Nguyen Huy Bao

Metallica Through the Eras (Before 2000)

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 15:20:00 +0000

Kill ’em All - 1983

This album—with its striking cover art (a hand dropping a hammer into a pool of blood)—is the embodiment of a youthful, energetic, yet somewhat "naïve" and "rebellious" Metallica. At this stage, Metallica lived a quintessential hippie lifestyle: eating, drinking beer, and sleeping by day, then grabbing their instruments and wandering around various clubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco by night, playing wherever they could and raising hell. Every few weeks, they’d load all their gear onto a bus and tour from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Metallica’s debut album stunned the metal world with blisteringly fast riffs, meaningful lyrics, and a raw energy few bands at the time could match, despite their songwriting style being similar to Diamond Head and heavily influenced by Motörhead. (In a VCD interview from this era, Metallica shared their inspirations: James admired no one, Lars favored Diamond Head, Dave Mustaine liked Motörhead, and Cliff chose Black Sabbath and ZZ Top.)

“Kill ’em All” is packed with fresh material, and while the lyrics often exude themes of violence, destruction, and killing, the album overall carries a somewhat “playful” atmosphere. The music doesn’t yet solidify Metallica’s thrash metal identity but leans towards speed metal, akin to the early works of Anthrax. The two guitars deliver vibrant and aggressive performances atop Cliff Burton’s thick, grounding basslines. However, Jaymz’s vocals at this time weren’t quite at their peak. (Interestingly, early on, Metallica considered inviting John Bush of Armored Saint to be their vocalist.)

With this album, crafted over nearly a year, Metallica debuted with a striking style. Although their lineup was not yet fully stable, the album features many classic tracks that remain legendary to this day, such as “The Four Horsemen.” This track was later reworked by Dave Mustaine (who was fired for his drinking problem) into “Mechanix,” used by his new band, Megadeth.

Right from the opening track, “Hit the Lights,” the band unleashes a seismic shockwave, delivering an overwhelming barrage of sound with every instrument played at a thunderous volume. Overall, this album is remarkably consistent, packed with quintessential Metallica tracks like “Seek And Destroy,” “No Remorse,” and “Jump in the Fire.”

“The Four Horsemen,” co-written by Dave Mustaine, vividly captures the battlefield chaos of medieval cavalry warfare and ties it to modern-day societal obsessions with violence. Lines like “By the last breath of the fourth winds blow, Better raise your ears, The sound of hooves knock at your door, Lock up your wife and children now, It’s time to wield the blade, For now you have got some company…” showcase the song’s haunting intensity.

“Motorbreath” is a high-octane anthem celebrating those who live life in the fast lane on roaring motorcycles, with adrenaline-pumping lyrics like “Motorbreath, It’s how I live my life, I can’t take it any other way, Motorbreath, The sign of living fast, It is going to take, Your breath away…”

A standout gem on the album is the bass solo “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth),” crafted by the magical hands of Cliff Burton. The eerie, hair-raising performance is a testament to Burton’s brilliance. Anyone who has seen his live rendition in “Cliff ‘Em All” would be even more awestruck, watching the fiery-haired bassist torment his instrument to astonishing levels. Truly, no bassist has ever surpassed Cliff Burton’s masterpiece, “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth).”

“Seek and Destroy” stands as the thematic centerpiece of the album, while Kill ’Em All marks the beginning of Metallica’s exploration of anti-war themes—a motif that later defined classics like “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “One,” and “Disposable Heroes.” Yet, on Kill ’Em All, the crown jewel remains “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth),” Burton’s mesmerizing, soaring bass solo.

Bang your head against the stage
Like you never did before
Make it ring, Make it bleed
Make it really sore

Ride The Lightning - 1984

Released just a year after Kill ’Em All, this album marks Metallica’s transition into the realm of professional metal musicianship. Professionalism is evident in the recording, production, mixing, and songwriting. Even the album cover design shows a significant artistic improvement compared to KEA.

“Fight Fire with Fire,” the opening track, starts with a polished acoustic guitar melody but quickly erupts into a furious crescendo like a can of gasoline igniting the listener's ears. The sheer intensity of this track pulls the audience into a whirlwind of unrelenting fury, making it a shocking introduction.

The band’s songwriting skills clearly advanced, producing standout tracks like “Fade to Black,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “Creeping Death,” which later became staples in Metallica’s live performances. Memorable moments include the electrifying performance of “Fade to Black” at the Tushino Airfield in Russia in 1991, the haunting rendition of “Bellz” at Seattle Coliseum in 1989, and the iconic “Creeping Death” at Woodstock ’99.

“Fade to Black” evokes a bittersweet image: the band, drenched in sweat after a performance, returning backstage only to find their equipment stolen. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” paints the harrowing final moments of a soldier, staring at the sky one last time as the roar of artillery drowns out the world (“Take a look to the sky just before you die, It is the last time he will, Blackened roar, massive roar fills the crumbling sky…”). Inspired by the plagues of ancient Egypt and the biblical Exodus, “Creeping Death” conjures a vision of a dark sorcerer stalking the Egyptian desert by night to claim the life of a newborn Pharaoh (“Die! By my hand! I creep across the land! Killing first-born man!”).

“Ride the Lightning” captures the dread of a death row inmate, haunted by the looming specter of the electric chair (“Flash before my eyes, Now it’s time to die, Burning in my brain, I can’t feel the flame…”).

The album concludes with a breathtaking instrumental, “The Call of Ktulu,” inspired by the works of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Both Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton were fans of Lovecraft’s stories and successfully persuaded the band to create this masterpiece. The track resonates like an eerie call from the depths of some mysterious abyss or perhaps the hellish undersea world described in Midian by Cradle of Filth. It is not only Metallica’s finest instrumental but also one of the greatest in rock history.

The most iconic tracks are arguably “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Fade to Black,” essential listening for any rock fan. The former is named after Ernest Hemingway’s novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, set during World War I, and continues Metallica’s exploration of anti-war themes. It critiques the senselessness of war and the thirst for power that drives it.

However, it was “Fade to Black” that truly shocked the metal world. Could a rising metal band create a ballad so profound? Although the song was criticized for allegedly promoting suicide, fans believed it helped them through their darkest times. Songs like this are double-edged swords; misunderstood, they can have a negative impact, but when appreciated correctly, they resonate deeply. Written after the band’s amplifiers were stolen (as mentioned earlier), Fade to Black remains an explosive milestone that redefined metal at the time.

No one but me can save myself for it’s too late
Now I can’t think, think why I should even try
Yesterday seems as though it never existed
Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye.

Master of Puppets - 1986

Metallica's third album is considered by many to be a classic, a breakthrough that defined their career, and their best work—a pinnacle of thrash metal. With Master of Puppets, Metallica truly stood out as a phenomenon in the metal world, though they still struggled to gain attention from major record labels due to the length of their songs (ironically, one of the aspects most revered by Metallica fans).

The relentless, furious, and intense melodies of Metallica, crafted by the sound wizard Flemming Rasmussen, became iconic templates for the thrash metal genre. The album opens with an acoustic guitar section in Battery, similar to their previous album, but the execution here surpasses Ride the Lightning. Battery is a perfect opening for an album like Master of Puppets, with rhythmic and poetic lyrics:

Smashing through the boundaries,
Lunacy has found me,
Cannot stop the Battery,
Pounding out aggression,
Turns into obsession,
Cannot kill the Battery,
Cannot kill the family,
Battery is found in me, Battery!!!

This is accompanied by ferocious guitar riffs and Lars Ulrich's energetic drumming. Following this is the legendary Master of Puppets, which pushes the listener's senses to the limit. The song delivers an all-out assault on the ears, reaching almost impossible speeds at times. It offers fans a false sense of respite in the middle of the track, only to explode again with fury, describing the devastating grip of drugs—cannabis truly becomes the master of its addicted puppets. The song blends the eerie, mocking tone of Black Sabbath's War Pigs with the transcendent beauty of Queen's Innuendo, all underpinned by Metallica's signature relentless and aggressive style. Kirk Hammett's masterful guitar solos, full of twists and turns, take the listener on an emotional journey through the track's 8.5-minute runtime.

This album also features The Thing That Should Not Be, inspired by the horror works of H.P. Lovecraft. The track is imbued with a chilling, spiritual essence and unsettling imagery:

Crawling chaos, underground;
Cult has summoned, twisted sound;
Out from ruins once possessed;
Fallen city, living death.

Kirk Hammett's haunting solo evokes the sinister laughter of demons.

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) depicts a revolt of patients in a mental asylum, inspired by the acclaimed novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by American writer Ken Kesey, which was later adapted into a film starring Jack Nicholson.

Disposable Heroes, a potent anti-war anthem, portrays the inevitable fate of "disposable heroes" in warfare. When Metallica performed this track live for the first time in December 1985 at the Metal Hammer Festival in Hannover, West Germany, they caused a frenzy.

Leper Messiah sarcastically critiques blind devotion to religion, which turns believers into victims of deceit without their realization.

Orion is a remarkably refined and mysterious instrumental, featuring soaring, flowing guitar passages interwoven with powerful crescendos. It evokes the dazzling and enigmatic imagery of the Orion constellation, the brightest cluster in the night sky, located six light-years from Earth. In mythology, Orion represents the god Osiris, the founder of ancient Egypt. In this instrumental, Cliff Burton once again showcases his exceptional bass skills with innovative techniques.

The album closes with Damage Inc., leaving listeners in a suffocating and terrifying atmosphere. This title was also chosen for Metallica's European tour in 1986, which seemed to foreshadow tragedy: James Hetfield broke his arm after falling from the stage, and during a tour in Sweden, the band's tour bus overturned. This tragic accident claimed the life of Cliff Burton, one of the greatest bass players in rock history. The 24-year-old prodigy passed away on the road from Copenhagen to Stockholm, leaving fans with immeasurable grief.

However, Metallica stood firm in the face of this immense loss, realizing that, in the afterlife, Cliff would have wanted them to continue. The band brought in bassist Jason Newsted from Flotsam & Jetsam (a well-known band at the time) to fill the void left behind. During this period, Garage Days Re-Revisited was recorded in 1987 as an experimental effort to help Jason integrate with the band. This album—if one might say in a somewhat sentimental way—is a flawless gem.

From a commercial standpoint, this was Metallica's first album to achieve Platinum status without much advertising, signaling that America had fallen under the spell of the conqueror, Metallica.

…And Justice For All - 1988

After the devastating loss of Cliff, our boys overcame this challenging period, marked by the release of …And Justice For All. This album carries a hint of black metal, filled with bitterness and an almost rebellious attitude toward the norms of justice.

"Blackened" opens the album with a strange and explosive sound, reflecting how humanity has ravaged the planet, essentially digging its own grave. Following that is the title track …And Justice For All, a mix of irony and protest against a government controlled by the almighty dollar, where money can buy justice. The metal spirit continues with "Eye of the Beholder," which exposes the hypocrisy of recent legal amendments in America at the time. These changes outwardly promised to guarantee freedom of speech but, in reality, were censored and restricted.

In this album, Metallica also delivered their second ballad, One. This is perhaps one of the most well-known anti-war songs, telling the story of a soldier returned from the battlefield, left empty in spirit and abandoned within the shell of his own body. This song also became the band’s first music video, featuring clips from the film Johnny Got His Gun, which shares the same narrative as the song.

A final contribution from Cliff Burton is recognized in To Live is To Die, despite his death before the album's release. The song was crafted from numerous riffs written by Cliff, and a short passage of lyrics was taken from one of his poems. The title itself, To Live is To Die, suggests that death is an inevitable part of life, seemingly reflecting Metallica's mindset at the time. Keeping Cliff’s memory close to their hearts, they pressed on toward success.

When a man lies, he murders some part of the world.
These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives.
All this I cannot bear to witness any longer.
Will not the kingdom of salvation take me home?

Metallica - 1991

This Grammy-winning album needs no introduction. It remained prominently on the Billboard Top 100 charts for years after its release. With this album, Metallica brought metal into the spotlight and made it famous—a feat perhaps only Black Sabbath, the godfathers of metal, had previously achieved.

Known unofficially as the Black Album (in Vietnam, simply referred to as the 1991 album), it produced a series of outstanding tracks. This streak of success began with Enter Sandman, an excellent track despite its simplicity in both structure and lyrics. The second song, Sad But True, stands out with its powerful, abrupt riffs, where James plays the role of a demon speaking to a being stripped of its thoughts, reduced to a mindless offering.

Another major hit, alongside Nothing Else Matters, quietly climbed the charts—The Unforgiven. This song tells the story of a man who, from childhood, was taught to obey without question and, in his old age, grows resentful of those who suppressed his ability to be himself. Another fan favorite is Wherever I May Roam, which paints the picture of a wanderer whose spirit continues to roam even after death. Interestingly, Metallica’s faith in America resurfaces in Don’t Tread On Me, a tribute to national military pride. The title Don’t Tread On Me is drawn from flags flown on Navy ships during the American Revolution.

The snake depicted on the album cover also resembles the one from these flags. Lastly, The God That Failed seems to be a deeply personal song for James. It recounts the story of a Christian couple who allowed their children to die, refusing medical treatment and relying solely on faith in God. Through this, James delivers a blow to the religion he believes was responsible for his mother’s death. (James’ family was also Christian, and his mother succumbed to cancer after refusing treatment, insisting that God would heal her. Despite her worsening condition, she rejected medical intervention and passed away.) In this context, the God That Failed is all too literal.

I see faith in your eyes.
Never you hear the discouraging lies.
I hear faith in your cries.
Broken is the promise, betrayal.
The healing hand held back by the deepened nail.
Follow the God that failed.

Reload - 1997

Load was initially intended to be a double album, but delays forced its release to be split into two parts. Although composed during the same period as Load, Reload carries a slightly different feel. The first single from this album, The Memory Remains, features Marianne Faithful.

The idea behind this song revolves around a faded star, gradually falling into obscurity and eventually burning out completely. Another single, Fuel, is a subtle nod to Motorbreath from the Kill 'Em All album.

Reload is a solid album, and though written alongside Load, it demonstrates a more seasoned and reflective side of Metallica. The album spans a range of styles, from fast and powerful tracks like Fuel to Celtic folk-inspired pieces such as Low Man’s Lyrics. A prime example of the album's clever lyricism is Why the Things Are. Using the metaphor of a boy waking up in a room full of toys, Metallica crafts yet another anti-war anthem, openly criticizing the reality that children with their whole lives ahead of them are sent to kill each other at the whims of politicians.

One day you will see
And dare to come down to me
Now c’mon, c’mon now
Take a chance…that’s right
Let’s dance

Garage, Inc - 1998

This double-disc album is a collection of Metallica’s favorite cover songs. It reflects the reality that even the greatest bands often have their roots in cover performances. With this album, Metallica revisits their beginnings, featuring selections that range from Lars Ulrich's collection of artists in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement to legends like Lynyrd Skynyrd. The track Sabbra Cadabra, originally by Black Sabbath, was suggested by Lars after the group agreed not to cover Sabbath’s more famous songs like War Pigs.

The first single released from this album was Turn The Page, a Bob Seger original, chosen by Metallica because it resonated with their views on life and the journey ahead. Die Die My Darling, a Misfits track, has lyrics reminiscent of Last Caress. Meanwhile, Mercyful Fate is a medley of five songs by the band Mercyful Fate, pioneers of black metal alongside Venom and Bathory.

The most unusual choice is Whiskey In The Jar, an Irish folk song previously rock-ified by Thin Lizzy. It tells the story of a man betrayed by his wife, killing an officer, and subsequently ending up in prison. Tuesday’s Gone, originally by Lynyrd Skynyrd, was suggested by James Hetfield due to his admiration for their heavy sound. Another track, Am I Evil?, is a Diamond Head composition—a band that had a profound influence on Lars Ulrich.

Blitzkrieg was written by a band of the same name, which only existed long enough to produce this one notable song. Breadfan, a cover of a Budgie track, may not be particularly remarkable in melody but is considered one of Metallica’s best covers.

The final four songs on the album were taken from the Motörheadache ’95 concert, held in honor of metal godfather Lemmy Kilmister’s 50th birthday. These tracks showcase raw, unpolished energy.

There’s a devil crawling along your floor
And he’s old and he’s stupid and he’s hungry and he’s sore
And he’s blind and he’s lame and he’s dirty and he’s poor
(Give me more, give me more)

Do you remember any of these albums when they were first released? Feeling old yet? If so, this is the shirt for you:

Who Truly Betrayed Tony Soprano?

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:17:00 +0000

Few television finales have captured the public's imagination as intensely as The Sopranos. The ambiguity of its closing scene in the episode Made in America has sparked endless debates about Tony Soprano's fate. The sudden cut to black, accompanied by Journey's Don’t Stop Believin’, left fans grappling with one of TV's greatest mysteries: did Tony die, and if so, who was responsible? While much of the discussion centers on the man in the Members Only jacket - who many believe pulled the trigger - there remains another layer to unravel. Who set Tony up? Could the true mastermind of Tony’s death have been one of his closest and most trusted allies? Among the list of suspects, Paulie Gualtieri stands out as a compelling and deeply unsettling candidate.

Paulie Walnuts, as he’s affectionately called, has been a cornerstone of the Soprano crew from the beginning. With his distinctive silver-winged hair and quirky sense of humor, Paulie became one of the show’s most iconic characters. On the surface, his loyalty to Tony seemed unwavering. Yet, as the series progressed, cracks in Paulie’s armor began to show. His behavior, marked by selfishness, paranoia, and an unrelenting drive for self-preservation, often hinted at deeper motives beneath his jovial exterior.

Paulie's loyalty, while long-standing, was never absolute. He was an opportunist who navigated the dangerous waters of mob life by aligning himself with whoever could guarantee his survival. Early in the series, Paulie reveals his true nature during the Season 3 finale, Army of One. Here, he privately meets with Johnny Sack, subtly implying his willingness to shift allegiances to the New York family. Although this meeting doesn’t immediately bear fruit, it establishes Paulie as someone who is not above betrayal if it means securing his position.

Throughout the series, Paulie’s actions often undermined Tony’s authority or complicated his life. In Season 4, Paulie’s penchant for gossip nearly causes a war between New Jersey and New York when he relays a joke about Johnny Sack's wife to the wrong people. His rash decision to kill an elderly psychic’s dog during a séance - an act meant to silence a perceived slight - further showcases his impulsiveness and inability to consider long-term consequences. In Pine Barrens, arguably one of the series’ most beloved episodes, Paulie’s dishonesty escalates a relatively simple task into a life-threatening ordeal. These moments illustrate Paulie’s primary allegiance: to himself, not Tony.

Paulie’s resentment toward Tony becomes increasingly evident in the later seasons. In Season 6, Paulie is visibly upset when Bobby Bacala is promoted above him, a decision that Tony likely made because of Paulie’s erratic behavior. This slight adds fuel to a simmering sense of betrayal, one that may have reached its boiling point by the finale.

David Chase’s attention to detail and love for symbolism make The Sopranos a treasure trove of hidden clues. One recurring motif throughout the series is the use of white shoes to signify betrayal. This visual cue is subtle but consistent: Johnny Sack wears white shoes when he begins cooperating with the FBI, and Burt Gervasi is seen wearing white shoes shortly before Silvio kills him for betraying the family. In the Season 6 episode Remember When, Paulie prominently wears white shoes during his trip to Florida with Tony. This seemingly innocuous detail may hold deeper significance, subtly linking Paulie to the show's pattern of betrayal.

The Florida trip in Remember When serves as a microcosm of Tony and Paulie’s relationship. During their time together, Tony begins to question Paulie’s loyalty, even voicing his doubts to Beansie. He expresses unease about Paulie’s track record, saying he has “never been put to the test.” This tension culminates in a chilling scene on a boat, where Tony appears to consider killing Paulie. The parallels to the earlier murder of Pussy Bonpensiero are striking—both moments involve Tony confronting a long-time ally on a boat, forced to weigh loyalty against survival. While Tony ultimately spares Paulie, the seed of doubt remains firmly planted.

By the time we reach the series finale, Paulie’s actions and demeanor become even more suspicious. In Made in America, Tony offers Paulie the position of captain, a promotion initially intended for Patsy Parisi. Paulie’s reluctance to accept the role is telling; it seems less like humility and more like calculated hesitation. His acceptance feels forced, as if Paulie is securing his place while keeping one foot out the door. Outside Satriale’s, a subtle camera angle captures the word “liar” on a building directly above Paulie’s head, a visual cue that may be more than coincidental.

The stray cat that appears in the final episodes is another significant symbol. The orange tabby, which becomes fixated on a photograph of Christopher Moltisanti, seems to haunt Paulie wherever he goes. While some fans interpret the cat as a representation of Christopher’s spirit, others see it as an embodiment of Tony’s growing suspicions. The cat’s eerie focus on Paulie could symbolize guilt or forewarning, as if it senses Paulie’s betrayal before Tony does.

Paulie’s behavior in the finale further cements the theory that he played a role in Tony’s demise. While Tony and his family gather at Holsten’s, tense and wary of potential threats, Paulie is seen tanning in a chair outside, completely relaxed. This stark contrast between Tony’s paranoia and Paulie’s calm demeanor suggests that Paulie knows he’s safe. In the cutthroat world of organized crime, where betrayal often carries fatal consequences, Paulie’s nonchalance stands out as a glaring anomaly.

If Paulie did betray Tony, his motives likely stem from a combination of fear and self-preservation. By aligning himself with the New York family, Paulie could secure his safety while removing a boss whose suspicions of him had grown increasingly apparent. The strained relationship between Tony and New York in the final season makes such an arrangement not only plausible but strategically sound for Paulie.

In the end, Paulie Gualtieri’s potential betrayal adds a haunting layer to the finale of The Sopranos. His actions, while never explicitly confirmed, align with the show’s central themes: trust is fragile, loyalty is conditional, and self-interest often trumps all. David Chase once said of the finale, “It’s all there,” and indeed, the clues pointing to Paulie’s role in Tony’s death are scattered throughout the series.

Whether or not Paulie orchestrated Tony’s demise, his character serves as a chilling reminder of the moral decay that permeates the world of The Sopranos. Tony’s downfall, much like his rise to power, was shaped by the very people he trusted most. In the end, the question remains: how well did Tony ever know Paulie - or anyone else? The answer, like the fate of Tony himself, may forever remain a mystery.

10 Legendary Films with the Most Oscar Wins in Cinema History

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 12:16:00 +0000

In the world of cinema, certain films transcend time, earning their place as legendary masterpieces celebrated by audiences and critics alike. Among these are a select few that have not only captivated viewers but also dominated the Oscars, securing multiple awards and cementing their legacy in film history.

In this list, you'll find 10 iconic movies that hold the record for the most Oscar wins. While some titles might already be familiar, others may surprise you—so be sure to jot them down and experience their magic. These films, with their storytelling brilliance and artistic excellence, are a testament to why they are among the most decorated works in the history of the Academy Awards.

