#ben connelly

[beyondmetaphysics]

This teaching is not about denying that external reality exists. It is about understanding what and how we know for the purpose of helping us to cultivate and manifest the intention to alleviate suffering. Vasubandhu says the five senses arise like waves on the water of the root consciousness. A sailor who ignores the waves is going to be in deep trouble. It’s good to attend to the waves and engage in discernment. If you see charcoal clouds massing on the horizon and the wind is starting to whip up from the East, get inside, or get a raincoat. If you see a red flush forming on your colleague’s cheeks and her voice is rising in tone, volume, and pace, attend to what she is saying, how she feels, and your own emotions and thoughts arising. These waves are here in the moment and they are a part of what we are encouraged to attend to mindfully in these verses.

We are also encouraged to attend to the ocean, to the fact that the waves are part of a vast, unfolding interdependence, deeply manifesting our past conditioning by creating our present-­moment way of seeing. If you see a coconut falling out of a tree toward your head, of course, there’s no need or time to direct your attention to the ocean—just get out of the way! However when you feel anxious or threatened at work or at home, it can be very helpful to remember that what you believe to be real, true sensory information about a threat is also a manifestation of your habits of seeing. This awareness—of the screen, the ocean, the storehouse—is here to help us lighten up a little bit, to soften, to have some compassion for ourselves, conditioned beings, to help us see the vast power our conditioning, and find compassion and openness about everything. This is a common thread in Buddhist teaching. Here we are encouraged to see that even at the very most raw and apparently “real” level of our experience—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—what we experience is deeply, karmically conditioned. Ultimately, we do not know what is.

- Ben Connelly, “Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacra : A Practitioner’s Guide”

[aflawedfashion]

Melanie & Bennett | Snowpiercer

[dare-g]

Bad Behaviour (2023)

[vvomentalking]

The new teaser poster for Alice Englert’s directorial debut film BAD BEHAVIOUR starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Whishaw.

[cantsayidont]

Teevee shows:

BLACK DOVES (2024): Keira Knightley attempts unsuccessfully to renew her action star credentials with this violent, very uneven Netflix miniseries from Joe Barton (creator of THE LAZARUS PROJECT). Knightley stars as 40-ish deep-cover spy Helen Webb, whose two little children and dull husband Wallace (Andrew Buchan), an up-and-coming Tory MP, have no idea of her real past, her real occupation (spying on Wallace for a shadowy espionage organization), or the fact that she's been having an affair with a man called Jason (Andrew Koji of WARRIOR, wasted), who's just been murdered. Ben Whishaw (looking like he's been scraped out of a lint trap) costars as Helen's friend Sam, a sardonic gay hitman who is supposed to be watching her back while coping with problems of his own. Set at Christmastime, BLACK DOVES has a weird streak of holiday sentimentality that sits uneasily with Barton's dry black humor (which is sometimes fun) and mean-spirited ghoulishness (which is not). Worse, Barton leaves Knightley flailing in a badly underwritten part that's completely overshadowed by both Sam and the supporting cast — there's never any reason to care about either of Helen's lives, and the script seems reluctant to take her motivations (protect her children, avenge her dead boyfriend) at all seriously. Unlike THE LAZARUS PROJECT, the more interesting character threads also feel divorced from the murky plot, which is convoluted and far-fetched, but short on imagination and never very interesting. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Several, with snotty assassins Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) and Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) the show's principal bright spots. VERDICT: Not so much "Ho Ho Ho" as "Oh ho hum," and I was dismayed by how disinterested it is in its ostensible lead. If you want "married mom is secretly a badass spy," try WHO IS ERIN CARTER, which is less gay, but more fun.

HELSTROM (2020): Muddled, dreary Hulu horror-drama based on D-list Marvel Comics characters Satana and Damian Hellstrom, Son of Satan, here known strictly as Daimon (Tom Austen) and Ana Helstrom (Sydney Lemmon). In the show, the adult siblings' now-institutionalized mother Victoria (Elizabeth Marvel) is possessed and their father is/was a demonic serial killer, so Daimon and Ana both have powers; Daimon, a college professor in Portland, has a sideline as a demon hunter and exorcist, while mean lesbian Ana is a trader in rare artifacts with a hobby of supernaturally assassinating rich assholes. A late holdover from the era before Marvel Studios TV projects became completely Mouseified, HELSTROM doesn't have the clammy deracinated theme-park blandness of the Disney+ shows, but it's still a wearisome slog. Daimon is boring, and I loathed his self-righteous noviate sidekick Gabriella (Ariana Guerra), but Ana's dead-eyed bitchiness, killer outfits, and silly haircut are kind of fun, at least in the early episodes. It might have worked better with an X-FILES/KOLCHAK-style monster-of-the-week format, but it fails to generate the atmosphere needed for a PG-13/TV-MA horror story, and the indecipherable plot bogs down in reactionary "redemptive power of family" horseshit. CONTAINS LESBIANS? The sole reason for watching, but while the show tells us that Ana is an inveterate womanizer, we never once see her kiss a girl! VERDICT: Ana Helstrom is great, but everything else is tedious and unappetizing. CWs apply for quasi-incest themes, medical torture, parental abuse, and an icky supernatural forced-pregnancy plot.

