#brother in christ i am afraid max would not know how to act

[thearchercore]

if max were to go to Ferrari and is contractually obligated to do pr like the recent C2 photography challenge, charles taking his photo w/ bedroom eyes...will max be alive to see another day

[raisingsupergirl]

My Supernatural Courage, pt. 1

*Author’s Note: Since writing this, I’ve had a thought, and I’m mulling it over. It might change my stance on things. It might not. Regardless, proceed, dear reader, to better understand where I’m coming from and where I may end up.*

I've been nervous a lot lately. I think everyone has. Not scared. Just nervous—uncertain. I've been nervous about the corona virus. I've been nervous about maintaining my hours at work. I've been nervous because I overcommit. I've been nervous because this past weekend I had to give a speech in front of my freemason brothers and had to play music in front of my church family. And, most of all, I've been nervous about the widespread civil unrest. But the weird thing is, even though national tensions seem to be on the rise, I'm finally starting to achieve some inner peace. Not because I've reached some sort of new normal or because I've given up in some way, but because my frayed nerves weren't actually about the civil unrest at all. They were about my own inner battle. And it took a bunch of local hillbillies to finally set my mind at ease.

If you've followed with me for long, you know that I stay pretty busy. A few weeks ago, I posted about how I didn't have time to truly commit to the conversation regarding ALM vs BLM. The week after that, I posted about not being ready to die because I still have "stuff to do." Well, even though I knew this past week would be crazy busy, I had one request for Father's Day weekend—I wanted to do nothing. And nothing is what I did. My family spent Saturday at the waterpark, nothing but fun and sun. And then we went out to my mom's for dinner on Sunday. That's it. No blogging. No editing. No mowing the grass. Nothin'. And it was amazing, not just because I needed a breath, but because I needed a moment to think. Creatives know that it's essential to recharge every so often. And after I took Father's Day weekend off, I had newfound clarity on, well, a lot of things.

Like I said, the following week came with its own stresses. Not only did I have a ton of editing to do along with practicing songs for the upcoming weekend's church worship team, but that Thursday night, I was to be installed as my masonic lodge's master for the upcoming year. It's been five years in the making—five years of growth, learning, mistakes, and patience. I've learned so much about what it means to be a man in that time. The core masonic principles are brotherly love, relief, and truth, and it's principle duties are to be, "diligent, prudent, temperate, and discreet." And as I said in my speech last Thursday night, masonry is a confirmation of the men we've always been and a reminder of the men we want to be. It doesn't forge us, but it does sharpen us. And as I dwelt on those principles the week leading up to our officer installation, an inner peace settled over me. But, unfortunately, as I said before, it took a bit of a slap in the face by a really ugly counter protest in a nearby town to get me there.

Growing up and living in central Missouri, you'd think I would be used to racism. And I guess I am, but only in the, "Oh, look, a black guy. How about that?" sort of way, which I guess isn't really racism, but I'm also not surprised when I see someone raise an eyebrow at an interracial couple (I also won't deny that I've heard plenty of racist jokes in my day, but I'm not going to get into the nuances of political correctness, Mel Brooks, and South Park). Again, I've always seen it as lack of exposure more than actual racism, and while I've known there were hardcore racists living amongst us, I guess it's just been an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. But those blinders were ripped off this last week.

There was a BLM rally in a town about thirty minutes from my house. And, as you'd expect, there were plenty of people who showed up with "White Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" posters. Which is fine. As I said last week, we live in a free country, and our diverse viewpoints make up the spirit of this huge country. But this rally was pretty awful. First, there were local storeowners standing on their roofs with rifles, looking down on the protestors. I guess I get it. Protect your house, and all that. But, geez, was it really necessary to have your weapons shouldered and at the ready. And, obviously, that increased tensions, leading the BLM and ALM folks to move from "peaceful" to a little more verbally aggressive. And that, unfortunately, led a few of the more, ehem, outspoken anti-protestors to (and I almost hesitate to say it) act like monkeys and pantomime lynchings.

I've seen the pictures. I've heard the reports. The BLM protestors weren't innocent. They threw out racial slurs and accusations. But they didn't resort the that level of debased scum. And I don’t use that phrase lightly. Thinking about it makes me want to spit. Or punch someone. It's no different than making sexual jokes to someone who was molested as a child.

