#Everyman Soundtracking

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Scott lifted the lid on what directors sometimes ask of actors while they are in the middle of filming a sex scene at an event in London on Friday.

Speaking at a cinema screening of his Netflix series Ripley, the actor, 47, gave a glimpse into the off-camera directions given as raunchy scenes are shot.

Andrew spoke about being asked to 'pick up the pace' while in the middle of the act and shared his feelings on how 'embarrassing' he finds filming sex scenes.

'"Pick up the pace, pick up the pace," literally that is the kind of notes you get,' he told radio presenter Edith Bowman at an Everyman Soundtracking event.

The Fleabag star also spoke of how sometimes actors need to re-record the audio for scenes months after the fact if a noise has interrupted the original sound - and the added awkwardness when those scenes are racy.

He said: 'Then you go in and the first thing you see is a screen grab and you're like "Urgh" then they make you re-record something that it's, you know, if we were to re-record what we just said, the idiosyncratic way that people speak. How do I do that?

'The worst thing that you have you ever have to do is if you've done a sex scene, because it's, you know, embarrassing enough.'

Andrew then said it can be especially awkward to replicate the necessary sounds for a sex scene 'in your clothes in November, seven months later with 12 people in a booth and someone is like "Any snacks?"'.

The Sherlock actor's most recent sex scenes came in the award-winning All Of Us Strangers, where he played opposite Normal People star Paul Mescal.

In January, Andrew admitted that he barely rehearsed his raunchy sex scenes with Paul while working with an intimacy coordinator for the role.

The actor was widely praised for his portrayal of a lonely screenwriter who encounters the spirits of his dead parents in director Andrew Haigh's latest film, an adaptation of Japanese author Taichi Yamada's 1987 novel, Strangers.

But while an explicit sexual encounter with Harry, played by Irish heartthrob Paul, 28, dominated the commentary surrounding its release, Scott insisted at the time that they both adopted an organic approach towards its development.

Speaking to Attitude, Andrew also credited the film's intimacy coordinator for mediating any concerns regarding the graphic nature of their sex scene.

'Sex is just communication, isn't it?' he said. 'It's just physical communication rather than verbal communication… We didn't over rehearse it. We knew that those scenes, particularly the early ones, had to have a sort of frisson.

'And we had an intimacy coordinator, which can be very helpful for the simple reason that if you're able to talk to somebody about your fears or what you want to show, what you don't want to show, or what you think it should be and what the narrative of the storyline is, you have that base of safety.

'But chemistry is a really interesting thing. You’re basically just listening to see what the other person is doing physically in the same way you would in a dialogue scene.

'And you can talk about that as much as you like, but until you're actually there, it's not alive in that way, so it's just about listening, but just listening with your body, basically.'

Andrew added that he feels that being a gay man in the modern age is a 'wonderful gift' that has helped him establish firm friendships.

He said: 'I think it's such a wonderful thing to me. It's an extraordinary gift to my life and just to be able to see the real beauty in being gay is completely wonderful.

'The older I get, just the more I feel so lucky to have been born gay and that pervades my life in the sense of all my friendships. I have so many amazing queer friends in my life now that I just adore.'

He added: 'I feel such a huge sense of camaraderie with other queer people now, and without sounding too hippy about it, I feel like I just want to spread that love and positivity in our community because we've come such a long way and it's important that we are kind and look out for each other, and celebrate how uniquely different and how f***ing wonderful that can be.''

[ilikethisacompletelynormalamount]

Capturecomms: What an incredible evening hosting journalists and influencers at Everyman Broadgate for an exclusive Everyman Soundtracking screening of Ripley, followed by a captivating conversation with Andrew Scott and Edith Bowman.

[maxwell-grant]

Playing Princess Peach: Showtime got me the Mario brainvurms again so I wanna ramble a bit: As much as I adore and put a lot of stock into Wario and Waluigi's dynamic (and as much as Waluigi's my favorite character), I actually don't think Waluigi should be in the Wario games. Particularly Ware, but that also goes for Land in case that ever comes back from the grave. And it's not because of anything wrong or lacking with Waluigi as a character, quite the opposite: I think a lot of what defines him, what makes him interesting in different ways than Wario, actually makes him a terrible fit for Wario's narrative real state. Not an issue when they're together filling in a necessary dynamic in Mario territory, but it gets trickier when Wario's supposed to be the lead in an actual story.

In regards to Land, the central appeal of Wario Land is in the fact that you can play as Wario. I'd said as much before that, generally speaking, where as Mario is altered to fit his games, Wario's games are built to fit him. As much as WL did to flesh out Wario as a character, the core concept for Wario Land 1, and every subsequent game, comes back to the idea that you are playing a bigger, nastier Mario, who can't run as fast or jump as high, but is stronger and full of stranger surprises, so he engages with different kinds of obstacle courses and yyou have to figure out what he can and can't do to solve them. Every alteration made to the Wario Land series over the years, not just in relation to the Super Mario Land platformers it spun out of, was built around turning Wario's existing traits into gameplay mechanics.

He is a bully and a brute and thus you shoulder bash your way through problems, his propensity for comedic slapstick turned into full blown immortality and the source of his power-ups, he is far more interested in sniffing for gold than actually saving anyone so his adventures are less linear, your endgoal is to get the biggest treasures possible, his thieving bastard explorer nature eventually allowed for a timed Indiana Jones boulder escape at every level, Shake It lets you literally shake down enemies for cash, etc. The one time they took the opposite route and really altered Wario to fit a pre-ordained gimmick was in Master of Disguise, and soundtrack aside there's some good reasons why that one's so unpopular it's not even considered a Wario Land game.

All of these are traits that are built to fit Wario, and mainly Wario, and you could argue that these by extension apply to Waluigi because of his traits that overlap with Wario's, and for sure the spin-offs demonstrate that Waluigi does tag along on Wario's treasure hunts sometimes, but if we concede this and add Waluigi as a Player 2, then: A: What is so great and unique about Wario, if other characters can also do all the absurd things he does? And B: What is so great and weird about Waluigi, if all he's doing is just the stuff Wario already does?

The Mario platformers don't really have this issue with Luigi not just because Luigi as the Player 2 is grandfathered in, but because mechanically speaking Luigi isn't very different from Mario, and because the gameplay mechanics for Mario platformers are nowhere near as specialized as Wario's is. Everybody runs and jumps and collects power-ups and does the same things Mario does, that's why the Toads and the princesses can jump in on it just fine. Wario sharing the glory of being Wario is just not what Wario does, and it's Waluigi's thing even less. With everyman all-ages Mario, everyone's invited to join in the fun, but when the whole point is you reveling in "you get to play as Wario!", WHERE BEING BAD IS GOOD AND GREED IS GOOD HEHEHEHEHEH, you really lose a lot of the appeal turning it into "you get to play as Wario, and another guy (or even more) who can also do the things Wario does, turns out Wario's willing to share I guess". Even working in a different set of paths and solutions per level so Wario and Waluigi could solve problems differently would just be splitting levels by half of the work and half of the fun.