THE LINCOLN LAWYER (2022– ): Agreeable but very ordinary legal drama, based on the Michael Connelly novels, about L.A. defense attorney Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), trying to get back in the game after a stint in rehab and unexpectedly inheriting the clients of a colleague who's just been murdered. Becki Newton and Neve Campbell costar as Mickey's ex-wives, with Jazz Raycole as his client-turned driver Izzy, who chauffeurs Mickey around in a Lincoln SUV and acts as his sounding board, and occasional guest appearances by Elliott Gould. Created by David E. Kelley and Ted Humphrey, this is an utterly conventional lawyer show, with the usual contrivances and limitations (like recurring bouts of smug whorephobia), and even at his lowest moments, Mickey is much too affluent to really sell the "feisty underdog" shtick. Nonetheless, it's a well-polished formula, buoyed by Garcia-Rulfo's likeable lead performance, and it works better than the disappointing 2011 movie with Matthew McConaughey, although I wish that the show would allow more time for Mickey's smaller cases, which are more satisfying than the big case plots. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Izzy is gay, but it only comes up once or twice a season. VERDICT: Nothing special, but it goes down easily.

[aflawedfashion]

Melanie & Bennett | Snowpiercer 1x06 / 2x01 / 4x02

[maskofmilves]

BAD BEHAVIOUR trailer is here!!!

[cinemaslife]

#185 Sólo los Valientes - Only The Brave (2017)

Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller) es un joven en paro con adicción a las sustancias que deja embarazada a una chica joven con la que ha tenido una fugaz relación, está embarazada de una niña. Por mucho que ella lo aleja, Brendan se siente comprometido con la niña, ya que él sabe lo que significa nacer sin padre, por lo que decide terminar sus estudios de ATS y presentarse a las pruebas de bomberos forestales de su pueblo.

Por otro lado, Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) es el superintendente de Fire and Rescue Crew 7, una unidad de bomberos forestales que busca subir de posiciones para llegar a ser bomberos de élite y estar en primera línea de fuego. Para ello tienen que pasar como equipo varias pruebas.

El incendio se comporta como anticipó Eric y el vecindario se destruye. Eric habla con el jefe de bomberos sobre su deseo de que la Tripulación 7 se convierta en un hotshot certificado. Duane (Jeff Bridges) advierte que ningún otro equipo municipal del país tiene ese estatus y que tendrán que comprometerse con una temporada laboral más larga. Esto frustra a la esposa de Eric, Amanda (Jennifer Connelly), a quien le molesta que el compromiso de tiempo ya impida que Eric quiera formar una familia.

La tripulación entrena duro y finalmente es enviada a un incendio forestal para su evaluación. Pasan y se convierten en los "Granite Mountain Hotshots". Natalie comienza a aceptar a Brendan y lo deja pasar tiempo con su hija.

Brendan quiere ser como Eric y no sabe que Eric tiene mucho más en común con él de lo que se imagina.

El equipo trabaja duro y consigue ir avanzando posiciones, pero tienen que luchar con dejar a sus familias mucho tiempo desatendidas y ponerse en peligro constante. Brendan quiere estar más presente en la vida de su hija y decide pedirle una recomendación a Eric para otra brigada más alejada del fuego, Eric se enfada y le desea lo peor, recordándole que él lo sacó de las drogas y le dio un motivo.

Los Hotshots de Granite Mountain son llamados al incendio de Yarnell Hill. Entrando en la zona de fuego, Eric le dice a Brendan que lo ayudará a asegurar una transferencia para que pueda pasar más tiempo con su familia. La tripulación comienza un contraataque para contener el fuego, pero un avión cisterna lo confunde con un fuego secundario y lo extingue. La tripulación ahora tiene que reubicarse, por lo que Eric envía a Brendan a un terreno más alto como vigía. Cuando el viento de repente se intensifica y cambia, Brendan es rescatado por otro equipo y evacuan a la sede móvil. El resto de la tripulación se dirige a una zona segura después de darse cuenta de que el fuego en rápido movimiento es demasiado intenso.

El fuego toma velocidad y salta la zona segura, continuando hacia la brigada y cortando su ruta de escape. La tripulación despeja un sitio pequeño y Eric llama a un avión cisterna para apagar el frente de fuego que avanza rápidamente. La brigada despliegan sus refugios contra incendios compactos.

