Michael Hopcroft

I spent the half hour after seeing The Boy and the Heron trying (unsuccessfully) to explain it to my mother.  The fact that I was in open-mouthed awe throughout and was completely enraptured with the movie did not make sense to Mom, who couldn't understand it. It was the same condition I was in when we saw The Green Knight.
 
To my mind, the complexity of the ideas and emotions Miyazaki was exploring through the actions of his protagonist is a large part of the appeal. There is a great deal of religion and philosophy involved in what is basically the story of a deeply traumatized youth in 1944 Tokyo, who hears his dead mother might actually be alive and unwisely goes into a crumbling tower to find her, reluctantly aided by a nature spirit in the form of a heron.  The young hero's trauma is realistic, vivid, and even includes a dramatic incident of self-harm, which earned my immediate sympathy. Once in the tower he finds it leading to a strange fantasy world, filled with marvels and terrors, in which he is forced to confront his trauma, his true nature, and the cycles of his life that he must struggle to escape (a very Buddhist idea, as the central idea of Buddhism is about finding a way to escape the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth).
 
My mother will not want to see it again, I fear, but I do. I feel there is a great deal more to this film than even I was able to grasp on first viewing.
 
(As a side note, my attempt to explain the appeal of Godzilla Minus One was equally unsuccessful. Her thought that Japan needed to "get over" the war struck me as both odd and unrealistic, because as we are seeing now some pretty terrible cycles repeat if the cost of following them is forgotten).

Foxbat.
 
Come on, this is a Hero Games forum! Who else would it be?

Foxbat.
 
Come on, this is a Hero Games forum! Who else would it be?

"Covered my ears every night, but… I couldn't bear to hear those horrible screams. You have no idea what it's like to be a coward… To see these horrors… And do nothing. Marritza's dead. He deserves to be dead."

Even when doing things like this. there was already a certain gravitas about the young Morgan Freeman. In hindsight, he was able to clown around with the best of them -- without looking at all like a clown.

It is not uncommon for one half of a long-married elderly couple to pass away soon after the other. Johnny Cash dying a few weeks after Juen Carter may be the most famous example. If you are already deathly ill, a broken heart can be enough to push you over the edge. The thing is if you're ninety years old and in hospice already you might not mind and might even find the thought comforting -- and even hopeful. This would be especially true for a deeply religious person like Jimmy Carter, who is thoroughly convinced his beloved and his other loved ones are awaiting him on the other side of the veil.
 
The point is that Jimmy Carter is well aware that life on Earth is finite and seems to have accepted it will soon be his time.

Given that Klatuu (the band) was itself a scam (Random musicians trying badly to sound like the Beatles so people would think they were the legendary group reunited), this fits the profile.
 
The obvious denouement would, of course, be when the real aliens show up and the cultists' efforts to control them prove somewhat unconvincing...
 

I'm thinking in terms of the villain who wields so much "mundane" power that he cannot be touched. He is nowhere near where anyone can even get at him if he does not wish them to. And he won;'t fight the heroes.
 
He doesn't have to.
 
He has more than enough loyal associates that he can ruin the lives of anyone who gets into his crosshairs, wittingly or otherwise. Not just agents or supervillains on retainer, but also lawyers, corrupt police, politicians, and judges, and so forth. You can catch up with his minions but never get enough on him to merit direct intervention.
 
An example is Rupert Thorne, from Batman: The Animated Series. He was the one enemy Batman could never touch. One of the two principal bosses of Gotham's underworld, he was far too busy running an illicit empire of drugs, gambling, prostitution, and all the other things you didn't dare mention on a "family show" to have time for the sort of capers most of the Batman villains would try to pull. Batman was determined to pull him down, but never managed it. He was the master of half that was evil and all that was undetected in Gotham, and not even Batman could do a damn thing about it.
 
