#could've also been glass onion

[hannaratheweirdo]

@chrissymodi-frost tagged me for this <3 💗 thank youuuu

Favorites: movie, hobby, animal, character, color, place, season, album, food

Tagging @bashful-berry of course 🩷

+ anyone who feels like sharing their favorites ✨️

[especially-the-beans]

Glass onion is the mystery movie for overthinkers everywhere

[lesbeet]

glass onion spoilers //

k this would be a video essay if i made video essays but i don't so. i've been ruminating more on what was missing from glass onion for me bc as much as i enjoyed it i felt like there was SOMETHING knives out has that glass onion doesn't, and i actually think it's the same reason i love the big short but don't look up didn't do much for me even though they were both written and directed by adam mckay (the big short was adapted from a non-fiction book tho) just like rian johnson did knives out and glass onion

and i think what knives out and the big short have that glass onion and don't look up lack are real emotional stakes. glass onion and don't look up both feel like movies that are SAYING SOMETHING! but don't have the emotion to back it up

like. knives out and the big short are both hilarious and are also both cynical as fuck about the world, about systems, about people. but the big short makes sure to remind you every few minutes that real every-day people are the ones who ultimately suffered due to the corruption of the us banking system, and knives out is a story told entirely over the course of a familial grieving process for a character who brings out poignant emotion even in largely unsympathetic characters like linda. don't look up and glass onion both fail to attach their messages to actual emotional stakes. don't look up is saying "you should take these extinction-level threats seriously!" while not really taking anything seriously itself, since the movie is mostly just caricatured versions of contemporary media archetypes running around acting unreasonable until it's too late, with very little in the way of showing the actual consequences of ignoring such clear warnings with any kind of gravity. similarly, the message of glass onion is "elon musk is an evil moron" and it's like. true! and...? the emotional undercurrent (helen trying to solve/avenge her sister's murder) is more like an emotional whisper since it's only revealed about halfway through the film, and honestly i think having miles be alive the entire time prevented anything deeper. if he'd either eventually been murdered or maybe had been pretending to have been murdered from the beginning (maybe he's the one who invited blanc to get someone to confess to his murder, and then he could pin andi's murder on them too, etc), maybe there could've been some more nuanced character exploration, but like. there's no central "harlan" figure to hang all the shitty personalities on bc miles is an alive jackass moron so it's hard to care enough about any of the charactrers to find them interesting beyond simply being funny and entertaining a la jodi from knives out. but i don't think knives out would've been good if every character was jodi, and that's kind of what glass onion was.

idk if this made any sense i just wanted to get it out of my brain before going to bed bye

[omegatheunknown]

last EP for Max

I. You Know You're Right… Oh, let me tell you about my friend Max. (This is a terrible and trite way to start, and I'll make it worse by critiquing it. Just go-) Before I start waxing poetic, I need to write down and solidify it -- Max died last weekend. Got a terse copy-paste message from Morrie late on Sunday while having a slightly hazy soak and was unprepared to respond or process, though I think it'd have been the same either way -- I drained the tub and hoped it was a bad bit and then I sat there and read it again and logged into facebook for the first time in months to check -- that same message, posted by Morrie. No thoughts but all the thoughts and no clear way to start sifting. Had to tell Darci, Sam, Ian, Jayme -- who else still knew him? How long since we talked -- a few weeks, a short exchange. Not really given him much time lately. Wary of him around Easter, I guess, given the several years where he explicitly said he had and expected trouble with Easter. But a month ago, he was sending me songs again, I could've been more encouraging. Could've done a lot of things, though here we are now. Several years since our last Christmas Tea, sitting outside at his parents' house like we did twenty years ago and waxing philosophic like on everything. Admonishing myself, but we'd shared kind words through last year, and the last thing he said to me wasn't an angry plea to take his scattered religious proselytizing seriously, met by my exasperated final silence. Not that it helps. Not sure why I mention it. I did want him to have the miracle intercession, though in my version jesus wasn't really involved. He believed in me in ways I didn't quite understand or consider, with the distance between us in our adult lives he did mythologize me some. He would ask me to expound on his new music and post whatever I said as an earnest review next to it. Believed in us as collaborators on some grand project. Again, visions differ but the premise wasn't wrong. Always wanted my opinions, validation -- sometimes I couldn't or wouldn't summon the words. I didn't humour the evangelical glossolalia, prophetic-riffing, apocalyptic warnings. Left those mostly ignored, until he hurled insults, disappeared offline or needed to be blocked momentarily. But he was an old friend, so I'd talk to him again sometime. Old friend, and friend who opened up some doors for me -- pit me against his other teenage-clever music-snob friend Ian, thrilled to have me meet his new girlfriend Jayme, who eventually added me to Darci's msn. So, at least three more of my all-time favourite humans. Old friend undersells it. Used to be, we understood each other.

