#Category 2014 films

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

The Book of Life (2014, Jorge R. Gutierrez)

21/07/2024

[just-some-random-blogger]

Tear In My Heart

Aemond never cared for tourneys, for hunts, nor for any sort of pageantry; he supposed marriage fell in that category. To be frank, he never cared for you either, but then he heard whispers about you and his brother, and then thought, maybe he somehow did.

Aemond Targaryen x Baratheon!Reader x Aegon Targaryen | 2k+ | cw: fem!reader, reader has baratheon feature (dark hair), wife!reader, arranged marriage, jealousy, possessiveness, infidelity, men being men, angst, violence/hunting for sport/death, typos, etc.

A/N: mind the tags! This is part of my graduation celebration 🩷🩷🩷🩷 slayed college. Let's pretend I posted this on schedule lmao. The hotd trailers really brought me to life. Part of this fic is inspired by the 2014 french beauty and the beast film.

Tagging: @pinksirensong @aralezinspace @delicious-xx @deniixlovezelda @targaryenmoony @risefallrise @slavyanskiyahui @thebullship @sa3losa @lxdyred

Brother.

What was he?

The word was a stone, heavy but worthless. Nothing ever came from a brother besides bluntness, brashness, and bludgeoning burdens.

No kindness befell Aemond from his brother Aegon. Likewise, Aegon long knew to expect nothing but vexation from Aemond.

Yet even the most broken of bonds are bound back under the great unifier— Death.

Never before had the brothers worked towards a common goal so fast, so easily, and all without needing to utter a word. Together, they carry their game back to their camp, equally ignoring the burn of their arms.

Aemond loathed hunting expeditions. He loathed it then, he wholeheartedly abhorred it now. He regrets forcing himself into this godforsaken trip. He should have let you go on it alone, like always.

He regrets letting his slimy older brother getting under his skin. He regrets listening to all the rumors about Aegon and you. But in his defense—

"I MAY BE BLIND IN ONE EYE," Aemond snaps, causing you to flinch. He had never raised his voice at you like this before. He despises how shocked you look, how your bright eyes accused that he was wrong. It makes him fume, "but I see clearer than most."

Aemond is further irritated when your eyes began to water.

You, who was otherwise so well-kept and pristine, were falling apart in front of him. The wayward strands of dark hair framing your face irked him. The momentary thought of his children inheriting this trait added fuel to his anger. If, that is, whatever child you'd bear was even his to begin with.

"You are whoring yourself to my bovine brother!"

Your chest heaves heavily beneath your nightgown, "you would happily believe any slander to my name."

He scoffs when tears begin to fall from your cheeks. He paces towards the bed, unbothered if the issue is left unresolved. He'd rather sleep than watch you sob. The latter left a rather bitter taste in his mouth.

"What have I been but docile and serving?"

"Serving?" Aemond turns back, one eye narrowed, "to whom? Your greed and lust?"

"TO YOU!"

Aemond slightly pulls his head back, not expecting you to scream. He watches a spirit take over you. It was similar to that of the one that sometimes causes him to stare at you from across the room.

You suck in a breath, "do you not complain about Aegon day in and day out?" You blink rapidly and point harshly, "do you not wish him away and want him out of your hair, husband?"

"Don't you twist the truth for your-"

"I played his keeper so that you wouldn't have to," you motion, "I kept him in check so that you could do your errands, help your grandfather, go on your dragon rides, and yet you say you see clearer than most?"

"I saw you," he hisses, grabbing your shoulders.

You gasp and go rigid.

"I saw you embrace him in the cloak of night, in the corner of the gardens, where you thought no one could see."

You catch betrayal in his words, but it only causes you to chuckle dryly, "had you not lurked in the darkness, you'd have known he vomited on my shoulder and nearly passed out. Perhaps you would have felt compelled to help me drag him to his chambers."

Aemond clenches his jaw. He does not believe you.

You swat his hands away. You shake your head, "you're just a man. You're bored of what you have and want what you cannot."

"Ha. You are delusional if you think I want you."

You cannot help the sound that leaves your lips. You cannot help how you slap a hand to your mouth.

In that split second, Aemond spots the hurt on your face before you walk past him to your side of the bed.

You pull the covers down, "worry not. I've long accepted you will never want me."

"Oh," he growls, grabbing your arm before you can sit down, "and is that why you turn to my brother? Or why you leap at every chance to leave?'"

You wince as you turn to him.

"Now that I think about it, why is it you're invited to hunting expeditions so often?" Aemond demands under an angered breath, "d'you seek refuge in the-"

"I RUN INTO THE FOREST!" you hiss, shoving him away. His grip left a sting on your flesh and you rub it as you continue to burstp, "I run into the forest and let my instincts take over! I let myself shift into a beast and I run wild like a deer, begging to be shot down."

Aemond expression sours at your reaction.

"I live my curse as a Baratheon woman and morph into a doe, bullied by stags and dragons alike," you shudder, tears running down your face.

"Don't you play the victim here," he rebuts, "your family offered you to mine for power."

"Then why is it that I am so powerless, husband?"

Aemond doesn't bother watching you walk away, slamming the door shut on your way out.

Aggravation spills from his mouth through screams when silence drowns him. There is an ache in his chest that intensifies. It doesn't take long for him to question why he felt so hurt when what he was is angry, angry at you.

He then finds himself imagining you throwing yourself at Aegon, weeping on his lap. He imagines Aegon brushing your dark tresses back and drying your tears. It infuriates him more.

And as he convinced himself whilst in fumes that the reason why he hated your leave was how rudely you left, parts of his nightmares where coming true.

Aegon saw you storming down the hall in nothing but a nightgown, a cloak, and tears. He was too drunk to actually ascertain if you had no shoes on, but he was partially sure that there were truly tears running down your neck.

He was shocked by how shocked you were when he grabbed you by the arms and stopped you in your tracks. He knew you to have eyes that could spot a needle in a haystack, or real jewels from fake ones ten paces away. How could you not have noticed him when he wasn't even trying to hide how he staggered down the halls on his way back to his room?

"Spooked, kitty cat?" Aegon furrows his brows.

Your skin definitely had a damp sheen to it. Your gaze upon him somehow always hurt his thorax but it was amplified now with how puffy and red your eyes were.

"Where 'r'you storming off to?" he slurs.

You push him away, but even then you managed to offer consideration, as it was clear he was one shove away from dropping. You say, "unhand me, Aegon. I have no time for you tonight."

He pouts, blinking slowly, "and here I thought we were friends now."

You laugh. Your laugh has always had the power to make his spine tingle, but it was different this time. You shake your head, "the enemy of my enemy is not my friend."

Aegon slowly releases you. He clenches his jaw and sighs, "so it's Aemond who did this."

You scoff as you break away from him, "oh, spare me."

He watches you walk away from him. He feels hurt by your coldness. How quickly Aemond reaps your warmth. He calls out, "from what?"

You stop and snap from over your shoulder, "from whatever it is you think you can do!"

He was sober now, and his throat was dry at that.

"My burden is mine. I am his wife."

"And am to be king," he whispers, taking a step forward. He watches as you heave. He's long wondered what it would feel like to hear it as you did so beneath him.

"But you are not king," you reply, stepping back to maintain the space between you, "and you have your sister wife."

"Who would deny me?" he peers his face closer to you, "even a fool would deny me nothing."

"I would," you rebut.

He freezes.

"I am prize to you," you muffle out. Your manage an even voice even as hurt baptizes your cheeks, "meat between your teeth. You and him are cut from the same cloth."

"I AM NOT MY BROTHER, " Aegon snaps.

You flinch, just as you did Aegon. You shake your head and force a smile, "of course not, your grace."

The next moment, Aegon realizes he may not have been as sober as he thought, considering how quickly you fled him and how delayed his reaction to it was.

But then again, it was probably just you and your effect on him. After all, he managed to evade the incoming attack from behind, albeit momentarily; Aemond's senses were far shaper than Aegon's.

He grabs his older brother by the collar and shoves him against the wall. "All my life, I watched you be spoon-fed your desires, yet still you covet my bride," the younger Targaryen rages.

Aegon grins in challenge. He chuckles, "as it appears, you covet your own wife from me, brother."

Without warning, the first born is hurtled to the ground. He lets out an undignified grunt after he collides with the stone. He gasps when Aemond lunges at him.

It was only at this moment, he realized his brother without his eye patch. Dare he say that the sight of the sapphire added to the madness in is functioning eye.

Aemond produces a dagger and presses it to Aegon's neck. The former seethes, "I have every right to demand satisfaction from you."

Aegon groans when the cold steel kisses his skin too tenderly.

"You wouldn't last a second against me," the prince spits with venom, "brother."

"Do it then," Aegon screws his eyes shut, "and watch your marriage crumble before your very eyes."

Aemond throws his dagger to the side and slams Aegon once, "DO NOT TRY TO TRICK ME! I saw her reel from your touch."

"Oh," he utters through pain, "just as she reels from you, I bet."

Aemond releases him with a growl and heaves while looking down at him. He paces around; Aegon props himself up on his elbows, slowly coming to a stand.

Before Aegon can goad him on any further, Aemond grabs his dagger and pushes past him.

Both of them anxiously await your return that night. Aegon falls asleep whilst waiting for word from a servant, Aemond fights sleep whilst waiting for you to return to bed.

Yes, in Aemond's defense, the rumors about you and his brother was enough reason to pick a fight. In his defense, it was his right.

And for the first time, when you received invite for that hunting expedition with your cousin, no longer did he send you off on your own. He was keen to keep you at his side at all times, especially because Aegon weaseled his way into joining.

Aemond did not know why your cousin was so against the idea of hunting a stag. He was, in fact, offended by the Baratheon's adamant decline. The lesser lord dared even imply such a beast was beyond his caliber. He wasn't surprised you sided with your him, imploring Aemond to try his hand another season. What spurred him on was how Aegon agreed with you and how you looked at him when he smiled your way.

Yet, the spite he bore for his brother was the same thing that led to cooperation with him.

That night, when you thought he was sleeping, Aemond followed you outside. When you were nowhere to be seen when he got out of your shared tent, he stormed to his brother's, sure to catch you in the act.

All he got was a startled brother, cuddling up to a pillow when he ripped his blanket off, a naked one at that.

And after a bit of arguing, Aemond saw a shadow of a deer passing outside the tent. That was how the brothers ended up in the forest. Aemond was intent to hunt that stag and Aegon was intent to watch him fail.

