Tag: want

5 Assassin’s Creed Features We Want to See in AC Shadows & 5 We Don’t

[ad_1]

With an entire franchise leading into Assassin’s Creed Shadows, features have come and gone over the years. All good things learn from their predecessors, so it’s important to highlight some of what should and shouldn’t be included, so here are 5 features we hope to see in AC Shadows and 5 we don’t.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Features We Want to See

It’s easy to look at any feature in the franchise now and say it’s good or bad in retrospect. Some things made sense for the games and their titles, while others improved their games from the ground up.

1. Stealth-Focused Combat

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

I can’t lie, when I play Assassin’s Creed 3, it’s loads of fun to run up to a group of Redcoats and start a fight I know I can win. However, something about that doesn’t feel like Assassin’s Creed at its best. Assassin’s Creed Mirage brought back the combat mechanics from the days of old where stealth is more your ally than the sword at your hip. Hopefully, Yasuke can satisfy the large-scale combat, while letting Naoe remain stealthy.

While losing any fight with more than five enemies gets disheartening, it drives players to play the game using stealth, the way it should be. It makes you think about your environment and use it to your advantage, rather than brute force. When I want to tear through enemies, I’ll hop into AC3 or Black Flag, but I’d rather be sneaky.

2. Those Who Came Before – Isu

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

One of the common threads throughout the Assassin’s Creed games is the precursor race often referred to as Those Who Came Before. They’re the basis for why the Templars and Assassins have anything to fight over. Different games have touched on them to varying degrees, but the earlier games dove deeper than the new ones.

Some titles like Assassin’s Creed 3 would have the historical protagonist and Desmond interacting with characters like Juno to give backstory to the Isu. Games like Syndicate and Mirage didn’t take any time to go forward to the present day, so the period characters had all of the interaction with them. While I don’t want Assassin’s Creed Shadows to feature the Isu too heavily, I’ll miss them if they’re gone.

3. Playable Side Games

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

One of the smaller Assassin’s Creed features playing games in a bar or saloon is a nice touch that brings the world together. Certain in-game locations have people playing games either for money or pleasure. The franchise has seen games like Checkers, Men’s Morris and Hazard, so Japan opens the door for Shogi, Go or Sugoroku.

These games add to the world-building, as much as having a codex with paragraphs of information. The codex is great, but having interactive games incentivises players to dive deeper into the history. You’re immersing yourself deeper into the world, which connects you more with the characters. Plus it’s a great way to make a little money.

4. Eagle-Based Scouting

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has introduced plenty of mechanics that make the overall game easier or more connected. One such feature is the eagles used for scouting the environment. AC Origins employed Senu and Origins employed Enkidu as their scouts, and it feels right at home in the franchise. Sure, it’s not using the Assassin’s skills per se, but I can suspend my disbelief if it means flying around the map.

The marksmen that shoot at your bird are a brilliant counter to the ability, not making it feel too overpowered. If you try to use your bird and they get shot at, you’ll have to manage on foot until you eliminate those enemies. Then, you’ll be able to use the feature to its fullest, which adds an extra layer to the gameplay. If you want to use your eagle’s vision, you’ll have to use your Eagle Vision.

5. Efficient Sprint Feature

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

As a self-proclaimed completionist, I do my best not to fast-travel very much. I love running around the map to find the collectibles and side missions scattered throughout. That said, my patience thins quickly when a game doesn’t have a sprint button like Assassin’s Creed Origins. Games with oversized maps like some of the AC franchise can’t get away with not letting me run fast enough to explore the map efficiently.

I say “efficient” sprint mechanic as a direct callout to AC Mirage. It’s a great time to explore Baghdad, but the sprint feature didn’t make me feel like I was running much faster. Most of the other Assassins (who weren’t hulking warriors) had the advantage of being fast and deadly. Basim felt a bit slow after playing the whole game, but he’s a very different character.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Features We Don’t Want

There’s no inherent issue with Ubisoft giving Assassin’s Creed Shadows features that can keep things fresh. However, sometimes features are added to the franchise that it could do without, or that are only appropriate for the title they’re originally featured in.

