything was going so well... until that last reveal. I won't spoil what it is in case anyone sees this before they get a chance to read it, but after days deliberating on it I don't think it's so much the content of what's happening (though it's bound to shock viewers, which is the intent) as much as the hard right turn the film takes. Describing the tone might give away a bit of the game, but I don't know if the transition sat all that well with me, plus it's the one section in the film that genuinely confused me in terms of the writing since it took me a hot second to realize what was happening.

 

I see where everything was set up,  but I think more could've been done in that regard. It's hard to explain through words exactly what makes it rub me the wrong way (the content is obviously meant to rub people the wrong way, I mean more how it's executed), it's more the feeling and the flow of the story makes it a bit of an odd whiplash, and some of the goodwill was kinda lost along the way.

 

This review may come across as more negative than it actually is. and that's because I wanted to address that aspect the most, but I don't want people to think I dislike Borrasca or anything. I like it a lot.

 

Think of it this way: It could've been an A or A- at worst. That's how good the first two hours are. The funeral scene is impressive in how it manages to build tension through texting of all things, and like I said before it's well cast and the main trio are all likable.

 

But because of that ending, I'll have to give it:

 

B+

 

This is not another Bambi or Odyssey 2, but it's not a One Punch Man either. I think @Rorschach should just keep doing what he's doing because the batting average is still very high.

 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites



Gateways

Spoiler
 
 
 
1
Spoiler

This review may be a bit biased since I had a hand in the production of this film, but I'll try to be impartial.

 

@YourMother the Edgelord's best film in CAYOM so far I — as well as several other people — would say is Can You Imagine?, the animated blockbuster from Year 4 (and whose sequel will be my main rival in Year 7. Scrooge McDuck and blue tunic boi will be taking notes). Gateways is obviously attempting to challenge that position, resulting in what honestly might be one of the most ambitious animated releases just in pure scale in CAYOM, at least rivaling my own The Number One Dime. The worlds are various, the characters are broad, and the imagination is flourishing. Does all that mix into a satisfying stew?

 

Simple answer; Yes.

 

Does that make it perfect? IMO no movie is, so the obvious answer would be no — though I think the issues aren't in any way damning or enough so that they really hamper the experience in any significant way. At first, I sort of thought that it was maybe going a few too many directions and feel a bit episodic, but this is pretty much a road trip movie, and road trips movies are by their nature very episodic since it's more about what you experience along the way than the final destination. That's not to say the destination isn't exciting and heartfelt in of itself, I'm just pointing out the nature of the genre to explain the film's overall structure.

 

Older audiences are probably going to figure out what the game is before they get there, not that the movie doesn't drop enough hints along the way, but I think younger audiences are going to be surprised by the turns the film takes, and certain family audiences I won't specify so as to not give away spoilers are going to find the final notes to be very resonant with them — and honestly, any movie that goes that direction I can't find it in myself to hate. Given how shit the world is today, uplifting messages like that are just nice to have. Call it shallow if you want, I don't care.

 

One of the film's touted aspects is its variety in animation styles, and I think it's used to a serviceable effect, even if it doesn't make that much of an impact outside of the one section where they enter a world full of dogs and everything is in the style of Aardman animation. Maybe it could've been used more to its full potential, but when the complaint is "it's not used enough", you're on the right track.

 

Honestly, I can't really say anything negative that isn't mild suggestions or nitpicking by the end of the day. The very worst moments of Gateways are serviceable, and the very best moments are reminders of what makes CAYOM so much fun. How could I possibly hate it for that, even without the bias?

 

Hats off to @YourMother the Edgelord, I think he's pulled off another winner.

 

A/A-

 

Edited by cookie
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites





Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Guidelines. Feel free to read our Privacy Policy as well.