Posts by Rachel Cooper3

Noah Roberts46 said:No, the Japanese person isn't the demon—they're just a possessed individual acting as the vessel for it, much like how a Shaman performs tasks on its behalf. Later during the ritual, the Japanese person actually fought back against the demon, effectively weakening its influence.

He warned his father not to break the ritual because they were attempting to force that evil spirit into the girl while simultaneously purging the good spirit protecting her. Of course he wanted the ritual to succeed.

The girl wasn't infected; she was possessed. If she were truly possessed, she would have been killing people already.

I think both the Japanese person and the Shaman were photographing victims. To be honest, the distinction between the "living" and "dead" shots isn't clear to me either; maybe they were just photographing the possessed before "finishing them off." Personally, I think the demon at the end is more about shock value and symbolism to rattle the audience.🤷

And why did that Japanese person burn those photos? I don't get it—did he even burn them? Or did they just end up in that Shaman's box... 🤔
It’s absolute nonsense to me.

Patrick Martin said:Honestly, why do you guys even care?

It’s obvious the Japanese person was possessed the whole time; the devil is literally inside them.
By the end, after resisting every single attempt to wipe them out, they actually get stronger than ever. They even take on that primal, demonic look.
And the Shaman? At the end of the day, he's just a witness to the whole mess. He tried, but it didn't work, and honestly, from the way he was acting, you could tell from the jump that his exorcism attempts were becoming totally routine and half-assed.
When he finally runs into the "guardian" in front of that bitch, he spills everything—his entire reality, the whole situation he's trapped in. He realizes just how dangerous this stuff is because even the "good/innocent" side is starting to look down on him.

He warned his father not to break the ritual because it was meant to trap that evil spirit in the little girl and push out the good spirit protecting her, so obviously, he wanted the ritual to succeed.

What "good spirit"? The kid got sick and kept getting worse, so that's why they brought in a Shaman. What kind of freaking "good spirit" are we talking about here?

The little girl was infected, not possessed. If she were possessed, she would have been killing people already.

The Shaman saw the whole thing coming and warned them about the different stages. They failed to cast the demon out of her, so naturally, things just spiraled out of control.

In my view, that wasn't standard vomiting; it was some higher power. Don't forget that blood started pouring from his nose like the Niagaran Falls.

Top-tier filmmaking—as I said before. These creators are masters of their craft; I am eagerly awaiting this director's next project.

But here is my issue... It’s that sequence involving the photographs. When they visit that Japanese person's place, they find photos in one part of the house—and here is the crux of it—there are photos of both the living victims and the deceased. At the end, we see the Japanese person/demon photographing the young priest after his true nature is revealed, just so the Shaman can enter the house of the deceased (the protagonist, the girl, the grandmother...) and photograph them dead. We don't actually witness the Japanese person/demon photographing the priest once he's dead; instead, I am left with the implication that the final photos (of the victims) are taken by the Shaman (?).

Lawrence Booth2 said:It dragged on for a good hour too long
otherwise, it would've been great

Too long? Absolute nonsense. For me, it flew by as if it were only an hour long. I didn't glance at my watch even once because I was completely immersed—a clear sign of an excellent film.

The Euros are finally here—time to throw some salt on the table. ☕

Slovakia - group advancement (SS) @2.10

In my view, the Slovaks are being overlooked in this group—especially considering the top four third-place teams move on.
Over the last two years, they’ve played 22 matches and suffered only three losses—even against sides like Ukraine, Spain, and most recently the Germans, whom they beat 3-1 in a pre-tournament friendly. Their game has leveled up lately; they deserve to be on this big stage.
If we assume the English are favorites for first in the group, the battle for second is split among the remaining three teams—and I see a real opening for Slovakia there. The Russians are missing their star player, Dzhagoyev, who got injured right before the tournament, along with Denisov—another vital midfielder. They will undoubtedly struggle in the middle of the pitch.
Wales is a fresh face on the big stage, led by Gareth Bale—their most crucial asset and the man responsible for over half their qualifying goals. They rely heavily on him and his current form. If you neutralize Bale, they aren't particularly dangerous; Wales is mostly a defensive-minded side. I believe the Slovaks can snatch points from them.

Final match: France - Spain (SS) @15

This is more of a gut feeling—perhaps the "most realistic" pairing that could actually land in the final.
Assuming they both finish first in their groups (which seems likely), they'll end up on opposite sides of the bracket and won't meet until the final. The French are the hosts—one of the most talented squads globally, brimming with individual brilliance—I don't need to say much more about them. As for the Spaniards? They are always among the top two or three favorites. You have new talent and rising stars backed by seasoned veterans who have won everything there is to win. I simply can't ignore this matchup.

Just as an example, since you already brought up Thompson... say if Thompson speaks up or comments on politics—I’ve noticed people immediately jump straight to taxes, Jure, or Boban—but those posts aren't even deleted. What is the actual difference between those two?

