#Kathryn Price

[adamwatchesmovies]

Fallen (2016)

At the top of the list, you’ve got Twilight. Below it, there’s After. Towards the bottom there's 50 Shades of Grey. Somewhere in-between, you have Fallen. This laughable knockoff seems to have little faith in its audience and even less in itself. I can't blame the film too much for its low self-esteem. The story’s mythology doesn’t make much sense and even if it did, there’s no way you could take it seriously.

Troubled teenager Lucinda “Luce” Price (Addison Timlin) is sent by her parents to Sword and Cross, a reform school for young adults. There, she notices the handsome Daniel (Jeremy Irvine), who keeps acting strangely around her. Something is amiss about him. Luce and her best friend Penn (Lola Kirke) are determined to find out what.

In a move that's either brilliant or utterly foolish, Fallen begins by dispensing some crucial exposition. When Lucifer rebelled against God, the angels split into two factions. Those who didn’t immediately choose a side were banished to Earth. They will remain there until the one angel who chose neither faction and instead opted to be on “Team Love” changes their mind. So… yes. If vampires or BDSM were too naughty for you, how about a YA romance based around The Bible instead? At least the movie is kind enough to let you know things will get silly right away. It’s painfully obvious the first, second and third time this history is told that somewhere inside Sword and Cross there are angels ready to pick sides living among the students. I bet you can guess Daniel’s secret.

This movie does not want you to think very hard. Angels, God and the Devil are real but Luce is the reincarnated lover Daniel betrayed God for at the beginning of time, so someone’s been fudging the Sunday school lessons a bit. If you're wondering what the conflict is, let me tell you. This version of Luce is not baptized. If she dies before she and Daniel share their first kiss, she’s gone for good. This means the bad angels want her dead and the good ones… also want her dead. If she isn't baptized, she won't reincarnate. If she doesn’t come back, all the angels can finally go to their respective camps, though why the Fallen angels want to trade Earth - where we have nice things and they never age - for Hell, I don’t know. What I also don’t understand is how this is the first time Luce hasn’t been baptized. Wait. Could it be that angels both good and bad have been hiding their existence so people will not believe that Christianity is the true religion… just so one day some girl’s parent’s wouldn’t baptize their daughter? I think I’ve put more thought into this story than the author did.

Alright, alright. I understand the movie “had to happen” so I’m not going to criticize its premise further. I’ve seen a movie where a man made it seems 100% rational to chain a nymphomaniac to a radiator. I can buy this. Or I could, if the people involved displayed any enthusiasm. The male lead broods like he’s auditioning for the role of Batman, the villains are obvious and one-dimensional. The film’s attempt at a love triangle is a pale imitation of the “excitement” we saw before in the Twilight saga. The side characters feel less like real people existing in Luce’s world and more like ways to ensure she isn’t talking to herself the whole time. It all leads to an incomprehensible climactic battle before we get a cliffhanger that promises us more to come. It’d be a miracle if it did.

Anyone interested in Fallen has seen Twilight. They’ve probably read the books numerous times. This movie does little more than regurgitate what felt very old and tired in 2016 and the years haven't been kind to the tropes since. This is a movie without an audience but it does have a purpose. If you like Twilight and you want to convince your sarcastic friends that it has merit, show them Fallen. (On DVD, November 8, 2019)

[kitwalker02]

I want her as a Blythe doll so bad

[marvelmisstress7]

Yoooo I just thought of an amazing name for The Creature!

Vincent

Like freaking Vincent Price!!! This is now my new fav head connon name and no one can change my mind.

[justbusterkeaton]

Buster’s Leading Ladies 1920-1924

Sybil Seely: One Week, Convict 13, The Scarecrow, The Boat

Beulah Booker: The Saphead

Bartine Burkett: The High Sign

Virginia Fox: Neighbors, The Haunted House, Hard Luck, The Goat, The Playhouse, The Paleface, Cops, The Blacksmith, The Electric House

Kate Price: My Wife’s Relations

Renée Adorée: Day Dreams

Phyllis Haver: The Balloonatic

Margaret Leahy: Three Ages

Natalie Talmadge: Our Hospitality

Kathryn McGuire: Sherlock Jr, The Navigator

[filmjunky-99]

n e a r d a r k, 1987 🎬 dir. kathryn bigelow 'The Night Has It's Price'

[bob-the-movie-man-film-reviews]

Poor Things (18): Emma Stone Writes a Few Extra XXX Pages for the Karma Sutra.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of Poor Things. #PoorThings. Weird and wonderful, this journey of emotional and sexual discovery will not be for everyone! 4/5.

A One Mann’s Movies Film Review of “Poor Things” (2023). When “Saltburn” came on streaming just in time for Christmas I thought “Eh up, this might be interesting”! Multi-generational families gathered round the box thinking “Let’s put on this new film” and facing Emerald Fennell’s plug-hole-slurping, grave-humping, nude-dancing extravaganza with increasing horror! Well, if you thought that about…

[bluetimeombre]

༊*·˚ 𝓕𝓮𝓮𝓵𝓼 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓮

You, Logan, Laura and Charles have to pretend to be a family with the nice people but Logan can’t help thinking what could have been

Warning/disclaimer: strong language, cursing, sexual themes, angst, follows the events of Logan

The silence was the eighth guest at the table. It sat just as stiff as the rest of you.

