Coods

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Posts posted by Coods

  3. Posted

    I also interpreted the Borus fight as a sort of pity-fight on Saitama's part, but I agree with gorm that Saitama making a conscious decision to hold back is a stretch.

     

    There are other times in the show where he hits people in nonlethal ways, lets people do their moves on him for a little bit, just to entertain them and himself, briefly. He IS sympathetic toward Boros, and tries to let him have a moment at the end, but he wasn't "holding back" anymore than he usually does. For Twig's interpretation to be believable for me, I would have liked to see him actively try and look like he's fighting. What actually happens is Saitama is just as bored as usual, but mildly surprised that Boros is as strong as he is. He's not bending over backwards to make this enjoyable for Borus, nor does he feel compelled to put any real effort in. That's why Borus says it wasn't even a battle. Saitama wants to be nice, but he still doesn't really care.

     

    The brilliant thing about it though, is that I DO think the scene intends for you to draw the tragic comparison between Saitama and Borus. It wants you to want that narrative, of a mutual loneliness that might inspire some real satisfaction in both characters. Then, in the spirit of the show, it takes it all away. Both Borus and Saitama got NOTHING at all from the fight, and Borus says something like: "So much for the prophecy."

     

    So in that sense, gorm, i dont think it breaks any rules. The core identity of Saitama isn't that he only uses exactly one punch, but his infinite strength negates all purpose out of a shounen world where strength is the source of purpose. Saitama can't have rivals or enemys like Borus, he can't make inspiring speeches in the face of all odds (like the bike rider guy, the best scene in the show) because there's no chance he can ever lose. I don't understand why Saitama throwing a few more punches makes this core tragedy any less true. As long as Saitama doesn't try (and he didn't), the show still works. 

  4. Posted

    One thing I love is the idea that Primer and Upstream Color came from the same person. I think both are fantastic, but it seems so unique to me to have such a detailed/concrete narrative film, and then such a deeply symbolic/emotional one? It strikes me as fairly unique quality for a director's style. 

     

    I get the sense that there is a concrete narrative behind both films, but the logic of Upstream Color is harder to unpack. Primer does have the main two characters relationships as an emotional pull, but I think the puzzle of the plot is what most people focus on. You can't even really appreciate the fallout of their relationship if you don't understand how they use time-travel to go behind each others backs.

     

    Also, I might like watching Primer more because Carruth shot the whole film in my town, and I actually recognize some places where certain scenes take place. I get a weird kind of inspiration from knowing that it's possible to make a good film with a small budget in my backyard.

  12. Posted

    I caught Hail, Caesar over the weekend and it's probably my least favorite coen movie I've seen, by a long shot. It just did nothing for me. There were bits here and there that were good but it never came together for me. It felt overstuffed. I felt like I didn't get it, but I also that there wasn't anything to get really?

    I don't know. I'm disappointed.

     

    It felt like half a movie to me. I actually enjoyed the process of watching it, but I didn't understand what or who I was supposed to pay attention to so the ending felt so out of nowhere, and also really abrupt. 

  17. Posted

     

     

    In Gone Home, you are trying to find out what happened. The game's actions are then exactly what you choose. In Firewatch, you are experiencing what happens, and are being led around by objectives and tasks. That these goings-on in Firewatch end up shedding some light on an earlier mystery feels largely besides the point, because as Henry, that's not what the game and situation really are about (trying to come to terms with the loss of a partner). Again, the contrast is between agency and being along for the ride.

    In the end, the difference to me comes down to a player-directed experience and a theme park ride. I prefer the former.

     

    I super agree with this and want to go into my take on the same problem.

     

    You mentioned that the two interactions in the game are 1. the interaction with Delilah and the story and 2. the interaction with the world. Obviously these two things intersect, and the walkie lets you further both interactions at the same time, but I think other than that these two things fight for the player's attention.

     

    Early on after a couple of the early days you realize that if you hit the right story beats, the day will automatically end, and after the story starts to pick up you can't really go exploring without breaking the pace of the story. This is tough because I'm one of those people who like to follow what the game wants me to follow, and because I care about Delilah I want to get to the bottom of the plot so she stops freaking out. Save for that nice scene where you both watch the June fire together, there's not a lot of downtime in the middle of the game. Might have been nice, but who knows if you could do that without also boring the player.

     

    I don't think the design of the game is inherently flawed. The game suggests that you will be rewarded with specific content if you go exploring, and that's good (i never found the raccoon). But with the day-skipping structure, the game doesn't say to you "this stuff is important enough to detour from the imminent plot".