10. Gone With The Wind (1939)

Total Oscars: 8

Gone With The Wind is a romantic drama set during the American Civil War, adapted from the 1936 novel of the same name by author Margaret Mitchell. Both the film and the novel are eternal icons in their respective fields, inspiring numerous outstanding works that followed.

The film received a record-breaking number of Oscars and nominations at the 12th Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director (Victor Fleming), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel), Best Cinematography in Color, Best Film Editing, and Best Art Direction.

9. From Here To Eternity (1953)

Total Oscars: 8

The romantic drama From Here to Eternity, based on the novel of the same name by James Jones, recounts the lives and loves of three U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Hawaii. They experience the most passionate moments of their lives, unaware that the tragic Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is imminent.

Although Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, and Deborah Kerr did not win Oscars in the acting categories for which they were nominated, Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed brought home the awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

Meanwhile, Fred Zinnemann won Best Director. The film also received Oscars for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Writing, Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), Best Costume Design (Black-and-White), Best Film Editing, Best Music (for a drama or comedy), and Best Sound Recording.

8. My Fair Lady (1964)

Total Oscars: 8

The iconic stage musical My Fair Lady was adapted into a film in 1964, retaining all the charm of the original. The story follows a phonetics professor who hopes to transform a working-class woman into a refined member of high society. Initially at odds, their relationship gradually evolves into something more romantic.

The film won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Director (George Cukor), and, of course, Best Picture.

7. Gigi (1958)

Total Oscars: 9

This romantic musical, based on the 1944 novel of the same name by Colette, tells the story of a wealthy and carefree man who constantly seeks new lovers. However, when his friend Gigi grows into a young woman, he begins to see her as an ideal romantic partner and must decide whether her charm is worth giving up his free-spirited lifestyle.

Gigi broke records by winning 9 Academy Awards at the 31st Oscars in 1959, including Best Picture and Best Director (Vincente Minnelli). Its other awards include Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song.

6. The Last Emperor (1987)

Total Oscars: 9

The Last Emperor is a 1987 epic biographical film that recounts the life of Puyi, the last emperor of China. While the film begins by depicting Puyi's rise to power as a young boy, it ends with his imprisonment and the rise of the Communist Party.

The film received unprecedented critical acclaim, winning every Oscar it was nominated for at the 60th Academy Awards. These awards include Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci).

5. The English Patient (1996)

Total Oscars: 9

Michael Ondaatje's acclaimed 1992 novel The English Patient was adapted into a film in 1996. This romantic war drama tells the story of a severely burned man recounting his love story to the nurse caring for him.

The film was a major success, winning 9 out of the 12 Oscars it was nominated for. These awards include Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Director (Anthony Minghella), and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche).

4. West Side Story (1961)

Total Oscars: 10

This film features a forbidden love story reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, set in the Upper West Side of New York in the late 1950s. It revolves around two rival gangs: the Jets, composed of first-generation New Yorkers whose parents arrived in the early 19th century, and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants with darker skin who had recently settled in America.

The ongoing hostility between the gangs escalates into an open conflict after Tony (Richard Beymer), the founder of the Jets who has left the gang to lead an honest life, falls in love with Maria (Natalie Wood), the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks.

West Side Story won 10 out of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins shared the award for Best Director, while George Chakiris won Best Supporting Actor and Rita Moreno received Best Supporting Actress.

3. Titanic (1997)

Total Oscars: 11

The first of three legendary films to win a total of 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, is Titanic—the 1997 epic romantic masterpiece. The performances by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio elevated their careers to new heights, setting a benchmark for future generations of actors. Titanic itself became an immortal icon of the romantic drama genre in modern Hollywood cinema.

With Titanic, James Cameron won the Oscar for Best Director, while the film also earned awards for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.

2. Ben-Hur (1959)

Total Oscars: 11

Years before Titanic made waves, William Wyler’s Ben-Hur achieved monumental success. Adapted from the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace, the film is renowned for its iconic nine-minute chariot race sequence, one of the most legendary scenes in American cinema. The film’s score, composed by Miklós Rózsa, remains the longest musical composition ever written for a movie, a record that still stands.

The story follows Judah Ben-Hur and his conflict with a ruthless Roman Empire official, culminating in events that lead to his fateful encounter with Jesus Christ.

Ben-Hur won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Art Direction – Color, Best Cinematography – Color, Best Special Effects, Best Costume Design – Color, Best Film Editing, Best Music – Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and Best Sound Recording.

Additionally, William Wyler won Best Director, Charlton Heston won Best Actor, and Hugh Griffith was awarded Best Supporting Actor.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Total Oscars: 11

The third and final installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is regarded as the greatest film of the 21st century to date. More than just an outstanding adventure film, it is a masterful adaptation of Tolkien’s monumental literary work. The Return of the King encompasses everything one could seek in cinema: love, friendship, courage, grandeur, tragedy, intense action, stunning visual effects, a phenomenal cast, and cutting-edge filmmaking techniques.

The film features an extraordinary ensemble cast, including Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Sean Astin, and Elijah Wood.

This finale to the fantasy saga of Middle-earth follows Frodo and Sam’s perilous journey to Mordor to destroy Sauron’s cursed ring, while the heroic Aragorn gathers forces for the ultimate battle against darkness.

Peter Jackson won Best Director, and the film also earned Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

The Best Marvel Movie Viewing Order Through 2027

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 06:50:00 +0000

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to expand, keeping up with the ever-growing list of movies and shows can feel like an adventure in itself. With new storylines, characters, and the complex multiverse unfolding, many fans find themselves asking, "What's the best order to watch the Marvel movies?"

This guide provides an updated chronological viewing order of the MCU, including both classic films and recent releases, right through to the highly anticipated titles coming up in 2027. Whether you're a dedicated fan revisiting the saga or a newcomer diving into Marvel for the first time, here’s the best order to watch Marvel movies up to 2027, covering the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in chronological order. This list includes films and significant Disney+ series that fit into the MCU timeline, with anticipated releases included based on current plans.

Phase 1: Origins and Avengers Assemble

Captain America: The First Avenger (1943-1945)
Captain Marvel (1995)
Iron Man (2010)
Iron Man 2 (After Iron Man)
The Incredible Hulk (Concurrent with Iron Man 2)
Thor (2011)
The Avengers (2012)

Phase 2: Expanding the Universe

Iron Man 3 (Six months post-Avengers)
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Shortly after Vol. 1)
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man

Phase 3: Civil War and the Infinity Saga

Captain America: Civil War
Black Widow (Between Civil War and Infinity War)
Black Panther
Spider-Man: Homecoming (Following Civil War)
Doctor Strange (2016-2017)
Thor: Ragnarok
Ant-Man and the Wasp (Concurrent with Infinity War)
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Endgame
Loki (Season 1)
WandaVision
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Phase 4: The Multiverse and New Beginnings

Spider-Man: Far From Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Eternals (Various points in history; primarily after Endgame)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Loki (Season 2)
Hawkeye
Moon Knight
Ms. Marvel
Thor: Love and Thunder
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

Phase 5: Multiverse Crisis and New Team-Ups

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Secret Invasion
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Echo
Loki (Season 3 - anticipated)
The Marvels
Blade
Ironheart
Agatha: Darkhold Diaries
Daredevil: Born Again
Captain America: Brave New World
Thunderbolts
Deadpool 3

Phase 6: The Multiverse Saga Concludes

Fantastic Four (Expected in 2025)
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (Expected in 2026)
Avengers: Secret Wars (Expected in 2027)

This list includes titles announced up to 2027, and watching in chronological order should help follow the development of characters, events, and multiverse arcs. Marvel often introduces new stories or changes dates, so check official updates as well.

Real-life Inspiration for 'The Sopranos'

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 03:53:00 +0000

What inspired The Sopranos? Clearly, it was two crime families in North Jersey: the DeCavalcante crime family and the Genovese crime family. Here are some of their stories.

The DeCavalcante Crime Family

It’s evident that the DiMeo crime family in the show could be inspired by the real-life DeCavalcante crime family in North Jersey. Ted Sherman of NJ.com noted that three members of this crime family might have inspired The Sopranos: Simone Rizzo DeCavalcante, Giovanni Riggi, and Vincent Palermo.

DeCavalcante, also known by the nickname "Sam the Plumber," earned his moniker from his plumbing business. According to Sherman, he controlled the construction industry and was once convicted of conspiracy to extort. Riggi manipulated a labor union to funnel money into the family and was later convicted of fraud and murder.

The most intriguing comparison to Tony Soprano is Vincent Palermo. Palermo eventually became a government witness in 1999 after leading the DeCavalcante family. Like Soprano, Palermo ran a strip club in Forest Hills, Queens. He was known for being a caring and very protective figure toward his family.

Greg Smith from the New York Daily News noted that Palermo’s strip club was described as a “haven for drugs and prostitution.” Palermo started his career legally, eventually marrying DeCavalcante’s niece, becoming his nephew-in-law, and rising to the top of the crime family. This bears similarities to Christopher Moltisanti’s character in The Sopranos.

Palermo made his mark by eliminating a suspected informant for John Gotti named Fred Weiss. Eventually, after Riggi was imprisoned, Palermo became the powerful boss of the family. While living in Houston, Palermo would go on to run strip clubs.

Read more: Who Truly Betrayed Tony Soprano?

The Genovese Crime Family

According to Eric Schaal at Cheat Sheet, another possible inspiration for The Sopranos was 'Tony Boy' Boiardo, a gang leader in Essex County during the late 1960s, part of the North Jersey branch of the Genovese crime family. He primarily operated in North Newark before retreating to his suburban home. He was also overweight, much like Tony Soprano. His children had high ambitions and wanted to stay away from the family business—one of his sons became a doctor, despite originally wanting to become a lawyer, similar to Meadow Soprano's career path and aspirations.

Schaal noted that, just like Tony Soprano, 'Tony Boy' Boiardo also saw a therapist, which was highly stigmatized within the crime circles of the time. Furthermore, Tony Boy Boiardo’s enforcer was named John “Big Pussy” Russo, the same nickname as one of Tony Soprano's closest friends. Boiardo succeeded his father, Ruggerio “Richie the Boot” Boiardo, a Prohibition-era gangster. Many believe that Richie the Boot was the inspiration for Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather.

Mike Parker distinguishes The Sopranos from the Boiardo family by noting that the Boiardos showed very little remorse for their actions and "recounted their most gruesome murders with glee." In The Sopranos, however, the show's killers exhibit immense guilt for their actions and struggle with their identity as murderers.

However, in FBI wiretaps, Tony Boy would often describe murders in vivid detail. His subordinates were also quite pleased to reminisce about their killings. Another similarity between the Genovese family and The Sopranos is the restaurant they frequented—Vittoria’s Castle, which, according to Parker, would later serve as the model for Satriale’s, the deli and meat shop in The Sopranos. Other members of the organization tried to break into the film business, just as Christopher Moltisanti did in the show.

Ted Sherman recalls that Boiardo was also involved in government corruption, having ties to Newark’s mayor, Hugh J. Addonizio. Addonizio was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy and extortion.

The Genovese family remains active in New Jersey to this day.

An Interesting Music Story: Paul is Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 08:13:00 +0000

55 years ago, Russ Gibb, a DJ at WKNR, received a call suggesting he take The Beatles' White Album and play the "number nine, number nine" part from the beginning of the track "Revolution 9" backward (to be honest, the original version of this track is creepy enough to scare the hell out of me).

Russ tried it live on air and heard the phrase "Turn me on, dead man." Then, a listener called in to report that they heard John saying "I buried Paul" at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever."

And from there, a theory emerged that Paul McCartney had died in a car accident back in 1966, and the band had to find a lookalike to replace him, named William Campbell. This William Campbell was apparently so good that he even helped The Beatles write "Hey Jude" and "Blackbird."

Besides the “evidence” fans dug up from the Sgt. Pepper album cover, where Paul was wearing a jacket with three letters on his arm that vaguely resembled O.P.D., which they interpreted as "Officially Pronounced Dead" (though in reality, the embroidery read O.P.P.), people also found clues on the Abbey Road album cover to support the rumor.

The members follow the sequence of a funeral procession, where John is the priest (in white attire), Ringo is the undertaker (in black attire), Paul is the corpse, and George is the gravedigger (in denim).
Paul is the only member walking barefoot and is out of step with the others.
Paul is holding a cigarette in his right hand (even though he is left-handed).
The Volkswagen Beetle behind them has a license plate reading "28IF," referring to Paul's age "if" he were still alive (though technically, according to Western age counting, Paul would not turn 28 that year).

After a series of such theories, in November 1969, Life magazine had to publish a note saying "Paul Is Still With Us," along with a picture of Paul and his family vacationing in Scotland, reassuring everyone that he was still alive and well.

Paul himself found the whole thing quite amusing. Once, someone called his office and told him, "Hey Paul, you're dead." Paul promptly replied, "Oh, I don't think so."

As for John Lennon, he didn’t find the whole affair amusing at all. He even called the radio station on October 26 and outright said that this was the stupidest rumor he'd ever heard, denying any hidden messages that people had dug up and misinterpreted. The final words of “Strawberry Fields Forever” were not “I buried Paul” but actually “cranberry sauce.”

This incident later inspired other artists to insert hidden messages in their songs, music videos, etc., giving their fans a chance to explore, analyze, and discover them.

Joker: Folie à Deux Short Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 16:18:00 +0000

When you're smilin'
The whole world smiles with you, baby

The lyrics of the classic song When You're Smiling seem to be born solely for Joker when, after the first part, the bloody smile that the clown paints on his lips turns all of Gotham into a giant circus, chanting his name. Skipping down the stairs of morality's abyss, Joker completes his journey of corruption more convincingly than ever behind the bars of Arkham Asylum. A perfect ending for such an iconic character.

Thus, I must admit I was a bit surprised and even disappointed when director Todd Phillips used the sequel titled FOLIE À DEUX to try and reverse that dance, throwing Arthur Fleck into a test where he must question the moments when he pulled the trigger. So, what does this journey of picking up the last bits of humanity in this character say about ego and repentance? Todd Phillips has two hours and 18 minutes to prove his vision to the audience.

Starting with Arthur's miserable time serving his sentence after killing a total of six people, including the famous talk show host Murray Franklin, the story takes an unexpected turn when we learn about the existence of a trial. The lawyer argues that the protagonist could escape the death penalty if it’s proven that Arthur Fleck and Joker are two entirely separate personalities. He needs to convince the jury that the person behind the makeup isn’t truly him, but rather a shell to hide a past of abuse and abandonment—a monster born from psychological trauma.

From here, what viewers need to prepare for in Joker Part 2 are lengthy and frequent imaginary sequences. The film is almost entirely set inside the asylum’s cells, lacking the rats, piled-up garbage, or filthy alleys, replaced instead by endless hallucinations inside the clown's mind. If you're hoping for a return to Gotham, with metaphors reflecting social class and injustice, you’re likely to be disappointed because the character’s battle now is a battle in his mind. It’s a search for answers, questioning whether the real personality is the Joker, worshiped like a saint, or the weak, scrawny Arthur.

This creates the first issue: a world lacking depth. The audience's sympathy for Arthur Fleck largely stemmed from the shared frustration over Gotham's injustices. The absence of figures like Thomas Wayne preaching reform makes the film lose a valuable contemporary perspective. Especially after the first film, where the clown had garnered a large fan base, but in part two, this cult becomes humorously weak, making noise rather than having any real impact on the film's critical decisions, except for one outburst in the final act.

It’s unclear whether director Todd Phillips is mocking the fact that the worshiped god-like Joker is actually just an empty figure, or if he has entirely forgotten the marginalized people that Joker represented. But even if it's one or the other, ignoring the main factor leading to Joker's downfall sometimes renders him ordinary.

Moreover, with the setting confined to Arkham, scenes where Arthur gets beaten up won’t carry the same weight as when he was left battered in an alleyway. This is because we already know the place is full of insane criminals and thuggish guards. I had assumed that making the hospital the focus would serve as a critique of the poor conditions the city government uses to treat those with psychological issues, but even so, neither the inmates around Arthur nor the guards with batons are explored deeply. There are no images of the ruling class, nor any exploration of the lives of the common people or the realities of Gotham. In truth, Folie à Deux lacks the depth that the film five years ago did so well.

Besides that, does anyone else find the guards incredibly short-sighted for laying a hand on Arthur right before his trial? Isn’t it obvious that with just one word to the media from Joker, hundreds of his extremist worshippers would hunt down those guards? Where was that crazy mob when their saint needed them? Everything gets even more ridiculous during Arthur’s trial, where, as the judge said, Joker has truly turned the courtroom into a circus.

Sure, we can understand that the film is trying to criticize the media through the repeated imagery of televisions and the press constantly circling like hungry vultures. They don’t care who the murderer is, guilty or innocent, they just want Joker on the air to get views. But in the end, due to a confined setting that lacks connection to the broader world, the film becomes one-dimensional. It simply shows Joker in the dirtiest place possible, surrounded by the worst people possible, beaten as much as possible, leaving him with no choice but to cling to his delusional dreams.

The second issue, and a sadder one, is Joker’s inner self—the very aspect the film sacrificed all other elements to focus on—still wasn’t portrayed effectively. To embellish the scenes of breaking from reality, Todd Phillips decided to introduce the musical genre. For me personally, the genre crossover wasn’t a problem while watching, because as we remember, Arthur has always had music in his soul. It makes total sense that he would dream of singing whatever he wanted alongside a beautiful woman. The only problem is that Todd Phillips himself may not be strong in this area.

In a way that’s unclear whether it was accidental or intentional, all the songs in the film are performed in the same style: beginning with a slow-motion sequence, followed by the melancholic voice of Lady Gaga or Joaquin, accompanied by cigarette smoke during their first shared moment of madness. The romantic atmosphere was done very well, mixing tenderness with sorrow. The second and third times this pattern appears, it's still somewhat acceptable. But by the fourth or fifth time this formula repeats, I lost my patience and just wished the tempo would pick up so the dance routine would end sooner.

And yet, aside from the titular song and the scene we saw in the trailer where he smashes the judge's head with a hammer, nearly all the other songs are love songs, conveying only one message: Joker’s feelings for Harley Quinn, that she is the new light of his life. Singing a lot doesn’t automatically make a musical film, and what the movie lacks is the ability to use those melodies to push the story forward.

The entire second act of the film shows little to no progression, circling around the same repetitive, delusional dances just to highlight the contrast between harsh reality and the desire for ordinary love, between the indecision of becoming Joker or returning to Arthur. These are all things the audience already knows by heart after watching the first movie. So why add a bunch of classic songs to reiterate the same old issues? Didn’t Arthur already agonize over these dilemmas before fully embracing the Joker persona? What purpose does this second part serve with all of this?

The only praiseworthy aspect of the film’s musical sequences is the breathtaking, painting-like visuals, the carefully crafted color compositions, and the usual 10-out-of-10 performance from Joaquin Phoenix. He continues to prove himself as one of the most talented actors of his generation, and regardless of how poorly the film might score, the rounds of applause are something this star absolutely deserves.

As for Lady Gaga’s role, let's set aside her appearance or acting skills for now, because before we even get to those, her character is already underwhelming from the script itself. Marketed as a key figure in the second part, Harley Quinn is surprisingly shallow in her development. She shows up as a fan of Joker, falling in love at first sight, and just like that, forgets to even introduce herself. The title Folie à Deux refers to shared psychotic disorder, where one person is affected by the psychological issues of the other. In the film, it’s likely referring to Folie simultanée, meaning two individuals who are independently psychotic, but when close, their delusions start to align. Unlike the theories suggesting that Joker would drive Harley Quinn mad, it seems she’s already insane, perhaps even more so than her idol.

This makes Joker's lover a conflicting role in relation to the film’s goals. Why? Because, as we’ve seen, Arthur Fleck is a very passive character, even in the first part. So, if even in the battle within his own mind, he is dependent on Harley Quinn—if his journey to find his identity is dragged from place to place, and even his madness must be borrowed—how much of his final transformation in the last act are we supposed to sympathize with? How are we supposed to view this Joker if he only changes because someone else tells him that the other personality is wrong, or flawed? A good character doesn’t necessarily need to stand on the side of righteousness, but they must have conviction.

Joker is constantly passed around from one person to another, and he looks so small. Strip away the makeup, and Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn isn’t much different from Sophie—another woman who, for most of her screen time, exists in the one-dimensional imagination of Fleck. Two lost souls in love in a lost film.

Speaking of the final act, it seems Todd Phillips became aware that his 2019 film had been misunderstood as promoting violence, which is why we now have an ending directly inspired by the Breaking Bad series, delivering a much clearer message about the cost of crime. For me, the last 15 minutes were well-executed. It shows us an endless cycle: for all the chaos Joker brings to Gotham, the city returns just as much karmic retribution. It’s straightforward, easy to grasp, and almost impossible to misinterpret.

If I reveal more, it would be a spoiler, so I’ll leave that for you to experience in theaters. In the end, films like Joker require subtlety because even a slight misstep can cause the message to be distorted. Personally, I find it somewhat narrow-minded to depict a life without a single good person or a society that offers no opportunity. If I had to give an example, Capernaum from Lebanon also tells the story of lives at rock bottom, but hope is always flickering in the eyes of the children, giving the lessons we learn a completely different tone.

Unfortunately, I must be blunt—watching a character lying beaten on the ground, forced into a hopeless situation, with a soundtrack behind him singing, “Well, that’s life,” is not a message I can agree with. You might find this review too harsh, but for me, Joker films are important because, both on screen and in reality, there are many who idolize him, speak his words, do what he does, and believe in what he believes.

So while I do acknowledge the bravery of the team for taking such a bold new direction, it’s difficult to call this second installment of the Clown Prince of Crime a successful experiment.

As Kafka on the Shore writes

Everything begins with the imagination. Our responsibility begins with the power to imagine.

Comparing life to a stage, it seems Arthur Fleck has taken on the role of Joker beyond his reach this time, and Todd Phillips is unable to fully take responsibility for his dream and vision.

Read more: The Dark Knight and Nolan's Obsession

Anton Chigurh: A Monster for the Ages

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 11:43:00 +0000

Anton Chigurh is the main antagonist in the 2007 film No Country for Old Men by the Coen brothers, adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Cormac McCarthy. This assassin was portrayed by Javier Bardem, an actor known for his villain roles in other works like the Pirates of the Caribbean series and Skyfall. However, this remains one of Bardem's most exceptional performances, earning him an Oscar in 2008 for Best Supporting Actor. Not stopping there, the character of Anton Chigurh also contributed significantly to the Oscar sweep of No Country for Old Men, with wins in the categories of Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Furthermore, Javier Bardem took home both the BAFTA and the Golden Globe thanks to this role. Additionally, this Western assassin has appeared in numerous famous rankings, most notably securing the 18th position on the list of the greatest villains on the big screen, according to statistics from ranker.com.

