#costume reviews

[morethanaloveinterest]

A Far Out Look at Gaby Teller's Costumes in the Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The fashion in this movie is amazing, let's talk about specifically what Gaby is wearing and what it tells us about her character.

We meet Gaby working as a mechanic in East Berlin. So obviously the this the least put-together we ever see her. I couldn't get a good picture of her jumpsuit but it seems pretty standard. The scarf in her hair is rather fashionable, hinting at what is to come.

Female representation: 10/10 It looks mostly like what a real mechanic would wear, with nothing to emphasize that she is a female mechanic (other than her nice scarf).

Practicality: 10/10 Presumably the most practical thing we see anyone wear in this movie

This is one of the dresses she tries on while getting under cover. I wish we had gotten more of a montage of her different outfits but this one is pretty fun. It is a vast improvement over the one Solo had her wear first. The orange coordinates with what she wears in the climax, which is fun. And perhaps a nod to the fact that she is playing a part here as much as she will be then.

The dresses she wears going forward are all of the same style, chosen to be both 60s and modern. Watch this video by Cinema Cities for more on the choices made for the costuming. As is discussed there, the choices for Gaby are young and fresh, with bright colors. Geometric patterns, mod shape, an emphasis on legs instead of the hourglass. She stands out from the other leading lady, whose costuming is very complex - doing the most with her hair, make-up, accessories. Gaby, on the other hand, tends to wear earrings and a ring or a bracelet.

Female representation: 10/10 She looks fantastic, even for this short scene in the boutique, and is a spy being outfitted to go undercover. This scene establishes what her style is without deciding to ogle her at any point.

Practicality: 9/10 Compared to the jumpsuit, it's obviously less practical but it's pretty great in general.

Now undercover in Rome, Gaby wears a white dress with an overcoat that we also see worn with the other dresses. Both are very stylish and fit the silhouette that was popular in the 60s. As far as being fully white goes, that makes sense for a scene in which she is out for a walk with her assigned fiancé, making sure that their cover is convincing (even when they are mugged). White emphasizes her status as a pawn in the game right now (as does the shape of the outfit), as well as implying a woman in need of rescue. It is effective way to trick both their marks and her fellow spies into considering her to be helpless.

Female representation: 10/10 Still fantastic, gonna break my rating system. She looks good but is not eye-candy despite her role in the film.

Practicality: 9/10 The coat doesn't seem especially warm but the ensemble is certainly practical for what she is doing.

She wears this dress to the races, including a large hat, to meet with Uncle Rudi as well as Alexander Vinciguerra. It is her first job as a spy and this dress reflects that. Instead of pure white, most of it is green, a color generally associated with duplicity (like a snake). The scene includes Gaby doing quite a bit of angling to move the mission forward, which involves playing up what Solo and Kuryakin believe she is there to do as well as her own agenda, so while she isn't exactly a double agent, she is certainly deep in the plot.

Female representation: 10/10 These are all great, what can I say?

Practicality: 9/10 As above, perhaps not as useful as her jumpsuit, especially considering she does work on a car in this scene. But it certainly serves her purposes.

I couldn't find a photo, but I couldn't leave out her charming pajamas. She wears these in two scenes with Illya Kuryakin, when they are hanging out in their hotel room. The first night, she insists he dance with her and the second night she appears to betray him. So the outfit itself is mostly grey, since we can't be sure what her motivation is (until later in the movie). Plus they look like great pajamas, especially for being undercover and having to share a room with a stranger.

Female representation: 10/10 Some of the best pajamas I've seen a lady wear on film, especially for a spy movie.

Practicality: 10/10 They seem to be very practical, especially for wrestling.

And here is the showstopper. Gaby wears this for the climax of the film, through a lot of twists and turns. It is the same silhouette as the others, though the neckline is a bit more formal. Following the theme of the last dress, she started in white and now appears to have added a lot of cover on top of the white. The pattern is also reminiscent of camouflage. This makes sense because now is when her status as an agent all along is revealed, as she appears to betray first Kuryakin and Solo and then deceives the Vinciguerras along with her father. Again, she has minimal accessories in contrast to Victoria and she sets herself apart from everyone else in this outfit as she does so in the movie as well.

