Attack on Titan Chapter 122, From You, 2000 Years Ago Review: The Tragedy of Ymir Fritz.

I was excited coming into Attack on Titan chapter 122, but nothing could have prepared me for how amazing it is.
Hajime Isayama has done it again, delivering another mind blowing chapter that is already among my favourite chapters in the entire manga.
Right from the beginning, I knew we were in for something big as it started off with a flashback to when Historia was first told about Ymir Fritz by her sister, Frieda.
Then there is the title, “From You, 2000 Years Ago”, which is very similar to the title of the first chapter in the manga “To You, in 2000 Years” showing just how well Isayama planned this story out.
This was a great way to start a mostly flashback chapter that went on to detail the short and tragic life of Ymir, and semi-explained the origin of the Titans.
I feel like I have said this before but it needs repeating, I love the way Isayama subverts our expectations.
Back when we first learned of Ymir in Grisha’s flashback chapters, we all assumed she was a powerful leader who created Eldia, whether her intentions were bad like Marley claimed or not.
However, now we know that Ymir was nothing more than a slave, brainwashed into serving a cruel king who would go on to rape her and have their children eat her body after she died protecting him.
Ymir’s life is incredibly sad, with it getting so much worse after she became the first Titan, even though she had so much power.
Speaking of which, let’s talk about how Ymir became the Founding Titan in the first place.
After she set some pigs free, King Fritz lets her go free as well only to send a hunting party after her for sport.
An injured Ymir then comes across a massive tree, which looks like the energy tree in the Titan realm.
She attempts to hide in a crack in the tree but falls into a hole of water and nearly drowns.
But then, it happens.
A weird spinal column looking object rises towards her sinking body and touches her, transforming her into a gigantic, and the very first, Titan Shifter.
Now, what exactly this thing that gives Ymir her power is we cannot be completely sure.
Best guess is that it is “the source of all organic material” as Eren Kruger put it but, beyond that, we don’t know.
I don’t really expect Isayama to expand any more on this but, personally, I think this may be for the best.
I don’t think any full explanation of what started the Titans could be satisfying so it is probably better he keep it vague.
One thing I am sure of, though, is that the origin of the Titans is heavily based off Norse mythology, which has been a constant source of inspiration for Attack on Titan.
This influence is clear with the nine realms that represent the nine Titans and the nine survivors at Shiganshina, along with Ymir being representative of the Ymir from the mythology.
Now, there is the massive tree Ymir gets her powers in and is also seen in the Path Dimension, which is based off the world tree Yggdrasil.
It is because of this tree that Ymir becomes the first Titan, a gigantic monster with a skull-like face and ribs sticking out.
King Fritz then uses her to conquer other nations like Marley and kick start the Eldian Empire’s rise to power.
For a long time, I have considered the only truly evil character in Attack on Titan to be Gross, the man who fed Grisha’s little sister to the dogs.
Well, he just got joined by King Fritz, a truly despicable human being who sadly does not get his comeuppance.
Instead, he apparently dies peacefully, urging his three daughters Maria, Rose and Shina, who have inherited Ymir’s power, to continue this inheritance with their own children, eventually resulting in the nine Titan Shifters.
Before this, though, came the horrifying inheritance of Ymir’s abilities by her daughters.
Just like how the season two outro spoiled it, Maria, Rose and Shina were forced to eat their own mother’s dead body to gain the Titan powers in a sickening image.
I think it is safe to say that, in just one chapter, Isayama has made Ymir the most tragic character in all of Attack on Titan.
Enslaved from a young age, accidentally gaining a massive power, forced to marry a cruel ruler and have his children, only to die and for him to feed her body to their children, and still work as a slave from the Path Dimension, building Titans over what must feel like millions of years for her.
This immense and tragic fate she is given is illustrated by the panel of her building the millions of Colossal Titan for the walls with just a bucket of sand.
From here, the scene changes to the present, with Eren having caught Ymir in an embrace, telling her she is a human being not a slave and is free to choose what she wants.
This is contrasted by Zeke screaming at her to follow his orders because he has royal blood.
And then, for the first time, we get a look at Ymir’s eyes… and she cries.
The panel of this moment was beautifully drawn, showing just how far Isayama has come since his early days when his artwork was honestly less than stellar.
Ymir crying was a truly heartbreaking moment, which then turns to shock and horror as she makes her choice, and chooses Eren.
Out of the Path Dimension, a spinal cord reattaches Eren’s head to his body and, as he transforms, he triggers the event that has been built up for so many chapters.
The Rumbling.
I completely lost it in this moment, shouting out in both excitement and terror at what was happening.
As the millions of Colossal Titans awaken and break through the walls to do what Eren commands, the chapter ends with the ominous statement, “It can’t be stopped anymore!”
The endgame for Attack on Titan is truly here; the Rumbling is happening and the final chapters of the manga will most likely deal with the consequences.
I loved Chapter 122.
It is an amazing chapter with not just a tragic backstory for Ymir and probably the best cliffhanger in Attack on Titan‘s history, but also a lot of great visual symbolism from Isayama.
First there are the characters’ eyes in the flashback.
They are unseen, represented only by darkness.
This is mainly apparent with King Fritz and this makes for a striking comparison when we see Zeke at the end of the chapter because his eyes are drawn exactly the same in some panels.
From this, we can see that Isayama is linking the two with Zeke planning on using Ymir like Fritz used her, which is ultimately why she chooses Eren.
Then there are the visual similarities between Ymir and the Ymir of the present and Historia.
When Ymir Fritz is turned in at the beginning of the chapter for freeing the pigs everyone points the finger at her, throwing her under the bus just like the other Ymir was thrown under the bus by those she trusted.
More interesting, though, is the parallels between Ymir and Historia.
When Ymir is pregnant, we get an image of her sitting in a chair holding her stomach.
This is eerily reminiscent of the final panel in Chapter 107 when Historia’s pregnancy was revealed.
Then when you consider that,as far as we know, Historia’s pregnancy is being forced on her, like Ymir, the similarities become more prominent.
I think this only adds fuel to the fire that is the theory that Historia will give birth to the reincarnation of Ymir Fritz at the end of the story and name her after the Ymir she knew.
No matter what happens, though, I cannot wait to see how the story will end.
I already consider “From You, 2000 Years Ago” to be one of Attack on Titan‘s best chapters.
If the final arc goes on like this, then it might just have a chance of beating the Return to Shiganshina Arc as my favourite one of the entire series.