It's easy to write that horrible display off as a small, idiotic percentage of the community. It's easy to sigh and move on, remembering that most people aren't that way. But… some people are! They exist in my community! And those people infect the rest of us. The more they talk, the more they normalize actual (even if it's subtle) racism. Thankfully, their public actions have called them out. They've done much more harm to their cause than good. And that event was at catalyst for me. Well, that and one other.

This next turning point was a small one. It was a simple comment by a black lady. She responded to an "ALM" Facebook post. It was simple and humble. "Everyone already knows that all lives matter but everyone don't agree that black lives matter and if it is never said then we will never matter. So because I say black lives matter it's because I wanna be just as important as you would be to the world…"

Yes, I already knew this obvious truth. Yes, I'd heard it a hundred times. But the way she said it, the fact that it came from her, and the timing of it in my life just made things click. BLM isn't just a social movement with an agenda (which I tend to tie together with human imperfection, various other motives, and some of the rioting). It’s a statement. And it's a simple statement, at that. It doesn't have to be political or loaded. "Black lives matter," I said with a smile and a nod as I waited for her to cross the street. Just imagining that scenario makes me happy. Is it wrong to open a door for a woman, wave a tattooed biker on in front of us at a stoplight, or pay for the meal of someone richer or poorer than us? No. Such acts don't relinquish any of our own self-worth or threaten our futures. They're simple, humane kindnesses that make the world a better place. They're acknowledgements that we are a diverse world, and it's neat to remind specific peoples that they are important, not just to us, but to the Most Holy Lord God.

Oops. I'm sure I lost some of you just now. And that's okay, but stick with me. I'm a Christian, through and through. Christ is a part of my everyday life, and one thing that I've reminded myself of for a long time is that every person I meet is a unique child of God. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, and Freemasonry reminds us by proclaiming, "Every human being has a claim on your kind offices. Do good unto all." And even though it took me a while to get here, I've found peace in those sentiments. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. And I'm not afraid in the slightest about the future.

When I hear about rioters pushing down statues, I'm reminded of Jesus overturning the moneychangers' tables in the temples. There are plenty of excuses to maintain the status quo, but none of them are really good ones. What are you afraid of? Losing our history? Really? I can still find MySpace comments I made fifteen years ago, and my mom still has pictures of me naked in the bathtub. We're not talking about destroying someone's personal property or threatening their lives (or livelihood). We're talking about a symbolic act of desperation. Was it smart? Or right? Or productive? Who knows, but it's nothing to freak out about!

White people, what are you afraid of? Seriously. Are you afraid that black people will enslave you? Are you afraid of economic collapse? Are your guns going to be taken from you? Your jobs? Your freedom of speech? I mean, c'mon. Even if all of those things did happen (which they won't), who cares!? … Okay, wait. I get it. Slaves care. I'm sure it sucks. But you know how black slaves survived in early American history? They relied on God! Remember the Jews? Christianity was literally born out of a nation of slaves! Oppression is woven into the story of humanity, start to finish. We're a broken world. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. The first shall become last, and the last shall become first. Are any of these ringing a bell?

Okay, sorry. I got a little worked up there. But I can't help it. Everyone is so afraid of losing stuff, and nobody is taking five seconds to ask why. Why, truly, are you alive? What are you trying to do? Okay, yes, I get the compulsion to protect your family and future generations. It's biological (which doesn't make it any less important). It's engrained within our race's perpetuation. But we are one race, and I’m sorry, but your family isn't the pinnacle of genetic, moral, and intellectual perfection for the human race. Your kid may have won the spelling bee, but he's not going to cure cancer.

So, ease up a little bit. Let the rest of the world have a little space. Do I agree with everything the BLM movement has been associated with? Of course not. And I never will, because there are a lot of people who hitch themselves to bandwagons, regardless of their own, personal motives. If rioters make the USA into Mad Max, well, then you'll finally be able to tell your wife, "I told you so" about all of the guns and ammo you've been buying over the years. If one truly evil civil rights activist rises up and turns us into a nation of white slaves, well, I guess we'll just have to focus in a little more on being kind to our neighbor, looking to the afterlife, and trusting in God to reward us for obeying his commandments. But more than likely, all of the extremists on both sides will be cut off from the herd, and the rest of us will (eventually) live in a slightly different-looking America than what it has been for the past couple centuries. That's the funny thing about time—the present eventually becomes history. We don't continue to live in it, and we don't forget it. We accept it, learn from it, and move on. Simple enough.