1. Grappling Hook

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

One of the most game-changing mechanics introduced to Assassin’s Creed would have to be the grappling hook from AC Syndicate. Don’t get me wrong, there was something satisfying about being able to grapple up the face of most buildings. However, it does go against what makes Assassin’s Creed feel the way it does. Fearlessly scaling buildings by hand makes the Assassins feel capable and threatening. Having a grappling hook do all the work feels like taking a shortcut.

The grappling hook being a feature in AC Syndicate does fit that time nicely, but it’d feel out of place as a feature in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The Industrial Revolution was a boom in technological advancement, so it only makes sense that the Assassins might get some new kit. However, having a grappling hook in feudal Japan might pull players out of the story, so it’d be best to omit one this time.

2. Glider/Flying Machine

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

Speaking of faster methods of transportation, Ezio‘s glider in Assassin’s Creed 2 is another thing that should be left out of AC Shadows. Depending on the size of the map, my opinion on this might shift because sometimes you need to cover large distances quickly. Traversal shouldn’t feel like a cop out, and luckily the glider wasn’t a main feature, so it didn’t become distracting.

Rise of the Ronin was a recent game set in Japan with the protagonist using a glider, so it’s safe to say that AC Shadows won’t want to mimic it. Depending on the map size, it might be worthwhile to have some method for speedy travel, but I’m a fan of the classic horse. As long as you can make the horse sprint, I’ll be happy.

3. Naval Combat

Image Source: Ubisoft

Naval combat was introduced to the Assassin’s Creed franchise in Black Flag. It consists of captaining a ship and its crew to board and destroy enemy ships while traveling on the seas. While the mechanic is interesting and done uniquely, it can tend to slow some of the gameplay. There’s a learning curve, with patience being key to success.

There is plenty to appreciate about the naval combat in the AC games that have it. Listening to your crew singing sea shanties was a great touch in Black Flag, and boarding a ship is always satisfying. It just feels like using large-scale transportation like ships isn’t as discreet as the Assassins aim to be. Assassin’s Creed Shadows could feature some boats, but I can’t see Naoe captaining a vessel to the cheers of her crew.

4. Modern-Day Cutaways

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

This one is a struggle even for me to choose, but I’ve got to go with my gut. I understand the parts of the game that cut back to Desmond or an Abstergo employee are the way to tie everything together. When I first started playing AC games, I became more compelled by the historical settings than the meta-story. Even though I like the precursor details, after Desmond’s story I haven’t been impressed by anything in the modern day.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy a new modern storyline if it were done well. I only feel that Ubisoft should focus its resources more on the part of the game that people are buying it for. Blag Flag’s Abstergo cutaways were my least favorite part of the game, but not playing them at all felt like skipping out on the full experience. As much as I loved Nolan North’s performance, I found myself racing to get back in the animus whenever I could.

5. Freerun Up/Down

Image Source: Ubisoft via Twinfinite

Assassin’s Creed Unity revamped the freerunning mechanics for the franchise to allow for more precise traversal. This continued into Syndicate, although later games abandoned it to pursue a different style. The introduction was much needed in the franchise to smooth out some of the traversal mechanics, and it succeeded.

That said, at this point in the franchise, the mechanic is dated. While it did solve some of the former issues regarding traversing the map, it’s since been modernized in a way that makes sense for the franchise. The newer games have implemented a smoother, implicitly directional system allowing for a more natural experience. Freerunning up or down is a feature Assassin’s Creed Shadows won’t be needing.

Twinfinite is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy

[ad_2]

Nick Rivera

Source link

July 2, 2024
X-Men ’97’s Morph actor wants him to find love — just not with Wolverine

[ad_1]

Voice performance has become isolating work over the years — these days, for an actor like JP Karliak, a day “on set” is completed from a home studio, and notes come in over Zoom calls. But the goals are the same: find the perfect sound to match a character, and relentlessly chase the perfect take. Karliak has done voice work across the animation and video game spectrum, and is no stranger to IP demands. He’s been in everything from The Boss Baby: Back in Business to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, where he played Batman’s nemesis, Joker. Taking over the role of Morph in Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97, voiced in the original series by actor Ron Rubin, put him under high pressure from nostalgic fans. Still, alone in the room, he found it: his own pure voice.

