#cameo by david the amp

[iamidentical]

my guitar corner

[brainbuffering]

12 Days of Manga 2022

Day 11: Series Dropped/Disliked

Okay, I try to be positive about stuff as a whole but I read 3 series this year that gave me beef so it’s time to make some burgers! Or something.

1) Deadpool Samurai by Sanshiro Kasama and Hikaru Uesugi from Viz Media/Marvel (T: Amanda Haley L: Walden Wong E: David Brothers)

[ID: English Cover for Deadpool Samurai. A montage of pictures makes up the iconic deadpool mask in black and red. The red is images of deadpool, the black is weaponry.]

“Deadpool moves to Tokyo and makes a mess of everything!

Everyone's favorite Merc with a Mouth has finally come to manga! As soon as Deadpool moves to Tokyo, he runs afoul of some familiar faces. Before he knows it, he's teaming up with new heroes, battling gods, attending concerts, and being repeatedly dismembered. That's good, right?

Anyway, Deadpool lands in Tokyo with a bang! What could possibly go wrong when Iron Man invites Deadpool join the Avengers' new Samurai Squad? After all, Deadpool is just in it for the money... and the trip to Japan. This is fine, right?”

Honestly this should have been an open and shut case. I like manga! I like deadpool! A deadpool manga? Major win! And whilst I can assure you that this is, indeed, a Deadpool Manga, it doesn’t really go beyond that and a lot of the jokes somehow seem lost in translation.

Deadpool is a character built upon the destruction of the fourth wall. That’s where the humour lays, and I was really hoping for some amped up moments! This is a american series, localised for a japanese audience, then localised back for americans once more! I was hoping for meta jokes, knowing looks, comments about how the translator had given up or was really going to struggle with a concept. Yet even when there was an “untranslateable” joke in the form of the kanji in Uncle Tsutomu’s name can be pronounced “Ben”, they never took the opportunity to make fun of themselves or the reader? Instead we’re just given a very formal note explaining it. We loose the joke. No “That’s what you get for not learning japanese” or “It’s super funny, we promise”.  It felt very “un-deadpool”.

I don’t mind that the book borrows from the movie version of Deadpool rather than the comics, the purpose of this book is to get Japanese Fans from just cinema goers into comics readers and putting Deadpool into the pages of Shonen Jump makes sense! But the book never really goes beyond a collection of cameos and character introductions.

There are some good ideas in there. The Venom Symbiont taking over the body of a Hatsune Miku Inspired Idol. Thor asking Loki to watch Demon Slayer with him because he relates to Tanjiro. The All Might Team Up. But over all it feel like a missed opportunity for fun in favour of fealty to shueisha.

I will say, that I am glad that Sakura Spider (AKA Hida Haruka) is now in the maintream marvel universe though as part of the Third Totem War. Next time I boot up my Marvel Subscription I’ll be sure to check it out! I will not, however, be picking up any of the other Marvel Manga coming out in 2023. Not after this disapointment.

Now when are we going to be getting “Superman VS Food”?

2) My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch anthology from SevenSeas (T: Elina Ishikawa A: Lora Gray L: Uncredited E: Peter Adrian Behravesh)

[ID: English Cover for My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch. Maria, Catarina, Sophia and Mary gather around a bouquet of pink and blue flowers. They look up at the audience with different yet happy expressions. Maria is smiling widely, Catarina is winking and raising her hand in the sky. Sophia i smiling quietly. Mary has a coy expression with one finger on her cheek.]

“A yuri manga anthology based on the hit My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! light novels, manga, and anime! A brand-new anthology brought to you by the highly popular doom-avoidance-strategy romantic comedy! This book features nine stories focusing on the heroines and their dazzling emotions!”

*Sigh* Oh HameFura franchise, your queer content is just like the moon. So near, yet still so far out of reach.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I saw this in Waterstones. I suppose the description of it being a “Yuri manga anthology” had me hoping that maybe the girls would be allowed to be gay. Alas, it still feels like they’re dancing around everything and claiming them all to be just good friends!

Come on Japan! Let them say “I love you”! Let them imagine marriage and kids and kissing! Why is it that Geordo and Keith are allowed to violate Catarina’s consent but Mary can’t even imagine their wedding day?

I love that we’ve got a bisexual harem going on here, and My Next Life as a Villainess is certainly one of my favourite harem animes of all time, but I still feel like I’m being perpetually queerbaited... and it’s getting exhausting.

3) Game: Between The Suits by Mai Nishikata from SevenSeas Steamship imprint (T: Jess Leif L: Kai Kyou E: Claudie Summers)

[ID: English Volume 1 of Game Between The Suits. A man and a woman posed sexily on a black background. They are both wearing similar work outfits, a white shirt and black trousers/skirt. The woman is wearing bright red heels. The man spreads her legs apart and leans in, the woman pushes her hand up against his mouth with an unimprssd air. His hand is ontop of hers on the floor.]

“At twenty-seven, Sayo is married to her career--she's the kind of woman who will even answer work calls while having sex! When her firm hires charming playboy Ryoichi, Sayo tries to resist his advances, but not for long. Soon they're plunging into a purely physical relationship, agreeing that they'll only play this love game until they find true romance. Sayo will let Ryoichi into her bed, but will she let him into her heart...?”

Due to very obvious hashtag feminist reasons I have bought all of SevenSeas new Steamship offerings. It’s rare enough to get Josei licenced for English release, let alone smut! I saw a lot of people very excited for this title in paticular. I personally was drawn in by the promise of a protagonist my own age, and I do like me some ‘fuck buddies to lovers’.

However after volume one I will not be going any further for the simple fact thaat Ryoichi is just...  a dick. He’s highly unlikeable! He doesn’t respect bondries, he acts superior to everyone, he’s arrogant and so far doesn’t seem to have any redeaming qualities beyond being good in bed? Which is not something I can attest to beyond Sayo’s testimonies.

I don’t even think he’s not even that hot. The art style makes everyone incredibly thin and boney, and whilst that might appeal to some people, I am not one of them. I’ve nothing against the basic plot outline, I am even quite fond of the “Dark Prince” archetype (I have read both volumes of Crown Princess, after all) but I still need at least some sort of tragic backstory to find a reason to love them! Or for them to go so far into the extreme of villainery that my friends start questioning my life choices. Meanwhile Ryoichi is just... unlikeable.

I’ll give Nishikata this, he does feel incredibly believeable and realistic as a character. I went to univeristy with men like him! And that is precisely the reason I will not be picking up volume 2.

[heartodaygrowntomorrow]

1,693.) Thurs Jul. 22, 2021

Happy 80th Birthday #GeorgeClinton ! The Song of the Day is: George Clinton - “Atomic Dog”(1982) #SongoftheDay #music #parenting #happybirthdayGeorgeClinton #funk #PFunk #Parliament #atomicdog #journal #HearTodayGrownTomorrow Support the Blog - Click Below

Happy 80th Birthday George Clinton! The Song of the Day is: George Clinton – “Atomic Dog” From the album Computer Games (1982) Do the dogcatcher, baby, do the dogcatcherOohWhy must I feel like thatWhy must I chase the catNothin’ but the dog in meWhy must I feel like thatWhy must I chase the catNothin’ but the dog in meBow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeahBow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeahGeorge…

[sssshhhthefilmsabouttostart]

The best and worst films of 2020

Let’s be honest - 2020 was an extremely shitty year for moviegoers everywhere, as the Queen would say an annus horribilis.

Due to the Covid pandemic’s dramatic impact on nearly every facet of human life, cinemas closed, film festivals went virtual and film productions became an intricate mess of insurance and safety challenges.

Yet despite these dire challenges and an unpredictable future, cinema remained very much alive throughout the year, with a wide range of ambitious undertakings snaking their way into whatever form of release seemed viable. Blockbusters receded to the background, allowing a wide range of movies to trickle through an uncertain marketplace that would have been hostile to them even in pre-pandemic times.

So what cinematic gems and unmitigated disasters were dropped upon audiences during the year?

Ladies and gentlemen, may we please offer for your consideration...

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

THE CURRENT WAR - THE LIGHTHOUSE - IN FABRIC - BEING FRANK: THE CHRIS SIEVEY STORY (D) - BOMBSHELL - THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON - THE SOCIAL DILEMMA (D) - LIGHT OF MY LIFE - THE ASSISTANT - THE LODGE - THE GENTLEMEN - THE WAY BACK - DARK WATERS - 1917 - THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY - THE HUNT

2020′S TOP TEN BEST FILMS

10. THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW

Hot off the critical success of his debut feature ‘Thunder Road,’ writer-director Jim Cummings’ refreshing yet effective take on the werewolf genre amped up the dark comedy whilst delivering quite a few chills. Tinged with realistically flawed characters and clever scares, ‘The Wolf of Snow Hollow’ might not have been your typical werewolf flick but it successfully managed to bring that classic legend to life once again.

9. LET HIM GO

Previously last seen together as Clark Kent’s adoptive parents in ‘Man of Steel,’ Diane Lane and Kevin Costner were reunited onscreen as husband and wife again in writer-director Thomas Bezucha’s neo-Western drama ‘Let Him Go.’ Adapted from author Larry Watson’s 2013 novel, the film featured stunning landscapes, full-blooded moments of sudden violence and compelling performances from Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and, most memorably, Lesley Manville’s turn as a gritty and cunning matriarch.

8. COLOUR OUT OF SPACE

Based on the classic short story by HP Lovecraft and featuring another scene-stealing performance from Nicolas Cage, this clever adaptation was an effective horror film with an unrelentingly grim sci-fi bent. In addition to the truly disturbing and inspired images of queasy body horror, ‘Colour Out of Space’ also marked the eagerly-anticipated re-emergence of filmmaker Richard Stanley (his first time back in the director’s chair since being fired from his 1996 remake ‘The Island of Dr Moreau’).

7. THE INVISIBLE MAN

Who knew a remake could be so refreshing? With this updated take on the H.G. Wells tale, writer-director Leigh Whannell did just about everything right, delivering a tense, clever thriller with touches of both horror and sci-fi. As the fascinatingly flawed yet appealing tough protagonist, Elisabeth Moss gave a captivating performance in a film that was chilling in all the right ways, packed with plenty of twists and a deliciously nasty resolution.

6. THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (NETFLIX)

Whilst the subject matter of ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7′ shared an uncanny relevance to today’s politically charged times, as a gripping courtroom drama with a stellar cast, the film ticked all the boxes. ‘West Wing’ creator Aaron Sorkin put his trademark traits - razor-sharp wit, rhetorical flair and political insight - to very good use in this masterful retelling of the trial following the 1968 anti-war protests outside the Democratic National Convention.

