#Paul Hawkins

[frenchcurious]

Paul Hawkins & Jackie Epstein - Ferrari 250 LM, châssis n°. 6051. 30e au classement général et 3e catégorie sport + de 2 litres - Targa Florio 1966. - source Moto Vitelloni - Wheels n' wings.

[mariocki]

A.J. Wentworth, B.A. (Thames, 1982)

"Oh, now by the way, you ought to have a look at this article about the Hitler Youth; it's got some very good tips on orderly behaviour and respect for authority. You know, it might even help you with 3A, putting them in those little brown shirts."

[karmhantra]

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[rei-ismyname]

X-FACTOR 2020 Highlights 1

The Krakoan X-Factor was a fantastic little book, though it unfortunately was cancelled at short notice due to factors outside creator control after only 10 issues. On the positive side, those 10 issues were excellent. This post will be all issue #1 because it's one of the best team building issues I've ever read and lays a very solid foundation for what comes next. It's also a very queer book.

Issue one is all about building the team and the premise. Wasting no time, the first page is a splash of Northstar sensing Aurora's death via twin telepathy. He immediately flies to Arbor Magna and demands the Five bring her back, pissing off everyone in the process.

He follows Hope's advice and learns the last place she was seen was the Green Lagoon, but hits a dead end. Fortunately Lorna overhears and throws in, neo-noir style. Daken happens to be lying on the floor and joins the team too, though they aren't very happy to have him. The three put the word out via flyer and the band assembles!

Rachel Summers, the recently resurrected Prodigy, and... EYE BOY round out the squad bringing the number up to 6 + Amazing Baby, Rachel's warwolf that Betsy gave her in the pages of Excalibur. Prodigy uses his superpowers of common sense and deduction and they're off to Bellingham, Washington.

Rachel uses her oft-forgotten Chronoskimming to see Aurora's most recent moments in a motel room she rented while Daken 'interviews' the guy at the front desk and the team start to explore how their powers interact/pick up clues.

By their powers combined they track down the barrier Aurora smashed through into the water. Eye Boy earns his keep by narrowing down which of the many underwater cars it could be and Polaris pulls them out of the water. Plates are matched with the motel rental receipt and voila! Interestingly it's Daken who pulls Northstar back from searching for his sister's corpse directly, signposting his arc will be one of emotional and social growth. He has the skills, he just hasn't been using them.

Northstar rushes off and *ahem* presents proof of death to the Five. Luckily the Five understand he's going through some shit and his team has his back. The best X-Men stories are about found family and soap opera, and this ad hoc team has plenty of both.

Daken and Northstar's clash of personalities starts to soften a little and the rest of the team get their CSI: Krakoa on in front of the Quiet Council. Despite Emma's scorn, their impressive display turns out to be a job interview.

Turns out there's a lot of missing and dead mutants or just people lacking proof of death. Resurrection protocols stress avoiding resurrecting 'dupes' and so far the labor involved handling it informally is disrupting The Five's workflow. They're swamped. The team's actions demonstrated a need for X-Factor and their suitability for the mission.

The Quiet Council approves and X-Factor is (re)born! Lorna, despite having lead X-Factor before, knows she's not in a space for leadership right now, nominating Northstar and unofficially becoming his XO. In a nod to Polaris' inconsistent characterisation over the decades, she renders Magneto speechless by asking him to describe her personality. Lorna's arc is established as one of self actualisation and coming to terms with the difficulty of being Lorna Dane AND Magneto's daughter - no dancing around the fact he's been a shitty parent. However, he is trying to be better. Krakoa is a fresh start for all.

Lorna calls back to Giant-Size X-Men, speaking directly to Krakoa about their long history (she yeeted it into space if you didn't know.) Together, they build The Boneyard, X-Factor's headquarters and living space. The Five drop by with a gift and Forge shares his invention of fleet seeds, allowing anyone to submit a case to X-Factor. The Boneyard immediately fills with pink bubbles/cases and they realise they have a lot of work ahead of them - validating their commitment and giving them all purpose.

As I said in the intro, X-Factor #1 is one of the best team building issues I've ever read. Aurora's death is the inciting incident on page one and the team is formed by page three. Instead of stretching the investigation out into the first arc/five issues, it's resolved in 1 and we get to explore the team dynamic and workflow in real time. They don't need to grow into individual competence because they're already there. It's a strong statement that the investigations are a backdrop for character work and growing into an unlikely team/family unit.

Two of the issues are part of X of Swords. An event crossover usually threatens to knock a limited series off course but the connectivity inherent to The First Krakoan Age (plus X-Factor's links to the Five and Quiet Council) instead provide opportunity to explore existing themes and put the characters through the wringer. But I'm getting ahead of myself - that is a subject for part 2.

Next time - war, murder, and ACAB. Plus, Aurora's back!

[smartiequeen]

The sillys

[xmenshitposts]

jp's icon is by tepkunset

akihiro's icon is by clacefall

original under the cut!

[wehavetoastonishthem]

X-Factor (2020) #8

[issela-santina]

Four magical scenes set in open water, where light has a diminished reach.

Our Flag Means Death — As Edward “Blackbeard” Teach lingers in the open water, before him is a vision of his lover Stede Bonnet, trident in hand, as a merman with a fabulous goldfish-like tail.

Mr. Queen — Jang Bong-hwan is held and kissed by a princess, Kim So-yong (later Queen Cheol-in), who had swum to him from out of nowhere. A green aurora-like light forms a wide circle around the two.

