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https://nerdist.com/article/barbie-and-frozen-ii-prove-power-ballads-are-the-greatest-ken-kristoff/
In the middle of Barbie‘s “I’m Just Ken” sequence I felt as though I was levitating out of my chair like Bugs Bunny smelling food. The feeling of pure joy that song/beach battle/dream dance gave me is something I’d only experienced once before. Not because plenty of other great films don’t also feature transcendent scenes that transport me spiritually. (Barbie alone had countless moments I adored.) And it’s not because other movies don’t have perfect moments. (I think Oppenheimer is nothing but perfection.) It’s that there’s a unique euphoria you can only get from watching an adorable idiot who can’t express his feelings in words somehow bare his soul with a big, dumb, amazing power ballad. And that’s why “I’m Just Ken” now holds the same special place in my heart as Frozen II‘s “Lost in the Woods.”
What’s a man supposed to do when he can’t find the right way to tell a woman how he feels? He could write her a nice letter or maybe a poem. One guy tried standing outside a window holding a boom box while hoping she was really into Phil Collins. Or he can, you know, muster the courage to actually speak to her. If none of that works, he could even sing to her. All of those options are clearly more likely to help than belting out a grandiose tune she isn’t even around to hear. Fortunately for all of us that’s the option both Ryan Gosling’s Ken and Jonathan Groff’s Kristoff chose, giving us two all-time great musical movie moments.
It’s no accident Barbie and Frozen II accomplished such distinctive greatness with the same type of song. Each character elected to convey their emotions in the funniest way possible – a power ballad. You could not possibly pick a better musical composition for that kind of scene. Power ballads are as inherently funny as they are great. They’re some of the best, most loved, most memorable songs ever recorded, same as these two beautifully written tracks.
Each is harmonious, compelling, and catchy. They build to moving crescendos that help make them stay with you long after they end. It’s why you find yourself randomly singing them. They both exemplify the best of the power ballad style even while essentially making fun of it. You can (and should) laugh at them while also genuinely enjoying the greatness of their compositions and performances.
What elevates them from such great songs to iconic movie scenes is how they also fit perfectly in their films. Each is accompanied by de facto music videos that are just as good as the songs themselves. What you see on screen as they play are grand sequences full of flourish and life.
“I’m Just Ken” and “Lost in the Woods” also land because both ring true to the characters who sing them and the movies they are in. They capture each character’s conflict and advance their film’s plot. It’s why even though they’re intentionally silly they’re still so earnest and heartfelt. (Normal power ballads are good for the same reason.) Both numbers feel like natural parts of their movie’s story and the story of the people in it. They convey genuine, honest emotion that is a meaningful part of film’s heart, themes, plot, and ethos. They just happen to do all of that while also being really funny. (Having tremendous, uber talented performers sing them certainly helps, too.)
That dichotomy of being knowingly funny and campy while also being totally sincere is essential in making each a standout. It’s why they can exist in a vacuum unto themselves while also seamlessly fitting into their movies. They use music, writing, plot, and filmmaking to create something magical, the kind of scene that makes going to the movies unlike anything else. These are the kinds of sequences, using every tool of filmmaking, big screens exist to show.
I really do love both of these songs. They provided two of my favorite moments I’ve ever had in a movie theater ever. There’s simply nothing better than a power ballad sung by a lovesick goofball working out his feelings on his own for all of us.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post BARBIE’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ and FROZEN II’s ‘Lost in the Woods’ Prove Goofball Power Ballads Are the Greatest appeared first on Nerdist.
In the middle of Barbie‘s “I’m Just Ken” sequence I felt as though I was levitating out of my chair like Bugs Bunny smelling food. The feeling of pure joy that song/beach battle/dream dance gave me is something I’d only experienced once before. Not because plenty of other great films don’t also feature transcendent scenes that transport me spiritually. (Barbie alone had countless moments I adored.) And it’s not because other movies don’t have perfect moments. (I think Oppenheimer is nothing but perfection.) It’s that there’s a unique euphoria you can only get from watching an adorable idiot who can’t express his feelings in words somehow bare his soul with a big, dumb, amazing power ballad. And that’s why “I’m Just Ken” now holds the same special place in my heart as Frozen II‘s “Lost in the Woods.”
What’s a man supposed to do when he can’t find the right way to tell a woman how he feels? He could write her a nice letter or maybe a poem. One guy tried standing outside a window holding a boom box while hoping she was really into Phil Collins. Or he can, you know, muster the courage to actually speak to her. If none of that works, he could even sing to her. All of those options are clearly more likely to help than belting out a grandiose tune she isn’t even around to hear. Fortunately for all of us that’s the option both Ryan Gosling’s Ken and Jonathan Groff’s Kristoff chose, giving us two all-time great musical movie moments.
