Episode 187 - Beautiful Creatures

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

What was the deal with Uncle Macon's love of Google? I get that he excuses away the crazy unnatural lightning phenomena by saying "Oh, weird things like that happen all the time ... just Google it." That seems to imply that casters have some sort of manipulative control over Google search results. That would be impressive power, but I wonder why whatever ancient force that lies behind their centuries-old powers would account for controlling a digital medium that's only been around for 30 years. I guess they can do anything because magic? Or maybe there's casters in Silicon Valley ... I bet Gilfoyle's a siren.

 

[FisterRoboto 7499]

So, I finally got around to watching this right now. It's the opening voiceover, and I already hate everything happening.

 

"I can understand why young men signed up for the Civil War."

 

This is gonna be a long-ass two hours.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

I don't have much to add yet since I was planning on watching the movie tomorrow, but I will agree that Penelope is a very cute movie. Reese Witherspoon is in it!

I loved Penelope and kind of want to rewatch it now

[gigi-tastic 2322]

I'm just thankful Ethan wasn't obsessed with Catcher in the Rye. Like it's on his little vision board but he is apparently into Vonnegut more than Salinger or Hemingway for which I eternally thankful.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Alden Ehrenreich is like a slightly less uninteresting Dane DeHaan.

[RyanSz 3140]

Question:

 

With the obsession about the Civil War, when Viola Davis showed the secret library and said the tunnels ran all over the country, is that supposed to be a vague hint that this was the underground railroad? Like with how much they talked about how casters were involved in both sides of the Civil War and any other social conflict, would it be safe to assume there was a line cut where they mentioned that the tunnels used to be the railroad and Harriet Tubman was a great ancestor to Viola Davis?

 

Also when talking about the tunnels they mentioned the central hub for the tunnels used to be in DC but Nancy Reagan had them move it in order to reuse them for something else. Does this mean that all high level politicians know about casters?

 

Do you think they had some fairly big name actor as Han Solo's dad, but the actor demanded he be cut from the film, sort of like Jennifer Lawrence had her scenes cut from Dumb & Dumber 2?

 

And finally, is the entire town killed in the storm/tornado/catastrophe at the end of the film? Nothing is ever mentioned about it after Emma Thompson is defeated and we don't see anyone except Han Solo, Viola Davis, and Leena.

[tomspanks 9039]

Question:

 

With the obsession about the Civil War, when Viola Davis showed the secret library and said the tunnels ran all over the country, is that supposed to be a vague hint that this was the underground railroad? Like with how much they talked about how casters were involved in both sides of the Civil War and any other social conflict, would it be safe to assume there was a line cut where they mentioned that the tunnels used to be the railroad and Harriet Tubman was a great ancestor to Viola Davis?

 

The underground railroad was not literally underground. It was not a railroad either.

 

[gigi-tastic 2322]

Question:

 

With the obsession about the Civil War, when Viola Davis showed the secret library and said the tunnels ran all over the country, is that supposed to be a vague hint that this was the underground railroad? Like with how much they talked about how casters were involved in both sides of the Civil War and any other social conflict, would it be safe to assume there was a line cut where they mentioned that the tunnels used to be the railroad and Harriet Tubman was a great ancestor to Viola Davis?

 

Also when talking about the tunnels they mentioned the central hub for the tunnels used to be in DC but Nancy Reagan had them move it in order to reuse them for something else. Does this mean that all high level politicians know about casters?

 

 

Considering the fact the founders of the town are caster I have a feeling they definitely owned slaves. Like I got the impression that The Ravenwood family may have owned Viola Davis's ancestors when she chastised Macon for expecting help from her /from her family instead of asking for it for much like his family has done for years. Also how much of that library was built my magic? What are the rules for magic building in this world even? Like can they say a spell and poof underground secret library! Or did someone (most likely slaves) have to carve out those tunnels and build it? Once built do the just magically move it around?

 

So maybe some people could have tried to use it as a part of the /underground Railroad but I feel like the white Casters in the area were most likely slave owners and on the side of the Confederacy

 

Sidenote:

 

I think given the way it's decorated maybe this is part of the Lost Library of Alexandria or something if they can magically move shit around.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

Question:

 

With the obsession about the Civil War, when Viola Davis showed the secret library and said the tunnels ran all over the country, is that supposed to be a vague hint that this was the underground railroad? Like with how much they talked about how casters were involved in both sides of the Civil War and any other social conflict, would it be safe to assume there was a line cut where they mentioned that the tunnels used to be the railroad and Harriet Tubman was a great ancestor to Viola Davis?

 

I actually wondered about Amma's lineage and heritage. During the ritual where she communicates with some dead relative (when she takes off her shirt and reveals her tattoos), she warns Macon to tread lightly on her people's land. When I first heard it, and given all the Civil War allusions, I assumed she was referring to ancestors who might have been slaves -- they are in deep Georgia, after all. But then, she says that her family had been there acting as guardians for the library for centuries, and I just assumed that must predate American slavery.

 

By the way, that look she gives when she realizes that Ethan's mind has been wiped -- probably the best acting in the movie, even topping Emma Thompson.

 

Also when talking about the tunnels they mentioned the central hub for the tunnels used to be in DC but Nancy Reagan had them move it in order to reuse them for something else. Does this mean that all high level politicians know about casters?

