Black Barbie

The first Black Barbie doll was created and sold in 1980. Black Barbie, a documentary streaming on Netflix later this month, tells the story of how the doll came to be and the impact it had on a generation of young people who were able to see themselves in a doll with the same colour skin, perhaps for the first time.

 
The trailer opens with this line: “If you’ve gone your whole life and you’ve never seen anything made in your own image, there is damage done.” Which is then echoed later in the trailer when a little girl is describing her Barbie: “Really pretty, and has lochs, just like me”.

It looks beautiful but mostly nostalgic, about a time when girls used to play with dolls.

Netflix Has THE POWER!

2021 saw the light of a HE-MAN Netflix series and I was not disappointed.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 1 and Part 2 (the official name) was a nostalgia fest in the best possible way, managing to showcase a cartoon that looks like you remember but has been updated nicely for the 21st Century.

He-Man was one of the most successful cartoons of all time and one of my favourite’s when I was a kid (I’m old AF), I even had many of the toys… See, The t0s animation was born, like many cartoons at the time, out of a need to sell toys!

Essentially, Mattel was annoyed that it passed up the rights to the Star Wars toy line due to the licensing fees, so created its own characters and we got He-Man.

While the character(s) have been remade for the screen a number of times and failed miserable, it really is the 1983 cartoon that is close to everyone’s hearts.

Here’s the official synopsis: “After a cataclysmic battle between He-Man and Skeletor, Eternia is fractured and the Guardians of Grayskull are scattered. And after decades of secrets tore them apart, it’s up to Teela to reunite the broken band of heroes, and solve the mystery of the missing Sword of Power in a race against time to restore Eternia and prevent the end of the universe.”

The first season Masters of The Universe: Revelation is 80s to the core.

The trailer is EVERYTHING!

 
The end of Part 1 included what was one of the best cliffhangers in recent memory.

As a fan of the original cartoon the ending was also great because it didn’t really end… It shows the face of Hordak, another villain that ties to She-Ra, the female equivalent to He-Man (his sister). Modernised and well done!

And Part 2 was full of action.

 
After the epic comeback, I didn’t expected another season, so I was surprised when few nights ago I found on Netflix Masters of the Universe: Revolution (season 2).

I swear I didn’t have a reason for joy since last October…  so this made my day!

I have to say I’m impressed by the twisted creativity of the writers, some of the toy characters I had as a kid existed without much explanation, but this series (over 40 years later) created a story and gave those characters meaning .

Technology meets magic, it is the synthesis of this spectacular season.

 
Lena Headey, Mark Hamill, Chris Wood, Meg Foster, William Shatner, Keith David, Melissa Benoist and all the actors did an spectacular job!

More please MOOOORE!

3 Movies

I had several days off this week. I blocked men in order to rest, and although my intention was honest, I didn’t happen as planed… I have an aunt visiting from Boston so I dedicated some days to her earlier this week.

On the other hand, I’ve been catching up with some movies on Netflix and Amazon, and also at the theatre.

See, my aunt wanted to watch a film at the cinema that is not my genre of film because instead of making you feel excited, it makes you feel gloomy due to the subject.

SOUND OF FREEDOM

So, I didn’t know this movie exist until my aunt mentioned it. When I heard the subject I was like “ugh sad but not a film I would watch”… But I ended up going with my aunt.

Sound of Freedom is a thriller, which is loosely based on the story of anti-trafficking advocate Tim Ballard (played by Jim Caviezel), follows the Homeland Security agent as he goes rogue to save two kidnapped siblings and free dozens of more kids from a Colombian sex trafficking ring.

It’s debatable whether the film’s portrayal of the subject is realistic, and, as with just about any film “based on a true story” there have been questions about the accuracy of its depiction of the real-life Ballard, whose organisation Operation Underground Railroad claims to have saved hundreds of victims to date.

On balance, though, Sound of Freedom tackles a brutal topic: Everyone agrees that the exploitation of children is real and a horrific crime that must be stopped!

 
Politics, ideologies and conspiracy theories aside, the film was well made.

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EXTRACTION 2

This is more my type of film. Exaggerated action and violence where most times the bad guys lose to make us feel good.

Extraction is the legit first film I enjoyed seen Chris Hemsworth as an action hero despite his Marvel charter (Thor).