II. They're Selling Postcards of the Hanging… He said we met in a computer lab talking about Heavier Than Heaven. That's probably right. There's going to be some trite details mixed in here, we were small town teen outsiders with the same amount of perspective and self-awareness as any of our peers who in retrospect likely also felt the same mutual unintelligibility with us. But there was an us and we were of course doomed to find kinship with extremely obvious and cringeworthy pop culture obsessions -- it was what, 2002? Small town, casual bigotry to be pointed at everywhere you look, so of course Kurt Cobain was extremely Ours and we had some dumb notions about what that meant, re: ownership, ditto to Bright Eyes, ditto Elliott Smith, ditto The Strokes, ditto any classic music that 13/14 year olds are presumably to this day still finding and immediately getting snobbish and weird about shortly after discovery. Stay up all night and listen to the White Album, eventually just dropping the needle back at the start of Glass Onion over and over until it's no longer funny. I wasn't big on (read: would need to be picked up in a panic) sleepovers as a kid, but I'd stay up until dawn with Max. Rent old movies, read new-age books and Linda Goodman's Love Signs horoscopes for the 70s, never go to bed, run across Highway 97 to McDonalds for breakfast, crash on the trampoline or I'd shuffle back home down the trail. I was and still am pretty guided by proximity for friendship, and I do have to acknowledge living a walkable distance even when sleep deprived helped this nonsense happen. The summer before had been the summer I pretty much stayed home, after having what was some sort of panic attack avoiding the middle school grad dance (due in part to a girl writing a full two pages in my yearbook.) Anyway we met before that in the middle school computer lab and then he was pretty quick to determine high school was not built for him, so the only memory I have of him on high school grounds is that he was wandering around in a floral dress either thrifted or borrowed from the theatre props department, basically begging to be beat up or cause a scene or an incident, at least be confronted, have insults spat in his face. Wanted to be looked at or get a rise out of people or a little attention but also had a self-righteous edge I couldn't exactly hate. A few years later we were walking up Peach Orchard Road with some friends, but spaced out enough on the hill that it was just Max and I walking on the shoulder when a purple windstar full of drunk assholes pulled up beside us, rolled the windows down, and then jeered 'What are you guys, fags?' and Max, without missing a beat, replied (gleefully? matter-of-factly, certainly) 'Yep!' -- so we had to run into the bushes when these dudes started getting out of the minivan, and then had to run again when it circled back around when we found the road again, finally up town at the Macs we caught our breath and Max started throwing rocks at things behind the minimart and cursing the stupid rednecks in the stupid redneck town and I probably yelled at him for almost getting us killed. Does this story stick with me as a go-to example of Max being needlessly provocative and impulsive? Had he actually done anything wrong -- could've gotten us hurt, but should I have faulted him for confronting drunk idiots with their drunken idiocy? Think it sticks because I was wrong, timid. Should've gleefully replied with him, if I could do it again.

III. And if you wouldn't mind, I would like to lose…

If you knew him even vaguely, you knew Max was a musician -- he instinctively knew the magic of music in a way I can still only nod my head off-time to, a gifted sorcerer able to tap into one of the mysterious fonts that power the human world. My sensibilities really started to diverge from his, he wrote a lot of what I'd call sloppy, punky, conceptually ironic garbage that was clever but not like, really my thing, but also he wrote a lot of songs. So many songs. Always writing songs. Spent time on all kinds of larks in all kinds of styles, in between searching for the mythical, prototypical, platonic 'Hit' -- both a cynical ear for a (usually) pop-punk earworm and an earnest pursuit of a legitimizing artifact that would make him the guy who wrote that song. He wrote a lot of these! I remember many pretty fondly. I hope they're all somewhere spread between the many different bandcamps and soundclouds he sometimes seemed to meticulously populate and de-populate and remix and rework and delete. Anyway, he felt like he was meant to make something great. That was some of the meaning he could create. Always had that in common and I know he was more serious about it than I’ve been. He let himself write and record, and tinker, ideas wriggling out and writhing free.

