I liked a lot about the film, especially the signature themes of good vs evil, the human complexity and struggles of picking a side. The Rey and Kylo against Snoke scene was one of my favorites. The Rey actress was great once more and it was refreshing to see the franchise embrace the idea of a strong woman at its core, even though it wasn't without flaws, like the fact that the final battle involved two men.
As a vegan, I also liked the animal rights moments, whether they were as deep as I see them or not. Chewie reconsidering eating an animal when facing one of their kind? The liberation of a horse-like animal?
As for the worse parts, a lot of the plot was also cliche and predictable through and through, with a ton of stupidity on the part of the decision-makers. Okay, I could take one "hero going against the leader" moment, but why follow the same pattern later in the film? Also, what's with Kylo being rather smart first, then being so shallow when attacking the mine? Is this the new all-powerful leader of the empire? Personally, I felt that the film should have ended shortly after the Rey and Kylo confrontation, as opposed to replaying itself with slight tweaks.
The RDR lipsyncs look weak after this final battle.
There's no question that Ella's roast was the best and that Vanity almost bombed. That said, Ella's runway look was very basic. It was a body suit. Vanity's outfit was great, though the makeup lacked definition. I also wasn't too sure that Krystal did better at the lipsync. Sure, the camera was on her more to justify the win, but whenever it was on Vanity, her moves were more interesting in comparison.
Vanity's third look was probably my favorite of every look on that stage. And then she also slayed like a bad bitch!
That runway look is the best proof that River shouldn't have lasted until this episode and Charity should have been kept.
Very unfair. First of all, Charity beat Scarlett at the lipsync last episode, so this shouldn't have happened. In this one, she had been responsible for the ad scenes, yet she was deemed the worst? Sure, Ru didn't like the ad, but do we really think that a sexy looks queen like Krystal could have done it better?
Then come the runway looks. Charity already showed her non-horror look in an earlier episode, yet the judges didn't tell her anything to encourage showing more of those. Do I think her makeup was the right choice here? No, but the point stands, and she's a very creative and nice person.
Meanwhile Scarlett was all moody and some of the girls had really safe looks. The Kim K style bodysuits of Kitty and Vanity weren't that impressive and didn't exactly project expensiveness. River had a great idea and looked her best, but the execution was not great. I sew very occasionally and I know I could have created a similar red fabric jacket with little effort, yet this was not pointed out by the judges.
I think Charity was significantly better at the lipsync. She is the winner going by that alone. Overall though, I would have put River in the bottom, as it was a really basic look again and she didn't stand out anywhere else. Well, at least Charity got to stay.
Charity keeps impressing by switching up from the character looks - it's unheard of on RDR, until the queen is asked by the judges.
Veronica's second look was jaw-dropping, though after the critiques and more time spent looking at it, I do see the problem with its shape. She also had helped Krystal and the others. There's no way she deserved to be in the bottom, let alone eliminated.
Vanity wasn't the worst to me either. Sure, both of the outfits were flawed, but the presentation was strong and her makeup look good. It feels that she has more to offer, partly thanks to her personality.
Charity changing to a more glam look stood out to me, because I don't think any of the alt queens from the prior seasons did that without the judges having specifically asked to switch things up. This shows that she's flexible and capable on her own.
Vanity being in the bottom did not make sense. Was she really the worst? It's like she was chosen just to have someone out-dance Elektra. And even with that in mind, it's tough to say whether she actually outdid Elektra at the lipsync. Elektra was giving it her everything but the camera was on Vanity. Sure, she's been the better queen overall but did she do better at the lipsync?
The variety of contestants is refreshing. My favorite as far as the looks is probably Vanity and I also liked the creativity of Charity.
Quite a few of the queens reminded me of others before them. River kinda looks like Manila, Krystal's makeup looks like Raven's, Victoria reminds me of Kim Chi, while Choriza looked somewhat like Bianca.
Just the winner I would have picked! Those looks (often incorporating the colors of the trans flag) were unmatched and then the lipsync even made me tear up. Finally a trans queen rightfully crowned! We deserve this!
A few questions after watching the film.
I'm vegan but I didn't love this. For one, most of the screen time was dedicated to things unrelated to the study. Sure, there was a lot of information that should be known, but it would have been better to present it in separate series. Secondly, the part on the filmed twins' results felt really weird. The results were rarely shown side by side, and the whole part was mostly about telling the participants that they should have done better. Why show this to us if there's no significance or if the results are worse across the board? Lastly, what was the point of poisoning the dietary experiment with exercise? It affects the data and introduces an additional area where the participants may not adhere to the instructions.
For the most part, I liked it and it even made me tear up near the end. The performance that stood up the most to me was that of Julia Sanina, but I'm biased because she was one of the main reasons I watched the film.
That said, the story is not original and mostly follows that of The Little Mermaid, The Maleficent or many other works. One thing that felt out of place is the portrayal of Frol, a stylist who looks on the more feminine end, dresses as a woman to deceive, then ends up thrown into the closet. The anti-LGBT tropes could hardly be any worse.
I watched this together with an online friend and one of the first things I said at the start of the episode is that it would be boring if Eureka is the one to stay. Oh well.
It feels a bit unfair to Eureka for her to have to get ready right away, while the rest of the girls had time to prepare.
Now that's some drama that doesn't feel bittersweet. I think Jan is a winner regardless of the outcome because she had a lot of screen time to showcase herself and become memorable, and she will probably remain an icon.