It Chapter 2 Review: Highly Flawed but a lot of Fun.

When I started my blog two years ago, the first review I ever did was Andy Muschietti’s 2017 adaption of Stephen King’s It.
With Stephen King being one of my favourite authors, and It being one of my favourite novels, I was highly anticipating that first film.
I ended up loving It, giving the film a four and half star rating out of five.

It first movie.jpg — I loved the first It film as a fan of Stephen King’s novel.

So, I was naturally, highly anticipating the sequel, It: Chapter 2, which I just saw this morning.
And what did I think of it?
Well, my feelings are mixed.
I would say that I enjoyed the film, with it being a lot of fun at times, however, it is highly flawed.
I will start with the positives fist and the biggest praise I can give this move is that the acting is phenomenal, with all of the Losers club being perfectly cast.
It: Chapter 2 picks up 27 years after the first film with Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) calling the other members of the Losers’ Club, including Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), Beverly Marsh (Jessica Chastain), Richie Tozier (Bill Hader), Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone), and Ben Hanscom (Jay Ryan), back to the town of Derry, Maine after the monstrous entity known as It resurfaces.
Bill Skarsgård does an amazing job playing the monstrous clown Pennywise, It’s favourite form, and this is most apparent in a scene where he lures a little girl in, showing how deviously manipulative It can be.
But it is with the Losers’ Club that the acting department really shines, with Bill Hader turning in the best performance as Richie.

Bill Hader.jpg — Bill Hader is by far the best actor in *It: Chapter 2.*

As well as being greatly performed, Richie also has a fantastic arc and provides a lot of the film’s laughs alongside Eddie.
There is even a cameo from Stephen King in the film, which is very well done.
Then there are the scares, a few of which got me but many did not.
This is okay, though, because, even though I was not as scared as when watching the first film, a lot of these scenes were very exciting.
It: Chapter 2 even managed to surprise me at times with one small storyline surrounding Bill trying to save one of It’s victims going in a direction I did not expect at all.
Sadly, this is where my praise for the film ends because it does have a lot of flaws that hold it back.
The biggest of these is easily the film’s runtime.
Coming in at 169 minutes, It: Chapter 2 is just too long.
The second act, especially, drags on for what feels like forever with so many formulaic scenes.
What is worse, it felt like these scenes should have been condensed in favor of other ones.
For example, Henry Bowers’ role is lessened to the point that I wondered why he was even in this movie.