In the end, it's your choice. I've probably offended just about everyone with this post (but as usual, I did it in a super nice way, so good luck calling me out, jerk). But this has been my journey to peace with the situation. My family will live on. My nation will live on. Maybe we'll be blessed with earthly comfort, or maybe we'll be sharpened by trials and tribulations. But eternity waits for me, and while I still walk this earth, I'll have no problem praising and building up specific people and specific groups. Why? Because differences are what make people awesome, and I'm not afraid to remind them of it.

[siberlius-moving]

1x13 coda... of sorts

my writing of what should happen after. kylex cos they cute and someone has to appreciate alex’s fashion sense

also posted on ao3 lol

baby I can read your phases like the moon

Kyle hears about Max, then Maria and Michael, from Liz.

“Maria and Michael?” Kyle almost drops the stethoscope.

“Yea. They are into each other for awhile now,” Liz replies.

“I thought-“ Kyle stops himself. This is sensitive territory; he knows Alex, Liz and Maria are good friends, but he also knows that Alex shows parts of himself selectively to different people regardless of who they are.

She looks up and furrows her eyebrows, “You knew about Alex and Michael?”

“I work with them, especially Alex. Manes-Valenti stuff. Michael joined us for the Caulfield trip just a few days ago and I swear there was something between them - huh,” Kyle pauses, “the talk didn’t go well, I guess?”

“Mikey what have you done,” Liz groans. “Is Alex okay?”

“I haven’t met him yet. Now to think about it, he hasn’t replied my texts.”

Liz dials Alex’s number. Frowning, she calls him again. And again. And gives up. “He’s not picking up. Argh.”

“Maybe we should leave him alone for now. He hates talking about his personal life,”

“The last time he talked to me about his relationships was like ten years ago. And I didn’t even know it was about Michael until three days ago,”

“I’ll find him,” Kyle promises.

“I can come along-“

“I know you want to spend time with Max,” he interrupts gently, “and you should. Alex has changed a lot since high school, he’s not going to just open up especially about Michael.”

She sighs. “I want to be there for him,”

“It will be fine. I’ll check on him. Besides you have never lost out in a love triangle before,”

“What do you-oh,” Liz’s eyes widen, “Kyle, I-“

“It’s cool,” he says honestly, “I will always like you, Liz, but I am not in love with you anymore.”

She reaches for his hand. 

“You are right. Tell Alex I will be there for him? When he is ready,” she pleads.

Kyle squeezes her fingers. “Of course.”

    “Alex Manes drinking in a non-Wild Pony bar?” Kyle has his arms at his waist like he is talking to a patient who has made some terrible life decision like stuffing a kinder egg into their ass. He is tired from driving around. He checked the cabin first, the bunker, then begged his mum to help find Alex’s car. 

“Cheers,” Alex picks up a non-empty shot glass, toasts it, and chugs the whiskey. Kyle can smell the alcohol on him. Alex’s tipsy, and resigned enough that he doesn’t bother questioning why Kyle is here.

Kyle stares suspiciously at the drink in Alex's hand. “How many did you have?”

“Not enough.”

Kyle sits next to him. “Liz and I are worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” Alex’s code for ‘I am not telling you shit’. Fair enough.

“I need to tell you something else though.”

“Shoot.”

Kyle winces. “Your dad was following me.”

At that, Alex stiffens. He straightens his back and takes a quick look around the bar.

“He isn’t following me now,” Kyle says, placing a hand on Alex’s shoulder, “I put him in a medically induced coma.”

Alex stares at him. Just as Kyle begins to feel unsettled under the weight of the stare, Alex giggles. Then he bursts into a loud, full bodied laughter that attracts curious looks from other patrons.

Kyle tightens his grip on Alex’s shoulder and tries to get Alex to look at him again. Alex brushes him off and waves one of the bartenders over.

“Get him the most expensive drink you have. It’s on me.”

Kyle worries his lips, and asks, “Are you okay?”

Alex retorts, “Of course I am.”

The drink comes. Kyle sips it. It’s warm and rich and sweet.

“This is good!”

Alex looks over curiously. “I’ve never tried.”

Then he uses Kyle’s hand as a handle, raises it to his lips and sips from the glass. The bottom of his lip grazes against Kyle’s finger. At this distance Kyle can see his eyelashes, the red flush of his cheeks.