Before we continue with Anton, I want to share a bit about scriptwriting. In the process of character building, there's an important element that most filmmakers pay attention to, and that is the background. In other words, to capture the audience's attention, screenwriters often have to attach details to the character, such as who they are, what their past is like, whether they have experienced any sorrow or loss, how they think, and so on. But what's unique here is that Anton Chigurh has none of these elements. So, how could a character missing such a crucial pillar in character development still be so outstanding? In my opinion, it's because he is truly terrifying. Actually, it's not just me who thinks this way; even major newspapers around the world have expressed similar views.

Specifically, The New York Times remarked

The specter of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a deadpan sociopath with a funny haircut, will feed many a nightmare,...

while Rolling Stone stated

Bardem, with pale skin and the world’s worst haircut, is stupendous in the role, a monster for the ages.

So, what is it about Anton Chigurh that makes even film critics so afraid of him? He doesn't command a large army, he doesn't possess superhuman powers, nor does he take the lives of dozens of people. Let's find the answer together in this article.

We humans always feel more comfortable with familiar or close people because we somewhat understand their personality and thoughts, making it easier to interact with them. Filmmakers have taken advantage of this psychology by giving Anton Chigurh a defining trait: unpredictability.

Unpredictability

In the book Writing Monsters, author Philip Athans writes:

In fact, the less your characters know about what a monster can and can’t do, the better. It’s this unpredictability that will keep your readers on the edge of their seats, playing into the power of the imagination.

Based on this notion, it turns out that not giving Anton Chigurh a background is an effective strategy. Throughout the film, we are given very little information about this man. In other words, viewers don't know anything about his past or his motivations for each of his actions. We only know that Anton is an assassin tasked with hunting down the main character, Llewelyn Moss after he seizes a large sum of money from criminals. This unintentionally gives Anton an advantage—he has no weaknesses.

Some other characters with superhuman abilities still have flaws. For example, Superman is weakened by Kryptonite, or Spider-Man is too young and struggles to balance two opposing lives. This shows just how dangerous Anton Chigurh truly is. In fact, building unpredictable monsters has been used in other films like Bird Box or A Quiet Place. We don’t know where these monsters come from or how they operate. This creates a sense of fear in the audience because we can’t control these creatures. However, as the films progress, viewers eventually realize that these monsters share a common weakness. For instance, in A Quiet Place, they are sensitive to sound, and the creatures in Bird Box indirectly kill those who see them. So even without a specific background, these monsters become less frightening as the films go on.

But with Anton Chigurh, it’s a completely different story. Besides being unpredictable due to his lack of background, his actions have no common pattern. He might let himself be captured only to kill the officer with handcuffs later, shoot the people who hired him, or kill an old man on the road despite the man's politeness, yet spare another person’s life by flipping a coin. This bizarre behavior makes Anton even more terrifying because the audience cannot predict his actions. Additionally, Anton's mysterious nature is further highlighted by his signature weapon. Who could ever imagine that a killer would be carrying around a captive bolt stunner and using it as a murder weapon?

In fact, Anton’s appearance itself is a factor that adds to his fearsome presence. His outfit is typical and not much different from what we often see in Western films, but just look at that haircut. Even Javier Bardem admitted that it was a role with a "stupid haircut," so you can already imagine. But that’s precisely what makes this killer so much scarier. A hitman with a ridiculous appearance yet committing brutal acts is, of course, more haunting than those killers who are already terrifying because it defies the audience’s expectations.

For a character to be this complex, we cannot overlook the aspect of acting. Throughout the film, Javier Bardem’s face remains almost always calm and emotionless, whether he has just killed someone or is injured. Every action of his in the movie is deliberate and unhurried. According to a study by Belgian psychologist Samuel Leistedt and 10 colleagues, among the 400 films they watched, there were 126 characters displaying typical traits of psychopathy. Among them, Anton Chigurh topped the list as the most realistic psychopath. Leistedt commented:

He seems to be effectively invulnerable and resistant to any form of emotion or humanity.

Indeed, because of his inhuman nature, Anton has a unique ability to carry out acts of violence in an unspeakable manner when eliminating his unfortunate victims.

Violence

According to Dr. Karl Albrecht, a psychologist and physicist, humans have five basic fears, one of which is the fear of physical harm—mutilation. To be more specific, we fear the feeling of our bodies being violated or losing a part of them. This is directly related to violence, and filmmakers often exploit this reaction to create terrifying killers with gruesome methods, like Michael Myers or Jigsaw, and of course, Anton Chigurh is no exception.

He slashed a police officer's carotid artery with handcuffs, blew off hands and shredded bodies of assassins in a motel. These actions provoke fear in the audience because once you're facing Anton's gun, there's a high chance you'll be sent to serve the Lord in heaven.

Do you remember Philip Athans' earlier remark about unpredictability in characters?

...keep your readers on the edge of their seats, playing into the power of the imagination.

Of course, Anton stimulates the audience’s imagination through the principle of "show, don’t tell," the essence of cinema. This is extremely important as Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." In other words, people tend to remember and be more impressed by things they figure out for themselves rather than those directly explained to them.

Through the way they frame the scenes, the Coen brothers convey this to the audience. Specifically, in the scene where Carson Wells meets his end, there isn’t a single camera shot showing his face. In fact, before pulling the trigger, Anton even pauses for a relatively long time. Normally, in execution scenes in some films, the audience gets to witness the victim’s reaction before they depart from life. So why, in No Country for Old Men, did the Coen brothers do the opposite?

In my opinion, it’s because they wanted the audience to imagine Carson's reaction when faced with death. Remember, earlier Carson had to negotiate with Anton to try to save his life, so it’s intriguing to think about what his face might have looked like before the assassin’s gun. Was he relieved when Anton stopped talking and looked away? Was he shocked when he realized he had just taken a fatal shot? We’ll never know because even when Carson is dead, there isn’t a single frame focusing on him. All we see is Anton’s emotionless face.

In fact, the Coen brothers' masterful use of imagery doesn’t stop there. In the original book, when Anton is in Carla Jean Moss's house, she begs for her life, and he decides to play the coin toss game. She chooses heads, but unfortunately, the coin lands on tails, and so Anton shoots her, with everything laid bare for the reader. But in the movie, it's different. Besides Carla refusing to play the game of chance, we are not directly shown whether she dies or not. However, based on the visual cues, the filmmakers subtly inform us about her fate.

Specifically, through actions like Anton removing his shoes to walk barefoot, pulling the curtains closed before firing, and lifting his feet to avoid the blood from Carson’s body earlier, it’s clear that Anton dislikes getting blood on his clothing. The first thing he does after leaving the Moss house is check the soles of his shoes. This act implies that he has already killed Carla.

The Coen brothers' approach, in my opinion, is more effective because the audience is left to imagine Carla’s death. Only Anton Chigurh knows how she truly died, and this makes him all the more terrifying.

Unstoppability

All of the aspects mentioned above ultimately serve to support the most terrifying element of Anton—that he is unstoppable in every way. To clarify this point, let’s examine the recurring theme of relentless pursuit throughout the film. Specifically, we witness two chases: Anton hunting Llewelyn, and the police chasing Anton.

In similar films with the hunter-vs-hunted motif, such as The Terminator or Mad Max, we also follow intense chases between both sides. The pursuit itself already creates immense tension, as humans naturally fear the feeling of being caught. This makes villains like the T-800, T-1000, or Immortan Joe highly menacing because they never stop chasing their prey, no matter how much damage they sustain. The same applies to Anton—he tracks Llewelyn to the ends of the earth, forcing him and his wife to go on the run.

Even after being injured by the protagonist's gunfire, Anton is still determined to hunt him down, even going as far as killing those who help Llewelyn escape. What’s even more haunting is how the assassin threatens the protagonist with things closest to him. This approach builds a lingering sense of unease in the audience because we know the protagonist will never be safe as long as Anton is alive.

Returning to the point that Anton is considered the most realistic psychopath, this aligns perfectly with his relentless and persistent pursuit of his goals. A true psychopath ALWAYS follows through with absolute determination, unbothered by any obstacles in their path. In fact, even as the one being hunted, Anton is not any more comfortable or at ease. Remember, by the end of the film, the law enforcement forces still fail to catch this assassin, despite their intense pursuit.

In most conventional films, the story would unfold with Llewelyn either escaping or managing to kill Anton with the help of the police, and then reuniting with his wife. But the Coen brothers completely shattered these expectations, delivering an ending where the protagonist dies suddenly and the antagonist achieves his goal. This conclusion may leave some viewers feeling uneasy, but it undeniably leaves us with a chilling realization—that evil can infiltrate anywhere. It also shows that this killer is capable of breaking even the usual rules, making Anton even more terrifying.

In terms of ideology, Anton Chigurh is truly a monster, as he also contributes to dismantling the film's symbol of justice. In the ending, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell recounts two dreams he had. I won't delve into their symbolic meanings here, but I will offer my perspective on how they relate to the main antagonist. In my view, the sheriff's stories represent his helplessness in the face of evil, specifically the psychopath Anton—a murderer who forces the figure of justice to retreat in defeat.

Let me share an additional fact with you: Anton Chigurh's influence extends beyond the screen. To embody this cold-blooded assassin, Javier Bardem had to endure an incredibly difficult period. The hair you see in the film is actually Bardem's real hair, meaning he had to live his everyday life under that messy, disheveled look. Additionally, Bardem revealed that he felt isolated, having to repeatedly go to the set to film murder scenes, then return to sleep, with just six days off in a completely open environment. All of this was in service of fully bringing Anton to life on screen.

Let me reveal one more truth to you: Anton Chigurh's impact transcends the screen. To portray this cold-hearted assassin, Javier Bardem had to endure an incredibly challenging period. The hair you see in the film is Bardem's real hair, meaning he had to live his daily life with that messy, disheveled look. Moreover, Bardem shared that he felt isolated, as he constantly had to go to the set to film murder scenes, then return to sleep, with only six days off in a completely open space. All of this was done to fully bring Anton to life on screen.

To conclude on the terrifying nature of Anton Chigurh, I'll leave you with the actor's own words about this character:

He's a guy of his word, in a way, and also a symbol, a violent fate that you have called for, the genie out of the lamp. And when violence shows up, it's impossible to destroy, it only creates misery and pain, and doesn't get you anywhere.

Does Drake Use Ghostwriters?

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 08:32:00 +0000

On a beautiful day, out of nowhere, the trending rapper Meek Mill suddenly posted two tweets on Twitter:

Stop comparing drake to me too... He don't write his own raps! That's why he ain't tweet my album because we found out!

At that time, Meek Mill had just released his album Dreams Worth More Than Money, which featured the track "R.I.C.O." with Drake. There's probably no need to mention how famous Drake is. Even for an up-and-coming rapper like Meek Mill, who had been praised by critics, having Drake on his album was still a stroke of luck.

So when Meek suddenly tweeted an attack on Drake, a.k.a. the golden boy of the music industry, the whole market was shocked by this huge, unexpected news.

People weren’t sure if Meek’s motivation came from jealousy over his famous girlfriend, Nicki Minaj, getting too much attention from Drake, or if he was upset that Drake didn’t promote his album. Or maybe it was because Meek was a firm believer in the value of a true rapper—someone who writes their own lyrics.

In the world of Hip Hop, the term "ghostwriter" refers to someone who writes lyrics for a rapper without getting credit as the author. Since rappers are often seen as artists who speak their own truth about their lives and thoughts, listeners expect the lyrics to be written by the rapper themselves. This is what gives authenticity to the words, and it’s valued at a higher standard compared to other music genres, especially because rap music often samples or borrows beats from other songs.

That’s why the terms “ghostwriting” or “ghostwriter” are extremely sensitive in rap. There are some exceptions like Dr. Dre or Eazy-E, who the Hip Hop community tends to overlook, even still respecting them due to their undeniable contributions to the genre.

Back to the story of Meek and Drake. A new question arose at that moment: "Did Drake use a ghostwriter? Who was it?" People were genuinely buzzing, since Drake's lyrics were known for being deeply personal.

Then, Meek revealed the name – Quentin Miller – a frequent collaborator with Drake at the time. Quentin was credited as a contributor for several songs on Drake's highly praised mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (IYRTITL). So, if Quentin was credited as a writer, how could he be a ghostwriter? The assumption now was that in Meek's track “R.I.C.O.,” Quentin’s name wasn’t listed, which meant Quentin acted as a ghostwriter for Drake on that particular song.

The questions now shifted back to Meek and Drake:

What proof did Meek have to make such bold claims?

And how much did Quentin actually contribute to IYRTITL?

To answer the second question, Hot 97 host Funkmaster Flex jumped on the trend and immediately dropped a reference track for Drake’s “10 Bands” from the IYRTITL mixtape. A reference track is basically a format where the songwriter records a demo for the rapper to reference and use during their own recording session. And the voice rapping on the “10 Bands” reference track? None other than Quentin Miller.

Although Quentin was clearly credited as a collaborator with Drake on the mixtape, so he technically wasn’t a ghostwriter, the fact that Quentin recorded the rap himself raises questions. Even if Drake tweaked the lyrics and flow a bit for the final version, doesn’t that still make Quentin pretty much a ghostwriter for Drake?

In a later interview, Drake emphasized that he collaborates with a team for his songwriting process. To him, rap is no different from other music genres, where collaboration is key. If someone has a good idea, he’ll take that idea and build on it, and he sees no shame in that. Drake also made it clear that he writes his own biggest hits. The issue, though, lies in the fine line between “collaboration” and “ghostwriting most of the track,” as was the case with "10 Bands." Drake’s explanation didn’t fully clarify this distinction.

It’s also worth noting that, unlike many other rappers, Drake gets a lot of attention and backing from his record label. And rightfully so—Drake’s albums are hugely successful, bringing in tons of money for the label's executives. His global popularity in the hip-hop scene is almost on par with Eminem.

However, a true rapper should ideally be writing nearly all of their own lyrics, even if they have support from others. A rapper might borrow an idea, but they shouldn’t need someone else to record a reference track first for guidance. A real rapper also doesn’t need their label to dictate their direction or content. Take Lupe Fiasco, for example—he fought hard for creative control, even against the objections of his bosses. He was even pressured to dumb down his lyrics for better audience understanding but refused, and he even dissed the label in one of his songs. As for Drake, besides Quentin, we don’t know how many others, named or unnamed, might be helping him.

Personally, I’ve never viewed Drake as a traditional rapper. As seen in the video below, when Drake freestyled on Hot 97 back in 2009, he even pulled out his phone to read the lyrics.

That said, musically, Drake has a good sense of his own work. Take his album Take Care, for example—he blends rapping and singing quite well. So, if we look at Drake as a mainstream artist who mixes hip-hop with R&B, I’m more open to his music. I find warmth and connection in the way he expresses himself, and I especially like Take Care, Nothing Was The Same, and IYRTITL, so if Drake really did it all on his own, I’d respect him even more.

Back to the Drake and Meek Mill story. Even with all the unclear claims mentioned earlier, the fact that Drake used Quentin's lyrics for “R.I.C.O.” still makes it hard to fully answer the first question. Everything seems to have been set up for a verbal showdown between the two rappers, playing out through diss tracks—true to the spirit of "beef" in rap music.

Now it’s Drake’s turn to respond. On July 25, 2015, just four days after Meek’s tweet, Drake dropped the diss track “Charged Up” to hit back at Meek. In the song, he says:

N****s is snitching on us without no interrogation
I stay silent 'cause we at war and I'm very patient
Six God is watching, I just hope you're prepared to face him
I'm charged up

The number "6" is a nickname for Toronto, Canada, where Drake was born. That's why “Six God” refers to Drake.

Rumor has it, there's something that only I know
Rumor has it, I steer the ship with my eyes closed
Rumor has it, I either fucked her or never could
But rumor has it, hasn't done you n****s any good

This diss hit Meek hard, as Drake referenced rumors about him sleeping with Nicki Minaj—Meek’s girlfriend. Whether it was true or not, Drake knew it would definitely get under Meek’s skin.

After the diss, Meek took to Twitter to downplay it, saying it was like a mosquito bite on stainless steel. But at that point, the hip-hop community wasn’t looking for tweets—they wanted to hear Meek’s musical response.

So, on July 27, 2015, just two days after Drake’s diss, Funkmaster Flex announced that Meek’s diss track would drop that night.

But... nothing happened! Meek, as usual, just posted some random tweet with no actual update.

Drake, being the smart guy he is (or with some help from his own "master strategist" a.k.a. ghostwriter), didn’t wait around for Meek’s response. Instead, he quickly released his second diss track, “Back to Back.” Whether or not Drake penned all the lyrics himself or had some suggestions from someone else is unclear, but the track was a brutal blow to Meek’s credibility. One line from the song went:

This for y'all to think that I don't write enough
They just mad cause I got the midas touch
You love her, then you gotta give her a world tour
Is that a world tour or your girl's tour?
I know that you gotta be a thug for her
This ain't what she meant when she told you to open up more
Yeah, trigger fingers turn to twitter fingers
Yeah, You gettin' bodied by a singin' n****
I'm not the type of n**** that'll type to n****s

First, Drake targeted those who believed he didn’t write as much of his own lyrics as other rappers, fueled by jealousy over his golden touch and countless hits on the charts. Second, Drake took another jab at Meek and Nicki Minaj, mocking the fact that Meek was supposedly on tour but was really just tagging along and opening for his much more famous girlfriend. Third, Drake ridiculed Meek for being a “keyboard warrior,” someone who only knew how to type on Twitter instead of pulling the trigger with a proper diss track. Lastly, Drake delivered the final knockout blow by pointing out that Meek got taken down by a guy who “sings,” referencing the common criticism that Drake often mixes singing with his rapping. All of this in just 8 lines.

You have to admit, those lines from Drake were sharp. So sharp, in fact, that many people took to the internet to declare that Meek had already lost.

In this battle, Drake’s response was spot-on. He was in a defensive position but struck back swiftly and effectively. Meanwhile, Meek, who was known to be a better technical rapper, suddenly appeared weak in this head-to-head. Some people commented that no rapper starts a beef like Meek without having a diss track ready to go against Drake. In this internet age, a single day feels like a week, so when Funkmaster Flex finally played Meek’s diss track “Wanna Know” on July 30, 2015—five days after Drake’s first diss (and nine days after Meek started the beef)—the world had already decided Drake was the winner.

Meek’s “Wanna Know” was disorganized, and the lyrics didn’t carry enough weight, marking the end of his battle with Drake. Even the release of the reference track with Quentin’s voice on “R.I.C.O.” as proof of Drake using a ghostwriter didn’t matter anymore. Other reference tracks, recorded by Quentin and another anonymous rapper for Drake’s IYRTITL mixtape, leaked afterward, but by then, no one cared.

Looking back, on the day Meek started the beef, he essentially dug his own grave. He was too inexperienced and unprepared, lacking the weapons needed to go up against someone as famous and well-supported as Drake.

To this day, Meek and Drake have reconciled and are now good friends, even going on tour together. After that loss, Meek released the album Wins and Losses, which was well-received and recounted the whole incident. As for Drake, he only became more popular “thanks” to Meek and continued to rake in money with hits like “Hotline Bling.”

The real loser in this pointless feud between the two was Quentin. He went from being an unknown rapper who got lucky enough to work with Drake, to being dragged into a fight he had nothing to do with. After Meek’s accusations, Quentin suddenly stopped receiving any offers, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. In the end, it’s due to the “unforgiving” nature of being a ghostwriter—or rather, a “collaborator,” as in Drake’s case. They’re like stunt doubles for actors: they take on the risk, while the fame and fortune go to the stars.

As for the controversy about Drake using a ghostwriter, it’s no longer a topic anyone talks about. Perhaps most people, like me, view Drake as a general music artist, rather than just a rapper.

Late Night with the Devil Explained - Don't Mess with the Devil

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 15:05:00 +0000

On October 31, 1977, Jack Delroy—the famous host of Night Owls—decided to go big by organizing interviews with several individuals involved in the spiritual field. Among them were psychic Christou, former magician Carmichael Haig—currently working at the Federation for Paranormal Science Investigations—and Dr. June Ross-Mitchell, a specialist in demonology, along with Lily, a girl believed to be possessed by an evil spirit. Labeled as a fun variety show for many families late at night, it seems that the show's producers and Jack Delroy did not fully understand the consequences of playing with the spiritual world when they aired a live interview with the Devil on national television.

Today, let's sit back in a comfortable chair and allow this special episode of the late-night show, titled Late Night with the Devil, to step into your living room and deliver a one-of-a-kind talk show performance.

The first guest on Jack's show tonight is Christou, a psychic with the ability to communicate with the spirits of the deceased. Initially, the show was humorous, with Christou being exposed as a fraud, causing the audience to burst into laughter, and Jack openly mocking him. However, things took a sudden turn when Christou screamed in pain, sweating profusely with wide, terrified eyes. In an unexpected trance, Christou asked if anyone knew who Minnie was, explaining that her spirit was filled with immense suffering. While the audience was confused, Carmichael, a former magician known for debunking frauds, accused Christou of faking everything. A heated argument erupted until Jack revealed that Minnie was the nickname of his late wife.

Amidst the shouting, Carmichael accused Jack of staging the drama with Christou to boost TV ratings. At that moment, Christou began to show signs of exhaustion, coughing and vomiting a thick black liquid. The crew quickly called for an ambulance, but Christou died on the way to the hospital—a fact Jack would only find out much later. For now, Jack welcomed his next guests, Dr. June and young Lily, the sole survivor of a massacre at the Satanic church led by Szandor D'Abo. Lily is believed to be possessed by a follower of the demon Abraxas, Mr. Wriggles.

Carmichael continues to mock the existence of evil spiritual forces as if they were cheap entertainment. To prove Carmichael wrong, Jack pleads with Dr. June to summon the demon inside Lily to join the interview, unaware that it is the deadly beginning.

The Grove secret society

According to many reputable newspapers, Jack’s success today is not only due to the great effort and love that Minnie has for him, but he also receives strong support from the secret society The Grove — a group made up of aristocrats and politicians in the redwood forests of California. This is a very interesting detail because right from the name, one can see the close connection between The Grove and the real-life Bohemian Grove secret society. With the motto inspired by the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by the great playwright William Shakespeare:

Weaving spiders come not here

This means that spider webs don’t linger here, this secret society gathers the elite across America, particularly politicians and many tycoons close to the Republican Party. Notable among them are some powerful names like Samuel Armacost, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and David Rockefeller, Chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, along with a host of other government officials like former President Bush and his son, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and James Baker, or former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan.

According to a report by famous documentary filmmaker Alex Jones, who has spent many years pursuing and researching this, from the beginning of the 20th century until now, every Republican president, such as Ronald Reagan or Richard Nixon, has been a member of Bohemian Grove. Every July, they hold a two-week meeting in tents hidden beneath the cypress trees to discuss not only the future of America but of humanity as a whole. The Manhattan Project by Oppenheimer was even first discussed here in 1942.