A medida que el fuego azota a la brigada, varias llamadas de radio quedan sin respuesta. Por lo que todos son conscientes de que la brigada completa ha caído. Brendan escucha la llamada de radio desde el primer helicóptero que llega al lugar: se confirma que los 19 miembros de la tripulación fallecieron.

Brendan va al gimnasio donde están las familias de sus compañeros de brigada para dar la cara y darles respuestas, pero lejos de sentirse mejor, Brendan colapsa y se rompe por la maldición del superviviente.

Tres años después, Brendan lleva a su hija al enebro que fue salvado por la tripulación. Durante los créditos finales, se muestran fotos de los verdaderos Granite Mountain Hotshots y sus contrapartes actores.

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WATCHLIST 2022: Only The Brave

[filmhoundsmag]

Bad Behaviour (Film Review)

Continue reading Untitled

[weclassybouquetfun]

Taron and Edward Holcroft hung out again today.

I was hoping that when Holcroft's IMDB profile pic was updated it meant he would be coming out with a project soon. Doesn't appear that way.

He seems firmly in his Ben Barnes era of making music.

I'm not saying Alex Pettyfer is a worse actor than Edward Holcroft, but I am saying that Alex Pettyer's foot and mouth disease ran through him and left people hating him so much that when I AM NUMBER FOUR (in which he played Number Four) came out on DVD, all the ads were focused on Number Six played by Theresa Palmer. Even with this Alex has never stopped working. You may have never seen these projects, you may have never even *heard* of them, but he does work.

And he just wrapped working with Guy Ritchie, so...who is his agent and can they take Edward on?

-One Edward Holcroft coworker who is working is Ben Whishaw whose PASSAGES, a love-triangle drama directed by Ira Sachs, will open Toronto's Inside Out film festival.

Ben and costar Franz Rogowski

On Thursday BAFTA will be holding a livestreamed discussion between Whishaw and Will Sharpe.

Do I have to watch THE WHITE LOTUS, Will?

I get it, Sophia. I do.

Ben will also (eventually) be seen in BAD BEHAVIOUR written and directed by Alice Englert (Starz' DANGEROUS LIASIONS) and starring Englert, Whishaw and Jennifer Connelly.

[screenzealots]

"Bad Behaviour"

A terrible film with few redeeming qualities, this dull, weird movie about an unpleasant woman seeking enlightenment is just as aimless as its characters.

Despite a pedigree steeped in industry nepotism, “Bad Behaviour” is a terrible film with few redeeming qualities. This dull, weird movie about an unpleasant woman seeking enlightenment is just as aimless as its characters. Former child actress Lucy (Jennifer Connelly) is desperate for a little spiritual healing, so she heads off to a mountain retreat led by guru Elon Bello (Ben Whishaw). Before…

[would-you-watch-this]

Baltimore-based friends and lovers, all in their 20s and 30s, try to navigate their way through the complexities of modern relationships. Rachel Green Friends wants commitment from Batman Batman v Superman, who sees nothing wrong with the status quo. Snow White OUAT is tired of waiting by the phone, while Danielle de Barbarac Ever After has a slew of supportive male friends, none of whom are straight. Meanwhile, Sarah Labyrinth has trust issues with her husband, Phil Wenneck the Hangover, who can't trust himself around Natasha Romanoff MCU.

Original Movie Title: He's Just Not That Into You

Original Movie Year: 2009

Cast Changes:

Jennifer Aniston's Beth for Rachel Green (Friends 1994-04)

Ben Affleck's Neil for Batman (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016+)

Ginnifer Goodwin's Gigi for Snow White (Once Upon A Time 2011-18)

Drew Berrymore's Mary for Danielle de Barbarac (Ever After: A Cinderella Story 1998)

Jennifer Connelly's Janine for Sarah (Labyrinth 1986)

Bradley Cooper's Ben for Phil (Hangover movies)

Scarlet Johansson's Anna for Natasha Romanoff (MCU)

[spryfilm]

Blu-ray review: “House of Sand and Fog” (2003)

[cantsayidont]

Some movies of the early '00s, good, bad, and indifferent:

THE SWEETEST THING (2002): Enthusiastically raunchy but extremely dumb romcom starring Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, and Selma Blair as three 20something friends supporting each other through various sexual and romantic misadventures. Not without charm, but too sloppily written to really land except in fits and starts, and the weak plot, which focuses on the Diaz character's disastrous pursuit of a hunky real estate agent (Thomas Jane), sidelines both Applegate and Blair so completely that they might just as well have been condensed into a single character. However, it is occasionally very funny, with the highlight being a hilarious musical number entitled "Your Penis Is…" CONTAINS LESBIANS? Not even as a concept. VERDICT: Your life will be no poorer if you tune out after the musical number, but don't miss that.