Female representation: 10/10 For a double-agent and/or damsel in distress, she is very well dressed indeed

Practicality: 9/10 It works well enough but I'm sure she wishes she had something else to wear when they are going off road through the rain.

The final shot, where the team is now put all together. The show features just the gentlemen and it's great to have her be at the center (the lack of a sequel is devastating). She is back to wearing a white dress, now that her true role in the story has been revealed and she made a significant contribution to the cause in the process.

Female representation: 10/10 Again, it is fantastic, especially for the female member of the spy team

Practicality: 9/10 Same as the others, I daresay

Want to hear more of my thoughts about female characters and fashion? Check out my other costume reviews or my YouTube channel (episode on Gaby out now!)

[555-number]

Welcome!

I've been watching the X Files and have loved reading wardrobe reviews from @danascullyslookbook and @muldertieindex, but now that I've gotten to season 4, I can't check their reviews while I'm watching anymore. Also, I happen to love costume design. Making a blog about costumes I love on a show I love just seemed natural!

I'll be filling out this blog mostly with Mulder and Scully looks, because they're the true fashion icons, but also with other costuming aspects I notice! See you then!

(run by @gloomth-and-wanderings; my similar star trek costume blog is @holodecks-and-hennins)

[lesbian-david-tennant]

I just watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture and wow that really is some gay shit

I'd seen the "this simple feeling" scene, I was prepared for that. but I wasn't prepared for the full extent of the conversion therapy allegory

and then Spock saying "it knows only that it needs but like so many of us, it does not know what" while gazing at Kirk

and then the whole fucking resolution being that V'ger needs to discover something more, "a human quality, our capacity to leap beyond logic," through union with a human

it clearly parallels Spock and Kirk with V'ger and Will and directly implies that 'this simple feeling' is love, romantic love

WHAT THE FUCK I can only begin to understand what my fandom ancestors felt seeing this in 1979

[mimicofmodes]

I saw a post going around about costube historians analyzing period film costumes for accuracy and it kind of got under my skin, so I'm sitting down and writing ... not exactly a response to it, but a discussion of the topic.

(It would be a direct response except that I don't actually watch costube, because quite frankly I can't watch/listen to people discuss things I already know. And I don't want to be like "they don't do X!" when maybe they really do X and I'm just not aware. But a lot of the complaints hit the same points that have been brought up against fashion historians for reviewing costumes for decades. I would also note that I have looked into specific videos where there were claims of terrible costuber behavior and watched them and found nothing.)

If you're going to analyze a period film's costuming in any way, you should still interact with the historical aspect to some degree. If you want to talk about the use of bold stripes in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, for instance, and you don't mention that they were in style during the period the film appears to be set in, it's kind of weird.

Likewise, yes, if you're critiquing primarily from the angle of historical accuracy, you should also engage to at least some extent with the reasoning behind the inaccuracy. If a reviewer doesn't do so at all, then yes, their review is probably not as good as it could be.

People pointing out an inaccuracy (or many inaccuracies) are not inherently scolding the costume designer. Even if their tone is something other than sweet. Sometimes they are scolding other people involved in the production, like the director who mandated a particular costume, or just a general notion of TPTB. Usually they are divorcing the art from the artist, though, and just reviewing the costuming from their particular viewpoint and knowledge base for a likeminded audience.

Sometimes, yes, they are complaining directly about the costume designer. This is not a crime. Some costume designers (for instance, Sandy Powell) have an incredible grasp on fashion history and excellent taste when it comes to diverging from it. Others simply don't have as in-depth of an understanding and make design decisions sometimes based on stereotypes and myths. Some costume designers will explain their decisions in interviews or blog posts and make it clear that they didn't make a truly informed decision about accuracy because they didn't know enough about the period. It's important for both sides of the equation to stop painting the other with too broad of a brush ("ivory-tower elitists who have no idea of a production's needs or budget" vs. "costumers who know how to sew but not how to do historical research").

If you're allowed to complain about a writer or a director or an actor doing something you don't like in a movie, you're also allowed to complain about a costume designer. You're allowed to have aesthetic preferences, and even to talk about them without hedging every five seconds to make it clear that others can disagree, although some of this is beneficial with any critique. Why would it be otherwise?