At this location, many bizarre rituals are also performed, and they even conduct occult ceremonies to summon spiritual forces to assist them. It sounds surreal, but these are the accusations that our host Jack Delroy has to face. In a scene before Mr. Wriggles was invited by Dr. June to come out and meet everyone, as he walked past Lily, the little girl asked him:

Don't I look already pretty, Jack?

Lily’s question made Jack freeze for a moment and turn back to look at her, as it seemed to confirm that the members of The Grove secret society, which Jack belongs to, have many activities related to children. The problem is, how could Lily, who spent her entire life growing up in the Satanic Church run by Szandor D'Abo, know such an earth-shattering secret? If you listen closely, you will notice that Lily’s voice at that moment sounds exactly like Minnie — Jack’s late wife, whom he loved dearly. This makes everything even more horrifying. How could Lily mimic his wife's voice so perfectly, and why is Minnie involved in this?

Deal with the Devil

In the surreal segment that takes place at the end of the film, we see Jack reliving many memorable moments in his life. Most notably, Jack is seen standing with the followers of The Grove secret society, accepting a secret pact with the devil in order to maintain his status and fame. As with every legend we know about demons, the victim must sacrifice their soul and the person they love the most. Sadly, Minnie was the one who had to die. Did Jack know about the consequences at the time of making the deal? I think not, because Minnie’s illness came completely out of the blue, and even Jack was shocked and devastated. It’s important to note that the media repeatedly emphasized that Minnie didn’t smoke, yet she was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. This explains the look of deep regret in Jack’s eyes when he meets Minnie again at the end of the film, as her soul is now eternally trapped in the dark abyss of hell.

I was worried they wouldn’t let you see me

So, who are they here? Could it be the demon tormenting Minnie’s soul day and night, or is it actually the followers of The Grove secret society, the ones who helped Jack establish the pact to sell his soul to the devil under the guise of supporting and protecting him? Jack had no idea that the price for his success would be his wife’s death. However, her appearance and the devastating illness helped Jack achieve the highest ratings in the show’s history. One could say Jack reached the peak of glory and lost everything at the same time. In an interview with Variety, actor David Dastmalchian, who played Jack Delroy, shared:

It’s never overt. It’s a nudge on the shoulder, a whisper in the ear. If someone had come up to Jack with a contract that said, “For ‘Night Owls’ to be number one, you’re going to have to kill Millie” — there’s no way Jack would have participated in that.

The Demon of Light and Darkness

There is one detail that, when I first watched, made me feel extremely conflicted — the death of Christou. After an unexpected possession, Christou confirmed that some entity had told him the name Minnie. Assuming that Christou was truly possessed by the angry spirit of Minnie, who died unjustly, why would she kill an innocent person like Christou, someone she didn’t even know? That seems completely illogical. It also couldn’t have been Mr. Wriggles in Lily’s body, because after that unfortunate incident, Jack asked the show’s producer:

How’s June? Did they land? Is she okay?

We can see that at the time Christou was possessed, Dr. June and Lily had only just landed a few minutes earlier. In fact, it was only through a séance that June was able to put Lily into a deep sleep, allowing the demon inside her to reveal itself. So, which entity possessed Christou?

According to Dr. June, the evil spirit inside Lily is a disciple of Abraxas, the demon of light and darkness. In The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead, Bishop Stephan A. Hoeller wrote the following:

Abraxas generates truth and falsehood, good and evil, light and darkness with the same word and in the same deed. Therefore Abraxas is truly the terrible one.
...To see him means blindness;
To know him is sickness;
To worship him is death;
To fear him is wisdom;
Not to resist him means liberation.

From here, we can infer that the entity possessing Christou is the powerful demon Abraxas. It was enraged because, after helping Jack reach the peak of fame, he withdrew from the public eye, drowning in grief over his wife’s death for months. This not only caused the ratings for the next season of the show to drop but also showed Jack’s defiance toward the demon. As a result, Jack would be punished, forced to endure the pain of losing a loved one once again by having to personally kill Minnie, as we see at the end of the film. This is the darkness that Abraxas brought upon him. However, in another sense, Jack’s action also ends Minnie’s torment and the pain tearing her apart from the inside. Viewed in this way, the light that the demon gave Jack is the chance to free his beloved wife from eternal hell. This perfectly aligns with what Carl G. Jung described about the demon: "light and darkness with the same word and in the same deed."

As for Christou, why did he have to die? It’s important to note that by the time he was in the ambulance heading to the hospital, Dr. June and Lily had already arrived. According to Carmichael, Christou was a deceitful fraud, like a parasite feeding off the grief of others for his own gain. Clearly, Christou had no supernatural powers and couldn’t communicate with the dead. Most likely, Christou’s actions angered the evil spirits, and he was unlucky enough that Mr. Wriggles was nearby. No wonder Christou vomited thick black liquid, symbolizing his long-standing lies. He kept vomiting until his organs followed, a truly brutal way to be punished.

Warning signs

Besides the obvious ominous warning signs, such as Christou falling ill, Lily’s strange words to Jack, and the loudspeaker that couldn’t be turned off, creating an unpleasant screeching noise, we also notice a few other unusual signs. One of them is the blurring and distortion in various frames. This first happens when Christou is possessed — the screen glitches rapidly as Christou screams in pain. The second time is when Lily steps out from backstage; at this moment, only her image is affected, even though there are three people present, including Jack and Dr. June. Lastly, it occurs during Mr. Wriggles’ appearance in the summoning ritual. One of the reasons for the screen interference could be due to electromagnetic fields or excessive electrical power affecting the camera’s signal. This explains why, when the demon reveals its true form, two lightning bolts shoot from its hands, and something like an electrical current surrounds its body. No wonder electrical sparks flash through the room, causing the light bulbs to blow out.

If you pay close attention to the man wearing the skeleton costume, you’ll notice something interesting. The image of death appears no less than three times, even showing up in Jack’s hallucinations when his mind spirals back to the day he signed the contract. It seems to represent death, a forewarning that the demon will haunt the show and the rest of Jack’s life.

It’s also worth noting that the demon confirms it knows Jack, which is an important point.

Don’t be a fool. We go way back. We met amongst the tall trees. Remember?

In truth, it’s somewhat unfair to say Jack didn’t realize this, as it reminds him of the secret society’s ritual at The Grove in the past. However, if Jack had firmly stopped the show right then, preventing Carmichael from hypnotizing the entire audience and giving the demon a chance to escape, perhaps the tragedy could have been avoided.

Television — The Gateway Connecting Demons to Humans

Looking at the entire work, this is definitely my favorite part. If you remember, when Carmichael hypnotized everyone, he turned the clock into a small spiral and asked the camera to zoom in closely so everyone could see it. Then, we witnessed the strange hallucination that happened to Gus. Flashing back to the film’s opening sequence, viewers were shown a series of deeply troubling events in America during the early 1970s: rampant street violence, an energy crisis, and above all, the Vietnam War, which became a divisive topic across the nation. This was in addition to the tumultuous late 1960s, marked by numerous political assassinations and civil rights movements that contributed to a period of dark instability. Fear had never spread so quickly. People lost faith in everything, while television spread terror right into the living rooms of every household.

However, television also became a stimulant, allowing Americans to temporarily escape the harsh reality and lose themselves in illusions. The spiral that Carmichael created is an apt metaphor for how the media hypnotizes the public, injecting into their minds what they want to hear and see, covering up the grim reality. Ironically, Jack — who had spent years hypnotizing the public with the Night Owls show — asked people to throw away their only stimulant. This shows that Jack felt remorse for the sins he had committed. He feared that the demon Abraxas, like Carmichael, could manipulate anyone through television and wanted the audience to break free from the illusion the media painted. This also explains why, in the final scene, after stabbing Minnie and being horrified to realize that it was Lily who lay in a pool of blood, Jack repeatedly uttered the same phrase Carmichael had used when interrupting his own hypnosis process:

Dreamer, here! Awake!

Despite not accepting the harsh reality, the truth remains the truth. The sound of the police siren echoing from afar is one of those truths. It cannot be concealed; it cannot be forgotten with temporary laughter amidst the horror. America is writhing in pain and crisis.

Conclusion

Though not overly terrifying, Late Night with the Devil carries a heavy dose of satire about the forces trying to manipulate the public with gaudy glitz to cover up the rot underneath. However, just as the film received praise from critics, it became embroiled in an unnecessary controversy for using AI technology to create images in the film. Although it was only for a few brief seconds, it sparked a debate about inequality and recalled the Hollywood strike in 2023 related to artificial intelligence. Setting aside these controversies, it remains a quality work that is worth watching. Achieving a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and becoming the highest-rated horror film of the year so far, Late Night with the Devil has been described by Stephen King as "absolutely brilliant" for its unique and creative storyline.

Quick Hands-on with iPhone 16 Pro Desert Titan

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 15:47:00 +0000

In terms of appearance, you can see that this year's iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t have too many significant design differences compared to the iPhone 15 Pro.

A noticeable point is that the edges of the iPhone 16 Pro have been polished more than its predecessor. The iPhone 15 Pro had brushed edges, while the iPhone 16 Pro has a smoother finish, similar to the regular iPhone models, with the key difference being that it's made of titanium.

Looking at the current frame of the iPhone, there are now 5 buttons: the Action Button, the volume up and down buttons, the power button, and the new Camera Control button.

This button is designed to be slightly recessed compared to the edge of the frame, and there's a surrounding cut-out finish. I believe this is intended to help users interact more smoothly with the button, as the raised part of the finger naturally touches the recessed area.

It’s also easy to notice when holding it that the screen size has increased slightly—specifically by 0.2 inches compared to the previous generation. This makes the overall size of the iPhone 16 Pro a bit larger than the iPhone 15 Pro, but not significantly.

And the screen size is one of the things that impressed me the most about the iPhone 16 Pro this year. With a reasonably sized device, the significantly increased screen size enhances the overall user experience on the Pro series iPhones. As the screen size increases, it also results in much thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro compared to the iPhone 15 Pro.

The bottom edge still features a USB-C port and two rows of speakers, unevenly spaced like in previous models. Overall, after using USB-C on the iPhone for a year, I find it quite convenient, and I hope that the iPhone 16 Pro will continue to leverage this strength.

When talking about the appearance, color is something that can't be overlooked. The iPhone 16 Pro has a new color called Desert Titanium, which looks similar to the gold color on the iPhone XS Max but slightly lighter. In my opinion, this color looks better than the previous gold shades that Apple has made.

Why do I always mention new colors on the iPhone? Because in 2024, for many people, color can be the reason they decide to buy a new iPhone, rather than new features or hardware.

Back to the Camera Control button, it allows us to adjust various functions, such as brightness, zoom, quick video recording, etc. There's also a new feature, though currently unavailable, called Visual Intelligence, which helps users quickly find information through images, similar to how Google Lens works.

The screen on the Pro series iPhone has always been exceptional, with high brightness levels. Brightness is something I've always been confident about when using an iPhone, ensuring peace of mind when sitting at a café or using it outdoors. The iPhone 16 Pro maintains the same specs as the iPhone 15 Pro with a peak brightness of 2000 nits, and the pill-shaped cutout remains the same size, not any smaller.

A prime example of these improvements is the ability to record 4K video at 120 frames per second on the iPhone 16 Pro. This feature will give content creators the ability to produce cinematic, professional, and captivating footage. There are moments that can only be fully captured at 120 frames per second, conveying the filmmaker's intent to the audience with complete clarity.

Additionally, Apple has introduced the Audio Mix feature, which allows content creators to isolate voices in videos and adjust them with various options.

Moreover, I noticed that the iPhone 16 Pro has some impressive new color filters or color profiles. As someone who enjoys posting on social media, I'm really excited about these fun additions. I always say Apple tends to make things more complex, but sometimes, that complexity makes it more enjoyable, especially with features geared toward content creators.

Here’s how to operate it:

Swipe horizontally to adjust colors

Swipe vertically to adjust the brightness

Use the bottom slider to adjust the opacity

One new feature I can’t fully share yet is the power of the new chip. Apple claims it's the first chip optimized for Apple Intelligence, so I have high expectations for its performance with these features. With the previous generation, the iPhone 15 Pro, using AI features caused it to heat up quickly and run less smoothly, partly because it was still in beta.

In my opinion, that’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 16 Pro. Personally, I believe it will still be a hit, which has a strong preference for gold-colored phones. While the iPhone 16 Pro doesn't differ much from its predecessor, I think iPhone enthusiasts will still buy it, and that trend won’t change this year.

What stands out to you the most about the iPhone 16 Pro?

Reflections on Viva la Vida - Coldplay

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 10:04:00 +0000

Ranked number 9 on Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Best Songs" list in 2008, winning "Song of the Year" and "Album of the Year" at the 2009 Grammy Awards, topping the "Billboard Hot 100" chart, along with high-profile copyright accusations after its release, Viva la Vida by the British pop-rock band Coldplay became known to the public as a musical product with revolutionary lyrics and a strong biblical tone.

Viva la Vida

The Spanish title of the song, Viva la Vida, was taken from a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and is a celebration of a long life. When asked about this title, referencing the resilience that Frida Kahlo had to show while battling spinal inflammation for many years, Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of Coldplay, said:

She went through a lot of pain, of course, and then she started a big painting in her house that said 'Viva la Vida', I just loved the boldness of it.

Unlike the background music of other Coldplay songs where piano or guitar are the main instruments, the primary background of "Viva la Vida" is a repeating violin sequence (right from the start of the song), along with drums, bass guitar, and steady percussion (including timpani and church bell). Along with the driving rhythm, the steady, solid breathing of the percussion, and the firm harmonization, all affirm the message of Viva la Vida: nothing can stop our steps, let's live for a long life.

Viva la Vida also evokes the fiery atmosphere of the Crusades, the mysterious stories from the Bible, which have truly been revived. The image Coldplay used to illustrate the album, the painting "La Liberté Guidant le peuple" by French artist Delacroix, also sparked much debate. Some argue that Viva la Vida might also be a manifesto about the French Revolution. The band members assert that the song was inspired by many different revolutions, not just the July 1830 French Revolution (Trois Glorieuses) and the one in 1789.

On IGN magazine, critic Chad Grischow commented on this work as follows:

...It is their one and only foray into unabashed orchestral pop, but the punchy strut of the strings and fantastic marching vocals make it far too charming and lively to dislike, and even harder not to love.

Contrary to Coldplay's typical style of arrangement, where piano and guitar are the most dominant instruments, in Viva la Vida, the strings, percussion, and Chris Martin's expressive vocals are almost the sole lifeblood. Although Coldplay is considered an alternative rock band, this composition of theirs leans toward the classical style of baroque pop or chamber pop.

Regarding the lyrics of the song

Let's start with the first main verse (verse 1):

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sweep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
“Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!”
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of sand, pillars of sand

In this first part, Chris imagines himself as God and laments the loss of power he once had (referring to people's faith in God). "I used to rule the world, seas would rise when I gave the word" is a reference to rational people abandoning religion and realizing that religious claims only help them spiritually, similar to "I discovered that my castles stand upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand." (Chris's idea here is that religion only holds spiritual value, lacking real-world value, much like a castle built on sand—it may look beautiful, but when waves crash, it will collapse and disappear).

Continuing with verse 2:

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world
(Ohhh)

This verse refers to how missionaries spread fear and used religious rhetoric to transform and keep ordinary people in submission, reinforcing faith in God. The line "Be my mirror, my sword, and shield. My missionaries in a foreign field" speaks to how these missionaries are no longer revered or trusted. The line "Once you go there, you’ll never hear. An honest word, but that was when I ruled the world" is a way to deceive believers, suggesting that if they submit and obey God, they will rule the world alongside Him.

Verse 3:

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I’d become
Revolutionaries Wait For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

The first three lines of this verse are a confession about the "evil and wild" methods, implying that God (and religion) spread in such a way. People began to realize that God was merely a madman, a superstitious figure (hinting at the manifestation of ordinary people's desire for power in reality). "Revolutionaries wait for my head on a silver plate" is a reference to those who don’t believe in religion (against atheism and atheists) and are waiting for its downfall. "Just a puppet on a lonely string, oh who would ever want to be king?" is a clear acknowledgment that ordinary men have used religion (and the idea of God) to assert their power.

Verse 4:

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter won’t call my name
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
(Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh)

When asked by Q magazine about the meaning of the line "I know Saint Peter won’t call my name," Chris Martin responded:

It’s about…You’re not on the list. I was a naughty boy. Its always fascinated me that idea of finishing your life and then being analyzed on it…That is the most frightening thing you could possibly say to somebody. Eternal damnation. I know about this stuff because I studied it. I was into it all. I know it. It’s mildly terrifying to me. And this is serious.

"I know Saint Peter won’t call my name" is the final confession that there is no Saint Peter, and none of the religious teachings are true. It never existed, it never happened.

Final verse:

Hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh

"I know Saint Peter will call my name" seems to contradict verse 4. However, being the closing line, and with the religious context in the song, it cleverly declares the downfall of missionary work.

The implications in the song

Viva la Vida is considered the most successful song in Coldplay's career. It was the first song to top both the US and UK charts. The appeal of the song lies in its captivating music, along with political and religious undertones in its lyrics. Although many listeners don't pay much attention to the lyrics, there are still a few who tend to believe that every song written contains a deeper meaning than what they hear. This hidden meaning contributes to making the music more interesting.

There are many interpretations of the hidden meanings in Viva la Vida, but two theories are the most widely agreed upon. These are:

The Catholic Church

Some people believe that Viva la Vida refers to the decline in the number of followers of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). At its peak, the RCC was a powerful force with significant influence in the world, but by the time Viva la Vida was referenced, its influence had waned. Therefore, this theory suggests that the song is set against the backdrop of the Crusades, where Western feudal nations, incited by the Roman Church, invaded Jerusalem. The crusading armies were a mixed group: regular troops from kings and feudal lords, mercenary knights, peasants, beggars, children, and even thieves. The RCC also formed an army known as the "Roman Cavalry Choirs" to participate in these expeditions. There were a total of 8 Crusades over nearly two centuries, most of which ended in disastrous failure. Clearly, the inspiration from this theory, combined with the fact that Coldplay composed and produced the album while traveling in Latin America and Spain (two of the places with the highest Catholic density in the world), provides clear evidence that Viva la Vida may imply the Catholic Church.

Napoleon / King Louis XVI / French Revolution

Since Viva la Vida uses lyrics and references to events related to the French Revolution, many people believe that it is indeed about that period. Some others think it refers to the death of Napoleon. One might ask, "Who else could rule the world?" Napoleon ruled and held power over his enemies, but he would eventually lost his head to the guillotine (in reality, the two most accepted theories about Napoleon's death are that he either suffered from stomach cancer or was poisoned with heavy arsenic). Therefore, this theory might not be entirely accurate. This leads to another theory: it could refer to the execution of King Louis XVI. The sound of the drums in the melody somewhat evokes the image of King Louis XVI being brought to the guillotine, while revolutionaries below wait for the execution to be carried out.

People continue to debate which of these theories Viva la Vida is conveying, but I think the song addresses more personal issues: the fear of death and the love of life. Chris named the English version of Viva la Vida "Long Live Life". Perhaps he believes that life ultimately triumphs over death. Indeed, the entire album is titled Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The titles of the songs on the album also reflect this: "Life in Technicolor," "Cemeteries of London," "Lost!," "Death and All His Friends." The song "42" includes lyrics about something more terrifying than death, followed by hopes for what comes after. Chris has said that perhaps the dead never truly die because they live on in the memories of those who remain.

Oddity Review: A Horror Film That Will Tear The Viewer’s Mind to Shreds

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 15:00:00 +0000

On a winter night in the remote countryside of Ireland, Dani was getting ready for bed when she heard a strange noise coming from the other side of the door. Having just moved into this manor not long ago, the house she shared with her husband was still under construction and far from finished. For safety, she had set up a small tent in the kitchen, right across from the front door, to sleep in until everything was in order. Peering through the keyhole, Dani froze when she saw Olin—a patient from the mental institution where her husband worked—silently watching her. Before she could ask why he was there, Olin suddenly warned Dani to leave immediately because he saw someone else in the house with her. Shaken by his words, Dani reached out to unlock the door, and tragedy struck.

At first, everyone believed Olin was the one who murdered Dani, but is it really that simple? Not long after, Olin's dismembered body was found inside the hospital. The deeper we delve into this mystery, the more terrifying the revelations become. In this eerie atmosphere, one mistake leads to another. Something horribly wrong lurks nearby, a cold and ruthless presence watching us from the shadows.

Today, let’s follow psychic Darcy as she uncovers the mysterious death of her twin sister, Dani, and find out why Oddity has been hailed by critics as the horror film that will tear the viewer’s mind to shreds.

Plot

Spoiler Alert: The following section will reveal the entire plot of the film. Please consider before reading.

Exactly one year after Dani's death, her husband Ted seeks out her twin sister. Using his connections, he manages to obtain Olin's glass eye from the police and gives it to his sister-in-law. Darcy, a psychic with the ability to perceive others' pasts by holding their personal belongings, doesn't feel relief upon learning the death of the supposed culprit. Instead, she is overwhelmed with grief as the true nature of the incident is revealed.

On the first anniversary of her sister's death, Darcy visits the house where her sister and Ted had planned to build a happy life together. However, she is not only greeted by Ted, but also by Yana—Ted’s new girlfriend, whom he met while working at the hospital. Yana, having recently moved in with Ted, can't shake off a constant sense of unease, often hearing strange noises around the house. Occasionally, she even catches glimpses of Dani’s shadow lurking in the dark.

Though things remain unexplained, Yana frequently opposes living in such a remote countryside and advises Ted to move back to the bustling and safer city. As a psychiatrist, Ted dismisses the idea of ghosts, confidently stating, “Everything can be explained by science.” He even mocks Darcy's psychic abilities during their occasional visits, scoffing at her self-proclaimed mediumship.

In truth, Darcy’s antique shop is where she collects and sells various items haunted by spirits or lingering souls. These could be anything from a doll sitting on a shelf to a tiny music box, or even a hotel service bell.

Ted mocked Darcy's beliefs until she appeared at his doorstep as an Uninvited Guest. Carrying a life-sized wooden puppet, Darcy slowly recounted its story to Yana, revealing the dark spiritual force lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment. Forced to stay since she couldn’t find her keys and with Ted working a night shift, Yana quickly became terrified by Darcy's tale. It exposed the many strange details surrounding Dani's death and confirmed that Olin was right—someone had indeed been hiding in Dani's house the night she was murdered.

As eerie visions started to appear throughout the house, Yana fled in panic. It was from this point that the true secret behind Dani's death began to surface: Ted had been the mastermind behind the entire incident.

The Insane and the Sane

What makes Oddity special is the way it ties the character Ted from the beginning to the end of the film. At first, Ted appears as a smart, caring, charming man who loves his wife. Ted’s life revolves around mentally ill patients like Olin and those he considers mentally unstable, such as Darcy, who believes in superstitious, spiritual matters. To Ted, those are mostly nonsense, not worth paying attention to. He always tries to explain everything as scientifically as possible.