For comparison's sake, Pizza Tower has a second playable character in the form of The Noise, a rival who is opposite to Peppino personality-wise. Despite having more or less the same proportions (and in prior builds playing identically to Peppino), in order to accomodate his personality that is also his main selling point, he plays in a different manner through levels that weren't designed around him (not different enough that it excludes co-op though), and so he actually breaks the game, and that is in fact worked into everything he does: Pretty much the main running gag through The Noise Update is that he is brazenly cheating and easily clearing through the things Peppino worked so hard to beat "fairly", and that he is a piece of shit with no emotional stakes in what he's doing, turning every hardship or battle into a joke.

Pizza Tower is just as much built around Peppino's character as Wario Land is (which is part of why the game became faster and more stressful, and thus played increasingly less and less like Wario Land over every subsequent build up until release), and it was only ever going to accomodate the Noise's personality by either designing new levels (and thus a new game) around him, or going all the way on him breaking the existing ones and occupying an opposite role to Peppino's, which fits him. Again, you could argue this dirty cheater angle fits Waluigi. The problem is, again, redundancy, and it not fitting Wario Land. Gameplay-wise, Wario is already breaking and even cheating through levels to clear them, he is already flipping the middle finger to traditional Mario-style platforming the way The Noise is doing to Peppino's playstyle. And story-wise, Wario doesn't let himself be outdone, he is not getting upstaged from his own adventures. Peppino doesn't WANT to be in his own adventures, that's why the game plays him for pathos and The Noise gets played for pure satire. They get to do completely different things in a way I'm not sure you could do with Wario and Waluigi without significantly overhauling the way Wario Land works, and at that point, why bother.

That being said, I definitely do want there to be a way Wario and Waluigi could star in a platformer together, it would be a dream for me. But I don't think that's going to work for Wario Land, and not doing Wario Land runs the risk of doing Master of Disguise again so, it'd take a lot of work. I want to say there is at least a possibility of making it work, which is definitely not an argument I'd make for Waluigi joining the WarioWare cast.

The thing about how WarioWare's cast works, and how it manages to keep Wario recognizably Wario even in a drastically different role than the one he occupies in Mario spin-offs and Wario Land alike, is a very simple but effective dynamic: Wario is the boss, and everyone else is your friend/co-worker. Wario is the ringmaster, and the circus freaks need your help to keep the show afloat. Wario is Michael Scott/J Jonah Jameson, and you're in the Dunder Mifflin/Daily Bugle trenches with everyone else.

All of the WarioWare characters are lovable weirdos, it comes with the question of "what kind of person would not just be friends with, but willingly work for Wario?". They are weird, they are dorks, they are (mostly) nice, they (mostly) get along, but above all, they are accomodating. Of their weirdness, of your weirdness, even of their boss' weirdness. Their goal is to guide you through the challenges and fun and encourage you to succeed. They do all the hard work in making these games fun to play. They are directly, proportionately opposite to how much of an dynamic jerk Wario is, and that's why Wario gets to keep on doing Wario things.

He gets to cause problems and lead the gang into trouble, he gets be mean, he gets to hijack proceedings and directly insult and mess with the player, he gets to be the villain, he gets to be the butt of the joke, he gets to crash and fail. The Ware crew gets to be people you come to know and relate to and love, while he gets to be the GOTTA WIIIIN guy. It's a fine balance and a very good deal on their end.

It also has no room whatsoever for Waluigi, anti-social party crasher conniving drama queen extraordinaire, in anything other than a cameo or a one-off antagonistic competition with them. He isn't going to take Wario, or anyone's place, and his dynamic with Wario in the spin-offs just doesn't translate to Wario's role in WarioWare. And he belongs even less in the WarioWare crew (especially with characters like Jimmy T and Crygor, who have significant overlapping traits with Waluigi already), he is just not made for playing nice with others like that. It's not that he can't, his player interactions can be remarkably non-antagonistic and chill even, but it's not his thing.

He is Waluigi, as they reiterate in every bio, he is dastardly and mean and also a tryhard loser who "thinks" he's Luigi's rival more so than he actually is, and who doesn't seem to get along with anyone other than Wario, in fact he barely plays nice with Wario a lot of the time, they're partners in crime first and foremost and are depicting bickering over spoils when they work together. He'd just break the balance that makes this cast dynamic work so well without offering anything in return, and would be worse off for it. If anything Waluigi should be the last person to work for WarioWare, it has nothing to do with what he's about and the dude knows firsthand how little Wario intends to pay anyone ever. You could get stuff out of playing him as a rival trying to muscle in their gigs, or beat Jimmy T on the dance floor, and even that's stretching a bit.

I think the biggest problem comes down to the fact that the main thing with Waluigi, much like Wario, IS his outsized personality and the role it offers him, and with how Wario's games are precision-built around him and him alone as the center, putting Waluigi in those is dooming him to get sucked into Wario's orbit in roles that just don't work for him and dillute the chief appeal of putting Waluigi in stuff. Even if he's already secondary to Wario in the spin-offs, in there they fill in a niche together, two halves of one idiot, Camelot's favorite boys and all that, that you can't carry over when Wario has bigger things to do than just play along and be a nuisance to Mario.

I was very happy with Princess Peach: Showtime in part because of how committed it was to the idea of putting Peach and Peach alone in the spotlight, with NO Mario elements whatsoever tagging along for the ride. There is not a single trace of Mario or Bowser anywhere, the Toads leave at the opening cutscene and don't come back until the post-credits when their only role is to give her crown back. The game is just Peach going on adventures, righting wrongs and trying new personas and putting on a show with the people she's saving.

It's short, sweet, it's kind of a baby game and it has to be for the target audience, and it doesn't seem to be super popular in general but I'm glad it sold well, I'd like for Nintendo to make more games like it. It got me to like Peach more than I ever have before, and it got me feeling very good about the fact that this exists at all. Seems like there really has been a creative renaissance for Mario over the past years. Not that I ever expect it to happen anymore, but I always dreamed of Waluigi getting to have something like this, although I'll say that Peach's was a very long time coming (especially given the failure of Super Princess Peach) and I'm glad this premise was made with her. I never thought it'd happen and that makes the former dream seem, y'know, a little less impossible. Maybe.