Henry Bowers.jpg — I feel like more time should have been devoted to Henry Bowers instead of other scenes in the film’s repetitive middle act.

Then there is the humor.
I know I praised the comedy earlier but there is just too much of it.
It is incredibly jarring to see the characters experience a horrific moment in one scene and then be making “your mum” jokes in the next.
This culminates in an especially bizarre moment when “Angel of the Morning” plays in what is supposed to be a scary scene.
Plus, there is a pretty problematic idea that is brought up about Stanley Uris (Andy Bean) at the end of the film that I feel should have been left on the cutting room floor.
I get what they were going for with that scene but it definitely can be read in a way that sends a very bad message.
Not that anything will come of that message, but it is problematic nonetheless.
Overall, though, these issues did not ruin the film for me.
I still enjoyed It: Chapter 2 quite a bit.
The acting is fantastic, especially from Bill Hader, a lot of the jokes are hilarious, and many of the scenes are exciting and take unexpected turns.
There are just quite a few issues you need to prepare yourself for going in, the biggest being the runtime.
Still, I would recommend the film, especially to fans of King’s original novel.

Hinamatsuri Review: A Yukuza and a Telekinetic Girl Walk into a Bar.

Tell me if you have heard this one; a Yukuza and a telekinetic girl walk into a bar and order a drink from an underage bartender.
If you have heard this, well, then you have probably already seen Hinamastusri and know how good it is and don’t need me to tell you that.
For those of you who have not watched it, though, first allow me to give you a little background on my experience.
At the Anime Club of the University I go to, we start each semester off by selecting three out of five animes to watch weekly.
At the beginning of this semester, one of those anime was Hinamatsuri.
Despite finding the first episode to be quite funny, I did not end up voting for it.
Thankfully, however, many other people did so it ended up being one of the anime we watched.
And, after completing the series this week, I can say that I really regret not voting for it because Hinamatsuri is an absolutely hilarious anime, with great characters and a lot of heart.
Based off the manga by Masao Ōtake, and directed by Kei Oikawa, the story follows a surprisingly normal Yukuza, named Yoshifumi Nitta (Yoshiki Nakajima), whose life is flipped upside when a telekinetic girl with a craving for Ikura, named Hina (Takako Tanaka), crashes into both his apartment and his head.
Forced to look after Hina, Nitta and many of the characters around him are thrown into hilarious situation after hilarious situation.

Girly Club!.jpg — The increasingly absurd events Nitta and Hina find themselves caught up in or, more likely, creating always get a good laugh.

Each episode of Hinamatsuri had at least one moment where the entire Anime Club burst out into fits of laughter.
Along with being funny, the anime also has a lot of heart through the growth and development of its characters.
One of the clearest examples of this is Anzu (Rie Murakawa), another telekenetic girl who starts off as brash and abrasive but, through her struggles, comes to understand the meaning of hard work and caring for others.
Another one of my favourite characters is Hitomi (Kaede Hono), a girl who, for the life of her, cannot say no to anyone.
She takes job after job and, while this does result in many hysterical moments, it also makes you feel incredibly sorry for her as you keep wishing she would grow a backbone and look out for herself for once.

As well as being sympathetic, Hitomi is also incredibly funny with her common horrified expression.

However, for every sad moment, there is a moment of gut wrenching laughter to be had.
This is most apparent with the growing bond between Nitta and Hina, with their contrasting personalities often clashing in hilarious fashion.
As for criticisms, there is one side character named Mao (Ari Ozawa) whose story does not seem to go anywhere but she is obviously being built up for season two.
Speaking of which, I really hope Hinamatsuri gets a second season because I would be right there watching it.
Hinamatsuri is both a hysterical and heart warming anime, and I recommend you check it out.

