#I was a BIG fan of David and Michael beforehand

[gaywatch]

Helloooo long time viewer here! Was wondering if you’ve seen good omens? It’s very queer and I am not mentally well over the little guys also season 2 is coming out soon so if you haven’t seen it then it’s a fantastic time to get into it!

Good Omens first aired before Gaywatch existed, which always killed me because back then nobody had any idea there was possibility of a sequel, so I thought it was just a missed opportunity.

GO2 is one of my most anticipated Things of the year and I'll be reacting to it with The Wife!

[michaelsheenpt]

Michael Sheen: The pandemic has shown what is possible on homelessness

The actor now uses his Hollywood cash to fund his passion for activism. Sheen reveals why he revels in spending money on the things that matter and why he has hope for the post-Covid future.

Michael Sheen, activist and actor. It is in that order these days. And he’s doing rather well in both spheres. He has spent the last few years trying to find a way to balance his twin passions. And, he says, he is slowly getting there.  

“A big part of it was shifting things in my head and knowing what the priorities were,” says the 51-year-old.

“I made the shift psychologically to go, right, the acting work and everything that comes with that is going to support the other stuff I’m doing.  

“So even though to the outside world, maybe it wouldn’t seem like it – because I’ve been doing lots of acting work and things that have kept the profile up and all that –  from my point of view, the priority has been different. Now the acting work fits in around the other stuff.”

That ‘other stuff’ involves supporting the Homeless World Cup and the fight to expand access to affordable credit, campaigning to get the right to a good home enshrined in law in Wales and combating loneliness with the Great Winter Get Together (an idea inspired by the late MP Jo Cox). Then there’s working with Social Enterprise UK, for whom he is a patron alongside The Big Issue’s Lord Bird, helping local journalism and communities get access to trustworthy information, publicising and supporting both foodbanks and theatres and fighting period poverty.  

It’s a heady and righteous cocktail of vital causes. And it takes up a lot of Sheen’s time. With the Covid pandemic of 2020, and Brexit around the corner, he feels his activism is going to be more important than ever in 2021.

“Everything that was happening before Covid came along which has been exacerbated,” says Sheen. “So it’s not like issues I was focused on beforehand – around homelessness and high-cost credit – are going away.

“We’re bracing ourselves for it getting a lot harder and more people being involved. The work that was going on pre–pandemic is going to get even more pressured. Because when you look into anything around poverty and inequality before the pandemic, the fallout from the way Universal Credit was being rolled out was having a massive effect. Well, there’s going to be a lot more people on Universal Credit now.”  

But Sheen also sees this as a moment to seize, a chance to rebuild society anew, a period that is packed with potential.  

“We saw what was possible around homelessness during the pandemic, where people were able to get off the streets and were put into accommodation and given support that wasn’t there before,” he says.  

“That has made a lot of people think. If that’s possible during a pandemic when people are really motivated, then why can’t it happen afterwards as well? Why does it take a pandemic to do it? We have seen that the fact there are still people living on the street is a political choice.

“So while we are bracing ourselves for really challenging times, that’s balanced out by a sense that there’s the chance to build up from the ground again. How do we reimagine who we are and how we live and how we work together? The status quo wasn’t working. So we have to innovate, we have to reimagine, we have to reinvent – there is a moment of possibility to build back better.”

He is on a roll. He sounds like a politician. A good politician. With that rich, sonorous voice rising as he advocates a new way of living, a new vision for society. He compares the imminent, we hope, post-Covid moment to the situation facing the post-war Attlee government. 

“When you go through a big, nation–changing event, which this has been, there’s the opportunity to reimagine a different relationship between the state and society and between us as a community,” he continues. “To see how communities have pulled together gives you a new awareness of who we are and what we can be. We can rebuild our nation in the light of that.  

“There won’t always be that window of opportunity. We’ll go in a new direction and a new status quo will emerge. Let’s hope it can be a fairer one.”

But Sheen is not just about ideas for a brighter future for Wales, the UK, and beyond. He’s also at the top of the acting profession. And we’ve seen a lot of him in 2020.  

There was his brilliant, uncanny, portrayal of Chris Tarrant in Quiz back in March – the memorable pop-cultural drama-doc which drew a massive lockdown audience to its exploration of the infamous, scandalous, did-they-didn’t-they ‘cheat’ storm on ITV’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – shedding light on the inventive, pre-internet ways WWTBAM fans across the country hooked up to game their way onto the show.

Sheen was – not for the first time in a career that has seen him portray with such skill a diverse crowd of famous names, including Brian Clough (The Damned United), Kenneth Williams (Fantabulosa), Tony Blair (The Deal, The Queen and The Special Relationship), and David Frost (in Frost/Nixon) – utterly, bewilderingly believable as Tarrant and the three-part series, aired over consecutive nights, was genuine event television. 

Then, when it became clear this pandemic and these lockdowns weren’t going anywhere fast, Sheen joined forces with his Good Omens co-star David Tennant to make Staged – the first, and perhaps only show to capture the tedium, the disconnectedness, the discombobulation of lockdown life.  

With the big–name actors playing heightened versions of themselves – Sheen pompous, cultured, guzzling wine, Tennant eager to please, upbeat, hapless – it was a roaring success on iPlayer.

“David is very different to what you see in the series in real life,” says Sheen. “But although I’d like to say I’m different to the version of me in Staged, that’s pretty much what I’m like.”

The surprise second series of Staged catches up with Sheen and Tennant (or should that be Tennant and Sheen?) a few months down the line.  

“We knew the series was very easy to do, filming it at home on a laptop – or that even if we went back to a more normal life again and were working elsewhere, we could film it anywhere,” says Sheen.  

“And by the time we came to the second series, it was different. Even though we were still spending a lot of time at home, the second series was during a period where everybody, including David and I, were trying to go back to do things. Then the rules kept changing.  

“So you never quite knew whether what was going to happen from day to day. The second series reflects that. But obviously, going back to work and trying to go back to normal is very different from me and David than they are for a lot of people – so we were aware that had to be dealt with as well, because never wanted it to be about two poncey actors and their lives. We wanted to find a way to do it so that people could still identify with it.”

This year, Sheen, like most of us, has spent more time at home. He has, he says, enjoyed catching fewer planes, appreciated his friends and extended family more than ever, raced through five series of Line of Duty and been wowed by Normal People, starting his way down Schitt’s Creek but still found little time to read novels (“I’ve asked for a few from Father Christmas”).  

Because if he does find time to read, it is usually research on housing, on fighting poverty, on rebuilding the broken or the out-of-control housing market, alongside the occasional script.

But if 2020 has been about anything for Sheen, is has been about spending time with his baby daughter Lyra.

“When we went into that first lockdown in March, she was only five months old,” he says.  

“So our focus has been her this whole time. Really our experiences wouldn’t have been massively different. The main overwhelming part of our experience of the last year has been having a baby, as opposed to Covid. And I know I’m very fortunate to be able to say that. But anyone who’s had a baby knows that that just takes up all your bandwidth.

“They give you structure, don’t they? A reason to get up in the morning. A lot of people have said it is difficult getting motivated to do stuff – but that’s not an issue when you’ve got a little one, is it? So I have got very used to being in the house. I even got to do two seasons of a TV show from my kitchen, which is pretty nice…”

Staged returns to BBC One and iPlayer on January 4

Michael Sheen on the legacy of the Homeless World Cup in Wales

In the summer of 2019, Cardiff hosted the Homeless World Cup. As the football tournament, featuring players from around the world, all of whom were experiencing homelessness, kicked off, we knew Michael Sheen had played a huge role in bringing the event to Wales.

What didn’t emerge until later was that, when some promised funding failed to emerge, Sheen was faced with a choice between sinking more than £1m of his own money into making it happen or cancelling the event.

He paid. They played.

It was a triumph and will last long in the memory. So how does Sheen feel now about it?

“It is an extraordinary event that happens every year,” he says. “It was going to be in Finland this year, which I was really looking forward to – because Finland has been quite pioneering in the Housing First strategy and I was looking forward to being able to find out more about that. But I still feel the way I did before – and what motivated me to try and make it happen here in Wales is that it is life-changing for people and can be a transformative experience in all kinds of ways.

“For some people who take part in it, it has an immediate effect. And for others, it may be years later that the effects of it manifest in their life. But that was why I was so committed to being a part of making that happen.

“A lot of the motivation for us in Wales was about what it could act as a platform for afterwards. And that has been affected by the Covid crisis, because a lot of the legacy work we were doing was unable to move forward in the way we’d hoped because of all the restrictions. But what I learned and discovered during that period has made a massive difference to me and the work I’m doing around homelessness.

“The relationships we developed through that time with support service organisations, the people I met and the insights I got into what people are struggling with and what would help were invaluable. It’s been a huge thing for me. I’m still paying for it. So that still affects my life as well, obviously, and things that I’m doing.

“But my acting work is there to support the other stuff. I’m putting money into things constantly, even though I still owe money to do with the Homeless World Cup. So until the time comes when I’m not able to earn money in the same way, then I’ll keep on spending it on the things that matter to me.”

SOURCE

[invisibleicewands]

Michael Sheen: ‘There is a moment of possibility to build back better’

The actor now uses his Hollywood cash to fund his passion for activism. Sheen reveals why he revels in spending money on the things that matter and why he has hope for the post-Covid future

Michael Sheen, activist and actor. It is in that order these days. And he’s doing rather well in both spheres. He has spent the last few years trying to find a way to balance his twin passions. And, he says, he is slowly getting there.  

“A big part of it was shifting things in my head and knowing what the priorities were,” says the 51-year-old.

“I made the shift psychologically to go, right, the acting work and everything that comes with that is going to support the other stuff I’m doing.  

“So even though to the outside world, maybe it wouldn’t seem like it – because I’ve been doing lots of acting work and things that have kept the profile up and all that –  from my point of view, the priority has been different. Now the acting work fits in around the other stuff.”

That ‘other stuff’ involves supporting the Homeless World Cup and the fight to expand access to affordable credit, campaigning to get the right to a good home enshrined in law in Wales and combating loneliness with the Great Winter Get Together (an idea inspired by the late MP Jo Cox). Then there’s working with Social Enterprise UK, for whom he is a patron alongside The Big Issue’s Lord Bird, helping local journalism and communities get access to trustworthy information, publicising and supporting both foodbanks and theatres and fighting period poverty.  

