Movies!

[astral_android]

 Usually I don't watch that many movies. I see trailers, think, "oh, I want to watch that when it comes out", and then forget that it exists. Even things I'm super pumped about- like, oops, I was so excited for the most recent John Wick, but then kept forgetting about it until I missed it in theaters. Is it out on streaming yet? Idk. I don't even have any streaming services anymore except for Prime Video, Crunchyroll, and the Peacock that I'm stealing from my sister, so I probably wouldn't be able to see it anyway... also I lost the remote for my smart TV box thing so I can't even figure out how to watch TV other than on my laptop... my life is truly a mess; this is so embarrassing I'm going to shut up now. 

BUT YEAH. Movies. I like going to the movies, but never remember to do it. Especially since I don't have anybody to go with most of the time. But the other day I went to the theater with my Maryland friend, watched something that I hadn't even really wanted to see, and still walked out of the theater with the thought that "wow, I forgot how much I love going to the movies!"

So I did some research. And the Regal theaters near me have this "unlimited" plan for $20/month that lets you go to as many movies as you want. There is a deal right now where if you buy three months, you get a 4th month free. And I got to thinking- there are at least 2 movies that I want to see each month. And since the changes with my work schedule mean that I only am required to go to the office/ leave the house three times a week, I have been searching for external things to motivate me to be less of a hermit. I am also trying to diversify the kind of media I consume, because I want my creative well to stay full and healthy. Going to a movie every week would help with that. 

Long story short, I am now enrolled in Regal's Unlimited plan. I saw 2 movies this week and had a good time. 

Movie #1: Mad Max Furiosa. What you would expect. Very slick visuals. Cool as fuck worldbuilding. Nice for your eyes and for shock value. Characters and plot are not groundbreaking. 

Movie #2: Blue Lock Episode Nagi. I watched the sub version because I'm a weeb. I have the option of going back and watching the dub version for no additional cost, which is cool! Except that it's not the kind of movie that's worth watching twice, especially if you've read the manga. Sorry, Nagi, but you are literally the least interesting character in Blue Lock. 

Barou's two minutes of screentime were unexpectedly hype. Bachira's first goal in the team Z/V match was well done (although I'm biased because every time I see Bachira I get such severe cuteness aggression that it puts everyone around me in danger). Zantetsu was naked for a weirdly prolonged amount of time. They managed to condense the entire second selection to a three-minute musical montage, which was fucking hilarious. And most importantly, I always get a weird kick out of it when Reo cries, and as expected, he cries a lot in this movie. The fanservice was fanservicey enough. 

I don't dislike NagiReo. They are married background characters in my longfic, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about how their relationship would develop in that one highly specific AU. But I maintain that Nagi is not interesting enough to support a whole movie about him. Reo is! But they didn't lean into that at all and actually cut out some of his best character moments from the manga (like how he sort of united team V under his leadership), so???

The movie was still watchable though! And I'm looking forward to watching many more movies the next few months <3

 

Comments

[kissed]

your thoughts on the movie are so interesting NGL!!!!

i haven't been able to make time to watch it just yet (though i hope to do so /before/ the second season rolls around), so i appreciate the insight you've shared about it.

nagi is definitely a kageshiro favorite to have a movie centered on him but i do agree with you that nagi isn't like, the most compelling character in the series to me either but perhaps that could change for me when i watch it (we know about reo's backstory which is compelling enough now, does nagi's backstory get touched upon heavily outside reo/school, or at least his general home life?)... because as just a manga reader alone even there isn't a lot to nagi's character besides "natural prodigy who doesn't feel the need to apply himself".

i'm not really surprised at the trimming of reo's character development, i kind of feel like that hurts him as a person... a lot?? to someone watching that's at least mildly familiar with him. otherwise reo comes off as generally a nuisance 💀 basically it sounds like so far a recap of the first season with actual important stuff cut out that it would have been nice to have seen BUT, i am simpy for blue lock and want to support the boys, so i'll reserve the rest of my judgment till i do watch it. i'll be looking forward to seeing barou crumbs, however~

plus i was waiting for it to be dubbed (my husband prefers dubs so i'm used to watching dubbed anime now), and unfortunately, i very much dislike nagi's dub voice, so that will be fun times lol.

[astral_android]

Okay so I've been thinking about it more and I think I was a little too hard on the movie! It was decent. It is kind of a different perspective from the first season of the actual show, and it is fun to see Isagi and team Z as antagonists.

To answer your question, though- no, it really does not go into Nagi's backstory at all. The boy is a blank slate and it pisses me off 😬 although I guess that's what fanfic is for.

Also, even at his best Reo is 100% a nuisance! That's why I love him. Like, have you read the light novels? His in particular drove home to me how advanced-level petty and self-absorbed he can be. It's amazinggg he is pretty much the bluest lock in all of blue lock

And lol. One thing divorce has freed me from is having to watch everything dubbed bc my ex-husband can't read. Blue Lock's dub in particular just killed me because we were watching it at the same time as Dr. Stone, and I got jump-scared every time Chigiri opened his mouth because his VA didn't even try to make his and Senku's voices any different x.x Bad times

[kissed]

gaaaaah i have to question everyone's decisions with that (INCLUDING kaneshiro!!!!), but oh well. i do ship ngbr so i tolerate him, i'm going to have to just be content with this!!

i haven't had the chance to read them just yet, once i make some time i'd like to! yeah reo gets so much compared to most of the characters here that it probably would have been better to have just made a reo-centered movie, lmfao. but yeah, i need more people to be like reo. it'll probably be a millennium until we get crumbs of a shidou backstory, and he's just as unhinged.

LOL, me with rin's voice actor, we watch a good amount of isekai and that voice actor is also the main for arifureta, and he too didn't change the voice whatsoever. it does take me out of the immersion too because i'm thinking about the other character instead!! T_T maybe these actors were thinking their worlds weren't gonna collide viewer-wise, haha

[astral_android]

OMG. The Shidou backstory is one of the things I'm most excited for in life right now. And it could come soon!!! He's at least on the field rn in the manga!!!

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I figured there would be places listing movies that are about to come out:

https://www.imdb.com/calendar/

https://www.fandango.com/movies-coming-soon

If you see a trailer, you could write down the name of the movie and figure out when it will air. That's what I'd do if I needed to remember them myself. Mostly my partner tracks that.