If a face appears in a photo, it must be due to overexposure. If you see the ghost of a dead person, it’s surely the result of exhaustion. However, very quickly, we begin to sense something is off about this man. First, there’s his overly playful teasing of Darcy about her work. One could excuse this by saying Ted is confident and arrogant. Even the fact that he quickly got a new girlfriend can be explained by saying Yana helped him a lot after Dani’s death. All of the explanations make sense, they are so logical—so logical that they seem almost too perfect, without a single flaw.

However, in life, when something is too perfect, it often feels fake. As a man who supposedly loved his wife, Ted didn’t even remember the first anniversary of her death and casually went to work. He even forgot about inviting Darcy over for the memorial. He orders Ivan, the hospital nurse who was directly involved in Dani’s murder, to punish and threaten Olin for escaping the hospital on the night of the crime. This makes us gradually lose trust in this man, especially when Ivan questions why Ted didn’t just divorce Dani but instead had him kill her. Ted calmly replies that he didn’t want to break Dani’s heart by telling her he had fallen in love with someone else. The deceit has eaten into Ted’s very core—in other words, Ted represents the type of person who appears respectable and proper on the outside but is rotten inside. As we initially feel sympathy for him, we gradually grow to hate him and wish for his punishment.

As mentioned, most of the people around Ted are seen as having signs of mental illness, or at least, that’s how he perceives them. It's no wonder that the sanest and most normal person in the film, Yana, quickly runs away and leaves Ted. Not only was she horrified by what happened that night, but deep down, Yana also realized there was something wrong with the doctor’s soul. On the other hand, most of the characters who were labeled as mentally ill, like Olin or Darcy, turn out to be remarkably sane and resilient.

Having overheard Ted and Ivan planning to kill Dani, Olin rushed to warn her. However, Dani didn’t believe what Olin said, which makes sense given the context—a woman living in an isolated place with no one around, and in the middle of the night, a mental patient with a record of attacking others knocks on her door. Naturally, no one would open the door for him. But perhaps the sincerity and desperation in Olin’s words made Dani waver, because after he left, Dani ran towards the door, searching for him in vain. Yet the tragedy still unfolded brutally and violently, just as it was destined to.

Humans and monsters

Like a challenge to the audience's patience, Oddity unfolds with a slow, suffocating pace. We constantly question the characters—who among them is trustworthy, who is telling the truth? Everything spins in dizzying circles. Ted initially appears charming and caring but quickly turns into a monster. Olin, with his frightening appearance, is actually kind-hearted, wanting to help others, while Darcy, with her unpleasant and creepy demeanor, ends up being the one we root for. This creates a moral and psychological dilemma: Are we judging someone too quickly based on their outward appearance, or do we simply need time to truly understand them?

Director Damian McCarthy seems to enjoy toying with the audience's minds. He throws us into a case that seems all too clear, only to make us wait over 40 minutes to realize we've been completely wrong. That rush to judgment comes at a cost, and Darcy is left to suffer. Soon after her sister’s death, Darcy uses her psychic powers to manipulate the wooden puppet, sending it after Olin, ultimately killing him. In a way, she also becomes a monster in the eyes of others, much like Ted. And as the film nears its end, Darcy’s death becomes inevitable. She has to die as a way to atone for her mistakes. But what about Ted? He’s no better. Sooner or later, that vicious cycle will catch up to him, and fortunately, it’s Darcy who will do the job herself. She sends Ted the haunted bell that he once mocked because she knows he will ignore her warnings. This time, Ted’s arrogance is his downfall.

As the central character of the film, Ted frequently listens to others, yet he never believes a word they say. If Ted ever realized someone was telling the truth, he would immediately manipulate and dismiss their point of view. Ted risks ringing the bell that Darcy warned was haunted by the hotel servant because he doesn’t believe in the supernatural, and he thinks he’s gotten away with his crime. Yes, Ted believes no one can punish him. But director McCarthy has other ideas. In an interview with The Direct, McCarthy said that if the film had gone on for just 40 seconds longer, we would have seen the ghost of the hotel servant tear Ted to pieces.

The horror of the wooden puppet

The wooden puppet was an item brought to Ted’s house by Darcy. As introduced, we learn that the puppet originally belonged to the sisters’ mother. According to the customs in the place where Darcy and Dani grew up, when a couple reaches their 5th wedding anniversary, friends and family would gift them something made of wood as a blessing. That puppet was a gift from a witch to their family. The problem lies in the fact that it seems to always move whenever Yana isn’t paying attention. The first instance is when it suddenly sits at the table, despite Darcy confirming she hadn’t taken it out of the box. From Yana’s perspective, we can completely understand her discomfort. After all, aside from her, the only other person in the house was Darcy, and the idea that objects could move on their own sounds utterly absurd, if not downright illogical.

However, very soon, we notice something strange about the story. Being blind, how could Darcy possibly move that giant wooden puppet on her own? She even managed to place it neatly on the table in such a short amount of time. That is, until Yana was startled when she discovered the puppet’s head tilted upward, seemingly watching her as she stood on the second floor. This must have shocked her, causing her to drop her phone. With just two simple shots, director Damian McCarthy taps into the primal fear within all of us: the unsettling feeling that when we turn our backs, there may be soulless eyes quietly watching from behind.

With its stiff expression and mouth seemingly frozen in a scream of agony, the wooden puppet instills unease in anyone who dares approach or interact with it. Inspired by the Golem, a monster made of clay in Jewish folklore, Darcy’s wooden puppet acts as a tool to carry out her punishment and execution of the guilty. This explains why the psychiatric patient in the room next to Olin's at the beginning of the film was so terrified. He likely witnessed the puppet and its brutal methods of killing. The ambiguity surrounding the puppet’s origins and its methods creates a sense of dread, much like folklore about ancient forces or mysterious spells. The puppet's background is left unexplained, and even its creator, director McCarthy, emphasized that he didn't want to explain too much, as the less we know about a creature, the greater our fear becomes.

The King of horror films in 2024?

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that 2024 is a symphony of horror films. If Late Night with the Devil is a chilling late-night entertainment show, and Longlegs is like a love letter from a murderer to the corpses they see as works of art, then Oddity brings a completely different tone. At times, it’s like the relentless knocking on your door in the dead of night that makes you jump, and other times, it's the faint creak of a door slightly ajar in the dark, like a cold breeze brushing the back of your neck, leaving you with an eerie, lingering feeling. It’s not quite fear, but more of an unsettling anxiety. It makes you sit still, staring at the darkness behind the door, holding your breath in a silent, suffocating terror. That’s the feeling you get while watching Oddity, a direct contender for the horror crown of 2024, alongside Longlegs and Late Night with the Devil.

In recent years, horror films have stopped being frightening for many people. They claim they've seen too much and have become accustomed to the various scare tactics. Some also say that today's horror genre is living in the shadow of past masterpieces. To address this issue, Oddity offers a truly unique vision by approaching the familiar séance motif but adding a special flavor of ancient, primal fear—the fear of the dark. It's no wonder cinematographer Colm Hogan fully utilizes still shots of the darkness behind doors or the spaces untouched by light. In the faint glow of a flashlight, the silence creates a tense, static frame, as if someone has turned the volume down so low you can easily hear the creak of the door or the wind howling through the cracks. That eerie stillness clings to you, raising goosebumps on your skin and sending a chill down your spine. Just a moment's glance away from an object or painting makes the audience wonder if it's watching them. Truly, what you can't see can be just as terrifying as what you can see in the darkness of a pitch-black night.

Without needing a dilapidated house, damp hallways, gory bloodbaths, or monstrous creatures, Oddity brings us close to rough stone walls and art paintings bathed in soft, warm yellow light. Yet, within that cozy atmosphere lies streaks of fresh blood and invisible fear. Like a blunt knife carving jagged wounds into flesh, the film becomes living proof that a simple storyline without trying to force too much information or too many layers of meaning can still evoke horror. With just visual and auditory elements, the sweet allure of darkness is enough to bring a creeping sensation of something terrifying lurking out there. This vagueness gradually turns into unease, and from unease, it transforms into fear—slowly gripping you before you even realize it.

Decoding the Mysterious Killer "Longlegs"

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 11:13:00 +0000

Well you're slim and you're weak
You've got the teeth
Of the Hydra upon you
You're dirty sweet
And you're my girl

In a spine-chilling way, the lyrics of the band T. Rex in the opening scene of the film we are discussing today can be seen as a love letter to the horror genre. The killers treat the body they leave behind as a muse, full of Aestheticism, sent to the devil. But all we see is filth, distortion, and inhumanity. On the contrary, even though the audience knows they will be haunted by these sick, filthy, and evil characters, they still want to go to the theater to witness a finely crafted, visually beautiful product. Perhaps that is the alluring contradiction of the horror genre: sweet in a grimy way.

And if you've already become addicted to that heart-pounding sensation, there's no reason to skip Longlegs, a surprise hit of 2024. Following the trail of a serial killer with the unusual name Longlegs, the work of director Oz Perkins has made a big splash, sparking curiosity and leading viewers to uncover hidden messages that they have to dig deep to find.

What would it feel like to live beneath a house full of secrets? Are lies justified by love truly good, or do they lead to an even more terrible tragedy? Today, let's analyze and unravel the murder case of Longlegs, the killer who commits murder without even being present at the crime scene.

Plot

Spoiler Alert: The following section will reveal the entire plot of the film. Please consider before reading.

Let's first navigate the surface of the story. Bearing many similarities to The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Longlegs begins with a young female officer named Lee Harker. Despite her shy, distant, and somewhat eccentric personality, she is an exceptionally talented agent with an incredibly sharp intuition. During one investigation, just by glancing at a house, Lee immediately realizes it is where the killer has been hiding.

Impressed by her accomplishments, her superiors entrust her with the task of hunting down a serial killer who has baffled law enforcement for decades. This killer is known as Longlegs - a phantom who leaves behind a coded letter at every crime scene involving the unfortunate families he murders. However, there is something peculiar: in almost all the cases, the father turns out to be the actual killer. He slaughters his family members and then uses the same weapon to reunite with them in the afterlife. As a result, there are no traces of Longlegs at the crime scenes, as if he has the ability to control and drive others to madness. The only common threads among the families are that they all had a young girl with a birthday on the 14th, and the letters contain references to worshipping the devil.

With her exceptional intelligence and an almost instinctive drive, Lee finally deciphers the letters, only to recall a chilling truth: her own birthday also falls on the 14th. And on a gloomy morning when she was 9 years old, she accidentally captured a photograph of the killer. His name is Dale Ferdinand Cobble - a doll maker whose face has been severely altered by plastic surgery. Worshipping the devil, he disguised himself as a church representative, delivering gifts to families with children whose birthdays were approaching. Once accepted, the evil will inside the doll would drive the father insane, leading to a massacre.

However, Lee quickly deduces that Cobble's grotesque appearance could never win over his victims' trust. He must have had an accomplice - someone who went door-to-door with a charming smile. To her horror, that person was none other than her own mother.

From here, the terrifying past is revealed. On a snowy winter day in 1974, Longlegs visited the home of Lee and her mother with a "gift." Lee accidentally captured his face in a photo, but nothing could stop the deranged killer. Desperate, her mother made a pact with the devil to save her daughter’s life. In exchange for delivering the cursed dolls to the victims’ homes, Lee would be allowed to grow up normally.

In a final, desperate effort, Lee is forced to kill her own mother to prevent the 11th family from being slaughtered. Although she arrives too late, she manages to save young Ruby, who has already been driven mad by the doll. With a gun in her hand, Lee aims at the cursed toy but, strangely, is unable to pull the trigger. The film abruptly ends, leaving us with the eerie laughter of Longlegs and his chilling proclamation, "Hail Satan."

So, what does this entire story truly mean? Let’s peel back the layers of symbolism to uncover the hidden truths behind this dark mystery.

Has Longlegs been eliminated?

Although Longlegs is a detective story, it's clear that the supernatural plays an incredibly important role. In the latter half of the film, the true figure of the killer is revealed to be the devil himself—Satan. However, if you pay close attention, you'll notice that he's been present beside Lee from the very beginning, subtly controlling and manipulating all the events. So why does the Devil need this young investigator? Why does he spare her life when he didn’t do the same for previous victims, only agreeing to the deal with Lee’s mother?

As we know from the case files, the father is always the first to lose control and murder the rest of the family, but throughout the film, we never see the father figure in Lee’s family—only her and her mother. This absence raises suspicions. Even though Cobble (Longlegs) claims that he gave Lee’s mother the choice between “crimson” or “clover” - to accept the gift and watch Lee die or to kneel and serve Satan - I don't believe that was ever truly the choice. Even after Lee’s mother became an accomplice, we never see anyone else given a similar option. This suggests that from the start, Longlegs never intended to kill Lee. She was special, a girl who had caught the devil's attention.

According to the pact, Longlegs would reside in the basement of the family’s house to make his dolls. This detail is hinted at in the eerie sounds heard at the start of the film. The call of the cuckoo bird is symbolic - cuckoos are known for laying their eggs in other birds' nests, and "cuckooing" is a term used to describe someone taking over another person's house for illegal activities. In this case, Longlegs attached himself to Lee’s family and, in a sense, became the missing father figure. This is subtly referenced in a special FBI exam scene. When Lee is shown a symbol most commonly associated with the Devil - a triangle - she says it reminds her of her father. It’s possible that her father was once a cultist or, more disturbingly, that Lee is the daughter of Satan himself, and Longlegs, his servant, came to collect her on her 9th birthday.

Lee also received her own doll, and like the others, it contained a hollow metal piece inside its head. Following the clues from Carrie Anne, the lucky victim who managed to escape, we learn that this metal piece serves as a memory block for its owner. All the girls who received the doll forgot almost everything and became emotionally numb. This revelation makes us reflect on Lee’s eccentric personality and communication style, and it explains why she possessed psychic abilities and was able to instantly decipher the letters. Satan himself granted her this power, while also locking away her memories of the killer living in the basement—the very one she’s been searching for.

In the investigation scene at the beginning of the film, we see the criminal shooting the FBI agents without hesitation as soon as they ring the doorbell. However, when he sees Lee, he becomes strangely compliant. This could be because he recognizes that she is the one chosen by Satan and dares not harm her, allowing the plan to unfold smoothly. Lee’s mother believed she had the choice to destroy the doll, thinking that would free her daughter’s mind. But in reality, it was all a pre-set trap.

Regaining her memories and free will, Lee goes on to prevent the massacre of the 11th family. However, in her pursuit of justice, she is forced to kill her own mother to protect the victims - mirroring the fathers who killed their loved ones under Longlegs' influence. The cross-shaped bullet wound symbolizes a kind of baptism or cleansing. But when she turns the gun toward the cursed doll, she cannot pull the trigger.

In my interpretation, the reason Lee hesitates is that the young girl she just saved, Ruby, is now the new hostage - similar to how her own mother was trapped. The pact will now be for Ruby, who has just had her birthday, to either go insane and die or become the new Longlegs. The film leaves Lee’s final decision unresolved, but with Cobble’s sinister laughter echoing, it suggests that the Devil has won yet again.

If you pay close attention, there are not less than two scenes where Lee's mother is filmed in a way that reveals her legs, subtly hinting that she is an accomplice of Longlegs. As for the protagonist, there are moments where her driving scenes mirror those of the doll-making killer. If I’m not mistaken, the family’s cat hissed as soon as it saw the investigator, suggesting that Lee's shadow itself represents the devil. Her action of putting the gun down at the end of the film may symbolize surrender. Thirty-eight lives in total, and as Lee decoded, their deaths form the shape of a triangle—the ultimate symbol of Satan’s deceit.

It was a tragedy fated long before it began. From the age of 9, Lee was destined to become the next Longlegs. The reason this killer figure continuously needs to change is perhaps because Cobble, with his grotesque appearance, was immediately rejected by the children. Lee's mother had aged as well, so Satan required someone younger to ensure families would continue accepting the "gifts" - the dolls that would drive fathers to take up knives and butcher their own kin.

The Dragon and the Beast rising from the sea

So, is the whole story of Longlegs merely a devil’s amusement, or is there a greater purpose behind it? To understand this, we need to closely examine the letter Longlegs sent to Lee:

Stood upon the sand of the sea.

This line directly references the Book of Revelation, which is also mentioned in the film. In the Book of Revelation, Satan is described as a red dragon, but this can also be interpreted as a serpent. He is the very snake that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, and the film presents multiple allusions to serpents. For example, in the final scene, Lee’s mother draws out a knife shaped like a serpent to assist in her sinister act. Satan has summoned his disciple, the Beast from the Sea.

In Revelation 13, it is written:

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns upon its horns, and blasphemous names on its heads... The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority... The whole earth marveled and followed the beast.

If we apply this to the film, the dragon, serpent, or Satan himself actually exists in the form of Cobble - the dollmaker, and the entire journey is about summoning the Beast from the Sea, who is actually Lee Harker. She has been chosen to become Satan’s disciple, and together they will bring misfortune upon the unfortunate souls of mankind.

We see that Lee’s mother has to dress as a nun and watch the helpless victims die, a clear act of blasphemy against the Christian image. This aligns with the lyrics of T. Rex’s song mentioned earlier, describing a woman's body marked by the teeth of Hydra, or the Devil himself. Therefore, Longlegs can be understood as a story from the Book of Revelation, retold in modern times. The densely planted details are more than enough for horror fans to dissect and come up with their own theories.

The Deceptive Shield

Ultimately, through Longlegs, director Oz Perkins wanted to tell a personal story inspired by his own childhood. You might not know that the 50-year-old filmmaker was born into a very famous family. His father is actor Anthony Perkins, who played the murderer Norman Bates in the classic Psycho, while his mother, Berry Berenson, was a model and photographer. However, Anthony later died due to AIDS complications, and his wife was one of the victims of the tragic 9/11 attacks. In interviews, Oz Perkins shared that his childhood was spent under a protective shield. His father was a man living two lives. "You could call my father either gay or bisexual," the director revealed.

At the time, Hollywood wasn’t as progressive as it is today, so such stories were absolutely not discussed within the family. His father, a man of great fame, was distant, while his mother avoided the deeper issues. This disconnection was what inspired the director to create Longlegs. It’s a story about a mother who lies to her daughter in an attempt to protect her, but as we see, there’s a certain coldness between them, and in the end, that love is not enough to prevent a heartbreaking tragedy. While the film is not entirely based on personal experience, one can certainly see reflections of a broken family in this demonic tale.

In conclusion, I think Longlegs is a decent, creative, and heartfelt work. It draws clear inspiration from Silence of the Lambs, most notably through its intelligent and courageous female investigator. Just as Clarice Starling is haunted by the cries of the lambs, Lee Harker is tormented by the doll lodged in her mind, with both women carrying deep childhood scars. However, because of this, when we compare the two films, the weaknesses of Longlegs become apparent.

Firstly, using half of the film to set up a detective story, only to explain everything as the work of supernatural powers, might leave many viewers feeling disappointed. Especially in the third act, the mother’s retelling of everything that happened in such an unrefined manner severely violates the unwritten rule of "Show, don’t tell." Viewers who were carefully piecing together the clues are left unsatisfied when the answer simply falls from the sky too easily. Thus, to be fair, the praise the film has received may be slightly exaggerated, and it still falls short of films like Pearl, Barbarian, or the 2021 Palme d’Or winner Titane before being considered the scariest film of the decade. However, the passion and beauty of Longlegs are undeniable, with its highly cinematic frames creating an incredibly tense atmosphere and a story that invites analysis and interpretation. That alone is enough to earn praise and make it worth watching in theaters.

The Dark Knight and Nolan's Obsession

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 15:22:00 +0000

As someone obsessed with symmetry and balance, I always include Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight in my list of favorite films. The reason is that Nolan meticulously crafts the script (though a director, he also co-wrote the screenplay with his brother). Nolan's Batman has two major strengths: one is his overwhelming power, and the second is his very heroic principle: "Never. Ever. Kill." Therefore, just like in all other superhero movies, Batman needs a villain who matches his strength.

But Nolan didn’t stop at just a "worthy" opponent. He created the Joker.

The Joker opposes everything Batman excels at. First, we clearly see that he's not afraid of death. So no matter how strong Batman is, what good would that do? What's more, the Joker wants to die, and importantly, he wants to die at Batman's hands.

This means he wants Batman to break the very moral code that defines his strength and identity. Because only by killing the Joker can Batman prevent the collapse of Gotham City. So, what will Batman choose? Will he stick to his philosophy and watch Gotham fall, or will he change who he is and give the Joker what he desires most—the true face of the Dark Knight? These two choices are nothing but pure symmetry.

By exploiting this weakness, the Joker continually forces Batman into decisions that reveal his true nature. Through Batman's perspective, viewers are also led to question their own notions of Right and Wrong. They keep asking themselves, "What is truly Evil, and what is Good?" And once again, it's a symmetry and balance that is nothing short of perfection.

The film is filled with countless images and plot points that Christopher Nolan weaves into the movie and script with perfect symmetry and balance: the two sides of a coin, the two ferries at the end of the film, the split face of the District Attorney, or the contrast between law-abiding citizens and death row inmates.

OCD is a disorder that makes people obsessed with perfection. And after watching the film, more than once, I’ve thought that Christopher Nolan might have this condition. As for myself, is there a bit of OCD in me too? Because I felt an immense sense of satisfaction when The Dark Knight ended, and I stepped out of its dark yet mesmerizing world.

Read more: Joker: Folie à Deux Short Review

8 Must-Watch Horror Films Released in 2024

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 03:48:00 +0000

2024 has indeed been a thriving year for the horror genre. Even though it's only summer, the list of impressive films is already filled with promising titles, ranging from serial killers, cults, and demons, to even necromancers. Waiting until the end of the year might mean missing out on some fascinating films, so today I’ve decided to compile a list of the most haunting stories worth watching up to this point. Keep in mind that everyone’s tolerance for fear varies, so these aren’t necessarily the bloodiest or most terrifying films, but rather selected based on criteria such as creative ideas, unique storytelling, and the skillful embedding of deeper meanings. Are you ready? Let's not waste any more time and dive right in.

The First Omen

As a prequel to The Omen (1976), one of the most acclaimed horror films, The First Omen recounts the harrowing night the Antichrist was born—a child later known as Damien, who wreaks havoc throughout the subsequent four films. Set from the perspective of a young nun named Margaret, the film beautifully captures the stunning churches of Rome in 1971 with nostalgic golden sunlight and captivating European aesthetics. However, lurking within the sacred corners of this holy place is a terrifying conspiracy taking shape.