The Garden of Words Review: Makoto Shinkai’s Most Beautiful Film.

Aside from Your Name, the Mokoto Shinkai film I have heard the most praise for is The Garden of Words.
And, with me quickly becoming a Shinkai fan after loving both Your Name and his most recent film, Weathering With You, I knew I had to check it out.
Now, when I started watching, I was surprised at the short runtime the film, which is only 46 minutes, but my concern about this quickly faded with the first few shots of the film.
It was at this moment when my jaw hit the literal floor.
I know that I, and many others, have said way too much that the animation of Shinkai’s films are jaw dropping but, honestly, that statement is entirely warranted when it comes to The Garden of Words.
I would go as for to say that this film is not just Shinkai’s most beautifully animated film but one of the most beautifully animated films I have ever seen.
It is so amazing that I actually mistook a shot of a branch hanging over the water to be real initially.

real or animation.jpg — Does this look real to you? Because it did for me for a couple seconds.

But enough gushing about the animation; what about the story?
Well, it could have been very easy for The Garden of Words to stumble with this.
The anime follows a 15-year-old student named Takao Akizuki (Wataru Sekine) who meets a 27-year-old teacher named Yukari Yukino (Kana Hanazawa) at a lakeside garden in the rain.
The two begin to meet in the same place whenever it rains and Takao soon begins to develop feelings for Yukari.
This could easily have made the film weird for me.
If you read my review of Violet Evergarden, you know the only problem I had was that the relationship between the titular character and her love interest, Gilbert was pretty problematic due to the fact that Violet is only 14, and Gilbert is 29.
I could have easily had the same problem with The Garden of Words, considering that Takao is both a year older than Violet and also that Yukari is a teacher at his school.
Thankfully, though, I did not find the depiction of Takao’s feelings for Yukari to be problematic because Shinkai depicted them as that, problematic.
The problems of the connection the two have is perfectly portrayed by Yukari’s sad past, which should leave those watching who support a romance between the two knowing that if that did happen it would make trouble for both of them.
As a result, The Garden of Words depicts a somewhat tragic romance story that fully realizes and plays into its complicated nature.

The growing bond between Takao and Yukari is sweet, endearing, and (thankfully) complicated.

Coming back to the short runtime of the film, I think it would be interesting to see what the anime would be like if it had been longer.
It works fine as it is but I feel like I could have related to the characters and their struggles more if Shinkai had extended the runtime a bit more and given us more scenes between the two.
Still, The Garden of Words is another great Shinkai film, and one with such a focus on feet that it made me feel like I watching a Tarantino movie… only, you know, without the bloody violence.
And, while I do not find it as enjoyable or moving as Your Name or Weathering With You, its animation is absolutely spectacular.
If you like to analyse the standards of animation you need to watch The Garden of Words because (even though this has been said to death by this point) your jaw will hit the floor.

Violet Evergarden Review: Prepare to Cry.

Well, this left me an emotional wreck.
Seriously, I had heard what a tearjerker Kyoto Animation’s Violet Evergarden was but that in no way prepared for the multiple cry inducing episodes.
Directed by Taichi Ishidate, and based off the light novel written by Kana Akatsuki, the anime is set in the complicatedly named, fictional country of Leidenschaftlich, which is dealing with the aftermath of a war.
The story follows the titular Violet Evergarden (Yui Ishikawa, the voice of Mikasa from Attack on Titan), a child soldier who lost both her arms in the war and knows only of orders, and nothing of emotions.
After the death of her commanding officer, the only person she had feelings for, which she does not understand, Violet decides she wants to discover what “I love you” means.
To help learn this, Violet decides to use her mechanical arms to become an Auto Memory Doll, someone who ghostwrites for a person who cannot put their feelings into words.
From here the anime takes an episodic approach as Violet writes for multiple people, resulting in tear inducing episode after tear inducing episode.
Episode ten in particular is an emotional gut punch.

Epiode 10.jpg — You will often find yourself crying alongside the characters in *Violet Evergarden.*

If you are not crying at the end of that episode, like I was, then I would wonder if you are as emotionally separated as Violet at the beginning of the series.
Speaking of Violet, I have heard some people criticize her for being completely emotionless in the first few episodes, thus, making her unable to relate to.
Personally, I found this be untrue.
While Violet does indeed appear to be lifeless in the first few episodes, with her constant deadpan expression, this ties into her inexperience with feeling emotions and, as she grows throughout the season, you see a change in her.
When you compare how Violet is from the beginning of the season to the end, the difference is like night and day.