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (2003): Slow-moving, moody, downbeat drama about the battle of wills between depressed white divorcée Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), whose house has been wrongfully seized and auctioned off by the county, and the buyer, exiled Iranian military officer Massoud Behrani (Ben Kingsley), who moves in with his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and teenage son (Jonathan Ahdout) and refuses to sell the house back to the county for less than four times what he paid for it. (With the skyrocketing cost of real estate since the film's release, hearing those amounts may cause physical pain.) Now broke and homeless, Kathy falls into a relationship with a married local sheriff's deputy (Ron Eldard), whose attempts to "help" by bullying and terrorizing Behrani into cooperating lead to tragedy. A strange story that spends a lot of time alternately cultivating and then deliberately puncturing viewer sympathy for the characters, and which seems unusually determined to avoid examining the larger social and structural forces that are actually driving the plot. Connelly and Kingsley are effective; Aghashloo is boxed in by her thankless, rather condescending supporting part as Behrani's timid wife Nadi, who barely speaks English and lives in mortal terror of being sent back to Iran — a far cry from her later role as cunning, sharp-tongued politician Chrisjen Avasarala on THE EXPANSE. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Not at all. VERDICT: Well-made, but very heavy going, and the last half hour (which is a real downer) is troubling on several levels.

BOARDING GATE (2007): Customarily oblique Olivier Assayas crime drama, in some ways reminiscent of a William Gibson story (though it's not based on one), about a sleazy businessman (Michael Madsen) confronting his soon-to-be-former mistress Sandra (Asia Argento), whose sexual favors he has previously exploited to gather intelligence on business partners and rivals, and who now wants to break things off for good. That meeting is just one strand in a more complex web of betrayal and vengeance involving Sandra and her new employers (Carl Ng and Kelly Lin), who each have their own agendas. The terse, gritty, sometimes lurid story can be tricky to follow at points because Assayas deliberately avoids ever pulling back to present a larger picture of what's going on or revealing much about the actual nature of the characters' business, and the jittery, desaturated cinematography seems calculated to keep viewers disoriented. The problem is that the film also holds the characters at arm's length, making it hard to care what happens to them, and the ending succumbs to Gibsonian anticlimax, leaving it unclear what the point was supposed to be. That it works at all is due mostly to Argento, whose smoldering performance is the main thing holding the film together. CONTAINS LESBIANS? By implication only. (Sandra describes a reluctant past encounter with a woman who doesn't actually appear in the story.) VERDICT: The story's self-imposed limitations tend to smother its virtues, although in stretches, the movie feels more like a William Gibson story than most actual William Gibson adaptations.

THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS (2004/2006): Sordid, thoroughly unappetizing drama based on the 2001 short-story collection by "JT LeRoy," adapted by Asia Argento and Alessandro Magania and directed by and starring Argento herself, her second feature directing effort. (The movie debuted at Cannes about two years before "LeRoy" was revealed to be a fiction created by Laura Albert, although that revelation limited the film's eventual theatrical release in 2006.) The film is an episodic chronicle of several nightmarish years in the life of a boy named Jeremiah (played at different points by Jimmy Bennett, Dylan Sprouse, and Cole Sprouse), who after spending his early life in foster care ends up back in the custody of his erratic, self-absorbed, wildly irresponsible mother Sarah (Argento). After Jeremiah is sexually assaulted by one of his mother's awful boyfriends (Jeremy Renner), he's ineffectually counseled by a useless social worker (Wynonna Ryder, appearing unbilled) and placed in the custody of his Jesus-freak grandparents (Peter Fonda and Ornella Muti), who are no less cruel or abusive in their own ways. Sarah later "rescues" Jeremiah, encourages him to cross-dress to pose as her younger sister — leading to his being assaulted by another of Sarah's terrible boyfriends (Marilyn Manson) — and then moves them in a run-down house with a meth lab in the basement. The public interest in this very unpleasant material, which is a veritable anthology of child abuse and frequently difficult to watch, was ostensibly driven by the notion that it was based on real events of "LeRoy's" life. With that pretense revealed as a fraud, what's left is a distasteful appetite for the self-consciously lurid, to which Argento's main contribution is the gusto with which she embraces an especially unsympathetic maternal role. Even that was rendered all the more unpalatable by the subsequent allegations of Jimmy Bennett, who reported in 2018 that when he was 17 (about 10 years after this film was made), Argento sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room. Argento's DARVO response squandered all of her remaining goodwill and permanently consigned this already hard-to-stomach movie to the "Morbid Curiosities" file. CONTAINS LESBIANS? No, and aside from the point. VERDICT: Unpleasant content, fraudulent premise, too many creeps. Very strong CW for CSA and other forms of child abuse.

[aflawedfashion]

Melanie & Bennett | Snowpiercer 4x02