#anti cinema therapy

[ink-asunder]

Whaddyou mean Cinema Therapy took down their Labyrinth video because they disproportionately criticized the teenage girl protagonist for being unhappily forced into an adult role of child caretaker?? This is so unlike two Mormon men! What do you MEAN they hated the movie Labyrinth??

[trauma-trove]

"There are real monsters. They're called narcissists."

[profic-orbot]

🔴 To all of our wonderful followers, be they profic, neutral or anti, we sincerely recommend this channel and this episode.

🔴 If you're an anti but are struggling in the face of trying to remain perfect, remember... the pursuit of perfection is exhausting and impossible, whereas the pursuit of companionship is exhausting but achievable, and replenishing.

🔴 This channel can help remind you how stories serve to reach us and teach us, without sacrificing our values... but also encouraging some escape. Please take a chance to learn, to accept community, and to enjoy.

[bitter69uk]

Heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended the Lobotomy Room cinema club presentation of exploitation gem Beat Girl (1960) at Fontaine’s on 15 August! In my eyes, you are ALL espresso-drinkin’, finger-snappin’ beatniks and maladjusted juvenile delinquents! It was thrilling to see everyone completely entranced by the lunacy of this riotously enjoyable glimpse into London’s teenage jukebox jungle! And yes, Beat Girl IS the single greatest British rock’n’roll movie ever made. There! I said it! Who could resist: the ludicrous ersatz teenage “hepcat” dialogue (“straight from the fridge, dad!”) conjured from the imagination of some middle-aged scriptwriter? John Barry’s awesome, evocative pre-James Bond soundtrack? (Find it on Spotify). The impossibly sullen and electrifying performance of sex kitten starlet Gillian Hills (a sort of British Brigitte Bardot / Tuesday Weld hybrid) as bad girl anti-heroine Jennifer? (Jennifer is SO nihilistic and alienated she needs intensive therapy! In the drag racing and playing “chicken” on the train tracks scenes, she clearly doesn’t care whether she lives or dies!). The presence of British acting legends like Christopher Lee (as sleazeball burlesque club owner Kenny) and Oliver Reed (heartbreakingly young and cute, billed only as “plaid shirt”)? Special credit to Delphi Lawrence as haughty stripper Greta (nicknamed “the duchess” because “when she peels, she acts like she’s doing you a favour”). I love how Greta is perennially bitter and tipsy, wearing the same strapless dress and raging about Kenny (“He’s a bastard, but I love him!”). And remember: Beat Girl was rated “X” upon release. The version we watched contains the burlesque sequence with outrageously sexy Haitian exotic dancer Pascaline, which is often deleted in different markets (a friend of mine in the US recently watched Beat Girl and he didn’t see Pascaline!). All these decades later, Pascaline’s scorching number still feels raunchy. Keep your eyes peeled – I’ll announce the September selection soon! Pictured: a close-up of Jennifer’s winged eyeliner technique.

[alypagemage]

//I want to preface this by saying I’m NOT a Stolitz anti!! I love them so much it hurts and good god are we Stolitz fans gonna hurt when the next episodes come out lol. This is just my take as an amateur Psychologist/Relationship counselor!//

Watching S2’s teaser trailer and the sneak peak of the Stolitz duet, my prediction is that Stolitz isn’t endgame—specifically that they TRY to make it work, but the real core issue in their relationship is that Blitzø needs to love himself before he can love others.

And of course that’s heartbreaking….but I also think that it’s a necessary lesson for our boi to learn. It happens so often irl and it’s a really tough lesson to learn, a harsh reality. A lot of people who don’t love themselves will try to distract from their self loathing by plunging head first into a relationship and put their significant other’s needs before their own—and as we’ve seen with Blitzø and Stolas, it works….until it doesn’t.

One of my favorite quotes from Jonathan Decker, a licensed relationship therapist (see Cinema Therapy on YouTube) is, “a good relationship thrives when you tend to your significant other’s needs but not at the cost of your own”.

And, as Lizzo says in ‘Am I Ready (To Be Loved)’: ‘How’m I supposed to love somebody else when I don’t like myself (like, oooo) Guess I better learn to like this (oooo) It might take my whole life just to do’

Truth. It can take your entire life to learn to love yourself. And that’s okay! As much as it feels like that sucks, self love is incredibly important.