With creative camera work, the scares in The First Omen are cleverly placed, avoiding overuse and predictability. The film boldly amplifies its gore to an extreme, notably in close-up scenes depicting the newborn emerging from its mother's womb, covered in blood and slime—a sight sure to send chills down the audience's spine. Thanks to the remarkable performance by young actress Nell Tiger Free, The First Omen is far from a careless prequel; it is meticulously crafted, unraveling the Church's hidden machinations to regain the people's faith. The film also subtly weaves in messages that sometimes demons are born in the seemingly purest places, and those who wear a cross may harbor the darkest intentions. With its tension, suspense, and deeply layered story, The First Omen undoubtedly deserves a spot on the list of standout horror films of 2024.

Stopmotion

Horror has always been a fertile ground for unique and unconventional ideas, and 2024 welcomes the bizarre feature debut of director Robert Morgan. The story begins with talented animator Ella Blake, who is assisting in completing her ailing mother Suzanne's final project. The pressure of having a domineering mother, who is quick to criticize and berate even the smallest of actions, quickly exhausts Ella. But when Suzanne suffers a stroke and is hospitalized, Ella finally has the chance to create a film of her own.

However, things are far from easy. Ella struggles with where to start and how to proceed. She aspires to craft a horror story compelling enough to surpass her mother's legacy. Yet, she soon realizes that she may not truly possess the talent required for stop-motion animation. That is until a young girl from the same apartment building shares part of a story about a killer named The Ash Man. Desperate for inspiration, Ella tirelessly works to bring the tale to life on screen. However, the girl only tells her the first half of the story, leaving the ending shrouded in mystery. To hear the rest, Ella must fulfill the girl's increasingly bizarre demands, such as using raw meat and even the organs of dead animals instead of wax for the models in her film. This obsession begins to consume Ella, leading to the terrifying reality of The Ash Man coming for her, in a grotesque form of flesh and blood.

While the first half of the film has been criticized for its slow pace and familiar tropes, it is precisely the eerie atmosphere and the blurred line between reality and illusion that makes it stand out. What must one sacrifice on the path to success? And is it truly worth it? I'll leave it to you to find the answers.

I Saw the TV Glow

I Saw The TV Glow is perhaps one of the most peculiar films of the year, emerging from the renowned A24 studio. While it's labeled as a horror film, many viewers might be puzzled by this classification, as it lacks the traditional scares found in other slasher or supernatural movies.

The film tells the story of Owen and his schoolmate Maddy, who are both social outcasts with no friends, united only by their shared obsession with a TV show called The Pink Opaque. The movie pulls us into a surreal dream as the show mysteriously goes on hiatus on the very day Maddy disappears. With dreamy neon hues, Owen's reality begins to blend with the TV show, making it increasingly difficult for him to distinguish between what is real and what is fiction. Is there truly a world on the other side of the screen where Maddy is waiting, a place where they can live the life they desire?

I Saw The TV Glow offers little in the way of explanations, giving it the feeling of a dream that layers multiple meanings that the audience must decipher on their own. At its core, the film delves into deep-seated psychological pain and the allure of escapism. The TV show's world, which captivates the two children, appears as a peaceful refuge, but reaching it requires abandoning reality, family, and even their physical selves. Will Owen take that leap, or will fear keep him grounded in his suffering as time slips away?

It sounds confusing, doesn’t it? Trust me, watching the film is even more bewildering. However, once you tune into its unique frequency, I Saw The TV Glow becomes an unforgettable experience.

Alien: Romulus

Alien: Romulus marks the seventh installment in the iconic Alien franchise, and by now, the Xenomorphs have become a timeless symbol in popular culture. Surprisingly, instead of delving deeper into the backstory of these extraterrestrial creatures or expanding the universe, Romulus returns to the franchise’s roots: space, monsters, and survival horror.

The plot centers on a female protagonist and her crew who venture into space, only to face near-certain doom. Set against a beautifully crafted backdrop, director Fede Álvarez masterfully builds tension, bringing back the familiar yet still terrifying scenes—Facehuggers latching onto victims’ faces, suffocating them; the eerie sounds emanating from within an unfortunate host as they await the gruesome emergence of a Chestburster; and, of course, the slimy, horrifying appearance of the Xenomorphs. All of this comes together to create a captivating monster horror experience that grips the audience until the very last moment.

In an era increasingly reliant on CGI, the decision to recreate these iconic elements using meticulously designed practical effects brings an authentic, tangible quality to the film. This approach harkens back to the science fiction classics of the 1980s, offering a nostalgic experience for long-time fans of the genre.

In summary, Alien: Romulus is a solid monster horror film, delivering all the necessary scares, action, and gore. Even though the storyline is straightforward to the point of being simplistic, the film can still be aptly described as thoroughly satisfying.

Infested

Imagine a moment of reckless curiosity leading to the accidental release of a highly venomous spider. Through some miraculous means, this spider grows and multiplies at an astonishing rate. What began as a single escapee quickly escalated into an army of spiders, growing in both size and number. At first, they prey on small insects, but their appetite and the size of their meals grow—birds, dogs, and eventually humans all become sustenance for this terrifying species. And as you realize, this is only the beginning of the nightmare that awaits.

This is the premise of Vermines, a French horror film that has received a remarkable 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and garnered widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, even earning praise from Stephen King himself. Vermines is a unique horror film that delves deep into the primal fear humans have of spiders, but it also serves as a chilling reminder of the isolation and fear experienced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many of us were confined to our homes, cut off from the outside world.

Beyond the surface-level terror, Vermines thoughtfully incorporates commentary on persistent societal issues in France, such as discrimination, injustice, violence, bureaucratic inefficiency, and the abuse of power by authorities.

If you're on the hunt for a survival horror film centered around terrifying creatures, Vermines stands out as one of the most compelling entries in recent years.

Oddity

The motif of summoning spirits through supernatural forces to investigate a murder is certainly not new to audiences, but the challenge lies in how filmmakers can craft something fresh and original. Luckily, Oddity is one of those rare films that delivers just that.

Praised by Collider as a horror film that will "rip the audience's mind to shreds," Oddity, directed by Damian McCarthy, begins with Dani, who is living alone in a secluded suburban house. Her peace is abruptly shattered when Olin, a former patient of her late husband Ted, shows up and warns her that someone—or something—is in the house with her. Despite Olin's desperate pleas, Dani lets him in, and the tragedy begins. A year later, Darcy, Dani's sister, arrives at the house to investigate her sister's death. As a psychic, Darcy brings with her a life-sized wooden doll and begins using her spiritual abilities to uncover the truth. Initially, everyone assumes Olin is the culprit, but is it really that simple? The deeper she delves, the more horrifying the discoveries become.

In the film's eerie atmosphere, one mistake leads to another, and something feels terribly wrong—something cold, calculating, and malevolent lurks in the shadows. I won't reveal any more details but trust me, the 98 minutes you spend with this film will be among the most terrifying experiences of your life.

Longlegs

A peaceful family life is suddenly shattered when the father inexplicably goes mad, grabbing a weapon and brutally murdering his entire family before taking his own life to join them in the afterlife. There's no sign of forced entry and no trace of anyone else present—only a cryptic letter left at the scene under the name Longlegs. Over 30 years, ten families have met the same fate, and the identity of the long-legged killer continues to baffle investigators.

Following the young FBI agent Lee Harker, who is tasked with solving this complex case, Longlegs quickly captivates viewers with its blend of detective mystery and supernatural elements, filled with religious symbolism woven throughout. The film is a dark and mysterious hunt that horror fans will find particularly enthralling. You'll need to pay close attention to the subtle clues of the lurking evil, piecing together the story for yourself.

Visually, the film is cinematic and atmospheric, with claustrophobic camera angles slowly traversing frames tinged with unsettling yellows and bright blood-reds, creating a tense and thrilling visual experience. Compared to The Silence of the Lambs, Longlegs stands out as a horror highlight of 2024, offering viewers a multi-layered story. On the surface, it's a murder mystery; deeper down, it explores the imagery of evil infiltrating life, and ultimately, it unravels a tearful family tragedy. Don't miss this film—it will leave you deeply reflective.

Exhuma

Following two young sorcerers—an exorcist and a mortician—Exhuma immediately immerses the audience in a mystical world filled with the enigmatic rituals of Feng Shui, the Five Elements, and wandering spirits bound to the earthly realm. Set in a modern-day context where science is the guiding light for humanity, the film's spiritual interpretations offer a refreshing and intriguing perspective. Divided into six chapters, the story begins with the plan to relocate a grave that has been negatively impacting the wealthy family owning the land. Exhuma demands intense focus from viewers due to its dense information and also requires some basic understanding of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang concepts.

Rather than relying heavily on jump scares or terrifying ghosts, the film feels more like a spiritual exploration, gradually unveiling the painful history shared between South Korea and Japan. If you're well-versed in history, the latter half of the film will reveal itself to be meticulously crafted. Another element contributing to its success is the visually striking cold, gray cinematography and the unique, stylish portrayals of the sorcerers. Even before its release, scenes of actor Lee Do-hyun wearing headphones while dressed in traditional attire, with the Heart Sutra tattooed on his arm, sparked curiosity among viewers. There's something compelling about following a spiritual narrative set against the backdrop of contemporary society.

Despite some disjointed connections between the chapters, Exhuma is well worth your time and continues to solidify the distinct identity of Asian cinema in the horror genre.

Late Night With The Devil

And finally, to wrap up today's list, we delve into a special program with Late Night With The Devil, directed by the Cairnes brothers, Cameron and Colin. This film, with its unique mockumentary style, plays out like a Halloween talk show hosted by Jack Delroy, featuring various psychologists and psychics. But things take a chilling turn when Jack introduces a special guest to the studio—Lilly D'Abo, the sole survivor of a horrifying massacre. What starts as a discussion on demonic possession quickly spirals out of control when Lilly begins to exhibit strange behavior, leading everyone to believe she might be possessed by a demonic spirit. From here, the situation rapidly deteriorates.

Critics have showered Late Night With The Devil with praise, with horror legend Stephen King calling it a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Variety even described it as the perfect blend of classic showbiz flair and the demonic horror reminiscent of The Exorcist. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? The film's unique concept and tight writing keep the audience on edge with its tense pacing and unpredictable plot. Despite some mixed reviews, Late Night With The Devil offers a distinct horror experience that shouldn't be missed, reaffirming the limitless creativity in this genre. After all, who would have thought the Devil would make an appearance live on TV, right before everyone's eyes?

American Psycho - The American Man Trapped in His Own Obsessions and Delusions

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 15:27:00 +0000

American Psycho (2000) is a dark-humor horror film about a delusional psychopath and serial killer. The movie was adapted from the novel of the same name by author Bret Easton Ellis. Two decades later, American Psycho has been classified as a "cult movie" — a revered film that stands the test of time.

From the moment the novel was published, it attracted fierce competition among film studios, directors, and actors eager to adapt it into a movie. Director Oliver Stone and actor Leonardo DiCaprio were strong contenders for the project, especially after the massive success of Titanic. However, Leonardo decided to withdraw, which led to Oliver Stone stepping down as director. Johnny Depp also expressed keen interest in the insane and perverse character but ultimately did not get the role.

In the end, the project was finalized with Mary Harron, a relatively unknown Canadian female filmmaker, as both co-writer and director. The lead role went to Christian Bale, supported by a star-studded cast in minor roles, including Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, and Chloë Sevigny.

A Satire on Toxic Masculinity

American Psycho premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2000 and was widely released in April of the same year. Despite being an independently produced, low-budget film, it was a commercial success and resonated with critics and the media.

Particularly notable was Christian Bale's performance and Mary Harron's directorial style, which, through her feminine perspective, transformed the film into a profound work of social critique and ambiguity, especially in the ending. With a more masculine director like Oliver Stone, American Psycho might have turned into a horror crime film about a serial killer.

However, under Mary Harron's direction, it became a film about toxic masculinity, where men who seem to have everything are actually narcissistic, petty, and constantly envious of others' success. These are men who are materially wealthy but mentally diseased, obsessed with external vanity, and afraid of being judged by others.

From the film's opening scenes, Harron portrays the life of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) — a young, successful, and wealthy businessman. Coming from a prestigious Wall Street family, his life is filled with glamour and superficiality: designer tailored suits, an upscale Manhattan apartment, and a disciplined lifestyle that includes exercise and skincare routines.

Bateman often appears in high-end restaurants with his fiancée Evelyn (Reese Witherspoon) and his group of wealthy, shallow male associates — men he actually despises and envies. To assert his intellectual superiority or taste, he frequently discusses his music collection by repeating criticisms he has read in the media.

Patrick Bateman leads a seemingly perfect life, but deep down, he is emotionally drained, isolated, and unable to find satisfaction in what he has. Toxic masculinity is most vividly portrayed in the scene where the businessmen each present their personal business cards. They compete over the quality of the card material, the thickness of the paper, and the sophistication of embossing, engraving, and font styles, showcasing their obsession with status and superficial details.

All that vanity and luxury—do they merely reflect what these men want to show off, or are they also meant to mask their insecurities about their own masculinity?

When his ego is deeply wounded and jealousy completely takes over, Bateman becomes unhinged, turning into a madman who begins a spree of murders to vent his rage and satisfy his desire to feel unbound by society's constraints. His acts of violence grow increasingly brutal and indiscriminate, targeting anyone from a homeless man on the street, and prostitutes, to Paul Allen (Jared Leto), the person he despises most for daring to outshine him in the business card comparison.

Yet, as the story progresses, Bateman’s gruesome killings appear to be nothing more than figments of his imagination. The insane consumer lifestyle and relentless competition with others have driven him into bouts of fury and delusional states.

A Psychopath Disconnected from Reality

There are numerous details in the film that suggest Bateman is merely imagining everything rather than actually committing these acts. Director Mary Harron brings these horrifying murders to life with graphic realism, even though they might only exist in Bateman’s mind.

Bateman uses a handgun to kill with an inexplicable level of skill. He blows up a car without anyone noticing. He relentlessly chases down a prostitute with a chainsaw, the noise and her screams echoing through the apartment complex, yet no one seems to hear. He drags Paul Allen's body in a bag, leaving a trail of blood on the floor, but the building's security guard is indifferent, and the bloodstains later vanish...

The pinnacle of this delusion occurs when Bateman confesses to his lawyer about killing Paul Allen, but the lawyer repeatedly dismisses it as a joke, saying, "I had dinner with him twice in London..." Could it all be Bateman's imagination? Has he become a schizophrenic, trapped in his own toxic masculinity?

At this point, it's clear that American Psycho isn't truly a horror film about a serial killer. It's a satire of the 'yuppie' culture that emerged in the early 1980s during the American economic boom. Yuppie culture describes young, successful, ambitious individuals who are materialistic and prone to flaunting their wealth. American Psycho delves into this culture by exploring the connection between identity and the desire to stand out in a superficial society that values appearances above all else.

And the perfect embodiment of this culture is none other than Patrick Bateman, a distorted figure inflated by his own ego. Having lived too long in this toxic environment, he has become delusional, suffering from various psychological disorders, including narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and, of course, psychopathy. As his madness reaches its peak, he can no longer distinguish between reality and fantasy. And no one cares about the chaos dancing inside his mind.

A Profound Character Study

Patrick Bateman in American Psycho is one of the most remarkable characters in American cinema. This character is often analyzed by critics and scholars in character studies focused on the mental disorders of individuals, especially within the context of a society obsessed with superficial values.

Mary Harron's crime, horror, and serial killer film is not just a thrilling cinematic experience; it also offers a sardonic and somewhat bitter perspective on a man who chases after the shallow and ignorant values of a money-driven society.

American Psycho draws some inspiration from characters with similar mental disorders as seen in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Though it may not reach the same iconic status as these masterpieces, it remains one of the most compelling films to portray a deep and multifaceted portrait of a lonely individual in a harshly competitive, hollow, and vapid world.

Christian Bale's outstanding performance in this film marked a turning point in his career, allowing him to continue taking on physically demanding and psychologically complex roles.

Read more: Anton Chigurh: A Monster for the Ages

City Pop – The Timeless Melodies of Japanese Pop Music

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 16:45:00 +0000

In modern times, we've witnessed the evolution of music with a rich historical tapestry. Among the notable genres is Japan's City Pop. With its catchy tunes and vibrant rhythms, City Pop has left an indelible mark on Japanese culture and the world. Iconic tracks like Matsubara Miki's Stay with Me and Takeuchi Mariya's Plastic Love have quickly become favorites among today's music enthusiasts. Today, let's delve into the genre that once captivated the masses!

Even if you listen to an entire City Pop playlist on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and SoundCloud, or read all the related information on Wikipedia, it’s challenging to summarize and accurately define the melodies sharing the same origins. To truly capture the essence of this genre, which is both vintage and modern, we need to explore three essential elements: Origin Context, Influence, and Popularity.

The Birth of City Pop

City Pop is a music genre that originated in Japan during the 1970s. However, it lacks a precise definition. Initially, this genre was considered a subcategory of “New Music,” which was influenced by Western culture, music, and art. With societal advancements and the growing importance of science and technology, the demand for spiritual values also increased. This era saw a diversity of genres and musical styles connected to the socio-economic development of the time, such as AOR, R&B, Soft Rock, Funk, and Boogie. City Pop is also linked to the new technologies of this period, like the Walkman, cars equipped with cassette players, and various electronic musical instruments.

In the 1970s in America, following the "Counter-culture" wave, many young people, disillusioned with reality, sought ways to escape. Disco music emerged with the mission of liberating people from the harsh social realities of the time, offering moments of joy and dance in nightclubs, temporarily forgetting societal issues. Disco created a cultural and musical wave worldwide, though its lifespan was relatively short. In Japan, Disco was a significant inspiration and is considered a precursor to the City Pop genre.

After World War II, Japan experienced an economic boom, becoming the second-largest economic power in the world at that time. It was in this historical context that City Pop was born. The people of the "land of the rising sun" benefited from the post-war economic explosion and the allure of consumerism. The trend of consuming luxurious, expensive goods—taking inspiration from America—spanned clothing, food, travel, and nightlife music culture.

Cultural and artistic development flourished alongside this economic growth. The rise of Sony, with its standout sound systems installed in cars, marked a significant technological advancement. Japanese music responded to this trend and public taste by birthing the City Pop genre, reflecting the opulent and vibrant lifestyle of the era.

The Popularity of City Pop in Popular Culture

The golden era of City Pop reached its peak in the 1980s. Japanese music talents such as Tatsuro Yamashita, Toshiki Kadomatsu, and Miki Matsubara, with their melodies ingrained in the minds of modern music enthusiasts, were considered the "giants" of the City Pop genre. Among them, Yamashita was known at the time as the "King of City Pop." However, after the 1980s, the genre fell out of favor, with the Japanese public deeming it cheesy, boring, and lacking distinction. City Pop regained its position in the 2010s, with the explosive growth of the Internet revolution, music forums, and blogs about Japan's nostalgic music being popularized worldwide. Surely, at this moment, we have all let ourselves be swept away by the vibrant tunes of Plastic Love or the endless romantic and sentimental playlists on YouTube.

Although inspired by Western music, City Pop has retained the unique characteristics of Japanese culture. This genre has become a "bridge" perfectly linking Eastern and Western influences. Many young people abroad enjoy City Pop because it is relatively new yet also nostalgic. Most of the music that the younger generation knows from the 70s and 80s is through their parents' experiences.

City Pop serves as a way for foreigners to forge new connections with the beautiful memories of Japanese culture from their youth. This is a significant reason why Westerners are so captivated by City Pop—it feels like a forgotten memory has resurfaced. The appreciation for this cultural exchange creates a flourishing connection that brings together different generations from both Japan and the West.

The Influence of City Pop on Art

City Pop is not only as lively melodies but as a cultural icon in Japanese society and globally. This genre has deeply inspired art forms such as fashion, architecture, and cinema in modern culture.

Fashion

One of the most iconic aspects of City Pop fashion is its bold use of color. Neon shades, pastels, and metallics dominate the palette, bringing a vibrant, energetic feel to the streets of past decades. From brightly colored tracksuits to sequined dresses, City Pop fashion aims to stand out and make a statement.

City Pop fashion may have originated in the 1980s, but its influence is still felt today. From the runways of Tokyo Fashion Week to the streets of Harajuku and the four major fashion capitals of the world, the echo of City Pop aesthetics can be seen in contemporary fashion trends worldwide.

Fashion inspired by City Pop features vibrant colors, bold patterns, and futuristic designs. From jackets to neon accessories, City Pop aesthetics symbolize a celebration of individuality and eclectic expression reflecting the spirit of the era. One of the most iconic aspects of City Pop fashion is its bold use of color. Neon shades, pastels, and metallics dominate the palette, bringing a vibrant, energetic feel to the streets of past decades. From brightly colored tracksuits to sequined dresses, City Pop fashion aims to stand out and make a statement.

Cinema

Japanese City Pop music has also made its mark on the world of film and television. From iconic movie soundtracks to memorable music videos, City Pop has provided the soundtrack for countless films, TV shows, and commercials. Whether it's the upbeat tunes of Tatsuro Yamashita in a romantic comedy or the haunting synths of Mariya Takeuchi in a crime thriller, City Pop's influence is evident.

In particular, nostalgic childhood memories of anime films like "Cat’s Eyes," "Kimagure Orange Road," and "City Hunter" are filled with these evocative melodies. In recent years, City Pop has experienced a resurgence in popular culture, with its nostalgic sound and appeal making it a favorite choice for filmmakers.

Architecture

Even in the field of architecture, the influence of City Pop is clearly visible. In cities like Tokyo and Osaka, where neon lights and skyscrapers from the 1980s still stand tall, the legacy of City Pop continues to thrive. From futuristic office buildings and shopping centers to retro-inspired cafes and nightclubs, the architecture of these cities reflects the dynamic energy of the City Pop era.

Conclusion

Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can't.

Can you imagine your life without music? It seems almost impossible. Music – melodies – are not just a rich emotional balm but also a bridge that connects people. Once a dominating genre in the hearts of Japanese audiences, City Pop has gone through phases of decline and nearly lost its appeal in the music landscape.

Today, City Pop is resurging powerfully, reshaping modern music and pioneering the global spread of Japanese music culture. City Pop is the "cutting point" between different cultures, inspiring many artists and singers worldwide.

feelslikeimfallinginlove - Coldplay Teases the First Track from Their New Album

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 15:29:00 +0000

In 2019, Coldplay released their eighth studio album, Everyday Life. On that day, a friend and I listened to it together, and upon hearing the penultimate track, Champion of the World, she remarked that it was the most "Coldplay-like" song on the entire album.

This comment made me ponder what a "Coldplay-like" song really is, using the band's name as an adjective. Coldplay began with alternative rock, from Parachutes to Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, then gradually shifted towards pop rock starting with Mylo Xyloto.

Many people became familiar with Coldplay during this second phase, with albums like Mylo Xyloto and A Head Full of Dreams, when the band members started wearing vibrant outfits, and their melodies took on a more pop-oriented sound. This is likely the Coldplay my friend was referring to.

