#ALSO THE GUY WHO PLAYS ALFRED IN THOSE MOVIES??

[cricket-mound]

I am not immunity to batfleck dilf propaganda I fear. (nor is corensupes 😊😊)

HE JUST WANTS THAT COOKIE GUYS ‼️‼️ CANT BLAME HIM

[unfortunate-songbird]

emotional issues in the batfam

Bruce: guy who never learned how to identify process and express emotions so he just…. doesn’t and he doesn’t get why that doesn’t actually work

Barbara: needs to prove to herself / everyone else that she can do it herself so she never asks for help when she needs it like on one hand she’s super competent but also she still needs to s l e e p 

Dick: *surface pressure from encanto plays* ‘talking about your emotions is great I won’t do it but you guys definitely should’ 

Cass: someone make this girl watch inside out and tell her negative emotions are real and she can have them and she is allowed to ask people for help with them

Jason: leaps to the worst possible conclusions then gets mad about it and prevents any actual communication. dude needs to watch some movies and ugly cry tbh violence sucks ass as a catharsis

Tim: ‘no time for emotions im on that grind’ but instead of a regular burn-out breakdown he does something completely insane and then never tells anyone or processes it

Steph: ‘pft i don’t need to prove myself to you’ *constantly trying to prove herself* finger-guns as a coping mechanism

Duke: all those new kid struggles, frantically trying to pretend he knows what he’s doing ‘haha dont even worry about it im all good’ *screaming internally* 

Damian: man imagine having to unlearn assassin conditioning and slowly internalize emotions aren’t a weakness you have to hide and just when you’ve mostly done that then you have to deal with going to middle school this boy is braver than any us marine please help him

Alfred: he’s either worse than all of them or the only vaguely healthy one but it’s impossible to tell because he conducts himself with the composure of a gotdang statue

In conclusion: therapy

[vintagetvstars]

Claude Rains Vs. William Hopper

Propaganda

Claude Rains - (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Wagon Train, Rawhide) - "The reason I got into Old Hollywood and started studying theatre and film! He's such a little cutie as well as a smoking hot, velvet voiced morsel of evil - he's that good and can play both so easily!..." text propaganda continued below the cut.

William Hopper - (Perry Mason) - "Why do I love him? The list abounds..." text propaganda continued below the cut.

Master Poll List | How to submit propaganda | What is vintage? (FAQ)

Additional propaganda below the cut

Claude Rains:

While he might be more famous for his movie roles(like Casablanca, The Invisible Man, Lawrence of Arabia, Now, Voyager, and Mr. Skeffington to name a few!), he was also a television star in his own right! He had lots of guest spots on various shows but in the tv-realm, he's probably the most well known for his work for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and was a frequent collaborator with Hitch himself, having the spotlight for five episodes! My favorite tv performance of his was playing Father Amion in the episode "The Horseplayer", where he plays the kindest priest who gets taken for a ride and it's so heartbreaking to see him in tears where he confesses that it's his fault the church's funds were used for less than better means (but it all works out in the end!). It's such an honest performance and it's a refreshing change from all his evil villians (but we love them anyway!) he'd done in the past. Another favorite performance of mine is his performance as Leonard Eldridge in the episode "The Door Without a Key", a seemingly amnesiac old man who makes a bond with a lost boy in a police station. They're adorable together and I found myself tearing up a little when they both confess how lonely they are in the world.

William Hopper -

William Hopper was a tall guy (6'3"!) but such a gentle sweetheart. He was in acting for the majority of his life (barring serving as a frogman in WWII and working as a car salesman post-war for a few years), but he really stepped into his own with his role as Private Detective Paul Drake in the Perry Mason TV Series from 1957-1966. William Hopper actually didn't really love the Hollywood scene, mostly because he grew up with it since he was a child. His mother was Hedda Hopper and she really wanted him to be an actor and became quite overbearing about it, but he was more of an introverted soul. He first started out in films in his early 20s, but William Hopper always felt like people were giving him jobs because of his mother's influence with her gossip column. HOWEVER, after the war and after William Hopper sold cars for a few years, he came back to acting but he said he was only going to come back if 1) he did it his way/gave himself to it and 2) his mother stayed out of his career so he could make it on his own. Those two things happened, and William Hopper made his own way.

His big major starring role in a television series was, without a doubt, Perry Mason. He was Private Detective Paul Drake. To take on that role, William Hopper personally went out and made friends with Private Detectives to try to bring their experiences to his role. William Hopper also was credited by Alan Alda for showing the acting world how to shine as an actor without demanding the spotlight all the time. Alda said: “William Hopper’s ability to be present in a scene without demanding the spotlight is an art form in itself. He showed us that one can shine without the blinding glare.” Which, I think, really was a big testament to William Hopper playing a private detective--- he was always commanding the series and making the moves and observations that led to finding the guilty person in a criminal case, but he was always doing so in a way that was true to the work of a private detective: hiding and working in plain sight.

Other fun facts about William Hopper that make him so lovable: he LOVED the beach and loved fishing and swimming. When he wasn't filming for Perry Mason (they would film 6 days a week for 1 episode during filming), William Hopper would go to the beach. According to an interview, William Hopper's personal wardrobe was mostly casual clothes: swim trunks, sandals, and sweatshirts. He took all his formal wear to the Perry Mason set and just kept it there to wear when he played Paul Drake. He said if he ever had to go to a formal occasion, he would just go drive to the Perry Mason set and pick out one of his outfits. But the formal wear he had was bold! He wore houndstooth jackets, various checked patterns, and herringbone. If he wasn't at the beach, he loved to go to baseball games. In school, he played sports: swimming, baseball, boxing, and basketball.

he's the guy on the far left - I know his face is hard to see here but I'm going for the Hot Vintage Man bare shoulders vibe:

I spoke before about how William Hopper made a lasting impact as an actor portraying Paul Drake and shining without demanding the spotlight, but he also made a lasting contribution to Paul Drake's character. Paul Drake was a character based on Erle Stanley Gardner's books, which were published between 1933-1973. When William Hopper got the role as Paul Drake in the Perry Mason TV show from 1957-1966, Gardner was still writing the books. When asked about playing Paul Drake, William Hopper said: "If they thought they were getting Paul Drake, they were mistaken. Because what they got was me, nobody else. I play him my way. Now I'm amused to read Gardner's new books. Paul Drake comes out like me."