Samuel Walker7 said:I honestly don't see what more Duvnjak can offer—he’s the tournament's top assist provider, he holds down that 5-1 defense, and his steal count is through the roof. He doesn't need to do anything else for the national team. We all know who actually needs to step up; let's stop barking up the wrong tree. It isn't fair. 🙂

Perhaps I am simply setting the bar too high—especially regarding the attack—and because he carries that "leader" label, he occasionally looks like a total washout when he just disappears from the game entirely.

By the way, I wasn't aware he had surpassed Hansen in assists. 🙏

Overall stats for our guys

Čupić belongs on the bench—Horvat proved once again he’s the superior choice.
Seven-meter shots: 0/3. He can't even sink those anymore.

Marić is a breath of fresh air; I suspect he’s scored twice as many goals as Vori did during the last championship.
Slišković showed himself to be a solid scorer, and we can count on Mamić down the road. Šebetić didn't quite capitalize on the opportunity following Stepančić's injury, but he should be watched—he's still young.
Štrlek remains our best player—rightfully placed in the top seven of the tournament. He’s been our most consistent performer over the last few years and rarely disappoints.
Duvnjak can—and must—do better in the future; when he's on his game, anything is possible. Kopljar struggled with an injury, yet despite that, he put in some quality minutes, battling in defense; he's evolving into the kind of player we'll need to carry us, regardless of the critics. Karačić is also a candidate for the bench when someone needs rest or isn't performing; we saw he knows how to slip in a sneaky assist.

We demonstrated that we can play great defense—or, conversely, be a total disappointment. We fluctuated throughout most of the tournament. I still feel a sense of regret regarding that poor stretch against Spain, but it is what it is. We have young players with significant potential, and I believe we will see more medals in the future. The perennial question remains: the goalkeeper—what happens next? Mirko has signaled his departure, which likely opens the door for Ivić to take over the penalty duties. A young keeper with potential doesn't necessarily mean he'll be the next Omeyer, but when things aren't working, it's only logical to try something different. Let's see where it goes.

Nobody expected this result—not even me. I considered making the semifinals a success, but the boys secured bronze, and credit where credit is due. That match against Poland will be hard to replicate; it proved they actually amount to something, no matter how much we dismissed them beforehand.
Now, on to the Olympics.

Carl Garcia22 said:They played an incredible defense against the Americans just like they did against the Norwegians today—so it’s hardly surprising the keeper ended up with double-digit saves. When you're losing by more than eleven, you need absolutely everything to go your way, including a goalie who is playing in a trance. And yet, even in this match, Stevanović didn't make a single save in those final fifteen minutes.

Carl, give me a break. The defense wasn't doing Stevanović any favors today after he had to bail them out of two or three breakaway goals, two seven-meter shots, and several wing shots from decent angles. Some of those saves happened while we were shorthanded and the Norwegians were threatening to tie it or take the lead (I can't recall exactly)... Honestly, I can't remember the last time we saw Alilović play like that in a game like this.
Even Alilović admitted himself that his defense isn't where it needs to be—it's about time he finally owned up to it. He should step aside and let someone younger take over; Ivić really ought to be our keeper for the future.
In that game against Spain, he needed to be pulled earlier regardless of the breakaway opportunities. Sometimes a substitution provides a positive shock, but other times a sub can lose their head—you never know if they'll bail you out or cost you a few saves. Someone else might have stepped up before a keeper who has already surrendered 12 or 13 goals in a row. It isn't solely his fault, though; let me be clear—the defense was also terrible in the first half.

I’m just waiting on the post-game press conference...

- Winning is fine, I suppose.

🤣

A solid dive by Smith

Just grab the damn ball 🙂

edit: and then people have the nerve to claim the goalie doesn't matter ☕

Steve absolutely dominated them 🙏

edit: Horvat gave Chokeić a lesson ☕

Good God, Štrle Bog... we really have to screw this up ourselves...

Steve 🙏🙏🙏

These saved parlay bets and those seven gold pieces mean...

Oh, for goodness' sake 🤦

Is this fatigue finally catching up with us? 🙄
Absolutely zero tactical vision in the offense...

Stevens 🙏

edit: Murray is headed to the bench...

More routine fouling on the player—is anyone else seeing this?

Put Duvnjak or Karacic in—the offense is looking weak out there...

edit: Steve is playing defense for the holding mid, which is exactly what we need...

Adam Williams2 said:Babic is the man—I don't know why you all are whining, but the guy is a breath of fresh air on our screens🙏 🙏 🙏

A win is a win. 🤣 🙏

I’d much rather listen to this than some pseudo-intellectual rambling over coffee and cake.

At least it's actually funny... 🤣

Edward Allen36 said:I can hardly wait for the post-game press conference...

- Winning is nice enough, I suppose.

🤣

here he is 🤣

Volleyball 🙏

Maric has been stellar during the championship—a total breath of fresh air for the lineup. Just compare how Vori played last season to what Maric is doing now; it's night and day. 😁

edit: the goalie is actually making saves, for once. Nice to see.

Babić is the guardian of this flock of God. 🙏