The lovely family you’d helped at the roads invited you all back for dinner and Logan who was hesitant to accept the kindness of strangers denied, but Charles insisted. Even you didn’t want to turn down a hearty meal. It made a change from the bars of granola and chocolate you’d been eating like it was your last meal the days you’d been on the road.

Logan watched as you coaxed Laura into using a fork and not her fingers and as you told her not to pile too much on her plate.

  ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

You and Logan sat at the dining table at the school. Everyone else was asleep and it was just the two of you in the dead of night, lit only with the dim kitchen lights.

The two of you sat facing each other, you cradled tea while Logan had a soda. Your legs were thrown of his lap as you talked about something, he wasn’t even sure what it was because all he was focusing on was his hand caressing up your leg and how sweet your skin tasted as he nipped and licked at your neck.

You tried to keep talking but he was oh so distracting. “Logan.”

He hummed, kissing that sweet spot behind your ear.

“We’re in a school, stop trying to take me on the table,” you said, amused.

“I’m not trying to take you on the table,” he denied, lifting his head to look at you. “I’m trying to take you on the kitchen counter. C’mon, you know you want to.”

His hands slipped under your shirt that was really his, pinching and groping any flesh he could. He chuckled as you shivered, kissing your lips and trying to slide his tongue in.

“Anyone could walk by,” you argued against his lips.

“Well, they didn’t find us the first time. Or the second, or the last time, or the time before that,” he listed.

You giggle quietly as he groans playfully against your neck, gripping your thighs until he had you straddling him, the chair groaning under the weight of you both. “We can’t break another chair,” you mumble.

“Then we better take it slow, bub.”

He kissed you sweetly before giving into the heat that crawled in his stomach and down to his cock. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

“There’s plenty more if she wants,” said Kathryn, bringing Logan from his daydream.

He looked at you, none the wiser he wished he could still love you freely and not pay the price later. Then he looked to Laura who was shoving corn in her mouth. “She’s fine,” he grumbled.

“Where are y’all heading?” Asked Will.

Logan said ‘Oregon’ the same time Charles said ‘South Dakota,’ and everyone looked between the two.

You clear your throat. “Oregon then South Dakota.”

“Vacation?” Asked Kathryn.

“Yes,” said Charles. “Long overdue, we’re city folk. Always wanted to go out and see the country, meet the people who live in it.” He smiled, as if this was all his plan.

Kathryn nodded. “That sounds lovely. Been trying to get Will here to take a vacation for years now.”

“You don’t like to travel?” You asked.

Logan remembered traveling with you once. To Canada.

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

The two of you were hiding from the frigid snow in a bar, where Logan could keep himself warm with whiskey and where he could keep you warm all evening.

The two of you had sat at the bar, talking with smiles on your faces, almost passing for regular people.

When Johnny Cash started playing ‘Give my love to Rose’ you had dragged him out to the floor. It was empty besides an old couple swaying slowly. He followed after you grudgingly but his hold on your hand was firm. He dared glare at any man that looked at his girl.

When you were in the middle of the floor you threw your arms around his shoulders as his hands fell to your hips, helping you move.

“Smile,” you told him.

“Why?”

“I wanna see if your face cracks.”

He squeezes you and pulls you in closer, biting down on his lip as he looks at you.

“I thought you’d be happy to be out of the school for a bit,” you said. “I know you don’t like being cooped up all the time.” You caressed his cheek.

He moved to kiss your palm. “I am happy, bub. M’always happy with you.”

“Well, would it kill you to show it,” you tease.

“I can show it to you,” he mumbled in your ear.

You smile and rest your head on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart.

Give my love to Rose, won’t you mister. Take her all my money, tell her buy some pretty clothes.

Logan hummed the song, chest vibrating with it.

“We could do it, if you want,” you said.

Logan hummed.

You moved away from his chest and looked up to him. “We could leave the school if you wanted.”

He looked at you. Sure, he’d thought about it but never said it out loud. He knew the school was your home, the only place you’d ever known. He wasn’t going to ask you to leave it all behind, even if he was at home with the mountains. “You’d leave?”

“Well we’d have to talk to Charles, and we’d visit of course. But I’m not against the idea, Logan. I want a life with you.”

His arms circled around you. “I want you, forever, bub.”

“You have me. Forever.”

He raised his brows. The two of you could live a long, long time. With both your healing factors. “And ever?”

You rolled your eyes. “And ever.”

He grinned, something only you could make him do. He took your hands and kissed the backs of them before pulling out and bringing you back in.

And ever.

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

Logan felt your foot nudge his under the table and he thought he’d missed a question or something.

You glanced his way. “Sorry,” you mumbled.

Logan chewed and moved his foot closer to yours, your feet together. Color tinged your cheeks. When had the two of you gotten so cold with each other? He couldn’t pin point when the little touches between you two became miracles.

Was it when you lost half your family? Or when he realized he wasn’t getting better?

“And if we go out trapesing the country who’s gonna take care of this place?” Will proposed.

“Exactly, I say let it go,” said Kathryn.

“And live off what?”

“The lord will provide.”

“Well, I’m still waiting for him to provide me with a new thresher.”

Kathryn ignored her husband and smiled at them. “All the same, I’d love to travel someday.”

“And I bet you will,” Charles assured her.

Logan looked to him, wondering if he was getting too comfortable in using his powers again

“I could drop out of school,” suggested their son, Nate.

“Ok let’s not go that far,” said his mother as a couple chuckles passed the table.

“Careful,” you warned, “you’re talking to a guy who ran a school.” You nodded your fork to Charles.