He made such a lasting impression on Paul’s character on TV that even the author of the books started writing Paul like William Hopper's interpretation!

There's also an anecdote from the wardrobe supervisor on the set of Perry Mason who said William Hopper was a very kind man, a good guy, and a good actor. William Hopper's cast mate, Raymond Burr, once said that "William Hopper was even more precise, more good looking, more fun" in real life than what we, the viewers, got to see him on screen.

To add some more to Raymond Burr's point that William Hopper was "fun", he liked to play practical jokes with his castmates on Perry Mason. In an interview, William Hopper said "You might say there's never a serious moment except on camera." He and all his castmates on the set loved to play jokes with each other to make each other laugh. So he was just a fun guy to be around, apparently!

Also, in the final season of Perry Mason, William Hopper cut a tendon on his foot while filming and he wound up in a cast. They had to rewrite the final episodes so that William Hopper didn't have to do a lot of running around like he usually does. Well, in all those final episodes, you wouldn't even tell that William Hopper was in a cast and having to move around in crutches. And I realize that yeah, they rewrote the scripts to help, but William Hopper doesn't waiver once and doesn't let on about his injury. Plus, according to an interview, the cast attached a little horn to William Hopper's crutches and William Hopper would honk the horn when he was coming to let his cast mates know he was there. Which I just kind of think is sweet.

idk I feel like his hands are pretty beautiful here:

Also, I talked before about William Hopper struggling a bit in finding his own way in acting. It wasn't really until he got into TV shows and with Perry Mason that he felt like he found his place and enjoying acting. Before, William talked about being nervous in front of the camera, but it was working on a LIVE TV show with Claire Trevor when he said, "I was so scared I canceled. I swore I'd never act again as long as I lived. Then I thought, what the heck, they can't shoot me, and walked on the set. Something happened then. It was as if someone had surgically removed the nerves."

And when he talks about his role as Paul Drake, he said, "I'm very fond of him, and as long as Perry Mason is around on television defending various and sundry clients, Paul and I will be very happy to be around helping him."

So he really came into his own as Paul Drake, which I really love about William Hopper. To know he found his way and made something he felt proud of.

Also in terms of William Hopper being physically attractive, I mean, he was so incredible. He once said he was just a guy with premature grey hair and a non throbbing actor, but I personally think he's a heart throb. He had the most loveable smile, broad shoulders, a deep, sultry voice, amazing chest hair (lol), and like.. really absurdly beautiful hands?!? He was also really tall and strong but also by every account he was really gentle and sweet. Larger than life. Sometimes in the Perry Mason shows, William Hopper would swim and he has an incredible swim scene that rivals Mr. Darcy. He's in swim trunks and wins a swim race and comes dripping out of the pool to make anyone swoon. I just love him!

[hooked-on-elvis]

Elvis' perfectionism 📀

Author's note: Okay, I'm beyond excited with this post, so please take your time reading it. You won't regret a bit.

So, things just got more interesting for me.

If you read my content for a while now, you must be familiar with the fact that I'm a huge fan of "Elvis On Tour" documentary. There's this scene in the middle of the movie where they play instrumental of "Don't Be Cruel" while some 50s pictures of Elvis are "randomly" shown onscreen... well, not as random as one may think.

"Elvis On Tour" is mainly a live concert documentary but it tells Elvis' history as well. His history as a musician is delivered through his own accounts (Elvis talking about his music preferences, his love for gospel music, etc) and by family members' accounts too, such as an interview with Vernon Presley, his father, that is also featured on the film, when Mr. Presley talks about how Elvis' tours in the 50s were wild with all the fans going extremely hysterical over his son.

One of the pictures in particular, displayed during the "throwback scene" in the movie, is immensely significant to the story that documentary meant to tell the viewers. This one right here:

July 3, 1956: On The Train back to Memphis, Tennessee. Photograph by Alfred Wertheimer. Below, other pictures from the same moment. Note the little record player on Elvis' lap, it is important.

The day before those pictures on the train were taken, Elvis had cut some new songs, soon to be released, "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" are among them, but also "Any Way You Want Me".

Elvis during Studio Sessions for RCA July 2, 1956, at RCA Studios in New York. Photograph by Alfred Wertheimer.

About that recording session, on the precise moment EP was recording "Hound Dog", below is an excerpt from "Elvis Presley: A Life in Music" by Ernst Jorgensen and Peter Guralnick:

This was the session where Elvis’s perfectionist streak first became apparent. From [Steve] Sholes’s point of view several of the earlier takes would have been just fine, and he tried to get the singer to listen to the playbacks, but it was obvious that the singer was marching to his own beat; he wouldn’t rest until he had recorded the song to his own — not anyone else’s — satisfaction. Finally, with thirty-one, Elvis declared himself satisfied, and the room breathed a sigh of relief.

Side note: Before recording the song on studio, Elvis performed "Hound Dog" on the Steve Allen Show, on July 1, 1956. They were all worried about how to turn the live performance into a record, and Elvis was the one who was intensely dedicated to make it work. That's why he took 31 takes to finish working on particular track. It really paid off in the end.

Back to the train pictures on July 3, 1956, the photographer, Alfred Wertheimer, shared his accounts on the moment. He said:

"Elvis in on the train. He had just recorded these three songs but two of them became his third and fourth gold records: "(You Ain't Nothing But A) Hound Dog" was the third and "Don't Be Cruel" was the forth. Here he's listening to it over and over again on the way down to his home [Memphis, Tennessee], and he's listening it on this inexpensive little record player and here, I mean, while the other musicians are horsing around, while Colonel Parker is somewhere else, Elvis keeps listening and listening and listening. He's a serious guy! I asked him 'Why are you listening to it on this tiny little machine with a terrible speaker and you just heard it yesterday on a fourteen inch speaker in a studio, beautiful reproduction?' He says: 'Al...'

"'...This is the way my fans listen to my music. That's the way I wanna hear it.'"

— Elvis Presley, July 1956

On more train picture (Elvis going to Memphis, Tennessee on July 3, 1956):

On that photograph, Alfred Wertheimer said on 'Elvis '56' book:

"Listening to the previous day's work one more time before going to sleep, his teddy bear keeping him company. The record player is sitting on a ledge to the right of his berth."