5. HEARTS AND BONES

In his debut feature film, Australian director Ben Lawrence created a spiritually rich and immersive drama about the relationship between a grizzled, broken war photographer and a Sudanese refugee. Whilst Hugo Weaving was note-perfect in his portrayal as a crumbling man wrestling with his past, equally impressive was first time actor Andrew Luri who delivered a quiet yet memorable performance in what was an affecting piece of cinema.

4. TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL (DOCUMENTARY)

Watching a documentary about the COVID-19 crisis in the middle of a global pandemic might not sound appealing but prolific filmmaker Alex Gibney’s latest work was easily the most essential non-fiction film of 2020. Shot safely in secret for five months, ‘Totally Under Control’ played out like a tightly-wound thriller as it placed the Trump Administration’s inept response to the coronavirus pandemic under the microscope.

3. BAD EDUCATION (HBO)

As far as crime stories go, embezzlement isn’t always the most thrilling subject. However, ‘Bad Education’ turned a relatively simple white collar crime story about a New Jersey school administrator caught stealing money into a compelling drama, thanks to an incisive and nimble script and spot on performances from Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ray Romano and especially Hugh Jackman.

2. MANK (NETFLIX)

Director David Finch’s dazzling portrait of Herman J. ‘Mank’ Mankiewicz, the screenwriter who collaborated with wunderkind filmmaker Orson Welles to write the first draft of ‘Citizen Kane,’ was a cinematic jewel from start to finish. Similar to last year’s ‘Once Upon A Time in...Hollywood,’ ‘Mank’ delivered a layered depiction of the filmmaking process, whilst Gary Oldman continued to excel at immersing himself in playing real-life characters, this time as the hard-drinking, intellectual screenwriter.

1. NOMADLAND

Writer-director Chloe Zhao’s intimate drama about an unemployed widow living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad was a thoughtful, contemplative and reflective piece of storytelling. It may have touched upon mature themes about loneliness, financial instability and restlessness, but ‘Nomadland’ remained an uplifting and hopeful piece of cinema that captured the various bittersweet reasons people choose to live a life on the road.

With an outstanding performance from Frances McDormand, brought to life through the charm of the ‘real life’ supporting cast, great direction and Joshua James Richard’s mesmerising cinematography, ‘Nomadland’ was the perfect film for 2020.

...AND NOW THE WORST!

DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS

VAMPIRES VS THE BRONX - BAD BOYS FOR LIFE - THE OLD GUARD - PROJECT POWER - ISN’T IT ROMANTIC - THE RHYTHM SECTION - WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE - I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS - MIDWAY - YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT - BABY DONE - FORCE OF NATURE - CAPONE - THE NEW MUTANTS - DOOLITTLE

10. WONDER WOMAN 1984

To quote Red Letter Media’s resident film critic Mike Stoklasa, “this movie was the cinematic equivalent of the Bluesmobile.” Directed by Patty Jenkins, this 80′s-set sequel to the 2017 DC superhero hit was lethargically paced and featured a completely bonkers narrative that made absolutely no sense. Horribly scripted, disjointed and overstuffed (a runtime of 2.5 hours), ‘Wonder Woman 1984′ sadly jettisoned everything that made Jenkins’ original film so compelling. The result? An appalling misfire.

9. THE GRUDGE

A curiously talented and interesting cast were somehow lured into - and subsequently wasted in - this pointless, tired, reboot/revival of the long-running ‘Ju-On’ Japanese-based horror series. Despite director NIcholas Pesce’s attempt to disguise the rudimentary nature of the plot via back-and-forth timeline jumping, ‘The Grudge’ was just a formulaic paint-by-the-numbers meander through a poorly developed story that existed only to prop up a bunch of uninspired jump scares.

8. BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN)

There are many movies that have no reason to exist - and this latest misfire from DC Comics was one of them. Directed by Cathy Yan, ‘Birds of Prey’ was a mire of uninspired ideas and recycled genre conventions that got old real quick. Penned by Christina Hodson (’Bumblebee’ being the ‘highlight’ on her resume), the script was as simplistic as it was thin, with needless subplots merely introduced to inflate the film to a decent running time. Even Margot Robbie’s manic performance as the ‘Mistress of Mayhem’ couldn’t save this mess.

7. JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT

What could’ve been a dream film for fans of these two classic stoner characters instead was nothing but a string of cameos and callbacks in a plot-less bore. Director Kevin Smith sucked all the life and fun out of this watered-down story, that suffered from a constant series of awkward and forced jokes that were painfully unfunny. An unfortunate stinker.

6. AVA

This latest foray into the ‘female assassin for hire’ genre was about as cliched as you could get. An emotionally troubled female killer whose male mentor assumes the role of the surrogate father? Check. Pounding dance music score? Check. Obligatory nightclub fight sequence? Check. Confused love interest? You betcha! Humourless, dry and uninspired, ‘Ava’ played out like a poor man’s ‘La Femme Nikita.’

5. FANTASY ISLAND

Hollywood’s obsession with repackaging Gen-X childhoods continued with this absurd attempt to reboot the classic 1970′s TV series as a low-budget horror joint under the Blumhouse label. At a dangerously close two hour runtime, there was simply nothing interesting about the film’s characters or its inane plot about a mystical island that grants wishes (a’la ‘The Monkey’s Paw’). Our advice? Turn ‘de plane’ around if you ever plan to visit this ‘Fantasy Island.’

4. ARTEMIS FOWL

For every ‘Harry Potter’ that explodes into the public consciousness, there always seems to be a dozen or more failed franchises. Sadly, Disney’s ‘Artemis Fowl’ found itself in the latter category. Director Kenneth Branagh’s dull and superficial attempt to transfer this popular children’s book series from page to screen suffered from a lack of character development, an over-reliance in CG effects and featured a lifeless performance from newcomer Ferdia Shaw as the titular character. 

3. HUBIE HALLOWEEN (NETFLIX)

A month before last year’s Oscar nominations were released, Adam Sandler joked on ‘The Howard Stern Show’ that if the Academy snubbed him for his role in the film ‘Uncut Gems,’ he would make a movie “that [was] so bad on purpose.” And that’s exactly what happened. Supposedly a comedy, ‘Hubie Halloween’ was unfunny, disposable and completely devoid of any originality. Sadly for audiences, Sandler signed a four-movie deal with Netflix last year, worth up to $275 million - so we can expect to see more of this shit soon!

2. ALIEN ADDICTION

Aliens visit New Zealand and get high smoking human faeces? Someone should have advised Kiwi director Shae Sterling that audiences have moved on from such puerile comedies as this abomination. Suffice to say, if anybody ever admitted to finding this film remotely funny, they’d probably be outcast from society. An embarrassment to all those involved. 

1. THE BEACH BUM

Director Harmony Korine’s generic stoner comedy about a prolific poet who drifts through life in a drug-induced haze had all the natural high of an unfiltered, soggy joint and was easily, hands down, 2020′s worst film.

‘The Beach Bum’ was a pretentious and uninteresting movie whose lead character, considered to be an ‘artistic genius,’ was nothing more than a relentless shithead to everyone around him. As Moondog, the semi-naked, bongo-playing, pot-fuelled beat poet, Matthew McConaughey was insufferable and grating in his portrayal of a character you would quite easily want to punch in the face - repeatedly. Blazed and confused, ‘The Beach Bum’ had no plot, no class and no entertainment value whatsoever. 

MOVIE POSTERS

From the classic to the abstract, here is just a sample of some of the best poster designs from a highly unusual year of movies.

...AND FINALLY, WHEN WHEN IT COMES TO DIRE-LOG, THEY SAID WHAT!?

“I've never wanted anything more. But he's gone, and that's the truth. And everything has a price. One I'm not willing to pay. Not any more. This world was a beautiful place, just as it was, and you cannot have it all. You can only have the truth. And the truth is enough. The truth is beautiful” (’Wonder Woman 1984′).

And who could forget this little chestnut of advice...

“That is the only truth and truth is all there is. You cannot be the winner because you are not ready to win. And there is no shame in that. Only in knowing the truth in your heart and not accepting it. No true hero is born from lies” (’Wonder Woman 1984′).

[rockrevoltmagazine]

Megadeth Bassist David Ellefson Announces Release Date for his Award Winning Horror Film, Dwellers

    Ellefson Flims (Amped/Alliance) have announced an October 12, 2021, release date for their award winning found footage horror film Dwellers on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital.

Dwellers is a found footage horror film produced by Grammy award winning Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and written, directed and starring Drew Fortier. The film has already gained over twenty official selections from film festivals around the world, a number that is still growing. Dwellers has amassed glowing reviews while garnering a plethora of nominations and already winning 5 awards including:

Best Feature (Screamwriting Festival)

Best Director (The Thing in the Basement Horror Fest)

Best Horror Feature (Mad Monster Party Film Fest)

Best Documentary (Hollywood Blood Horror Festival)

Most Disturbing Scenes (Horror Bowl Movie Awards)

The physical release is planned to be packed with bonus features. More details to be released in the coming months along with pre-order information.

The film will also be screened virtually on Saturday, March 20th, as a part of the HorrorHound Film Festival’s Midnight Madness Feature and will hold a special virtual Q&A after the screening that will feature cast members from _Dwellers_.

Ticketing information can be found here: https://horrorhound.com/News/Details/333

Dwellers has been described as being, “C.H.U.D. if it were shot like The Blair Witch Project.” The film stars: Drew Fortier, James L. Edwards (Her Name Was Christa), Douglas Esper (The Nutshell) and Omar Baig (Let’s Make a Movie). Also featuring cameos from the film’s producer, David Ellefson, as well as former Mushroomhead vocalist, Jeff Hatrix.

The film’s plot is as follows: While shooting a documentary on the suspicious disappearances within the homeless community, a filmmaker and his crew go missing while uncovering a terrifying and vicious secret below the city’s surface.

David Ellefson will also be making various appearances throughout the year at horror conventions and fan expos to screen Dwellers. Keep up with Ellefson’s social media for more details.

Dwellers teaser: 

For More Information Please Visit:

https://www.facebook.com/DwellersMovie

https://www.facebook.com/davidellefson

https://www.davidellefson.com/

    Megadeth Bassist David Ellefson Announces Release Date for his Award Winning Horror Film, Dwellers was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

[eloquence-of-felicities]

2. A Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) cameo. Um, obviously! Arrow is not Arrow without Felicity, and we’re expecting more than hoping to see her reappear before all is said and done. Whether that’s in the afterlife during the series finale or not, we don’t really care, so long as we get one last Olicity scene to send us off!

8. A final tribute to OTA. While every member of Team Arrow has become near and dear to us, there will always be a special place in our hearts for Original Team Arrow, aka Oliver, Diggle (David Ramsey), and Felicity. They’ve been thick as thieves since the earliest days of Arrow, despite their ups and downs, and frankly, if we had to pick a final scene for the entire show, we’d choose for it to be one featuring these three.