This seems really obvious to me, but maybe it's not? But "they costumed that female actor in an anachronistically sexy way because sex sells" is a feminist issue. The assumption that women's bodies should be sites of less-clothed allure while men's should attract by being more covered (with more layers than in modern dress, with cravats, etc.) is sexist. Complaints about female characters being costumed inaccurately are often being made along these lines, and pointing out that the producers insisted on it or something does not mean it's suddenly unproblematic that every female character deemed fuckable has to have low necklines at all times and modern shiny hair.

It's true that fiction isn't non-fiction and shouldn't be taken that way, but it's also demonstrably true that viewers do take cliches in film aesthetics as accurate when they see them enough times. People cite Scarlett O'Hara's 18" waist. They believe there were no bright colors before the 1920s and that women couldn't have put their hair up unless they were wealthy. These beliefs have consequences when it comes to public perceptions of history, and if films perpetuate them it's perfectly reasonable to point out that they support ideas about e.g. gender roles that trads express today.

It's also simply funny when a film's hair or costuming or makeup is supposed to evoke a lack of artifice but actually requires quite a bit of artifice because people don't naturally have perfect hair and skin and so on.

If you don't like reviews of period films that focus on the accuracy of the costuming, maybe ... don't watch/read reviews by fashion historians and historical costumers? At least unless they're vetted for you by someone who doesn't mind that?

[stealingyourbones]

Just watched Deadpool/Wolverine. No spoiler review:

refreshingly good Marvel movie. Highly recommend

[bixels]

Very recent tag on my last post, but all credit goes to my partner again. They were sitting next to me while I cycled through Google image search "1920s flapper dress," going 'no. no. no. god no. no. absolutely not'.

[ygoartreviews]

Fun question for you all: If you could dress up as a Yugioh monster, which would you choose? I'm thinking for Halloween specifically, but that doesn't mean it has to be spooky.

[ballinandcantgetup452]

Am I the only one who's noticed that Supergirl designs have been booty cheeks up until recently?

Here, just lemme show you.

Her Debut Suit:

This cover was recreated by somebody for those who can't tell. But it's the same cover and this is what I could pull up quickly. So this first suit is fine. Gets the job done. Doesn't feel gratitutious. It's a little safe, little unrefined. But that's what a first suit is for. The idea's out in the world. The cool part about comics is the fact that there's a revolving door of people with ideas to bounce off of yours. Let's have this be our baseline. 5/10

There's an interlude of suits here, but I can't find them all.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Costume

Apparently, Screenrant isn't fond of this suit, but I also trust Screenrant as much as I trust my local politician these days. So screw 'em. I think this design kind of rocks. I like how they clearly tried to evolve her look in a way that's different from Clark's while still having the baseline stay the same. I like how the cape goes into the crest. I'm even kind of a sucker for the stupid headband. My only complaint is the skirt feels a little too high which can cause a lesser artist to sexualize her, but, modern day comics have proven that you can prevent this problem by either making the skirt a litle longer, changing the skirt into those half skirt-half shorts thingies, or having Kara wear spandex beneath it. Overall, an admirable attempt at evolution. 7/10

Post Crisis Supergirl (and all adjacent designs)

I have these designs in order of "hate the most" to "hate the least". I absolutely DESPISE Kara's comic post-crisis look on literally every level. I hate how it feels like a cheerleader outfit. I hate how BLUE it all is. I hate how the outfit feels DESIGNED to be sexualized. It's just a bad look. Not just for her, but for feminist representation in comics as a whole. I have the same complaint for the other two. But Kara's first DCAU suit feels more homemade, which I'm fine with. Her second one has a fine enough color scheme. The skirt isn't frickin BLUE. But overall, it doesn't feel like a superhero design. It feels like the worst person you know in high school wanted to dress slutty to the Halloween party (which there's nothing wrong with that if you dressed up slutty in high school, nobody should've been perving on you anyways) and threw together a slapdash Supergirl outfit. 3/10. Uncreative for people literally PAID to be creative.

New 52 Supergirl:

A step in the right direction, but, not my personal favorite. I get that this suit is supposed to line up with the New 52 super costumes. HOWEVER, I just don't like the New 52 super designs. I just think it's too complicated. I admit this is a personal preference thing, but, I like my superhero designs simple. I believe that you've designed a superhero right when a child can draw one in class with relative ease. This costume is fine, I don't disparage its fans. It's just not for me. 5/10. Objectively not bad, just not for me.