Semi-unrelated but I am also extremely glad that Madame Grape exists, definitely a character I'd like to see return to occupy a position akin to King Boo or just go-karting with the others. And by no means was this intentional, but I definitely get a kick out of the fact that the villain in Showtime is an overlooked purple-clad drama queen who creates and leads a group literally called "Sour Grapes", who wants to claim her role in a world of happy shining people who don't APPRECIATE her work unless she makes them, who wants to plaster her face and name and colors everywhere, and who is incredibly invested in making Peach her nemesis and foil, even though this story was supposed to be about Peach taking a break for a change and Grape is very far from being the worst thing Peach has to deal with on a regular basis. Just reminded me of another guy who tried to hypnotize "the rhythmless masses" with sweet dance moves once.

[captainlordauditor]

lessons MCU took from Into the Spiderverse:

add multiverse

lessons Mutant Mayhem took from Into the Spiderverse:

utilize a distinctive and personal animation style to make people remember your movie for its visuals

superheroes should have everyday problems just like the audience

everyman characters who feel timeless and locationless are overrated; specificity breeds relatability. the average audience member is no longer a white kid from the suburbs

the soundtrack should feel as distinctive as the animation should, and match the personality of the film and the characters

a large cast can be handled well without stretching out the runtime or sacrificing action by prioritizing time to the main team and strong characterization of the secondary team

no seriously stop making all animation look the same

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 25/03/2024

The Life and Times of Wade L.D.

Season 3 Part of: The SiIvaGunner Christmas Comeback Crisis

Directed by Smoky, Chaze the Chat Music by dante Full list of credits on Wiki

Requested by Jiko Music! (Request Form)

Five years. It's been five whole years since the third season of SiIvaGunner came to an end. Five whole years since, in some ways, the channel began charting a course that would change it's direction forever. Season 4 Episode 1's mission statement was incredibly concise - to return the channel's chaotic, unpredictable nature of the Season 1 days, and to deliver on the absolute titan of an event that was the King for Another Day Tournament. After various production woes in the Christmas Comeback Crisis' main storyline and a newfound interest in other ventures through the King for a Day Tournament, it became evident that there simply wouldn't be much room left over in the itinerary for the channel's ongoing storyline in 2019. And so, in a way, Season 3's finale marked the day that the channel's storyline bowed out to a backseat position - yet with The Life and Times of Wade L.D., they did so with utmost splendor.

I've said before on here, at least way back on 時の回廊 ＜ver. CCC＞, that I don't wish to get too hung up on dissecting the Christmas Comeback Crisis storyline in particular - compared to most other lore on the channel, the form it takes is one that any average viewer is well able to dissect and watch on their own without much added context needed. I adore the series and wish to celebrate it - particularly its later endeavours - with my whole heart, but if I did I feel as if I'd inevitably be writing up to pages in the triple digits. Yet even if you're not all too familiar with the Christmas Comeback Crisis, be it as a newer fan or just plainly someone uninterested in the lore, it's pretty immediately noticeable that The Life and Times of Wade L.D. has a far different feel to it than other endeavors in the series. For one, the story told doesn't follow a character like Wood Man or Smol Nozomi or Haltmann, but an entirely new character - one who is created and (seemingly) ceases to exist entirely within this storyline. It is in some ways a standalone story - one that, perhaps more noticeably, is presented in an incredibly unique fashion - through an chronological archive of various recordings, emails, receipts, logs and photographs all centered around the titular Wade L.D. character. A character who, for the first time in the Christmas Comeback Crisis story, depicts the life of the everyman in Grandiose City - those who are not heroes nor villains, but are simply trying to exist within this strife-filled world that The Voice Inside Your Head unleashed at the series' beginning. Three years deep into this storyline, and it's officially become so much more than just the fun Kirby: Planet Robobot spoof that Patched Plains Fusion Collab, Mother's・Caption (We Paused The Channel For HOW Long?! Mix), The Noble Haltmann and so many more rips were all themed around. With Season 3 in particular, we'd gotten so many deeper insights into how this universe's world and operations were undergoing, small little peeks behind the curtain - it only makes it all the more befitting for the season to end with a full-on investigation of the truth. "Trust Nobody. Doubt Everything."

I believe its fair to say that The Life and Times of Wade L.D. was one of the most ambitious individual videos the team had made at the point of its release. Throughout its entire, gargantuan 30-minute runtime, we're spoiled with quality in so many different areas, from the fantastic artwork that maintains the story's mysterious atmosphere perfectly, to Smoky's remarkable writing being able to effortlessly ping-pong between seriousness and sly comedic jabs and references, to the soundtrack done entirely by the CCC series' sound director and certified GOAT, dante. Before the King for Another Day Tournament had the world floored, it was The Life and Times of Wade L.D. that kept impressing me with every turn - the commitment the team still had to this story, despite the clear signs to move on from it that they would eventually take in the years to come, was awe inspiring.

All of this is punctuated by what perhaps sets the story apart the most from other CCC productions - the full voice acting of all spoken and/or recorded dialogue. Season 3 was still a time where the voice acting the channel would have was typically in jest, either through sentence-mixing, text-to-speech, or through jokey rips altogether such as Haltmanna feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20. Before Season 4 Episode 1 and onward would bring proper voice-acted performances for characters like John NotWoodman, DJ Professor K, and Joke-Explainer 7000, we had this. And perhaps unsurprisingly, it is that titular character, Wade L.D. himself, voiced by ripper CaptainComedy, who through my every rewatch still impresses me most in his performance. At once, CaptainComedy's performance feels tired, fed up, exhausted, yet also like someone no more different than you or I - a true everyman, a cog in the machine, yet one with pent-up anger and frustration building up inside of him, anger that comes out as events unfold.

Its hard to not get excited, as a big lorehead, to have the narrative in question focus so much on loose ends set up by prior CCC events and Haltmann's Archives videos. The presence of 2B from Nier Automata as a prominent character, the direct callbacks to the first-ever side story in Waluigi's Tacostand and establishing its bizarrely critical plot importance, the building drama between Haltmann and The Voice, the investigation onto SiIvaGunner's empty house and the traces of Woodman's presence there from the very start of Season 2...there is such an overarching feeling of satisfaction throughout all of The Life and Times of Wade L.D., as if I'm being genuinely rewarded for having paid attention to all of the channel's workings ever so extensively. All capped off by a genuinely touching narrative about the gradual collapse of a man's life.

Yet more than that satisfaction, what I love most about The Life and Times of Wade L.D. - above the music, the story, the artwork, the lore, or whatever else - is how much it still truly feels like a SiIvaGunner production. CaptainComedy's performance is incredible, yes - but right alongside him, you have channel founder Chaze the Chat playing a literal self-insert of himself, dubbed by only the most modest amount of investment into the role, althewhile making references to Maroon 5 and Kara's Flowers. There's references and nods to prior CCC episodes, an ongoing bait-and-switch joke that sees "Dr. P", set up to be a reference to the Dr. Piccolo meme, actually turn out to be referencing Dr. Pavel of Baneposting (Maskettaman - Dr. Pavel's Fly​-​So​-​Good) fame. There's just this subtle cheekiness to it all - never any sign that the episode and the storyline aren't being sincere, yet with countless signs to remind you of just how much fun the team are having in producing this story. A beating heart. A passion.

