#and don’t have mary philbin

[thebrideofreanimator]

“Christine should have chosen Erik” “Christine should pick Raoul”

CHRISTINE DOESNT NEED A RELATIONSHIP RIGHT NOW

[tiny-buzz]

Regis Weekend: In Full Swing, available now wherever music is sold.

Three compacts discs are barely enough to contain the riffs, the solos, the extensions, and the passion of Regis Weekend.

Besides hours of live recordings, you'll hear outtakes, demos, and rarities that will thrill and delight any Regis Weekend fan.

TRACK LISTING:

Disc 1—

1) “Overture to Regis Ass Weekend” (Demo)(1:19)

2) “What Would You Give (Have Him Back)” (3:22)

3) “December 8, 2020” (19:41)

4) “Sun Rise In Newark” (2:09)

5) “Regis Lives” (Vocals Only)(3:19)

6) “Summertime Jeeps” (1:55)

7) “An Exciting New 5-Step Handshake” (7:33)

8) “The Car Of The Future Will Run On Water But The Water Will Scream As You Drink It” (:59)

Disc 2—

1) “Clam Juice” (9:02)

2) “Four Course Dinner And Gala” (2:47)

3) “Someone Change The Date In The Post, We Put The Wrong Date In The Post” (Outtake)(1:14)

4) “Jesus, Mary And Joseph, Bruno, You’re A Handsome Man, Did Your Mother Spank You (Light Over The Skyline)” ft. Bruno Mars (Unreleased)(9:51)

5) “Rude Boy Boogie: Overture to Regis Ass Weekend / Overture To The Skankin’ Caverns Medley” (2:50)

6) "Babies with their heads cut off” (Hidden Track)(39:01)

7) "I'm Regis X. Philbin And The X Stands For Jazz" (Hidden Track)(:46)

Disc 3—

1) “Spider-Man Regis Hums Past A Choir Of Electronic Android Archangels” (4:18)

2) “God, Our Magnificent Protector, You Deserve Our Gratitude (Check The First Letters For A Surprise)”(Japanese Import)(12:01)

3) “This Is Unbearable (Don’t Look Away)” (2:47)

4) “Regis Philbin Has Become A Paper Shredder (The Poop Song)” (3:29)

5) “Rosie’s Song (Helping Her Pack)” (3:50)

6) “California Regis” (4:02)

7) “Regis Weekend Has Been Extended (To Wednesday October 11, 2023)” (6:38)

[sixty-silver-wishes]

If I wanted to dabble in silent film, what film would be the best for me to start with?

My personal favourites are “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920), “Metropolis” (1927), and “The Man Who Laughs” (1928). While I appreciate “Caligari” for its interpretive potential, modern general audiences sometimes give it mixed reviews due to the pacing and experimental elements. It’s definitely a film that may take a few watches to understand, but the set design and acting is iconic, and I personally find it very engaging. I’ve seen it maybe eight times, and notice something new each time I watch it.

“The Man Who Laughs” has a plot I think has greater appeal- it’s got everything; action, romance, political intrigue, etc. Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin, who play the leads, have great chemistry, and a lot of the characters are really fun. Unfortunately, as it was the product of its time (and based on a Victor Hugo novel), it does have some characters that read as anti-Semitic or anti-Roma stereotypes, but I think other than that aspect; it definitely holds up. Plus, it does have some great disability rep. (An added bonus- it also stars Olga Baclanova, who played Cleopatra in “Freaks” (1932), which is a great talkie and the first classic film I saw.)

“Metropolis” is a sci-fi, and is seriously impressive for the time. Lots of cuts exist online, and I honestly don’t know which is best, but I just found the longest one and watched that, haha. The plot may be a bit hard to follow and at times oversimplified, but the climax is spectacular.

[honeyleesblog]

July 16  Zodiac - Full Horoscope Personality

They don't quickly acknowledge novel insights, however consider them cautiously prior to attempting to apply them. Despite the fact that they are very powerful, their perspectives will generally be variable. They might discuss similar issue to different individuals in various ways, contingent upon their impact or their capacity to persuade others. They are very unsteady of character, tortured by an inside disquietude. They like to go for long strolls and outings, and appreciate mountain climbing and a wide range of sports. They can become astounding geographers. Exceptionally touchy: they are very incautious and respectable individuals, albeit fairly timid. Regardless of their capacity to transform, they can plan their arrangements ahead of time and with incredible consideration. They have high aspirations and reach skyward. They appreciate hazardous endeavors and make it a point to enthusiastically in their work. As it were, their personality is very eccentric, stand-out, which could try and permit them to become conspicuous individuals. Your work and persisting work will procure you the consideration of society, which won't be underlined all the more unequivocally until the last part of your life. His childhood frequently brings just cutoff points and unbeneficial exertion. They will earn respect prior for their intrinsic capacities and character attributes, as well concerning their social handiness, not so much for logical work and creations. They will find lasting success in their associations with more extensive crowds and can obtain positive outcomes as restaurateurs, hoteliers, and so on. They might be in extraordinary peril in their life vocation, yet they will defeat it and win over difficulty. At last they will keep away from all risks and their activities will be delegated with progress.