[bountyofbeads]

https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/09/24/trump-dictator-united-nations-1508761?__twitter_impression=true

Today is leaders’ day at the United Nations, and world leaders are talking. And talking. Follow along with our live chat and analysis 👇https://t.co/mnalitPU5U

From Bolsonaro to Sisi to Erdogan, the early speaking lineup at the U.N. General Assembly is replete with autocratic leaders. Here's the lineup: https://t.co/gfCfkPJbdy

It’s ‘Dictator Day’ at the U.N. — with Trump in the middle

From Bolsonaro to Sisi to Erdogan, the early speaking lineup at the U.N. General Assembly is replete with autocratic leaders.

By NAHAL TOOSI | Published September 24, 2019 05:02 AM EDT | Politico | Posted September 24, 2019 11:30 AM ET|

President Donald Trump kicks off the main session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday alongside a rogue’s gallery of dictators, populist lectern-bangers and would-be autocrats.

The initial speaking order at the world’s top diplomatic gathering is a coincidence, and yet it serves as a vivid reminder of democracy’s declining fortunes around the world. It’s also already drawing attention to Trump’s repeated encouragement, and occasional emulation, of authoritarian leaders.

In Tuesday’s speech, Trump is expected to say that democracy should be supported, and to tout “American values and the American model.” The idea, according to an administration official, is to promote “a positive alternative to authoritarianism.”

Democracy watchers, remembering Trump’s past two U.N. cameos, are keeping their expectations low.

“I just hope his speech will surprise us by saying something positive and reaffirming about our commitment to democracy and human rights,” said Larry Diamond, a leading scholar of democracy at Stanford University. “I certainly will be looking to that, but I'm not holding my breath.”

Already, human rights campaigners are using Tuesday’s lineup to draw attention to what they say is a dangerous moment for freedom around the world.

“Rising authoritarianism is one of the gravest challenges that defenders of human rights face every day,” Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “It’s essential that world leaders push back against the lineup of anti-rights crusaders who will open this year’s U.N. General Assembly.”

And many of them are pointing the finger at Trump, who has largely cast aside the traditional role of U.S. presidents in speaking out in favor of democracy and human rights.

“Essentially, he has given a pass to authoritarian leaders around the world when it comes to their human rights abuses,” said David Kramer, a former top State Department official in the Republican administration of George W. Bush. “He focuses on trade, on economics, on security and rarely mentions democracy or human rights.”

The U.N. General Assembly speaking schedule is arranged based on a combination of tradition, protocol and preferences, and it could change even in the last moments. Brazil’s leader typically speaks first, followed by the U.S. president.

This year, the Brazilian president happens to be the recently elected Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist who has spoken admiringly of the dictatorship that once ruled in his country.

Bolsonaro has reinstated commemorations of the 1964 coup that ushered in a military regime until 1985. He’s also referred to that period of rule, which was marked by torture and repression, as “glorious.”

After Trump comes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, a brutal dictator accused of overseeing massacres and imprisoning numerous political opponents. This past week, a rare spate of protests against Sisi broke out in Egypt; in response, hundreds have been arrested in a still unfolding crackdown.

Following Sisi is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an elected leader who has increasingly consolidated power and tried to crush dissent.

While past American presidents have often cozied up to one autocrat or another, Trump has expressed his fondness for authoritarian leaders with a brazenness rarely employed by his predecessors.

He’s spoken of his “love” for North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, praised Russia’s Vladimir Putin as “strong,” downplayed Saudi Arabia’s killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, spoken warmly of China’s Xi Jinping and reportedly referred to Egypt’s Sisi as “my favorite dictator.” (On Monday, ahead of their bilateral meeting in New York, Trump called Sisi “my friend” and called him “a real leader” who has “done some things that are absolutely amazing in a short period of time.”)

Trump, who praised the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown as a private citizen, has largely resisted speaking out in support of protesters in Hong Kong now pushing for democratic reform amid growing encroachment from Beijing. At times, he’s used the crisis to praise Xi: “I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it,” Trump tweeted.

A German politician, speaking on condition of anonymity this week, said he increasingly hears people in his country refer to “Trump, China and Russia” in the same breath — lumping in the U.S. president with countries well down the autocratic path.

To critics of his leadership style, Trump’s appointment of his daughter and son-in-law to top government positions and his descriptions of media outlets as the “enemy of the people” are alarmingly similar to the actions of autocrats.

Going into the General Assembly, Trump stands accused of pressuring Ukraine’s leader to investigate the son of Joe Biden, the former vice president who is running to unseat him as president. Trump recently also tried to withhold U.S. aid dollars from Ukraine.

On Monday, Trump shrugged off the concerns. He claimed, without evidence, that Biden had done “a very bad, bad thing” when it came to his son’s business interests in Ukraine, and that his own moves were aimed at ensuring U.S. funds were spent appropriately.

"We're supporting a country, so we want to make sure that country is honest,” Trump said.

Analysts, however, said if Trump tried to instigate an investigation of a political opponent, it was an out-of-bounds move.

“Many authoritarian leaders would recognize this president's tactics as coming straight out of an authoritarian playbook,” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a former senior U.S. intelligence officer now with the Center for a New American Security.

What Trump doesn’t say or do also matters, critics say.

The president’s past two General Assembly speeches have focused much more on the value of national sovereignty; his mentions of democracy were narrow and mainly in reference to countries viewed as U.S. adversaries, such as Venezuela and Iran.

Even if Trump does speak extensively Tuesday about promoting democracy, his past actions and comments are likely to undermine his credibility on the issue, observers say. Also damaging to his credibility is how frequently Trump changes his mind.

For U.S. allies and partners, Trump “has been so unpredictable that they cannot any longer rely on him or the United States when it comes to important matters,” said Ivo Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

What’s in little dispute is that democracy has suffered setbacks globally in recent years, the result of rising populist sentiments and crushed democratic rebellions, among other factors.

In a report released earlier this year, Freedom House, one of the most authoritative organizations tracking democracy, said “a total of 68 countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties during 2018, with only 50 registering gains.”

It was the 13th consecutive year in which global freedom had declined, the U.S.-based group said.

Its report included a special assessment of the United States, arguing that democracy was on the wane. As one example, it noted that Republican-led Legislatures in Michigan and Wisconsin tried to strip powers from state executive branch offices won by Democrats.

The trend began well before Trump, mirroring a growing partisan divide in the U.S., but his “ongoing attacks on the rule of law, fact-based journalism, and other principles and norms of democracy threaten further decline,” the group said.

The U.N. has long had a fraught relationship with autocratic governments in its membership. The General Assembly is an annual gathering of all the world’s leaders, democratically elected or not.

Under diplomatic rules, even leaders the United States — the host country for U.N. headquarters in New York — has placed under sanctions are allowed to show up and speak during the General Assembly.

Under Trump, the U.S. has dragged its feet in issuing visas to officials from Iran, a country his administration deems a top threat. There are reports  that some of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s aides were not granted visas, and that Rouhani’s own visa imposed strict conditions on his movements while in New York.

Some leaders often skip the gathering. Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi are expected to be no-shows again this year.

Also not expected to show up is one dictator Trump does not like: Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

The United States and several dozen other countries have declared they do not recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, which is in dire humanitarian crisis because of Maduro’s alleged corruption and ruinous economic policies.

In Trump’s past speeches to the General Assembly, Venezuela has been one of the few countries whose government he has singled out for criticism on the issue of democracy and human rights, and he may do so again this year.

The president has also used Venezuela as a means of boosting his 2020 campaign message against Democrats, arguing they support the socialism that has failed in Caracas.

“The Venezuelan people are starving and their country is collapsing. Their democratic institutions are being destroyed. This situation is completely unacceptable and we cannot stand by and watch,” Trump said during his speech in 2017.

[aparticularbandit]

40, 44, 51

TV Show Ask Game

40) is there a show coming out soon that you’re really excited about?

like a new show?  or new seasons of shows?  because if we’re talking new seasons, you know i’m excited for jtv s5 and the tick s2 and big little lies s2.  but if we’re talking new shows?  …i’ll be honest, i tend to like, skip commercials on things so i don’t really know.  batwoman, maybe, in the sense that i look forward to it and want to see the first couple of episodes or so so i can see if i like it or not.  the twilight zone remake that they’re doing i’m SUPER excited for (and need to remember to go set up to record).  THE REMAKE OF FRUITS BASKET THAT COMES OUT NEXT MONTH BECAUSE THEY’RE GOING TO DO THE ENTIRE STORY INSTEAD OF ONLY THE FIRST SIX VOLUMES OF A TWENTY-THREE VOLUME SERIES WHICH MEANS I GET MY AKII MY AKII WHO I LOVE AND IDENTIFY WITH AND MACHI I GET MACHI!!!!  i think they’re actually doing a tv series for the puella magi madoka magica mobile game that they only released in japan, so if that’s a thing, i’m excited for that (because the game actually did some interesting things with how the magical girls interacted with witches and also SO much more backstory and new characters so).  i’m semi-excited for the new show yara’s going to be on because then i get more yara content on my screen but it’s not really my kind of show sooooooooooo.  AND THE NEW HIS DARK MATERIALS SERIES THAT BBC IS DOING although to be honest i think the movie had the correct cast so like i’m maybe a little disappointed with the bbc cast (nothing against mr. miranda, but he does not embody the west the same way the dude in the movie did, and nothing against their mrs. coulter but she is not nicole kidman who the author specifically said was the right mrs. coulter and he should have had coulter be blonde to go with that).  i feel like there’s probably more, but i can’t think of any more right now.

44) if you could replace any actor on TV in playing their role, who would you like to play and why?

like me acting?  hm.  i don’t know.  i don’t think i would?  because, like, it’d be wanting to hang out with the cast and–

oh i know.

i want to be william.  in x-files.  screw gender, i want to be william and hang out with gillian and david and them.  and while his actor did not do a poor job, i feel like i could also maybe pull that one off without lowering the quality of the show.

or maybe let me replace someone in one of the muppets shows so i can hang out with the muppets.  or let me be an extra on the set of–  wait, that’s not a tv show, that’s a movie series, oops.

mostly, i’d want to replace random cameo bit characters who interact with the main cast but aren’t, like, a huge deal.  maybe i could be the guy who poured the not wine into rose’s glass when she and luisa were on the submarine.  ;D

51) what’s one TV cliche you despise?

something i’ve found i dislike in supergirl and i think is prevalent in other series as well is not just the season ending on a cliffhanger (which is bad because what if it doesn’t get renewed?) but that they try to make the finales this global threat.  they take what they’ve been doing for the entire season and amp up stuff just to try to make the threat stronger and i just.  despise that.  the threat and the stakes are enough without going that big.  like in s3, yeah, the earth is in trouble, but we don’t care.  we care about what’s happening with sam and reign and the small things built up over the course of the series.  you don’t have to make it global to make us care more.  (or maybe this is just when a series overuses something that worked well once because they think it’ll work equally well later - looking at you, ouat, and your how many amnesia-causing curses - because i don’t like that, either.)