It’s a heady and righteous cocktail of vital causes. And it takes up a lot of Sheen’s time. With the Covid pandemic of 2020, and Brexit around the corner, he feels his activism is going to be more important than ever in 2021.

“Everything that was happening before Covid came along which has been exacerbated,” says Sheen. “So it’s not like issues I was focused on beforehand – around homelessness and high-cost credit – are going away.

“We’re bracing ourselves for it getting a lot harder and more people being involved. The work that was going on pre–pandemic is going to get even more pressured. Because when you look into anything around poverty and inequality before the pandemic, the fallout from the way Universal Credit was being rolled out was having a massive effect. Well, there’s going to be a lot more people on Universal Credit now.”  

But Sheen also sees this as a moment to seize, a chance to rebuild society anew, a period that is packed with potential.  

“We saw what was possible around homelessness during the pandemic, where people were able to get off the streets and were put into accommodation and given support that wasn’t there before,” he says.  

“That has made a lot of people think. If that’s possible during a pandemic when people are really motivated, then why can’t it happen afterwards as well? Why does it take a pandemic to do it? We have seen that the fact there are still people living on the street is a political choice.

“So while we are bracing ourselves for really challenging times, that’s balanced out by a sense that there’s the chance to build up from the ground again. How do we reimagine who we are and how we live and how we work together? The status quo wasn’t working. So we have to innovate, we have to reimagine, we have to reinvent – there is a moment of possibility to build back better.”

He is on a roll. He sounds like a politician. A good politician. With that rich, sonorous voice rising as he advocates a new way of living, a new vision for society. He compares the imminent, we hope, post-Covid moment to the situation facing the post-war Attlee government. 

“When you go through a big, nation–changing event, which this has been, there’s the opportunity to reimagine a different relationship between the state and society and between us as a community,” he continues. “To see how communities have pulled together gives you a new awareness of who we are and what we can be. We can rebuild our nation in the light of that.  

“There won’t always be that window of opportunity. We’ll go in a new direction and a new status quo will emerge. Let’s hope it can be a fairer one.”

But Sheen is not just about ideas for a brighter future for Wales, the UK, and beyond. He’s also at the top of the acting profession. And we’ve seen a lot of him in 2020.  

There was his brilliant, uncanny, portrayal of Chris Tarrant in Quiz back in March – the memorable pop-cultural drama-doc which drew a massive lockdown audience to its exploration of the infamous, scandalous, did-they-didn’t-they ‘cheat’ storm on ITV’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – shedding light on the inventive, pre-internet ways WWTBAM fans across the country hooked up to game their way onto the show.

Sheen was – not for the first time in a career that has seen him portray with such skill a diverse crowd of famous names, including Brian Clough (The Damned United), Kenneth Williams (Fantabulosa), Tony Blair (The Deal, The Queen and The Special Relationship), and David Frost (in Frost/Nixon) – utterly, bewilderingly believable as Tarrant and the three-part series, aired over consecutive nights, was genuine event television.

Then, when it became clear this pandemic and these lockdowns weren’t going anywhere fast, Sheen joined forces with his Good Omens co-star David Tennant to make Staged – the first, and perhaps only show to capture the tedium, the disconnectedness, the discombobulation of lockdown life.  

With the big–name actors playing heightened versions of themselves – Sheen pompous, cultured, guzzling wine, Tennant eager to please, upbeat, hapless – it was a roaring success on iPlayer.

“David is very different to what you see in the series in real life,” says Sheen. “But although I’d like to say I’m different to the version of me in Staged, that’s pretty much what I’m like.”

The surprise second series of Staged catches up with Sheen and Tennant (or should that be Tennant and Sheen?) a few months down the line.  

“We knew the series was very easy to do, filming it at home on a laptop – or that even if we went back to a more normal life again and were working elsewhere, we could film it anywhere,” says Sheen.  

“And by the time we came to the second series, it was different. Even though we were still spending a lot of time at home, the second series was during a period where everybody, including David and I, were trying to go back to do things. Then the rules kept changing.  

“So you never quite knew whether what was going to happen from day to day. The second series reflects that. But obviously, going back to work and trying to go back to normal is very different from me and David than they are for a lot of people – so we were aware that had to be dealt with as well, because never wanted it to be about two poncey actors and their lives. We wanted to find a way to do it so that people could still identify with it.”

This year, Sheen, like most of us, has spent more time at home. He has, he says, enjoyed catching fewer planes, appreciated his friends and extended family more than ever, raced through five series of Line of Duty and been wowed by Normal People, starting his way down Schitt’s Creek but still found little time to read novels (“I’ve asked for a few from Father Christmas”).  

Because if he does find time to read, it is usually research on housing, on fighting poverty, on rebuilding the broken or the out-of-control housing market, alongside the occasional script.

But if 2020 has been about anything for Sheen, is has been about spending time with his baby daughter Lyra.

“When we went into that first lockdown in March, she was only five months old,” he says.  

“So our focus has been her this whole time. Really our experiences wouldn’t have been massively different. The main overwhelming part of our experience of the last year has been having a baby, as opposed to Covid. And I know I’m very fortunate to be able to say that. But anyone who’s had a baby knows that that just takes up all your bandwidth.

“They give you structure, don’t they? A reason to get up in the morning. A lot of people have said it is difficult getting motivated to do stuff – but that’s not an issue when you’ve got a little one, is it? So I have got very used to being in the house. I even got to do two seasons of a TV show from my kitchen, which is pretty nice…”

Michael Sheen on the legacy of the Homeless World Cup in Wales

In the summer of 2019, Cardiff hosted the Homeless World Cup. As the football tournament, featuring players from around the world, all of whom were experiencing homelessness, kicked off, we knew Michael Sheen had played a huge role in bringing the event to Wales.

What didn’t emerge until later was that, when some promised funding failed to emerge, Sheen was faced with a choice between sinking more than £1m of his own money into making it happen or cancelling the event.

He paid. They played.

It was a triumph and will last long in the memory. So how does Sheen feel now about it?

“It is an extraordinary event that happens every year,” he says. “It was going to be in Finland this year, which I was really looking forward to – because Finland has been quite pioneering in the Housing First strategy and I was looking forward to being able to find out more about that. But I still feel the way I did before – and what motivated me to try and make it happen here in Wales is that it is life-changing for people and can be a transformative experience in all kinds of ways.

“For some people who take part in it, it has an immediate effect. And for others, it may be years later that the effects of it manifest in their life. But that was why I was so committed to being a part of making that happen.

“A lot of the motivation for us in Wales was about what it could act as a platform for afterwards. And that has been affected by the Covid crisis, because a lot of the legacy work we were doing was unable to move forward in the way we’d hoped because of all the restrictions. But what I learned and discovered during that period has made a massive difference to me and the work I’m doing around homelessness.

“The relationships we developed through that time with support service organisations, the people I met and the insights I got into what people are struggling with and what would help were invaluable. It’s been a huge thing for me. I’m still paying for it. So that still affects my life as well, obviously, and things that I’m doing.

“But my acting work is there to support the other stuff. I’m putting money into things constantly, even though I still owe money to do with the Homeless World Cup. So until the time comes when I’m not able to earn money in the same way, then I’ll keep on spending it on the things that matter to me.”

[agentnico]

Stowaway (2021) Review

I don’t buy it.

Plot: The crew of a spaceship headed to Mars discovers an accidental stowaway shortly after takeoff. Too far from Earth to turn back and with resources dwindling, the ship's medical researcher emerges as the only dissenting voice against the group that has already decided in favour of a grim outcome.

Consider me a cinema sinner, but I find it highly unlikely that someone would could corners during final flight checks of a highly important and most likely hella-expensive spacecraft on a mission to Mars. Like there is no way I believe that no one would have found this stowaway fellow before the ship took off. No way, like no, I refuse to accept that as a possible situation. The craft would have been checked like a gazillion times beforehand and also I’m sure in this futuristic setting people still use attendance sheets and clock ins. Right before the flight took off a certain Jerry would have took out a clipboard, or okay, its the future, he’d probably be using an iPad 100, but regardless, he’d be like “right chaps, I’m gonna call out everyone’s name and ensure everyone’s here and not accidentally fallen behind on this ship here that is about to fly on a 2 year journey to ye old Mars baby over there in the sky, as this is a highly important and expensive mission and we cannot be guilty of making any silly mistakes. Right, is John here? Good. Richard, yep. Chloe, cool. Terry, hi there Terry, hey our names rhyme, we should go for a pint after! Right, David. And Michael? Where’s Michael? No Michael here? Where was Michael seen last? Ah, he was fixing up some wires in the ship? Okay, see, I knew Michael would still be up there, he’s a clumsy silly sausage he is, let’s go get him!” And end of story. Voila! So yeah, I don’t buy it. No sir. So much so that I’m going to leave this Grumpy Cat (RIP) meme here...

However that being said, let’s just accept that all the folks behind the set up of this Mars mission are cretinous imbeciles who allowed this mistake to occur for the sake of this movie existing. So we end up with this psychological drama of this crew in space stuck with this difficult choice, and this posed moral dilemma in itself was actually quite interesting if you ignore the set up towards it. It’s the common question of how much does a single human’s life matter? Socrates would have a ball watching this movie! Or at least I think he would. I don’t know, my knowledge of Socrates is limited to Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (huge shout out to my amazing girlfriend for recommending me that awesome game!) and in that game Socrates spends a lot of time contemplating my kill count and the deeper meaning behind each life that my Kassandra took. Safe to say I completely ignored Socrates and made my Kassandra a full fledged murderer with a lust for blood, blood and, you guessed it, more blood! 

Anyway, moving on from my psychotic video game tendencies, Stowaway is actually a very self contained movie, and even though its set out there in the big open space of our solar system, we don’t actually get to enjoy that many big visual set pieces we’ve grown accustomed to thanks to recent space epics Interstellar, The Martian, Ad Astra and First Man to name a few. Instead for the majority of the film we spend time with the characters inside the the ship’s main carrier. The film tries to play as a big character study, however here’s the thing, you don’t really care about any of the characters. Each individual has their one or two characteristics and background points, but overall your sympathies for these people will rely exclusively on your opinions of these actors. If you are a fan of them, you will enjoy seeing them and root for them, however if you have no interest in these actors then the characters they play you’ll give zero care about. For example, Anna Kendrick is perfectly okay as the ship’s medic, and her on-screen presence is a welcome one, however couldn’t tell you hardly anything about the character she plays other than her name is Zoe. I think. Is it Zoe? I could go on IMDb and confirm this but somehow I don’t think I want to.