July 16  Zodiac - Full Horoscope Personality

  Assuming your birthday is July 16, your zodiac sign is Disease July 16 - character and character character: reasonable, good, entering, quiet, chatty, unreasonable calling: veterinarian, social scientist, creator tones: white, yellow, dark stone: morganite creature: chicken plant: red oak fortunate numbers: 2,14,18,30,37,55 very fortunate number: 35 Occasions and observances - July 16 Spain: Revilla de Camargo (Cantabria): El Carmen. Mexico: Gutiდ©rrez Zamora (Veracruz): supporter holy person celebrations with the Feria del Carmen. Spain: St Nick Olalla (Castilla-La Mancha): supporter holy person celebrations. Honduras: Public Structural Architect Day (Honduras). Spain: San Millდ¡n de la Cogolla (La Rioja): Holidays de Lugar del Rდ­o. Spain: Spain: La Cistდ©rniga (Castilla y Leდ³n): benefactor holy person celebrations. Chile: La Tirana Celebration (Tarapacდ¡ Locale). Argentina: Itatდ­ (Corrientes): commemoration of the crowning celebration of the Virgin of Itatდ­. Spain: San Fernando (Cდ¡diz) (Andalusia): supporter holy person celebrations with the Feria del Carmen y de la Sal. Spain: Beniajდ¡n (Murcia): supporter holy person celebrations. Venezuela: Public Police Day. Spain: Saldana (Castilla y Leდ³n): Roman Week Bolivia: Branch of La Paz: supporter holy person merriments. Spain: Isla Cristina (Huelva, Andalucia): Supporter Holy person celebrations of Our Woman of Carmen Colombia: Holidays de Nuestra Senora del Carmen (or Virgen del Carmen): Patroness of drivers, firemen and the military. July 16 Big name birthday celebrations. Who was conceived that very day as you? 1902: Alexander Luria, Russian clinician (d. 1977). 1903: Mary Philbin, American entertainer (d. 1993). 1904: Armando Buscaini, Spanish writer (d. 1940). 1904: Ricardo Nდºnez, Spanish entertainer and producer (d. 1998). 1904: Goffredo Petrassi, Italian author (d. 2003). 1907: Barbara Stanwyck, American entertainer (d. 1990). 1910: Gordon Prange, American essayist (d. 1980). 1911: Ginger Rogers, American entertainer and artist (d. 1995). 1914: Divito, Argentine visual artist (d. 1969). 1919: Hermine Braunsteiner, Austrian SS official (d. 1999). 1919: Choi Kyu-hah, South Korean lawmaker, fourth president (d. 2006). 1921: Miguel Labordeta, Spanish writer and dramatist (d. 1969). 1925: Rosita Quintana, Argentine-Mexican entertainer. 1925: Cal Tjader, American artist (d. 1982). 1926: Irwin Rose, American scholar, 2004 Nobel Prize champ for science. 1927: Carmelo Torres, Mexican matador. 1928: Anita Brookner, English essayist. 1928: Bella Davidovich, Azerbaijani musician, nationalized American. 1928: Robert Sheckley, American essayist (d. 2005). 1928: Concha Valdდ©s Miranda, author and entertainer of Cuban music. 1929: Carmelo Bernaola, Spanish author (f. 2002). 1929: Sheri Stewart Tepper, American essayist. 1930: Fellow Bდ©art, French artist. 1934: Tomდ¡s Eloy Martდ­nez, Argentine essayist (d. 2010). 1936: Yasuo Fukuda, Japanese lawmaker. 1938: Gladys Marდ­n, Chilean lawmaker. 1939: Corin Redgrave, English entertainer and lobbyist (d. 2010). 1941: Desmond Dekker, Jamaican artist (d. 2006). 1941: Dag Solstad, Norwegian essayist. 1942: Margaret Court, Australian tennis player. 1943: Reinaldo Fields, Cuban writer (d. 1990). 1943: Jimmy Johnson, American football trainer. 1943: Rubდ©n Rada, Uruguayan artist. 1944: Jean Pierre Ducasse, French cyclist (d. 1969). 1945: Andrდ©s Pazos, Spanish entertainer situated in Uruguay (d. 2010). 1946: Richard LeParmentier, American entertainer (d. 2013). 1947: Assata Shakur, American lobbyist. 1948: Rita Barberდ¡, Spanish lawmaker. 1948: Rubდ©n Cutting edges, Panamanian craftsman and government official. 1948: Cecilia Rossetto, Argentine entertainer and artist. 1948: Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli musician. 1952: Stewart Copeland, American artist, pioneer and drummer of the band The Police. 1952: Karmelo Landa, Spanish lawmaker. 1956: Tony Kushner, American writer. 1957: Faye Award, American entertainer. 1957: Alexandra Marinina, Russian essayist. 1958: Michael Flatley, Irish artist and choreographer. 1959: Jდ¼rgen Ligi, Estonian lawmaker. 1963: Phoebe Cates, American entertainer. 1963: Sreე?ko Katanec, Slovenian footballer and mentor. 1964: Phil Hellmuth, American poker player. 1964: Miguel Indurain, Spanish cyclist. 1967: Will Ferrell, American entertainer and joke artist. 1968: Larry Sanger, prime supporter of Wikipedia. 1970: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thai producer. 1971: Corey Feldman, American entertainer. 1971: Felipe Arias, Colombian anchorperson. 1971: Carlos Nდºnez, Spanish artist. 1973: Stefano Garzelli, Italian cyclist. 1974: Jeremy Enigk, American artist musician for the groups Bright Day Land, and The Fire Burglary. 1974: Espido Freire, Spanish essayist. 1974: Ryan McCombs, American artist, of the groups Soil and Suffocating Pool. 1974: Chris Pontius, American entertainer. 1975: Ana Paula Arდ³sio, Brazilian entertainer and model. 1975: Manuel Sanhouse, Venezuelan soccer player. 1976: Bobby Lashley, American expert grappler. 1976: Carlos Humberto Paredes, Paraguayan soccer player. 1976: Anna Smashnova, Belarusian tennis player. 1977: Alejandro Delius, Bolivian vocalist musician, of the Quirquina bunch. 1977: Martin Laursen, Danish footballer. 1978: Irene Visedo, Spanish entertainer. 1978: Adriana Bottina, Colombian entertainer and vocalist. 1979: Jayma Mays, American entertainer. 1979: Chris Mihm, American b-ball player. 1980: Jesse Jane, American obscene entertainer. 1980: Justine Joli, American obscene entertainer. 1981: Zach Randolph, American b-ball player. 1981: Vicente Rodrდ­guez Guillდ©n, Spanish soccer player. 1982: Andrდ© Greipel, German cyclist. 1982: Michael Umana, Costa Rican soccer player. 1983: Katrina Kaif, English entertainer. 1984: Franco Cangele, Argentine footballer. 1985: Cha Ye Ryun, South Korean entertainer. 1986: Edo Caroe, Chilean comedian and entertainer. 1986: Misako Uno, entertainer and Japanese vocalist. 1987: Moussa Dembდ©lდ©, Belgian footballer. 1987: AnnaLynne McCord, American entertainer. 1988: Sergio Busquets, Spanish footballer. 1989: Gareth Bundle, Welsh footballer. 1990: James Maslow, American entertainer and vocalist, of the band Big Time Rush. 1990: Paula Rojo, Spanish vocalist musician. 1991: Andros Townsend, English footballer. 1994: Imprint Indelicato, American entertainer and vocalist. 1996: Luke Hemmings, Australian guitarist and vocalist, of the band 5 Seconds Of Summer

[krimprim]

what are some classic horror movies that you always recommend, and some more obscure ones that you love but don’t get a lot of attention? love your blog btw!

Got my first anon!! And it's super nice too 🤧 This is so lovely I'm really happy you asked.

I'm biased towards sci-fi horror and horror comedy's, but I've tried to give a bit of everything here. For classic ones I'd recommend? I'm taking some of my favourites from different eras so you can get a good feel for the changes horror went through. Noting here that I have not watched many movies from countries outside America, Australia and western Europe, just wanted to let you know in advance. Trying to fill out my horror repertoire between work and study 💀 Also this is long lmao sorry not sorry.

For early stuff my favourites would be The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (the original horror film you could say, featuring my beloved Conrad Veidt), wonderful silent German expressionist horror from the 20s.

On top of that I really loved Universal's 1925 adaption of The Phantom of the Opera ft Long Chaney and Mary Philbin. If you like that one I'd 100% recommend watching some documentaries on youtube about it cause it's really fun, Chaney bought the rights to the film himself as he really wanted to play Erik and adapt the story to screen. He did all his own makeup and stuff too it's great.

Further down the track you have all the universal monster movies, I have unfortunately not watched them all yet but I really liked The Wolf Man, and have memories as a child seeing Creature from the Black Lagoon and enjoying it. This ties in to more obscure films I think more people should watch, but Them! also came out in this era and I love it so dearly. First horror movie I watched properly start to end, it's about giant mutant ants, and has a small cameo of Leonard Nimoy in one of his first roles :)

Right after that in the 60s you have a big uptick in Hammer horror, which is where you get a lot of fun stuff (I can't give personal recs. I've only seen their phantom..which is good but like I'm embarrassed 😔). At the same time there was stuff like Rosemary's Baby (fuck Polanski) and Night of the Living Dead.

Then there are the infamous slashers. There's a lot of them, and like the other stuff on the list it depends on what you like what you'll take to in a slasher. One of my favourites is Black Christmas (the progenitor of the slasher. idc about Psycho, Hitchcock can have nightmares about blonde women for eternity) which had a surprising nuanced look into things like abortion and critiques on classic relationship dynamics. I'm goofy though so I also like it because of the villain Billy Lenz. Goofiness is also why I adore Child's Play <3. The Original Texas Chain Saw Massacre I think is a good one to get to as well, interesting themes and even though the main characters aren't that deep I do really like Sally and Franklin. My favourite type of horror protagonists have always been family members, especially siblings. And again, if you're a fan of silly you should definitely watch its sequel, which is a horror comedy.

Non slasher classics of the 70s/80s I recommend are Stepford Wives, The Thing, Suspiria, The Fly, Possession, The Lost Boys, Alien and Aliens, plus Evil Dead 1 and 2. They're all pretty well established here on Tumblr so there's not too much to say. I've watched the most films from this era if it isn't obvious haha.