It’s no accident Barbie and Frozen II accomplished such distinctive greatness with the same type of song. Each character elected to convey their emotions in the funniest way possible – a power ballad. You could not possibly pick a better musical composition for that kind of scene. Power ballads are as inherently funny as they are great. They’re some of the best, most loved, most memorable songs ever recorded, same as these two beautifully written tracks.
Each is harmonious, compelling, and catchy. They build to moving crescendos that help make them stay with you long after they end. It’s why you find yourself randomly singing them. They both exemplify the best of the power ballad style even while essentially making fun of it. You can (and should) laugh at them while also genuinely enjoying the greatness of their compositions and performances.
What elevates them from such great songs to iconic movie scenes is how they also fit perfectly in their films. Each is accompanied by de facto music videos that are just as good as the songs themselves. What you see on screen as they play are grand sequences full of flourish and life.
“I’m Just Ken” and “Lost in the Woods” also land because both ring true to the characters who sing them and the movies they are in. They capture each character’s conflict and advance their film’s plot. It’s why even though they’re intentionally silly they’re still so earnest and heartfelt. (Normal power ballads are good for the same reason.) Both numbers feel like natural parts of their movie’s story and the story of the people in it. They convey genuine, honest emotion that is a meaningful part of film’s heart, themes, plot, and ethos. They just happen to do all of that while also being really funny. (Having tremendous, uber talented performers sing them certainly helps, too.)
That dichotomy of being knowingly funny and campy while also being totally sincere is essential in making each a standout. It’s why they can exist in a vacuum unto themselves while also seamlessly fitting into their movies. They use music, writing, plot, and filmmaking to create something magical, the kind of scene that makes going to the movies unlike anything else. These are the kinds of sequences, using every tool of filmmaking, big screens exist to show.
I really do love both of these songs. They provided two of my favorite moments I’ve ever had in a movie theater ever. There’s simply nothing better than a power ballad sung by a lovesick goofball working out his feelings on his own for all of us.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post BARBIE’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ and FROZEN II’s ‘Lost in the Woods’ Prove Goofball Power Ballads Are the Greatest appeared first on Nerdist.
That new Castlevania trailer dropped, and it’s back with a vengeance! Did you see it though? Did you see the brilliance? Did you see the rare as hell Indigenous vampire? Did you see the Black vampire and Black vampire hunter? If you did see all of that and lost your mind, then maybe you saw the Castlevania: Nocturne trailer. Let’s get into it real quick.
First of all, the Belmonts is byke, and the hype is high! The teaser trailer comes off the heat of the announcement from a year ago where we just saw the back of a young man rocking the Belmont family crest. Of course, we assumed it was the fourth-season Castlevania protagonist and smooth criminal lean enthusiast Trevor Belmont. Only to see the iconic blue jacket, hear the name “Richter!” yelled, and see the young Belmont glance over his shoulder.
That was a whole year ago! Now…Netflix unveils this gem of an anime, and it takes place nine generations after Trevor in the time of the French Revolution! ‘Let them eat cake’ turns in to ‘let them drink blood’. It opens with a fight scene between an unknown vampire voiced by Lakota actor Zahn McClarnon and a badass woman rocking the ‘vampire killer’ whip and that blue jacket. She gets bodied in front of young Richtor, and the vampire hits him with the Kill Bill-type beat like, ‘Come see me later so I can kill you.’
Between scenes showing the decadence of the French Revolution, we get a preview of the cast of characters. A Marie Antoinette-looking vampire giving Carmilla vibes (big bad from season 4) catching bodies in the alleyways. Some Victorian-era parties with vamps drinking Moet. A prophecy said to bring the night forever.
AND THEN, a young brown-skinned person using magic along the river’s edge. Another magic user with pale skin and light hair. Then it goes all Drowning Pool on us as we see the bodies hit the floor! A Black vampire with the swag and hair texture that could only be from the Carribean throwing hands with the young Black hunter. For clarity, Thuso Mbedu from The Woman King plays Annette who is, “A young girl who used her power and wits to escape vampire-enforced enslavement in the Caribbean, and now wields magic to stop the impending apocalyptic threat.” We winning in these Castlevania streets!
More magic as the young pale girl summons a lion made out of light and dices a vampire. More death-dealing than the eye can catch only to close with the potential prophecy come true, an eclipse with the haunting “Lamento della Ninfa” playing behind it. This trailer is a movie unto itself, catch it, and enjoy the trailer here. Casual diversity, dope action sequences, and about forty years worth of lore make this a must-see. Hyped for this one.