Again, in his defense, it was dark. In his defense, of course he wouldn't believe Aegon when he said that they were stalking a doe and not a stag.

Aemond was satisfied with his shot when he heard the beast cry out in pain. Aegon was satisfied when they found the writhing deer to be, in fact a doe.

It was common knowledge not to hunt the female of a species, yet the two debated whether or not they should let the injured animal go free or put it out of its misery. They thought they received the answer when the animal dropped in agony, but instead they received horror that would last them lifetimes upon witnessing the beast morph into a bride.

Your bare body laid before them, stomach pierced with an arrow. No traces of a doe was left, there was only pain and you. Tremors took over your body. Yolur tears flowed as steady as the blood from your gaping wound.

Aemond fell to your side, eye wide as he reached out to you. He thought a touch of your trembling flesh wake him from this nightmare, but it didn't. His mind raced, but he had a moment of clarity when he felt your blood dampen his knees.

He took off his shirt and covered you. You screamed in pain when he tried to carry you by himself, and he glared at his brother when he tried to help.

Aemond does not stop him however, thus, the brothers carried your body back to camp.

When you were laid on your shared bed, Aemond ordered Aegon to wake everyone and ready a carriage back to the city. His brother runs off to do just that.

"This will hurt," Aemond tells you, "but I must cut part of the arrow and bind your wound."

Before he can do so, you wet his face with the blood on your hand as you whine, "why do you weep for me?"

Aemond's brows furrow.

You swipe your thumb on his cheek with great difficulty. "Soon you will have the freedom you desire," you mumble, eyes slowly closing, "as will I."

The pain that courses through you when your husband breaks off part of your arrow prevents you from passing out.

As an extra precaution, Aemond taps your cheek, "keep your eyes fixed on me."

Your sad eyes open. Your tears gush down like rain.

"Is this why you're invited to hunt so often?" he cups your cheek, shaking you slightly, "does your cousin, himself, turn into a stag?"

Your reply does not come easy. You speak between your breaths, "it is a curse from my father... for hunting so many of them..."

There is commotion from outside your tent.

Aemond has the mind to grab some fabric to press on your wound. You cry out again because of this.

"Why didn't you tell me of your affliction?" he speak in panic.

Stabbing pain cuts off the laugh you meant to laugh. Your breath shortens, yet you manage a response, "would you have listened?"

He must admit, all the prayers he ever prayed were only uttered to please his mother, but as Aemond held half your body in the carriage back to King's Landing, as he watched Aegon's tears fall onto you while he held your other half, he prayed as earnestly as any pious man would. He claimed he would be better, he would even share you, if that is what it took to keep you.

And just as easily as Death unified the Targaryen brothers, she collected your soul the same night.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Boyfriend Era is a Go

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

NOV 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - I have to say it, the heist stuff is stupid and all the sidekicks are idiots to the point of annoyance. But Yin and War are truly stellar at these parts. And in general in these roles. Can’t knock 'em. It’s been a year of some very good kisses and this has to have been the best. So this show is top of the standings this week for that kiss alone. Like srs boys? I mean to say, BOYS! How dare. Breaking the internet like that.

Honestly, let's be clear, these two have had killer chemistry since the En of Love and we all expected great things. And now, here we sit, suffering great things from these kings. Thank you, Sirs, may we have another?

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 15 - I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. The Per Win story arc never interested me in 2014 and I’m not enjoying it now either. But Mick and Ohm are better in 2024. Nong Mick is a standout character, and a brilliant glow up in this version and he’s a confident little shit (affectionate). The mains are good too, but Phun and Noh always were great characters, and these actors are quite good. Possibly better than the original. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - More bf era delightful diabetes. They are the best boyfriends and the cutest family in the entire world. No exceptions. Next week is definitely doom tho. 

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - Talk about making consent and communication sexy! *fans self* Whoah! That was unexpectedly great. The blatancy of the lust in this one was fun too. And the general casual switch nature of the relationship = delightful.

I like the little acting course we're getting from these tw. They are both quite good. I’m not sure I really enjoy the stories that they’re telling, but I do like how they are telling them.

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 6 of 16 - Hill is the premier torch carrier of this year. My goodness. He sure nursed that crush. While I really like this main couple, I’m happy to have some of the others start to creep into the narrative at this juncture. Alone HillTer are a bit intentionally miscommunicative and saccharine. But the screen-time distribution amongst couples seems a little strange. That said, couple 2? No thank you. I really don't like North as a character at all. I find him incredibly unappealing. Ordinarily I'd be on his side because....... blackmail trope renders Johan automatically a complete arse. But at least this is 2 unlikable characters being jerks to each other?

Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) ep 2 of 24 - Say it with me Thailand: negging is NOT romantic. Frankly, Arc is just an asshole and a bully with anger issues. But…… Yay cute sides! PondSand they funny. (Book, to me = never very funny. I don’t think comedy is his bailiwick. Look, comedy is HARD ya’ll and usually not in that way.) 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 1 of 11 - They’re doing some interesting stuff with the framing (both filming style and narrative) that makes this extremely old-fashioned feeling (like Takumi-kun level). I keep saying that this year, but it feels like BL is doing a lot of rediscovering its roots right now. This one even had a goldfish. And abuse. (The two, oddly, often go hand-in-hand in JBL ) And overall...... it’s a bit weird. Which I don’t mind from Japan. Japanese BL can get weird in a good way. Oh I like it. Bully meats smart loaner, total opposites attract, both are lonely and broken and NEED each other, and all that.

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 4 of 13 - Oh dear, our poor little rich boy is very broken indeed. The sides are utterly ridiculous.

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 6 of 7 - I don’t normally like a love triangle, but I kind of like this one since it gave our uke a bit more depth and agency. And charm, quite frankly. So far he’s been a very dower character.

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 9-10 of 12 - Okay boyfriend era is a go. Goodness but they sure are adorable. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 7 of ? - The slow burn is really very slow. To the point of frustration. But I'm still enjoying the show, just not as much as I was.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 8 of 10 eps - Even Japan is going through a bf era rn I see. How unusual.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I’m slightly less annoyed by this one than the original (but I was VERY annoyed by that). I think mame is being tempered by a few things:

There’s so much less time spent on the back-and-forth, because this is a much shorter show, so I have less time to be frustrated by it and the utter uselessness of 75% of these characters.

Also, there's that innate Japanese awkwardness of portrayal & social interaction, which makes the unpleasantness of the characters' behavior and touch more understandable.

This, in turn, is married to the natural kink factor of JBL.

There’s a clearer Dom sub from the get go with this version, makes the blackmailing a little bit more tolerable because it's clearly Play. (negotiated or not) Simply put, daddy wants his brat to beg. And honestly? So say we all.

On a completely different note, the wardrobe for this show is terrible. Like truly bad BAD.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 3-4 - Well I guess that’s that disability dealt with. Meanwhile, competitive bullying art students? I am very amused. Zoo date was cute. This is unquestionably a BL (I’m even more scared now). Still, the gay boys dealing with the straight dude’s crush was truly hilarious. So much "our gay drama doesn’t have time for your het bullshit." Classy move, I smell some Taiwan in this show.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 4-8 end - I was reliably informed this has an HFN end so I decided to watch. Noble and self sacrificing with both of them taking the blame.

My thoughts are...... mixed.

High school student Do Hoe lives with his brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym. When cheerful Ju Young arrives to train, they fall in love. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite over a decade years later. Essentially this is a brilliant narrative about finding love at the worst possible time, surviving chronic abuse, and the way we process mental, emotional, and physical trauma overtime. Yes it’s also a romance, but that’s not primarily what this story is actually about. I can recognize its genius, but this type of narrative is not for me. I’m reminded of bittersweet painful shows like To My Star 2, or The On1y One, or even Not Me. Is this BL tangential or is it some other genre entirely? Am I questioning my own taste because I did not like its content, or because I do not like its genre? And if it’s not BL should I even render judgment? I think I have to lean into the way I approached some of those other shows, which is to say: it is not for me but I recognize that it is of an extremely high-quality that is certainly for someone else.

Recommended, but only if you like masochistic cinema. Under those circumstances 9/10

(but know that if i were rating for my personal taste? 7/10 I’m never re-watching this, and there is a small part of me that wishes I never had) 

It's airing but......

Love for Loves Sake got some kind of special supposed to air 11/9. Not sure what, why, or where. Only the rumor that it...... is. I'll believe it when I see it...... literally.

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) 10 eps - I've been reliably told not to bother, so I won't.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YouTube) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me. And just very very odd. DNF

In case you missed it

Uncle Unknown finished its run on YT. Censored Chinese BL with paralytically bad production levels. But certainly BL. Boys reunite after a break up only to discover one of them is the step-Uncle of the other. Much to my own shock and surprise I watched all 12 episodes of this. Fortunately, each episode is about 5 minutes long. Under those circumstances is it worth it? Maybe. It’s bad. But not offensive. So that's a win. And you know me, I love a weird take on the stepbrother’s trope and incest taboos. 5/20 watch it only if you have nothing better to do

Next Week Looks Like This:

Gosh there's a lot on right now.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

November BL:

11/15 Caged Again (Thai Fri Gaga) 10 eps - Penguin escapes zoo by turning into a human. Gets trapped again and a panther falls in love with him.

11/17 Your Sky (Thai Sun iQIYI) 12 eps - A naive freshman and the campus’s popular senior agree to pretend to be a couple - but their fake deal begins to generate real feelings.

11/20 Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love

11/20 The Heart Killers (Thai Weds YT iQIYI) 12 eps - Jojo directs FirstKhao & JoongDunk in an action romcom about assassin brothers (Khao & Joong) who meet a tattoo artist ex-booster (First) and a mechanic (Dunk). I'm highly amused that Joong plays the older brother to Khao and that we have a take on the Taming of the ShrewBL. I like that everyone is morally gray. This has all GMMTV's best chemistry in one BL and some fresh concepts that I've only seen tackled in m/m romance novels (check out Amy Lane's Racing for the Sun, thank me later). I'm excited. My only quibble is Jojo, I like his style but his characters can get unreliably messy so…... this gonna be interesting.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

The insane level of his babygirl heart eyes.

Just, have mercy.

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

[canmom]

Animation Night 189: Nonphotorealistic

There is a funny trend in animation-related terminology to define things by what they aren't. Animation is any technique for creating film that isn't live action. Limited animation is any style of 2D animation that doesn't follow the conventions of Disney's 'full animation' on 1s and 2s - a category that includes a wildly diverse range of approaches and techniques, as this wonderful history by Animation Obsessive describes.