The first movie was GREAT. But this one is bigger, bolder, and in some respects even better than its predecessor.

 
Action films should be full action and this is an over-the-top action thriller done right!

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RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE

This is an LGBTQ romance novel by American author Casey McQuiston, made film, originally published in 2019. Despite the fact I never finished to read the book because  found many of the characters annoying AF, I watched the film out of curiosity.

So this romantic comedy chronicles the clandestine romance of Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the sitting President of the United States, and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the spare heir to the British throne.

The film is ok. The story is too “bubblegum” and it could have been better if the characters were not so charmless, in my opinion.

 
Regardless, love stories with happy endings are always sweet, and one can only wish.

Netflix’s Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me

In the recent wave of “black” queens and documentaries demanding justice for the tragic blondes of the 1990s (Britney Spears, Princess Diana and Pamela Anderson) it’s unsurprising to find a new film about Anna Nicole Smith next in the queue.

I used to like Anna Nicole but also felt sad for her, so I watched the documentary.

Anna Nicole: You Don’t Know Me, a Netflix production directed by Ursula Macfarlane, revisits the life of the model and Playboy centerfold best known for marrying an octogenarian billionaire, then very publicly losing it all; in 2007, she was found dead in a Hollywood, Florida, Hard Rock hotel at the young age of 39, having taken a toxic mixture of methadone, Valium and a variety of sedatives.

Anna Nicole Smith was a larger-than-life celebrity with the labels that go with it: A Playmate, Guess model and blonde bombshell.

There were less favourable ones too: “gold digger,” “tabloid star” and “train wreck.”

While alive she seemed like an honest politically incorrect woman, which made her likeable. However, this documentary makes her look like a hustler and the film unfolds as chaotically and cringe-inducingly as it did in real life, from her short-lived reality TV show, to the custody battle over her infant daughter, to the tragedy of her son Daniel’s fatal drug overdose.

Without the PR and management infrastructure Marshall had put in place for her, Anna Nicole’s career devolved into a series of clownish, visibly drug-addled public appearances and body transformations.

Anna Nicole was a naive small town girl who got lost by money, fame and was surrounded by the wrong people. The death of her son was the end of her.

I like to remember her like this:

Because Anna Nicole deserved better than how she was treated.

 
And she deserves better than this film.

El Reino (The Kingdom) Season 2

I finished to watch Season 2 of the excellent Argentine series El Reino (The Kingdom).

In season one of the Netflix political/fantasy thriller, a televangelist and his family were thrust into the limelight after his running mate on a right-wing presidential ticket was murdered. But with that elevating exposure came scrutiny, and revelations about all the dirty business behind the church facade, including money laundering and even paedophilia.

The Kingdom Season 2 is six episodes instead of eight, and opens as Emilio (Diego Peretti) has become Argentina’s president. But in no way does that mean he’s free of trouble.

The series has all the condiments… political/military corruption and impunity, faith charlatans and it’s convincing due to the strong influence of religion in South America.

A cast of excellent Argentinian actors include Diego Peretti (excellent) Chino Darin, Nicolas Garcia, Joaquin Furriel (excellent), Peter Lanzani (excellent), Mercedes Moran (beyond excellent), Vera Spinetta, Santiago Korovsky, Victoria Almeida, Alfonso Tort, Patricio Aramburu, Sofia Gala (excellent) are part of it.

The Kingdom is a stunning masterpiece, a war between “god and evil”  with exceptional cinematography and the perfect amount of intrigue and uncomfortable subjects to keep the fans watching.

What I personally loved about the show was the way it merged politics with religion and somehow ended up being a little of neither.

Definitely, one of the most underrated series on Netflix.

 

“Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals?
What are criminal gangs but petty kingdoms?”
St. Augustine.

BLOOD OF ZEUS

Whenever I behave like a decent human being I can be productive and do many stuff.

Well, browsing online for something else to watch, I found an animated series that piqued my curiosity, particularly because it was about mythology or mythological characters to be precise.

Blood of Zeus is one of the show in Netflix’s extensive anime catalogue.

In this story we follow Heron, an ordinary citizen of Ancient Greece who discovers that he is the bastard son of Zeus and has a part to play in battling demons that are attacking his town.

Although most of the characters are legit mythological Greek characters, Heron was created for the series. “Heron” doesn’t exist in mythology.