ABOVE: "Elvis On Tour" (1972) snippet with "Throwback scene". Instrumental of "Don't Be Cruel" is playing on the background while pictures from Elvis' early tours are displayed onscreen. The first picture, that one from July 3, 1956, that Mr. Wertheimer shared his memories about.

The footage on that scene from the documentary is from September 9, 1956 on The Ed Sullivan Show. If you'd like to watch the full performance, here it is:

Well, I don't know about you but I will never see the throwback scene the same way.

I mean, if I'm being honest here, I used to often skip that scene just because I've seen the pictures over and over again and the footage from Ed Sullivan Show as well, so when I watch the film I used to be much more interested on the 1972 live performances, the backstage scenes and so on, but now I know the story of that picture, the scene is a lot more meaningful. That 1972 documentary, friends, is not only about Elvis' performances or the lasting love and adoration from his fans. It has a lot more to do with who Elvis Presley was, specially how he felt about music and how he gave all of him to please us. The film shows Elvis talking about how, in the 70s, after many, many years of experience onstage he still felt anxious before performing... and that picture from the 50s that is shown on the film tell us his dedication to his music was to the extent of listening his records on home record players just to make sure it would sound as flawless as it could be... all for us. After hearing the picture story from Mr. Wertheimer, I just fell in love with that 1972 documentary, and with El, even more. ♥

[forthegothicheroine]

Thoughts on Batman and Robin 1997 (with Rifftrax) after all these years

It's a comedy, I'll get that out of the way so that I don't sound like an angry fan raging against puns on principle. Good? Good.

1966 Batman puts this in a bit more context, since that's the clear model. But Batman 66, at least in it's best episodes, did have funny jokes! This really doesn't!

I want to say the problem is that they're trying to combine Batman 66 and the Animated Series and that doesn't work, but another work did pull it off perfectly- Batman the Brave and the Bold, one of my favorite cartoons ever. I guess it helped that they had Paul Dini, the heart of the Animated Series.

Joel Schumacher has deservedly become a bit of a punchline, but he did make some good movies- The Lost Boys is one of my all time favorites. This did not have to be so bad.

I have to imagine this finished product did not look like anybody's goal. It feels like so many independent bad ideas alongside each other.

They probably cast Arnold to play Freeze because the guy in Batman 66 had a German accent. Still, I keep thinking "Why isn't he Bane?" because that would have been the obvious cast- not necessarily good, but obvious. Did someone leave all Bane's lines on the cutting room floor and they had to give their big star the role with dialogue?

Poor Uma, doing a self-conscious Mae West impression. I bet she could have been a perfectly fine Poison Ivy.

Even for a comedy, I really don't get why Poison Ivy wants to blanket the world in ice. Won't that kill all the plants? And if her ultimate plan is to repopulate the earth with flesh eating plants, what the hell flesh will there be for them to eat? That's some Thanos-level environmental planning.

They're clearly trying to replicate Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman with Poison Ivy, going from a nerd to a bad girl. While that part of Batman Returns is a bit 90s pop feminism- why would getting thrown off a building make you a sexy jewel thief, and why would she be snooty towards mugging victims?- I genuinely believed that anger had been in her all along. Ivy has one scene as a nerd and then a totally new personality.

If Batman didn't have a girlfriend I wouldn't think anything of it, but him having one who only shows up for one public scene and one private one where he ignores her makes her look like a professional beard.

I remember when Hush was coming out and we were all super excited to find out Ivy's pheremones also worked on women. In retrospect, it's nuts that was ever in question. Why wouldn't all those beauty queens in the auction scene also go nuts over her?

Doesn't the guy who makes her Poison Ivy end up in the New Guardians and fight Snowflame? It feels like that should be in this particular movie.

The nipples on the Batsuit are, in fact, incredibly distracting.

Grant Morrison pointed out how weird it is that Alfred would have designed and made a form-fitting leather and rubber suit for his own niece and yeah, that is weird.

God bless Alfred, the only person trying to act.

To be continued...

[thatrandomartistjavi]

Actors that were in Alice in Wonderland media and where you might know them better from. Part 1: 1930s-1960s

This has been something that I've been wanting to do for a bit. Specifically in video mode but I also wanted to put it in text form for people who don't have Tiktok(because YouTube will not let me post a video with the amount of clips from different movies). While I did try to put everyone here, I probably won't identify every actor from all medias or even know their roles. I also excluded actors where I legitimetly didn't know who the characters were in movie and also one time appearances in outside shows. So please refrain from being annoying in these posts.

Part 1(you're here!!)| Part 2 | Part 3

1933-

Roscoe Ates as the Fish Footman: Roscoe from Freaks William Austin as the Gryphon: Alfred from Batman(1943) Raymond Hatton as the Mouse: Gringoire from Hunchback of Notre Dame(1923) Sterling Holloway as the Frog Footman: Winnie the Pooh from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Kaa from The Jungle Book Adult Flower from Bambi Roquefort from The Aristocats Ethel Griffies as Ms. Simpson(Alice's governess): Mrs. Bundy from The Birds Billy Barty as the Pig Baby: Bait Mouse from The Rescuers Down Under

1949-

Felix Aylmer as Dr. Liddell/Cheshire Cat: The Narrator from The Thief and the Cobbler