In 3DCG circles, there is a similar term: nonphotorealistic. Which describes, naturally, anything that isn't trying to look like a photograph of a real scene. There has been a real boom in this of late, and just like the other terms, it really doesn't narrow it down very much. Other terms like 'hybrid animation' add a bit more hints.

Of course, if you've been anywhere near animation in the last few years, you'll probably know another term: 'Spiderverse style'.

There is no denying that Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018) by Sony Pictures Animation was an absolute landmark for animation. (I wrote about it way back on AN21, focusing more on the cultural angle.) The ludicrously stylish film pretty much set the direction for animation in the 2020s - making a bunch of money and awards and thus finally throwing open the door to 3DCG animation that doesn't look like the style set by Pixar/Dreamworks in the 2000s. Its sequel, Across the Spiderverse (2023), was even more ambitious and successful (despite a troubled production involving a lot of needless crunch). We'll be showing that soon in a Spiderverse double bill so look forward to it!

So perhaps not surprising that when people see the use of graphical styles, 2D elements, limited framerates and the like in 3DCG these days, Spiderverse comes to mind. In its wake have come various films and series that apply these and related techniques: 3DCG animation is more varied than ever, and it's cool.

It isn't really a style, tho.

Here I'm indebted to youtuber Camwing who has made a nice video overview breaking down the animation of recent movies in this vaguely defined paradigm. Among them we have The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021, also Sony), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022, Dreamworks), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023, animated at the French/Canadian studio Mikros animation), and of course over on Netflix you got the wildly popular League of Legends spinoff series Arcane (2021, Fortiche Productions), and the romance film Entergalactic (2022, DNEG), tying in with an album of the same name.

None of these films has exactly the same style, but they all pull from a related bag of tricks. The core techniques are animating on reduced framerates for a 'snappy', high-clarity feeling, the combination of 2D and 3D elements in some fashion, and taking inspiration from traditional media such as paintings or comic books.

For example, Arcane and Entergalactic both use the trick of 2D backgrounds/projecting paintings onto 3D geometry, inhabited by 3D characters with a stylised shader. Arcane is dripping with 2D visual effects. Puss in Boots drops the framerate during its action scenes - the opposite of the old paradigm of full animation, where fast actions would get more frames. Spiderverse draws 2D expressions onto its 3D models to push them further, and is full of all kinds of colourful stylised rendering - screentone effects, kirby dots, outlines, the works.

It's tempting to link this to 2D-in-3D animation, and certainly many of these films apply this technique - this is the major niche where Blender has found its way into industry pipelines. But using 2D isn't mandatory to count here. For example, TMNT Mutant Mayhem has an incredibly striking storybook-painting style, accomplished largely by clever shader work and a strong sense of graphic design. Genndy Tartakovsky's canned 2014 Popeye project was planning to use a ton of 2D-style posing and squash-and-stretch, accomplished largely with rigged 3D models. There are many paths to take!

And mind you, I haven't even covered one of the biggest angles here. Search for nonphotorealistic 3DCG on Youtube and what you'll probably find most is information about cel-shading - aka 'anime style'. This has also advanced considerably in the last few years, with the techniques pioneered by Arc System Works in Guilty Gear such as editing the normals of characters for more precise control over shading, and minute adjustments to break up the mechanical feeling of 3D, becoming widely copied in both games and films. (And particularly, animated porn.)

Vtubers in particular have really run with this technique, generally speaking using cel-shaded models with edited normals, inverted eyes, etc. etc. to try and get the feeling of an anime character come to life. [You can see a lot of these state of the art techniques if you download Pixiv's free VRoid Studio software and import the model into Blender using the VRM plugin.]

Naturally this kind of cel-shaded approach has found a particular home in Japan. In anime, the biggest champions of it are certainly Studio Orange, whose hybrid approach involves planning out shots with 2D animation before matching them with the rigs. We've covered their adaptation of Houseki no Kuni in great detail on Animation Night 97; their Trigun reboot was perhaps even more popular. But cel-shaded techniques, 3D previs and the like have also made their way into big films like Eva 3.0+1.0 (AN66).

Although this type of rendering aims to recreate the look and feel of 2D animation as much as possible, it always ends up being something new: character models that would be too complex to draw, an ease to 3D movements and camerawork that would be challenging in 2D, and generally a new hybrid style. This is good! 2D animation is already very good at being 2D animation - it's fascinating to see what 3DCG becomes with that inspiration.

So with that brief overview, where does that take us tonight?

I'm not quite ready to do a Spiderverse double bill tonight, so instead the plan is to check out a couple of recent American franchise films that are taking on the new suite of techniques. I've mentioned them up above, but let me introduce them more fully here.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a sequel to a fairly unpopular spinoff about a side character of the Shrek franchise (AN75). Not, on its face, very promising - which is why it is all the more striking that I was told on all sorts of sides that I must watch this movie. I'm finally going to make good on that.

The title character is a kind of feline musketeer type, now facing the end of his swashbuckling career as he's lost 8 of his 9 lives. Not wanting to hang up his hat, he goes on a quest to restore them. What makes it stand out its the action scenes, which go all in on the anime-influenced, extreme perspective and lighting, limited framerate style that we're discussing above. Apparently it looks sick as shit.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a fresh reboot of the venerable TMNT franchise, which pretty much describes itself in the title: four turtles (named after Renaissance painters, of course!) live in a sewer as ninjas, led by their aging master who is a rat. Starting as a comic book, it became one of the iconic toyline-driven TV shows of the 80s - but it's still going! Indeed, Turtles has been on a roll of late (at least going by animator scuttlebutt), with Australian studio Flying Bark Productions turning a lot of heads with their neo-Kanada School style (and for really stretching the definition of 'storyboard').

This new film takes a different approach to the bombastic action of Rise. It focuses on a new origin story for the turtles, telling a kind of coming of age story - but what makes it unique is the animation style and cinematography. Cinéma vérité is not a phrase you really expect to be associated with ninja turtles, but the film seems to really go all out in a way you wouldn't really expect from a franchise movie, shooting the young turtles in a handheld style and focus heavily on character. Marcel Reinhard's shader work, allowing the animators to isolate lights to specific objects and characters and introducing graphical elements of cross-hatching, stippling, etc. etc. to the lighting, gives it a uniquely painting-like feeling, augmented by a lot of 2D creativity in lighting and effects.

Turtles has never really been my thing, but this film looks unique enough that I really want to see it - and I hear it's a good film too.

So that's our bill for tonight! Puss and Turtles. Let's see what the big studios have been cooking of late...

Animation Night 189 will be starting around 10pm UK time (roughly three hours hence) and carrying on til about 2-3am same! We'll be on twitch.tv/canmom as usual. Hope to see you there!

[why-do-we-do-this]

They're both such dumbasses

(Translation)

Roier: Have you seen... what's it called in Portuguese? Uh... (in English) Des- Despicable Me? (In Spanish) Despicable Me?* The one with the minions?

Cellbit: Despicable Me*

Roier: (in Portuguese) Despicable Me- (chuckles) (in Spanish) What's the voice like? What's the voice of... of... of the- of Gru?

Cellbit: I don't know, I've never watched it!

Roier: No?! You're a son of a bitch, Cellbit! How are you such a bastard!? Ohhh I understand. I understand now.

Cellbit: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ASSHOLE?? Why would I watch a movie for kids!?

Roier: I understand now, I- No, Cellbit, you're no- brooo...

Cellbit: Why would I watch a movie that came out when I was like, 18 years old?!

Roier: That's not tru- You were not 18 years old don't joke you asshole!

Cellbit: When did it come out? When did it come out? (In English) "Despicable Me year"

Roier: I think it came out like around 2013- o- or 2014?

Cellbit: 2010. Ah- no, okay, I was 13. I was 13.

Roier: Oh, 2010!? HA! You're a fucking son of a bitch! You're a- you're a son of a bitch!

Cellbit: Minions is a film for 6 year old children.

Roier: What are you saying, Cellbit?! Cellbit- You were 13 years old you fucking dumbass, no you- what happened to-

Cellbit: That's correct, that's correct, but I was- I was in my "edgy" phase! I was in my edgy phase!

Roier: Y-y-y-y-you WERE!? You WERE!? (Laughs) You ARE, you bastard!

Cellbit: Nononono, nowadays I like things- I really like Grav- YOU STILL HAVENT WATCHED GRAVITY FALLS LIKE I TOLD YOU TO!

Roier: EXACTLY! EXACTLY! You watch Gravity Falls- You watch Gravity Falls but you won't watch Minions, dickhead!?!

Cellbit: Yes, because Gravity falls has a much more... refined humor and it has a lot of hidden jokes that you only understand after-

Roier: Ohhh, of course- The first episode- IN THE FIRST EPISODE A GNOME VOMITS RAINBOWS.

Cellbit: Exactly! It- Gravity falls is not for all ages-

Roier: It's fine! It's- That is completely fine! Nononono I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to tell you something.

Cellbit: It's different from Minions which was made for children!

Roier: Minions as well! Minions as well- Nah, you don't know how to appreciate the good things in life. The simple things- you want the most complicated- You want the most complicated things.

Cellbit: You cannot come and stand in front of me and say that Minions is in the same category as Gravity Falls and act like that's true!

Roier: No! I'm not saying- I'm not saying that! I'm not saying that, but I am saying that you can happily enjoy both of them and have no problems!

Cellbit: No I'm not saying there's a problem- I'm not saying there's a problem, you are saying that there's a problem. I've never watched it! Everyone can watch what they want!

Roier: You know what? I'm gonna tell you something: The idiot yells- The idiot yells, the wise one masturbates.

Cellbit: What are you t- (wheezes)

Roier: In this case, the wise one watches Minions and Gravity Falls. The wise one watches Minions and Gravity Falls.