By the time the 90s came around I feel like things got a bit all over the place, in a positive way. You got a bit of everything, though there was a bit of emphasis on horror movies becoming more "serious/gritty" compared to the slashers that came just before them. If I had to pick one film it would definitely be Candyman though. Tony Todd did an immaculate job and gave life to one of the most magnetic and charismatic horror villains ever. The movie is gorgeous and I adore the writing of it too.

Runner up would be Silence of the Lambs, Clarice and Hannibal both get a big kiss on the lips from me <3

I'm not sure if it's been long enough to claim movies past the 2000s can be classics but I'll quickly list some ones I think are neat: Ginger Snaps, The Ring, [REC], Saw, Noroi, The Orphanage, Creep, I Saw The Devil, Get Out, Annihilation and His House.

I will try to be succinct for the obscure stuff (im not sure how obscure these are tbh but oh well) since I know this is getting really long lmao but here 💕

Them!, as previously mentioned.

The Phantom of the Opera from 1989. Absolutely glorious and gorgeous slasher style take on the story. I love it a lot. Has Robert Englund of Freddy Krueger fame.

Basket Case 1, 2 and 3, got to these after watching Malignant and hearing them brought up several times in reviews. They're fantastic B horror and so lovingly made it hurts.

The Hitcher!!! The original of course, which is dripping with so much homoerotic subtext it's crazy. Rutger Hauer plays obsessive freaky man so well and I love him for it.

Stigmata starring Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne. It is so of its time in terms of the editing, pacing and music that I couldn't help but adore it. Suffers from unnecessary romance imo but still a great movie.

Event Horizon is thee absolute shit. Laurence Fishburne is my babygirl in every movie/show he's in and this one is no different. I was blown away watching it and my brother and I couldn't stop discussing it for like two hours after it finished haha. Hoping the director's cut will be released at some point cause I'm dying to watch it.

Joy Ride with Paul Walker. Got this one from a random horror movie generator. I still think about it a lot, there's something mesmerising about a movie with an evil truckie. I havent watched any fast and furious movies but the first one came out the same time as this so I like to pretend it's a prequel to it.

The Slumber Party Massacre remake and Slumber Party Massacre 2. The former for being one of the best remakes for horror I've seen and the latter for being batshit fun. The main villains weapon is an electric guitar drill idk what more you need.

That's enough I think, feel free to psychoanalyse me in the notes. Also if you ever want to send me a DM or another ask on or off anon or whatever that'd be fun, I don't bite :)

[image ID for all images in alt text]

[glassprism]

Hey glass! I was just thinking some late night thoughts and wondering why ALW decided on a brunette wig for Christine? Was it solely because of Sarah Brightman looking better as a brunette? We’re there any plans to make alternate or understudy christines blonde or redhead, or was it strictly brunette? Ty!!

The fact that Sarah Brightman is a curly-haired brunette was definitely a factor, as the early wigs were modeled closely on hers. But another important source of inspiration was the 1925 movie. A lot of the aesthetic was drawn from there, and that includes Christine's hair, based off Mary Philbin's also brown, curly locks.

I don't know if there any plans in London to change the color up, as all the Christines, including the original alternate, understudy, and the first replacements, all sported brown, curly hair similar to Brightman's. But Patti Cohenour, the original alternate on Broadway, was interesting in having a somewhat lighter wig. It wasn't blonde, more of an auburn or light brown color, though in certain lights it did look close to that. And the original alternate in Toronto, Susan Cuthbert, got to wear an actual blonde wig as Christine. So it seems that there was some experimenting going on at first.

But for the most part after that, Christine actresses have stuck to the same medium brown shade. I don't particularly know the reason why, though perhaps the brown curly wig is now considered such an iconic part of Christine's look that they've opted to stick to it as much as possible. But even then, we have variations, such as the London productions going for reddish wigs or even Emmi Christensson's very light, very blonde wig. And of course non-replicas are free to do whatever they want with the color of the wig. Anyway, I hope that answers your question!

[phantombandit-films]

The New Kids (1985) Review.

‘The New Kids’ was released in 1985 and was directed by Sean S. Cunningham.

The cast includes: Lori Loughlin - Abby McWilliams. Shannon Presby - Loren McWilliams. Tom Atkins - Mac McWilliams. Eddie Jones -  Charlie McWilliams. Jean De Baer as Mary Beth McWilliams. Lucy Martin - Fay McWilliams. Eric Stoltz - Mark. James Spader - Eddie Dutra. John Philbin - Gideon.

Plot: Abby and Loren’s parents are both killed in a car crash, at the funeral their Uncle Charlie comes up to them and asks them to stay with him and his wife Fay. When the siblings arrive in Glenby, Florida their uncle shows them around their new home which is a gas station and a fun fair that’s still in renovation. Their first day at school goes well but then Abby runs into Eddie who the head of a gang of thugs, this meeting starts an obsession with Abby which leads to Eddie trying to ask her to a dance. She declines because she’s interested in Mark, Eddie does not take this rejection well. After a few run ins Eddie decides to mess with Loren, getting into a fight of which Loren wins due to training with his dad.  Things escalate from there with the actions of Eddie increasing in violence, it climaxes to a massive show down in the fair grown when Eddie Kidnaps Abby. 

I love finding old random 80��s teen movies that I've not watched before, I don’t know how to describe it but 80′s films just make me feel some type of way. They just have a aura about them that films these days just don’t have, I don’t know if I feel this way because I’ve grown up loving the 80′s and I think it’s just disgraceful that I wasn’t a teen in this wonderful time but I’d pick a 80′s movie over a modern movie any day. 

James Spader is one of my favourite 80′s actors so when I was looking through his IMDB and found this movie I was really excited to watch it.  All in all I loved it, obviously it had it’s downsides as all movies have but it was something new and fresh. It is classed as a horror/thriller and one review I watched compared it as a Friday 13th feel but honestly I didn’t feel that. I wouldn’t really call it a horror, more of a low key thriller up until the last scenes where it gets a bit chaotic.

The plot was very well thought out but I think it could have been written and played out a little better. The transition from just bullying and taunting to suddenly turned to murder made your head spin a little.  Also side note, I noticed that Jame’s hair was bleached a little lighter and also his eyebrows which made him look a bit weird maybe this was a deliberate move? I don’t know. But it definitely made me feel different about him, he was an absolute jerk in this film and not a likeable one. 

I really like the relationship between the brother and sister, I liked how they were there for each other no matter what and how they supported one another.  I think Shannon Presby did an amazing job at playing Loren McWilliams I was really rooting for him to be happy through out all of the film, and I missed his presence when he wasn’t on screen. Putting aside the recent drama around Lori Loughlin, I really like her 80′s films. I really like her in Secret Admirer and I think she also did a excellent job in this movie too. She wasn’t whinny or annoying she was brave and stood up for herself but knew when to ask for help from her brother. 

I also really liked Eric Stoltz, who I adored in ‘Some kind of wonderful’ He was so cute as Mark and he just wanted the best for Abby. Although I do wish we would have seen a lot more of him, especially in the last scene when the big fight goes down. Also something that I noticed was that Mark was in a relationship with Abby but Eddie never seem to go after Mark, it was only Abby and Loren that he targeted. You would have thought that because Abby was interested in Mark this would have made Eddie mad seen as he was rejected because of this (and because he was an absolute creep!) but he left him alone. 

All in all it wasn’t the best movie but wasn’t the worst and I really enjoyed watching it, it’ll probably be a ‘guilty pleasure, I haven’t watched that movie in a while’ re watch. So I’ll give it a 7/10.