[vincent-marie]

A Look Back on TREASURE PLANET

So recently I rewatched TREASURE PLANET for the first time in about fifteen years and… I'm not gonna lie, it's still my personal favorite of the 2D Disney animated features from the early to mid-2000s.

Let's be real. Of the 2D features Disney released around that time period, TREASURE PLANET is one of the more solid films. ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE had some interesting ideas and some really nice design work and animation, but it really needed to be at least two hours long if it wanted to flesh out the characters and the world-building without requiring supplementary material (like a special edition of Disney Adventure magazine). Hardly anybody remembers BROTHER BEAR was even a thing, and the less said about HOME ON THE RANGE, the better. (Seriously, that movie wasn't even worth the Steve Buscemi cameo.)

The only other film of that era that has really held up was LILO AND STITCH, and I'll admit it's probably a better film than TREASURE PLANET. It took more risks in terms of character, setting and originality, and emotionally it leaves more of an impact. (That scene when Nani sings to Lilo makes me cry like a baby every time.) My only problem with it is it always felt like two entirely different movies collided with each other and it never felt like they really meshed well. Otherwise, I agree with most fans that it’s a good film.

Also, of course, there was the excellent THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, which was just such a huge departure from Disney’s normal schtick and trying something more Tex Avery-esque, only for it to be a perfect storm instead of a total crash and burn. That is much to be proud of.

Going back to TREASURE PLANET, I can understand that most folks walk away saying it’s an "okay" film. I, however, am not one of those people. I've had a real soft spot for this movie ever since I saw it, but now I appreciate this film for additional reasons.

Namely, the animation and effects work. Holy crap, is this movie gorgeous! It's like watching Don Bluth's ANASTASIA, except I don't have to feel guilty about historical inaccuracies. (Now it’s just scientific inaccuracies, but STAR WARS gets away with that all the time.)

Directors John Musker and Ron Clements had apparently wanted to do a sci-fi retelling of "Treasure Island" since before they started working on THE LITTLE MERMAID. With that in mind I do feel like this movie would have fared better with critics back in the early 90s during the Disney Renaissance. However at that time they would not have had such elaborate and detailed CG effects within arm's reach. There's something I really enjoy about the use of 3D backdrops so that they may do sweeping camera movements, and that's not even getting into the lighting effects to establish atmosphere.

What's more, there are a lot of subtleties to the character animation that I never appreciated until now. You could just pick one character and focus on him or her during the whole movie and find a lot of fun little quirks in their dialogue or walk cycles.

Admittedly, much of this film’s appeal probably depends on how much of an animation fan you are. In my case I was watching John Silver’s animation and I suspected that Glen Keane was probably in charge of animating him (as there are moments when Silver looks so much like Ratigan). Those suspicions were confirmed during the end credits and I was delightfully geeking out about it.

It’s also easy to see where this film might not have had a lot of mass appeal. Most of the focus on the story is on Jim Hawkins and his daddy issues, which by the early 2000s was already a cliche of a character arc. And it’s not helped by the fact that Jim himself is... well, kind of on the bland side as a protagonist. There’s not a lot about him that makes him any more or less interesting than any other teenage male lead. But for what it is I think the movie did fine at establishing and building the relationship between Jim and Silver, which does have its warm and comforting moments. For both of them.

And at least the film is straightforward with its plot and characters and it’s not a structural mess like HERCULES, a previous venture by Musker and Clements.

Something I’ve noticed over the years is that TREASURE PLANET has a little bit of a cult following. I distinctly remember this one time when I was taking a storyboard class in college; we were assigned to do a “Master Study” assignment by recreating the key story frames in our favorite scene in a favorite animated movie. One of my classmates picked the scene when Jim is brought home to the inn by the police and embarrasses his mother. I recall being so impressed, and even a little envious, that she got the character design style down to a T. (If you’re wondering what movie/scene I picked for my Master Study, I picked the Big Ben scene from THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE.)

Then, of course, some friends and I suspect that TREASURE PLANET might have fared better if it had been released a bit later, more towards the height of the Steampunk craze. It’s not quite what I would call “Steampunk”, as it takes place in a sort of alternate universe version of the 18th century and not the Gothic era, and most of their transport is solar-powered and not steam-based. Nevertheless it’s easy to see how fans of Steampunk could find it appealing, with its mostly earth-tone color pallet to evoke the painted illustrations of the classic novel it was based on. Also that combination of a pre-20th century aesthetic with out-of-this-world science fiction elements is pretty much, in my opinion, what makes Steampunk so much fun to play around with. Also, a robot made out of copper. End of story.

In terms of why this film didn’t do so well when it was released, I suspect what stunted its success was the marketing. I could be wrong, as I was actually living in Honduras at the time of the film’s release, but we got some TV stations from Denver, Colorado. I remember a lot of the TV spots spent most of their time highlighting the goofy comic relief moments with Morph, and there was a real emphasis on the presence of B.E.N., even though he's in less than one-third of the movie. In other words, the film's success might have been partially sabotaged by a marketing team that seemed to think if you don’t take your film seriously at all that will somehow draw in the crowd.

Although speaking of the comic relief characters, I actually don’t mind them that much. I always thought Morph had a lot of cute, funny moments that weren’t too obnoxious. As for B.E.N., I kind of have mixed feelings for him. On one hand, the directing team made better use of Martin Short’s improvisational skills than PEBBLE AND THE PENGUIN or WE’RE BACK! ever did. But on the other hand, does B.E.N. have to be so loud and shouty? However, while B.E.N. is a real screw-up, he’s not so much to the point where I want to see him get smashed with a sledgehammer. He’s generally likable, not at all loathsome, and just annoying enough, but not TOO annoying.

However while we’re still on the subject of B.E.N., I’d just like to add that the CG animation on him is really nice. Making him 3D gives him a sort of sense of solidity compared to his hand-drawn humanoid compadres, and to top it off his animation isn’t at all stiff or feels like the CG is holding him back. There is some really expressive squashing and stretching going on with his dialogue. It’s so subtle in places that you’d probably miss it if you’re not looking for it. A lot of CG animation studios at the time like Pixar and Dreamworks had not quite mastered squashing and stretching themselves, so kudos to Disney for pulling it off so well.

Now if I may indulge a little on why I remember this film fondly, my favorite characters were always Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia. They are both fun and engaging on their own, but together they are weirdly adorable. Granted, I've always thought them getting together at the end was a bit rushed, but I still totally buy it.

(What I don't buy is that they'd be so eager to have kids after Doppler showed such annoyance and revulsion towards that toddler alien girl at the beginning. I get that the creators wanted some visual shorthand to indicate that they're an official couple, but they could have just been wearing wedding rings or throw in a little more of them dancing together.)

Part of the reason I love these characters on their own is the casting. I was already familiar with Emma Thompson from Ang Lee's adaptation of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and her character of Eleanor Dashwood was very quiet and reserved. You can imagine my disbelief and delight hearing her play an assertive, witty badass as Amelia. (As if I didn't already think Amelia’s design was cool.)

As for David Hyde Pierce, I had only occasionally watched FRASIER growing up, but when I saw this movie I was familiar with him through some other memorable voice acting roles, particularly that excellent Season 8 episode of THE SIMPSONS, “Brother From Another Series.” In other words, I already knew him to be funny, snarky and charismatic.

While I'm on about the casting, I feel like there's a totally wasted opportunity to have these two characters in a room together, say, before the black hole scene, exchanging witty banter to show how compatible they are in a casual setting. It’s a shame that Emma and David didn’t record their dialogue together, because with her being an accomplished writer and with his skills at improvisation, there could have been some good verbal combat by way of “Much Ado About Nothing-Meets-Frasier.”

But looking back, I remember I immediately loved Captain Amelia just on principal. As a kid I never really gravitated that much to any of the Disney princesses. I can’t really describe why, but it was mostly how they were marketed as just looking pretty and (arguably) kind of passive in their own stories. Not to mention how when Disney Princess became a brand, they really amped up the girly cutesy-ness to their preexisting images. Not to say there’s anything inherently wrong with cute or feminine things, but it really made me feel like a weirdo who somehow wasn’t fit to be called a girl.

Captain Amelia, on the other hand, had her own style of femininity by wearing a classy, more masculine captain’s uniform along with thigh-high high-heeled boots (that she has no problem running in). She had a no-nonsense attitude, she was focused and cool-headed in a stressful situation, she was downright snarky and took crap from no one. In other words, she was the type of woman I wanted to be when I grew up, and to this day she is my favorite Disney Lady, bar none.

And while I’m at it, I’m just going to add that I’ve always found Dr. Doppler more attractive than your standard Disney prince. Besides his character design looking like a canine version of Roger from 101 DALMATIONS, he just always seemed like he’d be fun to get a coffee with.

Well, that’s about all I really want to talk about regarding TREASURE PLANET. It’s a shame it’s not remembered by more people as it does have some really good elements to it, but in some regards I can kind of see why it wasn’t a huge critical success. If you haven’t seen it already I recommend checking it out as it’s a pretty solid standalone film that doesn’t need supplementary material and covers all the bases with the plot and some fun character moments here and there. If you’re an animation fan I cannot stress enough how you really need to watch it, or even rewatch it, because, again, the animation and effects work is just a real feast for the eyes.

[shireness-says]

WIP Meme

I was tagged by the delightful @distant-rose and @courtorderedcake to share snippets from my current WIPs. Thanks, ladies; sorry it took me a few days to follow through.

(Below the break to prevent dashboard spam:)

1. Unnamed Broadway AU (if anyone has some good titles, let me know! Actor Killian, Stage Manager Emma)

Killian Jones is nervous.

Which is patently ridiculous. It’s not like he’s auditioning; he already has the job. He just needs to show up and execute that job. It still doesn’t mean he stops feeling like a kindergartener on his first day of school, desperately hoping all the other kids like him.

Liam finds the whole thing absolutely hilarious, the bastard. “You’ve got to relax, Kil,” he laughs with that patented tone of voice Killian knows means Liam thinks he’s being ridiculous. “You’re just psyching yourself out, that’s not useful for anyone.”