Here's a real-world example. In the 1950s, my hometown of Portland was the Mos Eisley of the West Coast. The city had a crime lord who ran casinos and other "dens of iniquity" throughout downtown. If he saw someone heading into his territory, he would trick them into buying their equipment from him, letting him set up the operation and saying he would keep the police off his back. But he also had the press, cops, judiciary, and City Council in his pocket, and the trap would be sprung when his pet reporter ran a story on this terrible new cesspool of vice, which would inevitably prompt a raid. The mark would have no choice but to slink out of town with nothing, while the boss bought back his own equipment from the police at pennies on the dollar and get ready to run the game all over again.  (At the time, it was the sort of city where a Jack Napier could accurately say "Decent people shouldn't live here. They'd be happier somewhere else.")
 
The deadliest villain is the one you can never reach. You might not even know he exists until you're in his crosshairs.

The "Evil Vizir" trope used in films like Aladdin and The Thief of Baghdad tends to get cliched in "Arabian Knights" settings. They are motivated by jealousy -- they do all the hard work, and the idiot Sultan who spends all day cavorting in the harem gets all the credit. On the other hand, they wield all the real power in their realm, and by adding sorcery to the mix they become even more insidious and dangerous.
 
You could also subvert that trope by having the Sultan be the sorcerer and the Vizir a loral servant of the Kingdom trying to restrain their lord's wilder impulses and keep him from being too destructive.
 
In both cases, the Vizir character would assert love of the country as the justification for his actions. But in the first case, it would be because he sees the Kingdom as an extension of himself, while in the second case he is one of the few who can see where the threats really lie and still live (at least for now).

With horror, I'm interested in reading about how it's made/books on the genre itself.  AKA, I'd rather read "Danse Macabre" over "IT".
 
 

The CU's first volume of collected supervillains, Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks, included a number of "quotations" from various characters about themselves or other supervillains. I was struck by one attributed to Ironclad of the Champions, regarding the pyromaniac villain Blowtorch: "The media often describes villains such as Takofanes, the Slug, or Dark Seraph as “the most evil being who ever lived,” or something like that. But if that’s true, what can you say about a man like Blowtorch, who sets children on fire for fun?"

The Texas Rangers -- the real Texas Rangers -- show up at the stadium and arrest the anthem singer on an outstanding warrant for taking barbecue across state lines.
 
NT: Subtle signs your four-year-old is savvier than you are.

To dream an impossible dream
To bear the burden of enterprise
To burn, though it may be fever,
To go where no one will go
To love until torn asunder
To love too much, even wrongly
To attempt, without an army, without armor,
To reach for the unreachable star,

That is my quest,
To follow my star
I don't care about my chances
I don't care about time,
or how wretched I am
and I'll struggle forever
without sleep, without complaint,
To be condemned
For the gold of one utterance of love.
 
I don't know if I will be this hero
but my heart holds fast
and the towns have been shrouded in blue
because of one poor soul

Burn on, till all's been burnt
Burn on, burn too much, even wrongly
To reach out till I'm torn apart,
To reach for the unreachable star.

I finally, thirty years after its release, saw The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I saw it the right way -- in an actual theatre with fifty other people on a large, clear screen with a fantastic sound system. Which is the best way to see a film for the first time if you can be lucky enough to pull it off. And  when the lights went up and it was time to head out into the night, one word and only one immediately came to mind.
 
Masterpiece.
 
The absolutely unique use of stop-motion with doses of CGI of a quality that matches more advanced modern technology, the exquisite craftsmanship, some of the best VA performances I've ever heard (the combined forces of Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman bring the anti-hero Jack to life with style, grace, and even a bit of gravitas. Elfman's score is genius, from the various Jack soliloquies to the Fleischeresque Oogie Boogie (and the magnificent voice performance and singing by Ken Page). The film was a wild fantasy, whose completely bonkers premise because surprisingly reasonable. I can't think of anything Burton and Sellick got wrong.
 
And I saw it for the first time in that manner in which it could be most appreciated. Heavens, I needed this.
 

Some fool brings his cow to the game, and it escapes onto the field. I imagine you can guess what6 happens next...

I finally, thirty years after its release, saw The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I saw it the right way -- in an actual theatre with fifty other people on a large, clear screen with a fantastic sound system. Which is the best way to see a film for the first time if you can be lucky enough to pull it off. And  when the lights went up and it was time to head out into the night, one word and only one immediately came to mind.
 