Heat stirs and shoots straight down to his dick. Calm down, Kyle mentally scolds himself.

Alex licks the rim of the glass. He isn’t looking at Kyle though. He’s fluttering his eyelashes at the air, but at least three different sets of eyes are staring back at him, from interest to outright lust.

“You done showing off what you can do with your mouth?” Kyle says bluntly.

Alex sits back up, covers the slight embarrassment with a performative pout and a real threat hidden in heated gaze. “Listen, Valenti, I came here to be fucked. You better not be cockblocking me. I’m not leaving until I get someone who isn’t Michael to touch my dick!”

He’s doing this on purpose, being crude to make Kyle uncomfortable and scare him away. But Kyle went to med school and med school students are so  desensitised to anatomical functions that Alex’s remarks are laughably entry-level. He placates, “Look, I completely understand the need to get laid, but do you want to talk?”

Alex narrows his eyes. “About what?”

“What happened,” Kyle presses. He is self aware enough to know that pushing for answers and not knowing when to stop is his worst trait, but in the time they spent together Alex has grown from annoyance to resignation and acceptance of Kyle’s worse habits. And egging tipsy Alex on occasionally leads to him adopting a botched valley girl accent and he gets more tactless and sarcastic than usual. It’s funny and Kyle loves that about him.

“I went to find Michael, and like I was honest. Pouring my heart out honest,”

“...Okay?”

“Then something alien came up, I guess it has to do with the weird lightning storm in Roswell. And Michael was like, okay meet me at the airstream tomorrow we’ll talk. So I went there and waited and he never showed. Next thing I know Maria and Michael are making out at the Wild Pony.”

What the hell. “I will punch him in the dick,” Kyle growls.

“Nah. It’s my fault. I was too late. And also he has mind powers so you are gonna lose. And don’t you dare report this to Liz. She shouldn’t feel like she has to take a side. Besides, they didn’t do anything wrong and I do deserve this.”

Kyle wants to convince Alex that he’s wrong. But Alex will simply shut him down and the conversation ends. Kyle makes a mental note to himself to make things difficult for Michael in small and petty ways when he sees him around.

“What happened to your phone?” Kyle asks, carefully running through a list of less tenuous topics in his head.

“Uh. Dumped it somewhere. It kept ringing and I was trying to listen to my high school mixtape.”

“It was probably the hospital about your dad, dude.”

“Well. Guess it’s not important.”

“Flint picked up so he’s at the hospital now. He probably called your other brothers.”

Alex grimaces. “Argh. The Manes family is back in town. I’m gonna lock myself in the cabin. You should too, just in case. Flint saw the two of us at Caulfield. He doesn’t think I am ballsy enough to do that to our father, so he’s gonna target you.”

“I am wearing a bulletproof vest.” 

Alex snaps out the drunk fuck-all act, looking instantly sobered. “Wait. He shot you?”

Kyle shrugs.

“Jesus christ,” Alex runs his hands down Kyle’s chest, “you okay?”

“You know, the more you do this, the lower your chances of getting laid,”

“You got shot, Kyle! I care more about your safety. You can stay at the cabin - no one knows I live there.”

“Inviting me to move in with you, Manes?”

“If you aren’t comfortable, I can find another place to stay,” Alex says seriously.

“Chill, I’m joking-” 

“This isn’t a joke! It’s important that you are safe - dad’s incapacitated but my brothers can be a threat too, even if they aren’t as difficult with dad no longer pulling their strings!” Alex’s gaze is intense. His fists are clenched and his knuckles are white. Kyle takes one of Alex’s hands and gently massages it, coaxing his fingers to relax.

“I am going to be fine. Both of us can deal with them together because we are in this together as partners. You and I aren’t defenceless,” Kyle soothes.

Alex breathes out. “We are gonna need a plan to deal with them.”

“And we can discuss it in your cabin.”

“Yea, we should.” Alex stands up. It’s almost like the past twenty minutes of conversation and drunkenness didn’t happen. Now that he is standing, it hits Kyle how good Alex looks. That leather jacket. The tight pants that shows off his thighs and ass. The v-neck shirt that tempts his collarbones.

Bite him! 

Kyle gulps the remaining of his drink before he follows Alex out.

    Kyle drives them to the cabin. 