This is all his fault, really. It was Liam who always had the big dreams of becoming a fancy movie star. Killian would have been perfectly happy in some kind of normal job, maybe play a bit of music on the side as a hobby. He spent his childhood and young adulthood happily supporting Liam’s dreams - attending every show, painting scenery, picking up lunch, whatever was needed. And Liam had made it, moving out to California and securing little roles at first, before somehow landing a major ongoing role in an action franchise. Killian was so proud, happy to continue in his role of adoring younger brother while holding down a job at the harbor. Acting had never been on his radar, and still wasn’t. But Liam had arranged a little bit part in one of his films - practically a cameo, really - and like that, Killian was hooked. He’d well and truly caught the acting bug, and there was no going back.

2. Unnamed CSSNS piece, featuring Emma the witch

So Emma Swan, who can barely feed herself, is suddenly using her stove to cook up all kinds of potions – mostly the frivolous ones for, like, shiny hair or ‘an aura of confidence’ or whatever, but still. It counts. The massive soup pot Mary Margaret got her years ago has never seen so much use in it’s short, somewhat sad life.

And she kind of thought that’d be it – Emma Swan gains a weird hobby, keeps Mary Margaret stocked with all the aphrodisiacs she and David could ever hope to go through. But she’s out and about at a little café one day, and that same sixth sense that led her to the book starts going off again, and that’s how she meets Belle – librarian by day, witch and magical researcher by evening.

And then Mary Margaret gets her a fish and calls it her familiar as a joke, and she and Belle keep meeting to try new spells, and it sneaks up on her, just like that, that oh my God she’s totally a witch. Even if Harold the goldfish can’t actually help her channel her magic or whatever.

3. Unnamed modern royalty fic, w/ Emma as queen of a fictional country

But the new girl… the other kids don’t seem to like her either. And Killian can’t figure out why. He may just be six – seven in February – but he knows an angel when he sees one, and Emma must be an angel, with her blonde curls and green eyes and shy smile when Miss Nova introduces her to the class. Some of the other kids seem nervous about Mr. Graham, who watches over her, but it only makes sense to him that an angel like that would need protecting while she’s still so small.

It takes forever to work up the nerve to talk to her, but she looks so sad, all by herself on the swing set, so he swallows his fear and walks over. He offers her one of his mam’s cookies, tells her he likes the bows on her shoes, and that’s it. They’re the best of friends.

(Alice Jones is somewhat thrown for a loop when it turns out that when her youngest asked if his new bestest friend Emma could come over, he forgot to mention that the girl in question was first in line to the throne of Misthaven. Or that Emma coming over for lunch and to play would require the entire family to go through an in-depth security vetting.

Alice would be angry, but it’s hard to hold on to that irritation when she sees her shy little boy laughing and happy with his new friend, and sees the way he helps her break out of her nervous shell as well.)

4. 5b divergence fic (tentatively named If I Could See Your Face Once More)

This time, there’s no celebration at Granny’s when the excitement is over.

There’s just Emma, re-forging Excalibur with shaking hands to trap what’s left of the Dark One inside the blade, removing it from a human vessel once and for all.

Then, of course, they’re left to deal with the body of Killian Jones.

5. You’re Alway 16 Hours Ahead (rock star Killian told in letters)

Dear Emma,

I know it’s only been a few days, but I miss you and Henry already. Los Angeles is loud, and congested, and so much not like Storybrooke that it scares me a little. But when that happens, I try to remember our bench on the docks, and it helps ground me a little.

You didn’t think I was kidding when I said I’d write, did you? Mark my words, I intend to write you from every stop. To hell with blocking or setup or rehearsals or whatever, I’ll be sitting on an amp backstage writing you.

You must tell me everything, Swan. I know it’s been less than a week, but I’m sure there’s something from the gossip mill. Has Liam secured a new Friday act yet? I’m sure he won’t find anyone nearly as talented (or handsome!) as yours truly, but I can’t imagine he and Robin are leaving that slot open in my honor. Or something. Tell me, how much do you think he’ll groan if I send back a signed world tour poster?

I’ve got to go - something about the lights. Such is the life of a rock star, isn’t it?

Your own personal celebrity (and best friend),

-Killian

Any of those sound interesting to you guys? Let me know!

Tagging: @awkwardnessandbaseball, @initiala, @winterbythesea, @revanmeetra87, @wingedlioness (sorry if you guys did this already and I didn’t see it!)

[acsversace-news]

Don’t be diverted by the sleek clothes, vibrant colors or transformative work of its lead actors — the crown jewel in the medusa head of “American Crime Story: Versace” is necomer Cody Fern.

From a small mining town in Australia, with only one prior credit to his name, Fern plays the little-known David Madson — a pawn in the game of serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who famously gunned down designer Gianni Versace in Miami in 1997.

That Fern would stand out with his famous costars Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez and Darren Criss is as unlikely as it is exhilarating. His performance as Madson is the show’s true revelation, despite the halo Ramirez brings Gianni, the quiet dignity Cruz affords Donatella and the textured madness Criss gives us as Cunanan.

Let us explain. (Warning: Do not read ahead if you aren’t caught up on the show.)

“Versace,” produced by Ryan Murphy and his “People v. O.J.” team of Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson, shows Cunanan’s five-person murder spree in reverse. It hooks you with the spectacle and tragedy of Versace being gunned down on the marble steps of his palazzo and walks you back through Cunanan’s horrible journey to that moment.

On this timeline, we meet his victims and friends Madson and Jeff Trail (Finn Wittrock). At the top of the fourth episode, we witness Fern’s big moment: Cunanan violently bashes Trail in the skull and face 28 times with a hammer.

The violence is implicit and the camera doesn’t show the murder, just a slow push on Fern. He conveys abject horror and shock at the act unfolding in front of him. Only after the screams and grunts are through do we see a blood-soaked Cunanan, who immediately retreats into the arms of the terrified Fern, looking for approval.

Madson had a dog, and the animal used in the scene had such a strong reaction that the actors had to do a second take, Jacobson told TheWrap.

“The intensity of that murder was present there at the shoot,” she said. “What’s so great about Cody’s performance is that the horror of the murder is playing out across him.”

After the murder, Cunanan seizes on the violence and confusion to make Madson feel complicit. He pulls him into the shower and washes the blood from them both. He watches as Madson dresses and struggles to find an appropriate response to the crime he’s just witnessed.

Cunanan promises no one else will get hurt if Madson flees the scene with him, so the men set off together on a morbid little road trip. Here they both begin to weigh the consequences of their choices.

“We watched a lot of road movies from the 1990s, there was this trend of road movies. ‘Natural Born Kilers,’ ‘Wild at Heart,’ ‘Thelma and Louise.’ [Episode writer] Tom Rob Smith watched those, and we talked about this being a twisted version of that,” Simpson told TheWrap.

Indeed, Cunanan joyously belts out Technotronic’s “Pump Up The Jam” while Madson stares off into the distance, drudging up his internalized shame over being gay, and wondering how news of the crime will hurt his family, which struggled with his coming out, years before.

“The question becomes, ‘How redeemable is Andrew and how redeemable am I?” Fern said of the episode, speaking from the set of his new gig on “House of Cards.” “How complicit am I in the death of this other person, my best friend? Could I run now if I wanted to?”

To prepare for the episode, Fern said he read the famous testimony of Manson Family member Linda Kasabian, a key witness in the defense of the Tate-LaBianca murders.

“You got the sense that the light went out behind her eyes, ” Fern said.

The episode reaches a second crescendo when the fugitives stop at a roadside bar. Fern’s Madson keeps reaching the end of his emotional rope, only to find more rope. A lounge lizard (played by indie goddess Amie Mann in a stealth cameo) sings an impossibly sad cover of The Cars song’ “Drive.”

Madson escapes to the bathroom, where he breaks the glass of a small rectangular window above the toilet — “Maybe he fits through it, maybe he doesn’t,” Jacobson said.

Back in the bar, reality rushes to Cunanan and tears stream down his face.

When he looks up, Madson has returned to the table. The sweater he wrapped around his fist to punch the window is now tied on his waist.

“The shame, it’s something we wanted to explore in this entire season. Think about Versace. He came out before Ellen, and there were so few role models and people you could look up to. There was so much internalized homophobia, it’s so present with both of those characters, both Madson and Jeff,” Jacobson said.

“It’s more than the murder for Madson. It’s ‘People know you’re guilty for being gay, and guilty of being gay.’ That Cunanan plays on that is so disturbing,” Simpson said.

Tom Rob Smith’s teleplay for the episode is titled “House by the Lake.” That’s where the episode ends, and we won’t spoil what fate awaits the men there.

[aion-rsa]

Why Training Day’s King Kong Speech Is One of the Best Movie Monologues Ever

https://ift.tt/3rjGBM3

Training Day’s “King Kong” monologue stands tall among the great speeches of cinema. Denzel Washington elevates the iambic pentameter of Iago, the villain of William Shakespeare’s Othello, to syncopated street rhythms. It is on par with Marlon Brando’s reflections on the horrors of war as Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, it is the inverse of Gregory Peck’s monologues as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, and it ranks with Joe Pesci’s “Do you think I’m funny?” scene in Goodfellas or Groucho Marx’s breakdown in the middle of reconciliation in Duck Soup. But the single line of dialogue which hits it home wasn’t in David Ayer’s screenplay. It was pure Denzel.

“King Kong ain’t got shit on me,” LAPD Det. Sgt. Alonzo Harris declares in the most memorable scene in Training Day. Washington improvised the line in the heat of the moment. He’d earlier improvised a scene where he rubbed two handguns together as a threat. This is expert foreshadowing to the character breakdown, allowing Washington to evoke Humphrey Bogart’s Capt. Queeg, who fiddled with ball-bearings under cross-examination in The Caine Mutiny.

Before this moment, Alonzo had an iron grip over the neighborhood he patrols. He hassled out-of-towners for free weed, smokes, and pipes, and had his breakfast tabs paid with cash to table. And in this scene, he’s just made a lifesaving score and some “disloyal bitch-ass fool” gang member shuts him down, siding with a white rookie cop.

Alonzo put 13 years into this job, and he’s got a total of 15,000 man years in sentences under his belt. Yet he’s also been marked for death by the Russian mob and time is running out when he invokes Hollywood’s giant ape. Washington wears these contradictions on his face, playing Alonzo like he’s been both ordained and earned his exalted position. He throws down challenges, pulls emotional punches, and keeps the other actors tightly involved in the scene.

Not all of Washington’s dynamics are limited to the craft of acting. Some of Alonzo’s lines come across like a Tom Morello guitar run in a Rage Against the Machine song. Denzel drives beautiful dissonances without a blue note. And he does the whole thing two feet from an imposing Terry Crews, who stands there like a giant Marshall amp ready to knock him off his feet.

The monologue is more than engaging, it is arresting. And it ends in an unexpected place, certainly not foreseen by the audience or the players when it begins. Alonzo is shouting for his life here. The stakes of “go to jail or go home” are just the opening ante of the cop’s wager of controlling his neighbors. And after the rousing wakeup call ends, the crowd’s reaction recalls the conclusion of Bruce Springsteen’s street anthem “Jungleland,” which reads “and they wind up wounded, not even dead.”