*The name of Despicable Me is Mi Villano Favorito in Spanish and Meu Malvado Favorito in Portuguese, which both directly translate to "My Favorite Villain"

[hiskillingjar]

Uhm do you know any kidnapping movies to satisfy my kidnapping fetish? Also I hope have a good day I love you muah 🩷

thank you! love you too, fellow film watcher!

i'd just advise you scroll effedupmovies.com/category/abduction/ and see what speaks to you, but in terms of my reccs (enjoying the more slowburn, long game kidnapping narratives):

the collector (1965) i prefer the book to the movie but still a good and classic watch

chained (2014) faux-incest and dead girls included! AND directed by jennifer lynch of david lynch fame!

hippopotamus (2017) a man kidnaps a woman and waits for stolkholm syndrome to set in. hot :)

fresh (2022) bonus points for cannibalism and sebastian stan

prisoners (2013) not a horror but paul dano gets the snot beat out of him and i love to see that ^_^

misery (1991) a classic which i find very erotic because i'm demented. maybe if a beautiful crazy woman broke my legs i'd finish my book too...

have fun! okay bye!

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

A Wikizilla short on Godzilla Minus One's Oscar nomination, written and narrated by me and edited by @squid-in-a-party-hat. Turns out this site can't embed YouTube Shorts properly, who knew? Anyways, here's all the kaiju Oscars trivia I wrote for the comments:

King Kong has been much more successful at the Academy Awards than Godzilla. They didn’t have a prize for special effects back in 1933, but the King Kong remakes in 1976 and 2005 both prevailed in that category, while Kong: Skull Island was nominated. ‘76 also received nominations for cinematography and sound, and ‘05 won in sound mixing and sound editing.

During the opening of the 80th Academy Awards (2008), Peter Jackson’s King Kong delivered a flying kick to the TriStar Godzilla’s face.

Brad Pitt revealed that The War of the Gargantuas was the film that made him want to become an actor at the 84th Academy Awards (2012).

Japan has its own Academy Awards, which Shin Godzilla dominated in 2017. Godzilla Minus One may fare even better, having picked up 12 nominations to Shin's 10. Godzilla as an awards darling, who would’ve thought?

The 90th Academy Awards (2018) paid tribute to original Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima in its In Memorium section.

Juliette Binoche (Sandra Brody in Godzilla [2014]) is the only Oscar-winning actor to appear in a Godzilla film. Other Oscar-winning or Oscar-nominated actors with kaiju connections include Nick Adams, Demián Bichir, Jeff Bridges, Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, Brian Donlevy, Vera Farmiga, Robert Forster, Naomie Harris, Anne Hathaway, Sally Hawkins, Brian Tyree Henry, Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Jenkins, Rinko Kikuchi, Jessica Lange, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, David Strathairn, Russ Tamblyn, Ken Watanabe, and Naomie Watts.

[mimi-0007]

Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress.She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Supporting Actress category at a time when only one black actor, Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind (1939), had won an Oscar.

Her most famous role was as Annie Johnson in the film Imitation of Life (1959).

She's beautiful ❤️❤️

[zyxwl2015]

Some excerpts from the new Lando Norris biography

Although Lando was born into a rich family, his dad, Adam Norris, did not come from wealth himself. Adam's dad was a farmer & mum was a teacher. Adam has dyslexia and he was terrible at school and hated it. So he always has the mentality of working harder than anyone else to success

Lando and his brother Oli tried horse riding, quadbike and motorbike before eventually got into karting. Lando was 7 yo when he first started racing in karts

Adam was not willing to just buy the best equipment for his sons, instead he wanted to develop them. He approached Mark Berryman and Fraser Sheader in 2011 for help, Mark and Fraser has just founded ADD management in 2010 and their philosophy is on "developing and nurturing talents" rather than "just place them in teams", so they matched perfectly.

Mark on first meeting Lando: "for at least the first nine months he didn't listen to a word I said. "(😂😂) They were doing great with Oli because he was listening, but Lando just wasn't listening, but even then he's still winning races because he's really fast

Lando is the polar opposite now: he listens to everything Mark suggests. Brazil GP 2022 when Lando was on track, Mark texted Jon some suggestions, and Lando tried it straightaway. Out of Mark's students now, Lando is the best at "if you put something forward, he just does it".

Lando was so incredibly fast at that early age that people were convinced he/the team was cheating. One race when he was in the junior category, his lap time was so incredible that it would have put him in top 6 in the senior category

Lando had two crucial meetings in 2014, one was Jon Malvern, who's still his trainer to this day, the other was Trevor Carlin, who's the boss of the Carlin team, with which Lando competed from 2015 to 2018

Fraser approached Zak Brown in August 2016 to help bring some commercial values to ADD management. Zak at the time was the co-owner of United Autosports, a sports-car team. They agreed on a deal, and Zak then became part of the core Norris team together with Jon, Mark and Fraser. Little did they know Zak would soon became CEO of McLaren (😂)

February 2017. Charlotte Sefton was setting up a filming event on the Boulevard of MTC. She was making sure no one is on the Boulevard, tours was canceled, etc, apart from one guy "Lando Norris", who's a "VIP guest" and "it's top secret". Charlotte went "who's this guy?" and looked up on the Internet. (😂) Later that day she saw this shy kid got out of a Mini, said "hello" to her and walked to Zak's office. Days later Lando was confirmed as a junior driver for McLaren

(This book isn't as interesting as I initially thought, it's mostly "Norris raced in xxx series in year xxxx and did xyz"; but it does have a lot of quotes from people around him & some behind-the-scenes stories)

[gone2soon-rip]

HARRY BELAFONTE (1927- Died April 25th 2023,at 96.Congestive Heart failure). American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Caribbean-American pop star, he popularized Jamaican mento folk songs which was marketed as Trinbagonian Calypso musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.Belafonte was best known for his recordings of "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature "Day-O" lyric, "Jump in the Line", and "Jamaica Farewell". He recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He also starred in several films, including Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award,and a Tony Award. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy's 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category and was the oldest living person to have received the honour.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte

[myoddessy]

CONEY ISLAND CHARACTER PROFILE

series masterlist

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS!

Y/N L/N —TV Actress/Singer/Model

BIRTHDAY —July 5TH, 1998

BIRTH SIGN —Cancer

BIRTHPLACE —Monte Carlo, Monaco

AGE (as of 2018) —20

#3 MOST POPULAR ✰ BOOST

ABOUT

Famous for her breakout role in the French, Oscar-winning film, "Enchanté", where she played a young girl learning of love and of life through art and foreign cinema. (For this film, Y/n won her first of many Academy Awards, and made history as the youngest nominee to win in said category.) In 2014, she released an album entitled 'As I am' which delved into her troubled personal life and how she fears that there will come a day when those she loves will grow bored of her. 5 of the album's 11 tracks made it onto Billboard's top 100, while a further 2 topped the list for three weeks post-release. Additionally, she made her directorial debut with "Little Women" starring Saoirse Ronan, Timotheé Chalamet, and Florence Pugh, where she also played the role of the eldest March sister, Meg. That year, she won the Academy Award for best director.

BEFORE FAME

She began her acting career at the age of six, where she starred in a number of commercials and minor appearances in soap operas. She also began modeling at a young age, and can be found on the cover of several textbooks.

TRIVIA

In 2015, she was casted for the French dubbing of Joy in the Pixar movie "Inside Out". In 2017, Y/n launched her beauty and cosmetics company "Bare", a brand dedicated to creating a diverse range of product shades and cruelty-free cosmetics. She hosted SNL for the first time on March 11th, 2016

FAMILY LIFE

Despite keeping her personal life quite private, many sources have been able to gather that she has a very close relationship with her mother and two brothers, and is the middle child. We do not know anything about her father. As far as we know, none of her family is involved in showbusiness.

ASSOCIATED WITH

She is most commonly associated with her long-term boyfriend, Formula 1 driver, Charles Leclerc.

POPULARITY

Most Popular #3

Born on July 5th #1

TV Actress #2

Singer #5

Model #2

20 Year Old #1

Born in Monaco #1

Cancer #2

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS!

taglist — @lilsiz , @formula-hamilton

if you would like to be tagged in future series parts, either comment, dm me, or send a message into my inbox! 💞💞

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's Wild Out There but the Kisses are Good

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

NOV 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 11 of 12 - I’m really enjoying this show. But I will be glad when it ends next week. I’m ready. The motorcycle rescue in the middle of the kidnapping sequence was so absurdly bad I actually laughed. Meanwhile, in the hospital room did you notice Q’s dad used chan/nai with Min? I actually gasped out “oh, mad respect “ when he did. Papang it’s so damn hot, could he PLEASE get the lead in a BL? Please GMMTV.  

Love Sick 2024 (Sun iQIYI) ep 9 of 15 - I like Earn’s sincerity and open admission in the new version, and I like how genuine and delicate Noh is coping with someone crushing on him. Probably because he knows how painful it is from the other side. The conversation between Phun and Aim was much better and more kind in the new version, too. I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. 

Every You Every Me (Mon Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I like this couple a lot, and not just because of all the sex positivity. I just enjoy their dynamic of artist and musician, introvert extrovert. Anybody wondering about that “up against the window blurring thing” with the shirt off the shoulder? That’s a very very old yaoi trope (mostly office yaoi from the early 2000s) that I haven’t seen in a long time. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it in Thai BL…… wild. 

Meanwhile, let the weird interweaving of the filming crew begin. The show within a show that we all suspected was due is now happening. I’m not sure about that. (I worry it will be some clumsy commentary on pair branding.) But how hot does Fiat look these days? 

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 7 of 16 - I really don’t like the second storyline. It find it unpleasant. I also don’t think the chemistry between Maxky and Bas is good. In fact I begin to suspect Star Hunter should cut Bas lose. Yes I said it.

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 1-2 of 10 - Penguin escapes zoo by turning into a human. Gets trapped in a boys school and a panther falls in love with him. How does a penguin know how to read? OK I’m not gonna try to figure out the logic of this show. There is none. Do I like it? Not sure. I’m not mad about the dynamic or the setting but the main foundational conceit is…… odd. It’s not uncommon in BL, the “my cat boyfriend” thing has been done for many years now. So I know what to expect. It’s not that. Or is it? I do like how the actor playing Junior looks a bit like a bird. I also like how the actor playing Sun really does behave like a cat in his social interactions, it’s funny. I think…… I’m not wild about this so far, but I like it better than I thought I would. Love seeing Jaonine & Nokia in any form. 

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT?) ep 3 of 24 - I just don’t like Arc and Arm. Sorry not sorry. However, I do like the sides and future couples. So I’m sticking with this one. 

Jack & Joker (Mon IQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - Because I heard this episode was really rough and the world is a mess I gave this one a miss this week. We’ll see if I’m up for it next week.