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, April 27

Cover: The Waltons -- shocking secrets they hid from the world 

Page 2: Secrets of Guys and Dolls -- Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando’s feud plus other drama behind the musical about gamblers 

Page 4: Today ladies tell all -- Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager, Dylan Dreyer 

Page 5: Sheinelle Jones, Savannah Guthrie 

Page 6: Cybill Shepherd sensational at 70 

Page 7: How to take a really great nap 

Page 8: Beat quarantine boredom by helping others 

Page 9: New federal aid package puts cash in your pocket 

Page 10: Eight-year-old Cooper Townsend is using his free time to create 186 cards to give to folks who can’t have visitors 

Page 11: Your Health -- easy and natural remedies to make that headache go away 

Page 12: Here’s to Hollywood’s long-lasting marriages -- Meryl Streep and Don Gummer -- 41 years, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson -- 32 years, Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline -- 31 years, Regis and Joy Philbin -- 50 years 

Page 13: David McCallum and Katherine Carpenter -- 52 years, Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan -- 31 years, Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas -- 40 years, Denzel and Pauletta Washington -- 36 years, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman -- 38 years 

Page 14: Dear Tony -- Past life problems can and should be left behind, Tony predicts Jessica Simpson’s memoir becoming a big seller and turned into a major movie plus this summer will be really hot 

Page 15: Sex kitten Mamie Van Doren still purring at 89

Page 16: More long-lasting marriages -- Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick -- 31 years, Chevy Chase and Jayni Luke -- 37 years, Christopher and Georgianne Walken -- 51 years, Bob and Ginny Newhart -- 57 years, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen -- 24 years, John Travolta and Kelly Preston -- 28 years, Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber -- 33 years 

Page 17: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall -- 32 years, Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest -- 35 years, Ron and Cheryl Howard -- 44 years, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne -- 37 years, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw -- 28 years, Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston -- 42 years 

Page 18: When Minnesota state trooper Brian Schwartz pulled over Dr. Sarosh Ashraf Janjua for speeding he noticed two used N95 masks that he assumed she was reusing -- so instead of a ticket he gave her 5 fresh N95 masks 

Page 19: Cats are actually bonded just as strongly as dogs to their owners and babies to their parents 

Page 20: Cover Story -- secret shame of the Waltons -- family show’s stars hid drinking, abuse and money woes 

Page 22: Plucky four-year-old Vadie Sides is safe at home after going missing with her dog in the Alabama woods for two days and she’s happy to tell you all about it 

Page 24: A Wisconsin community came together for some fun while staying six feet apart to stage a hilarious dinosaur parade 

Page 25: Judging by the photos Ruff Ruff the stuffed dog had quite a time at a Virginia hotel while he was separated for a day from the toddler who mistakenly left him behind 

Page 26: The Good Doctor -- Let grief run its course

Page 28: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s uplifting message for America 

Page 30: Shape up your spring garden 

Page 38: 15 things you never knew about the Bible 

Page 44: Reese Witherspoon on a bike ride, Suzanne Somers wants Annie Leibovitz to shoot her nude for Playboy for her 75th birthday, Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo are parents to two daughters but Adam says if he asked his wife for another baby she’d punch him in the face but Behati says she does want a big family because she’s an only child, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are having a baby girl, Zac Efron endured weeks of training to get a killer bod for Baywatch but he admits it’s likely a one-time deal, Channing Tatum and Jessie J have split again, Millie Bobby Brown says she honed her American accent by watching Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana to which Miley replied she was surprised Millie doesn’t have a country accent 

Page 45: Pierce Brosnan on the beach in Hawaii, Simon Cowell rides bikes in masks with Lauren Silverman and kids Eric and Adam, Benji Madden and Cameron Diaz stock up on groceries, tragedy has struck the Kennedy family again as Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her eight-year-old son Gideon went missing in Chesapeake Bay and she is survived by husband David and kids Gabriella and Toby, the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson is writing a children’s book inspired by her oldest daughter Princess Beatrice and tentatively titled Trixie-Belle after the young royal’s nickname, Formula 1 mogul Bernie Ecclestone is going to be a father again at age 89 with his 44-year-old wife Fabiana Flosi 

Page 46: Handbags carry clues to your personality 

Page 46: Stars’ Best Friends -- Glenn Close and her dog Pip, Simon Cowell walking two of his four dogs -- Diddly and Squiddly, Jeff Goldblum and dog Woody, Amanda Seyfried and rescue dog Finn, Isabella Rossellini and her rescue pup Peter Pan, Dennis Quaid and dog Peaches, Ellen Pompeo and her dog Tino -- please adopt, don’t shop!

[madphantom]

Swan Song - Chapter 1

"So shall the world go on,

To good malignant, to bad men benign,

Under her own weight groaning."

— Paradise Lost

Alan was thirteen and he wasn't popular.

He didn't know why. He wasn't sure. Maybe because he was just not like the others. He couldn't help it. He loved classics. Poems, novellas, music, paintings, he devoured them all. Alan was a lover of the art.

He just wished he could share it with anyone.

It was a rainy day. The weeping willows were swaying in the wind. Alan was sitting on a bench in Swan Lake Park, reading, a massive umbrella over his head and book.

Suddenly he heard voices. He groaned and looked up from his book. It was the local gang of popular kids.

This is so cliche, Alan thought.

The leader, Arnold noticed him. Of course.

"Oh, look who it is!" He laughed. "It's the gremlin again!" Mary and Carlyla laughed. Herb smirked.

"Please leave me alone!", Alan stuttered.

"Oh, leave you alone?" Arnold smirked. "Did you hear that, guys?" The gang laughed.

"What's that you've got?" Arnold ripped the book from Alan's hands and looked at it. Then he laughed.

"Boy, he's reading Goethe! What a nerd! How about we make him prove he's a man." Arnold grinned.

"Leave him the fuck alone!"

They all collectively looked up at the sound of a rough girl's voice from above. Alan was the first to spot it's source.

It was a girl sitting on the willow behind the bench, far above. He hadn't noticed her before. He could only see her sillhouette against the grey sky, but he could see that she was tall and slim and that her hair was long and tangled. Her outline looked pretty. He wished he could take a closer look at her.

Mary grinned. "Oooh. It's the ugly tree girl. Hey, Betty Lou, what are you reading up there?"

"Paradise Lost," she replied with a bored tone in her husky voice.

"Oh no, another nerd," Carlyla groaned.

"Another nerd." Arnold nodded. "What are you gonna do, Scarecrow? Jump on my head."

"I wouldn't count on me not doing that." Alan could practically hear her smirking.

"Oh, really?" Arnold pushed Alan aside and walked over to the tree. "Well, go ahead."

The girl gracefully slid off her branch and it looked like she would jump. Arnold took a step to the right, a smug smirk on his face. But in the last moment she caught herself. And then, with a satisfying jump she slammed her heels right into Arnold's face.

"Fuck you, Philbin!", she hissed, her long brown hair all over her face.

Then she looked at Alan.

He was taken aback. She wasn't pretty. Not at all. She was ugly. Her face was covered in pimples. Her eyebrows were thick. She was scruffy, she was grumpy, she was anything except beautiful.

And yet there was something in her eyes which captured Alan. Some kind of fire was burning in them. He shivered.

Arnold sneered and left. The gang followed.

"Thank you," Alan said to the girl. She shrugged her shoulders.

He took one last look at her and left.

***

"You good?"

He looked up. It was Betty Lou.

"Yes."

She sat down next to him. Alan slid his umbrella over so she'd be dry too and she grinned.

"They can go to hell, you know," she said.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"So...classics, huh?", Betty Lou asked after a while.

"Ya," Alan murmured.

"That's rad."

He glanced over to her. She gave him a shy smile. "I love classics. Faust. Les Miserables. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Phantom of the Opera. Paradise Lost. Frankenstein. Dracula. I read them all."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I love Fantine." She leaned back. "You?"

"More of a Jean Valjean person."