There are so many readings one could make of the storyline, that I don't know where to - or even if I should - begin. In our real world, the SiIvaGunner channel is a passion project driven entirely by voluntary contributors, a group of people contributing to a greater whole as a hobby out of love for the channel, their craft, and one another. It stands in stark contrast to the version of SiIvaGunner that The Voice Inside Your Head seeks to create, a symbol of the whiniest of fans of the channel's early days, and it stands in even starker contrast to what Haltmann further wishes for it to be - to produce rips as content, as products, as a job to attend just like Wade L.D. himself does. Wade's journey is one of excessive overwork, of burnout - perhaps not of making rips, yet with work pertaining to SiIvaGunner itself althesame. The environment Haltmann has created necessitates that Wade finds escapes from his job in order to feel relieved from it, that his work offers him no relief or fun - that the act of contributing to SiIvaGunner's growth is, at this stage, no longer something done out of passion. The Christmas Comeback Crisis, as meme-filled as it and the entire channel its hosted on is, is a form of a dystopia, if a subtle one, and the insight we get into Wade's life shows just how dire a project like SiIvaGunner could, in a far-worse world, be.

I could, really, as I said before, go on forever about this, about any Christmas Comeback Crisis episode. The series means the world to me, the CHANNEL of SiIvaGunner of course means the world to me as well - but it was, as I've said many a time before, through Season 2 that I unabashedly fell in love with the project. The Life and Times of Wade L.D. was everything I could have ever wanted a side story of the Christmas Comeback Crisis to be, and it warms my heart to see so many people from the team still cherish it. Be it dante reminiscing on how important of a project it was for him as a composer, or indeed this post's requestee, Jiko Music, arranging the episode's main theme for RIP^2 just last year with the beautiful LD. Its clear that it's so much more than just another piece to the SiIvaGunner lore - as perhaps SiIvaGunner's best Season finale second only to the one Season 7 just provided us, The Life and Times of Wade L.D. is downright incredible.

[exsqueezememacaroni]

Like, it was exactly what he wanted to look like.

I think Mike's fashion choices, such as they are, might be either more influential than we know, or very representative of the California look.

Exhibit A:

Mark Ruffalo in Collateral by Michael Mann, set in LA

Please compare with:

Our Mike - honestly the first time I watched the movie, until I got to the credits, I thought it was actually Mike playing the cop there.

So our dear Mike is either the poster boy for the LA everyman's look, or he's a covert Hollywood influencer.

OMG that's hilarious?? love it. I mean - I do associate Mike's general style with Cali, and honestly kinda this mix of southern and northern CA (like he is!) My favorite is his outfits during interviews from like...maybe 2004-2008? When he was talking about Fantomas and soundtracks and such.....there's a floral pattern shirt he has that just screams southern california to me...

But I mean, overall a lot of his stage outfits are just full on costumes too...i was thinking in the shower that his very truest style sense is contained in his various necklaces and bracelets/cuffs

[agentnico]

The Bikeriders (2024) review

Norman Reedus shows up for only 5 minutes and yet still has more dialogue here than in the entire 11 season run of The Walking Dead.

Plot: Over the course of a decade, a Midwestern motorcycle club evolves from a gathering place for local outsiders to a sinister gang, threatening the original group's way of life.

My screening was not full on this one, but of the people that were there it was primarily older women. I was wondering why this was the case until an arms naked Austin Butler popped up on screening and began flexing over a pool table, and I could literally feel the audience around drooling and then some. But in reality the target audience for this film are men, and more so men who love/ride motorbikes. As The Bikeriders is a deconstruction of coolness and biker culture as a macho posturing that is really an incredibly fragile ecosystem of male relationships and values. But there are so many cool bikes in this, and a lot of scenes involve guys just sitting around a bar endlessly chain smoking and chatting crap. For one I absolutely dug the sound design. Of course it could have been the good sound system of the cinema I was in (the Everyman) but I felt every rev of the engine. The sound is so forceful, it’s like being caught in a carburettor of a Harley Davidson. This partnered with a fantastic music soundtrack as it freewheels you through the many hits of the 60s and 70s, from The Stooges to The Shangri-Las, the sound is this movie’s secret weapon.

This movie is very much a guys hang-out sesh, and yes there is a loose narrative reminiscent of Goodfellas and even Tom Hardy’s Legend, but overall this is Jeff Nichols’ generalised outlook of the motorbike culture from a individual who seems absolutely infatuated with this community. As much as I loved the feel of this film and I was never actually bored at any moment, due to the structure of it all there wasn’t a single character I cared about. They’re all macho guys trying to showcase how badass they are, but essentially that’s all they have to them. The performances across the board are all engaging, but the reason we connect with them is purely cause we’re fans of the actors themselves. Austin Butler is a modern day movie star through and through, and since Elvis he’s been effortlessly cool non stop. Tom Hardy puts on a strikingly thick Chicago accent and again, is great to watch. Michael Shannon and Norman Reedus show up with crazy hair-dos and messy almost-barbaric physicalities, and Jodie Comer is a stuck in a narration bit and her character essentially only works as a romantic foil to provide the movie with some limited emotion, which is what it lacks.

The Bikeriders is a perfectly enjoyable crime drama that is an entertaining time, but also boils down to kind of nothing. There’s not much meaning to be found here besides the classic “let’s be cool”, however as a jacket wearer myself I got a big dig at seeing the various outfits and leather jackets characters were wearing. Essentially you won’t be disappointed when seeing this on a Saturday night, but chances are you will forget quite quickly.

Overall score: 6/10

[nomorefstogive]

@nomorefstogive I changed my profile but . Do you want a small idea of my yugioh x genshin crossover spook. In Fontaine all the archetypes I am going to have are all based on Law. If you want some hints on which archetype it is. I will give you a clue. First archetype six bullets can hit anyone you want but the seventh is controlled by the devil. Second archetype I stole a back a bit of time. Third archetype Security Force. Fourth book caster Fifth Archetype clue is Spawn and Zombie apocalypse. Sixth archetype power changers dino charge. Seventh is the lesser key of Solomon and kingdom hearts. Do you want to guess which archetype it is.

I knowq very little about the Archetype of literature, despite being an avid reader lol, so I apologize if I am way off the mark with these.

The first Archetype reminds me of an opera I have heard about, I think it is called 'Der Freischütz', a Marksman sells his soul to the devil in exchange for the bullets, I have only heard second hand information about it, but I suppose the Archetype could be related to someone making a deal with a higher power in exchange for power, but having to pay a steep price for it.