“You switch gears really fast,” he comments, as Alex dumps his jacket on the table.

“Had to be in the army. I’m still gonna be mad at you for cockblocking once we are free from the alien nonsense.”

“You do look really good today,” Kyle blurts out. Alex doesn’t catch the flirtation at all. He drops himself at the couch and removes his prosthetic.

“Would have dressed better if I found out dear old pops is almost dead,” Alex stills, and looks at Kyle guiltily, “I’m sorry,”

Kyle joins him at the couch. “Nah it’s fine. He did fucking shoot me.”

“I won’t take it personally if you pulled the plug, though I know you won’t do it.”

Kyle looks up in surprise, “How do you?”

“Because you are a good person. And you live by a good code. I know I am safe with you because you honour that code,” Alex replies easily.

Shit. Kyle realises. He’s in love. With Alex.

“You are a good person too, you know,” Kyle says. His voice is shaky from the epiphany.

“Michael can’t look at me without seeing what my father did to him. And he isn’t wrong. I know what my father is capable of. And I am so afraid that-“ Alex covers his face with his hands.

“You aren’t your father,”

“Mimi says I have the same energy as him, what if I am corrupted like dad and I-“

“Alex, look at me,” Kyle pries Alex’s hands away, replaces them with his own, “you are never going to be father, you know why? Because you love. And people love you. You think you don’t deserve this love, but you do. And it will always be this love that will never make you your father.”

Alex’s eyes are wet. A stray tear falls and trails down his cheek. Kyle wipes it away with his thumb.

Alex kisses him, backs off as soon as he does. “Shit. I’m sorry. I just-“

“It’s ok,” Kyle says, “it’s okay if you just want to use me as a rebound,”

“Are you offering to have sex with me?”

Kyle raises an eyebrow, “Yes?”

Alex pushes him down onto the sofa and straddles him.

Just as Kyle prepares to kiss him properly, Alex whips a gun from behind the cushion and points it at him.

“Jesus!”

“Who are you and what have you done to Kyle?” Alex demands.

“I am Kyle! I swear!“

“The Kyle I know isn’t interested in guys,” Alex hisses.

In the face of a loaded gun, Kyle is calm. He knows Alex won’t hurt him, knows that this is something only he can fix. He says quietly, surely, “The Kyle you knew in high school, didn’t realise that about himself. The Kyle you knew then was a dick who wanted to be popular and he did the worst thing he could do to his best friend. The Kyle you know now has grown since and found out in college that men are really fun in bed and he has missed out because he was busy being bigoted. He is also very sorry for what he has done and he will aways try to make it up to you.”

Alex lets out the air he has been holding and shoves the gun back into the sofa. Kyle pulls him down and holds him against his chest.

“You weren’t going to shoot me. The safety was still on.”

“I fucked up,” Alex mumbles into his shirt.

“I contributed,” Kyle replies, stroking Alex’s hair, “do you really hide weapons all around the house?”

Alex nods, “I’ll show you around, where they are at.”

“Are you gonna pull out other moves?“

“I don’t want you to have sex with me because you feel sorry for me.”

“I don’t feel sorry for you. I am upset for you. I am also very turned on because you are on top of me and you whipping the gun out did things to my dick. So. Is it a cold shower or -“

“I don’t want you to be a rebound. I actually uh -“

“Uh huh?”

“I do like you. You know? Like more than friends.”

Kyle’s heart soars.

“So do I,” Kyle readily admits, “and we are adults. Adulting means we can have sex with people we find really hot. And we can talk about what we mean to each other too.”

“Okay,” Alex braces himself over Kyle, “I think you are hot, and that you are important to me. If we are having sex it’s not because I’m using you as a rebound. It’s something more.”

Kyle says, “It’s something more for me too. And f-y-i, I wanted to jump you since I saw you at the bar.”

Alex lunges forward. The kiss is intense when both of them reciprocate. Kyle curls the hand in Alex’s hair and he gets soft moans into his mouth in return.

He wants Alex, Kyle realises. Not just when he is sad and angry and there’s alcohol in both their breaths. Not just when they are stuck together by some bizarre family legacies they didn’t choose to have. Kyle wants Alex and he wants Alex to want him back.

Alex rolls his hips down and Kyle gasps. “You are thinking too much,” he shivers when Alex whispers that in his ear, trembles when Alex gently bites the lobe, “focus on me.”