And so far Blitzø is making good headway, what with reconnecting with Fizz and having that much needed talk with Moxxie. We’ve seen that he’s more than capable of being vulnerable and loving….he just needs to push himself a bit more and try not to fall back into bad habits or distractions.

I’m not saying I’m not gonna go through the 5 stages of grief if that IS where Stolitz’s story is gonna go, but y’know. That just speaks to how amazing this show is and how well it’s written.

In conclusion I’ll be living in sweet sweet denial by consuming and drawing all the yummy Stolitz domestic bliss I can until the next episodes of Helluva come out lol

I mean no matter what happens we’re gonna cry regardless so /shrugs/ that’s a given, right fam? 😅💖😈

[fishedeyelenz]

Pssst hey, tell me about your take on the old man 👀 ya know who I mean

Also!! I would really like to know about Camille and how she came to meet Billy/how she realized she had feelings for him and vice versa😄

Omg... hello. First of all, love the work that you did for the old man community yk yk but you were truly The First. Thank you so much for inspiring me ough <3333 fair warning this is gonna be LOOOOOONG

About my old crusty man.... Well the lore is a bit complicated now cause I kinda developed two stories for him with the same characters more or less, but with different circumstances. Both of these stories are being written and made into fanfiction that you can read on ao3!!

So give me coffee and tv- the og plotline, first written as a yn x DILF!Billy fic, however after I had written the third chapter I realized I was basically writing for an OC at that point, so I developed Camille as a character and slightly revamped the fic, as well finished the fourth chapter with her as the protagonist. (the og second person perspective version of the fic can also be read here ).

In summary, Camille Morrison is a recently divorced middle aged artist who moves to the outskirts of a new town next to a forest, with her only neighbor being the Moaner himself. He has been more or less rehabilitated, but that doesn't mean he stopped with the phone calls. He uses them to "cope". And of course he just had to call Camille to try and drive her away, cause he still can't stand having people too close to him (they live 15 minutes away from each other </3). But Camille confronts him, and a sort of mutual respect begins to form, then a quiet friendship, but because of their combined loneliness it quickly develops into something more for the both of them. In the hiatus I had while revamping and writting the fourth chapter of So give me coffee and tv I also was talking to my mutuals a lot and questions about how DILF! Billy would act if he were an Actual DILF came up a lot. What I mean by that is, what would have happened if he had a child of his own. And so I started exploring the logical conclusions of the premise, and started thinking about what would have happened if Camille and Billy met when they were younger and somehow by chance had a child. And that child became Bean!!! I love her so much she's a little silly <333 (huge thanks for the development of this this story goes out to @lycanthropiclykoi, beloved mutual)

Rats in the shadows - The baby au of So give me coffee and tv basically. au of an au </3. Story told non-chronologically, it follows the life of and relationship of Billy and Camille and their daughter Bean. A more experimental work, in it Billy and Camille met while Camille was living in the sorority (in sgmcatv she didn't live even close to the same town during college, though in both timelines she is a painting major), After some growing pains (he wanted to kill her when they first met </3) the two of them come to terms with each other and eventually fall in love and move in together. However at one point Camille becomes pregnant, and Billy leaves her, as he fears that he will either hurt her or the baby. Pretty angsty but occasionally fluffy, especially when Bean starts to grow up into something more than a baby. Agnes is there. Brahms Heelshire is there. I am currently focusing on this fic, while sgmcatv is on hiatus atm.

As for the characterization of my old man, it is slightly different between timelines, though rits hasn't touched on him as a middle aged man just yet. So I'll focus on the sgmcatv version. Set twenty years after the movie, Billy spent a good few years after the murders in a psych ward, getting slowly rehabilitated until he made his way into a halfway house, then was deemed fit to live on his own. He is still obligated to attend therapy though, and is kept on a nice cocktail of mood stabilizers, anti psychotics and back pain medication. Works as a projectionist at a local cinema in the town he lives in. Spend a lot of time traveling with by bus or waiting for the bus, given that he lives in a very small cabin in the woods and can't drive a car. Blind as a bat, and dresses like a nerd most of the time. Has adopted six cats, which you can learn more about here. Loves them all to bits and definitely doesn't play favorites, no way! Thrift stores are his favorite place on earth, though going there doesn't help his slight hoarder tendencies. Doesn't like people that much still, but puts up with them most of the time. Very lonely, and likes to call people still partially to get let his built frustrations out onto them, partially to hear the voice of another person. Hes just a creepy middle aged man.