Rebirth Suit:

A much BETTER step in the right direction. It takes all the notes I've given and streamlines it the best it can. It still feels like a CW suit, which is fine, but it's just a note. Can't really change or disparage it for that. I give it the "real solid" award. 7/10.

Woman of Tomorrow MK I:

Perfect. Perfection. No notes. I love the golden trimmings. I don't know if it's Bilquis Everly's design philosophy, but I love how her top is kinda baggy, I love the cape, I love everything about this suit. I love how her belt is kind of like a corset. It's helps to round out the colors well. Just absolutely perfect. 10/10. No notes. Do this.

Woman of Tomorrow MK II:

If you need to "modernize" the costume, then this gets the job done just fine. I'm not ecstatic about it, but I think y'all can tell that's just my preference when it comes to DC designs. I like them simple. I like my Superman to have trunks and look dorky. I like my Supergirl to follow suit. I am really fond of the cape collar. They did something like that in Superman Up in the Sky and I liked it there, too. Overall, solid, but not for me. 8.5/10.

Current Suit:

The epitome of fine. I'm still a believer that jackets are to the 2010's as pouches were to the 90's, but still fine. It's just missing something. Dan Mora typically has the sauce here (and he cooks with her design in World's Finest), but something here isn't clicking for me. 6/10.

Overall, Supergirl's designs didn't really begin to get good until recently. And that makes me sad.

[ectonurites]

a lil 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

[agentnico]

The Count of Monte-Cristo (2024) review

Je suis Batman!!

Plot: Edmond Dantes becomes the target of a sinister plot and is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in the island prison of Château d'If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte-Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him.

I’ve been really enjoying this recent wave of French blockbuster cinema creating these lavish big-budget adaptions of their nation’s classic literature, with the recent highly enjoyable duology romp of The Three Musketeers (D’Artagnan and Milady respectively) and now taking on The Count of Monte-Cristo. I was a major admirer of Alexander Dumas’ novels when I was a kid, and by admirer I mean my father used to force me to read those books which at the time I hated him for, as I much rather would have spent hours on end on my GameCube, but now am forever grateful that I have the knowledge of storytelling which I gained from reading those pieces of literature. So I’m eagerly hoping that now with these expensive modern movie takes we will also get some of Dumas’ other great works get the contemporary cinematic treatment, such as La Dame de Monsoreau and The Black Tulip (though the latter may be difficult as there is already an older film version starring Alain Delon, and would be hard to recast Delon, let’s not kid ourselves!). As for Monte-Cristo, I’m not even going to sugar-coat it - this is a fantastic modern adaptation of a classic!

The sets are great and really invoke the post-Napoleon era of France; the costumes are gorgeous; the music score is grandiose and epic, really engrossing you in this decade spanning saga of revenge; the classic story is reinterpreted so well with the themes and the emotion, and the acting across the board is superb. Oh and the cinematography is to die for - wonderful long shot landscape sequences, great use of lighting, gorgeous shots of interior palaces - you can tell this film has been given all the money in the world, only unlike Amazon’s Rings of Power TV series that looks expensive but lacks any narrative depth, this film is both great to look at but also has a great story with awesome performance. Look, I really really liked this movie, let me rave about it!! Of course if you’re not French, you have to deal with subtitles, however don’t let that sway you, as this move manages to tell so much using its visuals and powerful music score that at times you don’t even need to read the subtitles to understand the emotion the characters on screen are going through.

Pierre Niney is honestly superb as the titular Count. From how he showcases him in his younger years as the excited young sailor wanting to prove himself to years later being this highly intelligent and driven yet calm presence, as well as taking on the various alter-ego’s of the Count using his different masks (very reminiscent of Fantomas) such as the dastardly Lord Halifax - Niney does such a stellar job here. What I also loved is how this adaptation takes the “superhero origin” approach to Dumas’ classic, with the Count being showcased as this cool dark vigilante like Batman/Bruce Wayne or Zorro, and even his dark menacing suit (which is dapper as f*** by the way!!) emphasising that. All the props to Niney, he adds so many layers and nuance to his performance, that even when he is super reserved as the Count, you can tell in his eyes the disdain and pure hatred he has for the ones that wronged him, but at the same time being able to showcase his guard dropping slightly when he is in the presence of his beloved lost love Mercédès (played gracefully by Anaïs Demoustier).