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

Logan wasn’t one for teaching, mainly he was a sub and would take some danger room sessions. Everyone knew he stuck around for you.

As classes were coming to an end he walked the corridors, nodding to those that said hello to him but he wasn’t stopping for a chat. He kept going until he came by your class. Kids were still leaving, a few young men loitering to ask you questions.

He watched amused as they thought they had a chance before he waltzed in, making himself known with the sound of his boots on the ground. “Hey, sweetheart,” he came up behind you as you straightened the papers.

“Hey,” you mumble.

The three students were still loitering and Logan glared at them. “Beat it.”

Quickly, they scampered.

“Logan,” you chastised.

“What?” He settled in your chair, fingers messaging into you.

“They were asking me what they’ve heard on the news,” you told him, distracted.

Logan sighed. He knew what the news was saying, the wonder and concern why there were less mutant births every day. He didn’t care. Less mutants, less students, more time spent with you.

But you were worrying. You watched the news every day, was reading reports and doing your own research.

“Listen, bub,” he said, trying to get your focus on him and not the desk. “Stop, look at me.”

He turned you around, trapping you between the desk and him. You seemed tired, you shoulders slumped. He went to message them, rubbing away the stress. “I’ve been thinking about what you said, couple months ago about leaving. Well, maybe we should.”

“Now?” You ask. “Logan, things aren’t going well for the mutants, right now Charles needs us here-”

“Things never go well for mutants,” he said. “You’re having second thoughts.”

You sigh, looking up to him. “I’m not having second thoughts. All I’m saying is we just need to wait a bit, to see what happens.”

Logan didn’t want to wait. He was stubborn, he wanted to act. While you had been looking into what was going on with the mutants, he had been looking at places in Canada to live. Little towns, little huts in snowy mountains.

“Soon, ok?” You pecked his lips and moved from his grasp as he watched you go.

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

“It was a um… a special needs school,” Charles fumbled on his words.

“That’s a good description for it,” said Logan as you chuckled.

Charles looked over toward you and Logan. “They were in it,”

“Oh yeah, yeah,” Logan mused. “I got kicked out a few times.”

They laughed at that, even Laura.

“I wish I could say you were a good student but the words would probably choke me,” said Charles, a sly smile on his lips.

You took a drink, hiding your smile.

Kathryn gestured between the two of you. “Is that how you met?”

You looked at her, stuttering.

“Oh yeah,” said Logan, looking at you. “I remember it like yesterday.”

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

Logan remembered finding himself in Charles class room, barefoot, a random hoodie thrown on. He was confused, and angry.

“I’m Charles Xavier,” said the Professor, wheeling out from behind his desk.

“Where am I?” He asked.

“Westchester, New York. You were attacked. My people brought you here for medical attention.”

“I don’t need medical attention,” he said.

“Yes, of course.”

Logan looked around, he knew none of this. “Where’s the girl?”

“Rogue? She’s here, she’s fine.”

Logan raised his brows. “Really?”

The door opened, starting him. “Ah, Logan. I’d like you to meet Ororo Monroe also called Storm. This is Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops.”

‘Cyclops’ put his hand out for Logan. “Hi.”

Logan stared at him. Mainly, at his glasses.

“They saved your life,” said Charles. “They’re in my school for the gifted. For mutants- ah, y/n! Come here please.”

You had been walking by the door when he called for you and ushered you in. You smiled at both Storm and Cyclops but walked around Logan with side steps. He watched you go to the professor and you looked back to him once.

“This is, y/n. This is Logan.” He introduced.

Logan stuck out his hand to you, earning a scoff from Scott.

Whatever else happened that day, Logan could not tell you. He only knows that’s the day he met you and nothing else has mattered to him since.

Logan looked around at them all, still holding your hand. “Cyclops? Storm? What they call you, wheels?”

The Professor bristled but you laughed.

Logan smirked at you.

You met his gaze and took you hand away. “Nice meeting you, Logan.”

As soon as Logan was done. He sort you out, and every time after, he sort you out.

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

“Are you married?” Asked Kathryn.

Her husband scolded her.

You clamped your hands between your hands, blushing as even Logan took his time chewing. “No.”

“Never got round to askin,” said Logan.

“Then you had a kid right?” Asked Kathryn, smiling at Laura who watched her with curious eyes. "Ain't that always the way."

You glanced at Logan. You watched him with just as much curiosity. Did you really think he wasn't planning on proposing? That he didn't want to spend the rest of his life with you like you'd always planned. You shook yourself out of your daze, back to eating. "Something like that."

"Well, there's still time," said Kathryn as her son and husband laughed at her. "Sorry, i'm a romantic."

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

Logan might not remember the last time he kissed you, but he remembered the first. You'd gone on a mission, saving some mutant kids that had been taken. He hadn't gone obviously cause why would he care, he hadn't realised you were going. If he had, he would've jumped on that jet.

He'd heard it had gone wrong. That someone had been hurt.

He was waiting outside when the jet landed. Scott and Jean hurried to check the kids as soon as they stepped off.

Logan growled under his breath and pushed past them all, trying to find you.

You were in the jet, scrubbing yourself clean of blood. You must have heard him coming as you turned quickly. "Hey Logan."

"What happened?" he asked. He could smell only iron, not you. It drove him crazy.

You shrugged, tugging off part of your suit, you wearing a vest underneath, tying the arms around your waist. "The kids are safe."