“My natural speaking voice doesn’t sound all that different from Ron’s original portrayal,” Karliak tells Polygon, “[and Morph] has a new look, he’s changing. And all these characters are going through all of this plot. For me, it was just sort of like, Why don’t we just sit him in this grounded space, and not slap a character voice on top of it?”

Along with giving Morph a character redesign, the X-Men ’97 writers evolved them into the animated property’s first non-binary character. Karliak, who identifies as genderqueer, was pleased at the change. In the 1990s, using he/they pronouns was less commonplace, but having Rogue make a point of properly addressing Morph in 1997 fits right into the show’s approach to doing whatever feels emotionally right, continuity and era be damned.

“We didn’t fly around and shoot lightning out of our fingers [in 1997 either], so whatever!” Karliak says. “I think the representation is still incredible. And I don’t think it takes away anything from who Morph is. Morph is on a gender journey that will unfold as time passes and he goes through the eras of terminology that we’ve lived through already.”

Image: Marvel Animation

With such a stacked cast, the show doesn’t give Morph a ton of airtime, but their history in the series is deeply felt and considered in each line-reading. X-Men ’97 remains in continuity with X-Men: The Animated Series, which saw Sentinels kill Morph in the first episode, only to have Mister Sinister resurrect the shapeshifter as a brainwashed X-adversary. When his friends rescue him, he disappears from the show again to deal with that trauma.

Morph returns in X-Men ’97 as a goofy but troubled soul finding a place in the world. Karliak says that even if Morph has three lines in an episode, he found himself running through every variation — pure fury, wisecracking, bawling his eyes out, near-deadpan — with voice director Meredith Layne (Castlevania), to give the director and writers what they need to connect the past with present. “As the comic relief of the show, I think he’s burying a lot of things,” Karliak says. “Having him say less was actually the smarter way to go for somebody who’s internalizing a lot.”

Along with voiceover work, Karliak runs the LGBTQIA+ nonprofit Queer Vox, which strives to train aspiring queer VO artists and educate the industry about working with queer talent. He says one quirk of current Hollywood casting is that the group often encounters auditions asking for “non-binary voices,” which he finds funny, despite the attempt at allyship. “It’s like, What does that mean? There’s a lot of conflation of ‘non-binary means androgynous,’ which is not the case,” he says.

And what makes Morph enjoyable for Karliak to bring to life isn’t how the character fits a specific identity slot — it’s how his identity fits into the day-to-day drama at the X-mansion, and the greater global drama of X-Men ’97.

“He’s a superhero who’s got some trauma, he’s got friends, he’s showing up, he’s doing the thing,” Karliak says. “He probably would like to have a significant other at some point — you know, hint, hint, nudge, nudge — and there’s all of that stuff happening. But there’s never a very special Jesse Spano episode of, like, This is the non-binary episode. Because we don’t need it.”

Many fans have wondered whether Morph’s friendship with Wolverine could blossom into something more romantic in future seasons of X-Men ’97. But Karliak hopes it doesn’t, as much as he wants his character to find love.

“As somebody who’s consumed a ton of queer media over the years — what coded things we had in the ’90s — I think there have been so many stories told about the queer person that’s pining over the straight best friend. Meh!” he says. “It’s kind of meh to me! I think it’s so much more interesting that they love each other like they’re Frodo and Samwise, and that’s great. It doesn’t need to be more than that. And they can support each other. It makes Morph razzing Wolverine by turning into Jean Grey so much less about like, Oh, I’m jealous, so I’m gonna, like, razz you about your girlfriend who I hate, and more about, Hey, buddy, I think this is harmful for you, and I just want to point this out, that maybe you need to move on.”

Karliak lauds the X-Men ’97 writers room for breaking from obvious stereotypes and traditions to do its own thing. And the work is standing up to all kinds of scrutiny. When the news broke that Karliak would voice Morph as a non-binary character, the usual corners of the internet erupted with vitriol and found their way into his mentions. But now, with the season wrapped up, he’s hearing little pushback.