I should also mention that this film is filled to the brim with plot holes. Yes, the movie tries to use a lot of scientific terms as an excuse to confuse us and buy into the story and all the stuff that occurs, but thinking it over I have to admit this movie does not make sense. From the oxygen problem to the lack of prep for this mission and also the outcome at the end, it’s all a mess. Speaking of the outcome, this film has a monumentally abrupt ending. It simply stops. Yes, a certain major plot point occurs, however it leaves the story as a whole completely unresolved. It’s more like this thing happens, and you’re like “oh damn!” and then out of nowhere credits overtake the screen and you’re like “wait what?”. It just ends. It just ends as if the producers realised they’ve wrote themselves into a dead end and simply accepted it. So we get this build up that akums to a suspenseful piece of nothing. Some lovely scenes, competent acting and elegant special effects are not enough to make this movie worth your time. That being said there is a certain sequence to the end of this movie which was actually really suspenseful and actually had me, as cringe as it sounds, at the edge of my seat. It actually made me really motion sick and nauseous from the tension of it all, so I have to give props to that scene. Otherwise, yeah, as stated previously - I don’t buy it. 

Overall score: 4/10

[martykirkby]

Any holby or casualty episodes you’d recommend rewatching? Idm how old, thanks :)

(i’m gonna put this under a read more bc it got way longer than i intended it too and you didn’t even ask for descriptions i’m just incapable of being concise ever sorry! i bolded the titles so you don’t have to read it all)

okay so it depends what characters you care about, bc my answers would be different based on who your faves are, so these are my faves to rewatch (but will probs be super biased towards my fave characters)! obvs i’m not saying watch all of them (unless you want to) but i’ve included reasons why i like them so you can decide based on what you enjoy.

holby (i’ve only watched from s16 with a little of s15 and s6 so it’s gonna start there):

intuition (16x11)- dom’s first episode back after his guest stint, and adele’s first ep! this is the first episode i watched when i started watching holby properly bc i was impatient and wanted to get to the dom scenes so i haven’t watched most of the s16 episodes before it but i would probably say watch 16x10 as well bc that’s when jac gives birth and this ep has a lot of scenes about her and emma.

prince among men (16x16)- raf’s first ep in which he’s v v iconic and also i love dom, zosia and arthur and frustrated mentor sacha and there’s that woman who’s like in love with a mummy until she finds out it was a female mummy. also jac and emma!!

one small step (16x42)- again i LOVE the keller trio, this is the first ep where they really bond even if it’s over a super traumatic experience w zosia. and connie crosses over for the first time since she joined casualty, which i rlly liked.

star of wonder (17x10)- a really important episode for zosia’s character and her bipolar sl! also i like christmas episodes

the ides of march (17x32)- another big ep for zosia and the one where she decides to move to darwin

beautiful (17x45)- dom taking a level students on a tour of the hospital and bonding w one of them and quoting that christina aguilera song... i love him

at first i was afraid (17x50)- dom and arthur roadtrip! the karaoke scene! frieda as a patient! elliot’s exit ft some really nice scenes w him and jac!

left behind (18x05)- i just really like all three storylines, i’ve rewatched the mo and wiliam sl a few times just bc i like mo and this ep is the last one of that sl and it’s my fave of them, and you can watch it as a standalone if you already know what’s happened in the eps beforehand.

blue christmas (18x11)- the only one i’ve seen where jac’s past is rlly talked about bc it’s the one where fran reveals they know each other. apart from that it is just a nice christmas ep and i really like all the other storylines going on.

young hearts, run free (18x13)- the ep where dom arthur and morven have to do some scavenger hunt thing in the woods!! and dom has a chicken called henriketta!! that’s reason enough to watch it 500 times tbh

one under (18x21)- for some reason arthur’s patient sl haunts me, but i think it is a rlly good (but sad) ep for arthur as he comes to terms with his cancer test

it tolls for thee (18x31)- arthur and morven’s wedding and i love them

i’ll walk you home (18x35)- arthur’s last ep (as not a figment of someone’s imagination) and it’s devastating but the episode is so so well done and i watch it whenever i need to cry

another day in paradise, parts one and two (18x38 and 18x39)- i just really like all the different storylines in these eps, the patient sl is like. wild and there’s focus on jac being a mother and dom’s grief and sacha and essie i just rlly like them

protect and serve (18x47)- this is the one after the helicopter crash in casualty so i always watch it after watching that one. it’s a good episode that focuses more on the characters than the storylines and i love the crossovers too.

i do, i do, i do (19x13)- an episode in which a main character’s daughter dies has absolutely no right being as funny as this, but the derwood/inga wedding is so so funny and also rlly sweet at the end and the contrast with the elinor storyline is wild (and also something i wish holby would do more often bc recently they’ve done like three depressing storylines in one ep)

the hard way home (19x35)- tbh the main reason i’ve rewatched this ep so much is for dofty which obvs i don’t care about anymore, but it’s also a really good ep just for dom w his steroid addiction and the anniversary of arthur’s death. and it’s damon’s first ep and i miss him

group animal, parts one and two (19x61 and 19x62)- the shooting eps which i also watch when i wanna feel sad, but also they are just really good episodes in general

also the last two eps of s19 after the shooting bc i’m incapable of not watching the aftermath

i haven’t rewatched any s20 or s21 eps except when giffing so i can’t rlly recommend any there

casualty (for some of these just pretend that lofty never existed on holby and his character was never destroyed):

next of kin, parts one and two (26x15 and 26x16)- the second ep is more exciting but you need the first one for context, it’s just classic high stakes drama, the entire ed was on fire bc they stopped filming in bristol so they were like yeah let’s completely destroy the set! and it’s ruth and jay’s last episodes.

duty of care (26x17)- also high stakes drama, tom’s first episode and the first ep filmed in cardiff. there’s a poisonous gas leak AND an explosion.

love is (26x23)- danny dyer did more acting in this one (1) episode than he has his entire career on eastenders i swear. i didn’t expect to get so emo about it.

the ‘ricochet’ eps (26x25, 26x26, 26x27)- casualty didn’t hold back with these eps. they’re v good eps (s26 has some of casualty’s best episodes imo) but a LOT about gang violence and a trigger warning for rape in the second one.

zero sum game (26x39)- fletch’s first episode! i mainly like it bc of that but it’s also fun to see how much lloyd hates him at first.

the #holbyriot eps (26x41 and 26x42)- definitely some of the most tense episodes casualty’s ever done, back when they cared about social issues like police brutality.

rabbits in headlights (27x17)-  the first episode for robyn, jamie and aoife (and ally but she leaves the next ep). i love seeing how far robyn in particular has come, and i loved jamie and aoife as well and seeing them as tiny dumbass students is fun.

unsilenced (27x31)- the fgm storyline, again when casualty used to care about social issues. it’s really well-written, i think.

once there was a way home, parts one and two (28x01 and 28x02)- this is ramin’s first appearance and i love him and jamie and the way jamie basically risked his entire job to help him. the first one is also rita’s first ep!

carrot not stick (28x35)- this one has a patient from 28x33 in, but you don’t need to have rewatched that one to get the gist. lofty and dixie take said patient to visit his dying mother and they go to the beach. they sing dolly parton. lofty steals a puppy. it’s just a really nice episode imo

born lucky (29x05)- this is a sad one, but i really like the relationships between the staff in this one, and i think it was a good final episode for jeff.

entrenched (29x09)- casualty said football fans don’t deserve rights and also lofty makes some points about the futility of war. michael spence is in this episode!

deadfall (29x10), the road not taken (29x26), holby sin city (29x39)- i’m grouping these together bc they’re all the ‘holby noir’ standalone episodes and if you wanna watch one ep and not have to worry about the long running storylines, they work. they’re also completely insane and v fun imo. the road not taken is my fave.

a child’s heart, parts one and two (30x01 and 30x02)- i’m not a fan of it focusing so much on charlie’s life story, but i love episodes just after a crisis and especially when one of the team is in danger bc you really see how much the staff all care about each other. these eps also have the start of louise’s storyline where she switches from a receptionist to a nurse.

high tide (30x27)- lofty’s last episode, jez’s first, and it’s also a really good episode for cal and ethan. and although i don’t really care about any of them except jez anymore, i still think this is a good episode to rewatch just to see like. them as characters.

too old for this shift (31x01)- this is the feature length episode so like. it might not be ideal to rewatch but again it’s the helicopter crash episode, so you really see the staff pull together which i love, and there are appearances from jac and fletch, and video calls from people who have left the show. like i said, it goes with protect and serve on holby so i usually rewatch those together.

mobile (31x27)- i literally just rewatched this episode last night which is why i’m thinking about it, but it’s a really good ep and it’s the one where robyn gives birth and her scenes with david are so well acted. they also link all three stories in some way to mobile phones which i thought was cool.

5 days (31x28)- i love robyn so i really love this episode. there’s a lot of character development imo, from being in denial and optimistic to realising how bad charlotte’s situation is and struggling to cope, to accepting how it is and being there for her as a mother.

one (31x44)- the plot is okay, it’s not something i’d be particularly interested to rewatch apart from the fact it’s filmed in one shot which makes it fun to rewatch.

32x19- max’s last episode and we find out a lot about him! and ofc there’s the zoe and max reunion and i just really like max in this episode.

32x21- bea’s first ep and i love her, also really shows how much a real ed has to cope with and has alicia start the anonymous blog which is v iconic of her.

i haven’t really rewatched any eps that aired after this specifically for one ep (i’ve rewatched every episode jade and marty and archie have been in but i don’t always care about the eps themselves)

[rndyounghowze]

Red Hawk Theatre Goes "Into the Woods" at ACIT in Mays Landing, NJ

By: Ricky and Dana Young-Howze

When you're a theatre reviewer you're always "on the clock" when everyone else is putting their guard down and "suspending their disbelief". You're a professional audience member and a lover of theatre. There's never really a time that I'm sitting in an audience and not writing a review.