Masterpiece.
 
The absolutely unique use of stop-motion with doses of CGI of a quality that matches more advanced modern technology, the exquisite craftsmanship, some of the best VA performances I've ever heard (the combined forces of Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman bring the anti-hero Jack to life with style, grace, and even a bit of gravitas. Elfman's score is genius, from the various Jack soliloquies to the Fleischeresque Oogie Boogie (and the magnificent voice performance and singing by Ken Page). The film was a wild fantasy, whose completely bonkers premise because surprisingly reasonable. I can't think of anything Burton and Sellick got wrong.
 
And I saw it for the first time in that manner in which it could be most appreciated. Heavens, I needed this.
 

I finally, thirty years after its release, saw The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I saw it the right way -- in an actual theatre with fifty other people on a large, clear screen with a fantastic sound system. Which is the best way to see a film for the first time if you can be lucky enough to pull it off. And  when the lights went up and it was time to head out into the night, one word and only one immediately came to mind.
 
Masterpiece.
 
The absolutely unique use of stop-motion with doses of CGI of a quality that matches more advanced modern technology, the exquisite craftsmanship, some of the best VA performances I've ever heard (the combined forces of Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman bring the anti-hero Jack to life with style, grace, and even a bit of gravitas. Elfman's score is genius, from the various Jack soliloquies to the Fleischeresque Oogie Boogie (and the magnificent voice performance and singing by Ken Page). The film was a wild fantasy, whose completely bonkers premise because surprisingly reasonable. I can't think of anything Burton and Sellick got wrong.
 
And I saw it for the first time in that manner in which it could be most appreciated. Heavens, I needed this.
 

I finally, thirty years after its release, saw The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I saw it the right way -- in an actual theatre with fifty other people on a large, clear screen with a fantastic sound system. Which is the best way to see a film for the first time if you can be lucky enough to pull it off. And  when the lights went up and it was time to head out into the night, one word and only one immediately came to mind.
 
Masterpiece.
 
The absolutely unique use of stop-motion with doses of CGI of a quality that matches more advanced modern technology, the exquisite craftsmanship, some of the best VA performances I've ever heard (the combined forces of Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman bring the anti-hero Jack to life with style, grace, and even a bit of gravitas. Elfman's score is genius, from the various Jack soliloquies to the Fleischeresque Oogie Boogie (and the magnificent voice performance and singing by Ken Page). The film was a wild fantasy, whose completely bonkers premise because surprisingly reasonable. I can't think of anything Burton and Sellick got wrong.
 
And I saw it for the first time in that manner in which it could be most appreciated. Heavens, I needed this.
 

I finally, thirty years after its release, saw The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I saw it the right way -- in an actual theatre with fifty other people on a large, clear screen with a fantastic sound system. Which is the best way to see a film for the first time if you can be lucky enough to pull it off. And  when the lights went up and it was time to head out into the night, one word and only one immediately came to mind.
 
Masterpiece.
 
The absolutely unique use of stop-motion with doses of CGI of a quality that matches more advanced modern technology, the exquisite craftsmanship, some of the best VA performances I've ever heard (the combined forces of Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman bring the anti-hero Jack to life with style, grace, and even a bit of gravitas. Elfman's score is genius, from the various Jack soliloquies to the Fleischeresque Oogie Boogie (and the magnificent voice performance and singing by Ken Page). The film was a wild fantasy, whose completely bonkers premise because surprisingly reasonable. I can't think of anything Burton and Sellick got wrong.
 
And I saw it for the first time in that manner in which it could be most appreciated. Heavens, I needed this.
 

I finally, thirty years after its release, saw The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I saw it the right way -- in an actual theatre with fifty other people on a large, clear screen with a fantastic sound system. Which is the best way to see a film for the first time if you can be lucky enough to pull it off. And  when the lights went up and it was time to head out into the night, one word and only one immediately came to mind.
 
Masterpiece.
 