Regardless I was hooked by this animation because I love mythology and Zeus (often horny) often had bastard children with humans in the myths. Much to the anger of Hera (his wife and sister).

See, Blood Of Zeus is gore, but the Greek mythology was fucked up and bloodier.

In the mythology the Titan Cronos castrated his father, Uranus, and cast his testicles into the sea. From the blood that spilled out from Uranus and fell upon the earth, the Giants were created.

Notably, Cronos is traditionally the father of many of the key Olympians, including key characters in the story suchs as Hera, Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus himself.

I gotta say I loved the representation of all the gods and demigods. They truly did a great job with the animations.

My favourites were (the noble) Hermes, (the crazy) Hera, (the temperamental) Ares and (the hot) Zeus as well.

 
Not sure if there’s a second season on its way, but this was fun!

TODAS LAS VECES QUE NOS ENAMORAMOS

I wasn’t feeling too well today and since it was my day off, I spent time blogging a bit, sleeping and watching Netflix.

There’s always tomorrow to be a slut, again.

So, I watched the Spanish comedy-drama series translated as “In love All Over Again” and did because those stories about students life always touches me because in a way, it’s the best period to explore life and exactly how we lived at the end of 20th and first decade of 21st century.

Even those of who studied engineering, law or business, were into movies, hanging out with friends, going out to small bars, partying all the time and hooking up as much as possible…  And always being into someone, hurting over someone and still going out and having fun.

The subject make me nostalgic and the series wasn’t too bad even if I dislike the main actress, Georgina Amorós, ’cause I find very annoying in all the roles she play.

The whole thing was saved by the rest of the cast with Argentine actor Franco Masini in the main role and the very talented Carlos González and Blanca Martínez as two of the most charismatic characters.

 
Yeah, this is exactly why I have so much sex… To avoid getting nostalgic thinking of those days when for me too everything was new and lived my life careless and free.

Netflix’s “Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting An Internet Killer”

“Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting An Internet Killer” is a Netflix documentary I watched few years ago and watched again recently.

It’s about the Canadian (Montrealer) killer, Luka Magnotta, that used to live behind my brother’s flat and killed a friend of a neighbour of mine, at the time.

The docuseries centres around the infamous murder of Lin Jun, an international Chinese student by Magnotta, but highlights the long vigilante Internet investigation that began when people online found a video of Magnotta killing two kittens by asphyxiating them in a vacuum-seal bag.

Canadian police from both Montreal and Toronto feature heavily in the docuseries, as well, with much of the second episode focusing on the investigation of Lin Jun’s murder.

This case touches me very close, because the whole horror happened not far from my borther’s, and I saw the moment all the police was there, when they closed the street to open the luggage and found the dismembered body of Lin Jun.

I can say that during that time, I heard about the videos of someone killing cats but never watched any. However, what’s more frustrating watching this documentary is the fact there seems to be so much evidence found (by a group of “internet nerds”,) to catch Magnotta before he killed Lin Ju, but the police did NOTHING about it.

 
In the documentary, many of the self-proclaimed “internet-nerds” began investigating Magnotta in late 2010, upon finding the video “1 boy, 2 kittens.” (the disturbing cruel videos he posted killing kittens). They concluded Magnotta was in Canada, eventually Toronto, and finally Montreal where he committed his ultimate crime. 

What’s sad about this whole thing is that Magnotta got what he wanted, fame!

While many don’t even know the name of his victim: LIN JUN.

A naive guy with human needs, that ended up drugged, before having his throat cut, his chest and abdomen stabbed 55 times, and then decapitated and body cut into 10 pieces… A horrific crime, we Montrealers, won’t forget.

And like 11 years ago, my condolences to Lin Ju’s family. 

NOVEMBER 13: ATTACK ON PARIS

I haven’t post in the last few days, I was just not inspired but mostly too exhausted.

Today is my day off so, here I am catching up with my blog and later my sex life. The hickey someone gave me 5 days ago is almost gone, so it feels good to not hide my neck anymore.

Anyway, last night before going to bed I watched  this 2018 three-part documentary that explores the human stories behind the Paris terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015.

A horror that left 130 people dead.

 
The attack on Paris were similar to what had happened in Mumbai in the last week of November 2008. Similiar tactics, similiar weapons and similiar devastation.

Great documentary. And we must never forget!