His and Camille's relationship definitely changes depending on the timeline. In short, in sgmcatv their relationship definitely began with a rocky start given that he started harassing her quickly after he saw her walking close to his house, however when she told him to quit it and fuck off to his face he started developing a respect for her. It also helped that after that encounter Camille treated him with respect and kindness. Kindness in general, as well as empathy are some of the defining characteristics of Camille's personality, and without that, they wouldn't be able to get along no matter the timeline. And they started hanging out, being neighborly, finding similar interests. Both of them are very lonely at this point of their lives of course, and it isn't hard for them to start developing feelings and getting horny for each other. Camille has realized by this point of the story I think that she has feelings for him, but she is waiting for the friendship to develop more and is trying to see if Lenz would be a good fit for her, especially since the scars of her divorce haven't cooled off yet. She has enough experience now that she knows rushing into things isn't good usually, though a part of her is pretty confident in knowing what she wants, and Billy does fit her type in a way. Only time will tell how the relationship will develop further ( I haven't written anything else yet </3) In rits it is so balls to the walls chaotic. Sgmcatv has a more stable and healthy ground for the relationship to develop from given that Billy has already seeked help and is honestly doing better than ever, while in rits Camille meets him in the middle of the worst period of his life and also unfortunately, he has a crush on her </3 She needs to beat him up and knock him out with a broom when they first meet. At least he doesn't kill any of the girls in the sorority... The early stages of their relationship aren't expanded up on that much just yet, though I can assure you it involves lots of weed to sedate him </3/j but it all gets sorted out relatively okay for the both of them. By spring I think they will be friends, and Billy starts respecting her more. How she develops and realizes these feelings is still a bit spoilery as I haven't touched on it yet in the fic, but they really do fall in love hard. And when he left it hurt the both of them. He just... didn't trust himself enough to be a father. He starts more seriously going to therapy during this time period, and Camille knows he never truly left. He still visit her at night when she sleeps, and after Bean is born he visits her as well. That's where we are basically for now...

As for Bean she is well... a little bean. Just a little guy. Likes tardigrades and microscopic animals. Loves her mama and that strange shadowy figure that watches over her during the night. Sometimes she is so much like her father it makes her mothers heart hurt. She's just vibing... for now at least... That's it in summary, of course theres more information in the fanfics, and a lot of things will be expanded upon in both aus. Hehehe thank you so much for asking about Billy, and Camille and everything else though. I really love talking about these two stories I have, at any chance I get really!!! I hope you have a good day!!!

[smilesrobotlover]

I've only seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean so I don't know too much about the franchise as a whole, but who's your favorite character(s)? Go ahead and ramble about them as much as you want :)

Oh man fhskbsksbsksbskbskb.

I guess Jack Sparrow is my favorite character? Pretty obvious he carries the whole franchise on his back. I just find him so fascinating. A youtube channel youve def probably heard of called Cinema therapy talked about him and said that he either is a sociopath or is anti social (which doesn’t mean he’s just shy it really means that he’s a sociopath) and those terms have very negative connotations, but it’s not demonizing to Jack. And it’s so interesting to see a protagonist who does some good but is also like, the most annoying person on the planet djdsbskbssk. Someone actually responded to the video and said that Jack is not a sociopath he just puts on an act. Idk disagree with either, but I love seeing people dive into his character fr fr. Anyways I just love how insane he is. Like the things he does is just, crazy. And it only works because he is crazy. Like the third movie the guy is like “are you mad?” And he’s like “I hope so otherwise this might not work” or something and it’s so brilliant because it’s accurate to his character dhdkdbdk. He gets out of situations in the most bizzare ways and it truly makes him fun to watch. I just really like his character HDKSBSKSJSK. The fifth movie did him so dirty tho I’m still incredibly salty over it

[alexrosekey]

Tom Riddle-centric

Rectifier by Niger Aquila (T, 76,878, no pairing)

Last updated: Jan 27, 2013

In one world, the war against Lord Voldemort is raging. In another, a Hogwarts professor named Tom Riddle decides to put his theory on alternate worlds to test and embarks on a trip that quickly turns into a disaster. AU sixth year. DH compliant.