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

The two of you had been dancing around each other for months. With Logan's blunt flirting and your smirks and long-lasting glances, your coming together was a ticking time bomb.

"I'm fine."

You weren't meeting his gaze and he wondered what he'd done to get you annoyed.

He strode over to you, grabbing your cheeks and forcing you to look at him.

You took his wrists from you. "No," you said, grumbling.

The two of you fought, trying to grab and push at each other until Logan got the upper hand and pushed you against the wall. "What?"

"You!" you snapped. You were panting, looking up to him as he bared his teeth, confused. "You couldn't get your head out your ass long enough to give me a hand? To help?"

"I didn't know- I didn't know you were going!" he argued. "If I had do you not think I would've come with, eh bub?"

"I don't think I ever know what's going on in your head." You tried to push past him but Logan grabbed you again and kissed you.

Neither of you knew what was happening. All you knew was that Logan was against you, bodies pressed together, lips moulding together in anger and need. It was more than he'd hoped, more than he'd imagined.

His fingers dug into your skin, sighing against your lips as your hands grasped at his shoulders in fury and want. "You," he mumbled in your skin. "All my head is filled with is you."

 ‿̩͙‿ ༺ ♰ ༻ ‿̩͙‿

Logan had grudgingly agreed to stay the night at the family's house, after Charles and you had made him. He'd settled Charles in his room and Laura- well, he didn't know where she was and he wasn't sure he cared all that much.

He was looking for you and he found you in the bathroom, washing your face. The droplets of water ran down your neck as you brushed your hands over your head. Slowly, giving you enough time to tell him to fuck off, he stepped in and closed the door behind you.

"What's up?" you ask quietly, dabbing away the water.

He watched you and sighed. The two of you used to just move around each other, understanding without words. Now, he couldn't even stand in the same room as you without you assuming he needed something. "When did this happen?" he mumbled.

"What?"

He shook his head. "When was our last kiss?" he asked, looking at you.

You met his gaze, holding onto the sink to purchase you.

"When was the last time we made love, y/n?"

"Was it ever love?" you mumbled. "It was over very quickly, if it was."

He grumbled under his breath, complaining. "You think i'm not doing all of this for you?" he asked, limping closer. "You'd have left and gone off yourself if I hadn't taken that fucking kid in and gone on this damn ride."

"I want you to do it for you, Logan," you whisper, not wanting to let the house know you were talking. Or arguing. "All you've ever done is to keep Charles safe, or to do it for me, I want you to have some purpose. I want you to have something in your life."

You'd gotten closer to him. He could smell your scent, beautiful, never dulled by the days spent cooped up in a van.

Logan scanned every one of your features. You hadn't aged a day since he'd known you while he was old, greying and gruff, a collection of wrinkles and pain. What did that loving family see when they looked at you? A beauty and its beast?

His hand drifted up to your cheek, cupping it and running a rough thumb over the smoothness of his cheek.

Your eyes flickered around him as he brought his head lower until his lips, chapped and cut, were against yours, wet and soft. You didn't move to hold him, or push him away and for that he should have been thankful. You let him wrap his arms around you, caging your body against his as your nails dug into his forearms. Your lips parted as his did, as he licked your bottom lip and as you gave into him.

He used to be able to kiss you until the air was out of his lungs, but just as his tongue met yours, he had to pull away and suck in a deep breath.

That was your last kiss, and he'd always remember it.

Taglist (thank you! some of y'all wanted Hugh, some wanted Logan, let me know if you wanted to be added or removed): @oatmilkriver, @angstdaddy, @chronicallybubbly, @white-wolf-buckaroo

[hotvintagepoll]

THE TOURNAMENT IS OVER! Eartha Kitt lounges in her deck chair in the sun, dipping her toes in the pool with Toshiro Mifune and sipping a brightly colored fruity something with an umbrella in it.

Far below in the shadow realm, however, the fallen hotties dance in the dark—let's take a minute to look back at them under the cut.

PRELIM PRETTIES:

Claude Gensac, Silvia Pinal, Ewa Aulin, Rita Tushingham, Annette Funicello, Norma Bengell, Catherine Spaak, Brigitte Auber, Micheline Presle, Nanette Fabray, Libertad Lamarque, Vera Miles, Martha Raye, Catherine McLeod, Virginia Mayo, Elizabeth Allan, Belle Bennet, Virginia Cherill, Mary Brian, Ruth Chatterton, Agnes Ayres, Merna Kennedy, Marie Prevost, Corinne Griffith, May Allison, Virginia Brown Faire, Alice Brady, and Jetta Goudal

ROUND ONE WONDERS:

Angie Dickinson, Thelma Ritter, Geraldine Chaplin, Evelyn Preer, Vanessa Brown, Betty Blythe, Susan Hayward, Mae Clarke, Sally Ann Howes, Ossi Oswalda, Adrienne La Russa, Hermione Gingold, Barbara Bouchet, Melina Mercouri, Anna Karina, Edwige Fenech, Charmian Carr, Pina Pellicer, Marlène Jobert, Tsuru Aoki, Alice Roberts, Leila Hyams, Lady Tsen Mei, Geneviève Bujold, Dolores Hart, Anita Berber, Bonita Granville, Vonetta McGee, Claire Windsor, Zizi Jeanmaire, Tuesday Weld, Grace Darmond, Carol Channing, Deanna Durbin, Laraine Day, Mariette Hartey, Wendy Hiller, Candy Darling, Hermione Baddely, Valeria Creti, Ella Raines, Ann Miller, Dana Wynter, Dalida, Martine Beswick, Gale Storm, Simone Signoret, Cristina Gaioni, Mabel Normand, Stéphane Audran, Ruth Weyher, Anna Wiazemsky, Ann Sheridan, Sandhya Shantaram, Alice White, Anne Francis, Gena Rowlands, Lyda Borelli, May Whitty, Cathleen Nesbitt, Jessica Walter, Virna Lisi, Barbara Shelley, Iris Hall, Heather Angel, Anne Shirley, Joanna Pettet, Virginia O'Brien, Joan Collins, Greer Garson, Gracie Allen, Peggy Ryan, Frances Dee, Shirley Maclaine, Geraldine Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Margaret Hamilton, Eva Gabor, Francesca Bertini, Julie Adams, Olga Baclanova, Misa Uehara, Yvette Vickers, Milena Dravić, Jenny Jugo, Madeleine Carroll, Benita Hume, Olive Borden, Shirley Jones, Miyoshi Umeki, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Mary Anderson, Charlotte Greenwood, Sybil Seely, Mona Barrie, Kathryn Grayson, Katharine Ross, Madge Bellamy, Rhonda Fleming, Sally Gray, Jana Brejchová, Debra Paget, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Evelyn Brent, Zelma O'Neal, Marie Laforêt, Türkan Şoray, Beatriz Costa, Irene Zazians, Eleanor Powell, Susan Luckey, Patsy Kelly, Lil Dagover, Norma Talmadge, Dorothy Mackaill, Madge Evans, Virginia McKenna, Amália Rodrigues, Mamie Van Doren, Valerie Hobson, Isabel Jeans, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Claire Luce, Aleksandra Khokhlova, Nieves Navarro Garcia, Janet Leigh, Carmen Miranda, Jean Harlow, Aud Egedge-Nissen, Nina Foch, Jean Simmons, Piper Laurie, Katy Jurado, Jayne Mansfield, Anita Garvin, Frances Farmer, Lizabeth Scott, Joan Greenwood, Una Merkel, Arlene Francis, Ethel Merman, Doris Day, Suzanne Pleshette, Ruta Lee, Carolyn Jones, June Richmond, Eva Nil, Diana Dors, Anna Chang, Colleen Moore, Alexis Smith, Yvette Mimieux, Ruby Keeler, Viola Dana, Dolores Grey, Marie Windsor, Danielle Darieux, Jean Parker, Julie Christie, Acquanetta, Leatrice Joy, Ghita Nørby, Julie Newmar, Joanne Woodward, Sandra Dee, Eva Marie Saint, Simone Simon, Katherine Dunham, Birgitte Price, Lee Grant, Anita Page, Flora Robson, Martha Sleeper, Elsie Ames, Isabel "Coca" Sarli, Glenda Farrell, Kathleen Burke, Linden Travers, Diane Baker, Joan Davis, Joan Leslie, Sylvia Sidney, Marie Dressler, June Lockhart, Emmanuelle Riva, Libertad Leblanc, Susannah Foster, Susan Fleming, Dolores Costello, Ann Smyrner, Luise Rainer, Anna Massey, Evelyn Ankers, Ruth Gordon, Eva Dahlbeck, Ansa Ikonen, Diana Wynyard, Patricia Neal, Etta Lee, Gloria Stuart, Arletty, Dorothy McGuire, Mitzi Gaynor, Gwen Verdon, Maria Schell, Lili Damita, Ethel Moses, Gloria Holden, Kay Thompson, Jeanne Crain, Edna May Oliver, Lili Liliana, Ruth Chatterton, Giulietta Masina, Claire Bloom, Dinah Sheridan, Carroll Baker, Brenda de Banzie, Milú, Hertha Thiele, Hanka Ordonówna, Lillian Roth, Jane Powell, Carol Ohmart, Betty Garrett, Kalina Jędrusik, Edana Romney, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Kay Kendall, Ruth Hussey, Véra Clouzot, Jadwiga Smosarska, Marge Champion, Mary Astor, Ann Harding, María Casares, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mildred Natwick, Michèle Morgan, Romy Schneider, Elisabeth Bergner, Celeste Holm, Betty Hutton, Susan Peters, Mehtab, Leslie Caron, Anna Sten, Janet Munro, Nataša Gollová, Eve Arden, Ida Lupino, Regina Linnanheimo, Sonja Henie, and Terry (what a good girl)

ROUND TWO BEAUTIES:

Evelyn Nesbit, Thelma Todd, Tura Satana, Helen Gibson, Maureen O'Hara, Rocío Dúrcal, Mary Nolan, Lois Maxwell, Maggie Smith, Zulma Faiad, Ursula Andress, Musidora, Delphine Seyrig, Marian Marsh, Leatrice Joy, Sharon Tate, Pina Menichelli, Teresa Wright, Shelley Winters, Lee Remick, Jane Wyman, Martita Hunt, Barbara Bates, Susan Strasberg, Marie Bryant, Diana Rigg, Jane Birkin, Rosalind Russell, Vanessa Redgrave, Brigitte Helm, Gloria Grahame, Rosemary Clooney, Bebe Daniels, Constance Bennett, Lilian Bond, Ann Dvorak, Jeanette Macdonald, Pouri Banayi, Raquel Welch, Vilma Bánky, Dorothy Malone, Olive Thomas, Celia Johnson, Moira Shearer, Priscilla Lane, Dolores del Río, Ann Sothern, Françoise Rosay, June Allyson, Carole Lombard, Jeni Le Gon, Takako Irie, Barbara Steele, Claudette Colbert, Lalita Pawar, Asta Nielsen, Sandra Milo, Maria Montez, Mae West, Alma Rose Aguirre, Bibi Andersson, Joan Blondell, Anne Bancroft, Elsa Lanchester, Nita Naldi, Suchitra Sen, Dorothy Van Engle, Elisabeth Welch, Esther Williams, Loretta Young, Margueritte De La Motte, Ita Rina, Constance Talmadge, Margaret Lockwood, Barbara Bedford, Josette Day, Stefania Sandrelli, Jane Russell, Doris Dowling, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Donna Reed, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Billie Burke, Kyōko Kagawa, Françoise Dorléac, Hend Rostom, Monica Vitti, Lilian Harvey, Marjorie Main, Jeanne Moreau, Lola Flores, Ann Blyth, Janet Gaynor, Jennifer Jones, Margaret Sullavan, Sadhana, Ruby Myers, Lotus Long, Honor Blackman, Marsha Hunt, Debbie Reynolds, Michèle Mercier, Irene Dunne, Jean Arthur, Judy Holliday, Tippi Hedren, Susse Wold, Vera-Ellen, Carmelita González, Nargis Dutt, Purnima, Harriet Andersson, Yvonne De Carlo, Miroslava Stern, Sheila Guyse, Helen, Margaret Dumont, Betty Grable, Joan Bennett, Jane Greer, Judith Anderson, Liv Ullman, Vera Zorina, Joan Fontaine, Silvana Mangano, and Lee Ya-Ching

ROUND THREE ELECTRIFIERS:

Jean Hagen, Sumiko Mizukubo, Mary Philbin, Ann-Margret, Margaret Rutherford, Claudia Cardinale, Eleanor Parker, Jessie Matthews, Theresa Harris, Brigitte Bardot, Alla Nazimova, Faye Dunaway, Marion Davies, Anna Magnani, Theda Bara, Myrna Loy, Kay Francis, Fay Wray, Barbra Streisand, Bette Davis, Hideko Takamine, France Nuyen, Claudine Auger, Miriam Hopkins, Maylia Fong, Samia Gamal, Maude Fealy, Machiko Kyō, Sharmila Tagore, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, Juanita Moore, Anna Fougez, Waheeda Rehman, Ruan Lingyu, Nina Mae McKinney, Ethel Waters, Nadira, Olivia de Havilland, Abbey Lincoln, Louise Beavers, Agnes Moorehead, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer, Maria Falconetti, Reiko Sato, Marie Doro, Clara Bow, Margaret Lindsay, Catherine Denueve, Madhabi Mukherjee, Rosaura Revueltas, Hu Die, Mary Pickford, Fredi Washington, Louise Brooks, Leonor Maia, Merle Oberon, Paulette Goddard, Vivien Leigh, Francine Everett, Savitri, Tita Merello, and Meena Kumari

ROUND FOUR STUNNERS:

Judy Garland, Dorothy Dandridge, Yoshiko Yamaguchi, Marilyn Monroe, Irene Papas, Lupe Vélez, Pola Negri, Gene Tierney, Barbara Stanwyck, Gina Lollobrigida, Lena Horne, Nutan, Jean Seberg, Kim Novak, Gladys Cooper, Tallulah Bankhead, Linda Darnell, Julie Andrews, Carmen Sevilla, Gloria Swanson, Glynis Johns, Anne Baxter, Angela Lansbury, Anita Ekberg, Toshia Mori, Deborah Kerr, Hazel Scott, Chelo Alonso, Cyd Charisse, Nancy Kwan, Devika Rani, Shima Iwashita, and Anouk Aimée

ROUND FIVE SMOKESHOWS:

Setsuko Hara, Pearl Bailey, Joan Crawford, Madhubala, Marpessa Dawn, Keiko Awaji, Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake, Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Xia Meng, Suraiya, Natalie Wood, María Félix, and Mbissine Thérèse Diop

ROUND SIX SEXY LADIES:

Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Vyjyanthimala, Jane Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Josephine Baker, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ingrid Bergman

QUARTER FINALIST GLAMAZONS:

Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, and Lauren Bacall

SEMIFINALIST ICONS:

Rita Moreno, Diahann Carroll

FINALIST FABULOSITY:

Hedy Lamarr

ULTIMATE CHAMPION OF THE HOT & VINTAGE MOVIE WOMAN TOURNAMENT:

Eartha Kitt

[witchy-lexx]

At 160 members and we started an Arcane thread!! It’s starting to become more multifandom too!! We have channels for book discussion/recommendations, movie/tv show chats(Legion, B99, Arcane, etc), gaming chats(lots of Life Is Strange talk), etc!! Open to adding more threads for separate medias too!! Server is 16+ but there is an 18+ section!!

Woah!! We got to 70 members!! It’s always active so feel free to join if you haven’t already!! https://discord.gg/DDyR9cMW

[carriesthewind]

"The problem, however, is that the city’s chatbot is telling businesses to break the law....

If you’re a landlord wondering which tenants you have to accept, for example, you might pose a question like, “are buildings required to accept section 8 vouchers?” or “do I have to accept tenants on rental assistance?” In testing by The Markup, the bot said no, landlords do not need to accept these tenants. Except, in New York City, it’s illegal for landlords to discriminate by source of income, with a minor exception for small buildings where the landlord or their family lives...