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) 12 eps - (starts tomorrow) A naive freshman and the campus’s popular senior agree to pretend to be a couple - but their fake deal begins to generate real feelings.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) ep 7 end - Ooooo counter lift!!! And caught in the act. Very nice. It was a really good final episode and an absolutely fantastic kiss.

In summation: 

Two men work their last few days together at a failing company. I like this but I’m not sure I should like it. This is a classic office romance, short even for Korea, with more than usual workplace harassment (even for BL) in the guise of aggressive pursuit from older boss to younger employee. (The optics are NOT good.) It reminded me of Jun and Jun only shorter, colder, and with more dub con. Now, I happen to be one of the few who truly loved Jun and Jun, it’s very much my style of KBL. I think that’s part of why I liked this one so much. But I suspect that might have given this show too much shine by association. Still, eminently rewatchable and it’s nice to have Korean IP drop on YouTube. 8/10 

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 2 of 11 - Another one that is about abuse, but for some reason I don’t mind it as much as I did Let Free the Curse. Maybe it’s Japan? Maybe it’s the disinterested nature of the director’s lens? This show is examining the inclination of teenagers towards spectatorhood out of fear, while simultaneously giving us a contrived spectator’s perspective with its style of the filming. For example: there is a lot of shots in alleyways and looking in and out of apertures (like doorways and windows) at Hirukawa. He’s often seen from a distance, because Minase thinks of him as distant and somewhat like a specimen. It’s very clever and what I expect from Japan. But it also makes me feel distanced from the characters and their story (intentionally, I believe) which means it’s less raw than Curse, and a lot easier for me to watch. In other words, I am observing this BL, not living it. But that’s the point. And because of that, I’m also liking it. But I’m extremely wary. Japan never drops a kiss early on in a series without some serious trauma to follow.

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 5 of 13 - I love them all very much. Carry on.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 12 - So far as I can gather it was episode five that got this one censored and kicked off the air in China. So now we are in unchartered (and presumably only lightly censored) territory. Honestly? I have no idea how they get away with what they get away with these days. Onto the actual meet of the show. I don’t think the teacher should be flirting with the kid if he’s gonna blow hot and cold like that. He is ostensibly the mature one in the relationship. Although if he’s flirting with a child, that is clearly not the case. I get the conflict of the main characters a bit more. Because it’s all about class and the risks that you can take with your identity depending on how much autonomy you have in society. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 8 of ? - Basically this is just a narrative about bullying. And I’d like to get onto the revenge portion of the program, and that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. I do love that Dat asked for permission to kiss. Consent is very sexy. Also it was a good tentative careful cautious timid first kiss. The actors are older but it felt high school. (Although apparently Bach entirely kissed away Dat’s injury.) 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 9 of 12 eps - Gosh I really do like this couple. And I like the legal proceedings. But I’m worried about whether this show is going to end well. 

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Frankly I didn’t want LITA the original, so I’m pretty sure I don’t want the Japanese cliffs notes version of LITA. It’s somehow softer, which I wasn’t expecting from Japan. But I don’t mind. The brevity and softness are improving matters, IMHO. I continue to unequivocally loathe the wardrobe department. I’m offended on the actors’ behalf. 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 11-12 end - An odd and somewhat lackluster piece about two college friends, one Thai and one Korean, who get together and become boyfriends while investigating murderer - each speaking in their own language. Neither the BL component nor the murder component was well executed or engaging. It’s not terrible, but that’s no ringing endorsement. "Odd yet still somehow forgettable" is probably how I would put it. 6/10

It's airing but......

Love for Loves Sake got some kind of special supposed to air 11/9. Not sure what, why, or where. Only the rumor that it...... is. I'll believe it when I see it...... literally.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Secret Love (Sat YT) 10 eps - Another take on my beloved stepbrothers trope. Adopted into a rich family, boy falls in love. But when he is made the heir instead, everything goes wrong and he leaves. Now enemies the two boys reunite in uni.

DAMN IT! This is airing but in two minute increments on a proprietary app that’s mostly for Android, and it’s already up to episode 11. I’m not wild about this style of distribution, so I’m not gonna bother unless somebody cuts it together as a full piece. Although I do adore the premise.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YouTube) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me. And just very very odd. DNF

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

November BL still to come:

11/20 Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love

11/20 The Heart Killers (Thai Weds Gaga) 12 eps - Jojo directs FirstKhao & JoongDunk in an action romcom about assassin brothers (Khao & Joong) who meet a tattoo artist ex-booster (First) and a mechanic (Dunk). I'm highly amused that Joong plays the older brother to Khao and that we have a take on the Taming of the ShrewBL. I like that everyone is morally gray. This has all GMMTV's best chemistry in one BL and some fresh concepts that I've only seen tackled in m/m romance novels (check out Amy Lane's Racing for the Sun, thank me later). I'm excited. My only quibble is Jojo, I like his style but his characters can get unreliably messy so…... this gonna be interesting.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

Apparently I have feels about wardrobe departments this week, because, to use an old fashioned term, this look on him absolutely slaps. (Love Sick)

It's rare for Thai BL to beat out JBL in the fashion department.

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

[rollercoasterwords]

I haven't seen many horror films and would like some recommendations. What are some must-watch horror movies for someone new to the genre?

oooh this is such a fun question but so hard 2 answer bc horror is like. such a versatile genre & where u should start depends a lot on like what type of movies u enjoy/what ur looking for….

like if u want sci-fi/alien horror then the obvious place 2 start is w alien (1979) and aliens (1986) (there are other sequels as well but the first 2 are the best) & then also the thing (1982) and its prequel film that came out in 2011 (also titled the thing). AND of course the fly (1986) is a must-see...and if u want something more recent nope (2022) or no one will save you (2023)...both a little more artsy and slow-moving than the 80s recs on this list but very very good <3

if ur interested in slashers then again start w the classics scream (1996) is SO fun it deserves its spot in the horror hall of fame...i know what you did last summer (1997) is also a fun & slightly older slasher; cabin in the woods (2011) is great if u want some meta-slasher-horror; ready or not (2019) isn't necessarily a conventional slasher but i'd still include it in this category & it's one of my faves

if found footage is ur jam PLEASE start w creep (2014) probably my fave found footage horror film ever...but also i'm not a huge found footage fan generally speaking lol. that being said the blair witch project (1999) is of course the classic here but it's not my personal fave; other good options if u want something genuinely freaky/scary are the bay (2012) hell house llc (2015) and gonjiam: haunted asylum (2018)

if u want like possessions & demons etc then. start with jennifer's body (2009) if u want horror-comedy it is SO fun & a staple of the genre atp but if u want something scarier then it follows (2014) is a popular one. there have also been a lot of good possesion movies coming out recently i thought smile (2022) talk to me (2022) and when evil lurks (2023) (<- literally JUST watched this one today lol) were all quite spooky

& sort of possession-adjacent but if ur more into hauntings, ghosts, etc then start w the babadook (2014) or his house (2020) both SO good. also the shining (1980) is a classic & la llorona (2019) is a personal fave of mine (NOT. the u.s. 'curse of la llorona' movie. the guatemalan one.)

if u want witches then start w the craft (1996) another sort of fun one <3 or if u want a classic then hungry wives (1972). the love witch (2016) if u want a visually beautiful & less scary one; the witch (2015) if u want a scarier one.

if u want eerie fantasy-horror then the company of wolves (1984) or tale of tales (2015). if u want a creature feature then blood red sky (2021) for vampires, ginger snaps (2000) for werewolves, and a quiet place (2018) for like post-apocalyptic creature invasion horror.

& SPEAKING of post-apocalyptic. if u want zombies i could make a whole separate post but. START w train to busan (2016) & seoul station (2016) the dynamic duo <3 & then if u want some classics from the genre of course night of the living dead (1968), dawn of the dead (2004...i haven't seen the original one u could watch that one too tho...), and 28 days later (2002). raw (2016) if u want an artsier one, the girl with all the gifts (2016) if u want a fun spin on zombie apocalypse, cargo (2017) if u want 2 cry. & if u want something funny then PLEASE watch zombie for sale (2019) or anna and the apocalypse (2017) or one cut of the dead (2017)

if u want kind of a slower-build psychological thriller then the invitation (2015) is one of my faves, but mother! (2017) is also good if u want an artsy pick & gerald's game (2017) and lyle (2014) are good as well

and then just a grab-bag of horror movies that didn't fit perfectly into any of these categories: barbarian (2022) if u want something really scary, piggy (2022) if u want slow-building horror, midsommar (2019) if u want sunshiney culty a24 aesthetic, us (2019) if u want something that'll freak u out & is slasher-adjacent, get out (2017) if u want slow-build thriller vibes, and teeth (2007) if u want teen-girl horror classic.

bear in mind that many of these films overlap between the categories i've divided them into 4 this answer, as is the nature of horror...if u were asking me 2 just like. force myself 2 choose a top 10 horror movies 2 introduce someone 2 horror w no preference 4 genre or vibe...i think my list would probably be (in no particular order):

alien (1979)

2. the fly (1986)

3. jennifer's body (2009)

4. ginger snaps (2000)

5. train to busan (2016) (<- pains me 2 say bc seoul station is my fave zombie movie of all time but if i had 2 choose just one zombie movie 2 introduce someone 2 the genre it would be this one...beginner zombie movie...)

6. scream (1996)

7. his house (2020)

8. barbarian (2022)

9. creep (2014)

10. us (2019)

[desperatelyseekingcannibals]

A Mads poll with a difference!

A poll of Mads Mikkelsen movies where the selection is based on range of factors, including but not limited to: genre, writer/director, country of release, date of release and 🎉vibes 🎉

Some of the movies may fit in more than one category, so vibes have mostly informed those decisions.

Round One:

Choose your fave!

Let's take a look at some early English speaking roles...

King Arthur is a 2004 UK-US-Irish historical adventure. Setting the legend of King Arthur against the backdrop of the Roman Empire rather than a medieval retelling it revolves around defending the area around Hadrian's Wall. Mads plays Tristan, one of the knights of the round table (and Hugh plays fellow knight Galahad :3)

Clash of the Titans is the Australian-American 2010 remake of the 1981 classic action adventure based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Mads plays Draco, head of the King's guard, tasked with helping Perseus on his mission to save the king's daughter from being sacrificed.

The Three Musketeers is a UK-French-German 2011 retelling of the Alexandre Dumas novel, this time featuring airships whilst not going full steampunk. Mads plays baddy Captain Rochefort, leader of big bad Cardinal Richelieu's guard.