Training Day tells the story of a veteran police detective, undercover cop Alonzo, who babysits rookie narc cop Jake, played by Ethan Hawke, through his first day on the street. The role of Alonzo was the first villain Washington ever played. The actor had an onscreen reputation as an authentic hero. All his characters, even Pfc. Peterson in A Soldier’s Story, who shot a black sergeant and left him on the side of the road, had a code. There is a set of ethics and morals which the character stuck to, even in the face of a murder confession. By the ‘90s, Washington was a renowned role model in cinema.

For most of Training Day, he uses this reputation to his advantage. Denzel puts on his good guy voice and most charismatic smile, and Alonzo’s side glances are invitations. He’s got all the answers and knows how to impart wisdom. Even if you don’t want to hear it.

But it’s a beautiful ruse, and Washington has a ball playing the villain. Alonzo is a demon in a 1978 Monte Carlo lowrider. The devil’s got gold chains, black leather, and a badge. The road to hell is greased with bad intent. Alonzo doesn’t need a siren. He can stop traffic with a stare. He bends the law until it breaks, and is the guy you call to put in the fix. He rousts citizens for the cardio. Alonzo messes with people’s heads as a passing thought.

Meanwhile, Jake thinks the narco beat will put him on the fast track to detective grade. Alonzo is evaluating Jake to see if he’s got what it takes, and if he’ll take what he can get.

The grooming starts slowly. A couple of pulls on a marijuana pipe and a visit to an ex-cop whose pouring drinks for on-duty badges. Corruption is a slow process, especially with a hardheaded idealist. When Jake’s one “bad boy” story ends with an admission that he didn’t have sex with his “fine” training officer after a year in park because he’s “got a wife,” Denzel shoots back with “You got a dick.” And when Jake later confirms he’s not cool with killing and robbing drug dealers, his fate is sealed in Alonzo’s eyes: off-screen the older cop arranges it with a Mexican gang so Jake can take the fall.

Alonzo is on a deadline. He beat the wrong guy to death on a trip to Las Vegas, and the Russian mafia wants $1 million by the end of that day in payback. Alonzo had that money in a bag before Jake crashed in on his getaway, shooting him in the ass and leaving him stalled at the scene, which probably got Washington his Oscar.

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Training Day is filled with memorable sequences: Snoop Dogg’s arrest is pure slapstick tragedy; Macy Gray sounds absolutely unearthly; who doesn’t have the urge to get high with Alonzo after watching him take the wheel so’s not to kill Jake’s buzz? But Alonzo kills it good when his life’s on the line.

When the gang leader Bone (Cle Sloan) sides with Jake during the film’s climactic moment, letting the rookie split with the cash he’ll use as evidence to bust Alonzo, it is a cultural divide. The white cop dissociates not only from the bad cop and from the Black community, but turns Alonzo’s defining declaration into some kind of psychotic breakdown. It is street legal, common sense on the block, now diluted for mass consumption. Alonzo is not wrong about anything except his partner. The motherfucker who just shot him in the ass.

Part of the reason the scene is so effective is because of the energy of where it was shot. Producers were warned the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts was too dangerous for production, but the neighborhood community wanted the film to be made. And they wanted it to be honest. Director Antoine Fuqua shot there anyway and cast neighborhood residents as extras or in small roles. It was the first time LA gangs allowed filmmaking on their turf, and Cle Shaheed Sloan, a former member of the Bloods who was the gang technical advisor, got cameos from real-life gang members, according to Fuqua on the DVD.

Washington is performing street theater in the round during his big speech, and he’s playing it to the most appreciative audience in the world. People are getting paid to be themselves and show their pain. It works like a chorus and it amplifies the tension. Alonzo is a tiger caught by the tail but with a lot of bite. To catch a wolf, you have to be a wolf, the narc cop believes. Spittle flies onto the pavement as Denzel forges himself into the eighth wonder of the world.

King Kong was the king of the jungle but met his death on city streets. “I run this place, you just live here,” Alonzo affirms with more truth than power allows. Undercover cops control the very concrete on the blocks they rule. Gangbangers operate at his discretion, with 23-hour lockdowns at Pelican Bay state prison as the collateral held against them. When the community turns away, it is both enfranchising and heartbreaking. The king is in exile but nothing will change. Alonzo knows this as he smokes his last cigarette. Someone else is coming in to take his place, and they will never be able to achieve what he believes he did, and only he can do. He goes out believing, affirming, and convinced he is winning. Redemption doesn’t even enter his mind. Washington saves his most diabolical laugh for himself. The wolf has been sheared.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It isn’t beauty which kills this beast, but a lethal dose of vanity. Alonzo may very well have been able to go a few rounds against the champion of Skull Island only hours before this moment. But sadly, afterward, this Los Angeles King Kong became no match for the Russian mafia. 

The post Why Training Day’s King Kong Speech Is One of the Best Movie Monologues Ever appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3bivxsS

[epiphany-in-exile]