I think we loved Kurt Cobain for slightly different reasons. Max romanticized drugs, death and self-destruction. He was telling anyone who would listen, aged 14, that he was going to die young. I was around to watch him continue to shovel mushrooms into his mouth waiting for them to have any kind of effect on him long after the other people doing mushrooms had settled in for the night. He stayed curiously close to sober despite his best efforts and we watched over the rest. I was a square well into my twenties but that never seemed to be anything resembling an issue when we were spending all that time hanging out, even when he was chain smoking weed trying to find some level of comfortable high. Think we smoked together once many years later and it wasn't particularly our most amazing adventure. (I'm inclined to give that award either to taking the camcorder out with Ian at 2am to go interview a security guard at Action Fest and ask him what scares him most about people and who his favourite Beatle was, or whatever was going on the night we all founded The Boatmen, who played one show, blessedly without me there, as I am no musician.)

It is extremely tempting to start asking what if or say I should've, I'm looking for answers to a matter that is now settled and what remains is to accept that what happened was what happens when people grow up and move elsewhere and meet new people and do new things, and staying it touch is hard in the best circumstances, particularly when the more self-destructive of the two of us was, in his late teens, blowing up most of his friendships with unpredictable and sometimes volatile behaviour. Again, he could be provocative and confrontational to friend and foe alike. But as I said above, used to be, we understood each other, and I've only met so many people and found that to be the case.

Saw him a few times as though summoned, randomly ran into him one time on a skytrain platform in Vancouver when I was there for a weekend, much to the discomfort of the other friends from High School I was with. Saw him a few times after that. I don't remember exactly when he first told me had been institutionalized, or kicked out of the house, in whichever order. Had the cops called on him for preaching in the street, had his first run-in with mood stabilizers and doctors and finding god, then losing track of god, moving back to the coast to make music and continue dabbling with his romantic, often destructive notions. He'd reappear online with new music to share, good news about a girl, or cool new friends, new living situation, sounding like he'd found something to believe in. There was something of a cycle emerging and I know he knew, but what could I do? Keep in touch, at least a bit.

IV. Say, Fate, my friend, you say the strangest things…

Doctors, or somebody, told him it was schizophrenia. It's not uncommon to have delusions of grandeur, or messianic ideation, when there's a lot of conflicting information in your head. And that's probably more or less what happened for a few Easters, things sounding properly apocalyptic and disastrous and the fate of the world hanging in the balance if only people (myself included) would listen and take what he was saying seriously.

But. I think I should say something else about Max and faith. In between the times when he would come up seemingly lucid, energized, hopeful and making new music, he would, invariably start getting into religion, religions, spirituality, esoteric philosophy. Always sort of into religion, like a cult leader or a rockstar might be, making something means something. But he was a philosopher of a more desperate sort-- there had to be a meaning. He already believed himself doomed by the narrative at 14, but without the peak of whatever sort of success would do, there wasn't really a tragedy. Had to teach and spread the word and form something to believe in. So I understand why he was intermittently obsessed with being a priest, or a preacher, or rabbi, iman, shaman, anyone who knows something about why any of this is how it is, who could find meaning in any and all of the old teachings and finally become a prophet. I was pretty anxious and prayer happy as a child, but since then I've been various levels of actively antagonistic to the power wielded and perverted by religions but always just apathetic to notions of gods or heavens, things I don't think will affect how I want or choose to live. This obviously infuriated Max, when he was in his believer moods. He as much as told me that he wanted, firstly, to riff and banter with me like we were still insomniac teens. Second, he wanted me to cross-examine or support and scaffold his ideas, confirm and accept the visions and versions of Big-T Truth -- make it make sense by weighing in. My opinion still mattered even if the version of me in his head was a decade out of date. Third, he wanted to save me too. So often, I'd stop talking because he'd write several page screeds in faux-KJV diction that I just couldn't parse -- scripture, free association, tangents, crudely spelled verbal puns, digressions referencing things I had no point of reference for -- I'm not sure what state he was ever in, to be honest. I talk about the cycle he was in, but I can only really track how he was behaving toward me in our messages, over the course of weeks and months and then these last fifteen years.

Anyway, I'd stop responding and the tone would change to an angry concern for my soul, an appeal to our bond in youth, then insults, then silence on one or both sides and then I would essentially wait to hear from him. Sounding contrite, almost. With new music to share. Sometimes asking me about myself.

One of the last times we met and talked for tea he declared that he'd never had schizophrenia, not really. Hadn't even really meant to be institutionalized, it was a misunderstanding, it was an overreaction, and it had been haunting and unwinding his life since he was 19. He could often be so self aware, I don't remember what I managed to say in response. Something hopeful, I hope. He made a few interesting declarations over the years. I hoped for something. Something interrupting. That we would, as we agreed once, be old men meeting for tea to talk. I'd always take his finding meaning and comfort over his finding peace, for what it's worth.