That's why I felt a little uneasy when I felt myself in the audience of ACIT's "Into the Woods" (book by James Lapine and Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) with nothing to do. I was invited by director Elizabeth Volpe as a theatre professional to see what their theatre program was up to. (As a theatre reviewer I can't ethically review a show unless I'm formally invited.)

But everything changed when we were invited to the Friday showing with a VIP dinner beforehand at their Cafe on Main Street. My wife Dana and I aren't just theatre people we're also super cynical Disney fans. And one of the things that we desperately love at Disney are character breakfasts where, as you're eating, costumes characters come around and interact with you. Well imagine our surprise when as we were eating the cast came out and started to interact with us. We just knew we had to review this show. So this marks the first time that I started writing a review and THEN hunted down the director to get permission to publish it.

Now it would be hard for adult actors to stay in character amongst all this chaos but these kids were on pointe and stole the show even before there was a show to steal! Then we got to meet Mrs. Volpe and we were floored when they told us that this was the first time they have ever tried something like that. They were doing so well we never would have known! After that we were escorted into the theater.

Direction by Elizabeth Volpe showed what happens when you take some of South Jersey's best and brightest all under one roof. One of the biggest things I'd ask of her is that she could go farther and bolder with her choices. When she flipped the script with things such as a sassy Milky White and a female Wolf we all bought it immediately. But that means when some actors are really going for it they raise the bar for the others. We notice that they aren't matching the energy.

I also like that she found some spots for more of this very diverse group of actors such as putting the Old Man and the Narrator as two actors. I don't know if copyright allows for it but most of it I bought. However I was thrown out by the addition of Wolf 2 played by Nevaeh Torres. She seems like she was added to create a depth of harmony however I think her voice could have been used better elsewhere. Despite this I was glad to see her onstage and I can't wait to see what she does next.

I have a lot of respect for the orchestra conducted by Anthony Sinigaglio under the musical direction of Catherine Chambers especially for good use of strings and reeds. I've seen this show three times and I think this was the best orchestra I've heard backing up a cast.

Baker (Jake Ewan) and Baker's Wife (Mya Still) must have been taking notes from a real married couple. They were making up banter on the fly in the VIP dinner and I swear that I had heard the same bickering on the ride over with my lovely bride. Great job you two!

Cinderella (Skye Maldonado) wormed her way into my heart when I first saw her at the VIP dinner. To be able to take such haranguing while everyone is finishing up their chicken marsala takes some serious chops. I think she has a huge career in dinner theatre ahead.

I was having deja vu when I saw Red Riding Hood (Gabriella Prato) onstage. I had just seen her two weeks ago at Off Broad Street Players in Millville in the same role! This is a very fun character to do and I think she did splendidly by putting her own personal touches on it. I saw what she was doing both times and I was definitely along for the ride even if for a second time.

When Jack (Ben Silvesti) was singing I was so happy! I really liked his voice. When he was acting, however, he had a tendency to act by yelling. I can tell he has a lot of talent and he will rock out all his future performances when he lets his skill speak louder than his voice.

The Witch (Allie Bagliani) has a lot of tongue twisting words and complicated songs but I'm floored with how well she took it all in stride to deliver a stunning performance. Her transition from the hag witch to the beautiful witch was stark yet seamless. Her whole body language and demeanor changed.

Supporting Shoutouts

I love that the Narrator (Gabriella Sangataldo) carried herself with poise. I immediately thought of her as the narrator so much that things like the tradition or gender didn't matter. In fact I think she is my favorite narrator so far.

Some people use a prop statue of Milky White (Antonia Bengardino) but I like that this one was a sassy actress with a lot of great moments. I hadn't seen such a fresh take before.

Rapunzel (Shania Strother) had a rich voice that added a cool bit of layering to the character. At one point she can be so hilarious and then sincere and break your heart. Good job!

Background Standouts

I really like the idea of a female Wolf (Nina Ward). It gave something a bit more "predatory" to the part that I didn't think was possible. She has such a great voice!

Steward (Michael Scott) had some pretty funny moments even if he was a bit quiet. He really did stand out especially when he was dancing.

Set design by Technical Director David Stratoti was one of the coolest I had seen. I really like the use of steps and logs and trees to add a sense of depth and height. Also kudos to the massive amount of muscle power from a huge crew it must have taken to get it built.

Costumes were designed, built, and bought by Elizabeth Volpe. We got very up close and personal to those costumes at the VIP dinner so I can tell you that they were amazing! And can I just say that they were very brave to have those perfectly clean costumes so close to all those saucy foods. One slip and you're a goner!

Props by Kayla Corson were especially divine. You get a lot of cool projects in here that you only get to do once in a lifetime. Seriously when else do you get to design a golden egg laying hen? I could see that she took pride in her work.

Lighting Design by David Stratoti was great if not a little dark. But I especially loved the Witch transformation and lightning effects.

A big shout-out to the massive hair and make-up team that did such great work! That hair was legit! Also the costume crew really kept up their end of the deal!

And also a kudo to the costumed crew members that were moving set pieces and props around. My wife Dana loves little touches like that. I'll admit that they make me smile too.

So this is what happens when you come in thinking you're going to just see a show and come out writing a review. Maybe I should stop being surprised that there are still things out there that can take me by... well... surprise. These kids deserve all the praise in the world and I really hope to see much more from this program in the future. You have two more chances to see it tomorrow at 1 and 7 PM. Please do what you can to go see it.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 1X20 - The Stranger

Hey, stranger!

Meet me under the cut to read my thoughts on this episode!

Press Release August promises to enlighten Emma and take her on a journey that will show her how she can beat Regina, and possibly take custody of Henry; and with Mary Margaret returning to work, Regina puts a plan in motion to seduce David. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, with the Evil Queen’s curse about to strike, Geppetto agrees to a plan that will save Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter, but with a proviso that could also save his own son. General Thoughts Past Gepetto is the shining beacon of this episode. I love the lengths he goes to to protect Pinocchio and the dark places he goes to in the process. I also give the episode a lot of credit for showing so much of Gepetto and Pinocchio together in the earlier bits of the flashback. We see the selfless nature of Pinocchio that grants him his humanhood and seeing the two of them bond a bit make Gepetto’s blackmail so much more tragic and understandable. That said, while I love the way he emotionally blackmails Jiminy into helping him out, I do feel like it would’ve been a touch stronger had we seen their friendship a bit more in the second flashback scene. Wow, that scene with Pinocchio really didn’t do it for me. See, I get that Pinocchio left Emma and I can understand why. He was roughly 7-9 years old and a baby is a big responsibility, especially when you’re in a new land and are a kid. But I wish that we had seen more of a lingering effect of tension with Pinocchio taking care of Emma other than just one guy who was mean to him. I feel like an additional flashback scene would’ve come in handy here - one with Pinocchio taking care of Emma and one of him being exhausted after some time had passed, being told off, and then having the offer to leave. Because as it stands, Pinocchio only has that one bad encounter that takes maybe ten seconds total with a nothing character to take him away from a baby he cares about and a promise he made to his Papa. Present I find that the scene at the tree between Emma and August was a better version of Jefferson’s speeches from “Hat Trick.” Because August - in addition to being an established character, now ten episodes in the making - is Emma’s friend. Because he’s already earned a great deal of her trust and is implementing evidence (Something that he knows will better help her believe), it feels more like an earned discussion. And while I’ll take my objections with it in the next episode, I find that August demanding that Emma step up and be the Savior works better because his motivations are more selfish.

Also, I like how Emma’s desperation is playing out in the background of the episode as Gold and August continue to fail her, culminating in such a crazy and off the charts decision to abduct Henry. It’s a great moment where it’s completely indefensible both in-universe and to an Emma fan like me and the fallout in the next episode is so well-earned for a WTF decision like that, making me feel like the writers knew damn well what they were doing. Insights -That is the coolest door lock ever and I want it soooooo badly! -”My kid needs me. I don’t have time for faith.” Say what you want about Emma, but my girl has her priorities in check! -I know people have their problems with OUaT’s effects, but they’ve always managed to capture water so well. Whether it’s practical or in CGI, it’s both realistic and beautiful. -Alongside those lines, the Pinocchio wooden toy is so expertly crafted. Given how it’s only in a handful of scenes, it’s really impressive that they went to such efforts to make it tangible. -Regina, making everyone use those old school phones that take forever to reach someone was the most vile part of this curse! -There’s such a great stark contrast between Mary Margaret from the pilot and now. Back in the first episode, she could barely talk to Regina without getting barked at, but the tables have turned so drastically. It speaks to her development over the past 19 episodes, and what’s even better is that she retains her ability to forgive, an aspect of Snow that is such a big part of her, especially in later seasons. -Damn! Henry’s determination is really something else here! While I definitely feel for Regina (It must be awful seeing the child you raised turn on you and call you evil, not matter how true it actually is), Henry has clearly reached a limit and given that Regina actually did frame Mary Margaret, I can’t help but feel some catharsis out of that speech. -Gold, you bastard! That was so douchey, and I am cracking the fuck up! It’s probably some more catharsis, and not unjustified catharsis given August’s ploy in the last episode! He’s now just having all the fun in the world dicking around with August and while I love August, it’s so entertaining to watch! Oh! And when you see the clock, it all gets so much sadder! SO MANY FEELS! -To be fair, Pinocchio, I don’t blame you for tying up Jiminy. -Emma and Rumple just have the best discussions! I like how blunt Emma is with her demands and like Henry, she’s determined as hell! -I wonder if Regina got that rocky road from a certain Snow Queen. ;) -It only occured to me now that August’s presence was foreshadowed in the first episode. Why else would Gepetto speak of not having a child when in the previous scene in the pilot, he clearly did? -Regina’s fake story about finding David is like the evil version of Michael’s letter to Jane in Season 3 of “Jane the Virgin.” It reflects on themes of meant-to-be and coincidences. Also, I have to wonder how much of that story was improvised and how much of it had she planned beforehand. -The effects are on a roll here! I love how the tree in our world all but cracks open as Pinocchio enters our world. As a side note, it’s really lucky that humanity hadn’t built over his landing spot. Imagine that happening to Pinocchio at a Starbucks! XD -There’s such a sad contrast between the “fake” reunion in the past episode and the real one here. The “fake” one while...well, fake is so honest and upfront. You just know that that’s the kind of reunion August would want with his Papa, and in this episode, it’s so calm and lowkey, but tragic because it’s on a bed of lies. -Oh, Emma. That was a terrible idea! I get where you’re coming from girl, but...no! Arcs The Mystery of August Booth - Finally, all is revealed! I’m glad that they got the reveal out of the way earlier in the episode so that we could spend the rest of the runtime exploring his past and present relationships. It really helped to define August as a character. As for the reveal, it was always an engaging mystery that revealed just enough to make August’s character engaging, but not enough that the answer would become obvious. This may just be one of the most underrated twists in all of OUaT for that reason. Favorite Dynamic August and Gold I love how much resentment Gold has towards August and the petty and hurtful ways he lets it out. At the same time though, the two begrudgingly work together knowing that they’re the only other padults that they have on their side, and they’re surprisingly good at doing it. Because of that, how they work together and interact is so amusingly petty and yet coopertaive all the same and it makes me wish we could have seen more reluctant team ups between them. Their relationship is definitely a proto Season 3 Golden Hook, albeit toned down significantly due to circumstances. Writer Awww! It’s Andrew and Ian’s last episode of the season! These guys were a real treat. Their dialogue is fantastic and their theming, while it doesn’t match Fruit’s, works well here because both the latter past segments and the present segments show how far he’s fallen from his virtues and the emotional as well as physical consequences of that. But, they do a good job keeping August likable by showing just how much effort - genuine effort - he’s making to get Emma to believe here. Additionally, these guys know how to use just the right character at just the right moment. Nothing ever feels over or underused. Rating 9/10. We got an excellent exploration of character here. August comes out of this episode fully fleshed out and his dynamic with Emma really pegs home the danger that everyone is in going into the final two episodes. The pacing of the story gives us a fun adventure and every character featured has something to do or contribute to the story. I took a point off for the weak scene in the foster home as that’s supposed to be so much better than it ended up being.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this together! Next time: We talk about fruits. How about apples?