She smiled. "He's cool too, but have you seen Enjolras?"

"What about Grantaire?"

She laughed. "Oh, of course, I forgot about him!"

For a while they sat in pleasant silence. Nothing but the rain was audible.

"I just don't understand why Arnold and his friends would make fun of that," Alan quietly said.

"People who matter don't mind." She shrugged her shoulders. "They just look for some way to screw us up. They're just looking for losers like you and me."

Alan glanced at her. "You say that like you know the feeling."

She frowned. "Sure I do. Who doesn't?" Then her forehead smoothened again.

"You haven't told me your name yet."

"I'm Alan."

"Fancy." She smiled at him. "Hey, Alan are we meeting again tomorrow? Here?"

"Why not?"

"Great." She grinned. "See you."

With that she jumped up and disappeared in the park.

[go-redgirl]

Top 8 Reasons Trump Already Won Impeachment

Whether the senators put the trial out of its misery this week or drag it on for months, the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Here are the eight big reasons Trump won impeachment.

1. Trump Didn’t Commit An Impeachable Offense

It’s an obvious point, but the most important point.

Impeaching President Trump has been the stated goal of the Resistance since his inauguration. The main effort toward impeachment was through the investigation of a false and dangerous theory of treasonous collusion with Russia to steal the 2016 election.

Even with a limitless special counsel appointed to achieve that end, the Russia collusion hoax ended with not a single American found to have colluded with Russia, not to mention anyone close to Trump, or Trump himself. A mini-effort to get impeachment going — on the special counsel’s murky near-findings that Trump had objected too strenuously to being falsely accused of treason — also fell apart.

Other impeachment efforts for, among other things, mean tweets, went nowhere. With time running out, the Resistance cobbled together what was always a weak theory regarding a phone call with the Ukrainian president.

At first the alleged crime was supposed to be a campaign finance violation, then bribery, then extortion. It ended with two articles of impeachment, neither ofor an actual crime, and one a more or less laughable claim that the president can’t use courts to defend his rights.

The other was a complicated argument regarding abuse of power that required not just hiding all exonerating evidence but the worst possible construction on what remained. It was such a weak argument that not a single Republican in the House fell for it and three Democrats declined to go along with their own party.

The range of opinion outside the Resistance about the phone call between world leaders ranges from it being, in Trump’s words, “perfect” to merely good or fine to not good. Resistance members tried to put forth the claim that the call was none of these things but impeachably bad. Even with the help of a compliant media, there is simply not enough consensus around this extreme viewpoint to justify even censure, much less bipartisan agreement toward impeachment, much less a removal from office.

Trump’s avoidance of a crime or any real break with public trust is the single biggest factor in his acquittal.

2. Terrible Decision-Making By House Democrats

With a histrionic media and political base spending the last few years demanding impeachment, House Democrats surely had hoped that President Trump would do something justifying an impeachment inquiry. They undoubtedly were not pleased when the best they had to work with was Trump asking for help investigating Ukraine’s known 2016 election meddling or investigation into Biden family corruptionin Ukraine.

So they started with a weak hand. But they failed to follow a good process. They didn’t have the House authorize an impeachment inquiry until late in the process. This decision made it unlikely that the many early subpoenas they sought would be deemed valid by a court of law if contested.

They refused to have courts validate their subpoenas, refused to let the GOP call their own witnesses, and suppressed information that was not helpful to their impeachment cause. Of the 78 days of the impeachment proceedings, they denied the president any right to counsel or due process for 71 days of them.

In general, the procedure was rushed and information that could have helped them seem more credible was never sought or acquired.

3. Democrats Failed to Get a Single Republican on Board Their Impeachment Scheme

It is nothing short of amazing that not a single Republican member of Congress joined with Democrats in their impeachment effort. There are plenty of Republican members who either dislike or even loathe the president. But even they didn’t find the impeachment to be credible.

The Resistance was also failed by its NeverTrump wing. That wing had pushed Justin Amash to dramatically leave the Republican Party earlier last year. He published his op-ed as to why and promptly lost any sway with anyone other than the tiny NeverTrump movement.

NeverTrump has long demonstrated trouble with strategic thinking and impulse control, so following their advice and leaving the party in a snit was an unforced error. Had Amash stayed with the party, the Resistance in the media and Democratic Party would have been able to make much more use of him.

4. Inexplicable 1-Month Delay In Sending Impeachment to the Senate

A main argument in favor of impeaching President Trump was that the situation, whatever it was supposed to be that day, was so dire that it required his immediate removal from office. The House Democrats couldn’t afford to wait a matter of months until a new election would be held and Americans could decide whether the “perfect” phone call was in fact so bad that it required the first removal from office of an American president in history.

Impeachment and removal had to happen immediately, they claimed. But then after voting to impeach the president, perhaps sensing the problems caused by a weak case and hoping for more information to come to light, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi inexplicably sat on the articles for a month. It killed whatever momentum the Resistance had and made a mockery of the whole process.

5. The Defense Team Was Amazing

Instead of turning things over to the effective Republicans who had handled the impeachment process so well on the House side, President Trump instead opted to put together a powerhouse collection of attorneys uniquely suited to address an audience of senators and the American people.

Even among their class of politicians, senators have an extremely high view of themselves and their office. Every senator’s ego must be stroked. They don’t want to feel upstaged, spoken down to, or lectured.

Patrick Philbin, Trump’s deputy general counsel, exemplified the defense team’s deliberate choice to put in front of senators someone who had encyclopedic knowledge of the law and this particular case, someone not there to make a name for himself. Philbin’s humble and bookish demeanor was neither bombastic nor flamboyant as he calmly explained the facts of the case and their significance. The other members of the team were also well chosen to argue their points.

6. Grating and Juvenile House Managers

By contrast, House Democrats picked impeachment managers who seemed perfectly calibrated to annoy and grate on those handful of senators whose votes were up for grabs. Reps. Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler were the leaders of a group that repeated their highly partisan talking points and used hyperbolic and loaded language. The media loved it, but it went over like a lead balloon with the non-Resistance senators.

The House Democrats accused senators of being cowards who were complicit in a cover-up. They suggested that the senators were unable to vote properly because President Trump would put their heads on pikes if they didn’t vote to acquit. They refused to answer specific and direct questions about whether the whistleblower worked for Biden, was involved in any decisions regarding Burisma, or about his interaction with Schiff’s staff. Even the Washington Post — even the Washington Post — gave Schiff four Pinocchios for lying about his staff’s secret collusion with the whistleblower.

At some point, the difference between the competent and highly skilled attorneys on the White House team and the bumbling and somewhat mediocre team of House managers was so pronounced it was almost embarrassing. It was as if one side belonged in front of the Supreme Court and the other failed to make the finals at a middle school debate tournament.

7. Kavanaugh Smear Operations No Longer Work

Along with the delay of the articles of impeachment, the House managers deployed a slow drip of supposedly damaging information. First they put Lev Parnas out as a “bombshell” witness who would bring Trump down. Parnas is indicted for various crimes and is something of a hustler and influence peddler who worked his way through Washington and supposedly had some type of negative information about Trump.

While the argument that Rudy Guiliani shouldn’t have been working with him in any way has merit, it’s a difficult argument to make while walking hand-in-hand with the same individual. Senate Minority Leader went so far as to invite Parnas to be his guest at the trial, which made the scene look more like a circus than a deliberative effort.

Late this week, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel issued a press release saying that he had been given information from a disgruntled former employee of Trump’s in mid-September to look into the firing of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, suggesting additional witnesses needed to be called. A good time to release this information — if it needed to be released, that is — would have been four months ago or during the House’s impeachment proceedings.