V. There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief…

One more embarrassing teen angst adjacent anecdote. I don't exactly know how it came up. It was a field trip somewhere and we were at A&W I believe, because I remember getting a root beer milkshake and hating it, and also showing Dru something in my wallet, next to the little picture of Gumby I put in the photo panel, a tiny printed slip of the lyrics to All Along the Watchtower. Did she even ask? Anyway, I remember explaining that yes, I still talked to Max. And maybe then I revealed the little card-- it was in there for Max. We were the joker and the thief. Think I had to bullshit an explanation there because I didn’t and still don't remember when or why we had decided that, maybe it was a single joke one time late into the evening listening to Bob. Anyway, nobody else knew I was carrying those lyrics around for as long as I had that wallet. I don't even remember which one of us was which. Least of my sorrows, but at least one I can properly name.

[jjorbles]

My Favorite Movies & Shows of 2022

There were only really 8 movies that I saw and really loved that came out this year, so here they are in mostly no particular order.

Movies:

Glass Onion

This is the only entry I've actually rewatched so far. Rian Johnson's movies always reward repeat viewings, especially the Knives Out series. I love the characters and how much fun everyone seems to be having playing them. I hope Rian Johnson & Daniel Craig keep making these forever, and I hope this finally gets Janelle Monáe the recognition she deserves and we get many more lead roles in amazing movies from her.

Nope

This one has haunted me since I saw it. Jordan Peele's movies always give me a lot to think about, but something about this one cut deep into my core. It created the perfect monster to manifest all my fears, anxieties, and trauma about performing, existing as a spectacle, and the dehumanizing feeling of laying your soul bare to an audience, and the devil's bargain that that is. It's also the most invested I've ever been in the characters of a Jordan Peele movie, as the protagonists of his previous movies felt a little more like vehicles for the themes of the story than real people. I got really attached to OJ & Em, which made the horror much more effective. I wish I could've seen this in IMAX, even though I'm not sure I could've even handled that.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

This movie is exactly what the title says, such a bizarre mishmash of tones and ideas that somehow comes together as a beautifully simple story of family. It grounds itself in honest optimism without it feeling forced. In times that feel so willfully overwhelming that they drive us towards nihilism, the unwavering optimism at the core of this movie was exactly what I needed.

Turning Red

I've always loved monsters as metaphors for the uncomfortable aspects of the human experience. Monsters as puberty metaphors have been done before, but usually only for boys, at least in media aimed at younger audiences. Female-coded versions are usually the exclusive domain of R-rated horror. A movie like this that uses the creative framework of a family of were-pandas to talk frankly about the coming of age of teen girls is long overdue, and this knocks it out of the park.

Violent Night

I was not expecting this to be as good as it was. We've had killer Santa's before, but never one that quite balanced the ironically violent premise with a genuinely sweet family Christmas story. David Harbour is perfect as a cynical, world-weary Santa who still has a heart of gold and just needs to be reminded of the spirit of the holidays...while also brutally murdering armed burglars like a Christmas themed Jason Voorhees. The conflicting tones shouldn't work as well as they do, but I enjoyed this thoroughly and will definitely be making it a yearly tradition.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

Pinocchio's always been a story about the temptations of boyhood but trust GDT to take that to dark places nobody's ever dared before. It's not just the usual moralizing about "stay in school" & "don't trust strangers". This goes hard into "beware of fascists" and "the church is using you". Pulls absolutely no punches and the animation and design works are hauntingly gorgeous. Easily my favorite Pinocchio ever.

Men

This one I haven't seen talked about much especially compared to the director's previous movies, but I haven't stopped thinking about it since it came out. An uncomfortable, tortuously brutal movie that manages to be about the self-inflicted hell of toxic masculinity without over-empathizing, acknowledging men's pain without ever shaming the female lead for not coddling them. The final few minutes are mind-blowing with a killer cut to the end credits that still sticks with me.

Prey

It took way too long to make good use of the Predator formula. They should've tried something like this years ago. Just pick any point in history, any group of people with survival skills, and sic a Predator on them. It's overdue, but well worth that wait. It's also refreshing to have a movie about Native Americans that doesn't feel the need to insert a token white guy as a crutch.

Movies that I meant to see but I haven't yet: X, Pearl, The Northman, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Wendell & Wild

If you don't see your favorites, either I didn't like it that much or I wasn't interested. 🤷

Shows:

Andor

It feel SO GOOD to finally be excited by Star Wars again. I thought my enthusiasm for anything outside of the occasional comic or novel had died after the backlash to TLJ (The best Star War ever, don't @ me) resulted in the two-hour backtracking apology to the most toxic parts of the fandom that was TROS, that any will to be creative or take risks had been banned from Lucasfilm. I liked most of the streaming shows fine, but they were the definition of safe bets. Then Andor comes outta nowhere and just blows away all my expectations. It gave us a genuinely great story in the original spirit of Lucas's anti-fascist space opera that relies on character development instead of nostalgia. The only show I immediately rewatched when it was done.