“There are properties, movies, IPs that have tried to do queer representation and done it more as checking a box, and it was received badly when it was announced, and continued to be received badly when the thing bombed,” he says. “And I think what’s great about this is that it’s done authentically, not only from the portrayal, but from the writing, like Beau [DeMayo], but also Charley [Feldman] and all of the other writers. There is a queer pedigree that’s going into this to make this right. So the people that shouted about it before it came out — once everybody saw it, and it’s just so universally lauded, it really silenced everything. You can’t argue with excellence.”

[ad_2]

Matt Patches

Source link

May 15, 2024
Austin Pets Alive! | Austin Needs To Rebuild Its Model, Not Kill For…

[ad_1]

Shelters all over the United States are struggling, including Austin Animal Center and us right here at Austin Pets Alive!. In 2011, Austin became a No Kill community and has remained so with increasing save rates year over year. With the recent city ordinance changes and AAC’s latest announcement stating that hard decisions may need to be made for 20+ dogs who volunteers say should never be at risk, it’s safe to say that we’re facing the real chance that Austin is dangerously close to stepping into the wrong side of history.

[ad_2]

Source link

April 3, 2024
The Walking Dead is building to something — but it’s not clear what

[ad_1]

For a little while, it seemed like The Walking Dead was eager to use its popularity as a platform to create an entire universe of zombified television. First, there was the spinoff/prequel Fear the Walking Dead, followed by The Walking Dead: World Beyond and then the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead. Each one intermingled with the original show, but for the most part, they were intent on telling their own stories. Fast-forward to 2024, and the former two series have ended, while Tales got an order for another season last year with no further news.

This leaves us with the question: What do we want out of The Walking Dead now? Because it seems like whatever plans AMC had for a sprawling empire have been whittled back down to focusing on what the central characters of the main show have been up to. Dead City looks at Negan and Maggie, Daryl Dixon is concerned with the titular badass, and The Ones Who Live reunites Rick and Michonne, the franchise’s power couple who previously departed The Walking Dead, leaving it to end in a rudderless, underwhelming fashion. Is the future of The Walking Dead… The Walking Dead divided into three shows?

If it’s a ploy to regain a dwindling audience, it makes sense. At its height, The Walking Dead was a ratings behemoth. Its peers in the “prestige TV” boom of the 2010s might have eaten its lunch in terms of sustained critical appraisal, but at its height, the fifth-season premiere scored 17.29 million viewers. To put that in perspective, the finale of Breaking Bad had 10.28 million.

Going back to the “glory days” with a handful of the characters most associated with them seems to be a good idea in perhaps luring back the viewers that absconded from the show due to its exhausting length or unpopular creative decisions. The debut of The Ones Who Live nabbed 3 million viewers, a far cry from the massive numbers it once landed a decade ago, even considering TV viewership being down in general. However, it’s a marked improvement from the relatively measly audience of the final season. And AMC is happy with the show’s performance on its streaming service, AMC Plus.

As a way to reignite its narrative potency, it’s a more questionable direction. Dead City, in particular, suffers from a “been there, done that” feeling — didn’t Maggie already sort of forgive Negan for whacking her beloved Glenn with a baseball bat back in the original? Do we really need another series where they have to play an apocalyptic odd couple and go through the same emotional arc again?

Photo: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC

Photo: Peter Kramer/AMC

Image: AMC

Daryl Dixon thrives on Norman Reedus’ bottomless well of likability and an engaging atmosphere. And with best pal Carol co-headlining the upcoming season 2 of his spinoff, we’re likely to get something at least somewhat watchable. However, with franchise overseer Scott Gimple seemingly set on one day reuniting the gang, will it eventually feel like Daryl ’n’ Carol are just spinning their (motorcycle) wheels until we can get the Avengers of Walking Dead side projects? And aren’t all of these Walking Dead spinoff leads coming together just… The Walking Dead?

And considering that The Walking Dead ended with a look toward the future, what wider meaning is there for them to reunite aside from a nostalgic group hug? The zombies have become a bit of an afterthought as the world moves toward rebuilding itself, and they mostly serve as a fleshy obstacle course in 2024. There is always some terrific gruesomeness to be mined from The Walking Dead’s consistently stellar makeup and practical effects, but piecing the cast back together for the sole purpose of seeing them beside one another, squaring off against undead hordes, feels a little empty. The Walking Dead managed to shock us in its early years thanks to its commitment to going the distance in showing that no one is safe from the zombies, but a reunion tour of all the people that were clearly safe misunderstands the “glory years” that the creators want to return to.