Season Tally (176/220) Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (50/70) Liz Tigelaar (17/20)* David Goodman (33/50) Jane Espenson (46/60) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (38/40)* Daniel Thomsen (8/10)* Vladimir Kvetko (9/10)* (* = Their work for the season is complete)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[imadmouhcine7]

desires-from-corners information: “elvir baljić used to score from nook kicks a touch before he have become real madrid’s file signing lower back in 1999,” writes önder susam. “excellent times.” kári tulinius: “the term ‘olympic intention’, for scoring at once from a nook, comes from whilst argentina performed the reigning 1924 olympic champions uruguay and a intention changed into scored directly from a corner.” and it’s all over in seville, wherein luis suarez’s 93rd-minute goal ensured a rollercoaster recreation led to barcelona’s favour, four-2. but the story, as ever, is about the majesty of messi. absurdly, these days’s hat-trick changed into the 50th of his career, and i can let you know that every purpose become a peach: a crisp left-foot volley, then a right-foot piledriver and finally a vintage-messi dink over a inclined keeper. league : lincoln, bury and mansfield all win, and they continue to be the division’s top three in that order. macclesfield snatch a draw from the jaws of victory at crawley and notts county take nothing domestic from tranmere. yeovil beat cambridge to climb out of the drop region.

league one: more cruelty at wimbledon, wherein a stoppage-time goal from igor vetokele seals a comeback win for charlton. plymouth put five past rochdale, shrewsbury get a surprise win at peterborough, portsmouth and barnsley draw a clean. championship: full-time whistles sound across the department. no late twists, other than the merciless late intention at wigan. norwich and leeds each win in narrow and dramatic style, hull take a tonking at brentford. hat-trick for that guy lionel messi …and it’s three-2 to barcelona at sevilla, who twice led. five minutes left. full-time: bournemouth 1-1 wolves a penalty apiece, a point apiece, and through all account a farcical final little while, proposing surprising sprinkler motion. championship: and there it's far – doomed ipswich concede the inevitable equaliser, within the first minute of stoppage time, at wigan. joe garner the scorer. full-time: newcastle 2-0 huddersfield rondon rankings, almiron impresses, and all is well – for now – at st james’. huddersfield, however, are sadly completed. championship: stated benrahma completes his hat-trick towards hull to place brentford 5-1 up. danny graham and che adam revel in a quickfire trade of dreams at st andrew’s, wherein it’s 2-2, and semi ajayi attracts rotherham degree inside the six-pointer at reading … and doomed ipswich nonetheless lead at wigan. league two: jay o’shea rattles in his sixteenth of the season, and bury have became it round – they’ve 2-1 ahead towards paul scholes’ oldham. they gained’t move pinnacle today – leaders lincoln are 2-zero up – however bury’s merchandising push maintains. intention! bournemouth 1-1 wolves (jimenez) a penalty apiece at the south coast. and then there’s another one! which shouldn’t were given! which josh king misses! championship: goals! two of them: norwich and leeds each cross in advance inside seconds of every different. first kenny mclean makes it 3-2 at carrow road – comeback kings and all that – earlier than a messy purpose from ezgjan alioski at elland street places bielsa’s facet 2-1 up. there follows a mass-scuffle, which concludes with bolton supervisor phil parkinson being sent off. bravo. albert adomah equalises for aston villa at stoke. europe: all over in munich, in which bayern inch past hertha berlin, 1-zero, to move level on points with dortmund. nonetheless 2-1 in seville, where ousmane dembele has been thrown on for barcelona. “ahem,” writes kieran malone, “steve staunton also scored a aim in opposition to norn iron immediately from a corner.” he did indeed – and it became the move-to celebration trick of morten gamst pedersen, right? any more for any extra?

championship: the carrow avenue crowd have seen a few satisfactory video games this season and are being treated to every other helter-skelter mystery nowadays: ben godfrey has made it 2-2 against bristol metropolis. leeds nevertheless being held by using bolton, bamford missing a splendid danger from near-variety. brent are now 4-1 to the good at domestic to hull, neal maupay inevitably entering into at the a laugh. a department under, omar bogle has missed a penalty within the massive one at fratton park. league one: aiden mcgeady doubles sunderland’s lead at bristol rovers, anthony o’connor makes it 2-2 for bradford towards 10-man walsall and mouhamadou-naby sarr stages for charlton at rock-backside wimbledon. intention from a corner! charlie mulgrew has bent one without delay in from a corner (also referred to as “an artim shaqiri”), to equalise for blackburn at birmingham. it’s the 1/3 time he’s pulled that off this season – ridiculous. goal! newcastle 2-0 huddersfield (perez) it's miles indeed. salomon rondon, a simply glorious centre-ahead, turns company to flick into the path of ayoze perez, who makes the factors safe for newcastle. goal! newcastle 1-zero huddersfield (rondon) the venezuelan colossus finishes thru jonas lossl’s legs to position the magpies beforehand. that’s huddersfield dead and buried, isn’t it. league : dreams at a top rate. your half of-time ratings appear to be this:

league one: sunderland are in advance at memorial stadium thanks to luke o’nien, even as the tabletop meeting among portsmouth and barnsley stays deadlocked. different half of-time ratings are as follows: europe: huff, puff, and a 64th-minute javi martínez header. bayern munich 1-zero hertha berlin, with the bavarian giants, as it stands, level on points with borussia dortmund on the top of the bundesliga. freiburg are four-1 up against augsburg, mainz 1-zero up towards schalke and monchengladbach main wolfburg 2-zero. in spain, gabriel mercado has restored sevilla’s lead towards barcelona – 2-1. “not a big fan of his so i must be thinking the ‘king’ part, not the ‘solomon’,” writes david smith, “however in his case sol is short for sulzeer no longer solomon” – a excellent factor and duly corrected. championship: grizzled veteran steven fletcher puts sheffield wednesday three-zero up at home to swansea, whose joie de vivre of ultimate week has deserted them. and stated benrahma has were given any other intention at griffin park. all in all an eventful forty five minutes in the second tier, where your half of-time rankings appear to be this: europe: in spain, jesus navas (the very equal) puts sevilla in advance in opposition to barcelona, but that man lionel messi equalises four minutes later. 1-1. half an hour to play in munich, in which bayern are yet to discover a manner past hertha berlin. league : a header from harry smith places sol campbell’s macclesfield beforehand at crawley – that takes them out of the drop quarter. helluva job to date from king sulzeer. championship: goals galore. the floodgates have opened on the riverside as ashley fletcher places boro 2-zero up towards qpr, kenny mclean equalises for norwich a full minute before callum o’dowda restores bristol metropolis’s lead, preston are three to the coolest at millwall with 1/2 an hour gone, a wondergoal from saïd benrahma has turned brentford-hull on its head – that one is now 2-1 – and 10-guy, backside-of-the-desk, genuinely-doomed ipswich are in advance at wigan way to a will keane penalty. they couldn’t, could they…?