Peacemaker

In the middle of rewatching this one now. Wouldn't have been my first pick for a spinoff, much like Andor, but The Suicide Squad is probably my favorite superhero team movie ever, so I was down for wherever James Gunn wanted to go with it next. A character-driven, heartfelt satire of superheroes, masculinity, and American exceptionalism, that still had heart and made the characters feel real and human.

The Sandman

Neil Gaiman's Sandman was one of the comics thought unfilmable, so that it turned out as good as it did is a miracle. The cast was pretty much perfect, everything they changed made sense, and I can't wait for season 2.

Atlanta

I'm gonna miss this show. Often surreal and always thought provoking, Atlanta is like the stoner version of Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone. I love how unafraid it is to completely break formula and give the main cast a week off to, say, do a faux documentary about an imagined black Disney CEO and his vision for the Goofy Movie. They honestly could have kept it going forever as just an anthology show.

She-Hulk

Fuck the haters, this shit was perfect. Basically the best Marvel streaming show since WandaVision. I've been waiting for Tatiana Maslany's next role since Orphan Black. The 4th wall humor was 🔥, especially in the finale.

Harley Quinn

I did not think they could keep up the momentum after paying off Harlivy, but the latest season proved me wrong. This show continues to be the DC universe equivalent to Venture Bros. Some of the best Batman satire not to involve Legos.

So there's some random thoughts on my favorites of 2022. I've been out of practice writing, so figured this was a good a place as any to put my New Years resolution to write more into practice. You might have noticed no superhero movies made my list. I am a huge nerd, so I did see all of them, I just wasn't too blown away by any of them. A lot of good, not much great IMHO. I'll rank and give some thoughts of them in another entry maybe.

[join-the-club-weve-got-jackets]

I think I was tagged in similar games recently, so I'm gonna do a two for one. Thanks @phoenixkaptain and @ceruleangold! ❤

Three ships: I'm trying to think of some current ones I'm into to narrow it down.

Anidala (Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala from Star Wars)

Kanej (Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa from the Grishaverse/Six of Crows)

Not sure the ship name, but I'm rooting for Gregory Eddie and Jeanine Teagues from Abbott Elementary)

First ship: Honestly it was probably something from Harry Potter or Disney. But the first ship I had once I joined Tumblr and learned about fandom and shipping was Snowing (Snow White and Prince Charming from OUAT).

Last song: If I go by Spotify, I listened to Midnights during my shower yesterday afternoon, so it was either "Would've, Could've, Should've" or "Dear Reader" by Taylor Swift.

Last movie: For new movies, it was either Glass Onion or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I don't remember which came first. If we're counting all movies, we just watched The Greatest Showman on tv.

Currently watching: We're finally caught up to the live episodes of Abbott Elementary. I've been meaning to watch Andor and Ted Lasso for forever. I just got a new Roku stick that's gonna let me do 30 days free of HBO Max, so I'm gonna finish Hacks and then try to watch The White Lotus and The Sex Lives of College Girls. Oh, and I'm also excited for Outer Banks season 3 and Shadow and Bone season 2.

Currently reading: I need to finish the Revenge of the Sith novelization now that I have my own paperback copy. I've also been reading a lot of Star Wars fanfic.

Currently consuming: We just had spaghetti, garlic bread, and corn for supper.

Currently craving: I'm full from supper, so not currently craving any food. If anything, I'd like to have enough time in the day to be caught up on Tumblr, read all the new fanfic I've been finding, and still get a good night's sleep.

If you'd like to participate, I'm tagging: @kylermalloy @aeruthien @morethanmylife93 @emletish-fish @hoezier

[nekyn-alb]

I have now finished Glass Onion too, also good fun, but it didn't feel as snappy as Knives Out. The mystery/ies part was still interesting and cool to figure out, although somehow more convoluted than the first film. That's alright though, convoluted can be great, I love TES lore. And that it all turned out to be dumb was great!

Yet the characters are the opposite, they are incredibly on the n0se parodies that drag me somewhat out of my immersion. Maybe it's just my own preference, but I don't want to know which exact person each character is based on within a minute of seeing them! Give me a bit of subtlety, even in comedic parody.

Derol quickly turned into "yeah, get him out of the scene, I know he's unimportant" because what else could he be? Mystery hints are set up quite differently in these movies, so I had no reason to care about him and I didn't find it funny. Maybe if he was only there during the arrival and the end.