These tactics of deploying information late to create “bombshell” news stories are losing their effectiveness post-Kavanaugh. Republican senators — perhaps with the exception of Mitt Romney, who didn’t even learn this lesson after he was called a racist, hair-raping woman murderer during his presidential bid — are finally wising up to the operation played by the media and Democrats.

8. Media Malfeasance

The media always owned this impeachment process. Pelosi did her best to avoid impeachment but the media all but forced her into it. They championed it every step of the way and provided help, including the blocking of arguments against it.

For instance, although it’s fairly standard to name whistleblowers and to do journalism figuring out who key players are, many in the media decided to help Democrats keep from having to answer questions about his role with the whistleblower. They steadfastly avoided looking into him and his motivations or how that might have affected the entire proceedings.

Each day provided evidence that the media didn’t just want Trump impeached and removed from office, but desperately wanted that. There are videos of scrums of reporters fighting with Republicans over their case, but none of them fighting with Democrats. Republican senators are hounded by reporters to pressure them to change their vote, but Democratic senators don’t receive the same treatment.

It didn’t help that in the midst of the circus, a CNN host and his panel were openly yukking it up about how Republicans are all stupid.

[ange-de-la-musique]

Hi, it’s Santa? Who are your favorite cast members for the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul?

Lmao don’t even get me started on that cause ya girl is autistic and phantom is my biggest hyperfixation and I straight up will infodump and talk for hours about my hundreds or favorite actors and why they’re my favorites and ranking them all but like here’s a condensed version of that. I’m sure it’s still gonna be a way longer answer than you were expecting though lol.

Outside of the musical my all time favorite portrayals of the characters are from the 1925 movie. Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, and Lon Chaney are my favorite actors of any phantom adaptation and I could gush about them forever. I also loved Susanna Foster in the 43 movie, and mad props to Adam Storke in the miniseries for taking a character with terrible writing and having enough charisma and acting ability to make him somewhat likeable.

Of the ALW production I really do love the original cast, they are all definitely favorites though there are some actors and actresses that I like just as much.

Of Christines, my all time favorites are Tabitha Webb, Emmi Christensson, Olivia Safe, and Astrid Giske (duh) though my all time favorite Christine ever is Tabitha Webb. Other Christine favorites are Kim So Hyung, Amy Manford, Tamara Kotova, Kelly Mathieson, Anna O’Bryne, and Irasema Terrazas. As much as I like to pretend LND doesn’t exist Rachel Ann Moore and Louise Fribo were very good Christines.

For Phantoms, all time favorites are Jonathan Roxmouth (I’m only human), Jeremy Stolle, Espen Grjotheim, and Saulo Vasconcelos with my all time favorite being Espen Grjotheim. Other favorites are Norm Lewis, Yoon Young Seok, Robert Guillaume, Derrick Davis, Marcus Lovett, and John Owen Jones.

While I have Phantom and Christine favorites I like as much as Crawford and Brightman the only person maybe able to topple Steve Barton as my favorite Raoul is Patrick Wilson from the 2004 movie, Steve Barton is perfect as Raoul in every singly way. I do have some other Raouls I liked, Michael Shawn Lewis, Jordan Donica, John Cudia, Florin Ristei, Sean Maclaughlin, Matt Leisly, Marcin Mrozinski, Hadley Fraser, and Fred Silveria.

So all in all a way bigger list and a way longer post than you were probably expecting but believe me this is the short version😂. I just really love talking and infodumping about my favorite cast members a lot

[thebrideofreanimator]

hmmmm what do u think is an underrated conrad veidt movie/appearance? somethin u would love more people to appreciate. and do u have any u think r overrated?

ok so some conrad veidt movies that i really really enjoy that i don’t see as many people talk about are The Last Performance (1929) and The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1935)

The Last Performance is a silent film from Universal that has Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin (my fav actress) in the leads, it’s filmed on the Phantom of the Opera set & Connie plays a magician guy named Erik, I feel like some amount of inspiration had to be taken from phantom. It was his last silent film in the US before talkies became a big thing (although the last reel of this movie was in sound but that’s lost now sadly). It’s pretty short like 50 minutes but i think it’s a fun interesting watch

The Passing of the Third Floor Back is a movie is a comfort movie 2 me, it cheers me up whenever I am sad. Connie plays this guardian angel type character for a girl working in a boarding house where everyone is just awful to each other and he shows up and makes everyone become nicer and more humane to each other. it is a very nice watch i think and it is very good at cheering me up whenever i’m sad :]

both of these are free on youtube dot com

[amplesalty]

Day 26 - The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?

As it is written in the great traditions of this blog, all films starting with ‘The’ must immediately be followed by a second movie starting with ‘The’. Just ignore that whole Town That Dreaded Sundown misstep...Still, we have the earliest point on our timeline for this year, all the way back in the 20’s. That’s a final answer as well, I don’t have plans to go back to the 1910’s in these last few days. I’ll have to plan that out in a future year, maybe 2021. Give the cinematic world a chance to release some good movies in 2020 and then just have a movie from every decade from like the 1900’s onwards.

This was the era before talkies but I’m a little confused on the sound used here. I was always under the impression that music would be performed live at a screening to accompany the pictures or maybe there’d be a recording of music played alongside it. There is music here but there’s also some sound effects thrown in and crowd noise during certain parts. There’s no dialogue though so maybe this is like some sort of transitional period between the silent and sound era where they were experimenting with limited sound?

There’s a sense of familiarity in this movie, it being a Universal picture so it has Carl Laemmele’s name slapped all over it. But also you have Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine, who was also Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Plus, Mary Philbin as the love interest Dea, who played Christine Daae in the 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera. Apparently Lon Chaney was meant to play Gwynplaine here but due to difficulties in obtaining the rights to adapt the story, they ended up making Phantom instead. This was a story written by Victor Hugo and published in 1869, Hugo also known for Les Mis and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

That and providing the names for Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime.

Of course, the massive elephant in the room is the grinning visage of Gwynplaine on the poster there, very much inspirational for a certain clown character in the future. That’s right, he’s the prototypical Krusty. No wait, the other one...

To be honest, this isn’t really a horror movie but there’s something creepy about that face. It ties into that early Universal thing and with Joker in the cinema at the moment, what better time to watch this? I’m getting vibes of Cesar Romero here moreso than any other version. Minus the painted moustache, obvs.

Before we start, let’s pan over the credits, specifically looking at the dog. Calling it Homo really throws me off at times. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be short for something but it’s kinda funny when it cuts to the text to show what the characters are saying and you get “Shut up, Homo!”.

Our story takes place in 17th century England, with King James II dispatching with one of his rivals, Lord Clancharlie, who he sends to the Iron Lady, not Maggie Thatcher but some form of Iron Miaden device. To make matters worse, Clancharlie’s son has been sold off to Comprachicos who have disfigured him with a permanent Chelsea smile so that he may ‘laugh forever at his fool of a father’. The Comprachicos are banished and leave the child behind, he finds a blind baby beside its mother who has frozen to death and he seeks shelter at the caravan of Ursus.

Time passes to the children all grown up and Gwynplaine is now famous as a travelling clown known as ‘The Laughing Man’. Hugh Morrus?

What’s really weird is that Gwynplaine and Dea are now romantically linked. Presumably they grew up together with a sibling sort of bond so that’s a bit creepy. He still has some reluctance though as he feels inadequate, thinking himself not good enough for her due to his disfigurement.

Meanwhile, Duchess Josiana takes a shine to him. Maybe she just has a thing for disfigurement or she’s just really put off by the man she’s arranged to be married to. Or maybe he’s put off by her, he looks a little Tutti Frutti, if you know what I mean...