As for negatives, as even though I absolutely adored this movie, the inner critic within me still can’t help himself. This is a 3-hour long movie, and granted that is a result of the weight of the original book, however you do feel the length of this thing, but at the same time certain parts feel a tad rushed (due to the writers attempting to cram so much story and character development into the 3-hour frame) that certain side-plots and narrative build ups aren’t given their proper space to breath. One does wonder if this would have worked better as a mini-series, however on the other hand they probably would not have had the budget to make this thing look as good as it does. Secondly, certain details/plot-holes frustrated me which I won’t spoil, but one example is when Edmond and Abbé Faria are digging the escape hole from their prison chambers all those years, where the hell did they keep getting all those candles from to light their workspace?? I highly doubt in mid-1800s France prisons had little kiosk shops to offer inmates various groceries and household items. Happy to be corrected here, but honestly seeing those candles reminded me of Deadpool proclaiming “that’s just lazy writing”. And final complaint (before we can get back to raving about how awesome this movie is) is the ageing, or lack of it more. The tale of Monte-Cristo spans from 1815 and ends in 1844, yet the movie makes zero effort in making the actors look older the further down the timeline we go. The Count does look aged but that is due to the mask he wears, so when that’s off he looks like his younger 20-something self again. One of the main baddies Prosecutor de Villefort (played in true dick-fashion by Laurent Lafitte) looks exactly the same at the beginning of the movie and then right to the end. You’re telling me the make-up artists and hairstylists couldn’t give him a single grey hair or a wrinkle?

Again though, that was me with my critical thinking hat on. With that off, I want to reiterate how I truly enjoyed this new version of a classic tale that has been done so many times before, however this one may be one of my favourites. Truly engaging and epic in scale, with a ridiculously cool Pierre Niney in the titular role. He is… the French Batman!

Overall score: 8/10

[scarecrow03]

This was my Halloween costume this year and i want thoughts about my mask (btw im gonna make a new mask)

[morethanaloveinterest]

The computer animated princesses may have fewer costumes than the previous ones, but they do have more complex designs. Discussion of Merida's under the cut.

This is the dress Merida wears for most of the movie (I'm pretty sure - sometimes it looks greener than it does here, but the designs are the same, so I don't think it represents two different dresses). In any case, like with Rapunzel, the three-dimensional animation gives a lot of texture and weight to the dress. It certainly looks like it is made of wool, which is both historically accurate and practical for her adventures in the chilly Scottish wilderness. This article gets more into the historical accuracy, if you're interested, but let's talk character. Obviously this is a great color for a redhead to wear (trust me, I know). Compared to what her mother wears and what she wears later, it is clearly more casual and practical. It tends to look more blue at the beginning, before she wears the sky blue dress against her will, and then is greener at the end. Green is Merida's color symbolically, so this can be a representation of how comfortable with herself she is at the end.

Female Representation: 10/10 A perfect dress for little girls to wear to match

Practicality: 10/10 The sleeves are especially practical for shooting a bow, the skirt might get in the way because of its size but Merida is shown capable of doing whatever she wants in this (and she gets up to quite a bit).

Female Representation: 10/10 Again, fantastic outfit for little girls to wear as a costume.

Disney princesses always need a fancy dress, right? Well, this one subverts those stories but not having Merida wear it at the culmination of her arc and rather putting it as the catalyst for her arc to begin. One thing I do not like about this sequence is that she is put in an overly tight dress, on top of a period-inaccurate corset, just to show how oppressive women's clothing can be. The only head covering the noble ladies wear in the film is a way to repress our heroine, rather than something that every woman did for hundreds of years. I'm not saying that women are never oppressed through what they're expected to wear, but 1) I don't like how Elinor is so happy to be continuing that cycle of oppression if that's what's happening and 2) that doesn't fit the time period. Like, putting on one's Sunday best can be an issue for a rambunctious teenager regardless of gender; making it so pointedly a woman's issue without really delving into that or reconciling it is a weird choice.