Cover image via YouTube
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The post ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Trailer Reveals Black Vampires and Dope Action appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
The first time I heard Rachel Eliza Griffiths recite poetry, it gave me a sense of home. It was 2015, and I had just moved to Houston, Texas. I knew a few people, but I was lonely and feeling a bit lost. I attended a poetry reading by Griffiths at a local bookstore. As a poet myself, I connected with her beautiful words and how they created these amazing visuals. It reminded me that the move I had made was good and that I would be okay.
Griffiths’ talent as a poet/lyricist is evident in her debut novel Promise, as it has noteworthy phrases, descriptions of scenery, and the expression of characters’ innermost thoughts and feelings. She blends elements of music, the forces of nature, symbolism, and colors to build suspense and foreshadow upcoming events. She blends African and African American myth, folklore, superstition, and wisdom into the story seamlessly. It is also reminiscent of “the talk” that Black parents must have with their children, as a means of survival in the face of systemic racism and discrimination.
Promise is a coming-of-age story about womanhood and femininity. It’s also about the devastation that racism leaves and the way it destroys everything and everyone; it’s about home and family and the way these places — physical or emotional — are tied to the world and to life; it’s about growing into a world that is dead set on hating you. Promise dives right into the complexities of relationships and family secrets. It’s a story that paints pictures of generational trauma and the profound impact it can have on our lives.
Ezra and Hyacinth (Cinthy) Kindred are sisters on the verge of womanhood who live in an isolated rural coastal town in Maine with their one-armed father, a teacher at the local school, and their homemaker mother. Their parents are guarded about their origins and upbringing. As children, the girls stay in their places and ask no questions, even though the truth surrounding their lineage is eventually revealed. The girls are sweet and wholesome — raised to be respectful, studious, observant, and of course focused on going to college. In other words, these are the things they have been taught as the keys to success.
As Ezra and Cinthy grow into womanhood, they attract attention through no fault of their own. Their bodies are maturing and catch the eyes of white men who have preconceived stereotypical notions about Black women’s bodies and sexuality. Their outstanding performance at school earns top marks and placement at the head of the (overwhelmingly white) class — exclusive places that 1957 social politics don’t allow Black girls. It doesn’t take long for the prominent people in the town and law enforcement to step in to ensure the Kindreds stay “in their place.”
What ensues is a series of events with tragic outcomes that many Black families today can relate to — wrongful incarceration, police harassment/violence, unfair banking practices, limited employment/low wages, discrimination in education, theft, ruination of property, and children harassed by teachers and peers. Even a childhood friendship the sisters have with a white neighbor, Ruby, changes as she comes to realize the leverage her white skin has.
I was amazed that Griffiths prepared Ezra and Cinthy for what could come of their friendship with Ruby and dismissed her declaration of sisterhood to them. All too often in stories this reality comes as a surprise, and it always bothers me because we already know how things go regarding these situations. “’We’re not going to grow old together. We can’t. I know you want to make yourself believe that we’re chasing the same freedom, the same life. But we’re not,’ said Ezra carefully. ‘We’re not sisters. I have a sister.’” It was this sad reality of a conversation between the girls that made the moment feel authentic.
Many scenes in the novel, in my opinion, reminded me of classic poems by Langston Hughes (“Mother to Son”) and Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs (“What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?”) in which mothers/parents wrestle with preparing their children for a lifetime of inequality, mistreatment, frustrations, and setbacks. In Promise, the girls are sustained by their village — adults who love and support them. It is in the music, food, faith, and ancestors that will sustain them through troubled times. It’s sad that they are taught from birth how to survive in a world that only sees their skin tone and determines their place in society based on that. Even though those poems by Hughes and Burroughs are decades old, they are still very much relevant today.
The story is beautiful yet heartbreaking. It doesn’t pull any punches, and Griffiths cuts through all the Northeastern niceties to reveal that the heart of white supremacy is the same whether it is a small town in Maine or Mississippi. There is no allowance made for Black families in majority white communities. There is inherent racism that lies in the power structures that built this country in stolen land. While other stories such as Get Out and Lovecraft Country have spoken to this issue, Promise takes things a few steps further, making it difficult to get through. I had to take a few breaks while reading because of the horrific racism that takes place. I was still emotionally exhausted after finishing this book.
The racial climate being as it was in the late 1950s, there is a lot of violence, racism, and death in the story. But on the flip side there is faith, courage, wisdom, love, and strength. I don’t think any of us enjoy reading about racial suffering, but it is a truth we cannot escape from.
Overall, I give Promise 5/5 stars. I’d recommend this to those who appreciates historical fiction and can face the reality of what has truly happened in this country.
Promise is available on Bookshop.org where every purchase supports independent bookstores.