Billboard Taylor Swift's 2017: The Timeline 12/18/2017 by Allison Stubblebine From the record-breaking 'Reputation' to speaking out against sexual assault, Swift continued to change culture in 2017. Taylor Swift didn't do a lot in 2017... until she did. Following months spent attempting to fly under the radar, and the Instagram blackout of Aug. 2017, Swift took the rest of the year by storm, with a not-so-traditional album rollout for Reputation and a series of larger than life visuals to accompany the first singles. Fans got a sneak preview at what was to come from her personally curated Secret Sessions, but those were hidden away from the lens of the media. Now that Reputation is here to stay, Billboard has taken a look back at Swift's action packed year. Jan. 27 - “I Don’t Want to Live Forever” music video release Swift kicked off the New Year with the release of the visuals to Fifty Shades Darker track “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” Swift and former 1D artist Zayn trashed a hotel room for the video, lit by flashing shades of blue and red. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Feb. 4 2017 - Taylor Swift plays “only show of 2017” Swift broke some disappointing news to fans during her pre-Super Bowl set for DIRECTV Now Super Saturday Night. "I have to be really honest with you about something: As far as I know, I'm doing one show in 2017. And as far as I know, this is that one show," Swift said long before the announcement of Reputation. She added, “You're the crowd in my most recent daydreams, when I'm thinking about being onstage, so I was wondering: If you don't feel like dancing for yourself or screaming for yourself, you don't feel in the mood or whatever, you're like stressed out, would you do it for me tonight?" Feb. 15-16 - TAS Rights Management, LLC filed nine separate trademarks for “Swifties” Swift’s brand nailed down the things most true to her: Swifties. Nine separate trademarks were filed for the word alone, including one involving “a website featuring non-downloadable audio recordings [and] video recordings.” The idea that Swift would launch her own streaming service was debunked. Mar. 2 - Ed Sheeran teases Swift’s upcoming album The singer revealed that his pal would be putting her music out quite late on in the year, saying, “Taylor [Swift] isn’t going to be releasing until probably the end of this year—Christmas is the smartest time to release because that’s when everyone buys records.” Looks like he was right. Mar. 10 - Man arrested for stalking/burglary inside Swift’s apartment building A man was arrested in Swift’s New York City building on charges of burglary, stalking, and trespassing. According to a Page Six report, the man allegedly hoped to meet the singer face-to-face. While the man was initially held on $20,000 bail, he was found unfit to stand trial and reportedly “placed in the custody of the New York State Office of Mental Health” as of late September. April 4 - “Busy working” on new album in Nashville After the singer had been spotted driving around Nashville, a source confirmed to ET that she’d come “to get away from the paparazzi,” and also that she had “been busy working on her upcoming album.” May 15 - She’s really in Nashville! Swift celebrates Mother’s Day at home with her mom TMZ did the heavy digging and proved that Swift really had been in Nashville - though she may have been hopping back and forth, as she was spotted getting onto her private jet after a spending the weekend with mama Swift for Mother’s Day. July 4 - Keeping it low-key for the first time in years on the Fourth of July Paparazzi were very upset that Swift didn’t have an Independence day blowout tailor-made for media, even though she'd been keeping a relatively low profile all year. Aug. 14 - $1 Countersuit Win The long-drawn-out legal battle between DJ David Mueller, who was accused of reaching under the pop star’s skirt to grope her during a photo shoot in 2013, was finally put to rest. After Mueller attempted to countersue for damages that occurred following Swift’s accusation (which was quietly made to the station, who promptly let him go), the singer was awarded a single symbolic dollar in damages. Swift’s attorney Douglas Baldridge explained the value, “It means no means no, and it tells every woman that they will determine what is tolerated with their body." Aug. 18-20 - Bye bye, old Taylor… and old posts In the internet-breaking fashion Swift seems to have perfected, the singer’s social media accounts went into full blackout mode. No old posts were to be found anywhere, signaling that she was gearing up to launch something huge. Aug. 21 - She’s back, but only with some snakes In one of the best social media moments of the year, Swift posted a three-part series of glitch-y snake videos without captions to her Instagram to break her short-lived blackout. The image of the snake had become synonymous with Swift’s internet-meme identity, following the drawn-out beef with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West regarding West’s “Famous” lyrics and video. Aug. 23 - It’s an album! After five days (AKA an eternity in Swiftie time), Swift revealed the project behind the social media madness. Continuing in the three-part posting style, Swift announced “FIRST SINGLE OUT TOMORROW NIGHT,” posted the cover art, and announced the release date for then-upcoming album Reputation. All posts were still caption-less. Aug. 24 - Look what you made her do. Swift released Reputation’s lead single “Look What You Made Me Do” with a clever caption on Instagram: “..ready for it? New single #LookWhatYouMadeMeDo out now.” Of course, the forthcoming track title remained an inside joke to the singer’s team upon posting time. Aug. 27 - Look what you made her do, part two. The singer premiered the visuals for “LWYMMD” at the 2017 MTV VMAs, snagging 43.2 million views in the first 24 hours alone, now standing with over 783 million views. The Joseph Kahn-directed visual is loaded with references to the “old Taylor,” including a tombstone for Nils Sjoberg, her songwriting pseudonym on ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris’ 2016 hit “This Is What You Came For,” nearly all of her most iconic outfits, more snakes, and nearly all her besties’ names scribbled on a new version of her “You Belong With Me” music video costume. Sept. 3 - “…Ready for It?” released Swift released the second track off Reputation after she previewed it on Saturday Night Football the night prior. It followed suit with the darker, much more dramatic new Taylor, yet gave no clearer picture of what was yet to come. Sept. 5 - No. 1, again Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" tops the Billboard Hot 100, where it would reign for three weeks. The song was her fifth Hot 100 No. 1 and broke the weekly streaming record for a song by a woman; it also stopped the record-tying 16-week reign of "Despacito." Sept. 7 - TayTay On Demand Ever wanted to know what Swift is up to at any given moment? Well this isn’t exactly that, but the trailer jokes that it will be. Swift announced her new video-on-demand channel in partnership with AT&T and DirectTV called Taylor Swift NOW, accompanied by a hilarious play-by-play of Swift’s day in the studio (complete with Andy Samberg cameo). Oct. 11 - The Swift Life app announced Stans will finally have a one-stop-shop for finding out everything there is to know about their fave singer. It is said to function as a social network of sorts, leaning into Swift’s hobby of “lurking” and replying to fans on social media, and also offering an opportunity to “collect Taymojis, stickers, pics, and more.” Oct. 20 - “Gorgeous” released The predictable yet addicting pop track the world was waiting for finally arrived. Swift sang of a romantic interest that was somehow too gorgeous for even a superstar like her to talk to. James Reynolds, two-year-old daughter of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, was later officially credited in album liner notes as the voice at the beginning of the track. Oct. 27 - “…Ready for it?” returns with visuals The fans surely weren’t ready for it, yet with the Joseph Kahn directed video packed with hidden messages, it wasn’t long before Swifties decoded them all. Among the most obvious are Swift’s birth year spray-painted on a wall, the Chinese characters for “Year of the Snake,” as well as a similar lightning strike in the intro to Calvin Harris’ “This is What You Came For” album art. Nov. 2 - “Call It What You Want” lyric video released Fans started to get a fuller picture of what was coming from Reputation in just over a week. Swift seemed to be finding her way to happiness in the first ballad to be released from the album, but she was still attempting to rid herself of the drama she’d endured. The day was special for more than one reason, coinciding with the 13th anniversary (Swift’s lucky number) of meeting Scott Borchetta, the Big Machine Records executive who signed her and gave her the fateful big break. Nov. 7 - Track list revealed on Swift’s Instagram Account Three days prior to the Reputation release date, Swift posted the back cover to the album, featuring the track listing. Nov. 8 - CMA Win Even though she's left country in the dust on her own albums, Swift's song for Little Big Town, "Better Man," nabbed song of the year at the 2017 CMAs. Nov. 9 - The album was leaked, and this is why we can’t have nice things In this day and age, so many albums leak prior to release date, but not quite in this fashion: missing from the leaked files was track no. 13, “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.” Whether it was at the hands of Swift’s team, Swift herself, or a sneaky fan, it was quite the clever move. On the same day, an intimate recording “New Years Day” from what looks like a secret session was premiered on ABC during an episode of Scandal. Nov. 10 - Reputation is out everywhere, except for streaming services Reputation hit shelves and online retailers; a Target exclusive version included a magazine with poems and photos from Swift. She announced 20 days later that Reputation would be available to stream at midnight on Dec. 1. Nov. 11 - SNL Swift plays Saturday Night Live, busting out "...Ready for It?" and an acoustic "Call It What You Want." Nov. 13 - Tonight Show Following the death of Jimmy Fallon's mother, Taylor Swift agreed to appear on The Tonight Show to play a moving version of "New Year's Day." Nov. 20 - Reputation Is No. 1 Swift's Reputation becomes her fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Reputation notched 2017’s biggest week for an album, as the set earned 1.238 million equivalent album units in the week ending Nov. 16, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 1.216 million were in traditional album sales -- the largest sales frame for an album since 2015. It would hold the No. 1 spot for three weeks. Nov. 28 - Grammy Time The Taylor Swift-penned "Better Man" from Little Big Town is nominated for best country song -- which is a songwriter(s) award, so Swift will get a trophy if it wins. She's also nominated for best song written for visual media for her Zayn collab "I Don't Want to Live Forever." Dec. 1 - Taylors In the Stream Reputation appears on the major streaming services. Dec. 4 2017 - Reputation, but make it fashion (UK Vogue cover) Vogue UK revealed its first cover of the new year would feature Swift. Newly appointed Editor in Chief Edward Enninful styled the singer during his second cover after taking the reigns from Alexandra Shulman. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, also photographers for all Reputation visuals, shot the twelve-page spread. Two days later, the high fashion mag revealed a poem Swift wrote exclusively to run with the feature, titled, "The Trick to Holding On." Dec. 6 2017 - Swift is one of Time’s “Silence Breakers” Her summer court case was not meant to be a media spectacle, but it was meant to prove a point with the symbolic $1 request. As Time gave the platform to “The Silence Breakers,” women who helped bring sexual assault and harassment to the forefront of the national conversation, as its 2017 Person of the Year, Swift was among the individuals highlighted. The Time interview is the first time Swift has done press about the court case, and in it she detailed reaching out to Kesha for support, as well as her feelings as she sat in the courtroom. "I was angry. In that moment, I decided to forego any courtroom formalities and just answer the questions the way it happened,” Swift said. “This man hadn’t considered any formalities when he assaulted me, and his lawyer didn’t hold back on my mom -- why should I be polite? I’m told it was the most amount of times the word 'ass' has ever been said in Colorado Federal Court." Dec. 8 2017 - Swift Plays iHeartRadio’s Z100 Jingle Ball in NYC The pre-Super Bowl performance wasn’t her only concert of 2017, after all. Camila Cabello and Lindsay Lohan were Swift’s biggest fans at the show, posting videos dancing the night away to various social media platforms. Dec. 11 - Reputation Continues to Be Big Swift earned her 55th Hot 100 hit with Reputation album track "End Game," featuring rapping from Future, Ed Sheeran and herself. Dec. 13 - B'Day & Tix While some fans were able to buy tickets in advance, the general public tickets for Swift's Reputation Tour went on sale Dec. 13, 2017 -- not coincidentally her 28th birthday. She released a tour trailer to celebrate. Dec. 14 - Still Getting 'Ready' Swift dropped a lyric video for BloodPop's bouncy remix of "...Ready for It?"

[theperfectmalespecimen1]

Vizmato: Video Editor & amp; Filters in the App Store

Cameo - Video Editor and Movie Maker 4+

The video can now be edited using sound data (e.g. cutting out silent parts). The values ​​can be scaled on a value scale. This makes the setting of the values ​​more precise. for your Insta stories. Hype Type is a popular iOS app for Insta Stories that lets you add animated text to videos and photos. With this app you can spice up your Insta Stories with automatically designed movement typography. The volume can now be changed arbitrarily both linearly and along a curve or in a combination of both methods (part of the "Volume" effect changes according to a curve and part of the effect changes linearly). There is a new function to normalize the sound. The maximum volume can be specified in percent. This function is applicable to original content as well as content for which audio filters have already been defined.

More from QuVideo Inc. Best Video Editor & Video Maker App

You can subscribe to technical support. We will help you in every way and quickly to solve your tasks and problems with our products. More information. With InShot you can create a new video, photo or a new collage, and also edit existing material. You can convert videos to different aspect ratios so that you can easily adjust the size and crop to fit the Insta stories.

At the moment, new editor apps for Instagram stories are appearing with which you can easily create even more individual Insta stories.

Templates for the curves have been added in the parameter change editor.

Most often, masking is used to blur a face and protect identity or to avoid unwanted ones Remove objects / characters in the video.

Formats interlocked.

This corresponds to your reviews settings. You can find more information in this blog post. In KineMaster you can also edit your films directly from the timeline. You don't have to invest a lot of money for a good video editing program. Most people today use their cell phones for snapshots rather than a professional video camera. ALIVE is a short video editing & creative community app for young people from all over the world. can be downloaded. Operation is simple, the user interface is intuitive and appealing. You do not need any previous knowledge of video editing.

Combine the available effects and filters and create a variety of new special effects. The right keywords can help an app to be found more often, which in turn increases the number of downloads and sales. App Annie tracks millions of keywords so you can get more downloads for your app and see which keywords your competitors are using. What a sad comment David. This enables fluid movement, rotation, transformation and the precise positioning of the objects in relation to each other. Have you used any of these photo and video editing apps to create insta stories? If so, which of the apps do you like best personally? I look forward to your feedback and tips, just write a comment on the post. HypeType is a free iPhone app.

[paulisded]

Live Ledge #406: Best Albums of 2019

This was another great year in music. So great, in fact, that many hours were spent narrowing down the year's release into the standard Ledge format of the 40 best albums of the year. In particular, it was a year that really saw a resurgence in anthemic power pop. It was also a year that saw a number of psych-rock bands so widely expand their sound and songwriting that a two-record set was necessary. Here's my list, and look for another similar post featuring the great reissue and box sets of the year.

1. Mikal Cronin, Seeker. Every year there is a record or two that deserves to find an audience outside of its typical subgenre. This year it’s the latest by Mikal Cronin, a stunning record that retains the psych-rock template of his past yet showcases a giant leap in songwriting. This record should be all over mainstream rock radio.

2. Bob Mould, Sunshine Rock. After a handful of records featuring dark, ferocious rock closer to his Husker Du days than his more poppy records with Sugar, Mould’s latest finds him possibly as close to happy as we’ve ever seen him. Ok, maybe happy is too strong of a word. Whatever it is the attitude is different, although still accompanied by his trademark buzzsaw guitars.

3. Pernice Brothers, Spread the Feeling. The most welcome comeback of the year. Every band featuring Joe Pernice seemed to acknowledge one major influence missing from most Americana bands and that’s his love of ‘80’s college rock. Just imagine a country-tinged power pop band that clearly loves Echo & The Bunnymen, The Smiths, and Lloyd Cole.

4. The Muffs, No Holiday. Such a tragedy. Two years ago, Muffs leader Kim Shattuck suddenly found herself unable to grip a guitar. It turned out to be ALS. Determined to finish one last album she gave all she could even as she quickly deteriorated from the disease. Eventually she was leading recording sessions while connected to a breathing tube. Sadly, she died less than two weeks before the release of one of the band’s best albums.

5. Purple Mountains, Purple Mountains. Purple Mountains was David Berman’s first project since the demise of Silver Jews in 2019, and it was a stunning display of his quirky songwriting skills. Unfortunately, the personal demons that had always been present in his art turned his big comeback into a tragedy, as he took his life just weeks after the record was released to glowing reviews.

6. The Resonars, No Exit. In a year that saw power pop rediscover its balls, The Resonars proved they always had their share of testicular fortitude. And it’s all the work of one man, Matt Rendon, who has over the last two decades created six albums of this sort of catchy but raucous power pop.

7. Kiwi Jr., Football Money. Power pop’s closest relative just has to be jangle pop, and both genres are at its best when the songwriting is as catchy as a late ‘70’s Nick Lowe single. There’s hooks galore on this Toronto band’s debut release.