As much as I like Sonique and the representation she brings, she definitely wasn't the top queen of this episode. To me, her acting was quite toned down. Good enough for a supporting role but not the over-the-top performance you'd expect from the central role.
The lipsync of either party was not impressive either, though she definitely outdid Manilla with her signature athletic moves.
Why did the film present the notion of lying to get surgery as a trans person as something potentially problematic or worth questioning?
Another one of those cases when the actual bottom queens aren't in the bottom and so one of the better queens is removed instead.
Did I love the Prince? Not really. Was it so bad that it completely outweighed the reasonably praised look of Akeria? Definitely not. It wasn't even the worst performance.
If I had to pick the worst performance, I'd probably pick Ginger, as it was the only impersonation that got me trying to remember whom it was based on. Her runway look was good but still worse compared to some of my favorites, like that of Sonique.
As for Yara, yes, her having the usual Yara makeup as Shakira was the first thing I thought of when I saw her, but she danced well and wasn't the only one whose lipsync was imperfect - if anything, Scarlet was the one that stood out for me for that. The judges had no complaints about her runway look and I didn't either. It was a change from her usual relying on the body. By that metric, we could just as easily nominate Scarlet or a few others with a great look but a not-so-memorable performance.
Either way, even if we agree that Yara was among the worst, she may have had a better chance against Ginger, yet was put against Akeria. It's an absolute shame that Yara had to go, as she was among the most memorable queens and I completely stand behind her attitude of loving yourself (while being realistic about your skill set) and not begging. Trying to please (but never succeeding without giving up a part of themselves) is one of the very reasons LGBTQ+ and other people end up unsatisfied and not even wanting to live.
The summary? It's an imperfect film but a perfect introduction to the incredible Halle Bailey!
Each member of the cast played their role brilliantly and the film was easy to watch. It didn't hurt it that the animal characters were given realistic appearances, as the voice actors were very charismatic.
The music and the visuals in the beginning were done smartly enough to make me sob in anticipation of Ariel. Her appearance and otherworldly singing had the same effect. She was very cute and sweet and perfectly played her part even when absolutely silent.
The colorful CGI at the Sebastian musical part was quite well-done.
I found the plot to be quite flawed. For one, there was absolutely no justification for the couple falling in love so quickly. He knew nothing of her and she had merely watched him save a dog and, like her, express the desire to be free.
Even after Eric and Ariel met, the animal characters were also forcing them to kiss, making the whole thing seem very artificial.
It's mostly because of this that the forced marriage involving Ursula did not contrast with the purportedly real love.
A major disappointment was that despite Halle being so perfect, she had to be quiet for what seemed like most of the film. A lot of wasted potential.
Triton was absolutely right about humans being savages in relation to the ocean life, but using this reasonable disdain for or fear of humans to portray it as closed-minded or even as a metaphor for things like racism was quite shallow.
Lastly, the CGI of Ariel's hair and movements underwater wasn't convincing, making it a relief when she was on the shore.
It began as a generic horror film featuring poor acting by a bunch of teens doing stupid things and having stupid conversations but it got more and more interesting each time the Pinhead appeared. By the end, the film was redeemed by its slight plot twist and Jamie's incredible performance.
The black power salute was the highlight of the episode for me!
Another season of robbing. Sure, I can agree with Symone having been more impressive than Kandy, but it would not have been possible without her having beaten Gottmik, which she certainly did not. In that lipsync, Gott did an impressive job from start to finish (watch her moves and match them to the lyrics, then watch Symone's runway moves and nothing extra). There could be arguments about their outfits throughout the season and which one had it better but if lipsync were the only factor, there is no way Symone should have won. Why not be honest and say that the lipsyncs could sway RuPaul but that the final decision would have been primarily based on other factors?
Also, how come it was Lala Ri and not Olivia who won Miss Congeniality?
So much wrong in one episode. Rose undoubtedly had the best look and commercial of all contestants, whereas Simone had a pretty good commercial and an awful runway look. Did you see her makeup? I'd be concerned if my everyday makeup looked like that, meaning it was extremely basic. As for the outfit, it's just a furry costume with a chain and a belt buckle. Her getting the win looks like another sign of RuPaul just pushing her favorites to the crown. Then we had the praise of Kandy in that but Visage claiming that Utica did not look like anything we haven't seen before. Seriously? She had a very unique look in every single episode. She certainly did not deserve to be in the bottom. With that said, she was not good at the lipsync, just repeating her signature moves, while Tina was working her butt off and offering something new each time and somehow lost it.
Sometimes when there is no fairness behind a decision, you ask yourself if it's good for the views, but this choice would have no effect on the views, as it was the last episode of the season. The only explanation, as suggested, is that the person simply appealed to Ru, and everything else was thrown out the window.
"Kinda beat, gonna hit the sack" sums up the way I feel after this episode.
I'm not one with the racists when it comes to bashing this show. In fact, most of my comments on it to date have been positive. Javicia is an amazing actress who made the show fun, and Ruby just pales in comparison.
However, there is a substantial difference between being anti-racist, and making things up to further the cause, like the idea of cops arresting and killing black people left and right for absolutely nothing.
What's with the blue filter each time the camera was on RuPaul?
I've been liking Tia's character the most and in this episode she also had the best look. It was jaw-dropping and like a totally different person compared to the previous episode. Who would dare to call her basic after that?