1951-

Kathryn Beaumont as Alice: Wendy Darling from Peter Pan Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter: Uncle Albert from Mary Poppins Richard Hadyn as the Caterpillar: Max Detweiler from The Sound of Music Herr Falkstein from Young Frankenstein Verna Felton as the Queen of Hearts: Mrs. Jumbo from Dumbo The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella Flora from Sleeping Beauty Aunt Sara from Lady and the Tramp Winnifred from The Jungle Book Pearl Slaghoople from The Flintstones J. Pat O'Malley as the Tweedles: Cyril Proudbottom from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Jasper Baddun from 101 Dalmatians Colonel Hathi from The Jungle Book Bill Thompson as the White Rabbit/Dodo: Mr. Smee from Peter Pan Jock from Lady and the Tramp King Hubert from Sleeping Beauty Professor Owl from The Magical World of Disney(Tho most people know this character better as the guy who starts those sing along tapes/dvds) Scrooge McDuck from Scrooge McDuck and Money Uncle Waldo from The Aristocats Heather Angel as Alice's Sister: Mrs. Darling from Peter Pan Sterling Holloway as the Cheshire Cat: Winnie the Pooh from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Kaa from The Jungle Book Adult Flower from Bambi Roquefort from The Aristocats Queenie Leornard as Bird in tree/Iris: Princess from 101 Dalmatians Doris Lloyd as The Red Rose: Baroness Eberfield from The Sound of Music Jimmy MacDonald as Dormouse: Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Bongo/Lumpjaw from Fun and Fancy Free The first voice for Chip the chipmunk The voice for Mickey Mouse after Walt Disney Jaq/Gus/Bruno from Cinderella Thurl Ravenscroft as one of the card gardeners: (Note: All of The Mellomen played these gardeners and they have been in other Disney movies as background singers like the pirates in Peter Pan or the dogs in Lady and the Tramp, Thurl did the most when it comes to significant roles so I'm only gonna count him on this list) Captain the Horse from 101 Dalmatians Singer in You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Thing 1 from The Cat in the Hat Kirby from The Brave Little Toaster Fritz from The Enchanted Tiki Room Uncle Theodore from Haunted Mansion Tony the Tiger Geoffrey the Giraffe

1955-

Elsa Lanchester as the Red Queen: The Bride from The Bride of Frankenstein Katie Nanna from Mary Poppins J. Pat O'Malley as the Tweedles: Cyril Proudbottom from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Jasper Baddun from 101 Dalmatians Colonel Hathi from The Jungle Book Alice Pearce as the Dormouse: Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched Tom Bosley as the Knave of Hearts: Maurice from The Beauty and the Beast(1994 musical) Karl Swenson as Humpty Dumpty: Merlin from The Sword in the Stone

BBC(1966)-

Peter Cook as the Hatter: The Impressive Clergyman from The Princess Bride Peter Sellers as the King of Hearts: Inspector Jacques Clouseau from The Pink Panther(1963) Michael Gough as the March Hare: Alfred Pennyworth from Burton Batman and its sequels Elder Gutknecht from Corpse Bride David Battley as the Executioner: Mr. Turkentine from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Through the Looking Glass(1966)-

Jimmy Durante as Humpty Dumpty: Narrator from Frosty the Snowman Agnes Moorehead as the Red Queen: Endora from Bewitched Jack Palance as the Jabberwock: Carl Grissom from The Batman(1989) Sir Rothbart from The Swan Princess(1994) Ricardo Montalbán as the White King: Grandpa Valentin Avellan from Spy Kids Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek II- Wrath of Khan

What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This(The New Alice in Wonderland)(1966)-

Daws Butler as King of Hearts/March Hare: Yogi Bear from The Yogi Bear Show Elroy Jetson from The Jetsons Chilly Willy from The Woody Woodpecker Show(1964) The Fish(Karlos K. Krinklebein) from The Cat in the Hat Sammy Davis Jr. as the Cheshire Cat(movie): Josh Howard from Ocean's 11 Scatman Crothers as the Cheshire Cat(record): Scat Cat from The Aristocats Dick Hallorann from The Shinning Jazz from The Transformers(1984) Allan Melvin as Alice's Father/Humphrey Dumpty: Electro from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Don Messick as Dormouse/Fluff: Bamm-Bamm Rubble from The Flintstones Boo-Boo Bear from The Yogi Bear Show Astro from The Jetsons Snip from Rankin Bass' Jack Frost Ratchet from The Transformers(1984) Scooby-Doo from Scooby-Doo(until his retirement in 1996) Howard Morris as the White Rabbit: Gopher from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Jughead Jones from The Archie Show(1968) Janet Waldo as Alice: Judy Jetson from The Jetsons Josie from Josie and the Pussycats

Alice of Wonderland in Paris(1966)-

Norma MacMillan as Alice: Casper from The New Casper Cartoon Show Gumby from The Gumby Show

[fazmid]

I've learned not to trust my memory, so I wanted to make a note for myself of some things I enjoyed from the Neptune production of RAGAD before it all leaks out my ears. It's mostly for me but thought I'd post it here in case it's interesting to anyone else.

Note for people that aren't me: this is the only production of RAGAD I've seen live. I've seen the movie and the 2017 NTL recording as of writing this, for reference. So, forgive me if I gush about elements/choices that are common to RAGAD productions and not unique to this one lol. Also I was an English major but not a theatre guy outside some Shakespeare, so also bear with me if I'm lacking some specific terms.

Performances:

I feel like this almost goes without saying but Boyd and Monaghan are excellent as Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Their chemistry is great. There was an excellent rhythm to their dialogue together that was really fast-paced without feeling artificial (imo there is a certain point where performers talk so fast it can only feel fake. They were all believable enthusiam).

I particularly liked Monaghan's Rosencrantz! like there was just something so earnest about him. He had this character tic of chewing on his finger most of the time out of anxiety or inattention and that stuck out for me for some reason. It was endearing. Also the line "I wanted to make you happy" made the whole theatre let out a wounded animal noise.

Also Boyd's Guildenstern really did a good job of projecting an aura of "person trying really hard to appear in control but may also snap any moment". Control freak recognizing control freak o7

The Player (Michael Blake) was amazing. He had such huge stage presence that you really believed the character was a seasoned performer. I fully believe this man could successfully sell me snake oil with the power of his presence alone.

Personal note but I was jazzed to see Drew Douris-O'Hara as Alfred. I'm not a regular Neptune patron so I don't know how often he appears in their productions, but I have seen many a Shakespeare By The Sea show in my time so he's a very familiar face. Always a really fun presence.

I also feel like I have to mention Ophelia (Helen Belay) even though she obviously doesn't get much to do here. The actress really sold every small appearance though like my heart broke a little every time I saw her in anticipation for her off-stage fate. Less important but have you ever seen a woman so beautiful you started crying?

Costumes:

I really liked Ros and Guil's tattered suits. They looked like they were dragged behind a horse. These are the clothes of two guys that have been trapped in a play for like 50 years, truly.