Perhaps their power is a double edged blade that either wears down their life as they use it, or something that puts an enormous burden on them, like seeing the sins of others and reliving them.

Overall, I may be wrong here, I feel the Archetype would perhaps be that of either an Outlaw, a vigilante in this case, or perhaps even the Hero themselves, albeit a particularly foolhardy one.

The second one is a bit more difficult, perhaps the Jester with some hidden depths, or perhaps the Sage, given the scope of ability necessary for such a feat.

The third I feel could work for either the Caretaker or the Hero, both being forces that provide a sense of security and protection to those around them.

The fourth, I feel this one works more for Sage than the second one, though the role of a Magician is also a very nice fit for it as well, and of the two I would say that Magician works the best.

For the fifth, yeah I really have no idea lol. Perhaps the Outlaw, or maybe the Everyman given the skills of both the aforementioned Spawn and the skills needed to survive in such a situation.

For the Sixth, again I have no idea lol, sorry.

The seventh though, this one calls to mind both the Magician and perhaps the Ruler, the lesser key being linked to the Ruler known as the Great Magician, and that is symbolizes both said Magicians knowledge and power, while at the same time also showing the power that aided this man in being the ruler he was.

However, the Kingdom Hearts bit makes me think of an Explorer, venturing to other worlds and lands while trying to fight the spread of Darkness, or perhaps the Sage who has gained the knowledge of not only the other side, but also of the innerworkings of their own and other worlds.

These are my best guesses, I apologize if I am way off the mark lol.

Also, I wish to recommend a game to you called Othercide.

It is a brutally punishing game set in a world where beings known as Others rule a place of unreality, these entities embodying concepts such as Memory, in the case of the Protagonist, and Suffering, the Antagonist.

It is a grim dark world, with disturbing themes ranging from torture and experimentation on a minor, the Chosen One of Sufering or its vessel into the real world, the abuse, both sexual and mental, of the Maid who was the only friend of the Child and more.

The game itself is beautiful in terms of graphics and soundtrack, and while the gameplay can be grindy and repetitive, it is still a very fun game with some very interesting lore.

I have sunk nearly 70 hours into t and have only gotten as far as the next to last boss, damn those AOE skills of his, but I still highly recommend it, namely because I have the image of a SAGAU, be it Imposter or not, where the Reader is the Chosen of Suffering and has been reborn or summoned into Teyvat with their Patron.

A last bit before I finish this, it says a great deal that the Suffering Other, was a better guardian to the Child than the Deacon that took him in.

Let that sink in.

Till next time.

[madelinemccoolname]

last double feature for a while: the incredibles (2004) and cars (2006)

The Incredibles is a movie that fails at criticism. not that it fails, in the face of criticism, no the incredibles is just hard to criticize, structurally speaking. The imagery, messaging and story, with director Brad Bird's recent slide into uh conspiracy fascism? the movie about great men held back by their government, and evil capitalists who seek to mislead the masses with faux super equality, takes sort of an odd turn from fun super hero world, to unfortunate at best, horrible foreshadowing at worst.

but I'm getting ahead of myself, the incredibles is primarily about everyman bob parr, former golden age super man, unsatisfied with his family life, working behind the back of his wife for bad people, she finds out and goes on the island looking for him when he disappears. watching this movie in the modern day always makes me think about incredibles 2, which i believe highlights what thoroughly unfun movie incredibles 2 is. comparing the two family dynamics feels like they all just forgot what happened between movies

I think i'm struggling to stay on task because the movie is standard awesome 2000s pixar but, in a way that feels refined by every movie previous, and this movie's focus on effects work improvement makes it pop in a way that their previous films simply couldn't. but aside from the context around the movie, it's most interesting aspects are the look, feel and texture of the super world, are hard to articulate, without just posting a clip. the soundtrack is nice, especially jazzy this time around which i appreciate, especially compared to our next movie.

the bottom line is that what makes incredibles is the texture of it, the world, the family, the performances, but as time has continued to pass, that texture has begun to bring the movie down in a really unfortunate way, fun movie, fuck brad bird 9/10

memorable bits: the family fights, frozone (why is he never important), syndrome that lava dining room, the team fights, the omnidroid

cars

cars is a 2006 dreamworks, i mean pixar film about a car who is a racer and also hates poor people, who gets stuck in a dying community in a canyon on his way to the big race. are people going to be mad if i say this movie suuuuuucks, where bugs life is "good for a kids movie" pixars cars feels like baby's first allegory. A sports movie about cars isn't really that much of a shake up when compared to a normal racing movie, and to make matters worse (or maybe maters worse) the world doesn't survive critical thought. why do the cars lock themselves, why do race cars not have headlights if they're also cars, why, if the community is dying, do they not just drive somewhere else all together and then have the same community. the answer is it's a kids movie don't worry about it but when the middle two acts are wacky car hi-jinks these questions surface naturally.

in terms of criticism, the movies world also effects the race scenes, they are so fucking slow. i know nascar races are long but every substantial race in this movie, and probably the franchise, feel like i'm leaving the movie theater and going to a real fucking race track to see the nastycars. also too many of the radiator springs gang remind me of one of the characters from bug's life, why are they all like racial car culture caricatures, for what purpose john lasseter. mater is not included in that but he gets special mention because he's cute in this movie but for like, a scene? too much of the movie feels like its spent on "yep the race is still goin on" but those parts might be the best part of the movie. 4/10

memorable bits: i love mack, realizing this movie made me hate owen wilson, the tongue three way tie, car tramp stamp, car cop mustache, car ageism, the italian car and his husband, the car that kept getting paint jobs, the paint job lightning gets that lasts fuckin 10 seconds i swear, "gee mater, it sure is nice to be back in radiator springs", his manager car that's like a phone? is that the bit that he's just a phone on the other end? the drive in

[denimbex1986]

[ilikethisacompletelynormalamount]

Thank you andrew_scott_film_club for the first photo, she was one of the lucky ones who was able to attend the screening and Q&A in person!

[tj-dragonblade]

Tea and Books Asks

Tagged in by @littledreamling , @mathomhouse-e , and @quillingwords thank you!

1. What period of history do you enjoy learning about?

As long as it's not the fucking founding of America and drafting of the constitution, again, we're golden

2. Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

Of all time? Impossible. Current fandom specifically? ...uh. Kind of also impossible. But I think if pressed Hob might just barely edge out Dream in the standings. Because? Because...his vibes? Immortal Everyman who's not all woe-is-me this-life-is-misery is a delight and idk he's just got that je ne sais quoi that makes me smile and say 'That one, that's my favorite'?