Violet’s journey to discover what “I love you” means takes her from being an emotionless doll to a feeling human being.

Accompanying Violet’s great character arc, through this emotional story, is the fantastic animation.
My jaw dropped on multiple occasions in the first few episodes because of how amazing it all looked.
The animators definitely deserve applause.
There is one aspect of Violet Evergarden that I did find to be problematic, though.
This was the relationship between Violet and her superior officer, Gilbert Bouganvillea (Daisuke Namikawa).
It is revealed in episode five that Violet is only 14 years old, and, concerned by this, I went to check online and, yep, Glibert is 29.

The fact that Gilbert is 29 while Violet is 14 makes their potential relationship problematic for me.

Now, I know their relationship is not technically illegal because the legal age of consent in Japan is 13 but, for someone who comes from a country where that age is 16, I find their relationship to be slightly creepy.
It was only slightly because the relationship does not feel exploitative but rather just the writers exploring a relationship that is legal in their country.
All in all, the nature of Violet and Gilbert’s connection left me with conflicting feelings because of this.
Again, I understand it is legal but Violet’s age still bothers me, and I wish they would have made her a bit older to clear up this feeling.
However, despite my issues with the main relationship, Violet Evergarden is still a masterful work.
It has a fantastic story, with amazing characters and themes, all supported by gorgeous animation.
This all combines to create a brilliant anime that will make you cry multiple times.
Unfortunately, season two has been delayed due to the tragic Kyoto Animation arson attack but, hopefully, they can bounce back and deliver another great season in memorial for all the lives lost.

The Dark Crystal Movie Review: The Puppet Film that Traumatized Many Children.

After watching the prequel series to Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s The Dark Crystal movie on Netflix, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, I decided to check out that original film again.
It had been a long time since I had seen the film.
I think I was about eight the first time I watched it with my dad, and I have fond memories of it giving me nightmares of melting Skeksis faces.
In any case, the fact I remembered quite a bit about it years after watching it shows how well crafted of a film The Dark Crystal is.
The story is set in the fantasy world of Thra, where a young Gelfling named Jen (voiced by Stephen Garlick), who is thought to be the last of his kind, is sent on a mission to heal the Dark Crystal and stop the Skeksis from ruling the world.

Jen gets a quest.jpg — Jen is given his quest by his old Mystic master.

Along the way, he surprisingly encounters another Gelfling, named Kira (voiced by Lisa Maxwell), who joins him on his quest.
The big thing that separates The Dark Crystal from other fantasy stories is that all of its characters are portrayed by puppets, which are amazing for the time.
Although, sometimes it can be a bit uncanny, the puppetry is great for the Skeksis, especially the Chamberlain (voiced by Barry Dennen) who has perfect facial expressions.
And, just like the prequel series, the Chamberlain is my favourite character.
He was the character I remembered the most coming into that series and there is a reason for that.
He is such a weasel in the film, being one of cinema’s greatest backstabbers, in my opinion.

the chamberlain 1.jpg — The Chamberlain’s puppetry is surprisingly expressive, highlighting his duplicitous nature perfectly.

The lore of The Dark Crystal is also great, with the connection between the Skeksis and their counterparts the Mystics being highly interesting.
That does not mean the film is flawless, however, because I did have one big issue after watching it.
That issue is Jen, who is quite a bland protagonist.
He is the typical, chosen one who does not really do all that much.
In all honesty, he pretty much gets helped the entire way and does almost nothing until the end.

Kira has to do everything for Jen, making her the more capable character.

Still, the problems with Jen do not limit this film’s grand scale and other interesting characters, helped by the magnificent puppetry.
The Dark Crystal is a great fantasy film, with a lot of imagination behind it.
I just feel sad after watching this again, now knowing for sure that the prequel series can only end in tragedy.

Attack on Titan Chapter 121, Future Memories, Review: Eren is a Monster.