The absolutely unique use of stop-motion with doses of CGI of a quality that matches more advanced modern technology, the exquisite craftsmanship, some of the best VA performances I've ever heard (the combined forces of Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman bring the anti-hero Jack to life with style, grace, and even a bit of gravitas. Elfman's score is genius, from the various Jack soliloquies to the Fleischeresque Oogie Boogie (and the magnificent voice performance and singing by Ken Page). The film was a wild fantasy, whose completely bonkers premise because surprisingly reasonable. I can't think of anything Burton and Sellick got wrong.
 
And I saw it for the first time in that manner in which it could be most appreciated. Heavens, I needed this.
 

Q: What are the additional condiments on a triple-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce?
 
A: If you had all this money all this time, I shouldn't have to live in a van parked at the car wash.
"

You are aware that Enya's band Clannad performed the theme music for the 1980's British series Robin of Sherwood? WQhich even now is considered the best TVs take on Robin Hood and one of the best media takes as well (Heaven knows how long it's been since we've had a good Robin Hood movie, and no Men in Tights doesn't count.)

"Don't you see? Your hand may be stilled, but your gift cannot be silenced if you refuse to let it be."
"Gift? You keep talking about this damn gift. I *had* a gift, and I exchanged it for some mortar fragments, remember?"
"Wrong! Because the gift does not lie in your hands. I have hands, David. Hands that can make a scalpel sing. More than anything in my life I wanted to play, but I do not have the gift. I can play the notes, but I cannot make the music. You've performed Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Chopin. Even if you never do so again, you've already known a joy that I will never know as long as I live. Because the true gift is in your head and in your heart and in your soul. Now you can shut it off forever, or you can find new ways to share your gift with the world - through the baton, the classroom, or the pen. As to these works, they're for you, because you and the piano will always be as one."

"Don't you see? Your hand may be stilled, but your gift cannot be silenced if you refuse to let it be."
"Gift? You keep talking about this damn gift. I *had* a gift, and I exchanged it for some mortar fragments, remember?"
"Wrong! Because the gift does not lie in your hands. I have hands, David. Hands that can make a scalpel sing. More than anything in my life I wanted to play, but I do not have the gift. I can play the notes, but I cannot make the music. You've performed Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Chopin. Even if you never do so again, you've already known a joy that I will never know as long as I live. Because the true gift is in your head and in your heart and in your soul. Now you can shut it off forever, or you can find new ways to share your gift with the world - through the baton, the classroom, or the pen. As to these works, they're for you, because you and the piano will always be as one."

What happened to Shohei Ohtani is just what I feared would happen when he was assigned to both be the ace of the starting rotation and the full-time DH. Coming up to bat 4-5 times a game is not the same as resting a pitcher's arm for four days between starts, even if he doesn't have to play the field. It was only a matter of time before something broke down under all that load.
 
Whether they can face the idea or not, the Angels have a crucial decision to make for 2024. Ohtani's talent is extraordinary. He can be the best starter of his generation. He can be the best power hitter of his generation. He just can't be both.
 
A century ago, the New York Yankees faced a similar decision with their new acquisition Babe Ruth. Postseason awards did not exist in 1917, but if they had Ruth would have been a shoo-in for the AL Cy Young with the Red Sox. He had also started to play in the field every so often as his bat started to heat up. When his rights were sold to the Yankees for the cost of producing a Broadway musical (which turned out to be a success), the team knew that they had to choose between Ruth the dominant pitcher and the unlimited potential of Ruth the hitter. They chose the latter, and in his first season as a full-time outfielder in 1920 Ruth shattered the records for power hitting that existed at the time and continued to do so for the next fifteen years. He also played a great left field, and would have won both Gold Gloves and MVPs almost every year throughout the 1920's had those awards existed.

For Babe Ruth, the Yankees made the right decision and it changed (and possibly saved) baseball. The Angels and whatever his next team turns out to be faces the same decision with Ohtani. I have no doubt he wants to continue both pitching and DHing, but nobody's body can withstand that sort of strain for eight to ten years at the Major League level. He will have to choose. I always knew he would have to choose, and the Angels management have been short-sighted in putting off that decision as long as they have.