Welcome to Gaia! ::

'They are in front, and yes, it's definitely this evil spirit nonsense that's pushed them together, though, honestly I see no reason why they'd have to be teamed up if they didn't want to. It is interesting that they've decided the best way to handle this is together,' Shizuka answered, before thinking about the specifics more deeply, 'although initially I think circumstances more forced them together than any real decision. I'm not sure what this thing is, or who it's after, but it's been trying to keep Kaiba and my brother together, and I do wonder why. I'm not sure what the goal is, I'm not even really sure what this spirit is. I hope Jounouchi and Seto have more information for us when we are all safely at the shrine.'

- - -

'Anzu was there, possessed? This is why we are going to this shrine isn't it? They think we might get possessed...or...be possessed? What is this thing anyhow?' Honda demanded, anxiously. This situation was getting worse and worse every minute.

((I don't like a lot of films aimed specifically at women so I probably can't say I fall into the category of understanding why movies are targeted in certain ways to women. Yes, I think by product of most directors being male most rom-coms are also male directed. Though I have seen female directed stuff and it's not really different. The few rom-coms/rom-dramas that tend to really get praise for innovation and character development are also usually male directed. I don't think it's so much about the who as about the fact that it's just a tried and true model. They are really cheap movies to make and they generally get a decent audience. It's a genre where more effort doesn't necessarily bring in any better payoff so there is probably the least amount of motivation to develop that. I think most movie-goers tend to be women. Men are less likely to go without a date or as a group of guys (at least they don't go as frequently). Women are the bigger audience so I think we are more likely to see more shifts in terms of generally 'male' entertainment than in 'female' entertainment. Action type franchises need to put in more effort to be a bit more gender neutral in their targets, whereas romance movies don't. I mean The Other Woman knocked Captain America from the top spot with an audience that was 75% women. I think they are mostly crap, but clearly most women like something about them. They probably bomb with the least frequency, and sure they are rarely memorable but they are low risk. I just in general want to see more risk in films, I want people to stop paying money to go see 'okay' movies. Not movies they expected better from but movies they go in expecting won't be very good. Because as long as we keep supporting 'passable' movies that is what we will get.))

'Are they alright?' Seto asked after a few moments and Jounouchi still hadn't tried to call Anzu.

- - -

'I hope so,' Shizuka agreed, not entirely sure of where they were but hoping it wouldn't be too long of a drive to get to where they were heading.

- - -

'I hope they know, because we sure as hell haven't found anything our own searches that sounds useful,' Honda replied, frustrated.

((Okay back in the UK, still feeling jetlagged - which is weird for me travelling this direction - but up to reading/writing again. Flights were a bit of a nightmare and ended up getting back 7 hours later on Wed than planned after being redirected to Manchester and having to ground travel back to Birmingham. I just kind of passed out Wed night at about 8pm after a shower. Hoping to feel human again soon, though looking at my May schedule definitely has me stressed. xd

I think generally that's what I've read, that women usually make up the bigger portion of movie-going audiences. And films aimed at women do tend to bomb less often, though that's easier to do when they are usually lower budget. Being a horror fan I definitely would like to see more risk and less tits. Access to smaller release films is definitely an issue. A lot of the movies I've ended up really liking I've had to watch online years later.

Yea I like him better as an actor too but I can support not keeping someone whose not a good person (sometimes it's sad, especially when they were really good or part of a really good storyline, but he was replaced rather than cut out of the series which makes the second part not a problem). And he is minor enough - and yes in the franchise I like the least - that it doesn't bother me greatly. And the other guy is okay, I just didn't really like him in the role as much, I also like the look of the other guy for the character a bit more, but whatever.))

Shizuka listened to Anzu chat with her brother for a few minutes before finally coughing politely and pressing the intercom button, perhaps this will be easier and allow all four of us to communicate, yes?'

((Yea, usually isn't so bad for me flying this direction. I'm generally destroyed for a day but then I'm good to go - versus flying home where I feel fine at first but a sort of creeping lethargy sneaks up on me after a day or two and holds tight for 3-5 days. Maybe it's just because I'm getting old. xd

The psychology ones are a bit better about it but you still get a bit too much typing a lot of the time, but yes it's getting better. I just want it to go further and ideally see more budget being directed toward talent versus gore. Some of the most gruesome things I've seen technically weren't even that visual anyhow. My fave is Sci-fi horror, particularly space horror. Just frustrating loving a genre that is more often miss than hit.

Agreed.))

'And you know what big brother? You should never have gotten involved in this either. You've done nothing to deserve this so don't you dare apologise to us as if any of this is your fault,' Shizuka admonished.

((Did you like Oculus? I was interested but heard it hadn't reviewed well (even for horror), though wouldn't have seen it in cinemas anyhow (don't have too many people to go to horror films with and don't have enough money to justify solo movie trips anymore, though back in the day all I watched on my solo trips was horror). Haven't spoiled it by looking for a plot synopsis yet - which is what I usually do with horror films that I don't think are work a watch, so maybe I'll give it a chance later. I'm giving up TV watching for the summer term (May 6 - June 6). With exams I have TONS of work both invigilating and marking (on top of my regular job in admin), which will be good in terms of I really need money, but not so good because it's really going to heavily impact my thesis. I spend too much time glued to TV these days anyhow, so going to try and have a break. That will hopefully make sure I have time still to not go poof from here, game a bit, exercise regularly and have some semblance of a social life. We shall see. smile ))

Shizuka wished she could lower the partition just so she could smack some sense into her brother. 'So what if it is? There is absolutely nothing you could have done to deserve this. I don't know anyone who cares about people more than you, you've always been very good about showing respect even to those who probably don't deserve it. Whoever summoned this thing must truly be evil, and you shouldn't guilt yourself because you've been unfortunate enough to meet the devil in the flesh at some point in life. If you want to feel unlucky then go ahead, but don't you dare beat yourself up over this.'