Yes, yes. They will have time to talk about it. Right now he is so turned on it hurts and he wants to make Alex scream his name. Kyle pushes himself up with one hand and guides Alex closer, so that he can sit comfortably on his lap.

“Can I get a real life performance of what you were doing to that glass in the bar?” Kyle asks breathily, after pressing kisses to Alex’s cheeks, the sides of his lips, his neck.

Alex smirks. “I am already gonna.”

[televisor-reviews]

Top 10 Best Movies Of 2015

Looking back on the year 2015 & seeing almost 100 films from it, [for movies] it was an alright year. It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst, most of it was just okay. But when it was bad, it was just awful! Luckily, when it was good, it was fucking amazing! And so, I’ll count down my 10 favorite films from 2 years ago; be aware that I didn’t see every movie from 2015, so don’t expect Mad Max: Fury Road or Creed... because I didn’t see them. For a complete list of films I did see, go to my Letterboxd: http://letterboxd.com/AnimatorReviewa/films/ & if I reviewed a movie that made the list, I’ll link the review right under the title. And also keep in mind that this is my list, if you disagree feel free to comment your opinion(s) on a movie I may or may not have mentioned.

10. Tangerine

I haven’t seen too many films about transgenders, homo/trans/bisexuals, or prostitutes, let alone one about all of the above! The guts to portray these characters that majority of moviegoers wouldn’t be able to relate to on a surface layer and then forcing your audience to do so on a deeper layer, that takes some balls & skills that most filmmakers are either not talented enough or not willing to do. In hindsight, a movie like Tangerine could only exist in the indie side of filmmaking & even then, it’s amazing that we got this concept on the big screen at all. The strategies it uses to have you relate to these characters that the large majority of us will never even come across are very effective. But, it isn’t perfect. The reason it’s so low on the list is because it tries to tackle all of these people at once, the effect being not being able to totally relate to or even remember majority of the characters. As such, it can also get very boring at times, a common problem with pretentious masterpieces such as this & most movies that show up on critics’ “Best Movies Of All Time” lists.When it’s effective, it works wonders to make you care for these people who probably do exist in real life but you’ll never meet. But when it’s not effective, it’s so boring & unremarkable. It’s worth watching for the good parts, but it’s not perfect.

9. The Little Prince

Every year seems to have 1 or 2 animated features that aren’t technically the best, but I can’t help but absolutely adore for whatever reason: 2013 had the first Equestria Girls movie, 2014 had The Book Of Life, & 2015 had The Little Prince. I can go on & on about the fantastic animation styles, the imaginative settings, the super relatable characters, etc, etc. And as amazing as all the aspects are, there’s one thing about this film that really makes it stand out in my brain... the moral. As a teenager, I (& many others I know) are worried about growing up to be just as boring & dull as our parents & I’d imagine this is a predicament many children are also facing. This film sets out to let us all know that it’s alright, growing up doesn’t mean losing the fun-loving personality we currently have. Now, that’s not an entirely new concept, I’ve seen shows like SpongeBob & The Loud House also teach this, but there’s something to how The Little Prince shows this moral that makes it stand out to me even more so than any other medium. I don’t know, it’s my list & I fucking loved this film, so it makes the list (fuck you).

8. Room

A year or so ago, I remember watching 20/20 & they were doing a piece on these filmmaking brothers that were locked in their house by their father. In reality, this real life tragedy would’ve come to the population’s attention way too late to inspire Room. But having seen this episode of 20/20 just before seeing this film with a similar concept, I have linked the 2 together in my brain. But so what, I keep up on the news, good for me right? Why mention this? The reason is because seeing these 2 back-to-back (one being the news & the other being a work of fiction) made me remember that these things do happen & made the situation feel that much scarier & chilling. This made me really sympathize with the film & its characters & possibly made it seem even better to me. But with that aside, it’s still a fairly unique concept for a feature (I can only think of 2 other movies that have a similar plot), the story is still told very well, & the characters are amazingly portrayed. A strength of the film is that most of it is centered around these 2 people, making it easier to know & understand them. A similar film would be Gravity, which also centered around only 2 people in a closed space; the difference is that Room’s characters feel a million times more realistic & relatable. This is a film that fixed a criticism I had for Tangerine to create what is, in my opinion, a much better movie.