Luckily, The Ones Who Live is tapping into some much-needed emotional territory and making it seem like the event that it wants to be (even if the zombie horror aspect has long since rotted). Rick Grimes, now an established soldier of the paramilitary group CRM, must reconcile with his guilt and survival instincts when Michonne, his sword-wielding partner and the mother of his youngest child, comes back into his life to corral him and bring him home. It’s something that Grimes wrestles with, as heading off might put him and the people he loves in the line of fire from the CRM, who has some serious dirt on him and the community he left behind.

“What We,” the fourth episode of the new show, might be one of the best in the franchise’s history that doesn’t focus on undead bloodshed. A good chunk of it is devoted to Rick and Michonne arguing and finally getting to reflect upon the world-weariness that an experience like this would instill. In particular, Rick finds it hard to return to his family because of what happened with his late son Carl, and The Ones Who Live gives him a chance to properly grieve for the ones who don’t. He doesn’t want anyone to have to go through that kind of pain again, nor does he believe that he’d be able to. They’d all be much safer if he bore the weight of their tragedy alone. It is misguided patriarchal martyrdom, but it makes sense for Rick.

Photo: Gene Page/AMC

Of course, Michonne is able to convince him of the fact that he’s Rick Grimes, that he shouldn’t give up, that there’s more out there for the pair, etc. But Rick Grimes being reduced to an anxious, melancholy shell of a man and giving him an ultimate redemption makes The Ones Who Live feel like a fitting narrative follow-up to The Walking Dead and the closest thing the show has gotten to a proper epilogue. It could have very easily been a hollow attempt to draw in the unconvinced crowd with “Hey, it’s that sheriff guy that you liked!” Instead, it competently grapples with Rick as a character that’s been through so much trauma rather than Rick as a returning action hero.

On a wider level, The Ones Who Live can also serve as a fitting cap to the escalating threats of the show. The “We are the Walking Dead” mindset, where the physical menace of the zombie (amid a pop culture saturation of zombie media at the time) was no match for the terrifying specter of your fellow man, produced bad guys like the unstable Governor, the brutal Negan, and a host of other antagonists that ranged from wannabe cults to cannibals. The CRM, an army equipped with massive firepower that is willing to adjust the world to its specific definition of law by force, is the logical “final boss” of The Walking Dead. By fighting back against them, Rick and Michonne aren’t just taking on a rival group but helping decide the order of the future.

Where this leaves the end goal of The Walking Dead remains to be seen. It could all be pointing toward some eventual grand reunion, given that the original show concluded with Michonne and Daryl both running off to find Rick. But the first seasons of both Dead City and Daryl Dixon end with the shows spiraling off further into their own specific plots, so it will be a while before the gang gets back together again.

Until then, The Walking Dead franchise is in, essentially, its DLC era. What you want out of The Walking Dead depends on how attached you are to certain characters, and luckily, there’s now DLC side quests available for a few of them. It remains to be seen if these threads will ever interconnect again (now that every actor is on their own show, AMC would also have to deal with a truckload of contractual issues if it wanted to then push them back into the same series), so until then, The Walking Dead survives entirely on audience interest in the solo exploits of characters it worked to build together. With 11 seasons of the main show, AMC did plenty of asking for you to wait for plots to be resolved and character arcs to be fulfilled. And now, with the hint of bigger things to come and a host of orbiting spinoffs, it’s asking you to wait just a little while longer. For what? We’ll just have to see.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is now streaming on AMC Plus.

[ad_2]

Daniel Dockery

Source link

March 31, 2024
Austin Pets Alive! | An Update Regarding City Ordinance Changes

[ad_1]

Austin, we can do better.

[ad_2]

Source link

January 30, 2024
Does Yorgos Lanthimos Want to Be Liked?