The Salvation is a 2014 Danish Western, filmed in the US. Set in 1871, the story follows brothers Jon and Peter who move from Denmark to the US. When Jon's wife and son comes to join them, they are set upon by criminals which results in a deadly feud. Mads plays Danish war veteran turned Wild West homesteader, Jon Jensen.

Fighters all, but who wins your vote?

[dweemeister]

2024 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)

Long ago, tumblr disabled completely the ability to make indented bullet points. I apologize in advance for how ugly most of this post looks. And now I've been having trouble with traditional user tagging, too. Apologies.

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OPEN invites to (or at least people who are committed to the final, but would like access to the prelim): @derricklogan2, @inmyworldblr, @memetoilet, @metamatar, @myluckyerror, @noelevangilinecarson, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @qteeclown, @shadesofhappy, and @the-lilac-grove. Some of you have participated in past MOABOS editions, some of you are longtime followers I've not really spoken to, but have interacted with quite a few of my posts... if you are interested, please let me know. I'll assign you a group or I'll put you into the final.

* * * * *

Hello everybody,

The mercury drops, the days shorten, and the sound of cinephiles drawing up their "best of" lists for the current year fill the air. But in addition to my sort-of "best of" list, there's this tradition I've got.

If you were tagged here, that is because you graciously accepted my invitation to help out with this year's edition of the Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). I welcome you to the twelfth edition of MOABOS (MOABOS XII) and the eleventh edition with outside help from family, friends, and followers on tumblr. When I first opened this up to other folks in 2014 (MOABOS II), I believed that this would last but only a few years, at most. And every time the year is new, I have no clue whether or not there will be another edition of MOABOS.

But here we are yet again. The Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song is not possible without all of your help.

For newcomers near and far: This is a classic film blog (concentration: pre-1980s Hollywood, but I have various specialties outside of that and watch plenty of newer films). That blog's primary purpose is to host my nearly 800 film write-ups tagged "My Movie Odyssey" (an index can be found here). MOABOS is one of my blog's year-end traditions, and just a smaller part of a larger one. On my blog, the Movie Odyssey Awards honor some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey") with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. MOABOS is my way to say thank you for your friendship and moral support no matter how long I've known you. It is, sneakily so, a way to introduce all of you to music and movies I enjoyed this past year. And you might learn a snippet of film history through this!

INTRODUCTION

An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. 24 songs will contest this preliminary round in two groups – Group A and Group B. Longtime participants may notice immediately the lack of newer releases this year, similar to the MOABOS editions from 2020-2022. I saw plenty of new releases in theaters, but very few original songs I deemed good enough to get here. In addition, I think this is the first edition of MOABOS in some time where there is no prohibitive favorite on paper (perhaps as far back as 2015's MOABOS III). The field is wide open for the taking, I think.

Two years after a monolingual slate, 2024 is even more multilingual than 2023. This year, across both groups and an unidentified song and movie that qualified straight to the final round, we have a record number of languages: seven. These non-English songs come from, interestingly: one Old Hollywood movie from a studio celebrating a centennial; an industry-defining film that burst forth across boundaries and remains stratospherically popular in the former Eastern bloc; one of the greatest "what if's" of martial arts cinema; a most pleasant surprise from Viet Film Fest (VFF); an underseen piece of sci-fi animation filled with thematic intrigue and fully-realized worldbuilding; and a film about religion that also gifted us one of the best film scores of the 20th century.

The record 44 participants in last year's prelim were in an upset-minded mood, with stunning early eliminations for Barbie (2023) and both Top Gun movies. Lesser-heralded songs from Brazil, France, and India advanced at their expense. The cold streak for Shirley Temple movies at MOABOS finally broke, with a Shirley Temple song finally advancing from the prelim. What might be the narrative this year? Though I've said there aren't prohibitive favorites, there are still a number of songs I consider favorites and underdogs. Which ones fall unexpectedly? Which Cinderellas will continue to the Big Dance?

2019's MOABOS (MOABOS VII) preliminary – the "I Dug a Ditch" year, as some folks call it – was finally surpassed last year for the amount of chaos that ensued. 2023's MOABOS had a three-way tie on points in one group and the upset of the round in the other (Top Gun's "Take My Breath Away" eliminated by two points). I'm not expecting similar nailbiters yet again, but you folks like to make it dramatic!

INSTRUCTIONS

Please rank (#1-12) at least seven of your group's songs. Please consider to the best of your ability (these are only suggestions, not strict guidelines, and is largely how I consider my own rankings): 

How musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to melody, harmony, musical phrasing, and orchestration);

Its lyrics (incl. and not limited to lyrical flow, invention, and poeticism); 

Context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films)*;

Choreography/dance direction (if applicable; I know that almost none of us have a dancing background, but please do not discount this aspect entirely);

The song's cultural/sociopolitical impact and legacy/listenability outside the film's context (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor)

* Should a song that only appears in the opening and/or closing credits, but has no bearing on the film's score or the body of the film itself be penalized? Some say yes, some say no. I have no official position here.

A notice on audio/video quality and colorization of black-and-white film: Because it is sometimes difficult to find clean recordings of much of this music, imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song while you are drawing up your rankings – you're on the honor system on this one. In addition, in respect to personal and blog policy, I will not provide (nor encourage you to seek) colorized videos of films that were originally in black-and-white. You can call this snobby all you want. But to yours truly, film colorization of B&W is disrespectful to the artisans who plied their craft and made decisions based on the fact the film was shot in black-and-white. It is essentially redirecting a movie without consent.

You are encouraged to send in comments and reactions with your rankings – it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself!

The top six songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. Unlike previous years, no at-large wild card picks outside the top six will advance to the final.

The deadline for submission is Sunday, December 15 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That is 9 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time. That deadline is also Monday, December 16 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET / 2 PM Indochina Time. This deadline - and some of you have joked with me that this is inevitable - will be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time.This deadline may be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time. However, I very much do not wish to extend the deadline because the final round is more intensive and usually involves more participants. A small group of longtime MOABOS veterans will be asked to do both groups, if possible (but they are required to complete their assigned group first before moving on) – they are generally selected for their longevity of MOABOS participation and promptness. Tabulation details are under the "read more".

Please pay attention to the groups you have been sorted into, and please only submit rankings for the group you have been assigned. For your convenience, the YouTube playlists for both groups follow:

PLAYLISTS: (GROUP A) / (GROUP B)

Group participants were randomized to ensure a roughly equal gender spread in both groups. The twenty-four songs in the prelim were placed into groups based on a pre-ranking that I always perform before MOABOS – anticipating how all of you, collectively, would rank them, #1-24. Based on those pre-rankings, I balanced the groups and, as needed, separated songs that appeared in the same film.

Feel free to listen as many times as you need and perhaps take notes, and I hope you discover music and movies that inspire you to find them. With profound appreciation from this grateful classic film fan, here are your group's songs.

"Song title", composer and lyricist, Film Title, country/countries of origin if the film is not predominantly in English and not from the U.S.

GROUP A

“Amor de Gitano (The Love of a Gypsy)”, music and lyrics by Morris Stoloff and Fred Karger, The Loves of Carmen (1948)

Performed by Rita Hayworth

Lyrics in Spanish (rough translation)

In this adaptation of Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen (which also served as the source material for Georges Bizet's opera Carmen), this number appears late in the film after the turbulent relationship between Carmen (Hayworth; whose character is Romani) and Don José (Glenn Ford) of the Spanish dragoons. At this point, Carmen has escaped her earlier poverty (and Don José) and is now living comfortably in Córdoba as the partner of a bullfighter.

Hayworth, an actress of Spanish Romani and Irish/English descent, began her career in minor roles at 20th Century Fox before moving to Columbia. While at Columbia, she became the studio's top star and a pin-up icon to American soldiers in WWII. Despite frequent clashes with chief executive Harry Cohn over roles and pay (contracted Hollywood actors had little freedom to choose their roles until the 1944 court case De Havilland v. Warner Bros.), she single-handedly catapulted Columbia into financial stability for years to come, dashing any remaining beliefs that Columbia was not a major studio. The Loves of Carmen was to be her final film for Columbia, due to her impending marriage to Prince Aly Khan (they divorced, and she came back).

“Belleville Rendez-vous”, music by Benoît Charest, lyrics by Sylvain Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville (2003, France/Belgium/Canada/United Kingdom)

(French original with translation) / (English dub version)

Performed by Béatrice Bonifassi and Matthieu Chedid

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

From Sylvain Chomet's absurd, darkly comic, and disgustingly original animated feature debut (“disgustingly” is used here with admiration, because of the intentional ugliness of some of the animation). The film features an aging group of singing triplets who attempt to help another woman find her grandson after the grandson was kidnapped while competing in the Tour de France. The song first appears in the opening, is reprised a few times during the film, and repeated a final time in the end credits. It forms the basis for the film's score.

“Broadway Rhythm”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

(part 1) / (part 2)

Performed by Frances Langford and company; danced by June Knight, Nick Long Jr., Eleanor Powell and company

This number is the third-to-last scene of the film. At a dinner-and-a-show club, radio star Langford (playing herself) sings the title song of the stage musical that producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor) has been trying desperately to open for the entire movie. His failure to cast a lead actress – despite his high school sweetheart, Irene Foster (Eleanor Powell), excelling in her audition – and other shenanigans have gotten him to this point. All that singing on the offbeats! If this song sounds vaguely familiar, it might be because it forms much of the mid-film ballet sequence in Singin' in the Rain (1952; "GOT-ta dance!").

Between parts 1 and 2 provided here is supposed to be a dance between siblings Buddy and Vilma Ebsen, but I could not find a video of it online.

In part 2, two of the film's antagonists (not villains, just antagonists), played by Knight and Long, dance with each other. Then, Irene appears to Robert's surprise. It is implied she is cast for the lead role in the film's final scene, as well as rekindling her relationship with Robert. Eleanor Powell, who plays Irene, was approaching the peak years of a relatively short film career, and was considered by many to be the most accomplished female dancer in Hollywood history (incl. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Fred Astaire, who said she was in a league all by herself).

“Camp Isn’t Home”, music and lyrics by Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Mark Sonnenblick, Theater Camp (2023)

Performed by the child cast members of the film

In this mockumentary of a summer theater camp (I can already hear the groans from some of you), the kids – many of whom are regulars at this camp – put on a show in order to save the camp from being repossessed. The montages you see in this particular clip are not featured in the film; the film itself simply shows the performance. To explain the final moment in this video would be to spoil a film-ending punchline.