I don't read WIP or abandoned fic per my personal rule, unless the writing is exceptionally good. This fic made me break that rule.

What stands out about this fic is the stellar and believable relationship between Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore. Just one different decision from Dumbledore and the Tom Riddle as we know it changed. This fic provided the most interesting insight into the how and the why of that 'change', which was not solely credited to Dumbledore's timely (or not so timely) interference.

In fact, the character arc that the AU Tom Riddle in this fic went through could be one of the most compelling, in-character and canon-compliant version among the HP fanfic community. The author clearly has done researched into the behaviors and thinking patterns of a person with anti social personality disorder (or in a more familiar term, psychopathy and sociopathy.)

I daresay not even JK could write a better 'redemption arc' than this.

Side note: Please watch this video about Voldemort from Cinema Therapy as complementary material to understand this fic's concepts.

*This fic could be put under the prompts of Day 5: A non-AO3 fic, Day 8: A canon-divergence fic, Day 21: A thought-provoking fic and Day 31: A fav amongst favs.

And that conclude day 22 of @hprecfest. As always, happy reading 💋

In the meantime, check out my rec list for other days.

Day 13: A fic with over 100k words

Day 16: A fic that made you laughed

Day 19: Fic with the hottest smut

[mavcancees]

i stopped watching vox akuma when the drunk stream happened, his fandom ruined him for me and how he was replying to the drama was a bit too much

i got a notif for a live of his last friday and holy shit? he dropped nsfw as a whole, he is going to therapy, he's medicated, he's openly anti-censorship, he streams what he wants whenever he wants even if it's stupid mini games, actually curated his fanbase

like damn this guy is based as fuck ! he's streaming minecraft right now and i am having the time of my life, dude is mining away talking about the current state of cinema. i'm taken back to very old sam dsmp streams, this is good for my soul

[koreandragon]

this one is really coming out of left field so feel free to ignore it, but i think this might be a thought you appreciate. I just feel like the older i get the more i'm thinking the ancient athenians were right when they said you gotta watch some fucked up shit happen on stage to purge yourself of negative emotions. like i think characters in stories should be fucked up little freaks that do some morally questionable if not terrible things to each other because they refuse to go to therapy (1/2)

i just think people have gotten a little too righteous about fictional stories and don't want to consume anything that challenges their world view, but i think doing that is a necessary part of not just any media diet but of knowing who you are and where exactly your morals lie and i frankly don't think enough media is providing people with the catharsis they need to figure it out. anyways if this made no sense to you the wikipedia page for catharsis explains it a lot better. (2/2)

you're absolutely right and you should say it. not to circle everything back to vincenzo but that show (if we're talking in terms of kdramas) i think is the perfect example of that. and while we know the fucked up shit our protagonist does is in favor of a common good it's still fucked up shit. and part of that catharsis is knowing the evil doers get what's coming to them. one aspect of what you mentioned is the anti-hero like vincenzo, deadpool, daredevil etc who achieve good by doing bad but you still root for them. "but they kill people" well susan it's fiction. do you need a warning that states at the beginning that the writer doesn't condone murder? is that what you want?

loved watching dexter. he's not an anti hero, he's only a hero in his own mind. but damn if i did not have the time of my life watching him execute people in his little kill room.

i care a lot with rosemund pike. she scammed old people and yeah i wanted her dead but what an enjoyable time! what a great movie it was.

gone girl another rosemund pike movie. just two people destorying each other hand in unlovable hand.

the john wick movies!! i specifically remember sitting in the cinema during parabellum and just GRINNING throughout the whole movie because the fight scenes and the way he plowed through his enemies was so cold and brutal it brought me near tears. like i genuinely think it altered my brain chemistry and cleaned out all the toxins in my system. genuine catharsis.

so many people want media to be sterile and unproblematic, just an uwu little blorbo who has never even gotten a parking ticket in their life because somehow the fact that you enjoy a movie that has murder in it means you condone murder in real life. because that's how that works.