league two: just the five desires so far, the most high-quality of that is bruno andrade’s for lincoln at morecambe. league one: wimbledon lead charlton thanks michael folivi – a messy goal, however they’ll take it. they remain rock backside however are giving themselves every risk of survival with a mettlesome run of latest shape. this would make it three wins at the trot. different scores as follows: championship: leeds’ imperious reign on the top of the desk lasted precisely six mins. mark beevers has levelled for bolton. up in wigan, ipswich’s season of depression continues apace with a jonas knudsen sending off. and a effective header from fraizer campbell has put hull 1-0 up at brentford. purple card: tommy smith (huddersfield) huddersfield’s captain is giving his marching orders for a heavy tackle on almiron. as far as newcastle are concerned, a ought to-win game has just become a really-should-win-or-else recreation. championship: two large goals at the top of the table. jamie paterson has put unrelenting bristol metropolis 1-zero up at norwich (who, as you'll be aware, are the department comeback kings). and a patrick bamford penalty gives leeds the lead in opposition to bolton – they’ve leapfrogged norwich to go first as it stands. some other place preston have gone 2-zero up way to tom clarke and che adams receives his 20th intention of the season to put birmingham beforehand in opposition to blackburn. purpose! bournemouth 1-zero wolves (king) joshua king slams domestic from the spot after being brought down by means of joao moutinho. championship: jonny howson has positioned middlesbrough 1-zero up against qpr, and also you wouldn’t wager against the scoreline staying that way – no one in the pinnacle half of have scored fewer than boro, and nobody in the whole division has conceded fewer. stoke are in advance towards aston villa thanks to sam vokes, preston are beating millwall and a peach from adam attain has positioned sheffield wednesday in front towards swansea. guy city win the continental cup they triumph 4-2 on consequences, karen bardsley the hero with  saves in the shootout. more right here: in league one’s early kickoff, sixth-positioned doncaster have only managed a 1-1 draw at scunthorpe – this means that peterborough can leapfrog them into the play-off locations with the aid of beating shrewsbury. penalties in the continental cup arsenal v manchester town finishes at an deadlock, and will be determined by the lottery exacting, excessive-strain examination of technique that may be a penalty shootout. observe it right here with rob smyth: so, miguel almiron receives his complete debut for newcastle. he regarded a livewire off the bench in opposition to wolves, exactly the kind of lively, unfastened-jazz type that rafael benitez’s aspect were desperately lacking. understanding rafa as we do, it may be smart not to assume to see an excessive amount of of almiron away from home, however nowadays’s recreation – a have to-win domestic recreation against the lowest aspect – is a tailored debut. he plays along each salomon rondon and ayoze perez in what is, by means of benitez’s standards, a full-on gung-ho attacking lineup. team news bournemouth v wolves bournemouth: boruc; clyne, mepham, aké, smith; ibe, gosling, lerma, fraser; king; solanke. subs: surman, mousset, daniels, rico, simpson, begovic, surridge wolves: rui patrício; bennett, coady, boly; doherty, dendoncker, rúben neves, joão moutinho, jonny; jiménez, diogo jota. subs: ruddy, cavaleiro, costa, gibbs-white, saiss, vinagre, traore newcastle v huddersfield newcastle: dubravka; schar lascelles, lejeune; yedlin, hayden, longstaff, ritchie; perez, almiron; rondon. subs: woodman, manquillo, dummett, kenedy, ki, atsu, joselu huddersfield: lossl, smith, hogg, bacuna, lowe, zanka, schindler, mooy, puncheon, kachunga, depoitre. subs: kongolo, billing, hamer, grant, mournie, stankovic, hadergjonaj across europe some information for the armchair bundesliga fans getting enthusiastic about borussia dortmund’s runaway fulfillment: bayern munich may be top of the desk come 5pm these days. they’ll have played a game more, and that they’ll need a seven-intention win to get there, but equally they have got lost as soon as for the reason that mid-november and today – nay, right now – face midtable hertha at the allianz arena. document below “stranger matters have passed off”. for an object lesson in runaway-leaderdom, dortmund need to look to spain, wherein barcelona can sail 10 points clean with a win this afternoon. the best trouble is they’re away at sevilla, who are not handiest clearly quite excellent, but will also be purpose of wresting returned fourth spot after getafe’s in advance win. stay tuned. league two after a win, a draw and a loss from his first three video games with oldham, paul scholes seems to instil consistency – and near in at the play-offs – with a nearby derby in opposition to bury. scholes’ warring parties will be no pushovers: bury could quit the day top of the table. the cutting-edge leaders, lincoln, journey to morecambe.  other promoting hopefuls face off as colchester host carlisle, and sol campbell continues his attempts to dig macclesfield out of chance at crawley. notts county, the department’s bottom aspect and a factor beneath campbell’s guys, are are at tranmere, in which they’ll be tasked with retaining a lid at the unfastened-scoring james norwood. league one with leaders luton no longer gambling until day after today, 2d-placed barnsley have a hazard to shut the space to 2 points this afternoon. to accomplish that they’ll want to win at fratton park – no smooth project, though portsmouth, five points clear on new 12 months’s day and now 10 factors off the leaders, are in wretched shape. at the other give up of the table, with seven points “isolating” the bottom eight and four relegation spots to head spherical, the annual mad scramble has well and sincerely began. to that stop wimbledon will be hoping to redirect the buoyancy in their fa cup run, which came to an end ultimate weekend, into the task of clambering off the lowest of the league. they host charlton, even as the 3 groups above them – all on 33 points – are away from domestic. full-time: burnley 2-1 tottenham and that’s that. spurs have carried out wonders in recent months to grasp doggedly to the coat-tails of the top , however the ultimate-ditch heroics that delivered so lots of their wins intended doubts lingered over how sustainable a name tilt genuinely changed into. and there have been no such heroics nowadays. they may finish the weekend 8 points off the league leaders. burnley, meanwhile, have turned a depressing season absolutely around – and that end result will not be welcomed at newcastle, who will live underneath sean dyche’s aspect nowadays whatever occurs. more coverage and reaction here: championship a massive day in a division this is delectably tight at the pinnacle. 3 point separate the pinnacle four,  of whom – west brom and sheffield united – face off later this afternoon. the alternative  have their danger to turn up the warmth on their counterparts before that: leaders norwich towards a ludicrously in-shape bristol city side who've received their closing seven league video games at the jump, and leeds hosting bolton in a recreation that would appearance honest enough have been leeds now not in the midst of a surprisingly bielsan submit-christmas wobble. someplace else studying and rotherham – respectively above and inside the drop quarter, separated only through aim-distinction – lock horns in a dictionary-definition six-pointer. count on mud, blood and 2 well-prowled technical areas. ipswich’s more and more determined try to salvage their season keep at wigan, aston villa and birmingham’s wavering advertising pushes continue against stoke and blackburn respectively, and millwall appearance to put an inglorious week behind them – and preserve their heads above the relegations waters – towards preston. a win at bristol rovers – one in every of that lowly gaggle – ought to take sunderland inside a factor of the automatic promoting spots, while two of the league deadlier finishers in neal maupay and jarrod bowen come head to head in hull’s soiree to brentford. goal! burnley 2-1 tottenham (barnes) a massive aim at each ends of the desk! jóhann berg guðmundsson collects a free ball on the edge of a crowded spurs container and hits a shot, badly scuffed and trickling well extensive … till an alert ashley barnes scampers in on the lower back put up to prod home. a poacher’s end from the austrian assassin. spurs want something special now. superior league proper then. simply the two 3pm kick-offs today way to diverse european and domestic cup entanglements, in addition to the day past’s friday-night time escapades. however they’re two games of a few word: wolves and bournemouth are very likely, on their day, the 2 best footballing facets out of doors the pinnacle six (and indeed well able to besting that elite), too. the “on their day” caveat is a large one although, specially for eddie howe’s team, whose latest shape has even by using their own standards zigzagged wildly and with little obvious good judgment. a win for them towards a instead on hand wolves facet unbeaten in seven would set them closer to a very last instantly of the season while they could revel in hunting down those above them instead of be anxious over what might be looming underneath. up on tyneside, in the meantime, rafael benítez enters what can be a season-defining week. his facet take on rock-backside, aim-allergic huddersfield before web hosting burnley on tuesday and heading to west ham next saturday. a win this afternoon might take his aspect up to heady thirteenth and double-triple-rubberstamp huddersfield’s destiny, no longer to say soften the gutpunch that became the overdue, a good deal fumed-over equaliser conceded at molineux of their final trip. a defeat, on the other hand, could be very awful certainly for a club where doom-mongering has end up close to second nature. there’s additionally a few soccer taking place as we speak. that’d be tottenham’s ride to burnley – the name outsiders having just dragged it again to at least one-1 at turf moor thru a sure harold kane. there’s 15 mins to head and also you’ll get updates right here – even though sense loose to preserve abreast via scott murray’s devoted live blog: rugby, what rugby? are you via any hazard averse to egg-chasing and the pointy-shoed fairweather enthusiasts, crude of way and loud of voice, who invade our favorite pubs right now of yr? then welcome every person to this fairly slight-mannered live weblog, where there can be no aggressive downing of pints, no roaringly performative patriotism, and the best goalposts that rely are exactly 2.44 meters tall. because in spite of what you might had been informed, there's soccer to be had this afternoon – masses of it. inside the top flight we’ve were given a best-of-the-relaxation meeting and an old-fashioned gloves-off scrap, at the same time as each of the the seventy two football league clubs are turning into the season’s home straight with a few combination of ambition, distress, willpower, terror, despair, craving, angst and apathy. i’ll communicate you thru all that in a minute. get the kettle on.

[fromtheringapron]

WWE SummerSlam 2013

Date: August 18, 2013

Location: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California

Attendance: 17,739

Commentary: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, and Jerry Lawler. 

Results:

1. Ring of Fire Match: Bray Wyatt (with Harper & Rowan) defeated Kane. 

2. Cody Rhodes defeated Damien Sandow. 

3. WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Alberto Del Rio (champion) defeated Christian. 

4. Natalya (with Cameron and Naomi) defeated Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella and Eva Marie). 

5. No Disqualification Match: Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated CM Punk.

6. Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn defeated Big E. Langston and A.J. Lee. 

7. WWE Championship Match: Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena (champion) to win the title. Triple H was the special guest referee. 

8. Money in the Bank Cash-In WWE Championship Match: Randy Orton defeated Daniel Bryan (champion) to win the title. Triple H was the special guest referee. 

Analysis

SummerSlam 2013 is pretty damn good. I can’t really think of a more antiquated way to describe it other than that. WWE totally nailed it on this night. The average SummerSlam is lucky to have that one colossal showdown that delivers big time, but here’s the rare show that delivers two of them ⎯ the electric Punk vs. Lesnar and Cena vs. Bryan. Each have their own compelling story to tell, each showcase the men involved at their best, and each end with a result that gives us something to nibble on.

Punk/Lesnar will go down as one of the best matches in the history of the event. By positioning Punk as the scrappy underdog, Lesnar as the ultimate destroyer, and Paul Heyman as the sniveling coward who is always moments away from interfering, it creates a dynamic that’s ridiculously entertaining. It’s David vs. Goliath for sure, except that David really takes it to Goliath here until outside distractions lead to his downfall. While it’s certainly a highlight of Lesnar’s WWE career, it should perhaps be more remembered as the last truly great moment of Punk’s, who’ll walk out of the company a few months later in tumultuous fashion.