“Dam Bhar Jo Udhar Munh Phere (I Wish the Moon Would Look Away for a Moment)”, music by Shankar Jaikishan, lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri, Awaara (1951, India)

Performed by Nargis and Raj Kapoor (dubbed by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh, respectively)

Lyrics in Hindi (turn on the CC's in the provided video for translation)

In Awaara, Raj (Raj Kapoor) and Rita (Nargis) are childhood sweethearts who were separated when Raj could not afford the fees for school, resulting in his expulsion. Years later, after Raj turned to a criminal gang to support himself and his mother, the two reconnected. He has been trying to tell Rita, indirectly, that he has turned to thievery and is attempting to leave his criminal life behind, but she's unable to connect the dots. After a beachside first date, so appears this number – the rekindling of their relationship, in spite of the length of their separation, class differences, and another factor that would spoil the moral framework of the entire film.

“El Dorado”, music by Nelson Riddle, lyrics by John Gabriel, El Dorado (1966)

Performed by George Alexander and the Mellomen

The opening theme to this American Western film. Appears in the opening credits and quoted occasionally in the film's score. Edgar Allan Poe fans will note a lyrical reference to his poem "Eldorado" (the poem is quoted a few times in the film by James Caan's character). At its heart, this Western is about male friendship amid personal foibles (John Wayne's character has a physical ailment; Robert Mitchum's attempting to overcome his history of alcoholism, Caan is overconfident in his abilities) as the three protagonists attempt to protect a humble family from the illegal and violent machinations of a wealthy land baron.

The portraits you see in the opening credits are from Danish American painter Olaf Wieghorst, a noted 20th century artist who specialized in scenes of the old American West. Some of these portraits were done for the film, and Wieghorst's stock in the art world has gradually risen over the decades.

“Game of Death” (Mandarin version), music by Joseph Koo, lyrics by James Wong, Game of Death (1978, Hong Kong)

Performed by Roman Tam

Some rather blurry subtitles of a loose translation are in the provided video (to my Mandarin-speaking friends, may I ask if you can provide a more accurate translation?)

Appears as the opening credits song to the final film featuring Bruce Lee. Game of Death was incomplete at the time of Lee's death, and a "complete" version was released in 1978 with re-edited footage from his previous films. Roman Tam, the singer, was a major figure in the Cantopop music scene, He was also controversial – his on-stage flamboyance and his voice (which was not as masculine as some of his fellow Cantopop peers) were frowned upon by conservative Hong Kongers.

The Cantonese release of Game of Death occurred at the same time. It also has a title song, with the same composer, lyricist, and performer. However, it is a markedly different song (and is competing in the other group). The Cantonese version is considered the "original" and is competing in the other group.

“Goodbye Girl”, music and lyrics by David Gates, The Goodbye Girl (1977)

Performed by David Gates

This song appears in this romantic dramedy's finale as it transitions to end credits. Unemployed dancer Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason) and ten-year-old daughter Lucy (Quinn Cummings) are forced to take in a struggling actor (Richard Dreyfuss), who is the friend of Paula's now-ex.

Those of you who saw The Last of Us season 1 may have noticed The Goodbye Girl featured in the sixth episode of that show during a "movie night". From my perspective, The Goodbye Girl is about learning how to trust again after being abandoned (whether once before or repeatedly). Very apt for that certain episode of TLoU.

“A Million Miles Away”, music and lyrics by Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye, Mars Express (2023, France)

Performed by Alice Lewis

Appears as the only song in the end credits to this French animated cyberpunk noir. The lyrics make (relatively non-spoilery) reference to the violent events that transpired in the finale. Not quoted in the film's score. In Mars Express, private detective Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos Rivera are investigating a homicide – leading both of them to a horrible conspiracy that might shake the foundations of 2200s human society.

Dropping objectivity for a moment... for all of you who are fans of the likes of Blade Runner (1982) and Ghost in the Shell (1995, Japan), Mars Express is 100% for you. And even if you haven't seen either of those, this is the one animated movie from outside the major American and Japanese studios competing in this year's edition of MOABOS I highly recommend to all, with a small warning here for the film's severe violence.

“Puppet on a String”, music and lyrics by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, Girl Happy (1965)

Performed by Elvis Presley

None of the videos on YouTube have the "correct" audio alongside the images, but the provided version is as close as it gets. Apologies.

In film #17 of 31 in his acting career (1956-1969), Elvis plays the lead singer of a band. The band is normally cooped up in Chicago, but it's Spring Break, and their nightclub manager boss (Harold Stone) needs someone to make sure to watch out for his college senior daughter (Shelley Fabares in her first of three appearances as the leading lady in an Elvis movie – a record). The boss wants her protected from the "30,000 sex-starved young men" also vacationing in Fort Lauderdale. Florida (the boss' words, not mine). The two leads eventually fall for each other, and fully realize this with this song (which became Elvis' most successful single from this film).

“Something’s Gotta Give”, music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Performed by Fred Astaire; danced by Astaire and Leslie Caron

Starts in earnest at 1:17.

In this, the third (!) adaptation by 20th Century Fox of Jean Webster's 1912 young adult novel of the same name, Daddy Long Legs sees wealthy American magnate Jervis Pendleton III (Astaire in his first widescreen musical) secretly paying for the college education of young Frenchwoman Julie André (Caron), after he, by chance, spotted her tending to children at a French orphanage. Julie calls her unidentified benefactor "Daddy Long Legs", based on a faraway description given to her by her fellow orphans. As she writes to Daddy Long Legs, she nevertheless falls for him – sight supposedly unseen. And he, to his surprise, starts falling for her.

The biggest hurdle to this movie is the obvious age difference between Astaire and Caron. However, Daddy Long Legs fully acknowledges this reality throughout – and gifting viewers some hilarious lines to boot at Astaire's expense. I've seen much worse (re:age difference), and it helps that Astaire moves and dances as well as he does. Your mileage may vary, but I don't read the narrative as predatory.

This is a Great American Songbook standard and was covered by many artists, including Bing Crosby (F:NV fans?), Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

“You Are My Lucky Star”, music Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

(initial version; begins in earnest at 1:00) / (reprise, part 1) / (reprise, part 2)

Initially performed by Frances Langford; reprise performed and danced by Eleanor Powell

If you're vaguely familiar with this song, that's because either you've seen the end of Singin' in the Rain (1952) and/or Alien (1979). Stage producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor) is putting on a radio special to promote his upcoming Broadway musical. Robert is also having trouble casting a lead actress for his musical. Frances Langford plays herself here – she was principally a radio star who made only a handful of appearances in films, usually in supporting or bit roles. Langford would be a key fixture in Bob Hope's USO performances during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

In the reprise, Robert's former high school sweetheart, Irene Foster (Eleanor Powell), has just arrived from Albany to audition for his stage musical. She imagines herself onstage – singing and dancing in a fantastical ballet sequence. Powell, approaching the peak years of a relatively short film career, was considered by many to be the most accomplished female dancer in Hollywood history (incl. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Fred Astaire, who said she was in a league all by herself). And here, she shows she can do more than just tap dancing.

The folks assigned to GROUP A include: @cokwong, @demenshah, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @maximiliani, @rawberry101, @theybecomestories, . You are also being joined by 17 others including myself and my sister.

GROUP B

“Aren’t You Glad You’re You?”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)

(in-film version) / (soundtrack version)

Performed by Bing Crosby

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

In this sequel to the Best Picture-winning musical Going My Way (1944), Crosby (at the height of his career) reprises his Oscar-winning role as Father O'Malley, who has just been transferred to a big city parish and to oversee its underfunded, nun-run private school. One student, Patsy (Joan Carroll), has been dropped off there by her financially unstable single mother. While seeking for advice about a writing assignment one night, Father O'Malley urges Patsy – who has not been fitting in at school – to be herself and approach the essay uniquely, leading to this song. Quoted a few times in the film's score. The soundtrack version and all covers are usually a lot more upbeat than the original.

“Farewell Amanda”, music and lyrics by Cole Porter, Adam’s Rib (1949)

Performed by David Wayne

In this romantic comedy, prosecutor Adam (Spencer Tracy) and defense attorney Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) are married. He's a traditionalist; she's a feminist. He's prosecuting a woman who shot (but didn't kill) her adulterous husband; she's defending that very same woman. Their neighbor, pianist Kip Laurie (David Wayne), has been romantically interested in Amanda for some time and, over dinner, premieres this song. The song becomes a hit later in the film.

For MOABOS veterans, you know that I include a "troll song" in MOABOS every now and then. This is the closest thing to a "troll song" this year because "Farewell Amanda" appears multiple times through Adam's Rib in unexpected and hilarious contexts (to Adam's annoyance).

“Game of Death” (Cantonese original), music by Joseph Koo, lyrics by James Wong, Game of Death (1978, Hong Kong)

Performed by Roman Tam

Some rather blurry subtitles of a loose translation are in the provided video (if you know someone who is fluent in Cantonese and is willing to provide a more correct translation, please let me know)

Appears as the opening credits song to the final film featuring Bruce Lee. Game of Death was incomplete at the time of Lee's death, and a "complete" version was released in 1978 with re-edited footage from his previous films. Roman Tam, the singer, was a major figure in the Cantopop music scene, He was also controversial – his on-stage flamboyance and his voice (which was not as masculine as some of his fellow Cantopop peers) were frowned upon by conservative Hong Kongers.

The Mandarin release of Game of Death occurred at the same time. It also has a title song, with the same composer, lyricist, and performer. However, it is a markedly different song (and is competing in the other group).

“Giấc Mơ (Dream)”, music and lyrics by Túng, Before Sex (2024, Vietnam)

Provided version (which is mildly NSFW) performed by Túng; performed in-film by Nguyễn Lê Việt Hưng

Lyrics in Vietnamese (very rough translation that I know the Viet Film Fest crew is gonna pick apart)

The provided soundtrack version is part of the film-ending montage of this raunchy coming-of-age romantic comedy.

The song's first appearance (not provided) is much more instrumentally simple, and appears during a comedic fantastical sequence. Before Sex opens with two groups of friends discussing their opinions on sex, one-night stands, how to "win over" someone, and love before splintering into three storylines. Say what you will about how the film gets to its endings, but I saw Before Sex as a springboard into discussions about what is healthy in a relationship – rare for a major Vietnamese studio romantic comedy.