The former court jester Barkilphedro, now working under Queen Anne, comes to learn of the lineage of Gwynplaine but things don’t pan out quite as I was expecting. He always comes off quite devious so I thought he was going to start manipulating things to his own ends, maybe some blackmail here or there. It starts going that way as the Comprachico that originally discovered the truth is arrested and ‘dies’ under mysterious circumstances but Barkilphedro pretty much tells the Queen and she puts things in motion to have Gwynplaine restored to power and married to the Duchess so she can keep herself in the life she’s become accustomed. Maybe Bark is more loyal than I thought, he still acts in an underhanded manner by trying to separate Gwynplaine from his old life and Dea but he’s still acting in the interest of the royal family.

It’s definitely an emotional piece at times, just the general isolation that Gwynplaine has existed in from childhood and continues to suffer now with people mocking his appearance. There’s a bittersweet moment as well later on where the carnival has been led to believe that Gwynplaine has died whilst in custody but, in order to spare her feelings, Ursus tells everyone that the show must go on and the crew fake the sound of the cheering crowd. Even through his own grief, his main concern is to tell her to listen to the adoring crowd that loves Gwynplaine more than ever.

It feels a little long but I don’t know how much of that is down to having to stall so you can read the dialogue between characters or read signs or letters that would be quickly summed up through normal speech. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a silent movie, I always feel slightly lost during them as they’re something you have to focus on and my attention span always fails me. It is something that intrigues me though, the idea of them being more universal and being able to convey things through body language and facial expressions alone. Obviously Gwynplaine’s face is very striking but Ursus can be very expressive at times and Bark always seems to have a devilish look on his face.

In all of that near 2 hrs though, the biggest disappointment is that still couldn’t find time to show us the 5 legged cow. They talk up this big attraction as part of the freaks on show, like the two snouted pig, at the carnival but all we get is a distant crowd shot. Don’t promise a 5 legged cow if you can’t deliver!

[nitrateglow]

Some questions from the movie asks that I didn’t get asked but thought were interesting so I answered them anyway

What are your least favorite things about your favorite movies?

Here are a few:

A Clockwork Orange: My only big complaint would be that the last scene with the Minister talking to Alex in the hospital is a bit slow and airless. Aside from Malcolm’s mouth-popping, it drags and lacks much visual interest. I pretty much tune that part out until the reporters wheel in the big stereo set and Alex has his last hilarious sex fantasy in the snow.

The Red Shoes: I do wish Julian Craster were a more engaging character. I don’t mind Marius Goring’s acting nor is he a bad looking man, but I don’t get what really draws Vicky to him, which takes a bit of air out of her dilemma between love and a career. If I had to pick between artistic success and shacking up with some glowery composer, there would be no temptation from the latter.

Pinocchio: I do think Pinocchio’s arc could have been developed a little more: he suddenly goes from being passive to deciding to save his father... but then again, Pinocchio is already an impulsive kid who makes split-second decisions, so maybe that’s mroe a nitpick?

Wait Until Dark: Literally, my only problem is Sam’s conduct during the last scene. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about and why it’s annoying. Most people dislike Sam in general, but I think he’s mostly tolerable-- a little hardassed, but not evil or even sexist like some argue. But at the end? Good God, Sam, screw off.

Return of the Jedi: I get the Jabba sequence is iconic, but I think it kills the pacing and relates so little to the later parts of the film that it drags things down. And, you know, Ewoks. And the Luke/Leia sibling twist, which I never felt added anything to their relationship, mainly because it wasn’t built up to. It doesn’t feel like a necessary twist and when you learn it was added pretty last minute, it isn’t a surprise.

Seven Chances: The blackface scenes. Enough said.

The Phantom of the Opera 1925: Oh man, I wish they’d gotten another director. Some scenes are shot without real tension or style, like the chandelier crashing. I also think Mary Philbin alternates between being wooden and being over-the-top a lot. And Ledoux is basically shunted to the side, never as developed as he should be. Oh God, and the ending. In fact, this may be the favorite I have the most complaints about, but I love it regardless.

What’s a movie that’s overall pretty bad but has a few redeeming qualities that make it tolerable enough?

So this is precisely how I feel about Revenge of the Sith. I know some argue it’s actually the best SW movie, but everytime I rewatch it, I’m left with the impression that it’s a pretty bad movie that has moments of real power and genius. But those moments are buried within the wooden acting, bad dialogue, and poor staging of certain sequences.

Like I love the Order 66 scene. I love the “Padme’s Ruminations” scene, which has all the power of silent cinema. I love the intercutting between Padme’s death and Darth Vader’s “birth.” John Williams’ score is brilliant. Ewan McGregor actually inspires tears from me every time he cries out “YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!”

But so much else is subpar or even bad that I can never call it a good movie. I wish I could. But unlike TPM or AOTC, this movie never bores me at any point, so therein lies the toleration part.

[britishchick09]

the man who laughs livewatch

happy valentine’s day! on this magical day of love, we’re watching the love story of gwynplaine and dea! my best friend watched this last month and said they were a cuter eristine, so i’m excited to see them and their story! :D

this stars mary philbin, christine in the 1925 poto! ;D

i like how the title is in the background

ooh the music is so grand! :o

omg someone is dying! :o

it’s the king! he’s not very nice so good riddance to you sir! :D

igor from ‘young frankenstein’ came out of a hollow pillar like erik!

i’m sorry WHAT NOW

his name is long and his jests are false! alas!

um... what are ya doin’ there barki boi?

the king doesn’t look like he’s in the mood to be jested!

OMG WHAT

a lord was captured! :o

looks like SOMEONE’S not dead yet! :o

since he’s a jester it’s probably a prank lol

the lord refused to kiss the king’s hand and was exiled for it? 1600s england was weird yo!

and he’s had it ROUGH

...oh hi bruno! ;D

omg he was separated from his son! :o

the king is pausing this isn’t good...

the son is ‘alive and well’... SUS

THE KING IS GIVING SUS HAND TAPS NOT A GOOD SIGN

the son was deformed JUST BECAUSE HIS DAD WOULDN’T KISS THE BISH KING’S HAND???

also the son is gwyn! :D

barki was paid? :o

omg NOT THE IRON LADY THAT’S EVEN WORSE THAN ROOM 101!!!

rip dad...:’(

omg WHAT

the surgeon just pushed a guy into the sand! :o

same!

omg people are pushing and shoving! :o

aww i think that’s gwyn :/

that face tho! :o

OMG HANGING MUNCHKIN???? :o

gwyn is all alone! :(

...except for that person! :o

aww she has a baby! :/

omg is that dea??? :o

gywn saved her! :)

they discovered shelter! :D

this guy is like ‘this be sus tho...’

yes two little gywns! ;D

he figured out that dea is blind! :o

he’s SHOCKED AF at gwyn’s smile! :o

aww! :)

omg there was a sparkle sound! :o

the guy’s name is ursus! :D

and gywn is all grown up! :D

he’s a traveling player! i wonder if dea is too... ;)

hey there she is!! :D

HERE COMES THE SWEETNESS :’)

AWWWW!!!!!!!! :D

it’s been 20 something years and ursus hasn’t aged a bit!

all the kiddos are running up to the caravans! :D

they’re all hyped to see ‘the laughing man’! (aks gywn!) i was about to say it’s nice that he’s popular but they probably laugh at him in a not good way... :/

aww :)

oh no a spy! :o

DON’T YOU DARE SEND GYWN TO THE CIRCUS >:(

here we go again with the long af names! :o

and - - he’s an evil boi... >:)

omg surprise girls! :o

and off the caravan goes to the fair! :D

ooh a ferris wheel! :o

...which is actually a pleasure wheel! ;)

yummy... :p

he GWUMPY >:(

ooh a guy rang a bell and it actually had a sound within the soundtrack! :D

everyone’s running to see gywn! :o

the bish guy wants a message delivered to a duchess! suzette la sweet perhaps? ;)

omg NOOOOO!!!!!! :o

ooh dea is in the show too! :o

i remember my best friend showing me this part! :D

aww how lovely! :)

ursus is like ‘boi i know... ;) “

omg he wants to marry them! :o

dea likes it! :D

...but gwyn doesn’t :/

he stood up and looks so sad! :(

he doesn’t have the right to love her BOY YES YOU DO :’(

awwwww!!!!! :D

it’s like the eristine hug from the 1990 mini series but so much sweeter! :D

aww dea would marry gwyn without seeing him! :’)

the crowd outside is laughing! >:(

:’(

the thin boi is back! :D

and he has his a message!