Most characters could've been even more unlikable, Birdie was almost presented as if her stupidity exonerated her. The real inspirations are actively malicious, and putting the crimes against one another aside (as we do), these characters were too tame, too bland. They needed more tension among each other.

All in all, I have plenty to critique, but I would watch it again. It's just not as intriguing as Knives Out. Also, Netflix had English subtitles for this one, but Craig was much more intelligible!

[mwagneto]

4 6 9 11 19 20 :-)

4. Movie of the year?

honestly almost every 2022 movie i watched sucked ass😭😭😭 has to either be glass onion or uhhhhh. i wanted to say el baile de los 41 but apparently that came out in 2020 which was three years ago i fucking hate time💀 so yeah idk 2022 was rly weak for me on the movie front. could've had sherlock holmes 3 but whatever it's fine !!!!!!!!!!

6. Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

you know it's gonna be our flag means death season 1 episode 9:-( absolutely insane addition to my already insane day, as you know. also the pilot of the iwtv reboot was really fucking good too

9. Best month for you this year?

oh my god i have no idea coz something nice happened pretty much every month but im a very positive person in general so idk. i got to travel in january, i applied to uni in february, march was amazing for every reason ever, i lived with réka my friend réka in april, i got a rly good grade on my finals in may, el my friend el flew to budapest and lived w me for a week in june, we went to Balaton with all my hun mutuals in july, i visited my sister in holland in august, i started uni in september and met a bunch of rly cool people and then october and november are pretty much one big blur so💀💀 but december was great too i finally got to relax a lil. so yeah no way to pick they were pretty much all rly fun

11. Something you want to do again next year?

visiting emilee my friend emilee which i AM doing again in February so😏😏 also going to Balaton with y'all again and hopefully hosting El again if they can make it

19. What’re you excited about for next year?

visiting Emilee!!!! aaoufgdudshsushdu and also ofmd season 2 and being done with my exams and maybe figuring out what the fuck i'm gonna do with my life

20. What’s something you learned this year?

i think in 2022 i finally managed the process of letting myself feel like people genuinely like me and aren't just pretending to like me so they can make fun of me. and also that bleeding myself dry for other people just to make sure they don't leave me isn't necessary because the people i interact with now don't just like me for the things i can do for them. and the biggest lesson of 2022 is that sometimes people will literally just do things for you because they're nice and they like you and it's okay to ask for help with things and to accept help with things. idk just a lot of very necessary emotional growth that I couldn't have had if it hadn't been for everyone i interacted with that year but yeah overall 100% positive mental health progression

[ltamoviesblog]

Glass Onion (2022) - Movie Review

While I didn't go as crazy for Knives Out as others, I still really enjoyed the modern whodunit. That set me up to be excited for Glass Onion with Daniel Craig returning as Benoit Blanc to solve another mystery surrounding a great ensemble cast. Unfortunately, I found my self let down by Glass Onion.

That's not to say that Glass Onion is bad because it's not. The cast is good, as to be expected from such a cast. Daniel Craig has cemented Benoit Blanc as a new Hercule Poirot. There's also a lot of clever writing, and I found it enjoyable throughout.

My biggest issue with the film is its structure. I can't say much without spoiling things, but the first hour of the movie ultimately ends up feeling pointless. The hour mark is when the story really kicks into gear as that first hour is basically all set up. Then, the next 30ish minutes is all flashback in which all of that setup could've been included in a much shorter amount of time. This causes the actual mystery solving part of the movie, which is what we're there for, to feel rushed at the end.

I didn't feel like I was on the ride like I did with the first one. I felt like someone showed me a first person video of the ride. I couldn't get myself to fully engage with what was happening.

Overall, Glass Onion is an enjoyable mystery. The cast is entertaining and there are some fun twists and turns, but the structure and pacing of the plot made it impossible for me to get as invested as I wanted to be.

Grade: B

[hell0mega]

okay so... if someone can provide screenshots to prove me wrong (and therefore this post correct) I'll totally accept it. but i saw this post before i watched Glass Onion, so i watched closely at this scene, and what i saw contradicted this theory

the painting was curling up as it burned, yes, but it honestly looked like there was a wood panel beneath it. my guess is that the thick layer of paint, and any varnish and gesso, burned off the wood. i feel like that's entirely possible, especially a painting that old. it's also painted on a thin label with another stronger piece of wood underneath as support, so it could've been the thinner panel going up with it

I've seen people suggest that those who made the movie "didn't do research" beforehand and i think that's doing an incredible disservice. i do love the theory that the louvre did still give him a fake, especially since the one in the movie is a bit bigger than the real one, but i chalk that up to on-screen visibility for the viewers. you can also chalk it up to artistic liberties.