As for the other major match on this show, it’s impossible to watch Cena/Bryan now without thinking of how it shapes Bryan’s eventual journey to the main event of WrestleMania XXX. Of course, it’s a little depressing to watch the twist ending knowing that Bryan main eventing WrestleMania was never the original plan, leaving him forever vanquished and fated to the mid-card for the remainder of his days. But with the benefit of hindsight? It’s at least a great way to start the story that eventually unfolded.

As for the show as a whole, I just really like how it meshes together. Some shows make mistake of having one big match after another, leaving little room for fans to take a breather. Here, however, all the marquee matches are separated by filler matches, which serve as light entertainment that keep the action going without having to deliver any high drama. Imagine if Cena/Bryan went right after Punk/Lesnar, with no mixed tag match in between. That would’ve worn anyone out and diminished the impact of the WWE title match, so it’s to the show’s benefit that problem is avoided altogether.

I hate to drop a corny-as-fuck seasonal reference, but watching this show really does feel like consuming a glass of summertime sangria⎯light, refreshing, and before you know it, it’s got you buzzed. If only every SummerSlam felt that way.  

My Random Notes

Between Cody Rhodes’ mustache and Daniel Bryan’s beard, I swear it’s become a thing in the 2010s to have your entire personality defined by your facial hair.

As with any 2013 WWE show, we’re graced by the Miz as a bland, shapeless babyface, who seems to be met with complete apathy by everyone. It’s a miracle he later recovered. He looks good in a tux, I’ll give him that much.

Hey, remember during those few months in 2013 when Fandango was the most over person on the roster? Strange world.

And also remember in 2013 when Dolph Ziggler still seemed kinda cool? I know, right?

And, holy shit, I checked the pre-show results, and remember in 2013 when RVD was on the roster at the some point? Wow.

Shoutout to Brandon Hendrix, who I can only assume disappeared from the face of the earth immediately after this show, leaving only a trail of Dorito crumbs in his wake.

I know opinions on the WWE commentary scene circa 2018 vary wildly, but thank the fuck we no longer have to suffer through the Cole/JBL/Lawler triumvirate of annoying. Give me Corey Graves and Byron Saxton any day.

On the Ring of Fire match: Such a weird debut match for Bray Wyatt, whose character has taken several weird turns in the years since. Would it have killed them to give him a few squash matches beforehand? A wrestler’s debut match should give you a feel for their character, and that’s a little hard to do here because it’s essentially Kane’s match. Also, an inferno match doesn’t really work in the PG era, as you can’t really light anyone on fire in front of the kids. The fire just becomes a neat visual and nothing more.

This show is set at the beginning of the Total Divas era, which is definitely still a thing now, but at the time manifested into a lot of pointless storylines that would quickly dissolve into nothing. I mean, what the hell was even the issue between Natalya and the Bella twins here?

[adamwatchesmovies]

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

Hotel Transylvania 2 is better than the first, much better in fact. There are still a number of bad, juvenile jokes but they’re sandwiched between legitimately good ones. The visuals have improved and although the ending is a letdown – it kinda undoes a lot of the development that happened beforehand – I can’t foresee anyone who liked the first disliking this follow-up.

Dracula’s daughter, Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) and her human boyfriend, Jonathan (Andy Samberg) have gotten married and she's given birth to a son, Dennis. It’s nearing his fifth birthday and he still shows no signs of vampirism, something his grandfather, Dracula (Adam Sandler) is growing increasingly worried about.

Everyone you liked from the first picture returns: Wayne the werewolf (Steve Buscemi), Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade), Murray the mummy (now voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) and Kevin James as the Frankenstein Monster. Yes, you read that right. He actually reminds the audience that the doctor is Frankenstein, not the creation. Hurray!

Generally, the story is better, particularly in the scenes where Mavis and Jonathan vacationing away from their son. A particularly funny scene concerns the two of them meeting other “mixed race” couples thanks to Jonathan’s well-meaning parents. Various gags make good use of the Invisible Man, of the monsters’ rustiness when it comes to scaring, of the concept of children’s TV shows that feature “monsters”, and more. I laughed numerously.

With that said, this is no masterpiece. It’s simply better than you’d expect. The butt jokes are gone but scenes where the entire picture grinds to a halt in order for the monsters to dance to a pop song remain. The story's predictable and actually kinda makes Dracula unlikable. I get it. He can’t accept that a grandson of his couldn't be a monster, but his insistence on calling Dennis “Denisovich” gets grading. You wonder why the parents tolerate it, particularly considering the picture implies repeatedly that monsters see dangerous objects like guillotines as playthings.

Then, we get to the ending, which has Dracula’s father, Vlad (Mel Brooks) come to Dennis’ birthday party. Dracula’s finally accepted his grandson, monster or no monster. His only worry now is his old-school father and his army of bat minions. Cue the big action climax with lots of fighting which culminates in the revelation that Dennis was a vampire after all, and simply a “late fanger”. Phew! Good thing, otherwise there might’ve been a dilemma! It’s bad and then followed by a lame scene where everyone dances happily to a tune. At least this time Adam Sandler doesn’t rap.

I would’ve initially recommended Hotel Transylvania 2 even to those who didn’t like the first, but putting my thoughts to paper have changed my mind. It’s better than the original but still only for the fans. (On Netflix, July 14, 2018)

[papacarson-blog1]

Alien: Covenant -  Existential Dread and Sci-Fi Fun

Today I went and saw Alien: Covenant at my movie theater. For starters, I originally didn’t want to see this movie because the advertisements built it up to be more crappy Alien sci-fi schlock that I didn’t much care for after Alien vs. Predator. I saw Prometheus years ago, but hardly remember anything about it. This is most likely because of how forgetful it is. There wasn’t much going on with Prometheus, but Ridley Scott did make a point prior to it’s release that it was a different kind of film compared to the other Alien films. He also stated that he wanted to do something like Blade Runner because people liked the big ideas that were in it. Well, in short, Scott did exactly that with Prometheus and people didn’t like it. It went on to get decent reviews, practically garnering it a C rating on any site. Other than that, it did leave open plenty of questions, and got enough money to spawn a sequel. 

So they made a sequel to it. And, surprisingly, it’s good. It’s a competent movie with great visual effects, a pretty good story, and wonderful art direction. However the thing I found myself getting caught up in overall was the philosophical questions it was asking. Where did we come from? Does creating life mean you’re trying to become god? Is there a god? Stuff like that. Sure it’s pretentious, existential crap, but I liked it. The android David (played by my boy Michael Fassbender) was a pretty compelling character. He’s so devious and villainous from the start that he draws you in. Other than that there’s not much that can be said about the other characters. 

Let’s talk about the story. The Covenant is a colony ship being sent to a planet to start a new civilization. In classic Alien fashion, they intercept a signal and go off course to find where it came from. Not before they hit a giant energy field and have dozens of crew members in hypersleep killed beforehand, however. Commander Daniels loses her husband, the previous captain, in this event. I have an issue with this bit. The film literally starts off with the death of a character’s husband, and we are meant to feel sympathy for her. But the film does such a bad job at making this happen as everything feels so rushed in this first bit. However the film does recover from this hiccup and move on smoothly. So they track down the signal to the planet that the science vessel Prometheus visited 10 years prior. There they find David, an android officer from the Prometheus, and a spooky spore virus that makes Neomorphs (precursor Xenomorphs) pop out of people’s faces and backs. The film does a bad job setting this up, though. It’s eventually revealed to us that after David and Shaw (the main chick from the last movie) escape, David kills Shaw and releases a giant bio-weapon on the original inhabitants on the planet (referred to as the Engineers). The Engineers are wiped out by this weapon, and the leftover things from the weapon turn into spores that, once disturbed by organic life, shoot up into orifices and cause an alien to pop out of you. This isn’t revealed until the last half of the second act of the film. As someone who hasn’t seen Prometheus in years, that was pretty confusing to me. But even at the end of that film, it’s not revealed that there’s a bio-weapon in the spacecraft that Shaw and David steal. Now I may be wrong on this, and feel free to correct me, but that was super confusing to me. Plus all this is revealed in a flashback that seems like a dream sequence, so it was even more confusing. My point is, they could’ve set this up better. Continuing with the story though, it’s eventually revealed that David has perfected the spores into the Alien face-hugger eggs we know and love. He gets the captain to trigger one and he’s killed by having a little baby Xenomorph pop out of him. In the ensuing chaos, Walter (an android exactly like David) confronts David and fights him to the death. The rest of the crew is hunted down and killed except for Daniels, a pilot named Tennessee, Walter, and some random soldier who I can’t remember the name of. The soldier had been attacked by a face-hugger during their escape, and it turns out a Xenomorph popped out of him while they were back on the ship. Daniels, Tennessee, and Walter hunt it down and shoot it into space. Everything seems fine and the day is saved, so Daniels and Tennessee go back into hypersleep to make their voyage to the colony planet. Except the film has to have a crappy ending, so it turns out that Walter isn’t really Walter but is actually David, who killed Walter and assumed his identity. He takes control of the ship, and apparently snuck some face-hugger embryos with him, so he puts those with the other human embryos. We end the film with the ship flying listlessly to the planet. 

So what did I think? Well, other than the aforementioned issues I felt the story had, I actually really liked the movie. At moments I was sunk into my seat at the horror of someone vomiting up a disgusting alien, or being ripped to shreds by one. At other times I found myself stroking my beard in wonder at the questions being asked by David. Overall it’s a pretty good film. However, if you’re looking for your typical Alien action-packed thriller, this isn’t for you. My father, a pretty hardcore fan of the series, fell asleep during the first act due to “how slow it is”. So if you’re looking for hardcore action, maybe Fate of The Furious would be a better watch. This is bad too, because a lot of the ads I’ve seen for the film are advertising it as that kind of action-thriller movie. Don’t fall for that. It’s much more than that.

Overall, I would describe Alien: Covenant as an exciting sci-fi thriller, filled with interesting existential questions. I would give it an 8/10. - 1 point for a typical ending, and -1 point for making me question my existence.

[houstonlocalus-blog]

Smoke Break: The Best of The Week

Chance The Rapper. Photo: Courtesy of Live Nation

  This week acts like Chance The Rapper, The New Pornographers, Mitski, and The Weeknd will all be here while local acts like Los Skarnales and Rough Sleepers fill in the gaps. Houston, here’s how to map out the next week.