“Girl Happy”, music and lyrics by Doc Pomus and Jerry Ragovoy, Girl Happy (1965)

(single version which also appears in the opening credits) / (end-of-film reprise)

Performed by Elvis Presley

This number appears in the stylish opening credits and in the final scene of the film. It is occasionally quoted in the film's score. In film #17 of 31 in his acting career (1956-1969), Elvis plays the lead singer of a band (shock!). The band is normally cooped up in Chicago, but it's Spring Break, and their nightclub manager boss (Harold Stone) needs someone to look out for his college senior daughter (Shelley Fabares in her first of three appearances as the leading lady in an Elvis movie – a record). The boss wants her protected from the "30,000 sex-starved young men" also vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (the boss' words, not mine). The two leads eventually fall for each other, despite this exceptionally strange situation and further drama with another love interest, Deena (Mary Ann Mobley). If you think that sounds like a crazy plot for an Elvis movie, you haven't seen enough Elvis movies.

Girl Happy was made by MGM as a response to the popularity of the "beach party" movies made by American International Pictures (AIP). The beach party subgenre was a 1960s craze with low-budget comedies of teenage/young adult characters getting into zany situations often involving elements of '60s teenage culture – poor romantic decision-making, dance parties, days at the beach (Californian surf culture especially, though Girl Happy is set out in Florida), rock-and-roll, car culture, excessive drinking with comical consequences, and more. AIP's Beach Party movies are also one of my guilty pleasures.

“I’ve Been Kissed Before”, music and lyrics by Lester Lee and Bob Russell, Affair in Trinidad (1952)

Performed and danced by Rita Hayworth (dubbed by Jo Ann Greer)

Nightclub singer Chris Emery (Hayworth) is based in Trinidad and Tobago, still a British colony in 1952, and has been embroiled in an investigation into her late husband's murder. Her husband's brother, Steve (Glenn Ford; first seen at 0:43 in the provided video), has just arrived on the island and is seeking answers. This performance comes at significant risk for Chris, as it is being held in the estate of one of the primary murder suspects (to explain why she is taking that risk is a major spoiler). This song marks the point in the film in which the web of murderous schemes and the local authorities' investigation that define this entire work finally comes together.

Rita Hayworth, of mixed Spanish Romani and Irish/English descent, was considered one of the pin-up girls of 1940s Hollywood. She retired from filmmaking after her marriage to Prince Aly Khan, but when that marriage collapsed, she made her heralded return in this film noir, made at Columbia Pictures (where Hayworth was contracted to before the marriage).

“I’ve Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

Performed and danced by June Knight, Robert Taylor, and company; brief reprise by Frances Langford

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Dance Direction

As Broadway producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor) commiserates with the fabulously wealthy young widow Lilian Brent (June Knight) over the fact he is having trouble opening his show on Broadway, the two begin flirting with the other, in addition to suggesting a business arrangement to help open his show. The flirtation continues with this song. How about that furniture? Reprised briefly by Langford later on during rehearsal.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) awarded a competitive Oscar for Dance Direction for only three years (1935-1937). Choreographer Dave Gould won the inaugural Dance Direction Oscar for this number. This category was discontinued because of political pressure from the directors' branch of AMPAS. The most recent honorary winner for an Academy Award for choreography for work on an individual film was Onna White for Oliver! (1968).

“Même plus l'amour (Not Even Love)”, music and lyrics by Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye, Mars Express (2023, France)

Performed by Barbara Carlotti

Lyrics in French (somewhat literal translation)

In this French animated cyberpunk noir, private detective Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos Rivera are investigating a homicide. Their investigation leads them to find the murder victim's roommate, who is being followed by persons unknown. Despite their best efforts, Aline and Carlos fail to protect the roommate while trying to make a getaway. This song plays muted, under dialogue with lyrics somewhat not perceptible to the viewer, while Aline – a workaholic and a recovering alcoholic – drinks away her sadness at a bar. Not quoted in the film's score.

Dropping objectivity for a moment... for all of you who are fans of the likes of Blade Runner (1982) and Ghost in the Shell (1995, Japan), Mars Express is 100% for you. And even if you haven't seen either of those, this is the one animated movie from outside the major American and Japanese studios competing in this year's edition of MOABOS I highly recommend to all, with a small warning here for the film's severe violence.

“River Song”, music by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, and John Williams, lyrics by the Sherman Brothers, Tom Sawyer (1973)

Performed by Charley Pride and chorus

Produced by Reader's Digest (seriously) and distributed by United Artists (UA), this is a musical adaptation of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This movie comes early in John Williams' film scoring career (this is two years before Jaws, four before Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and just past the peak Disney years for the late Sherman Brothers, the three collaborated for this opening credits song – establishing the setting for this film (shot on location in Missouri).

Pride was the first black country music superstar and, at this time, Pride's presence (even for an opening credits song) was a massive get for this production. This was Pride's second and final performance on an original song for any movie.

“Sing Before Breakfast”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

Performed and danced by Eleanor Powell, Buddy Ebsen, and Vilma Ebsen

After going to her former high school sweetheart's office to inquire about auditioning for a Broadway stage musical he is producing (and not finding him there) the previous day, aspiring singer/dancer Irene Foster (Powell) has breakfast with her friends. Siblings Ted and Sally Burke (the Ebsens, both making their film debut; Buddy would go on to have a long film/TV career while Vilma stuck solely to the stage) provide Irene with support during their occasional appearances in this film.

Why is Buddy Ebsen wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater in an MGM musical despite MGM having their own animation studio at the time? No clue.

“Tere Bina Aag Ye Chandni (Without You, Even Moonlight is a Scorching Fire)”, music by Shankar Jaikishan, lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri, Awaara (1951, India)

Performed by Nargis and Raj Kapoor (singing dubbed by Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey, respectively) and chorus

Lyrics in Hindi (turn on the CC's in the provided video for translation)

In Awaara, Raj (Raj Kapoor) and Rita (Nargis) are childhood sweethearts who were separated when Raj could not afford the fees for school, resulting in his expulsion. Years later, after Raj turned to a criminal gang to support himself and his mother, the two reconnected. He has been trying to tell Rita, indirectly, that he has turned to thievery and is attempting to leave his criminal life behind, but she's unable to connect the dots. Awaara comments upon class, feminism, and what a genuine redemption looks like – though it's not apparent in this musical number, the film's dramatic and comedic moments were inspired by the silent films of Charlie Chaplin.

This song is part of a dream sequence depicting the struggle between a potential romantic future and Raj's criminal past. The scene follows a date between Raj and Rita and immediately follows a tense exchange between Raj and his knife-wielding gang boss (seen at 9:09 in the provided video), who fully expects Raj sto steal from Rita and her family.

“Wave-a-Stick Blues”, music and lyrics by Ozzie Nelson, Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra (1940 short)

Performed by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra

This comes from a 1940 Vitaphone short film that most likely would have appeared between feature films at a Warner Bros.-owned theater. The film is solely a musical showcase of the talents of Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra. Nelson was a bandleader who would become best known for his starring role in the TV sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966).

Before the United States v. Paramount (1948) Supreme Court decision, the major American studios owned theaters and theatrical chains. And back then, if you wanted to see a movie at one of the studio-owned theaters, you often bought a ticket for a double feature. The "B-movie" would go first. Following the B-movie, you would be treated to some combination of a serial film, short film(s) (like Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra!), and trailers. Then your "feature presentation", the A-movie, would play. Moviegoing was far more of a community event then, and a double feature was considered normal to audiences in those days.

When the major American studios lost the Paramount case, they had to sell off their theaters. And as such, the major studios pulled out of making serial films (essentially, a predecessor of television) and short films. By the end of the 1950s, the live-action short film had essentially become extinct among the majors. The Paramount decrees were repealed by the Department of Justice under the Trump administration in 2020

The folks assigned to GROUP B include: @addaellis, @cinemaocd, @dog-of-ulthar, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @machpowervisions, @shootingstarvenator, @stephdgray, @umgeschrieben, and @yellanimal . You are also being joined by 17 others including myself and my sister.

Would you like to know something more about a song or a movie featured above? Do you have a question or comment about MOABOS's processes? Feel free to ask me! If you are having difficulty accessing any of the songs (especially if region-locked) or if there are any errors in the links above or the playlist, please let me know as soon as possible.

You will be contacted for the final round regardless of your participation or non-participation in the preliminary. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I will ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. Do not worry too much about this if you cannot participate, although I will be checking in as the deadlines near.

Once more to all of you here, my thanks for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally over however long I've known you. It's a privilege and a pleasure to share all these movies (well, excerpts of them) and musical numbers with you. I hope not only do you learn something about film or music, but that you personally enjoy listening, too! My deepest appreciation to all!

TABULATION FOR THE PRELIMINARY ROUND

This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been in use since MOABOS II (2014). A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. The tabulation method described here for the preliminary round is used only as a tiebreaker in the final round (more on how the final is tabulated when we get there). 

The tiebreakers for the preliminary are:

total points earned;

total #1 votes;

song(s) which is/are ranked higher on more ballots than the other(s);

average placement on my and my sister's ballots;

tie declared

[freedom-barricades-bighero16]

Collaboration needed!

Hi guys, Alex here!

So I've been thinking about creating a Big Heroverse Massively Multiplayer Online RPG/Visual novel (based on the 2014 film, the TV Series and it's IDW comics, the Baymax! miniseries) for quite a while now, but I need people that I can collaborate with.

I will be able to do the story writing, concept art and basic graphic designs.

In addition to myself, I'll need:

Additional writers

Artists (characters + someone who can create the environment and backgrounds)

Animators

Musicians / composers

Programmers

For now I'm probably going to look for one or two people in each category I've just listed. I think the final game I'm picturing would end up being fairly big (something like a MMORPG with a gacha game model... For lack of a better/shorter way to describe), but I think it might be better to start small first and don't be too ambitious to begin with.

And if you're interested but can't contact me immediately, that's alright! I still have my graduation exams to worry about, and if you don't know, I'm also quite overwhelmed myself with adulting and mental health. So if there are days where I had to cancel last minute or overreact to / misinterpret things, allow me to apologise in advance and please forgive me.

(Oh and about copyright issues. I am hoping to make this into an official game in the future but we don't need to talk about copyright for now. We can worry about that later)

Lastly thank you again for taking your time to read this and potential interest in bringing this dream of mine to life! Peace!