[ad_1]

Although the title of Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest effort comes from the book it’s based on, it fits well with the Greek filmmaker’s other work: All of his characters, from the gaslit sisters in Dogtooth to the hired grief actors in Alps to Queen Anne in The Favourite, are “poor things,” creatures stuck in oppressive conditions who nevertheless try to find some sense in their lives. Yet between his experimental solo debut feature, Kinetta, and this latest film, Lanthimos has transformed both his style and approach, moving increasingly away from his Greek Weird Wave roots and toward his own special kind of commercial cinema.

This isn’t to say that Poor Things is a mainstream conceit. Bella Baxter (played by Emma Stone, who also starred in The Favourite) is an adult woman with the literal brains of a child, living in a huge Dalí-esque mansion in London with the man who made her this way, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who has never let her go outside nor taught her any basic manners. For all intents and purposes, she is considered more a pet than a human being. It is when Bella discovers sex, accidentally and without having been taught anything about it, that she realizes she wants more out of life. And since you ideally need other people to explore that side of yourself—and because Godwin, whom she calls “God,” has a clinical condition in which getting aroused would kill him—she steps out of the door and begins a journey of self-discovery. Yet already, this dynamic between the outside and the inside world represents a shift for Lanthimos.

In his previous films, the world within the family home is what’s characterized as most constricting and dangerous. In Dogtooth, Lanthimos exposes, with a disquietingly soft tone and absurdist style, the hypocrisy of wanting to protect your loved ones from society’s mandates by creating your own. Going out into the wilderness and making it alone represents a sort of liberation from normative structures. By contrast, once outside, Bella finds herself having to accept all of the illogical and cruel ways in which the real world functions, and she is repeatedly told by the people she meets (often but not always men) what box she should fit in: the faithful lover, the high-society dame who holds herself a certain way, the sex worker who is her “own means of production.” Lanthimos has moved from a critique of the nuclear family (also present in The Killing of a Sacred Deer) and of specific normative systems (the romantic ideal of the couple in The Lobster and the court in The Favourite) toward a more general analysis of society at large. By aiming wider, he not only avoids ruffling the feathers of the bourgeoisie he usually targets, but he also guarantees that there’ll be something in his film for everyone.

As he tackles the wide range of behaviors, customs, and ways of thinking instilled in us by our collective in Poor Things, Lanthimos loses the focus and sharpness that characterized his previous efforts. Jumping from sex and its discontents to the conditions of women to world hunger, he seems to want to satisfy rather than surprise, offering the audience an all-encompassing worldview where every question about why the world is how it is gets answered. The sometimes frustrating but often engrossing opaqueness of his previous films feels far away.

In Alps, the unanswerable question of whether seeing a performer pretend to be your dead relative can really help you mourn keeps you watching. The strange necessity of turning people into animals in The Lobster allows all kinds of questions about human nature and learned attitudes and values, even if Lanthimos doesn’t ask them directly. Even Colin Farrell’s stilted, Bressonian acting style in that film makes one realize how our behaviors and mannerisms may not truly be our own but originate in our environment. No such uncanny element is to be found in Poor Things: Instead, we know exactly what is going on and what everything means at every turn.

A literal blank slate, Bella takes the world as it is without question. Her inability to understand her emotions makes her merely a sponge for society, taking in all its rules and repeating them back in distilled and clear statements: Masturbating is “working on myself to get happiness”; sex with a partner is “furious jumping.” The effect is the opposite of uncanniness. Poor Things is an openly literal film about how confusing and cruel the world often is and how it is probably better understood if one doesn’t question it too much. Ignorance is bliss, but if you’ve got to know, just accept things as they are. This sort of conclusion, that there’s not much any of us can do about anything, isn’t devastating—it’s resigned, and it might be the most commercial sentiment a film could communicate.