  Wednesday you can begin at Discovery Green for the Party on the Plaza with the always amazing energy of Los Skarnales. These guys have been playing with intensity for long enough to have reached legendary status, and their latest release, Another Day, Another Borrachera, is like a party for your ears. The funky blues mixture of Houston’s Muddy Belle will open things up for the 100% FREE all ages affair that gets going at 7 pm. 

  San Fermin. Photo: Denny Renshaw

  You might not think that a seven-piece orchestral electro pop band would be intriguing, but you’d be wrong, which is why you should head upstairs to White Oak Music Hall to see Brooklyn’s San Fermin. I would say that any band this committed to a sound should be commended and they’re seriously getting bigger by the day. Their album from last year, Belong, is a mix of catchy pop and gorgeous undertones. The immense and deep electronica of Iceland’s Low Roar will be on as direct support and opener for the all ages show with doors at 7:30 pm with $15 tickets.

  On Thursday the iconic sixties British rock of The Zombies will be over at Heights Theater. These guys have hits like “Time of The Season,” “She’s Not There,” and “This Will Be Our Year,” amongst so many more. I shouldn’t have to oversell this show, as these guys are pretty amazing, and scientifically, this could be your last chance to see them if you’re a fan. There’s no support or openers because they’ll play a lengthy time for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $44 and $336, the latter being a VIP seated option with four tickets total.

  Waxahatchee. Photo: Jesse Riggins

  Downstairs at White Oak Music Hall, the indie rock meets pop sensibility of Canada’s The New Pornographers will perform. Aside from the fact that Neko Case is in this band, they’re one of the strongest live acts you can see today. Their latest, Whiteout Conditions, is their best to date, and since they don’t tour much, you might want to make it out. The indie folk rock of Waxahatchee will be on as direct support and opener, and with a new album coming up, you should hear some of her new material. The all ages show has doors at 7 pm and tickets between $29 and $33.

  Over at Walter’s, the indie pop rock of Chicago five piece The Walters will swing by to play. That’s right, a band with the same name of the club they’re playing at is actually happening. Aside from that, these guys make catchy tunes and their new track “She’s Gonna’ Leave You” is as hook heavy as their last album Young Men. The beach pop of Austin’s Summer Salt will be on hand as direct support while the lush and gorgeous indie rock of Galveston’s El Lago will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and an $8 cover.

  Satellite Bar will have the intensity of Finland’s Foreseen over to probably break some things. These guys make thrash that sounds like what DRI always wanted to sound like, and their latest album Grave Danger is pretty epic. San Antonio’s Bloodhound will be on as direct support while the death metal of Houston’s Skourge will go on beforehand. The hardcore punk of Houston’s United Races will go on prior, and Erupt will open the all ages show with a $10 cover and doors at 8 pm.

  The Secret Group will have the Draughts and Laughs show hosted by Stephen Brandau. While Stephen is a funny guy, this inventive comedy show has a new beer every month for you to take on a test drink, as well as plenty of funny comics. The 21 & up show has a $12 cover that includes a souvenir pint glass and two drafts of 11 Below Brewery beer for this month’s show.  

  Webb Wilder. Photo: David McClister

  Continental Club will host the entertaining mud rock of Nashville’s Webb Wilder. Wilder plays country-tinged and blues-minded throwback rock, he’s known to be a force to be reckoned with live, and his latest album Mississippi Moderne is like if Hank Thompson made an early Beatles album. The 21 & up show has doors at 8 pm and a $20 cover.  

  Chicago’s NE-HI will bring their indie rock to life upstairs at White Oak Music Hall. These guys make pop-influenced indie rock that’s all over their new album Offers and they’re rumored to put on an impressive live show. Houston’s Young Girls will bring their energy heavy indie rock on as direct support and Since Always will open things up with their new wave indie rock for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $10 and $13.

  Friday, you can get started at Nightingale Room for the Cinco de Mayo celebration hosted by Marco Torres. If you don’t know this guy, you’ve at least seen his photos of bands, or maybe he’s in front of you at a taco stand right now. That’s not a slight on him as he was involved in the stellar book Tacos of Texas and he can tell you the best tacos in every Texas city. He’ll host DJ sets from Gio Chamba, Gracie Chavez, and Felipe Galvan of Los Skarnales. The 21 & up event gets going around 5 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

  Tanya Tucker. Photo: Jeremy West

  Out in the Woodlands at Dosey Doe, one of the Queens of Country, Tanya Tucker, will be at the Big Barn to perform. Tucker had her first hit when she was 13, she’s a legend in all aspects, and with hits like “Delta Dawn,” “Love Me Like You Used To,” and “Texas (When I Die),” you shouldn’t miss this set. Sonia Langham will open things up for the all ages show with doors at 6 pm. Tickets range between $108 and $178 and include dinner, served from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.

  Rockefeller’s will host the EP release for Genesis Blu‘s latest album, Bluming Season. Blu is one of the best new rappers in Houston and she’ll be on fire at this show with a live band backing her. The show also has surprise guests with doors at 7 pm for the all ages and 100% FREE show.

  Civic TV will have the album release party for Rough Sleepers while the show will get headlined by LA’s Behavior. Behavior is one of those bands that’s a mix of no wave, post punk and traditional punk that’s hard to ignore, while their album 375 images of Angels is something you need to hear for yourself. Rough Sleepers will be on as direct support for the release party of their album Savage Dream, which should blow the minds of everyone in attendance. Blue Dolphin opens the all ages BYOB show with doors at 8 pm with a $7 cover.

  White Oak Music Hall upstairs will host the album release for funk of Houston’s Brothers Grymn. Their album, Summer Sessions, is pretty tight and funky and should sound impressive live. Houston’s Kyle Hubbard serves as direct support with his intense mic skills. Doors are at 8 pm with tickets between $8 and $10.

  Out at Redneck Country Club, Los Lonely Boys will be on hand to help you celebrate Cinco de Mayo. These guys are pretty amazing live, they definitely don’t come here enough, and their last album Revelation still holds up. The poetic tunes of Lisa Morales will be on as direct support while the country twang of Gilmer, Texas’ Curtis Grimes will open the all ages show with tickets between $30 and $70 with doors at 8 pm.

  John Evans. Photo: Brandon Holley

  Rudyard’s will have a barn burner when the never disappointing twangy rock of Houston turned Austin transplant, John Evans will be on hand to perform. Evans’ last album, Polyester, was one of my favorites from last year, his live shows are incredibly fun, and he’s one of Houston’s best acts. The classic country fun of Opie Hendrix will be on as direct support and opener for the 21 & up show with doors at 9 pm and an $8 cover,

  On Saturday over at Toyota Center you could stop by to catch R&B jams of The Weeknd. This guy is so impressive that I’ll just say that his latest Starboy is like Michael Jackson without sounding lifted, and his live shows are just as impressive. There’s no word of support or openers for the all ages show with doors at 6:30 pm and tickets between $39.50 and $150.

  Charlie Faye & The Fayettes. Photo: Eryn Brooke

  Mucky Duck will host the return of Austin’s Charlie Faye and the Fayettes. Complete with doo wop overtones, this group brings you back to the ’60s, as if Carole King made a Motown album. They’re known for intimate performances and their latest release, Charlie Faye & The Fayettes from last year, is one you shouldn’t miss. The 21 & up show has doors at 7 pm and tickets between $20 and $22.

  Downstairs at White Oak Music Hall, you could get your doom fix when Austin’s The Sword make their return to town. Here in support of their latest two releases, High Country from 2015 and Low Country from last year, these guys have always swung the doom hammer harder than most. The roots sounds of Austin’s Croy and The Boys will be on as direct support and openers for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $19 and $23.

  Holy Wave. Photo: Allison Scarpulla

  Over at Walter’s you could get groovy with the psych rock sounds of Austin’s Holy Wave. These guys are always a trip to catch live and their latest release, Freaks of Nurture from last year, is their strongest so far. The psych sounds and beats of San Francisco’s Al Lover will be on hand as direct support while Houston’s Mojave Red will bring their bluesy chillwave psych sounds on as openers for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets for $10.

  Satellite Bar will host the legendary metal goodness of The Obsessed. With Wino on vocals, this reunited version of the Maryland-based band feels like they should be in a much bigger room while their new album Sacred is a nice return to form. The stoner rock of Karma To Burn will be on hand as direct support while the stoner doom of Ohio’s Lo Pan will go on prior. The doom metal insanity of Houston’s Doomstress will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets for $20.

  Nikki Hill. Photo: Intrepid Artists

  I’d recommend swinging by Continental Club however to catch the soulful sounds of North Carolina’s Nikki Hill. Backed by musicians from all over, including Houston, Hill toured across the globe in support of her raucous album Heavy Hearts Hard Fists while earning a reputation as a force to be reckoned with in a live setting. Austin’s Tomar & the FCs will open the 21 & up show with doors at 9 pm with a $15 ticket price.

  On Sunday, you could make the trek to the Woodlands Pavilion to catch the enigmatic sounds of Chicago’s Chance The Rapper. This guy has seriously blown up all without the support of a label, his live shows are intense, and his latest Coloring Book is really amazing. Rumor has it that the show is sold out, but if there are tickets available, they’ll be between $30 and $139.95 with gates at 7 pm.

  Tuesday you could make it over to House of Blues to catch the hip hop of DC’s Wale. Known for being one of the strongest rappers in the country, this guy sells out most of his shows while his latest drop, The Album About Nothing from 2015, is about as immense as it is catchy. There’s no word of openers or support though that may change before the show itself with doors at 7 pm and tickets for $30.

  Mitski. Photo: Ebru Yildiz

  You could also head over to Walter’s for the massively popular sounds of Mitski. Defying the rules of the music industry, Mitski does her own thing with an almost DIY ethic while selling out shows across the globe. Her latest release, Puberty 2 from last year, proves that truly independent based indie rock can still strive. The intriguing electro experimental music of Helado Negro will be on hand as direct support while the bedroom garage pop of Edinburgh, Texas’ Jesika will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $12 and $15.

  That’s about all happening around town this week. No matter what you do, please remember that drinking like an adult is best for everyone, so choose the safest way home, please.

Smoke Break: The Best of The Week this is a repost