Long-time fans of the British band were not particularly enthusiastic about this trajectory of "reinventing themselves." They didn't want Coldplay to become a pop band, which seems to have become a reality with their latest album, Music of the Spheres. They yearn for Coldplay to return to their "original" alternative rock roots. To some extent, I share this sentiment.

Coldplay's next album will be titled Moon Music. With the first single feelslikeimfallinginlove, Coldplay seems to be encouraging fans to "fall in love again." But is it possible?

Echoes of previous albums

Consider Everyday Life as a prequel that sets the stage for the current Coldplay. This album stands in stark contrast to the band's earlier works, incorporating inspirations and melodies from the Middle East and experimenting with more unconventional genres such as gospel, folk, doo-wop, and baroque.

Everyday Life marked the first time Coldplay took such significant risks since Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Despite earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, the band's bold experimentation did not entirely bear fruit, as Everyday Life was a commercial failure.

Music of the Spheres, the subsequent album, emerged as a direct reaction to Everyday Life. Gone were the monochromatic black and white tones; the album's artwork returned to the vibrant colors reminiscent of A Head Full of Dreams. The songs became more "pop" oriented, with famous bands like BTS featured.

Apart from the space rock-inspired closing track Coloratura, I didn't listen to Music of the Spheres much. Instead, I patiently awaited the next album, hoping that the band would return to the "original" sound that I love.

Positive signs for Moon Music?

Even with pop production king Max Martin, the mastermind behind timeless hits like ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears and I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys, feelslikeimfallinginlove bears more resemblance to Coldplay's "old" songs rather than the neon-colored tracks of Music of the Spheres.

It is a shimmering love song with catchy melodies, sung by Chris Martin's warm baritone voice; a ballad narrated by a lovestruck individual, blending a sense of optimism and melancholy, with poetic elements that stir the imagination.

However, feelslikeimfallinginlove is not Yellow, Clocks, or A Sky Full of Stars. Jonny Buckland's guitar remains overshadowed by electronic beats. The hook and post-chorus, with their "I know, la la la la la la la la" and "Ah la la, la la, lo lee lo," although designed for audience participation at concerts, still demonstrate a certain lack of creativity.

Does feelslikeimfallinginlove make me excited about the album Moon Music? Yes, but not completely.

The "half-empty" perspective suggests that Moon Music is a continuation of Music of the Spheres, the Coldplay album I liked the least. After all, the band announced that Moon Music will be the second part of Music of the Spheres, with the 2021 album's full title being Music of the Spheres - Vol. I: From Earth with Love, and Moon Music titled Music of the Spheres Vol. II.

Like Music of the Spheres, Max Martin remains the lead producer, so it's likely that pop and electronic elements will still be present in Moon Music. Information about a collaboration with The Chainsmokers on one track, along with the heavily electronic pop song Aeterna teased by the band during a performance, further fuels this concern.

However, the "half-full" perspective focuses on the return of Brian Eno and Davide Rossi, two producers of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, and the melodic tune of One World—another song Coldplay has previewed and is likely to be the closing track of Moon Music. These elements give hope that the new songs will still contain a touch of the "old" Coldplay.

Not the "old" Coldplay, but that's okay

feelslikeimfallinginlove aims to make us fall in love with Coldplay all over again. But to fall in love again implies that the love was once lost. For me, that love never faded.

The truth is, for Coldplay to achieve the fame they have today, they have had to continually adapt, change, and experiment. Yet, regardless of the "variant" of their style, Coldplay's music has always taken listeners on a journey through different realms and emotions.

feelslikeimfallinginlove gives me hope. Maybe not with absolute optimism, but hope for Moon Music. Whether that hope will be rewarded is a story for the future, when the album releases on October 4th. But if Moon Music turns out to be just like Music of the Spheres (or worse), Coldplay still has two more albums to release before they stop making music. Perhaps with those two albums, they will return to their original style, ending as they began.

Hard And Soft, Heavy And Light

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Fri, 24 May 2024 09:23:00 +0000

Billie Eilish first captivated audiences with Ocean Eyes, a track she released at 15, illuminated by flickering lights. A young girl, entranced and "cursed" by the deep blue eyes of her crush, finds herself submerged in that metaphorical ocean.

Returning with her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, Billie created a bedroom scene where she and other girls lie on their beds scrolling through photos and messages on their phones. She calls herself the "bad guy", suggesting that all good girls go to hell. And if she can't have her crush, she wishes they were gay.

Success came quickly, causing Billie’s “deep blue eyes” to shed tears under pressure. Then came Happier Than Ever, an attempt to show that the girl you see on your phone or tablet screen is happier than ever.

However, Billie Eilish soon fell into a crisis, questioning her existence: "What Was I Made For?" Her third studio album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, might offer some answers to that question.

Blue is the saddest color

Let's start with Skinny, a ballad reminiscent of the earlier What Was I Made For?. The guitar notes scatter softly over Billie Eilish's introspective, whisper-like vocals. She sings quietly, as if not wanting anyone else to hear her innermost thoughts.

The girl in that song seems to have just fallen in love for the first time. It’s not just romantic love; it could also be a love for the life she’s living. She feels loved but quickly realizes something is amiss. It turns out that people think she looks happier because she looks skinnier.

But the old me is still me,
And maybe the real me,
And I think she's pretty.

Billie sings before entering the chorus, unable to compromise or deceive herself any longer:

And I still cry, cry,
And you know why

Skinny sets the stage for this album to reach the audience as a loop of confessions from a girl. At this moment, the protagonist is a new girl, slimmer, seemingly happier, but still sad deep inside, yet still in love with the love of her life.

Following Skinny, the song Lunch shows a “swap”. Billie Eilish no longer wishes the person she loves but who doesn’t love her back would turn gay, instead, she becomes… gay. Lunch at a cheap restaurant, with a waitress standing behind the counter like “she dances on my tongue”.

This is perhaps the first time Billie has expressed her sexual orientation so strongly in her songs. In reality, Billie has also admitted to being bisexual.

Lunch connects to Chihiro from the Ghibli's animated film Spirited Away. She has passed through the "tunnel" of adolescence, now returning to the real world but no longer the person she once was.

From Birds of Feathers, the album begins to change in terms of sound and narrative. The middle of the album is marked by quieter moments like WildFlower and The Greatest, contrasting with the earlier tracks.

The song L'Amour De Ma Vie introduces a twist to the album’s storyline. It turns out the love confessions in “Skinny” and The Greatest were lies.

The album concludes with Blue, an older song that had previously leaked online. Unlike the demo version, this song is now orchestrated to match the overall sound of the album. It not only recalls the melancholic blue of Ocean Eyes but also the essence of the protagonist in Hit Me Hard And Soft. Blue, therefore, is the saddest color.

Between Contrasts

From the beginning, Billie Eilish did not intend to release a single for Hit Me Hard And Soft. Listening to the entire album, the audience understands her reasoning. Though Billie could have picked any song from the album as a single to attract listeners, the cohesive narrative flow from the second track, Lunch, onward creates a seamless auditory experience. This continuity allows Billie Eilish’s introspective lyrics to unfold naturally.

Right here, the audience can see the “hard” and “soft” aspects of the narrative, as well as the “heavy” and “light” elements in the harmony. Most songs feature introspective lyrics typical of ballads, sometimes even fragmented, but they are arranged with dense, rhythmically rich instrumentation.

This contrast between heavy (in terms of sound) and light (in lyrics and delivery) creates a high level of contrast in the album. Thus, even when Billie sings about heartbreak, the audience doesn’t feel overly gloomy, and when she is cheerful, it doesn’t necessarily signify happiness.

Compared to her previous albums, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Happier Than Ever, Hit Me Hard And Soft shows more diversity and flexibility in orchestration and arrangement. As a result, it’s hard for the audience to predict the direction of the melody, arrangement, or even the whole album.

Both Billie Eilish and FINNEAS seem not to limit themselves to this musical product. They create diversity while balancing opposing elements to produce a sonically impressive album. If there were a companion album to Hit Me Hard And Soft, it would be feasible and make this album the must-listen product of summer 2024.

Manchester By The Sea and the Rawness of Post-Loss Psychology

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Mon, 13 May 2024 15:51:00 +0000

Nominated for 6 Oscar categories in 2017, including Best Picture, Kenneth Lonergan's drama asserts one thing: there are no rosy scenarios and easy healing when faced with the loss of loved ones.

Every Oscar season, I have a habit of trying to find and watch all the Best Picture nominees to keep up with the times and introduce the outstanding works of the past year. I remember that year, after watching Kenneth Lonergan's film, I was hesitant to praise it. I was afraid of inadvertently encouraging loved ones to watch it and subjecting them to the suffering the film brings.

Looking back after 7 years, I still find Manchester By The Sea to be one of the most impressive Best Picture nominees since I first encountered it. I'm not sure if it's because it's an exceptionally well-made drama with stellar performances from the cast, or simply because the film's sadness haunted me to the extent that I consider it a directorial talent. Lonergan not only portrays a slice of life but also captures the pains of humanity like knives cutting into the wrist.

The town of lingering wounds

If I had to summarize Manchester By The Sea succinctly, I would say that someone dies at the beginning of the film, but it's not until the end of the film that the funeral takes place.

With such a brief sentence, those who haven't watched it would still vaguely guess the film's plot revolves around the loss of a loved one, as well as the struggle to overcome that pain. The main character of the film is Lee Chandler (portrayed by Casey Affleck, who won the Best Actor Oscar for this role), a janitor in Boston. One cold winter day, Lee receives news that his brother Joe has suddenly passed away in their hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea, a small town in New England.

Joe's sudden departure forces Lee to confront two major issues: He will become the guardian of his nephew Patrick and may have to stay in this town for quite some time to settle his brother's affairs, a place where Lee has fled to forget his tragic past.

The contrast between Lee's past and present

In the first half of the film, the audience gets acquainted with two different images of Lee Chandler: one of the present and one of the past through flashbacks. Present-day Lee is a disillusioned man, speaking bluntly, somewhat gruff, and emotionally detached from the society around him. Lee is indifferent to the flirtations of other women, often criticized for his surly attitude and impolite remarks to hosts, and tends to cause trouble for no reason in bars when he's drunk.

But the Lee of the past is completely different: lively, playful, always laughing, and wholeheartedly loving his family. Contrary to a survivalist who barely cracks a smile in Boston is a seaside youth with a sun-kissed face and a beer in hand on a fishing boat in Manchester-by-the-Sea. This contrast is so stark that the audience is drawn into those memories and raises many questions for Lee. What is this man's issue? What could change a person so much?

It's not until the latter half of the film that the audience gets the answer. Lee fled his hometown to forget a ton of tragedy that his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams) poured onto him. For all those years, Lee has never forgiven himself for that.

Manchester-by-the-Sea is a deep pit of guilt and painful memories that he wants to forget. The winter setting doesn't make the film brighter, as Joe's burial cannot take place when the ground is covered in snow. By the time the truth is revealed, the audience slowly begins to understand Lee's psyche as he grapples with horrifying emotions at once.

However, the story of pain is warmed by the relationship between Lee and his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges, the new prince of indie films). Lee is torn between two choices: either stay to become the legal guardian for his nephew, who has no family, or continue to flee from that haunting town.

Lee and Patrick

The uncle-nephew relationship is deeply explored throughout the film as an "odd couple" or "tough love." Constant conflicts arise between them, partly because they both carry deep emotional wounds and partly because their presence triggers unpleasant memories from the past.

Lee shows frustration with Patrick's lifestyle, as sometimes he seems indifferent to his father's death and focuses on relationships with friends instead. Patrick resists being estranged from his uncle for so long and controlling his life, even demanding to move to Boston, away from the community he has been attached to since childhood. Thus, both are trapped in their negative emotions in a place that seems to only exacerbate their psychological wounds.

To vividly depict this, Kenneth Lonergan ensures that "time" and "silence" are the greatest enemies to suffocate those in misery who are trying to reconcile with it.

When time and silence are the most formidable enemies of pain

The director is a master of pacing. Throughout Manchester By The Sea, Kenneth Lonergan squeezes the hearts of characters and audiences with a storytelling style grounded in realism: no sugarcoating of pain.

Just 10 minutes into the film, audiences will easily recognize its heaviness: Lee opens the door of the morgue to look at his brother's body one last time. The static shot focuses on the character's emotions as he grapples with loss. Although this is an emotionally charged scene that may make many uncomfortable, the cinematography keeps the audience glued to the image of the body lying on the table, as Joe solemnly takes a long pause, approaches, strokes his brother's face, leans down to embrace, lightly kisses his brother's forehead, and begins to cry.

If Lonergan uses time as a blade, then silence is the bullet

Death is always a taboo subject in Western media culture. In many films, death is portrayed swiftly and superficially. A phone call announcing the news is followed by a funeral scene with a few tears shed. Then comes the condolence gathering at the protagonist's home, and everything moves on quickly, leaving the loss behind.

Lonergan seems to despise this common, hasty depiction of death. For him, the pain of losing a loved one and the process of coping and grieving are never quick or easy. But if time is like a knife, then silence is the bullet that inflicts just as much damage.

Firstly, there's the absence of dialogue in some scenes. For example, when Lee receives the sad news via a phone call from his hometown. He picks up the phone, standing in silence. There's no dialogue from the other end, no dramatic music; the audience only hears a few empty responses from Lee. Even the long pauses in conversations help deepen the characters' psychological states, like the scene where Lee and a woman try to talk and understand each other better. This use of silence not only highlights the actors' internal performances but also depicts the wounded souls that always feel time passing so slowly, akin to torture.

Next, let's talk about the music. The film avoids the typical melodramatic style by steering clear of emotionally manipulative music. There are no "sad music playing, tears falling" scenes; the tears in the film are very real, not romanticized or emotionally forced. The characters in the film remain composed when the audience expects them to break down, and they break down when the audience thinks they're most composed. The absence of music directs the audience's attention entirely to the characters' reactions to their world.

One of the most poignant scenes in the film is when Patrick discovers the frozen meat in the refrigerator and suddenly bursts into tears like a child in the middle of the night. He is horrified at the thought of his father lying in the morgue, waiting to be buried in the spring. This outburst occurs naturally, like a documentary capturing human emotions, without any staging or cues.

The characters remain composed when the audience expects them to break down, and break down when the audience thinks they are most composed.

Next is the scene where Lee and his ex-wife Randi meet again, as Randi tries to express her feelings after years of separation. Despite being the one leading the conversation, Randi breaks down as her words are choked up by emotions, and by the way Lee pushes her away. Similarly, there's the moment when Lee, the seemingly driest character in the film, collapses into a nurse's arms and cries after being cared for following a fight. In all these segments, music is absent, leaving the audience to be moved by the raw emotions, and the camera angles refrain from glorifying the "beauty of tears" in an empty display.

Healing has never been easy

From the beginning of the film, audiences always expect a bright ending, from winter to spring, from loss to life, from brokenness to healing. According to the norm, perhaps audiences also hope that the relationship between Patrick and Lee will help them overcome life's pains and live a better life. The ideal ending would be the two cousins living together and loving each other like a family. Lee would also decide to return to Manchester-by-the-Sea, leaving the past behind.

Healing has never been easy

Unfortunately, Lonergan does not stand for such a perfect healing. His belief in psychological recovery after loss is not the kind of colorful, warm, and loving recovery. It's a slow but inevitable recovery of life. Despite loving his nephew, Lee still decides to leave Manchester-by-the-Sea with just one sentence: "I can't beat it." It's as if he's emphasizing that he still can't overcome the pain of the past. That's Lonergan's realistic and somewhat ruthless approach, yet it gives the film a very authentic, lifelike flavor.

And amidst all the pain, the film concludes with a dialogue full of hope for the future of the two cousins, with the sunshine signaling a warm spring, and Patrick taking his father's boat out to sea.

iPad Pro M2 Review After Over a Year Of Use: Absolutely Fantastic

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Tue, 07 May 2024 12:20:00 +0000

While the iPad isn't a device I'm compelled to carry and have for work and communication like the iPhone or MacBook, every time I experience the iPad or need to do something with it, it always feels great. Looking at the market a bit, the iPad has never had a rival, so from its launch until now, the gap between the iPad and its competitors has only widened.

A superb content consumption device

I've been using the iPad Pro 12.9" since its 3rd generation launch in 2018, with its completely new design (which remains the same now). It truly is the best content consumption device we have. Computers have larger screens but are less comfortable to use, while phones are comfortable but have small screens...

In a day, I use the iPad less than my MacBook or iPhone, but when I do, I prefer it and it gives me a more comfortable feeling.

I've also tried other Android tablets from different brands and even Windows tablets, and the experience of the iPad Pro 12.9" surpasses all others. Android tablets lack serious app support. Samsung tablets have a screen ratio too narrow for comfortable use. Windows tablets essentially need a keyboard attached to function like a laptop rather than as a tablet.

One of the reasons I use the 12.9" iPad instead of smaller versions is because I want to have a digital magazine reading experience similar to reading a print version. That's also part of Apple's idea, and it's actually fantastic. I subscribe to Apple News+ and have hundreds of magazines to read on it. Normally, a print magazine costs over $10, so if you buy hundreds of them, it's too much money.

Can't replace Macbook as a content-creation machine

Apple has tried to equip the iPad with a lot of hardware power, apps, and accessories so that people can use it as a content-creation device to extend its longevity and do more things. However, I have found that to be unsuccessful.

Many people, including myself, have tried various methods and practiced... to see if they can use the iPad for content creation or not. It can, be better than any other tablet. However, fundamentally, it is still too difficult compared to the MacOS or Windows operating systems, so there's no reason to use it as a substitute for a computer. Of course, I still use it sometimes.

Another reason why the iPad in general or the iPad Pro 12.9" in particular cannot replace the MacBook is that Apple still sells the MacBook. If they turn iPadOS into something like macOS, people might not buy the MacBook anymore, or it might simply shift existing MacBook users to the iPad, which would be counterproductive.

The screen is exceptionally beautiful, unmatched even compared to laptops

As hardware advancements in iPads outpace software demands, the most crucial factor for providing a great tablet experience is the screen. And the display of the iPad Pro 12.9" is currently the best overall for content viewing.

The iPad I'm reviewing in this topic is the M2 model Apple released in 2022. It's equipped with a Mini-LED display that delivers exceptional image quality unmatched by any device of similar screen size. Only the MacBook Pro 14" and 16" are on par with the iPad Pro 12.9" in terms of display capabilities.

The colors are vibrant, refreshing, and visually pleasing, with a high brightness level of 600 nits under normal conditions and a peak brightness of 1600 nits when displaying HDR content.

The key to the matter is that Apple has equipped the iPad Pro 12.9" with a Mini-LED display. With a large number of Mini-LEDs and numerous dimming zones, the iPad 12.9" M2 achieves very high brightness and excellent contrast to display images. Meanwhile, other computers or tablets either use traditional LCDs or, if they offer better color with OLED technology, have much lower brightness levels compared to Apple's iPad Pro 12.9" M2 display.

In my estimation and research, the reason why other manufacturers or Apple's Air lineup haven't adopted Mini-LED displays is due to the expensive cost of acquiring these panels. Currently, it seems that only LG produces such displays, and their retail prices are quite high. However, since Apple sells the iPad Pro 12.9" at a high price compared to other laptops or tablets, they can afford to equip it with top-notch displays.

Smartphone displays currently feature high resolutions, beautiful colors, and high brightness levels with OLED technology. However, their sizes are not large enough. Samsung appears to be developing dual-layer OLED displays to achieve brightness levels comparable to Mini-LED displays, with significantly better color and black levels. However, the cost would likely be higher, and there hasn't been any product or prototype showcased or released yet. There are rumors that the next iPad will use OLED displays, and it's highly probable that it will be a new type of OLED with higher brightness levels than current laptop OLED displays.

Handling experience

What makes the iPad Pro 12.9", a very large tablet, still comfortable to hold and use is a combination of various factors, including a reasonable aspect ratio, lightweight design, and excellent operating system:

The 4:3 aspect ratio allows comfortable handling in both landscape and portrait orientations, providing ample space for content on the screen.
Lightweight: At only 682 grams, the iPad Pro 12.9" is comfortable to hold.
The intuitive operating system, designed for touch input and responsive to gestures, makes tapping, swiping, and using the device feel natural, precise, and effortless.

Among these factors, I believe the 4:3 aspect ratio is the most crucial for the handheld tablet experience. On the market, there are tablets with different aspect ratios like 16:9, 16:10, 3:2, etc. I've used all of them, but none provide the same experience as the 4:3 ratio of the iPad.

When using a tablet, the orientation depends on the content being viewed. If browsing Facebook or reading news, it's held vertically. If viewing images, videos, or documents like spreadsheets, it's held horizontally. With the iPad, switching between vertical and horizontal orientations is effortless. Users don't need to worry about the device's orientation; the content adjusts accordingly.

With the iPad 12.9", holding it horizontally isn't too wide, allowing comfortable two-thumb typing. When held vertically, it can still be comfortably held and used like an enlarged phone. I've tried using tablets with large screens and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Holding them horizontally feels too wide, with limited screen space when the keyboard is open, and holding them vertically feels unstable, often tilting forward, making them uncomfortable to use.

iPadOS is truly fantastic.

I've often said that the best iOS experience is on the iPad, not the iPhone, and I still stand by that statement. The larger iPad screen enhances everything—reading, viewing images—it's just better. Plus, iPadOS comes packed with features that make it powerful, and capable of replacing some computer tasks. And of course, it's all about comparison and choice. Android and Windows tablets are far behind in terms of user experience compared to the iPad.

Multitasking is even better with Stage Manager, a feature Apple introduced in iPadOS and later macOS. It enhances multitasking, making work on the iPad or computer more efficient. Think of it like open shelves on a desk—now you can see and access things you couldn't before because they were tucked away. For me, Stage Manager provides a spacious, comfortable view without constraints.

Apple News, Safari, Photos, Facebook, and LightRoom are the apps I frequently use on my iPad. The experience is truly better than on a computer because I can sit, lie down, crawl, kneel... to use it comfortably. In contrast, a computer requires sitting or standing in a certain posture, at a specific place...

Apple News and Apple News+

Apple News is a real-time news updating app that includes published magazines. I've been following the news for decades, and Apple News automatically filters out low-quality channels, providing users with accurate and high-quality options and suggestions.

Apple News+ includes magazines that were previously only available in print or online formats as readable files. Magazines on the iPad Pro 12.9" are similar in size to a printed magazine that you often see at airport bookstores, with beautiful images, elegant layouts, and useful information. I subscribe monthly to Apple News+ and get access to hundreds of magazines. Previously, I used to buy magazines for over $10 each... now I have hundreds of them, continuously updated, and can be downloaded for offline viewing.

Apple News also presents content beautifully, making it easy to read... In general, the layout of other news-reading apps can't be compared to Apple's. They even provide audio news for those who prefer listening.