One of the things I love about Attack on Titan is how it presents scenes with simple meanings and then expands on them years later, giving them a completely new and much more interesting context.
Such can be seen in Chapter 121, “Future Memories”, which expands on numerous moments from the series in the best way possible.
Who would have thought that the scene where Eren saw his father’s memory of killing the Reiss family, when he kissed Historia’s hand, would go on to contain one of the most pivotal reveals of the manga so far?
Well, it does because it is revealed in this chapter that the Attack Titan has the ability to interact with memories from the past and the future.
This results in Eren convincing Grisha to kill the Reiss family and then showing him a memory of a “terrifying” future, which Eren ended up seeing all the way back when he kissed Historia’s hand.
So, Eren has known for four years what will happen because of his actions.
This gives so much new meaning to not only that scene from Chapter 90 but to every other scene with Eren leading up to Chapter 121.
Remember the ocean scene where Eren talked about them killing their enemies so they can be free?
Now we know Eren said that not because he thinks he will have to do it but because he knows he will have to do it, based on what he has seen.
It has finally been revealed why Eren was such a different character post time skip.
This also basically confirms exactly what Eren is planning to do with the Founding Titan power; initiate the Rumbling to destroy the entire world so Paradis can be safe.
Although this has yet to be officially confirmed, it all adds up.
It is further supported in this chapter by Grisha saying that Eren’s dream is “such a terrifying thing.”
This, in no uncertain terms, makes Eren a monster.
Even if his reasoning behind this act is to save all of his friends, he still appears to be planning to kill literally billions of people to make that happen.
Just because his reasoning is not monstrous does not mean his actions are not.
His goal appears to be so extreme that it even got me to support Zeke over him for a second.
Let me reiterate that, Hajime Isayama actually got me to temporarily support a plan that involves sterilizing an entire race of people because it is the lesser of two evils.
That is how complex the story has become; basically showing that no matter how this story ends it will not be the happily ever after many, including myself, are desperately hoping for.
No, it will most likely end with Eren destroying the world to keep his friend safe.
Eren doing it for this reason is epitomized by him not paying attention to Zeke because he is too busy staring at the moment he wrapped his scarf around Mikasa’s neck, showing he still cares for her.
However, the best character of the chapter is not Eren or Zeke; but Grisha.
I love what Isayama has done with his character.
Grisha is dead and yet Isayama still finds ways to constantly expand on his character through his memories.
Seeing that Eren had to be the one to push him to murder the Reiss family; because he initially could not bring himself to do it, is very hard hitting.
What is the most emotional scene by far, though, is when Grisha finally sees Zeke and tearfully apologizes for the way he treated him.
He then hugs Zeke and tells him he loves him.
This moment had me in tears.
It is such an emotionally impactful scene that has been building up for a while now.
And the fact that I still sympathize enough with Grisha and Zeke to cry at their reconciliation, despite all the terrible things they have done, shows how brilliant they are as characters.
The scene even leads to Grisha begging Zeke to stop Eren from initiating his plan.
However, this is where my one potential issue with the chapter lies.
This issue is a plot hole because if Grisha wanted to stop Eren then why did he go on to give him the Founding and Attack Titan?
Granted, this is only a potential issue at the moment because it could be explained later.
After all, Eren does tell Zeke that he did not get to see the memory where he ate Grisha; so there could be something to do with this memory that explains Grisha’s actions.
Whatever the case, Zeke takes his father’s advice of stopping Eren and orders Ymir to sterilize all Eldians.
The chapter ends with Eren breaking free of his chains and running to stop her.
What this will result in is anyone’s guess but I personally think it could lead to us seeing Ymir’s memories if Eren comes into contact with her.
Given how I was completely wrong about everything else that would happen in this chapter, though, I would not be surprised if Isayama blew my mind in a completely different way.
One final thing to note before I get into my overall thoughts is that I have no idea how this series can make me laugh when so many dark things happen in it.
The moment when Zeke sees Freida talking about how they should perish, and then he talks about how he thinks they would “get along well” had me bursting with laughter… before that humor turned to horror, as expected.
Overall, Chapter 121, “Future Memories”, is another brilliant Attack on Titan manga chapter.
It provides a great twist that redefines the meaning of many prior scenes, expands on the characters of Eren, Zeke and Grisha brilliantly, and made me cry with one of the manga’s most emotional scenes.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Review. MMMMMMM!!!

Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal pretty much traumatized me as a child.
I remember seeing a Skeksis crumble to dust in the opening minutes of the film and being absolutely terrified.
Now, years later, the Jim Henson Company and Netflix have released a prequel series to the original creepy, puppet, fantasy movie, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Directed by Louis Leterrier, I came into this series with a vague sense of the original movie, since I think I was 12 the last time I watched it.
Well, Age of Resistance made me want to go back and watch that film because the Netflix series is fantastic, delivering a riveting story with great characters, music and puppetry.

UNIT_326.tif — The puppetry in *Age of Resistance* is often top notch, with very few moments of an uncanny valley.

The Dark Crystal movie came out in 1982 so a lot of time has passed and this has given the creators the chance to improve on the puppetry and CGI.
The way the practical effects merge with computer generated effects is perfect, giving Age of Resistance a grand sense of scope.
The story follows three Gelflings; castle guard Rian (Taron Edgerton), the cave dwelling Deet (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Princess Brea (Anya Taylor Joy), learning that their lords, the Skeksis, are not so benevolent as they thought.
Realizing the threat the Skeksis pose to the world of Thra, the three Gelflings set out on their own individual journeys to stop the Skeksis and the Darkening they have caused by abusing the Dark Crystal.

Rian and friends.jpg — Rian, Deet and Brea’s journey to stop the Skesis results in numerous moments of high tension, fear, and sometimes laughter.

I came to care about all three of these Gelfling, who are all magnificently voice acted, with my favourite probably being Deet.
I liked her arc from beginning to end and also really enjoyed her friendship with the Podling Hup (Victor Yerrid).
Another thing I surprisingly enjoyed was the Skeksis themselves, who are over the top evil in the best of ways.
The Emperor (Jason Isaacs) is a commanding overlord, and The Scientist (Mark Hamill) uses his genius in cruelly malevolent ways.
By far the most investing Skeksis is Simon Pegg’s backstabbing Chamberlain.
With his constant “MMMMMMMs!”, he is as delightfully two-faced as I remember him being in the original movie.

The Chamberlain.jpg — Describing The Chamberlain as a weasel is probably the most accurate way to describe his backstabbing nature.

As for the music, it further highlights the majesty of the world of Thra, and the danger whenever the characters’ lives are at risk.
Speaking of, there are a lot of deaths.
I have heard some describe this series as Game of Thrones with puppets and that is fairly accurate; although this should have been expected, given where the original movie starts off.
However, there are a few things that stop Age of Resistance from being perfect.
One is the fact that it is sometimes hard to take certain dramatic scenes seriously because, well, the characters are puppets.
Granted, these moments are few and bar between but they still happen.
By far the biggest problem, though, is that many of the characters seem to have changes in motivation at the drop of a hat.
Seladon (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is a prime example of this; but easily the biggest instance of this is in episode four where at least four characters’ motivations seem to change almost instantaneously with no buildup.
Still, these issues do not ruin the experience as The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is a well made show with a great story and characters, and brilliant effects, both practical and computer generated.
I highly recommend it, especially for fans of The Dark Crystal movie.

Weathering With You Review: A Beautiful Anime, Even if it is a Bit too Similar to Your Name.

After seeing Makoto Shinkai’s fantastic Your Name, I immediately bought a ticket to his next film Weathering With You, which I had the pleasure of watching last night.
And, yes, I said pleasure because Weathering With You is another great film from Shinkai.
While I did not feel as emotionally involved as I did when watching Your Name, I still cannot deny that Weathering With You is a mesmerizing film with amazing animation, relatable characters, and an intriguing story.

wwu poster.jpg — Mokoto Shinkai has done it again, delivering another great anime film with *Weathering With You.*

The story follows Hodaka Morishima (Kotara Daigo), a high school student who runs away to live in Tokyo, which is experiencing an unusually long sequence of rainfall and storms.
It is there that he meets Hina Amano (Nana Mori), a girl with the power to make the sun come out through prayer.
What follows is a moving romance between the pair as they work together to bring sunshine to the people of Tokyo.
The first thing I have to praise about Weathering With You is, of course, its incredible animation.
Shinkai is an absolute artist when it comes to animating his films and Weathering With You is no exception, having numerous jaw dropping shots of animation.
The way the rain and sun look in this anime is just gorgeous, which serves to bring the audience into the story a lot more.

animation 2.jpg — The animation of *Weathering With You* is fantastic and needs to be seen in theaters.