3. What do you order at a café?

It's a rare occurrence but. Some sort of coffee, extra sweet, extra whichever flavor added. Caramel and pumpkin spice are both excellent

4. Libraries, botanical gardens, or art galleries?

Of the three, I've only ever been to libraries, so, that

5. Do you have a favourite film soundtrack?

Beauty and the Beast 1991 probably. The score tracks on that just. Do things to me. Fond of a lot of Hans Zimmer's work as well (Lion King, PotC off the top of my head) and I keep circling back around to the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves soundtrack every few years

6. What does your dream home look like?

Underwater. With bits above water too, maybe half and half, but the important things I've always wanted are submarine airlock entryways and enormous windows with an underwater view. Not too far from civilization either

7. What makes you feel better on gloomy days?

Long solo drives with good music played loud

8. What are your top three films? Books?

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; The Princess Bride; Beauty and the Beast

I've read fanfic almost exclusively the past twenty years but, let me think...I was very taken with the Shannara series by Terry Brooks in high school; I spent some time on the Vampire Chronicles after that and The Vampire Armand was my favorite (because Armand was my favorite more than because it was actually a good book)

9. Are you an organized person, generally?

...Ish. I dislike clutter and mess, but I wouldn't really classify myself as 'organized' by any standard measure of the word

10. Do you have a favourite classic novel?

...I am extremely fond of Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz both but more for their permutation into pop culture and malleability therein than for their actual books specifically

11. What character archetype or trope is your favourite?

I have a laundry list, and they're generally best when multiple tropes are blended in one character. But maybe...let's go with The Foreigner, The Outsider, the one who often holds up a lens to humanity or whatever majority/default group is involved to offer commentary, try to understand, and who is perpetually Apart from them, usually unable (or unwilling) to quite blend in or assimilate completely even when they may be welcomed and accepted.

12. Do you prefer baking or cooking?

...give me a relatively simple recipe with clear instructions and I'll probably be okay, in either arena

13. Which season do you feel at home in?

In my current climate? Summer. Summer means I can get out and go places and do things. I love autumn in theory but in practice it's far too short, far too cold too quickly, and just a very depressing reminder of the half-a-year of winter that will follow

14. What is your opinion on poetry?

It should absolutely exist, integral facet of humanity, etc. Not really anything I actively seek out, however

15. Do you speak formally when texting and emailing?

Emails are nearly always business related whether home or work, so yes. Texts are not exactly formal but it's rare that I'd ever fail to capitalize, use copious abbreviations, etc. Punctuation droppage depends entirely on who I'm talking to and whether I need the clarity punctuation can provide

16. How do you organize your music playlists?

Haaaaaah. Let me count the ways:

- by artist, when I want The Good Tracks from their discography (and related projects) in chronological order

- by genre

- by pairing - many pairs have multiple permutations of their playlist also

- by character

- by character group

- by theme (e.g. Moon, Aquatic, etc)

- by mood

- by fic inspiration/writing soundtrack

- I have playlists for Disney movies where I put the songs and score pieces back in movie order since the soundtracks always group them separately and I also leave out the shitty radio versions of the songs

- I also have a playlist with all my individual Disney playlists combined in chronological order by movie release date

- by vibes

- by which family member I'm driving with

- I have a playlist for stuff that's in (or contains sections that are in) 3/4, 6/8, and various other non-4/4 time signatures

- I have a couple different playlists of favorite voices

- there's a giant playlist where I dump all the stuff I've rated 4 or 5 stars (some 3s may also get included), sorted by play count, for when I don't know quite what I'm really in the mood to listen to

- aaaaaaand then I usually have two or three playlists in constant flux for whatever I'm really craving to listen to at this particular point in time

17. Who is your favourite author?

Can't say as I have one

18. Chai or hot chocolate?

Chai

19. Do you prefer forests, sea shores, or meadows?

Sea shore, hands down

20. If you were to cultivate a fruit orchard, what would you grow?

Everything I would name I have developed allergies to so. Maybe not. Kinda sucks.

[thecurseoftailsdoll]

hi who are your fav characters from undertale&deltarune 😇 also what locations and soundtracks do you like

heyyyyy w ut its the amalgamates 100% esp everyman / the butterflies guy :) but out of the main cast uhh idk.. & my ult fav ost from it is the true lab theme . and the amalgam fight theme. deltarune i feel somewhat less strongly about.. i think i like kris the most :) & im not sure what ost is my fav probably bigshot LOL ill be honest i didnt pay much attention to the music... its undeniably good but its just not my thing. thank you for the ask marnieee feel free to share what u like in repliez

[90363462]

FEATURES

HIP-HOP’S GREATEST ROAD TRIP SONGS

By Stereo Williams

Published Fri, August 14, 2020 at 11:00 AM EDT

The global coronavirus pandemic has led to so many having to spend hours upon hours stuck inside. The effect of widespread quarantining means many are feeling stifled and sequestered in their homes. And it's so unfortunate, because the road can be therapeutic. Cruising can hold a unique spiritual freedom; getting behind the wheel can be as close as many of us get to "getting away from it all." The only thing better than hopping in the car and riding to nowhere is having a great soundtrack to push things along. Songs about the open road are a great American tradition – from “Rocket 88” to “Freeway of Love.” In Hip-Hop, those songs convey a sense of freedom and identity, beyond just the allure of hitting the highway, there’s also the sense of self that comes from riding around the neighborhood, speakers blaring, rims spinning. Whether long drives, or slowly rollin' the streets on a Sunday—these are some classic rap road songs that you'd have on deck.

FOR THE RIDERS: ALL-PURPOSE ANTHEMS

“MY HOOPTIE” – SIR MIX-A-LOT (1989)

As Hip-Hop became more obsessed with flashy, luxury vehicles, it’s sometimes great to think back to when it was cool to rap about the kind of junker we all had to push at some point or another.

There’s no better ode to the lemon than Mix-A-Lot’s classic “My Hooptie,” featuring an always broken windshield, non-working meters   and dragging tailpipe. Sir Mix-A-Lot had a knack for story raps about cruising with his boys, and while “Posse On Broadway” might be more beloved, “My Hooptie” is the quintessential everyman car song. We’ve all had this car.

“24S” – T.I. (2003)

Tip has a few songs that define the early 2000s, and “Top Back” is another car banger that could have easily been on this list. But it was this ode to bigass rims that helped set things off for Clifford Harris’ early career, and the hook is one of his best. 

Produced by DJ Toomp, it perfectly captures ATL swagger and the car culture that defines so much of southern rap from Miami to Atlanta to Houston. And T.I. is on one throughout the track. “I'm in a drop-top Chevy with the roof wide open/My partners looking at me to see if my eyes open/Cause I've been dranking and I've been smoking…” A ridin’ masterpiece.

RIDIN' - CHAMILLIONAIRE FEAT. KRAYZIE BONE (2005)

The thrill of driving is as American as apple pie — but the reality of “Driving While Black” is just as inherent in the experience of so many young Black people. This classic hit from Chamillionaire illustrates the duality of both:  it’s an undeniable car classic that also functions as a harrowing tale of how just being a brotha cruising in your ride can lead to an altercation with the cops.

