80% of the dialogue in this movie is a masterclass in how to break the first law of writing: “Show, Don’t Tell”. Before anyone does anything, they tell everyone what they’re about to do. And once they’ve done it, someone else explains what just happened. Sample scene:
“I’m very strong, and have no morals!” growled Zod. “I don’t care about anything except Krypton!”
“But I will stop you,” Superman replied. “Because I grew up on Earth. I’m going to defeat you!”
Superman punched Zod. Zod punched Superman. “Oh my god!” screamed a nameless extra. “They just punched each other! They are both aliens!”— Man-Child of Steel, a lengthy, semi-coherent rant by HelloTailor. “MAN OF STEEL” IS A TRASH GARBAGE NIGHTMARE, GOODNIGHT.
This surprises me not at all, considering Zach Snyder’s comments regarding his belief in the “purer archetypes” of his “literally Biblcal” hero.
(Note to Mr. Snyder: when you say “literally”,
…because there are literally no mentions of Krypton or Kal-El in holy writ.)
As any commentary found at Hello, Tailor! shall be spot-on, hilarious, utterly distressing (send help my ribs are creaking/why am I not this clever/oh dear I hadn’t seen that nor that/she is so terribly right about everything) and an absolute must-read, there could be time for an exception. This is not it.
I remember having an passionate and somewhat rant-y conversation with Rene above about the differences in tone between Marvel and DC these days, especially when transmuted to film-verse, and stating about the phrase from Snyder she quoted that it summed up my problems with what basically is Nolan’s universe now, no matter what. On this peculiar topic, see another of Tailor’s comments: “Why Was Dark Knight Rises Terrible?!”.
And I don’t want to get all nerdy and pompous on your collective arse right now, but it kinda is a problem to me that Nolan would carefully (?) eject everything that was striking him as too comic-y from his films, making his best (?) to ground everything in gritty, gritty realism (?), but any problem I might have with that approach is nothing compared to the problem it becomes when a major studio starts having delusions of capacity and decides that it’s all gonna be a shared universe, baby, and good luck incorporating the flying unitarded into a world that has Gotham City in it.
You know how they solved this at Marvel? 1) They know how to handle their scripts in perspective of a greater arc; 2) They had Tony Stark in Avengers take a shot at Captain America’s flashy costume. It completely worked because everything was in-character at that moment, and the audience made a willing accomplice. Now, that is a franchise done right.
But frankly, my biggest issue with DC has always been DC. They conceive all their superheroes as gods - big, mighty, messianic figures, they fight for you because you are too weak, and this is why they are entitled to lead you, show you the way into a better future as the great big Jesus-like creatures that they are. And they can’t be wrong, they are heroes!
In Marvel’s mainstream universe, the most powerful being of all time is a schizophrenic dude who is being manipulated continuously by people weaker but cleverer than he is. There are actual gods who end up pretty much like us - and when someone this mighty screws up, it’s kinda worse than our kind - and there are people with no powers at all besides their wits. There are regular human beings, too.
“A greater power that lead us into peace minus free-will” has been a long-suffering trope at DC that I am absolutely not fond of. Incidentally, there is a scene in Avengers which goes exactly like that. There’s this guy called Loki, who does that spiel about life’s joy, freedom, and how it’s all gonna be alright when we give a few things up to follow his superior self in the bright new daylight.
Fuck you, Superman.
You have summed up very nicely why I am a Marvel fangirl. Marvel, for all of it’s flaws—and boy do it got’m—doesn’t give me a patronizing pat on the head, basically narrate the movie for me so I don’t even need to look at the screen, are realistic even in their unrealisticness, and have villains who you can feel sympathetic toward.
Okay okay, DC has a but of the last. You can sorta feel sorry for the villains when you get to find out why their lifestyle choices went south, but then you’ve got a problem because you feel more sorry for the villain than the hero. I don’t relate to or feel sorry for Batman. I don’t relate to Superman or Wonder Woman. This a a problem. When I’m relating to your bad guys, and cannot also relate to your heroes, you’re not doing something right.
Teen Titans was the closest DC got to actually catching my attention, because they were teenagers, I was a teenager, Starfire was awkward and Raven had serious issues. But when you have to do something like that to make me relate to your heroes….you are probably doing it wrong.
Disney Alphabet Meme: Courtney (day one - a favorite character)
Chance
(via goddamnhella)
Montaña Mágica Lodge
Deep in southern Chile lies the Montaña Mágica Lodge (Magic Mountain Lodge). An extraordinary hotel hidden in the center of a 300,000 acre private nature reserve. The small, 13 room hotel is built in the shape of a volcano that spews water instead of lava. The exterior is covered in rainforest moss and vines and its entrance is only accessible via a suspended, swinging rope bridge. The outdoor hot tubs are carved from the trunks of giant trees. The lodge is located in Los Rios which is within the stunning Huilo-Huilo Unesco biosphere reserve, 242 square miles of lush nature, filled with wildlife.
(via miss-azura)
In this mysteriously leaked DVD commentary for Season 4 of “Game Of Thrones,” author George R.R. Martin drops some MASSIVE plot bombshells. You’ve been warned. [x]
(Source: stark-queen, via disney0verdose)
If you are having a discussion about victims of rape or domestic violence and consider either
- the reminder that men are also victims
- one or more men bringing up their experiences
“derailment”, you are unfit to be talking about these subjects and need to step down until you realize that literally anyone can be a victim.
(via nathanialroyale)
When I use to have joint custody of my daughter that’s how it worked. No note, I couldn’t add my daughter even though it was agreed in court that I could every second year. She was “warned” a few times but never any action taken.
Now that I’ve full custody the lady that did my taxes last time had to check with her supervisor to see if it was “ok” for me to claim my daughter.
It’s ridiculous!!!Completely agreed. One should not have to get a permission slip in order to claim that your child is yours, especially a permission slip that is so completely one-sided.
If I could thank the living incubator who contributed half of my DNA for one thing, it’s that she didn’t bunt out my father until I was 13, which meant I was old enough to not only make the decision for myself that I did not want to be shared, but this issue didn’t come up for my poor father who would not have deserved this shit on top of all the shit his ex wife still gives him to this day. (And he puts up with because he feels sorry for her not having anyone else who wants to associate with her)
(via nathanialroyale)
this is still one of my favorite photos of all time
(Source: tastefullyoffensive, via disney0verdose)