     

    However, when this non-crit path stuff DOES show up on the way to crit stuff, it's AMAZING. Finding the pork pond sign in Delilah's tower is juxtaposed with her breaking it off with you. Really crushing moment. I wish I found more of that stuff.

  18. Posted

    I finally did it. I finally saw Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion. 

     

    What a raw, emotional experience. It was life affirming and depressing and I loved every minute of it. Fuck me

     

    Congratulations!

  19. Posted

    Also Cuttys plot line I really liked. One of the things I missed was the super low level street stuff from Season 1 did showing young kids getting drawn into the game and Cutty was sort of the reverse of that.

     

    The low-level aspect of the show is one of the reasons why I think Bubbs is such a great character. Cutty's plot was really good, too; loved his talks with Avon.

     

    I do miss the relative intimacy between the police/drug world in season 1, but enjoy the fact that now I can see the political angle as well. With all the institutions in play in season 3 it felt like the show was really making good on its thesis about how hard it is to change a fundamentally flawed system. 

  20. Posted

    I rewatched it not that long ago and I actually liked the second season a lot more than the first time I saw it. On the other hand I found the third season I originally considered one of the best and I was not a big fan of it the second time around. Nothing beats the first season for me though.

     

    The second season definitely took a little longer to pick up but I certainly enjoyed it just as much as the other two. I think it has to do with how the docks storyline and the police storyline rarely intersect until the very end, while the drug storyline is in a kind of transition and rebuilding phase away from the other two. Has the best ending montage, though. 

     

    But I'm currently on fire about season 3. The drugs and politics storylines worked amazingly well together. What did you notice about season 3 the second time around? 

  22. Posted

    Inside Llewyn Davis is near the top for me. Haven't seen all of them mind. Like how varied everyone's lists are. Maybe a Coens thread similar to the Pixar one is needed "Ladykillers sucks... A Coen Brothers thread"

     

    Ladykillers sucks...Darjeeling Ltd. sucks...Tales from Earthsea sucks... etc.

     

    I want to put Llewyn Davis pretty high on my list, but I also probably have to acknowledge that I think the roadtrip/John Goodman interlude, while cool, is a weird incongruous part of the film. 

     

    Still there's a lot I like about Llewyn Davis, like the fact that I think it has the best Coen musical moments (from the films I've seen, anyway). I do think Llewyn is a good person, and I think he's really easy to relate to for anyone who has ever experienced any kind of arbitrary fate, positive or negative, in any competitive artistic field. That alone seems to make the movie stick with a lot of people. 

  23. Posted

    I'm glad someone who's seen the show agrees with me. No anime has made me feel as stupid as SNAFU did. I couldn't tell if I was missing obvious cues because I didn't get the characters or if they were just playing it way too subtly and ambiguously to get anything across.

     

    I actually tried going over this again and I kind of grasp the idea now.

     

    The final decision to try and be Real Friends seems redundant, but makes sense considering that, throughout season 2, all three of the main characters are trying to take agency in the club's future. Hachi wants to maintain the fragile relationship between the three of them, and protect Yui and Yukino. Yui essentially wants the same, but along with Yukino, can't stand by while Hachi continues to throw himself under the bus. Yui also wants everything to be the same because I think she will fight over Hachi if she is to follow her own feelings? Not sure there. When Yukino attempts to run for president before she is beaten (again) by Hachi's plan, it's not so much that she cares about the presidency as much as she feels powerless. Yukino's sister (possibly the most perceptive and able character on this show, which says something) constantly taunts Yukino about how she has let Hachi and Yui take control of her life. I think that her passiveness in the following episodes is her accepting the idea that she can't do anything to protect Hachi or change what he does, so she pushes him out of the club. This sucks even more because Hachi seems to have complete control over Yui and Yukino, and clutches every problem the club has ever solved by himself, basically. She almost gives up in the final scene, where she almost accepts Yui's proposal of feigned friendship before Hachi (again, to the rescue) stops her. 

     

    None of this is well communicated in the final episode, of course.

     

    Still, I've come around on this show, and have upgraded it in my mind from decent, well-written slice-of-life to a genuinely interesting examination of friendship dynamics. Many shows, especially romance, involve some kind of decision where a character silences his/her own love to see his/her friend happy (multiple times in Toradora, Your Lie in April, etc.), but SNAFU expands this trait to every important character in a broad sense. Everyone wants everything to be the same forever, basically, but are then confronted with the question of if they care more about the friends or the friendship. It is a pretty shitty ending though, so I hope there is a 3rd season.

  24. Posted

    Curiously enough, I remember a lot about this movie because it's my least favorite by far. My opinion did not change the second time around. It's "main character spins a web of lies initially for selfish reasons and then it backfires but then he wins everyone back at the end" in the most generic way.