But anyway, the dress itself is lovely. It's clearly satin or silk, with beautiful gold embroidery on the hem. The kirtle is similar to Elinor's while not being as grand. It has more embellishments than Merida usually wears, as well as a crown, and makes sense for something her mother would wish her to wear to meet her suitors. And it does make sense for Merida's wild mane of hair to be tamed for this situation - as a character moment, it works perfectly to remove her wimple and show off her hair, and then rip out of the constricting dress in order to shoot better. A great example of synchronous character design and motivation (I just wish some more thought had gone into the gender implications of it).

Practicality: 7/10 Clearly it is not practical - I mean, she has to rip the seams to move properly and it gets even more destroyed when she runs off into the woods. However, it obviously wasn't meant to do more than just be worn while sitting on a throne, so it works great for that.

Check out my other costume reviews here

For more on my thoughts about Disney Princesses, check out my youtube channel (Merida episode out now!)

[tearlessrain]

so I watched little shop of horrors (which I'd never seen) with a friend last weekend and it's a fantastically done musical and it just got me thinking. does it seem to anyone else like every musical that's come out in the last five years or so is terrified of being a musical. just by comparison. because that movie fucking reveled in being a musical and it showed in the quality, but every recent one I've seen they keep refusing to hire singers instead of the same dozen or so big name actors, and the promotional stuff downplays that it's a musical so hard that half the time you wouldn't even know from the trailers. I was literally today years old when I found out that the Timothy Chalamet Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie was apparently a musical this whole time which is an odd choice but fair enough there are plenty of non-musical adaptations so it's not the main draw I guess. but they don't even seem to want to admit that Wicked is a musical. WICKED. why are we doing this.

[micamicster]

HII MICA i just wanted to ask your thoughts in the new season now that youve finished it, especially your favorite moments, episodes, and songs!!

Ok here are my long awaited (sorry babe!) season 2 thoughts! This really got away from me haha but long story short: I loved it ❤️

Long story medium: Nida Manzoor has done it again—beautiful, vibrant, funny, and poignant. A season 2 that succeeds in expanding the world and deepening our understanding of the characters. And the songs are great!

Long story LONG: under the cut <3 (and also I’ve reread this and i have managed to avoid any major spoilers so if you haven’t watched yet this post should be safe!)

I went into this season VERY apprehensive. I think the first season is a practically perfect season of television, and over the last few years I’ve had plenty of time to think of all the ways a second season could fail to deliver. But as the credits rolled on season 2 episode 1 my sister and I just sat there grinning at the screen like you guys we are SO back!!!!

Some thoughts, in no particular order:

The writing: Nida Manzoor has a knack for putting her finger right on the sore spot—right on the place where the show is most likely to receive criticism, and digging in. Not in a gotcha, bad faith sort of way, but by pulling those issues apart and showing how painful and complicated and nuanced these questions of representation and responsibility really are. Not to give too many spoilers but whew. Her episode fives! Other people can speak to this better than me but this seasons episode 5 was raw, painful, pointed… simultaneously a criticism of art and representation as political commentary, and like the only possible political commentary that could be made under these conditions. Fictional battles with censorship, identity, representation, and responsibility meet the very real world, where Nida Manzoor is producing a real show. To quote manzoor herself, “i don’t want to give the answer to the audience because i don’t have it—I don’t want to ever feel like I’m preaching or delivering a sermon about anything; instead, just posing the question.” It’s such a good show guys.

Character Arcs: The arcs given to the band members who were secondary characters in season one were executed beautifully. Getting more insight into Taz, Ayesha, and Bisma (and giving more to do to their incredible actresses!) was exactly what I’d hoped for from a season 2.

God I Wish The Show Was Longer part A: While I loved (and badly wanted!) more time with the other girls, I did miss the tight focus on saira and Amina as narrative foils and drivers of each others character development that season one had. Not just from a shipping perspective! (although we all know I’m guilty of shipping for sure lol). But I did miss their relationship, and a longer season would have given us more time to spare from the other important arcs going on to return to things I loved about season one.

