algroth

Certainly not the only one, but I for one think they're great. Then again, personally I've found every Nolan film great so far.

Or a good director, like Nolan and Mangold.

I agree, that sounds like a terrible move. Though personally I like considering Torment and the rest of the games their own little individual takes on it, you get what you play right there. Also because I feel like the game at the very least uses the lore in a way that makes a lot of sense for its themes and so on, and which isn't just lore for lore's sake. I'm happy with still thinking of the Blood War as a neverending war.

I reckon a lot of people speak of the MCU and DCEU specifically when saying Marvel or DC (for example I hear people hating on DC all the while Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy arguably still remain the superhero films to beat), in which case it's true that for all of Disney's inclusive approach they've yet to deliver on a female-led superhero film, be it a full Black Widow film, or a Ms. Marvel/Scarlet Witch for that matter. Following Wonder Woman's success I don't doubt they are right now looking for their own stab at it.

I reckon that the Blood War is something that has no end to it so long as either end of the allignment (LE/CE) exists. Again it might not be entirely accurate to the lore, but I've always assumed the Outer Planes as a manifestation of abstract objects and the likes, essentially a whole realm of ideas, ideology, morality and discourse given physical form, so in a sense, so long as there is belief of it or adherence to it in the multiverse, it exists or is manifested in some form or other in the Outer Planes as well.

Petitioner! That's the word, not supplicant. All the same I do recall reading the succubus example I mentioned above, though it well could be that the heavies were born there or have remained a constant since the existence of those planes. All the same, it's a curious thought for Grace if the case is thus.

I've always been more interested in the tragic element behind so many of the classic monsters than the 'scary' elements, myself.

So here's a question I have about the way fiends are portrayed in the game, or in Planescape/D&D in general... I recall the game mentioning that fiends are born from the souls of supplicants who make their way to those planes once they die, based on the kind of sin/evil they committed and so on. So, for example, a promiscuous woman who tempted another into an evil deed would usually provide the base for a succubus. Is this right? If so, it's curious to think of who Grace may have been as a mortal and what she did to end up the way she has...

T R I G G E R E D

Wasn't this same thread made a few weeks ago?

Oh look, Marvel has a new movie out! It's called Wonder Woman! Actually, in all honesty I was kinda expecting that DC would essentially surrender to the Marvel template and whitewash everything Snyder did up to that point, whether good or bad. I said it before and will say it again, there are things in Snyder's films that I like, I think there's an epic grandeur to his visuals that make certain moments at the very least visually striking, and there is also an ambition for deeper thematic exploration than gets lost because Goyer is entirely incapable of writing his characters with clear motivations and ideologies to give the story actual purpose and direction. Both of these aspects endure in Wonder Woman, but are refined and trimmed down in great part because finally they do hit on a concise theme and character arc. Possibly because as far as I'm aware, Goyer played no part in the actual screenplay. ⁠⁠⁠It's also because it is its own standalone story, opposite to another 'episode' in a long, incomplete cinematic series. Essentially the film just snips all the Justice League nonsense out and worries on developing a pretty clear and succint arc through the course of its duration *only*. Moreover, it also succeeds in introducing the origin story as part of the overarching conflict and thus gives it purpose in ways so many 'origin' films (superhero or otherwise) nowadays fail to do to their own. Right from the start of this film there's a clear conflict outlined that 'inspires' Diana to begin training and become Wonder Woman, and that's precisely what she sets out to confront through the rest of the film. The conflict and her arc is as follows: Diana bears a belief about human beings that they have been corrupted by Ares and all do evil essentially because of him. She has a very naïve and black-and-white vision of the world because of her staunch belief in a marked opposition between good and evil, and believes evil will end once Ares is destroyed. The film is precisely about how she learns that both exist simultaneously in all people despite the myth we dress them up with... Which is a simple and solid enough idea to carry this film forwards without having it meander in vague and incoherent philosophical musings, as happened with Snyder's own. Ultimately though, the film is just good pocorn entertainment. It's visually striking, it's fun, it tells a solid story rather deftly, and really does about everything you'd wish of a popcorn flick. If there are any issues is that I do think they shove the 'feminist' angle down our throats a few times too many, and that the dialogue can at times be very, *very* heavy-handed. But then, it's a superhero movie, you kind of expect the latter by now. Good performances too... Gal Gadot still doesn't convince me all too much as Wonder Woman but Chris Pine is very good and Elena Anaya, David Thewlis and Danny Huston all chew the scenery in awesome fashion.

*THIS*, so much this. I don't get this attitude nowadays where people ask of films to 'take themselves lightly', as if taking scenes that should be tense, dark or terrifying (as is usually the case with horror films) ought not to be either thing. Seriousness has its place in entertainment, we can all find enjoyment in tension, high stakes and *mood* and sometimes these require a film to play such scenes with a staight face. I hear this **** about Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (or, well, his films in general) all the time. I don't know, but even whilst being pretty dark and brooding films I had a blast with each, *in great part* thanks to their atmosphere.

Glad you liked two, at least! :D

Also, love it when this track by Van der Graaf Generator goes reggae:

I'm not necessarily the biggest reggae fan either. Some bands/artists I enjoy, though: Black Uhuru Jimmy Cliff Augustus Pablo Fishmans (well, kinda reggae)

Goes to show that music is best left unpigeonholed? Either way I like some reggae and some Police, and "Walking on the Moon" is most definitely the Police I like.

Also Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled remake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROZkSRJ_cfo

Looking forward to Baby Driver. I'l probably watch Murder on the Orient Express because I'm a fan of Branagh but the trailer looked pretty silly and old-hat, really. That moustache though... Anyhow, I'll share the trailer for Joon-ho Bong's newest, Okja

I assume you mean on "Mutation"? They did incorporate elements from a bunch of regions and styles, even going as far as mixing all of the above with disco music. They were one of a kind, really!

Maybe we'll see some gamelan? Let's hope so! :D This is really really cool, thanks! Glad you enjoyed! That album, Golden Rain, is really good, worth checking out. Also worth looking for in terms of more modern gamelan-style stuff is Geinoh Yamashirogumi, the guys who did the soundtrack for Akira. This is simply superb:

Maybe we'll see some gamelan? Let's hope so! :D

Who doesn't? I don't*.

Of course, the irony of this is that it itself is made through a meme generator.