Apple Photos

Apple Photos has helped turn the iPad into the best mobile photo-viewing app today. You can't find a mobile device that displays photos better than the iPad Pro 12.9". One of the key factors is that the iPad Pro 12.9" screen has a high brightness of 1600 nits, so photos taken with iPhone HDR will be displayed best on this screen.

I import photos taken with my camera as well as with my phone into Apple Photos and enjoy viewing them on the iPad Pro 12.9". Photos taken with the iPhone appear in HDR, while those taken with the camera are clear and beautiful... The phone screen is too small for viewing, and the computer screen is not comfortable for viewing.

These are two examples I've provided where iPadOS and its apps are truly fantastic for a mobile device.

Powerful M2 Chip, Capable of Many Tasks

Since Apple introduced the iPad M1 and then M2, the iPad has become even more powerful than many MacBooks or other laptops. Apple also promotes it as being capable of doing more, supporting up to a 6K display... but the price has also gone up.

You can completely use the iPad for editing high-resolution photos or editing high-resolution videos with configurations like 4K 60fps or 8K 30fps... It edits and completes tasks quickly, no different from powerful desktop computers

You can also connect to high-resolution displays like 4K, 5K, or 6K to use the iPad as a computer with a keyboard and mouse connected seamlessly.

Of course, iPadOS is not optimized for keyboard and mouse input like a computer, so working with it may not be as comfortable in operation. In reality, I don't use the iPad for such tasks, although with some effort, it can still get the job done.

What Does Apple Need to Upgrade in the New iPad?

It's really difficult for Apple to do something to enhance the user experience further for the current iPad Pro 12.9. This indicates that it's a very good product. But it's also a challenge for Apple because this design has been around for 5 years, and this particular model has been out for over a year. The leaked information suggests that the new iPad will feature an OLED screen and thinner bezels. These two things aren't really crucial for users because the current iPad screen is already very good, and making the screen even better doesn't solve much. The bezels are already quite thin, so making them thinner won't solve much either.

What's Interesting About the OLED Screen for the 12.9-inch iPad?

OLED display panels for iPads have been around for a while, and high resolutions are also available. But the reason Apple chose Mini-LED over OLED currently is because OLED panels don't have high brightness. There are rumors that Apple and Samsung are collaborating to create OLED panels with higher brightness specifically for the iPad or possibly for future MacBooks. The technology Samsung is rumored to use is a dual-layer OLED panel compared to the single layer used currently. The dual layers not only help increase brightness but also enhance the lifespan of the panel.

The price is expected to be higher, but it's unclear whether Apple will raise the price of the iPad. Currently, the price of the Pro iPad lineup is already quite high. I bought the 12.9-inch M2 iPad 1TB for over 60 million VND. That's more expensive than a MacBook.

Conclusion

Even Apple and Users Don't Know What the New 12.9-inch iPad Pro Should Be Like? This demonstrates the perfection of the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It's the best content consumption device available today. The screen is large enough to view everything clearly, and it's beautiful enough to view everything in stunning detail. The device is powerful enough to handle simple, smooth tasks, and it's powerful enough that even those who like specifications or presentations can complete their tasks... and an OS powerful enough with apps that deliver an unmatched experience.

Euphoria by Kendrick Lamar - a Feeling Of Exhilaration

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Wed, 01 May 2024 08:09:00 +0000

In the definition segment that Kendrick Lamar used for his diss track aimed at Drake, the second example sentence is written as follows:

"They had almost a week to recover from the euphoria of Tuesday’s series-winning victory…"

The release of the diss track on a Tuesday by Kendrick clearly suggests that the "they" here refers to Drake (and possibly his support team, including ghostwriters???). Additionally, Euphoria is also the name of a TV series that Drake is an executive producer of.

So, how does Kendrick's response diss compare to Drake's? Honestly, I quite liked Drake's Push Up which came out earlier, but as a fan of Kendrick, I definitely feel that Euphoria goes much deeper.

In Push Up by Drake, there's a part:

"Extortion baby, whole career, you been shook up
'cause Top told you, "Drop and give me fifty," like some push-ups, huh."

To counter Drake's accusation about Kendrick having to split money with label boss Top Dawg, Kendrick borrows a line from Pusha T's rap in Exodus 23:1 to suggest that Drake's recording contract isn't much better, given that Drake signed with Young Money under Lil Wayne, a subsidiary of Birdman's Cash Money, which is under the control of Universal Records.

“You were signed to a n**** that's signed to a n**** that said he was signed to that n****”

In Push Up, Drake criticizes Kendrick's Mr. Morale album for not being successful by the line:

"Your last one bricked, you really not on shit
They make excuses for you 'cause they hate to see me lit"

In response, Kendrick says:

"Yeah, my first one like my last one, it's a classic, you don't have one,"

hitting on the fact that Drake doesn't have a timeless classic album (which Drake fans might disagree with 😃).

In Push Up, Drake raps:

"I be with some bodyguards like Whitney"

to play on words with Whitney Houston's movie The Bodyguard, both to jab at Kendrick's wife, Whitney, not being Kendrick's loyal wife. Some rap fans might not appreciate Drake mocking Kendrick's small stature or using AI to mimic Tupac and Snoop Dogg's voices, but I think it's not too overboard since many diss tracks from other rappers touch on similar topics. However, the worst thing to do is to bring up the opponent's spouse or children.

But Kendrick swiftly responds:

"Fabricatin' stories on the family front 'cause you heard Mr. Morale
A pathetic master manipulator, I can smell the tales on you now
You're not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of being accepted,"

accusing Drake of only extrapolating from the Mr. Morale album and distorting the truth. Hence the following line: "You're not a rap artist, you're just a scam artist hoping to be accepted," hits hard.

In Push Up, Drake raps:

"What the fuck is this, a twenty-v-one, n****?"

to address having to battle against so many other rappers all at once.

Kendrick immediately responds:

"Ain't twenty-v-one, it's one-v-twenty if I gotta smack ns that write with you
Yeah, bring 'em out too, I'll clean 'em out too
Tell BEAM that he better stay right with you
Am I battling ghost or AI? N feelin' like Joel Osteen
Funny, he was in a film called 'AI'
And my sixth sense tellin' me to off him."

Kendrick flips the script by saying he's actually one against twenty, as behind Drake, there are a bunch of ghostwriters or AI helping him, and Kendrick doesn't know if he's battling a ghostwriter or AI. To further confuse the mix-up between ghostwriter and AI, Kendrick also confuses battling the famous American preacher Joel Osteen (who's also digitally reconstructed using AI) with actor Haley Joel Osment from the movies AI and The Sixth Sense. So, the line: "my sixth sense telling me to off him" is akin to "I see dead people", which Kendrick wants to convey to Drake when he takes him down.

And just like that, beyond the retaliation, in Euphoria, Kendrick continuously launches diss attacks at Drake from all angles of total assault:

1. Calling Drake nothing but a fake:

“Know you a master manipulator and habitual liar too
But don't tell no lie about me and I won't tell truths 'bout you”

2) Accusing Drake of being gay:

“When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad b****s
I believe you don't like women, it's real competition, you might pop ass with 'em”

3) Calling Drake a rap immigrant with a laughable rap accent:

“Don't speak on the family, crodie
It can get deep in the family, crodie
Talk about me and my family, crodie?
Someone gon' bleed in your family, crodie”

Crodie is a slang term originating from Toronto, and when Kendrick mimics Drake's tone, he repeatedly uses the word "crodie" to refer to Drake as a "pussy." The reason is that Drake's pet cat at home is also named Crodie.

4) Accusing Drake of just pretending to be a gangster:

“I like Drake with the melodies, I don't like Drake when he act tough”

“Have you ever walked your enemy down like with a poker face?
Have you ever paid five hundred thou' like to an open case?
Well, I have, and I failed at both, but I came out straight
I hate when a rapper talk about guns, then somebody die
They turn into nuns, then hop online, like "Pray for my city"
He fakin' for likes and digital hugs”

The line from Kendrick is also a response to Drake's mocking of Kendrick in the Taylor Made Freestyle about Ken never having been to jail or had a real fight with anyone.

5) Saying Drake shouldn't even be a father either.

“Y'all think all my life is rap?
That's ho shit, I got a son to raise, but I can see you don't know nothin' 'bout that
Wakin' him up, know nothin' 'bout that
And tell him to pray, know nothin' 'bout that
And givin' him tools to walk through life like day-by-day, know nothin' 'bout that
Teachin' him morals, integrity, discipline, listen, man, you don't know nothin' 'bout that
Speakin' the truth and consider what God's considerin', you don't know nothin' 'bout that”

6) And saying Drake ain't "black" enough to follow hip-hop.

“How many more Black features 'til you finally feel that you're Black enough?”

“I even hate when you say the word "n****," but that's just me, I guess
Some shit just cringeworthy, it ain't even gotta be deep, I guess”

And Kendrick ends the song by repeating:

“We don't wanna hear you say "n****" no more
We don't wanna hear you say " n****" no more
Stop”

Read more: Does Drake Use Ghostwriters?

Taylor Swift - Master of Storytelling: Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 04:51:00 +0000

Carolina is the song Taylor wrote for the soundtrack of Where The Crawdads Sing. The song tells the story of the main character of the movie, Kya.

Where The Crawdads Sing is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by American author Delia Owens. The story follows the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated in the marshes of North Carolina.

Lost I was born, lonesome I came. Lonesome I'll always stay.

Regarding the song Taylor shared in her post on June 24, 2022, on Instagram:

"𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 & ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑎𝑔𝑜 𝐼 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒, 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛. 𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 & 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑗𝑢𝑥𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 & 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒. 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 & 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑝. 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 & 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑’𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡. 𝐼 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡..."

Carolina opens with mellifluous lyrics akin to a fairy tale:

"𝑂ℎ, 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑠
𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛, 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒
𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦"

Kya has Carolina coursing through her veins. She was born and raised in the misty, marshy wetlands, her first taste of solitude coming at the age of six when Kya's mother left her after enduring beatings from her alcoholic abusive husband.

At ten, siblings and even her alcoholic father departed, leaving the girl deserted amidst the desolate marshland, befriending the small creatures within it. That's why only Carolina understands all the loneliness, pain, abandonment, vulnerability, and longing for love and freedom of the little girl.

"Carolina knows why, for years, I roam
Free as these birds, light as whispers
Carolina knows"

Kya is like a drop of water in the vast and gloomy swampland of North Carolina. No one truly acknowledges her presence, and her mother occasionally appears in fleeting dreams.

"And you didn't see me here
No, they never did see me here
And she's in my dreams"

Kya grew up and threw her heart away twice.

The first time was for Tate Walker - a boy with a warm heart. Every day, Tate brought her beautiful feathers and taught her to read, write, and do math, opening up a beautiful world beyond Carolina for her. But then Tate left her to go to his own world.

At the age of 19, another boy, Chase, rich and polite, came, pulling the "marsh girl" closer in hopes of integration and becoming "normal" like everyone else, cared for, conversed with, and loved. And then Chase got engaged when Kya was 21, but the fiancée was another woman.

Her heart, though incredibly fragile, was truly courageous. It shattered completely.

"𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡, 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑𝑠
𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒
𝐼 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑠𝑡, 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡"

She still prays for the boys who shattered her heart for the wonderful things in the world outside, the futile longing. The bitterness when she couldn't step into their world in the end, and only Carolina embraced and comforted the little girl.

"𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑜
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤"

Ultimately, the girl's pain from those years past, now a young woman in the marsh, remains unhealed, still cracked, fragmented, and lonely. The longing for love, the desire for reassurance for a life abandoned. The dirty dress, scars that cannot be erased, traces lasting forever, as bleak as the very life her mother left behind.

"𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡
𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑠, 𝑝𝑖𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑠
𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑑"

Chase departed in a veil of mystery death, with Kya becoming the prime suspect.

"𝑂ℎ, 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑
𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑟'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑑"

Only Carolina knows why, after all these years, they still label me as the culprit, lying on a bed full of deceit.

"𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑔ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠
𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑎
𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠"

Yet only Carolina knows how quickly sleep comes to me, without any demons disturbing. Surrounded by white sand and blue sea.

The song ends ambiguously here, a hint just enough for Where The Crawdads Sing. Where will Kya's story go from the marshes of Carolina? Perhaps this journey won't end there. The final secret behind, who is the liar? How much of the truth we know is true? But there's so much each of us can feel profoundly clear listening to Taylor sing a four-and-a-half-minute song.

The tug-of-war between what seems like boundless natural freedom and endless constraints. All the curiosity and fear, Kya's enduring gentleness, and the world's betrayal towards it. The shattered, the doubt, the weakness, and the bitterness. Those feelings no one else could fathom, ultimately returning to her in the marsh. In the end, it's only Carolina who truly knows...

Review The Sopranos: The Futile Life, Masculinity, And a Vanishing Old World

noreply@blogger.com (Nguyen Huy Bao) — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 08:59:00 +0000

“Cunnilingus and psychiatry brought us to this.”
– Tony Soprano

I happened to come across The Sopranos while reading Nassim Taleb, who in a passage about the absence of pressure in modern life, equated The Sopranos with Tolstoy's War and Peace. Having read the complete War and Peace myself (though nowadays people often opt for abridged versions), and considering Taleb's discerning taste aligns closely with mine, I immediately concluded that The Sopranos must not be an ordinary series. Having just quit my job, there was no reason not to binge-watch the entire 86-episode series; I had a whole summer ahead of me for enjoyment.

I watched about 4-5 episodes per day, so the series ended quickly. I watched the final episode yesterday evening, and like many fans of The Sopranos, the ending left me feeling profoundly empty. Everyone chooses their own way of coping. Some seek out any Italian mafia-themed show they can find, while others continue with similarly acclaimed series like The Wire or Mad Men. I chose to write a review to distract myself from Satriale's pork store, the Bada Bing strip club, and Tony Soprano.

Reviewing an 86-episode series is challenging. There's so much to recount and analyze, but I'll focus on the two most notable aspects.

The Structure of the Show

If you're accustomed to watching Hollywood movies or modern entertainment, you'll find The Sopranos peculiar, even boring.

Firstly, unlike Narcos or Peaky Blinders, The Sopranos doesn't feature a lot of intense killing or gunfights. The show does have action: characters fight and kill each other continuously, but the action scenes are not glorified; they're quite close to reality. Anyone who's witnessed a real fight on the streets knows they're messy and not as glamorous as in John Wick.

Secondly, a typical show would have a logical storyline, consisting of events A leading to B, B leading to C… There's a beginning, internal struggle, climax, and clear resolution. The technique of foreshadowing is meticulously applied: a seemingly mundane detail at the beginning of a movie will help solve a problem later, delighting the audience. For example, in the opening of The Godfather, Don Corleone asks Bonasera (the undertaker) to someday help him with a favor to repay the favor that the Godfather granted him at his daughter's wedding. This seemingly trivial detail becomes significant later when Sonny is killed, and Bonasera repays the favor by preparing Sonny's body, which had been riddled with bullets.

Because of this expectation, when first watching The Sopranos, we look for foreshadowed details or anticipate an event from episode 1 to develop gradually and climax in later episodes. But David Chase, the series' creator, decided not to do so.

In The Sopranos, many details and events seem like they'll lead the audience to something bigger, but ultimately, they lead nowhere. Many people are confused when watching episodes like Employee of the Month (Dr. Melfi gets raped in the parking lot), Pine Barrens (Christopher and Paulie chase the Russian guy in the woods), or Whoever Did This (Tony kills Ralphie in the kitchen). There's no closure, and there's no life lesson or morality to draw from it all. The criminals don't repent, nor are they redeemed. Many events are left unresolved and never mentioned again, and some storylines stretch into the final season but lack closure (like Christopher's filmmaking ambitions and Tony's therapy sessions with Dr. Melfi). For those accustomed to mainstream entertainment, this lack of resolution makes watching The Sopranos feel like a waste of time: what did I learn from this? What was the director trying to say?

It wasn't until The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti (E08S01) that I realized the invisible allure of the series: it lacks arcs and closure because The Sopranos reflects real life. In real life, not everything happens for a reason, and events in our lives rarely lead to a meaningful conclusion. Despite our search for hidden meanings, life contains no hidden messages.

In that episode, Paulie visits Christopher while he's struggling with a screenplay idea. Christopher complains that all the characters in the movie have arcs: they start somewhere, then they do something, then something happens to them, and their lives change; however, Christopher's life has no arc at all. Like most of us, Chris only exists meaninglessly. Paulie, with the wisdom of age, asserts that arcs only exist in movies. He tells Christopher that life doesn't have arcs. "I was born, I grew up, I went to the army for a few years, I did a few years in jail, and now I'm sitting here, in the mafia, that's it. Why does there have to be an arc?"

- Christopher Moltisanti:
You ever feel like nothin’ good was ever gonna happen to you?
- Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri:
Yeah. And nothin’ did. So what? I’m alive, I’m survivin’.
- Christopher Moltisanti:
That’s it. I don’t wanna just survive. It’s says in these movie writing books that every character has an arc. Understand?
- Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri:
[shakes head]
- Christopher Moltisanti:
Like everybody starts out somewheres. and they do something, something gets done to them and it changes their life. That’s called an arc. Where’s my arc?

Audiences seeking moral lessons or expecting a climax in the show are bound to be disappointed. The value of The Sopranos lies in providing viewers with an experience of a kind of virtual reality; the world in the show is both different and similar to the everyday world. It's akin to the feeling when playing The Sims: real life can be mundane, but life in the game isn't.

Where’s my arc?

Masculinity and a Vanishing Old World

Many themes run throughout the 86 episodes of The Sopranos, such as cancer, Freud/psychological therapy, and Italian family life, but two themes I empathize with the most are masculinity and a vanishing old world.

Audiences in 2021 would be surprised by the crude language and racial/gender discrimination in The Sopranos. Tony refers to his daughter's black boyfriend as "ditsoon" (a derogatory term for black people), Christopher is afraid to introduce his African-American girlfriend to his friends, and the climax is the purge of Vito – a gang member discovered to be gay. As soon as Vito is confirmed to be a "finook" (a derogatory term for gay), he is hunted down by the Jersey gang because they believe that having a gay member in the group tarnishes the family's honor, and they can no longer show their faces to other gangs.

Audiences are shocked because, in the 21st century, these are things that are not allowed to be said. Everything we say (even everything we think) has to be "politically correct." Everyone forces themselves to talk to each other seriously and properly as if they were children speaking in front of a teacher. You can't hate gay people, you can't criticize fat/ugly people, you can't discriminate against black people... Movies even refrain from letting actors swear. I heard that for each season of Breaking Bad – a crime drama – authorities only allowed the use of the word "fuck" once. When watching The Sopranos, audiences witness an old world full of freedom, a world not bound by politically correct standards: people are free to think, speak, and act according to their own values without fear of criticism. Throughout the series, the most not-politically correct theme is perhaps the emphasis on masculinity.

Nowadays, the term masculinity is rarely standing alone. "Masculinity" often comes with "toxic" (toxic masculinity). The modern world has been so feminized that openly being a man is considered a sin. The ideology of feminism and gender equality seems to want to blur the lines between women and men. In large urban areas, men are gradually losing their toughness in both inner and outer aspects. Since ancient times, this has been seen as the biggest criterion distinguishing between the two genders. In classical standards, strength is the hallmark of a man. When I was studying Latin, I read Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico (The Gallic Wars). In the very first chapter, Caesar makes the following observation:

Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate the mind;

The model of manhood in The Sopranos is very traditional and rugged: men must have strong bodies, they must not show weakness in their soul, they must not complain in the face of difficulties but instead, dive into action. Men must be like Gary Cooper.

“What happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type. That was an American. He wasn’t in touch with his feelings. He just did what he had to do.”
– Tony Soprano

Masculinity is highly regarded by the characters in the show on par with their own lives. They believe that men must not show weakness, contrary to today's perspective that men also have the right to cry and express emotions. This theme is depicted through many significant scenes.

In the early episodes, Tony secretly goes to see a psychiatrist because he's afraid of being looked down upon, and indeed, when the matter is revealed, the entire gang mocks Tony for a man visiting a female doctor to talk about family issues. In the final season, after Tony gets shot, people start to assess Tony as a weak boss (due to his declining physical condition). Tony has to salvage his image by engaging in a fistfight with his own bodyguard even though his wound hasn't fully healed. In another episode, Johnny Sacrimoni, the leader of the New York gang, despite being in prison, still doesn't forget to maintain a strong image: he refuses to wear glasses during his trial because he believes wearing glasses in court makes him look weak. When handcuffed at his daughter's wedding, Johnny gets emotional and starts crying, immediately earning disdain from all the gangsters. Phil, Johnny's replacement as boss, declares that he no longer considers Johnny a man if he cries. Everyone agrees with Phil.

Tony's Therapy Session With Dr. Melfi

Today, you couldn't say things like that on screen. Masculinity has almost become a taboo subject and is vehemently criticized online. The Sopranos shows modern audiences how much the image of strong men was once valued. This world of masculinity is gradually fading and shrinking: the old generation is dying out while the new generation doesn't want to continue the old traditions (Tony's and Vito's sons are both effeminate young men). As the show progresses into the modern world (the early 2000s), there's a moment when Rosalie remarks to Carmela (Tony's wife) "These men are still living in the last century."

Towards the end of the show, we see Tony's and Phil's gangs as the last warriors still preserving their way of life and traditional values. Their old world is slowly being swallowed up by the modern world, and whether you support those values or not, audiences still feel sad witnessing their demise. In the episode Johnny Cakes, Patsy goes to collect protection money at a Starbucks-style coffee chain. After hearing the young manager explain that every penny is managed through computers and that these large corporations don't pay taxes to the mob, Patsy is forced to leave, defeated by a type of business they've never seen before.

The most subtle and poignant scene is in Made in America, the final episode of the series. A double-decker bus carrying tourists drives through Little Italy, narrating that this once sprawling neighborhood had up to 40 blocks, but now only a short street remains. Right after this narration, we see Butchie walking and talking on the phone with mob boss Phil. After hanging up after a brief conversation, Butchie looks up and suddenly realizes he's wandered into a strange street. It turns out that the once expansive Little Italy, where gangs used to kill each other for control, is now just a few steps of a short street. In Season 1, Tony's gang is powerful, specializing in killing and protection, but as we move towards the final season, their power and space gradually diminish. Audiences see them as nothing more than old-fashioned old men trapped in the tiny world they built.

Besides these two main points, I also love The Sopranos for its rewatchability. With movies based on suspense/mystery (like detective films), it's hard to watch them again because you already know who the culprit is. The Sopranos focuses on character development so you can watch it over and over again without getting bored.

Additionally, because the show is so famous, there are countless analyses/reviews online (some websites analyze the meaning of every small detail in each episode). This makes The Sopranos richer in meaning and more interesting to watch.

I hope my short review also helps to add a little more meaning to The Sopranos and makes viewers more interested in watching the show.

Read more: Anton Chigurh: A Monster for the Ages