Compared to season 1: One difference I noticed was how the surrealist elements aren’t only contained to Amina/her narration anymore, but that other characters have them or interact with them (Bisma pausing her arguments, Ahsan trying and failing to interrupt the spotlight on Amina and Billy). I thought it was a great way to show how much closer the characters have become (that Ahsan would even notice Amina’s little fantasy!) and also as a way to give narration over to different characters (Bisma being the clear pov in those fights as compared to Amina narrating things she’s only heard about in season 1). Another difference is how each episode of season 1 is so well-contained and precise, while I feel the show sprawls more in season 2 as a result of expanding the world and becoming more of a true ensemble show. This isn’t a criticism—shows need to expand in order to continue to grow! Just an observation, which leads us to:

God I Wish The Show Was Longer part 2: Around episode 4 and 5 I wondered if they were going to be able to tie everything up, given how many complex issues and conflicts had been raised. I had no reason to doubt—Nida Manzoor brought these conflicts and arcs to deeply satisfying conclusions, without feeling like these issues lost nuance or were reduced in complexity for the sake of a finale. It’s incredible what all she managed to achieve in 6 episodes! That said, I would have loved to have been able to see more of the characters journeys, and one or two more episodes would have given things more room to breathe. I would have loved to see more of Taz’s work with other artists, or Saira becoming more comfortable with the idea of herself as a mentor. Bisma’s arc in particular I thought could have used more time, although Faith Omole’s stunning performance of Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood does beautiful emotional work for her arc (and tbh for everyone else’s arcs—it’s a centerpiece of the episode and a great example of what a song can do for character, emotion, and arc in a musical narrative). Which brings us to!

The performances/songs: Putting these two together to say that every actress delivered an incredible award-worthy performance, juggling comedy and dramatic acting skillfully. And the songs! Villain Era is on fucking repeat in this house. Already said Misunderstood is amazing but it should be said again. Nina is pretty much the toughest act in the world to follow but Faith fucking does it. Stunning ❤️ Speaking of Faith her doing the voices in Oops I Did It Again was the happiest I’ve been all year oh my god this show is so much funnnnnnn everyone watch it it’s so! fun!

[facelessoldgargoyle]

I watched Crimson Peak, and while I enjoyed it immensely, I was left dissatisfied. It’s the fundamental problem of writing a gothic novel. The story is driven by women in a world where they have no power, and that rocks. However, it fails to transcend the Madonna/whore dichotomy ever-present in gothic stories. It’s still a compelling watch, and I would recommend it, but I have complicated feelings about it.

The example of the Madonna/whore dichotomy that comes to my mind is Jane Eyre and Rochester’s insane wife, Bertha. Edith and Lucille map onto those characters pretty well. Edith, like Jane, is smart, determined, brave, and willing to face hard truths. Lucille, like Bertha, has a sexual claim on Edith’s husband, inflicts violence on Edith, was committed to an institution at some point in her life, and at the end, she is portrayed as wild, almost animalistic. “I won’t stop until I kill you or you kill me.”

I actually think Lucille is written as less sympathetic than Bertha is. In Jane Eyre, there’s a clear sense that Bertha is a victim of her circumstances. She is married off to someone she doesn’t know, taken to another country, and locked in an attic with one attendant to keep her company while her husband falls in love with another woman. Lucille, on the other hand, perpetrates her circumstances. She killed their mother, she poisons the brides, she refuses to leave the decaying manor. The movie makes it clear that she is two years older than Thomas, and strongly implies that she initiated the incest when they were children. While she’s not responsible for the abuse they suffered as children, she is the unambiguous villain of the movie.

In contrast, Thomas is allowed to be complicated, and his agency in the circumstances is downplayed or elided. His inventions require the money that they seek out brides and kill for. He chooses the women that his sister will kill. He is in every way as responsible for the violence in the movie as Lucille is, and yet the movie chooses to redeem him. He falls in love with Edith, he spares Alan, he proposes abandoning the manor and the money, and he ultimately saves Edith in the final fight with Lucille. I think this is a good story, but it disappoints me that Lucille is left as pure monster while her partner in crime gets to be complicated.

There are flickers of empathy for Lucille that make me think Guillermo del Toro might like her as much as I do. We get a full explanation of her childhood, so we know why she is the way she is. We learn that she protected her little brother and loved her baby who died. The closing narration of the movie implies that her ghost persists because of love. I just wish she got to heal from her childhood the way Thomas got to. It saddens me to think that her ghost will live on in the same rotten walls that trapped her in life.

9/10 I could talk about this movie for forever

[averlym]

the one who pulls the strings (click for better resolution!)

from adamandi by @melliotwrites,, consider this my pitch to get you all to watch it