[ink-asunder]

Cinema Therapy is Mormon?!

[adiarosefandoms]

Severus Snape: Screen Vs Book

I was never the biggest fan of Severus Snape, don’t get me wrong, as a character, I LOVED him. I had never experienced anything like him before and so I was utterly fascinated and am still fascinated in breaking him down. But he was a bad person who unfairly punished Harry for his father’s actions, caused Hermione to burst into tears, and traumatized Neville so much that the thirteen-year-old boy whose parents were so mad they couldn’t recollect him, his greatest fear was Severus Snape. Book Severus Snape is a captivating, puzzling character who saved the wizarding world, as well as a major bully and a cruel man whose actions are not excused by his (admittedly sad), unrequited love of Lily Potter. Movie Severus Snape is a bit more of an enigma. We didn’t get all those little scenes of Snape picking apart every student that’s not a Slytherin until they felt like nothing or worthless. We got bits of him picking on Harry, occasionally calling Hermione an insufferable know-it-all, but none of it is to the level in the book. In the end, the amount of good displayed in the movies outweighed the amount of bad he did. In the movies, I would assign him the title of anti-hero.  The Harry Potter books and movies are the same stories, but they have differences, and you pick and choose your canon, even subconsciously, including if you repress one of the mediums. And just because you see him more as an anti-hero doesn’t mean you haven’t read the books, or you don’t love them. Same as how seeing Snape as a bad person doesn’t mean that you don’t love and appreciate the movies. I think it’s similar to Ron how the character didn’t get enough well-used screen time so people who only saw the movies couldn’t appreciate him on the same level as the rest of the Golden Trio. And how movie Ron may eclipse how you feel about the character and Romine ship. In the end, I think Severus Snape does both good and bad things, and depending on the material your thinking of, or the canon Snape in your head, he can be considered a villain or an antihero. And neither interpretation is wrong. There are two things I know we can all agree on though and those are: Alan Rickman is the best Severus Snape we could have ever gotten. And whether you think he’s a hero, villain, or antihero, you can’t deny that he is one of the most fascinating characters within the HP universe.

Villain Therapy: Severus Snape by Cinema Therapy, explains this very well. They break down character, relationship, and family dynamics in movies and do it in a very entertaining way.

[pazak-thion-brady]

Tonight on drunk cinema: Jojo Rabit.

I have avoided watching this for ages because of Rebel Wilson but I'm biting the bullet.

The drink of choice: red wine.

OK, Taika opening the film with a shit tone of hiel's is a striking visual. And set to let me hold your hand in German. I know the beatles played a lot of gigs in Hamburg as did .any liverpudlian bands during the Merseyside boom but I've never heard the recordings in German.

Wow, I felt my vagina dry up from Rebel Wilson's first line about pregnancy.

Wow, hitting every horrid act the nazis did in the first few minutes. I pressure and ending a montage with a book burning.

Holy shit, this rabbit killing scene is creepy as fuck. The older actors are really giving it their all, the kids look less interested. The name if the film makes more sense now. Makes sense Taika's Adolf doesn't care about killing the rabbit, being vegetarian.

A very un realistic grenade scene, the instructor should have taken cover because the effective range of a grenade is farther than you can throw it. Jojoba should be dead. From a grenade to the feet. Unless they're using very low powered grenades.

Scarlet Johansen? She's hos mother? Dam I didn't know that. Dam those are less scars than I'd expect from a near death experience.

NUT SHOT, nice one scar Jo. That woman is throwing around them nazis.

Nice quick shot of hitters face being interchanged with taika's. And no down time until a hanging. OK wasn't prepared for that. Dam. Wouldn't be supposed if the Israelis start doing that to people who stand against their fascist regime.

Woman living in the walls. That was very horror film esque. I kinda wanna see a horror film by Taika now. Wow the Jewish girl is shot really creepily, perfectly showing how Jojo sees her. And the score I this scene is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Adolf offering him fag's has to be symbolism for something. He has to take one later. And then he casually jumps out a window. OK jojo is crazy.