Guys the Mona Lisa is painted on wood. The fact that it's clearly canvas that goes out in flames shows that the Louvre goddamn knew not to trust that moron with it. They literally made him spend millions in safety gear and gave him a poster on a frame knowing he wouldn't know the difference.

[thvnderr]

"The Hardy Boys, you say?" there was a hint of a concealed smirk on the corners of his lips. Seojun had to look away briefly to avoid giving in an accidental admission of her wild guess. Sky would've laughed, Noah would be preoccupied. "We like to play CLUE a lot, that's for sure." The fighter pulled his phone out from the depths of his costume and once unlocked, offered it to her with the keypad on screen. "Since you already have my phone in your hands, do you mind saving your contact as 'Sunshine'?" A bold request maybe, but if he could add an extra smile whenever his screen lit up with her name, it would be worth it. "If no one has called you witty before, then maybe you've been reserving your best retorts for me, mh?" Seojun teased her, his index and middle finger extending to tip her hat over her face in joking manner as an accessory to his little joke. Her mindless words startled him for a moment, the cold glass of the lemonade resting against his lips as he ignored the soft twist of his stomach. "You could definitely say I only talk this much to people I like." He admitted. Nothing to see here, he could enjoy the chit-chat, specially with a good drink and good company. "But you also ask a bunch of questions, I wouldn't be able to stay quiet even if I wanted" —— oh, that sounded a bit rude? "not that I mind!" Seojun was quick to fix, "I really like your questions and whatever we get to talk about. It makes my days better after a rough exam or ——" and he was talking a lot again. He caught his mouth close with a soft blush on his cheeks and decided to take another sip of lemonade. He sighed afterwards with a little smile. "Anyways, definitely call me if you ever need anything. I'll be there for you."

"Okay, so if I invite you to the theater, you better tell me some good stories from the daycare. I think it's a fair exchange." Seojun argued with his chin up and a little side smile on his lips. The glass, almost empty now, tapped softly against his lips as he made a little connection based on her narration. West Virginia. He remembered how Lou absolutely hated West Virginia for no apparent reason, but it was not a hatred like how one hates onions or stepping on gum. It was a deep kind of horror that can only be obtained after absolute trauma and —— he's digressing. "I've never been to West Virginia. Did you like it there? More or less than other places?" A grin reached his lips immediately at the thought of meeting Valerie earlier in life, the memories of a never-lived past flushed into his head as he tilted his head in unconscious mimicry to her. "Sneaking out through my window after practice just to visit the loud elephant girl at the circus to learn some cartwheels would've made for the best memories." He agreed. "I could've taught you how to throw a good right hook and knock out anyone who was mean to you." He chuckled softly at the thought and decided to add "were you already dressing in cowboy boots and pink back in the day?" Valerie's invitation to talk endlessly was something that made him shy for a moment. He was friendly with his inner circle, but he never talked this much for sure. In fact, he wasn't sure is the Hardy Boys knew as much of him as Val did by now, but it felt good to share things with her and laugh about them. "Thanks, I uh... it's really easy to talk to you as well." At the movie recommendation, Seojun hummed softly in acknowledgement. "Okay, so what I'm hearing is that we'll watch Halloweentown one of these days. If it's one of your favorites, you gotta tell me about your favorite parts and characters." He insisted. "Oh, I haven't seen too many musicals, but if you're recommending it, then I'll be sure to check it out. It has a catchy name. What is it about?" Seojun couldn't help when laughter bubbled up from his chest and he pulled back after her little warning. "I'm a gentleman, I promise," he said tracing a cross over his heart, "I'll be nice, prepare you nice drinks and keep you safe from any weirdo at the bar."

"A bunch of people that visit the bar like to pick fights," Ha! "so their faces are not usually the nicest thing to look at. Having you there will be a sight for sore eyes." Seojun expressed casually, "besides, there's more of us at the bar, I'm sure someone else can handle security just fine for one night." He squinted his eyes at the challenge and nodded sharply before placing his glass aside. "Of course I find you threatening! With the amount of strength needed to do all those tricks, I'm sure you pack a good kick." He laughed. "Oh, so you like a good challenge as well? That's good, because I find some healthy competition to be quite fun and I won't let you win, you can bet on that." Seojun looked over at the dance floor and then back at her extending his hand. "Then we should make some space for more desserts, don't you think? Why don't we go dance for a bit? Everybody seems to be havin' so much fun."