The Texas rapper was inspired by UGK’s classic 1996 album, and with a heavy assist from Krayzie, Cham makes it clear that, for certain folks, there is no easy liberation to be found in going for a ride in the whip. But he also couches that message in a song that functions as perfect car music. Quite a trick to pull off.

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Block Bangers for Urban Road Warriors

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“YOU’RE GONNA GET YOURS” – PUBLIC ENEMY (1987)

P.E.’s first album is bombastic and aggressive, but it may surprise younger listeners with how it’s not quite as focused on righteous, raging rhetoric as their later, more famous works. 

The clearest example of Chuck D’s early approach is this car-themed classic. Often casually referred to as “My ’98 Oldsmobile” it features Chuck rhyming over an almost Run-DMC-esque truck rattling beat courtesy of the Bomb Squad, where he makes his Olds sound like an urban terrain vehicle made for b-boys. He rhymes about his ride as if it’s his only protection against the suckas hatin.’ Tell me you can’t relate. Perfect anthem for any road warrior.

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“THE BOOMIN’ SYSTEM” – LL COOL J (1990)

LL COOL J was blanking out throughout Mama Said Knock You Out, a classic album with no shortage of bangers. But this car anthem classic made it clear that James Todd Smith knew a thing or three about having a dope-ass system in your car. A sentiment that resonated with heads from Queens to Cali, LL perfectly tapped into the energy of riding around with the system loud as hell.

“LET’S RIDE” – Q-TIP (1999)

The former A Tribe Called Quest frontman’s solo debut Amplified may be most remembered for shiny pop singles like “Breathe & Stop” and the ubiquitous “Vivrant Thing,” but it was this chill ode to riding in your whip that best crystalizes who Kamal Fareed was going to be circa Y2K. 

Name-dropping the classic rock of The Who alongside the Hip-Hop du jour of Biggie, Q-Tip makes a perfect case for rolling to the sounds of your choice and not letting the outside world interrupt the groove.

IMPALA ANTHEMS: FOR SITTIN’ SIDEWAYS ON A SOUTHERN SLAB

“DRIVE SLOW” – KANYE WEST FEAT. PAUL WALL (2005)

‘Ye was in full bloom on Late Registration, and this Paul Wall-assisted, southern-flavored tribute to riding was one of the standouts on an album that many still consider Yeezy’s best. Over an inspired Hank Crawford sample, ‘Ye and Wall rap about car culture as a metaphor for life, and Wall almost missed the session. 

“I got pulled over on the way to the studio,“ he said in 2016. "My driver made a right turn from the wrong lane. “I said, ‘Hell nah. This ain’t real.’ I cussed the police out thinking I was getting ‘Punk’d. I almost ain’t make it.”

The remix featured a verse from T.I. and the video is an orgy of dope cars. “That verse was actually the first verse that I wrote when I was writing ‘Sittin’ Sidewayz,'” explained Paul. “Back in those days, I didn’t know how to harness the power of the production sometimes.” In the end, he decided that those rhymes were “hard” but, “Didn’t really go hand-in-hand with that beat.”

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“LACVILLE ’79” – DEVIN THE DUDE (2002)

Devin is Hip-Hop’s most laconic storyteller; like a laid-back cousin who tells stories better than anybody else in the family. His classic single breaks down the joys of having a car that’s all your own — warts and all. 

Like Mix-A-Lot’s “My Hooptie,” this is an ode to a car that we all have owned at some point, and it’s the perfect anthem for hitting the road on a lazy afternoon or two. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a doobie in the ashtray — not that anyone’s advocating that sort of thing.

“STILL TIPPIN’” – MIKE JONES FEAT. PAUL WALL AND SLIM THUG (2004)

It’s slow as syrup and perfectly encapsulates Houston’s car culture in a genre-defining four and a half minutes. Mike Jones never quite topped his debut single, a tribute to chopped-and-screwed sound of DJ Screw and to a uniquely Texas flavor of rap that had been a part of southern rap since the early 1990s. 

The whole song is a dedication to cruising, and of course "tippin' on four 4s, wrapped in four Vogues." It dropped the Houston sound smack dab into the middle of the mainstream, made stars out of Paul Wall and Slim Thug — and ensured that no one would have to ask “Who is Mike Jones?” ever again.

LOWRIDER LEANING: CLASSICS FOR CALI CRUISIN’...

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“LET ME RIDE” – DR. DRE (1993)

The good Doctor’s G-Funk classic perfectly captures the essence of The Chronic and the feel of So Cal cruising. Even if you’ve never seen Crenshaw and Slauson, the slice of laid-back Cali cool puts you right there. The gunplay and tough talk are there, but take a backseat to the feel good vibe of rollin’ in ya 64, a sentiment that anyone can relate to who has ever gone for a Sunday road trip on a gorgeous day.

“HIGH TIL I DIE” – 2PAC (1996)

This song isn’t exactly about a car or about driving, but it perfectly captures a certain feel associated with carefree cruising when you got nowhere to go. Like a lot of Pac anthems, the freewheeling feel belies lyrics that warn of danger at every turn — even while sounding unaffected (“When I'm in traffic, it's kinda rough and, I drive a bucket, Live the Thug Life nigga – screaming ‘fuck it’”). It’s quintessential Pac, and a perfect thug anthem for a ride.

“JEEP ASS NIGUH/BORN TO ROLL” – MASTA ACE (1993, 1994)

Former Juice Crewer and Brooklyn legend Masta Ace became a somewhat unlikely advocate for Hip-Hop car culture in the mid-1990s. The rhyme animal semi-reinvented himself as a cruise anthem rapper with hits like this. Of course, “Jeep Ass Niguh” first appeared in 1993s Slaughterhouse before it was reinvented as the decidedly West Coast-leaning “Born To Roll” a year later. It gave Ace one of his biggest crossover hits and came to define car songs that Cali loved in the 1990s. He would dive headfirst into the sound on 1995s Sittin’ On Chrome, but this was his first foray into such subject matter — and still his best.

* HEADER CREDIT: Dr. Dre and Fab 5 Freddy during 1993 MTV Video Music Awards at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

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[med684productionblog]

Week 14 Blog

Why is it important for producers to help market their film, and not rely solely on distribution to do so?

Independent film distributors are incredibly busy, and cannot be solely relied on for marketing. Producers must market their own film if they hope to stand out in those crucial first day/weeks of release.

2. Explain in your own words why ‘a mediocre genre film with a B list name is more likely to garner a decent return than a great film of the same genre without a name in it?