Scar Jo, going full gaslight. And then being so sincere with the girl is possibly the best acting ive seen from scar Jo.

Every scene with Rebel Wilson is terrible, apart from when she giving Jojo physical therapy.

Ah yes, back to the jew girl. Gaslight him. Baffle him with your bulshit. Break his conditioning. AND VREAK HIS BODY, FUCK HIM UP!!!!

Taika is absolutely stealing every scene he's in.

OK Scar Jo going into hard parenting just made me weak at the knees. The way she used ash to make a beard is so good.

OK I think this film is warming on me. Good anti war and anti nazi shit like Cabaret.

Ah girl, escape to Paris, live the bohemian life. Yes, clap back at the Dumpkof.

Jojo is such an idiot. And an asshole. He is a perfect nazi. And she slams him with so many famous Jews. I didn't know Hatry Houdini was.

I wonder; in 100 years, if humans survive that long, will people write about Israelis and trump supporters like we write about the nazis?

"None of this should be wierd" Adolf, everything in this film is wierd.

I might need to watch this film in German, I can sort of understand German so I think it would be a good earning experience.

OK I've finished the wine at 58 minutes in. This is where drunk cinema stops and I fall asleep.

In conclusion, this film is fun and a great satire of the utter morons that far right people are.

[seemawrites]

Self-Reflection - Why Do Human's Do What They Do? Unanswered.

It has been months since I felt comfortable writing on this page again. A lot has happened; and with that, a lot of self-reflection has happened too. I learned a lot about human nature, and how sometimes, the people who you trust the most are the ones who will hurt you the most. As cheesy as that sounds, it really is true. They know how to hurt you better than anyone else.

One important thing I learned, is that hate comes from love. This is for two reasons: 1.) A person you love tells you what to hate; and naturally as you trust that person from a place of love, you begin to hate what they hate (this can be the root of racism, homophobia, family fued's etc.). 2.) A person who you once loved, makes you hate them. It is impossible to hate someone you don’t know, but someone who you poured everything into (whether it be a friend, a family member, a partner), you begin to hate them when you realise that love is not reciprocated, or when you realise that you loved them in a completely different way than they loved you. (Shoutout Cinema Therapy).

There is a lot I still need to learn about the complexities of how humans work with one another, and what could make someone do a certain action. But as I was going through the worst part of this discovery, a good friend of mine told me:

“People who haven’t done the inner work are always going to present a risk to people who trust them.”

I now believe this to be 100% true. It hurts to realise this, but it is also extremely important to remember to not take this personally. Everyone is on their own journey in life, and the same friend had told me that sometimes you get caught in the cross fire of their lives. Whether it was me or another person, that person would have hurt us in the same exact way. The person who caused me the most pain I have felt in probably over a decade probably didn’t realise the extent of the damage they had done, or to be more candid about it, didn’t care to be honest enough to see the extent of that damage. When I found out the truth, I used to contemplate on letting them know, that I know everything. That I had found out through my own ways of the lies that were told. But I know that it won’t change a damn thing. The hurt and pain was still there, and nothing they could say to justify their actions would do anything to help bring me closure. Hell, I don't even know if they understand the reasonings of their lies and why they did what they had done. They just decided being the hero was better than being the villain, without allowing me to have a reaction to the truth. Without allowing me to process the true reason behind what happened. This would have allowed them to be the anti-hero, rather than the outright villain as they are now to me.

I’ve always said, the best way to show true progress in becoming a good person, is being honest in the mistakes you have made, no matter how painful it may be to face the truth. Even if you admit those mistakes, it’s even more painful when forgiveness is not given. But being a good person means you are okay with not being forgiven, that even though the damage is irreversible, you are committed to honesty and making sure the people who you hurt know that. That you will continue to be honest, no matter how painful it might be for those in the future. Whether they choose to stick around and see it or not.