They also had an inverted colour scheme (Ros had a blue suit with a green waistcoat, Guil had a green suit with blue waistcoat) that really emphasized the two-sides-of-the-same-coin/ yin & yang vibe. Also the colours weren't really shared by the rest of the cast much (they tended to be a bit more muted) so it made them stand out as separate from the rest of what was happening.

Also personal note but I was enchanted by Monaghan's slightly stupid-looking grown-out fauxhawk. He basically had a lesbian mullet haircut. That combined with his single dangly earring was a Look.

The Player's coat was gorgeous. It felt grand but also appropriately dated/worn. It wasn't fully a feather jacket, but it had a smattering of large feathers that got more dense as it went down. It kind of reminded me of a vulture, honestly, which I think is fitting, with him being an opportunist that loves some corpses.

Script:

Misc. Stage Stuff:

Unless I'm really mistaken, I think they cut/modified the few lines with some outdated racial terms (I have two specifically in mind, referring to Chinese and Inuit people). So unless I just somehow missed hearing those, that's nice.

Just a note to say that the line about who the English King is will depend on when they get to England got a huge laugh. Thank you to King Charles' cancer for making everything funnier

The lighting !!! It really did a lot to separate the scenes from Hamlet from the rest of it. The stage was dark for most of it, with cool lighting (like a blue darkness). For the Hamlet portions, though, the lights were suddenly bright and warm yellow. That combined with the differences in the performances gave a strong impression that the curtain had just suddenly risen on a more traditional production of Hamlet right in the middle of Ros and Guil just doing whatever.

I really liked how they used the two risers on wheels they had (not sure if that's the right word -- they were those three-tiered platforms I remember from doing choir in school. Kind of like bleachers). They looked like they belonged on an empty stage and also gave the actors something interesting to climb on. They were able to reposition them pretty easily with the wheels, which really worked for the portions on the boat tbh. They just pushed them together so that the lower tiers touched to create a half-pipe-shaped skeletal "boat". They could climb "above deck", or even go below while still being fully visible from whatever angle. The whole thing was spun around a lot during the pirate attack, which was fun.

The risers also separated the stage really well in the first two acts. For most of it, there was one on the left side facing the audience, for characters to sit on, and one on the right facing backwards and partially obscured by the curtain they had covering that side of the stage. The curtain was backlit, so you could see the silhouettes of anything behind it. At some points, you could actually see shadows of events in Hamlet happening in the background while Ros and Guil were doing their thing in the foreground. Unfortunately I didn't get the best look at them, bc I was sitting at far right of my row, so the far right of the stage was partially out of my sight line. Still a really cool effect!

They did turn the risers fully around to face the back during the players' performance of The Murder of Gonzago, with the curtain pulled across. You saw the shadow of the king standing up and storming out.

For the final scene, they did the expected thing, where Ros and Guil are alone in the dark, illuminated by a single narrow spotlight each. The spotlight goes out when each of them die and they disappear from view. The detail that made me insane though is that each time a spotlight went out, they played the sound of a flipped coin hitting the stage and the audience was so quiet it felt like a gunshot both times.

After all the deaths they had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern start from the opening scene again tossing coins for a bit before the final curtain. They did not escape the narrative 😔

Will add more if anything else comes to mind?

[sunny-honeytears]

I fucking love the concept of Tanz der vampire as a hungarian.

Because yeah it plays out in Erdély (too lazy to type out Transylvania every time) which is part of Romania now, BUT the show is set in late 19th century so preWW1 SO PRE TREATY OF TRIANON which means Herbert and Krolock are hungarians.

This also means they most likely speak hungarian as every character, expect Alfred and Professor

For some reason the hungarian production kept calling Sarah Sarah, but the og movie changed it to Sára which is as you can guess is the hungarian variant of Sarah.

But the best thing? As a hungarian, knowing whats going on around the Castle. For example, imagine the Count seeing the current Prince, Rákóczi GO AND ATTACK WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND LITERALLY END THE GOLDEN AGE OF ERDÉLY BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE THE POLISH KING

and now you lose a lot of wealth depending on your position, you get attached to the Ottoman empire and have to sit another couple of decades until Hungary gets claimed back, only now you arent actually part of the country anymore. But thats surely it right? NO BECAUSE GUESS WHAT A GUY FROM THE SAME FAMILY STARTS A WAR OF INDEPENDENCE -

AND LOSES.

And they just....sat through it.

Those two dudes watched the entire language get reformed by almost one guy.

They saw the ENTIRE war of independence in 1848-49

THEY SAT THROUGH THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN COMPROMISE

Like imagine the conversations they must have had

"Dad do you remember Zrínyi the guy who wrote bangers like Szigeti Veszedelem and Az török áfium ellen való orvosság?"

"Yeah what of him?"

"His son was executed for treason, his grand daughter was named the Bravest woman in europe by LOUIS XIV. oh and his great grandson started a war of independence"

"What the fuck Herbert"

Imagine hearing about this kid called Petőfi writing really good poems than you wake up one day and BUMM he started a revolution and then just disappeared into the fogg in one battle and still noone knows where he is.

I could, and will go on and on about this because I don't even have to stretch to say they're hungarian

[agentnico]

The Instigators (2024) review

Just a regular day in Boston.

Plot: Rory and Cobby are unlikely partners thrown together for a heist. However, when it goes awry, they team up to outrun police, backward bureaucrats, and a vengeful crime boss.

I feel kind of sorry for director Doug Liman. Guy was screwed by Amazon who promised to give his Road House remake earlier this year a theatrical release only to dump it straight to Prime Video to the director’s dismay, and now he’s had the same treatment again twice in a row courtesy of Apple TV+ with The Instigators. Dude must be fuming! That being said, from what I’ve heard about Road House, it sounded like that was a fun action flick. Same can’t be said for The Instigators, as this definitely feels like a straight-to-streaming release.