As for the story itself, the romance of Hodaka and Hina being wrapped up in this supernatural plot provides numerous interesting and moral questions about climate change that I found to be quite compelling.
The movie is also pretty funny as well, with probably my favourite gag being the cat Rain’s constant judgmental looks.
The side characters of the film are also likeable and you understand where a lot of them are coming from.
For example, a man that Hodaka meets upon arriving in Tokyo, named Keisuke Suga (Shun Oguri), had an interesting motivation by the film’s third act that, while never outright stated, was heavily implied, making his involvement more interesting.

The implied nature of Suga’s arc in the third act made his role in the story work perfectly.

The music is also great with the song “Grand Escape”, which played in the trailer, being particularly special.
There are even appear a few Your Name cameos for fans of that film as well.
Speaking of Your Name, though, this is where I have a problem with Weathering With You because it follows a lot of the same story beats as Shinkai’s previous film.
I remember sitting in the theater and thinking, this is just like Your Name!
This did not ruin the experience but it was pretty noticeable by the film’s third act and ending.
Still, I found Weathering With You to be another great Shinkai film, and is one I would highly suggest watching in theaters so you can see the gorgeous animation on the big screen.
It is my favourite animated film of the year so far.

Mindhunter Season Two Review: The Terror Continues.

I loved the first season of Mindhunter.
Created by Joe Penhall, and with many episodes directed by David Fincher, The Netflix series hooked me right off with its disturbingly realistic portrayal of actual serial killers.
I was eagerly anticipating the second season, and we finally got it now, two years later.
The second season picks up with Holden Ford (Jonathon Groff) recovering from his encounter with Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton) at the end of the first season.
After getting released from a mental hospital by Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), Holden meets back up with the team, consisting of Tench, Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) and Gregg Smith (Joe Tuttle), in their studies of serial killers.
What follows is a season that sees the characters interviewing a wide ranger of terrifying murderers, like David Berkowitz (Oliver Cooper), and those who manipulate others to kill, like Charles Manson (Damon Herriman).

Many of the killers interviewed look just like they do in real life, with Manson and Berkowitz looking particularly true to life.

Most terrifying of all are the investigations into the BTK killer, Dennis Rader (Sonny Valicenti), and the Atlanta child murders, which eventually becomes the main focus of the season.
Just like the first season, what makes Mindhunter season two so scary is its horrifying realism.
Again, no murders are shown but the aftermath of these crimes, and the way they are explained by both the killers and surviving victims is horrifying.
This leads to one particularly disturbing scene when Tench is interviewing Kevin Bright (Andrew Yackel) a survivor of the BTK killer.
The way this scene is shot is so particular, the acting from Yackel so tragic, and the sound design so unnerving, that is makes the scene horrifying to watch, even though no violence is taking place.

The interview scene with BTK survivor David Bright is probably one of the most chilling scenes in *Mindhunter* season two.

It is particularly disheartening to hear Tench make assumptions about BTK, only for us to know he is completely wrong, meaning they are further away from stopping him.
Speaking of Tench, he has the best story this season, with a tragic family event that makes his interactions with the killers even more personal.
A scene where a confrontation takes place between Tench and Manson is particularly illuminating to Tench’s character.
It is not all great, though, because compared to last season Mindhunter season two does fall short.
There are quite a few plot lines that are dropped like Ford’s panic attacks, which are quickly forgotten about, and the cat Carr was feeding last season, which is oddly left out of entirely.

The first episode acts like Holden’s panic attacks are going to be a major plot line only for them to be dropped pretty quickly.

As for Carr, herself, she does not have much of a role in the back-half of the season, and a romance storyline she has feels a bit too similar to Ford’s relationship from the previous season as well.
However, these problems do not diminish how great Mindhunter is.
It is still a creepy show, with great fictional characters and terrifying real killers.
I am already looking forward to season three.