7. The Gift

Have you ever entered a horror movie, not sure if it’ll be any good but it has such an interesting concept that you just had to see it... only to leave it feeling underwhelmed & the film itself only seeming cheesy at best? You know, movies like Knock Knock, Would You Rather, & The Purge? At first, The Gift seems to just be another cheesy but somewhat interesting horror flick. But after seeing Chris Stuckmann give it a very positive review, I had to give it a chance & I’m so glad I did because it serves as an example of an actually chilling horror film in a year filled with not-scary-in-the-slightest mediocrity. I’m afraid that simply going over the story may spoil parts of the film, so I’ll simply say that almost everything in this works. The only exception being the first 20-or-so minutes that do feel exactly like one of those cheesy horror movies. But once it gets started, you’re in for a chilling & creepy film!

6. Straight Outta Compton

I am a white boy who grew up in a desert, listening to only country music & rock ‘n’ roll... how did this movie effect me as well as it did!? I really did want to see this, but I was not prepared to see something this good! The characters are engaging & understandable, the music is surprisingly amazing (keep in mind that I like Eminem & hate most rap), the directing is some of the best I’ve ever seen, this movie just works despite how much I shouldn’t have gotten into it! For Christ sake, I’m a grammar Nazi & the title uses the non-word “outta!” And I think a big reason why it works is because even if I can’t relate to the situations everyone in this gets in, I can totally understand their reactions to the situations they’re in. The movie sets everything up as if you or a friend of your’s is in these very positions & how they act is exactly how I’d imagine I’d act. Even when it’s not, I can totally get why they did what they did still because the film does a fantastic job at showing why. For example, they get terrorized by some cops & then record “Fuck The Police.” You may not have done exactly what they did, but you can understand why they did it. That takes some amazing acting & directing, which this film has. No matter where you come from, Straight Outta Compton is a flick you can definitely get into.

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service

http://animatorreviewer.tumblr.com/post/127677609360/kingsman-the-secret-service-movie-review

I once watched someone let’s play Golden Eye for the N64, that’s about as far as my knowledge of James Bond goes. So, I went into Kingsman knowing that it was heavily inspired by the franchise (kind of like the Austin Powers movies, which I’ve also seen despite not really knowing what they were parodying) & I still really enjoyed the film! Really, everything I enjoy about this film can be summed up with, “it was fun.” I like pretty much everything in this, but I would only be wasting everyone’s time if I went full analysis here (especially since I did a full review of it already). Because really, it was just a lot of fun! This one movie was some of the most fun I’ve ever had watching a film!

4. Inside Out

http://animatorreviewer.tumblr.com/post/133518658910/inside-out-movie-review

I’m currently taking a psychology course & for it, we’ve watched a few films for it to further understand whatever we’re studying. For example, when we were going over dreams, we watched Inception. When we were learning about emotions, the teacher put on Inside Out explaining how surprisingly realistic & well researched the movie was. It was so good that it can be used to teach psychology... hence why it made this list. Really, I wasn’t looking forward to this film. After Toy Story 3, Pixar’s films were mediocre at best (Brave) & just terrible at worst (Cars 2, Monsters University), & even the movie that followed this up (The Good Dinosaur) wasn’t that great. That combined with the trailers for this not showing much promise, I was sure the company was on the decline... but then Inside Out came out. This is a fantastic film with amazing animation, characters, motivations, & morals. Especially that last point, it’s very rare to see the media to show all emotions as being good & important rather than just joy. I really like that. Really, this is a great film all around & I’m so glad that I gave it the chance that it deserved!

3. The Martian

The story of a man who was mistakably left on a distant planet & his will to survive as long as he possibly could was brilliantly acted, directed, & was very inspirational. I think most people, if in this situation, would’ve just given up, so I love to see someone who was not only willing to but was also smart & resourceful enough to survive for as long as he did. Not to mention the amazing effects (Mars & space really looks great in this despite & sometimes thanks to how empty & barren it is). Matt Damon’s acting was superb as it had to be considering how alone he was throughout most of this, his performance (in my opinion) shows a fantastic contrast to a similar role as Tom Hanks in Castaway. But what really amazes me about this feature is how not depressing it is! You’d think a guy, stuck, alone on Mars would be super depressing but he’s surprisingly not! This was dramatic when it had to be & did that very well; this was also entertaining when it had to be & did that very well. It balanced the 2 better than any other film from 2015 & that’s great! I love this film!