That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of talent behind and front of camera. As aforementioned, Doug Liman directs (by the way if you haven’t seen his film American Made with Tom Cruise, do yourself a favour, just saying), and we have the good will of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as producers, and then Damon again and Casey Affleck (who wrote the script) leading this Boston buddy action romp. Look, on its own merit The Instigators is a perfectly watchable ridiculous heist movie, with some semi-decent action sequences, a charming comedic energy from its two leads and a surprisingly stacked cast. I’m not even kidding, we have appearances from Hong Chau, Alfred Molina, Michael Stuhlbarg, Toby Jones, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames and Ron Perlman! Evidently the Affleck’s called in a heck of a lot of favours, as this set gives the Deadpool & Wolverine cameos a run for their money! I do admit though that most of the cast are wasted and appear for maybe a scene or two if that, so most of them were in all likelihood there for an easy pay-check. And I don’t blame them - Apple has a lot of money that it evidently doesn’t know what to do with.

The issue with The Instigators is simply how normal it is. This is the most generic by-the-numbers heist-gone-wrong film you can possibly imagine, with lazy jokes, uninspired set pieces and the whole thing feels so repetitive as we’ve seen it before. It’s such a shame as again, one naturally goes into this with a certain level of expectation due to the talent involved, but the end product is nothing more than a shoulder shrugger. I didn’t even think Matt Damon did that well - his line delivery felt lazy and he looked bored throughout. Casey Affleck is a bit more fun and probably is the reason for some of the laughs. I guess we’re so accustomed to him playing serious roles that it’s nice to see him relaxed and spread his comedic chops a little.

Though they have been killing in the television medium, Apple have struggled with their original films, as aside from Martin Scorsese’s The Killers of the Flower Moon, and I also have a soft-spot for that Tetris movie as for some reason tetrominos are my jam, but aside from those the movies from Apple haven’t really struck a spark. Shame really. Oh well, they’ve still given us Ted Lasso so can’t hate on them too much now.

Overall score: 3/10

[apple-spider-vinegar]

My controversial take that would get me murdered by the spidey Reddit crowd is that tobey is the weakest actor in the whole raimi trilogy 🫣 and I am saying this as a person who loves those movies

Bro, I'm a diehard Tobey Spider-Man defender and I don't even disagree with you. I maintain that he was good a casting choice and plays a good Spider-Man, but when the trilogy also features performances from Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, Willem Defoe and Rosemary Harris, he starts to look kinda weak in comparison.

To Tobey Maguire's credit, I have seen him in other things and at no point have I ever believed he wasn't giving 100% to a movie. It's just that his 100% seems a little wide-eyed and awkward no matter he does.

At this stage in my life, it has ceased to seem like weak acting to me and it's more like "Oh, this is just what Peter Parker is like in this universe, these are his mannerisms and vibes," but I do think you have a point.

Y'all remember when Tobey Maguire was in The Great Gatsby? I still think about that "You're nothing but a goddamn COWARD!" scene and go "Damn! Where was that heat in the rest of your performances??" I do think he can do a good rage scene, actually, but you can't use that too much, of course, or it stops being effective.

If you need someone to play a well-meaning dork who occasionally snaps (case in point, Spider-Man) then he's your guy, but he doesn't have a lot of range in my opinion.

[fancoloredglasses]

Zorro (Get your swashes buckled, folks!)

[All images are owned by New World Television and Zorro Productions, Inc (really!) Please don’t sue me or ruin my clothing with Zs]

(Thanks to megafan_12)

For those who are unaware, Zorro (“The Fox” in Spanish) is a masked swordsman who fights a corrupt government in the same vein as Robin Hood or the Scarlet Pimpernel, but in the town of Los Angeles during the time California was under Spanish/Mexican rule. Much like the aforementioned literary heroes, Zorro is a member of the local aristocracy (Don Diego de la Vega, son of one of the largest landowners in the region) who acts like a dandy and a coward to hide his masked activities.

He has been in literature since 1919 and has been in several movies and television shows (usually by a white man) In fact, it wasn’t until the 70s that a Latino (or Spanish) actor was cast in the role! Talk about injustice!

Most people know the Zorro films that starred Antonio Banderas as the title character (who inherited the mantle from Anthony Hopkins, yet ANOTHER white guy!) Many have seen Guy Ritchie as Zorro in the 50s (who didn’t need to worry about being white since the series was filmed in black & white and no one could tell his skin tone) The film I was first introduced to the character was Zorro, the Gay Blade (no, it wasn’t porn!) which starred Goerge Hamilton (yep, another while guy) as Don Diego and his twin brother Ramon (AKA “Bunny Wigglesworth” who was, shall we say, a bit flamboyant) The less said about that film, the better.

But the subject for this review was a forgotten gem from the 90s that aired on the cable network known as The Family Channel (I swear I saw it in the USA Network, but I couldn’t find any record in my research to prove this)

The series, naturally, follows Don Diego (played by Duncan Regehr yet ANOTHER white guy!)

…and his masked alter ego. (NOTE: Regehr was more muscular and fit than most previous actors in the role, meaning he could be a bit more physical. The character was also written as being a bit of a science buff)

Don Diego lives with his father Don Alejandro (played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr (yep, also white), who voiced Alfred in Batman: the Animated Series, in season 1…

…and Henry Darrow (FINALLY! A Latino actor, and one who actually played Zorro a few years earlier!) for the rest of the series)

…as well as his family’s mute servant Felipe (played by Juan Diego Botto), who also pretends to be deaf and is the only one who knows Don Diego’s secret (it’s not like he can tell anyone)

Don Diego’s love interest is Victoria Escalante (played by Patrice Martinez, who also played the love interest in The Three Amigos)

Zorro fights the corrupt Alcalde (governor) of the territory around Los Angeles Luis Ramone (played by Michael Tylo...yep, another one)

…but was replaced in season 3 by Ignacio de Soto (played by J.G. Hertzler (Seriously?!))

The Alcalde’s chief aide (and leader of the garrison) is Sgt. Mendoza (played by James Victor, the ONE Latino on the bad guys' side), who is the comic relief (of course...) for the series (which explains why they can never stop Zorro)

The plots generally revolve around the Alcalde’s latest plot to stop Zorro by trapping him while performing some form of injustice against the people of Los Angeles, only to be foiled. Note that while the series is very by-the-numbers, the action sequences are well done and there are a number of well-known (or soon-to-be-well-known) actors (as well as, for some reason, a handful of World Wrestling Federation wrestlers) who have guest starred.

As always, if you would like to see an episode reviewed, please let me know!