Lanthimos is often compared to Lars von Trier (and the epic, surrealist, and slow-motion title cards in Poor Things recall the ones in von Trier’s gorgeous and devastating film Breaking the Waves), who has himself made a film where his usual themes are made literal. In Dogville (both filmmakers have a thing for dogs), he lets the spectator see through the invisible walls of all the houses in a small, industrial town to reveal the lies, secrets, and betrayals in which their inhabitants take part. That minimalist, direct approach makes the film unusually ferocious. Lanthimos’s candor, though, has the opposite effect. The discomfort he once created is replaced in Poor Things by great clarity and a satirical frankness. It’s the shock of sincerity, the surprise of how far Bella is willing to go to understand the world, that Lanthimos capitalizes on, rather than suggesting what horrid adjustments this world might require. The dreadful anguish of Alps, The Lobster, or The Killing of a Sacred Deer hits you in the guts; the ironic, light human comedy of Poor Things tries only to lightly titillate your brain. If Lanthimos made his name with disturbing films about human nature that weren’t for everyone, he now seems to want to comfort us while making us swallow the pill. The bitterness he used to share, too much of an acquired taste, has been replaced with sweetness and just a touch of sour irony.

It isn’t the first time that Lanthimos has done humor: The Lobster could be read as a straight survival comedy despite its surreal premise. And Dogtooth, although dark and disturbing, also exists in a universe where the patriarch has made the word “pussy” mean “very bright light.” This sort of absurdity felt dangerous then, as though laughing at this silly wordplay would reveal how we weren’t much more willing to embrace the coarse, vulgar world that the father was so desperate to hide from his children. But in Poor Things, laughing at the contradictions that Bella discovers in the fabric of the world has a distancing and soothing effect. When she notices that sexual jealousy is “a weakness in men,” we can all nod along, feeling satisfied, and perhaps superior. We may also be poor things, but at least our sensitivities aren’t hurt.

As we quickly understand that Bella can absorb any impact, her willingness to go ever deeper into man’s dark heart feels less and less interesting, especially as Lanthimos takes great pains to make the journey feel fun and pleasant. Although Bella is constantly preyed upon by men, she’s physically incapable of registering trauma—a convenient way to keep things lighthearted, at once woke but not at risk.

It wouldn’t be hard to argue that Lanthimos has always been heading in this direction. Since Alps, he’s graduated to making English-language films with A-list casts and increasingly realistic settings. But The Lobster, The Favourite, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer all had fangs and an unpredictable quality central to their appeal. With this tale of a woman discovering, and then accepting, all the problematic aspects of society, Lanthimos seems to have gone from pointing out our faults to ticking the boxes of contemporary discourse. Rather than challenging our worldview and prejudices, Poor Things teases us and then gently pats us on the back, as if to reassure us that there are no hard feelings. But hard feelings are exactly what Poor Things needs.

Manuela Lazic is a French writer based in London who primarily covers film.

Sign up for the

The Ringer Newsletter

[ad_2]

Manuela Lazic

Source link

December 11, 2023
I Regret To Inform You

[ad_1]

I just panicked and said yes to a brutal logging job that will probably make me want to kill myself again because they offered me lots of money and a truck. It’s been an honor **** posting with you 18 hours a day, I’ll be around, just less. *salutes*

[ad_2]

Source link

December 7, 2023
Austin Pets Alive! | Fireworks Can be Scary for Our Pets
[ad_1]
Jun 27, 2023

In the US, 4th of July has the second highest number of reported lost pets. Keep your furry family safe this year by:
1. Keeping all pets inside.
2. Reducing stress by running music or white noise.
3. Keeping their collars on with updated ID tags.
4. Updating their info on their microchip at found.org.
If you come across a lost pet, there are simple steps you can take BEFORE going to a shelter. We know you’re trying to do the right thing when you bring them to a shelter. But this year more than others, shelters across the country are extremely full. You could make a huge difference by helping this pet find its home without taking attention away from other shelter pets. Instead try these few steps:
1. POST THEM: Snap photos and on Austin Lost and Found Pets on FB, Nextdoor and the Neighbor app.
2. WALK THEM: Walk the pet around the area you found them to see if you run into someone looking for a lost pet.
3. CHECK THE CHIP: Go to a vet or pet supply store to see if they can check the microchip.
4. REPORT THEM MISSING: File a found pet report on the Austin 3-1-1 app!
Many lost pets are not far from home. With your help, families can enjoy July 4th with their furry friends by their side!