2. Spotlight

In a time when preachers touching children is a punchline & people are starting to forget what The Boston Globe helped reveal, Spotlight came to remind everyone that this was a thing to be wary of. And it not only being amazing, but also winning best picture at the Oscars is a great reminder! Honestly, separating this film from reality does take away some of its punch, but it would still rightfully deserve the #2 spot on my list! It’s an excellent retelling of the struggle the Spotlight team had to deal with to get this story to the people. The directing is brilliant, the acting is superb, even something as simple as when to use background music helps make the film have more of a punch! Seriously, when they have people tell horror stories of them & their preachers, the excellent acting alongside the lack of music really helped sell that these were real stories (which I’m sure are) & made them that much more believable. If you really want to know how good this was, it made me want to research the events of the film. It’s been so long since a real life story has done that to me! This was easily deserving of the best picture win.

Before we get to #1, I want to mention some runners up:

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

I really like this franchise & I’m glad that it ended on a real high point. These films make me want to read the books (which I hate doing), & though my favorite was Catching Fire, this was still a great film with some great performances!

The Peanuts Movie

Not gonna lie, I thought this was going to be a terrible bastardization of the original comic strip & specials. But after seeing the animation & how it genuinely looked like an updated version of the original, I saw promise that equaled a good movie! Everything in this tried to feel like the original specials that we all grew up on & it really worked. My only problem is that it’s a bit too quickly paced at times, but that’s a real nitpick. If you love Peanuts, this won’t disappoint, it’s easily the best film to come from BlueSky!

The Visit

http://animatorreviewer.tumblr.com/post/132590494660/the-visit-movie-review

I went to a movie theater opening weekend expecting a hilarious piece of shit like what I’m used to from Shyamalandingdong, but I came out disappointed in the best of ways! This really is his comeback & I have high hopes & low expectations of Split. I think he finally realized that we found his films funny & decided to just make a horror-comedy with The Visit. I wanted to put it on the list, but it didn’t work out that way.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron

http://animatorreviewer.tumblr.com/post/119477581840/avengers-age-of-ultron-movie-review

I know a lot of people were disappointed by this film... & I agree, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad! It’s still a very good film, just not one that met up with the expectations set up by the first Avengers. And was it unfair to judge it like that? Maybe. But we (including I) still did, & as such, it didn’t meet expectations for the film itself & wasn’t nearly as entertaining as the original.

Ant-Man

If you loved Guardians Of The Galaxy, you’ll love Ant-Man. It’s very much the same style of the humor & action, just not as good. As far as Marvel movies go, it was better than Age Of Ultron, not as good as Guardians. It’s still a great film, just not as good.

Dope

I wanted to like this as much as I liked Straight Outta Compton, but it just didn’t happen. For whatever reason, I couldn’t get into the story or characters as much in this as I did in that. Not to say that it’s bad, no no no. It’s very well acted, directed, & written; I just couldn’t personally get into it as much as I wanted to. And since this is my list, it’s a runner up rather than on the actual list.

Southpaw

I feel like I would’ve liked this a lot more if I hadn’t seen Rocky first because this was a very good movie. But since I had seen Rocky, everything in this just screams at me that it wants to be like that film! And because of that, I couldn’t enjoy it as much as Rocky (& it doesn’t help that it’s just not as good).

Joy

What can I say, this is one of Jennifer Lawrence's best performances with a great story that’s a bit cliché, but is based on true events so what do I know.

Black Mass

This is such a boring film, I actually fell asleep & when I woke up, it was still in its second act. The only reason why I’m mentioning this is because this is one of Johnny Depp’s best performances. No lie, his acting may be the best I saw all year!

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!

http://animatorreviewer.tumblr.com/post/124817050915/sharknado-3-oh-hell-no-movie-review

If you’re asking why this made the runners up, then you shouldn’t be on my page. I fucking love this series!

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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I really didn’t want to put this at number one, because I know deep down that this isn’t the best movie of 2015. But when I sat down to make this list, I couldn’t find a single feature that I enjoyed or liked as much as Force Awakens. I know it’s just A New Hope, I know Rey is a Mary-sue, I know that there are so many problems in it that should keep it from topping my list but I can’t help it! I absolutely love this film! Call me nostalgia-blind, call me obvious, but this is my list & in my world, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is the best movie of 2015.