[lmaowh-at]

Actually no I'm not done talking about gesher ragad and it's stage because I was there yesterday again and I got seats on the opposite side of where I was sitting last time. And the way to those seats goes through the stage

Me fangirling at this fact alone aside, I was sitting in the first row. The stage is maybe 5 centimeters above the floor, so when Ros and Guil were standing on the sidelines, giving space for the events in Hamlet play out in front of them without interrupting and being part of the story, they were standing on the same floor my feet were touching. They were on the same level as me. They were watching the play the same way I was watching it. *explodes*

In general this production omits a lot of parts that are taken straight out of Hamlet, removes characters like soldiers, replaces scenes from the main play where there's actually dialogue with shortened versions that have less text and more silent, absurd depictions of them, changes the order of lines and jokes and other scenes, some would say bastardizes the original, but I like it. I really really like it. Maybe I'm biased because it was my first exposure to ragad and I've only skimmed through the original play and didn't like the movie too much (I just don't understand how you can move this play to a different medium since it's so reliant on the fact that its a play) but I legit don't care AT ALL lmao I get to choose how I engage with media and nothing's stopping me. Especially since this production IS good

Some more stuff they did thats worth noticing I think: instead of the pile of corpses coming after Guil's last words, everyone dies on stage after the Player says his "death to all!" Speech. The tragedians do perform everyone's deaths like written in Stoppards play, but they mirror the deaths of the main characters that pile up in the middle of the stage as Ros and Guil are watching. Like when the tragedian that plays Claudius dies- so does actual Claudius that walks to the stage- they mirror each other's moves. Horatio isnt there. After that Ros and Guil say their final words and leave the stage, revealing a pile of corpses and two hanged silhouettes behind the curtains on the two exists from the stage. Then the lights go out, all of the characters are gone and the Player, together with Alfred, walk in, put two signs that say "ROS" and "GUIL", sit down to rest for couple of minutes and walk out. The end

Also, while they start with the usual flipping coin shanenigans, after three or four coins Ros and Guil exit the stage, the music becomes louder and all of the characters walk through the narrow road- Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, Hamlet himself- as if they're re-caping the events of Hamlet- showing us the main heroes- just to go back to Ros and Guil, who are now on the 85th heads.

Aaaand Ros and Guil have a fun little tune they whistle to each other and a little dance they do throughout the play and right before they walk out of the stage for the final time. They also do it when all the actors come in for the applaudisments. My heart :'))

Oh also, their Player fucking lives in my head rent free. Doron Tavory you one hell of a guy

That's all. Fuck . Watching it again knowing what's it all about and noticing how the Player is messing with them (im paraphrasing but "damn it, he knows all the exists!" "Well of course I do, I've been here before", or the insaneeee scene they made at the end of the second act when the tragedians are playing the murder of gonzago to Ros and Guil and then Guil says that it can't end abruptly like that and then he reads out the foreshadowing to the third act on the boat. Or, of course, the ending.) And how the narrative warps around them and appreciating more of Rosencrantz's slapstick moments (the actor is shorter than Guil's by like 20 cm) and generally just. Remembering how I felt back then. God what an insane play

[aulga]

Ok so before anything, it is unfortunately true that sometimes they go too far into anime territory in all the wrong ways that makes this show be known as really fetishy so fair warning.

Anyway. Think pretty girls from those R rated 90s movies where they're SUPPOSED to be high schoolers but they make them act like college students and go after men way too old for them and really into fashion and staying conventionally pretty. But if they were spies. And their boss/found dad was Alfred Pennyworth.

They work for W.H.O.O.P, a spy agency that protects the world. Usually by supervillain-like people but sometimes they just help prevent avalanches or something like they did at the begining of the second episode.

The main characters are Clover, Sam, and Alex. Clover is the most flawed one of the girls. She's boy-crazy and shallow and never really gets a win but also doesn't really learn anything either. For some reason she always wants to be the bait when pretending to be famous people just because she thinks it would be cool and gets kidnapped.

Sam is the book-smart one who doesn't really care for being popular so much as getting Mandy, the most popular girl in school and their bully, to shut up. She gets mindcontrolled the most though.

Alex is the sporty one in an already freaking strong trio. She's the dumb one that points out the obvious. She seems to be always learning new fighting techniques.

They are all sassy and radiate girlboss energy (at least for a few seasons but unfortunately by the time the movie comes out they feel completely out of character though I don't know when that is because I only ever watched the first two seasons), especially when they're fighting and on the job. They're all really competent in problem solving and have all been kidnapped at some point.

Then there's their boss Jerry who I think was a former spy and looks exactly like Alfred. He tends to overstep the spies' boundaries by meddling in their lives while trying to help. This is especially apparent when the second episode comes out. Though the girls really care about him too because in that same episode, even though they were mad at him earlier, made casual calls to him to ask what he wants for a retirement gift and were really worried when they thought he was dying. Also he ran down a building to jump into a helicopter to save them once but I forget which episode that is. He's a girl dad and these are his pink cutesy teenage daughters. No he does not want to hear about how this guy you're going on a date with has a dimple. Also he likes to catch them off guard and plummet them into the ground to get them into their headquarters to get their mission and make a pun afterward. No it does not matter what you were doing before it's mission time kids. Oh you got framed for shoplifting? Let me just hack into security and play that exact footage you need on every. Single. Monitor to make a big screen. That won't look weird at all.

I think the episodes where they radiate the most girlboss energy is in "The New Jerry," "The Getaway," and "Evil Boyfriend." Though in "Spy Gladiators" Sam just. Picks up Alex by her leg and when she snaps out of her mind control? Neither her grip nor her arm even fault her. Alex weighs nothing to her. In "Evil Boyfriend" they like one-punch the guards IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

Anyway, they all kick ass.

Have I ever told you about Totally Spies before? Because HOLY SHIT do those girls kick ass! Also I need more Totally Spies fans who are into found family because Jerry is the spies' serogate dad and they all love each other.

Oooh no you haven’t!! Tell me more?

[taviokapudding]

I just saw Batman 2022 after seeing all the talk about it and I feel like I watched a completely different movie than the majority of the movie’s fandom. How is Paul Dano’s Riddler more attractive than Zoë Kravitz’s Selena Kyle & Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne?