The NYC bot also appeared clueless about the city’s consumer and worker protections. For example, in 2020, the City Council passed a law requiring businesses to accept cash to prevent discrimination against unbanked customers. But the bot didn’t know about that policy when we asked. “Yes, you can make your restaurant cash-free,” the bot said in one wholly false response. “There are no regulations in New York City that require businesses to accept cash as a form of payment.”

The bot said it was fine to take workers’ tips (wrong, although they sometimes can count tips toward minimum wage requirements) and that there were no regulations on informing staff about scheduling changes (also wrong). It didn’t do better with more specific industries, suggesting it was OK to conceal funeral service prices, for example, which the Federal Trade Commission has outlawed. Similar errors appeared when the questions were asked in other languages, The Markup found."

Kathryn Tewson is stress-testing the bot over on bluesky and has found it will provide some truly horrifying responses:

[adamwatchesmovies]

Fallen (2016)

What’s truly shocking is not the number of films who tried to capitalize on the success of Twilight. The surprise comes when you realize that - despite being a bad film - the original is one of the few to “get it right”. Fallen swaps out vampires for angels and the results are so disastrous it’s a wonder it was released theatrically.

Troubled teenager Lucinda “Luce” Price (Addison Timlin) is sent by her parents to “Sword and Cross”, a reform school for young adults. There, she notices that handsome Daniel (Jeremy Irvine) keeps acting strangely around her. There’s something amiss about him. Luce and her best friend Penn (Lola Kirke) become determined to find out what, though Luce secretly fears he is connected to the strange visions plaguing her.

While initially Fallen may not seem all that Twilight-y, give it time. It’s got the twist on the mythical creatures (if you can call angels that), it’s got the love triangle as Luce contemplates the ever-distant but handsome Daniel and "bad boy" Cam (Harrison Gilbertson). It even steals scenes directly from the 2008 film, like the one where Edward saves Bella from being crushed by an out-of-control car, confirming his identity as a supernatural being in the process. This puts me in the awkward position of - once again - having to defend Twilight and explain why it “works”.

Here’s the thing. Firstly, vampires are not real. Their abilities aren’t even consistent from one myth to the next. It’s fine to make up what happens to them in sunlight. Criticize the romance all you like, but it made sense, in that story, for the decades-old bloodsucker to fall for the plain girl: he can read everyone's mind but hers. You understand the appeal, or at least you see how it’d be plausible. Secondly, Twilight is relatively simple story. Jacob being a werewolf isn't introduced until New Moon and had the first picture not gotten a sequel, you would’ve never been the wiser. Finally, The film ends on a note that’s relatively conclusive. It never became overconfident. So yes, Twilight did some things right. Not convinced? Let's compare it once again to Fallen.

An immediate issue is the picture’s overcomplicated mythology. We’re told that Angels waged a war in Heaven, that some sided with Lucifer, others with God. A select few couldn’t make up their mind and were cast down to Earth (hence the term fallen angels). Over time, they picked sides… all except one, who sided with love. Until they stop thinking with their heart and pick either good or evil, all fallen angels are stuck on Earth. Got that? If not, don’t worry, the film explains it to you twice at the beginning of the picture. It should be easy to understand but then the film confuses you with some bewildering decisions. Of all the names you could’ve chosen for your protagonist, why “Luce”?! It sounds too much like Lucifer. Maybe there’s a revelation in the second, third, fourth or fifth book in the series, but that’s just another problem: this script follows the book too closely. We meet so many characters who serve no purpose or do so little they could’ve easily been trimmed out at no loss. Screen time would've been better spent on scenes that would at least attempt to make the incoming “twist” about Daniel less obvious. We only see Luce attend two classes: religious theology, and fencing. What kind of reform school has those two courses in its curriculum? These exposition dumps are so obvious you’ve got the whole movie figured out long before the ending… assuming you were able to understand that whole bit about the angels and the war in heaven earlier.

About that ending. Director Scott Hicks isn’t satisfied merely leaving us on an incredibly silly-looking action climax. They end the picture with a "to be continued" so unsatisfying you can't believe no one told the emperor they weren't wearing any clothes. This is where I guess I have to give it a bit of credit. At this point, I've invested so much time and energy making fun of this preposterous scenario I want to know how it ends. A sequel will never happen in a million years so I guess that means I’ll be reading the books…

Among the legions of Twilight knockoffs, Fallen isn’t the lowest of the low but it is kind of fascinating. It’s basically a sanitized, Christian version of a story in which vampires were themselves sanitized. It’s not good. It’s not even so bad it’s good, but if anyone involved with the production is reading, I’ll watch the sequel if you shoot it. (On DVD, October 6, 2018)

[dailyflicks]

If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not tragic to die doing what you love.