Normal people generally watch movies because they recognize stars from previous movies they've seen that they like. Normal people also generally care for star power more than they do good film making. You're a lot more likely to get Joe Everyman to click on your film on Netflix with a cover photo with a recognizable face than to tell him it has excellent cinematography. People who aren't in the industry or film hobbyists generally don't care about technical elements.

3. What is a deal memo?

A memo scoping out the terms of employment for crew members on a film production. Generally includes the name of the production company, name of the film, start and end dates for production, the crewmembers position, name, and tax identification number, rate of wages, travel provisions, meal compensation, and rental agreements.

4. In short why is a deal memo important?

Not having a clear-cut contract for any sort of job is a disaster waiting to happen, especially with something as volatile as film making. Crewmembers might come in with certain expectations based off of previous productions they've been a part of that are not applicable to this production. It's best that everyone is on the same page from the beginning to squander any potential problems down the road.

5. Why is it important to give deal memos to cast/crew members that are working probono?

It's absolutely vital to give a deal member to cast and crew working probono, since they're not receiving financial compensation for their work. You absolutely need that in writing, in case they later attempt to seek compensation that they have no claim to. You also want them to agree to all the terms of employment that everyone else is agreeing to, so they can't make the arguments that those terms didn't apply to them because they aren't receiving compensation. In general, it's always in your active interest to have everyone who sets foot on a set to sign a deal memo, less you open yourself up to unforseen problems down the road.

6. In your own words, please explain ‘No Obligation To Produce.'

A 'no obligation to produce' provision is something extremely important to include in a deal memo. What it means is that the production company isn't obligated to include the contracted work in the final film, or even actually release the film itself. This is useful whenever you contract out work that ends up subpar, like a soundtrack or a film poster, so you're not forced to include this in a final film. It's also important to include in case you need to entirely scrap the film. Many A-list actors will have provisions in their contracts to receive percentages of the film's box office gross. You need to include a 'no obligation to produce' provision in the deal memo so you can't be held liable for these projected percentage-based income in case the film ends up never being released.

7. Provide visual aid

8. List 5 questions you want me to go over class

I was kind of confused about the ROI formula when we covered it in class.

How to find guild rates. When I was looking them up some of them were hidden behind a login screen. Is there a central location to get this information?

Budgeting. How to find budgets of films without paying for IMBDPro.

I'm really struggling in general with all of the assignments related to the sub-$2 million budget for the project. Like we're supposed to spend half the budget on marketing, and also get an A-List actor. I assume any A-List actor is going to have a salary higher than $2 million. But even if they didn't, between marketing as half the budget and the A list actor's salary, and ~1/5 of the budget for contingency, I don't understand how to a have a budget for anything else.

In general, I think all of the stuff I've been struggling with is the material from week 2.

[samprestonbigbadabruce]

Thoughts on ‘A Ghost Waits’

Watched this for the third time in I think less than a year this past month. Since the first time I watched it, I've loved this movie.

The best way I can describe it maybe is that it's like "A major ghost movie directed by a Mumblecore / Dogme '95 team". With a haunted house story seemingly stripped down to the core. This is definitely helped by the decision to use a greyscale to create a black and white

'A Yellow Cotton Dress' by Wussy is a song introduced in the early goings as a soundtrack for Jack as he works on the empty haunted household, an indie rock piece probably reminiscent of many favourite songs. But its second utilisation is evocative of the entire movie, in that Jack plays a stripped down version on an acoustic guitar, giving new context to the song. Jack plays the song in a moment that coincides with Muriel the Ghost's first seeing of him, and unlike many first moments built on tension, this moment is built on a gentleness, Muriel almost inconsequential as just like the audience, she sees the depth within this individual first.

The song to me is talking about a house, a partner, a life, that until given true meaning is empty and devoid of life. A dress is pretty until you see a loved one wear it, and it becomes something actually worthwhile to you. A building isn't a home until you live in it, a partner is an idea until they become a reality, a life is worthless unless you have something to live for.

Jack is a blue-collar handyman who is wandering through life with little connections fixing houses, Muriel is a ghost (sorry, 'spectral agent') haunting a house stuck in a bureaucratical afterlife ala 'Beetlejuice' who has nothing beyond her role. They exist but are not alive, an empty cotton dress on the side with the nobody to fill it. Whilst not subtle in terms of Muriel's attempt to scare Jack off, the surprising aspect of Jack's awareness of his own faults and fears off-kilts the attempts to scare him. "Yeah, I'm a failure, you're right...so what should I do about it?"

MacLeod Andrews has a genial everyman quality that allows his transition between non-believer and believer to feel quick but believable, the sort of person who is open minded and comes to terms with the evidence displayed to him. Natalie Walker has this air of humanity to a spectral element, in that she also has a job to do and the ever growing frustration and bewilderment at its lack of success. The haunted who is more curious than afraid, and the haunter fuelled by KPIs and quotas than incessant rage and hated.

The minimal setting and setpieces actually works as a strength, being a physical representation of the placement both characters are in, while allowing the focus of the story to be on its characters and their relationship rather than special effects, jump scares or horrors. It's a non-horror examining the lives of two people defined by the simple drive of "I have a job to do", Jack to fix the house, Muriel to rid the house.

There is a fascinating comparison between the weariness of Jack / Muriel and the inclusion of Sydney Vollmer's Rosie, a more modern 'spectral agent' thrown in to force Jack out of the house at Muriel's expense. What in any other film would be a generic antagonist to be defeated, instead it reinforces the concept of being defined by a role attributed to you and the pressures of achieving the work given to you. By Jack and Muriel briefly venturing outside the lines of their set roles, finding a connection, it threatens those who have become defined by their roles, reinforcing the fears and loneliness of those involved. The biggest fear is maybe not loneliness, it's becoming aware of what is wrong and what is missing?

The most surprising element is not that the two begin to fall for each other, but the shockingly moving montage in the final act, as Jack's unquestionable loneliness culminates in the decision to join Muriel in the afterlife. He's found somebody he wants to be with, but she can't allow a human to stay within the house, so the compromise is to kill himself and they haunt the house together. They've both found a connection, he is no longer alone and drifting through an uncaring life, and she has a reason to enjoy being in her home.

Adam Stovall has directed and co-written (with MacLeod) a surprisingly rich piece of film that could succeed transitioning to stage, or be expanded upon into a miniseries (there are several aspects of the third act that could have been expanded upon in more detail). It's refreshingly emotional and impactful, culminating into a gorgeous rendition of 'Years Go By' by The Bengsons, a beautiful song reminiscing of a moment that could last a second or a lifetime.

I love this film, it simultaneously feels full of subtext and yet barely scratching the surface of its possibilities. Its rich beyond its surface but full of potential. But more than anything? It hits you when you least expect it and finds the light within the darkness. Like Jack, Muriel, and even Rosie, this film offers something you need. A connection.