"Ooh, the boys. Sounds like you're a part of a club, like the Hardy Boys or somethin'," she mused, with no way of knowing that she wasn't too far off, given Seojun's penchant for amateur sleuthing. A giddy feeling sweeping through her at the prospect of solid plans with the fighter, more than just sneaking in time together after her act, Valerie nodded. "Just lemme know, and I'm there. Wait, do you have my number?" she wondered, a little awestruck that they'd gone so long without exchanging contacts, relying solely on the string of fate to tie them together again and again. Surely, it was time to change that. "I don't think anyone's ever called me witty before. But I'm glad ya don't mind me talkin' your ear off. You're real easy to talk to." Assessing him with a curious look, Val raised a brow at the space ranger. Sure, maybe her first impression of Seojun was that he kept to himself, always at her shows all by himself. But that was a far cry from the version of him she'd grown to know over the last few months. "You sure you're not pullin' my leg with that one? 'Cause I don't think you're the quiet type. Or do you only talk this much to people you like? Either way, I don't mind." In typical fashion for the songstress, the latter question had slipped past her lips before she had time to consider the possible implications of her query. But she blew right past it, her heartbeat stuttering over his latest promise. "I'm doin' much better these days," was all that she offered, grateful that he didn't push too hard to know more. "But if I ever feel like that again... I'll call you right away. Then, I'll get to see for myself what a good dancer you are." Valerie wondered if Seojun knew how much it meant to her, idly curious if he would make good on all of the promises they'd made each other, and if there were any more he'd be willing to make in the future.

"I do know all the gossip at the daycare, but I don't have any favorites. Sorry to disappoint," she relayed simply. "They're all just so unique and bright in their own ways. I can tell ya some funny stories about 'em, though! Kids really do say the strangest things," Val offered as a compromise. "Yeah, we moved around a bit with the travelling version of the show, but our home base was still in West Virginia," she confirmed. At Seojun's musing, wondering if they could've met years prior, Valerie couldn't help the thoughtful expression that overtook her features. "We did stop in New Orleans, actually... that would've been somethin', huh? Maybe I could've taught you how to do a cartwheel. And I bet you were real cute as a kid," she jested with a tilt of her head, a genuine grin ever-present on her lips. "I appreciate honesty too, so you and I should get along swimmingly." Though her trust in her instincts had taken a hit in the last few years, Valerie had no reason not to put her trust in Seojun. They seemed to see eye-to-eye on a lot of the things that mattered most to her. "You listen to me all the time with no complaints, so please, blather away," she shot back, but try as she might to play it coy, Val couldn't keep the sincerity out of her voice. She wasn't sure where it came from, but a seed had taken root somewhere inside of her: she would happily listen to anything he offered to share, eager to learn all that she could about this young man. She tried not to inspect that feeling too closely not yet, at least. "If I had to pick just one to recommend to you, I'd have to go with the original Halloweentown. It's super cozy and one of my all time favorites. Have you ever seen Little Shop of Horrors? I reckon that'd be a good middle ground of the kinda things we both like—a musical comedy, but also a little spooky." When his tone shifted to something more akin to a purr, Valerie couldn't help the nervous laugh that bubbled automatically out of her mouth, a reaction certainly not helped by the cheeky wink thrown her way. It took all of her remaining chill to appear nonchalant about it. "Best behavior, remember? Otherwise, I might not leave you a tip. Which would be a real shame, when I was just talkin' about what a gentleman you are."

Eyes alight at the idea of being looked after by her companion, Valerie briefly wondered if that would apply to their interactions outside of the bar as well. But seeing each other away from the carnival was still a novelty to them both... so why would it? She shook the fleeting thought right out of her head and forged on. "Ya don't think havin' to keep an eye on me when I drop by would make your job more difficult? I wouldn't wanna stress you out if people tend to get rowdy," she wondered, a genuine inquiry. A full wattage grin flashing across her features at his cheesy question, the acrobat was charmed nonetheless. "Bring it on, partner. Now you have to make me somethin' extra special for my first visit. Really put your skills to the test," the blonde reasoned, a perfectly sensible way to test his prowess as a bartender. "You're feelin' threatened by me?" she blanched playfully, gesturing to her unimposing stature and flashy attire, a willowy and unassuming creature if there ever was one. "Deal. I hate when people let me win, anyways. It's patronizing," she agreed, the former starlet's smile as close to a smirk as it would ever appear. "I'll drink to that. To a long and beautiful friendship," she chirped happily, clinking her cup against his before taking a hearty gulp of her lemonade. "Oh, absolutely. Can't have dinner without dessert. A little sweet treat here and there never hurt anybody."