The Shape of Water — The Asset kisses Eliza Esposito, whose red dress opens up in the water while her left shoe drifts away from her foot. Not that she needs it any longer.

Swiss Army Man — Hank discovers a bit of a win-win upon kissing the lips of the undead Manny, who bubbles with air through a grin.

[screenshothaven]

Wonka (2023)

[in-our-special-place]

Put your lips next to mine, dear

Won't you kiss me once, baby?

Just a kiss goodnight, maybe

You and I will fall in love (you and I will fall in love)

People say that love's a game

A game you just can't win

If there's a way

I'll find it someday

And then this fool will rush in

-Put Your Head on My Shoulder Paul Anka

[adamwatchesmovies]

Wonka (2023)

Wonka practically steps onto the stage and declares itself a new favorite. When the film was announced, it was met with skepticism. We’ve already had two adaptations of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Going back to see how the book’s most memorable character became who he is felt like a desperate attempt to cram more chocolate down an already-filled stomach. Here’s what the naysayers should’ve paid attention to, however: writer/director Paul King. I know you loved Paddington and its sequel, Paddington 2. Everything that made those films great – except for the titular bear – is present here, along with catchy musical numbers. This is a lovingly assembled film the whole family will eat up.

After an extended journey around the world gathering the rarest ingredients and learning everything there is to know about sweets, Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) dreams of establishing his own chocolate shop. Unfortunately, his initial trip to the Galéries Gourmet sees him pushed out by the “Chocolate Cartel”. Shortly after, he’s swindled out of his savings and forced into indentured servitude by Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and her co-worker, Bleacher (Tom Davis). He’ll be doing laundry for the next twenty-five years unless he can settle his debts. The only way to do that is to become the chocolatier he's always dreamed of becoming.

Wonka has been called a “companion piece” to 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory but come on. It's a prequel. Two songs are reprised/expanded upon, several visual cues are ported over and Chalamet’s portrayal of the titular character is reminiscent of Gene Wilder’s. If you were to watch the films back-to-back, however, you would spot certain inconsistencies. Some, there’s no way you could’ve worked around, such as the character Hugh Grant plays. I won’t spoil what his part in the film is (even though he is on the poster) but if you were to watch this movie before the original, he would give away one of the latter’s biggest surprises. There’s also an aspect of Wonka’s character that’s a bit off. I personally think people label WW&tCF as being much darker and scarier than it is but you can understand why people would call it frightening, or "a gateway to children’s horror". This film has no cynicism or darkness in it whatsoever. It’s one of the reasons why it works so well but if this film is indeed a prequel, that's an inconsistency.

With those minor complaints out of the way, let’s talk about the many ways Wonka succeeds. First, the cast and tone. There are many villains in this movie. Keegan-Michael Key plays the corrupt, chocolate-addicted Chief-of-Police. Paterson Joseph is Arthur Slugworth, the leader of the Chocolate Cartel. He, along with his cohorts Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) are not above sending innocent people to be enslaved or even murdered. Then, there’s the extended Cartel, which includes a small, but funny role for Rowan Atkinson. Finally, the combo of Mrs. Scrubitt's & Bleacher. On paper, these characters are quite sinister - even children are being enslaved by Scrubitt and Bleacher. Despite that, you kind of… like them. They're all delightfully ridiculous and quirky. You can tell the performers are having a blast hamming it up – in the best way. They’re all evil. They all love being evil. You love seeing them do their thing.

Nearly everyone we meet is more eccentric than anyone in real life could ever be - including the other "inmates" at Scrubbit's boarding house (played by Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Rich Fulcher and Rakhee Thakrar), except for the friend Wonka makes once all his money is stolen: an orphan named Noodle (Calah Lane). She’s in a worse spot than anyone else, which makes her apprehensive and cynical but also most receptive to the idea of hope once Wonka gets going. You can bet that by the end, all of the heroes will have played an important part in the story, even if their skills seem to make them kind of useless. Seeing how they fit in the big picture is part of the fun.

Between the big laughs and musical numbers, we get scenes of magic and wonder - the kind you can only in worlds where people spontaneously burst into dance. There's something so earnest about Wonka. It knows exactly what it wants to be and isn't afraid of going for it. Paul King takes single gags and turns them into characters for the sake of a big punchline at the end. You can tell from the way the story flows that's going to be the case and there's almost a sense of suspense as you wonder what's going to happen with that. Wonka pokies fun at itself more than once but is willing to be serious when the scene calls for it. That's what makes it, why it's a great prequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Wonka is the kind of movie I wish we’d see more often. You think back to the movies you used to see as a child and it feels like we used to get ones like this all the time but actually, we didn't. Movies like this one are rare, it's just that they're so much fun you never forget them and they get passed down from generation to generation so it feels like there's this large library you had before and haven't been able to add to. Push away any apprehension you might've had initially and you'll see. Wonka fits in with those childhood favorites. (November 22, 2024)

[batcavescolony]

X-Factor #6

David never change. It's for science Jean-Paul! Let him study rotting corpses of his fellow mutants on the lawn! It could be so much worse, he could be nuking china.

[man-me--a-sand]

x factor (2020) but it’s an 80s/90s sitcom

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[luckypluckychair]

Paddington 2 | 2017

Director: Paul King

Production designer: Gary Williamson / Set decorator: Cathy Cosgrove