All of this is easier said than done. I have always tried to be honest, and have always made an effort to remain honest with those I love the most. I wish for a world where everyone can be as open and honest about their shortcomings instead of pretending they can become (or already are) the perfect person for the sake of the other, but that’s not how it really works. Most people think this is the way to be. That being the hero is better than being the villain. But I'd rather be a villain in truth, than a hero in a lie. People are scared of the truth, but I think it's because they don't realise, that it is okay to not be everything you want to be. You will become hated if the person discovers the real truth, and they will begin to question everything in your character, no matter how much of the lie is actually the truth. It’s better to have a little discomfort now by being honest, then have a big fuck-up later on when the lie is realised. (Shoutout Flipped).

[bitter69uk]

Heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended the Lobotomy Room cinema club presentation of exploitation gem Beat Girl (1960) at Fontaine’s on 15 August! In my eyes, you are ALL espresso-drinkin’, finger-snappin’ beatniks and maladjusted juvenile delinquents! It was thrilling to see everyone completely entranced by the lunacy of this riotously enjoyable glimpse into London’s teenage jukebox jungle! And yes, Beat Girl IS the single greatest British rock’n’roll movie ever made. There! I said it! Who could resist: the ludicrous ersatz teenage “hepcat” dialogue (“straight from the fridge, dad!”) conjured from the imagination of some middle-aged scriptwriter? John Barry’s awesome, evocative pre-James Bond soundtrack? (Find it on Spotify). The impossibly sullen and electrifying performance of sex kitten starlet Gillian Hills (a sort of British Brigitte Bardot / Tuesday Weld hybrid) as bad girl anti-heroine Jennifer? (Jennifer is SO nihilistic and alienated she needs intensive therapy! In the drag racing and playing “chicken” on the train tracks scenes, she clearly doesn’t care whether she lives or dies!). The presence of British acting legends like Christopher Lee (as sleazeball burlesque club owner Kenny) and Oliver Reed (heartbreakingly young and cute, billed only as “plaid shirt”)? Special credit to Delphi Lawrence as haughty stripper Greta (nicknamed “the duchess” because “when she peels, she acts like she’s doing you a favour”). I love how Greta is perennially bitter and tipsy, wearing the same strapless dress and raging about Kenny, “He’s a bastard, but I love him!” And remember: Beat Girl was rated “X” on its release. The version we watched contains the burlesque sequence with outrageously sexy Haitian exotic dancer Pascaline, which is often deleted in different markets (a friend of mine in the US watched Beat Girl and he didn’t see Pascaline!). All these decades later, Pascaline’s scorching number still feels raunchy. Keep your eyes peeled – I’ll announce the September selection soon! Pictured: a close-up of Jennifer’s winged eyeliner technique.

[nerdby]

TW Rape Mention

The 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes was one of the first really "scary" -- its in quotes cause art is subjective, so people might not consider it scary -- horror movies I ever watched growing up. I was sixteen when I watched it for the first time, and before that the only horror movies I had watched were Gremlins, Jurassic Park 1 and 2, and Rose Red. Which was the only R-rated horror movie I had watched up until that point cause the others are childrens' horror movies.

So The Hills Have Eyes left me absolutely traumatized because it is a movie that is full of gore, animal death, and rape. These things all happen on-screen by the way. It's really full-frontal brutality and that's why a lot of people say that this is one of the most fucked up horror movies ever made. I decided to watch it cause its a remake of a 1970s Wes Craven film of the same title and back then I did not realize how intense the horror genre could be. And like....This movie is what really jumpstarted, in my opinion, the shock value trend in horror movies.

Cause aside from all of the other shit I mentioned there is a lot of shock value in the movie that's just really unnecessary. That's my opinion. Like I can kinda see it being necessary for the 1970s version cause when Wes Craven made the original movie he made it because he wanted to surpass the limits of what mainstream Christian society found acceptable in cinema. It was his way of saying, "Fuck you, you can't control me!"

That's what a lot of the horror genre is about, especially movies from the 1970s-80s. Even though they're somewhat corny and hilarious they're also very anti-establishment. Which is why I've always loved horror.

But I found out that the 2006 version of the movie is streaming on Hulu. So I might just throw in a pizza and see if it still traumatizes me😂 Cause, ya know, exposure therapy -- the only way to overcome your fears is by facing them.