((I almost never agree with Rotten Tomatoes so I don't even look at that one anymore, not that I'd of course rule it out as something I like. RT just usually tends to rate down or underrate many things I love (particularly in horror and non-mainstream sci-fi), so positive reviews might not be a bad thing. 'You idiot' wouldn't bother me too much (well, depends on exactly what said idiot is doing) but lack of character development is definitely the problem with most horror, so I'm glad to hear that it does okay with that and I will definitely make a note to give it a watch.))

Shizuka sighed, appreciative of Anzu's reassuring touch. She really wished there was something she could do to improve her brother's opinion of himself. Step one would have to be save him for killer spirits, improving his self-image would have to come after.

- - -

'Almost there,' Seto announced, a bit uncomfortable with the current topic of conversation. He'd never sent an evil spirit after the guy, but he certainly had never been a friend - or even a good person - to Jounouchi in the past.

((When I do use RT I do tend to agree more with audience opinion rather than critical opinion, though that's probably true with everything. With most things I find more of a lean with a lay opinion than a proper 'critical' review. When you say the Ring do you mean the Japanese version? I only saw the American version (in theatre in HS as a social time filler) and I don't know if I'd agree character was quite deep in that, though there are def worse movies. I've seen far too many Western versions of Asian horror, keep meaning to see originals but usually not having as much time to sit and enjoy a movie gets in the way (i.e. I need to be able to have it in the bg while doing something else whicih means I can't read subtitles). Will prob look for Oculus in August, my life should get less hectic then as I drop most of my committments to prepare for the final year of my PhD.))

Shizuka shut off the microphone, letting her brother know that she and Anzu were going to try and just relax for a couple of minutes before they got there. They could always call Anzu's phone again if they really needed them. Shizuka frowned a bit realising her phone was somewhere in her house and would be completely unreachable anytime soon. She supposed being without a mobile was a small price to pay for everyone to be fine.

- - -

When the intercom went silent and Seto agreed to share the details when he got a chance. 'When we have a bit more time, just don't get angry when I tell you parts of that were a gamble that I wasn't sure if they'd work. It's not like we had a better option.'

((I think I'm harsh as well (exempting some things that I'll just let myself love knowing they are terrible because they are fun), I just think I tend to have different criteria of what makes a film work for me than a lot of the reviewers I've read. I mean I do think generally more reviewers lean toward plot than character (more particularly, plot with no regard for character) which just does not work for me, but there are probably particulars I differ on as well. I also think the 'proper' critics just tend to take a bit of a presumptive approach and analyse most films as genre representative rather than as an individual film. Of course certain genres are more mainstream enjoyed than others, and I'll find some horror films that reviewed well I actually don't like because what 'works' about them makes them less unique horror and more mainstream adaptable. Which is just annoying that critics at least can't remove and assess a film as an individual entity rather than part of a whole. So I feel I'll never get information that I find useful from them, and general audience tastes will never broaden, and Hollywood will continue to not take risks. Critics are the real problem in the film industry!!! Totally just kidding, it's still Hollywood. razz

Well I was in HS the last time I saw the English Ring as well, so maybe it's more developed than I remember (it's certainly not the worst film), but I've heard (from non-critical sources) that the Japanese one is significantly better. And I while I think I've done a better job of catching South Korean horror rather than Japanese horror, I think the 'westernizing' of Asian horror in general produces something that inevitably washes out all character development in its attempt to water down the weird. Yes I understand the desire for 'English-speaking' films vs subs or often dubious dubs, but if you are going to wash down the plot to completely remove what made a foreign film truly unique why not just do an original run of the mill generic rather than slap on a 'remake' label. The people who have no interest in foreign horror will be no more sold by remake, and those who might be intrigued at a Western approach will almost inevitably just be pissed with butchery.))

'Well, once we had a name I did do some research while setting up the translation programme. I took something from the shrine, something that in theory would act like a lure, or more simply bait, to get the creature near. That powder Futata thrust at me very quickly and very secretly as we left. I'm not sure what she was thinking, how she could have known I'd know what to do with it. It is something that had come up in that preliminary search though, as a bit of a gamble even if it did prove to be what I thought it was. Still, there weren't very many great options to get everyone out alive and safe, and no matter how willing you might have been to bargain I don't think that spirit would have gone for anything less than a life right then. At the very least it certainly wouldn't have let Anzu go. So I had a very iffy plan, but it seemed worth the risk because really I don't think we had any better options. I want everyone at the shrine because I'm hoping that Futata can help with wards. Not just for buildings like the shrine, but something we can physically wear to stave off possession. At the very least we should at least be able to keep everyone safe here while we figure out our next steps if that isn't an option. Obviously we can't just hide at the shrine indefinitely.'

Seto turned the corner and the shrine appeared straight ahead. Now he just had to find a spot sufficiently large enough to park a limo in. He wished he'd thought to call his drivers back so that he could just valet this job, but he'd been a bit too shaky in the moment for that kind of foresight.

((Yea I think I read something about how the English version makes the girl in the Ring sympathetic whereas the Japanese version does not? Can't remember if that was one of the differences, I barely remember the film but I do remember they gave her a sympathetic background, which I think ended up being unsatisfying later, but can't recall. I haven't seen either version of Shutter (I don't think), and atm can't think of any western remakes I found amazing over the original, and very few that I didn't find just terrible. I do agree there might be good reasons for alternate adaptions, I just haven't seen it pulled off very well so it just always ends up feeling like lazy Hollywood to me.))