Don’t have pets but still want to help? Visit our donate page to make a gift that helps keep all of our shelter pets safe this 4th of July.
[ad_2]

Source link
June 27, 2023
Austin Pets Alive! | Fireworks Can be Scary for Our Pets
[ad_1]
Dec 28, 2022

In the US, New Year’s Eve has the second highest number of reported lost pets. Keep your furry family safe this year by:
1. Keeping all pets inside.
2. Reducing stress by running music or white noise.
3. Keeping their collars on with updated ID tags.
4. Updating their info on their microchip at found.org.
If you come across a lost pet, there are simple steps you can take BEFORE going to a shelter. We know you’re trying to do the right thing when you bring them to a shelter. But this year more than others, shelters across the country are extremely full. You could make a huge difference by helping this pet find its home without taking attention away from other shelter pets. Instead try these few steps:
1. POST THEM: Snap photos and on Austin Lost and Found Pets on FB, Nextdoor and the Neighbor app.
2. WALK THEM: Walk the pet around the area you found them to see if you run into someone looking for a lost pet.
3. CHECK THE CHIP: Go to a vet or pet supply store to see if they can check the microchip.
4. REPORT THEM MISSING: File a found pet report on the Austin 3-1-1 app!
Many lost pets are not far from home. With your help, families can enter the New Year with their furry friends by their side!

Don’t have pets but still want to help? Visit our donate page to make a gift that helps keep all of our shelter pets safe this New Year’s Eve.
[ad_2]

Source link
December 28, 2022
Austin Pets Alive! | Heat Help Needed Now

[ad_1]

Jul 11, 2022

Emergency Fosters

With temperatures soaring to ranges of 105-110 degrees and the possibility of rolling blackouts, our shelter is at great risk of losing power and we need your help! We’re calling on members of our community to foster a dog or cat for a minimum of 1 week starting now. Temperatures this high severely strain our facility making conditions dangerous for the most vulnerable animals in our care, even with our hot weather protocols in place. Willing to help?

Come to our Town Lake Center location today or tomorrow between noon and 6 p.m. to let us know if you can foster a dog or cat. No need to fill out paperwork in advance. We are also facilitating adoptions at this time. Not able to foster or adopt at this time? Please help us get the word out to others by sharing this post or tagging a friend.

Protection for Community Pets

As we continue through the Texas summer, we want to help keep your dogs safe too. Temperatures this high are dangerous for you, and even more dangerous for your dogs because they are 10 times more likely to die of heatstroke than people.

Limit outdoor activity for your dog and watch for the signs of heatstroke. We’ve put together some heat safety tips for you. Click here and share!

[ad_2]

Source link

July 11, 2022
Austin Pets Alive! | Cold Weather Prep for Pets: How to Help or Get…

[ad_1]
Bring pets inside. The best thing you can do for your pet is to bring them inside with you. While some breeds of dogs are more tolerant of cold weather than others, no pet should be left outside for long periods of time when it is below freezing (32ºF). You know your pet best, so be vigilant about watching for signs of their cold tolerance and limit outdoor activities accordingly.
Check your car for cats. Our feline friends like to hide from this weather in car engines and/or wheel wells, so thump the hood of your car a few times and check your wheels for stowaways before you start the engine and take off.
Provide a makeshift enclosure for outdoor animals. If you’ve noticed outdoor cats or other animals in your community suffering from the cold (shaking, curled up, etc.) and you are worried about them, create a makeshift shelter for them to stay warm in. A closed box or Rubbermaid bin with a cut out in the side, with towels or blankets, will help keep them safe in the frigid temperatures. Click here for example directions for cat shelters from Alley Cat Advocates and click here for more on what to do for dogs in the cold from Best Friends.
Or consider opening your garage slightly (and leaving a heating pad or heat lamp on) to let cats in from the cold.
Put a sweater on your pup. If you have a dog with a short coat, you can keep them a bit more insulated by putting a sweater or dog coat on them. Be sure the sweater and coat are completely dry for each outing, though, as damp or wet outerwear could actually make them chillier.
Check paws. After outdoor activity, check your pet’s paws for any signs of cracking on the paw pads, redness between toes, or bleeding. Wipe them down after each outing, too, to remove any salt, ice, or chemicals.