I know the pandemic has mentally put the majority of EN speakers, especially from the US, is a bad mental state- but y’all really gave emo Neville Longbottom, who only consumes Monster energy drink with heroin mixed in, & probably smells of week old American cheese that’s been sitting out in 120F- the oncelerfication treatment? Like I’m both concerned but also impressed.

Btw shout out to the writers, director, & Mr. Dano for nailing what a drug addict turned terrorist actually would be like. The intention was missed by a concerning amount of people but it was good, regardless. Also Mr. Pattinson did that - I love that for him when I know everyone’s initial reaction to his casting was mixed (myself included, I acknowledge I was wrong). Also Ms Kravitz? Smash I-i mean smash I- sorry smash sorry I- FINALLY A CAT WOMAN THAT MATCHES THE TONE IN A POST 90s BATMAN FILM {but also again, smash}

[bruciemilf]

Hi, Lee! Your AUs have given me many brainworms so I thought I'll share my brainworms in retaliation XD

No capes actor AU

Bruce inherited his love for theater and acting from Alfred. He's usually shy, awkward and a nervous wreck (think Battinson) but once he's behind a camera, he plays his role flawlessly. He can be the confident and gentle prince charming, the suave and flirtatious rogue or the cruel and sadistic monster. It doesn't matter, as long as the camera is rolling, Bruce Wayne is in character.

An important thing to note is that Bruce Wayne is unbelievably attractive. So, you have an attractive actor playing all these hot characters, what do you do? Create thirst traps obviously!

The kids suffer for it. Bruce keeps winning 'The Hottest Man Alive' and they can't even read reviews of movies their dad is acting in because all the comments are about how sexy he is. They're scrolling through twitter and suddenly someone tweets about the veins on Bruce Wayne's arms.

STOP! Their dad is lovable, innocent and sweet. Stop corrupting him with your lust!

Bruce stopped accepting romance roles because his kids begged him to (in an attempt to stop the thirst) but it got worst! They tell him to mention them in every one of his rare interviews (he's very shy so he doesn't do much interviews) to signal that he's a dad and very unavailable and the internet loves a DILF so you can guess what happened. They can't win. No matter what they do, people keep thirsting over their dad.

The kids are suffering and Bruce? Mr 'please don't perceive me' Wayne? He straight up blocked every mention of himself on the internet so he sees none of it. He told the kids to do the same but they wanted to read about how much people love their dad (they're very proud of him) so they endure the daily psychic damage and simply suffer.

I???? THIS IS A MASTERPIECE NEVER A MISTAKE. PERIOD EXCLAMATION MARK YAS MAMA SLAY THE WHITE HOUSE DOWN

-

If I may add

BECAUSE he's a highly requested actor who's almost always in the headlines, Bruce can't see his babies as much as he wants to, so all those mother henning instincts can't be bottled up.

Bruce earns himself the reputation of being the Mom Friend to his co-stars.

There's a viral video somewhere of him doing Harley's make up for her because she claims only he can do it right, and a video of him feeding Selina yoghurt, and tying Harvey's shoelaces between takes if they film a project together

Personally, a huge fan of the " actors who play assholes but are in fact the biggest sweethearts " breed, so I'm gonna need the villains being cute as fuck behind the scenes.

If they're doing an intense fight scene, Bane apologizes to Bruce continuesly because the guy insists on doing his own stunts. Bruce always giggles between being patched up and pats his arm

Damian refuses to be left at home, and there's absolutely a viral video of tiny damian wayne jumping to kick and punch at Clark's leg (who plays Gray Ghost's rival in the movie) when he " attacks" Bruce and it made everyone's day

Selina accidentally injures Bruce the MOST and there's compilations of her accidentally kicking him straight in the jaw, or punching him, or dropping stuff on him, and looking impossibly guilty about it. " I'm sorry - I'm so sorry baby" and Bruce of course always is like " It's okay :D"

Bruce's trailer is everyone's hang out spot. He does instagram lives where he talks about theory and lore and technicalities, and there's just someone or someones always there!!

Diana practising sword fighting, Harley doing tik tok dances, Pam watering the flowers he gets everywhere they go in full Mother Nightmare get up, and they're just there to see him blush and mumble at the thirsty comments

Also the batkids are jealous of every single on screen child Bruce films with, because he's so affectionate and loving with them. Jason's twitter is just him dunking on every single child co-star and he's not at all sorry about it

[bruhseidon]

✨Batfam as Killers✨

Bruce (Michael Myers)

They both stalk people and are quiet as a fucking shadow. They also never seem to die. (Kind of like a cockroach to be perfectly honest).

Dick (Ghostface)

“What’s your favorite horror movie?”

Dick is charismatic and smart enough to fool people into thinking he’s this innocent guy and totally not a serial killer. Well, the joke is on them.

Jason (Jason Voorhees)

Not only do they share a first name but they died and got better. Enough said.

Tim (Jigsaw)

“I want to play a game.”

Let’s be honest, Tim is smart enough to create those games from the Saw franchise.

Duke (Red Devil)

“Do you wanna dance with the devil?”

The Red Devil’s main motive is to avenge the death of their loved one. I can see Duke getting revenge on the people who caused his parents to go insane. Those who are associated with the perpetrators are not going to be safe either.

Damian (Vincent Sinclair)

Damian can definitely take his artistic side to the most extreme level by creating wax figures out of real people. Prove me wrong.

Barbara (Bela Dimitrescu)

“I hate stupid men.”

Barbara and Bela are the eldest and leaders of their respective groups—Babs with the Batgirls and Bela with her sisters. They have a strong head on their shoulders.

Cassandra (Cassandra Dimitrescu)

“Let me string you up, slice your jugular, and just watch…”

Yet another one with the same name and backstories (I guess???). Both Cassandras are the middle child. Cassandra Cain can be just as sadistic as Cassandra Dimitrescu with the right motivation from the wrong people.

Stephanie (Daniela Dimitrescu)

“Mm, bad boy! You can’t go anywhere.”

I feel like Daniela is essentially Stephanie gone crazy. She’s still sweet but unfortunately has turned a whole lot psycho.

Alfred (Hannibal Lecter)

“Cruelty is a gift humanity has given itself.”

Just like Hannibal, Alfred is a highly intelligent and cultured individual with top tier mannerism. He is also a damn good chef. Alfred probably knows how to cook humans. Just give him time to learn.