oh no NOT HIM

he’s not a bish like the king but no royal ties plz! the bish guy is enough for a villain!

looks like someone’s had too much jello pudding... ;)

oh my the duchess shall be partaking in bathing activities! :o

OH COME ON THIN BOI

he’s a peeping tom! >:(

OMFG WAIT NO HE’S THE GROOVENIANS GUY

see? ;)

that looks like some fonts on word and publisher! :D

and the duchess is in a towel! alas!

show’s over thin groovenian boi! ;)

thaaaaats barki! ;D

omg his face tho! :o

she better watch where she swings that thing! :o

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID! ;D

EXCUSE ME WHAT THE FRICK ARE YOU DOING

OHHHHH THAT FOOT JUST SMACKED HIM BBY!!!!!!

MONKEY?

the monkey hates barki too! :D

i wonder if he’s a descendant of the helper monkey from the last livewatch? ;)

it be queen victoria in the 1600s lol! :o

it’s the guy from the portrait! he be looking crazy tho... :o

AGAIN WITH THE PUDDING SMILE

;)

the queen is like ‘wtf’ lol :D

same guy SAME THIS IS SO BORING TAKE ME BACK TO GWYN AND DEA PLZ

OMG :o

lol what a troll! :D

ooh the duchess is at the fair! :o

DOES THAT MEAN MORE GWYN AND DEA CONTENT PLEASEEEEEE

brb skipping through until i get to...

THEM!!!! :D

this is also a scene i saw with my best friend! :D

aww ‘my gwynplaine’ is like ‘my christine’! :’)

aww he’s truly happy with her! :’)

they’re so in love!!! :D

OH MY GOODNESS??? :’o

i love eristine but they have NOTHING on this pure cuteness!!!!!

dea is helping him get ready even though she can’t see! :’)

and he sort of looks like lon chaney phantom from that angle! :o

i skipped through and the next gwyn/dea moment is 45 minutes in!! :o

i should probably watch the last 6 minutes BUT IT’S BORING AND IT’S VALENTINE’S DAY SO WE’RE GETTING THE CUTE STUFF!

(and i can always read the wikipedia summary)

SHE’S HELPING HIM SHAVE AHHHH SO DOMESTIC!!!!!!! :D

domestic couple things are always so cute! :’)

aww :)

he got shaving cream on her hand! :D

THIS IS SO PRECIOUS AHHHHH!!!!!!! :D

not even rewrite eristine could achieve this level of sweetness! (and erik can’t grow facial hair but ya know) rewrite raoulstine could do this scene, but it would never be as precious! :’)

awwww!!!!!! :D

ursus is so happy about the duchess!!! :D

i spy the title in the background! :’)

roll credits!

...jk we’re not even halfway through yet! :o (9 more minutes until we are though!)

ursus thinks he’s better than shakespeare lol :D

dea is an angel in the play! :D

now i see why the joker was inspired by gwyn! that’s a bit creepy! :o

even though gywn himself is far from creepy! :)

oh no the duchess doesn’t like him! :o

but everyone else does!

my clipboard isn’t copying the winking gywn screencap but just know that he’s a winky boi! ;)

the crowd looks so wavy because of their arms! :o

they’re in their own little world :)

was she in box five wink wink? ;)

it’s been a long livewatch day, so i’m pausing it here! we’re at 50:30, so we have about an hour to go! (although i’ll probably be skipping a bit of it because of non-gywn/dea content)

the next line will be in the future! ;)

hello from the futuristic world of the 15th! let’s continue where we left off, shall we? ;)

the post is having trouble saving and i already went through so much chaos with that yesterday (and this livewatch is already a bit long) , so here’s the next hour summed up!

dea asks if the duchess was beautiful as ursus says (while he gives a lil’ wink!) and gywn doesn’t respond. dea leaves and a clown tells gywn that he’s lucky to not wipe off his laugh every day, which leads to such a moment! gwyn sits at a mirror and tries to wipe off his smile but he can’t AND IT HIT ME IN THE FEELS! :(

gwyn looks like senpai compared to the smol (and very big hatted!) messenger who stops by. he has a letter from the duchess requesting... le gasp! a rendezvous! gwyn sneaks out to see the duchess, who tries to seduce him (not cool duchy!). she learns that gwyn’s dad was a lord and wants to marry him so she can greedily take the lord’s estate! dun dun duuuunnnnnn! :o

gwyn runs away upon hearing the duchess’ mocking laugh and discovers that a sleeping dea is holding the letter! he rips it up and she awakens! this is the third part i saw with my best friend and it’s very sweet! she feels his smile for the first time (which is surprising since they’ve been together for so long!) and says ‘god made me sightless so i could see only the real you’ aww!!!!! :D

but then- oh no!!! guards arrest gywn and take him to prison!!! that hard bish is dead and ursus sees his coffin coming out of the prison... and thinks it’s gywn. to make things worse, barki tells ursus that he’s banished from england. dea hears all of this and faints! little does she know that gwyn is freed and made a peer in the house of lords! as he heads to london for his ceremony, ursus and dea are heading to the docks. ursus’ wolf leads dea and his owner to the house of lords, where gwyn is being laughed at because the bish lords think he’s a clown. he refuses to marry the duchess & become a lord, escaping to the show, which he discovers is closed. luckily the villagers who once made fun of him are there to help him flee from barki’s men! :D

he goes to the docks, where the wolf saves him from a guard by MAULING HIM OMG! gwyn is reunited with ursus and his beloved dea! together, they set sail from england, living happily ever after :)

so that was ‘the man who laughs’! it was a delightful movie and had a lot of eristine vibes, but it was even better! gywn and dea are the sweetest couple i’ve ever seen! what a fun way to spend valentine’s day! (and chocolate boxing day!) :D

[ancientphantom]

Who are a few of your favorite Christines (from any and all versions of Phantom)?

I mean... all of them.

I pretty much always love Christine.  Mary Philbin, Susanna Foster, Teri Polo... the film Christines all have their own special qualities and are never not dear to my heart.  Probably the only ones I don’t have much of an opinion on are the ones where the writers criminally kicked them out of their own story - like Randi in The Phantom of Hollywood, for example, who barely has lines - because they don’t have anything to do, but I would still be here for a fanfic treatment where they took the reins back as the universe intended.

Book-wise, there are lots of exciting versions of Christine - THE ORIGINAL OBVIOUSLY, and the title character from Althea Liu’s book, who is going to learn to be an assassin/magician whether everyone else likes it or not, and Caralisa, the budding songwriter from Rebecca Ashe’s Masque of the Swan, are a couple of favorites.  Book versions of the characters tend to be more like completely new characters in their own right, so there are a lot more Christines I don’t have much use for in the book world... but then, there are a lot more of everyone I don’t have much use for in the book world, and she’s nowhere near the worst offender.

I don’t really follow any of the stage shows - I’m not able to attend live stagings much, so while I’m aware of performers in the ALW or Y/K show now and then (Sarah Brightman, the luminous original; Ali Ewoldt, currently killing it), I am not even close to having the investment or knowledge to have much of a favorite amongst them.  There are lots of folks in the fandom who follow different performers/recordings and have great opinions on them, though!