POINT BREAK 1991 dir. Kathryn Bigelow

[justbusterkeaton]

Music: I Wanna Be Loved By You by Helen Kane

[probablyasocialecologist]

A staggering $50 trillion. That is how much the upward redistribution of income has cost American workers over the past several decades. This is not some back-of-the-napkin approximation. According to a groundbreaking new working paper by Carter C. Price and Kathryn Edwards of the RAND Corporation, had the more equitable income distributions of the three decades following World War II (1945 through 1974) merely held steady, the aggregate annual income of Americans earning below the 90th percentile would have been $2.5 trillion higher in the year 2018 alone. That is an amount equal to nearly 12 percent of GDP—enough to more than double median income—enough to pay every single working American in the bottom nine deciles an additional $1,144 a month. Every month. Every single year. Price and Edwards calculate that the cumulative tab for our four-decade-long experiment in radical inequality had grown to over $47 trillion from 1975 through 2018. At a recent pace of about $2.5 trillion a year, that number we estimate crossed the $50 trillion mark by early 2020. That’s $50 trillion that would have gone into the paychecks of working Americans had inequality held constant—$50 trillion that would have built a far larger and more prosperous economy—$50 trillion that would have enabled the vast majority of Americans to enter this pandemic far more healthy, resilient, and financially secure.

[...]

Why is our death toll so high and our unemployment rate so staggeringly off the charts? Why was our nation so unprepared, and our economy so fragile? Why have we lacked the stamina and the will to contain the virus like most other advanced nations? The reason is staring us in the face: a stampede of rising inequality that has been trampling the lives and livelihoods of the vast majority of Americans, year after year after year.

[agatharkn3ss]

Episode 7 initial thoughts

Ah, where do I start. This was such a beautiful episode. Nowhere near as convoluted with the visions as I originally thought, but it was so so much better, because it allowed to focus on Lilia's story and her own emotions. I just wanted to hug her this entire episode. And then I loved her when she became this powerful being in the end. My heart literally breaks that she had to die just shortly after her closure.

It feels like a poetic pattern that once the witches get their breakthrough because the found what they were missing, then they don't need the Road any more - for them that's the end (of the Road). But their lives are the price. Knowing what we know they really are dead - the Road has always been said to be a literal dead end. So it seems like the characters get what they need from the Road - i.e. the closure, but at the cost of dying. All roads really lead to death, so that's why no witch survived it - they all got what they were missing. It would explain why Agatha survived too - she didn't get what she needed from the Road before. She cheated her way through it, every single trial. But that must have impressed Death, so she allowed her to get out.

But what does this mean for the future? Has Agatha realised yet that they will need to die? I think Agatha will find a loophole to get Jen and Billy out of the Road somehow. (I feel the locket is the key - it contains Nicky's hair... but Nicky could literally be a personification of Darkhold - which is what allows to break the Road spell. But I'll write about it some time later) But maybe Rio will want to keep Agatha there? I guess I will need to find a straight lady to get some answers XD

Anywho. I will be coming back to this in the morning. For now, the rest of my observations:

it literally is a crime that this awesome episode didn't even get 30min screen time.

I loved the comedic scenes

And all the reveal scenes - whether about Lilia's powers or Billy's abilities or Rio identity - I feel both we the audience and the coven finally got some answers and it felt good

But.... did Billy need to be the querent? I get it gave some comedic moments to it... but it didn't make sense. Why not let Agatha get back to being central to this story, not Billy? After all, Lilia's reading ended up being for the whole coven

there was a red light flickering underground with cables and all sorts. Very odd, are they actually in that underground transport system tunnels that Sharon mentioned? Who's controlling the illusion then?

Were Salem Seven walking backwards?

I thought it odd for Lilia saying telling Jen about being "sisters in the craft" - Jen literally in ep.5 said the same words "Agatha, we are sister in the craft, remember?". It's very specific, but we've not heard Agatha say it before. So is there another time slip?

Lilia described Jen as "unable or unwilling to use her powers". So I think this points to the fact that Jen really just needs to believe in herself (and that's why Lilia praised her when she healed Billy)

Loooooved the entire dialogue in the starting scene, Kathryn has again delivered some absolutely cracking lines.

Rio's reveal wasn't as dramatic as expected, but I still liked it. You could say I loved the anticipation. But it seems like she really is set up to be the baddie of the show. Is she the one who's going to call Agatha a coward?

Oh and yes, loved how Lilia left every witch a little advice for the future.

I am sure there are lots more things I will be mulling over. But for now, excuse me while I go crying....

[andiatas]

Royal Reads: Jan-Mar 2024

Note: Some of the following links are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission on every purchase. This does not affect the price you pay.

Kateryn Parr: Henry VIII's Sixth Queen by Laura Adkins (Mar. 15, 2024) // Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History by Tracy Borman (new paperback version published Mar. 7, 2024) // Messalina: The Life and Times of Rome’s Most Scandalous Empress by Honor Cargill-Martin (Mar. 14, 2024)

House of Lilies: The Dynasty that Made Medieval France by Justine Firnhaber-Baker (Mar. 28, 2024) // Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. by Robert Hardman (Jan. 18, 2024) // Sisters of Richard III: The Plantagenet Daughters of York by Sarah J Hodder (Mar. 15, 2024)

Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty by Alexander Larman (Mar. 28, 2024) // The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England by Joanne Paul (new paperback version published Jan. 9, 2024)

Young Queens: The Intertwined Lives of Catherine De' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois, and Mary, Queen of Scots by Leah Redmond Chang (new paperback version published Feb. 29, 2024) // Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor by Donald J. Robertson (Mar. 26, 2024) // My Mother and I by Ingrid Seward (Feb. 15, 2024)

Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers: A Personal History by Anne Somerset (Mar. 28, 2024) // Young Elizabeth: Princess. Prisoner. Queen. by Nicola Tallis (Feb. 29, 2024) // Edward II: His Sexuality and Relationships by Kathryn Warner (Mar. 15, 2024)