8. Wand, Laughing Matter. There’s always been a bit of a fine line between psych and prog, and those lines have definitely narrowed in today’s crop of prog-rockers. One proof is the return of the double album, which every psych band seemed to release in 2019. The strongest record of that sort may have to be Wand’s fifth record, which succeeds by actually stripping back their sound a bit.

9. Wreckless Eric, Transience. It’s been a real treat to see the resurgence of Eric Goulden in the last few years, as album after album have ranked as his best ever. The latest sort of comes closest to his solo performances, as he lays tracks and tracks of both clean and enhanced acoustic and electric guitars over backing tracks laid down by Amy Rigby, Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, jazz horn player Artie Barbato, and The Rumour’s Steve Goulding.

10. Tim Presley’s White Fence, I Have To Feed Larry’s Hawk. Presley reportedly spent four years recording what may be the masterpiece of his career. How to describe the finished product is not easy, though, as various influences and sounds flow in and out of each and every track, yet there is an intimacy here that makes it feel like Presley just whipped up this musical cocktail in one long, intense evening.

11. The Cowboys, The Bottom Of A Rotten Flower. Good old punk-influenced straight up rock and roll. Nothing more, nothing less. And when it’s as good and as catchy as this it doesn’t need to be anything else.

12. Twin Peaks, Lookout Low. Five years ago, this Chicago-based band’s fabulous record Wild Onion was described by one of the band members as heavily influenced by Exile On Main Street. This record’s classic rock influence appears to be the first two records by The Band. That’s not to say they sound anything like either the Stones or The Band. No, in this case there is a laid back feel to their guitar-based indie rock that feels as if it’s straight out of a Woodstock basement.

13. The Dates, Ask Again Later. Garrett Goddard has been a member of a number of bands over the years, including King Tuff, Personal and the Pizzas, and The Cuts. His first record heading The Dates may have just topped anything else he’s ever worked on in the past. The melodies and hooks just melt in your ears, and the musical accompaniment throws The Byrds, Big Star, Shoes, Smithereens and seemingly a dozen other bands into the greatest blender ever invented.

14. Wilco, Ode To Joy. After Tweedy’s pair of solo acoustic records, I think I was ready for a full blown rock and roll Wilco album. It has been a while, right? Unfortunately, Ode To Joy comes off as a full band version of those solo records. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good. It’s very good. It just wasn’t what I needed from a 2019 Wilco album.

15. Guided By Voices, Zeppelin Over China. Another year, another trio of Guided By Voices records. Their second wind as a band has been nothing but stunning, as evidenced by this double album of almost nothing but anthems.

16. Tijuana Panthers, Carpet Denim. Every year there seems to be a new band that showcases elements of surf rock in their punk-influenced lo-fi garage sounds. What a shocker to find out that this is their sixth album! What sets them apart from others like them, besides the strength of their songwriting, is the ocassional elements of doo wop harmonies. Who knew that The Buzzcocks and Dion could co-exist in the same song?

17. Peter Perrett, Humanworld. After no new tunes for over 25 years, we now have two records in three years by the former leader of The Only Ones! Like 2017’s How The West Was One this record succeeds simply because Perrett isn’t trying to recreate the glory days, nor is he attempting to jump on current trends. Instead he accomplishes what real artists do, which is to create a sound that fits the song.

18. Frankie and the Witch Fingers, ZAM. Another great psych rock double album that incorporates and combines all sorts of atypical influences, including kraut, prog, and even a little funk.

19. Sweet Things, In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time. It may be hard to find a more varied rock and roll album than this debut record, as it jumps around from blues to soul to country to glam rock. There’s cameos by Alejandro Escovedo and members of The Uptown Horns. It’s the most ambitious trashy garage rock record I’ve heard in quite some time.

20. Cherry Pickles, Will Harden Your Nipples. As their bandcamp states, “one guitar, two drums, the basement band you always wanted to start”. This trio proudly combines all sorts of “outsider art” into a minimalistic sound that would certainly impress the namesake of the record’s best song “I Still Miss Lux”.

21. Ty Segall, First Taste. The prolific singer/guitarist was a bit quiet this year, actually. Well, for Segall a quiet year is one that only features a studio album, a live album, and a box set of outtakes. What makes his only new record of the year stand out is that there reportedly is not a guitar to be found on it! No, it’s not a synth-pop record. In fact, it ultimately isn’t that much different than what we’re used to hearing.

22. Pale Lips, After Dark. Gotta love snotty, hook-driven garage-punk that’s clearly inspired by major doses of The Muffs and The Ramones mixed with spoonfuls of surf and Spector-era girl groups.

23. The Darts, I Like You But Not Like That. This record was not what I expected. At all. Who would have predicted that Alternative Tentacles would put out such a sexy collection of horror-punk?

24. CTMF, Last Punk Standing. Nobody has so proudly hosted the flag of ‘60’s garage-punk as Wild Billy Childish. Well, “proud” is probably not the correct word to use, as Childish is as cantankerous as The Fall’s Mark E. Smith. Yet he consistently puts out records full of simple yet catchy guitar anthems, and this one is no exception.

25. Jordan Jones, Jordan Jones. What happens when you take the pop/rock highlights of ‘70’s AM radio and ramp it up a bit with power pop energy? You get this wonderful debut record.

26. The Mystery Lights, Too Much Tension! A melting pot of different styles rarely mesh well, but this New York band’s second album somehow manages to roll in and out of genres. A synth track leads into a homage to the Stooges which is then followed by a ‘60’ dance party. How do they get away with it?

27. Juliana Hatfield, Weird. It’s only fitting that an album dominated by a theme of being a lonely introvert would be created by one artist playing almost every instrument. That’s the case of the latest Hatfield collection of originals, and it’s one of the best of her career.

28. Kevin Morby, Oh My God. Rolling Stone recently described the Kansas City native as a “secular guy with a spiritual side”, and that’s never been more evident than on his fifth album. RS goes on to compare this record to Dylan’s gospel years but it’s actually more similar to a record like New Morning, where Biblical imagery is referenced but not necessarily the main topic.

29. Drahla, Useless Coordinates. Post-punk also made a comeback this year, and one of the best purveyors of that sound is this trio of Wire fanatics. And like Wire there’s a bit of a ferocity in this record that’s missing in much of their post-punk cohorts.

30. Gino and the Goons, Do The Get Around. Take Chuck Berry, The Sonics, Motorhead, The Ramones, The Stooges and a few other “rawk’ legends and toss them into a blender and you get the dirty sound that Gino and the Goons have mastered over the course of five records. You know what you’re getting from these guys, but they always deliver.

31. Young Guv, Guv I & II. The side project of Fucked Up guitarist Ben Cook could be described as a lo-fi tribute to bands such as Big Star and Teenage Fanclub. But then out of the blue comes a synth tune that’s almost danceable. It’s just part of the charm of this double record.

32. Ravi Shavi, Blackout Deluxe. Some records are sleepers. They don’t work the first time you hear them. They may not even work on the fourth or fifth airing. Then suddenly you can’t stop listening. That’s the case with this new wave-influenced, Prince-obsessed, garage rock group.

33. ATOM, In Every Dream Home. Just like the previous record, ATOM didn’t work for me at first. Then suddenly I had to race to the stereo to crank up the volume. What changed? Well,it helps when the musicians are Australian indie rock heavy weights led by Crime and the City Solution’s Harry Howard.

34. Geoff Palmer, Pulling Out All The Stops/Brad Marino, Extra Credit. (Tie) I can’t possibly vote for one of these records to be higher than the other. The pair both were members of the The Connection and The New Trocaderos. Both of them are veteran power pop performers who have written more than their share of catchy tunes. And both may have put out the records of their careers.

36. Honey Radar, Ruby Puff Of Dust.. A lot of reviews of this Philly band compare them to Guided By Voices, but I honestly don’t understand why. Yet it’s what made me check them out, and I do appreciate their fuzzy psych-rock sound.

37. Titus Andronicus, An Obelisk. Produced by Bob Mould and recorded at Steve Albini’s Chicago studio, Titus’ sixth album is their most straight ahead to date, although as always leader Patrick Stickles’ lyrics are open to interpretation.

38. The Dream Syndicate, These Times. While most band reunions never result in worthwhile albums (or any new music at all), there are instances where the second run rivals the first. That’s the case with these leaders of the mid-’80’s “Paisley Underground”, and it’s mainly because they refuse to just rest on their laurels.

39. Jesse Malin, Sunset Kids. The teaming of Malin with Lucinda Williams may seem like a head scratcher, but it actually works! Not only does Williams produce the album, she duets with him on a handful of the album’s tracks. The end results may be quieter than a typical Malin album but the tunes are also as strong as a typical Malin album.

40. More Kicks, More Kicks. Haven’t I said that this was a year for great power pop? Here’s another one. This time it’s a UK group, and like the others I’ve highlighted there’s nothing wimpy here. It’s pop music that absolutely rocks.

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Note: Tracks from the albums listed above were presented in reverse "Casey Kasem countdown" order. In two instances (Darts/Pale Lips and The Muffs/Purple Mountains), songs were erroneously flipped in error. I apologize for this mistake.

1. More Kicks, I'm on the Brink

2. Jesse Malin, Room 13

3. The Dream Syndicate, Bullet Holes

4. Titus Andronicus, Troubleman Unlimited

5. Honey Radar, Cornflake ESP

6. Brad Marino, Broken Record Baby

7. Geoff Palmer, All The Hits

8. ATOM, No Future

9. Ravi Shavi, Riding High

10. Young Guv, She's A Fantasy

11. Gino And The Goons, Pills In MY Pocket

12. Drahla, Gilded Cloud

13. Kevin Morby, OMG Rock n Roll

14. Juliana Hatfield, Staying In

15. The Mystery Lights, I'm So Tired (of Living In The City)

16. Jordan Jones, Rumors Girls

17. CTMF, You're the One I Idolise

18. Pale Lips, Some Sort Of Rock n' Roll

19. The Darts, Don't Hold My Hand

20. Ty Segall, Taste

21. Cherry Pickles, I Still Miss Lux

22. The Sweet Things, Dead or Worse

23. Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Purple Velvet

24. Peter Perrett, Love Comes On Silent Feet

25. Tijuana Panthers, Path of Totality

26. Guided by Voices, Your Lights Are Out

27. Wilco, Everyone Hides

28. The Dates, pictures with rene

29. Twin Peaks, Laid In Gold

30. The Cowboys, Female Behavior Book

31. White Fence, I Love You

32. Wreckless Eric, Strange Locomotion

33. Wand, Walkie Talkie

34. Kiwi jr., Murder in the Cathedral

35. The Resonars, The Man Who Does Nothing

36. The Muffs, No Holiday

37. Purple Mountains, That's Just the Way That I Feel

38. Pernice Brothers, Mint Condition

39. Bob Mould, Sunshine Rock

40. Mikal Cronin, I've Got Reason