 

If there's one thing that's guaranteed to be a hit with the kids, it's jokes about Nancy Reagan.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

 

The underground railroad was not literally underground. It was not a railroad either.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

Did anyone else suffer from Emmy Rossum face-blindness? It took me a while to realize that Ridley, the girl in the flashback (where she kills the guy with the train), and the red-eyed girl in the black and purple Sweeney Todd seance dress were all the same people. Then I look up a picture of her IRL and I still don't really recognize her.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

I bet Netflix or Amazon could have made a killer mini series rather than a confusing movie out of Beautiful Creatures.

This feels more like a CW show.

[SeaSkunk 212]

 

The underground railroad was not literally underground. It was not a railroad either.

 

I think only a literal underground railroad would fit in with the subtle nature of this film.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

 

I actually wondered about Amma's lineage and heritage. During the ritual where she communicates with some dead relative (when she takes off her shirt and reveals her tattoos), she warns Macon to tread lightly on her people's land. When I first heard it, and given all the Civil War allusions, I assumed she was referring to ancestors who might have been slaves -- they are in deep Georgia, after all. But then, she says that her family had been there acting as guardians for the library for centuries, and I just assumed that must predate American slavery.

 

By the way, that look she gives when she realizes that Ethan's mind has been wiped -- probably the best acting in the movie, even topping Emma Thompson.

 

 

 

If there's one thing that's guaranteed to be a hit with the kids, it's jokes about Nancy Reagan.

 

I thought they were alluding to hoodoo practices with Amma . Depending where her family may have come from in Africa they may have been its guardian's there and in the new world.

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

 

The underground railroad was not literally underground. It was not a railroad either.

Thank God they didn't have a plotline involving the Holy Roman Empire...

[tomspanks 9039]

Thank God they didn't have a plotline involving the Holy Roman Empire...

 

[RyanSz 3140]

 

The underground railroad was not literally underground. It was not a railroad either.

I get that but there have been many historical finds over the years that show at least a few tunnels did exist, though they were usually small, connecting a few houses or to an area outside of a village. And with how loose this movie was in handling historical accuracy in recreations and history class, I would not have put it past them to make that reference.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

When the one eyed teacher says "That hat will look good on my cat" I think he means just that.

Clearly the teacher is also an overly devoted cat person and he takes things from his students and gives them to his cat. I'm dying to see what else his cat wears / owns now. Like does the cat get anything confiscated from the students? Think how many cell phones that cat has.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

When the one eyed teacher says "That hat will look good on my cat" I think he means just that.

Clearly the teacher is also an overly devoted cat person and he takes things from his students and gives them to his cat. I'm dying to see what else his cat wears / owns now. Like does the cat get anything confiscated from the students? Think how many cell phones that cat has.

I mean...that hat would definitely look better on anything non-human.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

I mean...that hat would definitely look better on anything non-human.

Exactly.

That man is saving that wanna be Ducky from himself.

[tomspanks 9039]

I get that but there have been many historical finds over the years that show at least a few tunnels did exist, though they were usually small, connecting a few houses or to an area outside of a village. And with how loose this movie was in handling historical accuracy in recreations and history class, I would not have put it past them to make that reference.

 

Nah, the tunnels in the movie weren't some small segments connecting 2 houses. Viola Davis said that they run under "the whole country."

[grudlian. 4725]

When the one eyed teacher says "That hat will look good on my cat" I think he means just that.

Clearly the teacher is also an overly devoted cat person and he takes things from his students and gives them to his cat. I'm dying to see what else his cat wears / owns now. Like does the cat get anything confiscated from the students? Think how many cell phones that cat has.

As the resident crazy cat person here, my reaction to this was "We don't do this...I do have an old cell phone I don't use. Could I download some cat friendly apps for them to play with when I'm gone?"

[Cameron H. 23786]

So, I finally got around to watching this right now. It's the opening voiceover, and I already hate everything happening.

 

"I can understand why young men signed up for the Civil War."

 

This is gonna be a long-ass two hours.

 

Yeah, but that line doesn’t mean he wants to bring back slavery or something. It means that when people have nothing going on in their lives, and everything seems pointless, they have a tendency to grasp for something - anything - that might give their life purpose. The danger is, out of this desperation, people can be easily tempted to follow the wrong path. That line establishes that he’s insightful enough to recognize why the people in his town are the way they are. It also conveys how, in a weird way, he wishes he could find the same sense of purpose that they get from their Religion or Re-enactments, he just can’t. He’s not advocating for the Confederacy. He’s saying the exact opposite. He’s saying that while he’s envious that the people around him have managed to cobble together some sort of meaning out of their lives, he won’t allow himself to fall into - what he sees as - a pit of complacent ignorance. He’s saying that he’s not going to be a part of their cult. This is why Macon’s spell is so upsetting. It’s forces him to face the (very real) reality that, in the end, they might actually win, and he might succumb to his town’s narrow-mindedness.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

As the resident crazy cat person here, my reaction to this was "We don't do this...I do have an old cell phone I don't use. Could I download some cat friendly apps for them to play with when I'm gone?"

 

As another crazy cat person there are in fact apps made for cats. My cats are too lazy to use them though.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

Ok am i crazy or is there a bit where Southern Fried Fuck Boi asks Lena if she can make his dick grow when he's crawling out the window of her house? She makes that vine grow and he gets all excited and asks if she can make anything else grow. I assume he's asking her to make his dick bigger... right?